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pappydaddy · 4 years

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Ghost of You (f.w.)

A/N: So, I was just listening to music while writing my Steve series “I Wanna Be Yours” and Ghost of You by 5 Seconds of Summer came on and I instantly started crying so I got a sudden urge to write a sad imagine so, sorry in advance..

Ironically enough, it’s usually me going to write something with the intent for Steve, but end up writing for Billy, but this time it’s a whole different fandom. It actually went from Billy to Steve, then it went to Fred.

Pairing: Fred Weasley x Reader

Based off the song Ghost of You by 5 Seconds of Summer

Part One - You’re here! | Part Two

Trigger Warning: Mention of death, really sad, angst, heartbreak, depression, PTSD, mention of witnessing death, mention of drinking, slight mention of suicide.

PSA: I DO NOT agree with JK Rowling’s recent comments about the trans community, but I WILL NOT let her and her bigoted and transphobic ways ruin Harry Potter for me. Harry Potter has given me so much, I have connected to characters unlike ever before. REMEMBER, TRANS RIGHTS ARE HUMAN RIGHTS. Also, my DMs are always open

Another PSA: I do know the recent drama around 5 Seconds of Summer with the claims that had been made about them, but I also know that they have been proven to be false, one of them having been committed by someone else other than a member of their band or team. I would never EVER support someone who has been accused and found guilty of claims such as the ones that 5sos had been accused off because they are horrible acts committed by sick people. And, I would never outright say someone was falsely accusing, but again, the claims made against 5sos were found to be false or to be committed by other people. If you are not aware of that, I recommend checking reputable stan twitter accounts because (a) they know more than me, (b) they explain it better, and (c) they have proof. If you are a victim, I am so so sorry that that happened to you and I want you to know that you’re insanely strong and just keep your head up! Don’t hesitate to get help if you’re suffering, there are so many resources to help cope, report and all kinds of thing! Also, my DMs are always open

Another PSA: I struggle from depression, anxiety and have lasting effects of a traumatic event so if you are struggling with anything, please seek help. These are horrible things to battle with alone and therapy, psychologist, or a psychiatrist can help you gain the tools to cope healthily and any other tools you may need. Also, my DMs are always open.

This is my first Harry Potter imagine, idk what possessed me to write for a different fandom since my focus has been Stranger Things, but I guess I was going to have to write for the other fandoms eventually, right?

Sorry this is so long, there’s a lot of disclaimers I had to put on this to make myself feel like I am making my blog a safe space for everyone. I didn’t want anyone to get the wrong idea.

masterlist | taglist | wips | navigation - my gif -

The war had taken so much from everyone. Taken innocence, taken parents, brothers and sisters, husbands and wives; it seemed that nobody was safe from the path of destruction. Even a year after the war, many were still plagued with mourning people ripped away from them by the clutches of war. Fred Weasley was one of them. They had just started their lives together, finally going through with everything they had talked and planned about during those nights wrapped in each other’s arms as they hid from the Professors and Prefects. Those hopes and dreams for the future were now just empty memories and proof of their love. The book that held every little detail of their planned future laid on your desk in your bedroom - untouched since the last time you had touched it before the war. Everything of yours remained in the place you had set them the last time you had touched them. They were frozen in a happier time filled with love and light, not filled with loneliness and darkness.

Fred stirred awake, the familiar feeling of his body being weighted down rushing over him as he blinked his eyes open. His void gaze instantly met the empty side of the bed. It was neatly made, the pillow just faintly smelling of you now. Even a year later, he couldn’t bring himself to lay on that side of the bed - your side of the bed. He had a hard enough time sleeping in the bed at all, not being able to forget the feeling of you wrapped in his arms. Tears burned his eyes as he gazed upon the spot, your laughter echoing in his mind as he remembered all of those mornings he woke up to you just waking up yourself. He’d lean in, nabbing his first kiss of the day and you’d pull away with red cheeks claiming that you hadn’t brushed your teeth yet and he’d claim not to care (which he didn’t) and lean in to pepper kisses all over your face - your laughter bouncing off the walls. He threw the covers off him, trying to fight against the weight trying to keep him down in the bed. Pushing against the invisible force he shuffled into the bathroom to brush his teeth.

With ever step he took, every room he entered, came the memory of you. The tune you hummed as you danced from the bedroom to the bathroom, the smell of your shampoo, the smell of your sweet perfume. They lingered through the house like a ghost - a hazy mist trailing behind him everywhere he went. The ball in his throat stung as he tried to swallow it down, blinking away from the tears that welled in his eyes. No matter how many times he experienced them a day since you died, he would never get used to the sting. He’d never get used to the shaking of his hands, the tightness growing in his chest, the racing of his heart, the constricting of his lungs or the vivid image of holding you in his arms, watching the life slip from your body as you took your last breath whenever he heard something that brought him back to that day.

He could smell the fresh coffee that his brother had brewed as he drifted into the hall, a shell of the old Fred. George was used to seeing his brother dancing down the hallway with you, large smiled on both your faces and laughter surrounding the entire apartment. Now, since you were gone, Fred didn’t dance, his feet were heavy against the floors, weighing him down. He didn’t joke around with his brother anymore, his brother missed the sound of his laughter and the humorous tone to his voice instead of the broken and heavy one he had now. The second Fred entered the small kitchen, his eyes instantly landed on the yellow mug with the faint lipstick stain still on the rim, the faded red still a slight contrast from the yellow of the mug. You had never been able to get the stain gone, it had driven you crazy that your lip stick had tainted the beautiful mug Fred had gotten you after you guys ran away from Hogwarts as a homage to your house, Hufflepuff. The plants that you had been growing thanks to your love for Herbology were barely alive, George having been trying his best to take care of them since he knew you’d want them to thrive.

“Morning, Freddie,” George’s voice was soft as he brought his own mug to his lips, sipping the warm coffee. “Made you some eggs,” He told his brother as he pushed a plate of scrambled eggs towards his moping brother before setting a full cup of coffee in front of him. “How’d you sleep?” He asked him. Fred, not lifting his head from his plate of eggs as he pushed them around with the fork George had laid on the plate.

“Fine.” It was a simple word, but it was most of what Fred spoke these days. George hummed, taking another large gulp of his coffee as he let Fred soak in his silence, knowing that if he pushed too hard, he’d revert back and lose all the progress they had made.

“Are you feeling ready for your appointment today? Do you want me to come with you? Or mum, maybe Ginny? I can get Lee to cover the shop if you want me to come.” George asked him, setting his coffee cup on the counter, his hands wrapped around the warm mug.

“I’m fine going on my own.” He muttered, thinking back to his night. He knew that his therapist would ask him about it. It was just like any other night. Sleepless since whenever he closed his eyes, you were all he saw. He knew that if he’d sleep long enough, he could dream of you and it’d be like you never left, but he’d also know that you’d tell him that he’ll be fine without you and he definitely knew he’d never be. You were his.

“Please don’t skip out on this one to sit at the bar and drink, Fred,” George pleaded with his brother. Last two appointments, Fred and went on his own and ended up not even showing up. When his therapist George (them having to have gotten a muggle landline for communication) to inform him that Fred had not shown up, he had search everywhere for him. George remembered the blinding fear he had coursing through his blood that day, not knowing where his brother was or if he was okay. His mind had jumped to every possible conclusion, the nagging thought of the worst hanging in the back of his mind. “You need these appointments, they are good for you,” George pleaded. Fred only nodded, not saying anything while he ate. George watched him take a few more bites before his fork clanged against the plate about still half full of eggs. Fred pushed it away, taking one final sip of his coffee. “Right, so your appointment’s at twelve, so why don’t you get an outfit picked out while I head down to the shop - Mum will be here in a few minutes, I reckon.” George suggested.

Fred hummed, walking back into his room. Molly had been coming over to monitor when Fred left for his appointments and got back, also to watch the phone incase he skipped over his appointment. She also came daily when George was manning the shop to watch over Fred and take care of him. Sometimes, Fred went down to the shop and sorted products, but that was rare. George popped his head into Fred’s room to see him sitting on the bed. In his hands, he held your favourite shirt of his. He stared down at it while a mismatched outfit laid on the bed beside him. “I’m heading down to the shop, love you.” George announced.

“Love you, George.” The sound broke George’s heart. The fear in his brother’s voice every time George left the apartment destroyed him. Fred was terrified of losing someone else and not getting to be there for them, that he can never let them leave his presence without him saying that he loves them. His biggest fear was that you had died not knowing that he still loved you. Everyone says that you knew because you could feel his love for you and he doesn’t want anyone to question if he loved them if he wasn’t there.

The second he heard the door close behind George, he let himself crash down on the bed, laying on his side in a fetal position as he held the shirt to his nose. His jaw was sore as he let the tears fall from his eyes, the lump in his throat twisting itself into a bigger lump. His body shook with silent sobs. He couldn’t help but envision you moving through the apartment with this shirt tucked into your pants or tied up. He hadn’t felt himself slip into sleep as he let himself imagine your arms wrapping around him, encasing him in a loving warmth. He was unaware of his mother walking into the apartment as he finally slept with his imagination configuring you there with him. Molly instantly went to his room to check on him when he wasn’t on the couch, she stopped in her tracks as she laid eyes on her sleeping son, curled up. She only saw Fred sleeping in a fetal position clutching a t-shirt, but Fred felt the ghost of you wrapped around him.

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thatpinkbetch · 4 years

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I'm going to answer it this way, because I'm actually not a fan of some of those, and I've heard this is the way to do it if you don't want it ending up in the tag or the search I think? If i censor any of the ship names it's not out of malice! I simply don't want any of this to end up in front of eyes that just want to enjoy their ships 💖💖💖 if there is anyone who doesn't want to see opinions against t*d*d*ku, k*r*b*ku, or even iz**ch*ka, please don't read any further! Oh my goodness i hope this is all legible...

Anyways, hello!! Thank you so much for the ask!! I love talking about my opinion avkvmsocnaocjsoxks it also makes me really happy you like my blog 🥺🥺🥺 (I hope this answer doesn't ruin that avskvneognsocjs)

I'll start out by confirming that I'm not a multishipper. It makes me excited to see how the act of shipping itself can make others happy, but it's just not that way for me. I actually never read fanfic until I got into bnha (bkdk is just that powerful 😁😁) I'm actually...a little serious when i ship, or when i enjoy media, i analyze pretty heavily, so also, if that doesn't sound like anyone's cup of tea, i would once again recommend to stop reading and enjoy your day please!

I love analyzing characters and storylines and dynamics, but i will admit, I'm not a fan of most of the ships - not romantically. I think all the characters have interesting relationships to each other, all of the kids are great friends, and I love bonds and friendships so much 🥺🥺🥺

Those first two are perhaps the biggest, at least they definitely were the biggest when I first entered. Once i caught up, I didn't really understand the enthusiasm, but people have fun shipping, so that's nice! I think of those two as easy ships, if that makes sense? They're pretty simple, and easy to digest.

I personally am not a fan of romantic t*d*d*ku for a very specific reason; it feels weird to me for Todo to immediately fall in love with the first person who's ever shown him kindness (since his mother of course). Todo had never had any friends, nor any want for friends, obviously because of the abuse he faced as a child. Mido was his first exploration at a life outside of his father, a life he got to make for himself, it just doesn't feel right to me that he should immediately think "oh, is this romantic love? Is this the one and only for me?" Well, perhaps a teenager might think that way, but i don't think that's actually how he feels deep down, and I'm sure that's something a lot of us have to learn as we grow (I've definitely struggled with my own understanding of romance for the past 8 years). I think he still is trying to learn how to socialize and to make friends and to be a friend (and he's doing SUCH a good job!) But to immediately plunge into romance, which can be complicated, i don't think that would be right for him. I hope that makes sense! I know they're a very cute ship, which makes for fun! But again, I can be a little serious when i ship...

K*r*b*ku kind of falls into similar territory for me? Baku definitely had friends growing up, but he's seemed to always have trouble understanding his feelings and where he stands with others, causing trust issues. Kiri is really the first person he knew where he stood with, a person for him to be comfortable with and feel on equal ground, which i think is such a huge and positive role in his life, and i don't necessarily think that it needs to be romantic - for both of these, i think these relationships are incredibly important, to everyone involved, and making them romantic doesn't make them any more important!! In fact, i feel like them as friends actually can offer a more complex, interesting, and human dynamic between these characters, as sometimes people simply default to romance and then end up pushing for the same old tropes and ignore all the intricacies Horikoshi includes in his writing.

Again, I love Mido's friendship with Todo, and I love Baku's friendship with Kiri. I think these relationships are incredibly important, and friends are incredibly important. People who ship them are having fun, which is so lovely, and i hope they continue to have fun! I hope you personally find more fics about them that make you smile and brighten your day 💖💖💖

Iz**ch*ka is a little difficult, because they certainly are cute, separately and together. I thought they were cutest before Ura was told about her potential crush on Mido, when she was simply a source of bubbly energy and positivity that helped Mido open up and feel comfortable around other people. I feel though that, romantically, it's extraordinarily one-sided, and at this point, i have to wonder if they really are "end goal." End goal for shounen, of course, is hardly ever explicit ahzovndlfjsoxo but i feel like a better storyline for Horikoshi to take would be for Ura to realize that she's been confused, and these feelings haven't really been a positive experience for her. I've definitely gone through things like that as a teenager. Now, the ship can be very cute! They're basically the same person, and they're cute and bubbly! But again, it simply isn't for me.

I think Momjirou is very cute!! Of course, as a lesbian, i sense strong lesbian vibes from Momo, and strong bi vibes from Jirou, and I also saw the ship potential ever since the USJ attack - which i think, so did everyone else ahaovndofjsojfsk they're best friends without a doubt, though i have to say, i really like Kamijirou. She just makes him so soft, and he's so in awe of her, and she thinks he's so funny, I love how supportive he is of her, especially since she can be really insecure 🥺🥺🥺

I also think Ura and Tsu are very cute but another easy ship, and i kind of really like Ochamina 🥺 they're both pink and space themed, they're bubbly and energetic and kick ass, and i think they'd be super cute...

I saved todobaku for last, because, you know what they say, best for last! 😇😇😇

I've said it before, but if there was no Mido (impossible obviously, and i would never want that) then todobaku is where my heart would lie. Baku has never really been shown chasing after anyone except for Mido...and Todo, which really gets at my heart. There's a grudging respect there - very, very grudging ahakckdkfjskdk which i find very appealing! Todo is very important to Baku and he has also been able to show Baku some things about himself that he needed to question and reevaluate. Meanwhile, Todo puts up with exactly 0% of Baku's shit, which i find absolutely hilarious. It's funny to me how Baku wishes to intimidate Todo as he does everyone else, and Todo simply does not care. And Baku wants to be mad, and ends up mad that he can't be mad since Todo is a strong and worthy opponent. They just have such an interesting chemistry, there's so much friction, so much tension, and I enjoy it, particularly since they clearly should be friends, would be great friends, want to be friends, but Baku simply won't get over it 😂😂 I do prefer them as friends, but friends that are incredibly close, two people that understand each other on almost a telepathic level, two people that give each other shit while also refusing to take the other's shit.

I do agree that many people in this fandom seem to think their ship stands on some moral high ground? It could be a disconnect from the previous generations of fandom, or it could also be the growing mentality on this site that everything needs to be a battle of moral superiority, and also that what you like is part of your personality, and if someone doesn't like what you like, then they don't like you or that they think you're factually incorrect. I personally have stopped going into the bn/ha tag simply because I don't enjoy, well, many things i find there, and I'm happy with those that i follow. I've definitely seen hatred and invalidation for both LGBT ships and m|w ships, neither of which I'm comfortable with. I definitely don't go off tumblr for fandom stuff because there's practically no acceptance for any same gender ships, or any queer headcanoning, which, I'll be honest, makes me scared, as i am a very anxious person avdkvndkfje i do think it should be noted that we should be as accepting of cishet ships as we are of queer ships - no debate on this one - but again, you are right when you say that many cishet headcanons have been used to invalidate LGBT voices, and any and all allies must always be aware of this! It is much more often that queer voices are silenced, that queer ships are ridiculed, that queer shippers aren't allowed to enjoy or see themselves. And to anybody that doesn't want to be an ally... Whelp ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ what are you doing here ajxkvmdogjdicjsicjsodj I'm gay

I haven't really read much of anything recently, let alone other ships, platonic or otherwise, because energy has been low for me for a long time. I wish i could participate more and support all my friends and other fans, but it's been a bit of a struggle 😣😣😣 I'm so sorry! Something that I can do is make posts and analyses and metas, as those are quick and make me excited, so I'm always happy to respond to asks like these! (I say as i take two hours to write this response...)

I hope people have been taking care of themselves and remember that tumblr is really good at letting you cater to your own interests! I hope if you've made it to the end of this response that you enjoyed it, and you're not mad at me ahsovjekgjsocjwodkso if you are, that's fine, I'm sorry, I probably am really bad at social/internet etiquette and such that help you filter 😣😣

To any who are curious, you cannot change my mind ahdogmdocjdidk thank you to whoever sent this ask!!! A lot of this is a bunch of rambling I've always wanted to talk about but was frankly too scared to post! I hope I made sense and answered everything you were asking!! Please have a good day/night/life!!! 💖💖💖💖💖

#bnha #bkdk #tdbk #also no i dont have a twitter ans i dont want to get one absocndofjwodjaozjsldjai #sorry i just #i can barely keep up with surviving ajsnvondofjskxnsodjsodks #anyways i really really need to go to bed #i should have 2 hours ago....#but you know #this ask got me so intrigued #im serious when i say i like thinking about and writing these things!!!#again thank you so much for asking and im sorry if you didnt get what you were looking for 😔😔😔#asks #long post

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antihero-writings · 3 years

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The Boy with the Unspeakable Name (Ch8)

Fandom: Harry Potter (and the Chamber or Secrets)

Fic Summary: Tom Riddle may have won his battle with Harry in the Chamber of Secrets, but there were a few unforeseen consequences; loss of Tom’s memory being the most obnoxious of them. Is it possible to stop Tom’s past from becoming his future? Or is the young Tom Riddle doomed to repeat his mistakes?

Notes: Hey! I'm so so sorry there was such a delay with this one! I was having a bit of a block with it. I hope you're still interested in reading! I'm hoping the next one will be a bit faster, as it's one I've been excited for. Cross your fingers everybody!

By the way, I changed that thing I said I would in the Snape chapter! It's towards the end, when Snape's looking into Tom's mind. It's not a big deal if you don't want to check it out, but it is related to this chapter!

I hope you guys like it!! As always, it's your comments, and interest, that keep me writing!! <3

Chapter 8: Only in Dreams

Tom stared up at the ceiling in the hospital wing, his hand behind his head, thinking about all that had happened…and some of what hadn’t happened.

Sometimes that was very dangerous thing to do indeed.

An annoying woman by the name of ‘Madam Pomfrey’ kept periodically checking on him, and offering him food and medicine. He wouldn’t be surprised if she woke him in the middle of the night just to make sure he was sleeping well.

