#Because they tried... sort of... and it blew up and as if she'd want to go there again and he's seeing someone and it's fine.

[lightgamble]

DAREDEVIL: BORN AGAIN | 1.09

You know, back at his place, I heard your heartbeats.

[lovelyahoy]

Dr. Stone: One-shot Continuation.

Word Count:14,105.

Warnings: Contains MAJOR MANGA SPOILERS including the ending. A certain timeline towards the end was swapped around for story-progressing purposes, it completely follows the plot at a fast pace. (I re-read this five times, editing and changing stuff and I'm sorry if it's like super messy, I can't read this word dump again.)

Summary: Part two of this post, so fluff & suggestive words/actions, and random shit again but mixed with the after-petrification scenarios. A lot more dialogue this time.

Taglist: @nishayuro, @feverish-dove (Sorry y'all I kinda got very carried away LOL)

Pairing: Stanley x Fem!Reader x Xeno

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"HEY! Don't put my husband there!" [Y/N] watched with annoyance as bullets rained at them, one almost striking her in the leg. Xeno had been used as a shield, making her heart drop straight into her stomach.

Hyoga hummed, eyes still weirdly kept shut. "I'd put you instead, but you aren't as important."

She desperately wanted to kick the smug bastard off the motorcycle, holding in the urge because she wasn't a psycho.

"I'll have you know I'm a fucking DOCTOR, what are you? some spear-twirling princess?" Xeno snorted, squinting his eyes trying to see through the dust piling up. He knew Stan wouldn't miss his shots, having no reason to worry he didn't mind being put in the line of fire.

Maybe worried about his wife who wouldn't stop arguing with the enemy, the motorcycles bumped around the dirt path. The wheel hit a rock when [Y/N] yelped and nearly fell off, being grabbed by a frantic Ryusui, balancing his grip on the back of her shirt and the steering wheel.

"Hyoga pull her up!"

"Hm. no."

"Drop me, and my husband will shoot your ass!" [Y/N] felt a pebble strike her cheek, whining but staying still.

"With what gun?" Hyoga taunted, pushing Xeno further over the bike, the scientist kept his eyes on [Y/N] beginning to panic from her position.

"Okok! Whatever help me up!" She could feel the pirate boy's hand beginning to slip, the motorcycle going side to side. A harsh tug brought her face away from the ground, and she nearly fell to the other side but managed to hold onto the driver.

She was going to kill this disrespectful brat. The sound of something getting closer reached her ears, her eyes narrowed not being able to see anything.

Two shots rang out, blood splattering onto her face and neck. Practically giving herself whiplash, she spun her head, worried that Xeno had taken the hit instead. Sighing in relief when it was Hyoga who did.

Only one person could've land those.

"SHOOT HIM AGAIN HONEY!"

Xeno's mouth was covered with a wooden gag, leaving him no choice other than to glare at her, hoping she'd notice and sit down properly.

She pouted her lips, trying to hide the smile that threatened to appear. Unfortunately, the spear user had some sort of body made of fucking steel, so the bullet's damage wasn't grave.

Encouraging her husband to shoot some kid was a little messed up, but hey it's a new world, and he had it coming. Kidnapping a soldier's lovers, like that would ever end in sunshine and rainbows.

She tried to ignore how biased she was being, when they shot Senku she nearly flipped the castle. Hyoga didn't mean anything to her though, so she was justified.

It felt like hours before they settled down, losing the 'rescue' team when the plane blew up. After cleaning the crimson liquid off her face, [Y/N] was enjoying a...whatever meat this was from...while standing next to a finally untied Xeno.

"A ropeway!"

"Nope."

Senku cackled, twisting a pinkie in his ear sending [Y/N] a smug smile.

"Scared? Seems unbefitting of you, Dr. [Y/N]." Freaking leek-kid. Her eyebrow twitched, finishing the last bite of her food and stomping towards Senku. Getting yoinked back by Xeno, she sent him wide eyes, bottom lip jutted out.

"Please?"

"Pushing him down the cliff, wouldn't be efficient my dear."

"You shot him."

"Correction, Stan did."

"Who ordered it?!" He smiled gently, pressing a quick kiss to her forehead. [E/C] eyes turned into hearts, and forgetting her little vengeance, she snuggled up to Xeno.

"More~" She gave him a kissy face, earning her one...JUST ONE.

[Y/N] deflated like a balloon in the background, fake tears building in her eyes. Chrome poked her with a stick, screaming when she suddenly stood up straight, focusing on Xeno's voice sounding so hot.

"Wire made of carbon and steel. Light, yet sturdy. Truly Elegant." Xeno held it in his clawed hand, observing the craftsmanship.

"Weight limit is about 160 kilograms." Senku calculated in his head, earning him a nod from his mentor. Technically speaking, everyone could make it over with no issue, the time crunch was the problem, and the pairings.

"There's more than just the numbers to consider, the real issue is [Y/N] and Xeno," Kohaku spoke through the stone age phone. "If we don't put any thought into this, and in the end, Xeno, [Y/N], and Suika are the last ones left down below..."

The blonde girl continued. "The biggest cause for concern though, would be pairing them two with Hyoga—"

"Hell no! I'd rather jump off this damn thing than be near him again, nearly murdered me." [Y/N] came up like a protective hyena, standing in front of Xeno and blocking Hyoga's view of him.

"I believe that deep down, we're much alike, Xeno. The two of us could flee together and rendezvous with Stanley's crew."

"Elegant offer, but my wife doesn't seem fond of the idea." The animalistic noises stopped, watching in amusement when [Y/N] nodded her head vigorously.

"As much as I want to go back to our husband, we aren't going to—whatever actually, I don't care at all about this, however, you aren't allowed to be near my Xeno!"

In the end, [Y/N] couldn't let sweet Suika ride with Hyoga, so with a frown she watched Xeno sit down, he offered her a reassuring smile. There were so many words she wanted to say but didn't want to risk Hyoga getting mad and pushing Xeno down.

After they safely landed on the other side, she helped Suika sit down, and plopped right behind her. The little girl wrapped her hands around the handles, [Y/N] held the side of the seat and the back of Suika's clothing.

During their travel, the doctor hummed a small tune, trying to relax the young girl. Despite her efforts to make it a calm ride, a harsh gust of wind hit them, and the seat swerved to the side.

"SUIKA!"

Kohaku was about to jump, stopping herself when [Y/N] managed to catch the child, holding a firm grasp. "Oh shit! Don't panic, I swear I got you." Suika stopped swinging her legs, staying completely still, and could only leave her life in the hands of—a doctor! The melon head covered her bright smile, Senku told her that doctors were people who saved lives every single day.

He made sure to point out that [Y/N] was one of the greatest doctors of his time!

They made it safe and sound, Kohaku thanking [Y/N] profusely and the latter hugging Xeno, tugging him away from Hyoga's amused aura.

"Did he do anything?"

Xeno shook his head, enjoying the way she poked around his face, arms, and torso. Finishing up her search, she sighed in relief. This whole thing was stressing her out, she was only taken hostage because she refused to let go of Xeno when they kidnapped him. Not to mention getting stuck underground, her claustrophobia was so bad even Chrome was reassuring, his enemy, it'd be okay.

"Don't worry so much."

"How can I not? There's no jail I can throw his ass in."

"You say it like you've done it before..." Xeno raised an eyebrow when she slowly turned her face away from his. "[Y/N]."

She began walking away, with him hot on her heels. [Y/N] squeaked hiding behind a confused Senku. His weird hair covered her entire head. Xeno approached them, keeping a blank expression, even if he really wanted to smile at how cute she looked peeking from behind the kid's shoulder.

"Uhm...remember that scientist who suddenly quit after stealing one of your ideas?"

His silence was deafening, even Senku froze from how sharp the onyx eyes were settled on their figures. He really had forgotten his mentor wasn't this superb nice guy, his smiles and laughter were only ever meant for his wife during this time.

"Well...he didn't quit, I got dad to put him into jail after Stanley kicked his ass."

"Are you confessing to a crime right now?" Senku's scarlet eyes blinked, looking over his shoulder. "I knew your dad was an important figure, didn't think you'd be a daddy's girl though."

"Where the hell did you think I got the money I sent you and supported Xeno's projects from?"

"Right, incapable ass keke—ACK!" [Y/N] hit the back of Senku's knees, slamming her foot on his back. Suika rolled over checking his face kissing the ground.

"Anyway, to what force is anyone reporting me?" [Y/N] snickered, crossing her arms in triumph.

Kohaku and Chelsea shared a glance, maybe the trio's relationship wasn't as far-fetched as they initially thought, [Y/N] definitely had a screw loose.

Xeno didn't reply, going back over the details of said scientist. His work had been stolen, and amateurishly presented in front of the board members. The man didn't even think of changing the formatting on his folders, to which [Y/N] immediately noticed, knowing her husband's work like the back of her hand.

It was made known to Xeno that he quit, moved across the country before NASA could intervene. Seemed like his spouses didn't let it slide that easily, did [Y/N]'s action surprise him that much? no, did Stanley's? Actually no to that either, they were both very much in character.

He finally chuckled, [Y/N]'s shoulders relaxed, and she went back to normal. Stepping off of Senku, letting him regain his breathing.

"It does suck that I no longer hold any power in this era, such a shame." Images of all the food Ruby would cook, her first-class trips. From having all the money in the damned universe to being flat broke in a world where there wasn't even an economy yet was so embarrassing.

Oh my, don't even remind her of the shopping sprees. Her clothes now were okay, but her designer heels, her Le Pliage backpack collections, [Y/N] didn't feel like herself without them.

"Only a matter of time, my dear."

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"Look how hot I look in these, Xee!" [Y/N] modeled her rubber boots, being a perfect match with her black shorts and white buttoned shirt. She twirled around Xeno, and he indulged in her little runway, knowing she was trying to relax before venturing into the bug-infested forest.

Suika followed behind, copying her steps. She had been unofficially adopted by the [H/C] haired doctor, Suika didn't mind getting brought into bear hugs every now and then.

"Very beautiful."

[Y/N] nodded in agreement to his compliment, of course, she could pull off anything. Senku had mentioned that a girl named Yuzuriha was a talented seamstress, she desperately needed to meet her and plead for cuter clothing.

"What're you burning, Xeno?" Suika stopped by the mad scientist, observing the smoke and fire.

"Plants of the apiaceae family and artemisia genus, to create an insect-repelling mist." He quickly pointed a claw towards his wife, who was suddenly borderline crying at how many mosquitoes bit her upper thighs, scratching harshly.

Luna and [Y/N] watched in mutual horror as they turned army ants into an extract, and put it over their bodies. The doctor panicked when Luna foamed at the mouth and fell, there was no way in hell she'd put that on either.

Senku approached her with his hands coated in the disgusting substance, evilly grinning but was stopped by Xeno who shook his head.

"She's allergic to ants." He lied without missing a beat, standing close to [Y/N] with the repellant mist. She quickly hugged his arm to her chest, muttering 'i love you' every few seconds.

[Y/N] felt her life slowly slip away with every step, eventually making it out of the forest, then helping make a freaking waterslide that she almost flew out of, and ended with a torturous walk. Their path led them to a giant glimmering...mountain?

A Mountain of the petrification devices. Taiju jumped into the piles yelling out 'one meter! one second!' multiple times, making others join in with the antic.

"—On that day, A millennia ago, they gave the earth a coating of stone. Can you imagine what a grand sight it must have been?" [Y/N] noticed Xeno pocket a device while giving the fake hearty speech, she zipped her lips and pretended not to notice.

Until the mentalist approached them so casually, leaning his head towards the rocket scientist.

"My dear Xeno, what did you put in your pocket? A medusa perha—"

"Are you flirting? He's a married man!" Her voice cracked lightly when she pushed away Chrome who was tugging on Xeno's unmoving figure. "Don't touch him!"

Xeno kept a firm smile at her attempt to distract them, appreciating the effort.

Gen spluttered, waving his hands around. A shiver went down his spine at how she glared at him, "No no! I would never!" he couldn't even fake a persona. [Y/N] terrified him.

"It's fine, leave him be. In fact, if his interest is piqued, we oughta borrow his knowledge. Our only chance of winning against Stanley—" Senku paused, side-eyeing [Y/N] fawn when she heard the name. "Ahem, involves using the medusa."

"I'm not sure I agree with the idea of petrifying my husband." She crossed her arms, deep in thought.

"You're a hostage, you don't have to agree."

...

...

"I'm letting it slide because you're my favorite child."

"I'm your only child—" Senku froze, the smirk on his face fell when he noticed [E/C] eyes filling up with sparkles. He didn't have enough time to avoid the hug, with a sigh he let her squeeze his soul out.

"I knew you loved me!" She smooched his cheek, earning a groan and a flustered Senku.

He wouldn't use the word 'love' but he knew a part of him cared for the chaotic doctor, their email exchanges, her financial and emotional support towards his projects, he truly did appreciate it.

"But I do have another child, Suika's now your younger sister."

"What are Xeno and Stanley's thoughts on this addition?"

"It's like a single mother situation y'know? I can't co-parent with those two."

"A single mother with two husbands, interesting." He brushed back his white and green hair, breathing in when she finally let go. She was steadily making it a habit to suffocate him.

[Y/N] watched them start working on a new ship, sitting down on a nearby rock. She'd been fake-arguing with everyone (except Hyoga), teasing their intentions towards her husband, all in an effort to mask her nervousness.

She missed spending time with both her lovers in that damn castle, it sucked being away from Stanley, making her feel incomplete. In the end, she could never say no to their little schemes, too fucking cute to deny.

Xeno joined her shortly, sitting closely and bumping their shoulders. Onyx eyes observed her scrunched-up face, he lightly traced the lines.

"You're going to get wrinkles if you keep that up."

"Would that displease you?"

"Not in the slightest, but it would bother you."

She relaxed her face, turning to look at Xeno. He held a soft smile, making her insides feel all mushy. Maybe instead of freaking out, she should've just kept her eyes solely on him. [Y/N] kissed his lips, lingering there for a few seconds before pulling away.

"I miss Stan."

"I know, I do too."

"If...no, when, this is all over. I demand a cuddle session, no interruptions."

Xeno chuckled, taking off a glove to pull her head onto his shoulder, running his fingers through her [H/C] hair. "Anything you desire, my dear."

He observed his wife longer, in a way, getting through the first months of the new stone age was easier because of [Y/N]. Sure she did understandably freak out when she realized everything was gone, not to mention her reaction to their rings being gone too.

Xeno wasn't sure if [Y/N] noticed how he and Stanley felt seeing her still wear those rings with pride, showing them off to every person who woke up. A little guilty when both men had nothing representing their commitment to each other, so after settling into a more comfortable progress, he had the scouting team led by his favorite soldier to look for the materials to replicate them.

When the shock went away, she left them to handle all the 'unimportant' things while setting up honeymoon plans with what she could work with. Lunch under a big tree, covered by its shade, taking a swim at the beach—and a few moments in the mattress he had made.

When they finally settled into a rhythm, he oddly felt content with the world. Having both his partners just a yell away, wherever and whenever, they'd be right there. He was also able to create whatever he wanted without needing the approval of a corrupt system.

"Love you too, times forty-seven."

[Y/N] raised an eyebrow, confused but still blushing over his statement.

"That's how many times you said it, during the forest walk."

"Wish I could say 'bedroom now', these kiddos haven't made beds yet..." She smiled at his soft laugh, her body melted further into his, enjoying the warmth.

She was still bitter that they were turned to stone a week after their ceremony, she was going to destroy whoever did this to them. [Y/N] didn't care if it was an alien, she'd win.

(actually scared that it might be an alien)

Eventually, they stood up and joined the others, observing the new creation. The new ship looked like something straight out of a Alien vs Predator movie, [Y/N] bounced around it, observing the slanted sides.

Xeno stood back praising his kid mentee, then the topic of the medusas not being able to get tracked via radio signals was brought up by Ukyo. Chrome suggested covering the entire ship in said devices, more hours later and it was completed.

"Dammit, I planned on bedazzling my dad's yacht for his birthday, now I wouldn't be the first to do it." Ukyo sweat dropped, the more [Y/N] talked, the more she seemed out of touch with the world he used to now. Were all rich people this way? Ukyo glanced at Ryusui, right, they were not normal.

"Science is, truly elegant."

"Yeah so are we, let's get on!"

While Xeno was stuck inside some stuffy room with Senku looking over the medusas trying to figure something out, [Y/N] was being swarmed by the girls and Francois, who was serving them yummy food.

"Do they treat you right? I can't picture those two weir—hehe...eccentric?" Chelsea awkwardly laughed, "people being in a relationship."

"That scientist does seem to be fond of you." Kohaku commented, rubbing her chin in thought.

"Well I'd hope it's noticeable, I'm married to him..." The doctor mumbled under her breath. Shoving a mouthful of ramen in her mouth, the flavor was so rich, could she add Francois to her marriage?

