#felt like going a bit experimental with this one... not sure if its successful but eh i think it looks alright

[daily-dose-of-bucket]

kanna with shin and kugie perhaps....

Day 26: greenblings assemble!

[in1-nutshell]

Hello! TFA request, what would Autobots reaction/interaction of Bot who's a triple changer on Earth

Bot who's a triple changer, similar to (Tfa) Blitzwing, except instead of Hothead, Icy and Random personas, they had their own personas

(You can change the personas, if you like) Bot has their own personas and these are (1st: Performer/Jester/other), (2nd: Guard/ villain/other), & (3rd: Caregiver/ Whimsy/ other) personas

(1st) persona known for being extrovert-like, yet anxious, and priorities safety of others. (2nd) persona known for being introvert-like, yet can be aggressive/menace and priorities security of others. Lastly, The (3rd) persona known as a balance/combination of (1st)'s and (2nd)'s, they're calm, gentle, and whimsical

Bot and their personas shared some personality traits, such as being oriented on care task/work, for bots (cybertronians & earth ones), humans, and other beings, especially young ones, being parent/guardian figure friend

Bot's origin: (You can change the origins) Bot used to be a famous Performer that loved and inspired others especially the young ones. Until Bot was chosen to be part of the triple changer experiment by Science Department of Cybertron after having found old files of Blitzwing’s triple changer experiment.

Whether it was successful or not, they successfully replicated the triple changer mod. However, to make sure Bot gets used to the new mod and get a handle on things, they 'convince' Bot to learn to control and handle being a triple changer.

Bot became a runaway autobot and came to earth. at first, bot decides to travel until Bot became some sort of performer/artist, community helper, and/or local caregiver/babysitter and oftentimes do guard duty

( I'm Sorry if this's complicated. Also Thank you so much and wish you a happy new year!)

Hello! SO this Buddy was a bit detailed in the asked, so I simplified somethings. Hopefully not too much. If this isn't what you wanted, please let me know.

Hope you enjoy!

Team Prime react to Triple Changer Bot Buddy

SFW, mentions of experimentation but nothing graphic, Platonic, Cybertronian reader

TFA

Before the war, Buddy used to be a nobody. They knew this. They weren’t an outlier or had any useful intelligence that would help them in a lab.

They did jobs here and there for the Autobots when the war broke out. The longest job they had was being a glorified messenger between generals and any higher up in Iacon. They were approached to go under a super soldier program, Buddy was right behind them. If this meant they could take their home world from the Decepticon’s then they will participate in it.

They didn’t know that the program was going to have such… dire side effects.

Their frame had been reformatted to be more war frame like. A frame to cause more damage. If that had been its Buddy honestly would have been fine with it.

It wasn’t until they started dealing with their processor that Buddy realized that the experiments weren’t as ethical as they had originally thought. This ‘program’ was hidden under wraps for a reason.

Their personalities had been split into three.

The first side was named Jester. They liked goofing off and making any bot laugh with their antics and jokes. They got on the guards’ nerves every now and then.

The second side was Guardian, they were a quiet soul that kept to themselves. But turned extremely aggressive when something they held dear was in danger.

The last side was Carrier, they were the calmest side that tried holding the balance between Jester’s loud antics and Guardian’s aggression to their enemies. They were considered one of the most dangerous side of the three.

Buddy felt like a monster.

A little after the experimentation was wrapping up, Buddy overheard some of the guards talking about how much of a waste of personalities they were and how they were going to permanently fix that the next day.

Buddy was horrified at the thought of going through the experimentation again. Something all three of their personalities could agree on.

So, they did the only logical thing.

They escaped.

They hopped into an escape pod that night, punched in random coordinates, and took off.

They ended up crashing on a quiet little planet called Earth, near a city called Detroit. They kept their vehicle form and went over to introduce themselves to the natives to ask for refuge.

They met a funny man named Issac Sumdac, he too was new to the city.

“Hello!”--Jester

“Hello?”—Prof. Sumdac

“We are Buddy. We seek for a safe haven on this planet.”--Carrier

“Safe haven?”—Prof.Sumdac

“Would it be possible to stay with you? We promise not to be a burden to you.”--Carrier

“Um…”—Prof. Sumdac

“Oh, thank you Mr.! We won’t let you down!”--Jester

“But—never mind. What is happening with your…”—Prof. Sumdac

“Why you gotta problem with that?”--Guardian

“No—”—Prof. Sumdac

“Sorry about that. Guardian is quite protective of us. I am Carrier, they other one is Jester.”--Carrier

“Oh… okay… what is it with me and robots?”—Prof. Sumdac

“What was that?”--Guardian

“Nothing!”—Prof. Sumdac

With Buddy’s help with some mechanics, Sumdac was able to start his life in the city. Though they did question why some of these materials looked familiar. But it wasn’t their business, so they left it alone.

While Sumdac started his robotics, Buddy decided to help the community that as of now was nothing but kind to them. Well besides some stray hagglers.

They created an outdoor daycare for the little ones. Sure, at first no one wanted to leave their kids with this giant evil looking robot, which Buddy understood completely no matter how badly it stung.

But as soon they did start getting kids under their care, Buddy proved to them that they could be trustworthy.

“Hello Ms. Jones, how was your day?”--Carrier

“Oh, Carrier you have no idea the amount of traffic today! I thought I was gonna loose my mind!”—Ms. Jones

“Sorry to hear about that Ms. Jones. Oh, here’s Johnny.”--Carrier

“Mom!”--Johnny

“Baby! How was your day?”—Ms. Jones

“I had so much fun! Jester gave me a coloring book and some crayons with my favorite superheroes!”—Johnny

“Wow honey! Now what do you say?”—Ms. Jones

“Thank you, Buddy!”--Johnny

“You’re welcome!”--Buddy

“You’re a blessing Buddy. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.”—Ms. Jones

“I’m just glad to be able to do my job Ms. Jones.”--Buddy

“No, but really if someone says something mean, call me. I’ll make sure their month is ruined.”—Ms. Jones

“Thank you, Ms. Jones?”--Buddy

Jester made sure that all the kids were entertained and having a great time. Guardian kept a watchful optic out for any kid trying to escape the daycare; for any creeps that wanted to take the kids; and especially for any signs for abusive parents. Fanzone has lost count how many calls he has gotten from Buddy about the parents. Carrier was thriving in this environment. They loved telling the kids bedtime stories, fixing their boo boo’s, and teaching some basic schooling.

When Sumdac came with Sari for the first time, Buddy pulled him aside to tell him that what he had was a sparkling, a cybertronain sparkling. They were shocked hearing that Sumdac didn’t want to tell Sari the truth of what she was. Buddy ended up compromising with him to at least tell her when she is older, so she could at least cherish her childhood.

Sari loved Buddy and all their sides. She became a regular at the daycare after hours since Sumdac would always be couped up in his office.

“Hey Buddy!”--Sari

“Sari?”--Buddy

“The one and only!”--Sari

“Is your dad still in the office?”--Guardian

“Yeah…”--Sari

“You want me to go and get him?”--Guardian

“Nah, he’s still doing work… Buddy?”--Sari

“Yes?”--Buddy

“Do you ever feel like you don’t belong?”--Sari

“Yeah, I mean look at me. I’m not exactly someone who’s going to blend in the crowd.”--Jester

“Hahaha!”--sari

“But, if it makes you feel better, you’ll always belong in our little family.”--Carrier

“Aww! Thanks Buddy!”--Sari

“You’re welcome.”--Carrier

“So… can you tell me about your past?”--Sari

“No.”--Guardian

“C’mon!”--Sari

“Nice try, its not gonna work kiddo.”--Jester

“I will find out one day.”--Sari

“One day, but not today.”--Carrier

Buddy became a second parental figure to Sari.

Buddy met Team Prime when the city started getting evacuated. As the Earth shook, Buddy rounded up all the kids and flew them to the nearest shelters. They suddenly realized that they were being under attack after hearing the familiar sounds of blasters in the air.

Part of them wanted to deal with the problem themselves, but the sounds of the kids crying pulled them back to reality. Buddy had to put the kid’s safety first, and by judging the sounds of blasters being shared, someone else was dealing with the threat. Plus, Buddy didn’t like the looks of the walls in the shelter.

Buddy covered all the kids with their huge body when the roof fell slightly on them. Buddy held on strong. The only thing they could hope for now was the threat being dealt with and that the Sumdac’s were okay.

Meanwhile…

Sari was introducing themselves properly to the Autobots when they suddenly remembered about Buddy.

“Oh no Buddy!”--Sari

“Who?”--Ratchet

“My friend, I don’t know if they’re okay! Please you gotta help me find them!”--Sari

“You got it Sari!”--Bumblebee

Buddy in the meantime had dug themselves out of the wreckage of the shelter and was carrying the uninjured kids out and back to the remains of the outdoor daycare. They brushed some of the debris with their pede to try and make some room to put down the children when they heard their name being called.

Buddy quickly put the kids down on the debris free ground and turned around.

It was Sari coming out of… a new version of Captain Fanzone’s car? And several emergency vechilces?

Oh…

Oh no…

Are those Autobots!?

Bots who tried to fight Buddy on sight:

The following bots immediately thought Buddy was a Decepticon and tried to fight them. Guardian was very angry seeing the blasters pointed towards them and their kids.

Sari luckily deescalated the situation before Guardian decided to let loose.

Optimus

Prowl

Bumblebee

Bulkhead

Bots who want to climb Buddy’s giant armor:

After the eventful first meet, Buddy starts helping the Team with some patrols or extra muscle when they don’t have work. Seeing the kids climb on Buddy gives them an idea to do it on patrol to ‘gain the high ground’. Carrier just rolls with it.

Bumblebee

Sari

Bots who help Buddy out in the daycare:

These bots want to help Buddy’s load. They know that rebuilding the city, dealing with Decepticon, and still having to go back to work is a hassle. They give Buddy an extra servo when looking after the kids. They do it in their own special ways, something that Jester appreciates when they are running out of jokes and coloring books.

Bulkhead

Ratchet

Optimus

Prowl

[weerd1]

It’s Been a Long Road: Two decades after “Star Trek: Enterprise” I still have Faith of the Heart.

After the click, there are 2300 words of me doing a deep dive on my love for "Star Trek: Enterprise." You have been warned.

When I was in elementary school, I was a year younger than my peers. My mom had decided I didn’t need to go to Kindergarten as I was already reading ahead of my level, so she insisted I be placed at age 5 directly into 1st Grade. In ways she was right; I completed the reading and phonics program in my little Arizona school for the entire first grade before Christmas. To this day though, I am clumsy with scissors, paste, and all the “kindergarten skills” and I spent the rest of my school career smaller, weaker, and less coordinated than everyone in my class. 

This probably all worked out in the end; sure, I couldn’t play sports, but to avoid bullies and getting picked on, I got funny, and that’s worked out pretty well for me. But in those days when I would play a sport such as baseball, the opposing team would step a little closer, the coaches would advise me to take the walk; I was not as good as my peers, so allowances were made for my performance.

That is exactly how I looked at “Star Trek: Enterprise” for years. It was only four seasons, while its powerhouse predecessors all had seven. It wasn’t set in a utopian far future, but rather not too far from now meaning more modern and vernacular language. The science seemed a little spurious, with writers seeming to think the term “Rigel” was just some made-up word from older Trek series rather than older Trek series using actual star names for locations. The knowledge of Trek seemed a little lacking as well, with the first episode citing “Klingon Warbirds” and basing the hero ship on a design introduced in a then recent movie…that was set 200 years later. 

I watched though, as we were coming off of there being CONSTANT Trek on television for the previous 15 years, and this was what we had.

I groused then, a lot. The lack of continuity, the trivia gaffes, the over-sexualization of women characters (ok, that WAS more than a bit overdone, and I still grouse that point).

The theme song. Oh my lord, the theme song.

But eventually, this show won me over, almost in spite of itself. Then there was a major shift in tone for the third season, and it got to be pretty solid, and the FOURTH season was…STAR TREK! Like its predecessors, the show had taken some time to find its footing (c’mon, admit how uneven the first couple of seasons of TNG were), but had pulled itself together, and the show’s future looked bright in 2005!

And then there was a truly terrible last episode and ENT was cancelled and gone. 

Twenty years later, here I am, and though the absence of new Trek only lasted about four years—until JJ Abrams 2009 movie—I felt that absence keenly then. I am glad to report there has been Trek I really enjoy since then…and some marginal entries, but that’s not new either honestly. But with all this new material, I still find myself going back to revisit Archer and his crew. I’ve rewatched maybe two TNG episodes in the last 15 years. Maybe two or three Voyager episodes. But TOS, DS9, and ENT I hit regularly. Why does ENT keep forcing itself to the front of my Trek consciousness?

From the beginning, ENT suffered from some external pressures that weren’t helpful to its development. There was a tension between doing more of the same, successful formula Trek had been delivering since “Encounter at Farpoint” (the TNG pilot episode from 1987) and doing something experimental and new. Viewer fatigue was setting in a bit, but fans were vociferous in what THEY thought Trek meant. Anything that strayed too far would take a beating on the internet message boards. 

DS9 had just finished off their wartime storyline, and though there were adamant Niners, it was only just beginning to truly find its audience with the advent of home video allowing one to actually watch the whole thing. Meanwhile, the less arc-oriented VOY had added the character Seven. There had been a ratings increase, which the producers took to mean any new show needed an attractive woman in a catsuit. Remember also, we were in the midst of the Star Wars Prequel trilogy, so going BACK to a time when the story could be a little looser was floating in the zeitgeist. 

But it was also 2001, and though the visual continuity of the then modern Treks had maintained a history inclusive and accepting of TOS, putting a starship on screen that would look like a century’s LESS development than Matt Jefferies’ design from the mid-1960s was going to be problematic. 

I don’t know this is true, but I also suspect that since the previous shows had a British man, a Black man, and a Woman as captains, someone in Production wanted to make sure there was a white, American man back in the center seat. Maybe I’m wrong, but that’s my gut.

So all of this goes into the show, and honestly it kicks off as a bit of a hot mess. So much seems to be playing it safe. Some fairly cliched storylines that occasionally try something a little new. A few things it does try new are not quite there: That aforementioned over-sexualization of the women in the crew*. Cringy comments about relations with aliens. Archer watching water polo.

There are a lot of forgettable episodes, contradictions. And yet, I kept watching. Yeah, I was on message boards complaining about the tech looking too advanced. I’d gripe about how un-Vulcan the Vulcans seemed. I’d gripe about every violation of what I accepted as canon, that was often really just things the fandom had settled on in the 70s and had no basis on the show. And I was just a complete tool online when the first cloaking device showed up. 

And the theme song, oh my lord, the theme song.

But I kept watching. And before I knew it, I started to appreciate something about this show. I had to make a choice between griping that this modern show that I was actually enjoying didn’t adhere to a single line of dialog written (then) 40 years before for a show that wasn’t expected to last a year. I, a staunch Trek gatekeeper, was having an awakening about continuity and canon, and I had to figure out why. Finally it hit me. 

These characters, these performers, they were more than they should be. These characters were making me love them, even when the stories were mediocre or cliche or counter to what I believed was canon. 

Take Jonathan Archer, played with almost megaton-levels of earnestness by Scott Bakula. Archer’s earnest, do-gooder nature is so extreme…you know how a show like “Family Guy,” does a joke, and it’s ok, and then it keeps going way too long, and you get sick of it. And then it keeps going still, and somehow, this only kinda-funny joke goes so long or so far that it actually manages to somehow loop back around to being not just funny, but hilarious. That’s Archer’s earnestness, his naiveté.  His “oh gosh” nature is interesting and fun compared to Kirk’s bravado. Then, after he oh goshes his way into losing ANOTHER fight, he’s simply grating. THEN you start to think he’s just devastatingly boring. But if you keep watching, then it comes around to this unironic serving of safe-guy that doesn’t blink in how GOLLY he is as a hero and you smile when he all but winks at the camera. And then, in later seasons when he’s faced with some pretty devastating moral dilemmas, you FEEL it!

T’Pol, played by Jolene Blalock: she’s so attractive it almost hurts to look at her, but you realize soon after that while she somehow seems to keep ending up getting rubbed down in decon Jolene is BRINGING the performance. That her delivery, her tone; the micro-expressions which betray her stoic facade for the Vulcan emotions at a full boil underneath…you buy it. You realize her performance is wonderful, and she’s one of the best Vulcans in the entire franchise.

Connor Trinneer as the character I recently described as “Florida Man in Space,” Trip Tucker. He’s a walking cliche, his accent making “warp-field plasma conduits” sound like something you’d serve up with sweet tea and grits. He’s got Himbo energy that rivals the output of his anti-matter reactor, and still it works. His “I don’t really know much about anything, but I’m willing to learn…oh God I’m pregnant” (actual episode) speaks so beautifully to humans DISCOVERING things for the first time, screwing it up, but learning from their mistakes and going back for more! 

I could easily go on about Travis Mayweather, the kid who grew up in space and is both completely knowledgeable and blissfully ignorant of anything that goes on out there. Malcolm Reed, the British tactical officer who if his upper lip was any stiffer, he could use it as a weapon. Hoshi Sato who starts out completely out of her depth, and ends up loving it all. Dr. Phlox, your over-friendly, polyamorous uncle who brandishes optimism like a flame thrower and plays with eels. 

They are all just…TOO. Too this, too that, and in doing so, somehow all circle back to being absolutely perfect. Because as flawed as ENT is in its storytelling at times, and how mired it is in attitudes before #metoo, the IDEA of the show is a great one: How does humanity get from the mess we are now to the icons of TOS or TNG? Enterprise shows us it wasn’t a switch, but a road.  A long road, getting from there to here.

Yes, even the damn theme song, hokey and way too on the nose is EXACTLY RIGHT for what this show means.  

Somewhere along the line, we all knew we had to move in a little closer when ENT comes up to bat, but we all started wishing, hoping, that maybe it would get a home run.

And sometimes, just sometimes, these characters that are great in spite of themselves, and this design, that’s too good for what it should be**, and this show that’s just not on the level of its predecessors does exactly that and knocks one into the stands. Suddenly it’s season four, and Enterprise manages to sum up the humanity Star Trek has been serving up since 1966 better than any show before or since:

Vulcan Ambassador Soval: We don't know what to do about Humans. Of all the species we've made contact with, yours is the only one we can't define. You have the arrogance of Andorians, the stubborn pride of Tellarites. One moment, you're as driven by your emotions as Klingons, and the next, you confound us by suddenly embracing logic.

Admiral Maxwell Forrest: I'm sure those qualities are found in every species.

Vulcan Ambassador Soval: Not in such confusing abundance.

We’re not perfect, we’re not utopian, but we are AMAZING when we give ourselves the chance, and for me, Enterprise takes that idea and runs with it. It often swings and misses, but when it connects, we can smile and clap and let it take its run around the bases, because it makes us feel good. And if it weren’t for Enterprise teaching me how these lessons, these characters are more important that visual continuity or strict adherence to arcane canon, I wouldn’t have accepted the Kelvin timeline. The DISCO Klingons. The Strange New Worlds uniforms, sets, and character interpretations. Because as much as I love what Star Trek means, all of that deeper meaning is nothing if it isn’t entertaining. And Enterprise taught me how important that was. 

I could go on about how much better the show got when Berman and Braga took a back seat to Manny Coto, though there are certainly strong arguments that he got a little too fan-servicey. But in the end, the point is CBS took over and closed down Enterprise just as it found its footing. I hope the wave of nostalgia we’re seeing applied (perhaps TOO applied in shows like “Picard”) to modern Trek means we get more than a passing Lower Decks reference to the show. And if not, well, I’ve got my copies, and my fan fic, and my Tumblr memes. 

Most importantly though, I’ve got (I’ve got, I’ve got) Faith of the Heart.

*I will give the show credit at least that it was pretty willing to flaunt shirtless men as well, and biceps-a-plenty. 

**In regard to things looking more advanced, I will give credit to Brannon Braga for dropping a hint in an interview at the end of season 1 that the Enterprise-E coming back in “First Contact” had subtly altered the timeline, making things a little more advanced. Fans—and I regret to include myself—railed against that online, and it wasn’t really mentioned again. Recently, Strange New Worlds has revisited and canonized the idea that the timeline, even though it is the Prime timeline, DOES go through shifts and changes due to temporal incursions, evidenced wonderfully in the episode “Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow” when a Romulan time traveler admits to altering time so the rise of Khan happens not at the 1992 date that Spock gave us in the original series “Space Seed” to now to him still being a child 30 years later. It’s in-story shorthand for the fact that when a show goes for six decades some continuity has to change and THAT IS OK. I wasn’t ready to accept it then, but am glad it’s now part of Trek. 

[i-have-not-slept]

Animalec Fest 2023

September 22: Attached

@animalecfest

It was fully dark by the time Alec got home, the purple haze of twilight in the sky. From the street, he could see the lights of Magnus’s apartment— their apartment, now— shining invitingly. His whole body felt loose with tiredness from a long evening of patrolling, and he quickened his pace, eager to see Magnus.

Alec let himself into the apartment, warm and welcoming after the cold street outside. Magnus didn’t appear immediately to greet him, which Alec tried not to be too disappointed about. Usually, when he got home and Magnus was already in the apartment, he would drop whatever he was working on and practically run to the door, pulling Alec inside and kissing him without wasting a second.

But then, maybe Magnus had been called away to a client, despite the late hour. The apartment did feel oddly empty and silent, like Magnus had gone out somewhere. Alec would have expected him to text, though, if this had been the case. He pulled out his phone and double-checked the messages, Nothing from Magnus.

“Magnus?” Alec called experimentally. There was no reply, and Alec decided he must have gone out. With a small sigh of disappointment, he headed towards the kitchen, thinking he could at least have dinner ready when Magnus got back.

Alec stopped abruptly, halfway across the living room. There was a cat sitting in the middle of the floor, looking right at him. Not Chairman Meow, Magnus’s cat. This cat was larger, with thick, midnight-black fur and luminous gold eyes. It seemed to be staring right at Alec, like it had been waiting for him, but that was a ridiculous thought.

“Hello.” Alec said, not sure what else to say. He felt a bit silly, talking to a cat, but there was no one around to hear him.

The cat got up immediately and walked straight over to Alec, putting its paws on his knees and arching its back up like it was trying to reach him.