There was also a boy in the bed beside his. He kept asking him if he wanted to play a game with a strange name. Tom made it clear the only game he was interested in playing was one in which he shut up.

When he had arrived with Snape earlier, a group of students were leaving. Apparently they had been ‘petrified.’ Whatever that meant. That made it sound like they’d been turned to stone, but they clearly were still flesh and blood—(maybe he would have preferred stone).

Snape even pulled aside one of them—a girl with bushy hair. Tom tried to subtly listen, but Snape pulled her into another room, and Madam Pomfrey had deigned that moment as one of her thousand times to ask if he was comfortable.

Which left him here, with the annoying nurse, a boy who probably couldn’t hold in his own pee…and a lot of questions.

So many things about this whole situation weren’t quite right. Waking up in that chamber with the dead girl, the way she died, the way Harry and Snape reacted to his presence, and Dumbledore’s later denial that he had killed her, or that their hatred was all that serious. And though Dumbledore had explained the diary, he wasn’t satisfied there either. Not to mention the fact that everything else in that Chamber still was unaccounted for.

There were things they weren’t telling him.

He highly doubted a teacher would be so vehement against just a bully, not to mention the fact that everyone else he’d met so far hadn’t recognized him…He had to be something more than that.

There was something they weren’t telling him. In fact, he reasoned, there were probably a great lot of things. He wasn’t going to assume they were all on the same side just because they said so.

The idea that this was a magic school, and that he was a student…He wasn’t quite sure how to feel about it yet. They’d done magic in front of him, so he couldn’t deny it—not that he intended to. And the thought did send a certain energy through him…like that word was everything right in the world. And he was indeed excited to learn magic. Well, maybe ‘excited’ was too strong. But that was one of the few things that didn’t give him confusion, question and pause. Rather it create a form of what could only be called hunger within him. He wondered how proficient he had been at magic before he lost his memory. More than anything he wished he could remember the spells.

He was sure he could figure this, them, out—maybe even tonight, if he just stayed awake a little longer. But he was more exhausted than he realized and, in the midst of his pondering, fell into dreams.

“Wait, mom!” His voice sounded strange, high and young…too high, too young. Almost girly.

A plump woman with short red hair turned around at the last word.

“What is it, Dear?!” She sounded a bit put out. “Are you ready to go?”

“I’m missing my Charms book!” Tom’s voice was pained. “Have you seen it?”

She gave a forced exhale. “And you’re sure you checked your room? Didn’t miss any corners?” She inclined her head. “You’re sure it’s not sitting on your nightstand?”

“Yes! That was the first place I checked!”

“You checked under the bed?”

“Yes!”

“The bookshelves and wardrobe?”

“Yes!”

She sighed. “Talk to your father, Fear.”

“Did you say you were missing a Charms book?” A boy about his age with red hair like their mother’s came in front of him, along with an identical copy of him.

“We wouldn’t know anything about it, sure.”

“We’re just a little concerned”

“Of course, for our—” The last word got blurred.

“Boys. You didn’t take”—He was sure she said his name, but for some reason the word became murky, as if she was trying to speak through a veil of water—“Charms book, did you?”

“What?”

“No!”

“Never!

“You know us, Mom, would we ever do something so terrible as steal a poor”—Another blurred word—“—’s charms book?”

“We’re good and virtuous boys.”

Tom looked at the woman who was apparently his mother, who gave him a knowing look. “Check your brothers’ room.”

The dream turned over, and now he was standing on a platform in front of a glimmering red train engine, the words ‘Hogwarts Express’ emblazoned on the front. Steam poured out from its many orifices, and it whistled with the shrillness of a bird being squeezed…though the sound was like music to his ears.

That wasn’t the only loud noise, in fact this place was extremely loud indeed. The whole platform was full to bustling with children, parents, and as many other assorted relatives as it could hold. But the strangest thing was, he wasn’t annoyed by their presence. He was feeling many things: nervousness to leave his parents, and about what house he’d get sorted into, and if the other kids would like him, and excitement, excitement for what the castle would be like, what house he’d get into, what the classes would be like, what friends he’d make…but no annoyance.

Perhaps more than anything there was a pit in his stomach about Harry and Ron. Were they okay? Why didn’t they get through the barrier? He had been so excited to ride the Express with them. His parents tried to assure him they’d be fine, but he could hear the fear lining their voices too. He tried to let the sight of the engine distract him, and the excitement about the coming year overpower him. They’d gotten safely through crazy situations before.

He gave his parents a giant hug, and his mom kissed him many times, and he could tell she was trying very hard not to cry. They told him everything would be fine, and gave him a number of quick quips of advice. He looked towards the engine, about to take his first steps towards it on his own.

The dream crossed over itself, and though he was on the same platform, he was alone.

Well, not alone alone, it was just as loud as before, and there were just as many passersby. Not the same people, still. But this time, the sound was muffled somehow, like he couldn’t completely hear or feel what was going on around him. Just a few loud shouts would break through, and each time they did, annoyance would strike him.

There were no parents to wish him luck, or kiss him goodbye. No brothers to steal his books.

Did he like it better that way?

He looked down at his robes, and felt satisfaction run through him. They were clean and sleek and new. The first clothes he’d had that fit that description in a long time. None of the other kids got those. Well, none of the other kids could do magic either. He was special.

Just satisfaction. Not really excitement or nervousness…Just that hunger. That hunger for magic, for prowess, for a better world. Nothing compared to the bursting geysers of emotion he’d felt moments ago.

He looked up at the engine, a small smile lining his features as he stepped up to enter it.

Tom woke up to the hospital room, and went from teetering to falling off the bed.

And for a brief moment he was dizzy with unsurity; unsurity of where, or even who he was.

After he took a moment to right himself, the questions restarted themselves:

Was that just a dream? Or were those his memories?

They can’t have been, could they? He didn’t wake in a flurry of remembrance of all the memories preceding and following those. Besides, Dumbledore had told him his family was dead.

Although the final dream, or memory, was so different from the first two…Maybe that was from another year, and explained what had happened to his family?

He could tell from context they were his family, at least at some point. Yet he didn’t recognize them, or remember their names, or much of anything else about them.

Yet…

Yet, at the remembrance of their images, waves of emotion crossed over him, mostly comprised of loss, and longing. He didn’t know where those waves could have hailed from, when he didn’t remember or care for these people. But something inside himself wanted all this to stop.

It overwhelmed him. He wanted to brush it off…but stayed on the ground, leaning against the wall, digging his nails into his shirt.

He tried to feel normal…or even remember what normal was. He thought he felt normal most of the day. Right now he didn’t feel like…himself.

A line of light reached its hands out to him, and he looked up to see the door to Madam Pomfrey’s room open slightly. She must have heard him fall off the bed—(did she have owl hearing? The other kid was still snoring like a troll). Meeting her eyes was a mistake, because she gave a small gasp, and ran over to him with the speed of a rocket powered penguin.

As she helped him up, she quickly began bombarding him numerous questions, comforts, and recommendations—

“I’m FINE!” he yelled, pushing her hand away—(the other kid’s snores abruptly stopped, but he didn’t wake)— “Stop pestering me, Woman!”

Her eyes widened, apparently so shocked a student would speak this way to her, that for a moment she couldn’t speak. And at that look, before she could scold him, he muttered.

“I’m…sorry.”

The words just came out, he didn’t really think about it. But as his tongue traced the words he tasted iron.

“My dreams weren’t very pleasant,” he added. “That’s all.”

She still proceeded to berate him heavily for his behavior, and checked more than once that his dreams really were the only problem, but he could barely hear her. He couldn’t stop thinking about how strange it was that, after all the foreignness both the day and the night had to offer, the most foreign experience of all that day, was the feeling of those two words leaving his lips.

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diyeoracha · 4 years

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IwaOi Master Fic Rec List (50+ Fics)

Hello! In celebration accumulating over 190+ bookmarks on my AO3 account featuring IwaOi and Iwaizumi coming back into the manga (and for his (almost) birthday), I decided to create a masterlist of all of my favorite fanfictions in order to keep myself organized as well as contributing to more traffic on those works! I decided to split the works up by my own self-imposed genres, such as angst, coming-of-age (or the childhood-friends-to-lovers trope that we all love which depicts how their relationship changes as they grow up and will mostly be canon-compliant), and alternate universe. With the revival of Iwaizumi in the manga, alternate universes will be broken down into adulting AU where he and Oikawa’s diverge differs from in canon and actual, legit AU where there’s basically no volleyball.

I’ll include the title, link, word count, fic summary, and my own commentary (mostly for my own personal entertainment). While the AO3 fandom has been going strong since 2014, I personally have only been reading IwaOi fics for about 3 months, so I will most likely be recommending some cult-favorites, especially since I’ve been reading my fics by sorting through the tag with the most kudos.

My absolute favorites (or the ones where I personally push onto my IRL haikyuu friends) will be denoted with ♡ in increments of 1-3 with 3 ♡ being an absolute must-read. Fics marked with a * indicate that Iwaizumi or Oikawa or both are professional athletes because that’s honestly my Favorite Trope. This is incomplete as I got distracted while re-reading a lot of these and have only gone through half of my bookmarks, but feel free to check my own page here for the rest of them! This took me about 9 days to compile (aka this was in my drafts for about 9 days) but I do hope you guys enjoy reading these and leave comments and kudos!

Adulting AU

*♡♡Thirty Years and Change (the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad)

Word count: 19k

Summary: It’s July 10th, 2024, and Oikawa Tooru is an Olympian. His smiling face airs on an NHK promo every 45 seconds. He’s captain of the national men’s volleyball team, reigning star of the professional leagues, and he hasn't spoken to Iwaizumi Hajime in two years.

Thoughts: THIS IS IT. THIS FIC IS GOD TIER. They’ve been separated but now are falling back into old habits and there’s a confession on the line? Akaashi is in here and he’s pretty funny. I reread this all the time.

*♡♡♡the courtship ritual of the hercules beetle

Word count: 66k

Summary: Tooru is pretty sure he could manage the mating habits of a mosquito. It’s the mating habits of people he can’t seem to get right.

Thoughts: Absolutely the best IwaOi fic I’ve ever read. I’ve reread this about 4x and I always pay attention to a new sentence or detail that leaves me breathless. The characterization is pretty spot on, and I have to admit that this fic made me appreciate IwaOi a little more. I’ve cried countless times too. A cult-favorite but it doesn’t have nearly as many hits as it deserves.

♡days fall away

Word count: 17k

Summary: Except now he’s back home, so close to his old haunts and to Oikawa himself, and it's—weird.

Thoughts: They’ve separated for a bit but now they’re back in the same city and learning to be around each other again. Cue teasing from the biological and Seijoh family

it's been so long (nobody knows me the way you do)

Word count: 8k

Summary: Tooru hums, only half-listening. Somewhere along the way, Hajime’s palm has settled itself over the curve of Tooru’s cheek, thumb tracing over the line of his jaw.

Thoughts: They’re living together post-college feat. snapshots from their lives before getting together and their Seijoh team! It’s really soft but it manages a humorous tone as well.

Time

Word count: 5k

Summary: When they're twenty-three, their story only begins.

Thoughts: A piecewise fic told from Oikawa’s point of view. The tone is almost chatty but it really fits the pacing of the work as you get snippets and sentences of their relationship throughout the years

♡Almost a Stranger

Word count: 16k

Summary: Iwa-chan's leaving Japan. Tooru's not sure he can forgive him, but he's not going to admit his long-held feelings, either. A trip to Miyajima complicates everything.

Thoughts: They go on vacation right before Iwaizumi leaves Oikawa for a year. Oikawa ponders their relationship.

where fireflies never die

Word count: 4k

Summary: >>Oikawa: Hey Iwa-chan >>Oikawa: Did I ruin it?

Thoughts: Oikawa is a mangaka and basically writes his best selling series based off of him and Iwaizumi. This was pretty angsty ngl with a lot of introspection and second-guessing.

In the Business of Love

Word count: 22k

Summary: Meet Oikawa Tooru: He's a best-selling shoujo manga artist, a hardcore romantic and you won't believe where he's getting his lovey dovey fodder from...Enter Iwaizumi Hajime: He's Oikawa's best friend, a realist who also happens to be a wedding magazine writer despite not believing in romance...

Thoughts: Mangaka Oikawa but this is basically a rom-com lmao

Alternate Universe

Even Heroes (have the right to dream)

Word count: 20k

Summary: Oikawa Tooru, ace reporter of the superhero beat of Asahi Shimbun, hates superheroes. Or maybe he just hasn’t met the knight one yet.

Thoughts: Superhero-hiding-his-identity-Iwaizumi and begrudging Oikawa? Sign me up. This fic spent a little more time on worldbuilding than eventual romance, but it is still absolutely unique and entertaining

The secret omega

Word count: 17k

Summary: Iwaizumi’s annoying as fuck best friend. Who absolutely, definitely, no matter what, cannot find out that Iwaizumi is an omega.

Thoughts: A/B/O dynamics where Iwa is the omega and Oikawa is the alpha. 90% plot building which is pretty nice.

Conquering the Great King

Word count: 105k

Summary: Oikawa's lips twitched into a smirk and he brought them hovering just over Iwaizumi's, "One time thing, Two time thing, what's it matter as long as it's not a Relationship thing?"

Thoughts: Malicious and flirtatious Oikawa meet immovable object Iwaizumi. They’re businessmen trying to navigate friends-with-benefits and love all at the same time. A+ sex scenes tbh.

♡Infinite Risks

Word count: 8k

Summary: “It’s my fate,” Oikawa responds slowly. He’s crying.“It’s too lonely,” Iwaizumi’s heart sounded broken. “And I’m not there with you. Not really.”

Thoughts: Edge of Tomorrow AU!!!!! Please watch Edge of Tomorrow first because it’s truly a brilliant movie that I wholly enjoyed and this fic reflects that. This also made me really sad so Beware

*♡Something Like Us

Word count: 28k

Summary: Friends since childhood, Oikawa and Iwaizumi now live together, both playing for the National Team. It's no secret that athletes who are bonded perform better. So if the two of them happen to bond...It'd be for the good of the team, right?

Thoughts: ABO dynamics (and somewhat canon-compliant) as they’re roommates, on the national team, and try to navigate being “fake” mated while harboring feelings

And All the Prince’s Men

Word count: 65k

Summary: “Father only loves that which he owns, and I am the one thing that can never truly be his.”

Thoughts: Royal bastard son Oikawa and his servant Iwaizumi. An enthralling read and universe. The romance takes a secondary seat here as it focuses more on plot and world-building.

♡long nights, no peace

Word count: 18k

Summary: It's the steady knowledge that Iwaizumi Hajime will always be someone that he can rely on, that no matter what the world throws at the two of them, they share in a piece of each other's soul.

Thoughts: Pacific Rim! AU. Otherwise known as my favorite types of AUs because they’re basically soulmates (platonic or not,, but they’re not platonic here)

♡(sing with me) A Song of Conquest and Fate

Word count: 26k

Summary: When Seijou receives a missive from Aobajousai to discuss a potential peace, its emperor Oikawa Tooru could not have foreseen the series of events that would follow.

Thoughts: Warring states/historical fantasy AU. The world building is amazing and this author has great control over her language use

Cotton Breathing

Word count: 13k

Summary:

Thoughts: Long-distance and summer only but childhood friends Iwaoi!!! A dreamy summer piece and reading it almost makes me feel like I’m in a Studio Ghibli movie because of the mood it puts me in

Similar Creatures

Word count: 53k

Summary: "What's your name?" "Whatever you want it to be."(Or, Oikawa gets directions from an attractive stranger on a street corner.)

Thoughts: Iwaizumi is an escort and Oikawa needs a fancy date

Space

Word count: 44k

Summary: Tries not to think of his rooftop garden, or the apartment he used to inhabit, or Hajime’s broken expression on the night they whispered their goodbyes before Tooru’s launch, attempting to push it all to the back of his mind behind visions of this alien world terraformed

Thoughts: Oikawa’s in outerspace. They’re separated. This left me feeling pretty empty ngl.

♡here comes your man

Word count: 8k

Summary: Iwa-chan, it reads, Have a good day today! Good luck! <3 <3 <3Suga chokes. It’s hard to imagine anyone calling the scowling and fierce Doctor Iwaizumi “Iwa-chan.” But marriage probably comes with all sorts of liberties.

Thoughts: Doctor AU where Iwaizumi and Oikawa’s relationship is pondered by Suga

In the Telling

Word count: 6k

Summary: Muggleborn Iwaizumi could not be less impressed with pureblood Oikawa Tooru.

Thoughts: Harry Potter AU where they’re in the same year and aren’t really friends but are also friends

♡♡The Loyalty of A Traitor

Word count: 76k

Summary: Iwaizumi Hajime was an undercover officer with a single objective: Infiltrate the Seijoh Syndicate of the Yakuza and tear them down from the inside out. His primary target was the boss, Oikawa Tooru. The job itself was simple enough, until Iwaizumi got in too deep and absconded not only from the mission, but from the city itself.

Thoughts: Oh fuck this was Good. Yakuza boss Oikawa???? Disgraced Iwaizumi??? Do they fall in love (again)?

and suddenly, we were traitors

Word count: 17k

Summary: "sorry, it's just... you’ve been amazingly kind to me these past few days. ...but i'm still not sure who you are.”

Thoughts: The amnesia fic this fandom needed

Trial by Fire

Word count: 78k

Summary: (lawyer!AU - in which Iwaizumi loves his objections, Oikawa is beautiful, and they have more chemistry than two opposing attorneys probably should.)

Thoughts: Hot

dear diary, i met a boy

Word count: 15k

Summary: Iwaizumi's first impression of his upstairs neighbor involves getting woken up at two in the morning to the sound of Oikawa singing along to trashy pop music. He'd thought it would get better, but it all just goes downhill from there.

Thoughts: Model Oikawa and salaryman Iwaizumi meet and try to make it work

on shipwreck shore

Word count: 8k

Summary: “I’m going to murder you in cold blood and feed you to the basilisks,” Iwaizumi says conversationally.“You can’t do that, I’m your boss,” Oikawa sings, positively sparkling. “Also we’re partners, which means,” he points at Iwaizumi and leans in, “you’re stuck with me.”

Thoughts: Detectives but they’re actually funny

♡Lockdown

Word count: 72k

Summary: Within the first few months of his stay, Oikawa gets caught up in a war between cellblocks, becomes a prime target, and must decide just how far he's willing to go to protect Iwaizumi Hajime.

Thoughts: Orange is the New Black AU!!! Im a sl*t for tatted Iwaizumi

an allegory of all the things we could’ve been

Word count: 16k

Summary: “I don’t know anything about some red string,” Iwaizumi murmurs into the cracks of Oikawa’s skin, “or even about lifetimes or fate. But no matter where you are, I’ll find you. Gods or otherwise.”

