#whooooo boy still so many chapters to go

[slowdripsunrise]

MORE READING UPDATES OMLLLLLLL i forgor about this blog again. it will happen again tbh but i still have to go through all of the books i finished in late 2023 up to now... i'm gonna try and get as many as i can done but probably wont get all of them lol. probably very long post/rant + spoilers for various books under the cut

keep in mind i have shit memory and all of these books were finished a while ago so be warned for bad analysis and summaries

-How High We Go in the Dark by Sequoia Nagamatsu: this book was a collection of short stories that are interconnected through characters and a central storyline - a plague. i thought the concept was super interesting and i had heard really good things about it from people i share a reading taste with so i went into this expecting to be blown away and i just. wasnt. i LOVED some of the short stories and there were a few that made me cry, mainly snortorious and the robot dog story where the mom died, but other than that it was kinda a let down. the ending fucking sucked ngl. like i thought we were leading up to some profound moment, especially calling back to the chapter where people are relieving their memories in the dark, because i thought that was really compelling and interesting, but it was just fucking aliens. like it reallly feels like a cop out to me. like a whole "and it was all just a dream" type ending. im not gonna rate it actually yes i am i'd give it like 2.5-3 stars. only because some of the chapters were super hard hitting but other than that. meh.

-The Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater: WHOOOOO BOY. i ate this shit up. god if i had read this in middle school or high school i am 100% certain it would have become my entire personality. like i fucking get it. i totally fucking get it. i'm treating the whole series as one book rn bc they all kinda blend together in my mind and its been a while but just. the fucking vibes. good lord the vibes were so good. can't pick out any 100% certain things i particularly noticed but i will reblog every webweave about this series there is trust. rating the entire series as 5 stars mostly because i listened to the audiobook and they did SUCH A GOOD JOB ON TH E AUDIOBOOK OML like. at first i was kinda thrown off bc i wasn't expecting it to be so. southern? but once i finished the first one i knew there was no way i could just go back to reading it with a physical book like audiobook all the way the narrator was so awesome and i love the southernness of it.

-What Moves the Dead by T. Kingfisher: my first t. kingfisher book! i loved the vibes, the world, the whole new set of pronouns, that shit was so fun, overall a nice short and sweet creepy ass fucking book. like im a huge wimp so i was deffo nervous and freaked out at some points, especially with the rabbits lol idk why but those were unnerving. the author did a really good job of conveying the mc's anxiety and fear while also adding in some humor and soldier rationality and stoicism. lol. cute i liked it 3.5/4 stars.

-Fault Lines by Emily Itami: tbh mostly picked this one up for the cover and it was really just a standard cheating story where the mc gets back together with her original husband because of their kids. nothing i remember to be groundbreaking at all really. 2.5 stars

-Olga Dies Dreaming by Xochitl Gonzalez: I really wasn't expecting to like this book as much as I did. the pov changes i think were very well done and intentional and weren't confusing at all! the narrators for the audiobook were wonderful and really brought life to the story, a lovely book.

-She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan: honestly, looking back on it, i was never really captivated by this story. it took me a long time to get into it, and i really never connected with any of the characters. a lot of it was more confusing than not, and i'm honestly not sure if i feel the need to continue the series. may be a case of me not being in the right mood for it, but i don't see myself trying it again. kinda sad cuz i was excited to love this but oh well. win some lose some.

-Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr: hands down my fav book of 2023 and one of my fav books of all time. like i have a feeling this review is going to be either very long or very short because there is no way i will be able to write out all the ways i love this book. the owl motif. the environmental extremism from seymore that i can 100% relate to. the way that he fell down that path in a way that felt realistic to me, based on his circumstances, and it isn't implied in my opinion, that all autistic people are like this, that all autistic people can take things to the extreme like seymore did. the audiobook was wonderful. the interconnected stories over time i think is one of my new favorite tropes/plots/metas. if done well (cough how high we go in the dark) it gets me every single time. XENO and everything about him. i was listening to the audiobook at work and during his death i had to fight back tears lol. god. and the kids in the play and how they wanted to end the story.... fuck my life. and konstance and her curiosity and oh my god everything about this book messed me up. 5/5 i think thats all i'll be able to say before i combust.

-Chlorine by Jade Song: what a weird little book. really liked it. audiobook slayed. not much else to say. recommend for weird lesbians. 3.5/4 stars.

-A Dowry of Blood by S. T. Gibson: THE AUDIOBOOK NARRATOR IS SO FUCKING GOOD AT HER JOB I COULD LISTEN TO HER TALK ALL DAY I THINK IM IN LOVE WITH HER. the story was really good love a good vampire story love a good creepy story. fun time. listened to the audiobook in like an hour hour and a half car ride it was a good time. 3.5 stars.

and that ends off all of the books i read in 2023 !!!!!!! YIPPEEE!!!!! i'll stop here and make a separate post for the books i've read so far in 2024 just for organizational purposes and also because i am hungry and need to stop lol. if you made it this far through the post i love you and also sorry for the long rant but also too bad because this is my blog and you clicked on it. happy reading :)

[perspective-series]

Pet Perspective (5/19)

By: @arc852 and @hiddendreamer67

Warnings: Collars, pain, shocking

First Chapter || Previous Chapter || Next Chapter

————————————————————————————–

 Patton brought Logan up the stairs but didn’t stop at his room. Instead, he went straight to his bathroom next to it. He set Logan down on the counter and grinned at him. “Alright, I think it would be good for you to take a quick shower first before we head out. The sink should be fine until we can buy you a tiny shower.”

Logan had never used anything besides a tiny shower before. “How does it work?”

 “I’ll just turn the faucet on like this.” Patton did so. “So there isn’t too much pressure and you can go in a wash real quick with some soap I can give you.” Patton explained. He let the water run as he got up and went to snag a little piece of soap off the bar in his shower. He turned back and handed it to Logan. “There you go.”

“Are there any clean clothes?” Logan looked around, seeing none. “This exercise seems pointless if I’m redressing in the same garments.”

 “Well, no...but I could wash them for you while you’re in the shower?” Patton suggested.

Logan cringed at the suggestion. “I am particularly clean. I bathed yesterday and borrowers take several days before a second bath is required.”

 “Well...if you’re sure.” Patton said. “I can take the soap back then, we can save it for later.” He held his hand out as the other turned the water off.

Logan nodded, handing over the soap.

 Patton put the soap back and closed the cage back up, taking it back into his room and setting it back down on the desk. “Alright, well, I need to go get ready then, so I’ll be right back, okay?” Patton grabbed his clothes and headed back into his bathroom.

Logan settled in, waiting patiently as he was trained. That was one thing he was good at- patience. While, only in terms of waiting alone. Logan had very little patience for others, be they borrower or especially human.

 Patton came back fifteen minutes later, hair slightly wet and in new clothes. He dumped his old ones in a hamper, before going back over to his borrower. “Alright, so...how do you want to do this? I’m not sure if I can bring the whole cage with me while we shop.”

“Is it required I attend shopping?” Logan raised an eyebrow.

 “Well, yeah, I want you to choose what you want.” Patton answered.

“In that case… “ Logan glanced at his human’s attire. “I suppose a pocket would be optimal.”

 Patton looked down at himself and grinned. “Okay! Sounds good!” He opened the cage and once again set his hand, palm out, for Logan to climb on.

Logan tensed, but found the prospect less threatening now when he knew it would not be for long and that touch was being avoided. He was surprised his human was so accommodating. Because of this, Logan climbed onto the palm.

 Patton grinned wide, glad to see his borrower had actually done it. He was quick to bring his hand to his chest pocket, holding it open to let his borrower climb down himself.

Logan did so, finding the sensation rather odd. He had never actually been in a pocket, and it took him several minutes to scoot around and find a comfortable position.

 ��How is it? Comfy?” Patton asked, opening the pocket to glance down inside it.

“It will suffice.” Logan answered, nearly losing his footing as the containment was jostled.

 “Great!” Patton got up and headed downstairs, he was met with Virgil, already all ready and holding Roman close to his chest. “Hey Virge! All ready to get going?” He asked.

 Virgil nodded but looked Patton over in confusion. “Yeah but uh, where’s your borrower?” He asked.

 “Oh!” Patton chuckled and opened his pocket a little to show his borrower off. “He’s in here!”

Logan gave a cautious wave.

“Of course he is.” Roman huffed, imagining it was quite comfortable. Then again, Roman had been in plenty of cramped pockets in his life to know they weren’t all fun and games.

 “Oh, wow, that’s actually a pretty good idea.” Virgil looked down at Roman and then at his hoodie pocket. He raised his eyebrows in a silent question.

“Well, it certainly beats dropping me on the sidewalk. What, you really expect to keep me steady all that way?” Roman raised his own eyebrows.

 “Fair point.” Virgil said with a shrug before gently depositing Roman into his pocket. He kept one hand in though, just in case. “How is that?”

“Not as messy as your room.” Came the surprised muffled reply.

 Patton couldn’t hide the chuckle at that and Virgil glared down at his pocket. “Whatever, we’re ready.”

 “Then let’s get going! No time to waste!” Patton grabbed his keys and Virgil followed him out the door. They both got into the car and Patton started it up but as soon as it started, the music started blasting at a high volume. 

Logan let out a shriek, which quickly turned high pitched as he firmly tried to press his hands to his ears and ignore the painful shock he received for raising his voice too high. His entire form began to tremble, an aftershock of soundwaves and the collar alike.

“TURN IT DOWN!” Roman gave his own shriek, unprohibited by a collar to speak his mind as he curled up with his hands to his ears. “WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU BOTH?!”

 Patton scrambled to turn off the radio, sighing in relief when he was successful. “I’m so sorry! I forgot it was up that high!” Concern etched into his face, Patton took Logan out of his pocket and looked him over. “Are you okay?”

 Virgil did the same, grabbing Roman gently around the middle and bringing him up to chest level. “Are you okay?” He gently touched the side of Roman’s head.

“WHAT?” Roman shouted back, his ears still ringing. 

Logan was still shivering, his muscles tense from the sudden jolt of electricity that had traveled through his veins.

 Virgil winced. “Well, that isn’t good.”

 Patton frowned down at his borrower. The poor thing was shaking like a leaf. “Kiddo? What’s wrong?”

“I- the- reaction- “ Logan found himself unable to form a coherent sentence, instead steadying his breathing and focusing on getting his body under control.

 “Hey, hey, it’s okay.” Patton gently rubbed the borrower’s back. “I’ll make sure we leave it off from now on, okay? No more big noisy surprises.” He promised.

