#I'm still in the process of figuring out how to make a new handle for it xD

[nelkey]

Progress pic of the wings for tomorrow's cosplay!

[grotesquevi]

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ I WANNA BE THE TATTOO INK THAT SWIMS ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ DOWN THROUGH THE NEEDLE IN YOUR SKIN.

cw  # 18+ mdni, public sex, use of strap-on (it’s refered as cock/dick too) strap sucking, use of pet names.

side note  # if you recognize this, might be because this is a request from my previous blog vicorices (terminated blog 2025-2025 r.i.p) this is my new account. i'm trying to get all my writing back up slowly and with my whole heart. check out my arcane directory to see the process of re-uploading fics.

to be fair, sevika did want to marry, the thing was organizing a wedding.

you've been running non-stop the last months so she gets you're burnt out. your fianceé can be many things, but her patience it's a golden treat even when she don't have time to properly fuck you lately, she knows you'll be back to your own self after the celebration, and sevika’s not afraid of having to put up with your grumpy side any time of the day.

she can handle you, simple as a summer day with the air conditioner turned on. what she cannot handle instead, was that backstabbing shit you were pulling on her after being so well behaved, playing the part of an understanding wife until one of your friends give her the first photo and she has to look at it twice to be sure she's looking at it right, cause there's no way you're standing in a tiny polaroid picture wearing a purple set of underwear, comfortably laying around in bed — a bed you share with her every night.

it sends her into a spiral. the music is loud in a room full of celebrating guests and still, her mouth is suddenly dry and she feels like it has been a fucking year now without having sex, so dramatic as she's searching for you even when you're already looking at her, raising your champagne glass in a silent toast with a playful smirk.

and she thinks you'll have the decency to be kind to her after all, but your friends kept the photos coming, and each one seemed to be more obscene than the last one as she looked at them a couple of times afraid someone else could see it before tucking it away in the safety of her suit. at first a casual set of purple lingerie that scaled insanely quick to a very close frontal shot of your full lips slightly parted, and sevika can recognize your hands squeezing your tits together for the picture, you fucking tease — the third picture steals the air from her lungs at the sight of you already on your knees, looking up to the camera with nothing on top.

did your friends see them too? do they know how low they are helping you play? you're making her put up a show ‘cause you're laughing at her face, her erratic movements, how she forgot to keep on talking to the guests, show some manners from a zaunite already in the council, but shit she's so weak. you've deprived her for what? a month or two? can you really expect her to behave and not to act up stupid? you're wearing this beautiful white gown and sevika cannot help but wonder, truly wonder, by the look in your face, what are you wearing down all that expensive fabric.

low.

you're looking at her while you talk to your close ones and sevika fights the need to drag you away from everyone as the photos kept appearing randomly, hitting her in the worst moments, cause she thinks she got it figured it out, that she finally collected herself as the minutes pass until another friend appears with a sinful picture and she thinks to herself, she's going to have a word or two with you about that teasing game she didn't agree to be a part on.

how can she be mad at you anyway? when you're so good at taking those photos for her? when you look so beautiful making your underwear to the side to have a look of your soaked pussy you so eagerly show to the camera lens? you're biting down your lip cause you really are enjoying it, showing that nasty side you cannot hide and she just loves to have every single time.

her devotion to you knows no barrier at that point, cause people are laughing loudly, singing and dancing under the changing lights and the bands playing in the background, yet sevika's blatantly stealing you from the rest and there's no point in saying no when she's pulling you to the tiny photobooth you thought it'd be cute to take up pictures for the guests and have a little token of your union to your wife to take home, closing down the red curtain to corner you against the camera wall.

"did you like the photos?" you have the audacity to ask with a smile on your lips — "it's a reward for being so good to me all this time."

"is this your idea of reward, doll?" sevika cannot hide the smirk on her face, not when she’s actually enjoying all the talking for once. "haunt me the whole night until i can finally get you alone?"

"it's fun" you try to defend yourself, but you already lost the whole case as her big hands fall against your figure, tracing your sides as she mocks your words: you have different views of fun clearly. "i was going to make it up to you later, vika. the two of us."

"make up to me you say," she chuckles, almost not believing you "well take care of me now then. i deserve it."

she does it really, so you let her push you around, use force to pin you down against the wall as she takes what she's been anxiously craving, cursing against the complex fabric of your wedding dress until she's able to grip it in one hand, noticing the same purple set she saw before in the pictures.

"fucking slut doin' this on purpose" sevika shakes her head in disbelief as she takes a look of your body in the colorful lingerie "and you were going to be cruel and make me fucking wait to have you? on our own wedding day?"

"vika-"

“you took the photos, fuckin´ deal with it.”

“what if someone comes in?”

“i’ll tell them to fuck off,” she promises quickly like she thought about it all already “it’s our day, our wedding.”

there’s something about the way she’s saying it that makes you oblivious to the rest, makes your head spin cause you forgot about your worrying, the guests, the cake and everything in between. so you're not aware of when you pushed the red button on the screen of the photobooth, nor when it activates it's original purpose when sevika's fully into making out with you, capturing the sight of your figures blending together in the same picture — by the second shot you can notice the smirk on her brown lips and in the third, it's not really visible as she seems to be too close to the camera lens, making the image blurry as she attacks on your neck.

maybe it's the thrill of being discovered, the fact sevika can feel the flash of the photos being taken, but she wishes to be patient again — have it in at least a couple of hours on her actual wedding night for a chance, privately, but the strap she choose willingly to wear in a way of fully teasing you, was now pushing against your leg and you have to stop for a second with your brows furrowed.

"is that-" sevika's nodding and you want to say something, but you find amusing to know your wife is wearing a strap-on to your wedding celebration, one you surely have seen already.

"make up to me," she repeats once again, serious this time "for being cruel. after that you can explain me how you took those pictures."

no one interrupts anyway. the music's too loud, the sweat in the air is too strong and guests already drank a lot so no one gives a shit when you're getting on your knees, when sevika's toying with your hair as you're the one to unbuckle the belt from her pants, the one who kisses the happy trail of her lower belly without protesting, noticing the blue silicone as her pant pools in her ankles and your wife cannot seem to care about anything but the sight of you on your knees.

"get it wet" sevika's less gentle now as she's pointing to her fake cock, licking her lips like she can taste yours in them before adding: "so i can fuck you good, okay?"

to be fair — it's just an excuse, cause she knows you're dripping in your pretty purple panties, that the dildo would split you open yes, stretch you out even without making much effort, but she just wants to see how you do it, how you become a drooling mess, salivating all over the floor, getting your dress wet totally unaware of everything else.

and hell she wishes she could feel it all, cause you look so pretty with your mouth full it's insane, pushing against the rubber to take it in your throat further until you make yourself gag, and your wife takes care of you, so she's pulling away but in all honestly the sight of you debauched already only spurs her on 'cause the amount of saliva coating your lips connecting you to her dick makes her insane, cleaning the corners of your mouth with her thumb.

"easy there, get used to it and take it slow," her voice is rough as she helps you put your hair up in a ponytail vika holds in her mechanic fingers, watching your polished moves as you get to work again, relaxing until the tip of your nose is touching her skin, and your eyes are watering but she can feel your breathing on her, the friction between her legs every time you move to take her deeper, the fabric of the harness consistently rubbing between her legs — "there you go bunny. s'good taking it all, go on keep sucking and don't get distracted."

you want to do good, desperate to please her over and over again, you can take it. that's what she says as her hips involuntarily thrust against your mouth, and it's so slippery the rubber cock slides inside your bucal cavity and she's roughly hitting on the back of your throat until there's this sound you make involuntarily each time the strap invades your mouth and makes you choke, leaving you a mess as you're drooling all over your tits.

her flesh hand does a good job on making you move, fingers tightening in your hair as she sets an steady pace against your mouth, swollen lips that close around the shaft as she pushes it deeper, cleaning up your tears cause she don't want your make up to be ruined, all pretty trying hard for her.

she's going to cum like this, inevitable. you're looking up to her with your big eyes, a damn smirk cause even when you're struggling you're having so much fun you cannot help it, and once again she's needy for more than what she'd like to admit.

the movement of her hips rubs her right in the spot when sevika's already so sensitive soaking her inner thighs, forcing her cock in your mouth — it's so good, you're so damn good.

so she cums around nothing, your sloppy movements as you suck on her strap, that zoned out look you have that only makes her moan hastily, leaning against the photobooth to press that fucking button again that's been randomly taking pictures now capturing the features of your wife as you now disappear from the frame, the pleasure on sevika's face she's unaware before pulling you upwards again, making you stand as she parts your legs with her knee forcing you to turn around to have a good view of your ass.

"my good little cocksleeve, always ready to be stuffed," she praises, leaving wet kisses on the expanse of your shoulders, going down your spine as she don't bother to take your panties off, no, she wants to fully fuck you in them "spread yourself open, help me sink in you."

your hands come up to grip on your asscheeks, pulling them aside to help your wife reach deeper, use you better by all means. the tip of the cold silicone wet with your own saliva kisses your entrance, and you melt away when sevika's finally fucking you until the base of her cock disappears inside your warm cunt, holding you still even in a secluded space.

she's shoving her fingers in your mouth, making you suck on her digits with a hungry look: lame, she's gonna cum again and she's acting up so fucking lame.

"fucking take it," the damn camera flashes again and sevika has lost count of how many pictures are waiting outside the booth of you two, but she's too busy to say something when she's sinking inside your drenched pussy, pulling on your hair as she grips on the curve of your hip, making you move with her as she begins to get rougher, each time more demanding, deeper — "that's it. make space for me, it's not that hard, isn't it?"

she's on a sinking ship either way: slow is now overrated and she would rather dive in headfirst to openly drown in you.

was that so bad? i mean, you're married to her now.

[sheepispink]

hi bb, this is incredibly self-indulgent, but I have a very big idea for ur Ghost and his Sergeant. I'm terrified of the ocean so ofc I need her to be nervous over this mission that's by the coast. she's never said anything bc it's never been necessary, but she can't hide her nervousness from Ghost tho he doesn't pressure her to say anything for now. so when they're done w the mission, they all decide they'll take the next day off, and it's a given they'll go to the beach, right. I need her to be nervous but she's like, chill, staying away from the ocean, until the guys lift her up and she's like rolling her eyes until she realizes they're taking her to the ocean w quick steps, and suddenly she's SCREAMING bloody murder, and Ghost gets his head out of his ass (bc he was buying idk ice cream or a drink idk), and runs over when the guys set her down on the sand, trembling and tearing up, unable to stop herself from being weak and AHHHHHH ur writing would make this cuddle session so fucking GOOD

UR MIND IS LITERALLY AMAZING BECAUSE THIS?? THIS IS SUCH A GOOD IDEA

anyway, as promised, plenty of fluff, plenty of comfort, very yummy story (i hope)

enjoy!!!!!

WC: 4.1k… (😧)

————-

Missions tended to blend into each other when a soldier got too comfortable—an autopilot you were happy to live with for a long time. Though, that was before you were promoted to a Sergeant which still felt like yesterday no matter how long ago it had been. You had soon learned that no day would ever be the same, especially after you were properly taken into Lieutenant Ghost’s unit, rather than the occasional team-ups. It was a big change that’s for sure; it’s not the difficulty, but rather having to prove your worth to a whole new unit. At least your old unit you were pretty much leading; this was like starting from the bottom again, in a way. It shouldn’t prove to be too hard, considering your reputation was holding up nicely.

However, you did have a small weakness; everyone did though this was one that you definitely didn’t want anyone else to be aware of any time soon. So, when the news of another mission came around, you were positive it was something you could handle. Until the news came that you’d travel by ship, having to stay on it for at least two weeks. It’s not even like you had time to process the news, bundled into a truck as you travelled down to the coast. You’d be travelling far, tracking down some bombs that are being transported on a number of different cargo ships travelling across the Atlantic ocean. More importantly was figuring out if they were actually active bombs or rather just sitting ducks–either way, it was something that needed to be dealt with immediately. Considering you had completed a course in demolitions, of course you were immediately necessary for this, so there wasnt even any backing out now. Thankfully, there was a chance you wouldn’t even have to cross over the murky waters, safe on the ship instead. Still, there was no guarantee that nothing couldn’t go wrong.

Ghost wasn’t stupid, he could clearly see just how hunched your shoulders were in every conversation, no matter where you were around the ship. He sees your small flinches everytime a small wave slightly shifts the floor beneath your feet, or the larger ones that spray onto the deck whilst you’re surveying the surroundings. Not even you can hide the quick darts of your eyes each time a small rumble of thunder sounds out overhead nor the teeth marks in your lips when you look out the window for a little too long. One thing that he couldn't possibly ignore, was the widening of your eyes and the anxious tap of your foot as you slowly filed out of the briefing the day before you departed. The only question was to confront you or not. After all, everyone has a weakness and yours may not even be that serious to compromise the mission. It seemed on the same level as getting mad at someone for being woken from a bad dream, or at least he didn't want to embarrass you by possibly blowing it out of proportion.

He was right for the most part, and you had completed the mission as expected– even if your heart was practically pumping out of your chest when you had to cross to the cargo ship and assess the crates for any trace of explosives. Since it was growing closer to summer, he figures the unit may as well stop over by the beach that’s only a one hour drive from the port. Your fellow teammates are excited of course, and so are you, happy to be on ground again even if the ocean will be metres away; anything was better than hovering above it though. As soon as you arrive, a few of the guys drag you along to a local shop, all of you filtering through the aisles to find the best floaties and water guns available.