Thoughts: Reincarnation AU throughout the timelines. A good soft read that leaves you sort of empty

Angst

Timeless (We Have 30 Days)

Word count: 12k

Summary: Or AU where you're branded 50 days before you die. But Oikawa doesn't tell anyone so now there's only 30 days left.

Thoughts: Ahhhhhhhhh tears

the weight of water

Word count: 6k

Summary: “Again,” he says, the smallest tremor in his voice, and Oikawa blinks at him a moment before smiling, soft and sweet. “Iwa-chan,” he replies, and Iwaizumi closes his eyes. “Again.” “Iwa-chan.”

Thoughts: Death fic

open when

Word count: 1k

Summary: Iwaizumi knew it was coming, but it still hurt. It still hurt when he opens one letter and drowns it in the tears he cannot keep at bay.

Thoughts: It takes only 1.6k words to make me cry

Canon Compliant/Coming-Of-Age

♡♡i sing the body electric

Word count: 8k

Summary: It was never part of the plan, falling in love with his best friend, but then again, most things in Iwaizumi’s life that involve Oikawa rarely unfold the way he thinks they will.

Thoughts: A beautifully introspective piece told from Iwaizumi’s point of view. It’s wholly intimate and it toes along the lines of pining and soft angst. It’s told in snippets from their lives growing up together.

♡we can do better than that

Word count: 16k

Summary: Oikawa and Iwaizumi go on a road trip during the summer after their high school graduation. It doesn't go as expected, but maybe that's not such a bad thing after all.

Thoughts: There’s a lot of character analysis and it takes a step away from the casual banter they’re always portrayed to have and focuses on the intricacies of their relationship. The tone is almost a little more melancholy. (also they have to share a bed! trope)

♡when it starts to rain, they go inside

Word count: 33k

Summary: “Where?” starts Iwaizumi.“My parent’s old lakehouse, silly, didn’t you hear me the first time?”OR: Oikawa takes Iwaizumi to his lakehouse for two weeks, post-graduation.

Thoughts: Oh This Is It IwaOi stans. This fic really solidified my own headcanon for Oikawa (spoiler alert, OP isn’t too fond of Oikawa but she fleshes out his character and his idiosyncrasies so well that you can’t help but be drawn into all of his imperfection) and this fic respects Iwaizumi as well. It has absolutely great characterization and the fic ends on an ambiguous note.

to be first, to be best

Word count: 26k

Summary: Hajime is apparently something of a masochist, and as he stares down at the tie-dyed AREA51 T-shirt in his hands, he thinks “I’m totally in love with this asshole, aren't I?”

Thoughts: College roommates trying to navigate having feelings for each other while also dating others and not realizing that they’re jealous? A cult favorite.

♡things that change, things that stay the same

Word count: 8k

Summary: Oikawa realizes he's in love with his best friend; it sucks for a while. (But only a while.)

Thoughts: Ahh a slow burn featuring daily moments between Oikawa and Iwaizumi, and Oikawa starts to notice the little things. This was a cute read because Oikawa just comes off as wonderfully earnest. My first Iwaoi fic! And a great one because it really set the standard to how I interpreted their relationship.

it’s better than words

Word count: 3k

Summary: [ or : oikawa makes iwaizumi participate in three bonding activities for new friends, and iwaizumi just wants to know why oikawa's being so weird about this]

Thoughts: Soft pining, fluff, banter, and whispered confessions. This fic really nailed the banter of high school students really well.

♡shiver

Word count: 16k

Summary: Oikawa was always the brave one. Hajime just followed two paces behind.

Thoughts: Oikawa falls first and but Iwaizumi realizes his feelings later on! So soft, so slow burn, so much pining. We get to see their relationship through Iwaizumi’s eyes and actually read him analyze his own feelings.

♡we shine like diamonds

Word count: 26k

Summary: "You know Abe-kun from class?" they snicker, hands cupped around their mouths like they're passing along a filthy secret. "I hear his older brother is... gay."

Thoughts: Character analysis, homophobia, and coming of age makes a good and angsty iwaoi fic

terrarium

Word count: 11k

Summary: At this point, is he really happy with just staying best friends forever? Will he be writing journals and collecting rocks forever (he will, he knows, but that is aside from the point)?

Thoughts: Oikawa has a terrarium and names all of the rocks he puts in (that Iwaizumi gave him) “Iwa-chan #_”

Chasing Paper Suns

Word count: 10k

Summary: Post-high school, Oikawa makes it to the national volleyball team but Iwaizumi doesn't. The next three years become an exercise in growing up without growing apart.

Thoughts: This was pretty sad tbh. Of what it means to grow up together and then suddenly having to adjust to living without each other’s presence.

with every second that you could give

Word count: 9k

Summary: The journey of Iwaizumi and Oikawa going for gold.

Thoughts: Of growing up together, making decisions for each other, and wanting to be together

Only the jellyfish know

Word count: 6k

Summary: Their third and final year at Aoba Jousai has come to an end, and the guys decide to go to the beach the day after graduation.That day, the ocean water is salty, the watermelon is sweet, and the people are sweeter.

Thoughts: Established relationship

Smut

strange.

Word count: 1k

Summary: "god, i fucking hate you."oikawa smiles, cause he knows it's not true. he knows iwaizumi loves him, knows iwaizumi adores him. but he plays along."i hate you too,"

Thoughts: It’s hot

Say My Name

Word count: 2k

Summary: “Hey, have you ever tried saying my first name?” Iwaizumi blurts, and the thought jumps out of his subconscious only after he's posed the question.

Thoughts:

No Touching Allowed

Word count: 10k

Summary: “You’ve got one rule,” Iwaizumi winks at him.

Thoughts: ExoticDancer!Iwaizumi and stressed out/repressed businessman Oikawa also an AU.

Honorable Mentions

things wikipedia doesn’t tell you

pillow

Phone Home

Share my life, it’s yours to keep

in progress to you

no sleep in the city

The PDA jar

Kissmarked

#iwaoi #oikawa tooru #oikawa #iwaizumi #iwaizumi hajime #haikyuu!!#haikyuu #hq!!#hq fic rec #haikyuu fic #haikyuu fanfiction #id ask that u guys pls reblog if u can so more people can enjoy :') rly there are some Underrated works #and im surprised bc it looks like iwaoi is the most popular pairing in hq rn with the most fics #and there are iwaoi fics being uploaded like everyday #some of my favs were published in 2020 too

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fallintomyhands · 4 years

Photo

Blacked out card for @barisifandomevents !

Fake Relationship: Dreams – Asmodesgold (M)

· Barba gets the flu. Carisi gets more than he bargained for. A sweet, soft fic full of longing and loving care.

Wedding: In Vino Veritas – etothepii ( E )

· A bachelor party, a wedding, late nights in the office, and confusion. One of my favorite fics of Carisi figuring himself out, featuring a lot of unique but realistic situations, tenderness and heat, angst, and hopefulness. A fandom must read.

Alternate Universe: The Primitive and Sanctified – Konigsberg ( E )

· Demons exist, unbeknownst to SVU… except the members counted amongst their ranks. This is one of my favorite stories of all time, and please don’t let the supernatural elements (or the fact this is sadly still a WIP) “scare” you away! The “monstrous” elements are used to perfectly capture characterization, and this is the most tender fic I’ve ever read. Makes you want to crawl into the soft, dreamy feelings and live there forever. Please give this a shot if you haven’t already; perfection.

Crack Fic: Overstepping – rellkelltn87 (M)

· A raid on a real-life mad scientist goes horribly wrong, and ends with Carisi “in a family way.” I never thought I’d see an mpreg story in this fandom that could come off so believable, but this author works miracles (in a much kinder way than her characters!) Part casefic, part romance, all suspense, don’t pass this one up, you will not be disappointed!

Based on a Movie: Do Monsters Dream? – bourgeois ( E )

· Shape of Water AU in which Sonny works at an aquatic research facility and meets someone special. Takes place in a timeline where we see Carisi struggling after the Tom Cole incident, heart wrenchingly portrayed through his losses, personal and professional, and his meeting of another lonely, imprisoned soul. Beautifully written, absolutely captivating prose, wistful, heartfelt and magical.

Animals: Yuletide by the Fireside – Juniperhoot

· First Christmas with a new love, and unfortunately a new, smaller paycheck. Tenderness, cozy domesticity, and the most adorable dog ever singing along to bad TV music numbers; what more could you want? If your answer was ‘thoughtful characterization’ – that’s here too!

First Date: Everything Seems a Little Bit Sweeter – rafaelbaseball, burgeois

· Barba is obsessed with a YouTube chef, and enters a contest to meet him for dinner. One of the earliest fics I was obsessed with. The whole series is lovely, and the actual date is so tentative and lovely it makes my heart clench. Barba finding himself not in the age group of Sonny’s fans is painfully relatable and a stroke of genius.

Carisi Family: A Healing Year – Adrianna_m_scovill (M)

· A year in the life of Barba and Carisi, in which Barba faces his insecurities and begins to heal, and to love. A fantastic story from start to finish, with top notch characterization and intense emotions, steamy sex, and everything in between. I chose this for my family fic not just because there’s a lovely holiday spent with the Carisi family, but because the fic also embodies how Carisi manages to make everyone in his life his family. Utterly captivating story from an author that always makes an emotional impact.

Soulmates: Choose To Be With You – Robin Hood

· Sometimes the person who has your heart doesn’t have your soul. Great take on the soulmates trope, heartfelt, heartbreaking, mature. Insightful characterization of both characters, but especially Carisi, who faces an impossible situation, and reacts exactly how I believe the character would do.

Get Together: Noche Sin Estrella – Lambnoire

· Casefic in which Barba is injured, and Carisi figures something out about himself when his protective streak becomes something more. A pretty much perfect fic; perfect characterization, strong and realistic casefic, recurring canon characters that feel true to themselves, whump that expresses the right amounts of terror without delving outside the scope of the show, and a slow burn journey of romance and self-acceptance that is meticulously paced, utterly realistic and hits every emotional mark flawlessly. Now that it’s back, make sure you don’t miss out.

Break Up: Every Time We Touch – OblivionCastro

· Soulmate AU where the touch of your partner gives you pain. A 5+1 fic, a soulmate fic, but mostly, a lyrically written story of enduring pain and enduring its loss. A wonderful metaphor for the agony of love and loss that brings me to tears every time.

Secret Relationship: Pink (& Other Promises) – leslielol

· Barba and Carisi fall together, and decide to keep it under wraps for a while; results vary. A common premise with uncommonly good prose. Vivid, lyrical language wraps around a soft story about affection, subterfuge, and acceptance. A very different look at Barba and Carisi than the author’s main fic, but no less enduring and amazing.

WIP: Much Farther To Go – nukablastr (M)

· The threats on Barba’s life have been declared a cold case, but Carisi decides to do some investigating on his own to protect the man he loves. This is the third part of a long series detailing the “missing” events in S17, and exploring beyond into “what could have been” if this major plot hadn’t been dropped. I added part 3 for the WIP, but recommend reading from the beginning. This story is expertly paced and plotted, and feels absolutely like it could be a piece of canon. One of the seminal works of the barisi fic fandom; read it if you haven’t.

Shadowing: Mind if I Sit Down? – Larkin21 ( E )

· Another episode tag based story from S17, featuring Carisi and Barba entering into a casual relationship behind the scenes. There’s not really many (or any!) full stories of Carisi shadowing Barba, but I was glad to be able to include this series, which features a full chapter on the shadowing episode. Again, I recommend reading the entire series, as it’s full of fantastically written plot and characterization, seamlessly weaving deep insights on the characters and blisteringly hot sex into the best seasons of the show. Another not-to-be-missed series!

Get Together: I’m gonna leave it all out there to dry – littleblacksubmarine ( E )

· Carisi is barely keeping it together, and Barba is waiting to be allowed to help; a story of depression, self-loathing, comfort and devotion told through incredibly poignant intimate and sexual encounters. An unusual depiction of a very dark Sonny, and a protective, self-sacrificing Rafael who’s there for him every painful step of the way. Amazing story that captures perfectly some very different aspects of the characters than we typically see, and still feels 100% true. This story has broken and healed my heart so many times.

Holiday: Pass Here and Go On – abogadobarba

· After the events of Undiscovered Country, Barba and Carisi reconnect, by chance, on a train of all places. Full of atmosphere, literary references, and some of the best prose in the fandom. This story is pure poetry, creating a tone of loneliness and longing, the sense of expanse and yet confinement that only travel can bring, and ultimately peacefulness and hope.

Alternate Career Rafael: In This Light – Astronaut_Milky (M)

· Barba is a photographer, Carisi is a model, both men destined to keep finding… and losing, each other. Beautiful, sexy story about two men whose jobs keep bringing them together, and tearing them apart, full of light and heat and beautiful people and beautiful imagery.

Undercover: Have You Ever Wished For An Endless Night? – minnesotamemelord

· Carisi goes undercover at a high-powered legal event, and runs into someone familiar. A look at Sonny getting to go undercover at a nicer event than we normally see! Well written characterizations, and some interesting contemplations on unique issues, such as Carisi’s opinion on wealth and the wealthy that felt so spot on I immediately felt they were canon. Also, poor Rafael; he has such terrible friends!

5+1: We Had No Haste – alwaysbuddy

· Carisi and Barba meet over and over in the most coincidental of places, but succumb to their own insecurities. Breathtaking story about two should-be fated lovers who continue to meet and connect over a multitude of vacations, but can’t bring themselves to reach for what they want, until they fear it may be too late. Gorgeous, atmospheric, romantic and sad, in equal measure, with an ending that’s happy, but still exudes a sense of so much lost time. This fic haunts my thoughts in the best ways.

Cooking: Sustenance – AhumanFemale, tiberius (E )

· Barba’s friends buy him a live-in chef for a time, so he can stop living on pretzels and coffee. Sweeping piece of art that exudes sensuality and the feel of time slipping through your fingers.

First Meeting: Here and Now – wormghoul

· Barba and Carisi meet, and have a whirlwind romance, at LSAT camp before being parted until they meet again at SVU. The imagery and language used in this story has stuck with me for a long time. Shockingly, wrenchingly accurate descriptions of the feelings of holding memories dear, “as a talisman,” and the devastating feelings of having them torn away from you by reality… but also the hope that they can be made anew.

Crack Fic: It’s Not Too Late/Gag Order – cupidmarwani

· Carisi has a superpower, and has reached the end of his rope. Carisi has seen too much, and has the power to burn it all down. Barba wants to save him, but has to face stark reality. Short, intense story about the toll Carisi’s job takes on him, and how he becomes one of the monsters that he used to fight. Depressing, heartbreaking, terrifyingly relatable, this is an overlooked gem.

Confession: Him. – keraunoscopia

· Carisi struggles with his sexuality and internalized homophobia, and seeks aid from the Church. Quiet, powerful, painful, and so, so beautiful.

Domestic: Daylight – cypress_tree ( E )

· Carisi stays the night for the first time and Barba sees him in the sunlight. Short, sweet, hot. What’s more domestic than two people in love, unwilling to get out of bed and leave one another’s presence?

Fix It: Good Morning – Kaye_21 (M)

· A threat to Barba’s life does not end well – repeatedly! Another “supernatural” style fic that shouldn’t be overlooked, even if it’s not your genre. Barba, stuck in a room with Carisi and a man out to kill them both, needs to figure out what is required of him to prevent their deaths, before he loses his mind. Fantastic character study. Terrifying, sad, sexy and hopeful. I chose this one for “fix it,” since as barisi itself could be considered a canon “fix it” or missed opportunity, and this fic itself embodies Barba himself finding a way to be that fix.

#barisi fic rec bingo #barisi #fic recs

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spockandawe · 4 years

Text

Okay, I want to pull together more detailed thoughts at some point, I think, because the sheer amount of material means I have about ten billion thoughts to sort out. But I’ve read all three of the mxtx novels now, and loved all of them, in different ways. Though I already tried to figure out if I can pick a Favorite, and tbh, I can’t. I love them all in ways that are too distinct to let me rank them easily. And... man, it’s lucky for my friends that social distancing is in place, or I’d be hassling them shamelessly to give these novels a try.

RIGHT. So.

The Scum Villain’s Self-Saving System: Shen Yuan goes to bed full of rage directed at a trashy webnovel with a grimdark blackened hero who conquered the world and collected hundreds of women into his harem.... and wakes up in novel, while that hero is still an innocent youth. As the hero’s abusive teacher. Who is doomed for a horrifying death unless he can somehow turn things around.

I think I had the most fun with this one. I really enjoy self-referential stories, and stories poking fun at certain genres, and I’ve run into the concept of transmigration before (the idea being a person enters a fictional world, a la lost in austen), though I’m blanking on any media like that I’ve actually consumed. This was chronologically the first book mxtx wrote, and it has less of a sprawling cast with complicated relationships than the other two books, but it definitely has the thing where she lays early groundwork for later revelations that shatter my poor heart.

And there may be fewer relationships to play with, but my GOD, do I love the relationships we got. I’ve been rolling around in svsss fanfic since I finished the book, even more so than mdzs or tgcf. There’s a lot of good crunchy relationship content with the 79 ship (they destroy me, all day every day), Liu Qingge owns my whole-ass heart, and Luo Binghe makes for a fascinating love interest. I love that even at his best, he remains a needy, needy, manipulative boy, who’s so smart and strong and nEEDY. I don’t love how the book handled moshang, but mmmm the fan content is Good. And Shen Qingqiu does the unreliable narrator thing that is usually not my jam, but works so WELL in these books, in that his unreliable narration is hugely skewed towards not giving himself nearly as much credit as he deserves. Xie Lian takes this to UNBELIEVABLE heights in tgcf, but in Shen Qingqiu’s case, it’s done on such a casual, immediate, personal level that I’m fascinated by everything he does.

And, since Shen Yuan/Shen Qingqiu is a millennial fan of trashy romance webnovels who gets yanked into the universe of a novel he hates, into an old-timey xianxia setting, the prose is SO COOL. You swing between modern slang and old school high society courtesies at the drop of a hat, and I’m honestly awed that the translators were able to catch so much of that. Like, in-setting, I love all the nuance you can get in ‘qi-ge should give his a-jiu the scroll’ vs ‘yue-shixiong should give this teacher the scroll’ vs ‘you should give me the scroll’. But then it adds a whole new layer when the person ALSO has modern-day casual speech bouncing around in their head. It makes for a fascinating, fascinating reading experience.

