When Your Late Wife Has Never Told To You About The Friendly Shadow Monster Vibing In The Local Sewers

memories

pairing : sparrow!ben hargreeves x fem!reader, past!umbrella!ben hargreeves x fem!reader

genre : angst, heartwarming, hurt-comfort

warning : prepare your tissue if you’re attached to umbrella!ben ig

summary : in which she found glimpse of them together through his eyes—the man that wore the face of the love of her life

wordcount : 3k

a/n : inspired by the song glimpse of us by joji. and i am aware that there are a lot of stories especially these days. If there are resemblance between this story with others then that is completely out of my control. great minds thinks alike after all. requested by @torchioethan i’ll try my best to interpreted the song to their relationship. the story is up to your interpretation by the way. on my remus lupin angst i wrote “some endings are meant to he interpreted differently.” also do you think this is ooc for sparrow!ben? cause this is what i think he’ll act like in this situation. also i put some addie larue reference in this iykyk

masterlist

Have you ever lost someone and then you just feel like you see that someone everywhere? Every place, every street, everyone, reminds you of the memories you hold dearly close to your heart no matter how hurt it is to remember for you refuse to ever forget about it. It hurts so much it does, but that’s the price you have to pay.

The first time she saw him again after going back from the 60s with the dysfunctional bunch of siblings, she thought she was dreaming. Perhaps, it’ll be easier if it were just a dream. Cause now she has to look at the face—at the body of someone who once had loved her and found nothing. A stranger with the face of the love of her life.

Same name. Same face. Different memories.

But does it all even matter now? The world is ending in hours. She could meet her Ben again, that only if he really does exist. She has never been the one to fully understand the concept of time and Five doesn’t speak in a language that she is capable of understanding.

She raised her glass of champagne in Luther’s direction as he danced with his newfound love before averting her gaze to take a look around the room. Diego and Lila being in each other's arms. Klaus being Klaus. Five who seem to be enjoying his time with the number of empty glasses on his table. And lastly, him. Sitting on the table far back from everybody else, drinking quietly as his eyes, too, roamed around the room. Even from a distance between the two, she could tell that he was judging all of them silently.

Slowly she rose and walked toward him with her glass wrapped around her fingers. Once she arrived at the spot, she gestured to the seat next to him. “May I?” Without hearing any response from him, she sat herself on the seat, putting her glass on the table. “The party is over there yet you distance yourself from the others, emo boy.”

He rolled his eyes at the nickname she gave him. “If anyone here is emo that would be your brother. All brooding, laying down alone in my room, wearing nothing but black.” He looked over at Viktor and she followed his line of gaze. “First, Viktor isn’t emo, and second, you just prove my point here.” She gestured to his situation right now. “You just described yourself.”

The look in his eyes was nothing like her Ben as he glared at her, glass tightly wrapped around his fingers. “Look, if you’re going here just to brag about your oh-so-perfect Ben. The others had took their chance every time they passed me so don’t even bother.” He leaned forwards to her—trying to somewhat looking intimidating as she looks at him, totally unfazed by it.

“No.” She leaned closer to him as he leaned back, clicking her glass with his. “That is a too sensitive topic for me to talk about. Actually, I was trying to give you some company.”

“Well, I don’t need your company.” He talked back.

She leaned her back on the seat. “Too bad. I’m already comfortable sitting here.”

“Then I’ll just go away from here.” He got up, looking at her irritatingly, clearly annoyed by her presence. Turning around he began to walked away from the girl that has been haunting his mind, but then she said something that made him stop. “You know you don’t want to, Ben. You wished to stay here. You want someone to tell you to stay. So here I am doing you a favor by saying this.”

Walking back towards her, he pointed his finger right in front of her face, a look of exasperation plastered on his face. “You stay out of my head. Don’t even try to use it on me.” He said. “You think you know me. You know nothing about me. Nothing. I don’t need your company and I most certainly don’t need your pity. I don’t need you.”

