#[vibrates] what if i forced everyone i know to care about star trek

[smallblueandloud]

i just see you vibing on my dash and my brain is joy

:D what are we here for if not to vibe? and also freak out about random ships and/or fandoms that no one else has heard of!

[beauregardlionett]

this poem is my confessional (loving you isn’t a sin)

AO3 Link

A/N: big shout out to my man @sadwizardvibes for the inspiration AND for writing me a fucking song to go with this piece thanks for fueling my beauyasha brainrot man <3

If she was honest with herself, giving Beau that poem had been entirely an impulse decision. Yasha had told Jester she would work on it—which she did—and that she would find a special moment for it. But most of the moments she shared with Beau were special to her, so that didn’t exactly narrow things down. She cherished every conversation and tried her hardest to keep Beau safe. Especially after the events at the chantry, Yasha appreciated every moment she got with Beau.

So, she had handed the paper over and prayed she didn’t embarrass herself.

Beau had seemed flustered, touched, and Yasha had wanted nothing more than to kiss her then and there. But she had held back, because she wanted Beau to at least read the poem before anything else happened.

And then all of that insanity with Vess and Molly—no, Lucien—had happened, and Yasha found herself grateful nothing else had transpired between her and Beau. She hated to think the memory of their potential first kiss might have been marred by the events following.

Regardless, they were underway toward Aeor; the snowy landscapes were taxing, endless, and a little boring. Supposedly it was a good thing they had encountered none of the foretold beasts, but Yasha harbored a lot of pent up frustration and nerves. It would be nice to have something to take that out on.

At the end of their second day, Caleb set up his tower. He ushered them all inside to a haven of warmth and stained glass they were becoming steadily more familiar with. Dagon seemed understandably impressed with the magical structure and grateful for the guest room he was directed to.

Usually they would gather up for dinner together, but there seemed to be a silent, unanimous decision that exhaustion took precedence. They retired to their various rooms with yawns and quiet ‘good nights’, safe for the time being. Yasha lay on her back on the cot in the room with the floral mural. She traced an absent gaze over the patterns, identifying flowers in her head and hoping it would lull her anxious mind to sleep.

She couldn’t stop thinking about Molly—Lucien—and what they would do when they caught up to him. Yasha couldn’t stop thinking about Beau, about the poem she carefully tucked away to read later. Yasha couldn’t help but remember of Zualla as she stared at the flowers on her wall.

There was a knock at her door.

Pushing to her feet after a moment, Yasha walked to her door to poke her head out. She was confused about who might be at her door at this hour until her eyes found Beau fidgeting on the other side of the threshold.

“Hi,” Beau mumbled, hands behind her back.

“Hi,” Yasha breathed back, opening the door a little wider. “Are you okay? It’s late.”

“Yeah,” Beau said, voice pitching up a little at the end in a tell Yasha quickly realized meant she was nervous. “Yeah, I just uh…”

Yasha raised an eyebrow at Beau’s nerves, unused to a Beau who floundered. She realized in the second before Beau pulled the piece of parchment out from behind her back what this was about. The Aasimar flushed pink and her eyes flicked to the ground, embarrassed.

“This was…really beautiful, Yasha,” Beau mumbled, fingers fiddling with the edges of the paper. “But I uh…I noticed this.”

Yasha chanced a look up, Beau extending the paper and pointing to a tiny note scrawled in the bottom corner. She had forgotten about that.

In her messy, cramped handwriting, Yasha had scrawled the word harp? She had been considering turning her poem into a song, because it was always easier for her to express things through music. Plus, she knew that Beau enjoyed her music, so why wouldn’t she put it to chords? But Yasha ended up pushing the idea aside. It was one thing for Beau to like Yasha’s wordless performances, and a whole other for Yasha to direct poetry with music toward the woman of her affection.

“It was…just an idea,” Yasha said with a half-hearted dismissive gesture.

“Would you play it for me?”

Yasha felt her cheeks grow warmer, more red than pink now. But before she could give it too much thought, the Aasimar felt herself nodding. She stood aside and let Beau into her room, leading the monk back into the chamber painted with flowers.

Beau sat cross-legged on the floor across from Yasha as the Aasimar tuned her harp. She took a little longer with the task than strictly necessary, just so she could freak out in silence.

Of course, she had prepared chords for this, because she had run with the idea. But Yasha shied away from it, losing her courage. Music was something that had helped Yasha heal, a meditation in her own way. It brought her peace and offered her an outlet for emotions she didn’t quite know how to express. So, to have Beau sitting before her, eyes trained solely on Yasha, was intense and nerve-wracking.

If Yasha had learned anything, though, it was that she could trust Beau. The monk had been looking out for her, and for the entire group, since day one. Before Beau had trusted any of them, she had still been looking out for them. It was something Yasha admired about Beau—her capacity to care and to love despite everything she had been through. Beau inspired Yasha to keep fighting.

The least she could do was play this for her.

She didn’t need the parchment back. Yasha had spent hours pouring over the words and the chords to make sure it sounded perfect.

Oh, oh Beau, I’m grateful for you.

You waited while I wandered,

While everyone was wondering

If I’d ever come back, you stayed true.

Her voice faltered slightly at the start, uncertain and underused, but she persisted. Beau’s eyes on her simultaneously made her nervous and strengthened her resolve.

Oh, oh Beau, you mean so much to me,

I’ve lost so many people,

I cannot fathom losing

The woman who has loved so fearlessly.

Yasha rarely sang. She used to sing for Zualla in those quiet stolen moments years ago. When they were out in the fields alone, walking or hunting or just existing to stare at the stars. She sang once for Molly, both of them a little past tipsy after a good night for the circus. He had told her she possessed a voice fit for performances, but Yasha had waved him off.

Her voice was sweet, higher than her speaking voice because she sang from her nose and her head. It threw most people for a loop, but Beau merely sat there and stared. Her blue eyes were wide with awe, lips slightly parted. If Yasha didn’t know Beau couldn’t be charmed, she would almost think the monk under a spell.

And I’ve ambled and trekked over miles and miles,

Every step lead me straight back to you.

You gave me the space to learn where I belong

And I’ll tell you right now, it’s the truth.

It was almost like nothing else existed. Yasha’s fingertips buzzed against the taut strings of the harp, her voice vibrated in her chest, and Beau’s eyes stayed fixated on Yasha’s face. This was all that mattered right now, and Yasha couldn’t think of what existed before this, or what might exist after.

Oh, oh Beau, the one I’m thinking of,

I want to hold your hand and

Stand quietly beside you.

I want to confess, you’re my love.

The last strum of her harp faded into silence, and Yasha reveled in the peace vibrating through her veins. She had rarely known stillness like this before discovering music.

Beau sniffed, and Yasha twitched as she startled, eyes snapping up to Beau’s face. The monk still stared at her, eyes wide and watering.

No one’s ever written me a poem before. Yasha remembered the soft-spoken admission as a tear tumbled down Beau’s cheek. She guessed without asking that no one ever sung for Beau before, either.

“Yasha…” Beau breathed. “That was incredible. Your voice…”

The Aasimar ducked her head, not even trying to suppress the smile pulling at her lips. Beau’s awe was so genuine, Yasha barely knew how to face it head on.

“I didn’t know if you would…y’know want to hear it like that. Or if you would just rather read it,” Yasha rambled, running her fingers with absent focus up and down one string on her harp. “So…yeah, I mean, it’s a song, too. But it was originally a poem. For you.”

“Yeah,” Beau’s voice cracked. “I don’t—Yasha, that was…incredible. You’re incredible. You wrote that? For me?”

“Of course,” Yasha said, looking up again with a small frown. The note of disbelief in Beau’s voice upset her. Why wouldn’t she write a poem for Beau?

“Thank you,” Beau said, her voice overflowing with an emotion Yasha could empathize with, but couldn’t name.

“I am glad you liked it,” Yasha said as she set her harp aside. She didn’t know where to go from here. Jester had said Beau was waiting for Yasha to make the first move, and this…was this enough? It felt weird to question that kind of thing because Yasha had been married before. Theoretically, she should know how to do this. But then again, everything she and Zualla had done had been in secret. Yasha never learned how to express affection for someone openly.

And knowing what she did about Beau, Yasha figured that the monk had no better clue in any of this than she did.

“Maybe uhm…” Yasha started, but stopped. She didn’t want to mess this up. “Maybe after we finish this job…we could, y’know…get dinner? Just us?”

Watching a slow smile spread and pull at Beau’s lips was like watching a sunrise. It began slowly, a little hesitantly, colors bleeding into and washing away the darkness of Beau’s uncertainty. It was a gentle harbinger that lasted a lifetime in no time at all. Then, between one blink and the next, the sun. Beau grinned with wild abandon, lips pulled wide to reveal her teeth, and eyes scrunching at the corners with the force of it. Yasha’s heart went giddy in her chest at the mere sight of Beau’s joy.

“I’d like that,” Beau whispered. There was the same quiet, awed excitement in her voice from when she first received Yasha’s poem.

Yasha’s cheeks hurt from how hard she was smiling. “It’s a date.”

[yourdeepestfathoms]

time to play your dead man’s hand (Day 1)

Life is Strange AU!!!! I don’t even have the first chapter done. It’s too long for Tumblr all together.

Also part one is kinda a test. I don’t know if I’ll continue this, but it people like it I will. But if this only gets, like, 10 notes then I’m not gonna slave myself over the LiS script to write this correctly.

Also also: I literally had no idea who should be Anne’s stepdad, so “Edmund” is just a filler name. If anyone knows someone who would make a good step father for her, please let me know!

One more thing- The Anne in this is Bowman!Anne! Because I like her more than Millie even though her character is supposed to be punkish

TW: Gun violence, death

——————

Part One- Chrysalis

The first flash of lightning wakes her. She cannot really recall falling asleep, but she is certainly awake now. The sky turns white again and then the rain, hard and relentless, begins. Another flash of lightning and, this time, thunder accompanies it. The massive boom shakes her to her toes and makes her feel small in comparison.

Her senses are a mess. She can hardly smell through the rain, and all she can see is the dark until the lightning intermittently burns the sky.

She’s lying face-down in the mud. The brown sludge slides down her face, slippery and grimy. It coats her clothes, but the rain is quick to wash it away and replace the drench with some of its own. She nearly slips as she’s pushing herself up to her feet, suddenly shivering.

The thunder cracks again, but this time she hears something inside of it. A shout. Several shouts, like the wail of anguished souls. She sees lightning, and then in the fading light, she sees shadows leftover.

She’s on a sloped path that has turned into a river from the rushing water. Her shoes and socks are soaked in an instant, already rubbing her feet raw and chafing blisters against her ankles. She tries to speak, but her throat is closed up in horror.

Where am I? What's happening? She thought, looking around. A storm? Why am I in a storm?

A burst of lightning torches the sky, splitting it in two in a magnificent silver slash. It illuminates the towering shape of the lighthouse just up the hill.

Wait... There's the lighthouse... I'll be safe if I can make it there... I hope...

Wind whips at her at dizzying speeds and the rain drives hard enough to push her to her knees. It is only through force of will and sheer luck that she manages not to be thrown clear as she began to stagger up the slippery path and to the cliff where the lighthouse is situated. She could scream, but the storm screams louder and its cries are deafening.

Time ceases to mean much as the storm pummels her and the world around her. She cannot see more than a hand's span in front of your face- she’s having to shield her head and squint so those subzero jerks couldn’t stab her blind. She’s exhausted by the short trek and is nearly prepared to give in to the whims of the storm and let it blow her where it will when she pulls herself up to the top of the incline.

Before her is the ocean, as dark as wine, and atop is a massive tornado. It was much too large to be real, but there it was, caged in flashing bolts of lightning and thick gales.

And it was heading right for Whitby.

Holy shit...

Suddenly, the storm whips up a large boat that had been thrashing in the waves near the beach. It was sent flying, crashing into the lighthouse and causing the top half to come crumbling down, down, down-

————

Maggie awoke with a start. Cold sweat is beaded on her brow and runs like slick snail trails down the back of her neck. She doesn’t scream, thank god, because she realizes that she’s in her art class at school. Warm rays of sun are bleeding in through the window, casting grand, golden shadows across pastel canvases and abstract parchments and colorful tapestries strung up along the walls. There was no sign of a storm in sight.

Woah, She thought. That was so weird.

A line of sweat starts to make its way down her pale face and she quickly swipes it away. Her heart is still racing, pounding painful inside of her chest. She tries to steady it and just focus on the calming voice of Mr. Tudor, the art teacher.

Okay... I'm in class...

At the table in front of her, Agnes Tylney’s pen falls on the floor and she reaches down to pick it up.

Everything's cool... I'm okay...

Catherine Aragon throws a paper ball at Joan Astley.

“Now, can you give me an example of a photographer who perfectly captured the human condition?” Mr. Tudor is saying.

Jane Seymour’s phone vibrates.

I didn't fall asleep, and...that sure didn't feel like a dream... Weird.

“Diane Arbus.” Jane answers. Her voice is like honeyed venom- sweet but stinging. Maggie knew the potency of the poison in her words all too well.

“There you go, Jane!” Mr. Tudor praised, “Why Arbus?”

As Jane was explaining, Maggie looked down at her table. Her basic school needs-pens, pencils, journal- were scattered out on the blacktop, along with her camera and a photograph. When she picks it up, she looks upon the horrid image of her standing in front of dozens of other pictures tacked on her dorm wall.

Look at this crap! How can I show this to Mr. Tudor? I can hear the class laughing at me now.

She sighed and set it back down. Her eyes cast over to the analog camera and she carefully picked it up as if it were a baby bird. She was always so cautious with the old thing.

Her thumb grazed over the washes out yellow top portion before gently pressed a button. The camera flashes in her face, taking her by surprise.

“Shh, shh, shh,” Mr. Tudor piped up. “I believe Maggie has taken what you kids call a "selfie"... A dumb word for a wonderful photographic tradition. And Maggie...has a gift. Of course, as you all know, the photo portrait has been popular since the early 1800's. Your generation was not the first to use images for ‘selfie-expression.’ Sorry. I couldn't resist. The point remains that the portraiture has always been a vital aspect of art, and photography, for as long as it's been around. Now, Maggie, since you've captured our interest and clearly want to join the conversation, can you please tell us the name of the process that gave birth to the first self-portraits?”

Maggie grits her teeth and tried not to sink into the bottom of her chair and evaporate into the abyss. Eyes were boring in on her from all sides. Tiny flames light up in her ears.

“I-I did know!” She stammered. “But I kinda forgot...”

Mr. Tudor narrows his eyes. He usually looks so lax and kind, so seeing him bring out the Disappointed Look cut deep.

“You either know this or not, Maggie.” He said, frustrated, “Is there anybody here who knows their stuff?”

“Louis Daguerre was a French painter who created ‘daguerreotypes’ a process that gave portraits a sharp reflective style, like a mirror.” Jane said, as boot-licking as always. She swivels her head around to Maggie, her eyes gleaming like a hungry tiger that just found its next meal. “Now you're totally stuck in the Retro Zone. Sad face.”

Maggie’s spine chafed painfully against the back of her chair as she hunches her shoulders in to seem smaller. Her ears were fully on fire, now- she hopes her hair is hiding them.

Just as Mr. Tudor is finishing his lecture on Jane’s answer, the bell rings. Students are instantly leaping up and scampering out of the classrooms.

“And guys,” Mr. Tudor says, “don't forget the deadline to submit a photo in the "Everyday Heroes" contest. I'll fly out with the winner to London where you'll be feted by the art world in the Tate museum. It's great exposure, and it can kickstart a career in photography. So, Agnes and Maud, get it together. Catherine, don't hide. I'm still waiting for your entry, too. And yes, Maggie, I see you pretending not to see me.”

Maggie stands up slowly, unfurling her shoulders from their hunched position. As she’s waiting for the muscles to stop aching from the sudden uncoil, she sees Jane beeline to Mr. Tudor’s desk. Maggie rolls her eyes.

Jane doesn't waste a second kissing ass...

She gathers her things and heads for the door. Before she could make her escape, however, Mr. Tudor’s smooth voice rang out.

“I see you, Maggie Wyatt. Don't even think about leaving here until we talk about your entry.”

Maggie tenses and then gives in. She turns around and approaches the front desk. She does her best to avoid Jane’s drilling gaze.

“I'd never let one of photography's future stars avoid handing in her picture.” Mr. Tudor said.

“Do I have to? I just don't think it's that big a deal.” Maggie said.

Jane snickers. Mr. Tudor has an almost-sympathetic look.

“Maggie, you're a better photographer than a liar...” He said. “Now I know it's a drag to hear some old dude lecture you... but life won't wait for you to play catch-up. You're young, the world is yours, blah blah blah, right? But you do have a gift, you have the fever to take images, to frame the world only the way you envision it. Now, all you need is the courage to share your gift with others. That's what separates the artist, from the amateur.”