Alec laughed. “Hey.” He crouched down automatically and stroked the cat’s neck, noticing how it butted its head against his hands affectionately. “Did Magnus let you in?” He knew Magnus was in the habit of letting stray cats wander in and out as they pleased, but this one seemed way more affectionate than an alley cat would.

Alec straightened up and headed back towards the kitchen, but the cat darted in front of him again, mewling loudly and butting its head against his legs.

Alec sighed a little. The cat was cute, but it was going to be difficult to cook dinner if it wouldn’t leave him alone. He bent down, trying gently to push the cat off him. “Are you hungry? Is that it? I’ll get you some food, okay? I know Magnus won’t mind.”

The cat meowed even louder, seemingly at the mention of Magnus’s name. It stretched up towards Alec again, golden eyes fixed on him intently.

Alec’s stomach dropped with sudden realisation. He knew those eyes. He scooped up the cat and stood up, holding it up at his eye level. Hardly believing it, he spoke softly. “Magnus?”

The cat’s reaction was instantaneous, purring and rubbing its cheek against Alec’s hands. He wanted to be absolutely sure, though. “Blink twice if it’s you, Magnus.”

The cat blinked twice in rapid succession. Alec’s heart leapt in shock. He stumbled over to the couch and sat down, the cat— Magnus— cradled in the crook of his arm. “Sweetheart, what— what happened to you?” He couldn’t quite process the fact that his tall, elegant boyfriend had been turned into a cat. A very cute cat, but still.

The cat mewled, snuggling up to Alec and purring contentedly. It— he— didn’t seem at all alarmed, which made Alec relax slightly. Surely Magnus wouldn’t be so calm if this transformation was permanent.

“What happened?” Alec asked again. “Are you— is this—” He gestured helplessly with his free hand, not sure what he was asking. How long are you going to be a cat for? Is this permanent? Do I need to call someone to change you back?

Magnus seemed to understand. He wriggled out of Alec’s arms and sprang onto the floor, looking back for Alec to follow him. Still feeling a bit shell-shocked, Alec followed him to the kitchen. Magnus pawed at one of the table legs, looking pointedly at Alec. Understanding, Alec picked him up and set him on the table, where there was one of the Institute tablets that Alec had left there earlier. Magnus paced back and forth in front of it, yowling.

“Oh.” Alec said, understanding. “Oh, you are clever.” He unlocked the tablet and opened it up to text, pushing it towards Magnus. Magnus poked at it tentatively with the pads of his paws, typing slowly. From the frustrated lashing of his tail, it was clear that cats’ paws were not exactly designed for typing. After a minute or so, he stepped back and looked at Alec expectantly.

Alec stepped forwards to see what Magnus had written.

SPELL WNET WRONNG. NOT DNAGErROUS NOT PERNAMNeT. CHNAGE BCK TMOROWW.

Alec deciphered the message, shoulders sagging in relief as he read that the transformation wasn’t permanent. “You’ll be back to normal tomorrow?”

Magnus nodded.

“Is there anything I can do until then?” Alec asked.

Magnus unexpectedly ran to the edge of the table and took a flying leap into Alec’s arms. It was only because Alec was used to Chairman Meow doing the same thing that he didn’t drop Magnus. He caught him instinctively, with a small huff of surprise, and Magnus snuggled into his chest.

“Okay.” Alec murmured. “You just want cuddles?” He rubbed Magnus’s ears affectionately. “I can do that.”

Magnus purred even louder than before, looking utterly satisfied.

After a quick shower, Alec rejoined Magnus in the kitchen and made a simple dinner of pasta for both of them. He hesitated for a moment, not sure where to put Magnus’s plate, but Magnus answered the question by leaping onto the table and looking at him imperiously. Alec smiled. “Not eating on the ground, huh?” He put Magnus’s plate on the table and sat down next to him. Magnus went straight for the food and Alec laughed as he managed to get pasta sauce all over his face, clearly unused to eating as a cat. Alec tried to clean his fur with a napkin and Magnus retreated, hissing, then relented and allowed Alec to clean his face.

When they’d finished eating, Alec washed up, then looked down at Magnus on the floor. “I’m kind of tired. Can we just go to bed?” Magnus meowed in what Alec thought was an affirmative. He scooped up the cat again, carrying him to their room. Magnus twisted around in his arms and managed to get his claws caught in the front of Alec’s sweater.

“Magnus.” Alec sighed in exasperation. He stopped walking and tried to disentangle Magnus’s claws. “I guess this is my fault for wearing something easily tangled, isn’t it?” He managed to free Magnus and set him down on their bed, before tossing aside his sweater and getting between the covers.

At that moment, Chairman Meow reappeared. Apparently he had been hiding under the bed all evening, rattled by the appearance of another cat in his space. He tried to curl up next to Magnus on the mattress, but Magnus hissed and swiped at him, sending the Chairman retreating to the end of the bed. Magnus purred in satisfaction, making it very clear that he was the only one who got to sleep next to Alec.

Alec laughed and stroked his back, sliding his fingers into the thick fur. “You’re jealous, aren’t you?”

Magnus gave him a superior look, then curled up on the pillow next to Alec, tucking his feet in so he looked like a round black cushion. Alec stretched out on his side, reaching out to run a hand through Magnus’s fur. He purred in absolute contentment, sending vibrations through Alec’s hand like a tiny engine. Alec leaned over and kissed the top of his head, then reached over and turned off the bedside lamp. “Goodnight, Magnus.”

When Alec woke the next morning, it was to find Magnus curled up next to him, still fast asleep. He smiled and ran a hand along his shoulder, causing Magnus to blink awake.

“Good morning.” Alec murmured, unable to stop the corners of his mouth from quirking up.

“Morning.” Magnus mumbled. He lifted his head from the pillow, blinking at Alec. “Was I… a cat?”

Alec grinned at him. “A very cute cat.”

Magnus rolled over with an embarrassed groan. “That’s— wow. That hasn’t happened to me in a long time.” He was slightly red, which Alec found endearing, because Magnus hardly ever got embarrassed about anything. He lifted up the edge of the blanket, and Magnus crawled in beside him, settling comfortably next to Alec.

“What happened?” Alec asked, running his finger down Magnus’s arm soothingly.

Magnus sighed dramatically. “A translation error. It was supposed to be a simple warding charm for a client, but the idiot who wrote the spell book evidently didn’t bother to check their vocabulary very closely. Boom, I’ve turned myself into a cat.” He waved his hands around in exasperation, scattering sparks.

Alec laughed and moved closer to Magnus, running a hand down his side, the bare skin of his hip. “I’m glad it was only temporary. One cat is enough round here.” He moved his hand to Magnus’s thigh, and the warlock gave a breathy sigh, shifting closer to Alec invitingly.

“You were really cute,” Alec murmured, “but I like you better like this.”

“Why don’t you come here and show me how much?” Magnus breathed, and Alec smiled slowly and leaned in to kiss him.

[crissiebaby]

DiapOut: Chapter 27

DISCLAIMER: This series contains diaper usage, public humiliation, masturbation, hypermessing, sissification, WAM, mental regression, and other ABDL themes. If you haven’t read the first chapter and want to catch up, be sure to check out the link in the description. I hope you enjoy!

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*CLANK!*

With her wrist being locked into place by Keelee, Misa was starting to regret letting her big mouth talk her into volunteering to go first. The only solace she found was in the fluffy sofa chair she was reclined in, which felt a bit like sitting in one of those mall massage chairs only much softer.

“Lean your head back,” instructed Keelee, placing her hand on the top of Misa’s scalp to hold her in place as she guided her to sit back. She then took a leather strap and wrapped it around Misa’s forehead before locking it into place, preventing Misa from looking any other way but forward.

Staring straight ahead, all Misa could see was the wide monitor displaying a blank screen that stretched all the way across her range of sight. It didn’t take a genius to figure out what was probably going to happen. “So what? Is this the part where you hypnotize me into becoming as horny for diapers as Lelaya?” she scoffed in defiance, straining her peripheral vision to address her gracious host. In reality, she was terrified by what was going to happen next, and her defiance was more or less a defense mechanism to keep her from crying out to be released.

“Hmmm…not quite. Don’t worry, someone as strong-willed and bullheaded as you are will have no problem resisting,” said Cassi, encouraging the audience to laugh at Misa’s expense as if they were watching a carnivore play with its food. Turning to face her adoring crowd, she decided now was as good a time as any to explain what was on the horizon for Misa, as well as Mia and Kyoko. It wasn’t like Misa was going anywhere at this point anyway, “We’ve got a special treat for you today! What you are about to witness is the culmination of years of research into psychology and hypnotics. The method we are about to display was developed by the CrissBaby Diaper Company and has resulted in a 100% success rate throughout the trial phases. And Misa, here, is about to become its first demonstrator.”

The studio erupted with excitement over Cassi’s announcement. A form of hypnotism that had a 100% success rate? Such a feat was unheard of, feeling far closer to the realm of science fiction than science fact. Unfortunately, not everyone was as enthused as the live-studio audience. Namely, the majority of the eight contestants play on both teams, regardless if they were in line to be hypnotized or not.

Gritting his teeth, Zeke cursed himself for going with the honest answer over the smartest one. The last person on their team who needed their mind weakened right now was their fearless leader, even if she wasn’t being the most tactful with how she went about leading her team. Sadly, all he could do now was watch from the sidelines, too nervous to even glance in Kyoko’s direction, let alone look her in the eye.

Perhaps the only person more nervous than Zeke was Ayaya, who hadn’t exactly intended for two of her teammates to receive hypnosis punishment. This was the thing Jackson had primarily warned her about for a reason. Not only was the hypnosis file that her friends were about to be exposed to incredibly potent, but it was also highly experimental and could have lasting effects on whoever sees it.

Ayaya’s concerns were not, however, shared by her diaper-loving teammate, Lelaya, who had only one thing on her mind. “C’mon! Pleeeeeeeease, let me trade places with Misa! I’m super in need of an attitude adjustment!” she shouted at some hapless PA like a child throwing a tantrum over not being picked to participate. After being told no for the eighteenth time, she finally relented, though she wasn’t happy about it as was evident from her crossed arms and pouty lip.

While it was obvious that Lelaya’s campaign to take Mia and/or Misa’s place was doomed from the start, it didn’t stop Misa from praying that the diaper fashionista would be able to swap places with her. “I-It’s not permanent, right?” she stuttered, looking to Cassi, and then to Keelee with worried eyes. And while neither answered her directly, their respective looks of cruelty and pity told her everything she needed to know. She pulled against the cuffs around her wrists, testing to see if she could escape on her own if need be. Tragically, her restraints lived up to their name.

“Alright, ladies and germs, let’s get this show on the road!” announced Cassi, pulling a pair of goggles with black, reflective lenses and placing them over her eyes.

Immediately after Cassi’s new eyewear was in place, a team of PAs, led by Keelee, rushed through the audience carrying totes filled with the same kind of goggles. “Okay everyone, for your own safety, please keep your goggles until after the hypnotics are over…unless, of course, you’d like to share in Misa’s punishment,” announced Keelee through her bullhorn. As the audience put on their goggles, the other seven contestants, as well as any crewmembers out on the studio floor, were also given their own protective eyewear.

Returning to where Cassi and the stand-by contestants were waiting, Keelee handed off a remote with a big red button in the center to Cassi. “Probably pretty self-explanatory but the button turns the hypnotics on and off. There’s also a dial on the side to control its intensity but you shouldn’t have to mess with that,” she said, knowing from the rotten look in Cassi’s eye that she would definitely be testing the limits of her new toy.

Hovering her pointer finger over the big red button like she’d seen countless mad scientists do in cartoons, Cassi let out a maniacal giggle, too excited to contain herself. “Well Misa, say goodbye to all those nasty big girl thoughts!” she exclaimed, mashing her finger down on the button.

“W-wait, isn’t there gonna be a countdown or s-sooommethiiiiing…” shouted Misa, her ability to speak plummeting as her eyes became locked on the purple and pink spiral that was spinning in place on the big screen. She wasn’t to look away; to close her eyes and wait for everything to be over as if it were some grand nightmare. However, she found that her body no longer wanted to listen to what she thought, choosing instead to stare with unwavering eyes at the swirling vortex of regression.

Swiveling her head between Misa and the spiraling screen, butterflies were beginning to eat away at Mia’s tummy. Part of her wished she could gain some satisfaction in seeing Misa stuck in a hypnotized state but that part of her was overshadowed by the guilt of seeing the person who was supposed to be her best friend in the world being subjected to a mind-altering video, not to mention the fact that her turn in the hot seat would be coming up shortly.

Similarly conflicted, Kyoko wished that she could let go and just indulge in what was about to happen to her. Diapers weren’t her only fetish as the kinky lesbian was prone to having fantasies about having her adult mind wiped clean. Even now, she could feel her lower lips growing moist over the prospect of turning into a drooling baby that needed to be cared for and coddled at all times. However, her enjoyment over what should’ve been one of the highlights of this entire experience was somewhat hindered by the fact that she was selected by her own teammates for an “attitude adjustment,” indicating that she was in a behavioral correction. If it was just Cade, she could brush it off as him not really knowing who to choose. Zeke, on the other hand, was a much different story. Even now, anytime she tried to look his way, he’d turn away from her instantly, causing her to wonder if and how she could’ve wronged him. There’s no way he knew that she blabbed about his dolly transformation to Cassi so it had to be something else…right?

“She seems to be handling level one just fine,” said Cassi, circling around Misa as she addressed the audience. She snapped her fingers next to Misa’s head, impressing everyone as Misa didn’t even so much as flinch at the abrasive sound. Placing the remote’s power dial between her fingers, she greedily twisted it forward, “Let’s bump things up and see what this baby can really do, pun intended.”

“Oohhhh!” moaned Misa, her jaw going slack and her body beginning to shake as her brain was forced to process so much input all at once. A few chuckles echoed from the audience as the increase in intensity caused her diaper to start swelling with an easily discernible yellow hue. All the while, the adult side of her brain continued to fight back futilely, unaware that her resistance only made the hypnosis stronger. 

Biting her lip, Cassi’s gluttony for punishment was on full display. She didn’t have anything personally against Misa. It could’ve been anyone in that seat. To her, the contestants on her show might as well have been toys, made for the sole purpose of entertainment only to be discarded when she became bored with them. “I think we’ve officially laid siege to her continence. Let’s see if we can push her a little further,” she said, fiddling with the dial a second time.

*ZAP!*

“Eeeeek!” shouted Cassi, her hand recoiling as the remote sent a sharp shock coursing through her arm. This resulted in her dropping the remote, causing it to shatter against the cold, cement floor, “Uh oh.”

As pieces of the remote scattered across the floor, the spiral on the screen slowly began to increase in speed. This caused Misa’s body to convulse as the intensity of the hypnosis was too much for the unprepared mind to take in. Her body pulled against her arm and head restraints as she shook wildly.

“SHUT IT DOWN NOW!” screamed Keelee, her panicked voice echoing loudly through her megaphone. Crewmembers were sent running off in various directions as the bright screen started to flicker, creating a strobe effect in the dark room.

Standing on the sidelines in terror, Mia watched on as her bestie was subjected to some of the most powerful hypnotics known to man. “M-Misa!” she yelled, her body moving on its own as she sprinted to her friend’s aid. Wrapping her arms around Misa’s head, she used her forearm to cover Misa’s eyes, shielding her from any more damage.

*SHATTER!*

Several of the overhead lights suddenly blew out as the circuit breaker finally cut off power to the studio, plunging the large space into complete darkness. Clicking on her flashlight, Keelee sighed as she looked around, counting her blessings that no one appeared to be hurt. With all eyes falling on her as the only source of light in the room, she cleared her throat before lifting her bullhorn to her mouth again, “Uh…p-please remain seated while we get everything back online. We appreciate your patience.”

TO BE CONTINUED…

« PREVIOUS l FIRST l NEXT »

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Heyyo! Can't wait until next week for more DiapOut!? Subscribe to my Patreon, where you can get early access to main series chapters like this one, as well as exclusive content you won't find anywhere else! Join my dollhouse at patreon.com/crissiebaby!

Edited by AllySmolShork

[xb-squaredx]

Super Mario Bros. Wonder: How Mario Got His Groove Back

Mario has had a rough regression into 2D. Once the top dog in platformers, Mario has been in a bit of a lurch regarding a number of his titles for the last several years. While once seen as a breath of fresh air, as the New Super Mario Bros. series went on many regarded them as too same-y and stagnant. The same could be said for the 3D titles, as every title from Super Mario Galaxy 2 onward sanded off a lot of the wackier, more experimental aspects of the earlier 3D titles. The less said about the state of the Mario sports and RPG spinoffs the better. However, in recent years there have been glimmers of hope that everyone’s favorite plumber might be getting back to his roots. Super Mario Odyssey was a well-received return to form for the 3D sandbox titles, and the resounding success of the Super Mario Bros. Movie speaks for itself. But the real test was releasing a 2D Mario game that manages to actually FEEL new and exciting. Is Wonder that game, or will be left wondering when this supposed renaissance will truly begin? Let’s find out!

A NEW COAT OF PAINT, AND A FRESH NEW SOUND

The first thing that stuck out to me when first booting up Wonder was just how alive everything felt. The New series after a time felt anything but new, filled with lifeless animations and a bland visual style that was…fine but not exactly exciting. Wonder by contrast is vivid and adorns everything with either a painterly or even clay-like texture. It might not be the most visually striking game ever made, but as far as Mario’s 2D outings go this one really pushed past some boundaries. While in 3D, everything looks a lot more akin to the older 2D art for the Mario cast. Faces are rendered with this 3/4s style, always facing the camera and making sure we can see just how much more expressive each character is. From the determined looks on their faces when dashing about, the way Mario pulls his hat over his eyes when he crouches, or the little flourishes like how the extra-large elephant versions of characters have to squeeze through doorways or pipes, there’s so much attention to detail here.

Adding to that is the sound design and music having a much greater presence here than normal. Over time, we’ve taken for granted how past Mario games have sounded, but Wonder shakes this up a bit. A jump is now the plucking of a string instrument that’s different for every character, while a ground pound is accompanied by a drum roll into a satisfying cymbal hit. Even the iconic sound of entering a pipe has been changed, replicated with a xylophone. The music in general matches the tone of each level well enough. From the early stages and their more laid back tones, to the more sinister themes of the Bowser airships, there are also several stages that feature musical setpieces that really stand out as the most memorable parts of the game. But that’s not all regarding the game’s presentation taking it up another level.

Wonder’s plot is about as simple as we’ve come to expect for the Mario series, and yet there is FAR more voice work and dialogue in this game than you’d think. Mario and friends are visiting Prince Florian of the Flower Kingdom when Bowser crashes their party, stealing one of many powerful Wonder Flowers. Harnessing their power, he merges with Florian’s castle, using his newfound status as…Castle Bowser to build up Wonder energy for…well, something that can’t be good! Florian accompanies the Mario crew in a manner similar to the assistant characters we’ve seen in the older RPG series, having something to say after major levels are beaten or when you enter into a new world. Each world itself also has its own subplot that gives a BIT more context to your platforming fun. In the Sunbaked Desert, we have to track down Bowser. Jr. and take back all the water he’s stolen from the residents. Whereas in the Fungi Mines, players have to investigate several ruins and progress further and further underground to save a group of miners that have been trapped by a cave-in. Even the talking flowers you see throughout the game help the world feel more real, like the adventure is unfolding in real time. At times they can be there for a joke, or as a more diegetic in-game hint, but they also serve as a way to test the waters for more natural voice work in the Mario series after mostly abandoning the prospect with Sunshine. On the note of new voices, this game actually marks quite the shake-up in the voice cast.

After nearly 30 years voicing the plumbers, Charles Martinet is now succeeded by Kevin Afghani. Afgahni’s take on the Mario brothers clearly takes a lot of inspiration from Martinet’s portrayal and in many cases is downright identical. His Luigi sounds uncannily like Martinet, though there are places here or there with Mario where you can hear a bit of a difference, but the transition is largely painless here. Giselle Fernandez also takes over for Daisy after Deanna Mustard’s similarly long tenure with the character, and they really capture the energy Daisy is known for overall. Nabbit is now voiced by Dawn Bennet, while Prince Florian and his Poplin subjects are voiced by Caitlyn Elizabeth and Christine Cabanos respectively. The likes of Peach, the Toads, Bowser and Bowser Jr. are all still done by their longtime actors, but this definitely feels like a new era for the series as the old guard is stepping down. It’s a bit strange to see more professional actors taking on some of these roles, as a good amount of Mario enemies and NPCs are often done by members of the sound team or even the Nintendo Treehouse, but if there was ever going to be a game to swap out a good chunk of the cast, it would have to be this one. The first of MANY changes and surprises in store!

ELEPHANTS AND BADGES AND FLOWERS, OH MY!

Within the first few moments of touching the game, I was reminded of my first impressions with the likes of Super Mario World and how different that game had been from the NES games. Wonder feels like another step forward for the series regarding not just level design and gimmicks, but core gameplay elements that aim to surprise and shatter past conventions. Don’t get me wrong though; this is still a platformer through and through. You run through stages, grabbing the flagpole at the end and gaining collectibles along the way. But each level has something that feels well and truly new and exciting to spice things up. Be it the rather large roster of new enemies, level-specific mechanics like pools of goop you have to slowly push through, or using water to cool down giant superheated platforms, there’s always something around the corner that makes for several standout levels. But the biggest takeaways for a given level will arguably be the various Wonder Flower segments.

Just about every level features a Wonder Flower players can touch, which then triggers a large change to the stage that players will have to navigate in search of a Wonder Seed, which will turn things back to normal. Sometimes the stage itself starts moving like its alive, while at other times enemies might change in size or multiply, and there are even transformations that will affect the Mario crew. While a handful of effects are repeated throughout the game there are a number of completely unique ones that make for a fun climax to the stage. What’s interesting is that the vast majority of these segments are optional, allowing players to skip past them either on replay or when speedrunning, but you’ll be missing a huge part of the game’s charm if you don’t engage with them.

Outside of that, there are also new tools at your disposal to get through these stages. The Elephant Fruit power-up is the most documented part of Wonder in general, letting players become powerful pachyderms as they slam enemies away with a powerful trunk, which can also store and shoot out water. That said, its own uses feel a bit less revolutionary when compared to, say, the Cat Bell from 3D World. Other new power-ups include the Bubble Flower and Drill Mushroom, with the former letting you  bubble up enemies and jump off of them for a boost, while the latter lets you burrow past obstacles and occasionally unearth secrets. Alongside the Super Mushroom and Fire Flower, Wonder uses the power ups smartly, especially with certain timed challenges that task you with taking out enemies as quickly as you can with your arsenal of abilities.