Logan just nodded, frightened of setting off the collar again. For once he did not mind the sensation of touch, finding comfort in the warmth as his primitive mind attempted to cope.

 As Patton continued to comfort his borrower, Virgil was still focused on Roman.

 “Is your hearing back yet?” He asked.

“A LITTLE.” Roman gave a wibbly-wobbly motion with his hand, rubbing at his ears to try to get the sensation to stop. He was aware he was still yelling but couldn’t cease.

 “Okay, you’re the one who lost their hearing, not me. You don’t have to yell.” Virgil said, wincing a little at the volume on the little guy. He was sort of impressed too, actually.

“...WHAT?” Roman tried not to smirk too much, his hearing beginning to return. It was certainly a benefit to annoy Virgil. He should do this more often.

 Virgil gave Roman a deadpanned look. “Okay, now you’re just messing with me, aren’t you?”

“I CAN’T HEAR YOU.” Roman yelled, feigning ignorance. He put his hand to his ear, which had stopped ringing. “YOU’LL HAVE TO SPEAK UP.”

 “...You’re going back in the pocket.” Virgil said, slipping Roman back into his hoodie pocket as promised.

 Patton shook his head at the two, looking down at his borrower. Who looked a bit better. “You good now? Are you ready to go?” He asked gently.

Logan nodded. He had regained control of his limbs, and was eager to retreat to the relative safety of his own pocket.

 “Okay.” Patton put the tiny back in his pocket and finally put the car into drive and took off for the store.

 They arrived ten minutes later, both humans getting out of the car. When they entered the store, Virgil brought Roman out into the open. “I’m gonna head over that way. Meet you back up front in an hour?” Virgil asked and Patton gave him a thumbs up.

 “Sounds good, kiddo!” They went their separate ways. Virgil beelining it for the clothes.

 “Alright, Roman. See anything you like?” He asked, pointing the borrower in the direction of all the tiny clothes.

Roman glanced over the large selection of clothing, mostly unimpressed. It was mostly bland, very few colors and poor imitations of human clothing. And then, Roman’s eyes landed on a bin off at the end. Roman gasped, grabbing onto Virgil’s sleeve and pointing, unable to contain his excitement. “There!”

 Virgil raised an eyebrow but then groaned as he got closer and saw what was inside. “Really? Roman you have all these normal clothes to choose from, why are you looking in the costume bin?”

“Those are boring.” Roman wrinkled his nose. Human-made borrower clothes were known for being dull and coming apart easily, not for practical use. At least something with glitter and frills would give Roman a small sense of fun. Roman kept in a moan, wanting to reach out and grab the fabrics. “You said anything, now take me to those treasures!”

 Virgil sighed, he had said that, hadn’t he. He went over and turned the box on it’s side before setting Roman down to look. “Alright, but they can’t all be from here. You have to get some regular clothes.”

“Preposterous. Ooh~!” Roman agreed to nothing, holding up a rainbow crop top that was likely a rejected part of some hippy outfit.

 Virgil just barely kept himself from face palming. “You can’t be serious.”

“I am completely serious. No, wait!” Roman gasped, grabbing up a long frilly white top that was a pirate’s undershirt.

 Virgil groaned. “Roman, look, I know these are actually made for borrowers and stuff but they might as well be doll clothes. Why would you want that?” Virgil asked.

Roman tensed for a moment, shaking off the feeling with his arms full of costume pieces. He pointed back towards the regular clothes. “Those might as well be doll clothes too, with how sturdy they are. I figure I might as well have fun with it if I’m meant to wear any of these.”

 Virgil sighed. “Fine, it’s my fault for saying you could get whatever you wanted anyway.” Virgil muttered. “Just hurry up, we only have an hour and we still need to get other things for you.”

Roman quirked an eyebrow. “Do you seriously have the gaul to tell me to hurry up? When I am in a fashionista’s paradise?”

 “...I’ve just realized how terrible an idea it was to take you shopping for clothes.” Virgil groaned, running a hand down his face.

“You don’t know what you’re talking about.” Roman insisted, gathering up more bits and pieces here and there. “If you hadn’t taken me, you would have to put up with my moaning over whatever horrendous ‘look’ you would have chosen.”

 Virgil made a face. “Yeah...honestly though, I’m not sure which one would have been worse at this point.” They had just gotten there and he was already bored. Leaning his face on one hand, he started shifting through the box to busy himself.

“What’s so bad about this?” Roman argued. “I’m the one doing all the hard work, you know. You should be thanking me.”

 “I’ve just never been a fan of shopping for clothes. I mean, have you seen what I’m wearing?” He usually just went for what was dark and comfortable. There wasn’t much thought behind it. Speaking of, Virgil raised an eyebrow as he brought out a sleeveless leather jacket. He smirked at Roman as he held it up. “Hey Roman, I think this would be perfect for you.” He waved the jacket back and forth.

Roman paused, hating to admit that he could almost see himself wearing that. Almost. But he certainly wasn’t about to tell Virgil that, and end up with an entire wardrobe just as dark and gloomy. “Very funny, irritating emo.”

 Virgil shrugged but threw the jacket back into the pile. He checked his phone. How had they only been here for five minutes? It felt so much longer.

Roman continued to gather up various outfits, abandoning his technique of gathering them in his arms and instead piling them up off to the side as the amount grew to be more than he could feasibly carry. Seeing Virgil otherwise occupied, Roman also took the opportunity to sneak the jacket into his stash, shoving it deep into the middle so it wasn’t easily visible. 

 As Virgil finally looked back at what Roman had found, his eyes widened at the size of the pile that had grown. Oh, that was definitely going to cost him. “Okay, I think we’re done for now.” He quickly scooped Roman up with one hand before scooping up the clothes with another. He through them in a nearby hand basket before taking said hand basket with him.

“How come?” Roman asked, playing innocent. He may have thrown a few items on just for the heck of it at the end. After all, it wasn’t like he had to pay for it.

 “I think this,” He held the basket up. “Is more than enough clothes. Now come on, we still have to get you a collar and an enclosure.” Virgil headed over towards the collars first, figuring it would be easy to get out of the way.

At the mention of the collar, Roman’s mood dropped significantly. In all the hype he had almost forgotten that particular accessory, and his neck was already chafing in memory. Not to mention, any gaudy tag was certain to clash with all the clothes he had painstakingly chosen.

 Virgil looked at all the colors with a hum. “What color do you want?” Virgil asked Roman, letting him look at the selection.

“...none of them?” Roman tried, giving Virgil a hesitant smile.

 “Nice try but you have to have one. Look, if you don’t care I’ll just get you a black one.” He started to reach for it.

“No!” Roman all but screeched, not wanting that dark leather permanently around his neck. 

 Virgil stopped and pulled his arm back. “Well, then pick one.”

Roman bit his lip, evaluating his choices. Unlike his clothing, Roman didn’t want a frilly collar. It would only get in his way and serve as a constant reminder of his imprisonment. No, what Roman needed was something slim and subtle, that would stay out of his way and hopefully be able to remove. 

“...that one.” Roman sighed, pointing dejectedly at a thin red collar hanging near the bottom.

 Virgil grabbed the one Roman pointed at, looking it over. “Okay, yeah, looks good. We’ll get you a tag made once we check out.” He put it into the basket. “Alright, now onto the enclosures.”

 He went to the next isle, looking at the displays they had. The furniture and such was below each display. “Alright, Roman. What are you thinking?”

“Oh, I’m thinking we have quite enough, I don’t want you to have to spend all that money on an enclosure…” Roman pretended to look upset at the notion.

 “Roman, it really is no problem. I know I complained a bit but Pat and I saved up specifically for this, so go ahead and choose whatever you want.” He motioned back over to the wall.

“Well, in that case,” Roman’s features failed to hide a mischievous grin, the borrower pointing eagerly at the top shelf. There sat an ornate structure, designed to look like a true doll, er, borrower, mansion, complete with a gold paint finish and advertised swimming pool.

 “...Okay, I officially regret everything.” He looked down at Roman. “Please pick something cheaper?” He asked.

“I’m sorry, except I’m not!” Roman pointed earnestly at it again. “You said ‘whatever I want’. You were very clear about your intentions.”

 “Okay, well not even a second ago you didn’t even want one. I know you’re just choosing it to get at me.” Virgil said, glaring at the borrower slightly.

“I would never.” Roman put a hand to his heart. “I never said I didn’t want one, I only expressed concern over your wallet, which you were quick to wave off. My heart’s been set on that one ever since i laid eyes on it and I cannot be swayed.”

 Virgil groaned. He knew he didn’t have to get it for Roman. But he also wanted Roman to like him and if that meant getting a-he looked at the price tag and his eyes widened-very expensive enclosure then...he supposed his wallet would just have to forgive him. “Fine, alright.”

 He waved someone down to ask for it and they told him it would be waiting up front for him. He thanked the man and then turned back to the furniture. “You are so spoiled.”

Roman just looked quite pleased with himself.

 Virgil sighed. “Just pick some furniture already.”

[hajimes-erect-ahoge]

Postmortem- Chapter 17

PING PONG TIME ao3 Approximately two weeks had passed since Ouma had sustained his concussion, giving him ample time to recover. During these two weeks he mostly rested and stayed in the apartment, albeit hesitantly. Ouma was impatient; He wanted to be out and about as if he had never been injured in the first place, but Saihara and Momota had other plans for him. It was incredibly boring to him, but Ouma reluctantly saw the point in their strictness as he soon felt better.

Now, however, he was itching for a chance to leave the apartment. Even if it was something as mundane as joining Saihara and Momota for their nightly training once more, Ouma craved an excuse to get out of the apartment and do something. What he would do, however, remained a mystery.

That was, until he overheard a rather interesting conversation between Saihara and Momota.

~~~~~~~~~~

”Hey, sidekick!” Momota’s voice greeted enthusiastically, “Got any plans this weekend?”

Saihara peered over his mug of coffee, carefully recalling if he had any plans coming up. “Not that I know of.” He observed Momota’s cheerful demeanor, expecting an invitation of some sort.

“Great!” Momota slammed his fists together in excitement, grinning at his sidekick. “Then you and I are going to check out the game room on Saturday!”

“The game room…?” Saihara repeated Momota’s words back to him, faintly recalling that the apartment complex had a game room reserved for leisurely activities. “That’s right! I remember the paperwork we had to fill out mentioning a recreation room of some sort…”

“Yep! What do you say?” Momota beamed, radiating liveliness.

Saihara gave a soft smile, “Sure, sounds fun.”

“Great! It’ll be just the two of us then so don’t forget!” Momota told Saihara, who nodded in agreement.

Meanwhile, Ouma stood right before the threshold of the living room, fingertips lingering on the door to the bedroom. He smirked to himself, a plan manifesting itself in his mind. At least he wouldn’t be bored this Saturday, he thought.

