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jae-daddy · 3 years

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im jaebum mini series ft. jinyoung

one / two / three / four / five / six (final) masterlist

pairing: jaebum x reader x jinyoung genre: friends, angst, jealousy plot: you and jaebum have been really great friends. things have been going smoothly because neither of you were in a real relationship, flings? sure, but girlfriends/boyfriends? no. so when Jaebum starts going out with Emma (a bitch), you can’t help but act out <3 a/n: I'm contemplating making this a jinyoung fic lol. hope y’all enjoy. thanks for all the love and support <3

Normally, people have a grand gesture or a classic tale of how they gained their best friend. You knew this because people love the tales of first meets. They love flaunting that badge of “we connected right away” or “I hated you at first, but now I can’t imagine life without you” bullshit and of the titles they give each other.

Okay, so that was a little hypocritical.

You had called Jaebum your best friend, but technically, you had thought it. Thinking it in your head shouldn't count, saying it out loud, on the other hand, should since it's disgustingly cringe.

But it was a fact, he was your best friend. However, there was no interesting story of your first meet or the moment you became friends. It just happened.

One day you went to a party, Jaebum was a friend of a friend. You met again at other parties, exchanged socials. You posted a picture of your now-dead dog, Jaebum replies saying “cute dog, but cats are better.”

You met up for drinks, talked, had fun.

And there, you both were now best friends.

You hated it when people asked for stories. You can’t remember the first moment you met everyone. There is no way anyone could ever possibly walk into a room, look at a random good-looking guy and be like-

“Yup, that’s the one, there’s the man of my dreams,” Emma swooned as she squeezed Jaebum’s hand on the dinner table lovingly. Jaebum glanced at her offering her a smile. His eyes met yours but didn’t stay because he could read your face, and just know that you were having none of this love at first sight bullshit.

“Jaebum told me that he felt the same way when he looked at me too,” Emma added, haughty. Her blue eyes gawked at you, smugly, showing off this apparent love of the century.

You bit your lip to stop the laugh threatening to come out. You turned your gaze away from her to Jaebum who looked away as soon as his eyes met yours. A small chuckle left you, “Did he?”

Sweet Jesus, he was such a fucking liar. The party they met, he was trying to hook up with Sarah from France. He’d only ended up with Emma because Sarah had chosen Jackson over him.

Love at first sight, sure.

“Oh that’s lovely,” the male beside you said. You turned to him, your lips in a thin smile as you gave him the eye.

“I thought I said no talking,” you leaned, whispering into his ears with a smile.

“Oh, don’t be ridiculous,” he chuckled back, pecking your lips.

Ew. PDA.

“You’re so funny,” he smiled at you.

Dickdown 9/10 really needs to stop acting like he is your man. This is not a real date. You had told him that when you told him to come and eat with your friends. You were careful not to use the word ‘date’ and had reminded him all through the car ride.

But it seemed like playing boyfriend was his dream.

“Aww,” the evil witch cooed from the other side of the table. She looked over at Jaebum, who glanced straight across at you. “Aren’t they just adorable babe?”

Jaebum gave her halfhearted snort-smile combo, but Emma ignored him and continued. She looked at Dickdown 9/10 sitting directly across from her and asked, “So how did you both meet?”

“We’re just hooking up,” you cut him off before he could begin. “You asked me to bring someone because apparently seeing me coming here by myself makes you feel so sad. So I have bought someone, a friend-”

“We fuck,” Dickdown objected from beside you.

“A friend who I fuck,” you added, shrugging still looking at her. “Don’t make this more than this is.”

You gave her a beautiful smile.

Bitch.

She smiled, reflecting the same energy back.

“I hope you find a love divine as Jaebum and I did,” she smiled at you.

“I hope I fall in love with a random hook up one day, too,” you smiled back. You held up the beer in your hand, “For falling in love with trivial one night stands.”

“To finding love,” Jaebum gave you a stern look, as he lifted his glass. He turned to Emma placing a kiss on her forehead. “Wherever destiny takes you.”

“Oh baby,” she cooed, and you almost threw up in your mouth.

“I liked your toast better,” Dickdown smiled at you, and you saw the image of riding him on top the table flash through your mind.

“You are getting your dick sucked tonight,” you told him through your eyes. You didn’t know if he got the message, but the promise was already made.

Jaebum chortled from across the table. You turned around to face him, quirking your eyebrows at him. Jaebum just snorted as he shook his head.

“See that was fun, wasn’t it?” Jaebum jeered as you stood outside the bar waiting for Dickdown 9/10 to come back with his car. He was being responsible and did not drink; a true gentleman.

“Yeah, so fun! I am absolutely devastated the night has come to an end,” you pouted at him, making him roll his eyes. You shook your head as you faced the front.

“This is going to be the rest of your foreseeable future, you know,” you told him, as you turned to look at him. He stared at you, intently, but you didn't look away. Instead, you peered into his eyes, trying to tell him to snap out of it. “Are you sure you’re going to be okay?”

“Yes, I am okay.” He grinned at you, as your face dropped, disappointed.

You were hoping that would scare him, but he didn’t mind this dull life.

“This is what your fun night looks like now, and statistically, it will only get worse, unless you bring in a third party for fun.”

“Are you volunteering?”

“Make it just us two and I’ll make it the perfect fun night.” You smirked back. Your breath quickened as his brooding brown eyes dropped down to your lips. You licked it instinctively.

Jaebum’s eyes met yours, flickering down to your lips once more before he smiled, rolling his eyes as he looked away, “Stop that.”

“Stop what?” You smiled, innocently. You knew exactly what you were doing, but you didn’t care.

“Stop flirting with me.”

“Such accusations,” you gasped.

You winked.

“My god, you’re such a flirt,” Jaebum laughed, looking out to the road. “This is why Emma worries when we are together. She just doesn’t get that this is a joke.”

What joke? You mean it.

Kinda.

“Emma would be jealous of a coconut tree if you stood too close to it, Jae,” you retorted, making him give you a pointed look. “That girl is loco.”

“You think too badly of her,” he smiled, nudging his shoulder against yours. “Once you get to know her, she’s not bad. You would like her.”

“I’m sure if people spent enough time with anyone, they’d start to like them. It’s probably a minute form of Stockholm syndrome,” you shrugged at him, facing the front. You noticed as Dickdown 9/10 bought the car around. “You couldn’t get away from her, so you decided to like her.”

“You’re crazy,” Jaebum told you, a smile on his lips. He watched as you walked away from him, towards the car. He followed a few steps behind you, “This guy seems like a dick. Who the fuck doesn’t drink at bars?”

“A responsible dick who has to drive me home, and will be rewarded with very nice dominated sexual acts,” you laughed when Jaebum grimaced. “Yeah, he’s a bit of a wanker, but he isn’t too bad.”

“What’s his name?” Jaebum asked. The car stopped a few feet away from you, you turned to face Jaebum with wide eyes. When you didn’t reply he smirked, “You don’t know his name.”

“I do,” you argued.

Fucking shit, you didn’t. He was Dickdown 9/10.

You cursed yourself, you should’ve listened when he introduced himself when you both walked in.

“He’s just a friend, Jae,” you drolled, giving him a shrug.

“I’m just a friend and you know my name.”

“But that’s cause I love you my pumpkin pie,” you gave him mocking smile, as you brought your hand to your heart. “Now, bye.”

“Text me when you get home,” he called out as you opened the passenger seat.

“You too!” You stuck out the window and waved him bye.

“They were nice,” Dickdown 9/10 said as he drove away. You turned over to him, a small smile on your lips.

You reached over undoing his pants.

“And you were a good boy tonight,” you leaned over, kissing his neck, “such a good boy.”

You leaned down, wetting your lips before it wrapped around his cock.

“Fuck,” he groaned.

Was this a bad thing that bad people normal did? Definitely.

You knew that you didn’t need another person’s advice or a search on Google to know that this was a bad idea. Out there in the world of other judging people, you would be called a home-wrecker, a whore or something along those lines of insults.

You would have been affected by those words if you were say, five years younger. But when they were the actual and honest truth, why not take it with grace.

It wasn’t like you were actually going to try to break Jaebum and his lovely bitch of a girlfriend Emma up. You were just going to like him and wait for them to break up, which they will inevitably for sure.

Until then, you just need to relax and chill.

And that started with getting rid of the arm wrapped around your waist so early in the morning.

You stared at your reflection in the mirror as you lay there with his front pressed against your back.

You should’ve gotten rid of him last night.

But he was so good at dinner, you felt bad telling him to go after he did that and lived up to his nickname, so you let him stay.

Still, it was time to wish him bon voyage.

But you had too. You couldn’t do relationships.

It’s better to end it now before he starts to think this is more.

“Next time just find someone on Tinder,” you thought to yourself as you glared at your reflection. At least if it is a stranger on Tinder you wouldn’t be losing the best dick you got after dinner with your friends. But it was time for all good things to end.

You removed his arms off you and sat up on your bed staring at him. He stirred a bit at first, and then went back to sleep.

You sighed, getting up from your bed. You grabbed a t-shirt lying around that ended on your mid-thigh. You looked around for something, and decided to open the curtains was the most annoying thing you could.

“What?” he groaned, his voice all sexy and sleepy. You turned around with the light streaming in from behind you. It was a wonderful sunny day, and his voice was making you want to get back in there and have good and deserving good-bye sex.

But you stood your ground and folded your arms across your chest, “Time to leave, bud.”

“Wow, no good morning,” he moaned, but got up nonetheless. You grabbed his clothes and handed them to him.

“Thank you for the wonderful times, you were amazing.”

“This sounds like a goodbye,” he snorted putting his shirt over his head.

You looked at him with a sad smile, “This is goodbye, forever.”

“Woah,” he frowned as you gave him his wallet and car keys.

“I think it’s only fair for you to know,” you gave him a supportive smile, “You were a solid nine out of ten. A true gifts from Heaven.”

“Why not a ten?” He asked, and you frowned thinking about it.

“You were great, so I don’t think the missing point is your fault,” you bit your lip contemplating.

“Maybe its cause you’re dead inside?” He smiled like he had done something.

You nodded, agreeing, “That’s probably it. Your dick is missing that one point because it couldn’t bring me back to live.”

“Well,” you kissed his cheek and pushed him out of your room. “Bye-bye.”

You closed your door and patted your back, “That wasn’t bad. That was very good.”

“Where’s your boy toy?” Jaebum asked as he paid the cashier for his coffee.

You frowned, “You’re making me sound like a cougar.”

“And that’s bad?”

“Definitely not, that is goals. But I am still in my twenties. If I was a cougar at this age, that would be illegal.” You told him before turning to the barrister to place your order.

“Hi, how may I help you?” The perky girl said, not looking up from the screen.

“A caramel Frappuccino,” you sang, rolling your tongue.

“God, you’re embarrassing.” Jaebum sighed from beside you.

“Hey-”

“That’ll be 7.50,” she pointed to the EFTPOS machine. You placed your card on it waiting for the beep. You looked up at the girl, getting the receipt, “Thank you.”

“How come you wanted to hang?” You asked Jaebum as you settled on a table towards the back of the cafe.

“Can't I just casually want to have a chat with you?”

“We’ve met three times already this week,” you rolled your eyes at his pout. “And asking me for coffee? That’s a bit formal.”

“Well, it is formal business,” Jaebum placed his intertwined fingers on the table with a proud smile. “I wanted to formally tell you that my book has been approved for a second viewing.”

“Oh my god!” You gasped, your eyes widening. You froze for a second, before chuckling, tears in your eyes. “Oh my god, that’s amazing. I’m so proud of you. You worked so hard. Oh my gosh-”

“I know,” he clasped your hand in his. He looked into your eyes, his eyes glistening as he gave you a sincere smile. “Thank you. I couldn’t have done it without you.”

“All I did was get you drunk,” you breathed, chuckling as you wiped your eyes before the tears ran free.

You were not going to cry in a cafe, no matter how fucking happy you were.

Jaebum just laughed, throwing his head back. He sobered and started explaining how he got told the notified, and what changes they wanted to make to the book.

“They want to change Persephone?” You frowned, she was your favourite.

“They said something about Greek mythology-”

“Duh.”

“And something about it being impressionable to young readers,” he bit his lips.

Before you could say anything, the waitress came with two cups and a piece of chocolate cake. You looked at her, managing to give her a tight smile, “Thank you.”

“Thank you,” Jaebum smiled at her, before looking at you. He stared at your frowning face and passed you a spoon. “Here.”

You took it off him and took a bite of the cake.

“I’m not going to let them,” he said after a moment.

You looked up, staring into his eyes as he looked at you with a knowing smile.

“I’ll go to another publisher if I have to, they can’t take her away.”

“Jae,” you sighed, moved by his words. Persephone was your character; the one you had helped build. She was like your child and fictional form at once. “You just saying that is enough. You don’t have to for me-”

“She was is my favourite, y/n,” he held your gaze, and your heart swelled. “It won’t be the same without her. I can’t.”

“It’ll work out,” you patted his hand. You spooned a piece of cake and held it to him. He took the bite, licking his lip as he leaned back into his seat.

“I hope so,” his eyes darted to the doors. He held up a hand as if to grab someone’s attention. You turned to find a very attractive male walking in. Jaebum continued from behind you, “That’s why I invited the editor for a meeting.”

You turned to Jaebum, wide-eyed, “What?!”

“Smile, he’s here.” Jaebum gave you a knowing look. “You helped build her, maybe your views and ideas would persuade him.”

“Hey, Jaebum,” the good-looking editor held out his hand. Jaebum got up shaking it.

“Mr Park,” Jaebum smiled politely.

“Jinyoung is fine,” he smiled, his eyes crinkling at the corners.

He was cute.

“This is y/n,” Jaebum gestured towards you. You just smiled, not sure if you should get up too. Jinyoung smiled, nodding, as he seated at the end of the four-sided table. “Have you ordered?”

“Yup, just as I walked in,” his voice was deep and soothing. “Do you want to talk around or get straight down to it?”

“Straight to it,” Jaebum snorted, both of them relaxing into their seats. The waitress placed the drink in front of Jinyoung, a blush blooming on her cheeks as he thanked her with a sweet smile.

You just sat back and watched him.

“I heard you have a problem with my suggestions?” He pulled out a few papers from his suitcase.

What a cunt carrying a suitcase, pretty handsome though.

“Well, that’s only because you want to get rid of arguably the most important character,” Jaebum laughed, but his tone tight.

One hour, a whole hour of going back and forth. You spent a good ten minute on a monologue of exactly why Persephone was a good character, and a great role model for young readers; especially girls.

“But would parents be comfortable with letting their kids read about a female-”

“Who fights, swears and chooses her sexual partners?” You cut him off raising an eyebrow at him. Jinyoung smiled at you, arrogantly, like what you were saying was of no value. “How are her actions any different to the male main character? Xavier does the same if not worse.”

“But parents, Miss-”

“Y/n is fine,” you smiled and continued. “Don’t be a pussy, Jinyoung. Parents don’t read books before giving them to their kids. And this is young adult, not primary school kids.”

You saw Jaebum still as he licked his lips, holding back a smile.

“Parents follow reviews,” Jinyoung’s smile grew as he leaned towards you, “Good parents do, at least.”

Red. You saw red.

“How about a compromise?” Jaebum said, making you both turn towards him. “Persephone stays, but only two partners; the rest stays the same.”

“I could convince the Board with that,” Jinyoung nodded, he glanced at you his lips quirking up. “Feminism sexuality isn’t defined by the number of people someone can sleep with. It’s about owning it. A smaller number but the same attitude will still get the same message across.”

You didn’t say anything.

What he said did make sense.

Shitty cunthead.

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dinosaurtsukki · 3 years

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the language of flowers | an akaashi x gn!reader fic

hey dino!! could i request a short fluffy fic about someone having a crush on akaashi and works part time in a flower shop? they start leaving him flowers with meanings behind them and a letter anonymously on his desk in school. eventually, they get caught and confesses to him?? im a sucker for flower shop aus and i'd love to see what kind of flowers you would use!! ٩(●˙▿˙●)۶…⋆ฺ -🍙

-- ahhh this request was so fun to write !! i planned it a while ago and just wrote it all down in one sitting hehe. i hope you like this !!

pairing: akaashi keiji x gn!reader

word count: 2k words

contains: fluff !!, lots of flowers and their meanings, hints at a mystery novel night, high school au

summary: akaashi keiji has been receiving flowers from a ‘mystery florist’ (aka, you) for quite a whole. except, he might be crushing on someone else.

a/n: requested by the amazing onigiri-anon !! i really wanted this to be more of a full-length fic because of how cute it is so i hope you guys enjoy it !!

the first flowers akaashi had received from you were twin alstroemerias: one in orange and one in white. he actually had no idea what the flowers’ names were because he had never seen any quite like it. both of the flowers had three main petals and three smaller petals closer to the center that had dark little stripes on them. the white one had a slight touches of pink and yellow in the very center.

akaashi saw the two flowers, wrapped in a pink satin ribbon, on his desk one day after class had ended. it was a few days after finals had ended and he was still feeling bitter loss that hit the volleyball team. but, the sight of the flowers: bright and fresh and sunny, put a little smile on his face.

when he was at home, he decided to look up what the flowers were. it took a great deal of searching through ‘flower pictures’ on google images for him to actually find the name: alstroemeria, also known as peruvian lily. and, because he was curious as to why there would be flowers on his desk, he looked up whether there was a meaning behind the flower.

white alstroemerias meant ‘concern for a loved one who isn’t feeling well’ and orange ones were ‘working towards ones goals.’ akaashi smiled and placed the flowers in a jar full of water on his desk. he didn’t know who it was, but there was someone out there looking out for him.

...

“afternoon, akaashi.”

“afternoon, y/n,” akaashi greeted, sitting down on the table next to you. as usual, you were the first two people in the clubroom. that was mostly because your other members of the literature club were freshmen who volunteered for a ton of other clubs but akaashi didn’t exactly mind. he liked your company.

“another gerbera?” you asked, pointing at the flower in his hand.

“yeah,” akaashi smiled. “it was on my desk this morning.” he had already looked up what the meaning behind that flower after he got it for the first time and saw that it meant ‘cheer up.’ “it came at pretty nice timing too,” he added. it was a pretty stressful week for akaashi with cram school every day and having to study for entrance exams. the flowers were always tied with a pink, satin ribbon.

“are you still on the lookout for who your mystery florist is?” you teased, looking up over the book you were reading.

“i still haven’t stopped my search,” akaashi said, lightly running his hands through the silky flower petals. “well, i do kind of like that they’re this mystery person. i never thought that receiving flowers would be this, well, nice.”

“good for you,” you smiled and returned to your book, sneaking glances once in a while at akaashi as he admired the flower. unbeknownst to him, you were the mystery florist who had been crushing on akaashi ever since freshman year. it had started out as a way to cheer him up a bit after fukurodani wasn’t able to enter nationals. the day after you left the alstroemerias on his desk, akaashi had entered the clubroom with a smile on his face, talking about how someone was nice and enough to give him flowers.

and from then on, you decided to leave him flowers whenever you knew he was feeling down. most of them were gerberas, since there were always one or two left over at the flowershop you worked part-time at. but sometimes, you carefully sneaked out one of the fresh white poppies from the new flower deliveries. akaashi wasn’t really the type to celebrate things like perfect test scores or successful practice matches so you liked sending him a white poppy once in a while to remind him to be happy for himself.

the sight of akaashi walking into the clubroom with a slight sparkle in his eye, a spring in his step, and a fresh flower in his hand became one of your favorite things. and even though you could never convince yourself to actually confess to him, just seeing that was more than enough.

...

‘oh, another flower,’ akaashi smiled as he saw one on his desk as soon as he entered the classroom. it had been a good few weeks since he last received another flower and even though he knew his mystery florist shouldn’t really be obligated to give him flowers in the first place, akaashi still missed seeing fresh blooms on the makeshift jar on his desk.

as he neared his desk though, he found that the flower wasn’t the usual gerbera or white poppy, or even the alstroemerias that he first received. its petals were white and it looked a bit like a rose, except that its petals were a bit bigger and the scent was a bit sweeter.

‘i wonder what this is,’ akaashi thought, pulling up his phone and once again looking through flower pictures. this one was a bit easier to find. the flower was a gardenia: secret love.

...

you were practically holding your breath ever since you left the flower on akaashi’s desk. for the past few months, you’ve been playing it safe with the flowers you were giving akaashi. but earlier that day, while you were opening up the shop, a fresh batch of gardenias was delivered which gave you a crazy idea. akaashi would surely find out what it meant and your heart was hammering in your chest.

“a-akaashi!” you practically squeaked in surprise as soon as he entered the clubroom. the gardenia was in his hand and you felt your face heat up. “another flower, huh? this one looks different from the rest.”

“yeah, it’s a gardenia,” akaashi said, sitting down next to you. unlike before, you couldn’t quite read the expression on his face and that made you even more nervous.

“did you look up what it means?” you asked.

“’secret love’, apparently,” akaashi glanced up at you. “i guess, these have been coming from a secret admirer all this time.”

“aww, that’s so sweet! i wish i had one who’d send me flowers,” you laughed nervously.

“yeah, well the thing is, i wouldn’t know how to tell them,” akaashi sighed.

“tell them what?”

“that i like someone else.”

and with that, you felt your hopes deflate. akaashi already liked someone else. ‘probably one of the pretty ones in class,’ you thought sadly.

“well, i’m sure they’ll understand,” you said in a small voice before returning to the book you were reading. unbeknownst to you, akaashi there was a hint of longing in the way akaashi glanced at you from the corner of his eye.

...

akaashi had a crush on you ever since freshman year, when the two of you met in the literature club. he had already signed up for the volleyball club but since he knew he’d be able to balance things well, he decided to sign up for another club of interest. on your first day as club members, akaashi recalled you intensively defending fanfiction as subversive literature and making very impressive points for that matter. he knew you weren’t very outspoken and you tended to be quite shy around your seniors, but you always spoke up when you felt you needed to.

being in the literature club was even more fun with you around. you were the one who gave the idea of a ‘mystery novel dinner’ event for the cultural festival where you invited other students and pretended to be guests in a house solving a murder. akaashi had pretended to be the well-meaning, intelligent detective while you were lady of the house who mourned the death of her husband while actually being the real killer. the event was a success and akaashi fondly remembered how you were consistently in-character, even when akaashi was apprehending you after he solved the mystery.

when he entered the clubroom the next day, wondering just how he was going to tell his mystery florist that he couldn’t reciprocate their feelings, he walked in to find that you weren’t there.

“oh, akaashi-san,” one of your juniors who was there instead, greeted him.

“y/n isn’t here yet?” he asked.

“oh, well they came here and just left their bag. i think they were trying to buy snacks before the cafeteria closed,” they answered, pointing at your bag that was in your usual seating place.

“thanks,” akaashi nodded his thanks at them and sat down at his usual spot. your bag was zipped completely open, one of your usual habits, and its contents were fully visible. akaashi spotted more than a few books, one of them in particular catching his eye.

“’the language of flowers,’“ he read aloud.

“oh, i think that’s the one from our collection,” his junior said. “y/n has been reading it for a while. i think it’s because of the new job they got.”

“new job?” akaashi asked.

“yeah, at the flower shop,” his junior nodded.

akaashi blinked at the book for a few seconds before standing up. “i’ll be back in a bit,” he said, leaving the clubroom. as quickly as he could, he walked back to his classroom and peeked into the small glass window.

and just as he suspected. there you were, standing by his desk, placing a pink rose on top of it.

...

“thank you for coming,” you bowed as the customers left the shop. as soon as they were gone, you let out a sigh as you surveyed the mess of leaves, stems, and leftover wrapping paper on your workstation. a man had just come by asking for one of the more extravagant bouquets to give to his wife and your fingers hurt a bit from the thorns on the rose stems. you had been dealing with roses all day, especially now that you they were your most recent deliveries since they were in season.

you had also given akaashi a rose. you knew they had very different meanings depending on the color, but the pink one that you gave him meant ‘trust, happiness, or confidence.’ you figured it was about time for you to stop sending him flowers, especially now knowing that he liked someone else, so you decided to go all out and leave him a pink rose.

you tried to focus on cleaning your workstation and leave all thoughts of akaashi out of your head when the shop bell suddenly rang as a customer came in.

“welcome to-- akaashi?” the sight of him made you stop in your tracks. in his hand, he was holding the pink rose you gave him earlier. you watched as his eyes glanced from the bin of fresh roses on your worktable, to the pink satin ribbon your ribbons case, and you knew he had just put two and two together.

“you’re the mystery florist,” akaashi said, stepping closer to where you were.

“i am,” you sighed, knowing there was nowhere for you to run. “but if you want, i’ll stop sending the flowers. that’s the last one.”

