#for some reason the dominos salads are the only salads i like

[robthegoodfellow]

Step 9

pre-Harringrove, references to addiction/recovery, references to AIDS epidemic, 90s earworms

originally published in @strangerthingscharityzine | read on ao3

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Steve didn’t know what he’d been expecting until the bells above the diner door let out a merry jingle—and there he was.

Apparently his subconscious had imagined someone gaunt, haggard. A shaky mess. Not that he’d sounded like that on the phone, despite the obvious nerves.

I’m looking for Steve Harrington? Dunno if he lives here anymore. The voice was gruff in a way that enticed, so he’d said this is Steve, and the ensuing silence was broken by a cough. Oh—uh, hi. This is… Billy Hargrove. From high school?

Sense memory knocked him flat—Hargrove taunting him at practice, pressed against him, tongue wagging; crouched above, pummeling; on his knees, clinging to consciousness, the Mind Flayer melted mush. 

Hargrove stumbled through a semi-rehearsed spiel. How he was in recovery, had reached the step of compiling the people he’d done wrong. How he wanted to make amends—could do it over the phone or in person or not at all, which he’d understand.

I’m back in Hawkins, but I can drive—and Steve had interrupted that he was in Hawkins, too. Did not say he’d been back a couple months, ever since Nance said they needed to talk.

It was a little pathetic, how eager Steve had been to meet up with a guy he hadn’t thought of in over a decade, because the only friends nearby were his and Nancy’s friends in Indianapolis.

So they’d made plans, and here they were: Steve, a soon-to-be divorcé working a soulless job at the family business, who at least had his hair, health, a measure of wealth; and Billy, not even slightly a woebegone waste case—scanning the booths with piercing baby blues, hair shorn on the sides, tawny curls piled on top. His ears glittered with metal hoops and studs, and that skin was bronze as Steve remembered. New tattoos twined his arms, disappeared under the white tank hanging loose from his shoulders, tucked into tight jeans.

He’d gained some weight—stood solid. Thick. It suited him.

Spotted, Steve raised an awkward hand, pursed awkward lips, and when Billy scooted in opposite, the exchanged hellos were—yep—awkward.

Unsure of the protocol for amends, Steve tried small talk—learned Billy lived with Max, who was caring for her ailing mother. His dad was still in the wind, vanished post-flaying while Billy was comatose.

Far as Steve knew, Billy had likewise vanished after a spell in the ICU. Rumors he’d been abducted by the government, but most figured he’d run off. Done the reasonable thing and put Hawkins behind him.

Turned out it was both. In exchange for his silence plus months in a secret lab, they’d set him up in the city of his choosing—and he’d chosen home. San Diego.

“Got an apartment, started community college…” Billy shrugged. “Over-indulged in the club scene. Couldn’t keep a job, couldn’t sleep. Tipped some bad dominoes. Hurt some good people.”

He’d been sober about a year, fully committed to the whole body-is-my-temple mentality. Been using music and exercise as his outlet whenever he itched.

“Went from bar hopping to gym bunny?” Steve suggested, and Billy flicked an assessing glance, wondering if the pun was deliberate.

It was. Steve’s mouth twitched, and Billy huffed a laugh. “Least I’m not eating rabbit food,” he said, nodding at Steve’s very sad salad.

“Hey, it’s tough diving into singlehood at our age,” he protested. “Gotta whip myself into shape.”

Billy guessed it—divorce?—and winced, commiserating. 

“How about you?” No ring, he noted. “Seeing anyone?”

“Ah—nope,” Billy replied, with a self-deprecating snort. “Not the marrying kind.”

And that… wasn’t quite what Steve asked. “Not the dating kind, either?”

Billy grimaced, conducted a short debate with the middle distance, and cleared his throat. “How about I say what I came to say and then we can… keep chatting. If you want.”

Steve pushed his plate aside, hands folded like it was a contract negotiation. “Okay.”

Deep inhale, and Billy mirrored him. “All right. So—I’ve been working backwards through people I’ve hurt, and you’re part of the last group. From when I was still a kid, technically, but old enough to do real damage. And… whether or not I need to… I want to. Like, it feels good to… purge, I guess.”

Beating Steve’s head in—that’s what he wanted to apologize for. He could have inflicted some lasting traumatic injury, hoped he hadn’t—you didn’t, Steve assured him, I’ve always been this confused—and had since developed other ways to cope with and express his anger.

“Like what?” he asked, curious. Billy blinked, lost track of his mental cue cards.

“Like—meditation,” he said, and Steve pictured him cross-legged on the beach at sunset, centering his chakra. “And journaling. And…” He scrunched his nose, flushed. “Uh—crochet.”

“Is that… when you hit balls through little hoops?”

“That’s croquet. Crochet is like—” Billy huffed, dragging hands down his cheeks. “It’s like knitting, okay? Will you let me just…?” 

Steve waved for him to continue, mimed zipping his lips. Covered his mouth at the thought of Billy knitting blankets of rage. This was serious, he scolded himself. Knock it off.

But… teasing Billy was fun. Gave him a strange thrill. Like when they used to spar at school. Banter.

Taking a deep breath, Billy found where he’d left off. “Right. Anger management. But I’ve also been re-examining my—motivations. Because for awhile, I told myself you deserved it, that I was protecting Max from shady dudes who’d lured her to the woods—”

Well, that’s fair, Steve thought, his perspective on that night radically shifting. Optics not great.

“—But I didn’t give a shit about Max,” Billy confessed. “I was just mad she got me in trouble with my dad and ruined my date… mad you lied to me about her being there, and that she’d ignored me about Sinclair, and… mad I was in Bumfuck Nowhere. So—I’m grateful you grabbed me off the kid. I’ve already made amends with him. And with Max. And I’m sorry I beat you so bad. Sorry I took it out on you.”

Steve hadn’t even remembered some of those details until Billy blew off the dust—one of those weird moments where you realize a hazy event was crystalline for someone else. Vivid and weighted with meaning.

“It’s fine, man,” Steve said, simple and easy, and Billy nodded, a fine tremor up and down. “Water under the bridge. I’m glad you’re—”

“I’m a fag,” Billy said, blunt. The eyes that rose to meet him were flat. Slate blue. “S'why I’m not the marrying kind.” A short, fractured laugh, devoid of humor. “And don’t think you’d call it dating, what I was doing. Russian roulette, more like. I should be dead several times over by now. Dunno how I’m not.”

Steve swallowed hard, couldn’t wipe the dumb shock—and the blue slate buckled, about to crack. So he revised his sentence from before. “I’m glad you’re not.” Managed a weak smile, heartfelt. “I’m glad you’re not dead.”

Billy ducked, but Steve caught the flash of wet. Slate in the rain. “I don’t have it,” he muttered, single sniff. “In case you’re wondering.”

And Steve meant to say I’m glad, a broken record but a sincere one, only the thing gnawing at him since the separation hijacked his mouth. “Nancy thinks I’m in love with this guy at work. This guy who’s a man.”

Billy’s head swung up, thrown off course for maybe the fourth time since he’d entered the cafe, and Steve facepalmed.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “That’s not why we’re here. I keep dive bombing your… amending. Amendment?”

That might have broken Billy—the poor dude slumped forward, brow on the table.

“I really am sorry,” Steve repeated, earnest. “And I’m glad you’re okay. That’s what I meant to say—that I’m glad you’re okay.”

A long sigh, and Billy propped his chin on folded wrists. “Are you in love with this guy who’s a man?”

“No,” Steve said, heating as it dawned on him that Guy Who’s a Man bore a striking resemblance to Man Sitting Opposite. “It’s more—crippling lust.” 

“Did you cheat?”

“No!” Then, dialing his tone from offended to firm: “I don’t do that.”

“Okay.” Billy straightened, thinking. “I’m not the best person to be anyone’s gay sensei, but I’m gonna give you my number in case you need to talk about this shit. And you better be careful. Be safe if you decide to… dip your toes in the water.”

Through the wall-mounted speakers, Jewel wondered one last time who would save their souls if they wouldn't save their own, the track winding to a close, and Steve had opened his mouth to ask Do you think we could have done that, way back then? Dipped our toes in the water? when Billy scrambled upright, nope, nope, nope under the faint strains of the next tune.

“Gotta go—this song’s gonna wreck my sobriety.” Finger guns, backpedaling. “You pay up. I’ll wait outside.”

Steve cocked an ear, bemused, listening hard all the way to the register. Plucky melody, a crooning boyish falsetto, incomprehensible—then finally, impassioned: Can you tell me who will still care?

The chorus kicked in as he walked out, and Steve caught on—laughed at the sky.

Mmm bop, ba duba dop Ba du bop, ba duba dop Ba du bop, ba duba dop Ba du—

He sang along, full chested: “Yea-ee-yea-ah!”

Billy groaned, slipping him seven scribbled digits with the air of already regretting his decisions.

“Thanks,” Steve said, genuine, running his thumb across the numbers. “Maybe I’ll see you around?”

“Yeah.” Billy swiped his curls. Unwilling smile. “Maybe.”

💛.🎶.💛

#harringrove #this started as an experimental subversion of the *billy must atone for his SINS* trope #and then turned into more of a what if billy and steve met up as adults #when both of them are starting a new chapter in their lives kinda thing #and here we are #sorry about the hanson

[justbiran]

*spoiler alert for season 2 episode 16 of dndads*

Freddie's intro KILLED me this episode. It's so accurate it hurts.

Seeing Grant being hugged by his husband would be one of my favorite things to see too, Link. Grant's my baby boy, and I mean that in the most Paeden way possible.

HAILEE SEINFELD- *cues theme* their impressions are hilArious.

DO YOU WANT JEALOUSY AND SPITE?

Is Taylor only aware of one job? 😭😭😭 I'm not sure if I hate or love that for him.

Sparrow apologizing for what he said earlier this season? I don't trust that for some reason. I feel like this is actually Lark.

MINIONS.

"And you're mad about that..." OF COURSE THEY'RE MAD. WHAT?

A... Cat.... Bus... ANOTHER, NEW, PUSSY WAGON. NO 😭😭😭

I KNEW IT! I KNEW IT WAS FUCKING LARK. A SPARROW TATTOO? THAT'S LARKS. THIS IS LARK. I KNEW IT.

IT IS IN FACT LARK. HELL YEAH MY BOY.

~ad break~

"You're ✨stepping on my energy ✨ Normal" -Scary

LINK THE DOMINOES PIZZA MAN HELL YEAH BOYYYYYYY

SURPRISE! SORRY TAYLOR! WHAT IS IT WITH FREDDIE AND HIS CHARACTERS GETTING SUDDENLY STABBED?!?

WHY IS EVERYONE TARGETING TAYLOR!

Everyone is just stabbing everyone 😭😭😭 this is so chaotic. What else did I expect..?

INITIATIVE AGAIN. NO. STOP. 😭😭😭 THESE PEOPLE ARE TERRIBLE AT THEIR ROLLS. AnD tHeY sTiLL hAvEnT rEsTeD yEt!

Nice memory Normal 😭😭😭 convenient how you don't remember it now.

~ad break~

"Let the yeast do it's thing..." 😭😭😭

WHY DOES THIS PARTY ALWAYS FORGET IT'S NPCS? HERMIE HAS DONE NOTHING THIS WHOLE EPISODE UNTIL NOW. nooooo not the coin flippppp

THE JOY HE FEELS AT BREATHING

They're so fucking bad at their rolls 😭😭😭

SALAD TONGS DOWN HIS THROAT what the hell is this podcast, the question I ask every other week.

MATT I LOVE YOU AND YOUR BRAIN

And of course it doesn't work

YOU DON'T RECOGNIZE HER OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT, WELL, DO US THE LISTENERS RECOGNIZE HER?

4 DIMENSIONALLY? IS THIS OUR 4D WITCH???? THIS ISN'T MA GIRL ERIN BUT I'LL FUCKIN TAKE IT.

TILLLLLTTTTTTT A SEASON ONE CHARACTER IS FUCKING BACKKKKKKKKKKK I'M SO HYPEDDDDDDDD

I love Taylor.

She's gonna die..? Uhhhh no bestie...

Scary I love you 😭

This is priceless 😭

The suuuuunnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn woooooooooowwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww

Daddies? Assemble.

Woah this is epic.... Holy fucking shit.... Anthony you're amazing. Damn that's dark.

THIS EPISODE WAS AWESOME HOLY FUCKING SHIT DUDE NCKGXKGDKYDKTDKYDKDY

#in the most Paeden way possible #by i mean that i was once older than him and it would make sense but it doesnt anymore #but do i still say it? of course #dndads #dungeons and daddies #dndaddies #dndads s2 #dndads spoilers

[tumblunni]

Today’s pointless fun fact about Bunni! I’m 74 inches tall and apparantly I attract coincidences like flies

You see, I havent ever measured my height since I was in high school, and I’ve just been saying ‘i think i remember it was something like 5′7″‘ cos 74 is my favourite number and I know I’m not 4 foot. But I just had the random impulse to measure myself with a tape measure and apparantly i’m literally 74 inches OKAY WTF Also apparantly in feet that means I’m 6′1″??? EXCUSE ME tfw u accidentally tall

I mean seriously ive never measured my height in like ever, i had no idea! It was like when i was 15 that some random doctor measured it last and i couldnt remember it cos it was never important to me. I always assumed my estimate of 5′7″ was taller than I actually am, I’ve always considered myself completely average height. I knew I was taller than all of my high school friends but i just thought they were short, lol! I mean, i suppose since a lot of them were cis men then I should have realized I was tall by cis woman standards. *shrug* But there were always people my age who were way taller than me so I never considered myself tall. I guess I was like ‘if im not THE TALLEST then I cant be tall at all’. I am medium tall! Yay! I am taller than average but not super tall! Thats good, i wouldnt wanna aim for anything higher cos I dont wanna draw any more attention to myself than I already do with my appearance, lol. Not that you can choose how tall you are tho, i mean it sucks that you can just be born looking ‘weird’ in some way and you have no way to change that. I dunno why height is even classed as a ‘weird’ thing, and stuff like having glasses is ‘weird’ and just... wtf they dont affect anyone why is it a big deal. But still I’m weirdly cheered up to know I was wrong about something, I guess? Even though I didnt want to be tall?? Its just an interesting surprise to know something I assumed for ages was actually wrong and all I had to do was check. Opens my mind to think that maybe other things I think are unchangeable are perhaps not, yknow? As a depressed person I think thats a good thing to remember. I guess I’m lucky I’m a weirdo who gets easily impressed by really random things, its the best remedy for anxiety disorders XD

Anyway im a bit hyperactive and also tired so this post probably makes no sense aaaa ive had too much sugar and pizza and they had this new meatballs soup thing at dominos too??? ive eaten way too much i think im gonna puke but also I’m ENERGY OVERDOSE AAAAA bunni should not be allowed to order pizza! but like let me waste my money on a good meal once a month yo also it was my friend’s birthday earlier this week and I was SO HAPPY that i was able to afford a £40 present for like.. the first year ever! hope that makes up for me being one day late cos of my shitty sense of telling the time omg ITS BEEN A REALLY GOOD WEEK i really love and appreciate my friends and apparantly I’m tall I’m so confused by life right now how can i be tall i thought all my body mass was wasted on becoming fat instead Lol no wonder everyone stares at me in the street if I’m both tall AND fat. and like.. i have blue hair. this actually makes me feel better now, they aint judging me I’m just a natural attention-hog and i cant control it. I FEEL BAD FOR THAT THO! I should try harder to be boring but i did that thru all of high school and i was really looking forward to dyeing my hair aaaa why am i getting sad now man im drunk on pizza WHEN U DONT EAT TH PIZZA OFTEN TH PIZZA IS REALLY TH GOOD also i dont get enough sleepe have a gud day everrybody i think im gonna take a pizza nap even tho its like midday

#IM LOVE AND SUPPORT MY FRENDS #there was a pizza offer so i kinda cheated by ordering like fifty toppings on a pizza #a whole damn meal in two slices #ive got so much pizzazzaza to put in th fridgggg #eat pizaza for weekza #i ordered double cheese and double the other sort of cheese and double sauce and double onions and also tuna and meatballs #tho not all on the same pizza #one was all the cheese and one was the tuna and meatballs #but they both have double sauce which makes it impossible to lift up a damn slice without everything sliding off #so im like eating this pizza in a bowl with a fork #pizza salad #also i ordered a salad #but i probably will eat that later lol #for some reason the dominos salads are the only salads i like #i wish i knew the name of whatever tomato they put in it #i usually dont like tomato slices but they have this sweet tomato? #its like TOO sweet so you need to shovel the rest of the salad in your mouth to balance it out #i think any vegetable would be more edible if it had that perf tomato to hide the taste #i really hate lettuce my friend my guy #every green vegetable is bad and everything else is good #except sweetcorn thats like peas in disguise #man i hate sweetcorn and peas #and i grew up plenty tall apparantly! #i aint need to eat no peas #mum u lied 2 me #bunni is tired now #bye #sorry long post #i am proud of me i managed to remember to tag longs even when im sleepy!

[kaibacorpintern]

trust w/6 7 and 24? <3

clearing out my drafts HUGE apologies for the delay. also this got SO LONG LOL

6. What is their favorite feature of their partner’s?

Features-wise... Isis has beautiful, thick, dark hair and Kaiba loves to run his hands through it or play with her hair. Kaiba has the kind of upper body strength that makes it easy for him to grab her around the waist and waltz her cleanly and completely over a gutter puddle, which she doesn’t want to admit is very swoony, but it is.

Personality-wise: they are both SO stubborn but both willing to have their minds changed, given the right argument - she openly admits when something (he) has changed her mind, while he’s more quiet about changes in his thinking, and expresses changes in his thinking more through action than anything else, but regardless, being both so stubborn and yet thoughtful people, I think they’d really like this about each other. They have faith that they can have constructive conversations with each other and not just bash their heads together!! 

Isis ofc loves most that Kaiba is determined to control his own future and hold on to his agency, and I like to think Kaiba loves her intellect more than anything else - someone who, at least when it comes to social sciences and philosophy and whatnot, can go toe-to-toe with him when it’s at 3 AM on the roof and you’re talking about your place in the universe. Like Isis has probably also read Nietzsche, and she has OPINIONS. It’s completely impossible to go to an art museum with them, they go off the rails bickering about meaning in modern art and having a great time LOL

And of course they have the same extreme devotion to family but both of them know that has driven them to dark places - not necessarily healthy places - this devotion to family isn’t a virtue so much as a double-edged sword... so they respect it in each other but are also very careful to keep an eye on each other when it comes to perceived failures.

7. What’s the first thing that changes when they realize they have feelings for the other?

for me trustshipping is always post-canon and they’re in their early or mid-twenties, or whatever seems most fun for two lonely young adults trying to understand themselves and what they want for themselves and what they want from the world, etc. so keeping in mind that both of them are older and kaiba especially has left some of his sturm and drang behind...

[insert generic plot here about isis coming to domino for some museum exhibit-related reason and they run into each other at some party or museum gala, you know the drill, etc. or they run into each other in berlin outside the neues museum or something idk]

i always like to think kaiba falls for her first, because he’s more emotional and volatile than her, and once he realizes that the feeling he has for her is a crush/love, he’s a little annoying about it. He definitely tries to get her attention, but also tries to play it off like he DOESN’T want her attention, he does have a crush on her but he DOESN’T, actually, THANK YOU, and only somewhat succeeds on all of these counts. like he wants to send flowers to her office, but that’s too obvious and unsubtle, so he casts about and instead sends tickets to the domino botanical gardens, which puts the ball in HER court because she can invite him in return, if she likes, or she can invite a friend, if she prefers, she can do whatever she wants with the fucking tickets he does NOT care it’s just a MEANINGLESS GESTURE, and she’s like “oh lovely, thank you. alas i’m busy on saturday” and gives both of the tickets to rishid. kaiba wants to die inside. 

isis accepts her own feelings with much more grace than he does - she has a moment of panic where she’s like ‘oh no i did NOT plan on adding romantic entanglements to my life!!’ but gets over the shock of her own feelings by falling back on the delight of understanding that she can’t always see or control the future, and sometimes what comes to her unplanned is more exciting and fulfilling and interesting than what she DID plan. no matter what, she does her best to keep it serious and keep it cool and behaves with somewhat more dignity than him, and honestly might be more straightforward with him about her feelings and what she wants and what she’s worried about.

i also imagine they’re so stiff and awkward around each other for a while. their interactions in canon go so deep without any hesitation - like he howls his life philosophy at her across the dueling field, and on the island she’s like “so... i was planning on killing myself...” it’s SO fraught and emotional that i think it takes them a while to loosen up and learn how to not unpack their deepest and most philosophical feelings over the salad course. they’re that classic introvert meme of “i hate making small talk at parties, tell me your dreams and deepest fears” but relationships do need some fluff and they’re not super great at that.

24. Who whispers inappropriate things in the other’s ear during inappropriate times?

God the idea of EITHER of them being this kind of chaotic cracks me up, because they're so attached to their dignity and their self-perception as Serious People who are Never Goofy (including the goofiness of raunchy talk). The easy answer is Kaiba, because he’s way more chaotic than her, and Isis has never said a bad word in her life (Malik says them all). but the fun answer is this:

Kaiba gets a text message from Isis during a board meeting, she’s tired of Malik teasing her for taking herself too seriously and never cutting loose, and she wants to try doing ridiculous things for a change. he’s like, “LOL? cute. what kind of ridiculous things?” and then she sends him the most explicit text he’s ever read in his life and he has to excuse himself from the board meeting to lock himself in his office and have a coughing fit. god help them both

#intern memo #trustshipping

[ellaintrigue]

Last night I found out that one of dad's childhood people had passed away. I didn't know them so it doesn't personally effect me, but they had cancer and were only 60 so that hit home. It bothers me because I've been obsessed with death recently. Has anyone else noticed how many celebrities have died in 2021 even? Not just Prince P. and DMX but just one after another since the start of the year. I'm not superstitious enough to wave my arms and wave about omens but it is ominous.

Reading that made me want to look back through messenger to find another dead person that knew my dad. Without getting into detail there was some drama in dad's life a couple of years ago, but right before that, this woman added me and mom on FaceBook. We didn't know who she was, we just assumed because she was old that she knew my parents or something. Well, she complained she felt fat or something and I said "you look great" in the comments, SOMETHING along those lines. I am body positive and would never insult someone. Well, her sister inboxed me screaming how dare I insult her sister and that mom and I were pieces of shit. I was like "what?" I had no idea who she and her sister were and once the woman found that out she backtracked and apologized. It was weird, but ya know, everyone is a dramatic troll online.

Fast forward to a couple of years later and I found out that these women were basically mad at my father and thought mom and I knew who they were. Bitch what? I fully put the pieces together last night when I scrolled back to the dead woman's messages. She had messaged me briefly in 2017 and she was dead by 2019. She wrapped her truck around a tree taking a turn too fast. The news article described a trashed white pickup but dad approached me in the yard with his hands in his pockets and a distant look in his eyes. He said that not only was she still alive on impact but that she was practically torn in half by the mangled truck. She was partially decapitated but died in the hospital. I can't imagine being alive that long like that. Was she able to look down and see her organs all laid out or was she unconscious?

It's the anniversary of my grandmother's death, early April 2019. I'm not going to cry and moan about my dead grandma, I wasn't even thinking about it in fact. But for some reason it was leaving a bad taste in my mouth anyway. I was too upset to go to her funeral but mom brought me some food back. A broken chicken wing rejected by other goers and some limp pasta salad. "Everyone ate all the good parts," she said.