~~~~~~~~~~

The awaited day came quicker than expected, Ouma’s mind buzzing with excitement. He glanced at the clock before practically leaping out of bed, making sure everything was going according to plan.

Saihara-chan and Momota-chan should be in the game room right now… Time to get to work!

The layout of the apartment complex only facilitated Ouma’s plans, the game room being located in the basement while the apartments and common room were ground level. He quickly set his plan in motion, knocking on Amami’s door.

After a few short knocks the door opened, revealing a nonchalant Amami.

“Hey, Ouma-kun. What’s up?” He leaned casually against the door, awaiting Ouma’s response.

“Amami-chan, I need your help!” Ouma balled his hands into fists, looking up at Amami with pleading eyes. “It’s an emergency!”

“Oh? And what could that be?” Amami chuckled to himself, unfazed by Ouma’s antics.

“Saihara-chan and Momota-chan are hanging out in the game room without us!” Ouma frowned.

“And this is an emergency because…?” Amami asked, not following Ouma’s logic.

“Because...” Ouma smirked, “We can’t let them have fun without us, riiiight?”

“Okay…” Amami replied, starting to put the pieces together. “So you’re suggesting we show up and crash their hangout?”

“Not just us!” Ouma grinned, beaming up at him. “Help me gather the rest of the guys! Pwetty pwease?”

Amami snorted, now fully understanding Ouma’s plan. While he could chalk it up to his typical mischievousness all he wanted to, it was clear that he missed spending time with everyone despite their grudges. He nodded, agreeing to Ouma’s plan.

“Yay! Amami-chan is the best accomplice ever!” Ouma cheered.

Amami cocked an eyebrow, “Accomplice?”

“Yep! Now come on, we’ve got a party to crash!” Ouma grinned, having successfully gained Amami’s cooperation.

