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maskydoolovesmasseffect · 3 years

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Mass Effect Tag

Wellio, I’ve been tagged by @berryshiara. Passing this on to @grummel83

Gunna answer my questions now. Y’all feel free to tell me what you think of these answers.

I’m a fan since: 2008. I was just out of high school and still not over KoTOR. I was fresh in the army and got to talking to some other dude fresh to the army about video games. He asked me if I played Mass Effect. I said no. By the next day I just about totally forgot about him, then he suddenly appeared out of nowhere sat in front of me in the chow hall and pulled a copy of ME1 for Xbox 360 out his pocket like he was a magician doing a magic trick (ACU pockets are huge.)

Anyway turns out that guy was a romance option and I must have picked the right dialogue options. I’m still with him, too.

Favorite game of the series:

Mass Effect 2. It seemed like that’s the one where choices mattered most and you really got to know your squaddies. Also MAJOR gameplay improvements over the first game. And that game gave me the most freedom to do basically whatever I wanted and wasnt afraid to give me consequences for it.

MShep or FShep:

FShep. Nothing against MShep, but for me the real Shep is FShep. Can’t beat Jennifer Hale’s voice.

Earthborn, Colonist, or Spacer:

Colonist. I like having the background of knowing just how dangerous the galaxy can be and how the Alliance can’t be everywhere at once so sometimes you need to manage your best on your own.

Biotics or Tech:

Both.

Paragon or Renegade:

Paragon, mostly. I tried being renegade but some of the actions are just so pointlessly dickish, or even outright unhinged in a way that would make it impossible to believe the Alliance would ever promote Shepard as an officer or even keep her in the Alliance at all, especially in the first game.

That said, there are times where a renegade action is more expedient and practical than a paragon one, like in 2 when you stab a dude in the back to prevent him from repairing an enemy gunship, so even with a paragon playthrough, my Shepard will have no issues taking that opportunity. She’s already seconds away from betraying all those guys anyway.

Paragon in treatment of others, renegade in combat pragmatism.

Favorite Class:

I play as infiltrator and vanguard.

Infiltrator is great for using a sniping and opening loot, and then for going invisible, and if I remember right AI hacking too. That’s cool and I wish there were more genuine opportunities for stealth.

Nowadays I play as Vanguard in my playthroughs mainly just so my Shepard can be canonically biotic for story reasons. From 2 on when looting no longer needs a special skill and I get to charge around the map. I don’t really care much about using biotics (that’s what the squadies are for) but the movement is super useful (when Shepard actually does the thing instead of just standing out in the open soaking up bullets until the ability decides to actually work.)

Favorite Companion:

Garrus. I like to set him up in sniper positions. When he actually STAYS where I put him instead of running straight up to enemies to try to snipe them at point blank, he’s great.

Also his quips in 2 on are pretty entertaining.

Least Favorite Companion:

Garrus, Oh my god. Go back to the sniper position where I put you. Leave tanking to krogan; you do not have the HP for this.

Also Kaidan in ME1. He can not shoot to save his life - literally.

My Squad Selection:

For all ME1 playthroughs after my first one, Ashley and Kaidan, just of their comments and because... well... I only have so much time with them.

Apart from that I mainly just pick my team based on who’s likely to have the most interesting commentary on whatever the mission happens to be, squad balance be damned.

Favorite In-Game Romance:

Garrus X Shepard is my favorite love story. They are just so adorable together and always supportive even when they disagree.

But my cannon romance is Kaidan X Shepard for the drama and angst.

Favorite NPC:

In ME1 there’s this random Turian on Noveria who randomly has like a New York accent and I absolutely adore him. He plays basically no part in the story other than some minor information but he’s just so pleasant to speak to.

“If you need anything, I’ll be here.”

Favorite Antagonist:

Morinth, the Ardat-Yakshi daughter of Samara. Yes, she’s a murderous vampire who will absolutely kill you given the chance... but like, it’s a medical condition. And I really can’t help but feel for ardat-yakshi in general when their only options are to spend their whole lives on the run from justicars out to execute them, or waste their entire 1000 year lifespan imprisoned in a monetary unable to experience the world at all. Yeah, Morinth is evil, but Ardat-Yakshi don’t exactly have a good deal.

Favorite Loyalty Mission:

Grunt’s loyalty mission is the best. I get to help my baby boy, reunite with Wrex, enjoy krogan society being fleshed out, have a kickass battle against a thresher maw, and get a breeding request. It’s nice to have a quest that isn’t about family drama and genuinely gets a happy end.

Favorite Mission:

Despite Citadel DLC requiring everyone to have a deathgrip on an idiot ball, and also basically gloss over some really dark stuff, the whole clone storyline with the whole crew is an absolute ride all the way though, with lots of interesting and unique scenarios, a ton of replay-value, and funny party banter that feels like it came straight out of a Marvel movie.

Favorite DLC:

Again, Citadel DLC. Not only did it come with the story above, it also had all those interactions with past and present crewmates, including a memorial for Thane (finally!), a cool apartment to hang out in, a party, an arcade, and an awesome battle arena. It really added a TON. Also, it’s nice to see Bioware figure out that DLC needs characters - I’m remembering back in the DLC to ME 1 the party never had a single thing to say, no matter what was going on. The fun and wacky Citadel DLC is a far cry from the serious and somewhat dark space opera Mass Effect started as, but as the final DLC capping off the end of the series, it gets to do a silly victory lap (and get the taste of the ending out of our mouths.)

Control, Synthesis, Or Destroy:

No.

Favorite Weapon:

Sniper rifles, whatever I have that’s fast and has high damage output. Also that one pistol that shoots tiny energy grenades. Pew pew.

Yeah I wasn’t really big into the weapons so much. I’m here to get my story on.

Favorite Place:

The presidium on the Citadel. It bothered me a lot when I couldn’t explore it in the second game. I know it would have been terribly impractical, but as the presidium is just a huge ring, it would have been cool to be able to explore the whole thing, going past all the little park areas, shops, monuments and so on until you loop aaaaall the way back around to where you started. Like, how cool would it be if the ring had a running track? Maybe C-sec academy trainees would be spotted jogging together along it in formation. And can you imagine grabbing a coffee (I was going to make up a space-related name for Starbucks but it’s already STARbucks...) and taking a nice stroll along the water before finding a nice bench to alien-watch from? Other locations in the game are like great places to explore and do gameplay stuff, but the presidium seems like a nice place to just be.

Favorite Quote:

"Stand in the ashes of a trillion dead souls and ask the ghosts if honor matters. The silence is your answer." - Javik.

This is such a fucking raw damn line. It makes me think a lot about Cerberus. When ME3 wasn’t out yet, I thought maybe the plan was Shepard would at some point choose a side, Alliance for paragons and Cerberus for renegades. It would have been so cool to have morality not merely be good vs evil, but idealism vs that ruthless calculus Garrus mentioned. How fucking raw would it be if Cerberus wasn’t just generically evil for no reason and suddenly indoctrinated but really were embodying that ruthless calculus, determined to defeat the reapers at any and all cost. Maybe Cerberus actions’ were more likely to do terrible things for the sake of ultimate victory, doing whatever it took, whereas the Alliance would be less willing to make the terrible choices and ultimately be less likely to succeed.

Now obviously, that’s not what happened, as it would have required Bioware to basically make two entirely separate games. But that line from Javik makes me think of that concept, and a universe where like Dragon Age party members can approve or disapprove of actions not merely as good or evil but along the lines of their personal values. I think Javik would sit at victory at all cost.

Also that one mission in 2 where some random NPC catches Shepard sneaking around and is all like ‘what are you doing here?’ and Shepard is like ‘What am I doing here? What are you doing here? Get out here before it blows!’ and the guy’s freaking out like WTF and she says ‘RUN!’ then laughs to herself as he flees from an imaginary bomb. Shep you troll.

The thing I like the least about the entire franchise:

The misogyny and objectification that crept its way in, epically from the second game on. Really didn’t like those ass-shot camera angles, or female characters being slut-shamed in-universe for the clothes the designers made them wear. Yikes.

But the biggest yikes for me in that regard is actually the reveal in 3 that the prothians guided asari development. That was fine and all, but the part that bothered me was the characters commenting “ooooh, so that’s why asari are so advanced,” as it was ever any kind of mystery before that exact moment. For one thing, asari aren’t really shown as being more advanced than anyone else, apart from having discovered the citadel first, and for second, why wouldn’t asari be advanced? All the way from ME1 it’s established that 1: Asari live for a really long time, and 2: can instant transmit information directly from brain to brain. That means they have long lifetime in which to accumulate knowledge and experience, and also can easily spread and preserve that knowledge without even the need for books. That ALONE should put them ahead. And even with all that, they only barely beat the salarians to discovering the Citadel first. But no one asks for an explanation for why salarians, who live only a few decades and can’t do mental data-transfer, are so advanced. No, only the success of the all-women race needs explaining. It was just one moment but it still bugs me.

Also the general loss of realism after the second game. First game everyone gets armor, including full-face helmets automatically on in environments that need it. After that, people can apparently just wander the battlefield half-naked and even somehow survive in a total vacuum if they just put a plastic cup (that isn’t even connected to anything) over their mouth and nose. In the first game they at least made up some reasonable-sounding science fiction explanation for things, but after that it’s like F-it everything is just space magic now.

Oh, and those repetitive unlocking stuff minigames. I use a mod to just skip those.

#mass effect #tag

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aerltarg · 3 years

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2, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 26, 27 from ask game

2. Are there any popular fandom OTPs you only BroTP?

oh, it's actually hard to answer bc pretty often my otps can work as brotps for me as well. it also means that when i can't ship some characters they don't work for me as friends either. not to mention that in asoiaf i'm open to many ships, and if i'm not very passionate about some it's not a sign i can't see them in romantic light.

5. Has fandom ever ruined a pairing for you?

may i say any sansa ship? 😭 as well as sansa herself lmao. idk generally i can't ship characters i don't like because i'm just not interested. and it's not to say i don't like book!sansa (show!sansa is another case 💀), i just don't find her arc as intriguing and epic as arcs of some other characters. however, it's absolutely her obnoxious fandom's fault that i don't want to touch anything about her now, pairings including. sansaery? pass. sansan? i used to have a soft spot for them in my heart but now? nah. sansa x anyone? pls have mercy, she's already a fandom bicycle.

and jonsa ofc. i would never mind some crack ship as i do this one if not for their obnoxious stans that did way too much to list there right now. but this burning desire to persuade every rock on the street that your crack ship is canon will never stop being ridiculous lmao

also braime. tbh i used to low-key like them but some of their stans weirded my away lol. i get that not all of them are like that but still. it's generally my great pain when i see braime/brienne/jaime stans who are also dany/targ antis. every time i see them i cackle and run away as fast as i can crying from disappointment lmao. it's really a pity because i'm either very neutral or like in my own way all three of them.

6. Has fandom ever made you enjoy a pairing you previously hated?

jonrya it is! i never hated them, you know, but they never were more than siblings and brotp to me. however, later i encountered the deluded crack ship fandom that shall not be named and understood that if there is any possible romance for jon with any of his sisters-cousins we all know which one it will be lmao. also their stans are very sweet and i really like many of their takes on arya and jon! i generally love relationships of jon and arya very much so it wasn't that difficult in practice to see them in a quite different light.

7. Is there anything you used to like but can't stand now?

meta culture lmao. reading different analysis and interpretations of the text used to be very interesting to me (and still is tbh but in other fandoms) though asoiaf is a different case. imo many people aren't honest in their so called theories and analyses. i get that all of us are biased but some "meta writers'" denial of their own biases influence fandom in a bad way. it looks like too many people run to them to get answers to their questions about any minor detail as if they were grrm himself. yk instead of using their own reading comprehension lmao. you see how this meta culture ruined fandom just looking at the most delusional stans and shippers who spread their agenda by writing endless text posts full of nonsense and bullshit but styled as oh so intellectual and thoughtful analysis. it's insane how many people actually buy it and don't check canon accuracy of such claims themselves. it got to the ridiculous point when random people try to argue with you with some far-fetched embarrassing "theories" as if they were canon facts or quotes straight up from a fanfic because they read somewhere some other confused soul's post and got from a context that this quote is canon (despite the fact that it wasn't written in grrm's style at all but some people can't use their brains even if their lives depended on it it seems).

anyway it's become too long and rambly already so tldr. because of such "neutral unbiased" analyses i got the habit of fact checking almost everything i see in such posts. there's only a small amount of meta writers from targ/dany/jon/arya stans that i trust because i know by practice and following them for some time that they don't pull anything out of nowhere, back up everything they say with canon quotes, don't decontextualize anything and (that is the most important thing to me) are reasonable and open to discussion unlike so many bnfs nowadays.

8. Have you received anon hate? What about?

ah, not in this fandom yet, god bless! i think i'm not loud enough for the needed amount of time to deserve it lol. but since i'm not going anywhere soon maybe one day i will 😂

9. Most disliked character(s)? Why?

robert baratheon and tywin lannister, obviously. tbh it's pretty hard for me to hate any characters because you know. they're fictional lmao. just lines on paper, they can't hurt you. and even such dudes as tywin or robert don't get real distaste from me if they're written well enough. my problem with them lies not only in their canon crimes and shitty consequences of those but in fandom's (or at least some parts of it) unwillingness to acknowledge that they're canonically written as shitty, not as stan/pity/worship material. tywin isn't as clever as some think and robert is a coward outside of battlefield, not to mention some absolutely disgusting denial of his nature from targ antis only because the man happened to be the most vocal targ hater in-universe so these folks feel like he is their main book representative and whitewash him completely lmao

10. Most disliked arc? Why?

uugh idk even. i'm either low-key interested (or used to be at least so i can stay pretty neutral for the sake of nostalgia lol) or too indifferent to really care.

11. Is there an unpopular character you like that the fandom doesn't? Why?

all my faves have their own crowd of haters i'm afraid 😭 but let me say rhaegar. even among some dany/targ stans my man is so misunderstood lmao. it's not even his fault i dare say it's fanon about his half-imagined crimes that somehow got widespread to the unbelievable degree. and when i say they're half-imagined i'm being very generous actually. ofc he isn't perfect, no one in asoiaf is. and yes, he's a pre-series dead minor character but almost all little information about him is actually positive, not to mention the narrative itself that doesn't paint him as a villain or just a shitty dude. on the contrary, he's an idealized to some degree dead prince who could've been a good king (like some other historical targaryens, jacaerys, baelor breakspear, aemon son of jaehaerys, etc.), a mysterious yet tragic figure. i have much to say about why it's so popular to shit on him in fandom but yeah. his haters should send their complaints to grrm instead, no one forced the man to write him like that lol. and i mean that no one has to like him ofc. but it's misinterpretation of the text to claim he was intentionally written as a villain or smth by grrm.

12. Is there an unpopular arc that you like that the fandom doesn't? Why?

i don't know if it counts as unpopular but i would say tyrion's arc as a whole because i enjoy his character and like in my own way. i can get why some people don't like him but this man will always have his own place in my heart i must admit.

13. Unpopular opinion about XXX character?

is this unpopular tho?.. ok but renly wouldn't make a terrible king. i dare say he would be better than both robert and stannis. yes, he wasn't shown as perfect and i don't claim this. he wouldn't be the best or the most brilliant or the most just or noble. yet still better than his brothers. his flaws weren't anything other high lords didn't have, his mistakes weren't anything other lords and kings didn't do. in many ways he would make a better job than robert or stannis, too bad he died so early, even though i get why it was important for the narrative.

26. Most shippable character?

well generally for me it's the ones i love the most lol. jonerys/snowstorm is my never dying otp but i admit my sins, sometimes i just see dany with other characters (often from other fandoms pls don't @ me). however, since dany is THE fave of mine it means i would rather twist the other guy or girl to fit into the good match for her than twist her for another character in my new born crack ship lol. and i never stay for too long with the ships with which i feel they don't really fit and don't do justice for each other lol. maybe that's the reason i'm not much of a rare shipper / crack shipper afshdjdb

27. Least shippable character?

everyone i don't like? 😭 as i've said sansa for the reasons above lol. you can insert many others in her place lmao

#thanks for the ask!#.txt #mypost #ask game #anonymous #*answered

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swatato · 4 years

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fat. FAT. P H A T RANT INCOMING FOR ANYONE WHO CARES TO READ THIS NONSENSE CUZ @haldidoodh ASKED

That episode literally blasted the last of my serotonin into smithereens but TBH??? WHO AM I MAD AT I should have seen this coming this whole volume has been such a headache. I cant be bothered to type up a coherent rwde essay on everything that bothered me this episode so im just gonna copy and paste my earlier yelling here instead ;A;

Team Rwby was god awful in episodes 11-12. They’re so self-righteous, entitled, hypocritical and cocky as a team and it doesnt help that they all suck as individual characters nowadays (except for weiss but even she lost best-girl points this episode also lmao blake and yang aren’t even INDIVIDUALS anymore they’re just bumbleby). It was annoying at first but now its just infuriating how rwby thinks theyre always right with their uwu energy and think they can do whatever tf they want with ZERO CONSEQUENCES.

Basically any time there is a problem in this show they have Ruby uwu at it and its solved lol.

They kept giving ironwood shit for taking on this incredible burden SO THAT NOBODY ELSE WOULD HAVE TO and rather than offer any real solution they just kept going “but mantle” like okay?? But remnant??? Like obvi letting mantle rot is bad but HE WAS OPEN TO ANY HELPFUL SUGGESTIONS CUZ HES OBVI AT HIS WITTS END AND DOESNT LIKE THE IDEA EITHER but yeah they just proceed to be the fattest hypocrites by hiding secrets of their own after being all “no more secrets uwu” and WHEN THEY GOT EXPOSED THEY JUST WENT “>:[“ (yangs self-righteous little glare here pissed me off so much oof) especially when ironwood was laying everything out in the open to them from the start. AND ESPECIALLY WHEN THE SECRET WAS FKIN “OH YEAH SALEM CANT DIE LOL” They watched ironwood make every decision he did in hopes of beating Salem while KNOWING she couldnt die??? So literallY WHERE do they get off on screeching at him with their yOu doNt hAvE to Suffer In ManTle YOu doNt kNow whAt iTs liKe bs. Wtf made ruby distrust iw at the start anyway? Because he had a bunch of ships out? They kept this CRUCIAL piece of information from him because he seemed stressed out?? Like what made ruby keep the secret from him. Someone tell me.

And the fact that rwby beat the ace-ops makes no goddamned sense. The power-scaling in this show is non-existant. We finally got to meet some pro huntsmen in this universe who aren’t teachers but are actually on the job, but because we gotta move out of the way for that 👌🏽✨ Power Of Friendship✨ and ✨rwby is always right✨ they somehow managed to beat experienced huntsmen with YEARS in the field who’ve actually graduated school??? FARM BOI OSCAR WHOS *JUST* LEARNING HOW TO FIGHT MANAGED TO LAND A PUNCH ON NEO FKIN POLITAN??? Didnt neo dance circles around yang??? Yang, who punches for a living and also beat mercury and adam??? I cant yall (and the fact that he didnt even bother to sneak up on her this boi literally screamed “no!!” as he ran down a hallway and neo didnt even have time to blink??? Pls)

Ruby’s “you were the best, until you trained us :3” -for maybe 2 days before my team went dancing ruby sis shut right tf up pls my god is this line just so. UNEARNED. Training in a room for a short while does not simply grant you the years of field experience the ace ops have and whAT IS UP WITH HER TRYING TO REASON WITH HARIETT AFTER SAYING THAT COCKY LINE AND FIGHTING HER??? WHAT and also like. The entire idea of “the ops lost cuz they weren’t good friends and were bad at teamwork uwu” is just so dumb. Ur telling me this group of high ranking hunstmen who’ve most likely been working together for at least a few years didnt have teamwork down??? Learning to work together is the most BASIC concept for a team to learn!! Its like the first thing a team has to perfect!! If the ace ops are supposed to be the best of atlas you dont think the ops would have gotten something as fundemental as teamwork down?? I dont buy it. And who gives a shit if they dont hang out after work or take selfies with eachother. Being friends doesnt necessarily mean theyre great at working together. If they succeed at relying on eachother to watch their backs, to keep each other alive (in the words of hariett herself) then Id think theyd know how to protect eachother i.e WORK TOGETHER.