Her gaze softened at his words, his last words may hurt a part of her but it was nothing she hadn’t heard before. “I don’t need my powers to know what you’re thinking, Ben. Besides, it never works on you. Not on you. Not on any version of you, I suppose.” She looks back to her glass, avoiding his gaze before feeling him walking away from her.

***

Looking at Luther and Sloane, she offered them a large smile. “I’m happy for the both of you. Wish we could have more time to know each other, Sloane.” She said, eyes falling onto the girl that is wrapped around Luther’s arms before looking back at the sky that is torn apart every second that passed. “With the world ending, there’s nothing anyone wants more than spending time with their loved ones. I know I would do the same.” She could feel Luther’s eyes on her as she said that. “Cherish the time you have left together, okay?” That were the last words she uttered before she went back inside the building, leaving the newlywed to have their moments alone.

What she didn’t know was the fact that Ben was listening to her words as he finally succeed to get rid of Klaus’s presence. He was about to grab another drink when he heard her saying that. Spending time with their loved ones. What is left of his family are only Sloane and Reginald. One who is currently with the man of her life. The other one probably conspiring something against someone. Sloane, his sister, what left of his bunch of adoptive siblings, sure there’s a part of him that cares for her although he won’t admit it out loud. On the other side, Reginald doesn’t deserve any love from anyone in the building. An ounce of him may won’t stop trying to prove himself to the guy but he’s sure that there is no love that he holds for the old man.

Before the girl who just entered the building could fully walk passed him, he grabbed her wrist, stopping her in her tracks. She looked at him expectedly, a look of nostalgia flashed for a second. Perhaps it’s the alcohol talking, but the words come out of his mouth without permission at all. “Want a drink?”

She let her hand out of his grasp, raising one of her eyebrows. “Did Klaus really manage to talk some sense into you? Or is it the alcohol talking?” She paused before answering the real question. “The answer’s yes by the way. But not here. Let’s go somewhere else.”

***

“A windowsill?”

“A quite spacious one, yeah.” She put herself in a comfortable position before patting the space in front of her. “Come on. There’s still much room left here.” Rolling his eyes slightly, he sighed before sitting in front of her. Both of them facing each other, on the windowsill as the world out there is falling apart. Her gaze stayed on him as he sat there trying to search for a comfortable position. A nostalgic smile went onto her face. Happiness and sadness all become one as a glimpse of her Ben took over his position for some split second.

A memory from her past.

“Out of every place in this goddamn hotel, you-“ He began to complain.

“Hey, the world is falling apart. Be grateful for a few seconds.” She looked out the window. “Ben would’ve loved this.” She muttered loud enough for him to hear.

“I am Ben.”

“Well, not you. I mean Ben Ben.”

“The other Ben?”

“No. You’re the—Can you just drink it already and try to not be an asshole?” She almost forced the alcohol down his throat if it weren’t for him who already doing that as she spoke before. She looked at him before averting her attention to her glass, muttering under her breath. “Maybe this is a bad idea.”

“Not really. No.” His response caught her off guard as she wasn’t expecting him to even hear her. She pursed her lips, before taking a sip from her glass. “So you do need some company. Is this your attempt to not be alone at the end of the world? Was it because of the speech I gave earlier?” She put it down and then propped her chin on the top of her knee.

This time, he is the one that avoids her gaze, looking at the falling word around them from the window. “I thought you said it didn’t work on me.”

“Just because my powers don’t work on you. Doesn’t mean I’m an idiot who cannot connect the two dots together, emo boy.” She said.

He looks down for a few moments before looking back at her, an uncharacteristic look on his face. “Guess that—guess that makes me a special emo boy or what?” This time he didn’t complain about the nickname. Instead, he said the words that brings a smile to her face. She nodded slowly before leaning back to the window frame and with teary eyes she lets out a chuckle. “What?” He asked, raising one of his eyebrows.

“You’re making it difficult for me to not cry. You see, you’re not supposed to say that. Not with that face.” She paused, taking a deep breath trying to not let the tears out just yet. “Gosh, you don’t just look like him or sound like him. Now, you talked like him. I suppose my prayers are granted in a way. I see you again now. Breathing and alive. Just not—just not the you that I need. It hurts looking into your eyes when all I see is him and yet there is no trace of him in this falling world.”