Ghost leans against the car with his arms crossed over his chest, tapping his foot like a father with his rowdy kids. So since you all act like children, he counts down from ten, watching you and the others scurry and scramble into the seats of the cars. It’s almost laughable at how you all look, pool noodles around two soldier’s waists, water guns gripped in one of the other’s hands and wait– who put a bucket and spade in the boot?

Free for all, except this isn’t the battlefield, no it’s a damn beach and once your feet touch the warm sand, all of you are dispersing into different directions. Ghost looks around, trying to figure out where everyone went in the five seconds he turned to grab the cooler bag, only to see you lounging on a sunbed. He has to admit, he was curious as to how you’d navigate a situation like this with your clear fear. But now he can only scold himself as he slowly approaches you, your head turning before you beckon him over with a wide grin. You’re a trained soldier, you’ll be perfectly fine.. right?

He drops his duffel bag down beside you, getting comfortable on the sunbed as the others run along the beach like bumbling fools. Accidentally he must’ve let out a scoff because you laugh, turning to look at him as his brows unintentionally furrow. “What? They’re runnin’ around like they’re six.” He says gruffly, trying to get comfortable on the small and flimsy sunbed but failing when he realises both his legs barely fit.

“You’re just boring, skullface.” You know he hates that stupid nickname, but it just motivates you to use it all the more. Still, his eyes are more focused on the nervous tap of your fingers against your leg, your jaw slightly clenched as you look out at the soldiers running around near the water.

“Oh? I don't see you making sandcastles.. or splashin’ around either.” He watches you freeze at his last words, his eyebrows slighlty beginning to furrow in deep concern. You were so far from the water, practically at the top of the beach but you still looked agitated, like you were just managing to glue it all together.

”Hmph, I'm relaxing before I beat all of you in snooker tonight.” He highly doubts that’s even slightly possible, but you’re quite adamant on the former as you stretch out and get ready for your midday nap. Of course, how could he forget your daily necessity? Regardless of that, he sticks firmly by your side, satisfied that you werent so nervous that you wouldn't be able to nap peacefully— or maybe that was because he’d scare off anyone in a 5 mile radius just with that mask alone. He settles on watching the waves lap until he gets bored enough to aimlessly scroll on his phone, unable to find anything to captivate his attention long enough. Damnit, you were rubbing off on him. After stealing your book for a bit, the heat of the sun finally gets on his nerves and he heads towards the small bar, looking for a cool drink. Just before he leaves though, he adjusts the umbrella above where you lay, a little worried that you’d overheat in your sleep but your head feels fairly cool against his hands, for now at least.

Footsteps, they’re soft in your ears muffled by rocks that are kicked. There’s small snickers too, coming from different directions and no matter where you try and run to chase one, they always appear right behind you again.

Splashing, it’s colder now, a breeze washing over your body and making you shiver.

Strain, your arms feel tight, as do your legs, like you’re being stretched like those stupid toys that were always advertised but you never actually got.

“Is she up yet?” A voice says, so close yet so far.

“Nah, still out.” Accompanied by laughter.

A splash of water on your face has you attempting to sit up only to fail immediately, your wrists locked in a tight hold, ankles kicking restlessly. “What? Who—?” Your head turns frantically, confused and instinctively wanting nothing more but to be free.

“Chill out, we’re just giving you a little diving lesson.” The soldier who you’d giggle with on patrol holds your legs, laughing at your shocked face. As you look around, you realise the fellow soldiers you’ve shared meals with for two weeks have kidnapped you from your napping spot, carrying you somewhere.

It’s fine, they’re your friends, they wont hurt you.

“Hey! I was sleeping very peacefully y’know.” You huff, playfully though still half awake, rolling your eyes as you slacken your protests.

”Yeah, drooling too.” The one holding your wrists laughs as the one walking alongside them pinches your cheeks. Damnit, they’re so damn annoying all the time arent they? Ghost’s right, they’re like little kids with the way they ran straight into the ocean—

Ocean?

Your head snaps to the side, managing to strain your neck only to see that the one holding your legs has already stepped towards the shore, water now splashing gently onto the sand beneath you. “Hey— wait, where are you taking me?” You’re thrashing around now, panic bubbling in your throat as your nails press into the soldier’s hand, scrambling for them to let go. “Oh come on, just a small splash.”

You hate their laughter, you hate this, you hate having to watch the waves rise over his foot as they carry you in, your heart thumping louder with each second. “Let me go!”

They don't listen— why wont they listen?

The water is up to his ankles, too high for your liking and you’re not scared anymore— you’re fearing the worst. Images flash through your mind, the horrible splashing of their steps louder than the pounding in your head.

You kick, wriggle, squirm, anything and it’s useless— why is it so useless?

Their steps are making droplets splash on you, the water is growing higher, ready to consume and you’re cold, too cold even with the sun burning through you. Cold with soaked cheeks.

Ghost hears the screams first, so high it almost sends him into a frenzy only nightmares have brought him crumbling to. He doesn't think, spilling the can of coke without a second thought as he runs over, sand kicking up with each heavy step of his stupid army boots he wears all the time. The crowd of soldiers are shoved to the side by his hands, carving a path directly to you who now sits in the sand right by the shore, trembling so harshly as you pull your knees to your chest, albeit with great struggle. “Woah, woah, you’re okay— you’re not wet. See? Sand, look you’re on the sand.” But you’re too far gone, your hair falling over your face as you hunch over, hands grasping at nothing but the air. Your face is starting to grow wet from the silent tears,trickling down your cheeks and kissing your legs, the wet feeling making you fear the worst has happened.

“What the hell are you all staring at?” His Lieutenant's voice comes back like it never left, the soldiers standing to attention just as fast and scrambling away before they feel the wrath of the man before them.

You’re trying your best to shovel it all in, all the fears but it’s near impossible, not when you can still hear the splashing, not when you can hear the laughter of the kids down the beach. Not here.

“Up we get, come on.” He places his hand beneath your arms and hoists you up to stand, one hand slipping behind your back to rub up and down, trying to get you to your senses. “You’re all dry, okay? Nothing happened, you’re alright.” He’s trying to keep his voice as calm as he can for you but it’s near impossible when you’re looking like that before him, like a person whose nearly missed death. Dammit, you didnt even look this bad when you were shot in the leg, and that was a pool of blood to say the least.

He leads you away from the shore, bringing you to a small cobbled footpath away from all the cafe’s, loud icecream vans and children screaming about needing to pee. His hand continues to rub slow circles, continuously soothing your trembles as he reminds you to breathe in and out. Only when everyone was out of sight did he pick you up properly, hoisting your legs to wrap around his middle as one hand pushed your face into his shoulder. “C’mon, let’s get you into the car, okay?” Sure he should’ve done that way earlier, clearly by the way your hands were shaking like crazy. But if he knows anything about you, he definitely knows you don't want to make a scene. Being seen as weak is practically the worst thing for you, not that he thought what happened made you weak, but he already knew what you’d be saying if he had swooped you up right then and there in front of everyone.

“Ghost— i..” You begin to sniffle out but he shakes his head, firmly patting your back in confirmation. “Nope. Quiet— don't wanna hear it.” He carries you further down the road, turning into the empty parking lot near a small block of houses. Finally he reaches the car, windows tinted to hide you as he opens the door with one hand, a low groan escaping him before he finally settles you in the backseat. Going around to the boot, he opens it quickly, grabbing a spare towel he brought and rummaging through a bag that was supposed to be for the team’s silly movie night later. Not that he’d participate, but he felt giving them some snacks would be a good mission well done.

Your eyes are locked onto your knees, refusing to look anywhere and your face has dried up, slightly red from how harshly you had rubbed at your eyes. He settles in beside you, about to offer you a drink when you’re clenching the seats, eyes already tearing up once more.

“It’s fine— really, i just- I was just a little shaken, they didn't mean it, I wasn’t properly awake yet and it startled me. ” You ramble between breaths, unable to find an excuse to rebuild your dignity in time but he just lets out a long breath, anger clearly holding back. A soft towel is draped around you, covering your upper half entirely as he folds it over your front.

“You dont need to explain. It’s fine— i dont like the damn beach either.” He mumbles out, not sure how else to express the fury he feels that you had to feel that terrified, more towards himself for leaving you alone when he knew you were uneasy. All he can do for now is place an arm around your shoulders as you continue to quietly sniffle and tremble at the shock and horror you felt in the past ten minutes. You were clearly uncomfortable too, and how badly he wanted to tell you that he didn't care if a colour terrified you, nor a tiny butterfly; he just wanted you, as with the few he really cares about, to be comfortable and happy. Never should someone have to face their fears like that, he knows what that can do to a person. But he can't word it properly, can't express how you’re the strongest he knows and the smartest and every other good adjective in the damn dictionary because you are that. And he refuses for you to believe otherwise just because the majority aren't scared of the same things you are.

Your nose presses into the sleeves of your shirt, eyes scrunched tight as you try to will the tears away. “I’m sorry.”

“No.” It’s stern, too harsh, but he doesn't know what else to do, just wanting to wipe that miserable look on your face. “There’s nothing to apologise for.. Do you need me to leave?” He asks, suddenly wondering if you’d calm down quicker if he just left you alone. Of course you would, who would want this stiff man rubbing their back while crappily convincing them that they’re not drowning and just got a scare from a stupid idiotic prank? He could at least speak a bit more, reassure you that whatever you choose is fine but nothing comes to his mouth. You shake your head thankfully, refusing to let him leave you alone.

“Are you annoyed with me?” Your voice is quiet, so quiet, and he hates that you feel this small. You should be smiling and having fun like everyone else, not tearing up infront of your lieutenant who you just barely felt comfortable around— or well, he thought that was the case.

“Never.” He says gruffly and he’s caught off guard when you hug him tightly, one that has him stuttering to breathe for a moment. Though his shock is quickly broken when your sniffles pick up, quiet sobs hitting his chest head on. He wants to complain, beg you to stop crying because not even he can bear to see you like this. But he knows whilst it pains him, you need to let it out for all the weeks you’ve been terrified for and stayed strong. His arms wrap around you just as tight, his chin resting above your head as he feels his shirt wetten by the second.

“You’re stronger than me.” He murmurs quietly, one hand gently rubbing your shoulder as he just sits there, letting you take whatever ounce of comfort you somehow receive from him. “You could’ve given up long ago but you didn't. How could I be mad at someone who's worked so hard to keep the rest of us safe even when they didnt feel safe themself?”

Oops. He might’ve made you cry a lot harder with that one, and his eyes widening show his momentary panic as he tries to soothe you again, tucking you as close as possible.

You settle a while later, pulling away just enough to wipe your reddened eyes. His eyes are softened as he looks down at you, partially glad he doesn't have to burn alive in the sun anymore and can just spend time with you in this car.. though it’s warming up pretty quickly. You seem to have the same thoughts as him because you look up, unable to stop a little smile crawling onto your lips. The sight is bright, even the tears in your eyes making them sparkle more than usual. “Why’re you looking at me like that?” He asks, hoping you’d keep doing that a little longer.

“You’re sweating like crazy..” You’re half tempted to snicker, but it comes out more like a sniffle and he just lets out a breathless sigh, rolling his eyes as he squashes your cheeks. “I do all this and that’s what you say? You’re a minx, yknow that?”

Well, he supposes it is your day off, and he’s restless as it is anyway. So, he pretends to huff at you, even if you see past him instantly, and slides out the seat beside you to get into the driver's seat. You follow, climbing into the passenger seat and he straps you in before you can even try. He rolls down the windows after he starts driving through the town, letting the summer air refresh you all while he’d occasionally look over every time he got caught in a little traffic. . But you looked like you needed a moment to gather your thoughts and yourself, so he’d give you that, for now at least.

He takes you to the nearest mall, hunting down one of those ice cream shops, but not something basic, no, that’s just boring. “Amorino?” Your voice is muffled by the skull mask he reluctantly let you borrow— but you looked uncomfortable walking around with the tear stains still on your cheeks, so he relented quickly.

“Pick your flavours.” You get your two favourites, picking them both until he urges you to pick another, not that you can decide. “Can't you just pick your favourite for me?” That’s how you end up with a cone in your hand, a pretty flower shaped ice cream right on top with each of your flavours curved into petals. He sips his milkshake, watching as you stare in complete awe as you both walk through the mall. “How— what? This is sick, Ghost!”

“If you keep staring at it, it’ll melt before you even try it.” He watches your eyes go wide, quickly licking up the sides to catch any melting parts before instantly grinning at the overwhelming sweetness. “This is like— top tier!” Though he does end up facepalming when you grip his sleeve tightly, groaning about a brain freeze.

He lets you try out the crappy claw machine games, and then even tries on one Hawaiian shirt all while you’re giggling so hard you almost trip over. He has to hold your wrist after that, but you don't complain, using it as an opportunity to drag him wherever you want, and he follows.

It’s almost seven pm, and he takes you back to the hotel since you and the team planned to get dinner. He still had to have a virtual briefing with Price, so you would be on your own for this one. They’re waiting for you in the lobby, the three culprits from before standing anxiously. “I’ll be in the car, on the phone to Price and the others.” It’s a silent offer, giving you a chance at any time to return to where he is and sit in the back if you need to get away for whatever reason. He’d prefer to be beside you, but at least this gives you a safe way out. “Alright, thanks. I’ll head in now— just make sure you grab something to eat too? Okay?” You give him a smile, before you awkwardly step inside the hotel, approaching the others. Ghost’s hands tense, fists clenching as he watches for any sign of the idiots acting up again. Thankfully, they learnt their lesson and they immediately apologise to you, frowns on all their faces before lighting up when you extend your forgiveness to them. You were scared they’d laugh at you, but Ghost knew that they saw you like a little sister— even if they were absolute idiots sometimes. He decides to leave you after watching you leave the hotel with them, heading for a restaurant down the street as you link arms with a female soldier you know, grinning.

