#ahh. looked it up. ligaments

[lungfuls]

Looking up foot anatomy to try to understand where exactly my feet are fucked up and why

[sullustangin]

Fluffy February Day 10: Care

SWTOR

Pairing: Theron Shan X Eva Corolastor

Rating: T (for Tarty at the end)

Word count: 1660. (it got legs and ran off with me; I'll probably re-edit this later to include in a larger part of my fic series)

~~

After Action Report:

Submitted by EC, Captain of Virtue’s Thief, Supposed Commander of the Alliance, Fugitive of the Sisterhood of the Three Moons, Goddess of Grandolba VI, Grand Poomba of –

Koth struck that last one out, as well the other honorifics she included thereafter, which got more ridiculous as they went; even if they were true, she was just doing that to annoy Lana.  (He left the goddess thing, because that was just cool.)

Initial reconnaissance and contact communications unremarkable. The Star Fortress over Belsavis, former Republic secret prison planet, did not have any indications of irregularity prior to Mission 3401, parts A, B, C – contact, supply, then sabotage and destruction of defensive bunker in preparation for infiltration and subsequent destruction of local Star Fortress, as detailed in Mission 3401D.

However, it was soon discovered that the Eternal Empire had retained some of the additional defenses when it came to the planetary bunker.  Once the bunker was accessed, all non-Eternal Empire ships in the atmosphere were shot down.  Agent Shan and Pilot Vortena as well as their Alliance shuttle were already planetside, awaiting further contact with Captain Corolastor and Shan’s contact on plant, K’Krohl.

During the barrage, one of the spacecraft shot down from orbit crashed onto the bunker itself, while the Captain was still inside. 

Koth frowned at the description that ensued.  “Eva, this is …sorta boring.”

“The way you tell it, it gets increasingly dramatic, heroic, and superhuman,” she replied to him as she walked up the hallway toward the private room in medbay.

From what Eva had seen through the smoke and a panicking Whiphid flailing his arms next to her, Theron had crouched low and then rose with the debris across his shoulders, before raising it up over his head in in a fit of adrenaline, allowing Eva and K’krohl to escape to a waiting Koth.

Somehow, even with two torn biceps and every ligament, tendon, and muscle in his legs strained or sprained, Theron had made it back to the shuttle under his own power.

He hadn’t made it back off without assistance.  Now he thought he was going to be discharged to his own quarters.  Fat chance, Eva had told the doctor. 

Meanwhile, Koth had already launching into an expansive retelling for the benefit of the nurses and orderlies in the hallway.  “And then he just – rawr!”  Koth tried to approximate the noise Theron had made. 

Theron pretended to be deaf as a stone while he sat in his hospital bed impatiently, waiting for his discharge.  He had his datapad in his hands, on his lap (someone had positioned it specially so he could work and …not move anything vital).  He pointedly ignored Koth and any of “ooh”s and “ahh”s he generated from his audience. 

Theron…had never been a good or willing patient; the scars he chose instead of proper medical aftercare were well-known to her.  He wasn’t going to get away with it this time.  Especially not after the manner in which he’d gotten injured.

Eva finally caught his eye as she leaned against the doorframe.  “Hey.”

“Yoo-oo,” she replied with a wave.  “How are you feeling?” she asked, quietly. 

Theron’s eyes softened at her inquiry, but Koth cut in.  “How do you think he feels, lifting a starship –”

“It was a shuttle.  Just the front end,” Theron protested with an eyeroll, but nothing was going to deter Koth from his dramatic retelling to those gathered in the hallway. 

The doctor on duty came in and exchanged a look with Eva.  “Are you sure he’s going to be that uncooperative?”

“Absolutely.  He has a track record.”

That caused Theron’s expression to go from annoyed to more than slightly concerned at what his secret girlfriend had planned. 

The doctor checked Theron’s vitals and his present disposition.  “Blood pressure is a little high,” she commented. 

Theron shrugged.  “I’ll take a pill for it.   Not like I can switch careers right now.” 

“Yeah, we’re sort of locked in at the moment.” The Togruta swiped through Theron’s chart.  “All right.  No heavy lifting for two weeks, no ambulatory activity without assistance for one week.  Kolto helps a lot, and your job… isn’t supposed to be high impact, but let’s not fool ourselves here.”  The doctor made eye contact with Theron.  “If you can keep your hands off a datapad for three days, that would help.”    She pointedly glared at the tablet in his lap. 

Theron almost reached up to touch the implants on the left side of his head to port the information up, but Eva had been quick to lay hands on his bandaged upper arm – the very muscles that were being knit back together by kolto as they spoke.  “That’s a no go.”

Theron glared furiously at the bandages, but he said nothing other than “I understand,” in a calm tone. 

Eva knew he wasn’t mad at the doctor or her.  He was angry at his traitorous, painfully mortal body.  He usually was, whether these setbacks happened.  It’s why he got back to work as soon as possible; he thought it was his own failing when he couldn’t work.  That’s what he was planning to do right now.

Not this time. 

The doctor handed her datapad over to Eva.  “I commend him to your care.”

“What?” Theron asked, immediately.

Eva pocketed the datapad and motioned for Koth’s audience to come in and start patient transport procedures.  “Since you evidently can’t be trusted to obey doctor’s orders and not work, you’re gonna recover under my direct supervision on Virtue’s Thief.  I’m taking some personal days to make sure my ops manager is back on track.”

He stared at her.  “That’s highly inappropriate.  I should be discharged to my own quarters –”

“But you suck at following doctor’s orders,” Eva reminded him.  “And I’m not letting you add new scars to your collection.  So you’re going to be forced to take a break.” 

“There will be talk on base, and I don’t want – ”

“Theron, the only thing they’re gonna talk about is you not working for once.” 

By that point, Theron’s bed was already hovering out the door toward the docks, rather than to his personal quarters high up in the main building of the base, flanked by multiple medical personnel to make sure he didn’t try to make a break for it anyway.  Eva strolled along side, watching as his expression grew increasingly sullen as he realized his standard “recovery” wasn’t happening.

“And where are you going to sleep?” he asked, sharply. 

Eva smirked.  “I’ve only been captain for nine, ten years now.  I slept in crew quarters for the first sixteen.  I know which bunk creaks.”

“What if –”

“Theron, this whole thing was Lana’s stupid idea anyway.  If she can’t handle it herself for three days, then maybe she shouldn’t have cooked up a galactic revolution to overthrow the Eternal Empire in the first place,” Eva told him gaily. 

Everyone around them knew she was wheedling the strait-laced ops manager; it was a consistent part of their banter since he’d shown up on Odessen.  The Captain would flirt with that durasteel wall, and he’d keep things on track, much to the amusement of Lord Beniko.  He was impervious to her charms….or so they thought.

~~

Eva brought a tray in for supper – stirfry with Kodari rice.  She’d served it up for him on Yavin 4, ages ago. 

Theron was still grumpy, even as he looked with interest at supper.  “I’m an adult.  I don’t need a babysitter.”

“You need someone to take care of you, while you’re injured.”  Eva placed the tray on the nightstand on Theron’s side of the bed.  “And it’s the least I can do for you saving my life –”

“You… you would have found your own way out.  I just got impatient.”  His eyes dropped down toward his lap.  Jedi humility and SIS duty combined to make a neat cover for his feelings.

“Were you just impatient?” Eva asked, teasingly, as she unrolled the flatware from the napkin.  She shook it out with a jerk and tucked into the top of Theron’s shirt. 

“No,” he said quietly.  His hands, resting on his lap twitched.  They wanted to reach for her, but could not.  Should not.  Eva decided to delay dinner.

Carefully, she draped herself in his lap, so that those anxious hands found the way to her with minimal motion, and Theron finally was able to hold her close.  She’d held him on the shuttle, head in her lap, the pain obvious on his face, as Koth flew off like a man possessed…but in the rush to medical, he hadn’t been able to touch her.  Have evidence she was alive and unharmed. 

“I – I didn’t want you to die.  I couldn’t stand it.”  Theron drew in an uneasy breath, and his hands clutched at her, as her arms carefully hugged him around his neck.  “I love you.”

“And the fact that I love you is why you’re here.”  Eva drew back just far enough to look him in the eye.  “Or is this still too close?  Too vulnerable for you?”

There would always be a pause.  That’s just how he was.  But she always did crack open those defenses, slowly but inevitably, like her old omnitool.  Theron shook his head. 

She smiled. 

“Dinner then?” he asked, hopefully.

With a laugh, Eva hauled herself up and got to the business of feeding Theron his dinner; he couldn’t use his arms to do it himself.  “Are you actually going to go sleep in crew quarters?” he asked, halfway through.

Eva paused, fork halfway between them.  “If you want me to,” she replied, honestly.  “Might make it easier for your to sleep and get comfortable.”

He solemnly nodded, then his expression was all mischief.  “You know, not all of my muscles were injured –”

Her laughter cut off the end of his salacious come-on. 

Dessert that evening was very creative. 

[peony-pearl]

Azula has been in therapy for a year. She and Zuko see each other regularly both for therapy and family time. They have inside jokes. She still has outbursts, but he no longer needs help in soothing her when they’re alone. When the doctors agreed, Uncle presented her with her very own tea set with hand picked teas just for her with a 5 page letter. He’s kept in touch since.

Azula is escorted to her room by the nurses; she is doing better. She sits at her vanity, having heard the possibility of her returning to the palace in the next couple of months. She’s frightened a bit; change has been a hard thing for her, and even in this daunting space and time, change is… hard. Even if it means going home. Also because home is where… home is where everything horrible has ever happened.

She brushes her hair, looking into the mirror when…

When her eyes catch the silhouette.

She freezes. No.

No this isn’t happening again. It can’t be. She closes her eyes… she keeps brushing her hair.

“I’m fine. I’m fine,” she thinks to herself. Her heart is racing to the point she swears it could burst. She doesn’t open her eyes again. She’ll just… ignore the mirror. She’ll throw a towel over it when she’s calmed down.

But there’s no time to calm down, her hand is gripped, and she’s thrown to the floor with a violent effort. She cries out; even the plush carpet can’t completely hide the impact of the stone beneath her.

Azula gasps, pain and fear and dread mixing together. She looks up, seeing what is no longer a silhouette.

It’s not her mother.

It’s Ozai. Towering over her, like the man from her memories. He’s grungy and wild-eyed, his hands so tense she swears she can hear the bones and ligaments popping.

But relief also pools in her veins… this isn’t a vision. He’s real. He’s not a product of her pained mind.

But oh no… he is very real.

“Hello, sweetheart,” Ozai’s drawling sneer says, dripping with malicious saccharine. “Daddy’s come to tie up some loose ends.”

Azula’s mouth drops, seeing her father for the first time in a year. It hits her how much differently she feels with him back in her presence. She can feel all of the pain and anger and sorrow she used to push down now radiating tenfold.

“Now, if you know what’s good for you,” Ozai said, pulling a guard’s pilfered dagger from his person, “you’ll keep your mouth shut.”

“H-How… how did you get here?” Azula croaks, surprised that she’s able to utter that much alone.

“Now now,” Ozai says, stepping on her hand, watching her wince and struggle, he maneuvers the dagger in his hand, preparing for a single-strike kill. “I can’t go giving away all of my secrets.”

Just as he reels his arm back, a bell tolls. Ozai is caught off-guard.

“OZAI HAS ESCAPED! AZULA IS IN DANGER!”

Ozai clicks his tongue. “Ahh, damn it all,” he said, almost bored. “I was hoping to at least enjoy this. I’ve never liked being rushed.” He looks down at Azula, her eyes wide and fearful. But… there’s something in the shadows of that look that he knows. “What are you doing? Plotting? Again? Against me like your treacherous brother?!”

“N-no! I’m… I’m just-”

“Are you enjoying being brainwashed? Are you enjoying the company of that failure? You should be thankful I’m here to end your misery! What would my REAL daughter think of how she’s behaving?!”

“Stop it!” Azula sobs, feeling sting after sting.

“You haven’t even tried to defend yourself! You’re pathetic. Just like Zuko. Just like your mother and uncle.”

“Maybe like you,” Azula sneers. Ozai finally reels the dagger back-

But a tackle halts him. Ozai hits the floor with an ungraceful thud and a howl of pain. He looks up.

Zuko is there - and he reels his own hand back to slam it into Ozai’s nose.

“GET OFF OF MY SISTER!”

[tastes-like-melonade]

A minty-fresh scenario:

i have no idea how this works but it’d be a crime not to share with you a trope i die for eleven out of ten times. 

picture this:

whumpees’ escape going horribly wrong.

The woods in the dead of night.

An adrenaline pumped Whumpee books it as fast as they can, away from that shadow that looks a little too familiar, hoping they can lose their attacker in the dense forestation. They’re hellbent on putting as much distance between themselves and Whumper as is humanly possible. It’s laughable, really, how they think there’s any structure to their plan, as if Whumper hadn’t been anticipating this the entire time, as if they don’t know the dips and grooves of the woods like the back of their hand. 

Ahh, still, it’s cute to see the effort Whumpee is putting in. 

The frantic crunch of shoes against gravel only sharpens Whumper’s smile as they pursue their soon-to-be captive in an agonising, almost insulting saunter.

There’s no need to run. No need to break a sweat, even. Whumper resists a laugh when a deafening crack sends a flock of crows scattering into the sky.

Poor little thing didn’t get very far.

Sure enough, in the clearing, past the low hanging branches, lies a softly whimpering Whumpee, sloppily grabbing at the gash in their calf from where a sharp, jutting twig tore right though their clothes and lodged itself snugly into pulsing ligament.

As Whumper draws nearer, a panic-seized Whumpee still tries with everything they have to scramble to their feet, but when that doesn’t work, their only option is to grovel uselessly as that menacing shadow encompasses them with ease. It’s too dark to notice the trail of crimson leaves left in their wake.

A moment later, Whumpee has backed themselves against a fallen trunk. Lifting a shaky, blood-stained hand up, their mouth opens to form a plea of some sort. But a pathetic wheeze is torn from their throat instead, as the heel of a boot embeds itself into their chest, shoving them roughly back against the bark.

Completely winded, Whumpee can do nothing but cough and splutter, weakly grasping at the ankle that has them pinned. 

“P-Please. . .”

Whumper grinds their foot down harshly before leering over a choking, helpless Whumpee. “Oh my, you’re losing a lot of blood there, arent you?” It’s an observation. One made so causally you’d think it was someone noticing a papercut under running water, or someone inspecting a small dent in their car.

Let me go. With waning vision and barely able to take another breath, Whumpee never manages to get the words out before their world is blanketed black.

It’s not up to them anymore. It never was.

Whumper grins, revealing a set of gleaming teeth at the form slumped unconscious against their leg. “Time to clean you up, baby.”

[meenah-chan]

Brothers and a Broken Bone

An OM! GN! MC fanfiction (OM! Brothers & Now-dateables + Luke)

2.42k words

Genre: flangst probably

Trigger Warning: blood, broken bone, violence (probably) Self depreciation? Still, read at your own discretion.

A chaotic family. A fight broke out and then... "Snap!"

They were on the way to the Demon Lord's Castle. Being like their usual selves, seven demons of varying personalities is chaotic.

"I'll definitely kill you Mammon if you're not able to get my platinum Seraphim figurine back!"

"Stop fussin' around already! It's just a figurine—"

"Just a figurine?! That's the last limited edition platinum Seraphim figurine released during the final episode of Seraphim of the End! There are only 5 of it ever produced in the whole three realms!" ...extremely chaotic.

"Shut it, you're so so damn loud."

"Loud?! Then let me rip that useless ears off you!" Whilst just a few blocks away from the castle, the purple demon suddenly transformed and spring towards his scummy brother.

"Stop it already. You're making a scene—" Before Satan could finish his sentence, the book he's holding was hit by Mammon's stray hand and flew, knocking Beelzebub's burger off his hands.

"My... Burger..." Losing concentration he lost grip of Belphegor, who is on his back.

On his fall, Belphegor squash Asmodeus to the ground, who then broke a nail.

"My book..."

"My beautiful nails..."

"Mngh... the hell..."

A burger splattered on the floor. A dented book coated with mayo and ketchup. A broken nail. An interrupted sleep.

... Extremely chaotic indeed.

Simultaneously the demon brothers transformed, ready to join the brawl.

"Stop this, you fools!" A riot is the last thing Lucifer wants a few blocks away from Diavolo's abode. Yet, his words falls on deaf ears, causing a set of horns and wings to sprout from him.

And the eldest joins the battle.

Then there's MC, a mere human. "Hey! No fighting guys!!" ...with no one who want to listen to.

"Don't hurt each other!!" Still nothing.

They move closer and took a deep breath, but this time, they're eager to use a bit of force through their pacts. "CUT IT—Aww." yet before they could, they fail miserably. Knocked by whoever the brother is, MC lost their balance.

They twist to hopefully resist their fall. Still, MC's footing failed and instead fall face first.

Snap!

As if a twig cracks, Leviathan and Mammon's attention was drawn to the unsettling sound. And as if on cue— Lucifer, Beelzebub, Satan and Belphegor's eyes followed.

A few feet away from them sits MC, blood profusely dripping off their nose.

MC rose on their feet but in a second, "Ahh..." They glanced on their lower right and lift their arm, as if nothing is bleeding.

Following the human's line of vision, blood suddenly drained from everyone's face. Well, except for the human themself.

"AHHHH!!" A shriek from Mammon and Asmodeus.

"Y/N!?" A shocked yell from Lucifer, Beelzebub and Satan.

"..." And a choked silence from Leviathan and Belphegor.

"...It broke." at the end of their arm limply dangles their forearm from the elbows. MC just looked at it as if nothing's out of place. They then glance to the stiff brothers a few feet away from them. "So, y'all cool down a bit?"

The brothers are anything but cooled down. They are so terrified they couldn't even move on their s spot.

And as if to trigger the demon brothers alot more, they swish their arm a little bit, the dangling forearm swinging like pendulum.

The first one to return to his composure is Lucifer, pulling out a handkerchief to stop the bleeding of Y/N's nose.

Satan followed, removing his blue jacket and sling their right arm around their neck. "I can't find anything hard to support your arm so please make do with this for now... damn, that fucking hardbound book's useless..." He mumbled the last phrase gritting his teeth.

"... Let's head to the Demon Lord's Castle first." Lucifer may looked he is composed outside but inside, he is a total mess. Everytime he loosens the pressure of his hand on their nose, blood will come dripping off with no sign of clotting at all. Just a bit more of ant stimuli and he will certainly be panicking like his brothers.

Noticing it, MC took the handkerchief from Lucifer and hold it in place themself.

Beel on the other hand towers over them and carry them.

"Does it hurt? Am I the one who hit you?" A crying Mammon hovers over them, hesitant of touching a single strand of his human.

"O-Of course it hurts, you idiot! We just broke MC's arms!" Leviathan is also a crying mess, standing beside Mammon.

"Not really. It is throbbing but numb." They reeled their arm once more, alerting everyone.

"DON'T DO THAT!!" They all yelled in sync.

"Hahahahahaha!! Looked at that priceless faces. Are you in a choir?"

"Hey, no fooling around! You're injuries are serious!" Asmodeus snaps.

"What if you worsen it?! You want to lose your arm, huh?!" Belphegor added.

"Why would I listen to any of you?" MC raised an eyebrow.

"Stop being childish and unreasonable. We're just thinking about you."

"Ohoh~? Did I heard it right? Childish and unreasonable? Aren't you describing yourselves awhile ago before injuring me with your bickering?" Condescending laugh. They received an insulting laugh from a mere human, yet no one utter a single word for defense.

Amidst the chaos, three forms appears opposite to their destination. "Hey guys, aren't you going to the Demon Lord's Castle too? What are you doing in the middle of the road?" As Simeon, Luke and Solomon approached the frozen brothers, MC jump off Beel's grasp and went to them.

"MC, what's with that jacket?" Luke held the hem of their shirt with a concerned look.

"It's nothing, just broke my arm. Come on, let's go to Diavolo and leave that matured and reasonable bunch." MC is smiling but the three could hear the spite in their voice.

