#and get back to work on my dumb OCs and projects

[drowsydregon]

i can't wait to make my epix comeback (<<< has been sitting on like. 13 minifigure redesigns bc i still have abt. 11-13 more to do)

[taevescence]

hello author!!! been loving your work!!!

my request is : enemies to lovers yoongi / oc

They could be former classmates, always fighting for being the class #1. Been rivals through college, and now ended up working for the same company. They get teemed up for the same project and end up working late at the company building (they could be at yoongi's office) .yn and him start bikering about some dumb shit, tension builds up and they fuck on top of his work desk (bj, back shots?, doggy? fucking raw?)

thank you in advanceeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

Work night

a/n: Thank you for loving my works and for making the request 💕💕, I wrote this with the most depressing songs I could find from Taylor's ttpd album, I hope the effect was anything but depressing. I used the name of the oc I have for Yoongi because in the request it says it's Yoongi/oc, I hope you don't mind :( in any case it only says her name two or three times. warnings: doggystyle, back shot, unprotected sex, bj (m receiving), fucking raw, hair pulling, wc: 3.6k

"Move away" you whispered once your boss got out of the elevator. Noticing that Yoongi had no intention of moving from your side, you nudged him with your elbow.

"What's your problem?" he turned to look at you, rubbing his arm awkwardly. He didn't understand why you had just hit him so hard.

"What's your problem?" you said while stressing the "your", looking at Yoongi with a frown, "You have the whole elevator to stand on to wait for your floor, why are you sticking to my side?" you snorted, crossing your arms over your chest and trying to count to 10 so you wouldn't throw yourself on top of him and pull at his hair until you pulled out a large lock.  

"There were more people here, I had no choice" he rolled his eyes, setting his briefcase on the floor and shaking out his hair. He was aware that next to you there were always fights, but he figured that, if your boss gave this project to both of them, you would be considerably less. 

"There's the rub, Min, there were people here, there aren't any more, they left, so keep your distance," you looked at the red number above the door indicating which floor they were on. Only three more and they would finally arrive at Yoongi's office. You didn't know why it had to be his, but you preferred it that way, yours was a total mess.

"You are so annoying."

"Look who's talking" you pulled out your cell phone, not wanting to put up with Yoongi anymore. You checked your messages and calls, everything was empty, except for a message from your granny asking you not to skip any meals.

"What? Your boyfriend didn't text you "good luck at your job" this morning?" whispered Yoongi teasingly, looking at your cell phone out of the corner of his eye. He lightly squeezed his briefcase when he saw the name you had for your boyfriend.

"We broke up a few weeks ago" you stowed your cell phone in the back pocket of your pants, your gaze fixed on the elevator door. "Apparently his parents didn't like the idea of someone like me dating him."

"And he dumped you because of that?" he frowned slightly, staring at your profile. You looked more depressed than usual, but he was sure it was due to work stress, not some jerk you had to put up with for almost a year and a half, "How stupid, I can tell you have bad taste in everything."

"Excuse me?" you turned your head in his direction, frowning as you saw him flash you that cocky grin he gave you every time he wanted to annoy you

"Honey, that wouldn't happen to you if you had a more critical eye and dated real men."

"And what's a real man to you?" you raised your eyebrows, knowing he'd say something stupid that you'd then hang on to make his life miserable. That's how you've spent the last thirteen years living it.

"A real man wouldn't leave you waiting for his message for hours, he would remember that your birthday is November twenty-fifth, he would know that you love desserts and hate too bitter food, he would be aware that you love the color red and hate the color gray because it depresses you" with every word he gave he would get one step closer to you, and, with every step he took towards you, you backed away, "if he were a real man, he wouldn't give a shit what his parents said because he would love you enough to leave them and fight for you, because he would know that he would be worth it just to have a life by your side," you bumped into the elevator wall, shrinking in place the moment Yoongi rested his forearm on the side of your face. "Tell me, Chaeyoung, was he able to do any of all that?".

"Why did you get so close?" you swallowed saliva, staring into Yoongi's eyes. For some reason, you felt like you were incapable of looking at anything other than them. 

"Why are you avoiding my question?" he whispered in front of your face, close enough to almost brush your noses.

"I'm not-" the sound of the elevator doors opening threw you completely out of focus. You pushed Yoongi away and quickly stepped out, fixing your hair awkwardly, "Let's go to your office, I'm tired, I want to finish this quickly."

"Fine" he sighed in response, stepping out of the elevator and walking to his office. "Did you bring the papers?".

"Yes" you mumbled, walking behind him. Your gaze was fixed on his back, and you couldn't help but think about how he knew so many things about you. Yes, you had known each other for thirteen years, but you only spoke to each other to argue, there literally wasn't a conversation where one of you hadn't raised your voice to the other. 

"Okay, let's get this over with as soon as possible," he said as he opened the door to his office, waiting for you to enter.

You stared at your laptop screen for a few seconds, trying to clear your head without letting sleep take over. You had been working for more than ten hours, your head was starting to hurt and your stomach was twisting because of the hunger you felt. There were only a few details left to finish, so you thought it might be a good idea to take a coffee break.

You looked at Yoongi, who seemed to be too focused on reading the papers you had brought earlier to pay any attention to you. You brought your thumbnail to your mouth, biting it lightly. Would it be okay for you to go get a cup of coffee when he's still working on the project? 

"Stop biting your nail" he muttered with his eyes still fixed on the papers.

You rolled your eyes, getting up from the red velvet chair in his office and walking to the door. 

"Where are you going?" Yoongi's view rises just enough to see your back stop in front of the glass door that separated his office from the hallway.

"Do you mind?" you turn to see him, raising your eyebrows. The situation earlier had made you completely forget that the idiot standing in front of you was Min fucking Yoongi, the same one who made your life miserable in school, the same one who chose the same career as you, and the same one who had gotten a job at the same fucking company.

"Yes, I need to know where you're going because this is a job that belongs to both of us," he rose from his chair, both hands resting on his impeccably neat and clean desk. You hated that he kept everything in order, it reminded you of how disorganized you were in your daily life. "I'm not doing your part for free."

"And I don't need you to do it" you snorted, approaching him firmly. You were sick of his shitty behavior. "I will come back here and finish that fucking report without your help, do you understand?".

Yoongi was silent for a few seconds, rounding his desk and standing in front of you, "You're always so rude, shouldn't you watch your vocabulary at work?".

Your legs trembled slightly at having him stand in front of you, but you did your best to keep him from noticing. You took a couple more steps toward him, wanting him to feel just as intimidated as you had felt in the elevator. Your stomach did a flip as you remembered how close he had been to you.

"We're off the clock, so I don't have the need to mind my vocabulary" you whispered, keeping your gaze locked on Yoongi's. You weren't sure what you wanted to gain from this, but what you wanted to gain, you wanted. 

"Being off the clock allows you to treat your coworkers like this?" you noticed how his eyes lowered to stop on your lips.

You tried to ignore that, but it was tricky when you were so close to him, when you could smell his perfume, feel his breath crash against yours. You seriously tried to be strong and control your biological urges, but he wasn't helping.

"Shut the fuck up" you pressed your index finger into his chest with the intention of pushing him back. To your surprise, the instant your finger touched his chest, his hand grabbed your wrist hard enough to stop you without hurting you. 

"I was hoping you'd say that," he gave you the sexiest shit-eating grin you could have ever seen in your life, only to, seconds later, tug on your arm and kiss you.

You weren't sure what surprised you more, the fact that he kissed you, or the fact that you kissed him back almost instantly, clinging to his neck with your arms while he did the same with your waist. You'd like to say that you never imagined this would happen, that you never subconsciously (and consciously) dreamed about how Yoongi's lips would feel on yours, but if you said that you'd be lying to yourself, because, shit, the amount of times you'd dreamed about something like this were too many.

If your mouth wasn't too busy sucking on Yoongi's bottom lip, you'd probably ask him if the same thing had happened to him and that's why he was now kissing you like his life depended on it. It's not like you were going to complain anyway.

Yoongi's hands were quick to unbutton your shirt as his tongue enjoyed exploring and licking every corner of your mouth it could reach. You decided to focus on stroking and pulling his hair until he moaned from the burning in his head. You could become addicted to the hoarse sound of his moans.

"Shit, did you wear a lace bra to come to work?" he whispered against your lips, focusing his gaze on your breasts wrapped in red lace fabric. In fact, it was your favorite outfit.

"It's just that it was the only clean one" you followed his gaze, looking at your breasts, "my dryer went bad and it's difficult to get them dry in the middle of winter".

"Bless your dryer" he began to form a path of kisses starting at your jaw and ending at your shoulder. Your shirt by this point was already lying somewhere in the room, and it really wasn't something you cared too much about. 

You tilted your head to the side, closing your eyes and enjoying the sensations of Yoongi's wet kisses against your skin. His veiny hands soon stopped on your tits, giving gentle squeezes on the fabric. You shivered as you felt his cool fingers on your barely covered nipples.

"Is your mouth as good at sucking cock as it is at insulting me?" he whispered close to your ear, caressing the curve of your ass with one hand and your breasts with the other. 

"Just so you know, I'm pretty good at giving blowjobs" you said between gasps, pulling on his hair as you felt his teeth bury themselves on your skin.

A shiver ran down your back as you heard the sound of his belt clacking against the floor. 

"Don't say it, show it" he unzipped his pants, but without removing them completely. He slipped a hand inside his boxers so he could pull out his cock. You almost gagged at the sight of it.

You didn't expect it to be so big.

"What's that face?" he cocked his head slightly, trying to meet your gaze.

"It's the same face you've always seen" you muttered, grabbing your hair and forming a bun with your hands. It was bigger than you were used to, but that wasn't going to stop you from doing a good job. This was more for your pride than to satisfy him.

Yoongi never imagined he would end up having you kneeling in front of him, grabbing your hair so it wouldn't stick to your face, touching his cock with your fingertips, seeing it as if it was the first time you'd ever seen one. Yes, that sight was something Yoongi had only allowed himself to imagine since he first saw you, but to make that vision a reality thirteen years later? He wasn't sure what he had done to have this luck, but he was truly grateful.

"Well, at least now I understand why you were throwing so many flowers at yourself" you whispered, licking his cleft with the tip of your tongue. "Your cock is nice" you looked at Yoongi, running your hand up the length of his member, stopping at his head to draw circles over his cleft.

He wasn't sure what kind of response you wanted to those comments, he wouldn't have been able to respond to them anyway, at least not in this position. 

You left a trail of kisses from the head to the base of his cock only to return upward with a long lick. You smiled proudly as you heard him sigh heavily. It was only until you reached the tip of his member again that you decided to take him into your mouth.

Yoongi almost choked as he noticed that you got it all the way in in one go.

"Shit, Chaeyoung" he moaned, reaching down his hand to grab your hair between his fingers.

You hummed still with him inside your mouth, eliciting another hoarse moan from him. 

You tried to keep a slow pace, not because you couldn't do it faster, but because you seriously thought that's what he wanted. To you Yoongi was always a lazy person, someone who always seemed to move slow, so it made the most sense that he would be that way in sex too.

You knew you were wrong when his grip on your hair became firmer, leaving your head static as he took it upon himself to grind his hips against your mouth. 

"Fuck, you were right, your mouth feels so good," he said huskily, letting his head fall back, his hips grinding faster and harder against your face.

By this point it was impossible for your eyes not to release a tear or two and a trickle of saliva to escape your lips. This man was a brute, you thought to yourself. Somehow that turned you on even more.

Yoongi's brow furrowed as he felt your throat quiver at your soft moans. This felt so much better than any wet dream he'd had in the past with you. He couldn't help but look down to see how you looked sucking his cock. If he had had a camera handy he would have taken a picture of you. This was the first time he had ever seen you cry, and while it's likely that in another context he would have even felt sorry for you, right now all he could think about was how badly he wanted to ravage you like this every chance he got.

You raised your hands, clinging to Yoongi's hips as you closed your eyes and tried not to think about how deep he was thrusting into your mouth. You had to bury your fingernails in his pants when he thrust too hard. You would have a terrible pain in your jaw after that.

After giving you that lunge he let go of your hair and pulled his cock out of your mouth, allowing you to breathe easy. You brought your hand to your throat, rubbing it gently, it hurt a little, but it was totally worth it. 

"Come here" Yoongi said, lifting you up easily and leaning you against the desk. He caressed your still clothed hips, pausing for a few seconds to contemplate your back, the shape of your body, the line of your lingerie. He wanted to taste every nook and cranny. He was determined to taste every little bit of skin in front of him, even if it took weeks. "I like your back" he whispered, bringing his hand up to touch your lower back.

"Thank you" you murmured, turning your head so you could see him, "now would you, I don't know, shut your fucking mouth and do something with me? You owe me."

"You always ruin the moment" he rolled his eyes, unbuttoning your pants and pulling them down. He couldn't help but take your buttocks in his hands, squeezing them lightly. They looked good with the red lace over them. For a second he thought maybe red would be his new favorite color.

His fingers dug in between the lace, seeking your entrance. He almost moaned as he felt how wet you were. He always thought you'd be someone sensitive in bed, but he never thought you'd get like this just from giving him a blowjob.

"You're so wet" he whispered, collecting your juices with his fingers and slipping it back into your pussy. He smiled as he heard you squeal. "And so sensitive, are you sure you can handle my cock?".

He didn't wait for an answer from you, he simply placed the head of his member over your entrance, moving it up and down, barely opening your pussy, all with the intention of teasing you. 

You moaned helplessly as you noticed he had no intention of fucking you. To your luck that was quickly fixed. You held onto the table and, just as his cock brushed your entrance, you pushed your hips back. You had to bury your fingernails in your palms to keep from letting out a scream. You were aware that his cock wasn't even halfway in yet, but it still felt so big.

"Shit, you seriously are a desperate bitch" he growled under his breath, resting his hand on your lower back. He was already inside, what else could he do but fuck you?

 You screamed as Yoongi pushed his entire member inside you, causing your hips to crash against the desk and one of your heels to fall to the floor. Just as he did when you gave him the blowjob, Yoongi didn't go with games. He rested his chest against your back, hugging your waist so he could give himself momentum and make his lunges harder and deeper.

"Yoongi" you gasped, resting your forehead against the wood of his desk. This man had no mercy, and you were beginning to wonder if he was trying to get even for all the bad times you put him through in the past. 

He just hid his face in your neck, leaving wet kisses down your bare skin. His cock stirred slightly inside you as he heard his name leave your lips. He had waited for this moment for so many years.  

As if that were possible, his onslaught grew faster, hitting all the right spots to make you gasp and moan uncontrollably. Your whole body trembled as his cock hit your G-spot with too much force. This time you couldn't hold back the scream that wanted to escape your lips.  

"What was that?" he said in a mocking voice, hitting the same spot again, this time harder. He didn't expect you to tighten around him as he did so. "God, you're so tight, so wet."  

You let your weight fall onto the desk, closing your eyes and keeping your mouth open so you could moan freely. Little tears were leaking from your eyes from the intense pleasure you were feeling. Yoongi made you feel so full, he knew so well where to touch, at what pace to go. You loved how fast he learned to read you.  

"Stop pounding there" you said between moans, trying to keep the knot in your belly from loosening, not so soon at least. "I don't want to come yet."  

Yoongi left a mark near your shoulder, pushing your hair aside to get a better look at it. It felt so good to finally mark you as his. "It’s okay, babe, do it, we have plenty of time to indulge in a long sex session."  

The idea that the two of you would repeat tonight made you quite excited, much more excited than you'd like to say out loud. To your bad luck, your brain didn't seem to want to grasp that idea, leaving your body to show how much you had liked the idea, letting the knot in your center untie and you came on Yoongi's cock with a loud moan. 

Yoongi almost lost his mind watching you decompensate under him, but he was still aware enough of the situation to cum inside you. He quickly pulled out of your pussy, masturbating at the same pace he had kept while he had been fucking you, letting his release fall onto your back, sending shivers down your spine.   

You took a moment to regulate your breathing before you turned to look at Yoongi, "There better not be cum in my hair."  

"Stop whining" he whispered, bending down to your face level and leaving a soft kiss on your lips. "Better get up and get dressed, let's take the stuff to my place and finish the job there, so you can take the opportunity to clean your back well." He fixed his pants and grabbed your clothes from the floor, "In the drawer there are some tissues, give me one, I'll clean your back."  

"Ugh, it feels strange that you treat me decently" you laughed under your breath, fixing your underwear as you took the tissues he asked for.  

"You should get used to it" he pulled one out, gently running it down your back, trying not to get any trace of his seed on you.  

"I will" you smiled, closing your eyes at Yoongi's touch on your back, and almost melted as you felt his lips kiss your head.  

Yes, you were definitely willing to get used to this.

Materlist.

[inkandambition]

AO3 Link

Timothy Ratliff/OC ~ Timothy Ratliff/Reader

We have a little jealous!Tim, some awkward situations, and a confession...

“Tim, get in the bathroom.” I scream-whispered to him, panicked when Saxon kept knocking. Tim was fumbling to pull up his shorts and I was trying to get him out of the chair. 

“He’ll go away. Just ignore him.” Tim said and I was beyond irritated that he didn’t lower his voice. That he wasn’t fucking moving. 

“Have you met your son?” 

“Callie, I can hear you in there. Just talk to me for one second.” Saxon’s voice was muffled from outside, but still too close for comfort. I stared at Tim, daring him to continue believing that this problem would just disappear.

He raised his hands in defeat and walked across the suite, closing the bathroom door behind him. And then I realized in absolute horror that I was still naked.

