#Seven Walls Search Squad

[fullscoreshenanigans]

(Mystic Code Book Chapter 7 - Series Timeline; edit originally from this post)

Me whenever I remember Don, Emma, Gilda, and Ray spent more time with Zack than Lucas or Yuugo but I rarely see any Big Bro Zack works of him interacting with them </3

[desswright29]

Brick District (Prolouge)

Synopsis: To say life was rough for young Shuri would be an understatement. An only child to a Mother suffering from leukemia she had to figure out a way to survive very young. A job at the vibranium mines led her to you. Her Amanzi (water), from that moment on the two of you were attached at the hip. You did everything, and were even excepted into the most prestigious college in Wakanda together. That is until Shuri lands herself into some serious trouble, causing a series of unfortunate events. Will you be down for the ride?

A/n: Random idea. I hope you guys enjoy and let me know if you guys want more of Shuri and her Amanzi! ☺️

Hand on my heart I swear I made peace with the rain Peace with the rain Now I dance with the pain

Stepping inside the cold concrete room, the clanking of metal followed by a thundering slam followed behind you. Your heart beat rapidly against your sternum, fear weighing heavily on your shoulders. 

“Box 3!” The officer directed you sternly. Your eyes instantly scan the room for the number painted thick upon the concrete walls, until you spotted it approximately twelve steps ahead of you. 

One, two, three. Breathe, just breathe y/n. Six, seven, eight. You’re safe, the officers are here for your protection. Eleven, tweleeeve…thirteen. Damnit just one off. 

Anxiously, you sat in the chair infront of you, staring at the empty seat on the other side of the glass. Putting up a front of calm, your rhythmically bouncing leg, the traitor to your true feelings. Anxiety. A loud buzzing and a click snapped you out of your thoughts, your body literally jolting slightly out of your seat. 

Damnit girl get a grip. 

Two officers walk into the room, one holding the door as the other led out a line of inmates. Instinctively, your eyes trained on your hands, fiddling with your fingers, as the dragging of feet, and rattle of chains continued to pass you by. Until, it came to a stop. Beautifully veined hands with bruised knuckles, placed together by silver bracelets on each delicate wrist, entered your line of sight. Your gaze continue to trail up her body until they settled on her face. 

A soft gasp left your mouth. Contusions littered her beautiful face. But, the long cut right underneath the apple of her left cheek garnered the majority of your attention, her fuzzy braids were second on the list. She was always very well put together. Your heart ached seeing her this way. The officer removed the cuffs from her wrist, as she tried to stifle the look of agony on her face m, while she slowly attempted to sit. A lump formed in your throat as you blinked back tears. Reaching forward, she grabbed the phone and you followed her lead. Leaning forward onto the table in front of her, she placed her cut bottom lip into her mouth. Wetting it before looking up at you through hooded lids. 

“I thought I told you not to come here?” Words escaped you as you continued to stare, trying to find a way to speak without breaking. You had to be strong for her.

“Don’t look at me like that, bhabha.” You nervously avert your gaze, clearing your throat before speaking.

“You knew I was coming to see you regardless. I’ve always been a bit hard headed…..W-wha-“

“It’s prison y/n. Shit happens.” Irritation coated her words as she cleared her throat, slouching back into her chair.  “You shouldn’t be here. You have shit to do.”

“I had to lay eyes on you… make sure you’re alright. My bags are packed, I’m ready!” The corners of your mouth peeked upwards yet your eyes remained sad, as you attempt to bring some sort of light to the conversation. “Can’t find a box big enough to fit all my shoes though.” Chuckling nervously you search Shuri’s eyes. Looking for some of the light that she’d had outside of these walls, you were met simply with a darkness that ran to her core. Your friend was hurting, and there was nothing you could do.

“Hmph.” Her attempt at a laugh fell flat as her gaze lingered on the floor in front of her. “Have to have those shoes.” It looked as though it pained her to speak. Her hand rubbed absentmindedly at her side. Had she unzipped her jumpsuit and lifted her wife beater, you would’ve been met with a large black and purple bruise. “I’ll still take care of that while you’re in university. Don’t worry. I’ve got you.”

“Hey, you already know!’ And I’ll be fine. You just worry about being safe in here…please.” The elephant in the room began to stomp on your chest as you prepared to ask your next question, “how long?” 

“That’s how it’s been since we met mama. It won’t change because I’m in this shithole.” Shuri finally makes direct eye contact with you, and your stomach flips. Your gazes linger on eachother before Shuri speaks up again. “I took a plea. Minimum of four years since I don’t have any priors. I could probably cut some time with good behavior. 

“F-four years!” Your thoughts began a vicious attack on your nervous system, gnawing its way through your quivering lips. Four years without Shuri? What did that look like for you? 

“But you’ve never been in any trouble! You’re only eighteen for bast sake. Four!”

“Calm yourself. It’s light for everything they found on me when they got me.” For a moment, the two of you sat in silence. Twiddling your thumbs, not knowing what else to say.

“Bast, I-I’m going to miss you.” You finally broke the thick wall of tention building. “I’ll make sure to visit all the time, and-and I’ll write letters! Lots of them! And when you call…I’ll tell you everythi-“

"Hhayi. Do not come back here y/n. Im serious. You're on your way to the most prestigious University in our country. We worked hard for this. Write me. I'll call. But don't come back." She stared into your eyes intent with getting her point across.

“Fine, Aja.” You accompany your attitude with a swift eye roll. “…We were just… supposed to do this together, you know? I can’t imagine doing this with out you. Shit. I don’t even know if I’m capable.” You instantly regretted admitting what’s been bothering you about going to school. You two talked about this for years only for it to be snatched away just like that. You can’t even remember what life was like without Shuri, and you didn’t want to. 

Shuri’s tongue rolls over her bruised bottom lip, her brows furrowed reading you like a book as always. “Yo, what’s up? What did you really come here to say.” All the beating around the bush finally caught up to you. 

“I mean… I can always just start basics at the community college down the way.” The fiddling with your fingers begins yet again in an attempt to avoid Shuri’s dagger-like glare. “A-at least until you’re out of here, then we can figure out away to do this together.” 

“Fuck no! I’m not trying to hear that. You think Bishops Diocesan is going to ever allow me to step foot onto their campus after this!? We worked too hard for you to give it up? Why!?  So you can sit her and babysit me!?”

“Shuri! WE!! WE worked so hard, I-“ *holds in a sob* “…I can’t go, not without you. I’m not supposed to do this by myself.” 

“Hey!” Shuri spoke up, sitting up straight in her seat. Demanding your undivided attention. “Yiyeke (stop it), I taught you better than that mtwana. I fucked up. I got caught up and ruined my own future. MINE Y/N! Im not allowing you to ruin yours just so you can visit me in prison every other weekend. Life moves on and you need to flow with it. You’re stronger than you give yourself credit for. I’m not giving you a choice. You’ve got to do this. Live out our dream. For me.”

You could no longer control your tears. “This isn’t fair Shuri. Life’s never fair to you! We almost made it. We were almost out of the Mines, out of Brick district, and this bullshit happens! You deserve this more than me. You’re a fucking genius! We were so fucking close.” 

“Stop that! No more tears. Yooou made it baby. That’s enough for me. Don’t wait up for me. Live your life.” 

“Wrap it up! 5 minutes!” The guards yelled signaling that your time with the girl that you loved much more than either of you had ever had the chance to say, was coming to a close for the next four years. Now was the time.

“Shuri- I um…” You started timidly. She shook her head.

“Yea..I know. Not now though. I can’t handle that now. Tell me when we’re face to face again..” You nod tearfully. 

“Times up people!” For the first time during your visit Shuri gave you a half smile.

“Go to school. Send pictures.” She placed the phone back on the hook not giving you time enough to reply. She gave you a wink, and mouthed “My rider,” with a fist to her chest. Before she stood to her feet, once again holding back a grimace as an officer stepped up to place her back into her cuffs.

You sat with the phone still pressed against your ear as they took her away. Back behind the indestructible vibranium doors. 

“Ndiyakuthanda Shuri wam. Forever I’ll ride.”

As Shuri was walked backed to her cell the mixture of compliments and insults sailed her way. “Baby bird” was her least favorite. It spoke to not only her stature, but to her inability to protect herself here. She was in more trouble than she’d let on to you. 

She was caught with copious amounts of a strain of Wakandan Cocain laced with vibranium from the mine she’d worked for. It was of her own making. She’d sold the idea to her boss N’jadaka, but everyone called him Killmonger. The product was swiped when they took her in and the money had been spent for her mothers treatments. She was not only taking heat from the police. But, from Killmongers goons. She had a debt to pay. 

Her cuffs were removed, and she was roughly placed in her cell. She looked around the six by six room, no longer able to hold on to the tears. She laid onto her steal bunk rolling over onto her side. She placed her pillow to her mouth as she got into fetal position and bawled into her pillow. There was not one inch of her body that wasn’t in pain. They’d taken all of her commissary. And someone had even swiped her bedding. 

A pained groan left her lips. As she sighed. Sitting up she stared at the door to her cell. Her new life, her full ride scholarship, and future career as a scientist were flushed down the toilet at the snap of a finger. This was her life now. In order to survive she would have to put you and who she could’ve been in the past. No more weakness. It was time to woman up and make peace with the RAIN!

@udakuwilliams

[s-sputnik-k]

Results are in! Ngl I was expecting the Codywan to win so I'm pleasantly surprised that you guys want to see my clone oc fic :}

In honour of the poll winner, here's a bit of extra info about a couple of the ocs that I made for this fic:

Drift | INFJ | Strategy and vehicle specialist

About: Wise and sensitive, often acted as an anchor for his batchmates growing up. Now that he's separated from them and finds himself in this specialist group, he's put up a friendly front while he assesses this ragtag crew. While he seems calm and a little distant to most, anyone who knows him well would know he's as turbulent as his driving

Notable features: Disney prince middle part haircut, painted nails, purple armour paint

Jam | INTP | Mechanic and comms specialist

About: Intelligent but indecisive, always searching for a better answer and reluctant to conclude things until he has all the facts. He has an absurd and meta sense of humour that sometimes nearly breaks the 4th wall, but he's often too distracted in his research to realise how close his theories are to the truth. He's private, forgetful and easily distracted, so he's created his own shorthand to write his notes in

Notable features: Regulation clone haircut, geometric tattoos under his eye, behind his ears and on the backs of his hands. They're written in his shorthand language so only he knows what they say, and only one of his batchmates really knows that they're just formulas and notes that he needs to remember. Pink/maroon armour paint

Foster | ENFJ | Leader and strategy specialist

About: Previously a lieutenant leading a platoon in the 212th, but has been out of combat for some time to recover from an unknown medical condition. In the meantime, he made himself useful by helping to train cadets, and has found his love for leadership beyond just the battlefield. But duty calls, and as soon as he's discharged from Kamino, he finds himself assigned to lead this new secret squad

Notable features: Short side part, neat beard and a few small commemorative tattoos that match with his old batchmates and his brothers in the platoon. 212th yellow armour paint

These are the first three of the seven clones on this crew, and I'll also be working on art to show their appearances. Thanks to everyone who voted, I hope you enjoy the fic when I start posting it! (further updates will also be tagged with #schrodinger's chancellor to make it easier to find on my profile)

[the-traveling-poet]

𝒞𝒽𝒶𝓅𝓉𝑒𝓇 𝟧 ~ 𝒯𝒽𝑒 𝐹𝒶𝓁𝓁 𝑜𝒻 𝒶 𝒞𝒾𝓉𝓎

𝒮𝓊𝓂𝓂𝒶𝓇𝓎: A long day of bestowing grievous news upon many an unfortunate soul follows Captain Aveline across the boarders of Trost District, though she carries the burdening task not alone. Meeting up with the rest of her squad, their grueling task takes them through the towns within Wall Rose and beyond, eventually coming to the beautiful District of Shiganshina. What looked like the end of their duties for the day, was only a shattered hope for a promise of brief rest as the outermost wall comes crumbling down in waves of stone.

𝒞𝑜𝓃𝓉𝑒𝓃𝓉: Friendly banter, Angst, Descriptions of death, Descriptions of injuries

𝐸𝓃𝒿𝑜𝓎~

More Chapters

Ten stops towards the east, fifteen stops towards the south....yet so many more remained uncharted on her list.

Already Aveline had filled numerous pages in her log book for the people who wanted their loved one's possessions returned; howsoever they chose. Yet it seemed never ending.

Dione trotted along behind her, his posture lax as his half lidded eyes peering up at the sky with a frown. While he tumbled into his own thoughts, Aveline had begun her search down street ways for any sign of Baxten with Norbert and Lyra. It didn't take her to long, either, as soon she saw the familiar tuft of silver blond hair riding atop a chestnut mare heading up the hill their way.

Aveline brought her horse to a stop, keeping her weary gaze locked on the trio heading their way.

"Ready to enter Maria?"

She mumbled, once they were all close enough to hear. The squad all exchanged tired glances, before hesitantly nodding.

"I need a break from the grief...We've been out all day; the damned sun outta set soon."

Norbert grumbled, but his tone lacked its usual stubborn air.

"It's only Six O'clock,"

Baxten sighed, squinting up at the bright skies above.

"Maybe seven..."

"Baxten's right, it's somewhere between those times. We should push on till we pass through the last two towns left in Maria and make it down to Shiganshina."

Aveline spoke up, interrupting Norbert's sigh.

"We'll find an inn for the night there, then head back to Trost in the morning."

"Then it's all over again, just with wagons of corpses and bags, and more grieving civilians,"

Lyra commented dryly as she brought her horse over to Dion's side.

"Think of it this way, Lyra; to some, this helps them cope with the grief they feel; gives them something physical to focus on."

Dione commented as they both once more brought their horses to a walk, going slightly ahead of the others. For a brief time, Aveline just watched on with pride as Dione's words started to fade in the breeze as they grew further apart down the road. Even at the growing distance, she could see how Dione's echoed words calmed Lara's posture in her saddle.

"Kid's maturing. Never thought that'd happen," Norbert commented dryly as he picked up his reins and begun to move after them, scratching subconsciously at the uneven stubble on his chin.

With his comment Aveline did the same by picking up her reins, staying just behind Norbert and Baxten as they followed down the street.

"Seems he took my words to heart. He's a good kid; he'll be alright," Aveline mused with a knowing smile tugging at the corner of her thin lips, watching as Lyra rode just a tad closer to Dione after their talk just up ahead.

The city of Shiganshina gleamed pleasantly against the evening sun, with its citizens milling about the streets either coming home from work or tending to their rambunctious children playing out on the streets.

Occasionally a covered carriage led by horses clipped down the streets at the hand of a coachman set behind the steeds pulling the craft, with the passenger's windows propped open to the slight warm breeze blowing down the way.

Aveline brought her horse to a stop once more on an incline in the road, carful to shift her weight off the horse's withers as she slid forward as she observed their peaceful surroundings. With a sigh, she turned to look over her shoulder towards her squad, trying her best to put on a smile, though wry it reminds despite her best efforts.

"Dion, Lyra, you both did pretty well earlier; you can solo this time if you'd like. I'll take Baxten and head west, as I personally know a few families in the area who are on our list, and as such I feel it appropriate I be the one to break the news to them. You two can head south and work your way back up since the inns I had in mind are closer to the gate anyways. And Norbert, you can head east. Sound fair?"

Dion's eyes lit up; the first time they'd shone with genuine, positive interest today. With an affirmative nod from the boy, he quickly nudged his horse closer towards Lyra.

"Don't worry Cap', I'll make sure to keep her in line."

With a roll of her eyes, Lyra led her horse to the side to walk past them all and head out towards the south.

"Yes ma'am, Captain."

She spoke softly, giving a small smile over her shoulder. With a smile of her own, Aveline tossed the dark brunette girl her own log book and pen, which the younger girl caught easily.

Dion was quick to follow after Lyra after a sloppy wave and a grin over his shoulder towards his Captain.

With a sigh Norbert gave a salute and faced himself and his horse towards the east.

"Don't suppose we'll be back at the inn for dinner?"

He asked hopefully, shooting a sheepish look between Baxten and Aveline over his shoulder.

With a slight chuckle Aveline nodded.

"That's the plan, if we all stick to our routs."

With this confirmation Norbert relaxed in his saddle, seeming content as he made his way down an adjacent street towards the west border of the Shiganshina wall. After his departure, Baxten let out a tired sigh.

"Do you think we should have given him a log book?"

Aveline paused, absorbing her friend's words before coming to an understanding.

"I gave mine to Lyra. If you had, we'd be out of a book."

Aveline pointed out, a half smile forming across her lips.

Baxten hummed in thought, before finally agreeing with a nonchalant shrug of his shoulders.

"Guess he'll just have to remember."

"He has his own log book, doesn't he?"

Aveline asked as they began their decent down the slanted path. Again, Baxten just hummed in responce as he kept his eyes on the horizon off to his right. Or, what of it they could see over the walls.

"He should, yes. Or at least, he would, If I hadn't forgotten mine in the barracks this morning and borrowed his earlier."

The man mused as he pulled the book out of his jacket and flipped through the pages in dramatic fashion.

" 'Property of Norbert Digs; R.O.S.E. Retrieval Log Book'...Huh. Well, shit. Wonder how long it'll take till he realizes..."

Aveline shook her head in exasperation as she nudged her horse forward. Catching up with her a moment later, Baxten sighed before continuing on to himself.

"Poor bastard won't realize for another ten minutes, at most."

Rolling her eyes with a quiet scoff, Aveline reached over and snatched the borrowed log book from his hands.

"You're going to cause me an aneurism one of these days."

"You've had plenty of years of knowing me to have had one already. Either prove your claim already or hush,"

Baxten grumbled, holding his hands up in mock surrender as the book was slipped from his hand.

Shrugging off his comment as per usual, Aveline pushed forward and lead the way down a narrow side street.

"You'll have to wait a while longer for that, I'm afraid. Now hurry up or be left alone in Shiganshina."

Offering no protest, Baxten followed after her in silence.

And silent their journey remained, as the sky overhead turned from shades of brilliant blue to fading greens and yellows and the sun began its decent behind the wall. Despite the sun beginning its decent, children still remained outdoors just beyond their homes, playing games popularly enjoyed by those of their youth and racing about in competition.

Parents and guardians watched on with jovial laughter; some even joining in on their games.