And for all the ✨friendship✨ and ✨going through so much with someone✨ talk rwby like to do, the show barely displays these people acting like friends. We’re constantly TOLD how great of friends this group is, but the actual CONTENT we are shown leaves a lot to be desired. Tell me the last time ruby and blake teamed up in a fight. Or weiss and blake. Or yang and weiss. What teamwork?? Yang only interacts with blake now and weiss is only ever allowed to interact with ruby. Has blake ever said nora or ren’s name out loud? Have jaune and yang ever held a conversation between just them? Team rwby just spent a GOOD DEAL of time seperated from eachother, but when they reunite their teamwork is still somehow better than the ace ops?? Honestly its easier to believe that ruby is closer with team jnpr than she is her own team. If they showed the ops messing up during rwby vs ace ops fight due to lack of communication, then it still doesnt matter. My point is that they shouldnt have lacked teamwork in the first place.

Robyn was m e h this episode “JaMes ConTinUes to UnDeresTimAte Me” *proceeds to get knocked over in .3 seconds and is then KO for the rest of the episode* also great job for starting a fight and aiming to take clovers life in a moving airship with a terrorist on board when clover was acting PEACEFULLY and qrow was WILLING TO TALK IT OUT WITH IW and potentially work on a solution, but naw robyn is big mad and shall shoot.

Qrow made zero sense this episode too. I was with him right up until he chose TYRIAN OVER CLOVER??? THE PSYCOPATH WHO CANNOT BE REASONED WITH OVER THE RATIONAL DUDE YOU KNOW IS GOOD except clover wasnt acting rational in this fight at all and ill get to that AND IS THE ONLY FRIEND YOU HAVE WHOS NOT 19????? Qrow rly looked at tyrian- a man who is literally an enemy to all of remnant and went after ur neice- and said lets get rid of this punk together u and me bro. Like screw teaming with clover to bring down the dude you ACTUALLY have a grudge with whos also a serial killer and then trying to talk it out with clover whod be willing to do things peacefully why is this show like this

and AS FOR CLOVER. where were the braincells this episode. Qrow was trying to fight tyrian-the WAY bigger threat here, but clover??? kept knocking him away from tyrian and restraining him with his hook like??? YEAH LETS HELP OUT THE DEMON SCORPION CRACKHEAD HES CLEARLY NOT THE PRIORITY ATM nvm clover deserved to die there m8

His death scene was emotional and I feel bad for Qrow but u literally sealed his death when u ganged on him with tyrian so why are you even surprised. And on the subject of fairgame, im glad it didnt happen. Qrow was in no state for romance and I was glad he finally had a friend. He just spent the last volume thinking he wasted his life away helping oz, drowning in misery, drinking til he passed out on the street and so drunk he couldnt even be of any help during the apathy situation, when up til now hes been shown to fight just fine while drunk. I don’t see this as a “bury your gays trope” because clover was never confirmed to be gay and all their scenes added up to 40 seconds of platonic friendship. These two are grown ass men, if they had the hots for eachother then im pretty sure they could openly show it and not dance around it like theyre kids. I do feel bad for mlm viewers who were hoping for some rep with fairgame/lucky charms (cuz rt only cares if ur a cute marketable lesbian) but idc for the overly entitled fans who try to force their own headcanons on the writers and go feral when they dont get what they want. You dont just get to prance around claiming whats canon and what isnt. If rep is there then great, but if it isnt, then why not look somehwere else and let the author tell the story theyre trying to tell? Shipping fairgame cuz you think its cute is absolutely fine but not when u start getting ready to casterate crwby for not catering to you. Also, rwby sucks with lgbt+ rep anyway so what were yall expecting.

The only thing that was great this episode was the chorerography. It just sucks that the animation/choreo continues to improve while the writing doesnt. Another thing that really fell off this episode was the whole “we’re friends but we have to fight” drama. It doesnt work when its only ONE SIDE SHOWING ANY DISTRESS OVER IT. Only the ace ops (marrow, clover, the vine dude) seemed to show distress over having to fight rwby (it sucks that the only 1v1 weiss has won was because marrow was going EASY on her cuz he didnt wanna fight her fr) but rwby???? They didnt give any shits. They were so quick to turn against them and aim for their heads. They were SMILING as they ran at the ace ops, while they looked conflicted. If you oppose their UwU philosophy, you’re dead to them.

I really wanna enjoy RWBY but sometimes this show (and the fndm) really tests me. Its ironic how this episode came right after last episode, which I thought was the best chapter this volume. Anyway I rate this 10/10 cuz it gave me best character ironwood and best boi marrow and I would like to give them hugs for carrying this volume on their backs. (Also tyrian and penny and winter have been great too)

#oof just oof #and idegaf about cinder yall #lowkey hoping she gets all the maiden powers so she can finally beat rwby up and HUMBLE them a little #rwby #rwby vol 7 #rwde

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minttoy · 5 years

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Wayward

CHAPTER ONE

Summary: The night at the Goddess Tower, Dimitri wished for a world in which no one would be unjustly taken away. Byleth made her wish in silence - that one day she would see him freed from his darkness.

She wakes up five years later, only to learn the world hasn’t been kind.

Missing scenes post time skip (Blue Lions route).

Pairings: Dimitri/Byleth

Genre: Romance/Angst

Click here to read on FF.net.

Click here to read on AO3.

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I wish for a world in which no one would ever be unjustly taken from us.

She treads up the stairs with light, careful steps. She has to tiptoe and maneuver around dead bodies and old carcasses strewn over the floors, follow dried blood stains splattered across the walls. Her nose crinkles at the smell of metal, iron and blood. Byleth wonders what horror these Imperial soldiers must have seen before they were killed.

That’s a wonderful wish.

The last time she visited the Goddess Tower had been a joyous event. The ballroom filled with life and holiday cheer. Students dancing in step. Professors indulging in fancy drinks. Even Byleth herself, watching it unfold with curiosity, because the party had been the first she ever attended. Every single one of them oblivious, and too swept up in excitement that besides Edelgard herself, no one predicted the foreboding war, or suspected what lurked underneath.

She finally reaches the top of the stairs and catches the view from the open window – a peaceful dawn on the horizon. She only revels in it for a second before she shifts and finds him there, sitting in dark shadows. She suspected it briefly, having identified the mortal wounds on those soldiers as pierces slashed with angry lances and biting force, cutting through even the toughest armour.

Her lips form a frown. For a moment, she thinks ‘please’ and considers ‘maybe it’s not him’, because she doesn’t want to believe. But he looks up to the click of her heels and the blue of his single eye is the same as she remembers. Her breath cuts short and she almost falters in her step.

Oh, Dimitri.

His hair has grown, lathed with gunk and dried blood. His cheeks are dirty and muddied. Confusion and blankness cloud his visible eye, where she once saw determination burn bright so many years ago. His body is dragged and worn and scarred from battle. Even as she steps into the light, his expression is unchanged. She doesn’t know how to explain with gentleness the reason she’s been gone for so long, especially when she barely understands it herself.

She reaches an open hand out to him, tries to share her light, but he doesn’t take it. He groans when he moves, and turns away.

“I should have known…” His voice is raspy, like it hurts to speak. “…that one day, you would be haunting me as well.”

Her face falls, and she cannot fathom the swirl of emotions that course through her mind, beat at her heart. Above all else, sadness lingers foremost. She’s almost unable to bear it, not used to such strong emotions that she has to cast her gaze elsewhere. With it comes a sudden, phantom pain throbbing in her chest she doesn’t fully understand.

He gets up eventually, gripping his lance for balance and stands his tall height. She observes him more carefully, and can’t help but think of a creature in the night. Swathed in blood and dirt. Disheveled and dressed with coarse furs. Tall and looming, bloodlust in his eye. She imagines him prowling the grounds, cold and unfeeling. No less than the beasts they’ve fought as teacher and student. Humanity all but intact, and underneath all that metal armour, she knows he is hollow.

He demands she not look at him with scorn, even though she feels nothing of the sort, and then swears darkly to himself that he will sever Edelgard’s head himself. Threats of death and destruction roll so easily off his tongue. She wonders briefly when this violent and uncontrolled temper had taken root, but even after his angry tirade, she can’t bring herself to stop him. Not yet, at least. Her words won’t find their mark, not when she knows nothing of the missing years.

Instead, she says the only she thing she knows for sure, “I’m glad you’re safe.”

He only scoffs at her, “Am I?”

Byleth opens her mouth and nothing comes out. Her hesitation betrays her, and her silence is more than telling. He walks off without a second thought, and before following after him, she quietly reminds herself of the wish she’d made here years ago.

I wish one day I could see you freed from your darkness.

----------

Everybody remembers their promise.

As they work to defend the monastery from a band of thieves attempting to steal what little is left, they show up. Even five years past, they fall back to their old battle formations and await her command. She hardly has the time to register their new faces and growth, only fathoms the reunion as painfully bittersweet. After all, Dimitri had been the one to suggest the idea.

She keeps a close eye on him in particular, watches as he strikes down his foes with no mercy. He’s out for blood and terrifyingly violent. The honour of battle is lost on him, even though she knows she taught him better than that.

They gather at the centre afterwards and Byleth finally inspects each and every one of her former students. She’s most surprised to find Gilbert here, who claims he’s been tracking down Dimitri for a while now. When he asks the prince how he managed to escape the fortress prisons of Fhirdiad, the worst is confirmed.

Dedue is allegedly dead.

She closes her eyes and offers a silent prayer. There’s a collective silence from the group and at this point, she doesn’t know if she can stomach much more. After all, a teacher shouldn’t have to mourn their student.

----------

She leaves them in another room to catch up with one another. Some of them take the time to grieve. Mercedes marches straight for the church afterwards, followed closely by Ashe and Annette. For her, that time will have to come later. She doesn’t even wholly believe it.

Eventually, Gilbert approaches her in the council room. She keeps busy after the battle, rigorously polishing and sharpening her sword with a whetstone she found on the training grounds. As a former mercenary, or a Professor even, she was never one to remain idle. What little emotion she feels throughout the day is taken out on grinding the dull edges of her blade.

Gilbert narrates the events of the past and present – who’s taken control of what territory, what vast expanse of lands the Empire has already conquered, how his search for Dimitri has led him here, and why he set out to accomplish a seemingly impossible task. From his explanation alone, she gathers that Gilbert carries his own ghosts and unfulfilled promises.

“Thank you,” she says softly, chancing a glimpse of the tired man. “For finding him.”

He shakes his head. “It was not me who found him. It was you, Professor.”

She stiffens in her seat, but says nothing.

Gilbert sighs and scratches the back of his head. He casts his tired gaze towards the window. “I’m sure you find Dimitri has…changed, over the years.”

Clack!

The whetstone slips from her hand, almost cutting an edge of her finger. Gilbert alarms at the sight, but she quickly waves off his concern. She puts the weapon down immediately, deeming her mind unfit for the task. Instead, she leans her elbows on her knees, buries her hands in her face and rubs at her temples.

He is not the same.

After practicing much restraint and disbelief, the truth finally surfaces and the pain is akin to a hard punch to her gut. The gravity of his situation and character finally weighs down on her. All of a sudden, she finds herself missing him, of all things.

The boy wise enough to notice a young girl being dragged around, because her path had been decided by adults in a drawing room. And so he gifted her a dagger so she could carve a future for her own, one that she wanted for herself. Even back then, he understood well that your life was yours to live.

The student who desired to teach orphans, even when he still had much to learn. She watched from the sidelines as he showed them how to hold their ground, corrected their stances, practiced with dull wooden weapons and repeated several times that weapons were tools for protection and nothing else. He already knew all too well how quickly the world could turn.

The young man focused so rigidly on his studies and training. His compassion had been enough to elicit a few small smiles. She’d gotten loose with herself, slowly easing out of her stoic demeanor and mercenary mentality. It was an uncomfortable, but not unwelcome change. He willingly called her out when she slipped, saying her smile was ‘mesmerizing’. He always said it with encouragement. She thought nothing of it back then, but realizes now it meant so much more. Jeralt commented once how her students brought out her humanity in ways even he couldn’t.

And now.

Five years have passed and she struggles to feel anything beyond the melancholic haze surrounding the monastery. Perhaps none of this would mean so much if she hadn’t made that wish. Or perhaps he’s still the same person she met so many years ago. She just didn’t know him at all.

He always had that lingering darkness, even at the best of times. Underneath that façade festered a hunger for vengeance. Young Dimitri phrased it so clearly. Sometimes the darkness takes hold, and becomes impossible to suppress. The five years he spent unhinged and wandering in darkness nurtured his lust for revenge. Nowadays, people only laid hands on him with the intent to kill, and he had no choice but to do the same.

Gilbert clears his throat, drawing her out of deep thought.

Forgetting her place, Byleth straightens her spine. She tries to mirror his tired expression.

“Dimitri has lost himself,” she says, following up on his earlier comment. She doesn’t know how else to put it.

The man shifts his weight to the other foot and rests his chin in one hand. “Yes. I fear his deep hatred and solitude have consumed him for far too long,” he explains with a downcast expression. “We must bring him back from the edge on which he stands.”

She nods in agreement, unable to word it better herself.

He hums with uncertainty. “It will not be a quick or easy task. In truth, I’m not even sure if my words will…” he trails off, but eventually shakes his head. “Never mind, it must be done, regardless of whatever circumstance. He is still needed in his Kingdom.”

She finally looks up at him, assurance in her eyes.

“I’ll do it,” she offers, even as she sees dark times awaiting them in shadowed corners.

“Are you sure, Professor?”

She nods. For his sake, she would have to.

----------

Later, everyone is gathered in the council room. She stands to one side, casting inspecting gazes to each of her students as Gilbert and Seteth discuss strategies between themselves before presenting it forward. There is much on the agenda. Talks of battle tactics, recruiting soldiers, rebuilding the monastery and more. Everybody has agreed the Empire needs to be stopped.

Eventually, Annette calls out the elephant in the room. Her leg hasn’t stopped fidgeting since she sat down.

“Erm, perhaps we should wait for Dimitri?” she pipes up anxiously. “He should be here, right?”

There’s a scoff from Felix, and the gesture is oddly nostalgic. “Hmph. The boar is holed up in the cathedral right now, talking nonsense to himself. I don’t see him getting out anytime soon.”

No one says anything, much less argues with him. Byleth just assumes everyone has seen for themselves how the years have hardened and changed their former house leader. The air is stricken with gloom now.

Naturally, Gilbert turns to her.

She promised to handle affairs concerning the wayward Prince. She figures most people are rather…fearful in discussing Dimitri’s condition. The way she sees it, it matters not. At the end of the day, their end goal is the same: Halt Imperial conquest and take back the Holy Kingdom. Somewhere in the dark recesses of his mind, she is certain Dimitri feels the same way.

She straightens up from her spot and gathers the attention of the room. “We can resume in his absence. I can debrief him of our plans afterwards.”

----------

People have always flocked to the church in times of need. Although their numbers have dwindled, guards, monks and merchants alike have all paid a visit at least once.

Dimitri is here all the time. From morning till night. Akin to a lost soul wandering in limbo or purgatory, waiting for judgment to strike down like lightning. He occupies the space in front of the rubble, frequently muttering to himself. Sometimes, he speaks of destruction and violence. When the voices get too loud, he pleads and begs for forgiveness. Sometimes he says nothing at all.

For him, there is only one end in sight. Edelgard’s death and after that, his own. A preposterous notion – as if she would ever let him get that far.

She’s spoken to him a few times. Tried is a better word. He tells her to scurry out of sight and curses to himself when she doesn’t. He is still unreachable. She holds her words in her tongue because they won’t find their mark. He didn’t even attend the vigil they held in Dedue’s honour.

“Look at the creature,” Felix is saying, standing a fair distance away. “It’s pitiful to watch. Professor, do what you have to in order to fix him.”

Byleth, distracted by her own thoughts, rests her eyes on the prince. The wide berth everybody gives him makes it easy to observe. No one dares approach too close. Her eyes shift to Felix next. He wears his perpetual scowl, but underneath she knows he’s trying to figure out an end to this situation. She recognizes it as his way of showing he cares.

----------

A familiar face treads towards the academy.

Byleth remembers his face. General Randolph. He stood beside Edelgard as they destroyed the monastery. Dimitri remembers too, because he’s more difficult to direct. He’s determined to ravage his foes and sort out his problems with senseless violence.

She keeps a close eye on him and the others. None of them are her students anymore, but old habits die hard. Five years of sleep catches up to her too – her body is not yet hardened from rigorous training and everyday battle – and she slips up. A fast-flying arrow is shot deep into her left thigh and she grits her teeth and hisses in pain. Before she finds cover, she knocks her own arrow towards the perpetrator before he can deliver another blow.

When she looks up, Dimitri has already caught up to Randolph. She curses to herself, quickly assesses the blood-stained grounds to find most of the Imperial soldiers either dead or subdued. She has to force herself against her own threshold, musters up strength because someone must stop him, and she limps over to him unerringly. The arrow is forcefully removed by her own hand, leaving a trail of blood in her wake as she ignores the biting pains.

She watches as Randolph is brought to his knees, on the verge of his death. Dimitri is smug and bloodlust festers in his visible eye that it sparks angers in her. Randolph pleads senselessly, claiming he must live for his family before he has the gall to call Dimitri a heartless monster. It only feeds her ire, because he knows nothing about what he’s taken from so many people, including herself.

Byleth draws the line at Dimitri carving out his eyes, and kills Randolph herself. From behind, straight through the heart, swift and decisive. She considers it mercy, because anything by Dimitri’s hand would have been ruthless and even her worst enemies don’t deserve that kind of brutality on their deathbed. She quickly sheathes her sword afterwards, because even after all this time, it’s still not easy.

Dimitri laughs heinously at her actions, telling her she should kill him herself if she doesn’t approve. Fierce anger burns so hotly that for a second, she would earnestly consider challenging him if it meant dragging him away from his bleak and corrupted cravings for vengeance. But of course, she would never condone that. Instead, she cools down the foreign, unfamiliar rage burning inside and reminds herself there is no need for more violence in a world already plunged in war and turmoil.

What he says next is atrocious. Claiming to use her and her friends to exact his revenge until the flesh falls off their bones. Shock removes all blankness in her face, and she watches him storm off towards the monastery. The rest of them are mortified, having watched in horror of what he’s become.

----------

Byleth patches up her wounds on her own. She wraps her thigh in gauze and bandages, rubs salve on her wounds and hides the discolouration of her bruises with sleeves. News will spread to the Empire that they’ve made the monastery their stronghold, and she prepares for another onslaught.

She wakes up confused on some mornings. There are times when she picks up her sword and gets ready to complete her mercenary contract. Sometimes, she goes over to her desk to review lecture notes, only to find there are none. She’d also gotten used to hearing Sothis’s voice as the goddess flitted about in her room. She has to remember these things belong in the past now.

