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hotcoffeetransformation · 3 years

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Jason swore loudly and had to resist the urge to throw his controller down, pissed that he kept dying cause of the game's stupid glitches (Also known as own mistakes). Still, he regained his composure, and smiled before saying

"Alright chat, we're gonna finish up this one and then we're gonna move on to another game. There should be a poll on top for what we do next"

Jason was a moderately successfully game streamer, averaging about 200 to 300 viewers a night, entirely based on his wit and skill. He knew for sure that they weren't coming for his looks, given his weedy, thin frame, overly pimpled face and large, nerdy glasses. Still, it was enough for him, and he was happy with the progress that he'd made.

As Jason got himself set up for the next game, he heard a shocking sound from above him. The victory theme from one of his favorite JRPGs was blaring through the speakers, and he came up, staring at the screen in shock. He knew what that sound meant. That meant someone had tipped him one thousand dollars, completely out of nowhere.

He looked in shock at the notification on the stream, seeing that it was from someone named JockBro69, with the simple message "Can't wait to get to know you better, cutie~"

Jason was completely stunned. Not only had someone actually redeemed the donation goal that he set as a joke (That being that whoever was stupid enough to tip 1000 dollars got to have a 15 minute private chat with him), it was also someone that he'd never seen in his chat before.

Thoroughly weirded out, but knowing that he had to honor his commitment, he sent the guy a quick private message.

"Dude, I don't know how to thank you enough! Guess I'll see ya pretty soon!"

With that, he sent the man his private zoom link, and said goodbye to the chat, who were still going wild over this turn of events, before pausing,the stream and hopping over to discord for the call.

Not two seconds after his stream stopped, he got a requested video call on discord from the guy, and he opened it up, giving a second for the video to load, but when it did, he was completely dumbfounded again. He was expecting the mysterious donator to be some fat, sweaty silicon valley nerd with too much and money on his hands, but instead what met him was possibly the hottest man he's ever seen, standing up and looking down at his webcam with a friendly expression.

"Fuck, bro! Its so good to finally fucking meet you, I've been such a big fan for a long time, and this is a really big deal for me~

The man had a deep, rumbling, pleasant voice, that shot straight down Jacob's spine and left him feeling strangely... inadequate. Like the fact that his voice wasn't as smooth or melodic as this guy's was his fault, and he should be ashamed of that fact. Still, this guy was pretty pleasant to look at, Jason had to admit. He wasn't gay, definitely not, but he could acknowledge when another guy simply looked good.

Jason scratched the back of his neck awkwardly, not entirely sure of what he should do or say. Still, this guy spent 1000 dollars on this meeting, so he had to try anyway.

"So, umm.... I see your username is jockbro69... What's your actual name thought? I don't think I've ever seen you in chat before..."

The other man actually laughed at this, before looking confused and saying

"What are you talking about bro? Its me, Ethan! I'm in your chat all the time! Man, I guess what they say about playing games so much is true, huh?"

At this statement, Jason actually went pale with shock. THIS was Ethan? This was the guy who's username used to be runningLink? Who was an active fan of the zelda series, constantly begged Jason to play them, and bemoaned the fact that no would date him? It just didn't seem right...

Still, Jason, ever the semi professional, continued on, pretending that he wasn't shocked at the news.

"Well, thanks for supporting me so much! Seriously, this means a lot to me... Ummm... so I guess tell me some of your favorite things about the channel then!"

The man laughed again, the sound coming out in a slow, dumb chuckle, before saying

"What's my favorite thing? Do I even have to say, bro? Its the amazing piece of eye candy I'm looking at right now. You're super hot, bro~"

At this, Jason was shocked, but he chuckled awkwardly while blushing, and said

"Really? I don't think I've ever heard a single person say that before. I guess I consider myself slightly below average..."

The guy looked confused at that, before pressing on

"Really, bro? You look super hot to me, you got those bright, blinding blue eyes that you can just get lost in~"

At this point, Jason knew the man was just messing with him. His eyes have always, and will always be a dark, muddy brown, hidden behind his massive frames. Jason was about to respond, when Ethan continued

"Yeah, and you got that super stylish haircut too, really makes you look super masculine~"

Now Jason was REALLY confused. The guy was right, he did always get complements on his eyes, the bright, shocking blue visible and striking even through his huge glasses. But his hair was always a long, unkempt greasy mess.

"Ethan, are you sure you're okay, you're not just seeing things? Cause I don't know what you're talking about"

Ethan ignored the comment, just continuing to press on

"And you've got that hot, manly face, with your strong jaw and amazing profile"

Jason was confused again. Sure, his stylish haircut did help him look much better, but his face had always been pretty androgynous, with hints of baby fat still present in his cheeks. Again, before he could interrupt, Ethan continued,

"And you've got that smooth smooth skin, that hot stubble, that sexy smirk of yours. You're the full package bro~"

Jason laughed at this. Ethan was clearly being way too complementary. Sure his face had a great shape to it, with strong cheekbones and a square jaw, but his skin was still acne marked as hell, his smile was crooked and awkward, and he'd never been able to grow any facial hair, no matter how much he tried.

"I really have no idea what you're talking about Ethan. Sure I've got some good features, but the overall package isn't much to write home about~"

Ethan smirked again, his eyes lighting up with humor, as if he knew something I didn't.

"Nah, bro, you're underselling yourself. Plus, you've got that body~"

"What about my body? I think its pretty average, though I guess I'm a bit on the skinny side..."

Jason looked down at himself, trying to contemplate what Ethan meant. Sure, he'd been blessed with an attractive, manly face, but it didn't change the fact that his body was still below average at best.

"Again, bro! Putting yourself down. You really think those massive logs you have for arms are below average?"

Jason looked down at his skinny arms, and said

"More like logs than twigs man, seriously."

"And what about your legs? You've spent so long working on em, you've got thighs and glutes to kill for~"

Jason laughed again

"I dunno man! Most people say the exact opposite. They say I spend too much time on arms and not enough on my torso and legs. What can I say though? I love having big, beefy arms."

"Of course you do, bro? Who wouldn't? Especially when right in between em, you got your big, pillowy chest, your sexy abs, and your super toned back~"

Jason was seriously starting to wonder if Ethan was on something. Anyone could clearly see from first glance that Jason's body was badly proportioned, his arms and legs being massive from months to years of work, while he neglected his back, pecs and ab muscles. Still, he thought he looked pretty alright honestly.

"And I especially love how you're not only super sexy, you know it and flaunt it~ I don't think I've ever seen you once wear a shirt. The most you'll wear is a necklace, and even then, not like that covers anything, bro~ Only makes you look sexier"

Now here Jason had to disagree. He knew that he had cultivated and developed an amazing body over his years of going to the gym, but that was all for his own personal satisfaction. He never flaunted it unnecessarily, especially not during a stream.

"And I love the fact that you're such a fucking bro, bro. Every other word out of your mouth is bro and dude, you can't go even five minutes without flexing and thinking of fucking, or going to the gym, or hanging out with your other hot bros. We all know that your brain is basically only good for working out and looking hot. No smart's up there. And you've got your deep, sexy voice, too. Makes it even hotter that you're a gay bro, just like me"

Jason HAD to laugh at that. What the guy was saying was just so ridiculous.

"What the hell are you talking about? Look, I know that I like to show off my sexy body a lot, but that doesn't mean I'm some kind of dumb jock. And I'm definitely straight, dude. Don't know why you'd think I'm gay"

Ethan pressed on, completely unabashed by Jason's last comments.

"But you know the best fucking part, bro? Its that power of yours. The fact that any weak ass nerd who looks at you and your huge fucking muscles grows into a hot, dumb bro like us within seconds~"

Jason was busy flexing, staring at his own bicep in awe, as if he was shocked by him impressive he was. He looked up at Ethan blearily, saying

"Sorry, bro, what'd you say? I guess I got a bit fucking distracted. Huhuhu. But who could blame me~"

"Nah, it was nothing bro. You don't need to worry about it. Now should head back to the stream?"

Jason gasped in excitement, having forgotten entirely about the fact that there was a whole stream audience full of lame ass nerds, just ready for him to make as sexy as he and Ethan were.

"You got it bro~ This is gonna be so fucking hot~"

Jason left the call, going back to the stream and restarting, glad to see that a full 300 people were still watching, even through the extended break. The second he turned his camera on, he could see that people were confused for some reason, saying a stranger broke into his house. How stupid could these people be? How did they not recognize him? Still, not like it would matter for long...

"Hey bros! How're we all fucking doing? Welcomes to today's stream..."

He trailed off, looking blankly at the camera, before saying

"You know what? Fuck video games! Who needs them when you can do this~"

And as his pecs bounced and bounced hypnotically, the chat slowly transitioned from messages like "What the fuck is happening?" or "Who is this dumb jock?" to "Fuck, bro! Your pecs look so fucking hot today!" and "Huhuhu, I love making my pecs bounce like Jace's~"

And so the stream continued, Jace showing everyone all the amazing things his body could do, while anyone that was watching, whether they wanted to or not, began to copy him exactly. And as the stream went on, the viewer count rose, and rose, and rose...

#musclegrowth #straight to gay #jockification #himbo tf #jock #muscle

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blackjack-15 · 3 years

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The Weight of Living — Thoughts on: The Deadly Device (DED)

Previous Metas: SCK/SCK2, STFD, MHM, TRT, FIN, SSH, DOG, CAR, DDI, SHA, CUR, CLK, TRN, DAN, CRE, ICE, CRY, VEN, HAU, RAN, WAC, TOT, SAW, CAP, ASH, TMB

Hello and welcome to a Nancy Drew meta series! 30 metas, 30 Nancy Drew Games that I’m comfortable with doing meta about. Hot takes, cold takes, and just Takes will abound, but one thing’s for sure: they’ll all be longer than I mean them to be.

Each meta will have different distinct sections: an Introduction, an exploration of the Title, an explanation of the Mystery, a run-through of the Suspects. Then, I’ll tackle some of my favorite and least favorite things about the game, and finish it off with ideas on how to improve it. For this meta, like TMB, there will be an extra section entitled “The Theme” between The Mystery and The Suspects.

If any game requires an extra section or two, they’ll be listed in the paragraph above, along with my list of previous metas.

These metas are not spoiler free, though I’ll list any games/media that they might spoil here: DED, TMB; brief mentions of FIN, SSH, and ICE; brief mention of Iron Man (2008).

The Intro:

First off, this meta was supposed to be uploaded well over a week ago, and I apologize; life and health kind of got in the way, but it should be more constant for these last 3 metas.

I hope.

Like I mentioned with the last meta, this will be kind of a companion/two-piece meta with TMB. Where TMB focused on the effects of the dead on the living, DED instead focuses on the living’s effects on the dead — the dead in this case being Niko Jovic, of course. Let’s dive into that, shall we?

Just like how everything in TMB was dead, everything (other than Niko, rest in peace) in the lab is alive. The lab is full of people, of research — “living knowledge” in other words — of live wires and electricity, and is constantly growing and changing, just like a living organism does. With all this life present, the game is mostly concerned with how the living affect Niko.

What’s left of Niko after his death is his legacy — his work, his personality, his relationships (or lack thereof) with others, and it’s fascinating to see how our characters deal with and affect that. Grey is dedicating to curating Niko’s legacy (at Niko’s request, it should be noted), Ryan lives in awe of it, and Mason and Ellie are more pragmatic, wanting to use his legacy and work to improve their own lives. Victor, on the other hand, wants Niko’s legacy all to himself — to effectively erase it, in other words, which is another marker of him being our out-and-out villain.

Niko was divisive in life, and is even more so in death — no one can quite say exactly who he was. A jerk, a total scientist, someone who needed caring for, naïve, a useful tool — all of these were how people thought of him, and all of these were a part of who he was. In the end, it’s the efforts of the living that kill Niko — Ryan’s engineering, Ellie and Mason’s lack of concern, Grey’s reticence to get involved, and Victor’s machinations – along with his own secrecy and feeling of being apart from the world — or dead to it, more appropriately.

Stepping back from our characters and the weight of the living for a bit, let’s talk about the other thing that really makes DED stand out not only as a game but specifically as a Nancy Drew game — that is, its design in being a game that subverts the Nancy Drew formula at every turn.

There are a few obvious ones, like a phone character turning to a real-life suspect (rather than the other way around, like in TMB and ICE, or in any other game, where phone characters are Above Suspicion), the person hiring Nancy actually being the baddie, and Nancy having her safe places removed throughout the game, rather than crossing off locations where Bad Things can happen, but the more interesting ones are a little more subtle.

Our suspects provide a few more subversions — for example, our ‘meanest’ characters (Mason and Gray) are neither our explicit Good Guys or our definite Bad Guys, as often tends to be the case in Nancy Drew games. We also have suspects who hate each other openly revealed to be working together towards a common goal, which is a nice twist on the Warring Suspects trope that we see in quite a few games (ICE, FIN, SSH, etc.).

Finally, the structure of the mystery gives us our last two subversions. Instead of our normal Nancy Drew status quo where the characters are simple but their motivations end up being surprising/hidden/secret, we here have a straightforward motive — remove Niko to get his stuff — and our characters are the part that’s not straightforward, with each of them having warring traits within themselves that contribute to the fog surrounding the mystery.

Our villain also fails in this game through the cover-up, not through the crime. Normally, there’s a mistake that the culprit makes during the committing of a crime that Nancy finds evidence of later — a dropped business card, etc. — but in this case, it’s really only the cover up that implicates Victor at all, and he would have gotten away with it if it weren’t for, well, himself.

These subversions wouldn’t have been possible 10 or 15 games ago, and it’s a mark of how far the games have come that a game can be dedicated to subverting the usual formula and do it with such panache — and make a great game out of it, besides.

The Title:

As a title, The Deadly Device is pretty solid, if lacking a bit of flash. It gives us our method of murder and the academic ‘scope’ (i.e., science/engineering) that we’re playing in for this game, and tells us our crime — can’t be a deadly device without someone ending up, you know, dead — but doesn’t do a lot outside of that and hinting that the dead as a thematic element will have some role to play.

The reason the title is solid, however, rather than lacking, is that there’s not much else to call it that’s quite as well-fit to the game. It pulls (in a matter of speaking) from two Nancy Drew stories, The Crime Lab Case — which, as a title, yawn — and In and Out of Love, a story from the Nancy-at-college era that tried to be Hotter and Sexier than the previous books, but just ended up being a bit ridiculous. Neither one of those titles would have been any better — they would have been significantly worse, honestly, so The Deadly Device will stand as a good, solid effort for a great game.

The Mystery:

Disaster has struck at Technology of Tomorrow Today, a research lab in snowy Colorado: the lead scientist, a man named Niko Jovic, has been discovered dead in the Tesla Coil lab of electrocution. Months later, the case has gone cold, so owner Victor Losset decides to take matters into his own hands and hires Nancy to find his employee’s killer — not that there’s any doubt in his mind that Ryan Kilpatrick, the engineer who built the coil that killed Niko, is responsible.

When Nancy arrives on-scene and undercover, however, things aren’t quite as cut and dry as Victor would have her believe. It seems that everyone at the lab has means, motive, and opportunity — and whoever killed Niko doesn’t have any qualms about killing a nosy detective to cover up their crime…

Like with TMB, DED isn’t that interested in obscuring its bad guy to a “gotcha!” moment at the very end of the game. Instead, it’s largely concerned with putting disparate personalities under a huge amount of pressure and seeing what results. No one at the lab is super fond of anyone else who works there, nor of their superiors or employer(s), and all have the equipment and the intelligence to make use of the equipment to deadly ends.

Also like TMB, the crime has already been committed or begun, and it’s not Nancy’s job to prevent it — nothing is going to bring Niko back, after all — but to put together the post-mortem pieces and discover what really happened in the past, and the effect that the living have on the dead. It’s a thematic sort of conflict, and it really helps to elevate the game past “fun science mystery”. And speaking of thematic resonance in this game…

The Theme:

As we discussed last time, TMB was a game about fear — fear of death, of responsibility, of ignominy, of failure, etc. Being its sister game, DED is focused on the opposite of fear: acceptance. Instead of failure, responsibility, and other ever-present fears, DED is about the acceptance of the good, the bad, of yourself, and what others will do with your work and legacy once you’re gone.

In other words, DED is a game most concerned, thematically speaking, with certainty and resolve, rather than fear.

One of the biggest thematic elements in the game that proves this point is the presence of Niko’s recorded diaries. Not only does this feature some excellent voice acting by Josh Crandall, but it also gives a dead character the chance to discuss his motivations, his considerations, and — importantly — his sense of his impending death.

At no point does Niko dissolve into hysterics or even palpable fear; he simply accepts that there are consequences for both his and others’ actions, and that there are people in the world who believe the opposite of what he believes in — and are willing to kill for it.

Niko was a man who personified resolve and acceptance to a fault — had he informed others that his life was in danger, Victor would have had a much harder time killing him — but was also jealous of those who didn’t have to or have the capacity to have that kind of acceptance:

“I see why Tesla liked his pigeons. They fly only where they’re directed, and never question the effect the beating of their wings will have on the skies and the world below.”

The lack of acceptance in our villain is actually what leads to his downfall. The case has gone cold, and Victor is, legally speaking, off the hook — but he can’t accept that he’s gotten away with it, and instead decides to push it one step too far by hiring a detective. Had he not hired anyone, he would have been free and clear for the rest of his life — if the police weren’t able to find anything, the chances of them reopening the cold case are extremely slim — but instead Victor couldn’t accept it, and so hired the instrument of his own demise.

Every suspect has their own resolve in this game, and it’s that facet of their personalities that gives Nancy such a hard time at first, because none of that resolve includes answering the questions of a pesky investigator.

The Suspects:

First off is Obadiah Stane Victor Lossett, Nancy’s boss, owner of Technology of Tomorrow Today, and super evil killer of scientists who piss him off and prevent him from making oodles of money.

Like I mentioned above in “The Mystery”, the game isn’t so much concerned with obscuring Victor’s role as the bad guy. It’s a lovely moment when he shows up, changing from phone to real-life character (and suspect) — it’s in fact one of my favorite moments in the series, and I’ve spoken about it before in my list of the top 5 twists/surprising moments in the series — but it’s not a surprise that he’s involved in Niko’s death.

Victor fulfills the subversion of the formula that DED plays with a while also telling the correct story and theme for the game: he’s a man who took advantage of others for his own personal gain, and so everything he has is taken from him — including his notoriety — because of his lack of acceptance of the world.

“The world fondly remembers those who always give, and soon forgets those who only take.”

Next on the list is Ryan Kilpatrick, Victor’s favored patsy suspect and technical engineer at TTT. Energetic and quirky to (in my opinion) a fault, Ryan warned Niko several times that the Tesla coil would kill him, and then did exactly what he wanted her to do anyway.

To be fair to the girl, she was definitely in love with him, albeit a love more based on pity than on straight-out affection. “He had no one else in the world looking after him”, anyone?

Ryan only makes sense in a world where Niko was killed in the way that it appears first: by a simple malfunction in the Tesla Coil. Because Ryan built it, she would be legally responsible for his death, even though he was her boss when he told her to build it that way. It would be a simple, easy answer, and one that would have been totally thematically opposite of the story the game was telling, which makes her the perfect “preferred” suspect for Victor’s ruse.

Our two research assistants are next for consideration, so let’s start with Ellie York, our night-shift assistant who switched in order to avoid her coworker. A Good Southern Girl, Ellie is not above talking smack with a pretense of politeness and has a rather sinister motive up her sleeve.

Despite the fact that all research done at a lab is property of the lab, she (and Mason) decides that Isn’t Fair and tries to shop around their research to the highest bidder in an attempt to make enough money to pay off her debts.

The fact that she’s selling research that isn’t wholly done by her or Mason when she’s mad that her research is being (contractually and legally) used by someone else does rather put a damper on her ‘righteous anger’, doesn’t it.

As a villain, Ellie would have had to be a pair with Mason, which would have been interesting and a parallel to TMB, but just wouldn’t have told the story that DED wanted to tell. It would have been a story about backbiting and jealousy within a workplace, and thus would have lost its resonance with the historical backstory and with who Niko was as a person. As the victim makes the murder, Ellie (or Mason, or and Mason) would have been a poor choice.

Mason Quinto works the day shift and is far more neurotic than his night-shift companion, though just as guilty of attempting to sell research. He prefers his space neat and orderly, and gets quite steamed when Ellie messes it up to piss him off.

Yeah, there’s no way those two don’t end up in bed when they’re drunk. Honestly.

While the more ‘scientist’-like and nerdy of the two assistants, Mason is, in a refreshing change from normal tropes, also the more maverick of the two, running away with Niko’s work after the murder is solved and is only found at an expo by Gray a bit later, where a fight erupts until Mason comes back to work with Gray and Ellie.

He can also turn into a supervillain in a second chance, which is awesome.

Like I said above with Ellie, the only way Mason makes sense as the villain is to be a pair with Ellie, but it just isn’t the right story, thematically speaking. Mason (and Ellie) are a great example of how everyone in DED is guilty of something, whether they think they’re justified or not, and how putting these kind of people in a pressure cooker and turning it on only leads to disaster, sooner or later.

The last still-living member of our cast is Gray Cortright, security guard and ex-theoretical physicist, along with being probably Niko’s only friend — for a certain value of ‘friend’, it should be noted. Gray used to be the “smart one” until he went through what is basically a nervous breakdown due to his knowledge of theoretical physics and never quite recovered.

I’ll note that Gray would have been a more obvious choice for the early Nancy Drew games; a friendship gone wrong, a slightly “crazy” villain — the pieces are there. But because DED subverts the Classic Formula, Gray is instead probably the only person fully on Niko’s side — no tricks, no ulterior motives, no nothing. He’s exactly what he presents himself to be: gruff, grumpy, unkind, and not even close to a murderer (except, perhaps, where Mason is involved).

Let’s finish off our roll call with Niko Jovic, our murder victim and one of two foils for Nancy in this game. Niko was “100% a scientist”, interested most in the free use and free sharing of technological and scientific advancement, and less interested in developing technology to harm others.

This didn’t make him very popular with those who wanted to harm others, funnily enough.

It’s important that our victim in this case foils Nancy, because this is a game about (as we’ve discussed) acceptance and consequences. The consequence of Niko not paying attention to the fact that other people in the world are not like him was that there was an opening for a bad man to kill him. It’s not Niko’s fault that he was killed, but neither was he unaware that it was coming. He’s described as a ‘dead brilliant jerk madman’, and there’s a lot of truth in that; those who ultimately do good things and work hard are not always good or kind or nice themselves.

And yes, this is how he relates to Nancy. Nancy, like Niko, is a person who rather thinks what most of us would call “people skills” or “kindness” get in the way of the most important thing: solving puzzles and figuring things out. Both of them make the world better through their work, but honestly speaking, that’s not their ultimate aim. They’re not working directly to improve the world, they’re working for knowledge and to solve the puzzle.