When it comes to character-specific abilities however, some might be a bit disappointed to see the cast is largely homogenous. While it’s great to play as the likes of Daisy and Peach, alongside the Mario Brothers and Toads, everyone is the same (barring the Yoshis and Nabbit, who function as “easy mode,” basically)…so that’s where the Badge system comes in. Players obtain Badges throughout the game, which come with a wide range of effects. From replicating those character-specific abilities (the very first one you get is essentially Peach’s floating from past games), to passive effects like drawing in coins or hinting at secrets, there’s even some Expert Badges that make the game harder on you. You can try out the Jet Run badge to speed through levels but there’s no way to stop running. Or try out the Invisibility Badge to sneak past enemies…just good luck platforming when you can’t see yourself either! Badges are probably my favorite addition to the game, allowing for a degree of customization with exploration and difficulty that really ups the replayability and even accessibility of the game, though I do wish there was a bit more freedom with the system. Only being allowed one Badge, even in multiplayer, is a bit of a shame, but if anything this is a great new system that I’d love to see become a mainstay to the series.

PLAYING “TOGETHER”

Speaking of multiplayer, that’s one facet of Wonder that’s drawn some ire from some circles. Compared to the past few multiplayer Mario platformers, Wonder doesn’t employ collision between players, and also limits the ways players can interact with each other. So this means no more running into people, or picking them up and “accidentally” throwing them to their deaths. This also allows the level design to no longer have to space things out for up to four players, keeping things from feeling too cramped OR too spaced out. It seems perfect and we should all be rejoicing…but for the griefers out there that love to mess with other players this is a dark day and they probably cancelled all of their pre-orders. Now, there is something to be said about being able to physically interact with players and create some spur-of-the-moment plans to grab a collectible or make it through a tough section. If someone plays as Yoshi you have the ability to ride on their backs at least, but otherwise it feels more like you’re playing alongside someone rather than truly together. But perhaps as a result of this, the online experience might be some of the best the Mario games have ever seen.

When connecting online, players will encounter “ghosts” or “shadows” of other players that can be seen but, similar to local play, can’t be interacted with normally. Players can see each other and use little emotes to communicate, but you’re all largely playing your own instance of the level. As a result though, there’s no real input delay or lag to worry about (except when players are loaded into a level you’ve already started) and you can go about your business without worrying about someone messing with you. That said, you can’t, say, ride on another Yoshi player online like you can in local play, but you do gain the ability help out other players. Players can share spare power-ups with other players even online, as well as revive players if they die if you can touch their ghost before a short timer goes down, in a manner somewhat similar to co-op in Cuphead. On top of that, online is where Standees showcase their use. Players can crouch down and press “X” to throw out a standee of their character on the spot, which can serve to either highlight a hidden block or area players can reach, but also serve as a way to revive other ghosts. Throwing down a Standee right before a tough spot can end up really helping other players out, even if it doesn’t do much for you. Players can gain “heart points” by helping other players out and finishing levels with them, which do nothing but give you a warm fuzzy feeling inside. While most online interactions are with random players that can come and go as they please, it IS also possible to make dedicated rooms with friends and engage in races through certain stages too. While the online and even co-op multiplayer might not quite be what every player wanted, I do feel that Wonder found a way to truly innovate after the last several Mario multiplayer experiences were often characterized as being chaotic and frustrating. It feels nice playing through levels and serving as a guide to less experienced players, and being able to race about with friends can be fun in its own way.

THE DIFFICULTY OF CREATING A CHALLENGE

Now, one major aspect of Wonder I was worried about pre-release was the overall challenge the game would pose. Seeing how strong the new power-ups and Badges were, combined with the ways that other players can help in multiplayer, I was worried this wouldn’t be very engaging and you could kind of sleepwalk through it. As subjective as difficulty can be for people, I do think that Wonder largely managed to keep me engaged and offered some real challenges, while also enabling players to really shape the game to their own skill levels. Mario is always going to be a series that appeals to as many people as possible. It doesn’t carry the kind of reputation that, say, the Donkey Kong Country series had regarding difficulty, but Wonder does give players a TON of options to make the game ease up on you and a lot of the difficulty can come from just NOT engaging with these options. Just avoid using Badges, the power-ups or the Yoshis and Nabbit for a more challenging run through the game. That being said, the game does pepper each world with far more challenging levels off the beaten path. Most of the world map actually allows you to tackle levels in any order you want, and levels have individual difficulty ratings so you know which ones to avoid if you want to have a chill time, or indeed which ones to seek out for a real challenge. The game’s final challenge was also suitably hard, so on the whole I was satisfied with my time with the game….with really only one exception.

The vast majority of Wonder is designed around surprising players, constantly doing something unexpected and weird….which makes it all the more disappointing to see them drop the ball with boss battles. Now, this is a platformer and I don’t really ever go into a platformer thinking about the boss fights. If they’re fun, then that’s good enough for me, but they’re often not at the top of the list and I care way more about the levels leading up to them. In Wonder’s case though, not only are the bosses very simple and easy, they’re also infrequent and very same-y. In that regard, it’s the one thing that I think the New series handled better. You fight Bowser Jr. in most of the worlds, with the same overall idea of him attempting to run you over in his shell, with the only difference being a Wonder effect that changes up the arena a bit. But after about three or four jumps on his head the fight is over and they all fail to leave an impact. Not helping matters is that a few worlds just don’t even HAVE boss fights at all, not even minibosses like Boom Boom show up here. While the final boss at least was unique and fun, it still felt like it ended somewhat too soon and I was left underwhelmed by the finale before the post-game challenges. Again, most Mario bosses aren’t much to write home about but with every other aspect of Wonder really going out of its way to impress me, the bosses just stuck out like a sore thumb. Maybe if they had gone for a more setpiece driven platforming challenge for the final level, similar to the finales for 3D Land and 3D World, that would have been better, but at the end of the day I wish the game had just pushed the envelope just a bit further.

That being said, I applaud how accessible the game is overall, and for younger or more inexperienced players they’ll likely have enough to grapple with and be plenty engaged. Multiplayer can be both helpful but also make things a bit more tricky depending on the level, and having some easy-mode characters on top of certain badges SHOULD give everyone a chance at beating this game if they so desire. I do feel that the path to true 100% completion is a bit more fulfilling. Each level has at least two Wonder Seeds to get, one for beating it normally and one for completing the Wonder Flower segment. Some levels have secret exists that bestow another Wonder Seed though, and I had to really keep my eyes peel for hints to find those. Wonder Seeds are the only plot-critical collectible but the game also keeps track of whether or not you got three large purple coins in each level, on top of reaching the top of every flag pole at least once, so I had my hands full getting full completion and felt satisfied enough at the end, so I think they did well enough. Maybe in the future they could use the Badge system to let players tweak the difficulty a bit more minutely. Maybe give us some Badges that make enemies tougher or impose a time limit on stages (something this game notably removed compared to past games), just for some extra spice. Difficulty is always going to be tricky to balance, but for the most part Wonder excelled enough there.

A WONDERFUL START TO A NEW ERA

2023 really does feel like we’re entering into a new era for not just Mario, but Nintendo as well. A new console is all but confirmed to exist within the next year or so, and after the Mario Movie’s smashing success, on top of the debut of the Super Nintendo World theme parks, Nintendo is likely ready to make even bigger moves with their IPs, and that includes Mario. Wonder, at least according to the developers, isn’t necessarily the blueprint for every Mario title to come, but it does at the very least paint a picture that this franchise isn’t anywhere close to running out of steam. Mario’s “dark ages” are still far better than the heights of many other franchises but all the same it’s nice to see the light at the end of the tunnel here. With remakes of beloved RPGs, and games like Wonder and Odyssey taking chances and being real returns to form for both 2D and 3D platformers, the future of the series hasn’t looked this good in a while, and I’m excited to see where it goes next. I don’t know if I could say that Wonder is the best 2D Mario game, but it’s easily the best in a long while and will likely be considered a bit of a swan song for the Switch era. Endlessly creative and boasting some surprisingly novel online elements on top of playing like a dream, Super Mario Bros. Wonder is one of the easiest recommendations I’ve had in a while and even with releasing so late into an utterly packed year of amazing games, it stands on its own as far as being in the Game of the Year conversation.

Until next time,

-B

[keefwho]

July 24 - 2023 Monday

10:43 PM

Today I felt very bleh, like my head was empty. Might be due to the missed sleep the past couple days so I’ll be sure to get to bed on time tonight for real. 

For breakfast I had half a totino’s pizza, a pear cup, and a couple oreos. I spent my brief free time playing Neopets games. 

The stream went okay. My warmup kinda sucked because I’m trying to figure out a way to do sketches on my sketch sheet then finish those on a new canvas while still retaining the feeling that everything is real loose. For a little bit I was just finishing them as low res thumbnails on the sketch sheet itself but the point of the sheet is to be a collection of incomplete and experimental things. Having completed drawing in it does not sit right with me but taking a sketch and moving it to a new canvas makes it feel more important than it is. The point is to make a little doodle that turned out good enough to post, not a pre-planned successful kind of drawing. Im sure I’ll figure something out. I feel there is a lot I need to improve on with my process and how exactly I color including the actual brush settings. There will be lots of experimenting in my future. Also on stream we finally got to watch more episodes of Rugrats because we watched the movie that ties seasons together this weekend in Discord. We also watching Courage and I’m thinking we will watch 1 episode of each show a day. I only did half commission time today and spent a little more time finishing an emote commission I had. 

After stream I did my workout in it’s entirety despite how physically tired I felt. I really had to push through this one but that’s kind of the point isn’t it. I meant to clean up first but I forgot so I cleaned up after my shower. In the shower I was about to ask my friend straight up if I had permission to think about them while I took care of myself but I decided to do it to something else intentionally. I’ve briefly brought this up to them before. I think it’s given that sometimes we jerk off to each other without the other knowing. However I know how she feels about being sexualized and sometimes I can’t help but wonder if she would actually appreciate me thinking about her like that on my own time sometimes. It bothers me enough that I do think it would good to ask permission beforehand or have a brief discussion about it. This might be weird of me but I’m just listening to how I feel. I respect her tremendously and want to exercise expressing that. 

For lunch I was excited to make a hearty helping of Rice a Roni with lentils, meatballs, broccoli, green beans, and onions. It turned out okay as usual but I was hoping it came out better. It was still a solid meal. I invested more time into Neopets while it cooked. I’m enjoying some of the minigames. 

I feel I did a poor job on today’s request. The whole time I was thinking about how I want to make something I can be proud of but it just wasn’t coming together. It came out okayish but I wanted to do better. Next I spent an hour working on a TOTK pic of my otter and my friend’s sona. I mostly tidied up the sketch and then completely lined it, taking extra care to do a good job so thats why it took so long. After that work was officially over but I wanted to do more so I briefly setup the new horse avatar I got so I can start turning it into my most recent horse sona. 

I spent time in my friend’s server where there was a lot of negative talk about one of my other friends about his overly sexual behavior. I felt sort of bad because it was more or less shit talking them behind their back and I was just going along with it. Usually if I talk about him with others, its coming from a place of at least mild affection. Some of this was just mean though. 

Tonight I watched my friend give me a sort of rundown of the Neopets website and some of it’s history, I liked listening to her about it. I love hearing her be passionate about anything. After that we hopped on Pony Town for a tiny bit and looked at characters people made before checking out my little house and giving each other horse kisses. I started dinner while she headed up to bed and we chatted a bit. 

Today I wasn’t proud of much. Just the usual amount of proud for doing things to the best of my ability. I did well on my workout especially, and doing that little bit of extra avatar work. 

For some reason my self perspective was very lacking today. I kinda just wasn’t there, at least not in a great capacity. Looking back there were moments that would have benefitted me being more involved in the present. Spending time with anyone is a good example because it only becomes truly meaningful if I am offering my full attention and appreciation. Tomorrow will be another day to exercise my awareness and put it to good use. 

[dravocn]

Closed RP with @Hana-akari

It's an average morning in Konoha. The academy exams are within the next couple of days and Naruto is off being his usual rambunctious child trying to get attention. Just recently he'd painted the faces of the Hokage mountain. Nothing out of the ordinary technically, given that it seemed every other day the boy was doing something to get yelled at by authoritative figures. The way that people just ignored his relation to the fourth Hokage felt a bit off like they were somehow mind-wiped or something. Sure, they remember the fact that he has the nine tails in him, but so did his mother before him... actually, scratch that, the boy's entire bloodline held importance. The fact that they treat him with disgust over something he didn't even choose and was therefore forced into as an infant is all sorts of screwed up. So yeah, defacing a public monument as an insult to his abusers seemed a little lenient... at least that's how Tomohiro saw it. Tomohiro was probably the only person who didn't think of Naruto as a problem for anything other than his repeated actions, and even then he was understanding of them. While Naruto and the other students at the academy were busy being... well... children. Given that they are children training to be powerful members of a society run by chakra, you'd think they'd put a bit more effort into their training than goofing off. Again, that was Tomohiro's thinking. Tomohiro was more of the bookish sort, if not outright experimental. At his age, he had already been practicing the use of his chakras beyond the basic substitution, transformation, and cloning, as he had used the library for further information regarding its applications. He made theories, tested, failed, and tried another route until he could find a successful use. A ninja cannot be a feeble creature either, so he had made sure to train his body as well, alongside Rock Lee, despite the boy's obsession with Sakura, he had a good heart and was passionate if nothing else, despite his condition. Tomohiro wasn't much of a talker, most of the time he was rather serious. Less broody and reclusive and more focused and structured, less loud and obnoxious, and more reserved and composed. He didn't outwardly disrespect the others, but he didn't just roll over either. If anything he was probably the least interesting person simply because he was the least cartoonish. He had no obsession, no revenge plot, no conspiracy. He wasn't one hundred percent normal by any means, but he was certainly keeping his head down pretty well. His inclination to study and train outside of class had him going through school with top marks, but that also took away from his social interactivity. He wore nice clothes, he was what most parents would call handsome to their children, and he made sure to wear dark blue clothes. He's read a lot of books in his youthful years already and has made sure to put all that he's learned to practice. Still, he sits calmly and plans out his future training detail by detail as Iruka tries to teach the class about something he was already well versed in. Right up until Naruto had managed to tell them that they all had to show him a transformation jutsu because of his insubordination... Tomohiro sighs and stands beside Sakura calmly and quietly. His footsteps were rather quiet given his practice with stealth and made even quieter given the soft cloth on the base of his tabi. He said nothing and did nothing for now, casual and relaxed as he watched the others.

[robininthelabyrinth]

For a prompt, what if Wen Xu arrives to burn down the Cloud Recesses while everyone is studying there

Home Alone - ao3

“All right,” Wei Wuxian said, when Lan Qiren announced that the Cloud Recesses would be imminently under attack by Wen Xu and the Wen sect armies, the calm in his monotone voice belied by the wrinkle of concern in his forehead. “We’re going to make that bastard wish he’d never been born, right?”

He was speaking lightly, as he always did, trying to make those around him feel more comfortable, braver, less afraid – his was the language of confidence and arrogance, of never backing down, and he didn’t know how else to speak.

He didn’t mean anything in particular by it, or at least not more than he usually did.

He wasn’t expecting Lan Qiren to look at him and say, “If you have any ideas, now is the time to contribute them.”

-

“So what exactly do you do again?” Wei Wuxian asked, following the older Lan sect disciple around – at least, the man was dressed like a Lan sect disciple, and with a forehead ribbon suggesting that he shared blood with the main clan, too, but Wei Wuxian wasn’t so sure he really was one.

“I blow stuff up, usually,” Lan Yueheng said cheerfully.

That was why Wei Wuxian had doubts.

The man was practically skipping. There was no way he was a Lan.

“Shishu is an alchemist,” Lan Wangji said. His hands were folded behind his back, as always, and he looked tense as might be expected, what with an imminent attack on his home by a colossal army intent on ravaging and destroying everything in its path – but the way he looked at Lan Yueheng was unaccountably fond, as if he were someone he was close to. Wei Wuxian hadn’t known there was anyone other than Lan Qiren or Lan Xichen that Lan Wangji was close to. He was oddly jealous. “Not always successfully.”

“Hey, at blowing things up, I am the most successful!” Lan Yueheng grinned. A moment later, though, the grin faded, and he looked anxious. “Wangji, are you sure you won’t go with your brother?”

“Brother will protect the sect books,” Lan Wangji said solemnly. “I will stay here to defend the sect and the guest disciples.”

Wei Wuxian appreciated that, being one of said guest disciples.

Anyway, it made sense. Lan Qiren had seriously considered trying to send them away with Lan Xichen, saying that their lives were more important than some extra books – other Lan elders hadn’t necessarily agreed, judging by their expressions – but regretfully concluded that adding more people to Lan Xichen’s escape route would do nothing but reveal its existence, dooming all of them.

So they’d split up: Lan Xichen, heading out virtually alone with the most precious Lan sect books, and all the rest of them here to try to resist as much as they could – even Lan Wangji.

Lan Yueheng didn’t try to argue with Lan Wangji, only sighed, sounding as though he’d expected nothing less from him and had only felt the need to make a token protest before accepting it as inevitable. It seemed he really was close to Lan Wangji.

Yeah, Wei Wuxian was definitely jealous.

“All right, then,” Lan Yueheng said, shaking his head and resuming his cheer. “Blowing things up in self-defense plan it is! You’re both talented in music, right?”

“What does music have to do with explosions?” Wei Wuxian asked.

-

The answer, apparently, was a lot – at least when you were an experimental alchemist in a musically inclined sect and you’d developed a way to trigger explosions via certain combinations of musical notes.

-

“So, did you know that Teacher Lan was scary?” Wei Wuxian asked Jiang Cheng, who’d finally returned from helping get all the elderly and children and civilians to evacuate – and refusing to join them, of course, even though he was entitled to go in order to preserve his life, being the heir of a sect and all that, completely typical Jiang Cheng – and was now pacing around, eager for a fight.

“Just because he punished you a few times doesn’t make him scary,” Jiang Cheng said.

“No, it doesn’t,” Wei Wuxian agreed. “You know what does make him scary? Playing music that makes his opponents try to cut their own necks.”

“…what?”

“Apparently he gets really upset when you mess with his students,” Wei Wuxian said wisely.

Unlike Jiang Cheng, he’d had time to adjust to the concept of Lan Qiren being terrifying: they were on the fifth wave of scouts, and this set wasn’t doing any better than the first four, not even when they’d realized it would be better if they stopped their ears with wax before approaching.

That’d only made Lan Qiren shift tactics – and songs.

Some of which had an even wider area of impact.

“Wei Wuxian,” Jiang Cheng said, looking at him suspiciously. “What did you do?”

“I convinced Teacher Lan that guerrilla warfare that destroyed as much of the enemy as possible would be more effective than just trying to defend the sect’s territory, since that was clearly a lost cause,” Wei Wuxian said promptly. “He agreed, but said that he could only do so much since he wasn’t a very good sword fighter. And then I asked him if he knew anything else that could be used as an attack and he said ‘no’ and then he said ‘well, I suppose’ and then he listed off a few things that – according to him – aren’t meant to be used in warfare but, and this is a direct quote, ‘could be put to a destructive use if one so wished it’.”

“And we now ‘so wish it’?”

“Yup. Oh, and watch out for anything that has a Lan sect cloud with a three-looped circle carved into the side of it, and I do mean anything– those explode.”

“Of course they do.”

“Hey! For once it has nothing to do with me!”

-

“I thought you said he said he was bad at swordfighting,” Jiang Cheng said suspiciously.

Wei Wuxian held out his hands helplessly in a ‘don’t look at me’ gesture, trying to defend himself from a sharp and pointy elbow to the side while also not pulling his eyes away from the ongoing battlefield for even a single moment.

“Shufu considers himself to be of average skill at the sword,” Lan Wangji said in the peaceable tone of someone who had been taught the basics of swordfighting by the person in question. The basics of really awesome swordfighting. “His real strength is in music, as you’ve seen.”

“I get that, really, I do, his music is terrifying,” Wei Wuxian said, and meant it completely. Between the two, he’d rather go up against Lan Qiren with a sword, where he’d at least be able to make a decent showing of himself before getting chopped to bits by the man’s fluid and almost seemingly delicate style that was nevertheless highly effective at skewering Wen sect disciples left and right; it would be better than with music, where he might as well just cut his own throat or strangle himself with guqin strings now to save Lan Qiren’s fingers the trouble. “But Jiang Cheng’s still right, okay – why in the world does he consider that to be ‘average’? Who is he comparing himself to?”

Lan Wangji considered the question for a long moment, then finally said: “A statistical outlier.”

-

“I wish we had aerial attacks we could use against the Wen sect’s swords,” Wei Wuxian said wistfully, and next to him Jiang Cheng nodded with a sight of longing – it was so frustrating seeing more and more Wen sect soldiers arriving in groups, like flocks of birds that started to fill the skies because they couldn’t be so easily shot down. “But if we try anything, they’ll just shield against us.”

“Teacher Lan said we can’t use spiritual energy against them, since we’d lose,” Jiang Cheng said, and as much as they all regretted it, Lan Qiren was probably right: they might be better trained than the Wen sect soldiers, might be better cultivators and stronger in spiritual energy individually, but they were young and immature, and at a serious numerical disadvantage.

It would be far too easy for the flying cultivators to stop their flying just long enough to set up a defensive array, block whatever spiritual attack they sent out, and then keep going to find and stab them before they’d even recovered from the energy expenditure.

“I didn’t mean spiritual energy,” Wei Wuxian grumbled. “I just meant, you know, like the explosives we’ve laid in all over the ground – something like that. If we could attach those to something…”

“I don’t think we have anything that flies anyway,” Lan Yueheng said regretfully.

“You have lanterns, don’t you?” Nie Huaisang said, and everyone turned to look at him. “Fill them with something that explodes when disturbed and send them floating into the air. Better yet, write ‘peace’ on the side of them to make it look like you’re making some sort of meaningful gesture designed to shame them. The Wen sect won’t be able to resist kicking them aside as an insult, and that’ll trigger them.”

They all stared at him.

He shrugged.

“We have a lot of defenses set up against invasion, at home,” he said. “And not always the budget to pay for anything fancy, so we’ve come up with some slightly more unorthodox ideas, too.”