Whenever Xeno would try cooking, it would end up in a monstrous experiment, Stanley had a habit of forgetting he had something on the stove too focused on finishing his cigarette. [Y/N] well, she rarely made anything fancy, taking her then-boyfriends to 5-star restaurants whenever they craved something.

"Yeah, they do. Rest assured, aside from their murder-y schemes and evil plans, they love me."

Luna gushed while the other two deadpanned, Francois only smiled. Suika was tuning them out for the most part, finishing up her food and rolling around trying to find out if anyone needed help.

"How does one get two husbands?!"

"Luna don't you go trying to cheat on my son." [Y/N] teasingly pointed at the pink-haired girl with her chopsticks. "It's not just me having two husbands, it's also them having a wife and husband."

Luna blinked at the utensils in her face, confused by her words. Chelsea pushed up her glasses and held up a finger in the air, trying to explain to the capable girl what those words meant.

"What [Y/N]'s saying, is that Senku would have to be into men as well."

Everyone looked up, an imaginary scenario of Senku being interested in a man flashed by their eyes, talking to each other and slowly leaning in to kiss.

"AH! Make it go away!" Kohaku waved the air, getting rid of their thoughts, except for the doctor. She'd seen the way Senku interacted with Gen, she would support her kid no matter what. Well make him have a talk with Luna first, can't have him be a cheater.

"I think I'll stick to Senku, what if I get jealous..." Luna gasped dramatically, "Oh my, does that happen to you [Y/N]?"

The woman shook her head, never did she feel that ugly emotion when they'd be lovey-dovey. Actually, she enjoyed seeing them kiss and hug, squealing whenever they'd do so. [Y/N] even had a folder dedicated to 'stanxeno' moments, sometimes telling them to kiss at random times, only to flash the camera.

"Can't be jealous when they look so hot together." She turned mushy, finishing her food and letting her head run with the faces of her lovers.

"How long have you been together? Not counting the years you were a stone." Kohaku finished her bowl of ramen as well, scooting closer to the doctor.

"Oh, overall six years and six months. Three of those married."

"Wow! You guys are pretty old huh?"

...

"I'm very good-looking for my age if you haven't noticed!"

"I never said you were ugly, old yes, ugly? Never!"

"[Y/N]!" Kohaku held back the [H/C] haired woman by the waist, stopping her from lunging at the young geographer.

"What about kids?"

Suddenly tears sprouted from her [E/C] eyes, Luna panicked and apologized for asking. [Y/N] looked like a dejected child right now, slumping in Kohaku's arms and sniffling.

"We got petrified a week after our wedding, we didn't have the luxury of time to discuss it.."

The timing couldn't have been more horrible, Francois made no comment, only handing a small handkerchief to the crying woman. So the three years of marriage were actually spent in the stone age, and the other girls deflated thinking about how hard that must have been.

"[Y/N]?" Chrome peeked his head out from the corner. "Senku asked for you."

"Oh, well excuse me, ladies." She thanked Francois for the food, stopping herself from giving them a kiss on the cheek. Walking down the wobbling steps to enter the room, the sight that greeted her had nerd written all over it.

"I'm happy to contribute my scientific knowledge if it concerns my wife and I's well-being. But you can't expect me to aid your efforts to deceive my husband. Can you?"

An evil giggle made them turn their heads, [Y/N] held her red face in her hands, muttering how adorable his speech was.

"Hey, mental case, c'mere." Senku watched her approach him, surprising her when he snatched up her hand. "I remembered your rings having a shape similar to the diamonds we found inside the medusa, they might be a different color, but it should work nonetheless."

"Senku, you know I adore you, but nothing in this world could ever make me give up these rings." Senku paused noticing she was completely serious, no teasing, no flustered state, just pure honesty. He let go of her hand, he had checked Xeno's a few moments ago but realized they weren't authentic.

"Sorry." He murmured softly, he should've known how special the rings would be to her, they weren't replicas like the other pairs. These were the original rings she managed to keep safe, even after 3700+ years.

"Oh come on! Science is much more important than some ugly rings!" Chrome stiffened when Xeno placed a clawed hand on his shoulder, the amateur scientist was sweating bullets.

"Those are lab-grown diamond rings, ones that took me two years to finally deem perfect enough. Ugly is the last word you should be using."

"Grown your own damn diamond!" [Y/N] huffed, holding her hand close to heart, offended by the word 'ugly' being thrown around her today.

"We're making a diamond alright." Senku smugly smiled like a villain, heading straight for the phone to send a message back to his comrades situated in America. Of course they weren't allowed to hear, so [Y/N] plopped down where Senku had been sitting earlier, Xeno sat as well, this time next to her.

"They're all different shades of black, well this one here is more of a gray color."

"The usage must be deteriorating the diamond over time, the much darker ones are surely a result of the world-ending beam years ago."

"You never told me you took the time to make these yourself." [Y/N] whispered, the honey and black colored diamonds glowed slightly, even if the room was kind of dark. They were important before, but now? She would die to keep the rings safe.

"Did you notice that Stanley's ring isn't exactly caramel, like his eyes?" He hummed, taking off his gloves and using his bare hand to hold hers. "He asked me to make it a honey shade, because that's what you call him."

"Please, I've heard you call him honey before too." Xeno smiled, knowing full well he did, only hiding the nickname calling whenever she'd come around to deprive her of teasing material.

"Buying things for you never seemed like the right thing to do, so what do you gift somebody who can get anything they want? Handmade crafts, something special, unique, elegant."

[Y/N] noticed he stopped looking at her hand a while ago, he was directing those last words to her. She cupped his face, pressing a sweet kiss. It turned into a feeling of desperation, prying his lips open with her tongue to swirl it against his. Xeno's arm wrapped around her waist, pulling her flush to his chest, her hands straying away from his face and onto his shoulders.

His lips felt so soft against hers, she tilted her head to try and better the angle, biting his bottom lip gently in response to one of his hands traveling further from her waist and lightly tapping her ass. Xeno rarely initiated intimate touches, he liked seeing them squirm when he'd surprise them out of nowhere.

"Stop that." [Y/N] mumbled against him, pressing another kiss. "There's nowhere to do it." He laughed, onyx eyes shimmering with mischief as his hand continued to venture around her. Brushing against her clothed chest, trailing up to wrap his fingers around her throat.

The pad of his thumb slightly rubbed the skin when she gulped, her cheeks were turning a bright red, and he absolutely adored it. Xeno leaned in again, giving her a sloppy kiss and applying pressure to her airway. [Y/N] held in the moan that threatened to slip out, if Stanley were here he would've scolded her for not letting them hear her sounds.

When he finally pulled away, he kept his grasp on her, letting her expression sink into his mind.

"I never should've taught you choking."

"I'm very glad you did dear."

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"And you couldn't blink an 'I miss you'?!" [Y/N] whispered, Xeno had just notified her that Stanley would know where to head next. Maybe she should've paid more attention to their morse code lessons.

"I'm sure he knows that already."

"But what if he doesn't? My poor little bubby, he's all alone." Xeno blinked at the nickname, usually, she'd say 'hubby' where'd bubby come from?

"Um, why did we construct this crazy-fortified stronghold?" Gen had drops of swear coating his entire face, gawking at the newest creation.

"For the final battle against Stanley." Senku looked like he was smug about the situation, only a few could tell he was really stressing inside.

"Are the bad guys gonna chase us all the way here?" Suika huddled up to [Y/N] who felt her soul leave her momentarily, said bad guys include her husband y'know...

"Heh, Dr. Xeno was up to no good with our radio signal. His claw was magnetized."

"You people planned to lure Stan—" Xeno felt a poke to his ribs, he glanced to the side seeing [Y/N] mouth a word. With an amused sigh, he continued. "to lure my husband here, so I don't see the harm."

"You sped up the timetable, that's the harm." Senku ran his fingers through his hair, grinning down at them. "We're out to beat Stanley, and reclaim the Perseus."

The next big step to this plan was to acquire more diamonds, [Y/N] refused to help them, one because it was a war against Stanley, and two, she was not about to go digging underground risking getting caved in, again.

Attempt after attempt, it was looking more dire. The diamonds gathered were too small, not even being able to tinker with most of them. So everyone circled around trying to decide on backup plans.

"I can just run it over and take them down with me!" Taiju yelled out, his spirit firing up.

"You'd get shot before getting a meter close." [Y/N] patted his head when he calmed down and realized she was right, these were soldiers who shot to kill any threats with no hesitation.

"What if, we all get petrified?" Chrome was on a roll coming up with ideas, it seemed like being around Senku for this long had upped his thinking process significantly.

Senku was going to build on this suggestion, realizing that it would be the best course of action, but was cut off by the sound of a loud thud.

Xeno had his arms crossed, [Y/N] sprawled on the floor in front of him. "No! I don't want to get petrified again, it was so goddamn depressing."

The dark nearly drove her crazy, she kept herself conscious because Stanley firmly told her to do so. Scared that if she didn't, she'd never see them again. [Y/N] had never felt such despair in her life.

"[Y/N] I ten billion percent promise, it won't be another 3700 years." Her 'adopted' kid firmly assured her, scarlet eyes keeping direct eye contact. He didn't enjoy being a statue either.

"She has the habit of being on the floor, doesn't she?" Kohaku observed from the side, recounting the times she'd seen [Y/N] let herself drop to the floor.

"[Y/N] grew up spoiled, she used to lay on the ground like so to get what she wanted from her father—"

"WHY ARE YOU TELLING THEM THAT?" Her body sprung up from the floor, nearly bashing her head into Xeno's chin. "No, it's just for theatrical effect. Okay? I'm not spoiled."

No one believed her.

The American-land pair were later tied up, Suika and Francois were sent out to scout the incoming military team. The rope was digging into her skin, putting her in a bad mood.

"What you must know about Stanley, is that he will not hesitate to slaughter everyone. Ethics and morals do not come into play, not when he's doing his job as a soldier and spouse."

"Yeah. I'm aware of that."

The mentor and mentee continued their weird chat, leaving the woman near them to just drown herself in make-believe positive thoughts. Wanting everyone to be safe in the end, she just desired to be happy with her hubbies and live happily ever after, was that so hard to achieve?

...

In the forest a few moments ago...

"We are unaffiliated with the combat unit, we have no intention of attacking and will do as you say. Knowing that will you still execute us?" Francois held a firm posture, trying to protect everyone from getting shot.

"Nope, won't shoot you. If what you're saying is true—"

"I was adopted by [Y/N]!" Suika spluttered, shaking when the head soldier blinked in response, he didn't seem caught off guard or surprised.

"Of course you were, my wife can't go a second without gathering things she finds cute." Stanley smirked, dangling an unlit cigarette between his lips.

...

"Shoot to kill! Everyone but Xeno and [Y/N]. Show no mercy!"

Her husband's voice rang out, and despite his choice of words, warmth spread throughout her entire chest. Happiness and sorrow mixed within her, she'd grown quite fond of these kids throughout the months but knew she couldn't have them and her husbands, at least not right now.

She watched with teary eyes as Taiju and Ryusuui got shot down, barely breathing. Her inner doctor screamed to run over and help, burying the feeling when she remembered she was still tied up.

"No!" Senku was shot down, slumping to the ground with blood pooling around him. [Y/N] couldn't even bring herself to look at the bright green light approaching them, barely noticing when Stanley untied them.

"The rescue took nearly one hundred days, I imagined you'd come a bit sooner. Or were you dragging your feet because our princess was guaranteed safe?"

"Shut up, this ain't the time for your warm and fuzzy gratitude." Well at least not from Xeno's smug face, Stanley embraced the sobbing [Y/N] in his arms. He caressed her messy [H/C] hair and allowed her to pull away the cigarette, kissing him roughly.

It spelled out anger, sadness, and yearning all at once. His purple lipstick stained her lips slightly. The time left didn't allow them to continue much longer, despite the situation, he was happy to see his lovers safe and sound.

"The bottles are gone." Maya notified them, seeing the empty bag in her grasp.

The soldiers noticed a running Suika. Stanley ordered them to shoot, sending a reassuring glance to [Y/N], he wouldn't shoot the child, just the bottles. Suika fell to the ground from the force, and one fluid managed to get caught by Chrome, who threw it up to Gen awaiting in the tower.

"Catch on yet, Xeno?" Senku coughed up blood, grinning at his baffled mentor. [Y/N] realized that the leek-haired kid was going to live long enough for the beam to engulf him, meaning he'd be alright in the long run.

Stanley aimed up at the singular revival fluid bottle, weighing the pros and cons of what his shot could entail too. He didn't think for long, feeling [Y/N] wrap her arms around his waist. The blonde softly sighed, turning her face away from Xeno who had been already turned to stone.

"Bambi, they won't be able to revive you if you're holding onto me." He murmured, knowing full well Senku would bring back Xeno for his scientific specialty, and [Y/N] because he was fond of her. However, they had no reason to bring him back.

"Xeno will find a way, don't forget who we married." Hearing him call her by the nickname she'd grown to adore, made her feel like everything was going to be alright. Stanley softly smiled, she wouldn't let go, he felt selfish letting her risk it all, but he could never bring himself to push away his crying wife.

"I love you. I love you both so much." [Y/N] sniffled, hearing him light up his last cigarette and holding her tighter.

"Love you both more."

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Not alone, Stanley's right next to me.

It's ok.

Xeno, are you awake?

I can't keep thinking of our dinner dates, cuddle sessions, or our wedding. It's making me yearn even more, how long has it been?

Senku and the others circled around the stone statues, Xeno felt his heart wrench when he noticed the sad expressions they carried. He got closer, chuckling when he noticed the rings were gone. [Y/N] didn't want to risk losing them again it seemed, his own were thankfully still intact.

"All of Stanley Snyder's assaults on us were, A, justifiable acts of warfare or B, attempted murder." Ryusui snapped his fingers dramatically. "It's our testimony that counts here."

"I suppose we'll all go with option A? That's what we can offer to dear Xeno." Gen awkwardly smiled, [Y/N] was too close to Stanley to get revived, knowing that if they splashed it on her figure it would bring back the soldier as well.

"Or C, a soldier doing whatever to rescue his wife and husband, we did kind of kidnap them..." Ukyo muttered, observing the longing in the mad scientist's onyx eyes.

Xeno agreed to help them out with their moon mission, it didn't matter how long it would take. He'd bring them back, one way or another.

"Are you really playing tic-tac-toe right now?"

Xeno's smile twitched, feeling the soft tracing of a washable marker on his forehead. His girlfriend lying on top of him, Stanley held in his snickers, sitting beside him.

"I'm too lazy to get paper." [Y/N] smiled down at him, kissing the tip of his nose and drawing the grid. Placing a circle, she passed the marker over to Stanley.

Xeno had his arms loosely wrapped around her waist, sighing and allowing them to do whatever they wanted. With every color stroke, they'd give him a brief kiss as a reward.

X O X

O X O

X O X

"I hate you Stan." She grumbled, she didn't even notice him setting her up. Her pouty lips were kissed by an amused Soldier, who then grabbed a wipe to clean off Xeno's face.

Stanley finished up and laid back down, face nuzzling into Xeno's. [Y/N] smirked when they started kissing, trying to fight down the blush before they could tease her.

Ok, these thoughts need to go fucking away.

[Y/N] was slowly getting angrier than sad, will she be stuck like this? Not getting any more kisses or hugs? Swearing she'd beat Senku's ass if she woke up 50 years later and Xeno was an oldie.

Despite her efforts to focus on medical notes, memories of their relationship kept flooding her mind. Eventually letting them run wild, and once they had been replayed around a hundred times, her brain settled down.

Now remembering her procedures, surgeries that were over 24 hours, she was so damn good at her job. It felt kind of wrong to say what a shame it was she couldn't do her job as meticulously now—not that she wanted someone to get badly injured so she could help...haha...

"Ah, a wise pick for the job." Gen snickered behind his arm, Xeno turned away from them, hiding his emotions. "But I must say I'm shocked, Stan is the ultimate soldier, if we join forces again we might try to take over again."

"I'm ten billion percent sure, [Y/N]'s going to wake up pissed off and set some rules." Senku heard her yell when he got shot down, the first time it happened she sprung into action, minimizing the damage to his body, and he made a very fast recovery. This time, she could only watch in dread, he knew that had an effect on her.

Notifying the others was received with shocked yells, worried that bringing him back would cause chaos once again.

"By bringing back Stanley, we'd be waking up [Y/N] too." Kohaku stated, crossing her arms when everyone turned to look at her. "I can't object then, she deserves to be here."

Xeno trudged up the mountain accompanied by Senku, Chrome, Gen, and Tsukasa as a guard. He had brought clothes, but couldn't dress them by their positions, so he opted for a large blanket.

Not long after pouring the revival fluid, the stone began to crack. Stanley was the first to react, gladly accepting the cigarette and lighter his husband was handing over.