In other words, they’re investigators, not philanthropists. And often (ultimately, for Niko), that’s what puts them in danger.

Over on Team Nancy, we have some familiar faces, beginning with our most unfamiliar familiar face, Nancy herself.

Hired as a professional detective undercover, Nancy Drew arrives at the lab to ferret out the murderer — and the truth behind Niko’s death — before anyone figures out that she’s not actually there on behalf of a new owner.

We learn a lot about Nancy in this game, not the least of which because she’s in what we can cheerfully call the opposite of her element (contrasting with TMB). Closely observed, surrounded by a subject that’s not quite in her normal wheelhouse, and where everyone around her is hell-bent on hiding everything they can from her — it’s a recipe for a frustrated detective, and that’s part of the reason that we see the return of not one but two (three? technically) detective (or detective-adjacent) phone friends, rather than Bess/George/Ned.

(Side Note: George, for all her specialty with science and technology, wouldn’t have been a good phone friend for this game, as she would have focused on the science, which isn’t really the point of Nancy’s investigation, and not enough on the case. Just putting that out there.)

This game features Nancy as a sort of patsy, rather than an unexpected observer or the target of revenge, and it should be no surprise that she outgrows that role fairly quickly. Her reluctance to search for evidence against someone, rather than evidence for the crime, clears the hurdle of Ryan’s Suspected Involvement pretty quickly while being the opposite of what Victor wanted out of her assistance.

On display here is Nancy’s fairness and her ability to ignore what others say about a case if it doesn’t suit her. Sure, she’s been told to watch Ryan and find her guilty, but Nancy’s pretty uninterested in that, instead centering her search around Niko rather than Ryan. Ellie makes a comment about Mason being about 60% scientist (and Niko being 100%), and it’s fair to say that Nancy’s about 60% a detective; she has other interests and motivations, but when she’s ‘at work’, she’s focused on doing her job to the greatest extent that she can — which is what makes her such a problem for Victor in the long run. And speaking of problems for Victor…

Returning from her role as the gloriously catty mean girl in ASH is Deirdre Shannon, criminology student and absolute sass master. Busted for hiring someone to write an essay for her in college, Deirdre’s clever enough to suggest making up the credit by assisting in a real-life murder investigation — albeit with a heavy dose of sarcasm for her frenemy.

Besides having the best lines in the game (her “did you forget that I don’t like you?” and voicemail message are incredible, along with her assertion that Nancy should get her head checked out due to her repeated hits on the head), Deirdre is there to help Nancy see things from a different perspective and to clue her in on information that she has no way to get — backing up alibis, old publications, and the like. She’s less concerned with the background of the case — the Hardy Boys (!!) have that covered — and is more here to figure out exactly who can be taken off of Nancy’s suspect list and why.

She also, in a rather glorious twist of fate, is the reason that Nancy is hired, having told Victor that Nancy suffers from “chronic wrongness”, among other things. I can just imagine how pissed Victor must have been in jail with her — more than with Nancy, certainly — and can easily see a future where, upon his release/escape, Victor goes after Deirdre — it was after all Deirdre, not Nancy, who cleared Ryan.

But enough about games that would have been better than MID. That’s a nigh-unquenchable topic.

Deirdre’s there as the more prominent foil to Nancy within the game — and the game isn’t shy about foiling the two women. Both are bright, both come from River Heights, both are interested in/involved with the same boy, both are involved in crimes/criminology to some extent…the list goes on.

The thing that Deirdre-as-foil shows us about Nancy is that Nancy isn’t unique in what she does. Sure, the way she got into the mystery business and her credentials are unusual, but she’s far from the only girl in her late teens that’s interested in crime and mysteries, and far from the only one who can solve these types of mysteries.

Deirdre is often referred to as “the girl who could have been Nancy Drew” had things worked out differently for her — different parents, different friends, different connections, etc. — and we see that play out here. She’s not lacking for smarts, intuitive thinking, or creative problem solving — just in opportunity.

The Hardy Boys are here for their only appearance in the Nancy Games, and boy do they do The Most.

When last we saw him, Frank Hardy was helping Nancy out with a ‘relationship talk’, but here he’s interested in two things: talking to Nancy and researching to help Nancy. He’s quite proud of Nancy and her reputation, and is more than willing to help her on the case — though his first priority is her safety, as demonstrated by the voicemail.

That really should be capitalized, huh. “The Voicemail”.

I first wanna say kudos to DED for actually making progress in Frank’s character arc and relationship with Nancy, and giving context to his sulking in the next game. So often in games like the Nancy Drew games — and indeed, in the earlier games in this series — there’s an addiction to the status quo that doesn’t really allow for anyone to learn anything permanent, much less something that changes their behavior, so I’m pretty thrilled with this development even outside of shipping.

Second, I love that this is a topic that both boys are interested in, albeit for different reasons. Too often we have either Frank or Joe being enthusiastic about the context of Nancy’s investigation, and it’s nice here to see that the boys can agree on something — even if their answers are different as to why.

Speaking of different reasons for interest, Joe Hardy is back (we haven’t seen him for quite a few games!) and is better than ever. I’ve said it before (and I’ll say it again), but really Rob Jones does a phenomenal job with Joe, especially as the games progress, and DED is a perfect example. Joe’s dialogue is pitch-perfect and his excitement about Tesla is adorable.

I’m also going to point out that Joe’s identity as a very proficient tactician is in play in this game, as he is the one to point out how very strange it is that a man of means and importance would hire Nancy — not that, as Frank points out, Nancy doesn’t have a great reputation, but just that Victor should be able to hire a world-class detective rather than a girl in her late teens to investigate this murder.

The thing that the Hardy Boys are here to represent is Nancy’s fledgling footing into the professional world. Sure, she’s been a detective for hire for a while now, and TOT sort of ushered her into that world for good, but the Boys have been doing this for much, much longer, and have the sort of resources that make a huge difference when investigating crimes like murder versus circumstances like “my daughter is unhappy go help her”.

For all of Nancy’s natural inclinations, talents, and drive that make her a good detective, the Hardy Boys (along with Deirdre) show the downside of being an autodidact: the breadth of your resources isn’t anywhere near what others’ might be. The things she needs to solve this mystery are privy to those with better resources — colleges and agencies — and she has to rely on them to get the job done.

The Favorite:

DED is a game that I didn’t expect to like, but ended up really loving, so there’s quite a few things in this section that stand out.

The first thing I want to mention is I love Ellie and Mason’s interactions. In a lot of Nancy Drew games, we get the characters interacting with Nancy, but not so much interacting with each other, so it’s always a pleasure for me when it happens.

Deirdre holds her title as one of my favorite characters in this series, so of course she’s going to get a mention here. The “TDPD” segment has me rolling on the floor, her comment about Nancy volunteering for a neurological study sounds exactly like what a lot of fans joke about, and her voice acting (major props to Meaghan Halverson) is equal parts snide and earnest, all without ever losing her edge or likability.

As anyone who’s been in the vicinity of these metas knows, I’m a huge fan of the Hardy Boys, and I love their inclusion here. The geeking out over Tesla, the brotherly camaraderie, the hints at Frank’s feelings, Joe teasing Frank about said feelings — it’s all here, and it’s all wonderful.

My favorite puzzle would probably have to be the whole fingerprint-melting-gummy-bear puzzle, just because — I mean, at the end of the day, that’s just cool. I did a forensic-science-style unit in my elementary years where we printed fingerprints and distinguished between whorls and such and this made me exactly as excited as I had been all those years ago. It’s fun, fitting with the story, and involves gummy candies — what’s not to like?

My favorite moment — and I’ve mentioned this once already in this meta, and in a different meta — is the moment that Victor shows up. Savvy players of this series would know that there’s no way HER would include a model of Victor just for a video call, so it’s not exactly a surprise, but it’s such a wonderfully scary moment without being a jump scare or a startle.

Victor’s appearance closes down Nancy’s snooping spots, removes a safe place for her, turns the last bit of the game into a sort of mix of detective and stealth game, and is a huge subversion of the usual “phone-client” formula, and I absolutely love it.

My last favorite thing about this game is when you realize that Victor hired Nancy due to her supposed incompetence, rather than her being, in Frank’s words, one of the best that there is. It chills you down to the bone and makes the whole game feel more antagonistic as a result, and is just a really nice writing moment.

The Un-Favorite:

There are, however, a few things that maybe aren’t so grand in this game, even with all its good points.

My least favorite puzzle is probably the chemical puzzle — with the beakers and the exploding water and such — just because it’s quite finicky, and it takes up time that I’d rather be doing other things with. I thought about the printing puzzle, but honestly even though it takes time within the game to do it, there’s plenty of other things to do with Nancy’s time that makes the time spent there not so big a deal.

My least favorite moment in the game is, quite frankly, the time spent talking to Ryan. I find all the characters interesting as characters, but Ryan is exactly the kind of Quirk that I don’t handle well, in real life and in video games.

Honestly, her remark of “I less-than-three them!” was enough to get me to stand up and walk away from the game for a minute the first time I played through it.

Had this game come out a few decades earlier, she would have referred to Niko as “totally tubular” and stuff like that, and it’s…it’s just a lot to handle for me personally.

The Fix:

So how would I fix The Deadly Device?

Honestly speaking, this is a game where there’s not a lot to do. I’d probably tweak Ryan to be a little less annoying and smooth out the chemicals puzzle, but those are more personal grievances than they are actual issues with the plot and writing.

Probably the only substantial thing I’d do is tie in the robotic cat plotline a little more. As it is, it’s easy to ignore and doesn’t have a lot of plot or thematic resonance, so I’d make it a little more important and noteworthy. And less scary looking.

DED is a game that sets out to tell a good story while subverting the usual Nancy Drew formula in big and small ways, and honestly it succeeds at both of those things with flying colors. It really feels like a setting where life went on before and will go on after Nancy leaves it, which is Valuable to me all by itself, and features some of the more colorful moments in the series — all while solving an actual murder for the first time since a Florida high school in the 90s.

#nancy drew #nancy drew games #the deadly device #clue crew #nancy drew meta #DED #video games #my meta

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pastrnaks-sainz · 4 years

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Prompt List!!!!

So to make my life a bit easier, I decided to throw together a quick prompt list. You guys can use this when you’re requesting fics, and I’ll pull from it occasionally if I need some inspiration. I’ll sort into fluffy and smutty prompts so you can have your pick of which one you’re in the mood for!

(also the ones in bold are ones that I’ve added)

Fluffy

“Your hair is softer than mine”

“Stop moving!”

“Go to sleep or I swear to God I’ll make you chamomile tea and cuddle you”

“Is that my sweatshirt?”

“I’m so not jealous”

“Use my conditioner”

“Is that a new perfume?”

“You changed shampoos”

“Поцелуй меня” (kiss me)

“Let me rub your back”

“Take my jacket”

“It’s okay, I was awake anyway”

“Wanna go down to the arcade and play Pac-Man until we get in trouble?”

“How is it the moonlight makes you look that much prettier?”

“You were talking in your sleep”

“I learned a new language for you”

“You think I’m pretty?”

“He told me if I didn’t come talk to you he would take away my PlayStation”

“Read to me”

“I didn’t want to wake you up. You’re adorable when you’re asleep”

“Let's adopt a puppy”

“Have you been hanging out with my mom?”

“Sorry, your bed was just really warm”

“Use my phone”

“When I look at you I get this fuzzy feeling in my chest and I don’t know why”

“You got popcorn just so you could feel like a teenager again, didn’t you?”

“Say that again, but in English this time”

“Please don’t leave me”

“Who gave you permission to go out in public looking like that?”

“Kiss me again”

“You looked miserable, I thought I’d come save you”

“I’m not one for all this fancy ballroom stuff, let’s go hang out in our pajamas and get wine drunk”

“Thunder is just the angels getting excited whenever they score a goal”

“I saw you in the stands last night”

“You got a new haircut”

“That’s my seat”

“Quit being such a baby and let me put a new Band-Aid on your face”

“Because I love you and I don’t when it happened”

“You gotta tell her, man. She’ll driver herself crazy if she doesn’t know there’s a puppy in your locker”

“So... are we supposed to like, kiss now?”

“I’ve seen the way you look at him”

“You fell. Hard”

“Will you two just kiss already?”

“You’re my everything”

“Shut the fuck up and hold my hand, loser”

“I need a hug. Just a hug from a big, tall, strong hockey player who smells really good after he gets out of the shower”

“You keep a photo of me in your wallet?”

“I can’t think of a life where you’re not by my side”

“You look good in white”

“I’ve never, and will never, be happier than I am with you”

“Your laugh is my ringtone”

“Isn't this how most romcoms start? Two hot people stuck in an elevator?”

“What would you do if I kissed you right now?”

“Big bad *team name* player and you’re afraid of spiders”

“Did you get any sleep last night?”

“Come on, we’re going ring shopping”

“I do”

“I was going to try to be smooth and all but you’re super pretty and now I’m nervous”

“You look at her like she hung the moon” “To me she hung the galaxy”

“Are you gonna kiss me or not?”

“We are so not getting matching Halloween costumes”

“My mother always said athletes make the worst boyfriends. I can’t wait to tell her how wrong she is”

“Can you- do you want to- please stay with me, I don’t want to be alone”

“That was dramatic” “You loved it”

“Will you to fake-prom with me?”

“Sure puppies are cute and all but have you looked in a mirror?”

“I can’t believe you're the guy I decided to spend the rest of my life with”

“I have got to be the luckiest guy in the world”

“They told me you’d kick my ass, I wanted to see if they were right”

“If you laugh at something I said then write a fake number on my arm I win twenty bucks from each of them. Help a guy out?”

“How many episodes of The Office have you watched today?”

“Be the Pam to my Jim?”

“You’re lucky you’re cute”

“Sorry, I’m replacing you with this kitten”

“You have a poster of me on your wall? Do you kiss it before you go to bed every night?”

“Stop talking and kiss me”

Smutty

“You are so hot when you’re mad”

“Damn, I didn’t realize you were so flexible”

“Yoga does wonders for the body, you know”

“I can’t wait to mark you up”

“As good as you look in that dress you’d look better without it”

“Don’t stop”

“Wait for me”

“A beautiful sight, you wearing nothing but my jersey waiting for me”

“Take it off”

“Right there”

“I wish I could see you right now but phone sex is gonna have to do it”

“And you didn’t touch yourself?”

“Can I tie you up?”

“No touching”

“Pull my hair”

“After that picture you sent me I could barely focus on the game”

“You look so hot with that scratch on your cheek”

“So sexy with all your tattoos”

“This apartment doesn’t have thin walls”

“Come on, I want the team to know whose you are”

“I barely even touched you and look at the mess you made”

“Be gentle”

“Look at me”

“You dressed up for me”

“You tease me during my game, I tease you now. It’s only fair”

“You might wanna use my foundation and cover that bruise up”

“I don’t wanna hurt you”

“Bed. Now”

“Honey I got all the time in the world”

“It’s not like your parents are home”

“I can do it in under five minutes”

“Shut the door behind you”

“If you don’t stop staring at my ass I will take you right here on this workbench”

“Tell me what you want”

“Shower sex is complicated, but lucky for you I’m an excellent teacher”

“That accent is the sexiest thing about you”

“Don’t act all innocent, you had me pinned against that wall ten minutes ago”

“Where’d you learn to do that?”

“What were you dreaming about?”

“Tonight is all about you, now put your hands above your head for me, baby”

“The last time you did that I couldn’t walk for three days”

“Your hands all over my body was the only thing I could think about at work today”

“Take your shirt off”

“You’ve always been my favorite meal”

“I was in the middle of an interview when you sent me that picture”

“Get a room, you two!”

“Don’t cover your mouth, you sound too good to do that”

“You’re the only thing that’s gone right today”

“You’ll be my first”

“I want to watch you touch yourself”

“I promise you I’m not going to break”

“Did I stutter?”

“You have a tattoo?”

“You and I are the only ones in here, baby”

“I’ve never known you to be the shy type”

“I didn’t mean to see you in nothing but panties and a bra, but you left your door open”

“I never knew you could do that”

“And in what frat house did you pick up that little trick?”

“Somehow you’re sexier tonight than you were last night”

“Has anybody ever touched you before me?”

“I’ll take good care of you, baby”

“You are officially on the naughty list”

“I haven’t been home for more than five minutes and you’re already on your knees for me”

“I knew you'd want dessert”

“There are only two reasons you’d call me at one in the morning and judging from the way you’re dressed nobody’s dead”

“Am I your first?”

Seasonal Prompts

Halloween

“It’s officially spooky season *insert character*, you know what that means” “Pumpkin everything?” “Pumpkin everything”

“Who ate all the candy?!”

“You're not going trick or treating, you’re too old for that”

***“I plan on getting more than one kind of freaky tonight”

“What the hell are you supposed to be?”

“Nope, I’m not scared. Why would think I’m scared? I’m totally not scared”

“I’m pretty sure I have claw marks from your nails”

“Please tell me that’s syrup”

“This haunted house was fifty bucks, I better die for that kind of money”

“Supernatural marathon at my place later, you’re bringing the candy”

“Are we about to make out in a graveyard?”

“Did you seriously injure yourself carving a pumpkin?” “Hey, the knives are sharp”

“Pumpkin spice is the love of my life” “I thought I was the love of your life”

“Don’t you watch horror movies? Splitting up always ends up with someone dead”

“We should do a couples costume” “Yeah, no”

“Nothing in this world is more satisfying than that crunch when you step on a leaf”

“It’s staring at me, *character* why is the scarecrow staring at me?”

“If someone asks, that skeleton of the Werewolf in my front yard is decorative”

“You can jump in the leaf pile if you help me rake”

“How can you love Halloween but hate horror movies?”

“Yeah, bring out the Ouija Board, what could possibly go wrong”

“We are not dogging up Harry Houdini’s grave”

“I think that zombie just grabbed my ass”

“First question; is that fake blood? Second question; if it isn’t is it your blood?”

***“The movie isn’t the only reason you’ll be screaming tonight”

“What are you gonna do? Burn me at the stake?”

“If you find an eyeball, don’t worry it’s not human”

“Ten pumpkins seems a little excessive” “It’s not excessive, it’s festive”

“Did that scarecrow just move or have I had too much punch?”

“My fangs just fell out”

“Yeah, let's go for a walk in the woods. I’m sorry, did you see Blair Witch Project?”

“It’s official, the house is haunted”

Christmas/New Years

“That has got to be the ugliest sweater I’ve ever seen”

“I told you I couldn’t bake, you didn’t listen”

“Look up, there’s mistletoe”

“This was my dream as a little kid, decorating a Christmas tree with a hot guy who just so happened to be my boyfriend”

“You should wear red more often”

“This is exactly how I envisioned you meeting my parents” “You envisioned me meeting your parents while running away from a flaming Christmas tree?”

“Tell me again, slowly this time, how the table cloth caught fire”

“You had the window seat on the way to Thanksgiving dinner, it’s my turn”

“This feels like the start of a rom com, two people stuck on a chair lift with a blizzard coming in”

“So you’re the one with the obnoxious light display”

“If I have to fake a smile for any longer I might actually commit murder so get me out of here as fast as you possibly can”

“My grandmother will not hesitate to force feed you Christmas cookies”

“I’ve always dreamed of having my first kiss on New Years Eve at midnight”

“Looks like we’re gonna have a white Christmas”

“Did you even use any wrapping paper, because this looks like it’s ninety percent tape”

“All I want for Christmas is you” “Cheesy”

“I never said I could skate”

“I thought a sleigh ride would be romantic”

“How the hell did you manage to hurt yourself putting up Christmas lights?”

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chimswae · 4 years

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BTS Caretaker CH20

Summary: She may think she has Bangtan Sonyeondan wrapped around her fingers. She may think it is easy to love the members equally without hurting any soul. She may think the boys wont fall head over heels for her. She assumes it is okay to show a little love and affection towards the boys, what if she gets it all wrong? What if it only brings more complication to her already complicated life? Can she survive their charms? Will she be able to resist them? What if they just wont let her go?

- Pairing: BTS x Oc ( Yoongi x OC, Jungkook x OC)

- Genre: Fluff, Slight Angst, Romance, Idol!au

- Word Count: 4,714

- Author Note: I think i am going to change the time of my update, it would be around Sunday or Monday (MYT) , i am so busy with works :< and not to mention i have finished this fic since it is an old fic of mine ^^ so i dont have to worry about writing block ,(that answers my cliche writing, this was written in 2017 ) thank u for reading :(( idk that there are people reading this, but thank u <3

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Chapter 20

“WHAT THE HELL MIN YOONGI? YOU- OH GOD-ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND?” Seul yelled as soon as they were inside Yoongi’s room. His eyes stared boringly into hers indicating how he was not affected by his earlier action even a bit.

Seul paced back and forth in front of Yoongi while raking her brain to make sense out of this. Her first curled up into a fist as she tried to contain her anger inside “YOU MUST TAKE RESPONSIBILITY OF YOUR CARELESS ACTION!” she grinded her teeth together with a dangerous glare at his way.

“Responsibility? What kind of responsibility?” his brows quirked in amusement and soon a devious smirk spread on his face. The tone of his voice was mocking her. Yoongi would never leave her alone, that’s for sure. He had gone through to this length just to ignore his feelings for Seul, yet it came to no avail. It was best to be himself, because after all that was his new year revolution.

“And it is not a careless action” he argued.

“THEN WHY ARE YOU KISSING ME WITHOUT MY PERMISSION? THIS IS NOT THE FIRST TIME! We still haven’t talked about the kiss that you stole from me before?” she was boiling inside, and he could see her cheeks were tainted red.

Yoongi cleared his throat “I don’t have the answers with me right now” the answer got Seul ticked off even more. Rude, Min Yoongi.

“Are you being serious? People don’t kiss just because they feel like it. You are crazy Min Yoongi!” she snorted.

“I swear I don’t have the answers with me right now. I DON’T EVEN KNOW WHY I KISS YOU!” Yoongi defended himself eyeing the younger girl intensely.

Seul had a disbelief look “YOU DON’T EVEN KNOW WHY, AND YOU STILL KISS ME?”

“Need I to remind you... this thing started because of you. You were the one who sexually harassed me first, or can I say in polite way... You kissed me” he rolled his eyes.

“Right, I kissed you because I need to save my ass unlike you. You kissed me for what? Revenge? Or do you have feelings for me?” she rubbed her temple easing the tense on her forehead. To Seul, Min Yoongi is confusing as hell not that she could read through him. He was too mysterious. His blank expression was not helping at all, only add to the pain throbbed on her head.

Flustered Min Yoongi clenched his teeth together getting annoyed over Seul’s little interrogation “If I have feelings for you so what?” he snorted sarcastically.

“IT IS WRONG!”

“WHY IS IT WRONG? You out of all people have no right to question my feelings”

“BECAUSE WE DON’T EVEN KNOW EACH OTHER FOR GOD SAKE. WHY WOULD YOU LIKE SOMEONE LIKE ME AT FIRST PLACE”?