The Grandmaster Of Demonic Cultivation: Thirteen years ago, Wei Wuxian died. And then he wakes up! In someone else’s body. I’m not going to try to summarize the premise of this one, go look up The Untamed if you want someone to do a better job of this than me XD

Ahhh, this was the book I read first. I still haven’t watched the show (only clips) and I’m not sure I ever will, because adhd is a hell of a drug. But it’s hard to purely evaluate the prose when there’s also this gorgeous, beautifully-acted visual adaptation all over my tumblr to bias me in its favor. I think this book benefits a lot from the MYSTERY of it all. From the very start, there’s the question of ‘what the fuck is up with this goddamn arm’ that the characters pursue, even as that takes them through flashbacks and other arcs within the story. It gives a thrust to the novel that I think isn’t exactly there in tgcf, though I’m torn on which one is “better.” This gave the story momentum, yes, but it also meant I was much more impatient in yi city and the 3zun flashbacks, because this isn’t what I was focused onnnnnn this is cool but how much longer will we BE HERE--

That being said, I think I’ll be more patient with those flashbacks on my next time through the book, now that I have a better picture of where everything is headed. I think the balance and structure of the book worked really well, I was setting myself up for self-sabotage because of the pace I was plowing through the thing. My reading habits didn’t lend themselves well to the nonlinear storytelling, and it speaks to the story’s strength that it held up that well despite me. And the CAST. My GOD. I went in not caring about anyone but Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji and maybe the jackass nephew, but... that Did Not Last. I didn’t intend to care about 3zun? Nope, too bad, you care so much now. Who cares about Xue Yang? Me. I care. Way too much. HECK!!!

And something that happens in this book and tgcf that was much less of a thing in svsss is that there are some meaningful holes in the story that I’d like to be filled, and I really care about filling-- and the story doesn’t go there. But it doesn’t leave me unhappy, it leaves me cheerfully scrabbling around in the throwaway details trying to piece together a picture of what happened when I wasn’t looking. What happened to Wei Wuxian in the burial mounds? How did Hua Cheng take control of the ghost city? Idk, but let us Rummage and theorize and roll around in ideas and have a fantastic, speculative time. Svsss might hook me more than the other stories from an au+shipping perspective, but mdzs and tgcf do a great job of making me want to roll around and create within the bounds of canon.

Heaven Official’s Blessing: 800 years ago, Xie Lian ascended to heaven. And fell. And rose again! And fell again. Now he’s ascended for the third time, and things are Awkward.

God, I just finished this, and I’m still reeling. This is the LONGEST mxtx book, that’s for sure. I also think it’s the most tightly edited translation. All the translators did an unbelievable job, I could never even approach what they accomplished, but I am genuinely stunned that a book this long was edited so well. I blew through this in about 3.5 days (if not for work, i could have made it in three dghsafdsgf) and my brain was cooking in my skull by the time I was halfway through, but I couldn’t STOP. I was ENCHANTED the entire time! I was reading so much my head was destroying me and I still sulked so HARD every time I had to put my phone down and sleep.

This book sprawls the hardest, I think, because it involves a cast made of mostly immortal/immortal-adjacent people, so time and space get... flexible. And I feel really bad saying this, because Lan Wangji is DEVOTED, but this is seriously the book with the most attentive and adoring and respectful love interest. Hua Cheng is..... god. I truly don’t think I’ve EVER read a character quite like him before, and I am so, so sad, because I don’t know how I’ll find one who lives up to these heights ever again XD I recommend reading this book just for the Hua Cheng experience, if nothing else. I was making audible noises at literally flailing at multiple points in the story, but most often, it was because of him.

Shipping is what usually drags me into a fandom hardest, and all of these books do pretty well for themselves, all of them have a nice selection of fluffy and crunchy ships to choose from. And this one... goddammit. I just realized, that the best, most crunchy ships are too spoilery for me to be willing to talk about them here. Hell. Goddammit. But I think tgcf has the crunchiest ship of all, even better than xuexiao. I was so invested, and then there were Reveals, and then I was like OH NO THIS IS TERRIBLE BUT MY INVESTMENT HAS EXPONENTIALLY INCREASED.

And something that I really, really appreciate, is that across the mxtx books, even though a lot of characters fit into strong archetypes, there’s nobody that is blurring together for me, either within or across the books. Liu Qingge isn’t Jiang Cheng isn’t Feng Xin. They’re all blunt, fighty boys, but all super distinct in my head, and what I want for each of them is distinct and character-driven. I want Liu Qingge to be properly cherished and I want Jiang Cheng to relax with his brother and nephew and I want Feng Xin to [goddammit i don’t want to spoil this book AGH]. It’s something I appreciated in the other books too, but I can really FEEL it in this book, with how long and luxurious it is.

And last thing I have to say, I think, is that tgcf is so long. It’s so, so long. But I would FITE if anyone tried to pare it down at all. I can’t think of anything I’d be willing to sacrifice. I enjoyed every last piece of it so much, and it was all ultimately SO well-constructed and interlocking, that any piece I can think of snipping out would take away significant emotional impact from what was left. It’s a nonlinear story, like mdzs is nonlinear, and I loved mdzs a lot! But the construction here is so, so, so elegant. I’m just in AWE of how well it was assembled. I was in Agony as reveals happened, because oh no no no no, now that they’ve told me this, that casts this whole other scene in a brand new light! The one I read hundreds of thousands of words ago! Literally, I need to go start the book over so I can savor the shitty teens in new ways, given [redacted] as revealed in like, the last twenty percent of the book. The book was a fun experience, but there’s so Much here that I know I haven’t even absorbed yet. I loved the other mxtx books a lot, and in many ways, they were easier to get a grasp on than tgcf was, but even before I finished tgcf I was already despairingly trying to figure out how easily I could fit a full reread into my life, and I think that says a lot

#tgcf #mdzs #svsss #long post/#[sad journaling noises as i realize that whatever ridiculous wordcount tgcf has still only counts as one completed book on my list]#i need to get an actual wordcount at some point #then stack up enough physical books to visually represent each of these monsters #i know i read a lot #enough that i very much want to know *how much* i read #because CHRIST

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mamabearcat · 5 years

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INUKAG Fanfic Rec List - SFW

Over the last few years, I’ve suffered from on again/ off again insomnia, where some nights I go to bed, don’t sleep at all, and then get up again – rinse and repeat. Rather than spending all night looking at the ceiling and pondering my place in the universe, I pass the time by reading fanfiction. A LOT of fanfiction. And now you, dear reader, get to reap the benefits.

All these fics are T Rated and under by the writer. Also, I’ve only included COMPLETED fics, so there will be some missing from this list that I would absolutely recommend. I have a huge ass list of uncompleted favourites also, but I understand that not everyone likes losing their heart to a fic only to find out that it was last updated in 2005. Log onto fanfiction.net and go through the fics I’m ‘following’ if you want to see those - I’m bearpluscat on there too.

I don’t claim this to be an exhaustive list, or the best of the best; it’s not even all of my favourites. This is just a list of fics that I have really enjoyed and would happily read again, and thought others might enjoy too. There’s probably some that I’ve forgotten, in fact I’m sure there are, so please don’t be upset if you’ve written an Inuyasha fic and I haven’t put it on here!

I’ll also post a list of NSFW fic recs (which is a lot longer - does that infer something about me, or the Inuyasha fandom in general?)

SHORT FICS (Less than 20,000 words)

Feminine Wiles By grandlarseny: Kagome's broken Inuyasa's rosary! But fear not! Kaede has another one. But what's this? KAGOME HAS TO PUT IT ON HIM HERSELF? Watch Kagome carry out her kinda evil plots on an unsuspecting halfbreed with some SangoMiroku spying on the side Rated: Fiction T - Humor/Romance - Inuyasha, Kagome H. - Words: 9,770 Published: Jan 27, 2004

Good Dog By FrameofMind: Oneshot. Inuyasha’s being strangely...nice. But Kagome is about to discover that it is, in fact, possible to have too much of a good thing... InuKag Rated: Fiction K+ - Romance/Humor - Inuyasha, Kagome H. - Words: 13,723 Published: Oct 4, 2005

He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not By TouchofPixieDust: Inuyasha watches as Kagome shows Shippo how to play the flower petal fortune telling game, He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not. It has the hanyou asking himself all sorts of questions. Rated: Fiction K+ - Romance/Humor - Inuyasha, Kagome H. - Words: 2,346 Published: Feb 28, 2006

The Talk By TouchofPixieDust: Mrs. Higurashi explains the facts of life to Inuyasha and Kagome. This is The Talk excerpt that was requested from my story Kagome's Baby. Rated: Fiction T - Humor - Inuyasha, Kagome H. - Words: 2,885 Published: Jul 21, 2006

Sick As A Dog By Bons Baisers: Woes and wails and puppy dog tales, that's what Inuyasha's made of! When a puppy infected with canine distemper bites Inuyasha, all sorts of hell break loose for everyone's favorite hanyou. Won IYFG's Best Oneshot award and won second for Best Romance. Rated: Fiction T - Romance/Humor - Inuyasha, Kagome H. - Words: 11,305 -Published: Apr 2, 2007

Of Demons and Schoolgirls By Mustard Yellow Sunshine: That jerk, Inuyasha... what right did he have to destroy the demon and save her from certain peril? Bastard. Rated: Fiction T - Humor/Romance - Inuyasha, Kagome H. - Words: 5,645 - Published: May 12, 2007

Kiss of Life By LadyCash: Kagome is injured, far from the well and modern medicine. What can be done to save her, and what will InuYasha do? Rated: Fiction T - Drama/Romance - Inuyasha, Kagome H. - Words: 5,369 - Published: Jan 28, 2008

Earthshake By SugarRos: COMPLETE:: Canon:: *WINNER BEST DARK/DRAMA 2009* Natural Disasters are nothing to laugh at... and so Kagome realizes as she's trapped, hundreds of feet beneath the rubble of what was once her school, with her classmates dying one by one, and absolutely no hope of rescue. Rated: Fiction T - Angst/Romance - Inuyasha, Kagome H. - Chapters: 2 - Words: 14,528 - Published: Feb 15, 2008

Blood and Bandages By Aryndiel: Kagome comes home to find Inuyasha badly injured and reacts in a way that surprises her mother. Mrs. Higurashi wonders: who is this strong, unwavering young woman who looks like her little girl?Rated: Fiction T - Drama/Hurt/Comfort - Kagome H., Kagome's mother - Words: 3,166 - Published: Apr 9, 2008

If I Were You By FrameofMind: Oneshot. A good deed lands Inuyasha and Kagome in an odd predicament... Rated: Fiction T - Humor/Romance - Inuyasha, Kagome H. - Words: 10,544 - Published: Apr 27, 2009

White Dogs on Blue Cotton By ArtisteFish: Caught up in the rush following her unexpected return to the past and to the man she loves, Kagome realizes a little late that some of her wardrobe choices aren't quite as private as they used to be. Post-canon, InuKag reunion, super-duper fluffy. Rated: Fiction T - Romance/Humor - Inuyasha, Kagome H. - Words: 2,198 - Published: Feb 23, 2016

I Hear Your Silence By KeiChanz: Her silence spoke louder than any words ever could. Rated: Fiction T - Romance - Inuyasha, Kagome H. - Words: 8,469 - Published: Jul 6, 2016

The Pilfered Bride By ArtisteFish: "If your husband didn't want you gone, he should have taken better care not to lose you." She knew she should have been more careful, she should have listened to Sango, she should never have let her guard down when her guard-dog wasn't around to watch her back. Post-canon, InuKag Rated: Fiction T - Romance/Humor - [Inuyasha, Kagome H.] - Words: 7,576 - Published: May 12, 2017

Not Much Longer Would You Be Mine By WitchyGirl99: There was this one girl. Her name was Kikyo Hidaka, and she looked at Inuyasha the way that she looked at everyone else. He'd think of Newton's first law of motion: a body continues its state of rest or uniform motion unless it is acted up on by an external force. His current state wasn't satisfactory. He needed an external force. Enter Kagome Higurashi. InuKag. Rated: Fiction T - Romance/Drama - [Inuyasha, Kagome H.] - Chapters: 2 - Words: 14,541 - Published: Dec 26, 2017

Protect By KeiChanz: Kagome receives some unwanted male attention while staying at a village and it leaves her feeling uneasy. Inuyasha is having none of that. Rated: Fiction T - Romance - Inuyasha, Kagome H. - Words: 8,548 - Published: Mar 12, 2018

For Her By akitokihojo: "Who did this to you?" Inuyasha seethed. Kagome's expression twisted sadly, the trembling in her chin and bottom lip bringing something to ache dully within his chest. She shook her head, looking down before shrugging her shoulders, and he tensed his fingers against her jaw so as not to allow her to completely turn away from him. Rated: Fiction K+ - Drama/Hurt/Comfort - [Inuyasha, Kagome H.] [Sango, Miroku] - Words: 4,490 - Published: Sep 8 2019

CHAPTER FICS

Father Figure By Torenza: Kagome’s world turns upside down when her mother brings a new man into the home – her ‘surprise’ fiancé. But Kagome feels far from neglected as she finds her place at home threatened, and her double life in the past jeopardised. Rated: Fiction T - Drama - Chapters: 13 - Words: 68,542 - Published: Feb 8, 2003

Kagome's Baby By TouchofPixieDust: There is a new addition to the Inuyasha gang. How will the group react? Can Kagome be a jewel shard hunter AND a mother? Rated: Fiction T - Romance - Kagome H., Inuyasha - Chapters: 21 - Words: 59,269 - Published: May 14, 2005

Freak Attraction By ArtisteFish: A birthday outing to see a foreign circus turns into a nightmarish mistake when Kagome stumbles upon a circus of a very different nature and meets a sideshow freak with dog ears and a human heart. AU, Complete Rated: Fiction T - Supernatural/Drama - Inuyasha, Kagome H. - Chapters: 12 - Words: 101,398 - Published: May 29, 2015

Adorable Curse By Alannada: [Complete] Once upon a time there was a handsome prince cursed in the most horrific way. Would a simple, yet fair miko save the prince? True love kisses, spelled artifacts and much more awaits Inuyasha crew in this story. Rated: Fiction K - Humor - [Inuyasha, Kagome H.] Shippō - Chapters: 39 - Words: 48,602 Published: Aug 12, 2017

#inukag fic rec #inukag fanfic #inukag fanfiction #fic rec #fic recs

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chaosstar290 · 4 years

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Reasons try out Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE Encore.

Nintendo's been pretty casual with porting Wii U games over to the Switch, and for good reasons. Normally, I'm not all into porting games that I've already played, but my personal favorite games on the system that lack good marketing and advertising are now getting the attention and love they deserve.

Take Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze for example, one of my favorite 2D platfomers. The game originally sold 1.72 million copies worldwide on the Wii U. Not very good numbers, huh? However, the Switch port managed to beat those sales numbers with 2.25 million units sold worldwide by the end of March 2019.

So while this could be seen as a way for Big N to earn more $$$, this is also a way for those who never owned a Wii U and missed out on some of the system's best titles to give these games a shot. Now we just need a port of Xenoblade Chronicles X and The Wonderful 101...and Star Fox Zero, I guess.

But that's a topic for another time. This post is specifically for my favorite JRPG on the Wii U only to be tied with Xenoblade Chronicles X....Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE.

This'll be a long one, so here's hoping you'll stick with it until the end.

Development

Before I get into the reasons, lemme educate you guys a bit. Back in January 2013, both Atlus and Intelligent Systems made a teaser trailer for a potential Shin Megami Tensei x Fire Emblem crossover for the Wii U.

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The trailer was mostly just a slideshow with various character artwork. Despite this, there was a decent amount of hype surrounding it. But development around the game was pretty silent. That is, until we fast forward to the Nintendo Direct in April 1, 2015. We got a trailer of the ambitious SMT x FE crossover that fans were waiting for...but this was the final product.

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Needless to say...neither SMT nor FE fans were happy about this. The fandoms were incredibly salty and foaming at the mouths, basically calling it a Person 4 Lite with a hint of FE. Heck, they're probably still posts on this site from 5 years ago that'll show that.

Fast forward to the games initial release, and you'll see quite a few positive reviews and thoughts about TMS. Unfortunately, the sale numbers were not all that great for the game. Obvious reasons being that it was a Wii U game, and many fans of both SMT x FE were not happy with how it turned out.

And to be honest, I wasn't feeling the game myself at first. It seemed too lighthearted and upbeat, and the J-Pop, anime-ish aesthetics were very off-putting. However, the more I saw about the game, the more I was drawn into it. Somehow all that disappointment I had about TMS originally just washed away. And considering it was a new IP, I decided to give it a chance. And hoo boy...I was generally pleased.

With that outta the way, let's get into why I'm excited for the Switch port of game, and hoping people will give it a fairer chance.

The Setting

The plot of Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE is mostly simple. You start out as high schooler Itsuki Aoi, the main character of the game encountering his childhood friend Tsubasa Oribe at an audition event to become a idol. It isn't until moments later in the game that the area gets overruned by shadowy creatures known as Mirages that suck out the creative energy known as Perso-- ah I mean Performa from the other idols and audience.

Poor girl doesn't know what's gonna happen next.

Despite our main characters seeming unharmed by the effect, the Mirages drag Tsubasa into their world known as the Idolsphere. And of course, courageous Itsuki takes action to follow and rescue her.

After trying to make a daring rescue, Itsuki gets bombarded by a Mirage, but somehow manages to awaken it. Taking the form of Fire Emblem Awakening's protagonist Chrom. Itsuki does the same with the Mirage that captured Tsubasa that takes the form of Cedea from Fire Emblem Shadow Dragon. The two awakaned Mirages, however, suffer from a bit of amnesia and can't quite remember who and what they are.

From there on, Itsuki and Tsubasa form a partnership with Chrom and Cedea, encountering various characters trying to reach their way to stardom while trying to draw back the opposing forces from taking over Tokyo and the world. Typical RPG stuff, am I right?

It's a fairly standard and slightly cliche plot with some common anime tropes, but for this game...it works. It's a plot that's incredibly silly, upbeat, and over-the-top, but again...it works for this game. And I love it. It may not be original, deep, or complex, but the story does its best to not take itself too seriously, and it doesn't fail to keep a smile in my face.

Aside from the vanilla cookie-cutter MC Itsuki, the various casts that you meet are incredibly charming, and go through their own personal growth as celebrities. Though you mileage may vary on this.

The Gameplay

The combat is the real star of Tokyo Mirage Sessions. Basically, it's your standard turn-based combat system...but with a few twists. If you've ever played a SMT or Persona game, then don't be surprised that elemental weaknesses make an appearance here. Along with that, the Triangle Weapon system from Fire Emblem also makes an appearance in the game.

But if you're not familiar with either franchise then give you a basic example how this works. Say that you've encountered an armored Mirage wielding an axe. The weaknesses on that enemy are both lightning and swords, and Itsuki just so happens to have both the necessary element and weapon equipped.

In case you're wondering...how the Triangle Weapon mechanic works in FE is that Swords beat Axes, Axes beat Lances, and Lances beat Swords.

The interesting thing about this is that once you exploit an enemy's weakness, other characters will jump in and combo extra attacks. These are called Sessions, and their not only powerful...but also flashy as all hell and it's glorious. Not only that, but there's also Duo Arts where two certain characters will sometimes perform a song that unleashes a powerful attack...which also strings up more Sessions. As broken as this sounds, it actually is pretty strategic for taking down harder enemies, and they can also form Sessions...so be careful.

There's more to the gameplay like roaming Tokyo, exploring dungeons, and upgrading your characters and Mirages by Tiki from Fire Emblem Shadow Dragon as well.