Yet others still only watched on from sidewalks; sipping beverages, reading papers, or merely strolling by hand in hand as the evening breeze swept through their hair and ruffled their coats.

Aveline hadn't seen such peace in what felt as though an age, though she supposed it had been merely a handful of days since she last walked the streets of a nearby city to muse the sights each and every town beheld.

It was refreshing, bringing a calm to her mind. On the off chance of an upcoming expedition, her mind would always become so scattered and so focused on the job she knew she would soon be appointed, leaving her deprived of a positive outlook for several weeks pre and post operation.

However, viewing humanity in a healthy, peaceful setting...it was a nice change of pace.

But all too soon those pleasant sights were hidden from view as the pair then turned down a separate road; one void of persistent activity.

The road before them was scarce of any civilians; most likely many were gathered in the busiest part of town to enjoy the remainder of the day.

Taking this chance to slide down from her horse free of any obstacle, Aveline removed her feet from the stirrups and landed in step with her mare and grasped the reins loosely in her right hand.

"You said you knew some families here?"

Baxten finally broke the comfortable silence that had long since fallen over them, once he had pulled the reins over his horse's head to hold onto to join his Captain on foot along the cobblestone below.

"Yeah, they used to know my family before they moved down here some years ago. I'm not entirely close with them, but I figured a familiar face might console them after the news we have to deliver."

Aveline spoke over her shoulder as she walked on up ahead, pushing aside her wind tangled hair to look up and see him properly.

"We were neighbors, for a time. I grew up with their son; the one we're here to speak with them about. It's been years since I've seen any of their family, but...It just felt right; me being the one to visit them after their loss. They should be a block up the road from here, if I remember correctly..."

While looking behind her to meet Baxten's eye as she spoke, Aveline failed to notice her horse coming to an abrupt stop, just before a sudden force slammed into her hip.

This might have knocked her over, if she hadn't stumbled back into Baxten's chest, who had been walking a hair too close to her back at the wrong time.

"Son of a!- Oh, uhm...hello...?"

Looking down, Aveline saw a young boy glaring up at her as he rubbed at his brow; obviously he what must have been what had rushed into her.

His bright eyes darted about her features before coming to rest on the Garrison crest adorning her jacket, at which point he seemed to pout his bottom lip.

"Sorry, ma'am," He mumbled, refusing to meet her eye again with a stubborn scowl.

As she assessed the boy for any sign of distress, Aveline took note of his furrowed brows and clenched jaw, as well as the way his stormy eyes were widened with an emotion she couldn't quite place.

"Are you alright?" She asked slowly, as she studied him.

"Fine," The boy only mumbled with eyes trained on the uneven cobblestones lining the road between their feet.

Standing back up straight, Aveline hummed in acknowledgement. Before she could turn to Baxten with a raised brow, a young girl suddenly rounded the corner up ahead and made a beeline straight for the kid. Yet the boy didn't flinch; only huffed through his nose.

"Eren!-" The girl panted in exasperation, but quickly straightened her posture when she noticed the two Garrison soldiers standing not even a yard away. Her steely grey eyes took on a more stolen gleam, as though she were closely studying the adults in front of her from the loose strands of onyx hair parting around her face.

"Well, 'Eren'...Be carful out here and enjoy your day," Aveline managed to compose her earlier hesitance and shoot the boy a quick smile.

With a grumble she couldn't quite catch, Eren looked up at the both of them with a more neutral expression.

"Thank you."

With a nod Aveline watched the pair dart off down another ally way, leaving the road before them silent once more. Though, not before catching a curious look shot her way from the young girl over her shoulder, before she rounded yet another corner down the alley way, chasing after the boy.

"My god Ave, you're terrible with children. You looked like you were constipated the whole interaction,"

Baxten chuckled once the kids were both out of sight.

"Shut it, Bax." She grumbled, picking up her steps again as she marched up the hilly road.

"That poor boy looked...I dunno. I was just caught off guard."

"He looked pissed, to me. Maybe concerned cause that girl was after him," Baxten caught up with her easily, in only a couple quick strides, then resumed his slower pace off to her left.

"Who knows? He was eyeing my Garrison crest with distain; could be he was wary of us from some bad experiences in his past," Aveline sighed, picking her gaze back up from the ground.

"You like to over analyze every situation placed before you, don't you?" Baxten asked, more rhetorically than he was actually serious. Of course he knew the answer already.

"That a bad thing? It's saved my life more than once. And yours too, if I recall. More times than my own." 

Baxten only sighed, a hand on his brow in exasperation. Of course, she was right. But he had yet to ever admit it.

"Never said it was, Ave. Just being observant," the blonde shrugged, urging his horse forward to walk at her side.

Aveline only hummed in acknowledgment as she scanned the houses lining the left side of the street over Baxten's shoulder.

"Twenty four, twenty five...I believe the Weber's house is thirty first houses up the hill on the left, if I remember correctly," she mused with her free hand perched on her hip.

And indeed, at the thirty first house was Aveline's first destination in Shiganshina for the evening. She quick ascended a brick stairway towards the front door, leaving Baxten both sets of reins so she could move freely. Ignoring his grumbling as he took to tying the horses to a nearby tree, Aveline slowly made her way up the narrow walkway and reached the door set sturdily before her. Exhaling deeply, she slowly brought up a raised fist to the door and give a few echoing knocks. She didn't have to wait long to hear the shuffled footsteps making their way towards her from the other side of the wood.

A woman in her mid fourties' opened the door on creaking hinges, her eyes softening immediately upon landing on the young woman before her.

"Miss Faye, my, how the years have gone by," Mrs. Weber smiled, widening the lines scrunched along the width of her full lips.

Aveline offered a kind smile in return, with a quick salute to follow.

"Mrs. Weber, it's been years. I'm sorry to come here on such matters."

Mrs. Weber peered over the brunette's shoulder and spotted Baxten, who had stayed a respectable distance away, and her smile started to falter.

"I haven't done a thing wrong, have I? Oh...this about Ben, is it? They already informed me of my son's demise."

Mrs. Weber trailed off, her voice growing fainter after each word.

"It is...We located some possessions of his out on the field, and his intact remains. It's our duty to inform you of this, and offer you what we have that was once his," Aveline sighed, letting her eyes fall to the steps she stood on.

Mrs. Weber's trembling hands gripped tightly onto the wood of her doorframe as a shuddered breath drew between clenched teeth.

"My poor Ben...I-You found his things out there?" She whispered, barely even looking up from the cobblestone path leading up to her front door. Though, it didn't seem she even really saw that much, with how glazed her gaze had become.

"That's correct, ma'am. I'm very sorry, but we came to hear what your wishes for your son might be." Baxten spoke up, having since stepped forward to stand at his Captain's side.

Reassured by his support, Aveline finally looked back up to meet the faraway gaze of her old family friend.

"I'm very sorry for your loss, Mrs. Anna. Seems only last year Ben and I were neighbors, back in Wall Rose." She offered softly.

After a long pause in which Anna composed her breathing and managed to meet Aveline's murky green eyes, Anna spoke up in a trembling tone of voice.

"Let me speak with William for a moment," she rasped out, already turning to face the interior of her home befit she had even finished speaking. Aveline and Baxten took a respectful step back, ready to wait as long as it took for Anna Weber's return.

While unintentionally listening in to the quiet, quivering voices inside the home, Baxten laid a supportive hand onto Aveline's shoulder; and for once, the Captain didn't brush off the unexpected physical contact.

A handful of seconds passed where only silence met their ears, before Anna returned to the door with her husband, William, right at her arm.

"We'd like to bury him if possible, please. And keep his possessions found," William stated softly, his gruffer voice not carrying any further than the doorway the four of them stood at. Despite the grief now perhaps permanently etched onto their weathered faces, they looked just the same as they had all those years ago in Aveline's eyes; only adding to the crushing guilt she felt on their son's behalf.

Aveline slowly nodded, signaling for Baxten to write down this information as she once more went to salute before departing.

"We'll be sure to come back by in a week's notice. I'm very sorry we had to meet again under these circumstances, Mr. and Mrs. Weber."

"My dear, don't apologize for doing your job. You're giving us one last chance to put our grief at ease, and I'm glad it was you. We've missed you, my dear; you and your family." Mrs. Weber gave a watery smile, reaching out her arms with a slight tremble as she stepped towards Aveline.

Just as Aveline had hesitantly lifted her arms from her sides to return the older woman's embrace, the very air around her seemed to suddenly ignite with an energy she'd never felt before.

She paused, looking around curiously. Was she this upset on duty? Given the circumstances, she supposed that was understandable. But given her title, she couldn't allow herself to fall into grief in such a time.

But her doubts all came shattering down around her when Baxten tensed as well, suddenly becoming much more alert than he previously had been.

"What was that?" He murmured, looking back and forth between Aveline and then up towards the sky, as if it might hold some answer.

"What was what, dear?" Mrs. Weber asked, already in the arms of her husband who now held her closely. For a moment, even their grief was held aside as the ground beginning to quake stole their focus away.

The sky dimmed of its fading yellow hue, becoming more of a sickly green in color as the air grew thick and hazy. Shingles on rooftops began to click and clack, echoing together with the slamming of nearby shutters knocking into brick walls. Dust arose in the streets, twirling this way and that to form miniature tornadoes along the dusty streets.

Aveline hadn't had time to do anything more than open her mouth to shout for the Weber's to return inside their home, a shout that died on her tongue, when a sudden bolt of neon light touched down in the distance; right at the base of Shiganshina's outer wall not even a mile away.

The electricity lit up the town like a second sun, nearly blinding those who chanced to look towards the southern wall and up into the sky.

Following the ear shattering crack that echoed over the town, came a noise much louder and much, much more terrifying.

The distant shriek of tearing metal and crumbling stone reverberated across the land, making any sound Aveline might have made in a panic die in her throat.

There was nothing any of them could do but watch on in abject horror as what appeared to be the fall of Shinganshina's southernmost wall.

Chunks of pale stone fell in boulders, first flying straight up into the air, only to then inevitably come hurdling down in jagged heaps into the streets below and into the homes of many. Echoed cries of fear sounded all around the city, as all in Shiganshina paused to behold this horror story fashion spectacle lighting up the sky above the walls.

Anna's startled cry broke Aveline of her haze, as she then shot forward to grasp her shoulder.

"If that wall's down, we need to begin evacuation. Even if this might only be minor, we can't take any precautions."

Anna's wide eyes shot up to her husband's; whose grip tightened around her middle.

"Lead the way, Captain," He replied gruffly, trying desperately to hide the panic in his dull colored eyes from his wife.

Baxten had already shot off after their horses, panicked as they understandably were, and grasped their reins tightly. In the time it took Aveline to merely remove her grip from around the woman's shoulder, the blond man had already gathered the horses at the edge of the road at the ready.

He reached out his hand for Anna, whom William had ushered forward before himself.

"I'll help you on ma'am, just hold on tight-"

But the words were quickly muffled out against another round of deep rumbling booms. Just behind him, a boulder the size of a home demolished the road; blocking any escape back down into the heart of town the way the Garrison soldiers had arrived.

Aveline's jaw clenched as Baxten barely managed to leap out of the way in time, but the same couldn't be said for his horse, who now lay mostly crushed with a broken neck. Her own horse had used the now lax grip Baxten held over her reins to bolt, soon disappearing around the bend in the road up ahead. 

"Fuck..." Aveline hissed, trying desperately to find a new way to get the elderly couple safe and into Wall Rose in time to aid her comrades in herding the rest of humanity in Shiganshina past the Wall Gate.

She didn't have to wonder long, as a wavering shadow clouded out most of the already fading light around the Webber's house. Baxten's muffled scream hardly reached her ears, but already she was moving on instinct.

Taking a running leap off the pathway's brick steps, Aveline tucked out of the way just as a heavy force knocked into the side of her leg that sent her sprawling. Just as a crunch followed her landing, she briefly caught the sound of a strangled cry sounding from behind her, before another loud boom drowned it out.

With ringing ears Aveline stood on shaking legs, immediately searching out Anna and William. But what met her eyes nearly had her collapsing back onto the shattered road.

Nothing more remained of the Webber's home, nor of its occupants; the only clue to their fate being a spreading dark pool of blood forming under the jagged cracks of stone at the threshold of the splintering structure.  The rest of the home was soon to follow, collapsing in a deafening heap all across the street in shards of wood and stone.

The breath was stolen from Aveline's lungs when two strong hands gripped her shoulders and hoisted her up into a more secure position against the chest of the man always by her side. And this time, she heard him clearly.

"We have to move! Focus, Ave!"

Raising a shaking hand to her brow, Aveline only nodded her understanding as Baxten then started to drag her away from the bloody scene still burnt into the back of her eyes.

Her mind was numb, devoid of any thought aside from why? and how? How could this have happened? What was going on outside the walls?

Once more Baxten shook her from her numb spiral; this time by coming to an abrupt halt only halfway up the side of the road that was clear that jarred her steps.

Aveline, finally coming back to her senses fully, snapped her gaze up to his face; only to see he was staring in wide eyed horror at something behind them in the distance.

Quickly following the line of his gaze, every rational thought she'd just gained back the ability to have was wiped away.

Atop the southernmost wall of Shiganshina sat a hand; spindly in shape and deep scarlet in color. Steam arose from its uneven skin, thick and curling, before finally a head peered up over the stone. Eyes they could see from such a distance....they were void of emotion, staring down at the humans below it as they screamed in both horror and agony as their home was now crushed underfoot.

On halted breath Aveline took in the sight with wide eyes.

Shiganshina had begun its decent into defeat...Humanity had lost to the titans.

{ Word Count ~4,266 }

𝒜/𝒩: And we’re back on track! Another Saturday, another Rose chapter :3 I was really excited about this chapter since we’re finally getting into some action, and chapter 6 next week will be a continuation of said action. I know we’re moving along a little slow but bear with me; I’m having fun lol. We’ll get to Levi by chapter 8. I promise, it’s worth the wait. Just follow along and you’ll see :)

I’d almost given up on writing The Rose due to feeling like no one was/is reading this fic, and afterwards receiving some anon hate for there being “nothing interesting, aka smut/porn” in this fic. But I’m happy to announce that a few of my most treasured moots convinced me to keep writing what I love, if for no one else to read than for my own joy! Love y’all, thank you so much to those of you who stayed around for reading along and stayed patient for the eventual romance/interesting character growth <3

𝒯𝒶𝑔𝓁𝒾𝓈𝓉: @21aurora @deepzombieyouth @braunsbabe @pelicanpizza @humanitys-strongest-brat @raginginferno267 @ackermanswifee @sellowbabe If you'd like to be added to the taglist for my usual Levi content, just DM me! :3

[liviavanrouge]

Monster Fighters AU: First Mission

The sound of footsteps filled the ship, Livia walking with the squad, wearing their mission uniforms. Epel walked at her side, the doors opening to the main area, finding three people there. "Huh, who are you guys," Ace demands, his eyes narrowed.

The trio turned to them, wearing similar outfits to their own. "I'm Ollie, your Captain assigned my the head of this whole thing, these are my vices, Oz and Aura." The purple haired girl walked over, holding her hand out to them all. "It's going to be an honor to work with you." Ace gave her a look and huffed, walking past her to grab his gloves.

Jack shook Ollie's hand, nodding to her. Ortho smiled, shaking her hand followed by Deuce as Livia and Sebek walked away to get their gloves, Epel following right behind them not bothering to shake their captains hand.

"Those guys are stubborn," Oz huffs, glaring at the group. Ace looked out the window, noticing they were at their destination. "You guys have no powers, I can sense it," Sebek comments, giving the trio a look.

"Then they can stay here, out of our way," Ace grumbles, looking annoyed with that sudden reveal. The seven of them grabbed their ear pieces to communicate with each other and left the meeting room before Ollie could stop them. "Oh dear," Ollie sighs, shaking her head.

~~~~~~

Ace walked in the lead of the group, searching for the monster that needed to be taken in so they could expand the Monster Dex. Jack tapped his glove, revealing a purple dog-like monster with a scorpions tail and hawk wings that had steel spikes on it's neck. A roar startled them, something purple making them all scatter.

The Scorpion Dog snarled at them, Ace narrowing his eyes as he focused, tapping into his power. He opened his eyes and gasped finding the dog lunging right at him. "ACE!" Deuce moved in front of him, taking the attack head on. The blue haired male perked up and grinned widely. "Hey! I have hard skin!"Deuce beamed, flexing his arms.

"BOYS!" Two vines shot from Livia's sides, snatching the two into the air, bringing them both to safety swiftly and easily. Jack tackled Sebek down when the scorpion tail came flying at them, his eyes narrowed as he shifted into a large wolf.

Livia perked up, hearing Ollie's voice come in on their ear pieces. "Hey, listen to me, I have a plan to stop it!" Ace scowled, trying to tap into his power again, only to hit a dark dead end within his mind.

Lightning blasted across the field, Sebek holding his hand out as Jack stalked around behind him waiting for the signal. "Go, it's distracted!" Jack rushed past and leapt forward, yelping when the Dog's tail slammed into his neck, knocking him into Sebek and Livia.

Ortho gasped, moving backwards. His eyes glowed, mental pieces surrounding him turning him into an Android. He blasted forward, dodging the incoming jabs aimed at his chest. A roar startled him, making him freeze just enough for teeth to catch his arm and slam him to the ground. "ORTHO!!"

Ortho bounced up when he was tossed to the ground, half of his face showing as his android version started to divert back. Epel threw his arm up, blocking the incoming claw, shocking the Scorpion Dog at the glare on his face. "Guys, come close," Livia insists, using her vines to carry Ortho and Jack.

She threw up a wall of flowers around them, making a temporary barrier. "What do we do," Sebek demands, hearing the dog growling just outside their barrier.

Livia frowned then tapped her ear piece. "Ollie, what was your plan?" All eyes darted to her, ranging from relief to startled to begrudging. A chuckle followed, Ollie's voice coming through. "Ace, your power is that you're able to see your opponents next movements but only halfway into a fight you're winning!"

Ace perked up, surprise visible on his face, his eyes wide at the realization. They weren't winning, that's why his spark between him and his powers didn't appear. "Are you guys really willing to hear my plan out?"

The seven of them looked at each other then nodded to each other, deciding to trust the captain. "Yes!"

~

The dog growled, slashing at the flowers. The barrier shook and lowered itself down, Livia glaring at him with spike sharp vines positioned behind her ready to strike. A roar made her flinch, her eyes widening as she quickly moved backwards. Her vines shot around, making a cocoon around her, protecting her from the incoming claws.

"HEY! YOU FURRY BRUTE!!" The dog whipped around, snarling when he spotted Epel walking towards him. "OVER HERE TOO!" The dog turned around, Deuce walking towards him from behind. It looked between the two as if wondering which boy it should attack first. A white figure landed on top of the dog, Jack getting his jaws around its neck.

Lightning shocked the dog from below, causing it to yelp and whine as it tried to free himself from Jacks grip. "Jack, move!" Ortho appeared under the dog, blasting it right into the air with a plasma ball.

Livia brought her vines down and shot them towards Deuce and Epel. The two boys leapt up, landing on the vines and launched themselves up after the Scorpion Dog. Epel kicked the dog right in the throat, Deuce bashing the dog with his fists right in the back, sending it falling to the ground.

Vines and flowers wrapped around the monster, squeezing it. "Nice job," Livia smiled, giving Epel a high five when he landed.

Ace perked up, feeling something spark through him. The area turned orange, only him, Livia, Epel and the dog visible. The dog broke free from the vines, attacking Livia and Epel, his claws slashing them across the chest, causing the two to fall over dead.

The area returned to normal, his eyes widening. "MOVE!!!!" Epel turned to look at him, Livia shrieking in alarm when the dog broke free. Ace tackled the two down, the trio falling to the side. "SEBEK STRIKE IT!!"

Green lightning shot across the ground, Ortho's plasma balls combined with it. Deuce moved in front of everyone, tanking the explosion with ease, barely visible burn marks littered across his body with his suit slightly burned up and torn.

Vines shot into the dust, dragging the unconscious creature out into view. "Now, we did it!"Ace smiled, looking at the team. A cheer filled the air, laughter coming from them. "We almost died," Ortho says, giggling a little at the realization. "But we didn't," Sebek chuckles, catching his breath feeling the adrenaline die down.

"Back to the ship guys!" The group nodded and walked to the ship, Livia dragging the Scorpion Dog after them. They laughed and passed around a high five to each other.