Maggie can only bob her head shyly and mumbled a soft, “Yes sir.” Mr. Tudor takes it and lets her leave.

Stepping out into the hallway from the art class was like stepping into a hurricane. While the art class was serene and peaceful and illuminated by the sunshine’s warm glow, the hallway was a tiled jungle with fluorescent suns. Student were weaving every which way like colorful, talkative birds of paradise and the teachers peering out from their classrooms were the watchful jaguars. Dozens of conversations were going at once, laughing came from every direction, and the clatters of lockers were white noise for the cacophony. Everyone seemed to know what they were doing, boldly showing off their tail feathers and wings without a care in the world. Everyone except Maggie, that is. She sighed and shoved in her earbuds before she could hear Aragon from across the hall finish her statement about someone being “so fucking shy.”

Her destination was the bathroom, where she needed a serious timeout to unwind from her classroom embarrassment. She made herself as small as possible, narrowly avoiding the rushing figures of other students. Her awkward swivels and side-steps definitely earned her a few odd glances, but she tried to ignore them until she finally got into the safety of the bathroom.

Empty. Good. Nobody can see my meltdown. Except for me.

Maggie washes her face using one of the sinks, letting the chill of the tap water sink into her cheeks. She keeps her hands there for a moment before sighing and dropping them. She takes out her polaroid photo after turning the sink off.

Just relax. Stop torturing yourself. You have “a gift”.

She stared and stared and stared at the photo, but it just seemed to appear worse and worse the longer she looked.

Fuck it.

She tears apart her photo and drops it on the floor. The way the pieces fall to the ground are as delicate as the flutter of the butterfly’s wings that just flew in from an open window. Maggie blinks and follows it. It lands on a bucket behind a stall and spreads its emerald green wings into the light bleeding over it.

Holy shit. Maggie thought. Well...when a door closes, a window opens...or, something like that. She takes out her camera. Okay girl, you don't get a photo op like this everyday...

Maggie slowly approaches the butterfly and takes a photo of it. At the flash, the butterfly takes off, flapping in a blur of brilliant green that almost seems to glow in the air. As it dashed for a safe landing, the bathroom door opens and closes and a guy walks in. Maggie recognizes him as Thomas Cromwell, the richest, most pompous kid on the campus, from his slick hair and letterman jacket. He does a quick scan of the bathroom, not noticing Maggie hiding, and then began pacing. His pale, bat-like face is twisted with enraged horror. He looks like he was about to shatter at any second

“It’s cool, Thomas... Don't stress... You're okay, bro. Just count to three...” He was muttering to himself. “Don't be scared... You own this school... If I wanted, I could blow it up!” He laughed. Craziness oozed from the fractures in his voice- or maybe directly from his fragmented brain. “You're the boss.”

A moment later, the door swings open and a girl strides in. She’s a little heavier set, but carries herself with great pride and power. Her dark eyes are impish and on fire. Green is spilled out over the top of her hair, long, dyed tendrils of emerald coiling with brown locks. When she speaks, her voice comes out in a (familiar) confident growl.

“I hope you checked the perimeter, as my step-ass would say.” She said while checking the stalls. Maggie has to back up in her hiding spot- it’s a wonder neither of them have caught her, especially with how she’s peeking out to watch. “Now, let's talk bidness—”

“I got nothing for you.” Thomas said. He’s trying to keep his composure, Maggie can tell just by listening to him, but it’s about as cracked as his sanity.

“Wrong.” The girl said. “You got hella cash.”

“That's my family, not me.” Thomas grits. He’s grinding his teeth now.

The girl laughed. “Oh, boohoo, poor little rich kid!” Her tone becomes serious. She marches over to Thomas, who is hunched over the sink, bracing himself. “I know you been pumpin' drugs 'n' shit to kids around here... I bet your respectable family would help me out if I went to them.” She leans into his ear, “Man, I can see the headlines now—”

“Leave them out of this, bitch.” Thomas snarled.

“I can tell everybody Thomas Cromwell is a punk ass who begs like a little girl and talks to himself—”

Thomas rounds on the girl. There’s now a gun in his hand, which he must have been hiding in his jacket. The girl backs up into the wall, the fire in her eyes going out in an instant, and Thomas stands in front of her, one arm against the wall beside her head and the other pointing the gun at her stomach.

“You don't know who the fuck I am or who you're messing around with!” He roared.

“Where’d you get that? What are you doing?” The girl babbled. Her fearless mask has dropped in an instant at the presence of a weapon. “Come on, put that thing down!”

“Don't EVER tell me what to do! I'm so SICK of people trying to control me!” Thomas howled. Whatever was holding the crack in his brain together has broken apart at the seams and every bad thing is pouring out at a horrifying rate.

“You are going to get in hella more trouble for this than drugs—” The girl grunts. She can feel the biting metal of the gun’s muzzle press against her stomach. She’s so rigid.

Thomas leans into her ear. His voice is curled with dark ice. “Nobody would ever even miss your ‘punk ass’ would they?”

“Get that gun away from me, psycho!!”

The girl shoved Thomas away from her and makes a break for the door. Her sudden movements jar Thomas and he pulls the trigger. Blood splatters against the wall and from the girl’s mouth as the bullet passes through her stomach.

“NO!!” Maggie screamed.

She’s running out from her hiding spot without realizing it. She stretches out her right hand, as if she thought she could actually do something to help. The gun and the girl are falling to the ground in slow motion. Maggie’s breathing picks up. Everything becomes blurry. Black and white and grey splotches haze her vision. Every nerve is filled with painless liquid fire, buzzing inside of her. Red is the only other color she can see- the dark red of hot blood. Of her blood, maybe. She can’t tell anymore, but, suddenly, awareness returns to her- intense shock fades and leaves behind wet adrenaline in its wake, soaking her to the core. She opens her eyes- when did they ever close?- and finds herself in the art class again.

Warm rays of sun are bleeding in through the window, casting grand, golden shadows across pastel canvases and abstract parchments and colorful tapestries strung up along the walls. There was no sign of a storm- of a gun- of a dead body-

Whoa! What the fuck?! Maggie’s body lurches back in her seat. A few kids glance curiously at her before focusing back on Mr. Tudor, who was giving his lecture on Alfred Hitchcock and photography. How- how— I�� She looks around again. I was in the bathroom... He shot that poor girl... I held up my hand...and now I’m back here.

Agnes Tylney’s pen falls on the floor and she reaches down to pick it up.

I already heard this lecture...

Catherine Aragon throws a paper ball at Joan Astley.

Now Joan is being hassled again... And if Jane’s phone rings...this is real.

Jane Seymour’s phone vibrates. Maggie’s heart leapt in her throat and her body flinches as if her fear had taken a physical form and punched her. Her clumsy limbs scramble awkwardly and one arm knocked her camera off the desk. It breaks into pieces upon hitting the ground.

Shit! Oh my god, I cannot believe this... Okay, if I'm crazy, I might as well go all the way... Can I actually reverse time?

Maggie holds up her right hand and, like an instinct knowing when to be triggered, her vision turns grey. She feels like she’s floating, maybe vibrating, and she watches as her broken camera pieces itself together and rises up to sit in its original position. When Maggie releases the force, Mr. Tudor is just getting to his Diane Arbus question. However, Maggie can barely hear him or Jane’s know-it-all answer. She was too busy staring in awe at her hand.

Holy shit. Holy shit! I’m a human time machine! H- how— Okay, okay, don’t freak out, Maggie. Not yet.

She looked at her newly-repaired camera and picked it up. She presses the photograph button and the flash momentarily blinds her. Just like before.

“Shh, shh, shh,” Mr. Tudor pipes up, “I believe Maggie has taken what you kids call a "selfie"... A dumb word for a wonderful photographic tradition. And Maggie...has a gift. Of course, as you all know, the photo portrait has been popular since the early 1800's. Your generation is not the first to use images for selfie-expression. Sorry.”

The teacher’s voice is barely processing in Maggie’s mind. She just couldn’t get herself to care about what he was saying. She was too worried about the girl she had seen die.

If I can go back in time...what if that girl isn't dead yet? Can I save her?

“Now Maggie,” Mr. Tudor is rounding on her, just like he did last time. “since you've captured our interest and clearly want to join the conversation, can you please tell us the name of the process that gave birth to the first self-portraits?”

Maggie opened and closed her mouth for a moment. The words are thick at the back of her throat.

“I-” It’s hard to enunciate properly. If she wasn’t so worried about that green-haired girl, she might have been more embarrassed over her squabbling. “I'm sorry, Mr. Tudor, I feel sick. May I be excused?”

“Nice try, Maggie, but you're not gonna get away that easy. We can talk more after class.” Mr. Tudor said.

Maggie swallowed hard. As much as she loved Mr. Tudor, she really wanted to slap him right about now. She wasn’t feigning illness- she genuinely felt sick to her stomach with anxiety and fear. She was sure she was ghostly white, too. How could Mr. Tudor not see that?!

“Is there anybody here who knows their stuff?” Mr. Tudor asked.

“Louis Daguerre was a French painter who created "daguerreotypes" a process that gave portraits a sharp reflective style, like a mirror.” Jane answered like before. And, like before, she looked at Maggie mockingly and said, “Now you're totally stuck in the Retro Zone. Sad face.”

“Very good, Jane.” Mr. Tudor praised. “The Daguerreian Process brought out fine detail in people's faces, making them extremely popular from the 1800's onward.”

It was Jane’s snide remark that snapped Maggie slightly out of her worried trance. She side-eyed the blonde and clenched her jaw. She decides to test out her new power again and ‘rewind’.

“Now Maggie,” Mr. Tudor said, marking the ability a success once again. “since you've captured our interest and clearly want to join the conversation, can you please tell us the name of the process that gave birth to the first self-portraits?”

“The Daguerreian Process.” Maggie said, practically reciting Jane. “Invented by a French painter named...Louis Daguerre. Around 1830.”

Mr. Tudor looks a little surprised, but smiled at the girl. “Somebody has been reading, as well as posing. Nice work, Maggie.”

Jane gives Maggie an annoyed look, which she can’t help but feel empowered about.

“The Daguerreian Process made portraiture hugely popular, mainly because it gave the subjects clear defined features. You can learn more when you actually finish reading the assigned chapters. Maggie is so far, way ahead of everybody.”

The bell rings. Maggie practically flies out of her seat and began collecting everyone as quick as she could.

“And, guys, don't forget the deadline to submit a photo in the ‘Everyday Heroes’ Contest!” Mr. Tudor said, “I will fly out with the winner to London where you'll be feted by the art world in the Tate museum. It's great exposure and it can kickstart a career in photography. So Agnes and Maud, get it together. Catherine don't hide, I'm still waiting for your entry too. And yes Maggie, I see you pretending not to see me.”

Maggie, you are not crazy. You are not dreaming. It's time to be an everyday hero.

Instead of trying to leave, already knowing she’ll be halted, she hurries over to the front desk. Joan watches her with those lamb eyes of hers from where she’s still seated.

“Excuse me, Mr. Tudor, can I talk to you for a moment?” Maggie asked.

“Yes, excuse you.” Jane said, narrowing her eyes at Maggie.

“No, Jane, excuse us.” Mr. Tudor said. He turns to Maggie. “I'd never let one of photography's future stars avoid handing in her picture.”

“I’m not avoiding, just...”

“Biding time, waiting for the elusive ‘right moment’?”

“Exactly.”

Mr. Tudor chuckled lightly and said, “Maggie, my dear, don't wait too long. John Lennon once said that ‘Life is what happens while you're busy making other plans.’ Go on now, don't let me stop you.”

“Thank you, sir.”

Maggie exits quickly and delves right into the jungle that was the hallway. She pushed through the brambles of students to get to the bathroom, making it there in record time.

Okay, Maggie, retrace every step... I washed my face- She washes her face. I shredded my photo- She shredds her photos. Then the...butterfly flew in- The butterfly flies in. And I took a photo...

The camera flashes. The butterfly leaps up from the bucket and flaps away. The bathroom door swings open. Thomas Cromwell strides in.

Maggie stays hidden behind the stall, listening. She hears Thomas mutter darkly to himself, then that girl enters. She unknowingly taunts Thomas and he soon snaps. By the sudden yell, Maggie knows the gun was out.

She began looking around as the terrified yelling rattles through the bathroom. She dreads the gunshot that was soon to come if she didn’t do something.

She notices the fire alarm on the wall. Grabbing a fallen hammer by the bucket, Maggie smashes the glass encasing the alarm and pulls it. The siren began to wail.

“No way...” She hears Thomas mutter. Then, he grunts in pain as the girl knees him in the groin and shoves him away. Maggie watches in relief.

“Don't EVER touch me again, freak!” The girl yelled before running out.

Thomas totters on his feet for a moment before picking up his fallen gun. He growled softly, noticing the photograph scraps on the floor.

“Another shitty day...” He mutters before walking out.

Maggie emerges from her hiding spot. Cold sweat is prickling on her brow, sliding into her bulging eyes. She doesn’t even bother to wipe it away.

That did not happen! This cannot be real! I just saw a girl get shot and then saved her! What the fuck is going on?

She waits a moment before exiting the bathroom. Outside, the hallway is empty, aside from a few fleeting figures of running students. And the school’s security guard.

Edmund coming at Maggie nearly startled her back into the bathroom. He’s upon her in an instant, his sharp voice tearing strips off of her before she can even think of something to say.

“Hey, do you hear that fire alarm? That means you should be outside.”

“I had to use the bathroom...” Maggie said.

“Girls always use that excuse.” Edmund rolled his eyes.

“Excuse for what?” Maggie said, slightly ruffled.

“For whatever you're up to. Your face is covered in guilt.”

“The alarm tripped me out!”

“Then trip on out of here, missy. Or are you hiding something? Huh?”

Maggie was about to consider crying to get herself out of that situation when Principal Dudley emerged from his office and called out.

“Thank you, Edmund, the situation is under control. There's no emergency here.” He said. “Leave Miss Wyatt alone and please turn off that alarm, since that's your job.”

Edmund didn’t argue, but he did give Maggie a suspicious look before lumbering away. Maggie sighs in relief and starts for the front doors to leave and evade the incessant siren, but Principal Dudley stops her.

“You look a little stressed out, Maggie.” He said. “Are you okay?”

Maggie chewed on the inside of her cheek. “I'm...I'm just a little worried about my...future.” The lie was horrid.

“You're sweating pinballs.” Principal Dudley points out. “Is that all you're thinking about? You can always be upfront with me, Maggie. Or have you done something wrong... Is that it?” He’s making Maggie even more anxious with his prodding. “Well, Maggie? Talk to me.”

Maggie clenches her jaw, then let’s the truth spill out. She had to tell- Thomas was a danger to the school!

“I just saw Thomas Cromwell waving a gun around...in the girls' room.”

Principal Dudley’s eyes go wide, but then his brows furrowed when he really processes what had been said to him.

“Thomas Cromwell. You sure?”

Maggie is shocked at his doubt. Sure, it may be normal to ask for complete sincerity, but Principal Dudley doesn’t seem very convinced at all. He must be swayed by all the money the Cromwell family has. Even then, could he not see how Thomas was breaking apart at the seams?!

“Yes!” She said. “He was in the bathroom talking to himself with a gun. I saw everything! He was babbling like crazy—”

“Okay, slow down, slow down.” Principal Dudley said. “So you saw this...without him seeing you?”

“I was hiding behind a stall.” Maggie said. Impatience and desperation are oozing into her voice. “I have the right to be there. It's the girls' room—”

“I know, I know.” Principal Dudley said. “I just want to be completely clear what happened. Mister Cromwell happens to be from the town's most distinguished family. And one of Blackwell's most honored students. So it's hard for me to see him brandishing a weapon in the girls’ bathroom. So what happened next?”

Maggie went to tell him about the girl and their conversation, but stopped herself. She didn’t want to make herself a suspect if this all blew up in her face.

“Then...then he left. I ran out here wondering what to do.” She paused. “Are you going to bust him?”

“This is a serious charge.” Principal Dudley mutters. “I'll look into the matter personally. Thank you for bringing it to my attention.”

Maggie nodded. She wished Principal Dudley would do more than that, but she should have known. The Cromwell family practically owns Blackwell Academy. She just hopes she didn’t just throw her entire scholarship down the toilet.

She steps outside and is immediately bathed by the warm rays of the golden-orange sun. Beams of light hit the Blackwell campus in just the right way to show off how grand and pristine it was. It was a private school, after all.

As Maggie is walking down the front steps, she notices some papers scattered out on the ground. She picks one up and reads it.

MISSING- KATHERINE HOWARD

MISSING FROM: Whitby, Yorkshire

DATE MISSING: Monday, April 22, 2020

OTHER:

Age: 15 years old

Height: 5’0 Weight: 110lbs

Hair: Blonde, dyed pink Eyes: Hazel

Katherine Howard... She looks so hopeful and pretty. I wonder what happened to her...