It’s late when he hears a soft rap at the hotel room door, confused at who could possibly knock at this hour. “It’s me, Lt.” Werent you supposed to be watching movies with the others?

“Come in.”

You open the door with the keycard he gave you earlier, dressed in your pajamas and with a bowl of popcorn in your hand. Quietly you walk over to where he lays on the bed, settling on the other side as you place the bowl between the two of you. This is how it goes for the next twenty minutes or so, you scrolling through your phone and watching stupid videos as you nibble on the popcorn all while he continues to read his book, occasionally grabbing a piece of popcorn just to keep you happy. It only ends when he catches you yawning from the corner of his eye, one, twice and thrice. “You should get some rest. You’ve had a long day.” He hums, flicking to the next page as he continues to read but the words aren't really going to his head in the slightest, his mind fixated on you.

“Hm.. okay.” You sigh, before placing your phone onto the bedside table and tucking yourself beneath his blankets, now watching him from your position smushed against his pillow.

“You have your own bed, Sergeant.” He states, raising a brow but he’s particularly careful not to lower nor raise his voice, keeping it central as he looks at you and closes his book.

“Hey, you said I was welcome if it was an emergency.”

He did say that, perhaps a long, long time ago when you first came bundling into his life before he even knew you that well. Besides, it’s not like he planned to actually kick you out. So for now he just lets out an empty scoff, goes to the bathroom to brush his teeth before turning the lights off by the switch. The room is shrouded by darkness and you look around, wondering where he went, when two arms wrap around your front, bringing you forward against his chest. “Don’t make me regret this.” He says gruffly, but you know he doesn't care all that much, and he knows that your playful facade is trying to hide the trembles that still linger in your hands when you hear the ocean lap outside your room’s window. Tonight, he’s holding you tight and never letting you go; he’d be found dead before he ever lets anything snatch you, whether that be the ocean, someone, or even fear itself.

———

COD masterlist

[girlgenius1111]

always want you

ingrid x mapi x reader

with mapi injured, and ingrid running herself ragged with the team, r does everything she can think of to take some of the stress of them. she neglects herself in the process though, until an injury forces her to slow down. she doesn't take it very well.

You'd truly never been so stressed in your life. Your to do list felt never ending, and it was your own doing. Obviously, you'd taken on more at home, cleaning, laundry, and cooking, when Mapi had gotten hurt. She was still on crutches weeks later, and still incredibly needy. It had been manageable, with Ingrid helping you take care of her. The teams demands had a huge impact on Ingrid, though, as she tried to figure out her new role in the squad. She'd been doing amazing, something you and Mapi reminded her everyday, but she was so tense all the time, constantly thinking about how she could improve. She wasn't used to being relied upon at this level by the team, and she was struggling to handle it, you could tell.

You'd taken more and more chores off her hands, unable to sit back and watch her fight through tears cooking dinner after another long day, until you were insisting on her doing the same amount that Mapi was allowed; nothing. It was completely self imposed; either one of them would be happy to help you, but you wouldn't let them.

They were aware of how much you were doing, trying to help you with it all, but the more they pushed, the more you pulled away. They needed you, both of them, and you couldn't let them down. You couldn't need them back, not when there was so much to do.

You were having a rough time playing too, not that you'd ever admit it. You felt like you weren't playing well enough, not scoring enough, not good enough. You were training more, exhausting yourself. It was inevitable, really, that you would get hurt. You were overworking yourself, and you weren't invincible. Realistically, it should have happened sooner, and it should have been muscular. You'd taken a shoulder to the head during the last game, ending up with a concussion. You were more angry with yourself than your team had ever seen you, convinced that you should have avoided the body falling on top of you.

Half the team had tried to make you feel better after the game, and none of them were successful. It was a home game, so Mapi was in the stands, and Ingrid drove the three of you home. You were completely silent the whole way, Ingrid and Mapi talking quietly in the front seat while you sat in the back, fighting dizziness and pain in your head. You were spacing out, thinking about the laundry that really needed to be done, not even noticing when Ingrid pulled into the driveway.

"Y/n?"

You turned your attention forward, seeing both of your girlfriends anxious faces looking back at you. It was obvious that it was not their first time trying to get your attention.

"Yeah?"

"We're home, corazón," Mapi said, eyes searching yours.

"Right, yeah." you mumbled, moving to get out of the car. They followed you, Mapi taking longer with her crutches. You'd barely taken a step when you wobbled, dizziness taking over.

"Easy, elskling," Ingrid said, holding you upright.

"I'm fine, I'm fine," you insisted, shrugging out from her hands. She looked like she wanted to disagree, but the dizziness had passed, and you didn't look at her as you grabbed both of your bags out of the back, heading inside. You held the door for her and Mapi, lost in your thoughts, missing completely the way both of their eyes lingered on you as they passed.

Both you and Ingrid had showered in the locker room, and your girlfriends were looking forward to a lazy night on the couch. Both of them collapsed onto the couch once inside, looking expectantly at you to join them. You wanted to join them, you really did. Snuggle up right in the middle, in your spot. It was so appealing, Ingrid's curly wet hair, smelling of coconut, Mapi's warm sweatshirt. You wanted to bury yourself in between them, and never come out. Of course, you didn't. Instead, you put your bags away, eyes scrunched as you tried to get used to the light, heading into the bedroom to get a load of laundry going.

"She's going to make herself sick, Ingrid, especially with this concussion," Mapi said quietly.

"I know," Ingrid sighed. "I don't know how to get her to listen, though, you know how off she's been recently. She won't let me help."

"Try Stern Ingrid, that usually works," Mapi suggested. Ingrid schooled her features, throwing Mapi a glare, making her snort. "Perfect." She assured the Norwegian.

You're heading back out of the bedroom, laundry basket in hand, when Ingrid rises from the couch and stops you in your tracks, a soft hand resting on your shoulder.

"Leave the laundry, love, come relax with us. I'll do it tomorrow." Her words are kind but her tone leaves little room for argument. You're the most stubborn person she knows, though, and she's not surprised when her first try is unsuccessful.

"No, I got it," you said, attempting to move past her. Her hand tightens on your shoulder, and you roll your eyes, again trying to shake her off.

"I'm serious, elskling, you don't need to do that tonight. You need to rest."

"Listen to Ingrid, princesa, come relax with us," Mapi chimed in, peaking over the edge of the couch at you.

"I don't have time to relax," you said, finally pulling free of Ingrid and stomping towards the washing machine. She's faster than you, no doubt in her mind that you're reaction time is slower with your concussion, grabbing the laundry basket out of your hands, and holding it behind her back when you whirl around, scowling. The fast turn ends up being a mistake, as the world tilts and spins around you. You sway, squeezing your eyes shut. Ingrid drops the basket carelessly, reaching out to steady you. You allow it for only a moment, even briefly leaning into the contact, before you pull back, a frustrated noise leaving your mouth.

"You need to sit down, y/n, now." Ingrid says, moving closer to you.

"NO!" you yelled, startling both girls. Mapi's never hated being so immobile before; your face is scrunched in pain, hands clenched tightly into fists at your side, and you look so exhausted, it makes her chest ache.

"I don't need to sit down, I need to get this done. I don't have time to relax, do you not understand that? There isn't enough time in the fucking day for me to do everything I need to, and you guys are only making it harder," you shouted, voice still raised.

Ingrid and Mapi stare at you for a minute, stunned. You never yelled. Ever. Neither of them were really sure how to respond. Ingrid took a chance, walking forward and grabbing your wrist, before pulling you towards the couch. You fight her grip again, but it's unrelenting, and she points at the couch, looking at you with one raised eyebrow.

"Ingrid-"

"-No. Lay down. I'm not asking."

Your tears finally escape, sliding down your cheeks as you give up, sitting on the edge of the couch, spine completely straight, as if afraid to let yourself relax. Ingrid is grabbing your legs before you know it, pulling them up on the couch, while Mapi guides your head into her lap. She's in the corner of the sectional, and you fit perfectly against her, both of you able to recline.

"I can't-" you try again, although you don't try to move.

"Yes, you can. Don't move." Ingrid warns, before disappearing into the kitchen.

Mapi ran her fingers through your hair comfortingly, occasionally wiping away the tears falling from your eyes. Ingrid returns with some pills and a glass of water, and you follow her unspoken instructions, swallowing dutifully, before sinking back down into Mapi's lap. Now that you've laid down, you aren't sure you'd be able to get back up, even if you wanted to. It's quiet for a couple moments, none of you quite sure what to say.

"Let's go to bed, yeah?" Ingrid says quietly, and you shrug noncomitally. You move off Mapi, allowing her to slowly make her way into the bedroom, sitting up with your head in your hands on the couch.

"Can I just have a second, please?" You whisper, resisting Ingrid's insistent attempts at eye contact. The Norwegian hesitates, before leaving a kiss on the top of your head, and following Mapi down the hall.

You feel horrible, wracked with guilt. They were just trying to help you, and you'd shouted at them for no reason. They needed space from you now, you're sure. Being around them is intoxicating, almost always makes you fold, makes you break. The distance now, though, allows you to refocus, and you force yourself to pull it together until you can be alone again. You take a few deep breaths, wiping your face off on your shirt, and walking down towards the bedroom. You stop in the doorway. Mapi is laying on the bed, eyes on you, while Ingrid has her back to you, rifling through her pajama drawer.

"I'm gonna sleep in the extra bedroom," you say, unsuccessfully trying not to let your voice crack, showing the emotion you are valiantly attempting to hide.

Both girls' heads snap to look at you, and they speak in perfect unison. "No, you are not."

You can only shake your head, biting down on your lip, not willing to cry in front of them, not when you were in the wrong.

"Princesa," Mapi coos, holding out a hand towards you. "Please just come get in bed."

"No, it's okay, you guys need space from me, you definitely don't want to be around me right now," you say, beginning to ramble. Ingrid silently moves closer to you, taking your face in her hands. Her thumb delicately swipes a tear off your cheek. She feels her own eyes welling with tears as she takes in the agonized expression on your face.

"We never need space from you, my girl. Come get in bed. Please." Ingrid states, tone almost begging, not that she cares. You don't move, and Ingrid takes the opportunity to guide you over to the bed, sitting you on the edge, before tossing you some pajamas. You change into them mechanically, both your girlfriends watching you closely, watching the way your eyes stay stuck on the doorway, as if you're about to bolt any second. You stay on the edge of the bed, until Ingrid climbs onto her side, and gently tugs the back of your shirt. You turn towards her, eyes still downcast.

"Are you sure?" you mumble.

"Yes," they assure you, again speaking at the same time. Your body is stiff as you scoot up the bed, sliding under the covers in between them. You make yourself as small as possible, curling up on your side facing Mapi. It's quiet in the room, the only sounds audible being the occasional uneven breath, occasional sniffle from you. You've kept your eyes shut, not feeling capable of looking either of them in the eye right now.

Ingrid moves slowly, at first just splaying a hand across your back. You're so tense it looks uncomfortable, and she moves closer, curling herself around your back, larger body enveloping yours.

"Relax, baby." she whispers in your ear. The contact is pushing you closer and closer to the edge of a breakdown, one you aren't even sure you don't want anymore. You relax slightly into Ingrid's body, and only then does Mapi move, sliding down and propping herself up on her elbow, free hand tracing lightly over your cheek. She leans forward after a minute, lips lightly leaving a kiss on your nose, then one on each cheek, one on your forehead, and finally, one on your lips. When she pulls away, you grip onto her shirt, taking a deep, stuttering breath.

"I can't," you start, trying to get them to leave you alone. Don't they understand that if they keep being so soft, so kind, you'll break?

"Yes, you can. You don't need to be strong all the time. We're here, you can just let go." Mapi says. You shake your head stubbornly.

"Come on, love. You don't have to pretend around us," Ingrid promises. "We want you even when you are sad."

You aren't sure if you just reach your breaking point, or if her last sentence pushes you over the edge, but you let out a harsh sob, pressing your face into the pillow under you. Ingrid clings to your back, feeling your body shake under her. Mapi moves forward again, allowing you to bury your face in her chest. Your cries are muffled now, squished between your two favorite people. You have no control, no ability to stop yourself from falling apart in front of them.

They're support is unyielding, though, neither of them moving away from you for even a second. You're soaking Mapi's shirt with tears, but both of them are whispering soft reassurances to you, ones you try to let yourself hear. You cry for a while, long enough that your head is pounding, though that might be from the concussion, and your throat feels raw. You don't really remember stopping, either. You must, pathetically, have fallen asleep whilst crying.

Ingrid and Mapi hear your breathing even out, tears having finally stopped falling down your face. The Norwegian looks up at your other girlfriend, then, looking devastated, and Mapi sighs roughly, reaching a hand over to cradle Ingrid's cheek.

"It's not your fault, Ingrid,"

"I shouldn't have let her do everything, and I should have noticed she was struggling." Ingrid whispered, looking down at you like you're the most precious thing in the world, and she's broken you.

"Then I should have too, but you don't blame me, do you?"

"You have one working leg, María, I'm completely fine, yet I let her go crazy taking over everything in the house." Ingrid argued miserably.

"Don't pretend you haven't been stressed too, Ingrid," Mapi said sternly. "You don't get to blame yourself. That won't help her, and it won't help you."

"How do we help her?" Ingrid asks after a minute, looking between the two of you.

"We get her to talk. Something is going on, or she wouldn't be acting so weird. And I've never seen her cry this hard." Mapi swallows thickly. "We get her to tell us what's bothering her, and we fix it."