~~~~~~

Ollie turned around, smiling as the squad walked in. Livia walked forward and held her hand out."Thank you, Captain," Livia says, giving her an apologetic look. Ollie smiled and shook her hand, shaking the others hands when they approached.

"I look forward to working with you all." Ollie comments as the group shook Aura and Oz's hands next. The squad stood together, making sure the Scorpion Dog was successfully teleported back to the main base to be studied. A collective sigh of relief ripples around when the dog vanished, allowing them all to relax.

"Why don't we play a game, to bond," Aura suggests. Oz glanced at the others before laughter filled the air, smiles on everyone's faces as they collectively agreed. Ace walked in the lead of the group, showing them card tricks as they left the Pilot Room.

Crowley watched them from their computer, a small smile of relief visible on his face at their successful mission. "Good, I didn't want more blood on my hands.."

@queen-of-twisted

[moldyblackbird]

The Innards of Citadels

part 3 of my interpretation of the stray kids Hellevator MV

Warnings: descriptions of depression ig?? (I'm not amazing at warnings haha)

Fun Warnings: more fluff and talking-it-out

_______

Jisung and Chan, not surprisingly, had found an entire delivery truck load of packaged food. It seemed to have swerved and crashed in a small alleyway, thankfully without any corpses anywhere near the site. Then the pair collected two wagon’s and an armfull’s worth of noodles, rice wraps, protein bars and such before organizing it all in large, cardboard boxes on the roof.

Changbin was starving. He was known for being a big eater but he had stupidly forgotten his breakfast that morning before rushing to his squad, thus triggering a nauseating hunger within him.

He sat on a turned plastic box with his arms wrapped around his stomach.

“Channiehyungggg,” he groaned, lightly stomping his feet on the ground. He heard Chan laugh his amused, high-pitched laugh.

“Deduct his privilege today,” Hyunjin called over sweetly. “He’s been nothing but a grub.” Changbin raised his fist threateningly but the younger one just snorted and came to sit beside him, placing a hand on his knee. He took a sip from his water bottle. Changbin’s eyes floated over Hyunjin’s frame, finding that he was relaxed and engaged. Changbin smiled lightly.

“We must let our Binnie eat,” Chan walked over, eyes curved as the last of his giggles escaped his body. He tossed two sandwiches and an extra apple to the pair. “How can he protect us if he doesn’t?”

“That’s right,” Changbin straightened up, unwrapping his meal from shabby parchment paper. “Half of you wouldn’t be here without me.”

“Don’t try to be a hero when you're not!” Seungmin’s voice made him jump and he turned to witness the two youngest members returning from their patrol. “It’s not a good image for you.” Changbin merely rolled his eyes and lightly smacked the boy’s arm as he passed.

Hyunjin darted to Joengin’s side, the warm weight on Changbin’s skin being snatched away, and dragged him by the wrist to sit down. He immediately began to boil some instant ramen on a propane-powered mini stovetop. Changbin watched as Felix came to drape his arm over Hyunjin’s shoulders, Jeongin joining in on their frantic conversation.

Chan started doting on Seungmin while Minho searched through stacks of food packets for some soy sauce. Changbin loved the buzz of life up here, far, far away from the battleground below. Each of his senses were delighted and his heart was light. But something was missing…more like someone? Changbin looked around the space. Yes, a certain energy was absent from the group.

“Chan!” The boy chirped. The leader leaned back on his heel to make eye contact with his friend, eyebrows raised. “Where’s Hannie?”

_______

It wasn’t that he was tired, but something in Jisung’s body had glued him down. He stuck to the beaten couch the boys had found a few months back. His neck was pressed against the firm cushion while his legs stretched out across the ground. The air was still. It was warm, almost suffocating despite Autumn settling in.

Jisung tilted his head to the side with furrowed brows. His mind was still stuck on the dream and the extreme sense of deja vu he was getting at random instances. He felt confused, halted, and it wasn't the first time. It was hard to confide in the others about this considering that they didn't really seem to listen to him, plus, no one would want to hear about random crap amidst all the stress they were already in. Would he become too distant without telling them? Without finding the reason for this nauseating cycle of unreasonable night terrors and emotions?

“YA!” A loud voice thundered into the space, bouncing off each graffiti-covered wall. It made him flinch. Jisung’s face contorted into a mix of shock and joy as he watched seven people about his size sprinting straight for him.

Chan and Felix were the first to nearly tip over the couch and pile up on the skinny boy, knocking all the air out of him.

“Uh- AH I CAN’T BREATHE-” Jisung squirmed and yelped as they jabbed at his sides and clamored over him. Minho pinched his ear lightly and scolded him, explaining how all the food will go to waste before Jisung can get any, even if he doesn't really care about whether or not he's fed. A rush of fresh adrenaline flows through Jisung’s body and he finds himself dizzied.

The attention shifts off of him and to the others, Chan wrapping Jeongin in his arms and swaying him to and fro as the younger screeches for a rescue. It only makes Seungmin want to bathe in his freedom. Felix finds himself in a small battle with Hyunjin and they gravitate closer to the wall while pushing on each other's arms. Minho rushed to join them.

Changbin stood beside Jisung, heaving for breath with a dimpled grin on his face.

“How did you find me here?” The younger boy poked his friend’s elbow with a skeptical look. The older gently swatted his hand away and sat down.

“Chan’s guess,” he leaned back against the couch, a pained expression making his features taut. Changbin reached for his ankle. “Nearly fell down the ladder in the process.” He whimpered in a sulk. Jisung rolled his eyes.

“You wouldn't have been able to run straight for me if that was so. Don't make me feel sorry for you.” the younger boy crossed his arms playfully and adjusted himself to press his back against the cushion as well. The pair watched their friends start a cold pillow fight a little ways away, the sound effects becoming muffled.

“There's some fresh ramen waiting for you,” Changbin glanced at Jisung’s face. He knew he looked tired but he couldn't hide it, despite the much needed attention he received just a minute ago.

“Not hungry,” he mumbled. He glued his eyes to the heated scene ahead of them, crossing his ankles in a link.

“Have you been on patrol yet?”

“Channie let me stay behind, we fixed the elevator. I'm sure you saw.”

“Yes, wonderful job,” Changbin hummed and reached to poke Jisung’s cheek, but the other brushed away the gesture. His hyung gasped. “I'm so greatful, you spared my legs today and for many more days in the future! Please acknowledge my appreciation?”

Jisung sighed through his nose. He slumped to rest his head on Changbin’s shoulder instead. His body didn't want to support him anymore and real exhaustion took over. Talking was harder than it usually was for Jisung. Moving around and staying on task during the day was even more difficult. Thick fog settled over his senses. It was all out of his control, and now he finally had someone to lean on, even if just for a moment. He yearned for a caretaker, just for himself.

Changbin brushed the back of his hand against Jisung’s cheek.

“Did you sleep last night?”

“...hardly.”

“Ah, knew it,” Changbin massaged his forearm, trying to get a reaction out of his friend. Jisung only glanced up at him, finally revealing the heavy bags under his eyes. Changbin frowned. “Do you wanna talk about something?”

This was his chance. His moment to finally unveil everything that he had been experiencing. To gain accountability from someone and to release the burden in his throat.

He sat up slowly, teeth grinding against each other, trying to grasp a word out of the swirl in his brain. Changbin stared at him warmly. It was pitiful. Jisung rested a hand on his knee and returned the fervent eye contact. He just wished that his friend could figure out what was going on. He hoped that his eyes alone would unveil every secret beneath them. But that is not what had happened.

Instead, Jisung’s palms grew terribly sweaty and his vocal cords fused into a firm lump. Changbin did not seem to understand this silent language. He did not ask about the recurrence of creaky elevators and terror in the boy’s dreams. He did not question why he suddenly spaced out so often, or why he was absolutely terrified to tell his only companions.

Changbin’s eyebrows crinkled and he pressed his steady hand over Jisung’s shaky one.

“Hannie, you can tell me anything. I'm never too far from you,” his hyung fiddled with a ring on Jisung’s finger. It was rusting, covered in ashes. It needed cleaning. The younger bit the inside of his lip, shaking his head and looking down. He was giving up.

The rest of their group finally stopped their intense game and, with exhausted panting, travelled over to the pair on the couch. Felix trotted up to Changbin and squeezed his shoulders.

“Chan wants our report on the school,” he chirped with a grin as the older boy turned around to face him.

“Uh, sure,” he stood up quickly, sneaking one last glance at Jisung, which he caught. He had dusted himself off and rose as well, avoiding his friend’s gaze. Jisung allowed them to keep talking while he joined the others.

Their group eventually came together again, returning to the roof. While Jisung was carried along by Chan, he was slowly able to gravitate towards the back of the group. He stuffed his hands in his pockets.

He then saw Changbin quickly pad backwards, falling in step beside him.

“...we can talk later,” he offered with a small smile, nudging Jisung’s shoulder. “Wanna take a walk with me sometime? We can go along the street, or by that old convenience store, huh?” Jisung felt hope flutter again in his chest. Maybe he could find answers.

Changbin pressed a hand against his back, sliding up to grasp his collarbone. He teasingly massaged the muscle there, making the younger boy release a breathy laugh. Changbin leaned forward to glance at his face and caught his eye. Jisung allowed his diaphragm to relax.

“We can do that.”

_______

our changsung, is very sweet, yes? More angst will follow with extra fluff, don't worry. And the plot is coming together more

[shabre-legacy]

Returning Home Chapter Five

Up Against the World, Up against the Wall

Song: Any other way by All good things

It doesn’t take long for them to get to Carrick Station, and even less time to be in line for boarding a ship from the station to Coruscant. All travel costs on the Republic Army of course. There’s always a priority on moving soldiers around the galaxy, After all, the tensions with the Sith Empire were still high and based on what she had uncovered, they were actively, but quietly pushing into Republic space. Military and Jedi ships had priority on every Republic station and most of the private ones too. Even then, it takes enough time to make their way down to grab a drink and food that isn’t rations from the cantina before boarding. 

The serving droid rolls away with their orders, leaving the two in awkward silence. They hadn’t had a chance to talk much since leaving Ord Mantell. Nyaisa had been well enough to travel, but without enough energy for additional conversation, so beyond being blamed for her squad’s actions ruining Jorgan’s career and a few check-ins, there wasn’t much said. 

After a minute or two of the silence, Jorgan speaks first. “So.. Havoc Squad. Best of the best. Can’t say that I’m happy about the demotion, but it’s an honor to be here sir.”

Sir? That was going to take some getting used to, coming from the tall Cathar. He’d loomed over her when they’d met, with him challenging her experience and skill and her trying to stand up to him without breaking protocol. 

She leans forward a bit. “How are you holding up?”

“You mean after watching Tavus flush my career down the fresher? What do you think?” There’s a dark growl at the end of his sentence, a promise of violence towards someone. “Four years at the academy. Seven years in the field, decorations, commendations. Would have made captain soon if command hadn’t hung me out to dry.”

Years of work, destroyed in a matter of hours. If he was telling the truth that is. For all she knew he could be a skilled liar and working with Tavus and only pretending to be this angry. But that, that seemed unlikely. Emotions typically ran hot with Cathar in her experience and this kind of anger felt genuine. “You and I both know Tavus’s defection wasn’t your fault.”

Jorgan just growled slightly at his tray. “Tell that to the brass when they need a scapegoat. But hey, water under the bridge. Command put me in Havoc to help you find Tavus and I intend to do just that.” His voice held less of the venom now. He wasn’t warm, but controlled, strong, determined. “I’ve hunted imperials from one side of the galaxy to the next. Used to command the Deadeyes, finest sniper squad in the Republic.” The note of pride in his voice makes her smile just a little. 

“I look forward to seeing what you can do, Jorgan.”

“You won’t be disappointed.”

“Good.” She’s quiet a moment herself. “Hunting imps is something I’m pretty damn good at myself. Been doing it for years. So we shouldn’t have much trouble with this once we get the go orders and a direction to search.”

The droid arrives then, interrupting their conversation. After taking their food, they both dive in. Too concerned with the prospect of tasting real food to bother with talking. Too soon for her taste, it’s time to line up for boarding, always a long process in an environment like this one. 

It takes some time getting out once they board and longer than she’d like to get checked in on the ship’s roster and get her bunk assignment. However, finally, she and Jorgan are released to go to their bunks as the Jedi the ship is transporting start to board. She’ll pay attention to that later after she’s slept. She’s still not fully recovered from her injuries and it’s taking a toll. 

The small bunkbed in the tiny room she had to share with the angry, grumpy Cathar, somehow managed to look good after all the travel and the painful realization that her squad’s betrayal was real and not part of some horrible hallucination. She quickly stows her gear and practically rips off her armor, though she takes care to stack it carefully, ready to be cleaned and cared for as soon as she woke up. Clad now in only her tight black undersuit, she collapses onto the bed, not bothering to think of Jorgan in that moment, only considering how tired she was. She was aware of him doing the same, settling in for the multi-day trip. 

She lies in the bunk for a while, she quickly loses track of time, but as exhausted as she is, sleep will not come. She keeps replaying that moment in her mind, the moment she’d burst into the hanger, shooting down the imperials, ready to die trying to rescue any of her squad, only to find their blasters turned on her, the moment that her CO had given imperials the order to kill her. Shooting at the ship and catching Fuse’s gaze, his eyes filled with just a hint of regret, perhaps for leaving her to die. 

She’d survived, against everything the imps and separatists threw at her, she survived and took most of them down. But the betrayal cut deep. Even the promotion didn’t dull that sting. She waits quietly in the bunk, occasionally swallowing hard against the lump in her throat until finally Jorgan leaves. She doesn’t say anything, just pretends to be asleep until the door closed behind him and she breaks down. She sobs quietly into her pillow, pouring out all the pain from her injuries, the exhaustion, the betrayal, and the renewed feelings of loss she felt from the strange idea she’d had upon waking after the kolto tank that her little sister, dead for years, had somehow saved her. It woke the emotions she’d thought long buried. She hadn’t cried for her sisters for years, since before she’d found her brother. The day she’d decided to leave the academy she attended on Mirial and join the effort to liberate her planet, that had been the last time she’d cried for her siblings. She’d only cried for her cousins one night and even now, the tears weren’t for them. They weren’t. She was stronger than that grief.

She only cries a few minutes, her already quiet sobs, muffled to almost silence by the pillow, her shaking shoulders the only sign a regular human would notice. So by the time she hears Jorgan enter only a few minutes after leaving, she’s already brushing away the tears. That’s enough sulking. She has to move on. She can’t break down, not now. There’s work to be done. 

She takes a breath, stretching out the cramped muscles as she heard the click of the datapad they’d been given with the ship’s schedule being placed back on the footlocker and the quiet room slowly fills with only the sounds of her breath and Jorgan’s above her as they lie in silence. It only takes a few more minutes before his steady breathing, so different then the humans she’d become used to bunking with, lulled her into a restless sleep. 

It’s several hours later when she finally wakes. The room is empty once again and she glances hurriedly around, her hand reaching for her blaster before she freezes and forces herself to exhale. She’s on a Republic Military ship. The traitors who turned on her weren’t here. She is safe. Or is she? Had the Republic known? Sure, the officers she’d spoken to acted like they didn’t, but what if they really had? What if they had just decided to write her off as easily expendable? What if it was all just some kind of test? Commander Tavus… of all people… going imp? It sounds impossible just thinking about it. And what about Jorgan? Was he really put in Havoc for the reasons she was told? Was he just there to spy on her? Or had he been working with Tavus and just waiting for the right time to betray her as well? Which soldier on this ship was going to try treason next?  

She pulls herself out of bed and stretches, grabbing the datapad and checking the time. Just enough time to hit the sonic before heading to the mess. It wasn’t like anything would get solved or figured out by lying in a bunk. She makes sure to guard her back as she grabs a clean uniform from her bag and stuffs her blaster into her belt and tucking a blade into one of her hiding spots. The holdout blaster went into the armful of clothing. She wasn’t supposed to have the second blaster or the blade. They were supposed to be in the armory with her other weapons. But she was not leaving herself that vulnerable. She wouldn’t be caught unaware next time. 