"What's the job?" He quirked an eyebrow when his wife took four rings out of her mouth, coughing lightly before sending him a sharp glare.

"Oh shut the hell up!" [Y/N] slammed her fist on his chest, earning a weak grunt. "What's the job? Your job is to fucking coddle me after raining bullets everywhere, which was kind of hot because you did it for us BUT STILL!" She huffed, flustering when she noticed her bare body pushed up against Stanley's.

"No more fighting, okay? not one damn shot against them, or I will divor—who am I kidding, I can't commit to that." Her resolve melted, feeling his hands rub her hips gently. She heard footsteps getting further, glancing back to see that only Xeno and Senku remained in the cave.

The latter closed his eyes, turning away slightly from the trio. Senku didn't care for nudity, but something screamed at him to look away before [Y/N] could react.

Xeno took away the large blanket, lips quirking up in a smirk when [Y/N] covered her behind with a hand, and her chest pressed closer to stanley.

"I've seen it all before, my dear."

"Stop ogling—you too! Hands off until we get a damn bed." Stanley quickly put on his new clothing, Xeno helping strap the belts near his waist and thighs. His hands wandered around, teasing the awakened soldier.

[Y/N]'s [E/C] eyes were sparkling like a happy kid on Christmas. The top was a black corset, with stitched purple flowers decorating it, accompanied by a short black skirt with shorts peeking from underneath. Thigh-high stockings covered her bare legs and finished off with black combat boots, similar to what her lovers were wearing.

She felt fingers tug on the corset laces from behind, helping her tighten them properly. Xeno stood in front, holding out another article of clothing.

"No way." [Y/N] gushed and put it on, it was a white lab coat, similar to the one she used to have in the old world. She took a few steps away from them, modeling her new clothing.

"This is what I wore on our first anniversary, well minus the skirt and boots hehe—" [Y/N] paused seeing Senku's eyebrow twitch, "Cockblocker." she muttered.

"Back to business, say you shoot a one-pound piece of ammunition, initial velocity of 600 meters per second, on the moon's surface with gravity and acceleration being a sixth of what they are on earth. Your target is a medusa device, exactly one kilometer away."

"Firing angle should be 0.13 degrees"

She loved seeing the small glints in their eyes, nerd-ing up in their own respective fields.

"Are you up for the task, honey?" Stanley chuckled, reaching out a hand to cup Xeno's face. Adoration spelled out on his face.

"Sure, I am."

[Y/N] slid next to a nonchalant Senku, 'I'm going to need a camera, no, a video recorder. Look how cute they are." he pushed away her face.

"Stop simping, get a grip woman." He removed his hand from her head, noticing she calmed down significantly.

"Are you okay, Senku?"

Scarlet eyes blinked in response, he noticed how her gaze lingered on his chest, where he had been shot. Senku roughly smacked the area, sending her a reassuring smile.

"Perfectly fine."

He would absolutely take this to the grave, but the hug she gave him felt so motherly, that he teared up.

When they relayed the full details of their next project, [Y/N] nearly lost it. Anger bubbled in her chest first, then it dwindled down into pure sadness, like a snuffed-out candle.

[Y/N] was not on board with this at all, a one-way trip to the moon? She had barely gotten her husbands back, and now one of them was departing? Not to mention Senku being part of said trip.

"[Y/N], dear..."

"I know." She murmured, "I know you don't want this either, even if you guys think it's the best course of action." trying to keep her emotions from spilling. Seven years in stone, just to get told about a moon suicide mission.

"Why did we have to get turned into stone?" [Y/N] didn't have the energy to cry, looking utterly defeated. "We worked so hard, build our lives together and we never even got to fuck at that Hawaii hotel I booked."

"Hawaii?" Stanley shot the last target, turning to look at [Y/N] with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah, I reserved it for our honeymoon. Cost me nearly half a million to book the entire place to ourselves."

Xeno deadpanned, followed by an amused Stanley. [Y/N] was spoiled, that they knew, but she wasn't one to flaunt it off as her only benefit. She loved sharing her perks with the people she held close to her heart.

"We can go for free now." The soldier pocketed his gun, taking out another cigarette to light up.

"Free? Worry not darlings, I'm officially the richest woman in the...not so stone age anymore...age..." With a hand on her hip, she held a proud smirk. "I shall be taking care of us."

What they didn't know previously was that there was an economy, established by Ryusui, who folded at [Y/N]'s demands and ended up unknowingly aiding her to overturn him in the terms of dragos. "That's how they get you." Was her excuse, and the pilot couldn't help but admire her ambition.

"But really, is there no other way?"

Xeno softly shook his head, bringing her in for a hug, followed by Stanley wrapping his arms around the white-haired male. The blonde set his chin on Xeno's shoulder, looking down at a [Y/N] stuffing her face into the lab coat.

"Are you really okay with it? To get left on the moon for who knows how long?"

Stanley paused, he rarely hesitated to say what was on his mind. Her [E/C] eyes stared up at him, it stirred a feeling in his chest he couldn't decipher.

"If it's what the job requires, then I have to go."

"This isn't an obligation, not anymore. This is your life...our life." [Y/N] felt his hand brush her [H/C] hair, trying to comfort her.

Xeno closed his eyes, rubbing circles on her back. He kept his cool act up, trying to keep everyone reassured, even if he didn't want Stanley to go either.

"Xee, when Stan gets petrified we turn to stone ourselves."

They paused in their actions, she wasn't being wistful or optimistic. [Y/N] said it like a statement, one he really couldn't argue with. Xeno smiled, opening his eyes and nodding at her.

"Consider it done."

Stanley pulled away, sighing deeply. He didn't want them to sit in the dark again, for the third time. And yet, that selfish feeling he got when [Y/N] hugged him and turned to stone next to him, was present once again. Love really was a finicky emotion, wanting to be with his lovers no matter what.

His caramel eyes trailed over their gazes, both waiting for his thoughts on the condition. Bringing a hand up to brush his blonde hair back he sent them a smile, feeling his eyes annoyingly tear up.

"Yeah, you did make a commitment to me. Till death do us part was it?"

"Death parted us twice now." Xeno huffed out a laugh, earning him a poke to the chest. [Y/N] extended her hand out, bringing Stanley back into the hug. The pads of her fingers gently wiped his eye, caressing his cheek and holding them both closer.

It didn't take long for them to settle down, trying to enjoy the time they still had together. Xeno had fetched some paper and pens, drawing out sketches for the rocket while observing Stanley holding [Y/N]'s waist to position her better.

"What if i accidentally shoot you?"

"From this angle? I'd be impressed." She rolled her eyes, feeling him smack her ass as a sign to tell her she was ready. He backed off giving her space, holding onto the lab coat she handed to him a few minutes ago.

The sun was getting harsher, [Y/N] tried not to get distracted by how a thin layer of sweat coated the blonde standing nearby. Thankfully her clothing allowed her to breathe in.

"For every bullseye, I get a kiss." [Y/N] smugly held Stanley's gun tighter, aimed it at a target, and pulled the trigger.

...

...

"Bambi..."

"I KILLED IT!" She rushed to the tree, staring at the dead chonky bird that fell from its nest. Stanley walked up to her, holding the animal by the leg and dangling it back and forth.

"Nice shot."

Xeno turned his face away focusing on his work, knowing that if she saw him holding in a laugh she'd be upset. The soldier had been trying for years to teach her how to shoot a gun, safe to say it was still shaky.

"Xee, I can hear you..."

"I'm sorry, [Y/N]."

Stanley didn't hide his amusement, nearly doubling over with laughter. His wife tackled him to the ground, sitting on his stomach and trying to shut him up. He gulped in the air to try and calm down, holding her thighs in his hands.

"Take a good look, honey." She pointed at her clothes. "Remember that night? I'll have you squirming again soon."

"Is it really punishment if I enjoyed it?"

"Wasn't he crying, Xee?"

Xeno vividly recalled Stan being left a whimpering mess by them, tears escaping his caramel eyes. Being overstimulated for what seemed like an eternity, his soldier bravado had melted away the moment he was laid down.

Probably their favorite anniversary celebrated.

"He was, a lot."

"You would've been moaning, but your face was stuffed in this one's cunt." Stanley playfully slid a hand under her skirt, bumping a finger in between her legs.

Her cheeks flared up at his boldness, checking around praying no one was nearby to hear or see that. Xeno didn't seem to mind, continuing to utilize his rocket science expertise. He leaned back momentarily, tapping his lips when his spouses turned to look at him.

"Say what you want, but don't forget I was deemed the best seat in the house." Xeno then looked away, picking up his pen once again.

[Y/N] covered her face, groaning loudly a their stupid antics. Trying to rile each other up, knowing it would only end in her being teased. Warmth sprouted in her lower stomach like a stubborn seed growing, his thumb was now rubbing circles around her clit.

"We're in public...Stan..."

"Got to stay quiet then, bambi."

...

...

"Why is she crying?" Gen whispered, leaning closer to an equally weirded-out Senku. They both stared at [Y/N] looking defeated, [E/C] eyes filled with shimmering tears.

In front of her? A campfire, with a skinned bird rotating on a stick and getting cooked.

"She's eaten armadillo before, why is a bird any different?" The mentalist only earned a shrug in response, the duo was approached by Xeno, whose lips twitched trying to hold in a smile. He crossed his arms keeping his onyx eyes on his wife, being comforted by a smoking Stanley, who patted her lower back in a gentle rhythm.

"[Y/N] accidentally killed it." He truly felt for her emotions, but the whole situation was too hilarious to him.

Senku sighed while Gen grimaced, her being this sad was now very understandable, well only the black-white-haired male understood, Senku didn't.

"I never want to hold a gun again."

"Do you want that kiss now? Technically it was a bulls..." The soldier's words trailed off, watching his wife suck in a deep breath and crying all over again.

"I'm a murderer!" [Y/N]'s eyes were covered, Stanley trying to not let her see Francois preparing the bird.

It reminded him of how she reacted when she noticed Suika wasn't the cute little kid she adopted, now in her late teens. He'd much rather have her crying over situations like these, than anything too serious.

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"So, how about some last-minute projects before the moon launch?"

Immediately everyone jumped in with their suggestions, a microwave, washing machine, video camera (she got one too), plastic wrap and even a smartphone for Taiju.

After the creations were done, Senku lingered behind everyone, scarlet eyes softening seeing them happy. Everyone except a certain [H/C] haired doctor.

"Nothing you want?"

"My husband and kid to not get stuck on the moon."

He didn't bother correcting her, knowing that no matter what he'd always be the cute science kid in her eyes. Senku crossed his arms, not knowing if he should let her know about a potential plan Chrome and Suika worked on.

It was worth a try, but not a high chance, at least, not enough to give her what might be false hope. He sighed, realizing she had every right to know, whether he wanted to save her the extra heartache, didn't matter now.

"We're building a return rocket, there's no guarantee it'll work. The rocket is going to be sent by parts, and assembled on the moon."

"What's the percental chance?"

"I...I don't know."

Those words scared her more than anything else, she reached out to hold Senku's hand. He glanced down at her seated figure, squeezing her hand in response.

"Please, please do everything you can to come back home."

His scarlet eyes began to gloss over, trying to smile away the painful tugs in his heart. [Y/N] would forever be his only motherly figure, even if they had never met in person before the petrification, her love and care were clearly received through her emails and video calls.

"I promise to do my best." Senku shook away the feelings, going back to his normal self.

"Now, aside from that, do you not want anything materialistic?"

"Well, three materialistic things, and two humans."

He blinked, hands still joined together.

"You can make me a bed, large enough for three people, and have the American team search for my dad and Ruby."

"Disgusting." He teased her, he knew who Ruby was, often being sent pictures of [Y/N] and the head maid, he would issue her revival first then have the maid identify her father. "You have no shame, asking your kid for a bed."

"You don't want to know the other two things, worry not, Xeno's got it."

"...Let go of my hand."

"Nope~"

Despite his clearly displeased words, Senku worked harder on the bed, not even Taiju's phone had gotten this much thought process. Was it silly to plan out this bed's materials and structure so meticulously? Yes, he could be doing other things.

The bed was the comfiest thing ever. How it surpassed her expensive bed from the past, would continue to baffle her till the end of time itself. She snuggled up to the pillow, face down and ass up, her feet kicking the mattress in pure happiness.

Ruby had been found and revived, they stayed on call almost all day, and sadly the night had come too soon. [D/N] was still being searched for, he was away at a meeting when the beam happened. After saying a temporary goodbye, Senku showed her the new bed, not lingering enough to see her like...well like this.

"Oh look, we have a little present." Xeno walked into the room, steps faltering lightly noticing how her large white t-shirt rode up her thighs, showing off her cute pink underwear. The blonde pushed the scientist gently into the room, closing the door behind them. Stanley couldn't risk letting anyone see his wife like this.

"Yeah we do, look at this beauty!" [Y/N] let her body collapse like a stiff board, enjoying the way her body sunk into the pure plush.

The husbands exchanged a glance, was she that happy, to the point of letting Xeno's words fly over her head? Stanley bit on the unlit cigarette, knowing he couldn't light it up in their shared room.

"Get changed, or naked, and get in here." [Y/N] lifted up the thick cover, she needed to thank Yuzuriha for her clothing and this divine blanket. She relished in the warmth, it was going to be a cold night, so she needed them in bed ASAP.

"You'd like that, perv." Stanley teased, removing his tracksuit-like outfit, slipping on sweatpants, and leaving his torso bare. Xeno did the same, knowing full well he'd end up naked in just a short moment.

"I asked Xeno to make condoms and lube, so yeah, I'd like that."

Xeno tapped the drawer near their new bed, sending a smirk toward the blinking blonde. The scientist was pulled closer, [Y/N] resting her chin and hands on his stomach, both of them waiting for Stanley to take a course of action. She was happy, but definitely not innocently like he had initially thought.

"I'm the one going to the moon, so, it's only fair I get to lead. Everything."

Oh. [Y/N]'s eye twitched, earning heavy laughter from Xeno. Her threat from a few days ago was swiftly dodged, he'd be the one holding the reigns and that scared her as much as it excited her.

"Get in before I change my mind."

Stanley approached her, setting a knee on the edge of the bed and leaning his body forward to stare down at her. His hand grasped her chin, prying her lips open with his thumb, caramel eyes half-lidded when she lightly bit his finger.

"Like you could ever resist a good time."

Yeah no, [Y/N] wouldn't let this pass by. Xeno had made them a means of protection while living at the castle, but during their third year, it had somehow stopped being a frequent thing, too focused on their progress and the long journey of war.

The night was hard, no pun intended, trying to cover up their sounds. [Y/N] would launch herself into space and let the shutter open wide if Ukyo's hyper-hearing ears caught onto what the trio was doing. It seemed like their efforts were in vain, the banana-dressed man only sent her awkward smiles and averted his eyes whenever she'd try to ask him about it.

'Hey, Ukyo...how good are your ears?'

'Oh, uhm...not that good....'

'He's lying, but I'm pretty sure everyone heard you [Y/N].' Senku put in zero effort to help out the mortified doctor.

Kohaku apologized to the husband duo profusely, all three watching [Y/N] dancing with Ryusui by the fire, a cup of wine in her hand. Droplets spilled everywhere with every twirl she was put in, the pirate-pilot was suddenly dragged into it but he didn't mind it one bit.

"Well, at least it made her forget about the bird?" Xeno tried to reason, whenever she'd get drunk it was like her memories were made to be a jumbled mess.

"She probably forgot about our marriage too." Kohaku paled at those words, was the forgetful woman trying to flirt with Ryusui?

"I'll make sure she doesn't do anything throughout the night! Promise." Stanley shook his head, puffing out trails of smoke. He pointed a finger at the dancing pair, Kohaku's eyes following the direction.

"Ryusui! I'm getting married!" [Y/N] smiled brightly, finishing the liquid in her cup only for it to get refilled by an equally drunk Chrome. "Red carpet, purple flowers and onyx table decorations. Caramel cake...It's going to be perfect...."

Ryusui froze when [Y/N] suddenly stopped her happy steps. A pout overtook her smile, staring up at the pilot with teary eyes.

"Wait, where is my dad going to get the oysters? or the yummy caviar...the golden flakes..." He gave her a nervous smile, sending pleading eyes to Stanley and Xeno.

They received the message loud and clear, replacing him as her dance partners. Xeno rubbed her cheek affectionately, wiping her tears with his thumb. The droplets lingered on her eyelashes. Stanley distracted her with a chaste kiss, snatching the alcohol from her grasp.

"I'm sorry, our wedding won't be as grand. That stupid bitch on the moon ruined everything, I had a special wine bottle prepared for our future honeymoon.." She sniffled, Xeno was looking a little blurry to her. "Dad managed to get his hands on the 1945 Romanée Conti bottle."

Stanley had no clue what that was, Xeno on the other hand felt his cheeks light up despite his best effort to avoid it. The scientist had expressed slight interest in said wine before they were even dating, he mentioned it to her when she asked about his opinion on alcohol.