“It’s a really good idea,” Wei Wuxian said, suddenly focused on the hitherto ignored Nie Huaisang. Clearly he’d made a tactical error, thinking of himself as the only person who knew how to get up to tricks. “Do you have any other ideas like that?”

Nie Huaisang smiled.

-

“Teacher Lan, I have an idea,” Wei Wuxian said, inserting himself briefly into the clearing near the Lan sect gate where Lan Qiren was sitting to rest in preparation for the Wen sect’s next attack. “But you’re going to hate it.”

“You may proceed,” Lan Qiren said, not looking up.

“Wait,” Wei Wuxian said, blinking. “Really? You’re not even going to ask what it is? Or why you’d hate it so much?”

“There is no time for that,” Lan Qiren said, and finally spared him a glance. He looked tired. “Things will get worse very soon.”

“But we’re winning!”

“No,” Lan Qiren said, shaking out his fingers – even despite occasionally alternating to using the sword when necessary, he’d played his guqin to the point of drawing blood and breaking nails, and was continuing despite everyone pleading with him to stop and swap out for someone else for a while. He’d said that there was no one else on his level, and he was probably right, but still, surely, just for a little… “We are surviving. Do not mistake the two.”

-

“Okay, so,” Wei Wuxian said, rubbing his hands together. “Resentful energy –”

“No,” Lan Wangji said.

-

“Thanks,” Wei Wuxian said to Jin Zixuan, who’d probably just saved his life by stabbing a Wen sect cultivator in the back right before the man had been able to stop Wei Wuxian from activating another series of explosions. “I guess I owe you one?”

“Don’t mention it,” Jin Zixuan said. “How else can I help?”

“I don’t know,” Wei Wuxian said, scratching his head and thinking about Nie Huaisang as precedent. There wasn’t time for schoolyard rivalries right now. “Do you have anything really unexpected that could be used to hurt people? Be creative – they’re guarded against all the usual defenses, so the weirder the better, anything goes. I won’t judge.”

Jin Zixuan thought about it. “I’m pretty sure I have a drug that puts people to sleep?”

“…why do you have something like that?”

Jin Zixuna grimaced. “My father gave it to me along with another one that he said not to use in excess, though I don’t actually know what that one does because that was about when my mom ran in and started throwing things at him. I can’t throw it away because it was a gift from my father, but I put it as deep into my bags as I could so that I’d never have to see or touch it. Ever.”

Wei Wuxian’s nose wrinkled. He’d never before felt pity for Jin Zixuan, but having to put up with Jin Guangshan on a regular basis was pretty bad – much less owing him filial piety.

No wonder Jin Zixuan was so twitchy all the time.

“Okay, so one sleep drug and one…uh…”

“Enhancement. Presumably. Can we throw it at the other side? Maybe turn it into incense and make smoke-bombs or something?”

“You know what,” Wei Wuxian said. “Why not? If nothing else, it’d be distracting, right?”

-

“This doesn’t feel honorable,” Jiang Cheng said, watching the fun. They’d raided the Lan sect’s medicine cabinets and kitchens for other noxious and irritating substances that might make for good smoke-bombs – Jiang Cheng himself had even located a whole patch of something not unlike poison ivy that had been quickly repurposed for the cause. “Strictly speaking.”

“Honor’s overrated,” Wei Wuxian said. “Making the Wen bastards pay for attacking Lan Zhan’s home is what’s important.”

Lan Wangji didn’t smile, exactly, but Wei Wuxian took his expression as a win regardless.

-

It turned out that music could also make plants grow really fast.

According to Lan Qiren, the spell ruined the plants’ nutritional value and made them basically useless.

Well.

Useless if your goal was eating them, anyway.

(First they could grow under their enemies’ feet and attack them, roots and vines twining around them to strangle them, and then they could be used up in the smoke-bombs – two for the price of one!)

-

“Are you sure about not doing the whole resentful energy thing?”

“Wei Wuxian,” Jiang Cheng said. “No.”

-

“Hey, Wei-xiong, do you have or can you create any more papermen?” Jin Zixuan asked.

“Yes, sure, plenty,” Wei Wuxian said. He’d like to say that he’d known he’d one day need such a skill, and that that was why he’d learned the trick so thoroughly, but that was a complete lie. “Why?”

“Nie-xiong, Jiang-xiong and I are going to use them to make a shadow-play to lure a bunch of Wen sect cultivators into another plant-and-explosives trap.”

“…that’s amazing, Jin-xiong,” Wei Wuxian said, marveling. “How do you even think of that?”

“Even I get into trouble sometimes,” Jin Zixuan said, and was startled into an unexpected smile when Jiang Cheng punched his shoulder approvingly.

-

Wei Wuxian was actually having a pretty good time with it all right up until the main force of the Wen sect decided to ignore all their traps and charge straight towards the classroom they’d fallen back to using as a headquarters, and then suddenly he wasn’t having a good time at all.

“Run,” Lan Qiren said, and put down his guqin, drawing his sword once more.

“But we can fight!” Jiang Cheng argued.

“Run.”

“Shufu –”

“Run.”

They ran.

-

“If you don’t come out, I’m going to make him pay,” Wen Xu called.

His fingers were knotted in Lan Qiren’s hair, pulling their teacher’s head back to show how his face was covered in blood, how it was seeping out through his mouth and nose, how one of his eyes was badly bruised and swollen from having been beaten down by sheer force of numbers.

Lan Qiren had made them pay dearly for their efforts to bring him down –

But there were just so many of them.

“How dare he,” Jiang Cheng hissed. “He was once one of Teacher Lan’s students, too!”

Wei Wuxian was holding Lan Wangji back, but only barely; his fingers were starting to go numb from the sheer effort of it. If Jin Zixuan and Jiang Cheng weren’t there to help him hold him down, Lan Wangji would have already given away their position, rushing out to make some futile gesture in his overwhelming rage. Wei Wuxian was focusing with all his being on how much he had to stop Lan Wangji from doing something like that, because if he wasn’t, if he let himself think about anything else for even a single moment, he’d have also run out there, sword drawn, without so much as a care – he hadn’t realized he’d be so angry over it, so furious, so betrayed and horrified by Wen Xu’s cruelty.

Prior to today, he wouldn’t have said he even liked Lan Qiren!

“My students are not so foolish as to fall for so obvious a scheme as that,” Lan Qiren said, his tone as monotonous as it ever was during his lectures – for the briefest moment, Wei Wuxian felt that he was dreaming, that he had merely dreamt everything that had happened: surely it was still yesterday, with Lan Qiren standing tall, safe and healthy, at the front of the classroom, lecturing about one of the Lan sect rules…which one had it been? Shoulder the weight of morality? Have a strong will and anything can be achieved? Be mighty, and others will die for you?

Do not break faith?

Somehow, despite everything that had happened, Lan Qiren’s eyes curved ever so slightly.

“Present company excluded, of course.”

Wen Xu threw him down to the ground, mouth twisting and teeth gnashing with offended anger.

“Beat him,” he ordered his men. “Make it hurt. I want him screaming – let’s see how his precious students like that. Or maybe it’s just that they don’t care?”

-

“Wei Ying,” Lan Wangji said, eyes red with unshed tears and barely swallowed rage. “Tell me your idea about resentful energy.”

-

“Perhaps,” Lan Qiren said, then paused briefly to cough up some blood. His voice, when he resumed speaking, was hoarse. “Perhaps I should have reviewed your idea more closely when you first proposed it.”

“Possibly,” Wei Wuxian said, offering up some cloth to help wipe away the blood. Lan Wangji was busy bandaging his uncle’s injuries up, while Jiang Cheng, Jin Zixuan, and Nie Huaisang hovered by the door, only barely pretending to be keeping a lookout the way they were supposed to. “In my defense, I didn’t quite expect…that.”

Everyone politely did not ask him to elaborate.

The effects had been…well, it turned out using resentful energy the way Wei Wuxian had thought was possible, to say the least, and also that they’d taken down an awful lot of Wen sect soldiers in their defensive efforts.

“You will all have been affected by the resentful energy you used to summon the corpses,” Lan Qiren said. “Although the method you devised appears to avoid the most immediate consequences, which – let me remind you – include qi deviation and death in some instances, there is always the possibility that it has left traces of resentful energy within your meridians. If it is allowed to build up, it will escalate into a backlash that would rip your body and soul to pieces. There are spells and songs that can help clear your spirits and ease the effects.”

“Nie Huaisang has been playing some of them for us, since he can’t fight,” Lan Wangji said. “Nie sect ones – they’re…uh, not especially calming, more of a cleanse-by-force thing, but they seem to be working.”

Jiang Cheng nodded. “We’ll listen to any others that you’d like, Teacher Lan,” he said, anxious, and the rest of them nodded. “Just say which ones. If there’s any array or anything – or if you want us to write an essay about why using resentful energy is dangerous and wrong –”

Even Wei Wuxian nodded at that – even Nie Huaisang nodded, and he hated essays more than anything.

Lan Qiren huffed lightly. “Now you’re all so obedient.”

They all bowed their heads.

“…you did a good job,” Lan Qiren finally said, and they all looked up to stare at him. “You rescued me and repelled the Wen sect, however temporarily. Even though you used demonic cultivation, which is forbidden, you did not purposefully disturb graves, and you can make recompense to the spirits later. It was well done, and I thank you for it.”

He noticed that they were gaping and frowned at them.

“What have I taught you?” he scolded, and he sounded enough like he normally did that Wei Wuxian had the sudden urge to burst into totally inexplicable tears. “The preservation of human life is the priority, always. Why is this a surprise?”

“Shufu is right,” Lan Wangji said, and there was something of peace and calm in his eyes, the foundation of his world steady and unfaltering – he was almost glowing with it, satisfied and happy, and he was so utterly beautiful in Wei Wuxian’s eyes that it was almost blinding. “We acknowledge Teacher’s words.”

“We acknowledge Teacher’s words,” everyone else quickly agreed.

Lan Qiren shook his head, nodding in appreciation. “What is your next step now?” he asked. “The Wen sect was only repulsed, not defeated. They will not be gone long – they are already regrouping outside our gate, and this time they will be prepared for the effects of your demonic cultivation. In the end, they still have the advantage of numbers.”

“I don’t think we got as far as that in our plan,” Wei Wuxian said, rubbing the back of his head.

His thinking had mostly stopped at get Teacher Lan back and make them pay. He was pretty sure the same was true for Lan Wangji, and probably all the rest of the, too.

“Maybe you didn’t,” Nie Huaisang said with a sniff, and damnit, Wei Wuxian really needed to stop underestimating him just because he was a bad cultivator and a bit empty-headed. “I, on the other hand, sent a message back to my da-ge way back when this first started, and he should be here very soon with an army of his own.”

-

There were those in the Jiang sect that liked to mock the Nie sect as being unduly paranoid, always preparing for war and speaking grimly of its inevitability, always training their disciples and soldiers as if each one of them would need to fight five or ten of the enemy at once.

If Wei Wuxian ever met any of those people ever again, he was going to punch them in the face.

“Just be sure to get your sect ready when you get back,” Nie Mingjue advised them all grimly when it was all done and Wen Xu’s head was stuck on a pike at the entrance to the Cloud Recesses as a warning. The Nie sect’s forces were smaller than the Wen sect’s invasion force, but their people were better trained; even after flying all the way from Qinghe, they’d come down on the remaining invasion force like a hammer. “This isn’t over, not by a long shot.”

“We understand. There is still war to come.”

“Not just war, but uneven and unbalanced war, and not in our favor,” Nie Mingjue said heavily. “Understand that even with this loss, the forces of all the cultivation world put together can’t match up to the armies under Wen Ruohan’s command.”

“Actually,” Lan Qiren said, and gave all of his students a pointed look, probably on account of the fact that they all still owed him the essay they'd promised to write, “I think you’ll find that there’s something more that we can add…”

[happyandticklish]

Tickletober Day Twenty - Voodoo Doll

Notes: For the request by @veryblushyswitch! Only, you know, nine days later than the day it was supposed to be! I’m gonna be finishing up a couple more prompts, and than I’m probably gonna call it in regards to Tickletober. I hope you enjoy this though! ^^

Summary: Harry and his friends decide that Draco will serve as a perfect test subject for their most recent homework project. 

Surprisingly, it was Hermione who first came up with the idea.

“Tickling?” Ron repeated, wrinkling his nose a bit. The three were gathered in the commons, a straw doll gripped carefully in Ron’s hands. Their class had been split into groups that day during Charms, their task a simple transference charm. The result of their hard work was a voodoo doll, am ambiguous one—not attached to any person in particular.

Yet.

Ron glanced down at it, his skepticism palpable. “Don’t you think that’s a bit… I don’t know, childish? This is supposed to be revenge, isn’t it?”

Hermione sighed, setting down her quill. There was already a list of ideas on the paper in front of her, propped up on a book held between her legs. “Well, we’re not exactly going to hurt him, are we? That would be cruel. And I know Draco’s done some unpleasant things in the past, but physical violence feels a little too far.”

“Yeah, but… tickling?”

Hermione opened her mouth to shoot back another retort, but at that moment Harry piped up, “I think it’s a good idea. Hermione’s right, we really can’t hurt him. Honestly, I don’t think I want to. It just wouldn’t feel right. Besides, something as ‘childish’ as tickling ought to knock him down a peg or two.”

Hermione shot him a grateful look. “Exactly.”

Ron still looked unconvinced, but at last he sighed, shrugging his shoulders. “Alright. If you guys are sure about it. I suppose it would be kind of funny to watch stuck-up Malfoy giggling like a girl.”

“That’s the spirit.” Harry clapped him on the back, grinning. “He won’t know what hit him.”

It didn’t take long to run into Draco in the halls, surprisingly alone for once. His usual gaggle of followers/friends were absent, and he held a piece of parchment in his hands, scanning it intently as he walked. It was the perfect oppurtunity. Harry jerked behind a column as he passed, having been put as their designated lookout.

“You ready?” he whispered to Hermione.

She nodded, directing her wand discreetly towards Draco. She whispered a series of incantations under her breath, barely audible even to them, and flicked her wand up.

There was no visible change in Draco’s attitude, but, if the spell had been successful, his spirit should be connected to the doll’s. Carefully, Harry lifted the doll. He crooked his finger experimentally around its stomach, trying not to feel too silly about tickling an inanimate object.

From across the room, Draco yelped, his parchment fluttering onto the floor in surprise. He whirled around, trying to find the source of the disturbance, but he couldn’t see anything. It had felt like….

No, he must have imagined it. The hallway was abandoned, not even a friendly ghost trailing along the nearby staircase.

He kneeled down, but his fingers barely had time to brush the paper before something was skittering across his stomach. He choked on a giggle, catching himself on his hands as he fell backwards in shock. This time the sensation didn’t stop, and wrapped his arms around himself, trying to stop the tickling. It was tickling, that much was obvious now. If only he could figure out what it was. He whirled around, but he could see no one. 

His thoughts were derailed by nails scratching at his hips, and his elbows darted down protectively. “A-Ah! Wahahait! No, no, nohohohoho!” 

His lips screwed up into a reluctant grin, his discarded homework on the ground quickly forgotten. He must have looked ridiculous, curled up on the ground and giggling like a fool. His only mercy was that no one was there to see him like this.

Or at least, that he knew of. Behind a column, Harry stared in shock at the scene, not having expected it to work. Hermione shot Ron a smug look, as if to say I told you so. Ron hardly noticed, too engrossed with the sight of superior, never without some comment, Draco, laughing and squirming over tickling of all things.

“I can’t believe it,” Ron whispered, leaning around Harry’s shoulders to get a better look. “That twat is ticklish.”

“Everyone’s ticklish,” Hermione replied, rolling her eyes, but even she had a small smile on her face. “And be quiet or he’s going to hear you!”

While they bickered, Harry experimentally curled his nails around the backs of the doll’s knees, knowing that to be a particularly sensitive spot on himself. Evidently, this held true for the other as well, as Draco squeaked at the new spot, his laughter jumping up several octaves.

“Nohohoho, nahahahahahat thehehehehere, waHAHAHAIT!” Draco whacked the floor uselessly, twisting from side to side in an attempt to get away from his invisible attacker. The fluttery sensation under his knees was driving him mad, endlessly light and unbearable all at the same time. “W-Why tihihihihickling?!”

Suddenly, Harry had an idea. “Hermione, hand me your quill.” It was a long shot, and he had no idea if such a light instrument would even work, but it was worth a try.

Once he had it in his hand, he twisted the quill so that he brandished the feather like a weapon. He swept it curiously under the doll’s neck, brushing against where he assumed its ears would have been had it possessed any itself.

The effect was instantaneous. Draco’s laughter transformed from the hysterical cackling from before into a stream of sweet giggles, his shoulders scrunching up instinctively. It was such a soft change from the earlier tickling, and Draco couldn’t accustom himself to it. He batted at his neck, protesting vaguely, though who, or what, he was protesting to he couldn’t have said.

Despite himself, Harry found his gaze stuck on the image. The other’s normally crude smile was transfigured into something almost adorable, one of pure and helpless delight. Harry blushed, his heart speeding up a tad in his chest. He frowned at his own reaction, shaking his head a little.

Draco was an insufferable git, his nemesis in this school.

He wasn’t supposed to be cute.

So distracted was he by the sight, he didn’t realize that several minutes had gone by till Hermione tugged on his robes from behind. “That’s enough for today. I think he gets the point.”

Harry blinked, realizing all at once the frantic pitch that Draco’s giggling had taken on. Quickly, he pulled the feather away, pressing the doll into Hermione’s hands. Meanwhile, he shoved his own hands into his pockets so they didn’t get any ideas.

Hermione whispered the spell once more, tapping her wand gently against the doll’s surface. Disconnected at last, Draco slumped back against the banister, panting a bit. His face was flushed, tired chuckles escaping him every once in a while. His robes were disheveled from all the squirming, but either he didn’t notice or didn’t care enough to do anything to fix it.

He looked almost… happy. It was unexpected to say the least.

“We should probably go,” Hermione suggested, her voice low. “We don’t want to get caught, after all.”

Harry nodded, and the three quickly made their escape, edging back along the walls so as to keep out of sight, before breaking into a sprint once they turned the corner.

All the while, Harry tried his best to forget the image of Draco flushed and giggling, and specifically the way it made his heart do loopedy-loops inside his chest. After all, they were enemies.

Right?

[delimeful]

Messenger

warnings: illness, fearmongering

Part 7 of MC AU!

-

Elli carefully wrung out another washcloth, wishing that someone was close enough to ask to go refill the bucket at their feet with cold water.

It felt like half the village had filtered through the apothecary doors today, checking in on Patton after gossip spread that he’d fallen ill. Of course, now that they needed someone, the shop was conveniently vacant.

Even their teacher, the real healer, wasn’t in. They had retired to bed after a long night of trying to figure out just what was ailing Patton, with no success. The man who had founded their little town was burning up without sweating a single drop, and had gone from barely coherent to entirely nonverbal.

Elli had known that Patton had occasional bad days, or ‘flare-ups’ as he called them, but it was still jarring to see the farmer, someone who had always been a bright pillar of strength for their community, laid so low.

They chewed their lip anxiously as they set the damp washcloth back on Patton’s forehead, scanning for signs of improvement and finding none. Everyone knew it was because of his previous nature; Patton hadn’t been secretive about the village origins or about his origins. Elli themself had been cured, the only kid in the village who wasn’t born here.

Despite near two-thirds of the village being cured villagers, nobody else was feeling any odd effects. Then again, there was a stark difference between them and Patton. Patton’s curing had happened long before theirs, and had been far more experimental. Most days, it was barely noticeable, but one could see it in the way he occasionally flinched from the sun or forgot to pay attention to the approaching dusk.

Today, it was the source of an ailment that threatened to take him from them. Still, nobody had contacted the one being that could help.

The witch that lived in the swamp nearby was no secret, but nobody but Patton spoke of him. There was an uneasy alliance, the wariness only compounded by other villagers that migrated in with terrible stories of past slaughters that witches had enabled. Hardly anyone ever saw the witch, despite Patton regularly going off to visit.

Part of the alliance seemed to be that nobody bothered the witch, and apparently letting him know that what looked like his only friend was deathly sick counted as ‘bothering’. Elli had only brought it up once, and gotten a stern lecture for their troubles.

But Patton was getting worse. And the witch was the one who cured them all. Surely, he would help if he could? All they needed was a messenger.

They picked up the bucket and stood, firming their shoulders.

—

The water bucket gave them enough of an excuse to weave through the streets without being questioned, and the river was far enough away that it was no trouble to slip into the trees and circle around through the hills to the witch’s home.

It only struck them as they stood on the doorstep, trying to summon their courage, that they didn’t have an excuse planned for if this really did break the tentative peace.

“Miaow.”

Elli nearly jumped out of their skin, looking down to see a bright-eyed cat winding its way around their ankles. It definitely wasn’t one of the village mousers, with fur that was dark as night and oddly shimmery.

They had enough time to crouch and brush a hand over its fluffy head before approaching footsteps became audible.

The door swung open in front of them, and they froze mid-pet.

The person in front of them looked like… a person. Sure, he was wearing a wide-brimmed hat and dark robes, but his face was like any other, with dark eyes and surprisingly heavy eyebags.

“Glowstone—?” he asked, and stopped short as gaze fell on them.

For a moment, they both remained still, staring at each other.

“Um,” he started eloquently, shifting forwards just a bit, and Elli twitched nervously. Was he going to curse them for messing with what was clearly his cat?

Instantly, the uncertainty smoothed out into a blank calm. “How may I help you?” he asked in a monotone, moving his hands to rest behind his back deferentially.

Somehow, the change felt like a loss.

“Sorry!” they blurted out, twisting their hands together for lack of anything else to do with them. “I didn’t mean to— to disturb you or your really cute cat or anything, I swear, I just— I can’t do it myself and I thought you— um, I mean—,” they fumbled.

“Easy,” the witch said, and rather than get worked up at their ineptitude, his posture seemed to loosen. It was strange to see, after all the rumors about witches being temperamental beings that would attack for the smallest of slights.

“Take a deep breath and compose yourself,” he instructed, not unkindly. Elli sucked in a deep lungful of air, their face heating up slightly. Once they’d taken a few breaths under his patient look, they spoke again, deciding to get to the heart of the matter.

“Patton needs your help.”