The two of them thus set out to gather the remaining boys and bring them to the game room, Saihara and Momota blissfully unaware of what was going on.

~~~~~~~~~~

The game room was full of various means of entertainment, such as a ping pong table, a foosball table, a pool table, and an overabundance of couches and other forms of seating. Saihara and Momota stood at each end of the ping pong table, paddles in hand.

“I win… Again.” Saihara gave a sly smirk, picking up the ping pong ball.

“T-That’s because I was going easy on ya!” Momota declared, aiming to save his dignity. “One more round!”

Saihara chuckled, choosing not to point out the fact that Momota said the same exact thing after the last round. “Sure.”

Raising his paddle in the air with one hand and holding the ping pong ball in another, Saihara prepared to serve and start the next match. But just as he was about to strike the ball after tossing it in the air, the doors to the game room swung open. Saihara fumbled with the ball as it fell to the ground, instead turning his attention to the now open doors.

“Guess whooooo!” Ouma sang as he stood proudly in front of the open doors, the rest of the boys standing behind him.

“Ouma?! What do you think you’re-” Momota began, only to be cut off by an impatient Ouma.

“Hush, Momota-chan! I’m still mad at you for making plans to go to the game room without me- I mean, us!” Ouma pouted, haughtily stalking over to the ping pong table.

The other boys filed into the room, following Ouma. Shinguji and Hoshi seated themselves on the couch, having come here against their will more than anything. Meanwhile, Gokuhara explored the many different games set up in the room with Kiibo following him, offering him an explanation and answering any questions he had, having studied thoroughly about human forms of entertainment.

“Sorry about that.” Amami chuckled.

“Wha-?! Amami, you helped him?!” Momota was more dumbfounded than anything, surprised that Ouma managed to pull this off.

“Yeah, he seemed pretty determined about crashing your private little hangout session.” He approached the ping pong table, picking up a spare paddle. “Since we’re all here, how about a game of ping pong?”

“Ooh, ooh, I wanna play!” Ouma excitedly searched for another paddle, holding it up proudly once he found it.

Momota grinned, “You guys are on! Shuichi, come on my side! We can take ‘em!”

“We’ll see about that.” Amami retorted, getting into position along the other side of the table with Ouma.

Saihara held up the ping pong ball, preparing to serve it. “Ready?”

The members of the other team nodded, Saihara promptly serving the ball. A rally quickly formed, mostly between Saihara and Amami. Ouma would jump in and hit the ball whenever it was on his side, both him and Amami staying on their designated sides. Noticing that Momota was sitting back and letting his sidekick do all the work, Ouma hit the ball straight towards him. Momota fumbled for a moment before haphazardly striking the ball, sending it flying over Ouma and Amami’s heads.

“Hey, that wasn’t fair!” Momota protested.

Ouma snorted, “Last time I checked there are two members on a team, Momota-chan! Stop making Saihara-chan pick up your slack just because you suck!”

“I don’t suck! It’s just our strategy!” Momota argued vaguely, “You’ll see!”

Amami had retrieved the ball from the other side of the room, holding it in his hand. Once Ouma and Momota had stopped bickering he served it, starting another round. Momota received the ball, striking it with a particularly fired up exclamation. Ouma rolled his eyes, hitting the ball back with ease. Another rally started, only to end when Amami sent the ball right in between Saihara and Momota, causing both of them to hesitate in receiving it.

Ouma gave an impressed whistle, “Looks like I chose the right teammate! No one beats Amami-chan!”

Watching Ouma and Amami share an excited high five, Saihara couldn’t help but feel a pang of jealousy.

Were him and Amami always this close? It was just a game of ping pong anyway, it’s not like it was a big deal…

Saihara was brought out of his thoughts upon hearing none other than Amami’s voice.

“You’re pretty good at this, Saihara-kun.” he complimented.

“Thanks…” Saihara awkwardly replied, still staring at the ground in thought.

“Both of you seem to have a knack for this, if my opinion means anything.” Hoshi’s deep voice spoke, eyeing Saihara and Amami as he stood up from his seat and walked over to them. “I may not truly be the Ultimate Tennis Pro anymore, but I’ve still got some skill when it comes to these types of games. I know talent when I see it.”

“W-What about me?” Momota asked, seeking validation of his own skills.

Hoshi shrugged, “Not everyone is meant for this, kid. No sweat.”

While Momota stood there in shock, Ouma proposed an idea. “Hey, Hoshi-chan! Why dontcha go up against Amami-chan and Saihara-chan?”

Hoshi thought for a moment before responding, “I’m a bit rusty, but… if that’s what you want to see then I don’t see why not.” He gave a small smile, his ever-present love for tennis, even if in ping pong form, still palpable.

Saihara and Amami also agreed, lining themselves up to play against the former Ultimate Tennis Pro. Ouma stood with the still sulking Momota alongside the other edge of the table, eager to watch the game.

Hoshi promptly served the ball, striking it with enough force and speed that neither Saihara nor Amami could react in time. It was silent for a moment, with even Shinguji, Gokuhara and Kiibo looking on in awe.

“Woah..! How cool!” Ouma cheered. “Do it again!”

“Heh, sorry about that…” Hoshi apologized, “Guess my instincts took over for a second there.”

Saihara and Amami shared a nervous look, simultaneously realizing what they had gotten themselves into. Nonetheless, they continued the game, Hoshi promising to take it down a notch. The rest of the boys watched on, fascinated at how Hoshi’s tennis skills translated into also being great at ping pong.

Many rounds later, Hoshi decided to end his brutal winning streak and call it a day. Saihara and Amami thankfully agreed, both of them exhausted.

The rest of the boys were ready to head back as well, everyone saying their goodbyes before heading out. Gokuhara even bowed and thanked the others for inviting him, stating that he had such a great time despite not actually participating in their games.

Saihara looked towards Ouma, seeking an opportunity to speak to him in private. The boy in question was currently gushing over Hoshi, praising him for his superb ping pong skills. After Hoshi said his goodbyes to Ouma, Saihara swooped in.

“Ah, Ouma-kun…? Can I talk to you for a minute?” Saihara asked him.

“Sure!” Ouma chirped, “Anything for my beloved Saihara-chan!”

There it was again, those honey-laced words that made Saihara’s heart swirl with affection. For a moment he caught himself wishing those words would only be spoken to him, however he quickly chastised himself for having such selfish thoughts.

Once the room was empty asides from the two of them, Saihara tried to speak but struggled to find his words. He had so many things to say, leaving him unsure of where to begin. Forcing himself to speak, he said exactly what he was thinking.

“I… have a lot to say, but I’m not exactly sure where to begin…” Saihara admitted, feeling the power of the moment slip through his fingers.

Ouma tensed, his anxiety about the lack of control over the situation beginning to get to him. He wasn’t exactly sure where Saihara was going with this, and that scared him.

Amidst Ouma’s silence, Saihara spoke once more. “I’m really happy that you’re feeling better. I… After what happened to you the other day, I was just so worried, and…” Saihara instinctively clenched his fists as he spoke, being overcome with emotion. He didn’t want to overwhelm Ouma or, even worse, bore him with his outburst of emotion, so he kept it simple. “I’m just so happy to have you here with me, Ouma-kun.” He smiled, attempting to put the blank-faced Ouma at ease.

It was quiet for a moment, neither of them speaking. Ouma repeated Saihara’s words over and over again in his mind, panicking at the fact that he had yet to respond. He didn’t want to seem uninterested, yet he didn’t want to pour his heart out either. Deciding that he had been quiet long enough, he told Saihara what he had been hinting at since the very beginning in a feeble attempt to gain control of the situation.

“I like you.”

Saihara paused for a moment, then chuckled. “I like you too, Ouma-kun. Like I said, I care about you a lot, and-”

“No, I mean I like you, Saihara-chan!” Ouma repeated, more emphatically this time.

Saihara froze, processing Ouma’s words. There’s no way he could be serious, right…?

“But that’s a lie, isn’t it?” Saihara gave a sad smile, wishing that Ouma’s words were indeed true. Someone like Ouma would never have feelings for him, he was way too shy and awkward for something like that to ever happen to him…

“Aw man, you caught me!” Ouma admitted cheerfully, ignoring the uncomfortable surge of negative emotions running through him. “I can’t get anything past Saihara-chan, now can I?” Before Saihara could respond, Ouma took off running towards the stairs, giving one last shout. “Welllll, I better get going now! See ya!” And with that, he ran up the stairs as quickly as he could, not wanting Saihara to see him cry.

God, I’m such a baby… What happened to the me during the killing game that could hide his emotions like a pro?

Meanwhile, Saihara stood dumbfounded in the game room all by himself.

Why did he just run off so suddenly? There’s no way he…

Saihara froze, not even letting himself finish that thought.

He felt himself start to panic as he acknowledged the fact that Ouma may have truly meant what he said a few moments ago, and it was his fault for screwing it up and accusing him of lying.

I have to find Ouma-kun, fast!

Saihara called his name and ran up the stairs, attempting to chase after him. There’s no way he could just let Ouma go like that, not when they were so close to revealing their true feelings about each other. With a newfound determination and a pinch of anxiety, Saihara set out to find Ouma and make things right between them.

[delaneytveit]

Satellites Part 13

WHOOOOO we’re halfway thereeee! OOOHHHHH (Actually we’ve been a little bit more than half way for a bit) but don’t worry, there’s still A LOT of story to get through. If you guys enjoyed this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it, please consider buying me a coffee! 

Oh and I’m on twitter! if you want to give a follow, or watch me scream into the void about Lance in tactical gear, that’s the place! 

Twitter - sfw -> @/spacemom_laney | nsfw -> @/15_agentwash

ko-fi - ko-fi.com/delaneym_15

 ( Part 12 ) ( Satellites Master Post ) (Part 14) 

The team left at 0800 the next morning. Allura had convinced, after quite a long time, Blue to let her pilot. Though it was clear that Blue was not happy about it. The only lion that was missing was the red one.

Keith had chosen to stay behind, to much confusion of the team. Though Lance could vaguely guess why. He felt guilty. Keith had been the one to bring into question Lance’s ability to complete missions, and even though that wasn’t his intention, he knew that it still hurt Lance.

Their relationship was rocky as it was. Neither of them really knew where they stood with the other, what they were to each other, and it seemed that the present situation had complicated things even more so.

Lance was refusing to talk to Keith, and it hurt. He hadn’t meant to indirectly ground the sharpshooter. He had only wanted to voice his concerns to Allura, positive that she would be able to do something for Lance that he couldn’t.

Normally, the only kind of confrontation Keith would be willing to face was violent, but he didn’t want to fight Lance. He wanted to apologize. To take responsibility for what was happening to Lance. He owed him that much at least.

It wasn’t hard to track the Blue Paladin down. He had locked himself in his room since breakfast. It was a good thing Keith knew the code by heart.

Punching in the code, he was relieved when the door whooshed open revealing Lance sitting at his desk. Keith could hear the volume of the headphones from where he stood, which made him cringe. The EDM music that Lance listened to was loud enough, didn’t anyone warn him of blowing out an eardrum?

Keith knocked twice before taking loud steps towards the boy, hoping that they would be loud enough to let Lance know that he was there. Lance’s anxiety had spiked dramatically since his return and it took one accidental sneak up by Pidge to inform the team that it was vital for Lance to know that you were coming, so as to avoid a swift punch to the face out of panic.

“What do you want, Keith?” Lance sighed as he removed his earphones. He swiveled his chair to look at the red paladin, arms crossed as he leaned back in his seat.

This was it, Keith had been rehearsing his apology for hours now, trying to make it sound as genuine and coherent as possible. Though at the very moment, what ever award winning speech he had come up with beforehand had vanished as those hard blue eyes stared into him.

“I’m sorry.” he blurted out, cursing himself for his lack of grace.

He immediately dropped his gaze, eyes staring at the floor. There was only a tense silence between them, and Keith begged his mind to come up with something, anything to put an end to this crushing feeling.

But of course, his mind, nor his mouth could seem to work correctly.

It was Lance who broke the silence instead.

“For?” he asked, the question forcing Keith to look up and face the boy. Blue eyes met his once more, a questioning brow raised as Lance waited for Keith to answer.

He could do this.

“I shouldn’t have told Allura about all of this. I- I didn’t know that she would take you off of missions. I should have talked to you and voiced my concerns to you, you didn’t deserve what Allura did to you and it's my fault that it happened. And I am so, so sorry for that.” He was rambling, he knew he was. How did people do this? How did they apologize?