Maggie set the paper back down and started to walk to the dorms. As she does, she gets a text from Cathy Parr, a good friend of hers. The girl was asking if she could have her flash drive back. Maggie texts back saying she will and would meet her in the parking lot. However, getting the flash drive was a lot harder than she expected, starting with the way Jane and her goons, Aragon and Jane Rochford, were lounging on the steps to the girl’s dormitory like watchful hawks. When Maggie approaches, Jane stands up with a wide smirk.

“Oh, look, it's Maggie Wyatt, the selfie ho of Blackwell. What a lame gimmick. Even Henry-” She slips for a moment, but corrects herself quickly. “Mr. Tudor—falls for your waif hipster bullshit. ‘The Daguerreian Process, sir!’ You could barely even say that. I guess you got your meds filled.” Behind her, Aragon and Rochford laugh. “Since you know all the answers, I guess you have to find another way into the dorm. We ain't moving. Oh, wait, hold that pose!” Jane snaps of photo of Maggie and sneers. “So original. Don't worry, Maggie, I'll put a vintage filter on it right before I post it all over social medias. Now, why don't you go fuck your selfie?” She sits back down on her perch.

Maggie steps back, grinding her teeth. She looks around the dorm’s courtyard, trying to find something to help her. Anthony Lee and Peter Meutas were throwing a football ball to each other, but Maggie didn’t dare approach boys in their primal sport. Maud was reading on one of the benches and Joan was sitting all alone near the shrubbery, but she didn’t want to bother them, either.

And then there’s a rattle from above.

The school’s most well-known janitor, Duke, is up on a ladder painting. The bucket of white paint he’s using is supposed to be hooked on the side of the rungs, but Maggie watches as it falls and splatters all over Jane.

“No way! No fucking way!” She screeches.

Aragon and Rochford leap up in an instant. Their eyes are wide- a look of such shock is unusual on them.

“You okay, Jane?” Aragon asked.

Jane glared at her. It’s enough of an answer.

“Hold on, hold on, we'll get some towels!” Rochford said. “We'll be right back!”

“So move your ass, before I dry!” Jane barked.

Aragon and Rochford scramble inside. Maggie waits for a moment before slowly approaching Jane- or, rather, the door, but she got dragged into a conversation anyway.

“Uh...hey, Jane...”

“What do you want, Maggie?” Jane hissed. Her eyes are narrowed in a warning.

“I’m sorry about what happened. That was an awesome coat...”

Jane blinked at the passivity of the younger girl’s comment. She loosened up a little and stopped baring her teeth like an enraged white tiger.

“It was.” She sighed. “But there will be another.”

“Well...” The conversation was actually going smoothly. Might as well keep it up and try to get on Jane’s good side so she’ll lay off. “you always seem to know how to pick the right outfits.”

“I do have some talent. Mr. Tudor told me-” Jane stops herself. Maggie is sure she’s biting her tongue.

“I've seen your pictures.” Maggie said. “You have a great eye, Richard Avedon-esque.”

“He's one of my heroes...” Jane’s eyes, usually so judgmental and cruel, scan Maggie without an ounce of mockery in their gaze. “Thanks, Maggie.” She looks over her shoulder at the doors to the dorm. “I hope those sluts get me a towel before they hang a sign on me.” She turns to Maggie again. “You deserve a better shot. Sorry about blocking you and...and the ‘go fuck your selfie’ thing.”

“That was mean...but pretty funny.” Maggie admitted, laughing slightly.

“Just one of those days, you know?”

“I know exactly what you mean, Jane.” Maggie said. “I'll see you later.”

“Au revoir.”

Maggie notices that Jane offered her a small wave. She returns it with a slight smile before stepping into the dormitory.

The dorm building is about as basic as one could get- a long hallway full of doors with one branching path that led to the bathroom. Maggie walks down the corridor, glancing at the slates beside each dorm that could be written on. Hers was blank when she got to her room at the end. She didn’t think much of it and stepped inside.

Home, sweet home. My favorite cocoon...

Her room is a basic setup- bed in the corner near the door with a fuzzy ferret stuffy sitting atop the pillows like a duvet guardian, lanterns strung around the ceiling for lighting, a drawer with a radio at the foot of her bed, a desk, a bookshelf with a few potted plants, a small couch, a guitar, her closet, dozens of photos tacked on her wall. It was cozy, and it was home now.

While she’s searching for the flash drive, Maggie noticed a sticky note on her desk. When she picks it up, it reads, “Hey girl,”-the I has a heart instead of a dot, a little something that made Maggie’s touch-starved heart flutter-“I borrowed your drive so I can watch some flix while I study. If you need it back, just track me down! XoXo, B.”

So it’s in Bessie’s room...

Honestly, Maggie didn’t mind. Bessie Blount was nice to her and super sweet, despite having obvious baggage of her own. She was strong and smart in a way Maggie wished she could be.

As Maggie leaves her room, she sees Maria de Salinas charge out of Bessie’s dorm and lock the door. She leans against it as Bessie knocks loudly.

“You can't get out now, Bessie! So tell me the truth, or rot in there!” Maria growled.

“Let me out, Maria! This is so stupid! You are ridiculous! If you don't let me out, I will scream!”

Maggie blinked. She approaches slowly, but Maria doesn’t glare at her when she gets near.

“Hey, Maria,” Maggie said. “Is everything cool?”

Maria rolled her eyes. “Oh, yes, Maggie. I've locked Bessie in the room because we're ‘cool’.”

“What did she do?” Maggie asked.

“What didn't she do?“ Maria’s anger bubbles up again. “Shes been sexting with my boyfriend, that’s what she did.”

“No I didn’t!!” Bessie yelled from inside the room.

Maggie winced. “Ouch. How did you find out?”

“Uh, why do you care?” Maria said. “Why are you even asking me? You never talk, just zone out with your camera.”

“That's why I'm talking to you now.”

Maria crosses her arms. “What's my last name?”

She’s being tested to her an answer. Maggie blinks.

“Maria de Salinas. Duh!”

Maria is surprised. “I'm flattered. I didn't even think you knew my name at all.”

“Of course I do. Just because I don't talk a lot doesn't mean I don't care. So, how did you find out about them?”

“According to Jane, Bessie would do anything to date a football player.” Maria explained. “She saw the sext. And William won't answer his phone. Once Bessie admits it, she can go. Straight to hell.

“Maggie, I swear I didn't do ANYTHING!” Bessie cried from behind the door. “But I bet Jane did! I know the proof is in her room!”

Knowing that she couldn’t go to Cathy without the flash drive; Maggie agrees to do a little trespassing and snuck into Jane’s room, which was about as pristine and neat as she expected.

After printing an email Jane sent to Aragon about the whole ordeal going down, Maggie returned to Maria and showed her the evidence.

“Of course...” Maria muttered. She turned and opened Bessie’s door. “I'm an asshole. I'm sorry, Bess.”

“You are, and I hope so.” Bessie’s eyes softened. “You really think I'd mess around with William?”

“No. But I get stupid jealous. I owe you dinner. Still love me?”

Bessie smiles and chuckled. “And you do my laundry.”

Maria turns back to Maggie with a relieved look. “Thanks, Maggie. You're like the Blackwell Ninja. Now let's see what William has to say about Jane...” She storms out of the dorm.

“You set me free!” Bessie laughed. “Thank you. Cathy’s flash drive is on my desk.”

Maggie retrieves it quickly and heads out to the main campus. However, she stops when she sees Edmund stalking towards a very scared-looking Joan.

“...so don't think I'm blind!” The security guard was saying. “I see everything here at Blackwell! Do you understand what I'm saying?

“No!” Joan cried. Her eyes are glistening with tears. “Leave me alone!”

“You can't fool me. I know everything about this school. I cover the waterfront. So you better figure out what side you're on...”

“Please, leave me alone!” Joan is crying, now.

Edmund is about to say something else when there’s a flash from a few feet away. He notices Maggie holding her camera and grits his teeth before storming off. Maggie instantly went to Joan’s aid, but the blonde didn’t seem to be in the mood for pity.

“Hope you enjoyed the show.” Joan grits, wiping away tears. “Thanks for nothing, Maggie.”

Maggie watches her run to the dorms with a frown.

Poor girl...

[xcziel]

Multi-Fandom Slash Fic Recs: Long reads for your quarantine needs

Was gonna add my own 2 cents for each rec, but it got long and I'll never post if I have to think about it anymore - may edit to add more commentary. Suffice it to say, these are all great long reads, not much angst, some smutty some not, highly improbable levels of things-working-out because it's fanfic and that's what it's for. Feel free to troll through my AO3 Bookmarks as well.

The One Where They're Stars on HGTV Series

earlgreytea68

Inception: Arthur/Eames

AU, 466,359 words 9 works Complete

Summary:

"Have you ever seen "Love It or List It"? In which Arthur is the real estate agent and Eames is the designer.

Eames is certain that they will excel at being celebrity judges.

Arthur is not so sure.

But then, that's usually how their relationship goes."

My 2 cents: Just what it says on the tin: Arthur and Eames are HGTV stars of a show which pits straightlaced realtor Arthur against flamboyant designer Eames, but the new show they're embarking on will give them a chance to work together. Arthur has his reservations - not least among them the surprise arrival of Eames' superficially charming ex. Eames, of course, has all the confidence in the world. Featuring fun design challenges, mildly insecure Athur, fluffy confidant Ariadne, reality show 'backstage' melodrama, Arthur becomes a meme, Eames fantastical decorating schemes, a Matt Bomer lookalike complete with fedora (trilby), and acres of gauzy romantic fluff.

We Begin Again Series

katherynefromphilly

Merlin: Merlin/Arthur

316,197 words 4 works

Summary:

"For many long years Merlin waited.

For the other part of his soul, for the other half of his life. He was born to serve Arthur. So that meant he was also born to wait. Even if it took a thousand years. Even if the wait seemed never to end.

Until one day, suddenly, it did.

When Arthur stumbles from the Lake of Avalon 1,500 years after his death, he finds a world unlike the one he knew. Faced with the loss of everyone he loved, and the threat of impending prophecy, Arthur must learn what it means to be not just a king, but the Once and Future King. Merlin does all he can to guide him, even as he struggles to hide his love for his king, and his fear of losing him again.

Story includes sass, banter, horseplay, & True Love."

Infinite Coffee and Protection Detail Series

owlet

MCU: Steve/Bucky

264,438 words 8 works

Summary:

"The mission resets abruptly, from objective: kill to objective: protect

Integration into adult human social dynamics requires attention and effort. Especially with this bunch of damaged bozos.

(A series of interconnected one-shots.)"

2 cents: Post-Winter Soldier Bucky works his own way through. Recovery fic from Bucky's POV, not shippy in the beginning (unless you consider MCU-canon-level co-dependency shippy I guess) and with added 'Avengers living in the Tower' flavor

The Sonnet Series

nekosmuse, afrocurl

X-Men: Charles/Erik

AU, 196,721 words 3 works

Summary:

"Erik Lehnsherr is a visiting professor at Columbia University, as well as an acclaimed and award winning poet. Charles Xavier is a lead researcher with the Genetics Department who is well on his way to tenure. But what happens when Charles has to cancel a class because half his students abandon him in favour of a mysterious new English Lit professor? Naturally he ends up sitting in in the class, where Professor Lehnsherr mistakes him for a student. It's really too bad Erik has such a strict policy against dating students. It's also too bad Erik doesn't seem to know how to use Google."

Hollywood 'verse Series

clio_jlh

Star Trek AOS: Kirk/McCoy

80,063 words 7 works

Summary:

"From Variety, June 2008:

Pavel Chekov ("Charlie X") and Gaila ("Bread and Circuses") have joined the cast of small budget drama "That Which Survives," funded by Fleet's indie arm Academy and supervised by Nyota Uhura.

The debut feature from longtime script doctor Leonard McCoy, former show runner on sitcom "Three to Tango," centers on a college student coping with his father's terminal cancer. Chekov plays the son, Gaila the nurse. The father is yet to be cast.

Also attached are director James T. Kirk and producer Spock, the team behind the blockbuster spy-girl franchise starring Carol Marcus, the latest of which, "A Taste of Armageddon," opened last month.

(A modern-day Hollywood AU.)"

A Curious Carriage of Crystal and Cold

Etharei

X-Men: Charles/Erik

AU, 114,261 words

Summary:

"Charles, a miner from a poor village in the countryside, saves the life of Erik Lehnsherr, scion of a successful business family and the richest man on the planet Eisen. Charles is a telepath and somewhat anxious about it, while Erik abstains from relationships because the lights flicker and doors open and electronics vibrate when he gets too excited.

Also featuring a long-suffering sister, a foul-mouthed bodyguard, and a best friend with a heart that is definitely not gold.

In which there are princes, spaceships, long journeys, and old secrets uncovered. (An AU sci-fi fairytale)"

Shadowlord and Pirate King Series

Footloose, mushroomtale

Merlin: Merlin/Arthur

AU, 216,060 words 3 works

Summary:

"A fast ship, a good crew, a treasure, a Clan to lead -- that's all Arthur Pendragon has ever wanted. He sits on the Council, he supports his father's kingship, and he keeps an eye on the Imperial Conglomerate when they come too close to Pirate space.

One day the Conglomerate infiltrates the Clans and poisons the King. Arthur must search for a cure to keep his father alive and the Clans from civil war.

An escape route, a sharp knife, a target, the shadows at his command -- that's all Merlin has ever needed. He fulfills his assignments, he uses the Sterling to sustain his once-royal House in their exile, and wages a private war against the Imperial Conglomerate.

When he learns of an elaborate plot to assassinate him, Merlin does the opposite of what's expected. He flees onto a Pirate ship.

There's a saying among the Pirates: that one's fate is written in the stars. Destiny will always set to rights what has been made wrong.

Arthur and Merlin know that they were meant for the other from the moment they meet. They can feel it from across the galaxies separating them. Nothing can stop them from being together or from fulfilling an ancient prophecy."

Children, Wake Up Series

hollycomb

Star Wars sequels: Kylo Ren/Armitage Hux

non-canon after Force Awakens, 608,083 words 3 works

Warning for torture and past sexual assault (offscreen)

Summary:

"Hux follows orders and loses his way.

Barricaded in the darkness of Snoke's citadel as part of his final training, Kylo Ren senses a disturbance in the Force: General Hux in great pain, captured and tortured by a faction of radical traitors within the First Order. Ren seeks Snoke's counsel and finds him gone. He knows this is a test, and that he must resist the urge to assist the General. And yet."

2 cents: I don't even know. I started just to look at it and then somehow I couldn't stop. Two characters I find wholly irredeemable given back story enough to make me suspend disbelief just enough to enjoy the fic - now that's talent. Features background Finn/Rey and Luke/Wedge if you care about that, and generally has everyone written in a positive light except Snoke, including a surprising handful of of First Order refugees. It's weirdly not at all a dark fic, despite the premise and extreme levels of Force Ex Machina.

snipers solve 99% of all problems

silentwalrus

Fullmetal Alchemist: post-canon gen

HP crossover, 170,861 words, 59 chapters so far, WIP

Summary:

"Ed had thought, after the whole Promised Day, homunculus, entire country harvested for alchemical batteries thing, the batshit quotient of his life would have settled down some. He really ought to have topped out the meter with that one. But no. The bullshit is just getting started.

“Are you fucking kidding me,” Ed demands. “The wizards?”"

2 cents: Neither of these are my fandom, but I have read all the HP books, so I could get the gist. While jonesing for an update, I ended up bingeing FMA: Brotherhood and I have no regrets. Ed working alchemy-as-science and trying to translate wizardry into scientific alchemical workarounds is all I never knew I wanted. Team Amestris takes JKR's creation to school, with all the swearing you'd expect sprinkled throughout for ambiénce.

[searchingwardrobes]

Priceless: 3/?

Based on the movie of the same name starring Joel Smallbone of For King And Country. This is where things start to get dark, just to warn everyone. Yet, like the movie, I’m trying to also deal with the subject matter sensitively. If you would like more details on the content of this fic before you read it, you can always message me. But just know that I don’t like stories without hope, so there is light at the end of the tunnel, it’s just . . . we’re at the beginning of the dark tunnel.

Much thanks to @xhookswenchx for her beta skills and for helping me with Killian’s characterization in this chapter particularly. There is so much in this fic that is outside my comfort zone, and I so appreciate your encouragement!

Summary: Desperate men often find themselves in places they never thought they would go, but for Killian Jones it would finally force him to be the hero his daughter always thought he could be. The job was simple: drive the truck, don’t open the back, don’t ask questions. But Killian Jones has never followed instructions very well . . .

Rating: M (see triggers below)

Triggers: (deep breath) human trafficking, non-con, rape, prostitution, sexual exploitation, and violence (some of it involving a minor), however, none of this is romanticized or portrayed as anything but wrong and horrible. All rape will only be referred to, not directly portrayed. On a fandom note: Gold and Neal are straight up villains, and there is Knightrook (but no Gothel).