“I didn’t say I like you. I said If I have feelings for you which appear to be none” his words stabbed her heart making her glowered in annoyance. “Then good, because you are annoying me” she flailed her arms to her side with a soft huff.

Yoongi hissed under his sharp breath, letting the anger inside him to subside “Look, we really have to stop meeting like this” he murmured.

“You have to stop kissing me first, then we will stop meeting this way” she sassed.

“I told you I don’t have the answers to why I am kissing you god, why are you so pushy?” Yoongi deadpanned. Watching how persistent Seul was to get the answers to her equations, he did not want to give stupid reply just yet or else everything would turn upside down over night.

“I am not being pushy, I have the right to know. You are kissing the lips that owned by me not by someone else. It is only logical to question your motive. So, tell me Min Yoongi-ssi” Seul straightened her body as she built her confidence to look straight into his eyes “Are you making a move on me because if you do, I will reconsider it. That is if you ask nicely and being bluntly honest to me” she raised her brows waiting for Yoongi’s reply.

This girl really…Why am I getting cornered. Yoongi groaned in frustration.

“I am not making any move on you”

“Then, first explain the kiss” Seul was determined to settle this shit between her and Yoongi. The things had been circulating for months, and his unexplainable actions after the first mistake that she committed only bring more harm to her heart. She no longer wanted to live her life this way.

“Do you want me to kiss you again? Why are you intrigue by the kisses!” Seul clasped her hand over her mouth instantly upon afraid that Yoongi might make any move on her again. She was not ready to feel his lips hovering over hers again. That sinful mouth of his brings more harm than good.

He smirked unknowingly at her reaction, giving him an upper hand to win this mouth battle. Much to his surprise Seul caught up too soon when she fired him back “Just because you are a horrible kisser” she lied. Yoongi is a good kisser even better than her. She just did not want to admit to it because by admitting to her subconscious it simply mean she’s accepting his action.

And, it would be a bad move.

“What a foul mouth for such a tasty lip”

Her eyes rounded with sheer embarrassment. “Tell me or I am going to scream and let everyone know you are trying to take advantage on me” she threatened to cover up her embarrassment.

“You won’t dare”

“Don’t push me” her eyes now meeting his again into an intense staring competition. None of them wanted to back away since it will only taint their egos.

“Then do it” crossing his arm, he kept his gaze on her as she moved backward with a playful smirk before opening her mouth ready to scream. Pinching his eyebrows together, he looked displeased by her determination and he knew Seul would not back down that easily.

Yoongi hated the idea of attracting unnecessary attentions from the members outside considering the stunt he pulled in front of Taehyung and Hoseok moments ago. Seul is a real troublemaker. “SHUT IT BEFORE I KISS YOU AGAIN” scowling angrily, Yoongi made his way to where she stood.

“STAY AWAY OR I SCREAM!”

To her surprise, her empty threat put his stop at halt. Yoongi was standing still holding back his anger as he rubbed his hair making him 100 times sexier than he was.

“Fuck..Fine..You are different, it triggers my curiosity” she tilted her head demanded more answers from him only to receive a death glare from Yoongi. He continued nonetheless “The kiss is not just a kiss. I might.. I repeat, I might feel something else whenever you are around. Ugh fuck, ever since that day I couldn’t get you off my mind. I tried but the thought of you and the kiss that we shared was affecting me” he shoved his hand inside his pocket coolly. It sounded like he was professing his love for Seul, however he did not want to sound desperate and creepy.

A heavy lump on her throat made her breath hitched for a moment, as Seul responded changing the tone of her voice “You might, and it doesn’t mean anything right” she mentally screamed with the possibility of superstar Yoongi fall for her.

He glared “I made it clear earlier. I don’t know” Yoongi blurted out with a hint of annoyance in his voice.

“When will you know?” she chewed her lower lips nervously.

“Stop asking question! I DON’T KNOW”

“THAT IS WHY I AM ASKING DUH”

“This so-called talk is not working. Now, out you go” Yoongi motioned Seul to the door with his hand. Never in his life to feel this affected by a simple girl like Seul. Barely did nothing there only to tease him with her sassiness that equally good as him tainted his ego. Before he succumbed into this rainbow thoughts that he had for Seul, this girl must be push away from him for the time being.

Her dominant side was severe.

For the first time in his life, he was intimidated by a girl.

“Are you chasing me out?” she gasped dramatically.

Yoongi rolled his eyes, “I am so done with your shit” he turned her body facing the door as one of his hand twisted the door knob, lightly pushing the girl outside. Seul almost tripped on her own feet, however Taehyung encircled his arm around her waist swiftly making sure her face would not kiss the ground.

A loud slam from the door behind them made her eyes squeezed tight until Taehyung’s not so angelic voice but still angelic to her ears brought Seul out of her dreamy state “Are you alright? What happen to you and hyung inside?” he asked worriedly.

Seul balanced herself with the help of Taehyung and sighed heavily “I am fine. Thank you. Your hyung is not keen of having people inside his room, doesn’t he?” she chuckled nervously to ease the awkwardness between them.

“Mmm…. I think he can be pretty aggressive when it comes to protecting his personal space”

“Right..” she muttered weakly after using the last ounce of her energy fighting Yoongi, she felt her mouth dried from the dreadful banter she had. Thankfully, she was so close in finishing her task for the day. Seul wanted to leave as soon as possible. The presence of Bangtan’s members in the house were suffocating her. Neither Hoseok nor Taehyung dared to bring up the things that they witnessed earlier which was a good thing.

They should ask Yoongi but not her.

Seul was not in the right mood to digest anymore Min Yoongi issues in her mind.

“Are you sure hyung did nothing to you inside?” another angelic voice almost similar as Taehyung but only this guy had a soothing smile on his face. His smile alone helped to calm down her racing heart.

Seul returned his concern with a warm smile “Thank you Hoseok-ssi. Nothing happen so don’t worry” Hoseok nodded.

“Hoseok” he corrected before continued, “This formality makes me feel uncomfortable. By the way, I still have to thank you for taking care of me last time. Thank you, Seul-ah,” his friendly tone was so welcoming and Seul grew fond of Hoseok’s presence in the room.

“Don’t be, I really hope you feel much better Hoseok. You look pretty worn out that time. Don’t overwork yourself. My mother really flipped out upon hearing the news” Hoseok chuckled gleefully, pressing his lips together showing his gratitude once again. “Oh, can I continue doing my job? I had enough dramas to deal in one day so allow me to complete my job before I leave” she glanced at Taehyung and Hoseok as if seeking for their permission.

Taehyung finally broke his silence “I will do my own laundry so go straight to your last task” he suggested.

“Are you sure? I am paid to tend this job. That is not good idea Taehyung” she found herself calling his name a little too friendly and dropped the formality without she realized. Not to sound overly confident, by the end of the day everyone would make her call them by either their names or ‘oppa’. Therefore, instead of going through the same process all over again she would gladly do it to avoid any problems in the future.

He shook his head frantically with his cute signature smile once again taking her breath away. Why is he so unreal? Seul complimented mentally. She had decided to comply to Taehyung’s words and went straight to clean Jungkook’s room. The maknae shared it with no one but still the room was in huge mess.

Jungkook owned two computers and there is music equipment at one corner filling up the room. A small space for him to sleep had clothes scattered messily on it. Seul made a mental note to place a small laundry bag next time so the youngest of the group could store his dirty clothes inside it. She wondered if he even slept on the bed, it seemed to her Jungkook would be the type of guy whom fell asleep on his chair after some long dreary game sessions. After making sure Jungkook’s game controller were placed neatly on the table, Seul made her way straight to the kitchen.

Jimin told her in advance to not cook today since Jin and Jungkook would come back with groceries. The eldest man in the house insisted to cook them good food today therefore Seul took out the side dishes like kimchis prepared by her mother this morning into their fridge.

Smiling to herself, she was relieved to see everything was in order and squeaky clean. Seul decided to leave since she’s late to work already. Stood in the living room was Jimin with his stupid cute dorky smile, “Are you leaving already?” he whispered almost inaudible, yet she managed to catch it.

“Yes I have to get to work. I will see you around Jimin”

“Seul wait” Jimin pulled out a cute box from his pocket and handed it to her.

Confused, she took it hesitantly “What is this Jimin?”

“A Christmas present, I wanted to give it to you but I didn’t get to meet you..I hope you like it” he exclaimed shyly. Jimin put a lot of thought in purchasing the gift because knowing Seul, she might feel burdened by it. To see her beautiful smile as she admired the presents in her hand made this thing less awkward.

“Thank you.. I don’t know what to say. It is…wow..Thank you Jimin” her cheeks felt hot over this simple gesture by a guy like Jimin. Do not overthink, he is a nice guy. He did this because he feel indebted that I am cleaning their place. She assured herself to not get ahead of herself.

“Your welcome”

Human emotions are funny and can be pretty confusing. In his case, Jimin was unsure of himself. Did he do this to befriend Seul or for his personal gain? What was his personal gain again.

----------------

A day without phone meant the death to Seul. She thought she left it at home even though after a thorough search, it was nowhere to be found. She looked for it everywhere at her home and workplace, well except the boys’ place. Would it be possible that she dropped it there yesterday?

As much as she wanted to check her phone at Bangtan’s place, she feared the boys would be home at this time. Even though by having one of the members contact gave her an advantage, but she could not remember Jin’s number at all. How’s she going to contact him?

Groaning in frustration, Seul rested her chin on the table murmuring unclear protest in process. She screwed up big time. This was as frustrating as the night Mr JK left her hanging with the new year kiss. It had been a month since the incident, yet he’s nowhere to be seen.

She put a false hope on him.

Seul planned to confront him the next day after the incident, however to her dismay he did not show up like he usually does. She waited and waited until the shop was about to close, only to disappoint her even more. Shut it. Her main concern was supposed to be for her lost phone not the lost Mr JK.

The sound of the bell from the main door rung diverted her attention towards the next customer. She stood up getting ready to give a deep bow but instead she’s welcomed by the sight of familiar figure. The infamous Mr JK stood before her in his black sweater, black coated jeans and black snapback completing his fashion along with his signature black mask making him to appear like a fugitive.

Their eyes met, and it rendered her speechless. He lost so much weight in comparison to the last time they saw each other and for an odd reason her heart ached in response upon witnessing this. She had been missing him to be honest, however she tried not to overthink about it since it only pain her.

Jungkook took few slow steps towards Seul not breaking their eye contact, his feelings were raging inside. Day by day he wished to see Seul again just one more time to tell her how much he missed her. As if the world stopped for a moment, Seul found herself was drawn into Jungkook’s intense gaze.

She felt small and was a little conscious over the look that he gave her. Her heart pounded against her chest raging to come out by anytime soon. Within a second, Jungkook was standing in front of her like a perfect sculpture gazing down at her face making her squirm a little due to the intensity. His arms were soon wrapped securely around Seul tugging the shorter girl into his warm embrace.

Her lips agape in wonder, embracing her own thought. Seul small hand found her way to his chest, as she clutched onto it, burying her face in his chest. “I miss you” he murmured lowly. His hand moved up to her torso then, holding her in place at the waist as he took a moment to enjoy holding Seul in his arms.

Her eyes were brimming with tears, and it gave her a roller coaster feeling. Yes, she missed him. Yes, she was mad at him for leaving her just like that. Yes, she was happy to see him again. Yes, she was confused of herself.

How’s she going to survive 2017 if she failed to sort her own feelings?

Jungkook pulled away after a moment, running one of his hand to give a soft caress on her fluffy cheeks “I am sorry for disappearing. I should have come sooner. I was too caught up with my job, I couldn’t find time to see you” he confessed.

“Why..are you doing this to me. You left me without any words. Do you think that is funny” she gulped the heavy lump on her throats as she was aching to bawl her eyes out this instant.

“I really wanted to see you Seul, I am sorry for leaving you without any word. That night was overwhelming I pondered upon it hard these past few weeks. I started to question us” his whispers were genuine giving some sort of conformity to Seul.

Seul blinked her tears away, looking straight into Jungkook’s eyes “You cant just barge into someone’s life, make them feel special and then leave” she looked as if she would cry, shaking her head again as her lips quivered piteously.

Jungkook looked on her tears with eyes full of regret, he had hurt his woman, and this was not right the thing to do when it was started to fall to its own place. He glanced around the store making sure there was no one there since it was almost 2 in the morning, luck was on his side. There was another part time worker with her, to their sheer luck he was cleaning the kitchen behind leaving only the two of them there.

“I am not barging into your life just to make you feel special and then leave Seul. You are special and important to me. I want to make things real between us” he exclaimed while one of his free hand loosening the mask covering his face.

His determination really got him, and this was the perfect time to reveal himself to Seul. If he’s planning to take this thing to the next level, firstly he must unravel the secrets and started sharing it with her. This girl deserved the truth.

Daringly, he leaned forward, left hand stroking her cheeks lovingly as he finally pulled down his mask revealing his face to Seul. Her mind froze as soon as her eyes landed on Jungkook’s face trying to decipher the image once again. She could not bring herself to say this aloud even though she was confident it was the same person that she assumed it to be. Even without his makeup, she remembers the details on his face. From that perfect jawline aligned beautifully along with the scars near his cheekbone was the real evident to feed off her curiosity.

“Jungk-“ Jungkook didn’t need further encouragement as he reached for her face, caressing his thumbs over her pouty bottom lips, before locking her lips with his. Seul’s grip tightened on his shirt, allowing herself to melt into his kiss.

His tongue probing and stroking her inner warmth dizzying Seul. The kiss with Jungkook has always been so intense as if he’s pouring his heart and soul into it. Even though after learning the truth Mr JK was Jungkook all along, she couldn’t help but wonder how an introvert guy like him had the courage to make a move on a stranger especially a woman this way. He stepped out from his comfort zone just to convey his feelings.

Jungkook gentled his mouth, softly nuzzling her lips before finally pulling away. She stroked his neck, breathing softly against his lips as she opened her eyes once again meeting his sparkling gaze. Seul would never be tired staring into that innocent doe eyes.

“I am Jeon Jungkook, nice to meet you” his soft chuckle was adorable.

Seul still couldn’t believe that Mr JK is the Bangtan Sonyeondan’s Jungkook. Now that really messed up. Technically, she had a short so-called fling with one of his members, would it be bad to kiss two best friends at one time though she was still unclear with her own feeling for any of these guys?

“Jungkook…I think we need to talk” she threw him a worried glance caused the latter to shift uncomfortably. He despised that look, it meant he was about to get rejected. That was the sole reason why he was hesitated to reveal himself to Seul. He did not want to push her away from him. Due to his glamorous life, some people in his life included his best friend started to drift away from him because of his fans. Some fans could be a little too possessive making it hard for him to appear in one photo with his friends without hurting the other party.

Therefore, it was rare to see him being photographed with others other than his members. Jungkook would only appear in a group photo and in rare occasion he would post his personal selfie for the fans. Other than that, he lived his life under the radar.

“Jungkook…Seul…” the familiar voice caught them off the guard shifting their attention toward the individual who had a solemn face at the door step.

“Jimin hyung…” averting his gaze from meeting Seul, Jimin felt the anger bubbled up inside of him. Rather than anger, he would call it as jealousy. Seul face hardened as she cursed in her head not liking this thing a bit. Crossing her fingers, she hoped nothing bad happened today.

“How long have you been standing there?”

Jimin scoffed as a sign of disapproval “Long enough to witness your romantic adventure” the tone of his voice confused the latter.

“Hyung.. do you know Seul?”

His eyes fell on silent Seul, as he strutted slowly to their direction “She is our caretaker, Jungkook. Does Ji Seul even rings a bell in your head” Seul did not dare to look at Jimin knowing his nasty glare was basically ripping her sanity, full of hatred and anger.

Jungkook gasped “WHAT? SHE IS OUR CARETAKER?” his pitch raised an octave higher. “How can I not know this?” he mumbled to himself registering the information that he heard.

“Of course you don’t. She is sly as fuck. Alluring everyone into her own little world, making us liking her one by one” her head snapped, looking at Jimin with a disbelief look. His accusations were contradicting to his action toward her previously.

How can someone change so drastically?

What change him?

Bewildered Jungkook was alarmed by Jimin’s choice of words. The hyung that he knew would never use inappropriate words unless something ticked him off. In this situation, he did not know why Seul’s presence angered the older guy.

“The lips that you just kissed was the same lips that kissed Yoongi hyung” Jungkook face contorted in pain, everything that he heard today overwhelmed him.

Jungkook croaked softly “Hyung…what is this all about” he inquired.

“I heard from Tae and Hobi hyung. Yoongi hyung and Seul have kissed before and apparently it isn’t their first time” Seul felt tears in her eyes. What did she get herself into? The soft and sweet Jimin was no longer there.

“So Jungkook tell me, will you let yourself being fooled by a bitch like her”

“HYUNG! DON’T SAY THAT! She doesn’t even know my name and face until today! I made the move on her first”

“Does she not know you? Really Ji Seul?” Jimin chuckled bitterly.

“If I had known it is Jungkook, I would never get involved with him” Jungkook heart was stabbed by her words though he knew she didn’t mean it. She was hurting. It was crystal clear.

“All you woman says the same thing. Lies after lies”

“Tell me what do you want me to do Park Jimin! I don’t want to be dragged into your stupid world, I am doing this for my mother. My crappy luck brought me to you guys and it never stop since then. I wish for once everything works normally just the way it used to be. I live a decent life before all of you come into the picture. I made it clear that I wanted this relationship to be strictly professional. But you guys were pushing me to the edge leaving me no choice” her tears slipped. Jungkook watched her with a heavy heart and his urged to pull Seul into a hug topped his loyalty for Jimin.

“I learned to accept all of you. I made new friends from this, Jin is a good friend so does Namjoon. Yoongi is confusing but it never dawns on me to plot any mischievous plan to seduce him. I enjoyed Jungkook’s company because for once I have someone real to talk to instead of my family and best friend. I may not know Taehyung and Hoseok that well, but they make me feel welcomed and appreciated. And you Jimin…I thought we could be friend…Guess I am wrong” she choked on her own tears, tearing Jimin’s heart apart.

What have I done. Jimin clenched his fist.

“Seul…” Jungkook was about to utter something but was cut off by new presence in the room.

“You fucking screwed this up Park Jimin” Seul mustered her strength to look up searching for the source of the voice. Jungkook and Jimin followed her gaze to the welcoming sight few metres of them.

The squad is here. All of them.

Yoongi’s eyes flared up in anger, and his expression was unexplainable. Obviously, he was displeased to see his girl got hurt. Now, he’s referring her as his girl, this need an explanation. Stood beside him was calm Namjoon and Jin, throwing their sympathy glance at Seul. Not to mention, when their eyes collided with Jimin it turned into a hyena glare making the younger guy to shrink in fear and guilt.

On the other side was Taehyung with an unamused face, shaking his head mentally judging his best friend for taking such rash decision. He was not supposed to tell him about the kisses, he did not expect Jimin would act thing crazy.

To answer that question, the only possibility would be Jimin had a feeling for her.If that is the case, his action was an act of jealously.

“What are you guys doing here…” Seul grumbled.

Hoseok retorted “We heard everything. We are here to clear up the mess”

“And this is will be a long night. Pack up, you are coming with us” the leader ordered with a stern voice.

#btscaretaker #bts fluff #bts romance #bts fanfiction #bts fanfic #btsfanfic #jungkook x oc #yoongi x oc #jimin x oc #taehyung x oc #jhope x oc #bts x oc #yoongi fluff #jungkook romance #jungkook fluff #bts idolau

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yehet-me-up · 3 years

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*busts through the door like I'm the Kool-Aid man* BONJOUR FUCKERS I'M BACK!!! It is I, the Theatrical Gay Anon™! I hope you're ready to endure my endless babbling for a bit cuz I've got lots to say holy shit. Consider this part 1 of like, 1000 cuz I think Tumblr got rid of the submissions feature. I apologize in advance for the spam hehe.