Ingrid gets the impression that if you told Mapi that going to the moon would make you feel better, the Spaniard would find a way to do it. She softens at this thought, heart overwhelmingly full looking between the two of you. Even though your face is stained with tears, and Mapi's leg is wrapped in white gauze, there isn't a more beautiful sight. Not to her.

"Sleep, princesa," Mapi tells her, leaning over you to kiss Ingrid softly on the lips. "Te amo." She leans down to you, kissing your forehead as you sleep, whispering the same thing against your skin.

Ingrid does the same, pulling you closer into her body as she gets comfortable. It's harder for Mapi, but she manages to shift so that she's on her back, head tilted so her face is pressed into your shoulder. You wake up, just slightly, at the movement around you.

"Love you," you mumble, deciding that both of them are going to have to make do with not being addressed specifically. You relax back into them, the stress and anxiety that had been plaguing you for weeks unable to touch you while you slept, completely surrounded by your girls' love.

-----

You're confused when you hear the sound of an alarm, and are then shaken awake what feels like only a couple hours later. Grumpily, you crack your eyes open, seeing Mapi's face above you, hidden by darkness.

"Why?" You groan, shutting your eyes again. Mapi laughs quietly.

"You have a concussion, amor. Just needed to check on you."

"Hmph," you grumble. If you were more awake, you'd marvel at the fact that they remembered to wake you, even after the way you'd acted. Even with Mapi's knee messed up, definitely needing rest, her first thought was always you.

"Are you feeling alright? Nauseous? Dizzy?"

"I'm fine. A little dizzy."

"Promise you are okay?" She asks, smoothing your hair back.

"Promise." She nods, satisfied, and you roll into her, keeping a tight grip on Ingrid's shirt on your other side, drifting off again.

-----

They wake you a few more times throughout the night; each time you are annoyed at first, and each time they are so gentle, so kind, you feel like a wave of love is washing over you.

The next morning, when you blink your eyes open, seeing light flooding in around the curtains, you hear them speaking lightly to each other over you. The light is making your head pound, and you let out an involuntary groan of pain, pulling the covers over your head. They're conversation cuts off, and you can picture them exchanging looks.

"Amor?" Mapi asks, concerned.

"Too bright. Hurts." you say, having woken up only seconds ago, unwilling to really form full sentences.

There's some shuffling, and then someone is pulling insistently on the covers. You allow them to be pulled off your head, and frowning up at Ingrid and Mapi through half shut eyes. They're both fighting smiles at your disheveled hair, and the grouchy expression on your face. Mapi slides a pair of sunglasses onto your face, and you thank her quietly. Ingrid moves to slide out of the bed, but your hand pulling on her shirt stops her.

"Stay. I'm comfy."

"You don't want coffee?" she asks, expecting you to relent.

You shake your head though, and she looks at Mapi briefly, before climbing back into the bed, and pulling you into her. You sigh contentedly, burrowing in.

Something has changed, your girlfriends can tell. Your breakdown last night has left you clingy- not that they mind. It's just worrying, as you rarely act that way.

"Princesa," Mapi begins. "Can we talk about last night?"

You stiffen noticeably against Ingrid, rolling away from her chest to stare up at the ceiling.

"I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have yelled at you guys, there's no excuse."

"Thank you for apologizing, elskling, but that isn't really what we're talking about." Ingrid chimes in, her voice quiet and low, as if she's talking to a cornered animal.

"I'm sorry I lost it, I don't know what happened."

Both girls shake their heads. This time it's Mapi that responds.

"Please do not apologize for having emotions, amor. You needed that, and we were happy to be there for you."

Your eyes shift to hers. "What is there to talk about then?"

Ingrid rolls her eyes, as your attention is on Mapi, at how little weight you put on your emotions and wellbeing. If her or Mapi had broken down like you had last night, you'd be worried sick.

"You're taking on too much. You need to let us help you, it's too much for one person, and both of us are completely capable of doing chores."

"You guys have a lot going on, I'm barely doing anything." You argue weakly.

"You know that isn't true. This has to stop, it's not sustainable. You're exhausted, and now you're hurt. We're putting you on bedrest for the next week." Ingrid says. It has an air of finality to it, but you try anyway.

"But-"

"-No arguments." Mapi cuts in.

"You guys need me." You say quietly, trying to get them to understand why you needed to do this stuff for them.

"We do. We need you happy, and healthy. And you need us too, love. It's your turn to let us take care of you."

"I've been in a horrible mood, I wouldn't even want to be around me. And I don't deserve- need to be taken care of. I'm fine." You pause briefly, biting your lip, trying to decide if you should voice the thing thats been bothering you the most. "If anything, I need to work harder, I've been playing so badly."

Your voice breaks on the last word, and you shut your eyes again, reaching under the sunglasses to furiously wipe a tear away. A hand grips your chin, turning your face towards Ingrid. She has a intense blazing expression on her face, one of anger, and you're honestly confused.

"First of all, we always want to be around you. Second, you absolutely have not been playing badly. You've been working so hard, darling, and it's been paying off." You scoff in disbelief. Ingrid's jaw clenches, and she looks at Mapi almost helplessly, as if she isn't sure what to say. The Spaniard is turning your face towards her now. Mapi's warm eyes bore into yours through your sunglasses, begging you to listen.

"You always deserve to be taken care of, princesa." You winced, you'd been hoping they wouldn't catch that slip up. "Even if you had been playing badly, which you absolutely haven't, you still deserve our love, amor. Always."

"Then why don't I feel like I do?" you whisper.

"Oh, love," Ingrid says sadly, leaning in to rest her lips on your forehead, leaving several pecks there. "I don't know why, but I promise that you do."

"We'll just have to remind you more, hmm? That you are our niña bonita, and we always love you. We always want you, and want to give you what you need. Okay?" Mapi finishes.

Hesitantly, you nod. Their anxious faces break into smiles at your agreement, and they both lean in, pressing simultaneous kisses to your cheeks. You laugh, feeling their matching grins against your cheeks, and wonder how you possibly got so lucky.

-----

I tried to end this like 16 paragraphs ago but I was unsuccessful.

[sulkingheichou012]

Into the Dungeon with You

Pairing: Jinwoo x Reader

Genre: RomCom, Action, Future Smut

Warning: Description of violence and profanity.

Summary: Jinwoo frowned as a new system notification appeared before him.

[Special Reward Successfully Claimed.]

Author's note: I'm happy that some of you are enjoying my silly work! Yes, if you're asking to be tagged—sure! 😊

Chapter 4

The portal shimmered behind them as Jinwoo and Y/N finally stepped out of the dungeon.

Jinwoo was relieved. The fight had been brutal, the difficulty insane, but in the end, he had won.

More importantly—Y/N was still alive.

Barely.

Because instead of reflecting on their near-death experience, she was still shadowboxing.

Still.

Footwork, exaggerated dodges, even throwing in some slow-motion punches like she was filming a training montage.

And worst of all?

She had the funniest facial expressions while doing it.

Jinwoo turned to look at her, deadpan.

Y/N was bobbing her head side to side, lips pursed, eyebrows scrunched like she was a boxing champion about to challenge the world.

Jinwoo stopped walking.

And—

BAM.

Y/N, too lost in her delusions of grandeur, walked straight into his back.

"Ow! Dude, why’d you stop?!" she groaned, rubbing her forehead.

Jinwoo slowly turned to face her, arms crossed. His dark eyes stared at her silently.

Y/N gulped.

That look…

She had seen it before.

It was the "I'm about to lose my patience" look.

A minute passed.

Another.

And then, finally—

"So… are you ever going to tell me your name?" Jinwoo asked, his voice calm but very much done.

Y/N blinked. "Oh. Right. My name's Y/N!"

Jinwoo raised an eyebrow. "Just Y/N?"

She scratched her cheek. "Uh… yeah. For now. Let’s go with that."

Jinwoo sighed. "And where exactly did you come from?"

Y/N paused.

“Earth?”

“This is earth, dumb”

She had been so caught up in fangirling that she had barely processed the fact that she was in Solo Leveling.

Like—actually inside it.

How was she supposed to explain that?

"Uhh... Another world?" she said hesitantly. "You probably won't believe me, but—"

Jinwoo cut her off. "I literally have an army of undead shadows, fought a giant magical statue, and just claimed you as a 'special reward' from my system. Try me."

Y/N opened her mouth.

Closed it.

Fair point.

Jinwoo exhaled deeply. "Alright. Until we figure out how to send you back, you’re going to need support."

Y/N tilted her head. "Support?"

"Food. Shelter. Clothes that aren’t…" He eyed her outfit, clearly unimpressed. "...Whatever that is."

Y/N pouted and covered her chest. "Hey! It’s comfy!"

"It’s not dungeon-appropriate."

She rolled her eyes but secretly agreed. She had nearly frozen to death back there.

Jinwoo continued. "I’ll set up a plan to help you survive in this world. In the meantime, don’t do anything stupid."

Y/N saluted. "No promises."

Jinwoo already regretted everything.

Jinwoo exhaled sharply and rubbed his temples. The longer he spent around Y/N, the more convinced he was that the real dungeon boss wasn’t the monsters—it was her.

Still, this situation was too weird to ignore. A random woman appearing as a dungeon reward? It didn’t make sense. Even his system, which usually functioned like a cold, unfeeling machine, had never done something like this before.

"Igris," Jinwoo commanded.

The red-armored knight appeared instantly, kneeling before his master.

"Investigate this dungeon. Find out why she was in there and if there’s a way to send her back."

Igris silently nodded before disappearing into the shadows.

Y/N watched with starry eyes.

"So cooool..."

Jinwoo pretended not to hear that.

Now that his knight was handling the investigation, it was time for the next problem.

What the hell was he going to do with her?

Before he could think further, Y/N cleared her throat awkwardly.

She was noticeably calmer now, her earlier excitement dying down as reality finally settled in.

She needed Jinwoo’s help.

And that meant she needed to behave.

She hated depending on people—it made her feel weak. Back in her old world, she prided herself on being independent. Strong Independent Woman. Hah!

But screw that.

She needed to survive.

So, mustering up her courage, she hesitantly asked, "Umm… so… where exactly am I gonna stay?"

Jinwoo crossed his arms, thinking.

He couldn’t exactly leave her alone. She had no ID, no money, and absolutely no common sense.

If he let her wander around, she’d probably get scammed by some random vendor within five minutes.

He sighed. "You can stay with me. For now."

Y/N froze.

Her brain short-circuited.

SHE WAS GOING TO STAY WITH JINWOO.

The same Jinwoo she had obsessed over for years. The same fictional character she read fanfics about at 3 AM while eating chips.

She was going to live under the same roof as him?!

She almost screamed.

Almost.

But then…

She realized.

Wait.

Didn’t Jinwoo live with his family?

Her soul left her body.

Y/N’ brain went into overdrive as she stared at Jinwoo.

Live with him?! In the same house as his family?!

Jinwoo’s precious little sister, Jinah?!

And his equally precious mother, who just recovered from her illness?!

She clutched her head. NO. NO. NO.

If this were a romance fanfic, she would be thrilled. But this was real life.

Jinah was going to roast her alive for being a random, freeloading stranger crashing at their house.

His mom? Oh god. His MOM?!

What if she thought Y/N was some gold-digger leeching off her son?!

This was too much pressure.

Jinwoo, oblivious to her internal meltdown, just stood there, waiting for a response.

Y/N forced a stiff smile. "Hahaha… Uhh… Are you sure? Won’t that be a problem?"

Jinwoo shrugged. "My mom is used to me bringing home trouble."

Y/N stared. "...Wow. That’s kinda rude."

"It’s true."

"Still rude."

Jinwoo ignored her. "I’ll tell them you’re someone I’m helping out. As long as you don’t do anything stupid, it’ll be fine."

Y/N gulped. That was asking a lot.

She slowly exhaled.

"Okay. Fine. I’ll behave."

Jinwoo raised an eyebrow. "That remains to be seen."

She pouted but didn’t argue.

For now, she just had to act normal.

She could do that.

Right?

…Right??

Jinwoo sighed, already mentally preparing for whatever chaos Y/N would bring into his house.

Y/N, on the other hand, was sweating bullets.

She had survived a double dungeon, nearly died multiple times, discovered she had anime protagonist strength, and somehow ended up under Sung Jinwoo’s protection—but none of that compared to the terror of meeting his family.

What if they didn’t like her?!

What if they thought she was a weirdo?!

…Okay, she was a weirdo.

But she needed to act normal!

She could do that.

Maybe.

Jinwoo opened the door to his apartment and casually stepped inside.

"Mom, I’m home," he called out.

Y/N clutched her hoodie strings like her life depended on it.

A moment later, a gentle voice responded.

"Welcome back, sweetie! Oh? Did you bring a friend?"

Then, from the hallway, she appeared.

Sung. Jinwoo’s. Mom.

A graceful, kind-looking woman with soft features and warm eyes. She smiled at Y/N with zero suspicion, only motherly curiosity.

Y/N panicked.

What do you say to your favorite character’s MOM?!

What’s the proper etiquette here?!

Jinwoo, seeing her frozen in place, sighed and decided to handle introductions.

"Mom, this is Y/N," he said simply. "She’s… someone who needs help right now, so I told her she could stay here for a while."

His mother immediately softened.

"Oh, dear," she said, stepping closer with concern. "That must have been tough. You’re welcome to stay here as long as you need!"

Y/N nearly burst into tears.

SHE WAS SO NICE.

How did Jinwoo have such a perfect mom?!

Y/N quickly bowed. "T-Thank you, eomeon— Mrs. Sung! I promise I won’t be a bother! I’ll help with chores! And cooking! And—I don’t know—guard the fridge?"

Jinwoo raised an eyebrow. "Guard the fridge?"

"I panicked." She whispered to Jinwoo

Mrs. Sung just chuckled. "You’re very sweet."