When her mind is too hazy, or things get overwhelming, she trudges over to Jeralt’s grave. In bright mornings, late nights, rainy weather or cold winds, she kneels down on the patchy grass and solemnly wishes for a world where she didn’t have to bury him. Time is forgotten when she sits in front of his headstone, but reality always hits its inevitable stride and she remembers this is hardly the time to grieve. Not before long, she schools on a blank and vacant expression, not minding the familiar faces that watch over her in concern.

----------

“Professor! Over here!”

Byleth looks to her left, where Mercedes, Annette and Ashe are beckoning her to sit at their table. She approaches over somewhat sheepishly, because she knows she should be spending more time with her students and honing them for battle.

“Mercedes managed to convince the chefs to let her bake a few sweets. You should try some,” Annette says excitedly, pushing forward the tray of small cakes and confectionaries in her direction.

She hesitates for a brief moment before taking one of the jelly squares in her mouth. Although she never had a sweet tooth, she manages a small smile, just for them. For some reason, they all seem to breathe a sigh of relief.

“Did you know? Dedue used to help me with kitchen duty. Have you ever tried his cooking? I’d say it was his hidden talent,” Annette strikes up conversation, taking one of the small cakes into her mouth in one bite. For a small girl, she’s always had a ravenous appetite for sweet foods.

Ashe lights up brightly. “I’ve tried his cooking too! You can really taste the Duscur inspiration. He was always a much better chef than I am, that’s for sure.”

Byleth gazes over them with fondness. She’s glad they’ve forged these unbreakable bonds. Even if one of them is gone, they choose to remember the good he’s done. As the two of them continue to reminisce of Dedue and his cuisine, Mercedes quietly turns to her.

“Professor, I must say. You seem rather…sad, as of late,” the soft-spoken girl remarks, a gentle smile gracing her features. “Are you also thinking of Dedue?”

Her eyes settle on the wooden table underneath her hands. “Always.”

Mercedes waits for a moment before speaking again, “And Dimitri, as well?”

Byleth still cannot look her in the eye. “I think of him too.”

“We figured as much…” Mercedes leans back in her chair and looks up at the ceiling. Ashe and Annette have quieted their conversation in favour of listening in. “I don’t think either of us have ever seen you show so much frustration as you did in our recent battle.”

She shrinks in her seat as shame tugs at her. Perhaps she got carried away back there.

“I’m sorry,” she prioritizes first. “I hope you understand I’m not angry with Dimitri, but rather the circumstances that have led him here. He’s much different now, as you know, and I ask that you be patient with him.”

Ashe nods his head. “Of course. He’s always been good to us, just like Dedue. When we were students, he refused to let me address him so formally.”

“Me too! And he used to tell me stories of my Father even before I connected with him. It was nice, actually. He said it felt like he knew me already before we entered the academy, because Father always spoke of me.”

Mercedes hums in agreement. “Dimitri also helped me with sword training. Although I’m still lacking in that skill, I think it was sweet of him to help, especially since I almost swung at him. In return, I taught him how to mend his clothes. He was a very good student.”

Byleth softens at the stories shared around the table. She shares her own too. It’s hard to equate the man he is today to the person he was before, but if her students have no problem seeing him as such, even with his cruel and callous behaviour, then she should do the same.

“We’re confident he’ll come to his senses one day. Until then, we should help him however we can,” Mercedes pipes up, with a sense of assurance.

For the first time today, she fills with hope.

----------

He still spends most days and nights at the cathedral. It’s almost reassuring, because she expects to find him there, instead of searching the monastery in fear he has gotten up and left. The only worrying thing is that he barely leaves the church grounds. He denies himself sleep, evidenced by the darkness under his eyes. But she thinks of his health, having never seen him take a ration from the kitchen, much less eat a morsel of anything.

She swipes a couple of things from the kitchen one day and wraps it in paper. A small loaf of bread and dried fruits. Someone told her one day he doesn’t care much for taste anyway. Her boots click and echo as she draws nearer, and he turns his head away from her when she kneels on the ground beside him.

Byleth prods her offering towards him, lays it on the ground where he can see with his good eye and utters out a simple command, “You should eat.”

He closes his only eye, still turned away from her. “Go away.”

She shakes her head and doesn’t get too caught up in his brusque words. “You’ll waste away and grow weary if you don’t,” she counters.

He groans to himself. A rough, grating sound, and says nothing else. He’s rather subdued today. The last time she visited, there was no stopping the slew of threats that escaped his tongue. She’s gotten used to that side of him, knows not to indulge in his murderous fantasies. Instead, she treats him with a level of hardness, because he doesn’t recognize comfort or kindness when it’s given to him. She redirects his thoughts instead. Questions his motives with caution and reminds him to take care of himself. Never engages in a fight or argument when none is needed.

She says nothing else and leaves him for the day. Later when she checks on him again, she notes with some measure of gladness that the plate is empty.

----------

The next war council meeting goes awry.

They are short on soldiers and resources, and there are talks of requesting backup from the Fraldarius house and joining forces with them. When Gilbert asks Dimitri if they should dispatch their troops to the Imperial capital or the Kingdom capital, his answer is predictable.

“We will take the Imperial capital. There, I will kill her. Nothing could be more to the point.”

The group remains divided on the subject, but Seteth passes her the final say as the stand-in leader of the church and she chooses the opposite. For the army’s sake, and especially Dimitri’s sake, they should take back the Kingdom capital. There are so many people awaiting his return to Fhirdiad.

He turns to her, a cross look on his features. “If Lady Rhea is being held prisoner in the Empire, we don’t have time to waste taking back Fhirdiad. Can you deny it?”

He is only testing her, making her out to be foolish in front of the council. She doesn’t bite. Gilbert senses the foreboding tension and cuts in before anything can ensue. “Either way, we are in need of numbers. It is essential we secure backup.”

When the meeting ends, Byleth keeps her ground and waits until most of them have filed out of the board room. Dimitri remains, sharp and cutting words waiting in his sleeve, intended just for her.

“We’re not ready to march into Enbarr,” she says point blank.

“You understand nothing,” he scoffs, jaw clenched and hands balled into fists at his side. “The time we spend in wait only grows her power. She will have taken all of Fódlan before you finally decide to fight back!”

Byleth furrows her brow and presses her lips into a thin line. “You would rush in haste to fight Edelgard instead? You would fall on her doorstep before you even get the chance to see her.”

“That woman must be stopped!” he grounds out in exasperation, slamming a clenched fist on the desk and alerting the attention of the room. “I will go alone if I have to!”

She drops her hands and narrows her eyes at him, face lined with hardness. A bitter sensation settles in her mouth at the thought of him wandering off on his own.

“No. I won’t let you.”

Dimitri laughs. A maniacal, delirious laughter. He steps one foot forward as a crooked smile finds his lips, like a man possessed. “You, Professor? Are you going to be the one to stop me?” His voice is mocking. A taunt, above all else. And she understands he means to intimidate her when he draws closer with a crazed look in his eye. “Be my guest! I dare you to try!”

When he gets too close, she shoves him backwards with both hands, just enough to afford her some distance. The sword of the Creator hums and hangs at her hip, but she makes no motion to withdraw it.

“Don’t challenge me,” she warns and her voice is mostly even. Intimidation isn’t her strong suit, but her eyes stay fixed on his single one with a stubborn determination. Even still, she steels herself should he ever reach for the lance at his back.

He shakes his head and at her adamant insistence, takes a step back. “Then I swear to you this, my dear Professor.” The hissing voice that comes out of that mouth is a poor mockery of Dimitri’s own, dissonant to her ears. “If you ever get in my way, or you dare to stop me from severing that woman’s head, I will not hesitate to kill you too.”

With a huff, he turns his heel and gruffly storms out the room. She waits for the wave of shock to pass, and then her brave face is gone, replaced with an old and tired expression. She finally lets out the breath she didn’t know she was holding and suddenly, disappointment weighs heavy on her shoulders and she forces herself to sit down. Her breaths even out slowly.

Footsteps draw near, and she glances up to the waiting eyes of Felix and Sylvain, who’d been privy to that uncomfortable exchange. Felix is the first to speak.

“There’s no use talking to him when he gets like that. Nothing is going to reach him,” he offers rather brusquely, even though his words carry some ounce of sympathy.

She looks to Sylvain, who appears quite lax despite their circumstance.

“What he means by that is Dimitri’s had his rough patches before. Today was just one of them, so you shouldn’t be too hard on yourself. Besides, dark expressions don’t really suit you,” he remarks loosely. She raises a small brow at his nonchalance and as inattentive as Sylvain appears, he seems to read her cue. “Even I still have a hard time accepting who he is, but everyone has their faults, right? And he’s my friend, first and foremost. All I’m saying is, I’m not worrying just yet. As much as I hate seeing him like this, I have faith he’ll turn around eventually.”

“Tch. He’ll be grovelling when the time comes.”

Groveling?

She creases her brow, tries really hard to understand, but the redhead just shakes his head. “For now, the most we can do is keep a close eye on him and make sure he’s safe until he figures it out.”

“Hmph. That mind of his though. So consumed with the dead. The boar has no control of himself. I’m this close to being done with him.”

For some reason, Sylvain gets a laugh out of that one. It confuses her wildly, because they don’t seem to grasp the weight of the situation. Dimitri is on the brink of madness and they jest as if it were another day at the academy.

She thinks it over again though. They’ve known him longer. They’re more familiar with his patterns of behaviour. She remembers questioning it frequently then. The way Felix constantly muttered his distaste for the Prince and his ‘monstrous’ qualities, even going so far as refusing to call him by name. Or when Sylvain raised a brow and kept a worried expression throughout their battle in Remire, because of all the chaotic violence they witnessed. She didn’t know what all of that meant back then. His darkness had been kept a heavily guarded secret between nobles.

Sylvain is the more perceptive one once again. “I know it’s hard to forget all the awful things he says and does, but I ought to give him a chance. We’ve been friends since we were kids. I owe him that much, at least.”

She pauses her train of thought. “What makes you so sure he can change?”

The redhead shrugs, but it’s not without a level of uncertainty. “He’s done it before. Besides, he has you helping him this time. To be honest, he never meant for you to see this side of him, but the fact that you have, and you’re still willing to see him through it…well, he should consider himself blessed.”

Blessed? Mild confusion washes over again. She tries to wrap her head around it, the idea as clear as mud. And even when they leave, the thought sticks with her for the rest of the day.

----------

The meeting scheduled at Aillel isn’t without complication. Besides the scorching heat and blistering fumes in the land said to be born of the goddess’ rage, it turns out there was a spy among them and soldiers awaited their arrival. Somehow, and Byleth still isn’t sure how the goddess is carrying her this far, they make it back to the monastery relatively in one piece. Rodrigue has chosen to come with them, along with several of his troops and men. She is glad to see their army and resources growing in number.

She’s avoided clashing with Dimitri in any way she can. Their last conversation is still a fresh wound. Besides, Rodrigue’s presence seems to draw out some sense in the prince. She would be foolish to tamper with that. If she recalls correctly, this man had taken him in, even treated him as his own, when the King had passed.

Once again, she cleans her wounds on her own. She douses her burns and blisters in salt water, hisses at the searing contact, and pulls the sleeves over her arms when she leaves her quarters. Later that night, she ambles up the stairs of the Goddess Tower.

On their way back from Aillel, she came across a…revelation, so to speak. She’d been sitting with her former students, sorting out inventory of weapons and medicinal supplies. The routine has a soothing, meditative effect on her, so she was minding her own business for the most part. Somehow, they started reminiscing about their academy days – a frequent topic of conversation – and what they had done on the night of the ball. She’d been partially listening at that point, and only glanced up when they addressed her.

“Professor, are you aware of the legends associated with the Goddess Tower?” Ingrid piped up, features friendly.

She nodded. “My understanding is that wishes made in that tower will come true.” Briefly, she mulled over the innocent wish she made there five years ago and as an afterthought, she added quietly, “I’m not sure if I believe it.”

“Aww, come on. That’s only a small part of it. The tower is supposed to be a place where lovers meet, and the wishes represent the vows and promises you make to one another. That’s why the person you bring there should be important to you, like someone you love,” Sylvain explained. Ironically, he then went on to list all the girls he had taken there, much to the chagrin of the others.

Her face did not imply as much, but the information was new to her. When Dimitri asked her to meet him there, she thought nothing of it. She was clueless, even as he explained his disbelief for the old legend and still made a wish. For the sake of tradition, she made her own as well.

Afterwards, he considered if it would make more sense to wish they were together forever. By her own logic, that would cross the boundaries of their professional relationship, so she offered him a blank stare in return. He followed up nicely saying he improved in the art of joke telling.

Aware now of the romantic implications of the tower, he was right. It would have made more sense. She simply didn’t understand back then. As a Professor and even to this day, she’s socially inept at times, often failing to understand human conventions and emotions. Her students, and even other Professors, teased her often or said all kinds of crazy things to get her to emote anything besides her blank gaze.

“Professor, did you ever meet anybody at the Goddess Tower? Or made a wish of your own?” Annette had asked, giddy with a dreamy look in her eyes.

“Yes. I suppose I have,” she tells truthfully, not expecting the collective shock that flash across their faces. Much to their disappointment, she’d gotten out of that conversation courtesy of Rodrigue, who requested to speak with her.

Byleth remembers that conversation. That’s how she got here.

Resting her hand against the stone wall, she stares out at the open window and gazes out into the starry sky and white moon. The same view from five years ago, when she made a promise to Dimitri. She understands now it wasn’t a wish, but more like a vow.

She repeats it to herself again, but with more hope this time.

I wish one day I could see you freed from your darkness.

And instead of relying on old legends to make it happen, she’s determined to see it through for herself.

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#fire emblem #fire emblem three houses #fe3h #dimitri alexandre blaiddyd #byleth #dimileth #dimileth fanfic #post timeskip #angst #romance

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s-j-ace · 5 years

Text

New Plan!

Characters: Shuichi Saihara, Ouma Kokichi

Words: 9,119

Summary:

Kokichi Ouma, leader of the mysterious group of thieves that go only by DICE, is going through the motions of orchestrating their biggest heist ever when an unexpected bump in the road changes everything. That bump in the road is a detective and his name is Shuichi Saihara.

Essentially the events of That’s the Thing About Airplanes from Kokichi’s POV

Read on AO3

Kokichi Ouma was ready to be bored out of his mind for the next eight hours as he boarded the flight behind his motley crew. He was trying to keep himself busy by being generally exasperated with them. They were supposed to be posing as different family units or strangers that didn’t know one another, but King was supposed to be Rook’s uncle and they were touching each other’s butts while handing the lady their boarding passes. Bishop and Hearts were practically leaning on each other like they were tired or whatever, but they were supposed to be total strangers. Maybe they could be rewritten as half siblings or a whirlwind romance or something? Ugh whatever.

Kokichi would normally kick their asses about this, but he’d already anticipated their horrid 2 AM acting skills. The lady taking boarding passes was a plant. Jack had wriggled herself in as a flight attendant three days ago. She was currently taking boarding passes because of an understaffing issue. An issue that may or may not have been of natural causes...

Anyway, she’d get on the flight and smuggle the tea on board. The heist plan didn’t really involve the plane at all, so this was kind of unnecessary, but god would he want that half-way to Paris hot tea party. Besides, he wasn’t really one to leave much to chance when it came to scheming. Although that characteristic was more out of habit than any sort of innate perfectionistic tendencies. He was a king of thinking on the fly, but nowadays he rarely ran amok in that court because he just so happened to also be just as much of a genius at premeditated mischief.

It was a good thing Jack had volunteered herself for the plant job. He’d call her the most competent of DICE at 2 AM if she hadn’t drawn a dick on his boarding pass while checking it.

“Wow, it’s almost like you’ve actually seen one, you virgin loser.” He had told her as he tucked the pass into his hoodie pocket.

She smiled at him like he had complimented her handwriting or something inane like that. “Thanks! I’ve been working on my portraits. My boss is a real inspiration in my art you know…”

“I’d love to meet him someday,” Kokichi replied congenially, “He sounds handsome and brilliant and like he should always be listened to.”

She gave a thoughtful humm, “Actually he’s kind of a prick.” She blew a raspberry at him.

He frowned. “Well that’s rude,” he commented with an offended tone, “And out of character.” He shifted to an angrier persona. "Do you want to ruin everything?" Maybe it wasn’t entirely persona, he was a little tired too after all.

“Relax boss,” Jack said, looking at the screen in front of her with all the boarding information, “It says here you’re the last passenger.”

To be honest Kokichi’s concern-o-meter for this heist was in the negatives. He was pretty much bored by how well thought out this plan was, but he felt like he had to make a point and he was rarely ever honest besides.

Kokichi huffed moodily. “Yeah sure, but what if that detective from the smithsonian, like, stole the security camera footage from this airport or something totally plausible like that.”

He was kind of planning this conversation out a couple steps ahead. He did that sometimes, when he was bored. She’d refute him by calling the detective a goody-two-shoes or something and he’d say something about caution and she’d dismiss him and then something would pop up later where he could say ‘I told you so’ and re-establish his authority. The same happened when Ace wanted to prove how buff he was by lifting the mammoth bones from the Smithsonian. They'd had to stash it insecurely and the police got to it before they could come back for it later. That was a big ‘I told you so’ moment and as a result no one questioned him on his plans for the Louvre this time around.

Weirdly enough, his conversation forecast did not come to pass this time around.

Jack frowned, looking at the screen. “Hey, what was that guy’s name again? The guy from the Smithsonian.”

Kokichi frowned. “What, the mammoth?”

“No, like, the detective.”

Kokichi squinted at her. He was an evil mastermind, he could recall the exact angle of every laser scanner in the Louvre, of course he could remember the name of some guy. Shuichi Saihara. The novice detective whose dumb friend had tripped that allarm the night of the Smithsonian heist. They’d only had three minutes to get out with the picture frames and hide the mammoth because of him. The detective had showed up at a couple heists and had gotten in the paper, but honestly the mammoth thing was a bit of a fluke. They really hadn’t had a lot of time to stash it. Overall not a big deal.

Which was why it was weird that happy-go-lucky Jack of all people was bringing him up.

“What about him?”

“He’s, like, on the flight I think.”

She showed him the screen and sure enough, Shuichi Saihara was sitting in economy class by the emergency exits. Well, it didn’t really say that on the screen, but given his seat number Kokichi could triangulate it from the diagram of the plane he had memorized. Not that he had really needed to that, but… wait… what if he did need to...

A light bulb went on in Kokichi’s head. In cartoons lightbulbs were just a little blink that meant a switch had flipped for a single eureka moment, but for Kokichi it was more like the real life current of electricity as all of the steps of a brand new heist plan tripped over each other to course through his mind. He forgot to be bored for a second as his brain was lit up with a new scheme and all the possible scenarios that could accompany it.

He had been missing this.

Something... unexpected.

Something... exciting.

Something... unnecessarily convoluted!

Jack took one look at his carefully not grinning face and groaned with exasperation. “Awww boss you ain’t changing the plan again are ya? You already wrote us like a 100 page novel about the first one…”

“Eh, fuck that plan.” Kokichi said doing some mental calculations, “Get me ten parachutes and see if Clubs has extra sleeping drugs I want you to put them in the passengers’ drinks. The strong stuff. Direct Queen towards the rooftop diagrams I shoved in his carry on. Tell me when it gets to be around 1:34 AM Paris time.”

She looked at him with annoyance at the sudden deluge of tasks. “Oh yeah, sure thing. And what are you going to do?”

He gave her his biggest, bestest, shit-eating-est grin. “Be myself, of course.”

Then he turned and boarded the plane, imagining and relishing in the weirded out look she was definitely giving him.

When he got to the entryway of the plane from the boarding hallway, he came upon Rook gossiping with one of the flight attendants. Kokichi heard something about a wedding and a honeymoon before Rook spotted him and excused themselves to find their seat.