I've said this before but it seems weird when someone dies and you start eating. I had graphic visuals of my grandmother's coffin sinking into the dirt and her starting to rot while everyone ripped their teeth into fried chicken. Gnashing their jaws and loud slurps as they sucked down sweet tea. I'm overreacting, it shouldn't bother me that much. I was thinking about it last night and thought about how my old cat died in 2014. I stepped outside one morning and I saw her back legs from under a hedge and instantly knew she was dead. She was almost 19 and when her head came into view her eyes were completely clouded grey from death. I wrapped her up in a towel and buried her but whenever I think about someone dying I imagine their eyes being the same way. That misty grey look of surprise, "hey, I'm dead!"

I had sobered up by that point yesterday and started to cry a little. I hadn't slept yet but either when I sleep and wake up sober, or I sober up by 10 PM life just hits me hard. I think about mom being sick, I think about how I can't make enough money, and it just maddens me. Then always upon sobering, I can feel all my physical problems again. Last night I was in vicious pain, tossing and turning like my body was on fire. I got up over and over to piss blood. I had been bleeding a lot into my urine the past week but sometimes it just gets unbearable. I lay awake all night cursing life.

This morning I woke up and stepped outside and narrowly avoided stepping on a droplet of blood. I don't want to step in that no matter how small. I stepped back and there was more blood. So I put my hand on my crotch, then my face, to make sure it wasn't me. I just don't know anymore the way things fall apart. I wasn't bleeding so Domino must have eaten a critter or something.

In a world full of death it would be nice if the shitty people died for a change. The people I know that have died were kind, yet the monsters I've encountered keep on running around hurting people. The words of one online predator still ring in my head "stop acting like everyone is out to get you and give me a chance." The toothy military vet's message before that told me I should be raped and killed.

Karma, do you exist? Stars, do you align? Kill some devils so I can eat carefree funeral chicken.

#Blood #Death #Morbid #Yep I'm still goth #Family #Personal #Thoughts #Pain #Mourning #Karma #Trauma #Nonfiction

[ayma-nidiot]

“Don’t Speak Their Names” - Shrimpshipping fic Chapter 17

This chapter on AO3 can be found here.

Chapter 17 - Proud Daughter

“Wow, Rex, you look like you went on quite the shopping trip!” Ptera observed as her son got in the back seat of the car with Weevil. 

“I bought all my school supplies.” Rex sheepishly revealed his debit card. “I hope you don’t mind.”

“Quite the contrary.” Ptera ruffled Rex’s hair. “You’re coming to class prepared. I’m so proud of you, mi hijo. ”

“Hehe… Thanks.”

Ptera noticed the bag with the fetal doppler. “Oh? What’s that?

“I saw a doctor on campus today.” Rex was careful not to mention a word about Spinos. “And no, it didn’t cost me a dime. Bet you didn’t know that healthcare is free for all students, whether it’s at the hospital or at the university.”

Amber noticed that the back seat was fairly full, and elected to take the front seat. “Um… Hello, ma’am.”

“Who’s this, Rex? A new friend of yours?” Ptera asked as the car took off.

“Yeah. Her name’s Amber… Say, Amber, I just realized something. You never told us your surname or your middle name.”

“That’s because I don’t have either one. Believe it or not, there are people in the world who don’t.”

“Is that so? Well, I learn something new every day.”

“That’s not hard for you, dino brain.” Weevil laughed.

“Speaking of which, Mom… The reason I went to the doctor was to get an ultrasound of my baby. You’re going to have a happy, healthy granddaughter!”

“You should name her after me, haha! I hope she gets my wild purple hair and personality.” Ptera invited Amber into the house. “Adelaide and your mama just came home from a long shift at work, so don’t wake them up until it’s time for dinner.”

“Ma’am, can I help?” Amber offered as she retrieved a satchel from her handbag. “I mean, I’ll admit I’m not the best cook around, but… I know how to cook bee larvae.”

“Say whaaat? In that case, knock yourself out!” Weevil happily consented.

“Y-Yes, well… Go right ahead.” This notion creeped Ptera out a little bit.

“Now I can just get right into studying, without worrying about looking for my favourite food.” Weevil laid down on the sofa with a cushion under his head. As usual, Rex turned it to one of his favourite channels, the Discovery Channel. Weevil paid the T.V. no heed as he began to study, propping his legs on a loveseat. “Which, by the way, I haven’t been able to find in a while. Where ever did you find it, Amber?”

“Oh, just… Just looking around.” Amber whistled as she and Ptera cooked. While she left the skillet on, she began to prepare salad, as that was the only other thing she knew how to make. “My father actually owns a well-off apiary and is an avid lover of insects. He’s the reason why I’m an insect duelist. I also have some of our honey with me, if you want some.”

“So you are rich!” Rex grumbled. Having little desire to study, he pulled out his laptop and switched the T.V. to the news. “That explains why you’re such a smartass.”

“I’d love to meet this fellow insect duelist,” Weevil mused. “And what better way to introduce ourselves than through Duel Monsters?”

“Haha…” Amber gave a halfhearted chuckle. Dinner was ready, and she offered Weevil a small bowl of fried bee larvae. “I’m sure of that…”

A reporter from the T.V. put this conversation on hold. “We just received breaking news that monsters have been spotted in various parts of Domino City and around the world. Sightings have not been prevalent, but said monsters have caused wreckage in several small towns and isolated areas. We will keep you posted on these latest monster attacks.”

“Oh great, this again?” Rex facepalmed as he recalled the mess that the Orichalcos caused. “As if one or two monster attacks weren’t enough…”

“What do you mean, ‘again?’” Ptera raised an eyebrow.

“Uh… Forget you heard that.” Rex had never told his parents about said Orichalcos mess or the fairly recent Red-Eyes Black Dragon attack. Or about his shapeshifting abilities, for that matter. And forget about the time travelling and KC Grand Tournament! Rex wasn’t thankful that, unlike Weevil, he had no ability to bullshit. “Just… uh… Whoa! What was that?”

Rex could hear a loud sound; though it was in the distance, its source was strong enough to shake the ground and wake up Adelaide and Tricera.

“Oh my gods, could it be an earthquake?” Tricera worried.

“No, an earthquake would be more consistent than that,” Adelaide answered. “But hust in case, I’ll call the police and report it.”

“Then… Then maybe the monsters from the news are real!” Ptera turned the burner off and approached her son. “Rex. You know something that the rest of us don’t, don’t you?”

“Mom…” I suppose there’s no hiding it now. “You’re not going to believe this, but I-” A knocking from the front door prevented Rex from speaking further. “I’ll get that.”

“Who could be knocking at our door at a time like this?” Ptera wondered. “I hope none of you ordered pizza or something.”

“Maybe it’s the press,” Adelaide suggested. “They could be here to ask us about monster sightings.”

“...Wait.” Tricera squinted at the person who knocked on the door. “That’s-”

“Dad!” Rex was stunned to see Spinos at the door. “What are you doing here?”

“You…” Tricera marched to the door. “You fucking bastard! How dare you show your ugly ass face at MY house!”

“W-Wait!” Spinos couldn’t stop the tall, strong Tricera from seizing him by the collar and punching his face.

“How the hell did you even find us?” Ptera asked. “You’ve been stalking us, haven’t you?”

“P-Ptera…”

“ ¡Vete al diabolo, puta madre! ” Ptera clocked Spinos really hard on the other cheek.

“Please, Ptera, there is no time!” Spinos disregarded the stings from the punches on both sides of his cheeks. “There are monsters coming this way!”

“And you expect me to believe you?” Ptera thundered. “If I couldn’t trust you 20 years ago, how do you expect me to trust you now?”

“Mrs. Raptor, he’s not lying!” Amber pointed to the sky from which several flying monsters came. “Look!”

“Oh, gods…” Ptera watched as the monsters shot lasers that destroyed nearby homes. “They’re going to destroy my house that I’ve worked so hard to save up for!”

The monsters… Weevil trembled as he heard the horrified screams of the unfortunate people who lost their homes - and would soon lose their lives, if he didn’t do something about it.  

“Weeves?” Rex knelt down to Weevil’s eye level. “What’s wrong?”

“Nobody can save these people… except me…” The ground underneath Weevil began to quake. His heart raced uncontrollably fast, and a red-and-purple aura emanated from it.

“Weeves, snap out of it!” Rex seized Weevil’s shoulders as the bug duelist fell deeper into his trance.

“Leave me alone!” Weevil shoved Rex off of him. He hadn’t fully shifted since last year’s Halloween Tournament, but was fully prepared to do it to save his boyfriend’s home. “You guys need to stay behind!”

“Weevil, don’t do it!” Ptera cried. “You can’t face them all by yourself!”

“...Actually, Mom, he can.” Rex watched as once again, Weevil transformed into Earthbound God Uru. Only this time, rather than causing harmless mischief, Weevil had every intent to kill any monster who would dare oppose him. Just the presence of his spider form, looming over his enemies larger than even KaibaCorp Tower, intimidated foe and friend alike.

“M-Master Weevil!” Adelaide couldn’t believe it. “What is happening to you?”

“Leave my home alone, you bastards!” Weevil shot a string of spider webs at the enemies who attacked him.

“Gaaah!” Two of the enemies fell to their deaths.

“He’s… something else, isn’t he?” Spinos observed.

“You know it…” Rex could only sit there and watch his boyfriend wreck havoc on his enemies, and hope that Weevil wouldn’t completely lose his mind out there.

“Wait, where’s Amber?” Tricera asked after a brief look in the house. “She’s gone!”

“I didn’t see her in the backyard, either!” spoke Ptera.

“Oh… Oh, no…” Rex’s good mood faded. “Did she get captured?”

The apparent leader of these enemies, Cyber Dragon Infinity, answered, “No, but I’m about to capture your precious little boyfriend! Who, by the way, isn’t looking so good over there.”

“It’s… happening again…” Weevil stared at the blood on his spider legs, and the blood he shed throughout the concrete. “I… have killed someone… again…”

“Well, why don’t we put you out of your misery, eh?” Cyber Dragon Infinity ordered his underling, an Armored Bee, “Activate your special ability!”

“With pleasure!” The Armored Bee rushed at Weevil full-speed, shouting, “Poison Stinger!”

“Ah… I feel… weak…” Weevil passed out and shifted to human form.

“Hah!” Cyber Dragon Infinity looked down upon Rex and his family. “Some ‘almighty, powerful Earthbound God,’ huh?”

Rex stepped forward, and already he half-shifted. “I’ll show you yet…”

“What is the meaning of this?” Cyber Dragon Infinity cackled as Rex transformed. “Do you, the puny Creepy Coney, honestly think that you can take down a monster as strong as I? By yourself? Hah! Your brain must be smaller than that of an actual rabbit!”

“Shut up!” Rex charged, only to be blown back rather easily by the Armored Bee and forced to revert forms. “O-Ow!!” he cried in pain while rubbing his belly.

“Rex!” Ptera knelt to her son’s side and cried. “You fucking idiot! Why did you do that?”

“Now that Uru is out of my way, there’s nothing standing in between your ruddy home and I! Die, the lot of you!”

Cyber Dragon Infinity couldn’t even begin to charge his attack, when out of nowhere, a shapeshifter with white-and-pink wings flew onto the scene. “You will do no such thing!” she declared as she shot an arrow at the Armored Bee, killing it instantly.

Rex already knew who this shapeshifter was. “Amber! There you are!”

“Leave my family alone!” Amber continued to shoot arrows at Cyber Dragon Infinity.

“You… You are…” Cyber Dragon Infinity was truly scared, yet tried to fend off Amber with attacks of his own - but not without sustaining severe injuries himself. “Pah! I don’t give two figs who you are! You’re severely outnumbered! Here, why don’t I give you a fresh reminder of that?” The dragon shot a quick beam of light, nicking Amber’s wings.

“Yeooooow!” Amber retracted her wings as she fell back to the ground. Though she was too weak to even half-shift, that didn’t stop her from pursuing Cyber Dragon Infinity. “Give Weevil back this instant!”

“Hmm… How about no? I’m not going to waste the little energy I have left on a monster that is clearly stronger than me. You get to keep your heads and your home for today! Be thankful!”

And with that, Cyber Dragon Infinity flew off with Weevil in tow.

“Tch!” Amber turned her attention to Rex. “Why, oh gods, why, Rex? Why did you attack an enemy that is clearly stronger than you?”

“That’s just the Raptor way, haha…” Rex had strength to stand up by himself. “...Wait. Amber? Is that you?”

Amber now had long mint-green hair with lavender sideburns and bowl-cut bangs. Her pupils were small and indigo. Rex didn’t think it was possible, but she looked even more beautiful than ever before. “It, um… seems my wig and contacts came off during that fight.”

“Amber…” Rex walked up to Amber to get a better look at her face. “Who are you, really?”

“I have lied to you all this time, Rex… Forgive me.” Amber calmed down a little before she began to explain herself. “So you know how you time travelled to the past with the pharaoh? I have done the same thing… I come from the future - a ruined future. I’m here to prevent that future from happening.”

“Uh-huh.” After all he had been through with Atem and Kaiba, Rex believed every word Amber said. Still, he found it curious that people could travel from the future. He thought that Amber would have had it all over there - the best technology, the toughest opponents, and the strongest cards. If she wanted to escape that, then something truly messed up must have happened.

“Everyone I know from that future is dead… My kid brother… My boyfriend… Even my mother!” Amber teared up. “Everyone I knew! They… They all died trying to protect me!”

“Amber…” Rex rubbed Amber’s back. “I’m sorry. I can’t say I know what you’re going through, but… I really am sorry.”

“But now… I can see you again… You’re alive, Papa!”

Rex’s eyes opened wide. “What did you just call me?”

“I’m not just Amber… I’m Ambrosia Camellia Ptera Raptor, the proud daughter of Weevil and Rex Raptor.” Amber lightly touched Rex’s baby bump. “I’m your daughter from the future!”

“So… that explains why you know about Mom, and about shapeshifters…” Rex began to cry too. “Forgive me, my daughter… You deserved better from me than one bow and a world of troubles… I’m sorry.”

Amber could finally release her emotions that she kept bottled up since her mother’s death. “Papa! Oh my gods, Papa…” she cried loudly into Rex’s chest. “I… I never thought that I could hug you again… You’re alive and breathing! I can’t… I can’t believe it!”

“Shh… I’m here, Amber…” Rex ran his fingers through his future daughter’s hair and wiped away some of her tears.

“You’re… breathing…” Amber held her ear to Rex’s chest to hear his heart beating. “And… you’re alive… This is… Oh, my gods… I’m sorry, I’m just so happy right now.”

“There, there…” Rex smiled while he cried. “We’re going to save your father, too. Or… Hold on a second.”

“Yes?” Amber stopped crying and looked at Rex curiously.

“ Weevil is the father, right?”

“Uh-huh. That would make you my mother.”

“I knew it…” Rex shook his head. “I wonder if I’m going to bottom for him again. Not that I would mind that…”

“Come on, Papa, there’s no need to be embarrassed about it!” Amber laughed and poked Rex’s cheek. 

Still feeling confused about everything that had happened, Ptera spoke up. “So… that makes you my granddaughter, doesn’t it? You’re the little baby Rex is carrying.”

“That’s right.”

“First this time travelling, then this whole shapeshifter thing…” Spinos spoke. “I have made many discoveries as a paleontologist, but this one really takes the cake.”

“Why are you still here, scumbag?” Ptera growled.

“Please, Grandma…” Amber begged. “I know what Grandpa did was unforgivable, but in my future, he died protecting both you and me. I ask that you give him a chance.”

“I ask the same,” Rex concurred. “It was Dad who told me about the doctor, and if it wasn’t for him, I would have no idea how to care for my daughter… for baby Amber.”

“Hmph!” Ptera still wasn’t wholly comfortable with this idea. “Fine. Since we’re both interested in Rex’s safety, I’ll cooperate with you. But do not expect to ever become friends with me. EVER.”

“Thank you so much, Ptera… No matter how long it takes, I’ll do what I can to earn your trust once again.”

“So what do we do now?” Tricera questioned. “Weevil has been kidnapped, and there are monsters roaming the city… We’ve got quite a matter on our hands.”

“I know of a club who can help stop this mess,” replied Amber. “But I ask anyone who’s not a shifter to stay behind, for your own safety.”

“No!” Adelaide refused. “After all Master Weevil has done for me, I can’t just leave him alone, suffering in gods know where… I’m coming, too!”

“Weevil is part of my family, too,” Ptera declared. “We’re all in this together.”

“And I’m sure this is a really good reason to call off of work,” Tricera added. “It’s times like these that remind me why I’m thankful to be a reputable employee.”

“Nana…” 

“It feels a bit weird being called that, I gotta say.”

“Well, what I gotta say is how damned proud I am that you’re named after me!” Ptera laughed. “I mean, I wish you took my given name, but I guess I’ll settle for middle name.”

“Hahaha!” Amber already began to walk in the direction of the university. “Well, what are we waiting for? I wanna go save Daddy!”

“Wait, Amber, before we go…”

“Yes, Papa?”

Rex pulled out his flip phone. “Let’s meet at the café first. If things are as serious as you say, then we need all the help we can get.”

#yugioh #shrimpshipping #mpreg #fanfiction #ygo #ryuhaga #rex raptor #weevil underwood #dinosaur ryuzaki #insector haga #I legit cried while writing this the first time T_T

[loulougoingsolo]

Little tang in the Bang

I stood in front of a stack of Oreo boxes at the supermarket on Saturday, thinking about whether I should buy some to have at hand during my social distancing period. Eventually, I didn’t. I figured that I’d just end up eating all of them the same day. It’s only been a couple of days of this new normal, and I’ve already noticed that the need for comfort food in my life has increased. If I’d buy all the cookies I crave, catching a virus would quickly be least of my health worries. But I admit, I regretted my decision today, after watching Rhett and Link enjoy all the cookies on GMM’s “Will it Oreo?” episode.

I’m a fan of the Bon Appétit channel’s Gourmet Makes series (I mean, I adore Claire Saffitz), and I remembered watching the episode where Claire made gourmet Oreos.  If I recall, one of the specific requirements she had was that you should be able to split the oreo in half, so that the filling would only stay on one side of the cookie - because, obviously, that IS the right way to eat an Oreo. (I’m not a fan of dipping them in milk, because I don’t like milk, but I acknowledge that some people think THAT is the right way to consume these delightful cookies.)

The first thing I paid attention to with the potential Oreo candidates that Josh made was that they didn’t seem to be as neatly splittable as the originals. I’m not going to let that affect my judgment, but just so you know, I think that is a requirement for a real Oreo - so if any of today’s innovative flavours go into production, I think they should fix this. But on a prototype level, I’m gonna let that slide.

The first Oreo to try today is Bangeo. These pretty, blue cookies have been flavoured with Bang energy drink, and they come in a packaging that could probably fool even the folks at the cookie factory. As someone, who was briefly addicted to (sugarfree) energy drinks, before switching to coffee, I can imagine these would be a huge hit, if they became available for reals. I also can think of quite a few good reasons for banging. Oh, Rhett meant Banging, as in drinking Bang. Ok. Nevermind. Bangeo will Oreo. Let’s just move on.

The next candidate is Nacho Oreo, which is not your typical Oreo, because it’s savoury. Quacamole cookies, pinto beans, cheese and salsa cream - and a hot sauce milk for dipping. I want the recipe. These would make a brilliant party snack! And they’re almost as pretty as the blue ones!

Rhett mentions learning from Shepherd that the ancient Greeks didn’t eat beans because they believed beans contained the souls of dead humans. Because one thing I’ve learned after watching all these GMM episodes is to always fact check everything presented as a fact on this show, I did a little googling of my own. I did find that Pythagoras, and his followers, didn’t eat meat or beans, but this was not a common thing for all ancient Greeks. There are many articles about Pythagoras and his diet online, and apparently there is no consensus of why he didn’t eat beans - a quick search produced all kinds of reasons from flatulence to beans being phallic. Apparently, there is not even concrete evidence of him not eating beans to begin with. But,on GMM, there is a consensus of nachos (with beans and all) making a great Oreo!

Domino’s Oreos are next in line, and since everything pizza flavoured is always good, there was no way Domino’s wouldn’t Oreo. Fun fact: In Finland, we have our own brand of cookies very similar to Oreos, and it’s called Domino. I actually prefer them over Oreos, because they are not quite as sweet, but for some reason, Oreos are much more affordable here. If Oreo ever decides to make Domino’s Oreos a reality, they’ll need to bring them to Finnish market with a different name. A pizza flavoured Oreo needs happen! (But I think a regular Ranch without the milk might be more pleasant to look at.)

I know GMM has really been trying to make ramen noodles happen in all kinds of different Will it..? forms, but right now, I can’t remember, if any of the versions actually have (willed?). The problem with instant ramen is that it’s already a perfect product, and turning it into another perfect product, while maintaining the essence of ramen isn’t easy. I’m sure there is a way to dilute the salt and MSG content to a palatable level, but for some reason, they never do. And I imagine the flavour of monosodiumglutamate can clash with a sugary cookie.

Rhett talking about his college eating habits reminds me of something my brother did recently. There was a campaign for a veggie burger for a euro in the local fast food restaurant, and more than once, my brother went to buy 5 burgers at a time. He didn’t freeze any of them, but ate them all at once. I suggested him to buy a salad with his 5 euros next time. (He’s diet also includes instant ramen and energy drinks.)

But, if you see deer in Burbank in the near future, now you know where they are headed. Josh, please don’t make venison oreos!

Sushi Oreo looks a lot like the strawberry flavoured Domino cookies (I’m sure Oreo also comes in strawberry flavour), and they are actually very pretty to look at. I personally love the taste of seaweed, and I think that turning it into a crunchy cookie sounds like a good idea. In mass production, the raw tuna filling might turn out to be an issue though. Also, soy sauce milk looks a lot like an oil spill - which, I suppose, actually fits the oceanic theme, but at the same time, is not very appetizing.

In More, the guys get to try yet another Oreo creation, an Oreo gummy, with thick milk (they haven’t registered thickmilk.org yet, so I guess that is not going to happen). I love that three men with almost accurate facts and a lot of opinions put together create an almost perfect search engine. Stevie sounded so confused, after the guys got the answers correct.

My favourite moment from More was, however, when everyone else was focused on the human search engine thing, but Link wanted to watch thick milk fall from the glass. I’m pretty sure that is exactly what I would have done if I was there. I’m always distracted by things like that, and forget to follow the conversation.

#gmm #gmmore #gmm 1710 #rhett and link #will it oreo? #gummy oreo in more #human search engine #thick milk

[theawkwardterrier]

Perfect Targets

Steggy Week 2k19, day 1 Prompt: Endgame

Summary: Steve and Peggy are accustomed to being interrupted.

AO3 link here.

It takes a strangely long time before a certain group of Hydra agents realizes that Margaret Carter provides too much of a stabilizing influence, that she is the lynchpin for so much, and that a neat "accident" would be very helpful.

(Perhaps the semi-anarchic "two more shall take its place" model is helpful in making the organizational spread hard to control or catalog, but it doesn't exactly lead to good collaboration, and it hasn’t gotten easier since Zola was found out and imprisoned before appointing a successor or passing on much of the organizing information.)

Once Carter has been identified as a prime target, an opening domino to continue in their efforts, things do move a little more quickly. It's decided that she isn't a particularly good candidate for an outright assassination: she spends too much time in heavily guarded SHIELD headquarters and even if a friendly agent could be found it would be apparent, too obviously revealing of Hydra’s underground efforts. (And finding a friendly agent would be very difficult. Somehow recruitment is getting harder and harder - is the current generation simply not as eager to join the cause? Obviously the Zola thing was bad publicity, but doesn’t it speak well that they still have their roots sunk deeply enough into society that they can continue onward, causing discord until they are in control?)

Without much of a social life - she seems to like staying in with her husband, so no standing engagement with a lover, no bowling league - the obvious place to eliminate Carter would be in her home. There is the small matter of said husband: surveillance shows him to be a well-built man, though it's nothing a sedative and a well-trained operative like Damian Ford can't handle. According to the tail they have on the husband, he spends a lot of his time chatting to old biddies as he walks them across the street, running volunteer art classes at the local community center, and helping to reach things down from high shelves at the grocery, so Ford figures he'll be a soft target. Nice people always spend too much time begging, or having faith that things will just turn out for the best.