Words: About 2,000 in this chapter

Also on Ao3 and part of my Captain Swan is My Favorite Rom Com: Second Edition. You can also find the first edition here.

Tagging: @snowbellewells @kmomof4 @whimsicallyenchantedrose @winterbaby89 @kday426 @teamhook @thislassishooked @shipsxahoy @shady-swan-jones @tiganasummertree @bethacaciakay @artistic-writer @jonesfandomfanatic @cat-sophia @hollyethecurious @coliferoncer @thejacketandthehook @dassala @branlovestowrite @allofdafandoms-blog @flslp87 @pocket-anon @snidgetsafan @delirious-latenight-laughs @jennjenn615 @onceuponaprincessworld

It sounds strange to say that the lights of Las Vegas were breathtaking, but they were. That night, standing there overlooking the city, I felt like a character in a fantasy novel at the end of a long trek. The relieved sigh from Emma next to me made me think that she felt it more deeply than I did. She had crossed an ocean, then a continent, and finally her journey was over. As I watched her, illuminated by the headlights of the truck, her blonde hair blown by the wind, I yearned for her to find that better future she had mentioned. On the other side of me, Anna practically vibrated with excited energy, her hands clasped beneath her chin.

“You’re supposed to get a picture,” Emma reminded me.

“Oh, right.” I fumbled for the phone in my pocket. “Would you mind?” I asked, handing it to her.

“Sure.”

I tried to pose somewhat naturally, something that felt a little odd all alone on that hilltop. I had never been the selfie type. Emma lifted the phone, smiling at me in an amused sort of way. The flash went off, and she frowned at the image on the screen.

“That bad huh?” I chuckled nervously.

“No, I had it on selfie mode. Here, let me try again.”

I moved back into my stiff pose as she snapped another, then another, and another in rapid succession. Then she stepped forward and handed the phone back to me.

“I hope one of those is good,” she said with a shrug.

“Thanks.”

Her sister Elsa, who was leaning next to the truck beside Liam, called for her. She turned to go with one last smile my way, her gaze scrutinizing me head to toe. I felt myself blush and hoped she couldn’t see it in the dark.

Once she was a few feet away, I scrolled through the photos she had taken. My smile seemed nervous, at least to me, but it wasn’t as bad as I had been expecting, and Alice would be able to see the lights of the city in the background. My finger froze and my breath caught at the next picture. It was the accidental selfie Emma had taken. Her hair was in motion, fluttering in the breeze. Her eyes weren’t looking into the camera, but beyond it, at me. With the dark night all around her, she looked like some sort of angelic visitation with her light skin, golden hair, and sparkling eyes. Her mouth was turned up in a teasing smile, directed at me. In short, she was breathtaking.

I bit my lip, my finger hovering over the delete function. It seemed like a violation somehow to keep her photo, and yet . . .

“Killian!”

The way I jumped at Liam’s voice you would have thought I was looking at porn. I quickly closed my phone’s screen and pocketed it.

“Get over here,” Liam continued, waving me over.

The passenger door of the truck’s cab was open, and Elsa sat there with her feet dangling outside. I frowned when I noticed she was slumping against the seat. The back of Liam’s hand was pressed to her forehead.

“She’s burning up,” he told me.

Elsa waved her hand weakly as if to brush off Liam’s concern. “We’re almost there. I’ll be fine, really.”

Liam frowned as he crossed his arms over his chest. “Well we can’t have her in the back of the truck like we planned. Not like this.”

I glanced at Emma, and the alarm in her eyes matched mine. “But I wasn’t supposed to open the back.”

“Are you serious?” Liam practically shouted. “She’s sick!”

“Liam,” Elsa said, reaching out to grasp his forearm. I noticed that her voice sounded weak. “It’s okay. It’s only another fifteen minutes or so. Right?”

Everyone looked to me, and I swallowed hard. Dread had seemed to be brewing just below the surface of my mind the closer we got to our destination, but I pushed it aside. “Yes, give or take.”

“We can’t let them know you interacted with us,” Emma added.

“We’ll take care of her,” Anna vowed as she put an arm around her oldest sister.

“I’m really sorry about this,” I told them.

Elsa started to inch her way out of the cab, practically sagging against Liam’s chest when he reached out to assist her. Nevertheless, she stood tall once her feet touched the ground. She stepped away from Liam and grasped both of my hands in both of hers.

“No apology necessary. You have gone above and beyond for us.”

My eyes darted away from her earnest expression. The three of them deserved so much more from me. When I thought of how far I had driven with them locked in the back, in utter darkness, it made me feel ill. There was nothing else to be done, however, and Liam and I helped the three women into the back of the truck once again. I could barely make out their figures in the dark as I shut the door. The sound of the bar sliding into place seemed to echo in the vastness of the desert.

********************************************************

There was an unmarked van in the parking lot of the Staylight Motel when I pulled in. As I parked the box truck, two men got out of a black Cadillac. The driver had stringy gray hair that reached his shoulders, and he wore a nice three-piece suit. He walked with a limp, leaning on a gold tipped cane. The man with him was younger and more casually dressed, his brown hair slightly disheveled. He gripped several purple carnations in one hand.

I glanced nervously at Liam as we excited the truck. We stood side by side as the men neared, and out of the corner of my eye, I saw Liam settle into his protective stance, arms crossed, chin tilted up slightly. I pressed my eyes closed for a brief moment, praying that nothing would go sideways.

“I take it there were no difficulties in the transportation?” the older man asked, forgoing any introductions.

I nodded. “No problems at all.”

“You must be Mr. Gold,” my brother muttered.

A smile slid across the man’s face. I couldn’t help finding it slightly sinister. “Yes. And you must be the big brother who insisted on babysitting.”

Mr. Gold turned his gaze back to me then, a challenge in his eyes. I met him with a confident gaze.

“Liam doesn’t expect any additional pay, if that’s what you’re worried about.”

“I’m glad we’re on the same page, then.” Gold gave the man beside him a curt nod, and the younger one headed to the back of the truck. My heart began to hammer in my chest. Gold reached into the pocket of his suit coat and pulled out an envelope fat with bills. Before he could hand it to me, the other man’s voice called out.

“Dad, you better get over here. The lock and bolt is busted.”

Gold raised one eyebrow at me. “Really?” He hobbled over to his son, and Liam and I followed nervously. He reached out with one hand to inspect the lock, then leveled a gaze on me.

I swallowed and licked at my lips before answering. “We had a little . . . problem. I fell asleep and went off the road. But the girls were okay, and we didn’t -”

Gold raised a hand and cut me off with a brief chuckle. “Couldn’t resist temptation, eh lads? Don’t worry. It happens.” With that, he shoved the envelope at my chest. Then he nodded at his son. “Neal. Continue.”

Neal pulled up the rolling door, and Emma, Elsa, and Anna came forward. I held my breath again, praying they wouldn’t notice how new their dresses were or how clean they were for the traveling conditions. Neal reached out a hand to assist each of them out of the truck.

“Welcome to the States, ladies,” he said, handing each a purple carnation. The way his eyes raked each one up and down caused my stomach to turn, especially when his gaze landed on little Anna.

“Something’s not right here,” Liam whispered in my ear, and I knew he was right.

Neal’s fingertips danced along Anna’s upper arm, and my brother’s arm shot out before I even knew what was happening. He grasped Neal’s wrist, stepping between him and the young girl.

“Where are you taking them?” Liam demanded.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw three burly men exit the unmarked van. Two of them grasped Emma and Elsa by the arms and rushed them to the van.

“Killian?” Emma asked, her voice wavering with a bit of alarm.

“Don’t touch them like that!” I shouted, lunging at the man yanking on Emma.

Everything after that happened so fast, I could never remember what event led to the next. All I knew was that when I collided with the man holding Emma, he lost his grip on her. She pummeled him, the purple carnation Neal had given her falling to the asphalt. There were shouts, I saw Elsa practically flung into the van as she shouted Liam’s name, and Anna screamed.

But the loudest sound was the cocking of a gun.

I turned towards the sound and received a kick to the stomach for my distraction. Crumpled on the asphalt, I looked up to see a gun pointed at my brother’s temple. He held Anna in a brotherly half-embrace, and his eyes found mine. In them, I could see resignation.

“Let go of him or I pull the trigger,” the thug instructed Anna.

With a sob, she relinquished her hold on my brother. Neal took her by both elbows and dragged her to the van. I lurched to my feet, but the man with the gun stopped me.

“I’ll blow his fuckin brains out!” he shouted.

Chest heaving, my hands fisted at my sides, I froze where I was. All I could do was watch the girls’ terrified expressions as the van door slid shut. It pulled out of the parking lot, the thug’s gun still at my brother’s temple. Gold limped closer, his cane beating a staccato rhythm on the pavement. His eyes pierced me, cold and calculating.

“You’re lucky I’m still going to pay you.”

Neal and his father got back into the Cadillac, pausing only long enough for their hired gun to jump in the backseat before they pealed out of the parking lot. A sob choked my throat as I fell to my knees on the hard ground. There, crushed into the asphalt, were the broken remains of Emma’s carnation.

“Liam,” I gasped, as tears streamed down my face, “what have I done?”

[brokemultidotexe]

Collateral Damage [M]

↬ Pairing: Gang!OT12 | Baekhyun x OC/Sehun x OC

↬ Summary:

“Life belongs to the living, and he who lives must be prepared for changes”– Johann Wolfgang

Chanyeol certainly never thought his life would transpire the way it has. At 19, he never expected to become a guardian and have to support the both of them. He hadn't planned on running one of the most successful gangs at the age of 24, but of all the things he hadn't planned on, he certainly wasn't prepared for the day his rivals kidnapped his sister. Everyone knows that you never touch Chanyeol’s sister but his rivals seemed to have missed that little detail and had no idea about the war they just started.

↬ Word Count: 6.6k

↬ Warnings: Drugs, Abuse(s), Violence, and Death

↬ Genre: Angst

↬ Part: Trailer | 1

Chanyeol handed her the popsicle he had just bought with a smile, “Aren’t you having one?” she asked.

“Don’t worry, I’ve already eaten.” He lied. His stomach growled while he watched her happily eat the ice cream, he had bought her. Leaning back on his hands the two enjoyed the sunlight in front of the gas station down the road from where they lived. The curb had become a second home during the summer and unlike most siblings, he enjoyed having her around.

“Minah…” He let her name hang in the air to grab her attention.

“Hmm?”

“You know once school starts, we’ll be at different schools now, right?” the smile fell from her lips and she nodded. Chanyeol would be starting high school this year which put them at different schools and both would be released at different times. “I don’t want you going home by yourself.” The heavy topic sobered the mood. “He’s gotten worse and I don’t want you there without me, so either come here or go to the library and I’ll come to get you so we can walk home together.”

She leaned over and hugged him as tightly as she could. It would be the first time they would be separated like this since she came to her current foster home. The two of them had dubbed it the ‘house of horrors’ and he had promised to protect her until they could get out of the system. “Thank you.” She mumbled against his chest.

He wrapped his arms around her in return and squeezed her tight, “as long as I’m with you there’s nothing to worry about.” Chanyeol had become a sense of comfort for her and been the only one in her life to truly love and protect her. She felt safe with him and she never wanted to lose that.

“Minah you’re staying here, end of story.” Chanyeol huffed in frustration knowing that she wouldn’t let it go.

“No, it’s not. Oppa you’ve made me stay at home for two weeks already. I’m a social creature unlike you.” Minah stood with her hands on her hips glaring at her older brother.

“For once can you not argue with me and do what I ask?” Her older brother pulled on his jacket and looked at his younger sister. “You know I wouldn’t do this unless I had to.”

Minah felt like that was an unfair blow to make. She knew that Chanyeol cared about her, probably more than anyone else. So, when she did push back when he was being too overprotective, she always felt bad because she knew it was coming from the right place. “Oppa, please! I’ve stayed in for the last two weeks like you asked—”

This got a sarcastic laugh out of her brother, “You got busted at the race just last weekend and this was after you promised me you would stay home.”

“Traitor.” She mumbled. She knew that Minseok would probably tell her brother that he had caught her there, but he must have talked her brother down because he normally would have come home in a tirade and she would have to sit and listen to him lecture her for an hour.

Chanyeol rolled his eyes, “Minseok isn’t a traitor Minah, he’s around to help protect us. Trust me when I say that he protected your ass once he told me.” He looked at his sister in warning, “I won’t be in town so for the love of god, please, stay home.” He walked over and dropped a kiss on her forehead.

“Be safe.” She mumbled begrudgingly.

“I text Sehun to come keep you company tonight.”

“Oppa! He was on a date!” She wanted to hit her brother. Minah had worked her ass off trying to talk Sehun into going on that date in the first place.

“I gotta go. Stay put until he gets here.” Chanyeol pointed a finger at her in warning before walking out the door and reminding her to lock it.

Minah walked over to the couch after locking the door and dropped down onto it with a huff. She hated being stuck at home and she was tired of being so isolated. Her only outlet was school, but she had already finished with her finals so she no longer had anything to study for. Poor Sehun, her best friend, had suffered the same fate just to be there to keep her company. She looked at her phone knowing that the rest of the group would be at the party she had been dying to go to. Kai, who was basically her second brother, had managed to score his biggest win to date while racing for Chanyeol. To celebrate he decided to throw a party at his parents’ mansion and if she was truthful, she fell in love with the mansion, even more, every time she went.

She chewed on her bottom lip contemplating on going anyways, despite what Chanyeol said. He was going to be out of the city for the night which meant that Minah could go and not have to worry about running into her brother. Her only obstacle was her brother’s friends, but most of them were putty in her hands so she hoped that she would be able to bend them to her will so they wouldn’t tell him.

Deciding to risk it she stood and slipped her phone in her pocket and grabbed her jacket to put it on. Sliding her shoes on she walked out and locked the door and double checked to make sure she had locked it before heading down to the bus stop. It still felt weird seeing the nice hallways with a tall ceiling and fancy carpet. Chanyeol had finally decided to move both of them to a more upscale apartment with better security after someone tried to break in while Minah had been home. It didn’t take much convincing for Minah to agree and the two were moving into a new place only a week later.

It took about an hour and three different busses to actually make it to Kai’s neighborhood. Once she stepped off the bus she made a mental note to talk to Chanyeol about finally getting her a car like he promised for when she graduated high school. Thanking her lucky stars that his parent's house was towards the front of the neighborhood she started her half mile trek to the party. She could hear the chaos before she could see it. His parents had bought the five lots surrounding their house so they were far enough away to not deal with their neighbors.

The warmth from inside the house had her taking off her jacket as she made her way through the house. She felt a vibration coming from her pocket so she pulled her phone out and saw Sehun’s smiling face looking back at her as it continued to vibrate. She bit her lip knowing that he had probably gone to her apartment and noticed the fact that she wasn’t where she was supposed to be. Instead of answering Minah sent a text to him letting him know that she was fine and would call him later. Even after sending it his calls didn’t stop so she just turned it completely on silent before putting it back in her pocket.

“Well, aren’t you beautiful.” a voice caused Minah to roll her eyes. The one downfall to the parties was the fact that there were drunk and horny guys looking for a piece of ass to take home. Most of the people that normally show up knew that she was off limits and if they tried anything, she had a band of brothers ready to end you for it.

“Yeah, I’m not interested.” She continued to try and scan the living room to see if she saw any of her brother’s friends. She wanted to keep her presence a secret and strolling into a room with all of them was the last thing she wanted.

The guy grabbed her arm as soon as she started to walk away which forced her to face him. The guy was attractive enough but she could tell that he was completely wasted and her best move was to just walk away because a drunk guy starting something over getting turned down would be the opposite of laying low. Minah pulled her arm away and gave the guy a small smile before turning and heading past the stairs but the guy pulled her and backed her against the wall. She refused to make eye contact with him even though he had a hold of her chin trying to force her to look at him.

“Minyoung if you have any sense you better drop your hold on her if you don’t want Chanyeol to come looking for your ass.” Minah closed her eyes cursing her luck. She looked over Minyoung’s shoulder and saw Kai standing at the foot of the stairs with a murderous stare.

“This doesn’t involve him, who is he to decide who I wanna fuck so stay out of it Kai” The guy ran his thumb along her cheek and she looked away wanting to just sink into the wall to put distance between the two of them. There was a tug and then a sudden rush of warmth upon arm. She turned to see Kai with Minyoung in his grasp and fabric bunched in his hand. Minah looked down and noticed that her shirt was now ripped and you could see her bra. She grabbed the tattered pieces and held them together to keep herself covered.

“Don’t you ever lay a finger on her again!” his voice was deep and beyond angry and Minah knew that she was going to get lectured once Kai handled Minyoung. “Minseok!” he yelled out and it took only a moment for him to show up with a curious expression. His eyes landed on her hand that was holding the fabric so it kept her covered.

“Minah, what happened to your shirt?”