"Wait—You WHAT?!" The eyes of the three almost bulged out of their skulls in surprise.

"Don't worry, I can't feel it. Let's go before the numbness disappears."

Through Solomon's magic, they manage to stop the bleeding and hold the arm from swinging. The four arrived at the the Demon Lord's Castle safely, leaving the brothers behind.

"MC, what happened?" As soon as he sees their state, Diavolo react fast and guide them to the nearest sofa.

"It was an accident. Is it possible to fix this?" Barbatos entered the room from a door different from what they used. He is carrying with him a first aid. Their guess is either— he left the room as he saw them or, he already predicted this will happen and came prepared. Either way, he didn't questioned them and instead act calm and efficiently as ever. Though when MC look closely, they can see an ever subtle crease between his brows.

Shortly after Barbatos appeared, the seven brothers arrived to the room, silently stayed in the corner.

"Solomon, I believe you have knowledge of healing spells, don't you?" Barbatos asked, wrapping the injured arm carefully yet fast.

"Yes, but it will take a few days to completely heal a torn ligament."

"I also have some speeding-up spells under my sleeves. I think combining it will heal MC's arm by daybreak." After Barbatos patch them up, Luke approach MC, with Simeon a step behind him.

"Are you o–okay? Does it hurt?" Teary-eyed he hold their knee, looking into their eyes.

With their uninjured hand they caress Luke's cheek, wiping the tears off his eyes. "It doesn't hurt at all. I will be alright in no time. A sweet little angel is blessing me after all."

"That's right Luke. Solomon and Barbatos are also forming a spell to return MC's arm to normal."

"Now, listen everyone." Diavolo stood in the middle of the room, calling everyone's attention. "I believe MC and the brothers have something to discuss in private. While Barbatos and Solomon are constructing a spell in the next room, I hope Simeon and Luke to come with me to give them privacy."

"I bet they are the one who caused MC's injuries! I don't want to leave MC alone with them!"

"It'll be okay Luke. They will be careful and won't do it the second time. Am I right, guys?" Simeon spoke calmly to soothe Luke but a hint of distaste still managed to reach the ears of the brothers. "Now come, let's leave them for a while." A reassuring smile from MC to Luke, and a thankful nod from Lucifer, to Diavolo and Simeon are passed before the others left the room.

"MC..." Approaching them, the brothers line up in row a meter away from them, Lucifer speaking in the middle of the line. "We would like to apologize for our... foolishness. Won't you forgive us? We're ready to do anything to earn you again."

"... I'm not really angry with you guys. Just upset and disappointed, with myself. Well, maybe I'm also sad because of you."

"MC..."

"Quarrels are normal with siblings. But it hurts to see you guys on each other's neck, ready to kill each other any moment. I mean, we're family. I should be able to stop you guys from doing something you'll definitely regret later. Yet here I am, a mere weak human who couldn't even do anything about it."

"It was like you guys calling me a family is nothing but a title. That without the pact, I am but a useless design that would crumble at a slight flick. I'm so weak and useless it's so upsetting."

"You're not weak nor useless!!" Mammon yelled.

"Yes I am. Look at this arm that snapped like a flimsy twig." MC slightly raised the arm with broken bone, which is starting to throb in pain. Pain that will definitely cause their tears anytime soon. Yet despite the pain still not surfacing completely, a greater pain within their chest caused tears to fall anyways.

"Look at me MC," Lucifer knelt in front of them, wiping the tears away from their eyes, "You, by any means, are not a weak person."

"Staying by our side after everything that happened, shows that you're a strong person." Satan strokes their head, smiling.

"That's because I really love you all. Because I want to be with you."

"We love you too, MC." Asmodeus also knelt beside Lucifer, taking their hand to his lips for a kiss.

"You're the most precious person to us, MC. We don't want you sad so please smile."

"Y–You know you're the Henry of my life! I vow I won't cause you pain. No–I'll protect you from all the sufferings in this world the best that I can!" Standing behind Lucifer, Leviathan fist-pumped.

"You're the best cuddle partner for me. Get well soon so we can take a nap without any problems." hugged MC from behind, burrying his face on the crook of their neck.

Mammon had enough. "Let go, you pricks! No touching to my human! What if you worsen their injury, huh?!" He especially tried peeling the fifth and seventh born from their intimate touch with MC.

"You're just jealous you couldn't hug them."

"Or kiss their hand." Asmodeus planted another peck onto their palm.

"N–No, of c–course not!" Mammon blushed profusedly while he held his hands over Asmodeus to stop him the third time.

"Pfft—Hahahahahahaha!" Being able to lift the pain off themself and hearing the brothers cheer them up, MC laughed with light heart, also lifting the veil of sadness and guilt from the brothers' chests.

The room was filled with smiles and laugh, fortifying the bonds of the big family they have.

"I'm sorry for interrupting everyone,"

"GWAAAHHHH!!" Leviathan and Mammon screamed in surprise as Barbatos appeared in the room with neither warning nor sound. Not only the purple and whitehead was taken aback. Everyone went stiff for a second except MC who is facing the door directly and saw Barbatos enter.

"The spell is done in the other room. If you may allow me, I would like to take MC."

On the doorway stood Solomon, holding back his laughter from the scene, engraving the comical shocked faces of everyone to the back of his mind.

"You could've knocked before entering you know..." Satan sighed.

"Forgive me for my rudeness, but I would like to bring them as soon a possible." Barbatos slightly bowed with his usual formal smile.

"... I see. Please do." Lucifer held his temple for a second before rising on his feet and giving way to the butler. If he knew, the butler definitely did it intentionally as a payback.

"If you'll excuse me." Barbatos took MC's other hand and in a snap, sling it to his nape, carrying MC in his arms like a princess.

"Oi! Let go! I'll carry them myself!" Mammon yelled at Barbatos' action. "I'm afraid I can't let you do that."

"Yeah, you might drop MC from being too flustered." Asmodeus agreed, squealing at the thrilling sight before him.

"Beel, you carry MC." Belphegor nudged his twin. "Okay, I will."

"No, I don't think that's possible." Diavolo entered the room, interrupting any more attempt of the demon brothers of taking MC. Simeon is with him, while Luke made a beeline to his baking teacher and MC.

"Now that you settled everything with MC, we will now discuss your punishment for the incident."

"...What?" Belphegor and Satan raised an eyebrow from the Crown Prince's statement.

"Yes. Punishment. I entrusted MC in your care thinking you can protect them. Instead you caused them pain. I'll be lying if I said I'm not disappointed."

Although Lucifer thought of the possibility of punishment but to hear the word disappointed from Diavolo's lips, directed at him, his loyal prospect hits him hard.

"...Yes. I understand, Diavolo."

The stunned faces of the brothers, including Lucifer pulled the last string of composure within Solomon, freeing the dam of his loud laughter. Simeon also chuckled with him.

"Okay, let's start. Barbatos, Solomon, proceed to the other room to tend MC's injuries. Simeon will also help with the discussion."

"As you wish, Young Master." "Okay." Barbatos, Solomon and Simeon replied simultaneously.

"Will do. How about you, Luke?"

"I'll go with MC."

"W–Wait! Can't we just settle this without any punishment? MC did say they're fine already. Right, MC?" Mammon held Barbatos halfway to the exit.

"As much as I want that, I can't really oppose Diavolo's decision. And you did dig what you sow, so... Condolence, I guess?"

"You heard her." Diavolo added.

"B–But, BUT—"

"MAMMOOOON..."

"EEK—!"

And thus, the trial begins.

I dunno why I wrote this seriously 😂🤣 I just thought I want to write a comedy fanfic with all the characters but I just noticed my plot is a bit dark to make this a comedy at all. So I made it a fluffy angst instead sksksksk 😆😆✌️

Also posting A Smear of Blood soon after.

Masterlist

[itstheclaud]

[TW: Non-graphic physical torture/intentional bodily harm, but it’s played for laughs.]

So I have this Headcanon that like, for whatever reason, be it like a genetic defect, or a blood god thing, or even just a pigman thing, Techno just has a ridiculously high pain tolerance. And I just have this mental image of a scene playing out in my head that’s like;

Sam attempting to extract information about the Syndicate or something from Techno while in prison:

Techno: [is tied to a chair]

Sam: I have ways of making you talk Techno.

Sam: [drives a knife into Techno’s thigh]

Techno [with the tone of someone getting pinched]: ow.

Sam: …what…? That’s it? “ow?”

Techno: [looks down at the blade, unconcerned]

Techno: [looks back up at Sam]

Techno [Deadpan]: You know Sam, it’s been proven multiple times that torture is an extremely ineffective means of interrogation. Have you considered bribery?

Sam: ??? (what the heck IS this guy?)

Techno: Also, for the record, you missed the perfect opportunity to say “squeal” instead of “talk” a second ago.

Sam: Techno, I am about 2 seconds away from driving this thing all the way down to bone if you don’t start cooperating.

Techno: [looks back down at the blade]

Techno: [furrows brow]

Techno: Actually at that angle it looks like you’re gonna miss the bone by about 3/4 of an inch… possibly 1/2 an inch. Hard to tell from this angle honestly.

Sam: [stares him dead in the face]

Sam: [shoves the knife all the way down to the handle.]

Techno [with the tone of someone stubbing a toe]: ahh… see? What did I say? I told you it was gonna miss it at that angle.

Sam: [seething]

Techno [returning to deadpan]: Although, to be fair, you DEFINITELY severed some ligaments. That’s gonna be a real pain to walk on after this.

Sam: …

Techno: …

Sam: …

Techno: …

Sam: …

Techno: So uh… did you… did you wanna try again or…?

Sam: [yanks the knife out]

Sam: [storms out of the room]

Techno [calling after him]: So uh… are we done here…?

…

Techno: …Sam…!?

…

Techno: Sam? I’m still tied up!

…

Techno: [looks down at leg]

Techno: Sam I’m gonna get blood all over this chair if you just leave me here!

…

Techno: …

Techno: …whelp…

[yandere-mha-blog]

Chapter 10: Man of my word

Words: 2277

The next weeks were the same old same old. Go out with Hawks, find someone to stop, and try to gain what information you could on the HPSC. ONe thing that did catch your interest one day was seeing the U.a Sports festival. You looked over Ta Hawks who was snoring, so you shook his shoulder

“Hawks wake up.” you said

“HUH WHAT WHAT” Hawks said taking a feather off his wings “did someone break in!?”

“No, look, the sports festival is on.” you said

“You mean that weird propaganda the school does each year to show off ‘how cool’ they are.” Hawks said

“Yup that one.” you said “Wasn't there an attack on a bunch of first year students a few ago?”

“Sure was, still go on like everything is the same, blah blha.” Hawks said waving his hand then laying back down to continue his little nap, you tugged on his wig

“Hey wake up, this could be good information.” you said scurrying around for a notebook and pen

“Busy busy little (name), always wanting to learn something new.” Hawks said pointing to a spot where there a blank notebook and pen, you reptivily clicked the pen, still your joyful face soon turned into horror as you saw a giant robot fall on top of a couple of students, Hawks also looked equally as shocked as the two students popped out from underneath them unharmed. You and hawks both gave each other a look of ‘is this real’.

“So much for the safety of their students.” hawks said, before sitting up and resting his chin on his hand, “Oh look,another bird.” “Hmm?” you said looking at a screen to see a student with a Bird head

“Where do you think the head and body meet, i think that's a choker not part of his body.” you said tapping the pen to your lips

“Nah the red is totally a part of his body, hey look, it's the grand canyon, is there where our tax dollars are going?”

“You don't pay taxes hawks.” you said

“Yeesh lucky me, I got the IRS and the HPSC on my ass.” Hawks said, you gave out a small chuckle under your breath as you took in as much infraction as you could, between the mind field and then the horse battle, you were able to get a good hold on the future hero work. THe one on one fight was even more interesting and hawks seem very particule on the bird headed student who was named Tokoyami

“Look ill i'm saying with you talons, my wings and his head it would be pretty cool.” Hawks said, as you shushed him as you kept watching the kid breck the bones in his hand

“Don't you think his quirk is a lot like all mights?” you said “too similar.”

“I don't think All might bones explode.” Hawks said “Still this finger destroying kid has guts, but if he keep going on his path like this-” “His tendons and ligaments are going to be ruined and bye bye arms.” you said interrupting him and kept onlooking the tournament till it was done, and some poor kid was having an episode on top of the podium thrashing around

“Looks like he is having a panic attack.” you said, seeing All might take the muzzle off him and putting the mental, in his mouth.

“I don't think i can watch another round of this, I mean they are teenagers.” you said 

“Doesn't matter, the younger they are the easier it is to make em.” hawks said rolling over and wanting to go back to his nap, but you pull his wing open

“Hawks im getting bored of the same old, same old.” you said “Can’t we do something interesting.”

“Hey, I am plenty interesting.” hawks said “besides news is in the underworld right now.”

“What news?” you asked

“Haven't you heard about the hero killer?” Hawks asked

“Briefly, yes.” you said fiddling with one of his fathers on his wing.

“Well he is killing heros as the news puts it, in the underworld he is killing people who get in the way, to me he is sticking it to the HPSC.” Hawks said 

“Hawks you have killed people, I have seen you do it.” you said

“Still, I wonder what he is thinking.” HAwks said as he used his wing to splat you down on the ground “Now let me sleep.”

“You are no fun.” you said

A few nights later you were hanging onto the back of Hawks as you were both looking down for anything to do, small fries no real threats, you hadn't gotten you hands dirty tonight

“Hawks.” you said

“Yes?” he replied

“When are we going to do something interesting?” you asked

“Very soon, I have  a feeling I'm going to get called in for real soon.” Hawks said “for now lets just relax a bit and take in the view.”

“What favor?” you asked

“Well, you see, I kinda had to sorta maybe get help from this guy to break you out of your confinement from the HPSC.” Hawks said “Only if I did him a favor, he was the same guy who later attacked the USJ, so I'm wondering what or when he will call for me.”

“YOu got help from who now.” you said

“Look, I didn't have any other choice, okay.” Hawks said “Besides nothing I anti used to.”

“Wonder what it could be, because I'm sure if you had been at the USJ, things would've turned out different.” you said “Not sure how i feel about attacking a bunch of kids, hero or not.”

“You like kids?” HAwks asked

“I'm indifferent, I'd never want to hurt one though.” you said “But i’d rather avoid them.” “Lol what are vermin, I love the little scamps.” Hawks said “So young and native, im jelosse.”

“Wish you could have stayed a bit naive for longer hawks?” you asked, he just gave a simple nod of his head 

“Still I'm even more pissed at the HPSC for commissioning children and teenagers.” HAwks said “All the more reason why I want to take them down.”

“I wonder what will pop up afterwards.” you thought

And sure enough the day where Tomura called Hawks in came in the upcoming day, you made it very clear to HAwks that since you were the reason he made the agreement you were going with him.

“I asked for a bird, not some cold faced woman.” The man who had a hand on his face said, you decided to remain quiet, you saw the reports and his quirk, still the bandages on his arms, legs and shoulder said that he had a rough couple of weeks.

“Look, I'm here to repay my favor, what do you want?” Hawks said 

“I'm gathering a group of people to help me.” He said, hawks took notice of how he was a little less bratty then last time. “And you have a favor to repay me, for helping you save that one.”

A finger was pointed at you.

“That is why I am here, what do you need me to do?” Hawks said

“This one.” Tomura said holding up a photo of the teen who had been bound on the first palace podium was held up between two of his fingers. “I need you and the others to catch him for me and bring him here.”

“Anything else?” Hawks asked

“Yes, don't kill this one, I want to get my hands on him first.” Tomura said holding up a photo of the finger destroying kid “I know you are the fastest villain out there and even on the top 3 most dangerous villains up there, if they see you there, they will know I mean business, and you.” “Me?” you asked

“Yes you, a little college student who ran away to a life of crime under the wing of the Night hawk, or the poor innocent soul who was seduced to the dark side, which one was it?”

“I was bored and wanted a change of pace.” you said, and you saw a crooked smile under the hand on his face “Hawks is just my mentor right now, where he goes i go.”

“Fair enough but if you get caught don't expect another rescue team.” Tomura said, ``Hawks  put a wing between the two of you. “hey I'm not here to kill either of you , put the wing down.”

“So you want me to help capture this guy, the guy with the explosions.” Hawks said 

“Yup.”

“Well, my wings don't like heat that much.” Hawks said “But i’ll do it, i am a man of my word, but how will this take place.”

“They are going to a training camp soon, you and the others will attack, ruffle their feathers and the others will be there as well, this isn't going to be a repeat of the USJ.” Tomura said “Feel free to because as much maham as you want, just leave this kid alone, and get this kid to me.”

“Hmm the whole class of 1-a.” Hawks said “Not sure how I feel about hurting a bunch of kids, but tell you what, I'll put in my all if i can pick something up while I am there.”

“Pick what up?” Tomura said

“You're Not the only one who thinks a new prodigy is there.” Hawks said, you grabbed one of hawks feathers in anger, he paid no mind.

“Perfect, glad i can rely on you, i'll introduce you to the others with time.” Tomura said “Kurogiri sent me home.”

A black mist portal opened and you and Hawks both went though, and once the portal close you gave hawks a very pissed off look

“What?” He asked

“What the hell was that?” you asked “You want us to go and kidnap a student, incase you forget that guy is out of his mind to think any of those student would turn to villainy, why else would they apply to U.A.'' you said

“Hey calm down chickadee.” Hawks said, putting his hands up in defense “Look I know there is no way any student will listen to him or turn evil, but I do owe him.” Hawks said “And I want to see the kid in person, that was more or less a bluff for him to think I'm going to take this seriously, don't worry i anti trying to replace you, no need to be upset.”

“I'm not upset!” you said

“Yes you were, you were all upset and grabbed my wing trying to pluck me because you thought I wanted to replace you with someone new.” Hawks said, teasing you as you grabbed a handful of his wings “ahh  hey watch the feathers!”

“You jerk!” You said thrashing him back and forth then letting him go “Still i don't like the thought of hurting teenagers, and they don't care if they are killed either.”

“(name), do you trust me?” Hawks asked as he patted his feathers down

“I do.” you said

“Then don't worry.” Hawks said “After this we won't have to deal with him again okay.”

“Okay.” you said still with your arms crossed “I still have a bad bad feeling about this, have you ever heard of the domino effect.”

“Yes.” Hawks said “But the good thing is, maybe this will set off the same chain reaction, i mean if a student gets captured, what will people think about the school and their defense, how idiotic they are with the fact that it happened in the first place.”

“True I mean I am going to do it regardless.” you said “This is the deal you made to get me out of there.” as you looked down at your left thumb

So that's the story of how you and hawks ended up looking down from a clift down a bunch of students who were doing a test of courage in the woods, you didn't tell the others one bit.

“Hey chicken, I never thought i'd ever meet you.” the one who had staples all over his body to keep his burnt flesh attached to him said

“I see I'm popular.” Hawks said, then he looked at you

“And is this the girl who you seduce to the dark side?’ He asked

“Back off she came here on her own accord.” Hawks said putting a wing in front of you

“I think she is cute.” A girl who seemed to be rather young said, wondering what her story was “you are the woman with the knife for nails?”

“Talons under my nail beds, but yes.” you said

“Great, you can come with me then.” She said grabbing your arm and hugging it “help me collect some blood.” “(name) you going to be okay?” Hawks asked

“I’ll be fine, i'll see you when this is over Hawks.” you said

“Looks like you got dumped.” Dabi said and the hawks almost whacked him over the head “anyway you know what to do bird brain, Twice you are with me.”

“Got it dabi, no way Jose.” The man said as you and Toga left

“Hey (name) if anything happens just shout for me okay.” Hawks said

“Gross you love birds, aww isn't that sweet.” Twice said again “You two make a great couple, you are like oil and water.”

“Thanks?” Hawks said and the attack and capture was on.

“Let's go fill those heroes full of holes and put them in their place.” Dabi said as hawks took off what an edge lord he thought

[sherlollydramoine]

Could I get some fluffy pregnancy sex with Rami? Maybe the reader is feeling insecure about their changing body and Rami tries to make them feel better.