Then—

A new challenger approached.

"Wait. Who’s guarding the fridge?"

Y/N turned her head and saw Jinah.

Sung Jinah, Jinwoo’s little sister.

A high school girl, slightly shorter than Y/N, with sharp eyes and a suspicious expression.

Unlike their mom, she wasn’t buying this so easily.

Her gaze flickered between Y/N and Jinwoo. Then to Y/N’ outfit. Then back to Jinwoo.

Then—

Her eyes narrowed.

Oh no.

She’s suspicious.

Jinah crossed her arms. "Oppa."

Jinwoo sighed, already knowing what was coming. "What."

"Explain."

Jinwoo kept it short. "She needed help. I’m letting her stay here for now."

Jinah slowly turned back to Y/N.

She scanned her up and down.

Then, squinted harder.

Y/N broke into a cold sweat.

She could feel the big sister energy radiating from Jinah.

This was it.

Her first real test.

Then, finally, Jinah spoke—

"Are you his girlfriend?"

BOOM.

Y/N choked on air.

Jinwoo froze.

Their mother gasped, "Jinah!"

Y/N waved her hands so fast they blurred. "NO NO NO! I’M NOT—WE’RE NOT—IT’S NOT LIKE THAT!"

Jinwoo covered his face with his hand.

"I knew this would happen..."

Jinah raised an eyebrow at Y/N' over-the-top reaction.

Jinwoo looked done with life. His mother, though flustered, just smiled warmly—like she was already imagining wedding invitations.

Y/N, meanwhile, was in full crisis mode.

"I swear I’m not his girlfriend!" she said, waving her arms like a broken windmill.

Jinah squinted harder. "Then why are you staying here?"

Y/N' brain short-circuited.

Oh. Right. That did sound suspicious.

She needed an excuse.

A normal excuse.

She looked to Jinwoo for help, but he was still covering his face in exhaustion.

Okay. She was on her own.

"Uhh… I’m…" she started, thinking desperately. "I’m… I’m his lost distant cousin!"

Silence.

Jinah stared.

Jinwoo stared.

Even their mom blinked in confusion.

Y/N smiled nervously.

Why did she say that.

Jinah tilted her head. "Cousin?"

"...Yes?"

"From which side?"

"Uhhh… the… family side?"

Jinwoo finally lowered his hand. "The family side?"

"Yes?"

"That’s not an answer."

Y/N gulped. "Okay, fine, I lied. I’m not his cousin! I’m just some lost, confused girl from… somewhere far away!"

Jinah crossed her arms. "Where’s ‘somewhere far away’?"

Y/N laughed awkwardly. "Europe?"

Jinwoo sighed aggressively.

"You don’t even look European."

"Jinwoo! Help me!!" She aggressively whispered.

Mrs. Sung, watching this chaos unfold, finally stepped in.

She placed a gentle hand on Jinah’s shoulder. "Jinah, dear, that’s enough. If your brother says she needs help, then that’s all that matters."

Jinah groaned. "Ugh, fine. But I’m watching you," she muttered, glaring at Y/N.

Y/N nodded quickly. "Understood, ma’am! I will be on my best behavior!"

Jinwoo muttered under his breath, "That remains to be seen."

Jinah narrowed her eyes one last time, then sighed and walked off.

Mrs. Sung smiled at Y/N. "You must be tired, dear. Come, I’ll show you to your room."

Y/N almost cried.

Jinwoo’s mom was a literal angel.

As she followed her to the guest room, she glanced back at Jinwoo, who just gave her a warning look.

"Behave."

Y/N saluted.

No promises.

---

That night, Y/N lay in bed, staring at the ceiling and replaying the events of the day.

She had almost died multiple times, gotten flicked by Jinwoo like an annoying bug, punched a monster into oblivion, and somehow ended up living in his house.

What a wild adventure.

Her body ached from all the running and screaming, but her heart?

It swelled with happiness.

This had been the best dream ever.

If she really woke up tomorrow back in her boring old world, at least she could say that she had met Jinwoo.

That she had fought in a dungeon, seen his shadows in action, and stood beside her favorite character.

She would cherish it forever.

With that thought, she quietly slipped out of bed.

She needed to say goodbye properly.

As she wandered through the house, she spotted Jinwoo outside on the balcony, gazing at the city lights.

The night breeze ruffled his hair, and his expression was calm—a rare moment of peace.

Y/N hesitated, then stepped forward.

Jinwoo glanced at her. "Can’t sleep?"

She smiled softly. "Something like that."

For once, she wasn’t screaming or flailing.

No fangirl nonsense. No delusions.

Just her.

Taking a deep breath, she looked him in the eyes.

"Jinwoo… I really admire you."

His brows slightly furrowed in surprise.

"Not just because you’re strong, or because you’re the protagonist of a story I love."

"But because… you’re dedicated. You fight and endure so much for your family. That takes real strength."

She smiled warmly. "I’m really proud of you."

Jinwoo was stunned silent.

He had heard compliments before. People always praised him for being powerful, fearsome, unstoppable.

But admired?

For his dedication? For the things he had endured?

For the reasons he fought?

He didn't know how to respond.

Y/N chuckled softly. "Anyway… I just wanted to say thank you. This was the most fun I’ve ever had in my life. I’ll never forget it."

Jinwoo, still processing her words, simply nodded. "…Yeah. Get some rest."

She nodded back and turned to head inside.

That was it.

Her goodbye.

She felt at peace.

If she woke up back in her old world, she wouldn’t be sad.

Because this had been worth it.

Morning came.

Y/N slowly opened her eyes.

Her heart pounded as she took a deep breath.

Was she back?

She sat up.

Looked around.

Realized she was still in Jinwoo’s guest room.

Still in his house.

She froze.

Her fingers twitched.

Her breathing hitched.

Then—

SILENT. SCREAMING.

She jumped on the bed, flailing her arms, biting her lip to keep from waking the whole house.

She didn’t return!!!

She was STILL HERE!!!

She slammed her face into a pillow to muffle her excited squeal.

Then—

She ran out of her room like a ball of sunshine.

With the biggest, most heartfelt smile, she cheerfully greeted everyone.

"GOOD MORNING!!"

Jinah, still half-asleep at the dining table, nearly choked on her toast.

Jinwoo, who was drinking his coffee, paused mid-sip then smiled a bit.

Mrs. Sung just chuckled. "Well, someone’s in a good mood today!"

Y/N beamed.

She didn’t care how long this lasted.

She was still here.

And she was going to make the most of it.

<< Chapter 3 | Chapter 5 >>

Tag requests:

@kisssleeping; @catsf0rlife707; @aorifukuzawa

[aspenscore]

Artist: Aspenscore

Title: Don't Be That Guy

Don't Be That Guy © 2025 by Aspenscore is licensed under CC BY 4.0. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Size: 512 x 384

Skizz gets in trouble with the law for leaving floating trees… he really shouldn't have Been That Guy

Process TL;DR:

Skizz has played two different law-adjacent roles this season and I thought it'd be funny for them to come after early season Skizz for making all those early game mistakes

The hardest part of this process was the composition, as it was hard to balance storytelling with visual appeal

I switched from Sketchbook to Medibang Paint for this one and the timelapse recording went so much more smoothly (video imminent!)

One of my favourite things about Skizz's HC10 season is how much he commits to his various character roles on the server. They are all unique and entertaining in their own ways, and I thought it'd be funny to put those strong personalities all together in one scene. Since his two main roles have some sort of involvement with the law, it only made sense for them to come after his early season self (Don't Be That Guy Skizz) for breaking some basic server etiquette. My initial plan was to have POE Skizz writing up Don't Be That Guy (DBTG) for leaving floating trees and Lawyer Skizz coming in to defend DBTG, but it was hard to make it clear who Lawyer Skizz is actually coming after, so he could also have teamed up with POE Skizz to bring down the (literal) hammer on DBTG. It's entirely up to your interpretation. I just like his general threatening aura.

The main thing that made Lawyer Skizz's intentions difficult to portray was the fact that I needed to balance storytelling with visual appeal. I needed to make it clear what was going on and why, while making sure all the characters' faces were visible, and ensuring the overall positioning of everything looked good and visually flowed well. I probably sketched at least ten different options for this piece at work (to save time), narrowed them down to about five strong ideas, and then got many people's input on the composition and posing (shoutout to my partner, various friends with degrees in media design, and the spoonies discord server). I finally landed on this one, as it was one of my favourites composition-wise. It was the most interesting to look at, everyone's face is visible, and it communicates enough of the main story elements to at least give a general sense of what's going on. The only issue I had with this one was figuring out how to make the floating tree obvious without upsetting the visual balance of the rest of the piece. I'm not sure I really fixed it, but there wasn't much I could do without starting all over, and I figured the story is still clear enough even if it's not immediately apparent what DBTG's crime was.

Tech-wise, I have way less to say about this one than the Joel piece I did a few weeks ago, and that's a good thing. The main issue I had with the other piece was recording the timelapse, because my main drawing program (Skechbook Pro) doesn't have a timelapse feature. After all the problems I had last time, I decided I was willing to switch to an entirely new drawing program if it meant I was able to avoid all that mess, and luckily for me, the drawing program I used to use before Sketchbook (Medibang Paint) has a timelapse feature! This was a huge relief, because I already know how to use it and I know my tablet can handle it. Everything went smoothly and I am so relieved to have a solution (I even fixed that problem my monitor started having back when I was troubleshooting the Joel piece recording setup!). You might notice, however, that this piece is still rather low-res. Unlike last time, that was not an unfortunate accident; I just didn't scale up the dimensions. Don't know why. Sorry about that lol

Since the tech side of things went so well this time, I'll have a timelapse video coming out shortly and I'm very excited to share it with you all! I am also considering doing timelapse videos of some of my other art (most likely my video thumbnails) now that I've got a reliable recording setup for that. (Is that something y'all'd be interested in? Please let me know!)

Overall, I wanted to say a big thank you to Skizz for making such wonderfully entertaining videos. I look forward to the rest of the season, and I can't wait to see people going through the finished pyramid!

I also want to thank all of you reading this for your time and support! I know this isn't usually the sort of thing I post, so it makes me happy that people seem to enjoy it just as much as my regular content. I hope you all have a wonderful day!

[bedoballoons]

All of this was amazing and then I saw the cheese stick as the favourite food and went- YESSSSSSS!!! Love this request, love cheese sticks and SUMERU BOYYSS. I miss them :(

─⊰⁠⊹ฺ❄️𝔾𝕖𝕟𝕤𝕙𝕚𝕟 ℍ𝕖𝕒𝕕𝕔𝕒𝕟𝕠𝕟𝕤⊰⁠⊹ฺ❄️

{༻~Cheese stickies~༺}

CW: GN! Reader, Slight Tsundere vibes for the reader, fluffy! One mention of Wanderer calling the reader a idiot! One curse word...and yes Wanderer gets it :)

(Includes: Tighnari, Kaveh, Alhaitham, Wanderer, and Cyno!)

𑁍༄Tighnari:

Tighnari sighed as you shut the door tightly behind you, clearly upset that he'd forgotten your date night. He'd truly just gotten to busy with his forest ranger duties and didn't even realise it was today...buuut that still wasn't a good enough excuse to forget a date you set aside every week to spend time together and he knew that.

"How about I make it up to you? I'll take you out to shoot my bow like you've been wanting to?" He rested against the shut door, his ears twitching as he waited for your response..., "Guess not..." He bit his lip, thinking it over and then it hit him.

He smiled slyly and pushed off the door, his tail swaying behind him as he lit a fire, starting the process of making your all time favourite food. "I think I'll just make some cheese sticks then and spend the rest of the night alone..." He spoke loudly, knowing you'd hear him even with the door closed...there's no shot this didn't work.

"You're forgiven!" He jumped as you somehow appeared next to him, tummy growling and your face warm from the pan as you looked inside it happily. You're date night was now the least of your worries, "You're making lots right?!"

𑁍༄Kaveh:

"I'm truly sorry, I was so caught up in my new designs and what was going on with my work that I didn't even remember our date night...We could start now! I'll get out some snacks and we could watch the clouds?!" He smiled at you hopefully, but in return you just gave him a pouty face and turned away, not entertained by the idea in the slightest.

Had it been watching the stars at night like you were supposed to then you'd happily oblige, but no. This was the next day and you weren't gonna let him off that easily.

"Hmm" He touched his chin in thought, looking around your home for any ideas on how to fix the mess he'd made...untill his eyes landed on a picture of you two at the most recent festival. He was carrying prizes both of you had won and you were eating a large cheese stick with a smile he didn't even realise was possible. That was by far one of your funnest dates and it was the first time he'd heard of your favourite food..

Favourite food...

"Ah I know!" You looked at him curiously as he hurried into the kitchen, scrambling to collect your recipe book and the necessary ingredients. It didn't take long till you figured out what he was up to, the delicious aroma of fried, stretchy, yummy cheese sticks hitting you in waves. Any thoughts of the missed date absolutely escaping your brain as you stood next to him hungrily. "Forgiven!! Can I have a big plate! Please!!"

𑁍༄Alhaitham:

"Our date night was tonight? My bad, I thought it was tomorrow. I'm already reading my newest book collection, how about we go tomorrow instead?"

You stared daggers at him, clearly annoyed by his casual calmness over your forgotten date, over the night that was supposed to be the one you shared... "We can't go tomorrow, the reservation was for tonight...I sat there waiting for a hour! Do you not care? Ugh!" You stomped away from him, leaving him slightly stunned...

He closed his book with a loud snap, watching you slam the door behind you and sit in your shared room all alone. He felt bad to say the least, even with all the time he spent with you he still wasn't entirely sure how to handle situations like this one...he stood up and stepped towards the door, pausing once he saw the kitchen.