Okay, with that out of the way. Ms. Yehet-Me-Up, may I call you Sarah? Sarah, what the fuck!? I can't even rn. I I give you a simple suggestion, no expectations behind it. I say "Hey, don't you think it'd be cool if Zitao was in the Exodus Mall universe?" to which you said "Yeah, that'd be neat, I might do that. Perhaps make him work at an Irish pub or something" and then I flip out with gratitude and excitement thinking you're gonna do like, a DRABBLE. 500 words at MOST -Theatrical Gay Anon

Imagine my SHOCK, my STUPEFACTION, upon realizing that you wrote OVER TEN THOUSAND WORDS about Huang Zitao aka the wind beneath my wings, the rain to my drought, the corny joke to my Junmyeon. And not only that! But you did this A MONTH AGO. I could've been reading this for so long and I had no idea! How foolish am I? I can't believe you wrote all of this based off of a silly little suggestion I made. I feel like bowing over how not worthy I am Wayne's World style -Theatrical Gay Anon

NOW IN REGARDS TO THE CONTENT OF THIS MASTERPIECE OH MY GOD WHERE DO I EVEN BEGIN!? I am floored by your preeminence. First things first, the title? Perfect. Full disclosure, I suck at titles. I've been writing for over a decade now and I'm still shit with titles. It's so hard to come up with just a few words to encapsulate everything you wrote but you do it SO WELL. The moodboard? Amazing. I've always loved that picture of Zitao and it fits so well with the pub setting -Theatrical Gay Anon

I'm afraid you've written "Fractions of Tomorrow" so well that I don't see there being a need for anyone to write anything else...ever. Stories? CANCELED. Poetry? CANCELED. Biographies? CANCELED. It's all over folks. Sarah has written The Best Thing Ever. We've peaked as a society. After I finish writing these asks I'm gonna become a hermit in the woods and make friends with all of the woodland creatures that inhabit it. -Theatrical Gay Anon

But seriously though, I love absolutely everything about this story. As a Zitao fan, I'm used to getting breadcrumbs. Not a lot of ppl write fics about him. I can count on one hand how many long fics of his you can find on Tumblr. But THIS?? This was no breadcrumb, this was a whole fucking bakery. And it all appeals to me so much oh my god? The sappiness of it all, the flowery prose, the rebellious rejection of cynicism, it's all so beautiful I want to marry it. -Theatrical Gay Anon

If I discussed all of the sentences in this fic that made me giggle with joy and kick my feet around I'd be here all day so keep in mind this is just a FRACTION of the ones I loved but I couldn't go without mentioning at least some of them so here we go. "It’s not his first time here, but it’s his first time paying attention" SHUT UP this line is go good it's so simple yet so nuanced I adore it. Seriously, why hasn't anyone hired you to write a screenplay? -Theatrical Gay Anon

"He wonders if you ironed the collar of your shirt to be that precise or if you simply move through the world without acquiring any wrinkles" God, this line is so CUTE it's DISGUSTING he's fond of the reader's un-wrinkled clothes that's such a specific thing to like and is totally the type of thing I've done with the ppl I've crushed on throughout my life. -Theatrical Gay Anon

"‘Zitao,’ he says finally. ‘Cute.’ You say" this is such a little thing but I love that you included his full name in this. I love his full name so much it sounds really pretty. Whenever I hear him refer to himself as "Huang Zitao" in interviews my heart soars. Hearing him speak Mandarin in general is a delight as well. It's an audibly gorgeous language and any racist who says otherwise can EAT MY ENTIRE ASS -Theatrical Gay Anon

"For someone who’s been in love for as long as you can remember she fights awfully hard against Baekhyun’s romantic nature" DEAR GOD I LOVE THESE TWO! I love these movie loving lovesick fools. I love that everyone in the world knows they love each other except them. I love seeing bits and pieces of their story throughout this written universe. I can't wait to see it all come together in Baekhyun's Exodus Mall fic. It's gonna be GLORIOUS -Theatrical Gay Anon

Also! I know you enjoyed my song recs that I thought fit perfectly with All Our Broken Places so here are some for when the Baek x Hitchcock fic drops. I know it's not done yet but I just *know* what it's gonna be like I can feel it in my bones. "Sidekick" by Walk the Moon and "Tongue Tied" by Grouplove. As for Fractions of Tomorrow I knew right away what songs I'd pick. "Dreams" by The Cranberries, "Jumpstarted" by Jukebox the Ghost and "Don't Stop Believing" by Journey -Theatrical Gay Anon

Gosh, this fic filled me with so much energy and joy I feel like a toddler on caffeine. But I really should sleep now though. It's gotten so late that I can see the sunrise peaking up sdksdksl. I'll see ya soon! I will be spamming you with more compliments about this fic once I wake up though! - Theatrical Gay Anon

Hi! I'm back. Okay, now where was I? Oh yeah, I was talking about some of my favorite lines from the story. "‘Hey man, how’s it going?’ Baekhyun reaches out and does a complex handshake with the man before you. ‘Oh, you know. Just working at the salt mines,’ Tao says with a laugh." I LOVE that you made Baek the one Zitao was close with. I miss the beef brothers so much. I'll never forgive SM for what they did to OT12. They were all such good friends 😔 -Theatrical Gay Anon

"‘I’m not sure.’ For a flash Tao’s eyes linger on you once more. ‘I think it would depend on the person.’ And then the bastard goes and winks at you." GOD, HE WOULD DO SOMETHING LIKE THIS! HE'S SUCH A SHAMELESS FLIRT I HATE HIM *narrator voice* This was of course a huge a lie, he in fact loved Zitao immensely -Theatrical Gay Anon

"‘Sweetheart, I’m everyone’s type.’" You've captured Zitao's unlimited confidence so well and that makes me really happy. It's one of my favorite things about him. The man truly loves himself and I think that's awesome -Theatrical Gay Anon

"Tao looks at you through his lashes, bending close enough that you can feel his breath on your lips when he speaks. ‘Words are just the appetizer, darling. I prefer to have an entire feast.’ 'Any other questions or can I grab your orders?’" ASDKDSDSL SO YOU'RE JUST GONNA SAY THAT PANTY DROPPER LINE AND GO BACK TO BUSINESS AS USUAL ZITAO???? HUH??? IS THAT WHAT WE'RE GONNA DO??? -Theatrical Gay Anon

"‘Oh, nothing.’ He looks like the cat that caught the canary. ‘I just love being right.’" Something I love about EXO fic writers (myself included lol) is that despite all of the different ways they'll write the other members, there is one member who is always written the same and that's Baekhyun. He will always be written as a cheeky little shit cuz he *is* a cheeky little shit. That's just who he is. Messing with ppl is a favorite past time of his. -Theatrical Gay Anon

"'So, love, huh? There’s not some girlfriend or boyfriend of yours waiting for you at home?’" Thank you for not being heteronormative with the "are you dating someone?" convo. I know it might not seem like much but I really appreciate it. -Theatrical Gay Anon

"The beginning of love is always a lightning bolt. If that’s all it ever is you never have to deal with being knocked on your ass by the resulting thunderstorm" OOF, this one got me. So very true. The beginning of love is so scary! -Theatrical Gay Anon

"I could argue that anarchy still is love. Love of your beliefs and love of a person or a place or a thing so much that you’re willing to fight for it" OKAY BUT PASSIONATE LEATHER JACKET WEARING ANARCHIST ZITAO IN A ROCK BAND IS SUCH AN ATTRACTIVE CONCEPT!!! There's nothing sexier than a bad boi that will hate capitalism with you! He'd probably be the one to give ppl rides to protests and stuff I LOVE IT -Theatrical Gay Anon

"If we say love is a feeling, who’s to say that we aren’t in love? If we decide it’s an action then which one is it? A kiss or a commitment or - maybe it’s nothing more complicated than putting words to the way I feel when you look at me?" Listen I don't mean to be dramatic or anything (wait, who am I kidding? I'm literally the Theatrical Gay Anon being dramatic is like my Thing) but if a guy ever said that to me my trans boi pussy would be open for business IMMEDIATELY

Alright, so, uh Final Thoughts. This may be my new favorite work of yours, and no it's not just cuz it's got my ultimate bias in it lmao. This year has been so shitty and it's made my depression + anxiety reach the highest possible levels but reading this, this love story filled with hope and certainty despite not knowing what the future will hold for them, made this year seem easier to cope with. Thank you so much for making this, it means the world to me. -Theatrical Gay Anon

ALRIGHT, LAST ASK AND THEN I'LL SHUT UP I PROMISE but I personally headcanon that Double Shot + Zitao stayed together till the very end. They didn't get married cuz they hate formalities but they got matching tattoos and even when they're old and grey you can still them clear as day on their wrists. When they're asked how they met no one believes their answer lol. And when Double Shot died of old age before Zitao he would sing her favorite song by her grave every Saturday -Theatrical Gay Anon

OKAY SO I know I said I was done and I know I've already sent in like, 30 bajillion asks but I'm curious does Yifan or Luhan also work at the Irish pub?? Or do they work somewhere else in the mall? Inquiring minds want to know -Theatrical Gay Anon

When I tell you this made my entire month (when you sent it weeks ago, I’ve been hanging onto these because they seriously bring me SO much joy holy crap) I am not remotely kidding j;oaisjdflkasdjfa

I am absolutely going to put on these song recs while I work on the next chapter!

a;osdfjlaksdfjasl the fact that you stayed up late to read this warms my heart so much. It reminds me of all the times I stayed up til the ass crack of dawn reading fanfics because I simply could NOT stop reading, so the fact that you enjoyed this like that makes me helllllaaaa emo 🥰

I just??? 2020 was indeed such a long year and affected my energy and creativity and honestly don’t really remember writing this hahaha. I kind of go into a fugue state with these longer fics and they just EMERGE. So to see you reflecting back some of what I wrote allows me to enjoy the process so much more. Makes writing and tumblr fun and I seriously wish everyone writing and creating could have someone as passionate and thoughtful and hilarious as you hyping them up 🌟 it honestly feels like a GIFT and I will absolutely keep writing this series and hoping to be worthy of it 😘

We will definitely get to see more of these two in the finale fic! I got into EXO after Tao, Yifan, and Luhan left so I’m not quite as familar with their personalities, but I could definitely see Yifan working at the US Bank haha. Business suit by day and partying/flirting by night. As for Luhan I feel like he’d work somewhere like the bookstore or the music store?? somewhere quieter and more contemplative.

Thank you again for sending this and for being you <3 I hope 2021 is a wonderful year for you and that you know how AMAZING you are 💖💖💖💖💖

#asks #theatrical gay anon

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circe-poetica · 4 years

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Dawn Bodrogi:5 Misconceptions in Synastry

Sometimes I think that astrology is one giant game of telephone that stretches from the past to the present. We think we hear what’s being said, but the messages get garbled along the way, until we no longer know what the meaning is. Sometimes what is being said is no longer relevant. Sometimes we lose important bits of information along the way. These days, the internet has a very loud voice, and bad information is often taken as blind truth. Sometimes, in our quest for instant answers, we ignore the subtlety of interpretation that was once demanded of anyone who practiced astrology and seriously studied synastry

. We like things in black and white, but the truth tends to lie in the shades of gray.

Here, for better or worse, are some of the most common misconceptions that float around relationship astrology, in no particular order:

Misconception #1: The ‘Other’ Is Always Represented by the Seventh House

People are always surprised to learn that there are other houses that are concerned with partnership and the way we exchange energy with others. We’re all guilty of it—we find someone we fall for, and we immediately look to the Seventh House for answers. They’re our soul mate, right? The one who will deliver us from our own shadow. Well, no, not always. Liz Greene has famously said that it’s a Seventh House relationship when two people are arguing about who takes out the garbage. She meant it tongue in cheek (I think) and I wouldn’t go that far, but a Seventh House partnership is a committed partnership. We don’t go around messing with people’s shadows for nothing. If a relationship is not ‘serious,’ if one or the other partners is not committed to it, you must also look at the Fifth House.

We need to rethink the Fifth House as a partnership house. We tend to think of it these days as creative expression, or personal expression, and ignore the sexual connotations of that Leonine area. The king is there to spread his seed, and we all spread the seeds of ourselves in the Fifth. The Fifth House is where we learn how to partner, and we learn how to play. We have fun. We take chances (the Fifth House also rules gambling). We want to test ourselves, to see how far we can go. A packed Fifth House can indicate someone who is more inclined to just have fun in relationships. The Fifth House is where we kick up our heels after being doused in the emotional Fourth House, and often conflicts between the Fourth and Fifth Houses in a chart show conflicts between settling down and having a good time. (This also has to do with the primary conflict inherent in the relationship between the Moon [Fourth House] and the Sun [Fifth House].)

Women tend to dive into the Seventh House more readily, are often more ready to face the shadow and are much more knowledgeable about what that entails. (This has to do with the esoteric meanings of Aries and Libra—we’ll get into that some other day.) But if, as they say, he’s not that into you, you need to explore his Fifth House thoroughly and see if there are any conflicts between the Fifth House and his Seventh or Eighth. If there are, he may be more inclined to play than to commit.

A Seventh House relationship is more about give-and-take. It’s often the case where one partner’s Seventh is activated by the chart comparison and the other’s is not—one is ripe for commitment and the other is just passing through. If his Seventh is stimulated and he is still avoiding you, he may not be ready to face the depth of the integration of that Seventh House. Not yet, anyway. If the ruler of the Fifth House plays a dominant part in his chart and is not tied to relationship planets, he may be less the marrying kind than you think. The Eleventh House, opposite the Fifth, is also involved. If the Eleventh House is very active in his chart, he may be less the fiery visionary you imagine by your side, and more the kind that likes to keep things on a friendship level.

Misconception #2: Beware of Hard Aspects

[ad]We’ve all been guilty of this. Certainly all of us do it when we first begin astrology. (And I’m willing to bet that 90 percent of us got involved with astrology because we wanted to find out about a relationship.) We find the chart of our loved one, compare it to ours, and thrill with every conjunction, trine, or sextile (if we’re desperate) that we find there. It’s Kismet, certainly. It’s fated bliss.

Well, surprise, folks. A conjunction is considered a hard aspect. And sometimes they’re not pretty. Sometimes they’re wild and unpredictable and conflicted, tiny little volcanoes waiting to explode and do a lot of damage. They’re impulsive and a bit willful, much like Aries, and, far from blending peacefully, they can like a good fight. It depends on the planets involved. Sure, a Sun/Moon or Moon/Venus conjunction may roll along nicely, but that Mars/Pluto or even Mercury/Saturn may really trip up a relationship. You can’t assume a conjunction will always work smoothly. But it will always be strong. It will provide stimulation, which we all need in order to grow within a relationship.

Like human beings, relationships need fuel for the fire. We’re taught to believe that if all else is compatible (whatever that may mean in astrological terms), then all we need is a good dose of Saturn ‘glue’ to keep us together. Not so. Of course, Saturn is good for a relationship, it gives us something to work towards, something to learn together. But a lot of times we aren’t ready for Saturn; we haven’t got to the point in our own lives where we can use him constructively yet (usually after the first Saturn return). What then?

That’s when our hard aspects kick in. Hard aspects between charts provide the stimulus for growth between two people. They cause us to challenge our assumptions, and see the world (and our planets) in new ways. When we’re younger, we assume that everyone is like us (or our families); once we get into our mid- to late-twenties, we learn that isn’t true and we want to see what else is out there. Hard aspects between charts push us to open our eyes and our heart. Hard aspects from another’s chart to Mercury will shake up our assumptions and thought patterns. Hard aspects to Venus teach us lessons about how we express love and whether or not that love is communicated in a way the other person understands. This stimulation might be uncomfortable, but it’s always compelling.

An overabundance of trines, sextiles, and easy conjunctions will leave a relationship with nowhere to go. Boredom, complacency, and taking one another for granted are usually the result. Keep those squares, oppositions, and sesquiquadrates (135 degrees) coming.

Misconception #3: Good Venus/Mars Connections Tell Us Everything We Need to Know About Our Sex Lives

Surprise again, but Venus/Mars is not the “be all and end all” of sex, and their position in the charts is not as crucial as some think. First of all, it’s not the hottest aspect. I think I’d take Moon/Mars over Venus/Mars anytime, or Mars/Pluto if you like a little danger. Even Saturn is sexier sometimes (at least at first) when he really desires something and masquerades as his younger self. (The Moon represents need in our charts, but Saturn is about how we get those needs fulfilled in the real world. If Saturn needs you for some reason it will move hell and high water to get to you.)

Our Venus explains the way we express and receive love. It represents what we value. Mars is about action, how we do things in the world, how we go about getting what Venus desires. Venus is receptive and Mars aggressive. When the two are in sync, by sign or element, this inward and outward flow is very peaceful. The waters are calm. I want you, you want me, you love me in a way I understand. It’s all very pleasant—but it isn’t going to overcome so-called ‘issues’ in the chart.

Like, even though my emotionally possessive Venus in Cancer is in sync with your sensitive Mars in Cancer, I may have a Mars/Uranus conjunction in my natal chart that makes me feel strangled if I’m held too tightly. Or, we have a Venus/Mars trine, but he has Pluto on the Descendant with Mars squaring and may not realize, yet, that he can’t be comfortable in a relationship unless he’s calling all the shots, in bed and otherwise. The most important thing we need to do in synastry is analyze the individual charts first for their capacity for love and caring exchange. If there are problems with sexual relating within the natal chart, especially with problematic Eighth House issues, no positive Venus/Mars aspect will be able to transcend this difficulty in the long term.

Misconception #4: Composite Charts Tell Us How We Relate to One Another

This is wrong from the get-go. Composite charts are not about the exchange of energy between us. They’re about the energy, the aura, the charisma that we give off together. This is very subtle territory. A composite chart is not about what happens when your Pluto sits on my Moon and makes me cry. A composite chart will show us a different dynamic.

If we have a Moon/Pluto conjunction in our composite chart, our feelings together will be intense and transformative, and have a great effect on the house that the conjunction falls in. How we use our emotional drive as a couple will be of concern. If it’s in our Fifth House in the composite, we may be passionate about our children. If it’s in the Tenth House, our work and our status in the world will be important to us, and together we may be emotionally driven to accomplish. In the Eighth, our primary emotional focus may be via our sex life. But the way I treat you and you treat me is for the inter-aspects alone. Also, you cannot have a composite chart unless you have a real relationship. You can draw one up, of course, but it only exists in the world of potential, of what might be.

Misconception #5: All Planets Are Equal

Early on in our astrological learning, we compare charts via lists of aspects—endless lists that mark every sesquiquadrate and semi-sextile to every planet, asteroid, and point between the charts. We see a quality in the relationship and use these remote connections to back up our theories, even though we may not fully know what these aspects mean. But in the end, all we end up doing is confusing ourselves. It’s hard to see through the astrological forest, and we lose our way.

It’s important to prioritize the planets, to give them weighting. Those are the ones that are most likely to raise their heads in a relationship. The Sun and Moon are always important. So are angle rulers. So is the dispositor of the Sun. Venus, Mars, Saturn—what’s happening with them? If the basic relationship planets are not connecting, no aspect of Mercury/Jupiter or Vertex/Chiron is going to matter. Also, some planets are not important within a chart.

Your planets might have a dozen contacts with my Pluto, but if Pluto is not a very active planet in my chart, it won’t matter much. Oh, sure there may be intensity, but if my journey is not basically a Plutonian one, I may not perceive that I need your energy in my life. One-sided relationships often occur with this dynamic. If I’m a Plutonian and your chart excites my Pluto in a number of ways, I may crave our contact, but the non-Plutonian may want to shake me off as soon as possible. This dynamic often occurs with all three of the outer planets.

Synastry studies can yield great insight into your relationships—if you know where to look. Don’t fall prey to these common misconceptions about relationship astrology. Instead, consider all the important information, and open your eyes to the bigger picture, for a deeper understanding of yourself and your relationships.

#synastry #misconceptions #astrology #relationships #dawn bodrogi

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whenimaunicorn · 5 years

Text

Playing House - Part 3.1

I am working more slowly than I used to, so I decided to split the planned chapter to appease someone’s thirst *cough* @equalstrashflavoredtrash *cough*

Previous installments here - the Reader is living with Ivar and Ubbe for free, in exchange for doing all the chores. She’s a kinky little girl who’s sincerely hoping one of them will take advantage of the scenario in more interesting ways…

Here’s more burning burn, now with actual physical contact not through a beer bottle!

It’s time. It’s not like you to take the initiative in these things, but after that little scene in the garden, you just can’t play the waiting game any longer. Ivar and Ubbe have been treating you with nothing but respect, sticking to the terms of your agreement, and all it’s done is make you ache for someone to finally take advantage of you.

Neither of them is going to cross the line unless you give a clearer signal. You’re sure of that now. Everyone has retreated to their own rooms for the evening, and while you’re longing for Ivar to burst into your room and continue the scene he started out in the garden, he’s been acting like nothing happened since Ubbe came home and you can’t bear to just wait for the stars to align again.

But, Ivar gave you the means for signaling you wanted to play, didn’t he? Right after you moved in. The French maid dress still hangs in a position of honor in your closet. You’re gazing at it now, while your skin still tingles at the memory of Ivar holding your hip while pressing his icy-cold bottle between your thighs. Imagining the weighty gaze he’d give you if you walked into his room wearing this, now. There’s no way things wouldn’t escalate.

Your limbs begin to tremble with anticipation as you strip off your shorts and shirt. You find black lacey underwear that match the style of the dress in your drawer, and your breath seems to be coming a little fast as you change into the lingerie. Your body already feels different as you stride across the room from dresser to closet. You’re floating, sailing, and you pause for just a moment as you catch sight of yourself in your full-length mirror. You look good. You strike a pose like an underwear model, making yourself giggle. Just wait until Ivar gets a load of this.

The maid costume is smooth and silky against your skin. Ivar did not buy something cheap. It’s comfortable; even the stiff taffeta of the petticoat has no scratchy seams, and the constriction of its tight waist feels erotic. The skirt barely reaches the middle of your thighs, but that just means the view is going to be pornographic when you bend over… you step to the mirror to check.

Bending at the waist, imagining you’re leaning down to pick up an errant sock, you take a look at the long line of your legs. The skirt puffs up, framing your ass in white ruffled fluff, exposing the strip of black lingerie between. Perfect.

It’s not like you haven’t thought about doing this earlier. You even had gone so far as to buy matching stockings for the outfit, white thigh-highs that are actually loose enough around the top to stay up without pinching, and a garter belt in case they didn’t.

You weren’t certain about the garter belt, but now that you have the dress on you see that it completes the look. You fumble with all the straps and fasteners until you finally get it set right. You wonder if Ivar has already gone to sleep in all the time it’s taking you to get your plan set up, but you’re committed now. This is happening.

The heels that match the dress are higher than you would wear to go out, but perfect for slow, sultry steps around the house. You hear movement through the wall to Ivar’s room, so you know he’s up. A flush of nerves paralyzes you for a moment. Are you really going to do this? How will Ivar react to the sight of you opening his door, dressed like this?

You’re not sure if you can bear to even imagine making eye contact with him. What if he’s annoyed at the intrusion? What if you read everything wrong, and he’s only weirded out by your attempt to roleplay? What if—oh fuck, what if you roll your ankle in these heels, what if you try to say something sultry about “room service” and stumble over your words instead…

But what if his jaw drops open. What if his eyes burn in that way that only Ivar has, what if a sultry smile spreads over his face and he starts giving you orders. Inventive, increasingly-explicit orders. Your body starts to tingle in the good way again.

You move close to the mirror, inspecting your face. Your lips are especially flush and full already, just from the anticipation. You decide you don’t even need more makeup. You feel beautiful, and hope that Ivar will see you the same way.

Your heart pounds when you step to the door, finally ready to make your move. Your plan is to grab a bucket and a rag, step into Ivar’s room, and declare your intention to clean. Then, just see what happens next. How could he not try something when you’re dressed like this, bent over just inches away from him.

The click of your doorknob sounds loud as you step out into the hallway. For some reason you’re petrified that Ivar will exit his room at the same time, and catch sight of you before you’ve begun your little act. You slip across the hall to the bathroom to grab the cleaning supplies.

When you come back out into the hallway, Ubbe is there, on his way from the kitchen to his bedroom. He stops short at the sight of you, wide eyes traveling up and down your costumed body. He purrs your name with a note of wonder in his voice.

“Ubbe,” you nod, feeling a little bit awkward, and delightfully exposed, under his gaze.

The bag of chips in his hand makes a loud crinkling sound as he tightens his grip. “Doing some cleaning?”

You look down, spreading out the frilly hem of your skirt a little. “That is what the uniform is for.”

“Is it.” He leans in toward you, body straightening and relaxing both at once.

Ubbe’s eyes are gleaming but it was Ivar’s hands that had worked you up to this moment; Ivar’s devious mind, Ivar’s boldness. You find that you don’t want his handsome older brother to derail you. “Yes, I was just going to go work in Ivar’s bedroom.”

Disappointment definitely touches Ubbe’s eyes. “Oh.”

You can’t resist the urge to tease as you slide past him in the narrow hallway. “Maybe I’ll come do yours next.”

You’re close enough to just about feel the rumble in Ubbe’s chest as he makes an agreeable noise. “Or you could come now.” He takes one backwards step, toward his own room.

It’s tempting. But not as tempting as the cool command you saw in Ivar’s eyes in the garden. Ubbe’s probably capable of ordering you around the way you like, but Ivar’s the one who’s shown you dominance. You’re sticking to the original plan. “I’ve been around you guys long enough to know how things work,” you say, shaking your head while you smile. “Ivar always gets what he wants.” You reach beside you for the door handle, knowing Ubbe’s just going to stand there, keep trying, until you make a dramatic exit. So much for pulling your poise together privately before knocking on Ivar’s door.

The latch clicks, and with just a little push the door falls inward. You hope your silhouette in the door looks dramatic enough. You turn away from Ubbe and find that you can’t spare him another thought.