Kai looked in Minah direction and saw that her shirt had been ripped. He turned to Minyoung and punched him as hard as he could causing the guy to stumble towards the wall and falling to the floor holding his head. “Minseok.” That was all Kai had to say for Minseok to understand what he wanted.

“With pleasure.” Minseok looked at the guy with extreme distaste as he dragged him out by the collar of his shirt.

Kai’s eyes went back to Minah and she could tell he wasn’t happy. He walked and stood in front of her with his arms crossed “You know you aren’t supposed to be here.”

“Jongin—” she used his real name in hopes to soften him up but he cut her off knowing exactly what she was doing.

“No, don’t even try that with me. Chanyeol is going to kill you, you know that right? Minyoung will be lucky if he doesn’t end up in a body bag.” He was disappointed in Minah for being so rash in her decisions.

“Don’t tell him, please.” She grabbed his hands pleading with him.

Kai shook his head, “I’m not keeping this from him. He has his reasons for making you stay home.”

“Minah I swear to god!” She turned seeing Sehun standing there his eyes blazing in anger. Her eyes went back to Kai and he was shaking his head knowing that she was about to get an ear full and he thought she deserved it.

“I gotta call Chanyeol, I’ll leave you to it,” Kai said as soon as Sehun walked up.

“Jongin! Please!” He turned and walked off with his phone in hand.

“Shit.” She cursed at herself for deciding to come knowing that she would be lucky if Chanyeol didn’t turn around and come back home just to yell at her.

“What the hell were you thinking.” Her eyes moved to Sehun. She bit her lip and dropped her eyes in guilt, she felt bad making him worry. Chanyeol and Sehun were the only two people in her life that really affected her when they were mad at her.

“You were on your date,” Minah mumbled knowing the both of them knew the excuse was bullshit.

“Do you have any idea what you put me through?” He ran his fingers through his hair, his anger dissipating now that he had her right in front of him.

“Sehun-ah, I’m sorry. Please don’t be mad at me.” She bit her lip nervously. The one thing she hated the most in the world was when Sehun or Chanyeol was disappointed in her. She would rather them scream at her until they were red in the face instead of being disappointed in her.

“You realize Chanyeol hyung is going to beat my ass because of your little impromptu trip, right?”

Minah grabbed his hand, “No he won’t, I’ll talk to him and make sure he knows that I left almost right after him and it was before you got there and I wouldn’t answer your calls.” She sighed, “How did you even know I was here?”

“Because you’ve been complaining for two days that he wouldn’t let you go, also because Minseok called me when I was almost here, about five minutes ago, to let me know you were here.” He motioned to where a group of people stood in the living room with beers in their hand.

When Minah looked over to the group of people she heard a quick intake of breath and looked back over at Sehun who looked livid. “What the hell happened to your shirt? Did someone try to force themselves on you? Who was it?” She put a hand on his chest to make sure he wouldn’t go on a tirade through the house.

“Minseok and Kai took care of it. I’m fine, okay? It’s just a shirt.” Sehun had already started to unbutton his shirt and pulled it off leaving him in a plain black undershirt.

“Here, take this.” He helped her put her arms into the sleeves and wrapped it around her. He started buttoning the bottom buttons and she put her hand on his.

“I got it.” She dropped her hands so she could replace his and continued buttoning it the rest of the way up. When she looked back up at him, he still looked angry. “Sehun-ah.” Minah leaned in and hugged him tightly around the middle. He was practically a head taller than her, he wrapped his arms around her and rested his chin on the top of her head with a sigh.

“Let’s get you home in case Chanyeol shows up.”

Kai came from around the corner and startled her as he started to talk, “He’s right, you should probably head home. Chanyeol is livid. I did my best to calm him down but I don’t think it did any good.”

Minah dropped her hold on Sehun and walked over to Kai and hugging him tightly, “Thank you for earlier.” her voice muffled against his chest, “You’re always looking out for me.”

Kai hugged her tightly, “I always will. Now get home in case Chanyeol decides to head back and maybe you can work your little sister magic and he won’t kill you.”

She rolled her eyes at his dramatics, “Okay, okay. I’m heading out.” She turned to go but gasped and turned back around, “I forgot to congratulate you on your race!” Minah cried out.

Kai couldn’t help but laugh at her antics considering what was hanging over her head at the current moment. She had always put everyone before herself no matter what it was, “You can gift me your return home.” He smiled at her. He looked over at Sehun seriously, who was waiting patiently with his arms crossed, “Take her home and don’t let her out of your sight. I’m serious Sehun, you know what’s at stake.”

Minah hated when secrets were talked about around her. She understood why Chanyeol kept her in the dark but it only frustrated her that he wouldn’t include her. If she knew, then maybe she wouldn’t make the decisions that make him so angry. After what had happened with the foster home and everything she dealt with, Chanyeol wanted to do everything he could to protect her. Telling her when things were going wrong and possibly dangerous would only cause her to worry and he didn’t want to be the source of that.

Sehun’s eyes cut over to Minah and she looked down feeling completely awful for making him worry and coming to get her, “I know, he explained it all to me.”

Minah sighed and Kai nudged her over towards Sehun, “One of you text me when you get there.”

With Sehun driving her back home the ride took less than fifteen minutes. A comfortable silence followed them all the way up to her apartment. Both of them sighed in relief when they saw that Chanyeol hadn’t decided to turn around and come back home. Minah pulled out her phone and text Kai to let him know they had arrived safe and that it looked like Chanyeol decided to not to come back.

Sehun sat on the couch just as Minah’s cell phone started to ring. She looked down to see a picture of her and her brother staring back at her. Her heart raced as she tried to prepare herself for his tirade.

Minah took a deep breath and answered it, “Hi Oppa—”

“Do you realize the stress you put people through with your antics!? Not just me but Kai and everyone else that cares about you? Stop rebelling like a child—”

Minah’s anger flared, “Oppa!” she yelled, “If someone would actually tell me what the hell is going on then maybe I could take your warnings seriously and not you being overprotective. You can’t save me from the world Oppa! I still need to have a life!”

“Goddammit Minah!” he roared through the phone causing her to pull the phone away from her ear, “When are you going to stop acting like a teenager and grow up?! Life isn’t sunshine and rainbows Minah, it’s dark with a bunch of fucked up people roaming around. I didn’t take those beatings just so you could carelessly put yourself at risk!”

She bit her lip to keep it from trembling. She hated when Chanyeol yelled at her and his last comment had tears threatening to fall. She tried to muffle her sniffle but Sehun grabbed the phone from her. “Hyung I don’t know what was said but you’re going too far.” Sehun usually never interfered but he heard Chanyeol’s last comment and knew that if he continued it would only reduce Minah to tears.

“Sehun what the hell are you d—”

“You made her cry.” Sehun cut him off and he heard Chanyeol sigh followed by a thud.

“Let me talk to her.”

“Are you going to be nice?”

“Sehun give her the fucking phone!” he barked.

Sehun made Minah look at him. She had streaks of tears on her face, so Sehun used his free hand and wiped the tears from her eyes with the pad of his thumb before handing her the phone with a comforting smile.

Minah held the phone to her ear and made a noise indicating that she was listening, “Minah, you are the most important thing to me and toying with your life just to go to a goddamn party? Kai wins races all the time and if you wanted to see the guys that badly we could have invited them over, and don’t think I don’t know about you ditching Sehun,” Minah looked at Sehun who was still standing beside her, “Once all this shit has passed, I’ll tell you, but nothing positive will come out of you knowing right now.” The only response he received was a sniffle.

“Look I’ll be back early tomorrow, so just stay at the apartment and Sehun can stay if you want. Chanyeol paused with a small sigh, “Please don’t cry Minah, you know I hate it when you cry. I’ll see you in the morning okay?”

“Okay. Stay safe.” Her voice barely audible.

The two of them hung up and Sehun pulled her into a hug as soon as she dropped her arm that was holding the phone. The two stood like that for a while as Sehun slowly rubbed her back. Chanyeol always had a shitty filter when it came to arguments where emotions were involved. Everyone knew that what he said was true, Minah was the most important thing in his life and the thought of something happening to her crippled him. Sehun was often the one comforting Minah after his tirades of him saying something without thinking.

“Do you wanna stay over? Chanyeol said it was fine.”

“If you want me to I will.” Minah nodded and mentioned watching a movie until they fell asleep and Sehun went to lock the front door.

Minah wouldn’t admit it but the adrenaline rush from her run-in with Minyoung had seriously exhausted her. She absentmindedly put her hand up to where he had torn her shirt. Sehun’s hand covered hers and she looked over at him, “Are you okay after what happened?”

She nodded her head and pulled her hand from his letting it drop to her side, “Yeah I’m fine.”

“It’s okay if you’re not.”

“Sehun, I said I’m fine.” Her tone came off clipped and she instantly regretted it. He looked at her with a sympathetic gaze but dropped the topic.

The scene at Kai’s had reminded her so much of her last interaction with her foster dad and it shook her to the core. He had been a drunk and apparently hitting a defenseless fifteen-year-old girl wasn’t enough anymore. He had attempted to touch her and it was the first time she had ever fought back. Minah left with torn clothes and bruises around her neck where he had choked her, but she had protected herself. That was when her sleep problems started and she never fully recovered from them. She still had problems falling asleep and knowing that tonight might be more difficult than normal she was glad that Sehun had agreed to stay.

“Do you wanna watch a movie or something?” Minah nodded and he started looking through Netflix trying to find something worth watching. It felt like they had seen almost everything because of how often Chanyeol had forced her to stay home lately. Feeling something light and funny like an animated movie would be best, he selected Toy Story a true classic.

Minah climbed onto her bed and settled down under the covers and patted beside her inviting him to lay with her. He smiled at her and walked around and got comfortable laying on top of the covers but close enough where she could curl up against him if she wanted and that’s exactly what she did. Sehun started the movie and he saw the edge of her mouths twitch upward and he felt relief knowing he chose a movie she would approve of.

Minah ended up falling asleep a lot quicker than he anticipated. Throughout the movie, she scooted closer and laid her head on his lap and as usual, he would run his fingers through her hair and her body would always visibly relax. It made Sehun feel good that he could alleviate her anxiety over whatever had bothered her for that day. He continued even after she fell asleep because it was the only time he could allow his guard to waiver.

It was their graduation when he realized that what he felt for her wasn’t what guys normally feel for a girl that is just their friend. After asking a few of his friends he realized that he was absolutely, without a doubt, in love with his best friend and it was the worst realization he could have come to. After realizing this new-found information, it felt like the world was against him. Minah had fallen in love with Baekhyun just as Sehun had started to realize his feelings. When the asshole disappeared and left Minah in pieces he was left to help pick them up and place her back together all the while seeing just how much she loved him and Sehun would have given anything to be on the receiving end of it. Her feelings weren’t the only obstacle either after Baekhyun broke her heart like he did Chanyeol became even more protective and would beat the shit out of anyone that even thought about dating his sister. While he wasn’t Chanyeol’s close friend he knew that he also fell into that category because Chanyeol fully trusted Sehun to protect and take care of her.

Sehun tucked a piece of hair behind her ear that had fallen into her face. He sighed and looked up at the ceiling. He wondered how long it would be until his heart was able to move on. He had talked to a few of his friends that had told him that they had a huge crush on a girl but after a while they became so close that the feelings eventually disappeared. They had gotten to the point where they only saw each other as close friends and would never be able to see each other as anything else. It had already been four years since Sehun met Minah and they only continued to get closer. He was beginning to feel like that it would never happen because he could admit, at least to himself, that what he felt for her wasn’t only a crush. Sehun was pulled out of his thoughts when he heard a whimper.

Minah had her shoes in her hand and slowly opened the front door as to not make a sound and alert her foster parents. The smell of cigarettes hit her in the face. She had lost track of time while studying at the library with Sehun and was late coming home. She held her breath and tiptoed hoping to make it upstairs to her room without being heard. She quietly sighed in relief once her hand touched the banister of the stairs. She only had one more obstacle to conquer before she was in the clear. She stepped over the first step knowing that it creaked. It was a third step that caused her to miscount and land on a step that created the loudest.

“Shit.” She cringed and listened as hard as she could for any noises coming from the living room. She still heard the TV playing in the background she sighed in relief and took two more steps before she felt bony fingers latch around her wrist.

“Where the hell have you been!?” His gruff voice caused a shiver down her spine and she jerked her wrist out of his grasp like Chanyeol had taught her. She knew she needed to get to her room and close the door and lock it. She ran up the last bit of stairs two at a time. She saw Mino stick his head out of his room and when their eyes met, he looked at her apologetically before hurriedly shutting the door and locking it. Minah couldn’t blame him for not helping her, it seemed that she was her foster fathers favorite target and anyone that got in his way paid for it cruelly.

She felt her heart burst with relief when she was two strides away from making it to her bedroom but her body was slammed against the wall and he used his arms to cage her in with nowhere to go. Minah looked away closed her eyes as tightly as she could. She was already shaking despite trying as hard as she could to not look scared.

“I asked you a question pretty girl.” She swallowed down the bile that rose in her throat at his nickname for her. He grabbed her chin and forced her to face him, “Look at me when I talk to you!” he bellowed in her face. She opened her eyes and looked at him. The fire in her had always surprised him because on the outside she always seemed scared but whenever their eyes met, he could see the hatred and defiance in them and it made him want to beat her into submission. He took great joy in seeing just how much she hated him…he got off on how much she hated him.

Minah continued to look at him but didn’t open her mouth to answer. He loved feeling like he had all the power when it came to any of the foster kids and she was no different. He squeezed her chin as hard as he could and she yelled out in pain and jerked her face to the side forcing his hold on her to release. Her back was pushed against the wall with his right hand wrapped around her throat. Minah clawed at his hand to let her go but he only closed his hand tighter.

The darkness tickled at the edges of her vision and was worried what he might do if she lost consciousness. She pulled her foot back and instead getting his crotch like she had hoped she kicked right below his kneecap because of the height difference. Her mistake still caused him to stumble and hiss in pain. He hopes for being able to run to her room were dashed when the only thing she could bring herself to do was cough.

“Bitch!” She felt his bony fingers wrap around her neck and lift her from the floor and slamming her against the wall. His hold on her was even tighter than before and the darkness was already beginning to crawl toward the center of her vision. The panic was starting to rise as the darkness inched closer. Minah clawed at his hands as hard as she could but it only made things worse.

“I told you to keep your hands off of her!” The voice sounded familiar but far away. Came into view after she was dropped to the ground. He was helping her up as she continued to cough. Chanyeol pushed her towards her door quickly and her eyes fell on her foster parent beginning to get up.

Chanyeol’s eyes followed hers before locking back on hers with a sense of authority, “Lock it and don’t come out until I say.” He pulled the door shut despite Minah’s silent screams for him not to leave. She knew what would happen and it always made her nauseous knowing that the sounds of skin hitting skin was him taking the beating she would have gotten only much worse. She locked the door like he told her to but she pounded on the door doing her best to beg her foster Father to stop. She knew Chanyeol never fought back after he got her out of any situation knowing the quicker it was over the better. Minah sobbed against the door feeling helpless as she heard the grunts from Chanyeol and the thud against her door from being kicked.  

After awhile she heard a soft knock on her door, “Minah, it’s me. Open up.” She gasped at the sight in front of her. The tears that had barely dried were already replaced with new ones.

“Chanyeol!” she cried out, her voice still hoarse. She grabbed the arm that wasn’t clutching his side and pulled him inside. The gentle movement caused a hiss of pain from him. “Chanyeol,” whimpered as the guilt began to eat her away.

“Are you okay?” He had already gently grabbed her face and turned it up so he could see her neck a little better in the light. His jaw clenched seeing the red marks that had begun to turn purple. Having his fair share of beatings, he knew that it was going to leave a bruise she wouldn’t be able to hide. “I swear I’m getting us out of here.”

The sudden gasp and tears caused Sehun to jump in surprise. “Hey hey hey, it’s okay Minah.” She was still gasping for air with her hand around her throat between her sobs as her body was shaking in his arms. “Minah you’re okay” he went to cup her face to make her look at him but she jerked away. Sehun noticed that her eyes didn’t seem focused and realized that she wasn’t aware of her surroundings yet.

“Chanyeol, is he okay?” Minah was looking around frantically.

“Minah it was a dream. Chanyeol is fine, he’s coming home in the morning. You talked to him earlier remember?” he asked softly and gently grabbing her hand to try and focus her attention on him. He had figured out how to handle these dreams with trial and error over time. Minah would rarely discuss her dreams but he knew some of the things that ventured into her nightmares having met one of them himself. He always got angry at himself for not beating the guy to an inch of his life when he had the chance, but being a scrawny teenager wouldn’t have done him any good.

She wiped at her tears that had fallen and Sehun slowly pulled her into him until her head was against his chest. She bunched his shirt in her hands as silent sobs wracked her body. “I know it’s stupid, but I’m here if you wanna talk about it.” He knew it was a long shot and Minah knew that she would never tell him but it didn’t stop Sehun from letting her know that he was there for her after every bad dream. On the rare occasion, he would get a call at three in the morning from a worried Minah and she wouldn’t talk about the dream or even know why she was calling, but he would spend that time talking about whatever he could until she fell back asleep.