He felt a pinch on his reddened face, Xeno was ready to send a slight glare toward Stanley, but his eyes softened instead, seeing the genuine smile on the blonde's face. He sighed, holding and cuddling up to the warm hand.

"You remembered that?"

"Of course, I memorize your guys' talks. What kind of a girlfriend would I be if I didn't? A wine bottle and the newest gun model on the market. I even had it customized with our names on it and sparkly hearts, it's gone now..."

Her words were slowly getting clearer, only lightly slurred now. Her hand clenched and then opened slowly, blinking in confusion. [Y/N] was about to take another sip, now just realizing her cup was gone.

Stanley had finished the rest of it and secretly handed the empty cup to a fast Kohaku. He didn't let her linger on her realization, the blonde pulled in Xeno closer, sandwiching [Y/N] between them tightly.

"We'll make them again, one day."

Xeno nodded in agreement, well maybe not the bottle unless they made one and turned to stone enough years for it to age properly—or waited till they were like eighty years old to drink it.

"I'll have to save up all my dragos, will the price change with the new economy though?" She hummed, letting her head fall back on Stanley's chest, looking up into the starry sky in deep thought. [Y/N] suddenly sprung up, nose bumping into Xeno's.

"I need to discuss this with Ryusui." Placing a quick peck on both their lips she ran off, nearly tackling the unexpecting pilot.

Stanley lit up a cigarette, turning his attention to Xeno who was containing his blush. The soldier intertwined their hands, standing closer to the fire with his lover.

"That bottle, how much was it worth?"

"Last I heard about it, the 1945 bottle was auctioned off at around $558,000 in 2018, meaning [D/N] bought it a year prior to the wedding."

"...and the gun?"

"The newest 'model' at the time, was actually a thrown-away prototype, it was a high-end revolver with a literal aim assist feature, not to mention a small touch screen. You could receive messages, use a gps...like a phone. " Xeno hummed, rubbing his thumb over Stanley's finger. "The initial cost was estimated to be around a million, that plus the customization and the...very illegally bought gun, I'd say over two million."

"Should we lock up her dragos?"

"Yes."

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Even if she was warned it wasn't a 100% possibility, [Y/N] clung onto that small glimmer of hope. Everything had finally been set up, the suits were made, the rocket was ready and the astronauts were currently putting on their new attire.

She put on the face mask, entering the contained area with Xeno trailing a little behind. Stanley stood there looking like a damn bulky toy, [Y/N] snickered, earning her a sharp glare.

"At last, the fateful—"

[Y/N] raised a hand to stop him, knowing he was about to deliver some Disney villain-level speech.

"This is the part where you kiss and let me record." She revealed the video camera, bouncing from foot to foot. They smiled, matching her energy.

Xeno approached the soldier, pulling his mask down to press a firm kiss. Without missing a beat she rolled the film, evilly giggling when Stanley furthered the kiss, his tongue slipping between Xeno's lips.

When they pulled apart the scientist acted nonchalant, pulling up the mask and hiding his blush and purple-stained lips. He pulled out a small box out from his coat's pocket.

"Can't smoke in space, but how about chewing tobacco shaped like cigarettes?"

Stanley took the box, brushing his fingers against Xeno's palm. Immediately he put one between his lips, testing out the thoughtful creation.

[Y/N]'s [E/C] eyes shun brighter than the sun itself, happy she caught the moment on camera. She quickly put the object in Xeno's awaiting hands, knowing she was eager to get her potentially last kiss in.

She approached her astronaut-soldier husband, watching him slowly take out the tobacco stick. Getting on her tippy toes to give him peppered kisses, his lipstick slowly faded from how rough she did so, smearing on the corners of his lips and her own lips.

"I love you." She murmured, taking out a handkerchief, cleaning his lips and her own. Applying a fresh coat of his signature color, she slipped off her lab coat, bringing up the collar near his face.

"Kiss it." It was a command, he let his lips linger on the fabric, making sure the color planted onto it perfectly. Pulling away and sending her a soft smile.

"Love you too. Love you." He sent the second pair of words to Xeno, who was recording their moment. He gazed up, onyx eyes gently shimmering in adoration.

"Love you too."

All three were nearly in tears, it was scary to think how badly this could all go down. Best case scenario was Stanley being turned to stone and staying in tact till he could be rescued, even then, it didn't sit right with them.

[Y/N] walked out holding hands with Xeno, she was trying hard to keep herself together. Senku had allowed her to press a kiss on his forehead with no fuss, reminding her of the promise he made to her months ago.

"What if it blows up?" Xeno's eyebrow twitched hearing those words, the stiff smile on his face was getting wider, trying to keep his shocked wife calm.

Gen felt the sharp glare, stuttering out a batter line...sort of. "I-I mean it's fiiineee, if they blow up, we just have to find the pieces and glue them back together~"

"I'd spend decades finding your little stone bits, so that Yuzuriha could piece you back together!" Taiju yelled out with tears springing up, Yuzuriha standing nearby with the same expression.

"Heh, I bet you'd try."

"Not try, we'd do it. My husband and kid don't deserve to be scattered around." [Y/N] smirked, trying to show confidence, even if her body wanted to drop onto the floor in worry.

The astronauts were petrified, everyone was now collectively counting down. Nervousness was being bounced around, the rocket looked like a huge shooting star, heading straight for space.

Xeno was sitting by the microphone, one connected directly to the rocket's radio. She was sitting in front of a computer screen, looking at a bunch of numbers she didn't understand.

"3"

"2"

"1"

Everyone cheered when they were notified they made it safely, Xeno leaned forward.

"Ah, Senku. I take it you're awake now."

"So our gear isn't busted, this was your doing Xeno."

"Well, liquid doesn't flow normally in zero gravity, as a precaution I scheduled your revival a bit early." Gen was standing behind Xeno, smiling at how the older man was hiding his true intentions.

"Not shocked huh? You and Xeno cooked up this little plot? Creeps me out having you old dudes doting on me." Senku's voice was slightly distorted, most likely due to the satellite's quality.

"Doting? Definitely not for you." Stanley chuckled, taking out his chewing tobacco box.

"[Y/N] insisted on giving you a moment to yourself, Xeno and I aren't capable of saying no to our cute wife."

"Really kicking it up a notch in the motherly department, huh."

"Don't go stealing my lines!" She invaded Xeno's personal space, nearly gobbling up the mic. "Is it pretty, honey?"

"I have something prettier waiting back on earth, but yeah, it's nice."

Leave it to Stanley to flirt even up in beautiful space, however, she knew he was only trying to distract her from the situation. [Y/N] relaxed, Xeno holding her hand tightly.

Both their efforts quickly burned down, Xeno noticed that their communication was now one-way. They all froze, hearing that the cause of the issue was a strand of petrified hair.

"What are the chances of it being mine?" [Y/N] gulped, she had gotten up and personal with them before the launch. What if her husband gets stuck in space because of her?

"Extremely low, nearly impossible. Your hair was covered." Xeno reassured her, but it didn't really matter who it belonged to, they needed to fix it.

"OUTER SPACE IS MINE! ALL MINE!! HA HA!"

...

"He could be your right hand in a villain movie, darling."

"I have you and Stan, no need for more."

"Really? Shame, I was thinking of getting Francois in on the ride." Xeno's heart skipped a beat hearing her giggle at her own silly joke, it was truly fascinating how deep-rooted feelings never seemed to dwindle, no matter how much time had passed.

Ryusui managed to adjust unit 4, using his body and rotating like a gyroscope. The idea itself was so absurd that even Xeno looked utterly baffled, she could hear Senku cackling evilly from the radio.

Moments later the rocket was closer to the moon, [Y/N] munched on some rice balls further away from the equipment. She didn't need a grain of rice to fall somewhere and make it explode, or something like that.

"Communications with earth will be cut off soon, they'll rely on their own eyes and measurements. Keep your promises you two." Xeno glanced over his shoulder, seeing [Y/N] with stuffed cheeks, eyes completely locked onto the computer screens.

"Yeah yeah, we got it." Senku was initially fine with the risk of staying up on the moon, it was only changed when his 'mom' asked him to come back that his resolve cracked.

[Y/N] finally finished her snack, standing next to Xeno once again. The trio was finally taking their first steps on the moon, while Kohaku gleamed a bit, she quickly got back to the task.

"That's it? No profound romance about being on the moon?" The blonde reporter sweat dropped from the lack of enthusiasm.

"We're talking about an efficiency aficionado, a lady who goes hard and fast, and a soldier, whose romance lies with those two." Gen directed Minami's gaze to the duo standing close to the microphone. "They prioritize speed, especially with the limited amount of oxygen."

They drove around with the rover, passing by the old U.S. flag that was placed in 1969. The mission was going smoothly until some sort of miscommunication happened.

"Kohaku! Senku didn't say a word!" She had opened up the capsule, allowing it to escape its confinement.

"Thank you so much, for unlocking it for me."

It disturbed [Y/N] to hear Senku's voice be used like this, to deceive his friend in such a critical time. Her heart hammered in her chest, worried about them.

"All along...why-man was you."

"Please don't be an alien, please."

"Machine lifeforms dear, the medusas themselves were what formed why-man—"

"Do you wanna die?"

Gen awkwardly smiled, walking towards the mic and pulling it closer. "Ahem, dear Senku. I'm not sure if our new friends are capable of an honest conversation, but with new political enemies, negotiating has always begun with an immediate offering of a gift."

The gears in Senku's head turned, tuning out Kohaku asking what they could possibly gift this entity. He recalled the timing of the whys, the die question, everything led to this moment. It clicked a few seconds later, it was simple really.

"We can replenish your life force, by providing new diamond batteries. And in return, we request that you..."

[Y/N] side-eyed Gen, he was kind of looking very proud of Senku. This was something she needed to look into after everything settled down.

"Keep it polite, Senku—"

"QUIT FIRING OFF THOSE DAMN BEAMS EVERY CHANCE YOU GET!"

Everyone collectively deadpanned, the [H/C] haired doctor really wanted to say 'I expected more' but this? This was Senku through and through.

"Why?"

"Dumb ass parasite, it wanted help but in the process destroyed the technology that could." She muttered, hearing Senku and Xeno exchange more information on this, the medusas thought we'd be grateful to have been given some sort of immortality. Mildly ruined her marriage plans, and trips.

"Why?"

...

"Why?"

"On that note, why-man. I want to negotiate, just you and me, face-to-face."

"What?" [Y/N] nearly knocked over a shocked Xeno, without a view on Senku, Stanley wouldn't have a clear line of sight in case he needed to save him.

"[Y/N], trust me."

With his last words, communication with the white and green haired boy was cut off, leaving everyone in the dark for a while. If anyone could talk to some weird mechanical alien thing, it would be Senku, she was sure of that.

It felt like an eternity before they could hear both Senku and the medusa again.

"Probability is near zero percent."

"Near zero sounds about right." She took a deep breath in, hearing his voice reach her ears. "But near zero, ain't zero. Not when it comes to us."

"Abandonment is your kind's fate, my kind will seek other planets and more intelligent organisms. However, I may be taken by you and only I. This body is yours to destroy, to kill. A creation out of this world, that excites me."

"Careful Gen, it sounds like it's confessing to your boyfriend."

"My what!?"

She ignored his splutters, seeing Xeno with a grin told her it was going to be okay. This was over, now all that she needed was her husband back on earth and they could move on from the constant fear of being loomed over by some entity.

...

...

Except [Y/N] truly didn't think it would look so cute, sitting inside the small capsule with the drawn-on face. She snatched it off Senku's hip, coddling it close to her face.

Stanley, Xeno, and Senku shared a knowing glance. Watching the woman practically jump up and down in pure glee.

"I presume this is the doctor you mentioned."

"Yeah, looks like she's adopted you too."

"My kind has no parental figures, we hold no family value—"

"Oh my god! Screw your secret plan, I'm keeping them." Technically, this was some sort of alien, a theory she was scared to know back then, but not now.

Senku struggled to pry the damn thing out of her grasp, managing to get it back when Stanley intervened, and even he took a while. They settled into a quieter space, only them four being present.

"So, why did you tell this cutie about me?"

"Heh, why don't you ask your question again, why-man?"

"Why was the promise of eternal life rejected?"

Oh. So that's why. She crossed her arms, standing closer to the capsule set on the table.

"Humans naturally fear death, and some would do anything to stay alive. My job is to give second, third, or even more chances to a lot of people, so of course I'd love to see everyone I treat stay healthy and live on...however..." [Y/N] paused, thinking of her next words.

"If every single human on earth was immortal, we'd be run dry of our supplies, food and water would be scarce, and would most likely cause a panic. At my old hospital, the number of babies delivered in a day was almost equal to the lives we lost, it sadly had a very neat balance. Aside from those facts, your petrification was scary."

The machinery clicked, keeping quiet and receiving the information without a single complaint.

"It was dark, quiet, and had us mentally battling for thousands of years. Everything we knew and loved was gone, we struggled to rise from the bottom, and it's going to take a long time to get it all back. Eternal life, isn't something we should ever have our hands on."

"I see. So this is a motherly figure, I believe the terms used were 'nagging' followed by a sense of adoration."

...

"You'd never say that to [Y/N]'s face." Stanley chuckled at Xeno's words, being there when Senku said it, the soldier was extremely surprised he admitted to his feelings so openly.

"Okay well I was saying all of that as a human and doctor, but, does that mean you understand the concept of a mom now?"

"Still incomprehensible, continuing research on this matter."

[Y/N] hugged Senku tightly, nearly crushing his bones. Truly, he never intended for her to know how he felt, knowing she'd get all mushy like so. Can't say he hated the hugs though.

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Several years later...

"What's wrong?"

Senku's scarlet eyes blinked, [Y/N] had been in a very suspicious quiet mood, dragging him out the laboratory and to a quiet secluded area.

"How far along are you guys on the time machine progress?"

"[Y/N]." His voice was firm, that was the only way to stop her dodging questions.

...

...

"I'm pregnant, and I don't know who the father is."

"They're both the damned fathers!" He deadpanned, sighing loudly into the palm of his hand. He was stressing over nothing, feeling his worry melt away into mild annoyance from the scare she gave him.

"WELL NO SHIT! But I...I don't know, they both always cu—"

"Shut up! For this conversation I'm your kid, keep the details to yourself."

Her lips shut, holding in the chuckle from seeing his disgusted face. She truly had no real reason to be this nervous, her husbands would accept the baby with open arms no matter what. Still, she was worried it would interfere with their work.

"When do you plan on letting them know?'

"I found out this morning, one of the scientists did me a favor of creating a few pregnancy tests." She muttered, feeling a headache start to take over.

"First we have to calm you down, then we'll figure it out. Let's talk about it over lunch."

...

...

"Heteropaternal superfecundation?" Stanley quirked an eyebrow, he was on his knees in front of his very pregnant wife, rubbing lotion on her legs.

Xeno was filling up a small pouch with warm water, his hands were a bit shaky receiving the updated news on the pregnancy.

"It's a super rare occurrence, twins who have different biological fathers." [Y/N] almost collapsed onto the ground when she was notified, her curiosity led her to get a DNA test. The ultrasounds were so obscure, only being able to see one singular child, so she never thought for a second it could ever be two.

The scientist approached her, pressing the warm water pouch on her aching back, rubbing gentle circles on her stiff shoulders.

"Screw my shoulders, my tits are hurting." Xeno chuckled, sliding his hand forward and cupping her chest, first roughly squeezing them to ease the tension then rubbing softly.

Stanley finished up her legs, washing his hands quickly then grabbed the oil bottle she was given as a gift from Yuzuriha. He raised her maternal nightgown, applying the liquid to her swollen belly. [Y/N] was scared to get excessive stretch marks from popping out two kids in a single sitting.

"This fucking sucks, and it's only been three months. No more kids, two is enough, one for each right? You guys are happy, right? This is okay?" Her hormones were all over the place, one minute she'd be happy then the next she'd be sobbing hysterically, like when Stanley dropped her long-awaited chocolate cake.

"We're happy, bambi, I promise."

"Everything is okay my dear, we'll be here every step of the way, for this pregnancy and any future ones you desire."

"Shut uuuup~" She cried into her hands, their words fell with love and warmth, reassuring her that it truly was all okay. Those nicknames still caused her to melt on the spot, and now held such an important role in her life.

The months that followed were hard on [Y/N], thankfully her husbands and surprisingly Senku were catering to her every need and want. Kohaku, Ruri, and Suika often took her out on walks, setting up beach days and Francois was paid to cook whatever the pregnant woman craved.

Xeno focused on his work, but balanced time for his wife and husband perfectly. He was doing his best to keep her mind occupied, ordering doctors to send her some patient files to look over. She was definitely going to work at the newest hospital building that was made, furthering her research and sharing her talents once she recovered.