Any gentleness in his gaze vanished, replaced by a hard stare that sent shivers down their spine. “He’s in danger? Pillagers?” he asked, his fingers already ghosting over the glass bottles on his belt.

“No!” they managed to wheeze out past their nerves. “No, no, it’s— he’s sick, he’s feverish and he won’t cool down and nobody can figure out what’s wrong!”

The crease in between his eyes deepened with what seemed like worry. “Take me to him,” he said, no hint of hesitation in the command.

—-

Walking through the village in the witch’s shadow was one of the most agonizing experiences of Elli’s life. They’d never seen the street clear so quickly, the sound of slamming doors echoing around them.

The witch didn’t let it deter him, storming through the streets with his head held pointedly high. Elli did not want to cut in front of him and risk tripping over their own feet, so they muttered directions from behind his shoulder, grateful for the distraction from all the stares they could feel on their skin.

He swept into the apothecary like a storm, only hesitating the barest moment at the sight of Patton laid out on a sickbed. In the next moment, he was at his side, pressing a scarred hand against Patton’s brow and grimacing.

“He’s burning up. Sun sickness.” With that curt explanation, he rifled through his vest and pulled out a smaller vial of glittering liquid. “This will help until I can brew something specialized. Will you hold his head steady?”

Elii jumped at being addressed, hurrying forward to help him carefully coax Patton into swallowing.

The effects weren’t instant, but over the next few moments, the pained lines in Patton’s face eased, and his breathing grew less harsh. A moment more and his eyes were fluttering open, locking on the witch with surprising acuity for someone barely lucid.

“Logan,” he said, smiling faintly. “Where’s kitty?”

The witch– Logan’s face softened, and he tapped the cot. A moment later, the black cat from before leapt onto the bed and immediately strolled onto Patton’s torso. Elli hadn’t even seen the cat following them.

“This could have been very bad,” Logan said, watching Patton run shaky hands over Glowstone’s pelt. “We’ll need to establish a better method of the village contacting me for emergencies. As it stands, it was only thanks to the quick thinking of–,” he cut off, looking as though he’d just realized that Elli had never introduced themself.

“Elli,” they offered, and then, impulsively, “I could be an in-between for Patton. You know, if… if you guys need it.”

Logan’s eyebrows visibly raised in surprise, but Patton only grinned, reaching out to clumsily pat them, too. “Good kid.”

“Well, um,” Logan started, entirely thrown off from his lecture. It began to strike Elli that this guy clearly hadn’t talked to anyone but Patton in a while. “If you are… comfortable with that sort of arrangement, I would certainly appreciate it.”

They found they felt a surprising lack of apprehension at the idea. For Patton’s health and even their own curing, they owed him this much. The least they could do was make sure he didn’t worry about his best friend.

“Come over for cake with me,” Patton entreated, and Logan looked down at him, exasperated.

“They can have cake for saving your life. You, however, will get none. How many times have I told you to be careful about spending time in the daylight at this time of year?”

Patton treated Logan to a killer set of puppy dog eyes as Elli processed that the monstrous witch that lived at the edge of their town apparently baked regularly.

… Clearly, this warranted further investigation.

And possibly some taste-testing.

[paellaplease]

Hi, I see you're taking requests! If it hasn't been done yet, could you do aspectabund with Revali please? I love your writing <3

2. aspectabund - letting emotion show easily through the face or eyes

pairing: revali x reader

summary:  he knows you’ve been avoiding him and he can’t seem to figure out why.

  Shaking the snow from his feathers, Revali surveyed the layered red rock of Mount Agaat with a scrutinizing gleam in his eyes. The reconnaissance flyby over the ice covered peaks had proven successful, with him safely scouting out several bokoblin camps under the cover of cloud. 

Mindful of the tripwire, he entered the makeshift campsite to find you and the Gerudo Chief conversing quietly by the fire. You appeared in deep contemplation, and out of respect (and perhaps partial curiosity) he made no move to announce his arrival. 

Urbosa crossed her arms, turning to you with a sly smile adorning her lip. “You can’t keep dancing around each other forever.” 

“I don’t know,” you shrugged, fiddling with one of your winter gloves. “It’s highly likely he won’t understand anyway.” 

“I’m sure his feelings on the matter are not as dissimilar as you think. Besides...” She leaned forward, whispering something into your ear. 

Warmth creeping up to your cheeks, your face was in your hands in an instant, body leaning forward as Urbosa let out a short laugh at your exaggerated reaction. Cute.

The mortified groan you gave in response made him chuckle, finally alerting you both to his presence. 

The Gerudo Chief angled her head and gave a brief nod in his direction, most likely having sensed his presence ages ago. In stark contrast, you quickly spun in your seat, mouth agape. 

Nearly falling from the log, Urbosa reached out to snag the hood of your coat, saving your face from smashing into the dirt ground. Revali tsked, you should really be more aware of your surroundings. 

"Revali!” Immediately, you bit down on your lip, schooling your face into something more subdued. “Welcome back." 

Tilting his head, he found it odd how difficult it was for you to maintain eye contact. Your cheeks were darker at this point, the tip of your nose slightly red. His wings itched to readjust the scarf wrapped loosely around your neck. Perhaps you were cold. That won’t do. 

"Did I miss anything?" He asked, looking pointedly at Urbosa. 

He would never admit it but the Chief maintained a steadfast poker face. “I have nothing to share.” Standing up, she moved to add more kindling to the fire. “No monster has dared approach us yet.”

Judging by the impressive blades hanging from both your hips, he wasn’t surprised. Rubbing at his shoulders, he swiped a wing over the rocky expanse before them. “Good. And thanks to me, we now have a greater chance of avoiding them on the way up.”

He didn’t miss the way your body froze when Urbosa offered for him to take her seat. Not seeing any issue and assuming it to be a response to the cold of the mountain, he acquiesced. 

The mission was completed without a hitch, the swing of your blade delivering the killing blow to the fierce lynel that guarded the peak of the mountains. Revali tried not to stare as you cleaned your blade on the snow, ignoring the errant beat of his heart as you turned to smile at him, skin still flushed from the heat of battle. 

“It comes to no surprise that you are the Gerudo Chief’s apprentice.” He nodded, unable to hide the hint of admiration in his voice.

Tugging at the sleeves of your flowing blue jacket, your eyes were wide and shining, mouth close to admitting something profound and important. Revali kept his beak shut, waiting for you to say what you needed, disappointed when all it came to be was a simple “Thanks.” 

You then proceeded not to speak to him for the rest of the week. 

It was a shame really, you were one of the few allies he could stand for more than five minutes. The Rito thought you were diligent; a fighter that could tame a tempest, and most of all a worthy opponent when it came to the odd verbal sparring match. 

Never had you shied away from a challenge, especially one posed by him. He was invested in your progress, secretly standing guard on the nights you would sneak out to train, ensuring that no person nor creature would disturb you. What's worse, a part of him honestly thought that you had begun to consider him as something close to a friend. 

And now...

“I’ll scout the area!” 

Revali sighed as he watched your retreating form once again, the remaining Champions looking at each other with equal confusion at your sudden disappearance into the forest. He didn’t know what your problem was, and honestly one more day of these mixed messages was going to drive him insane. 

Slipping past him like water, you evaded him at all costs. Taking your meals alone or with different people, changing the location of your training sessions, waking up unbearably early or extremely late. 

Then, on day eight of this madness, he found you sparring with a particular golden-haired knight that he couldn’t stand. That was the last straw. 

“Fight me,” he said to you, uncaring of the other knights on the training field that stopped to stare at him approaching. The sword in his wing, though blunted, felt foreign and heavy. Long has it been since he last held a blade like this. 

Taking off your helmet, you rubbed at your eyes to see if it was truly him. “Revali?” Funny, that was the first thing you’d said to him in days. “Where’s your bow? Ah, it seems you’ve forgotten.” You were already in the process of collecting your things. “Perhaps next time. It wouldn’t be fair if you had to fight me with a sword, after all…”

He scoffed, watching as you turned to leave. “Oh, so you plan on running away again like a scared fledgling?” 

The training sword sailed past his head, missing his cheek by only a fraction. You didn't give him a second to flinch. 

Revali side-stepped away, making a move to swing his sword at your back. Feet sliding, you blocked it with ease, sword already there to intercept his own even before it completed its arc through the air. 

Experimentally, he pushed back on the blade. Dead still, it refused to budge. He tilted his head to capture your eyes, thrilled to see the burning embers behind them, all passivity long abandoned. There you are. “Nice to see you,” he grinned wryly. 

Both of you separated quickly. Circling each other, his eyes took in the determined clench of your jaw and the steady rise and fall of your chest, waiting for when you’d launch yourself forward again. 

"Not bad," you smirked. “Another one from that bag of tricks Chief Kamori taught you?” Your confidence in the moment was rather enthralling. Once again he found himself memorizing the planes of your face, reveling in the way your emotions would flit past—clear as day. 

“Just you wait til I’m in the air with a bow in my hand." 

"That's surprising!" You grinned, teeth sharp. "Didn't think the Great Revali was so reliant on keeping to the skies.” A cloud of dirt was kicked up as you propelled yourself forward. Taking the hilt with both hands, you raised your sword to strike heavily down on his head. “But isn’t it pretty when he finally comes down to your level.” 

With a grunt, Revali barely had time to strengthen his stance, bringing his blade up to block your attack. The clashing of swords sent his talons skidding back on the dirt, the muscles in his arms straining against the weight of the blow. 

“You’re insane!” He laughed breathily. “That could have cleaved my skull in two.”

“I knew you’d block it.” 

The fight soon became the only other sound in the training field, many of the knights having left to complete their drills somewhere else. Even that quiet Hylian was no longer there, taking his leave once confident you could hold your own. 

Of course they can defend themselves. He wanted to call out in mocking arrogance. And if they ever were in trouble they wouldn’t need you anyway. Because I’m here. 

Taking a deep breath, you launched yourself at him again, delivering several attacks in a series of sweeping motions. Revali found himself having to focus intently on each one, blocking one after the other, eyes following the movement of your arm in an attempt to anticipate where the blade would next appear. 

As such, he doesn’t notice the sweeping motion of your leg, the action sending him falling backwards into the ground. 

Unlucky for you, the Rito had known the feeling of falling all his life. And before you had the chance to step away, he discarded his blade, reaching out to drag you down with him. 

The air was knocked out of him as you landed painfully on his chest. Your sword slipped from your hand, clattering to the side. Revali pushed it further away when you tried to reach for it, trapping you against him with his other wing. 

Stilling, he could feel the rush of your heartbeat against his own. From on top, you glared at him. “Let me go, fights not over.” 

“Call it an intermission, darling.” You went red at that, smushing your head into his chest so as to hide the wild blush on your cheeks. “This fight is on hold until you tell me why you’ve been avoiding me this whole week.” 

“Because you’re…”

“What was that?” He said, tucking a stray lock of hair behind your ear. 

“Because you’re you!” You finally let out. An angry scream left your throat, except because your face was still pressed to his front it came out as muffled and rather adorable. 

Revali rested his head on the ground as he exhaled, finding peace in the never ending sea of blue stretched out above you both. “Well,” he said, interrupting the little breakdown you were having. “Of course I’m me, there’s no one else really.  Unless you’ve met another Rito of the same name with razor sharp wit and devilishly good looks.” 

You huffed a laugh, finally lifting your head to look at him. This close and he could see the fan of your eyelashes and the kiss of the sun on your cheeks. It took everything in him not to reach out and trace the line of your mouth, wondering if your lips were as soft as they appeared. 

“I’ve been avoiding you because I like you, silly bird.” Blinking, you gazed at him with utter softness and sincerity. “And I apologise for running. I intended to tell you earlier— on the mountain. But self-doubt got the best of me and I didn’t want you to stop being my friend if you didn’t feel the same.”

Revali’s wings fell to his sides as you shifted, propping yourself up with both your arms. “Guess there’s nothing to worry about now that it’s out in the open.” A watery laugh escaped from your lips when he said nothing. “Come on, Revali. Say something. Or at least stand up so I can kick your ass.” 

His arms were around you once again in an instant, crushing you to him in a tight embrace. “Rito, if this is some kind of trick to knock me off my guard I swear…” He could feel your smile as you pressed your face into the crook of his neck. 

“I like you too.” He shook his head, poking you in the side and smiling when you yelped in response. “You are amazing and skillful. I enjoy every moment I spend with you. Though you overthink too much. Alas, but the curse of one so perceptive.” 

“Still don’t know if that’s an insult or a compliment.” You mouthed into his neck. His feathers raised at the feeling of your warm breath against him. “Though I’m extremely relieved that Urbosa was right.” 

Revali thought back to the mission at Mount Agaat, wondering what exactly the Gerudo Chief told you back then. “Right about what?”

“That you can’t take your eyes off me, even if you tried.” 

[moonbaby26]

Title: The Battle

Pairing: Peter Maximoff x Reader

Summary: Continuation from last chapter. Set during X-Men: Age of Apocalypse, you and the others fly to Cairo to confront Apocalypse and his soldiers in an attempt to rescue Xavier.

Warnings: Apocalypse being a leg breaking, hero strangling jerk. Characters fighting for their lives, but bookended with fluff from Peter x Reader pairing.

Chapters: Previous Chapter | Next Chapter

Taglist: @drikawinchester , @n0obmaster69 , @alexloveskili , @what-a-silver-lining , @bluesprings18 , @weakmoony-stuff , @slytherinsi-mp, @wintwrsoldiwr, @tommy-braccoli, @amourtentiaa

Peter Maximoff x Reader Masterlist

———————————

You’d at least gotten to clean up somewhat. Earlier as Hank and the new woman you’d just met, Moira, had worked on readying the jet, you’d found some bit of helpful supplies. Clean rags to wipe off the blood, and bandages that’d you’d hurriedly applied to your shallow claw wounds.

All the remnants of your restraints were gone, and your old, torn clothes you’d just tossed in favor of the thin jumpsuit and lightly armored black flight suit over the top of it. You all wore these suits, commandeered with this experimental jet now rumbling beneath you as you shot off to Cairo together.

There was silence for a good while, after some initial nervous chatter and joking from the others. It would have been too easy to fill this quiet with any of the myriad of questions still rushing through your brain, but you really had just listened and little more when they’d filled you in earlier with the gist of what they’d learned.

All that really mattered was that the Professor was being held captive by a seemingly omnipotent mutant. One that had now declared war on all and recruited his own powerful soldiers. This was a rescue mission, with likely all your lives at stake.

You leaned your head back, wondering if anyone else would really even know or care what had happened to you if you never came back from this.

The escape from Stryker’s lab had been life threatening as well of course, but it was so different when it’d just been one thing after another. Events unfolding too quickly to really develop any sense of dread, it’d been all adrenaline and luck really.

But even in a jet like this, flying all the way to Egypt was more than just a skip and a jump. It was well enough time to dwell on your own inexperience and shortcomings, to wonder if this was the last time you’d ever do anything at all.

“Hey,” Peter’s voice was quiet, just to you, as you glanced over, having been mired only in your own thoughts until that moment.

He was sitting beside you, both of you strapped in these jump seats that ran along both sides of the jet. Vaguely you realized the others had started talking once more as well then. Maybe that was why he felt more comfortable speaking to you again now.

He hadn’t addressed you directly since you’d reunited with the others. Though you wouldn’t blame him if he was just as nervous as you were deep down. But from his self deprecating jokes in front of your friends earlier, about still living at home with his mother, he would at least seem better at hiding fear if he did have any.

“Hey,” You answered back reflexively, looking at him fully again.

“So uh....” He was chewing a piece of gum, as if some part of him still had to stay in motion in order to remain comfortable. “That car, that was pretty sweet. That yours or what?”

Honestly it took you a very long, awkward pause before you could piece together any idea of what he was referring to. But being that you’d only known him since literally just earlier today, there wasn’t anything else he could possibly mean. “The yellow convertible?” You questioned anyway, not really surprised by much of anything now.

“Yeah, I mean, I take the road if there is one. I saw you guys on the way to the house,” He answered, still offering a little explanation regardless. “Looked like you knew what you were doing though.” There was a more sheepish grin emerging. “I was going to stop and say hey I guess. But then I saw the, you know, fireball coming out the house and all, had to go see what that was about. Save everybody or whatever...” He trailed off after a bit, maybe realizing that you were just letting him ramble.

It reminded you of how you’d acted with him during the whole lab fiasco. He seemed the more confident one down there, while you got easily flustered. You really wondered if having your friends here now was making the difference. As if he was more unsure of himself when there was a potential audience to hear what you might say back to him.

It was interesting, getting to put more of those pieces together, or at least starting to be able to when it came to him. For putting on the display of an extrovert, and if you could finally admit it, even him being an outright flirt, you felt more and more sure that that was only skin deep really. That was just the outer layer he protected himself with.

“It was one of the Professor’s cars,” You smiled genuinely, probably the first one since they’d told you where you were going in this jet and why. “We were on our way back from the mall.”

That warmth from you seemed to ease him back into his normal tone, maybe a slight relief in him that you didn’t find it off putting that he’d already taken notice of you before you even knew he was anywhere around.

“Oh, mallrat, huh?” He quipped, “I can picture that.”

He was teasing, but you gave it right back. “There is no way you can tell me that you don’t end up in music stores wherever you live, like a lot.” You hadn’t forgotten his band t-shirt after all. You thought you’d seen him putting away headphones at some point too. “And that leather jacket and pants you had? Come on, that didn’t come from some bargain clothes rack.”

You might have had him for just a moment there. Just a flicker of surprise in his eyes to know you really had paid him that much attention, before he retorted, “Hey, what’s the point of a fast car if it has no style, right?”

“Says the guy who most people can’t even see until he slows down.” But you were purposeful to make clear in your tone that that wasn’t an insult at all, just continuing a little more bravely afterward, “Though their loss I guess.”

There was no mistake then, he really did pause. You could feel the slightest bit of heat in your face again, but you were not about to take that back. Not when you didn’t even know what was really awaiting you all at the end of this flight.

And you were still the next one to speak, that resolve remaining. “If we make it out of this, maybe you can come with me back over there to our mall. Help me pick out some new stuff.” You tried not to make it sound funny, but on some cosmic level it still was. “Seeing as how my room and everything I owned was incinerated and all.”

“Deal.” He said immediately. Only a little afterward seeming to realize that maybe he sounded a bit too eager. He cleared his throat, shifting in his seat. “I mean, I’m pretty good at Ms. Pac Man too. They have an arcade, right?”

“Yes.” You answered, trying not to look too amused, and going along with him to help him feel more comfortable. “I can’t say I’m actually any good, but they do have a Flash Gordon pinball machine I always play. And a couple of air hockey tables. That’s my go-to.” No question with his speed that he would likely annihilate you on both. But the idea of being in a much simpler, safer place like that with him some day was a pleasant one right now.

“Oh yeah. I can show you a thing or two.” He was clearly back in his element then, looking smug once more.

“I’m sure you will.” You could only wonder if the god complex mutant and his lackeys you were now off to go challenge would have any idea that in the back of your mind you’d now be dreaming of a simple date in an arcade as extra motivation to get back home in one piece.

———————————

It wasn’t long before things had started spiraling in quick succession again. You’d all arrived in Cairo to find it essentially destroyed, save for what this fake god had already erected in monument to himself. A huge pyramid in the style of the ancient Egyptians, one he’d taken Xavier hostage inside.

It hadn’t been clear though how much of the destruction was done by this mutant, and how much had actually been at Magneto’s hands as it was with more shock that you’d found him in the middle of this as well. Now serving this apocalyptic mutant.

You knew enough about Magneto to both fear and respect him. Even though his history with the Professor went back so many years, Erik Lehnsherr as he was actually named was always more on the side of peace through violence. While Xavier preached ideals of tolerance and education for regular humans to one day accept mutant kind, Magneto thought them incapable of such, and had no qualms on preemptive strikes against non mutants as well as eye for an eye type vengeance.

But even for Magneto this seemed surprising. He would really just give Xavier up this way? As you’d gotten closer, Jean had sensed that Apocalypse (what you were now calling the new enemy in your own mind) intended to take over the Professor’s body, possessing him permanently to gain access to his mind control powers and become basically omniscient. He’d be unstoppable with everyone as his puppets then. Free will would cease to exist.

“You guys help Nightcrawler get into the pyramid!” Raven called back to all of you as the jet was landing. “Get Charles and I’ll take care of Erik.”

You’d snapped back to attention at the orders, and you saw that Peter was suddenly at her side.

He looked so focused all at once, “I can get you in there,” He told her, referring to the debris field of broken buildings and all else now churning, stuck in a huge magnetic orb with Magneto at its center. When she didn’t look sure, he continued quickly. “I came here for him, let me help you.”

Raven nodded to Peter then in agreement, knowing there was no time for more back and forth. “The rest of you, get Charles on this plane and get him out of here!”

You too knew what was at stake, there was no reason to argue, even if there still must have been concern on your face. You didn’t understand Peter’s change and sudden fixation on Magneto.

But it was only Kurt that spoke up immediately, yelling back to Raven and Peter, “We’re not leaving without you!”

Peter looked back at that, “Don’t worry.” In fact, you realized he was looking directly to you for one moment. “We’ll catch up.”

———————————

While Peter had sped Raven out of sight to try and reason with Magneto, Moira had stayed with the jet and Hank had come with you, Scott, Jean, and Kurt.

But as you all ran along the rubble, trying to make your way to the pyramid, it hadn’t been but moments until you encountered Apocalypse’s other soldiers, mutants set on stopping you all from interfering by any means necessary.

A tall, blonde man with wings made out of metal, a ninja seeming woman with a pinkish purple energy she could wield from her hand like a blade even while also carrying a katana, and a girl nearer your own age with stark white hair and seemingly the most power out of the three as she’d flown right towards you throwing lightning bolts from her hands.

You’d had no choice but to split up. Which you were sure was what they’d wanted even as you’d chosen to try and take the white haired girl’s attention. You didn’t really want to find out what would happen if one of those bolts struck you directly, but you could guess you had the best chance of anyone to maybe absorb some of it in your energy form.

You’d immediately powered up, glowing white as she’d chased you around the sky, both of you darting and flying in some kind of bizarre dog fight.

Your heart had been racing though, no amount of training at the mansion could actually prepare you for dueling with someone who actually wished to harm you. Everything to this point had just been about learning to control your powers, maybe even firing an energy blast at a dummy or paper target or two. But you’d never tried to hurt anyone. Not on purpose.