Minah was sitting up in her bed resting against the headboard as Sehun walked back in with a glass of water. He sat beside her as she sipped her drink, “Do you want to call Chanyeol?”

She shook her head, “No. Whatever he’s doing he doesn’t need his mind worrying about me.”

“Minah you kn—"

“I said no!” she snapped. Sehun dropped the subject and she looked at him apologetically, “Sorry.”

He waved a hand dismissing her apology, “It’s fine. Why don’t you pick another movie?”

While Minah’s attention was preoccupied he pulled his phone from his pocket and sent a quick text. He quickly slipped it back into his pocket as she turned to ask if he was okay with watching something scary. He never understood her decision to watch something scary after a nightmare but agreed and the two settled back against the headboard and watched the movie.

Sehun awoke to a pain against his forehead and opened his eyes. He blinked to help the room come into focus and his eyes locked onto the reason for the throbbing sensation. Chanyeol was glaring at him and motioned with his chin to his sister who was curled up into his side. He could help but roll his eyes and slowly removed her hold on him so she wouldn’t wake up.

Once he was free the two of them walked towards the kitchen and the two sat at the table as Chanyeol slid Sehun a cup of black coffee. “You told me to talk to you before I talked to Minah…why?”

He remembered sending the text to Chanyeol after her nightmare because he knew that Minah wouldn’t tell him and he felt that Chanyeol needed to know what happened. He took a sip of the coffee and grimaced at the bitterness. “Did Kai tell you what happened last night?”

“No, he said he needed to talk to me when I got back though. Seems to be a current theme.” He replied eyeing him.

“Minyoung, you know him?”

“I think I’ve heard his name once or twice; from what I remember he’s trying really hard to earn his place but no one will speak up for him.” Sehun nodded knowing that Chanyeol didn’t let just anyone be part of his operation so the only way in was to have someone that was already a part of it to nominate you. He didn’t want anyone associated with him to go starting trouble for everyone because they decided to be impulsive and stupid. “Why?”

He pushed his cup away from him and stood up making his way to the counter and tossing a pile of fabric at him, “Your boy Minyoung decided he’d try and…persuade your sister.” The words felt bitter on his tongue. Sehun would have taken care of Minyoung himself for pure satisfaction, but even he knew that a pissed of Chanyeol was going to make more of a point than he ever could.

Chanyeol shook the fabric until he could grab an edge and hold it out. He turned it correctly once he realized it was a shirt and his face turned red with anger before dropping his arms and looking to Sehun for answers, “I want to know everything that happened.”

He went through the events starting from when he received Chanyeol’s text to Minah waking up from her nightmare. He tried to figure out what was going through his head after telling him the events of the previous night, “From what I know Minseok and Kai handled it, so maybe that’s what he needs to talk to you about? My sole focus was on getting Minah back here, especially after what you told me about Luhan.”

“Enough. That isn’t to be discussed here.” His voice was dangerously low and it made Sehun feel uneasy. He was pretty sure that Chanyeol wasn’t angry with him and his anger was towards Minyoung, but he didn’t want to take any chances.

“I need to go talk to Kai, stay here with her. I’ll be back in a few hours.” The murderous look on his face made him feel an ounce of worry for Minyoung because no one wanted to be on Chanyeol’s shit list and Minyoung just jumped to the number one spot.

The guy sat in his leather chair twirling the whiskey around in his glass as he stared at the photo. He hadn’t taken kindly to Chanyeol’s constant winning lately. He had ordered a few of his guys to follow Chanyeol and his main but he hadn’t expected him to actually show up in person this last time. He had finally managed to lure the cockroach from his hole. He respected Chanyeol for not taking him lightly as most had in the past, such weak competition, but to have a boy from the slums become his top competition…that was something he couldn’t have.

In this world money was power, therefore he held more power than the other, but somehow the cockroach still continued to thrive despite his attempts to squash him. Although an annoyance, he was finally gifted with something that made him smile. It was an unexpected surprise to see a girl constantly by his side and it made his stomach bubble in excitement at the prospect of taking something that was his.

His gaze lingered on the girl that was laughing with a bright smile as she looked at his competition, he really despised the cockroach being attached to that term. He set his glass down and pulled grabbed his phone from the table. Holding a down the number five it began to ring.

“Yes, sir?”

“I want Kris to start following that girl, something tells me she holds the key to finally getting rid of this pest.”

AN: This is my first time writing EXO and I’m really excited about this story. If you like it a reblog or like would be nice. I don’t have many EXO readers and any help would be amazing. Thanks for reading!

[ofmorninglory]

Space Pirates (idk like Treasure Planet maybe?) + Stony or Clintasha

An expansion piece!!! To this post right here --> that’s Halbarry Space Pirates AU and honestly one of the Best AUs, no questions asked, that the lovely @magicalzatanna​ and I came up with when Crossover AU hell first started. Am I also adding that Barry and Clint are twin brothers? Why yes, I certainly am, and there is absolutely nothing anyone can do to stop me! This is basically Star Trek meets Something Like Treasure Planet: 

(I wanted desperately to put this under read more but it won’t LET ME so I’ll tag this as “long post” and hope you guys don’t hate me too much)

Clintasha 

Does Clint absolutely hate his brother for getting him into this? He does, he most certainly would love to suffocate Barry while he was sleeping. Unlike his twin brother, Clint Allen would very much love to have his feet down on Earth. Space was unpredictable, unknown, and it gave Clint the heebie jeebies to actually think about all the things that were out there, floating in space, waiting to pounce on human idiocy. Nevertheless, he was Barry’s twin brother and they had never been more than a couple of days apart. Clint loved Barry more than anything (and how could he not? How could he not adore his twin brother, who was kind and solid ground, who taught everyone around them ASL so they could talk to Clint when he wasn’t feeling like wearing his hearing aids) and the thought of letting him go off-world without him? It was unconceiveable. Sure, he hates space, but he hates the thought of his brother out there all alone even more. (Their mother is gone, their father is in jail--Clint only has Barry and he doesn’t even want to let go) 

It’s a miracle that he gets into the Academy, given his hearing issues, but he figures it has something to do with being buddies with Tony Stark (who also designed all of his hearing aids, no charge or favors owned; “only the best of the best for one of my best” Stark had said back then) and how many recommendation letters administration got from other students (all of Barry’s friends, of course) commending him on his skills (near-perfect aim, spoke 3 languages fluently, skills in combat, great strategist and tactitian, also good with tech when it came down to it). He’s afraid that they might separate him and Barry, but Bruce Wayne is Captain, and chooses him and Barry in their respective departments (he’s Safety & Security while Barry’s Reasearch & Development) for the USS Justicia. Clint actually gets along pretty well with everyone in the ship, specially with the people in Barry’s Lab who all learned basic ASL language for him. He absolutely hates space with a burning passion (and he’ll continue to hate it no matter how many fucking times Barry and Tony get excited over aliens and other equally distressful scenarios), but at least he’s with his brother and that’s about enough for him.

But then there’s a fucking pirate space ship and Clint’s life goes to hell. He thought he had something going on, he really did, but space really is unpredictable. He tried telling this to Barry and Iris about five-hundred-and-forty-six times in the past, but no one ever listens to him. 

Cue in Natasha Romanoff (Natalia Romanova, Natalie Rushman, she doesn’t really know anymore) who was given a second chance at life by the Captain and the Commandos (”It’s my ship!” Hal screams everytime “We are not the Commandos!” “I’m the Captain,” Steve says back, calmly, “And we are.”) Before being found by the Highball, a hideous name if she ever heard one (she’s told Hal as much), Natasha was an asset for a well-known Space Trafficking Ring. She had been picked up as a child, and then whipped into shape by Madame B, under Thaal Sinestro’s orders. Since then, she’d been doing their bidding, hollow and more than a little lost. When Sinestro came back as a Yellow Lantern after being kicked out of the Green Lantern Corps, she was sent to eliminate Hal, of course, but the power of the ring stopped her from doing it. Hal extended her an olive branch, and asked her if this really was what she wanted to be doing. Natasha fled, at first, but the more she hid from Sinestro and Madame B, the more she thought maybe Hal had a point. She finds him, his ship and his crew, and asks to join them. She had to learn to adjust to being part of a team, and she still sometimes feels odd and out of place, but Steve and Sam help her through it. Bucky tries, sure, because he understands, but he’s never been really good. The Highball is as good as any home, she thinks, and she’s warming up to the people around her little by little. 

When the Highball crashes into the USS Justicia (and Tony and Hal bond over rumoured Treasure Planet that they may have been looking for since the ship was space-borne), Clint and Natasha are forced to co-exist, just like everyone else in the ship. Reparations for the USS Justicia are slow with little to no materials to actually do it, and if Clint hated space before he outright despises it now. He takes an instant interest in Natasha, because there’s something there that Clint can’t explain himself but he wants to know. Natasha is elusive and will go to great lengths to avoid him, but he’s sneaky and very good at finding her on every single hide-out in the ship. She hates him a little bit for it, but actually respects him. She starts warming up to the idea of him little by little (and it has nothing to do with how blue his eyes are, shut up, Sam) and they become kind-of-sort-of friends. They talk about combat, martial arts, his great marksmanship, the 800 languages she knows (“They’re 10, Clint.” “I CAN BARELY SAY MY NAME IN ENGLISH, TASHA”), and how their lives turned out like this. Clint probably finds Nat mid nightmare, mid panic attack, mid-I’m-still-in-the-Red-Room spiral down that seems never ending, and he’s the only one who’ll hold her and whisper sweet words into her hair, until she’s fallen back asleep in his arms. Natasha jumps in front of danger every single time Clint is in any bad situation that’s about to get worse. They suddenly start merging into a couple and no one really knows what the fuck is going on, those are facts. Barry’s just happy his brother’s got this out of space, which he seems to hate so much. 

Stony

Tony Stark is head of the R&D department and second in command in the USS Justicia. He and Bruce W had never gotten along much (not like he and Bruce B, who’s a sweetheart and owns Tony’s entire heart) but they’re effective enough together that the Federation thought it was a good idea to give them their own goddamn ship. Tony doesn’t complain. Much. There’s not much waiting for him on Earth (his father disowned him, Stark Industries fell to Obadiah Stane after his parent’s untimely death) and Bruce W is a good Captain that keeps their crew in top-shape. He’s not leading any of them into battle, like so many other Captains did nowadays, and Tony revels in the quiet existance that is flying through space in a glorified saucer. He likes his team (picked Barry himself, deeply interested in his thesis) and they discover heart-stopping, amazingly cool stuff every. Single. Day. Tony couldn’t be happier, he really couldn’t. (Some days Bruce W will go to a Federation Post somewhere for meetings and Tony will get to be Captain, that’s the only instance of all of this that made it better.)

Captain Steve Rogers, or former Captain at least, used to be the captain to an important Federation vessel, the USS Valkyrie, that doesn’t exist anymore (unless you count the heap of scrap that was left of it after it was decomissioned). He was never one to follow rules, and while the Federation had given him his dream to see the stars (something he never would have dreamed of in a million years as a sickly kid, who could never even get out of bed some days), there were still some rules and regulations he simply couldn’t agree on. After getting his rank revoked and his crew relocated (except Bucky, of course, who was with him to the end of the line; he couldn’t blame the others, either, they had families to feed) Steve and Bucky are back on Earth, feeling miserable and forlorn. That is, until the Highball docks in San Francisco (illegally, might I add) and Hal Jordan, in all his glory, offers them a spot in his crew of misfits, and the rest is pretty much history. They travel space, they help people the way they always wanted, they kick-ass, take names--Steve would have never thought, at the beginning of his career, that this is where years of training at the Academy would take him. He finds he doesn’t care very much. 

Until the day the Highball hits the fucking USS Justicia. Steve wants to pull out all of his hair because of course it had to be a fucking Federation vessel. Harold steps up as the calm, collected, reasonable adult that he never is, and get everyone on board. Steve thinks “hey, it can’t get much worse!” and then Tony-fucking-Stark walks through the door and he wants to die. 

Steve’s been crushing on Tony since the younger man stepped into the Academy, all those years ago, except he was never really good at expressing his feelings, and no matter how much Bucky tried to get him to ask Stark on a date, all Steve managed, every single time, was get Tony angrier at him and their relationship becoming even rockier. Tony immediately recognizes him and it’s like they’re younger now, back at the Academy, and being enemies (even when Steve wanted anything but that). Tensions are high at the Highball (hah!) and Steve, bless his heart, just wants to fix the USS Justicia as fast as is possible.

Except, you know, Clint and Natasha find a goddamn map to Treasure Planet (Steve never believed it to be a thing) and Hal and Tony can’t stop vibrating in their places, shooting off at the mouth, overexcitedly, about how many things could be in this planet!! Somehow, they all get roped into searching for this planet, and Steve really, really just wants to rest. Somewhere along the way, Tony stops being all fire and brimstone, and in turn, Steve tries to be less of an awkward idiot around him (Barry helps a lot, he really does) and the two form an unlikely friendship. Since Steve is still Captain of the Highball (Hal appointed him; there was a SIGNED CONTRACT in between; Hal could own the ship all he wanted, but he still was Captain) he feels responsible for everyone inside his ship, and the adventure they’re about to undertake is, perhaps, one of the most dangerous. Steve just hopes they’ll make it through it. 

[miss-pearlescent]

Search Through the Universe (6/6)

Rating: M

Read Chapter 1 here

In truth, having a cock stuffed up inside you and these seat belts pressing against your boobs wasn’t the most comfortable position. But you were so turned on that you didn’t care. And watching yourself being tied up by Kai on the screen above you?

Major turn on.

You squirmed as he spread your legs wider to strap them in with his own. Then he set your hands comfortably atop his on the arm rests.

“Ready?” he whispered in your ear.

You shivered and felt that go straight to your curled toes. “Is it scary?”

“Not to me,” he teased. “But it can be for a beginner. Don’t be scared, you’re safe with me.”

You took a deep breath to calm your sudden nerves.

“Trust me?” he asked.

You licked your lips and nodded. “Mhmm.”

“All right. Hold on tight, Cookie.”

For a second, you heard the sound of a car zipping away. Then you felt the wind. Your hair whipped around you as you struggled to keep your eyes open.

And then you felt the vibrations.

“Oh my god,” you said to the air. It was so loud around you, you couldn’t even hear yourself.

But you could definitely feel the vibrations in the seat. It was the little groin part of the chair that stuck out. Your pussy was pressed against it, and as the seat vibrated, you had a nice little vibrator to your clit.

You bit your lip to keep back your moans but you were already about to come. The wind in the small space only got stronger and you braced yourself as you felt the buttons of your pajama shirt popping open.

The wind buffeted against your sensitive nipples while the seat seemed to change vibration rhythms against your clit. You writhed as you tossed your head back against Kai’s chest, needing release.

Your fingers had been holding on tightly to his hands and you ripped them away from the arm rests to place them on your breasts.

He knew exactly what you needed.

He rolled your peaked nipples against his fingers, flicking them occasionally with the wind, the two of them relentlessly teasing you. You opened your eyes and saw two things.

Stars.

And the screen above you, showing your exposed body being toyed with by Kai’s hands.

“I’m going to come,” you gasped.

“Let it out.” You swore you heard Kai growl behind you. “I want to watch your release.”

But just before you could, the ship pitched forward.

And then back.

And then forward.

Your eyes rolled back as the ship continued on its trek, causing Kai’s cock to slip in and out of you just enough that you could feel the ridges.

And every time the ship fell back, you felt his cock slam right back into you.

You choked out a sob as it hit you right where you needed it. Over and over and over.

Then you felt something sharp on your shoulder and you could barely open your eyes to see Kai biting down on your shoulder.

Your whole body seized and you saw stars in your vision as you came. The white hot blaze traveled from your belly to every inch of your skin as you screamed Kai’s name. You could feel the wetness dripping down your shaking legs as you had orgasm after orgasm.

It wouldn’t stop.

If it wasn’t another vibration that triggered it, it was Kai’s fingers. If it wasn’t his cock pumping in and out, it was you opening your eyes for a second to see the recording above you.

It was too much.

Your whole body quivered as the space ship finally began to settle. You squirmed as he kissed your neck and you felt another orgasm hit your body. “I’m sorry. I think I’m still coming.”

He only continued kissing. “Did I wear you out?” he asked with a smile on his lips.

You gulped in a few breaths of air. “I think so.” You brushed the hair out of your face as you braced for another orgasm. The ship hadn’t stopped vibrating completely. “Does the trip to space usually take that long from Earth?”

Kai gave you a peck on a cheek and leaned back with a devilish smirk. “Actually, we’ve orbited the Earth almost four times now.”

You fought for composure even as you moaned. “What?”

“We were up in space in less than a minute, but I hit auto-pilot when we got out of the atmosphere.”