Your conversation about the restaurant you'd made the reservation at suddenly coming back to him. The only reason you wanted to go to that one was because they had your favourite food for cheap...and it was something that could be easily made..

He switched gears, walking to one of his shelves of books and searching for his recipe books, "Ah, here we go." He flicked through the pages until he found the one he was looking for, "Cheese sticks...not very creative name wise..." He heard movement in the room and pretended not to notice as you peaked out at him.

"No, that would never work. They won't forgive me just because I make them this.."

"YOU'RE FORGIVEN! I mean...ahem, I'll think about it if you make them.."

𑁍༄Wanderer:

Wanderer huffed, trying to ignore the guilty feeling tugging at his non existent heart...it wasn't his fault Nahida had added a extra class for him to take care of and in return he forgot your date night. If anything it was you idiot fault for not reminding him more! No...that wasn't far to you, even he could see that he was in the wrong...and you'd reminded him at least four times before the day even arrived..

"Shit." He muttered under his breath. He looked at you as you sat as far away from him as possible, ignoring his existence the best you could with him in the same room as you. How could he fix this..."What do you want...kisses or cuddles or something?" You shook your head and scootched impossibly closer to the wall you were already up against.

He sighed in annoyance, not knowing what else you'd like or want so he could be forgiven. He felt bad, but that didn't mean he'd get on his knees and beg for forgiveness or buy you something worth millions of mora. You probably wouldn't like anything he bought you anyways...your favourite things were always those stupid-

He interrupted himself mid thought, leaving his spot so he could start preparing your food...he never cooked for anyone else and even though he cooked for you it was rare, but he knew this would make you smile at least. "Hey, do we have those cheese things...I'll fry some up.."

You instantly perked up, your attention snapping to him, "You're making cheese sticks??"

"...will you forgive me if I do...and I promise I won't miss another date night?"

"YES!!"

𑁍༄Cyno:

Cyno looked at you apologetically, he felt horrible knowing he'd missed the date you'd been looking forward to and even worse that it was because of a scheduling error on his part, "I'm sorry, I should have been more careful with my planning. How about I tell you a few jokes and we go for a walk, I've learned some really good ones from a book Alhaitham lent me..."

You shook your head and sat down at the table, doodling non existent things with your finger...your bottom lip stuck out in a pouty way. "It's to warm out to go for a walk...and even though I usually like your jokes, those don't make up for our date night.."

He figured as much, still he didn't want to just leave it on that...so how could he make it up to you? Suddenly he had a idea and if a light bulb could appear above his head it would have, because this idea was genius. "This might be cheesy...but perhaps we could cook some cheese sticks together instead? I know you love them~"

You tried not to smile at his silly pun, but before you knew it you had a big grin and were hurrying to help him make your favourite food. "I guess I can forgive you, after all, we should stick together. Get it?"

"You're even cheesier than me..."

ଘ(੭*ˊᵕˋ)੭* ੈ♡‧₊˚~Have a nice day!~*⁠.⁠✧

[marcsburnerphone]

Wish to make up

Captain John price x f!reader

Summary:being johns’ wife has been full of security and safety and you never thought he’d be the one to taint that.

Warnings: angst,(hurt/comfort, 141 task force loves you, price is full of guilt, reader is struggling to process her feelings, they makeup

Finally a part three.

——————-

You woke with heavy arms draped around your waist. The memory of falling asleep is nonexistent just like your want to continue to lay here. You’re frustrated and still deprived of sleep and it’s all because of the man laying happily beside you. With dainty hands you carefully lift his arm and slip out of bed setting it right beside him. Tip toeing out of the bedroom without waking him was light work, what wouldn’t be light work is getting into your car and driving to your best friend's house which also happened to be Gaz’s sister. Were you making this a bigger deal than what it should be, maybe? But are you going to manipulate yourself into acting like it doesn’t hurt, no? Time and space is what your mind was chanting. Maybe that’s what it would take cause he apologized already, even left base to do so but still that icky feeling that sticks to your heart like honey is becoming like a second tissue. With keys in your hand and house slippers on, you make your way to the door confident that you’ll be fast enough.

“Where are you going?” Confidence isn’t always key.

“I- I um I’m going to lanes.” You say turning to face him at the end of the hallway.

“Why?” It’s blunt and laced with pure confusion.

“Cause I want to.” Your eyebrows creased at the obvious answer.

“You never leave when I come home.” His eyes don’t look away from yours for a second, you're actually not even sure if he’s blinked in the past two awkward minutes.

“Well John, the circumstances on this arrival are very different.” He hums in response waiting for you to say more but when you don’t he continues.

“What can I do?” He asks exasperated.

“What?” It’s your turn to return that same energy.

“I'm not sure what I can do further than apologize and come home to show you I’m truly sorry for my actions so now I’m asking what more can I do?” He looks more slouchy than usual, actually than ever John usually holds his head high and his shoulder back right now he just looks tired.

“I just need some space John and time cause I too don’t know what you can do.” Those words shred him apart. He finally looks away and to the side door that leads into the patio.

“Just a little till I calm down or something.” You're trying to make it sound a little less heavy.

“Or something? So should I leave then.” He’s anxiously chewing on his lower lip, something you’ve cursed him for in the past.

“If you’d like but this is your home also.” He laughs and it’s absent of humor.

“How long?” He asks.

“How long?” You return his question confused.

“How much time and space are you asking of me?”

“I’m not sure?” Truthfully you weren’t.

“For fucks sake my love.” He whispers and it’s killing him.

“We’ve just never been in this position before so it’s new and confusing and I’m angry but I love you but it hurts and it’s so unlike you to make me feel this way so I’m sorry but this is the consequence of your own actions and I won’t be the one to apologize, now can you please move your car cause I’ve just noticed your blocking me in.” You couldn’t have even left if you wanted. Oh does god have his ways of working.

He silently walks past you grabbing his keys off the rack by the door and swiftly gets into his car, starting it and backs up signaling for you to exit. You’re now sitting in your car starting it wondering if this is how you should be handling this. But nonetheless you leave and he pulls into your spot. When you get home you figure then you’ll have your thoughts pulled together and you’ll work it out like you know you can.

———-

“Lane but you don’t understand he yelled at me like I wasn’t his wife or any respected person.” It’s been an entire hour of you crying then getting angry at the whole situation again to your poor friend.

“And has he ever done it before in the past three-four years?” Her eyebrow is raised but her tone is soft.

“No but that’s not the point; he's done it now.” The sass in your tone makes her smile.

“Did he apologize?”

“Yes.” You say bluntly.

“So you're punishing him for losing his cool, which he is wrong for but then he apologized and if I remember this right he also came to apologize in person and he’s never done this before.” She’s simply stating facts.

“Well when you put it like that.” You whisper looking out of the open window.

“You're not looking at the bigger picture. I’ve been married, divorced and now remarried. And what I’ve learned from it is love and marriage is a gift but hard fucking work.”

“You had a first husband?” You ask surprised.

“Yeah ages before Dan, his name was Lucas and he was my first love. He was an angry man though I was always doing something wrong in his eyes and all hell broke loose when he was upset. I don’t think he ever once apologized for it though, I did though every single time.” You can tell but the creases between her brows still hurt from it.

“I’m so sorry.” Your worries probably look so stupid in her eyes.

“Dan and I have gotten into it before and it was his fault, something similar to your situation. I had accidentally spilled coffee on his work desk one late night when I brought it to him, it soiled some papers and he lost it. I worried that I was dating Lucas number two till I saw the look in his eyes when all was said and done. He looked devastated, I mean absolutely torn. He apologized immediately and cleaned up the mess he apologizes to this day for it. Sometimes all people can do is apologize because words can’t be taken back but trust can be rebuilt and we love them so much that forgiveness is the only option to moving forward.”

You hum and smile at her warm gaze that’s now laid upon you.

“Do you ever get scared he’ll do it again?”

“No and even if he does I know his heart. We’re human for Christ's sake. I've also said some hurtful things to him when I was stressed. But we know each other and don’t take it in vain.”

The pause in silence is carried in like a warm breeze as you sit and let her words soak in.

“Now if John does it again I’ll kick his ass.” It’s sincere.

You laugh with your entire being at that cause Lane has always kept her word.

“Well in that case I guess I can forgive him.”

“He loves you darling. I’ve known John Price since Gaz first introduced me to him maybe 8 years ago and that man has never looked at or loved someone as gently as he loves you.”

“Was I foolish to make such a big deal out of it?”

She laughs

“No, I cried for a whole night non stop when Dan yelled at me and that whole night he was the one to hold and comfort me. I even told him to just leave to pack up and go but he stayed and was patient and caring and that’s when I knew that man is my forever.”

“John held me this evening while I slept. He actually didn’t want me to leave but still moved his car when I asked so I could go.”

“That man wouldn’t stop you from doing what you wanted even if it’d hurt him.”

“I should go home now, Thankyou for listening to me. I'll come by tomorrow and tell you how it went.”

“Okay honey you get home safe.”

————

On the drive home you just let yourself think. Think of all the times you’ve given John attitude and even the time you’d called him a stupid wanker when he accidentally threw your expensive facial cream that he’d bought away and how he’d taken it with a grain of salt and got you a new one. How the one time you’d scraped the side of his brand new truck and cried to him while explaining what happened and he’d laughed and gotten it repainted the next morning. You’d thought about how so perfect your husband has been, so perfect that you forgot he could be human.

When you pulled into the driveway your heart dropped at the sight of his empty Parking spot. Had he really left? I mean sure your invitation to stay wasn’t so welcoming.

You put your car in park and cried. Cried at how he hurt you and did the only thing he could which was apologize then you cried at how he left all because you basically implied that that is what you wanted and cried about how much you just wanted him to hold you now.

Your car got too cold to sit in so you made your way to the door and inside, unsurprisingly John turned the heater on for you. A cup of tea would surely soothe the hurt.

You sat at the kitchen island sipping from the mug you’d hoped would cure the heavy feeling in your chest. He didn’t even leave a note or a text but then again you told him you needed space.

Lost in thought your forehead pressed to the cold counter, tears slipping mindlessly from your eyes the sound of keys jangling by the door made your head perk up.

Heavy footsteps made their way towards the kitchen when no other than your husband walked in carrying two grocery bags.

“John.” You blinked so heavily relieved at the sight of him.

“Jesus love you scared me.” He doesn’t jump or give any indication that you’d scared him other than the words.

“You didn’t leave.” Your bottom lip quivers and you beg for the tears to stay in your eyeballs.

“Have I ever left without saying goodbye?” He says, setting the bags down and slowly approaching you with caution and softly cupping your face.

You said no more and leant into his strong chest. His arms immediately wrapped around you pulling you in tight. A sigh of relief escaped his lips as a warm scruffy kiss was planted on your temple.

After what felt like forever you parted from him and looked silently into his eyes.

“My love I’m desperately sorry, I’ll say it for the rest of our lives if that’s what it takes I just-”

“I know.” You cut him off and caress his cheek lightly as he turns his head planting a kiss to your palm.

“You don’t have to forgive me.” He assures you.

You pull him towards you urging him to kiss you. He complies with no complaints and when your lips meet it's like every speck of worry in this universe fades to none.

“Lane has a way with words I can assume, just like her brother.” John mutters when you pull apart. You laugh and lean your head onto his chest just a bit below his heart listening to the soothing rhythm of it. He sways the two of you side to side and somehow he makes it feel like the earth spins just for you

——————

The holidays have been rough and oh god am I exhausted but nonetheless I can’t Thankyou enough for reading, commenting and showing me an unbelievable amount of support my heart is with you guys.

Comments and reposts are always appreciated <3

@floffytofu @fictionallifestuff

[mortish-writes]

No Patreon quite yet.

The Bride of Shadows Patreon isn't ready yet, I didn't realize that a month after giving them a picture of myself and a copy of my government ID, and then them saying I was all set, they'd still do an additional review when I was actually ready to launch my Patreon. Apparently this can take as along as a week, but usually takes a couple days.

The Zealot route for Night V is edited and will be ready for early release as soon as the Patreon is up. You will have to start a new game and only the Zealot route is available right now. The Heretic Night V route will be out next week.

The Night V Zealot route is an additional 25,000 words, with two separate branches depending on whether you're aligned with The Weaver. It also has separate endings depending on which RO you have the strongest bond with. There are also breast sizes now. See? I also added the option to refuse The Weaver and...stay dead. Cause apparently the offer to not be dead was frustrating readers.

The name of the patron version is The Nightborn Edition. Right now, it is largely the same as the current build (+Zealot Night V and a few new variables, mostly hidden), but once the Patreon is live we'll be running polls for new content. Our first few polls will be regarding conception/pregnancy since that will start in Night VI. We'll nail down how we want to handle paternity in poly relationships and how random/not random we want things like gender/appearance/multiples to be. Then we'll vote on a new tendency and which tendencies you'd like to see more of. The goal is to make a version tailored to the interests and tastes of patrons, without taking content away from free players.

I've also changed Bound mode for patrons. It will now feature an MFM storyline with the option to go crazy and have an exclusive MF relationship with Valdricht. Serax TBD, I'll explain in the FAQ, no I don't love Valdricht more, there are important plot reasons for it, if you want Serax you can still have him in MFM mode or play MMF mode as the gods intended. I know that the Duskweaver Cultist won out in the poll, but MFM/MF will be much easier to integrate into the existing story at the moment. Also, you get updates earlier and you can support my goal of writing Bride of Shadows full-time.

Hopefully the review process will be quick and I'll do an official Patreon launch announcement/invitation soon. It will be much prettier and more comprehensive than this. In the meantime, I'll be working on the Heretic route for Night V. Just not tonight. I'm going to relax now.