She’s careful to stay aware of everyone around her as she makes her way to the fresher and grabs one of the few free sonics. It’s a relief to step into the jets, laying her blade on the shelf where soaps would go if they were on a planet and water showers were allowed. As it was just the sonic was enough to push off most of the dust and leave her feeling a bit better. It wasn’t perfect. She would love a long, hot shower right now, but it would have to do. 

Mostly clean, she redresses, taking care to tuck the blade and holdout blaster were out of sight and easy to access. The weight at her belt and the cool durasteel blade tucked by her back is comforting and helps her breath easier as she makes her way out of the fresher, drops her things at her bunk and heads to the mess. 

The room is too big and too loud and too full. She hates it as soon as she approaches. A deep breath, forcibly steadying her hands and she walks in with her head high. She’s a lieutenant now. She doesn’t have an option to show any sign of what had happened. She was handling it fine after all. She glances over her shoulder ever few seconds as she makes her way through the line and collects her rations and heads back to the seating area. Lucky for her, she spots Jorgan already sitting at a table towards the back. She makes her way down and clicks her tray down on the same side as Jorgan, with her back to the wall while Jorgan was closer to the aisle. “Get some rest?” 

Jorgan grunts in response, scowling down at his tray and the bland excuse for food. “Some. Bet those passenger ships we saw taking off had nerfburgers and ronto roasts.” Nyaisa shrugs and turns to her own food. “You’re in the military. We don’t get those fancy civilian meals during transport.” She pokes at the food before forcing herself to eat. She can’t lose her strength or the next attack would be her last. After a few minutes of them both eating, she hears Jorgan talk. “There’s a bunch of Jedi on board. At least four that I’ve seen, heard there’s more.” 

Nyaisa glances over before returning her eyes to the room. “That’s interesting, there must be something going on for them. Know who they are?”

“No. Rumor is that they’re guarding some other Jedi who’s being kept out of sight.”

Nyaisa hums. “Interesting behavior for a Jedi. Might have to go check them out. See who’s there.” 

“Know a Jedi or Something?”

“My older brother Tyrenic is in training to be a Jedi. Last time I heard from him he was heading off somewhere to take a test to become a full Jedi.”

‘Brother’s a Jedi. Of course your brother is a Jedi.” She barely hears Jorgan mutter under his breath. There’s not the same hostility she expected to hear. Though it’s so close to being out of her hearing that she can’t be sure. She’d sure be a lot angry at herself if she were in Jorgan’s shoes. The fact that they can have conversations is good, at least for now while they’re stuck together. 

She continues to poke at her food, nearly finishing when she hears the room go quiet. Two Jedi enter the mess, their robes standing out among the uniforms and armor around them. The lightsabers at their belts draw as much attention to them as the robes as they make their way to the line and after a brief discussion, receive two portions each. As they turn with their food, Nyaisa is able to get a good look at them. The first, a small cathar female, her fur a softer orange then Jorgan’s and a good deal more white and black markings around her face and the other Jedi A tall, Mirialan man. 

The Mirialan Jedi looks across the room straight at her and smiles, Nyaisa grins, her smile tempered with relief as she watches Tyrenic tilt his head in invitation as he and the other Jedi walk out of the room. Nyaisa stands and grabs her tray, she clamps Jorgan on the shoulder as she passes. “See you later.” She disposes of the tray and hurries out, ignoring, as much as she safely can, Jorgan’s intense stare as she walks away. 

Hurrying into the hall, she manages to catch up to the two Jedi. Tyrenic nods as she falls into step. “Nyaisa, it’s good to see you’re still alive.” His eyes cut over her quickly as he can while walking. “You’ve been hurt?”

She nods. “Almost died. Whole thing’s classified and what isn’t is just weird or sad.”

Tyrenic nods at that. “Ah, introductions. Nyaisa, this is Jedi Knight Annilai Jhasis, Annilai, this is my sister Sergeant Nyaisa Shabre.” 

“Lieutenant.” 

“Got a promotion then that you haven’t told me about?” 

Nyaisa chuckles for the first time since everything at the amusement in his voice. “Yes, it’s part of that story. She leans past him slightly. “Good to meet you Master Jedi. A question if you don’t mind.” 

She might be more casual around her brother then others might be around Jedi, but that doesn’t mean she isn’t still more than a little scared of them and as polite as any other soldier. 

Annalai nods “Of course, though I may not know the answer.”

“Any relation to Ikhirr Jhasis?”

The jedi hums in thought. “Perhaps. My parents are, as far as I know, still alive. It’s likely that they had other children after I went to the temple, however I have chosen not to seek them out and focus on the Order instead, so I truly don’t know.”

“Oh, well just thought I’d ask, he’s an old academy friend.” Nyaisa looks over at Tyrenic. “So how’d that test or whatever you had to do go?”

“My trials? Well, circumstances meant that I never actually got to complete the formal trials, but the council deemed the situation suitable for substitution and knighted me anyways” 

“Congratulations. That’s a big achievement. I assume that means you are here on a Jedi mission.” 

Tyrenic nods. “We both are. Myself and Annilai have been summoned to Coruscant by masters there and are assisting in the escort of two Jedi who are traveling in seclusion. What about you?”

“Seclusion?” She hadn’t heard of Jedi traveling like that before. She’s able to move on, reminding herself that her brother was a Jedi first and would keep their secrets. “Transport to Coruscant for new orders following my promotion.”

Tyrenic nods. “Yes, it’s not common, but it happens from time to time. If there’s time while we’re both on Coruscant, we should meet up and talk. I’d love to do so now, but I have my duties.” 

Nyaisa nods at that. “I understand that. I’ll message you once I know what I’m doing while on Coruscant and we’ll see what can be arranged. It’s good to see you again.”

“You as well Nyaisa. It’s good to know you’re still around,”

She smiles and lifts a hand in farewell as she walks away from the Jedi and back towards their bunk. As Tyrenic disappears from sight, she feels that creeping sense that someone is watching her return, glancing around, she confirms that those who are around are all involved in their own business. But it’s still enough to have her walking faster and keeping her hand a bit closer to her blaster. 

The rest of the trip passed slowly, there wasn’t much for her to do so she gave herself a routine. A cycle of meals, training and sitting on her bunk when she got tired of watching her back all the time. 

It was halfway through the first full day when she gets tired of being afraid. There’s only one way to find out if Jorgan is going to stab her in the back too. And that’s to make him reveal himself and that would only happen with time and until then, she needed to at least act like nothing was wrong and that meant being the squad CO. If he isn’t and she can’t be a good leader, then they could end up dead anyways. So she schedules training sessions daily with Jorgan. It’s tough, the chemistry between them when they spar, like finding the perfect dance partner is still there. But the banter of before isn’t, and she can’t bring herself to relax enough around him to fall into the same ease that they’d had on Ord Mantell. There’s still some tension between them. What with the circumstances and rank changes and the fact that she doesn’t know if she can trust him not to betray her and he doesn’t yet know if he can trust her to lead. He’s still respectful and follows her lead, but she doesn’t put too much pressure on them, letting them mostly do their own thing when they’re on their own. 

It does bring her some relief though, testing her muscles and helping her build up her strength again after her injuries and helps her to sleep a little easier at night. By the time their three day journey to Coruscant was over, she was feeling much stronger and physically, almost back to her old self. She still sat with her back to the wall in the mess and carried a blade into the sonic. She still wondered every night who knew that Tavus would defect and who let it happen and what had broken so much in that squad that they would betray a squad member. She couldn’t comprehend doing so herself, unless they turned traitor. Her questions were interrupting her sleep. She busied herself studying everything she could about the previous members of Havoc. Her rank and command gave her a higher security level and she was able to get a lot more information about them then she would have before, but not enough. She would need to ask General Garza for the full records when she got to Coruscant. The information would help her know how to approach things. She also spent some time skimming Jorgan’s record. Not so much for details, just to get a better idea of what his skillset was. She missed the days on Mirial where by the time she knew about someone, she already had a neat little list of what they could and couldn’t do. The slower days even gave her enough time to send a few messages to friends and to Nordan. Her partner of the last two years, it would be good to see him if she could. 

Judging by the glow above her, Jorgan spent time doing his own research. He’d shown her a few prototype blaster models he’d been reading about one morning and that had led to a lively discussion of weapon preferences. 

The arrival at Coruscant was announced a few minutes before they dropped out of hyperspace. As soon as the announcement was made, the ship fell into a flurry of activity. Those assigned to the ship rushed about completing their jobs for arrival and everyone else making sure they were ready to disembark. It wasn’t like either Nyaisa or Jorgan had much to gather up, so she took her time cleaning up after afternoon training and met Jorgan at the entrance to the training area. Together they walked back to their bunk and started gathering their things. There wasn’t a lot of talk between them. This was it. Once they touched down, they’d head straight to spec ops headquarters and start tracking down the traitors. They both were focused and mentally preparing for whatever they were going to face. 

Once they had their things, they joined the other soldiers in line to disembark, early enough to be up at the front of the line. It took a good two hours to get close to the planet and get permission to dock. Eventually though, the doors opened and the ramp lowered, revealing a medical team waiting. She hadn’t heard of anyone hurt on the ship, but she and everyone else was being held back. Just as she started to wonder what was going on, she saw four Jedi carrying a stretcher towards the ramp. Tyrenic and Annilai were at the front. At the rear was a rather pretty togruta woman and a very large Mirialan man with a red tint to his skin, and spurs above his eyes and on his cheeks. On the stretcher was an older human woman. Her robes and the Jedi around her suggested this was one of the Jedi masters. Tyrenic and the other three carried the stretcher off the ship where the medical team took over, rushing her away as the Jedi formed what appeared to be a protective barrier around them. 

As the Jedi rushed off, the rest were allowed off. “What was that all about?” She mutters under her breath. She sees the side-eye from Jorgan. “What? My brother doesn’t tell me everything!” She shifts her bag and picks up her pace, stomping ahead into the spaceport and over to the stations where they checked in. The machines had a large window nearby looking out over the city. It looked better than it had last time she was here. They both take a moment to stare at the cityscape. 

“Wow, spend enough time on a backwater like Ord Mantell, you almost forget what a civilized planet’s supposed to look like. I did my officer training here. Back before I was deployed to Ord Mantell.”

Nyaisa glances over at him and hums slightly in acknowledgment listening as he continues. 

“There was still a fair bit of reconstruction going on then. Rebuilding things the imperials destroyed. I still can’t believe the empire managed to sack Coruscant back in the war. The Capital of the entire Republic and they raided it like some outerrim mudball.” 

“You’d think our capital would be better defended.”

Jorgan nods in agreement. “The Republic committed it’s forces to engaging the empire on outlying worlds. Defending Coruscant was an afterthought. Anyways, we should get moving- don’t want to keep anyone important waiting.” 

She nods. “There’s probably going to be a bunch more people demanding answers we don’t have. That will be a fun mess to try and navigate.” She hrrmphs and turns. “Alright let’s go report Jorgan.”

He nods and falls in when she walks away from the window and all the memories attached to the disaster that was the war.  There was a lot they had to do and there wasn’t any more time to delay. 

[primroseprime2019]

7 Snippets 7 People Tag

Thanks for the tag, @talesofsorrowandofruin

I’ll be doing this from… Transcendants: Skyfall. I’ll be doing chapters so there may be spoilers ahead. (I have not started on the second book yet but I will!)

Chapter Three: The Forgotten Archives- The Heroes, the Constellation Squad and the Novae Warriors walked through the hallway before they all wandered into a much larger room. “Whoa… is this a library?” Archer said, shocked. “Yep,” Natalia replied simply, “let’s start searching for answers!”

Chapter Seventeen: Shiloh gets Heat Vision- “My head hurts,” Damien groaned as he rubbed his now aching head. Saphira looked at him with a frown, “well that stunt you pulled was not a good idea.” He pouted at her and looked over at Shiloh who was curled up on the couch, clutching his arms. His breaths were labored and he seemed to be shivering.

Chapter Twenty-One: Adam Tames a Scorpion- The Warriors ran down the sandy slope, breathing hard. “Who the hell made scorpions so freaking big?!” Luther shouted at the air. They could hear the screeches of the two ginormous scorpions that were chasing after them.

Chapter Twenty-Eight: Monkey See, Monkey Do-Magnus stared up at the wall. There were old drawings that he didn’t know about. He tilted his head and flicked his tail as he reached out and placed his hand on the drawing of a golden Mocirus Transcendant. He had golden eyes and was wearing red and golden armor.

Chapter Thirty-Seven: Paige becomes Bastet’s Pet- Paige slowly opened her eyes and she looked around. Why did everything look so big? She was laying on a red pillow before she widened her eyes and she jumped into the air with a yowl. She was a cat! An Egyptian Mau!

Chapter Forty-Four: A Lion’s Kiss- Gregory stood before Ahmanet, breathing hard. He couldn’t believe this. This had to be real. But the Egyptian princess was standing before him. She looked pale but still… beautiful. He shook his head frantically.

Chapter Fifty: The Island in the Sun- “Whoa!” Angelo yelped as he tumbled down the hill. “Angelo!” Damien and Val said worriedly. The Bolnorth Transcendant yelped in pain as he landed on something metal. The creature he landed on lifted it’s head and looked at him.

Tagging: @toribookworm22 @ss-hawthorne @blind-the-winds @kaiusvnoir @tzipor-feather-blog @movieexpert1978 @musicmoviestv

[if-you-fan-a-fire]

"FLEEING CONVICTS IN RAID," New York Daily News. August 3, 1929. Page 2 & 4. ---- LOOT BEDFORD PAYROLL AND FLEE IN AUTO ---- MINISTER rumblings of new deadly prison insurrections together with the echo of the Auburn battle in a holdup staged by four of the escaped convicts, kept the nationwide penitentiary revolution still aflame yesterday.

Arthur Barry, master mind of the Auburn reign of terror, and three who escaped with him, yesterday struck swiftly and escaped at Bedford, N. Y.

Flee With $1,521 Loot. They rolled up to the offices of the Adam Faber Construction company at Bedford, covered Pay master R. R. T. Erickson with gus and fled in an automobile with his wrist watch and $1,521.

Erickson later identified pictures of the fugitive Auburn convicts those of the gunmen who robbed him.

Upset by the reign of flame and bloodshed in prisons throughout the country, seven Sing Sing guards have resigned their posts, it was revealed. All were numbered among the twenty-five new guards Warden Lewis E. Lawes hired on July L

Sing Hing on Alert. Although tension among the prisoners at Sing Sing on the verge of rebellion Thursday morning-relaxed yesterday, the extra precautions taken to guard against revolt were not abandoned by officials.

The air was charged with apprehension at Raymond st. jail Brooklyn, last night, however Warden Harry Honeck, after a special round of inspection, immediately stationed an emergency squad of ten patrolman outside the walls of the old jail.

All visitors were given an extra thorough search and arrangements were made for a special riot squad to be called at the first hint of in- subordination.

U. S. Prison Riot Laid To Food, Heat and Crowd. Washington, D. C., Aug. 2 (U.P.). - Austin H. MacCormick, assistant superintendent of federal prisons, was ordered by the justice department today to proceed immediately to the federal penitentiary at Leavenworth, Kas., scene of a riot yesterday in which one prisoner was killed and three wounder.

Overcrowding, lack of sufficient work to occupy the inmates, excessive heat, and word of riots in eastern penitentiaries, were ascribed today by Stanford Bates, federal superintendent of prisons, as the reason for the insurrection.

Making public a complete report of the incident Bates said it is evident Warden White and his guards forestalled what might have been a much more serious outbreak.

A checkup has shown, he said, that no men escaped, no guards were injured, no guns were found in possession of inmates, and the insurrection was entirely futile.

The prison was designed to accommodate 2,000 prisoners and the population today is 3,770.

Stern Measures Check Unrest at Leavenworth. Leavenworth, Kas., Aug. 2 (AP). Unrest among prisoners smouldered today, but was held in check by stern measures. Leaders of yesterday's convict uprising were singled out and placed in close confinement.

[professorrw]

Leave a Light On

Pairing: female reader x Bucky Barnes

Request: Could you do a Bucky X Fem!Reader where Bucky is scared for the reader's safety, based on Leave a Light On by Tom Walker? And then it gets really soft and fluffy at the end?

Warnings: angst, fluff, presumed dead reader, missing reader, traumatic experience, grief, mentions of a mission, hostage situation

A/N: I would be lying if I said I didn’t cry while writing this. Requests open, taglist open, inbox open! Please like, comment, and reblog!

It had been twenty days. Twenty days. Steve said the comms had gone out and that’s why there was no word from your team. The mission was supposed to be simple. So why weren’t you back yet? Two days you said. Only two and then you would be back. But it had been twenty and you and your team weren’t back yet. No one could get into contact with you or Natasha or any of your squad mates. 

Everyone was worried, no one wanted to think that the worst had happened. Three days after your team had left Steve said there must have been a hold up. Then the fourth day came, and the fifth, and the sixth, and so on. If there was a hold up why weren’t you back yet? Why were your signals completely offline?

Bucky was checking in with Steve nearly every hour trying to get updates but every time there was nothing new. On the sixth day the atmosphere at the base was somber. Steve didn’t want to think that your group was dead. Bucky wouldn’t accept it at all. The very idea of living on without you was tearing him apart.

Steve did his best to make Bucky feel better, but unless he had news of your comms coming back online or them finding you he didn’t want to hear it. He blamed himself for not going on the mission with you. He thought that if he was there maybe you would have come back. 

Bucky went to the base everyday to get updates. But after two weeks it was like every single person there had given up faith. Bucky would sit alone for hours at the base. He didn’t care about the downcast faces that passed him. They all felt bad, they all wanted to console him, but there wasn’t anything they could do to make him feel better.

He had dug himself into a hole of despair and pain that he wouldn’t let himself leave. He had locked himself into his own personal prison that only you had the ability to get him out of. Being without you was worse than being under the serum. He would rather have his memory wiped clean than have to live while you weren’t there. And the worst part was that no one knew what had happened.

No one knew where you were, no one could find you. In Bucky’s mind he thought they could be doing more. They should be doing more. Sending out search teams, scouring the area. If he could he would search until he found you, dead or alive. 

He wouldn’t leave the base until it closed. Every night he would return home to your shared apartment. He wanted to stay away, or possibly sleep at Steve’s but he wouldn’t let Bucky stay there. Living in your shared apartment that housed all your belongings and so many beautiful memories of the two of you together was painful. It was a reminder of what was missing, you.