He was only stopped when Lance held up his hand.

“I appreciate the apology, I really do. And to be honest, I’m glad that you told Allura. I don’t think she would have found out if you hadn’t. I’m not mad at you Keith.”

“You’re not?”

Lance chuckled a little, running a hand through his hair.

“I mean, I am a little bit. But I think I’m more pissed at the situation in general.” Lance leaned forward, perching his elbows on his knees. Looking down at his clasped hands, Lance spoke “You guys are right, I’m not okay. I haven’t been for a while and no matter how much I pretend that I am, I’m just hurting myself. I’m not getting better.” he sounded so...broken. Lance never really talked about himself, at all really. Superficial things, sure. Like how he got barely any sleep, or that he missed his mom’s cooking. But he never really talked about things deeper than that. Keith hadn’t really noticed until now, but Lance had been hiding a big part of himself away this entire time, and it only came out at his most vulnerable times at night.

A year ago, Keith would have thought of the way that Lance talks about himself as vain, but now he knew that it wasn’t really the case. Lance has been putting on a mask this whole time.

“But we don’t have time. The universe doesn’t have time for me to get better. It's a long ass process that Voltron can’t afford.”

He was right, of course he was right. Lance was vital to Voltron, even if he didn’t really see himself that way. He still knew that Voltron needed him. It was even more present today with Blue’s little tantrum about having to take on Allura as a pilot.

“But is the universe really more important than having you here?” That was what Keith was most afraid of. Lance had always been the self-sacrificial type. He couldn’t argue that he himself was any better, but Lance seemed to take it to a whole new level. The paladin would miss sleep and meals to make sure that everyone else was taken care of. He would jump in front of a bullet in a second to spare the others. On one occasion Lance had bounded into a burning building to save a few children stuck on the third floor, that had been the worst as it only reminded Keith of how he lost his father. He couldn’t lose Lance too.

“Keith-”

“No, Lance. Listen to me. The universe is not worth you throwing yourself away like that. What you need time to heal, what you went through was fucking terrible. It's no wonder you have PTSD from it.”

“We are the literal Defenders of the Universe, I can’t just not do my job!”

“I’m not asking you to stop being a paladin! I’m asking to for once in your life put yourself first. We need you, I need you! You need to let yourself heal from all of this because there is no Voltron if you continue to let your own health fall by the wayside!” Keith meant every word of it. They needed Lance. They needed him to come back, to be the best he could be, and as hard as he was trying right now, this wasn’t it.

“I’m worried for you, Lance. I can’t lose you too.” Keith’s voice was so small, he himself almost didn’t hear it. But he knew that Lance did, as the boy stood up from his seat and walked over to Keith, instantly wrapping his arms around the shorter one.

“You won’t Keith, I’m not going anywhere. I promise.”

Keith breathed in the scent of ocean and sandalwood of Lance’s detergent, and thanked whatever higher being was there that Lance had insisted on buying his own detergent all those mall trips ago. The pompous asshole had good taste in soap, and it comforted Keith easily.

“Just promise me you’ll at least try.”

He felt Lance take a deep breath.

“I am trying, Keith. I’m trying every day.” If Keith felt the shaky breaths or the wetness on his shoulder, he said nothing. It was clear that Lance needed this as much as he did, maybe even more. “I never wished I was Shiro, more than I do right now. He’s been through everything and he’s able to handle it all so easily.”

Oh, absolutely not. There was no way in hell Keith would let Lance talk about himself like that.

He pulled away from their hug, to much of his own dismay, and held Lance at arms length. Violet eyes bore into icy blue ones. The eyes that he could get lost in, but now as not the time to think about that, Keith.

“Lance, you said it yourself. WHat Shiro went through and what you went through was completely different.”

“But-”

“No. You really think that Shiro would be in any better of a state than you are now after being treated the way you were? I have no idea the extent of what they did to you, but I do know that it had to have been absolute hell. You don’t get to compare your pain to others, just because they seem to be doing better than you. Your pain is your own, so stop being an idiot and just acknowledge the fact that those guys are assholes!”

Keith was most definitely not expecting a chuckle from the Blue Paladin, but he assumed it would be better than the alternative.

“That was good, Mullet. You come up with all that yourself?”

Keith rolled his eyes. Of course, leave it to Lance to make a joke about a serious conversation.

“As a matter of fact, I did. And I’ll say it again. As many times as I need to for it to get through your tiny brain.”

“Hey! I’ll assure you my brain is of average size. Some may say it's even above average!”

It was Keith’s turn to laugh.

“Yeah, I’m sure it is.” he joked offhandedly, letting his grip on Lance’s arms finally fall.

Lance fixed him with his characteristically famous smirk that Keith knew could only mean trouble.

“Want to know what else is above average size?” Lance waggled his eyebrows knowingly as Keith facepalmed.

“Oh my god, Lance. No!”

[master-sass-blast]

Strong as Stone --Part Forty-Two.

Welcome back! Sorry for the brief hiatus; depression was kicking my ass (still is, but I’m determined to move forward), but now I’m back and

GOOD LORD I HAVE MADE SOME ANGST. WOW.

So, uh, last time we learned that M’Baku and Okoye are going to have a baby! Yay! How wonderful!

This time, we get to see the pre-stages of Dewani’s trial --and it gets angsty. Whooooo boy.

This chapter is rated T for the following: heavy angst, discussions of death, and angst. Angst angst angst.

Pairings: Okoye x M’Baku and Shuri x OC.

Yupp. Angst heavy update. You’ve been warned.

(Side note: I had to edit the title twice because I got the wrong number. The fuck is wrong with me?)

@the-last-hair-bender, @skysynclair19

Not every fight you face will be one you can control. There are times when you are the game master, and there are times where you are merely a piece on the board.

It’s hard to be a piece on the board when you know the stakes are high, because doing your best will never feel like enough --especially if you lose.

There is no magic answer, my dears, for avoiding the fear or the loss. All you can do is put one foot in front of the other.

Sometimes, moving forward is the only answer.

“This will be so much easier once the rail system is finished.”

Okoye couldn’t help but smile as she carefully --expertely--piloted her ship through the mountain range that led to the Jabari lands. “Is that so?”

“Don’t act like it won’t be!” Shuri said with a laugh, momentarily pausing her pacing around the cabin of the craft. “Just sit back and ride. It’ll be shorter, too.”

“Shortest distance between two places is a straight line,” T’Challa agreed without looking up from the book he was reading.

They were headed to the Jabari lands so that they could prepped for Dewani’s impending trial; they’d all have to give testimony in defense of the Chief’s sister --which they were all willing to do, no questions asked--and were flying out a week early so they could get a sense of what would be required of them and how the trial would proceed.

As far as Okoye was concerned --as far as they all were concerned--it was a sham. As soon as the trial started, F’Tendi’s history of abuse would come out, and that’d be the end of it. The curmudgeon would hang himself on his own rope, and Dewani would be freed from her uncle’s looming, oppressive presence.

Shuri, however, was nervous. She’d started pacing the perimeter of the cabin as soon as they’d taken off and hadn’t stopped for almost an hour.

Okoye knew the princess was young, and that youth could lend itself to restlessness and worry, but she also knew that Shuri was remarkably level-headed --and that if there was anyone who would have an inside eye on how the trial was shaping up, it was Shuri; she was Dewani’s girlfriend and confident, after all.

So, if Shuri was nervous, there had to be a reason for it… right?

You’ll find out one way or another, Okoye told herself as she steered her ship through a narrow pass. For now, focus on making it to the Jabari lands in one piece.

There was, in fact, a reason for Shuri’s nervous energy.

A very large, very --figuratively--sticky one.

According to the elder representing Dewani’s case --since M’Baku was the chief of the tribe he couldn’t present her case himself, so it had been delegated to a trusted advisor--most of F’Tendi’s charges were superfluous. Homosexuality wasn’t a crime under Hanuman’s tenaments, and F’Tendi’s abuse towards Dewani over her orientation was grounds for his own expulsion from the tribe.

Rescuing Adesina from the cult territory, however, was more than enough to land Dewani in hot water.

“She was dying!” Shuri snapped once she’d processed the information. “I’ve got more than enough medical records to prove--”

“And we will definitely be relying on those records as physical evidence, your Highness,” the elder said evenly, “but the point still remains: entering the cult territory is expressly forbidden. And, given that Sister Dewani ventured there many times and interacted with a member of the cult, she can be tried for expulsion.”

“Adesina was a victim --is a survivor--of heinous, horrific physical abuse!”

“Again, the physical evidence you have will be very handy in proving that.”

“So what’s the issue, then? Why are we even worried about Dewani’s rescue mission?” Shuri exclaimed with a scowl. “It was a goodwill mission! She risked her own life and standing to save someone else --someone that she didn’t know, that by all means should’ve been inconsequential to her. Why isn’t her compassion--”

T’Challa placed a hand on his younger sister’s shoulder. “I think the elder is trying to get to that point, but they do need the opportunity to get a word in edgewise.”

“Your Highness, you were present when Dewani asked Adesina to aid in the battle against Thanos, correct?”

Shuri’s narrowed. “What does the battle have anything to do with… anything? Thanos was trying to destroy half the world. Dewani was trying to help save it.”

“According to certain testimonies, Dewani had prior knowledge of Adesina’s powers and asked her to use them against Thanos.”

Okoye felt her heart sink. Shit.

Rescuing Adesina could easily be spun as a goodwill mission --primarily because that’s exactly what it had been. But encouraging Adesina to use her powers?

You don’t have to belong to the tribe to see where encouraging a demon to use their powers might come across as blasphemous.

“Well, we all saw Adesina use her powers when HYDRA attacked the palace,” Shuri reasoned. “Technically, there’s no legitimate way to establish that Dewani had any prior knowledge of Adesina’s powers before then. And, given the severity of the fight we were facing with Thanos, we needed all the help we could get; Adesina’s inclusion is practically in consequential.”

“Perhaps in the logistical scheme of things, but inciting a person to use dark magics is still considered an act of blasphemy,” the elder said with a small, somewhat amused smile. “Though, I might ask you to help present the case. You seem to have all the arguments formulated already.”

“Given that asking for Adesina’s help was an act of blasphemy regardless of how we look at things, what does that mean for Dewani?” T’Challa asked.

“The context of the situation might be enough to sway the council into pardoning her, especially of Adesina is truly repentant of her upbringing.”

“And if it’s not?” Okoye asked.

“She’d just be banished,” Shuri interjected. “Right?”

The elder grimaced. “Given that Adesina is a legitimate conduit of Ravana, no. Inciting the use of dark magics on that scale is ground for execution.”

Okoye’s eyes widened as Shuri let out a horrified “What?” “Isn’t that a little severe? She was heinously abused by her uncle for years and lost her brother in the fight with Thanos only a handful of weeks ago. And she only asked for Adesina’s help to try and save the world!”

“The law is the law. We can only hope that the council will be merciful and see Dewani’s choice as an act of youthful foolishness, rather than act of malicious defiance.”

T’Challa grabbed Shuri’s hand, effectively cutting the teen off before she could go on a tirade. “How can we help ensure that outcome?”

“Attesting to Dewani’s character and commitment to her tribe will be important --and providing testimony about F’Tendi’s mistreatment towards her. He’ll be presenting the case against her, and the worse of a light we can paint him in, the better Dewani’s chances are.”

Shuri stood up abruptly and darted out of the room. “I need to see Dewani.”

“It’s alright,” the elder said when T’Challa got up to go after her. “We have all week to prepare, and trying to cram everything in now isn’t going to help.”

Okoye nodded, then stood when T’Challa did. I need to speak with M’Baku.

M’Baku and Dewani were out in one of the gardens, sitting together on one of the many benches that dotted the green space. Dewani was curled up in her brother’s lap --as much as she could be, she was almost T’Challa’s height now and almost the King’s size as well--and had her face buried in his neck. M’Baku had his arms wrapped around his sister, and he looked like he’d just seen the face of death.

They know, Okoye realized. They know she could die.

Dewani popped out of her brother’s lap as soon as she saw Shuri, and then she was slumping against her girlfriend, heaving ragged sobs.

Okoye slipped past them to get to M’Baku. She held him as tightly as he held her, pressing kisses against his chest. “I’m so sorry, my love.”