This is unedited and just a short lil something. Hope this satisfies. This is all based on my knowledge and experience with pregnancy. I know not every woman has the same experiences but again, I’m just writing from what I know.

Warnings: Pregnancy sex (duh!), 18+ ONLY 

This is super soft-ish and not as fully smutty as I wanted it to be but this is what felt right for this piece. I hope you enjoy anon! :)

Word Count: 939

Letting out a soft frustrated sigh you roll over for the thousandth time trying to get comfortable. At nine months pregnant getting comfortable was an absolutely impossible.

Biting back the tears that threaten to spill due to being hormonal, overly tired, overheated to the point that you had to sleep naked, and the fact that you felt like a disgusting whale. 

Your husband was the best partner you could ever ask for but this pregnancy had been rough on you and you were starting to hate the way your body had changed. 

The stretch marks leaving ugly purple streaks across your belly, thighs, hips, breasts, and ass.

Your breasts had swollen to twice their usual size and were painful to the touch. 

Deciding to give up on sleep with a frustrated huff you attempt to heave yourself out of bed but your husband reaches out and gently grabs your wrist. 

“Babe, what’s the matter?” he asks, his voice deep and husky from the sleep he’d be awoken from by your tossing and turning.

“Nothing. I just need to pee,” you mumble. He knew it was a lie but now that you’d been moving around you really did need to pee. 

You go to the bathroom and when you come back he was sitting up in bed with the bedside lamp turned on emitting a soft yellowish glow in the room. It made his skin look golden in the low light and you smile; feeling the familiar ache between your thighs. Your husband would never fail to turn you on even when he’s disheveled and half-asleep.

He looked concerned as he patted the mattress next to him. “Come here babe. Tell me what’s going on. I know it wasn’t just because you had to pee, you’ve been tossing and turning for over an hour.”

Taking a seat on the bed you snuggle in close to him as you let the tears fall freely unloading on him all of your worries and insecurities. He doesn’t say a word until he was absolutely positive that you were done.

You didn’t see his soft smile or the way he made heart eyes at you as you spoke. Suddenly you found his body covering yours as his mouth began placing kisses along the side of your face, your jaw, your lips, down your neck, gently to each of your breasts, and along your stomach. 

“I love you,” he says between each kiss that he’d place. “Your body is perfect to me and always will be. Just seeing you like this-,” he gestures to your round protruding belly, “turns me on so much. I can never get my fill of you.” 

As he kisses down your belly his right-hand finds your core, thumb gently moving over your clit which elicits a quiet moan from you. 

A couple of fingers slowly slide between your wet folds and you buck your hips forward into his hand. 

Your body is so overly sensitive that it takes you only a few minutes to completely come undone around his fingers. 

You couldn’t help but whisper out, “I want you so bad,” as you move onto your hands and knees. Being this pregnant has made sex a little more difficult than usual so doggy style was the position that was easiest for you. Sometimes you’d be on top but that always exacerbated your round ligament pains and left you unable to walk properly for several hours. 

He quietly asks if you were ready and you push your hips back into his to signal your readiness.

Moaning out as he slowly enters you from behind, his hands firmly grabbing onto your hips while you rock into him. 

When you stop moving against him, he takes over setting a gentle pace because last time the sex got too vigorous you suffered Braxton Hicks the rest of the night and were really cranky the following morning.

You can feel his body on top of yours, as he begins placing kisses along your shoulder blades and down your back in between murmured “I love you’s”, “You’re so fucking beautiful’s,” and “I’ll never cease to want you in every way.”

He moves hips a little faster at your urging already feeling the next orgasm building.

Closing your eyes giving in to the feelings you feel the warmth spread through your body as you cry out his name, clenching around him, as he follows you into bliss. 

Collapsing onto your side as Rami lays behind your spooning you, you somehow manage to fall into a contented sleep with him still whispering into your ear all the ways he finds you perfect. 

After about an hour of sleep you wake up to a wetness between your thighs and a tightness in your belly. 

“Rami!” you half yell which for the second time tonight pulls him out of his slumber.

“Whaaa-?” he says sitting up behind you rubbing at his eyes.

“I think-I think-Uhhh either I peed the bed or my water broke.”

Rami tangled in sheets tries to climb out of bed suddenly panicked and yelling about calling family, grabbing all the bags, but instead ends up tripping and hitting his head on the edge of the bedside table. Of course, you had to remain calm as you treated the gash on his forehead in between contractions. Having to baby your husband, reminding him to put clothes on, then his shoes, where the bags were located, his cell phone was on the kitchen counter, and most of all reminding him that no matter what comes out of your mouth in the following few hours that you still loved him.

TAG LIST: @xmxisxforxmaybe @txmel @r-ahh-mi @flipper-kisses @itsme690 @ramimedley @safinsscar @ghoulsonline @youthtea @ramisgirl512 @hissom1933 @spacedustmazzello @sassystrawberryk @ramimalekpan @breadnbutternips @itslula1991 @mezzomercury @theultraviolencefan @the-real-ramimalekpeen @hazeleyedbeth @w0lfglrl17 @adoremalek @rawmemalek @diasimar @zodiyack @sasha--1996 @rami-malek-trash @seven-seas-of-ham-on-rhye @anotheronebitesthedick @schnapsidee-x @petites-fantasies @moon-stars-soul

[panickypaladin]

Starter for @palidinus

“Ahh... I think I found it.” Hunk mutters as he sits half bent over Shiro’s hand. On Shiro’s left side there was a small basket with a mound of pretzel bites and a little bowl of cheesy dipping sauce. a big steaming mug of tea sat right next to it along with a datapad for shiro to have something to read if this ran long. And on Shiro’s right side sat Hunk with the prosthetic metal arm propper up on a pillow and a bright lamp tucked close over Shiro’s metal hand. 

Shifting himself slightly Hunk slowly changed what angle he was looking from, just to make sure he was actually spotting something or not. He had his goggles dragged down over his eyes and one of the eyes had an attachment for magnifying settled over the glass. Ever so slowly Hunk adjusted the miniscule tools inside the back of Shiro’s hand. A panel had been removed and a few cables had been plucked out of their sockets and laid to the side. “You were right, it needed more than the regular cleaning. You got some gunk really wedged in there. I think it is some form of scrap... fused? To one of your finger ligaments? I think it has gotten stuck in there during battle and when you heated up your hand it must have... melted.” Hunk sat back slightly and straightened up to look at Shiro. He closed the one eyes beneath the magnifying glass because that was one headache he could do without. “I’ll fix it up. But it might run us a bit. You in for a long session today? Or do you got stuff to do?”

[boseongkrp]

( the senior, kim jongin, he/him ) — introducing PARK JAESUN, the 25 year old PERSONAL TRAINER at boseong fitness centre, known around boseong as THE CATACLYSMIC. the residents would describe him as holes punched in walls, the purple blossom of a black eye, relentless training sessions that leave lungs starved for air, crimson knuckles swathed in medical gauze.

now loading his interview....

trigger warning : drugs, physical abuse, violence.

PLEASE TELL US MORE ABOUT YOURSELF.

there’s a vacancy to jaesun’s disposition — as if he’s not all there and it’s simply the shell of his physiognomy sitting in front of the police officers that are recording his statement. a small smirk tugs at the corner of his lips; look closely and you’ll glean derision embedded in the creases of his countenance. ‘just for the record, you guys are absolute assholes.’ yeah, he’s tired of police stations, tired of the bland interior and the equally bland reflections dancing in the cups of shitty coffee on the table before him. but he’s here to respect the dead, knows how much she deserves it. if there was such a being that was deserving of his best, it was the girl with the paper smile and the misted eyes.

he wonders fleetingly if these officers know of what evil he snorted up his nose before he arrived at the station. it’s not like he’s one to dwell on their perceptions of him, knowing that they probably already deem him as the decaying apple that didn’t fall too far from his father’s tree. and because that’s all they see, he refuses the proper courtesy that is expected in the station. jaesun opens his mouth, coke-fuelled laughter a vanguard for his next words. ‘i was the golden boy, the top athlete at boseong high and despite all the fighting, the staff, the pupils, they all still loved me. soccer scouts came from seoul to see me, did you know that? ya, write this shit down. i came from nothing; my dad, he’s a deadbeat that drinks too much. he used to lay into me pretty bad when he was at his worst, i used to be fucking scared of him bro. looking back, i realised he’s a coward. my mom, well, she’s amazing, she’s a seamstress. i get my work ethic from her. i worked hard because of her, i thought let me train hard so i can get her out of this dump and away from my father.’ he punctuates his statement with a scoff, the expression on his face faltering ever so slightly. ‘my father’s in prison now, fucked somebody up real bad, like i heard the guy’s face —‘ pausing, he watches through narrow, jaded orbs as the officer winces a little. pathetic.

‘and me? i’m back here. poetic fucking justice. you could say i’m a little bitter about not becoming a professional soccer player but it is what it is, i guess.’ his gaze resorts to calloused appendages that have taken to drumming against the table, an indication. ‘i currently work at the fitness centre as a personal trainer. it’s enough pay for me to have moved out and give my mom a little something as well so i can’t complain.’

SO WHAT DO YOU THINK OF BOSEONG?

jaesun barks another laugh at the officers, running his fingers through the messy tendrils that fall in face. ‘listen, home is always going to be home, you know?’ he’s not entirely sure what else would be a suitable answer for a question such as this, and for once, he’s not as verbose as the drugs cause him to be. ‘boseong’s not london, but it’s home and i own that. i bet you thought i was a sell out.’

HAVE YOU EVER LEFT OR THOUGHT ABOUT LEAVING BOSEONG?

’yeah i left boseong the day after i graduated. remember what i was saying about scouts coming to see me play? they really thought i was great! ya, they were impressed, they were really excited to have me on board and so i went to train in seoul right away. a few months later, i was sent to england to train with chelsea fc. it was fucking epic but — i fucked it. i, uh — i tore a ligament so it’s all over. done. i can never really play again, not professionally at least.’ as a melancholic edge takes over him, he looks up towards the ceiling as if landscapes of a rainy city and its multitude of secrets were hidden there. ‘it was lonely when i was in london, i felt like i was drowning in other people’s indifference. being the popular kid in a small town means nothing to those city dwellers. i guess i found it hard to cope a bit. i don’t think i’d leave town again for that long.’

WERE YOU CLOSE WITH HA EUNMI? WHAT WAS YOUR IMPRESSION OF HER?

it’s in the hesitation that a weakness is revealed, a blunder or perhaps the embers of a high dwindling down into ash. ‘ha eunmi… where do i start?’ he stares at his fingers, the brutality of his constitution evident in their destruction, and guilt seems to wrack his frame. ‘she was a sweet girl, at least to me. never understood why people didn’t take to her. she was quite smart? though she sucked at math which is what i tutored her in. i fought a lot in those times so the principal put me on the tutoring scheme to keep me from making trouble with the other students and we got close then. shit…’ he sighs, shaking his head slightly. he wasn’t expecting to talk so much about eunmi and so with a sort of reverence he continues, ‘she saw the world in a different light, i respected her for that. she was going through some shit at home though and i think that caused her to have a little bit of a chip on her shoulder which i totally understood. she was still great to me though. she never judged me, she kinda held me up high too. believed in me and stuff. ahh, the motel? there was a point where things were particularly bad at our respective homes so we would get a room out and study in private. nah, nothing funny like that, she was a sweet girl and a minor, for fuck sake. you guys perverts or something?’

DO YOU HAVE A DARK SECRET THAT NO ONE KNOWS OF?

<   R E D A C T E D   >

[shibereshu]

“and they were in quarantine” [1]

Cao Yuchen // ‘OMG They were quarantined together’ AU

It was a bright warm day in March, and the clocks were striking thirteen. Your stomach growled, asking you for food, so you tried to finish your report as fast as possible and run to the interns’ coordinator’s office. He always gave you the longest tasks, since you were the one with a better understanding of English among the interns. 

When you decided to spend a year gaining working experience abroad, you thought it would be the complete opposite, and that they would be a bit less demanding regarding your situation, but it didn’t turn out that way. Nevertheless, you couldn’t believe how lucky you were… one of the biggest entertainment companies in China had approved your application, and you were surrounded by the best professionals in your field, so you were really happy and thankful for the opportunity.

Your superior greeted you with a smile and glanced at the report with approval. 

“(Y/N)! You always hand in the best work, thank you! You haven’t eaten yet, right? Go ahead, join the other interns, you can finish the rest after your meal.”

“Thank you, mister.” You left the room with a bow and walked to the canteen, where your fellow interns where already enjoying the menu of the day.

“Oh! (Y/N)! Are you finally done with the report?” your friend Yifei mumbled, gulping down a big scoop of rice. 

“Don’t do that, Yifei, you are going to choke!” the boy sitting next to her, Jiyang, exclaimed, while giving her a look of disapprovement.

    Yifei smacked the back of his head, making him drop his chopsticks and open his mouth to complain about her. You always spent your meal break with these two dorks, and you couldn’t help but find funny how they would keep teasing each other. However, after you finally sat down beside them with your tray full of food, Jiyang’s attention quickly shifted to you, and he began asking you about your day while trying to share some of his food with you and laughing at things you said he found funny for no reason at all.

    You had to admit, the way he acted towards you was kind of cute, and any other girl would probably fall helplessly to his charms. He was really considerate, always worrying about your health and mood. This was obvious, and you weren’t the only one who had noticed; Yifei usually teased you on your way back home, and you knew what the giggles and looks of other workers at the corporation meant. But you only felt pity for the boy, nothing more. You were a busy girl, making a big effort to live and learn as much as possible in this foreign country, you were too busy to even think about going out with a boy!

    You tried to turn him down as politely as you could, and you finished your meal and rushed towards your office, thinking about the big amount of papers you still had to fill before finally leaving the place.

    As lost as you were in your thoughts, you didn’t notice the person running towards the elevator you had stepped in, until the doors were about to close and their arm stretched out trying to avoid it. 

    “Oh my god! I’m so sorry!” you blurted, pushing quickly the button that would prevent the doors from closing, while you kept apologising to the person, “I didn’t see you coming! I zoned out and… Did you get hurt?” You finally looked up, and left out a sigh of relief as you recognised the boy standing in front of you: Cao Yuchen, an artist under the company, who you’d met on your first week there, “Oh! Cao Yuchen! I was so worried… I thought I’d hurt one of my superiors.”

    “Hey, (Y/N), did you forget that I’m also your superior here?” the young man looked at you with a frown between his brows, “I think one of my ligaments teared, ouch!” his face turned into one of someone in pain, and he held his arm carefully trying not to apply too much pressure onto it. 

    “Wh… what?? Does it really hurt that much? Let me see” you tried to reach his arm but he turned away, hiding his face and his arm from you.

    “Ahh… I think they will have to cut my arm off”

You froze for a moment, feeling the panic rise, but then noticed his shoulders shivering and heard a quiet giggle, signals that he was just acting and wasn’t actually feeling any pain at all.

“Hey Cao Yuchen! Don’t mess up with me, you bastard!” you threw your hands at him and punched him repeatedly on his arm, “Teared ligament, yeah sure, I can’t believe I almost fell for it”

By then, Yuchen was already laughing out loud. He rested his hands on your shoulders, trying to push you away from him.

“You totally fell for it,” another laugh came out from his lips as he continued speaking, “Ah, (Y/N), don’t you think my acting skills just keep improving each day? That was great, not going to lie.”

“I can’t stand you, I swear”

“Hey, be more respectful, I am older than you and also in a higher position here, so be polite” his mocking tone didn’t match the seriousness that filled his expression again. He was really good at controlling his facial expressions, you had to give him that.

“Okay, mister, I’m sorry. But don’t make fun of me ever again, or do I have to remind you that you still owe me?”

“Ugh… do you already know what you want me to do so that we’re even? I am tired of being indebted to you.”

“No, sorry, I still have to think about it for a bit longer.”

The elevator doors opened and Yuchen stepped out of it. “Okay, (Y/N), but don’t take too long or you’ll miss the chance. Bye now!” 

You looked at the boy walking away while the doors closed again and the elevator resumed his way up. Your mind forgot about the incident and went back to your tasks as soon as you arrived the floor your office was in. You stretched your limbs, knowing you would have to sit on your desk for at least six more hours before you could leave. 

    A few hours later, you were finally done with all of the paperwork, and it was almost time for the working hours to end. You walked around the lobby, waiting for Yifei, who you always walked home with. Not much longer after that, you saw your friend saying goodbye to a coworker and making her way to you.

    “(Y/N), I’m so tired… let’s hurry up, I have to stop at the convenience store before heading home.”

    “I should buy a few things too… I think I ran out of bread.”

    “Ah! I almost forgot,” Yifei’s eyes lit up as she said that, “I ran across Cao Yuchen when I was going to the restroom earlier today, that boy gets more handsome every day, I swear!”

    “Why do you like him so much,” you rolled your eyes, remembering what had happened in the elevator, “he’s just like any other Chinese actor these days.”

    “He’s way more friendly than any other actor I’ve met, and I’ve worked at four different entertainment companies, so I would know! Anyway, aren’t you friends with him or something? Wasn’t he the one you had to help that day?”

    “Well… I’d say we are rather acquaintances. I helped him and now he owes me one, but that’s it. I don’t really see him that often.” You shrugged.    “That’s because you are always busy! You don’t even hang out with me,” you friend pointed at you, in a blaming way, “Next week the spring sale will start, and we are going to go shopping together, no excuses allowed”.    “Okay, okay, we will.” You arrived at the street where you had to part ways, so you hugged before saying goodbye to each other and walked away, speeding up your pace to arrive as soon as possible. There was nothing else you longed for more than your bed.

Finally home, you put your bag and papers aside and made yourself something to eat before throwing yourself on your mattress. You still had to finish a few things before going to sleep, but it was quite early and a couple of minutes of relax wouldn’t hurt anyone. Just when you had started drifting into your mind again, a loud banging noise, made your heart skip a beat and your head lift from your soft pillow.

What is that? you thought to yourself, looking around completely disoriented.

Another loud bang followed the first one, so you go on your feet and walked towards the front door, trying to find the source of the loud impacts. As you got closer to it, the noise grew louder and louder, so you decided to open the door and take a look outside. Before your apartment, a short corridor led to a few other doors and the narrow stairs you had to walk up and down every single day. The corridor was usually empty, but that day a grown up man wearing a pair of overalls and a helmet stood in the middle of it, banging a big hammer against the door of one of the other properties.

“M… Mister,” you realised you had been standing there for a few seconds, staring right at the man without having said anything, so you tried to regain composure and thought the best thing to do next would be to ask him directly what was going on, “I kept hearing a banging noise, and was wondering…” you didn’t know how to ask him, but it didn’t matter anyway, because the moment he heard you, he dropped his hammer and looked at you just as if he was looking at a ghost.

“Young girl! What the hell are you still doing here! Did nobody tell you to leave?”

“What… sorry?” You had no idea what he meant, but you noticed you were the only one who had come out looking for the source of noise. Where you also the only one there apart from the builder?

“This whole floor is going to be demolished! A young rich man has bought the whole building and wants to turn all of this into a single apartment. Didn’t your landlord notify you? Everyone has left in the last week!” The man took his helmet off and run a hand through his greasy hair, worried about you, “Maybe you didn’t understand what was going on, since you look like a foreigner… Hold on, I will tell my boys to stop for today, but we will have to continue tomorrow, so I’m afraid you will have to leave as soon as possible. You can spend the night here, but you will have to be gone by tomorrow morning. You have somewhere else to go, right?” he gave you a concerned look, and looked for his phone so that he could notify the rest of the building team to stop what they were doing.

You looked at him with a blank expression, and went over his words again and again in your head, trying to make sense of the situation. I have to leave? your heart beating faster and faster at the thought, Where could I go… I have no one to call.