There's mixed opinions on the dungeon aspects of Tokyo Mirage Sessions, but...I personally enjoyed them. Aside from the first one. Once you get past the first dungeon, they get better as the game progresses. From exploring a darker version of Shibuya where you have to avoid giant cameras from sending you back to the entrance of the of the room you currently entered, to venturing through a maze-like TV studio.

There's also side-missions that you can do with your main cast that'll help them grow and develop even further. You'll be rewarded with either a special cutscene or a special attack. Or maybe both.

The Visuals

Go go...Persona Rangers?

If it wasn't obvious from the amount of images I'm posting, Tokyo Mirage Sessions is a very colorful game. Fitting with it's lighthearted theme, the amount of colors the game throws at you makes visuals aesthetically pleasing. Heck, you could make these your personal wallpaper on your phone or something.

Sure, Tokyo Mirage Sessions isn't nearly as strong as Persona 5 graphically or even artistically, but like most Nintendo games...what their games lack in terms of detailed ultra-hyper graphics, they make up for it with giving their games gorgeous artstyles.

Also, this game has some reeeeeally good artwork.

The Music

J-Pop plays a pretty big role in Tokyo Mirage Sessions, so expect a lot of vocal tracks. If you're not into this kind of genre of music, then you might wanna stray away from this game. If you are (or if it doesn't bother you), then you're in for a treat. As someone who really isn't into J-Pop myself, the songs in this game are incredible and catchy followed by some beautiful cutscenes. Reincarnation from Kiria Kurono and Feel from Tsubasa Oribe are some of my personal favorites.

The music from outside the vocal tracks are pretty good too. The normal battle theme and the Illusion Shibuya dungeon theme are just to name a couple.

What's New?

Like I said before, Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE Encore is a port of the Wii U version, but with added content. Any DLC that was added in the original game will part of the base game in the Switch version. But let's talk about the new stuff.

EX Story and Songs

The EX Story is basically a dungeon that you explore in short bursts. Here you'll find new costumes such as a Joker outfit from Persona 5 for Itsuki, or an Annette outfit from Fire Emblem Three Houses for Mamori Minamoto. Or you can have a much easier time grinding for EXP. Also, much like the side-stories, this dungeon will also explore the main casts' issues and help them grow.

New songs will also be added in this port. A duo song called "She is..." sung by Tsubasa and Kiria is one of them.

Sessions

By making Sessions even more powerful and ridiculous, unplayable characters like Tiki, Maiko Shimazaki, and Barry Goodman will also join in Sessions.

In addition, a Quick Session option will be added. Which is a major upgrade in my book. One of the big issues the Wii U version had was while the Sessions were fun to watch, they took forever to get through with the more characters that joined your party. There are also smaller improvements like the Switch version having faster loading times.

Conclusion

Hopefully, this long as hell post will spark some interest into those who'll give the game a shot. I know there's small nitpicks like the lack of English voice acting and censorship, but the latter is a topic I'd rather not delve deep into.

Regardless, these small cons are greatly outweighed by the large pros this charming game has. If you're an Atlus fan, a lover of JRPGs, or wanting to play something that'll ease the wait for Persona 5 Royal, I highly recommend you give Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE encore a shot.

If you're also waiting for Persona 5 to actually come to the Switch like me, this game is next best thing we've got for the time being.

This is one of the most stylish menu screens ever.

#tokyo mirage sessions fe #tokyo mirage sessions fe encore #atlus #intelligent systems #nintendo switch #wii u #persona #persona 5 #fire emblem #shin megami tensei

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rockboywonder · 5 years

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dabi is todoroki touya: the proof

This is gonna be a long one.

Ever since Dabi showed off his Quirk in the Training Camp Arc, a particular theory began cropping up. It’s arguably the largest fan theory in the entire BNHA fandom, and with good reason. At the point we’re at now in the story, it’s almost like it’s not even a theory anymore-- it’s just something we’re waiting for Horikoshi to make canon with one panel. The theory of the day is: Is Dabi a Todoroki?

Today, we’re going to lay out everything that points to Dabi being the estranged brother of one Todoroki Shouto, and if you didn’t believe it before, hopefully you will now.

Let’s take it back to the beginning-- if Dabi is a Todoroki, who the Hell is he? After the Calvary Battle in Season Two, Todoroki reveals the abuse he suffered at the hands of his father to Midoriya and introduces the idea of “Quirk marriages;” Todoroki was the perfect blend of Endeavor and Rei’s Quirks. And in a flashback during Todoroki and Midoriya’s battle, there’s a shot of Todoroki’s other siblings, or Endeavor’s failures, playing in the background as Todoroki is dragged away. Soon, we’d come to know the names of the children-- Fuyumi, Natsuo, and Touya.

What we knew about Touya at that point in time was that he was small and presumably physically weak, due to how easily he falls while playing as Natsuo laughs at him instead of helping him out. And from the way that Todoroki family genetics work, it can be assumed that he has fire power, due to his red hair. He’s also the oldest of the four, despite being very short.

Touya is the only named Todoroki sibling not to appear and interact with his family. Fuyumi talks to Todoroki in season two, and although Natsuo has not made his proper anime debut, he eats with his family in later chapters. That’s kind of weird, right? I mean… Unless Touya has been interacting with the main cast the entire time, and none of them have realized it.

Enter Dabi, a villain who desires to change the integrity of the hero world. Dabi has interacted with both Todoroki and Endeavor-- the two members of his potential family the least likely to recognize him. Todoroki because he was kept away from his siblings and forced through individual training (abuse), and Endeavor because he was neglectful of his failures. But we’ll get into that later.

The first time Dabi speaks is when he’s brought before Shigaraki under the pretense of joining the league. When Dabi insults Shigaraki’s judgement if he plans on letting Toga in, he retorts that at least she told him her full name, and that Dabi only gave him a moniker. Dabi says that he will tell them his name when the time comes. Even now, Dabi’s real name has not come from his own mouth.

The next time he takes centre-stage is as one of the antagonists of the Training Camp Arc and the leader of the Vanguard Action Squad. Then we get a glimpse of his Quirk-- blue flames. Other than Midoriya’s father, the only characters with fire Quirks up until this point were members of the Todoroki family. Dabi’s is different in the way that it’s bright blue-- the same colour as his eyes, which are given a close-up as he uses his fire. Which are, coincidentally, the same colour as Endeavor’s, and one of Todoroki’s. Is there any significance in the flame colour, other than aesthetic? Yes, actually. Scientifically speaking, blue flame is much hotter than orange flame, which seem to be what Todoroki and Endeavor primarily use. But it’s not the first time we’ve seen this colour-- Endeavor himself uses blue fire to fend off a Noumu during the Hero Killer Arc. Even then, he comments that it raises his body temperature to a dangerous level. Dabi seems to be, under the assumption that the colour is more than just aesthetic, operating with flames hot enough to damage him. And would you look at that, he’s covered in scar tissue, all over his face, eyes, neck, appendages, and back. These scars will be important later.

After Compress has secured Bakugou and the villains make a plan to rendez-vous and abscond, Midoriya, Todoroki, Shouji, Uraraka, and Asui attempt to jump into the fray to rescue both him and Tokoyami. When Aoyama, bless his heart, catches Compress off guard with his Naval Laser, both Todoroki and Shouji jump to retrieve their kidnapped compatriots. Shouji nabs Tokoyami, but just as Todoroki is about to grab Bakugou, a patched hand snatches him away. “That’s sad, Todoroki Shouto,” is what Dabi says as he lifts the compressed Bakugou out of reach. While it’s not strange that Dabi knows the name of the runner-up in the highly publicized U.A Sports Festival, it is a little odd that he would refer to him by full name, in such a mocking tone, in the middle of this tense situation. The dramatic lighting as the two move in different directions almost screams “this is a scene you need to pay attention to.”

As mentioned before, Todoroki has no reason to recognize Dabi, or Touya. But Dabi certainly knows Todoroki.

Later, when the Pros break into the bar to rescue Bakugou, the police read off the real names of the villains-- but Dabi’s is never mentioned, almost like they couldn’t find out what it was.

Here ends Dabi’s adventure through questionable heritage-- at least, for what’s in the anime. Luckily for us, there’s over one hundred chapters that have yet to be animated, and it’s within these pages that Dabi being a Todoroki becomes less of a theory, and more of a given. So if you’d like to keep as spoiler free as possible, I recommend you opt out now.

During the Overhaul arc, Toga and Twice are the only members of the League directly involved with the raid. Dabi accompanies Shigaraki on his mission to confront Chisaki, and during the course of this, he catches the attention of the Pro Hero, Snatch. During their battle, Snatch asks Dabi if he thinks about the families of those he kills, and how they feel. Soon after, Compress traps Snatch inside one of his marbles with Dabi’s fire, which kills Snatch.

The next arc Dabi shows up in is when the Todoroki connection stops being subtext and just becomes, well, text.

Dabi shows up in front of Hawks and Endeavor with the intention of getting into a fight. He only greets Endeavor, and hesitantly at that, saying “nice to meet you, Endeavor, I guess,” or something along those same lines. It should be mentioned that all of 1-A is watching this fight transpire via the TV, and at this point, it focuses in on Todoroki’s face, who recalls the name “Dabi” and we’re treated to a flashback panel of the “How sad, Todoroki Shouto” bit from the Training Camp Arc. Endeavor recognizes Dabi as the one who killed Snatch, nothing more, and Dabi doesn’t even seem to remember the life he has taken. Before leaving, Dabi refers to Endeavor as “Todoroki Enji--” his full name. This occurrence is a little stranger than Dabi knowing Todoroki’s name. Pro Hero names aren’t typically publicized in the same way U.A students’ are. It’s weird for Dabi to know and/or use the name Enji unless he has a personal relationship with him. Such as… If they were family.

After his meeting with Hawks, Dabi leaves on his own. He then remembers Snatch, and recalls how he asked if Dabi cared about the families of his victims. Dabi laughs, and then the patch of burned skin below his eye starts to leak blood, which drips down to his chin, implying he’s started to cry. He wipes away the blood tears and mumbles to himself; “I thought so hard about it I went crazy.” Dabi has put a lot of thought into families, it seems, and thinking about it drove him mad.

The next few pieces of evidence relate to Touya, not to Dabi, and the things that happened to him. After his battle with the Noumu and Dabi, Endeavor returns to his home, only to be roasted by Todoroki and snubbed by Natsuo, which is perfectly understandable. Natsuo gets up to leave, not being able to stand his father’s presence. He yells at Endeavor, not being able to forgive him in the same way Rei and Fuyumi can, and not ready to make nice with him just because he defeated one villain. He says: “You completely neglected us, and left us to listen to Mom screaming and Shouto crying. Not to mention what happened with Big Bro Touya [...]”

Well, Touya is finally mentioned by one of his siblings. And it seems like whatever happened to him, it wasn’t good. The way it’s framed makes it seem like Endeavor was responsible for what befell Touya, such as pushing him too far in training. The reader is left to wonder: maybe Todoroki wasn’t the first trainee under Endeavor’s wing. Maybe something went wrong with one of the other children.

But all we have to go on is Natsuo’s cryptic words, after which Todoroki claims: “I’ve never seen Natsu get that emotional.”

Until, we get more insight into Todoroki’s abuse during the Joint Training Arc. In a flashback, we see Endeavor yelling at a young, vomiting Todoroki, saying: “Quit pretending to be so frail! Touya’s case was regrettable. He possesses even greater firepower than mine, and yet… He inherited Rei’s weak constitution. He… was almost perfect. Almost.”

So, now the idea of Touya that we have is that he had very strong flames, but his body wasn’t able to handle it. He was almost perfect, but this fatal flaw made it so that he could not succeed Endeavor. Alright.

During Todoroki’s fight against Tetsutetsu, Tetsutetsu claims that the other’s flames won’t work, because Tetsutetsu’s strength was obtained by overcoming his limits. These words trigger a traumatic flashback for Todoroki, where he remembers Endeavor shouting at him to surpass his limits-- there’s no way he can’t do it, he’s just not trying hard enough. Trying to pull himself out of the flashback, Todoroki repeats Midoriya’s inspirational words to himself, and then cranks his flames up to eleven, so hot that they begin to melt the cameras. Because of the black and white nature of the manga, we can’t tell if the flames are meant to be blue or white, but one can assume they’re no longer orange. Todoroki notes that the heat is causing him to become dizzy and sluggish, and that he needs to stop or he’ll burn himself. Burn himself, huh? The heat, in combination with the debris, causes Todoroki to pass out before doing any permanent damage to himself.

So, we have Todoroki, who has acknowledged that his fire can hurt him if he overdoes it. Then, we have his brother Touya, who has more powerful fire than Endeavor, and presumably Todoroki, who is pretty weak to fire. Don’t you think that combination would lead to, I don’t know, burn scars all over one’s body?

Let me paint you a story. Granted, it’s not based on much, and if you have more theories, let me hear em!

Rei and Endeavor have had their first child. At age 4, he manifests his Quirk-- a fire Quirk. Endeavor immediately starts training him to surpass All Might, but Touya’s hesitant with his Quirk, because he’s sensitive to it. After Todoroki is burned by his mother, in the lull where he’s not at his greatest, Endeavor returns to training Touya. Just like what he did with Todoroki, Endeavor screams at Touya to surpass his limits. The stress causes Touya to unleash his full potential-- blue hot flames, which has severe physical repercussions, burning his entire body. Endeavor freaks out and tries to speed along the recovery as fast as possible, because Touya was almost perfect. Going by hair colours, neither Fuyumi or Natsuo have the firepower, or strength of firepower, that Endeavor wanted. Returning to Todoroki, Endeavor casts Touya aside. The experience completely traumatizes Rei, who breaks down. Bitter, Touya runs away, buys some hair dye, and begins to hate everything hero society stands for. He was violently abused by the Number 2 Hero, who is revered by the public. And so, he begins to go by the name Dabi-- Cremation. He does not create fire. With it, he wants to destroy the way things are.

In Todoroki Shouto: Origin, as Todoroki is being pulled away from looking at his siblings, where Touya appears to be alive and well, he has no burn on his eye. When Endeavor is telling Todoroki about how Touya’s case was regrettable, the burn mark is there. Meaning, something happened to Touya in between those two scenes.

I initially wrote this during the Meta Liberation Army Arc-- when the villains were getting more depth, but each time it got to Dabi, the narration pulled away. I thought maybe we’d get an answer at the end. But now, as we’ve entered a new arc that seems to have Hawks and Dabi as main players, perhaps we’ll finally get the info we’ve been craving.

#dabi bnha #bnha #todoroki touya #dabi is a todoroki #analysis #i love this theory pls horikoshi

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twopoppies · 5 years

Note

Hello, I hope you are well? I need a mental break ASAP, can you please recommend Larry established relationship, kidfic type stories pleeease. With smut, and lots of familial bliss and love and maybe chaptered, I love long-ish stories?? I will really appreciate it, I read ALL the kid/established relationship related things on the Larryficsandrec blog. Again, Thank you

Ok ok...sorry I took a while. Here’s my caveat, I really don’t like kid fic in general. Perhaps because I’m a parent and I have yet to read one that actually feels like it was written by someone who gets what that’s like. And fics that are all fluff generally aren’t my jam - most of my established relationship fic tend to be smut heavy. However, here are a bunch of fics I really like. I hope they fit what you’re looking for.

Established Relationship / Kid Fic

❤️ Fugue by iwillpaintasongforlou 16.5K Explicit

Harry falls asleep a 17 year-old who lives in Cheshire and is probably rockstar Louis Tomlinson's biggest fan. He wakes up 24 with a wedding ring on his finger, two kids, and Louis Tomlinson attempting to wake him up with a blow job. The doctor calls it organic retrograde amnesia, says he might never get back the last seven years of his life. The only thing that feels the same is how he feels when Louis touches him, and maybe that's enough to make him fall in love all over again.

❤️Barefoot in Blue Jeans by @indiaalphawhiskey 24K Explicit

AU. Louis Tomlinson is trying desperately hard not to fall for his son’s au pair, but he can’t, for the life of him, remember why.

475. The hope that this fear is unfounded.

❤️O’ Christmas Tree by @justalittlelouislove 15K Mature (no smut, but I love this one)

At a stoplight, he finds himself doing some retrospective thinking of his own. Instead of going over one of his fifty or so mental to-do lists, his mind drifts to Harry’s dimples, the way his whole face changed when he smiled, how some of the pine trees almost matched the green of his eyes perfectly. It’s- well it’s annoying is what it is. He can’t spend all his time thinking about some tree farmer with broad shoulders, he’s got bigger fish to fry. Girl Scout meetings, homework charts, client lists, lots and lots of very large fish sitting around waiting to be fried.

or:Louis has a busy schedule to keep and a daughter to raise. He definitely isn't looking for a relationship. Enter Harry Styles, a local Christmas tree farmer that seems just a little too good to be true.

❤️Back To You by Only_Angel_28 6K Explicit

"Hello?" His voice came out all high and breathy like an anxious school girl, and he cringed internally at how wrecked he sounded already.

"Lou?"

Harry's voice was the same as ever, deeper than the sea and somehow both gravelly and smooth as silk. Harry was full of infuriating little contradictions like that. It drove Louis crazy. He had spent a good portion of his life questioning if Harry Styles was actually even human; on paper he just didn't make sense. He was an enigma, an anomaly, the exception to every rule.

*After dropping his new single, "Back To You" Louis gets a text from Harry inquiring about the true inspiration for the song.

❤️You’ll Know What Makes The World Turn by objectlesson

Sometimes, when things are messy and they have more than a few weeks apart, they need the reminder. It’s comforting to have stars to map your course by.

or, Harry's blue bandana is a day collar.

❤️Just for you by momentofclarity / @gaycousinlarry 3K Explicit

This is probably the only canon thing I'll ever write. I don't know why this happened. Sorry?

❤️That Mouth of Yours by Awriterwrites / @a-writerwrites 3K Explicit

“Did I–” Louis panted around the sexiest moan Harry thought he had ever heard (at least since the last time Louis moaned–which was about 5 minutes ago). “Did I ever tell you about that guy that I let rim me at one of Liam’s parties in college?”

Something dark and furious unfurled inside Harry, making him pull away from the sweet oblivion that was Louis’ arse. “Wh–” He wiped his mouth off on the back of his hand. “What?”

Louis shot a smirk over his shoulder. His hair was a mess and his face was flushed and his eyes were glazed over but he was still himself–still teasing. Still a menace beneath angelic blue eyes and a soft voice. “Just some guy. Never got his name.” He turned his head back toward the pillows, giving a slight shake of his arse in Harry’s face.

Not that that wasn’t distracting or anything.

A little drool slipped out of Harry’s mouth.

❤️So Much Left To Say by myownspark / @myownsparknow 7.5K Mature

Reason #32: Cheer Someone Up.