“why would i want that?” akaashi asked.

“because... because you like someone else,” you said softly.

“ah, but when i said i liked someone else back then, that could have meant anyone,” akaashi said, a smile playing on the corner of his lip. “it could even be... you.”

your eyes widened as you understood the meaning of what he had just said. “m-me...?”

“yeah.” now it was akaashi’s turn to feel shy. “i’ve... i’ve liked you for quite a while, y/n.”

“you have?” you could scarcely believe your ears. akaashi, the boy who you had crushed on for so long, liked you back.

“now, i guess it’s about time i be the one to give you flowers,” akaashi smiled, surveying the shop. “what do you suggest?”

you let out a giggle, feeling that rush of giddy joy at the knowledge that akaashi liked you back. you looked around all the flowers in the shop, so many meanings, so many ways to say ‘i love you.’

your eyes fell on the bin of roses at your workstation and remembered how the thorns hurt your hand. “well, at this point, anything except roses.”

taglist (still open to anyone who wants in!): @montys-chaos @miyumtwins @strawberriimilkshake @pocubo @sugawara-sweetheart @akaashisbabydoll @laure-chan @therainroguefanfiction @atetiffdoesart @stephdaninja @oikaw-ugh @charliefredb @dramaqueenweeb1469 @tremblinghearts @applepienation @doodleniella @haikyuu-my-love

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tinyboxxtink · 3 years

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Hey so loved your black magic series! I read your post about using REE/Rafael. I’ll read anything you write but this idea to me is RPF and kind of squicks. ☹️ Maybe if you use another character he played? Nevada?! Someone sees “Barba” doing something super bad and they’re all “omg omg” and think it’s Barba? 🤷🏻‍♀️

I hear you, I do. HOWEVER, I made a "Version" of Raul Esparza in this story that is 5 years younger, and...I hate to say it, "more" famous?

IDK I wrote a 'prototype' chapter last night, so I'm gonna put this to you. I assume/hope you're an avid reader and I can gauge the public consensus, but also I want ALL my readers to be happy!!

So here, read this and then tell me if you still find the idea "Squicky".

That goes for anyone else! Maybe I should put my tag list in here....

The way I wrote him though anon, I truly feel in my heart that it's not RPF, because like I said RPF freaks me out as well.

Before you already go in skeptical, let me set up the plot I had planned. {As told to @madamsnape921 in an IM:

the thing was gonna start that someone sees Rafael proposing to the reader, and tells a tabloid that Raul Esparza is engaged to some rando. Because they think that it was him. And then Rafa, the reader and Chloe start to discuss on how either it's a multiverse thing, or a doppelganger thing because it turns out that Rafael and Raúl are very similar, like personality traits and the Broadway dream, except that Raul's childhood was basically the opposite of Rafael's so Chloe THINKS that Raul is Rafael from a "multiverse".

Right and then Raul goes to Rafael's office to confront him and then the reader and Chloe are there to take Rafael out to lunch and they're like holy shit!

And Rafael is super uncomfortable with the idea of the reader EVER being in a show with Raul because obviously they're like the same person and Raul probably has more in common with her

Oh and also Raul is five years younger, and thinner. So then Raul's like you shouldn't listen to him, I could really help you with your career.

Annnnd that's all I have so far.

Okay so read this really and tell me you honest opinion.

Screw it putting the tag list:

Tag List

@madamsnape921

@lolliepopsicle

@chasingeverybreakingwave

@milkshqke

@wanniiieeee

@word-scribbless

@gibbs274

@sassyada

@aprildecker-blog

@bookishfanfic

@stars-in-the-skies-world

@stars-trash-18

@omgsuperstarg

You were walking towards the exit of Central Park hand in hand with your now fiancee, when all of a sudden two giggling girls came running up to you.

“Oh my god!!!!! Raul we didn’t know you had a girlfriend!” One of them started squealing.

“Fiancee,” He corrected. “Wait I’m sorry, what? Did you just call me Raul?”

“Uh...yeah, duh,” One of the girls made a face. “Raul Esparza?”

“What?” You bursted out laughing. “I’m sorry, you think he’s Raul Esparza?”

“Um, we know he is,” The other one crossed her arms.

“Um, no he isn’t!” You wrapped your arm around Rafael protectively, as if the two girls were going to kidnap him or something.

“I can promise you ladies, I am not-- whoever you just said,” Rafael assured them.

“Why are you doing this? Are you trying not to embarrass your lady friend here?” One of the girls made a weird face at you.

“Wha? No--” Rafael tried to defend himself but the girls were already clearly ticked off.

“Wow, I have heard of actors trying to get away from fans but completely pretending to be another person, that’s pretty low Raul,” One of them glared at Rafael.

“Yeah, it wouldn’t have taken you much effort to just take a selfie with us,” The other one added with a scowl.

“I...um--” He looked to you for help, but you just shrugged. You had no idea how to handle such a weird situation.

“I guess we can take one--” He offered.

“Oh no, forget it now,” One girl scoffed.

“Yeah, jerk!” The other one stomped her foot and they both sauntered away angrily.

-----------

“...What the hell was that?” Rafael looked at you in utter confusion and disbelief, you just gave him a “wtf” smile.

“I have no idea baby--”

“Oh my god, are you guys ok?” Chloe suddenly came running up behind you. “What the hell did those teeny boppers want? To rob you with water guns or something?”

“No they-- they wanted a selfie?” Rafael was still confused, trying to figure out what just happened.

“A selfie? With you?” Chloe snorted.

“No-- With Raul Esparza,” You looked at her with a confused smile. It was pretty entertaining to think that your fiance looked like a Broadway star.

“I don’t get it, you said that I didn’t even look like him!” Rafael looked at you.

“I mean I said I didn’t see it, and that you were more handsome,”

“....Yeah well you might wanna rethink that answer babe,” Chloe’s eyes were wide as she handed you her phone. She had googled RAUL ESPARZA, and the images that popped up were-- Rafael’s face.

“Oh my God…” You whispered, showing Rafael the phone. He quickly pulled out his own and started searching for himself. You handed Chloe back her phone and did the same. Pages and pages of articles about Raul Esparza’s shows, and accelaides, and all with Rafael's face plastered all over them.

“He’s….me,” Rafael whispered in horror.

“He looks more like you than you do!” You teased, he looked at you with a very serious face. Clearly he was not ready to joke about this yet.

“Holy shit. This is some multiverse shit,” Chloe muttered as she went through her Google search.

“Excuse me?” You asked her.

“You know, the multiverse theory? There’s an infinite amount of universes in every decision anyone ever makes.”

“Meaning…?” Rafael asked.

“Isn’t it obvious?” Chloe raised an eyebrow. “Raul could be Rafael, if he hadn’t given up on his Broadway dream,”

“Oh my god,” Rafael started laughing. “Chloe, did you get loaded in the park or something?”

“Oh okay, so you have a better idea, big brain lawyer?” She crossed her arms.

“He might not, but I do,” You piped up, showing her your phone.

“Doppelgangers?” Chloe read with a face.

“Yes, it’s a fact that there are 5 people in the world with the EXACT same face,” You continued reading.

“And he just happens to live in New York, where Rafael lives? AND is on Broadway, the one thing Rafael gave up?”

“Look sure it’s a million to one shot that those events would line up, but what’s more plausible: Doppelganger or ‘Multiverse’?” You looked at Chloe, who looked at Rafael, so you turned to Rafael as well.

“...Wha--are you asking me?” He asked.

“I mean it is your face,” You shrugged. “What do you think, baby?”

“I’m leaning towards a doppelganger, sorry Chloe,” He shrugged as well.

“Yeah well, you’re probably right,” Chloe nodded as she read her own phone, still on Raul Esparza info. “Most likely because he’s five years YOUNGER than you,”

“WHAT?!” Rafael grabbed her phone; as he read it, his face fell. “Oh God, no…”

“Wha--What does it matter how old he is, Rafa?” You furrowed your brows.

“Or the fact that he’s clearly thinner and more attractive,” Chloe added with a smirk.

“CHLOE,” You scolded her. “What the ever loving fuck?”

“Well, I’m just saying-- Look at them side by side,” Chloe had a photo of Rafael from some mayor’s ball next to Raul Esparza at the Tonys, both in tuxedo’s. You wouldn’t admit to Rafael but Raul was definitely thinner, and...he looked a lot younger. It was probably Botox or something you were sure, but still….

“Okay but again WHY does it matter--?” You wanted to change the subject.

“Are you kidding me? Y/N-- This is what you want to do!” He gestured to Chloe’s phone.

“....I don’t want Raul--” You started.

“No, you want to be on Broadway though!! And, and what if someday, God forbid, you end up in a show with this guy? He clearly already has a leg up on me compatibility wise, and as Chloe so kindly pointed out, a leg up on me age and attractiveness wise, and--” Rafael started ranting and rambling, talking lightening fast, as he did when he got upset or excited.

“Whoa whoa whoa whoa, back up there counselor,” You put up a hand to his face. “Are you actually insinuating that if I worked with Raul Esparza, that I would magically fall in love with him?”

“Don’t say it like that,” Rafael was triggered by the mention of magic and love.

“Okay but I’m not even saying ‘magic’ magic, I’m just saying-- What do you think because he’s an actor, and younger than you I’m just going to think I’m better off with him? Just because he has your face?” You gave him a small “oh honey” smile as you placed your hands on either of his face.

“No, but if you have to play his love interest, and you spend every day with him, it might blur the lines--” He started grumbling.

“Rafael, baby--” You shook his head in your hands. “I am still in SCHOOL. I am nowhere NEAR being in a Broadway show as a freaking techie, let alone a love interest starring opposite Raul Esparza,”

“Yeah, I mean this guy is huge-- 3 Tonys, 2 Emmys, an Oscar--” Chloe rattled off, but stopped when she realized you were glaring at her. “What? I’m helping!”

“...See? He’s far too famous for me,” You pressed your forehead to Rafael’s.

“Right, and I’m just the lowly ADA,” He muttered.

“Lowly my ass, Rafa,” You hit him playfully. “You are the most respected ADA in all of New York,”

“I’m the only ADA of New York,” He made a face.

“Not true! Just the city,” You beamed, proud of yourself you did some research once you had gotten together.

“My point is Rafael,” You now put your hands on his collar and pulled yourself into him. “You are all the acclaim I need,” You kissed him softly. “You’re my everything, I mean for fuck’s sake you just held a one man flash mob to propose to me! Let’s Raul Esparza do THAT,” You laughed, hoping to make him feel better. As his scowl melted into a smile, you knew you had succeeded.

“That was pretty romantic wasn’t it?” He beamed, proud of himself.

“It was EPIC,” Chloe chimed in, for good this time.

“Your voice is beautiful by the way,” You had forgotten in the midst of all of the romantic hubbub to compliment him. “I’m really sorry you had to give up Broadway,”

“Yeah, well-- apparently some part of me didn’t,” He gestured to his phone.

“Well he doesn’t have me,” You pointed out.

“He doesn’t know what he’s missing.” Rafael grinned as he pulled you into a deep kiss.

“Now can we please just forget about--” You hesitated, deciding not to mention his name again. “Anything else, and just focus on our engagement night?”

“Well, I suppose--” He nodded as he put an arm around you, and the three of you continued to walk through the park.

-------

Across town in a swanky New York Penthouse, an alert went off on Raul Esparza’s phone. He had it set to notify him any time his name appeared in a headline on the internet. He glanced over and picked it up, reading the notification. As he read it, his eyes widened and his face grew red. He stood up and yelled to no one in particular,

“Who the FUCK is trying to impersonate me?!”

#rafael barba #rafael barba imagine #rafael barba x reader #rafael barba fanficton #raul esparza fanfiction #but not really #anon ask #black magic #doppelganger #law and order svu fanfiction

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leftenant-sinani · 4 years

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Tales from Grudgewill - Love of Our Lord Chapter 1

For some time now... i was thinking that maybe i should send my newest piece here. “Love of Our Lord”. Its basically a story about Lord Valnin (Not Uy-Mal Dzerma but Trildyn, because its alternate universe) dealing with his most recent problems like diplomacy, plague or love. The universe ive created is called “Grudgewill”, a fantasy universe based on Elder Scrolls, WarCraft, Dragon Age and perhaps a little on Warhammer Fantasy. I will send details about it later, but for now.. heres this little FanFiction ive made. This is just first chapter, i have second ready and im working on the third one, its going to be a long way. And i want to thank @avengercommander and @witharsenicsauce for inspiring me to do this, for helping me with writing and also for being very good friends, i cannot thank them enough for either. Anyway, i hope you will like it. ;)

Note : Almost all of the Valnin's lovers are characters taken from other games, most importantly Mass Effect : Andromeda and XCOM 2 : War of The Chosen, you can Google them, so you will know how they at least look like, for the Trio of Masters, Google up XCOM 2 Chosen. As for the Valnin himself, just Google up a Dark Elf from Elder Scrolls series, if you want some picture in particular, he would look like this most probably : cdnb.artstation.com/p/assets/images/images/016/494/335/large/shamine-king-portrait-practice-adana-02-da.jpg?1552379572, Art by Shamine King And i know this is a huge crossover thing, and in my official lore this will not be a thing, but hey, i started this story when i was drunk and i want to finish it, so i don't care anymore. smileyface Also, please excuse the grammar mistakes, english is not my first language, but i am trying my best.

Chapter I : First Things First

Lord Valnin was in difficult situation right now. He had no idea what to do first. The two other rulers of Icestand required his help with the plague in their regions, half of his army was demoralized because of this undead menace that was coming from the South, and there was also this most difficult choice, he would have to make... to choose one of his loyal companions, who would share their life with him until the very end of all things, despite the sad fact most of them will not live as long as Valnin. The Lord dropped into his chair, thinking about what to do, but all he wanted, was peace and quiet for at least a day or two. His blood red eyes focused on the rise of sun, its beams already touching Valnin's light blue skin. "Sometimes... I wish I didn't accept Watcher's offer. It surely would be easier than having to rule a kingdom" He said quietly to himself, so no one would hear him. As he continued to watch the dawn, his mind came with an idea after a minute. "First things first, I have to deal with this little love problem. After all, it's the closest problem I have here" He told himself quietly again. But then he frowned a little, as he was thinking about who to take. He couldn't think of who to choose. After all, he loved them all equally. He knew that having six lovers would be a bit crazy, but after all, no one was stopping him from doing so, unless one of them would disagree. "Hmm... It is an insane idea, Valnin, but you know you just cannot choose between them, you would then feel bad for the rest" He said with a bit of a louder tone this time. He then realized it, and stayed quiet for at least ten seconds, hoping that no one heard has him. Silence. He sighed a sigh of relief. He then felt odd, as he realized that he was pretty paranoid about all this. "Being a ruler will kill you one day, Trildyn" He told himself again in quiet tone.

It was a normal day in Third Kindgom of Icestand. Valnin's experts, soldiers and servants were doing their standard routines, and all the work he had was tons of paperwork again. It wasn't really easy for his mental health, since he had a lot of problems of his own, and yet, he still had to deal with things in his own kingdom, in kingdoms of his co-rulers and also with things from other provinces and most of all, the Emerald Empire. It surely wasn't boring but more like irritating. Doing all the same things all over again despite the fact they should've been done already can be really mind-bothering. It took almost three quarters of the day to get all the formal things done. The Lord was sitting in his throne, his palm on his left cheek, enjoying the peace he finally got for the rest of the day. He closed his eyes for a moment, thinking about what he should do now that everyday's work has been done. His thoughts were interrupted by a voice of his runner who just got here "Your lordship, i hate to interrupt you, but Lord Arput II and Lord Voltor-Kal requested your presence in three days in Second Kingdom's capital". Valnin's face then shaped into annoyed expression, he sighed "Very well, tell them i'll be there, my servant". The runner bowed, and was on his way again. The Lord shifted in his throne again as he wanted to continue to think, but he couldn't. Something was keeping him from it. He got up, straightening his long black hair and then he thought about that he could visit one of his companions. But who? That was the question...

Captain of the Royal Security, Jaal Ama Darav, was just preparing to get out of his armor and head to his quarters, when suddenly someone knocked on the door. "Stars, what is it now?" He said under his breath. He cleared his throat and said just loudly enough so the person behind the door could hear him "Come in". He then checked his desk if he didn't forget anything while he heard the door open "I sincerely hope this is important. I had a long day, and I want to-" He stopped in the mid of his talk when he looked at the person who just came in. It was Lord Valnin, kindly smiling, his red eyes barely recognizable in the dim lights. "Oh, my Lord, I apologize, I didn't know that it was you" Jaal said with concerned voice. The Lord continued to smile, then he calmly said "Don't be so worried, Jaal. I just wanted to check up on you, my dearest Captain". The Angaran man blushed slightly, making his pink-white cheeks a little bit blue even though it couldn't really be seen in the dark ambience of his large office. "So how was your day, Jaal?" The Lord asked. The Captain slightly hesitated to tell him his honest thoughts, but in the end, he knew that there was something between him and Valnin, at least he felt that way and also the fact that Angara are more open with their feelings than most races made him say it, starting with a sigh "I... had a difficult day, my Lord. The new recruits we've got from the Empire? It is very difficult to work with them. If I would call them uneducated roekaar, it would be an understatement". Valnin felt that Jaal was feeling frustrated, but he couldn't help himself but to ask "Excuse me, but... uneducated what?". Jaal looked at Valnin with his blue almost cat-like eyes "Roekaar. It means stubborn people in free translation". Valnin nodded his head in understanding. "Well, you know what they say, you cannot trust n'wahs, the outlanders" Valnin said. The Captain just slowly nodded in agreement "Indeed, m'lord". Then there was a moment of silence between them, as they couldn't find subject to talk about. The silence has been broken when Jaal asked his Lord "Lord Valnin... I know this might be an inappropriate question, but is there-" He stopped, as he started to hesitate again. He just couldn't straight ask his own Lord if he cares about him as his lover. Valnin raises a brow "Yes?". Jaal looked at him for a second, then nervously looked away as the words were stuck in his throat. The Lord slowly came to him, putting his bare blue hand on Jaal's wide shoulder and while he was looking into his eyes, he said "Jaal, if there is anything on your heart, just tell me. I know it is kind of difficult to talk like that in front of your own ruler, but in the end, we are all just living beings". His words sounded so powerful when he was so close, almost like it was some kind of curse. The Angaran's eyes met with Lord's, returning him the confidence he needed to say it. "I just feel like there is something between us, my Lord. You gave me a few hints in the past, but I didn't think much of it. And recently, you were giving me lots of those odd looks and hints, it almost felt you like me, but in a way of a lover". As Valnin was processing what Jaal said, he just smiled "Tell me then, do you feel something towards me, my loyal subject?". And again, the Captain didn't have a slightest idea of what to say. The eye contact was still going, though. Nervous glare meeting the calm one. Jaal's imagination was going wild of what could happen in next few moments if he would be completely honest with him, alas his Angaran nature wasn't making it easy for him, he couldn't hold it anymore. "My lord... you are the most interesting and also most odd being I have ever known" he said in nervous but still voice as Valnin was smiling at him with his one brow slightly up. "You are an inspiration for me. For your men. For your whole kingdom" He continued with less and less nervousness in his voice. "I also find your race very fascinating. The wonderful scent of your hair. Your smooth blue skin. Your intriguing eyes, they can be both intimidating and pleasant to look at. They are like glittering..." He stopped as he was thinking for few seconds. "...I believe humans call it rubies" He said with sincere smile which revealed his almost-white teeth. The Lord was pleasantly surprised by all those words, his face bright with expression of smile so large, that it almost looked like his mouth was going to rip. "Oh, dearest Jaal, you have no idea how much i am flattered right now. I have to admit, you are very good with words, Captain" Valnin said with that never-ceasing smile. Jaal blushed slightly again, and gave him a warm smile back "Not as good as you are when it comes to politics, your Lordship". They shared their smiles once again, but then Jaal kindly asked "So how is it really, my Lord? Do you feel the same towards me as i do towards you?". The Lord went for it, and kissed Jaal ever so softly on his right cheek which left the Angaran man just standing there wide-eyed. "There's your answer, my dearest Jaal" Valnin said quietly, but loudly enough so Jaal would hear him. The Captain could not find any words to react with. "Good night, Jaal" The Lord said, and before Jaal could wish him back, he was gone. "... Good night, taoshay" Jaal said to himself even though he wanted his Lord to hear it, but who knows, maybe he did, elves have very good ears after all.

#fanfic #fantasy #writing #crossover

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darkestwolfx · 4 years

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Earthbreaker - Re-Review#27

Here we go, the start of Series 2!

This is another machine that looks a little bit like the Sidewinder (TOS). Hmmm, I can see why the episode is called Earthbreaker though. I mean, look at the earth. Big clues there.

“We’ve got ourselves another gold rush.”

“Except it’ts scandium ore, not gold.”

“Ten times as valuable though. Ker-ching.”

Nothing like it, ey, money makes the world go around! And where there are money making opportunities, you can expect to find The Hood! Except, oh yeah, the part where he was like caught and put in a GDF prison at the end of the last series.

Oh well, no bad guys. Unless of course, you can find an accomplice of The Hood to fill the gap!

So this looks a little like our new villain! But we’ll get to him a bit later, folks. For now, let’s put our attention on our main family here.

“Let’s go in strong. Three ships at least.”

Oh really? Scott will never agree to that Kayo.

“Agreed.”

Okay... they clearly resolved their differences in the break.

“Virgil, Kayo, get ready to fly.”

“Anything Alan and I can do?”

Look at Gordon itching to get out and in on the action.”

“Just hold down the fort.”

“We could build one right here out of sofa cushions.”

Those faces there say it all, Alan! They are like *speechless*, *don’t know how to respond*, *oh Alan*, and *what on earth did you just say?* faces. I love it!

“Or not.”

Yeah, or not.

EOS is back! EOS is back, this is a big thing everyone - and google images doesn’t have like a single shot of her from this ep. Literally I searched for ages and there is nothing. I gave up because I couldn’t be bothered to keep on searching. I think I got to page 12...

“EOS, this looks like a life reading. Can you get a more detailed scan?”

“Of course, John.”

“Woah.”

“It appears to be the driver.”

“Yeah. He doesn’t look very friendly either.”

“I’m five minutes out. Where are the GDF?”

“On approach now.”

Yes, because they fared so well even with their “weapons clearance”.

Anyhow, don’t worry, because International Rescue have arrived to save the day!

“Colonel Casey?”

“Stay back, Thunderbird One. We’re still accessing the situation. That’s an order, Scott.”

“FAB. Standing by.”

Grandma strikes right again too - definitely be more interested in who is driving it. He’s dangerous and he’ll be back.

“Do we take that as a yes?”

In my opinion Virgil, never take silence as a yes. This is what happens as well so it seems.

“I told you to stay away.”

“Who are you?”

“I am The Mechanic. and if you’re Thunderbird comes any closer, I’ll break it as well.”

And now we have a name. Still, we’ll discuss him later, let’s continue with the story for now.

“This is my ship and I say not a chance.”

Got to love that giant green determination.

Thunderbird Two makes it back safely! That’s a testament to the pilot really. In both TAG and TOS we get displays of Virgil’s calm and skill. In TOS, Thunderbird Two crash landed at Tracy Island in ‘Terror in New York’ after being shot at by the US Navy’s new Sentinel... Oopps. In TAG, it’s a case of mechanical sabotage (add in a little stubborn will). In both cases though, the issues are similar - rear damage to the engines and the possibility of fire or cut outs.

In TOS, Scott is encouraging Virgil to make it a little further to the Island. In TAG however, Scott is the one who almost orders for Virgil to

“The landing will be way too risky, Virgil, you need to ditch her in the ocean.”

Now, my theory on this is that in TOS the boys still had their father, and were a bit older than they are in this series (not too much, but enough). In TAG, they have lost Jeff and so I think it makes sense that they have more understanding of their own mortality and less super human thinking (or visuals for us anyhow). In TAG, their also seems to be more thought into keeping the original Thunderbirds as in tact as they can - upgrades and modifications, yes, but as original as possible. Where as in TOS there’s less consideration of the machines. Maybe it’s just the different ways in which the two series are written, but in TAG, it definitely seems to be that keeping the Thunderbirds as much the same as the way their Dad built them, really matters to these boys.

It was a pretty good remake of the crash landing too, as well as being perfectly original in its own senses. And hey, Virgil didn’t get knocked out this time! But Thunderbird Two did still get drenched in fire suppressant foam. Oh well, you can’t have it all.

“I don’t know who this Mechanic fellow is, but I’ll bet dollars to doughnuts he’s getting some help from The Hood.”