A part of him wouldn’t give up hope. Bucky wasn’t going to believe that you were dead until he saw it with his own two eyes. Until then there would always be hope in Bucky’s mind.

Before he went to bed he would turn on the light that was outside next to the apartment door just in case you came home. He prayed that maybe one day you would. It didn’t matter how long it took as long as you came back to him. He would stay awake and lie in bed scrolling through the endless amount of photos you took together, most he tried to hide or cover his face in. An endless stream of tears would roll down his face and sobs would rack his body.

The most prominent emotion Bucky felt was regret. He regretted not smiling in those photos, not telling you how much he loved you, and not enjoying the time you had together. Every mistake he ever made replayed in his head. It was his own form of grief, though he wouldn’t accept it as such.

On the twentieth day he carried on with his routine. He ate a bowl of cereal and then went to the compound to sit around for hours. Steve took a seat next to Bucky in the empty conference room.

“Buck… you gotta stop this.”

Bucky didn’t reply, just kept his eyes trained forward at the blank wall across from him.

“If-” Steve paused, “If Y/N is gone then don’t you think she would want you to move on? You’ve been coming here everyday for almost a month. At this point I don’t even think it’s safe to take you on a mission.”

Bucky turned his steely glare on Steve and erupted, “Say it as it is Steve! Say the word dead, because I know that’s what everyone thinks.”

Steve sighed and reached his hand out to his best friend but Bucky just moved away from him. “We don’t know if she’s dead. We don’t know anything. I know that you're mad. I know you want us to do more.”

“Yeah, I do. And until you search every inch of the ground she’s touched and found her body I won’t believe she’s dead. I can’t.” Bucky was furious but his voice cracked just like his resolve at his last sentence. The vulnerability and pain that was evident in his voice made Steve feel terrible. He hated seeing his best friend so torn up but he knew there was nothing he could do. Nothing other than get you home or find you.

Bucky put his face in his hands to hide the tears that were coming out. Steve didn’t need to see the tears to know what was going on. Buck’s whole body was shaking and he could hear sniffling.

Steve stood and rubbed Bucky’s shoulder. “I’m sorry,” he whispered.

Steve knew how hard it was to lose someone you love. He had once lost Bucky and Peggy. He didn’t want Bucky to go through that same pain and if Steve was in control they would find you just like Bucky wanted.

Bucky lifted his head up and looked at his best friend. His face was red and tear stained but he spoke anyway. “I can’t lose her.”

“I know Buck. Neither does anyone else.”

The two men sat in silence in the conference room for a few minutes before Steve was called to do something else. He left Bucky in the room but got someone to send him an actual meal, not the sandwiches he was eating from the vending machine.

Bucky was eating his food when he heard yelling. He got up from his seat and went to see what was going on. He left the room and saw people running around and shouting. He couldn’t understand what anyone was saying but he heard Steve’s voice yell, “Bucky they’re back!”

He didn’t know if he heard correctly but he pleaded that it was true. Bucky ran towards Steve’s voice and as soon as Steve saw him he grabbed his arm and they started running. They ran through hallways and into the main room of the compound. People were crowded around the monitor but a few seconds after Steve and Bucky arrived it was broadcasted on the big screen on the wall.

It was a radar and it showed seven dots moving closer to the base. Seven dots, seven people that went on that mission. Bucky crumpled to his knees in a fit of sobs. He pressed his forehead and fists against the floor. You were coming back to him. You were alive.

Steve put a hand over his mouth and crouched next to Bucky. People were cheering yet frantic all around them. The gloom that had been cast over the base was gone. A flood of relief had been released and replaced the dreary mood.

The crowd of people began to migrate outside to the helipad. Steve pulled Bucky off the floor and they ran with the group. The helicopters were just tiny specks in the distance but just seeing them made the crowd hug each other and cheer even more. It was then that Bucky realized he wasn’t the only one that missed you. These people around him were family and they missed you and the rest of the crew too.

He turned to Steve and enveloped him in a hug. “I’m so sorry,” he mumbled. Steve, with teary eyes too, smiled and hugged Bucky back.

----

You gazed at the compound with tears in your eyes. You were finally home. For nearly a month you and the rest of your crew had been held hostage. Natasha had taken the lead and carefully planned out your escape. It was mostly luck that enabled you to run away. From there all you did was hide and run until you found your helicopters. Thankfully they were still at the landing area, but that was many miles away from where you were being held captive.

Natasha was sitting beside you piloting one of the planes. She was biting back tears. You knew she was just as overjoyed as you were, though she didn’t show it as much. Over the course of those twenty days you saw a different side of Natasha. You saw her be afraid, you saw and heard how scared she was that your group wouldn’t escape. But thanks to her you made it.

You made it and now you were finally going to be reunited with Bucky. God, how you had missed him. You couldn’t imagine how worried he was. The only solace you had while being gone was knowing that Bucky was okay, even if you weren’t.

He was the only thing that kept you going and made you hold onto the hope that maybe you would make it out alive. And you had.

You were getting closer and closer to the launchpad. You could make out at least a hundred people surrounding it.

Natasha called out over the headset, “Get ready for landing guys. We made it.” She smiled and laughed as a tear rolled down her cheek. As you turned to look at your squad you noticed they were all crying. You choked out a laugh through your own tears as you realized how lucky you were.

Natasha hovered over the helipad before slowly lowering it down to the ground. As the blades slowed and your group began to litter out of the helicopter people surrounded you. You jumped to the ground and immediately started shouting, “Bucky? Bucky where are you?”

You saw the mass being parted from the back and then you saw him. You ran to him, bodies colliding. His hand held onto the back of your head and you could hear his heavy breathing and sniffles. You wrapped your arms around him as tightly as you could and it seemed he did the same. The thoughts running through your heads were one in the same. Bucky was overcome with joy that you were alive and in his arms. You were just happy to be back and to be with him again. Being apart for so long had made you realize how much you loved him.

After just a moment in the hug you both pulled back. Bucky surveyed your face, taking in all the cuts and small bruises that littered it. He pressed his lips against your feverishly before pulling away once more.

“I missed you so goddamn much Y/N. I love you. I love you more than anything,” he said. His eyes were looking tenderly into yours, savoring and memorizing everything he could see.

“Buck I love you too.” The whole time you had tears in your eyes but they really started flowing as you stood in front of Bucky. Your mouth was in an quivering smile but the happy tears still came.

The whole experience was traumatizing, but it made you realize how much Bucky meant to you, and made Bucky realize how much you meant to him. So much in fact that a few months later Bucky was down on one knee asking you to marry him.

[nelapanela94]

Levi x Fem!Y/N

Levi and Y/N choosing a name for the new member of their family.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Kids had never been a topic of conversation between Levi and Y/N, and much less were they part of the plans. Now they were both in her room, listening in disbelief to the doctor announcing the big news to the soon to be parents.

"We appreciate your discretion, Doc" Y/N said while putting her shirt on.

"My lips are sealed" He swiped his thumb and index fingers across his lips, pretending to zip and lock his mouth. "Everything seems alright so far. I'll set an appointment within two weeks" Y/N nodded and he finished packing the instruments before taking his leave.

Levi was leaning against the wall, arms crossed over his chest and eyes closed. Y/N chewed her lower lip waiting for him to say something. "You said you'd timed it"

"I'm sorry I miscalculated" she walked towards the black-haired man and stopped in front of him. "Are you angry? It's only seven weeks, we still can..."

"Don't even think about it" We warned opening one eye. The steel gray orb landed on her face. "We're having the brat together Y/N" He reassured. "And I'm not angry, I'm just surprised" He let out a sigh. With both eyes opened, he scanned her face looking for a reaction. She looked at him with her mouth agape as tears of joy were forming in her eyes. Then, the sweetest smile drew on her lips. "You don't know how lucky I am to have you by my side, Levi" She whispered before pressing her lips on his.

Levi and Y/N had kept their relationship a secret for over a year, and only Erwin, Hange, Mike and Moblit knew about it. The ravenette had threatened the energetic Hange with killing the precious titans they used for research if they let it slip off their mouth. However, they let the secret escaped when Moblit was around, and that's how he learned. Fortunately, no one else heard, and Moblit was good at keeping secrets.

Y/N and her boyfriend entered the commander's office.

"Levi, Y/N, what brings you here? Today is your day off"

"There's something you need to know" Levi bluntly said.

"Erwin" the young woman took a deep breath. It was now or never "I'm pregnant" She averted the eyes, biting her inner cheek. Erwin's eyebrows rose at the news. "But it wasn't my fault, it was Levi's" She gabbled and hid behind the ravenette, who was standing next to her.

"Congratulations" A corner of his mouth lifted. Y/N poke her head from behind Levi's shoulder. "Thanks!"

"It also means you'll be out of the field for a while" The commander was happy for them; but concerned at the same time. Y/N was a skillful soldier and a great asset on expeditions. Her absence would be noticeable. Levi, on the other hand, was glad and relieved Y/N wasn't taking part on any upcoming mission, meaning one less concern for him.

As months passed by, Y/N's belly began to stick out, making it impossible to hide her pregnancy any longer and rumors about the father's identity spread among the scouts. "I'll tell you when the baby is born" She'd firmly stated. They tried to guess and even make their bets, but they were not even close. No one would believe that the ever stoic, ill-mannered captain was soon to become a dad.

"Don't mind them" Y/N told Levi once.

"I hate when they insinuate you're a..."

"You and I know the truth, it's all that matters. I can't care less about their comments" she placed a kiss on his cheek. "Now, I want some rice with cheese and strawberry jam on top"

"That sounds disgusting"

"it's not, you gotta try it"

And obviously he'd go downtown to get the damn cheese she liked.

When Levi was hectic with work, Hange and Moblit looked after Y/N. The brunette researcher was too excited and impatient to meet their nephew or niece. Since the future mother didn't want to be a burden, she volunteered to take notes and help with the transcription of the investigation reports, even though Moblit insisted she didn't have to.

The night before the 57th expedition, Y/N and Levi were lying on his bed, his calloused hands caressing her belly. "Please, come back home to me safe and sound" she placed a peck on his lips. "To us" and her hand found his. "I want a boy" she said with a smile. "With your hair, your nose and your eyes"

"The brat will have your looks"

"But..."

"Listen Y/N, I promise I'll come back to you" he kissed the back of her hand. "The doctor said you'll deliver anytime soon. I'll be there for you"

The 57th expedition beyond the walls ended up in an utter mess. Countless lives lost, including Levi's squad. Injured soldiers with missing limbs and on the verge of death. Y/N waited for Levi in the SC headquarters. The doctor had advised her not to travel to Karaness since she could go into labor any moment. When Levi opened the door, she threw her arms around him and hugged him tight. She would not let go, as if her life depended on it. He cupped her face and passionately kissed her. The expedition didn't even last a day, but it felt like a century.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Levi was impatiently waiting outside the delivery room, nervously walking back and forth and cussing under his breath. "Take a seat Levi" Hange worriedly said. "Your leg is still healing"

"Shut up, shitty eyes"

In truth, he didn't mind the damn leg.

"Captain Levi" he heard the nurse's voice. "You can come in now"

"Congratulations to you and Y/N!" Hange squealed in excitement. "Take your time, I'll be waiting downstairs."

Levi opened the door and found Y/N sitting on the bed, with her back resting on the headboard and the newborn in her arms. He dragged a chair and took a seat next to the bed, placing a hand on Y/N’s. “Are you ok?”

“I am” She assured. “I’m just exhausted”

“Did you give your mom a hard time, brat?” He said rubbing the baby’s head with his thumb, careful enough to not wake him up.

“Isn’t he cute?”

“Yeah, we did a good job” He proudly said. A smirk showed on his face. “We did have fun” Y/N chuckled, shaking her head.

“I haven’t thought in a name yet”

“Me neither” He sweetly placed a kiss on the side of her head.

“I guess we’ll have the time to come up with a good one” She looked down at the new bundle of joy and smiled. “Daddy and I will protect you at all cost little one” She whispered.

Levi couldn’t keep his eyes off of the new member of their family. The new life they had created, half him, half Y/N; he now had another reason to fight for.

After the battle against the colossus and the armored titans to bring back Eren and Historia, the Survey Corps were left on the brink of dissolution. Dimo Reeves and two of his employees were found death in the middle of Trost. Commander Erwin was to blame for the murders and all the remaining members of the Scout Legion were to ceased their activities and turn in to the Military Police. Erwin had previously made an arrangement to hide Y/N and the baby in a brothel room in Trost. The sole idea made Levi uneasy, but he was aware Y/N was not in the condition to escape along with the rest of the scouts while protecting Eren and Historia.

Nonetheless, her hideout was discovered by the M.P.

A tall man broke into the establishment looking for Y/N; and out of fear, the owner gave her away. The man didn't bother to knock and kicked the door open to her room. The place was dark, the smell of recently blown out candles still lingered in the air. Y/N had managed to take the baby in her arms and hide under the kitchenette counter. Tears were running down her cheeks, and cold sweat bathed her entire body. She was quivering in panic, and covered her mouth with one hand to drown her crying. She was praying to all the known gods for the little one not to start crying anytime soon. Surprisingly, he was staring up at her with a cute toothless smile and bright steel gray eyes.

"Well, well, you can't hide from me for too long" the man laughed as he searched around. "Gotcha!" Y/N jolted and cried harder when she saw the gun aiming at her. "Let's end this nice and smooth"

"Who are you?" She asked between sobs. "Why...?"

"Shhh, I'm afraid I'm not here to answer your questions, young lady"

"Please" She pleaded. "Kill me, but don't hurt my baby"

The man's expression turned into a scowl. "Baby? They never mention anything about a baby" He muttered. The infant's cry filled the room, and the coated man grunted.

"Can I... put him to bed?"

"Make it fast"

She stood up slowly, her knees almost giving in. She walked to the bed rocking the baby, feeling the gun on her back. The cry finally came to a halt. Y/N placed a kiss on the baby's forehead and whispered "I love you" before tucking him between two pillows. Then, she turned around with her hands up. The man put the pistol in the case and was about to take his knife out, when a glinting, flower shaped object hanging around her neck caught his attention. His forehead furrowed and walked towards her with a menacing look on his face. "Where did you get this?" he growled, grabbing the pendant in his hand.

"The baby's father gave it to me" She replied, her eyes shut, waiting for the knife to slice her throat.

"May I know his name?"

"Levi, Captain Levi from the Scout Legion"

"I see" His scowl turned into a smirk. "The midget managed to get himself a pretty lady and make her a child. I guess he did learn something after all"

"Uh?" Y/N snapped her eyes open, confused at his sudden reaction.

"What's the baby's name?"

"We haven't had the time to think about it yet. I just call him baby, and Levi opted for brat"

The mysterious man took his knife out and with the free hand, he grabbed a fist full of her hair. With a swift movement, Y/N long strands of hair fell on the floor. It was too fast she didn't even have the time to shriek. "Change your clothes and grab the little runt." He ordered. "I'm getting you out of here" Y/N nodded in understanding and changed into a big shirt, loose pants and her boots. She then wrapped the baby in an improvised baby carrier she made out of a blanket.

"I'm ready" She gulped and everything went black.

Y/N woke up in a small cabin in the middle of the woods. She rubbed her eyes and looked around. The man with the hat was sitting at a chair across the room, while the baby laid peacefully next to her on the bed. The headache make her wince in pain.

"Sorry, but they had to believe you were dead" He bluntly said as he stood up. He put his coat on and fix his hat before leaving.

"Wait. I have plenty of questions sir. Who are you? What is this place? Why did you save us? What about the necklace..."

"You really are a pain in the ass" He complained. "The necklace was a present for my sister. I had it crafted for her when we were young" He turned around. "Ackerman. Levi Ackerman is his full name. Take good care of the little brat" He continued his way to the exit.

"Wait" She got off the bed and followed him. "Who are you to Levi?"

Without turning around, he replied. "An old acquaintance"

Y/N didn't ask anything else. She stared at the man's back as he walked away. When the man was out of sight, Y/N finally relaxed, letting out all the tension contained in her body. While the baby was still asleep, she did a little house tour. There was not much to see, honestly, but the place was cozy enough. There was food for at least three days in the kitchen, as well as barrels of clean water and firewood. She went back to the bedroom, laid next to the sleeping bundle and caressed his black strands of hair. "It seems you're an Ackerman after all" She chuckled. "Your father..." Her eyes saddened. "I wish I could go and find him, but I'm still recovering and taking you with me would be a high risk." She heavily sighed and closed her eyes. "I do hope he's doing well."

A couple of days later, a heavy knock on the door startled Y/N. She swallowed hard and tucked the baby in the bed "Shhh" She put her index finger on her lips, "I need you to be quiet. Do it for mommy" She said in a whispered, then headed to the kitchen. She grabbed a pan and slowly walked towards the door; her hand landed on the knob as cold drops of sweat traveled down her temples. "Oi! Y/N, it's me. I know you're in there, open up" Without a second thought, she twisted the doorknob and found her Levi standing there, with stains of blood on his face and clothes. Y/N glomped the ravenette.

"Levi!" She squealed; her eyes already glistened. "Oi" He fought to keep his balance and embraced her tightly. "Don't leave me alone again" She sniffed.

"I promise I won't" He muttered. "And can you get rid of that damn pan? It's making me nervous"

"Sorry" She threw it away. "I can't believe you're finally here. Please tell me this is not a dream?"

"This is all real" He pulled apart and placed his hands on her shoulders. "Are you alright? did he hurt you?"

"I'm fine, Levi. That tall man with the cool hat was sent to kill me, but he changed his mind when I mentioned your name and hid me in this place instead. Are we even near the city? and how did you find me?"

"He told me where to find you" He pressed a kiss on her forehead.

"Come on in, somebody wants to see you" she took him by the hand and led him to the bedroom. Levi sat at the edge of the bed and a small warm smile drew on his face. The giggling baby wrapped his little hand around Levi's index finger. "Y/N" he called her name.

"Huh?"

"Have you thought of a name already?"

"Not really"

"What about Kenny?"

"Kenny? I actually like it" She smiled and rested a hand on Levi's shoulder. "Kenny Ackerman will be, then"

[fullscoreshenanigans]

Piggybacking off the previous reblog I love scenarios of Ray acting as a memory keeper for the Grace Field kids regarding older siblings who have long passed away or even just memories of themselves when they were younger. You cannot tell me it didn’t come up at least once during their journeying across the demon world for months.

My super indulgent specific one is him being injured ~somehow~ during their trekking that results in him developing a fever. It’s serious enough where he experiences some delirium that causes him to start rambling about Susan, and it ends with him trailing off and quietly crying because he’s obviously not in the best mental state and her death is so palpably raw in this moment.

Emma, Don, and Gilda are at a loss because 1) they miss her too and 2) because they’ve never seen Ray like this; it's like seeing a mountain crumble. Even if it could be easily ascertained how he felt based on his actions during the escape arc‚ he's never freely talked about the subject, so there's a mix of guilt in the air for being privy to this when he's not all present.

But once he's recovered, it does lead to those kinds of conversations being more common, and sharing the happier memories is healing for Ray because they're not stagnating trapped inside him, but almost having new life breathed into them with the reactions and comments from the others.

[silversatoru]

hi!! me again, saw that you want some bnha requests and hoo boy do i fuckin got one for ya

im a hardcore member of the fuck bakugo 🖕🏼 squad but i also wanna fuck bakugo ya know?

therefore i would like to request a smut fic where bakugo is so painfully angry at the fact that he has a crush on the reader that he ends up getting caught stealing their panties and chaos ensues 😌

anyway love you bye ❤️

compulsion

touch-starved bakugou katsuki x f!reader

tags/warnings: nsfw, oral sex (male receiving), mild obsession, dom?reader, characters aged up

w/c: 1.9k

katsuki bakugo hates a lot things.

he hates hero training, he hates his annoying classmates, and he hates the fact that it rained today. he hates living in the UA dorms and he fucking hates the overly salted bowl of ramen he was forcing down his throat right now.

bakugo katsuki hates almost everything, but he doesn’t hate you — and he hates that doesn’t.

having a distaste for the world made things easier, because if he always assumed the worse than he’d never be disappointed. he’d gotten pretty far with that logic — that was up until you waltzed into his life and fucked it all up, sending his logic hurling out the window.

when he looked at you he didn’t feel the same hate that he felt for the world around him — in fact when he looked at you he felt a disgusting urge of optimism. he liked the way your hair fell around your shoulders, the way your lips curled when you smiled, and the way your skirt rode up your thighs. he didn’t hate anything about you and that’s what he hated most.

see ya later, katsuki! you’d called to him after hero training today, your round glossy lips pronouncing his name in a way that made his heart flicker and his blood boil over. why did everything about you have to be so fucking perfect? he couldn’t find a single flaw on your annoyingly pristine body no matter how hard he searched for one.

your voice consumed his mind — everything you said to him today replaying on repeat at the center stage of his brain:

come eat lunch with us, katsuki!

hey katsuki, did you finish the math homework? number seven makes like- no fucking sense.

have you seen those chips i like, katsuki? i swear if denki ate them all again i’m gonna kill him

your voice was precious, a terribly sensual melody in his sullen ears. and the way you clung to the ends of your words for just a little too long was repulsively adorable too.

katsuki needed something, anything, to get you off his mind. sitting here and daydreaming about you was making him irate with himself — forcing intrusively irrational thoughts through his thick head. something, anything, he needed to stop thinking about you.

he tossed what was left of his shitty ramen into the trash can and exited the kitchen. the common area was filled with students right now, you included, and it was much too crowded and annoying for his liking. you were sitting with hanta, laughing at some shitty fucking joke he was spouting off.

not that he enjoyed watching that lanky scotch-tape dispenser flirt with you — but it was keeping you busy. your dorm room would be empty right now, wouldn’t it?

｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆

katsuki’s not sure how he ended up here, seething with anger and digging fervently through your drawer of panties. surely you wouldn’t mind if he took just one pair, right? you have to understand that he wouldn’t be doing this if he didn’t absolutely need them. he wouldn’t be doing this if you didn’t make him so fucking angry — this is your fault, not his. 

he lifted the lacy material closer to his face for further inspection, unable to prevent his mind from wandering to how it would look wrapped around your body. fuck, they even smelled good — not that he was smelling them intentionally or anything, don't get the wrong idea. he just so happened to get close enough that the soft aroma of cherry blossom fabric softener wafted into his nostrils.

simmering with anger and foggy with unwanted lust, katsuki pocketed the panties for later and turned back towards the door — the same door that you were now standing in front of with immense confusion in your eyes. fuck. 

“uh... hey katsuki, whatcha doin?” you stepped into the room and closed the door behind you, cocking your head to the side. 

“i- uh- it’s fucking none of your business,” he snarled at you, face flushing as he tried to figure out how long you’ve been standing there and how much you saw.

“you’re in my room dude, it’s totally my business,” you raised an eyebrow at him, “and that pair of panties you took is one of my favorites, maybe you could pocket one of the uglier pairs?”

“god, fucking dumbass, this is your fault! i wouldn’t be here right now if you weren’t so fucking infuriating,” his face was so angry and flushed you could have sworn there was steam sizzling off his skin.

“me? it’s my fault you’re standing in my room with a pair of my underwear in your pocket and an obvious boner in your pants?”

katsuki grimaced, faltering for just a second as he awkwardly shifted his sweatshirt and pulled it down to cover his swollen erection, “yeah shithead, that’s what i just said. weren’t you fucking listening?”

“this is horribly desperate, katsuki, you could have just asked. i’m more than willing to help you out with this,” you stepped forward and began to shorten the distance between the two of you.

“willing to help me? are you insane? i don’t need your fucking help!” he tried to retaliate, but you were already inches from him, reaching down and dragging a hard palm over the lump in his jeans.

“quit screaming like a lunatic and let me help you, i know this is what you think about,” you pressed harder and gave him an icy stare, the boy using everything in his power not to crumble under your touch.

he’d never been touched like this by anyone, and he was so caught off guard by your sudden movements that he simply stared back at you, frozen in place. no arguments, no insults, no deflective blaming — his brain could barely compute his own name now that your hand was prodding at his bulge.

“that’s what i thought,” you cracked a small smile, “poor katsuki, always pushing everyone away and never getting any action. come sit down”.

katsuki failed to wrap his brain around the current events, wondering how his failed attempt at stealing a pair of panties had led to him sitting on the edge of your bed while you stripped him of his trousers. you were sinking to your knees now, head perfectly level with his cock that was standing flush against his abdomen.

he almost flinched when you reached out and brushed your delicate fingers over the red, swollen head of his dick. his cheeks were flushed with a deep red, and he wanted nothing more than to yell you, to tell you how much of a freak you were. but he didn’t, because as much as he hated to admit it, your touch was the best thing he’d ever felt.

your fingers were wrapped around his shaft now, pumping slow strokes as you warmed him up. he hissed and squirmed under your brand new touch — eyes squeezing shut and hands grabbing fistfuls of your comforter. katsuki had touched himself plenty of times, most of them while thinking of you, but your hand felt so much better than his ever did.

“you’ve never been touched like this, have you?” you pouted up at him, your fingers squeezing a little tighter and pumping a little faster, “poor baby”.

“i- fuck- ah,” he choked out a pitiful cluster of sounds that didn’t actually form any words but still gave you the answer to your question.

you were terribly amused, the typically angry boy was a twitching mess under your touch and you’d barely even started yet. you could only imagine how quickly he’d melt when your lips were around his cock — you were dying to find out.

you leaned forward and began slowly flicking your tongue over the puffy tip, still pumping the shaft with one of your hands. katsuki let out strings of sounds that could only be described as mewls and whimpers, his thighs shaking and his knuckles turning white. poor poor baby, you continued to think, i’m gonna make you feel better than you ever have before.

your head dipped low, the first few inches of his cock sliding across your tongue and into the back of your mouth. the blonde boy whined and bucked his hips, his eyes shooting open at the sudden burst of hot, wet pleasure.

“hng- fuck- fucking sh-shit,” his curses came out as pitiful gasps for air as he stared down at you with wide eyes.

you gradually took more and more of his length into the depths of your throat — his extensive length, by the way. for someone so blessed with such a big, pretty cock, you couldn’t believe he didn’t put it to use more often.

katsuki was cussing you out like it was his job, but each word was accompanied by a gasp or a humiliating whimper. he was so fucking embarrassed, but he felt much too good to care right now. your wet, sticky mouth was enveloping his cock in the most perfect way, jolts of euphoria spiking through his veins and fogging his head.

there was a pressure quickly building in his stomach, a tight wam feeling that signified he was going to come all too soon. but of course you expected this — honestly he’d lasted a few minutes longer than you thought he would.

when his orgasm finally racked through him, his entire body twitched and convulsed, his hips bucking wildly as strings of white liquid sprung from his cock and lined the walls of your tight throat. you milked every drop of cum from him, swallowing it down and then pulling your head back. as much as you wanted to push him and overstimulate him you decided to play nice for his first time.

“so good, katsuki. did you like that?”

his shoulders caved in and his head hung low as he finally came down from his high — the realization of all of the transpiring events finally catching up to him. he mumbled the quietest: yeah, it felt fucking good in response to your question, but refused to meet your eyes.

“we could do this more often, what you think?” you reached up and placed your hand under his chin, coaxing him to look at you.

“fuck- fine, yeah whatever, but don’t fucking tell anyone about this,” he growled, his angry eyes and twisted eyebrows finally meeting yours.

“of course,” you smiled, standing and tossing him his pants to put back on, “i just came here to grab a sweatshirt, so i better go before anyone comes looking for me. i’ll come find you later though, promise”.

and with that you were walking through the door, wiping your sticky lips on the sleeve of your sweatshirt and heading for the elevators. katsuki sat on the edge of your bed for a few minutes longer, mind blown by the curves of your mouth and the skill of your tongue.

katsuki didn’t hate you before, and he really doesn’t hate you now, but he’s coming to terms with it this time. letting his walls down for you doesn’t sound all that bad if it means you’ll keep making him feel like this.

[tsundere-cherry-girl]

Call This Love a Curse?

Levi Ackerman x Witch Reader

Chapter Seven

Your Place Outside

CW: Swearing, Gore, Injury

Previous Chapter Next Chapter

"Quick! Put pressure on the wound!"

"It hurts! Make it stop! Make it all stop!"

"I know, hold on. Just hold on."

"IT HURTS!"

"Hold on! You can!"

"Hello? Hello?! Stay with us! Damn it get up!"

"It's over. It's all over."

"No. No it's not."

-Earlier That Day-

The horses in front of you began to move faster. Seeing this you urged your horse on. Where you were right now had one been a part of Wall Maria, but that didn't reassure you. You were riding through what was once your home.

However as the horses quickened you felt calmer. Riding always calmed you down.

As you neared the deserted buildings Erwin gave the order for the Squads to split. Hearing this you search for anyone in Levi's Squad, and upon spotting Levi, rode after him.

"Alright, just like he said. Stay close and stay sharp. But what if he's lying?" You frowned at the thought. Levi didn't seem to have a motive to lie.... but you had been wrong before.

You followed closely behind. Not because you obeyed his orders, but so that you could make sure he wasn't trying to trick you when he gave them.

You suddenly heard something moving, followed by a scream. You snapped your head in the direction of the noise then looked towards the others. Hadn't they heard it?

"Did you hear that?" You called.

"What do you mean?" Petra responded.

Oulo clicked his tongue. "You must be hearing things."

"No!" You insisted, pointing in the direction of the noise. "It came from there. I heard something big and then a scream."

Levi turned his head. "How strong are your senses exactly?"

"Stronger than an average human." You replied. "Why?"

Levi's expression turned very serious. "Get moving, all of you. There's been a Titan attack, possible wounded."

The others in the squad jumped off their horses' backs and fired their ODMG cables, zipping in the direction you pointed to.

You called out. "Hey! I don't have any gear, I can't follow!" Suddenly you were whisked off your horse in a swift motion. "Did a Titan get me?"

You looked up to find the Corporal carrying you. "What the hell?"

"You don't have gear, and you're an easy target without it." Levi said, still looking ahead. He must have seen you beginning to form an argument because he spoke again. "There's going to be injured, and you're here to deal with that. Suck it up."

Begrudgingly you bit back your argument and replied, "Ok." This wasn't about you, this was about saving lives.

As you zipped along the deserted streets you kept your ears open for any sounds, any sign of the creatures that plagued humanity. Then, you heard it again.

"Over there!" You called, pointing. Levi ordered the squad to move in that direction, despite Oulo grumbling that there wasn't anything there.

You felt Levi's grip tighten. "Did he see it?" You turned your head, and were shocked by what you saw.

That... thing was massive and naked. It almost looked comical in its mindlessness. But seeing the body it had crushed beneath its feet reminded you..... this was the creature all humanity feared.... It was an instinct now to fear it.

You soon saw other Titans coming in this direction, attracted to the chaos. "Hey!" You called out to Levi. "Put me down!"

"Are you crazy?" Levi answered. "You're unarmed in Titan country."

"And you're Humanity's Strongest. You can't afford someone slowing you down. There are wounded down there, I need to get them clear."

Levi furrowed his brow and jumped over a rooftop, setting down in an alley. "Fine, but don't expect me to cover you."

You nodded solemnly. "I understand, I don't expect anything. Just take out the Titans." You turned on your heel and ran toward the battlefield.

Levi was surprised. Many, if not all would be terrified. You simply ran off into the fray to do your duty as if you'd been out here for years. Only a veteran or a fool could do such a thing. "Or someone who has nothing left to lose." He thought, before firing his cable and jumping back into battle.

Mumbling an incantation, you jumped, bouncing off each wall till you reached the rooftop. Once there, you ran along, leaping and dashing as if you could fly.

"Eld!" You called. "On your left!" Eld spins fast enough to avoid the hand that tried desperately to grasp him, and sliced the nape of the Titan's neck.

"[Y/N]!" Petra called. "Look out behind you!"

Sensing the Titan getting closer, you tense your body and leapt up over the Titan's hand, flipping backwards and tumbling once you reached the ground to safely land.

Gunther moved fast and sliced the nape. "Thanks!" You called up to him. Gunther gave a brief nod, and fired his cables to another building, catapulting himself at an incoming Titan.

You ran quickly to where the soldiers were trapped. They were holed up behind a piece of rubble, several of them bleeding, bruised, or both, and in some cases even worse. They all had a general aura of fear and terror hanging over their heads.

"Is everyone awake? Can you understand me?" You asked them. You got several meek replies of 'yes' and a few groans.

"Alright just sit tight, I'm here to help." You reassured them. "How many of you can walk?"

Most of the soldiers said they were able to, several others could shakily hobble, and those who could do neither could be carried by their strongest comrades.

You didn't have much time to do a complete job, but you had just enough to deal with any major injuries. The most critically injured had to have individual spells cast on them. You gave the others a dose of one of your potions from your bag.

After patching most of them up, you fashioned a few crutches and stretchers to help with the process. Then you reached out with your mind across the city until you found a horse. "Come here." You mentally commanded them.

Opening your eyes you spoke to the soldiers. "A horse is going to come soon. Regroup in a safe place. Even if I healed you, you need to get back to the main party."

One of the soldiers responded. "Thank you. We'll get back safe Ma'am."

You turned your head in surprise. You'd never been shown gratitude or.... respect. This wasn't something you were used to.

"Right. Get moving." You ordered, before turning back to where Levi's Squad was last. You needed to regroup with them.

Suddenly you felt a tremor. Your body went cold and your pace picked up. The feeling was part of a sense witches had, it was a warning. Someone was close to death.

You turned the corner and ran quickly over to where the Squad was, before seeing with horror why you had felt a warning. Your sense was correct, on the ground was Oulo....... in a pool of his own blood.

[bowtiesandflutes]

A New Adventure (Brigadier Lethbridge Stewart x Reader)

gif belongs to billdecker

You had met him during the Great Intelligence’s invasion of London, and your flirtatious behavior baffled him at first, but when he realized that telling you to remain serious was pointless, he responded much to everyone’s amusement. You were an intriguing person. You always asked his squad or the Colonel questions about himself, but when the roles were reversed, you would dismiss it with a smile and say, “Guess you’ll just have to find out on your own.”

Three things were made clear to the Colonel when you met. One, you were traveling with the Doctor long before he met Jamie. Two, the Doctor was very protective of you, keeping you by his side by looping your arm with his. Three, you were a smart woman from fifty years ahead of his time, and the Doctor would converse with you in a corner to discuss different ideas on how to face a threat. You weren’t as smart as Zoe, but he trusted your instincts. And in the end, he never regretted following them.

When you arrived on Earth to fix the Tardis, soon becoming tangled in a Cybermen invasion, you contacted the newly appointed Brigadier in a way that would embarrass him but also remind him of who you were. As if he could forget.

He was working on finding information on International Electromatics when you intercepted the squad’s communication.

“Greyhound Leader.” Your voice came through the radio. “Personally, I prefer Colonel Sexy.”

The Brigadier turned in his chair, noticing Yates grinning at the sound of your voice but not stating it to stop him like he usually would. “What the devil are you doing on our radio?” He asked.

“Aw, and here I thought you’d be happy to hear from me. You must be Colonel Grumpy today.” You said teasingly.

Yates chuckled, and the Brigadier silenced him with a stern look.

“Why are you on UNITs radio?” He asked.

“I need your help.” You told him.

“Where are you?” He asked, sitting straighter.

“International Electromatics has a countryside base, and we’re trapped here. There are security guards everywhere. I thought you were looking for a way to see me again when you called the Doctor, but I think you’re right. Something is fishy here.” You said.

He would have smiled if he wasn’t worried about you. “Stay put. I’m on my way.”

“You’re so bossy. I like it.”

At this, Yates had to bite his hand to stop the burst of laughter escaping his mouth, and the Brigadier smiled as he spoke into the microphone. “Behave.”

“I always behave.”

He shook his head with a smile, walking to grab his hat from the coat rack, putting it on as he gave Yates orders to assemble a squad to join him at the base.

You ran towards the helicopter, and quickly helped Zoe to her feet when she fell. You squealed when you heard security shooting at you and climbed into the helicopter after Zoe, tripping over her leg while she sat down and landing on the Brigadier’s lap. “Hello, again.” You spoke up over the gunfire, Benton, and Yates retaliating against the guards.

“Hello, Miss L/N.”

“Call me F/N.” You grinned, moving to sit between him and Yates.

“I missed you,” Yates told you.

“Of course you did, dear, don’t be silly.” You patted his arm and he chuckled, clearing his throat at the look the Brigadier sent him.

“Oh, Y/N, stop flirting for one second.” The Doctor chastised.

You playfully rolled your eyes, “Only if Alistair promises there will be plenty of time later.” You said, looking at the Brigadier.

“What happened to behaving?”

“This is me behaving.” You told him.

The Brigadier gave you a side glance but there was a smile on his lips.

When the helicopter arrived at UNIT, Benton and Yates climbed out first, then the Brigadier who offered you a helping hand. You smiled as you stood in front of him, regarding his new uniform. “Promotion looks good on you.”

“Thank you, Miss L/N.” He said just as Benton called him over to where he was standing talking to a soldier. He bowed his head towards you before walking over to them.

“I told you to call me Y/N!”

He looked back at you with a smile, and you giggled, quickly frowning when the Doctor cleared his throat.

“You never stop, do you?” Zoe smiled, approaching you with the Doctor and Jamie.

You pretended to think for a moment before shaking your head. “No.”

You followed the Doctor into UNIT and looped your arm with the Brigadier when he followed. “We better make sure he doesn’t get lost.”

“Does that happen often?” He asked.

“Oh, every day.” You sighed, making him chuckle.

“I imagine it must be a great privilege to travel in the Tardis.” He said, leading you to his office.

“Every morning, I wake up amongst the stars and can’t imagine a prettier sight. But the stars would look just as beautiful down here.” You walked into his office and helped Zoe with the tea she was carrying.

“Tea, Alistair?” You asked.

He raised an eyebrow at you, amazed by your audacity of calling him by his first name in front of his Sargent, but he was amused by the way you pushed boundaries.

“Yes, please. Thank you.” He went to sit behind his desk, answering the telephone when it rang.

You smiled over at him, and Zoe giggled, nudging you. “When is the wedding?” She asked.

“There is no wedding.” You told her, stirring the tea.

“Yet.” She giggled.

“Oh, shush!” You whispered hastily when the Brigadier approached you.

When you handed him his cup of tea, your fingers brushed against his, and you were thankful the Doctor gave you a reason to turn away, hiding your blushing cheeks as you handed him a handful of wires.

“Thank you.”

You bit your lip, and he scolded you for it. “Sorry.” You apologized. “Can we talk?”

“I’m assuming this about the Brigadier.” He said, draping wires over your neck.

You nodded, unfazed by his actions as he had done this multiple times before when you helped fix the Tardis. “I can’t get a read on him. I know I flirt with him a lot -”

The Doctor made a noise resembling, “Hmph, ” humored by your words. As if to comment, “You don’t say, ” which made you smile.

“Do you think he takes me seriously? Should I be blunt?” You asked.

The Doctor shook his head with a smile. “Trust me, he knows. The reason he has not been blunt as you put it is because he would be asking you to leave the Tardis.” He explained.

You frowned, looking at the Brigadier who was talking to Yates and Jamie. You looked at the Doctor when he spoke, “Do you want to leave the Tardis?”

“I never thought about it. Three years ago, I was so sure I was going to travel with you forever. But now I think another adventure is waiting for me. And I know that if it doesn’t work out in the end, I’ll never regret taking that leap.” You told him.

The Doctor nodded in understanding. “You would be greatly missed.”

“Oh, I don’t know. Zoe is pretty smart, more so than me. I’m sure you’ll not notice I’m gone that much.” You said.

“My dear, you are -”

“- cleverer than you know.” You finished with a smile. “Perhaps I am. All I know is that standing beside you, sure made me feel clever.”

“Doctor.” You looked at the Brigadier. “You may want to see this.”

You followed the Doctor to the Brigadier’s desk and tried to remove the wires from around your neck, the Brigadier aiding you when one wire got tangled in your hair. You blushed, smiling as you thanked him.

“Do you think once this is over and we survive the invasion, we could talk?” You asked. The Brigadier raised a curious brow but nodded in agreement.

“Brigadier.” The Doctor called, and you both moved to stand beside him. You looked at the Brigadier, who turned his head when he noticed your staring.

You were starting to wonder if you should have told him when you had the chance. This time you couldn’t help but despair knowing there was a chance you may not make it out of the factory again.

“Ready?” Jamie asked, turning to you.

You noticed that the Brigadier was giving out orders to Yates and the Doctor and Zoe were walking out the office.

You looked at the Brigader for a moment, whispering a tentative, “Yeah, of course.”

You ran down the hallway, hearing the loud footsteps behind you and you ducked into a stairwell, looking over your shoulder. The Cybermen were closing in, and you were running out of places to hide and energy. You ran up the stairs, holding the radio to your lips.

“Greyhound, it’s Y/N. They’re right behind me. Do you read me? Over.”

Alistair took the radio from Jamie, “Yes, I read you. Where are you? Over.”

You looked at the walls, seeing a large seven on the wall. “Stairwell seven. Over. Heading to eight now. Over.” You opened the door and screamed when you saw the two Cybermen on the other side. You turned, looking at the four that had been following you walking to the stairs. “I’m trapped. Over.” You climbed onto the railing and jumped up, grabbing onto the railing on the next flight of stairs and climbing over, running up the stairs.

“Y/N. We’re on our way. Where are you now? Over.”

“They’ve got me cornered. The only way is up. Over.” You told him.

Alistair stopped running and looked back before looking at Jamie, who was asking him why he stopped. “Y/N, I’m on my way. Keep running. Over.” He spoke into the radio.

“Don’t worry; there’s not much else I can do. Over.” You said.

You reached the roof and struggled to get the door open. You screamed in frustration and gasped when you saw the Cybermen were near. You shook the handle, trying to open the door, and quickly looked over your shoulder when you heard the thundering footsteps. Trying to search for inspiration for an idea that would get you out of this, you listened to the sound of a helicopter outside and smiled as you knew it was the Brigadier. You looked at the Cybermen and then at the door, a grin forming on your lips when you got an idea. You waited until the Cybermen reached out to grab you, ducking, so their hand hit the door, breaking the lock. You rushed out the door to the roof and raced towards the helicopter. The Cybermen shot at you, and you landed on the ground, rolling onto your feet. The pilot flew higher, and you heard Alistair arguing with him before he climbed out, holding onto the helicopter as the pilot tried to keep it steady.

“Grab my hand!”

You raced forward, jumping off the edge, and screamed, feeling a hand take yours and pull you up as the helicopter flew higher.

“I’ve got you!”

You looked at Alistair with a grin, “I never had a doubt!”

He smiled at you while the Doctor and Jamie helped you inside, and Alistair soon followed. You smiled when Jamie hugged you and looked at the Brigadier who was giving Yates and Benton new orders.

That’s when the Doctor knew, with that one look, that you would be leaving the Tardis.

You walked into the console room and ran a hand over the controls. “I’m going to miss you too.” You smiled when she hummed in reply.

You picked up your suitcase and walked toward the door, looking back at the time machine that had been your home for years. It was a big decision to leave, but you would regret not taking the opportunity to try a relationship with the Brigadier.

You closed the door and placed your hand on the wood. “Bye, girl. Who knows, we might see each other again.” You turned to the Brigadier, who was talking to Zoe, Jamie, and the Doctor, handing him your suitcase. “Right, make yourself useful and hold that, will you? Thank you, dear.” You turned to the Doctor, “And you, stop if you keep frowning like that, you’ll never be able to stop. I’m not dying.”

Zoe stepped forward to hug you, “Goodbye, Y/N.” She smiled.

“Bye, Zoe. And be careful. You know what these two are like.” You smiled before turning to Jamie. “You know it’s true.” You giggled when he lifted you, spinning you around.

“Things won’t be the same without you, Y/N.” He said.

“Oh, he’ll still find trouble. But you won’t have my fantastic personality, jaw-dropping looks to help you, no.” You giggled, hugging him again. “Be careful. And if he shuts you out for a while, call me and I’ll yell at him down the phone for you.”

Jamie chuckled, nodding. “Aye. Will do.”

You turned to the Doctor, “Never thought we would ever do this.” You hugged him tightly, “Goodbye, Doctor.”

“Goodbye, Y/N. Take care.”

“Be careful.” You whispered in his ear before stepping away. You looked at the Brigadier who sent you a smile as you stood beside him.

“Are you sure about this, Y/N?” The Doctor asked after Jamie and Zoe went into the Tardis.

You nodded, waving goodbye as he headed into the Tardis. You watched the Tardis dematerialize and turned to Brigadier, kissing him passionately, shocking him and the men around him.

“Yeah, worth it.” You walked away with a smile, blushing as you went to the car. Alistair looked at Benton and Yates, who were smirking, quickly walking away when the Brigadier raised an eyebrow at them. You looked at him on the mirror when he approached the car, putting the suitcase in the backseat.

You knew it would take time to adjust to the different time zone, different behavioral expectations mostly, but that was a small price to pay when you had a man that doesn’t mind your boldness, who was understanding that you weren’t like the woman from his time and we’re used to expressing how you felt, very open and opinionated. And the differences became things he loved about you.

He got behind the wheel and looked at you. “Where do we start?” He asked.

“Tea?” You suggested with a smile.

Your first kiss was very fresh, and you were itching for a second, but you thought his squad would have heart attacks if they saw their boss kissing a woman again.

Alistair nodded with a smile and drove out of UNIT, heading to what would become your new home. And soon you realized that you didn’t need to change who you are to fit into his world and if someone tried to dismiss you when you voiced opinions or when you were behaving differently from expectations of women at that time, he would defend you while making it known that he had friends in high places.

You wondered what the Doctor was doing, what terrifying, fascinating, and heart-racing adventure he had stumbled upon. You missed life on the Tardis, but you would make the same choice if you had to do it all over again. You were embarking on a new adventure with Alistair, who was supportive and everything you needed. Hearing about some of the cases he worked on at the table, was enough excitement in your life. You certainly did not miss running from danger on an unfamiliar planet. But you did miss the Doctor, and one day, you hoped to see him again, even if it was for the last time.

Leaving the Tardis that day was something you could never regret and would never regret. You were decades before your time, yet you had never felt more at home. You had found the place you needed to be, and you were grateful that meeting the Doctor led to meeting the Brigadier.

[starfirette]

Chapter Six: Backtalk Is For Losers

Alstroemeria, Chapter Six: A bit of backtalk gets you into trouble with the infamous Lance Corporal Ackerman.

grand masterlist | previous chapter | more levi | join the taglist: inbox | next chapter coming soon!!!!!

tags: @kuxredere | @luvelyxp | @fan-g0rl | @levisbrat25 | @a-dream-is-reality | @89staytinyzen21 | @cqptainlcvi | @the-average-mastermind | @carlyandthechocolatefactorsugar | @akaashisowl​

a/n: Levi is heeerrreeeeeeeeeee. 

There was a pain that you could sense even before you open your mind to the subject of complete consciousness. It trickled down into your right big toe.

You slowly sat up after you opened your eyes to a row of empty cots made with plain white linen and one flat pillow. You rubbed your eyes, looking around to the majority of the room that was, to say the least, depressing. All along the walls were shelves and cupboards made from dark, grainy wood, set with vials and mason jars of who knows what. 

You reached for the little nightstand on the side of your bed, set with only a tarnished bell that you pressed with your palm. 

Moments later, you could hear shuffling and footsteps coming down the hall. The door opened open, and to your dismay, an unfamiliar woman entered with a glass and a pitcher of something that sloshed with ice. 

“How are you feeling?” she asked. 

You watched with mild shock as she poured you a glass of ice water and held it out. Your dry tongue yearned for the glass, and you took it and gulped it down in a moment. 

The woman gave you a refill. 

“Who are you?” you asked after one more drink. 

“I am the on call surgeon for the survey corps,” she explained, setting the pitcher down on the racketing side table. 

“I’m at the survey corps?” you asked. Your brows contorted with confusion. “How long have I been...?”

“About four days,” she explained. “You were badly hurt during the battle of Trost and you lost a lot of blood. Your injury required twenty two stitches, all on your lower back, where you had a five centimeter deep gash after being dropped on a rock fragment.”

You were dumbfounded. “Four days?” Four days for such a minor injury? 

“You must have needed the rest,” the surgeon said with a simple shrug. “Your friends attested your long day of hard work.”

“Why am I with the survey corps?” you asked. “Where are the others?” You’d been  half tempted to ask for your friends, but you didn’t really have friends. You had people you’d trained and bunked and fought with, but not ‘friends.’ 

“You are one of the few cadets that seemed to be close to the asset. Captain Ackerman has been waiting for you to wake up so that you can be questioned.” 

Questioned? Captain Ackerman? Asset? Though none of that answered your question about the other cadets, it explained why you were at the survey corps hospital. 

The surgeon explained Eren as the asset, and Captain Ackerman is the man in charge of anything related to Eren.  Captain Ackerman wanted to know about Eren, from every point of view possible.

You drank the rest of your water before crawling out of bed. You could feel the stiff sutures rub against the fabric of your shirt. The ache of the injury stiffened your movements as you paced back and forth across the length of the room like the doctor had asked of you. 

She made a note on the parchment pad she held before setting it down and making way to the cabinets that lined the wall. It was filled with syringes made of brass and had foggy glass jars filled with powders and pills capsules. 

She leveled four scoops of a thin, white powder and placed it in a small drawstring bag. “That’ll be for the pain,” she says. “Mix one spoonful it into water or tea before bed and again as needed. The survey corps only allows one dosage of painkillers per injury, so you will not be getting any refills. Try not to get addicted.” 

You were tempted to toss the bag back towards her. “Addicted?” you said with wary. 

The surgeon shrugged. 

“What’s your name again?” you asked. She lifted her brows. 

“I am Kathie Perrine, head of surgery and chief assistant to Hanji Zoe, the lead on science and medical research here at the corps.” Kathie reached for the glass frames that were tucked into her shirt pocket, unfolding the arms then placing them at the bridge of her nose. “The captain will give you more information on your room detail and other housing matters. You and the other cadets will be given the formal opportunity to choose your branch of desired service after Eren Jaegar’s trial. Captain Ackerman’s office is up the staircase outside the room, at the right hand wall. It’s the very first entrance.”

You clutched your bag of medicine tightly, nodding and trying to soak up all the information you could. It felt like Kathie was trying to get you out of the surgery as soon as possible, even though you didn’t feel ready yet. 

“What if I get lost?” you asked before you budged. 

Kathie looked lost herself. “Ask for directions. You’ll get it.” 

As you walked out the double surgery doors, you felt like Kathie wasn’t too concerned with you getting to the apparently important Captain Ackerman. Maybe you’d get lost in the giant place and die. Maybe you’re stitches would rip open and you’d bleed to death on the stairs. 

It felt like it would happen as you climbed the steps, wincing as the tightly closed wound on your back stretched with every movement. It was worse than the sort of stretch you got when your knee was scabbed. It was real. 

This was all real. You were at the cadet corps in God knows where, about to meet God knows who. 

But you had been assured by Miss Perrine that Captain Ackerman would set you straight with your living details and your new assignments. Then you could get the hell out of here. 

The survey corps was not a place you wanted to be. 

With every step up the winding staircase, you could remember the agonizing noises of wailing and screaming on the roads of Trost. 

You looked at your hands; you flex and clench them, looking at every detail of your skin. You had been scrubbed down. No dirt and blood was jammed underneath your fingernails. 

What was that boy’s name? 

You suddenly remembered him as you took a stark right, looking at the oak door to Captain Ackerman’s office. 

You hesitantly rapped your knuckles against the door. 

“Enter,” a stern sounding voice sounded from beyond the oak. 

You turned the brass handle and opened the door to a neatly put together office. It was a normal looking one, with a large wooden desk, stacks of yellowish parchment and leather bound books. You were completely stunned to see who must be the one and only Captain Ackerman. 

He wasn’t like you’d imagined at all. For one, he wasn’t old. At least, he didn’t look like it. He was older than you, by maybe ten or so years. His hair wasn’t white or gray, but rather a deep shade of black that had undertones of violet in the candlelight. 

He was sorting papers, not bothering to look up as he spoke. “Name?” 

“Y/n L/n,” you stammered, offering a weak salute. You felt strangely embarrassed by the greeting, wondering if he’d look at you and wonder why on earth you were doing such a pose. It didn’t feel like he was a captain. He felt like something much more intimidating. 

His eyes finally met yours, and you felt like you’d been slapped in the face. Sharp and steely as they were, they were darkly beautiful. He had a stern looking expression, one to match his voice, and the finest bone structure you think you’d ever seen. 

He did not look like he belonged in the survey corps. He looked like he belonged in the royal courts at the interior, maybe even on the arm of a princess. 

“Yes, miss L/n,” he murmured to himself as he searched through his papers. “Have a seat.” 

You strained to do so without meeting his gaze as he looked back and forth between files. 

“I am Levi Ackerman, a squad leader here. For the time being I’m also taking the lead on the Eren Jaeger case. I’ll be asking some questions about Jaeger and I am expecting your full, honest answers. Now, until you’ve chosen a corps to serve in you’re going to be residing here and answering directly to me.”

He looked at you for confirmation when you did not answer, a thin eyebrow raised high. 

You stammered, “Oh, yes sir,” as a pathetic reply. 

The captain tutted under his breath. “Room assignment is seven in the girls hallway,” he said then, going through his papers. He didn’t sound like he really wanted to be going over this all with you. “Sauna and showers every morning at seven sharp for the females. Breakfast seven thirty. Lunch is optional, all noon. Dinner eight in the evening. Questions?” 

“No, sir,” you quickly said. You could remember all of that. Maybe. 

“Let’s talk about Jaeger.”

It was an abrupt topic change, one that you didn’t quite welcome. To be honest, you didn’t want to be here at all. You were in the total dark about everything. Where was Krista and Ymir? 

And Armin, and Mikasa, and even Eren? 

Reiner? 

The last image that you could muster into your brain was clutching Eren’s limp body in your arms. You remember trying to pull him free of the titan corpse and then nothing else. 

“Last time you and I met, you had been recently injured,” Levi noted. “How is that?” 

You blinked. “I’m sorry,” you muttered, “but I don’t actually remember meeting you.” 

The captain impatiently tapped his pencil “The injury?” he repeated.

You felt your face flush with warmth and embarrassment. “Better,” you said quietly, using a hand to feel the medicine in your pocket. 

