#I wanted to try and say like centipede legs without saying centipede

[doublegoblin]

Well don't mind if I do! So this is for my WIP Rituals and Red Tape. Also I'm feeling a bit silly so I want to style this in the way of an infomercial of sorts.

Despite their enormous size ceiling those of the more adventurous Dreamers can offer a loving household to the Coiling Terror, the smaller cousin of the exclusively wild Royal Coiling Terror. Let us take you on a tour from snout to tail of your new best friend.

When selecting your new family member it is important to inspect their facial plating. Most Coiling terrors sport a canine like appearance that had been stretched out in the wash! Don't let the boney appearance fool you though, it's actually a chitin like material. What won' fool you though is that toothy grin. Next those peepers should be a dark amber, although on some occasionals you can see them in burnt caramel, sun set orange, or those crazy breeders are starting to introduce a wide range of non-native colors.

Going on down we can appreciate that slender and loooong body almost like a ferret but not! Dark olive coloration helps them blend into the shadows of the forest with ease. Be sure to carefully inspect each of the dozen pick-axe like legs for any cracking or chips. These will most likely be repaired during the next cycles emergence but your vet will want to have an ongoing list. The underside should be lightly striated with light hues but it isn't uncommon to see beige or taupe.

Now look at the tail of your Coily. Is the plumage fluffy and iridescent like a feather duster dipped in oil? Then you have yourself one healthy companion. Careful of the spikes hidden inside! A relaxed Coily is a safe one, you don't want to get poked!

Your Coiling terror is a clean creature. They looove the water and will spend endless time getting under each of their scales with that flexible tongue. As they don't have any limbs to do such, your best friend would love some scratches from time to time. Remember to go with the grain and not against. They can be bathed occasionally with warm water and gentle soaps. Let them bask to dry and your home will smell lovely for several cycles more!

They are one of nature's waste disposal wonders. Nothing is too far gone for these beasties to gobble up. When the object is to large to swallow whole they will wrap themselves into knots to get that little bit of extra leverage, hence the coiling of their name! At home though they can be sustained on a regular diet of industry standard nutrient paste. Vets do encourage owners to purchase a fake carcass as a way to promote foraging behavior and proper enrichment.

Despite their fearsome name these are very social creatures that do best in groups of two or more, be sure to get a friend. Now the sad truth is that no home will be able to house your friend for long. Sure they start out small enough to fit in your hand, but give it a few cycles, and they'll be cradling you in that pleasant grin. Have no fear though, you've bonded, you're family not a snack! When this sad time does come though, appropriate workers from The Spire will arrive to shepherd your friend back into the wilds to live out their life getting even bigger! Listen closely at night and you can maybe catch that lonesome song.

This was really fun and I have more creatures if anyone is interested!

little check-in for creators and worldbuilders!

if you see this and have the energy, what's the most interesting thing people can have as a pet in your wips?

feel free to use this as an excuse to infodump :>

[the-s1lly-corner]

hi ^^ If requests are still open, can I req jax x reader headcanons where reader seems like the most chill, mentally stable, and normal person as well as a bit oblivious out of the whole group but when jax tries pranking them by scaring them w creepy crawlies and insects or other things normally considered scary, reader becomes really happy and endeared by it instead? And starts trying to like befriend him because of it.

And then its revealed reader has the most questionable interests of which they have the most unusually large amount of detailed knowledge on, like say poison, reptiles, the horrific horrors at the bottom of the ocean (think subnautica) And whenever these interests are brought up (which is rare bcs if what they are) they go full infodump mode and have 100% accidentally scared someone with it. They have definitely scared Ragatha half to death at least once after hearing the word “centepede” and going on a rant abt giant centipedes oblivious to her fear.

qeue Jax asking the reader abt one of said interests for a prank and reader gives him way to much info on it, not because they want to help him prank someone, but because they think hes just genuinely interested in their interest and have no idea he wants to use it to prank someone.

sorry if this is too long ^^

Jax x reader w/ odd interests!

dont apologize for it being too long! this just means i have a little more to work with ! probably gonna do this and one more request then go stretch my legs !!

when he first saw you fall victim to his classic fake spider prank, he was surprised to see that you were absolutely thrilled to find the critter; real or not

i mean sure, maybe you just weren't afraid of bugs like a certain red head, but you were excited to find it; scooping it up into your hands without hesitation... i mean he wasnt exactly judging you, but he sure as hell was confused. and now stumped, now that he knows the fake bug prank wont phase you

on top of that he now has a new friend following him around

i think it would definitely take him a second to warm up to you, his pride is a little hurt that his little stunt failed, but before long you guys are on speaking terms

your interest in poison doesnt really come up until someone brings up the topic, prompting you to go on a tangent about all the different kinds, the effects, the sources, how to counter it if possible, things like that

how funny would it be if jax was actually scared of reptiles; specifically snakes or even lizards, and he finds you trying to catch a gecko outside in the grounds

you excitedly try to hand it off to him and begin listing off some facts about the real world counterpart, only to stop when you notice his discomfort

like imagine trying to help him get over this random fear of his, and eventually managing to ease him into holding the little thing

hes fine with centipedes but he draws the line at noodle boys

perhaps the extra time with you and listening to you rattle off about your interests sparks some interest in you? of course if you want this to remain platonic you can ignore this part!

this of course leads to him trying to spend more time with you

to be more specific, to try to rope you into his antics

so he tries to ask you about something, say, bugs... you, of course not knowing what his plans are, go off about a bunch of bugs; insects, spiders, hell you even add in some scorpions

he stops you midway when you segway over to bug-parasites, though

while some of it isnt really his thing, hes at least not a big enough asshole to ignore the look in your eyes you get when you finally get to talk about your interests and not be judged

[authorautumnbanks]

One Night (1)

The air feels weird.

Stilted and yet it also feels oppressive, as though something or someone is pushing down on her shoulders, trying to force her to its will.

Kagome frowns as she adjusts Koushi in his gray baby carrier. They need to get back home to the shrine ASAP. Something just is not sitting right with her. She enters the station and blinks. Why is everyone staring at her? Granted, she is a single mother and all, but normally everyone turns the other way and minds their business.

What gives?

Kagome glances down at her outfit. A simple pink maternity jacket with a flap so she can breastfeed Koushi without hassle, some black leggings with pockets on the sides, and a pair of white tennis shoes. Does she look like a bum or something? Is that it?

Nah, she might not be as dressed up as she normally is, but that can't be it. Maybe it's because she doesn't have a costume on?

"How did you get in here?" one person asks, but their words are slurred and the half-up fake wings attached to their costume aren't doing them any favors.

"Uh... I walked?" Kagome's brows furrow together. She places a hand over her son and gets the hell away from that person. They must be drunk. Why are they all just standing around? Is there something going on? "Come on, Koushi. It's way past your bedtime, anyway."

Koushi peers up at her but doesn't say anything. Not that she expects him to. He is only three months, after all. Still, for one so young, he seems to know more than he lets on.

It's the eyes. Has to be.

His eyes are blue like his father's and his hair is just as white. Kagome blows out a breath. As much as she loves her friends, they still think that she hooked up with InuYasha even though she has expressed that she has not seen InuYasha in years. To them, there's no way that she got pregnant by her one-night stand, and she must have gotten back together with her 'bad boy ex-boyfriend' one more time.

Doesn't help that she and Satoru never exchanged numbers. Or last names. It was just a one amazing, toe-curling night, and he was gone before her head hit the pillow.

Not that she resents him for it. He made it clear he only wanted release, and she only wanted to forget. What she didn't anticipate was for the condom to fail... or for her implant to fail, too.

Kagome gives herself a mental shake as she walks down the steps. She freezes. Blood stains the floor. There's a spot in the middle of the station that people seem to be avoiding. What the hell is going on?

Shit. This is bad. Really freaking bad.

The last thing she wants to do is fight while she has a baby on her. And it's not like she thought to bring her bow to movie night at Ayumi's for Halloween. The best she can manage is maybe a barrier around Koushi while she deals with whatever the hell is going on.

Koushi babbles, and then, in the blink of an eye, he's gone.

Kagome swallows. Terror seizes her like Mistress Centipede did all those years ago. Her nostrils flare. Her hands are clammy.

No. No. No.

This isn't happening. This cannot be happening!

She turns this way and that, spinning around until the colors on the walls and everyone's costumes blend together. Where is he? Her kid did not just vanish! Kids don't just go poof! They don't just teleport from view. He has to be around here somewhere.

"What the hell?" a voice says, and Kagome's blood turns to ice.

She runs, pushing the people out of her way. Why are they just standing there like zombies? It's creepy. There is something wrong with this whole station. Why aren't they moving?

"Koushi!" she calls, running into the area that the other civilians were avoiding. "Koushi! There you are... who the hell are you?" She glares at the patched-faced man next to the volcano head thing. Those things don't feel like demons. She still doesn't know what the hell they are, just that every time she's run into one of them, they have been nothing but trouble.

"Kagome?"

Huh?

"Satoru?" Her mouth drops open. Why is he here and why is he bound? Are those eyeballs?

Koushi babbles and reappears in front of Satoru, stretching his chubby hands out. Satoru blinks.

If Kagome wasn't so terrified, she might laugh at the absurdity of this.

"That child is floating," the patched-faced man says. "Is that normal?"

"I can see that," the other man replies. "And it looks just like you, Satoru."

"Kagome, get out of here," Satoru commands, his eyes flat. There's blood on his face, but it doesn't look like it belongs to him.

"Oh, no you don't," patched face says, extending his arm and blocking Kagome in. She rolls her eyes. This guy can't be serious.

Kagome clucks her tongue, walks over to Koushi, and grabs him from the air. If someone had told her months ago that she was going to get pregnant from a one-night stand and have a baby that can teleport at three months old, she would have laughed in their face. "You know better than to disappear like that," she chastises, though this is the first time he's ever teleported. She glances at Satoru from the corner of her eye. Maybe he sensed his dad was nearby? Koushi isn't a normal child and, judging from this situation, Satoru isn't normal either.

Though... she knew there was something different about Satoru when she met him. It's why she was drawn to him in the first place. His energy called to her, though she made sure to suppress hers.

"How about you and you stick around?" The patched face laughs, grinning like a maniac.

There are far too many of them for her to reasonably fend off with a baby strapped to her. And she knows nothing about them. She wets her lips. They went through the effort of binding Satoru. Maybe he can help? They wouldn't go through the effort of trapping Satoru if he wasn't a threat to them in some way.

Kagome wets her lips. Her hands are still clammy, but that's alright. She has Koushi back in his baby carrier, safe in her arms, and nothing is going to harm her son. She needs to play this smart. They don't seem wary of her.

They should be.

But she can work with this.

"I take it these aren't friends of yours," Kagome says conversationally, keeping her back to Satoru. She inches back, pretending to be afraid. She sniffs for good measure as she widens her eyes.

"Leave them out of this," Satoru commands. "Your beef is with me."

The guy in the monk attire chuckles. "Why would we do that? That kid has the six eyes, which should be impossible. I'm curious. How'd you hide him from the jujutsu world? Someone like him should have set the Jujutsu world in flames." He crosses his arms.

"Why is that impossible?" Patch Face asks.

"Because there can only be one six eyes user alive at a time, and yet we have two in front of us." His eyes narrow. "Is it you? Don't kill her. I want to examine her."

Jujutsu? Examine her? Absolutely not. This freak of a monk isn't laying a hand on her or her son, or her baby's daddy, for that matter. Kagome may not know how Satoru feels about this bombshell, but she doesn't resent him.

She inches back and turns her palm to Satoru. This better work. "I have no idea what any of that means, but if this is your idea of a fun Halloween, it sucks." She grits her teeth, throwing up a barrier while simultaneously working on freeing Satoru.

Koushi babbles again.

"You stay right here," she says sharply. He better not think about teleporting again.

There's shouting. The man in the monk attire turns and flees, while the others look on in confusion. The man with the pale skin and tattoo on his face backs away and heads after the monk, leaving only the patched face man and the volcano thing.

Maybe they are in shock?

"Cover his ears," Satoru says, behind her. He gives her a split second to cover Koushi's ears.

Oh.

Kagome blinks. Her breath catches. The volcano creature lies in a puddle of his purple blood and then turns to dust. So not human, obviously, but not a demon either. Maybe some kind of spirit?

Satoru is strong, but his attacks aren't doing much against the patched face one. It laughs at Satoru, even though its attacks don't seem to be connecting with Satoru.

She wets her suddenly dry lips. She needs to help him somehow. Those others got away, and they were definitely trouble. Especially that one with the stitches across his forehead. That monk is far too interested in Koushi and he wants to examine her? More like experiment on her or something wicked.

A bow and arrow would work best, but with Koushi on her, her options are limited. A spear maybe?

It's worth a shot.

She concentrates the energy in her palm and pulls one arm back, while placing a protective hand over Koushi as she readies her arm. Patched face isn't paying her any attention. Kagome sucks in a breath and throws the spear made of her energy with all of her strength.

"What the—Ah!" The spear hits Patched face in the chest and the purification spreads through its body, leaving nothing but a pile of dust.

Satoru stares at the ash pile and then looks over at her with blood on his face and his hands stained. There's a wild look in his eyes. His chest rises sharply.

"What were they?" she asks, wetting her lips again. Damn. Has he always been able to do that? She's half tempted to propose a second round, but this isn't the time and she doesn't know if those things have more allies outside of this station.

Seriously, get a grip! How can she be thinking about another round at a time like this? One round was enough. It was either some kind of freak accident or Satoru must have some kind of super sperm to get past two forms of contraceptive.

Satoru stiffens. His eyes glow as he stares at Koushi. "Curses. How long have you been able to see them?"

She lowers her barrier and shrugs. "Does it matter?" Kagome swallows. He isn't asking her how she got rid of that curse he couldn't take care of. He probably has other things on his mind like those others that ran off, leaving the other two to fend for themselves. He probably wants revenge for them tying him up.

"No." Satoru looks at her and then in the direction the others disappeared. His fingers clench and unclench. It's clear he's angry, but doesn't want to leave her behind.

Well... more likely he doesn't want to leave Koushi behind.

"Go. We can stay here and wait," she says this to Satoru but directs the last part to Koushi, who squirms. He's not normally a fussy baby, but this hasn't been a normal night either. From what she can tell, Satoru is human, so it's not like Koushi is some hybrid, but the way her baby is putting up a fight tonight suggests something else is going on. Is it the energy of those curses? Or is he reacting to his dad's energy?

"Put up another barrier and stay here. We have a lot to discuss," Satoru replies. He clasps his hands together, and he's gone before she can blink.

Well...at least she knows where Koushi got this teleportation from.

"That was your dad, bud," she tells Koushi, settling down with her back against the wall. She pulls Koushi out of the baby carrier. "Are you hungry?"

Koushi blinks up at her and his eyes glow just like Satoru's did. Kagome cuddles him to her chest, rocking him gently as she nurses him to sleep.

Something tells her it'll be a while until Satoru returns. Kagome yawns. Something in the pile of ash glints. She squints. What is that? Kagome gently unlatches Koushi and fixes her jacket. Whatever that it is, it could be trouble. She rises and walks over to the pile while cradling Koushi.

Huh? A finger? No, several fingers.

Why didn't these burn along with the curse?

Kagome picks up one and winces. The evil radiating from it reminds of how tainted some of the Shikon shards would get. She presses her lips together and purifies it.

Oh.

Crap.

That took more out of her than creating a spear. Kagome winces again. And that was just from purifying one finger.

"How did you do that?"

She snaps her head toward Satoru. When did he get back? "Um... perhaps we should talk somewhere more comfortable?" she gestures to Koushi, sleeping soundly for now.

Satoru's eyes harden before softening. "Come with me."

***

A/N: Can't believe I succumbed to peer pressure lolol. Hope you are having an awesome Monday. Stay safe. Stay warm. Drink some water. And Accidental will be updated later this week.

[coconutdays]

Computer Science major! Eren

s. part two! to this original post

w. fem! reader , eren jeager! x reader , fluff! smut! ( im a degenerate i know) im not a full on smut writer its just for the plot T^T

Computer Science major! Eren whose half lidded eyes grow wide and almost spits out his boba when you ask, "is this a date?" on your walk to the art exhibit.

"if...you want it to be." he side eyes you nervously

your mood shifts for a quick second and Eren panics at the change when you say, "doesn't really seem like you want it to be one with a response like that."

Computer Science major! Eren who almost drops his drink to quickly defend himself, "it's a date! it's a date!"

"that's more like it." you nod, cheeks puffing when you take a sip from your boba

Computer Science major! Eren who scrunches his nose in distate when you comment, "to be honest you always intimidated me cause you look like you hate everyone."

"what!?"

"yea the whole zero hours of sleep and always having your airpods in." you giggle

coincidentally he looks even more tired when he raises a finger to say, "okay i get like three hours of sleep."

"which is still bad." you tut, lightly shoving him to make a point

Computer Science major! Eren who shrugs, "i don't mind it. coffee exists."

"so do statistically shorter life spans."

"okay maybe getting like five now sounds nice."

Computer Science major! Eren who trips on his feet when you ask him to take pictures of you with certain paintings you liked. you looked painfully beautiful posing and smiling for him, and he instantly asks you for your number after the fourth painting

"and could you send the pictures i took to me." he adds quietly

"oh. okay." you blush, averting your gaze.

Computer Science major! Eren who you've noticed has tried his best to not touch you the entirety of this date and the observation has you swooning.

Computer Science major! Eren who somehow manages to nick pointer finger on the broken glass on his phone in a rush to take a picture of a cool car that was passing by on the way to drop you off to your dorm.

Computer Science major! Eren who's insisting he doesn't need a bandage when you try rushing him into your dorm at the sight of his very bloody finger.

"no i don't wanna make you uncomfortable in there. it's fine. besides, your rooma-"

"she's out of town at a tennis meet. now let's go inside, you're bleeding like crazy." you drag him inside, noting that the building is hotter than usual and a paper on the common room bulletin board says that the A.C. is getting fixed tomorrow morning.

Computer Science major! Eren who's now sitting on your bed, watching as you take out a first aid kit out from under your bed.

"fuck, it's really hot in here." he says, a rustle of clothes being heard as you get back up and-

oh

Computer Science major! Eren who took his hoodie off and apparently seems to have a centipede tattoo wrapping around his right arm, dissappearing into his short sleeve.

"i didn't know you had a tattoo." you say softly, trying to mask your flushed state at the sight of it while you rummage through the first aid kit for rubbing alcohol and a bandage.

"i got it last year." he says while you take his hand in yours to wipe down his finger.

Computer Science major! Eren who hisses an 'ow' at the sting of the rubbing alcohol and eyes you fondly when you murmur a 'sorry'

Computer Science major! Eren who notes you're basically standing in between his legs, your cleavage right smack in front of his face as you concentrate on placing his bandage on right.

Computer Science major! Eren who touches you without a thought by placing the hand of his tattoo clad arm on your back while you play his nurse.

"you really need to get more sleep." you breathe as you stand up straight and try to avoid his gaze.

"why?"

"you have sex eyes, like the high on sativa sex eyes." you say in a scold, crumpling the used first aid supplies in your hands.

"you don't like it?"

the shift in his energy becomes quite noticeable and it makes you try to bully him.

"what happened to how emberassed you were when you said good girl?" you squint your eyes at him

Computer Science major! Eren whose cheeks flush at the mention of his mistake earlier during day but nonetheless his eyes are still hazy as he looks up at you.

"it slipped my mouth by accident" he rasps, "and i didn't know if you were into me or not."

you lovingly placed your arms around his shoulders, hooking them behind his neck, "well, now you know so you won't be emberassed when it slips out next time."

"next time?" he raises up his eyebrows in interest

"oh i shouldn't say something like that if we're not official." you comment at the realization that a next time isn't set in stone yet.

Computer Science major! Eren who now has both of his arms around your waist to pull you closer to him.

"wanna make it?"

"HUH. but we just met like last week!"

Computer Science major! Eren who cocks his head to the side in a 'really?' way

"doesn't mean i haven't been crushing on you since the semester began." he deadpans, undereyes growing prominent. it was true. and you as well had been crushing on him since the semester began.

"oh." you trail off, feeling your skin grow hot

"i think talking stages are stupid." he shrugs from below you, "if you wanna be exclusive with me just be my girlfriend. so what do you say?"

Computer Science major! Eren whose dumb fucking eyes make you squirm in place as you nod an almost shy 'yes.'

Computer Science major! Eren who gives you a handsomely stupid toothy smile in return.

"great. now i have a reason to chase away Kirstein from you."

"what!? the guy who sits behind you in class?!"

"we're friends, but he thinks you're hot. pisses me off."

you giggle, "and you don't think i am?"

Computer Science major! Eren who pulls you closer to him, "of course i fucking do dumbass."

"you're a mean boyfriend."

Computer Science major! Eren who relishes in the term coming out of your mouth for him, leaning closer to you, "yeah?"

"yeah." you nod

"i can show you mean." he grins, yanking your legs up and placing you on his lap.

Computer Science major! Eren who licks his lips when you try to distract him from the tension adamantly, "i haven't even kissed you yet so i don't know what you mean!"

Computer Science major! Eren who nuzzles his head into your neck, near your ear and breathing, "let me kiss you then."

"eren, i can feel your hard on." you point out nervously

"nothing new." he murmurs, "don't worry about it, i'll do something about it when i get to my place."

"or i could." you trail off

Computer Science major! Eren who starts kissing your neck as he a mutters, " 's all yours to play with then pretty girl, just let me play with you."

Computer Science major! Eren who groans when you guide his hand under your skirt and start unbuckling his belt, letting out a 'fuck' when he feels your hands on his dick to pull him out.

"you're really big." you sigh, squirming when you feel him drag teasing fingers along your panties.

"that's the point." he trails across your jaw, "you'll look cuter with it stuffing your pussy."

Computer Science major! Eren who smiles cockily at the whimper you let out, but it falls apart the moment you spit onto his cock and start thumbing at his tip.

Computer Science major! Eren whose lips are now less than a molecule of air close to yours, begging, "let me kiss you while i play with your pussy baby."

Computer Science major! Eren who rubs your slick all over your slit the moment you needily push your lips onto his, struggling to maintain your composure as you start stroking him.

Computer Science major! Eren who's panting at your touch in unison with you as you whine and moan with his fingers plunging in and out of you.

"im-im close!" you start shaking, unable to keep moving your hands along his girth at the immensily intensifying feeling in your stomach.

"already?" he comments condescendingly, taking the time to lean back and view your fucked out face.

"mhm! mhm!"

Computer Science major! Eren who uses his other hand to rub your clit while the other keeps hitting the one spot that has you grabbing at his shirt harshly.

"come on baby. cum for me."

"look at me. let me see your face when you cum so i can fuck my hand to it later."

Computer Science major! Eren who kisses you through your orgasm, lazily rubbing your clit as you come down from the high and marveling in the sight of you like this.

"i didn't make you cum." you breathe, feeling bad and reaching a hand out to touch him

" 's fine." he moves your hand away and tucks himself back into his pants, "just think of it as something you'll have to repay later."

"you sure ?"

"yeah. don't worry i'll get you back for it."

"oh." you blush

Computer Science major! Eren who's now hugging you close to him, staring at you when it suddenly looks like you've remembered something.

you look at the clock and start panicking, "oh my god it's so late."

"what's wrong about that?"

"you can't go home that late. i'm sorry. you can sleep here if you want."

Computer Science major! Eren who had plans to relieve himself when he got back home doesn't deny your offer, but does ask to use your shower.

"just let me use the shower cutie, i'm gonna go crazy with this hard on." he groans painfully as he stands up

"mhm!"

Computer Science major! Eren who comes back from his shower, grateful he chose to wear sweatpants this morning, and lets you bandage his finger again since it got wet in the shower.

Computer Science major! Eren who complies when you say you want to watch ratatouille and is now hugging you as you both watch a very skilled rat make french cuisine.

"yo."

"hm?"

"wanna be partners for the poly sci group presentation?"

"oh! yea!"

[purebarnes]

the family feud fic was amazing, if you made a series with just reader in interviews I’d die

‘Infinity war cast on mtv news compilation

ꜱᴜᴍᴍᴀʀʏ— during the release infinity war, you and some of the cast stop by to some trivia and questions with josh horowitz

ᴡᴏʀᴅ ᴄᴏᴜɴᴛ— 1.4k

ᴅɪꜱᴄʟᴀɪᴍᴇʀꜱ— clingy seb, nothing but fluff here

ᴀᴜᴛʜᴏʀ ꜱᴘᴇᴀᴋꜱ— people seemed to like the other seb one that i did so here is another one. originally i was going to do more of these but you said you wanted more reader!interviews so here it is.

with the pressure of doing interviews before any movie would come out would peeve you out because you had a trouble time not trying to spoil anything. obviously you were no mark ruffalo or tom holland but oh boy was it frustrating. in marvel, they would do their best to situate people with others because they want everyone to be together and also comfortable.

you never had a problem with they would place you in with because you were very friendly with everyone but it was so much like school—where you could pick but you need to have a balance with who you would be paired with. when you did other avenger movies sometimes it would be you and the chris’s.

for the interview you would get paired with sebastian, anthony and winston because your publicist would make the best way for everyone to be together. she knew what it was like if you anthony and sebastian would be together so obviously you didn’t mind and either did the boys which was fine if they weren’t close with you.

you see everyone gathering and did your best to greet everyone and when it was your time to get interviewed with the boys, you all left. “let’s go, you three.” you all three would end up making it to josh where he was getting set up. obviously greeting the man and the rest of the crew, you all started positioning yourselves. since they only had three chairs they had to bring you one, putting your seat next to sebastians.

as josh went to explain what they would do, you sat down next to seb crossing your legs and putting your head on his shoulder. you would notice that he would take off your name tag and switch it with yours as they all did that. mackie noticing you two switching them getting jealous so he would grab winston’s so he would match with the couple, scoffing at them.

grabbing seb’s hand until you heard the camera rolling starting the interview, “you could probably name all six of the infinity stones.” josh asked when everyone all looked at each other when you would answer right away. “uh, time, space, mind, soul, reality and power?” you would say when the boys looked at you impressed. “actually you got it.”

they would all cheer for you when he kept on going with his questions. “what’s the name of the guardians of the galaxy’s ship?” you would actually wouldn’t know that because you haven’t really remembered anything about that movie. “the, uh, millennium falcon.” anthony answering proudly but getting shut down by sebastian. “no.” you would shake your head in disbelief at mackie while winston would just agree with him.

“what are the names of the aliens that invade earth at the end of the avengers?” truth be told, you actually were in the movie so it might accuse that you should know that but you honestly forgot or just weren’t paying attention. “oh, oh, oh, the dudes that came with centipede dude.” you would be thinking on your own little world, “y/n, you should know this— was it the chitauri?” winston answered the question celebrating on his own without his boys.

winston getting upset that no one was cheering with him, “ay! i’m alone? celebrate with me!” he would tell them as you would watch him and chuckle as he kept going. then going on to other questions, “could you describe what y/c/n powers are?” josh asked and you would stay back and see if they honestly would know. the boys being them would go and raise their hands to be funny as they would like to say.

josh picking anthony as he would star his chaos already into this question, “see, i went to elementary school. i can deal with kids.” chucking at your friend then looking at seb to see what he was doing. “she had the ability to control space and time metaphorically—quantum.” winston would intervene him when he kept going with explains the powers you had. “with the quantumization of her hands.” he would also do some hand movements like you would do in the film but you thought he was so hilarious.

“and she does this pop-and-lock thing to make it happen.” anthony would say making you burst out in tears from the ridiculousness that came out of this mans mouth. he would turn to you to tell you he was right, “you know im right—i mean yeah.” you would agree rolling your eyes then focusing on the next question.

going to play another game with all the men, you loved to do those games since it would create a whole amount of fun with them. Josh’s team giving all four of you chris head outs to play the next game making you gawk at the chris’es. you’d play around with the heads as you still were a child at heart, “don’t break them y/n.” josh would joke around with you pouting and placing them on your lap while anthony would tease you constantly, “she’s always breaking stuff.” rolling his eyes at your direction.

sebastian chuckling then watching you with his blue eyes that made you fall for him even more, you two literally could have a conversation with just your eyes as weird and cliche that would sound. you two just knew each other so well that it would just work that way with you guys. “which chris like taxidermy?” josh asked and you grew confused as you weren’t sure what that meant or even was. “what’s that?” you’d ask him then him telling you what it was.

“uh, i don’t know...” you would guess putting up chris pratt’s head up as the other chris’s didn’t seem to be that way but not in a mean way obviously, you and mackie both putting up the right answer. sebastian and winston choosing evans as their answer as anthony would cheer on the side. “i know my weird people.” as the next question appears you all seemed to know the answer pretty quickly. asking who would be the most theatrical in high school, “him of course.” hold up evan’s face, “how does everyone know this—something about those tap shoes that lately have come out.”

josh asking another question and you right away just knowing the answer because of a past experience you had with chris. “you knew that pretty quickly y/n.” josh commenting at your speediness as you chuckle, “care to comment—so when we would work on a film together, he would like speak to me in conversational german.” fanning your self making seb look at you as he didn’t know that. “huh, didn’t know that—didn’t think it mattered.” you would mutter smiling lightly then leaning his stare.

“which chris won the fantasy football league?” you rolling your eyes and holding up evan’s head up when you knew the answer. “he never stops talking about it.” you’d mutter annoyingly at the thought of them both. finally getting asked which chris was the most charming and none of them picking evan’s, you picking evan’s. “you said evan’s—i just felt bad.” you would chuckle as they would all burst out laughing finally finishing the interview.

thanking josh, you all four left to go meet up with the others as you guys were all done. the rest of the day consisted of just hanging out and eating lunch with the cast since it would be that that time around. walking out to see sebastian walking out when you grabbed his arm to ask him if he was alright. “you good—yeah.” he would answer you showing that it he was fine, “are still upset about the Pratt thing, babe that was a long time ago.” you would remind him.

“you should of just told me, aren’t we supposed to tell each other everything.” he said looking down as you went to grab his hand and rubbed your finger against his palm reassuring him that none of that mattered. “you’re right. look, i’m sorry alright.” pushing yourself to him, kissing his cheek then leading him out to everyone.

[chubbyduumpling]

Our Days were numbered

SPOILERS FOR CH 138-139

(Y/N’S)’s POV

“Look, the bones are gone. The rumbling has stopped too.”

Jean spoke up “Is Eren..dead?”

Mikasa grunts out in pain.

Falco lands dropping us off. Gabi runs off to reunite with her family. People scream out looking for survivors and their families.

“It’s not like I have regrets but we did the right thing, didn’t we? We stopped the rumbling.” Connie asks

Reiner’s mom came to speak with us, I think her name was Karina. She spoke of how Mister Leonhardht led the people here.

“That shining centipede…” Gabi spoke up

“Reiner..where are they?” Connie said with curiosity

“Armin” Mikasa gasped out.

I look up to see Armin’s colossal titan climbing out of a pit.

“REINER” Gabi screamed out

“He’s okay” Jean mumbles

“Hey look!! Over there.” Connie yells

“What the hell is that thing?” I question

“Who knows, all I know is we can’t let it live.” Connie replies

Another loud explosion goes off in the distance. Another colossal titan appears, but with long hair similar to Eren’s founding titan.

Eren…

“We can’t let that thing get in contact with Eren!There’s no telling what could happen!” Gabi shouts in urgency

“It could start the rumbling again. That thing.” Connie speaks up “WE’VE GOT TO KILL IT!”

“How are we going to kill something that survived an explosion just now?” Levi asks

“We need to go for Eren.” Levi points out

“You all understand by now right? This nightmare won’t end until we take him down.” I add

A mysterious smoke starts enveloping the air around us.

“The smoke is coming from that shiny thing.” Gabi points out

I stick a hand out to hold her back. “Don’t lean that far forward you’re going to fall.”

“Did it die?” Mikasa asks

“No. That’s not the smells of a dead titan.” Connie replies “Isn’t this the same thing they did is Rakago?”

“The gas.. No..they wouldn’t” I question

All of our eyes fill with panic instantly.

“Mikasa! Pieck! Get on Falco! Get away from here!” Levi yells out

Pieck doesn’t move. “What are you saying?”

“Ackermans and anyone with the power of titans are exceptions. You should know that better than anyone.” Levi states

“No.. this is too much for me” Pieck choked

“HURRY UP!” he yells

“I love you.” I whisper out for no one to hear. No goodbye. As I looked into his grey eyes one last time I could tell he didn’t want to do this. I watch him and the other fly away trusting the future of humanity to them.

I pull Connie and Jean under my arms trying to protect them for the world one last time.

“So this is how it ends for us?” Connie contemplates.

“ Guess so.”Jean answers “We’ll entrust them with the rest. That’s what it means to die as a member of the Survey Corps.”

I flick them both on the heads earning a responsive “ow” from the both of them.

“Boys, that is no way to talk.”

“Heh, sorry Squad Leader.” Jean apologies

“Cut the titles. We are all the same now.” I say

“Do you remember, Jean? The night of the entrance ceremony?” Connie asks

“Yeah” Jean answers

“You know this is all your fault, right?” Connie continues “That we ended up stuck with the job of saving humanity.”

I close my eyes taking in my last moments alive. All I hear is explosions.

Levi’s POV

I look back. Titans everywhere. Everyone’s gone.

I’m sorry I had to leave you behind Y/N. I never said goodbye. We didn’t have the time. I wish we did. I already regret my decision.

I saw Reiner tackle that glowing centipede. Is he trying to buy us time? Pieck jumps off transforming to go assist Reiner.

I hear Mikasa grunt out in pain.

“Mikasa! Stay with me here! We’re the only ones who can kill Eren” I yell at her

“Eren’s inside the mouth.” I state out

“I’ll do it.” She admits “Everyone back me up.”

“Understood”

We both jump off. I aim a thunderspear at the mouth of Eren’s titan blowing a whole in the teeth. This gave Mikasa a big opening to go in and kill Eren.

The next thing I remember we were falling to the ground.

(Y/N’S)’s POV

The next thing I know I’m lying on the ground. A different type of smoke is coming off my body.

“ Am I human again?” I question

I sit up. I see Reiner and Jean. Gabi, Connie. They are alive too. So I’m not imagining things..

Levi…

I stand up looking for him.

“LEVI!!” I scream out loud enough to lose my voice

I scream out his name hoping he responds. I didn't even notice tears streaming down my face. I must look so stupid. My voice begins to start sounding raspy. I must be losing my voice.

I finally found him perched up against a rock, legs not able to move.

“Levi! Levi?” I yell out

“Y/N! Oh my god you’re alive. I thought you died back there.”

I cut him off pulling him into a tight embrace making sure not to affect his injuries any further.

“I’m here, you’ll never lose me again.” I let go putting my arm over him and putting my head to his shoulder. He lifts his head up to point to something.

“You see that?” he asks

I look up and see the ghosts of all our fallen comrades. Hange, Erwin, Levi’s Old squad. The rest of the veterans. That’s when I see them. My old squad.

“Guess this is the result of all your devoted hearts.” I hear him say

They all salute. Me and Levi bring up our fists to do the same. The last two veterans of our generation.

I hear him start to cry. I joined in with him.

“I'm sorry I left you back there without a goodbye.” he apologies through his tears.

“I forgive you. You did what was best. But if you pull shit like that again I will not hesitate to punch you.” I say with a hint of amusement in my voice. We sit there just with each other's presence.

If you want to run

To a quiet place

At the end of the world

Just run with me

-Alexandra Vasiliu

[plush-rabbit]

I Want To Hear You Say It

Chapter 2: Frantic Eyes

Word Count: 5.1K

A/N: honestly im writing this to do like just two scenes that i thought of (one inspired by a tiktok:P)

Prev.

His head aches. A throbbing ache that starts in the back of his head and slowly forms until he’s biting the inside of his cheeks, a slight whine escaping as his canines dig into the soft flesh and the tinge of copper fills his mouth. He’s in literal pain with bones that feel as if they weigh a ton, dragging him deeper into the soft cushion, and joints that ache with even the slightest movement and he wants to lie and pretend to be dead for just a second longer as the scent of something sweet fills his senses.

Sweet? The brat must have gotten a candle, he thinks to himself. It smells almost like candy- something overly sweet and pleasant if he weren’t currently fighting back the acid that creeps in his throat. He tries to open his mouth, to voice the words but it’s too dry, too cracked and unwilling to open, the corners of his lips feeling as if they’d tear with even the slightest opening- a plea of his body to just rest for a second long and he can’t help but listen and lay still against the soft cushion, to keep his hands fisted against the soft blanket that smells like it was freshly washed. 

He hears his name called in a gentle whisper. “Tomura?” It repeats, softer and there’s a dip beside him and he can’t think of who it is that is calling him. Kurogiri stopped doing the nightly check-ins after the League of Villains grew to be more than just the two of them. He doubts it's any of the others. There’s a soft brushing of his hair, a palm that presses against his temple in a tender touch and it’s too solid to be Kurogiri and he knows that it can’t be anyone else. His name is muffled, ears stuffed with cotton and when he opens his eyes, he’s met with an unfamiliar ceiling and eyes that he doesn’t recognize.

He twists against his body’s protests, vertigo settling in a blink of an eye, vision that blurs and head that spins and whirls and his hand is around your wrist, middle finger lifted up, pointed towards a wall and you yelp, your eyes wide and chest heaving and dipping far too much for his liking. He can feel you tremble under his touch, your face going pale and your hands slowly stretch, palms shown against him in sign of surrender.

“Tomura?” You squeak out, swallowing tightly and he narrows his eyes. “It’s- It’s just me.” You’re trying to calm him down, a soft voice that comes out in a low whisper and you don’t make an effort to push him off. “Remember?” He doesn’t. “We met last night? In- In an alleyway and you didn’t want help and-” he tightens his grip around your wrist and you whine under him, a soft noise that makes you bottom lip tremble and his middle finger twitch downward- “I brought you home because you didn’t want to call your friends.” He narrows his eyes in both annoyance at you and at the headache. “My home,” you correct, clearing your throat.

You really make no attempt to get out of his grasp. He doesn’t know if it’s because you’re just that naive that he wouldn’t harm you and he was just jittery about waking up in a new place or if you think that you can actually take him even in his weakened state. He licks his lips, and yawns in front of you, mouth opened wide and teeth displayed dangerously. 

“That’s a dumb thing to do,” he says, dropping your wrist and sits on the couch, head thrown back and eyes pinched. The blanket lays twisted against him, under one leg and over the other, spilling onto the floor and barely grazing his thigh. “I could kill you, you know.” There’s no point in hiding who he is and he opens his eyes half-heartedly. His fingers flex and joints get stuck together and pop quietly. 

You stare at him and slowly rise, his eyes never leaving you and he watches how your hand flutters against your pocket, a shape outlined against the fabric and then they flutter away and you grab the wrist that he touched, your hand cupped against it, going back and forth in a soft caress. 

“If you do,” you whisper, “can you at least make it painless?” The space between his brow bone creases and you shrug at his look. “It’s just that I took care of you and I guess I thought that you’d at least repay the favor by making my death painless.”

He stares at you and glances down at your pocket where a bit of orange spills out, plastic and dirtied with something black. “You’re fucking weird,” he scoffs and lays back down, trying to relax the erractic beating in his heart. He hears you laugh- it’s short and sweet, genuine laughter that isn’t filled with spite or anything evil and he curls his upper lip at the sound. 

“Considering I brought a stranger home,” you scoff, “yeah, that’s fair.” You clear your throat and he can hear your steps fade, the sound of something opening and items that move against each other in soft clacking and scraping. Your steps return and he feels the spot beside him dip again. “Tomura?” He regrets giving you his name- he should have chosen an alias. “I’m going to check your temperature, okay? It’s uh- an infrared one so you don’t have to open your mouth or anything.”

He opens his eyes and in between his vision is a stripe of white. “Why?” There’s a soft ding and he watches you pull the device away.

“You were hurt last night and I just want to make sure you don’t have a fever.” You bite your bottom lip and look back at him. “You’re fine- temperature wise. Does anything hurt?”

You’re too honest- too trusting as you sit near him while he no doubts reeks of garbage. The scent of candy makes his eyes water and he stares into your eyes, trying to look threatening, an hungry huff and flared nostrils as his hand claws over his wrist. You don’t falter under his gaze, only blink owlishly at him with the corners of your lips curving slightly upwards in a polite smile.

“My head,” he says in a strained whimper.

You smile softly and rise from the couch. “Yeah, I bet it is. You were in rough shape last night and I doubt the walking helped. Let me go turn off the candle and get you some painkillers. Don’t move, okay?” 

It’s not like he has a choice. Pinning you down took away all of his energy and he just woke up- he’s hungry, lost, mind clouded with too many thoughts that swirl out of his grasp and he can’t move with his brain slamming into his skull and he wants to claw at his throat but with the way you still treat him without fear- even if he did just threaten you- he has to just play the hurt civilian card for a second longer. 

A faint whiff of smoke mixes with the candy scent and he swallows down the bile. Your footsteps are soft when they return like you’re trying not to disturb him despite him already being awake. His eyes follow you until you sit down, eyes darting to where two bright red pills sit in your palm, a bottle of water in the other and the sudden awareness that he has to swallow something makes his skin turn a pale green.

“You look sick,” you murmur and he gives you a pointed look. “I, um,” you hum and grab his wrist, his hand opening up and your tip your hand, the pills falling into his open palm, “eating is out of the question, right now,” you say more to yourself than him and he does not respond. “Do you want to take a shower?”

He narrows his eyes at you quizzically. “A shower?”

You blink owlishly at him and give him a nervous laugh. “Uh, you know-” you raise your hand above you and begin to flutter your fingers- “when water comes down and you-”

His face burns and he closes his hand into a fist. “I know what a shower is,” he hisses, snatching the water from you, cupping his palm over his mouth, pills falling onto his tongue and gulping down a considerable amount of water.

“Oh! Sorry,” you say in a flustered tone, bringing your hand down in front of your chest and waving it in a frantic motion. “It’s just that you repeated the word and I thought- Well some people only take baths and there-”

“Shut up,” he groans, dipping his face to bury it in his hands. You do as you're told and he peeks at you through a gap of his eye and he startles, standing up on wobbling legs and he looks around the small living room with scared eyes.”Where is it?” He hisses, hands patting down his body.

“Where’s what?” You ask in a frantic voice, rising to stand next to him, hands fluttering around his body before they curl back into your body and you take a step away from him. “I- You were the only thing in the alleyway. I made sure to check! There was nothing else there. Do you want to go back? I can go back?”

Anxiety fills his entire body in rough crashing waves that make it impossible to breathe and he shakes as he raises his hands, nails dragging against his face and digging deep into his neck in sharp claws that drag down his skin and mark him in red that burns and flows through his body and bead onto his skin. Tears well his eyes and welts appear on his neck and he feels exposed. He feels dread and calm all at once. Sick and well in an awful mixture. The hands that coat his body, fingers that crawl onto him like a bundle of centipedes are gone, leaving him open and sick, skin crawling and bumping under.

“Tomura!” You cry his name and grab at his wrist and he wants to strike you but he can’t. He can’t right now. “Look- It’s- Whatever it is, I can go back and look for it but please, relax. You- You shouldn’t-” your voice wavers and you pull your hands away from him- “just breathe, okay?” Your hand shakes as it rests on his bicep, bringing the hand down to the crease of his emblow and forcing it to unbend until it falls limp at his side. “How about this? You take a shower and when you’re clean and eat something, we can go look for whatever it is that you lost, okay?” 

He takes a deep breath and it fills his lungs with poison. You call his name and he offers a grunt, teeth grinded against together and he’s going to rip his skin apart. His teeth dig into his bottom lip and it feels raw, soft and tender like new skin and he wants to taste blood.

“Tomura, please,” you cry out, your hands going to cup his face and he’s pulled out of his attack with the touch. Your eyes water- out of fear? Concern? Your thumbs rest below the corner of his lips and pull gently, coaxing the abused lip out of his mouth. “I don’t know what you lost but it must be important and I promise- I promise that I’ll do my best to help you find it but when I saw you last night, it was only you.” He releases his bottom lip and your hands still remain on him. He misses his hands but yours are a good enough replacement. They remain steady against him, a gentle and unwavering touch and it doesn’t fill him with sickness. “Just- Just go take a shower and when you come out, we’ll eat something and then we can go look, okay?”

He stares at you and his hands jerk, fingers that dance against nothing and he wants to keep your hands pressed against his face. “I don’t have spare clothes,” he murmurs.

“I-” you look around and he wonders if you have a roommate. No, you wouldn’t have brought him over if you did. And if you had a partner, they surely would have been here by now. “I have laundry that I have to do. Darks. Why don’t- Look, just take as long as you need in there and I’ll wash your clothes along with mine.”

“You’re going to leave me alone in your apartment.” It’s a statement more than a question and he stays still, not wanting to rid himself of the wellness that you give to him with a simple touch. You don’t move, keeping your hands against him and you furrow your brows, pursing your lips and he stays staring at you. 

“You don’t seem like the type to run around naked in someone else’s apartment,” you reason, giving him a small smile. “I’ll wash your clothes and bring them back as soon as I’m done, okay?” 

Your hands slide off his face and he feels bugs crawl over and under his skin. You pull away from him and he already misses your touch. You beckon him to follow you and he does, nails digging into his palms as he walks behind you, eyes trained on the back of your head with bile rising in his throat.

You stand in front of a door with a simple plant sticker on it, a pink pot with a generic stem growing from it. “A sticker?” His speech is slightly slurred and he needs to sit down. His goes to grab at the wall, a slight turn at the last second so the side of his palm rests against it.

“Yeah,” you trail, opening the door to a small bathroom, “the last tenants had put it there and I never really got around to taking it off.” You step to the side, your back pressed against the door, hands tugging on the end of your shirt and you give him a tentative smile, nodding your head inside for him to enter. 

He swallows and steps inside, his mind slowly losing the pain that has clouded him, his mouth drying all over agains to an uncomfortable degree. “And-”

“Oh, right,” you mention and step close to him, your hand pressing softly against his abdomen and he watches as you reach into a cabinet and pull out a washcloth, your hand falters inside and the plastic holding the cloth wrinkles in your hand. “Um-” you lick your lips and meet his eyes hesitantly- “you don’t- you aren’t allergic to scents or something? I know some people might have sensitive skin and scents don’t help with that so I have unscented soap if you need it. I think I also have cream for sensitive skin but that’s more for the body and-” you shift your weight on either leg and dart your eyes around, a nervous smile on your lips as you start to raise the pitch in your voice- “I just want to make sure that you’re comfortable-”

“I’m fine,” he says flatly. You meet his eyes for a brief second, nervous and fidgety. “I-” he struggles to give you a smile, he can’t risk having you kick him out or a struggle where other tenants would hear- “appreciate it. Which is the hot water?”

You don’t meet his eyes again and simply raise an index, pointing it to the left and muttering the direction under your breath. “Just drop your clothes off next to door and I’ll pick them up.” Your voice is strained and you stretch your arms in front of you to hand him the toiletries, still refusing to meet his eyes and he takes them hesitantly from your hand, pinky raised as he grabs the cloth and bar of unscented soap. “I’ll try to finish as fast as I can,” you say quietly, turning around and grabbing at the doorknob, pulling the door to a close. “There’s a spare towel in the cabinet,” you say through the door, shadow still for a brief second and moving away in rapid steps. 

“Thank you,” he whispers to the closed door and turns around.

Steam fills the room, it becomes stuffy and hard to breath and his clothes lay in his arms, crumpled up and smelling of dirt and sweat and he’s almost embarrassed to hand them to you. He bites his bottom lip, and dips his head, taking in a deep breath. The door opens without a sound and he tosses his clothes in a lump, watching as a shadow near the corner bobs, moving around the other still shadows and he closes the door quick, a loud noise that makes him flinch and he jerks his head, and hears you let out a soft curse. He watches the space between the door and floor and sees your shadow move close.

“I got your clothes so I’m going to wash them, okay?” Your voice is muted through the door and the running water and he does no answer. “Take as long as you need, okay? Just try not to pass out.”

The hot water hits his back in rushing waves. It burns against him and makes his skin turn a light shade of pink, spreading across his back and creeping across his body, soft blue hair sticks to his face, drops clinging to his lashes and making them stick together, until he blinks and they slide down his face. His bones and joints thank him, sighing in appreciation as he stands under the showerhead. The water burns his skin and he takes a shuddering breath, grabbing at the handle and moving it to the right, the hot water replaced by cool water that refreshes his skin and makes bumps crawl over his skin. 

He doesn’t know what your deal is. He doesn’t understand why you’re being so nice to a stranger that you only met last night who was bloody and leaned against an alleyway. Did he look that pitable to you? Did you really just want to be a good samaritan and save him? You offered him some place warm to sleep, offered to even wash his clothes for him as he used your shower. All for a stranger who he almost touched within the first minutes of waking up. He doesn’t know what to do with you. He can’t leave your apartment right now. Not when there’s daylight outside. And he can’t escape through your front door. He doesn’t even know where he is right now. He was too groggy and out of it to actually focus on the street names. What do you want from him? What do you expect from him? If anything goes wrong he can always kill you. It’s a safety measure that he rather not deal with but it’s always an option. 

Soap lathers against his body in fluffy, iridescent foam, spilling down his body and grime and dirt is washed from him. Dried specks and spills of blood are scrubbed at and come off in flakes. His neck stings under the water, a harsh grit of his teeth when the cloth is pushed against him.

He is at a complete loss. He’s sure he can convince you that he can’t leave for another few hours. You already trusted him enough to sleep under the same roof as you, convincing you to stay for a few more hours while you both are awake shouldn’t be too troublesome. It’s his damn hands that he has to worry about. Could they have been left there? No- the longer that he stays awake the more that memories from last night rush in. They were already off of him when you had appeared by his side- slowly his hand wraps around his neck; long, sharp talons pressing into the soft skin- and you had told him that there wasn’t anything nearby. Maybe they had gotten them. It’s likely that they would have. They’re awful but even Toga has enough empathy to want to pick them up and would more than likely nag the others to help. Twice would follow her lead, Mr. Compress would do so as well, Spinner would go along with it and Dabi would do it just to hold something over him.

The shower is filled with the clean scent of your body wash- it’s soft and nothing too sweet, and he welcomes the scent. The pads of his fingers wrinkle and soften and he’s alone with his thoughts. What does he even do with the cloth that you gave him? He doubts you would want to keep it. Does he just toss it? He feels like it’s almost wrong but it’s not as if he’s staying another night here. He just needs to stall for as long as he can and then leave. It doesn’t seem like you recognize him. You don’t react in fear but rather in meekness and that’s something that he can take advantage of. Under the water, he closes his fist around the cloth and watches as the dust falls and swirls around his feet and disappears down the drain. 

The water shuts off with a twist and drips fall and splatter onto the tile. He sighs and pulls back the curtain, eyes landing on the cabinet. He sighs and steps onto the carpet that wets under his touch. 

The towel is dark green and soft under his touch and pats himself dry, drops of water wetting your floor and he stands in your bathroom with a towel around his waist, the cream that you mentioned sits and stares at him mockingly. His hand covers his face, a false placement for where Father rests and it fills him with dread at the thought of the loss. He can still feel your touch on him. It wasn’t as sickening as he thought it was going to be. Your hands were soft and gentle on himm, holding him together as he fell apart and he wonders if that is how Twice often feels at the thought of his mask ripping. You tried to calm him down, comforted him in even going to go and look for his possession yourself or with him. He doesn’t doubt that you would actually do that- the way you looked at him with concern, the soft touch against his face and the way you called his name, he’s sure that you would do anything at that moment to make him feel better. 

He exits the bathroom with the heavy cream coating his body, drops of water staining the floor and when he enters the living room, you are nowhere to be found. He calls for your name, a rapid beating against his chest as you don’t reply and he’s shaking as he starts to pace, eyes frantic and scared as they search around the open space.

He hears a laugh. It’s muted and forced and it’s outside your door, the knob twisting and falling short before it can actually be opened. 

“Yeah, no, I got my mail.” It's your voice- muffled from the walls and you sound so close to him. Someone else responds and it sounds garbled, like someone speaking underwater and choking the words out. “I- You know, I work tomorrow but I’ll see when I’m free.” The knob twists again and this time the door opens. It’s a crack and the air from the outside spills inside. “Oh.” Your voice cracks and he sits on your couch. “I just have a friend over.” A friend? You’re lying to someone then. Should he help? The longer the door stays open and the less that you appear fills him with anxiety. “I really have to go,” You step halfway through the door and you enter, keeping the gap to a minimum and with a final goodbye, you close the door with a heavy sigh. You mutter something inaudible under your breath and when you turn, you startle, knocking your back against the door. “Oh my,” you say, with a hand over your heart, white envelopes held in hand. “Tomura, you scared me.” He doesn’t know if he should apologize and he stays silent. “I’m sorry-'' you shake your head and toss the letters down on a round chair- “I got a call from the office and you know, it doesn’t matter but I think your clothes should be done. You took a while in there so-”

“Who was that?” You look at him and when you tilt your head he points to the front door.

“Oh, just a neighbor,” you explain with a wave of your hand. 

“Should I have helped?” He thinks its only fair that he should ask as you fret around, waiting by the closet where a loud hum is muted. 

“No, no. He’s just overly friendly,” you say with a strained smile. “Are you hungry? I can order something or make-”

“He sounds annoying.” To be fair, he didn’t hear what he sounded like but from the way that you smile and sighed after closing the door he could only assume that he’s tiring to deal with. 

“He’s not,” you frown, crossing your arms. “He’s just,” you pause, “overly friendly,” you repeat with a defeated tone. “It’s nothing to worry about, really. Um, so are you feeling better?” A harmonious tune plays behind a door, and you flash him a smile before turning around and opening the door.

“Is it alright if I stay for a bit longer?” There’s no point waiting for the opportunity to ask. “I want to-”

“That’s fine,” you answer and when you appear in his vision, his clothes are carried in your arms. “You were pretty beat up and I doubt you got a good night’s rest. If you want, you’re free to take another nap.” You stand in front of him and he rises to his feet, suddenly aware that except for the towel, he is nude. He takes the clothes from your arms and you smile at him. He can see heavy bags under your eyes and he wonders if you got any rest while a stranger slept in the other room. “You can go change in the bathroom.” 

He does as he’s told.

The clothes are warm against his body and he holds his shoes in his hands and awkwardly places them down beside the door. His hair is still wet and sticks to the nape of his neck, the towel wrapped around his shoulders in a poor attempt to catch at the water that slides down his back and ruins the dry shirt.

He stands in the kitchen, watching you as you check the pantry, a tight frown on your lips. You turn to him and shrug your shoulders. “Is there anything that you like? I haven’t had the chance to go grocery shopping.”

Truth be told, he doesn’t feel like eating but if it’ll stall the time until he’s kicked out, then he’ll eat whatever you’ll offer. “I’m not picky-” a lie- “so whatever you’re going to get, I’ll eat from there.”

You pout at the answer and he shifts his weight to the other foot. “Your hair is still wet.” You point at his head and he clears his throat, nodding. “Come on, I have a blow dryer in my room.” You move towards him and grab his wrist, pulling him to follow you. He follows without complaint.

Your room is decorated in stuffed animals and figurines. It’s odd. Something sweet that he didn't expect. It makes you feel realer, like you actually exist and have a life, that you aren’t some random person who exists only to serve as passerby to him. He’s sat in a chair that squeaks under his weight and it adds to how real this is. That he was actually picked up by someone and shown care for. He can still feel your touch on his face and it burns.

Your hand lingers and slides off his shoulder. “I’m going to brush your hair first, okay?”

He really doesn’t understand why he’s allowing himself to be treated by you. He could just wrap his arm around your wrist and you’ll be done for. He won’t have to worry about you recognizing him a second too late. His hands twitch, fingers curling inwards and he wants to touch you- to get rid of any loose threads that have lingered in the night. It doesn’t seem like anyone knows that he’s here. Only your neighbor knows that you have a”friend” over and even then, he doesn’t know what he looks like. 

He shudders when the brush is run through his hair, your hand softly grazing his neck as you lift the wet strands and run the brush through his hair.he sits still, eyes wide as you apologize for the rough pulls, commenting on tangles.

“Why are you being nice to a stranger? Don’t you have any self-preservation about your own life?” His words cut through the stillness, and he feels you still, comb still tugging on his hair. 

You don’t answer. You remain quiet as you return to your task, pulling on his hair and combing it through. You grab at the end of the towel and pat his dry, and he wishes he could see your expression. 

“I asked myself that before I fell asleep,” you murmur, placing the come down on your dresser. “I think,” you muse with a thoughtful hum, “the only answer I can give is that if I were in your position I would want someone to help me.” You sigh and he can hear something hit the floor and a soft curse. “People are inherently good-” he snorts at that- “and you were hurt and I wanted to help. You’re free to leave whenever you want but you want to leave at night. I don’t know why that is but I’ll respect it. You haven’t been completely awful so you can stay.” He feels his hair being threaded and he swallows tightly as he realizes that your digits are threading through his hair. “I want to make you feel better Tomura because I want to believe I’m a good person.” He narrows his eyes and his hand twitches as it covers the spot where your hand held him. “Tell me if it’s too hot, okay?”

He bites his bottom lip as a hot wave of air hits his sensitive skin that still lingers with fresh cuts.

[instituteled]

Camp Here & There E1-10 Sentence Meme

Slightly altered for roleplay, change pronouns as fit. Faint Themes of Death and Horror.

I really like to talk. Sometimes I talk too much.

The Get-To-Know-You games, the orientation lectures, the part where they make you sign all the waivers but won’t let you read them.

Try not to look directly at the bonfire for too long; it will try to lure you in.

Everyone likes to think they’d never get tired of buttered bread!

I will salt you like a slug, my friend. Like a slug.

That guy is wrong in the head.

In my senior year of High School, I was voted “Most Likely To Get Killed As Consequence Of Reckless Thirst For Forbidden Knowledge”.

Mushrooms are friends, not food.

Your dreams will be interesting tonight!

I keep very close track of my worms. I know when I’m missing worms.

I haven’t had a hallucination in years!

What, the dark vagaries of good-old eldritch thaumaturgy not alluring enough for you anymore?

I don’t want to be alarmist, but... we appear to have an — an infestation on our hands.

A common midwestern breed of flightless bastard.

I expected that I was going to be sacrificed in some sort of ritual.

Here’s a more optimistic perspective on all of this — after today’s excitement, you’ll probably sleep too deeply for nightmares.

Maybe I’m making friends with a ghost.

My plans for how I’m going to lure you in with a carrot on a string and trap you in an inescapable corn maze.

Nothing like a healthy nightmare or three to make one grateful for the time they spend awake!

Well, whatever she has planned, it’s probably more fun than lakes of blood!

He’s so sick of the sky, and who can blame him?

Warn your fellows not to look up if you don’t want to learn what it looks like when a child’s irises melt off!

You better have those corpses handy.

When you die, you will rot.

Things will get very ugly if she has to go out and look for you.

Instead, life without death. Life without the miracle of birth or the mercy of death; just eternal awareness, and eternal sickness.

You know how sometimes, you look into an animal’s eyes and find them… lacking? Empty, like a doll’s?

She sorta reminded me of my mother.

You know, the spooky death magic one?

Her eyes were super unnerving, you don’t normally see people with eyes like that.

I know you care, and I love you.

So that means you love it, right? You’re saying you’re relishing my pain?

The government will not punish us in any way if we mess up.

If he dies on opposite day, it actually means he’ll live forever!

This afternoon’s activities are screaming until you pass out, and breaking your legs with hammers.

If I find out you were behind this, I’ll prescribe you every ounce of my most copious painkiller, and then I won’t order a restock, and you’ll have to spend the rest of the Summer suffering the withdrawal symptoms.

Am I that desensitized to pain?

He was real sweet to me too, actually, giving me all these reassuring touches and words.

I mean, there’s not much more spectacular bloodshed.

I hope you sleep peacefully in the astral realm.

It’s just so satisfying to wield psychological power over a man in a button-up.

Ah, the memories of being a child and injecting my dry irises with Raspberry Red.

You wouldn’t want to accidentally heal someone you’re trying to murder.

Only the most evil board games allowed.

Your friends shouldn’t have to play therapist for you, right?

I — this is sort of embarrassing, but I never learned to read analogue clocks.

What terrifying cosmic secrets will you unlock today?

Oh, if I were as skilled at insult and injury today as I was when I was your age, I’d rule the world.

Don’t we just love when men learn from their mistakes and improve?

I just don’t understand why you put a mushroom in your hair.

I try to be nice to them so that they’re nice to be when I’m dead.

There’s a centipede in my study.

I prefer to keep my nails long so I can defend myself from scary things like… men.

He sure knows how to give a good talkin’-to, y’know? It’s kind of a lost art.

But your husband is definitely a criminal. I mean… definitely. No doubt.

Sorry we never got to meet your husband.

Stupid name, though.

I don’t claim to understand the mind of a criminal.

It’s — BARELY illegal. It’s-it’s-it’s like — it’s the kind of thing that’s only illegal in this particular state. It’s like Kinder Eggs.

The bloodstains on her teeth are not decorative.

You are talking like a villain in a storybook!

This is not the fucking Discovery channel!

Fine, I am jealous! I’m jealous! Okay? God! Everyone thinks he’s awesome and everyone thinks I’m annoying. Maybe that bothers me a little.

You turned one simple, friendly insult into a pissing contest.

Don’t be like me: set boundaries!

Oh, the fun of the hospital!

I’m not fit to be a wartime nurse!

[ Name ] has a flamethrower. You have to listen to what she says.

One day you will need your children to take care of you; and you had better pray that on that day they do not remember the ways you failed them.

There’s no single, universal experience of existence, but human beings have this universal concept of life regardless —

[static-fanatic-1]

Can you please write headcanons for Silva, Chrollo, Pakunoda, Illumi, Phinks and Feitan who have a Darling who is blind? I'm sorry if there are too many

Silva:

• He doesn't care if you are blind or deaf, tall or short, large or thin, he will be obsessed with you no matter what.

• To him you just being blind means he will spend more time with you to take care of you. Have you guys read the 28 years series by kaime-sama on tumblr? That is basically what I base Silva off of so I do recommend it (18+).

• Anyway he doesn't care, it is just another excuse to lock you up in a small set of rooms and to stay with you. The most he will do is reinforce things around you to make sure you can't hurt yourself. Silva is scary so he will touch you a lot more often, somehow he can get more physical.

Chrollo:

• He doesn't mind either, just keeping you close to him like he is your cane. He will touch you a lot more often in romantic ways, holding you close.

• He would start reading stories out loud to you when you sit in his lap. He would use your hands to trace the book or just to let you feel what is going on.

• Chrollo would love taking your hands gently in his and tracing his features with them. He will regularly let you touch his body, with or without you wanting it, and he would enjoy it.

Pakunoda:

• The sweetheart, one of my favorite Phantom Troupe members, she would love to take care of you. She is willing to help you with anything, she is almost like a mother.

• Paku will take care of your every needs, and even your wants. She will let you help or go out if you want as long as you are with her to be there with you. She is perfectly fine with your blindness and actually finds it perfect to make you need her.

• Anything you want she will give. Though expect her to be pretty touchy. She will hold your hands and pull them close to touch her face or any other body part. She wants you to "see" her even if you can't actually see.

Illumi:

• Illumi might be a bit irritated at first, just knowing the object of his affection is so weak. Being as he wants someone strong for strong genetics, your nen or you would have to be beautiful. But if you don't have either he will quickly ignore the fact you are blind and will kidnap you ASAP.

• Illumi will use this as another reason to keep you locked up and safe. He will say because you are blind you will be an easy target because he is a Zoldyck. You will be locked up until you die, he won't let you go.

• Illumi will touch you often and hold your hand, anything you need a butler will provide. He will hold your hand wherever you go, and he will defiantly make sure you are close to him at all times.

Phinks:

• He will take advantage of your disability for sure. If he feels like it he will watch you from afar for a while, not letting you hear him wondering through your house.

• While doing some stalking he will try and court you normally, acting like the perfect protective boyfriend.

• He will let you touch his face and know his name, and he will be pleased about it all. Phinks will regularly hold your hips or waist or shoulders to keep you from falling. He will surprise you by showing up out of nowhere and laugh at your surprise. Don't expect him to be less protective and jealous though.

Feitan:

• Instead of kidnapping you early he might just watch from afar until he knows for sure he wants you. He will gladly watch you do normal things, loving how beautiful your body is when you strip to take a shower.

• Soon enough he will finally show up, somehow in your house he will drug and kidnap you.

• Knowing you cant see him gives him a lot of opportunities to mess with you. Mentally and physically. He will tease you with the blades of knives or the squirming legs of centipedes just to get a reaction. He will touch you all over, making you think he might cut you instead. Still he would love to mess with you.

[heart-wit-strength]

Lean on Me -Amphibia Oneshot

'Sometimes in our lives, we all have pain, we all have sorrow, but if we're wise we know that there's always tomorrow.'

*Following the ending of 'Marcy At The Gates'*

Because I just wanted to write Anne and Marcy being cute without, y'know, dying for once. My first Amphibia fic so no, it's not that good, but well, I tried. Here ya' go @milkshakekitty ❤️

––

Anne smiled warmly as she clutched onto Marcy’s hand as they swiped through the pictures, she had to catch her up with all the adventures they had in Amphibia without wasting any time. “Here’s me and Sprig by the lake. There was a snake that tried to eat us.” Anne commented. “Oh, oh, and here’s us running from a centipede that-”

“Let me guess, tried to eat you?”

Anne gasped, mouth agape in astonishment. “How did you know?”

Marcy giggled to herself. “Duh. This is Amphibia. What do you expect?” they swipe through some more pictures. “Wow, Anne. You and Sprig really seem really close, huh.” Anne blushed, twirling a strand of her hair in her finger.

“You could say. He’s…kinda the reason I've really been able to keep going, especially ever since separating with you guys, life’s been hard.” Anne admitted. “Feels like yesterday when I was absolutely freaked out was when I found myself stranded in the woods of Wartwood all alone. I’m gonna be honest with you, Mar-Mar, eating bugs ain't my favorite thing ever, or fighting tax toads…and stuff but I’ve come to think I’ve somewhat grown on this place and it’s because of Sprig and the Plantars.”

Marcy joyful smirk couldn’t help but fade slightly at the sound of all the things Anne had been through. “Yeah, I…can't disagree with that.” She muttered, looking away and pulling a strand of her hair behind her ear. “The Plantars really are sweet. And the little frog dude? He seems quite protective of you, no wonder you mean a lot to him.”

“Uh, yeah. I’m sorry for all the…suspicion Sprig had on you earlier. I told him it was kinda uncalled-for, but a lot of stuff has happened and…”

“Oh please. I don’t mind at all. Believe me, I’ve seen a lot worse phases of skepticism in several rural civilizations I visited. Your friend seems a lot more open.”

Anne frowned, could she really blame Sprig though? Her other friend had almost killed him, and initially Hop Pop too. It just felt a bit uneasy having to tell Marcy that he had thought she was gonna be the same, what would she think? She didn't want Marcy to also hate her best friend like the other one did. Anne vaguely swiped through another picture on her phone, and what came up was her other friend. Anne’s didn't acknowledge herself holding her breath and frown at the sight of the blond girl on her phone screen.

“No way! Is that when you and Sasha reunited?” Marcy exclaimed with excitement, pushing her face between Anne and the phone screen, the picture of Anne and Sasha smiling and posing at the camera. “Heh, the armor suits her. Is that a Toad army uniform? She looks so different.” Anne rolled her eyes.

“She does.” Anne shoved the phone back into her pocket and stood up, looking into the distance, clutching the tip of her sleeve. “Literally. She’s changed.” Marcy, with a look of uncertainty, approached her.

“You said you had you had a fight, didn't you? But see, Anne…you know Sasha, we’ve known each other since we were kids, that’s the way she’s always been. Sure, she’s got a bit of temper, but I’m sure she’s still our friend. No matter what.”

‘She’s our friend. No matter what she does.’ The words echoed in her mind. ‘Nothing can change that.’That’s the one thing that had kept Anne bounded all these years. She was so busy making sure Sasha got away with all the trouble she was too blind to figured it out whatever she was doing with them was anything but friendship. All for they just couldn’t risk her somehow not wanting to be their friend anymore, for that would be the end of it all.

Wouldn’t it?

“She tried to kill my family, Marbles.” Anne’s tone cracked. Marcy’s eyes wide opened, stunned.

“She what? No way,”

Anne sniffed. “She tried to hurt Sprig, and Hop Pop. She’s far from justified. It’s too late, it’s time she takes responsibility of her actions. She’s way past treating us like we need her to make our decisions for us. Acting like…she can do whatever she wants because we just can't risk losing her because she convinced us that we’re NOTHING without her.” She panted, her face going red in exhaustion. Marcy stared silently at her friend with wide eyes. Anne breathed out and smiled warmly, looking into her eyes. “Well, we’re not. You and I are here, without her, doing just fine. The Plantars helped me make my way here to find you, we don’t need her to lead us. Dang, look how far you’ve come, Mar-Mar, you’re the literal hero of Newtopia and all, you bet Sasha would’ve never guessed that to come from the School’s science nerd, am I right?”

“Aw, quit it, Anna-Banana.” Marcy punched her playfully with a blush. Anne rubbed her arm and elbowed her with a smile. “How about we go for a walk? Bet that’d help. I know the perfect spot, c’mon, Anne!” Anne had barely processed anything Marcy had said yet before she was grasped by the arm and yanked along by her. After a moment of blindly letting herself be hauled along, when Marcy finally stopped Anne was marveled at the scene before her. What they stood upon was a hill, from where all of Newtopia could be seen. “Whoa.” Was all Anne could say, “That…sure is something, dude.”

“I know, RIGHT?! This is the most fun spot of the city next to the library, check this out!” Without a warning, Marcy hopped off her feet and let herself roll down the shimmering cool grass. “Anne, look I’m a Springroll!” Anne couldn’t help but chuckle at this until she noticed that Marcy was going to rolled herself right into a giant rock.

“Rock! Marcy, rock!” She shouted.

“I know! I rock at this!”

“NO! Marcy, look out!” Anne didn't acknowledge herself diving down and grabbing the girl before she’d crash herself. Anne panted heavily, holding her close. Marcy grinned.

“Heh, I get carried away sometimes. Thanks, Anna-Banana.” Anne sighed deeply and got to her feet, dusting herself.

“Sometimes. Pfft, sure. You can do me a great favor by being careful for five minutes for frog’s sake.” She retorted. Marcy blinked, wondering if she wasn’t being a help. Nah, there was no way for that to be, she knew how to cheer up her friend. Just as Anne began walking away, Marcy grabbed her hand and pulled her down. “Marbles, what are you…? AAAA-” she screamed as the two rolled further down the hill. “MARCY!”

“Isn't this cool?!” Marcy laughed as she gripped on her tight. When they stopped, Anne held her spinning head.

“Dude, what the frog?!” She complained, rubbing her head as Marcy continued to grin. “That was insane.”

“Insane and fun!”

“Pfft, yeah.” Anne couldn’t help but chuckle, slightly punching her shoulder. “Don’t do that again.” She looked up at the sky full of stars, sighing to herself. Funny how it was only her and Marcy now, without Sasha telling them what to do, just like back in…kindergarten? Well, that was quite long ago.

And surprisingly for all, she was actually feeling…good? It was true she always felt a lot liberated around her. As Anne had described to Sprig earlier, Marcy was indeed harmless. It was almost astonishing how she was totally living the moment and barely seemed concerned about everything that had been going on. How long they had been away from their parents, and haven’t seen each other in months until now, how Sasha tried to kill her family…

She couldn’t keep herself from remembering the tearful look in the girl’s eyes during their last encounter. ‘Hey, Anne?’ The last words from Sasha echoed in her mind again. ‘Maybe you’re better off without me.’ And in a blink of an eye, feeling her hold on Sasha’s hand loosening and having to see her former friend nearly fell to her doom.

Anne shook her head. No, that wasn’t her fault. There was no way it being her fault that Sasha rejected the help, rejected her, something she had always been afraid of. But somethings were inevitable, and in the end they were alright, she was okay and Sasha had…other people to stand by her, to follow her lead rather gladly.

Her thoughts were interrupted when Marcy spoke up, who was relaxing down on the grass.

“I often like coming out here to read. It actually feels pretty great out here, heh. Andrias prefer to join me sometimes, we had SO much fun together. Gosh, I LOVE this place!” She lied on her back, whirling her arms and legs, and enjoying the feel of the soft grass beneath them. She suddenly gasped and sat back up, eyes shining and a dreamy look on her face. “Y’know what I just came up with? What if…we made a hideout here? Brilliant idea. If we use the correct type of wood according to the air moisture, but wait we also need to bug-proof this place, we could try-” She stopped when we noticed Anne zoned out. “You okay there?”

“Huh? Yeah, and yeah we should totally do that.” Anne said, sitting down beside her, one arm wrapped around herself.

“Are ya’ cold?” Marcy asked with concern.

“Huh, no, it’s not that. I’m just-”

“Aw shucks! I should’ve known it! You always get a cold out in the night. Here, have this before you go all sneezy.” Marcy proceeded to take off her cape.

“No, Mar-Mar, really, I’m-” Anne was interrupted by her own sneeze. “…fine.”

“You’re not, Sneezy.”

“Don’t call me that.”

“Heh. You know? It could be a sign someone is thinking about you.” Marcy smirked, tapping her chin.

“Yes, I know that, Marcy.” Anne replied, flushed and rubbing her itchy nose. “But I think I’m just cold.”

Marcy shrugged. “Eh, anyway. Here, you can have this. Don’t worry, it’s not on fire…yet.” she joked as she wrapped the cape around her shoulder. “Remember when we used to go to the café after classes, you always ordered hot chocolate while me and Sasha went for soda. Even then, you get sneezy. You always have it colder than us.” Anne blushed as she curled up.

“Thanks, Marcy.”

“About Sash, Anne, all of that sounds real rough, hard to believe actually, I never thought she’d…go that far.” She sounded much disappointed by the finish.

Anne sneezed again. “I’m not even surprised at this point. She’s always been a jerk, we were just too blind to notice.”

Marcy leaned back, fiddling the tip of her toes. “I…kinda always thought she was like the protector of the group, and that she’d always look out for us.”

“She likes to show me that I’m the weakling,” Anne’s voice cracked. “So that she’d feel better about herself. That’s why she tried to kill Sprig, he has been the first to make me realize that I was friends with a jerk. I guess that’s it, all she cares to have is control.”

Marcy’s eyes moved back and forth for a moment before she gently placed a hand on Anne’s shoulder who just sat there, hugging her knees. She felt a bit guilty about the fact that despite always being there, she had never been the one to realize what Anne had been going through, that Sasha was basically pushing her around. Maybe if she even did, there wasn’t much she could do to change it.

“Hey, you ain't a weakling to me. Pfft- Yeah sure, Sasha always liked to show off her strength, I rolled with it because it seemed like the only thing she was ever into. But hey, you know how much you look out for me.” She lifted Anne’s chin. “Even back in that cave today? You looked out for me. My point is, you’re so much more than you think, Anne. We might need her on our way back home, we aren’t gonna leave her behind. But whether or not she is there, you know you matter so much to everyone. You’ve got me, you’ve got the Plantars, and Sprig; it’s gonna be okay.”

Anne wiped her watery eyes with a smile, Marcy blinked as Anne embraced her into a hug, she smiled and hugged back. There was a moment of silence between them while they hugged until suddenly, Marcy sneezed.

“Huh, wonder who’s thinking about me?” She remarked, wiping her nose.

“Perhaps the librarian back home, for all the books you didn't return.” Anne commented sarcastically. Marcy narrowed her eyes and elbowed her. Anne shook it off with a chuckle and wrapped the other end of the cape around Marcy’s shoulder. “There. Now you won't get all sneezy either.” Marcy rolled her eyes with a smile. Anne leaned her head against hers, staring up at the stary sky, spotting a shooting star passing by.

“I don’t ever want to lose you again, Mar-Mar.”

“Me neither.”

[nntssy-old]

Writer’s Month 2021, Day 1 - Protective

Fandom: One Punch Man Characters/ships: Garou/Metal Bat (not really shippy though), Zenko, Tareo, Bang Word count: 1709 Rating: T?

A/N: Assume they’re  already on friendly terms, and Garou occasionally hangs around Metal Bat’s apartment/house.

*****

Tareo was about to answer when Garou sensed some sort of intrusion incoming. From above. On instinct, he stooped down, spreading his arms and keeping the little ones behind. Just in time to shield them from some sort of projectile landing just in front of the three.

No one was moving until the dust settled revealing someone's lower body sticking out of the ground in the middle of a little crater.   

No one would survive that.

There was some lingering sense of deja vu though. 

Still, Garou straightened up and was about to lure reluctant Zenko and Tareo away — the rule about violence and all that, and kids should have no business with corpses in general — when he heard some groans coming out of the pit as the legs clad in a dusty black wiggled.

Well, not many.

"Big brother?" Zenko's uncertain voice broke the silence further. Tareo looked at her in confusion and disbelief. Garou only quirked his brow. 

As if in response, the waggling of the black-clad body intensified, as the person was apparently trying to get out of the entrapment of the earth. Garou came closer to grab the legs and pull them up.

"Big brother, indeed," Garou commented smugly as he recognized the mess of dusty clothes, blood and swears that was hanging upside down in his hands and squirming violently. No wonder the butt looked familiar. "Not many people will survive diving headfirst into the asphalt." 

"Now, will ya put me the hell down, you @$#*&%@?" Garou was all too happy to oblige, and the hero was unceremoniously dropped the next instant.

Zenko rushed to her brother as he was straightening himself up, still looking at Garou angrily and muttering things under his breath. The string of curses stopped the moment Bad noticed her presence. His face quickly turned to concern as he noticed Tareo as well.

"Ya should get outta here, now! It's dangerous here!" he shouted looking at the sky in a mild panic — supposedly in the direction he came falling from.

As if on cue the city siren went off. It meshed in with the sound of buildings crumbling as a giant worm-like something emerged above them.

"Get the kids outta here!" Bad repeated, preparing to get straight back to fighting whatever that was, despite his sister clinging to his leg. Now it was directed at Garou.

"Maybe it's you who should crawl to safety," the other answered, glancing the hero up and down, "and I will deal with the monster." He looked at the worm-like creature looming in the sky. "You're already pretty beaten up, might not be up to the task," Garou finished with a grin.

"We don't have much time to lose." The creature started to move seemingly in their direction. "And running isn't exactly my speciality, so…"

"What is that suppo—" Garou started, but a loud screech interrupted him. At the same moment, he felt Tareo's trembling hands on his right leg.

"Quick!" Metal Bat was already shoving Zenko into Garou's arms, but she protested and didn't want to let go of her brother's jacket. "I dunno whether it can see or not, but I think I pissed it off big time, so it might come for me." He unclutched Zenko's hands. "Now, go!" Bad said with the kind of finality in his voice and eyes that perhaps only a parent figure would develop.

The worm-like monster was now pretty determinedly rushing at them. Indeed, there was no time to lose. Garou threw Zenko over his shoulder, picked Tareo under his other arm, and took off doing what he had done way too often in his life — running away.

***

Bang was coming back from his brother's dojo when the sirens went off. He started debating with himself whether he should assist with the threat — he was retired, after all, but still couldn't just walk away when people were in danger.

But his line of thought was interrupted. His former disciple — the same disciple he hadn't seen since that day — just ran past him — strangely, not in the direction of the most danger — carrying two kids. Garou was arguing with the girl over his shoulder and therefore didn't notice his former master.

Suspicious, Bang decided to investigate what could potentially be a kidnapping. Because Garou was involved, and he still felt responsible for his former protege. What were the chances he would just run into Garou like this another time? 

They have probably dispatched several heroes to handle the situation already.

***

Putting what he considered a safe distance between them and the monster, Garou stopped. They were up on a hill in some park in the next city. It had a nice view over a city that was being ravaged.

"Alright, this should be far enough," he said lowering both kids on the ground.

But the girl did not let go of him completely, still clutching at his shirt, the sharp and determined look on her face not unlike her brother's.

"Go help him."

"Help who?" Play dumb. It will buy you some time.

Zenko only glared in response though. Those dark eyes of hers looked way too much like her brother's at the moment. Fierce. Stubborn.

"As much as I hate to admit it, your big bro can take care of himself, Little Bat," he said, looking in the direction where supposedly the fight was. "Not to mention, if anything was to happen to you, I would need to find another place to freeload." He made a quoting gesture in the air. No. If anything was to happen to Zenko, that would be the least of his concerns. Metal Bat would hunt him to the ends of the continent and maybe even farther, he was pretty sure of it. In the past, Garou would've been excited at the prospect, but now… not so much. Moreover, he wouldn't want the kid to get harmed. He looked down on Zenko, who was glowering at him with arms crossed, and Tareo, who was watching the monster's rampage from afar and sweating profusely. Either of them.

Another building fell in the distance. Could be either the monster's or the hero's work with more or less equal probability.

"Go help him," Zenko said again with pleading eyes, "please."

Oh, she has decided to change her tactics.

Garou was trying to look anywhere but on her face, while coming up with a convincing response, but truth to be told, the current monster was almost the size of the Elder Centipede who was taken down with a combined effort of several S-class heroes, or so he heard, and Bad had been already looking like shit when they had left him, and it had been half an hour already since…

"We will go to the nearest shelter. There should be one nearby… Really close..." Zenko kept piling up arguments, while yanking at his pant leg.

Garou's eyes were glued to the horizon. With every passing minute, the idea to return seemed more appealing. He wasn't one for patience after all.

"There are probably other heroes there already." It was the only thing he came up with in response. 

Garou was so distracted thinking about what was happening far away that he didn't sense someone approaching until it was too late. Too late to hide, that is. 

"My-my… It seems every time we meet you get more children around you..." a familiar elderly voice interrupted his thoughts and Zenko's nagging. All three of them tensed and were looking towards the approaching old man — his old master, Bang.

Suddenly, with one audacious thought, it all clicked together. Instead of seeing another problem to solve, Garou's mind came up with a solution. So before the old man started with uneasy questions, he took both kids by the hand and pulled them towards Bang. 

"Hey, old man… You wouldn't mind looking after these kids for me for a little bit, would you?" And before anyone could say anything, he took off.

His relationship with Bang wasn't the best, but he knew there were very few places safer than in his teacher's care.

Unless you were a criminal. Or a monster. Or both.

***

Going back was faster without an additional load of two kids, one of which was very much against leaving. Finding Metal Bat shouldn't be hard — he probably was in the epicenter of the destruction, no doubt causing at least half as much damage as the monster.

It seemed, Garou found him just at the right moment: Bad — apparently slammed into the ground previously — was about to stand up, and the worm-like monster was gearing to dive down and swallow the hero. Even a single thought didn't pass through the former Hero Hunter's mind before the instinct took over. In a split moment, he dashed forward. The monster hit the ground, but the two of them were already a dozen meters away.

***

In one second Bad was trying to gain his footing, in the next he was swept away again. This time it was different though. When the world stopped moving, he was able to make out the golden eyes and a familiar wolfish grin through his dizziness. He was held by Garou. Bridal style.

"The hell are ya doing?"

"I just saved you, dipshit."

"Put me down!"

"A 'thank you' would have been nice. But as you wish…" And Bad was unceremoniously dropped down.

"Where are the kids?" he asked standing up.

"Safe. We ran into Bang. And your sister insisted that I come and help you." Garou quickly glanced over Bad. "You look like a bloody shit, by the way."

He felt like that too, but he would agree with the Hero Hunter only over his own dead body.

"So," said Garou as they both stood now — half-facing each other, half-facing the giant worm who tore back up through the ground, "what do we have here?"

"Don't remember agreeing to yer help," argued Bad slinging his bat over the shoulder.

"No one was asking you." The other stretched his arms with a crunch.

A loud screech rang through the air.

They never fought together before, only against each other. 

This can be interesting.

[raccoon-is-my-spirit-animal]

Heads and Tails

A/N: first watch that video in this post because it is too good

words: 994

Summary: Just the Shelby's horsing around (get the pun? hehehehehehe)

----

“Tommy, I swear to God, I will not be the horse’s ass.” The words echoed through the stall and John snorted. “We’ll put that on your headstone. Arthur I-Will-Not-Be-The-Horse’s-Ass Shelby.” “Ah, please Arty, you’ll be great,” Ada coined in, “you already smell like one.” John burst out in laughter and gave Ada a highfive. Arthur in the meantime had gotten redder and redder. He stared in the direction of his siblings and if looks could kill, both had fallen to the ground without another sound. However, when both John and Ada refused to cave in, he turned to Tommy, got a hold of his arm and pulled him away from Ada and John, who were now red with laughter. “Tommy,” he hissed, “I will not do it.” Tommy looked up at his brother and tried his best to put on his best puppy eyes. “Arthur, you lost the bet,” he said, trying to sound reasonable, “I mean, when you called tails you kind of brought it on yourself.” Arthur took a deep breath and pinched the bridge of his nose. It stayed quiet for a moment. Tommy glanced sideways to see John and Ada with expectant faces watching their brothers. “Fine,” Arthur suddenly mumbled, “fine, I’ll do it.” Tommy’s face split open in a wide grin and Arthur pricked his finger in his brother’s chest. “But make one more ass joke and you will regret it.”

Ada watched outside the meadow as John opened the gate for the Shelby horse. Ada’s cheeks hurt from grinning, but her brothers looked absolutely absurd. The horse mask that had prompted the adventure was pulled over Tommy’s head. A big horse blanket was tied around his chest and draped over Arthur, who walked with a bend back behind Tommy. Their feet underneath the blanket looked like a four-legged centipede. After John had closed the fence, he joined Ada at the fence. “I swear I heard that mare Bella say ‘what the fuck’ when I opened the gate,” he said. Ada clasped a hand over her mouth to stifle her laughter. “This might be the stupidest thing they have ever done.”

“Tommy, I can’t see shit,” Arthur panted behind Tommy’s back. “That’s not good, Arthur,” Tommy’s voice sounded muffled from under the mask, “it is kind of your primary job to see shit as a horse’s ass.” Arthur didn’t answer but kicked Tommy hard in the leg. A yelp escaped from Tommy’s mouth and the horses, the real horses, that had apprehensively watched as the misformed creature had approached, whinnied loudly. Tommy made some calming noises, “calm, Malcolm, calm, its just me.” “Tommy, shut up, you idiot, horses don’t fucking talk.”

Outside the fence, John pointed to a white horse that approached the Shelby’s from behind. “Look at that,” he said to Ada, “Princess doesn’t believe it.” Indeed, the white horse threw her head in her neck and snorted. Then, Princess raised her front leg and kicked Arthur. “What the fuck!”, they heard Arthur’s muffled exclamation. Ada burst out in laughter and John had to hold to fence to keep himself upright. Tommy in the front looked back to see what was happening and the horse mask on his head turn 180 degrees like an owl. The sight was so weird even Princess was baffled.

“That horse fucking stomped me,” Arthur managed to bring out. Tommy looked back, trying to ignore the sounds of laughter. “Oh no,” he said, “it’s Princess.” The white horse was known for her temper and she didn’t look too calm now as she examined the back of their charade. She dipped her head and got hold of their blanket with her teeth. “Ow!” Arthur screamed, “she bit in my butt!” From the fence came a crash and Tommy looked to see that John had fallen on the ground laughing so hard he couldn’t breathe. “Tommy, what do we do,” Arthur hissed. “I don’t know! Kick her back!” Tommy answered in a higher voice that normal.

Ada tried to help John get up, but both were laughing so hard, that their legs caved in. From the ground, they saw Princess sniffing the blanket. Suddenly, Arthur swung his right leg towards the white horse. “It’s not working,” they heard Arthur’s panic-stricken voice from under the blanket. Princess, who had taken a step back after Arthur’s retaliation, came back and dealt her next strike. Her hoof hit Arthur on his thigh. “Bloody hell,” he roared and stood up. Suddenly, their not-so-believable-horse turned into an absolutely-not-believable-camel. “No, Arthur stay low,” Tommy warmed from under his mask, but Arthur had had enough. He came out from under the blanket, his face red as a beet and his hair all over the place. He stood in front of Princess. “This means no more hay for you, missy,” he said and wanted to walk away. But Princess wasn’t impressed by his threat and the moment Arthur had turned his back on her, she pressed her head hard in his side. “Bloody he---” Arther yelped before he fell on his back in the dirt. Tommy, who had taken his mask off just in time to see Arthur get up, looked at John and Ada who were also red, but from laughter. Without another word, Arthur turned around and marched out of the meadow. But as soon as he turned his back, Tommy burst out in laughter, so uncharacteristically hard that John and Ada turned their heads in surprise. Tommy dropped his mask and laughed so hard he had trouble breathing. Arthur didn’t care, he marched passed John and Ada and that is when the two siblings saw the reason why Tommy was laughing. It turned out that when Arthur had fallen, he had not only gotten dirt on his pants. His back and ass were covered in horse shit. Before the laughing fit took over, John yelled after his brother, “you really got into that role as horse ass, eh Arthur!”

taglist:

@caelys @cheekypeakyblinders @nickwilding @thebloodyday @valkrist @staygold-bebold @theshelbyclan @flysafepapi @ajwantstohavefun

[cant-blink]

Prisoner, Ch. 1

Summary: Gigan and Megalon meet a young Ghidorah. Gigan is intent on converting the child into their pirate crew, whether he likes it or not. 

-

What the hell happened here?

Glancing between the red planet ahead of them and the radar meant to detect life, both seemed desolate. But that can’t be right, he’s heard all about this world and the rare fauna it held, valued on the exotic pet black-market. Yet the sensors were picking up no life down below. Not even a plant.

Gigan rechecked the coordinates, just to ensure that they made it to the right world. Yep, it was and he wondered if there was some sort of malfunction.

He glanced back, seeing Megalon play-wrestling with Scoli. He said nothing to the beetle and centipede, as he directed the ship to orbit this world. Maybe they were in a bad spot? But as they moved, there continued to be no signs of life down below. Odd, very odd indeed. It was almost li-

Wait, there we go! The radar was finally picking up life signatures by the world’s single giant ocean. That’s a relief.

He lets out a soft breath, a smile growing on his beak as his hooked claw reached out and delicately pushed some of the buttons on the control panel. He glanced back again at his crewmates.

“Hey,” he started, getting their attention. “We’re going in for a landing.”

And that’s the only warning they were getting to brace themselves before he plunged the ship down into the atmosphere with speed. Flames erupt from the front of the ship and the floor began to tremble slightly before increasing in intensity. The emergency light flashed as warnings came to the control panel’s computer to slow the fuck down! But Gigan held firm, his beak cracking into a wide grin. 

The screaming coming from behind him only encouraged his behavior as they cut through the last layer of cloud.

Cutting it a bit short, he leveled out the ship close enough to the ground to whip up a huge plume of dirt and debris. Their momentum held firm, the landscape zooming beneath them at breakneck speed.

Looming up from the horizon was a mountain, that they were heading straight for!

“GIGAN, STOP IT!!” he heard shouting and he was pretty sure it was Megalon. He lets out a laugh before activating the anti-gravity devices to lift the ship up higher to avoid a mountain range. There was the ocean just beyond, purple in color. Here we go. He finally brought the ship to a halt and began hovering it down towards the ground. Easy now, easy... Putting down the gears, the ship landed delicately onto the rocky shore. 

Perfect, as always!

Turning towards his crew, he saw Scoli clinging to a wall and Megalon stuck on his back and he shook his head slightly. But he did nothing to help up his clumsy friend as he refocused on the control panel. 

“Get ready to go. I’m going to activate the cameras; I want full 360 view of the place.” He glanced out a window. “Don’t want to miss out on an opportunity, after all.”

-

He’s almost done with this world.

Its lifeforms were quite large and plentiful, and so many of them had young. Perfect conditions for harvesting lifeforce and fueling his growth. He’s already gathered enough victims into his bio-sac dome to make the journey to the next world and was now occupying his time until his meal was ready for consumption. Nothing more fun than a round of exploration, and senseless murder!

He had just found the ocean, and he was playing with it. Its water seemed to have solidified into a thick purple substance, like gelatin, and it seemed to be alive in and of itself. It would rise up in thick tendrils and nudged against his legs in an attempt to engulf him; it reminded him of his bio-sac’s tentacles snatching up anything that came too close. 

Luckily, it was very easy for him to pull free and it only encouraged his curiosity. He would bite into the jelly and his teeth would penetrate a transparent layer. There was the taste of salt-water in the fluid that poured into his maw. 

Blegh.

He wasn’t a fan of eating it, and he lets the pieces splatter onto the ground from his mouth. But biting chunks out of it was still very fun indeed. What was more fun, though, was him spotting a creature further out to sea. It wasn’t a species he’s met before, and how could he resist flying out to meet it?

This prey was the largest creature he’s met in his short life so far, about half his size. It stood upright, without front appendages beyond a few small tentacles at the front of its body. Its disproportionately large feet were gouging chunks out of the gelatin ocean as it walked on its surface. It had a crest structure jutting out the back of its head and a large glowing... eye on either side of it, glowing a bright amber. 

It seemed so blissfully unaware of his presence as he flew over it, as if it was confident its sheer size would protect it from harm. No doubt, it had no natural predators on this measly planet, but he was anything but natural.

He opened his jaws and shot flaming energy balls at it. The thick purple liquid rippled out as some of his fireballs struck the surface, explosions coming up around his prey. It lets out an echoing booming cry and the young Ghidorah does not let up. He shoots another trio of fireballs, one of them striking its tail and severing it to fall into the disturbed ocean. The tentacles thrashed around as its cries grow more high-pitched in distress.

Chuckling to himself, the young dragon swooped in from behind, his talons out to sink into the creature’s flesh. It began to struggle, but he was not to be dislodged as his three jaws surged forward to tear into its flesh. Rip it apart bit by bit.

After a moment spent torturing this creature, his wings began to flap. Luckily, this world had a thick atmosphere with light gravity, allowing him to take off with relative ease even with this added burden.

There was a bit of a suction effect trying to pull it off the ocean, as if the creature was gripping it, but with another tug, he ripped it free. Chunks of the purple gelatin fell from its feet and back onto the rest of the ocean.

He flew this creature back to the beach, and dropped it onto land without care. Its collision onto the beach was not a pleasant one from the sound of it and it seemed to struggle getting itself back up. He doesn’t allow it to recover as he landed beside it, his jaws clamping onto different parts of its mangled broken body before lifting it into the air.

Hearing the cries of fear and pain as he slammed his prey into the ground repeatedly was like music to his ears and always had him wanting to hear more. He hoped this was a plentiful species, as he was starting to run out of toys to play with.

It was a sure sign that soon, it’ll be time to move on. 

Dropping his still-living prey onto the ground one last time, he planted a foot onto it to keep it pinned and leaned down to start stripping flesh from its body to devour. He didn’t require flesh to survive, he needed only to sap their life energy. But it was still fun to taste, to rip apart, even better if they were still alive while he did so.

His right head caught sight of something flashing through the sky over the mountains. His left head focused on it as well as he fed, his large eyes taking in every detail.

Not a meteor, but a ship. It was landing somewhere much further up the beach.

Oh, good! More toys to play with! It’s not often that prey just hand themselves on a silver platter like this.

Licking his bloodied lips, he shifted his foot to where its giant amber eyes were, assuming this must be the head. The creature wasn’t even struggling anymore, even as he placed all his weight onto that foot, crushing it beneath his weight. Feeling the bones break apart and the blood spreading over his sole, he pulled his foot away to admire his work for a moment before turning away. He started running towards the ship, his wings fanning open wider to catch the wind until he built up enough speed to kick off the ground and fly into the air.

Let’s have some fun.

-

“Ghidorah?”

Megalon tilted his head, looking back at the screen Gigan was watching, spotting a small kaiju flying in. The cyborg had the image zoomed in and enhanced, and he can see a three headed creature making a bee-line straight for them. The beetle has never met this infamous ‘Ghidorah’ before, so he wasn’t sure what he was expecting. This, however, wasn’t it.

“That’s Ghidorah?” he couldn’t help but ask. This was the creature that killed off Gigan’s Masters? The one the cyborg was lusting over? The one the beetle declared as his rival? THIS was the cosmic terror?!

Well, beating this thing to a pulp was going to be easier than he thought and he was about to hurry outside to do just that when Gigan speaks up.

“He’s not my Ghidorah,” he told him with audible confusion and disbelief. “This is a whole new one. I never heard of another Ghidorah being created.” The cyborg chuckled slightly as he watched the screen. This hydra was a lot smaller than the one he knew, a youngster most likely. Was his Ghidorah breeding somewhere out there and this was one of his offspring? Isn’t that very interesting...

“What do we do with it?” Scoli asked.

“Isn’t it obvious?” Gigan chortled. “We invite him to join us. A Ghidorah, even a young one like this, will be more valuable than anything else we can poach from this planet.”

“If he’s so valuable, shouldn’t we sell him?” Megalon asked with an edge to his voice. He didn’t want to have this... thing with them, so he’s willing to say anything to get rid of this little dragon. Gigan’s Ghidorah or not, Megalon didn’t want the potential competition for the cyborg’s attention.

Gigan was more than aware of what the beetle was trying to do and he couldn’t hold back a smirk at Megalon’s jealousy. “No amount of money would be good enough.” He heard the ‘hmph’ from the insect and turned back to look at the little hydra. “Like it or not, Megalon, we’re keeping him.” He looked towards Scoli. “Clear out one of the containment units, one of the heavy duty ones, just in case. We’ll meet you outside.”

Scoli nodded softly before turning and scurrying away towards the lower decks. Gigan spent another moment to watch the little dragon come in for a landing nearby before opening the doors and moving towards the exit.

Megalon rushed to keep up. “But what if it’s not a Ghidorah and it’s just some random thing that LOOKS like a Ghidorah?” What did he have to say to discourage this cyborg’s interest in this youngster?

“You’re being silly now, babe,” Gigan said with humor before continuing. “I know what a Ghidorah looks like. There’s no mistaking them for anything else.”

“But... but... He’s so tiny! Are we really going to play baby-sitter until he’s all grown-up?”

“I play baby-sitter with you all the time, soooooo...” Gigan drawled before he looked over his shoulder at him, knowing exactly how to shut this beetle up. “You’re not trusting me, Megalon. Acting all jealous over a kid of all things.” He maintained hard eye-contact with the insect. “Keep yourself in check, or I’ll start reconsidering our friendship.”

Megalon froze for a moment. Did Gigan just call him- “I’m not jealous!” the beetle stated defensively, fumbling over his thoughts a bit as he tries to come up with a valid excuse for his behavior. “I just don’t think this is a good-”

Suddenly, the sound of an explosion came and the ship’s foundation shook. Gigan knew immediately what was happening; the damn kid was attacking their ship! Without another word towards Megalon, he rushed outside and turned in the direction the young Ghidorah should be. There he was, shooting... fire at the hull.

He never knew his own Ghidorah to spit fire. In the time they spent together in Nebulan captivity, he’s only ever seen him shoot lightning. Very interesting...

The little one very quickly caught sight of his movement and all three of those heads turned towards him.

Silence...

-

Well, this wasn’t what he was expecting.

He was expecting small lesser creatures to be in this ship; that’s always been the case in his experience. But what came out was no small creature, oh no. This one was damn near twice his size!

He’s never seen anything so huge in his short life; in fact, he’s never met a fellow kaiju before. He was still young enough that different races still held novelty to him, and his eyes took in every detail. The creature had green flesh and gold... scales? And three wings, and one eye. And 2 extra appendages that ended in silver hooks. A weapon, that’s what this thing is.

But he was not one to be easily intimidated; even as young as he is, a Ghidorah was still not a creature to mess with. Besides, can you imagine how much life-force he can syphon out of this thing? Sure, it’s not as potent as the souls of children, but the sheer amount would more than make up for it. It would be enough to fuel TWO trips to the next world!! This thing looks very pointy and sharp though, so best to be carefu-

“Hey, kid,” the creature spoke in an odd mixture of a natural and mechanical voice. Really, the fact it talks at all was most surprising. The young Ghidorah never had anyone actually talk to him in a way he understands. Supposed it was an inevitability, but what now?

Flee, or try to kill it for that bounty of lifeforce? Never before has he ever had to make that kind of decision. He usually just defaulted to the latter.

“Ghidorah, right?”

Wait, how did it know his name...?

...

Heh, seems his reputation has preceded him. But then, what did this thing want? It knew who he was and yet doesn’t run in fear? His suspicions were starting to overcome his pride. For the first time, he engaged in this conversation. “Who are you?”

“Name’s Gigan,” the creature said in a strangely casual tone that did nothing to ease the young dragon.

“How do you know who I am?”

“Heh, I know another Ghidorah,” he told him. “Great friends, him and I. Used to work together in another solar system. A pleasant surprise to see another one here. You’ve been having fun, I see.”

The young dragon narrowed a pair of eyes. Another Ghidorah? He had no idea there were other Ghidorah out there. The idea any of them would be friends with this thing was dubious though. 

“Why did you come here?” He had no intentions on stopping his questioning, especially not while he was still on edge about this whole situation. 

"Glad you asked. Y'see, I travel around, stripping worlds of their resources, and life," At once the young Ghidorah's eyes lit up a bit with interest, and this 'Gigan' seemed to notice as he chuckled. "Yeah, sounds familiar, doesn’t it? Exactly why I worked so well with the other Ghidorah, when our goals align perfectly, huh?" He took a step closer and the dragon's body tensed up, still apprehensive. Thankfully, Gigan comes no closer. "I came to this world looking for a good time. And here we are. Fate works in strange ways, bringing us together, huh?"

The youngster can already tell where this was going before this funny-looking creature said it.

“How can I not give you the opportunity to join me? Whaddya say, kid? Interested?” 

The hydra doesn’t answer or move for a long moment. So many red flags were shooting up in his heads, and he was unsure if it was just his natural instinct to distrust other lifeforms. He just... didn’t like this thing. He didn’t like how it spoke to him or the words it was saying. It just... seemed manipulative.

He should get out of here. Whatever this thing has planned, it wasn’t good and he takes a step back. 

His instincts seemed to prove correct as the creature’s beak twisted into a smirk at seeing him step back. His tone too seemed to change, still friendly but with an edge laced into it. 

“You sure you want to do that? It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”

The little Ghidorah said nothing, glaring at this creature before shaking his heads. Yeah, it was time to leave. He should fly back to his bio-sac and devour what he can before vacating this planet. Now. The urgency in his instincts only got worse when he spotted movement by the door to find another giant kaiju, roughly the same size as the one in front of him. It wasn’t as sharp-looking, but it did have pointy front limbs. It had no wings that he can see and it had a strange... horn between giant golden eyes that looked to be made of a bunch of little eyes.

“Such a shame,” the pointy one continued, the red jewel on that forehead starting to glow. “I was hoping you’d be smarter than the last Ghidorah.”

The youngster couldn’t ignore the red-flags anymore and he attempted to make a run for it. But no sooner had he turned his heads than he felt a jolt as a red beam erupted from the creature, hitting the scales in his chest.

Thankfully, his underside had heavy plated armor that held up well, but it was still enough force to stumble him back. He screeched in anger before regaining his balance, facing the two giant kaiju.

Seemed he had no choice but to stand and fight, in what would be the most dangerous battle he’s ever faced in his young life.

[animensfw-smut]

Aizawa x Kocho demon slayer! Reader

Requested by @Mins000

WARNINGS: None, lil bit of angst but it’s fluff~

Reader info:

Breathing: Flower breathing and insect breathing

Surname: Kocho

Has the same sword as Shinobu, meaning there are different poisons in the sheath.

Sit tight cos this one’s gonna be a rollercoaster ride... I think...

Pssstttt, I’m gonna make up the villain for this one since there wasn’t a specific villain suggested. The fight scene is also poorly written as i suck at writing fight scenes.

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

*(y/n)’s pov*

Stifling a giggle, i sneakily crept behind the slouched form.

“(y/n), i know you’re there.” His gruff voice alerted me that he had most likely had a bad day. I pouted, throwing my arms around him anyway,

“You’re no fun, Shota~ And here i thought you were excited for our date.” He turned around with a sigh, wrapping his arms around me and burying his face in my neck,

“I’m just tired.”

“Class giving you trouble?” He groaned,

“Yeah, those brats never know when to quit it.” I started laughing,

“Ahhhh, Shota you’re so funny! You were the one who wanted to be a teacher in the first place!”

“Tch, shut up.” A teasing glint appeared in my eyes,

“Make me~” 

“You say that like i won’t.” His lips pressed against mine firmly, his tongue entering my mouth and exploring the wet cavern. I hummed into the kiss as my hands threaded through the thin strands of his dark hair.

“Ready to go yet? We barely get any time together since our schedules don’t sync up~” I murmured against his lips.

“I should be asking you that.” I chuckled at his tone of voice before his hand grabbed mine. Walking down the crowded streets, I looked to Shota,

“Say... How would you react if i decided to become a teacher at UA too?” He froze on the spot and turned to me, a blank look on his face,

“I would say it’s not worth the trouble. The kids are way too troublesome to deal with.” My lips twitched up in a smile: I expected that response.

“Hey, it won’t be so troublesome. After all, you’ll be there to help me with the job.” He turned to face me, his eyes capturing mine,

“Since when.”

“Hehehe, since now. I’m gonna be a teacher at UA tomorrow. This means i get to spend more time with you and our holidays will sync up!” Shota turned away from me, but i still noticed the blush that dusted his cheeks. Even without him saying it, i knew he was happy if the smile on his lips was any indication. The grip on my hand tightened as he squeezed my hand before loosening his grip slightly.

“Thank you...” My eyes widened before they softened, a soft smile gracing my lips. He knew how much being a hero meant to me and how i liked to go on missions instead of teach. But i wanted to try teaching and i wanted to spend more time with Shota. After all, it’s not often at all when we get to see each other.

My eyebrow raised when we turned the corner and everyone was rushing to evacuate the area.

From the smoke emerged a figure. It had long black hair that flowed down to its waist. I groaned in annoyance,

“Whyyyyyyy? We were just getting to the main part of the date too!!!” Shota let out a hum of agreement before getting into a fighting stance. 

Rushing towards the figure, i took my katana out of its sheath, slashing diagonally.The slash broke through the mask that the figure had wore, and a light cut formed on his face. He chuckled,

“Aaahh, It’s been a long time since someone was able to slash my beautiful face~ And for that...” His hands were held out at his side as pitch black energy flowed through them. 

“...You will pay~” 

Reacting quickly, Shota kept his eyes on the man as he used the bandages around his neck to grab me away. I landed on my feet, the man running towards Shota with a smirk. They entered a hand-to-hand combat, the other man definitely gaining the upper hand. I frowned. Clearly, he had realised Shota had to be taken out first if he wanted to win. I ran towards them, breathing in deeply before aiming my attack at the man,

“Fifth Form: Peonies of Futility.”

The slashes were dodged easily by the man, but he didn’t leave without knocking Shota out cold. I caught him before he hit the ground, proceeding to glare at the male.

“Who are you? And what do you want?”

“Hahaha, I just want a good fight. And you seem like a good fight.”

I glared at him. His hair stretched and reached towards me, the ends pricked with dark energy. I jumped out of the way, only to fall into his trap, and his fist collided with my side. It scorched the flesh there and i hissed in pain.

The fight continued longer than expected, my slashes getting dodged and his dark energy hitting me little by little. There were bruises and cuts all over my body and some scroch marks here and there. Deciding to end this, i used my most lethal poison from the sheath of the katana.

“Dance of the Centipede: Hundred-Legged Zigzag.”

The blade stabbed his neck and injected him with the poison. I let down my guard by accident and he took the opportunity to hit me in the chest, his fist coated with the black energy.

My eyes widened as i fell to the ground. The villain also hit the ground with a thud, not moving a single inch. At the same time, Shota had woken up to the last scene, his eyes widening as he rushed to my side.

*Third pov*

Everything happened in slow motion for Aizawa. One minute they were still fighting and the next, they had both collapsed. (y/n) coughed and it was then Aizawa knew that she was not dead yet. 

Holding her in his arms, Shota stared with worry at (y/n). His eyes brimmed with tears, threatening to spill.

“O-Oi, (y/n). You’re fine, right?” She nodded weakly with a small smile,

“A-At least i b-beat him...!” He held her hand, pressing a kiss to her forehead. 

“Hey, stay with me...” His voice croaked at the end, and his tears dripped down and onto her cheek.

“D-Don’t cry...” Her fingers graxed his cheek before falling back down, her body going limp as she slipped into an unconscious state.

“No, no, no, (y/n)...!” The ambulance and other heroes had arrived, escorting (y/n) to the hospital.

A few months passed by without any signs of (y/n) waking up. Aizawa stayed by her side every single night after he had finished his daily duties of being a teacher.

Aizawa grasped (y/n)’s hand, a calm smile on his face,

“You know, i would’ve enjoyed teaching the class even more if you were there, so you better hurry up and wake before i end up quitting the job.”

Each day, Aizawa spoke to (y/n), telling her of all the stories of what his class did and how stupid they all were. 

One day, while Aizawa was telling (y/n) about his day, (y/n)’s fingers twitched. Aizawa thought it was his own imagination until (y/n) started coughing, her eyes slowly opening and adjusting to the bright light. She turned towards Aizawa, her eyebrows furrowedd,

“Sh-Shota...?” He snapped out of his ddaze once he heard her voice. Shota quickly gave (y/n) some water to drink to soothe her throat before embracing her,

“I... Was really worried... I was so scared that you... Might n-never wake up...” He sobbed, burying his face into her shoulder. (y/n)’s eyes softened as she placed a hand at the back of his head, stroking his hair,

“Hey... I’ll never leave you...”

The following days were filled with happiness as (y/n) taught beside Aizawa. They were able to see each other every day and definitely a lot more often than a few months ago.

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

A/N

Hope you enjoyed that ending!!! The next request is:

Incest! Aizawa x Daughter! Reader.

[luxaofhesperides]

there in the tower.

A Sleeping Beauty inspired dark fantasy fic.

for ORV RARE PAIR WEEK 2021 @orv-week; day one, prompt: fairy tale

also on ao3.

. . .

They say that the dragon is guarding a princess. After all, dragons will always kidnap princesses and no one else. Who else is so valuable? So important in the kingdom? So weak? So when the dragon flew through the sky and curled around the base of a large tower, it seemed obvious that there was a princess inside, awaiting rescue.

Here’s the thing, though: Na Bori is not a princess.

She’s a seamstresses daughter, a common girl who doesn’t attract much attention from others. So why had the dragon taken her?

Of course, Lee Jihye had no way to know for sure that Na Bori was taken until she actually goes to the tower, but Na Bori had disappeared and a dragon appeared the next day. There were investigations, of course; nobility keeps track of their daughters and what bloodlines they marry into. Every princess and noble girl in the continent is accounted for. People have speculated that there may be a missing princess, perhaps born out of wedlock, or a sickly, weak girl who had never been introduced to society. And then they wondered if they should even bother rescuing the kidnapped girl if they weren’t respectably nobility.

Lee Jihye had to run out of town because of that one. Apparently starting a bar fight and smashing a chair over a marquis’ son is a bad move.

The barely suppressed panic thrums in her chest, filling the empty spaces between her ribs as she continues her journey to the tower. 

No one has seen Na Bori since the dragon appeared. No one had looked, either. Who would care for a seamstresses daughter? But Lee Jihye has been besides Na Bori for years, has grown up with her, has never known anyone so bright and clever and kind. 

The thought of Na Bori gone forever, trapped in a tower because  no one cared to look  makes her furiously blink tears out of her eyes. No one else is looking, but Lee Jihye. She would never stop until Na Bori was safe by her side again.

Here’s another thing: Lee Jihye is not a knight. She is training to be one, under the instruction of an old warrior who has settled down to live the last years of his life in peace. There are other knights and princes traveling to the tower, fighting beasts and bandits in order to rescue the poor maiden trapped besides a dragon, hoping to gain glory and honor for their deeds. Lee Jihye just wants her best friend back.

It’s easy enough to avoid them; Lee Jihye’s been dodging them for weeks, knowing she’s too tense to handle anyone’s company. These nobles are planning to gain fame or riches or a wife out of this. The last knight who had said something about pitiful women always clinging to their saviors got his teeth knocked out and a concussion from how hard Lee Jihye punched him. She left him lying on the side of the road, fists shaking as she desperately tried to erase thoughts of Na Bori married to a pig like him. 

The less time spent with others, the better.

She cuts down another branch in her way and dives deeper into the forests that surround the castle.

“But what if you get sent far away?” she asks, stabbing her needle especially viciously through the fabric.

Lee Jihye is rather happy that Na Bori doesn’t want her to go. The rare occasion where Na Bori clings to Lee Jihye instead of the other way around are moments memorized and held onto fondly. She knows that there is no one in this world closer to her than Na Bori, knows that she’s the person who knows Na Bori best, but it’s nice to hear that she’s wanted.

Smiling, Lee Jihye reaches out and takes one of Na Bori’s hands, stopping her from tearing through the fabric. “I’ll still come back,” she promises, “Where else would I come home to?”

“And if you get hurt?”

“I’ll just get strong enough that nothing can hurt me.”

Na Bori is mollified, and it shows in how she relaxes and finally sets down her sewing. “You still have a long way to go then. Strong knights don’t cry over a little tumble down the hill.”

Lee Jihye flushes and scowls. “Hey! It was my first assignment and it was a steep hill. I hit a lot of things on the way down! It hurt! If anything, it would be weird if I wasn’t

  crying when she wakes up. Lee Jihye faintly hears Na Bori’s voice whisper, “Crybaby,” but it’s only wistful thinking. Forcing her aching body up, Lee Jihye wipes away her tears and prepared herself for another agonizing day cutting through the thorny and impossibly large brambles that block entry to the tower. 

“Okay,” she tells herself, “You’re almost there. Na Bori is waiting for you, so you can’t give up yet.” 

Many of the others have turned back. She no longer sees other groups making their way to the tower. It’s been eerily silent for the past two days. 

If she had been anyone else, if she had been sane, Lee Jihye would have turned around too. The entire area felt unwelcoming, downright hostile sometimes, and made every nerve in her body scream at her to turn around. A heavy pit of despair grows in her stomach and the hopelessness it causes makes her physically sick a few times.

Still, Lee Jihye presses onwards.

The longer it takes, the more she worries, her brain providing morbid images of Na Bori’s body rotting in the tower, or being eaten by the dragon, or any other terrible thing that could happen to kidnapped people. It has Lee Jihye on the verge of a nervous breakdown, and she’s been teetering on that cliff for a few days now. 

There’s no doubt that the area around the tower is full of dark magic. It gets into her head, twists around her bones, squeezes the air out of her lungs and slowly suffocates her each day. It gives her nightmares, makes her relive memories that feel like they’re happening again, like Na Bori is there with her only for wakefulness to destroy the illusions. Lee Jihye has only been in this dark magic infected forest for two days. Na Bori has been missing for a week and a half. 

The fear she feels for Na Bori and what she’s had to endure only makes things worse.

Lee Jihye hacks through another large thorny bramble and continues in deeper, ignoring the weariness that makes her want to collapse and never get up. Thorns have caught on her with each step she takes; most of the cuts clot up quickly, but the rest leave a trail of blood to guide her back out. 

The tower doesn’t look any closer.

She lifts her heavy arms to cut through another branch.

Na Bori shrieks and jumps onto Lee Jihye, clinging with all her might. Startled, Lee Jihye stumbles back a few steps, trying to regain her balance without dropping Na Bori. She wraps her arms around Na Bori, holding her up, and looks around for the source of her distress.

Crawling across the road is a centipede.

Lee Jihye can’t help but laugh, easily carrying Na Bori away from it, continuing down the road to her house. 

Na Bori, still holding onto Lee Jihye and making no moves to get down, smacks her shoulder. “Don’t laugh!”

“I can’t believe you call me a crybaby when you jump into my arms as soon as you see a bug.”

“It’s a perfectly reasonably fear! Nothing should have that many legs, or those weird eyes, or pincers, or--ugh!” She shudders, scaring herself by imagining the very things she hates about bugs. 

It’s cute, how insistent she is that bugs are weird, gross, and wholly unnatural. Lee Jihye has listened to these complaints for many years, and she wouldn’t mind listening for many years more.

“Don’t worry,” she says, adjusting her grip around Na Bori’s waist. “I’ll always be here to rescue you from the evil, scary bugs.”

Na Bori tucks her face into the crook of Lee Jihye’s neck. Her warm breath sends shivers down her spine; it takes everything in her not to stumble or drop Na Bori. 

“My valiant knight,” she says, and Lee Jihye can hear the smile in her voice. 

Who needs kings and queens? The only person she ever wants to dedicate her sword to is already in her arms. And if asked, Lee Jihye would gladly dedicate the rest of her life.

It’s just. There are little moments between them, where Lee Jihye thinks Na Bori also wants more, wants to push the limits of their friendship into new territory, but what if it’s just wistful thinking? They’ve shared what feels like their whole lives together, and there’s no guarantee that Na Bori wouldn’t leave one day. But if she stayed… If she stayed, Lee Jihye would give

up and let the brambles consume her body. She doesn’t know how long it’s been, how far she’s gone. Dreams and reality feel the same and she can’t quite tell which is which anymore. The tower is still the same distance away it was when she first saw it rising above the brambles. 

Everything hurts. Her ears are ringing. She’s been bleeding sluggishly for days now, always torn apart by new thorns. There’s no point in trying to patch herself up when the next set of brambles is ready to rip her flesh apart.

The tip of her sword drags through the dirt. She’s given up trying to cut a path through to the towers. Instead, Lee Jihye settles for twisting between the branches, uncaring for the thorns that reach out for her greedily.

Whatever dark magic saturates this place is slowly killing her. Lee Jihye doesn’t know much about magic as she’s never had a talent for it, but she knows enough to understand that this is incredibly powerful and dangerous magic. 

What does it have to do with Na Bori?

The answer is: nothing good. Who cares about the specifics? All Lee Jihye has to know is that the magic is going to (if it hasn’t already) hurt Na Bori. The need to save her from this, to bring her back somewhere safe, is what keeps her going despite how painful it is.

As much as her body screams at her to give up and just lie down until she withers away, Lee Jihye pushes forwards, ignoring every ache and cut and bruise.

She will get to the tower. 

Na Bori will come home.

Their hands bump together and they both reflexively jerk away. The air between them is awkward for a moment, then Na Bori laughs and picks up the last apple slice and brings it up to Lee Jihye’s lips. 

"Here,” she says sweetly, and Lee Jihye takes a bite, watches the juice trail down her fingers and wants more than anything to lick it away, to press kisses against Na Bori’s nimble hands, wants

to cry, to scream, to just be done with it. The tower looms above her, no closer and no farther, mocking her and she twists herself through another bramble, wincing as a thorn drags along her arm, beads of blood beginning to

fall into the river. The colorful leaves line the banks of the river and Lee Jihye watches as Na Bori carefully shifts through piles of leaves, searching for the mushrooms that she needed for dinner. 

“Jihye, come here!” she calls, waving her over. 

And Lee Jihye goes, as she always does. “What is it? Did you find

a way in, but it’s all just stone. No doors, no windows, just stone. She finally got past those horrible brambles, and now that she’s at the tower she can’t find a way in. It’s too tall for her to climb with her how exhausted she is. There’s no way up.

Lee Jihye can’t help but cry, screaming in frustration as she presses the heels of her palms against her eyes, trying to breathe through the sobs that force themselves out of her chest.

The magic has only gotten stronger. Dreams, memories, reality, it’s all mixing together. One moment she’s walking through town with Na Bori, the next she’s trying not to gut herself on a large thorn. One moment she’s cutting down a branch and the next she’s waking up then walking past the brambles then waking up and seeing Na Bori smile then waking up and waking up and waking up but she can’t remember falling asleep.

Is this a dream? Is she awake? Is the tower before her real or is this just another illusion?

She’s come all this way. She can’t go back, not without finding a way in that fucking

tower over her and Lee Jihye is sobbing as she watches they push Na Bori into the river. The one holding her back is laughing meanly, saying something about how no one would care about what happens to them, just two poor common girls who only have each other, bet their parents wouldn’t even notice them gone.

N a Bori is coughing up water in-between insults, and Lee Jihye whimpers as her arm is twisted more and more and any more will hurt her, will break her bones, their hands are too big and strong and no one is coming to save them and

"Get up Jihye!”

There is a dragon curled around the tower. It’s smaller than what she expected. Smaller than what she remembers. It stares at her, but it doesn’t attack.

It looks just as tired as she is.

“Hey,” Lee Jihye rasps out. “I just want her back. Please.”

The dragon huffs and drops its head to the ground. There is a collar around its neck, digging into its flesh. Dried blood colors the edges of the collar, and Lee Jihye feels sick to her stomach. Whatever magic is taking place here is vile enough to hurt a dragon, a creature of pure magic from the core of the planet. 

Killing the dragon would be an act of mercy.

Lee Jihye approaches. It watches and doesn’t move. Its golden eyes are so tired; the dragon has already given up.

She raises her sword.

They are seven years old when they first meet. The new seamstress in town is delighted to see that her daughter will have a friend her age. She waves the two of them off to play and goes back into her store, ready to get started on mending clothes.

Na Bori grins, bright and lively; it’s the biggest smile Lee Jihye has ever seen, and she’s instantly enamoured. 

"Hi! I’m Na Bori. Wanna play?”

"Sure! I’m Lee Jihye, I live down there,” she points behind them to the cluster of houses near the fields, “and you’re the first person I’ve met who’s my age!”

Na Bori doesn’t waste any more time talking. She grabs Lee Jihye’s wrist and drags her along. It’s the first touch she’s felt from someone outside her family that didn’t hurt. She’s gotten used to hiding from the local bullies and crying when they were done with her, but Na Bori’s hand around her wrist is what makes her feel like she’s splintering apart.

It’s a good feeling. 

She follows along behind Na Bori, and remembers that kind touch whenever she thinks about why she loves Na Bori so much.

The collar falls to the ground. It was hard work cutting through it, but just because Lee Jihye doesn’t have a talent for magic doesn’t mean she can’t use it. It’s all about mana direction and intent. This forest is full of mana that feels rotten and wounded, but it is mana nonetheless, and Lee Jihye has spent days in it. It’s easy enough to focus on the memory of the first kindness another child showed her and use that to fuel the intent of  help  rather than  harm .

The dragon blinks and some life returns to its eyes. It watches her carefully as she sheathes her sword and wipes the sweat off her brow.

“I helped you get out of the collar. Please help me too.”

And it does. 

The dragon nudges its nose against her stomach and lets her climb on. She holds onto it’s large horns as it ascends and circles the tower. There is a single window in this entire tower, up at the top, and it is there that the dragon stops, using its claws to dig into the stone walls and cling to the tower so that Lee Jihye can climb in through the window.

It rumbles at her softly, and Lee Jihye pats its nose. “I’ll be back soon.”

The inside of the tower is dark save for the light that comes in through the window. It’s full of books and bones, strange symbols drawn on the wall and the floor. There is a man collapsed against a table, gaunt and covered in dried blood. His chest moves, the only sign that he’s not dead, and symbols are cut into his skin, turned black from channeling dark magic.

Lee Jihye doesn’t hesitate to run him through with her sword. He dies silently, not knowing the danger he was in the moment he stole Na Bori away.

That is, if Na Bori is even here. If she isn’t, Lee Jihye is going to have a breakdown, then go out and continue her search. But she’s sure that Na Bori is here. 

She has to be. 

In the back is another set of stairs that winds up, and Lee Jihye climbs them, leaving her sword out just in case.

It’s much darker up here, but still Lee Jihye can make out the bed and a person lying in it. There’s a table besides the bed, full of sharp objects she doesn’t know the use for, and small vials of blood. Dread fills Lee Jihye and she approaches the bed to get a closer look at who is on it.

Na Bori sleeps peacefully.

Her arms are bare and full of healing cuts. Lee Jihye collapses, half-laughing half-sobbing in relief. She reaches out and shakes Na Bori, trying to rouse her from her slumber, but Na Bori doesn’t stir. 

She’s as still as a corpse. 

Lee Jihye shakes her harder, then pats her cheek. “Bori-ya? Hey, Bori-ya, I’m here. I’m here to take you home. Wake up, will you? Please, wake up.”

Na Bori remains motionless. She’s never been a deep sleeper, or a still one. Seeing her so still and silent terrifies Lee Jihye. 

“Please,” she whispers, grasping one of Na Bori’s hands and pressing her forehead against it. “Please, wake up.”

Lee Jihye sobs. She went through all this and now that she’s here, it doesn’t matter. Because Na Bori is stuck in a magical sleep that Lee Jihye can’t wake her from. 

Desperate, Lee Jihye pulls on the rotting mana around them. Blood drips from her nose as she pushes herself through exhaustion and pain, letting the decay take root in her body as she tries to use magic to break Na Bori out of her enchanted sleep. It hurts so much, behind her eyes, in her throat, around her heart. It hurts but there’s nothing else she can do, so Lee Jihye keeps pulling the mana in, then pushing it into Na Bori through their joined hands, wishing  wake up wake up wake up come back to me please I missed you so much please come back I want to go home please don’t make me leave you .

She’s not made for magic. Doesn’t really know how to use it and it takes a toll on her body. She barely notices that she’s stopped crying. She just doesn’t have the energy to make tears. 

Lee Jihye resigns herself to death. Better than leaving without Na Bori. She slumps over, slowly losing her strength. Na Bori sleeps on.

They were supposed to have a future together. She wanted to find the courage to confess to Na Bori, to make a life with her, to become a knight for her. She wanted so much but she’ll never get it because their story ends here.

These are her final moments. She’s allowed to be greedy. Lee Jihye leans down and kisses Na Bori; their first and last kiss. She presses her lips against Na Bori’s mouth and just stays there, tired and weak.

Na Bori takes a breath. 

And she kisses back.

"Why do you want to be a knight? Isn’t it scary?”

Was it? Lee Jihye had always thought the stories of adventures and fighting monsters was really cool. She says as much to Na Bori, who scrunches up her nose.

“But what if you get hurt or run into a really scary monster?” she asks, clutching the skirt of her dress in her fists, knuckles white.

“Then I’d fight back and come to you so you could help me! Being a knight might be a little scary, but I’d also be strong enough to defeat any scary thing that I find.”

“Would you save me if I was in danger?”

Lee Jihye grins and grabs Na Bori’s hand to link their pinkies together. “I promise that I will always save you.”

     Na Bori has to support Lee Jihye as they both stumble down the stairs and make their way to the window, where the dragon is waiting. It coos at them, concerned, and Lee Jihye manages a weak smile that seems to reassure it. 

They somehow manage to get onto the dragon, holding onto ridges of its back as it takes off and flies them away from the oppressive force of black magic.

“Jihye?” Na Bori murmurs from behind her, arms wrapped around Jihye’s waist as she leans against her back. “Thank you for coming to save me. I kept dreaming of you and our promise.”

 “I told you didn’t I? I’ll always save you.” Lee Jihye wishes she could be cooler when she says it, but she’s exhausted and the relief of having Na Bori with her makes her voice small and weak. 

Na Bori presses a kiss to the back of her neck. “Sleep. I’ll take care of you until we get home.”

Feeling like a child again, experiencing her first kind touch from another, Lee Jihye relaxes against Na Bori, and lets herself drift off as her heart splinters and fractures, then comes together whole.

[brain-jarred]

Chapter one.  Marriage problems

In the dank bowels of New York, it was a normal day of extracting brains from dubiously consenting test subjects, and Dr. Hal was bored. Bored with his life, he knew he was smart, he knew he had a brilliant mind. In theory this job was in fact nurturing his mind, and putting it to good use in bettering mankind, and-

Yeah yeah whatever. He knew that this was for a good cause, as he carefully cut open the patient's skull, revealing the squishy and oozing brain. He sighed, and his colleague finally took notice of his dour mood. “Dr. Hal? What's wrong? You don't seem very enthusiastic about this.” Dr. Param asked, looking up from their clipboard which they were doodling in the margins of. Dr. Param was very much like Dr. Hal, in the sense that both of them had similar backgrounds. Though despite this similarity, the two were as different as could be. “Come on, Hal! Put some pep into that neuro-needle!” They said cheerfully, pumping their metal arm in the air, much like a cheerleader. In response, Dr. Hal just rolled his eyes and took the neuro-needle out of the tray, and did what you do with a needle.

Once he was done with it, he returned it to the tray, and the doctor began the process of removing the brain from the skull. He sighed again, and turned to Dr. Param. “Hey Dr. Param? Do you ever feel like… I don't know, that we could be doing literally anything else with our lives?” He questioned as he lifted the brain with one hand, and cut the spinal cord with the other. “Like, I know that this is to improve mankind and everything, but… this is just so…” He plopped the brain into a jar, staring at it for a bit. “Boring.” He said flatly. Dr. Param looked shocked. “What?! No way!” They retorted, limping their metal wrist joint in at Dr. Hal. They put down their clipboard and slid a pan containing a brain across the counter. Then, they sat their elbow where it had been. “Listen Hal, Dr. Hal. All jobs have their… their dips!” “Dips?” “Like low points on a graph!” Dr. Param said while walking around. Their six metal legs made clicking sounds as they moved on the metal floors. They had their arms behind their back. They circled around the now brainless body that was laying on the surgical table. They patted one of the legs to accentuate their point. “You just-” Another slap to the cadaver’s legs.”-Just gotta keep going!”

“Dr. Param, I appreciate the enthusiasm, as well as the attempts at motivation, but you should stop slapping the body.” “You aren't listening to me!” Dr. Param slapped the body. “No. I’m not.” The scientist sighed and walked over to the sink, removing his thick plastic gloves, placing them in the cleaning solution. His hands were… not human. Because neither Dr. Hal, nor Doctor Param, were human beings. Doctor Param was a centipede-esque cyborg, maybe even centaur-like in their design. They had one almost normal looking hand, if not for the sharp claws on the tips, and one needle like appendage on the other arm. The other legs, six of them, were simple, like a bug’s legs. They had huge red eyes that stared annoyed into the back of Dr. Hal’s head. Or rather, they were staring at Dr. Hal’s brain, that was visible through the translucent psychic aura that made up his body. He looked very much like a person, but without bones, skin, muscle, or even nerves. He looked like a person composed entirely of blue jelly. The only solid parts of him were his brain and his eyes. The two doctors both had human brains, greatly enhanced, yet still human, brains.

“I’m just saying-” “I know what you're saying.” Dr. Hal interjected. “You're saying I should just accept the life I've been given, and I shouldn't wish for anything more.” “Wow. Rude.” The cyborg huffed. ”That's your problem! You are rude. When people try to cheer you up, you just-” they waved their arms around. “You push them away! You push me away.” He huffed. “Why have you been so- what am I doing wrong!? You have been so on edge lately.” “I don't want to talk about this anymore.” Dr. Hal looked away and began to pad out of the room. “Don't walk away from me!” They said, raising their voice. “Please! Let's just talk!” They said, throwing their arms up in the air.They had been working with each other for sixteen years, and though Dr. Hal was walking away, and acting standoffish, he did care about his colleague. The two of them had been working together for sixteen years. The pair acted like a married couple when they argued. But really, they were both married to their jobs, not each other. Recently though, Dr. Hal’s marriage with work was failing. Like a marriage in which both of the participants were no longer in love with each other.

Dr. Param followed Dr. Hal for a bit, before sighing and going to sit down in one of the chairs outside the operating theatre. It was a bit awkward to sit in, considering they had a 5 foot long body. In reality, the bug-like cyborg laid on the chair rather than sat in it. They watched as Dr. Hal put his hands in his lab coat and power-walked away to his quarters. They hated when he got like this. Lately they had been noticing that his colleague's heart just wasn't in his work like it used to be. Dr. Param missed it, back when things were simple. Executing tests on subjects, researching, and all the other marvelous things- they weren't fun anymore. Maybe it wasn't supposed to be fun, maybe this work was supposed to be hard and laborious. But… Ugh. Dr. Param just sat there, trying to think of ways to reignite that fire that had been reduced to cinders within Dr. Hal. Meanwhile, Dr. Hal was in his quarters. The off-white walls surrounded him, it was a small room, only about 9 feet wide and long. The ceiling was low, and if he jumped, he would probably hit his head on the ceiling. Not that he was the type to just randomly jump. That was more of Dr. Param’s thing. Being all excited and enthusiastic about their job… Dr. Hal wondered how they did it. How they managed to be as passionate about their work as they were the day they both first woke up and did their first assignments. Part of him admired it, maybe even envied it. These walls. These floors. The lights, the blood, the smell of this lab. It was all the both of them knew. Their old lives were gone. Dr. Hal wasn't supposed to miss it. He had consented to this after all. He consented to having his body removed from his brain, and having his brain utterly transformed into something inhuman. Dr. Param consented to it too. So then why did he feel like something was missing? 

Why would he miss being a terminally ill cancer patient? This was a far more noble life than wasting away in a hospital bed with no family to be there as he died. Of course he did not remember being a terminally ill cancer patient, but that was what his bosses told him. They even showed him pictures of who he used to be. Birth records, I.D., photographs. All meaningless to him now. 

He had been thinking more about it lately. He hadn't told anyone though. He always got the feeling that the bosses didn't like it. It was an unspoken taboo to mention the past when the goal of the organization was to further the path into the future. He closed his eyes. Well, he didn't really have eyelids. He just shaped the ectoplasm that comprised his body to slide over his eyeballs.  And then there was a knock at his door, before he could tell them to come in, someone he didn't expect to see today walked into his room stiffly. The person that entered his room was a pale man, with wispy and wild white hair, and a ratty scarf worn over his lab coat. His face was round, it would have been almost friendly looking if not for the deep scowl that he wore on his face at all times. Dr. Hal sat up, and then got off his bed to stand respectfully towards the head scientist “Dr. Brian.” He remarked. “It's good to see you.” “You did good work on the last subject, but we have another assignment for you.” Doctor brian said, ignoring pleasantries and going straight for what was needed of Dr. Hal. “We have a subject coming in that is extremely high profile. Not only that, but it's going to be a vivisection. Further details will be given later.” He said in a monotone. “Oh. I see. But why are you telling me this in person? I feel like this could have been communicated in a memo.” He crossed his arms and tilted his head. “Because you haven't been confirming your memos.” He huffed. “You have been acting highly unprofessional lately. Now tell me why that is.” He asked pointedly, glaring up at Dr. Hal. “I apologize.” He began, taking in a breath. “I have just been feeling unwell lately. I was actually going to request a week’s vacation for-” “Denied.” The head scientist interrupted. “The high profile vivisection is tomorrow.” “Oh.” Dr. Hal folded his arms. “I assume my...talents will be needed?” he asked. “Both you and Dr. Param will be needed, yes.” “Alright.” he looked away. “Tell you what-” Dr Brian began. “You can have your week's vacation after the vivisection tomorrow. It's estimated to take six hours to complete.” Dr. Hal’s eyes widened. Wow. That was more than double the length of the longest vivisections he had done. This must be someone special that they were vivisecting. “Will it be a terminal one?” He asked. “Yes.” Damn it. Dr. Hal hated the terminal ones. Usually they were performed only on death row prisoners or terminally ill patients. So he didn't feel shame about most of them, despite technically being a murderer. Well, he wasn't really a murderer. They were going to die anyway, so who cares? He certainly didn't. But it was still unpleasant to be in the mind of a dying person. It was sometimes borderline nightmarish. Of course, he wouldn't voice these opinions out loud. But Dr. Brian’s scowl still deepened. “Do what you will for the rest of today.” He huffed, and exited the room. End of chapter one