“Good evening, sir.” The flight attendant said, still clearly coming off of the social high of talking about his personal happiness. Kokichi decided to slam him down from it, hard.

“It will now that I’m finally on the same damn plane as my husband.” He gave his best impression of a disgruntled everyman, which meant it was a great impression because his best was always great.

“R-right.” Ah yes, the security of making someone else feel socially awkward. Kokichi would make a great playground bully, that’s for sure. At least he was self aware. And putting his talents to good use! Bullying pseudo-law-enforcement was 100% valid according to all levels of morality.

As he walked down the aisle he noticed the rest of DICE ahead of him chattering like sparrows as they moved to the back of the plane. Originally they had planned to keep a low profile and have a pre-heist tea party before touching down in Paris, but now…

Kokichi spotted him, sure enough right by the emergency exits. He looked dead tired and about to doze off, so Kokichi took a second to make some quick observations he hadn’t gotten the chance to get on the night of the Smithsonian heist. The guy had this very detective-esque trench coat with lots of pockets, which was a shame because it meant that if Kokichi decided to pickpocket him he’d have trouble figuring out where his wallet was. Something that didn’t really fit Kokichi’s imaginings of a stereotypical detective, however was that the guy was around his own age in the mid twenties and didn’t seem like the grizzled gumshoe type at all. In fact he was kind of anti-grizzled. He had a boring pretty boy face like a model or something and instead of the full beard and square jaw Kokichi had half imagined any time the word “detective” came up in his mind’s eye he had eyeliner accentuating the only hair on his face and a very breakable looking face. Ok that was a very play ground bully thing to think. Except young people weren’t really as fun to bully as old people because they actually might be poor or emotionally insecure or something, which always made Kokichi feel a semblance of an emotion akin to guilt. But this guy was flying to Paris in the summer season and had been in America a couple weeks before, so fuck him basically. Didn’t he have a job or something?

Oh shit the guy was looking at him, how long had he been doing that?

Don't panic, analyze then act.

He seemed freaked. Probably because Kokichi had been staring at him for a couple seconds now.

He put on a menacingly friendly grin and slipped into the seat next to the detective. Not the one in front of him, or one of the ones in his completely empty row, or even the aisle seat, literally the one right next to him. He put his elbow on the armrest the detective had so kindly pulled down for him.

The guy still looked super freaked out, so Kokichi tried to shift his grin to the more congenial side of menacing.

“Hey, aren't you Shuichi Saihara?” He asked, extending his hand. He thought about coming up with a pseudonym but was too busy being delighted by the absolute terror on the detective’s face. “I'm your biiiggest fan.”

The guy shook his hand like it was the lever for his very own personal electric chair. Dramatic much?

It seemed to freak him out so Kokichi decided to run with the ‘biggest fan’ thread, chattering on, “I read aaall about that thing with the hairy elephant and the stupid ugly criminal you've been tracking.”

He would keep talking about the ironic impudence of this imaginary criminal but it really seemed like Saihara was having a dissociative episode while he was talking.

He frowned. That was kind of boring. “Hey are you like deaf or something?” That would be kind of extra boring because then Kokichi would be trying to bully a deaf dude and that would be lame. “Hey. Heyyyy. Earth to Shuichi Saihara.” Maybe he could thread some truth in here. “Geez I didn't expect you to be this boring in person…”

That seemed to get him.

Saihara shook his head like he was getting the dust out and stuttered out an "I-I-I'm sorry, what?"

Well maybe he had the soul of an old man, if not the looks of one, Kokichi thought to himself as he blithered on. “Have you been ignoring me? Not a very nice way to treat your biggest fans." He crossed his arms. "I, like, totally hate when heroes don't live up to your expectations."

Guy still looked half asleep… Maybe a change of scenery was in order…

Kokichi noticed the chatty flight attendant from earlier coming down the aisle. It was time to act on his earlier framework...

He said something like “You can make it up to me,” but honestly even he wasn’t paying attention to what he was saying anymore. That was the only warning he gave before reaching over the detective to break his chair. If he had stopped to think about it, he might have thought it was awkward, but it wasn’t like he had to care about what this guy thought. He was going to leave him on the plane and probably never see him again.

Kokichi held himself back from giggling when the detective toppled over backwards.

“Oh no!” He feigned surprise, “How could this happen?”

"What happens to be the problem here gentlemen?" The flight attendant asked right on cue.

Saihara was looking pretty dubious but also not that talkative so Kokichi thought about the right words to spin this.

Distract. You’re the threat here, Kokichi.

"What's the problem? You're asking me what the problem is?" He shifted his tone to that of a white soccer mom used to getting what she wants. "The problem, good sir, is that this Rusty bucket of bolts you call an airplane just tried to give my husband a concussion! I could sue for this, you know."

The flight attendant broke easy.

"I'm so, so sorry sir." He quibbled. "Here, we'll make it up to you. It's a long flight and we don't have many guests so I can upgrade you both to first class with no additional charge."

Kokichi gave a rather hearty harrumph. Not bad as far as harrumphs go.

"You better. Or my lawyer will be hearing about this."

Hah. If Kokichi tried to talk to a lawyer he’d probably get arrested. Small claims lawyers were like cops but with even less spine and more capitalistic tendencies in his book.

The flight attendant didn’t seem to care about the rot of society, though, and tarried forth to first class. Saihara hadn’t quite caught on yet, so Kokichi grabbed his arm. For some reason he didn’t expect the detective to be so draggable. Detectives just didn’t seem that way. Like they could be dragged, but Saihara seemed too tired and confused to not be dragged. Thrilling! Boring. Okay okay don’t get ahead of the horses here. Horses? Uh.

First class was more Kokichi’s style. He let Saihara shuffle into the window seat so he’d be able to keep a look out for Jack’s signals in the aisle.

"Let me know if there's anything else I can do to help you." The flight attendant said as Kokichi sat down.

Ugh it’s like he actually cared about his job or something. Being in customer service must be insufferable.

Kokichi didn’t actually want to harrass this asshole when there was a perfectly good fake cop right next to him, so he replied with an apologetic smile, “Of course. Ah, I'm so rry for causing so much trouble, it's just the honeymoon you see and everything just has to be perfect, you know?”

"No, it's quite alright, I understand completely." The flight attendant seemed to relax a little, “I went through the same trouble with my husband. Really let me know if I can help you at all.”

Droll. “Thanks sooo much!" he intoned gratefully. He turned to Saihara who still looked like he was in shock. "Wasn't he just the nicest Shuichi?"

Saihara blinked at him. "... If you had enough money to hire a lawyer that could sue an airline so frivolously then you would've already been in first class."

Hey! That sounded like something a detective would say!

"I'm just stingy." Hah. Beat that logic. Nice one Kokichi.

Saihara squinted like he was about to bless Ouma with another brilliant deduction.

"... Did you sit next to me so you could convince that gay flight attendant to put you in first class?"

Wow!!! He was thinking!!! He was totally wrong but at least he was trying.

"I can't believe you figured it out!" Kokichi did his best impression of a widow revealing a dark secret on prime time television. "It's true…Detective Saihara I was lying about being married to you the whole time. I thought you knew..."

"Wha- of course I knew that!" Saihara sputtered.

"Oh! How can you ever forgive me?" The flight attendant was definitely out of range by now so this seemed like a good time for some melodramatic tears. "Waah!"

"H-hey! Stop that." Wow what a bad detective. Is that how you comfort people? Sad.

Kokichi was about to weep even more for the loss of chivalry when the asshole shoved something at him. Was that… a handkerchief? This guy just had a handkerchief? Is that not something that only people in movies do?

Weird.

Kokichi snatched it from him, exclaiming, “"Oh wow! What a gentlemanly thing to do!"

He proceeded to make his most grotesque snot noises imaginable.

“A-are you alright?” The detective stuttered out.

Kokichi pondered a couple iterations of “no, and it’s your fault” before deciding that was boring and saying “Perfectly fine.” He flicked out the handkerchief and held it a bit to make sure Shuichi noticed it was clean before tucking it in his pockets. “Just a liar is all.”

"A-a liar?"

Kokichi frowned at him. "No, where did you hear that?" He made an expression of disgust. “Ick, I hate liars after all.” He put on his manic pixie dream girl sees a light bulb for a first time look. “That's why I'm such a big fan of yours, Shuichi.”

"I-is that so?" Ah, the panic of a person unprepared for social interaction at two am was a sight for sore eyes. “Um.” Or maybe it said nothing of Ouma’s own skill that this guy was an awkward glob. "Y-you seem to know my name, but, uh, what's yours?"

A question! An inquiry! One for which Kokichi had the perfect answer....

"Kaito Momota."

“What.”

Wow! What a flat tone Saihara had! Almost like he didn’t believe him or something absurd like that.

Kokichi waved his hands dismissively. "I know, I know, isn't that the name of your friend who was in the paper? That's why I read it, by the way," he said matter of factly. "Because we have the same name."

Ugh, he was adding too much supporting detail. That’s something bad liars do and he wasn’t a bad liar. He was the best liar. Accept no substitutions. Unless they were really good at lying about being a substitution… then they would probably be the best liar…

Ok whatever ranking of liar he was it was probably good enough to fool-

"... I-is that another lie?"

Ah fuck.

"Neeheehee… ya caught me." Best to bail early on this kind of thing. "If you guess my real name by the end of the flight I'll give you a prize!"

"Like Rumplestiltskin?"

Really? Was his own charade getting that cartoonish already?

“Aww man. You guessed it the first try. That's no fun.” Logically this was boring but he was doing okay as far as airplanes went. "I guess now you'll just have to guess my second, less cool, real name instead."

As great as he was at being evasive in all situations why was the subject not changed by now.

"... Honestly I'd much rather be sleeping through this flight." The detective rubbed his face, and Kokichi noticed the darker shades of his eyelids weren’t all eyeliner. He must have business. Something that was keeping him up at night.

Kokichi determined some short term goals for this conversation. Find out why the detective was going to Paris was primary among them. That information would narrow down his field of options for how to spend the rest of the flight.

Kokichi scoffed. “Why would anyone get on a flight to Paris at 2 AM if they weren't prepared to be up all night?" He shifted back into the fanboy thread, "Oh! Oh! Oh! I bet you've got another case you're hot on the trail of, huh Mr. Detective?”

Saihara seemed to hesitate. “Uh, sort of.”

Kokichi thought he was going to say something more but after a few seconds of silence, it was clear he needed further prompting.

"What kind of answer is that?" His words seemed to surprise the Detective, which was a bit silly considering that they had been having a conversation, where words being exchanged should be the norm. "How can you only sort of be solving a mystery?" Kokichi lied through his teeth. "You know, I just so happen to also be a world class detective."

“Really? Saihara’s skeptical and unassertive response was less of a question in this conversation and more of a way to measure how gullible he was.

"Yes, really!" Kokichi replied, storming ahead, "And as a real life detective I just so happen to know that when you're working a case you work it with 100% of yourself!"

Saihara made this weird, soft sound. It took Kokichi a moment's consideration to realize it was supposed to be a laugh because it sounded not at all like the howling cackles growing up with DICE had familiarized him with.

"I guess you're kind of right about that…” He fidgeted with the edges of his coat. “There's, uh, this case that I've been looking into for a long time now and I guess I have really been putting 100% of myself into it. My friends think I'm going a little crazy…"

Ooh, that was something.

“Your friends? Like that purple haired guy who was in the paper? The one with the dumb name?”

Considering the nitwit Saihara had been romping around the Smithsonian with, the detective must really be off the deep end on this case to be considered looney by his friends.

Kokichi was predicting a silly story that he could use to justify to DICE his choice to sit next to the detective the whole flight beyond satiating this little whim of his for a taste of the unexpected. He imagined them laughing about the detective from the smithsonian who thought the Eiffel tower was a secret spaceship or something as Kokichi explained how he just had to stick around to make fun of him.

Oh shit the detective was saying something.

"-him and one other friend think I'm making this thing about the Louvre up… and maybe I am a little crazy."

… The Louvre, huh?

Kokichi scrutinized the detective. He couldn’t mean… “The Louvre? Like, someone's gonna steal the Mona Lisa?"

"Uh, no." The detective looked away as if mildly embarrassed. "I think, uh, someone's going to take the plumbing from the renovated bathrooms…"

Kokichi’s brain registered two things about Shuichi Saihara at the same time. One: he was a real detective. Not a hopeless buffoon of a gumshoe like the ones you saw in video games about dystopian court systems and gay lawyers. He had made a real life deduction and had done so accurately. He was on a case. The second thing he realised was that Shuichi Saihara was a direct threat to his entire operation.

People usually categorize threats as something to induce fear. Some would describe the fear as “bone chilling.”

When Kokichi registered a threat his toes got cold. Not because he was scared or something dumb like that, but because his blood suddenly had a better place to be.

Kokichi’s brain raced with possibilities, brand new scenarios and personas that he could put on. Like he had been sitting at a boring ass company play only to realize that the curtains were rising to reveal a dramatic opera where he was the star. Ok, Kokichi wasn’t exactly a poet laureate when it came to analogies, but he was excited okay?

Kokichi shuffled the deck of options and picked a card.

"Wow. You must be really smart to have figured that out." Ok, good thought to start with praise. He has a low self esteem. "You know…" Kokichi leaned in. Shuichi leaned away. Good. Make him uncomfortable by getting in his bubble.

Now, just for fun, lie wildly.

"I just so happen to be the leader of a secret organization with about 10,000 members. We rule the world from the shadows. I think we could use a detective like you."

Shuichi obviously didn’t believe him, which was, to his credit, absolutely fair. “That- that has to be a lie. There is no possible way for such an organization to exist.”

Sad detective, falling for the classic hiding in plain sight maneuver. Disguise the truth of DICE in an unbelievable lie and he doesn’t believe any of it.

"And here I was thinking you were particularly clever." And, twist. "Seeing as you've refused to join my organization… it seems I'll have to kill you."

Oh man that really seemed to frazzle the good detective. What, had he never gotten a death threat before? Typical. It would be funny to see his expression if Kokichi were to just stab him right now. Except ew because blood and also ending human life. Yikes. Weird train of thought.

"But I'll let you leave this flight with your life if you can beat me in a game."

That seemed to calm the detective down a bit, like he realized Kokichi was just joking. It’d be funny when Kokichi pulled out the knife later. Ah, ah, ah, no spoilers.

"How about Russian Roulette with a full barrel?"

Shuichi sputtered, "This is a plane, you don't have a gun!"

Kokichi considered the ‘my ruse has been discovered….’ line again before he realized he’d used it like twice now and tossed it aside for: "Oh that's right, left it on my tchotchke shelf, silly me. Well I guess if you just want to beg like a dog and then split your guts open that would be acceptable."

Wow ok a little harsh there. Kokichi’s single brain cell devoted to tact whispered. What? No. No filter. Fuck you brain trying to conform to social conventions, shut the fuck up and stay out of my personality.

"Um, no that would kill me."

"Damn, nothing gets past you… Hmm… Ok, how about…" Kokichi reached into the pocket he usually left his Yu-Gi-Oh deck in. "A shadow game!"

He held up the cards only to realize they were actually just a normal playing deck. Oh yeah, he left his deck at home because he thought Rook might steal his blue eyes while he slept on the plane. Shit. Oh well, playing cards could be fun too.

"It's time to du-du-du-du-du-du-du-duel!"

Shuichi blinked. "A...duel? Shadow Game...?"

"Hmhmhm... Yes, the loser's soul will get sent to the Shadow Realm…" he shuffled them so that Shuichi and him would draw the same cards, "We each pull one card from this deck, and whoever has the largest number wins!"

Shuichi looked rather befuddled but Kokichi kept going full steam ahead.

This wasn’t really a game of chance anyhow. That wasn’t the point. The game had two motives, the first being to gauge Shuichi’s reactions to different scenarios, the second being to build up Kokichi himself as someone intimidating and mysterious. The card game wasn’t extremely telling, but the ensuing bout of rock paper scissors was.

Kokichi was keeping pretty busy predicting what Shuichi was going to pick next in order to make it a tie, but Shuichi didn’t protest at all to the mindless repetitive game it must have been for him. He was either easily impressed by rock paper scissors or just too awkward to tell Kokichi to fuck off.

Apparently the guy sitting in the row in front of them had no qualms about such things. He hit the back of his seat and grumbled “Oh my God shut up already.”

A bunch of weirdly indignant thoughts ran through Kokichi’s head.

Wow! Rude asshole! Mind your own fucking business! Get some damn headphones!

Shuichi looked like being told he was annoyed by a random asshole was his equivalent of seeing a ghost as he muttered out some inane apology.

Not that he cared about how this guy felt, but him suddenly clamming up just wasn’t very fun at all.

Just when he was making headway too…

… Maybe it was time to get rid of the distractions.

"Gosh Shuichi you really were being just too loud. You're like the loudest person I've ever met."

Shuichi looked at him like he was crazy which Kokichi appreciated for a millisecond before raising his voice to say, “Ugh that game was getting boring though, and no one won so it's probably time for something else.” He leaned over the aisle, noticing that Jack was standing in the aisle at the back of the plane chit chatting with Spades as Queen stole pretzel packets from the snack cart.

"Hey,” he called, “When's drink service?"

The three DICE members under his scrutiny froze like they had been caught doing something they shouldn’t be. They were probably gossiping about him again. Great.

Jack got her bearings fairly quickly, pushing the drink cart up the aisle. "Coming right up~" She trilled cheerfully.

As she passed by to start service at the front of the plane, Kokichi noticed a little green vial tucked into Jack’s sleeve. Most likely the sleep drug Kokichi had requested before he got on the plane. Hmm. He wanted to get rid of the distractions, but he wasn’t exactly sure distractions included Shuichi anymore. The flight was still pretty long and Kokichi knew he’d be bored out of his mind forever if he didn’t get through this whole game gambit with the detective.

Another spur of the moment change of plans was in order and it hit Kokichi with yet another wave of excitement.

"Hey, Shuichi!” He exclaimed, “We should have a tea party!"

Shuichi gave him another look. “A tea party? I don't think they ha-”

Kokichi didn’t have the patience not to speedrun Shuichi’s disbelief.

“Well oooobviously you wouldn't know anything about it.” He interrupted. “I'm the leader of a super secret organization after all, so of course I know about the super secret drink menu available on all air planes.

Shuichi frowned. "But they couldn't bring anything to-”

He stopped listening. Something something blah blah blah doubt doubt doubt.

Kokichi shook his head dismissively, getting ready to set up an I told you so moment.

“Just watch.”

When Jack rolled up with the drink cart she made a hand signal that told Kokichi things were going well on DICE’s end of things. "And what would you fine sirs like to drink?" She asked in a register slightly higher than usual. Jack was being smarter than Kokichi about this and had basically contoured all of her distinctive facial traits away, so Kokichi wouldn’t have to worry about Shuichi tracking her down from this interaction.

"A cup of hot green tea."

Pretty much the only reason he was going along with this impulsive plan of his was that the only person who would get any heat for it if things was south was him. He wouldn’t put DICE’s livelihoods in danger for a whim such as this.

"Sure thing!"

Was this even a whim anymore?

"And what about you?"

Of course it was.

"Shuichi here will have the same thing."

If it wasn’t then it would have to be something else.

And if it were something else, then Kokichi wouldn’t know what it was.

He couldn’t afford to be that stupid.

"Of course.” Jack smiled almost a little too fakely. “Anything added in like sugar or cream?"

She was obviously double checking that Kokichi didn’t want this bastard drugged.

"No, we're both taking it plain today."

"Oh, really? Alright then."

She poured the tea.