Harry remembers Louis stalking along the Cougar’s sideline as the final seconds of the game ticked away. He was apart from everyone, with his arms crossed and his head down, sort of fragile looking even in his pads and helmet. Harry’s fingers actually itched to hold his hand, just as they do now.He holds the phone up to take a selfie and smiles into the camera, trying to ask Louis a question with his eyes. (Are you really okay? Tell me the truth. I bet you’re sitting on your bed, playing Madden, sulking. If you want to see me, I’ll come. I know you better than anyone. You’re sad. I’d like to come.)He pushes send.

(Harry and Louis play for rival high school football teams, and when they play against each other in the Homecoming game, someone has to lose.)

❤️Let’s Get It On by @someonethatsfunny 5K Explicit

Reason # 25 - "Let's Get It On" by Marvin Gaye is Playing on the Radio

A self-indulgent fic. In a roundabout way, this is about love, forgiveness and make-up sex. With a strong focus on the make-up sex.

❤️It’s A Rare Condition by gloria_andrews / @gloriaandrews 7K Explicit

Louis and Marcel stumble upon an old episode of Family Matters and accidentally get an idea...

❤️Crave Me: The 30 Day Smut Challenge This is a collaborative fic completed by 33 authors centered on the following premise:

Harry and Louis are happily married with two kids, but their sex life has grown stale. During October, they accept the 30-Day Sex Challenge. That's 30 days of sex. No exceptions. No excuses.

Each story or "chapter" was written by a different author and centered on a unique prompt/sexual act, making this the first large-scale author collaboration within the Larry fandom.

❤️Let Your Hair Down While You Still Can by @alivingfire 6K Explicit

“Could you, maybe, play with my hair?” Louis can’t see much, but he can feel the rush of heat in Harry’s cheeks when he blushes. “It’s what my mum used to do when I couldn’t sleep.”

“Well, if that’s what Mummy Anne did, who am I to disagree?” Louis teases lightly, then runs his hand slowly through Harry’s hair. It’s still a little sticky from the product the hair team put in before the show, still a little crunchy from dried sweat because Harry won’t have access to a shower (with a decent amount of elbow room, at least, unlike the one on the bus) until the morning, but with each stroke of Louis’ hand through lank curls Harry goes looser, looser.

❤️turn you on make you radiate by ballsdeepinjesus 15K Explicit

When he presses inside for the first time in weeks, he’s pretty sure he sees stars behind his eyes at the staggering sensation of Harry’s body squeezing every inch of him. When he bottoms out, he stays buried inside for a minute just to catch his bearings, listening as Harry takes sharp breaths beneath him. When he finally feels like he’s under control, he presses his lips against Harry’s ear and whispers, “Are you ready husband?"

Harry throws his head back and groans. “Call me your spouse.”

[...or, a self-indulgent snapshot of hl’s sex lives over the course of 10+ years]

#my fic rec #larry fic rec #established relationship #kid fic #fluff #fics with smut #smutty fics #Anonymous

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iwantthedean · 5 years

Text

Happier

Summary: Love doesn’t conquer all, as you and Jensen soon find out. Pairing: Jensen x Reader Word Count: 1715 Warnings: Angst. Square Filled: BTZ - Grief (Crossing my fingers this fills the square anyway!) Recommended Listening: Happier - Marshmello ft. Bastille.

It started in Chicago. For the first time ever, Y/N had decided to stay in their hotel room instead of going to the Saturday Night Special. When Jensen asked her what was wrong, she promised him that everything was fine.

“I just need a night off, you know?”

He took her hand. “But I need you.”

Withdrawing her hand, Y/N let out a deep breath. “You don’t need me, Jensen. You say that, but then you get on that stage, and the fans are enough. They’re more than enough.”

“What do you think it is that gets me on that stage?” he countered.

“You were getting on stages and screens long before I came around.” She dropped down onto the bed, picking up the remote to turn on the television and find something to watch. Tears were brimming in her eyes, but she wouldn’t look at him.

Jensen left then, to meet up with Jared and head to the venue. He pondered Y/N’s behavior the whole time, trying to figure out where all of this was coming from. Her attitude had changed so suddenly, it seemed, and he didn’t know how to handle it.

“Maybe you need to just ride with it. She’s probably homesick or something,” Jared suggested.

That was something Jensen could understand. Playing Dean when he was in Vancouver, or doing conventions around the world — those were all amazing experiences. But being back home in Texas, that’s where he felt safe and grounded.

After the show was over and he could go back to the hotel room, Jensen quietly entered, afraid to wake Y/N if she had been sleeping. As it was, she was still awake, curled around a pillow, watching TV. A room service tray was set on his side of the bed. Jensen moved it to the small table in the room, and sat beside her on the bed. He brushed her hair back with his fingers and sighed.

“I’m sorry that I put that burden on you. My nerves and being the thing that gives me the courage to get out there most nights. I’m sorry.”

Y/N swallowed hard and sat up, her eyes still a little sleepy. “You’re not a burden, Jay. I love you, with my whole heart. I’m in a funk, I don’t know. I’m sorry.”

“Are you homesick?” Maybe Jared was right.

“Maybe,” she sighed, falling back against the pillows.

Jensen nodded and immediately made a hard decision. “Okay. Then let me send you home. I’ll see you there in a few days when I’ve got a break, then we can go back to Vancouver together.”

Y/N blinked, pushing tears down her cheeks. “Like you think we need a break?”

“No, not at all, I swear,” Jensen promised. “But maybe you need a break from the conventions and my chaotic filming schedule. Not from me, and I don’t need one from you. I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

“I know.” He kissed her sweetly, then reached up to wipe her tears away. “This is the first time you’ve been to so many conventions with me, and I know it’s overwhelming. More than overwhelming. It’s okay to need a break.”

Y/N sniffled and wiped her tears. “Okay. If you promise you and me are okay, then I’ll take the break and go home.”

“Okay,” Jensen agreed, giving her a small smile. “For now, how about I take a shower, then you’ve got my attention for the rest of the night?”

She sniffled again and nodded. “Do you want me to order you some room service? I didn’t mean to eat without you …”

“Food would be good, and don’t worry about it. Maybe you can get a snack.”

Y/N was already on the phone with room service by the time Jensen turned on the shower. As he stripped down and stepped into the hot water, he found himself already feeling better about their interaction earlier that evening.

* * * * *

Saying goodbye to her at the Chicago airport was difficult; more difficult than Jensen had expected. Not even a week would pass before they would see each other again, and they both had agreed it wasn’t a break from each other. Still, Jensen feared what would be waiting for him when he returned home after the next few days.

“You’ll call everyday? And text me in between?” Y/N made him promise.

Jensen hooked his pinky with hers. “I promise. Even with the time difference. And if you don’t answer, it’s okay.”

“I’ll answer,” she promised before she kissed him.

“You have everything? Ticket, passport, phone?”

She triple-checked. “I’ve got everything. I’ll call you when I land back in Austin.”

Jensen kissed her again, harder this time. “I love you, so much.”

“I love you more,” she said, hugging him tight. “See you at home.”

“See you at home,” he returned.

* * * * *

The next time Jensen talked to her, her voice was noticeably lighter. The tinge of sadness wasn’t there anymore, and she laughed at a joke he made.

She laughed.

Jensen hadn’t realized it until then, but months had passed since he had last heard her truly laugh. A chuckle here and there, maybe a small laugh as a courtesy, but not that genuine, from-the-heart laugh that he so loved hearing. And when was the last time she had smiled? The real kind of smile, the kind where her dimples showed. There had been smirks, polite smiles, even smiles that showed her teeth, but didn’t reach her eyes.

These thoughts plagued Jensen over the next few days. Maybe the problem had been only the convention and filming, but Y/N was so much happier away from the chaos. He didn’t take it personally, but he knew what he needed to do.

And he hated it.

When she came to pick him up at the airport, Jensen hugged her tight. He breathed in her smell, kissed her, and fell in love all over again. For just a moment, he considered changing his mind. He considered toughing it out, figuring a way to make his life easier for her.

But only for a moment.

He asked her to stop at the park near his Jared’s house after they left the airport. It was a nice day out, though a little cloudy, so Y/N didn’t seem to think much of his request. She pulled into a spot and went round to the front of the car, holding her hand out to him, waiting anxiously for him to lace his fingers through hers.

“I missed you,” she told him, leaning against his shoulder when they found a bench near the playground. “How were the last few calls?”

“They were good. I missed you.” He looked down at her; even her skin seemed brighter. Her hair seemed shinier, more full. “How was it being home?”

Y/N filled her lungs, and a smile tugged at her mouth. “It was great. Just the break I needed. I think being in Vancouver is going to be easier, y’know? I don’t know why, but I think I’m ready for it.”

Jensen sighed and nudged her a little with his elbow so that she would sit up and he could look her in the eye. “I don’t know, Y/N. Think about how miserable you were before you came home. And it wasn’t just that night, was it? That was only things coming to a head. Everything you love is here. You’ve got strong roots in your home.”

“So do you,” she frowned, already suspicious of what he was saying. “And I love you. I want to be where you are.”

“I know that you love me. That’s probably one of the few things I’ve never doubted in my life. But I’m not sure you’re ready for a life with me, Y/N. Filming, traveling — that’s my life. It’s not going to change, not for a long time. We’re either looking at you being miserable for nine months out of the year plus convention weekends, or spending all that time apart. Either way, I don’t think you would be happy. And I want you to be happy, Y/N. That’s all I’ve ever wanted, where you’re concerned.”

Her chin quivered and her eyes glazed over. “What are you saying?”

“I’m saying that I think we both know, and have known for a while, that we love each other and we’re happy when we’re together, but if we stay together, one or both of us isn’t going to be happy.” Jensen swallowed down the lump in his own throat. “I’m saying that I think, in order for you to be happy, I need to walk away from this.”

Some strange sound between a squeak and a sob escaped her throat, and she leaned into him. She didn’t protest, which told Jensen he had made the right choice. He let some tears fall, too, while he held her there on that park bench.

“Did you ask me to come here so you could be close to Jared’s house and walk there after?” she asked once the crying was under control, for the time being.

Jensen shrugged. “I didn’t want to ask you to take me there, but I didn’t want the bad memory for either of us at our place. I want you to just have happy memories there. I’ll crash with my family or Jared till I can find a place.”

Y/N nodded and stood. “Okay. Will you — I don’t want to be selfish, but will you let me leave first? I’m not saying you’re wrong, and maybe we’ll figure this out at another time. But I don’t think I can watch you leave me.”

“Fair enough,” Jensen whispered, stealing one more chaste kiss before following her to the car to get his bags. He shut the trunk and turned to her. “I really do love you, Y/N.”

“I know,” she said, starting to cry again. “Me too. I love you, too.”

Jensen held out his arm to her, and she fell against his chest for the last time. He hugged her tight, kissed her forehead, then stood out of the way so she could back out of the parking stall and head towards home.

********** The Whole Shebang: @illisea @ashleymalfoy @busybee612 @mrswhozeewhatsis @sherlock44 @ravenesque @atc74 @theplaidshirtmadness @blacktithe7 @moonlessnight14 @kitchenwitchsuperwhovian @smoothdogsgirl @melbrandes @xtina2191 @spnbaby-67 @emoryhemsworth @goldenolaf25 @gabriels-trix @applesugar88 @rainflowermoon @deansgirl215 @thisismysecrethappyplace

Jack Attack: @tiffanycaruso @girl-with-a-fandom-fettish

Two for the Money: @jayankles @love-me-some-pie21 @akshi8278 @jensensjaredsandmishaslover @supernatural-jackles @adoptdontshoppets

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raywritesthings · 4 years

Text

Mended Hearts 2/3

My Writing Fandom: Arrow Characters: Oliver Queen, Laurel Lance, Thea Queen, John Diggle, Felicity Smoak, Quentin Lance, Barry Allen, Cisco Ramon, Iris West, Harry Wells, Henry Allen, Hunter Zolomon Pairing: Laurel Lance/Oliver Queen Summary: When Felicity refuses to take part in the plan to capture Cupid, Oliver must find something else to lure the love-obsessed archer in… or someone else. The trouble with the best laid plans is that they often have unintended consequences. Notes: I originally said this was going to be two chapters, but it got long so chapter 2 has been split into two parts. The next part should be out soon! *Can be read on my AO3 or FFN, links are in my bio*

Laurel should have never agreed to this. What had she done to him?

“I’m aware the situation is unusual, but given that it is, couldn’t an exception for an annulment be made? I realize that’s asking a lot of the office.”

“It is. I appreciate your consideration on that,” the county clerk told her. “But that’s the thing: we have no legal precedent for this sort of arrangement, and I’m not sure I want our office to set it. It opens up the laws to a lot of loopholes.”

“Yeah, it does,” she couldn’t help but agree. Laurel wished she hadn’t bothered to put her shoes back on; all of this nervous pacing she was doing was starting to hurt her feet. But it was better than having to stand there and look at the others, especially Oliver.

He was counting on her to fix this, and it seemed increasingly likely she wasn’t going to be able to.

“You could challenge it in court,” the clerk offered. “Have a judge set the precedent.”

She could, but that would take time and money, two things Oliver didn’t have a lot of. She’d shoulder the cost if she had to, but her own schedule was stretched pretty tight as it was what with her day job and nighttime activities.

There was also the press to consider. Did they really want to make an even bigger deal out of this than it already was going to be? Just thinking of all the headlines she would come across was exhausting.

“I’ll go over our options with- with Oliver,” she told the woman. It wasn’t her place to call him her husband even if it was legally true. For the moment, anyway. “Thank you.”

When she hung up and turned around, she watched four hopeful faces sink. “The clerk’s hands are tied. Her recommendation is to bring our case before a judge.”

Oliver frowned, almost to himself. “That’s going to take a lot of time.”

“Even just to hear it, yeah.” She hates seeing the disappointment in his eyes on multiple levels, but for now she did her best to cast around for some other way. “Talk to Jean. Family law is her specialization. She might know something I’m missing.”

Oliver nodded, seeming to rally. “Yeah. Yeah, I can do that.”

“And I’ll go with you,” Thea said. “This is gonna take some explaining.” She left the room with her brother after shooting Laurel a quick, reassuring smile. Laurel couldn’t help noticing Thea had to practically guide Oliver. He looked to still be in something of a daze.

John left his spot standing against the wall. “Are you okay?” He asked her. When Laurel nodded, he continued, “We’ll get this figured out. For now, the important thing is that you're both safe and we stopped Cupid.”

“Right,” Laurel agreed. “You should get home, John. Get some rest.”

“You too.”

“I’ll make sure she does,” her father said. He and John exchanged nods before the latter of the two left. Her dad then turned to regard her with a look. “Are you? Okay?”

Laurel let out a sigh. She still wasn’t a huge fan of the people in her life doubting her ability for self-assessment. “Yes, I am.”

He shook his head. “Laurel, I may have just lost my badge, but I’m not stupid. You’re still in love with him, and now you’re stuck in this, this—”

“Loveless marriage?” She supplied. “Yeah, I know. And I know I have to be okay, because if I’m not… if I let myself fall apart the way I might want to, or cry or say the things I’m really thinking, it’s just going to prove everyone who said I was too emotional or too much of a burden to do this job right. I have worked so hard to get to where I am, and I cannot lose that, dad. It’s all I really have.”

Despite herself, tears were pricking at her eyes, and she knew he could see them because he gathered her into his arms.

“Not to me,” he muttered into her ear. “You can cry all you want in front of me. I know how strong you really are. And I couldn’t be prouder of you.”

Laurel closed her eyes and smiled despite everything. A few tears leaked out, but she was stronger than she’d been. It was enough to ease some of the pounding pressure that had been building up behind her eyes.

“Let’s get you home.”

Her dad dropped her off at the back of the building, and she insisted he continue on to his own apartment to get some rest. Laurel took all three flights of stairs up to her floor, knowing it would be the surest way of avoiding anyone. She was sure she looked a mess by now in a dirty wedding dress with tangled hair and smudged makeup. What a wedding.

Laurel walked through her apartment, sighing as she noticed the taped-up window and the missing couch — probably taken for evidence. Nothing she wasn’t used to. She kicked her heels off one by one and stepped into the bathroom, unzipping her dress and letting it crumple to the floor. She’d pick it up at some point, get it ready for Thea to send to the cleaners and then shove it into the very back of her closet when they returned it to gain dust and be forgotten about.

She got in the shower and stood under the spray for far too long, but water was included in her rent so what did it matter? It felt better to just not have to think for a while. Eventually she stepped back out and dried off, grabbing her comfiest pajamas and throwing her bathrobe on top because she could. It was her home, and she was alone for the moment.

When she finally checked her messages, she found two from Thea.

Jean says it looks like no dice

She’s also mad Ollie didn’t come to her about drawing up a prenup. For you or for Felicity

Laurel let out a snort through her nose at that. Trust Jean to still be looking out for the Queen family interests — what little of them still existed.

She was just deciding whether to settle in an armchair or take an extremely early bedtime when there was a knock at her door. Laurel checked at the peephole and nearly dropped her head against the wood when she saw who it was. But she needed to answer, so she pulled open the door. “Felicity, I’m so sorry.”

Felicity held up a hand. “Don’t. I’m not here because I’m angry.”

“You’re not?” Laurel wanted to slap herself a minute later. It wasn’t kind to assume her friend would be angry. So she let her into the apartment instead.

“Nope. Well, not at you. I just wanted to get some facts straight. Oliver talked you into his crazy get-married-so-Cupid-will-try-to-kill-us scheme?”

“Well, she needed to be drawn out.”

“And somehow it turned into a real marriage?”

“Legally speaking. Cutter had us knocked out for a long time, and by the time we got back to the station, the officiant had taken the papers to be filed,” she explained.

“And you can’t just get it annulled?”

Laurel shook her head. “There’s no legal precedent for a couple who knowingly enters a marriage to catch a criminal. If one of us had lied to the other about that purpose, then maybe. But we both knew what we were doing. Oliver’s trying to see if his family lawyer can find a loophole, but...”

“We all know how much good Oliver trying does,” Felicity said with a nod.

“He really didn’t want to do this without you,” Laurel told her. She felt like she needed to say something to try and salvage this, at any rate. Especially since Felicity wasn’t coming at her with accusations she would’ve had every right to.

But her friend shook her head. “If I’d known he was going to do something like this, I would’ve stepped in. Well, not literally. I’m still glad I didn’t put myself in a position to get shot — frankly, I don’t think I ever want to be in that position ever again.” Felicity stepped forward and took her hands. “But I’m so sorry he dragged you into this. He — wow, is this the ring?”

“Oh, um, yeah.” She’d forgotten she was still wearing it.

Felicity tsked. “He made it from one of his arrows. He’s certainly good at penny-pinching for being a former billionaire.”

“He made it?” She echoed. She’d thought the metal looked familiar, but he’d left the signature green color off of it. Laurel had to fight down a little flutter in her chest, knowing it was foolish and sentimental for no reason.

“So, we can’t get you out of this, but I am going to do my part to make sure Oliver doesn’t totally ruin your life. I’m having a press conference tonight to clear the air. The board tried to veto it — they try to veto everything. But you don’t have to do a thing,” Felicity told her.