Ivar is sitting at his computer desk. The dim lighting casts dramatic shadows on his sharp jaw and hooded eyes. His white undershirt clings to the muscles of his chest. “What was that about?” he asks before turning his head, evidently having heard at least the last part of the conversation outside his door. When he does look up, the last syllable of the question dies on his tongue. He gazes up at you, all pretense fading out of his face as his eyes widen and fill with appreciation. He doesn’t smirk, doesn’t look you up and down like Ubbe did. He seems to lose all awareness of himself at all, focusing in only on the sight before him.

You step inside with dainty, spike-heeled steps clicking on the wood floor. You shut the door behind you. “Housekeeping,” you smirk. You set the water-filled bucket down beside the wall, bending your knees with a coy little twist to your body. “Just here to do my job.”

Now a masculine sort of smile starts spreading over Ivar’s face, and his eyes drift a little over your form as he recovers himself. “Very good.” He tears his gaze from you just before the silence gets awkward, looking at the mess around the room. “I have been letting things get neglected.”

Something about his words flushes your face as you move to pick up the little piles of discarded pants and socks. You move slowly, bending gracefully, coyly, and fling a few things into the laundry basket before daring to glance over your shoulder to see his reaction.

He’s not even looking at you. His face is turned back to his computer screen. Your heart sinks. Then you hear the music change, to something with a deeper, slow beat. Something much sexier. The next time you glance up at Ivar his eyes are riveted, tearing from the back of your legs to your face as you turn. “Do you like wearing this uniform?” His words are slow, strong, deliberate. Like the way he had talked to you outside.

You have to swallow before you can speak. “Yes, Ivar.”

Satisfaction spreads across his face at your submissive tone. His eyes follow the lines of your little white apron.

“Do… do you like me wearing it?”

His smile is rich, slow, gloating. “Yes. It’s even better than I imagined.”

Warmth spreads through your chest. Ivar was imagining you in this outfit. What else had he been dreaming of? You smooth your hand along your waist, down the short length of the skirt. Hoping to entice him to reach out to you. “It’s so silky, too. Feels wonderful.”

His hand moves a few inches, then he curls his fingers in, retracting it. “The laundry basket is full. Will you take it out?”

You’re not sure if it’s an order or a question, his voice was soft and dreamy as the look on his face. “Of course.”

You turn to the basket, making sure your hips are aimed squarely at Ivar as you bend at the waist to pick it up. You know from your experiment with the mirror just exactly what kind of view he’s getting. Was that a soft groan that you heard behind you?

The basket is pretty heavy. It’s a little awkward to manage it on the spike heels you’re rocking, but you get it up in two hands, turning to face him and move toward the door.

Ivar has recovered his poise again, face looking mischievous now. “Wait, one more.” He crosses his arms at the waist and pulls up the hem of his little white tee. The tip of his tongue protruding between full lips, he whips the shirt off over his head in one smooth motion. A few long strands come loose from his hair-tie with it, drifting down to frame his face.

You step toward him, willing your legs not to shake, so he can drop the shirt in the basket. Something in his eyes captivates you and you freeze where you are, all your weight on your right leg, the left crossed behind you.

His fingers brush the back of your thigh, just above the lace top of the stockings, and you jump in surprise. “Careful,” he teases. “Don’t drop anything.”

That tongue. It’s sticking out again, locked between his bright little teeth, as Ivar’s fingers ghost along your upper thighs. “I like that you added this,” he comments, pressing a finger under the garter strap clipped to the back of the stocking. He flicks it, making it snap a little against your butt. You wobble again, because you still haven’t shifted your weight to a steadier stance.

“Thank you, Ivar,” you breathe.

His touch grows bolder, his whole palm, so warm, so strong, sliding along the sensitive skin framed inside the garter line. His fingers contact the lace edge of your cheeky panties and his eyebrows jump. Your body is on fire. You’re not sure if you’ve ever felt this turned on before. And then he smacks you, right on the butt under your fluffy skirt, and nods his head toward the door. “Alright, you can get back to work now.”

Your head is spinning. There is nothing to do but obey. The basket is heavy in your arms, and he had asked you to take it out. He can’t have meant he wanted you to go down to the communal laundry room shared by every tenant in the building, not right now, dressed like this… But you can at least go put it by the front door for later.

The doorknob is a little awkward to manage with your hands full, and when you cast an embarrassed glance at Ivar you see that he is enjoying watching you struggle. Sexy bastard. You add a little extra flounce to your skirt as you step around the door and into the hallway.

Your heart is pounding in your chest as your heels clack on the wood floor in purposeful strides, past the kitchen to your left and living room to your right. You bend to set the basket near the door. Only as you’re turning back do you realize that Ubbe’s sitting on the couch in the dark room behind you, sprawled comfortable in basketball shorts and clutching a beer bottle by the neck, and he must have gotten almost as good a view up your skirt as Ivar just had.

On to Part 3.2

Taglist is open: @walkxthexmoon @swagmonstertoes @hanhanxx @perfectus-in-morte @xxdearlybeloved@littledeadrottinghood @persephone-is-here-omg @rekdreams247 @what-the-heart-desires @inforapound @creepshowzombae @tomarisela @vladsgirl@youbloodymadgenius @walkxthexmoon@funmadnessandbadassvikings @trashqueenbitch @justlovelifeblog @earl-aive @supernaturalvikingwhore @equalstrashflavoredtrash @that-was-not-supposed-to-happen @ceridwenofwales @grungyblonde @pokeasleepingsmaug @hvittysmutanon @honestsycrets @wuxiesalt @thorins-queen-of-erebor @writingfromasgard

#ivar imagine #ivar/reader #ivar/you #ivar the boneless #vikings fanfic #vikings modern au #college au

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wolfpawn · 4 years

Text

I Hate You, I Love You, Chapter 84

Chapter Summary - Danielle end up discussing their fight and the relationship

Previous Chapter

Rating - Mature (some chapters contain smut)

Triggers - references to Tom Hiddleston’s work with the #MeToo Movement. That chapter will be tagged accordingly.

authors Note - I have been working on this for the last 3 years, it is currently 180+ chapters long. This will be updated daily, so long as I can get time to do so, obviously

tags: @sweetkingdomstarlight-blog @jessibelle-nerdy-mum @nonsensicalobsessions @damalseer @hiddlesbitch1 @winterisakiller @fairlightswiftly @salempoe @wolfsmom1

If you wish to be tagged, please let me know.

Danielle sat in the car waiting outside the airport. "Why are you still here?" She looked to Siobhan who was in the back seat.

"I want to meet him."

"And why are you in the backseat?"

"Because he will want to go upfront with you. So are you guys fixed now?"

"No."

"So he's here to fix things?"

"No."

"Then why is he here?"

"To prevent me committing murder." Siobhan laughed. "He insisted because he knows when I am stressed as hell."

"I heard Richard spoke to him."

"Yeah, he answered my phone, but Tom didn't leave a message. Do you know, he actually thought Richard was some guy I met," Danielle laughed.

"Really? How did that conversation come about?"

"I guessed why he seemed odd after I said Richard's name on the phone," Danielle explained. "He honestly thought I would just drop him like that and find someone else."

"Okay, you two seriously need to talk things out…ooh, that's him, okay he is sexier in real life. Maybe you should have fixed this over the phone, how can you stay mad at that?"

"You are literally no help, Siobhan."

"I am not here to help, I am here to be as nosy as fuck at my cousin's sexy celebrity boyfriend."

"He's not my…" Danielle corrected as Tom looked at the car, recognised her and start walking towards them.

"Yeah, bullshit, that is why you are getting a pinkish tinge to your cheeks and you look like all your birthdays have come at once, pull the other one, Danielle. You are smitten."

Danielle was relieved she had no time to respond because she had nothing she could argue to that. Tom opened the back door of the car to put in his bag but paused, seeing a person inside. "Oh."

"Don't mind her, in fact, hit her with the damn thing," Danielle stated, earning a glare from Siobhan.

"Don't mind Danielle, she's just moody because I am calling her out on her bullshit, Hi, I'm Siobhan." Siobhan beamed in the backseat, extending her hand to Tom.

Tom was slightly taken back by her forwardness. "A face for the name, hello." He shook her hand.

"He's taller than I'd have thought." Siobhan half-whispered to Danielle.

"Jesus, will you ever just go back to your plaything in Dublin." Danielle shook her head as her cousin made a show of herself. "Let Tom put in his bag."

Siobhan got out and made room for Tom to put his bag in, Danielle putting her head in her hands as she watched Siobhan, utterly unashamedly stare at Tom's ass as he put the bag in the car. "So, are you two heading straight back to Nan's?" Siobhan asked as Tom opened the passenger door.

"Have you eaten?" Danielle asked. Tom shook his head, she turned to Siobhan. "We'll get something to eat."

"Murphy's?"

"Murphy's," Danielle confirmed.

"Ooh, get me an order of wings."

"If you leave now, I'll get you a double," Danielle promised.

Siobhan looked at her for a moment, "Bye." And ran off towards her own car.

"Did she not come here with you?" Tom asked worriedly as he got in.

"I just got this rental while waiting for you. It's handier now," Danielle explained. "She drove me here."

"That was nice of her." Tom smiled, looking over at her. "Hello."

"Hi." Danielle gave a small smile back. "How are you?"

"I thought I was tired, but you look like you are completely worn out, do you want me to drive?"

"No, I'm fine." Danielle dismissed. "I just need a good nights sleep."

"Is it far to this Murphy's?"

"An hour or so, the food is proper, nice and tasty, you'll love it." Danielle smiled as she drove through the parking area of the airport.

"Takeaway?"

"No, a bar and restaurant not too far from my parent's place," Danielle answered as they joined the traffic on the main road. She sensed Tom looking at her. "What?"

"A regular restaurant, a public place?"

"Tom it's in rural Galway, no offence, but most of these people wouldn't recognise Pierce Brosnan, Roger Moore and Sean Connery if they sat in front of them discussing Bond, and if they did, they would not care, I can assure you."

"But on the off chance, you are okay with being seen?" Danielle bit her lips together and her eyes began to water slightly. "Did I say…?"

"I was...um, I was talking to Siobhan the other day, and I spoke about you, and…" She shook her head. "I really fucked up," Tom said nothing, he just listened. "I thought she told Deirdre about you, and I got a little annoyed and confronted her, and she told me she only mentioned that I had someone, I don't even think she mentioned your name, much less who you are and I realised that I was so scared of people telling the media that I never noticed how much it sounded like I was ashamed of us, and then I thought of how you must have felt." She glanced at him for a moment. "I wasn't ashamed, Tom, I was so happy, I loved it, but I didn't act like it. I guess I just got scared." she began to feel her eyes water more. "Shit." she indicated in and pulled in next to a field gate.

"Are you alright?"

"I can't see." She explained. "I am such a sap."

"Elle." Tom took her hand in his. "I know you were scared, I know it is so daunting, I should not have been so horrible as to say that, and no, I was not aware of how much effort you were putting in, and believe me, if I had, I…I said stupid things, I dismissed you. I should never have argued whether or not you should have been hurt by something, only you can say whether or not you are, and no you have not changed, too much, you have a little, I mean, I think I am slowly convincing you to organise your books better, but that's a change for the better." He grinned cheekily.

Danielle laughed. "Idiot." she looked at her hand in his. Tom thought it wise to gently give Danielle her hand back. "So, we better go and get something to eat," she stated awkwardly before beginning to drive again. "It's really nice."

"Can I ask something?" Tom asked.

"Yes."

"Yes, I can ask or…?"

"Yes, ask, though I think I know what it is," She clarified.

"Are we going to try and talk about us?" Tom ventured.

"Do you want to?"

"I do, I know I seemed somewhat desperate and yes, full-on last week Elle, but that is because I do genuinely love you, I want to try and fix this."

"So you didn't find a model to run away with in Milan?" She queried, her tone very much indicating she was joking.

"No, definitely not." He looked at her to convey his honestly.

"We need to fix a few things."

"Yes, we do. We will, won't we?"

"Honesty and communication are what will get us back I think," Danielle stated. "I hope."

Tom was unsure she meant to say the last part aloud, but her obvious wish to fix things was all he needed to hear. "I had no idea she would focus so much on Taylor."

"It was the first time you mentioned her and all of that…situation, I was stupid to think she wouldn't."

"My out of character, I suppose morose demeanour is almost the correct term for it, when she was there, it was because I was trying to deal with the dynamic of us, I am not used to being the one left behind, before this, I did the travelling, it is different for me now, not negative, but an alteration, I am so used to my routine, then it changed when you came to stay, then you left for work, and I know you will have to again when you get more jobs, but it was hard coming to accept that for me, it was not what I am used to."

"Do you regret asking me to come to stay with you after Christmas?"

"No." She gave him a momentary glance. "No Elle, I would never regret that. I hope I never made you feel like I did, because honestly; I loved it, I love having you there with me, us being a team, you doing the laundry as I fled the room at the most 'convenient' of times." Danielle laughed and shook her head. "Remember how you said that your house didn't smell enough like me over Christmas?"

"Yes." She admitted.

"I feel like I was so worried that that would happen, I want things to remain as it is, us together, I suppose I sabotaged things slightly too."

"No one is perfect." Danielle shrugged. "Not even me."

Tom said nothing for a moment, thinking over everything. "The time apart has done us both some good so."

"Yes, lesson learned there." Danielle concurred. "I am sorry I went and said I was done rather than say I needed space, that was unfair. I should never have toyed with you like that."

"Why did you feel like you had to call it quits?" Tom probed, in all honesty, he was terrified of pushing her away again, but he needed to know, he needed to see if it was something she did because of fear or if there was some other issue at play.

"I don't know, I…I need to figure that out. I was willing to hurt myself to get away from something that was not hurting me, not overly. I mean that article hurt, but that was one little scrap of a thorn while looking at a gorgeous rose." Tom smiled at the comparison.

"When you were younger, what would happen when something went wrong?" Tom asked.

"What do you mean?"

"If people would be nasty to you if you felt let down, what would you do?"

"Go to my room or go running or something," Danielle answered, not seeing why it mattered too much.

"So you fled the situation?"

"Yeah, don't most people?"

"They tend to take a step back, not run for their lives, darling," Tom explained.

"According to who?" She gave him a small glance to convey her curiosity.

"My counsellor."

"You have a counsellor?"

"No, had, when I was school and trying to get over mum and dad getting divorced."

"Makes sense." She shrugged. "So I went too far. I need to fix me."

"Fix?"

"Since you mentioned me changing, I have been looking over myself."

"Elle, I said that because I was mad."

"But I feel like I have, and I don't like it." He said nothing. "I just need to find me again. I had to be the old me with Bernie recently, and I miss the confidence I had."

"I don't make you feel confident?" Tom felt deeply hurt by that.

"No, this isn't you Tom, this is me."

"That sounds like a particularly common line."

Danielle laughed slightly. "I suppose it does. But people use that to break up, I don't want that."

"So what do you want?"

"I need to take some time to fix me, Tom, I feel kind of lost."

Tom looked at her sadly. "Country mouse in the city?"

"I think so. I can adapt, I just need time."

"I understand." It was true, he did, but it hurt nonetheless.

"I think hiding was doing me no favours." Tom looked to her. "If, after the Kong tour, you want to…maybe Luke could…" She glanced sideways again and saw Tom's face. "Sorry, it was stupid…"

"You...you want to consider…"

"I want to go to the shop with you, go for dinner, lunch, coffee, walk the fucking dog and that means in London, we are going to be seen, and I need to either grab it by the balls and get over it, or say here and now that to go any further is wasting our time. We both said already we want something serious, something to last, it's not going to last if I am hiding. I don't want to be a show dog but like Ben and Sophie. I know it means being under fire but in all fairness, bar my stupid little tantrum at being called a brat, I think I can handle it."

"Are you certain?"

"I know there are going to be hard days, but yeah, I think I can." she looked at him to convey her belief in her words.

#I Hate You I Love You #chapter 84 #tom hiddleston #tom hiddleston fic #wolfpawn

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blackcatanna · 4 years

Text

Kinky TB Adventures (probably) with Okita Part 1: Kyoto Winds

Finally playing another Hakuoki route because I spent 10 hours travelling yesterday and I deserve some imaginary romance, damn it! Choosing Okita because he seems fun and I hate that he disappears from the story pretty early on in most routes and then dies off screen :'(

WARNING: I wrote a lot :)

Intro:

I don't know why but Kodo's evil old man face made me laugh so much during the intro.

Playing the prologue because it has a hearty chunk of Okita in it and it's been a while since I played the game.

Chizuru talking about the invisible wall between herself and other people is relatable af :')

"I'm not sure if I belong here... No. No, that's all in my head." < < < ME. Hello imposter syndrome, my old friend :')

I now feel like a li'l bitch for complaining about my journey yesterday when Chizuru WALKED nearly 500KM from Edo to Kyoto X_X

I'm loving this old timey film effect on the Kodo flashback.

I feel like Kodo's actions and motivations change depending on the route so I'm not going to try too hard to wrap my head around them here.

I love that "Ronin" is basically shorthand for "Evil Douchebag Thug" in this game X_X

Yukimura: "Be careful, father! Kyoto is a dangerous place!" Also Yukimura: "I have nothing to fear because I look like a BOY :) " Selfless but foolish X_X Although, you could argue that being reckless is selfish because it disregards your loved ones' feelings, should you get hurt.

At least the game gives these ronin names :') although... they don't have eyes. I think I'd rather have eyes, if I had to choose.

"I could still hear the ronin cursing loudly" I just have an image of these three guys running through the streets of Kyoto yelling, "FUCK. SHIT. PISS. ASS."

This game invested a lot in blood effects and sounds and I respect and appreciate that.

"He died with the first blow" Silver linings?

"They were... broken" :'(

Awe, the furies look so happy to see me :') JK, this scene is appropriately chilling. They do have big smiles, though.

More blood splashes and visceral blood descriptions :')

Okita, your sadism is showing.

Or maybe he knows that Saito doesn't like killing his comrades and that's why he wanted to kill them first :O :O :O

"if you just sat back and let them kill the kid, you could have saved us some trouble." -_- I enjoy Okita's banter but I have a feeling that it's going to be a bit one sided because Chizuru doesn't do back talk X_X

WAIT A FUCKING SECOND, WHY IS OKITA NOT BLINKING?!??

Oh here we go. Let's take a moment to worship Hijikata. I still think that Saito and Okita are better looking but sure, let's take a break to gush about "smooth, dark hair" in the moonlight and "the wistfulness of flower petals" "as if the cherry trees were blooming out of season" X_X ick.

HEY. CHIZURU. REMEMBER WHO RESCUED YOU. IT WASN'T THIS FUCKER.

OH GOD, IT CONTINUES, "His voice was cold and quiet, like a blade of ice. Blue-white moonlight lit his slender face.." blah blah ick.

OH, WE'RE STILL NOT DONE?!? "But it wasn't the sword making my breath catch. It was his eyes. They were fierce and hard, but somewhere behind them... I could catch a glimpse of... something else." Blah blah, troubled, mercy, blah

"Run, and I will kill you. Do you understand?" SPLOOSH (yes, I have been watching Archer)

I was sort of joking about being aroused by threats of violence but swords are definitely sexier than... whatever that whole flowery passage was...

Okita still is not blinking O_O

Hijikata telling Okita to shut up is a mood. Sorry, Okita.

Okay, NOW Okita's blinking. Guess all it took was Hijikata suggesting that they're going to kill me for a change. Apparently, only Okita's allowed to threaten to murder me X_X

Side note: if anyone reads this and is wondering if I'm aware that I switch between "You", "Me" and "Chizuru" then yes, I am and no, I don't care.

Apparently, Okita blinking was a fluke. Maybe he only blinks when he is pushed off stride or, like, flustered or surprised?

Also, I don't tend to think of Okita as being especially tall but he's taller than Hijikata!

"So we should just kill people now?" Um... you don't do that?

"What?! Come on, you can't be serious" HE SAID, BLINKING AND THUS BACKING UP MY THEORY.

"Almost as if I was being... drawn into their world..." Oh dear! We wouldn't want that to happen, that's not why we bought the game at all! :P

"A world where there is nothing strange in carrying on a normal conversation in the dead of night with corpses for company." Edgy. Although, I hope that this conversation is far from normal O_O

"As you wish." Hijikata is Saito's Princess Buttercup. I'm not jealous.

WHOA. I was just musing about death as usual and now Okita's RIGHT UP IN MY FACE.

"We did save you, didn't we?" WELL, TECHNICALLY, Saito saved me. You suggested letting the furies KILL ME.

"I didn't realise right away he was speaking to me." How? He's taking up the entire screen?

"Thank you very much." Fair. "I apologise for not thanking you earlier." Okay, calm down. It's not like they gave you a chance to speak in between death threats.

"The man called Hajime also looked confused. His eyes were wide and he had an expression I couldn't place." Then allow me: STARTLED ERMINE. Hijikata's is DISGRUNTLED HORSE and Okita's is SMUG LYNX. Aka: how three different animals react to the discovery that their prey is a girl. I know that horses don't hunt prey. However, they do have to deal with it when their animal subordinates unwittingly capture it.

"He broke out in laughter again, so much so that he was forced to wipe a few tears from his eyes" I'M SO GLAD THAT YOU'RE HAVING SUCH A JOLLY TIME, YOU ASS.

Now that he's figured out that I'm a girl, he's suddenly keen to introduce himself :P

"The one you should be thanking for saving you is Hajime Saito" CORRECT.

Is he deliberately trying to let him kill me by giving out as much info as possible? O_o

"His fingers like iron cables around my arm." Kinky.

"The cause of my horror wasn't the gruesome end that awaited me, but something else entirely." Hanging out with these crazy fuckers.

Chapter 1:

Damn, I wrote a lot more than I had expected for the prologue X_X

"My limbs were tightly bound in tight knots" I wouldn't be surprised if Okita was a shibari expert...

"This is no way to treat a guest of ours" Obviously, Inou-bae is trying to be kind but this feels like something a supervillain would say after their minions bring you to their lair X_X

"he smiled at me and winked" get this man a route! Actually, wait, how old is Chizuru... OKAY, FORGET I SAID THAT. NO ONE IS ALLOWED TO FLIRT WITH THIS 16 YEAR OLD GIRL. Although, maybe a dad route? No romance, just familial love. He's a better dad than Kodo. NO DADDY KINKS ALLOWED.

Apparently, Harada and Nagakura being "lively" is supposed to reassure me?!

Ah, Okita and his hilarious jokes about invading my personal space.

I'm so glad that Saito doesn't let him get away with this nonsense <3

And now we're sticking up for Saito and calling out Okita's bs <3

"the smile lingered through his bright eyes" Oo-er

"He looked more like a boy than a man." Says you!

The baka trio look so done X_X

"Their faces were still blessed with youth" Phew. Looks like we'll have some eye candy while we're brutally executed.