“"I hear you two are on a honeymoon? That's so lovely. Can I see the rings?”

Kokichi usually appreciated that Jack was quick to catch on to things, but she was bordering on insubordination at this point.

"You know what I hear?” Time to play real housewives of DICE with this gossip again. “That lonely flight attendants should realize they're sad and nosey losers who should keep their noses out of happy people's business."

Aw shit she was going to think he was flustered and covering up something wasn’t she.

"Teehee~ Yes sir! Enjoy the flight." Yeah she totally was on to him

Wait no because to be on to him she would have to be right and she wasn’t so there.

Oh shit wait Shuichi was still here. Looking extremely awkward and unsure if he was also supposed to start bitching at flight attendants like it was common etiquette or something.

"That was all code you know.” He brushed it off. “Super secret organization stuff. You probably wouldn't understand."

"Uh, yeah." He said, "I probably wouldn't."

Wow this guy was funny. Kokichi was moderately glad he wasn’t in a drug induced coma right now. Moderately glad was pretty good for an airplane vis a vis emotional stability.

"Neeheehee…” He let himself laugh a little. “Drink the tea Shuichi, I've got to pull you into a false sense of security before your final trial."

Shuichi frowned. "I feel like by pointing out that you're trying to lull me into a false sense of security you have essentially not done so."

"See, but because you feel that way it means I have succeeded in lulling you."

Shuichi frowned again, but seemed to see no logic in arguing. He decided to take a sip of his tea instead. Kokichi noticed the asshole in the chair in front of him was asleep. So was the guy in the seat across from his, and the woman in front of that guy was dozing too. Everyone else had a drink and would be soon to follow.

Everyone except for…

“So how do you like the tea, Shuichi?” Ouma asked.

Shuichi was drinking that hot leaf juice like a pro who didn’t even feel the burn. He made a contemplative expression.

“It’s pretty good as far as tea goes.” He shrugged. “I’m more of a coffee guy.”

Kokichi felt a little offended on the behalf of DICE’s custom blend as well as all of the classy tea drinkers in the world. He shook his head

"Fff, what are you, a cop or something? Next you’ll be telling me you like donuts more than cupcakes."

Shuichi made a weird face before looking away.

"Holy shit," Kokichi said. This was the perfect time to both change the subject and do a little investigating of his own. " Are you a cop? Like a really funny undercover cop who decided to pretend to be someone with the exact same job?"

"Uh, no, that's not it."

Was it something about the donuts then or- wait no that was stupid it was obviously the cop thing.

Shuichi was looking out the window now. "I, uh, did used to be a force detective."

"Huh," Kokichi remarked, trying to peek around at Shuichi's face, "Were you fired or something? You must've been pretty bad to get fired from some backwater police station."

"No that's not it." He seemed to be leaning into some sort of memory, "I quit actually…"

Ugh, who gave this fucking loser the right to be interesting. It was totally unfair.

Kokichi kept digging, "Man why wouldn't you want to be a cop. Clearly the most respectable public service someone can provide for their country…" but that was totally a lie. Cops suck.

Shuichi frowned. "I, uh, kind of disagree with that." He was pulling at his fingers like he was trying to stretch them like taffy. "I met a lot of people on the force who really did care about making the community better, but I feel like the existence of law enforcement is really a symptom of larger societal problems, and that the structure of power doesn't work to reduce crime or violence but instead works increase it by giving a group of privileged individuals the power to instill generational trauma in communities."

Uh… huh. Kokichi took a moment to process that because he had never thought about “cops = bad” beyond their innate fuddy duddy inclinations to stop him specifically from doing whatever the hell he wanted. What the fuck? Did this guy actually have, like, opinions??? And legitimate reasons for them??? Who gave him the right??? How could Kokichi hear more of them???

Pff wait he was probably some rich kid who took maybe one social justice class in college and became a stooge of the state anyway. Maybe he was, like, a real policeman's embittered assistant or something.

"That's lame." He lied, "cops are the cops, do you want folks to be murdering people left and right all the time??? I bet you've never even met a criminal." Hehe that one was a bit ironic, he'd laugh about it later.

Shuichi furrowed his brow at him, "Well, I have… I was a homicide detective, actually. I've arrested murderers in person many times..."

What???? Is this what talking to all strangers for extended periods of time was like? You found out they actually had lives? And cool careers? That they made their livings in murder?

Nah, Shuichi was probably an exception. You don't meet an anti cop homicide detective everyday after all…

Kokichi decided he was being too endeared so he planned out a new branch of conversation that would hopefully make Shuichi squeamish, or at least unnerved.

He put on his best enthusiasm face. "Tell me about a murder! Tell me, tell me, tell me!"

Shuichi blinked at him, surprised at his sudden shift in mood. "Uh, alright then…" he said.

Shuichi started to go into detail about a case he had solved his first year on the force. Some guy turned up dead in a public pool and everyone else had basically given up on the case. Shuichi was describing how he figured it out through deductions and use of specific forensic techniques, and to be honest he wasn't exactly a master of suspense. Kokichi was able to deduce the murderer from the details Shuichi chose to include. No, none of that was why he was completely mesmerized with Shuichi while he talked.

Hearing about the things that Shuichi did to get to the evidence in the first place was… impressive???

No that couldn’t be right.

Maybe it was just weird to see a mousey guy like him get as jazzed up as Kokichi about solving murders, and not even in a weird or vaguely creepy way. He just seemed like… Kokichi hadn't thought about it in a long time but when he was a kid he read a shit ton of mystery manga, where the heroes were detectives. He had since then moved on to more sophisticated literature such as airplane diagrams and police radio transcripts, but Shuichi reminded him of those detectives instead of the old fuddy duddies with which he had begun to associate the profession. He was just kind of… cool. Yeah that was the word for it. Cool. Like he was always going to get around to the right answer no matter what. Yeah, he had that abstract "coolness" factor that had drawn Kokichi to protagonists as a kid.

Kokichi wanted to steal it from him. Break his composure, become the center of the stage in this narrative. Yet, at the same time he suddenly dreaded his own inevitable heel turn. This was something rare, he decided, getting to talk one on one with Shuichi like this. It would probably never happen again.

So Kokichi listened. He teased, interjected, and prompted superfluous explanations, but he listened.

And Shuichi talked. He talked about murder most foul, crooked cops, elusive evidence, and the friends he made along the way. Shit straight out of a manga that Kokichi was spending his Saturday morning hyper-fixating on.

The conversation only ended when Shuichi had to get up to use the toilet. A stark reminder that manga wasn’t real and in meatspace human beings had to shit every now and then. Kokichi watched him go and felt a little sad. Like he knew whatever it was worth, the moment had passed. It was a once in a lifetime opportunity and now all he had was to dissect it over and over again in his head until it became mangled beyond recognition...

Yeah yeah ok, world's tiniest violin, scattered ashes, ceremonial boat burning, yadda yadda.

Kokichi had a heist to pull off, no time for any of this silly stuff. He dismissed whatever weird feelings were bubbling in his chest and decided to go with the more practical inspiration that struck him. He took a couple seconds to plan out his grand exit. He decided to leave Shuichi a note and justified to himself that heists had been getting boring lately and as a proper game master he should give Shuichi a hint. Hmm were his initials too much? It might seem like…

Well he didn't really know what it seemed like, which was weird because he was a genius. Was he actually trying to figure out how Shuichi would react to this? He hadn't really thought about what Shuichi's opinion of him had been because he had only started thinking of Shuichi as an actual person halfway through the flight. That was the thing about being in a close knit organization, he always thought about DICE as an extension of himself and everyone else as some sort of nebulous other he had to predict the movements of. Sometimes he forgot that if you spent a lot of time talking to some stranger you find out they have brains and lives and stuff.

Speaking of things that probably have brains and lives and stuff, things seemed to be going good with DICE. Jack had signaled him that she told everyone about the plan when she came by to collect trash.

Of course, he and Shuichi were the only ones she took trash from. Everyone else was fast asleep, all according to plan. Kokichi had written some last minute details on a napkin he had put in the trash bag, so they all knew they were dropping soon.

They were also all probably gossiping about him. He supposed that's what he got for ditching them to sit with a detective dressed in black like a sexy motorcycle. Wow that was terrible where did his brain even get that line and how could he use it to make Shuichi freak out. Probably pretty easily...

Except if everything went according to plan maybe he wouldn't have the chance. Not like this. He imagined himself yelling the comment at Shuichi from the safety of a getaway chopper, like in the movies…

Ok his note was basically done now. Oh hmm. This actually seemed kind of desperate, the note. It kind of screamed "track me down to the end of the world please" like some sort of piss baby cry for help.

Aw shit. He was thinking about what Shuichi thought about him again...

Speak of the devil and he shall appear but Kokichi was already here and hadn't talked about himself in a bit, so Shuichi showed up instead. His hands were wet which meant he washed them and goddammit it was insufferable how tolerable this guy was. Did he have no weaknesses besides being generally awkward and also being someone who used to be a cop? Ugh wait the latter was kind of cool too. Insufferable.

Well you know what they say, if you can't beat em plan to jump off an airplane because you did beat them they just don't know it yet.

Kokichi decided their final trial together deserved some dramatic build up, so he bowed to Shuichi as he got up to let him sit back down.

"Welcome, combatants." He illustriated, "Take your seat and prepare for the final trial."

Shuichi gave him a wary look as he slid back into his seat.

"What is it this time?" he asked.

Kokichi considered pulling out the crying on that one, but got too excited about how Shuichi would react to his pulling out the knife instead. Thusly he reprimanded the detective’s lack of enthusiasm with a single tsk.

“You could stand to be a little more concerned mister detective, it’s your life on the line after all.”

Shuichi gave him a dubious look, like he trusted airport security and general societal norms to keep him from being murdered.

Kokichi wanted to tear down the walls of that trust.

He pulled out the knife.

Shuichi’s reaction was instantaneous. He practically jumped away from Kokichi in his seat. Weirdly enough... that just made Kokichi realize they had been sitting pretty close before...

How did that happen?

Eh no time for that.

“Is that a knife?” Shuichi yelped, “How did you get a knife on the plane?”

It was weird how Shuichi stuttered about everything except things that were actually dangerous. Well maybe Kokichi having a knife wasn’t really dangerous, but Shuichi didn’t know that and here he was saying complete words. Sentences and all. And yet it still had the streak of incredulity running through it that shot through to Kokichi’s head faster than his own signature panta-redbull blend.

“Oh, a villain's got his ways.” He said in a way that he thought was pretty cool and mysterious.

Shuichi still seemed to be panicking a bit and Kokichi was getting a little tired of that so he brushed past it.

“Now this game's pretty easy to understand, but you gotta be skilled,” he explained matter of factly, “I'll go first to show you how it's done.”

When some other kids had showed him this game when he was an even tinier bastard they had started off slow and slowly sped up. But he was still kind of leaning into the shock factor, and going slow was lame. He started stabbing the table through his fingers at a breakneck pace.

“H-hey!” Shuichi exclaimed (oh so now he stutters), “You're gonna hurt yourself doing that!”

“Pff, as if I would.”

The thing about this game is that it required rhythm, and rhythm required predictable repetition, and being predictable was the antithesis to everything that brought him joy in life.

He sped up.

“Here it's really easy.”

He went even faster.

The knife went *thuck thuck thuck* as it massacred the table.

When you did something the same way for a long time it gave you time to think about things. It didn’t really give you anything specific to think about, though, so Kokichi always felt like he was wasting time.

The knife went *thkthkthk* between his fingers.

He wanted to consider next steps. How long he would do this for and what would he do if Shuichi lost the game… Instead he started thinking about when he learned the game. He remembered he had picked it up from some of the older kids at one of the homes. The only other thing he remembered about them was one time they had stood by a rose bush with him, tearing off thorns and pushing them into their fingertips. Kokichi had done it and remembered that it didn’t feel like anything at all.

*Schlick*

Your fingers are full of blood vessels and nerves, but if you push down to the cartilage-

Oh wait.

“Agh!” Shuichi exclaimed from beside him, “You’re bleeding!”

Kokichi was bleeding.

He was looking at his hand. His knife had nicked a millimeter of skin on the inner side of his ring finger, just at the junction between the tip of his finger and the second part of the ligament. It occurred to him that he was in pain.

“Ow,” He said on instinct. Or maybe he thought it in his head. It didn’t matter because he was busy also thinking about how Shuichi had just grabbed his wrist and pulled it over to him.

The detective placed Kokichi’s hand in his lap like a sandwich he was saving for later while he ruffled through his coat pockets. He drew out a bandaid and lifted Kokichi’s hand again. His fingers were longer than Kokichi’s, and they felt sort of cold, like his blood had better places to be than his fingertips. They were very, very gentle as they wrapped a bandage around the bleeding finger. Almost like Shuichi cared or something.

The detective’s greyish green eyes flickered up to him and Kokichi realized Shuichi had really long eyelashes. “You really ought to be more careful.” He said in his soft way.

Kokichi was honestly having more emotions than were necessary about this, so he focused on the annoyance.

Man, good at figuring things out, is interesting, has opinions, and actually cares about other people? Was this guy even a real person??? That seemed like too many character traits. Geez Shuichi, why did mom let you have all of the attractive personality qualities?

Did he say attractive? He meant annoying.

Shuichi squinted at him. His eye lashes weren’t that long, he was wearing eyeliner. Kokichi had already noticed that. He just had to start thinking coherent thoughts again.

“What is it? Are you alright?”

Yeah, for sure.

Shuichi was still holding his hand and Kokichi decided it was time to not be touching another person again, so he quickly whipped it away. He tried to settle into a boastful kind of hands behind the head pose, but worried that the effect was lost by the sudden squirming of emotions in his gut.

"Geez," Kokichi said petulantly, "I can't believe you actually beat me."

He stomped everything down. It was time for action not... not whatever this was.

Shuichi blinked at him in confusion. "Beat you? But I didn't even play…"

"Doesn't matter." Kokichi shifted to a new pose where he leaned his arm on the rest in between them and propped his head up, positioned for his next steps. "The rules were if I cut myself I lose, and I lost."

“...Although, it doesn't matter if you join my organization or not anymore, Shuichi."

Shuichi looked at him in confusion and Kokichi found it kind of frustrating that he didn’t know which aspect of this that Shuichi was contemplating.

“Uh, it doesn’t?”

Very eloquent, Shuichi, that clears things up.

"Nope." Kokichi moved a bit so that both elbows rested on the arm rest and propped his head up closer to Shuichi’s. "Because I've already done something much more important than winning."

As Kokichi leaned in Shuichi leaned back. Shuichi was staring pretty intensely at his eyes which made this the perfect opportunity. Kokichi’s hands went lightly down to Shuichi’s waist, where he put the detective’s seat belt into a dreadknot.

“W-what's that?” The detective stammered, no doubt as alarmed by the proximity as Kokichi had anticipated.

Kokichi hadn’t really anticipated what he would say next though.

He went with, “I've stolen your heart.” He felt a millennia of DICE movie nights spent making fun of romantic comedies crash against his soul and decided to change the genre before he embarrassed himself. “Because I'm a thief you know?”

He was practically breathing in Shuichi’s ear by now, which made this next part a little hard. He unbuckled his seatbelt. Then, in a fluid motion Kokichi’s hands went behind his head as he arched to place them on the aisle armrest. He did a handstand for an instant on the arm rest before landing his feet across the aisle on to some poor bastard’s tray table.

When he came up for air he observed that he had knocked a cup over and that Shuichi had just noticed his own seat belt malfunction. The detective’s look of dawning realization felt like a standing ovation.

"Hmmm, I really should kill you, now that you've seen my face," and maybe he would if DICE were that kind of organization. It was kind of troubling that the police would get sketches, and the gang would probably harrang him about it. But eh, what can you do.

Certainly not murder. You can’t just murder people. That’d be dumb. Boring even.

Kokichi hopped down from the tray table and grabbed his heist bag. It would’ve been bad to forget that, he considered as he pulled out his mask, Louvre cameras are a lot more reliable than a half asleep detective’s recount.

Said detective was certainly fully awake now, looking at Kokichi in an utterly gobsmacked manner. Kokichi felt like he was sinking his teeth into the stem of a rose thrown from the audience.

"... But I think that'd be a waste, don't you?" Maybe the trouble was what he was looking for, after all. He wondered if they would fingerprint the arm rests when the plane touched down. They wouldn’t find any matches in any criminal database, so it didn’t matter much to him. He put on his gloves anyway before tossing Shuichi the note he had written.

No time for second drafts. He thought as he started walking down the aisle.

“Somebody! Stop him!” Shuichi yelled from behind him. It was so manga detective that Kokichi wanted to scream.

The rest of DICE was already getting up with their parachutes on, and a few turned towards Shuichi’s call. Thank goodness they were wearing their masks because he wasn’t sure if Shuichi could still see down the aisle or not. He might’ve seen Jack’s face, but she had been wearing a lot of makeup so it was probably fine.

She certainly didn’t seem concerned. She was checking the knots the only actual flight attendant on the plane was trussed up in.

Ace, always a little over eager, wrenched open the emergency exit as Kokichi was still putting his parachute on. He felt the drastic change of air pressure in those spaces you feel it in your skull and stomach. He hadn’t realized how warm the inside of the plane was until the cold air sucked it out.

He used convenient zippers to close up his hoodie pockets, knife included, and buckled up the rest of the parachute’s straps.

He looked back, just once. Shuichi was peering out at him in the aisle. He looked like his world was ending and Kokichi reveled in the power of that. That he was just that important to this detective.

The curtains are about to drop but there are still people screaming in the balconies.

He smiled.

The encore wasn’t up to him.

“So long, Mr. Detective!" He got to the window. "Better luck next time.”

Kokichi jumped back first out of the plane and the walls and the aisles and the lights of the plane slipped out of view through the emergency exit one by one.

And he fell.

He fell and flipped over to take in the view of Paris below. The city of lights indeed. It was beautiful, he supposed.

He fell, letting himself enjoy the breeze a bit before reaching terminal velocity.

He didn't though.

Enjoy it.

It felt like getting on a fucking awesome roller coaster except it’s also your every day ride to your job at some dead end minimum wage desk.

It was… boring. Routine.

Just victory, just the Louvre, just air.

Even as the other members of DICE whooped and hollered on their descent, Kokichi realized the fun part of the heist was already over. The whole heist was over.

He could predict it all.

He would deploy his parachute, he would float down to the Louvre, and he would orchestrate a perfect heist.

But Kokichi Ouma realized then that he would never stopped falling.

#saiouma #oumasai #shuichi saihara #kokichi ouma #fanfiction #Phantom Thief AU #ouff yall im gay and probably have adhd so that's my excuse for going absolutely feral on this #first time writing ouma so hope yall like it #writing

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clownsgobeepbeep · 5 years

Text

The Lost One

@grotesquegabby Since Ama and Calliope are in this uwu

And they both have a conversation with a certain...clown

“Hey, how about we take a break from the park and we go outside?”

“Outside?”

“Yeah! To like the pier, or the beach, or-”

“The circus?”

Ama gave an eager nod as she sat in front of Ula, both having finished eating the lunch they had purchased earlier whilst they visited Jelly’s amusement park.

“Aren’t they busy getting stuff ready for later tonight?” Ula asked before taking a lick of the large pumpkin lollipop she had just taken out of her bag.

“Well I mean, yeah, I think.” Ama shrugged. “But you know that Cuckoo always lets us in. Especially because it’s almost someone's birthday.~”

“Pfft, shut up Ama.” Ula playfully rolled her eyes as she and Ama now stood up from the table they sat on. “I guess we could go and give the circus a little visit.”

“Great! Let’s go then.”