Stanley held shooting and combat lessons, smoking as much as he could, he can't smoke near his wife nor would he be able to when the kids are still young. From forcing Xeno to eat when he was too focused on his project, to keeping his concerned stares to himself whenever his wife would be eating the most baffling food combinations, Stanley was surprisingly keeping it all together. He couldn't afford to have a weak mind, especially when it involved his spouses.

"I have a feeling she won't be happy to see our faces during it." Xeno murmured, looking at Stanley who masked his nervousness by ruffling his blonde hair.

"Our hands are going to be exposed to a dangerous hazard." Sharing a dry laugh, they finally entered the room.

They really, really underestimated the sheer force their wife would have when giving birth. Stanley now truly understood the monstrous grip [Y/N] showed signs of having before, feeling his fingers getting literally crushed as she squeezed tighter.

"GET THEM OUT OF ME!" She screamed tugging Xeno down on accident, he nearly crashed onto her body from the sudden pull, miraculously catching himself and gripping the headrest.

"Never letting your DAMNED DICKS NEAR ME AGAIN!" A hard push later and one of the twins was out, being wrapped in a white blanket. The doctor settled between her legs and got ready to deliver the second one, sending her reassuring words.

Stanley wiped away the sweat building on her forehead, cheeks flushed and tears dripping. He bent down to press a sweet kiss, pulling away to see her [E/C] eyes staring directly into his caramel ones.

She sniffled, feeling overwhelmed with so many emotions at once. Her lips parted to ask for another kiss when she suddenly groaned loudly at the contractions starting again.

"One more push!"

Both babies were placed in her arms, the nurses helping out stepped out giving them privacy, while the doctor stayed back to clean up [Y/N].

"Oh my, they're beautiful." She wept, leaning down to press kisses to their heads. Neither were crying, softly blinking up at their mother. [Y/N] laughed, realizing that these truly were their kids.

Her little girl had blonde hair, her baby boy on the other hand had white hair—their eyes, were a pretty shade of [E/C]. The perfect balance between them three.

Xeno and Stanley quickly picked up the kids, noticing their wife's eyes slowly shut. They nearly snapped their necks towards the doctor who jumped from the sharp gazes.

"She's just tired, everything here is fine." She left the room before they could continue their scary faces, gently closing the door.

It was opened a few minutes later, Senku trailed inside with a hospital gown and a face mask. Scarlet eyes softened up seeing the bundles of joy, finger lightly poking their chubby cheeks.

"So, these are my newest siblings huh?" He whispered, feeling relief flood his body when he noticed [Y/N] was alright and just sleeping off the delivery.

"Nice to see you finally accepted your title." Stanley chuckled, letting Senku hold the calm baby close to his chest.

"He never really had a choice, [Y/N] has been babying him since they met."

Senku rolled his eyes at Xeno's words, the smile on his face not faltering in the slightest. The baby made grabby hands towards the leek's face, [E/C] eyes wide with curiosity.

"If they didn't look like you two, they'd be much cuter."

"Shut up." The woman in the bed murmured softly, nuzzling up to the pillow. Her moment of lucidity was cut short, lulling back into a deep sleep once again.

Taking care of the babies was most of the time a smooth ride, they rarely cried, only doing so when they wanted to sleep or eat. The rare times when they would cry non-stop it felt like her life force was being shredded into particles, desperation and tears overtook her—calming down when her husbands would jump in with zero hesitation and allowing her to rest.

"They're finally asleep." [Y/N] sighed in relief, taking a few steps backs and hitting Stanley's chest. He held her body weight and guided her to bed, laying down first and allowing her back to rest against his chest.

The door was slowly opened, Xeno came in taking off his tie, shrugging off the lab coat.

"Did you see that, Stan? Him and ties."

"He never lets us take it off for him."

Xeno's lips quirked up into a bright smile, putting on his pajamas and making his way to his lovers. The whole situation was reminiscent of the past, a moment he held dear. His head laid down on her chest, cuddling up to the warmth, feeling Stanley's hands rub his shoulders.

"Because it always ends up in sex."

They shared a quick laugh together, holding each other closer.

"Sleep time, before they wake us up." Xeno held her [H/C] hair, twirling it in his fingers before allowing sleep to take over. His lovers shortly followed after.

It was going to take a long time to get their old lives back, slowly but surely, and that comforted her in a way she couldn't explain. It wasn't just them three anymore, they were joined by two little mini versions.

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•[Y/N]'s dad was ecstatic to hold another wedding, taking his drunk daughter's rambles too seriously. This time, she had to pay for everything, it was shocking to see her be richer than him in this new world but he was proud.

•The calm babies turned out to be mischievous gremlins, often being indulged by Senku, who loved showing his little siblings how to create rockets—and scaring the trio-parents whenever they'd hear explosions inside their new house.

•Ruby still worked for [Y/N], assuring her that taking care of the kids while they all went to work, was a job she truly adored.

•Stanley and Xeno were sex banned for a while, their wife being too scared to risk another pregnancy. That wall crumbled when the scientists gifted her plan b pills for her birthday, it was mortifying, to say the least.

Everything was going perfectly fine, and [Y/N] would never trade it for anything in the world.

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Definitely not as detailed as the last post, I didn't have a lot of creative freedom with the obvious timeline that happens after the petrification.

Hope y'all still somewhat enjoyed this.

[heartsteellerr]

How they react after an argument with you

Content; Hurt/Comfort Warnings; Rushed, Established relationship, reader lives together with them, OOC (Mostly in Evelynn and Ahri's part) Characters; All KDA members

Kai'sa

She isn't one to let things go without solving them. Wanting to get to the bottom of things as soon as possible but not realising it's different for you ⎯ making things lead up and escalate from there and well, feeling like shit after you walked out to take a breather. She's frustrated, not at you but more at herself and the situation, that she couldn't properly solve it without making things worse for you both. Taking it hard and mostly blaming herself, that once you come back after cooling down she's immediately apologising, even if she wasn't in the wrong she doesn't want to risk losing you over something petty.

Akali

The one who walks away from the fight to calm down. Going anywhere and elsewhere away from your shared apartment to clear her mind and properly think about what to do, what went wrong, and most importantly, how to apologise to you. She isn't at all expressive when it comes to serious things like these and might come off as insensitive and nonchalant about everything, but she really is thinking hard and thorough about the situation ⎯ not wanting to mess it up with careless actions and risk losing you at the cost of it. So either expect her to come home hours later or the next day, and have her sit you down to have a proper chat about what happened.

Evelynn

Silently listening to you yell at her, her sharp eyes watching you closely ⎯ expressions contorting to frustration, pacing around the room, clearly not in the right headspace and saying things on a whim with tears in your eyes. And although you might think she's acting very cold about it, she's actually just waiting for you to calm down before saying, and avoid anything that could trigger another reaction from you. She hates seeing you like this, and even though you guys are literally in the middle of fighting, she doesn't want to let you go ⎯ her sharp hands being somewhere around your body and just holding it there while she tries rationalise the situation to you. And it's not in a threatening sort of way, it's simply more comforting to her to know you're still there with her despite not wanting to.

Ahri

The one who fights back and tries to get you to hear her side of things and getting frustrated when you don't, or seem to be overlooking it. Most likely the one who initiated the fight in the first place with some small concerns but then it blew up into a bigger issue than intended ⎯ saying things left and right, and might've said some hurtful things in the mix that aren't true as well. When she's finally calming down, she'll realise what she did and feel bad about it. She has many ways to go about the situation but she'd feel stuck at which one to use; talking might cause another argument, buying things might look like she's bribing you into forgiving her, etc. Before you, she used to do those halfass things in past relationships so that it can be swept under the rug easily ⎯ but this is you we're talking about, someone she actually loves and cares for. Although her way of trying to forgive her might seem a bit hasty, rushed, and sloppy in some areas, she is trying her best.

Seraphine

She wouldn't be saying anything at all, not because she doesn't want to but because she isn't sure how to. Similar to Akali and Evelynn she doesn't want to mess things up by saying something out of line. But also like Kai'sa, she doesn't leave things unresolved just the way they are. She's impulsive, thinking with her heart more than her head, it might be why things turned out like this ⎯ no bad intent whatsoever, it's just... She made a mistake. And now she's waiting until you come back to the apartment to properly talk it out with you after some time to think and properly sort her thoughts out. She just hopes you both come to a mutual understanding and let things go.

[thewritingstar]

Secrets upon Secrets

Pairing: Blossutch (PPG)

Rating: G

authors note: ...........star...where have you been? honestly idk. these past few years of writing have been hard. not cause I don't like to write, but the passion or drive isn't as strong. I want it to be. So I whipped this up and thought "this is good enough, why not?" Oh how I miss that mentality of posting without thinking. Anyways, no one cares lol. I hope you enjoy some Blossutch. I wrote their dynamic in a new way, maybe a more realistic way? idk. I wrote this and I hope you like it for the 12 blossutch Stans lmao.

-------

The wind blew through her hair calmly. The sky was a place of peace for her. So few could reach her. It held truths that most kept secret. She could see and sense it all.

Her secret place was a cliff near the beach. On the outskirts of town, you could see the skyscrapers dance across the water. She knew where her house laid across the lake but it was nice not being able to see it from this view.

She had been coming her since she was a teen, maybe since middle school. Not even her sisters knew about it, but she was okay with that. She was okay knowing that her sisters probably had secret spots too.

Sometimes she wondered how many secrets they kept from each other. Some would find it odd for a trio to be so close, yet kept a distance. Blossom didn't mind. She was a realist after all.

There had to be balance and she enjoyed that her sisters had their secrets because that meant that they felt human. It meant that they felt deeply and loved things greatly so that only they could find them.

She couldn't blame them for having secrets. She'd be a hypocrite. She may be many things, but that was not something she tried to be.

Secrets. How tempting they could be. She didn't have many, but the ones she kept were darker than what most would expect. She also didn't voice them. If they stayed in her mind then that meant they could be falsities within her.

Speaking it out loud....that meant it was real.

So thats why her lips stayed sealed as she looked across the lake to the city. A city that she vowed to protect. A city that she called home. A city that she loved.

As she stared at the buildings, she would never admit how they would morph in her vision. That the windows would turn and twist into barded wire. How the houses looked more like bricks in a prison courtyard, and how they felt cold even during the day.

The folder in her mind of how she view Townsville was classified. How her childhood was some sort of experiment of creating perfection and how far you could test someone before they failed.

She would never tell her sisters how the city suffocated her and how for a moment, she would give it all away.

Someone had once told her that you have three options in life. Run, accept defeat, or die. There was no living or surviving. She didn't believe it at first, but now she's uncertain.

With deadly thoughts come deadly actions. She would save her city over and over again. She would smile at the statue they built of her and her sisters. Her life was seeming to be more like a myth. Each passage confusion the one before and for a second she wasn't sure if they were worshiping her or if the fire would start with her stone.

Vices. Thats what see needed. Something to look at when the city turns to cages in her mind. She tried it all. Cigarettes. Alcohol. Weed. Her body, the chemical x, it didn't allow for any substance to truly effect her in any way like a normal person.

Blossom didn't mind though. She didn't need artificial things to corrupt her system.

She had something better.

Something real.

Something honest.

Something truly secretive.

Something, that was only hers.

"Hey Bloss."

The voice called from behind her. His voice melting her soul and bringing her back to reality. She could hear his foot steps approaching before the space next to her became engulfed in a scent of pine and smoke.

It was intoxicating.

His arm brushed against hers as he sat down. His foot propped up as he lean on it and tried to get her to meet his eyes.

His eyes. Thats where she fell short every time.

She understood Gatsby now. The green light on the horizon that constantly tempted you. It used to blink across the lake but now, it was right in front of her.

Her lips turned up into a smile as his fingers brushed a piece of hair behind her ear.

"Hi Butch." She whispered.

He smiled and leaned forward to capture her lips. It was soft and sweet. Something most would never associate with him, but thats all she could ever use to describe him.

She knew that his actions had leaned towards something less than good. She tried to reason with her mind. She tried to tell herself that he was bad for her but no matter what, she always ran towards his light.

Robbing banks, stealing precious artifacts and testing the laws, thats what he knew. Selfishly, she only cared if her heart would make it out alive.

How could it not? His gaze was fixated on her even if he didn't think she noticed. His words were soft and kind. Her stomach fluttered with the thought of him being near.

Stolen glances during battles with their siblings were some how her favorite. The cat and mouse game they had played for years that ended once behind an abandon building where she had seen stars greater than the ones in the sky.

How could someone be so bad when they held her secret with gentle hands?

Life wasn't fair. The boys never grew out of their devilish habits even though she tried to change them. Old habits were hard to break, maybe thats why there's a bow in her hair at twenty-three. She didn't try hard to break his habits though.

If she were honest, she would say that she preferred him to be...bad. It felt rebellious to have a shady make out session or to see his gaze hover on her for far too long. She even liked to wear skirts a little too short just to get a rise out of him.

The public didn't know. They never knew.

They also thought that soggy bread was the worst thing that could happen, so even if there was a day that they saw her and Butch tongue-tied, she was sure they wouldn't blink an eye. They might mistake it as a new form of fighting.

He was her special haven. Something that only they could share. It was a freedom that only existed in their created space and felt comforting to know that he was in her orbit even if she couldn't see him.

Their pages were always the same and even though they wouldn't admit it, they knew each other too well.

So when the skyline turned to steel bars, he would remind her that it was all in her head. That she could fly above it all and breath for a moment and come back down as if nothing bothered her.

"Ease the gears turning in your head Bloss."

She turned to look at him. She wanted to say that he looked cute but she wouldn't. They didn't do that. She wanted it. She wanted to challenge the denial and just admit their feelings.

But thats the thing about secrets. He might have know how she felt about the city, but this one was hers. Painfully, hers.

So instead she closed her eyes and took a breath. She let the air fill her lungs and bring her down to a world where she was just a young woman on a cliff side with a cute guy.

It was enough for now.

"I'm good." She smiled at him.

There was a look in his eyes that said otherwise but he knew better than to try to cross a line. It wouldn't end well.

She looked out to see the city in all its bright glory. Shoulders brushed like lovers but never indulging anything further than physical.

"You're not good." He said as he flicked a lighter open to light a cigarette. "But, I won't budge."

"Its best if you don't." Blossom said she stole the little white stick and took a drag.

He shrugged. "Then tell me a secret. A good one." Then he stole the cigarette back.

The slight smoke filled the space between them and her mind hovered on a world where they didn't hide and he wanted to marry her. She could see children with eyes of green and pink. Bows and sticky hands. A world where this town was only something she came to for holidays.

She didn't hate her town. She hated the fear of that it was were all her potential would be kept on a shelf.

Blossom looked at his side profile again. He always had long lashes and good skin. She was jealous. Why did men get that and she was wearing extensions.

"I'm actually afraid of snakes." She said calmly.

He chuckled and put the cigarette out with his foot.

"Wanna know something?" He smirked.

"Hmm?"

"Me too."

She couldn't tell if he was lying. She didn't care. She only cared that they were skimming the surface of what they could be. She needed that fire to be extinguished because bad thoughts led to bad actions.

In that moment, she accepted a small defeat.

So instead of facing her problems, she straddled his hips and kissed him as if they were lovers in every universe before.

-----

Thank you for reading. I hope you enjoyed.

(requests and asks are always open)

-Star-

[practically-an-x-man]

For the whump prompts- 21 for Madison?

Ooooh thank you!! I have a feeling this is going to end up more hurt/comfort than whump, but it should still be a good one! (And of course, given the prompt, this takes place a while in the future)

21. Chronic Pain from a Lifetime of Hero Work

50 Superhero-Inspired Whump Prompts

____

"Y'know, I'm-" Madison huffed, grimacing as she crested the last few steps, "I'm beginning to recognize why most people don't go live in the woods for half a decade."

She reached the top of the stairs and paused, shuffling over to lean against the wall for a moment. Her pride took a hit - the joint pain wasn't new by any means, but rarely was it ever this severe - but Madison tried to shake it off.

"That bad?"

Madison just shot her husband a withering look.

"Bad enough that I'm hobbling up the stairs like an old woman," she replied, "Malnutrition's catching up to me."

The thought of that scared her, somewhere deep inside. She'd thought that her time in the woods was long behind her. It was a formative part of her life, yes, but now decades in the past. It was far enough behind her that it almost seemed to belong to someone else entirely: that Madison Douglas, the stormy young girl running from her own life, was worlds away from the woman she'd become. And she was content to leave that in the past.

But here it came back again. Years later, in its own little echoes. Even decades of healthy living couldn't erase the damage she'd done to herself back then. Hiking on sprained ankles because she didn't have a choice, surviving on birch tea and scraps of jerky when she didn't have any other food, spending years with little protection from the elements... and all during those delicate teenage years, all during a time when she needed her health more than ever.

She'd known for years that there would be some sort of consequence for that way of living.

Knowing that, however, didn't make experiencing it any better.