Yifei! Your friend would surely host you for a few days, right? You had gotten pretty close since you arrived there. You thanked the man for the information and concern and rushed back into your apartment (no longer yours) to call your friend. You decided to check for a message of your landlord first, and you realised an email of hers from a week before had been directed to your spam folder, so you hadn’t noticed that you had received it. However, you didn’t have much time to complain about it, you knew you had to act fast and focus on finding a place to stay for the following days.

Luckily, your friend picked up her phone pretty quickly.

“Yifei! Oh Yifei, I’m so glad you picked up!” you heard your voice crack and tried to control your agitated breathing, “Something terrible has just happened to me.”

“(Y/N), are you okay? What’s going on?” You could hear a lot of noise in the room your friend was in, but then she walked away, probably into another emptier room, and you could hear her much clearer after that, “where are you right now?”

“I’m at my apartment- well, what used to be my apartment… Yifei, they kicked me out!”

“What?! So suddenly!?” Yifei couldn’t believe what she was hearing.

“I got an email a week ago, but I didn’t see it and now I have to leave, and I have nowhere to go, and- What am I going to do, Yifei?”

“Okay, okay, listen, breathe in, breathe out…” You followed her words and tried to calm down, without much effectiveness, “Do you know anyone with a free room?”

“I don’t… But Yifei, can I stay at your place? It would only be for a day or two, until I find somewhere else! There’s no way I find a free room before tomorrow!” A thousand thoughts filled your mind, and you tried to think of any other solution, maybe staying at a hotel or guest house, but that would be way too expensive, and you needed the money to find a new place…

“Oh, (Y/N), I’m so so so sorry… I live with my parents, and my grandparents are also staying here right now… and if we also count my siblings… I am so sorry (Y/N), we really don’t have room for another person… Hey, turn that volume down! I’m trying to help a friend here!” the last words were screamed to someone else on that side of the phone call. You started losing hope, and saw yourself spending the following nights at a 24h store or café. Get yourself together, (Y/N)! There must be someone else…

Yifei kept talking on the phone, “What about Jiyang? I’m sure he wouldn’t mind hosting you for a couple of days! You know he would do anything for you!”

“Oh no, there’s no way I’m asking him… Can you even imagine how awkward that would be?! And I wouldn’t feel good knowing I’m taking advantage of him that way…”

“But who else can we ask then? Wait, I have a friend who lives in a rather big house, she has a son, but if I ask her she may-“

“Yuchen!” You suddenly stood up and screamed his name. Of course! He lived in a really big house, and he wouldn’t say no, since you helped him before and he had promised to help you once too, so that it would be fair.

“Yuchen? Wait… Cao Yuchen?! No no no no, are you crazy? You don’t know him well! How can a woman stay at the house of a stranger like that? He’s famous but that doesn’t mean he is a good man, who knows how he lives behind scenes and-“ Yifei kept ranting and ranting but you had already made a decision.

“Listen, you yourself said he was a nice man, and he owes me, so it’s not like I’m asking for too much! His house is huge, too, he won’t even have to look at me twice, and it’s only for one or two days and only for sleeping… it will be fine! I won’t disturb him.”

“But what if… what if he’s a pervert or something.”

“I’m not a kid, Yifei, I will make sure I can lock the room or whatever... bye now, I’m going to text him.”

“(Y/N) are you sure about this… I-“

You hung up on your friend, reminding yourself to apologise to her the next day and thank her for caring so much about your safety. A part of you also thought that this was a really bad idea and that many things could go wrong, but you were desperate. Furthermore, he joked around a lot, but in the couple of months that you’d been working at the company, you’d also noticed that Yuchen was a really nice guy overall, he even had a pet (the cutest dog) and people who cleaned his house for him, it wasn’t as if you would be trapped in a room all alone with him for weeks…

Reassuring yourself, you opened the chat app and wrote him about the situation. After a few minutes filled with stress and anticipation, your screen lit up, showing a new message from Yuchen:

Cao Yuchen [20:17]: Of course! I can’t believe you have to go through this! We can come tomorrow after work together, so don’t worry anymore about it. Just make sure your shoes are clean ;)

You took your pillow and pushed your face against it, before letting out a loud groan. Okay, (Y/N), things will work out you thought to yourself Just hold on for a bit, just for a few days, and everything will go back to normal… Yes it will…

[benjaminjofaiho]

The Captain Next Door Ch. 2

Summary: You’re a doctor who also just so happens to be a fan fiction writer. You love lots of fandoms but Captain America is by far your fave, so what happens when you get a new job, move to Brooklyn and realize that the brownstone you bought is right next door to Captain America? Obviously shenanigans ensue.

Warnings: Swearing. Light Mentions of NSFW material.

AN: Thank you guys for all your reblogs, comments and likes. Your feedback is always welcome and I love hearing from y’all.  Ok, I think its suuuuuper worth noting that I do not care for or abide by the timeline, there are some people mentioned that haven't technically been brought together yet [ As per Winter Soldier ] but I did it anyway. Also I get that you guys are here for the cap and y/n but I’m just trying to get everything in place before we get into full swing, there will be more next chapter, scouts honor!  P.S. I do not currently have a beta and the ‘f’ and ‘u’ keys on my keyboard are messed up so incase you see repeating letters anywhere they aren’t supposed to be feel free to let me know.

           Ouch. Things were coming back to you slowly. You thought you heard the faint sounds of a man. You slowly blinked and saw peeling paint off some crown molding of what greatly resembled your living room. You opened and closed your eyes again repeatedly and could hear soft footsteps. Sitting up gradually, you placed your feet on the floor, leaning your head  over the neck of your tarp covered sofa and closed your eyes once more. Thinking of all the work the living room had to go through: painting, furniture reupholstering, electrical and God knows what else, you let out a dramatic groan. You would have to call your dad sooner than expected. Either that or you would have to get a contractor because you’re supposed to be starting work in 2 months and there’s no way that you would be able to finish all this work in that time by yourself. You heard shuffling footsteps and hushed tones say

           “Yeah it seems like she’s awake now. I’ll update you. Yes Steve. I'll let you know. Alright. Bye”

            You shouted out “Who’s in here?” No response but you could hear the footsteps getting closer. You started to panic, you were about to turn into one of your mother’s lifetime movies. Getting a bit louder this time “Look I don’t know what you want but I don't keep cash in the house! There isn’t much of anything for you to steal either, nothing has arrived yet. ALSO THE BUILDINGS CONDEMMED! THERES ABESTOS EVERYWHERE!”

           “Honestly, you are quite funny” you heard a voice coming from the back of your home. You quickly calculated that if you were going to be attacked it would be better to be standing, not splayed out on your couch; that way at least you could put up some sort of a fight. Forgetting completely about your little tumble earlier you hopped to your feet.

           “Ahhh!” you felt a shooting pain go through your leg and then your head started to develop a dull ache.

           “Please be careful! And don’t be frightened.” You tried to turn slowly and he rushed to your side helping you to sit. You gave him what your mother refers to as a ‘nasty look’ and asked suspiciously

           “Who are you?”

           “I’m sorry, I’m Sam, I’m your neighbor.” He gave you a gap toothed grin and you couldn’t help but relax a little. He extended his hand.

           “Okay Samuel from next door. Welcome to my home,”

           He chuckled “Samuel is reserved for my parents and the government. My friends call me Sam.”

           “Are you saying we are friends?”

           “Well I’d like to think so…..” he trailed off expectantly

           “Oh, I’m sorry, my name is Y/N” You finally took his hand you forgot about. “I don’t mean to be rude Samuel,” he rolled his eyes smiling “But what are you doing in my home?”

           “Yeah.. About that…My roommate and I were walking home and we tried to help you but you insisted you could do it yourself and we should just roll on. I was steady trying to convince you and I guess either my roommate or I said something that really upset you because you spun around so fast and then you started to fall, luckily my roommate caught you and he brought you inside. Do you remember him?” All of a sudden remembering your AC unit you jumped up and stumbled back down grasping at your leg.

           “Careful!”

           “Sheesh, yeah. I will be.” Quietly examining your ankle. “Great. A sprained ankle. This is just what I need right now”

           “Are you sure that's a sprain? You should probably get that looked at by a professional…”            

           “I’m pretty sure about this. It’s sprained Samuel”

           “I’m pretty sure you should talk to a professional” Sam mumbled under his breath. You let out an exasperated sigh.

           “Ugh, fine! Please hand me my phone.” He did as you said and watched you quietly. You scroll through your phone. You land on The Bone Man and you shoot Sam an embarrassed look. Meekly laughing you tell him “It’s not what you think” and he throws his hands up in a no judgement shrug. The facetime trill rings 3 times and is answered on the 4th.

           “Hey Boner, quick q: A patient comes into the ER after falling off a ladder, presents with minor transient headache, pain in the left foot, presence of swelling, tenderness of the calcaneofibular ligaments, and no bony point pain. Talar Tilt test was preformed and failed. Am I correct to assume a grade 2 sprain?”

           “Y/N I don’t even know why you call me for this type of stuff. You’re always right about everything forever and ever until the end of time. Anyway yeah, if you have to hear it from the horse’s mouth, yes, you’re right. 2 Week recovery time, minimum.”

           “ Okthanksbaiiii” You said zooming into your smiling face before hanging up. “Humph” you folded your arms and smiled triumphantly at Sam.

           “See Samuel, it would be great if you could internalize the wise words from Boner there. ‘I am always right about everything forever and ever until the end of time’ And that's science friend.”

           Sam let out a cackle “ Okay crazy, who are you?”

           “Dr. Y/FN Y/LN, head of Cardiology at Mount Sinai”

           He put his hand up feigning surprise “Oh excuseeeeee me! So you’re the professional that you should see?”

           You laughed “ Not exactly, I’m a heart doctor but I do have basic knowledge of the other systems. That's where ‘the Bone Man’ comes in. He’s an orthopedic doctor, he works with bones.”

           “Ahh, I see” he says pausing for a while. “So what’s going on here?” He gestured around your home. “ I wasn’t a exactly snooping but I did happen to see most of the first floor. I kind of walk around a bit when I’m on a phone call. There’s tarps everywhere. ”

           You covered your face embarrassed. You explained to him how your father convinced you  to buy a fixer upper, your relocation from your home state, your recent AC chronicles and how it led you to this moment.

           “Speaking of that unit that has caused me nothing but trouble, I’m sure has been stolen by now. I need to order some more. I just wish that I could sleep in the cold! God! This place is hotter than the devil’s asshole.”

           “Oh your AC is working and up in your bedroom, although I’m not sure you’ll be able to climb up all these stairs in that condition.”

           “Well at least I'll be good as new in 2 days-”

           “2 days?! No ma’am Dr.Boner said two weeks!”

           “Oh..you heard that did you?” You smiled weakly. “I’m supposed to resume work in about 2 months and this really puts a damper on everything. I was hoping to make some real headway with my house before then. At least get out of this tarp festival and make it a bit into a home.” You sighed looking around.

           “Well today is your lucky day Y/N! I’m on a month vacation at LEAST. I work with my roommate and he’s going to be out of town for at least 1 month for some” he paused briefly “out of office business.  I can help you fix up your house and I’m sure Steve won’t mind you borrowing his AC while he isn’t here.”

           “I could not impose like that Samuel! First off I just met you, secondly You and Steven have done enough by just carrying me and my Air conditioner into this house. I have to decline but I’d love to take you both out for lunch sometime.”

           “It really isn’t imposing. I’m a little bit of a tinkerer, I love being handy. Anyway, if you do decide to change your mind, you know where to find me.” He got up to leave and then quickly spun around “But I am going to bring you Steve’s AC and there’s nothing you can do about it” and with that he sprinted out the front door. About 15 minutes later he returned with the ac unit and then ran out the door without a word. He came back this time in about 10 and sprinted up your stairs and you could hear the faint sounds of rummaging. He came back down with the sheets off your bed.

           “ Samuel! What is happening right now?”

           Trying to catch his breath, explain, and work all at one time he began. “Alright so before you took a tumble we could all see you were really eager to get that AC into your house and so that problem is solved. Now, you can’t get up and down the stairs with ease so here: an air matrass. We have a couple around our house not being used at the moment.” Seeing your eyebrow slightly arch, he rushed to finish “It’s not like we are doing anything weird with them! We just have lots of company meetings take place in our house and sometimes our planning sessions go late into the night and the team just decides to fall asleep where they are, hence the mattresses. I’ll set up the AC and be out of your hair Dr. Y/LN”

           “Oh Samuel, Dr. Y/LN is so formal. Dr. Y/FN is fine” You laughed. He joined in.

           “ I know you were joking about that, but Doc is it. That’s what I’m calling you”

           “So you keep mentioning your roommate Steven, and both of you work together and he’s out of town on business right now. What do you gentlemen do?” All of a sudden very focused on the AC he was installing. He started inspecting the unit closely.

           “We ugh…We are in security. We have lots of clients, sometimes that takes us internationally so. Yeah really average joe stuff.

           “But you guys have sleep overs?” You lightly chuckle

           “Yeah well Steve and I met at the VA hospital, we are both ex military men so usually the next natural progression is security. And since it started with him, he was the *first* so to speak so we naturally gather around him. That's his late parents old building so he kind of grew up in that place. It’s kind of just the default hang out spot.”

           “I totally get that. My parent’s house was somewhat the same” you say trailing off.

           “Alrighty Doc, This is all set to go for you. I’m gonna get out your hair now” Sam said slightly in a rush to get out.

           “Samuel, wait!” You call after him and he breaths out slowly and turns around and smiles openly. “Why are you helping me? You don't know me at all. Are you some type of angel or something?”

           He laughed looking down at the floor and then back up at you. “Angel? No way Doc, as my roommate says all the time ‘I’m just a kid from Brooklyn’. Plus knowing him he would have done all this himself if he were here. He told me to make sure you were alright while he had to get away.”

           “Hey! Captain America says that all the time! I bet all you Brooklynites say that now. It must be nice to have an avenger from around here, hey! Have you ever seen him?!”

           Sam’s smile faltered, “Sorry, seen whom?”

           “Captain America!” You exclaimed your eyes bright and shining like a child on Christmas.

           “Oh no I haven’t. I don't know anyone who has actually” Just then his phone began to ring and he told you in a rush “Sorry it’s a 911 from my job, I’ll see you around Doc!”

           “Thanks for all your help Samuel!” You called after him as he ran out of the house.

           The cold air was blowing on you and you were feeling relaxed and thinking about what Sam had said, ‘I’m just a kid from Brooklyn’. Oh shit! You had to check your fan fiction. You looked at the time on your phone, Damnit! You were supposed to be chatting with your graphic designer Rod right now. You hobbled over to your dining table and took out your laptop. Getting online and expecting Rod to be online you logged into tumblr to find a message from him and him absent.

MSG from Rod: Hey Dr.C, Sorry I can’t draw any illustrations for BP, Aquaman or anyone really right now. Work has been crazy, I’ll make It up to you, promise!

MSG from Y/N: Hiya Rod. I totally understand, take your time!  Hope things lighten up for you soon, looking forward to hearing from you whenever you can. Take care x

           The way you met Rod was a little different. You were looking through the Black panther tags as usual, and there was someone who drew super realistic AU versions of the T’Challa, Thor, Black Widow and even stuff from some comic called Aquaman and other heroes you’ve never heard of. Anyway, you scoured his page looking for anything on Captain America but to your dismay he didn’t draw anything of him. You were very happy with his black panther stuff though, you saw some pics that inspired a couple new fic ideas. You reblogged his pictures for about a month and one day you posted a new story inspired by a beautiful creation of his where T’Challa looked like he was in college. He somehow saw it and contacted you and you both briefly talked about the inspiration behind his art. He talked about how he felt as if he could imagine a different side of our heroes and he wanted to draw that. About 2 weeks later he sent you a picture of one of your previous fics about Thor. The rest was history. He would occasionally draw cover art for your fics and you in turn would give him new and crazy angles to think of the avengers. You even got into some of the comics he recommended for you and gave him new angles to think of Aquaman. Eventually you caved and asked him specifically if he could make something about Captain America and he said he just isn’t inspired by the Cap at all and he also felt the others were underrepresented and he wanted to focus his energy there. As a fellow creative you got it. If he wasn’t inspired he just wasn’t and you wouldn't force him to focus on a subject that he wasn't interested in. You wouldn’t bring it up again and you figured if he ever felt inspired you’d be one of the first to see the pieces.

           That night you were able to bang out 3 chapters and sent them to your beta, Jay. Alright, time to make a plan. You decided due to your recent development with your bum leg, you would divide your house into floors and literally work your way from the ground up. You would begin with electrical and seeing as how you didn’t know anything about that and you turned to the master of everything: YouTube. Well, at least you tried to. Youstartedoff with watching videos about how to wire up a house but then you got sidetracked with reality videos and then before you knew it, you were in some foreign corner of the website, watching a video on how to become a sumo wrestler in japan. You looked up and saw that the position of the sun was a little lower than before. Looking up at the corner of your screen you saw the time was 3:30. You let out a yip and closed your laptop like some preteen getting caught looking at something they weren’t supposed to. You gave it up and opened back up your laptop and decided to look up an electrician. Another 30 minutes passed and none of the electricians you found that were available to come within the next 1 month were up to your standards. You finally decided to call up your father for help. To your greatest dismay the whole family was sick. You pressured and even threated him to try to get him to go to the hospital and just get a simple checkup but he refused. You tried to convince your mother of the same and between what truly sounded like a very productive cough she told you she was in tip top shape. Handing the phone back to your dad he asked what was the matter and you were silent for a complete minute. Your house issue was starting to become something of a headache and not the fun little project he painted it out to be. On the other and more important hand you didn’t want to complain. You knew your dad would try to fly sick just to come and help his baby girl. You tried to lie and say it was nothing but he eventually coaxed the truth out of you. You explained about your ankle and needing an electrician. He was overjoyed.

           “Ha!” he exclaimed, “I knew my serving this…country would start to benefit me at one point or another. Just a second honey.” You heard shuffling on the other end of the line.

“There it is! Here is Sargent Wilson’s number! I’ll ring him up and give you a call in a few minutes sweetheart.” And with that, he was gone.

           While waiting you decided to limp over to your dining room which was covered in boxes. Might as well do something with your time you decide to paint your nails. If you’re going to be open toeing it for a minimum two weeks you might as well try your best try not to look like a cavewoman. You were in the middle of giving yourself a top coat and your phone started ringing. Fanning your feet you answered.

           “Hi dad”

           “Y/N I don’t know how to work this thing. I took a picture of the paper, like you taught me but then to send it to you has become a problem. I’ve accidentally restarted my phone 3 times and deleted my entire contact list. I can’t do it sweetie.”

           “Dad that’s no problem, I appreciate you trying though. Maybe I’ll just start with something else first-” cutting you off he proclaimed

           “Just because I can’t do it doesn’t mean that someone can’t do it! Ben- Benjamin! Benjamin! Come in here for a second”

           “Daddy it’s fine! Dad! Don’t worry about it, it’s fine!” It took you a couple of seconds to realize he had already stepped away from the phone and  soon you received a message from your brother.

TXT from Benjamin: Hey Ugly, dad said I should send you this number 555-3604. You’re the one that wanted to get them iPhones. Now you've moved away and I’m stuck being their geek squad. Thanks for nothing!

           You chuckled and sent him a kissy emoji. You heard your father’s voice coming back towards the phone

           “…yeah well you would think wiping your ass was more important than sending a textual message but your mother and I taught you how to do that without as much mouth as you’re giving me right now!” You covered your mouth to stop you from laughing too loud and disturbing the whole neighborhood. “ Hi honey, did you get the message?”

           “Yes I did Dad, thanks so much, I really appreciate it”

           “Anything for you baby girl. By the way I’ve already called the Sargent and even though he won’t be able to come help you out due to prior engagements he did mention that his son is free and would be happy to help you out and the payment is already taken care of, a little gift from your mother and I.”

           “Aw thanks dad! Tell mom I said thank you as well. I love you, let me let y’all get some rest”

           “Goodnight sweetie!” You heard your mother shout from the background before it was echoed by your dad and then you ended the call. Checking the time you saw it was 4:30. Deciding it was better to text him now and secure the earliest possible date you sent him a message right away.