“Why are you helping him!?” You yelled out to her, swerving again as she tried to get close enough to you to land a hit. You generated an orb of light energy from one hand, letting it destabilize before you threw it towards her. It collapsed into itself, exploding to make a shockwave through the air that pushed her back again.

“He’s going to make it so we never have to hide what we are again!” She growled back in frustration, steadying herself in the air before her eyes hazed over into solid white.

You doubted that could be good, and of course it wasn’t as she raised her arms, a tornado like blast of wind then trying to knock you from the sky. You were able to shield yourself somewhat with your force fields, but the barrage of debris and wreckage that came with the winds made it too difficult to keep track of her as she did nearly land a direct lightning strike then.

“You’re wrong!” You yelled back, even as you felt numb and disoriented briefly, like the electricity surge was messing with your own energy. “He’s just using all of you! He only wants slaves, nothing more! And you’re just going to hand us all to him!”

She didn’t answer back after that, but you knew it wasn’t as if you could change anyone’s mind for them. She’d have to live with her own choices, just as you’d have to live with yours.

After a good while of this tit for tat though, you were really trying to take her out of the sky at last, knowing you needed to find and help the others as this had already been going on for far too long. You started trying to get her in the chest with white energy beam after energy beam shooting from your hands. She was fast, but you were able to at least get her in one shoulder at last as she spun with the force, losing altitude quickly with the hit.

Even as she fell, you could see her already correcting course though, trying to take aim at you again as she glared upwards.

But you didn’t get to see what happened next. A three fingered hand grasped your left arm suddenly from thin air, and then you were collapsing onto the floor of the jet you’d come here in.

“Gotcha, time to go!” Kurt spoke quickly as you looked to him in surprise, that strange burning smell hanging in the air briefly that always accompanied his teleporting. It was as instant a feeling as moving with Peter, but thankfully without the subsequent vertigo as you stood quickly, powering down, even as you were already looking around for the speedster.

With relief you did see Jean cradling the Professor’s head as they sat on the floor, Xavier unconscious but still breathing. But you did not see Peter or Raven.

Moira and Hank were already firing up the jet engines and you grabbed hold to the wall as you felt the craft quickly rising. “What about Peter and Raven?” You called out over the noise of the turbines spooling up faster and faster.

“We’ll have to trust them to figure it out, we’ve got to get Charles out of here now!” Hank answered back, leaving no room for debate.

You felt an unease building in your stomach, but it was true that if Apocalypse got Xavier, that Peter, Raven, or anyone else would then no longer matter anyway. At least for now you could hope Peter would just take Raven and run somewhere far from here. Xavier and Jean could use their psychic abilities to find them later and you could reunite.

But a hard thud above you left you all looking upward as the jet rattled.

“What the hell was that!?” Moira called out.

As soon as you saw that pinkish energy blade emerging through the jet’s hull, you had already powered up again, glowing and ready to shield the others as best you could. Apocalypse’s soldiers were proving too difficult to shake.

Yet Jean had other plans, “Everyone, grab onto Kurt!” She yelled.

You didn’t know what altitude you were already at, but you knew it wasn’t a survivable one for the jet itself if it was ditched now. Yet a fight in this close of quarters with all your powers would likely end in the same result. So her choice wasn’t as irrational as it first seemed.

You reached one hand quickly back, firmly grabbing onto Kurt’s shoulder, even as you kept your other hand raised towards where the metal winged mutant and the blade wielding woman were now trying to force their way in through the breach they’d created in the hull.

“I’ve never done it with this many people!” Kurt warned as you all held to him.

“Get us out of here!” Jean commanded, her desperation bringing out a forcefulness you hadn’t yet seen from her.

But Kurt was still straining, the sound of his opening whatever portal he used clearly heard but not bringing you anywhere as he tried several times.

The man with the metal wings jumped down into the cockpit, now just feet away as you realized what you had to do.

“Go without me!” You screamed over the rush of wind now coming through the hull breach. You let go of Kurt, making direct eye contact with Jean.

You could get out on your own. At least you were going to try. It was the only way. Kurt wasn’t able to take you all.

You felt that Jean was listening, that she heard your thoughts and that as difficult as it was, she agreed just as quickly. It was the only way.

“Do it!” She urged Kurt even through the horrified look he gave you both.

“I’m taking it down.” You also heard her voice say in your head almost simultaneously. That briefest warning to ready yourself before she willed the controls to throw the plane into a nosedive and cause Apocalypse’s soldiers to lose their footing.

The last you saw of your other friends was still their shocked and frightened expressions as they disappeared from right in front of you. But this was your only chance as well, propelling yourself as fast you could, right through the fading cloud of gas they left behind and past the now tumbling winged mutant as all your focus went to that small square of sunlight that they’d cut into the hull.

It was your one window of survival. For just the briefest moment, you felt him try to grab hold of your leg as you flew past him. But you kicked him with the other leg as hard as you could manage, breaking free into the open air as the jet plummeted on without you.

Out the corner of your eye you saw the woman had remained on the outside of the jet, but jumped free from it as well. You lost sight of her as you both fell, focusing only on trying to slow your descent to a survivable speed. It was one thing to levitate yourself up from a neutral position, and wholly another to try and control your energy field around yourself enough to reverse the terminal velocity transferred to you from being within a crashing plane.

The ground still came too fast, too hard. You blacked out on impact, laying alone in the dirt as your light energy faded, receding back inside you.

————————————

An unknown time later, something jolted you awake. You could hear screaming as you opened your eyes. You were laying on your side. Everything hurt and you could taste blood in your mouth.

But you were already forcing yourself back up as you swallowed. Disoriented as you were, you still recognized that voice. It was Peter. He was hurt.

You were looking all around you, and it didn’t take long to see the source and reason for the screams.

Not far from you at all, Apocalypse stood in a clearing from all the rubble. Peter right beside him, half crumpled to the ground. One of Peter’s feet was encased in the earth, trapping him there like an animal in a snare. His other leg was clearly broken, twisted at a grossly unnatural angle.

You felt a foreign rage beginning to burn up inside you, but before you could even physically react you saw the woman with the katana again. Nowhere in your mind did you take any time to consider how she would look so clean and uninjured having just come from the same circumstances as you of barely escaping the crashing jet.

All you saw was her walking towards her master, sword at the ready to finish Peter.

“Stop, (Y/N)!”

Charles screaming inside your head was the only thing that kept you from revealing yourself at that moment.

“It’s Raven! I’m telling you, it’s Raven!” Even Charles was struggling to break through your flaring emotions, as he repeated himself desperately. “He’ll kill you, (Y/N)! Stay in place, I beg you!”

The Professor had never spoken to you in such a way before. You gripped onto the broken wall in front of you, still only just obscured from their view as you saw Apocalypse grab Peter by the hair, jerking the young man’s head back roughly to expose his throat to the woman.

“It’s Raven, please trust her!” Charles did not let go. You could feel him actually starting to control you even, something he had absolutely never done before, though your emotions were exploding like they also never had. He didn’t want you to make a life ending mistake.

“(Y/N), please.” He called again and you realized you were being held in place, unable to move out any further. You were forced to only watch as the woman raised her blade, Peter wincing in fear and pain beneath her as she swung it.

But it was only Apocalypse’s throat that ripped open. Yet even in your surprise, any sense of victory was still non existent. No blood poured from the wound, and it healed completely within moments as he only grabbed his supposed traitor by the neck, holding her up immediately.

Raven’s feet hung in the air while she choked, her blue skin and true appearance quickly returning as she could no longer control her disguise as Apocalypse strangled her.

And it was only then that you felt Xavier letting go of you, in his own shock as Apocalypse tried to bait him out.

“Charles! Come! Rescue your weaklings!” Apocalypse challenged aloud, still dangling the now helpless Raven while Peter stayed trapped at their feet. “Give your life for theirs!”

He was going to kill her right in front of you. You powered up, knowing there was no other choice. You had to-

“No. I’m still connected to him. Let me get in his head, (Y/N), then you can go to them.” The professor spoke quickly, yet with a touch of new resolve.

“Charles! Will you do nothing?” The false god continued to bellow.

This time you listened without being forced to. You did see Apocalypse pause as if Xavier was indeed making contact. It was still an agonizing wait, but when he finally let go of Raven, you allowed yourself some shred of hope. You’d never seen anyone be able to overpower the Professor mentally, once he was fully in.

But that hope was also short lived as just moments later Apocalypse raised his hand abruptly. At will he dissolved the outer wall of a nearby building. You could see Scott and Hank then exposed, themselves just as surprised and staring out. But you knew it could only mean that Apocalypse had used Xavier’s connection against him just that quickly to root out his hiding place.

This could be the end then. You resigned yourself that the only choice was to die fighting if that is what it had to be. But you weren’t as alone as you thought.

As Apocalypse had left Peter and Raven behind, now striding confidently to his prize, two massive steel beams suddenly shot into his path. They buried themselves into the ground, crossing into an X to block him.

You looked back into the sky, glad in this single moment that you had been right about at least one thing. Magneto wouldn’t give Xavier up in the end. Not without bloodshed anyway.

“You betray me?” Apocalypse asked, already turning to deal with Erik instead.

“No. I betrayed them.” Magneto unleashed hell then, every bit of metal he could pull shooting towards Apocalypse in an unending assault as the other raised a shield that incinerated each and every piece as it hit. But doing so clearly taxed him, allowing the perfect moment for the rest of you to join the battlefield.

You got to Peter almost simultaneously as Hank got to Raven. You and Beast were clearly in the same mindset of getting the injured out of the immediate firefight before you would join in.

“I’m sorry I didn’t come sooner, the Professor froze me,” You spoke in quick apology to Peter, using a small energy blast to break up the earth that had been hardened around his trapped foot. Once cracked, you broke the rest of it free just with your fingers.

He was obviously surprised, grateful, and maybe even confused all at once as you gently lifted him with the help of your powers. You wrapped his arm around your shoulders, trying to mind his broken leg as you helped support him while gliding over to a safer spot some distance away.

“Stay here.” You spoke, sitting him down so his back was against a mostly still standing wall to shelter them.

Hank was sitting Raven down in the same manner beside him as Peter suddenly spoke up to you. “Wait.”

You were still crouched in front of him, you’d been about to stand back up when his hand went around the back of your neck and pulled you in closer.

Before you could register anything else, you felt his lips press against yours. It was a bit harsh, desperate even, and then it was over just as fast as you pulled back in surprise.

“In case we don’t ever get to make it to that arcade,” he responded to your shocked expression that was still evident even in your energy form like this.

You took a breath, now was not the time for verbalizing any of this. But you wanted to show you agreed with the sentiment. You leaned back in, kissing him yourself for one longer moment, one hand gently cupping the side of his face before you stood back up. He allowed the contact readily and you could only wonder what it felt like to him when you were enveloped in light like this.

Hank and Raven just gave you both the most confused of looks, but nothing was said as you and Beast had then rushed back off to throw yourselves into the fight.

——————————

(Continued in next chapter here)

[mintymiknow]

Trust Fall - ch. 1 | Lee Minho

summary | character profiles | masterlist

Pairing: Lee Minho/Lee Know x Reader

Summary: When you walk away from something that essentially ruined you, you don’t expect to have anything to do with it anymore. But it would seem like the universe had other plans for you, and you find yourself with no choice but to face the nightmare again. 

Genre: Secret agent/spy au, romance, angst, action

Word count: Approx. 5.6k

Warnings for this chapter: Mentions of blood, implied human experimentation in labs, descriptions of said experimentations, descriptions of medical operations, implied trauma 

A/N: My new series is here! I don’t think it’s going to be as good or as hit has Scintilla, but I’m writing this ‘cause I want to, and I am excited! Please note that I’m not fully knowledgeable in the area of secret agent stuff and medical/science fields, but I hope you still enjoy reading this series. I can’t wait for everything to take place! Hehe as usual, I’d appreciate feedback, and if you have any comments, questions, etc., feel free to send in an ask!

“Yeah, so don’t forget to eat your meals and take your medicine when the nurses tell you to,” you laugh, looking at a patient with a playfully stern expression, “especially if you want to get better sooner.”

The elder patient laughs, leaning back on the hospital bed, “Yes, Doc, you got it. I promise to.”

“Good.” you grin, nodding your head approvingly, “I believe Dr. Kang will be checking up on you in the next few hours. Rest well, Mr. Lim.”

The elder nods with an airy chuckle before turning his attention back to the drama currently playing on TV. You bow politely before grabbing your clipboard and quietly exiting the patient’s room. While walking down the hospital hallway of this particular wing, you hear a familiar voice call out to you.

“Hey, y/n!”

You turn around with an amused grin, shaking your head, “Dr. Kang, aren’t we prohibited from shouting in the hospital?”

The male doctor makes an “oops” face before chuckling softly, hands in his medical coat’s pocket, “Right, sorry about that, Dr. Song.”

“So, how can I help you? I have another appointment in a bit.” you smile.

Dr. Kang - or Hyunbin as you call him - grins likewise, waving his hand in a carefree manner, “Nothing, just wanted to say hi since I bumped into you after like...weeks of both of us being busy. Go along now...wouldn’t want your patient getting angry over your late arrival.”

“You’re clingy.” you joke before laughing, “I’ll get going then. See you around, Hyunbin.”

The male playfully scoffs before waving his hand dismissively just as a nurse calls for his attention over some medical records. “See ya, y/n.” he hums, turning on his heel to walk away.

You smile before going about your way as well, hearing your heels click on the glossy floors as you walk to another department of the hospital to meet with a consulting patient.

And after that, you are called in for an emergency operation, so you end up running in said heels, pretty much aware that you’d probably end up with sore feet afterwards.

Hours pass by until you complete a very stressful yet successful operation. Your crisp, white shirt was replaced by the hospital’s mint green scrubs, stained with blood and bodily fluids. Your heels left somewhere in the locker room as your white clogs are essentially red now. Your neck feels like it’s about to break from leaning and craning it to focus on the operation, eyes strained like they would seal shut any second now.

But you knew that.

You knew that it was part of the job. Was it bothersome? Maybe, but that was just one slight inconvenience in the process of saving lives. That was why you became a professional in the medical and science field in the first place - to save lives. No, you definitely could not save every single person you came across. But you would definitely do your utmost best.

Especially when there were certain...blood stains you needed to wash off from your hands.

The more people you saved in Gongjak Medical Hospital, the more the blood on your hands washed off, little by little. Hopefully.

Unconsciously, you stare down at your gloved hands, eyes taking in the way the blood either dries or swirls into a distorted pattern. You see blood everyday - you’re a doctor, of course you would. And it was nothing new or something to be disgusted about because you were used to it. But right now, you felt like throwing up, the metallic scent and gruesome color clinging to your own hands too much to bear. This has never happened before, so you aren’t sure why it was happening today. You feel like the empty operation room spins around, ready to make you collapse until a nurse’s voice catches your attention.

“Dr. Song, the patient has been moved to a room and Dr. Choi is overseeing right now. We’ll have this room cleaned, so you may take it easy. Thank you for today’s operation.”

“I see, thank you too.” you nod, faking a calm smile despite the shaking of your hands, “I’ll get going then.”

And so you spend the next few hours rotating around consultation appointments and check-ups on patients. By the time it’s past 12 midnight, you prepare to head back to your home.

You drive in silence, eyes exhausted as they keep focused on the driveway that leads to a house that is not too large but not that small either. That’s one thing you were thankful for; your parents chose to live in a house surrounded by trees in a more private area of the city with only so much residents and houses. Some say it was for the rich - and maybe it was true - but it was definitely more peaceful and safe. Peace and quiet was what you needed after tedious days.

And safe was what you needed when you felt like something or someone haunts you every single day.

You drag yourself across the living room, dumping your bag on the couch as you make your way to the kitchen. An eerie and somewhat unsettling aura mixes in the air, but you choose to ignore it in favor of drinking a glass of cold water. You place the glass down on the counter before leaning on the table’s surface, head craning down as you get lost in your dark thoughts once again. It was always lonely at home without your parents, and you weren’t going to lie; admittedly, there were times you felt afraid to even step foot into any inch in this lonesome household.

But again, a different air filled the place right now, and it somehow sent shivers down your spine. Maybe you needed a bath, so you slowly make your way to your bedroom. However, as you reach the second floor, you notice that the door to your study room was left slightly open - you always made it a point to leave it shut.

Swallowing the lump in your throat, you tiptoe and stop in front of the door, grabbing the knob and slowly pulling it closed. However, just before it can click, a deep voice breaks the silence.

“Dr. Song y/n.”

You freeze, your blood running cold as a voice is heard in the dark study room.

“Dr. Song, we aren’t here to harm you. Come inside.”

We?

Your body moves on its own, pushing the door back to reveal your study, illuminated by nothing but the moonlight seeping in through the curtains. Once the door is fully opened, you vaguely register three figures standing by your desk. Most people would scream or scramble to call the cops. You? Nope. You didn’t know why either. Maybe these strangers were the cause of you feeling like someone was always watching you.

With crossed arms, you nod your head towards the stranger’s direction, “What is it? How do you know me? Who are you?”

One of the figures switches your lamp on, revealing his face - sharp eyes and a sharp jaw but an overall youthful and young disposition. He then speaks up, “We need you to come with us.”

“Clearly, strangers telling me to go with them is the most normal thing to happen.” you say, eyebrows furrowed.

Another figure notes your displeasure as he tilts his head to the side. Long, beautiful hair and plump lips - a beautiful man who could be mistaken as a model. “We know, but we’ve been ordered to come and talk to you about it.” he says calmly, his confident smile quite difficult to decipher.

You stand, arms still crossed and face still stern as the three figures observe you. The third figure takes one step forward. He’s more buff and definitely looks scarier, dark eyes cast in shadows with the cap he wears. “I’ll cut to the chase, Dr. Song. We’re agents from SKZ, and I don’t think I need to explain what SKZ is. Am I right?”

As soon as those words leave the male’s lips, you visibly tense, jaw clenched and eyes sharpened. You glare at the three agents, gritting your teeth, “Tell Jung Hyunseo to leave me out of whatever affairs SKZ has.”

The sharp-eyed male shakes his head, “I’m afraid Jung Hyunseo himself wants you to come with us, Dr. Song. He particularly said it was to be you no matter what.”

“What does SKZ want now?” you hiss, “I left for a reason, and I’m not going back. I think I made that quite clear to your authorities.”

The buff agent sighs, “I don’t know what bad blood you have with SKZ, and I can’t tell you exactly why we need you back right now, but everything will be explained if you just come with us.”

“Cut the crap.” you scoff with a belittling smile, “I’m not going anywhere. Case closed.”

“It’s a matter of life and death, Dr. Song.” the buff male says firmly, “It’s for a cause that could save many.”

“Hmm.” you snarkily laugh, “Now, I’ve heard that one before. Sorry, agents. I’m not going. Give Jung Hyunseo my regards.”

The agent who switched on the lights tries to step forward, opening his mouth to speak, but the buff one holds him back. With one look, the sharp-eyed agent nods his head in understanding, stepping back. The buff agent turns to the long haired one with the same look in his eyes.

The long haired male then walks towards you, leaning down to whisper in your ear, “Best you come with us now, Dr. Song. Mr. Jung won’t take no for an answer on this matter, and I’m afraid he’ll send that agent for you.”

You gently push him back with your hand on his chest, “He can try. Now, leave.”

The buff agent sighs and gestures for the two to follow him. As they walk past you, the buff agent whispers into your ear, “Try not to be too feisty when the next agent comes. He doesn’t play that nicely.”

“Neither do I,” you start, levelling his sharp gaze, “especially if he pushes it.”

The male smirks in the most subtle way so it’s barely noticeable, “I see.”

With that, the agents leave. You don’t even know how they got in, so you don’t know how they’d leave. Either way, you couldn’t bring yourself to care, not when the adrenaline fades away and your hands are now shaking.

Seconds later, you briskly walk to your bathroom, locking the door as you ready your bathtub in a frenzied hurry. You lower yourself into the water, allowing the warm liquid to envelope your body in an attempt to relax. Dead silence fills the room with the faint sloshing of water with your minimal movements.

SKZ.

You squeeze your eyes shut as if the name of that organization would be erased from your mind forever. But it does the opposite, taking you back to a time you never wanted to remember.

The sounds of agonizing screams and groans filled your ears as if you were witnessing a horror movie come to life. The smell of rotten corpses and smoke filled your nose, clouding your senses like pollution dirtying the world. You can only stare as a person slammed his hand onto the glass wall, desperately wailing and screaming for you to help him.

The pure horror that filled your veins caused you to freeze in place, bile building up within. The person’s skin started to melt and rot away, revealing things you’d see in your medical classes back then - except this was in a much more gruesome and violent context.

As the person let out one last cry, his eyes rolled back with foam frothing in his mouth. You hated how you’re only able to look away just as it finished. Every inch of your skin was covered in goosebumps, hands shaking and heart pounding. The sounds of other scientists and doctors discussing things were mere whispers despite being next to you.

“That wasn’t supposed to happen.”

“Write that observation down so we can do something about it.”

“This effect is quite interesting and may prove to be useful.”

You cleared your throat and faced the group of scientists with angry eyes. “You need to stop these experiments now!” you yelled, “You are taking too many lives!”

One scientist rolled his eyes, “Dr. Song, have you forgotten your place? Why you’re here?”

You slammed your hand on the table, “I’m here because I’ve been forced to! I didn’t want this!”

With that, you turn on your heel, keen on talking to the authorities about what you’ve witnessed for the past week. However, as soon as your hand is hovering above the lab’s door access, one scientist grabbed your wrist and twisted harshly, throwing you to the marbled floor. You grimaced at the pain in your ankle and leg, glaring at the scientist as a result.

The scientist threatened to hit you before smirking and laughing, “If you so much as say a word about this to anyone outside this lab, you and your family are joining the test subjects. Got it?”

“And don’t bother being sneaky.” another scientist laughed, “We’ll find out one way or another. Now get up and run some tests on the vials over there. No results within the day, we test on another subject. Quickly now.”

You swallowed the anger bubbling inside you, forcing yourself to get up to grab the said vials. As the group of scientists continue to murmur amongst themselves, you went to the other side of the lab to run whatever tests on the greenish-blue liquid inside the vials. You realized that your hands were still a bit shaky, tears threatening to spill out of your eyes.

You became a doctor to save lives, not take them.