The two girls made their way through the crowds after Ula had put on her sunglasses and sunhat. She learned the hard way that children sometimes recognize in an instant that she was their favorite princess. So with even more reason, the girls walked into a backstage area that they were allowed into after having shown certain passes, then walking through a door that lead them into the outside of the amusement park.

“Where are you two off to?” a voice questioned, both now looking up to look into purple eyes.

“Hiya Ace.” Ula waved at the tall man who gave a bit of a scoff, though Ula and Ama could tell he wasn’t upset.

“Don’t think you two shoud come around here at this time of the day. We’re still working on finishing touches and the performers are rehearsing.”

“Meh, I don’t think the ringleader would mind if we just had...a look around.” Ula gave a bit of ashrug, Ace crossing his arms before she leaned in towards him. “I’ll babysit the triplets tonight so you and Fe-”

“Fine.”

“Thank you Ace.” Ula then hugged the clown who hugged her back, Ula and Ama then walking past Ace as they waved at him and he merely rolled his eyes but still chuckled to himself before heading away.

_____________

“Calliope, my love?”

“Yes Cuckoo?”

“Is there any chance you may know the whereabouts of my cane?”

Cuckoo searched all around the room they and their mate were currently in, Calliope sitting on their shared bed as she adjusted her outfit.

“I have not. Perhaps the children have seen it.”

“Or perhaps they decided to steal it whilst I was with the performers.” Cuckoo chuckled to themselves as they now stood straight, adjusting their coat whilst looking out one of the nearby windows. “It appears we have company love.”

Calliope then looked out the window as well, her eyes squinting for a moment as she noticed three people walking down a path that lead into the circus. She saw Ula and Ama, but behind them...a man. What was even stranger was that neither of the girls seemed to have noticed the man following them, but the man noticed Calliope.

He turned to her with a charming smile, lifting a gloved finger to his lips before disappearing away.

“Calliope?”

“Yes?” Calliope turned to look back at Cuckoo who placed a soft kiss on her forehead.

“I said I was going to the tent now, just in case you needed anything else.”

“Oh no, I’ll be alright.” Calliope gently grabbed Cuckoo’s hand,, rubbing her thumb over its back. "In fact, I believe I may go and greet our guests as well."

_____________

The circus tent was filled with a variety of people who were all still working quite a lot for preparations for the Halloween season were not yet done, but extremely close to being there.

Ula and Ama sat on one of the benches where they knew they would not accidentally interrupt this process, each holding and eating from a bucket of popcorn they had been given.

“I like the bows.” Ula motioned to some of the decorations that had been put up.

“Mmm yeah, they’re pretty.” Ama nodded before popping in some more popcorn into her mouth. “I wonder where they’re gonna be putting the mushrooms.”

“Probably right by the entrance, next to the archway.”

“Makes sense.”

They both then stayed silent for a few moments as they continued to watch everything go on in front of them. Performers here and there. Workers on every side. Zeta standing at the very top of the benches that were on the opposite side of the girls, the woman keeping a close eye on everybody and everything they did. As always, her crossed arms and cold stare intimidated nearly all.

Ama then turned to look at Ula again, ready to speak as her lips opened but then immediately closed.

Right next to Ula sat a man Ama had never seen before, Ula seeming unbothered as she continued to eat from her popcorn bucket. In fact, it almost looked like Ula didn’t even notice the man who casually ate from his own popcorn bucket, then turning his head to look at Ama.

“Oh, hello there.” he gave a bit of a wave as he stared at Ama with emerald eyes.

“Hi.” Ama awkwardly replied, then seeing as Ula turned to her.

“Hi?” Ula gave her a confused look.

Ama’s eyes darted back to the man who chuckled to himself before lifting a single finger to make a swirl like motion in the air, then disappearing right before her.

“Ama?” Ula waved a hand in front of her friend’s face. “You okay there?”

“Oh, uh, yeah.” Ama nodded before placing her popcorn bucket down on the bench. “Hey, I’m gonna go check and see if they’ve brought in any cookies. I heard your uncle Pepper’s been making some of those Alice in Wonderland ones.”

“Oh cool. I’ll go with you.”

“No, no it’s okay.” Ama shook her head as she placed a hand onto Ula’s shoulder to keep her sitting down. “You stay and enjoy the, err, show.”

“I’m pretty sure-”

“Ah ah ah! Stay.” Ama pat Ula’s head a few times as the later only gave a silly pout, then going back to eating popcorn. So, Ama climbed down from the benches before making her way through wherever she was able to. She circled around the benches until coming across the man from before, seeing as he leaned against a piece of furniture while adjusting one of the gloves he had been wearing.

“I suppose you were looking for me, yes?”

“I...well. I suppose you could say that.” Ama carefully approached him, then seeing as his much taller figure stared down at her with eyes she immediately connected to Ula, just like the red swirls on each one of his cheeks. “May I ask who you are?”

“Lucky.” the man now appeared behind Ama which made her jump a bit before turning around to see as he leaned down to be closer to her. “Uncle Lucky. Some called me Perry however, but only those who did not know I was not human.”

“Wait a minute…”

“Yes, I am a D’Vitt. A deceased one as you can tell.”

“You’re a ghost...how come Ula wasn’t able to see you? She can always see the dead.”

“She can see the dead, unless the dead prefer to not be seen.” Lucky lifted a hand that he used to make a circular motion in front of him, and he seemed to have disappeared right behind it.

“Where...are you still there?” Ama whispered, then turning around to see Lucky casually laying on a piece of wood that was being carried by two workers who of course did not notice him.

“I am here, Amaranthus.” he answered, then disappearing to reappear in front of Ama. “Sometimes, I just prefer to not be seen by all who possess the ability to see me.”

“And why didn’t you let Ula see you just now?”

“Because I talk to Ula quite often, thought it be best she take a break from ol’ Uncle Lucky.” the clown now appeared on a bar, hanging upside down as his black, wavy locks hanged down. “She’s grown into a little woman and as much as I hate it, I can not be there for her every step of the way. I am attempting to distance myself from her, whilst still keeping an eye of course. Especially with how tense things have been lately.”

“Do you mean…”

“With her boyfriends? Yes. The first one, oh how I adore that Schrader. I think he and Ula make such a perfect match. The second one, I like him as well but he needs a strong boost of confidence as well as other factors.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I don’t mean I don’t ‘ship’ it, as you youth say nowadays, but he’s not proving to be the best match for my niece. I mean, I even heard of a certain conversation he had with your mom.”

“Conversation?”

“Nevermind that.” Lucky shook his head before he removed his legs from the bar, then rolling over so that he was floating on his stomach. “That boy Atlas just needs to work on ignoring the world around him. He loves Ula, yes?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, he needs to take his head out of the ground and show everybody else that he’s not afraid. Just like Schrader, he’s a fabulous example. That annoying little boy Carney tried sabotaging his relationship with Ula, but Schrader put that brat in his place and would you look at them now, Carney treats Schrader with full respect! Atlas...he needs to be more assertive or this relationship with Ula is going to end in no time. I mean, could you imagine if a third person came around and snatched Ula away? What would Atlas do?”

“I...Atlas is trying his best.” Ama gave a bit of a shrug. “He loves her and really is trying to make things work.”

“I know, and I appreciate that about him. But I’m just looking out for my niece and him. I do think their relationship is sweet and all but…” Lucky then gave a sigh before floating down to the ground with his legs crossed, elbows propped on them and his chin on his hands that were folded nicely. “There is not much else I can say other than I am trying to keep Ula safe. She already...almost, died once. I would much rather prefer it not come to that again, or further. This romance, you may think it’s not crucial, but it is to a plethora.”

“Is something going to happen to Ula?” Ama leaned in close to Lucky who gave yet another sigh.

“Oh child, if only I could tell you.”

“Ama, is that you?” somebody asked before Ama and Lucky looked up to the side where they saw Cuckoo and Calliope walk down the trail they were in.

“Oh, hi there.” Ama greeted as she now stood straight, embracing Calliope and then Cuckoo. “I was just about to go into the kitchen to see if I could get some cookies.”

“Ah, well of course you can get some cookies.” Cuckoo smiled before offering an arm. “Allow me to take you to the kitchen. Calliope, you do not mind?”

“Of course not.” Calliope then leaned up as Cuckoo leaned down so that the two could give each other a kiss. “I will go and greet Ula, perhaps the children have already done so before we came.”

Calliope’s eyes trailed down to the ground where they looked into the eyes Ama had been looking into earlier, their owner giving Calliope a smile and wave.

“I shall see you around then.” Cuckoo then left with Ama into the kitchen as Calliope was left...alone.

“Your appearance strikes me familiar.” Calliope commented as the man below now stood up, giving her a polite bow before standing straight.

“Lady Death, I have heard much of you.”

“And I, of you.” Calliope softly nodded as the man in the pinstripe suit hid his hands behind his back. “Lucky, is it?”

“Indeed, though in my final moments I was not. Lady Luck decided that my luck had run out.” Lucky gave a small shrug.

“Yes, I heard your death was an unexpected one.”

“Such as my abduction.” he then nodded. “But, I am not here to speak of such things. I come to you for much more important matters, you are one who my family dearly trusts.”

“What is it?”

“I would have come to you much earlier, but there are certain...forces, that have been purposely keeping me away. I know what they want and what they plan on doing, though I have unfortunately sworn to the elders to not speak of these things to anybody other than them.” Lucky then leaned in close to Calliope to whisper. “Thankfully, you yourself are an Elder, and one I know who listens.

“Have the others not listened to you?”

“They have, but also have not. They especially have not listened to the children known as Basil and Flora who have attempted to warn them of the approaching dangers. The Elders believe the children are only making things up so that they make take action and their future existence is ensured, but I know that is not the case.”

“Danger? What danger?”

“A danger that will fall upon all those you care for, even your spouse and children.” Lucky leaned even closer towards Calliope. “My family will hurt and...very badly...I don’t want to see any of them on my side of the plains, but I fear I will if nobody acts now.”

“You need to tell me more.”

“I will but..” Lucky then scanned the area around. “Though I am but another deceased being, it would be best that we speak somewhere much more private.”

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sodoyouknowbts · 6 years

Text

Yoongi x Reader - Guardian (One)

Part of the ‘Souls’ Series.

Summary: Min Yoongi is a cynical guardian angel assigned to look after you.

Pairing: Yoongi x Reader (ft Hoseok)

Genre: Romance, fantasy, soul mates

Author: Pilot

Chapter One

Yoongi is standing in the kitchen drinking coffee when it happens. A shiny silver envelope materialises in front of him. It hovers, wrapped in a bubble. A deep blue seal hinges the folded edges together. Two letters in victorian script are embossed, A.A - Angel Academy.

Yoongi sips his coffee and stares at it over the edge of the cup. Angel Academy. Who came up with such an obvious name? Yoongi scoffs.

He finishes his coffee, washes the cup up in the sink and goes to sit down on the couch, ignoring the floating envelope. He pulls out his phone and scrolls through it, reading the latest news headlines.

Yoongi hears the front door shut and the sound of shoes clonking on the floor.

Hoseok walks into the kitchen holding flowers and spots the envelope.

“Ooh what is this?!” He asks, peering at the envelope. “Yoongi, this is for you. What are you doing leaving it unanswered?”

Hoseok moves past the envelope and pulls out a vase from the cupboard. He gives it a rinse and places it on the counter, arranging his assortment of sunflowers.

“It’s not mine.” Yoongi denies, paying zero attention to Hoseok’s movements.

Done with the arrangement, Hoseok moves over to the bubble and pokes it, his finger pressing into it. His finger is met with resistance. The bubble bounces back and doesn’t pop.

“Hey, it is yours. I can’t access it.”

Yoongi glances over his shoulder.

“Who are the flowers from today?” he asks, changing the subject.

“Oh those?” Hoseok turns toward the sunflowers and smiles brightly. “One of my assignments sent me these as a thanks, she’s just been accepted into university!”

Yoongi raises his brows and responds, disinterested. “Good for her.”

“You know, for a guardian angel you’re really not that nice sometimes.” Hoseok says, pulling a face. Yoongi throws his phone down on the table, closes his eyes and lays down to take a nap. Hoseok walks off to his room.

Yoongi sleeps for about ten minutes when he senses something hovering over his face. He opens one eye slowly. It’s the envelope. He waves it away and it’s pushed to the middle of the room by the breeze Yoongi had generated from the motion.

He rolls over, turning his back on the envelope. He can still feel it behind him. Frustrated, he rolls back onto his back and picks up the pillow from beneath his head and puts it over his face. He sleeps for another fifteen minutes before Hoseok pokes him awake. Yoongi slaps away his hand and sits up, disgruntled. The pillow tumbles into his lap.

“Your phone is ringing.”

Yoongi sits up, hair messy. He gets up and leans across to reach the phone. He scratches his chest and goes to the front door to collect his shoes.

“I’ll be back later.” Yoongi shuts the door behind him.

***

You stretch your arms above your head and let out a yawn, your eyes watering. You blink. You had been in the university library for a solid six hours. You bundle your hand into a fist and hit your left leg. It had fallen asleep.

You look across at your friend who is watching Youtube videos on her phone.

“I don't know how you managed to study. I kept getting distracted.” She says, pointing at her phone. “I’m dead tired.” She had only joined you half an hour ago. Her books remained untouched and strewn across the table. She had been lost in a loop of kpop videos for 30 minutes. She locks her phone.

“How do you do it?” She asks, leaning forward onto her arms, speaking into the table.

“By swapping my social life for permanent eye-bags and zero sleep.” You retort. “Ah, the life of a budding law student.”

You were in your final semester of law and journalism. You had one more exam to go. Your university debt had piled up and you had taken up odd jobs throughout the course of your degree to get a head start on it. ‘Adulting’ hadn’t come easy for you.

“Life of a budding law student or death of a budding law student?” she asks.

You raise your arm up, plotting up headlines in the air.

“Young woman found dead in library. Cause of death: case study boredom and paper cuts.” You burst out into laughter with your friend and receive a few glares from neighbouring students. You bow your head slightly in an apology.

“Please study gods, bless us in our upcoming exams. We want to be out of here!” Your friend exclaims, futilely grasping her hands together. She looks at you. “Imagine if we actually had that - or similar.”

“What do you mean?”

“Like angels. Guardian angels that opened the doors and carried our books and made everything easy and told us the answers to the exam questions!” She exclaims.

“If guardian angels are real mine is probably off somewhere drinking alcohol straight from the bottle and pretending I don’t exist.” You laugh.

You probably had needed a guardian angel when you were younger, when things were tougher and you had no one to go to. You had gotten through all of it, each trouble and difficulty becoming a new badge on your chest that became a part of what had built you and your character. You learned how to deal with things on your own. Nowadays, your problems revolved around your career, stability and money, or lack thereof.

You look out the window. It’s getting dark. You throw your eraser at your friend and it hits her squarely in the forehead and bounces off.

“Let’s go.”

***

“What’s up?” Yoongi is holding a basketball in his hands. God, he missed playing basketball. He throws it up and catches it.

He cocks a brow at the young boy who is standing in the middle of the basketball court.

“Why’d you drag me out here?” the boy asks.

“I find playing basketball a good way to clear the mind, Won Young.” Yoongi responds. “Something about the endorphins, science. Whatever.”

He looks at him. He’d been assigned Won Young two months ago. Won Young was a bright fourteen year old boy, but like most other young adolescents he was struggling to cope with the transition from childhood to adulthood. Puberty, school, home life, hormones and social pressures had been hitting him hard. It was only going to get harder.

The boy heaves a sigh and mumbles under his breath. Yoongi scowls.

“I shouldn’t have called you.”

Yoongi walks over to him, casting a shadow on the ground. Although Yoongi wouldn’t admit it, he had a soft spot for Won Young. His thoughts, feelings and mixed emotions were all things Yoongi resonated with. After all, he had felt them too, when he was the same age. Heck, he was still feeling them.

“Catch.” He throws the ball at the boy and Won Young catches it.

“Let’s play.”

Won Young begrudgingly participates. About an hour later, he’s laughing, smiling and sweaty. Yoongi had taken the opportunity to show off his ‘mad spinning’ techniques, dribbling skills and ability to shoot three pointers.

“Feeling better?” He asks him, passing him the ball.

“Yeah.”

Yoongi looks up at the sky. The sun was setting, almost hidden along the horizon.

Won Young bounces it back to Yoongi.

“I’ve been meaning to ask. Why is that envelope following you around?”

Yoongi looks over his shoulder.

“Oh, so you see it too?”

“Yeah, what is it? Is it another assignment?”

Yoongi shrugs. “Probably.”

Yoongi throws the ball at the envelope and the envelope hits the floor and rises back up.

"Are you going to keep ignoring it?”

“Haven't decided yet.” Yoongi goes to pick up the ball that’s rolled off the court and onto the grass.

“Come on. I’ll walk home with you.”

***

Yoongi pushes the door of the convenience store open. It squeaks. He stuffs his hands in the front pockets of his hoodie and heads to the back of the store.

His grip tightens around a bottle of soju. He grabs a packet of chips for good measure. He makes a sidewards glance.

The envelope is still hovering, floating behind him.

He narrows his eyes. It was going to be a troublesome one, he could feel it.

The girl in front of him is taking way too much time to pay. He looks her up and down. He clicks his tongue impatiently.

"Uh, do you need help?” He asks.

You turn around. He’s looking at you with an unimpressed expression on his face. You grow embarrassed, noting a small queue has formed behind you.

“If you’d just kindly wait a moment, I’m just trying to find my card. Thanks for your understanding.” You huff.

You rummage through your wallet trying to search for your card. Too many pockets and you had a bad habit of not putting your card back in the same little spot in your wallet. Damnit, when will I learn?

Yoongi moves past you and throws his chips down on the counter. He waves the bottle of soju up, signalling to the shop attendant. “I’ll just pay for it all.”

The boy nods, relieved and scans the chips on top of your items. You frown and round on him. Who does he think he is?!

“Um, excuse me, thank you but you don’t have to -”

Yoongi ignores you and you stop mid sentence, watching as he nonchalantly scans his card against the card reader. It’s approved instantly.

“Too late. It’s done.” he says. He nods goodbye to the attendant, leans forward and grabs his chips. He tucks the soju bottle under his arm and opens the chips, leaving the store without a second thought.

You stand there in awe and watch as he turns the corner.

***

Hoseok is sitting on the couch, cuddling a cushion. He’s watching variety shows.

“Oh, you’re back?” Hoseok calls from the lounge. Yoongi kicks off his sneakers and heads to the kitchen.

“You still haven’t opened it?!” Hoseok exclaims, eyeing the envelope.

“Nope.”

Yoongi pulls two small glasses out from the dish rack. He hands Hoseok his packet of half eaten chips and sits himself on the carpet in the lounge. He cracks open his bottle of soju and pours Hoseok a glass. Hoseok accepts it and takes a small sip, his facial expression souring. He continues to drink it anyway.

“Don't forget you need to submit your report tomorrow.” Hoseok reminds him.

Yoongi nods, eyes transfixed on the television, one leg propped up and his arm stretched out on his knee.

“The system is down so you’ll have to submit it in person.”

This catches Yoongi’s attention. “What do you mean the system is down?”

“It’s not working.”

Yoongi groans. Did this really mean he had to physically go in? He hated that place. He’d spent years there and as soon as he could, he made every effort to avoid it.

“Are you going into work tomorrow?” he asks.

“I always go to work. Unlike you. Working from home 24/7.”

“Let’s get lunch tomorrow.”

Hoseok claps excitedly. “Really?! Deal.”

The envelope starts to move from behind Yoongi and floats in front of his face, blocking the tv. Yoongi moves his head and it moves in unison. He sighs, frustrated. He tilts his head the other way again. The same thing happens. Hoseok watches on, amused.