MSG from Y/N: Good day Mr. Wilson. My name is Y/FN Y/LN, my father and yours are old army buddies. He said I could contact you about any electrical work I needed done in my new house.  I wanted to find out your soonest available opening. I have quite a bit of work that needs to be done so I would like to get started at your earliest possible convenience.

           You  navigated your phone to the music playlist and then started to play Theme from New York New York by Frank Sinatra. You slowly made your way to your window and by now the children had returned from school and the school was filled with people. Children playing in the street, people walking their dogs and teens on their various stoops. You smiled at the current state of your life and felt content, even with a busted foot. Suddenly your music was interrupted. With a dinging of your phone to signify a text message and then your music continued. You walked back to your couch to see who it was.

TXT from Mr. Wilson: Good afternoon Ms. Y/LN, I am available for a meeting tomorrow morning at 10:00 so we can do a walk through and discuss our plans. Does this time work for you?

TXT from Y/N: 10 is perfect!

TXT from Mr. Wilson: Great. What is your address?

TXT from Y/N: 805 Sudbury Lane.

TXT from Mr. Wilson: See you tomorrow at 10:00. 🙂

           Smiley Face? That's not very professional, you thought to yourself. You just shrugged thinking to yourself he’s probably some weird hipster guy. You set yourself up on Netflix  and closed your curtains settling in for the evening.

           The next morning you woke up had a light breakfast and shower and made some iced tea and lemonade for Mr. Wilson’s visit, you were southern after all. At 5 minutes till 10 your doorbell rang. You checked the time and smiled, you liked people who were punctual; as your father always told you: if you’re on time, you’re already late.Looking through the peephole your smile faded and was replaced by confusion, it was Samuel, your neighbor.

           “Good morning, Samuel” You smiled at him, “what are you doing here?”

           “Morning Doc” He threw his hands up “Just here as a friend. I wanted to check and see how you were doing. So…How was your night?” He tactfully slowly walked towards you forcing you to let him in the house. You arched a perfect eyebrow and laughed and shook your head.

           “It was fine, thanks for asking. Nice and chilly.” Glancing at your phone in your hand you saw it was already 9:59. “I would love to hang out with you Samuel but I have someone coming over in literally a minute.” As you were talking Sam put a finger up to stop you from talking while he scrolled through his phone. You watched him, mouth slightly agape. No one ever told you to be quiet. Right before you were able to say anything your phone started ringing and Mr. Wilson appeared on the phone. You then put yourfinger up at him and he laughed a little.

           “Hi, good morning Mr. Wilson” As Sam raised his phone to his own ear while you looked on, mortified.                        

           “Hi, good morning Ms. Y/N, now I’m here as your electrician” He wore the biggest shit eating grin. In an instant you were laughing and lightly hit him on the arm.

           “Why didn’t you tell me who you were last night when I texted you, weirdo!”

           “Well actually, at first I didn’t know it was you because, truthfully, I couldn’t remember your last name,  but when you sent your address and it was on my street,  I put two and two together.” Remembering the smiley face in the text you just shook your head.

           “Alright then Mr. Wilson, let’s get started. Would you like some iced tea and lemonade?”

           Looking at you as if you said you had a demon coming out of the side of your neck he repeated “iced tea AND lemonade? Don’t you mean or?”

           “No, I meant and. Would you like some?”

           “I mean okay sure, I guess” You both silently walked into your kitchen and you poured him a glass. After a couple sips he continued to drink. He kept taking bigger and longer sips and before you knew it, he was completely finished.

           “I mean, it was allllright. Nothing to write home about” He tried to say nonchalantly         “Mmhmm, sure Samuel, let’s begin.”

           “After you” He gestured following you throughout the house.

           Over the next 1 hour you both walked through the 1stand 2ndfloors and you explained what exactly you needed from him. You let him go up to the 3rdand 4thfloors alone as your foot started to feel strained. He came back down to the 1stfloor and brought out a list and you created a game plan. All in all the project would take about 1 month.

           “Well, I’m good to start today if that’s what you want”

           “Of Course! You could have started yesterday to be honest” You laughed.

           “Let me get my tools and I’ll get going”

           You brought out your laptop and were looking over emails messages and then you came across a new fic with pictures of the cap you’ve never seen before. It took everything in you to not bear the pain of getting all the way up to the 4thfloor to get a better and more intimate look. You went back to doing work and looking at samples for the interior of your house. You knew you had to have a bomb kitchen because you loved to cook and bake. You also needed your office to be set up nice because you would spend most of your time in there between work and writing. All the while Samuel was buzzing around the whole house and after a point you stopped following him around and just decided to work from your living room. Half your screen was split between emails and the other was pictures and gifs of the captain as you called him in your mind.

           “Soooo…What’s the deal with him” Sam said from behind you. You looked back at him and he was looking at wires on your wall.

           “What? Are you stalking me now?”

           “I should be asking you that Doc” he laughed “ Every time I come in here I see him on your screen.” Thinking fast you replied

           “I just love the avengers, I think they’re so dedicated and brave. They really did an amazing job of saving the world.”

           “That's nice…but I’ve only been seeing one particular avenger…” the sound of laughter on his voice.      

           “I mean…He’s so brave. And heroic. And valiant. And genuine.” At this point you were more speed rambling and talking to yourself than replying him. “And those eyes. Have you ever seen anything so blue? Was that part of the secret formula? And those arms. He looks like he could rip Florida off the continental united states and to be quite honest he probably should I mean what even is Florida? And that ass? Don’t get me started on that ass. Ugh I want to take a bite-” You suddenly halted like a freight train just crashed and your eyes go wide. Slowly you turned around and give Sam a bashful smile. “He’s just so brave” you finish.

           Barely holding back a big belly laugh Sam just nods. “Yeah Captain Blue eyes is sooooo brave.”

           “Anywayyyy, tell me more about yourself?”

           “Well as I told you I’m ex military. Most of my life is work and if not working with  my roommate then im working with my dad at his business. Believe it or not all this fixing stuff up is a hobby for me.”

           “That's interesting. So why not do your hobby for your job? Why do you do security with your roommate? Steve, I think you said?”

           “Yeah, good memory. When we met we were both in a kind of weird place. We weren’t sleeping much and you know…War kind of just…it does something to you. Anyway we would run together – or should I say I would try to catch up to him, while he ran like lightening and then started going to group therapy together. Eventually we started hanging out outside of exercise and therapy. We were both kind of solitary and I guess the company of someone who knows what you went through and are going through is nice. We have basically been like that since then. He’s seen me through some dark times and tough days. I’m proud to say I’ve done the same for him as well.” He was quiet for a while “As for my dad, like I said I love fixing up stuff. I feel like if I started to officially do it as a job I wouldn’t love it as much anymore.”

           “Understandable, completely. And I’m happy you found someone you can share with and that you feel gets you.” You smiled at him. “ Thank you for sharing with me, Sam.”

           You heard a loud gasp and turned back to see him with his hands on the side of his face like the kid from home alone. “If I had known all I had to do was share my past trauma with you to get you to call me Sam, I would have done that yesterday!” You laughed shooed him away.

           This is how your life continued for the next 2 weeks and by the end of the second week Sam was officially your first friend in the big city. At first, it started by him just being there while you were prepping for dinner one day. You initially asked if he would want to stay for dinner and he said he couldn't impose and would soon be done for the day. About 30 minutes later, the aroma had filled the whole first floor. He stuck his head in and mentioned he was about to take off yet made no move to leave. You looked at him with smiling eyes and made up a plate.

           “I know you don't want to impose but let me give you at least a to-go plate”

           Although his mouth was saying ‘no, I possibly couldn't’ his hands were completely out stretched and he was in your kitchen faster than a speed devil. From that night onward he always ate dinner with you and you both chatted about everything. You told him how you became a doctor. One night in particular after a wonderful southern meal complete with mashed potatoes, greens, ribs, beans and mac and cheese you were both relaxing on your couch. You were mindlessly scrolling though things to watch and he mentioned that he might need to get his roommate’s AC back sooner than expected, Steve was coming home earlier than expected.

           “You’ve been more than generous Sam! You can take it back today if you need to”

           “Nah, it’s no biggie Doc. You know what? I’ll probably have him come pick it up himself if he needs it.”

           “Are you sure? I should have about 1 week on this leg left. I have been able to make it up to my floor now.”

           “Sure thing. If he really wants it he’ll come and get it. By the way I’ve been kind of bragging on your food and taunting him that I’ve been eating home cooked meals and he hasn't… and he has kind of wants to try some of it himself” he rushed out looking sideways at you.

           “Of course Sam! I’ll cook for you guys this Friday. What do you think he’ll like?”

           “What we just ate was perfect , do you think you could do something like that?”

           “Sure” You smiled at him. Within you, you knew you actually missed cooking for lots of people like your family back home. Cooking for 3 was a less than cooking for 7 but you would take whatever you could get. You wished him a good night. And packed him a plate for himself.

           Logging in to Tumblr you saw one of your favorite fanfic authors updated one of their stories. The depiction of a smutty scene had you biting your lips and you decided to go upstairs. When you got to your bedroom you laid down and just decided to re-read the latest chapter, before you knew it, your hands were roaming your body and you were starting to feel a heat build up between your legs. You pinched at your dark nipples, enjoying the brief pain and then wash of pleasure. Imagining the captain’s hands in place of yours you stick a finger, and then two into your heat. Pumping in and out you are undone in minutes just thinking of the picture that was painted for you in that story. You sigh looking up at the ceiling in the dark silence of your room.

           “Ugh I need to get laid, and soon.” With that, you closed your eyes  and drifted off to sleep.

           The next morning you were up and decided to head over to the grocery store and pick up all the ingredients that you would need for tomorrows dinner. Even though you were more than happy to cook for Sam and his roommate, you felt the slightest bit anxious. You were proud that Sam talked you and your food up but now you felt as if you had a bit to prove. To prove that Sam was justified in praising you the way that he did.

           When you got home you decided to start marinating the ribs so at least they would get a nice season before you ended with grilling tomorrow. Sam stopped by later in the evening to drop off your favorite ice cream and you both chatted on your stoop for a few minutes. After a while you went in and decided to get an early night.

           Friday came and you jumped out of bed. You checked your emails as usual and facetimed your family. Explaining you had guests coming over for dinner and you had to get off the phone soon. Then you switched over and checked on your subbies and played around until you realized it was 3 and you had to get cooking. You decided to add fried chicken to the menu because, why not? Was it really a southern meal without that?

           At 6:30 you had a shower and decided to do yourself up a little bit. You wanted to make a good impression seeing as how it was your first time meeting the mysterious Steve. Deciding on a cute summer dress, you had your hair in a cute updo and just did a little tiny wing on your eyes and added mascara. You did add a little blush because you loved the way a bit of rouge complemented your dark complexion. Adding lip gloss to your lips you heard the doorbell ring. You went downstairs and opened it.

           “ Doc, it smells aamazing in here! And...” He looked you up and down and with a your head down and a smile on your face, you gave him a small twirl “and you look amazing as well. Doesn’t she look amazing Steve?” He moved to the side and saw the man behind him. Your smile immediately vanished and you stopped spinning. You were staring into blue eyes that could make the ocean herself jealous.

           “She absolutely does, Sam.” With a smile that could bring anyone to their knees he stretched out his hand for you to shake and  he continued, “Hi I’m Steve, nice to meet you.”

           You looked down at his hand and then up to his face. You then looked at Sam who had the stupidest smirk on his face and then back down to CAPTAIN FUCKING AMERICA’S hand. You repeated this loop about three times before getting a hold of your neck which you were certain was bucking like a mechanical bull with a faulty circuit. You let out a shaky breath and tried your best to sound calm.

           “Hello Steven,” You managed “I’m Y/N, nice to meet you as well. Welcome to my home.”

______________________________________________________________________

Taglist:

@champagnesugamama 

[fairyscribbles]

Cupcakes and Fangs - Let the Games Begin. (SUHO, pt. 6) [Chronicles of the Wolf series]

Hello Darlings! I hope you enjoy the next part, the game!

I’m really tired so Imma just throw this out and edit it tomorrow ^^’’’’’

Enjoy! <3

-

Junmyeon's eyes narrowed. From his spot behind the door, he felt silly. Kyungsoo would be able to sniff them out easily, so he didn't try very hard, but for some reason, he still felt the need to conceal himself. And with the lights turned off, his vision was dulled only slightly, but his ears were also able to train on all sounds in the house.

And his nose... He sniffed you out with ease, aware of the slight spike in your scent from the excitement. Oh, if only you knew.

"Baek... I'm going for you."

Kyungsoo's almost rumbling voice echoed in the house, and he picked up your quiet squeak.

Baekhyun didn't even try to hide it. Junmyeon knew something was up as soon as he heard the younger wolf's almost diabolical chuckle.

The first round went by fairly quickly. Kyungsoo decided he'd want to catch Baekhyun first, and he did, completely ignoring Junmyeon behind the door as he went for the other wolf, chuckling in victory as he found him with ease. Next by came Subin, hiding in the food closet. Kyungsoo closed the door behind them and they emerged a few minutes later, grinning Kyungsoo and disheveled Subin that made Baekhyun snort. He then took mercy on Junmyeon, closing the door he was hiding behind and then getting to Junmi and you. Maybe he wouldn't have caught you if you wouldn't have come out of your hiding place while trying to get somewhere else.

It was decided that Baekhyun would be the first one to seek. And with the sinister grin he sent you, you knew you had to hide somewhere real good. Basement, maybe?

You faltered at the steps that led down. If the lights were to be turned off, it would be particularly dark down there. And while that scared you, it would also be an amazing place to hide. And you could still hear Baekhyun counting. Loudly, as if taunting you, and with a deep breath, you went quietly down the stairs.

It was a pretty spacious room, with a lot of stuff Subin probably broke or didn't have a need for- various chairs, two tables, a chest of drawers and loads and loads of shelves filled with things.

Oh. And when you bumped into it, you found a piano as well.

Baekhyun was already up to 50 when you came down, and so with a quiet squeak, you rushed over the dark basement, squeezing yourself in a small opening in the wall, just big enough for some barrels.

"READY OR NOT, HERE I COME!"

The declaration made your heart kick, but you stayed in place, trying hard to control your breathing as the quiet darkness settled around you.

From above you, through the floorboards, there was a victorious 'aha!' and an accompanying squeal. You figured Baekhyun found Junmi, and it made you fidget with excitement. You found a great hiding place.

One by one, you heard Baekhyun finding Subin and Kyungsoo and the longer you stayed there, the darkness started to take its toll on you. You were starting to hear noises from the corner of the basement and you were about to surrender when you heard a loud 'pop!' and the whole basement went dark. A scream from upstairs told you it didn't happen just in the basement, it was a power outage in the whole house, and you froze in fear.

You cowered further into the space. You didn't like dealing with those thoughts of what could’ve caused the outage, and your scared mind supplied supernatural answers. You already dreamt of them enough. You didn't need to think of them now.

You slapped a hand over your mouth, trying not to sob at the ideas that entered your mind.

Every bump in the dark was intensified, and it rattled your whole body with fear.

You didn't want this, you weren't good with this, with dark and fear and you felt yourself freezing. You couldn't move- you were sure that if you did, you'd give yourself away and the demons would devour you.

The door squealed open, and you whimpered behind your hand, plastering yourself to the wall.

"___?"

You recognized the voice, but the fear that gripped you made it so you couldn't move. Besides, what if it was a trick?

You shook your head silently, refusing to budge from the spot as your hand just tightened over your mouth.

"___...? Are you in here...?"

You had to bite back a frightened sob.

The footsteps didn't leave- quite the contrary, they went down the stairs and into the basement.

This wasn't happening. No way.

"___? It's me...Baekhyun did something with the lights...are you okay?" The voice continued to call in the darkness and you started to have doubts.

What if it really was him? Maybe Baekhyun was behind this?

"J-Joon?..."

"Yeah... You okay..?"

You shook your head. No, you weren't. But you weren't sure if you should come out of your hiding spot either.

"Baby? Are you okay?"

His voice was getting tense, the worry apparent. And he called you baby.

"If you want, I'll come to you. Just say something."

"J-Joon..." you whispered.

Junmyeon senses were hyperalert at this point. He imagined all the horrible things that could've happened to you- you fell in the dark or hurt yourself on something and there you were, bleeding out in the dark without him being able to find you. He would never forgive himself if something happened to you and he was there to stop it.

The soft whisper of his name had his head whipping to the side from where it came. He was sure of your location now, and when he came closer, his eyes picked up on your cowering form.

"Baby? Are you hurt?"

You looked up at him, eyes wide with fear and trying hard to adjust to the darkness. "Junmyeon!"

He reached down for you, clasping the hands you placed in his before tugging you up into his arms. You were shivering, and Junmyeon cursed Baekhyun up and down for his little trick.

"It's okay, baby... I'm here... Are you hurt?"

He couldn't smell any blood, but he wanted to be sure.

"N-no..." you whispered. "But... I'm not sure what happened..."

Once you were safe, being held tight by Junmyeon, you felt a little stupid by acting so scared.

"I...I just...light's turned off." You chuckled in embarrassment, wiping at your eyes.

"I got scared. Sorry. It's stupid..." Junmyeon, after letting out the biggest breath of relief, basically cooed inside.

His mate, so adorably even afraid of the dark.

"Oh, ___... Don't say that..."

You pouted up at him, and even in the dark, Junmyeon thought it was adorable. So adorable he wanted to kiss it away.

"Wh-when will the lights come back on?"

He sighed. "I'm not sure. Whenever he decides to turn them on, I guess. But I... can't really be sure."

You whimpered, and Junmyeon's arms squeezed around you in a comforting hug.

"It'll be okay, ___. We can try to get out of here..."

You nodded silently, holding onto him tight which made Junmyeon's beast purr- his mate holding onto him so needily...

"Alright then...come on, hold on to me. I'll guide us out." You did as he asked you to, your arms wrapping around him from behind while Junmyeon started out, step by careful step to the staircase leading upstairs. You were so concentrated on making sure you were tamping down the impossible feeling of something being behind you, you were completely shocked by the scream of your name from upstairs.

You screamed, instinctively jumping away from Junmyeon. You heard Junmyeon's call of your name only slightly, as if was barely hearable over the loud bang where your knee slammed against the nearby table and sent you to the ground.

You curled, trying to bite back the cry of pain at the same time you clenched your eyes shut to keep the sting of tears away.

This was the worst game idea ever.

"___!"

Junmyeon was holding your arms, his hands gentle as they replaced yours to examine the damage on your already-sore knee.

"Ahh..."

You gave a soft whine when his fingers pressed a little too firmly, and he recoiled. "Sorry. How bad does it hurt?"

You tried not to whine even more. He probably wouldn't find that too attractive; although you found it very hard to hide when you were in pain.

"It's... fine..."

"Don't lie to me, ___."

His voice was soft, even though his statement was firm.

You sighed deeply, already feeling the tears pooling in your eyes.

"It hurts..." you whimpered almost pathetically, making Junmyeon snarl.

"Baekhyun, turn on the light. Now." His voice was commanding, and hard, nothing like you ever heard before, as Junmyeon hoisted you up in his arms and carried you as of you weighed a feather.

"Shit, is she hurt?"

Junmyeon pushed past the bodies attempting to check on you, and you were blinded when the light flipped on, burying your face into Junmyeon's shoulder with a whine.

"Hyung, sorry! I didn't-"

You were shocked to hear a growl tear through Junmyeon's throat, and Baekhyun made a noise in response. Something like a whine..?

You didn't have time to wonder. Junmyeon brought you into the living room, and Subin was darting upstairs with a scream of, "Be right back!"

He was sitting down on the couch, still holding you tightly in his lap. Once your eyes slowly adjusted to the bright room, you were lifting your eyes to look around- the remaining three people were huddling around you with frowns and worries written all over their faces.

"___, I'm sorry..." Baekhyun apologized first guiltily.

"I didn't know you could get hurt..." Junmi sighed, kneeling down beside you.

"Ah, you always were a klutz, ___...what did you do?"