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Off-topic rant don't read unless you have nothing better to do. Sometimes a girl just has to type some feelings in a big block of text. So Bride of Shadows has gotten a ton of new players/followers this week. Idk if it was blessed by the algorithm or what. That's not the rant, I'm incredibly happy about that and insanely grateful. So today while I was trying to set up the Patreon version, I thought I could just add the Patreon edition to my regular page and password lock it. Maybe I can and I just couldn't figure it out, but that's a question to puzzle over another day. Anyway, somewhere in the process of attempting this I restricted the main game for like 30 seconds and it completely removed Bride of Shadows from the Itch algorithm. It went from getting a new follower every 15 minutes to totally disappearing from all the categories. Which sucks because we were doing so good. Like, we were almost in a warm, fuzzy sandwich between the hot succubus game and the sexy Minotaur game and that's without a new release in two weeks. I know, I still can't believe it. Anyway, I think the vanishing is only temporary and it'll creep back into the algorithm again, but I'm too tired to worry about it right now. I cried on the phone with my husband for like 5 minutes about that and Patreon and then he came home with chocolate filled caramels for me. Anyway, it's impossible to be sad while eating them, so I'm feeling much better now but I wanted to rant in a wall of text regardless. In February the big stressful thing was my old blog getting shadowbanned, and I went through this whole 24 hour emotional crisis where I thought the IF was doomed and no one would ever find it again and now this month my crisis is that it was getting tons of followers until I derped the algorithm. It's all to say, sometimes I gotta complain about things that annoy me, but I never lose sight of the bigger picture, which is that I'm writing a story I love and lots of people are enjoying it, so no matter what shenanigans befall me, I don't let it distract me. And if I do get overwhelmed, there are always chocolate filled caramels. And because you read all of this the Nightborn Edition password is "veryeasytoguess". I'll be changing the password once the Patreon launches. In the meantime, feel free to check out the new Zealot night. I hope you'll be able to join the Patreon and help build the Nightborn Edition into something really special. For players in non-Patreon regions or those who hate subscriptions (I totally get it), the Nightborn Edition will be available on Steam once the IF is complete and you're always welcome to submit suggestions for things you'd like to see in the final IF. Also just in case it wasn't clear, the regular free story will still be updated. Night V will be out not long after I finish writing the Heretic route. Thanks for reading, you're all amazing. -Mortish

[rubberduckyrye]

I've been seeing a fair bit of "Shuichi treats people more like cases than people" sentiment, and while it is an interesting idea for Angst Purposes, I just don't think that's very in character for him realistically.

Especially when people talk about the runaway cases he dealt with.

I think a lot of people think "runaway" and think "children who are in abusive homes who NEEDED to run away" and not "Children who got emotionally devastated by something and made an irrational choice in the heat of the moment" because there is a fundamental difference between the two. Even still, you should not leave a runaway child to fend for themselves! They are vulnerable! They need help!!!

Whether they need help getting home or help into a new home.

I think that also people don't acknowledge it when Shuichi says that he checks up on the runaway cases post-investigation to make sure everything's still okay and going well. I'm also sure that, as part of the process, he learns from the runaway child the reason why they ran away, and if the reason was as devastated as domestic or sexual violence or severe neglect, he would NOT just send them off home.

That is not in character for him.

He has a lot of very human interactions with his classmates (outside of Kokichi, who is explicitly hated by the narrative) and tries (maybe fails, but tries) to be considerate towards them and their inner feelings.

His interactions in his LSEs aren't just acting, he's still being "himself", and his interactions with characters like Kirumi (I.E. validating her and humanizing her, insisting that her love for him isn't bad because she is his equal) despite playing the role of her "master." And in Gonta's, he knew Gonta was upset over scaring him so he comforted him and reassured him that everything was okay.

Also in Kirumi's FTE's, Shuichi offered to be Kirumi's "master" when she was playing a joke on him with the whole stray maid thing, and in Kiibo's FTE, he offers to continue helping Kiibo find new avenues to explore via his robot emotions and the whole robot business thing.

Shuichi doesn't just, stick around only to figure someone out and then get bored of them when he's done. I'll be the first to admit it, how Shuichi treats Kokichi specifically is pretty terrible at times, but that is a narrative flaw that does not apply to everyone else.

He's very thoughtful, tries his best to be accommodating and supportive, and does try his best to make connections with the people around him. He almost overextends himself just to help others--which is something that he would do for runaway children as well.

I think people need to give Shuichi more credit than just seeing the Runaway Cases thing and immediately thinking his neglectful person who only cares about solving mysteries because canon didn't explicitly state how he handles those cases.

[fangirltothefullest]

I want to tell the young people about what floppy disks are and why computers needed them and I'm from the 90s so I'm missing info on what came before it but from what I do know:

These bad boys are floppy disks in various sizes:

The plastic square is the outer casing and protects the small little disk inside that actually stores the data. Typically these would have like a built in fuzzy thing to keep dist off the disk.

When we think of computers, we think of zillions of codes working together so fluidly and quickly and they're able to operate tons of processes at once but a when computers were more new, they could only handle so much code at a time! Ye old computers were huge and clunky and could only tackle so much processing.

Think of them like babies- programmers could do tons with computers but the computers themselves could only store so much data!

And in fact we still use SD (storage disk) cards for computers and phones the same purpose.

That's where a floppy disk comes in! The computer would have a disk drive which would run whatever program was on the disk when you inserted it. That way you didn't clog your processing computer with code it couldn't handle.

You could also store files on the floppy disk so they didn't take up computer processing space.

Eventually we got much better at figuring out how to store data and instead of putting it on a tiny disk we made the disks bigger and CD ROMs were used for the same purpose.

Eventually when we got better at making storage smaller and easier to integrate, things like floppy disks and CD Roms wrre deemed no longer needed.l and their disk reader were omitted from most computers and laptops which is a shame!

Downloading apps is easy but you used to be able to own an actual physical copy of the thing you purchased so if your computer crashed and you couldn't get it back and had to buy a new one, you wouldn't have to pay for the program again, you'd already have a copy!

We used to have a photoshop disk that came with its own verification key and you could put it onto any computer you wanted with thw activation key with absolutely no subscription needed. One payment and your tool is yours permanently!

Likewise we can play our dvds from my old Toshiba because it still has a DVD and CD reader and the ancient 90s Dell can play old PC games because it has a CDRom reader!

Sometimes progress is great but the physical nature of the floppy disks and CD and DVDs are highly missed in today's digital based and gatekept society!

So anyways that's what floppy disks are.

Now when an old person glares at you youngins and says ha! Bet you dont know what this is! You can say why thats a floppy disk!

And if they say aha! But what's it for?

You can say IT WAS AN OLS VERSION OF STORING DATA AND PROGRAMS THE COMPUTER COULDN'T STORE ON ITS OWN BEFORE COMPUTWRS GOT FASTER ANS HAD BETTER STORAGE.

They will be so mad and so impressed.

[thosetwohimbos]

9-1-1 Season 8 Finale Spoilers!

Tim Minear needs his ego checked. He thinks he's a god but he can't actually do shit. The way I'm so upset about how they handled literally all of the character's storylines in the finale is wild.

Maddie being completely fine in the first half and suddenly having a baby at the end. No kind of oh it's happening or oh I'm getting induced or anything. No build up to it? Especially after everything happened with Jee. (Also where is Albert why hasn't he visited since like s6, not even for their wedding?) Knew they were gonna name him after Bobby but I figured maybe Robert Daniel Han or Robert Kevin Han.

Chimney's actually wasn't terrible. I would love if they go with Captain Chim EVENTUALLY but he has a literal newborn. He cannot be captain right now but based off his speech and Athena saying what a good leader he is, it seems to be leading that way. I enjoyed his parts of the episode minus the sudden baby (again no lead up to her going into labor??)

The way they had Athena forgive Chimney was good. However, she was so adamant about not selling the Bathena house in 8.17. It's where her kids grew up and it's where she has spent decades living and loving life. To just turn around and have an open house and not even say anything about it. That was ridiculous and pointless. And then having her walking down the hospital hall. That was such a stupid bait for Bobby Alive cliffhanger. I'm so upset about it actually.

Now the ones I'm mostly upset by.

Did they just FORGET about Hen? She has like nothing in this episode. She could've talked early in the episode about Mara's adoption process and finally being a family together. That would've been much better than a 30 second clip of them signing the papers that came out of nowhere. It was just thrown in to "wrap it up." It was such a disservice. The way they should've been having these conversations with Mara and Denny and then with Karen and Hen excitement or something! And with the captain storyline. It doesn't make sense she doesn't wanna be captain. BOBBY wanted her to be captain. He kept putting her in charge. THAT should've been brought up. She could've talked about that with Athena like Athena did with Chimney and what Bobby thought about him and she could've told Hen what Bobby thought about her. The way it would've been so beautiful to have her step into that role after EVERYTHING!

Buck was also kind of forgotten. Him leaving the 118 because "it's just a number" was stupid. I get the thought process but that is HIS HOME! I mean Hen and Chim and Ravi are still there at that point. He grew so much from that place. I get the impulsive choice to leave to avoid putting your grief onto others. Because Buck is impulsive. But he is an impulsive STAYER. He latches on. He wouldn't leave. Maybe it was the grief talking and he didn't want to put his grief onto everyone else kind of thing, but the writers didn't DO ANYTHING with that. They didn't show his thought process or him breaking down about it or making the decision. They didn't follow through with it either! And AT THE END where he is looking at a new house because "it wasn't his home and he was just subletting" is so OOC. He has said that Eddie's house IS HIS HOME. Not only that but his credit score SUCKS! Canonically!! He can't buy a home or move into an apartment without a decent credit score. Also why did they get rid of the loft if they were just going to have him move out of Eddie's house when Eddie came back? It would've made more sense to have Bathena move into Eddie's house while the Bathena house was being built. That way they can sublet for the year Eddie had signed his lease and then if Eddie stayed in Texas and after the lease is up for both of them, the landlord sells the house to someone else and Eddie is free to be in his home in Texas and Bathena moves into their brand new built home. They threw the scene of Buck at the end in so we couldn't have Buddie Roommates for hiatus.

Eddie has been done the dirtiest the entire second half of this season, if not the entire season. First off the Kim storyline made no sense if we aren't even gonna TALK about his PTSD and grief. Chris not talking to him for the first half and then once they do talk, they NEVER bring up the issues. Chris is 14 fucking years old. He is old enough to have a mature conversation with his dad about his feelings. He was raised by Shannon, Eddie, and Buck. He KNOWS how to express himself in a healthy way. They made sure of that. Then Eddie doesn't even talk to Chris and just up and moves to Texas without a job opportunity. And even if they say he had that conversation it was off screen. Everything about their progress with healing and communicating with each other has been OFF SCREEN so we just have to assume they're ok?? And then the Texas storyline leading to nothing? They could've had Eddie go to Texas and drag Chris back if they weren't gonna do anything with Texas really. If they wanted to make the Texas storyline worthwhile, they should've had him come to terms with the fact he is gay. He doesn't need to live up to his parent's expectations. He can find joy. He can be himself. Eddie has made no decisions for himself his entire life. At the end, Chimney is the one who told him he isn't leaving. Which doesn't make sense for Eddie's character to listen to what Chimney says because he only canonically follows the advice that Buck gives him (yes Bobby gave him advice but he is historically bad at receiving said advice).

They need to take a good look at what has happened this season and fix whatever they were doing wrong in the planning stages. They need to plan out where each character's storylines are going from the premier to the finale and THEN write the scripts. If they need to delay s9 until they can have full scripts written out I will GLADLY wait to watch it. But right now Tim Minear needs to get his shit together. There is NOTHING wrong with giving fans what they want. Killing Bobby isn't what we wanted. Having no character progression isn't what we wanted. Having ONLY a LOOK and a fist bump between Buck and Eddie in the finale isn't what we wanted. He is crashing this show that we all love into the ground for his own ego. This is just terrible writing and storytelling truly.

[ezlo-x]

sighh i'll just get this off my system

ik i dont own anyone anything when it comes to working on my projects especially when it comes to my au comic. But there is a heavy guilt on putting this current chapter I've been working on for almost a year in the back burner multiple times. I believe the shift happened when getting adjusted to my new display tablet, now i have no issue with it but last year i was still figuring everything out. And i worked on pages while still in this learning process and I was not liking the outcome of the pages.

ik my kofi members would tell me otherwise as they have seen the progress, but I have been having a difficult time to stay up to date with comic updates. And have been lately been sharing wips + drawings that don't really see the light of day. but now I'm yapping. Also the fact that my class semesters don't give me much time to work on it and at times!! I just wanna relax and take a break!! But its that pressure that holds me back. I knew that this chapter was going to be a big chapter and it was going to take me some time. I probably should;ve handled my process better since the beginning. And woudln't lead me to a burnout

now im just slowly getting back to it. its not that i lost interest, ig its just?? Exhaustion? Burnout pretty much.

Right now I have less than 10 pages left to finish the linework of the comic. Then i proceed to the coloring stage. Im just working with what's easiest for me to work on to what's the hardest. I don't want to give up on this project cause i got tired and felt guilt. I actually love drawing comics, comic making is my favorite method to tell a story. Yeah i can write fics but my writing sounds awkward to me, me describing what's happening through text is very hard for me so I just draw it out. that little short comic i did of burning spice and mystic flour is a perf example. I was originally planning to add dialogue but I felt like just leaving it as it was more than enough. Cause I felt like their expressions and emotions was saying just enough. idk how i can explain that through words lol

anyways i came completly unprepared for this chapter and i do apologize for that. I probably should've practiced drawing certain characters that appear in the chapter.