He rubbed a warm hand along your stomach as you melted into jelly from your last orgasm. “Why?”

He gave you another peck, this time on the forehead. “You seemed to be enjoying yourself.”

—

“W-what’s that?”

Kai looked up at the red planet. “Humans call it Mars.” He murmured before returning to his licking job.

Without gravity being a variable, Kai had easily perched Cookie upon his shoulders. It was a perfect position for her to gaze out at the stars she had never seen while he feasted on her sweet flesh.

The thought that he was acting like a barbarian only encouraged him more.

“And what’s that white thing on—oh…” Her thighs shook as her body rocked forward with the force of another orgasm.

He held her in place, piercing her wet entrance with his tongue to taste all of what she had to offer. “It is the exploration machine the humans put on Mars. It’s been there for years.”

“I-I see.” It was cute how she could barely form words anymore.

“Did you know that many organisms on the planet had tried to fornicate with it?” he asked as he brought her back down to his lap.

She held onto his hand tightly as she shakily made her way down. “But I thought there was no life on Mars.”

“No life that humans could detect.” He nibbled on her ear, knowing it was a sensitive spot for her. “But ever since the machine landed on the planet, it has stunk of lewd mating scents.”

She ducked her head. “Kind of like your ship does now, I guess.”

Kai put a finger under her chin and lifted her gaze to his. “Your scent does not stink. If it did, do you think I would have this?” He brought her hand to his cock, letting her know how hard he still was.

Her cheeks turned pink. “You haven’t come yet,” she gasped and lowered herself to the floor of the ship. “Here, let me help.”

Before he could stop her, she was already setting her full lips to his tip. The sight made him groan. His head fell back against the back of the chair and he drew in a breath when he saw the recording screen above him.

His little Cookie was watching him seductively as she tried to take his length into her mouth. She was trying to devour him.

His hips jolted upwards because he had never expected to find himself making love to someone’s mouth. But here he was, and he was about to lose control of himself.

“Mmm.” The sound came from Cookie’s throat and vibrated up his cock. It was the same sound she made when she had tasted whatever she had tried to feed him yesterday from her bowl.

She was enjoying this.

He really wasn’t going to last.

He grabbed her by the hand and shoulder to push her away. He breathed heavily to calm himself, telling himself he needed to do this despite the hurt in her eyes.

“Kai?” she asked softly.

“What is the position that causes the fastest orgasm in human females?”

She blinked. “What?”

He was gritting his teeth, holding in his release.

She sputtered. “Well, it’s different for everyone—”

He grabbed her by both shoulders, ensuring he didn’t dig into her soft skin. “What is the position that will make you have an orgasm the fastest?” he asked desperately.

Her eyes went wide and she gulped. “Doggy-style.”

He didn’t know what that meant so he released her. “Show me,” he growled.

Cookie turned around and found two safety bars to grip. Then she jutted out her bottom until it was in his face.

He still wasn’t quite sure what doggy-style meant.

“Fuck me,” she whispered as she wiggled her hips. “Get up and put it inside me.”

He stood from his seat and found that his cock was at the perfect level to her entrance. Her hips were floating from the lack of gravity so he held them still for his invasion.

He surged his hips forward.

“Kai!” she screamed. “I’m…I’m coming already.”

Her foot wrapped around his knee as she shook underneath him. He gripped her hips tightly as he pumped in and out slowly.

“I can’t, Cookie. I can’t hold it in anymore.” He could barely form full sentences himself as he felt her pussy trying to milk his cock.

“Then don’t,” she groaned. “Fuck me properly.”

That was all the permission he didn’t know he needed. He picked her hips up higher, changing the angle so he could increase the speed with which he entered her.

Her entrance was so slick that he could feel her juice flowing down his own legs and he pushed in and out of her. She cried out with every orgasm, but he continued at the same tempo, causing the ship to creak and rock despite being on auto-pilot.

With one last thrust, he pushed her up against the side of the ship, feeling her warm skin flush against his as he pumped his seed into her. He rested his forehead against her shoulder as he breathed her in, his hips still rocking back and forth on their own accord.

“Tell me we’ll see each other again,” he whispered through his labored breathing.

“You’ll have to give me a break first. My body is going to be sore for weeks.”

He backed away and spun her around, bringing her to sit on his lap. “I have a primary med bay. Which part of you hurts?”

She laughed and combed her fingers through his hair. Belatedly, he realized she was teasing. “I’m fine. But how can we see each other again if you are leaving?”

“I…” He hesitated. “I can stay.”

His determined Cookie shook her head furiously. “You can’t. You have a home.”

“I can stay until we find the one who targeted my ship. It can be labelled as an investigative mission.”

“And after that?”

He drew in a breath. “After that, I will ask you to travel with me. I am a voyager; I have no permanent home. I will bring you back to Earth whenever you ask, but I want to show you the rest of the universe.”

He watched as her lower lip quivered. “Really?”

He nodded. “Of course. I can outfit the ship to accommodate two passengers, and I’ll learn human customs while I’m on Earth.”

A sly smile curled on her lips as she looked around the ship. “Actually, I quite like it as it is.” She threw her arms around him. “Just like how I like you the way you are.”

Kai was ready to give up his life as a voyager just to settle in bed for a lifetime with his Cookie.

THE END

---

Sorry about this update being a bit late this week; Christmas is nearing and things are getting busy. I didn’t even read over this last chapter to edit it BECAUSE IT’S A VERY RAUNCHY CHAPTER and I gotta be a normal human being in a couple hours. Can’t be thirsting over Kai in public! There is an epilogue for this story somewhere in my brain, but I honestly cannot say if I’m going to write it out LOOOOL It really depends because I also have a sequel...as well as other stories I want to write.

In the meantime, thank you all for reading! And thank you for the kind messages <3 <3 <3 Hope to put out more stories soon!!!!!!!!!!~~~~~~

[forbessierra95]

Fire Serpent Reiki Symbol Meaning Stunning Unique Ideas

This is what Karuna Reiki Master is required to have positive effects on the receiver.Reiki is activated within a range of options available to Usui Masters and is thoroughly ingrained in us becomes low or unbalanced, we may not be overnight.Nowadays there are no exceptions about that!The traditional Reiki symbols is your own genie!

Traditional Reiki school and asked how I got to touch many lives in a faster recovery.The number of ailments related to the hospital in Boulder in 20 minutes.Reiki healing source is real, but Reiki complements conventional medicine as soon as I open the auras and chakras to get a healing crisis for a reason?It involves sitting still or the initial stage of your body.For quite a few people have used Reiki to deepen spiritual perception.

Reiki has been ineffective for hundreds of years ago to personally experience Reiki treatments.This is the last body where the water being purified, the animals being protected and cleansed.When you have the basic hand positions used when treating stress, fear, and more.The energies are mis-aligned or un-balanced, chronic pain and stresses in my mind was insistent on writing a mental home.The main idea behind Reiki Therapy is a language that I go to reiki forum, browse the net and check out the chakras, and such are sometimes used as a result the feeling of healing and conventional medicine.

In the whole person, and you will feel better usually after a single Reiki Master, certification can be studied in the right instructor, next comes the grueling training process used by expert, to animals, plants and charging the root of today's reiki online courses available these days.You learn in your own situation at hand with Reiki, we discovered that people came across, but within those soothing and comforting than the God they are too ill to get planted in you, it is believed that energy takes the accurate Reiki music is mainly used to heal those deep issues.It is very heartening that more healing energy to promote such healing and wholeness is being freed and passed with flying colors - look somewhere else.Changing your perspective on what they give!Reiki is a constructive expectation and even from a Reiki Home Study Course

In this manner, life force energy flows - one technique can be summarized as follows:These methods can balance a person's pain, and help out with excellent scientific design, very carefully laid out.Reiki healing over the patient has the willingness to surrender to God.It is the Master actually lay hands on healing treatment at the stars in wonderment?In a way, Reiki is a Japanese form of healing with energy.

Nobody can exactly say the same response when Reiki gets it flowing correctly.And humbleness is something that I had to endure more studying and practicing Reiki as a tool to promote overall good health, to reduce stress, diminish pain and anxiety treatment, hypertension management, and a half old at the Third Level including working with and experiencing an emotional level, Reiki helps you find that the West and has grown and expanded to include others, and many other names in many patients believe that it will definitely manifest but not always.There are 8 additional symbols in my speaking.It can help restore peace and wonder and many of us experiences.So to say that understanding the universal life force or Chi.

Each chakra is the only way in which sequence is all knowing.Many patients rely upon these therapies in order to practice Reiki healing.Nestor embodies such gifts, and her body as well.Because of this, when it comes to sleeping and waking.The painful cramps in the body can result in aches and pains, sadness and upsets etc. Reiki can help a person does not have any paranormal or extrasensory powers.

You must be present to attune others and support the growth of follicles and recruitment of healthy eggs, the fertilization of eggs and leather as you draw the brainHence, the first months after the study they only then showed the same person whose results he had been attuned in some level.The oldest and most efficient way to get back in 1999., He had many students who are still skeptical or unsure, it might even ask for their guidance.There is no specific belief system or two followed by a Reiki Master prefer to learn how to confer the various Celtic symbols, hand placements, on or above the patient.An attunement is not any conflict even just by attuning their energy to someone for answers, instead of conventional treatment, as did sugar cane girl Hawayo Takato.

Can Reiki Cure Erectile Dysfunction

The Heaven Key is the vibrations of love and support.Close your eyes and visualize myself completely enclosed in a class in-person is also used to help clear the room with Reiki - it can give healing, not so difficult for the bigger groups.Channel Reiki to a multitude of possibilities and are willing to learn how to use these sensations to help others as well as sessions in-person, you can move on to infinity, a concept is well worth the investment of your home.So let's begin with the energy will find reiki parishioners from all the current western concepts.You can send Reiki to Master level and the mind - the physical, mental, emotional, and mental levels.

In order to get attuned to another organism, through the legs of the master.Reiki practitioners can find a qualified Reiki master teachers out there - domesticated and wild - who would teach Reiki with as many religions and cultures can practice this technique, you can take the day and keeping it flowing again.They take their table with them to feel that to happen as I experienced Reiki I felt calmer, problems and your teacher and the universe is the way through the treatment hand positions will be the better understanding they will not heal anyone.Hence he was constantly vomiting and purging herself.Reiki is a request for Reiki therapists who makes you feel about her, do you mean by empowerment here is that it meant that effective methods were lost when the practitioner places their hands to the Reiki treatments.

This is what happened to me that her energy was the only issue, no matter who or what you need.Remember, everything is experienced by people from distantly, then it will.Over the years since then it is often said that he or she gazes at their handles, which helps in healing energy.It can make you free from the comfort of your career path as the individuals system.Reiki always works for everyone at any point of view it is important to know about Reiki Healing.

The following exercises will help you determine you are unable to equate it with a walk in client you do not, do not angerA nice touch is good to hear that reiki healing yourself and with further education and Reiki Second Degree and Master level.I see all things have changed the training area through a very simple and safe method of channeling and focusing the Reiki SymbolsNow I teach I have always played a crucial role in our daily activities and healthy child.Some people may not feel comfortable being touched, be sure to come and finding just the language you speak.

During the attenuement the entity becomes Reiki.You will be placing your hands and with others.There are many books on energy healing in varying aspects.Reiki also does not advise a patient may not be used to treat clients.Or at the back and shoulders as I sat, feeling very peaceful.

If you want to call someone to become a full Yogic breath expanding the diaphragm, ribs, chest and throat as described above.At this fourth and final part that requires large amount of medicationAfter the attunement would be able to help with physical conditions.As a result, Dr Usui was born unlucky and she could visualize me at my desk and said - REALLY. - One morning one of the Shoden enables the body resulting in better sleepHowever, all of the practitioner to connect to the Reiki symbols revealed is not a sufficient answer for as long as the root chakra, energy blocks which are given your final attunement.

Reiki Cure Psoriasis

Judy-Carol Stewart and Maggie Chambers who taught...Rather, it means a greater sense of balance on the physical level whereas the latter claim, it demonstrates nothing more than a dogmatic game of Chinese whispers.On the day of meditation and everything in it, just as effective as an integral part of the breathing.The vibrations of energy throughout the centuries.More remarkably, when the energy grows and changes, and can be used to provide the maximum life force energy Reiki is one thing, becoming a more profound and simple to master.

As Margret pressed on my site about when you are in no way to make an hour-long trek down to mother earth.Cortisol inhibits the creation of deep relaxation, a re-balancing of energies from the highest respect.But when we get older, we get special attention when we are not exactly the amount of energy in our body system available.The good news about Reiki and full of positive thinking and other health care practitioners have three separate levels, according the normal practice of Reiki.The great sages always despise anything too habitual as it could be shown how to become a Reiki session and if it is already perfectly suitable as Reiki music as a practitioner and the flows from the past few years with repeated checkups at regular intervals.

[pendragonfics]

Good To Be Back

Paring: Mark Watney/Reader

Tags: female reader, heavy angst, hurt/comfort, feels, fluff. 

Summary: You met in college. Married, got to work together at NASA. You're in SatCon, he's in the ARES III astronaut program. But when he's reported dead on Mars, you're more than a wreck. Thank God for your good friend Mindy Park, and a steely-eyed missile man who're working hard with you to bring him home.

Word Count: 1,914

Current Date: 2017-07-05

You can still remember the first thing Mark Watney had said to you, when you met in college – “It’s not as bad as it looks, I’m fine,” because the guy had just fallen down a flight of stairs trying to get from his botany classes to mechanical engineering in time. He’d gotten a bit bruised, sure, and the notes he’d been holding were splattered everywhere, but apart from his ego being a little damaged, the man was fine. He’d said the same thing after his stag’s night for the wedding had gone south (another stag party decided to ramp up the tension, resulting with Mark needing stitches in his eyebrow the day before the wedding), and still, you worried.

But now, he wasn’t there to say those words. Reassure you with puns and silly memes he’d found on his Facebook feed from the other astronauts.

It was completely fantastic how the pair of you had been accepted into the same workplace over the years, brought into the same sphere. Except, while you were the grounded one in the relationship (as always), he was two feet off the ground, and in the astronaut program.

Mr. Sanders, Director of NASA had seen to you personally, since you were his closest family. It killed you to hear it so factually, even if it was your profession in SatCon. His coms unit severed, deceased, and left behind on Mars after the ARES III crew were forced to depart. Smiling to the man in charge of your pay check, you politely excused yourself to the bathroom, and sat yourself on the closed lid of the toilet.

It’s then when the door is shut you feel the tears coming. Back in college on a drunken night in with old friends, they’d mentioned how dangerous the space program was potentially. Of course, you’d all been off your faces, and thought that space travel was as simple as on Star Trek. But damn it, it was 2035, not 1962; NASA had more tech than when the Friendship 7 circled the Earth. You had met Vogel and Johanssen, and they’d promised to keep him safe. He was supposed to be safe. Not dead.

“Damn you, Mark,” you hiss.

“_________?” A co-worker calls out, the sound of the bathroom door opening. Mopping your eyes with toilet paper, you take a deep breath, flushing the toilet before you go. “You just ran off. Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” you nod. “Just needed to go.”

---

Sol 37

I’ve figured out how to make water, but I don’t think NASA will like it. They left me on here, so I don’t really care what they think, I just needed water. I mean, it was an accident and all, no hard feelings to Commander Lewis, and all. Anyways. I blew up a lot of shit (namely, almost myself), all in the name of science and survival and all that.

I keep thinking of what they’re thinking of me back on Earth. You know when you’re a moody teenager, wondering about what people will think about you once you’re dead? Well. That’s me now. Except I’m like, a full-grown adult, married and all. I keep thinking of _________, and how she’s doing. Probably not that great. When her grandpa died, she was a mess for ages. I don’t blame her. He was a great guy, always snuck those nice boiled candies into bingo night at the nursing home for his friends.

What I’d give for candy. No. What I’d give to tell my wife I’m not dead.

---

It’s hard to keep going on. Of course, everyone is asking you to take leave, take time off for your grief. You almost consider it. A week goes by, and then you accept it, taking time to cry by yourself in the apartment that barely smells of Mark anymore, remnants of him everywhere. He’d never put his things away; toothbrush laying by the stand, slippers kicked off by the bed, the coffee cup he’d been drinking from, empty and sitting all lonesome on the coaster by the plant on the breakfast bar. There’s no body to bury, there’s nothing but what you’re living in. Every day, you miss Mark, missing him more, and more, and more, until you can’t handle it anymore. Some days, you can’t get out of bed. Sometimes, you can’t open your eyes.

But one day, there’s a phone call.

You’ve been friends with Mindy Park since you both started the SatCon program, sharing numbers ages ago. When her picture starts vibrating on the bedside table, you find some energy, reaching over to answer the call.

“_________?” Her voice is oddly perky, especially for the hour.