"N-nothing! It was dark and I...and I got scared and I knocked my knee in the table..." Junmi hissed when she was able to pull your pant leg above your knee, cursing.

"Shit, it looks dislocated..."

"It's fine," you argued, to which Junmyeon just sighed.

"She probably tore a ligament. I don't want you to try walking on it, either way. I don't wanna take any risks."

Subin came back, breathless, holding a big bag. "First aid kit!"

"Baby, let's go get some ice," Kyungsoo said, reaching for her. Subin followed with a nod, and you just groaned in Junmyeon's lap.

"I'm sorry I ruined the fun, guys..." Tears were still pooling around the corner of your eyes.

"Don't be silly, ___," Junmyeon murmured, brushing gently at your cheeks.

"Yeah, I'm really sorry for this, ___. It's my fault..." Baekhyun practically whined. "Joon hyung?"

Junmyeon said nothing else. He just got up, slipping you carefully from his lap for a second before following Kyungsoo and Subin into the kitchen.

"Kyung-ah."

The younger man turned to their alpha with a nod. "Hyung..?"

"I'm gonna take that ice then take ___ home. Do me a favor? I'll try and get her to relax. Please tell Jongin to Yixing and Luhan to her house..?"

Kyungsoo gave a nod. "Of course."

"Okay, good."

Junmyeon went back into the living room, moving straight to you.

He crouched down next to you, gently pressing the ice pack against your injured knee. You cried out softly, jerking your knee away from the pack.

"I'm sorry..." Junmyeon frowned, cupping the back of your knee before placing the icepack back on.

"Try to relax, alright? I'll take you home in a while." You looked at him with wide eyes.

"B-but...the guards..." you shook your head, smiling at him.

"Don't worry, Junmyeon...it doesn't hurt that much, I'll just walk home."

"Are you crazy, ___?" Junmi asked, shaking her head.

"Limping down your street alone is basically asking to get mugged." Junmyeon growled, shaking his head.

"___, you can stay here." Subin popped her head out from the kitchen with a smile.

"I have a spare room where you can sleep." You looked at Subin, unsure if you should accept or decline. You'd love to stay here, because you were sure with your clumsiness you would hurt yourself even more, but you didn't want to be a burden.

"Are you sure, Subin?" Junmyeon sighed and Subin just nodded again.

"Of course, oppa. If you want, you can stay over as well." You opened your mouth to say something, but you were already being moved, Junmyeon picking you up easily and making his way upstairs with you.

"I'm sorry I ruined everything..." you whispered silently into Junmyeon's chest, hoping he wouldn't hear.

But he definitely did because he gave a soft sigh. "I told you already, ___. You didn't ruin anything, don't worry."

You were surprised when you felt the soft touch of his lips on your forehead. Your eyes darted up to look at him, but he was busy opening the door and bringing you to the bed. He set you down as gently as possible, taking the ice pack from your hands and setting it carefully on your knee again. This time, your wince wasn't as strong.

"Still hurts?"

You nodded, frowning at the cross between the sting and soreness. It was a strange sensation of heat from your pain and cool from the ice.

"That's okay... Here, lie back. I'll keep the ice on it..."

You did as he said, feeling that opposing him would lead you nowhere. Junmyeon sighed again when he looked at your injured knee, the swollen part already twice as big in comparison to your normal size, as he placed the icepack around, making sure it was cold from all sides.

"T-thank you, for taking care of me..." you told him with a slightly uncertain voice and Junmyeon smiled at you.

"Of course, ___."

"Y-you don't have to stay here to sleep, though...I wouldn't want to rob you of sleeping at home..." Junmyeon shook his head, chuckling.

"It's quite okay, ___. To be honest, I wouldn't probably be able to sleep if I didn't know you'd feel better..."

You shook your head. "B-but Junmyeon..."

"I'm fine, ___. I promise."

He smiled, but somehow, it only made you feel worse. You would've said something about it, but there was a distinct knock on the door.

"Come in."

Baekhyun poked his head in with a frown. "Are you okay, ___..?"

You tried for a smile. "I'm fine, oppa."

He nodded. "Okay, well, hyung. The deer..."

You raised an eyebrow when Junmyeon just nodded. What deer? How did Junmyeon seem to understand what he meant..?

"I'll be there in a second..."

Baekhyun nodded before closing the door behind him.

"Is that...some kind of code?" You asked him, hoping you weren't prying. Junmyeon smiled, stroking your leg in an almost subconscious manner.

"It's okay. It's just someone from the squad came here. I'll go check up on them in a while." You nodded, trying to return his smile. The knee really hurt.

"I hope I'll be okay to work tomorrow..." you murmured thoughtlessly and Junmyeon shook his head.

"Work doesn't matter now, it's important that you're going to be alright...I'm gonna bring you something for the pain, okay?"

You flinched. You weren't overly fond of medication... but Junmyeon was already getting up. And it really did hurt badly. At least maybe with that, you could pass out from relief and not the pain.

"___?"

"I'll be fine, oppa... C-can I... get something to wash it down with? So I don't taste anything..?"

Junmyeon smiled. "Of course, ___. Hang on for a second, okay?"

You tried to give him a reassuring nod, but there was another shot of pain, and all you could do was whimper as you fell back against your pillows.

Junmyeon ducked out in a rush, leaving the door cracked behind him.

"Luhan." His voice was low as he entered the living room.

"Hey, alpha. How's the mate..?"

Junmyeon shook his head. "Help me ease her mind? She's not saying much, but she's in pain."

"I'm so sorry, hyung. Fuck, if I would've known..."

Junmyeon shook his head at Baekhyun. "Don't worry about it now. Xing..?"

The healer came to the forefront, brows drawn together with worry. "Does Luhan have to put her to sleep before I can go in there..?"

"I hoped she would settle by herself, but that would take longer," Junmyeon sighed. "I don't want her to hurt that long if she doesn't have to."

Both Luhan and Yixing nodded.

"I'll work fast," Yixing offered.

Luhan patted his shoulder. "Don't worry. I'll cover you."

Already, Luhan's eyes closed in concentration, and when Junmyeon opened the door again, you were lying on the bed without any unnecessary movement. Your stillness immediately made Junmyeon uneasy, as he came over to you and grabbed your hand. He was grateful you squeezed back, just gently, but still, making him let out a breath of relief.

"Yixing?"

"Already here, alpha." The healer was on your other side, the side of your injured leg, his hands moving over your knee. The bright tingles emitting from his hands shot straight into your wound and you gasped, your hand squeezing his tighter. Junmyeon instantly tensed.

"She's fine, leader. She dreaming at the moment- thinking she has a bad dream..."

"A... bad one..?" Junmyeon mumbled worriedly, watching the creases on your forehead and the sheen building on your brow.

Yixing's palm took on a full glow, and you gave a rough jerk. Luhan frowned.

"I don't like her thoughts."

"What?" Junmyeon took his attention from the healing light Yixing was emitting, his relief that you were healing replaced by worry that you were dreaming of horrid things. "Aren't you putting the thoughts there..?"

Luhan shook his head. "I'm doing enough trying to keep her asleep. But I don't know if I wanna keep her there long. Xing."

Junmyeon's chest shook with a protective growl. "What is it? Luhan?"

The wolf's eyebrows knitted in concentration. "Xing, hurry."

Junmyeon was going to lose it. He was already squeezing your hand tight, and he thought he might end up on his feet if he didn't hear an explanation soon. But then Yixing's soft voice sounded.

"Done. Wake her."

Luhan's breath rushed out, and instantly you stilled. The tension in your muscles seemed to deflate slowly, returning you into the cradle of the sheets. Your features smoothed, and your breathing calmed.

Junmyeon had almost the same reaction- he let out a big breath of relief, sinking down on the bed next to you. His hand brushed your hair back and he then cupped your cheek, stroking your skin with his thumb in comfort. His beast rumbled when you nuzzled into it with a soft whine, rolling on your side facing him. Wanting to be closer.

"What was she dreaming about, Luhan?" He asked quietly, fearing he might wake her. The mind reader shook his head.

"It's...she can't see what it is. But it's dark, and dangerous...you smell it in her scent, too...right?"

Junmyeon rumbled. "I do... but..."

"She hasn't talked about anything?" Yixing whispered.

"I don't know that we've really had the chance to get into that..." Junmyeon sighed. "And I didn't smell it on her until now..."

His eyebrows knitted together. He didn't want to think that there was something going on with you that he couldn't help with. But as it was, you probably didn't feel as comfortable with him yet to mention... It made Junmyeon worry even more.

"Junminie might know..?" Luhan offered.

Junmyeon shot up. "Maybe. I'll ask her."

Just as he stood on his feet, you reached out for him with a small whine, your grip on his hand tightening. Yixing chuckled, shaking his head.

"Maybe later on, alpha. She needs her mate now." He pointed out and Junmyeon growled deep in his chest. How your small hand grabbed at him so desperately, tugging him back, it made his beast purr.

You gave another soft whine, and Junmyeon sank back down onto the bed this time, stroking at your cheek.

"I guess I'll find out later then..."

Yixing nodded, and Luhan laughed. "You're making me miss my mate now. Are we good to go, alpha?"

Junmyeon nodded. "Yeah, of course. Thank you."

"Anytime," Yixing said with a dimpled smile before leading the way out of the room.

"Call if you need anything else! Apparently I'm a telephone now," Luhan chuckled.

Junmyeon just snorted. "Will do."

As soon as the room was cleared, Junmyeon's focus zoomed back to you. He brushed your hair aside, glad to see your breathing had evened out.

He watched you, splayed over the bed and so visibly wanting to be near him, it made him want to crawl into bed with you and hold you close, but Junmyeon didn't want to risk waking you up and freaking you out once you find yourself in his arms. So he sighed, and leaned down to kiss your forehead. Gently, lovingly.

"Oppa?" The door creaked open, and Junmyeon turned to look at his baby sister.

"Yes, Junminie?"

"Hi... umm... Luhan oppa said you wanted to ask me something?"

Junmyeon nodded. "Oh. Yeah... Well he said he saw something dark in ___'s mind. It looked like she was having some serious nightmares. I was wondering if you knew anything about it."

Junmi's brows knitted together. "___-ie... has had a lot to deal with the past few months. Her shop was broken into, and she thinks her house might've been too..."

"So someone's targeting her?" Junmyeon almost growled.

Junmi frowned deeply. "I'm not sure. But it seems like too much of a coincidence, doesn't it?"

"Yeah..." Junmyeon growled, his chest heaving with the aggressive sounds.

"Do you think there is a way you could get her out of that house?" He looked up at his sister, frown marring his face.

"I want neither of you to get hurt...the best option would be if you moved back to us, but ____ doesn't know yet and it would cause a scandal if you disappeared..." Junmi sat down on the bed next to her brother, stroking his back.

"I'll watch over her when you can't, oppa…do you know what could possibly be targeting her?"

Junmyeon's jaw clenched. He had no idea. And he hated it. How could he protect you from it, if he didn't know?

"I'll find out," he said through gritted teeth.

Junmi sighed, patting his shoulder gently. "Well, I believe in you, oppa. And Baek really would never let anything happen to me..."

Junmyeon nodded. "I know. That's good. We'll just take it a day at a time."

He would've sighed again, but he froze when you stirred. Instantly, his reaction was to reach for your hand, and it made Junmi smile. She got up to move to the door.

"I'll see you later. Are you gonna tell her?"

Junmyeon hesitated. "And tell her about Yixing and Luhan..?"

His sister shrugged. "I guess that's true... Well, you decide what to tell her then, oppa."

You moaned softly in your sleep, turning towards him, and Junmi disappeared.

"Mm... J-Junmyeon-sshi..?"

"Yeah?" Your eye squinted open, but the lights forced it to close right back.

"W-wha?"

"You bumped your head when we were playing hide and seek..." Junmyeon murmured quietly, leaning over to dim the lights.

"We found you knocked out in the basement." Junmyeon continued, seriously hoping you would go for it. He couldn't bear to have the wolf discussion with you just yet. Especially not after this.

It took away five years of his life, you scared him that much.

If anything worse were to happen... like you turning away from him after finding out what he was...

Junmyeon shook his head, warding away the horrible thoughts.

"How are you feeling?"

You groaned, attempting to get up. Except his hand on your shoulder gently pushing you down stopped you.

"No, don't get up yet... Rest."

You sighed. "I thought-..." You glanced down at your knee, disoriented. There was phantom pain there. But just raising it told you nothing was off. "Umm..."

"You okay?" Junmyeon asked worriedly.

"Y-yeah, just a bit...disoriented." you waved it away, following Junmyeon's hand when it pressed downwards, back into the pillows. He couldn't help himself but to quickly cup your cheek when you nuzzled back into the bed, but he was withdrawing it within seconds after so you wouldn't feel weirded out.

"That's okay. You scared us quite a bit, ___." He chuckled.

"We were waiting for you to come out, but you've been hidden for a very long time and so we figured something might have happened...and then we couldn't even find you."

You blinked in confusion. "It didn't feel... like that long..."

Junmyeon sighed. "We were worried about you..."

You blushed. "I... I'm so sorry. I hope I didn't ruin everything."

"No, not at all," he said with a frown. "Don't worry about that. We just don't want you to be too hurt. How's your head..?"

You made a move to get up again, but again, Junmyeon's hand was there.

"Please don't force yourself. Take your time getting up."

"I'm sure I'll be fine..." you insisted, voice soft as you focused on the warm, strong hands that rested on your shoulders.

"Subin said it's okay for you to sleep here, since it's already late. I can bring you some of her clothes for sleeping if you'd like." Junmyeon smiled down at you, but you couldn't help but to look up at him in shock.

"E-everyone else left?" Junmyeon nodded.

"It's only you, me, and Kyungsoo with Subin downstairs." You groaned, falling back against the pillows a little too fast. You hissed in pain, but Junmyeon's hands were the first to shoot out to your forehead, holding it gently to quell the throbbing.

"Easy...should I bring you some water?"

"Water would be nice...please..." Junmyeon nodded, standing up.

"I'll be right back. Keep lying, I don't want you to stand up too fast and pass out."

He settled the shorts and white shirt on the bed, moving to gently help you sit up so you could drink the water he brought you.

"If you want, I can call Subin so she'd help you dress into those clothes." Junmyeon told you, but you were shaking your head.

"I wanted to take a shower..." you didn't even have time to finish your sentence, Junmyeon's eyes were flashing with concern. You were almost sure he would forbid you, but he sighed after a moment, nodding.

"Alright. But I'll be waiting outside the door, in case something happens, okay?"

Your nod may have been a little too enthusiastic, but he didn't say anything. You picked up the clothing, glancing consciously at Junmyeon only once to see him settling on the floor by the doorway before you slipped in.

Oh god.

The door clicked behind you, and you let your panic settle a little more. What did you do? What did you say? What must Junmyeon think of you now?

You sat on the edge of the bath, burying your face into one hand with a soft groan. You were an idiot. What an impression you must have made.

"____?"

"Huh? Oh! Uhh... I'm fine. I'm just... checking for injuries."

Junmyeon frowned. He didn't want you to look too hard. Yixing was pretty good at what he did, and so was Luhan... but he could never be too sure...

When he didn't hear any other groans from the other side of the door, he let out a small breath himself. He wanted to be there with you, helping you with whatever he could...but he knew that he'd freak you out, and he'd be smothering you far too much. And so he waited.

He waited patiently, his ears straining to hear what was happening inside, but everything seemed to go smoothly. The water turned off and he could hear you drying yourself off and slipping on the clothing Subin prepared for you.

The door opened, and he had to stifle a groan because you looked so vulnerable, standing so shyly in the doorway in tiny shorts and a slightly larger shirt, which Junmyeon later realized with a growl belonged to Kyungsoo a while back.

"A-all done..."

You touched the fabric of the shirt, and Junmyeon wanted to rip it off.

He hadn't touched you yet. You'd kissed him once. It wasn't enough. He needed to mark you with his scent, make it known who you belonged to.

But he couldn't very well do that with another man's shirt on you. Without being able to approach you without scaring you away.

It tested his control like nothing else.

"I... feel much better..."

Junmyeon had to remember to smile. "Good. That's good to hear. Are the clothes-" He bit back another growl. "-comfortable?"

He had no right getting territorial over such a thing. Besides, Subin had worn it plenty of times, no doubt. It essentially belonged to her.

Except at one point it didn't, and Junmyeon's hands twitched to take it off your skin. It irritated him, more than anything. He'd offer you his, maybe.

"Y-yes... Are they really Subin unnie's?"

Of course you'd ask. He almost rolled his eyes.

"Why would you ask that?"

"It feels a little...too big for it to be Subinnie's..." Junmyeon's eyebrows scrunched as he looked down at your shirt.

"It... might be Kyungsoo's..." he trailed off, watching your face turn into surprise. You squeaked, your cheeks tinting a pretty pink that had him snarling deep inside.

Now he definitely wanted you out of that shirt. He knows it sounds a bit childish, but he already plotted ways to take it off you without pushing you into something you didn't want. Maybe he could rip out the back and then say you got caught on a stray nail in the wall?

"A-are you sure I can wear this?"

He caught on that. He'd shake his head no, explain that if you were uncomfortable, he'd lend you another. But he didn't realize he was already shaking his head until you mimicked the movement, frowning.

"I-I'm sorry, oppa. I can change..."

"N-no! I mean..." He cleared his throat. "If you want to. I can find you another shirt. I think I may have an extra one lying around."

He had to scold himself internally. Way to sneak yourself in there, Junmyeon; that'll make her feel better.

Except you were nodding. Reluctantly, sure, but you were.

"I-if you wouldn't mind... At least... I don't have to wear unnie's... boyfriend's shirt..?" You gave a nervous laugh. "Or I can ask Subinnie for another..."

Junmyeon shot up from his seat like it was on fire. "No, I can get you one. I'd, uhh... prefer if you stay here. Don't tire yourself out..."

You just smiled, nodding. He was glad you didn't argue with him on this.

"Thank you, oppa...I...I just don't want to make Subinnie uncomfortable." Junmyeon shook his head, because the only person it made uncomfortable is Junmyeon, but he couldn't let you know that. He was out of the door and went straight to the closet at the end of the hall- Subin was kind enough to lend one of her wardrobes to the pack, giving them enough space for their clothing in case they end up stranded in the capital. Junmyeon's stack of clothing was there, made from two white shirts and a pair of jeans that he never used. He was sure he'd never use them at all, but it was better to be safe than to be sorry.

Junmyeon thanked Subin in his mind that she didn't wash the unused shirts, as he could smell his scent on it very clearly. It would be much more suitable for you to wear than Kyungsoo's worn out undershirt.

He darted back to the room, and regretted it immediately. "Sh-shit!"

"O-oh! Sorry!" you squeaked. "I was just heading into the bathroom. I shouldn't have-"

You groaned in mortification, but from behind the door, Junmyeon was torn between intense waves of guilt and desire. He wasn't quick enough to see nothing, but only because you did a good job of slowing his reflexes. A flash of your smooth belly as you tugged the shirt over the peaks of your breasts, nipples pink and taut from the cold air.

Shit.

He didn't have to glance down at his pants to know how he was reacting to seeing his mate naked.

"Umm... o-oppa? I'm sorry... I'm in the bathroom now..."

Hand shaking, hoping that his predicament would settle before you finished changing, he ducked into the room. The door to the bathroom was cracked, and he could see your shadow just beyond the wood.

"I'm so sorry, ___. I should have knocked. That was-"

"N-no," you mumbled. "I don't know what I was thinking. I guess I figured... you'd take longer..."

Junmyeon wanted to groan. He went much quicker than he probably should have, but you didn't seem overly suspicious.

"The closet was right at the end of the hall."

"Ahh..."

Your hand peeked from the crack of the door, and he offered his shirt. "Here you go."

"Thank you..."

This time when he saw you coming out, his beast finally rumbled in content. Pretty, dusky-cheeked you, wearing his shirt was a much better sight than what Junmyeon saw a few seconds ago. He knows this sounds stupid, but he was sure his shirt fit you even better than Kyungsoo's.