A STICK?!? THEY'RE CALLING ME A STICK?! HAVE THEY NOT SEEN THE ANIME INTRO?! CHIZURU HAS TITS!!!

"The hell I will, boy!" Calm down, Kratos.

"You could be taken for interrogating" not if you assholes don't make such a song and dance about me witnessing your shady activities! How would anybody know to interrogate me in the first place?!

"Let's just kill the kid" How about no!!!

"I was just kidding." WERE YOU, or did you just change your tune because daddy Kondou told you off? -_- I don't think Saito's buying your shit.

"Hehe." XD best response!

Side note, how am I the first person to witness the furies in action?! They run around the streets, chopping people up and there are already rumours about the Shinsengumi committing brutal crimes.

Also, how often do they sentence men to death? There are a lot of men in the fury corps and I bet that some choose death or try and run for it and die in the process.

"I think that Souji has a point" BOO, HARADA!

"Uh-oh. Well, this is going to make it even harder for us to simply let you go..." He's doing the not blinking thing again! Maybe that's because his prey is in his sights... O_O Also, thanks a lot, Heisuke X_X

"A man should always be ready to face death. You should make your peace with yours." Okay, first of all, I look like a child to you! Secondly, bit sexist! Not all men choose the path of the warrior. Thirdly, AS IF, I'm just going to lay down and accept my POINTLESS murder just for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. No, Nagakura, I am NOT okay with being MURDERED. How dare you imply that I'm a coward for not wanting to die for this BULLSHIT.

Not sure if I mentioned this last time but Sano's casual suicide comments remind me of being at uni :')

"there's something I want to look into." Is it my stuff? Are you going to go through my stuff now? X_X

"I... I'm sorry." I forgive you, Heisuke! As for everyone else who's acting like this is all my fault and you've done nothing wrong, fuck you. Y'all shouldn't be doing evil science in the first place, especially if you're then going to try and justify MURDERING everyone who glimpses the evulz.

This whole bit reminds me of a DnD party where everyone's arguing over whether or not to kill someone. This is definitely more like a DnD argument than your average movie argument X_X

"All right, Saito, take care of the kid." 😍 Yes, Saito, take care of me :D NOT IN A MURDERY WAY O_O

Time to RUN THE FUCK AWAY. Maybe, if they hadn't acted like murdering assholes, I wouldn't be doing this but they don't seem to give a fuck about me so AWAY I GO.

"I knew it was rude, but I had no choice but to try and open the sliding door with my toe." Priorities X_X They kidnapped you, tied you up and threatened to kill you countless times. Honey, you stick it to those fuckers with your shady toe opening.

WE DIDN'T EVEN MAKE IT OUT OF THE ROOM!!!

"Sorry," No your not -_- "but now we've got to kill you." No you don't!

"Then you may do whatever you like with me." Um, why is this the Okita romance option? XD Don't say those words to that sadist, who knows what he wants to do to you! O_O

"We aren't going to eat you or anything." ...Damn X_X I hope that your stance changes if we get married.

"Heh. Never seen such an innocent girl like you." Ugh. As if. Running around dressed as a boy. Can't be that innocent. Certainly not if he read my last comment :P . Anyway, YOU SOUND CREEPY, TALKING LIKE THAT XD

"All right, all right. Now, tell your big brother... Why were you cross-dressing around Kyoto?" THA FUCK DID YOU JUST CALL YOURSELF?!?? And MIND YOUR DAMN BUSINESS XD DON'T KINK SHAME ME!

"Well, 'she' claims to be a girl, but it's not like we have any actual proof, right?" Um, I'M not the one who said that I'm a girl and I DON'T LIKE WHERE THIS IS GOING. I WILL FIGHT YOU FUCKERS IF YOU COME NEAR ME >:(

"My apologies, but I took the liberty of checking through your belongings." I wouldn't mind, except NOT ONCE did they give me a chance to explain myself or plead my case. He could have just asked whatever he wanted to know and then checked my bags to verify it X_X

"Hey now," HEY NOW, NOW, sing this corrosion to me... No? I'll be quiet :(

"So, you've been withholding information from us?" YOU BARELY GAVE ME A CHANCE TO SPEAK, YOU DICK!

Welp, they've agreed not to kill me and yet Okita's still taking it upon himself to threaten me with death while fixing me with his unblinking, predatory stare X_X

"Gee, didn't take long for you to change your tune once you knew she was a girl, eh Shin?" TRUTH

"Having a lady here at headquarters is sure to brighten things up." Joke's on you: I'm a goth ;P

"you can't just pawn her off on someone else." Okita, nooooooo! Don't make me work for this grumpy bitch!

"I hope you you'll take good care of her." Wink wink, nudge nudge. What's the matter, Hijikata senpai? Am I not pretty enough for you? :'(

"You sons of BITCHES." HEY. HIJIKATA. NO NEED TO INSULT THEIR INNOCENT MOTHERS. Just call them straight up bitches :)

"The Shinsengumi keeping a woman here... If such rumours were to spread, tongues would begin to wag." Yeah, yeah, so we might as well just all fuck. People are going to say we're doing it, regardless, so let's get this over with...

Or I could keep pretending to be a man. That could also work.

"You're gonna get a room, and you're gonna stay in it." FUCK YOU

"I could have sworn we decided she was going to be someone's page" O_O FUCK YOU EVEN MORE, OKITA.

So... lonely... must... find... friends...

Okita and Saito friends :D

When I first played this game, I was really keen to find my "father" but now that I know what he's like, it's hard to muster quite the same level of enthusiasm X_X

"Draw your blade, unless it is merely decoration." Spicy! I'm glad that Yukimura is not so easily goaded into fighting.

"I'm not lying." You tell him, girl!

Saito and Okita's stunned faces when you suggest that you might accidentally hurt Saito are priceless! X_X I guess this shows that you take this seriously, though.

"Excuse me... You don't have to laugh..." XD Is this almost sassy?

Surprise, Okita likes it when I do what he says despite understandable reservations XD

Saito looks way too happy to be doing this XD was this just a chance for him to show off? :P

IS HE LAUGHING AT ME?!? XD RUDE!

WHA THA FUCK. I think that it was a glitch but there were suddenly about seven Saitos on screen. Maybe that's what it feels like when you're fighting him.

Woah, it happened again, only this time there were two and one was squashed.

I'm fine with there being more Saitos.

Aaaaand he's holding a sword at my throat... Sploosh? Shut up, swords are sexy. I probably watched too many period and fantasy films as a child...

"In the blink of an eye, his face was only inches from mine," O RLY? 😏 WAIT, I'm supposed to be playing Okita's route X_X Must... stop getting distracted...

"Your master should be proud." SAY IT AGAIN 😍

"I then noticed how wildly my heart was beating." Though not from fear, right? ;)

"You all right?" Kind words? FROM OKITA?!?

"polite applause" FROM OKITA!?!

"If you want, we'll keep you company." Yes, Okita, obviously I want that :D

First sign of madness: talking to your own head!

Okita could look less smug about catching me talking to myself -_-

"I wanted to scream, but before I could open my mouth, Saito stepped out from behind the door." X_X Well, they did say they'd keep me company.

"I think that's enough fraternising, Souji." Wait a second...

"I figured if I left the two of you alone, it would be longer before I saw either of you," ... Why does that sound slightly risqué? -_- I feel like this scene changes slightly depending on your affection levels...

-_- The only reason Heisuke is short is because Nagakura's stunted his growth by constantly stealing his food.

"How are we to deal with accepting such insanity?" MOOD.

Wait, does Okita subsist entirely on sake?! O_O

"Try not to worry about eating too much or being a freeloader or something. Just eat your little heart out, okay?" Surprisingly wholesome content from Okita :')

Takeda! <3 My douchey doppelganger!

"your adorable page" -_- Watch it, "big brother"

"I'm not having any of your insolence today." Hijikata temporarily transforming into a villainous English aristocrat.

And after aaaaallll that, I'm just going to stay behind to spend some quality time with Okita, probably X_X

"Huh!? Why? You're finally getting the chance to search for Kodo." GOOD POINT. However, gotta get that dick, amirite?

"Perhaps, I should have gone..." YUP. PROBABLY.

"Are you regretting it? If you are, then you should've just gone with them." TRUTH.

"He smiled wryly before continuing while touching my chin." WEEEEOOOOA WEEEEEOOOOA PHYSICAL CONTACT ALARM. WE HAVE INITIATED PHYSICAL CONTACT. IT WAS WORTH STAYING BEHIND AFTER ALL!

"You don't regret it at all? Not even if you knew that Hajime and I went out of our way to convince Hijikata?" Aw, y'all did that for me? Yeah, this is a terrible decision X_X Except for the part with the chin touching. I guess stalking you overrides all logic?

"I was surprised. Saito did make that promise" and what? You thought he was a liar? Girl.

"It was actually Hajime that convinced Hijikata." Not sure if Okita's being modest but this is making it reeeeally hard for me to stop myself fangirling over Saito. Again.

"When I see Saito later, I need to apologise and give my thanks to him." YOU BETTER. >:(

Did he just call me useless (in a battle)? XD I mean, he's not wrong... As we will no doubt soon find out...

Wait, wait... He just said that if I'm in danger, I will become a nuisance and he'll FRICKIN' STAB ME. WHAT?! DOESN'T THAT MAKE YOU THE GREATEST DANGER, OKITA!??

Chapter 2:

Did we ever apologise to Saito? X_X

"Please allow me to continue looking for my father!" Where was this enthusiasm earlier -_-

"If you want that risk, feel free to join us." Ooooooh, scary.

"Remember that you're here to keep me company" Um, excuse me!?

Burn down the city and kidnap the Emperor while everyone else is "losing their shit." This seems like the plan of crazy people o_O

"Would you care to join us." Kondou's making this raid sound like a dinner party X_X

Chizuru getting distracted by the more "elegant" night uniforms while preparing for the raid is a Big Mood.

Am I going crazy or does this game normally give me more choices here? Am I being paranoid or is it now shipping me with Okita? Can't I normally choose to go with Hijikata or stay behind?

"Giving the enemy a good, loud warning that he's about to kick the tar out of them. That's Kondou for you..." Okita kind of has a point X_X

"They sauntered towards the inn" Quite the image.

Oh shit! Okita's fighting Kazama O_O

"Okita was battling a ronin." Damn, you're lucky that Kazama can't read minds X_X

"Thanks for the dance, chump." -_- Kazama's such a dick.

"You're our enemy, so you've gotta die." Okita's philosophy is simple and elegant.

"His sword moved in large, crude arcs, while Okita fought with skill and finesse." Wow, SUPER glad that Kazama can't read minds O_O

EXECUTE PLAN: HURL BOWL AT KAZAMA.

IT'S SUPER EFFECTIVE: OKITA SENPAI NOTICED ME.

Wait... WHAT WAS THAT "WET CRUNCH" WHEN KAZAMA KICKED OKITA'S CHEST!??!? O_O IS THIS HOW HE GETS TB?!? O_O

"Wet, tearing coughs." OH FUCK O_O

"I like watching children squirm." WTF, Kazama. BEGONE, THOT.

:'O Injured Okita is trying to put himself between me and that crazy bitch <3

Oh damn, he is coughing e blood :'O

"What a fool" UUUURRRRGGGGH KAZAMA IS THE WORST. SOME PEOPLE CARE ABOUT OTHER PEOPLE, KAZAMA. AND SOME PEOPLE ARE WILLING TO PUT THEMSELVES IN DANGER BECAUSE THEY CARE ABOUT MORE THAN THEIR OWN SELFISH NEEDS.

"I... I can still fight..." NO.

"You always said you'd kill me if I got in your way..." OOOOOOOOOOOH! HERE WE GO! THE FAÇADE BEGINS TO SHOW CRACKS *munches popcorn*

Iba... y u no mention our shared childhood?

ISHIDA POWDERED MEDICINE.

Nagakura says that it's delicious... I wonder if it tastes like cough medicine. Cough medicine is delicious. And addictive...

"I would never have thought that Toudou or Okita would return from a fight injured..." Why, Inoue? Are skilled and strong warriors invincible?

"The injured are a burden, so we shall remain here and guard the compound like obedient soldiers." O_O Ouch, Sanan!

Wait, I don't get a choice to go with them?! I KNEW IT. THIS GAME KNOOOOOWS! I'm too far down the Okita path to turn back now, I guess.

"Um... " Chizuru is me trying to make small talk.

Weird isn't necessarily a bad thing, Chizuru! Take it as a compliment!

I feel bad for not realising how badly injured he got during the raid during my other playthroughs X_X

I thought that I'd somehow missed the scene with the children because this playthrough's taking so long because I'm making so many fricking notes X_X Turns out, I have a lot more to say when you actually get to spend time with the chosen boi.

"Oh, don't worry. I didn't kidnap them or anything." ... GOOD!????

"I was bored" Hey, I get lonesome too! Why can't you come play with me? D:

"They take care of me." Pretty cute. :3

"You wanna come play with us?" Duh!

"No" GURL

He really does look like a happy cat when he smiles!

Wow, these children have a lot of attitude.

"It's a place for men to do, um, work." Yes, just normal human work. Nothing funny going on here.

"They're catching bad guys and keeping Kyoto safe" "No, they're not. They're just killing people." These kids are SAVAGE :')

"Can't deny that" ... Way to back me up, Souji...

"I probably hear him talk about death everyday." Wait, really? What exactly does he have to say about death?

"The Shinsengumi are a bunch a weirdos." :') And that makes them extremely lovable!

Last time, I tried defending the Shinsengumi and Okita ended up terrorising a child so LET'S PICK THE OTHER OPTION AND SEE IF THERE'S LESS CRAZY...

"Don't tell me you're taking this seriously?" CHILDREN ARE THE FUTURE, OKITA!

"They all look like bad guys." Why? Because they're hot?

"I didn't know what I was supposed to do..." Uh, maybe tell this childries not to judge a book by its cover? Idk, maybe try and suggest that the world is not so black and white? Definitely don't mention the bloodlust.

"Grinning like an idiot." You're just jealous of his happiness, you cynical-ass child

"He's a wuss." UM, pretty sure he's the most powerful member of the Shinsengumi so stfu :P

"He grabbed the child" Oh dear... Here we go...

Okita! Use your words to teach the children a lesson! Not whatever this fucked up shit is X_X

Ah, ruling with fear! :') When has that ever backfired?

"I'll tell them I'm sorry. Then I'll tell them how awesome Kondou is." GUD. >:(

Uuuuugh, I'm so so tired and I've written so much CRAP so I will SLEEP and play the next bit tomorrow! :D

#hakuoki #hakuouki #okita #okita souji #SALT #kyoto winds

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astrology-india · 4 years

Text

How To Get a Taurus Man Back After a Breakup

New Post has been published on https://www.astrology-india.com/how-to-get-a-taurus-man-back-after-a-breakup/

How To Get a Taurus Man Back After a Breakup

A man born under the astrology zodiac sign of the Bull between the dates of 20th April – 20th May is not the type of guy who would easily decide to break up with their partner.

Taurus is ruled by Venus which is the planet of love, making him one of the most affectionate of the zodiac signs.

Whatever the reason for the breakup, the good news for you is that a Taurus man has the characteristics to be forgiving, provided he is treated with respect and consideration. They prefer a long-lasting relationship and they tend to favor comfort over chaos.

There must have been a good reason for your crush to walk away, but that doesn’t mean he has stopped loving you. Learning how to get a Taurus man back after a breakup may seem like an uphill challenge but things can be rectified with understanding on both sides.

Since Taurus is a fixed earth sign he is also the most inflexible of them all. Imagine how frightening a charging bull can be, and you will realize you do not want to see the wrath of that bull, especially if it’s aimed at you. He needs stability and he craves the feeling to be loved.

If your Taurus man was the one who ended things, know that it might have been the hardest decision in his life. After the breakup, things will play on his mind and it will definitely take time to forgive and forget.

On the other hand, if you broke up with him you might have wounded him more than you thought. If however, you realized what a huge mistake you have made, know that his stubbornness will make things a bit complicated but not impossible.

Could your relationship be as it once was? Or are you going to let the chance of true happiness slip through your fingers without finding out? You may be surprised at how easy it is to re-light the fires of desire, read on to find out.

6 Tips On How To Get A Taurus Man Back After A Breakup

You Both Need Time To Heal

No matter the reason for your breakup, time can heal all wounds. Time can give him space to gather his thoughts and it also allows you a space to work on yourself.

It is important at this stage not to throw yourself at him but to give him some time to think of you and miss you.

It is also important that you don’t stand so far back that he thinks you don’t want his love again. This creates a delicate situation that can be handled with text messages. By using carefully crafted words you will be able to sow the seeds of desire without pressurizing him.

You, like me, understand how the trauma of a break with someone you love will cause an emotional shock. However, if you want to know how to get a Taurus man back after a breakup you need to think clearly, also you may need some help to make sure your efforts are successful.

A program that I know has helped many women in a similar situation is Text Chemistry. It has been designed by Amy North who is a top relationship coach. It provides detailed words, that can be used in text messages, to stimulate desire in your Taurus man’s mind.

This may sound a bit way out and hard to believe, but a Taurus man is known to have an active imagination and that he is open to subconscious thoughts. Don’t take my word for it, you can listen to this video in which Amy explains the subliminal power of Text Chemistry here.

Remember The Amazing Times You Shared Together

Creating a means of communication without the pressure of face to face meetings will allow you to bring out the reasons for the initial breakup.

If you can communicate you may be surprised to find the things you took for granted were very important to him.

You can use to your own advantage his need to be validated and loved, and this could work for both situations.

Whether he initiated the breakup, or it was you who ended it, mention particular events from your past that built the foundation to your relationship.

Hopefully, things will lead on to a date when you both can sit and logically discuss the past, present, and with luck the future. You will then be able to tell him he means the world to you, remind him of how fantastic you two were together, and be as kind and thoughtful as you can be.

Cook For Him And Plan a Romantic Dinner

If you managed to get him to listen, invite him on a date and make it count by giving everything you got.

It can be as simple as cooking his favorite food or making a reservation at the restaurant you went on your first date.

You have to make sure you look your stunning best and surprise him by looking as he has never seen you before.

Nothing flash, or too revealing but an outfit that hi-lights your best features. Possibly a new hairstyle and subtle makeup that shows off your vitality.

This is the time to make yourself look even sexier so he could see what he has lost or to speed up the recovery of his wounded ego. Listen to this short video as Amy explains Text Chemistry here. This may well be the key that opens his heart and makes him think only of you.

You could possibly buy him a token present, something small but connected with his special interest or something that triggers a happy memory of you two together. Since Taurean men are usually materialistic this will subtly seduce him.

”I miss you like the desert misses the rain”

If you are honest about your feelings, you have to show him that you are still passionate about him and that you miss having him in your life.

It helps him to know he is still desired and that could light the spark between you two.

It might not work at first, but it sure does help to be more affectionate.

Offer him tender touches and reassure him in every way that he is the light of your life. But do not overdo things and make him feel you are desperate and needy.

If you were the one to call things off but now you realized he is the love of your life, just stay true to your intentions. Play the romantic card and show him you are strong and mature enough for your relationship. Be cool, and show him your independence.

Do Not Fake Your Feelings

A Taurus man has a kind of built-in six sense that enables him to pick up on situations that are not genuine. Be careful not to mess him around.

He can sense if you want him back for the wrong reasons and he will become very suspicious.

You wouldn’t want that, would you? You need to stay true to him and yourself. If not, the second chance he gives you will be wasted and another one is not likely to be given if you betray his trust.

Be Strong And Show Him You Are Grounded And Steady

A Taurus man is as steady as a rock and he wants a woman who has the same principles, not a woman who is easily distracted or bored. Show him you can be trusted and above all, be the woman he can count on at any time.

He needs to be with a woman who is mature and knows exactly what she wants because he doesn’t have the patience for on and off relationships. Show an interest in his hobbies or even become a follower of a particular sport that turns him on.

I have included this YouTube video because I hope the advice it contains about how to get a Taurus man back after a breakup will cap everything you need.

youtube

Final Thoughts

As I pointed out, Taurus men love stability, and they ardently love their significant other. But they are still Bulls who don’t like to be pushed or rushed into doing things they are not comfortable with. The fact that they are so in love with stability could play as an advantage for you.

Don’t lose hope because your relationship could definitely be saved! To make him fall back in love with you, show him how passionate and affectionate you are once you have sowed the seeds of desire in his mind via Text Chemistry.

Your Taurus crush may actually have wanted you back from the moment he’d lost you, but by being one of the most stubborn of signs could not bring himself to make the first move.

If you play your cards right and use the advice mentioned above, this is how to get a Taurus man back after a breakup. Just make sure your every move is well-intentioned and true. He will not stop loving you and he will be committed to you as long as you understand and support him.

The Future With A Taurus Man

For more articles regarding romantic situations with a Taurus man, click through to my Homepage here.

#Breakup #get him back #relationship #Taurus man

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loveisthemoment · 5 years

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Alejandro and Ines broke up for some weeks. Alejandro and Nora are talking and she says she's sorry for the breakup and Alejandro tells her that he is too but that he couldn't be in a relationship if he likes someone else, and then tells Nora that he really likes her.

“Hey, guys what’s up” Nora casually dropped down next to the girl squad.

“Seriously you haven’t heard,” Cris asked” It’s like the gossip everywhere”

“Nope must have missed it”

“I literally got the scoop right from Ines and apparently Alejandro broke up with her” Nora felt her heart skip a bit. Did that mean he might have any feeling for her, she wondered. But still he seemed pretty happy with her and she couldn’t see any reason for him to break up with her. Maybe they had some kind of fight

“So what exactly did Ines say.” Viri was curiously asking. You could hear the faint sound of hope in her voice.

“Well, she was crying when talking to me. She didn’t exactly say the reason, just that Alejandro called her up and asked to meet. Then he said something along the lines sorry but I can’t be together with you. He said some more reason but Ines didn’t wanna tell me at that time” Everybody was looking at Eva like they were hoping to find out something more. But apparently, that was all.

“I feel kind of bad for Ines first Jorges choose you over her then Alejandro breaks it off with her. I pity her” Nora would have thought that Viri would have been happier that they broke up based on how she had pinned after him.

While everyone was worried about Ines Nora only wanted to find out how Alejandro was. If he was as hurt as Ines and what had made him break it off. As much as she hated to admit she had some kind of feelings for Alejandro, She didn’t really know what they were but she knew it hurt to see him with Ines.

A week had passed since the news of Alejandro and Ines break up, but new gossip was still floating in. Nora hadn’t seen Alejandro anywhere. To top it all off Ines hadn’t been in school for the last week, apparently, a broken heart and a cold wasn’t a good combination.

“Hey did you hear that the reason for their breakup was apparently because Alejandro liked someone else. I even heard that he used Ines to make the person jealous” Eva was on it as soon as they sat down.