“What was he like?” His gaze stayed on her, less tense than usual. “Truly. What was he like?” He asked once more.

“What did the others say?” She asked back.

Hesitantly, he answered her question. “He was……kind. Selfless. A tiny dark cloud on a perfect sunny day. A know-it-all. A scold. Most of them-Most of them are bad qualities.” He furrowed his eyebrows together and seems to be frustrated not being able to decipher why the other Ben was so special compared to him. “I’m the Number One. Numero Uno. He wasn’t, was he? All of those praises about him, look how he ended up 6 feet under.”

Brushing over his last comment, she nodded her head. “Well all of them are true. He was a great guy, wasn’t he? One of the best that I ever knew.” Her eyes trailed over the window. “I first met them all when I was around the age of 8 or 9. He was hiding behind Klaus or Number 4 at that moment. He was never been the one to love the public attention but somehow tried to gain mine. I suppose that makes him sweet. After his death, none of us have been the same. All of us were drowning in a sense, well we all have been drowning for a long time. But since that happened, none of us could ever reach the shore.” Her chest got heavy just from thinking of that feeling.

“Where are you now?” He inched closer towards her.

She pursed her lips before letting out a deep breath. “Just floating around, I guess? Not drowning but not completely free either.” She thought about her last interaction with Ben. “Perhaps this is it. With the world ending, I’m getting closer to my final destination.”

Looking back at him, she continued her words. “Ben. He was-He was easier to love out of everyone in that room earlier, out of all the people I’ve known in my whole life. And mind you remember this, I love all of them greatly—well not all of them,” She referred to Reginald. “We all have a fair share of memories together, mostly in our youthful days that are full of trauma created by your daddy dearest—even I had some of mine too and I’m not even a Hargreeves.” Both of them chuckled at her words.

“Very much relatable that last bit. Klaus said a similar thing earlier. About how he was easier to love.” Ben inched closer once more, perhaps this is the alcohol talking, but seeing him open up his feelings to her like this makes her pay no mind to the fact that by tomorrow he’ll probably change into hard-shell Ben again. “That doesn’t seem fair. All of you love him like that yet none can do the same for me.”

Biting back a snarky remark, she decided to say something else instead. “One thing about him is that he makes love seem to be a casual thing to feel, I mean it is, truthfully it is but not many people have the opportunity to realize that.” She wiped a single tear away. “There are a lot of things to pay for when it comes to love. To any kind of love. Meeting you is one of those. The price I have to pay for this moment is not a kind one.”

He nodded quietly before looking back directly into her eyes. “I’m not him, you know?”

She chuckled at his words. “Of course, you’re not. I’ve said that already. If yes then I won’t be just sitting in front of you right now.” I would hold you and never let go like you had wished once before your last moments. The last part remained in her mind. Glimpses of them together flowed around the two, yet she was the only one to remember. “It is a lonely thing, isn’t it? To remember when the other person doesn’t.”

“What if……the other person does?” Her head snapped back towards him as he said so. Letting out a shuddered breath, she opened her mouth to ask what he means by that but she wasn’t able to find her voice at all. Then he continued his words. “You know what sucks, you have all of these memories with your Ben and I-” He took a glance at the sky before looking back at her. “And the only recollection I have about you is the one I had in my dreams. The one that I forgot the moment that I woke up. The one I wished to remember because there’s this feeling that I can’t understand every time I am in that dream.”

“You said all you see when you look into my eyes are him. Yet when I see into yours all I see is you. No other version you. Just you you cause you’re the same one from my dreams. The dreams that left only glimpses in my memory. But then even in those dreams, you were with him, I suppose. That happy feeling was his feelings, it was never mine, to begin with. All this time I was dreaming of someone else’s memories.” Tears stream down her face as she takes in the look in his eyes, the same look he used to give her.