“I’ve worked so hard to protect her--”

“I know.”

“--and her good intentions could get her killed.”

Okoye grimaced as she felt her throat constrict with emotion. “I know.”

M’Baku let her go and looked off to the side, away from everyone else, as he blinked rapidly. “If I-- if I had adopted her sooner, there might’ve not even been a trial. I would’ve known about her orientation sooner, handled things myself, and all this could’ve been handled quietly. She’d be safe.”

“This isn’t your fault,” Okoye insisted quietly as she rubbed her hands up and down his arms.

“Chief M’Baku,” T’Challa said as he walked up to them. “I’m so sorry.”

“That makes two of us.”

“Is there--” T’Challa paused, grimaced, then continued. “Is there anything I can do to help? Anything that might… prevent an execution order?”

Can he use his status as King to interfere so that Dewani’s guaranteed to stay safe, one way or another, Okoye translated mentally.

M’Baku smiled bitterly and shook his head. “I’m afraid not. It’s out of both our hands. We can only hope that the council judging her is lenient.”

Okoye clenched her teeth together as she watched Dewani and Shuri hold each other. Bast, please let it be so.

“I don’t know. I just don’t know.” M’Baku was sitting on the edge of his bed, head in his hands. “If it was just F’Tendi’s abuse and her orientation in question, I wouldn’t be worried--”

“Things have changed,” Okoye said softly as she knelt in front of him. “I get it.”

“The elder presenting Dewani’s case is worried that F’Tendi will use her relationship with Shuri to prove her lack of devotion to Jabari tradition and that she encouraged Adesina to use her powers to bring about the apocalypse.”

“That’s a load of bullshit. Anyone will be able to see through that.”

M’Baku shook his head. “My people are terrified of the cultists. Different beliefs and practices aside, there’s a long history of hatred and hurt there. I’m scared it won’t take much for them to transfer that to Dewani, misplaced as it is.”

“M’Baku, look at me.” Okoye cupped his face in her hands when he did. “Dewani’s going to make it out of this. She will. As soon as the elder representing her case starts talking about F’Tendi’s history of abuse, he won’t have a leg to stand on. He’ll be laughed out of the room.”

M’Baku sighed heavily before drawing her into his arms. “I wish I could have your faith.”

“Things will work out. They will.” They have to.

M’Baku pressed his lips against her forehead, then pressed one of his hands against her stomach. “How are you feeling?”

“Tired, but alright. I’ve already had to cut back on my coffee intake.”

“Horrors. Have you thought about any name choices?”

Okoye chuckled. “Isn’t it a bit early for that? We’ve only known we’re having a baby for a couple weeks now.”

M’Baku was silent for a moment, then said in a trembling voice, “I was thinking… if we had a girl --if Dewani doesn’t--”

Okoye wrapped her arms around his neck and held him as he buried his face into her shoulder and sobbed. “It won’t come to that. We aren’t going to have to do that.” She squeezed her eyes shut as she felt her own tears start their escape. Bast, please don’t make us do that.

[brothers-all]

Aru'e Tio'r (Enemy Within)

Whooooo guess who's still alive? ME! For now anyway. School is breathing down my neck, but I only have this next week left and then I AM FREE (assuming I passed all my tests that is) I am so sorry for the super late Update, especially since it feels kinda short for the wait, but I tried working on it as much as I could and I think it says a lot but not too much (which will be shown next time) SO yeah, I'm back! Hopefully, I'll be able to get my regular irregular updates up soon as well. And again, there's plenty of you lovely reviewers so I went from oldest to newest on my reply thingy.

Now, onwards to the thing you've all been waiting for! Hopefully there's still people left who read it. Also, this is where my own story for Rex's past comes into play, so if you haven't read it yet, feel free to do so - It's Aliit Ori'shya tal'din (Family is more than blood) but it's not really necessary to understand this story

[Ch.1] [Ch.2] [Ch.3] [Ch.4] [Ch.5] [Ch.6] [Ch.7] [Ch.8] [Ch.9] [Ch.10] [Ch.11] [FanFic] [AO3] [Master-list]

More about the 112th [Standard Headcannons] [Happy Version]

Chapter 12

Despite how tired they were; they knew this would likely be the last battle. So, they pressed on. With reinforcements here as well, it made it bearable and probably the only reason they were still alive.

“They’re retreating!” the voice came over all the com. links and everyone relaxed ever so slightly. The Umbarans were leaving and the Separatists were destroyed. They’ve won.

“Cody, any luck with reaching the surface?” Obi-Wan asked, steadily flying back to the Negotiator. They won this battle, finally, but the war isn’t over.

“No, only static. We can’t reach anyone,” the worry in the Commander’s voice couldn’t be missed. And the feeling he was getting through the Force didn’t bode any better.

“We should get these men back on the ships – they deserve rest,” Kenobi glanced around at the pilots and saw their tired but relieved smiles.

“Perhaps-” Cody started, cutting himself off. Just as the General was going to prompt him to continue, he spoke again. “Perhaps we could send a small party down, to check on things? Maybe going there with a fresh communicator could break this static?” He didn’t sound like his usual self, less confidant, but given what was happening, it was understandable.

“I second that,” Tiin’s voice cut through as he flew closer to Obi-Wan. “We need to organize with ground forces as soon as able.”

“It’s settled then,” Kenobi gave a small grin. “Cody, take a squad of your best men and see what’s happening down there. Report back as soon as you are able.”

“Waxer, Boil! Get the boys organized – we’re heading to the surface!” Cody called as he briskly walked through the ship. He needed experts – Umbara was no place for rookies. Trapper and Hunt are a must and he was hoping Nighteye was feeling better.

“Sir!” the duo quickly saluted and scurried off in a rush to tell the others. They’ve all been itching for a fight and some action, but they weren’t fools – they need to be ready for anything down there.

“Hang on brothers, we’re on our way.”

As Reeve stepped out the tent again, he let out a sad and trembling sigh. He hadn’t meant to do that - to tell them everything like that. He was supposed to be better than that. And yet… And yet he too was broken and looked to these men as heroes, as guides to something better and something more. And maybe, maybe he wanted them to understand, to see just how bad things were here. Maybe he wanted to let it all out, all the pain and suffering he’s felt since everything had gone to hell. After all, he was broken as well…

“Captain?” his eyes snapped up at the voices and he saw three brothers standing there, looking anxious and worried. Then again, when didn’t any of them look that way?

“Yes?” his voice was stuffy and weak so he cleared his voice and straightened his back. He remembers these three - they’re a bit younger than him, but older than most here. And there were five of them, back then… He remembers one of theirs was the first to take his own life rather than wait for Krell to do so. Many more followed.

“Is - is it true? That, they’re from the 501st?” their eyes were wide and hoping and he didn’t know why.

“Yes,” was his simple answer. He can’t blame them from hoping - who wouldn’t want to meet their hero? Someone they looked up to so much. “Go in if you want, just don’t overwhelm them, okay?”

“Thank you sir!” their lips formed weak smiles, but smiles nonetheless. When was the last time any of them had really been able to smile?

“Is this everyone?” Ahsoka asked, looking at the gathered soldiers. Many were tired and wounded, and those able, took watch over their small resting spot. They needed a camp and fast.

“Yes. About 50 made it, the rest either captured or dead,” Appo’s voice was cold and curt, but she sensed the anger and sadness from the Force around him.

“We need to find a defensible spot and soon - we got lucky no Umbaran’s attacked us so far,” Kano said, looking around at the men.

“I need to know,” Tano stared up at them, eyes hard, “what happened here.” It wasn’t a question.

“...We’ll explain everything as we move,” Appo seemed to promise, but the pain in his tone made her question it. Just how much would they really tell?

“Then we better get moving…”

“Hey… Hey! Heeeey!” he heard someone calling, but it was like he was underwater. What happened?

“Cut it out! Let him sleep,” a shove, a grunt and a snicker. He knew those voices.

“He’s usually the first one up…” a third one now, and they sounded closer.

“Rough week – it’s understandable,” a fourth one and he swallowed hard to keep his panic in control. This can’t be real.

“Hey, Rexy, can you hear us?” a hand on his shoulder and he managed to open his eyes.

“Welcome back to the living!” he was greeted by four brothers – one with long hair, a bald one, a bearded one and a tattooed one.

“…” he opened his mouth, but no words came out. No, no, this can’t be… It can’t.

“Why are you crying?” they looked in worry and concern, but they seemed real.

“…You died,” his voice was barely above a whisper and he could feel the tears running down his face.

Jezdec, or was it Fives, laughed as Bishop, why does he look like Jesse, shook his head. Pion, since when does Kix have long hair, gave a weak smile and Turm, is that Hardcase, seemed highly amused. Then, they each bent down, aiming to pick him up, when a bright light blinded him, hurting his eyes and he had to close them. But just before he could, he saw Echo again, or what they made him into.

“Good morning, Captain,” he heard and the voice boomed in his head, enhancing his headache. But he knew instantly who the speaker was, as if the way he said his rank wasn’t indication enough.

Rex quickly managed to turn his pain into hate as he glared at the Besalisk, who stood in front of him, grinning. It was then that he noticed he was trapped – his hands were raised above him and held there with a small containment field, encasing both his fists, as his feet barely touched the floor. The top of his armour has been stripped off, so at least he had more manoeuvrability. It did little to ease him though, as he tried to struggle against his bonds. And as he did, he felt something on his head - felt like a metal ring, with small boxes on his temples. What is it?

“None of that,” the activation of a lightsaber and it’s light next to his head gave the soldier pause as he glared at the Jedi. “You are making this needlessly harder for yourself.”

“…” the Captain remained silent and saw the glint of annoyance in Krell’s eyes. Good.

“So be it,” Pong hissed and raised one arm. As soon as he did, Rex felt his airway close and couldn’t breathe properly. He started choking, even closing his eyes, before suddenly being released and automatically gasped for air.

“Sir,” his vision was blurry, but he managed to see… an Umbaran? Why was he-

“What?” Krell snapped, turning back to the native.

“The clones are ready for the implants – you said you wished to remain updated?” the Umbaran’s voice was more mechanical than he remembers – must be using a translator.

“…Of course, I’ll be there momentarily,” Krell waved him off and turned back to the captured soldier. “Don’t go anywhere now,” the sadistic smirk on his face made Rex sick and he actually swallowed. The power coming off the bastard was… immense. With a fleeting glare Rex let out a deep breath and hung his head, feeling exhausted.

They sat in silence, their eyes focused on some random point in the tent as they tried to swallow and process what they’ve been told. To think their distant brothers had it so bad? It just… seemed too unreal to imagine. Their eyes met briefly, and they both saw the sadness and sorrow in the others, while their faces were unable to hide worry. What are they going to do?

Just then, they noticed the trio of brothers entering the tent, looking skittish but excited as they seem to whisper among each other about something.

“Can we help you?” Fives decided to ask, still sitting by his brother’s legs.

“Um…” the middle one, maybe a little bit taller than his companions, shifted his weight. “You’re the 501st men, right?” his voice was weak and his words quick as he avoided looking either of them in the eyes.

“Yeah,” Jesse spoke up, leaning on his elbows to get a proper view of the rookies.

The middle one craned his neck, whispering to his friends again as they seemed to get into a small argument. But their eyes always drifted back to the duo.

“Okay, okay!” the far left one, a bandage over his left shoulder, hissed more loudly and took a small step forward. “We were… um…” he mumbled, biting his lip.

“Captain!” the far right one, holding his bucket in his hands, added to his friend, almost in fear.

“R-Right… Um,” the bandaged one started again. “Your Captain… He’s still the same, right?”

“…There’s only been one captain in the 501st,” Fives clarified, but he looked confused. A look at Jesse, but the man only shrugged.

“So it’s still him…” the middle one whispered, eyes widening slightly. “We don’t… get much news out here.” At that, the ARC winced internally. That’s right. If anything did happen, these soldiers wouldn’t know about it.

“Why do you ask?” Jesse mange to speak and made the boys jump slightly.

“Well…”

“Dogma…” Tup whispered, looking up from where he was sitting. “What’s going on out there?” He was tired but dared not sleep. Ever since… since Krell captured them, they were brought to one of the Umbaran secret bunkers. Looked like a lab of some sorts. There were many others too – they were together with Kite, Jigsaw and Griff in the second one from the entrance as Umbarans kept milling about. When they were brought in here, strange collars were placed on their napes and so far, no one was sure what they did. Nothing good.

“…I don’t know…” Dogma’s quite voice sounded defeated as the man stood by the prison field-gate, trying to understand.