He couldn't stop the rumble from his chest. Especially not when he knows what you hide underneath that shirt.

"Better?" He asked, voice slightly husky, yet he tried his best to smile.

"Much," you said, swiping your hair back from your face. "Thank you, Junmyeon..."

He heard his awkward throat-clearing and sighed, fidgeting beside the bed as he watched you sit back down.

"You're... not tired yet, are you?" you whispered.

He straightened, brain shooting off a number of inappropriate thoughts to answer your question. "N-no, I'm fine. But I can leave, if you wanna go back to sleep. You seem to be doing much better, but I'll just check up on you here and there to make sure you're okay."

"You... don't have to do that," you told him, eyes wide. He smiled, running a hand through his hair.

“I promised Junminie and Subinie that I would take care of you…I… it seems that I’m not doing a good job up until now, so I have to catch up.” He chuckled, glad that you mirrored the sound softly.

“And where will you sleep, oppa?” you asked him as you slowly moved under the covers, the cool air nipping at your exposed legs in a way that was too harsh to be pleasant. Junmyeon is sure that Subin is already preparing the couch for him, but with his erratic heartbeat, he does see himself sleep on the floor in front of your door, just to be sure he will be close enough in case something happens. But he knew that telling you that wouldn’t make you happy.

“Subin has a pull out couch, so I’ll crash there. Either way, it’s almost more comfortable than the bed I have back home.” He eased your mind and you nodded almost to yourself, wringing the covers over you. Junmyeon would love to give you something better to hold onto, like his waist or hands, as you’d burrow your face into the crook of his neck, but even his irrational wolf agreed with the notion that cuddles are a bit too much on a second date.

“I’ll…I’ll leave you to rest now, okay? If anything happens, just holler.” Nodding once more, Junmyeon stepped closer to you, making your breath hitch in your throat as he leaned down and pressed a small kiss against your forehead.

Undeterred by the action, you quickly moved in retaliation, kissing the sharp edge of his jaw gratefully.

“Sweet dreams, ___.” He murmured, lips still so close to your skin that they brushed against your forehead every now and then.

“You too…Junmyeon…” you replied with the same softness, and Junmyeon had to do everything in his power to move away from you and out the door.

With his kiss and a prayer of sweet dreams, you fell into a soft slumber filled with Junmyeon’s smile and strong arms wrapped around you, protecting from the usual darkness that crept its way around you.

[hjazysol]

Rosa's Past

Ryu: Hey has anyone seen Rosa?

Ken teasing: Who? Your girlfriend?

Ryu crossing his arms: She's not my girlfriend Ken.

Ken: So you say pal.

Samus: Is she not in her room?

Ryu: Nope I knocked and looked inside but no one was their.

Bayonetta: That's odd she would've told us she was going somewhere.

Samus: Dark Samus do you know?

Dark Samus: Know what? *she wasn't listening*

Samus: Where Rosalina is.

Dark Samus: Oh! Some stranger came and stole one of her star people so she chased after him.

Ryu: What!? We have to help her!

Ken: What's the problem, isn't she like a space god?

Ryu: Even so she could still get in trouble so-

*ding dong*

The mansion's door bell rang.

Samus: That must be her.

She opens the door. Behind it were the 2 small dogs Copper & Booker standing with a frowning Rosalina.

Copper: Good evening madam. We are sorry to disturb you but this girl states that this is where she is staying, is that correct?

Samus: Yes that is correct.

Booker: Um. She has been caught assaulting a robber after he stole a living star.

Samus: And the issue is?

Copper: Of course we realise this was merely all in defense but, the damage recieved to the law breaker is just as unacceptable.

Samus: WHAT!? What did you do to him Rosa!?

Booker: She um. Broke several major ligaments,caused severe wounds, as well as damage to one of their um, lungs.

Samus: What's with the "um's"?

Booker: Sorry. English isn't my first language.

Samus: Ah. So what are you here for exactly?

Copper: Ahh yes we must speak to the one responsible for the care of her.

Samus: You mean us?

Copper: Nonono her parents.

Samus: Err. I'm not sure where they are really.

Copper: They are not in?

Rosalina storms off to her room slamming the door shut.

Copper: Hey come back here! *sigh* I guess we'll come back later then.

Bayonetta: No please come in we'll get her to come down and we can sort everything out.

Booker: Ok if it's okay with you then we'd be glad to stay.

Bayonetta: Ryu go talk to Rosa please. Get her to come down.

Ryu: Ok I'll try.

Ryu makes his way up the stairs.

Ken: *Plays the EastEnders theme on his phone*

Samus: Shut up Ken.

Ken: Yeah I'm sorry that was uncalled for.

-----

Ryu: Rosa, I'm coming in. *opens door*

Rosalina was lying down face first on her bed.

Ryu: Do you wanna tell me what's wrong?

Rosalina: Do you have parents Ryu?

Ryu: Well I don't really know who they are or whether they're alive.

Rosalina: At least there's a chance of them being alive.

Ryu: What do you mean?

Rosalina: *sigh* Long ago when I was just a little girl I lost my mom. I became sad and alone no one to make me feel happy. Until, I met a Luma. It was just like me, sad and alone it had been separated from the others. So I offered to help it, I went to space completely unaware of the danger that would follow. I got lucky the first time we managed to gather all it's friends together. But the ship had been broken by some foul creatures kind of like the guy I beat up just. All I could do was watch and cry as they destroyed the only way to help my new friends.

Ryu: I'm sorry.

Rosalina: You don't have to be sorry you didn't do anything. By the way this wouldn't be the first time meeting one of you from smash.

Ryu: Really? Who?

Rosalina: It was Dedede.

Ryu: Dedede.

Rosalina: Yep. He saw me crying and put me back on my feet. He chased away the monsters single handedly. He was always so kind and helpful, used to carry me on his back when I got tired, he was always there for me. And never let anyone hurt me.

Ryu: How come he doesn't talk about this?

Rosalina: He doesn't remember.

Ryu: What!?

Rosalina: It's okay I just found out it wasn't his fault.

Ryu: How so?

Rosalina: It was the mask, it was slowly gnawing away at his memories and his sanity. We found it one day and he put it on it gave him all sorts of abilities. But I never realised that it was slowly making me lose my friend, but he did he knew it was causing him pain but he used it to protect me. So then he did something that I never used to understand, why he did it. When I was asleep he sent me away on the new ship we built together. He left a ton of papers and pictures of us together. But what they said I couldn't understand till recently. The mask has no longer got any magic in it he only uses it for intimidation now, like in his final smash.

Ryu: Hmm.

Rosalina: So I was alone again. I ended up trying to remove him from my mind for the past centuries. But it was no use. But I ended up helping the Luma's I made the ship we built into the Comet Observatory you know today. And from that point onward I devoted my life to the protection of others, just like how Dedede cast away his sanity just to keep me safe.

Ryu: So this is why you care for the Luma's & Dedede so much.

Rosalina: Yep. But hey it's in the past. Thank you for coming and helping me through that by the way, but I guess it's time for my punishment.

Ryu: Your welcome. Wait sec. CENTURIES! How long have you guys been alive!?

Rosalina laughing: Me, Dedede and anyone he knows are all centuries old. Catch up would ya.

-----

Rosalina: WAIT WHAT IS THAT IT!?

Copper: Yes. All you've gotta do is pay a small fee.

Samus: See it wasn't that bad.

Rosalina: Yes! I live! No one can stop me now.

Ken: There's the girl we know hehehe.

They all laugh in relief to the fact the charges were not that severe.

-----

Dedede from around the corner: Did I really used to know Rosalina? My mind is twisting about the place. *grasping at his head* Come on think you wouldn't forget someone who's that close to you. Grrr. *crying* I'm sorry. I'm sorry that I forgot you.

[coffee-scribbles]

A Kingdom of Ash

Chapter Four, You’ve Got a Fire Inside but Your Heart’s so Cold

(also on Ao3)

Argo weaved through the tight thicket with Diana leading her reins, the damp plant litter crunching beneath their feet and soaked mud sinking and slowing their progress. The air was thick with a cushioning, earthy scent, but jagged with windchill and frost. Diana yearned for warmth, for some protection from the elements that slowly chipped away at her fingers, nose, and ears.

But, as if to spite them, the slow patter of rain only quickened against the leaves of trees above, dripping down to slowly but thoroughly drench both Argo and her rider, and give more mud for them to plod through.

Freezing, feet aching from having been moving since dawn, unresting since Smallville, they trudged. Boots sinking deep into the sludge, each step laboring, squelching. Diana found herself impatiently checking her compass.

Dusk began to fall, the edges of the horizon bleeding out over the trees and sky, gaping like an open wound. Diana rubbed at her still bandaged forearm, the several day old bandages dirtied, fraying and stiff.

She knew their destination had to be close, or rather, she hoped that it was.

She wasn’t sure how much longer they could keep on for.

Diana looked to her companion, unsure how much longer Argo could keep moving. The downpour was not taking too much of a tole, what with her thick winter coat having already grown in. But the sinking forest floor made the large mare’s movement’s an exhausting trek, the pull required from the tough terrain threatening a torn ligament.

Argo whinnied, instinctually, she was likely aware of this threat. Even as she continued to trot heavily along, the mare showed her hunger by pulling leaves off the fading trees they passed, munching on them as they continued their move.

The amazon wondered for a moment if it were just coincidence that Argo had stationed herself to Diana’s left, where the wind threw itself the harshest, or if the horse was consciously acting as a windbreaker, keeping her rider close as if to protect her from the harsher conditions.

Another sharp wind bit past and Diana instinctually pressed herself closer to her furry companion, tucking her arms closer to herself and gripping the reins tighter.

Diana began to mumble beneath her breath, something instinctual, only realizing after the fact that she was praying.

As soon as she realized this, she stopped. She knew it was useless, the god’s had long-since abandoned her, deafened by her betrayal.

Nonetheless Diana wished for warmth, and for guidance.

But hadn't the need for guidance been exactly why she’d chosen this path?

Diana sighed, half expecting the breath to cloud in the frigid air.

Of course, she couldn’t claim to be surprised. The sudden dip in temperature had not been by any means, unexpected. Autumn had been slowly creeping onward for a while now, the trees had long begun their shift in hue, and cool winds easily shuffled through.

These bared the changing seasons quite plainly.

And yet, when she had been in Smallville, among the wheat fields and soft smiles, it had seemed an eternal, fruitful summer.

Diana shook away that thought, knowing she had burned that bridge already, there was no going back. Heaving out a breath that fell in her heavy chest, as she checked her compass again.

Still, it directed her due east.

Diana glowered at the device, barely withholding from taking her frustrations out on it. She instead settled for shoving the small item rather fiercely back into its pouch.

She tugged Argo’s reins onward.

She wouldn’t damage it, besides, even if he’d given it to her… technically, the compass wasn’t even hers.

Diana shivered and sighed, reminded of the singular other thing that was gifted to her, set in the same, bloodstained, tan hide pouch.

A small drawing of a family, only a few inches across, but holding so much meaning.

So much love, from even a man.

The slow, thorny vines of dread and depression crept to contain her weary spirt. Darkening her spiraling thoughts, her muscles grew taught and her actions robotic as she sunk deeper and deeper into her thoughts…

Argo nuzzled her cold, wet muzzle against Diana and whined softly.

Diana blinked, and almost smiled.

It was as if she could sense when her rider felt down.

The mare whinnied sweetly, pressing herself closer to Diana. Tickled by the wiry outer layer of her coat, Diana did smile, ever so slightly.

The animal likely just thought Diana was cold, but it was nice to imagine otherwise.

“It’s okay, girl,” Diana mumbled with a steady, small smile, pausing their movements for a moment to rub her hands up the mare’s dank coat, burrowing her icy hands in the mare’s warm, soft under-coat. The heat allowed her a quiet sigh of respite.

But just standing around wouldn't do anything to help them progress, and if they didn’t get to Langley soon, she feared they might as well freeze.

They started up again, feet and hooves alike sinking deep into the mud, the squelching sounds of their movement accompanying the growing, heavy scent of dirty water, pungent earth, and soggy pine forests.

And as if just to spite them, the rain grew heavier.

Minutes passed as the thick wood grew sparse, the ground growing even sloppier and harder to push through as icy rain continued to pellet.

Diana hunched in on herself as they trenched up another hill, the slope slick and tall.

She wondered idly if she should go around the hill, or set up camp somewhere, as the clouds above were still heavy and gray, awing at the world they helped create.

The trees around them shifted, as if untrusting of the strange traveler in their midst. Communicating with every rustling branches and shifting leaves. They sprawled over the plain, young but with the communal, old soul of nature shared between their roots and in the deep soil.

Diana uttered another blessing beneath her breath to appease the woodland spirits, but in the middle of her short prayer, something tinged the very edge of her hearing.

Something like laughter.

Diana inhaled sharply, half-prayer forgotten and thanks passing her lips, as her eyes widened, pausing as she listened closer, hopeful .

She heard it again.

In a moment she was moving again, directly up the hill with Argo slow to follow, and as they neared, Diana heard the muffled call of civilization over the rain’s steady hush.

The lights of their destination glistened in welcoming, the sun setting slowly in the distance, still hazily watching over them.

They moved more easily here, on the pressed, semi-clean roads as civilians laughed and chatted as they rushed through the wet.

Diana felt her mouth water at the delectable scent of something salty and savory drifting from the smoke of the chimney within a close tavern. Diana allowed the promise of a warm meal to loosen the tension in her shoulders ever so slightly, and moved toward it, ducking beneath the awning and knocking on the door.

She half-noted the dank wooden sign, swinging above the entrance in the frigid winds, that read ‘Parados Tavern and Inn’.

A man came to open the door a moment later, he was stout, with freckles and rumpled brown hair, going grey at the edges. His head was still turned toward something inside as he blocked the entryway with his small plump body, likely as an attempt to block the icy air from entering.

He tugged his fur coat closer to himself clumsily.

“V’hat can I do for ye-“ The man finally met Diana’s shivering gaze, and he blinked, noting her tall, strong-armed, and clearly shivering stature, her little clothing for such a cold day, and finally the mare who stood close to her side.

Upon seeing the horse, a spark of recognition lifted the man’s expression to a welcoming smile, but instead of fond, the expression seemed… Tired. Wrinkled like it didn’t fit quite right, as if the blending of faded wariness of his eyes was something new, unused to being pared with the crumpled grin he seemed far more used too.

“Ah, stables are ‘ust off za’ way,” he pointed to the road, where the rain had lightened ever so slightly.

“Ze one with ze yellow sign, ‘va? Cant miss ‘em.” Diana nodded in thanks, arms still gripped tightly on herself as she moved toward where he’d pointed. Tugging Argo’s reins lightly as she ventured out into the still pouring rain.

The man called out to her.

“Do ya’, ah, ya’ v’ant to borrow a coat?” He man asked, Diana gave slight pause and turned back to face him.

Argo huffed impatiently, and Diana petted the mares snout.

“‘Vell, I assume yer comin’ back,” he paused, and Diana nodded. She had planned to get a meal, maybe find a room for the night.

“Ya look like yer in need ov’ a place v’arm, at ‘least until ze’ weather stops.” He gestured to the pelleting rain, and though Diana continued to shiver, sure the tips of her fingers were blue, she took pause for a moment, wary.

She had done nothing to earn this man’s kindness.

So, there had to be some sort of catch.

Yet, the man’s expression seemed to betray no hidden agenda, and Diana was freezing…

She approached him again, far more cautious this time and nodded, slowly. Once, unsure of what to say.

He awkwardly parroted her nod, shuffling behind the door for a moment and retrieving a tattered looking cloak, far too large for such a little man. It was made of some sort of wool, had a thick hood, extremely long sleeves, four fang-toothed clasps down the front and seemed to be tearing at the edges.

“Ahh, ze’ nice hot meal would only be half-a shilling’,” he handed the coat to her, the movement  jerky and odd.

Diana let go of Argo’s reins for a moment, plucking the large coat from his arms and sliding the it over her shoulders in a fluid movement that seemed to keep him staring.

Diana buttoned the clasps swiftly, enjoying the broad fit of her shoulders.

“Only if ze a’ interested,” he amended.

Diana blinked for a moment, watching the pint-sized man who continued to baffle her with his odd antics. He was a salesman, yet sheepish. Certainly an odd combination, but then again, this was not her world anymore.

The edges of her lips twitching down for a mere moment, Diana finally nodded to the invitation of a warm meal, grabbing a small pouch from Argo’s back and fishing out a few small silver coins.

She held out one, but paused.

“Do you have any open accommodations?” Her voice was even and calm, and yet, this little man’s eyebrows seemed to raise substantially.

Diana continued to be puzzled. What about her was so strange?

“I-If ye vant to stey ‘ze night, ah, a night’d be only one an a half shillin’s extra,” he offered quickly, stumbling out half formed words.

Diana nodded and handed over the appropriate amount.

“Ah aces,” he said, fumbling for his pocket to store the money in.

“I’ll get’ zat nice hot meal ready for za, hm?” He said, Diana just nodded, and moved in the direction he had pointed, this time far more well suited to the weather.

The stables had been clean and well insulated. Argo seemed happy enough with it, so she tried not to think about the strangeness of the set up.

She entered the ‘Parados Tavern and Inn’, leaving the thick wooden door to thunk back on it’s hinges.

The loud sound was camouflaged somewhat, amongst a tumultuous crowd that flared within. Large, barrel chested men toasting ale from tall wooden mugs lined the tables, guzzling alcohol and roaring their voices, creating something of a din that’s impressive shift from the outdoor silence had Diana’s ears ringing.

She weaved through the crowd of people, several conversations drifting around, one who’s speaking seemed weighty and tired, complaining about the smithing of a large load of weaponry, others who cheered as they drank as if in celebration, all cohabitation into a mindless din.

Diana took to a seat at the bar the wooden stool creaking and wobbling off it’s one short leg, as she pulled it closer to the counter.

A woman with curly, auburn hair and honey sweet eyes approached her, leaning over the counter and smiling a kind, gapped toothed grin.

“Yer da’ lassie Harald said’d be comin, ya?” She asked loudly in a similar accent to the man she’d spoken to.

Diana, assuming ‘Herald’ and the man she’d talked too were one and the same, nodded exaggeratedly.

“Okie! I’m Eira, I’ll be getten ya goodies!” She exclaimed cheerfully, taking a few steps off and grabbing what seemed to be… a spoon, and an empty bowl?

“Here ya go, grab ya’self some from whichever pot ya like. I’ll bring ya’ a nice tall ale in a bit, kay hun?” Eira grinned, fluttering her eyelashes.

Diana got the feeling she was supposed to nod, so she did.

Diana watched Eira busy herself for a moment, collecting stray ale glasses, stacking them at least four high before she noticed Diana still just sort of… standing there. Seeming vaguely lost.

Eira moved to tap Diana on the shoulder, but she’d turned before she’d even been touched.

“I sugges’ ze Mølje, if yer lookin fer some’n with some flavor,” she pointed Diana to a table closer to the side.

Diana just nodded and thanked her, before once again marching off at another’s suggestion.

She sat down at the only empty seat to a rather large table where, she had to admit, everything smelled really good. Even with the intoxicated patrons, swaying and shouting and bumping into her, Diana found herself relaxing, if only a bit, into the warmth of her loaned coat, the air by the crackling fire, and the warm meal she spooned into her bowl from the large pot in the center of the table.

She hadn’t even finished filling her bowl when Eira came over, sporting three tall pints of ale.

“Here ya go!” She exclaimed, conviviality loud enough to be heard over the din.

The two men accepted their ale with fervor, only just then seeming to notice that Diana had joined their table, and she supposed, given their completely shit-faced state, this was not surprising.

Diana set down her ale, rolled up the sleeves of her borrowed coat, and quickly dug into her mouthwatering meal.

The first bite was mostly fish, salty and lean, but the sauce gave it a more savory, meaty taste. And with every bite she found more ingredients, potatoes and carrots, something smoky that had her reaching for her drink.

She realized after her second serving how desperately she’d needed food.