Carter’s a busy woman and her schedule varies from night to night and she even goes into the office on weekends sometimes, but she’s always home for Sunday dinner. Ford arrives at the cute little house at ten past six. Twenty minutes is plenty of time to do away with the husband and fix up any mess before Carter pulls up. By all accounts she’s canny, and it’s always easier when you can get the drop on people. He'll take out the husband, wait for her, then pose the bodies and burn down the place, make it look like a house fire. A practically foolproof plan.

The neighborhood’s tightly packed, but Ford hops a few fences and is in the Carter backyard with no one the wiser. He congratulates himself as he goes over to the back door and jimmies the lock. It clicks, and there’s a little rush, that little bit of thrilling control that always reminds him of why he got into this business in the first place. People think they’re safe, that life has rules that they understand, but he’s there in the background, steering things in ways that most people wouldn’t understand.

He imagines the man inside, cooking the pot roast he can smell even through the still-closed door, listening to some radio program. He probably thinks that he has a say in his own fate, that he’s protected by playing housekeeper for his little wife. There will be just enough time for the realization that everything he ever believed was wrong before Ford strikes the final blow. Ford allows himself a bit of a smile as he begins to turn the doorknob.

“You’re finally coming in? I thought the potatoes were going to burn before you actually did something.”

Ford has never actually heard the man’s voice before. He has only a moment to register it, though, before a fist is swinging directly into his face.

"I'm home." Peggy closes the door, delighting in the solid sound of the lock clicking that signifies that her alone time with her husband has begun. She slips off her shoes and leaves them by the door, puts her case on the console table, and unbuttons her suit jacket. Her hair is sweaty, stuck to the back of her neck. She lifts it up and twists to offer herself a bit of circulation as she walks through to the kitchen. "I know that you've said that we're meant to have air conditioning in cars soon, but soon isn't soon enough."

Dinner is clearly ready - meat, potatoes, beans, salad, and rolls resting in serving dishes on the counter, the table set for two - but Steve isn't there when she arrives. She raises her voice a bit and asks, "Steve?"

"Basement," he calls, his voice distant.

She hadn't even wanted a cellar - too prone to flooding, too musty and damp to really store anything well - but they'd fallen in love with the house regardless. She hadn't thought about the other reasons she wouldn't enjoy it, but now she dreads even opening the door.

"Oh, bloody bollocking hell," she says as she comes far enough down the stairs to see. "I mean—good gracious, we’re back to this again?" They both know that children aren't in the cards for now - it's too dangerous at the moment, and they’ve been taking as thorough care as possible to avoid such an issue - but they've agreed to both try to clean up their language in preparation.

Steve, reading a book on the bottom step, snorts and stands, tucking the paperback into his rear pocket. "At least this one brought drugs. Some of them just show up thinking that they had all it would take—it's a little insulting, honestly."

"Yes, how dare they underestimate your muscles. But I'm sure the sedative will be very helpful." She eyes the man tied up on the chair they've essentially set aside for this purpose. "Not very polite of him to take the backyard route considering the way Mr. Lansing has deduced that his garden has been repeatedly crushed only since we moved here, but I appreciate him not making a mess - it would have been difficult to clean up considering how you broke the broom on the last one's face."

"He interrupted me while I was sweeping," Steve says unrepentantly. "I improvised."

"Hmm, you think they'd learn at least something about you, but I suppose communication and adaptation aren't strong points of theirs." She starts to button her jacket again, but then changes her mind. It’s too damn hot and she’s in her own home. "I should call in to request another transport, but I think we can eat while we wait - I'm absolutely famished, and the transportation team is practically part of the family now."

"I did make some chicken soup for John's mother - I know the treatment is really taking it out of her, and she gave us that great jam a few months ago." She starts up the stairs ahead of him.

"Perhaps I should start scheduling another night for them to be certain I'll be home? It would be nice to have a peaceful Sunday evening every once in a while."

"No one showed up last week. Or the week before," Steve reminds her, though he doesn't have to. She vividly recalls just how they'd celebrated both the lack of interruption for once, and also the apparent disorganization and dissolution of Hydra. "Besides, you wouldn't want to ruin a tradition, would you?"

She turns at the top of the staircase, facing him where he still stands on the step below her. "It doesn't bother you that these are our traditions, that this is what you came back for?"

He holds her face in his hands, fingertips smoothing over her cheekbones. If she blinked, her eyelashes would brush against them. "This is exactly what I came back for. I wouldn't have it any other way."

She thinks about the other men she might have been with instead, men who would have warned her off this type of charade, told her not to worry, that they would take care of rooting out Hydra from inside her agency and the others, men who would have come up with more grandiose plans for massive, public arrests and ignored her words about the way Hydra was a virus. She thinks about what could have been, and how lucky she has been with what is.

She kisses him. "I suppose I wouldn't either," she says, and goes to call the retrieval team.

#steggyweek2k19 #Steggy #Steggy fic #Steve Rogers #Peggy Carter #the summary makes it sound like a sex thing but I'm here to swerve #start of another great Steggy Week - let's do the darn thing!

[nightwingwhatdidisay]

“On lessons of Trust and Choosing Jewelry”

RobStar Week Day 7: Jewels

A/N: ahhhh last day! The prompts were really fun and I can't believe how alive and supportive the community is on Tumblr, like, what the heck guys this show finished more than a decade ago this is awesome.

By the way, I've been getting some really nice comments throughout RobStar Week. Thank you! Seriously. It really does mean a lot. Sometimes I feel like I'm publishing things into a big black void and it's just comforting to know someone's actually on board and having fun with me. Glad to have found this community!

[also shoutout to @robstartrash and @samdraws715 because I piggy-backed off the photobooth scene in their Collab for Blush. Thanks for the inspo guys :3]

ao3 version

ff.net version

Summary:

Robin gains perspective on things at the Jump City Mall.

…

...

It all started in the morning at Santangelo's Jewelers inside Jump City Mall after a personal invite from Antonio Santangelo himself, who had offered each team member a complimentary choice of jewelry as a token of thanks; the Titans had stopped a diamond heist for the sixth time that year (like, really, HIVE?). There was a budget, of course, but still Robin couldn't shake off the feeling that the generosity was too much.

"You sure you can afford Beast Boy's style?" Robin joked to Santangelo as they watched the green team member gawk into a glass case.

"Well, what's his style?"

"Whatever it is, he's gonna walk out of here top-heavy."

The store owner laughed as Beast Boy's eyes lit up at a massive gold chain.

Robin had been practical with his choice; he adjusted the silver diver's watch on his wrist, waiting for the rest of his team to make their decisions. At the back of the store, Raven was turning the onyx ring around her finger, bored out of her mind, but resting a hand on Cyborg's shoulder in moral support as an employee hovered over his ear with a cocked piercing gun. Near the front, Starfire had a jade bracelet in her hand, staring at a collection of ruby necklaces in a mild state of dismay.

"Star? Are you okay?"

"I am fine! It's just that these jewels remind me of the great firefalls of Tyrus Three. They're beautiful."

"So get them."

"But is it not customary on earth for your jewelry to match the color of your eyes?"

From where they were scattered throughout the store, all four Titans turned to look at their alien teammate.

"Who told you that?"

She stammered. "I-I assumed? Because of what my sister had told me? And because of the romance movies where the love interest tells the protagonist 'I got these for you my love because they match your eyes' and—"

Starfire looked around to see an array of different expressions on her friends' faces.

"...I thought it was proper decorum."

…

...

It was a running joke by the time all the Titans were finished and their gifts were being secured in their appropriate boxes. Beast Boy and Cyborg didn't waste any time to throw it in Starfire's face.

"A'ight, it's time for it to go down at the food court. I'm starving."

"But remember, Cy. You can only eat foods that are made of metal and have cybernetic controls."

"Man, it looks like it's gonna be all salads for you."

"The joke is not that funny, friends," Starfire said in frustration.

It actually was, but Robin felt the responsibility as the team leader (and the boyfriend) to speak up and warn the guys about ending it there. Raven remained neutral throughout the whole exchange, but as they all stepped out of Santangelo's and into the rest of the mall, Raven turned to Robin with a look, and pointed at a watch showcased behind the glass.

It was the exact same model as the one he had just picked out, except for it's gleaming blue face and the single insets of sapphires at the 12, 3, 6, and 9.

"You sure you don't want this one?" She said quietly.

Tokyo had just been a few months ago. There were changes in the horizon, and he had every intention to tell them soon, but Robin had still not shared his identity to the rest of the team. And he didn't really know why—probably trust issues, or control issues; for some reason Robin was taking his time.

Only Raven had met "Dick Grayson," (kind of), courtesy of the night she jumped into his mind. It meant she knew a lot more than the two of them let on. Raven was sworn to secrecy about Bruce Wayne and Barbara Gordon and Donna Troy and everything about the things he left behind. She knew Dick Grayson at great lengths and with acute detail. Even the seemingly meaningless stuff.

Say, for instance, the color of his eyes.

The upward turn of Raven's mouth was subtle, and Robin cracked a grin at her: Haha, very funny. Beast Boy and Cyborg were already ahead of them, making a beeline to their favorite taco station, completely unaware of Raven's contribution to their joke.

But when Robin turned to grab Starfire's hand, he was surprised to see she had been watching them intently.

…

…

Starfire pulled Robin out of the seat the moment he was finished with his cheese fries and tossed back a very bland please excuse us, friends to the table before leading him out of the food court.

"Uh, Star? What's going on?"

"Hm? Oh, nothing is going on. I am simply interested in taking a gentle stroll with my boyfriend," she said as she pushed him violently through crowds of people like a bulldozer. Starfire had the subtleties of a tornado, which was even more apparent with her very poor performance of someone who had just happened to notice a photo booth at the East Wing of the mall (the same photo booth she had been pointing out to the team for months).

"Three or four shots?" He asked her when they slid inside.

"Four."

The countdown between each flash of light was fast, and it was all victory signs and silly faces and easy smiles, but somewhere between the third shot and the fourth, Starfire leaned in to kiss his cheek as the last pose, her hand cupping his chin towards her.

Three—

Two—

"Robin."

She tugged on the domino mask just in time.

…

…

Robin scrambled to get his mask back on, speechless, wading through a dozen emotions, not really knowing how he felt about what Starfire had just done. Was he angry at her? Was he frightened? This was a breach of trust, wasn't it? Did he find it endearing or funny?

Starfire had already exited the booth, ready to catch the photo as it was being dispensed. And Robin stepped out to see his girlfriend staring at the bottom of the printed strip in wonder:

Starfire with a look of determination. And Robin, mouth parted in protest and wide sapphire eyes.

"Apologies," she said quietly, still staring at the photo. "Sometimes it is a task to be dating someone you know so little about. And it is not about a lack of feelings, or because I do not trust you. It is because I fear you do not trust me."

Starfire looked up, locking her discernible eyes with Robin's hidden ones. "That kind of fear can eat at a person over time."

She seemed to say the magic words that made it all click in his mind. Trust goes both ways, doesn't it?

There was a booming voice crescendoing from the East wing, and over her shoulder Robin saw their three friends approaching quickly from the distance, shopping bags in tow. He watched as Starfire took a glance back at them before carefully ripping off the last photo on its perforated line and tucking it into her gauntlet. She looked at him with a knowing smile and saw something he had never witnessed before—a Starfire wink.

"Did I do that correctly?"

The rest of the Titans poured into both of their spaces and Cyborg draped his arm over Starfire's shoulders while Beast Boy came around to elbow at Robin’s side.

"We knew we were gonna find you two here. Alright, now let's see those official couple photos—"

She handed Cyborg the strip with nothing to hide. Maybe Starfire could do subtle after all.

Robin smiled back.

…

…

#robstarweek2019 #robstar week 2019 #RobStar #dickkory #robin #starfire #nightwing #dc #dc comics #teen titans #Robin/Starfire #Raven #Cyborg #Beast Boy #Rachel Roth #Garfield Logan #Victor Stone #Koriand’r #Titans #richard grayson #jewels #robstarweek

[lovemesomesurveys]

Out of all 24 hours, which one is your favourite? The one where I have my first cup of coffee, ha. Have you ever been in a lighthouse? Nope. What are the names of the neighbours to your right? I don’t know. Left? I don’t know. When’s the last time you actually sat down and watched the sun set? I’ve never actually sat down to do that. I just happen to see them while out and about or during car rides or something like that.

Are you on a laptop or desktop? Laptop. Do you ever make your own surveys? No. What colour is your shower? White. Where do you order your pizza from? My family likes Dominos, Pizza Hut, and Round Table, but my favorite is a local one. It’s SO good.  When is the last time you had a serious talk with someone? When my aunt was here last week. What time are you planning on going to bed tonight? I go to bed around 2ish or so, typically. How old are you, your parents and your siblings combined? 160. The last time you went out of town was? Yesterday. And where did you go? A nearby touristy city near water. One of my favorite places to go. Have you ever been bit by an animal? Maybe accidentally while playing around. Where is the person you miss the most right now? Some of them have passed away. Have you been paying attention to the Olympics much? I don’t watch them. How often do you take naps? Oftenish. I’m tired everyday, so I’m always fighting sleep during the day and sometimes it wins. I know you don’t wanna talk about it, but when do you go back to school? I’m done with school.  Did it rain today? No. What was the name of the last dog you pet? That’s my doggo, her name is Princess Leia.  Do you find that you have a certain meal you eat every time you go to certain restaurants? Chicken tenders and fries--always. Lol, yesterday we went out to eat for lunch and I ordered coffee and a kid’s meal and I realized it was just the perfect representation of me. It was funny cause when I ordered the coffee, the waiter had to check if they even had any cause he wasn’t sure. He came back with some and he was like, “I gotta tell you, you’re the first person I’ve ever waited on here that has ordered this, which is why I didn’t even know we had any.” Yeahhh, I’m the lame-o who just gets coffee or water and chicken tenders with fries. lol. Are you constantly judging people? I wouldn’t say I’m constantly doing that, but I think we all judge others in some way or another and it’s not always a bad thing. Some people are just very judgmental, though. Have you ever had anything stolen from you? Yes. Think back to your freshman year in high school, what was the first class period on your first day of school? I think it was health. What colour is your bike? I don’t have one. What word can you not stand to hear people say? I hate the c word and the p word. You will never hear me say either one.  When was the last time the power went out at your house and how long was it out for? Back in June like the first triple digit day of the summer. I think it was out for like 2 hours. Thankfully, that was the only time this summer. What room of your house are you in? Mine. When there’s a full moon, does it make your room really bright for a few days? No? I didn’t know that happened.  What is the temperature in your city right now? 68 F :O Which would you rather, a snowy day, sunny day, rainy day or cloudy day?: Rainy or cloudy. I’d say snowy, too, but it doesn’t snow here so I don’t know. I think I’d like it, though.  How long have you ever spent away from home? A week. Ever had to get any stitches? Several. When did you last use a post-it-note? I don’t recall. Would you ever want to own your own restaurant? No. Do you have a fan in your bedroom? I have a ceiling fan and 2 regular ones. Have you ever seen the White House? Not in person. How about Niagara Falls? Not in person. What about the four corners, have you ever been there? I have. Have you ever played any variation of the padiddle game in a car a night? If not, you should wikipedia it and play it. It can be fun with the right people? Nope. I’ve never even heard of it until now; I had to look it up. The most recent staircase you went down, what did it lead to? I can’t take the stairs. Have you ever thought about what life would be like if we all slept during the day and were active at night? Yeah. I mean, I’ve definitely had days like that, ha, but yeah I’ve wondered what it would be like if that was the norm. What colours are the counter tops in your kitchen? They’re granite top. Has your luggage ever been lost at the airport? Did you get it back? No. Which major body of water do you live by? The Pacific. Who is the last person that you took a picture with? My brother. What type of food do you eat the most? Eggs, bologna sandwiches, and ramen. When is the last time you were stuck in a fairly long traffic jam? Yesterday. Do you have certain friends that you hug every time you see them? No.  What do you enjoy most about your life? My family, which includes my doggo. She can always make me smile. When was your most recent trip to an aquarium? It’s been several years. What do you like in your salads and what dressing do you prefer? I haven’t had a salad in so long. Apart from lettuce and spinach of course, I liked hard boiled eggs, olives, croutons, peppercinis, green onions, avocado, shredded cheese.... I think that may be it. Ranch or caesar dressing.  Last time you changed the light bulb to the lamp that you use in your bedroom? I think like 2 years ago. Does sleeping past 12 or 1 in the afternoon make you feel like you’ve wasted a lot of your day or do you enjoy the extra hours of sleep? I don’t care, honestly. I have nothing important to do. What is your state most famous for? I think when people think of California they often think of Hollywood/celebrities, In-N-Out, and the beach. Other things, too, but I feel like those are some of the main ones. What was the last thing you signed your name in cursive on? The credit card machine thingy when I bought something yesterday. How many times in your life have you seen a shooting star? Zero. Have you ever witnessed a tornado? No. How many times a year do you go out of state? I don’t go out of state regularly. The last time was 6 years ago. Has your best friend ever moved away? No. If it has one, do you ever use the notepad function in your phone? Yes. What website do you visit the most often? Tumblr. How good would you say your memory is? Pretty good. About how many times during the night do you wake up from your sleep? A few times. Are there any air fresheners in your house? What kinds? We have those wax melting things as well as room sprays. What scent of candle do you burn the most? We have quite a few different ones for our wax warmer. I have like 3 candles, but I never light them. For what reason did you last cry? My emotions and moody moods got the best of me yesterday. The day started out good, we went out of town to one of my favorite places to pick up my bro (who we dropped off the day before for a concert) and to grab lunch at our favorite place there and then do a little shopping. Should have been a great day, but my moody mood struck during it and it takes control over me. Then I started to feel sick on the way home, so that was fun. I felt really shitty last night. What’s one thing you’re glad you’ve done recently? Hmm. How long have you been taking surveys? Over 10 years. What kind of surveys do you wish there were more of? I like ones with questions like the ones in this survey. Just random questions and thought-provoking ones that let me ramble and vent.

#personal #text #survey #surveys

[animeangelriku]

Puzzleshipping: Where the Lights Aren’t So Heavy

(Written for the Yu-Gi-Oh! Mini Exchange!)

[Also read on AO3!]

*-*-*-*

It wasn’t that Yugi didn’t like his job. He loved his job, almost as much as he loved his favorite burger joint, of which he had been a regular client almost since he could remember. The thing was, just because he loved something didn’t mean he didn’t grow tired of it every once in a while, or that he wasn’t grateful for it. He had no problem going out to eat burgers with his friends, but there came a point where the cycle went from “enjoyable” to “kind of disgusting, actually.” Damn it, sometimes Yugi just wanted pizza instead! Maybe even a damn salad!

(Okay, the salad thing was mostly his body demanding he eat some vegetables instead of continuing to feed on only fast food—please, for the love of the gods!—but the point still remained.)

His feelings towards his job were more or less the same. It wasn’t that he didn’t like it, because he did. It was just that, after a few years of being a professional duelist and going to tournaments and not really having as much of a social life as he would’ve liked to try to have, making a living off dueling started to slightly lose its appeal. Yugi wouldn’t ever give it up, he would never even dream of it; he knew how lucky he was to have gotten this far and how many people wished they’d been as lucky.

But then he would see the faces he had been surrounded by for half a decade and realize that the only reason he knew the names attached to them was because they were well-known in the dueling industry, not because they had introduced themselves to him or because he had asked them. With barely a moment to himself, it felt like he didn’t have the time to go and strike up a conversation with whoever had been his opponent just a moment ago before he was dragged off somewhere else.

Yugi wanted to strike up a conversation with them. That was the thing. He wanted to get to know the people he saw in every tournament outside of the arena in which they dueled. He wanted to be their friend, or at the very least their acquaintance. Where was the fun in being the King of Games if he couldn’t celebrate his victories and mourn his losses with the people he had fought against?

Then again, he wasn’t always the King of Games—that was a title he often exchanged with Sennen Atem, someone else whom Yugi knew almost nothing about and wanted to get to know better. It had become such a reoccurring exchange, in fact, that most of the time, they were both referred to as King of Games. Although Yugi had honestly found that slightly odd at first, he didn’t mind sharing the title with as worthy an opponent as Atem.

Maybe Yugi would get his chance to approach Atem and strike up a conversation at the Domino Convention Center, where an important press conference would be held, later today. He wasn’t sure what the press conference was about or what was going to be announced (he assumed it was either a tournament or the release of a new deck archetype), but as one of the Kings, his presence was politely required.

And by ‘politely required,’ Yugi thought as he fiddled with the leather cuffs around his wrists, it means that Ryou will have my head if I don’t show up.

That was fine. If it could get Yugi a 10-minute conversation with Atem, he would take it. Baby steps and all that.

*

The gods were apparently smiling down on Yugi today.

He had seen Sennen Atem at the press conference he had attended (in which a new tournament had been announced), but he hadn’t been able to go up to him and introduce himself during it. Then, after the press conference, Atem had left so suddenly that Yugi had lost sight of him. The convention center wasn’t as full as Yugi had expected it to be, but it was still incredibly crowded, and so he’d had no hopes of encountering Atem before the day was over, much less of having the chance to actually talk to him.

“Don’t look so down, Yugi,” Ryou had tried to cheer him up. “I’m sure you’ll get your chance to talk to him at another event!”

What if this keeps happening? Yugi had thought, crestfallen. What if this was what his life was meant to be? What if the only way he would ever know his fellow duelists was thanks to the media? What if he never had the chance to interact with them beyond tournament matches?

“Yeah,” he said out loud. “Yeah, I guess I will.”

Still, Yugi hadn’t given up on trying to find Atem. The guy had to be around here somewhere, right? He wouldn’t have just come to the press conference and then left immediately, right?

Yugi’s optimism and determination had, in the end, been rewarded. He had continued exploring the convention center until he came across a nearly empty room, and suddenly there was Atem, leaning back against the wall with his eyes closed, and this was the perfect opportunity Yugi had been waiting for!

He cleared his throat to catch Atem’s attention. “Um, excuse me? Sennen Atem?”

Atem opened his eyes and turned to look at him. He seemed to be about to say something, but then his eyes widened and his lips parted in surprise.

“Mutou Yugi,” he said as his mouth was overtaken by a smile. There was such kindness in his voice that it made Yugi grin.

Yugi held his hand out for a handshake. “It’s nice to finally meet you outside a tournament for a change.”

Atem chuckled, shaking Yugi’s hand. “Likewise. I assume you came to one of the press conferences?”

“Yeah, the one for Industrial Illusions’ new tournament in a month,” Yugi answered. He was kind of relieved that Atem hadn’t noticed him there. He had feared that Atem had seen him and purposefully avoided him, but now he could breathe calmly, knowing that hadn’t been the case.

“Wait, really?” Atem seemed to come to the realization that they had been in the same room for forty-five minutes and he hadn’t realized, because his cheeks suddenly flushed bright red and he stammered out his next words. “Oh, gods, I’m so sorry, I was there and I didn’t— if I had known, I— I-I hope you don’t think that I didn’t want to—”

“No, no, don’t worry!” Yugi hurriedly said. “I think I was a few rows behind, anyway.”

“Still,” Atem mumbled. The flush on his face lessened, but he still scratched the back of his neck. “I’m sorry.” The smile he gave Yugi this time was shy, so different than the smug, confident smirks that would cross his face during one of their matches, that Yugi couldn’t help chuckling slightly to himself.

“Seriously, there’s no need to apologize,” he assured Atem. “I would expect the King of Games’ attention to be on the press conference, not on the people attending it.”