“There’s a lot of the others… Probably half of everyone who was at the base…” Kite’s eyes followed the movement outside and inside the cells.

“How many more do you think were killed?” Jigsaw didn’t mean to sound so angry, but the hopelessness of the situation put him in a dark mood.

“From what we heard, some are still left,” Griff spoke up for the first time in a while, voice low and weak. “The medics barricaded themselves and the wounded in one of the hangers.”

“Krell would’ve been able to open them without much problem…” Tup mumbled, resting his chin on his arms as he wrapped them around his knees.

“What?” Kite asked, turning his attention to the rookie. The others gave a similar confused expression, with Dogma clenching his fists.

“Krell betrayed us,” Tup didn’t raise his voice, but he felt sick as the words left his mouth.

“…” the silence in the cell was broken only by the Umbarans outside, as the others were too shocked to give a verbal answer.

“I knew he was a bastard but…” Griff didn’t even finish, shaking his head.

“How long? How long has he been working with them?” Jigsaw looked from one brother to the other, trying to keep his anger from growing.

“Who knows…? But think about what’s happened here? It’s all on him…” Dogma spoke up, but the sheer anger and hate beneath his words made his brothers pause. For someone who seems to always be in control, he was losing the battle against his feelings quickly.

Before anyone was able to say any more, the door opened and through it walked the Besalisk himself and a group of Umbarans. Suddenly, everyone’s attention was on the Jedi.

They landed carefully and as quietly as they could. The deadly silence around them as they disembarked put them all on high alert.

“Communications?” Cody asked, looking at Jetstream as he worked on the transmitter.

“Losing fast – there has to be something here blocking any outgoing or incoming transmission,” Jetstream explained, clearly annoyed.

“How much time till we’re compactly in the dark?” Boil glanced from one brother to the other.

“I’d give it half an hour, maybe less. The closer we’re going to get to this thing, the sooner it’ll all be gibberish.”

“Then we better work fast – are our group links still operational?” the Commander activated his and saw his brothers doing the same.

“Read you sir,” they chimed in. At least they had something.

“Good – spread out into three groups, but not too far away. This is enemy territory. We need to be able to take them out quickly and neatly, otherwise these woods will be swarmed with Umbaran patrols,” Cody saw the boys already moving into squads as he spoke.

“What’s our main objective?” Trapper asked as all eyes turned on their superior.

“Find the airbase and our brothers,” was the simple reply as Cody himself joined a squad.

“How are we supposed to do that?” Waxer tried to make it sound humours, but the Commander’s answer killed any of the joy.

“Follow the bodies.”

He was tired, in pain and couldn’t properly focus. So much happened so quickly… he could hardly wrap his mind around it. Echo was alive – if he could call it that. Krell’s been a traitor for who knows how long. Fives, Jesse and Hardcase – what happened to them? What happened to all his brothers in the hanger? When was the last time he dreamt of them…

But maybe more than anything, he wanted to know why he was here. Why was Krell keeping him locked up, but very much alive? What does he plan to gain, that he can’t get himself. It made Rex shiver where he hung, just thinking about it. Letting out a deep breath, he tried to focus, to remember what happened. He found Echo, Krell saw him and then…

He fired off his blaster, but the Jedi used one of his lightsabers to deflect the shots. He didn’t have much room to manoeuvre, so Krell easily crashed into him, sending him flying into the nearest wall and knocking the air out of his lungs. For a second, the world turned dark and in the next, blight lights almost blinded him. The weapons were inches from his neck on both sides – if he even tried to move up, he’d behead himself.

“How troublesome,” the Besalisk had said, frowning as he looked down on the clone. “This makes things… complicated.”

Just as he was about to open his mouth to ask something, he felt his head knocked back against the wall and everything was spinning and there were black dots in his vision. A second shove and his head hit the wall again, this time he could feel something dripping down his neck. A third, and he was knocked unconscious.

Another deep sigh and Rex frowned as he could hardly feel his arms any longer. Looking up, the field holding him was solid and seemed to be connected to a panel on the outside of his cell. So much for trying to break free. He was worried about everyone – especially since he had no idea how long he was unconscious. Just what madness has Krell done in that time?

“This seems like a good enough place,” Kano said quietly as what was gathered of the escapees arrived at a small clearing in the forest. They’ve ran into a scouting group of Umbarans, but managed to take them out while not losing anyone.

“…” Appo said nothing as he stared off in the distance, but he clenched his fists. The others were quietly whispering to themselves and Ahsoka glanced from group to group. Then, she followed the Sergeant’s gaze and felt the air in her throat choke.

“…What happened here?” her voice was a quiver, her eyes wide and a hand going up to cover her mouth. Tears, sudden and unbidden, started falling down her cheeks as she took in the white amour lying in the red and black fields of flora. Brothers. Vode. Dead. All of them.

“…War,” someone, she didn’t know who, said back quietly. Only then did she notice the destroyed shells of Umbaran walkers and tanks, as well as the dark suits of the natives. But the amount of white clad bodies she saw. Never before had she seen such a number of dead.

The emotions radiating off the others did little to help her ease her mind and control her emotions as she tried to stifle a sob.

“Commander…” a hand on her shoulder – probably Appo – but she didn’t react. She didn’t want to be commander. Not right now. She can’t be. She was Ahsoka, padawan learner and youngling.

A sudden noise near them put everyone on edge as they reached for their weapons, and Ahoka just barely had time to collect herself to yell a warning before the first shot was fired.

“Everything is ready,” an Umbaran said as he walked up to the Jedi, handing a datapad.

“Then prepare the first two volunteers,” a smirk came to the Besalisk’s face as he looked down and then looked at the imprisoned soldiers.

The Umbaran turned around, said something in their tongue, and the fifth cell was opened up. Instantly, the soldiers inside tried to fight it off, but the natives had long, electric staffs and shocked any brother who would fight.

The first two, being torn away from their group, were Lad and Himo – rookies. Yells and shouts of the older ones were heard as the two were dragged forward, forced on their knees with their backs bent. The electric shocks must have cramped up their muscles as they clearly had problems moving at all.

“Do it,” Krell said and two Umbarans, wearing black and yellow instead of the usual gear, walked over and behind the two rookies, holding blue boxes. Once there, they pressed a button on the collar and it opened up a small compartment. It was like a small cage only on the nape. And then… then they took something from those blue boxes. It looked like bugs – small and glowing blue, with long antennas and a tail with a sting at the end of it. The men only saw them for a second, before those things were placed in the collars – compartments more like – and it was closed. But not a second later, and the two rookies started screaming and thrashing, their bloody cries shaking many of their brothers to the core. Yet just as quickly as it started, it ended and the two calmed down, head hung and eyes void. The Umbarans released them and they collapsed forward, still unmoving.

“Well?” Krell was impatient as he asked, frowning down.

“…Dead,” an Umbaran checked their pulses and shook his head. “We need to fix it so it works properly.”

“Well, do it. You have all the lab rats you may need and I’ll be fetching those who thought they could hide soon. I want this working.”

“Understood.”

As Pong turned to leave, the still imprisoned soldiers couldn’t breathe or even really react. Some went to touch the collars on their napes, swallowing in fear. Others simply dropped down, unable to stand any longer. Few of the rookies turned away, trying to fight the emotions boiling inside. But they were all scared.

“Alright, you should be able to move now, but don’t go rock jumping yet,” a medic said as he did a final check on Jesse. “But…” he cut himself off, a weak sigh escaping.

“But?” Jesse asked as he slowly and carefully put his feet off the bed.

“You’ll never be able to move like you did before. Running should be fine, but any more complex movement and you risk injury again,” there was sadness and pity in his eyes as he spoke that.

“It can’t be that bad!” Jesse tried to protest, but as he stepped on his feet, he nearly lost his balance. Luckily, Fives caught him quickly enough. “I can hardly feel my legs…” the words left his mouth before he could stop them.

“That’s what I was talking about – they’re still damaged. I’m not… I’m not sure how long, if even ever, they will fully heal.”

“…” another silence in the tent as the two 501st boys let this sink in.

“Hey,” came a voice as someone entered the tent. It was the bandaged rookie from before. “They said he’s woken up – you can see him now.”

“Thank whoever,” Fives breathed out, a small smile of relief on his face. But still, one look at Jesse put him back into a sad mood.

“Let’s go… He’ll be lonely soon,” Jesse managed, but didn’t deny the support Fives gave him as they slowly walked towards the exit.

“Just follow me – the Captain is already there. He’ll probably have some more questions for all of you.”

Cut! Hehe, things are probably still confusing and all over the place, but I think we're getting somewhere! Hopefully, anyway. Jumped a lot all around again, so I hope it didn't make anyone space sick or anything - you can always ask me about something, and I'll do my best to try and clarify, without spoling the story ANYWAY! Thanks so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed it! Please, do review what you thought - I love hearing from you lovely people! Till next time~

[7livky]

Dionysus - Park Jimin

CHAPTER 10

Diona's POV

An illusion of the softness of an unfamiliar skin. The connection of skin and feelings and your mind drifts into security. The moment I realized that I had been longing for his touch.

He pulled me along impatiently as his grip became tighter and the air thinner. My senses only perceived his sun-drenched, golden scent as he hurried with me through his halls.

When I closed my eyes, I lost myself in my imagination and found us in another world, walking in the warm sand, followed by the waves of the turquoise sea at sunset. Dressed in white, hand in hand as he walks forward, laughing with all his heart as if this was one of his most beautiful days. I look at my dress and sandals in my other hand, our feet and legs that got wet from time to time. A little white shell which he found and picked up immediately because he loved them so much.

Yes. All this happened in your head when he took your hand and held you as tight as if he had been waiting for it all his life.

The illusion broke as soon as I noticed the darkness. We found ourselves back in the corridor where he had covered my eyes earlier.

Nevertheless he did not let go of me and entered the room where V and Jungkook were. I tried to let go mentally, but this boy had switched off my functions. I didn't want to lose contact.

"I, I-I really wanted to come down and watch you, but..." I glanced at Jungkook, who was staring at me with his crystal clear eyes and seemed absolutely drunk.

"But he cried again" ,Taehyung said.

Jimin suddenly gripped my hand tighter. I took a step back and hid our locked hands, feeling his muscles tense as Jungkok's eyes filled with tears.

This time Jimin pressed his fingers against my ankles. After that, I did something that neither he nor I expected. With my thumb, I brushed across his outer palm to make his oppression disappear. I stroked his hand until he loosened it again.

"You too" ,Jungkook hissed as he spoke to Taehyung. "And I'm quite sure it was for the same reason."

It broke my heart to see them like that. I'd never seen them cry before. I hadn't gotten that far. Every time I was shown videos showing the boys with tears in their eyes, I would skip them immediately. It literally hurt me.. I had been wondering since day one where the rest of the group was, if I would ever see them, but I was afraid that this would go too far. In the end I was just a painter. But I really wish I could comfort Jungkook and V right now.

Unexpectedly, Jimin snapped his fingers and music filled the whole room. With heavy steps I ran after him, but stopped in front of the dark couch on which he was now sitting. He leaned his head back, scratching his neck. Without saying anything, he stared at me as if waiting for me to sqash myself next to him. While letting his hand linger on his neck, his eyes were focused on my lips.

As if my lips were needed somewhere else.

His arm floated in front of me because he still wouldn't let go of me. One pull, I was next to him before he finally let go of my hand. He leaned forward so I could see the silver streaks in his black hair. I could have sworn he didn't have them a few hours ago.

I watched him as he filled an unused glass with red wine until halfway through. After mine, he did the same with his glass, then Taeyhungs and finally Jungkooks.

"This is for your hard work, for the art that you conjure on my walls" ,he leaned back, held the glass in front of my nose and whispered, "Thank you beautiful."

The last word kept repeating itself in my head and left me speechless again.

"I've heard a lot about you!" Taehyung cracked a smile. "That you love partying with my brothers at Yoongi's club and hitting people."