So when it all became too much - when all you could hear at night was the screams and cries of suffering, you knew you had to do something. It was all still a bit of a blur - or perhaps you just did not want to recall the details - but you somehow remember the day you decided to speak up.

The day gunshots were fired in the lab, explosions here and there. Fighting and more unnecessary death. Some scientists captured and some escaped. You sitting on the lab floor with an empty expression, blood dripping down your face and black smoky soot smudging your skin. An agent you didn’t know or have never seen holding you in his arms, whispering that it was going to be ok as Jung Hyunseo angrily ordered the others to search for the escaped “traitors”.

Days later, you resigned. Jung Hyunseo felt sorry and allowed you to do so, helping you go back to a more “normal life” outside SKZ. He spoke to Gongjak Medical Hospital’s director, using his authority and status as a government agency’s head to give his recommendation for you to work there. Seoul’s top hospital instantly welcomed you as a doctor there, and you prayed it stayed that way.

No matter what, you were never going to so much as glance at SKZ headquarters or even speak about the secret organization.

Your phone, sitting on a small stool next to the bathtub, rang with a text notification, successfully snapping you out of your trip down memory lane. You glance at it, vaguely reading the text from Hyunbin saying “I forgot to text you earlier but...Mr. Lim ate all his food for dinner. Did you scold him again? Hahaha”.

You ignore the text, hugging your legs to your chest as you rest your head on your knees. The water in the tub is no longer warm, and you aren’t sure if it’s water from your hair or tears that are trickling down, but you let your sobs echo across the bathroom either way. Maybe you’d forget everything if you did.

You knew the answer to that.

Meanwhile, back in SKZ’s headquarters, the three agents return and head to one of the lounge areas, plopping onto the couch with heavy sighs. A dimpled agent looks up from his book and smiles sympathetically, “How bad was it?”

“Chan,” the buff agent starts, “it wasn’t bad...she’s just...difficult. I would have used force if it were up to me, but Mr. Jung didn’t want that.”

“What Changbin said. And she’s a bit hostile. Like Minho on his bad days?” the long haired agent whines.

“Hwang Hyunjin.” Minho glares, shaking his head before returning to the book in his hands.

The sharp-eyed agent shrugs, “Either way, she was really adamant on not coming with us. It’s either she’s scared, suspicious or hates SKZ so much...and I wouldn’t know why. Maybe it’s all of the above.”

A freckled agent - Felix - laughs and speaks, “Jeongin, why didn’t you use your charms?”

“Charms? I’m not the seducer, Hyunjin is.” Jeongin states.

“I don’t think Dr. Song is the type to get seduced…” Hyunjin thinks to himself, trailing off.

Another agent with dark brown hair - Seungmin - hums as he leans back on another couch, “Does Mr. Jung know?”

“Yeah, we told him.” Changbin explains, “He...he’s going to send Minho next.”

Minho grimaces, the irritation on his face evident, “Shouldn’t Chan go first or something? Maybe someone nice and sweet and calm would work.”

Chan slings an arm around the other male, laughing, “Or maybe some force needs to be used.”

Minho looks at him with an eyebrow raised, and Chan sighs with a smile, “Ok, not violent force but...someone strong and stubborn.”

“Bang Chan, are you calling me stubborn?” Minho fake gasps.

“You kinda are.” Seungmin points out with a laugh.

The agent with a sharp nose and sparkly eyes groans and leans his head back on the couch, “I am not a babysitter, I’m a field agent. I don’t have the time to deal with a whiney woman who doesn’t want to be here in the first place.”

An agent with round cheeks shrugs, “Mr. Jung seems to know Dr. Song very well and has her in high regard. We must really need her here.”

Jeongin agrees, nodding his head, “Jisung has a point. And we need her soon.”

“Maybe she’ll come if she finally sees Minho’s face. He is handsome and sexy. Who would say no to him?”

“Damn it, Hyunjin - ”

“Anyway,” Changbin interrupts, “I warned Dr. Song to just...comply; not to push Minho’s buttons because we know what he’s capable of and all.”

“I’m not going to kill her.” Minho sighs, rubbing his temples.

Changbin laughs, “No, no. I mean...your whole ‘cut the crap’ attitude. We know you’re most probably going to get irritated with her and might end up fighting or something.”

Minho hums as if he was agreeing, pouting his bottom lip in thought. Chan chuckles, shaking his head, “Maybe you should try being a gentleman with her.”

Minho shakes his head as well. “That isn’t going to work with her, if Changbin, Hyunjin and Jeongin’s encounter is anything to go by.” the agent states, “Might just irritate her more. Look at Seungmin. He’s cranky a lot. Maybe doctors are like that.”

“Minho…” Seungmin sighs, but Jisung and Felix only laugh.

“Well, Minho doesn’t take mission or task failures too well, so I’m sure Dr. Song will be here in no time!” Chan pipes in, earning a chorus of agreements from the other agents.

Minho makes a small nod before sighing. He prays you actually listen and come with him without much trouble.

The next day, you drive yourself to the hospital for another day of work. Things go on normally, and you put on a smile when meeting with your patients. You even laugh and crack jokes with other patients while you visit them in their rooms. You give the little children hugs whenever their parents ask them to thank you for your time; a nice contrast to what happened last night.

But once it’s your lunch break, you sit at one of the hospital’s cafeteria tables, blankly staring into space as you eat your lunch. You don’t even notice the person sitting in front of you until he laughs and says, “You don’t look so good, y/n.”

You snap your eyes up and nearly choke on your food. Swallowing and clearing your throat, you softly chuckle and say, “What makes you say that?”

Hyunbin smiles, leaning forward with a playfully serious expression, “Your face just looks way more exhausted today. And I don’t know...I just feel like something’s bothering you. Didn’t sleep well last night?”

“As expected from one of Gongjak’s best doctors.” you tease, looking at your food with a melancholic expression, “But we’re always going to be exhausted. Part of being a doctor, right?”

The male doctor nods, “I know, but...you are ok, aren’t you?”

You nod, offering a slightly wider smile, “Perfectly.”

The male grins in satisfaction with your answer, leaning back on his chair to talk about his “cute little patients” running around and laughing when they get lollipops after their check-ups. You listen to him share stories, but somewhere along the line, your mind drifts off. To where, you aren’t sure, but it’s definitely not as cute and happy as Hyunbin’s stories.

When the day ends, you’re more than relieved to come home without mysterious agents appearing anywhere in your house. Maybe they’d leave you alone now.

And the next day also goes by smoothly as you work in the hospital. Sure, you had two operations to handle - and one of them nearly went south, but thankfully it didn’t - but nonetheless, it was a smooth and average day for you, and it was as if you forgot all about what happened with the agents the other night.

You wave to Hyunbin before leaving the hospital, laughing as he jokes with a “don’t fall asleep while driving!”. And thankfully, you don’t do that, making it back home quickly and safely.

The stillness that welcomes you once you enter the house is a bit eerie, but it doesn’t seem to bother you that much; after all, it was a bit chilly-weathered recently. You take a nice, quick warm bath before deciding you wanted a midnight snack since you didn’t get to eat dinner courtesy of the two back-to-back emergency operations you had to perform. After slipping into your nightgown and a fluffy robe to keep you warm, you go down to the kitchen.

While preparing a cup of coffee and preparing a quick sandwich, you hear faint rustling somewhere in the house. You don’t own any pets, and your neighbors hardly visited, so the first thought that enters your mind is that the agents are back. It isn’t dread or fear that fills your veins - it’s anger and frustration. You scoff angrily, glancing at the coffee maker and sandwich on the plate before making quick steps towards your study room. Harshly pushing the door open and switching on the lights, you scan the room.

But no one is there.

You look behind your desk and shelves, but still no sign of people. Maybe Hyunbin was right and you were just more tired than usual; maybe your mind was playing tricks. Sighing, you shut the door and resume your business in the kitchen, needing that cup of coffee much more now.

Once the coffee is done brewing, you take the mug and plate in your hands, making your way to your bedroom. Coming home at midnight or past midnight was always accompanied by a cold silence that resulted from all your other neighbors being asleep. But that was probably better than a bustling city filled with horns and drunk people shouting after a night in the club.

You sit on your bed, letting yourself release a deep breath as soon as your body comes into contact with the soft sheets. You munch into your sandwich, absentmindedly letting your gaze drift to the window. The sky is a beautiful shade of blue-violet mixed with inky black, silvery-white stars twinkling here and there. You find yourself smiling at the view; when was the last time you actually stopped to admire something? To actually feel safe and calm? To feel like you were finally free?

You take a sip of coffee and muse on about everything that has happened since you left SKZ; it’s been two years, and you were more than satisfied with working on Gongjak Medical Hospital. Surely, the things that happened in SKZ made you less trusting, but you had one or two friends - including Hyunbin - that you deeply trusted.

But despite that, the trauma still lingered. And you knew more than anyone that you truly would never be free.

You put your coffee cup down on the bedside table, getting up to bring the sandwich plate to the kitchen. However, as soon as your eyes are set on the door, you see a figure leaning against it, arms crossed as he stares - or glares - at you. You sigh, tugging on your robe tighter, “Did Jung Hyunseo send you?”

The figure doesn’t make any sign of expression unlike the previous agents; instead, he remains stone-faced as he pushes himself off the door. “Agent Seo said you’d be difficult. Can we not do that tonight? Things like these aren’t exactly in my job description.” he sighs.

“Then maybe Agent Seo made it clear that I don’t want to comply.” you say sharply.

The male’s eyes narrow in the slightest, and you don’t miss the darkness in them. He has a different aura compared to the other three. With the dim light of your lamp, you can see that he had sharp features - handsome, if you would, but definitely had a sharper and more daunting presence. Cold and steely.

“Yes, he did.” the male starts, putting on a bored act as he adjusts the buttons on his dress shirt’s sleeves, “But I’m here to make sure you don’t say ‘no’ again.”

“SKZ can’t force me against my will, even if they are some organization or agency.” you point out, irritation rising once more, “I have my rights.”

The agent huffs, crossing his arms again, “Listen, Dr. Song. I don’t want to be here, yet here I am. Mr. Jung personally requested your presence. You seem like a smart person, judging by how he holds you with such high regard, so can you at least hear him out?”

You roll your eyes, picking the plate from your bedside table. You slip your slippers on and ignore the agent, opting to head for the door yourself. You reach past him to hold onto the door knob, twisting it and pulling the door open as best as you can. Unlike Changbin, this agent refused to budge or leave. In fact, he grabs your wrist quite strongly and slams the door shut; the loud bang startles you in the slightest, causing your eyes to widen despite your urge not to. No, you refuse to show any sign of uneasiness.

The agent grabs the plate from you while still holding onto your wrist tightly. “Please do not test me, Dr. Song. My colleagues wanted to make sure I don’t hurt you, and I personally don’t do such things, so please, don’t push it.”

“Would you hurt me?” you challenge, levelling the male’s glare with sharp eyes, “Because I’m not as weak as you think.”

A lie. A complete and utter lie. Yes, you were strong-willed, but emotionally, mentally and physically strong? No. You were smart, but you were anything but strong. You believed you were weak. You refuse to face the past and move on from it. That’s what makes you weak, you thought.

“Wow.” the agent smirks, “Dr. Song, I don’t want to hurt you if I don’t need to. You aren’t a target; you’re the mission.”

With the last sentence, he grips your wrist just a bit tighter. Infuriated, you grit your teeth and harshly yank your arm away from him, quickly turning on your heel to run and grab your phone from the bed. Who were you going to call? Hyunbin? The hospital director? The police? You didn’t know, but you surely wanted this agent out of your sight.

You grabbed your phone to dial whoever’s number, but just as your finger is about to press the contacts app, the agent is in front of you, taking the phone in his hand and tossing it to the carpeted floor with a dull thud. You stare at him in mixed anger and disbelief, opening your mouth to shout some insult. However, a yelp is what comes out of your mouth instead because the agent tangles one of his legs with yours, tugging at your ankle to trip you.

With the momentum, you fall to your bed behind, back landing on the mattress with the agent above you, one hand still gripping your wrist. You have no fighting experience, and clearly engaging in a fight with someone who was trained seemed like the worst possible choice of action. Yet you did.

Without hesitation, you swing your free arm in a sorry attempt to slap the agent, but he easily catches your wrist with his other hand, now pinning your own hands above your head. You look up at the agent with a gaze burning with anger. “What fucked up crap has SKZ gotten themselves into this time?” you hiss, on the verge of raising your voice, “Why do they need me?”

Despite your outburst, the agent remains emotionless, disposition composed and collected much to your dismay. “You’ll find out if you come with me, Dr. Song.” he responds calmly, raising an eyebrow, “I don’t want to knock you out to do that.”

You try to wriggle your hands out of his grip and kick with your legs, but the agent holds your wrists tighter and pins your hips down with his own. His facial expression is still quite blank, but the furrow in his eyebrows tells you he is mildly - or maybe very - exasperated already. “Knock me out? Enlighten me how.” you spit out.

“You’re the doctor, Dr. Song. I’m sure you’re knowledgeable on gases that could do that. Or…” the agent remains expressionless, but there’s a haughty color in his eyes as he brings a hand to your cheek, gently caressing with his knuckles, “...I could hit you, which is what I do to our targets, but as I’ve said, I personally don’t want to do that.”

You can only stare at the male, eyebrows knit together in an upset manner as all the fight and anger in your body dissolves, tensed muscles weakening as the unfavorable position you’re in finally registers in your mind. When the agent blinks, you vaguely take note of his long eyelashes, a delicate contrast to his sharp and strong features.

“What will it be, Dr. Song?” he whispers, breath mingling with yours.

You shut your eyes, deflating as you sigh, “Fine. But if I hear what Jung Hyunseo has to say and I don’t like it, I have the right to refuse to assist SKZ.”

“Hmm, I’m afraid not.” the agent finally lets go of your wrists and clambers off of you, fixing and tucking in his dress shirt into his slacks, “If you refuse or run away, Mr. Jung will persistently send agent after agent for you until you fully return or help SKZ.”

“And once I help? Once I’m finished? Will SKZ finally and genuinely let me go and live?”

“Yes, Dr. Song.”

“Shit, fine. This is the last, I swear.”

You could have kept saying “no” in all honesty, but the prospect of an agent coming into your house - or worse, directly kidnapping or abducting you by force - was not something you wanted to think about; that would just make your life more miserable.

The agent lets you get dressed in your bathroom for privacy, but he waits in your room to make sure you don’t sneak out or run from him. Afterwards, he tells you to quickly follow him, which you do because you don’t really have a choice. Once in the black car with tinted windows, you sink into the passenger’s seat, a very big frown on your face as you look outside at the city lights. The agent himself is quiet as well, focused on driving rather quickly.

The buzzing silence in the car is then interrupted when his phone rings; he accepts the call with the speakers on so you could technically hear the voice of the person speaking: Jung Hyunseo, no doubt.

“Agent Lee, what’s the update?”

The male agent doesn’t take his eyes off the road as he answers, “She’s with me, sir.”

“I knew I could count on you.” Hyunseo chuckles lightly, “Thank you, Minho. See you back in HQ.”

When the call ends, and Minho stops the car as the traffic light turns red, he cranes his neck to face you, expression still annoyingly vague and basically emotionless. “Please do behave once we’re in HQ.” he says, “You may hate SKZ, but we all expect you to adhere to the rules, alright, doctor?”

You don’t even have the desire to respond, rolling your eyes as Minho breaks eye contact to focus on the road as the traffic light turns green.

Two years away from SKZ, and here you were, being dragged back into the place you desperately wanted to get away from.

Lee Minho.

You’d remember that agent’s name. Whether you went willingly or not, you had a feeling Lee Minho, on Jung Hyunseo’s command, would find one way or another to bring you back, and that was what affected you the most.

It was going to be his fault you were back.

[marvel-and-mischief]

His Saving Grace Part VI

Title: His Saving Grace - Maxwell Lord x F!Reader  Words: 3700 Warnings: partial nudity, KISSING (yay!), little bit of angst but less than previous chapters (yay yay!) Synopsis: Maxwell is in a slump after the events of the gala, can you cheer him up?

His Saving Grace Masterpost

Waking up in Maxwell’s apartment was an odd sensation. For once there were no impatient drivers angrily tooting their car horns outside to wake you up, the boiler didn’t make cranking noises all night, the fragrant candles were a constant, pleasant presence,  and everywhere you went it was warm. For a downgrade, Maxwell was doing very well for himself indeed. 

You opened your eyes when you heard movement from the direction of Maxwell’s bedroom. You swivelled onto your stomach to look over the arm of the couch to see if he would emerge into the living room; he didn’t. 

On the coffee table was your dress, neatly folded into a green square, clutch and shoes placed on top. It took you a second to remember that you weren’t naked but had one of Maxwell’s large vests on, hastily grabbed from the clean pile of clothes on a chair in his bedroom before you left him in there, snoring into his pillow, exhausted from the night’s events. 

You thought back to the night before in the car, holding Maxwell in your arms, letting him cry out his sadness and frustrations when the perfectly happy night had taken a dark turn. Your heart had broken for him, despite everything you had done, and were doing for him, you felt it wasn’t enough. He had become much more than a client now, he was your friend. 

Searching out the digital clock you saw it was just after seven in the morning. You’d make coffee and breakfast out of whatever you could find in the kitchen, you decided, and carefully sat up, experimentally rolling your shoulders and stretching your back. You hadn’t slept on a couch since you were a student but you didn’t remember it ever being this painful. You refused to admit it was because you were getting older. 

You made coffee for you and Maxwell and rummaged through the cupboards to find sliced bread and eggs and went about making some very basic French toast. When you were done you placed it all on a tray and made your way over to Maxwell’s bedroom door, tapping it with your foot and calling out his name.

“I’ve made us breakfast, can I come in?” You asked, awaiting his response. When one didn’t come you pushed down on the handle with your elbow, precariously balancing the tray in your arms as you did so and pushing the door open with your body. 

Maxwell was stirring when you entered, rubbing the sleep from his eyes as he sat up in bed. You paused to observe him, the out of place hair, the wrinkle marks on his one cheek from where he’d slept on it. You had left him on the bed with most of his clothes on but at some point in the night he had stripped down to just his underwear. He realised this and pulled the covers halfway up his torso, which would have made you giggle if you weren’t trying so hard to not spill the coffee cups.

You placed the tray down on the side of the bed that was vacant, and took a seat next to him.

“You’re still here?” Maxwell asked, confused but not complaining as he took a sip of his coffee, black just how he liked it. 

“Yeah, it’s seven o’clock.”

“No I mean, you stayed the night?”

You frowned, nodding your head slowly as if it were obvious.

“I didn’t want to get a cab last night, it was too late. I thought you wouldn’t mind…”

“It’s no problem but you should have taken the bed,” Maxwell huffed at the thought of you having to sleep on his couch when he had a king size bed you both could have comfortably slept in. Though whether that was a good idea was another thing. Maxwell noticed for the first time that you were wearing one of his vest tops and had to quickly look away. It wasn’t just you in his clothes that got his heart thumping, it was you in his clothes on his bed. 

“It was fine,” you shrugged, the ghost of an ache reminding you that your body disagreed. You liked the idea of sharing a bed with Maxwell but he still hadn’t made any move to suggest that he had any feelings for you that went beyond friendship. Sharing a bed would have had you yearning for something you may never have. 

You smiled reassuringly at Maxwell and picked at the French toast on the tray. He only sipped at his coffee and stared out of the window. Neither of you had closed the blinds last night so you could see the clear sky outside and the city in the distance. You started to feel awkward eating your breakfast. Maybe you shouldn’t have gone to the effort, maybe you should have left last night after all. 

“Are you feeling better?” You asked cautiously. He had opened up to you a few hours ago, exposed himself in a way you were sure he hadn’t done in front of anybody for a long time. You hoped he felt comfortable around you knowing you wouldn’t judge him for being emotional. 

Maxwell kept his gaze out the window when he spoke.

“All I ever wanted to be is a businessman. To be successful, even before Alistair was born. I wanted to be someone to be proud of when I’m old. Now look at me.”

You heard the slight tremor in his voice and wanted to reach out and take his hand, but he gripped his coffee cup harshly and refused to look at you. 

The sun was slowly casting its rays into the bedroom, reaching across the room and stopping at Maxwell’s chest, keeping him half in the dark. 

“I can’t see Alistair like this,” Maxwell mumbled and placed the empty cup on the tray.

“Then take a shower, I’ll go home and get ready, I can be back here before Alistair arrives-“

“I can’t see him today,” Maxwell’s spoke with a finality that had you shaking your head.

“Maxwell, you’ve only had three Saturday’s with him, it’ll look bad if you cancel.”

“I cannot see him like this, I’m not in the right mindset.” Maxwell looks at you then, a pleading look in his eyes, like a child begging you not to make them do something they don’t want to do. You had seen the same look in Alistair’s eyes the previous week when he didn’t want to eat the broccoli he’d found in his pie. 

It was a hard situation to be in. You were the middlewoman between Alistair’s parents and would have to be the one to telephone Catherine Lord to say Maxwell couldn’t see him this weekend. You didn’t know what the repercussions would be, if the ex Mrs Lord would be forgiving or make a fuss about it to her lawyer. 

You also knew that Alistair was the most important thing in Maxwell’s life, so if he was willing to risk future weekends with his son then he really must be feeling terrible. 

You moved the tray to the bedside table and took a seat closer to Maxwell, legs underneath the covers, sitting up against the large headboard. 

“Are you sure? You might feel better once Alistair’s here,” you said gently, breath tickling the small hairs on Maxwell’s bare shoulder.

“I’m sure,” Maxwell replied, breath catching in his throat at your close proximity. 

You turned so you were on your side, legs accidentally bumping into his.

“I’ll tell them you’re sick.”

“They’ll think I’m hungover.”

“I can be very convincing,” you grinned lazily, and Maxwell matched you with his own sad smile.

“You are very good to me.”

“You deserve it,” you insisted and without thinking you reached up and attempted to move a long piece of hair away from his eyes, only for it to bounce back onto his forehead. 

You don’t know where your newfound bravery had come from, but the sun had moved its way up Maxwell’s body and painted an orange glow across his face and you couldn’t resist. Even if he pushed you away, rebuffed your affections, told you he didn’t feel the same way, at least you’d know where you stood with him finally.

But he did none of those things. He silently looked over the features of your face, captivated as you quickly licked your suddenly dry lips. He turned on his side to face you, moving to lean his forehead against yours, an indication of what he wanted and an opportunity for you to move away if you didn’t want anything more to happen. 