“One of the Kings,” Atem replied. “Shared title and all that, remember? Besides, I haven’t forgotten how you beat me last tournament.”

Yugi hadn’t, either. He had used Gold Sarcophagus to lock away one of his cards, and if Atem happened to use the same card, its effects would be negated. When Atem had tried to use Monster Reborn to bring back one of his most powerful monsters, Gold Sarcophagus had negated it, leaving him open to Yugi’s final attack.

Not that Yugi was one to boost his own ego, but that had been quite a victory—the one he felt the proudest of, actually. He had taken a huge risk by locking away a card as useful as Monster Reborn, and it had been worth it in the end. Then again, now he also felt kind of embarrassed at the praise, especially coming from the guy he had defeated, despite the fact that Atem had congratulated him at the end of their duel. Thankfully, Atem saved him from having to respond.

“I’m looking forward to the next time we face each other,” he said. Yugi raised an eyebrow, the corner of his mouth quirking up.

“Already thinking about how to beat my strategy?” he teased.

“Maybe,” Atem answered, his smile turning into one of the smug smirks Yugi was used to. “Regardless of the result, though, I always enjoy facing off against you.”

Yugi had to press his lips together in order to hold back the grin threatening to overtake his mouth. Even though he obviously tried to win every single one of his duels, when he dueled Atem, he didn’t care about the outcome. The only thing that mattered to Yugi was how much fun he had, and he was beyond overjoyed that Atem apparently felt the same way he did.

“I could say the same thing,” he told Atem.  

It was only until neither of them said anything that Yugi looked down between them and realized they were still holding hands. Almost as if Atem had come to the same conclusion just as suddenly, they both pulled their respective hand back, the two of them letting out a small laugh.

“So,” Yugi began after a moment. He leaned back against the wall next to Atem, their arms separated by the shortest of distances. “Any other press conferences you’re interested in attending?”

“Not… really?” Atem shrugged his shoulders and glanced around the room. “Social events and big crowds aren’t exactly my thing.”

“As opposed to Duel Monsters tournaments?” Yugi asked.

Another soft blush covered Atem’s cheeks. “Tournaments are different, I guess. It’s always just you and your opponent, and you don’t really have to worry about saying the wrong thing, you just have to focus on doing, you know?”

Yugi nodded his head. He never would’ve thought someone like Atem would be nervous in front of an audience, though he could understand the feeling.

“You should’ve seen me at my high school graduation,” he chuckled. Atem turned to him, his head cocked in a way that asked for more information. “I had to give a speech,” Yugi said, “but I was so scared of messing it up that I had to lock myself in an empty classroom for ten minutes to calm down.”

“What?” Atem demanded, as if he couldn’t believe such a thing had happened to Yugi. “No way!”

“I’m serious! I don’t mind big crowds, but don’t ask me to give a speech, please. That’s my one true weakness.”

“A bold fact to tell your opponent,” Atem said, his lips twisting into another smirk. Yugi narrowed his eyes at him.

“I was under the suspicion you were honorable enough to keep a secret outside the arena,” he said. “Should I not have been?”

Atem’s smirk became a genuine smile once more. He pressed his lips into a thin line and ran his thumb and index finger across them like he had just zipped his mouth shut. Then he pretended to throw an invisible key away. “Your secret’s safe with me.”

Yes, Yugi had thought as much. Still, he was glad to have confirmed it.

“If it makes you feel any better,” Atem began to say, “before my first tournament duel, I was so nervous and terrified that I actually threw up.”

“What?” Yugi almost shrieked, completely shocked by the confession. Atem had always seemed so confident, so sure of himself, so prepared for whatever challenge he might face. “I don’t believe you!”

“It’s true!”

“You?”

“I know, I know,” Atem said, laughing. “Once I started getting used to dueling, I got better, but I still feel sick before a match every now and then.” He leaned even more against the wall, as if revealing such a personal anecdote had taken a great amount of energy. Yugi felt… honored that it had been him whom Atem had confessed such a thing to.

He bumped their shoulders together. Once he had Atem’s attention, he mimicked his gesture from earlier, pretending to zip his mouth shut and throwing the key away.

“Your secret’s safe with me,” Yugi echoed.

The genuinely thankful smile Atem gave him made him feel like his chest was being squeezed, and he had to look away in order to breathe normally again. Who would’ve thought he would go from knowing close to nothing about Atem to knowing one of his deepest secrets, to being trusted with one of his deepest secrets?

I should’ve done this years ago, Yugi thought. He shook his head. At least he had finally been given the chance to do it, no matter how long it had taken.

The room they were in suddenly started to fill with more people. Yugi assumed another press conference had probably finished, and these were the people who had attended it. Maybe a tournament was about to start, and these were the participants.

Next to him, Atem shifted his weight from one leg to the other one. Yugi recalled what Atem had just told him, that social events and big crowds weren’t his thing, and he couldn’t help admiring him for his bravery. It couldn’t be easy for him to be in a place that made him so uncomfortable, and yet here he was. He was definitely worthy of the title of King of Games.

“I could really use some fresh air,” Yugi said. “Do you want to get out of here?”

Atem turned his head to look at him. Yugi was giving him the chance to walk out of a situation he might want to escape, but he was also giving him the chance to stay if he so wished. He really wanted to continue talking to Atem, but he wanted to ensure that Atem was in a space in which he felt comfortable instead of trapped or anxious.

Atem crossed his arms over his chest and raised a curious eyebrow. A smile was tugging at his lips. “What did you have in mind?”

Feeling slightly bolder, Yugi held out his hand, his palm facing upwards, and said, “I guess you’ll have to find out.”

Atem glanced down at his hand and then at Yugi, back at his hand and back at Yugi again. For a moment, he didn’t say or do anything, and Yugi felt little sweat beads start to form on his temples. Had he gone too far? Had he crossed a line he hadn’t even known was there? Had he ruined his chances of becoming Atem’s friend before they could even be called that?

I really want to get to know you better, Yugi thought, hoping he could somehow transmit the message to Atem through his eyes.  

To his luck, it appeared that he managed to do so. Atem’s smile widened into a grin.

“I guess I will,” he said. He grabbed Yugi’s hand and squeezed it as if he never wanted to let go.

Yugi grinned back. The feeling was mutual.

#puzzleshipping #yugioh #yugioh fic #puzzleshipping fic #puzzleshipping fanfic #riku's fics #i really wanna write a second part to this?? #i have this image of them sneaking around and avoiding paparazzi haha #so i might write it eventually #as always reblogs are really appreciated uwu

[bennwriting]

3. Twinning!

Chapter 3 of Two of a Kind, Workin' on a Full House Pregnancy fluff

10/21

Cara waved a hand in front of Jamie’s face. “Are you ok?”

“Huh? Oh. Yeah. Um. Yeah. I’m just uh. I dunno.”

“Surprised?”

“Terrified.”

“Oh.”

“No, no, I’m still happy. It’s just. I mean. I was not expecting that.”

“Yeah. I knew there was a chance, but …”

“Yeah. Wow.”

“We can do this. I mean, we’ll need some help, what with your schedule and all, but it’s totally doable.”

“Yeah, yeah, sure. Totally.”

“At least I’ve got family with experience.”

“And obviously we can afford it.”

Cara chuckled. “Yeah at least I fell in love with a rich guy.”

That broke Jamie’s trance into a giggle. No matter the paycheck, big house, fancy car, he still couldn’t think of himself as rich. She loved to rib him about it because she thought it was cute. “Shut up.”

“I’m just saying you’re loaded.”

“We’re loaded.”

“All four of us,” she smiled.

“Four,” he grinned.

“You wanted a big family.”

“I wasn’t expecting to double it in one go.”

“Apparently your sperm are overachievers too.”

Jamie giggled. “They got a late start like me. Gotta catch up.”

“C’mon, let's go home and call our moms.”

“Oh man, mine’s gonna flip.”

“Mine is gonna laugh her head off. I gave Molly so much shit about being outnumbered.”

“Karma’s a bitch, eh?”

“Such a bitch. Someday I’ll learn to keep my mouth shut.”

“Liar.”

Cara smacked him on the arm but laughed. “Rude!”

“Honest.”

“Probably right, too,” she shrugged.

Wrapping her up in a big hug, Jamie kissed the top of her head. “Twins.”

“Yup.”

“Crazy.”

“Yup.”

“Ok baby mama, I’m ready.”

She smiled up at him. “Me too.”

…

“So does the team count as family?”

“Of course they do, J. If you want them to.”

“I do, yeah,” he smiled.

“It’s probably something you should tell management and PR anyway. In case of emergency.”

“True.”

“We should just have my family over for dinner and tell them all at once. Oh my gosh and I can get the twins — Molly’s twins I mean — in on it! They’d love that.”

“Yeah they would. They love conspiring.”

“You gonna tell your mom first? Or Jord?”

“If I tell Jordie first, our babies will be growing up without a father.”

“Mom it is!” she laughed.

“I’m gonna call her now before I explode or slip to Jord when I talk to him later. You want me to do it on speaker?”

“No, Love, you have your moment with your mama. Besides, if I see you start crying I’m gonna start bawling. Not that it takes much these days.”

“I am not going to cry on the phone with my mom.”

“Sure. You keep telling yourself that.”

“Shut up.” He couldn’t stop the blush and the grin on his face, though. “I’m going in the other room where you can’t make fun of me.”

“I’m gonna call my people. Dinner Sunday?” she called after him.

“Yeah, sure,” he yelled over his shoulder.

As his footsteps faded down the hallway, she called her mom, who picked up on the third ring.

“Hi, Mom. Are you and Dad busy Sunday? Do you think you could come up?”

“Sure, Sweetheart, I don’t think we have any plans. Everything ok?”

“Yeah, yeah, just hadn’t seen y’all in a while and Jamie’s got an off day, so we wanted to have a little family dinner. Gonna invite the sibs too. Watch the Cowboys, play some dominoes.”

“Oh that’ll be fun! Your dad can tell the boys they’ll have to yell at the tv without him this week.”

Cara laughed. “Sounds good. Y’all should spend the night so you don’t have to drive back after dinner. I’ll air out your room.”

“Yeah, that’ll be perfect. We can head back in the morning and be home in time for lunch.

“Great! See you Sunday then. Love you!”

“Love you too, Sweetie. See you then.”

After quick calls to her brother and sister, who also confirmed, she wandered into the bedroom, where she found Jamie still on the phone with his mother.

“I love you too, Mama. I’ll talk to you soon. Yeah, put him on.” He wiped at his eyes and stuck his tongue out at her when she giggled. “Hey Pops. … Yeah, twins, can you believe it? ... No, we won’t know that until probably the end of November. ... Nah, figured I’d better tell Mom before anyone else or she’d kill me. ... Yep. I’ll call Jordie next, then Jenny. ... Oh she’s gonna flip. ... Yeah thanks, Pops. Talk to you soon.”

Hanging up, he took a deep breath and smiled at Cara, motioning for her to come over to the chair where he was sitting. As she stood between his legs, he buried his face in her belly, kissing her as-yet-nonexistent baby bump before resting his forehead against it and closing his eyes. “Hi, babies. Your Nanny and Poppa said they can't wait to meet you. But it’s going to be a while before you’re ready, so just get comfortable in there.” Cara combed her fingers through his hair, tears trickling down her cheeks and falling to her shirt. After kissing her belly again, he looked up at her with a dreamy smile on his face, chuckling and shaking his head when he saw her tears.

“Everything ok?”

“Yep,” she laughed, “just hormonal and happy. And head over heels in love with the sweetest guy and his little twins.”

“Lucky guy.”

“Oh I assure you I am the lucky one.”

Pulling her down to sit on his lap, he kissed her, soft and slow but with meaning. “Let me call my brother and sister and then I’ll help you with dinner, ok?”

“Is that your way of saying you’re hungry?”

He smiled and nodded guiltily.

“Ok I’ll go get started. You can do the salad.”

“Yes, Chef.”

Cara kissed him softly. “Give Jen and Jord my love.” Then she stood and headed off to the kitchen, leaving him to blow his siblings’ minds.

45 minutes later, she was sitting on a barstool flipping through Instagram when Jamie came in, looking at his phone and saying “ok hold on just a sec.” He came up behind her and hooked his chin over her shoulder, kissing her cheek and putting his phone in front of them.

“Someone wanted to say hi to Aunt Cara.”

Jenny and her 16-month-old daughter smiled and waved at her on the screen.

“Hi girls!!” Cara squealed. “How is everybody up there?”

“We’re great,” Jenny replied. “Congratulations! I’m so excited for you guys! Has it hit you yet?”

Cara laughed. “That I’m pregnant? Yes. That it’s twins? No, not really. I’m sure all the laughing at my sister I did when she was pregnant is going to bite me in the tushie, though. How’s my favorite toddler?” she cooed.

“A handful,” Jenny laughed as Sophia tried to grab the phone. “But a joy.”

Cara, seeing Jamie’s beaming face in the corner of the screen, silently hoped at least one of their twins was a girl. His niece had him wrapped around her chubby little finger. She could only imagine the cuteness that she was in for with his own babies.

“Ok I won’t keep you. Jamie said he and Jordie got carried away and he was probably holding up dinner. Wave bye-bye, Soph!” she told the little girl in her lap, who did just that and then promptly squirmed out of her arms and ran off. “Well, I guess she’s done,” Jenny laughed. “I’m so happy for you two. Love you. Keep me updated, ok?”

“Will do. Love you,” Jamie chimed in as Cara waved and blew her a kiss.

“Sorry that took so long,” he apologized as he spun her chair around and kissed her.

“It’s ok, Love. I know Jordie’s your sounding board. I’m sure you needed it.”

“Yeah. It’s not that I can’t talk to you about it, I swear,” he said, “Jordie’s just … “

“Jamie. I get it. You think I won’t run to my sister with every fear and insecurity and hope I have about this pregnancy?”

He sighed. “Yeah, ok. That’s pretty much what I did. Feelings vomit.”

“Yep. That’s healthy. Gotta get it out.”

“He did say to give you a big hug for him.”

“Oh yay! I love hugs!” she laughed, holding her arms out.

Jamie chuckled and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her off the barstool into a bear hug.

Cara melted into the hug for a moment, then pulled away. “Ok, dinner? Maybe a movie?”

“Perfect. Salad chef on duty.”

“Chicken will be done in 10 minutes.”

“Excellent.”

They finished making dinner in comfortable silence, ate at the bar, then after cleaning up the dinner dishes, curled up on the couch, Cara’s head on Jamie’s lap and his hand absently rubbing her back. About 20 minutes into the movie, he looked down to find her fast asleep. He thought about turning off the tv and trying to move her to the bed, but she looked so peaceful that he didn’t want to disturb her. Opting to let her rest, he finished the movie before he carefully slid out from under her and then lifted her off the couch. She opened her eyes for a moment before closing them and burrowing her face into his neck contentedly as he carried her off to their bedroom.

…

While Jamie held court with the rest of the family, Cara found her nephews, who were playing bubble hockey, and motioned for them to follow her. “Hey you two, I need your help with something.” She led them into her room, where she whispered, “You wanna make your mom and granny squeal?”

“Like the time with the snake?” Keegan asked, his eyes lighting up.

“Better,” she grinned.

Harlan squinted at her. “Better?”

“Louder, probably. But it’s a secret, so you can’t yell when I tell you or you’ll ruin the surprise.”

“Gotcha,” they said in unison.

“That is so weird,” she chuckled.

The boys shrugged. “It’s a twin thing,” Harlan said.

“About that twin thing,” Cara smiled. “Did you know that twins run in families?” The boys nodded. “Well the reason Uncle Jamie and I asked everyone to dinner tonight is to tell y’all our big news. I’m pregnant, and we found out the other day we’re having twins.”

“Whoa, cool!” Keegan yelled.

Harlan clapped his hand over his brother’s mouth. “Shhhhhh!”

“Oh right, sorry. Boys or girls?”

“We don’t know that yet. But I want you two to help me surprise the rest of the family.”

“Sure, what do you want us to do?” Harlan asked.

“Just wear these at dinner.” She produced two black t-shirts with white writing. One said “Our aunt and uncle think twins are cool …” and the other “... so they’re having their own set.”

“That’s it?” Keegan asked. “That’s gonna make them squeal?”

“Oh most definitely,” she nodded.

“If you say so,” he shrugged.

“So you’ll do it?”

“Yeah, sure,” Harlan agreed. “Easy. There better be squealing though or you owe us.”

“Deal.”

The boys changed into their shirts and went back to playing bubble hockey. Cara rejoined the rest of the group. No one had even noticed her absence, assuming she was bustling around getting dinner ready. She sidled up to Jamie and ducked under his arm, nibbling on an appetizer and sipping a glass of ginger ale to settle her slightly queasy stomach. She had fortunately escaped morning sickness for the most part, but when her stomach was empty, it tended to get a little upset.

When the oven timer beeped, she excused herself to finish up, her mom following and offering to help. She tried to shoo her away, but it was futile and she knew it. So the two of them gathered everything and carried it into the dining room, then called the rest of the family in. Cara volunteered to fetch the twins from the other room, and no one questioned it.

No one noticed the shirts at first, too busy passing food around the table, but when everyone had filled their plate and conversation started back up again, Molly, sitting across from where they were sandwiched in between Jamie and Cara, squinted at the boys and tilted her head.

“Did you two change clothes?”

The twins looked at each other and grinned. “Maybe.”

“Can I ask why?” their mother prodded.

“What do those shirts say?” Jamie nudged.

“I can’t see,” Molly said. “Boys, stand up please.”

Olivia had the sense to read them aloud. When she got to the end, there was a pause while everyone tried to figure out what was going on. Cara’s brother, Sean, was the first to puzzle it out. His eyes widened. “Cara, are you really?”

Beaming, she nodded. Molly chimed in, “Is she what? Oh!” she gasped.

“What the heck are y’all talking about?” Cara’s dad asked, totally confused.

“Daddy, Cara’s pregnant!” Molly squealed. Then their mother squealed. The twins high-fived each other and yelled “with twins!” Liv shrieked “Oh my god!” and jumped out of her chair, almost knocking it over in her rush to run around the table and hug her aunt. Sean came around and shook Jamie’s hand before moving on to hug his sister.

When they had all managed to hug and congratulate the expectant parents, they sat back down, chattering excitedly while they ate, asking tons of questions and telling pregnancy stories and twin stories and parenting stories. Most of them laughed till they couldn’t breathe. Cara had to excuse herself twice to avoid wetting her pants. Jamie narrowly escaped choking on his wine during Brian’s story of the boys’ eventful birth.

After dinner and dessert, the siblings and their children headed home to get ready for another week of work and school, while Patrick, Colleen, Jamie and Cara cleaned up the table and kitchen, then sat down in the den to wind down a bit before bed. It was nearing ten o’clock when Cara’s yawning started to get out of hand, and she finally agreed to call it a night, tearfully hugging her parents and then shuffling off to bed.

A little while later, nestled into big spoon Jamie, she couldn’t wipe the smile off her face, even though she could barely keep her eyes open. He kissed her cheek, his own grin uncontrollable as well.

“I dunno whether I’m more terrified or more calm than I was this morning. Maybe both,” he laughed.

“Definitely both for me. But also really excited.”

“Yeah me too. I’m glad they all came over. I feel like even if things don’t go smoothly, we’ll still be ok.”

“Yep. It’ll be an adventure.”

“I love this adventure,” he murmured in her ear, kissing next to it.

Hugging his arm around her and snuggling back into him, she sighed happily. “It’s the best.”

“Sweet dreams, Baby. And babies.”

Cara giggled. “Sweet dreams, Love.”

…

Jamie went in early for practice. Before his workout, he spoke to the Jims and Tom, who all congratulated him and told him to let them know if there was anything at all that he and Cara needed. Later, when the team was all in the locker room getting ready to skate, he stood at the front of the room, and Monty whistled to get their attention.

“Hey boys, Cap has something to tell you.”

“Thanks, Monty. So I have a little announcement. Good stuff, I promise, no freaking out,” he laughed.

“You finally can grow beard now?” Rads chirped, winking.

“Funny,” Jamie laughed. “Next time I shave, I’ll be sure I do it over your jock.” When the laughter died down, he continued. “So come playoff time, you guys are gonna have to pick up some slack for me, ’cause I might have to be gone for a game or two. Cara and I are expecting.”

One of the European rookies, still learning the language, didn’t understand the term. “Expecting?”

“A baby. She’s pregnant,” Bish offered, making baby belly motions with his hands. “That’s great, Jamie, congratulations.”

“Um, babies, actually,” Jamie corrected, grinning. “Twins.”

A chorus of “oh shit”s erupted around the room, followed by the guys coming up and slapping him on the back, shaking his hand, hugging him, and dumping Gatorade over his head.

When the playful shoving match died down, he peeled off his wet shirt and threw it at Klinger. “Thanks a lot, assholes, now I need to shower again,” he laughed. “Seriously though, thanks. But keep it quiet for a while, eh? We’re only telling family right now. Let us announce it officially before you start chirping me in public.”

“Aww, you hear that, fellas? We’re family.” Segs giggled, almost beaning Jamie with a tape ball. “You got it, Captain.”

“You’re obviously family, Seggy,” he grinned. “I’d pick better friends.”

“He’ll be here all week, gentlemen,” Monty shouted. “Two drink minimum, tip your servers. Now let’s get to work.”

#jamie benn #two of a kind fic #two of a kind workin on a full house #nhl fanfiction #hockey fanfiction #hockey rpf #fanfiction #pregnancy fluff

[multipersonalty]

Third

Okay so I found out this thing called mindful eating. Mindful eating is a form of meditation and this is something I should definitely practice since I am struggling with binge eating and purging. 

Today was a really tough day for me. Not sure if it was because one of my alters took over. I felt like I was really really trying. But for some reason..it was hard for me to be happy. I felt like the whole world was against me for some reason. This is when I kinda know that one of my alters took over my body because I am not usually like like. I felt like I had to go an extra mile to be kind to others. I felt like I was always on edge about to burst and explode. My roommate is currently obnoxiously laughing out loud in the other room and it is really distracting. Butt writing this right now is kinda helping me to zone her out so that’s good. okay back to mindful eating. I was reading about this during work, which really helped me throughout the day. It was something I was looking forward to because mindful eating is a very very important part of my self love and self care journey (since I struggle to the extreme with my eating disorder) I really feel like I have zero control.

Confession time. I binged and purged last night. It started off with a bowl of salad...and then another...and then lots of hot chocolate and a whole bag of rice cakes and more hot chocolate and then I felt guilty so I was like...lets just eat alot and throw everything up later. At that moment, she took over. The binge and purge person took over my body. It doesn’t take much for her to take over. Not too sure who she is but she is very impulsive and manipulative. Maybe she is the reason why I had such a bad day at work today. Maybe she is the one who takes over my body and makes me feel like the devil. It was really hard for me to concentrate and be my cheer, bubbly self today. Was it because I binged last night? Not too sure. 

My manager texted me at 6:30am this morning, telling me to go to work early and that gave me a heart attack lol I feel like whenever I get into these anxiety provoking situations, she takes over my body. And its like a very difficult battle to try to suppress her. She is driven by fear and because of that, she has to put on this defensive persona. Probably just a defense mechanism but it turns me into a satanic bitch lol Anyways back to this morning. So i was like around 15 minutes late lol got my coffee, wait, correction, got my almond milk tea and then I went...my roomate just came out lol she was like heyyyy and i gave her a cold hey LOL oh nooo is she taking over my body right now? ughhhh...the triggers. maybe I just really really need my alone time. It’s hard having my alone time now that I am living with my boss’s daughter but this is my, what I like to call “Spiritual Buddhism journey.” Some people go to areas with monks, give up everything, shave their heads and meditate for hours...well this is my version of that lol. This will teach me how to calm myself, this will teach me and force me to have self growth. This will teach me patience and how to just be a better human being for myself and for others. Ugh it really bothers me how my roomate is pooping literally right next to me while I am having my dinner. What does it take to just have some alone time haha. 