“Do you really think that Alejandro would be that cold-hearted” Viri was, as usual, quick to come to his defense. Nora was instead tired of all this talk like Alejandro was once again painted in the bad light but she had a hard time seeing him like that. She wanted to get to the root of the problem but that was practically impossible because Alejandro was nowhere to be found.

“Oh, Ines are you well now” Nora.s attention shifted back tot he group as the light brown/blond girl joined them.

“Yhea the cold is over so I feel much better now” She wanted to feel bad for Ines, but just couldn’t because of all the weird things she felt when she saw her and Alejandro together. Nora was supposed to be sad that they broke up, but instead, she was happy. She didn’t understand and felt so guilty.

“So is it tru that you and Alejandro broke up”

“VIRI” Nora scolded her even thou she secretly was curious thou. Ines was one part of it all, so some clarification should come from her.

“What”

“ We are on a break. He simply said he couldn’t do it now. I’m sure he will change his mind during the party later.” Everybody could clearly hear the hesitation in her voice. How unsure she actually was and how she wished that what she said was true. Still, the only thing Nora felt was like someone put a needle in her heart when Ines aid they only were on a break. She was thankful that she could she was good at hiding her emotions, something she learned through the years.

“So, he didn’t say anything about another girl. Or that he liked someone else.Perhaps that he didn’t want to be committed to someone.”

“Yes VIRI, he called me and told me that he was in love with someone else and that we should break up so he can fool around some more before he managed to get the courage to ash this lové out. That is what you want to hear right, but sorry to disappoint. That didn't happen. He literally only told me, we should break up I can’t do this right now. I’m sorry. I gotta go. Nothing else happened and it drives me crazy like he didn't give me a single reason and then he just disappears like nobody can reach him. I actually thought we had something real” Ines like snapped, but to everyone’s surprise, she didn’t start crying. She was cold as Ice the whole time.

“What do you mean nobody has been able to reach him” Nora had to ask, she couldn’t help but worry that something had happened to Alejandro.

“At first I only thought he ignored my messages but apparently he hasn’t talked to Cris either. It only made me wonder if there was something else behind the breakup. Like was he forced or something”

“Yhea it seems weird that he hasn’t replied to anyone.” At that moment Nora’s phone beeped. Everyone's attention shifted to her but she didn’t notice. too shocked by the name on her phone. Alejandro. A text message that said: Hey you going to the party. I was an understatement to say Nora was shocked.

“Who was it. Someone special?” Nora barely realized they were talking to her.

“Ehh, no just my mom” It was clear they didn’t believe her but they didn’t wanna push it further. She tuned out their conversation and focused on the message. What did it mean?

Nora: think so, why.

Alejandro: just curious If I would see your smile,

Nora couldn’t help but smile a little and Cris didn’t miss it. She clearly knew it wasn’t her mother.

Nora: Maybe. Wanna talk, apparently you isolated yourself.

Alejandro: Depends on what you plan on talking about ;)

Nora: you wanna go that route.

Alejandro: No idea what you're talking about. But how do I know I will see you

Nora: Don’t you trust my words. Of course, you will see me If I say so.

Alejandro: You never know, I might just hear your sweet voice because you won’t be visible of your short height.

Nora let out a small sound which gained the others attention again.

Nora: You wanna play that game. I won’t disappear, the others will make way for me.

Alejandro: Right I forgot you will make your way through the crowd with your poisonous tongue and vicious words. Nobody will dare to be in the way.

Nora, let out a small ha sound which made the others decide. They actually had to know who she was chatting with. SHe never was like this, especially on the phone.

Nora: Yhea and the words would be.....

She didn’t manage to finish the sentence before Cris stole her phone.

“OMG Nora” She felt like she would faint. This wasn’t happening especially not with Ines here” You really have some golden stuff with your mother.”

Nora couldn’t believe her ears did Cris really save her. Cris silently gave her a look that said well talk about it later let me handle this.

“Let me see” Eva tried to get the phone.

“I think it won’t be very nice to let you all see her messages from her mother. I wish I hadn’t. Now I just feel guilty”

“Sure, Cris. But I know I saw Alejandro's name there so please tell me what that was about” Ines had actually managed to sneak a peek at her phone. Nora wanted so badly to get out of there. How was she going to explain that? Ines was already giving her a piercing gaze.

“It’s true” Cris that traitor she thought,” he asked if she would be at the part” Nora was getting ready for imminent death” because he needs some help with English, and wondered if she could. Nothing more than that,” Nora took back all earlier thoughts and thanked Cris a million times.

“Okay, I see. My class starts so I gotta go” It was clear Ines didn’t believe them, her eyes told a totally different story.

The day of the party was finally here and Alejandro was still nowhere to e seen. Eva had apparently talked to Crisa and he still hadn’t heard a word from him. It made Nora wonder why he had contacted her. It wasn’t more than the few texts they sent each other that day, but it was more than anyone else had gotten. But Cris had apparently not seemed very concerned like this was something that usually happened. So eventually the biggest question of the night was if Alejandro would show up or not. The chance that he would show up was really low. But Nora had a feeling he would, and not just because of his strange text,

“Wow, this place really rocks. The music is also lit” Cris managed to shout over the music.

“Oh, my. He is actually here” Viris remark made everyone turn their head towards the opening. In came Alejandro looking better than ever. His dark curls were laying perfectly around his face. The black t-shirt was so tight you could almost see his muscles and the black leather jacket made everything sexier. And for some reason, he wore a pair of sunglasses that he took off as soon as he stepped inside. He walked past them towards his friends but first, he gave Nora a sweet smile. She felt her heart skip, what exactly was happening.

“Did you see how he smiled at us. So dreamy but I wonder where he has been during the last 2 weeks” Once again Nora managed to tune them out, she kept looking at Alejandro. How the blue and red lights kept shining on him and the way the reflected his beauty. She couldn’t help it, and once or twice he met her star and gave her a knowing smile and each time she averted her gaze. Just as she was sure he was going to walk away, he literally said something to the boys and started to move away, Ines appeared. He greeted her with a smile, while she just looked worried. Nora felt her heart sink. Ines was the one he cared about, after all, she is the one who has the right to be worried about him. She couldn’t take it, she couldn’t watch them stand there and be all lovey with each other.

“Guys, I’m gonna get some air” Her voice barely held

“Okay you sure you don’t want any company,” Cris asked with the most sympathy.

“No it’s fine” Nora walked away from the worried gazes she received. She found a lonely room with an open window. There she could finally think. She took a seat next to the window.

Alejandro felt her gaze on him since the moment he walked inside and he liked it. He loved having her attention, it was partly a reason why he decided to go out with Ines in the begging. He needed to see how Nora reacted. She had been really clear with all the rejections, she told him she didn’t like him, but still, he could see these small parts were she let her true feelings come out. But he also needed to move on, he couldn’t keep chasing her if she was dead set on rejecting him. Then the vacation came and Ines asked if she had a chance and he thought why not. Let’s give it a shot. Only know he realized how stupid he was, he broke the heart of the girl he wanted and played another. Ines had been serious and he had just used her for his own gain. How foolish had he been? he had just failed to see the signs where she was warming up to him. He also didn’t expect Nora and Ines to be friends, it made everything so much more complicated. Maybe he finally managed to clear the mess up, now he only needed to talk to Nora.

“I’ll be right back,” He told the guys and was just about to leave when Ines showed up. She looked great as usual. She wore a red tank top and a pair of jeans that sat just right on her hips. He greeted her with a smile.

“I think you owe me an explanation. You just broke up with me and then went IMO for the last couple of weeks”

“Sorry Ines, I had some stuff I needed to take care of”

“You know I was so worried. We are okay now right” Alejandro was just half listening because he felt Nora’s gaze disappear. He looked towards where she was but she had started to move away alone. Ines had moved visible closer and she almost kissed him when he moved. She stumbled a little forward. A shocked expression on her usually flawless face,

“Sorry, Ines gotta go. See you another time” Ines couldn’t believe what she just heard, he was serious and it wasn’t for some weird reason. She felt her heart shatter into a million pieces, what had she done that had made him leave her. She looked as he almost ran towards something and then she saw her. Nora, looking almost devastated walking awáy. It hit her Alejandro had never been serious, all this time his heart had belonged to Nora.

Alejandro silently followed Nora, carefully so she wouldn’t notice him. For some reason, it felt like he would make the situation worse if he disturbed her yet, He watched as she walked into a lonely room and took a seat next to an open window. She looked so beautiful sitting there. The moonlight shone on her blond hair and made it shine in golden tones. her skin looked so pale against the bold red lipstick, and her pale blue eyes shone. He admired her for a while until he saw a single tear roll down her cheek. He couldn’t stand her being sad.

“Hey,” He said with such a soft voice to not startle her too much. Still, she jumped a little at the sound of his voice. She quickly wiped her tear away before she turned to face him.

“Hey, what are you doing here” She tried to sound as casuaĺ as she could, but Alejandro could hear the slight shiver in her voice.

“Am I not allowed to be here” He tried to lighten up the situation a little, trying to joke with her as usual. But it only made her face fall, she looked even more hurt than before. He mentally slapped himself for being so stupid.

“Shouldn’t you be with Ines right now” It came out a lot harsher than she meant too. She immediately regretted saying it. Alejandro, on the other hand, seemed unfazed, and he finally figured out what it was about. She was jealous but didn’t wanna show it.

“We broke up, you know” He tried to keep himself from smiling. It was harder than he thought and that only made him feel like a jerk.

“Oh, I’m sorry” She suddenly seemed genuinely sad, and she sounded a lot softer than before. It took Alejandro a little by surprise.

“Yhea, me too but I couldn’t do it”

“Why” She tried to sound not so excited but failed pretty badly.

“It didn’t feel right to do that to her when I already really like someone else” He took a couple of steps closer to her. Locked his beautiful brown eyes on hers.

“Ohh” Nora felt so stupid that she couldn’t come up with anything else when in truth she wanted to yell at him. Asking who he liked. Alejandro at that moment decided that he wanted to let everything out. It was now or never, she would give him her final answer. If she said no, then he would accept it and not bother her anymore.

“Nora, you are the person I like” She looked at him in awe, he looked so vulnerable there. His beautiful brown eyes resembled an unsure puppy. He once again took a step closer to her” I have liked you since you told me off, but you never showed any kind sign that you felt the same” Nora suddenly felt that she needed to defend her in some way stupid pride.

“Then why did you start dating Ines” She wasn’t ready to admit that he actually hurt her by doing that.

“Because I was a stupid fool. Like I said earlier you didn’t show any sign that you liked me, but sometimes I could see that smile that showed you actually felt something for me.”

“So eventually you just used Ines.”

“It wasn’t meant like that. Yes, I used her for selfish reasons and I realized what I did. That’s why I broke up with her. I tried to move on with her at the same time I tried to see if you had any reaction, It was so messed up and eventually, I just hurt everyone in the process. All because I really like you Nora, please give me anything that says you like me back. If you really don’t have any kind of feelings for me I will back away. I won’t bother you again and I will leave you and your friends alone” He was so close to Nora now that with just one simple move he could kiss her, but he didn’t he waited for a sign. Nora never gave him one. She was so mesmerized by how the moonlight hit his brown eyes and reflected itself, It was like a small moon in his eyes. His cheekbones popped out and his hair got this beautiful rich brown color. She just wanted to reach out an touch him, drag her fingers along his jawline, take all of his beauty in. She just couldn’t take it all in, he just confessed he liked her, more exactly was crazy about her. Not even in her wildest dream could she have believed this would happen. But she liked. Just as she was supposed to reach up an touch him, he took a step away.

“Okay, I won’t bother you again” He had given up not even the slightest sound of happiness existed in his words. He started to walk away, and Nora panicked. She couldn’t lose him, not now. She almost jumped up from the bench. She needs to get his attention.

“Alejandro, don’t leave” She almost had tears in her eyes when he turned around. She took her chance and lunged herself at him. She could barely reach him, with her height. But thanks to her heels she managed to kiss him. He was shocked, to say the least, but soon he returned the kiss. He picked her up, so she clung to his waist like a koala. He kissed her neck, and then he traveled upwards again. Nora fiddled with his beautiful dark hair, and she couldn’t be happier. He put her against the windowsill. The cold wind blew in and sent shivers along Nora. Alejandro immediately noticed. He stopped kissing her for a second.

“here take my jacket” Alejandro let go of her wait and started to take fo his jacket.

“Whooo” Nora moved a little and suddenly found herself a little to close to falling out from the window. Luckily Alejandro caught her.

“Careful there, I don’t wanna have to pick you up downstairs” He gave her a teasing smile.

“No way that would happen with you here” She put her arms around his neck and kissed him softly again.

“Put on the jacket first then we can continue you clumsy” Nora playfully hit him, but she did as she was told. They stayed like that for a while, until Nora broke away.

“Maybe we should go down, or my friends will come looking for me” She smiled at him and gave him one more peck.

“That might be a good Idea, we have been here awhile. SO how do you wanna do it” Nora gave him a confused look?

“Do, what?”

“Wanna be official or do want to keep it on the low after all two of your friends” Nora cut him off with a quick peck again.

“You don’t have to say anymore. I don’t wanna hide but I don’t want to rub it in their face. You get it?”

“Yes, no showoff kisses maybe a peck once or twice, but hanging out and hugging is allowed” Nora gave him one of her most beautiful smiles.

“Exactly” She gave him one more kiss before he helped her down from the windowsill.

“Just remember you are coming to my place after this”

“Says who, she teased”

The girl squad was hanging out with Alejandro's boy squad. Eva and Cris were talking about where Nora and Alejandro could have disappeared too. It was not like Alejandro to miss a big part of the party. Viri suddenly spotted Nora’s blond hair.

“I think I found Nora” All head snapped towards the place Viri pointed out and there she was, followed by Alejandro.

“Well I guess we don’t have to look for them anymore” Eva pointed out

Authors Note: I hope you liked this, I don’t really know where to place Nora and Ines hair color so I went with blond. And I think Nora eye color was blue and not green. Either way, I hope you liked it and if you have any questions don’t hesitate to ask:)

#norandro #nora x alejandro #skam españa

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robininthelabyrinth · 5 years

Text

Fic: An Internal Affair - Chapter 18 (Ao3 link)

Fandom: The Flash Pairing: Leonard Snart/Barry Allen

Summary: Leonard Snart, the CCPD Captain of Internal Affairs, is known as Captain Cold for a very good reason: He hates corrupt cops with a merciless vengeance, and once you’re on his list, you’re in serious trouble.

His next target?

A CCPD lab tech named Barry Allen who’s developed a suspicious habit of disappearing at random intervals.

—————————————————————————————————

Barry is watching TV.

Yes, damnit, his boyfriend who he's in love with just left him (rightfully) over crimes he didn't even realize he was committing, he's having to rethink his entire system of morality because clearly the current version isn't up to the task, his foster-dad just got arrested, his new friends aren't talking to him because they're too busy scrambling as the police raid their apartments, he hasn't heard anything from Iris, the man who killed his mom and is probably a Family hitman is still at large and he's way too depressed to do anything about it -

But at least Mel and Sue sure are enjoying stealing bites from those yummy-looking biscuits that are probably a bit under-proofed.

Barry's life might be falling apart, but The Great British Bake-Off will never hurt him.

...yeah, things are bad.

Barry concedes this, but he also has no idea what he can do about it, so he's just going to sit here and watch television at regular speed like a normal person and, he’s not sure, maybe hold out hope for a sign from above or something.

"Barry!" Iris shouts, bursting in through his apartment door, closely followed by -

"Len?" Barry yelps, sitting straight up and disappearing into his room to put on something slightly sexier than his beloved oversized 'Runaway Dinosaur' shirt and shorts set that Iris got him years ago as a joke.

He reappears a second later in sweatpants and a button-down, which will just have to do because apparently that's all he has that's clean right now.

Len is here.

Len is -

Len is stealing a spoonful of Barry's Phish Food ice cream that he’s been eating instead of lunch.

"Hey!" Barry exclaims.

"Seriously?" Iris says, crossing her arms.

"I need sugar," Len says primly. "Hypoglycemia is a serious issue."

Iris rolls her eyes.

Len's smirk fades. "Barry, we need your help."

"What happened?" Barry asks at once. Len wouldn't be here for anything less than an absolute crisis - that much was painfully clear by the way things were left between them, with Len rushing out of STAR Labs, pale-faced, and the police showing up to talk to everyone the next day.

So whatever happened must have been serious.

"Wells took Eddie," Iris says. "And Mick."

"I - Wells?"

"You remember how Ramon theorized that Wells actually was the Man in Yellow rather than simply employing him?" Len asks, looking grim. "We've just confirmed that."

Crap. It’s not that Barry didn’t trust Cisco – even though it is sort of weird that he remembers the day-lost-to-time-travel when no one else does – but the idea of Wells being the Man in Yellow...

Barry’d always thought of Wells as being incredibly kind. A mentor. A trusted friend.

Turns out that was a lie from the very beginning.

"He was blurring his features at first, so we weren’t sure about it at first," Iris says, preempting the question Barry was about to ask. "But he stopped doing that after Len shot him in the face with the cold gun."

After Len –

What?!

"You shot Wells in the face with the cold gun?! Wells? Professor Harrison Wells?"

"In my defense, he was A, about to kill us all and B, not recognizable as Wells at the time," Len says dryly. "But yeah, I shot him, Iris and Thawne ran, and then he -"

Len's voice cuts off suddenly, and he closes his eyes briefly in undisguised pain.

Barry’s never seen him react to anything like that. Not anything except –

Except Mick.

His best friend. His Iris.

Barry's chest hurts, seeing Len suffer like this. Even after everything Len did, to him and to his friends, even after all the chaos and disaster that's happened...

He's still desperately in love with the man.

"He took Eddie and Mick and disappeared," Iris says, brutal in her practicality. There are tears shining in her eyes, tear-tracks still on her face, but she’s clearly moved beyond the point of crying. She’s on the warpath, and Barry knows exactly how dangerous an enraged Iris West can be. "We still don't know why he only took them -"

"I can only carry two people at top speed," Barry says. "I get stronger when I’m running, I can carry more weight than a normal person, but just as a practical matter I still only have two arms. If he's the same as me -"

"Why not just kill Snart, though?" Iris asks. "He was literally right there."

"Why run up and show me that he's still around, just to rub my face in the fact that he's faster?" Barry asks, feeling bitter. He knows why, now: because he tried to do something, anything, other than running faster and faster. He dared argue back, dared to stand up to Wells over wanting to focus on his work as a CSI, and he’d thought that Wells had accepted it. Sure, maybe not in good grace, but accepted it. Instead, Wells had just decided to dangle the Man in Yellow in front of him like a cat toy – here, have a prize, all you need to do is jump a little bit higher, run a little bit faster and you’ll get it. And it worked, too. "If we know anything about him, it's that he likes to play with people. Ruin their lives. You hurt him; he wants to hurt you. Just killing you wouldn’t be enough – he wants you to suffer."

"That'd explain why he'd take Mick," Len says quietly, his voice heavy. "But - why Thawne? Wouldn't Iris be a better target, if he's ultimately aiming at you?"

"Probably," Barry says, frowning. "I honestly have no clue why he'd take Eddie. Unless -"

"Unless what?" Iris asks.

Barry winces. "Hopefully nothing," he says. "But, it's just - okay, this is kind of weird, but, you see, if anything, trying to get me and Iris together was just about the only thing other than me getting faster that Wells cared about."

“Ugh, seriously?” Iris says. “Sorry, Bar, I love you, you know that, but I am just so sick and tired of people trying to make my romantic decisions for me.”

“No, I know, I got the message,” Barry says, smiling crookedly at her. He’s surprised – it doesn’t hurt as much as it used to, hearing Iris blithely dismiss the possibility of the two of them together.

He’s finally accepted it. He’s finally gotten over Iris.

And all it took to do it was to fall in love with a man who broke his heart, and Barry can't even blame him for it.

"First he targets your mom, then he targets you, and now your love life...sounds like you've got a stalker," Len says. "A creepy, obsessed stalker that moves at super-speed."

"Seems like it," Barry says, making a face.

"You have to help us figure out what happened, Bar," Iris says. "If the three of us work together, we can find Eddie and Mick, stop Wells, and make sure the Families don't get away with - with whatever it is they're up to!"

Barry looks at Len, who isn't looking at him. "I don't mind helping," he says. "If - Len..?"

"We're not okay," Len says abruptly. "We're not. You still...what you did...Listen, I know I might’ve - reacted in a rather extreme way, yes, but -"

"You were right," Barry says, interrupting. "You were totally right. What we were doing was wrong, and the fact that Wells was encouraging all of us not to think about it is no excuse at all. We're all adults. We should accept the consequences of our actions."

Len seems - surprised, almost. Like he thought Barry would try to defend himself, or deflect, or make excuses.

Barry won't.

For once in his life, he won't run.

It's the ethical thing to do. It's the sort of thing that someone - that someone Len could be proud of would do.

The sort of someone Barry wants to be.

Len nods, slowly. "Okay," he says. "Let's work together. Let's figure this out." Then he wrinkles his nose. "Fuck, I hate mysteries."

"You're a detective!" Iris exclaims.

Barry snickers. He can't help it: her face is just so hilariously offended.

"I became a cop because I like justice," Len tells her crossly. "Not because I like mysteries. Mysteries are pests; they get in the way of justice."

God, Len's so damn cute it hurts sometimes.

Mostly because Barry had that, and then lost it.

"Anyway, back to the main issue," Len says. "We don’t have much time –”

“We don’t? Wait, have we figured out what the Families are doing?”

“No, not quite,” Iris says. “But Eddie and I figured out that the Familes' ‘big day’ is going to go down on Election Day.”

“Wait, Election Day? That’s tomorrow!”

“We know,” Len says dryly. “Iris, go to the precinct and find Danvers. Get her up to date and keep going on that Zoom Contracting company, find out where that money is coming from, including whether its income is all Family money, and if so which Family. Check if some of it comes from somewhere else, too – and if it’s paid out any money recently. Bribes, specifically."

"Ask Terri to help you," Barry interjects. "They're a CSI, over at the lab; they're the best forensic accountant in the state."

"Do that," Len agrees. "Danvers also knows my passcode for the cardboard brigade, squeeze 'em for everything you can get. I want to know what’s going on, where, when, how, and right now Wells is our best lead on that. Throw away all discretion; go at it with both barrels. In the meantime, Barry and I'll follow up on the Dibny angle -"

"Wait, Dibny?" Iris asks. "That guy Barry hated so much?"

"Yeah, him," Barry says. "We think he might be acting - or being used, anyway - as a go-between to send messages from Family to corrupt cops. I'm sorry, I don't think I mentioned him to you before – it wasn’t on purpose, I wasn’t hiding it –"

"No, no, it's not that," she says, frowning in thought. "You definitely didn't mention it, but it’s weird. I swear I heard his name recently.”

“You heard his name?” Barry asks, surprised. “Where? Who in the world would be talking about him?”

“They were angry,” Iris says, her nose scrunched up in thought, trying to pull out the memory.