“Felicity, thank you so much,” Laurel said. She felt so relieved the other woman didn’t hate her, that they could still be friends even with this new, strange arrangement.

“You are so welcome. Just try and take a me-day. Pajamas are good. If I were you I’d have something strong — but I totally understand why you wouldn’t. That was not meant as a suggestion, please don’t do that.”

“There is no alcohol in the apartment so that would be pretty hard,” Laurel informed her, her smile just a little tighter than before.

“Okay, good. I should get going, don’t want to be late. Actually,” she paused in the doorway. “How long does it take to divorce if you can’t get an annulment?”

“We’d have to wait a year to actually file the paperwork,” Laurel told her truthfully.

“A year.” Felicity hummed to herself. “Well, all I can say is good luck with that.” With that, she left.

Well, that was one less cause for worry in her life. With Felicity giving a statement expressing her understanding of the situation, maybe it would all just blow over. She dropped into her armchair, resting her head on the back for a few peaceful moments.

Laurel’s phone buzzed again. She sat up and checked it.

Just left Jean’s. Not really sure what to do with Ollie. Leaving him in the base rn seems...bad

Laurel sighed. Bring him over

It wasn’t like people would be surprised to see him here. She could make up a bed on the floor in the living room since her couch had been taken.

She’d just finished bringing out the extra blankets in the linen closet and one of the pillows from her bed when the front door opened and Thea and her brother walked through. “Hey.”

“Hey. Where’s the couch?”

“Impounded.”

“Ugh.” Thea threw herself into the unoccupied armchair instead. “That was the longest day of my life. I totally forgot what listening to all that legal jargon does to my brain.”

Laurel privately thought Thea was hamming it up on purpose, and the knowing smile she exchanged with Oliver seemed to indicate he was aware himself. Then they both quickly glanced away.

“Uh, thanks for this,” he said after a beat too long of silence, walking over to his makeshift bed.

“No problem. I don’t know when you wanted to turn in, but, well, I was planning to watch something before bed.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah. It’s… Felicity’s giving a press conference. About, well, this,” she told them both, twisting the handmade ring on her finger. It was a perfect fit. How had he managed that?

Oliver didn’t look like he knew what to say.

“You talked to her?” Asked Thea.

“She came over to tell me she wasn’t mad about it happening. I guess she wants to get out in front of the tabloids.”

“Good,” said Oliver after a beat. Some hope seemed to spark in his eyes. “That’s good.”

Felicity had gotten herself a spot at the top of the evening news and looked to be speaking just outside of Palmer Tech’s headquarters when they all gathered to watch. Thea had remained in the chair, so she and Oliver stood against opposite ends of the kitchen archway.

“Thank you all for coming on such short notice. I’ll admit, I was just as surprised when I woke up this morning to the news, but I’ve done some fact checking. So this is my statement on the record.” On screen, Felicity took in what looked like a nervous breath. “Okay, first of all, I’m not angry about the situation. My relationship with Oliver officially ended last month, and I am not interested in going back down that road. At all.”

Laurel glanced to her right to see Oliver wince. She looked down, unsure what if any comfort she could provide to hearing that.

“I’m especially not angry at Laurel Lance, who is my friends as well as a dedicated public servant. I understand she agreed to helping the police catch a killer and that she was not expecting to wind up officially married. I hope the situation can be resolved soon and that she will be allowed out of this arrangement.” Felicity looked up from whatever she’d been reading off of and added, “So that’s basically it.”

“Ms. Smoak, could you answer some follow up questions?” A reporter in the crowd asked.

“Um, I suppose so?”

“Oh boy,” Thea said softly. Laurel could admit to her own worry; Felicity did not do the best at spontaneous question-and-answer.

“What was the reason for your separation from Oliver Queen?”

Laurel tensed. There was no way Felicity would think about mentioning William. But then, how was she going to explain it?

On screen, Felicity sighed. “Look, I’ll be the first person to say that Oliver is a good man. But relationships… are not his area. He tries, really. But it’s hard for him, you know, with his past. The stuff from the island — when he was shipwrecked, remember? — it kind of makes him not great marriage material. I mean, Laurel would know that better than anyone and she’s stuck with him for a year now.” Felicity laughed briefly, then stopped when no one joined in. “Um, but that’s — I should probably leave it at that.”

She left the podium to calls of her name while Laurel watched in silent horror. Yes, William was still a secret, but what had Felicity just done to Oliver’s reputation? And unthinkingly at that? She couldn’t even bring herself to look at him.

The feed cut to Bryan Green, their local news anchor, looking about as bemusedly shocked as Laurel had ever seen him. “Not so much a hostile takeover as a hostile takedown by CEO Felicity Smoak of Palmer Tech, the former Queen Consolidated.”

“Smoak served as Oliver Queen’s secretary before moving to the top job,” his female cohost added. “I think we may have only witnessed the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Mr. Queen’s dirty laundry—”

The television shut off.

“What the hell was that.”

“Thea?” Her brother asked quietly.

For Thea was sitting coiled tight in the chair, her knuckles clenched white and shaking as she tossed the remote onto the side table. If Laurel didn’t know Thea had been cured of the bloodlust over a month ago, she might have started to worry.

“She just dragged your name through the mud on live television!”

“It- it wasn’t dragging—”

“Oliver, Thea’s right. What happened just now was basically slander, if not defamation.” Laurel still couldn’t quite believe what she’d witnessed. Sure, sometimes Felicity said things without thinking, but this had been far beyond an innocent slip of the tongue!

“She’s also putting words in my mouth that I would never say about you.” Laurel wanted to be certain he understood that at the very least.

When she did look at him, he seemed lost more than anything. His eyes kept straying to the television as if hoping it would blink back on with a just kidding! flashing across the screen.

“I don’t think she meant to do that.”

“Ollie, does it matter?” Asked Thea. “I mean, people are gonna think you’re some kind of basket case, and you’re not. What’d she even have to bring up the island for?”

“I think I’m gonna turn in,” Oliver said, walking forward and pulling back the blankets Laurel had lain on the floor.

“You’re sure?”

He just nodded, and there wasn’t much she or Thea could do in response. They all were exhausted and unhappy. She shut the lights off for him and retreated to her room.

Laurel returned to a very awkward atmosphere at work. Her coworkers and assistants all seemed wary of mentioning the elephant in the room, and Laurel wasn’t particularly interested in discussing it with them either. There was at least enough to do in the office that it left little time for small talk.

The base seemed to have that same oppressive air, unfortunately. None of them knew how to address what had happened, with the case against Cupid or with the press conference and their missing team member. Oliver was largely spending all his time indoors now, not wanting to face the scrutiny of the public, and Laurel was growing more worried for him by the day. He’d moved back into the base, however, so she could really only see to him during training or out in the field. If there was some way to give him a more permanent home with her and Thea without making it seem she was overreaching their established friendship.

“I’m gonna go see her,” Thea decided one morning while Laurel was still trying to puzzle out how to offer Oliver a drawer without making it sound romantic.

She blinked and looked up. “Her?”

“Felicity. She’s gotta put out a new statement. A written one or something where she’s not just saying the first thing that comes to her mind.” Her friend scowled.

Laurel didn’t totally disagree with that plan of action, but she did caution, “Try to approach it as a friend, Thea. Felicity feels hurt by what happened, and I’m not sure criticism is going to go over well.”

“She could stand to grow up about that,” Thea muttered under her breath, but sighed when Laurel held her gaze. “Fine. But only because I don’t want her blurting something about William.”

“Exactly.”

Unfortunately, the day Thea picked to talk to their old teammate happened to be the day a criminal named Brie Larvan chose to attack Palmer Tech, trapping both Thea and Felicity inside. She, John and Oliver were left to try and figure out a way to take on Larvan and her tech, which went badly when her swarm of robotic bees — because that was just life now — headed straight towards them.

Laurel’s view was obscured when Oliver suddenly lunged across in front of her. He took the hit for her.

They rushed him back to the base and Curtis Holt, who had accidentally found their base and learned their secret identities when trying to get help for his boss. Laurel hovered over Oliver writhing in pain on the medical table as Curtis tried to figure out what they might need to halt the damage being done to him.

“We can save him, right?” Her dad asked. He glanced at her. “Cause this is gonna look pretty suspicious if your husband ends up dead less than a month after your wedding.”

She scowled. “Not much Queen gold left for me to dig for, dad.”

He winced. “Right. Sorry.”

Curtis interrupted with a description of the needed cure, which just so happened to match the capabilities of her Cry device. Laurel handed it off to Curtis to make the necessary adjustments, gripping Oliver’s hand while she waited.

The feel of metal against her skin caused her to look closer at his hand; the ring was still on his finger. He must have pulled his gloves on over it when they suited up. Laurel’s own was sitting in a pouch on her belt beside the old photo, and her heart beat a funny rhythm as she stared at the little piece of jewelry he wore.

“We’re ready for you, Mrs. Queen.”

Laurel blanched. “I didn’t change my name.”

“Oh, sorry. Wasn’t trying to assume patriarchal standards. I mean, you go!” Curtis babbled with an awkward fist pump.

“It’s not that,” Laurel said shaking her head. “Mrs. Queen was Oliver and Thea’s mother. I would never dream of stepping into those shoes.” She took the device and fastened it back around her neck. “Now how is this going to save Oliver?”

She was directed to stand several paces away and signaled to use the device. For a long moment, Oliver’s face scrunched up in pain and only the knowledge that this was to save him allowed her to continue. Then he relaxed, and Curtis indicated to her to stop.

They strategized while Oliver slowly woke up and regained his bearings. “The good news is we now know a way to neutralize Larvan’s tech,” Curtis said.

“Alright, Laurel and I will head to Palmer Tech’s headquarters,” Oliver decided.

Laurel frowned. “Oliver, you nearly died on that table, and there’s no telling what would happen if Larvan gets another attack in. You need to rest.”

“I need to be there,” he insisted. His hands were twitching at his sides and every muscle she could still see since he’d yet to put on a shirt was tense.

“Actually, think you need to listen to your wife on this one, Oliver,” John said in total deadpan. She threw a look at him over her shoulder, sure that Oliver was likely doing the same.

“Can we have a minute?”

Their teammate, her father and Curtis moved into the side room. Laurel faced Oliver again.

“What’s this really about? You know John and I can handle it. With Thea already there, even more so. You would be telling any one of us to rest if it were us in your place.” It should’ve been her, she thought privately. If he hadn’t jumped in front it would’ve been.

“It’s not about who’s capable, it’s just…” he trailed off.

“I’m listening,” she told him. By the way his eyes briefly widened, she knew he caught the reference to his vows. She’d been unable to get them out of her head.

Oliver’s shoulders slumped. “If I’m not the one that goes, then it looks like I don’t care.”

Her eyes dropped to the ground. “About Felicity.”

“I know Thea thinks I’m crazy to still want to try — but Felicity, she’s just angry. She has a right to be. I can’t blame her for her words any more than I’d blame you or me for half the things we’ve said to each other.”

“No,” Laurel said, then forced herself not to sound so quiet, “I suppose not.”

“I can’t just give up. I need to be better than that, better than I have been,” he said, eyes pleading with her. “You understand.”

“I do.” God, she was going to grow to hate those words someday.

Oliver smiled for her, just a brief, grateful flash of teeth. Then he walked back to the table and picked up the top half of his suit.

“Ollie.”

He stopped and turned.

“You might want to leave the ring,” she told him, watching his eyes widen as he looked down at his hand. He must have just forgotten it was there at all. Laurel looked away as his footsteps faded back to the changing area.

She turned and went to find the others. “John, he’s going to need a ride.”

John sighed and left. Curtis watched with a puzzled frown.

“You’re not going with him?”

“This is something he needs to do.” She left the room again before he, or more likely her father, could say anything more to that.

It was stupid, she knew. It wasn’t like Oliver’s feelings for Felicity had changed, no matter what unfortunate things came out of Felicity’s mouth in the wake of their breakup. He was supposed to keep trying with her; that’s what Laurel wanted for him.

There were just things she wanted too, that were never meant to be.

---

When Oliver reached Felicity’s office, Thea was already knocked out on the floor. He distracted Larvan and tried to talk her down, though instead of running Felicity used a lamp to short out Larvan’s robotic helper and the feedback knocked the woman out of commission as well.

“Lay down, bee-yotch!” Felicity crowed in triumph as Oliver came up to her side.

“Felicity.” Now that he was here, he didn’t know what he’d meant to say. It had been so clear in his head when he explained himself to Laurel; stop Larvan’s attack on Felicity, then reconnect with the woman he’d meant to marry.

She grimaced while turning towards him. “So… thank you. But in the future, I think it’d be best if John or Laurel handled my rescues.”

“Why?” Surely she didn’t doubt his ability in the field at the least.

“Aside from me not wanting to see you? Well, your sister made things perfectly clear.”

Oliver looked to Thea who had yet to stir. He took a step towards her and looked back. “What do you mean?”

“Oh, how I wasn’t allowed to say this or that about you? Even if it was all true?” She told him in rhetorical. “We can’t all look the other way like Laurel does and forgive you every terrible thing you do, Oliver.”

He blinked. She couldn’t mean that literally, could she? “William is not terrible, or a thing, Felicity.”

“Considering what family he’s part of, I wouldn’t be too sure,” she muttered.

Oliver had started to crouch down to check on Thea, but froze. “Excuse me?”

Felicity spun back around. “Oh, come on. You can’t pretend the Queens don’t have a track record!” A disbelieving laugh left her. “I mean, your father, your mother—”

“I gave you her ring,” he reminded her, his voice sounding cold to his own ears.

“Jury’s still out on whether Thea gets it from your side or Malcolm’s—”

“Don’t.”

Felicity paused mid-sentence and looked at him. “I’m sorry?”

He stood there, physically shaking. “I don’t care what you say about me. You have every right to criticize how I handled our relationship.” His hand twitched at his side, and he couldn’t remember being so angry and yet so terrified in one moment. “But my family is not a part of that. They are not for you to mock.”

Felicity gaped at him, like he’d spoken in one of the other two languages he knew instead of plain English. But on the floor, Thea groaned.

“Ugh, my head.”

“Hey, careful,” he cautioned, helping her sit up slowly. She’d come here to defend him, he realized, when he wouldn’t defend himself. His voice sounded suspiciously thick when he asked, “How are you feeling?”

“Eh, could be worse.”

“Clear!” A voice shouted in the hallway outside the office. The SCPD had to nearly be done with their sweep of the building. He needed to leave.

“Get checked out by a medic if they brought one, then come and meet me and John in the van,” he instructed his sister. His eyes lifted to Felicity. “I’ll pass on your request about future incidents.”

She took a step towards him as he moved to the window. “Oliver—”

The wind frowned out whatever else she might have said as he jumped and used a grapple arrow to swing out of sight of the building. He located John parked two blocks away and climbed into the passenger seat.

“We’re waiting for one more,” he said.

“So, how did it go?” It was obvious John wasn’t asking about the rescue mission.

Oliver stayed silent. His friend seemed to realize what that meant and wisely stayed silent as well.

After a few minutes, a phone buzzed. “The missus is checking in,” John remarked, probably hoping to lighten the mood. He showed Oliver his phone screen with Laurel’s message pulled up: are you guys ok

“Tell her we’re just waiting for Thea,” Oliver replied, then sighed. “And you all need to stop doing that.”

“Sorry,” said John, and he at least sounded it. “Look, hopefully someday we’ll all be able to laugh about this. Maybe at your real wedding.”

“You’re going to be holding your breath if you’re waiting for that,” he mumbled.

“Oliver, Felicity just needs time, like you said—”

Oliver sat up straighter in his seat and turned to his friend. “Has she ever said anything to you about my family?”

“Like what?”

“Like something you wouldn’t want said about your family.”

John shifted in his seat. “Come on, man…”

“John, I need to know.” If Felicity has said those things in the heat of the moment, maybe that was one thing. It was a thing he wasn’t happy about, but maybe he’d not made it clear enough that his family was off-limits.

“She never talked much about Thea before she joined the team, and you know, they were fine before this whole breakup thing.”

Oliver thought ‘fine’ was maybe oversimplifying things — with dread, he remembered a night in Nanda Parbat shortly before their relationship was consummated when Felicity asked him what Thea’s life was worth — but he set that aside.

“What about my mother?”

By the way John hunched in, he knew his friend had an answer he didn’t want to say. Or perhaps, didn’t want Oliver to hear.

“John.”

“Look, Oliver, you gotta admit that things with your mom were—”

“Trust me that you don’t want to finish that sentence.”

“She and Felicity never got along,” John told him.

Oliver nodded to himself, processing that. Even if that were the case, it didn’t have to mean what he was truly fearing. “So what did she say about her? If you don’t tell me, I’m just gonna assume the worst.”

“Is ‘diabolical’ the worst?”

Oliver winced. His mother had been no saint, Lord knew, but that? “And what prompted that?”

“What’s the point, Oliver—”

He spoke half over his friend. “When did she say that to you?”

John eyed him for a long moment. “It was at the memorial.”

His breath left him in one great rush, like he’d been punched in the gut. “How could she?”

“It was years ago, man. I mean, what has you asking about it now?”

“Because I’m realizing I didn’t think some things through,” he admitted, miserable at the truth of it. He’d given Felicity his mother’s ring while knowing at least a fraction of the tension that had existed between the two, simply because he had always thought of proposing with his mother's ring. And he’d proposed, and been planning to propose, so soon because he’d thought they were happy and understood each other after working on the team together. Had that really not been the case?

There was a tap on the side door and Thea slid it open a moment later. “Thanks for the lift. They don’t want me driving anything cause of my head. Hey, uh, did I miss anything while I was out?”

Oliver stared out the window but caught John’s reflection shaking his head as if warning her not to ask.

“Ollie, if I messed up, I’m sorry.”

He looked back around at her then. “You didn’t mess up, Speedy. You — mom would be proud of you.”

A tentative, if confused, smile graced her lips.

“Let’s get back,” he directed to John. The further he was from Palmer Tech right now, the better.

Oliver made sure to stick close to his sister as they entered the base. “Thea has a possible concussion,” he stated for the room’s benefit.

“I’m not showing any symptoms yet,” Thea said with a roll of her eyes.

“Still, we need to make sure you’re resting and taking it easy the next few days.”

“He’s right,” Laurel agreed. “The worst thing you can do right now is push yourself, Speedy. Was everyone else at Palmer Tech okay?”

“Yeah, except Larvan,” John replied with an awkward cough. “Felicity, uh, knocked her out. Hospital’s working on it.”

Oliver tried not to react to the mention of Felicity, but he noticed Laurel’s concerned gaze on him anyway.

He touched his sister’s shoulder. “Let me get changed, and then we can get you home.”

“Okay.”

Oliver accompanied them back to the apartment by some unspoken agreement. Laurel was gentle with his sister as ever the whole way back and while making sure she ate and got ready for sleep. He thought again about the possibility of her one day moving on — in a year from now, maybe, thanks to his screw-up — and building a family of her own. It was not unpleasant the way it had been when he’d contemplated it the first time; it was agonizing.