But you did. You’d been waiting for Maxwell to finally make a move that left no doubt as to what he thought about you. You were almost giddy with anticipation. 

His lips touched yours, insistent and impatient, and you reached behind his neck to pull him closer, greedy for more. Maxwell placed his large hands on either side of your waist, holding you chest to chest, the feeling of your breasts grazing his broad chest making you whine softly. 

You pulled away, only a fraction, the need for breath overriding the need to kiss him for longer. When you opened your eyes Maxwell was already looking at you, searching your features for any hint he had made a mistake. But all he saw was your delighted grin and he felt your hand move up to grip his hair and urge him forward for another kiss.

Maxwell obliged, and you opened your mouth to let him explore deeper. You pushed against his chest, keeping your lips locked with his as you urged him onto his back. He wrapped his arms tightly around your back and pulled you on top of him, a short, sharp giggle escaping him in disbelief. He was convinced he was dreaming.

You continued languidly kissing each other for a few more moments, getting acquainted to the feeling of your bodies pressed against the other, touches shy and over the top of clothing, both hesitant to cross that line just yet.

When you pulled away a second time you were both happily flustered, hair tousled, fingers gripping onto each other in one way or another. You both giggled at the sight. 

“I see you,” you whisper into the nonexistent space between you, nuzzling your nose lightly against his, “I see exactly who you are. You’re a good man, Maxwell. It’s why I’m working so hard to get you everything you want.”

Maxwell surged up, taking your face in his hands, kissing you fervently. 

“I don’t know what I would have done without you guiding me every step of the way,” Maxwell spoke in between placing kisses on your lips. Now he had your permission he was going to take every opportunity to do the one thing he had dreamed of doing for weeks. 

“Take the day off, relax. I’ll handle everything with Alistair,” you promised, rising off of Maxwell’s chest and rolling off the side of the bed. 

“You won’t stay?”

Yes, you thought, of course I want to stay in this moment of bliss and perfection. But a small part of you was hesitant to let things get out of hand. Maxwell was still hurting from the gala, so much so that he wasn’t going to budge on not seeing Alistair on the only day of the week he was allowed. 

Was kissing you just a distraction from having to talk about his feelings? Possibly. Not that kissing you meant nothing to him, you were certain it meant just as much to him as it did to you. But you needed to give him space to think everything through and hopefully the next time you saw each other things would be much clearer for the two of you. 

-

It felt weirdly like deja vu. When you got to Maxwell’s apartment Sunday morning he was already waiting for you, propped up against the doorway, welcoming you with a beaming smile, just as he had the very first time you had met him. He was wearing a grey suit you hadn’t seen before, his tie was pale blue and had polka dots of various shades of purple. It was happy colors, just like the look of happiness on his freshly shaved face.

“The cafe down the street opens in twenty minutes,” he said, making a show of looking at his watch, “shall we get breakfast?”

“Sure,” you responded with a shrug of your shoulders. Maxwell stepped out of his apartment, shutting his door and taking your hand to lead you to the elevator. 

You had no idea how the day was going to go, not after the previous days kiss in Maxwell’s bed. You were nervous about bringing it up, about having to have a conversation about feelings. But you felt positive witnessing Maxwell’s seemingly jubilant demeanour this morning. 

The journey to the cafe was mostly quiet, Maxwell pointing out which cars in the car park belonged to which neighbour. You found out the woman who had given you a dirty look the first day you met Maxwell was called Kimberly, she was rude and nosy and had cornered Maxwell half a dozen times to ask who the ‘weird woman’ who always visited him was because ‘lodgers weren’t allowed in these buildings’. You would have been offended but you were too busy laughing at Maxwell’s ridiculously squeaky American accent as he imitated Kimberly. 

The cafe was larger than you were expecting, but nearly empty except for a family of four huddled into the corner next to the window, happily chewing on waffles and pancakes. It had a classic American diner feel, with a red and silver color theme, metal chairs with plump seats and square tables, tall stools lining the entirety of the bar, black and white checkerboard style flooring. 

A waitress greeted Maxwell with a friendly but well rehearsed welcome speech and directed the two of you to a table off to the side. 

“I’m thinking something sweet, what about you?” Maxwell asked whilst perusing the menu. 

“I fancy an egg muffin. And plenty of coffee,” you said, trying to disguise a yawn behind your hand. Maxwell chuckled and ordered your breakfasts and the waitress left you both alone.

“I’ve sorted everything with Alistair, it’ll be back to normal next Saturday but if you cancel again I can’t promise it’ll be so easy next time.”

“It won’t happen again,” Maxwell promised, “I’m feeling much better today, ready to begin the rest of my life.”

You chuckled at how bright Maxwell shined, there was a twinkle in his eye you hadn’t seen in a while and he had been standing tall on the walk over. It was like something had changed, or clicked in his mind that the future was bright and for the taking.

“That’s good to hear,” and you meant it, you were glad Maxwell wasn’t dwelling on what the rude man at the gala had shouted at him. 

The waitress appeared to pour you both coffees and Maxwell pushed the sugar pot across the table to you.

“My investments are really coming through as well,” Maxwell nodded his thanks to the waitress and continued, “but I’m aware that isn’t a permanent solution.”

“You’re right, but I’ve got an idea I need to run pass someone first.” You had been thinking over Maxwell’s money problem and thought you might have a solution, but you had to speak to someone before presenting it as an option to Maxwell. You didn’t want to get his hopes up. 

“That sounds intriguing,” Maxwell raised an eyebrow, probing for more information but you gave him nothing but a teasing smile.

“You’ll see,” you winked and sighed in relief when your food arrived. 

“Whatever it is, I trust you. Together we’ll show the world that Maxwell Lorenzano does not give up easily!”

You paused with a forkful of egg halfway to your lips, frowning at a name you hadn’t heard of before.

“Lorenzano?”

“My name before I changed it,” Maxwell looked at you bashfully, nervous for your reaction though he wasn’t sure why.

“Why did you change it?” 

“Because, y’know,” Maxwell shrugged and went about meticulously cutting up his waffles as he tried to explain, “people would rather deal with a white mans name.”

Your eyes widened in surprise, not because you didn’t understand why he had done it, but because you had had no idea. Maybe you should have, Lord wasn’t a Spanish sounding surname.

“What made you choose Lord?” You asked, forgetting about your breakfast, fully absorbed in this revelation. 

“It sounds grand, don’t you think? I thought if my name matched my ambition to be at the top then it would be like creating my destiny. It was bound to happen with a name like Lord.”

“You’ve never thought about changing it back?”

“Maybe in recent weeks,” Maxwell sighed and wiped his hands on a napkin, “I always thought I would keep going up in the world, that there would be no reason to ever look back. But I see now that was wrong.”

“What do you mean?”

“I shouldn’t be ashamed of Maxwell Lorenzano. He was so much stronger.”

“Oh Maxwell.”

“No no, I mean it. He had many doors shut in his face, many people telling him he couldn’t be anyone important. Yet he persevered, never took no for an answer.”

“He’s still within you, Maxwell. You lost your way a little, it doesn’t mean you’re lost forever.”

Maxwell reached over the small table and interlocked your fingers together.

“Thank you. I agree,” he chuckled, it was lighthearted and soft on your ears and you wished you could hear it again, “I want to be more like him going forward. To be humble and keep in mind where I came from.”

You brought his hand up to your lips and left a few featherlight kisses along his knuckles. You could see his shoulders drop with a contented sigh, relishing in the feel of your lips on his skin. When you pulled back you saw his eyes flicker to your lips and you let out a self-conscious laugh. 

“Should we talk about what happened yesterday?” You had been bursting at the seams to ask all morning, waiting for the right opportunity even if you might end up regretting it, but you had to know if this thing between the two of you was mutual, was serious. With all this talk of Maxwell concentrating on his future you wanted to know if that involved you. 

Maxwell shuffled in his seat but kept your hands firmly linked together. 

“I’d like to keep things slow to begin with, is that okay?”

You nodded enthusiastically, a sigh of relief leaving your lips at the thought of this only being the beginning. 

“I need to think about Alistair-“

“Of course, I don’t want to upset him.”

“You wouldn’t be upsetting him, he already likes you,” Maxwell said calmly, his thumb rubbing gentle circles on the back of your hand.

“I know it’s just, kids can be easily unsettled, with changes in their parents lives, you know? And I didn’t know if I went too far yesterday, especially considering you were upset about the gala, I thought maybe I was taking advantage-“

“You need to breathe, darling.”

“Sorry, I haven’t done this in a while.”

“Me neither.”

Silence settled over the both of you for a split second before you and Maxwell were laughing, wholeheartedly and hysterically. You felt heat rushing to your face and a pain develop in your belly from laughing so hard on a full stomach. 

When you both caught your breaths, you watched Maxwell wipe the tears from his eyes before handing you a handkerchief from his pocket for you to do the same. You sat there with goofy smiles on your faces until you were ready to leave. 

-

You wished you could have stayed in that cafe with Maxwell all day, but if you were to get any work done at all you needed to get home. 

It was early afternoon by the time you left Maxwell’s side, parting with a longing kiss in the cafe car park, a promise of more to come in the future. You could feel his lips on yours as you walked away, peeking over your shoulder only to see Maxwell hadn’t moved at all and was admiring the back of you. He averted his gaze from your ass and waved you goodbye.

You could have gotten a bus home, you had memorised the timetable but the skies were clear and you thought the fresh air would do you good. 

You regretted it as soon as you saw the graffiti on the side of a disused warehouse building. Or half of it. Half of Maxwell’s face with devil horns and a spiky tail being painted over by a couple of men in high-vis jackets. It caused your heart to drop painfully in your chest, your heart that had been so full of Maxwell’s love mere moments before.

You hated that you let it bother you. You knew Maxwell, what did it matter what other people thought? But you soon realised it was impossible not to when people’s opinions were everywhere.

You found yourself walking through a quiet neighbourhood with small independent stores, a handful of fast food restaurants and as your luck would have it, an electrical store with televisions playing in the shop windows. Televisions with Maxwell’s face on it and some talkshow woman talking to camera about what she thought about his “fall from grace”. 

It was no wonder Maxwell found himself in a slump some days if this was what he saw all the time. You could imagine him flicking through the channels on his television and accidentally coming across this woman, this stranger, telling him exactly what she thought of him. It equally saddened you and made you mad. 

You knew what it was like to have your mistakes out in the open for everybody to have an opinion about, but at least your mistake was limited to the D.C area, Maxwell’s was worldwide. 

But the more you looked in that woman’s eyes and read the subtitles across the bottom of the screen, the more you saw her spewing her hateful comments and making her unfair judgements, the more determined you became to prove them all wrong.

And that’s exactly what you were going to do. 

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[candychronicles]

mind control // e. kirishima

A/N: My take on the apocalypse au! this one was so so so fun to write and i hope you all enjoy!!

CHARACTER PAIRING: Kirishima Eijirou x Reader

WORD COUNT: 2,580

WARNINGS: unprotected sex, semi-public sex, kinda angsty

SYNOPSIS: when the world turns into chaos, you’re there, fighting on the front lines to find a cure. what happens when things go right for once? 

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the world changed on a mild Tuesday afternoon. there had been experiments going around regarding mind control, mind alteration, but things backfired, heavily. test subjects became irate, violent, crazed, and the serum mutated rapidly in the bloodstream. after only a few short weeks, the serum became its own disease, allowing it to rapidly be spread through bite wounds. people hallucinated, overcome by their primal desires to mate and reproduce, to fight and wreak havoc sometimes forgetting to eat or sleep, constantly wired.

the disease spread slowly, people initially thinking that it was just a few loose cannons going off around the world, that nothing was happening. it should’ve been a relatively simple disease to ward off, containing those that were mad until they slowly succumbed to their own desires, but it didn’t happen like that. more and more people were getting bit, and slowly, small outbreaks were popping up around the world. large groups of infected people congregated to fuck and fight, causing rampages in large cities. they had no care for their own wellbeing, not understanding pain, only wanting to destroy and conquer.

police, national guards, militaries and other protective personnel rushed to combat the diseased, ordered to shoot to kill, but in some places there were just too many of them, and they were quickly run down, joining the ranks of the mindless, crazed humans who just wanted to do anything to feel once again and quell the madness in their brains.

you were one of the brightest and best scientists in the country, working hard to cure this strange disease that was man made and yet had a mind of its own alongside Kirishima Eijirou, a disease specialist. together, you tracked the path of the sickness, how the world slowly succumbed to madness in just a few short months as more and more cases popped up and the numbers became overwhelming. 

you were one of the lucky few, finding solace in a well protected and well isolated research lab. things were stringent, with blood work, head scans, and other tests to make sure that you were not somehow catching the disease, despite knowing how it worked. after all, they couldn’t afford to have their best researchers getting sick, not when they were working hard and fast on finding some sort of cure or preventative. 

breaking down the dna of the disease was the first step in understanding how it was made and how it mutated, followed by what genes were affected, how the disease altered the brain chemistry, and most importantly, how to create a cure. it was long, tedious work, but after months of replicating the dna, breaking down the genomes and isolating the variables, you were finally able to locate what areas of the genes were mutating.

“Eijirou, do you know what this means? we’re one step closer to finding a cure! this is huge, we have to tell the rest of the team right away!”

with your eyes alight with happiness, pearly whites displayed proudly in the form of a wide grin, you had never looked prettier. Kirishima had liked you for a long, long time. how could he not? you were extremely intelligent, could hold your own against anyone, passionate, hard working and undeniably attractive.

in the heat of the moment, with excitement buzzing in the area, he did the one thing he always dreamed of doing: kissed you. at first, you were confused, hands still raised in a cheer, body stiff as a board, but as he began pulling away, you reached forward to wrap your arms around his body, pulling him closer. for a few moments, you two moved back and forth, mouths mashing together in pure ecstasy, high off your success and the feeling of warm lips on your own.

when you went to pull away, his head chased you, high off the feeling of you. 

“we shouldn’t be doing this. not here anyways,” you reasoned weakly, putting your hands on his chest in an attempt to both anchor and distance yourself from the man who was grinning like he had won a million bucks.

“why not? no one else is in here besides us. no one even comes in to disturb us, knowing how busy we’ve been working. why can’t we take a few minutes to celebrate our victory, and then bring our results to the doc?”

before you had a chance to respond, his lips were attached to your neck, licking, sucking, biting on your pulse point, eliciting a moan from deep within your chest. you stopped fighting your instincts, instead allowing yourself to enjoy the way his mouth felt on your skin. 

Kirishima gripped the back of your thighs tightly before hoisting you up on the lab table, pushing away various instruments and lab samples to make room for your body. your teeth gnashed together in a pure desire to feel one another, hands gripping tightly on your hips, moving up to unclasp your bra, sliding off your lab coat in the process. you were quick to follow suit, allowing the white fabric to rustle at his ankles, gripping his face in your hands to bring him impossibly closer to you.

“i need you,” he breathed out, breaking away for a moment to pull your shirt over your head and bra down your arms, immediately latching his mouth to your right nipple, his large, toasty hand fondling your left, pinching your nipple between two meaty fingers, grunting in appreciation when you let out breathless whines.

when you didn’t respond, he repeated his words once again, more forcefully this time, you nodding your head, whispering “yes” over and over again. your pants were unbuttoned and slid down your legs, one arm holding your body up to pull the fabric out from under you. his own pants followed suit, hastily shoved down his ankles, not even bothering to step out of the cloth before he was attaching himself to your lips again. 

his thick fingers found their way to your clit, rubbing harsh yet precise circles into the nub, making your head spin from the contact, throwing your head back in bliss. 

“please, Eijirou, I need you,” you called out, eyes screwed shut in pleasure.

“have to get you ready to take my cock sweetheart. don’t worry, i’ll take care of you,” he promised, spreading your legs out in the process, inserting one finger into your wanting hole.

“so wet for me already, huh. i’ve barely even touched you. such a fucking needy bitch,” he tutted, pumping his finger in and out of you, curling to hit every inch of you.

you rocked your hips against his hand as he added another finger, you reveling in the feeling of the delicious stretch and him in pure awe of the situation. his thumb came back to rub harsh circles once again on your aching clit. you continued rolling your body into his fingers, chasing your high, gripping his hand for support. 

you were so close, so deliciously close to a mind blowing orgasm, when Kirishima removed his fingers from your body, languidly bringing them up to his mouth and licking the juices off his fingers, making eye contact with you.

he pulled your body to the edge of the table, hands gripping your ass tightly as he gave the top of one a harsh smack, the sound resonating loudly in the once sterile room. he removed one hand and brought it down to his dick, giving it an experimental tug, rubbing the precum over the tip of his dick. you watched with a lolled head, enamored by the sheer thickness, wondering how it would feel stretching you out.

you didn’t have to wait long to find out as Kirishima positioned himself right at your entrance, spitting onto his cock for good measure before he deliberately pushed the tip of himself into your sopping cunt, you gripping his shoulders, nails digging into the plush skin, though he never even noticed. 

he continued to gently pump his tip in and out of your cunt, collecting the sticky liquid before he began inserting his whole cock into your body, you shuddering at the feeling of him inside of you.

once he was fully sheathed, he waited a few moments, pulling you in for another searing kiss as he began surging his dick in and out of your body, gripping your hips in an iron hold, keeping you steady on the wobbly table.

you threw your head forward, gripping onto his arms for dear life, biting down into his shoulder to keep the moans muffled, listening to the grunts and groans of Kirishima breathily in your ear.

“fuck you feel so tight. i’m going to stuff this pussy full of cum. you’re going to be my little cum dumpster, aren’t you?” he cooed in your ear.

you could only nod back in response, crying out at the feeling of him stretching you to your limits, the burning only heightening your experience as you felt that coil once again build up.

it seemed as if he was chasing his own high as well, snapping his hips into you so harshly, grabbing your hips so tightly, marking you up and making you his with his fingertips imprinted into your skin in the form of pretty little purple marks.

“god, Eijirou, i’m so close,” you panted out, attempting to move your hips despite the harsh grip, wanting more friction.

he seemed to understand what you wanted, removing one of his hands to rub your clit, whispering praises and encouragement in your ear. you responded with a loud cry of your own, the dam finally breaking as your orgasm washed over you, Kirishima continuing to pound into you through your orgasm.

when you came down from your high, you were a blubbering mess, feeling another orgasm already building as he continued to fuck you senseless.

“come on baby, you have one more in you,” he encouraged, picking up the speed to ruthlessly drill into you.

“Kiri, please, i can’t,” you cried, weakly attempting to push him away, feeling so sensitive. 

just as you were going to ask him to stop, you felt your second orgasm hit you like a freight train, frighteningly fast. your pussy pulsed around his cock, encouraging him to cum, to milk his cock dry. 

Kirishima snapped soon after you, the way your walls were clenching around him sending him over the edge, grunting “fuck” over and over again as he slowed down his pace, riding out his own high.

you two hovered there, allowing yourselves to catch your breath and come down from the mind blowing highs you were experiencing. when you finally were able to think, you began tediously unsticking yourself from the now warm metal table, scooching off to stand up, immediately feeling light headed.

“whoa, are you okay?” Kirishima asked worriedly as he steadied you on your feet.

“yeah, that was amazing. plus, i don’t think i’ve eaten today. just too caught up in work, i think,” you admitted, resting your head on his chest. 

“well, lets get you cleaned up, get these lab results to the doc, and then go to the cafeteria for something to eat, yeah?”

you nodded in response, still wobbly on your legs, as you followed him to grab some paper towels, allowing him to softly clean the now dripping liquid from your legs and aching cunt.

once you were cleaned up, you allowed him to help you dress, fixing your hair and straightening out your lab coat, before the two of you made your way to the head doctor’s office located across the building.

his door was left slightly ajar when you arrived, and after a few polite knocks, you impatiently entered, wanting to tell them the news right away.

“they’re not here,” you sighed with a frown, disappointment lacing your voice. 

you were about to drop the documents and leave when a bright green folder labeled “test subjects” caught your eye. you slapped your paperwork into Kirishima’s arms before moving over to the folder, opening it without a care in the world, curious as to why there would be a folder labeled that in their office.

in it documented the tales of two test subjects who had been exposed to the sickness on purpose and then given drugs to attempt to cure or mitigate the effects of the disease. 

the two test subjects, a and b, are still unaware that they were given the disease at the day of arrival. they began exhibiting symptoms right away, like hallucinations and violent behaviors, but after days of injections, things are starting to slow down. they are starting to come to, but with some weird twists. they don’t remember being infected at all.

you furrowed your brows, motioning Kirishima over to have him read the documents himself, before you continued reading:

they knew basic motor functions, how to survive as a human for the most part, but needed to have things suggested to them, need to have some purpose in life in order to not go crazy. this was what we wanted all along: for a self sustaining human to listen to all suggestive behaviors while continuing to go about their day. there are some kinks that still need worked out. for example, they need to occasionally be reminded to eat, sleep, drink water, like they are still under the control of the disease, but those are issues that can be worked out. for now, things are going to plan.

“what does this mean?” you heard Kirishima ask, before continuing, “does this mean they’ve had a cure, or a version of the cure all along? then why have we been working tirelessly for months on this?”

“i’m not sure, let’s keep reading,” you urged, utterly confused on the situation and wanting to find answers.

the longevity of the treatment is currently being tested. they were set out on a task months ago, and are still diligently working on the issue at hand. they may actually come up with something useful at a much faster rate than the comparable test subjects without the virus, teaching themselves, learning and growing and changing at an exponential rate. for now, we continue to monitor their well being with frequent tests such as blood work and head ct’s. while they still have a bit of brain damage from the disease, they are functioning overall well and should be great successes.

“Kirishima, this is crazy. they are breaking all sorts of violations here. testing on unknowing subjects. we need to expose this. i don’t care if their experiment is working. they’re creating and working on a mind altering drug here, the same type of drug that started this whole issue in the first place. this is just a mess,” you rambled, not paying attention to the terrified look on Kirishima’s face.

once you caught onto him not listening, you followed his gaze, back down to the page, reading the last of the written material before looking back at him with tears rolling down your cheeks. you collapsed into his arms, sinking down to the floor together, finally realizing what was going on.

in highlighted lettering, right at the bottom of the page, you found your truth:

the test subjects at hand, Kirishima Eijirou (a) and (l/n) (y/n) (b) are still woefully unaware of the situation at hand, and we will do anything, and i mean anything, to keep it that way.

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