“Not at the CCPD, then,” Len says. “They tend to be angrier at the people doing the prosecuting than the cops doing the cheating. Think about the context of the memory – where have you been in the last few days?”

“God, I don’t know,” she says. “I haven’t been doing anything but police stuff the last few days – I’m staying with Eddie, Wally’s with us, but it wasn’t either of them. And other than the precinct, the only place I’ve been...wait, I know!”

“Well?”

“It was when Eddie and I were doing research in the mayor’s office,” Iris says. “Those dusty old archives – we’d gone to look for more on Zoom Contracting, complaints, records, anything. It was our first stop.”

“The fact that it’s a good place to make out had nothing to do with that being your first stop,” Len says, sounding amused.

“We just got engaged, we’re allowed to prioritize for things like that,” Iris says primly. “But seriously, I remember it now –someone mentioned his name in an angry voice as they walked by the archives room. I remember thinking about how hearing it would’ve made Barry start up his usual rant again if he’d been there.”

“Gee, thanks.”

“The weird thing is, though,” she continues, frowning , “that particular area’s restricted – Eddie only got us in by flashing his badge around. The only people around would’ve been the mayor and his staff. Barry, does this Dibny guy have any connection to the mayor?"

"The mayor? No, I don't -" Barry pauses.

That's not quite right, though, is it? When he'd gone over to see Dibny, asking about corruption cases, Dibny initially thought he was looking for stuff about blackmail, and then he’d hidden a folder -

And he'd asked about the mayor.

It clicks.

"Holy crap, guys," Barry says. "I think Dibny might be blackmailing the mayor."

"...well, then," Len says after a long moment, his expression rather perturbed. "Think we'd better go talk to him, then, don't you think?"

"Have fun with that, boys," Iris says, rolling her eyes and heading out the door.

Leaving them alone. Together.

It's suddenly awkward in a way it's never been for them before, the air in the room suddenly fraught with tension.

God, Len is so beautiful - beautiful and right and not Barry's.

And it’s all Barry’s fault.

"Okay," Barry says, breaking the silence. "Want me to run us to Dibny's office? Will you be okay?"

"Haven't torn anything recently," Len says with a shrug, because he’s an idiot who doesn’t take proper care of himself. Barry wants to chastise him, but he can’t; he knows he can’t. Len’s not his to worry about anymore. "So I'll manage. But –”

“But?”

“Maybe put on something slightly more formal first?"

A few super-speed seconds of digging uncover a better set of pants that are clean enough, and then they're off.

The hallway to Dibny's office is just as grubby as Barry remembers it, though luckily free of Family members.

Len seems unperturbed by their shabby surroundings, but then again his accent makes it clear that he grew up in slums far worse than this neighborhood.

God. Barry wants to ask him about it – about his past, about growing up in the slum, about everything. Was this like what you knew when you were a kid? Better? Worse? How have things changed? Does it hurt you to come here? Or does it feel like climbing back into your worst old rattiest set of pajamas, like coming home even though you know intellectually that it’s awful?

Barry thought he’d have all the time in the world to ask those questions.

Those questions, and more.

He’d dreamed, soft and secret and deep down where he wouldn’t tell anyone about it, that he’d have a whole lifetime to ask those questions.

But no.

Just because Barry’s in love with Len doesn’t mean – doesn’t mean Len feels the same way.

All hope of that’d been extinguished right alongside his trust in Barry.

At least Barry has this much: Len still trusts him enough to work with him. A colleague, an ally, maybe even – one day – a friend again.

It’s not what Barry wants, not at all; he wants so much more than that. But if this is all Barry can get, then he’ll take it and he’ll never let it go.

He’ll be the sort of man that Len deserves to have as a friend.

"Any thoughts before we go in?" Barry asks.

"You know Dibny better than me," Len says. "I don’t think I know him at all – he joined the force well after the point where I was officially not on talking terms with any cops except org crime’s undercover people, and he was gone before I got back. You take the lead to start; I’ll jump in if there’s anything I feel I need to add."

Barry nods.

Dibny doesn't do the pretentious chair-swirl when Barry walks in this time, just startles a bit from where he's standing by the window. He has a view of the street, so he's probably just surprised that he didn't see them coming into the building. That seems like the sort of paranoid thing that Dibny would do, watch the street like a creep for oncoming visitors.

Though in this neighborhood, maybe it’s less paranoia and more of a reasonable precaution…

"Allen," Dibny says blankly.

Then, a second later, his overly-facile face splits into a truly nasty smirk. "Well, well, well, look what the cat dragged in. Heard you got yourself suspended, Allen – suspended pending investigation – possibly going to get fired –"

"That isn't important," Barry says impatiently. Yes, there’s a better-than-decent chance he’ll lose his job, maybe even go to jail – unlikely, but only because the CCPD hates imprisoning its own people, and they definitely don’t want to re-open all the cases Barry’s worked on as a CSI. Yes, he knows that’s extremely unfair, but he also knows that’s probably how it’s going to turn out. Yes, Barry’s extremely upset about it, since being a CSI isn’t just a job he got to pay the bills, it’s a job he got because he loves the work, but it doesn’t matter. They have the Families to deal with – they have Wells to deal with. He doesn't have time for a stupid rivalry-driven ‘I told you so’ from Dibny of all people. "I need you to tell me everything you know about what the Families have planned."

Dibny's eyes flicker and he flinches, just the slightest bit.

He knows something!

"I don't know anything," he says.

Ugh.

Barry hates this guy.

"We know about what you're doing with the mayor, Dibny," Barry says, crossing his arms. "And we know that messages between the Families and the corrupt people on the police force are being passed through here."

"They are not," Dibny says, mirroring Barry. "And even if they were, or even if you did know anything about the mayor that might interest me, what's it to you? I don't have to tell you anything. You're not even a real cop – and anyway you're suspended!"

"Oddly enough," Len drawls from where he's hanging back by the door, "that's why I came along."

Dibny twists to look at Len for the first time, scowling. "Who the hell are you?"

"A cop," Len says dryly. "Who's not suspended."

"Yeah, right," Dibny says dismissively. "I know all the cops, every one of them, no matter where or who; it's practically my superpower. And I don't know you, which means you're not a cop."

Len's eyebrows go up as Dibny speaks, his expression incredulous.

Barry can’t blame him – all this time and fuss about people finding out that he’s a cop, and he finally tells someone who doesn’t know and they don’t believe him?

Weird.

Len balances his weight on his crutches and reaches into his pocket – actions slow and steady, the way you would around someone who might be afraid you’re pulling a gun – and he pulls out his ID. He's holding it awkwardly, suggesting that he's not yet accustomed to being called upon to show it to people.

Probably because he doesn't actually bother arresting non-police people for stuff, and all the police already know who he is.

It’s definitely a real ID, though, and Dibny’s an ex-cop; he’ll recognize that much.

"As you can see," Len says, waving the ID around a bit. "I am, in fact, a cop. Captain Leonard Snart, at your service."

Dibny goes dead white.

Barry wasn't expecting that. Judging by the surprised tilt of Len's head, neither was he, though he's probably hiding his reaction better than Barry is.

"And it's clear you've heard my name before," Len observes.

"I - er - that is - there isn't - aren't you dead?"

"Reports of my demise have been greatly exaggerated," Len says, starting to frown. "Who told you about me, anyway? Your friends at the precinct wouldn't have any reason to mention me – and certainly not by name."

"Uh, no, that is – I mean – they don't – I didn't - "

"Oh, but you did, didn't you," Len says, his voice dropping into that calm, cool voice he gets when he's really pissed off. "That's why you were hoping I was dead, wasn't it?"

Barry looks between Len and Dibny, confused. Len was calm three seconds ago, and now he’s suddenly furious? Just because Dibny knew his name?

He knows that Len’s super upset about what happened with Mick, but this reaction seems outsized even for a particularly emotional Len.

So it has to be something Dibny said. But what?

"I don't get it," he says hesitantly. He doesn’t really want to get in between Len and Dibny right now; Len is really glaring death at the guy. Not that Barry objects, of course, if you’d asked him how he’d rank Len trying to murder Ralph Dibny with his eyes as a mental image, he’d probably have put it somewhere in his top twenty most wanted – but he doesn’t like being out of the loop. "What did he do?"

"'I know all the cops,'" Len mimics Dibny, his voice hard. "'It's practically my superpower.' Really is, isn't it? And it's one you've had for a while now, ain't it, Dibny? For quite a while now."

He takes a few steps forward, his crutch making an ominous thudding noise as he moves.

Dibny flinches away before him, scrabbling backwards towards his desk, then past it, to the window – backing up until he can’t back away any more.

"And you like to talk, don't you, Dibny?" Len continues, his expression more actively malevolent than Barry's ever seen it. "You like to talk about your little 'superpower' - maybe even show off a little -"

"I had to!" Dibny bursts out. "I had no choice! You don’t understand! I'd gotten fired from the force, thanks to Barry here, and after the first year or two, I realized that my private investigation business wasn't paying the bills - people didn't believe I had what it took to get them what they needed – I needed to show them –"

"Oh, and I bet you showed them all right," Len says. "Only way to build your new business, wasn’t it? Your new business selling information. But people don’t just agree to let people be information brokers – oh no – you have to give them a little taste of what you can offer – a freebie – something you know that no one else does, something valuable, something you don’t really care too much about – and that’s just what you did –"

"I didn't have a choice! They wouldn't have believed me about anything if I didn't know things! Secret things! Cop things!"

"Like the identity of one of Central's undercover cops," Len says, and suddenly Barry gets it.

"You did it?" he exclaims, horrified. He’s never liked Dibny at the best of times, but it’d never even occurred to him as a possibility. It should have, he realizes that now – Dibny’d all but told him when they talked, all his boasting about information and friends in the precinct and things that he knew because he cozied up to people while calling Barry an anti-social idiot. He’d learned things, all right; things like Len’s name, things like what Len did. An undercover cop. Yes, that was the perfect bit of information to sell out to show that you meant business – as long as you didn’t care what happened to the guy you spilled the beans on. "You're the one who leaked Len's identity to the Families? You got him tortured and shot and his best friend nearly murdered - to drum up more business?"

"Well, when you put it that way, it sounds kinda bad -"

Len takes another step forward. His face is very, very level, very calm. His eyes are not.

"Oh God please don't kill me!" Dibny yelps.

“I’ve been looking for you for a while now,” Len says conversationally. “I've had some things to say to you, you see. Now, while I wasn’t expecting you to just drop into my lap, I’m not one to say no when an opportunity presents itself...”

He takes another step, his hand dropping down to the cold gun by his side.

The one that’s fatal to normal people.

Barry takes a step forward, concerned. "Len, listen, I know you're angry, but you're an ethical guy, okay?" he says, holding out his hands. "You don't want to do this. You'd have to turn in your badge and arrest yourself. Let's just arrest him instead, okay? Nice and legal. Okay?"

Another step.

Len's not listening. Of course he's not; this is the man who destroyed his life, destroyed Mick's life, the man responsible for everything that’s gone wrong since the beginning.

The man Len's been hunting all this time.

The man Captain Cold has been hunting all this time.

"Listen to Allen, please, just arrest me, don’t let him kill me," Dibny babbles. "Listen, Snart, you - you don't want to do this, really! I know things, I know lots of things - I know what the Families are up to, I can tell you that, you want that, right, and in exchange you give me immunity for the leak -"

"No," Len says firmly, and that's about when Barry realizes that Len is totally playing Dibney right now. His voice is intimidating, yes, but he's not about to cross the lines he's set for himself. He's just dealing with the fact that they have an incipient crisis on their hands and Dibny is withholding information that could mean life or death for their city. "No deal. You talk, you talk now, and maybe, if your intel's good enough, I'll arrest you."

"What good's that do me?" Dibny protests. “You’re going to arrest me anyway!”

Len bares his teeth. "Well, alternatively, other option's that I don't listen to Barry here and I don’t arrest you. You don’t want that option. Trust me."

"Oh," Dibny squeaks, his voice suddenly gone higher-pitched. "Right. In that option I die, right?"

"No," Len says. "In that option I call up the CCPD, tell all your buddies that you're a would-be cop-killer, and have them arrest you."

"...shit."

"Limited time offer," Len says. "Talk. Now."

"Listen, as a preliminary thing, I want to be clear that I've got nothing to do with the Families," Dibny says. "I don't! I've never worked with them, I've never dealt with them; at most some of their thugs come by and do some stuff down the hall, that's it. I'm not involved!"

"Yeah, right," Barry says with a snort. "You're not blackmailing the mayor for them?"

"I wouldn't! Not for the Families!" Dibny exclaims. "I'm not a Family cop, you know; I never was. And it's not much blackmail, not really, just some pictures of him cheating that he doesn’t want to get out so close to Election Day - and I really only do it when my landlord suddenly demands I pay the back rent -"

"Of course," Barry says with a sigh, figuring it out. It makes sense. Why involve more people than you have to? "If you’re doing it that predictably enough, then they don't actually need you to be involved. If they know that you're blackmailing the mayor, then they can blackmail him with the fact that he's being blackmailed - and since they almost certainly either own the building or have something on your landlord, they can control when you press him. You're just an unwitting tool."

"Yes! Exactly! Unwitting! That means I'm not working for the Families!"

"I'll grant you that much, sure," Len says with a sneer. He looks at Dibny like he’s something he just stepped in. "But that doesn't change the fact that you fancy yourself some sorta information broker. Well, give us the information, now, or else you'll be the one who's broken."

Barry will not laugh. Barry will not laugh.

Barry cannot believe Len actually just made that pun.

More to the point, he can't believe it could possibly work as a threat, except apparently it does because Dibny starts talking.

"It's the fact that they're failing," Dibny says, voice hushed as if to convey the importance of the information he’s telling them – or possibly just afraid someone will overhear them. "The Families - between your undercover work and the Feds' inroads, their power is in serious decline. They're too risky. No one wants to work for them and get killed. And if they can't get people to work for them, fear them, things like that - well, with that gone, they don't have as much influence over anything. They want that influence back, and they have a plan to get it."

“Stop running out the time,” Len says, his eyes flickering very briefly to Barry, who wants to kick him and kiss him at the same time. Now is not the time for puns! “What’s the plan?”

“They’ve got a deal set up,” Dibny says. “A big one. The biggest deal. I don’t know how, but they’ve managed to get in contact with the military –”

“The military?” Barry exclaims, alarmed. Sure, he's had some brief encounters with them – after Bette Sans Souci died, her meta powers turning inwards to kill her – but he’d forgotten about them right afterwards.

It’d never seemed like a big deal, and Wells had dismissed all of their concerns.

Wells.

Of course.

If he’s in on this whole deal with the Families – and he has to be – then of course he’d make sure they didn’t think too much about the local military, the ones who thought it was a good idea to take someone with meta powers they barely understood and try to use her as a weapon.

Not unlike what Wells was trying to groom Barry into.

God, he was such an idiot.

“The local guy, Eiling; all reports say that he’s a nutcase,” Dibny says. “Military, yeah, but he’s involved in all sorts of weird science stuff, too. Normally the Families don’t go anywhere near military stuff in the best of times – they know when they’re outgunned – but somehow one of their people got in contact with the military and started brokering a deal –”

“Someone legit,” Len murmurs. “Trustworthy. A prominent scientist with military connections, maybe.”

Wells.

It has to be.

“So that’s the deal,” Dibny says. “The Families are going to supply the military with all the black market goods they want – including people to experiment on, especially people who’ve been affected by the Accelerator explosion – and the military’s going to feed them back enough military-grade guns and cash that they’re going to be able to run this city the way they used to.”

“Shit,” Barry says with feeling. There’s no other word for it. Especially if Wells planned the whole time to throw the metas he'd had Barry capture in as part of the deal...things are just getting worse and worse.

“The military money’s going to get laundered through city government, but it’s going to go to all the corrupt guys – there’ll be enough to go around,” Dibny continues. “That’s helping them get it through, but it’s not enough, they’re needing to pull out all the stops to make sure no one blows this deal up. They’ve got pressure on politicians no one even suspected they had pressure on, to get this whole deal moving – we’re not just talking the mayor; we’re talking the governor, we’re talking the cops –”

“The Commissioner?” Len asks.

“Probably, I don’t know,” Dibny says with a helpless shrug. “The thing is, they can’t just make this deal and be done with it – they know the military’ll just wash their hands of them the second any of it comes to light. So they came up with this plan to make sure that no one’ll be able to back out at the last second: an actual deal, signed on paper, with a videotape of the signing. All the big guys in the city with their names on one document –”

“Making sure they don’t back out – after all, if they don’t hang together, they’ll most definitely hang separately,” Len says.

“Seriously, Len?” Barry says.

“What?” Dibny asks. “Wait, was that a musical quote? 1776?”

“It’s a Benjamin Franklin quote,” Barry says. “Still sort of inappropriate.”

“To be fair, I was in fact quoting the musical, and anyway it’s entirely appropriate because after a certain point it’s gotta be either laughter or tears and I don’t got time for the latter,” Len says. “That’s why this is on Election Day, isn’t it? Because everyone in the state’s gonna be in Central and no one’s gonna question it – and all of that talk about logistics, that’s the Families working out how to escort all the relevant people to this big meet-up without anyone noticing that all the bigwigs in town are all gone at the same exact time.”

“Exactly,” Dibny says.

“If you knew all this, why didn’t you tell someone?” Barry demands.

“Tell who?” Dibny shoots back. “I know they’ve got people in the cops, they’ve got people in the government, they’ve got judges, DAs, everything, and to be perfectly honest I don’t exactly want to go up against the Families, okay?! People who do that get shot!”

“Not as much as they used to,” Len says. “A situation that they’re now trying to reverse. Barry, we’re leaving.”

“Wait, what?” Dibny exclaims. “You’re just – leaving?”

“Do you have any more information?” Len asks. “Like where they’re going to meet to do the signing?”

“Uh, no, that’s all I know.”

“That’s what I thought. Since unlike you we intend to actually do something about this, we’re leaving.”

“But what are you going to do about me?” Dibny protests.

“Of course,” Barry hisses. “Always thinking about yourself –”

“Yeah, well, ‘myself’ seems pretty damn important right about now! I just blabbed on the Families to the cops! I want protection! I want to be surrounded by cops! I want -”

“Fine,” Len says.

“– to be...wait, really?” Dibny looks incredulous at Len’s agreement.

Barry can’t blame him; he’s feeling pretty incredulous himself. Dibny gets police protection? For that?

“Oh, absolutely,” Len says. “You should go to the CCPD right now. Or better yet, get any trustworthy friends you can find and then go to the CCPD. They’re going to need all hands on deck pretty soon.”

Dibny blinks. Barry blinks.

Len shakes his head at both of them, his expression gone grim.

“This is Central City,” he says. “The Families walk the line, remember? Everyone knows they’re there, but everyone that our city thinks is important thinks they’re not going to be affected personally by it. Oh, sure, there’s some corrupt cops, some corrupt politicos, anyone elected out of a slum district, we all know that, but we shrug it off because it’s just how Central City works – and anyway, we know who they are, so we can just avoid them.”

“But that’s not what this is,” Barry says, a terrible sinking feeling in his stomach. “This is – this is corruption on an unimaginable scale. This is everybody finding out that everything is a lie: their democracy, their police, their laws...”

“People are going to riot,” Dibny says, his face pale. “The whole city's going to go totally fucking crazy.”

“Yeah,” Len says. “They are. And once I call the Feds to come in, the Families are going to lash out like the cornered rats they are.”

“You can’t do that,” Dibny hisses. “If you bring in the Feds, it’ll be absolute chaos –”

“There’s no choice,” Len says. “You want to be surrounded by police? Go to the CCPD and help out. You want to hide in your basement until it’s all over? Do that, if that’s what you want to. Barry?”

“Right. Leaving.”

Barry follows Len out the door, sliding it shut behind him so that Dibny, standing in his office and gaping at them, won’t see him run at superspeed once they get to the end of the hallway.

Once outside, though, he looks at Len. “He’s right, you know,” he says. “There’ll be riots, and it’ll only be worse if the Feds come in. If the Families think they’re dealing with some sort of existential crisis, they’ll pull out all the stops to protect themselves. Every person they have pressure on, every person who’s ever taken an unwise loan, every shopkeeper that ever paid them protection money...they’ll call them all in to fight for them.”

“I know,” Len says. “But we have to stop them from making this deal. And if the CCPD’s compromised, it has to be the Feds.”

“They’ll make a mess of things.”

“Probably,” Len agrees. “I know a bunch of them, though; worked closely with them. They trust me. If I say they have to work with the CCPD – the good, not-corrupt parts of the CCPD – they’ll bitch and whine but they’ll do it.”

Barry nods. “And it’s better than the Families,” he says, thinking back to his dad’s stories of the older days, when he was a kid, back when Central City had been a real Family haven. Murders on the train lines, police looking the other way except for when the ones on the take were assaulting people who tried to fight back against Family influence, drugs sold openly on street corners, violence and crime everywhere...

They can’t let that happen.

“I’ll call my guys,” Len says, pulling out his phone. “You call Iris. We need to make this public.”

“Public? The riots –”

“I know,” Len says grimly. “Publicizing it will only make the riots happen faster. I know. I’m planning for it.”

“Planning – but why?”

“Because we don’t have time to do otherwise. Even if I call the Feds, mobilization takes forever and Election Day’s tomorrow. As it is, the Feds won’t be able to pull in enough guys to properly fight the Families at full force. We need the citizens of Central City – even if the only thing they can do is create such a mess that no one in the Families will be able to escape.”

Barry swallows hard, imagining his beautiful city in flames, knowing that these types of riots can kill people, but he nods. There’s no other way of stopping the Families. The people have to know.

The people have a right to know.

“One last thing,” he says hesitantly.

Len raises his eyebrows. He’s already dialing.

“The Feds can do a lot,” Barry says, then swallows. “But they can’t defeat the Reverse Flash.”

No one can.

Not even Barry.

He’s not fast enough. But if the Reverse Flash is Wells, then maybe he was never going to be.

But Barry’s the only one who even stands a chance.

He has to try.

Len pauses, considering.

“You’re right,” he says after a long moment. “They can’t. They’re not equipped for something like that; he’ll plow right through them.”

Barry winces.

Another moment of silence.

“Okay,” Len finally says. “Okay. After we alert the Feds and Iris, you and I, we’ll go stop him ourselves.”

“Ourselves? But we don’t even know where he is!”

“Of course we do,” Len says. “Now that I’ve had a moment to think about it, it’s obvious. I know where he’s hiding, and I know where he’s keeping Thawne and Mick.”

“Where?”

“STAR Labs,” Len says. “Right in the part that was hand-made – literally – by Zoom Contracting.”

Hand-made by Wells.

By the Reverse Flash.

By the Man in Yellow.

Of course.

“I know just where to go,” Barry says.

#coldflash #barry allen #leonard snart #iris west #ralph dibney #my fic #an internal affair

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