So anyways, back to my manager story. He told me to sit down in his desk and basically said I have to be earlier and on time for work for now on. Kinda funny cause I was early (or on time) during some days but all my co workers were late and I had to wait for them to let me in. But ever since I moved, I have been pretty late and one of my other (meaner) manager complained why only my nice manager was in the office while everyone else was not. I guess this is a group effort. But this year is about my personal improvement and self growth so from now on I will be early or on time at the very least. Low key excited to make my nice manager proud. I low key got his back and in a way, in a very weird unexplainable hidden way, I can see that he has my back too cause he feels sorry for me lol I feel like he feels bad that I am living with the boss’s daughter but he doesn’t understand that this is my journey for self improvement.

It has been hard not gonna lie. Really hard. I think I added a bit too much hot sauce in my salad but whateves lol i love spicy now. Anyways, I feel like “she” can take over my body so easily and at any given time with the right triggers. And let me tell yah, I have a lot of triggers LOL God I wish my roommate can just get out of the bathroom already. I just want to be alone with my salad. ugh. anyways i want to make myself a schedule. A set schedule to follow that will improve my overall well being, mental, physical, spiritual, financial, interpersonal relationships. All these aspects are connected with one and another. If i am doing bad in one of these aspects, it will be a domino effect. Knowing me, the domino effect will come easy for someone like me. Probs cause I have OCD and I always imagine the worst case scenario. When one bad thing happens, I already assume it is the end of the world. Which explains that if I eat one chocolate, I might as well eat the entire snack cabinet cause I think I will get fat and I might as well binge and purge. Okay, I kinda see my cycle from yesterday. Gonna try my best to have more self control today.

Wow, my roommate just flushed lol Low key kinda losing my appetite. Hope she felt my energy lol My please leave me alone energy. I send off really strong ass vibes to people. I really wanna pee and use the bathroom but I might give it some time for the air to clear out. I just downed so many cups of water and I really gotta pee. This is so I don’t overeat. But now I gotta pee and wait until the stinky air in the bathroom clears out. 

I am sweating right now haha. Most likely because of the hot sauce. I added way too much. Should I make some brown sugar oatmeal afterwards for dessert? I kinda wanna but also don’t cause I don’t want to go down the overeating spiral. Hmm I was planning on doing some cardio afterwards but if I do make the oatmeal...maybe I can give it an extra hour before I do the 45 minutes cardio. Food is life and so is exercise. And on the days I don’t exercise, you can assume I binged and purged. 

Oh god I am counting my calories right now. I ate 3 bananas, 3 oranges and not even gonna count my coffees and milk teas. But the numbers adding up is scaring me and I wanna binge and purge tonight. I feel like it’s a never ending cycle. I always say this will be the last day but then i repeat. Ok imma pee, maybe peeing will help? o

Okay I am back and yes it helped a bit. Gonna watch a youtube video and maybe i might make an oatmeal and have some rice cakes. 

#eating disoder things #eating disoder thoughts #bpd #bpd thoughts #i am tired

[stunudo]

New Around Here

A Criminal Minds Fan-fiction

Featuring: Hotch x Female Reader         Setting: Late Season 12

A/N: Happy Smuturday! This is following my dreams of what Hotch and Jack are up to now. Also unprotected sex, wrap it up folks! Also the ending sucks formatting wise. Hooray for mobile and not getting still.xoxo Stu

The bearded man had been coming into the diner nearly every weekday for lunch for the last two weeks. The only reason you noticed him at all was he tended to nod at you in your usual booth in the corner, that and he was rather attractive. You guessed he knew you were the boss by the way you knew the regular’s by name and kept busy on your laptop scheduling the deliveries and checking the accounts.

Today was about that time to make a formal introduction, since he had become your latest regular after all. You waited until he was served his Tuna Melt before beginning your usual circle through the dining area. Elsie was the Tues-Thurs-Sat server and you were glad you had her diligence on your staff. She smiled warmly as you started in the far corner, “Y/N? Will you drop off Table 5′s check for me?”

“Sure thing, Elsie. Good job today, that late breakfast crowd was brutal.”

She shrugged, “Eh, no biggie, they were generous too.”

The Gerritsens were in the back booth, like every Thursday. An old couple that had matching windbreakers on despite the bright afternoon outside. They had been married for 58 years and made sure everyone knew it. Then there was Old Tom, perched at the counter grumbling at the day time talk show hosts, his extra bacon BLT half finished as he slurped his fourth coffee refill.

These faces were like home, imperfect yet welcoming. You felt so lucky to have them come back week after week.

Aaron was getting used to the pace of his day, which naturally meant much less structure than when he led the BAU. He had started teaching at the local community college along the California- Nevada border. His alias was that of a newly divorced dad from Minnesota, the Marshals had arranged him to become James Spivey. Jack had been given the name Jordan, a slightly easier transition than his father. He was adjusting to the new school and making friends quickly.

Considering Peter Lewis was still on the run, the Hotchners were given a larger security detail than most Witness Protection participants. Aaron felt his shadow at all times, but so far the civilians hadn’t caught on. Jack’s Marshals were posing as security guards at school and they regrouped in shifts at the small family’s residence. Lecturing gave him some thing to do and let him use his experience without exposing his past. The diner just off the small campus gave Aaron a respite from socializing with the other faculty.

He ate his deliciously fried sandwich before starting his side salad, because no one was here to scold him. The lovely owner was making her way to touch base with her regulars, which was earlier than her usual routine. Aaron had noticed her over the course of his time in town and how she seemed to brighten the mood of everyone she interacted with. He had learned she had inherited the diner from an uncle and left a career in Nursing somewhere in the South. Profiling was not an easily forgotten ability; he had figured she was single and a workaholic.

“Need anything else today Professor?” The red headed waitress asked, refilling his water glass.

Aaron wiped his mouth with a napkin and shook his head. “Not today, thanks Elsie.” She was studying Elementary Education at the school, he had seen her on campus on her off days.

“Take your time,” She smiled gently and left the bill upside down in front of his unused coffee mug.

“How was everything today?” You asked, trying to sound casual. He had already left cash on the table to cover his lunch. He wasn’t playing on his phone like so many people who ate alone did these days. He had brought a newspaper along, but hadn’t touched it since getting his meal. His dark eyes were relaxed, yet you were on guard, feeling them float over your body.

“Wonderful as always.” He smiled, the lines along his eyes crinkling.

“So, being new around here, how’d you find our little hole in the wall?” You asked, picking up his cleared plate, a force of habit.

He smirked now, “I, uh, teach over at the school. This is my first semester there, you have a perfect location.”

“Yeah, tell that to my night crew, the drunks showing up demanding coffee and pie at two a.m. are real, charmers.” You rolled your eyes. “I’m Y/N, the owner, by the way. You are?”

He didn’t miss a beat, “James, but please call me Jim.”

“Nice to meet you, finally, Jim.”

“You too, Y/N.” He stood, gathering his things. “I have a class at 2, see you tomorrow?”

“You got it.” You brushed his firm arm with your finger tips and left him with a gentle wave.

Aaron spent the next two weeks casually flirting with Y/N each day during his break between lectures. She was fascinating, but not too pressing on the personal details. He wanted to ask her out on a real date, somewhere she didn’t know the menu or the farm where the eggs were laid, even. But how to do that without exposing his always present body guards?

“So, I’m just going to do it then?” She approached him first, before he even settled into the booth. This time was different, she sat across from the former FBI agent with her hands in a teepee. “If you can get a sitter, how about we hang out tomorrow night?”

“Well, Ja-Jordan is old enough to take care of himself for a few hours.” Aaron admitted.

“Is that a yes, Jimmy?” She rose her eyebrows.

He smirked, “That’s a yes, Y/N. Can I pick you up?”

“7 o’clock sharp?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

If the first date went well, then the following three were phenomenal. You hadn’t laughed that hard in a long time. But you felt guilty taking Jim away from his son so often, especially since the boy’s mother was out of the picture.

“So, another good bye kiss on my doorstep?” You asked begrudgingly. “You know I have a very nice place, you could even sit down and have a drink with me. In my living room.”

“You don’t say?” Jimmy laughed like a bark. His dark whiskers scratching along your jaw. His voice deep and sensual. “How do I know this isn’t a trap, Y/N?”

“Because you can leave any time you want to Professor Spivey.”

“Who said anything about leaving?” He nibbled your ear, his strong hands pulling you closer to his tall body.

“Don’t you have to be home before bedtime?” Your voice hitched as his hand slid down your ass, his long fingers hovering just below the curve.

“Nope, Jordan’s at a sleepover, my evening is all clear.”

“Wrong. Your dance card is filled, sir.”

“Lead the way.”

Aaron hadn’t had time to think about romance in over a year. The prison break and the subsequent trail of dominoes led them right back to Peter Lewis. But now, he was safe. Jack was at a friend’s house that was covered by four different US Marshals and his two personal body guards had secured the perimeter of Y/N’s house before they had arrived. He was as relaxed as he had been since going into witness protection.

“This is the foyer,” Y/N murmured, walking backwards into the unlit house. Her hands were sliding off his coat as she kicked off her shoes.

“It’s a nice foyer,” He chuckled, not looking around at all. She grinned, reaching in for a deep kiss. Her wine from dinner lingered on her lips, her tongue tantalizing. He maneuvered out of his own shoes without falling over.

“I’m not giving you the full tour, you can see it in the morning.” She was pulling him by his collar now, miraculously walking backwards and kissing him without any missteps. Too quickly her lips disappeared and Hotch had to open his eyes to see where she went. She had backed into the carpeted steps, landing soundly on her backside.

Her pouting expression was priceless as he tried to stifle his amusement. He slid beside her on the soft gray stairs. The only light coming from above the sink the kitchen around the corner, casting Y/N in stark relief. Her natural smile returned when she watched Aaron try to lay comfortably on the stairs.

“There are worse places to make out.” They both laughed, knowing their teen-aged selves had found plenty, however far apart they grew up it was a given. He gave up sitting beside her and perched himself between her legs, supporting himself by his forearms along the stair her neck rested upon. She seemed so small beneath him, her larger than life personality delicately packed away inside. He couldn’t wait to unwrap this unexpected treasure.

His gruff face began trailing along her neck, his sure hands un-tucked her blouse, his hands raked up her bare torso. She squirmed beneath him, deftly she hitched her skirt up, to spread her thighs, beckoning him closer. He dropped down a step, pinning her down his waist in line with her unfurled knees. She shrugged out of her top, his rough lips leaving hot trails to her chest. He bit at her nipple through the fabric of her thin bra. She purred into a giggle, her nails dragging his shirt from his belt now.

You were letting it get ridiculous, stripping in the stairway while you had a perfectly good bedroom just yards away. His body has covered in scars, you didn’t see them at first, with your head thrown back. But your wandering hands had traced over enough of them to sneak a glance. His dark eyes looked ashamed, you stroked his chiseled face.

“It’s a long story, Y/N.” He seemed wary. You drew his face to yours, bringing him back to the task at hand.

“Let’s skip that tonight.” You reached down in between your bodies, stroking him over his pants. His voice huskier than usual as he whispered in your ear.

“I hope you don’t mind rug burn.” You thought he meant from his beard and you shook your head that you didn’t mind. Instead this dark and handsome man danced his fingers into your panties, stretching the fabric to the side. He had freed himself from his pants while you were distracted by his mouth. Suddenly your eyes popped opened understanding his comment. And then Jim slowly entered your center, soaked with your want. He delved inside of you as far as he could and kissed you fiercely as your hips rose from the stairs to meet his momentum. Your shoulders were going to kill you in the morning, but right now the heat from the friction added to the building tension throughout your bodies.

He was in great shape, his legs supporting him and half of you as his hands kneaded your hidden breasts. You whimpered as he changed rhythm, your nails raking down his back now. He grunted as he sighed, pulling back from his pinnacle. His muscular hand reached between your folds, rubbing your clit in a motion that was both too fast and not forceful enough. Your whined, driving into, increasing the sensation for you both.

Suddenly a phone was ringing from back in the foyer. Jimmy froze, panting. His forehead pressed into your collar bone. He removed himself from you, his thumb rubbing your cheek tenderly. As he straightened up you rolled on to your side, your body sore from the odd positioning. He quickly found his phone and began redressing. His voice soft, you realized he was talking to his son.

“It’s okay buddy. I will be right there.”

“So much for the sleepovers?”

“I am really sorry, Y/N. Nightmares.” You waved it off.

Thus ended your evening, but not the possibility of more to come. You showed Jim out, it was weird you could have sworn an SUV pulled out of your neighbor’s driveway right after him.

Part 2: Come Around Again

#criminal minds #aaron hotchner #hotch x reader #hotch x you #hotch #smuturday #light smut #aaron hotchner x reader #hotch x female reader #criminal minds fanfiction #criminal minds fanfictions #witness protection #where is hotch #hotch smut

[real-life-pine-tree]

Arc-V Aftermath: Fourteen Years Later (26/26)

When all is said and done, things have quickly recovered in the four dimensions. But when weird things start happening, the Yu-Salad Boys and the Bracelet Girls quickly realize they have some loose ends to fix. Co-written with @violetganache42​​​​​.

WARNING: Dub names will be featured in the story.

"Welcome to the annual Japan Academy Film Prize," a reporter said. "I'm out here live on the red carpet waiting for the nominees of this year's awards to show up."

Suddenly, there was a mass amount of cheering. "And that would be Japan's number one sweetheart Lulu Obsidian," the reporter said. "As all of you may know, Ms. Obsidian originated from the city of New Domino-Heart. Despite having a spinal injury when she was only fourteen years old, she has since made a healthy recovery. Now she stars in various movies, with her latest project being The Rise of Angel Feather as lead protagonist Shamsiel."

A limousine pulled up in front of the red carpet and the driver got out of his seat and walked over towards the back door. As he opened it, a pair of female feet wearing silver high heels stepped out and the figure exited the limo to reveal herself to be 28-year-old Lulu Obsidian, who was now able to walk again. She kept her signature long, dark purple hair, which was tied into a bun behind her neck with wavy, lilac side tails, and she wore a sapphire blue, floor-length dress covering her cleavage with silver jewelry encrusted from her hips and the neckline before meeting at the center of her upper chest along with said high heels.

While it was true that Lulu was born and raised in Heartland City, all four dimensional cities were actually merged back into the Original Dimension's city that was divided up into four different sections that strongly mirrored its reincarnations. Each section was originally called Paradise, Heartland, New Domino, and Domino sections because they all looked the same when Zarc fused the dimensions back into one, including the colorful XYZ city that was brought back to its pre-Invasion state. Another reason was because it took the citizens some time to figure out the new name, but they eventually settled on New Domino-Heart to emphasize the unification and regained trust among its citizens that was achieved in the Team Duel Tournament.

The reporter walked over to Lulu. "Ms. Obsidian, I'm Camilla Minstar of the radio show Chatting with the Stars," she said. "How do you feel about your first Academy Prize nomination?"

"I'm not quite sure," Lulu answered. "But finding out about the nomination was a wonderful surprise. Even if I don't win, it's still an honor to be nominated."

"And I see you look as lovely as ever," Camilla said.

"Thank you," Lulu replied. "As always, I designed this look for tonight. You know I have a reputation of always staying fashionable."

Meanwhile, in the Heartland section's suburbs, an dark-haired man has just returned home from another day at work. As he watched the award show in his living room, the light from a nearby lamp casted it luminosity all over the room, brightening it from the darkness along with his face and figure to unveil that he was none other than Yuto Osaku. His hairstyle was still spiky, but it was a bit shorter and evenly-trimmed with the exception of a few long feathered bangs hanging near his right eye. However, he did preserve his preference of wearing dark clothes since he was donned in a black business suit.

Starting at the age of eighteen, he began attending medical school and got his medical degree after completing Japan's required six years of studying medicine. He then went on to become the founder and head of his own health clinic called Phantom Care Hospital. Although the last time he saw Lulu was when they graduated from Heartland Duel School, he keeps tabs on her by following her on Twitter and watching her movies, including The Rise of Angel Feather.

Yuto let out a loving sigh at the sight of his girlfriend. He respected her wishes of not contacting her due to her request of not wanting the world to know about her personal life, so he instead admired her from afar, including watching the award show.

"You look absolutely beautiful," Yuto said, wishing Lulu was able to hear him say that.

Just then, the sound of a telephone ringing snapped Yuto's focus on the television, so he walked over to answer it. "Hello?"

"Yuto, are you watching the Japan Academy Film Prize?"

Yuto let out a chuckle from the sudden outburst. "It's good to hear from you, Shay," he replied.

During the past fourteen years, Shay has succeeded his parents and became the new CEO of ObsidianCorp, making sure the employees continue doing a terrific job at cleaning the parks. He has also married an heiress from a different family named Dextra Papillion, who was only two years older than him.

"I'm serious," Shay happily said. "Are you watching the award show?"

"Of course I am," Yuto answered. "Lulu looks amazing."

"I'm so proud of her," Shay said. "It feels like it was only yesterday she was just a newborn infant. Now she's a famous actress all over the country."

"I know," Yuto agreed. "She's Japan's number one sweetheart."

"You have my mother and father to thank for that," Shay said. "After all these years, she's still maintaining her perfect image."

Kameron and Astra didn't pass away; they simply retired and moved to a vacation home when their son took over the family company. If one thing's for certain, they really did a great job at raising their kids. They taught them the manners and etiquette of living in a high class society while also being loving parents, resulting in their children to become amazing adults, especially Lulu. Because of her kind heart and elegance, she had become Japan's number one sweetheart, and that is no opinion. It was a well-known fact all over the country.

"I saw The Rise of Angel Feather in theaters," Yuto said, walking over to his DVD collection. He pulled out his copy of the movie he had mentioned. "Lulu did an amazing job portraying the lead."

"I know," Shay agreed. "I'm not a big Vanguard fan, but it felt like she captured the character's personality perfectly."

Prior to the newest movie's production, Lulu had heard about auditions for playing the various characters in the film, so she went to a game store that sells Vanguard and bought herself an Angel Feather starter deck to help get herself into character. Naturally, she landed the role of the main lead and learned the rules of the card game throughout the production, making her the first ever Duelist who plays Vanguard. Yuto and Shay remembered seeing her tweet about the purchase she made for her audition.

"I hope all that hard work pays off," Yuto said, recalling how the movie's nomination came as a huge shock.

At the award show, Lulu had just entered backstage and looked around to see where the other nominated actors and actresses were meeting. Once she found them from across where she entered, she was about to head over there until her former nursemaid Lillybot showed up.

"Lillybot?" Lulu asked. "What are you doing here?"

"FORGIVE ME, MISTRESS LULU," Lillybot said. "AS YOUR PERSONAL ASSISTANT, I ONLY WANTED TO MAKE SURE YOU WERE READY FOR ANY POSSIBLE ACCEPTANCE SPEECHES." She brought out a cup of tea. "PLEASE DRINK THIS TO PREVENT YOUR THROAT FROM GETTING DRY."

Lulu took the cup of tea from Lillybot and thanked her before drinking it. "Thank you, Lillybot," the dark purple-haired woman said.

"ALWAYS AN HONOR TO SERVE YOU," Lillybot replied.

Lulu drank her tea to help prevent her throat from getting dry if she wins an award and does an acceptance speech. After taking her last sip, she handed the cup back to Lillybot.

"YOU MUST HEAD BACK TO YOUR SEAT," Lillybot advised. "IN A FEW HOURS, THEY WILL ANNOUNCE THE AWARD YOU WERE NOMINATED FOR."

"Of course," Lulu said. "They're already doing the vacuum cleaner joke from the Oscars a few years ago."

She headed across backstage to meet up with the other actors and actresses as they all headed to their seats before this year's Japan Academy Film Prize can start. A few hours have passed and a selected bunch have been presented with their awards for various categories such as Animation of the Year, Newcomer of the Year, Popularity Award, Picture of the Year, Outstanding Achievements in Music, Cinematography, Lightning Direction, Art Direction, Sound Recording, and Film Editing, etc. After finishing the Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role, it was time for the category Lulu was nominated in: Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role.

"The nominees for Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role are: Ana Mioji, Songstress Dipped in Nightshade; Lulu Obsidian, The Rise of Angel Feather; Eni Eechi, Fallen Starlight; and Boku Oganu, The Lucky Gold-Heeled Shoe."

Lulu got a bit concerned. She saw the other movies so she could see her competition, but they were all amazing. Could any of these more professional actresses do a better job than her?

"And the Japan Academy Prize goes to..."

...

...

...

"...Lulu Obsidian, The Rise of Angel Feather."

Lulu's face filled with surprised glee and a tiny bit of tearful rejoice as she heard the audience cheer and applaud for her. She got up from her seat and walked to the stage to accept her award, but this award was more…unique than the others, to say the least. The people in charge of the award show also gave her an envelope with no name from on it; wondering who it was from, she opened it up and read the letter that was in it, bringing even more joy to her, but it was more subtle. She didn't want to spoil what she read right now because she has an acceptance speech to give out. An altered speech with the read message being saved for last.

"When I was younger, my parents had engaged me to a boy named Reginald Kastle," Lulu said. "It was a typical arranged marriage with standard business reasons. But when I got older, I soon learned his love wasn't real. He only wanted to be with me because of my wealthy background, something I quickly realized after transferring to a new school."

The dark-haired woman took a deep breath before she continued. "But then I met him," she said. "An utter gentleman with a kind heart and a noble personality. He fell in love for me because of who I am as a person and not because of my background. A few weeks passed and we ended up dating. My parents noticed how happy I was, so they canceled the arranged marriage.

"Now this may come as a surprise, but I'm still dating that same gentleman. And after all these years, I finally found out how much he really cares about me." She then took out a diamond ring from the envelope. "So yes, Yuto Osaku, I will marry you."

Yuto stood in front of the television as his face flooded with so many happy emotions after hearing Lulu accepting his marriage proposal. He was recently back on the phone with Shay and heard his friend's reaction since they were both on speaker.

"You planned this from the beginning, didn't you?" Shay asked.

"It wasn't much," Yuto replied. "All I did was give Lillybot an envelope containing a letter and a diamond ring I bought with my own money and told her give it to Lulu when the time is right."

That would explain why the former nursemaid was backstage; it was to help fulfill Yuto's easy plan to propose to her without exposing her personal life due to her family quota of maintaining a perfect image no matter what. Shay admitted that it was rather strategic of him to pull this off while respecting her wishes at the same time.

"So do you think the news will talk about the engagement?" Yuto asked.

"Of course they will," Shay answered. "Lulu has maintained her perfect image for years. The press can't say anything bad about her."

"In a shocking turn of events, Japan's number one sweetheart Lulu Obsidian revealed she has been dating a mysterious man named Yuto Osaku for the past fourteen years after winning the Japan Academy Film Prize for Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role. The next day, Ms. Obsidian posted on her Twitter account that she plans to reveal her boyfriend's identity within a few days on the day of an upcoming wedding."

The word about this proposal became the hottest trending topic all over New Domino-Heart by the next morning. People have been talking about it since after the award show through social media, public discussions, and the news. In the Paradise section, a married couple was at home watching the morning news when they learned about what's recently been buzzing around, shocking a noticeable tomato-haired man.

"Way to go, Yuto," Yuya remarked. "You finally popped the question."

Zuzu let out a small laugh. "Need I remind you how you proposed to me?" she asked.

Within the past fourteen years, the two's lessons they were taught at You Show Duel School have paid off and they became Performapal and Melodious Dueltainers. They retained their trademark hairstyles except Zuzu now had longer hair as seen by the pigtails going past her shoulders. She has also controlled her Number-related powers thanks to the bracelet Byron made for her; it was white with gold details and it was connected to her En Flowers marking. At the same time, she and Yuya have gotten married, meaning she was now a Sakaki, and she never forgot the year before their marriage when her husband proposed to her that stood out when compared to most proposals.