Diana chugged the bitter, acidic ale with revery, many of the burly men at the table watching her down the entire pint in awe, cheering her on with the reckless conviviality only drunkards can truly achieve.

It seemed after she had downed two ales, they seemed to be trying to invite her to a rather slurred conversation.

Something about a fisherman who’s daughter was taking over the business, honestly she wasn't sure if the fuzziness in her head was due to the din of the crowd, her third ale, or the fact that she really couldn’t care less.

Nevertheless, moments later she was poured another ale, and asked if she needed anything else. Diana thanked the hostess deeply, but replied that she was fine, continuing to chow down on the delicious, if a tad salty, meal.

Diana was in the middle of gulping down another pint of ale when an extremely drunk man approached her from behind.

“Ey, ya stole me coat!” He swayed even as he spoke, grasp tight on her shoulder as if to use her as a crutch.

Diana turned toward him, disentangling his hand from her shoulder in an easy movement. She looked to the corner of her eye and saw the brunette waitress standing shocked and still, almost afraid to approach.

Diana decided to go for a peaceful approach, pushing out her chair, the wood screeching against the floor as she twisted, still seated to face him.

She tugged off the coat to the sound of several whistles, which she didn’t quite understand. She did, however, understand how the drunkard looked her up and down. Licking his lips carnivorously, swaying and ducking down close to her, breathing into her ear with his hot, heavy, disgusting breath, even after she’d moved to hand him the coat.

“But don’ worry,” he breathed, alcoholic and repulsive, “ya can make it up to me,” Diana’s fists clenched to match her dark scowl, “girlie.”

The thunderous crack of her chair smacked against the ground, and Diana’s fist connected with his jaw in a sickening crunch of bone.

The man’s body twisted and smacked down onto the floor with a clattering bang, shaking the nearby tables.

Diana scowled.

Her fist still stung by the shock of her blow, her chest heaved as the fuzz of adrenaline made her tense muscles shake.

Diana felt an arm clasp around her shoulder. She whipped around, alert, knees bent at the ready, only to blink and recognize familiar tan skin and charming, if shocked eyes.

The ex-amazon was instantly reminded of gentle hay fields, sunshine, and all she’d left behind.

Something about it made her relax into the half-embrace.

“Come on naw’, dear,” Eira hushed over the din, arm wrapped almost protectively around the warrior’s shoulder. Diana just looked down. Something in the back of her mouth almost tasted sour.

Hadn’t she just sworn to protect those of man’s world?

“A hit like zat must’a busted ya knuckles pretty good,” Eira asked, using her free arm to grab Diana’s hand.

She examined the reddened knuckles for a moment, then patted Diana’s arm kindly.

“Le’s patch you up, ya?” The shop-keep guided Diana through the unruly crowd, who had continued to shout and cheer, doing whatever drunk men did.

Diana payed them little mind.

They passed behind the bar, where Eira stopped for a moment to fill a clean mug with water and grab a reasonably clean rag.

Diana stood, awkwardly listening to a man who was failing to recall a story —something about corrupt nobles and a fallen kingdom, she thought— and debate details of it with another drunkard, who seemed to also be dozing off mid-meal.

Eira laughed at a rather unfunny man’s try at humor, before excusing herself. She pulled Diana up a small stairwell, the flight creaking under them.

Eira opened the third door down a short hall, where they could both still hear the chatter from downstairs, and guided Diana into a small, well worn bedroom.

It smelled like old wood, bitter ale and smoke. The bed was thin and small, the lumpy mattress fitted with a single brown blanket.

Without a word, the young shopkeep sat down on the bed.

Diana paused.

“Wha’cha waitin’ for?” She asked, only to receive a blank stare. She shook her head fondly.

“Come’ere.” Eira patted the mattress beside her, Diana hesitantly moved to sit.

Diana had learned from her time in Smallville of the many differences in culture, little things that made her stick out like a sore thumb. She did not want to be associated with the Amazons, and yet, she knew how to be little else.

And yet, Eira didnt seem to notice.

Simply dabbing at the old scars of the warrior’s knuckles, the scabs she knew went untreated from her short battle with Urzkartaga. She payed special attention to the one that had busted open when she broke that man’s jaw.

With closed shoulders and a pensive expression, Diana focused on her breathing.

She found the rough sting of the cleansing rag on her bloodied knuckles to be… rather nostalgic.

“So,” Eira spoke, cutting through the silence.

“Is zer a reason you decked zat man? Or vas it just for ze experience.”

Diana wasn’t sure if she was joking, opting to answer the question instead.

“He said I stole his coat,” Diana muttered.

“..Huh?”

“He said I-“ Speaking louder this time, Diana was cut off by Eira’s lifted hands and shaking head.

“No no, I understood,” Eira took Diana’s hand again.

“Then why ask?” Diana tilted her head slightly.

“I vas- I, oh neva’mind.”

Eira focused on dabbing at the sluggishly bleeding cuts.

Diana couldn’t help but feel like she’d done something wrong.

“So,” Eira started up again, posture straightening a little.

“Vat brings ya here anywho?”

“Oh, um,” Diana paused, “I’m just… looking for someone,” Diana looked out the small, musty window, just beyond the tree-line. She assumed it was woodland creatures, other people, or maybe just the wind causing the trees to shuffle.

“Oh~” Eira smirked rather slyly.

Diana raised an eyebrow.

“Well you seem to’ve come a while jus’ ta find a bed-warmer,” Eira pushed her chest out, biting her bottom lip.

Diana just felt confused, again.

What does a warm bed have to do with travel?

But, this did present a good opportunity, Diana noted. She’d realized upon finally arriving to this town, that there was a lot more of it than she’d assumed.

Perhaps Eira may know where she could find…

“Tracy Trevor,” Diana spoke quickly, “I’m looking to find Tracy Trevor.”

Eira’s eyebrows raised, just a fraction, and her smile fell.

“Sound’s pretty specific,” Eira spoke, slouching a little.

“Zer any reason?”

“I seek counsel.” Diana spoke quietly, “and she may be the only one who can offer it.”

“Ahh,” it was obvious she didn’t quite understand.

“Vell, I haven’t seen her out and about in a vhile, but in ze morning I can take you by. She runs ze little boat shop up ze way.”

Diana took Eira’s hands in hers, clasping them tightly.

“That would be greatly appreciated,” Eira’s cheeks seemed to grow pink.

“Sister,” Diana looked into Eira’s eyes, smiling.

“Haha, ya…” Eira seemed tense. “Yah… sister.” She seemed almost unused to the word.

Diana wondered if she’d done something wrong, again.

Eira pulled her hands away.

There was then, a rather awkward pause.

“Do, ah, do ya vant me to bandage it?” Eira gestured to the wound she had finished treating.

“Or do you vant to…?”

“I can,” Diana said, hoping her smile would alleviate some of the tension.

It helped a little

“Ah, okay.” Eira stood up, dusting imaginary dirt from her skirt.

“Vell, zis is yer room for ze night, ah…” She slipped out of the doorway, poking her head back in for a moment.

“Do ya need any’zing?” She asked.

Diana shook her head.

“Okay zen, goodnight.”

Eira rushed away.

“Goodnight,” Diana spoke to the empty room.

Down the hall, Eira sat on the staircase, kicking herself.

“Stupid, stupid, stupid!” She flopped onto her back, auburn hair splaying on the floor.

“Your v'one chance, and ze lass sister-zones ya?!” She threw an arm over her eyes and groaned.

This was going just great.

So, uh.... *Looks at calendar* It’s been a while, huh?

Whelp! Sorry for the wait, life got super hectic out of nowhere and I havent really had much time? Even as I post this I’m rushing, so,... Hope you enjoy :D

As I’ve said, this is @causeimanartist’s au, I’m just here to make people cry over it. Love y’all!

[codylabs]

Shifting Sands Chapter 4: Council of Nightmares

Chapters: One Two Three Four

Long ago, before they imprisoned ███████, before these creatures had ever arrived on her world, while she was still with him, something had happened. She never had a way to know before, but now she realized:

She was pregnant.

The scientists hadn’t noticed it yet, but it was only a matter of time. They’d been watching her closely ever since she’d killed Dr. &R/\BJ, and there was no chance the child could escape their scrutiny for long. She could feel the egg growing inside her, taking up space, taking up nutrients, and more of both with every passing day. Soon they would notice. And when she gave birth, then they would do something about it… Take it, kill it, clone it…

She couldn’t let that happen. She had to do something…

Perhaps if she could get out of the tube, she could pass the egg early, and somehow get it inside one of the scientists; then the child could complete the rest of its development away from their testing, then eat him from the inside, and then… No, no, that wouldn’t work. Soon as it burst out, they would just quarantine and take it…

She could begin shapeshifting so rapidly and so frequently that they couldn’t track or detect its growth… No, she’d still have to give birth eventually, and then they’d take it…

No.

No, this is no place to have a child.

So she morphed and slimmed the umbilical link she shared with the child, to limit its nutrients and oxygen. With its growth stunted, her child’s only method of survival was to instinctively form a hardened shell, and go into a state of deep dormancy.

One day, she would break down the shell and allow it to grow again. But not now. Not soon.

For now, her baby would fight for its life, just as she was.

They would survive.

   “███████ wake up!” She awoke in the middle of the night to see Dr. cl;**4 rushing into the lab, his breath coming fast and ragged, and a wild smile on his young face. “It’s time, ███████! It’s really time!”

“What? What’s happening?” She sat up.

“A mutiny!” He explained. “A mutiny! It’s finally happening, we’re finally doing it!”

“Really?!?”

“Yes! The metalheads organized it; they’re going to saw through the bulkheads to the bridge, the mice are going to disable the power systems, and it looks like we’ll actually be able to get control from the Captain! ███████, you’re gonna be going home!”

“T-that’s great! What do you need me to do?”

“Uh… Okay.” Dr. cl;**4 reached into his coat and produced an ID card. “Do you think you can mimic Dr. Zlfo]n’s voice and tentacleprints well enough to fool a computer?”

She took on the head scientist’s form, and showed him the patterns on the limbs.

“Wow… Okay, great! Awesome!” Now cl;**4 fished around his lab coat for the key to her containment tube. “There’s a chance that the command crew could improvise the life support systems into a defensive weapon; increasing or decreasing the air temperature and pressure, pumping in toxic gases, forming violent vortices, that sort of thing. But Dr. Zlfo]n has authorization to access the life support controls in sector 18. So it would really help us if you went in there and locked down all the air-handling systems on the ship. Would you do that? I’ll be there to walk you through it…”

“I can do that!”

“Thanks so much, ███████!” He opened the tube.

She killed him.

Then she drug the body with her out of the lab. When she found a quiet place, she cut open his body to examine the muscles and bones and nerves, see how the tentacles were structured and how the ligaments lay with the bones. In short order, she memorized and mimicked these same designs in her own body, so that any future attempts at mimicry would have flawless accuracy. Now that cl;**4’s body had exhausted its usefulness, she sealed it in an airtight storage locker, so that nobody would ever discover what happened to him.

And then, while the mutiny filled the ship with chaos and confusion around her, she began to explore. She traveled the length, breadth, and circumference of the ship, learning the way the engines were laid out, the location of crucial components, the positions of passenger dorms, testing sectors, cargo bays, the routes through and hiding spaces within the network of life support tubes that linked everything… She learned many things.

However, after an hour or so, the sounds of fighting died down and security drones returned to their normal patrols, indicating that the mutiny had been successfully quelled. She returned to her tube as well, locked it shut and destroyed the key, so that there was no evidence that anything ever happened.

In the morning, the tired and weary scientists continued about their ordinary work in a defeated way. Nobody mentioned the mutiny, nobody brought up new plans, nobody stepped out of line once. And nobody asked where cl;**4 was. They must all think that he’d been killed in the fighting, which was just as well, really.

As for her, she’d learned everything her plans required.

Now all she had to do was wait for the prophet’s vision to come true. Once the ship crashed, her designs would come to fruition.

And until then, she and her child would survive.

   The months stretched on into years.

Elsewhere in the ship, she sensed tensions rising even further. The mutiny had been broken, but its causes had not. She heard the men speak more and more often of strange nightmares and visions. She watched the scientists lose their tempers and yell at each other over small matters. And sometimes, away down the halls, she heard voices crying out in insane, mad rants. Prophecies they sounded like, prophecies of warning and doom and damnation, like they’d all become prophets themselves in these dark days.

The people around her were getting crazy. And as she paced her tube for the thousandth time, she felt herself joining them, ever so slowly. She played little games with herself now, where she fought imaginary enemies, and sought to outwit them and kill them and devour them. The enemies she imagined for herself were always terrible and deadly, yet she always found a way to win…

This madness– She was imprisoned, even within her cage, imprisoned by the walls of her own mind and sanity, the walls that kept her imagination inside her head, kept insisting on the impossibility of her thoughts and dreams and ideas, limiting her mind and stealing her hope… Late one night, her last thought before sleep was a powerful, burning desire to be free of this prison.

And then, in her dreams, something else entirely appeared.

“WELL HEY THERE, HOURGLASS! WHAT’S NEW WITH YOU? ROUGH LIFE, AM I RIGHT?”

She frowned up at her new visitor. She’d seen many strange creatures before, but nothing at all like this… This was a level beyond and contrary to anything she’d ever imagined. Something different, something illogical, something far, far worse. Something from beyond. “…Who are you?” She asked the visitor.

“WHO, ME? WHY I’M A TALENT SCOUT!”

“…For who?” She frowned.

“FOR ME!”

She thought about that for a moment. “…And what do you want?”

“AHH HAHAHAHAHA I’LL GET RIGHT TO THE POINT THEN! THING IS LADY, I’VE BEEN PUTTING TOGETHER A GANG OF FREAKS AND KILLERS, OUTCASTS FROM ALL THE LANDS OF REALITY, AND WE’RE FIXING TO SET UP A UNIVERSE OF OUR OWN! UNLIMITED POWER, GODLIKE STATUS, THE SHATTERING OF MORTAL SHACKLES, THAT SORT OF THING! IT’S A PARTY TO END ALL PARTIES, ALMOST A BILLION YEARS PROPHECIED! I SAW YOU IN HERE, AND THOUGHT I’D MOSEY ON OVER AND ASK IF YOU’D LIKE TO GET IN ON THE ACTION? YOU’D FIT RIGHT IN, I SWEAR!”

“I see.” She nodded slowly. “…Why me?”

“WHY NOT? HAVE YOU SEEN THE REST OF THE CREW? THOSE SECULAR DULLARDS COULDN’T FIND THEIR CLOACA WITH BOTH TENTILLUM! THEIR LITTLE MINDS COULDN’T HANDLE THREE MINUTES OF THE PARTY I HAVE PLANNED! BUT YOU… YOU’RE A SPECIAL CASE, AIN’T YA, HOURGLASS? IN THE TIME I’VE WATCHED YOU, YOU’VE KILLED EIGHT PEOPLE, HALF-STRANGLED YOUR OWN UNBORN BABY, AND NEVER ONCE TOLD THE TRUTH TO ANYONE! THAT’S THE KINDA BAGGAGE I’M LOOKING FOR IN A BUSINESS PARTNER!”

“Oh…?” He seemed to know quite a lot about her; more than she’d like. So she went along. “And what would a ‘partnership’ involve…?”

“OH, NOT MUCH, AT LEAST FOR NOW! THE QUESTION YOU SHOULD BE ASKING IS WHAT I CAN DO FOR YOU!”

“…And what can you do for me?”

“GIVE YOU FREEDOM!”

“I’ll get out of this tube regardless. I have plans.”

“AND HOW LONG WILL YOURS TAKE? SOONER OR LATER THEY’RE GONNA NOTICE YOUR LITTLE ‘SURPRISE’, AND WHAT’S TO STOP THEM FROM EUTHANIZING ONE OR BOTH OF YOU AT THE FIRST SIGN OF TROUBLE? BUT ME? I’M THE ONE PULLING STRINGS AROUND HERE, GORGEOUS. I COULD KEEP YOU SAFE.”

“What do you want from me in return?”

“HEYHEYHEY I WASN’T THROUGH WITH MY HALF YET! FREEDOM FROM THIS TUBE IS ONLY THE FIRST STEP! THE REST INVOLVES FREEDOM FROM YOUR OWN LINEAR DESTINY! FREEDOM FROM FINITY! FREEDOM FROM SANITY AND LOGIC ITSELF! IMAGINE SINGULAR POWER TO SHAPE AND FOLD A FACTORIAL NUMBER OF DIMENSIONS! INFLUENCE OVER TIME, AND THE POWER TO MAKE ANYONE WHO EVER WRONGED YOU SUFFER FOR ETERNITY! ALL AT THE SNAP OF A FINGER!”

“That’s what you want to do for me?”

“I DON’T THINK I STUTTERED PRINCESS! I’M OFFERING YOU GODDESSHOOD ON A PLATTER, AND ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS PROMISE ME ONE ITTY-BITTY FAVOR! HOW’S IT SOUND?”

The being extended his hand. It sparkled with cold flame.

“…Are you hitting on me?”

“THAT WOULD BE A HOOT, WOULDN’T IT!”

She considered this for a moment, then extended her own hand. “Very well.” She agreed. “Ensure the safety of me and my child, and then give me the power of a god. In return, I promise to be your ally for eternity, and do anything you ask.”

“IT’S A DEAL!!!”

But just before the deal was sealed, the being snatched his hand away. The cold fire extinguished, and he floated off, as his eye probed her carefully and slowly.

“YOU KNOW WHAT LADY? DEAL’S OFF! I CAN TELL WHEN I’M BEING LIED TO.”

“Hmm?”

“TIME GETS AWAY FROM YOU, HOURGLASS! ENJOY THE CRASH!”

And she woke up.

What an odd dream.

Later that day, it finally happened: they discovered her child. They didn’t kill it, or take it, or harm it, but they ran their tests, and they gave into paranoid ramblings as they spent the rest of the day yelling at each other.

And she realized that sanity wasn’t a prison. Sanity was a fortress. Sanity was the strength she needed to stand on her own, and their madness was a wallowing pit of weakness which she regarded from a higher ground. Sanity was another step on the road she took to goddesshood in her own insidious way. She didn’t need to hoodwink some eldritch horror. She was indestructible. She was strong. She was ███████. She needed no one else.

Life goes on. Survival goes on. And they would do it alone.

   “███████, you asked for me?”

“Oracle, there is a being here. A being in my dreams. Do you know of what I speak?”

The oracle’s eyes darkened. “I do.”

“What do you know of it?”

The oracle hesitated. And when she spoke, it was with a haunting, slow tone of voice. “Sixty degrees that come in threes. Watches from within birch trees. Saw his own dimension burn, misses home and can’t return. Says he’s happy, he’s a liar; blame the arson for the fire. If he wants to shirk the blame, he’ll have to invoke its name. One way to absolve his crime, a different form, a different time…”

The lyric hung in the air, when for a moment it seemed as if all the crazy echoing sounds in the ship grew still and quiet to listen. ███████ considered the words, then smiled and asked rhetorically. “Is there anything more charming than an inscrutable mystery?”

To which the oracle answered with a gentle smile, her voice once again casual. “There is not.”

She chuckled, and crossed her arms. “…Will this… Being… Be the cause of the ship’s destruction?”

“Not the cause, but I do not doubt he plays a part in its instigation…” The oracle shrugged. “We have entered his territory. He has been given a certain power over us.”

“A power which can be broken by sanity.” ███████ pointed out.

“A power which feeds on insanity.” The oracle corrected her. “But may only be broken by prayer. You are more defenseless than you know…” The oracle turned to exit the lab, but turned and spoke over her shoulder before she crossed the threshold. “It is not too late for the Captain to turn back. And it is not too late for you.”

“…Why should I believe you?” She blurted. “God would surely not be stupid enough to trust me with something as dangerous as truth.”

“He loves you too much to offer you less. You have only to bow and be healed.”

“I shall never bow.”

“And I am stupid enough to hope.”

And the oracle left.

“I shall not bow.” She solemnly promised herself again, in the silence that followed her absence. “I shall survive.”