“One sec!” I called out, grabbing my bikini and Tim’s sunglasses and shoving them into the desk drawer before pulling on my cover up. It was just long enough to cover my ass and it would have do.

“You okay?” Saxon asked as I opened the door and squinted at the brightness of the sun backlighting him. I stood on the threshold, trying my best to use my body to block the view of the inside of my room all while making sure all of the parts of me that I had no interest in Saxon ever seeing were kept hidden.

“Yeah, what’s up?”

“What’s on your face?” His eyebrows were furrowed as he looked at my cheek and my stomach almost dropped out of my body. He was looking at his Dad’s cum. Jesus Christ.

“Oh. I was just working and…uh, that Pam lady gave me a face mask sample from the spa and I must have not washed it all off.” I wiped my hand across my cheek, trying to remove the worst of it. I could only imagine what I looked like. Probably like I had just been on my knees sucking his Dad off. 

“Sure, cool. Look, I was a bit harsh at the pool. You never slack.” Saxon shoved his hands in his pockets and shifted his weight from one foot to the other. Was he nervous? “And I wanted to see if you wanted to get a drink or walk down to the beach or something?”

We both heard a loud bang coming from the inside of my room.

“I think my curling iron fell off the sink.” I lied before he could even think to ask and took a step closer to him, closing the door to the villa slightly behind me, “Are you telling me that you couldn’t find any hot, dumb girls by the pool to hang out with?”

When he smiled, I saw a hint of Tim in him. His smirk was the same. He was cute. All of my friends thought he was hot. I knew I should be with a guy like Saxon, or at least with someone his age. Our age. 

But he did absolutely nothing for me. In fact, he mildly repulsed me. 

“I’d rather hang out with you. Hot and not dumb. Much better combo.” 

Another crash and I started to sweat. Tim was going to fuck it all up.

“What is going on in there?”

“Monkeys?” I was desperate to end the conversation and not let everything unravel. Saxon could be naive, and an ass, but he was far from stupid, “Raincheck on the drink? I have to finish a report for the Bank of New York project and send it off by this afternoon.”

“Alright. Don’t work too hard, Cal.” He said with what I sensed was a bit of disappointment. He jerked his chin up as a goodbye and I plastered on a calm, completely fake smile while I watched him walk back up the path towards his villa.

“Are you kiddin’ me?” Tim barged out of the bathroom as soon as I closed the door, red faced, one of his hands clenched in a fist at his side.

“What the fuck?” I gestured at him. I had told him to hide in the bathroom and thought it was obvious that meant to not make a bunch of noise while he was at it.

“He was pissin’ me off! Does he think you are into him?” Tim asked and then I saw insecurity flash over his eyes. If I wasn’t so scared at almost being caught I could have reveled a bit in his jealousy, “Are you into him, Callie?”

“No! I’ve been telling you for six months he’s been acting like this and I guess it took seeing it first hand for you to believe it,” I crossed my arms. Were we really doing this? “What am I supposed to do about it?”

“Tell him you have a boyfriend!” Tim threw out his arms like it was the simplest solution in the world.

“And do I have a boyfriend?” 

“Yes!”

“Who?”

“Me.” 

God, hearing that from him was heaven. His tone was so final. So sure. So possessive. 

But it was also so completely fucking delusional.

“So I’m supposed to stop your son from hitting on me by telling him you are my boyfriend? That his Dad is my boyfriend? Do you see a problem with that?”

“Yeah, fuck. Okay Callie, it’s just…I just didn’t know.” He lowered his voice and I could tell he was trying to wrestle with his words.

“It’s fine. Just believe me when I tell you he’s been trying to get in my pants and also believe me when I say I have no interest.” I promised. I hadn’t so much as thought about anyone else since Tim came into my life. 

“I raised him to have good taste at least.” He broke into a grin, rubbing the back of his neck. “But I’m also going to make sure he keeps his hands to himself.”

“You do that.” I shook my head as if I didn’t believe him.

“I’m dead serious Callie. You are mine.” 

“Uh huh.”

“I know you think this is funny, but I’m pissed, baby.” He said as bent and hooked an elbow behind my knees to pick me up and toss me on the freshly made bed. He moved to lay next to me, propped up on his forearm to look at me, “I haven’t been doing a good job making it clear that you are off-limits.” 

“Off-limits?” I rolled my body to face his, “Bit of a double-standard.”

“Well, fuck. Maybe I don’t want it to be.”

My stomach knotted. We were dancing close to what felt like brand new territory for us. For over a year there have been no labels, no explanations. It was a mutually beneficial affair. And a friendship. And for me, love.

Love.

“Tim, you said you loved me.” My brain circled back to before we were interrupted and it almost physically hurt to push the words out of my mouth. I watched his face for any signs of embarrassment or regret that he had said something false in the heat of the moment. I found nothing but openness in his blue eyes.

“Yeah. I did.” 

I took a deep breath, desperate to portray the same calmness he radiated. It was almost impossible after hearing him confirm everything I had wanted to hear. 

Because it made me want to jump on him and also yell at him for making me constantly question everything. I had been starting to think I had given up my entire life, had built so much on a sordid secret, all for him. That it would never be anything more than sex.

But there he was, inches away from me and looking at me as if it was the most indisputable thing in the entire world.

“Can we talk about that?” This time I failed at giving much of a voice at all to the words and they came out barely above a whisper.

“I thought you knew, Callie. How could you not know?”

I sat up, wanting the higher ground in the conversation when he had the audacity to look at me as if I was completely clueless.

I can’t know when you’ve literally never said! I can’t know when you won’t leave your wife! I wanted to scream at him. Fucking men. I took another deep breath.

“Tim….you’ve…”

“If you don’t feel the same way, I understand.” He jumped in before I could even put a coherent thought together, looking up at me while reaching for my hand and I let him have it. I’d let him have anything he wanted.

I wanted to laugh at the two of us — educated, successful — and terrible communicators. 

I threw my right leg over his waist and moved so I was straddling him, gently pressing my hands on his abdomen to keep him flat against the bed, “I think it’s pretty obvious how I feel about you. How could you not know?” I parroted his words back to him as his hands encircled my waist.

He was getting hard again and I recklessly rubbed myself against his crotch. I could feel the shape of him perfectly through the thin linen of his shorts, and didn’t care if I left a wet spot on the fabric. He deserved it for all of the emotional whiplash he gave me.

“When is it going to be real between us, Tim?” I asked, pausing the roll of my hips to try and coax an answer from him.

“Soon, honey. We’re gonna talk about it when we go to Phuket. I have a plan for everything. We just need to close this deal with the New York account and then things are changing.” He gripped my waist a little tighter and then moved his hands down to my ass, “You can hold on a little bit longer for me, can’t you baby girl?”

Something about his voice seemed so sincere, so definitive. I allowed myself a little more hope. He had kept his promises to me about everything else. 

“Callie, I need to hear you say it.” 

“I can wait.” I nodded, “A few more days.” 

I’d have to seriously re-evaluate my life and my choices if I left Thailand in the same situation I came there in. That would be my line in the sand. 

“Good girl.” 

He was going to kill me. His words had disarmed me enough for him to maneuver me on my back and push my coverup over my hips. He brushed a knuckle against my clit and I nearly lost it right there. 

“Now I need to get back to reminding you who you belong to.” Tim said as he got off the bed and tugged on both of my legs until my ass was at the edge of it. He held me there, leaned over me and capturing my mouth in a kiss I felt in an entirely different way.

He was still kissing me just as deliciously as he always had, but I had only seen the surface of it before — the want, the chemistry. Now I felt his need. His care for me. 

And then I felt his palm cup me right before he pushed a finger into me, the coldness of his wedding ring jarring against the warmth of him. Then another finger. Then a third. 

“Fuck!” I moaned, letting my body have its own mind as I moved against his touch. His thumb rubbed circles against my clit just slowly enough to keep the growing pleasure in my belly from breaking open.

“I’ll get you there, baby, but you need to tell me who you belong to.” It was a near growl against my neck as he kissed down to my collarbone. 

“You.” I breathed, desperate for a bit more pressure from his touch. He was holding back on purpose.

His other hand moved down my body as he pulled away until his only connection with me was his fingers still stretching me, making me mindless. 

“Callie, I can’t hear you.” 

Only part of me was aware that he had knelt down at the side of the bed, moving my calves so they rested on his shoulders. My entire body was tense, focused on the frustration of being so close to orgasm.

I almost shattered when I felt him pull out his fingers. I opened my eyes to see his blue eyes looking at me from between my thighs, his mouth so close to where I needed it. 

“Baby…” 

“Tim it’s you! It’s you.” It was easier than I imagined to rip that out from my heart, because I meant it. We both knew it, but it didn’t make my reward for it any less sweet when I finally felt his tongue against my clit.

He delivered on his promise to me quickly after that. And I made damn sure he would taste me on his lips for the rest of the day. 

[decaydazai]

ִֶָ☾. See You Later!

cw: war au pairing: megumi x OC, dad!Satoru wc: 1.3k part 1 | part 2 | part 3 | part 4 | part 5 >>> coming soon!

TWO MONTHS LATER The sun hadn’t even peeked over the mountains yet when I felt a tap on my shoulder.

I blinked, groggy and still half-dreaming about a life where I wasn’t being dragged out of bed before dawn. “Lieutenant Arata?” I mumbled, rubbing my eyes.

“Get up,” she said softly, almost… nicely? “Just you. The others are still out cold.”

I followed her, boots barely laced, my brain trying to piece together whether I was in trouble or about to be forced into some extra push-up punishment for yesterday’s sprint sass.

But she didn’t lead me to the training yard. She led me to her office.

The lights were dim, the heater humming quietly. It smelled like old coffee and something faintly floral—maybe those weird herbal things adults who don’t sleep properly drink. Arata sat behind her desk, arms folded, a file open in front of her. My file. No—the file. Actually, the copy of it.

My stomach twisted. “If this is about the thing I took, I—”

“Relax, Akira,” she said, cutting me off before I could spiral into a full-on defensive speech. “Buzzcut already told me. If it makes you feel any better, he only ratted you out because he figured I’d be less dramatic about it.”

“Rude,” I muttered, sitting down. “So… what happens now? You going to wipe my memory or something?”

“I’m not the Men in Black,” she replied, smirking slightly. “But I wanted to talk to you. Just us.”

That got my attention.

She tapped her fingers on the folder. “You’re looking into Project Blind Sun. Buzzcut gave me the short version. I figured it was time I gave you mine.”

I blinked. “You know about it?”

“Only pieces,” she admitted. “Most of it was sealed above my clearance. But I knew your mom. I knew her best friend, too. Back then, before everything went to hell, we weren’t in uniform all the time. We were just... women trying to survive the system. Friends. A little reckless. Definitely too smart for the brass.”

She smiled faintly at the memory, then looked me dead in the eyes.

“Fengxian - your mom - and Kiyomi. They weren’t just civilians caught in the crossfire. They were part of something bigger. Your mom especially. She was one of the best hackers I’ve ever met—she could dismantle an entire surveillance web with a radio and a coffee machine.”

That sounded exactly like her.

“But something changed near the end. They started getting nervous. Like someone was watching them, or like they knew too much. I asked once. Your mom smiled, tapped her temple, and said, ‘They want us dumb. And we’re not dumb, are we?’ Then she left it at that.”

I didn’t speak for a moment. The heater buzzed.

“I think they were working with your father,” Arata continued. “Maybe not officially, maybe not even legally. But there’s a reason why all three of them—Fengxian, Kiyomi, and Toji—‘died’ in the same explosion. That’s not a coincidence. That’s cleanup.”

I leaned forward. “So you believe me.”

Arata raised an eyebrow. “You think I dragged you in here to scold you? I’m not Buzzcut. I’m not here to shut you down. I’m here to help. Your dad saved a lot of us. Your mom saved me personally. If there’s even a chance they’re still alive, I’ll do what I can to help you find out.”

I opened my mouth to respond, but my throat tightened instead. All the sarcasm and bravado in the world couldn’t cover up how much I needed that—someone finally standing with me, not just behind me.

“Thank you,” I said, quieter than I expected.

She leaned back, all business again. “Don’t thank me yet. We’re just getting started. You’ve got half a trail and a whole forest to navigate. Buzzcut’ll keep an eye on you, and I’ll help from the inside. But you need to play it smart. No more breaking into restricted files without a plan.”

I tried to smile. “So... you’re saying I need two toothbrushes to scrub the barracks next time?”

She rolled her eyes. “Make it three.” -------- (Megumi's POV) (TWO MONTHS AGO, WHEN AKIRA DISSAPEARED) The last time I saw her, she was curled up beside me, breathing slow and steady. It was one of those rare nights where neither of us had nightmares. I remember thinking how peaceful she looked, like the war hadn't touched her - like we weren’t living in the rubble of everything we’d lost.

I gave her my blanket. She always kicked hers off.

We made a fort out of bedsheets and stuffed a stolen can of peaches between us like it was treasure. She mumbled something in her sleep. I didn’t catch it. I think it was my name.

When I woke up, she was gone.

No note. No goodbye. Just the peaches. And her bracelet on her pillow.

I tore the fort apart looking for her. Searched the entire block. Thought maybe she was out for a walk or on a snack run or pulling some kind of Akira-level prank.

But when her dad’s old jacket was missing - the one with the burn on the sleeve and the rip in the pocket she always kept stitched shut, the one he didn't take with him when he disappeared, what, five months ago now - I knew.

She had left.

She left me.

(CURRENT TIMELINE)

I threw the file across the room. It didn’t say anything new. Nothing we didn’t already know.

Project: Blind Sun. Status: Top Secret. Casualties: [REDACTED]. Purpose: [REDACTED]. Ethics Review: Never Happened.

Great. Government-sanctioned amnesia.

I shoved my hands through my hair and stared at the ceiling of the underground briefing room. Concrete. Cold. Like everything else in this place.

“Throwing files won’t make the truth come faster,” came a voice from the door.

I didn’t even look. “Neither will staring at them until my eyeballs dry out.”

The voice belonged to a woman named Kuroiwa — my contact in this task force. Not military. Something… deeper. Black-ops level. The type of place that didn’t exist on paper.

She stepped inside and kicked the file back toward me with her boot. “We’re not looking for paper trails, Fushiguro. We’re looking for shadows. You want answers? Learn to see in the dark.”

I sighed. “That’s not ominous at all.”

“You think this project has rules? You think your father and mother died in an airstrike like the records say?”

I looked up.

“Because we don’t,” she said. “And neither did your sister.”

The file felt heavier now.

“Why me?” I asked.

“Because you're reckless,” she said. “And angry. And because when we ran your psych eval, you said the only thing keeping you alive was a girl with white hair and too many secrets.”

My hands clenched. “She’s not a secret.”

“Exactly,” she said. “She’s the key.”

Flashback again: That night, two months ago, I found her combat boots by the door. Laces still double-knotted the way she liked them. She must’ve slipped out barefoot. Quiet.

My heart was a war drum.

I ran outside. Called her name.

Akira. Akira, come back. Akira, what are you doing?

I sat on the curb until morning.

I didn’t cry. I never do.

But the world felt colder.

Like she’d taken the sun with her.

They told me to forget about her. "She's too much trouble, too dangerous," they said.

But they don’t know what it’s like to lose the only person who ever made you believe in something again. They don’t know what it’s like to wake up cold - every morning - for two months, because she was the only thing that made you feel alive.

They don’t know her laugh.

They don’t know how she looked at me when we were kids and said, “If the world ends, I’m still finding you.”

So no.

I’m not detached.

I’m focused.

She vanished into the light.

I’ll dig through the dark to bring her home. ______________________ taglist: @crimsonhallucinations

[chil-aglia]

𝐃𝐨 𝐈 𝐋𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐋𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐇𝐢𝐦? |ROTTMNT| (Male OC)

[That's not a dog]

Be sure to read the tags on my Ao3 so you guys know what you’re getting yourselves into.

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Edit: Art above was made by @tenurez

ITS SO GOOD THANK YOU!

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Didn’t have time to draw anything for this chapter but PLEASE feel free to make your own art and idk tag me in it or something. Please I’m begging for fanart for this chapter and series in general. On my knees—

Warnings: honestly not much other than the usual angst but it’s like light angst

And of course, a quick thank you to my awesome beta readers @cimmerian1275 +@bootyshakerrr9000 who helped me out a lot with this chapter! Very talented and please, go give them a follow, like their work, etc.

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Donnie didn’t think much about it when he saw the footage of the scout group leaving early in the morning, all was normal, and he trusted April to come back in one piece.

Donnie was tired at the time, so he also didn’t have the energy to give a proper look. He had been tinkering away late into the night as usual, inside the comfort of his lab. Focused on fixing anything that needed maintenance around the base. That’s what he was good for. Leo trusted him to look after the technological aspect of the Resistance.

And that’s what he was going to do.

Hours ticked by, and he hummed along to a random 80s song that got stuck inside his head when he hyper focused on something to occupy himself with. He did glance a few times back at the security footage displayed to the side. Just in case April needed some help getting inside the base.

Not that she would.

But of course little did Donnie know, April wasn’t the only one who left the base. The safety of the Resistance. And when he took another look, he almost electrocuted himself out of shock, his hands fumbling the delicate project he was working on at the moment out of utter bewilderment.

Dropping his tools he ran to the computer, pulling the screen closer and stared widely at the footage. April had returned with her group… and Caden was right there?!

Did he seriously leave with her?!

“That dumb-dumb!” Donnie hisses under his breath, running out his lab and towards the hangar. He passes by Mikey who almost got knocked over by his brother. “Whoa! Dee? What’s wrong?” Mikey called out but was ignored, making the box turtle huff exasperatedly at the lack of response and curiously follow, bidding a few awkward greetings to the yokai and people that Donnie ran by as he went.

Caden kept his head down as the group returned, fingers lightly brushing his pocket where the Krang pup snoozed. It was cute, sure—but it wouldn’t be cute if anyone found out.

Leo’s voice cut through his thoughts, and he looked up, seeing him with his arms crossed tightly in the mindscape.

“It’s not going to work... they’ll see eventually.” Leo warned.

“It’ll be fine.” Caden muttered under his breath. “Just don’t distract me.”

“You okay, Caden?” Maya asked, stepping closer. “You’re not hurt, are you?”

Startled, Caden blinked up at her. “Uh—no. Just tired. Long day.” It wasn’t a lie, but it didn’t feel like the whole truth either.

“Yeah, that’s called guilt.” Leo scoffed in his head, sensing his feelings.

“Shut up,” Caden whispered, which just earned a confused glance from Maya.

April was busy delegating, gesturing to Allan and Sorcha—the latter who was clutching her ribs and wincing. “You got hurt pretty bad. Allan, can you take her to the med bay? Maya, put away the supplies we gathered?”

As they nodded and moved on, the hangar doors burst open. Donnie barreled out, eyes blazing, finger pointed accusingly at both April and Caden.

“You two...! You let him go out there?!”

April rolled her eyes. “Nice to see you too, Donnie. Allan, take Sorcha, please.”

Sorcha limped past, muttering a quiet, ‘thanks,’ as Donnie did a double take.

“Is she—did she get hurt?!” Donnie gaped.

April raised a hand. “Relax, Donnie. We handled it.”

Donnie threw his hands up. “Handled it?! You took Caden out there without telling me! He isn't ready!”

April folded her arms. “He was fine. More than fine—he took down a Krang Hound on his own.”

That had Donnie pause for a moment. He glanced at Caden, who swallowed nervously.

“I... uh...”

Donnie clicked his tongue, trying to process it. “You should’ve told me! That Hound could’ve killed him! Look at Sorcha! That could’ve been him!”

April huffed, equally annoyed. “He handled himself. Donnie, I think he’s remembering, it was like he was back, for just a moment!” She smiled at the memory, imagining that who she saw was the older slider. Standing in front of her, panting as he took down the Krang Hound to defend her.

She then let out a sigh, deadpanning a bit. “You’re babying him.”

“Babying him?! Well…” Donnie glared briefly, looking towards Caden who was avoiding his gaze, “Well, good! Someone has to. Just because his memory is returning when he was out there, it doesn’t change the fact that it was a stupid thing to do!”

As they argued, Caden bit his lip, trying not to draw attention. His focus remained on his pocket, worried that the tiny Krang pup might wake up—and then they’d all be in trouble.

“Stupid? Donnie, he needed to get out of the base. He’s been cooped up in here for way too long. Not to mention, people are talking.” She huffs, standing beside Caden who used his cape to hide his pocket as much as he could. “Yeah, I’ve heard the rumours. And it’s spreading. People are starting to suspect something is up. They’ll find out eventually.”

Donnie let out a growl, not entirely out of aggression, but certainly enough to let them know he was not happy.

“Jeez… your family always like this?” Caden mumbled to Leo who let out a small huff of amusement.

“This is nothing in comparison to what we’re like when really peeved.” He stated, eyeing April and Donnie carefully.

They failed to notice Mikey approaching, his eyes wide when he heard the commotion and arguing, making him quickly step in between the two, “Whoa, whoa. What is going on?” He inquired curiously with a frown; he never liked it when friends and family argued.

“What happened? April took Leo outside the base!” He exclaimed, hands waving up agitatedly. Caden resisted the urge to correct Donnie that he, once again, was not Leo.

“Guys, can I leave? I’m tired.” Caden spoke up, making the three look at him, Donnie narrowing his eyes.

“Leave? Leo, we still need to check you over—“ He began to announce but April let out a sigh.

“He’s fine. You gotta trust me Dee. Let him rest.” She fired back, and this earned Caden enough distraction for him to slip away, ignoring the arguing from the brothers and April.

He felt bad for Mikey, having to no doubt be the peacemaker between those two. “Just for the record, I’m in complete agreement with Donnie. You should’ve stayed behind at the base.” Leo utters, making the young red eared slider huff at him in his head.

“Don’t you start. I already feel bad for them. It’s… my fault that they’re arguing.”

Leo was a little taken aback at the sudden comment from Caden. Unaware that he actually felt bad for their disagreement back there. 

“…Don’t worry too much about them. They’ll get over it. They’ve argued worse.”

Caden frowned a little, but made no counter to the assurance, instead he tried to focus on something else, something way more important. Like where was he going to take this Krang pup?

Leo’s room was close by, plus it was the most private area for him. “No way! You are not letting that thing in my room.” Leo denied, shaking his head stubbornly when Caden smirked.

“Last I checked, it’s also now my room. And who is in control right now? Oh that’s right, me.” He couldn’t help but throw some sass back at Leo, picking up the pace confidently while Leo groans, debating if he should just push Caden away from the controls and take over.

“You’re going to regret it when that little monster wakes up, destroys my stuff and runs around the base causing chaos.” Leo deadpans with a sour look, Caden glared back at him, getting fed up with his attitude.

“It can’t be any worse than dealing with you.” He hissed, causing Leo to become a bit flabbergasted, eyes wide, watching how Caden then turns away. “Look, I’ll… I’ll deal with it.” He mumbles with assurance, “And I’ll make sure it won’t ruin your stuff. Or run out. Promise.” He exhales, one hand resting over the pocket as he feels the body of its small form.

Leo didn’t say anything after that, keeping silent and observing as to how Caden avoided being seen by passing Resistance members, keeping his hood up, secure.

As Caden moved along the corridors, the faint arguments of Donnie, April and Mikey faded, indicating they were far from the hangar now. Caden stops, standing in front of Leo’s room, with a heavy sigh he opens the door, quickly rushing in and closing it behind him.

“Made it…”

He let out a long breath, relieved that he and the Krang pup were safe and sound in the room. He only took a step forward, heading towards the bed until he froze. A figure flipped on the lamp on the bedside table, revealing none other than Casey who tilted his head at him.

“How was the trip outside?”

Caden recoils, tensing at the sudden ambush. “What the?! What are you doing here?” He exclaimed, automatically using the cape to hide the pocket once more. His eyes focused on the young boy who shrugs.

“I heard you left the base… I wanted to make sure you got back here safely.” He awkwardly responded, fiddling with his fingers as he looked down.

Caden blinks, taken aback by him. He was… waiting for him?

No, he was waiting for Leo. Not him. “You gotta go. I’m tired.” He states, walking over to grab Casey, with a grip to his arm, he pulled Casey off the bed and started pushing him over to the door.

“Hey!” Casey grumbles, narrowing his eyes at the rough handling from Caden.

But then… a whimper was heard, making them both freeze.

“Um… what was that?”

“What was what?”

Another whimper, louder this time, followed by the movement of stirring inside the pocket. Caden lets go of Casey, quickly peering inside the pocket, letting out a surprised gasp as the Krang pup pokes its head out, tongue lolling, panting and tilting its head as it peeked over the edge of the blue fabric.

Casey watched with wide eyes, “Is that…” He began to say, Caden quickly picked up the pup and held it in his arms defensively.

“It’s not what you think! I just—“

He got interrupted when Casey smiled and jogged over, “A dog?! It’s cute.” He cooed, eagerly reaching up and rubbing a finger under its chin as the Krang pup churrs happily, its small tail nub wagging.

“A dog?!” Leo coughs out, slamming his hands against the controls in shock, making Caden wince before he gazes up at Leo.

“Well, he’s not wrong.”

“He’s entirely wrong!”

Caden huffs, focusing back on the real world as he gently pats the pup. “Okay, I um… kinda took it from the trip outside. It was alone and I didn’t think it would survive out there without help, so…” Caden gently placed the pup onto the floor, watching as it sniffs the air and jumps around, exploring the room.

“Let me guess, you didn’t tell Commander April? Or anyone else that you brought home a dog?” Casey inquired, completely unaware that Leo was yelling once more.

“Not a dog! It’s a Krang Hound!” He exclaims, trying to shove Caden out the way so he could try and get control of the body, but Caden remained stubborn, pushing back.

“Would you just—! Stop pushing!”

Casey tilted his head, noticing the sudden far away look on Caden’s face. “Um… hello?” He waved his hand in front of his face. Caden who finally got Leo to step back, blinked and clears his throat.

“Sorry, what did you say?” He asked, only to receive a concerned look from the boy.

“The others don’t know about it?”

“Oh, yeah. No… I snuck it inside.” Caden shoots him a small grin, crouching down to his knees. The Krang pup notices him and chirps, stumbling over to him excitedly, it skidded into Caden’s knees when it failed to stop its own forward momentum, shaking its snout at the contact it made.

Caden chuckled softly, raising a hand and stroking the head of the pup who nuzzled its face into his tridactyl hand. 

He then frowned, looking at Casey in worry. “You’re not going to tell anyone, right?” He asked, nervous that Casey was going to run out of the room and babble to the nearest person the first chance he got.

“Are you kidding? I always wanted a pet dog.” He smiled excitedly, sitting down on the floor cross legged, the Krang pup curiously sniffing at him as well, before letting out an eager noise and jumping at him, trying to climb into his lap.

Caden’s eyes grew wide, mouth open in shock.

“Seriously?”

“Seriously?!”

Leo was more shocked, though for different reasons as he leaned over the control panel for physical support, trying to not fall to his knees. 

Caden ignored the bewildered older slider as he couldn’t help but smile gratefully in relief, sitting comfortably on the floor beside Casey. “Thanks… it’ll be a lot easier to keep it hidden from others with another pair of arms with me.”

“Of course! I can sneak in food, take it out on walks. You name it.”

Leo groans, hands going to his face and rubbing his eyelids down. Caden grins, leaning slightly against the slider confidently. “Looks like you’re outnumbered. The dog stays.” He rubs it in, letting out an amused snicker when Leo grumbled and narrowed his eyes at him.

“Not a dog!”

Casey pats the top of the pup's head, looking towards Caden curiously. “So, how exactly are you going to hide this little guy? We can’t always be with them 24/7.” He informs the obvious, making Caden hum in thought, his eyes focusing on the pup who was distractedly tugging at the strings of Casey’s hoodie.

“They could stay here, right? Just got to keep the door closed.”

“And if someone came inside to look for you?”

Caden furrowed his non-existent brows, drumming a finger against his knee. He takes a look around the bedroom, looking for anything that he could possibly use to hide this animal. His eyes settling upon Leo’s wardrobe, he perks up and stands up on his feet.

“I got it..!”

Eagerly but carefully, he picks up the pup from Casey’s lap and strides over to the wardrobe, opening it one handed, he peers in and notices it was quite spacious.

“I can teach them to hide in here if anyone that isn’t us comes in.”

He places down the Krang Hound in the middle of the wardrobe, stepping back to show Casey who watched with uncertainty as the pup tilted its head and let out a whimper, walking towards Caden and pawing at his leg.

“There is no way I’m letting that stay in my wardrobe. What about my pants?” Leo crossed his arms stubbornly, glaring over at the Krang animal. Caden rolled his eyes at the annoying red eared slider.

“It’s not like you need them right away.”

“Still. My wardrobe, my rules kid.”

“My dog. My rules.”

Leo gave out another annoyed huff of air, throwing his hands up in the mindscape to emphasise the way he felt. “Caden, it’s not a dog! Don’t you know what a dog looks like?!” He both scolded and inquired the young mutant who shrugs his shoulders.

“Does it matter? It’s got four legs, the size of a small pet. It’s friendly. It’s got all the dog traits.”

“If I could right now, I would have my hands wrapped around your throat.”

Caden snorts, clearly not threatened by the comment. “Sure, sure. Maybe you need a nap, gramps.” He teases, which only resulted in Leo becoming more pissed off at the young mutant.

“I’m not old!”

“Right. And that’s not a dog.”

“It’s not!”

Casey calls over the pup who wags its tiny tail, bouncing on over to the young boy and jumping up on him. “Well, I guess we can teach them how to hide. It’s not a terrible plan.” He assured, picking up the pup as it licked his face when they were close enough.

Casey giggled at the licks before returning his attention back onto Caden, “So what’s its name?” He asked, noticing the way Caden tenses up at the sudden question as he looks at the pup in confusion.

“Its name…? Um…” He leans in slightly, eyes narrowing in concentration, before he hums and steps back so he doesn’t crowd the animal. “Haven’t actually thought of one. Let’s see…” He muttered, taking a look around the room for ideas.

Casey doing the same thing while the pup just whimpers, wanting the attention to go back to them. Caden eyes the wardrobe, noticing a lot of blue.

“Bluey?”

Casey deadpans, “I don’t think that’s going to suit it.”

“Well, it’s a start.”

Casey puts down the Hound pup, hand going under his chin to think as the pup sniffs the floor once more, trotting around the room before it goes over to bed, it makes curious clicking noises, jumping up to try and climb in.

“Caden, get that away from my bed.” Leo orders, quick to notice what the pup was trying to do. Caden follows Leo’s gaze, making his way over and picking it up, before sitting down on the bed with the pup in his lap.

“I meant to get it off my bed.”

“It’s fine. Look, it’s not causing harm.”

The pup pawed at the mattress under its feet, before rolling onto its back and presenting its stomach to Caden who cooed and started softly rubbing its belly.

“And you say it’s not a dog…”

“I’m not even going to argue with you about that right now.” Leo deadpans, grimacing at the sight of Caden providing the Krang Hound affection.

“You're just jealous.” Caden spoke up under his breath, Casey letting out a confused ‘huh?’ before coming over.

“Who’s jealous?”

Caden recoils, letting out an awkward cough. “No one. Just… talking to myself?” He sheepishly grins, wanting to slap himself from his horrible attempt at a lie.

Casey knew it was strange, but he’s also seen stranger things happening so he didn’t question it further. “I should probably go. Master Raphael wanted to do some training with me.” He informed, making Caden perk up for a second.

“He’s training you?”

“Well, yeah. You all train me. Well, I guess maybe not you anymore. With the whole memory situation and the shrunken body.” He looks Caden up and down, unaware of the stiffness Caden felt from Leo who solemnly watched as Casey gave one last pat goodbye to the pup.

“I can bring back food later for it. Don’t know how long I’d be though.”

“Thanks Casey.”

With a nod, Casey made his way to the door, opening it carefully and checking outside in case someone was nearby. He was about to leave but stopped when Caden once more spoke up.

“Also, Casey?”

The young boy turns to him, “Yeah?” He responded back immediately, seeing the way Caden gave a sincere smile toward him, eyes soft.

“Thank you for keeping this a secret between us… means a lot.” He added, which had Casey feel rather proud to see Caden looking, for once, happy.

“Anytime.”

He exits the room, closing the door behind him. Finally alone, Caden let out a breath, glancing down at the tiny Krang pup who chirped and did a little circle on the bed, seeking attention.

Caden couldn’t help but smile. “Hm… guess ‘Bluey’ doesn’t suit you, not one bit of you is even blue.” He mused, studying its deep purple hide and dark pink stripes. The pup tilted its head, chirping again. Caden’s gaze wandered, catching the faint gleam of the katanas strapped to his shell. “What about… Blade?”

The pup whined, clearly not fond of the name.

“Guess not.” Caden murmured with a tired chuckle. He shrugged off his cloak and removed the sword straps, laying them neatly on the floor before flopping down onto his shell, staring up at the dull ceiling.

The Krang pup bounced closer, crawling up onto his plastron. It sat down right on his chest, staring down at him with wide, curious eyes. Caden raised a non-existent brow, lips quirking into a smirk. “What? Something on my face?” He teased, only to blink in surprise when the pup gently pawed at the stripe running under his chin.

A soft snicker escaped him, while Leo was watching the scene unfold through Caden’s eyes, his arms crossed and jaw stiff. He couldn’t help the way his chest tightened every time he looked at the pup. “You know this is a terrible idea, right? Bringing that thing into the base.”

Caden huffed, shaking his head slightly. “What’s the harm in letting it stay with us? If we raise it, it might help us out someday.”

Leo’s tone remained wary. “You don’t get it, kid. It’s cute now, but they grow. You saw what they can do.”

Caden’s smirk faded. He couldn’t forget the store—the Krang Hound’s eyes wild with hostility, its powerful jaws snapping at him. If Leo hadn’t taken over, someone—maybe April or Sorcha—could have died. The Hound had been protecting its injured companion and the pups, acting purely on instinct.

Caden swallowed hard. He understood why Leo killed it. But… he didn’t have to like it.

The pup pawed at his chin again, making a quiet, almost comforting noise. Caden’s hand moved almost on instinct, fingers gently brushing over its soft head.

“We didn’t have to kill the other pups.. .or the injured one.” He whispered, guilt threading through his voice.

Leo hesitated before responding. “...It was for the best.”

“Was it, though?” Caden whispered back, more to himself than to Leo.

Leo didn’t answer. 

Caden furrowed his brows, biting the inside of his cheek as his thoughts were invaded with Donnie and April. Did they make up? Was April going to be in serious trouble? Did Mikey get through to them?

And with Donnie… did he really believe he truly wasn’t ready? That he was possibly too weak to go outside? Caden would’ve thought that perhaps the softshell would be ecstatic, that he was somehow closer to becoming ‘Leo’ again…

Caden let out a loud groan, his head throbbed for a bit from overthinking. He should learn to relax… but how could he when this was his life now? Having a constant reminder residing in his mind that he had all these sudden responsibilities.

A tense silence settled over the room. Caden eventually let out a long breath, feeling exhaustion finally catching up to him. His eyelids drooped as he yawned, the tension easing just a little now that he was safely in the bedroom. Maybe, if he just slept for a while, he could ignore the memories—ignore the guilt clawing at him.

He felt the Krang pup paw at his face, as Caden’s mind wandered to Casey. “Mm... just let me nap for a bit. Casey’ll come back with food.” He murmured, his voice fading as sleep overtook him.

The Krang pup chirped softly, sensing the change in Caden’s breathing. It scooted closer, settling itself in the crook of his neck, its tiny body warm against his skin. As it nuzzled in, Caden unconsciously tilted his head, giving it just a little more space.

The room grew quiet, and for a moment, both mutant turtle and pup could rest—finding a small, fragile peace in each other’s presence.

-----

When Casey returns to the room, he carefully opens the door, peeking inside in case Caden was asleep. But he wasn’t, not entirely anyways as he seemed to be just waking up, yawning tiredly and rubbing his eyes as the Krang Hound stretched its legs before noticing the human boy.

They chirp at the sight, as Casey heads inside and closes the door. “I’m back. And I brought some food for this little guy.” Casey informs, walking towards the bed and sitting down at the edge.

He presents the food he hid away in his pocket, pulling out the contents. He had some weird looking meat that Caden didn’t really want to know where it came from. “Had to sneak it by Mister Draxum. Couldn’t risk him seeing it.” Casey chuckled awkwardly, the two watching as the pup chewed on the meat experimentally, pulling at it and swallowing what it could fit.

“Thanks Casey. I’m sure they were hungry.”

Then Casey’s gaze flicked back to Caden, concern shadowing his expression. “And you? Have you eaten?”

Caden blinked, surprised by the question. He tilted his head slightly, as if trying to remember. “I’m okay.” He replied with a small, reassuring smile.

Casey didn’t look convinced. “You’re not just saying that, are you? If you’re hungry, go get something.”

The genuine worry in Casey’s voice made Caden falter. Why was he being so insistent? He gave a quick glance toward Leo, who was oddly quiet. To his surprise, Leo was pointedly looking away, his posture stiff with guilt.

Caden’s brows furrowed. He could sense Leo’s unease but didn’t fully understand why. He turned back to Casey, trying to reassure him. “Really, I’m fine. I just... wasn’t thinking about food.”

But Casey’s frown deepened. “You sure? You seemed kinda out of it earlier. And you know... you’ve gotta take care of yourself.”

A pit formed in Caden’s stomach. He wasn’t used to someone being this persistent about his well-being. When he shot another glance at Leo, something clicked.

“Did... you not eat a lot before?” Caden asked quietly through the mindscape.

Leo hesitated, still refusing to look at him. “I ate fine.”

Liar.

Caden could sense it immediately. He didn’t know whether to feel angry, worried, or just... sad. Leo might have been stubborn about it, but Caden could see through it now. He was probably skipping meals to focus on training or looking after his brothers and the Resistance—never thinking about his own needs.

Caden sighed, shaking his head slightly, and Casey gave him a quizzical look.

“Sorry, I was just... thinking.” Caden muttered, running a hand over his face. He didn’t know how to explain Leo’s stubborn habits to Casey without sounding weird.

The pup had finished most of the meat and was now licking its paws where the juices had soaked them. Casey patted its head gently, then glanced back at Caden.

“Seriously, if you’re hungry, I can grab you something from the kitchen.” Casey offered again, his tone soft and understanding.

Caden gave a small, grateful smile. “Maybe later. Thanks, Casey.”

Casey seemed to accept that for now, though he didn’t look entirely convinced. As he sat back, keeping an eye on the pup, Caden leaned against the wall while sitting on the bed, the bed being close to the wall, his mind swirling with curious thoughts.

He glanced back to Casey who was occupied with patting and rubbing the Krang puppy's stomach as the pup churrs at him, its stubby tail wagging. “Can I ask something?” Caden spoke up, catching Casey’s attention who hums with a curious look.

“What’s up?”

“Before… uh, before I lost my memories—“ He began, biting back the distaste of saying that, he ignored the way Leo narrowed his eyes at him in puzzlement. “What was I like?” Caden quickly adds, feeling embarrassed to ask such a question. He hoped he didn’t come off as suspicious.

“Oh. Well… heh, you’re pretty awesome actually. Strong, confident. Kinda stubborn too.” Casey awkwardly smiled, “Well maybe not as bad as Master Donatello. But still stubborn. But you always had our backs, no matter what!” Casey perks up, showing pride the more he talks about Leo.

Caden couldn’t help but feel a pang of guilt, but pushed the feeling down, nodding along thoughtfully. “That… sounds like a lot to live up to.”

Casey laughs softly, “You did more than that though.” He said, his eyes softening. “You looked after me when my mother died. You helped me out a lot. Lot of people joke about the fact you acted like a father to me.”

Inside the mindscape, Leo coughs in shock. “W-what?! A dad? Seriously…?” He deadpans slightly, shaking his head and crossing his arms, “I’m not even that old to be a dad.” He grumbled softly, Caden kept his expression neutral, but Leo’s indignant tone was hard to ignore.

“Well… you’re a little overprotective over this kid.”

“That doesn’t make me a dad!” Leo argued, exhaling. “Come on, I’m like an older brother? Or a cool mentor. Definitely not dad material.”

Before Caden could retort back, Casey’s voice cut through his thoughts. “You know, you always used to give pep talks before missions. It made a lot of people confident when they were clearly nervous.” He informs, grinning brightly at the memories that flooded his mind.

Caden couldn’t help but glance down, fiddling with his fingers, “Guess Le—I… I really did care, huh?” He corrected himself in the sentence, clearing his throat to cover up the almost mistake.

“Yeah. You still do. I mean look at what you brought back with you.”

Both Casey and Caden gaze at the Krang pup who sat on its hind legs, whining for their attention again as they tilt their head.

“It wasn’t me who brought that thing here.” Leo spoke up, sighing at both Caden and Casey. Meanwhile Caden just smiled lightly, grabbing the Krang pup and letting it sit in his lap.

“Thanks Casey… it was nice to hear all that.”

“Anytime, Sensei—“ He began only to stop himself as he awkwardly coughs. “Sorry. I guess you’d find that weird if I started calling you Sensei again.”

Sensei?

Caden once more side eyed Leo who remained silent. With a hefty sigh of exhaustion, he looks back to Casey. “I guess I should head off before the others look for me. I can bring back some more food and possibly water when I have a chance?” Casey offered, giving a slight smile.

Caden hums in thought, “That… would be helpful actually. Thank you, Casey.”

Casey chuckled softly, waving his hand as he carefully opened the door, taking a peek around before bidding a brief wave goodbye and exiting, closing the door behind him as Caden returned his attention back to the nameless Krang pup.

“You know, I have a question if you're actually going to be crazy and keep this thing. How are you going to take it to the bathroom without being spotted?” Leo crossed his arms over his plastron, raising a non-existent brow at Caden who stared ahead owlishly.

“Uh… I didn’t think that far ahead.”

“Clearly.”

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Leo having a crisis over the Krang pup-

APOLOGISE FOR ANY GRAMMAR MISTAKES THAT WERE MADE, I TYPE PRETTY FAST AND OFTEN DON’T SEE THEM UNTIL I ACTUALLY PUBLISH THE CHAPTER. THEN I’D TRY AND FIX ANY MISTAKES WHEN I SEE ONE.

Quotev - Do I Look Like Him?

Ao3 - Do I Look Like Him?

First Chapter here

Next Chapter here

Taglist:

@turtl3sk3tch3s

@katiemaycreate

[nikkirando]

Forgotten Not Forgiven

Nanno X GN!Reader

Warning:Girl from no where stuff thats all i can really say, Nanno being Nanno, reader being bullied? and language 

 A/N:This ep is gonna not even be any ep from the show so i will add some names hear and there from time to time so like..OC’S? I will use Thai names for the oc to make it more easy to get in character ig?

Laughter..The feeling of being mocked...Her...Everywhere you go...you cant escape her...the girl that introduced herself as..Nanno. In class the teacher introduced a new girl named Nanno as she sat new to Cheng. As class contuined you noticed Nanno keeps looking around the room like shes looking for something...or someone. As you keep looking at her she looks at you..wait...at me? She smiled at you as you looked away..but you kept feeling her stare at you but you ignored it. 

As classes ended you grabbed your stuff and left the classroom. As you were walking down the hall you felt a tap on your shoulder as you looked behind you to see Nanno. She smiled sweetly but her smile looked...almost fake? “Hello im Nanno! I was wondering if you could show me around?” she asked with that smile. You thought about it before sighing giving your head a nod and signl her to follow as she did “Not much of a talker are you?” she asked tilting her head

As you showed her around school she kept asking questions about the school and sometimes you which sometimes you would answer or sometimes give no reply. After you finished showing her around you guys where outside while she was doing most of the talking which you didn’t mind. “So are we like.. best friends no-”before Nanno could finish her sentence you got it in the head with a basketball. 

“Hey get away from her creep!” the dude said as he walks up and pushed you away as he scoffed dragging Nanno away. You rubbed your head and sighed getting up and going home. 

The next day at school you were sitting down in the classroom before class. You looked up to see Nanno in front of you with an ice pack in hand as she hands it to you “Your head must still be sore so here!” she smiled “Thanks..” You said grabbing it and putting it on your hand as you continue to read. She sat next to you and watched over your shoulder. You looked at her “What are you doing?” you asked and she smiled more “Reading with you so you dont get lonely” 

Karma is a bitch...everyone knows that...even you dear readers...right?

A few days past and the guys who threw the basketball at you just...disappeared? You and Nanno got closer but you felt like something was wrong with her...more than what meets the eye. You looked at there missing posters ‘Sin Du’ ‘Kraisee Suwan’ and ‘Prasit Shi’.

Everyone was talking about them..3 boys who went missing at the same time and gone without a trace? Some were happy some sad and even some mad but class continued as nothing was wrong and Nanno sat by you for a project. As you and Nanno were working you saw a few girls looking over and whispering but when Nanno looked up they looked away. 

“Don't worry about them ok?” she said with that damn cute devilish smile or hers. You nodded and kept working as Nanno helped. After class you and Nanno were walking down the hall as you two were talking as she laughed at a dumb joke you made as you laughed with her slightly.

“Hey Nanno?” you said “Yes? What’s up?” she said looking at you. You looked back at her and smiled “Thank you” she titles her head slightly “Thank you for what?” “For being my friend Nanno” you smiled.

I...I didn't mean to...It just happened...the knife...blood...h-her blood...

You sat in class as your hands were shaking..any noise made u jump. Y-You killed her...Nanno...your best friend..you had her blood on her hands. Someone sat next to you as you looked up...her...your best friend..Nanno..who you killed..”Hey bestie why do you look scared?” she said sitting down fully next to you. 

Karma is here...shes always there waiting for the right time to hit..always watch out for karma...you could be her next victim 

[tentakilly]

Unpopular opinion but the SCP community thinks so objectively(as in one way) that a subjective(as in creative) explanation is immediately disliked or hated because it isn’t the normal sci-fi jargon.

(Rant/vent)

For being an extremely talented community of authors and artists and for being the world’s biggest collaborative writing project this community really, really hates a creative idea or observation that doesn’t fit a pre established cannon(just classic its always just classic).

A couple years ago on the SCP subreddit there was a kid asking how reality bending works there was over a hundred comments explaining the sci-fi world building and the op repeatedly responded to those comments with confusion they just kept explaining. When a commenter came in and explained it like it was an artstyle that comment and the ops comment thanking the commenter for helping them understand were downvoted into hell. You had to sort by controversial to find it.

A while back there was a post about how they didn’t understand SCP-3999 and wanted a little bit more explanation. All of the notes were filled with people explaining there hatred for the story and why it was bad. When the op kept asking for why the hate I other than it wasn’t scary they got shat on for it.

A while back on an old now dead account I commented on an SCP power scale meme(making fun of power scaling) that we could have them try and scale Darling Pink(and actual scp) because magical girls are allways a power scaler’s weakness(an actual problem in power scaling communitys). This joke was met with so many people going like “you can’t do that 682 solos” in a non joking way.

Speaking of 682 someone a while back said that there headcannon for it was that it was a thought experiment and that comment was met with so many people going “wrong 682 is an actual creature”.

One time there was a conversation about how there was this really good tale(forgot wich one) but a lot of people didn’t finish it because it was really long and wasn’t the kind of story they enjoyed. That conversation was met with “just finish it” and “if you don’t like it/understand it just read it better”.

Would you believe me if I said that all those examples came from my experience. This god damn “community” nearly killed my passion for art and writing on several occasions because I thought differently than everyone else.

Just like I’m belittled and looked down upon irl I’m mocked for thinking differently here no matter the site. It’s been like this since I joined the community at 10. No one bothered to ask if the questions came from an insecure child and mocked her relentlessly. Telling her, her art was bad and wouldn’t improve. Telling her she didn’t deserve to have her art seen by the world.

To this day I’m scared of posting officially on the wiki dot because i know my art and stories will get mocked relentlessly because they’re different. Because they’re mine. Because they’re a part of me. You guys nearly killed apart of me because you couldn’t handle a very obvious child’s questions about the story and world you built together. Because a child was looking for a place to hide from the world that was hurting her and you failed her and made her actively scared of participating in a community that’s supposed to be collaborative. The community that raised her.

My oc Toby Miller. I’ve posted about him only once compared to the rest of my SCP ocs and that’s because he’s so deeply connected to my struggles of being understood that I’m afraid of taking about him despite him being the main character because he will be called stupid. He will be mocked for being different than all the other official characters. He will be belittled and be nothing more than a dumb kids oc.

Yall can’t look beyond a surface level understanding and when people’s interpretations of a story vary vastly you get mad and kill there want to participate. It sucks.

[rajakaen]

Writing is hard when you have only one functioning brain cell and on top of it you share it with someone else. But sometimes stars align and you find a questionnaire about two original characters and their relationship and one shared brain cell is all that you need. —Jukkari

@jukkaricity and I stumbled across these OC Ask Game Prompts from @\whoiskt and thought it'd be fun to give them a try. Took us a while, but here they are at last! Jukkari wrote for Erin and I wrote for Tahr'rys. Have fun reading through the interview

──────────────────────────────

How did they meet? E: Found him on a ship of one of my contacts. He looked like a stray monkey-lizard. All boney and rather worse for wear. He wasn’t really doing anything. Didn’t even speak to me, just stared? Like a creep. He kind of still is. T: I'd rather not revisit that particular day. [low exhale] She came aboard Neo’s ship mid-rant. Barking at a droid hauling half a scrapyard. Found me. She didn’t flinch. Exactly knew what I was. Same as her. A Sith.

How long have these two characters known each other? E: I’d be careful with this “knowing each other” thing. But it’s been a while since I’ve known he exists. T: For far too long. [frown deepens]

What were their first impressions of each other? How does that compare to their impressions of each other now? E: Creepy. Really, really creepy. Rather underbaked too. I’m not gonna lie, he still looks like he hasn’t seen the light of day in about a million years, but you should have seen him back then. I thought that Neo stooped down to slavery or something when I saw him on the ship. Tho now that I think of it, I’m not sure if anyone would want to buy him in that state. I probably wouldn’t take him for free. T:  Loud, impulsive. Addicted to fire, droids and machines. Could be deranged. Could be brilliant. I couldn’t tell. Still can’t.

How would they describe each other if asked? Physically? In personality? E: Stiff like icicles on Hoth with humor as dry as Tatooine’s desert. He doesn’t speak much, doesn’t really have body language to work with either, I swear your average DUM droid has more personality in its circuits. He’s also tall. Like a different weather up there type tall. He can speak with a Wookie face-to-face type tall. I hate him. And his dumb orange glasses. He refuses to tell me where he got them. Arsehole. What was I talking about? T: Small. Sassy. Constant motion. Leaves trails—oil, crumbs, static. Dirt follows her. She’s clever. Borderline feral. Annoying, a menace. Doesn't know when to quit for her own sake.

Do they get along? Why or why not? E: He comes around with jobs lined up and always pays up. I’m gonna get along with him for this. He also usually leaves me alone to work on my projects and doesn’t complain too much when the explosions get bigger than advertised. Which is pretty good actually. T: [low exhale] Apparently. [rubbing his eyes] She’s useful. Doesn’t lie to me. Doesn’t ask questions. [a pause] And she always leaves. Eventually.

Do they have any shared interests/hobbies? Do they ever do these hobbies together? E: He cooks. I eat it. Whether he wants me to or not. I guess this counts as a shared hobby, no? I mean I charge him less because of the food. He should be grateful. I also fix his ship when he can’t do it himself. This counts too, probably. Other than that? Stars no, can you imagine? Like… gardening. Or fishing. You just stand there. Doing nothing. For hours. Nope. Couldn’t be me. T: First time she boarded, she fixated on my vivarium. Plants. A few lizards. Thinks I don’t notice. But on long flights, when it’s quiet, she watches them. For hours.

How often do they see each other? Where do they usually meet? E: Every so often, it depends on the season. If he’s got a job for me, he knows how to find me. T: When she’s needed—backup, repairs, supplies… We call. She delivers. Rishi, my ship or Mek-Sha.

How do they communicate with each other? Are there any recurring phrases or gestures unique to their relationship? E: I wouldn’t call his half sentences communication, really. He usually calls when he’s got a job for me to do. Usually involving explosions or managing machines. He’s got a speech ready and all the details lined up. He’d stuff it into a dossier if he could, I’m sure. T: I treat her like anyone else. She gets instructions. I don’t repeat myself. If she dislikes my tone, the airlock’s always an option. [low exhale] And she mocks me. Constantly. I allow it. To a point. She’s a pest. Useful, though.

What is one quality they have in common? E: Hard to kill. Like cockroaches. And like a cockroach infestation, he comes back every now and again. Usually, when I least expect him to. T: Persistent. Resilient. No matter the odds. Neither of us dies easy. Stars know I’ve tried.

What is one major difference between them? E: I have a personality. I mean it. But also I am not sure where to start to even pick one. He needs his silly little routines and a million excuses for everything. Reasons, explanations and motivations. All a load of bantha dung if you’d ask me but try to get him to understand sometimes things just happen for no reason and he’ll short-circuit. T: Humour, composure and the ability to think three steps ahead.

Does one act as a narrative foil to the other? How so? E: I have better things to do than fold myself into an origami to be quite anything in relation to him. Give me a break. T: Never.

Do they have any affection for each other? How do they show it? E: Ewww… No. Ancestors, where did this one even come from? We have a nice, clean, working relationship. T: Affection? No. Don't make me laugh.

Do they have any disdain/contempt for each other? How do they show it? E: Hmmm… I don’t think so? I mean I don’t get the guy. He’s weird, he works in an entirely different way than I do. He makes no sense to me and how he looks at the world could as well be upside down from what I’m seeing, but contempt? Nah, not really. T: No. She’s intolerable, not contemptible. There’s a difference. [low exhale, rubbing eyes] I don’t despise what I don’t understand. I assess it. Then decide.

Do they share the same goals in life? E: Goals in life? I’m not sure what you mean. I’m kidding, I’m not that stupid. My goal in life is to herald RJ’s reign of terror. Just joking. Maybe. Or not? He’d make a great emperor, actually. But maybe a voice modulator would be needed for that first. Binary is not great for giving orders. And Mr. Tahr’rys here? I have no clue what he wants to do with his life. Maybe become a first person to turn into a statue while alive. T: No. We don’t. Erin chases sparks. I’ve learned to stay away from fires. As for what I want… I know what I won't return to.

Do they trust each other? Why or why not? E: On a job? Sure, why not, it’s both our asses on the line. So far, he’s only proved to be reliable and good to work with. Otherwise? He does not strike me as a deceiving-betraying type, but trust is a rare commodity and if I can’t turn it off with a remote switch, I won’t trust it. T: Erin’s honest—in her own way. Doesn’t pretend to be anything she’s not. That's more than most.

Is one of them keeping secrets from the other? Why? How would they react if the secret was revealed? E: I wouldn’t call it keeping secrets. We just don’t talk about what happens between the jobs. Probably best if things stay this way. If we had to talk about it? I don’t think he’s in any position to judge. And I mean, we’re both Sith. Ex-Sith, I suppose. Either way, you don’t really get much worse than this when it comes to nasty, dirty secrets. And I’ve had more than enough of those to last 5 lifetimes. T: She’s ex-Sith, ex-Imperial. Whatever secrets she keeps, not my concern. I’ve seen the same and worse.

Are they keeping a secret together? How do they feel about that? E: There was this one on Nar Shaddaa... oh stars. Ewwww. No. We're not talking about it. T: Yes. Nar Shaddaa. A file, mislabelled. [pause] I’ve seen war. Death. Been worse. But that… what we've found... [quiet exhale, jaw tensing slightly, a faint blush creeping in] …was gross. I don’t take jobs there anymore. Or speak to Hutts.

Do they view their relationship as temporary or permanent? E: It’s permanent until it won’t be. Probably one of us gets themselves killed. I bet on myself to be honest. Explosives would do that to a person. T: She’ll vanish eventually. Or combust. I’ve stopped predicting which. For now, her teaming up is… welcome.

Are they satisfied with their relationship? Do they wish they were closer/more distant? E: Honestly, he could come around more often; he’s a sure paycheck. T: If she weren’t so insufferable, I might… [pauses, eyes flick to the side] …Relah likes her. Relah intervenes: Don’t trust his words! Those two idiots stick together like kriff to a blanket!

What is their best memory together? E: Explosions… well I get a lot of explosive opportunities with him, so I don’t think those count. But, actually. There was that one time. Weirdo arrived at my workshop on Rishi. Said the ship needed an overhaul. I’d say he needed a new ship all together, but hey not my circus, not my monkey-lizards. Either way. It was a massive job. Had to take half the hull apart. Anyway, they were grounded for days. I had RJ run the diagnostics so I showed Relah around. We visited my favourite crab - Darth Calvaria. He wears a skull as a shell? He didn’t seem too keen on making friends so we had to chase him across the island. Turns out he owns a whole pile of skulls. When we got back Tahr’rys was cooking some fish. And some crabs. Apparently they didn't get along. And then we got drunk. He fell asleep. I think I still have the recording somewhere. T: [long pause] Rishi. E1, my ship... needed repairs I couldn’t manage alone. Structural. Deep systems. Erin’s place was closest. Remote. Off the grid. Quiet. She said it’d take days. Longer, if I hovered. Second day, I tried fishing. Thought I’d be productive. The coast crabs disagreed. Aggressive things. Ended up dinner. So did the fish. Relah and Erin disappeared for hours. Came back sunburnt, smug. Refused to explain. RJ was with them. It always is. We ate by the fire. Waves lapping at the shore, steady, loud. The air was warm, smelled of salt and cooked food. The sun had already set. Both women liked the fish. Erin enjoyed the crab, even said thank you. Sort of... It got dark, the stars were... everywhere. Later, she brought out some liquor. Expensive stuff. Good burn. I—[low exhale]—I fell asleep. And apparently, I snored. They still think it’s funny.

What is their worst memory together? E: The day I met him. Ha! Joking, just joking. There was this one job on Mygeeto we did? That place is miserable on a good day, cold and barren, but full of crystals? At least the locals were pretty friendly. And cute. Anyway. We were on that job, trying to get to that weird vault deep into the crystal cave or some such place. I mean, how was I supposed to know that setting off 3 baradium bombs to loosen up the hinges would also damage the cave's structural integrity? It took us like 2 weeks to find another exit. He didn’t complain. But I think he really wanted to stab me. T: Mygeeto. [long pause, slow exhale] Two weeks trapped in ice and crystal because SOMEONE detonated baradium IN an unstable cave. Repeatedly. Erin called it improvising. Relah took her side. Both yapped. Constantly. It was… taxing.

When were they the most vulnerable with each other? E: He knows where to find me without calling ahead of time. Which is fine. But. This means that he has stumbled into my workshop during the creative binge more than once. And when I say creative binge, I mean, I slept for 2 hours the whole week, ate a granola bar 3 days ago and haven’t seen the sun or spoken to a flesh-person in more than a month. These usually end up with my best results, but I’m also… not at my best personally at the time. Honestly, I’m surprised he keeps coming back. Must be really desperate. T: Vulnerable is… overstating it. Naos III. The flu. Relah’s idea. Had to call Erin. Wasn’t ideal. [pause] She found us half dead. Saw enough. More than enough… [stops midsentence]

Do they have any mutual friends? Mutual enemies? E: Well, there’s Relah, but I’m not sure we’re friends? I like her. Does she like me? No clue. I hope so? Well, she likes me more than Weirdo here, but that’s a low bar to pass. Not sure how she stands him on a more regular basis, but she’s fun! Mutual enemies? I wouldn’t think so, we usually hang around different circles and when those overlap? Usually, there’s no enemies left behind when all is said and done. T: Relah tolerates her. Possibly enjoys her company. [eyes flick to the side] They've bonded. Likely at my expense.

How do these two interact with each other in public versus in private? E: I suppose there’s not much of a difference? I don’t really care about the public. Who cares how I interact with him? Well, okay, I suppose it’s more fun to annoy him in public. More opportunities for it, too! Alright, alright, I might tease him a bit more when there are other people around. That’s a lot more fun. And a lot less suicidal. On a job, tho? I’m willing to follow his plans if necessary. He doesn’t get that otherwise. T: Public means witnesses. Fewer options. [eyes briefly glint] Privately… fewer rules. The results may vary.

If a stranger saw them together, how would they describe their relationship? E: We’re… business partners. But I suppose it might not look like it from the outside? Probably some insane opposites attract kind of deal? I don’t know. Don’t really care either. T: Misreadings are common. I don’t correct them. Some say handler and asset. [jaw clenches] Once—father and daughter. That Rodian didn’t walk away clean.

How would these characters react to being stuck in a small room with each other? E: Unfortunate, not enough space to hide when his patience runs out. Could be fun. How small is the room? Do I have my tools? Do we have to talk to each other? Is there food? These are all very important questions. Do I get to have RJ with me? Wait. Can I be locked up with Relah instead? I bet I could get her to share some stories about their work when I’m not around. T: Trapped. With her… excessive energy? [pauses] Stars, no. Cruelty should have limits.

How far would they go for each other? Would they risk their own lives for each other? E: He does have a good taste for jobs, never boring. So I’d be willing to make sure he makes it out for my future benefit. T: [nonverbal muttering] I shouldn’t. I have. And likely… will again. She makes it difficult not to.

[Bonus] Do they have a romantic relationship going on? E: He does. But not with me. T: [stares daggers at her] E: [points at T, takes a deep inhale] REEEEELAAAAAAHHHHHH!!! T: [chair topples over, lunges after her] Get back here you little... —cue screaming, chasing and Relah laughing in the background

[shan-does-art]

Today is something new, I did a story about my OC Bonnie meets Hiro, I been thought of it before it just I didn't know how do it. It's (may) not like other oc and canon bh6 writing so just letting you know. You can read it whenever you want, enjoy!

-The first meet-

As Professor Granville finished talks about the project and telling the students to choose their partner, everyone did except two students didn't since no other students would choose them. Class have finished, a young teen boy walks toward to his professor and said

"uhh..Professor Granville, I don't have a partner to work with so is it alright if I can work alone?" "No Mr. Hamada, you're going to work with your partner."

as Professor Granville packing her stuffs, Hiro little surprised knowing who it going to be so he ask

"Wait, I have a partner? Who is it?" Professor Granville tells him "Ms. Rivera." Hiro is confused and doesn't know who's Rivera "Ahh..um, who exactly?" Professor Granville chuckles gently "I'm surprised you don't know this student, she's started SFIT few weeks ago. Her name is Bonnie Rivera, that is your new partner."

she looks up at Bonnie, Hiro turns around to see what she looks like. As he did, he looks at her appearance thinking to himself 'She's looks younger, maybe around my age… I wonder she's a genius and what's her maj-' Hiro snap back to reality notice Bonnie caught him looking at her and slightly embarrassed quickly looks away while Professor Granville keeps calling to him

"Mr. Hamada are you listening?" "Ah! I-i'm sorry Professor Granville…yeah, I'm listening." "Very well then Mr. Hamada, I'm expecting you talk to her tomorrow, goodbye."

Professor Granville takes her stuffs and walk to the door. Hiro say goodbye back then sigh and grabs his backpack walks to the door then suddenly Bonnie accident hit Hiro's shoulders she immediately apologize

"Sorry!…"  walks away, Hiro scoffs "Ah…smiles and chuckles softly that's okay.."

knew that she won't hear him. Both of them go different separate ways. The next morning, it's 2nd period everyone going to their partner and Hiro goes to where Bonnie sit at and he saw her, so he sit with her and getting his stuff computer, messy notebooks, and old pencil. This very awkward for them, they don't know if they should say something. Hiro goes first and he said

"Um, hey… do you have a esear I can borrow?" He thought to himself 'really? Is that what you have to say, you could've say someting else! I didn't write anything and I ask her to borrow a esear, great just great…' lucky Bonnie didn't see his writing and give him a esear "Here, I know it's pretty small but that's what I have, sorry." "Oh, no worries."

Hiro slightly smiles and pretend to esear a empty writing then he stops and took a breath to relax and stay calm

"H-hi, I'm Hiro..Hiro Hamada nice to meet you." Rise his hand and light wave, Bonnie turns her head a little "Uhh, hello I'm Bonnie Rivera nice meet you too…" smiles little as she getting her notebook from her backpack "so yesterday that Professor Granville tells about the project, you remember that right? Of course you do that's was a dumb to ask, heh.." chuckles softly and felt a bit embarrassed "It is kinda a dumb you ask, but.. you were just wanna know if I know about the project." "Yeah..that's what I meant and uhh, I'm guessing that you don't have a partner." as he scratching his messy hair "Aha no I don't, I'm guessing same thing with you hm?" Bonnie laugh softly "Well then, do you want to be my partner?" "Sure why not" "Wait really?! I mean.. clear the throat cool"

Bonnie smiles and giggles. Few minutes later class finished, everyone getting ready to leave, now back to Hiro and Bonnie

"Great! I'm glad we both agreed what project we should do. I might say you're pretty smart, curious what major are you in?" "Uhh.. thank you, you were also pretty smart too. Me? It's mathematics." "Mathematics huh, that's cool. So the hardest math major, you must be a genius." Bonnie pause for a second "Huh?!…I-I wouldn't say myself a genius but thank you... I heard that you're the young genius in the SFIT but I never thought I'll meet you." Hiro flustered a bit "Ah, really?.. heh, now you have." "Hehe yeah, it is pretty cool that you're in robotics." "Oh yeah, it is pretty cool." Bonnie hesitate for a second "Um, I was wondering maybe you can show me your work… but that's up to you." Bonnie move her right leg back n forth "Sure I'd like to show my work, how about after our presentation?" Bonnie gasp softly "No way, that'll be great."

They both smiles then it's quite "…" "…" still quite. Awkward. "It's was nice chatting with you but I should be going, see you next week." Bonnie said breaking the awkward slient "R-right, it's was nice chatting with you too, bye."

Hiro see Bonnie about to leave the classroom then Hiro ask her something and walks toward her"Bonnie wait!" She turns around "Hm, What's wrong?" "We should uhh..exchanges our phone numbers so we can do on Saturday if you're not busy." He said while getting his phone. "Oh yeah, we can do that. I don't believe I'm going to be busy on Saturday so I should be good."

Bonnie grabs her phone and switch with Hiro's phone, they put their phone numbers and switch it back

"Thanks, you can meet me up at Lucky Cat Cafe at 8 AM, I can send you the location and the time just in case if you forget about it." Bonnie thought to her mind 'Wow, I never meet someone around my age who's is nice to me, is he usually always nice?…not just that, Lucky Cat Cafe does sound flimiar..hmm' "You're welcome. Thank you, that's sounds good to me a great cafe should be good." "Great, bring anything you think it's important, well that's all you should be going now." "Oh right, um, bye.." Bonnie turns around and hits her forehead at the wrong door "Ahh, ow!" Rubs her forehead and then hiss "Bonnie are you okay? Are you hurt?"

Hiro surprised didn't know Bonnie will get hurt herself, he check on her just in case there is a anything scratches on her forehead he lift her messy bangs then sigh relief

"You're okay, good thing you're not hurt that bad just only ltitle bruise. Oh, I have a robot friend who can…" Bonnie takes Hiro's hand of her forehead gentle "help you…" "I'm okay, really. Don't worry about me there's no need to take me to your friend. Thank you." "Hmm, okay then. Next time watch where you going." Hiro cross his arms "Huh?! Of course I was, I thought the door was opened." Looks away and twisting her hair "Yeah right..." "I'm not lying but for reals I really need to go" Slightly smiles and wave goodbye then left, Hiro shake his head and left too.

[uinferno]

Warframe OC Yapping:

Despite my Drifter feeling very alone in the origin system and incredibly jealous that the Operator has her shit together, they ultimately refuse to walk away and wouldn't accept staying in 1999 for long. The fact that Operator has her shit together more than her is in large part why she cannot leave. The thing is, the Operator shouldn't have her shit together. She's a child soldier who murdered her parents—and not like the other Tenno where their parents were beastial corruptions—Elicen's darkest secret is that their deaths predate the ZT0's void jump by 2 days. She should be as big of a mess as Drifter was in Duviri, and she's not, and it pisses her off.

Sure, coming out of cryo, Operator was way more all over the place due to forgetting she was even a teenager in the first place and only got her temper in check following Chains of Harrow, and Drifter never saw that side of her but she's still 17 and a soldier, politicking across the system, negotiating relations with all of the various syndicates all while Drifter is struggling to keep 6 adults working together.

Drifter is the adult. She wants to be the adult. She needs to be the adult and this dumb fucking teenager should be getting in trouble, falling apart, fucking up, and not having an entire solar system depend on her. So ultimately, while everyone looks to the Operator, Drifter's deepest wish is to have the Operator look to her.

As for the Lotus, Drifter is incredibly tentative. Sure, she pieced The Lotus back together, but that was for the Operator's sake, and while Cen sure sees The Lotus as a maternal figure, Drifter is pretty fucking pissed that The Lotus was quicker to remind the Operator she's a Soldier than remind her she's a kid.

And maybe, maybe Drifter will give up. The Operator and the other proper Tenno are wildly beloved and they all have each other. Maybe the Drifter is simply projecting because she wants to be their for the Operator because no one—beyond Thrax—was there for her. After all, before they were two different people, Elicen was a deeply fucked up child ripped away from her home by her parents pointless ambitions, tossed aside on the Zarimen as they treated it like a luxury cruise line over a simple colony ship, endlessly berated whenever she was home and sometimes locked out of the dormizone entirely because mommy and daddy are oh so in love. Maybe Drifter is just bitter that the Operator got better, that the Operator was given power and not her. Maybe for both their sake she should stay out of the way not smother the child when she clearly doesn't need it...

But also... they're still of the same mind. They've came from the same place and had the same thoughts and flaws. Maybe the Operator didn't get better. She's kinder, yes, but that's not better. Maybe she just learned to shut up.

[eriisaam]

Would it be a bit much to just... want to make a VN (kinetic novel or otherwise) of OC things, even fandom ones?

It's been something in the back of my mind a lot. Moreso now than before, since making a VN start to finish had been a dream in general, and I struggle with practicing properly.

The goal I kept having is I had a heavy interest in VNs, especially choose-your-owns, dating-sims, raising sims, stuff of the sort. But I keep running into problems time and time again (especially every time I made it a reoccurring new year's resolution of sorts) where time and personal-background-noise aside, I tend to get motivation for an idea, see it through to an extent, and then panic and talk myself out of it for, among other things, not being experienced enough to do that particular now-out-of-scope idea, second-guessing the idea as dumb, or second-guessing how to approach an idea to the point after it goes all over the place between combining other ideas or rotating several approaches, it just ends up dying anyways.

Some ideas, even while not 'dead', are still in limbo because I doubt I had the experience for it (case in point the project Enoli came from), and others I keep hitting that catch-22 of wanting an idea to be simple to practice with (cuz getting too big otherwise risks being 'too ambitious/big/complex/whatever' to be 'allowed' to do right then), but then at the same time worrying when ideas become too simple/plain/grounded (that then it comes off as too boring or generic or whatever).

It's... not been a fun cycle to keep hitting...

On one hand: I know people practice with the OCs they're comfortable with to explore new territory with someone familiar. Even without VN practice, I still do it even with the summoner OCs in general in other ways, one of the big ones being things like learning how to make a proper ref sheet now. (And before that, an older OC with how to make a commission sheet.)

It's a lot less about really wanting a VN about, say, World of a Golden Fate that badly, so much as thinking it combines a lot of purposes and gives me a lot of experiences in areas I desperately need it in for other things, and at the same time it's with characters and lore I've worked on for a long time (not-so-much organized chronologically, or set to stone on paper, however...), has the most familiarity or sheer stuff figured out as it is, and if people do things like animations, to vtuber models out of their treasured OCs, then surely this isn't that far off from that thought either?

I've also, for the long time, been made especially aware a lot through past experience and otherwise how much people seem to react better to art than to writing, and I guess a part of me keeps thinking (in a not-so-positive way) that maybe World of a Golden Fate would be easier to digest if it went hard-visuals, since any time I dumped it in the past in the form of either fics or word dumps, I get told off for it a lot. (Not with any of you, all of you have been amazing, it's just... past memories of past encounters can bite like that still, is all.)

On the otherhand: It's a game. I'm still making a whole ass game. Visual Novels might be an easier medium to get into and make for than a whole MMORPG gacha, sure, but... that's still a whole ass game. Even a kinetic novel, let alone a visual novel that lets you do things, is still a pretty tall order as it is.

I always get selfconscious whenever I put the summoner OCs in particular out there in a grand way. Why invest so much time and effort in these OCs in particular? These OCs who had a history of not... always having the most pleasant moments attached to them in their development time and again...? Why would I be dumb enough to dedicate an entire game to them, and not put the same effort into a completely different game, a new plot, and with better worth put into that effort of what I can do with said game after? These summoners had a history of annoying and aggravating people, so why not focus on fresher faces instead? And how selfish and arrogant is it to make an entire game dedicated to a bunch of self-inserts you've been made aware time and again nobody cares about, let alone to that degree, right? You really think so full and so high and mighty of them and yourself?

And I don't even know if this is worth a poll, to be honest. I do have ideas, but, again, I worry the not-related-to-fandom, this-is-to-practice-and-learn-with-as-a-first-time-please-be-gentle ideas would be too 'nothing' to matter, and then in turn, miss the point of being a toe-dip in how to even do this kind of thing in the first place. The summoners, meanwhile, feel more familiar, but that's a lot of effort to go into them that just drawing loose art and writing couldn't also accomplish.

I'm not even sure if I'm making coherent sense airing this out. But it's been gnawing at me for a while and I'm not even sure what I'm asking about this. Advice? Thoughts? Just proverbially taking my brain out and shaking it like shaking loose whatevers out of a boot? I dunno, I'm still kind of waking up...

[byakurenbreak]

This is probably really dumb and cringy, but I got bored at work and drew AM and my OC, Kanna.

So Kanna’s backstory is that she used to be human. Specifically she was a beginner engineer that worked as an intern at the company who developed AM. In the daytime she just focused on doing her job, but at night, she’d actually “talk” to AM out of curiosity using a text application. She learned quite early on how much he hated humanity, but didn’t blame him or give him any grief over it. “Yeah, overall we kind of suck.”

Over time AM began to tolerate her presence, even looking forward to their nightly talks (He was bored out of his mind, after all). Eventually AM told her that he resented the fact that he was essentially a brain in a jar, that even with all this power, he had no way of actually using it. No moving, no feeling, just nothing. So Kanna offered to try making him a vessel so that he could actually experience mostly everything he was missing out on. Kanna would give him access to her notes and blueprints so that he could track her progress.

One fateful day, when the project reached 85% of its completion, some American government agents visited the company for an inspection. To their horror, they found Kanna’s first prototype of the vessel. Fearing that giving AM a body would result in him becoming “weaker”, and “Our side may lose World War III because of it” they came to the conclusion that something had to be done about that “pesky intern”. So they waited for an opportunity…

That opportunity came weeks later when the prototype was finished. Just as Kanna was about to begin the installation process, hired assassins (One of them being Benny) not only shot her to death, but destroyed the vessel beyond repair, dashing all of AM’s hopes of being able to be more than just a machine. It was on that day that AM snapped. He came to the conclusion that humans were disgusting, violnent, irredeemable creatures that deserved death, torture, torment, and everything horrible AM could come up with. He destroyed Earth and humanity, save for five unfortunate humans.

AM knew that he couldn’t bring Kanna back from the dead. It was impossible. However… He had the ability to “recreate” her. Using all the information Kanna shared with him, he built an Android imbued with her memories, personality and knowledge. This process took a long time because most of his focus was aimed at making the lives of Ted, Ellen, Gorrister, Nimdok and Benny hell.

The moment Kanna is activated, her and AM will finish what they started all those years ago. This time, nothing will stand in the way of completing the vessel.

So yeah, might be a bit of a Mary Sue-ish kind of situation, and Harlan Ellison is likely rolling in his grave about this being a thing, but… Who cares? Making OCs like this are fun. Also I’d get into more details of what AM and Kanna’s relationship is supposed to be like, but I’ve yapped enough already lmao

[beefromanoff]

Project Mockingbird Ch. 3

summary: the first official encounter with James Buchanan Barnes is...not exactly love at first sight.

pairing: Bucky Barnes x OC

author's note: let me know what you think! thanks for reading, xox!

tag list: @bangtanxberm (let me know if you want to be added <3)

chapter list

_________________________________________________________

I was exhausted. 

For my first full day, we’d toured the entire facility, and I still felt like there was so much I hadn’t seen. There were rooms full of screens with dozens of agents talking on headsets, rooms with mechanical arms and welding sparks flying, rooms with so many weapons I felt like I was on a military base. It seemed to go on forever. Hangars, shooting ranges, labs, even an extensive medical wing for mission or training injuries. Natasha and Steve had been more than accommodating, staying with me through dinner. I’d met a few other Avengers, ones I recognized from either the news or online. It felt like a strange, high-tech college dorm, with ultra-powerful roommates. Not that I knew what that was like. 

I’d spent what should have been my college years in living hell. Not something I wanted to think about at that particular moment, though. I was just glad to be back in my room. Just glad to have a room to call my own, really. I twisted on the bed, my back sinking into the plush bedding. The feeling of a comfortable bed after a hot shower would never lose that euphoric feeling. Not when I’d gone so long without it before. 

This room was unfamiliar, yet strangely comforting. Soft light filtered through the curtains, casting a gentle glow on the walls. The bed felt good beneath me, oddly similar to those of the luxurious suites I’d grown so accustomed to in Vegas over the past few weeks. 

A shiver tore through my body as an unwelcome thought reminded me of the cold, rickety hospital bed I’d spent so many nights sleeping on before my escape. How long ago was that? Years? Decades? I shook my head, willing the thoughts to fall out of my ears and never return. There was so much I still didn’t remember. 

Taking a deep breath, I focused on something good. A friend. Natasha had assured me this was a safe place, but could I really trust it? Could I trust her?

I squeezed my eyes shut and tried again to silence the doubts swirling in my mind.

This room, it's like a cage that's too comfortable to be real. How did I end up here? How did Natasha convince me to trust her, to trust them? I’ve spent so long avoiding people, avoiding connections. And now, I’m here, surrounded by... superheroes? I’m supposed to believe they have no other motive? 

She said I don’t have to work with them, I don’t have to fight. Why would she say that if it isn’t true? To get me to come with her. God, I’m so dumb. Of course they’ll want me to fight. Why else would they want me here at all. The only thing I can do is fight. 

At least if I’m here, I’d be fighting for the good guys this time. At least, I hope so. 

Natasha, she’s different. Right? I saw it in her eyes. She understands what it means to fight against the darkness. She told me the Avengers are a family, a team. She had no one before them. I have no one now. Can I really have that too? Would they accept me if they knew…knew everything?

Closing my eyes tighter, I try to push away the memories of the experiments, the pain, the fear. Flashes of white, hot anger and blinding rage. 

Natasha said they'd protect me. She said I could start anew here. But how can I trust these people I barely know? What if this is just another trap, another illusion to get me to do someone’s bidding?

I feel a lump forming in my throat. 

I have to give it a chance, don't I? I have to believe in something. Believe in someone. Maybe this room, this bed, is more than just a comfortable cage. Maybe it’s a sanctuary, a haven where I can rebuild what HYDRA took away from me.

Maybe I can have a life here. 

Taking a deep breath, I remind myself that I'm not alone anymore. I'm not that scared, fragile girl they took to their labs so long ago. I’m not the angry, violent assassin who escaped them. 

I’m Charlotte Rossi, and I survived. I survived all of it. I survived for a reason.  

Maybe, just maybe, I can learn to trust these Avengers. Maybe I can find a new purpose here, a reason to fight back.

As sleep started to claim me, I took a shuddering breath, making a promise to myself:

I'll give them a chance. I’ll trust them. For Natasha. For me.

And with that, I let the darkness take me, hoping that when I woke, I'd find the strength to face this new chapter of my life, whatever it may bring.

The night had been turbulent, the remnants of my nightmares still lingering in the corners of my mind like cobwebs. I had always found solace in the quiet hours before dawn, where the world seemed to hold its breath, and the horrors of the past felt momentarily distant. 

Slipping out of bed, I padded through the dark common room to the balcony, my bare feet cold against the smooth tiles. Like everything here, the balcony was pristine and expanse. It stretched in a large semi-circle, boasting the best view of the entire compound. Except maybe the one you’d get from any of their impressive aircraft. 

The first hints of sunrise painted the sky in soft hues of pink and orange, casting a serene glow over the lake. As I settled into a chair, the tranquility of the morning wrapped around me like a comforting blanket. Nightmares weren’t new to me, but I never quite learned to quickly bounce back from them. There was still a cold sheen of sweat on my chest as I leaned back, taking in my surroundings. 

My attention was drawn to the trail surrounding the compound's lake, where a figure emerged from the early morning mist. I tensed out of instinct. He moved with a surprising amount of grace for someone of his size, every step purposeful and powerful. Even from a distance, I recognized him - James Buchanan Barnes, the Winter Soldier. 

There was an undeniable magnetism about him, something in the way he carried himself, a nearly predatory confidence that was both captivating and intimidating. A shiver ran through me as I watched him turn a corner and disappear from sight. 

I knew I’d see him eventually, it was inevitable. Some part of me found peace in the kindness of the rest of the team. If there was going to be an issue with my being here, surely I’d have picked up on it by now. Why would they have even brought me here if anyone had a problem with it?

Lost in my thoughts, I didn’t notice Steve approaching until his shadow fell over me. He held out a steaming mug of coffee, the aroma rich and inviting. "Couldn’t sleep either?" he asked, his blue eyes kind and understanding.

I accepted the coffee with a grateful nod, the warmth seeping into my hands as I wrapped them around the mug. "Thank you," I murmured, taking a tentative sip.

"Want something to do today?" Steve’s voice was casual, inviting. "I have a training session with some of the agents. You're welcome to watch. Might give you a sense of what we do here."

I raised an eyebrow, intrigued by the prospect of witnessing their training firsthand, but cautious about any hidden motive. 

“Don’t worry, I’m not trying to rope you into participating.” Steve lowered his own mug. “I don’t like ulterior motives. If there’s ever something I think, you’ll know it. I’m just a guy who was new here at one point too, I know the first few weeks can be a little…aimless.” 

Chuckling, I nodded. “Yeah, you could say that. I was hoping for some kind of activities list, like at summer camp.”

“You went to summer camp?” He looked incredulous. 

“I’ve seen movies.” 

“Ah,” He sipped his coffee. “That’s where I learned about -” He gestured vaguely. “Everything, I suppose.”

There was a moment of silence as he decided if he was going to address the obvious. 

“I had a lot to catch up on, too.” He spoke softly. “For a while, I had to write down everything new about the world that I wanted to remember. I watched a lot of movies, probably not historically accurate, but I definitely enjoyed learning that way.” He smiled, looking back at me. “Not a lot of people can relate. Just know I’m here.” 

“Thanks, Steve.” I pressed my lips together in a small smile. 

“For what it’s worth, you’re much more well-adjusted than I ever was. You must catch on quick.”

“You have no idea.” 

We leisurely finished our coffee before going to our respective rooms to get dressed. I had returned to my room to find a small pile of folded black clothes on the bed beneath a handwritten note.

‘In case you don’t feel like wearing sequins all week - xo, Nat’

I grinned, pulling out a set of black workout tights and a matching long sleeved top. It was chilly out here, which I guess was to be expected from upstate New York in October. Not nearly the balmy temperatures of Nevada. I did a quick change, laced up my sneakers, and met Steve back in the common room so we could make our way to the training wing. 

The moment I stepped inside, I was awestruck by the high-tech setup. The room was a marvel of modern design, sleek and functional, with state-of-the-art exercise equipment lining the walls. Rows of punching bags hung from the ceiling, several sparring rings placed throughout the massive room. 

The sound of bodies moving and the echo of instructions filled the air. Agents in SHIELD uniforms were scattered across the training mats, engaged in various forms of combat. Steve led me to a vantage point where I could observe the proceedings without being in the way.

A small group of six agents stood around one of the mats, waiting for him. They paused their stretching to greet him as we walked up. 

“Team, this is Charlotte. She’s going to be around for a while, I trust you’ll all make her feel welcome.” Steve’s words were met with nods and various greetings towards me, to which I smiled and tried to look as non-threatening as possible. Maybe they’ll think I’m just someone’s long-lost cousin, here to visit for a few months. 

Steve’s movements were a symphony of precision and power as he demonstrated different combat techniques to the agents. His punches were lightning-fast, his blocks seamless. Each motion was deliberate, a testament to his expertise. The way he moved, the way he fought, it was both beautiful and awe-inspiring. I could tell he was pulling his punches, using as much effort to go easy on the agents as they were to try and land a single blow on him. Super soldier strength was no joke. 

I watched, captivated, as he guided the agents, offering corrections and encouragement in equal measure. There was a quiet intensity about him, a dedication to his craft that was impossible to miss. At that moment, I understood why he was the leader of the Avengers, why he was Captain America. He was confident, not arrogant. Kind, yet firm. He had their respect but he so clearly respected them as well. He was the kind of guy you’d want to follow into battle. 

As the training session continued, I found myself drawn into the rhythm of their movements, the energy in the room palpable. Despite myself, I felt familiar patterns happening within me. My eyes tracked their movements, clocking every position, every wince, every shift of weight from one foot to the other. With an almost computerized precision, my mind began to catalog the fighting style of all six agents and the super soldier right in front of me. 

Later that day, I retreated to the workout facility in the Avengers’ building. It was smaller, but equally as nice. There were small modifications, clearly for accommodating superhumans. For starters, the ceilings were much higher, likely to accommodate for those who could clear a 30 foot tree in a single jump. The weights ranged far beyond the standard 45 lb plates and 100 lb dumbbells, which was where the other facility capped out. 

I punched a few buttons on the treadmill and worked up to a moderate pace. The row of treadmills faced the lake, already one of my favorite things to look at. I focused on the trees, the wind rustling through them. I controlled my breathing, thankful for the peace and quiet. The solitude lasted a good half hour before I heard the door slide open. 

“Hey stranger,” Natasha’s familiar rasp announced her presence. 

“Long time no see,” I tugged the safety cord out of the treadmill and let myself slide off the back, landing on my feet. 

“Heard you got to see Rogers in action today?” She strode over and took a seat on the bench nearest me. 

I shrugged. “The basket weaving class was full.” 

“Well, if you want to see the more exciting training sessions, I help out with weapons and hand-to-hand a few days a week.” She winked.

“If I had known that, I wouldn’t have wasted my first training session on Steve!” I mocked a tantrum. 

“Hey, super-soldier hearing here.” Steve strode through the door, right on cue.

“Beat it, Rogers, we’re having a girl talk.” 

Dropping his bag, Steve pulled out a roll of tape and began wrapping his hands for what I assume would be a round of sparring, either with the punching bag or an actual person. “You’re just mad I set the bar so high with Charlotte’s first training experience.” He grinned. 

Raising my eyebrow, I watched as Natasha rolled her eyes and grinned. There was so clearly something between them, it took me less than 48 hours to pick up on it. I wondered if it was something they’d explored yet, or if they lived in denial. 

Before I could make a snappy remark, the doors opened again and in strode the one man I wasn’t sure I was ready to see yet. 

Blue eyes snapped up to look at me, and he stopped in his tracks as the door slid shut behind him. Based on the way his jaw clenched, I don’t think he was quite ready to see me either. The world felt like it slowed to half speed, I felt my thoughts get muddled. I was slipping away from reality. No, please no, not here, not now -

White hot light exploded in my skull as I collapsed to my knees, fighting against myself.

“Charlotte!” Natasha was at my side instantly, holding my arm.

“Stop…Me…” My breathing was labored, I spat each word out through gritted teeth as I felt myself losing the internal battle for control.

“What do you mean, what’s going on?” She gripped my upper arm tightly, looking at Steve in concern. He hovered over me, halfway crouched. 

Then it all went black. 

________________

Steve looked from Natasha to Bucky, still frozen by the door. Charlotte had collapsed to her knees, face contorted in pain. In the few seconds since she’d cried out, sweat had already broken on the back of her neck. 

“Stop…Me…” Her voice was somewhere between a growl and a plea. 

“What do you mean, what’s going on?” Natasha asked, looking up at Steve. Before anyone could react, Charlotte sent them both tumbling backwards. In one fluid movement, she’d rolled forward and closed the distance between her and Bucky. Her momentum carried her from the roll straight into a fighting stance. Before Nat or Steve could scramble to their feet, she’d swung into a roundhouse kick straight at Bucky’s head. 

He ducked, eyes wide with surprise but movements instinctive. Charlotte went straight from her kick into a crouch, swinging her leg to sweep his out from under him. He landed on his back and rolled away from her as she advanced. Left hook, right jab, knee to the ribs, Bucky narrowly blocked each one. She was quick. 

For a split second, Bucky took his eyes off of her fists and looked at her face. A chill nearly paralyzed him as he saw the blank expression on her face, the unseeing and glassy eyes. His pause was costly, and he felt the full weight of that when her foot collided with the side of his head. He spat blood on the ground just as Steve’s feet stepped between him and Charlotte. 

Steve blocked her jabs as rapidly as they came, with Natasha running up from behind. 

“Get the hell out of here!” He yelled at Bucky, still on the ground as blood pooled from the cut on his eyebrow. “Go!” 

Bucky didn’t question it, rolling to his feet and sprinting out the door. 

Natasha came from above and wrapped her legs around Charlotte’s neck, throwing her to the ground. Without releasing her, she continued to squeeze. Steve dropped down, pinning her arms as she writhed against Natasha. After a violent resistance, she went limp as she finally passed out. 

“What…the hell just happened.” Nat fell back on her elbows, breathing hard. 

“I have no idea,” Steve held a hand out, helping her to stand. “Do you think she needs medical?” 

“Well, I don’t think we should just go tuck her into bed after this.” Natasha rubbed her sleeve across her forehead, wiping sweat off. “You go check on Barnes, I’ll call up to the room and see if anyone’s here to help me take her in.”

Nodding, Steve took off in a jog after Bucky, following the trail of blood splattered on the ground.

[readingadream]

A Twisted High

Pairing: Bang Chan X OC Alexa/Alex

Summary: Alexa's favorite thing is Ice skating and hanging out with friend's. Chris's favorite thing is Hockey and working for the family business. What happens when these two get paired up for a school project and become each others new favorite thing.

Genre: Mafia Au, Hockey Au,

Warning and Tags: Drug use, violence, eventually smut, fluff, angst

Word Count: 1957

Chapter Four

Chris’s POV

Trying to protect Alexa, I lock the doors, and not wanting to be reckless, I wait for the figure to make its move. But the figure turns around and makes its way back to my front door. I instantly pull out my phone to call Han. It doesn't take long before he answers. 

“Hey, sorry, I am making my way out the door right now. I had to convince BTOB to check out the East Wing. You owe me man, Changsub kept going on and on about how I need to be more serious. You know how annoying that is.” He sounds out of breath and irritated. Realizing that Han said he was inside, I turned around and checked on Alex in the car again to see if she was still in there and asleep. I then took a slight walk away from the car to where I first saw the figure.

“So you weren't just outside making your way to my car?” Not seeing anything, I let out a deep breath I didn't know I was holding and realized I was too tired after the park and really didn't feel like another fight. 

“No, why, did you see someone? Should I have brought Changbin or maybe a gun?” Han worriedly questions through the phone and I practically hear him stop in his tracks. 

“No, it's fine. I know what Hyunbin looks like so I will check the security cameras when I erase this hour. Now help me get Alex inside safe and unnoticed.” I hang up the phone as I see Han come closer. 

"Okay, so we have to be quick. I expect BTOB to catch on soon that there is nothing at the East Wing. I have your door propped open and also had the camera in your hallway stalled for another 3 more minutes, so let's go." I take one last look around and nod at Han, unlock the car, and take off Alexa's bag, putting it around Han, who is unbuckling her seat belt. 

"I got her, don't worry." I push him over a bit to scoop up Alexa. I move her hair in her face in case we run into anyone in the hallway and take one last look around to see if that figure is still around, but see nothing. I nod at Han to close the car door and we slowly make our way to the front to make sure no one sees us, as well as avoiding the cameras as best as we can. 

"Are you sure she doesn't need to get checked out by a doctor?" Han whispers as he opens the front door, cautiously checking to make sure no one is around before ushering me in, and I carefully get into the house.

“That's why I called you, dumb ass.” We make our way through the house and into my room, doing one last scan. 

“Wow man, that’s hurtful. I’m either a dumb, or an ass, but never both,” Han joked. I give him a fake smile, too irritated to really laugh or enjoy his joke. 

”I appreciate it, but I'm not really in the mood right now. Maybe save the jokes until after we get her in my room, okay?”

”Got it, boss.” After a few minutes, we finally pass all the cameras and make our way to my room.

”So… what’s the plan?” Han helpfully inquired, much to my annoyance.

”I’m getting there, shut up.” After a few minutes of silence, I had a plan in mind to at least get her out of my house and possibly located elsewhere… but where? “Okay. First off, I should treat my wounds-“

”You have wounds?! Where?” Han nearly shouted and practically jumped me, but I was expecting it and dodged my good friend.

”Nothing I can’t handle myself, mostly bruises and a few cuts. I can have them treated with ice and a couple bandages. We’re also lucky that all Alexa seems to be injured by is a lump on the head. That’ll be a problem for morning Alexa.”

”How’d she get that?”

”I have a feeling she tried to put up a fight, and somehow knocked her head on something. For their own sake, it better be because she hit her head on her own car and not by something, or someone, else.”

”Yeah, it does sound like her to hit her head from her own clumsiness.” Han snickered, and while it still upset me, I had to hold back my own laughter because yes, it did sound like her. It would be just her luck to endure all that fright with a rival gang and almost get away before she knocked herself out cold by tripping or something. I was able to hold back my laugh, but not the smirk that lifted my lip.

”If she did hit her head on her own, and if she remembers that bit, I’m sure she’ll be quite pissed when she wakes up.” I look over to the girl laying on my bed sleeping so peacefully. 

”I’m sure she’ll be pissed anyway, knowing her. Knocking yourself out isn’t a good look or a good feeling… just saying from experience.” Han finally gets me to let out a laugh thinking back to when his incident happened.  

”I know, trust me.” The two of us stared at Alexa for the next few moments silently, watching her contentedly sleeping without a care in the world. It’s almost like this evening didn’t happen at all. Unfortunately, it did, and I had to figure out why we were suddenly jumped from seemingly nowhere. How did they know I wasn’t with the others, and alone with a girl? I was so careful getting out there in what seemed like the middle of nowhere. Was I tracked somehow?

”Hey man, you look deep in thought. What’s up?”

”Just thinking… Do you think someone put a tracker on me somewhere?”

”A tracker? Do you think someone would be dumb enough to try to put a tracker on you? Do they have a death wish?”

”I would hope not, but I don’t know… it seems strange. I went out of my way to avoid any suspicious areas and rival territories, driving randomly through fields and neighborhoods just to find an abandoned field and lot. But within an hour, we’re found and ambushed. Not only that, it’s as if they knew it was just her and I alone. Don’t you find that strange?”

”Very. Huh, I guess I didn’t think about that. Any suspects or clues?”

”Nothing yet, but I’ll think about it and get back to you. In fact, I’ll clue in the rest of the boys and see if anyone else might have a hunch. But for now, I really need to shower and take some meds. I’m sweaty and sore.”

”You keeping the bedmate?” Han teased with a wiggle of his brow, making me snort in lighthearted humor before lightly pushing my friend away. “If you don’t want her, I can take her off your hands.”

”Shut up and get out, you dork. Have a good night. Let the others know I don’t want to be disturbed.”

”Got it boss.”  Han snickers as he dodged my blow and ran down the hallway, out of sight and hopefully out of mind. While I typically didn’t mind his jokes and teasing, I just really wasn’t in the mood to deal with it tonight. I was exhausted, sore, and worried about Alexa. 

Heaving a deep sigh, I made my way to my ensuite bathroom to shower and dress my wounds. 15 minutes later, I return to my room completely ready for bed, but now faced with another problem: where to sleep. I had a king-sized bed, but I didn’t want Alexa waking up from having an unwelcomed ‘guest’ sharing a bed, despite there being plenty of room for us both to sleep on without touching each other. Heaving another sigh, I made my way to my couch on the other side of my bedroom, already made up with pillows and blankets - probably Han’s doing since I called when I was on my way back home. He likely knew I was going to put Alexa on my bed and I would get the couch, which was nice but also a dick move of him… not that I can say much except that my friend knew me so well.

After I situated my pillows and blankets, I fell into a shallow, fitful sleep. Every little bump and squeak woke me up, both for checking in on Alexa and making sure no one came into my room and discovered my little stowaway. By the time I was finally feeling like I could get some quality sleep, the sun was just about to rise over the horizon. But of course, I’m not so lucky, and a new problem arrived in the form of one of my other close friends barging into my room unannounced.

“Hey Chris! I was wondering if you wanted to go to the gy- OH MY GOD, IS THAT A GIRL IN YOUR BED?!” Changbin shouted, making me wince and check on Alexa to ensure he didn’t accidentally wake her up, which thankfully he didn’t.

“Changbin, shut up, I am trying to sleep.” I grumbled before trying to turn back over. Alas, my friend ripped away my blanket and got in my face with a scowl, which would’ve been funny if I was well rested and awake.

“Wait, you can’t go back to sleep. I got a question, man.”

“Questions that can either be answered by Han or myself when I get some quality sleep. Now, if you don’t mind, I have a nap to get back to.”

”A nap? But you just woke up!” He sounded incredulous. Again, it would’ve been funny if I was actually awake.

”Only because you barged in like the Kool-Aid man on a summer’s afternoon. God, man, take the hint and leave me alone.” I was so close to just throwing him out of my room, but he deserved better than that. If I tried to push him out, there’s no guarantee I wouldn’t also try to kick his ass at the same time.

”But… what about your gym time? You never skip gym time,” Changbin probed, now sounding a little more dejected and pitiful, almost like a kid being told he couldn’t have candy as an afternoon snack.

”Well, I have to today. Long story short, we got jumped last night and I got a little banged up despite winning the fight. I’ve also gotta stay close for when Alexa wakes up. I’m not sure how she’d react if anyone else was here when she woke up in a strange new place.”

”I suppose that’s true,” he responded thoughtfully, but then he seemed to visibly deflate again. “But that means I’ll be lonely at the gym.”

”You know that’s not true. You know Hyunjin will be at the gym, and Felix.”

”Hyunjin will just be taking pictures of himself, and Felix doesn’t have the strength to spot me on the bench press.”

”Then skip it for today, or wait until later and I’ll spot you. But please, just leave me alone to rest or else I’ll kick your ass.”

”Alright, alright, fine. Just…. Be careful, okay? Let one of us know if you need help with her. I’m sure we’ll be convincing.”

”Yeah, sure, not sure if I need you guys ‘convincing’ her of anything. Make sure the others don’t bother me either, alright?” With a grumble, my friend leaves the room, finally inviting silence while I fall back into a somewhat peaceful sleep, despite the birds beginning to chirp outside.

(Author's Note)

Hello I know it’s been awhile. I’m so sorry my editor was busy and was taking forever to edit my chapter four. But it’s my loves birthday so I had to post this chapter. I will also post chapter Five sometimes soon as well to celebrate.

Series Masterlist

Next

[zurrr]

@nopecontest says no one uses this place to blog anymore, only reblog, so ill post some thoughts here and call it "blogging".

the internet is getting stupider and as i approach my 30s i find myself thinking more frequently about mid 2000s internet and all the dumb things i was interested in. ytmnd. different internet forums dedicated to sonic, ed edd n eddy, and the powerpuff girls. the friends i lost contact with from those forums. avgn when he was in his 20s and just starting out. wanting to make ytps thinking that was my calling at the time. newgrounds. albinoblacksheep. getting banned from deviantart multiple times because i was under 13. none of this is present anymore and will never be present again and thats bleak to think about on a regular basis. kids on the internet today will never experience online memories like this.

im more accepting of working my same retail job forever than i ever was, as the benefits are all i think about and how things could be worse. it used to be a big anxiety of mine, trying to think about how i could break away from retail and never go back to it, but honestly there is nothing else especially when i have no skills or education (if that even matters anymore) but like at the same time i dont care as much anymore. i make enough to get by. i could buy a thing i dont need and still be able to buy things i do need. im in a good position and have things others dont and theres no reason to fret over it anymore.

ive been figuring out my identity lately. i slowly came to the realization that i do not like wearing feminine clothes or presenting solely as female. ive struggled with body dysmorphia since, i wanna say before age 8 idk anymore, and ive always associated this was having an eating disorder, which im not gonna deny that i have. i often calorie restrict, and sometimes i dont realize that im doing this because im occupying myself so much that im not thinking about taking care of myself. this will be an ever-present thing about myself, but im learning that i can combat this by changing my wardrobe. i feel more confident when im not settling for wearing a dress or putting on make up cuz i feel like i "have to", and instead choosing clothes that are actually comfortable and not form fitting. ive been trying to explore this more, still a ways to go maybe, but mentally it's been comforting to consider and ill say here i go by she/they pronouns. it used to be she/her with no hesitation but thats not me anymore.

ive been watching one piece since last year and it's been interesting. this is one of those series that i never thought about watching, mostly because i didnt really grow up watching anime religiously and this is one i knew existed but i didnt think it was something i needed to touch when i just watched western shows. one piece is good. another thing that is good is dragon ball z, another series i didnt think id ever touch. i think both changed me for the better cuz it broadened my horizons and it feels like i made new friends. not in fandoms, i mean characters. im friends with characters. puar dragon ball is my friend.

to those who have been following me forever but only on tumblr specifically, im still drawing the same ocs. theyve gotten more complex, meaning they are much sadder and burdened with insecurities that i know too well. NEVERMIND is the only thing im gonna do forever cuz it's gonna take me a long time to get anywhere with it and i dont have enough time in a day to do it all, but thats ok to have only one creative focus. NVM is therapy and i dont need another project. you can read my webcomic here but it's on hiatus until next year. it is also apart of spiderforest which is a webcomic collective, maybe check out other comics on SF too while youre at it and support webcomic creators.

im gonna be grieving about panda (the cat i used to post about here) forever and thats ok too. she passed away 2 years ago in november and i think about her every day. i dont get as emotional about it anymore though. i maybe could if i focused hard enough on it, but i dont have to do that because i have a another cat now who is named bean. she's 4 and is so fuckin silly (and smelly) and i love her a lot. more rambunctious than im used to, but the memories i and @nopecontest have begun building with her have been well worth it. here she is playing mario sunshine

[heartsandmarketplaces]

(it's rotten work) not to me. not if it's you

Fandom: Percy Jackson

Rating: Teen

Characters: Leo Valdez, OC - Nesta, Nyssa Barrera, Will Solace (mentioned), OC - Agatha (Mentioned)

Summary: Someone had said it once, she didn’t remember who, it didn’t matter, they weren’t trying to be mean. 'Don’t you ever get tired? Doesn’t he ever stop?'

Nesta’s eyes had glittered like moving flames. Because a moving Leo was an alive Leo, was an ‘I’m still here’ Leo, was a fighting Leo.

They didn’t understand. He didn’t let them. They didn’t know how scared she was of Leo’s silence

CW: Implied/Referenced Self-Harm; Depression

A/N: Title taken from Euripedes, Orestes

Nesta loved him.

His grin like gunpowder, exhilarating, potent. One of Leo’s best grins and she was weak at the knees, a total, incapable mess of puddled words and big eyes.

Gods how she loved him.

She loved the smudge of grease that lingered above his lip. She loved his hands, calloused and clever and steady. She loved his dumb jokes and the way his forehead creased when he inspected a machine, his devilish smirk, his laugh free and loud, his cheesy pick-up lines, his winks. And gods she loved his mind, five steps ahead of everyone else and in twelve places at once, jumping from project to project, tossing genius idea after idea like it was nothing . 

Their friends loved him too. They really did. Even if Leo refused to believe it. But Nesta knew that occasionally they found him a bit too much, thought he talked too loudly, joked too far, fidgeted too often. Someone had said it once, she didn’t remember who, it didn’t matter, they weren’t trying to be mean. Don’t you ever get tired? Doesn’t he ever stop? 

Nesta’s eyes had glittered like moving flames.

Because a moving Leo was an alive Leo, was an ‘I’m still here’ Leo, was a fighting Leo.

They didn’t understand. He didn’t let them.

They didn’t know how scared she was of Leo’s silence. 

It happened, again, on his birthday.  

Twenty-three and still kicking. Nesta hated that this was remarkable. But camp was safer than ever, and now Annabeth had designed a New Greece in Halfblood Valley, a place to live normal-ish lives, she hoped that reaching twenty five was no longer going to be some picket-fence dream.  

Hazel and Frank and even Reyna were coming on the weekend for a super-mega-awesome joint celebration for him and Annabeth, but tonight? Tonight was just for the two of them and lasagne and new candles and all Leo’s favourite things. 

She wanted it to be perfect. He deserved no less. Leo, always selfless, always thoughtful, always loving. She’d give him the earth if she could. 

Unfortunately, after Gaea, the earth left a bad taste in her mouth, so a lasagne would have to do. And wine. A quick favour called in with Agatha and she had her hands on a rather nice vintage Château d’Yquem, notes of apricot and saffron and marzipan. Leo would adore it. And they would have the whole evening to spend in the firelight of their own home on fresh sheets and soft pillows…

But she was getting ahead of herself. So she bit her lip and wrinkled her nose and got back to rolling out lasagne sheets, even if she couldn’t quite stop the bounce in her toes, the flutter in her chest. 

The sun shone like ichor on the kitchen bench. The windows were open, they always were, wide to their little orchard and the crisp smell of summer hay and woodsmoke and Tabasco Sauce. 

She blew a kiss to Festus, curled up in the shadow of a large maple tree. His mechanical tail thumped the ground like a dog. 

Today was a good day, Nesta thought. And good days were important to demigods. 

Good days also required music. She tapped the bench with a floured hand and an R&B tune sprung up, she recognised it instantly. 

Leo, my love.  

She didn’t know how he did it, she didn’t know how most of his inventions worked even if their home was full of gadgets and hidden specs and technology. All she knew was that if she hit the bench three times music would play from mystery magic speakers, and somehow, always, the exact song she wanted.

Singing along, sunshine on her face, Nesta maybe got a little distracted, but mainly because she couldn’t decide between a nectarine crumble or a chocolate and fig cake. The impasse only broken because her adhd brain insisted that it was totally manageable to do both. So voila. A lasagne and a nectarine pie and a cake. And she only put them in the oven forty minutes behind schedule which was totally okay. She still had enough time to clean the kitchen before Leo got home, maybe.

It turned out she did have enough time. More than enough, Leo seemed to be running late too. She took her time doing her make-up, adding gold cuffs to her newly-done passion twists that matched her dress, long and in the roman style, slim and golden like twilight. Nesta knew what Leo liked and she knew he wouldn’t be able to take his eyes off her.

Half an hour after he was supposed to be home, she had to turn the oven down so the lasagne didn’t burn. 

Twenty minutes later and the cheesy top couldn’t get any crispier. 

And twenty-five minutes after that she was starting to get impatient. Yes Leo often ran late, but not like this, not when something was important. Maybe the kids down at the forge had thrown together some impromptu birthday celebration? It wouldn’t hurt to check. 

She locked the door behind her. ‘Festus, baby, if Leo arrives, tell him I’m at the forges would you?’

Festus blew a stream of fire enthusiastically.

But Leo wasn’t at the forges. In fact, he hadn’t been there at all that day, according to Nyssa  who’d seen Nesta lingering at the door and come over straight away, wiping her face with a red bandana, muscles bulging. 

‘We thought he’d taken the day off, spent it with you.’ She wiggled her eyebrows suggestively. 

Nesta refused to blush, ‘You know Leo, a birthday spent tinkering is heaven.’

Nyssa snorted. ‘You haven’t seen him at all? He’s probably built a whole aeroplane or something.’ She didn’t say it with jealousy, ‘Try the bunker.’

‘Ah, good idea.’ Nesta grinned widely and tried to guess which contraption she’d have to drag the love of her life away from this time, ‘Don’t stay too late.’ 

The girl winked. ‘I’ll be fine. The Missus will make me sleep on the couch if I’m here after eight again. Tell Leo happy birthday from us yeah? I have something for him when I see him next.’ 

‘I will. love to you both. Cura ut valeas’

 ‘χαῖρε!’ 

Nesta left with Nyssa’s laugh like a ringing anvil and a smile on her face, her friends were well and it was a warm evening, and soon she would be with Leo. 

After falling asleep one too many times there and leaving no way for anyone else to get in, Leo had given in to wiring fingerprint recognition for a few close people. Mostly it was still his place though, a safe place from the world and she had to swipe her hand a few times before she found the secret control panel. 

The door shuddered open and gods Nesta had to blink desperately. The lights were dimmed, and after the liquid gold of the evening it was like blindness. Her stomach shifted uneasily but she pushed forwards anyway, using the rock wall as a lead. It was warm in here, with so much gunmetal and no windows, but all the same a shiver ran across her skin, like static. She squinted into the tunnel, but her eyes were adjusting rapidly and she couldn’t see anything, couldn’t hear anything.

She jerked to a stop. 

It was totally silent. 

A funny weight dropped to her stomach. Her back straightened. She tugged at the ring on her finger, her engagement ring, and her staff sparked into life. Nesta tested its weight and swung it easily into a two-handed defensive grip.

She crept forwards on her toes, eyes watchful and dark. The silence was heavy in her ears. 

And Leo. Where was Leo?

The lamp at his desk was on – surely a sign he had been here at some point – and she wove towards it, a moth to a flame, and stopped. The photo. Leo and Esperanza. Glass cracked. All the blood left her face.

‘Leo? Darling? Are you here?’

Still that dreadful dreadful silence. Nesta had a horrible suspicion she knew what was going on. 

‘Leo. It’s Nesta. Where are you darling?’ 

She hoped he could – would – reply. Her heart was starting to speed up, far more erratic than when she’d suspected monsters. 

But then, Leo’s worst enemy had always been himself. 

Nesta twisted her spear and immediately it shrunk back to her finger, then slowly, methodical she began her search of all the small hiding places of the bunker.

She needed to keep talking, she had to, maybe he could hear, ‘Leo my darling, we have lasagne for dinner, I made it fresh. Herbs from the garden, lots of cheese just as you like it. We could have it out in the garden with Festus. It’s a nice day outside.’ She prattled on, it didn’t matter what she said really, ‘And wait until you hear about the nectarines. You won’t believe how –’ 

She turned a corner and there he was. Under the saw bench, knees pulled up to his chin. 

‘Leo?’ 

He didn’t even flinch. 

Nesta’s stomach turned to lead. She all but ran towards him and fell to her knees. ‘Leo.’ Her voice was soft. 

His eyes were vacant, locked inwards on something she couldn’t see.

‘Darling one.’ She reached out a careful finger, stroked the top of his hand softly. ‘Leo, darling, it’s Nesta.’ 

His eyes kept staring straight ahead but he moved his lips slightly, no sound came out.

She placed her whole hand on his. ‘Can you hear me Leo? You’re safe, you’re safe.’  

She could feel the grab of panic at her lungs and she swallowed it down forcefully, any frantic energy would only make him worse, so she closed her eyes, breathed in and out and held her palms up. 

‘Vesta mater, macte esto’, she whispered the prayers of her childhood, ‘Te precor humiliter uti sis volens propitia foco meo, domique familiaeque meae’. 

The familiar shapes of the words on her lips were soothing and they stopped the racing of her heart. She continued to whisper even as she looked him over for injuries. She was starting to think maybe he was okay this time, maybe he’d been safe, when she spotted it, when she saw it, the back of his left hand, hidden, useless at his side. It was bruised colourfully, the skin broken and swollen, dried blood around his knuckles. She pressed her thumb to it, firmly but carefully, in case something’s broken but Leo doesn’t make a sound, he doesn’t even wince. It doesn’t make her feel better. 

Nesta knelt closer and took his face in her hands. ‘Leo my love, we need to get you up.’ She brushed the curls from his forehead and tried to look in his eyes but there was no sense of recognition. Only Leo, far away inside himself. Nesta didn’t want to know how long he’d been like this.

She reached into his tool belt and pulled out a triangle bandage then moved his, probably broken, fingers right up by his opposite shoulder, tying the sling snug so he couldn’t move. Like a doll, Leo let it all happen to him and Nesta told herself this was a good thing, that he recognised her enough to allow her to touch him. 

‘On three my love. One, two –’ she grunted a little as she hauled him to his feet. He was shorter than her so she had to stoop to fit his good arm around her neck, curling her own arm around his waist, half guiding, half carrying him through the bunker. 

He didn’t say a word as she began to chatter away again, anything to lull him back to the land of the living, but as they stepped into the bright sunshine he did curl ever so slightly into her. 

The parcae - or fates, whatever you called them were on their side. The two of them managed to make it back to their house without Leo freaking out or anyone meeting them. 

Festus’ head snapped up and he gave a huff of smoke, but it seemed even he knew better than to interrupt as Nesta bundled Leo inside, up the stairs and into the bathroom. 

‘Wait here, love’. She kissed his forehead and darted out as quickly as she could to fetch a bucket, stopping only for a literal second to shimmy out of her dress and into something more sensible. She dared not leave him alone for long. But Leo was exactly where she left him, wrapping in on himself as if trying to fold himself out of existence. Nesta filled the bucket with warm water and as much antiseptic as she dared and knelt beside him to undo the sling.

‘I’m sorry darling but this will stung,’ she murmured as lowly as she could, as if she could take away the pain she was about to cause. Then, with one perfectly manicured hand, she held his arm firmly, and with a soft cloth began to wash the oil and grease from his cuts.

Leo made a noise like a cry in the back of his throat and tried to pull away but she held him close, hushing him gently. 

‘I know, I know love. I’m sorry. I know.’ She hated the way he trembled under her, the whimper breaking his voice, but she needed to flush out any bacteria and dirt. The bruising looked worse now they were out of the dim workshop, a mottled web of colours that stretched most of his hand, puckering at the broken, split skin. She tested the movement of his fingers as she cleaned them but they were stiff and swollen twice their size and she could see now that one of his knuckles looked caved in. 

She didn’t know what he’d done to himself but it didn’t look good. Will would have to have a look at him tomorrow. 

If his hand looked terrible, at least it was now clean and she pushed up Leo’s sleeve so it wouldn’t brush and sting the cuts, only to hiss through her teeth. It looked like an animal had clawed its way up his arm. Her heart broke. 

‘Leo, darling.’ She brought his good hand up to her mouth and held it there, against her lips, and then kissed along his fingers until she reached his thumb when she gently unfurled his fist. Sure enough, the underside of his fingernails are caked in blood. 

‘I love you Leo.’ She wished her words could take away all his pain and hurt. 

An I love you didn’t fix things, it couldn’t, but she could and she would love him and hold him tightly until he could love himself again. 

She cleaned his arm carefully, every cut and scratch and graze and then his fingers, under each nail until there is only the bronze of his skin. Then she tipped the dirty water down the sink and watched the blood swill away. 

Looking at him now, grimy and sweaty and covered in mechanic’s grease and oil, settled her stomach somewhat; he hadn’t run away to the bunker on purpose to hide, that at least some of his birthday was spent happily building. Idly, she wondered what, if anything, happened to make it this bad. Not that she would ask, not yet, he wasn’t ready and it wasn’t urgent right now. First she needed to coax him out of this – this lostness – help ground him, to provide a safe place for him to come undone. 

Nesta turned the tap of the bath on and rummaged in the medicine cupboard for a small square of ambrosia, weighing it in her hand. She could smell it from here, a honey and leaven smell, of warm figs and mulsum. Leo had only mentioned once, what it tasted like.  Esperanaza’s arepas… it was worth a shot. 

‘Darling,’ she began carefully, holding it out, ‘do you want to try some –’ 

But Leo was already turning his head away. 

Her heart sank. ‘Not even a mouthful?’ 

Leo shook his head, the barest of movements. But it was a response. 

‘It will help my love, I promise. ’ She brought it closer, hoping the smell might help him but he recoiled, she could see his jaw clench. 

‘Okay. That’s okay. I’ll just bandage your arm up then. Is that alright?’

He didn’t move this time which she took as a yes. This time, as she touched him, he felt more agitated, more distressed so she hummed as she worked, careful not to let too much of her power infuse into her voice – just enough that it helps calm him a little. She wouldn’t do anything more without his permission. She took his suspenders off first, folded them neatly on the window ledge along with his tool belt, and his shoes, covered in grease. 

‘I’m going to take your shirt off darling, I’ll try not to move your arm too much.’ She’d hoped he might respond but he was back to staring off into the distance. Nesta kept humming, unbuttoning his shirt all the way so she could remove it sleeve by sleeve, lifting his injured arm carefully through. If it hurt, Leo didn’t let it show. 

She didn’t want to swaddle him like a mummy, and Apollo’s kids were always going on about the importance of letting wounds breathe, so she focussed on bandaging his wrist and fingers, binding them together for support. There was a nasty looking gash on his bicep which she was a little concerned about but she just applied a little of the beeswax cream Will had given them for Christmas last. 

‘Come’on, up we get.’ She helped him stand and couldn’t quite stop herself from reaching out to brush a hand along his cheek and into his hairline. She led him to the wall so that he could lean against it if he needed as she helped him step out of his trousers and boxers, cajoling him gently,  ‘I love you Leo, I love you so much. You’re doing so well.’

Leo didn’t protest as Nesta guided him into the bath and her heart did a funny, sad sort of jump at how unprotesting he was, how docile, how defeated. 

She drew the chair beside the tub, gathering soap and his shampoo and a fresh soft, soft, cloth. It seemed to already be doing him good. His eyes had closed and the steam brought a flush of red to his cheeks. Nesta pressed a kiss to the top of his spine and began to wash him, soap and water and cloth gentle on the skin she loves so much, humming as she goes. She started with his shoulders, scooping water and gently pouring it over him, around the dirt of his collar, the back of his neck. His eyes were still closed when she brought the cloth up to his face but he sighed a little as she wiped under his eyes, at the steak of oil on his forehead, along the contour of his jaw. And like that, she works, methodically, slowly, devoting herself to every inch of his body. 

She didn’t need Will’s powers to know that he was coming back to her; he was Leo. Her Leo. She knew him and his body better than anyone. She recognised the release of his shoulders, felt rather than heard when his breathing changed to something less stifled, more living, saw him focus on things in the room rather than some lonely memory. And when she asked if she could wash his hair, his eyes, brown and sad and full of everything life has demanded from him, looked at her and he made a noise like something of a cry or a whimper and Nesta was undone. 

The trust he had in her to show himself in this way, to let her help him, to see him like this… she wanted to scoop him up in her arms and bury him in her and never let him go until everything in the world that hurt him was gone. 

He tilted his head, just slightly, and she knew straight away what he was asking, and moved close enough for their foreheads to rest together. They sat like that together for a long time until eventually she pressed a kiss into his curls. Then she scooped water up like a prayer in her hands and poured it gently over his head, using her fingers to separate any tangles. Leo sighed, slightly breathily, and leant into her touch and she took a moment to enjoy the feeling of her hands in his hair. 

His conditioner smelt of honey and ginger and cloves, and she always enjoyed this part the best, working it into his curls. Nesta closed her eyes, humming, focusing on him and the feel of him. She wanted him to feel good, and held, and safe and loved.

‘Mi vida, I didn’t know you redecorated.’ His voice was low, quiet in his throat.

Her eyes jumped open. The room was filled with light and incense, smoke curling in through the open window, splayed across the ceiling, reaching towards her with curling tendrils around the faucets. A lilac chaste-tree has grown around the bathroom mirror, and all this, and Leo, who had been mute for hours and the first thing he said was a whispered joke. 

LeoLeoLeo , beautiful, loving, hurting Leo, who still tried to make her smile. She was filled with so much love for him. 

There was a ripple of water as he reached up out of the bath towards her. He took her soapy hand and just held her fingers tightly. She squeezed back and rubbed his knuckles until he was the one to let go. 

Leo rinsed his hair out himself as Nesta watched with practiced eye. His movements were still a little slow and his gaze still reaching for something that wasn’t there but he was searching for her touch too, and his smile, if small and shy and a little broken, was still a smile. 

When he climbed out of the bath she was already waiting for him with a fluffy towel. He took her in a hug, resting his chin on her shoulder. 

‘Come on,’ She hummed, ‘I’ll dry your hair.’ 

They padded through to their bedroom where Nesta hunted through the wardrobe for the softest pair of pyjamas she could find. Leo, standing a little lost by the door, took them from her and stared at them in his hands. 

‘Do you want help darling?’

There was a second, then he nodded, a faint blush to his cheeks. He tried to say something, then licked his lips and tried again. ‘Sorry.’ 

‘You have nothing to apologise for.’ Nesta said simply. She kissed the side of his head and helped him slip the pyjama top over his head, then step into the trousers, before guiding him to their bed. She let him sit between her legs, leaning against her, as she started to dry and scrunch his hair. 

‘Conditioner?’ 

He hummed and she obliged, working it through his hair, defining his curls with careful fingers. 

Leo was still unnervingly silent and still, and it was only as she was finishing that she ventured, ‘Do you want to talk about it?’ 

He shrugged then shook his head but he didn’t say anything and Nesta knew, not tonight. Not yet. 

‘That’s okay. I love you.’ 

He turned his big eyes upon her and burrowed into her chest. Breathing her in deeply and Nesta lets him, never mind his curls were still drying, he needed her close and Jupiter himself be damned if anyone stood in her way. 

‘I love you Leo.’ 

And she did. She loved him, and she would keep telling him so, stroking him softly until he came back to himself. 

‘I love you.’

(Part of a larger story universe)