"Oh, come on!" Yuya said. "It wasn't that bad!"

"You had your Performapals parade around the whole city!" Zuzu recalled.

Well, the Performapal Proposal Parade did stir up a lot of attention from the citizens as they all got out to see what the commotion was all about. They were pretty perplexed by what they saw at first, including Zuzu, who knew it was Yuya's doing but wasn't sure why he marched throughout the city with his monsters until she was asked to marry him.

"But you were smiling," Yuya pointed out.

At that point, Zuzu smiled wide. "Yeah, you're right." She gave her husband a loving kiss, intertwining her fingers through his hair. "Just be glad I still love you."

Yuya chuckled after Zuzu finished her sentence. While it was true that his proposal attracted people in a far different manner than his cousin's, it still won his wife over into the marriage that they are in today.

"In other news, Team Turbo has taken their 11th consecutive win in the Dueling Championship in Miami, Florida. Team leader Yugo Clearwind was able to secure their unbeatable winning streak despite the strongest person on the team, his wife Rin Clearwind, being unable to participate due to being pregnant with his child."

For the past several months, the Yu-Salad and Energy Girls have known about Rin's pregnancy during her and Yugo's time in America. As a matter of fact, the news of them having a baby was one of their most recent calls to their counterparts, with the last ones being about their marriage ten years ago. Yuya and Zuzu watched the latest news update of the Clearwinds' most recent victory and their unborn child.

Rin was glad that she decided on outgrowing her wavy hair during the sleepover at Lulu's house because it was around the same length as Zuzu's pigtails; she was also the same fashionista as she was when she was younger as seen by the teal, long-sleeved, knee-length dress she wore with the sleeves folded up at the wrists and had on a pair of green flats. As for Yugo, half of his blonde bangs covered his forehead while the longer half was swept to his right and his whispy, dark blue hair was spikier on the back of his head. He was also wearing a slightly altered version of his old Turbo Duel suit.

"This doesn't mean I'm giving up my dueling career," Rin said in an interview. She patted her round belly. "Once the bun is out of the oven, I'm goin' back on my Duel Runner!"

Yugo looked alarmed. "What?" he asked. "Come on, RinRin. Don't you need your body to recover? I can tell Ren's a feisty one from all that kicking."

"Ren?" Rin asked.

"I thought it might work as a name for our son," Yugo explained. "I wanted to name him after the most adorable being on the planet."

Rin smiled at Yugo's reasoning behind their first child's name and it was truly thoughtful and sweet of him to name their son after her. She gave him a loving kiss. "I love you, you moron," she said.

Yugo grinned after being given a kiss from Rin, but a sure sign of their strong relationship was, without a doubt, him being called a moron. Despite everyone's initial confusion, they have gotten used to the fact it was basically a nickname for him that he has adapted to over the years, and she happily knows it.

Meanwhile, in the Domino section, Duel Academy has been under new management since after the Team Duel Tournament after-party and the school's new leaders just happened to be Yuri and Celina, who joined his side after graduating from Paradise Prep School ten years ago. The two still kept the haircuts they got not long after the blood separation, but their attires were now different due to professional reasons. Celina was the headmistress of the school and dressed in a dark red women's business suit with matching flats. Yuri was one of the teachers that teaches the popular Wicked Dueltainment and modeled in a purple variant of the Academy's teachers uniform with white linings and buttoned up on his right side with gold buttons.

"Now I shall show you the true power of Predaplants!" Yuri exclaimed. "I activate Super Polymerization! Predaplant Squid Drosera, capture that Dragon Zombie and create a botanical nightmare!"

All the students learning about Wicked Dueltainment have been using horror-themed and nightmarish ghoul decks to help incorporate the sinister and villainous atmosphere. Squid Drosera entangled Dragon Zombie in its venus flytrap tentacles and the two monsters were then fused together due to Super Polymerization's effect.

"The fun has only just begun," Yuri said, clasping his hands together. "Arise from the shadows of darkness, Starving Venom Fusion Dragon!"

Starving Venom's head stretched forward as he opened his mouth that was traced with saliva in between his jaws and his red orbs lit up before appearing on Yuri's side of the field.

"Now, my pet, it's feeding time!" Yuri continued. "Wipe out that student's remaining life poi-"

"What's going on here?!"

Yuri and the students turned to face Celina as she entered the room. Were they in trouble or does she have something important to say and needs everyone's attention?

"Headmistress Akaba!" a student exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"

"I heard some commotion from this exact classroom," Celina answered. "So I wanted to make sure my husband wasn't getting carried away with his lessons again."

Yep, it was true. The Fusion couple have also gotten married, and much like Yugo and Rin, they don't have any memory of their families or what their real last names are. In this case, throughout Yuri's rise to the Obelisk Force status, he was raised like a son by Leo, meaning he was considered as a father by the former. Since marriages usually involve the wife changing their surnames, Celina became part of the Akaba family as well; she cherishes it as a way to remind her of finally proving her strength to the former headmaster. Although they have adapted to their positions, Yuri does have a bit of a tendency to go overboard with his Wicked Dueltainment lessons, much like he was doing right now.

Yuri let out a laugh. "But it's all part of the lesson, my dear," he told Celina. "How are the students supposed to learn if I hold back?"

"You could at least let some of the students win," Celina pointed out. "You don't have to win every practice duel."

Talk about letting old habits die hard. Yuri has been a powerful Duelist all his life and he never holds back. "How dare you say such a thing!" he replied. "I am the most powerful Fusion Duelist in the world! I would never-"

Celina had walked up to Yuri and she kissed his neck. "If you hold back, there might be more than that tonight," she said.

Yuri's face was then coated in a tint of pink after hearing what Celina stated. He looked at her smirking expression because she knows how to pacify him; after all, they know neck kisses are a sign of affection to each other…at least, until the night hours.

"My goodness, Headmistress," Yuri said. "You sure know how to push the right buttons."

Celina let out a snicker in agreement with Yuri and out of proud satisfaction of what she was doing. "Just keep up the good work, hottie," she replied.

She then left the classroom to continue running the school and making sure the classes are going smoothly, but not forgetting to startle him by slapping his butt on her way out. He blushed even more as he continued his lesson.

"Alright class," Yuri said. "Now to resume today's lesson."

Later that day, Lulu's airplane that left Tokyo has just landed at the New Domino-Heart airport. She got up and straightened out her clothes before getting her luggage. For the trip back home, she chose to wear a more casual outfit for today that consisted of a yellow, shoulder-sleeved, knee-length dress that has a circular neckline, a pair of white sandals, and she had her hair tied in a ponytail. Even though she was constantly busy with her acting career and traveling to certain locations around the world for the movies' productions, she always managed to maintain her perfect image whether she's in casual or formal wear.

She and the passengers obtained their luggage and walked through the plane and into the airport. They all walked down the hallway where the restaurants and shops were to make their way to the arrival gate. Not too far away, she spotted her family, her fiancé, the former members of the Heartland Duel School Dueling Club, and her childhood friend.

Lulu was in absolute amazement. The last time she saw Yuto, he still had his eggplant-shaped hair and he wore glasses. He still wore suits, but his hair was slightly shorter and no longer resembled eggplants and his glasses were absent, suggesting that he now wore contacts. Puberty must have also been kind to him because he had matured into a handsome man.

Of course, Lulu didn't forget about her family and friends. "Everyone..." she said.

"Welcome back, Lulu!" Cathy said.

Setting her luggage down, Lulu walked over to where her loved ones were and gave them all one big group hug.

"MISTRESS LULU, PEOPLE ARE STARING," Lillybot pointed out.

"Oh, who cares?" Lulu asked. "I'm back home!"

It has been an entire decade since she last saw Kameron, Astra, Shay, Cathy, Sarah, Alex, Kite, and Yuto especially, so she wants to make the most of it worth while. After the hug ended, her fiancé went up to her to properly greet her in her return to her hometown.

"Welcome back, my princess," Yuto said, holding out his hand.

Lulu placed her hand in his. "Thank you, sweet knight," she said, allowing Yuto to kiss the back of her hand.

Just then, a white pigeon holding a piece of paper flew throughout the airport and spotted the crew, swooping down in front of Yuto and catching him off guard. Once he relaxed from the sudden surprise, he saw the tiny yellow handkerchief tied around its neck and what looked like a smaller version of Yuya's goggles on its forehead. It was his cousin's Solid Vision pet named Poppo, who has what looks like an invitation.

Yuto took the invitation from Poppo. "This is an invitation for a Sakaki Spectacular performance," he said as the pigeon flew off. "And Lulu and I are invited."

"So Yuya became a professional Dueltainer?" Lulu asked.

"Along with Zuzu," Shay answered. "I remember seeing commercials for their show. The two use their cards in a circus-inspired performance."

The Sakaki Spectacular was a Dueltaining show performed by Yuya and Zuzu. When the two started their careers as professional Dueltainers, they incorporated their archetypes' circus and musical themes into one big presentation with the purpose of bringing smiles, much like how Yusho's duels were years ago. Their routines consists of them engaging in Action Duels where their Performapals and Melodious battle each other while unleashing their best features as the two pro Duelists use Action Cards to enhance the flow of their duels and their monsters' specialties. At the same time, they also integrated Pendulum, Fusion, Synchro, XYZ, and Ritual Summoning into their decks by including cards that work well with their current strategies, leading to them to create new techniques that can make the show a lot better.

"I attended one of their shows," Sarah recalled. "It was a lot of fun."

"I see," Yuto said. He looked at the invitation again. "Should we check it out?"

"Of course," Lulu answered. "He's your cousin. Maybe he heard about our engagement and he wants to congratulate us."

Yuto looked back at his invitation; according to it, the show was tonight, and the news about his and Lulu's engagement have been spreading like wildfire. There was definitely no way this was just a coincidence. She may be right and this could be Yuya's way of congratulating them.

"The Sakakis have always been the closest thing I have to family," Yuto said. "Even if it isn't for the engagement, I would still like to see his show."

He was correct about the Sakakis being the closest family he has gotten ever since his mother Lono was killed while protecting him from Chazz's Chaos Ancient Gear Giant. It was thanks to a spiritual connection that he stumbled upon Yuya in the Standard Dimension during the Arc League Championship, who would later be revealed as his long-lost cousin shortly after accepting his ObsidianCorp job offer. Whatever the reason behind tonight's performance is or isn't because of his engagement, it sure will be nice to see Yuya again.

"Then it's settled," Lulu said. "We will see tonight's Sakaki Spectacular performance."

Later that night, after Lulu finished unpacking her pajamas, clothes, makeup, shampoo, conditioner, toothbrush, toothpaste, hairbrush, and other stuff from her suitcase at her old house, she and Yuto dressed up nice as they went over to the Paradise section to see where the Sakakis' show is going to take place. Based on the invitation Poppo delivered to Yuto, it was scheduled to occur in the dueling arena where Yuya's duel against the former Pro League champion the Sledgehammer took place that led to the very first Pendulum Summon.

"That's Lulu Obsidian!"

"I can't believe she's attending the show!"

"And look, she's with Dr. Osaku!"

"Could this be a date?"

"Doctor...?" Lulu asked. "Does that mean...?"

"Yep," Yuto answered. "You're looking at the founder and head of Phantom Care Hospital."

This revelation left Lulu surprised because Yuto achieved his dream of going to medical school and starting his own health clinic. He also mentioned that the skills he learned during his time at ObsidianCorp paid off because the success of his own hospital made him wealthy, so he now knows what to expect in living life in a high class neighborhood.

"So you're wealthy?" Lulu asked.

"Of course," Yuto answered. "Not as wealthy as your family, but the money I have made is enough to fit in among the rich and elite."

"That's incredible!" Lulu remarked. "I bet you were able to afford a lot of robot maids!"

"Only a few," Yuto explained. "It's the newest model. They're called Cleandroids."

Lulu felt like she's heard of the Cleandroids before in advertisements or something. The robot maids she and Shay have work fine, but that's because they're running on the same operating system as the newer models; in other words, the older robots are also getting updated to the latest program to make sure those that still use them won't experience any technical difficulties.

"So you live in a small house?" Lulu asked as she and Yuto found their seats.

"It's similar to where I grew up," Yuto answered. "So I had to get a few Cleandroids. They're small enough to operate in a normal housing environment."

As the two wrapped up their conversation, the lights dimmed until they were all off. That meant it was time for the show to begin. From within the natural darkness of the night sky, two spotlights flashed on and its luminescence rained down on Yuya and Zuzu, who were both wearing matching circus-themed costumes with his hair combed back and pulled back in a short ponytail and her hair tied up in a bun.

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Sakaki Spectacular!" Yuya exclaimed.

"The most glorious show in all of New Domino-Heart!" Zuzu exclaimed.

"And now, let the show begin!" the two exclaimed in unison, resulting in a massive applause.

"But before we begin, we're gonna need two volunteers," Yuya said.

Zuzu looked surprised. "That wasn't in rehearsal..." she realized.

"Luckily we have the perfect volunteers," Yuya continued. "Will Yuto Osaku and Lulu Obsidian please join us onstage?"

Two more spotlights flashed on right where Yuto and Lulu were sitting. He was starting to become convinced that his cousin did found out about their engagement. Simultaneously, he wasn't the biggest fan of gaining attention from a large crowd or an entire audience; as for Lulu, she enjoyed it, which was a perk of being an actress.

"Thank you!" Lulu said with a smile and a polite wave. "It's such a delight to have a warm reception!"

"Yuya, you owe me big time..." Yuto muttered, trying to hide his face with one hand.

The two stood up and walked down the bleacher stairs to the center of the arena, with Yuto still covering his face to divert himself from the attention and somewhat embarrassed that Yuya asked him and Lulu to be volunteers. Of all the people he could have chosen, he went with the recently engaged couple?

"Tonight's performance is to celebrate my cousin's engagement to his long-term girlfriend!" Yuya announced. "They have the honor of facing off against my wife and I in a tag team duel!"

Zuzu had no clue about Yuya planning a tag team duel for his cousin and soon-to-be cousin-in-law. It was nice of him to create a special event for them, but this wasn't part of the routine; besides, how will they perform Dueltainment for an unrehearsed duel? Yuto, on the other hand, was torn between using both hands to cover his face or stopping himself from hiding away from the attention. He knew that this was because of last night's engagement and he blamed the widespread media for that, but he also hasn't dueled in a long time due to how busy he was with work. Lulu was lucky that she got to practice Duel Monsters more since it was a crucial part of acting, but what about her promise of revealing him on the day of the wedding? It was mostly done to keep her personal life intact yet he has gotten wealthy over the years, so it may be undetermined what the people were going to say about this premature reveal.

"So whaddya say, cuz?" Yuya asked. "Are you up for a duel, or did your skills rust up from all that work in the hospital?"

Yuto took a deep breath and smirked. "Oh please," he told Yuya. "I still duel."

It was true; even though he now works as a doctor, Yuto still found enough time to practice, improve, and strengthen his dueling skills. They usually occur on his days off and his vacations, so he had a nice balance between his job and his duels.

"Alright!" Yuya cheered. "And if the bride is also ready, let's swing into action!"

The two took out and put on their Duel Disks before placing their decks into the deck slots and activating them. Lulu's eyes shifted down to where her activated Duel Disk was. I hope this rewiring still works, she thought. The four shouted "Let's duel!" to signal the start of the Sakaki Spectacular Wedding Engagement Tag Team Duel.

"I'll go first," Lulu decided. "Since my field is absent, I'll summon Lyrilusc -Turquoise Warbler, allowing me to special summon Lyrilusc - Colbalt Sparrow as well! And with Colbalt Sparrow special summoned onto my field, I'll retrieve Lyrilusc - Sapphire Swallow from my deck so I can special summon her and my second Sapphire Swallow from my hand!"

Turqouise Warbler, Colbalt Sparrow, and the two Sapphire Swallows were all summoned and flew onto the field. At this moment, Lulu would XYZ Summon Assembled Nightingale, but after making some modifications to her Duel Disk, this was going to be no ordinary XYZ Summon.

"I overlay with my four Lyriluscs to create the Overlay Network!" Lulu announced.

As the Overlay Network was constructed, a blast of light blue light shot out and expanded throughout Lulu's field, eventually catching her in it…like she intended to. The light then spiraled around her as gusts of wind blew out. Inside, her arm were covered in white and light blue feathers, her legs transformed into bird legs, her long, dark purple ponytail became straight, shoulder-length, and blonde, and her attire for the night was swapped out for what appeared to be her ace's clothes. The light vanished and the wind subsided, and before the three Duelists was no ordinary monster. Lulu wasn't out on the battleground, but she underwent some kind of magical girl transformation and fused with her Assembled Nightingale.

Yuya and Zuzu was completely baffled. "What the heck just happened?!" Yuya asked.

"I have become one with Assembled Nightingale," Lulu said, speaking through Assembled Nightingale. "I wanted to copy mind merges, so made some modifications to my Duel Disk so when I summon my ace, I actually become her."

With her rendition of the mind merge a complete success, Lulu set a card face down and ended her turn, passing it on to Yuto.

"My turn!" Yuto announced. "I draw!" He checked his hand. "I shall start my turn with two face down cards, which I'll activate now! Come forth, dual Phantom Knight of Shine Brigandines!"

The two Trap cards have effects where they can be special summoned in defense position as Level 4 DARK Warrior-Type monsters with 0 ATK and 300 DEF. Since Yuto had no Traps in his Graveyard, their other effects allow them to be activated right away; however, only one can be activated per turn.

"Now I overlay my two Shine Brigandines!" Yuto continued. "Cloaked in shadows and relentless in its objective, I call upon the most dangerous of dragons! I XYZ Summon Dark Rebel-" His eyes widened in realization. "Oh crud."

Once Dark Rebellion XYZ Dragon was finished being summoned onto the field, he was wearing a clown costume. Much to his minor humiliation, Yuto had completely forgot to turn off his Duel Disk's "entertainment mode" because he was so used to the Phantom Knights entertaining the kids. They were the mascots of Phantom Care Hospital, so it would make sense for them to have entertainment modes.

Yuya tried his best to repress a laugh. "What's with the getup?" he asked.

"Sorry," Yuto said. "I didn't want Dark Rebellion to scare little kids at the hospital."

"Aww!" Zuzu gushed. "So your dragon works as a mascot?"

"He does," Yuto answered as he deactivated entertainment mode. "Along with my Phantom Knight monsters."

The clown costume dematerialized from Dark Rebellion and he returned to his normal appearance. "I set two cards face down and end my turn," Yuto concluded.

"Alright!" Yuya exclaimed. "Now it's my turn!" He drew a card. "I'll use Oafdragon Magician and Harmonizing Magician to set the Pendulum Scale! I'm taking control of this duel starting now!"

Oafdragon Magician is a Level 6 Scale 2 WIND Spellcaster-Type Pendulum monster with 2100 ATK and 1400 DEF. Its Pendulum effect allows Yuya to add 1 Magician or Odd-Eyes Pendulum monster from the Extra Deck to his hand except Oafdragon Magician if there's another Magician in the other Pendulum Zone, but it can only be done once per turn. Its monster effect permits him to target a Magician Pendulum monster or Odd-Eyes monster in the Graveyard except Oafdragon Magician and add it to his hand if it was normal or special summoned, but this effect can only be done once per turn.

With his Scale 2 Oafdragon Magician and Scale 8 Harmonizing Magician on their left and right Pendulum Zones respectively, Yuya can summon monsters from Level 3 to Level 7.

"I'm allowed to summon monsters from Levels 3 through 7 all at the same time!" Yuya continued. "Swing far, pendulum! Carve the arc of victory! My monsters are ready...to SWING INTO ACTIOOOOOON!"

The Pendulum "portal" opened up as his selected monsters flew out of it and onto the field. "Turn up the heat, Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon!" Yuya announced. "Show a whole new world, Performapal Momoncarpet! Give 'em a hand, Performapal Helpprincess! Dazzle and charm, Performapal Whim Witch! And finally, presenting the newest star of the show: Performapal Corgi Pup!"

Performapal Momoncarpet is a Level 3 Scale 7 EARTH Beast-Type Pendulum monster with 1000 ATK and 100 DEF. Its Pendulum effect halves any battle damage Yuya receives, but if there isn't another monster in the Pendulum Zone, it is destroyed. Its monster effect allows the monster to be changed into face-down defense position, which comes in handy thanks to its flip summon effect, where it can target and destroy one set card.

Performapal Helpprincess is a Level 4 DARK Warrior-Type monster with 1200 ATK and DEF. Its effect involves her being special summoned from Yuya's hand if one or more Performapal monster are normal or special summoned except Helpprincess.

Performapal Corgi Pup was very special to Yuya because he had asked Declan to make this in honor of his favorite pet dog En so that his legacy can live on in a Duel Monsters card. It is a Level 2 Scale 4 LIGHT Fairy-Type Pendulum monster with 900 ATK and 750 DEF. It has no monster or Pendulum effects, so it was just a Normal Pendulum card.

"Alright folks, I'll end my turn for now!" Yuya said as he set a card face down. "Back to you, my darling angel!"

Zuzu nodded her head and drew a card to start her turn. She then analyzed the six cards she has before making her move. "If you thought that was an amazing Pendulum Summon, wait 'til you see mine!" she announced. "Presenting my Pendulum Summon with Beetho the Melodious Songstress and Opheli the Melodious Operetta! Get ready for a whole new symphony!"

She loaded the Pendulum Scale with her Scale 1 Beetho and Scale 9 Operetta, meaning she can simultaneously summon monsters on the field from Level 2 to Level 8.

"Fairies of song, lend me your voices!" Zuzu chanted. "Take flight onto the stage in a beautiful harmony! I enact the Pendulum Summon of floral glory!"

As her Pendulum "portal" opened and brought out her selected Melodious monsters, she prepared herself to activate her Skill.

"I activate my Skill: Natural Energy Burst!" she exclaimed.

Not far away from her, a yellow flower opened up its petals and bloomed onto the grass, followed by a red flower, a purple one, a white one, and a blue one until a huge number of flowers blossomed into one floral field. Shortly after that, their natural energy poured out of them and flowed directly to Zuzu's right cheek, causing the En Flowers marking to glow pink as pink flower pedals spiraled around the Pendulum Summoned monsters.

"Come on out, Shopina the Melodious Maestra, Elegy the Melodious Diva, Mozarta the Melodious Maestra, Serenade the Melodious Diva, and Crystal Rose!" Zuzu announced.

Shopina the Melodious Maestra is a Level 7 LIGHT Fairy-Type monster with 2300 ATK and 1700 DEF. Once per turn, she can target and add a LIGHT Fairy-Type monster from the Graveyard to Zuzu's hand, but non-LIGHT monsters are prohibited from being activated on the turn this effect was used.

Elegy the Melodious Diva is a Level 5 LIGHT Fairy-Type monster with 2000 ATK and 1200 DEF. If she was special summoned, all Fairy-Type monsters Zuzu controls gain 300 ATK. Additionally, special summoned Melodious monsters can't be destroyed by card effects.

Serenade the Melodious Diva is a Level 4 LIGHT Fairy-Type monster with 400 ATK and 1900 DEF. When tribute summoning a Fairy-Type monster, she is treated as two tributes. If she was special summoned, she gains the effect once per turn where Zuzu can normal summon a Melodious monster during her Main Phase, in addition to her normal summon/set.

Crystal Rose is a Level 2 LIGHT Rock-Type monster with 500 ATK and DEF. Once per turn, a Gem-Knight or Melodious monster are sent from the hand or deck to the Graveyard to have it become the target's name until the End Phase. If it's in the Graveyard, Zuzu can banish a Fusion Monster from the Graveyard to special summon this monster in defense position, but this effect can also only be done once per turn.

"I activate Elegy's special ability!" Zuzu announced. "All of my Melodious monsters gain 300 extra attack points and they can't be destroyed by card effects!"

Elegy strummed her harp, resulting in a purple aura surrounding her and the other Melodious monsters as they gained 300 ATK and were granted immunity to card effects.

"Now Mozarta, attack Assembled Nightingale!" Zuzu declared. "Graceful Wave!"

"Not so fast!" Lulu exclaimed. "My Dimension Guardian shall protect me from getting sent to the Graveyard!"

Thanks to Dimension Guardian, Assembled Nightingale can't be destroyed by battle or card effects; however, since this is a Continuous Trap card, if she leaves the field, that means it is destroyed and Lulu also leaves the field. Does that mean she too will be sent to the Graveyard if that happens? Whatever's the case, she'll have to be careful.

"Eh... Come again?" Zuzu asked.

"Relax, nothing bad will happen to me," Lulu explained. She lifted up her arm. "This is a costumed hologram. If Assembled Nightingale leaves the field, the hologram surrounding my body will vanish."

That's good to know; she rewired her Duel Disk to not only join in on the mind merge, but to also demonstrate her acting skills. "Thanks for the heads up," Zuzu said as she placed a card face down. "But that doesn't mean I'll go easy on you."

Lulu drew a card from her deck to signal the start of her turn, which was rather odd given that Assembled Nightingale doesn't have hands. "I activate the Spell card Overlay Regen to add another Overlay Unit!" she announced. "Now I shall aim a direct attack on your life points! Graceful Winds!"

With a total of five Overlay Units, she flapped her wings at Zuzu to deal 1000 damage. Normally, she would attack a total of five times and deal a total of 5000 damage due to Assembled Nightingale's effect, but she has something else in mind.

"Upon my direct attack, I play the Quick-Play Spell Lyrilusc - Bird Song to summon my second Turquoise Warbler!" Lulu continued. "Which allows me to call on a Colbalt Sparrow from my hand!"

The second copies of Lulu's selected monsters flew onto the field due to Bird Song and Turquoise Warbler's special summoning effects. "Now I overlay my two Lyriluscs to rebuild the Overlay Network!" she exclaimed. "From the bright skies comes a new melody! The song of countless angels descend from the heavens! I XYZ Summon Lyrilusc - Recital Starling!"

Lyrilusc - Recital Starling soared out of the Overlay Network and landed next to Lulu. She is a Rank 1 WIND Winged Beast-Type XYZ monster with 0 ATK and DEF. When she is XYZ Summoned, she can target a face-up monster on the field to have it gain 300 ATK and DEF for every Overlay Unit attached to it. By detaching an Overlay Unit, a Level 1 Winged Beast monster is added from the deck to Lulu's hand. If the opponent targets this XYZ Summoned card to deal battle damage, they take the same amount of damage.

"Because I already attacked, I'll have to end my turn," Lulu said as she set a card face down.

It was now Yuto's turn and he drew a card before scanning the four cards in his hand plus the drawn card and making his move.

"While you're thinking about your next move, keep in mind about your chemistry with your bride," Yuya suggested.

Yuto was surprised to hear that. "My what?"

"Dueling chemistry," Yuya clarified. "As a married couple, you need to make sure your dueling styles compliment each other perfectly."

Yuto has never heard that term before, let alone see married Duelists have perfect chemistry… Has he? Well, then again, prior to Rin's pregnancy, he has seen her and Yugo's Turbo Duels from time to time whenever he wasn't busy with medical school or work. With him and Lulu now engaged, it was clear they need to make sure they have perfect dueling chemistry as well.

But what was dueling chemistry? Did it mean asking your partner to borrow one of their monsters? Yuto wasn't sure about that. He knew Lulu heavily relied on her Lyriluscs when she duels. If that isn't enough, she would be too stubborn to let him borrow her monsters.

"During my fiancé's turn, I activate my second Dimension Guardian on Dark Rebellion XYZ Dragon!" Lulu announced.

Yuto was surprised by what had happened; thanks to the second Dimension Guardian, Dark Rebellion cannot be destroyed by battle or card effects until he leaves the field. It seems Lulu was quick to understand this dueling chemistry, which Yuto was grateful about thanks to what she had just done. However, he realized this could cause a huge interference in her strategy.

"Don't you need your second Dimension Guardian to protect Recital Starling?" Yuto asked.

"Yes, but I trust you," Lulu answered.

Yuto quickly realized that perfectly dueling chemistry requires an essential trait: trust. Lulu activating her Trap on Dark Rebellion was an example of it because she trusts him. They have known each other for fourteen years and have developed a mutually unbreakable bond with each other; they loved their appearances and personalities, but their iconic quality that defines them is what established their trustworthy relationship into what it is today.

"And I trust you too," Yuto said. He looked back at the field. "I activate Dark Rebellion's special ability! By using one overlay unit, half of Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon's strength is transferred to him!"

Dark Rebellion extended his wings and shot out purple lightning at Odd-Eyes, encasing the target in electric, purple rings that drained 1400 ATK from him and added it to the latter's 2500 ATK, raising it up to 3900.

"Now I activate my Skill: Mind Merge!" Yuto continued.

While the duel progressed with Yuto undergoing his Skill, Team Turbo was in a luxurious hotel watching the internationally broadcasted Sakaki Spectacular Tag Team Duel. Since they were in Florida, their was a twenty five hour difference between EST and JST; it was night time in both locations, but New Domino-Heart was one day and one hour ahead of Miami, which was where they were currently at. As they enjoyed the broadcast, Yugo and Rin cuddled close to each other. Ren hasn't been born yet, but his soon-to-be father was quite protective of him and also proud of his wife having their first child.

"'Bout time those two got married!" Crow said.

"I knew it was bound to happen," Rin said. "We're spiritually connected. Even though we've all gone our separate ways, we'll still meet up."

Yugo chuckled. "You're still obsessed over that?" he asked.

"Not as obsessed as you are with our child," Rin replied, stroking her husband's stray dark blue lock near his right cheek.

"Why wouldn't I be obsessed with Ren?" Yugo asked. "He's probably got all our best qualities, a perfect combination of us."

"How'd you figure out the gender?" Shinji asked.

"I called Aura after RinRin told me the good news," Yugo explained. "She used her glass apple and somehow figured out that the child's gonna be a boy. Then she went on to say I shouldn't risk my own health for his happiness, but I'm not sure what that means."

Yugo may have no idea what that means, but Aura knew there would be dire consequences if that happened. In a nutshell, Ren would become involved with a quest to restore power to a God card, but it wasn't one of the three Egyptian God Cards from the alternate timeline. By God, she means G.O.D., which stands for Genesis Omega Dragon, a mysterious card that would decide the future of the world if someone got their hands on it.

"Maybe she's talking about how you tend to put my safety above your own," Rin guessed. "You do tend to get a bit overprotective."

"Since when?" Yugo asked.

"You punched a guy who winked at me," Rin recalled.

"I didn't like how he looked at you," Yugo growled a bit, his eyes flashing light blue.

The flashing light blue eyes was a clear sign of his overprotective behavior; any adult that tries anything smart with Rin, whether it's winking or flirting, always end up with a one-way trip to encountering a jealous Yugo, mainly because he wanted to let them know that she's taken. The main reason why he was protective of her was because he didn't want anything bad happening to her again. She already had to deal with getting kidnapped, brainwashed, and fused back into Ray before having her soul merged with Zuzu's, so he wanted to make sure nothing else as bad—or worse—strikes again. Yuya, Yuto, and Yuri were much like Yugo in terms of protecting the Energy Girls due to similar experiences with the Interdimensional War (except Yuri, who started caring about Celina after the War), but they are always the ones to calm their two husbands and fiancé down.

"Calm down, you moron," Rin said. She gave Yugo a loving kiss on the lips. "I get that you love me, but you have to stop getting angry at every person who tries to flirt with me. Don't you want to be a good father figure for Ren?"

Yugo's eyes stopped glowing. "Of course," he answered, gently placing his hands on Rin's belly. "Anything for our child."

Rin sighed contently, knowing that she relaxed her husband, who was still excited about Ren's upcoming birth. It was one of the cute things she loves about him aside from his cute hair and beautiful yellow eyes. She kissed him again, with Yugo kissing back in response.

"Alright lovebirds, you can kiss later," Crow said. "We still have a tournament to watch."

Back at the tag team duel, Yuto had completed his Skill and unleashed his Battle Phase through Dark Rebellion, in which Yuya retaliated with his Cross Damage face-down card. It was currently Yuya's turn.

"I activate the Spell card Odd-Eyes Fusion!" the tomato-haired man announced. "And I'll fuse my weakened Odd-Eyes with Performapal Momoncarpet! From within the venom comes a new star! A new light awakens from within! I Fusion Summon Odd-Eyes Vortex Dragon!"

For the remainder of the duel, the four Duelists gave it their all as Lulu and Yuto increasingly mastered their dueling chemistry, Zuzu presented her controlled usage of No. 52: Diamond Crab King, and displayed newfound monsters they have added to their decks with Yuya. Eventually, the Pendulum couple claimed victory; Yuto and Lulu have amazing strategies, but the main problem is they only work individually, so when the two use their decks to work together, they are weakened.

"Just as I thought," Yuya said as the holographic monsters vanished. "You two might have improved individually, but your time apart weakened you dueling synergy."

"Wait, so this whole duel was a test?" Yuto asked.

"Pretty much," Yuya answered. "A Duelist's deck reflects his or her personality, so their relationships are reflected in tag team duels."

Basically, Yuto's Phantom Knights highlight his noble and chivalrous personality while Lulu's Lyriluscs emphasize how she is sweet and kind yet strong and determined. The two clearly love each other and are willing to do whatever it takes to protect them, especially Yuto; however, what did their teamwork show during the tag team duel? Do they behave differently because they are trying a little too hard to keep one another safe while focusing on vanquishing some kind of threat or defeating an opponent? Whatever the reason is, the engaged XYZ couple felt bad about this test they took. But Yuto wouldn't stand his cousin treating him like this.

"You're wrong," Yuto said. "While it's true Lulu and I never had the chance to develop our dueling synergy, it was because we spent a majority of the relationship developing our individual futures. While she was training to become an actress, I was working on obtaining my medical degree."

"Yeah, but-" Yuya started to say.

"But nothing," Yuto interrupted. "A good relationship does involve trust, but that also means respecting each other's boundaries so your partner feels more comfortable around you. If you don't have that kind of respect, then what's the whole point of being in a relationship with that person?"

What he said just now is a perfect example of what makes him a true knight. A married couple can show trust and respect for each other in a variety of ways besides tag team duels. They have to understand their differences and work out their relationship in a way to illustrate how they genuinely care for each other. And that's exactly what Yuto and Lulu have done. They spent the past ten years apart, but their love was stronger than ever.

Lulu was so touched by her fiancé's words that she walked up to him and hugged him. "That's exactly why I love you, sweet knight," she said, reaching up to touch his cheek.

"Of course," Yuto replied, gently placing his hands on her waist and hugging back. "And I love you too, dearest princess."

Meanwhile, back in the Domino section, the school day had ended and the students have already returned to their assigned dorms. They ate their dinner and hung with their friends or relaxed in the dorm room and watched the tag team duel. Coincidentally, Yuri and Celina also saw what went down between the Pendulum and XYZ couples in the teachers' lounge.

Yuri let out a frustrated sound. "What kind of a duel was that?!" he asked.

"Is something wrong?" Celina asked.

"They were too sappy!" Yuri exclaimed, whining a bit. "I wanted to see more action, not two couples being all lovey-dovey!"

Celina knew exactly what he meant; their relationship was healthy much like their counterparts, but in an…interesting way. When it comes to romance, Yuri wasn't a big fan of the cheesy love stuff that always happens. He likes the thought of having a crush on someone, but it was unlike Yuya's, Yuto's, and Yugo's.

"So you don't like that kind of romance?" Celina asked.

"Of course not," Yuri answered. "I prefer something similar to what we have."

Celina smirked. "Well the students are done for the day," she said, speaking in a suggestive tone. "How about you come with me back to my office? I need to punish you for your rather...impulsive behavior today."

"Oh, so it's one of those nights?" Yuri asked. "Well luckily for you, I know where I left my collar during our last private meeting."

Celina gave Yuri a quick kiss on the lips. "Then you better go get it," she said.

While the two…got it on, Lulu and Yuto arrived at his house after the Sakaki Spectacular concluded. As they got out of the car, she got a good look at how it was constructed; he wasn't kidding when he said it was similar to the house he grew up in. As they walked through the front door and stepped into the living room, they were greeted by the three Cleanroids Yuto mentioned earlier: fashion designer and hair stylist Turquoise, chef Cobalt, house cleaner Sapphire.

"WELCOME HOME, MASTER YUTO," Cobalt said. "I HAVE PREPARED CURRY FOR THIS EVENING'S DINNER."

"Thanks Cobalt," Yuto said.

"MY GOODNESS, WHO IS THIS BEAUTIFUL WOMAN?" Turquoise asked.

"Girls, this is Lulu Obsidian," Yuto introduced. "Lulu, these are my three Cleandroids Cobalt, Sapphire, and Turquoise."

"Aww, they look so cute!" Lulu gushed.

They sure were small and efficient, but the best part was that Cleandroids come in variations in terms of patterns, color schemes, and "hairstyles" to make it easier to tell which one is which. Cobalt was cobalt brown with black gloves, light yellow linings and shoulder-length "hair," and sky blue eyes. Sapphire was sapphire blue with a bob cut "hair" of the same color, white and black linings, and purple eyes. Turquoise was dark metallic yellow green with spiky, light blue "hair," metallic yellow linings, and light blue eyes. Yuto had gotten these because they also made variants based on Duel Monsters and they reminded him of Lulu's three Lyriluscs: Colbalt Sparrow, Sapphire Swallow, and Turquoise Warbler.

"They were custom orders," Yuto explained. "They each have special flight modes. I even downloaded unique personalities into their databanks."

Turquoise flew up to Lulu's face. "DID YOU LIKE WHAT I DESIGNED FOR MASTER YUTO'S EVENING ATTIRE?" she asked. "I EVEN ORDERED A NEW SUPPLY OF SILKY SPIKES AFTER HE USED THE LAST OF HIS CURRENT SUPPLY."

"Silky Spikes?" Lulu asked. "Is that the shampoo brand you have been using?"

"It is," Yuto answered. "It's a cheaper version of Thick and Spiky, but with more visible results."

"I can tell," Lulu said. "Your hair looks much softer."

Even though it wasn't as cheap as Spike and Curl, Silky Spikes doesn't contain the damaging oils like Thick and Spiky. As a result, Yuto's hair wasn't as spiky as it used to be, but it definitely made it softer.

Lulu lifted up her hand. "Can I...?" she started to ask, blushing slightly.

"It's alright," Yuto said, understanding what she was going to say.

Lulu placed her hand on top of Yuto's head, intertwining her fingers through the luscious, light purple and black strands to get a feel for it. Upon contact, she was amazed to know that his hair was indeed soft and obviously softer than it was during his teenage years.

"This is your perfect image," Lulu realized, her hand still stroking his hair.

Yuto closed his eyes and smiled softly. "I understand it," he said. "Having a perfect image is all about working hard to become extraordinary, whether it's looking your best or having a successful job." He opened his golden eyes. "I have reached the same level of perfection that you have."

These few statements bestowed some minor bewilderment to Lulu because the definition of having a perfect image she was taught was to always look your best. Hearing what Yuto explained seemed to have shed some light on it; having a pleasing appearance was essential for everyone and not just elites, but it is not only that. It is the effort put into tasks, the expression of your opinions and beliefs, the responsibility of doing your jobs, the goals that you dream of accomplishing, and the bonds that you create that help define who you are, and quite frankly, Lulu was impressed with what she heard.

Yuto may not be born in a high class society, but he didn't need to be. He has the right motives, a charming personality, tight bonds with his friends, and a healthy relationship with her, in which they all made him into the person he is. Going back to all these years ago, even she can agree with his view on having a perfect image. She became an award-winning actress because of her determined yet stubborn characteristics and connections with her friends, family, and fiancé. They all helped her and looked out for in times of need in assorted ways, whether it is Yuto trying to rescue her from the clutches of Duel Academy or going through her back surgery to remove her spinal plates. She may be raised to maintain beauty no matter what happens, but it doesn't change the fact on what having a perfect image is all about.

"I HATE TO INTERRUPT THIS MOMENT, BUT I DO NOT WANT DINNER TO GET COLD," Cobalt informed.

Blushing heavily, Lulu removed her hand from Yuto's hair. "Sorry," she said.

"So shall we enjoy this meal?" Yuto asked.

"We shall," Lulu replied, linking her arm with Yuto's.

With Yuto leading the way, they walked over to the dining room to have their dinner. Colbalt followed them and then flew over to the kitchen to serve them their curry. It was his second favorite meal for dinner, with Lono's homemade lasagna recipe taking the number one spot.

Yuto and Lulu sat next to each other at the dinner table. "Isn't it nice when you have a robot handle all your meals?" she asked.

"Cobalt doesn't do all the cooking," Yuto clarified. "When she needs to recharge her batteries, I cook my own meals."

Lulu was surprised. "You have a Cleandroid who cooks for you, yet you still cook?" she asked. "That seems a bit weird."

Since she grew up in a home with robot maids that do stuff for you like sewing clothes, trimming hair, giving spa treatments, and cooking food, she wasn't exactly wrong. Aside from managing her own hair, she was so used to robots providing basic necessities.

"DINNER IS SERVED," Cobalt said, handing out two plates of curry to the engaged couple. "MAY I PROVIDE YOU WITH THE APPROPRIATE MOOD?"

Yuto blushed. "Not tonight," he answered.

"VERY WELL," Cobalt said. "ENJOY YOUR MEAL." She then soared through the house to join with Turquoise and Sapphire while Yuto and Lulu ate their dinner.

A few minutes later, Lulu finally spoke. "This feels...oddly comfortable."

"How so?" Yuto asked after finishing a spoonful of curry.

"We're eating a meal with peace and quiet," Lulu answered. "I'm so used to people asking for autographs and pictures that I kind of miss the quiet atmosphere."

"But I already planned everything out," Yuto said. "Since you're going back to your life as a famed actress, I'm going to stay here in New Domino-Heart and raise our adopted child. I promise to e-mail pictures of our child so you won't miss any of his or her big milestones."

Lulu dropped her spoon onto her plate. "Adopted child?" she repeated.

"I heard about celebrity couples in the media," Yuto clarified. "I want to make sure our relationship lasts longer than theirs. And if we consider adoption, you won't have to worry about ruining your perfect body."

Lulu wasn't sure how to react to this, but she was heartbroken and a little scared. Starting a family through adoption? With Yuto raising the child for the both of them? She has seen the news countless times on how well Rin was handling her pregnancy; she was capable of managing it too, but she couldn't help but have second thoughts about having kids.

"Oh Yuto..." Lulu said, sounding a bit sad. "I don't want you to end up with that burden."

"But you're an actress," Yuto pointed out.

"And I don't care," Lulu said. She held Yuto's hand. "If we're going to have kids, let me be a part of it. I want to experience the joys of being a mother, especially being pregnant."

"Even if it could ruin your figure?" Yuto asked.

"I'm an Obsidian," Lulu answered. "I'll be able to regain my figure after giving birth."

This was going to be a challenge unlike the past ones they faced. If she wanted to have a child, that meant she was going to take a break from acting, but for how long? Does she have to go on maternity leave until she can come back? What about movies that are interested in having her in the cast? This was something they both knew was going to happen.

"What about your career?" Yuto asked. "I heard a lot of filmmakers and directors were thinking about hiring you. And with you winning an Academy Prize, that number is bound to increase."

"I know," Lulu said. "And I love being an actress. It has been my lifelong dream."

"But what about our child?" Yuto asked. "I don't want the media to interfere with his or her life."

Lulu remained silent, realizing this decision could cause some problems. "Maybe this was a mistake," she said after having a spoonful of curry. "Maybe your proposal was a bad idea."

"No, of course not," Yuto disagreed. "I want to marry you. I can never find another woman as lovely and perfect as you."

"Then how can we work things out?" Lulu asked. "I want to make sure this decision is a step forward for the both of us."

Yuto had a sudden idea. "Why don't you come with me to work tomorrow?" he asked. "A few girls who heard about our engagement asked me if I was dating Princess Kaguya, and I was hoping if you would like to meet them."

Lulu raised her head up to face Yuto, feeling thunderstruck by the idea. She remembered playing that character a few movies ago and having the kids meet Princess Kaguya was much like how she stayed in-character as a princess during her duel against Allie.

"You really want me to visit young girls in the hospital as Princess Kaguya?" she asked.

"Of course," Yuto answered. "Especially a girl named Lillian Shadows. She's slowly dying of severe heart cancer, so she was hoping Princess Kaguya could take her to the moon."

Lulu understood what that meant. "Tomorrow is her last day," she realized.

She immediately felt bad for the Shadows family because time was running out for Lillian. The poor girl must have seen the movie prior to her news about how she won't make it and loved the movie so much. Her relatives were most likely going to be at the health clinic tomorrow to spend their last hours together, so coming in-character as Princess Kaguya would be an extraordinary deed for them.

"Very well," Lulu said. "I'll visit her tomorrow."

"Thank you, princess," Yuto said. "I'm sure you'll put a smile on her face."

The next day, they arrived at Phantom Care Hospital for another day at work for Yuto (who wore a white coat for work), except it was more unique than most days. Lulu entered the building dressed up as Princess Kaguya to surprise the young kids, especially Lillian.

"Greetings Phantom Care Hospital!" Lulu announced. "I, the moon princess Kaguya, wish to speak to the head of this hospital! I heard someone wishes to speak to me about an urgent matter."

Yuto heard Lulu's announcement from one end of a hallway and walked towards the main lobby to speak to her. "There you are, Princess Kaguya," he said, playing along. "Now if you could just come with me, I- MMPH!"

His sentence was interrupted as Lulu leaned forward and kissed him on the lips. The kiss was brief, but full of loving emotion. "My apologies," she said, staying in-character. "I have never seen a man as handsome as you. Had I met you before I returned to my true home, you would have been a perfect match for myself."

Yuto slightly blushed at the comment before clearing his throat and explaining to her to follow her as he talks about Lillian's current status and what room she was in. "Lillian Shadows is suffering from severe heart cancer," he explained. "Today is her last day, but it seems not even the resident mascots can cheer her up. I want you to make sure she goes out with a smile."

"Of course, I can help," Lulu replied. "Anything for a maiden in need."

Fortunately, Lillian's room was on the first floor, so they didn't need to take an elevator or the stairs. They stopped just outside of her doorway so that Yuto can instruct Lulu to wait for a few seconds; he wanted to make this a special surprise for the Shadows family. She obliged as he stepped inside to see her parents and her two older siblings—one brother and one sister—gathered around Lillian, who was sickly frail. A few strands of her dark silvery blue hair were in front of her face as her scarlet eyes were struggling to stay open; time was ticking by, so Yuto and Lulu better make it count.

"Hello Mr. and Mrs. Shadows," Yuto said. "I brought someone who can help calm your daughter down."

"Is it another mascot?" Mrs. Shadows asked.

"Not quite," Yuto answered. He walked over to Lillian. "Lillian, remember when you asked me if I knew Princess Kaguya?"

"Y-Yes, Dr. Osaku," Lillian answered.

"Well I called the people of the moon if she could take you back to her home," Yuto explained. "And now she's here to fulfill her promise."

That was Lulu's cue to step into the room to see Lillian. She got into character and walked in so that she may speak to the young girl. "Greetings!" she happily said. "I am the great moon princess Kaguya!"

Although Lillian's body was severely weakened due to her heart tumor, it didn't prevent her from smiling as her eyes met Lulu's. Her dream of meeting Princess Kaguya was coming true. "Princess Kaguya!" she exclaimed. "It's actually you!"

"Of course it is, young maiden," Lulu said. "My people informed me that you wish to go to the moon."

"I do," Lillian said. "The doctors said I might not live much longer, but the moon people are immortal. If I go to the moon, could I end up with that same mortality?"

"I believe so," Lulu answered.

Yuto left the room to give his fiancé some time to spend with Lillian and stayed in the hallway, not far from where everyone else was. He arranged this in order to help Lulu get used to being near young kids. He knew she was having doubts regarding being a good parent, so he figured this would be a good starting point.

For the next few hours, Lulu accompanied Lillian and her family as they discussed about Princess Kaguya's life on the moon and shared some of the Shadows' stories. She may be acting out as the moon princess, but deep down, she was feeling like she was forming a connection with everyone, even the bedridden girl.

Eventually Lillian started to get tired. "Princess Kaguya..." she said. "Promise me the moon people will like me?"

Lulu kissed the girl on the forehead. "Don't worry," she said. "I promise that you will have an amazing time on the moon."

Lillian smiled weakly. "Thank you..."

Lulu gently held Lillian's hand as she started to close her eyes, feeling the last amount of life she had left diminishing. As her eyelids slowly shut, a white light faded in through the barely noticeable openings, giving her increasingly soulless, scarlet eyes a glance at what it's like to go to the afterlife. Maybe it was for the best that she might not last much longer; her wish was finally becoming a reality. She was going to be with the moon people for all eternity…

BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE…

The sound of a flatline emitted from the heart monitor and echoed in the silent and somber room. She was gone. A juvenile and innocent girl had her life taken away from her as she succumbed to her heart cancer. Her lifeless face revealed a smile had managed to form completely with what little strength she had left as her last few seconds had just ticked by. Her wish came true. She got to meet Princess Kaguya and was heading to the moon to live among its people…forever…

"Thank you, Ms. Obsidian," Mr. Shadows said. "Our daughter loved your movie so much. Meeting you was on her bucket list."

"I'm glad I could help," Lulu said. Within her mind, something rang that made her realize something. She may actually be good with kids and her time with Lillian proved it.

Yuto entered the room. "Would you like to visit the other patients?" he asked Lulu.

"Certainly," Lulu answered, her smile having become brighter. As she walked out of the room and gave out her condolences to the Shadows family, she followed Yuto and was informed on what floors and rooms the children were on so that she can visit them. She also couldn't help but think that maybe it was a good idea to start a family of their own. She's not sure when they should start since their wedding is coming up, but she does miss the leisure and peace after spending years of being famous, signing autographs, taking part in interviews, and enjoying the spotlight. Perhaps after they get married, they'll figure out a plan.

"So what happened while I was away?" Lulu asked.

"Not a lot," Yuto answered. "Allie took over as the new principal of the You Show Duel School. Your duel with her changed her. She even managed to grow her hair out to match your hair."

After the Team Duel Tournament, Allie has started idolizing Lulu for more than just her being a real life princess. Overtime, she outgrew that phase and has respected her as a powerful and strong Duelist. But that didn't stop her from growing out her hair to be as long as Lulu's.

"Allie became the new principal of that dueling school?" Lulu asked.

Yuto nodded in response. "Riley is her best student," he continued. "Moon Shadow raised her well. Not only is she a skilled Duelist, but she already has dreams of being a photographer."

Riley—who was now 14 years old—had passed her Ninjitsu training with Moon Shadow and Sun Shadow as she was growing up, learning how to use her C/C monsters as weapons. With her having mastered those skills, she transferred to You Show Duel School, where she has been utilizing what she learned through Dueltainment, making her the first Ninjitsu Dueltainer. Yuto was also right about her wanting to become a photographer because she tends to analyze the opposing monsters' postures and have them readjust their poses almost like they're in a photo shoot.

"That sounds amazing," Lulu said. "I have to see her duel some day."

"You can do that later," Yuto said. "Right now, you have hospital patients to visit."

"Of course," Lulu replied. "I can wait, sweet knight."

A few days later, after her visiting the kids, Yuto and Lulu's wedding has finally arrived. It was a momentous occasion for their friends, families, and loved ones, whom were all invited: the Sakakis (including Sora), the Obsidians, Yuri and Celina Akaba, the Arclights, the Katherines, and the former dueling club. Even though Yugo and Rin were still in America, Yuya had set up his Duel Disk to have them watch the wedding through the webcam app. And given Lulu's reputation as Japan's number one sweetheart, the whole wedding was televised.

"Howdy folks!" Melissa announced. "The day of Yuto Osaku and Lulu Obsidian's wedding has finally arrived! Rumor has it that the famed actress' folks planned out the whole ceremony, and I'm certain this is gonna be a wondrous event."

In the groom's dressing room, Yuto was almost done getting ready for the big event and the biggest moment of his life. He was wearing a black suit with the jacket left unbuttoned, revealing his long-sleeved, white shirt that had the collar tied with a white bowtie, and a pair of black shoes. He was taking a look in the mirror to see if his hair needed any touching up when he heard a knock on the door.

"Lulu, you know it's bad luck for me to see you before the wedding," Yuto said.

"It's not Lulu," a voice said from outside. "It's me, Aura Sentia."

Yuto turned around towards the door and notified her to come in, with the young woman opening the door and entering the room. She most likely had something important to say.

"You're crying," Aura said, noticing the groom's tear-stained face.

"What?" Yuto asked. "No, I'm not."

"Is this about your mother?" Aura asked.

"I told you, I'm not crying," Yuto repeated. "It's not like this is the biggest change in my life and-" A sob escaped his throat.

"Just as I thought," Aura said. "You wish your mother was still alive to see you marry the love of your life."

Can you blame him? He hasn't seen Lono in over a decade, so besides graduating from both Heartand Duel School and medical school, as well as opening his own hospital, this was one of those moments when he wished she was alive. This one, in particular, had him showing difficulty of holding back his tears and sobs because that is how important the wedding is; heck, it's being broadcasted on every television because that's how memorable it's going to be!

"That's why I had to speak to you beforehand," Aura said. "I have a message for you."

Yuto tried to regain his composure. "What kind of message?" he asked.

Aura brought out her crystal apple and held it up to Yuto. "This message," she answered as the apple started glowing purple.

"Yuto, I'm so proud of how much you accomplished. I've been watching you from the sky and I saw you grow up into a handsome man. I know I haven't seen you since the night of the school dance, but look at you! It seems like it was only yesterday I found you in the alleyway with that strange-looking dragon card and some sparkling dust in your hair. Now you're about to marry the love of your life. I love you so much, and I wish you best of luck with your new life as a married man."

Yuto stood motionless and speechless as he heard Lono speak through the crystal apple. It has been too long since she last spoke to him, so hearing her voice again for the first time in years was truly heartfelt. What made this even more touching was when she mentioned the dust sparkled onto his hair, making him understand that he really was the miracle child described in Close to You by The Carpenters; Lulu's comparisons were actually explicit indicators that they were destined to be together after all.

"She was right," Yuto mused. "Those angels actually made me the miracle child."

"Miracle child?" Aura repeated.

"It's from the song Lulu and I like so much," Yuto explained. "The lyrics mentioned that when a child was born, a group of angels turned that child into a prophesied miracle child by sprinkling moon dust in his hair and planting starlights into his eyes."

"Wait, are you referring to that Carpenters song from many years ago?" Aura asked. She thought about this for two seconds. "That would explain why you ended up becoming the handsome one among your counterparts."

Yuto nodded in response to the question before stopping to realize that she may be right about him being the handsome Yu-counterpart. He was complimented multiple times by Lulu on how charming he always looked. But that wasn't all. Despite having similar faces and voices, he was the only Yu-counterpart whose natural charm made a lot of women attracted to him.

"Yuto, what's taking so long?"

Out in the doorway stood Yuya, wondering when his cousin will be finished because the wedding was starting in a little bit. After all, due to the cousins making a promise fourteen years ago, Yuya was the best man.

"Sorry," Yuto said. "Aura was just showing me a message from my mom."

"That's a relief," Yuya said. "I was starting to wonder if you were getting cold feet."

Well…a certain someone was getting cold feet and she had every right to. Lulu couldn't believe she was going to marry Yuto and this wasn't a dream. Was it? She was pondering if this was a dream because she has made it this far in her life and the last thing she needed was to wake up fused back into Zuzu, Celina, and Rin and have everything that had occurred starting with the morning of the LID dance seem like it never happened at all. She stood in front of a tall mirror to help reassure her that this wasn't a dream. She donned a super long, strapless, white dress with a light blue ribbon tied below her breasts, a pair of white heeled sandals with jewel-encrusted straps on it, diamond dangle earrings, and had her hair tied into her signature bow-shaped style with a wavy, white ribbon containing two whitish-purple feathers attached to it.

Lillybot entered the room, but as soon as she saw Lulu, she freaked out. "YOU LOOK SO BEAUTIFUL AND GROWN UP," she said. "WHAT HAPPENED TO THE INFANT GIRL I HELPED RAISE?"

Lulu let out a small, polite laugh. "Calm down," she said, approaching Lillybot and giving her a basket of flower petals. "I don't need you to short-circuit before the wedding."

"MY APOLOGIES," Lillybot said. "BUT I HAVE NEVER SEEN YOU THIS BEAUTIFUL."

Lulu smiled at Lillybot's comment on how elegant she was. She was born with natural beauty and has retained it for the entirety of her life, so having on one of the finest wedding dresses and accessories was a big deal.

"DO YOU NEED HELP WITH YOUR WEDDING CHECKLIST?" Lillybot asked.

"Of course," Lulu answered. She checked her reflection once more. "Something old: mother's wedding dress. Something new: my shoes. Something borrowed: Cathy's hairpiece. Something blue: the added ribbon to the wedding dress."

"WHAT ABOUT THE SILVER SIXPENCE IN YOUR SHOE?" Lillybot asked.

"It's already taken care of," Lulu answered, pointing to her left heel.

Lillybot shifted her robotic eyes to the left heel where the sixpence was and her installed checklist program marked it down as the fifth item needed for the heiress' wedding. At that point, bridesmaids Cathy and Sarah arrived.

"My goodness, Lulu. You look absolutely perfect!" Cathy remarked.

"No kidding," Sarah said. "I've never seen you look this fancy."

Lulu thanked her friends for the comments and mentioned how they were also remarkably dressed for today as well. There was only a few minutes left before the wedding could officially begin, so the three girls waited for Kameron to bring the heiress down the aisle.

"Remember, Lulu," Cathy said. "Yuto is handsome and perfect, and soon the whole world is going to see him. You should be happy."

"I know," Lulu said. She let out a sad sigh. "But I can't believe this is actually happening. What if this is all just a dream?"

"Aw, don't say that!" Cathy cheerfully said.

However, Sarah knew what Lulu's question meant. "You're worried you might wake up and everything that happened to you over the past fourteen years never actually happened," she said.

Lulu didn't say anything, but her head nodding "Yes" was the only response she could muster up.

"I can't believe it either," Sarah said. "With our home being instantly restored, it's hard to believe how any of this could happen. But we can't stay so focused on those thoughts. We should focus on how fortunate we are."

"I know," Lulu said. She looked at her well-manicured hand. "But I still have memories of watching my own hand fading."

She never forgot those traumatizing events: Duel Academy bombing Heartland City, Yuri kidnapping her, the Doktor brainwashing her into using Fusion Summoning, transported into ARC-V to fuse back into Ray. She wished she could forget them yet they were burned into her brain, scarred by the unbearable struggles and the horrifying nightmarish hell she was forced to endure. She went from barely escaping a tragic fate to being manipulated like a puppet…tangled in strings…suffocating…

"Don't you dare say that!" Sarah said. "I saw you getting kidnapped, but I know you. You probably challenged Yuri to a duel, didn't you?"

"Of course," Lulu answered.

"So you're still the same stubborn person from before the Invasion," Sarah said. "I had a feeling you wouldn't go down without a fight."

Yep, Lulu did challenge Yuri to a duel; when he pursued her, she reached a dead end among the ruins, so having nowhere to go, she decided to tackle him head on. It was one of her many examples of her displaying her usual determined stubbornness.

"Thanks Sarah," Lulu said, a soft smile reappearing on her face.

"There's my beloved daughter."

Standing in front of the doorway and behind the ladies was Kameron, meaning the wedding was going to start momentarily.

"Hello father," Lulu said with a curtesy.

"After all these years, you still maintain your perfect image," Kameron remarked.

"Of course, father," Lulu said. "You and mother have raised me well."

Kameron was proud to hear that from her; he and Astra raised her to be presentable and suitable in an elite environment while also gave her love and compassion like good parents. As a result, she became not only the most feminine out of all her counterparts, but also a respectable, lovely, sweet, caring, and beautiful lady.

"THE WEDDING IS ABOUT TO BEGIN," Lillybot said, carrying the basket of flower petals. "WE CANNOT BE LATE."

"Thank you Lillybot," Lulu said.

"Ready to begin your new life as an Osaku?" Kameron asked.

"Indeed, father," Lulu answered. "But I will still remain an Obsidian by blood."

Taking and holding her hand, Kameron and Lulu exited the dressing room with Cathy, Sarah, and Lillybot following suit. They all walked down a few hallways towards the altar's entrance with the bride's personal assistant leading the way because she was the flower girl.

Meanwhile, Yuto and Yuya were already at the altar alongside Orbital, who was going to be the ring bearer, waiting for the bride to appear and head down the aisle. However, Yuto realized this was exactly what Ishizu showed him. She must have known everything that would lead to this very moment. In other words, he shouldn't have worried about choosing between his dream job and his dream girl. He was able to obtain both.

The future that Ishizu predicted became more evident that it was coming true as the double door's opened up. Lillybot wheeled her way down the aisle, tossing flower petals onto the floor to provide a regal pathway for Lulu and the accompanying Kameron, Cathy, and Sarah as someone played music on the organ. Everything that he witnessed in his vision was unfolding right in front of his eyes up to the point where he can't find the right words to think of.

Just like when he first met Lulu, Yuto's eyes were wide open and his mouth was slightly agape. The younger heiress looked absolutely beautiful, even moreso than before. He couldn't believe this was actually happening to him, especially on live television. Not only was he going to marry his long-term girlfriend, but he was also going to get married into the Obsidian family. It helped that being the head of Phantom Care Hospital provided a nice amount of wealth and he was able to develop his very own perfect image. Overall, he was able to get the looks and money for being accepted into the rich and elite despite his commoner upbringing.

Lulu reached the altar where she met up with Yuto while Kameron, Cathy, and Sarah stood off to the side not too distant from her, much like Yuya and Orbital. The organ music ended as the priest walked up and positioned himself at a perpendicular spot from the bride and groom. Just as he was about to start the ceremony, a pained scream was heard from Yuya's Duel Disk and echoed all over the church room.

"I'm so sorry Yoot, but it looks like Ren's comin' early, so we halfta go. Bye!" Yugo said, speaking rapidly before disconnecting the connection.

Awkward silence filled the room; the counterparts were amazed that Yugo and Rin's child was going to be born, but they were more shocked that there were two special occasions going on at the same day, catching everyone by surprise. No one was expecting Rin to go into labor and neither was Team Turbo. Yuya slowly left the altar and picked up the pace as he went towards where his Duel Disk was, took it off the tripod, turned it off, and went back to where he was.

"As I was saying," the priest said. "Welcome and thank you for being here on this important day. We are gathered together to celebrate the very special love between Miss Lulu of the Obsidian family and Yuto Osaku, by joining them in marriage. Lulu and Yuto, your marriage today is the public and legal joining of your souls that have already been united as one in your hearts. Marriage will allow you a new environment to share your lives together, standing together to face life and the world, hand-in-hand. Marriage is going to expand you as individuals, define you as a couple, and deepen your love for one another. To be successful, you will need strength, courage, patience, and a really good sense of humor. So, let your marriage be a time of waking each morning and falling in love with each other all over again."

After the priest was done addressing his reminder of the significance of marriage, Lulu and Yuto exchanged their vows to one another.

"This man, I marry," Lulu said, reciting traditional Japanese wedding vows. "No matter what the health situation is, I will love this person, respect this person, console this person, and help this person until death protecting fidelity, I swear."

Yuto was expecting her to write down her own vows and recite them to him, so hearing her state the Japanese wedding vows was rather out of the blue. Regardless, it was now his turn to say his own promises.

"Lulu Obsidian, when I was younger, my mom would read fairytales to me before I went to sleep," Yuto said. "But out of all of the fairytales, my favorite was the story of Rapunzel, a princess with beautiful long hair. And every time my mom read that story to me, I envisioned what I thought the princess looked like: a lovely girl with sparkling purple eyes and long, silky red hair. I loved that story so much that I wanted to find the princess of my dreams and marry her.

"But then I met you, and I was absolutely amazed. I realized the beautiful girl standing before me was far more prettier than my visions of Rapunzel. That was when I fell in love with you. Because when I met you, I also met my Rapunzel. But now, I don't care what you look like. You're the only person I truly love. No other woman is as amazing as you. And with this new chapter of our lives, I promise to stay a loving husband and a wonderful father."

Lulu smiled and tried her best not to tear up from the astonishing words that Yuto explained. With their vows exchanged, Orbital headed towards the priest, carrying a pillow with their wedding rings. "These rings represent the vows and promises you have exchanged," the priest said. "Upon putting them on, they will signify to the world that you belong to someone special and someone special belongs to you."

These rings were no ordinary wedding rings; they were custom made, with Yuto's resembling Dark Rebellion by being black with blue-green stones and Lulu's having the same design as her old bracelet. They took each other's ring to exchange and said, "With this ring, I thee wed," as they put them on their fingers.

"Yuto Osaku, do you take Ms. Obsidian to be your beloved wife in sickness and in health 'til death do you part?" the priest asked.

Yuto looked at Lulu straight in the eye, his thoughts shifting towards how he nearly lost her to Duel Academy and that he never wanted to see her suffer again. "I do," he answered.

"And Lulu Obsidian, do you take Dr. Osaku to be your beloved husband in sickness and in health 'til death do you part?" the priest asked.

Lulu suddenly thought about how she nearly lost him forever due to the darkness from Zarc's heart, not wanting him to suffer like that again. "I do," she answered.

"And so, by the power invested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife," the priest said.

The newly wed couple embraced each other in a loving kiss as everyone in the church room applauded. A few seconds later, the two parted.

"How does feel being Mrs. Lulu Osaku?" Yuto asked.

"Amazing," Lulu answered. "I love you so much."

"I love you too," Yuto replied before kissing her again.

The priest gave out his closing remarks to the Osakus and everyone who attended the wedding before concluding another successful wedding. The recessional then began as Yuto and Lulu exited through the double doors and walked down the pathway towards their limousine, receiving massively positive reception from everyone that watched it on television as they got out of their houses and cheered and clapped for them. The limo driver opened the door to let the two into the back seats, shutting it behind them, returning to his seat, and driving them to the after-party. Down the road were tin cans attached to the limo and dangling on the road along with a sign saying "Just married". Their friends and families got into their cars and drove the same path as to where they left the church, creating a single row of cars to let everyone know they took part in a special event and were heading somewhere else to celebrate.

This wasn't the end of the counterparts' adventures. It was just the beginning of their brand new lives...

The End

#Arc V Aftermath #yugioh arc v #Yuya Sakaki #Zuzu Boyle #Yuzu Hiragi #FruitShipping #Yuto (arc v) #Lulu Obsidian #Ruri Kurosaki #FallenAngelShipping #Yugo (arc v) #Rin (arc v) #AppleShipping #Yuri (arc v) #Celina (arc v) #Serena (arc v) #PredatorShipping

[ktrxs]

7.12.19

My bun is sick. I called two hospitals. One didn’t have their rabbit person on site. They referred me to the second. I call the second. They don’t take fucking rabbits.

I go to other vets around the area. The websites refer me to the second hospital. The hospital that doesn’t take rabbits.

The last time he was sick with gas, he acted a lot worse. I audibly heard noises coming from him. This time, he’s silent, so I have no clue what’s happening.

My only option right now is to hope that he gets better like he did last time. I’m going to force-feed him soon. 

I just don’t get how veterinarians need a specialty for animals other than cats and dogs.

My only hope right now is that his energy isn’t as bad as last time. He’s still hoping around and doesn’t seem to be in pain. But the internet has me thinking he’s going to die.

Please, please, please be okay Rumple.

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I’m super late to work today. I have a huge writing assignment due at 10am tomorrow. I have to write for the biz. Brandon didn’t go to work until 2. We went food shopping. And then he was watching tv next to me. So of course I couldn’t concentrate because of that and

But of course, my mind is hyperfocused on the bun. I can’t stop worrying.

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I’ve been craving soda and coffee the last few days. I haven’t craved soda in so fucking long. Giving up soda was like the easiest thing ever even though I thought I wouldn’t be able to do it.

I’ve gone all of 2019 without a soda. Now, why do I crave one? 

I saw a vegan mocha cold brew coffee today at grocery outlet. I wanted it soooo bad. But I’m not paying 2.50 for a sip of coffee.. So i paid the 2.50 on vegan icecream instead because at least it’ll last longer.

Also have i mentioned how awesome being a vegan is?

It’s never been so fucking easy to be a vegan than RIGHT NOW. TODAY.

Literally EVERYTHING I want, I get and no babies are being tortured for it.

Even if I want to feel included with the fam and have familiar, childhood, family foods like burgers and hotdogs. BOOM MOTHERFUCKERS.

Vegan burgers and vegan dogs. Right at Walmart. Easily accessbile. 

Do I want cookies? BOOM Walmart, Dollar Tree. Vegan cookies. I even have a microwavable vegan cookie that I’ve been making (and basically surviving on since I no want to cook). 

It goes: 3 tbsp oat flour (literally oatmeal through a blender). 1 tbsp SUGAR (i know, but it’s a fucking cookie). 1 tbsp cocoa (because you can have chocolate as a fucking vegan). 1tbsp of peanut butter motherfuckas (i used peanut butter powder). Literally mix that shit with 2 tbsp of water and microwave for 1 minute.

Fucking cookie in my mouth.

Do i want ice cream? Even Ben & Jerry’s are on board. I love chocolate fudge brownie. And I have enjoyed vegan Ben & Jerry’s chocolate fudge brownie. But it’s hard to find. 

But So Delicious vegan ice cream is all over the place. BOOM! Ice cream.

What else... what else..... oh donuts. Well... i havent seen or eaten a vegan doughnut. I know of places within a 2 hour radius of me that sells vegan donuts. But... 2 hours. So you got me on the doughnuts. And i want  one sooooo bad xD

But ice coffee? check. fried, junk, comfort foods? check. Cereal? Check. Going out to restaurants? Almost check.

 I normally am able to find SOMETHING. Like I literally found dragon broccoli and fries on the menu at RED LOBSTER. My stomach was so full i almost died. 

But, of course I wouldn’t go to a steakhouse or Arbys or Hardee’s. Like... I won’t even go to a McDonald’s now unless they bring the vegan burger to the USA. Wendys is out. 

The selection there is so sad. Literally: plain baked potatoe. Side salad... pick off cheese. And Burger King, for reasons I will never know, changed their vegan veggie burger to a vegetarian one. We don’t stan a burger king anymore.

Pizza? My friends. there iz vegan pizza out there. it’s under some rocks but it’s easier than  donuts.

I’ve order a custom vegan pizza from dominoe’s. Little Ceaser claims to customize a veggie pizza without cheese. If you’re near a Mod’s Pizza, get fucking vegan cheese!

There are also wonderful ingredients you can find to make your own pizza. Vegan crust. sauce. vegan cheese if you can find it and veggies.

I know my mind is all over the place but it’s only because I’m hungry and procratinating.

being vegan is so fucking easy. if you want to be a health nut with it, go. if you want to eat exactly like you do now, go ahead and make those tiny switches. 

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