This Ben would never be her Ben. He was already gone from her world. Leaving nothing but the memories that remain in her heart. Nothing but the feeling that she would always feel till the moment she passed. Meeting this Ben had brought heavy feelings to her heart. Makes her yearn to see a glimpse of him in his eyes. And when she found what she was looking for, hurt was all she found. “I’m sorry, Ben.”

He smiled bitterly. “Out of everyone, I thought you hated me the most.” He said. Recalling her avoiding him at all cost during their first interactions when the Umbrella first comes back to the timeline. The look in her eyes when she first laid her gaze on him was one that he will not forget.

She looked at him with sadness in her eyes. “That is an ability that I am not capable of. I cannot afford that. I don’t think I could even if I tried. You’re too much like him. Any version of you they all-well, I’ve only met two of you but you’re much more alike than I thought you do. Your feelings. The way both of you feel, I found it beautiful.”

A comfortable silence engulfed both of them as the two leaned back to the window frame simultaneously. The world is still falling around them. Slowly fading away from reality. Most people are already gone, reuniting with their loved ones on the other side.

“You were right.” His voice makes her look back at him. He offered the palm of his hand to her, so she made up a scissor using her point and middle finger. “I won.” She said with a large smile on her face.

Ben rolled his eyes. “You’re so childish. I couldn’t see why he loved you so much.” He said, clearly lying.

She crossed her arms. “Oh, the alcohol finally worn out? I was enjoying the non-asshole you.”

“Oh shut up.” He hushed her.

“What was I right about?” She waited for his response.

He met her eyes once more. She could tell that he was hesitant about it. “With the world ending, there’s nothing anyone wants more than spending time with their loved ones. Any kind of love.” Her eyes stayed locked with him as she reached for his palm once more, a warm smile on her face.

“Any kind of love.” She replied back.

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Please i need people to understand that the tragedy of robins is that their parents did love them.

Dick’s parents love him they didn’t want to leave him. Jason’s parents loved him, they didn’t want to be trapped in poverty and crime. Steph’s mother loved her, she didn’t think Steph would get caught up in her husband’s schemes. Tim’s parents loved him, they never meant for him to be as alone as he was. Cass’s father loved her, he wanted her to be as strong as she could be. Damian’s mother loved him, she was raising him in impossible circumstances. Duke’s parents loved him, they never planned to get caught up in the attack.

And yes, these situations are different. Duke and Dick’s parents were good people, Steph mom and Jason’s dad are sometimes depicted as abusive but at other times shown to be struggling with their circumstances. Tim’s parents and Damian’s mom were good people who should never have been parents. Cass’s dad was a bad person who shouldn’t have been a parent. With Cass, there ended up being abuse, and with Damian too because one way or another Talia or the league’s training and general way of life would’ve harmed Damian, and some depictions of Tim’s parents imply severe neglect. But deep beneath that, despite the circumstances and even the failure of the people themselves, they did love their children, and were trying in their own way.

Just like Bruce loves his children, and why I’m sort of against the terrible father depiction. Because I think he’s traumatized and his knowledge of parenting would give him a poor subconscious fathering ability, but CONSCIOUSLY he loves his children, and he would try. That’s the difference. All the robins were loved, but they all lost their parents anyway. And they all will be loved again, because even is he fails, Bruce loves them too, and he is trying to do right by them. He’s trying to make sure none of their stories are tragedies.

Loser Reader gets isekai'd into their favorite horror smut game, but instead of the humans being the love interests it's all the monsters who terrorized the MC and their group who are also now nightmare horror femboys-

-

Friend: Look out, it's coming right for us!

Loser Reader: Why does that monster have such a fat ass?.... [Shouting] Hey, why's your ass so fat?!

[The Monster blushes - pointing at its leather face with four of its spider-like arms]

-

Loser Reader: I found your missing eye. We're cool now, right?

Femboy Ghost Yan: Finally....I am whole. Now we can be together, my love.... Will you take me as your groom and/or bride? I'm fine with either title so long that is is you I wed.

Loser Reader: Huh. This isn't how this plotline went when I played this game-

-

Friend(?): Y/n! I love you!