I feel like i sound all over the place but my tldr for this is just. Im sorry taking so long working on this chapter, I'm still working on it but incredibly slowly. No i don't want to give up on this as I put so much time and energy to this and I'm very attached to it.

[brainddeadd]

Grief

Matt Rempe x fem!reader

Warnings: mentions of death

So this one is personal to me. My father died a few years ago, and I'm still on my recovery journey.

I learnt that Matt had also lost his dad and thought that he would have a unique perspective on grief.

I've always thought that it would suck to have someone I love and care for be suffering grief the way I am, but at the same time, it would be so comforting to have someone who understands.

I wouldn't wish this pain on anyone, but going through it alone is agonising.

The living room was draped in an unsettling stillness, the kind that made every breath feel thick and heavy. The loss hung in the air, too big to name. You sat on the couch, knees drawn up to your chest, staring blankly at nothing in particular. The grief was still fresh, a raw ache that gnawed at your insides, leaving you feeling hollow and disconnected from the world around you.

Your father was gone. You couldn’t even begin to process the weight of that.

Matt had come home immediately after getting the news. He hadn’t left your side since, not even for a moment. Now, he sat next to you, his quiet presence offering a comfort words couldn’t reach. You hadn’t said much since you’d heard, and Matt hadn’t pushed you to speak either. He knew. He understood.

You felt him shift beside you, his hand finding yours and holding it firmly. His thumb traced slow, gentle circles on the back of your hand, grounding you in a way nothing else had since you’d gotten the call. You blinked, trying to swallow the lump that had formed in your throat, but the tears came anyway, hot and fast. You hadn’t been able to stop crying since it happened, and every time you tried to speak, your voice would break.

Matt’s arm slipped around your shoulders, pulling you into his chest, your face pressing against the soft fabric of his shirt. You could feel the steady beat of his heart beneath your cheek, and the rhythmic rise and fall of his breathing as he held you close.

“I know it hurts,” he whispered softly into your hair. “More than anything.”

You let out a shaky breath, the weight of his words resonating with you in a way that made your chest tighten. Matt’s father had passed away years ago—he knew this pain. He knew the ache of losing someone who was supposed to be there forever.

“I don’t know how to do this,” you choked out, your voice breaking as tears began to flow freely once more.

Matt pulled back slightly, his blue eyes soft and full of understanding. He brushed your tears away with the pad of his thumb, his touch gentle but sure. “You don’t have to figure it all out right now,” he said softly. “It’s okay to not know how to feel. To not know what to do. Grief isn’t something you can plan for.”

You nodded, swallowing hard. “I just… I didn’t think it would hurt this much. I didn’t expect it to feel like this.”

Matt took a deep breath, his arm tightening around you protectively. “When I lost my dad…” he paused, his voice thick with emotion, “I didn’t know how to handle it either. There were days when it felt impossible to get out of bed, to move forward. But it gets better—slowly. You learn to live with the pain, and eventually, you find your way through it.”

His words were raw, spoken from a place of deep understanding. He wasn’t trying to fix it or make the pain go away—he knew that wasn’t possible. But in sharing his experience, in showing you that he had been there too, he offered a kind of comfort that no one else could.

“I miss him already,” you whispered, your voice small and fragile. “I don’t even know how to begin to say goodbye.”

Matt’s hand found the back of your head, his fingers threading gently through your hair. “You don’t have to say goodbye yet. Take it one day at a time. There’s no right way to grieve. I’ll be here with you through every step.”

The tears kept falling, but you felt a shift inside you—a small crack in the numbness. Matt’s presence was more than comforting; it was a lifeline. He understood the darkness you were stepping into because he had walked through it before. And knowing that he had made it to the other side, even with the scars, gave you hope.

“I wish you didn’t know what this feels like,” you whispered, pressing your face back into his chest.

Matt sighed softly, his hand still stroking your hair. “I wish you didn’t have to go through it at all. But you’re not alone, okay? You’ll never be alone in this.”

You nodded into his chest, letting the steady sound of his heartbeat calm the storm inside you. The weight of the grief hadn’t lifted, but with Matt by your side, you felt like you could take on just a little bit more of it.

Eventually, the tears slowed, and the exhaustion of the day began to settle over you like a heavy blanket. Matt shifted beside you, pulling you down with him so that you were both lying on the couch, your head resting on his chest. He kept his arms wrapped around you, his warmth and steady presence making you feel safe, even as the grief continued to swell and recede like a tide.

“We’ll get through this together,” Matt whispered, his lips brushing your forehead. “I promise.”

You closed your eyes, his heartbeat a soothing rhythm beneath you. And for the first time since your father passed, you believed him.

[kasdan]

𝐸𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟'𝑠 𝐹𝑢𝑟𝑦 {𝐶ℎ𝑎𝑝𝑡𝑒𝑟 16}

join the taglist | series masterlist | main masterlist | ko-fi

summary: you and david are attacked while frank is gone

pairing: frank castle x reader

warnings: guns, blood, gunshot & stab wounds

word count: 1.4k

It's been hours since Frank left, and I'm left twiddling my thumbs wondering when he's coming back and if he's okay. David eventually convinces me to move from my spot staring at the surveillance camera when he sets down a plate of food on the counter for me. I don't bother asking what it is as I sit at the counter, biting into it.

Frank wanted me to get used to eating different types of food since I haven't had anything but bread my entire life and has been introducing new kinds to me slowly with each meal. I've been interested to learn the different kinds of food with every meal, but right now I can't bring myself to care as I chew whatever's in my mouth.

David sits across from me with his own plate, looking at me as I eat. "What?" I ask, finding him staring at me. He shakes his head, dropping his gaze to the plate in front of him.

"Nothing, just didn't think I'd see the day Frank gets this close to someone." I crease my eyebrows.

"What do you mean?" I look at him questioningly. David sighs, picking at the food on his plate.

"I haven't known Frank for that long, but I do know he doesn't let people in easily, especially the way he's let you in."

"Let me in?"

"Yeah," he responds, placing his elbow on the counter and resting his cheek on his fist. "With his history... it's a miracle he's beginning to let someone in again." I look back down at my plate, processing his words. Frank told me about his family, but I didn't think about how that would affect how he acts.

It's quiet for a few moments before David speaks again. "You don't have to process it all at once; I know it's a lot."

"There's just so much that I don't know." I say, never having figured that there was so much more to the outside world than I thought. David opens his mouth to say something when a beeping is heard from David's computer. David gets up, making his way over to his computer as I get up from my own seat, hoping that Frank is back.

My hope quickly disappears when the door to the bunker is busted open and several people in uniforms with guns quickly start barging in. I feel my heart leap in my chest, not expecting the sudden intrusion as I run from where I am at the counter to where Frank's bag is.

However, I'm not able to get to it in time before it's being hauled up and inspected by one of the intruders. I freeze when I make direct eye contact with them, bracing myself for a fight, but soon, they walk away from where I am, taking the bag with them. They can't see me.

My mind reels with what I can do since they can see when I notice David kneeling on the ground in front of them with blood dripping down his face and multiple guns aimed at him. My heart pounds at the severity of the situation, trying to think of something.

"Where is she?" One of them roughly asks David in a deep voice, their gun trained directly at him.

"I'm telling you this in all honesty; I don't know." David speaks back, spitting blood out from his mouth to land on the floor in front of him. My eyes quickly survey the room, contents being spilled all over the floor and being destroyed as the place is turned upside down. I find a knife on the ground that had fallen from all the commotion and look back to David, knowing it's my only option in the moment.

I walk towards the knife, trying to make my footsteps as quiet as possible as I approach a group of them going through things on a desk. I slowly bend down to reach for the knife by the leg of the desk. My fingers brush across the handle, just able to get it before one of the people steps to the side, causing me to have to move back quickly, almost losing my balance in the process.

I hold my breath hoping they didn't notice anything, and luckily they still seem occupied with the things on the desk, but one glance back at David and I know I have to do something quick. I quickly make my way to where David is, the person in front of him getting more impatient as time goes on, his gun now being pushed into David's forehead.

I do the only thing I can think of in the moment, quickly grabbing the gun and forcefully pushing it away from David and jamming the knife into the intruder's thigh. He screams out in pain, finger pulling the trigger of the gun in his hand, the bullet ending up lodged in his partner's leg, both of them falling to the ground.

I move fast, grabbing the gun from him easily, adjusting to it, and shooting the people around David before they get the chance to do anything. The other people in the room start shooting their guns, and I slide in front of David, the bullets stopping short and falling in front of me. I spray the gun into them, all of them dropping to the ground in pools of blood.

When I'm sure all of them are either dead or on the brink of it, I turn around to help David up. "C'mon," I grunt, bracing most of his weight on me while keeping the gun strapped to me. Droplets of blood drip on the ground from his face as you drag him towards the exit.

I don't notice the person pushing themself up behind us until it's too late, and I feel the familiar feeling of electricity coursing through me from my side. I scream as shocks flow through my body, dropping David and falling to the ground next to him. The room spins above me, and I see a shadow appear above me before darkness consumes the rest of my vision.

I groan, my eyes fluttering open to a bright room, and I have to squint to get used to the light. My entire body feels numb as I try to move, but my arms and legs are stuck in place, and it takes all my energy just to lift my head.

All I see is white when I look around; white walls surround me, causing me to try and move again, but I don't know if any of my limbs are even moving. My arms are strapped down to the chair I'm in, my legs in the same boat.

The memories of what happened flood to mind once I stop trying to free myself. "David?" I try to call out, but my voice is barely there, and I end up in a fit of coughs, wincing from the pressure.

The door to the room that I hadn't noticed before slides open, and a person in all-too-familiar clothing walks in. The white coat, the black shoes, the neutral expression—it's all I've ever known for years.

They say nothing as they observe me writing in the notebook they have. "Where is David?" My voice feels like I've swallowed concrete, but I force the words out anyway. "What did you do to him?" The scientist walks around the chair I'm in, still writing notes down. "What are you doing?" I try again, forcing the tears down from intense burning in my throat.

My questions remain unanswered as if they can't even hear me. I begin to get agitated from the lack of communication. My hands twitch, and a faint swirl of teal wraps around them. The scientist notices this, writing another thing down before walking to the corner of the room and pressing a button before leaving.

It doesn't take me long to realize what they did when a faint buzzing fills the room from the corner they were just in. "No, please," I cough again before sparks start flowing from the wall to the chair I'm in, slowly moving to cover the restraints I'm trapped in. There's no use in trying to get away, but I try anyway, weakly struggling against the restraints, but the electricity reaches me anyway.

The numbness in my body doesn't matter as pain still sears through me, enough for black dots to fill my vision, and everything is dark once more.

buy me a coffee ♡

⊱ ────── {.⋅ ✯ ⋅.} ────── ⊰

taglist:

@sleeperthelazy @lunaticgurly @casa-boiardi @mattmurdocksstarlight @cherry-berry-ollie @givemylovetoall @maddiewinchester

⊱ ────── {.⋅ ✯ ⋅.} ────── ⊰

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[macgyvermedical]

hi! i have a hard time writing things i haven't directly experienced or deeply understood (think mental illnesses, for example), so i'm wondering if you could either help me or point me in the right direction regarding schizophrenia i am AuDHD and very likely also have OCD, and have heard there is a lot of common ground regarding symptoms for these and schizophrenia.

if i look online, i only find articles and other formal/clinical/academic takes on this disorder, and it doesn't help me get an actual feel for it. i'm trying to understand how it feels, how someone thinks and navigates day-to-day and so on, and i don't really know where to start :( thank you for your time, even if you end up not answering :)

Hi!

For this I'm talking a lot about my own experiences of things. If you want more in the way of experiences, I recommend the schizophrenia subreddit. It's actually pretty wholesome, although they tend to not like it when writers specifically come to ask questions, just because they used to get so many of them. It's totally fine to lurk though!

I find that if you go online and see the clinical stuff, the vast majority of the info that is helpful to writers is going to be about hallucinations and delusions. Which are the things we have good tools (like antipsychotics and CBTp) to manage. I feel like there are a zillion case studies out there about different interesting hallucinations or delusions that you can sink your teeth into.

The stuff that kind of doesn't get talked about as much at the "personal" level are the things we don't have good tools to treat. Things like difficulty with language fluency and difficulties keeping up in conversations, difficulties with executive dysfunction, and disruptions to personal relationships and occupations.

For example, with the language fluency piece, I get thoughts that "take up" the space I'm trying to use to say a thing. This sometimes results in a pause while I try to get back the rest of a sentence or recall a word. I also almost always have to put together sentences in my head before I say them out loud, which helps keep my sentences a little more fluent. If I don't, I sometimes feel like I "downshift" my brain during sentences, where it takes everything I have to keep what I'm saying making sense. I'm told not everyone has to do this.

For the executive dysfunction piece, I have trouble predicting other people's behavior, planning and adapting when situations change unexpectedly, doing more than one task at the same time, and problem solving under time pressure. While these frequently aren't the same problems with executive function that someone with, say, ADHD has, they are still executive dysfunctions. They are also often the problems that are most consistently disabling in schizophrenia.

Disruptions to personal and occupational life is something I have too. For example, I've had 6 jobs in 2 years and am currently unemployed. Before I had significant symptoms, I completed college and graduate school, and held a job I did well in for several years. I couldn't figure out why I kept quitting these jobs because I just couldn't handle them once I finished training. I am also very lucky to have a wife who knew I had schizophrenia before I did, so our relationship wasn't as strained as it could have been. But I could absolutely see it putting a whole new kind of strain on a spouse if they didn't see it coming, decide to stick it out, and prioritize their own health in the process of supporting a person with schizophrenia.