It made her wonder how many hikes she had left in her, before she had to hang up her pack for good. All those calluses and rigid edges she'd carved for herself had now gone soft - or maybe not soft but brittle, worn thin and finally beginning to crack from the strain.

"Want me to carry you?" Alex offered, already hovering close as Madison picked herself back up off the wall. Fresh aches erupted at the motion, and she was reminded of how many nights she'd spent holed up in her old canvas hammock those years ago. She could hardly imagine it now. If she tried spending a night anywhere other than her own bed, she thought, she might not be able to walk the next day.

"Oh, sure, show off how you're still just as strong and perfect as you were twenty years ago," Madison scoffed, though there was no venom behind it. She shoved at her husband's shoulder, a faint but playful smile twisting at her lips. "Bastard."

"Hey, it could be worse."

"Oh yeah?" Madison fired back, taking a few more hobbling steps down the hall. She imagined she could place every ache in her body, every old wound and where they'd all come from. Her left ankle acting up, stiff and half-refusing to bear weight: a bad sprain from falling out of a tree, worsened when she'd had to outrun a storm before it blew in. The sharp pain when she turned her head: the lingering crick in her neck, not one injury but the culmination of nights upon nights spent curled up awkwardly amid the branches of a tree. Even the strange, shooting pains down her spine and forearms: points of strain where her fins met her body, weakened by how many times they'd been wrenched back in battle.

"Yeah," Alex replied, "You could still be out there."

Madison froze at that, the words striking her harder than she'd expected. If it hadn't been for that one little skirmish, if the Brotherhood had picked any other campsite than hers... she probably would still be stuck out there in the woods like some kind of wild hermit. If she hadn't died by now.

He was right. That would be worse.

Madison turned to look at him and was greeted with a chorus of impressive snaps and pops from her spine and hips. She rolled her shoulders, and they spoke their protests as well.

"Oh, listen to that," she said, "My body agrees with you."

[fangoffenrir]

who is Amelie?

ask my character about anyone in their life!

It's a bit difficult to condense much more than he'd said before, even moreso why he feels weird about it.

"Amelie was Isolde's tomboyish little sister. Five years her junior and youngest sibling of the House of Thurayya-- Before their father remarried, at least. Messy situation. He wasn't welcome at either sister's wedding."

"The eldest son was set to inherit his mother's house, but enlisted and died in a patriotic war when both sisters were still young. When their mother died during a pandemic and Isolde was studying at the institution she'd eventually come to teach, their father had the noble house moved under himself and disinherited his daughters."

"She had tried to join her sister at the Imperial Arcanists' University, but that came to an end when a tenured professor... assaulted her. Isolde refused to take Amelie's side in order to protect her new and unfortunately necessary livelihood. You can imagine the bad blood."

"I met Amelie after she'd joined the military and was working in logistics, primarily supply and requisition. We were drinking buddies while I attended the military academy and even beyond that when I was given my own command... I'd practice making longer rift jumps after setting up camp during marches and drop by some nights, either for conversation or just to ask for some oddball equipment we couldn't really wait a week on."

"Things first soured between us on a winter night, huddled by the hearth. We'd had a couple drinks, shared a quilt and some deep kisses, and she reacted very poorly to heavy petting. Amelie was sex-repulsed, she explained that and it was totally fine."

"The problem was in the months afterwards, she knew I was interested and I didn't really understand the teasing. I think maybe it felt like she was trying to scare me off instead of turning me down, and I tried not to be fussy about it because I just wanted to have my friend back."

"Eventually, I had to find a date to the Officers' Ball. Invited Amelie sort of casually with 'this doesn't have to mean anything, I know there are some people on the guest list you'd like to meet' and she said yes. Showed up looking gorgeous, in this elegant green dress, hanging off my arm, even helping me collect contacts."

"Our dance was wonderful, but she asked if I wanted to find somewhere private after and it felt like more teasing and-- I just blew up. I said hurtful things, like how I could find anyone who wanted me and not play these stupid games. I stormed out."

"We didn't keep in touch. She caught wind about me getting hurt after the Impure Marquess was freed from the roots of those elves' stupid fucking Star Tree and mended things with her big sister to have someone make sure I was okay. Isolde married me and life moved on."

"After Nadja was born, we moved to the countryside following the princess ascending to the throne as the new empress. Amelie invites us to her wedding, I'm happy for her in the moment, and it felt like a betrayal when I came home to my three year old daughter barely surviving a housefire. It was never rational to blame Amelie for that, and I dealt with feeling inadequate at that moment very poorly."

"Fast-forward a year, her marriage fell apart. Coincidentally, we think Isolde was bitten by a tick and she delivered our stillborn son at 35 weeks. We were very lucky to have Amelie come help while we grieved, and Nadja adored her so much she never went home."

"Amelie was a fantastic accountant for those last three years. I stopped being hostile and we started drinking together again, but I didn't like myself going back to the bottle and got clean alone. She was ostensibly working through her fear when Isolde had her sister start joining us in bed, she stopped drinking, and I just wish I understood that there was love."

"Maybe I would've doted on this pregnant live-in mistress/sister-wife/whatever and just kept putting off the trip back here like that fucking motorbike tour of the Ozarks. Maybe we could've been happy-- simply watched the women I loved age and pass on peacefully, or went on and changed the fucking world together."

"I'm so very angry at myself for cursing Amelie's name for 17 years. I know that I should've learned my lesson before, but I already told Sel I didn't like the woman when I remarked on how similar they look."

[cceanvvaves]

too far; y.jy

(moved to isanggayfrog) warning: bullying, swearing

You had a crush on Yoo Jeongyeon. You're not special, practically the whole school does. Funny, caring, and smart? Even the teachers are fond of her. The only thing you don't like is the fact she's popular and you're not. She's always surrounded by annoying, giggling girls and overconfident boys, which makes it hard to approach her.

You didn't have to, anyway, because she was the one who approached you.

***

"Hey, bitch!" a tall, bulky man yelled at you, saliva flying everywhere and some landing on you. "What the fuck did I tell you, huh?! I said bring 10,000 won, not 5! So why do you only have 5,000, huh? Do you want to fucking die?!" he aimed a kick at you, which you dodged by crawling farther. But, luck wasn't on your side. You hit the lockers, no more space to run away.

The stupid bystanders did nothing to help you whatsoever. Some whispered amongst themselves, others looked at you with pity but didn't lend a hand. There were also some who had the audacity to take out their phones and film the scene.

Your bully approached you menacingly, teeth bared like some sort of animal. "I'm sorry," you mumbled pathetically. He successfully landed a kick on your stomach, making you wince in pain. "Fucking- Is that all you have to say? Sorry? You think I'm going to accept some stupid apology?!"

He pulled back his fist and threw a punch at your face, definitely leaving a bruise and busting your lip. You could feel the blood seeping into your mouth, coating your tongue with the metallic taste as tears blurred your vision. You could feel the stinging pain on every part of your body. "You better bring 50k tomorrow, you little shit!" He raised an arm as if to threaten you, but you mustered up the courage to say, "No."

His face contorted in anger and disbelief. "What did you say?" You pushed yourself up and glared at him. You didn't look very threatening, what with the snot running down your nose, but you tried. "I said 'no', are you deaf? I'm not going to be pushed around by you anymore."

Growling, he grabbed your head and slammed it repeatedly against the locker. Then, he wrapped his hands around your throat and squeezed tighter with every word. "Don't! Talk! Back! To! Me!"

Thankfully, he was stopped by a ball of tissue thrown at his head before you could pass out. "Hey, bastard," your savior said calmly. It was Jeongyeon. "Who gave you the right to beat someone up, huh? Pick on your own size." She blew a bubble with her gum and popped it before approaching.

"You want 50k, huh? Are your parents so poor they need you to beat up people for money?"

Your bully flushed. He was shivering in embarrassment, but no one dared talk back to Yoo Jeongyeon.

"Fuck off, before I break your nose and much more." He scrambled away, leading you to let a laugh loose despite your worse situation. She raised an eyebrow, torn between amusement and confusion. "Here," she handed you a handkerchief.

"Thanks," you muttered, wiping off the blood and snot and tears. "Um, sorry you had to witness that."

Some girls giggled. Jeongyeon glared at the crowd. "Get lost."

They all shuffled away, albeit reluctantly. "Thanks again," you said plainly, moving to join the sea of students, but Jeongyeon grabbed you by the arm. "Wanna eat lunch with me?" she asked. You blushed and nodded excitedly. "Please."

"I'll pay, but pay me back tomorrow."

"Oh, fine."

***

That's how you became friends with Jeongyeon. She was fun to be with, always cracking jokes and making sure you smiled. She'd cover up for you as well as take care of you. You'd gotten to know her better, and because of that, you liked her even more.

But you weren't sure if she liked you back, if she only saw you as a younger friend, or even just as a little sister figure.

And something seemed to answer that for you.

***

You walked through the locker area towards your classroom, not wanting to be late. You passed by a group of rowdy boys, whom you ignored. They were muttering in hushed voices, and you could feel their stares and points at you.

Sighing heavily, you were about to turn the corner when someone grabbed you gently but firmly by the hand. "Hey," Jeongyeon greeted.

You smiled shyly, returning a small "Hey". She ran a hand through her hair, seemingly thinking about something. "Um, do you want to go out with me?"

"What?" you said disbelievingly. She grinned goofily. "I asked if you wanted to go out with me."

You stared at her, brain still processing the question. Then your face broke out into a wide smile. "Yeah, sure."

The group of boys you passed by earlier was listening to your every word. The moment you said 'sure', they erupted into wild cheers.

One of them approached Jeongyeon, smacking a crisp bill in her hand. "Yo, she actually fell for it! Guess you won."

You scowled. "Sorry, what?"

Another dude came. "Bro, you didn't actually think she was asking you out, did you? Haha, you actually- Pfft-"

The rest of them started thumping Jeongyeon's back, but she looked uneasy. She looked at you with pleading eyes. "Y/n, look, I actually-"

"No," you cut her off, "I've heard enough. I know you love pranks, Yoo, but that was too far." And you stormed off.

***

It seemed as if it was the end of your friendship. Every time you caught sight of her, you ran away, or talked to the person closest to you as if to seem busy. You blocked her number and buried yourself in your schoolwork.

You were hurt. She made you think you had hope of getting with her, then played with your feelings for a stupid bet. But that wasn't what made you most hurt. It was the fact she agreed to that kind of thing when you thought she knew better than that.

Whenever you did end up close to her, though, she seemed down. Your heart told you to reach out and ask her what was wrong, but your stubborn brain refused, saying she deserved it.

Until that voicemail you received.

***

You were sitting with your friends at a café. They'd dragged you here, saying you needed 'social interaction' since you were 'attention starved'.

They were chatting amongst themselves, until you heard the name 'Jeongyeon'. You perked up, hoping to hear some more information. After all, you still cared about her wellbeing. This didn't go unnoticed by your friends, of course.

"Oh," Nayeon giggled. "Still hoping to hear from her, are you? Why'd you ghost her?"

Jihyo shot her a warning look. "Don't, Nayeon."

You sighed. "It's alright, Jih. Jeongyeon used me for a bet."

Nayeon gasped dramatically, making you roll your eyes. "Is that why? But- she likes you!"

"Yeah, right," you scoffed. But she wasn't giving up. Shaking your hand, she forced you to look straight into her eyes. "Then.. you don't know?"

"Don't know what?"

"Oh, gosh! She sent you something! You don't know she's leaving for America?!"

Your eyes widened. "What?!" you yelled, attracting the attention of a few other customers who yelled. "I'm sorry, I have to go."

You felt Nayeon and Jihyo's worried gazes follow you. You rushed to your house, immediately unblocking Jeongyeon's number and discovering a lot of apologies.

The latest message was a voicemail.

You played it with trembling fingers.

"Hey, Jeongyeon here!

Hehe, of course, you know that already. After all, we've been friends for a bit. I don't know how to say this... how should I start?

Well... I guess... you probably wouldn't see this. But first of all, I'm deeply, very, very sorry about that bet thing.

But to properly explain why I did that, I have to go back a few months.

You see, the moment I set eyes on you, I was hooked. You weren't one of the other people who did as I said because they were scared of me. You were someone who actually tried to get to know who I am. You're a funny, amazing individual, and you always try to reach your goals and do your best.

I admire that in you.

But I didn't know if you'd like someone like me. I mean, what did I have? Fame? Money? I mean, I guess I loved the fact I can make you laugh, but that's it I guess.

What I'm trying to say, Y/n, is that I like you. A lot.

And I'm sorry for being the cause of our broken friendship.

I agreed to that bet to get you to say yes to a date because I saw it as the only opportunity to confess. But, of course, those guys ruined it.

Yes, I was going to tell you the truth after some time, but I wanted to tell you my feelings without anyone caring or judging.

But I guess I'm too late.

I'm going to America next week, on Saturday.

It's been planned for a while now, I just postponed it because of you.

Um... I might have to change my number so.. I guess this is goodbye.

I'll remember you, of course. You were the best thing I ever did, and the best thing that happened to me.

I.. I love you."

Your phone slowly dropped from your hands and safely onto your bed. Coming back to your senses, you shoved your shoes on and grabbed your keys and phone.

Suddenly filled with adrenaline coursing through your veins, you ran out the door, flagging a taxi and saying the only destination you could hope you'd catch her.

The next 10 minutes felt like a blur. All you remember was paying the driver hurriedly and tearing out on the streets, seeing the busy crowd of people surrounding the bus stop to the airport.

In desperation, you climbed the bridge, scanning the sea of heads and black and white.

And then you saw her.

That unmistakably bright red jacket that belonged to her caught your eye and, mustering all your courage and taking a deep breath, letting go of self-consciousness, you shouted as loud as you could.

"YOO JEONGYEON!"

People's heads turned to you, annoyance or confusion painted on their perplexed faces.

The only person you cared about, however, looked up at you, surprise written all over her face.

The edge of your mouth twitched. "I LOVE YOU!"

You could see her smile from where you were standing. "Y/N L/N!" she screamed back. "I LOVE YOU TOO!"

Some people started clapping and whooping, making you realize the embarrassment you put upon yourself. "STAY THERE!" Jeongyeon added.

You watched as she too climbed the bridge, only stopping when she came face to face with you.

"You came," she said simply. You shrugged. "I wasn't about to let you go without saying a proper goodbye."

"But you were the one who-" you cut her off by throwing your arms around her. You weren't planning on letting go.

Maybe she'll have to go sometime.

But right now, all that mattered was the present.

You'll make it work.

[lollipencil]

High Tide: Part 2

I really wanted to do another part to this AU, even had a seperate Part 2 (now currently Part ?) in my drafts for months. So, here is Part 2, or "How Layla meets the merboys".

Enjoy and be gentle ---

Layla was not an inexperienced diver. Her dad had taken her on dives in the past, long after he had enforced the knowledge of the risks and of what to do in various situations. So, when her leg got caught on one dive shortly after his death, Layla kept calm.

Light from her headlamp lined the nearby ledge she'd previously been before part of the ceiling had gave way. Focusing all her efforts on breathing slowly, she looked back at her pinned leg.

The rock was too big to shift herself. She wasn't on her own, but they were exploring other parts of the temple. Layla was on her own.

At least, it seemed that way at first.

A minute passed, before she could make out a figure appearing over the opposite passage. Layla waved them over, thinking it was one of the other divers.

The first sign that it wasn't, was how they swam. Almost slivering through the water, occasionally using their hands to push them along. As they grew closer, her headlamp erased any belief that this was one of the others.

Scales, beginning as blue before lightening to white towards the centre of their body, covered almost all of them apart from the hair on the top of their head. There was no nose, just a slight bump and small gill-like slits where it would be, and proper gills down their neck. In place of legs, the figure's body went from human-like torso to fish tail smoothly. Their lips part slightly as they neared, showing sharp teeth.

But Layla still didn't panic. Because those were not the eyes of a savage beast.

They paused briefly mere inches from her before focusing on the rock. Clawed and webbed hands grasped the edges, and they pushed. It lifted and Layla quickly snatched her leg away.

The world seemed to still. The merman looked at her, and she looked back. Then, their head jolted to the passageway she'd came from, and they shot off with astonishing speed back the way they came. Just before the lights of Layla's group appeared over the ledge.

---

Layla had said nothing about what she's saw.

It was the sort of thing that gets you called crazy, but she knew what she'd saw. And she wanted, no, needed to know more.

It took a while, but soon word began to spread of a creature in the water. It would frighten children who tried to wade out too far, even would carry back those who couldn't do it themselves if needed. There was some minor differences regarding colour and pattern, but based on the description, the same species. So, with hope and eagerness in her heart, Layla made her way to the shore where most of the stories originated.

The cold air brushed up her spine, even as her hands soaked up the heat of the pizza box in her hands. Tiredly, she sat down on the pier, set down the pizza, and lay against the post with her eyes closed.