Finally, Yoongi reaches for the envelope and snatches it from the bubble and rips open the seal.

He pulls out a piece of paper. Printed in the same victorian script as the seal, is your name.

To be continued.

#min yoongi #suga #BTS #BTS Fanfiction #BTS fiction #BTS fan fic #BTS fan fiction #yoongi x reader #hoseok #sope #to all the min yoongi fans who requested more of fake love and you're mine #THIS IS FOR YOU

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g0ldpainted · 7 years

Text

4th December - CtC’17

Chocobros and how they show their love for you/relationship headcanons

Hiya! :D

Today I present you a little headcanon. And on a side note, I really suck at finding names for anything. xD

My original thought came from how people sometimes don’t notice all the little things people do when they love someone. And then I spend time thinking about how the chocobros would change/adapt once they truly love someone and what they’d start doing for them - and only for them. ^^

This is the outcome:

(No spoilers nor tw’s needed - just some kinda fluffy stuff)

Noctis:

Although he could buy you all the expensive things in the world, he refuses to

Doesn't like spending a lot of money on gifts because he fears you'd only be in for the expensive gifts (at least early on in your relationship)

Prefers meaningful gifts

They don't necessarily have to be cheap but he prefers to start off small with gifts

Unlike his father wants him to, he doesn't gift 3000gil bracelets but chocolate and flowers for a one month anniversary

Sometimes even likes to DIY some gifts

And those tend to be a disaster but it's the thought that counts, right?

However, if you tend to have a certain wish he tries his best to grant it

Technically, since he's the prince, he can make anything happen

Wanna ride a horse through the city? Sure thing.

Wanna travel to Altissia for the weekend? Alright, pack your bags.

Want the most exclusive jewelry? Yeah, that's possible, too.

But he's not only proving his love through gifts

It's the little surprise dates he plans

It's the massages he loves to give you after a stressful day

It’s the way he worries about you to the point he orders the best nurse of Insomnia over to check on you

And the way he cares for you when you go through cramps

He’ll happily be your body pillow and heater anytime

Although he's not a good cook, he'll cook for you, too

You bet Ignis was involved, though - the risk of poisoning you without his help was too high

Noctis will shower you with little gestures

Pecks. All. The. Time.

Very touchy, loves caressing your body

Will do anything for you - that includes brushing your hair when you’re too tired to

Yeah, he's a pretty innocent lover.. Unless he's horny

Giver! He’s a total giver.

Always puts you first.. Even though he sometimes should put his duty as future king first

See's his future in you and doesn't fail to remind you whenever he can

He'll name a street after you to some anniversary once you're married

Also makes sure the garden is always top-notch and full of flowers you like

He's all about you and takes note of everything you seem to show a liking in

When he says he loves you, he really means it.

Prompto:

The moment you two start dating, you become this sunshine's fuel of life

You make him happy with your presence, voice and touches

You make him feel so much better about his own struggles, he wants to give you back somehow

Now he isn't exactly on the rich side, tends to work a lot to provide for himself

Nonetheless, he never fails to surprise you with little gifts

Picks flowers for you whenever he can

He loves traveling and therefore always saves money to be able to afford trips with you

With Prompto by your side, you'll always have splendid photos of yourself

He loves photographing you

Makes sure you know he loves your beauty

Wants to portray your character through your photos

It's not about model photos but authentic ones

Prompto just really wants you to love yourself as much as he does

Aside from that, he's a very gentle lover

Will be your butler 24/7

You're always his no.1

Your happiness is his main priority

He'd go to the end of the world if it'd mean you'd be happy

Feeling sad? Give him a call, he'll drop everything and be over in a minute

In case you're sick he'll take the best care of you, you could probably imagine

Gift-wise he really loves plushies and flowers - corny stuff is what he loves to gift

Plushies of chocobos, of course

Sometimes he may be a bit childish in terms of proving this love but doesn't that make him all the more lovable?

Since he's the most creative one out of all the chocobros, he also definitely likes DYI gifts

Want a cool frame for your photo? He's on it.

Or maybe a nice box? Well, he won't craft it but he'll find a nice way to paint it

Another very sensitive topic for Prompto is his body

Showing his body to you used to give him anxiety but now he's all okay with it - but only in front of you

He doesn't mind you seeing him naked, he trusts you won't make fun of any of his stretch marks or other flaws

If he wouldn’t love you with his entire being, he wouldn’t show the part he’s most insecure about to you

Ignis:

He's probably the busiest chocobro

While he looks after Noctis, he also has to take care of himself and his royal duties

He used to think he would never have time for an S/O but then life happened and he actually fell for you

Money isn't really a big issue with him by your side; he never had enough time and will to spend it on himself

So now he can spend it all on you.. Or so he thought

While he can buy you expensive jewelry or clothes from exclusive brands, it doesn't make either of you happy

“Money can’t buy us happiness”

Sure, gifts are nice but.. They aren't everything

His actual "gift" to you is his time

He absolutely loves spending time with you, yet he's unfortunately incredibly busy

But whenever he can take a day off, he spends it with you

He'll take you out on dates

Breakfast at a café, lunch at a fancy restaurant and dinner at home

All day long you two go watch a movie, go (ice) skating or just spend a romantic day at the park with a little picnic

Ignis doesn't want to miss a chance to cook for you

Also, candlelight dinner at home is his favorite kind of date night

Although he's busy and hard to reach, you can always call him

If he doesn't pick up, he'll call back

And if it's an urgent matter, he would drop his duty and run to you

You're his main priority and always on his mind

You don’t have to fight for his attention nor battle yourself with anyone, Ignis always puts you first.. it’s just that he can’t neglect his duty

So unfortunately, Noctis has to be right behind you, though

Whenever he can, he includes you in daily his routines

Working out? He'll call you and ask to join.

Grocery shopping? Maybe you wanna join and grab a snack?

You’re his motivation, he relies on you just as much as you rely on him

There’s not a single day passing by without him telling you and showing you how much he loves you

When he's dead busy, he finds time to send a bouquet to you

And when you're sick, he'll try his best to take care of you, too

Massages, tea, grabbing your medicine for you, your favorite movies - he knows all the things to ease your mind

Ignis is a very attentive lover and that shows in his gifts

No matter what he goes for, it's always something he's 100% sure you'll like

He's never been wrong before - not even when it came to clothes and makeup

This guy has a brilliant taste

Besides sending flowers, he also sometimes sends surprise letters pointing out every one of his favorite moments with you, or 100 reasons why he loves you - sugary stuff like that but with a touch of romance

Gladiolus:

Although Gladio is fairly emotional, it's usually only anger that he releases

He's not the type of guy to continuously say he loves you

Saying it is rare for him because to him it means showing weakness

But he’s a tough guy, believes he shouldn’t do that

So sometimes he has weird ways of showing he cares

One time you gained a little weight and he blatantly pointed it out

While he meant well - loved you regardless of your weight - and really just wanted to point out that he noticed you changed a bit and wondered if something was wrong, it certainly didn't come out that way

There are plenty of fights because of situations like that

He’s just not good with words and this whole loving someone thing confuses him

To make it up, he usually takes you hiking or on some other trips

Gladio loves nature and feels most at ease when he's surrounded by trees and not houses - and you

The only thing improving this trip even more for him is you

It wouldn't be half as fun without you

And he certainly wants you to know

He really opens up when he's with you in the middle of nowhere

That's when he showers you with love and becomes one hell of a gentle teddy bear

No one besides you will see this side of him

He'll pick you flowers, help you fish.. And even teach you some survival tips or knowledge about animals and insects

Whenever he finds a specifically beautiful flower, he puts it behind your ear

He's a little awkward on speaking about how much he loves you, he prefers to show it

Gentle kisses, soft touches,.. He's a lot more careful with his actions now that you guys are actually a serious thing and not just a fling

His secret talent is back rubs or really just any kind of massage

He knows exactly what spot to press and how to massage it properly, using just enough power to ease all your pain and help you relax

His favorite method of showing how much he cares is between the bedsheets, though

When you first started dating, he was very self centered

Nowadays he's all about you; he genuinely cares

He won't always show it but he knows when you're doing bad

And he'll do his best to fix it

Running a bath, cleaning the house, cooking some.. More or less good.. Food

In terms of gifts, he's always pretty clueless

No matter how much time passes by, other than flowers and chocolate he never knows what to get you

In all honesty, he did grab pretty ugly accessories clothes once - but it's the thought that counts, right?

Mom-friend Iggy will come to the rescue, though, don’t worry

However, he really pays attention to what you like

If you mention that you want a specific item, you bet he'll remember that

Gladio is just a secretly awkward guy that loves you with all his heart and he'll do everything he possibly can to let you know

2nd December ; 3rd December ; 4th December ; 5th December ; 6th December ; 7th December ; 8th December ; 9th December ; 10th December ; 11th December ; 12th December ; 13th December ; 14th December ; 15th December ; 16th December ; 17th December ; 18th December ; 19th December ; 20th December ; 21st December ; 22nd December ; 23rd December ; 24th December ; 25th December

Masterlist

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stars-and-branches · 3 years

Note

1, 7, 12, 15, 17, 19, 21, 23, 24, 25, 27, 30, 31, 38, 39, 42-51, 53, 57, 58 (would just love it hear more about), 60, 65, 70, 72, 73, 78-83, 90, 93 (hate this term being used outside of indigenous contexts but an animal you connect with), 94-97, 99

Answers under the cut!

1. What’s one animal you wish you could have as a pet but can’t?

A snake, I think they’re really cool! I don’t really know enough about reptiles to be able to have one and care for it properly though.

7. Chocolate or fruity candy?

I am,,,,, a fruity bitch. I like fruity candy most of the time but sometimes chocolate hits the spot.

12. Any hidden talents?

Not really hidden but I don’t talk about it a lot on here. I know how to play the piano! I took lessons for a decade.

15. Favorite board game?

Mexican train, my family plays it sometimes for game night and it’s fun.

17. Heat on or keep it cold with lots of layers?

Layerssss. It could be below zero outside and I’d still keep the windows cracked open so I can layer on more blankets.

19. Favorite song to belt out at the top of your lungs when you’re alone?

Any song Hozier’s ever made, the My Chemical Romance Danger Days album, or just whatever is living in my head rent free. Lately it’s been sea shanties.

21. At what age did you first have alcohol?

I think I was in middle school? My Dad gave me a sip of his beer expecting some dramatic reaction and uh, that didn’t happen.

23. What’s the most amount of money you’ve spent on a single item of clothing?

I don’t really like spending money - paying the housing deposit out of pocket is a little painful rn - so I guess $40ish?

24. What do you typically wear to formal events?

When I was younger I never had a choice and was always shoved into a dress. Nowadays I’d probably go by how dysphoric I’m feeling. I want to wear a suit at least once!

25. Favorite memory?

Hoooo boy that’s hard to pick. I guess going to see Dead and Company for a three day show at the Hollywood Bowl a year before my Mom died. We had a lot of fun, it was really beautiful, and there were a lot of good moments.

27. Favorite shoes?

I have a pair of black leather heeled boots with red laces. I refer to them as my “stompy boots”. They’re the only thing I own that emits top energy and I never wear them because they have a five inch heel and I have lots of foot pain.

30. Have you ever had braces?

Unfortunately. I got them taken off a few months ago though :D

31. Most dangerous thing you’ve ever done?

Drive. I’m the walking talking stereotype of gays being unable to drive. I almost crashed my grandmother’s car with my entire family in it. Not a fun time.

38. What color do you wear the most?

I answered this in a different ask but black. I’m trying to incorporate more colors into my clothes though!

39. Favorite season?

The rainy season where I live. For a few months the usually barren desert teems with life. It’s beautiful and the only time I can actually grow anything.

42. First car you ever owned?

I have a 2001 Honda Accord.

43. What time do you usually go to bed?

Early. My friends often give me shit for having the sleeping hours of a retiree. I used to be a night owl but I had to get up at 4am all throughout high school so I started going to bed immediately after dinner. I haven’t been able to kick the habit.

44. Are you a competitive person?

Yes but I don’t like competitions. I’m competitive in the sense that I’m constantly comparing myself to how others are doing and I try to be better than those around me. Of course, I’d never admit this out loud but the internet is fine apparently a;kjnvdfdasdvdf

45. Least favorite color?

Orange.

46. First pet you’ve ever owned?

A small tabby cat named India. I still have her, my parents got her when I was 4 months old :).

47. Sweet or salty?

Yes.

48. Favorite pasta dish?

Ravioli!!!

49. Favorite kind of chips?

Limon chips. Though black pepper is a close second.

50. Talk about something you’re passionate about.

I did this in a previous ask and I’m tired so this question gets a skip.

51. What are some of your hobbies?

Baking, gardening, video games, reading, journaling, drawing.

53. Favorite kind of pizza?

Either vegetarian pizza or margherita pizza.

57. Favorite labels about you?

I take pride in my queerness and being disabled. The latter because I love the spoonie community and it’s a huge part of my identity.

58. Are you a religious person?

Yes, in the sense that I’m a very spiritual person. I’m a witch. I’ve considered myself a pagan for the past five years, and I’m currently exploring Christianity since my religious path has grown too stagnant.

60. What size shoe do you wear?

It depends on the phase of the moon just about, lmao. I wear a 6 1/2, as wide as the shoemaker can make it. I have really short but really wide feet.

65. Favorite fruit?

Yes. I love most fruits (fuck pears).

70. Favorite dessert?

I don’t really have a set favorite? If I had to pick I guess it would be a fruit tart.

72. Age you learned how to swim?

Either 6 or 7.

73. Tell a funny story.

I used to be friends with a guy who was like. Ridiculously tall. Ultra flamboyant, very loud, like if the color neon orange was condensed into a human being. In my sophomore year of highschool we sat on some bleachers during the homecoming pep rally. He refused to stand up for the national anthem. We were sitting directly in front of the football players in the most redneck school in california. I sat down with him because I didn’t want to witness him getting jumped and thrown off the bleachers. We got called a bunch of slurs through the whole anthem and screamed at. Stuff was thrown at us. They kept kicking us repeatedly. One dude was kicking his neck over and over. The football players were more of a disruption than we were. Eventually, everyone sat down and they finally got bored and stopped. Aside from the one kid who was kicking the person I was friends with, he passed time by throwing pieces of food at us.

This kid, who I’m dubbing Dipshit McGee, kept doing this until I heard him suddenly yell, “Oh shit!”

I looked over my shoulder. My friend at the time started guffawing. Dipshit McGee dropped his phone from the top of the bleachers and it shattered into a million little pieces on the dirt below.

78. What’s your favorite compliment to give?

Usually simple things that express my appreciation. I use “I love you” a lot with my family. There’s only so many times that you get the chance to say it.

79. What’s your favorite compliment to receive?

Honestly any compliment. I’m not used to flattery so my brain just shuts down instantly.

80. Has your opinion changed on something recently?

Yup, that’s why I’m looking into abrahamic religions.

81. Do you always order the same thing at a restaurant or order something different each time?

If I go to the restaurant a lot then I’ll usually just order the same thing. If it’s somewhere new I’ll switch things up a bit.

82. What’s something you’ve always wanted to try but haven’t yet?

Crochet. It’s something all the women in my family do. I have all the tools I need (except for yarn) but haven’t brought myself to work on it.

83. If you could learn to do anything right now, what would it be?

On top of all the other stuff I’m learning? Maybe increase my cooking/baking skills! I want to work with pastry more.

90. What’s something you wish you had more knowledge about?

The occult, spirituality, religion. I’m always chasing after knowledge in those areas.

93. What’s your spirit animal?

Yeah, I hate this term being used in a non-indigenous context too. As far as an animal I connect with goes, it’s a tie between snakes and cats. Cats because I love them dearly and have connected with them my whole life, we vibe. Snakes because I love their spiritual significance: connection to the earth, constantly shedding their skin and changing.

94. What’s the luckiest thing that’s ever happened to you?

Managing to steer the car away from crashing in the incident I mentioned in 31.

95. Are you the type to have an organized mess, or no mess at all?

No mess at all, preferably. I like to keep my space relatively tidy. Mess makes me really stressed.

96. Do you tend to make decisions based on the past, present, or future?

All three.

97. Are you a planner or a more spontaneous person?

I’m more of a planner. Spontaneity is very difficult for me but I’m trying to improve.

99. What do you hope never changes?

My ability to romanticize the small parts of my life, to find joy in even the simplest of things.

0 notes

jimins-calves · 7 years

Text

And I Quote

This is fluffy, a bit cheesy, had to revise it a couple of times, kinda fast-paced?? and is kind of long bc mingyu is one of my many bias wreckers in svt lmao here’s your request @nqseo !!! i hope it’s alright. sorry for the long wait!!

- Admin Mabel

(Note: (SCH/N – school’s name)

When school finally ended and summer vacation rolled in, you received a lot of invites from classmates to go out and enjoy the break before the new semester. Bowling, beaches, movies, road trips, you name it—they wanted you to come with them.

Unfortunately for them, you had different plans.

Instead of basking under the sunlight, playing beach volleyball in a bikini, and getting a tan, you decided to just stay at home, binge-watch all the TV shows you missed, eat, sleep, eat more, and also, visit the local library that was just a few blocks away from where you live.

Sure, you wouldn’t exactly consider your plans as fun summer activities, especially the library part. However, you preferred the smell of old books over the smell of salt water. The air-conditioned library was more appealing to you than the scorching hot atmosphere of the beach. The sounds of pages turning caused more goosebumps than the sounds of waves crashing by the shore.

Plus, you enjoyed the silence since nobody really goes to the library unless it’s exam season. Sometimes, you hogged the entire place all to yourself. The librarians don’t mind because they already know you; you visited enough for them to know all about you and even greet you casually when you enter the place.

Beach volleyball might be fun but you still prefer the dull silence over the screaming crowds.

And so, here you are one fine Wednesday morning, sitting at the head of a long table at the corner of the air-conditioned library with a book in your hands.

You were down to the last few pages. You were on your toes. You could feel a dozen emotions stir up inside you all at once—anticipation, suspense, even a bit of sadness because you were almost finished with it. The story was so good; the plot was well thought of and the characters really got to you.

Just when you were about to finish the last paragraph, the library doors swung open, catching you and the librarians by surprise. Who else visits the library other than yourself? You looked up from the book and oh my God, your lips parted at the sight of a really tall, really attractive boy.

Donning a simple white tee, a pair of lightly faded jeans, and sneakers, he walked towards the librarian’s table with his hands in his jeans pockets. He exchanged a few words with the head librarian with him nodding every few seconds.

‘What am I doing?’ You snapped out of your trance and proceeded to finish the book in your hands. You released a contented sigh after reading the last sentence; it ended happily, which calmed the raging emotions inside you. You stood up and walked over to the shelves to return the book to its original location.

When you placed the book back on the shelf and looked for a new one to read, the boy you saw earlier stood a few meters away from you. It took a lot for you to not drop whatever it was you were doing and just stare at him. You sneaked a few glances, just out of curiosity because come on, why would an attractive boy be here when he could be somewhere else, enjoying the summer sun?

You finally forced yourself to stop looking and just settle your gaze on the shelves.

But at the corner of your eye, you knew he was sneaking glances at you too.

You did not look straight in his direction at all. You kept repeating the same mantra in your head. He won’t talk to you. He won’t talk to you. Calm down.

“Um. . .excuse me.”

Ah, shit.

“Yes?” You spared him a glance. Up close, he looked absolutely breathtaking but you didn’t want to make it obvious that you’re in awe.

“Do you happen to know if this book has a happy ending?”

He raised a book in front of your face.