Loser Reader: Finally, a relationship with someone who's alive or doesn't have three mouths... Actually,that second one isn't so bad- besides the teeth

Friend, eyes black as the night sky: Which is why I won't let this one take you away from me.

[The friend grins from ear to ear - slowly walking backwards into oncoming traffic]

Loser Reader: God-DAMNIT! Every fucking time it's always the same shit-

-

Antagonist, pointing a gun at Reader: You're what they seem to be after. What's stopping me from shooting you in both legs and giving them what they want?

Loser Reader: uhhhh ughhhhhh....Fuck it-

[Loser Reader rushes forward and kisses them on the lips before shoving them away as if they had been the one to kiss them]

Loser Reader: Whoa....Whoa! Dude, we're just friends! If my boyfriends found out you kissed me they might kill you-

[Their attacker's face goes pale as dozens of hands pound and claw at the windows of the cabin they're trapped in]

Judy I. Lin, Song of the Six Realms/Agustina Bazterrica, Tender is the Flesh/Yah Yah Schofield, How to Make a Vase/Jeff VanderMeer, Annihilation/Fyodor Dostoevsky, Crime and Punishment/ Derek Walcott, Sea Canes/Clay McLeod, Whisper Down the Lane/ Kentaro Miura, Berzerk/ Mike Mignola, Hellboy

Had an idea for a video game reverse transmigration AU so here goes:

There’s a popular online cultivation game called Proud Immortal Demon Way that’s been making the rounds recently due to a new encounter players might run into that was unlike anything they’d ever experienced in other games.

In this encounter, the atmosphere would dim out of nowhere and from a distance, a boss character would start approaching them. Suddenly, their character would be grabbed out of nowhere by the incredibly handsome and imposing figure with red and black robes, a black sword and a full mane of hair. The man would look at their character before dropping it while clicking his tongue, usually saying something like, “Another empty husk…” before turning to the player’s screen and staring at them for a few moments. Even if the player tried to attack the boss character, it would ignore the attacks, hardly gaining any damage at all.

Then the character would furrow their brows and turn away. “You’re not the one.” he would say, and he would leave through a portal made with his sword.

The encounter happened only once per account, and the only hint that it was about to happen was a small voice calling out “Shizun?” from off-screen.

One day while Shen Yuan, under his somewhat popular streaming name PeerlessCucumber, was grinding enemies before a big raid, he heard the iconic and long-awaited “Shizun?”.

Rather than run away or attack like most players did, Shen Yuan was excited to finally, FINALLY get to see this legendarily unbeatable and good-looking NPC for himself and happily ran up, chattering happily to his viewers as he wanted to show them what usually happened when one encountered this particular boss.

The boss started his usual routine, picking the player character up and tossing it aside with an annoyed mumble before turning to the screen— no, to Shen Yuan.

His head tilted then and that— that wasn’t part of the routine.

A somewhat unsettling smile made its way onto the character’s face as he approached the screen, seemingly getting closer to Shen Yuan.

“Found you, Shizun.” he said.

That was the last time anyone saw the boss in-game. There was a video clip roaming around of PeerlessCucumber’s facecam, where an arm reached from off-screen into his room, strangely from about where the man’s screen should have been.

Then the stream cut and PeerlessCucumber hadn’t streamed for over a year.

When he came back, however, he introduced his new husband, Luo Binghe to his viewers. His new husband looked strangely familiar to anyone who'd played Proud Immortal Demon Way.

If anyone feels like expanding on the fic feel free, this brainworm was stuck in my head and I have too much homework to write anything longer than this 😅

Okay, I take back my original “how I wanted TUA to end” that I made a week ago and instead I want this:

The siblings realise the world keeps ending because they’re all in the same timeline. So in order to distribute the marigold, and save the end of the world, they all have to sacrifice being a family and never see each other again.

It ends with each sibling one by one (Lila and deigo come as a pair, I don’t make the rules) as they board the subway, each to their very own timeline in which the other family members don’t exist.