She almost drifted off when the sound of something surfacing from the water hammered straight into her mind. Sounds of swimming got closer followed by the faint noise of climbing. "Oh?" a soft voice with a british accent came from the edge of the pier, "Someone's had a fun night. Shouldn't miss a slice or two, right?"

Something heavy heaved themself up onto the pier, landing with a faint huff. Layla waited with baited breath as he neared and the sound of unfolding cardboard soon reached her ears. "Oh, no meat, no cheese," he hummed happily, "Perfect."

She waited a minute before cracking her eyes open.

Definitely the same species. His head was hidden under the box lid as he tucked in with joy, tail wagging like a dog with a bone. Dark scales were revealed as green by the faint streetlight while the streaks were a clear amber.

As he kept going, a thought suddenly hit Layla. Where does she go from here? Suddenly, the wind blew the lid fully open, showing the creature with sauce all around his mouth. He looked up. And met Layla's eyes.

Neither of them moved. A crust hung from sharpened fangs. Moonlight reflected off of his eyes fully, leaving two glowing orbs that failed to hide the sheer panic in them. Idly, Layla noted that the amber made it look like he was wearing eye makeup. A dog barked in the distance, and he bolted. Right over the side of the pier and right into the dark waves below.

Leaving Layla with a open box of cooling pizza, and the same number of unanswered questions.

---

One week. That's how long Layla went to the shoreline, night after night, but there was no sign of either creature. Which left only one cource of action.

The moonlight rendered the waves a molten silver as Layla stripped down to the swimming costume she'd put on that morning. Slowly, she acclimatized herself to the chill with each step further in, before lunging slightly into a front stroke. For a minute, she swam.

Then something hooked around her waist and pulled her back to the store.

Only the fact that she'd been expecting it stopped her from thrashing or yelling. And yet, even when she looked down, she could see nothing under the water. Even when dumped underneath the pier, nothing appeared to be her "savior". But something was there. "Hello?" she called softly into the shadows. "What are you doing?" a harsh whisper replied. "Going for a late night swim," Layla shrugged. "Don't lie," the voice hissed, "I know you've been here all week. Looking for my brother."

The water in front of Layla suddenly stirred. Then, a shimmer passed over the air before her, to reveal the creature described in the rumors, silver with black patches like a koi: "Why?"

She could see no reason to lie to him, "Because I met another of your...species during a dive not too long ago. I wasn't looking for your brother, I am sorry if I scared him. I just want some anwsers." "Can you describe this other?" the creature asked after a brief pause. "Blue at the edges, brightening to white further in." He half-sighed and groaned. "He's also my brother."

Ah. "We aren't really a species," the creature admitted slowly, "us three, we are fully human once." "Fully?" "Yeah. Not too sure how much of this," he lifted a clawed hand up, "counts biologically, but we can still look human, if we choose." "What happened?" "An accident. Ended up sinking down into the arms of a statue of Khnum. He brought us back, like this. Now, occasionally, he has us do things for him."

Layla let this soak in. She nodded. "Happy now?" the creature smirked slightly, moonlight revealing a mustache-like patch on his upper lip. "Could you tell him, the one I met first, thank you for me?" Layla asked. "Si, I can do that," and then he shimmered, and the water rippled, and Layla was once more alone in the water.

[theadventurerslog]

Quest For Glory II: Trial by Fire | Part 6

The Adventurer's Log

Day 14 here in Shapeir and I chatted with Abdulla over breakfast. The Water Elemental came to town.

So it was time to go to the fountain plaza.

And there the water elemental was having a grand old time in the fountain. I tried the bellows which did blow it away, but it just came back to the fountain.

But Aziza warned of this, so I put down one of my waterskins full of water and then blew it away from the fountain and because it's attracted to water it went for the waterskin instead. And I was able to scoop it up so I had one waterskin with water elemental essence now.

Naturally the next step was to attempt drinking from the waterskin in which it was contained. Sadly, I could find no way to make this work. I dropped one waterskin and emptied the other. But anything I tried just resulted in it telling me I was out of water. Sad. Let me die in stupid ways, Quest for Glory!

While I was there I popped into the Apothecary and tried telling him about the water elemental.

Tee hee.

He wasn't particularly impressed. "Such a thing would not be nearly as grand as a Fire Elemental." He really is all about that fire elemental. Which he can't have. Too bad.

It did give me the idea to start telling the various katta merchants about the elementals though. I wish I'd done that sooner! I bargained for a waterskin to replace the one I'd used... only to then get a free one for dealing with the water elemental. Then I tried telling about the earth one and got another cloth bag. I went to the palace plaza and was given a sapphire pin. Free stuff all around! Getting concerned about the amount of weight I'm carrying! Dropping the two scorpion tails I can't sell helped, but was an affront to my item hoarding ways.

The usual bit of grinding for the rest of the day and then it was onto day 15.

Shameen informed me Aziza wanted to see me tomorrow.

Otherwise today was looking like a prep for Raseir sort of day. Including buying more rations.

I bought more food and pills and ended up slightly over-encumbered, but it was only by one point so I guess that was okay. And then I got some more strength from fighting so it evened out.

Then while grinding I got killed by a terrorsaurus... I have successfully fought them before! But I ran out of MP...

Onward to day 16: my last day here. And I was informed Omar would be here that night. For now though I had to go see about that visit Aziza wanted.

She welcomed me as a Hero and may my deeds be remembered forever. Then she said she had some information about my trip to Raseir to discuss, but before we could sit down we had a special guest.

Cinder's pose and expression is so funny to me. I'm not quite sure what he's doing but it's sure something! Like you've never seen a Saurus come to the door.

Everything about this shot is incredible.

Also thesaurus pun in the name.

Aziza realized my weirdo saurus is enchanted and called him to sit with us so she could reveal his true from with water magic.

And dunh dunh duuunh!

He's actually the missing Emir! Honestly? This is fine and the hints are all there etc. BUT I really want a saurus who is just a weirdo. My weirdo buddy. Sadly not meant to be. And I guess this means I've been riding the Emir around. Well, he was helpful... aside from running away when enemies showed up, but at least he still had the saurus ability to get home automatically.

Anyhoo, she tried to reveal the caster but we didn't get much of a look. I would have to journey to Raseir with the caravan and she'd keep the Emir here safely until we could find a way to break the enchantment. I suppose the enchanter might be too powerful for a dispel potion to work yet?

With that done I left and now I can't visit her anymore boo. While wandering the town I had various Katta reminding me that I'll be going to Raseir, and cheering me on as their hero who will restore their land and the Emir.

I stopped by the guild intending to have another training bout. Rakeesh was there and had more words of encouragement and was impressed by how much I'd done particularly as a magic user. Kind of implying that most wouldn't. I feel I should be a bit offended by that remark, but after seeing the WIT, he might not be entirely wrong. Still. And then I went to fight intending to spar with Uhura and got to fight him instead!

After the usual grind, I went back to the inn to listen to Omar. He had another reward for me from the Sultan for dealing with the earth and water elementals.

Then he gave me his poetry for the night, this time about Raseir and my upcoming journey.

And so he continued:

The Emir had a brother, who quickly took the throne, but the Shadow lurking under soon was known For the Katta were exiled, and Raseir was then defiled, By the rules and regulations that were shown. The Sultan sent his men to restore Raseir to right, But they did not even have a chance to fight, For as they crossed the land, a tremendous storm of sand, Forced his forces to retreat from their plight. So now the rumor's told of the city of Raseir, That the Darkness shadows everything in fear. And He that now does rule has the Emir as his tool, Disobedience brings punishment severe. The moral of this story as the best of tales must tell Of the horrors of the orders that befell, Is the simple corollary that the Hero must be wary, 'Ere He journeys to that Shadow's Citadel, And we bid him luck and wish him to fare well. As you travel to Raseir, Cinder Win, know that all of us in Shapeir wish for your safety and the success of your mission.

Then I went to bed and was awoken early before the sun rose to set off to join the caravan. Shema gave me breakfast and supplies and the Katta merchants gathered to see me off and wish me luck. The gate guard had a new saurus for me as a gift from the Sultan.

And we got to watch the sun rise before joining the caravan.

Off we went!

Until in time we were attacked by a horde of a nomadic brigands.

How will we get out of this? What fate would befall our group? However could we survive?

Intermission time.

Popcorn and WizFiz, yum. It's a poppin' good time. My hero's a whizz in the biz so I'm sure that battle won't go amiss.

Okay, okay I'll stop my poor attempt at channeling Keapon.

On continuing I was met with the aftermath of a great battle.

I can't imagine how scorched the land must be under the sheer number of flame darts Cinder would have had to use. My weapon skill isn't awful all things considered, but I ultimately survive with much flame dart spamming.

Isn't he looking heroic at the heap of slaughter. Yeeshk.

But we made it. Cinder split off from the caravan once Raseir came into view and so we arrived.

It was not a warm welcome.

I was generally warned off causing trouble and given a Visa and told to behave. I'm sure nothing will go wrong here.

I walked into the inn, The Blue Parrot. A charming place.

Where I was immediately mocked by the barkeep.

And I'm sure there's nothing shady or threatening about Signor Ferrari here. Of course before speaking with him, I had to look around. The barkeep was compared to Bruno from Spielburg.

Everything was dismal and grubby.

And the namesake in an ex-parrot...

I had a chat with Ferrari that totally wasn't threatening at all. All friendly here yep.

He warned me not to go trying to change things too quickly; that could be dangerous, that could make me enemies. He offered me a drink between a Raseirish coffee or a Djinn Sling and approved my choice of the Djinn Sling.

Not necessarily a good choice of drink for poor Cinder here however.

Then he discussed the deposition of the old Emir with his brother taking over at the palace. Raseir used to be a place of freedom with few laws and restrictions. The streets were full of people and water flowed free. When Khaveen and his master arrived that changed. Only the strong remained and those that couldn't adapt were destroyed. I'm strong but how adaptable? More totally not threats: It'd be a shame to end up in Khaveen's dungeon. Then he introduced me to Ugarte who 'obtains for others things which are otherwise unattainable."

Ugarte was willing to share a rumor that may help for five dinars. I said no and for seemingly coming with no money Ferrari had me booted out where I was arrested.

Trying again, I went for the coffee this time which Ferrari called prudent, but otherwise I got the same result at first with the feeling odd and telling him things, but then he didn't want to talk more and wanted me to come tonight. So I reloaded again to try the alcoholic route. Or so I thought, but then it happened again, so I don't know why my first attempt was different. Maybe I hadn't saved after examining everything in the inn and it was evening enough for him to talk but on a reload I hadn't passed enough time yet? I don't know.

So I guess I had some time to kill.

I found their version of the fountain plaza. Sad sight.

These have the same kind of streets as Shapeir, in other words a place I would get lost in extremely easily, so I went back. Sunset was approaching anyway, so I was able to try Ferrari again.

This time the conversation continued as it did before and I paid Ugarte. It seems my arrival was expected. Khaveen wanted me watched at all times. There was a prophecy to be filled and I could be the one.

Ferrari was interested to see how this would play out and would let me stay in a room here tonight.

I tried to ask about Ad Avis. Ugarte denied knowing anything in a seeming bit of a panic. "Best such a name be forgotten." I also learned one Katta remained behind but is in hiding. The fountain dried up and the only way to get water is to buy it from the Emir's men at exorbitant prices but Ugarte also sells some at cheaper prices. Cheaper than them anyway. Which is oh so much better. That was all the info I could get or think of to get.

You can leave and go out into the desert. My new saurus was even waiting loyally for me. But there's not much point. It's a place to practice magic some more but otherwise. So, I wanted to go to bed but had to wait for nightfall to be allowed. I poked around a tiny bit in town and found a barricaded road. Then I went back to the inn plaza and it was night so a guard threatened me that if I was found at night again I'd be arrested before he escorted me back to The Blue Parrot. Bed time for real.

Not a very pleasant place or night. A rat kept pulling the blanket away.

Once morning dawned, I was told Signor Ferrari wanted to see me again tonight with some disturbing news. Goody!

Day 28 now after all that travel. Having quite the month. Next time will be off to explore Raseir, I suppose. I’m going to get so lost…

[baatarthefirst]

Person A knows they are in danger, especially after their last bodyguard got badly injured while protecting them, which makes them hesitant to accept Person B as their new bodyguard, because they don’t want any more people to suffer for them.

Queen Regent Amaya looked at this new body guard with concern. It was a surprise Queen Khessa sent this particular solder to guard her against the mysterious organization after her head. She knew the Sunfire elves paid their debts...

[-everyone is in danger!- The elf chose to believe her, probably reasoning it was better to risk disgrace than destruction. Amaya wanted to gear up, she would likely need her armor against Viren's magic, but she grabbed her shield and left the rest; a calculated risk that she was sure would bite her in the ass later.

It had, and then again it hadn't. If they'd spent time on her armor, had they lost a single moment to practically, Janai would've been too late. She made it up the tower in record time with that lava like form of hers, slicing Viren and some sort of magic creature in one stroke of her blade. As she laid on the ground, trying to catch her breath, she'd forgotten that the human was behind her, an armed human. An armed human who the guards would reasonably assume was a loyal soldier of the evil king.

In a split second, before Janai could utter a word, the guards and high mage attacked. The general put up her shield impressively quickly, managing to protect herself from the spears, but the sheer force of the magic blew her off her feet and crushing her hard into the pillar. Janai jumped into action, covered the unconscious human with her own body so she could explain.

They'd released her with her promise do do what she could to move the human armies back across the boarder. She joined her army. While her battalion was not there, she'd found a few interpreters. Through them she had a conversation with the leaders.

They explained the situation, she asked them if they'd thought it was convenient that unnatural magic moonshadow-like beings provoked every nation except Katolis after they refused the powerful mage's plan to attack Xadia. She followed up with the question of 'if the moonshadow elves attacked you, why are you attacking the sunfire elves', then 'he didn't tell you anything, and you just blindly followed him'. She saw everyone shrink with her line of questioning, eventually agreeing to go back and look into this. Everyone except Claudia, who disappeared, and Prince Kasef.

He wouldn't let it go and rode up to the gates of Lux Aurea and shouted a challenge to whoever attacked his father. Janai answered, she told him that they were not responsible for his father's injuries. He attacked, he went home on a cart. He was lucky to be alive. Amaya had tried to warn him.

She led the armies back, telling everyone she would investigate this further, and if Xadia was truly behind this...well they wouldn't expect an attack so soon after abandoning their cause. Amaya couldn't believe they went for it, but was glad they saw reason.]

...but still. Queen Khessa was repaying her debt by sending her little sister into incredible danger. Amaya was starting to regret keeping in touch with the elf. She dismissed the court to speak with the golden knight alone.

"You know my last bodyguard is fighting for his in the hospital, and he's the lucky one." Gren translated for her.

"I owe you my sister's life, my life, perhaps many more lives. It would be an honor to die for you."

"It'd be a loss to your people." If there was one argument Amaya could use to chase Janai away, it was her people.

"And to you?"

"And to me." She admitted.

"Your death would be a loss to me. I'm not ready to lose you, yet." Janai had a dangerously effective pout. Amaya could only sigh and relent.

"If you die, I'll never forgive you."

"Well worth the risk."

[phillipthesims]

Gen One: Chapter 9

TW: Arguments, verbal abuse, pregnancy

Rough was probably the only way Lily could describe the ups and downs of her relationship with Lupin. Some days he was the sweetest person ever; reminding her of how he was when they met.

Other day... he was mean and cruel. He'd berate her over the littlest of things. Usually the state of the house because as easy of an infant as Tule usually was, well she was still a baby. Sometimes she really did need all of Lily's attention or else she cried until her throat was sore. Those days, Lily could only focus on her child.

Even if Tula calmed down later, the energy to clean just wasn't there. So the house would be a 'mess', which really wasn't much of a mess. Just dirty dishes, the laundry half done, the trash not taken out, that sort of thing.

But any perceived mess set Lupin off. Lily would argue that if he wanted everything spotless, then he should clean it himself! Around and around they'd go for hours until Tula would wake up from the yelling.

She'd cry and Lily tried to go to her, but sometimes he'd grab her and keep her from tending to the baby. "She can cry it out! You can go clean the dishes!"

"She's a baby Lupin! And the dishes can wait!"

Lily would like to say they didn't argue in front of Tula, but that'd be a lie. The child saw and heard a lot of their fights, even if right now she didn't know what was going on. She cried when they argued near her, in hopes the shouting would stop.

Unfortunately, it didn't often work and she'd have to self soothe herself down. Lily ran to tend to her afterwards but by then Tula had put herself back to sleep. Lily wiped away her daughter's dried tears and then sat down next to her crib. Crying herself, this wasn't a happy family. She did not want this.

She had no way of finding her mother... and she'd just want Lily to be isolated again. Tula, while she loved her, made this more complicated; she couldn't just run away with an infant. Or she could but she'd be found easily. She was just as trapped as she was with her mother....