They sent Thea to bed early and he stood in her doorway for a while watching her.

“You could just stay.”

Laurel’s lips were pressed tight together when he turned around to find her watching him as well.

“Here?”

“Yeah. Not as — we can figure out some kind of arrangement. Something that works for the three of us.”

He looked past her for a long moment into her sitting room, his eyes landing on that desk with that letter inside. Then he glanced at her bare left hand where she’d removed his ring. “Is that something you’d want?”

She shrugged, her head ducked and not letting him get a good look at her face. “It just seems to make the most sense. At least until you want to find your own place.”

Oliver nodded, his throat bobbing against his will. “Right.”

She’d gotten a new couch since the last time he’d stayed over, so she made up a bed for him there with the blankets and one of her pillows. Just as she headed back towards the hallway, he called out to stop her.

“Laurel. Thank you for letting me go to stop Larvan. I… I needed to do that.”

She stood there, one hand on her wall and looked back. “Do you think things are going to work out?”

He held her gaze. “Not the way I was expecting, but, I hope so.”

“Then I’m happy for you.” She watched him shift a slight step forward, but said, “Goodnight, Ollie.” Then retreated to her room.

He sank onto the couch, his face landing in her pillow. Like the first night she’d lent it to him, it smelled faintly of her shampoo. Laurel had never used perfume, he remembered it was something she used to fight about with Sara because of their shared bathroom in their parents’ house. The faint lavender scent was a familiar memory, too. Guilt washed over him the same way it had the last couple weeks since this marriage began. Then anger and sadness at what he’d learned Felicity truly thought rose up as well. They warred within him, his face screwed up to try and hold it all in.

Why did he have to be so conflicted? He felt bereft now that the rush of being in love with Felicity had blown out as if it were nothing more than one of the candles sitting in Laurel’s fireplace. Surrounded by the comforts of Laurel’s home, he still felt the outsider, if only because he had refused them and run from them time and time again.

His sleep was fitful and filled with vague images of loneliness and his mother’s sad look. Oliver didn’t realize how late it was until he heard two people moving around the kitchen.

“...said Ollie kind of freaked out about it.”

“Well, you’re all very important to him. If I found out my fiancé had said something like that about my dad, I don’t know what I’d have done.”

“Your husband might have said an unflattering thing or two in the past, just putting that out there.”

Laurel snorted.

Oliver opened his eyes but remained lying still, listening.

“He’s entitled to it after all the things my father’s said in return. And they’ve made up for the most part.”

There was the clink of metal against ceramic. A bowl? A plate? Some kind of utensil.

Thea’s voice sounded wistful. “Makes you wonder…”

“Don’t start with that,” Laurel scolded. Oliver frowned to himself.

“Well, why not?” What he thought was Thea’s chair gave a little scrape. She must have sat up with this new burst of energy. “I mean, yeah the proposal was lackluster and the rings were kinda homey—”

“I liked the rings. They were fine, I mean,” Laurel said. Her voice grew closer and he thought she must have been trying to move away from Thea’s scrutiny. “I still don’t know how he made it a perfect fit.”

Oliver thought of that afternoon, opening her case and borrowing one of the fingerless gloves she wore out in the field for measurements. He couldn’t help smirking to himself, amused that this had provided a sort of air of intrigue to the whole thing.

“I almost want to let him keep sleeping,” Laurel mused aloud. She had to be watching the back of the couch from the kitchen archway. He let his eyelids flutter closed just in case. “He must feel terrible. It’s hard, being in love and then suddenly it just goes…”

The faint amusement he still felt dimmed at those words. Laurel’s footsteps padded away.

Was that how it had been for her? Shock and anger that gave way to this sort of ache mixed in with bitter embarrassment over believing in a kind of lie? He never wanted to cause her that kind of pain. Was this why he couldn’t get a read on her true feelings about the situation they’d landed themselves in?

Yet Laurel had forgiven him, just as Felicity had said yesterday. He didn’t see how he could find it in himself to do the same. Maybe the wound was too fresh or maybe he just wasn’t as good of a person. Laurel was the better of them, after all.

She was kind and caring and warm. Steady instead of bubbly and giddy like a new relationship always was. He was reaching a point in his life where steady felt less like a dead-end and more like home. They knew each other, and there were few surprises left; even the times they surprised each other made sense after a moment’s thought as to what they knew.

He’d been horrified as to what he’d accidentally done when the county clerk had confirmed their marriage; yet the longer he thought about it, the more relieved he was that it was Laurel to whom he was married. It was temporary and platonic, but he thought it was exactly what he needed at the moment.

He’d lost himself in Felicity and their whirlwind courtship, and he needed to find himself again.

Over the next week, Oliver found himself spending a lot of his free time with Laurel. When she wasn’t at work, anyway. Those times were often when he kept Thea company and ignored her searching looks. His sister was a shrewd observer indeed.

And then work decided to throw Laurel a curveball. Ruve Darhk, newly appointed mayor with no one running against her anymore, approached her about taking the DA spot. Laurel, it turned out, didn’t know what to do.

She spoke to Oliver about it. The irony he was sure wasn’t lost on either of them about married couples making life decisions together. But that she wanted his advice touched him more deeply than he thought she was aware. Oliver told her earnestly that he felt the city needed her. What better way to make change on a structural level than having one of their own shaping policies? It had been part of his drive to campaign, after all.

“Well, it’s not the mayor job, but you would get to accompany me to the swearing-in ceremony if you wanted,” she told him with a smile that was only half-teasing. “Spouses are welcome.”

He ducked his head, a huff of a laugh leaving him and, when he looked back up, Laurel’s eyes were shining bright at his amusement. “I’d be honored.”

But Darhk had other plans for their time. Some of Malcolm’s separatists stole the idol they were guarding in the base and a prison riot began in Iron Heights. When Oliver asked, Laurel didn’t hesitate to suit up with them all again. Truthfully, he didn’t know what they’d do without her in the field as well as Felicity missing from the computers. But he wanted her to move forward with her life and her career. He didn’t want her stuck the way he was.

They fought their way through the prison riot until coming across Darhk, who captured Andy. With his brother’s life being threatened, it was John’s call to lower their weapons.

It was the wrong call.

Andy turned out to be a double agent, working for Darhk still this whole time. The bitter realization he had been right after all was only allowed a moment, as Darhk regained the last piece of his idol from Andy and his powers along with it. All four of them launched into action, but none of them were able to land a hit on Darhk before he had them either thrown back like Thea or frozen like he, Laurel and John found themselves.

Like always, he allowed himself to brag. This time about now knowing their identities. “It was really just a hop, skip, and a jump from the whole Diggle connection to you to your little sister to your wife,” he told Oliver with a slight chuckle. “But when you came to rescue that boy William, that look on your face, that was a father's look. I should have recognized it there and then.” If he could, Oliver would have clenched his fist. That man didn’t get to mention his son so casually.

And then Darhk approached Laurel. Malcolm claimed something about needing to leave, but it was distant to Oliver’s ears as he was powerless to do anything but watch. Darhk ignored him. “Ms. Lance, nine months ago, I made your daddy a promise. I told him what I would do if he betrayed me.”

Oliver’s eyes narrowed, and it was instinct to grab an arrow and fire before he even realized he truly was moving. How was he moving?

Darhk only barely caught the arrow that shot towards his head with a grunt.

“Impressive,” he noted with a look towards him, and Oliver felt the breath stutter in his chest as he was frozen again. “Now where was I? Oh, yeah. I want you to give your father a message from me. I want you to tell him—”

His arm moved back, the arrow in his grasp—

No, Oliver thought desperately. Please, whatever that was before. I can’t lose her, not her. I made a vow!

He was no longer in two minds; the doubt was gone. And as he drew breath, Oliver knew what was truly in his heart.

---

Laurel wanted so badly to move away from the vile man crowding her space. But she physically couldn’t thanks to the magic at his disposal, and a part of her knew it was about to kill her.

Darhk pulled back the arm holding Ollie’s arrow. She’d seen the damage it could do, knew about the bodies they’d once collected in the morgue and how much restraint he used now to not add to that number. Darhk, with that malicious glint in his eyes, would never show that kind of restraint—

A fist collided with his face. Oliver’s. He’d broken out of the freeze hold somehow a second time, and Darhk staggered across the room with the force of the blow, Oliver following him. His teeth were bared in a snarl and his eyes blazing, the same look that had paralyzed her in this very prison four years ago.

This time, Laurel gasped as her breath was returned to her and she staggered back. With Darhk’s concentration broken, she was free.

John was, too, and he’d wasted no time in charging Andy, the brothers falling to the floor in a tangle of limbs. Across the room, her eyes met Malcolm’s. Then she turned and looked at the idol.

She was closer.

“Don’t—”

Laurel raced to it, heaving it off the table and onto the ground. It lay there perfectly intact. With a growl she took out her nightstick and hit it with a similar lack of result. God, she was so sick of magic.

She heard Oliver make a strangled sound and froze for a moment as she watched Darhk suck the air from him.

In sheer desperation, Laurel switched her Cry device on and screamed louder than she’d ever tried before.

Everyone flinched away from it. But more important to her was the crack in the idol that developed along the line where the last piece had connected with the rest of it. With vicious pleasure, she took her nightstick and slammed it down on that piece.

The idol cracked.

There was a gasping sound from Oliver, then a grunt as Darhk struck him again. Her father’s tormentor spun towards her with murder in his eyes—

A choking sound escaped him as the green-tipped arrow pierced through him from behind. Darhk fell to a knee and then onto his face as the arrow was pulled out. Behind him, Oliver watched Darhk draw his last breath with a grim expression.

Then his eyes raised to hers, shame evident. “I couldn’t let him…”

She was across the room in seconds and threw her arms around him. “Thank you.” She could only imagine the turmoil he had to be in right now. “I know you wanted things to be different, but thank you.”

There was a clatter as a black-tipped arrow landed on the ground.

“Switch them,” Malcolm said when they both turned to look at him. “An unknown assailant with a grudge against Mr. Darhk. The public will readily believe it. No need to sully the Green Arrow’s positive reputation.”

She shook her head. He really thought he could keep playing both sides? “You think that makes up for helping him do all of this?”

“Try and stop me if you think it doesn’t.” He turned and walked from the room.

Laurel started after him, but Oliver took her hand, pulling her to a stop. “We need to regroup.”

As much as she hated it, he was right. Thea was still unconscious and John hardly looked present as he stood there with a bloody fist staring down at his barely breathing brother.

The cops got the remnants of the riot mostly under control. There were likely a number of escapees who would need to be rounded up, especially if they returned to their old ways. But the worst had been avoided.

They gathered Thea up and led John back to the base, where her father was already waiting. When he learned what had almost happened, he hugged her so tight she nearly couldn’t breathe. Then he turned and did the same to Oliver, who looked almost comically surprised.

“Thank you. Not sure I’ve ever thanked you to your face all these times — but you.” Her father pulled back and kept his hands on Oliver’s shoulders. “I’m glad, you know? After all these years, it feels good to say that. Who would’ve thought, right?”

Oliver himself looked to be struggling to hold in his emotions. “Certainly not me.”

Her dad clapped his shoulder, then reached for the watch on his wrist, undoing the clasp. “I want you to have this.”

“Quentin—”

“Don’t. It’s a tradition for a young man to get one, and, well, I know you can’t have your own father’s. I don’t think either of my girls would mind.” Her father looked to her as if to check, and Laurel nodded, smiling and forcing back the tears that wanted to threaten. It had been an emotional night, that was for certain, but she was happy to see it end this way.

“I, I don’t know what to say,” Oliver responded after a moment.

“Then just take it. You’ve made yourself part of this family by hook or by crook anyway.”

Laurel couldn’t quite stop a short laugh, and the two of them followed. Oliver accepted the watch and gave her father a hug in return. That feeling she was dreaming was back, especially as Oliver hugged her next, then left his arm wound loosely around her as he said, “Thank you both for letting me be.”

It was decided they were all taking a couple nights off for the time being. Thea had been knocked around for the second time in as many weeks, and John was still processing the fact that his brother now sat in an ARGUS cell. Laurel was just glad she was alive.

Yet at the same time, the riot had shown her exactly why she couldn’t give the life of a vigilante up. She needed to be out there with her loved ones, making sure she had their backs the same way they had hers. If she hadn’t been the one Darhk had attacked, but someone else. If she’d heard it on the news later — Oliver Queen dies in prison riot… she couldn’t bear the thought. She couldn’t just sit behind a desk trying to do good while the real good was being done out in the streets.

With that thought in mind, she headed down to the base after work for some training. Only she noticed right away as she entered the space that the leather jacket of her suit was missing from her case.

“What—” Unease rising, Laurel turned to spot Oliver sitting at one of the tables, her jacket in his hands. His shoulders were hunched and she tensed in response.

“Oliver? What are you doing with that?”

He looked up at her. “We’re getting you a new suit.”

Laurel blinked. “What?”

“I tested it,” he said, gesturing behind him at a mannequin with several holes ripped into where the lower abdomen would be. Then he raised her jacket to show off the tears in it. That he’d purposely made in it.

Laurel’s fists clenched and she marched forward to rip it out of his hands. “That jacket was given to me by my sister, Oliver. You had no right—”

“I have the right to make sure you’re safe,” he insisted, standing to his full height. “As your friend, as your—” for a long moment he struggled for a word. “—partner, it’s my responsibility.”

“I never asked you to be responsible for me!”

“And you shouldn’t have to!”

Laurel froze.

Oliver squeezed his eyes shut, drawing in and letting out a breath. Then he repeated, softer, “You shouldn’t have to. You were right, what you said about me not respecting you joining the team at first. And part of that was that I didn’t think about you having to put this together all by yourself without the materials I or the others use. But I should have. I… haven’t been the kind of support you deserve.”

“Oliver,” she said. For some reason, she felt that there was more to this than the suit. That there were things he was holding back from saying.

“Please let me be that support now. Let me try. I’m ready to be.” His gaze was so intense on her she nearly forgot what they were even talking about.

“Okay,” she managed, a little shaky. “What happens now?”

“Now, we take a trip.”

When they informed their other two team members of their intent to go to Central City, John calmly assured them Star would be kept under close watch. Thea had a far cheekier response: “Yeah, go have fun. It’ll be like a little honeymoon!”

Laurel had rolled her eyes at that. “What are we telling the Flash team about, um.” She wiggled her left hand, regardless of the lack of ring there, in demonstration. “Would they even know?”

“From what I understand, Barry and the others have been very busy,” Oliver told her. “But they probably heard the news.”

Sure enough, the first thing that happened when they entered the cortex of STAR Laboratories fresh off a high-speed train to Central was Cisco looking up with a big grin. “Newlyweds are here!” The next instant his smile dropped when Oliver leveled his best unimpressed stare. “Sorry, had to. Had to.”

Barry and a woman she was unfamiliar with entered the cortex. “Oliver, Laurel, hey!” Barry looked back to the woman Laurel didn’t know. “Iris, you’ve met Oliver. And this is Laurel. The Green Arrow and the Black Canary.”

“So the vigilantes are also Star City’s most surprising item,” Iris remarked. “You should have heard Bear complaining he wasn’t invited.”

“I wasn’t — that wasn’t what I said. I just thought, you know, you might want to talk,” Barry said, mostly to Oliver. “But that’s gonna need to wait for a minute. Cisco, Harry says everything’s ready.”

Cisco nodded and picked up what looked like a lightning rod. “Okay, yeah.”

“Ready?” Laurel asked.

“We’re running sort of an experiment. It’s to get back Barry’s speed.”

“What do you mean, get back his speed?” Oliver asked with narrowed eyes.

“I guess we both haven’t had time to talk about things,” Barry admitted with chagrin. “Once we get this done, Cisco can look at your suit, Laurel.”

“Okay.” She and Oliver exchanged a look as Barry and Iris left the cortex, silently deciding to follow. Whatever experiment this was, they wanted their eyes on it.

Down in the basement levels of the building, Barry was strapped into what nearly looked like some kind of torture device. Three older men waited downstairs as well with two at different sets of controls. Oliver exchanged a nod with the man she thought might be Iris’ father.

Barry gave the signal he was ready, and the machines were started up. A set of grille doors closed in front of him. Then one of the men announced they were injecting him with chemicals.

Barry gave a sudden jerk and grunt, and Laurel reached for Oliver’s hand on instinct. He squeezed it back.

Iris was protesting, and truthfully Laurel felt she agreed with her even with the calm arguments the man in charge of this experiment was supplying.

“I’m okay, Iris,” Barry called out, though his breathing was labored.

“We have to trust he knows what he’s doing,” Oliver murmured. But it was clear to her he was trying just as much to convince himself.

Barry continued to jerk around violently, and when the second man at the controls warned them all he was going into some kind of shock, Oliver’s restraint broke.

“Get him out of there.”

“I’ve initiated the collision, it’s too late,” the man in charge said. “You’d have to break this entire machine.”

“Then break it!”

Barry’s whole body seized up with electricity, his eyes bulging and mouth gaping, and Laurel reached into the bag at her side for her cry device.

“Consider it done,” she told Oliver, switching it on immediately after. If Cisco’s tech was strong enough to fracture Darhk’s idol—

But her Cry hit some kind of field that pushed back, knocking her off her feet.

“Laurel!” Oliver rushed to her side, cursing as he tried to undo the device now sparking at her neck.

At the same time, Iris gave a horrified scream: “Barry!”

Laurel struggled to sit up with Oliver’s help as Cisco ran in. “It worked! Is everyone okay?” He looked around in dawning horror at all their shocked faces. “What happened?”

The metal grilles opened to show what they already knew. Barry was gone. Only some smoking remains of the red Flash suit showed where he had once been.

“What have you done to my son?” The second of the scientists demanded of the man who’d run the experiment. He gave no reply, staring in stunned silence at his own defeat.

A streak of blue lightning turned into a man in a full bodysuit and mask. He picked up the remnants of Barry’s charred suit.

“You thought you could give the Flash his speed back? Well done.”

He looked up at all of them, and paused, his head tilting as he locked eyes with her for some reason.

Then there was a flash of lightning and Laurel slammed against the wall, a clawed hand around her throat. She tried prying it off with both of her own.

“Laurel!” Oliver was standing with the others, watching in horror.

The masked figure seemed to be scrutinizing her. “Doppelganger,” he growled low in his throat. His other hand raised, vibrating with speed.

Laurel’s breath hitched.

Sound exploded from her, with such force that her head knocked back into the wall. The speedster in dark blue disappeared; she didn’t know where to because her eyes rolled up into the back of her head. She slid down to the floor, her body jerking as the device sparked and shocked her like a malfunctioning taser.

Arms came around her, propping her up so that her cheek rested against a broad chest. A calloused hand cupped her other cheek.

“Laurel? Laurel!”

But she couldn’t find her voice to tell him not to worry.

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

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