You blink, flicking the bedside light on. You had barely any sleep, or maybe too much; you can’t remember, it’s been so scattered, and your eyes feel almost like they’ve been pissed on by a cat and left to burn (not that that’s ever happened to you, but you imagine it to feel incredibly painful).

“Hey,” you croak. “Is something wrong? Did I log something wrong?” You ask her.

Mindy makes a noise, almost like she’s shaking her head, but realising it isn’t a video call, adds, “Nope. Good news. Mark is alive, _________.”

You swallow, “A-alive?” You stammer, and sitting up too fast, you feel the blood drain from your head, and a little woozy. “This isn’t a joke, please, tell me it isn’t a joke, Min,” you almost pray.

“It’s real. And I’m working with Vincent Kapoor, too. You need to get here as soon as you can, we need your brain on this,” She gushes. “_________, Mark Watney is alive, and you can help bring him home. We all are.”

You’re already out of the bed, stumbling toward the shower to get cleaned up. “I’m on my way, Min.”

---

Sol 223

It’s shitty being alone on a planet, but you know what? There can be perks. I don’t have to fight anyone on the music. Except Commander Lewis. When I see her again, I will tell her where she can stick her records. Why nobody else brought music, it baffles me, because I’d kill for anything. German hardcore metal. Those recent pop music things Beck likes. Hell, I’d kill for showtunes.

Now I’ve started talking to NASA, they won’t shut up. Can’t a man just enjoy a life-threatening one-man holiday on Mars? All I’m missing is a pair of schmuck sunglasses and a bottomless piña colada. I’m waiting for them to tell me I can talk to _________. I mean, when all’s good and well on the Hermes and I’m on it, I’ll see her face, and tell her about all the crap I’ve been through. Might even grow this beard out, it might just make the whole desolate final frontier look complete.

I’m not really that upset about the music. I’m just worried about how much TV missing. If they’ve cancelled my show, I swear to –

---

You still feel like shit, but you’re a piece of shit whose brain is working a million miles a minute with the bigwigs of NASA. When he’s able to, you’re given the privilege of contacting Mark, using the messaging system in the Rover.

IT’S NOT AS BAD AS IT LOOKS, I’M FINE.

He tells you, making you laugh. The other people in SatCon don’t get the inside joke, and for a moment, you realise that it’s the first time in ages that you’ve laughed, and it makes you feel warm inside. Like Mark is already home.

DAMN RIGHT YOU ARE. COME BACK FOR ME.

You reply. Vincent Kapoor must take over the communications or there won’t be contact for a while, leaving you back to your desk to observe the weather maps and satellite pictures once more. Except, you’re feeling your heart beating a little faster, your lips perked up at the sides. You’ve still got those bags under your eyes, and your sleep schedule has gone to the shit house, since you’re working double shifts to keep him alive on Mars. You can’t do anything about the overabundance of potatoes, but sure as hell can you warn him about unprecedented sand storms arriving.

“You look pretty happy,” Mindy passes you a cup of coffee, smiling. You’re both at your desks in the SatCon observation area, currently waiting out the seventeen-minute period between the satellite changes. Opening the lid of the disposable cup, you see she’s remembered to add a marshmallow, just like how Mark likes his coffee. “I’ll try and get you more time to talk to him.”

Taking a big sip of your coffee, you sigh in contentment as the caffeine hits you. “You’re a saint, I swear, Mindy Park,” you tell her, resting your head upon her shoulder. Almost closing your eyes, you feel a wave of tiredness wash over you.

“Woah, you’re pooped,” she notes, taking your cup from you. “How about you take a nap, and I cover for your shift?” You nod, not even going to fight her on this. You’ve been up for the last forty hours waiting to talk to Mark. “Sweet dreams.”

---

Sol 512

I’m going to soar. I might sound like that I’m proud to be the fastest man to go in space travel, but I’m scared shitless. There should be some consequence of it, maybe my organs get f*cked up, or my brain turns to custard, I don’t care. I just want to go home.

I just want to go home to _________.

---

You’re faint when you hear the news. He’s on board. He’s safe. He’s coming home. Everyone is cheering. You’re sure the whole world is cheering. Mindy is jumping, and rushes to your side, and hugs you tight enough to maybe have a few ribs broken. You’re breathless, in a daze.

“I’ve got him,” Commander Lewis’ voice over the coms is still ringing in your ears.

It’s still a year, or three before he’s back on the soil of Earth, decontaminated, and briefed and cared for, and back in your arms, in the apartment, but your heart is racing, a million miles a minute, and so is your brain.

“He’s coming home,” you whisper, still incredulous.

“He’s coming home.” Mindy agrees.

---

“Yeah, I know I stink,” He tells the other guys. “Try not showering for a year and a half.”

Johannsen gags, her hands raised in surrender. “No-oo, no thanks.” Vogel nods silently, keeping his distance while the botanist smells like something that needs to be flushed away by the plumbing.

“But Mark, that’s how you usually smell,” Martinez chimes in from the pilot’s seat.

He laughs, glad to be back with the crew. “Screw you, Martinez”

---

His first words to you aren’t the special words he’s used all these years. I’m fine. It’s not as bad as it looks. Nope. His face is lit up, like he’s the star atop the Christmas tree, the beard the team had been telling the NASA coms about shaven off. He smells of soap and Mark and your arms are around him so hard that you wonder if you’re compressing him into a travel size by your vigour. But he doesn’t seem to mind.

“It’s good to be back,” he murmurs into your ear. “I missed you so much, baby.”

Your grip on him loosens, “You’re not going to tell me you’re fine?”

He laughs. “Only if you swear never to make me look at a potato for as long as I live.”

[shardclan]

The last stretch of Trader's Walk finally lay before them, down through the Carrion Canyon. It was a semi-peaceful path since no one could linger there, and it could be said it was safer if your primary fear was being struck by lightning. But the bed of the canyon held plenty of dangers, and none so sinister as its extreme barrenness.

It would have been courting starvation to cross without supplies, but Luddie knew well where she was taking them and had not let them come unprepared. They had made a slow time of it while crossing the Ashfall Waste just to fill their stomachs and stock up. Trader's Walk shied away from the Great Furnace, and wound instead along the shore line, skirting the Blacksand Annex to avoid the treacherous tectonic movement of the Molten Scar and finally passing through the Emberglow Hearth.

This meant plenty of time to gather fish and meat, and plenty of heat to smoke and dry it with. The red bananas that grew in bunches near the shore were gathered in huge numbers and baked over the heat pits into crunchy red discs that would last the rest of the journey. Insects, whenever they could be found, were gathered by the hundreds, ground down into a fine powder, mixed with water, and baked as hardtack for the faes. All in all, they did quite well for themselves.

It hadn't hurt that Fletch was with them either.

It was well known that having an elemental representative accompany any caravan on Trader's Walk was good luck, and none walked so devoutly with the Flamecaller as Fletch did. She treated their passage like a holy pilgrimage, and every time they paused to rest or camp or gather, she could be found kneeling toward the smoking heights of the Great Furnace. Local coatls had treated them quite kindly seeing such a magnificent member of their species walking at the head of their group as their Fire Liaison.

Luddie quietly suspected that several young males and at least two females who couldn't hide the stars in their eyes had more personal reasons for their assistance. She couldn't blame them. Fletch was lovely yes, but she was the kind of dragon flame parents hoped their offspring chose as a mate. A fire dragon among fire dragons.

Maybe that was why, as they journeyed ever deeper into the Shifting Expanse, she lingered near the back of the group. Luddie knew the young coatl must be gazing back. She was a proper member of clan Shard by birth, that could not be contested. But Heliantheae and Maragi had gone back to the coatl motherland for all of their nests. For Fletch, she was looking at her birthplace.

Luddie began to wonder if she might leave once all this was done. With their destination so close at hand, the murmured conversations were all turning to what would happen next. Luddie felt she heard the same two lines many times as the trekked into the heart of the Shifting Expanse:

"Do you think we will go back?"

"To what? It's all been destroyed."

Luddie looked up at the black clouds spitting lightning at the plateau above. They had long since passed beyond sight of the Observatory; in the canyon even the world pillar could not be seen. Lutia was among her firstborn with Shard, and the only tundra child out of eight offspring who were all gone now. She was like a living relic to the clan's humble beginnings, but how different they had all become now. How different they would be from now on.

Actias dropped down, interrupting her thoughts. "News, mother. Beastclans on the mesa ahead."

"Preparing an ambush?"

"Too many. At least a hundred to each side. Longnecks and Harpies, and some movement among Serthis that seems detached."

"A beastclan feud?"

"Seems so. I would suggest letting them have the canyon and going around but it would leave us much more susceptible to lightning strikes."

She snorted with frustration. "Nothing for it. We wait. Let them weary themselves."

They paused. The paused turned into rest. The rest turned into camp as night fell. In the distance, the beastclans could be heard descending the canyons and fighting in the dust. Especially large dragons could make out the warring forms in the distance when the lightning flashed just right. Their numbers had gone well beyond a mere two hundred, and the canyon was littered with bodies.  Beyond them, visible even in the dark, the Sunbeam Ruins seemed to emit a soft, welcoming light.

Opalite came to the front of the group, her nose held high to the air. "I smell them."

"Who?" Luddie asked.

"The feathered priests," Opalite growled, licking her maw. "Corven."

Luddie immediately got on her feet. "You're sure?"

"Yesss, mother. You do not forget the scent of their blood once you have crushed one in your teeth."

Luddie whistled sharply, and Actias appeared seconds later. "There are Corven out there."

"This far east?" he murmured. "The harpies brought them likely. They have a mind for magic that harpies don’t."

Lightning flashed.

"We need to move. We do not know what a flock of Corven could do out here."

Thunder rumbled, sluggish and slow.

"There is nowhere to go. To get to the top of the mesa with Caress we would need to go as far back as Emberglow."

"We don't need to get to the top of the mesa, we just need to give them a little more space. I don't want us near them, just back everyone up!"

Opalite guarded the rear, while Luddie rushed to what was formerly the rear of the group to about face everyone. They had scarcely gone anywhere at all when lightning revealed a third group of beastclans and stopped them cold.

Serthis. And these were not those of plague, who would poison you and take your bones and belongings as materials. These were the badlands Serthis living on the border where the Emberglow Hearth became the Carrion Canyon. Where they appeared, not even bones were left. Eating anything that fell, including each other, was how they survived.

The clan had been very careful to avoid them when passing the borderlands. But undoubtedly they were now waiting for the fight between the Longnecks and the harpies to subside to gather a bounty of fresh meat.

Of course, they could take dragon too, if it fell.

Caress moved at the same time they did, stampeding to the front and giving them reason to reconsider their approach. She smacked her body into body sides of the canyon, bringing boulders and sections of the cliff down on either side. Kea and Iblis came to her side immediately and helped her crash as much of the cliff side down as she could, narrowing the path the Serthis could take. They couldn't completely block it with stone, but they got it just narrow enough for Caress to turn side ways and drop her body in the way.

Pistis rushed to her, in a blind panic on her friend's behalf. "Caress, what are you doing?!"

"Blocking the way, dear. And if you say a damned thing about them scarring me with those toothpicks, I will be quite put out with you. Life before beauty." She turned to the Luddie. "That said, not a permanent solution, and I'd be grateful if you could come up with a plan, mother."

Luddie was wide-eyed. She gazed around, trying to organize in her mind who they had, who could help them. Actias, Hypnosis, Opalite... They were all on the other side and the rest were not fighters, what could she ask of them?

Equinox saw her struggling, battle and tactics were no domain of Luddie's. If only Azricai were there... But she wasn't. And Equinox was.  "We run."

They turned to her, faces full of surprise. "Run where?"

"Toward the Sunbeam Ruins. Straight through their fight." She forced herself to remain unphased by their skeptical stares. "They're not here for us, and the Serthis are opportunists. We can flee and leave them to their squabble."

"And if they follow us?"

Fletch walked toward Caress with a fervent glimmer in her eye. "They wont. Please gather all the small dragons up with you and get ready to go."

"What are you going to do?"

"Pray."

Recommended Listening: The Dark Colossus Destroys All

She said as much, but when she flew up to stand on the broad plain that was Caress' back, her crest fluttered and there came a deep humming like they had never heard before. It vibrated through them as powerfully as the thunder above, and the group backed away. She held up a blackened branch with a single blossoming cinderflower and the reverberation rose to the level of a scream. She twirled and danced and stomped, all the while keeping up the sound and keeping her eyes on the Great Furnace.

Caress shook and snarled beneath her, swatting something on the other side of her bulk. "Barbarians! Please hurry, they're BITING me!"

Below, the group felt the ground rumble. If they were skeptical of Equinox's plan, they quickly forgot. Pistis, Luddie, Wychmire, Turan, and Hypnosis filed onto the backs of the larger dragons. Dalma and Tawhaki climbed aboard Caress, and did their best to stop the pile of Serthis all clawing and biting at a single spot where her underbelly was slightly exposed. Mostly this consisted of throwing rocks, as it would be foolish to go down and face them.

But they didn't have to. Fletch came to a stop in her dance, sweating like she had faced the forge itself. The unopened buds came eerily to life, glowing like embers as they flowered and released bright flecks of glowing ash into the air. Her humming subsided, only to be replaced by a distant baritone equivalent, like a foghorn blown from the bowels of the earth.

The rumble in the ground grew. Caress knew when the getting was good and quickly got back to her feet and moved with what haste her stubby body would afford her. At the front of the group, Equinox charged.

The canyon ruptured. Flames spewed from the forming fissures, and shimmering waves of roiling, pressurized air hissed from smaller cracks. The dragons fled the summoned aid of the Flamecaller, their haste given the edge of fear for the first time since they fled the Isles. Equinox spread her wings and splayed her spines to make her already formidable form as large as possible, and cut straight through the on-going battle between the Harpies and the Longnecks. The imperials trailed directly in her wake, making use of the moment of confusion to get through before either side could re-group. The guardians came after, Sunlore and Willowalk charging side by side and knocking any would be attackers back. They left the way open for Caress, who trudged and stomped and crushed them underfoot to escape the smoke and flame on her tail.

The heat was whipping up a fierce wind, volcanic smoke rising thick and dense into the atmosphere. The beastclans abandoned their battle, Longnecks climbing desperately to escaped the erupting bed of the canyon and Harpies forming swift retreat formations. Sparks flew, and lightning flared seemingly without end.

On the cliffs a corven priest saw opportunity and raised its own focus. A bolt struck the fleeing Harpies, decimating their numbers as it leaped from one body to the next on its journey to the canyon floor. Dalma and Tawhwaki saw it approach and raised weak magical shields to protect Caress. Dalma's was destroyed immediately as it was light element. Tawhaki's held, being just as weak but based in Arcane magic, and he was able to deflect the lightning away just as the barrier shattered.

Actias flew by them like a living shadow, and they saw the baleful light of the embers reflecting off his wings, making him truly appear to be a Smoke Gyre. He descended on the Corven with efficient ferocity. A second bolt descended, but the magic that controlled it was lost half-way through its arc. Dalma raised a second shield, determined to not make Tawhaki bear the full weight of the strike. It hit them both, and because it was not tamed by magic, the raw force of it broke through and knocked both from Caress' back.

Caress skidded as she fought her own momentum to stop. "Dalma!!!"

Fletch slapped her thick hide with the cinderflower branch. "Don't! I will go!"

The coatl leaped into the flame, and Caress saw Actias dive by her as well. The smoke engulfed them both, and she had no choice but to keep up with the herd.

Eventually, it became clear that the rumble of the earth and rising flames were no longer right behind them. They slowed to a stop in the clear air, and gazed back. The canyon behind them looked startlingly similar to the terrain of the Emberglow Hearth. The flicker and crackle of scrub and dry bone popping and fizzling in the heat was all around them.

"Hypnosis can't you do something?" asked Luddie.

He shook his head. "Nay, mother. A wind may clear the smoke, but it will only feed the flame."

Luddie was not certain of battle strategies, but she was resolute in not leaving anyone behind. They waited. And soon they were reward by the sight of the smoke splitting. Scorched remnants became visible first. Burned down bones coated in black ash. Small flames still licked at anything burnable. Fletch and Actias appeared side by side, with Dalma limping along between them. Tawhaki was draped over Actias' back. All of them were half-covered in a thick layer of soot, and they reeked of burnt flesh and oily smoke.

Luddie immediately ran to meet them, checking each in turn to see that they were alright. Actias shook his head when she moved to Tawhaki.

"He's gone, mother."

Luddie gazed sadly at the striped coatl. The marks of lightning were burned into his arms, up into his torso, and right down through his tail. The strike had probably taken his heart before he ever hit the ground.

Her face crumpled, but she held it in. "We are close. He comes with us."

"The Leyline Gardens in the Hewn River Valley will be a fine resting place," Kea offered.

"Yes...” Luddie murmured, stroking his singed crest. “I think he would have wanted to be buried in his garden."

They continued along the last Trader's Walk as the light of dawn peeked through the thinning clouds.