It’s heartbreaking, and for a family that were split and torn at the beginning of the series, the choice being made for them is even more heartbreaking because they’re a family now more than ever. But as they board the subway, we see a montage of them all in their HAPPY timelines, the beats of “I think we’re alone now” start playing and we realise, while the Hargreeves siblings finally have their happy ending, they are in fact, alone now. Cut to black. Cue BTS images.

Here's the thing

Shen Qingqiu is weird about pretty men and Liu Qingge in particular

And I think it's linked to his own issues with his Shen Yuan identity

Shen Yuan is described by Shen Qingqiu repeatedly as "a useless pretty boy"

And that's very telling. The only positive quality he gives himself as Shen Yuan is his looks as a 'pretty boy' and while he's pleased with his looks as Shen Qingqiu as a good looking man there is also a sense imo that he's glad he's "Lofty Immortal" handsome but not outstandingly beautiful compared to his peers or Luo Binghe

His looks give off "Scholar" and therefore intelligence as well as being good looking.

Shen Qingqiu is good looking but not too good looking if you understand

And that's why I think Liu Qingge was such a shock

Because Liu Qingge is "pretty"

He's outstandingly beautiful

But it's not commented on anywhere in the books. And Shen Qingqiu gets thrown by that specifically. The fact that the War God is known for something other then his looks, for his prowess and skills. Makes Shen Qingqiu kinda angry

Now this is me reading too much into it and is almost certainly a headcanon

But I can imagine a 3rd son who is very pretty being treated like his accomplishments don't matter because he was pretty

That his looks were the first things people said about him and maybe the only thing people praised him for

No it didn't matter that he didn't get top grade on that test. He still has his looks doesn't he?

It probably wasn't even done maliciously

But I can see it wearing down his self worth and sense of self

So Liu Qingge being so beautiful and it not even being commented on in canon must have been infuriating both because that didn't happen irl to him and because it would have been nice to have a character who was beautiful but acknowledged first as a fighter

For definite headcanon: Shen Yuan is actively more beautiful and pretty then Shen Qingqiu

"Dick was a terror of a child" "Dick was Bruce's least favorite child to raise" my love there are much easier ways to say that you do not like loud children than projecting it onto Bruce Wayne, who loved raising Dick Grayson's rambunctious ass so much that he gave 3 children a lifelong inferiority complex about it

As I get more and more into s-classes that I raised, I understand Yoohyun more. And its kinda sad.

He is the reincarnation of prominent fire. He isn't fully human. His parents felt there was some problem with him, so they left him alone, never cared for him. He was a subject of negligence. Others also avoided him. Yoojin was the only person who cared for him.

Yoohyun never understood human, their emotion and the complexity of it. He never understood society and how it works. And probably that's why he never understood the consequences of him leaving Yoojin and how badly it would hurt Yoojin and Yoojin's reputation, how badly people would treat Yoojin and how it'd slowly eat away Yoojin from inside.

That's why he never understood the complex feelings Yoojin would go through if he is to leave Yoojin.

Yoohyun probably knew Yoojin loved him enough to not stop hoping for his return(I think, because Yoohyun wanted to reunite with Yoojin once he had a strong position), but he did not know Yoojin loved him enough to endure all the mistreatment and still go to dungeon raid and all just to get his approval, just to be a brother that is not a burden.

And its sad. Its sad that he couldn't understand humans. That he was doing everything within what he could understand. That he didn't realize all of it will make Yoojin more and more sad.

As someone who had stuggles understanding emotions, society, interaction and human relationships, I know this struggle. And I find myself feeling sorry for a charcter I never thought I would(I used to dislike him) now I feel sympathy for him. And it made s-classes I raised all more sad for me :)

It really is unfortunate that shen yuan being an unreliable narrator often makes people misunderstand his character. "Shen Yuan was lazy and stole shen jiu's cultivation." In truth, Shen jiu's cultivation was extremely unstable and he was far behind all the other peak lords.

It was shen yuan who entered the caves right after unlocking the ooc function and cultivated in seclusion for several months.

In short: