#Tube Loading System

[krishnaengineering25]

Automatic Plastic Tube Filling Machine - Abhisara International

[thatnerdyqueer]

it's so funny when you think about activism and solidarity coming from the weirdest places, but then you remember, the concept of 'weird' is kind of defined by who's in power and then it makes sense

[nerdygirlramblings]

totally not at all inspired by a real life snowboarding injury, I present poly!141 x injured!reader

cw: hurt/comfort, accents attempted

You're sat in the hospital bed doing your best not to cry. You hold the tears at bay not because you're fine. Not because you're proud. Not because of the shock running through your system. No, you try hard not to cry because you don't know how your boyfriends will react if you're in tears when they show up.

The spill was the most ridiculous accident, comical in its cartoonish nature: ice on the steps. You were rushing to catch The Tube, desperate not to be late. You knew if any of your men were home, they would have chided your footwear. The pink heels were absolutely impractical, but they matched your pearl grey dress so perfectly. On a normal day, you would have worn something sensible and simply brought the cute shoes to wear around the office.

But today was not a normal day. Today was your anniversary, and you had lovely dinner plans with your men scheduled. You wouldn't be able to come home after work, so you needed to look perfect all day.

You were almost home free when the last step ruined everything. Your foot slid, your bag fell, and you put your hands out to stop your forward momentum. So many bad ideas all in a row.

You felt something pop, heard a snap, and knew immediately you were very injured. Pain radiated all the way up your arm, leaving fire in its wake. Signals weren't making their way from your brain to your hand; it flapped, unresponsive, in your lap.

Thankfully your neighbor, Mrs. Gillen, was on the curb, and while she couldn't help you when you fell, she called 999 for you. She asked if your men were upstairs, and when you shook your head, she called John. You knew she had everyone's number, but as she'd learned, a call to John usually got everyone.

As they loaded you into the ambulance, you heard Mrs. Gillen ask an EMT where they were taking you, only to relay that information into her mobile.

So now you wait in A&E, arm in a sling, hooked up to an IV of fluids and pain meds, to see just how bad things are. You hear your men before you see them, John's voice low, demanding information on you. You don't hear a response, but John's growled response means he didn't get what he wanted.

Next you hear Johnny, frantically shouting your name as A&E techs try to shush him for the benefit of other patients and their families. A nurse comes in, unease in his eyes, and says there are several people asking for you. He tells you they have a code they can call if you're not safe, if the people looking for you need to be directed elsewhere or handled by the authorities.

You roll your eyes and assure the nurse it's okay. You pass him your phone, open to a picture of the five of you on holiday in Majorca last summer. "They're mine," you tell him ruefully. "Best let them back if it isn't against protocol, otherwise you'll be dealing with a big ruckus."

He eyes you hesitantly, despite the evidence on your phone. "Really," you say. "We're together. They'll be harmless if they can see me."

He steps into the hall and you watch him talk with a doctor and a man in a security uniform. They all come in and you have to explain your unconventional relationship, all the while listening to Johnny's shouts grow more panicked and Simon's rumble join John's. The only one you don't hear is Kyle, but you sure it's because he's restraining Johnny, who would be running through the halls pulling open doors if he could.

Finally the nurse, doctor, and security guard leave. Within moments the door bangs open so hard it strains the hinges. The hall light is blocked by a mass in the door, breathing heavily.

"Hi, Simon," you say sheepishly. He steps into the room, strides eating up the distance to where you are. You watch his aborted attempt to hug you. You raise your uninjured arm and he quickly shuffles into the space, pressing his face to your hair and breathing deeply.

"Oh, darling," you hear John sigh, "what happened?"

You feel your face heat and won't meet his eye. His gaze tracks from your injury down your dress to your legs. And those pink heels. You see the realization hit. "Please tell me you did not leave the flat in those shoes." His voice is muffled by the hand he's dragged over his face.

"I wanted to look perfect for tonight," you reply. "And now I've ruined it all," you sniffle.

"Och, hen," comes Johnny's voice. "Ye didnae ruin anything," he coos, coming over, elbowing Simon out of the way to press kisses to your hair and cheek. "We were so worried when Mrs. Gillen called. We jus' wan' ye safe. Yer already perfect." He kisses you again and again.

"Ya mind if we wait with ya, love?" Kyle asks, sitting in the chair next to the bed.

You were nervous about being in A&E alone, scared of what damage you did to yourself. "I wouldn't want you anywhere else," you tell him.

They boys take up various positions around the room, Simon looming behind you, eyes crossed, watching the door; John in the chair near the door, looking at your chart; and Johnny on the bed with you, your uninjured hand in his.

When the attending finally comes in, she pulls up short at how full the room now is. She looks at your men, then at you, and says, "Do you want this medical information shared, or shall we ask everyone to wait outside?"

Suddenly the room feels smaller, the air stuffier. You know it isn't harder to breathe, but your men are expansive, and the idea they might not be welcome as the doctor tells you the extent of your injuries is too much.

"No, doctor," you say, trying to head off a confrontation. "They're with me. And it's best they hear whatever this is from you." You look at John and add, "I'm sure they'll have questions."

The doctor holds your eye for a long moment, and you see the moment she decides to trust you. She comes to the end of the bed and holds her tablet out, waiting for John and Kyle to come around and join Simon behind you.

She brings up the first scan of your forearm and you see it before she says anything, the glaring black line across the solid white bones. Combined fracture of the radius and ulna. She brings up a second scan of your shoulder where the injury is less obvious. There's no bone break, but the doctor points out where you tore the ligaments in your glenohumeral joint.

The more she talks the more the words blend together. You hear surgery. Physical therapy. Weeks of recovery. John's voice joins the doctor's. Then Simon's.

You tune them out, worrying about what this means for your job, for taking care of the house when your men are on deployment, for the burden this puts on the others.

You feel a warm weight on your thigh and glance down to see Johnny's hand, thumb rubbing soothingly back and forth. The sharp line of his jaw digs into your uninjured shoulder enough to get your attention. You turn your head to glance at him. He leans forward, breath warm against your cheek as he whispers, "Stop thinkin' so hard. Takin' care a ye isnae hardship. Hell, it's gunna mean ye cannae tell us tae stop."

You frown and whisper back, "I'm not supposed to be a burden," mouth twisted into a frown.

He scoffs. "Ah dare ye tae tell LT or the Cap'n yer a burden."

A throat clears, and you look away from Johnny. The doctor looks resolute; John's eyes are full of pity. They both seem to wait for your reaction, but to what? You were spiraling until Johnny drew you back to them, but what had John and the doctor said to make them look at you like that?

Your eyes dart between them, mouth opening and closing in your best imitation of a fish until the doctor saves you further embarrassment. "We can't do anything more today. The bones in your arm can't be set until the swelling goes down, so we can only put you in a temporary splint until a real cast goes on in about a week. And I don't want to schedule the surgery until the bone is in a cast, and preferably not until it's healed, but I need more imaging on the ligament to determine how quickly it needs surgery. I'm going to have to send you home with pain medication only. You're going to need quite a bit of help for a while."

At first, the most you manage is a small, "Oh." You clear your throat and try again. "Thank you, doctor. Er, when should I schedule the imaging for? And how should I do that? Oh, and where do I go for the actual cast?"

The doctor sighs and looks at John first before the others. "I gave your, er, friend all the contact information for the orthopedist and imaging specialists. He said they'd make sure you have your appointments set. I also gave him your script for pain medication to help you manage these first few days."

You thank the doctor again as your boys escort you home. You hold the tears at bay on the drive home, waiting quietly in the car when Kyle takes your prescription into the chemist. You make it up the stairs in Simon's arms, cradled against his chest like a fragile bird. It isn't until you're back in your flat that the tears come.

A torrent of pain snakes down your arm, stealing the breath from your lungs when you try to shrug your jacket off. Simon is only a step behind you, and he lunges forward, hands under you as you crumple, sobbing, to the floor.

A pair of warm, calloused hands gently cup your face. You can't see through the tears, but you smell sunshine when Kyle shushes you, telling you they're there.

"I don't want to be a burden," you cry between sobs. Your lungs are beginning to burn, everything throbbing in time to the ache in your arm. "Now I've messed everything up!"

You're picked up, gently, from the front hall. The smell of gunmetal tells you it's Simon. His soft steps thud along the floor. There're too many steps for you to be heading for the den, you think. The realization strikes that you must be going to the bedroom. The arms holding you deposit you in front of them on the bed.

Your hair is maneuvered over your uninjured shoulder and you hear the rasp of the zipper as it slowly descends. Simon carefully manipulates your good arm out of its sleeve while Johnny kneels to take your cute shoes off. Then Kyle and Simon work together to carefully, cautiously shift and support your arm to get your other sleeve off. You have a momentary flash - I'm glad A&E didn't cut my dress - before it's overwhelmed by the agony of getting your other sleeve down.

By the time the top of your dress has been slipped off, you're practically panting, teeth clenched tight to prevent the scream from clawing its way up your throat. The boys get you the rest of the way undressed and into your pajamas.

You look around and notice John isn't in the room. You look behind you to Simon, the one most likely to give you a straight answer, but when you ask about John, he pretends not to know him at all!

John walks in a moment later with some flowers you recognize from the vase in the kitchen. "I know you're disappointed, dove. We all are, but not because we think we're missing out if you're not there." John gets down onto one knee. "This isn't what we talked about. This isn't where we wan'ed to do it." He pulls a ring box out. "Was gonna do this at dinner, but I think you need ta remember, dove, you're our world."

You blink back more tears as Simon's voice vibrates your ribcage. His voice rumbles, " Wan' ya to be ours fully."

You look at Kyle and see the giant grin splitting his face.

You don't have to look to see Johnny's sitting, energy practically vibrating off him in waves, waiting as patiently as a kid on Christmas morning.

Your eyes land on John again, still kneeling. Silly man, putting himself through hurt for you. "Marry us, dove?"

Despite the unfounded hopelessness seeping into your bones. Despite the self-pity drowning you under waves of all you haven't done yet. Despite the agony rippling through your arm to the rest of you. Despite all that, you're answering before he fully finishes his question.

"Yes!"

main masterlist

[frost-queen]

🆇 🅾🆁 🅾 // part 4 (Reader x Young-il / player 001)

Forever tag:@missmelodramatic, @floatlosers, @alex–awesome–22  @merlieve, @queen-of-books, @glimmering-darling-dolly , @denkisclown, @wildiefleur , @meyocoko , @subjecta13-thefangirl , @m-rae23 , @harleyquinnswifeyfrfr , @melsunshine , @panhoeofmanyfandoms , @venomsvl , @the-uncoordinated-house-cat , @rosecentury , @evilcr0ne , @vviolynn , @niktwazny303 , @avada-kedrava-bitch-187, @erikasurfer , @slythetic  , @eliscannotdance, @p0nycurtis, @anjautembear, @noiyaaa, @filmedbyharkness , @uniquecutie-puffs, @r3va-dwme, @annasnape7, @starkeyszn, @bonelessghoul, @carrotjuicepdf, @imenekiki, @gay4hotmilfs, @yummycement, @sooyasya, @nerdytif, @hollxe1, @venavanup, @love-zami, @formula1love, @coruja12345, @ingstadstarlight

Summary: Let the voting begin. What you thought would be the end, only proves how money blinded most people are. Needing to remain in the game for one more game, you find yourself at a breaking point. Comforted by those close to you. [series]

The lights dimmed. Everyone facing the ceiling as the giant piggy bank lowered. The bottom already filled with money packs. The counting of players lowering in numbers. The tube lowered dropping packs of money inside the piggy. It kept coming and coming.

Pack after pack flopping down. It made you swallow nervously at the loading money. It would be a lie to not find it tempting even if it was just for a second. You lowered your gaze finding the thought unsettling. Stomach twisting that you felt tempted for it.

Squeezing your eyes shut, you wanted the melody booming through the speakers to stop. To stop fill the piggy with money. Swiftly opening your eyes once more, you turned to look at the side. Having the uneasy feeling someone was watching you. You were right.

Young-il had lowered his gaze as well, watching you. Watching you with a seriousness you wondered if he was observing you. Observing you as a person. His eyes slightly narrowing as to why you weren’t compelled by the money like countless others.

The money stopped making you exhale relieved. There had fallen a silence within the group. The tempting money having that effect. To make everyone re-consider their motives. There wasn’t much time left to wallow in your thoughts as the doors opened.

Pink suits stepping out with the voting system. All of you got up, stepping closer to the edge of the beds. – “We just need to win the vote and we can go home.” – Gi-Hun spoke with confidence. A pink suit stepped forwards.

“Voting will begin. This time we will start with the lowest numbers going up.” – the pink suit gestured forwards. Young-il being 001 stepped forwards, gently shoving some people aside. Unsure what possessed you, you grabbed for his hand, stopping him to go on. Young-il turned around to see who had stopped him.

His expression confused and curious. – “Young-il.” – you said softly. You knew he had proclaimed to vote X this time, but somehow you wanted to be sure. His gaze was strong on you. Suddenly making you realize you were about to manipulate his decision.

Shaking your head, you let go of his hand. Young-il blinked baffled. He watched you take a step back, exhaling deep. He flattened his expression, turning to walk towards the vote. Red light illuminating his face the closer he got. You grabbed Jun-hee’s hand out of fright. For the voting would start now.

The vote that would determine if you could go home or not. The buzzer sound went off. Everyone’s attention drawn to the counting vote. X O. A one popped up underneath X making you sigh relieved. Young-il exchanged his new patch to strap to his chest. Turning around, he gestured an ‘okay’ to you. It made you smile with tears in your eyes back at him. Mouthing a ‘thank you’ to him.

Young-il stepped to the X side, hands resting behind his back. The next player stepped up Player after player went up. Seeing the numbers rise on each side. The voters thinning out as you seemed to lose all hope.

You sighed deep when it was Thanos his turn to vote. He skipped happily over to the voting. Hitting the buzzer with his nose. A count adding to the O’s. Thanos turned around, forming an O with his arms above his head. – “Let’s go O’s.” – he pointed at you, gesturing a heart sign your way. It made you look away, crossing your arms.

Thanos smiled as he started to kick his fists up in the air. – “One more game!” – he cheered out. – “One more game. One more game.” – repeating time after time to rally up the others. The one’s on the O side started to join him. Shouting One more game. They started to go crazy for it. The pink suits standing stiffly. Not moving an inch to interfere.

“Continue the voting.” – a triangle pink suit said. Thanos cheered loud before happily going over to the O’s side. The voting continued as the group of votes thinned out. At this point you barely had any faith in it. Gi-hun touched your shoulder, giving you a strengthening squeeze. It’s not over yet.

Taking a deep breath, you stepped forwards. Walking the long line towards the voting. Heart pulsating through your veins. Stopping as the red light illuminated your face. Leaving a darkening on it. You stared at the blue O and the red X buttons. You already knew which one you were going to pick. So why were you hesitating?

Looking down you noticed your hand was trembling. Shaking with nerves to determine your faith. Would the money be enough for your father’s surgery? Would you survive the next game? What if you were never able to go home?

Breathing shakily you moved your hand. Closing your eyes before pressing the button. The buzzer ringing loud in your ear. The counting going up on the X’s side. Opening your eyes once more, you joining the others on the X’s side. Waiting for the last players to finish their vote.

Gi-hun still had to vote but it was clear it was no use. The O’s were in favour. Gi-hun gave his vote as it wouldn’t change anything. The O’s were celebrating. Riveting by their victory to play another game for the money. Money drunk to have that cash in their hands.

The X’s scattered. Returning disappointed back to the beds. Some people bumped against your shoulder when you didn’t move. Lost in your own thoughts. A nauseating feeling eating away at you. Bumping against some other players going in the opposite direction, you ran for the bathrooms.

You didn’t think anyone had noticed you, yet someone had. Young-il had been watching. Staring with a curious expression back at the bathroom doors. Wondering what is going through your head. You pushed a bathroom stall open, coming to sit down on a toilet. Feet pulled up on the closed lid. Hands covering up your ears as the tears started to flood.

One more game you had to play. Not even sure if it would be your last. Your mind went to your father. If you died here that meant he would have no chance. Then you thought of your mother. If you died here she wouldn't only lose your father but you as well. Always wondering what happened to her daughter that never returned home.

The thought alone pained your heart. A heavy feeling settling on your chest. Your body unconsciously rocking itself back and forth. Feeling the heaviness boil in your chest. Rise up to your throat where a tight knot formed. Rocking yourself harder you wanted to let out a scream.

A scream that got stuck in your throat. Unable to breath properly. Needing to exhale loud to remind yourself to live. A voiceless scream creeped up, body shaking. Trembling with the sensation rushing through your veins. Gaesaekki. You felt like screaming out. Wanting to curse at yourself for putting in such a situation. Hating yourself for the pain you were putting on your parents.

The pink suits re-entered to hand out food and drinks. Everyone came standing in line to collect theirs. – “Where is Y/n?” – Jun-hee asked looking curious around whilst standing in line. Hyun-ju had just accepted her food, giving it to Dae-ho for save keeping. – “I’ll go see.” – she said taking her leave to the bathroom.

The line thinned out as it was Young-il’s turn. He accepted his food and drink. Remaining present with a hard glare. – “I need another one.” – he said. – “Only one per player.” – the pink suit circle responded. – “Give me another one.” – Young-il made himself clear. Glaring threateningly at the pink suit. The pink suit didn’t move for a moment till he obeyed. Handing him another one.

Young-il returned to the beds to wait. Hyun-ju entered the bathrooms with a knock on the door. – “Y/n…” – she said hearing soft sobs from one of the bathroom stalls. It made her swallow with concern. – “Y/n are you in here?” – she spoke louder. Hearing you sniff loud, clearly changing your position. – “I’ll be out in a minute.” – you responded.

A moment later you walked out, too shameful to show your face at her. – “Y/n…” – she said as you stood with your back at her. – “I’m alright.” – you lied, wiping your cheeks dry. Hoping it wouldn’t be too visible that you had been crying. You felt her hand drop on your shoulder, nearly bringing you back to tears.

Turning around, you threw your arms around her. Needing the comfort of her hug. Feeling the warmth of her arms going around you as well. She didn’t need to say anything, her presence being enough comfort. – “Unnie.” – you said with a loud sniff. Hyun-ju shushed you, wiping your cheeks dry. She gestured at the sink.

You washed your face, hoping to get some redness away. To cover up the signs of your crying. Hyun-ju and you returned to the main room. Glancing to your side, you saw the last of the pink suits leave. Leaving as you knew you had missed the food. Sighing soft, you could blame yourself for one thing more.

You came sitting between the others, seeing them enjoy their food. It made your stomach growl. Dae-ho returning Hyun-ju’s food to her. The smell of it already making your mouth water till. Blinking surprised at an aluminium bowl hovering in your sight. Turning your head to your generous giver. Young-il.

He gestured with the bowl at you to accept it. For a moment you could only stare at him. Stare that he had thought of you. To bring an extra set for you while you weren’t around. – “Take it.” – he said trying to sound unbothered. You accepted it looking shyly down. – “Thank you.” – you answered. Young-il waved his hand as if it was no big deal.

Grabbing the spoon you let the first bite melt in your mouth. Taking in the joy of your food. Young-il huffed, unable to hide his smile. You hummed curious when he moved his spoon over to your bowl. Giving you a piece of his meat to you. It made you stare back at him. He once again dismissed the gesture with a wave of his spoon.

Dae-ho set his empty bowl aside. – “When we get out of this, we should come together to drink Soju.” – he let out. – “Right Y/n.” – he addressed you, catching you off guard that he was addressing you. Humming surprised with the spoon in your mouth. – “Oh… sure.” – you answered having removed the spoon.

Young-il stared down at Dae-ho. – “Y/n, if you want Soju I’ll arrange it. I’ll treat you to Soju.” – he spoke nudging you. It made you quirk your eyebrow up to him. – “Are you trying to get me drunk, Young-il?” – you responded. Young-il swallowed nervously, staring blankly back at you. Unsure if you were being serious or not. It wasn’t till he saw your smile appear, he noticed you were joking.

“Ah.” – he said long adding a chuckle. Tensing his jaw feeling a bit foolish. Jung-Bae collected all the empty bowls. Dae-ho stretching his arms out with a squeal. All of you talked some more till it was time for lights out.

Lights will go out in 30 minutes. After a few more moments, you all started to wrap things up. Each heading for their own beds. You remained seated taking Young-il by his sleeve.

He looked curiously back at you. Wondering why you held him back. You pulled him back down. Moving your head closer to him. – “Thank you.” – you whispered. Leaving a caring kiss against his cheek. – “One more game, right.” – you told him.

Young-il could only nod numbly. Too stunned by your blissful kiss. You let go of him, returning to your bed. Young-il kept staring, swallowing deeply. Till the lights went out, leaving him in darkness.

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

Read more of my fics on my Masterlists!

[rav1377]

Air Attack

Nikolai x fem!reader x John Price

tw:DEAD DOVE, DO NOT EAT. sex pollen, intoxication, dubcon, noncon, conscious boys, borderline passing out reader, illness, war stuff, etc, good ending, kissing and a bit of fluff at end, you have been warned, this is a bit dark.

“Contact rear!” you yell, whipping around with your rifle to fire at enemy soldiers. “Contact rear!” John echoes back to you, acknowledging your call. he begins shooting at the other soldiers, helping you bring down the four that had tried to attack. the rest of the task force faced forward, gaurding the front as you John brought up the rear. The lab you’re clearing out was abandoned, used for illegal scientific research, and finally, your task force got cleared to run through it, clearing out any undesirable persons that remained. the five of you spanned out in the large room that you entered, lowering rifles as you inspected lab equipment. you walked to one of the walls, where a door lay closed. it piqued your interest, the solider in you itching to clear it, to ensure it was safe. so you walked over slowly, the rest of the boys enraptured with the beakers and test tubes. as you opened the door and walked in, a string was pulled across the hinge, triggering a self defense system of sorts, releasing some sort of white powder into the air, more specifically, in your face. you got a good two lungfulls before your chest was racked with a cough, trying to clear the powder from your system. the noise drew the other boys attention, and they quickly ran over. but it was too late, your mind was already swimming, eyes lidded. your body felt too hot all of a sudden, your uniform too tight, everything was too too too.

your body slumped to your knees just as John got to you, holding your chest up so he could look at your face. when he saw your condition he let out a frustrated grunt. “something’s wrong! radio Nik, tell him to fire up the chopper.” he says to Johnny, and the Scot obeys, contacting the pilot that’s waiting on the roof. your little noises are all that’s heard as John scoops you up in his arms, cradling your body to his. he’d thought they were grunts and groans from pain but he couldn’t be further from the truth. the powder that had been released was aphrodisiac powder. it’d made its way into your bloodstream, affecting the nerves in your body. you were so sensitive and so needy, you needed to come or you were going to lose your mind. all you felt was John jostling your form, causing your clit to rub on your panties and onto the rough fabric of your trousers. gasping, your head lolled back, eyes blown wide. John was careful loading your body onto the chopper, Nik clambering out of the pilots seat as he saw John approach with your limp form, helping the British man lay you on the floor of the chopper. when all was said and done and the doors closed John gave a once over you, confused as to what was wrong. “take us back to base!” Kyle yelled over the engines st Nik, and the Russian nodded. your body was twitching on the ground, joints losing control as the powder overtook your body. whatever it was, it was powerful. everyone had slipped on headphones and John sat in a seat next to you worried as you moaned out. Nik glanced back at your form, doing a double take once he saw the remnants of the white powder on your face. “черт!(hell) what did she breathe in there!” Nik said into the mic. Johns head swiveled to the Russian man. “you know what it is?” John called. Nik nodded. “I have a feeling I do.” grumbling, he got out of his seat before bucking his head at Simon. “you were in Air Force right?” he says, and Simon nods. he looks back at you once more before moving to the cockpit.

as Nik inspects the powder on your face, he brings some to his nose, smelling the substance. “she’ll be okay.” he grunts, hands reaching down to undo your vest. “man what’re you doin?!��Kyle exclaims. “it’s aphrodisiac! that lab researched illegal substances, it’s potent whatever it is.” Nik explains, still stripping you out of the outer layer of gear. John merely looks at his friend in confusion. “sex pollen! it gets into system, causes fever, sensitivity, overwhelms the limbs.” he explains. “need to strip her down.” Nikolai grunts, and John nods, moving to undo your harness. “how do we fix it?” Johnny cuts in, eyes concerned as he watches on. “hospital.” Nik says, turning you on your side to get your jacket off. now you’re down to your leggings and tank top that you always wear under your gear. “we’re three hours from the nearest one!” Simon yells, gruff voice cutting through. Nik’s face contorts. “well. other way is to make her come.” he explains, looking back at John. the captains eyes are hard and focused in thought as he looks at you. sweat has pooled on your forehead, plastering baby hair to the skin. your body still twitches and your eyes are glossy. “so somebody’s got to fuck ‘er?” Simon calls and Nikolai nods. “bloody hell.” Kyle says, sitting down in his seat. Nik purses his lips before brushing hair away from your face. “her fever is getting worse.” he states, and John looks down. “one of you can do it.” he says, and Johnny looks away. “I-i can’t do it with her-nae while she’s like this. can’t even hold ‘er head up.” he says, and John looks to Kyle. the man shakes his head, eyes wide. “sir, all due respect, that’s not what I wan’ to do.” John merely nods and lets out a huff only heard in his head. you’re in pain, can’t they see that?

another violent twitch of limbs and you groan again, this time the noise has a twinge of pain. “Simon?” he asks. the blonde looks back at you, and his gaze softens. he cares for you like no other, but he can’t touch you if you don’t know what’s going on. he won’t. “she lucid?” he grunts. John leans over to pat your cheek, your eyes rolling out to face him. drool drips from your mouth and the pupils refuse to focus. with the captains silence, Simon has his answer. “sorry sir, but I won’t.” he says, eyes facing forward at the wheel of the copter. John nods and looks down. he knows enough of what Simon’s been through to know that he wouldn’t touch you, not while you’re like this. John’s gaze turns down and guilt creeps into his chest. he doesn’t want to touch you when you’re like this. wouldn’t be right. you’re his soldier, he’s supposed to take care of you, protect you from the bad before it happens. and he didn’t. let you walk into the room and succumb to it. he feels something on his shoulder. It’s Nikolai. “John. I know you don’t want to.” he says in that low rumble. the Brit looks up quickly. “but we need to act fast.” John’s hand hesitates as he reaches for your waistband. “I-i can do it.” he says, and Nikolai nods. this might be the first time John’s ever felt like this. guilt, hatred, worry, all of it. John pulls down the waistband, sliding it below your ass. Johnnys eyes screw shut and and clambers to the cockpit besides Simon. Kyle moves to a seat in the back, opting to look out a window. he takes off his headphones. John creeps up to took at your face, tipping your head to his. “love ‘f you can hear me, do somethin’. anything.” he begs, brushing back your hair. but you can’t, too overcome by the powder in your veins. your back is arching at even the smell of John, causing you to whimper out a moan. John’s hand twitches to your now-exposed cunt. it’s dripping with arousal, clenching on nothing. John gaze turns to Nik. “do I have to actually fuck her?” he whispers, and Nikolai nods. “works better.” he replies, looking away. so with a shaky hand, he undoes his zipper and leans back to you, running a hand through your folds to spread the wetness. his other hand pumps his member, stroking it to hardness. he hates himself for it not even being hard to get his body turned on for you. but nevertheless, he slicks up his tip with your arousal before sinking into you. the change is instantaneous. your hips buck up and a porn worthy moan leaves you, relief creeping in as you’re finally, finally, filled. Johns eyes screw shut as he tries to forget what he’s doing, but when he’s balls deep inside you he can’t. he tried to move, rolling his hips into you slowly before stopping as another sweet moan leaves your lips. your cunts practically dripping, John’s length quickly soaked in you. you’re clenching on him now, your muscles working to keep him tucked inside you, to fill you, to please you. the man groans and he looks at your face. god, you don’t even register what’s really happening, just trying to buck your hips onto John in your state. it takes one look at your too out of focus eyes and John halts his movements, pinning your hands together to stop you from touching him.

he pulls out.

“I-i can’t Nik.” he says, sitting back with a hand creeping up to cover his mouth, an attempt to ward off the nausea that’s creeping up his stomach. he couldn’t do this. couldn’t even help his solider when they were suffering. he’d always thought he’d do anything to protect one of his soldiers, but this is where he drew the line. he knew you too well, been around you too long to touch you like this when you were so out of it. Nikolai nods and moves his hand to check your forehead, your temperature still spiking upwards. your chest heaves pants as sweat drips off your temple now, pooling on your soft skin. Nik watches, eyebrows knitted together as your arm begins to tremor, muscles and fingers twitching uncontrollably. John’s watching on with concern, unable to help. “what will help?” he asks, voice cracking. “water maybe.” Nikolai says, standing quickly to retrieve a bottle from the cockpit. when he returns, he spills it on your forehead, trying to cool you off. he brings it to your hands next, hoping that if your semi-conscious brain registered that if your hands were cool, your body would cool down. it’s not helping. John watches on, and for the first time in a while, he feels helpless. he can’t do the one thing that needs to be done. none of his boys can. but as he watches Nikolai check your too-quick pulse, and idea creeps in.

“Nik.” he says, and the Russian looks at him. “you do it.” John finishes. Nikolai’s eyes look between your panting lips and John. Nik knows that your team cares for you, they don’t want to lose you. their own stomachs are in knots from worrying about your state, each one craning to hear the conversation. this isn’t some stranger though. this is Nikolai. the one that’s saved your skin time and time again with perfect extractions and pick ups. the one that you drink with your team after a hard mission. the one that taught you basic mechanics. the one that covered you with a blanket when it was cold in the hanger. he’s no stranger to the team. no stranger to you. and maybe that’s why he purses his lips and positions himself in John’s spot, unzipping his flight suit enough to make do. his fingers trace over your sensitive nub and you whine. as he pulls out his member, Nik teases your pearl even more, drawing more helpless sounds out of you. then he pushes his tip inside you, snagging on your tight entrance before bottoming out. god, the noise you let out is something that shouldn’t make him harder, not while you’re like this, but it does. his head is flush with your cervix, thick length pressing against your walls perfectly as he rocks his hips. another soft moan. Nik’s hand reaches up to cup your neck, supporting your head before he pushes into your warmth harshly. “ngh!” your arm twitches at your side again before seizing up, going limp.

Nikolais silent as he pulls out with each movement, focused on trying to get you better. and right now, that’s making you come on him. his other hand rubs against your nub, sending jolts of pleasure up your spine and straight to your brain. Nik’s practically grinding into your cunt, keeping you nice and full of him. each time his head rubs on that spongy spot inside you, another loud moan comes from your lips. your brain is only focused on one thing right now and one thing only, completely consuming your body to focus on the attention your cunts getting, back arching to let Nik in deeper. a sharp cry when you’re close, and Nikolai quickens his pace, grunting. his nose presses against your ear, and his whispering soft nothings against your skin, almost like prayers. he needs you to come back. your team needs you to come back. the feeling of his heavy body against yours and his oh-so-strong scent of musk and oil dripping off him turns you on more, and when you finally release on his fat length, you gasp out in relief, thighs shaking as you finally come. Nik’s eyes blow open when he feels you clamping on him, the hand in between your legs slowing. the one on your neck forces your head up so he can look at you, a sigh of relief breaking through when he sees your pupils dilate on his face. you still don’t know what’s wrong though. your body still too hot. so Nik doesn’t relent, bullying his cock into you in the floor of the helicopter. at least your somewhat more conscious. you on the other hand, still crave more, crave to have your little cunny filled up, and Nik’s doing an excellent job at that, ensuring you’re nice and full with him. “ah! fuh-nghhh.” your noises echo in his ear, at least that sounded halfway coherent. Nikolai doesn’t relent, pulling your body flush with his. he’s so so close now, body betraying him. but it’s not his fault, your warmth is just so inviting and wet, fitting his large member perfectly. as you clench around him, trying to keep him buried inside you, he pants softly against your ear.

“please, Milaya, please.” he whispers as his tip is flush with your cervix. his hand started rubbing your clit again, and he feels your hips jolting against his, unable to move with his large weight on top of you. your body heaves out large pants as you finally come again with a loud wail, clamping on Nik’s length. the Russian groans softly as he comes not long after, helping add sensitivity to your aftershocks with his hot release. your eyes have rolled back into your head, body limp with pleasure. when Nikolai pulls out and looks at your face, you’re out cold, body still clenching on him unconsciously. the man pulls up your waistband again to give you some decency before zipping up his own flight suit. when he presses a hand back to your head, your fevers finally broken. dropping his fingers to your neck, he feels your pulse, back at a normal rate. this is good, you’ve survived the worst of it. he nods at John and the Brit nods back, grateful that his friend did this. Johnny looked at the exchange before leaning over to Simon, who had his headphones off. Simon nods at whatever Johnny said, an instruction to return to Nikolai’s hanger rather than a hospital. the worse is over.

————————————————————————-

the soft material of a blanket rubs on your bare legs when your eyes blink open. you’re in a dark room, no light comes in through the small window on the wall, it’s nighttime. wait, what happened? your head throbs something fierce and a small ache pulses in between your thighs. slowly, you sit up, pushing blankets off of you. you don’t recognize the room you’re in. so you scan the room silently, the solider in you emerging. the door opens, letting in soft light. it’s just Nik. you let out an exhale. “Nik.” you breathe, eyes flitting to your captain who’s right behind him. “John.” you say, eyes concerned. what happened? they look worried. “Milaya. you feel okay?” Nik asks, using the little name he always uses for you. you nod and watch as they come to stand next to the bed. you try to get out, but John shakes his head. “s’alright.” he murmurs. “what do you remember?” John asks. furrowing your brows, you try to think, eyes searching. the lab. the door. the powder. not much after that, your mind struggles to recall. feeling warm. an ache in your legs. your arm feeling weird. a hand holding your neck. whispers in your ear. “n-not much. some room, I inhaled some powder…I felt warm…someone holding my neck?” you say, trying to recall the details. John nods and sits next to you. “love something happened.” he says seriously. “you inhaled aphrodisiac. a potent and dangerous one. it caused a fever that could’ve killed you. we…we were too far from a hospital. you needed help.” his voice becomes quieter. “only way to stop the fever was to have sex with you.” John practically whispers out that last part, and your lips fall open as you stare into your lap. you could’ve died because of your stupidity to open that door. inhaling that damn powder. and your team had to fuck you to keep your body from giving in to fever. what the actual hell? “god.” you breathe out. “w-who. who the hell did that. why would you even think to do that? y-you should’ve let me die, captain. you didn’t have to help me like that, I-i im so-“ you’re cut off. “none of that, love. you didn’t deserve to die, and im so sorry that we did what we did…it-it wasn’t right, but we couldn’t let you die, love.” John says. “you forced one of the boys to fuck me, that’s it?” you cry out, burying your head in your hands. “no.” Nik says. you look up. “John didn’t force anyone.” he says. “so who the hell did it then?” you ask. Nik looks at the ground, and it’s the first time you’ve seen him even come close to looking ashamed. you go quiet and your eyes widen. “I’ll give you some space.” John whispers, creeping out of the room.

Nik helped you? the man that’s always there. took care of the team when you needed it. celebrated when you did, supported you when you needed it. “Nik.” you whisper. the man looks up slowly. “I’m sorry. I couldn’t let you die.” he says. your head falls down again. he did it for you, couldn’t bear to see your body lowered into the ground if he couldn’t help it. so he did. and it cost him to do it. “why. you didn’t have to do it.” you grit out. “I wanted to. not in bad way, but I could not let you die, not when I could help.” he explains, sitting on the bed next to you. “are you mad at me?” he asks, looking forward. you shake your head. “no. I would’ve done the same. but…you volunteered?” you reply, Nikolai nods. “I am still sorry. you did not want it.” he says, and you look at him. “it’s okay. I-i don’t remember it much. and if i did, I would’ve been okay with it. you did it to help me.” you say, and Nikolai nods, looking at you. “it’s okay.” you assure him. his hand reaches for your own, holding it in his much larger one before he brings it to his lips, pressing a kiss there. “you talked to me, didn’t you?” you ask. “I could hear a voice. telling me it would be ok. brushed my hair away. you were saying please.” you say, and Nikolai nods. “I…I thought you would die.” the deep rumble of his voice sinks into your skin, and you lean against his shoulder. “im here.” you whisper, and you turn your head to cup his face in your hands. you’ve never seen Nikolai cry. but now, tears pool in his eyes, and he looks away. your heart pangs. leaning forward, you press a kiss to his nose before dropping your lips down, letting them press against his softly. his move against yours gently, almost as if he’s afraid he’ll hurt you. when you pull away, your hand finds his and he holds you in his arms, allowing you to relax again.

[lukeria314]

“And if dreams can come true — what does that say about nightmares?”

People who say that Chuuya must be able to dream are deeply mistaken and forget that he is an experimental project, whose life was sustained by liquid—and his REM phase wasn’t just reduced, dreams were eradicated from his brain entirely. He had no foundation upon which to build dreams. He lived in that tube like in a coma, unaware of anything except the fluid around him. His associative imagery simply didn’t form. He is blind in that regard. They took him as a child, and until adolescence, he sat in that tube with no memory of himself.

He doesn’t know how to dream. He has no reason to dream. He simply has nothing to dream with.

He may have developed chronic REM-sleep disorder because he never had a proper sleep cycle in the first place—it never developed and possibly never engaged afterward either. And without REM sleep, there are no dreams, even if you’re asleep.

Moreover, Stormbringer openly reveals Chuuya’s struggles with his sense of self. “Who am I?” And that “I” is the core of dreams. There are no dreams in which he could participate. He is like a newborn. He sleeps like a machine, just a robot. He has no dream-related brain activity. In this sense, he’s an eternal child.

The fact that he spent his entire life in a test tube also affects his height and weight. Starting with the basics: the body has no stimulus for growth. In fluid, under weak gravity, muscles and bones have no resistance to develop against. They simply don’t develop. On top of that, growth hormone is released during sleep. And as mentioned above, Chuuya didn’t sleep in the conventional sense—his state was closer to a coma.

Also, some of the hormones necessary for growth and development are produced through movement and proper nutrition. When a person doesn’t eat, doesn’t move, and doesn’t follow a circadian rhythm, hormonal signals become disrupted, and growth hormone production is suppressed. Add to this the fact that the cells don’t regenerate. Surrounded by fluid, with no oxygen, no micronutrients, no proper blood circulation or metabolism—cells can’t renew, be nourished, or receive the signal to grow. Hormones aren’t produced. Tissues aren’t stimulated. Nothing applies pressure or stretches them. Even if cells do divide, they remain in a suspended state, because without external stimuli, they don’t differentiate into specialized cells. They don’t mature.

In biological terms, all growth signals are dulled.

Now, seventh-grade physics: a body immersed in liquid is subjected to uniform pressure from all sides. Depending on the depth and density, this pressure varies. The fluid balances out the internal pressure of tissues—essentially creating resistance. This means tissue doesn’t “push” against its surroundings, because everything is compressed back. There is no space for growth. In fluid, as mentioned earlier, there’s no gravity. The body doesn’t know where up or down is. But all organs and bodily systems grow with orientation in mind. Without it, spatial awareness is lost.

And do you know why Chuuya’s mass might appear larger? Let me repeat the blobfish analogy. If the liquid he was suspended in was dense, then once he’s taken out onto dry land, where the pressure is different and the fluid no longer compresses his body, he would swell—only slightly, but still swell.

And to top it all off: asymmetry. The body stays stuck in one position. This leads to deformed limbs, a crooked spine, underdeveloped joints. The skin becomes thin, with no developed protective horny layer, leaving the body vulnerable to infections. Bones, without stress or load, become thin and soft—even hypoplastic. They never gain proper shape or density; they’re weak. The body was essentially preserved. Now, he has narrow lungs, potentially inverted organs (due to lack of gravity orientation), and even his face remains childlike.

It’s abnormal. It’s miniature. It’s asymmetrical.

People always overlook the key fact: no matter what kind of person Chuuya is, he’s still a child, subjected to experimentation by grown men—robbed of everything a “normal” child or human of his age is supposed to have.

[whencyclopedia]

U-Boat: Germany's Submarines of WWI & WWII

The U-boat, short for Unterseeboot (undersea boat), was the name for submarines used by the German Navy during the First World War (1914-18) and Second World War (1939-45). In the two Battles of the Atlantic, U-boats sank thousands of ships, but defensive strategies such as dropping depth charges, providing air cover, and, above all, the convoy system, ensured Britain was supplied with the resources it needed to continue both wars until victory was achieved on land.

U-Boats in WWI

When WWI began in 1914, the German Imperial Navy had only 20 operational submarines or Unterseeboots (undersea boats), as they were known, a name soon shortened to U-boat. Together, Britain and France had around 200 submarines. German production went into overdrive to catch up. The German navy constructed several classes of submarines to meet different requirements, such as coastal patrols, laying mines, and long-distance vessels. By 1917, Germany had 140 U-boats. While the British Admiralty focused on smaller submarines for the defence of ports, Germany opted for a vessel that could attack enemy shipping anywhere at sea. U-boats became particularly important following the Battle of Jutland in May 1916 (a strategic victory for the Royal Navy, but one with high losses), after which the giant German battleships were largely confined to port. U-boats, on the other hand, were free to roam hidden beneath the waves and attack at will any enemy target they came across in the North Sea, Atlantic Ocean, and the coastal waters of the British Isles.

The earliest U-boats, the UB class, were limited to coastal operations, but developments improved their operational capacity as the war wore on. The typical WWI U-boat had a range capable of reaching the Western Atlantic Ocean, a top speed of 17 knots, and displaced around 700 tons. U-boats carried six torpedoes. Two torpedoes could be fired from the bow and two from the stern. The submarine also had a gun which could be fired when on the surface; this had a minimum calibre of 4.1 inches (10.4 mm). A diesel engine was used when on the surface, and twin electric engines when submerged. The crew on board numbered up to 39 persons. Conditions on board were extremely cramped and uncomfortable, and made worse by the constant stench of diesel fuel, which even permeated the taste of the submariner's food.

The German Navy built a larger class of U-boats, which was unarmed but capable of carrying cargo. The Deutschland was the first of this type, put in service in 1916. Some of these cargo submarines were subsequently converted into armed vessels known as U-cruisers, although the first were not operational until 1918. The U-cruisers had an impressive range of 12,000 nautical miles, and they could well have turned the tide of the war if they had been produced earlier and in larger numbers.

The UC-class submarines were used as minelayers from 1915. With a slow speed of six knots and a limited range of 750 nautical miles, these vessels were designed to stay near coastlines and lay mines, 12 per trip. The mines were released from near-vertical tubes that had been flooded. An upgrade to the class in 1916 increased the range tenfold and the mine load to 18. The UC II class was also armed with a 3.4-inch (8.8 cm) gun. The UE-class submarine was a larger, ocean-going version of the UC-class. The UE-boats, in service from 1915, could voyage 8,000 nautical miles and carry 34 mines. A class upgrade in 1918 meant the newer UE-boats could carry 42 mines in their tubes and another 30 in deck containers.

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⇒ U-Boat: Germany's Submarines of WWI & WWII

[kaden9]

A comforting silence

Silco x GN!Reader

Word Count: ~1.1k (expandable)

CW: Mentions of minor injuries, implied past trauma, emotional vulnerability, power dynamics typical of Zaun (not romanticized), subtle obsession elements (non-threatening), mutual pining, soft hand-holding intensity.

At first, Silco didn’t even notice you.

You were just a technician. Another face among the dozens hired to help maintain the machinery beneath the Last Drop—pipes, valves, shimmer tubes. You kept to yourself. You were good at your job. You didn’t make noise.

But over time, he started remembering your name.

You weren’t like the others. You didn’t flatter him, didn’t tremble when he walked into the room. You asked direct questions, and you listened when he answered. You looked him in the eye. And sometimes—only sometimes—you smiled at him like you weren’t afraid to.

He hated how much he noticed.

One night, he found you working late, elbow-deep in a pipe system below the bar, grease smudged on your cheek. You didn’t look up when he approached.

“Most people are asleep by now,” he said.

You kept working, voice casual. “Yeah, well… most people don’t like the quiet as much as I do.”

Silco leaned against the wall, arms crossed. “You don’t mind being alone down here?”

You glanced over at him, a brow raised. “Are you checking if I’m scared?”

He didn’t answer. You smiled again. Damn that smile.

“I’m not,” you added. “Not anymore.”

The silence between you wasn’t uncomfortable. He stayed longer than he needed to. Watched you work. Listened to the way you hummed under your breath, just softly enough that no one else would ever hear.

After that night, he noticed more things. The way you always brought tea instead of coffee. How you always kept a handkerchief in your back pocket. The little scar on your wrist. The quiet way you took care of others when they were too tired to ask.

He started making excuses to talk to you. Asking about systems he already knew inside out. Passing through your workspace a little too often. Dropping a comment here, a question there.

And then, one evening, he left a small container of your favorite tea on your workstation. No note. No explanation. But you knew. The next day, you thanked him with nothing more than a nod and a quiet, “Didn’t take you as the thoughtful type.”

He looked at you a long time before answering.

“I didn’t used to be.”

Weeks passed. The glances grew longer. The silences more loaded. You touched his sleeve once when he handed you something, and he didn’t pull away. He caught your hand once when you almost slipped on the stairs, held it longer than he needed to.

And one night, after a long, tense meeting, he found you waiting for him upstairs.

“You okay?” you asked.

He didn’t speak. Just sat beside you, quiet. Let himself lean into your shoulder a little. Your hand found his.

And he held it.

[letsquestjess]

Never Thought I'd Love Like This (Fox x GN!Reader)

Summary: When the data systems go down at the Coruscant Detention Centre, you are sent to collect the datapad records until the problem is fixed. While you are there, you catch the eye of Commander Fox.

Word count: 3.3K

Warnings: None.

The grunt teeming at the back of Fox’s throat formed an irritated grumble. He jabbed at the monitor, cursing the infernal device as the same error message replaced the loading icon. He didn’t know why he thought another attempt would offer different results after hours of trying to send their morning reports. All he wanted was to submit the latest prisoner details to the network and get on with his day. Yet, that confounded crimson triangle halted every effort. 

“Have you tried resetting the system?” Thorn asked, setting a steaming cup of caf on the desk beside him. 

“Three times already,” Fox replied. “Kriffing reports just won’t send.” 

“Nothing is going through,” Stone confirmed from the screens over the opposite side of the office, four displays returning the same failure code and a fifth buffering before it, too, responded in kind. “Could be a signal issue.”

That was the last thing Fox needed. More problems to clear up. Many assumed the Coruscant Guard had a straightforward job; corral criminals, a bit of correspondence and form-filling, and a cup of caf to top it off. But the core world of the galaxy relished trouble, throwing curveballs on a daily basis to keep them sharp. He would happily do without the added disquiet, especially with seven more arrests called in overnight and holding cells running out, but their line of work afforded them no such luck. 

“Last time that happened, it only lasted an hour,” Thorn pointed out. “This has been going on all morning.” 

The side entrance unsealed in a gasp and shut again once it had admitted Thire, a wearied slump in his posture. “Okay, I have good news and bad news.” 

“Good news first,” Thorn pleaded. 

“Headquarters assured me the problem can be resolved.”

“And the bad news,” Fox pressed, removing his helmet and ruffling out his curls.

“It’s going to take a while to fix,” Thire replied. 

“How long?” 

“They’re not sure.”

“Was the system hacked?” Stone asked. 

“The engineers don’t know. They haven’t been able to find anything definitive yet,” Thire said. “Only thing they could tell me was that we are in this for the long haul, but they are sending representatives to each precinct a few times a week to collect datapads with the records and reports on them.”

Already depleted from a restless night and any chance of a quiet day quickly vanishing, Fox planted his face in his gloved hands. The rough fabric pressed into his forehead and the fans on the side of the data transfer system blew hot air onto his cheeks. 

“Could be worse,” Stone offered. “At least we don’t have to write them out and deliver them ourselves.” 

Fox rose from his slouch and frowned at his brother in arms, daring him to make another unhelpful comment. “Very practical, Stone. Thank you.” 

“Anything to cheer you up, commander,” Stone replied. He snatched a free datapad from the holder on the wall and collapsed into a swinging chair. 

“Our designated representative will be here this afternoon,” Thire said, handing the rest of the datapads out, “so we better get to work if we want everything correlated by the time they arrive.” 

* * *

A yawning shadow clung to the corridor that admitted you into the detention centre, the tube lights from the office directing a feeble wedge onto the floor and the obnoxious buzz of the laser-blocked entryway beside it casting an ominous red glow. You coasted into the silence and peeked into the window, trying the button on the frame when you found the place deserted. Your call went unanswered. 

Ruminating on what to do, you took a seat on the uncomfortable benches bolted into the wall facing the office. Nothing you could do without those datapads, and if the clones on duty were busy, the only option left was to wait. 

As the minutes floated by inside the cold quiet, you pondered the possibility you’d arrived at the wrong precinct. Your job never usually required you to visit this part of Coruscant, and deciding to double check, you rose to your feet to call your boss. Half-way through dialling in the communication number, a red and white armoured clone entered the office and granted you a cursory glance. 

“I was starting to worry I’d got the wrong place,” you admitted with an apprehensive chortle. The expressionless helmet stared, and you dropped the humorous approach. 

“Crime report forms are on the side,” he told you, waving vaguely in the direction of the paper pile on the corner of the counter. “Put it in the box by the door once you’re done, and we’ll contact you when we can.” 

“Oh, I’m not here for that. I’ve come to collect the datapads.” You wrested your identification from your pocket for him to verify. After a skim of the details, the lasers deactivated long enough for him to deposit the loaded crate just outside. You noted the symbol of the Coruscant Guard on his shoulder pauldron as he lifted himself back up. “Thanks. Have the requisition forms been completed too?” 

“Everything you asked for is there.” 

“Perfect.” A stable grip on the box, you hoisted the cargo up onto the counter and logged the pickup on your own datapad. With such sensitive information in your care, your superiors emphasised the importance of documenting where the records were at all times.

The clone guard returned to the office while you noted your location. By the time you finished, a second had joined him and stood expectantly by the window.  

“Take it you’re our representative,” he said. 

“That’s me,” you replied, introducing yourself with a pleasant smile and a friendly disposition. 

“I’m Thire. That’s Fox.” Thire jabbed a finger at the clone who’d greeted you. “Don’t worry about him. He hasn’t had his third caf yet, so he’s still grouchy.” 

Fox’s face remained obscured, but the tilt of the helmet conveyed the unimpressed scowl that undoubtedly lay beneath it.

“Nice to meet you both,” you said. “Do you need me to pass on any messages?” 

“If the engineers could hurry up fixing the problem, that would be great,” Thire answered. 

“I don’t think there’s going to be a quick turnaround on that, I’m afraid,” you told him. “Last I heard, two dozen server units were completely fried. It’s affecting droids too, so they’re prioritising getting their programming back up and running before the data systems.”

“What?” Fox demanded, abandoning the far monitor and storming to the window. He advanced so quickly and unexpectedly you intuitively retreated a step, and he reminded himself this was not your fault. “How long will we be waiting?” 

You shrugged, wishing you had a conclusive answer for him. “A few weeks, minimum, by my guess. Depends how bad it is and if they find anything else in the meantime.” 

Fox’s chest plate rose and fell in slow motions. 

“I’ll be back in a couple of days,” you told them. From the top pocket of your jacket, you withdrew a contact card and passed it under the small gap in the window. Thire took it from the collection hollow. “I’m your personal intermediary with HQ, so call me if you need anything.” 

“Thanks,” Thire said as you hauled the crate of datapads onto your hip and departed from the detention centre with a modest wave. He turned to Fox and threw the contact card in his direction, the disgruntled commander catching it without even looking and flinging it on the desk with the discarded paper notes. “I’ll get some caf on. It’s going to be a long few weeks.” 

In line with your duty, you arrived at the allotted time to collect the reports and ferry them to bleary-eyed administration assistants. Debates on the source of the shut down rapidly became incensed arguments at headquarters, the engineers at each other’s throats as they bickered over cause and solution. The people you had chatted with in passing or wished well on a birthday snapped at you and sent you on your way with a dismissive wave. 

Due to the volatile air of the main hub, you dawdled at the detention centre during pick up. If your colleagues were only going to snap at you for doing your job, why would you not want to stick around the clone troopers making you laugh and telling stories about each other? 

With each visit, they vied to impress you with tales and jokes, not that they needed to. You appreciated spending time with people who treated you as an equal. Regardless of the circumstances of birth or creation, the Coruscant Guard considered you one of their own. You were all on the same malfunctioning ship, and to them, you were another pair of hands stopping it from crashing. 

You sank into the familiarity, soon offering your own stories. Tales of an undesirable date from years ago turned into the entire office vowing to locate the unfortunate soul who’d upset you and tidbits of gossip swiftly became points of discussion. 

Over a month into your regular visits, you nudged the code into the panel with your elbow to deactivate the lasers and shuffled through before they revived into an electric buzz. Welcomed into the office, a fresh stack of records anticipated your arrival.  

You made your usual greetings to the clones within and parked the larger box on the ground, situating the smaller, wrapped carton onto the side. You set about slotting the datapads into the designated ports in the crate, mindful not to disturb the protective packaging. 

“What’s that?” Stone asked, motioning to the extra package you’d brought. 

“A gift for you all.”

“What kind of gift?” 

“Careful,” you warned as he reached for the twine keeping the decorated wrapping together. “It’s hot.” 

He acknowledged your warning and plucked at the string, folding away the paper. Steam rose from the thin cardboard parcel underneath and the robust scent lured in the other troopers. 

“Is that caf?” Thire asked, lifting his helmet and leaning over Stone’s shoulder to assess the contents of the box. 

“Sure is,” you confirmed, securing the loaded crate. “You mentioned your caf machine had broken, so I got you all some on the way here. There should be some pastries in there too. I hope they didn’t get squashed.” 

“Don’t care,” Stone said with a flaky treat already in his mouth and a cardboard cup in his hand. “Still tastes the same.” 

While the others indulged in a fresh caffeine wave and some sweet desserts, thanking you with a mouthful and a grin, Fox hovered by the selection of cream-filled pastries topped with melted chocolate and bright fruit. 

“I’d grab one of those if I were you,” you told him. “Otherwise, Stone might steal them all.” The clone in question wiped a blob of jam from his nose and, with a shrug, ate it from his glove, not one to waste food. 

Fox stared at the confectionery. “Why did you do this?”

“Does there need to be a reason to do something kind?” you countered. 

Your conversations up until that point had been limited, constrained to a few witty remarks to test each other’s mettle in the verbal sparring ground. A growing occurrence he silently relished. 

As he sought a reply, a quip of some sort to fire back, he discerned the temperate lilt of your voice, the lift of your cheeks as you smiled at him, and praised his lucky stars he had his helmet on. 

“Thank you,” he said, no snark or usual sarcasm. He grabbed the remaining cup of caf and beelined for the monitors before you could respond. 

Your wrist comm beeped and with a hasty goodbye, you grabbed the crate and made yourself scarce. Last thing you needed was a late drop-off and more scorn aimed your way. 

“You’ll have to remove your helmet to drink that,” Thire said to Fox as they waved you past the window and out into the Coruscanti chill. 

“I know,” Fox replied. “I’m waiting for it to cool down.” 

“Do you not want to because you’re embarrassed?” Thire teased. He bit into a cream pastry with a jibing grin. 

“No.”

“I can practically feel the embarrassment from here.”

“Shut up.” 

“Anybody would think you had a cru-“

“Not another word.” 

At the slice in Fox’s tone, Thire surrendered with raised palms. “Just saying. There’s little room for actual joy in our jobs, and if you’re happy, why not say something?”

“For that exact reason,” Fox shot back. No point denying anything now, not when he stupidly made his predicament so evident. The others probably knew. Kriff, did you know? He hoped not. “We are clones. There is no space in our lives for that kind of stuff.” 

Grumbling and wishing only to avoid the matter, Fox took off into the tangle of corridors behind the office. 

Thire regretted pushing. He wanted his brothers to be happy in whatever capacity it presented itself. But some drank from the Kaminoan fountain far too often and ingrained the belief that they were not permitted an existence outside of the Grand Army into every second of their lives. Others dared not dream of that kind of life, deeming it beyond their reach, many desperate not to tempt fate. 

Either way, Thire was no fool. He saw how Fox behaved around you and how you naturally lingered close to each other. He only hoped one of you would take that brave step towards happiness before you parted for good. 

Weeks melted into months, a routine falling into place with the Coruscant guard. You spoke of sweet treats, and holo-dramas, and rumours from the senate, each visit ending in promises to find out more or watch a recommended show. 

During one particular pickup, Thire proudly presented you with a keycard of your own, declaring you an honorary member of the guard. You never disclosed how you returned home that night and cried tears of joy, wiping them away while catching up on the news and spooning ice cream into your mouth to abate the heat beginning to overtake the cold. 

Scanning your card, you trudged into the office and deposited the weighty box by the door. Vacant chairs and the meagre clack of the air conditioning greeted you. At the inactive monitors, Fox mulled over his datapad. 

“Sorry,” he muttered, helmet abandoned by the printer and his dark strands dripping in front of his face. “It’s taking a while to complete this report.”

“No rush,” you assured him as you poured yourself a cup of cooled caf from the newly-acquired machine and drained half. “Could do with a rest. Management have had me all over the city this morning. Jaya called in sick and I’ve been covering her shift, and Daro has handed in his notice.” 

“I thought he was up for a huge promotion?” Fox replied. 

“So did I, but as soon as it was announced and he wasn’t on the list, he flung his resignation on the boss’s desk and stormed out. But there is some good news.” 

“Oh?” 

“The data system should be up and running by the end of the week, so this is my last visit.” 

The datapad in Fox’s gloved grasp slipped a few inches, and the concentration nesting in his brow tightened. With a rough clearing of his throat, he straightened from his seat and set about transferring the other datapads into the empty crate. 

Fox completed his task in reflective silence, evading your curiosity. You edged nearer and his movements slackened. 

“Don’t tell me you’ve grown attached to me,” you teased, deterring the grin as his throat bobbed involuntarily. 

With each repeated visit and every lengthier conversation, he eased into your company. In those hushed moments when the office was only occupied by you and him, you had both made admissions you never thought you would, speaking in confidence and reciprocal trust. 

“Course not,” the clone trooper replied, sealing the box with a weighty click. 

You pretended to go along with his guarded response and leaned against the side desk. “Have you got the requisition requests?”

“Yeah.” Fox reached over your shoulder to pluck the short list from the paper holder behind your head. “It’s just…�� Realising his proximity to you, he paused. His amber regard lowered, meeting your own soft surprise. “Here.” 

His body stilled. He smelled the caf on you, the faint aroma of springtime surviving on your clothing, and the apple scented soap you used that morning. Your eyes invited him in, the slim parting of your lips drawing him closer. His train of thought bashed through the wall at the other end and kept going, abandoning him completely. 

You neither moved nor distanced yourself, locked onto him, powerless to look away. You tried, but that unarmed, tender expression that smoothed out the years of stress on his features held you captivated. 

Unsteady on your feet, you urged a hand to his chest armour. “I’ll miss coming here,” you admitted into the muted air between you both. 

“You can always call on us,” Fox replied, just as quietly. 

“Only prisoners or authorised visitors are allowed in the detention centre,” you reminded him. 

Head bowed, he acknowledged you were right. 

With a whispered touch, you coiled one of his deep curls around your finger with a smile so serene that Fox craved a taste. Intuition assuming control and aware of the fact he was breaking at least a dozen rules, he captured your lips with his, delighting in the heady rush that surged through him. He cupped your cheeks as soon as you responded in kind, bundling you into his arms. There was every chance his brothers would return from their lunch at any moment, but he did not care. He wanted to hold on to this feeling for as long as he could. 

Your lips remained slightly parted as you reluctantly separated, eyelashes fluttering open and drinking in the affection in his eyes. “The detention centre isn’t all there is,” you said. “We could meet up, right? If you have time.” 

Time was one thing Fox had very little of, most of it spent working for the good of Coruscant and the remaining hours exhausted at the barracks, training, resting, eating. But for you, he would scrape every second afforded to him. “I’ll make time,” he promised. “As much of it as I can.” 

* * *

Fox’s brow creased as he finished up the latest prisoner list, double checking the names and numbers before he submitted them into the network. 

“Don’t know about you, but the logging system seems to be quicker than it used to be,” Stone commented from his own desk. 

“I’m certainly not complaining,” Thire replied. “Although I think Fox wishes it had remained broken for a bit longer.” He aimed an arched eyebrow at his brother and snorted at the responding glare. “Lighten up.”

“Leave him alone, Thire,” Stone ordered. 

“Oh, come off it. You were the one teasing him when we found out about the kiss, and he’s been moping for weeks.”

“Thire. I mean it.” 

Thire sighed and reclined in his seat, landing his crossed ankles onto the surface and reclaiming his datapad to skim the news. Through the transparent screen and the protective window, he detected a flicker of movement. “I’ll be right with you,” he said, focused on more interesting matters. 

“Funny, looks to me like you’re reading the news.” 

At the sound of your cheery voice, the three guards scrambled to their feet, knocking into each other to check their ears weren’t deceiving them. 

“Hey,” Fox greeted. “Have you…. come to report something?” 

You met Fox’s surprise with a glowing grin. As stoic as he liked to act, a caring man lay beneath all that. 

“Only that management have decided to put permanent representatives in certain locations around Coruscant,” you answered. “Obviously, there’s no need to be ferrying datapads anymore, but they found other matters during the systems outage that call for a much more hands-on approach, especially when it comes to data handling.” 

“Does that mean you’re working here now?” Fox asked, the grizzle he normally carried softening. 

You nodded, unable to contain your elation. “I’ve been promoted to Coruscant Detention Centre Representative, so it looks like you’ll be seeing a lot more of me.” 

TAGLIST (Message if you’d like to be added, 18+ only)

@skellymom @freesia-writes @the-hexfiles @theeyesofasoldier @multi-fan-dom-madness @savebytheodoresnonjosestuff @tech-aficionado @techsriduur @dangraccoon @starrylothcat @jediknightjana @mssbridgerton @trixie2023

[inkjam-moon]

Red Sky (M) - Part Two

Summary: Jeongguk finally decides to let you help him search for a cure, but could it create more trouble than it's worth?

Pairing: Siren!Jeongguk x Reader

Genre: Fluff, Smut, Angst

Word Count: 14.5k (I STILL have nothing to say...)

TW: Sexually explicit content, mentions of suicide/death, physical altercation, drowning mentions, near death experience, drinking, verbal altercation, panic attack

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The next morning when you wake up, you faintly remember Jeongguk carrying you to bed last night, and touch your cheek again as you think of it, smiling. You get up and change into clean clothes before heading out. As you open the door to your room, you smell… something? You look up to see Jeongguk standing in the kitchen and walk over to find out what he’s doing; surprised to find him cooking.

“Morning noona.” He greets without looking up. 

“Morning. You’re cooking?” It’s more an observation than a question.

He nods. “Hyung taught me how to make a few things, it’s not much, but I figured rice and eggs would be okay?” He finally looks up at you and your stomach flutters for some reason at his smile. You beat the feeling down inside you before returning the smile. 

“Sounds great.” You walk back over to the living room, wanting to pick up where you left off last night as you sit on the couch and pick up a few loose papers. 

After a few minutes, Jeongguk walks over and places a plate full of food in front of you before sitting on the floor next to you. He watches you carefully for a few minutes as he eats before speaking. 

“So, have you found anything yet?”

“Um, well, there’s about a million mentions of this cave? Someplace called… ‘Antrum Ventis’. Have you heard of it?”

“The Cave of the Wind? Of course.”

“Right, there’s supposed to be all kinds of things in there that might be able to help. We could start there?”

“I’ve already checked there.”

You purse your lips. “Well, maybe you didn’t know what to look for. We should try anyway.”

“There’s just one problem.”

“What now?” You sigh, thinking Jeongguk is being intentionally difficult. 

“It’s at the bottom of a cave system, the entrance is in the ocean, and last time I checked, you can’t breathe underwater.”

“No, I can’t…” You admit, but perk up when you remember something. “But maybe I can.”

Jeongguk tilts his head in confusion. “How?”

.

Two hours later, you pull back up in front of the house where Jeongguk is waiting for you. The sun peeks rays through the cloud cover as you open the tailgate of the truck to show Jeongguk what you’ve got. 

“Ta da!” You pull the equipment toward you.

“What… What is this?” He asks, reaching out to touch the tubes attached to the backpack. 

“Scuba gear!” You explain. “Self Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus. It hooks up to these oxygen tanks,” You tap the tanks, “and it’ll let me breathe underwater for a few hours.”

“Really?” His eyes go wide and you nod enthusiastically. “Okay, let’s go.”

.

After you change into your bathing suit, Jeongguk helps you lug the equipment down past the lighthouse to a narrow staircase that heads down the cliffside. It leads you to a dock where a small boat with an electric motor is tied. Jeongguk loads your equipment into the boat before jumping in and making himself comfortable next to the motor. You climb in with him, sitting down on the seat in front of him. When you’re situated, Jeongguk starts the motor.

“Are you ready?” He asks. You nod and Jeongguk unties the boat from the dock before you both begin to zip away into the water. 

As Jeongguk drives the boat to the cave entrance, you busy yourself with readying the equipment you borrowed from Donghyun. You slide on the scuba jacket that you borrowed from Saki before setting up your tanks and checking your regulator.  When everything is ready to go, you finally look up to see the island sinking away into the distance.

“How far out is it?” You turn and ask as the wind whips your hair around your face.

“About two miles. You’ll see the marker when we get closer.” Jeongguk states, his eyes focused on the horizon as he navigates without any equipment.

“How do you know where you’re going?” 

Jeongguk smiles at this and points upwards. “The same way the sailors used to. The sky.” You look up at the cloud cover, your eyes drawn to the few rays that poke through, beaming down into the deep blue waves.

After a few more minutes, you start to see a shape sticking out of the sea in the distance, and as you get closer, you see it’s a large outcropping of rock. You point at it in question and Jeongguk nods. He was right; he knew exactly where he was going.

You pull up next to the outcropping, and Jeongguk anchors the boat before tying it to a hook jutting out from the rocks to secure it. Small waves lap at the boat as Jeongguk helps you into your scuba gear, clicking all the buckles shut and tightening them before securing your goggles on your forehead and testing your regulator to make sure the oxygen is flowing. 

“Okay, everything’s good.” You state.

“Are you ready?” Jeongguk asks.

“Let’s go.” You nod. 

Jeongguk stands and whips his shirt off over his head, dropping it into the boat. Your eyes go wide as he hooks his thumbs in the waistband of his shorts.

“Wait!” You exclaim, causing him to stop and look up at you before he can pull them down. “A-are you going to pop a tail or something?”

He smirks at this. “Are you afraid?”

“No.” You roll your eyes. “I just want to be prepared.”

“Guess you’ll have to wait and see.” With that, he turns away from you, exposing his ass to you as he slides down his shorts before diving head first into the water, splashing you lightly. 

“Jeongguk?” You lean over the side of the boat, searching the water for him until he pops up right in front of your face, nearly scaring you half to death as you fall back into the boat. “Fuck!”

Jeongguk giggles, resting his arms on the side of the boat. “Are you coming?”

You smack him in the head with one of your flippers before perching yourself on the edge of the boat, pulling your goggles down over your eyes and sticking your regulator into your mouth before allowing yourself to fall backwards into the water. 

It takes a second for you to orient yourself, pushing away from the boat as you look around. It’s pretty shallow here, maybe only 12 or so feet. You feel a hand on your arm and turn to see Jeongguk next to you. His hair floats in the water around him, his smile bright. Your eyes trail down his toned chest out of curiosity, and sure enough when you get to his waist, you see the beginning of it; Jeongguk’s tail. It looks to be a dark shimmery copper color with highlights of deep gold and amber fading into a dark brown and black towards the rather large tailfin. His tail looks absurdly strong, pure muscle rippling in the light of the waters.

“Is everything okay?” He questions, trying to get your intense gaze on his face instead of his body. 

You nod, giving him the okay sign with your fingers. He motions for you to swim with him and you follow along past a large school of fish and over to a large gaping hole in the ocean floor.

“This is the entrance.” He holds out his hand to you. “It gets dark, and the current can be pretty strong. I’ll be able to see, but I don’t want you to get separated from me.” 

You take his hand, nodding your readiness. 

“Stay close, noona.”

You squeeze his hand in assurance, taking out your flashlight with the other and flicking it on as Jeongguk leads you into the darkness. 

Jeongguk was right, the cave system is dark, and if Jeongguk wasn’t holding your hand, swimming against the strong currents, you would never be able to make it down here. You keep going deeper and deeper, turning several corners, you’re having a hard time getting your bearings, and you’re not sure how Jeongguk knows where he’s going as you start to feel a little claustrophobic, but he assures you that if it was easy to get to, it wouldn’t have what you need. You keep an eye on your air level, trying to calm yourself, knowing that if you start to panic you’ll use up your air a lot faster and you only brought two tanks. You’re already at only 50 bar; you’re going to have to surface, or change tanks soon.

How long have you been swimming? As you go to check your watch, your flashlight goes out. You squeeze Jeongguk’s hand twice, signaling a problem and he stops, you feel him grab your shoulders.

“What is it?”

You wave the flashlight in front of his face. 

He smiles, “Close your eyes.” You give him the hand signal for Why? “Just trust me.” You do as he says quickly, not having much time to waste, and close your eyes. After a few moments he speaks again. “Okay, open.”

You open your eyes and realize there’s some sort of dim light illuminating the cave around you. It takes you a moment before you notice, it’s coming from Jeongguk. He’s… He’s glowing? His tail has some sort of bioluminescence that lights up the water around you. It’s so… beautiful, like the soft glow of fireflies at dusk. You float there, temporarily awestruck by him; amazed at the moment you’re in; the two of you swimming in a cave underground, practically chest to chest as Jeongguk lights up the area around you. “Come on, we’re almost there.” He grabs your hand again, wrenching you out of the moment as he pulls you further in.

Suddenly as you swim, you’re moving up, and up, the area around you growing lighter and wider. The walls of the cave are a dark grey now, and small fish flit about the corals that grow here, everything suddenly bright and colorful, strikingly beautiful the farther up you go until suddenly you pop up out of a hole and into what looks like a picturesque fish bowl, aquatic plants waving gently in some invisible current, sunlight streaming down through the water and shining on colored fish as they dash between plants. Jeongguk points up and you follow him, swimming upwards and finally breaking through the surface.

You spit out your regulator and breathe in the fresh air, taking off your goggles as Jeongguk’s head erupts from the water, his hair slicked back off his face. 

“Welcome to Antrum Ventis.” Jeongguk smiles at you.

“Wow,” You gasp, looking around. There are several holes in the roof of the cave where sunlight shines in. The water leads to a small rocky shore, and on that shore, filling the cave from wall to wall, are piles and piles of treasures. It looks straight out of a pirate movie. Gold, silver, books, chests, furniture, paintings; anything you can imagine sits in front of you. 

Jeongguk swims over to the shore and sits himself on the rocky edge, his tail dangling into the water below as small waves lap at him. You swim over, taking off your gear and handing it to him before hoisting yourself up on the ledge next to him, looking around the cave. 

“What is this place?” You ask as you stand up.

“It’s sort of a… special place for Ineo.” Jeongguk explains. “It’s where they hide their treasure; old relics, things from the ships they sink, things they find.” You walk up to an old mirror and run your hands over the jewels hanging from it, listening to the way they clink against the glass. 

“What if someone finds us here?”

“Impossible.” Jeongguk shakes his head, his tail flicking in the water.

“What do you mean impossible, if this place is so special-”

“I’m kind of the only one who knows where it is…” Jeongguk admits.

You turn and stare at him, blinking in confusion. “What?”

He sighs. “When Yeongsu went on his rampage, it wasn’t just humans he killed. He killed Ineo first. When he ran out of Ineo, that’s when he turned to humans. Aside from the elders, who are protected and never leave their thrones, I was the only one that was spared. New Ineo aren’t told where this cave is for at least twenty years, and those who lose their humanity forget about it, so I’m the only one who knows where it is.”

“Right… Well, are you going to come help me look?”

“You want me to get out of the water? I didn’t bring any clothes…”

Your face flushes hot at the thought of having to keep Jeongguk’s naked form out of view. You look around, finding a cloth tapestry and tossing it at him. “Use this, come on.”

You turn away, listening to Jeongguk get out of the water and waiting for him to wrap the tapestry around himself so you aren’t tempted to look as you begin searching for something that might help cure him. 

“So what exactly are we looking for?” Jeongguk asks, strolling past you to dig through some chests. “Some sort of magical item?”

“Don’t be ridiculous.” You wave him off. “One of the books said that there are written records. Records from the beginnings of the Ineo. They could have a cure in them.”

“So a magic book?” Jeongguk teases. You offer him only the most scalding side-eye you can muster before continuing to search the pile of books in front of you.

The two of you search for what feels like hours, but you’re unsure how much time actually passes. You dig through chests, trunks, piles of books, behind furniture, under piles of jewels, inside vases, and behind paintings. After a while, you sit down in a huff, worried that you won't find anything, and Jeongguk might be stuck like this, but as you push your hair out of your face and look up, you notice a hole in the wall, just above your standing eyeline, and if you tilt your head just right, you think you can see something inside it. 

“Jeongguk,”

“Hm?” He pops up from behind a pile of gold coins. He watches as you stand and make your way over to the wall. 

“Grab me something to stand on.”

Jeongguk grabs one of the now empty chests and drags it over to you. “What is it?”

“There’s something in there.” You point at the hole before climbing up on the trunk.

You stretch and stretch, but it’s still out of your reach. Jeongguk jumps up next to you and tries as well, but he can’t get to it either. 

“Let me lift you.” He says, holding his arms out to you.

“What? Are you crazy?”

“Do you want to see what it is or not? Don’t you trust me?”

“Fine.” You spin toward the wall and Jeongguk grabs your hips, lifting you into the air with ease. You reach your arms up again. “Just a little higher…” He puts you down again, this time wrapping his arms around your legs and then lifting you higher than before. Your fingers are just able to graze what’s inside, quickly dragging everything you can to the edge of the hole and grabbing hold of it all. “Got it!”

Jeongguk carefully lowers you until your feet are on the trunk with him again, and then you both jump down onto the floor. You take everything over to the table and spread it out; two scrolls, a hand mirror, and a book. Jeongguk opens the scrolls to find both are paintings, and you blow the dust of the book to reveal an old, handwritten title; Ineo:  Oceani Immortalitate. 

“The Ocean’s Immortality. Jeongguk,” You look up at him. “This is it.” You walk over to one of the beams of sunlight and sit on the ground, cracking the book open as Jeongguk looks over your shoulder. You skim through page after page, telling tales of the Ineo’s beginnings and why the ocean created them, until about halfway through the book you get to the section you’re looking for titled Oceanum Maledictionem. The Ocean’s Curse. There’s only half a page of scrawled handwriting beneath the title and you take a deep breath, hoping it will tell you something useful. 

Though the ocean’s curse is strong, there is a way to defy her gift. One must find that which we Ineo do not naturally come by. Though the allure of our voices is irresistible, in order to return from whence we came, an Ineo must find someone to redeem them of their sins; someone that wants them beyond their enchanting voice. That is to say, an Ineo could fully regain their humanity, if a human were to truly love them, but aside from the fact that human fraternization is forbidden by the elders, no matter how we’ve tried, no one can see beyond our voices. It is a useless venture for any Ineo to take upon themselves. It will only end in the despair we are so used to…

“What does it say?”

“It says… love.”

“What?”

You read him the words. “An Ineo could fully regain their humanity if a human were to truly love them.” You point to it and Jeongguk takes the book from you, reading over the paragraph for himself. 

“It says it doesn’t work.”

“We don’t know that-”

“It says it right here! It will only end in despair!” Jeongguk slams the book shut and stands up. “I knew it was too good to be true.”

“It wouldn’t hurt to try.” You point out.

He scoffs. “Who? Hm? Who on this fucking island is going to love me, huh? Name one person who doesn’t already hate me for being what I am!”

“Well, maybe we can go to the mainland and-”

“I can’t leave the island. It’s part of the curse, I can’t leave the water for that long I’ll die.”

“But we can try and find another way. W-we could always-”

“Just face it, Y/N.” Jeongguk stops you, standing on the edge of the rock. “I’m stuck like this.” And with that he jumps into the water, the tapestry floating up to the surface where he dove in. You stand and walk over to the edge, searching for him. As you retrieve the tapestry.

“Come on,” He pops his head back up above the surface. “We should head back.”

“Jeongguk-”

“Please.” Jeongguk says softly. “Let’s just go home.”

You nod. “Okay…”

You grab your waterproof bag and stuff the book, the mirror, and a few other things into it before sealing it back up. Jeongguk floats in the water, staring up at the holes in the roof as you switch out your oxygen tanks. When you’re done, you slip the tanks on and jump back into the water, tightening the buckles before sliding on your goggles and checking your regulator. You take one last look at the cave for your memories and then signal to Jeongguk. “Let’s go.”

Jeongguk takes your hand and you head back down into the entrance to the labyrinth below. Jeongguk’s bioluminescence is dim this time, making it much harder for you to see, so you allow Jeongguk to just tug you along with him as he navigates the tunnels. Your mind is preoccupied anyway, thinking of ways you could break Jeongguk’s curse. 

It isn’t until your oxygen meter beeps at you, signaling that you’re low on air, that you’re pulled out of your thoughts. You must be traveling a lot slower than you were on the way in. You squeeze Jeongguk’s hand twice and he stops. You show him you’re already at 30 bar and signal to him; that’s less than ten minutes of air.

Jeongguk’s eyes go wide, seeing the panic on your face, he grabs you with both arms, wrapping them around you as his tail whips behind you, sending the two of you off faster than you’ve seen him swim before. He holds you tightly as he navigates the tight corners of the tunnels, hurrying to get you to the surface. You can only sit, your face tucked into Jeongguk’s shoulder as you watch your oxygen meter slowly decrease. 

25… 

20… 

15… 

10… 

Soon the readout just says ‘low’; you take short, measured breaths, trying to conserve your oxygen. You take your last breath before you run out of air, squeezing Jeongguk tightly.

“Noona! Hold on!” Jeongguk swims as fast as he can, the tunnel growing lighter as things start to go fuzzy.

Suddenly Jeongguk erupts from the entrance to the caves, rushing to the surface as you start to go limp in his arms, your regulator floating beside you. He bursts up through the water, holding you against him as you gasp, inhaling deeply and filling your lungs with sweet, sweet oxygen. 

“Are you alright?” you nod, slipping out of Jeongguk’s grip and sinking back below the waves for a moment until he catches you and holds you out of the water again. He carries you over to the boat as you splutter, helping you into it. You close your eyes as you lay in between the seats, trying to calm your breathing as you hear Jeongguk climb in beside you. “Noona, I’m sorry.” You open your eyes to see Jeongguk leaning over you, tugging his shirt on. “I wasn’t paying attention to the time.”

“It’s okay.” You wave him off as you sit up.

“No, it’s not. I was careless, you could’ve died!”

“Hey, I’m right here.” You put your hands on his shoulders to help calm him down. “It’s alright.” You unbuckle your tanks and let them fall into the boat before unzipping your scuba jacket. “But let’s not do that again.” You add.

Jeongguk nods as he moves back towards the motor. You twirl the medallion of your necklace in your fingers as Jeongguk pulls up the anchor and unties you from the rocks, starting the boat and steering you back towards shore.

.

You’re exhausted as you walk back up the steps of the cliff, trudging your way back to the house. Jeongguk leaves your gear on the front porch as you unlock the front door. You grab the waterproof bag with your new items in it and are just about to cross the threshold when you hear something.

It’s that voice again. The melodious song fills your ears and Jeongguk’s eyes go wide as you look at him. 

“You hear it too?”

“Get inside.” Jeongguk shoves you over the threshold and slams the door shut behind you.

“Hey, what the hell?” You rub your shoulder where he pushed you. He doesn’t respond. He’s too busy turning on the tv and increasing the volume to drown out the singing. “Jeongguk, what is that?”

“It’s bad news.”

“Wait, is that another Ineo?” You ask as you kick off your shoes.

“Don’t listen to it!” He exclaims, dragging you away from the front door. 

“I don’t think-”

“Just go to the bathroom. I’ll let you know when it’s safe to come out.” He starts pushing you toward the bathroom.

“But I already-” You turn to face him, forcing him to stop pushing you. 

“Y/N- you can’t ever listen to it. You can’t ever speak to them. They’ll kill you.”

“Will you listen to me for a second?” You smack his shoulder. “I’m trying to tell you I've already heard this.”

He’s listening now. “When?”

“Yesterday, I was down at the docks getting gas and-”

“You were alone??”

You roll your eyes. “Yes, and look, nothing happened.”

“Wait,” He pauses, looking you over. “You remember it?”

“Um, yes?”

 “Noona,” He leans closer to you, now looking very obviously at your chest.

“Um-”

“Where did you get this?”  His hand reaches out and he grabs the necklace nestled between your décolletage, rubbing the medallion between his fingers. 

“Hogeun sent it to me.” You explain. “A few weeks before he died. He told me he found it when he was fishing one day.”

“I gave this to him.” Jeongguk states, his thumb twirling the gold metal. 

“You did?”

“It was my mother’s. It’s from the Cave of the Wind too; it’s like an Ineo relic. ” Jeongguk lets it go. 

“Really?”

“Were you wearing this yesterday?”

“Of course.” You nod. “I always have it on.”

“That doesn’t make sense…” He whispers, dropping the necklace as he thinks out loud. “Then you shouldn’t have…”

“I shouldn’t have what?”

He looks back up at you. “The other night, when you walked in on me in the shower, were you wearing it then?”

“Hm? Oh, um…” You think back. “No, I took it off and it fell on the floor. I remember picking it up before I went to bed.”

“So it really does work.”

“Will you tell me what’s going on?”

Jeongguk sighs. “That singing you heard just now, and yesterday, that’s an Ineo. They were trying to lure you into the water.”

“W-why didn’t it work?”

Jeongguk points at your chest. “The necklace. It’s meant for protection. It’s supposed to make it so the wearer isn’t affected by an Ineo’s song.”

Your hand moves to grab the necklace automatically. “I-it is?”

“If it didn’t work and you really did hear that yesterday, you… You would be dead right now.”

You swallow hard. You hadn’t realized how much danger you were in already. “Wait, so that night in the shower?”

Jeongguk hangs his head. “I didn’t think you could hear me. I thought I was being quiet enough.”

“What would have happened…?”

“Nothing!” Jeongguk moves to reassure you. “I wouldn't have done anything, I promise.”

You eye him with caution, but you see the sincerity in his gaze, and above all else, after today; you really do trust him. You place the waterproof bag in his hands. “I’m going to take a shower, add this stuff to our collection and see if you can find anything else out of that book.”

“Right.”

“I’ll make dinner when I get out.” You call over your shoulder before shutting the bathroom door behind you. 

You take a second to rest back against the door, letting out a long sigh before you start up the shower. As the water heats up, you look at yourself in the mirror; hair waved from the combination of salt and wind, skin slightly tanned from being out in the sun; necklace dangling from your neck. You lift the necklace and study it, knowing now the origins of such a beautiful piece. It’s a gold chain, a golden medallion with the imprint of a mermaid, or you suppose an Ineo, hangs from it, and a single large pearl dangles from the medallion. It belongs with the rest of the jewelry inside that cave and yet here it rests in your hands.

You leave it on, stripping out of your swimsuit before stepping into the tub and under the warm water of the shower. He said it belonged to his mother. You wonder what she was like. If she meant to bring a child into such a harsh world, if she knew what would happen to her mate. Would she like you? Would she agree with what Jeongguk was trying to do in finding a cure?  What would she think? You can only imagine what your own mother would think if she found out everything your uncle talked about was real. You know exactly how she would react to Jeongguk, and what she would say if she found out you had been living alone with a strange man since you arrived here. 

You find your mind wandering to Jeongguk today; how he trusted you enough to show you his true form, tail and all. He was even more graceful and beautiful in the water than you could’ve imagined. Your mind flashes to the image of him jumping out of the boat, his bare ass facing you, and you giggle. Even like that, he was gorgeous. 

You’re torn. You know you’re going to have to leave the island eventually and go back to your real life, no matter how much you don’t want to, but even then, Jeongguk can’t leave the waters around this island for very long. What will he do once you leave? Will he be able to find another cure? Will he be able to survive out here on his own? On land? Will the islanders be kind to him? You can’t help but think of the night of your uncle’s memorial, how cruel that man was to Jeongguk. Even Donghyun and Saki, while they’re kind to him, you can tell they don’t really know what to do about him.

And honesty, neither do you…

When you’re finished you turn off the water, stepping out of the tub and drying yourself off. You dry your hair quickly before wrapping a towel tightly around you and leaving the bathroom. You see Jeongguk on the couch as you walk to your room; shutting the door and changing into some comfortable clothes before heading back out. You hang the towel up in the bathroom before padding into the kitchen, trying to decide what you want to eat, but you notice the stove is hot, and something smells like cooked food.

“Jeongguk did you-” You stop short when you look over at him to see he has two warm bowls of stew set on the table in front of the tv as he waits for you. “What- You cooked again?”

He nods. “I used one of hyung’s old recipes. He taught me how to make it.”

“Really?” You ask, taking your seat next to him on the couch to see what looks like kimchi stew in the bowls. 

“I wanted to apologize again, for being so careless today.”

“Jeongguk please-”

“I really am sorry.” He takes your hands in his. “I was just so upset about what we found.”

“I know, Jeongguk. But thanks to you, I’m still here.” You point out. He smiles softly in acknowledgment before picking up his bowl. 

The two of you eat, silent except for the sounds of the tv in front of you. When you’re finished, you place your bowl back on the table and notice the book and the hand mirror laid out next to your bowl.

“Did you find anything else in the book?” You ask, grabbing it off the table and cracking it open in your lap.

“Not much, just some stuff about this mirror.”

“Oh? Is it special?”

He nods. “It’s supposed to show you your future, but I think it’s broken.” He picks the mirror up. “I can’t get it to work.”

“Wait, it shows you the future?”

“No, just specifically tailored to you. Here,” He puts the mirror back down before taking the book from you. He flips through several pages until he finds what he’s looking for. He points to the paragraph and reads, “The Mirror of Sinjike is intended to show the user that which they cannot see. The mirror is enabled to describe the near or far future pertaining specifically to the lifeline of the user, they need only ask the right question.”

“What’s the question?”

“I’m not sure… It doesn’t say anything else about it.”

“Huh…” You pick the mirror up and turn it over in your hands. It looks like an ordinary mirror to you. “Well, we can look at it more tomorrow. I’m exhausted.” You stand up, grabbing your bowl and taking it over to the sink and Jeongguk follows. You rinse it out before heading back towards your room.

“Goodnight, noona.”

You turn and smile as you move to close your door. “Sweet dreams Kook. Thank you for saving me today.” And before he can apologize again, you shut the door.

.

You went to bed super early last night, so it's no surprise that you wake up before the sun rises. You sigh, knowing you won’t be able to fall back asleep with how wide awake you feel, and sit up, checking your phone to see a text from your mother, asking when you’ll be returning home. You don’t open it, not wanting her to know you’ve seen it, or she’ll just keep bothering you. Instead, you put your phone face down on the nightstand and climb out of bed, slipping into some clothes and heading out to the living room.

You don’t feel like watching tv… or anything really. You spot the book where you left it last night and walk over to grab it and the mirror, deciding to go for a walk. 

You stuff both items into your bag and slip on some shoes, grabbing a flashlight and a sweatshirt before walking outside. It’s dark as you shut the door behind you, the dawn still a ways off. Just below the cloud cover, between that and the horizon, you can see a layer of stars shining brightly. You slide the sweatshirt over your head as you begin to walk towards the lighthouse, taking your time and enjoying the early morning sounds of crickets and birds just waking up. 

You walk along the cliffs for a bit, following the path down through the forest, listening to the waves crash below you as you wander. You should’ve brought your phone so you could take pictures, but you didn’t think about it. You feel the weight of the book in your bag and take it out, flipping aimlessly through the pages. You circle back to the lighthouse just as dawn begins to break over the sea, casting a bright orange glow over the grass as it rises. You climb the lighthouse stairs to the very top, seating yourself on the observation deck as you take out the mirror.

It’s a simple round mirror, laid in silver filigree that traces over the backside and then down along the handle. You study it closely in the dim light of the rising sun; searching for any sort of word or clue as to how it’s supposed to work, but nothing catches your eye. 

You open the book once more, searching for the page Jeongguk showed you last night. You finally find it and delicately flatten the frail page with your palm. It shows a detailed drawing of the mirror at the top, with the name printed in a script different from that of the curse page, showing that this was added by a different person. Unfortunately, the words Jeongguk read to you are the only other thing on the page.

“they need only ask the right question…” You mumble to yourself. It’s supposed to show you the future, right? It can’t be that simple, can it? You pick up the mirror and hold it in front of you, to look inside it. “Can you show me the future?”

Nothing. Figures. You try all kinds of questions, changing the vernacular around to try and get it to work. “Will you show me the future? What does my future look like? Can I see my future?” Nothing seems to be working. You reread the passage over and over, searching for some sort of clue in the wording as the sun finally begins to peek over the horizon. 

The Mirror of Sinjike is intended to show the user that which they cannot see.

Wait a second. Hmm… You wonder. 

You hold the mirror up again, taking a deep breath. “Sinjike, will you show me that which I cannot see?”

Suddenly, your reflection changes in the glass, turning into fog that swirls around in a circle, as if it’s waiting for you to say something else. You read the passage again.

The mirror is enabled to describe the near or far future pertaining specifically to the lifeline of the user, they need only ask the right question.

“Near.” You say to the mirror. 

The fog vanishes, and it’s replaced by an image.

It shows you, sitting in the lighthouse where you are now, but it zooms out, showing someone else climbing the stairs to the observation deck to join you as the sun fully crests the horizon; Jeongguk. And then the image fades away, and you’re staring at your reflection again.

You’re ecstatic. You finally got it to work. You want to try it again, to make sure it wasn’t just a fluke, but you don’t know if there’s a limit to how many times per person, or per day, that it works. That’s when you hear the soft crunch of bare feet on grass. You look to the horizon to see the sun cresting over the sea, bathing the sky in bloody shades of red. Your heart thunks in your chest, you know that a red sky has an ominous, foreboding meaning behind it. Those who live on the sea have always agreed that skies that turn red in the morning hours are sure signs of impending troubles. 

You hear Jeongguk behind you and turn to greet him, but his eyes are also trained on the warning signs of the sky. 

“Red sky…” He comments, turning to look at you. “Storm’s coming.”

You nod, “I have good news though.”

“Oh?” He sits down next to you, observing the things in your hands and perks up. “Wait, did you figure out the mirror?”

“Mhm! Here,” You hand it to him. “You have to ask to be shown what you can’t see, and then you have to choose the near or far future.”

“What did you see?”

You chuckle. “I chose near, and it showed me you just now walking up here to find me. You should try now!”

“Right, right okay.” He holds the mirror up in front of him, taking a deep breath much like you did  before. “Show me what I cannot see, far.”

The mirror swirls again, fading quickly this time into an image of Jeongguk what looks to be a few years from now; out on a boat with someone. He’s smiling and laughing. He jumps in the water without taking his clothes off, and a few moments later, he pops up, floating in water, swimsuit still intact, no tail in sight. 

“Oh my god…” He whispers. “I-I’m cured?”

“It looks like it.” You agree. The image stays on him playing in the water for a few moments before it swirls away and shows his reflection again. “See, I told you we’d find a cure.”

Jeongguk smiles before suddenly wrapping you in his arms, squeezing you tightly. “I can’t believe I’m going to be normal; finally. Thank you, noona.”

“Of course.”

“Did you look at your far future?” He asks, pulling back.

“No, not yet.”

“Don’t you want to know?”

You do, but you’re also afraid. Afraid it will show you working under your father for the rest of your life.

“I won’t watch if it makes you feel better.”

Might as well know now. “Thanks.” Jeongguk hands you the mirror, and then looks away as you repeat the phrase. “Show me what I cannot see. Far.”

The mirror swirls before showing a picturesque scene on top of a hill. It shows you running, laughing in the light of a summer sunset as you hold up your camera to face what’s coming after you, then in the corner of the frame it shows a familiar frame chasing after you with bare feet.

Jeongguk.

You gasp, watching intently as he catches up to you, the lighthouse you’re sitting on appearing in the frame as he wraps you in his arms, picking you up and swinging you around as you squeal in delight. He places you back on the ground, and leans down, capturing your lips with his when suddenly a child appears in the image, walking up to both of you, arms open wide. Jeongguk picks her up, and you both place a kiss on her cheeks as you walk back toward the house. The child, a spitting image of Jeongguk. 

And then your reflection is staring back at you, a tear running down your cheek. You quickly move to wipe the evidence of tears away as you put the mirror down. 

“Well?” Jeongguk waits impatiently for you to tell him what you saw, but you can’t look at him, staring out at the sky as it fades from red to oranges and pinks. “Noona? Is everything alright?”

You nod. “Of course, just something I wasn’t expecting.”

“A happy ending at least?”

“Very happy.”

“Good. I’m glad we both get what we want.” He smiles at you and your heart flutters. “Are you hungry?”

.

The two of you make your way back to the house and Jeongguk makes you a quick breakfast while the images from the mirror shine in the forefront of your mind. Was the mirror trying to tell you something? Do you need to actually admit the feelings that have been growing that you’ve been repressing for several days now? Are you… the one that can free Jeongguk of his curse? But how? Do you really end up together?

So many questions run through your mind that when Jeongguk places a plate in front of you on the table, it makes you jump. He eyes you suspiciously, but doesn’t say anything, choosing to simply sit down and eat instead. 

After breakfast, Jeongguk sits himself down in front of the tv. You try doing the same, picking up the book to read through it again, but you can’t sit still, too much on your mind. You decide to busy yourself with sorting, but that doesn’t do anything to soothe you either. You decide you need to get out of the house. You tell Jeongguk you have to run out for a bit, and he offers to come, but you tell him he should stay this time. He seems hurt, but listens, waving as you walk out the door and asking you to pick up more sweet cakes if you go to the store. 

Dark clouds are gathering out over the ocean, still a ways off as you haul your borrowed scuba gear into the truck before climbing in the driver's seat and starting it. Might as well bring this stuff back while you have the chance. 

You pull up in front of Donghyun and Saki’s house, putting the truck in park before grabbing the gear out the back. The rain is looming closer as you walk up to the door and knock, but no one seems to be home. You leave the gear on the porch and start to walk back to the truck when someone calls after you. 

“Evening missy!”

You look across the street to see a figure walking toward you. Oh god, not the crazy guy from the bar. “Hello.” You wave politely as you open the door to your truck, trying to get away from him as quickly as you can. 

“How the fish boy treatin’ ya?”

Wait a minute. He might not actually be crazy. You wonder if he could know anything helpful. “You’re, Hajoon, right?” You ask, turning toward him. 

“Aye, that’s me.” He nods as he walks up, leaning against the bed of the truck. “You heard stories ‘bout how crazy I be yet?”

You rub the back of your neck, light shame dusting your cheeks pink. “Something like that…”

He chuckles. “It’s alright missy, ain’t nothing I ain’t already heard.”

“My name’s Y/N.”

“Oh I know. Hogeun used to talk ‘bout ‘cha all the time.”

“Did you know my uncle well?”

“Of course. I was the first one to hire him. Worked on my boat fer five years.”

This is news to you. “Did you guys ever talk about… uh, well…” It’s still strange for you to say it outloud. 

“The merfolk? Who do ya think gave him all them books?”

“How do you know so much about them?”

Hajoon takes off his hat and holds it over his heart, smiling fondly at some sort of memory. “I fell in love with one once, a long time ago.”

“Really?”

He nods. “She meant the worl’ to me.”

“What happened?”

His eyes go dark. “Her people found out she was seein’ me, they took things into their own hands, an’ had ‘er killed fer meetin’ a human.”

“I’m so sorry.” You bow your head, your mind immediately moving to Jeongguk; what if he’s next?

“You best hold that boy tight missy.” He puts a hand on your shoulder. “Don’t let ‘em take him from ya.”

“Can I ask you something?”

“Of course.”

“I read something the other day that said ‘an Ineo could fully regain their humanity, if a human were to truly love them’. Do you know how to do that? To… to make him human? Did you ever try it?”

He smiles bittersweetly. “I do, but ya don’t want the answer.”

“Please, I do. I want to help him.”

He looks down at the ground before looking off into the distance, avoiding your gaze. “I’ll give ya a hint. The ultimate show of love for one of ‘em… Is a sacrifice.”

“Sacrifice? What-”

“Think of what you would give up to be with him. That’s your answer.” He starts to walk away. “Better spend as much time with him as ya can, missy. I seen ‘em around the docks; they’ll be after ya’s soon enough.” 

It’s silent as you mull over his words, wondering what exactly he means as you watch him turn the corner and head to the bar. You climb into your truck, sitting for a moment before his last words hit you like a brick to the face. They already know. It’s only a matter of time before they try to take him away. 

It’s time to admit your feelings to Jeongguk.

It’s just started to rain as you start the truck up, driving a little bit faster than you probably should as you head back to the house, working up the courage and thinking of what you’re going to say as you drive. The tires skid as you pull up and park, the rain falling in sheets as you yank the keys out, rushing out of the truck to get to the front door, the downpour soaking you in the short walk to the house. 

“Jeongguk!” You call out as you open the door and kick off your shoes, searching for the only person you want to see as you shut the door behind you. 

He emerges from his room, his eyes widening at your soaked state. “Noona, you’re back already?”

You forget every single word you thought about in the car as you hurry over to him. You gaze up into his warm brown eyes, as wide as the sea is vast, before you lean forward, wrapping your arms around his neck as you press your lips against his for the first time.

He’s unsure how to react for a solid minute until he relaxes into your hold, grabbing your waist and pulling you closer to him as he finally returns the kiss. You’re greedy, hands finding his hair and tugging gently, eliciting the most delicious sounds from the back of his throat. You push him backwards, guiding him into his room until his knees hit the bed and he falls back. You waste no time climbing on top of him, pulling your sweatshirt off over your head and tossing it to the side as you straddle his waist.

Jeongguk sits up, pulling you back to his mouth, he tilts his head this time, deepening the kiss as you flick your tongue against his bottom lip, begging for access, which he grants, surprised by how eager you are as your tongue finds its way into his mouth, flicking against his own as he groans softly against you. 

His hands slide along your back up under your shirt, caressing your skin gently as you pull him closer to you, loving the way his lips feel on yours, your body growing hotter by the second. You slide your hands under his shirt, tugging on it until he helps you slide it off of his body and onto the floor. Before he can return to your lips, you yank your own shirt off with haste, wanting to feel his bare skin against yours as soon as possible. You pull him back to you, your lips latching onto his neck before tracing their way up to his jaw, pressing light kisses against him as you find your way back to his mouth. 

Jeongguk’s kiss is more aggressive now; he pulls your hips down against him as his tongue slips past your defenses, making your body shiver with pleasure as you feel the beginnings of his erection against you. You press your torso against his, feeling the unusual coolness of his skin against your feverish, desperate warmth. 

His hands follow the curve of your spine up to the clasp of your bra, fumbling with it for a moment until it comes undone, he moves his mouth to follow the strap down your shoulder, leaving hot kisses in his wake as he tugs the garment off of your body. He deposits it on the floor, your bodies still pressed together as he looks up at you, his hands squeezing your waist again. 

“Noona, I-”

“Shhh…” You quiet him with another simple kiss before mumbling against his lips. “You don’t have to say anything.”

His mouth returns to yours as he flips you underneath him, and then it begins to wander, across to your jaw, down your neck and shoulder, before sliding down your chest to your breasts. Jeongguk’s hands move up to cup them, rubbing his thumbs over them gently and then leaning down, flicking his tongue across each nipple, gauging your reaction as you moan softly in response to his touch. His kisses continue south, across your abdomen until he comes to the waistband of your jeans. You watch him, breathless as he pops open the button and then tugs the zipper down.

He grabs your jeans and underwear, slowly tugging them both down your legs, kissing them all the way down, before dropping the clothing on the floor with the rest. His mouth traces back up your legs, just barely brushing the insides of your thighs as he slides one of his hands up and around the backs of them, squeezing your ass tightly as he gently spreads your legs with the other, situating himself between them as he climbs back up your body, kiss by kiss, touch by touch, until he finds your lips again, connecting to them with a sort of urgency. 

You’re already a mess, you can feel yourself dripping onto the sheets beneath you as you wait. His teeth graze the spot beneath your ear, and your hips buck up into his waiting hand. He cups you gently, his long, slender fingers sliding between your folds in an exploration, wanting to know what spots have you coming undone the fastest. Your hands grab onto his shoulders as he circles your clit clumsily, constantly rubbing across it when his fingers slip in your wetness with inexperience, causing you to whimper into his hair. 

Finally, finally you feel his fingers wander lower, searching for more spots. He traces over your entrance, collecting your juices before the tips of his two fingers slide into you. He quickly pulls them out when you moan, checking to make sure he didn’t hurt you, but when he sees the flush adorning your face, he quickly understands, finding your entrance again and purposely slipping his index and middle fingers back inside you, as deep as they will go, following the curve of your core. 

“Fuck…” You whine, gripping his arm and trying to move it. “L-like this.”

He learns quickly, but moves slowly, pumping his fingers in and out of you at an agonizing pace, but even so, it feels so good, too good. He watches your face twist with pleasure, relishing in the sounds you make as he presses his hips against your side, searching for relief of his own. You slide a hand down his body, brushing against his hard length to locate it and then squeezing the tip.

The sound that leaves Jeongguk’s mouth has you tightening around his fingers as he buries his face in your neck. You can feel the desperation in his movements as he thrusts faster inside you, but it’s not enough. Your body aches to feel him fill you. 

“J-Jeongguk~” You whine, pawing at his sweatpants, silently begging him to take them off. He sits up in question, his hand stilling between your legs. You smile up at him, grabbing his arm and pulling his fingers out of you, bringing them up to your face and sucking them into your mouth so you can clean up your mess. 

He can’t resist, leaning down and kissing you, fingers and all, both of your tongues flicking out to grab a taste of you. You tug at his pants again, and he seems to get the message, using his now clean fingers to remove his sweats. You’re surprised to see he has no boxers on, watching his cock spring free as soon as his sweats drop to his knees. Your mouth waters at the sight of his pleasant thickness. 

When his pants hit the ground, he looks back up at you, suddenly shy as his hands move to cover his indecency. You smile warmly, guiding him back between your legs and pulling him down for a soft kiss as you reach a hand between your bodies. Your fingers brush against him, making him gasp softly in your ear as you hold his dripping tip, lining it up with your entrance.

“N-noona-”

“Just push your hips forward.” You guide him.

You feel his heat press against you and use your free hand to press his lower back, urging him forward until he slowly slips inside you, the most delectable moan falling from his lips as he inches further in, wanting nothing more than to feel your warmth fully envelop him. He’s a stretch, that’s for sure, but your body doesn’t show it, greedily pulling Jeongguk in, begging for more.

He keeps pushing until he realizes he can’t go any further, pulling his face out of your shoulder to look down at your flushed cheeks, the way your lips part as soft pants leave them. Very tentatively, he pulls back, groaning at the feeling of your walls squeezing him before he pushes back in. 

“Y-yes~” You whimper. “Just like that~”

Jeongguk huffs, repeating the motion over and over, setting a slow rhythm. The pulse of your walls is steady around him. He feels so good, but you need more. 

“Faster…” You mumble in his ear, wrapping your legs around his waist and encouraging him to go deeper. Jeongguk grunts in agreement, thankful for the permission as his hips increase their pace, thrust by thrust, the new angle allowing him to fill you entirely, his hips slapping against you with a satisfying smack.

“Oh god~” Jeogguk whines. “I- Fuck…” His eyes are fixed on your face, watching it closely as pleasure fills your body in waves, your chest burning red with embarrassment. You pull him down and lock your lips with his, anything to get away from the intensity of his gaze. Jeongguk pants heavily against your mouth as he thrusts into you harder, your head spinning from the pleasure, but he’s still lacking experience, and his increase in pace causes him to slip out.

The second time it happens, you kiss him again before pushing him away. As he begins to protest, you silence him by flipping him onto his back and crawling on top of him, straddling his waist once more. He watches, enraptured by you as you slide back down onto his length, letting him fill you to the hilt and holding yourself there for a moment to adjust, satiating the burning need between your legs. When you’re ready, you brace one hand on his abdomen before slowly lifting your hips and then dropping back down onto his length. 

Jeongguk groans, his head falling back against the pillows, but his eyes once again stay focused on you as you bounce yourself in his lap, setting a quick, but heavy pace, allowing him to fill you completely each time before lifting your hips again and again. When he grabs your hips, you lean forward, bracing both of your hands on his chest as you move faster, the feeling of your high bubbling up inside you more easily than you thought it would. You can tell he’s getting close too; the way his eyes seem a bit unfocused, the way his chest heaves beneath your touch, and the way his hips have started to chase  after yours. 

You’re so close you can practically taste it, you just need that final push. You take one of Jeongguk’s hands off your hips and bring his fingers to your mouth, wetting them for him before guiding his hand between your legs. He looks up at you, intrigued by your movements.

“Touch me~ Like this…” You move your fingers against his in the way that you desperately need him to, showing him how to take you over the edge. He follows your instructions to the tee, deftly circling your clit again before squeezing the bud between his knuckles and dragging the pads of his fingers across it in turn. 

“Ah~ Yes!” You throw your head back, your high rapidly rising to the surface. Jeongguk’s fingers slide along your folds in sync with his thrusts, and before you know it, your walls clamp down on him, earning a strangled moan from his throat as you fall off the edge and into bliss. “Jeongguk~!” You cry out his name as your core contracts wildly around him, seeing stars burst behind your eyelids as the sensation overflows into your every nerve ending, pulsing with satisfaction, unlike anything you’ve ever felt before.

Jeongguk doesn’t fare much better, the spasming of your center too much for him to handle as he buries himself as deep inside you as he can, milking the feeling of his own high as long as he can. He whimpers beneath you, his eyes squeezed shut with ecstasy as he fills you with spurts of his hot release. 

Your body gives out and you collapse against his chest, your breathing coming in shallow pants, his cock still inside you as your skin sticks to his with sweat. The two of you lay entwined together for a bit, neither of you wanting to disturb the moment you’ve created.

You press soft kisses all over Jeongguk’s face, watching as he smiles before you get off of him, grabbing tissues off of his nightstand to clean the both of you up. When you’re finished you lay back down with him, slipping under the blankets as you lay your head on his chest, listening to the sounds of rain and distant rolling thunder coming from his open window, enjoying the occasional breeze blowing through the room. Jeongguk holds you close, not seeming to want to let you go now that he has you. 

And boy, does he have you. 

Jeongguk takes the chance to admire you up close, watching your fingers absentmindedly tracing shapes across his skin while you hum to yourself. He brushes your hair out of your face, enraptured by the way you look, the way you smell, the way you taste. He didn’t know it was possible to feel like this, but looking at you here, now, in this moment, he’s captured by you. He is nothing but a terrified creature, tangled in your nets as you smile up at him in a way that makes his chest flutter with excitement and agony and desire all at the same time. 

“Is this what you saw?” He breaks the serene silence, his curiosity getting the best of him. “In the mirror?”

You giggle, sending vibrations through his body as goosebumps erupt on his arms. “Not exactly.” Your eyes flash up to meet his before you look away, a light blush adorning your cheeks as you think of the future that played out on that mirror. God you hope that mirror was right. “But something like that. It encouraged me to finally tell you.”

“Tell me what?” He cups your cheek, rubbing his thumb across it gently, as if afraid he’s going to break you. 

You scoot up his body, pressing your lips to his in the softest kiss, resting your forehead against his for a moment before answering. “How I feel about you, silly.”

“How do you feel?” He tilts his head, waiting expectantly.

He’s going to make you say it out loud. He can’t just read between the lines? You take a deep breath, steadying the nerves rolling in the pit of your stomach. “Jeongguk I-I really like you. And I think I might… I think I’m falling in love with you.”

Jeongguk’s eyes light up and he breaks into a wide smile, his nose crinkling up. “Is that what this feeling is? Is it love?”

“It’s different for everyone, but it could be.”

“I like you so much; I think I love you too, noona.”

Your heart swells at his words as he wraps his arms around you, pulling you close. He seals your exchange with a peck on your forehead, and the two of you lay together in Jeongguk’s bed, tangled in each other’s limbs, exchanging soft kisses and caresses until you drift off, safe in his embrace.

.

The next day you wake up to the sound of Jeongguk snoring softly in your ear. You smile to yourself, shifting back into his arms. You think back to yesterday; after the two of you woke up, you made dinner and then quickly jumped back into bed, too wrapped up in each other to keep your hands off of the other’s body for longer than a few minutes. Jeongguk is eager to learn how to pleasure you, and you have no problem teaching him exactly how to do just that.

You turn over in his hold, reaching a hand up to run your fingers along his cheek, enjoying how serene he looks when he sleeps. Your touch must disturb him, because it isn’t long before you feel his hand squeeze your waist, his eyes fluttering open as he stirs. 

“Noona…?” He gazes at you in awe, still half asleep. “You’re still here.” He smiles at the observation. 

“Of course I’m still here.” You giggle. “Where else would I be?”

He presses his lips to yours as his hand wanders down lower, finding your ass and grabbing it roughly. He pulls your body flush against his as he buries his face in your neck, inhaling deeply. 

You both crawl out of bed; Jeongguk throws on some sweatpants and you slip into your discarded underwear and shirt before heading out to the kitchen to make breakfast together. Jeongguk is practically attached to your hip the entire time, his hands never really leaving your waist unless it’s to reach over and help you hold something; his face in the crook of your neck and shoulder, pressing light kisses to your skin. 

After you eat, you both settle down on the couch in each other’s arms, turning on something mindless as you enjoy just being together. Thunder rolls long and loud outside, carrying a warm spring breeze through the house as rain falls in spurts. You lay with your back against Jeongguk’s chest, settled comfortably between his legs as his hands trace over your exposed skin.

After a few hours, Jeongguk gives your waist a squeeze. “Noona?” 

“Hm?” You look back at him over your shoulder. 

“Does this mean… Are you going to stay here?”

“Stay?”

“With me?”

“Oh, um, I haven’t really thought about it.” You admit. It’s true, the only thing you’ve thought about was telling Jeongguk, not what would happen after you did.

“Do you want to?” The hope in his eyes has your heart stuttering.

“W-well, I do, but-”

“But?”

You think about your life back in Busan; your friends, your family, your job, all the things you would be leaving behind. “It’s complicated.”

“How? We want to be together, so we should be together.”

“I know, but my entire life is back in Busan. I can’t just drop everything because of how I feel.”

“Why not?”

“Because,” You sigh. “The human world is… things are harder. I can’t just disappear.”

“It can’t be that hard.”

“Jeongguk,” You sit up in his lap, turning your body to face him. “I’d have to quit my job, and leave my family and friends behind. I’d need to quit school, get out of my apartment lease and move all of my stuff here. Not to mention finding a job here, or all the paperwork I’d have to do if I wanted to move. Plus my father’s business… He’s counting on me to take over for him.”

“Noona, you know I can’t leave this island, right? Not as long as I’m still this. Besides, you told me you didn’t want any of that.”

“I know, but just because I’d rather be here doesn't mean I can just uproot my life. That’s not how things work.”

“But you’d be with me.” He offers. “Isn’t that enough?”

You know what he wants to hear, he wants this to be a fairytale, and so do you, but you don’t know how to explain to him that real life isn’t like that. Yes, every fiber of your being wants to stay on this island for the rest of your life and spend every waking moment you have with Jeongguk, just like the mirror told you that you would, but is it really that simple? “I…” You hesitate, and he takes your hesitation the wrong way. You know he does. You can see the shift in his eyes the moment it takes you too long to respond. 

He chuckles; for a moment you think he’s going to brush it all off, but he stares at you with a dark gaze, hurt evident on his beautiful features; not exactly the reaction you were hoping for. “I see.” He lets go of you and stands, walking over to look out the window in the kitchen. 

“Jeongguk, please.” You follow close behind. “I love you. I want to be here with you, it’s just-”

He shakes his head. “Y/N, I-” He sighs. “I want to believe you, but how do I know you aren’t just saying that because it’s supposed to be the cure.”

“What?” You haven’t shown him any reason to doubt your feelings until now, and the distrust stings. “Jeongguk, I've never lied to you.”

He takes a deep breath before turning to face you. “If you hadn’t learned what the cure was, would we even be here? Would you have said you liked me?”

“Of course!”

“Really?”

You scoff. “Eventually.”

“Right.” He just shakes his head, walking away from you toward the bathroom. “How am I supposed to know you really love me?”

“Until last night you didn’t even know what love was!” You point out, trailing him. “And I’m supposed to believe that you love me? How do I even know you’re capable of love?”

“Capable?” He whips around, his eyes ablaze with fury at your words. “Because monsters like me couldn’t possibly have feelings. That’s all I am to you, right? A horror story?”

“You’re everything to me! Can’t you see that?” You raise your voice, you don’t want to but it’s all bubbling up over the sides, erupting out of you with force. “Why do you think I’ve stayed here as long as I have?”

“And now you want to throw all of that away!”

“I didn’t say that! I said it’s going to be complicated! We can’t all just run away from our lives when things get hard!”

“You know exactly why I left… And now I’m supposed to believe you?

“I’ve never given you a reason not to trust me! I’m not the one who lied about who I am!”

“I lied because I knew this would happen!” He finally yells back. The house is silent for a moment before he takes a deep breath. “I knew this was too good to be true. It always is.”

“I don’t know how to make you believe me…” You whisper, trying to force back the tears that have started streaming down your face. 

There’s a long pause. “I don’t know if I can…”

You look up at him, meeting the gaze you had fallen so hard for, before turning and walking away, crossing the threshold to your room in a huff.

“Y/N…” He calls after you, but you ignore him, tugging on some jeans before slipping right past him to the front door, sliding into your shoes and raincoat before grabbing your keys. “Where are you going?”

“Anywhere but here.” You hiss, opening the front door and stepping out into the rain. 

“Noona, don’t leave!” He runs after you, grabbing your arm, but you shake him off, hopping into the truck and starting it, giving him one last look before backing out.

“Fine, now who’s the one running away!” He calls after you as you begin to drive away.

You manage to make it all the way to town before you shatter, having to pull over into an empty parking lot, not able to see the road through your tears. This is so dumb; a stupid thing to fight over, and yet here you are.

Alone.

After a solid half hour, your tears begin to subside. You feel as though your heart has been rubbed raw inside of you as you try to figure out what to do next. You look up to see the bar and decide it’s better than sitting alone in your truck. You drive the short distance and park in front of the bar, hopping out and striding up to the door. 

The bell jingles a familiar ding as you open the door and you look around to see there’s no one in here, which isn’t surprising seeing as it’s only about two in the afternoon. Even the bar counter is empty as you walk up and plop yourself in a chair, desolation obvious on your face as you lay your head down on the counter. You hear the shuffling of feet, and then something heavy is placed on the counter next to you before you hear a familiar voice.

“Y/N?”

You barely lift your head to look up, seeing Saki standing in front of you, a crate of beer next to her on the counter. “Hi Saki.” You mumble, laying your head back down.

“Thought that was you.” Her lilting accent soothes you immediately. “What’s brought you in here honey? Are you alright?”

You sigh, forcing yourself to sit up and make eye contact. “I’ve been better.”

“Hm, I know that look.” She takes a clean glass out from under the counter and pours a generous amount of brown liquid in it before placing it in front of you. “Relationship problems?”

You take the glass, happily swigging the drink, your face twisting from the strong burn of the alcohol. “How could you tell?” You grumble, placing the empty glass back on the counter. She shrugs, refilling your glass. You sigh, quickly downing the second drink before pushing the glass away from you. “Saki, what would you do if you knew you had the power to change someone’s life. Like, permanently.”

“It depends.” She takes your glass and puts it in the sink before handing you a small bag of chips to even out the liquor now swirling in your stomach. “What does this person mean to you?”

“Everything…”

She watches you as you crunch down on a handful of chips. “Then I think I'd do anything I could to help them.”

You mull over her words. You know you would do anything to help Jeongguk, you just don’t know what the ‘anything’ is that he needs. “How much do you know… about Jeongguk?”

She shoots you a knowing glance and you raise your eyebrows in surprise. “So it’s the local fish giving you trouble, then?” 

“You know?”

“I know a lot of things.”

“He doesn’t want to be… well, that anymore.”

“Your uncle used to come in here all the time, talking about that with Donghyun after a few drinks.” She nods, looking around as if to assure you both the bar is still empty and you can speak freely, yet leans on the counter to get closer to you anyway, whispering. “Have you found anything out?”

You run your hands through your hair, frustrated. “The only cure we found is ‘love’.”

“Love?” 

“It said he could fully regain his humanity, if a human were to truly love him.”

“And you…?”

You nod. “I confessed.”

“And nothing happened?”

“Nothing.” You confirm. “And we got into this huge fight this morning about it. He said he doesn’t believe me, that I just said it to try and lift the curse.” She smiles softly at you, placing a hand over yours in comfort as you shake your head. “If I don't love him, then why does this hurt so much?”

“I’m not the one you have to convince.” She reminds you. 

“He doesn’t want to talk to me.”

“Aw honey. If only you could see how much he loves you.”

You sniffle, looking up at her. “What do you mean?”

“The way he looked at you the other night at the memorial? Anyone could see the way he felt.”

You were so focused on everything else that night, you didn’t stop to focus on Jeongguk. “Saki, when did you know you were in love with Donghyun?”

“Hmm…” She pauses to think. “The first night he took me fishing.”

“What?” You snort, that wasn’t the answer you were expecting.

She laughs with you. “I fell out of the boat that night. He jumped in after me, sacrificing his life for mine. It was the first time he saw me as I truly was, and seeing me like that… It didn’t change how he felt.”

You think over her words before you realize something. “Wait, Saki are you…?”

She only smiles. “Go find Jeongguk before it’s too late. You’ll figure it out, honey.”

You nod, standing up and saying goodbye before heading back out to your truck. You make the drive back, parking the truck and running toward the house. 

“Jeongguk!” You call out as you open the door, but the house is dark. Is he gone? You search every room, but there’s no sign of him. You head back outside, and are about to walk to the lighthouse when you hear that low melodious sound ringing in your ears once more. It’s coming from the cliffs. Could it be him trying to get your attention?

You walk over to the edge of the cliffs, rain pelting your face as you look out into the ocean and see a face. It’s familiar and yet unfamiliar at the same time, like something you’ve seen in a dream you can’t quite remember. Suddenly there’s a voice right in your ear.

“You want to save him…” It’s like a whisper in the wind. You look around to see that there’s no one around you before looking back down at the face to see it’s moved closer, now in the water directly underneath your feet. You watch their lips move as they repeat. “You want to save him?” It’s a question this time. 

You think back to Jeongguk’s words of warning; You can’t ever speak to them. They’ll kill you. Though every nerve ending in your body is screaming at you to run away, you can’t bring yourself to listen. What if they know something you don’t?

“Yes.” You reply. “I want to save him.”

“Even if you will lose everything?” The voice is grating and beautiful at the same time, as if two people are speaking.

You nod, getting down on your knees and leaning over the cliff to look at them. “What do I have to do?”

“Love requires sacrifice.” The Ineo hisses in your ear.

“What’s the cost?”

“One human life for another.”

“One life…” Your eyes widen in understanding. “I have to-” You swallow hard, staring down at the swirling waters below. The same waters that took the life of your uncle. “But the mirror-”

“The mirror of Sinjike’s predictions can differ if the future is altered. You only have one choice left: his life, or your own.”

“I…” You stop, sitting back on your heels. Could this really be the only way? Can you give up the beautiful life you would have with Jeongguk just to give him his humanity back? You can’t imagine a life without him, and you need him to know how much you love him. You need him to believe you. He should be coming back from the lighthouse any minute now…

“His.” You whisper. “I choose his.”

“Take off the necklace when you are ready. You won’t feel a thing under the trance of my song.”

The Ineo begins to sing again, their voice filling the air, loudly and clearly as you stand up, looking once more at the ocean below you. You think of the life you’ve had; your mother and father waiting back home for you in Busan. How they’ll react when they receive the news. The way that they’ll have to compartmentalize your life into boxes after all, going through all of your things, and thinking of everything you could’ve been, everything you tried so hard to be.

You think of your friends back home, of Donghyun and Saki here, how kind they were to you, of them holding another memorial in their bar, this time for you. Who would show up?

You think of your uncle, how he stood here in this same spot, contemplating the same things you are now before he made that final leap of the edge, seeing the world one last time before he stopped breathing. Was it painless? Did he regret it as he jumped? Did he know, somehow, that you would be right here with him, committing the same act purposefully. 

Mostly you think of Jeongguk. You think of how much you love him, how full your heart feels when you’re with him. No matter what, at the end of every road, he was good to you. You’ve always been afraid of growing old, of being alone, you've been worried for your soul, where it would end up; but Jeongguk, he puts all those fears to rest. You’re closing every door you’ve ever opened, sick of always wanting something more, something different. He’ll understand, right? He’ll know that you’re sorry. That you did this for him, so he could live the life he’s always wanted. You feel so scattered, not wanting to leave Jeongguk on such a sour note, but even an apology can’t save you now. You can only hope he’ll get to you in time…

Thunder cracks above your head, rain falling harder as you faintly hear your name being called from behind you. You turn to see Jeongguk emerging from the treeline by the lighthouse. You see it on his face, the exact moment he hears the song echoing through the air around you, as though the ocean herself is calling to you. 

“Y/N, what are you doing?” He starts to run towards you.

Your heart aches as you look at him, but all the same, you reach up and unclasp the necklace from around your neck, letting it drop to the ground as you make peace with your  decision; tonight you’ll make your bed at the bottom of the sea. Your senses are immediately taken over by the Ineo’s song, your vision going black as you’re filled with a desperate need, your body turning toward the cliffs.

Jeongguk sprints with all his might, desperate to reach your side in time as he watches you step closer and closer to the edge of the cliffs like it’s happening in slow motion. He’s so close, he can smell your perfume on the wind, his legs carrying him as fast as they can in his panic induced rush. Not again. He can’t lose you; not here, not now, not ever. He’s loved you since day one; you are everything to him, and he’ll be damned if he lets another Ineo take that away from him. Your toes dangle over the edge as you pick up your right foot, taking one final step and not finding anything to catch your body as you begin to drop through the air. Jeongguk lunges, using everything in him to push his body forward as he leaps, grabbing for you. 

“No!” He screams, feeling your shirt slip through his fingers.

.

.

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.

.

.

By a breadth of skin, he manages to grab your wrist, landing harshly on his stomach as he grips you tightly, the momentum of your body falling yanks him forward through the dirt, but he digs his feet in, using his other hand to grip the edge of the cliff as he attempts to support you. 

“Jeongguk, let me go.” He hears your voice, but he knows it isn’t really your voice. He looks down at you to see your eyes have gone black. “It’s okay.”

“No!” He yells again. Sensing Jeongguk’s stubbornness, the Ineo makes you wriggle in his grasp, the song filling your head telling you to do everything you can to plunge yourself into the dark water below where a clash of teeth awaits you. Jeongguk struggles against you, but manages to ignore the scratches you dig into his skin with your free hand as he tugs you up over the ledge. He pulls you back with him, away from the edge as he pushes you face down into the dirt, ignoring your cries and pleas as he grabs your arms together with one hand, reaching for your necklace with the other. 

Jeongguk takes the chain, holding the ends together, and drapes it over your head, letting it sit on your neck as he prays to whoever is listening, begging them to bring you back to him.

After a few moments, you stop struggling. He remains on top of you, holding his breath as he waits,

“J-Jeongguk…?” You mumble, face still half in the dirt. 

“Noona?” You lift your head and he tilts your chin toward him, seeing your beautiful, familiar soft eyes once more. He lets your arms go, taking a second to fasten the necklace around your neck before he crawls off you, allowing you to sit up.

“What… What happened?” You rub your head, looking around to see you’re sitting on the edge of the cliff. “You saved me?”

“Y/N!” Jeongguk tackles you back to the ground, wrapping his arms tightly around you as he begins to sob softly. “I thought I was going to lose you! Noona, why? Why would you do that?”

“Love requires sacrifice.” You repeat the words the Ineo told you. “And I love you, Jeongguk.”

“I-” Before Jeongguk can say anything, a ray of sunlight suddenly breaks through the clouds, shining down through the rain and landing directly on where the two of you sit.

A rainbow reflects from the raindrops and you watch as the rays seem to pierce Jeongguk directly as he clutches his chest. His body emits a faint glow as the rain and clouds suddenly disperse all together, leaving just that single ray of light, shining brighter than the rest. You watch closely as Jeongguk’s breathing slows, his body shining in the light as all the raindrops evaporate from his skin and clothes, his body warming from the inside out. 

When it’s done, the light recedes with the rapidly moving clouds, leaving you and Jeongguk sitting on the cliff, staring after it. 

“What the-”

“Jeongguk,” You reach out a hand to test your theory, placing it on his arm to feel his normally cold skin is replaced by a warmth you can only describe as being distinctly human. “You’re warm…”

“I am?” He looks down and touches his chest, feeling the warmth of blood circulating through his body. “I am.” His hands shoot up to his face, feeling himself with ecstatic anticipation of what this means.

“You’re human.”

He looks up at you, his eyes wide with wonder. “Y/N… You did it. You- You cured me. You saved my life.”

“And you saved mine.” You stand, pulling him up with you. “Like I knew you would.”

“Noona… Don’t ever do that again.” He scolds. He wraps his arms around you, pulling you into a sweet, warm kiss. “I don’t know what I'd do without you.”

“I love you, Jeongguk.”

“I love you too, Y/N.”

.

.

“Hey! Wait up!”

You hold your camera up, snapping a quick picture of him as he chases after you, wanting to capture the beauty of the setting sun reflecting off his features. He reaches you just as you pass the lighthouse, quickly wrapping his arms around you, picking you up and spinning you around as you squeal with delight. He puts you back on the ground and pulls you close, leaning down to place a soft kiss against your lips. 

“I told you to wait for us.” He chides. 

“You were going too slow!” You point out playfully as you start to get lost in his eyes. “Can’t take pictures of the sunset if the sun has already set.” You hold your camera up, snapping shots of the sun bouncing off the windows of the lighthouse.

“Appa!” Yumi’s voice rings out, her arms open wide as she toddles into your husband’s arms. 

“There’s my girl.” Jeongguk smiles, and you both lean in, planting kisses on her cheeks, making her giggle before he turns to you. “Are we still going to Donghyun and Saki’s tonight for dinner?”

“Oh! That’s right I almost forgot!” You nod as you both begin walking back toward the house. “We should probably get going soon.”

Jeongguk puts Yumi down when you reach the front steps. “Go get dressed sweetie!” He encourages, watching her toddle off to her room. “God, I can’t believe she’s four already.” He sighs, wrapping his arms around your waist from behind.

“Time’s moving fast now that you’re not immortal, huh?” You tease.

He spins you around in his embrace. “Time always stands still when I’m with you, my love.” He smiles before leaning down, pressing the sweetest of kisses to your lips.

“You know,” You whisper, leaning back against the door frame. “This is it.”

He tilts his head in confusion. “This is what?”

“This,” You point towards the lighthouse and the sun as it sets the sky on fire in shades of red. “This is what I saw in the mirror that day.”

“This?” He repeats. “You… You saw Yumi?”

You nod. “I saw all of us. That’s how I knew you’d save me in time.”

Jeongguk smiles brightly, pressing another kiss to your forehead. “I’m so glad you did.”

“Me too.”

“I love you, noona.”

“I love you too, Jeongguk.”

.

.

Copyright © Inkjam-Moon 2025

[maskedcop10]

AI created by fredsmith1974

It was the first time Jack worn his new rubber suit n the motor bike. It was custom made and exactly what he wanted . A good fitted muscular suit no access to his cock. His large rubber cock was fitted inside the suit, a special plug was inserted in Jack's tight hole. A special mask with black lenses and nose tubes were fitted over his head. There was no mouth in the mask, which made it even better. He looked at the mirror at home and it felt and looked perfect, this suit would be a great hit at the heath. The tight fitted boots were also custom made, and Jack looked more like a robot now then a human. His large rubber cock was pressed against the special designed cod piece. It felt great. He took his helmet and walked to his garage. The trip to the heath was about 30 minutes and it was perfect weather, so hopefully it was busy. Jack started his bike and drove off. He felt the large plug deep inside him, and it made his large cock hard as well. When he arrived at a good parking spot, he parked his bike and walked down a small path into the heath. It was a perfect evening, and Jack spotted already some good looking rubber men. Jack walked down the path and down into the bushes where the action usually took place. Jack notice the attention from men, but he wanted to wait. His cock was now semi hard inside the special cup. Jack walked around and notice a dark figure coming out of the bushes. Jack looked at the figure who was in a tight rubber suit, a gas mask with double hoses and bubble tank on his back. The breathing was heavy and they water shows that the rubber guy was breathing slowly. a massive black rubber cock was hanging between the rubber guys legs, its moves slowly up and down when he walked. Jack liked what he saw, this was something he had not seen in months. The rubber guy passed Jack and walked back into the bushes. Jack followed the rubber guy and walked down the small path into the bushes. Jack followed the guy even deeper down the small path, when the rubber guy finally stopped on the middle of the small path. Jack could hear him breathing slowly when Jack stood behind him and placed his rubber gloved hand on the guys rubber ass. Jack pressed his crotch against the rubber ass. Then Jack moves his rubber glove hands to the massive rubber cock. It was so big Jack was unable to put his hands around it. The guy turned around and faced Jack now. Pressing his monster size cock hard against Jack's crotch. Jacks hands moves over the guy's gas mask and tube system. The guy kept breathing slowly when Jack moves his hands over his mask. The mirror lenses of the mask shows no identity of the rubber guy. The rubber guy explore the suit of Jack and felt the massive bulge, hidden under the special cup. The large rubber cock was now getting harder and the rubber guy rammed it hard against Jack crotch. Jack grabbed the massive cock and stroked it The rubber guy became turned on and shows who was the top. The rubber guy pushed Jack down on the ground , and slammed his massive cock hard against Jack's helmet. Jack put his hands again over the moister size cock , Jack noticed that this cock was one with the suit no skin nothing it was something out of this world. The rubber guy took both his hands and stroke his monster size cock, and in seconds a massive load was pumped from the rubber cock over Jack's helmet. Jack took the cock in both hands and another massive load was pumped over Jacks helmet. Jack had never experience such. Jack stood up and looked at the guy who was still semi hard. Jack was pressed against a tree and the guy fucked his crotch, and another load was produced and pumped over Jack's crotch. The rubber guy finally pulled back and stood before Jack. He gave thumps up and walked back into the dark heath

[distracted-milkshake]

Right Now, Right Now! - Poe Dameron x reader

Warnings: talk of male contraceptives and fertility, likely inaccurate medical information, established relationship but not much specified

Words: >1k, 555

Rating: T

Summary: Poe has a surprise for you on Mother’s Day.

Can you tell I’ve never written Poe or Star Wars before?

Struggling with everything so badly but felt some short fluff nonsense might help. Happy Mother’s Day!

AO3 Link

“Happy Mother’s Day!”

You were laid back in your shared bed, reading. You were comfy, until Poe had all but jumped in beside you, leaning over your bent legs with a huge smile on his face.

“Poe, I’m not a mother.”

“No, but you will be.” He said.

You looked up as he leaned back on his haunches to dig around in his pocket and tossed a half empty plastic pill pack and two tiny metal clips on your lap.

“I got my VOC out and stopped taking my blockers. Babymaker’s up and running!”

You scoffed, sitting up a little.

You had been telling Poe for months how much you wanted a baby and the answer was always he didn’t feel ready or like it was a good idea just yet. Eventually, you just stopped asking.

It wasn’t like you weren’t happy, just you two, and you didn’t want to push him if he really just didn’t feel up to it yet, even if it was that he would never be. But now it looked like he was ready.

You stared at the itty devices on your shirt.

“Poe, those were inside your penis.”

He blinked. “Yeah. Well they’re not anymore. And actually, technically they were on my vas deferens—”

“And you put them on my clothes!”

“I just got back from med bay, they’re clean!”

“That’s still gross!”

“I want to have a child with you and you’re hung up on my contraception device. Typical.”

“You’re seriously ready to have a kid?” You asked.

“I’ve never been more ready.”

“Does this mean you aren’t scared anymore?”

“Oh no, I’m still terrified of becoming a dad. I’m just tired of putting it off, it’s not ever going to be perfect, I’ve gotta stop pretending like it needs to be. Because you’re not gonna be able to have my kids forever, and so long as I’ve known you I’ve known you’d make the best mother in the entire Galaxy. I would be such an idiot if I passed that up.”

“Stop…” You rolled your eyes away from his adoring warm gaze.

“I am dead serious. And I wanna get started right now.”

You raised an eyebrow. “Like right now right now?”

“Right now, right now!” He laughed, sliding his arms around your waist, bobbing his head enthusiastically. “My tubes are all healthy, doesn’t look like there’s any damage, but it still might take a few days or even a week for stuff to get moving properly again.”

He scrunched his nose, just inches from yours. “And I might be firing some blanks for a bit after that, till the pills are completely out of my system, but I really wanted to surprise you today. I wanna, you know, start trying. You never know. And I’ve got loads to make up for.”

“You’re really ready?”

“Yeah. I think I am.”

“Alright then.”

You raked his curls off of his forehead, straightening your leg to pull him close enough to kiss. He brushed the clips off your stomach and returned it sweetly, pushing you both back into the pillows.

He pulled back and brushed your cheek, letting his eyes wander from yours to your lips to the lack of space between you.

“I swear, next Mother’s Day you’re gonna be a mom, starlight.”

“I’ll hold you to that.”

————

An unnecessarily comprehensive note on Poe’s contraceptive methods:

I included a real though not commercially available male contraceptive measure called vas-occlusive contraception, which is anything that’s used to block sperm in the tubes that would be cut in a vasectomy (the vas deferens), but instead of cutting the tubes they’re blocked in some other way. The reversible method I settled on was removable clips, but there are also biodegradable gels, plugs, and even little valves which are possibly the funniest looking little things made for the human body I’ve ever seen.

He’s also taking oral hormone blockers on top of this to prevent sperm production as well as not a hundred percent are blocked and he just wanted to be sure.

The exact hormones the blockers would be blocking are gonadotropins, I can’t speak to how harmful this would be long term or at all, as again this is not commercially available and doesn’t have a lot of clinical testing I read into, but everything except the production and sperm’s transport from the testes would be about the same in his body. I didn’t get too deep into this, just enough to hopefully not be wildly inaccurate because you know sometimes you have an idea but it takes a little research before you just throw it in haphazard.

Oh also, by firing blanks, he’s referring to ejaculating with underdeveloped, malformed, or little to no sperm while sperm production is returning to normal.

Would it make sense for him to be able to get treatment this good in the Resistance? I don’t freaking know maybe before the Republic was destroyed I just like Poe and speculative medical practice that takes the burden off female contraceptive measures because he’d be cool like that. I know better than to dig into the lore of a fandom this big for just a oneshot I would never get back out. They probably don’t even celebrate Mother’s Day.

Thank you for reading!

[maybeelse]

what happens when you win

Victory should have been sweet. Standing over your foe's corpse, augmented muscles straining to yank your spear from her ruined heart, should have triggered a flood of dopamine. It should have felt like your handler's hand in your patchy hair, the rush of hearing her clicker in your ear—

You thumb your radio's buttons.

Nothing.

It's as dead as your enemy, as dead as everything else within a dozen meters. Another few hours and your battlefield will be fatally irradiated; you can hear the rising buzz of radiation leaking from her ruptured engines.

The enemy used to load their mechs with scorched-earth traps, beads of antimatter magnetically isolated. Victory—or, in many cases, an unfortunately placed shard of flak—meant devastation. No one bothered to tell you when they stopped, or why. Maybe they decided that poisoning the land was better than destroying it.

Warnings hum at the edge of your vision, damaged subsystems and requests for maintenance. Her desperate struggles as you pinned her down and took her to pieces inflicted more damage than you realized. Nothing deadly, but the section of your life support responsible for managing your neurotransmitter balance is completed unresponsive: no tasty combat drugs for you.

That, then, is why you feel nothing except the last, fading remnants of war-trance and a slowly growing sense of failure.

Bad hound. No orgasm. Go back to the barracks and think about what you've done.

Not your handler's voice. Just your conditioning rising up to punish you.

You need to get back to base. If you don't, if you can't—

This is your enemy's fault.

Parts of her body are still intact. Her head, probably; you didn't land any hits on that part of her mech. No point, really; obliterate the pilot's mind and the mech's guidance systems go feral trying to read intent from whatever is left behind. Unpredictable and dangerous, like you're supposed to be.

Her armor bends and tears. It's not so hard to take her apart, really; active countermeasures get all the funding. Don't be seen; don't be hit; don't make the mechanics spend more time putting you back together. It's a pity that yours didn't work better.

There's a face under there, buried in broken machinery and leaking plastic tubes, still visible through the bismuth-like growths that encrust her skull. Still alive, barely; her eyes flutter in the sudden light, struggling to focus, failing.

There's something familiar about it. Something in the tilt of her eyes, the shape of her nose, her lips—not what your handler looks like, not at all, but what she feels like. The impression her face leaves on you when you see her in the hanger, between missions; the way your heart always skips a beat.

You shouldn't recognize her face. You have never seen the enemy's face before. A warning siren keens in your ear, filling your heart with hatred, but—how do you know her? Why?

She says something, a word your augmentations will only let you hear as painful static, and you reflexively drive your fist through her skull.

Destroying her doesn't save you.

The last thing you feel before your own scorched-earth countermeasure activates is the bloody pulp cooling on your skin.

[deutschland-im-krieg]

Focke-Wulf Fw 190A-8/R6 of Stab/JG 26 'Schlageter' having one of its 210mm Rheinmetall-Borsig WGr 21 loaded. Note 300 litre drop tank. The 21 cm launcher 42 developed by Dipl.-Ing. (Masters in Engineering) Rudolf Nebel, who pioneered the German use of wing-mounted offensive rocketry in WW1 for the Luftstreitkräfte (German air force), was a device with five barrels on a firing stand and fired field rockets with a range of up to 7800 metres.

When it became apparent in 1943 that even heavy on-board cannons were not effective enough for fighting USAAF four-engined bombers, Luftwaffe officers investigated the usability of the launcher for installation in fighter aircraft on their own responsibility, which led to the first trial fitting of some Bf 109s, Fw 190s with one launcher tube each and Bf 110s with two launcher tubes under the wing in January 1944. The projectiles could be fired at a distance of up to 1200 metres from the enemy.

The great effectiveness in combating heavy four-engined bombers justified these tests, even if they remained only a makeshift solution, as only two projectiles could be carried at a time, or four in the case of the Bf 110, and as they were not wing-stabilised, they required launch tubes with increased resistance. The propulsion system consisted of 18.4 kg of diglycol solid fuel. The warhead contained 40.8 kg of powder. The first success with the WGr 21 was achieved on 17 August 1943.

Of 376 Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses taking part in the disastrous Schweinfurt and Regensburg raids, 60 (16%) were shot down, partly with Wgr 21. The success was even greater on 14 October 1943, when 60 of 291 B-17 bombers were shot down during the catastrophic attack by the 8th USAAF on Schweinfurt, 17 were lost on the return flight and 131 could not be repaired after the return, a total of 208 losses out of 291, over 71%.

[jestergoblinthing]

AAAAH I'M SORRY HERE YOU GO

A Murky Start

Part 1

The submarine trembles around you as it traverses through the hadal zone. That’s 11,700 pounds of pressure per square inch surrounding you outside these metal walls.

Never in a million years would you imagine that this could be your fate. To have had one of your friends smuggle an illegal substance with you on your road trip. To then be pulled over and found by the police. To be convicted as an accomplice when you had no idea it was even in the car to begin with.

Now you’re stuck in this metal tube with several other real criminals, heading to be locked inside a building 8,000 meters below the water’s surface.

At least they promised you your freedom. You just need to retrieve a crystal inside a collapsing building, how hard could that be!?

You roll your eyes at your own sarcastic thought. Everyone is quiet, it makes you even more anxious.

The boy across from you looks anxious as well, but he keeps a calm expression. He’s a newbie just like you, although from what you’ve overheard he’s still just a kid. Only 18 when he was convicted of shoplifting and underage drinking. Your typical young and dumb shit.

Sitting beside him is a slim looking fella, somehow sitting in the most nonchalant way possible. Legs stretched out wide like how you’d imagine any average guy to sit, arms spread over the top of the seats. You guess he’s a stoner. Everything from the distant look in his eyes, to his unkempt hair and stubble of a beard just practically screams it.

Then there’s the man sitting to your right. Built like a brick wall, he’s sporting lots of tattoos and has a bald, scarred head. Even so much as glancing at him gives you a chill down your spine, he doesn’t look friendly in the slightest bit.

You glance back up at his face again only to see him already side eyeing you. A lump forms in your throat and you quickly look away, pretending to be looking at something else.

After a long time of nerve-racking silence a pinging melody plays in the sub. It’s the intercom, and from it a voice echoes; “As discussed during your briefing, your primary objective is to secure and bring back the Crystal. Your secondary objective is to secure as many loose assets as possible. You’ve been equipped with a diving tank, allowing you to navigate any potentially flooded areas. You’ve also been equipped with a Crystal Container, used for securing the crystal if, erh, when you reach it. You have permission to use any additional equipment you may find. Our Navi-Path AI system has marked the shortest route possible to your primary objective. It should be noted, that you’ll mostly be on your own, as we are currently busy managing multiple teams. We will tune in from time to time, if it matters in the moment. Open the door and proceed when ready.”

The same melody plays again and the hatch to the sub opens before you can even process what was said.

The stoner and the big scary guy immediately get up to exit, with full confidence as if they’ve been through this all before.

“Wait, so nobody is gonna talk about them saying “IF” we reach the Crystal!?” You look back at the young man behind you , his face finally breaking way to show his true fear. Guess the realization finally hit him.

“Yup.” Said that tall man, continuing on his way off the hatch.

“But-“

“What did you think you were getting yourself into? We’re 8,000 meter deep into the ocean.” He called back again.

The young guy stayed quiet for a while after that.

Mr. Scrawny had a point, but you still couldn’t help but feel bad for the kid. Sometimes realization just doesn’t hit until it’s too late.

The loading dock was big and spacious, for a place being thousands of leagues under the sea. It made you feel awkward, especially after realizing that almost everyone BUT you was doing something.

The two older men seemed to be rummaging through drawers and small lockers.

“Looking for what exactly?” You thought to yourself. Oh yeah! The division also wants us to recover any lose assets. Out of curiosity you look over Mr. Scrawny’s shoulder to see what exactly you were supposed to be pocketing. And yes, that’s what you’ve decided to call him until you knew his name.

Mr. Scrawny looks over his shoulder at you, catching you off guard.

He chuckles, “Oh yeah, don’t forget to be on the look out for any left over bags in here. You’re gonna need it for all the shit here. What you’re really gonna be on the lookout for though are documents, USB drives and DNA samples.”

“DNA samples?” you question under your breath.

“Yeah, lets just say this company has been up to some shady shit, WAY shadier than anything I've done. You’ll find out soon enough.” And with that ominous comment he got up and walked over to another drawer. Leaving you behind to wonder.

You couldn’t shake off the comment Scrawny made, although by itself this whole place is eerily beautiful.

Each room seemed to be different but still similar is some aspects, and the structures of each room seemed to be repeating in a randomized way. But overall it was peaceful in here. The same kind of peace you find from overgrown abandoned buildings.

Dust flew in the still air like ghosts of fireflies. Rooms with entire walls made of thick glass filled the spaces with calming underwater ambiance. If it weren’t for the current circumstances, you could imagine yourself sneaking away here often to get some alone time.

You tried to collect as much assets as possible, which wasn’t a lot seeing as you were only able to get the scraps left behind by everyone else.

“Hey guys, what’s this purple glowing stuff?” The younger man asks. The sudden question makes everyone turn their heads to look at him, faced at a double doored locker. To your surprise though, there is a strange purple glow seen through the slits. And his hand is on the handle.

“Wait, don’t open-!” Mr. Scrawny began. Before anymore could be said, the doors swung open and several black tentacles wrapped around the young man’s limbs in the blink of an eye. Somehow in that blink of an eye Mr. Scrawny was able to grab hold of the guy.

Now with the struggle, you could see the thing a bit more clearly. It was black, as if there was nothing but a void inside the locker. Although, you could clearly see two massive glowing purple eyes peaking out of this tentacle void-like creature.

Mr. Scrawny was struggling against the strength of this creature. He had his arms wrapped tightly around the young man, but even still his feet were slipping. It was as if everything was in slow motion. You could feel the tension simply watching this match of tug of war, the boys blood curdling screams of fear only made it worse. One of them had to give. The voids eyes were locked on its target, tears ran down its preys face. “HELP! HELP ME GOD PLEASE! I DON’T WANNA DIE!” Mr. Scrawny was losing his strength, and just as quickly as it came, it ripped the boy out of his arms and into the locker. Doors shutting quick behind it.

Mr. Scrawny fell forward, collapsing onto the floor but managing to catch himself on his hands and knees.

Everything was quiet again. No sound came from the locker anymore. No more agonizing screams of terror. No sounds of crunching bone or blood dripping from the body. Just pure, empty, silence.

[usafphantom2]

Blackbird pilot recalls the mission where a Soviet MiG-25 Foxbat fired a missile at his SR-71

Soviet MiG-25 pilot tells why Foxbats were not able to fire a single missile at SR-71 Blackbird Mach 3 spy planes

The Soviet MiG-25

The “holy grail” of the soviet air defense system: shooting down a Blackbird

Missile fired at an SR-71

MiG-25 at risk of being shot down by its missile

What happened to the missile fired by the MiG-25 at the SR-71?

The Soviet MiG-25

The Soviet MiG-25 (NATO code-name “Foxbat”) was a high-speed interceptor and reconnaissance aircraft. The aircraft entered service in 1970 and has a top speed of Mach 2.83, powerful radar, and could carry up to four air-to-air missiles.

The MiG-25’s capabilities were not discovered until 1976 when Viktor Belenko, a Soviet MiG-25 pilot, defected to Japan. Subsequent analysis revealed a simple-yet-functional design with vacuum-tube electronics, two massive turbojet engines, and sparing use of advanced materials such as titanium.

CLICK HERE to see The Aviation Geek Club contributor Linda Sheffield’s T-shirt designs! Linda has a personal relationship with the SR-71 because her father Butch Sheffield flew the Blackbird from test flight in 1965 until 1973. Butch’s Granddaughter’s Lisa Burroughs and Susan Miller are graphic designers. They designed most of the merchandise that is for sale on Threadless. A percentage of the profits go to Flight Test Museum at Edwards Air Force Base. This nonprofit charity is personal to the Sheffield family because they are raising money to house SR-71, #955. This was the first Blackbird that Butch Sheffield flew on Oct. 4, 1965.

A capable interceptor, the MiG-25 was widely exported by the Soviet Union. This aircraft could outrun any fighter in the air, and indeed any military aircraft other than the SR-71 Blackbird.

Loaded with two R-40 missiles (NATO reporting name AA-6 ‘Acrid’), the Foxbat could reach 78,000 feet, but with its full complement of four missiles, it was limited to 68,900 feet. By contrast the Habu flew at cruise speeds above Mach 3 at over 80,000 feet.

The “holy grail” of the soviet air defense system: shooting down a Blackbird

Nevertheless, once an SR-71 Blackbird flown by Col. Darrel Cobb was fired on by a MiG-25, as Cobb himself recalls in this interview given to his son Chris;

Col. Cobb’s SR-71 Blackbird fired on by a MiG-25.

‘Operational missions.

‘First let me assure you; we never broke President Eisenhower’s promise to cease overflying the Soviet Union. We remained over international water – 12 mi offshore.

‘All of my operational flying was from Kadena, Okinawa. Area of interest was Vietnam; Korea; Vladivostok, USSR; China. Later, we flew transatlantic & return from Seymour Johnson, NC supporting the Israel Arab war. After I left the program, the SR flew from Mildenhall, England & Bodo, Norway.

‘We already touched on missions against Vietnam & the only night mission.

‘Today let’s cover “north missions.”

This print is available in multiple sizes from AircraftProfilePrints.com – CLICK HERE TO GET YOURS. Dawn at 80.000ft – SR-71 Blackbird

‘Take off, refuel & head into the Sea of Japan; between Japan & south Korea. Accelerated to operational speed – 3.20. Head directly at Vladivostok. headquarters of USSR air defense; and test/r & d of new radar & intercept development. 2200 mph guaranteed to light up all the radar & intercept systems they had.

‘A MiG-25 interceptor squadron was based just outside of Vladivostok. The “holy grail” of the soviet air defense system was to shoot down an SR-71.

‘Turn north up the Sea of Japan & make a U-turn back down the USSR coast (12 mi offshore) with ELINT & SIGINT recorders going full bore. Photo cameras looking oblique into the USSR, updating the interceptor air order of battle. Head south east till past Vladivostok then turn slightly left then right to cross Korea at the DMZ. Photo cameras updating N. Korea force readiness to resume hostilities against S. Korea.

Missile fired at an SR-71

‘Continue down the yellow sea coast of China. All sensors evaluating China’s threat to Taiwan. Turn left- decel & land at Kadena. I flew this profile several times during the 4 years I flew ops missions. One of these got very, very thrilling. Southbound, passing Vladivostok, Reg (my RSO) announced;

‘”We’ve got a fighter locked on – it’s gotta be a MiG-25″

‘”Our DEF [Defensive Electronic Gear, DEF. It Provided ground-to-air and air-to-air missile protection. Still Classified. Def systems were labeled DEF A,B,C,E and G. Later modifications to the DEF Systems resulted in DEF A2, C2, H and M systems. Nearing retirement of the SR-71, a programmable DEF labeled A2C could defeat all known threats to the Blackbirds] is blanketing all beautifully.”

‘”Oops – he just fired – – we’ve got a missile locked on”

‘”Our def has shifted to its missile magic”

‘”There – lock’s broken. Missile’s back in search”

‘”That’s weird – sounds like the missile’s locked on – but not locked on us”

‘”He’s gone – coming up on the “s” turn to the DMZ.”’

Fast forward to late 1976 Col. Cobb retired from the Air Force.

MiG-25 at risk of being shot down by its missile

Cobb continues;

‘I’m retired! Learning that retirement means no days off; no vacation; no holidays; big pay cut.

‘I find the aircraft TV channel & history channel. Lots & lots of SR-71 films. I avidly watch at every opportunity. In my den, glued to the TV & today’s SR-71 show, & who do I see comparing the MiG-25 with the SR-71??

‘You’re right – – Lt Victor Belenko!

‘He was totally gobsmacked; his MiG-25 burned up the engines getting to Mach 3 yet the SR’s cruise speed was greater than 3.0.

‘Belenko is the one who said that the Holy Grail of soviet air defense was to shoot down an SR.

‘He told of how they would pre-position ahead of the SR’s radar track and had to zoom up to get a lock on & fire their missile.

‘Belenko stressed how quickly & precisely they had to perform because the window of opportunity was so very short.

‘Their target was traveling at 3600 ft/sec. Faster than a speeding bullet.

‘He described in detail how precise the post firing breakaway had to be executed to avoid getting shot down by their own missile; talking as though they found this out the “hard way.”’

Cobb Concludes;

‘Man talk about intense attention – – I’m quickly mentally replaying that tape from the inter-phone – –

‘”We’ve got a fighter locked on – it’s gotta be a Mig-25″

‘”Our DEF is blanketing all beautifully.”

‘”Oops – he just fired – – we’ve got a missile locked on”

‘”Our def has shifted to its missile magic”

‘”There – lock’s broken. Missile’s back in search.

‘”That’s weird – sounds like the missile’s locked on – but not locked on us.”’

What happened to the missile fired by the MiG-25 at the SR-71?

What happened to the missile fired by the MiG-25? Could it have locked onto the Foxbat itself? Could the SR-71 DEF have deceived it? We’ll never know.

However, we can assume that given that SR-71 had a cruise speed faster than the top speed of the MiG-25’s Acrid missiles, the Blackbird simply outran the AA-6. There was no chance a Foxbat could conduct a tail-chase interception of an SR-71 (the MiG-25 couldn’t carry out a head-on intercept of a Blackbird too: in fact, the Foxbat’s radar and fire control system was not sophisticated enough to solve the problems of a head-on intercept at closing speeds that would exceed Mach 5).

Be sure to check out Linda Sheffield Miller (Col Richard (Butch) Sheffield’s daughter, Col. Sheffield was an SR-71 Reconnaissance Systems Officer) Twitter X Page Habubrats SR-71, Instagram Page SR71Habubrats and Facebook Page Born into the Wilde Blue Yonder Habubrats for awesome Blackbird’s photos and stories.

@Habubrats71 via X