What was worse? She was pregnant again. She knew this time by the morning sickness, and cried in the bathroom for half an hour until Tula started crying. Don't get Lily wrong, she did want more children just... not with Lupin. Another baby made it even harder to leave. She was stuck.

Still, Lily tried to be happy around her Tula. The infant didn't deserve to see her mother sadden all the time, so she put on a smile. Besides, Tula was going to be a walking and babbling toddler soon. And Lily was determined to not ruin the upcoming birthday.

She pushed through her morning sickness to bake a beautiful cake for her tulip. A mix of pink and white, just like Tula.

All the cakes Lily ever had were white... and kind of bland in taste. So she was excited to give her daughter something more colorful, more lively. And sweet in taste.

Her child, soon to be children, would get her best, her love, her everything. They may not get their father's love, but she wasn't sure she had his love.... But Lily would make up for his shortcomings. It'd be enough, it had to be.

The birthday came! Tula blew out her candles; with some help. Aging up into a cute toddler with the most charming of personalities.

Tula took after her father in a sense of style as she had found a pair of boots he wore at her age. She wore those boots every day, and Lily thought it was the cutest thing ever. Despite that, Lupin barely acknowledged that his daughter took after him.

Tula talked and talked all day, every day. Whether it was to her mother or her toys, she never stopped talking. And Lily listened to her every word, even while doing the housework or trying to take a rest.

Heavily pregnant and still trying to meet Lupin's demands, Lily always tucked Tula into bed. Even when she felt dead on her feet and wanted nothing more than to fall down onto her bed.

Which she'd do right after taking care of Tula. She was exhausted each and every day.... Lily often asked herself when she'd get a break- when she'd no longer be tired. She never really had an answer, as she couldn't see a future where she wasn't under Lupin's thumb. A future where she did have to convince herself that she loved him. He was not her prince charming after all and when she'd read Tula those stories... she felt the tears in her eyes.

Her life was not a fairytale with a happily-ever-after.... Yet her life had brought Tula and soon another little flower.

Speaking of her soon to be flower... the months seemed to fly by until she got close to that due date for her newest flower.

[prayerworksfolks]

Smut from the perspective of a boy I'm cucking. Names and details have been altered.

Cw: voyeurism Ćw: cigarette play CW: drugs mention

Cool night had settled over the desert. The trailers and tents across the wash twinkled dimly and the smell of gas generators had picked up on the wind. Barks and drunken whoops mixed into a common sound.

Distantly the light of real civilization -- a bomb range and a more upscale trailer park -- flanked a rising campfire at the boundary of scrub and badlands.

I hid behind a creosote bush far outside their perception. The light of their fire only faintly extended beyond a ring of stone and a circular wall of sage branches. Certainly it blocked the wind, but provided virtually no privacy from their low vantage point. Voices could be clearly made out.

River: I always wanted to play this music when I tried arranging group sex magic in college but nobody was ever down.

Whisper: the only reason we're not doing sex magic is because you're a Buddhist now.

River turned on the speaker, and their voices could no longer be heard. The other two girls were Shell and Emerald.

Emerald and I came out here together because I got us run out of San Diego being a bad businessman. Shell was the woman who drove the first edge between us, but this whole event was organized by Whisper.

They undressed each other. River with Whisper, and Shell with Emerald. River was heavily tattooed with banners and simple drawings. Whisper and Emerald were only lightly decorated with stick and poke. From a distance, all were virtually without body hair except their thick dark pubes and armpits.

Their clothes were placed on the burnt rusted frame of a chair with a tall post above its back that hung crossed bows of sage, one alive and one dead.

A bottle of something murky was passed around. Shell, never one for stoicism, winced when she drank. The empty bottle was placed by a glass gallon jug of water which scattered light like crystal.

Whisper straddle Emerald, Shell began to kiss River.

Whisper held Emerald down with her hands above her head as the wind blew cinders at them both. Whisper laughing, Emerald moaning.

Because of nerve damage from cigarette play, Emerald has a scar on her arm that hurts perpetually like it was freshly made. The cinders weren't a big deal to her.

Further from the fire, Shell was drooling over River. River was on their back in the sand with their legs bent and spread.

Each pair in separate, yet parallel splendor. Each focused only on their partner.

Whisper traced her fingers around the puddle which stuck to Emerald's tummy, and they both giggled deliriously. She rubbed the slick into both their cocks and they began to frot.

River got fucked in the pussy by Shell. River scratched at the dirt and Shell held them at the hips. Shell's titties brushed right above River's, who was slightly shorter. The fire illuminated little puffs of dust kicked up from the River's flailing; arching their back, then stiffening straight.

By the time River and Shell had finished, Whisper was applying lube to mount Emerald. Emerald got onto her knees and elbows. Shell slid out of River, both visibly panting with dopey tongues loose in their mouths.

Whisper sort of just leaned into Emerald, and Emerald's ass didn't resist entry. The endorphins from the burns and the chilly wind and whatever they drank combined to make her easily the most pliable one there. Despite having the worst hyper-vigilance of anyone I've ever known.

Maybe if her guard was up she'd even have spotted me.

I'd seen enough after Emerald had been fully Eifel Tower'd by Whisper and Shell as they all moaned into each other's bodies while River watched.

I ran back to the bar, and I was still doing lines of K and yay with patrons when those four sauntered in for bedtime dabs.

[doctorguilty]

Long cartoons ramble lol

That was from my queue but making me think abt s2 my biggest fear is s2 is simon being like out of the main story like as a character that just sometimes comes up not just because I like him like yeah but way more importantly I really liked how the dynamic and friendship between him and fionna and cake developed because it was like so extremely important for the entire world building and I get sorta miffed when people are like, uhhh it's fionna and cake not fionna cake and simon get over it 🙄 let other characters (finn gets brought up a lot here) take the spotlight, like firstly you're contradicting yourself because I don't see Finn in the title either, and not to say I don't want to see more of him (I do! And I anticipate more of him!) But he was NOT actually a major part of the story! And isn't actually all the relevant to fionna he NEVER was in the og series, ice king was, but lemme back up. . .

From the beginning, fionnaworld existing in Simon's mind, was entirely impacted by his feelings, which wasn't just the lack of magic it was the fact he was depressed and getting to his wits end, feeling out of place, that's why fionna was so sad in her world, "I'm not feeling like myself today" etc, it wasn't like in a vacuum she was 100% intertwined with him (always was! Ice king wrote her stories!) And the beginning of their relationship was this sort of hostility like simon being angry to know she even existed and wasn't just a foolish machination of the insane ice king, and his peers are like ohhhh we loved those comics ice king wrote, and meanwhile simon is like repeatedly attempting suicide (which would have killed fionnas entire world. Btw.) Fionna is a little more open to him, but leaning towards her self interest of the fact that if he dies her world does, cake meanwhile is like damn this guy sucks.

By the end of the journey though, fionna genuinely cares about him so much she'd rather risk losing the battle to save her and her world than for simon to destroy himself for her (and she does this twice actually! The first time when they were with the lich and fionna had secretly picked up the crown and tried to hide it so simon wouldn't put it on, she even fights with cake over it, her bestie cake), simon cares so much he (ALSO TWICE) tries to go against Betty's wishes to save fionnas world with the crown, and at FIRST it was like a convenient excuse to psychologically off himself like welp I don't care if I live or die, if I throw my brain awake this person lives, then it's settled. Later its like, he so genuinely wants to make the sacrifice he tries doing it in front of his chaos God wife (when originally.. the plan was to see her, apologize, and die with her)

After fionnas world became it's own thing separate from simon.. like, the parallel cannot be missed here, the fact that her world was represented by a dandelion she wished on to save, the fact that Betty blew simon away like blowing like a dandelion wishing for him to go back home and live, he and fionna stay in contact across the multiverse to be friends. And their friendship and love for one another peaked at this point, when they are no longer like involuntarily bound together, they both chose to make the best of the lives they have (fionnas being letting go of the magic she wanted to have, and learning to appreciate her world as it is .. which is better because the way it is, simon is not suffering (as ice king ) for it to exist. That's what her nightmare about the freezer was about.)

Like all the themes and parallels between fionna and simon are so fucking intertwined I cannot even understand why you'd want to see less of that :[ even if it's not the main focus of like, whatever stakes will be introduced in s2, their bond should still be like.. very prominent I feel?? To be like "well we don't need simon anymore since fionnas on her own" kinda like dumps out all of the stuff I was just talking abt yknow?? And idk like rip to you but I'm different ig but was it not super sweet and cute for a peppy 30 year old failwoman, her sassy talking cat, and a 59 year dorky widower with a heart of gold to be adventure buddies like..? :[

"Well Simon's story with betty concluded" I hear a lot well, okay! First of all the conclusion sucked but w/e that's a hot topic of debate, but more importantly, that's fine, that part can be concluded and. The conclusion was (the better part of it) that simon should stop letting his grief about betty kill him from the inside out and instead live the life she sacrificed herself for him to have. So... that.. lines up? Perfectly in fact?? that sets him up for s2 to have more than not a clean slate on one of the most major parts of his character since forever (betty) like if his journey is no longer about her then. He's like pretty fresh to do whatever. And what was ADDED to him was his relationship with fionna and cake. And as much as I WISH he got a happier end with betty, it is what it is, I'm very much ready for simon new game+ where he's happier and (especially since s1 set him up as like being pretty alone and isolated even from the people who love him b/c they're living their own fulfilling lives) gets a reprise with fionna and cake and they're like, his next closest people, and she like, gets another adventure with the person connected to the world of magic she wanted (who himself isn't even magic he's a human like her)

I don't wanna see that shoved to the side it would be heartbreaking!! They're friends! They care so fucking much about eachother! 😭 it's not just me right?? I can't be the only one who doesn't feel like their friendship is integral to the story 😭😭

[baileyblight]

I don't have much of an Ink bio (My brain has been taken over by Susie Deltarune) but I Am starting to figure out what his deal is.

He is severely anxious all the time. It's REALLY bad, especially around strangers. He's got The Social Anxiety, you know how it is. Around people he knows, he tries to put up this like, posh kinda sophisticated sort of vibe, you know. Pretentious, perhaps. He does have money so he tries to act like a snobby rich boy, I guess. Obviously the people that know him know that this is not The Real Ink. Unega calls him out on it a lot because he pisses it off LMAO.

So. Okay. His deal with IV.

They slept together. For IV it was fine. She had to guide him a lot but it wasn't too bad, she had a nice enough time. For Ink, it was his first fucking time and she blew his ENTIRE GODDAMN mind. IV was unaware that he was a virgin, and dude the dread she felt upon learning this information.....

So Ink kinda like, becomes highkey obsessed with her after that. He's so infatuated and obsessed, every time she visits the circus he greets her with flowers, chocolates, other small gifts he'd think she'd enjoy, he hovers over her as much as he can, he showers her with verbal affection, like the dude's got it bad.

He drives IV fucking insane.

She does not give one shit about this guy. She is so mean to him. She'll stomp on the flowers, toss the chocolates in the trash, ignore him when he speaks to her, tells him to fuck off on the regular, she's even screamed at him and pushed him before! Much to her dismay, it does not seem to bother Ink in the slightest. It almost seems like he enjoys it, in a way! He does sometimes respect when she insists that she wants to be alone, and he never touches her without permission, but just his presence makes her want to smash her head into a wall.

...Can I make a cishet man OC that's fucking normal.

[solisvidentis]

>He could make the obvious joke about how their planets blew up, so no duh, but he doesn't. Instead he affirms her sentiment, while also bringing up the fact that she was running multiple other jobs, such as nurse. So uh, kind of ran herself ragged for years there. Geez mayor, why don't you mention she rescued limbless orphaned kittens as well, bring the mood down some more. But Rose probably knows how most of this story goes: They did a little peace, did a little reformation, and well.

>Then she met PM.

>His thumb was dancing back and forth, deciding between an image and a nearby video file. A quick flick to the left for the image, and the seer's sight would go from watching a clipped angel, to a biblically accurate angel that stood hands on her utterly massive hips, grinning ear to ear as her latest masterpiece, some sort of moth symbol, stood behind her. One wonders what the weirdest part of this all was. The fact that she could move despite being wider than she is tall, having a gut that reaches her knees, and paint splattered breasts (guess she found a new pallete) that dwarf said gut and even her own head? The fact that despite her weight, she still carried several paint cans that were dangling from her hips, and the straps of her fairly damaged overalls continue to hold back that much tit flesh? Or the fact of how that dinky ladder in the background can apparently hold that much woman?

>Certainly not bus or home size, but god help the driver of any car she decides to park her ass in. Or rather on with that girth. The dersite side eyes to Rose and asks if she see what he means?

Despite her best efforts to maintain a cool facade at most times, the blobular seer couldnt help but suck in a breath at the drastic change- and not *just* because of the runaway boulders involved. Eyebrows raised, she tried to peer a little closer at the image to really get it all in.

"Goodness." Is all she can say for a moment, blinking

"Well, I suppose you're right that she's not the size of a house, but you also said someone else caused this... pm, I believe it was?"

For now she wanted to follow that thread- but She'd resolve to see if she could finesse this artist's number from him later.

[acourtofthought]

Why Gwyn would be better suited for Az:

But Azriel … Cassian tries, I try—but I think the only person who ever gets him to admit to any sort of feeling is Mor. And that’s only when she’s pestered him to the point where even his infinite patience has run out.”

This sentence tells us so much about Az's character. It takes a very persistent person to break down Az's walls. He's a master at holding things inside of him and the only type of person he will share things with is the type of person that will push him, even against his initial deflection.

People use Az's hesitation against interacting with Gwyn in the POV Bonus Chapter as some kind of mark against their ship but what they don't realize is Gwyn is EXACTLY the right kind of female for Az.

What happened when Az rejected Elain?

“this was a mistake.”

She opened her eyes, hurt and confusion warring there before she whispered, “I’m sorry.”

It doesn't really matter why Az rejected Elain because she believes he and he alone rejected her. What does Elain do when that happens? Apologizes to him. She's hurt by his rejection yet she apologizes to him.

If that were Nesta I have no doubt she'd sling something back at Az like "what do you mean mistake? Have you or have you not been staring at me the last few months?" or something like, "your loss". 😂

I love Elain, she's my favorite female of the series. But she's not brazen or aggressive or persistent. She does prefer to keep her head down and not make waves. I don't doubt we'll see her come into her own in her book (we already got hints of that in SF) but I don't think Elain will ever be pushy or demanding when she senses someone isn't comfortable. To me, she seems like the kind of person to pick up on someone's discomfort and respect that, to not push them.

Which might be great for another Male who will eventually talk when he's ready, but not someone like Az who (based on the above) will NEVER have that conversation unless someone pushes him to do so.

But Gwyn......

Sort of. “I forgot something,” he reminded her.

“At two in the morning?” Pure amusement glittered in her stare.

Right away, Gwyn challenges him. She doesn't take what he says at face value.

“They call you shadowsinger. Is it because you sing?”

“I am a shadowsinger- it’s not a title that someone just made up.”

She shrugged again, irreverently. Az narrowed his eyes, studying her. “Do you, though?” She pressed. “Sing?”

Azriel couldn’t help his soft chuckle. “Yes.”

She opened her mouth to ask more, but he didn’t feel like explaining. Or demonstrating, So Az jerked his chin to the sword dangling from her hand. “Try cutting the ribbon again.”

“What- with you watching?”

He nodded.

She considered, and he wondered if she’d say no, but Gwyn blew out a breath, steadied her feet and balance, and sliced.

In the above, we have Gwyn ask Az a personal question which he deflects. Even with that deflection she circles back around and persists, asking again. Then when Az redirects because he doesn't want to demonstrate (I mean really, who ever wants to sing in front of anyone on command unless you're interested in becoming a professional singer? It's not really that strange that Az didn't want to demonstrate). Even with this new deflection though, Gwyn isn't put off. Her feelings aren't hurt and she doesn't shut down. She moves right along with the conversation and refocuses on the ribbon.

When Az finally says goodnight, he even notes Gwyn's persistent, "cheeky" personality as a positive considering he calls it "charming".

A warrior sizing up an opponent, all traces of that charming irreverence gone.

Not only did Gwyn demonstrate that she's got no issues pushing back on the things Az tells her but he finds it to be a positive aspect of who she is.

At this point in time it doesn't matter who is interested in who. This is an SJM book and we know that even if a character wants someone at the start of a novel, they can end up with someone completely different by the end. What is important is what we know of characters outside of any romantic interactions and who they are as an individuals. Based on that and that alone gives you an idea of who would best be suited for them and I've got to say, Gwyn is exactly the type of female that Az needs. Not only because she won't back down when he puts up his walls but she also won't feel hurt by his initial reaction which will often be to shut the conversation down when it's something he wants to avoid (which isn't a healthy response when done as regularly as Az tends to do).