“Uh, Grandma, The Hood’s in prison.”

And Grandma calls it right again! Anyone want to give her a third go this episode?

Interesting method of rescue. We’ve never seen anything like this before... And Kayo’s off doing her snooping. Love a bit of spy work.

Speaking of...

Here is something of a conversation... or should that be interrogation, but subtly?

“You know, Ma’am, hI ‘ave ways to make ‘im talk.”

“I think Miss Creighton-Ward is doing just fine on her own, Parker.”

No! I wanted to see what Parker had up his sleeve, Colonel Casey and I bet others out there did too, someone dare to prove me wrong. Go on.

“This look suits you. Stripes.”

“Yes, and red suits you. We can chit-chat all day if you like, but I suspect you’re here because someone is in trouble. Perhaps something worse than me has come to pass?”

“You mean The Mechanic? Oh, he’s well in hand by now. His first mistake was taking shots at the GDF; his last was taking shots at my friends.”

“This has nothing to do with me, of course. Being in here!”

“Certainly not. This Mechanic fellow has none of your guile and sophistication.”

Look at that creepy eye going.

So these are Mecca’s.

And this is The Mechanic.

Let’s finally discuss what we know about the villain.

“This guy is untouchable, Brains.”

“I believe The Mechanic is using Null-Point Energy in a recombinant distribution matrix.”

So, I’m trying to write this like I know nothing of how this whole story and character pans out, just so we can note the development along the way - so I know we do know more than this, but run with this level of knowledge in keeping with the current reruns of the show.

So we know he’s good with tech. That’s a first.

He’s connected to The Hood in someway for a second.

He can hack EOS, for a third - and John is good with tech so that is saying something.

And he knows Brains, that’s our fourth.

He looks like quite the bad guy actually... Little bit worrying for us.

Now, expanding on all this - back when series 2 of TAG first started, I read an interesting theory that suggested The Mechanic was meant to be in someway like or be the Black Phantom from the original series (Thunderbird Six) who was also mentioned by the IR impostors in the episode ‘The Impostors’ and was clearly supposed to be the person they were working for.

Now, we never really got to know much about Black Phantom, other than the fact that he ran his operations much like The Hood. In fact, Sylvia Anderson apparently referred to him on set as “Hood Jr.” which of course, could just be a nickname she chose to give the character, or could be implying a possible blood relation. ‘The Complete Book of Thunderbirds’ then took this one step further by implying that Black Phantom and The Hood were indeed the same person. Now, of course, there is every chance of this potentially being true as we know the Hood is capable of changing his face, and that he is called The Hood because he has so many alias’ that no one knows his real name.

Of course that above theory would cut The Mechanic out from being the Black Phantom, but it was still a worthwhile penny to flick into our thought space. Personally I don’t think The Mechanic and Black Phantom are the same person, but the post did raise interesting points about their shared traits of shadowy intelligence and ruthless actions. I think these are definitely the kind of characteristics that The Hood looks for in employees and so I can see where the idea came from.

Returning back to the idea of The Hood and Black Phantom being either related or the same person - just quickly to finish this whole section - The Hood is “feared as the most dangerous man in the world”, where as Black Phantom was noted as “utterly ruthless”. In many ways, these two elements and traits can and do cross over. It is likely to think that if The Hood is regarded as the most dangerous man in the world, that he is known to be capable of being ruthless. As a counterpart, if someone if known to be ruthless, let alone utterly, you would probably regard them with caution and consider them a potential danger at the very least.

In case it makes any difference - especially as it could have just been complete coincidence - The Hood’s original puppet was remade into Black Phantom for the sake of the Thunderbird Six movie, so who knows, maybe...

Oh, and the above I’ve included just because I like it and I wanted to put it here. I don’t know who made the original gif, but credit to them.

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kumoriyami-xiuzhen · 4 years

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Hakuoki Drama: Shinsengumi Oni-tan Track 1 Translation

Well im more or less back so I’ll start by asking you to please support me if you can either on ko-fi (https://ko-fi.com/V7V2W0HO), or through paypal (paypal.me/KumoriYami ) …. also let me know if you have any hakuoki drama cds that you’d be willing to share that are on my looking for list since i don’t have the audio for those…..

I’ve also gotten around to getting my patreon account in order (https://www.patreon.com/KumoriYami) while deleting all blog post tls here. My patreon will really only for blog post tls, of which I will be putting out at least 3 each month, and for early access to my next planned post. Right now, I can only do early access for one post since I have nothing stockpiled and since Chinese New Year is this month....I’ll be busy with stuff so I probably won’t be getting around to doing a lot for the foreseeable future.... though I intend to bump that up to 2 posts when I’m no longer as busy....

I hope everyone had a good new year’s day.... cuz im feeling exhausted and my mind feels all waaaaaugh rn cuz of beating Psychedelia of the Ashen Hawk which i keep spelling as Hawke because of Dragon Age.... especially with those endings (i surprisingly couldn’t find anything for it in Chinese but oh well).....

Anyway, since this drama is roughly an hour and eight minutes long... it is going to take an extended amount of time to be completely translated since this translation was taken off not exactly great quality/sized images (though i’ll be aided by JP mtl since it’s available for me) which has been a real pain given how condensed some of the Chinese words are... and because im probably going to look at doing this on an on-off basis cuz my mind doesn’t work well focusing on one thing to translate for long periods of time (you have to pay me to do that since i equate that to mental torture lol xD).

enjoy this tl~

Hakuoki Shinsengumi Oni-tan Track 1 “A certain male oni and the Shinsengumi”

Translation by KumoriYami

Kazama: Oni. In this country of Japan, since ancient times, there have been a race known as the oni living here. Holding power that transcended that of ordinary people, no, it should be said that because of this power which transcends that of ordinary humans, they are depicted as evil creatures/beings in folklore and legends.

Sometimes, they are killed, and other times they are used by humans. (the translation of 驱逐 is "expelled" which doesn't seem right so i changed to "killed"]

For this reason we oni have chosen to sever our ties with humans and live in secluded/ hidden villages. However due to the scarcity of oni, marriage with humans has increased, and some oni have chosen to live like/as humans.

And then, there are oni who live unaware of their heritage because of their weak bloodlines.

Yes, for example, the day I met that man.

(intro music)

Flower petals scatter and leaves wither as they fall. The season has already changed to winter. The city was loud despite how cold it was [Despite how cold it was, the city was bustling with activity/ was loud].

When nightfall arrived, it became quite cold. Alright, it's done. Leave/head back before it gets any darker. If [I] return too late, Amagiri will begin preaching again, which will indeed be unbearable. [rephrase later...?]

(sound of running footsteps) But, what's that sound? It sounded like there was a disturbance from a back-alley.

Roshi: che, damn it, the shinsengumi is here!

???: Ronin, there's no escape! Stay where you are!

Roshi: Damn it--- since it's like this let's break this jar, give me some good entertainment! [take a break and get ready? check later.]

(sound of sword being drawn)

Kazama: hn, that's the light blue haori of the shinsengumi. the bakufu's dog is fighting a wild/stray dog, really what a horrible showing/senseless game/trick.

(blades crossing)

Roshi: Heh heh.... it seems like you're out of tricks. what's wrong shinsengumi, (you're?) all talk! /you seem to be all talk!

???: Che.... Don't... get too... cocky bastard!

Kazama: Nn?

Roshi: Why, why has this guy's eye colour changed....!

(sounds of blades hitting each other again)

Roshi: Uoaaaaah!

???: (heavy breaths) finally caught, caught, caught [my] breath, i just need to wait for the captains to come over.

Kazama: Oi. you. For someone of an oni clan, what are you doing in a place like this?

???: Hm? who are you?

Kazama: Leader of the western clans, the Kazama family head, Chikage.

???: For this first meeting, I am called Sasanami Kurō. Although you speak as though you know me, however(/perhaps) you have the wrong person. [rephrase later]

kazama: it turned out to be the case. i do not recognize that name. However, as a member of an oni clan, why are you wearing the the haori(/uniform) of the shogun[ate's?]'s dog?

Sasanami: Oni clan?

Kazama: Exactly. in my eyes, there is no doubt that you are my compatriot/kin/clansman, that is to say---

heisuke: hey new guy - really , where did you [assuming *he?*] go?

Harada: I can understand how people want to show off a bit because of the team's examination, but to go off chasing someone alone is dangerous/puts one in a really dangerous situation [im assuming its to join the Shinsengumi based on the summary on the drama info page].

Heisuke: although having enthusiasm/being enthusiastic is a good thing, those guys tend to die faster.

Harada: Anyway, pray/hope that he wasn't killed due to his carelessness. Heisuke, check over there, I'll look over here.

(more footsteps)

Sasanami: oh, Captain Toudou, Captain Harada! I'm [over] here! The roshi has already been captured/arrested.

Harada: oh, over there. It looks like there's nothing wrong...

heisuke: although being popular/recognition is good, it can cause problems...

Kazama: Che, those troublesome guys are around/nearby. No choice then, it's time to go/retreat. The reason for your position, I will listen to it in two days.

Sasanami: Wait, At the end [who are] you----- [rephrase later?]

(sound of Kazama walking away)

Kazama: That/this person, although his lineage is quite weak, there is no doubt of his bloodline. But/However why is there there an oni aside from my wife in the Shinsengumi?

----

final edits will be done when video is posted since im feeling lazy rn.... also i decided that i’d post this drama track by track for text. not sure bout videos yet since i wanna double check the context for what i think is the recruitment examination vs team examination. once that’s done... i think i’ll start making the videos to publish though im going to leave everything unlisted on youtube all 9 tracks of this drama are done.

on a side note, is there something about a location guide in the Hakuoki 3ds game or the ds yuugiroku english patch game (never tried it so iuno how well that worked or if that was even finished but that was one of my first google search bar suggestions)? Asking because I found a Chinese translation/summary of the Zuisouroku ds travel guide (commentary/exchange of certain locations. ex - saito’s room, hanaguri gate, fushimi magistrate)... and well, i just wanna make sure im not looking at game content that was already translated since I know Hakuoki tends to recycle a lot of their stuff before considering to translate it....

also.... this is the only drama where i might translate the interview with the cast (its 4 qs to the VAs sans roshi in text format)... though that would be after i finish this.... whenever the hell that is.

#hakuoki #hakuouki #hakuoki drama cd #hakuoki drama translation #Kazama Chikage

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mattyslittleworld · 5 years

Text

I’m in a cafe in a French little corner of Toronto called Leslieville. I’ve been on the road for a few days by myself, about to start a Canadian week run. My bro hit me about booking a small cool situation and honestly I needed it. First show is a house show and I pulled up to load in...a punk girl full of patches watering plants on her deck. The house looked condemned. I walk in and the house smells like cat shit, there’s stains everywhere, food everywhere, spaced out wonderful dedicated humans, and hardcore posters all over the walls, showing the house shows they’ve thrown over the years. The punk girl said they’ve been doing shows for 6 years. They slide the couch over and setup a PA. This is exactly what I need in my soul. I grew up in these punk squats all over the world. I am this. I come from this. These people don’t know who Casanova or Albee Al are. They don’t know Fetty Wap or Tsu Surf. They know Realm Hulud and this underground culture they love applying to the outside world that pushes them away. A truth to be romanticized.

I felt like I burnt myself out a month ago. Taking my dreams and flipping them into reality - the loss of friendship and love made me march forward and demand a new life and once that door opened I ran full speed and never looked back....until Quad Studios a few months back. I looked in the mirror and found nothing of the person I was - no resemblance of that kid. That scared me. So when John hit me with this I accepted immediately and packed my shit. I just wanna have convos about challenging, progressive, active things. Trade road stories. Talk about 7inches. Hardcore and punk. I’m grateful to be able to experience both of these worlds. I asked the punk girl if there was a coffee shop and she said there’s a booouuugie one around the corner if “you like spending a lot of money” and when I got here the barista charged me 2 bucks. I love that fuck the system attitude, although at the same time I think I’m becoming a part of the system - the sold out, corporate side of the music business that we all ran against our whole lives. I mean I just wrote a song with Casanova about texting. I just rapped 4 bars with Tsu Surf about gucci sunglasses and Louie v coats and fucking in the back of an Uber.

I packed my shit and went to NYC and finally got to check out the Queens Bridge housing that Nas grew up in. They were huge. So many. It was so awesome. You can sense the pride and community. From there I just drove around NYC finding spots I used to hangout in as a kid. Blasting inspiring tunes and just vibin out.

Ended up in Spanish Harlem, Queens, China Town. Damn I love New York. At 4 am I left and started my drive to Canada with a stop at Niagara Falls, where I had a Hotel for 2 days waiting for me. I checked in and just cooled out for 2 days it was amazing. I forgot how much I love touring alone. I drove a half hour to Andy’s house and hung out with him and his wife for the night. And damn did I need that. I needed trust. Loyalty. Familiarity. Friendship. Somebody who grew up fighting like me. Who left that life behind like me. Who’s been in real trouble and seen real life hell like me. We both came so far. Beautiful.

Im currently in a hotel in Chicoutmi, Quebec. The window open, breeze coming in nice and sweet. Canadian currency everywhere. Coffee cups everywhere. Ive only eaten fruit the past 2 days. I feel good. Last night the drive was really lonely and long, but I toughed it out and here I am. Thinking back a few days ago to Toronto, I was so inspired and so electric. The hotel was right downtown and I walked all the way to Chinatown and the markets. Running around by myself blasting music. You go throughout your life knowing you need to outlive your demons - nights like that really defines that. The shows have been so cool. Great people. Great conversations. I have a few Canadians and im back in the states.

Ive been editing three music videos along the way. One of which is with Casanova. Im really proud of this. I never thought id get to such a height of being in the room with someone as famous as him. We did the song and it was amazing - but for him to double back and hit this video with me and Rob, damn. The day of the shoot I was so quiet and so awkward before I left. Is this happening? Is this really a thing? Is he really gunna show up? A model is coming. Rooms have been rented. People have been invested. Its all on us. We got there early and set up the set. Ive said it many times before on here - my life socially is completely different. Everybody in my life is brand new and not many people know of my past musical endeavors or even my past in general. But having Rob and Colgan there with me really made me happy. Through thick and thin. I didnt hear from Cass all day so I shot him a text - no answer. I was like oh my god should I call and be annoying? Called him and immediately picked up AYO WHATS GOOD MATTY! 1030 right?! And I was like damn. This dudes a good dude. I asked him if he wanted any Hennessy and he said Yeah pick me up a bottle of dusse. I was like no problem dude….hung up…looked at Rob and went…”What is Dusse?” And he was like NO IDEA LOL. Hit Colgan who was on the way like yo can you scoop Cass some Dusse on the way?? He was like WTF IS THAT!!! I was like IDK so I did the whitest thing ive ever done (Besides being a white rapper) and sent him a google image screen shot and boom nailed it in time. Cass calls and belv goes to let him and his crew in and they mob up and its on. All love from there with such a good vibe. Me and my day 1’s making history…..I remember specifically me rob and Colgan at the port Monmouth skatepark hopelessly lost of a future. Written off by our town and society. Parents let down. Pieces of local shit that’ll amount to nothing. Here we are. Roc Nation….from the basements man. With Belv in the house - without him…none of this would be possible. Killed the video and it left me inspired to see bro just get in the back of a black suburban and drive off. Like damn. Thats wealth. Mentally, and financially. Thats inspiring to me. To be that much of a millionaire but still come and put on for some kids he sees potential in.

I feel a void though. I want to share this all with somebody. Im ready for a relationship - I feel my mind and body gravitating towards that way of thinking and behavior. I think back to the days of having a home in someones heart….so comforting. I needed to run though. I needed this time. I needed to raise hell. I needed those fights, to fuck my life up. I NEEDED this. I needed to plant my feet on this planet and just get my name known. Make shit happen. The window is open right now…and a storm is rolling in off in the distance. You can see lightning. You can see the clouds darken. Wow. After this show im going to rush back here and just watch it on this sill.

I feel extremely emotional right now. Im trembling.

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tcswritings · 5 years

Text

Messages. (WIP/unpolished)

:: updated on 07/18/2019 ::

The day after the party. Orla is thinking many thoughts.

*****

It had been a bit more than six hours since he left and when she closed her eyes, she could still feel his hands on her body as well as his unsteady breath against the skin of her neck and how strands of blonde hair had tickled her face every now and then.

What truly made her stomach flutter though was thinking back to all the brief moments when his eyes had met hers, when they shared sweet looks, to make sure the other one was feeling just fine, comfy and secure.

Biting her lip, she couldn’t help but smile to herself for the dozenth time that afternoon. Sleeping with someone wasn’t new to Orla and while she wouldn’t call herself an expert in the field, she had more than a basic idea of how these things worked and how to make them enjoyable for both parts. Last night, however, she had found out that sleeping with a friend was in no way comparable to anything she had experienced before and she also had to realise that the things she knew weren’t exactly helpful in that matter - she had felt like a clueless, giggling idiot anyway.

It hasn’t been bad, though, not at all. Quite the opposite, actually, but Orla couldn’t stop asking herself if people writing books and movies about friends falling in love had ever fallen in love with a friend themselves - there were usually big talks about how knowing each other inside out makes these things oh-so-much easier and friends would just switch to being lovers as if it was the most natural and uncomplicated thing ever and Orla couldn’t comprehend it at all. What happened last night was probably the most exciting and amazing moment of her young life so far and nothing made perfect sense just yet - it had all happened so fast after all.

That was not the only thing on her mind, though. There was something else, something far more essential.

She lay flat on her bed and stared at the ceiling and she had been doing that for the entire day, more or less. Ever since Mick had left the house she had been wondering. Wondering if what they did was right, if they should have waited until they had figured out at least SOME details (considering the well-known fact that sex had also great potential to mess things up), if they would do it again, when they would do it again and, most importantly, what they even were now, because if there was one thing certain it was that they had left their strictly platonic friendship behind.

Before he left, Mick had kissed her goodbye and he had also promised that they would meet up tonight but there hadn’t been any sign of life from him ever since and Orla had long started wondering if he had given it a second thought and maybe - she cringed at the mere thought - even changed his mind.

She reached for her phone for the umpteenth time (the last time was about five minutes ago) and unlocked it, only to feel the familiar little sting as she couldn’t spot the highly anticipated red little bubble that alerted her any time she had new messages.

Instead, she got the impression that her messenger merely laughed at her now:

No new message, girl.

Nope.

Not a single one.

Stop waiting.

He doesn’t care.

Just accept it already.

Orla sighed and tried to shake the weird thoughts off as she snuggled into her pillow a little more. She was being silly and she knew it. Those might be legit worries if it was any other guy she had just met the other night but the guy in question was Mick and Mick wasn’t like that. He was always true to his word and as she knew that he had some things to do today - and she knew that way before that unexpected and pleasant turn of events last night - she figured that she would just have to be patient.

How about you just text him, Dummy? her messenger now suggested, probably as a little gesture of reconciliation for sparking her mopey thoughts a minute ago. Or maybe just call him? It’s 2013, gals no longer sit around waiting for a man to make a move, we make shit happen!

Orla pursed her lips as she opened the messenger again. She didn’t even have to scroll; Mick was the first to show up in her chats as they had send each other a few texts at the party last night while they were wandering around apart from each other, trying to find a private spot where it would just be the two of them but they hadn’t been very successful.

She chuckled as she read his last few lines again.

SAT, 03-16-2013

1:17: kitchen again?

1:18: NO DONTCOME hERE someone puked in here

1:19: Im gonna go upstairs

1:25: where are you

1:25: WHERE

1:25: are

1:25: YOU

1:26: thou shalt answer

1:27: Im desperate

1:29: IM LOST 😂

1:30: this house is HUGE

1:30: almost LIKE oUS

1:30: OURS

1:32: oRLAA

‘Adorable’, Orla thought, smiling. They had found each other just a bit after that last message and they had managed to share at least one more passionate kiss before they had to jump apart once more as they got disturbed by a little group of drunk idiots - she couldn’t even remember who - staggering into the room.

She chuckled as she began typing.

Hey handsome 😘 I was just wondering whether we could

She stopped. Too casual. This wasn’t asking for getting a snack during lunch break after all. Orla hit the delete button and pressed her lips into a thin line. ‘Maybe I should google for some reference’, she thought. ‘How to properly address your childhood friend with whom you had sex last night.’

Or, well, maybe not.

I just saw this ad for porch swings and I thought I could get one so we can

God, no.

You like big butts and you cannot lie… 😜

NO! (She could very well imagine the face he would make if he read that one, though.)

If choosing what to wear is what’s taking you so long to get back to me I’m happy to inform you that I fancy the kind of activity which doesn’t require any apparel at all so stop making a damn fuss 👀 💋

Smart. Playful. Sexy.

But no.

Please don’t change your mind about us and come back here, I miss you!

Woah. Needy, much?

“Aaaaah!” Orla cried out in frustration as she tossed her phone to the side, slumping back into the pillows. “This sucks.”

Only a few moments later she had another thought. Couldn’t it be that Mick was going through the very same thing right now? That he was sitting on his bed or his couch, or maybe in his kitchen just in this moment, long legs up on the other chair, chainsmoking, like he did so often when he felt lost, typing some words into his phone every few moments, only to delete them again because nothing he came up with felt appropriate?

Maybe Mick was just dying to hear from her all the time. Maybe he was just as insecure as she was and when she thought back to the party as well as to what happened after it, right here, she suddenly felt very silly for even thinking that he might want to back out. The way he had looked at her as well as his body language had spoken volumes after all.

Orla swiftly reached back for her phone and opened the messenger once more. Sometimes the best way to overcome awkward situations was to be honest and straightforward. Once she was done typing, Orla hit the send button and closed her eyes as she took a deep breath.

*****

“I can very well remember the last words Ethel said to me and they were sure words to live by.”

Terry Irvine, a stocky, balding man in his fifties, made a pause, heavy with meaning, as he looked around the tastefully decorated room, feeling deep satisfaction as he saw that everyone was listening to his words with rapt attention.

“She said ‘Lives are like rivers, Terry:” he went on, “Eventually they go where they must. Not where we want them to.’(*)“

“Yeah, I’m sure that’s what she said.” Connor O’Loughlin scoffed quietly. “A mean old bitch will suddenly start crackin’ wise proverbs after she spent her lifetime just spattering shit at any given occasion.”

Mick bit his lip as he tried not to laugh at his younger cousin’s remark and he wondered whether anyone in his room actually liked ‘Aunt’ Ethel as the few memories he had of her certainly weren’t the best. She had sometimes looked after him when he was still a kid and as far as he could remember, she never allowed him to do anything besides sitting still while reading bible verses together and she also made him eat the worst, greasiest porridge that the world has ever tasted and the mere memory of it made his guts turn.

Friends and family were gathered together today, mourning Ethel’s recent death, but Mick felt rather indifferent about her passing; he was merely here to do his parents a favour who claimed that they had always been particularly fond of the old hag and while that might even be true, he couldn’t help but feel that they also wanted to represent the family business which, considering the estimated average age of the majority of people in the room, was actually a clever stroke.

“... and I’m sure that Ethel is smiling down upon us just now, as she sees all her friends and family joined together in love and harmony, thinking of her and the wonderful things she has done for each and everyone of us...”

Not only was he not listening, Mick also still had other things on his mind. Far more important and definitely nicer things. (No offense, Ethel.) He made a little step back and once he was sure that no one was watching, he reached behind his back and grabbed a handful of bread cubes from one of the bowls on the buffet table, still looking at Terry addressing his audience with his pompous speech as well as his grossly overstated gestures and expressions. That speech would last for an eternity, Mick just knew it, and he didn’t feel like starving, especially not now that his life had seemingly taken a really great turn.

“... I ask you now to observe one minute's silence as a token of our respect and sympathy for our sweet Ethel...”

Mick pushed the image of Ethel’s wrinkled and actually not-so-sweet face aside. Happily munching his bread cubes, he now recalled the memory of a pair of pale blue eyes looking at him from under the longest lashes he had ever seen. Orla O’Connell’s gorgeous, freckled face became clearer and her red-tinted lips smiled sweetly at him as Mick’s mind once again drifted off to last night, to their very first kiss on the porch swing and the ones that followed, to the moment when he had brought Orla home and when she had insisted on him staying and when she had started undressing him in the hallway and how they had barely made it to her room where they would eventually-

“Oy, creep, what are you grinning at?!” Connor’s sister, Delilah, now hissed at him, interrupting his pleasant thoughts and nudging him with her elbow a little harder than necessary. “Stop eating!”

“Ow! I’m hungry, fuck off.” Mick spat back. “Terry’s at the top o’ his game, it’ll take ages until they open up the buffet.”

“Disrespectful freak.” Delilah muttered, shaking her head and crossing her arms. She was usually all bark and no bite, Mick knew, but very irritating nonetheless.

Terry now directly looked into Mick’s direction and cleared his throat. Mick stared back at him, swallowing down his bread crumbs, suddenly seeing the many irritated faces staring at him, among them the horrified expressions of his parents.

Oh.

It was actually the second time that day someone had caught him with food and he usually would have laughed at the coincidence but considering that he was at a memorial service, he decided against it.

“Sorry!” he called.

Terry closed his eyes and sighed. “Now, one minute’s silence, please.”

Mick bit his lip. Thanks, Delilah. While he usually hated being made look silly, nothing could ruin his mood today, not even his uptight cousin. Granted, it probably was a little inappropriate to think of the things he had just thought of again at a memorial service but then again, no one could read his thoughts and wasn’t death also about celebrating life, after all?

Just as Mick’s mind wandered back to all the moments he had celebrated life with Orla last night he could feel his phone buzzing in the pocket of his suit jacket. Making sure that everyone else was still busy remembering Ethel, Mick stuffed the last few bread cubes in his mouth, pulled the cell phone out of his pocket and when he saw that the new message was from the person he hoped it would be from, a stupid-but-blissful smile spread across his face. He unlocked the screen.

I want dinner and I want to see you. Not necessarily in that order. And yes, this is me asking you out on a first real date. 💖

Swiftly scanning the room for possible watchers again and seeing that everyone was still caught up in one minute’s silence, Mick eventually looked back down on his phone, hit the reply button and started typing.

hi gorgeous

kinda in the middle of sth here but Im gonna call ya once I get out

He pressed the ‘send’ button. Not keen on provoking another awkward situation like the one that had just happened, Mick wanted to put his phone back but as he felt another buzz, he was too curious.

What kinda thing? Was that a ‘yes’, by the way?

ethels memorial service

What, Ethel died??? 😱 😱 😱

yeah last monday

You could have mentioned that at some point?!?! 😨

its fine no one actually liked her and she was old

OMG MICK WTF!!!

Torn between the excitement about meeting Orla later and the fear of getting another weird look from Terry who had just picked up his speech again, Mick eventually decided to put his phone away for now.

what

its true

talk to you later

It just occured to him that he still hadn’t let Orla know what he thought of her suggestion. Rolling his eyes at himself, he dug out his phone once more.

and yeah

that was a yes

😘

*****

Some miles away, Orla frowned at her phone’s screen, feeling mild irritation but, above all, a great rush of joy. She would call Mick out later for merely casually mentioning that he was going to be at the memorial service of a family friend that day (and also for that rather insensitive remark about no one liking said family friend, no matter how much of a truth it was) but joy had overwhelmed her. He said yes. He wanted the date.

*****

(to be continued…!)

(*) A proverb by Richard Russo, author and screenwriter.

#orla #mick #orla x mick #just a little silly drabble before bed #don't mind me I'm trash for these two lol #will polish and edit when I feel like it #*tossing out the WIPS like nothing else*#one day I will update and finish all the crap I have here #as well as all the crap I still have flying around in my drafts haha #but now off to bed!#mick sucks at texting btw #he's the annoying kind of person who writes sixteen half sentences in a row instead of writing a proper text #orla finds it adorable though #especially now that she has heart eyes for him #annoying stuff becomes endearing in that phase after all haha #ANYHOO BED #GOOD NIGHT #looking forward to writing more about my idiots SOON

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shidiand · 5 years

Note

How do you imagine Tenco's Story ending in your head?

that is a GREAT but UNEXPECTED QUESTION freshlybaked "spider" bread and i'm really happy to have the opportunity to try and answer this ageless question that has burned within all of us in the tenco's story iv waiting room community since 2013. it is an incredible coincidence (or is it? 👀) that i was just talking to Risa about tenco's this (edit: yesterday) morning so i am extra double super in the mood to talk about Tenco's Story today. so excellent of a coincidence is this that i am tempted to refer you to them in case you wanted to hear their thoughts on the matter that would probably turn out super cool, but that is neither here nor there; let us talk Tenco's Story.

i of course must mention my unadvertised and modestly detailed commentary on tenco's i-iii at https://shidiand.tumblr.com/tencos, presenting slightly interesting facts in an unwieldy and difficult-to-use format, but as it dates back to june 2017, i want to take some time to understand my feelings about the series once more.

tenco's story is a series that has a lot of meaning to me.

i took on my current name of shidiand in november of 2013. i was still in 11th grade at the time, 4th year of high school, and a very socially isolated person. i should say i was introduced to touhou in 7th grade, 2010, so i was still working through a 3 years-strong phase of trying to simultaneously both find an outlet for and bottle up an endless wellspring of awkward weeaboo-gamer nerd energy at the time.

i had my first real foray onto the internet in 2010, tried out twitter, followed some RPers and other people who had Cool Touhou Usernames. didn't really go anywhere. i had maybe 50 followers, i dont really know the count but it was definitely a) double digits and b) pretty low. didn't know what to tweet about. didn't know how to hit it off with others. i think there was basically maybe only 3 other people i ever properly interacted with. oh shit i was playing league of legends at the time. oh my god. i really did play league of .. oh my god. let's move on.

aw shit im super digressing amn't i. well.

this is just how it goes when i write essays on tumblr.com.

i'm afraid you're just along for the ride at this point so please do your best to enjoy it.

i got kind of tired of twitter at the time because i didnt know what to do with it. didnt know how to interact with people and didnt find the people i was following interesting, so i ghosted on out of there by the end of 2012. didnt deactivate it until like 2015 but at that point that was just burning away my dark history. anyways. november 2013.

--im taking a lot of time here trawling through old files on my computer, my tumblr blog, notification emails still lying around in my gmail inbox from twitter, the dropbox i didn't actually use but it had several tenco's story pictures on it but i deleted them so this was useless, ... to trace the timeline of this story and im really seeing a lot of remnants of dark history here you know? did you know i wrote a letter to a girl i had a crush on valentine's day 2014, slipped it into her locker, and anxiously hung around nearby at lunchtime to see how she reacted at lunchtime? i certainly didn't, or at least i made darn ass sure to forget about this incredible virgin incident and not remember it, ever, until i came across the records of it that i thoughtfully preserved for the me of 5 years later today. ok well now i have to read the letter to see if it was as bad as it just sounded there brb

ok so the good news is that it was actually very focused on being positive and full of admiration for the cool things she did instead of being a confession letter so i am very glad i was able to be a respectful chad 5 years ago, but the bad news is that the jokes, the actual sentences i put together. oh my god. but i mean. well. at least i got the spirit. its certainly a step up from this other person in my grade, WEEABOO ANDREW, YOU MAY RECALL THIS STORY AND HIS NAME FROM PREVIOUS STORYTIMES, THE MAN THE MYTH THE LEGEND who came to school on halloween once cosplaying kirito from sword art online and got very possessive about people asking if they could hold his black replica plastic sword, and probably worse, dropped a "will you be my girlfriend" letter into the locker of my homie and fellow trombonist samantha, who was a little bit nerdy, hung out with the anime-likers who were actually sociable and fun to be around so you can imagine why weeaboo andrew was into her, which had i) a direct quotation from SAO chapter 16.5 (origin of the famous "glopping noise" line), and ii) a condom. jesus christ. i dont want to talk about this any more. next topic.

i also put this drawing of iku nagae and her skarmory (actually an albinoss from 18 DRAGONS) on the other side of the letter because it was the coolest thing i could think of drawing at the time. and i completely agree with 2014 me because it IS super fucking cool. hell fuckin yeah

https://shidiand.tumblr.com/post/76301993387/iku-nagae-ft-that-thing-that-supposedly-is-a

alright that was a fun little trip down memory lane but lets get back on track. november 2013. i started anew as shidiand. still awkward, still learning how to express myself and looking for my place among others. i followed some touhou bloggers, hung around r/touhou a lot as well. in december i got my first tablet for christmas, a wacom bamboo splash. i still use this thing! the usb cable disconnects if you bump it so i have to find just the perfect position to sit in whenever i want to draw, but its served me well. anyways. i was just starting to play around with digital art but i remember, probably just before new years, for some reason i wanted to find out more about tenshi hinanawi (i don't remember why. tenshi wasn't even one of my favourite characters at the time) so i went googling and right there on zerochan i found this:

https://www.pixiv.net/member_illust.php?mode=medium&illust_id=23525572

this was during my dark souls phase so i just went BANANAS at the sight of this. this was literally the coolest image i had ever seen in my internet life. That image alone made me want to draw in hopes that I could make something as cool as that someday.

it wasn't immediately after but i soon discovered tenco's story, and it was love. kannnu was my very first artistic inspiration, and for a long time, my only one. i absolutely idolized them at the time. since then, ive found other artists to look up to, in a more healthy manner, but to this day i still look up to kannnu, still admire their work a lot.

i played around with drawing, followed the lives of people on tumblr, started reading touhou fanfiction, made a new twitter. i met a lot of new people along the way. some people i havent stuck with, some i cut ties with, and some people i still keep in contact with today. over those long 5 years of being shidiand, i found a name (i used to use shidian and then shid, but someone called me shidi once and i realized that was a lot better), how to reach out to others, how to express myself, places that i could feel included in. this is why i owe a blood debt to evelyn, who permitted me to kneel at her throne and was like "yea ok you can join my discord server u seem cool". evelyn, if you were confused by me ominously mentioning this blood debt/blood oath in a tumblr reply 1-2 years ago, this is the context. those 5 years were like a coming of age of sorts, that i never had when i was in high school.

and my love for tenco's story, that inspired me to draw that day, has been with me since almost the very beginning of my time as shidiand. from the beginning, i have always encouraged people to READ TENCO'S STORY, like the kin of those who cry PLAY MELTY or WATCH SYMPHOGEAR. i think my very first sidebar description was something akin to a prayer, written in very choral language, hoping for the day tenco's story iv was completed, ..., "meanwhile, furious shitposting". kannnu's work, finding delight in whatever they chose to draw, has been at my side, all along. my true mentor, my guiding moonlight...

so that's why i still to this day love tenco's story so much.

let's talk about tenco's story.

tenco's story is a story told through single pictures. the plot is vague, and details are sparse. dialogue is rare. we only know what has happened; we seldom know why. furthermore, there are many gaps between scenes that the reader is left to fill in for themselves; we see only snapshots that form an hazy outline of the events that occurred, and must imagine the rest. motivations and explanations fail me. but even with a barebones plot, tenco's story has themes, and if nothing else, those have to be carried through.

the main theme, of course, is journey and travel, but there are also other ideas, too. i actually think they start to change as the series goes on:

book i, where tenshi runs away from home, is about striking out on your own. it's a very fun and unpredictable journey, together with a friend.

book ii, where tenshi and iku are separated, forces tenshi to find and rely on companions of her own even more. but they do so, and they are able overcome hardships, and there is food and festival.

book iii marks a climax, reasserting tenshi's goal of finding the sword of hisou. i feel like the journey shifts from a travel (visiting) to a path forwards (making your way through). perhaps this is just something i get from knowing the locations from dark souls (Anor Londo, New Londo Ruins, the Great Hollow), but the locations start to give more of a sense of verticality, like they're emphasizing tenshi's climb to the summit. the hardships and enemies are the greatest they've been yet, and right when they near the top, tenshi and iku start to bleed. the book ends on an uncertain note.

if i had to describe the type of journey and travel that tenshi and iku undertake, there's this sense of wonder at discovering new places, wandering from vista to vista in delight, but also a sense of conquering, making it through a difficult patch. the sequence from pages 2-44 to 2-51, taken together, convey this sense of overcoming the best. it's one of my favourite parts. again, although the tone definitely starts to lean towards struggle in book iii, i think tenco's sense of wonder really is the heart of the series. there's no map of the world, no predicting where tenshi and iku will end up next. and through their travels, though they come across many enemies, they also find friends -- places of refuge, places full of life, people who will look after them for a few days, companions who will stay with them for the rest of the journey. at the end of book iii, we see a long haired tenshi with purple hair being impaled by the sword of hisou (3-33, see also this extra illustration that risa pointed out to me http://sinnnkai.blog.fc2.com/blog-entry-195.html), and regular short haired tenshi continuing on her journey (3-42). if we ignore the out-of-story images where tenshi has the sword of hisou, tenshi has actually only ever used her sunlight blade (2-24, 3-26, etc), so i think that the long haired tenshi on 3-33 is a different person altogether. (if i had to guess, she might be the purple haired woman in the top left of https://www.pixiv.net/member_illust.php?mode=medium&illust_id=35443328 as we have never seen that woman appear anywhere.) she probably has something to do with the flashbacks at the end of book ii and she might somehow be short-haired tenshi at the same time, but this is just speculation.

however, in 3-43, tenshi's hair is rather blue, so i don't know if this is the purple haired woman or not. if it is, tenshi is probably still fine and closing in on the summit, but if it isn't, then it's very worrying to see a picture of tenshi without any of her companions. it's very ominous.

meanwhile, iku, while climbing the red carpeted corridor, is stabbed, and disappears for a few pages. there's a black page, a shot of a shrine that strongly resembles the hakurei shrine, and a picture of iku standing behind someone in a tux, with the line "In the past, I was saved by the lady I was serving, you see?". and then iku wakes up in a field of flowers.

i think what this scene makes clear is a theme that has continued to appear and reappear throughout every book of "being saved, being aided by someone's kindness".

i think another theme that is implied and has to be addressed by this story of running away from home is "return". something im imagining is that the reason tenshi makes finding the sword of hisou her goal is because she wants to have something to prove herself with, to vindicate her when she comes home. but i don't think she needs to prove anything, and i ultimately think that she would be happier spending the rest of her life exploring.

so i think this should be what happens in the ending.

open on iku's journey, and give her a long sequence of travel without seeing tenshi. underline her newfound resolve. she climbs to the summit with albinoss, and finds the rest of tenshi's companions fallen. and in the last room is sword of hisou tenshi, who has lost herself, and it comes down to iku to bring her back. after a difficult battle, when both of them are on their last legs, iku is unable to stand any longer. but at this moment tenshi sees her companions struggling to get back up and reach her, and that's what brings her to her senses. and iku gets to see how many friends tenshi's been able to make on her own, and they finally and properly reunite. together, tenshi and iku carry each other out of the last room.

i don't think it's necessary to return to heaven. as a conclusion, dedicate some time to tenshi and iku travelling together. they're on their way back, revisiting old friends who helped them along the way, enjoying the journey. their last stop is the house of the elderly nawis (1-42). tenshi shows off the sword of hisou; she decided to keep it not as a trophy to show her family but as proof of the bonds of her companions. surrounded by friends, tenshi and iku decide to part ways with each other, knowing that the other will be alright. iku drifts among the clouds once more, and tenshi sets off for the horizon.

that's the plot that i'd write/just wrote. i don't really expect tenco's story iv to ever come out, though. i mentioned my first sidebar description earlier in this essay, but of course, you can see that it's been changed. 2 years ago, i read my hopeful prayer once more and was struck with a terrible melancholy, so now it reads this: "having come to terms with the fact that tenco's story iv will never be released, i can still live, knowing that the spirit of the journey will live on through kannnu's original works [...] meanwhile, furious shitposting".

on one level, tenco's story is a story, but in the process of following it, i came to think of the work itself as a journey too. you can constantly see kannnu's improvement between and even within each book. they have always drawn whatever they liked; what plot matters in the face of "I wanted to draw a beautiful sky." "I wanted to draw a fantastic battle." "I wanted to draw Dark Souls and Monster Hunter and Pokemon and Brave Fencer Musashi and Bokura no Taiyou and Touhou."

its not really kannnu's style to go back and tie up old ends. they just draw whatever makes them happy. so as i watch them continue to draw beautiful places and fantastic creatures, new characters heading out on journeys of their own or just enjoying their everyday lives, it's as if tenco's story never ended. the limits and consistency of that world ignored, and a new one springs up; in a way, the world of tenco's, which had such thin boundaries, just gets bigger.

but even so, having said all that, i still see them draw that short-haired tenshi from time to time. it makes me happy to see them remember tenco's story with such fondness. often crossing over with orion or roar or elweiss, you can see tenshi on another journey.

#tenco's story #freshlybakedspiderbread

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hipsterfrankcastle · 5 years

Text

ok i got tagged in this TWICE by the lovely @carry-the-sky and @heidiamalia so let’s goooo

1. how tall are you? 5′8

2. what color and style is your hair?

Currently like a weird.... gingery brown vibe.... the style is what i like to call “poorly box died”. but im like an anime protagonist my hair has been a lot of dumb colours

3. what color are your eyes?

hazel

4. do you wear glasses?

yep!

5. do you wear braces?

not any more

6. what is your fashion style?

weird mix of incredibly formal workwear worn at casual occasions and like..... someone from an ivy park fashion shoot who can’t afford to buy actual ivy park. idk. athleisure shit. but mostly jeans and t-shirts these days seeing as i NEVER LEAVE THE HOUSE

7. full name? not today, satan

8. when were you born? 1995

9. where are you from and where do you live now? i grew up in the southwest of england. still here....

10. what school do you go to?

uni of york

11. what kind of student are you?

oh man. i am the Most. v extra. i used to study too much.

12. do you like school? uh Hell Yeah. i like structure, organised fun, being surrounded by my pals. i try not to nostalgise it tho because there were times i was very very stressed out. why do we put so much pressure on teenagers?? good lord. uni sucked ass but i liked the actual study side of it (masters im coming for you!!)

13. what are your favourite school subjects?

english lit (shocking no one), philosophy and ethics, drama (even tho i sucked ass), history

14. favorite TV shows? too many. the hour and in the flesh are all time faves. i looooove us sitcoms i’ve watched the office maybe 13 times through. maybe more, actually. parks and rec, brooklyn 99, 30 rock (great news was such a severely underappreciated tina fey classic). fleabag. broadchurch, black mirror, the handmaid’s tale blehhhh i could go on for hours.

15. favorite movies? im just going to put 2 because otherwise we will be here for days. the darjeeling limited and joe wright’s pride and prejudice. oh wait. no and the new world. and days of heaven. can’t miss my boy malick off there.

16. favorite books? UHHH a little life (all time fave please read but maybe google some trigger warnings or ask me about it), my year of rest and relaxation, the english patient, the secret history (basic lol), stoner.... tHERE’S TOO MANY.

17. favorite pastime? i like walking my dogs. spending time with my dogs. taking photos of my dogs. other things that don’t include my dogs like watching movies (duh), writing, reading, recently gotten into film photography. im realising now this question didnt ask for a list oop moving on

18. do you have any regrets? yeah. my uni degree. quitting my job (one of those ones where you know it’s what was best for you at the time but now, looking back, it SUCKS). oh. yeah. deciding to lose two stone in the space of five minutes and developing an eating disorder and HAVING TO QUIT MY JOB. that’s a big one. not going to the editing lab with a guy the morning after we kissed. that one felt like a sliding doors situation.

19. dream job? baker. book editor. pro dog walker. im realising all of these are fairly achievable.

20. would you like to get married someday? nope nope nope!! well. maybe. if i find someone REALLY good.

21. would you like to have kids someday? hahahahahahahah no.

23. do you like shopping? yes but im trying to less because capitalism is a scourge and im trying to unlearn its various teachings including how our shopping habits make us feel/how the fashion industry affects body image. plus it’s terrible for the environment. shout out to my therapist for teaching me all this shit.

24. what countries have you visited? a lot of europe (holland germany belgium spain france poland scotland italy greece that’s not a lot actually), USA, australia, new zealand. i wanna hit california next cause ive been to new york twice now.

25. what’s the scariest nightmare you’ve ever had? ermmmmm oh man. uhh. i have a lot of horrible nightmares bcos ---trauma lmao. cant think of one standout one.

26. do you have any enemies?

quentin tarantino. OH and this one girl on my film course at uni. she doesn’t know that we’re enemies. but we are.

27. do you have an s/o?

hahahahahhahahahah

28. do you believe in miracles? uh. no? dont think so. im not very spiritual, but i do believe sometimes that the universe sends you signs (even if really it’s just your brain trying to tell you something your subconscious is trying to tell you by interpreting the world around you a certain way)

thank you so much for the tags. i love talking about myself as you can tell. i think everyone i know has been tagged so. if you’re reading this. you’re tagged!

also if anyone ever has any questions about any details of my personal life. ask me. i will tell you anything. like i said. loooove talking about myself.

#personal #ask tag

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mayadile · 6 years

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I don't know if I'm bothering you with this ask but has King Dice ever felt inner conflict at having an actual relationship for once in his life? Not that he regrets it, he's just never thought that it was possible? When he first started dating Connie, I mean, the absolute angel.......(I'm a hardcore Snake Eyes shipper but your art and ideas are so amazing......I was actually first introduced to the LGBTQ+ community by looking through your blog and I'm really thankful for it )

I DID WRITE A WHOLE BIG THING ABOUT THIS IN MY GOOGLE DOCS HOW EVERYTHING GOES AND HAPPENS WITH THEIR RELATIONSHIP!!!!! welp this is going to be long so lets pop in A READ MORE!!!

Ok so lemme give you some headcanons of mine HAHA so yes as you can see King Dice! He’s a big shot right? He can smooth talk his way to getting anything, it’s a talent of his! He attracts all sorts of people with his presence and he knows it! Working in the casino for years and years ( And stuff with King Dice’s backstory but that’s later but if you wanna know I can gladly write that for you too later! ) and being partners with the Devil himself, got a reason for it, being the right hand man, man got a rotten soul! Greedy,Egotistic,Nartisstic, etc ( I MEAN LISTEN TO HIS SONG! He basically thinks so highly of himself come on, even when working with the Devil he thinks noone can mess with him! ) Dice likes money and by god does he love making people’s life the worse! mostly playing around with toons he thinks deserve it...like you know he has so much charisma, he can talk anyone into anything, he has that face, smile, dapper look,HE’S GOOD LOOKING AS HELL!! he got an aura that draws you to him. Hard to see right through him but if you do, you’ll see some dark aura around the guy. He’s a nasty nasty man! manipulative and a snake HAHA everyone in inkwell knows him for that, pretty sure everyone in inkwell hates him.He’s very dedicated and devoted to his work, that was the deal, be here in the flames and rot, why not have some fun and pull in some suckers, that’s one thing him and the devil bond over and get along with, they love making deals and ruining lives. He can talk a drunk patron into playing a game and selling their soul, he can flirt his way into your heart and take your soul, he can be so friendly, start something with you and just break your spirit and take that damn soul of yours and act as if he had nothing to do with it and left you there speechless and does it give him pleasure to see the lights leave your eyes when you figure out when you notice you just fucked up your life into giving your soul to the big cheese! Hilarious! what a sucker! you really think you had a chance? you really think everything was going good for you here? Welcome to hell pal! Now that you see the negatives of King Dice, back to your question, yes it was confusing for him to ever have genuine feelings for someone, most of the time he plays around ya know? He can do whatever he’s the manager. I mean I’m pretty sure he had relationships before he got his soul taken from the devil! But guess all things were lose and consumed while working in the Casino, guess he didn’t have the need for it or thought it is necessary??? The only relationship he had all those years stuck in here was his partnership/friendship with the devil, don’t know if you can say it is a good friendship, but they are business partners??? same with his lackeys too! King Dice again thinks he’s a real catch, he knows toons fall for him and he likes the attention! But him attracted to someone he finds alluring as himself?? He can’t keep his eyes off? interested? curious? THAT’S A REAL RECORD SCRATCH, it confuses the absolute hell out of him.Like imagine being someone whos...King Dice and suddenly you start developing feelings? scary isn’t it? Chest starts to get heavy, your nasty nature turns into putty and you have birds singing, you want to see this person and hear their voice, you get tongue tied?? Something you never do? Mr.Big Bad Big Shot, Everyone adores me and hates me and this one person makes you weak to the knees!! an employee of yours? It’s terrifying for him and absolutely crazy, he doesn’t need this, he thinks he is better than that, love? HAHA WHO NEEDS THAT RIGHT? I’M THE GAMEST IN THE LAND WHO NEEDS THAT STUFF WHEN I HAVE ALL OF THIS AND-- Oh look Connie!Does he regret it? Nah, he actually likes it, it’s nice to feel something good! make that dark void in his chest sing and dance. His feelings towards Connie developed deep down since he did try to hide and deny it but coming from a guy who is actually a secret hopeless romantic it’s hard~ uhhh ok Dice’s first impression of Connie wasn’t good and mostly he thought that they were like every other magician, they do a image for themself but they’re actually nasty like why else would Connie come and also accept a job at the casino? He knows Connie isn’t a complete angel ( They were given a job at the casino for a reason and that reason is because the devil sees something in Connie he admires and so he lend them a hand and gave them the job here, Connie isn’t the ANGEL you all think they are, they’re actually awful lol but they repress feelings! ) but getting to know them further ( if you wanna know how feelings develop Ill give you that too and when connie came to the casino! ) But! Connie has that something, that really attracts King Dice, they’re like light, lighting up the room with their booming voice and enthusiastic personality, makes the casino more alive and tolerable. Another small headcanon, of course I base King Dice very much of Cab Calloway, so he isn’t always a nasty dude ( i mean he is ) but he has that feel of always dancing about and singing~ Back then in his better life Dice had a band and wow does he miss it..( Locks all of his past memories in a box hidden in his office ).. Being around Connie makes him want to dance and sing ( which he does ) sometimes together he will tune his radio and play some songs and sing, Connie would join and dance along side with him, brings back memories and it’s a good thing since Dice hasn’t had a dance partner in YEARS and mostly someone who can catch up with his rhythm and be in sync and have the same energy. So yeah he never ever thought he would make it this far and have an actual loving relationship with someone, I mean Connie and Dice are both broken toons and both aren’t perfect and have some conflict but they do have such good chemistry and love one another to make it whole! ( Wow that was cheesy but these two can be cheesy :\ ) Again apologizes for my rambling and run off sentences .... remind you that this is one of my ever first oc/canon I was ever invested in and seeing people like it really make me happy since Im a nervous lad....There is alot to their story and again I will say, they are a slow burn, feelings slowly develop and mostly fully happen after the casino went to shit, but not saying they don’t mildly flirt before then ;o; just conflicted feelings all around...uh..im not a romantic writer guys but I can say I do love the effort I put in these two so if you want more info just tell me and I’ll do the best I can? THANK YOU!

#Connie O'Clock #a huge ass wall of text im sorry #im like blushing writing stuff like this makes me flustered ok LOL #some TimeToDie nonense here #aimasup

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agentdagonet · 5 years

Text

The Demon Lo

Tagging @elletromil and @insanereddragon

Find it here on AO3

Am I really going to summon a fucking demon to get Harry back?

Yes I fucking am.

Eggsy’d spaced out the purchases of supplies, as if things like planks of wood and paint and candles were somehow illicit. He looked down at the Book, the one reptilian eye gazing back from the cover, and then glanced around the room. The windows were fully covered, the wood barely visible in the candlelight; the carpet pulled up to reveal the wood beneath, upon which the Circle was painted- an inverted pentagram, surrounded by a snake eating its own tail, and outside of that six tall white candles placed equidistant from each other. There were other things drawn in the spaces between pentacle and snake, the small can of paint, and a paintbrush. The property damage would probably cost him his life’s savings and then some, but it would be worth it.

Harry was worth everything.

Eggsy sat himself in the middle of the Circle, and took a deep breath before opening the Book. Counting to himself, he glanced back and forth from the floor, making sure that each thing was perfect. He turned the page, and cursed to himself before scrambling up from the floor and dashing into the kitchen, knocking a candle over in his haste.

Can’t summon a demon without blood, after all.

Reseating himself, Eggsy stared blankly into the distance. Am I really going to summon a fucking demon to get Harry back? He looked longingly at the front door, imagining for a moment that Harry would simply stroll through as if he hadn’t been gone for nearly half a year. He couldn’t imagine continuing on as if he had never existed, since no one else seemed to think it was a big deal that he’d gone missing. Maybe he just got tired of you, Eggsy, it ain’t like you’re anythin’ special. Ryan had said, knocking one shoulder with his own and laughing. He and Jamal had tried a lot of shit to cheer him up, but Eggsy couldn’t forget him.

His chestnut hair, the little wrinkles at the edges of his eyes and mouth, his penchant for soft-yet-ugly cardigans and bitter tea… his dark sense of humour, the earnest way he offered to run someone through for insulting him, the glint in his eye just before he did something he ought not to and managed to pass the blame on to some hapless passerby. Harry had been gone for just about as long as Eggsy had known him, and yet he couldn’t remember what his life was like before he stumbled into it.

Yes I fucking am.

He pushed the Book off to one side, revealing a painted eye, and took a sharp breath as he dragged the blade across his left palm. He compulsively closed his hand as the blood welled up, as if pressure alone could seal the wound, but didn’t move it from above the eye. This was important, so Eggsy lifted the book into one hand, leaving his blood dripping into the eye from the other, and began to chant.

‘Bin tu Skamp Li

Bin Ramé freey Li

Crem list skamp Li

Fige grest ramé tu

Fige whuhd solk

Bin Crame cramé ot

Lo!’

He paused, looking about wide-eyed at the empty apartment, but nothing had changed. No one was there. Not like he knew what a demon would look like, anyway, but still. Eggsy put down the book, running one finger over the words written there. Had he pronounced them wrong? Maybe google wasn’t the best way to check pronunciation of words he did not know the language of, but it’s not as if he could walk into a bookshop and ask how to pronounce this demon summoning ritual because that’s something that would easily raise a few eyebrows, and likely get his head examined. He turned the page, wondering if there was more he had not seen, and instead came across visual instructions.

‘Stab the bloody eye? Alrigh’ I guess.’ Grabbing the knife he had set aside earlier firmly in his uninjured hand, Eggsy stabbed it firmly into the floor. Of course it did not stick- for all the sharpness of the blade, the tip was dull. Kitchenware. But the candles went out in a gust of wind that simply was not possible from within his sealed apartment, and he knew he had accomplished something- whether it was the desired result remained to be seen.

‘The fuck’s my lighter?’ Eggsy patted down his pockets, eventually pulling free a small lighter and relit the candles. In the dim light, Eggsy was not sure what was coming toward him- only that something was, close to the ground, accompanied by a sound not unlike a Jurassic Park raptor for whatever reason. It had slow, wet, footsteps, followed by something not unlike dragging a bag across dead leaves. The closer it got the more distinct the dinosaur noises became.

Moaning. Pained, inhuman, moaning getting nearer with every passing moment.

The candles showed an increasingly disturbing image- the torso of a man, skin waxy and grey like a corpse, whose arms were covered in a stringy mould. Its bald head had no back, instead gaping open grotesquely, and when the creature finally looked up the eyes were sunken in and the lipless mouth idly dripped blood. It had no nose, and its skin reminded Eggsy of the infected people from Waters of Mars- and Eggsy would have chuckled if he had not been desperately gasping for breath in a bid not to pass out from sheer panic.

He had actually managed to summon a demon, and now he had to finish it- or die trying.

It’s for Harry he repeated to himself like a mantra is it got closer at the end of all this you will have Harry back and you will live happily ever after. Realistically, Eggsy knew that that was unlikely- even his friendships had bad times- but he needed to see this through.

The creature leaned forward, far too close for comfort, and laughed slowly. It reverberated as if in a cavern, tri-toned and ominous, as his rancid breath hit Eggsy’s face.

‘A-a-a-are you th-the demon Lo? You the demon Lo?’

‘I. Am. That.’ The voice was hoarse, rumbling, and his breath was no better than it was a second before.

‘You-you have. Great power?’

‘This. I. Know.’ He lifted one webbed hand for a moment, summoning for itself a small green creature, rat-like but not a rat, and slowly closed his fist. The rat-thing curled in on itself, squealing, before the skull popped with a wet noise. Lo opened his hand, blew across the palm, and his eyes seemed to light up for a moment. ‘This, I know.’ He laughed again, the vastness of the room slowly fading, and Eggsy felt lightheaded from trying not to gag.

‘Now clean the shit from your trousers and tell me what you want.’ Lo propped himself on his elbows, hands clasped together, and tilted his head to one side. Remarkably like a girl at a sleepover, or chatting on the phone, in a film.

‘A- a man.’

‘You summoned me for love ?’

‘Yes.’ As if there were anything else worth risking a soul for. Lo lifted himself onto his hands, leaning close to the Circle but not crossing it, and glared harshly at Eggsy.

‘You would utilise my great power over such… human trivialities?’

‘You- you have to do what I say. That’s what the Book said.’

‘Oh, look at you pretending to be brave. What’s your name?’

‘Eg-Gary. Gary.’ Names had power, in all the old faerie stories, and panic was no excuse to give a demon the name he felt was his own. He doubted it would mean much- he was protected, inside the Circle, after all- but still. It would help keep him focused on getting Harry back.

‘Well that’s an awful name, far too breakfast-y. Doesn't suit your inevitable future at all! Allow me to fit you in something more bespoke ... Dinner.’ Lo’s head tilted at an angle that made his gaping mouth almost seem to smirk, one hand gesturing in his general direction. Eggsy swallowed thickly.

‘It's Gary.’

‘Dinner, you have to let go of the past-’ Lo pointed with one thick finger, looking for all the world like one of those Uncle Sam posters he had seen on Tumblr.

‘I summoned you, yeah? You gotta do what I say- obey my charge or whatever the book said.’ Shoulders back, neck straight, meet their eyes- everything Harry had told him about talking with someone he was intimidated by. Someone he thought better than himself for whatever fucking reason- or, he guessed, someone he was absolutely scared shitless of.

‘While that may technically true, but that does not mean that I have to respect you- and if given the opportunity I would wholeheartedly make your new name a prophecy fulfilled.’

‘I-I am no’ afraid of you.’ Maybe it was a stupid idea to deny the obvious to a powerful demon, Eggsy thought to himself as Lo reared back. The room shook, and Eggsy had a split second thought to his neighbours banging on his door demanding an explanation for all the racket.

‘Yes. You are.’

‘Well it would be fucking stupid not to be, yeah? You’s a demon and I'm not even just a person but an estates kid without any connections or silver spoons to beg from. But I've got the Book, and I've got this Circle, and you just said you got to do what I say so stop goin’ on your fuckin’ power trip and listen to me.’ Eggsy took a deep breath, instantly regretting it when he could taste the demon rot in the air, and glared defiantly at Lo.

Who summarily ignored his statements and was blandly looking about the room.

‘Where the fuck am I?’

‘My flat. The estates.’

‘Oooooooh, dramatic!’ Lo waved one hand about flamboyantly, looking back to Eggsy with the skin above one eye socket raised. A parody of a raised brow, mouth pulled up to one side, he tilted his head. ‘Mind if I make a few… changes?’ He did not give Eggsy a chance to respond before flicking his wrist and looking up to the ceiling, a pale blue spotlight landing on him with an angelic choir backing his dramatic turn back to Eggsy. ‘Where’d a kid like you get a book like that, exactly?’

‘I ain’t a kid- and… it ain’t mine.’

‘No, really? And here I had you pegged for a proper Warlock.’

‘It belonged to ‘im.’ Eggsy was back on task, and pulled a photo from the back cover of the Book. Harry, smiling widely and failing to hide that smile behind a coffee mug, taken their first morning together. The first time Eggsy’d realised there was a hole in his life that had just been filled.

‘I could say he was handsome, but I would be lying- it's not a very good picture, is it?’

‘Do you know ‘im?’ Ask questions plainly, demand plain answers in return. Harry’s words echoed in his mind. But Lo shook his head, looking off to one side and refusing to make eye contact.

‘No.’

‘You’re lying!’

‘I warn you, Dinner- trying to get a read on a demon is a thorny game; we don’t play by your human rules.’

‘You took him.’ Confidence is key; don’t flounder in the face of what you don’t understand.

‘I took him?’

‘Well, maybe not you specifically but you fucking demons did. Your People, or whatever the fuck you call yourselves.’

‘I knew you were racist-’

‘Look, Harry was taken by some… some thing and I’ve got the scars to prove it.’ Eggsy angrily pulled off his shirt, balling it in his fist. There were deep red scars across his torso, reminiscent of the tears through canvas in Beauty and the Beast. They’ve seemingly healed, but still had the angry tinge of infection- and the stiff way Eggsy was sitting is suddenly attributed to more than nerves.

‘You sure it wasn’t a wolf? A bear? Perhaps a particularly angry thorned bush?’

‘I’m not a fucking idiot- I may be a speck on this planet, a bit of dust you’re gonna outlive and watch decay, but I’m not dumb enough to summon a fucking demon if I weren’t sure that’s what took him. It took him, and I was dying, but I woke up and Harry was still gone.’

‘It took him, it took him, my Harry's gone,’ Lo mocked, voice high pitched and hand waving about aimlessly, ‘look, I’ll give you some free advice: page 303. Close this ridiculous venture before I get hungry. Give up, and move on.’

Eggsy kept eye contact with the hideous creature, and instead of turning the pages as instructed he instead pulled the photo from the book and shut it. Eggsy tapped the cover with two fingers, almost glaring at Lo, and spoke softly, ‘I’m not leaving here without him.’

It was an eternity later that Lo shook his head, breaking their eye contact and sighing sadly.

‘Look, Dinner, I’m only going to say this once more- if what you’re saying’s true, and I’m sure it is, then you’re fucked. Raw and hard. You don’t just get out of Hell.’

‘Then I want to see him, and we’ll figure out the rest together.’

‘Well it’s not as if I know the man-’

‘His name’s Harry, he’s-’

‘Yes, yes, I know- he’s the moon and stars in the sky, the wind beneath your wings, and the rain that brings the flowers. Look, I am positive that you two had a deep and pure emotional connection,’ Lo sneered, ‘but Hell isn’t a park or some small town isolated from the rest of creation. It’s a large place, with more within than you could count in your lifetime, that’s been around since the dawn of your pathetic species. And we don’t keep records.’

‘Then I’ll wait.’

‘What?’ Lo looked at him incredulously.

‘I’ll stay right here while you go and look for ‘im. He’s worth it, and he’d’ve done the same for me.’

‘For how long? Until your need to piss and shit drives you to close the circle because of your human sensibilities? Until your body gives out, and you faint from malnutrition and inevitably cross the paltry protection you’ve painted? And let us not forget my own schedule, it’s not as if demons sit idly.’ Lo turned his face away, and began making as if to leave.

‘I’m in charge here, ain’t I?’ Lo grunted, but continued to pull himself away from Eggsy. ‘Oi, I’m not talkin’ to the air here- I’m the master and you’ve got to do as I say!’

‘The thing you ask for is IMPOSSIBLE!’ Lo growled, glaring at Eggsy as he twisted impossibly backward to address him. He would have shuddered, if he hadn’t been so determined to not show weakness.

‘An’ yet I’m still askin’ for it. So you’ve got to at least try. ’ Lo froze, growled low in his throat and then roared at Eggsy. The circle only protected him from physical threats, and the smell of rancid meat washed over him like an unfortunate rainstorm. He closed his eyes, waited for the ringing in his ears to stop, and determinedly stared Lo down. ‘I’m waiting.’

‘Frightened children ought not play with pentagrams; weren’t you ever warned against Ouija boards?’

‘Mighta been, but once impossible shit started happening I threw those rules out the window.’

‘If you so much as scrape the edge of your circle with your toes I will swallow you whole and you will have the pleasure of enduring a 90 year digestion. The acids in my stomach are unforgiving, and an idiotic specimen like yourself will likely cause some indigestion, but I am willing to make that sacrifice.’ Lo rears back, snake-like, twisting his head from side to side as if deciding from which angle to strike. Eggsy lifted the picture once again, as if his first instructions to the demon were simply forgotten as opposed to rebelled against.

Lo rolled himself partially onto his back and cursed at the ceiling before turning back to Eggsy. He smiled, or as close as he could get without lips or teeth. ‘Harry!’ There was obviously an exasperated air to the exclamation, but Eggsy couldn’t hope for better than that from this arsehole of a demon.

‘Harry. Hart.’

‘Like that thing that keeps your soul in you and outside of Hell?’

‘Like a deer, actually.’

‘Well that’s a stupid name for a human- why name someone after physical traits and animals?’ Lo muttered seemingly to himself, though it was just loud enough for Eggsy to hear. ‘Tell me about him.’ He propped his head on his hands, blinking innocently, and Eggsy was struck by the image of teens gossiping.

‘Just find him, what do you need me talkin’ about him for?’

‘I’m simply trying to fulfil your request, master. The better versed I am in your arthurian knight, the better equipped I’ll be in parsing out which he is amongst the trillions of bits of dark matter that float about in eternal torment.’

‘Oh.’ Eggsy didn’t want to think about what Harry must be enduring, what horrors he must have been facing since he’d been taken, but the reminder did nothing if not motivate him into sharing.

‘Precisely. Oh.’

‘What d’you need to know, then?’

‘Details. Emotional ones, a full dossier, as much as you can pull from your miniscule brain. I want to feel as you do; I need to feel the pain that’s driven you to me.’

‘Uh, well, he’s nearly 2 metres, mid fifties, light brown hair with silver at the edges-’

‘STOP.’ Eggsy’s mouth clicked shut, teeth grinding against one another as he did his best not to panic. ‘For fuck’s sake, Dinner, how dim can you get? I said emotional details. I want to know how you met, how you ate, how you fought and kissed, fucked and spoke and insulted and loved.’ Lo spat the last word like a curse. ‘I’m not casting a film, I don’t need his resume- what I need is everything.’

‘So… you want details .’ Eggsy stuttered, simultaneously disgusted by having to share his desires with a demon and relieved that what he asked for was so simple to share. It wasn’t like he was comfortable with it, but there were worse things than reminiscing about the man he loved with a Demon. He assumed.

‘Yes,’ Lo pointed at Eggsy, ‘thank you for joining the rest of the class.’

‘You want to know how we first met?’

‘By George, I think he’s got it!’

‘Don’t you quote My Fair Lady at me- anyway, I was on break at the Prince-’ There’s a great whooshing sound, and Lo’s attention is drawn to a spot behind Eggsy. Turning around, there’s a projection on the wall matching Eggsy’s memory. The dim lighting, the quiet bustle of the pub, and there- Eggsy, sat alone in a booth, staring out the window with a dish of chips on the table. Eggsy, sat in the circle, looked toward Lo in question, one brow raised.

‘It’s flashback time!’ Lo lifted one arm from the ground, giving some jazz hands in a manner Eggsy could only describe as sarcastic. ‘Ta-da!’

‘That’s me? But I haven’t told you anythin’ yet!’

‘No, that’s me and my phenomenal cosmic powers pulling the thoughts from your brain and projecting them onto that wall.’ Eggsy looked at Lo in horror- he could pull the thoughts from his mind? He could read his mind this whole time? ‘I know, right?’ Lo seemingly misinterpreted his silence for awe, pulling a bowl of popcorn from seemingly nowhere. ‘Now keep your mouth shut, and your eyes open- and let’s see what happens.’

There was something inherently fascinating about seeing himself from the outside. Eggsy hadn’t realised how depressed he’d looked, staring idly out the window and running a finger along the rim of his pint, completely ignoring his chips. From the edge of the projection, Harry walked into view, stunning in his suit and carrying a briefcase the way one would carry an explosive- with great care.

‘Hello.’ Harry was staring intently at the chips on the table, but his eyes flickered toward Eggsy every few moments.

‘Uhm, hi?’ Eggsy looked briefly from the window, visibly doing a double take when he actually bothered to take in the man before him.

‘Are those any good, here?’

‘I guess?’ In truth Eggsy hadn’t even touched them, though he liked them plenty on the regular, and he wished he could remember what he’d been looking at before the man stood before him.

‘Would it be terribly impolite of me to try one?’ Eggsy could only stare dumbfounded at the man, whose suit easily displayed the differences in their lifestyles, ‘your silence says yes, sorry about that-

‘Wait!’ Eggsy blurted, mouth obviously ahead of his brain by the shock in his eyes, ‘You can try some, if you want.’

‘That sounds lovely.’ Harry tucked himself gracefully into the bench across from Eggsy, setting the brief beside him before reaching deftly toward the plate. The first chip seemed to bring Harry to life, as he closed his eyes and nearly moaned. ‘ Shit this is divine!’ Harry’s mouth was still full, but Eggsy couldn’t find it in himself to be disgusted. Harry reached again, this time taking several, and shoved them into his mouth like a toddler.

‘Would you like some fresh?’ There was something entrancing about seeing a man so wholly enjoy something so simple. Eggsy couldn’t look away, and even cracked a grin at the way the man’s head nodded enthusiastically. He called over to the bar, gesturing for another round, and turned back to watch Harry eat. The man was so focused on the flavours in his mouth, eyes closed, and Eggsy couldn’t help but drink him in.

‘I thought you was eating alone, Eggy?’ Rottie dropped the plate the last couple inches to the table, causing a couple chips to fall off.

‘I am- or, well, I was- that a problem?’ Rottie rolled his eyes, looked at Harry like he was a particularly fascinating bit of shit on the ground, and walked off. Eggsy looked back to Harry, eyes wide when he realised how much of the cold chips he’d devoured in the course of that small conversation. Harry noticed his look, and seemed to come back to himself.

‘Oh, shit, I do apologise. I didn’t mean to-’

‘Don’t sweat it, honest. I wasn’t all that hungry anyway. I did order some more, though, so feel free to stick around.’ Eggsy lightly pushed the warm dish in his direction.

‘I don’t remember to eat very often, much more important things to me done- though I’m trying to break that habit.’ Harry shovelled the last of the cold chips into his mouth, but not before looking toward the door.

‘Mate, are you avoiding summat?’

‘Well, I’m on the run, if that’s what you’re asking- but nothing to worry about.’ Eggsy gaped at the man, mouth open to offer a listening ear if nothing else, when the man began to chuckle. ‘No, dear boy, I’m not in any kind of trouble- I simply admired the way you were holding yourself. Stunning- though I will admit, I was spurred to action by the chips sitting ignored in front of you.’

Eggsy laughed nervously, looked about the pub as if searching for some hidden camera, before asking, ‘well, how was I holding myself, then?’

The man across from him was still for a moment, and then slouched slightly; he turned his head slightly toward the window, allowed his lips to turn slightly upward, and seemed to soften his eyes somehow. The light hit him at such an angle that the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes were simultaneously highlighted and breathtaking, the shadow of his glasses somehow highlighting his cheekbones.

Eggsy forgot to breathe.

The man straightened himself back up, the world restarted, and Eggsy giggled.

‘You’re laughing at yourself?’

‘Well I doubt I looked half as elegant as you, but yeah. This whole moment’s a bit funny to me-’

‘How so?’

‘You’ve got to be at least twenty years older than me, never seen you ‘round here before so you’re new, you took notice of a pleb like me and just started talkin’, and then you act as if you’ve never has chips before-’

‘I haven’t, until today- I must say I enjoy them far better hot than cool.’ Harry looked so earnest, it was hard not to laugh- so he huffed a breath instead.

‘See, that! That right there is ridiculous how can anyone not’ve had chips before?’ Instead of seeming hurt, the man seemed pleased, and leant forward a fraction.

‘I had a rather… secluded upbringing. My family was very particular in what was what, and until this morning I had never thought to try the things they’d forbidden me. So this,’ Harry grabbed a chip, and smiled, ‘is my rebellion.’

‘You’re a bit old for rebellion- ain’t that a teenager thing?’

‘And yet you don’t strike me as very conforming yourself- and that’s… oddly wonderful.’

‘I can about guarantee there ain’t anythin’ wonderful about me- but I don’t like rules much.’ Eggsy smiled, ran one hand up the back of his head before suddenly remembering himself and offering his hand. ‘I’m Eggsy, by the way.’

‘Eggy?’

‘Nah, mate, with an s. Eggsy.’

‘Eggsy… Eggsy …’ Harry seemed to be rolling the name about his mouth like posh folk tasted wine- and he seemed poshh enough so maybe he was. ‘Peculiar. I like it.’

‘Thanks- and you are...?’

‘I am what?’ The man blinks, doe eyed, and Eggsy can’t help the laugh bubbling out of him again.

‘Your name, can’t keep calling you chips-man in my head.’ Eggsy joked, and Harry’s eyes widened for a moment before he began muttering to himself; though Eggsy of the present, sat in the circle, could hear him plain as day.

‘Eyesearsmouthnosehair- Harry.’ Only the last was said loud enough for Eggsy-at-the-table to hear, and they shook hands.

‘STOP!’ Lo roared, and the memory froze. Lo had one hand raised and was waving it about not unlike Hermione Granger. ‘Oh! Ohh pick me, pick me! Dinner, pick me, I have a question!’ Eggsy looked over to the demon, and raised an eyebrow. ‘Did your sugar daddy just make up his name?’

Eggsy looked down, unable to really dispute Lo with the given facts, but remembered suddenly- demon. ‘He weren't no sugar daddy, and you’re trying to trick me. Get me to go along with whatever it is you think about him so I’ll just let you go!’ Lo scoffed.

‘Tricking you? If that were my intention it would be far plainer- for example,’ Lo flicked his wrist, and the figures from the memory began to move again. Harry leant over the table fully, grabbed at the front of Eggsy’s shirt and pulled him across the table and slammed their mouths together. Eggsy flailed for a moment before draping his arm over Harry’s shoulders and giving all his weight to the older man.

‘Stop. Just- stop.’

‘What? Things not going according to plan?’

‘Play the scene right, or don’t do it at all. I thought you needed to know him like I did?’

‘That’s your responsibility, not mine. And you need to be open to seeing things a bit… differently. Experiencing your life in the moment is far different from remembering it.’ Lo gestured toward the memory, reset to the two men shaking hands above the tabletop.

‘Great to meet you, Harry- I’m gonna go settle my tab and head out. Got to get back to work.’

‘Why? That sounds tedious.’ Harry cocked his head to one side, as if genuinely confused by the notion of working, and it set Eggsy snapped.

‘Not everyone gets shit on a silver platter, Harry. We have to fucking work for it, and keep going when it look like there’s no light at the end of the tunnel because people are bloody counting on us. If people in their ivory towers,’ Eggsy mocked, ‘knew even a fraction of what us regular people do to get by, if they really got it, this place,’ he swung his arm, gesturing aimlessly, ‘would be so much better.’

‘The protection of one’s own is, of course, invaluable- I apologise for causing offense.’ Harry pulled the briefcase closer to himself, scooting to the end of the table as if to leave, and Eggsy deflated.

‘No, no I’m sorry. I didn’ mean to go off on you like that. I forgot myself for a moment there;’ Eggsy hunched in on himself, both hands in pockets, ‘what’s in the case? Sorry, not my place-’

‘A collection of sheets with writing on them- terribly boring, I assure you.’

‘What, classified or somethin’?’

‘Or something.’ Harry smiled with closed lips, and something imperceptible changed. He could feel it. In the kitchen, a glass shattered, and Harry practically leapt to his feet. Eggsy flinched, took a step back, and Harry seemed to come to himself- though he still kept a tight grip on the briefcase. ‘I- I’m sorry…’ Harry fell back into the booth, head hung low, case tucked betwixt his legs, and sighed deeply. Eggsy looked torn, glancing between the door and the man he’d so strangely befriended several times before shaking his head, stepping forward.

‘You okay?’

‘Weird man.’ Lo spoke up from behind him, and Eggsy turned.

‘Well, yeah, he’s different- but tha’s part of why I fell arse over tit for him so quick. There ain’t nothing else like him.’

‘Fell? Humanity’s always so dramatic- you talk of love as if it’s a ten story drop. No wonder it always ends in tears- or,’ Lo paused, ‘in lost souls.’ He lifted a hand, and something in the air jerked Eggsy’s head to one side, which brought him face-to-cover with an old book. A familiar, old, book. The Tragic History of the Life and Death of Doctor Faustus. Being held up by two long, green, fingers.

The book lowered, and Eggsy jumped back- only by chance does he not leave the circle- the green hands belong to a bald, scaled man, with horns like a dinosaur and a short beak, whose eyes seem to be backward. The bits that should hold them inside of his head were dangling down his face, scraping the edge of his jaw, and Eggsy can’t bring himself to breathe for fear or retching.

‘What’re you gasping about? Oh, the face; you humans are always so disgusted by shit you don’t understand. Have you ever actually read this book, lad?’ The demon (for what else could he be?) tapped the front cover with a clawed finger, ‘It’s actually a comedy, if you read it right.’ He extended the hand that had been on the book, stopping just before the circle. ‘Pleasure.’

Eggsy glanced at the hand before forcing himself to make back-of-eye contact with the demon, and shook his head.

‘So there’s a brain hidden behind the stupid face, well done.’ The hand pulled back, and the demon reached for the strands of innards that hung from his face before tugging on them sharply. There was a pop and Eggsy gagged, somehow unable to look away from the horrifying image of eyeballs being swung back and forth with nary a care before being shoved back into the scaled man’s head. He paused, looked pointedly at Eggsy, and sighed. ‘I put all this effort into my face and you can’t even pay me a compliment? And I had such hopes for our grand reunion.’

‘You-’

‘Correct; I’m the one who came ‘round and scooped your man from your arms and dragged him all. The. Way. Down.’

‘You’re the one that tried to kill me!’ Eggsy lifted his shirt, once again revealing the angry red across his torso, and the new demon examined it like a fine painting.

‘It’s Merlin to you- and It’s a pity you survived; that’s good work put to waste.’ Merlin gestured at Eggsy vaguely, ‘Your blood was like a fine brandy- something I needed to savour. ’ He lifted a hand, scraping fingers across his lip as if remembering the feel of flesh upon flesh.

‘You took Harry.’

‘I don’t enjoy repeating myself, lad, but yes. I did. And I was rewarded for it… handsomely.’ Merlin tapped a spot on his chest, and Eggsy was surprised to find a military uniform- a decorated one, with a series of medals he couldn’t figure out the meanings of if he tried. A green hand fingered a medal fondly, pink and gold with a V in the centre, as if to show Eggsy that this one was what he was given for dragging Harry into Hell.

‘Bring him back!’

‘I don’t think I will.’

‘Please!’

‘Not the kind of begging I’m after. You summoned Lo, not I, and I’m not at all inclined to do as you ask.’

‘Then I’ll-’ Eggsy pulled the Book from behind him, ‘I’ll summon you!’

‘And it seems the brain has leaked from between your ears- you can’t summon more than one demon at once! It would be like trying to save two people with one parachute- messy, improbable, but impressive if successful.’

‘Well, the fuck’re you here then if I ain’t your master?’

‘As if I would relinquish the chance to meet a celebrity- you’re the mortal that tamed the beast!’

‘What’re you on about?’

‘Don’t deny the facts, boy, you know what I mean.’ Merlin knelt closer, one clawed hand scraping the floor just beside the circle, ‘you know.

‘I’ve passed by and through and touched more humans than you could imagine- I’ve even held emotions for them. Disgust, pity, maybe a healthy bit of hunger;’ Merlin turned away, seemingly speaking into the abyss, ‘but the one thing I’ve never come close to feeling for a human is love. Oh, there were certainly a handful of physically attractive ones but they never survived long enough to enjoy ;’ He spat the last word, pointing at Eggsy accusingly, ‘that’s why it’s so strange.’

‘What’s strange?’

‘That it fell in love with you. ’

‘It?’

‘The thing you call Harry.’

‘Harry ain’t an it!’

‘Don’t interject without the facts, lad, it makes you look dumber than you already do. Foolhardy and ignorant- childish.’ Merlin smirked, or as close to an approximation of a smirk that a partially-beaked green scaled demon could accomplish. ‘I’m going to tell you a story, and maybe by the end of it you’ll have some brains.

‘Once upon a time, long before you lot made the stunning discovery that the world wasn’t flat, there was a war. It wasn’t the kind of war you’d keep histories of, there were few if any survivors and it was before recording events even became commonplace, but it was brutal. It was beautiful, and a demon wandering the remains stumbled upon one survivor- and stuffed his heart into a rock.

‘Demons are born from hatred, from suffering, from a desire to see retribution; that lone human was angry enough to spit fire- so the rock did. The man died, buried in the rubble, and his rage lived on- Harry lived on.’ Merlin paused, and somehow Eggsy was grateful for that- everything he knew told him to ignore everything the demon said, and yet… he spoke with such authority. Maybe it was only half true- maybe the story was true, but he was trying to make Eggsy believe it was Harry to make him let Lo go.

That had to be it.

‘What left the battlefield that day became the gold standard for demons- Harry rewrote the rule book and set every record. He was a legend, still is in some circles, known for having no mercy and the highest soul count. He was born from a dying soldier’s lust for revenge, and had no use for the rest of the organ he’d been born from.

‘Until you.’

‘If Harry had no heart, no love, no mercy, then the fuck was he doing wandering about with this Book in a suitcase?’ Eggsy lifted the Book in one hand and glared accusingly at Merlin, who rolled his eyes (would they pop back out?) and knelt back to the ground.

‘At some point or another, something changed. He started caring,’ Merlin spat, and Eggsy wiped at his face, ‘he started trying to curtail visits topside. Tried to use what weight his name carried to change things, things that didn’t need changing, and he grew frustrated when no one wanted to follow him.’ Merlin shrugged with one shoulder, and looked away. ‘So he left, grabbed the Book and the case and ran as quietly as he could.

‘Had he not been the best, we’d have caught him before he made it topside; but he made it out, and we were left scrambling after him.’

‘The fuck’d you care that he didn’t want to do that shit anymore? Ain’t that his business?’ Eggsy forwent arguing that the demon was trying to trick him, that was a demon’s prime directive. What purpose was there in arguing that?

‘He has a purpose, a job to do, and he’s necessary even if his... heart... isn’t in it anymore.’ Merlin looked at Eggsy from the corner of one eye, and winked.

In a blink Merlin was gone and Lo in his place, his enthusiastic clapping coming back threefold from the abyss.

‘Oh, bravo, Merlin- encore! What a... lovely... story-’ Lo cut himself off with a laugh, deep and gravelly and inhuman.

‘Stop playing with me!’ Eggsy bit out, the hand that he’d drawn blood from earlier clutched to himself. It throbbed, reminding Eggsy that maybe there were better places to draw blood from than the palm of your hand because it was going to hurt for ages.

‘I don’t play with my food, Dinner.’

‘I ain’t listenin’ anymore- you’re trying to confuse me; trying to get me to give up and let you go and I’m not leaving without Harry.’

‘I bring you the demon who literally took your love from your arms, and you bring into question my motives?’ Lo lifted one hand to his chest, lidless eyes somehow sad, and for a fragment of a moment Eggsy considered apologising, but-

‘I thought you said you didn’t know him?’

‘Surprise! I lied; demon, remember?’

‘You disgust me. You’re fucking disgusting.’

‘I didn’t think you cared so little for Harry.’ Lo quipped, looking idly at his hand- Eggsy would say he was admiring his nail polish but the thick, pale, slimy appendages simply curved into an end. No nails in sight.

‘What?’

‘Well to call me disgusting is to call him disgusting- we do, after all, share a species. In case you missed it from that story, demons- all ,’ Lo paused, looking pointedly at Eggsy, ‘demons will torture, slaughter, and rape. It’s part and parcel to our existence.’

Eggsy was confused, and angry, and more than a bit frightened- but who wouldn’t be in this kind of a situation? It wasn’t as if there were other people to ask about their experiences summoning demons or books he could check facts against. But he knew Harry. He loved Harry, and if there was one thing he knew, it was that he was worth it all.

‘I guess I’ll just reach into the arse of Hell and bring him to you, then.’ Lo laughed, and Eggsy was struck by how it reminded him of the old Mario game, when you fucked up and Bowser laughed at you. Deep and tri-toned and echoing.

‘If Harry’s everythin’ you’re saying he is, then where do I fit in?’ It’s quiet, something Eggsy is reluctant to say out loud and especially reluctant to say to a demon, but there weren’t many choices in circumstances like this.

‘You … What about you? It’s kind of funny, actually- that heart Harry was born from, it was fickle. Jumped from rage to lust to disappointment in a flash- and, I guess-’

‘He loved me.’

‘Perhaps- but that doesn’t change the nature of things. The facts are Harry gets restless, gets frustrated with the stagnation of everyone else, calls at all hours I don’t understand- why do I get like this when no one else does!’ Lo mimed holding a telephone, Harry’s voice fell from his lips, and Eggsy’s heart stuttered. ‘And what am I supposed to tell him- it’s not as if I’ve ever felt that way, and one moment he’s a killer- the best- and the next he’s a mess!’ Lo sounds like a frustrated spouse, Eggsy nearly chuckled at the absurdity of it all, and then the demon looked away in a huff, the candles highlighting the downward curve of his lipless mouth.

‘You were his friend.’ It’s a statement, not something he had to ask, because no one can talk that emotionally about another being and not be attached in some way, but the way Lo avoided eye contact after said more than words could.

Lo roared, like rocks tumbling off a mountain.

‘No.’

Eggsy was tired of talking in circles. He was the one in charge here, and maybe he just had to trick him into doing shit on his own. Like Aladdin with Genie.

‘You can’t even get him, can you?’ He goaded, leant back on his hands where he sat in the circle. ‘You ain’t strong enough to get the job done.’

‘I don’t have the strength?’ Lo glared, and raised himself on his arms until he somehow towered over him.

‘You can’t even walk, you fucking cripple-’ Eggsy gagged, his throat closed up with nothing but a twitch of Lo’s hand. Shit. He’d forgotten; demon magic wasn’t stopped by the circle, only their bodies. Only their ability to kill outright- the rest was fair game.

He’d gone too far.

‘Can you feel that?’ It’s said nonchalantly, like asking about the weather, and Eggsy’s eyes bugged open, one hand scrabbling at his neck as if to dislodge his attacker. ‘The essence of my hand ripping through your barrier and crushing your larynx? Maybe I can’t kill you from here, but I can certainly make my displeasure in your living known.

‘The sooner I get your lover-demon, the sooner your stench will leave my mouth.’ Lo spat, and shoved himself away from Eggsy; and the moment the hand stopped metaphysically crushing his windpipe he gagged. He spluttered and choked and spat up a bit, wiped the back of a hand across his mouth, and looked up into emptiness.

‘Lo? Lo? Lo?! Fuck,’ Eggsy ran a hand through his hair, uncaring of the spittle, and looked about as if he could suddenly see through the pitch-darkness of the In-Between. ‘God damn it. Shit. Fuck. Fuck!’ He was delirious, cursing to himself and pulling at his own hair, on the verge of tears.

Would this work? Would it be worth it? What kind of a question was that, for Harry it was worth everything, but would Harry think so? If he really was a demon, would that change anything for Eggsy? Could they make something new from the pieces left after all this? Would Harry still want him after he didn’t need to hide anymore?

Fucking hell… Eggsy’s mouth hadn’t moved, but the words echoed about the space. Shit- who said that? Who is it? I just thought that. Eggsy’s eyes widened.

It’s saying what I’m thinking- is it reading my mind? Is it in my mind? My thoughts are outside my head what the fuck is going on saysomethingoutloud-

‘Fuuuuuuu-’ The sound gave out, choking to a halt, and Eggsy began to panic. Did I just make sounds instead of talking? The fuck was that sound- say a sentence. Come on, Eggsy, say a fucking sentence. ‘ You can go fuck yourself.’ There, that’s a sentence.

Shit, that’s still in my head.

Fuck.

Okay, let’s figure this out, yeah? Why am I hearing my voice outside of my head? Where is it coming from? Eggsy writhed in place, neck cramped, and pulled at his hair with both hands. Ow! Eggsy pulled his hand from his head, looked down, and gaped at the cut from earlier.

Did that get bigger? The skin opened and closed in time with his thoughts, and Eggsy sucked in a breath through his teeth. His hand was talking to him- his hand was exposing his thoughts to the demons and whatever else was around- his hand was reading his mind and then saying it out loud. Ignore the hand, clear your mind. Like fucking Snape just clear your mind and stop bloody thinking!

…

This is weird. No luck with ignoring it, so may as well just run with it. Don’t focus on the hand. Let’s figure this shit out.

Harry’s a demon… he’s always been a demon. Does that mean he didn’t love me? Doesn’t love me? Did he- did he make me love him? Eggsy glared at his hand, pointing angrily with the other.

‘That’s fucking ridiculous- I know he loved me. He didn’ say it much but actions are louder than words, yeah? He fucking loved me. And I love him, even with him gone I love him.’

And yet we’re here, in the middle of hell knows where, trying to strike a deal with a fucking demon after getting told bedtime stories of him killing people for shits and giggles. Innocent people, even.

‘That’s the point, tho- stories. They’re stories told by fucking demons to get me to give up. Like them warning stones in Labyrinth; Lo admitted he was lying!’

And the Book?

‘Shit. That’s right. The Book.’

A human wouldn’t have a book like that- and where’d it come from? Where could he have gotten it from- certainly not Waterstones.

‘Hell.’ Eggsy signed, resigned.

Yeah, Hell. Harry’s from Hell. But does that really change anythin’? He’s obviously the same man, we just got to see his shit in a different light.

‘He loved me.’ Whispered, slightly doubtful, as Eggsy stared at one of the candles. Maybe if he just focused on something, anything, else it would stop.

Did he? Could he? What if you were just the only one dumb enough not to ask questions. Who’d look for a man like that with a pleb like you? He was usin’ you just like Dean used to.

‘ That dick!’ It explodes from Eggsy’s lips, unbidden, and he looked around the vacuum his Circle was surrounded by, as if someone would pop out of the woodwork to correct him for being too loud.

I KNOW!

‘ I- I’m talking to myself… through my-’

‘Did you miss me?’

‘Shut UP. Just- just shut up, brain!’

‘As amusing as watching you yell at yourself is, not quite.’ Lo was back, cigarette in hand, the smoke curling far past where his ceiling should be. More unpleasant reminders that Eggsy wasn’t really on Earth anymore.

Eggsy heaved in a breath, and glanced back and forth from his hand- which had gone silent and the cut had shrunk back to regular size- to Lo.

‘Where’d you run off to, then?’

‘Needed to ease a little tension.’ Lo waved it about, and Eggsy’s eyes continued to trail the smoke.

‘Demons smoke?’

‘When will you get it through your thick skull that demons do whatever we damn well please? Besides,’ Lo took a drag, ‘it’s cool.’

Eggsy was distracted, flexing his fingers and curling his fist as if to try and tease his hand back into talking to him. He couldn’t figure out why he was doing it, outside of an intense desire to not be looking at Lo. Not to be thinking about everything he’d been told.

‘The circle’s closing in on you- magic has to draw from somewhere and the longer you sit there the more your brain’s leaking out. Stay there long enough and there won’t be enough left of you to go back; but, as a faint silver lining, I got something for you.’

‘Harry?’ Eggsy perked up, his whole body leant forward, and Lo chuckled.

‘No. He’s in some high-security lockup and it’ll take more time- but I did bring you some souls to speak in his place!’ A pair of came up against the wall, and kept coming toward them- until they hit a barrier, filmy and red and Eggsy did not want to think about what it was made of. ‘I thought you’d want to know what Harry was going through- so you can help him later, of course.’ Screams echoed, like nails on a chalkboard, and Eggsy held himself as stiff as he could. Barely wanting to look at the humanoid points of darkness against the illuminated flesh- red of the barrier.

Demons lie. No matter what they said it wasn’t necessarily true. Though, Eggsy knew, all the best lies were built around grains of truth. So what was the truth, here?

But, as Eggsy listened to the litany of screams and begging, he grew more and more worried for Harry. Cheese graters? Drawn and quartered? Papercuts and lemon juice? Head, still alive, being thrown into a blender? Venom and sleep deprivation and waterboarding- some of these things sounded so mundane, so run-of-the-mill. Eggsy reasoned to himself that it was probably like Prometheus and the bird- beyond painful every time, and just familiar enough to keep you wondering how they’d make it worse this time. Repetitive and horrifying.

‘Why are you showing this to me?’ The shadows froze as he spoke, and red dripped where their supposed-bodies pressed against the barrier. As one they cocked their heads to one side, turning toward Lo as if they wondered much the same as he had.

‘You want me to find Harry? You want me to give you Harry? Well I want you to know what you’re getting into. What Harry is. He was the best there was- until you.’

‘Get rid of them. Send them back.’ It’s a feeble order, and Lo knew it.

‘Do it yourself, master.’ Eggsy turned to the shadows, who were pressed eagerly against the barrier as if through will alone they could escape their confines.

‘Go back to hell; leave me the fuck alone!’ Eggsy bit out, on the edge of breakdown but with a job left to do.

‘You know it’s funny- just think about every time you wished someone to go to hell, and here you are actively witnessing what you’ve wished upon them.’ Lo twirled the end of his cigarette, and the smoke became a set of claws before fading from view. ‘And then you just turned them away- they needed your help, Eggsy.’

‘Just shut it and get Harry already.’

‘I can’t. And not because I’m a cripple. You want to know why my legs drag behind me like a snake?’ Lo sounded like the Joker in those Dark Knight movies, pleasant and conversational but obviously intending to give a story whether you asked for it or not. ‘I assure you, there are legs back there- and this won’t be a long drawn out sob story like the one Merlin gave you.’

‘...I don’t care.’ Eggsy felt empty; at once terrified for Harry, scared of what Harry may well be, and a bone-deep tired he couldn’t quite push through.

‘Harry,’ Lo nodded once, looked Eggsy in the eyes, and looked away, ‘my legs were crushed when he was returned. Fitting retribution.’

‘...You helped him get out?’ What kind of a relationship did the two of them have, anyway? Calls in the night, an assist in escape, and yet Lo wouldn’t bring Harry to him now?

‘A demon, Eggsy, heart or heartless, shouldn’t entertain the idea that love will be the answer to any of its questions. Harry’s home now, where he belongs, but he’s no longer free. He’s trapped by guilt and the sharpest pains in the deepest of the pits- if you could call anyone trapped, it’s him.’ Lo took a breath and looked away. ‘Would you even want to see him again, with everything you’ve seen? Everything you’ve been told? Would you really want to bring him back with you, after all of this?’

‘I can’t tell the difference between trick or truth with you, bruv.’

‘You weren’t meant to. But the question remains- do you want to see Harry again? If so, all you have to do is… remember.’ Lo gestured back toward the wall, and a new memory began.

It was Christmas, him and Harry sat on the floor like children, and Eggsy had his hands hidden behind his back. He presented the gift to Harry, who took it looking vaguely confused. Within was a small stack of tattered books, Cendrillon and Pygmalion and The Tragic History of the Life and Death of Doctor Faustus. Harry set the stack between them, hands in his lap as he looked earnestly at Eggsy.

‘They’re for you.’

‘Books?’

‘Have you read this one?’ Eggsy gestured to Faustus, a small smile on his face.

‘No.’

‘Well it’s good- I figured rare books would be up your alley, what with you keeping that one in your case, and all. They’re not really old, but they’re older than me and I figure that’s something.’

‘You thought I’d enjoy enjoy these, so you got them for me?’ Harry sounded as if it was an entirely foreign concept. He was so confused all the time, it was a wonder that he’d made it this far in life without Eggsy around.

‘Well, it’s Christmas- it’s what you do.’ Eggsy shrugged, hiding his anxiety in a gentle smile. ‘Do you like ‘em?’

‘I think I do- I’ve not read many books outside of my own before. Schooling aside, of course.’ Harry added quickly, eyes doe-like and blinking slowly, so Eggsy let it go. Harry would tell him when he was ready. ‘What’s it about?’ Relationships were all about compromise- his curiosity could wait.

‘Well this bloke sells his soul for knowledge and power-’ Harry snorted, interrupting him.

‘How foolish. There’s no knowledge worth that much pain at the end of the road.’

‘What, you been there or so-’

‘Never!’ Harry interrupted Eggsy, whose smile ran from his face. Harry was so sensitive to the strangest things. He added “joking about hell” to his ongoing list of Harry’s Touchy Subjects.

‘You’re the strangest thing that’s ever happened to me.’ Eggsy chuckled,smiling softly, and sat expectantly. ‘Well?’

‘Well… what?’

‘D’you have somethin’ for me?’ Eggsy didn’t much like being rude, or pushy, but he’d learned that beating around the bush didn’t work with Harry- it was speak plainly, or not at all. It was something that’d rubbed him the wrong way at first, but when Harry reminded him that he’d had a very secluded upbringing Eggsy would feel like a tit all over again. So being a little uncomfortable was worth it- one day at a time.

‘Oh,’ Harry’s eyes widened, and he smiled sheepishly. ‘I’m sorry, I didn’t know that was custom.’

‘That’s alright, Harry- I’m just happy to be spending the holiday with you.’ Eggsy was honest; sure he was a little disappointed, but there was never any accounting for what Harry did and did not know. It made Eggsy feel purposed when Harry asked him things, or tried something new just on his recommendation- this was just one of the downsides to being that person. Life’s tiny disappointments.

‘I’m so sorry, Eggsy… do you hate me?’ Insecurities be damned, Eggsy couldn’t help but giggle at the look on Harry’s face. The man had to be in his late forties but he looked like a child whose lolly had fallen into the dirt; someone who had had something wonderful and managed to tarnish it without meaning to.

‘Course not. Actually,’ Eggsy rubbed at the back of his head, ‘I think I might be- just a little- bit more in love with you than I was before. It’s weird, but you bein’ honest just…’ Eggsy shrugged.

‘I’ve told you, I’m a man out of time with strange hobbies,’ Harry gestured to the wall behind them, where a few shadow boxes of butterflies were hanging. ‘But I will never lie to you, if I can help it.’ They kissed, more of a press of lips than anything heated, when suddenly Harry sprung to his feet and dashed from the room, his words echoing back behind him. ‘I do have something for you!’ He was laughing- what a sudden change from the melancholy man who’d kissed him.

‘You can’t wrap somethin’ that’s mine, that’s not how it works!’ Eggsy called after him, allowing himself to fall back against the leg of the sofa.

Harry returned with the briefcase tucked against his chest, the one from the day they’d met, which had been hidden in the back of a closet since he’d moved in. He unlocked it swiftly and pulled out the Book, the one reptilian eye gazing from the cover, looking at if briefly with a calculated gaze before handing it to Eggsy.

‘You’re giving me your “or something” book?’

‘It’s only fitting, after you’ve gifted me with books.’ Harry looked so at ease, and Eggsy couldn’t help but feel honoured. Harry trusted him with this, with what had to be his most treasured (if not only) possession.

‘Touche.’ Eggsy lifted the book, fingering the cover, before Harry’s hand covered his own. Harry used his other hand the lift Eggsy’s chin, and locked eyes with him.

‘You must not do that.’

‘Read it?’ What use was a book if you didn’t read it? The cover was creepy and definitely not something Eggsy wanted sitting on a shelf where anyone could see it.

‘Promise me. Eggsy, promise you will never read that book. Keep it safe, and one day when I’m not around you burn it.’ Harry’s hands framed Eggsy’s face, large and warm and safe. Eggsy gulped.

‘What is it?’ It’s asked softly, but Eggsy knew that Harry wouldn’t lie to him. He’d given his word.

‘My past- and don’t ever ask that of me again. Just. Please, for me, burn it. Don’t read it, let me be judged for who I am rather than who I have been.’ Harry’s eyes were earnest, and Eggsy couldn’t help but give in. As curious as he was, he loved the man that Harry was now . Yeah, it took a lot to get here, everyone’s made up of their past after all, but Harry would tell him when he was ready.

What did he need a book for, anyway?

‘Promise.’

‘~Demon~’ Lo sang beneath his breath, head held up in the hand not holding a cigarette.

Why wasn’t he honest with you? And now the hand was back. Great. He obviously didn’t trust you- not enough.

‘He was ashamed-’

Or he had a plan, and knew what he buttons he had to push to see it through. He could convince you of anything.

‘No-’

You know you couldn’t say no to him- should have been a willow for all you bent to his whims. You’ve been distant with everyone- would your friends even notice if something was wrong? Who would check on you? Harry was everything to you- and he knew it.

‘ No- we worked because we were different. We fit. Different puzzles made in the same shape.’

Because he designed it that way. You were nothing but a disguise. A ruse.

‘Just STOP!’ Eggsy closed the sliced-open hand, dug his nails into the wound, and felt tears forming despite himself.

‘~The circle’s closing in on you~’ Lo mocked, humming under his breath when Eggsy shot him a glare.

‘I’ll manage on my own, thanks.’

‘If you had any idea of what your brain was actually doing up there- pah.’ Lo laughed, no less horrifying than before, and Eggsy stared as Lo swirled his finger around his temple in the universal sign for insanity. ‘Idiot.’

A blink, and suddenly there was a man in front of him; older, balding, and laughing sinisterly, a small tray in his hands.

‘True on so many levels, Lo. We have, almost always, seen eye-to-eye on these matters.’ The man came to a stop in front of Eggsy, Lo nowhere to be found, with a crystal decanter filled with amber liquid and a glass.

‘I know you-’

‘I doubt that significantly. Would you like a drink?’ He held up the glass, gestured with the other hand to the decanter.

‘What? No.’ Who in their right fucking mind would drink something a demon handed them? Where’d it even come from, anyway?

‘Are you positive? I can assure you that this is the finest napoleonic brandy.’

‘I bet it is, mate, but I just want Harry. I’m not thirsty.’

‘It will be the best thing your uncultured mouth will have ever tasted.’

‘I just told you I don’t want a drink- I just want Harry, thanks.’

‘Well call it Harry, then,’ the man poured two fingers worth into the glass, ‘and enjoy.’

‘I just said I don’t want a fucking drink!’

‘It’s not poison.’ Lo reappeared, speaking from behind Eggsy, as the balding man used a crystal rod to push the filled glass across the circle. ‘It weakens the link between your body and soul- I can’t bring Harry to you, you see- you have to go to him.’ Lo’s head twists, snakelike, ‘it’s the only way.’

‘You want me to go into hell, outside of this circle, and find Harry on my own?’

‘Yes, I do! You’ll be relatively,’ Lo waved a hand in a so-so gesture, ‘unharmed by the fires and woes of Hell by consuming that drink. It’s the only way a living man can pass through, a closely guarded secret; so,’ Lo paused, head cocked to one side, ‘is your sugar daddy worth the risk?’

Eggsy turned away from Lo, back to the glass, and took a deep breath. Was Harry worth the risk? ‘You think I’ve got anythin’ to lose?’ Eggsy muttered just loud enough for Lo to hear, unintentionally, before picking up the glass and swallowing it in one gulp.

‘Fucker lied, that tasted like shit.’ There was a great whooshing sound, and suddenly Lo began to cackle. Like the hyenas in Lion King, Lo rolled upon the floor, and laughter echoed from the rest of the room. The man who had poured the drink, Merlin, the shadows... ‘Why’re you all laughing.’

‘I lied. It was poison.’

‘I can’t believe you fell for the whole “drink this, and you can walk through hell” bit- thought you had a bit more brains than that.’ Merlin had his arms crossed, and his horned head shook disapprovingly, but his chest shook with laughter. The medals glistened in the candlelight.

‘Just. Bring Lo back.’

‘I’m not his keeper, I’m not his master.’ Merlin scoffed, but somehow looked disappointed.

‘Am I really dying, then?’

‘Oh, yes- but slowly. You have time to think, bargain, get desperate… we demons like to watch you twitch.’

‘Can I do anything about the dying thing?’ As if a demon would-

‘Break the circle. Leave. Get your arse to a hospital and get it pumped out before it’s been too long.’ Merlin implored, surprisingly earnest for a demon who had just earlier said he’d been disappointed that Eggsy had survived their last encounter.

‘I thought you heard me when I said I ain’t leaving without him. I don’ see any ears, but you answer everythin’ else just fine.’

‘Don’t be cheeky, and stop calling it “he” that’s a prison of human design- demons aren’t defined by something as paltry as what’s between our legs. If we have them.’ There was a pause, Merlin looked away briefly and then turned back to Eggsy. ‘This whole “love” thing,’ he made quotations with his fingers, ‘can you explain it to me?’

‘I’m not that great with words, I dunno what to tell you.’ Eggsy was resigned to his fate at this point, death was inevitable because he was an idiot who took what was offered- wasn’t that like rule one of magic? Or was that just faeries?

But, maybe if he died in hell, he’d be reunited with Harry after all. Well worth all the pain at the end of the road.

‘I once tortured a man who said love was like something lodged in your throat you can’t swallow; another like continuously falling from a great height- both sounded unpleasant. Something to be avoided.’

‘Those are way too simple, mate,’ This is what’s left of my life now, explaining love to demons, ‘there’s no real way to define it. I mean, all the words in the world ain’t gonna help if you have nothing to base it on. Or something close to it, and you lot already told me that demons don’t love.’’

‘Demons can do whatever they want.’ It was defensive, and Eggsy had to breathe out a laugh.

‘Yeah, so you’ve said- but then none of you want to love, or you’d’ve figured it out already. You wouldn’t be asking me.’

‘Maybe we just want to give all our secrets away.’

‘Are you lot secretly five? That’s the logic my little sister uses to pretend she’s cleaned her mess when she’s just tucked it under the rug.’

‘Well, fine, maybe we can’t- but it’s a good thing. A blessing, if I can use the word. I mean, look at yourself,’ Merlin gestured vaguely at Eggsy, hunched over in the circle, ‘you’re dying, slowly, in a painted circle in the middle of your apartment- because you loved someone. You’re dying and still you sit here waiting to see him again instead of get yourself to a doctor. At least at the end of this I’m still around- why put yourself through that?’

‘Well that’s my secret, then. Takin’ it to my grave- close as it is.’

‘Why not just close the circle and be done with it? Get to a hospital, live your life?’

‘I’d rather be with Harry, thanks.’ Merlin scoffed, and walked back into the abyss, leaving Eggsy alone with his thoughts. Scattered, but his own.

Eggsy took a moment to look down at the Book, ran one hand across the incredibly creepy cover, and smiled sadly. Sure, maybe he hadn’t been able to see Harry before he died- but he’d get to see him after. He’d come here with a mission, and he’d never been the type of person to leave a job undone- and what kind of life would be waiting for him without Harry, anyway? The months without him had been empty and faded- who could blame Eggsy for not wanting to go back to that?

‘I don’t want to die,’ Eggsy said to the emptiness, ‘but I don’t want to go back, neither. I don’t want to live without him.'

You had to say it out loud. Eggsy refused to acknowledge the hand this time- if he were dying, he’d do it on his terms and not looking like a nutter yelling at his own hand. You know I can’t leave you alone.

‘And you’re exposing my thoughts to everyone!’

Who? There’s no one here!

‘But there will be, you need to stop or- or I’ll- I’ll cut you off!’ Eggsy brandished the knife from the beginning, blood crusted along the edge, and placed it against his wrist. ‘So stop.’

‘Are you trying to die more quickly, or is this some pathetic attempt to rid yourself of the poison?’ Lo blinked innocently up at him from his place on the ground, and Eggsy dropped the knife- his hand wasn’t talking anymore.

‘You poisoned me.’

‘No, Chester did.’

‘The fuck’s it matter who poisoned me, the end is the same. Fucking demon poison- but I wanna know: why? Why’d Harry have your page marked? So many bloody demons to choose from, feels like, and you’re the one marked off- why?’ Eggsy would deny he’d begged until his last breath (and that was far too close to contemplate) but he had to know. He needed to know.

‘Maybe he found me attractive,’ Lo framed his face between his mottled hands, blinking as if to flutter nonexistent eyelashes, ‘or maybe he just threw a marker into the Book in a rush and it was a simple coincidence.’ He shrugged, shoulders shifting against the ground as he lay on his back, and Eggsy growled. Maybe the circle was getting to him, maybe it was the poison, but either way he was at the end of his fucking rope.

‘You’re never going to give me a straight answer, are you? I’m a fucking dying human, you already won, why are you so scared of me?’

‘Your false sense of security derived from a painted circle on the ground has given you quite the ego.’

‘I just don’ give a fuck anymore; I’m dying, why bother playin’ nice? Why’d you help him escape?

‘I don’t see how that’s any of your business-’

‘They crushed your body!’

'With good reason! I deserved it, I paid my price, and even dead you have no business in demon affairs.’ Eggsy keeled over, clutched desperately to his stomach and groaned in pain. ‘You’re not built for Hell, Eggsy. Trust me.’

‘I’m dead chuffed that a demon would care so much for my well being-’

‘You can’t even do anything for Harry by staying here- he broke a sacred law, he’s a vile creature who will never again see the light of day!’

‘Well, maybe I don’ care about all that!

‘You should-’

‘I don’t give a fuck about should or shouldn’t. I love him, and the shit you’ve spewed at me is a different Harry. Who he was here,’ Eggsy threw his hands about the circle, careful even now not to cross the barrier despite his pain, ‘isn’t the man I know. Everyone changes over time- even demons!’

‘Oh, and you’re the authority on that subject now?’

‘On Harry, yes.’ Eggsy was determined, lips firm, eyes hard, and looked at Lo like he would a spot of dirt on a freshly-cleaned floor. He turned, and lifted a hand like Lo had earlier, focusing entirely on the memory of he and Harry’s last night together. The night that changed everything.

They were asleep together, the too-large bed covered in pillows and blankets, when suddenly Harry shot straight up, screaming at a decibel Eggsy was only now able to fully comprehend. Eggsy rolled over, sat up, and threw an arm across Harry’s shoulders before pulling him back down. They stayed there, Harry curled surprisingly small upon Eggsy’s chest, until Harry stopped shaking.

‘You wanna talk about it?’ Eggsy whispered, lips barely brushing Harry’s temple.

‘It’s just a dream- everyone has them.’ Harry evaded the question, keeping his face turned from Eggsy’s. ‘Just a dream.’

‘Not like that they don’t. You’ve been talkin’ in your sleep, y’know- apologising-’

‘Shhh.’ Harry placed one finger on Eggsy’s lips, suddenly on alert; body shifted at an angle and ear turned toward the door. ‘Tell me you don’t smell anything.’

‘... Now that you’ve mentioned it, smells like sulfur. You leave somethin’ on?’

‘... Shit.’ A now familiar green, scaled, hand grasped Harry by the scalp and threw him bodily from the bed, and Eggsy could only watch in horror as the horned demon walked fully into the room. Merlin lifted a hand, freezing Eggsy’s bid to move toward him, and then shoved him backward with a flick of his wrist. Demon magic had worked in the real world, that night.

Harry got back to his feet, eyes pale and face discoloured, and walked up to Merlin. He held himself like Wolverine, body tilted forward and hands extended at his sides as if ready to swipe and cut as opposed to punch.

‘Really, him?’ Merlin asked Harry, gesturing with his head to the unconscious Eggsy on the bed. ‘What makes him worth all this fuss?’

‘Merlin.’

‘Nice costume, sugar daddy.’

‘Go back.’

‘I plan to- but not without you.’

‘I’m stronger than you-’

‘But you’re long since out of practise.’ They fought, never touching but still managing to hurt one another, until Merlin managed to grab Harry by the throat. Literally. The sound of Harry choking managed to stir Eggsy, who sat up in bed and scrambled forward on the sheets. Merlin flicked his other wrist, and long, deep, gashes appeared on Eggsy’s chest. Harry heard Eggsy gasp in pain and fall back to the bed, and it rejuvenated him- he fought Merlin with renewed vigour to get to Eggsy’s side.

‘Eggsy!’ Harry breathed, but Eggsy couldn’t breathe. Harry was lying across his legs, torsos barely touching, trying to gauge the damage, and Eggsy couldn’t breathe. ‘He’s dying-’

‘I should hope so- I don’t scratch.’

‘Let me help him, and I’ll go with you. No more fighting, just… let me save him.’ Harry whispered, and Merlin simply gestured him forward with a wave of his hand. Harry crawled back upon the bed, carefully avoiding Eggsy’s mutilated chest, and kissed him softly. ‘I have to leave.’

‘H-H-Harry-’

‘Shhh,’ Harry lifted a hand, holding it over his torso with a look of pure determination, and a moment later Eggsy’s breathing evened out. ‘I’m sorry, Eggsy. I love you.’

Together, Harry and Merlin walked from the room, briefcase in hand.

‘You came here for love- you know, you’re no better than Faust.’ Lo remarked after the scene faded, Eggsy’s heavy breathing still hovering throughout the room. Whether it was from now or then was impossible to tell.

‘Faust wanted power, and knowledge-’

‘Which is exactly what you want as well- you promised Harry that you would destroy that Book. If you’d truly loved him, you would have done as he’d asked. Only a mortal can harm that book- you betrayed your love just by coming here.’ Eggsy turned to Lo, far beyond done with this merry-go-round. ‘Do you think your Harry will forgive you?’

‘I’m only human, ain’t I?’ Eggsy said, determined to make Lo understand even if he died trying, ‘we’re allowed to make mistakes, we’re expected to make mistakes and maybe loving Harry means I couldn’t do what he made me promise but don’t,’ Eggsy gritted out, ‘accuse me of betraying him, when all I’ve wanted was for him to be back where he belonged. Back home. With me.’

Lo laughed. ‘If you say so, kid.’ Eggsy saw red- this close to dying, why hold back?

‘Demon Lo I am you master, you disgusting thing, I summoned you and all your power. I say roll over- since you can’t jump and all- and you do it.’ Eggsy breathed sharply through his teeth, ‘You’ve been showing me all sorts of shit I don’ care about to get me to leave. I. WON’T.

‘I’m not leaving here without Harry, and I command you Demon Lo to get him and bring him right in front of me and then get the fuck out of my sight.’ Lo looked at Eggsy with wide eyes, but said nothing more before dragging himself away, looking for all the world like a kicked puppy. Eggsy couldn’t bring himself to be sorry for cutting off Lo’s fun, slow-acting or not he was dying and he only had one real chance at this now.

It could have been a moment, it could have been a year (who knew how slow demon poisons were, anyway) but between one breath and the next Harry was there. Beautiful, perfect, Harry with his hair and suit pristine and his glasses clear, a small sad smile on his lips. He was propped on his elbows, eye level with the collapsed Eggsy, cheekbones highlighted in the candlelight. All that fuss, and Lo had managed it at last.

‘Hello, Eggsy.’ There was something sad in his voice, but Eggsy couldn’t bring himself to do more than shrug a shoulder.

‘Hello, Harry.’

‘Strange place for a date.’ Harry’s mouth quirked on one side, barely showing his teeth.

‘Yeah, but the only man worth datin’ was down here.’ A long silence stretched between them. Sad, broke only by laboured breathing, but not awkward.

‘... You kept the Book.’

‘I tried to burn it- I did- but I just- just,’ Eggsy sighed, pained, ‘I just couldn’t, and I dunno why. Swear down I tried-’

‘It’s okay.' Harry interrupted, a small glittering in his eyes. 'You know they weren’t happy when they found Faust in the case- thank you, it was a comedic moment in what was a very dark period. Your gift has been-’

‘I’m here to take you home, Harry.’ Eggsy couldn’t let him continue on, talking of his time in Hell like a poorly-envisioned vacation. They had somewhere to be; they had a home to get back to.

‘I know. I’m doing cartwheels, can’t you see them?’

‘Don’t you Parks and Rec me, Harry- I need you to tell me what page I need to read to get us both back home, Harry.’

‘You still want me- after everything you’ve heard? Hell’s gold standard reaper?’

‘But I know that’s not the Harry Hart I know-’

‘But it is.’ It’s stated simply, but it makes Eggsy’s head spin. But, he’d come this far, and he wasn’t leaving without him. They’d work through everything a bit at a time- every relationship had its problems.

‘Well, you swear you won’t eat me and I’ll marry you. You, me, my shitty flat and all the butterflies you can fit inside. May even let you get a dog like you always wanted.’

‘You love me?’ It was whispered to himself, as if Harry couldn’t believe what he was hearing, but he looked back at Eggsy with fire in his eyes. ‘Page 1108,’ Eggsy flipped through the pages as quickly as his debilitated body could manage. Eventually he found the page, but Eggsy couldn’t bring himself to do more than drink in the sight of Harry by candlelight

‘Tiana.’ Harry started, tongue caressing the words much the way he had Eggsy’s name that first day. He stared for a moment before realising that he was supposed to repeat what Harry said- why open the book at all, if Harry could just recite it all?

‘Tiana.’

‘Fate Simae.’

‘Nevt Tiana Simae.’

‘Tan Corse Si.’

Harry reached across the circle like there was no barrier, as if there was nothing but open floor between them, and kissed Eggsy deeply. Softly. The opposite of their circumstances, what with being in hell and all. Eggsy felt like something was finally settling back into place, like the colour was bleeding back into the world; like he’d finally stopped being more spirit than self.

Harry pulled back, and grasped the empty glass in one hand before spitting the poisoned brandy back inside.

‘I can’t go with you, Eggsy.’ It’s sad, but stated as fact, and Eggsy won’t stand for it.

‘The fuck do you mean you can’t- we’ll hide, change our names, they won’t find us-’

‘They will, Eggsy- and next time, I won’t be able to save you. I’m afraid I used that bargaining chip, already. They find us up there, let alone together, and we’re both finished.’

‘Then let me stay here with you- I can adapt I’ll figure it-’

‘No! No, no…’ Harry looked back into Eggsy’s eyes, frantic, ‘this is not where I will have you spend eternity. You get no say in this, you have so much left to experience Eggsy and I will not have you giving that up to be with me. Much as it hurts me to let you go, you belong up there- you’ll figure it out.’

‘What have I got to live for up there without you?’

‘I’m not a man, Eggsy,’ Harry’s voice reverberates around the room, haunting and clear, ‘I’m not even human.’

‘But you love me, yeah?’ The poison was gone, but his body was too weak to protest too harshly. Eggsy wished he could clear the guilt from Harry’s eyes.

‘Sometimes, Eggsy, love is not enough.’ Harry began to lean back out of the circle. ‘Please, burn the book- it’s not fair. To either of us.’ He paused and lifted a hand, and something in the air changed. ‘You’re going home, Eggsy. And I’m going to stay in this place to make sure of it.’ Harry turned away, and began to lean himself back into the abyss.

‘Harry-’ He turned back, heartbreak etched in every glorious crease, and Eggsy felt a traitorous tear slide down his face. He blinked, trying to clear his eyes, and froze.

Lo met Eggsy’s gaze, half covered in shadow. He looked away, breaking the fragile moment between them, and finished dragging himself away.

Eggsy came to in his apartment, drooling on the floor and face planted on a small puddle of dried blood. Disgusting.

He got up, slowly, and dusted himself off- surprised to find the cut still there, having thought it all a fantastical dream. But no, the Book was there, the blood was there, and his apartment was still boarded up to he- boarded up inside.

He scraped off the paint as best he could, used some thinner, and then gave up and put the carpet back over it. Someone would make an unpleasant discovery someday, but that wasn’t a problem for today. He pulled down the boards from the windows, the light nearly blinding him, and started cleaning up.

He used a hammer to break some of the wood down, gathered up some old newsprint, and shoved it all into a metal bin before he put out on the sil.

He put the Book atop the pile, and dropped a match.

#dagonet writes #kingsman #kingsman fic #demon summoning au #demon lo fic

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mikeshanlon · 6 years

Text

he’s all that: chapter two

fandom: it

pairing: reddie (richie tozier/eddie kaspbrak)

word count: 5k

one | on ao3

summary:

Richie smiled smugly, “You’ve got spunk Kaspbrak. I like that.”

“Why don’t you try shutting the fuck up Tozier,” Eddie retorted as the line moved forward, “So what is this, if not some ploy to get me to tutor you? Some sort of dork outreach program? Because I’m not interested.”

—

Or: The one where Richie Tozier has six weeks to get into a relationship and make someone fall for him. Only problem? That someone is the anxiety ridden, goody two shoes Eddie Kaspbrak, and he can’t even stand to be in the same room as Richie.

warnings: there is drug use in that bev/mike/richie are HUGE stoners. also this chapter there is mentions to maggie being an alcoholic.

a/n: hey! decided to post two weeks in a row just to get the ball rolling (which is why i still dont have all the chapters figured out as promised, my apologies). i'll probably start the every other week thing for next update (so chapter three should be up by march 4th). i would try to do every week but im a college student who has Stuff to do and also makes gifs and im horrible at finishing my writing so, giving myself a realistic deadline that will still hopefully produce quality work. anyways, richie and eddie finally interact this chapter! it's....................... a bit messy though. and we get to see the rest of the losers club in this one too.

tag list: @richietoaster, @wintersember, @howellhxlic, @ed-txzier, @clara-farl3y

After standing in the hallway arguing with Bev for ten minutes, (“I mean really Bevs, fuck!” “You said anyone.” “How do we even know he’s gay?!” “Richie, please.”) Richie resigned himself to the fact that he was going to find some way to charm Eddie. Maybe Beverly would let him borrow that spellbook she bought junior year when she had become obsessed with witchcraft and hexing the patriarchy.

Once school was finally over, Richie dropped off Mike at his farm per usual, ranting about the bet the whole ride over. The farm boy nodded along, but he knew the words ‘told you so’ sat on the tip of his tongue.

They pulled up to his house, the engine idling so he wouldn’t have to spend time getting it to start again, “Don’t wait up for me tonight if you wanna smoke. Got lotsa research in store,” Richie said as Mike grabbed his backpack and got out of the car.

Mike raised a brow, leaning into the passenger window (which in its broken state always stayed down), “I’m surprised Rich. You never do your homework.”

“Homework shmomwork,” he tapped the end of his cigarette out the window before taking another drag, “Gotta figure out what little ol’ Edward likes. Time for some deep dark internet exploration.”

“Ah, you’re gonna stalk him. Wasting time on social media does sound much more in character,” Mike smiled.

“It’s not a waste Mikey darlin’, a shit ton of preemo dank is on the line.”

The other boy laughed and shook his head, “Godspeed Tozier.”

Richie saluted Mike as he reversed out back to the main road, Bigmouth Strikes Again blasting on the old car radio.

He weaved through the streets filled with kids walking home or trying to find something to do in this shit-hole town. Long afternoons spent at The Aladdin watching the newest releases or aggressively slamming his fingers down on his favorite game at the arcade came to mind; along with going out of his way to bother just about everyone in his path. Richie never really had many friends when he was younger, spending most of his time alone. He was grateful he crossed paths with Bev and Mike, to fate, luck, God if it existed. The universe was rarely kind to him, but finding them was the best thing that ever happened to him.

Plus, the first time he had smoked weed, but that was with them too.

Turning onto his street, Richie pulled up to the unsuspecting two-story white house. It was straight out of a handbook on the American Dream; but the closer one looked, the imperfections started to appear.

The box overflowing with bottles once filled with alcohol next to the recycling bin, which was already too full with more empty bottles. A crooked ‘Home Sweet Home’ sign by the front door. Dying grass, overgrown and conquered with the little weeds Richie used to make wishes on before blowing the seeds into the summer air (I wish for friends. I wish for better parents. I wish to be loved).

He parked the station wagon on the curb, saving the space next to his Mom’s car for his father.

Maggie’s car hadn’t been driven in months (years?), and Richie absently wondered if it would even work anymore. It was nice, a decent heater and it drove well, at least it did when she had bothered to drop him off at school as a kid. Despite her general lack of care for the wellbeing of others, Mrs. Tozier did not drink and drive. Meaning, she didn’t drive at all, as she was drunk off her ass most of the time.

Richie grabbed his books from the backseat and clambered out, fumbling to find his house key among the mess of weird keychains he bought while high.

He didn’t bother stating his presence, even as a pretense, giving up the habit long ago.

Maggie Tozier sat outside, her back facing the screen door in the kitchen. A cigarette rested from her fingertips, and Richie wasn’t sure if she was actually smoking it or just watching it burn. Of course, her other hand gripped a bottle of beer, and a wine cooler sat at her feet.

Richie scoffed and bounded up the stairs to his room, a ‘KEEP OUT’ sign and band posters adorning the door.

It was often said that one’s room reflected who they were as a person, and Richie was no exception. That is, to say, his room was an absolute fucking mess. His bed was never made, and clothes and knick knacks littered the floor (he had already tripped over some beat up sneakers as he walked in). Old mugs, comics, a lava lamp, lotion, and an ashtray Bev had made him in ceramics sat on his bedside table (read: an old wooden apple carton). The only thing that he kept clear was his record player and vinyls at the edge of the bed, which were meticulously organized.

He tossed his notebooks on his desk, alongside stolen pens, his laptop, and his bong. If his parents actually fucking talked to him he would bother to hide his shit, but it didn’t really matter.

Picking up his laptop and its charger, Richie was on his way out again. He could stay home to conduct his research, but he hated the stuffiness and how lifeless the house felt. It wasn’t really even a home, at least not his. Plus, coffee. It was a necessity, especially for the amount of bullshit he’d have to go through just for the tiny brat.

Richie drove to the Starbucks on Main and Belmont, strolling up to barista and ordering his usual: venti quadruple-shot, black. While he often gorged himself on sweets, his need for caffeine could only be sated by the purest form the coffeeshop could offer.

Per usual, the barista gave him a look, “You sure?”

“Listen, I’ve already made a shit ton of horrible decisions today. Trust me, this is not the worst of them,” Richie answered, sliding the cash across the counter

She raised her brows but said nothing else, handing him the change.

He set up shop at a table by the window in the back, away enough from the other patrons. Most of the time Richie threw caution to the wind, but he figured it would suspicious if someone saw him furiously stalking someone who looked like they hadn’t even graduated from middle school.

After retrieving his coffee, opening his MacBook, and plugging his headphones in, Richie scoured Instagram first. ‘Eddie.k’ didn’t post much, mostly some artsy photos, including ones of Bill and Stanley Uris (their other best friend). There were only one or two selfies, much to Richie’s disappointment. Eddie wasn’t actually too bad looking if you ignored his clothes, his hair, his… everything. Freckles dusted his face, concentrated around his little nose, a few on his lips. Cute lips. Cute cheeks. He had the urge to pinch them. But Jesus, that combover. What was he, a balding man in the 80’s?

Other than those pictures, Eddie hadn’t really posted to Instagram in months. He moved onto his tagged photos. They had some more substance, although Eddie had pretty much only been tagged in pictures by Bill and Stan. It wasn’t like Richie wasn’t in the same boat of having only a few close friends, but at least he hung out with other people.

For the most part, the pictures were pretty normal, the three of them hanging out. Richie couldn’t help but snort at a picture of the three, presumably after a sleepover. They looked exhausted, hair messy, and were brushing their teeth. Pretty mundane, but Eddie had pulled a ridiculous face in the mirror. It was silly, but Richie hadn’t even thought Eddie was capable of making jokes or doing weird shit. The fucker was always uptight, serious even when they had a substitute. Unsurprisingly, Eddie did not appreciate the post.

eddie.k: literally stan delete this!!!!!!

stantheman: @eddie.k, sorry sweatie (:

Richie grinned and continued to scroll, stopping at a picture of Eddie lying down on the grass, laughing. He wore a red tracksuit, the one students wore to P.E. when the bitter chill of autumn came to Derry. His hair must’ve been a little sweaty, because it was curling up into a messy halo around his grinning face. Richie wanted to know this Eddie, see him curl up laughing, but he knew that would never happen.

He perused their profiles for a while before growing bored, downing a third of his coffee before moving on. Except Eddie didn’t seem to have a Twitter, or a Snapchat. A quick google search of his name only came up with a few images and… a Facebook profile?

Richie prayed that it was an old one Eddie had never deleted, but after the page loaded he saw that the most recent status was made last night.

“Oh my fucking god,” he whispered to himself.

Eddie’s profile picture made him look particularly child-like, a weird picture of him pointing to the camera like he was cool, even though the same hand had a clunky old watch wrapped around it. His header picture displayed the quote ‘there is bravery in being soft’.

Richie snorted, “Yeah, a soft fucking dick!”

Another patron scoffed at his fowl mouth, and he shot her a smug grin.

Eddie only had 40 friends on the site, which consisted of Bill, Stan, some of the other nerds at Derry High, and his mother and her friends. It wasn’t like someone’s Facebook friends actually mattered, especially because only middle aged mothers who posted minion memes about their alcoholism used it anymore, but it was still kinda pitiful.

His posts were generally uninteresting, stuff like ‘super nervous for the math test’, or ‘soooooooooooo bored ://///’. Otherwise, he mostly just shared pictures of cute dogs and DIY videos.

It was hard to find any useful information on Eddie, since he obviously lied a lot. Not in the way of bragging, or saying that he did things he didn’t (like Richie did). But there were comments from Mrs. Kaspbrak’s friends calling him a lady killer, or a few posts calling Carly Rae Jepsen cute (please, Run Away With Me is the one of gayest songs of all time). Eddie was closeted, and Richie knew from experience that someone could never really be themselves around others if they weren’t out.

What his profile lacked in useable information, it more than made up with blackmail material.

Take, for instance, little Eddie in possibly the gayest fucking hat imaginable.

He screeched as he saw the picture of the eleven year old, a white fedora-bucket hat hybrid sitting atop his tiny head, before breaking out into a full on wheeze. Richie was laughing so hard he couldn’t breathe, and then he thought about Eddie using his inhaler in that gay ass hat and laughed even harder.

The other customers began to stare, some concerned, and others pissed off at the disturbance.

Once he had collected himself somewhat, Richie sent a screenshot to the group chat.

the losers

bev: oh my fucking G O D

richie: I CANT FUCKIN BREATHE ELRNKKLNERG

richie: LIKE F U C K !!! KLJKLGRJKLLEJK

richie: LOOK AT HIS GAY HAT

richie: LIKE, IT’S GAYER THAN WEARING NOTHING BUT A PRIDE FLAG AND GLITTER

richie: HE LOOKS LIKE A TWINKY SKIPPER

richie: HOW IS THAT HAT MORE GAY THAN EVERY SINGLE ONE RYAN EVANS WORE IN THE ENTIRE HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL FRANCHISE COMBINED

bev: i’m muting you

mike: me too

mike: also that hat isn’t that bad

“‘Not that bad?!’” Richie squawked, not that he’d be able to hear him.

(Really, Richie had no authority on the subject. He still donned the occasional Hawaiian shirt over his tees).

He refreshed Eddie’s profile, seeing that he had made a new status.

Eddie Kaspbrak: big night friday, nervous but excited !!!!

Richie raised his brows in intrigue, seeing that Bill and a handful of other people liked the status. What was going on Friday?

He checked to see if Bill had posted anything, if Eddie was going somewhere, chances were Bill was too.

Bill Denbrough: almost the weekend, finally ready to let loose

Seriously, it would’ve been so much easier if Bill was the guy Richie had to woo. Kid was probably fucking nervous for a party, a place where you threw caution to the wind and had a good time. Still, he made a mental note about finding out what their Friday plans were.

Richie sighed, taking another swig of his coffee, “God, what a fucking loser.”

Suddenly, his headphones were being tugged out of his ear by an angry middle-aged woman with short-layered hair and eye bags.

“Hey, what the fuck?” Richie glared, snatching back his headphones.

The woman returned the look, putting her hands on her hips, “Don’t you have respect for the other customers?!”

“Sweetheart, I don’t have respect for myself, let alone some PTA moms-- like the post-divorce haircut by the way.”

Apparently, his finger guns did not soften the blow, because the lady started to scream at him.

And, apparently, this lady was also the manager, and was pushing him out the door.

So great, Eddie and his dumb gay hat got him banned from Starbucks.

Even though he was wounded from Eddie’s betrayal, (because Richie getting kicked out was definitely not his fault-- it was Eddie’s homosexual headwear. An anthropomorphic device of chaos, that Eddie owned, so, yeah, it was Kaspbrak’s fucking fault.) Richie still skipped smoking on Thursday to spend his lunch with the tiny fuck.

Obviously, they hadn’t made plans to do so, but Richie had, and he really couldn’t delay starting the bet. There was a lot on the line.

So, after getting out of econ (turning in an unstudied for but probably aced quiz), and throwing his shit in his locker, Richie detoured to the cafeteria.

The place was a fucking mess, and it reminded Richie just why he avoided the place. It was pure chaos, loud and overwhelming, a million things to get distracted by. Freshman with their stupid rolling backpacks kept whizzing by, making Richie trip or get his feet ran over. The tables were already filled, the honor roll kids, the partiers, Gretta and her gang. Fucking cliches.

He got in line, picking up a tray and proceeding to fiddle with the buttons at the cuff of his black and white flannel; trying to tune out the buzz of conversation. It was weird, at parties he thrived on the noise and disorder, but here all it was doing was fucking with his ADHD.

Richie drummed a beat onto his tray as the line moved forward and picked the most edible looking slop from the menu. The lunch lady glowered at him as he reached for his money only to realize he had put it in the other pocket, fumbling to put the bills and coins on the counter.

As she put the money in the register, Richie looked around the room, checking to see where Eddie was sitting. He was sat near one of the exits, carefully taking out his lunch and swinging his legs. And he was alone. Perfect.

“Kid, do you want a receipt or not?” the lunch lady snapped from across from him.

Richie blinked back into focus, “Uh, sure, sorry.”

She sighed and printed out the receipt, slamming it down on the tray, “Next!”

Grabbing his tray, Richie plucked up some plastic cutlery and made his way through the sea of students to Eddie Kaspbrak. He had to twist and lift his tray a bit, but eventually the crowds started to part a bit. A chorus of whispers started to erupt. Stupid small town.

“Is that Richie Tozier?”

“I think, but doesn’t he always get high with his stoner friends?”

“What is he doing here?”

“God, he’s so hot.”

Richie smirked, sending a wink at the girl’s praise before sitting across from Eddie. He watched for a moment as the boy continued to focus on on unpacking his utensils and napkins before clearing his throat.

Eddie’s eyes snapped up from his lunchbox, widening when he saw Richie.

“What the fuck?” It was meant to be a whisper to himself, but Eddie’s voice was louder than expected.

Richie grinned at the blushing boy, “Well, hello to you to Eds.”

“Don’t call me that,” Eddie snapped, returning to his food.

Richie waited for him to say something else, at least fucking look at him, but the little fuck kept his eyes glued to his grapes, nails aggressively ripping the fruit from their stems.

“Okay,” he started, taking a sip of his apple juice, “So, you may be wondering why I’m sitting with you—“

Eddie interrupted, annoyance apparent in every fiber of his being, “Is this gonna be quick or not?”

“I’m hoping it’s not quick, although given how hot I am it’s difficult for people to control themselves.”

A long, deep sigh came from Eddie’s (cute, soft) lips. Eddie grabbed at Richie’s hands, flipping them over so that the palms faced upwards.

“Wow, a bit forward, but I’m liking your style Kaspbrak,” Richie winked.

Eddie rolled his eyes and proceed to take out hand sanitizer from his fanny pack, squirting the floral scented product into Richie’s hands.

Honestly, what the fuck?

He must’ve sent the same message to Eddie with his face, because Eddie said, “You obviously aren’t gonna leave me the fuck alone, and if you’re gonna be in my space, you need to be clean.”

Richie raised a brow at this but rubbed the hand sanitizer into his hands anyways.

Jesus Christ, what a weird, defensive little bitch.

Eddie watched with focused eyes, and only spoke when Richie was finished.

“Continue.”

It took a moment for Richie to gain his bearings once more. This mission seemed dead on arrival, but he had to keep trying anyways.

“So, Eddie…” Richie trailed off, twirling the pasta on his plate before his eyes lit up, “Eddie Spaghetti, Eduardo, what’s up?”

Eddie scowled, “That’s not my fucking name!” he squeaked, “And ‘what’s up?’ I mean, we’ve barely even talked before. You think I’m just gonna put up with this because you’re Richie Tozier? I swear to god, if this is some fucking bullying thing...”

Around them, people began to stare and eavesdrop at the sound of Eddie yelling. Fucking perfect.

Richie blinked back at the boy across from him, now red in the face for a different reason, “Calm down, I’m just trying to get to know you.”

“Fat fucking chance.”

Okay, wow. Richie had more work cut out for him than expected. He thought of what to say next as he watched Eddie finish his grapes.

“This isn’t, like, a joke,” (it wasn’t real either), “I just wanna hang out.”

“Hang out?” Eddie’s chocolate brown eyes met Richie’s, his tone mocking.

Richie nodded, “Yeah, ya know, kick it with the homies. Make out a little if you’re down. Friend stuff.”

Eddie’s jaw clenched, “You’re unbelievable. Just fucking unbe— you know, how can you even say any of that shit? How can we be ‘homies’ if we’ve never ‘hung out’ before? And don’t want to-- I’m not-- you don’t know me!”

There was something underlying in Eddie’s voice as he snapped, wavering at the end. Richie, like most things in life, was completely and utterly fucking up.

“Well then, how about we fix that?” Richie leaned forward, “I was wondering if maybe you’d wanna—“

Abruptly, Eddie stood up, grabbing his food and walked off, making his way towards the cafeteria line where Bill and Stan were paying for their lunch.

Richie looked around at all the watching faces, some snickering and others as shocked as he was.

“...Embarrass me horribly in front of all these people.”

He took a deep breath, and shoved some spaghetti in his mouth, his frown growing larger at the disgusting taste. Richie was often considered a wild card, but this was when routine was a good thing. He should’ve just avoided this and sparked up with Bev and Mike.

Actually, he was going to do just that. There was still some left in lunch, and no reason for him to stay in the cafeteria if Eddie was giving him the cold shoulder. More like a giant fucking iceberg but still, pointless. Besides, he really needed to get high now. Eddie ruined his whole mood and pissed him the fuck off.

Richie got up and tossed out the inedible garbage before going to the usual spot, finger itching for a joint.

He used his foot to push open the door, which would’ve been cool, except with his clumsiness and horrible luck he tripped forward, narrowly avoiding falling down the steps and face planting by grabbing the railing.

As Richie caught his breath and stabilized himself, he could hear his friends laughing.

“Back so soon?” Bev smirked knowingly, taking a drag.

Richie huffed, “Ha ha. Let’s yuck it up for my misfortune,” he grabbed her joint and took a long hit, “This fucking kid, Bev. I don’t think I can do this!”

“As in, you’re morally incapable of leading him on?” Mike asked hopefully.

“Please, let’s be realistic here Mikey. No, that kid is like, the fuckin devil incarnate. Shithead is fucking crazy!” Richie paced, smoking from the joint.

Bev laughed, “What makes you say that?”

“Why don’t ya ask the whole fucking school?” Richie snapped, though the anger wasn’t directed at her, “They were watching it all go down. If that wheezy asshole ruins my reputation—“

“What reputation?” Mike interjected.

Richie rolled his eyes and flipped him off.

Another voice spoke up, “I dunno, Richie’s pretty well known. I like him well enough.”

Richie whirled around, just noticing a new face among the usual group, Ben Hanscom.

The eternal new kid, since no one ever moved to ass backwards Derry, was not someone he’d expect to be behind the art building. Maybe reciting poetry or some shit, but not blazing. Ben was sweet and genuine, albeit a little shy. He was no longer the chubby kid he once was, more stocky and muscular now. They weren’t too close, as the tawny haired boy spent more time with Mike and Bev, and if not them, the other dorks (like Eddie and his friends). But either way, dude was pretty chill. Richie just didn’t really want him there mid-meltdown.

“Haystack?! You smoke?!” he whistled, “Ho-ly shit, who woulda thought!”

Ben shook his head, “Uh, no I don’t. Mike and I just had to study for history next block.”

His deep brown eyes flitted to Beverly, who had now stolen back her joint and was playing with the key that hung from her neck. Yeah, studying was the only reason. Not Ben’s excruciatingly obvious crush on the red head.

“We would’ve just gone to the library, but Bev and I made a bet about if you’d be successful or not today,” Mike said.

Richie gasped, “Betting on my failure? Fuck you guys, Benny Boy is my new best friend.”

“I didn’t sign up for that.”

“Hey, I bet on you succeeding,” Mike put his hands up in surrender, “She’s the one who thought you’d screw it up.”

“And I was right. Pay up,” Bev smiled, holding out her palm.

Mike dropped a candy bar in it with a deep sigh. She tore open the wrapping, taking a savage bite of the chocolatey sweet.

“I think you have a gambling problem,” Mike quipped.

Bev shrugged, “Not a problem if I keep winning.”

She grinned, her teeth covered in chocolate and spit. Gross. Ben still looked enraptured. Double gross.

“Anyways, can we focus on the important bet, and the fact that this fuck is impossible! Seriously, Bev, babygirl, pick anyone else!” Richie whined, plopping his bony ass on the cement.

“First off, don’t call me ‘babygirl’,” she flicked the ash off the end of the joint at him, “Second, the deal was anyone. You either woo him or you don’t.”

Richie opened his mouth to complain again but Ben beat him to it.

“I’m sorry, but what are we talking about?”

The other three looked at each other in panic. Ben was friends with Eddie, there was no way he could find out what was going on. The whole thing would be ruined before it started.

“Nothin!” Richie squeaked, “Just uh… bet that I couldn’t ace a group project. I usually just bullshit a lot of that stuff and leave it up to the others if I can. Partner’s just a little… high strung.”

Bev groaned and Mike sighed. A horrible fucking lie. Richie was already trying to formulate a better one in his head.

Ben smiled, “That’s nice, a wholesome, supportive bet. But you really should just communicate with your partner. They might be nervous because of your history is all.”

Richie let out a sound of relief before realizing Ben’s advice could actually be helpful.

“Sure, but I already tried to talk to him and it didn’t go well,” he explained.

Bev and Mike raised their brows, catching on.

“Well, how did you talk to him?” Ben asked, “Was it an ambush or a friendly conversation?

Bev snorted, “Ambush, knowing Richie. He doesn’t do friendly conversations.”

“Maybe with you, because you’re on my ass all the time,” Richie shot back, “But uh, she’s right. Shouldn’t matter though, everyone knows that’s how Tough Guy Tozier does his business.”

Mike groaned, “Please don’t call yourself that ever again.”

“You’re just coming on too strong. You have to consider what he likes, what he wants. A good partnership comes with compromise and communication,” Ben nodded sagely.

Richie ruffled his hair, putting on his trusty British voice, “Thank you Advisor Hanscom. Your wisdom is greatly appreciated.”

Ben smiled awkwardly, his eyes going to Bev once again, “Course.”

He took the joint from Bev, inhaling the musty smoke and blowing it out his nostrils, the burning sensation familiar and welcome.

“And maybe, you should talk to him sober next time,” Mike suggested.

Richie laughed, “Don’t be ridiculous.”

By the time the final bell rang, he was still feeling defeated and unsure of his next move. Sure, he’d have to dial back his trashmouth charm, try to seem actually invested in Eddie but… that wasn’t going to happen if the brat never talked to him again. Richie had to find a way to break the tension between them, start fresh.

He sulked to his locker, pulling out his shit from the looming mess. Loose binder paper and pencils fell onto the ground, and Richie just wanted to bang his head against the wall of metal. Also, go home and smoke while playing video games but, mostly, hit his head repeatedly. Maybe he’d lose enough brain cells to forget the entire day.

After a few moments of excessive cursing, Richie grabbed what he needed and got everything that fell back into the locker. He noticed a new post it on the door just before he closed it.

Don’t give up :) <3 - mike

Richie smiled, and slammed the locker shut with a resounding clang. With a little stretch and a fix of his glasses, he strolled through the halls, making his way to the parking lot to wait for Mike.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Bill and Stan loitering around the halls as well, engaged in (an undoubtedly boring) conversation.

He remembered Bill and Eddie’s facebook status’ about exciting plans for tomorrow night and decided he should investigate.

“Billiam! Staniel!” Richie called as he approached them, “What’s up?”

The two stopped talking and looked up, Bill smiling while Stan rolled his eyes.

“H-hey, Richie,” Bill waved. Richie noted that his stutter had gotten a lot better just over the past year. The two of them had shared a few classes when they were juniors and were pretty friendly with one another. At least compared to his relationship with Eddie and Stan, who also seemed to hate him for no reason.

Speaking of, the prim and proper boy was glaring at him, “Didn’t get enough of being a nuisance at lunch?”

Richie raised a brow, “Whatever do you mean?”

Stan scoffed, and opened his mouth to respond, but Bill put a hand on his shoulder, “N-nothing. Stan’s just… on edge. What’s up w-with you?”

“Not much, just trying to figure out what my plans are for tomorrow,” Richie shrugged, “Got any suggestions?”

“The only thing on your mind is where to party? Not surprised,” Stan quipped.

Richie shoved his hands in his pockets, biting his tongue. Snapping at Eddie was what caused his whole operation to go south, and he couldn’t mess up this second chance.

Bill ignored the tension between them, “Well, usually w-we don’t do t-t-too m-much, but it’s s-senior year. Probably going to Peter Gordon's party.”

“That kid’s an ass.”

“Coming from you, that’s rich,” Stan commented, his arms crossed.

His grinned, “Well, yeah, I am Rich.”

Stan sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.

“Yeah, he is, but he’s also s-super wealthy,” Bill avoided another ‘rich’ pun, “Meaning he’ll h-h-ave q-q-quality shit.”

Richie beamed, “Ah, I get it. You’re Robin Hood-ing that fuck. I like your style Billy Boy.”

He clapped Bill on the shoulder, and the other boy blushed slightly, “W-well, it wasn’t j-just my idea. Eddie and Stan helped.”

“Eddie? He’s coming with you guys?”

Bill shook his head, “N-no. He was supposed to, b-b-but that art thing came up so he h-had to cancel.”

“Art thing?” Richie asked, suddenly intrigued. This was the information he wanted.

“Yeah,” Bill nodded, “It’s this show that happens every month. At Jester Theatre. He always goes.”

Stan not so subtly elbowed Bill in the ribs, hissing at him to shut up.

“W-what?!”

“Yeah, what’s got your steamed panties in a twist Uris?” Richie smirked.

Stan sent him a scowl, “You know very well Tozier. Eddie told us all about what you did at lunch. Back the fuck off.”

“S-stan, I don’t think he meant--”

“No, Bill, he did,” Stan interrupted, “I don’t know what your game is, but if you hurt him…”

Richie put his hands up in surrender, “Hey, I’m not going to hurt him. He seems pretty strong anyways. I mean no harm.”

Stan didn’t look convinced at all. Fair enough.

The air between the two was tense, but Bill broke it by clearing his throat, “So, uh, will w-we see you at the p-p-party?”

Richie shook his head ‘no’, “Probably not. I have some more sophisticated plans lined up.”

a/n: hope you liked it! next chapter is p much all richie and eddie so get excited. if you enjoyed i would love hearing your feedback

oh and this is eddie’s gay hat if you were curious

#reddie #reddie fic #he's all that #my writing #it fic #yeah still have no idea how to tag this

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