He was so cute it hurt. "I wish you could have been there too!" I gave him back a smile, ignoring the hitting part.

"Is it true you didn't know who we were?" He looked at me with great curiosity.

I looked down at my legs in embarrassment. "Unfortunately, yes. But that might be because I moved to Greece with my parents when I was a kid. By the time I got back to Seoul, a lot of things had happened that I missed."

I felt three gazes burning on my skin. Jungkook wore the same as when he asked about my hometown while Taehyung showed me his big eyes. And Jimin?

Jimin just put on his cynical smile.

"Whoa! So you speak perfect Greek?" ,Taehyung asked.

I smiled slightly. "ναι. Λατρεύω αυτή τη γλώσσα."

Jungkook was about to eat a piece of the pineapple, which lay on the glass table in a golden plate, but he seemed frozen.

"That sounds so nice" ,Taehyung said excitedly. "What did you say?"

"That I love this language."

"And I love your name."

I tried to ignore the pressure in my stomach when we looked at each other with Jimin. My cheeks heated up like an oven.

"Do you know the meaning?" ,he asked as he circled the edge of the glass with his finger.

"The sacred spring and divine queen."

He seemed to be unsatisfied with my answer before he spoke, "Diona, the virgin goddess and protector of birth. A nymph of botany and the daughter of Atlas."

My name sounded like poetry from his mouth. Why did he make it sound so special on his lips? So many books I have read about Greek mythology and never before had I found meanings like these.

"Wow. I never knew any of that." An awkward silence fell. "Is this your unique wine that you spoke of?"

We heard someone nearly choking on his drink. I looked over at Jungkook, who beat his chest as he stared at me. He had seriously spat it all out. Taehyung on my left was holding his stomach as he almost died from laughing.

"No. You can try that one first," Jimin replied with a smile, showing off his full cheeks. I built an imaginary wall between him and me before I fell in love with his smile. At this point, I either wanted to get drunk as quickly as possible or get out of here and never come back.

I nodded just before I raised my head to drink up all the sweet substance at once. "Refill please!"

All three stared at me as if they had seen a tyrant. "What?"

"You're the female version of Jimin" ,Jungkook and Taehyung answered at the same time as in choir.

The gentleman next to me felt so cool and seemed to be waiting for me to freak out with joy because I supposedly resembled him.

"Too bad. Why his of all people?"

Jimin's glass slammed on the table. He growled softly, but covered it up with a forced laugh. Meanwhile, the other two laughed so loudly that the music could no longer be heard.

It was the moment when we both tried to stay serious, but we both had a hint of amusement on our faces from which a real smile emerged. I looked at his white teeth, as well as his wet reddish lips and of course at his dark eyes with his long eyelashes.

"Jungkook", he said without taking his eyes off me. "Isn't it time for some ecstasy and madness?"

Jungkook broke our eye contact when he pushed another glass of wine into my hand. Then Taehyung stood up too. The bright light suddenly changed to a dark red color when Taehyung pressed the button on the wall.

It was dead quiet,

before it vibrated beneath my feet.

Never in my life have I heard anything like that. Such a unique sound. A song that made every hair on my body stand up. A song with definition;

ecstasy and absolute madness.

Jimin stood on his feet while I examined his black jeans in which his thick thighs took my breath away. I tried to watch the others, but nothing could stop me from watching Jimin.

How his fingers touched the buttons of his shirt and were opened piece by piece.

Oh great heavens.

The moment he reached the bottom, my glass was empty. The last sip burned in my throat as he started to dance in front of me. With his hand he ran through his black mane, so you could see his naked breast for a second. He caught me staring at him.

"You should be honored" ,he said in my ear. "This is an unreleased song of ours. No one but BTS and you has ever heard this masterpiece."

He pulled me up, touching my neck to whisper something into my ear. I trembled at his warmth as I felt his cheek against mine. "You cannot imagine how special this song is to me. How much I associate with it. You don't know how much lies behind those lyrics."

"What's the name?"

He moved his head so that the tip of his nose almost touched mine while his hand burned like fire at my neck.

"Dionysus."

Just get drunk like Dionysus

Drink in one hand, Thyrsus on the other

Art splashing inside this clear crystal cup

Art is alcohol too, if you can drink it, you'll get drunk fool

You dunno you dunno

You dunno what to do with

He let go of me and his body became one with the beat. If I had to describe this song, I wouldn't have enough words to describe it. It put you into a completely different world, drums that were played with all their power, electric guitars that created a certain aggressiveness. It tore your inner rage, your hidden desire for chaos from your soul. This genre was one that surpassed any rock music and became a genre of its own.

"One shot!" - "Two shots!"

I found Jungkook standing on the sofa, playing an imaginary guitar while Taehyung threw himself from side to side, hitting the glass table with every cymbal beat.

Until the sun comes up, where the party at

Until we fall asleep, where the party at

Sing it, sing it again

Drink it, drink it again

Jimin pressed his full glass into my hand, which I drank without hesitation.

We're born again He looked deep into my eyes when he sang that.

"I love it."

"Love what?"

"The song."

He half smiled. "So, then you're ready for the wild frenzy?"

I grinned back and pulled down my zipper. He followed my every move as I took off my jacket because it was boiling inside me. When Jungkook saw that I was only wearing top and jeans, he suddenly tore his shirt out of his body and held it up.

"Whooooo" he screamed with his shirt in his waving hand.

My mouth opened to an 'O'. Was I really,

seriously,

seeing Jungkok's nipples right now?

Taehyung lifted a glass of water with ice cubes before he poured it all over his head. He shook his head, making us all wet.

"V!" I screamed, but before I could freak out, Jimin grabbed me.

Right then the alcohol kicked up like a punch in my face. It was on.

Instead of freeing me from his grip, I jumped with him and threw my hands in the air. You didn't even have to know the lyrics to feel the song. Shouting along was enough.

Shot glasses sippin', linked arms tippin'

Hearing V's deep voice, I couldn't believe that his singing voice was even deeper than I thought.

Rush, fuss and more wine. That was the current situation.

"I just can't help it," Jimin said aloud. I didn't get what he meant, so he took my face in his hands when my heart was pounding like after a sprint. "I feel like I'm already in ecstasy by just touching you."

"And whenever I do, I can feel your heartbeats."

If he didn't stop soon, I wouldn't be able to survive much longer. And not because of my disease, no. But because of his power to make my heart race just by looking at me. And hearing those things from him was the most dangerous thing he could do to me.

"Hit the gong and call onghaeya!" ,Jungkook sang his part.

If we pop up

Anywhere in the world, stadium party ay

Suga kicked in the door.

"Born as a kpop idol. Reborn as an artist, reborn as an artist, reborn as an artist! What does it matter if I'm an Idol or an artist? Cheers!"

He jumped on the table as we were cheering for him.

"Art at this level is over-drinking, over-drinking yeah! The new record is the fight against oneself, a fight yeah! Toast to this, one shot! But I'm still thirsty. What?!"

My jaw dropped. Jongsuk was right from the start. No one in the universe could top Suga's rapping. He was fast as hell.

His chain touched my sweaty décolleté as he hugged me like an old buddy. He and Jimin greeted each other with a handshake followed by Jungkook and V embracing him at the same time.

You ready for this? Are you ready to get hyped up? Come on

And after a grab, I found myself in Jimin's arms. He held my legs and I held onto his shoulder, him spinning me in circles.

"Jimin!" I kept laughing but felt that the song was nearing its end, so I enjoyed it. Each of us was going crazy, giving our last ounce of energy.

Jungkook dropped to the floor while Taehyung put his wet hair out of his face, breathing heavily.

"Your part was the best!" I called out to Suga and pushed him hard after Jimin put me down.

He showed me the same smile he had back then when he sat in the car , talking to me. It was contagious.

Author's POV:

(from now on I have to take over, 'cause our character Diona is just too drunk to tell us everything)

The boxes on the walls vibrated so much that you could literally see them moving. They were set to full volume and yet there was total silence in the lobby.

Or maybe not.

A loud kick against the door. "Open the fucking door!" Jongsuk clenched his fist. "Diona come out!" But no one heard him while her phone vibrated on the floor in her bag.

Diona's bladder was squeezing like hell. No wonder after ten glasses. "Jimin I can't take it anymore!"

He laughed as he spun her in circles. "What's wrong, my beauty?"

Even if she wouldn't admit it, she couldn't get enough of it. His' beauty.

"I have to pee! But if your bathroom's at the end of the world and it takes me an hour to go there, then we have a problem!"

She looked at his little nose that he scratched every time he thought about something. "Well..." ,he started grinning, "the nearest toilet is in my room."

After this high dose of alcohol that she consumed, a part of her brain that was responsible for cognitive processing, was now restricted. This means that Diona was less inhibited and more impulsive. To put it more simply, she would do things she would never do when she was sober.

"Perfect! Come on, take me there!" She took Jimin with her.

The more she wriggled because of her bladder, the more he dropped his full weight on her, which he always did when he had a laugh attack.

"Jimin!" she giggled as he zigzagged and accidentally pushed her against the wall.

"Oh, oh, I'm sorry. I can't do that to a goddess!" He hugged her, taking her hand again.

An exaggerated reaction followed when she saw his bed after they entered his room. Only she didn't know she'd already been on that round bed.

"You're kidding, right? I have a round bed too!"

Jimin stopped. "Well, tell me then" ,he pushed her onto his bed, "which is cozier?"

His earrings with feathers hanging down were swinging back and forth when her glowing body lingered on a bedding of silk, which shimmered golden. "I don't know why, buuuut now I don't have to go to the toilet anymore."

She admired his huge smile, which he put on as he lay down next to her. "Look up."

Diona took her eyes off him and did what he said. Her condition around the environment had deteriorated considerably, so it took her a long time to recognize it.

"Turn yourself inside out" ,her pupils moved down a millimeter, "and paint your organs the color-"

Jimin continued, "what you see in your dreams."

He sat up, looking at the wall clock.

5:55 a.m.

He took a deep breath and slowly breathed out again as they looked at each other. When his eyes found her full lips, he had to fight with his desire. The desire for her.

"Then I would have to paint my organs white, silver and ice-blue" she said after a while.

"Why?" he asked in a quiet voice and played with her hair.

"Because in my dreams you always dress in white and have silver hair and ice-blue eyes."

He checked the watch again after she said that. "Do you want to see me like this again, Diona?"

She licked her lips. "Yeah. But I hate the moment when I wake up and you're gone."

How did these two people find each other? Why did they trust her so much if she could just be a fan? Why did she feel that the way he treated her was not normal? Did he do this to every woman who came into this house? To her, everything that had happened before didn't make any sense.

Jimin got up and walked around the room stopping in front of a table. Diona could only observe his back so she couldn't see what he was doing there. So she closed her eyes and laid her face on the soft cloth. Then she realized something. It was too late. She was already addicted to his smell.

After a while, Jimin came back. She raised her eyebrows when she saw a single glass in his hand, filled with a red-black liquid. Was it poison?

"You must promise me one thing." His heart was pounding against his chest, " Watch the time " ,he showed her the clock on the wall behind her. "Promise me that at exactly six o'clock you will take a sip and put your hand on my chest where you can feel my heart beating."

It was scary for her, everything seemed like a hallucination. Was he on drugs to make him say those things?

" I promise ", she whispered and sat up too.

5:59 a.m.

He brought the glass to his lips, lifting it slightly so that the substance entered his body and finally his bloodstream.

Diona's breath was taken away.

She began to tremble and walk away from him.

Each strand of his hair changed its color from black to silver, his pupils became smaller, ice-blue colored lenses appeared, the black clothes transitioning to a white cape. The walls around her went from grey to snow-white.

"Th-this is just a dream. Just a dream, just a dream. Just-" ,she took the glass from his hand, "-a dream."

At the last tick before the hand reached the number 12, she took a single sip of the unknown potion and touched the spot of his heart. The building began to tremble under her feet.

6 a.m.

"Diona!" Jongsuk yelled the moment he stood in the empty room. He kicked the bed. "Did you set me up?!" he screamed as he looked around. He roamed the whole bedroom but no one was there.

Jungkook leaned against the door frame when he saw the empty room. "Finally."