At the sight of the title, you restrained the urge to snort. Instead, you settled with nonchalant response. “Well, if you consider character death a happy ending then, yes.”

He looked taken aback.

“I. . .I don’t.”

“Thought you’d say that.” You flashed him a grin and continued to look at the book titles in front of you. Despite your attention diverted, you could still see him fumble over the different book titles with his face scrunched up in confusion.

He picked up another book written by the same author and a different one; both with endings you knew were far from happy. You guessed he was drawn by the vibrant covers and assumed he didn’t really have experience when it comes to picking books. He barely looked at the synopsis at the back and casually tucked them underneath his arm.

When he turned to your direction, you focused your eyes back on the shelves.

“Excuse me. . .again.”

He raised both books and was about to open his mouth when you beat him to it, again without returning his gaze.

“Both are really sad. The one on your right is about broken dreams. The one on your left is about unrequited love. Pretty sure your friend wouldn’t want any of those.”

“My friend. . . How’d you know they’re for a friend?”

“Well, if you’re picking them out for you, you would know which would suit your taste after reading the synopsis at the back of the book.”

He blinked a few times before turning the books over to view the synopsis.

You resisted the urge to chuckle at how much of a puppy he looked—like a little Labrador with a really lost expression on his face. You decided to finally end his misery by picking out a book from the shelves in from of you.

“Here.”

Mingyu snapped out of his reverie and looked up from the synopsis he was reading.

You had shoved a book in his face.

He blinked a couple of times, blindly returning the ones in his hands back in the shelves, before adjusting his gaze on the cover in front of him.

“Happy ending. Kinda romance but focuses more on friendships. Tragic backstory as per usual when it comes to this author but the characters are extremely likable. And if your friend enjoys sarcastic humor, they’d like this a lot, I guarantee. It’s really, really good. I read that three, four times already.”

Mingyu held the book in your hands, astounded by the way you spoke about it.

“Anyway, if you’re going to take it, head over to that table over there.” His eyes followed where you pointed at. “The assistant librarian will give you instructions on how to check it out, since I’m sure you haven’t borrowed a book before.”

You picked out a book from the shelves and held it close to your chest. Mingyu figured it was for yourself. After all, he caught sight of you reading earlier when he walked in.

You continued talking. “Since it’s a fiction novel, you can probably return it in two weeks’ time. If you need an extension, just inform the head librarian.”

Mingyu nodded slowly. “Thank you.”

You shrugged. “No problem. I hope your friend enjoys the book. Excuse me.” You bowed politely, dismissing yourself from the conversation, and walked back to the tables.

Mingyu took in your entire appearance as he unconsciously followed you. Sure, you weren’t exactly like those drop dead gorgeous females you see on billboards and magazines but Mingyu just can’t help but stare. He felt drawn to you; he didn’t know why. Maybe because you didn’t looked phased when he spoke to you.

Not to brag but he knew just how good-looking he was. This made talking to girls a very difficult task since some of them wouldn’t even respond and just creepily ogle at him. You, however, did not appear fascinated by him. It was as if his appearance wasn’t that out of the ordinary—as if you had seen more good-looking guys than him.

A tiny pout formed on his face while he thought of this. Had you seen a more attractive guy than him before? Or worse, were you no longer single? The latter sounded more horrifying to him than the first.

“Aren’t you going to check that book out?”

Again, he snapped out of his thoughts and found himself standing in front of you once more. You looked at him with an amused smile on your lips but Mingyu mistook it as you judging him. He stuttered an apology before speed-walking to the assistant librarian’s table.

When the assistant librarian gave him instructions, Mingyu simply stood there. The words passed from one ear to the ear. He knew he should be listening but instead, he turned his head slightly to glance at you and enjoyed the sight of your pursed lips and furrowed eyebrows as you continued to read.

“And also, come back anytime. We barely get any visitors nowadays since it’s no longer exam season.”

Mingyu returned his attention quickly to the assistant librarian and nodded fervently. The latter continued to talk he barely paid attention to the rest of the sentences that followed. The only thing that stuck in his mind was “Come back anytime.”

Oh, he will.

And he did.

Mingyu kept on coming back to the library in hopes of seeing you again and hopefully, hold a proper conversation with you (or maybe even ask you out on a date, probably).

Sadly, he only managed to catch you twice within a span of a month; the first was when you passed by each other directly outside the library but he wasn’t able to talk to you because you were arguing with someone on the phone. The second time was when he found you at the check-out counter but again, he wasn’t able to talk to you because you were in a hurry.

The poor boy really wanted to talk to you but it seemed like fate didn’t want him to get his way.

But Mingyu was determined.

One day, he finally had the bright idea to ask the librarians about you. He figured they’re bound to know something about you since you’re a regular. And he was right; your name is (Y/N), you’re a student at (SCH/N), and you’re staying at your school’s dorms for the summer for reasons unknown. You’ve been visiting the library ever since you transferred schools but the visits weren’t as frequent, compared to now.

“Do you happen to know when she’ll come back?”

The librarians told him your schedule had never been consistent. Maybe it had something to do with working at a part-time job or visiting family members or just staying at home.

Mingyu felt his hopes deflate. How will he ever get the chance to talk to you properly?

The librarians must have noticed the sad expression on his face and felt bad for him.

“You could leave your number here and we’ll call you if she comes.”

His excited, hyperactive puppy personality returned immediately after hearing the suggestion. He left his name, address, number, and was even about to write down his schedule (since he still had dance practice to do over the week) but the librarians managed to stop him before he went overboard.

After leaving his information and expressing his immense gratitude to the librarians, he waited.

He managed to receive a call from the library one Saturday night, which greatly surprised him. There was no way you’d be at the library at 9 in the evening, right?

But you were.

And Mingyu ran.

To say you were surprised when the attractive boy from a month ago burst into the library doors would be an understatement.

To say you were surprised when he beamed at you before walking towards your table would be an even bigger understatement.

To say you were surprised when he sat down directly in front of you and introduced himself with a huge charming smile would be the biggest understatement of all.

“Hi. I think we’ve met before. I’m Mingyu.”

“Hi, I’m (Y/N).”

And that’s how it started.

“Mingyu, if you’re not planning on at least touching a book, leave.”

“You’re making it sound like you don’t want me here, (Y/N). But that’s obviously a lie, of course. You like having me around, right?”

You looked up from your book to stare at him with a deadpan expression. You scoffed at the sight of his wide, puppy eyes and brought your hand to his face. You flicked the space between his eyebrows with your fingers.

“Ow!” He recoiled in exaggeration as he rubbed the now red spot. “What was that for?”

“For being a huge dork. God, why did I become friends with you again?”

The scowl on the male’s face morphed into a toothy grin as he plopped his elbows on the table. He leaned his cheek against his palm and batted his eyelashes; it was something he usually did when he wanted to tease you—something you learned over the course of your friendship.

“Because you can’t resist my attractiveness.”

“Keep sputtering nonsense like that and I’ll punch you.”

He raised his hands in mock surrender. “No need to be violent.”

You rolled your eyes and returned to your book.

It had been almost five months since the night you were formally introduced to the attractive lamppost called Kim Mingyu. Frankly, you didn’t expect to see him again, much more actually become really close friends with him.

You never believed him when he told you his reason why he suddenly appeared in the library on that Saturday night. He said his friend forced him to go out and get another book but when Mingyu saw you, he made a beeline towards you instead. He thanked you, on behalf of his friend, for the wonderful book recommendation and insisted for more since his friend ‘asked’ him to.

“He specifically wanted more book recommendations from you,” informed Mingyu in a slightly bitter tone. He had also muttered a few things under his breath but you paid no attention—you were too astounded by his presence that time to notice.

He then asked about your extensive book knowledge. It really intrigued him. How were you able to remember the story plots with much detail?

So you explained. Hesitantly at first because come on, he might be attractive but he’s still a stranger. But as the conversation dragged on, the more you grew comfortable with him.

Mingyu found out that when you were little, when your mother discovered that you finally knew how to read, she bought a ton of children’s novels for you. You never stopped reading those novels even until you entered middle school. You slowly transitioned to more adult content when you entered high school and began to read outside the fiction genre.

You developed a habit of writing down the titles of the books you read and placing them in a jar so by the time you entered college, you had filled two big jars with book titles and a third jar already halfway full. When you were bored and didn’t want to read a new book, you’d simply get a book title from that jar and reread that certain book.

And as multitalented as he is, Mingyu knew he couldn’t be as amazing as you when it comes to literature. It had been a problem when he accidentally mentioned your name after giving Wonwoo the book he borrowed. The latter showed much interest in the girl who recommended the book to him and it caused something to stir inside the taller male.

At that moment, Mingyu immediately called dibs.

“But you don’t even read fiction. If she’s that interested in books like you say she is, you’re going to have to started reading the books she likes so you’d have something to talk about.”

And because of this, Mingyu showed up three days after that Saturday night and asked for another book recommendation. He was thankful that he managed to catch you. When you gave him another book ‘for Wonwoo to read’, he read it himself.

He was immersed in the plot and the characters. He felt a rollercoaster of emotions after turning the pages. He was captivated by the way the author strung up the sentences and formed well-constructed paragraphs. He then understood why you loved books so much.

And so, he continued to borrow books.

This cycle went on until the end of summer. You two grew closer every time Mingyu asked book recommendations from you for ‘Wonwoo’.

He still made the excuse of ‘Wonwoo wanting another book’ since he was too shy to admit that he started reading fiction because of you.

That was until one day, in the midst of picking yet another book, he nonchalantly (but was freaking out on the inside) asked you out for lunch.

And, without thinking much about it, you said “Yeah, sure.”

He took you to a small café a few blocks away from the library. The lunch date—if you wanted to call it that—went really nice. The atmosphere wasn’t awkward at all; you talked about the most random things, picked on each other and each other’s food. You called him nasty when he sneezed and didn’t cover his mouth and he called you clumsy when you almost spilled your glass and he caught it just in time.

You liked it a lot.

But you weren’t sure if you liked him. Was it still just a crush or did you finally develop actual feelings for him? You didn’t know. . .

. . . until he pulled out the most recent book you recommended to ‘Wonwoo’ and gave it to you.

When you stared at him in confusion, he simply gave you a shy smile and said. “Page 245, second to the last paragraph.”

You raised an eyebrow. “You actually read it?

“Just do it, dummy.”

You released a slightly irritated “hmph” and turned to the page.

When he noticed your eyes on the passage, he started to quote it.

“We were never just friends. We spoke words only we understood—shared gazes only we reserved for each other. We knew had something beautiful, magical even, but we were too afraid to make it known. We had a strong friendship, but it didn’t stop there. Because really, you can never be just friends. . .”

“. . . with someone you’ve fallen in love with.” You finished the paragraph quietly. You chewed on your bottom lip before finally staring back at his beautiful face. “Are you saying what I think you’re saying?”

He shrugged nonchalantly, as if he didn’t just do a completely cheesy way of confessing. “I don’t know. You tell me.”

You chuckled at his response. With a toothy grin of your own, you rested your cheeks on your palms and placed your elbows on the table. “To answer that, I quote page 200, second sentence of the fourth paragraph.”

With raised eyebrows, he took the book from you and flipped to the page. When his eyes finally landed on the sentence, his lips parted slightly. He looked up at you and, with his signature smile on his lips, leaned forward to rest his forehead on yours.

‘I love you too,’ it said.

#kim mingyu #kim mingyu imagines #mingyu fluff #mingyu scenarios #seventeen imagines #seventeen scenarios #seventeen #mingyu #seventeen fluff

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schematicsofhumanitas · 5 years

Text

Dead people don’t text back.

Clara is my friend from school. I was 17 years old by then and I miss her so much. I want to tell you this story because a week ago I had a dream with her after so long and since then I feel different. Nowadays we can write things up over here. In the dream we were together as we used to, talking about school, D&D, movies and philosophy. As we were sitting by the lake, it was my chance to tell her my feelings so I finally do it: I get close to her and say "I love you Clara". My emotions are exploding, I feel my heart pounding incredibly fast until I realize she looks at me, gently caresses my cheek with her right hand, stabs my stomach with a held knife in her left hand. I slowly feel colder, staring at her asking her why but no voice coming out of me. I had been muted with a death call while she's smiling at me, jiggling and pushing harder, destroying all my hopes of living... and my hopes of staying alive. I was liking it, the idea that my life had been lost since then, and finally we could go together, somewhere. But then, all fades out except for her smile, and I can't look away, can't look away. Her smile was staring at me and I started to fear, fear so much... It felt like an eternity and I just could not get out of the dream, and all was black except for her face in front of me, smiling and watching me fall apart.

I woke up immediately after that. Sweating and crying, managed to stand up, write down the dream to not forget it and get on with my adult life. But I felt different... since yesterday I've been feeling a weird tickle within me...

She and I were really close friends, so much so that our parents knew each other: they had been somewhat close since we met in primary school. We occasionally did things together whenever she had the chance. I was of course always available for her, but she used to go out with her friends instead of going out with me and I didn't want her to do that. It was rude after what I'd done for her. However, out of all the other guys in class, she preferred to be near me, just as I had thought since the incident in the school bus when two guys were bothering her: I pushed one of them out of the window and kicked the other one out through the entrance stairs. Naturally, that suspended me from school for some days, but so it did for these two bullies. Ever since, no one else had ever bothered her especially if I was nearby.

The days after, we were talking and I told her that no one would ever be bothering her if we stayed together, because I was invincible, and it was my duty to protect her well-being. I felt this was my duty as her friend. She responded me with a timid smile. I realized she was the shy type of girl, and that she was definitely okay with that.

Our friendship long lived. And as I had mentioned, we were like peanut butter and jelly, especially the first years. We always used to hang out to the lake or to be at each other's home, even texting each other whenever it was too late to meet and talk about the usual: it seemed that we were like a couple. However, we never had a romance: I never had the courage to spit out my feelings: her silence used to defy my heart, and everything stands still whenever I was having the need of sharing to her the inexplicable. So, I always decided to keep it for a special moment.

Things changed suddenly though. I never understood why, but sometimes I used to feel resilience from everybody else towards me, particularly while being close to her. I didn't care, we didn't care. At school we would always be kinda separated from everyone else, but lately she had been joining with a group of friends I didn't know about. They seemed so rude and careless... She had been absent for some days, so I had been memorizing this speech in which I'd ask her why she'd been away from me so much, and so close to those airheads, as if they were more important than my protection. How could she forget my protection? nobody was close to her thanks to me, to my sacrifice in that school bus the year before.

I snap out and suddenly I see her in front of me, with her new "friends" behind, while we were in the cafeteria. - why are you staring at me like that? are you jealous? - she said. I stayed in silence, shocked as I could not believe the insane level of treason. I couldn't believe how she spontaneously spoke to me that way, with that tone... I had never heard her voice with that timbre, as if she was another person, another being. At some point I answer something, maybe part of my well thought speech, but I can't remember, I can't, and it hurts me so much. I want to know why everything ended up so bad, I want to know if it was my fault. I can't even remember what happened clearly, I just remember I was being constrained by three guys, as if I was some sort of monster... I also remember everybody looking at me, terrified. That really terrified me too. I felt I was like an endangered species, being threatened by humankind, so I ran away, as fast as I could. I just wanted to ask Clara why had she done that to me, why. I really wanted to, but there was no other choice but to retaliate... her well being was being compromised by those school dangers, and I had to do something about it. She didn't even realize this... but I had to be the one opening her eyes.

Some days had passed and I was suspended from school. The third day after I decided to call Clara. I had to do something as I was losing my mind. So I sneak downstairs and take the wireless phone from my parent's house, because my phone had been taken away and I call her immediately.

- Clara, is it you? - I asked. - Yes. Who is it? - Me, Ethan. I miss you. What happened? - I don't wanna talk to you, Ethan. - Why? What have I done? - Are you seriously asking me this? Ethan have you lost your mind even more? - This makes no sense, I'm coming to you. I need to know why you're being so mean to me. - Ethan... no.

As soon as we hung up, I could already feel her tears rolling down her cheeks, but not mine. Let me tell you: love is a sick thing of humans. We're quite rational, we think, but in the end things come down to desire and are dictated by some incomprehensible realizations within our minds.

I take my backpack with the board games and head right out to her house, 10 minutes walking, but I run. I arrive quite soon and I knock the door but no one answers. I feel Clara was disappearing from my life, so I started yelling at the door her name: CLARA! CLARA! and no one was ever answering me, until somebody opened the door: it was her dad. He told me I must go or else he was going to call the police. What nonsense is this? He knows CLARA is my friend, we've always been! So I push this idiot and force my entry, head upstairs. I was engulfed in a cloud of rage, I could not control myself. Clara is in her room, frightened... I tried talking to her, then hugging her, but she wasn't moving. Then I cried, and I felt the sky was falling, as I had lost the most important thing in my life: her confidence.

Apparently I was taken away that day. I then moved to an institute of advanced studies on philosophy some hours away from the city. The place is so exclusive, you don't get to go out, could you believe? You are secluded to exploit your talent as a thinker and you're paid very, very well. You also get the opportunity to meet so many great thinkers... it's a sublime environment, I really like it. Even my parents are proud of me now, before they weren't even happy with me. Maybe I was meant for this, to innovate the world with out of the box ideas alongside my colleagues, come up with unconventional solutions for the actual problems that condemn the development of humanity. In the end, not everybody can be very intelligent.

I've been living here since then, and here you have me. We have this chance to express ourselves now since some months ago. At least, to several of the researchers, me included. It's a test from some other researchers that manage the rest of us: they're considered the faculty of the institution, and sometimes they come up with these things since there are several open experiments to which all of us are subjected to in order to study the human brain superiority over the species, or so they say. In any case, it's just technicalities and I seriously understand it.

Anyway. After the dream, and since last week, she suddenly started texting me again just like before: "Hey Ethan how are you?", "wanna go out sometime?", "I miss our D&D afternoons...", "remember when we used to shatter to pieces the theories of Descartes? Really, who could believe such things".

But I don't get it. Why is she texting me after so long? Something is there telling me something's odd about this. I really wanted her to be here with me these years and now she comes to me under such circumstances? I can't leave my academia now! I have so many things to do: on top of the thinking process and development, everyday I must manage my other friends and I'm the designated opener of the cafeteria. The colleagues say that I still have some duties to do before I can be free again, which makes sense! I haven't even been able to finish my own theory of the Evil genius, and I also receive visits from my parents from time to time which is okay. Why doesn't she try visiting me instead? I really don't understand.

I go into deep introspective. There must be something I can do, right? I mean, she might be thinking that I don't want to see her again. Texting back or maybe even calling would be better, however my colleagues told me that's something so far prohibited, therefore I must wait to do so. In the meantime, I'll act normal and casually mention this event to my friend Karl.

- Hey Karl, how are you? - Ethan. It's been a while. These days you've been thinking huh?

Didn't expect that clarity from him. Apparently I've been spacing and not being myself. He is already telling me things without even intending to.

- Yeah, being in this institute sometimes makes us forget about what's around. I feel my memory fades sometimes. - That's normal, actually.

Karl has always been knowledgeable, even under dire circumstances. That's why I want to know what he thinks about these unconventional happenings.

- So Karl, you know... I've been wondering. You know this girl, Clara? the one I told you about. - yes? - Well, she's been texting me, after so long. - What? - Yeah... as if we were settled up again. I was expecting her to text me for so long! Can you believe? I need to text her back after this! I mean, and specially after that dr- - Ethan... - dream! If you'd knew about my dream, it was so scary be- - Ethan... - because she appeared out of nowhere and suddenly I was fr- - Ethan... - frozen and then all blacked out except for... - ETHAN! - what? - Ethan... Dead people don't text back.

#horror psychotic philosophy

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