“And was that induced by Jaeger?” 

“I don’t think so. No.”

“Do you think, or do you know?” the captain asked. His eyes were a stronghold, trying to force their way into your nerves. 

“I-No.”

“So, you know, then?” the captain asked. He leaned back in his chair, using his forefingers to massage his temples. “It’s a simple question.” 

“No.” You spoke firmly. “Eren did not hurt me.” 

“You do not remember meeting me,” the captain drawled, “but you remember clearly that Eren did not hurt you?” 

Floundering was the only way to describe how you were currently feeling. The captain seemed to know every way to make you feel flustered and feverish. 

“This feels oddly like an interrogation, captain,” you said before you could stop yourself. 

His eyebrows lifted in shock. You could see the age in the crinkles around his eyes as he finally let his face relax. Late twenties, maybe even around thirty, you estimated. 

“Let me correct you, cadet,” the captain said slowly. “This is. Did you know Eren Jaegar was a titan?” 

Your eyes would have rolled out of your head if you could widen them any wider. “Absolutely not,” you snapped. “I wasn’t under the impression that any human could be a titan.” 

“If I were you I would very quickly adjust that attitude, Y/n,” the captain said smoothly. It shook something in your belly when he said it. His dark eyes were unwavering and they peered into you with no remorse. 

“I did not know. I don’t know Eren, really. He and I were never friends.” 

“Were you close with the Armin boy?” Levi asked as he looked at his pages, making some notes in the margin. 

“No.”

“And the girl?” 

“Your relative?” you asked for confirmation. 

The captain looked surprised again. “Do not begin to assume anything about me, L/n,” the captain said carefully. “Though she and I share the surname, I do not know her. That wasn’t the question. Were you, or are you, close to Mikasa Ackerman?” 

“...No,” you said again, feeling the strain of frustration tugging at your jaw, keeping your mouth tense. 

“Were you ever threatened by Jaeger?” the captain proceeded to ask. 

“Never. I hardly interacted with him.” You crossed your ankles.

“Then why help him?” the captain asked. 

You paused. You looked at the captain with a blank expression. 

He lifted his eyebrows again, silently repeating the question with what you would have imagined to be a tone of annoyance. “Is there a problem?”

“Is there some reason I shouldn’t have helped him? Does that make me a bad person? An accomplice? I would have liked some support, had it been me. I can’t understand why you don’t understand about-”

“About?” the captain challenged. He wore a strange sort of smirk, as if he were impressed by your impending outburst; it was like he’d been waiting for it all this time. 

“About human decency,” you concluded. 

The captain had a mask of amusement on his face as he folded his hands overtop his desk. “You’re a stark change from the usual cadets around here.”

“How so?” you asked, feeling your face sizzling with impending embarrassment. 

“You’re a much bigger dumbass than most of them. In the two interactions we’ve had together, you’ve proven yourself to be quite stubborn. You refuse to die, and yet you also refuse to comply with human nature. The nature in this compound is that I am your captain and I ask you what I ask you not to humiliate you, but to form a solid basis of what I’m dealing with. Eren Jaeger is not a usual situation. I will not have usual reactions. Despite that, I expect you to behave like a cadet should behave. You’ve made your impression. Those are all the questions I have for you today. Report to your quarters, change into uniform, then report here immediately.”

“For what?” you asked, your voice squeaky with humiliation. 

“For janitorial service. Problem with that?” 

His challenging tone was just daring you to talk back one more time. 

You ground your teeth in a hard clench. “No, sir.” 

“You are dismissed,” the captain said with a small wave of his pale, slender hand. You could see the scars and callouses that littered the top of his palm even from your seat across the desk. 

Standing to your feet, with your fists clenched at your side, you offered Levi a stiff salute; you didn’t mean it, without a doubt, but you didn’t want to risk getting in even more trouble. 

“Dismissed, cadet,” the captain said again. “I expect a swift return.”

You have never felt so completely humiliated. The captain had practically gutted you in there. Your legs trembled by the knees as you stormed out of the office. 

You paused in your steps, groaning, then you turned around again, making your way back inside. 

“Yes, cadet?” the captain asked, sounding exhausted as he immediately pinched his nose in frustration. 

“I forgot my room assignment,” you muttered, avoiding meeting his gaze. 

“Room seven, girls’ hallway,” he said. “I can write it down if you’d like.” 

“No thank you. Sir,” you added before he could bitch again. 

It was a slap in the goddamn face to have to march up to your room while knowing you’d have to march back down and face your first ever corporal punishment. 

The girls’ hallway was marked by a little plaque on the door. All the doors were made of the same kind of heavy oak with grains and lines from the aged tree it’d been born. No numbers were put up. You had to count a few times, unsure of how the rooms were meant to be numbered. Down one wall, then back the other? Or alternating? 

You hesitated to enter the room you thought would be yours. You knocked a couple of times, while pressing your ear up against the door to hear any answers inside. 

The room, though muffled, was undeniably silent. You opened up the sticky door, the door swinging into the room. 

It was a plain room, but no doubt better than the group bunks you had at the training academy. One unmade cot was pressed up in the left corner. Your familiar trunk of belongings sat on the bare mattress, alongside a set of sheets, a woven quilt, and two dismal pillows. 

There were no windows; rather the light source for the rest of your days here would be the oil lamp or the three large candles sitting on the pathetic looking desk pushed up against the north facing wall. 

Wow. You sure got lucky with room number seven, you bitterly think to yourself as you slam the door shut behind you. Stalking forward you could feel the slight pain in your back as you threw open your trunk. You felt relieved to see your belongings packed in it. It must have been brought after the attack. 

As you sifted through, looking for your uniform, you felt rage boiling in the pit of your stomach. The prickly, uptight Captain Ackerman had an easy time brushing off your attitude and asking you insensitive questions about Eren. Who knows what Eren’s feeling right now? His experience compared to the others that suffered in Trost is entirely different, but likely just as traumatic. You couldn’t imagine how he was feeling. 

Really, you couldn’t imagine how anyone was feeling.

You thought back to Fable, her baby Bree, and that boy who was just around your age, whose name you’d forgotten. You felt nauseous as you imagine the fate that could have befallen them after they left with your horse. 

You didn’t want to know the details. You’d rather go on the rest of your life assuming they made it to their little farm in Fairkelt by Stohess. 

Just as you didn’t want to know the details of their adventure, you certainly didn’t want to know what happened in Trost after your injury. You feel lucky for not remembering the injury itself, or your apparent first meeting with Captain Levi Asshole-man. 

Four days has been long enough to clear out the titans and assemble the dead. 

You took your time buttoning up your shirt as you tried to keep the Captain waiting for as long as possible (without getting in even more trouble). Maybe if you just barricade your door, he’ll give up and let you go on your way. 

Doubtful. 

You shoved your feet into your knee high boots, strapping up the buckles as you eyed your trunk you’d moved to the floor. It was a little bit pitiful to look at the small room and realize you didn’t even have enough belongings to fill it up. There wasn’t even enough clothing to constitute owning a wardrobe. 

You kicked the trunk out of the way as you stalked out of the seventh bedroom in the girls’ hallway. 

Your back did feel stiff and achy as you sped walked to Captain Ackerman’s office. 

As you walked down the stairs, you could see him waiting outside of his office door, leaning against the door frame with a bucket of water and a lame mop. 

“Reporting for janitorial duty, sir,” you scowled as you salute him. The captain simply gestured for you to take the mop. “In the future,” he said as you took the handle, “you will be expected to know where the cleaning supplies are, as you will have to get them yourself,” 

“Thank you so much, sir,” you scowled again. 

“Cadet, your attitude is the reason you’re doing this,” the captain said carefully. “I would suggest keeping that attitude of yours in check for the duration of your stay.” 

If you had the balls to do it, you would have made a retort featuring something about his height. It was surprising how short he was. You couldn’t tell by him simply sitting, but on his feet, he didn’t even exceed 5-foot-four. 

You chose to keep your mouth shut the way he’d so lovingly suggested. 

You dunked the mop head into the water before slapping it against the stone floor. “Happy mopping, cadet. I’ll make sure to leave my office door open if you have any questions. I except the hallway and the staircase to be done after thirty minutes. Then we can review your next cleaning assignment.”

Thirty minutes, you think angrily as the captain turns his back on you to retreat into his stupid office. Just how long would this little punishment last? 

You got to work mopping the hallway outside of the captain’s door; his office seemed to be the only one down here, so you didn’t have any luck of running into your acquaintances. While you wanted to ask him about any of them, you had a small feeling he’d be of little help. 

You supposed that you couldn’t blame him. If he truly were managing Eren Jaeger’s case, he must have an enormous amount of work he needs to get done. Your testimony, though filled with ‘attitude’ may have helped him some, and he needs to properly log it.  How stressful. 

Such a job would produce wrinkles in the forehead. 

Looking at him as he works, you can see that while he may be older than you, his face is rather smooth. You’d peg him to be in his later twenties. 

You were stunned to look from his office to the corridor, and seeing a young woman approaching. You blushed. You didn’t want her to think strangely of you for continually glancing into the Captain’s office. 

“Good afternoon, miss cadet,” the woman said kindly. You lamely gathered a salute as you got caught in the warmth of her eyes. She was incredibly beautiful. She had soft hazel eyes, and wavy reddish brown hair that tickled her chin and neck. 

“Is Captain Levi available?” 

Levi must have heard the woman’s voice. He quickly stood to his feet, pushing down his stack of papers and striding out of the office. 

“Petra,” he said smoothly. His voice was noticeably kinder than it had been when he had spoken to you. 

“Hello Captain,” Petra replied with a voice so genuinely sweet. “I see you’ve been working hard. Already giving poor cadets janitorial punishments? She’ll never want to join the survey corps now,” she added, throwing a small wink your way. 

You would have laughed if you weren’t so flabbergasted by the captain’s change in demeanor. 

So he could be nice! You supposed any one would be nice to a young woman as pretty and charming as Petra. So, that’s not you. Not that it matters. 

You don’t need the captain to like you, mostly because you have no intention of staying in the survey corps longer than you have to. You’d certainly had enough of death and destruction to last you an entire lifetime. The Garrison unit just made sense. 

It’s not as if you had any other options. 

You did your best not to eavesdrop on the conversation Levi and Petra were having. You mostly wanted to listen for details on any of your friends, maybe even Reiner or Krista. Any familiar mention of the two would make you feel somewhat better for being trapped here. 

“L/n,” the Captain called. 

You jolt with a start. You cast your eyes into the office, the sole point you’d been trying to avoid until now. “Yes, captain?” you asked meekly. His gaze combined with Petra’s made you feel strangely sick. 

“Finish up with the staircase,” he said dismissively, immediately turning his attention back to Petra, as if he hadn’t just spoken to you. “Then you’ll be escorted to the mess hall for dinner.” 

You blinked back tears of absolute ignominy.

Petra noticed how you’d been silently struck by the captain’s curt words, and she tugged his sleeve, whispering something to him with her eyebrows sternly furrowed. 

You weren’t sure that you could bare the weight of their eyes any longer, or even the potentially cruel response from the captain. 

You strained to pick up your bucket. You knelt down, wincing at the strain it put on your stiches. The flat soles of your boots left imprints on the wet floor as you slowly walked up the stairs of the spiral case. 

Water sloshed over the bucket as you struggled to place it somewhere constructive. Rather than listen to Petra and the Captain, you tried to decide how the hell you would go about mopping stairs. It was very compelling as you tried to block out the small laughs that Petra let out downstairs as they discussed the “shitty new batch of cadets.” 

You felt slightly unnerved at the thought of the captain shit talking you to Petra. What did you ever do to that man? 

You’d done nothing. You couldn’t be expected to not get angry when the captain likes a dickhead. You dunked your mop into the bucket before you sloshed the head of it around on the first step. 

As long as Captain Ackerman is apart of this corps, you’d never, ever join. You would rather slap the man in the face then tell him to shoved. Straight up a titan’s-

A slight scream left your mouth as you felt the heel of your boot pushed the bucket of water back. It clunked against the steps, spilling the water across the way and gathering beneath your boots. The flat soles did nothing to save you as you felt the entire world tipping backwards. 

You tumbled down the hard set of stairs, shrieking so abruptly at the pain that you bit your tongue hard. 

It was a hard thump at the bottom of the steps, your head cracking against the stone floor. 

“Oh, m--!”

You could hardly hear the rushing footsteps to your side as Petra’s light feet slapped against the floor. 

Her light head of hair appeared over you, her eyes wide as she knelt down to your side. 

“Are you alright?” 

No. You were not alright. You were laying in a pool of your own blood because your stitches pulled open. You opened your mouth to reply, to maybe even ask for help, but the blood from your tongue seeped out in a mixture of your saliva. 

This seemed to truly frighten Petra as she called for the captain. 

“No,” you begged her, wiping your mouth as you tried to sit up. “Not the captain.” 

“Christ, L/n,” the captain swore as he exited the office. “I only asked you to mop. Is that something to throw yourself down the stairs over?” 

He came to your side, just by Petra. He rolled the white sleeves of his shirt up to his elbows as he examined your wounds. “Ah, shit,” he muttered. 

You flinched under the captain’s touch. His arm swept underneath your back, pulling you to sit upright. His hand tugged at the blood soaked hem of your shirt. His palm felt warm against your wound. “Shit,” he said again. “Okay, you’re going to the surgery.” 

“No,” you said quickly. You used the back of your mouth to wipe the spit from your mouth. “I just came out of there.” 

Petra looked horrified at your words. She whirled her head towards the captain. “She just came out of the medical unit,” she gasped. “And you already had her go onto janitorial service?” 

Levi looked flabbergasted. He didn’t bother to say anything. Surprisingly, he just kept his mouth shut as he swept his other arm beneath your legs. You tried to push out of his arms as he rose to his feet. 

You were slightly shocked at how strong he was, especially considering his height. 

“Medical unit,” the captain said sternly. “Now.” 

“I can walk there,” you argued, still squirming under the feeling of his strong hand clasped across your wound. 

He met your eyes with his own. It was a strange sight. Up close, his eyes were less dark. They were a smoky grey, with little wisps of crystalline blue seemingly fracked into the irises. 

“Let me do my job, cadet,” Levi said as he continued to carry you down the hall. 

You felt so close to tears as you earned glances of confusion from the wandering soldiers. While the captain didn’t seem to mind, you really did. You hated feeling so exposed and helpless to a person you didn’t even know. You fought in the Trost battle, for Wall’s sake! You could make it to the surgery all on your own. 

Shame doused over you as Levi kicked the door of the surgery open, immediately demanding a bed and attention for you. You hated the way he said your name. Cadet Y/n L/n sounded almost like an insult. It didn’t take a genius to know that the captain doesn’t like you very much; perhaps some reason is your own fault. Even so, you felt like you didn’t deserve to be judged based off a first interaction. 

Or, second interaction, if you count the captain’s claim that he met you during Trost. You couldn’t remember that no matter how hard you tried, in the same way you couldn’t remember Fable’s friend’s name. 

Kathie Perrine stalked towards you and Levi, rolling her eyes practically to the back of her head when she recognized you. “Back for more?” she asked you. 

She gestured a thin hand to one of the made beds. 

You tried to crawl out of Levi’s hold. He didn’t let you. Instead, he placed you gently on the mattress. 

And then he left. 

You looked after him, shocked that he had managed to be so nimble and graceful looking even with his hand covered in your blood. You blushed as Kathie approached you, looking not as gentle as Levi had been. “What happened?” 

You started to unbutton your shirt as she gestured for you, mumbling in a low voice, “I fell down the stairs.” 

“You fell down the stairs?” Kathie said for confirmation. A little part of you was willing to be that she was repeating it to rub it in your face. She sighed. “Well, lay on your stomach girl. I’m going to have to close them up.” 

You cringed. “Is there any way for me to be unconscious during this procedure?” You begged. 

“Not unless you want me to hit you over the head with a lead pipe,” the doctor said. “I can give you a drink of whiskey, though,” she added hopefully. 

You accepted. 

You downed the two shots Kathie measured out for you before turning to lay on your stomach. Her hands were cold against the sticky, warm mess of your wounded back. They didn’t feel anything like the captain’s had. 

You tried to focus on the captain’s hand as Kathie made the first stitch. 

You wonder if he felt bad, at all. You wonder if he’s discussing just how lame and clumsy you are with Petra. Sure, a small part of you knows you slipped on your own accord, but majority of your brain blames the captain. He had to have known you’d just gotten out of the medical unit. 

Oh, but maybe that’s just how it works in adult life. Perhaps you’re just used to being coddled by Commander Sadies; it was strange, thinking that Sadies was the nice one in comparison to the 5′3 captain. 

“So, what happened?” Kathie asked. 

You clutched onto a pillow, trying not to tear the fabric apart and release the feathers. “I fell down the stairs while mopping.” 

Kathie snorted a laugh. You didn’t exactly appreciate it. 

“Well,” she said, “I suppose you learned your lesson. I’m tempted to put you on bed rest...but, with Eren Jaeger’s trial coming up, you’ll need to attend.” 

You strained your neck to look at Kathie. “Why do I need to attend?” 

“The captain wants you to. Captain Ackerman, that is. He’s been postponing this trial for days, waiting for you to wake up. You were a key witness, you know. He was adamant that you attend. You’ll have to go in a wheelchair.”

You dropped your face into your pillow. “’Wheelchair?!’” you repeated, sounding (and feeling) mortified. 

“Trust me, there’s lots of soldiers here that would kill to be put onto wheelchair rest. You’ll be in it for a week.”

“What about my room?” 

“Hmm,” Kathie hummed as she did one last stitch. “I suppose you’ll be sleeping down here. I can send someone for your belongings, if you wish. Don’t worry, I won’t be too mean to you.” 

You winced at the feeling of her stitching, taking comfort when she told you all she needed to do now was bandage you. 

There was a small levee on the wall, made from a wooden handle that poured water from the embedded spout as she pulled it. Kathie dunked a cloth into the water bucket and grabbed a roll of cloth bandages from one of the taller cabinets on the wall. 

You braced yourself for the freezing water, and hissed as Kathie put the cold washcloth to your skin. 

“If you didn’t want to be uncomfortable, you shouldn’t have fallen down the stairs,” Kathie said in cool tone.

You turned your neck once to glare. “The captain put me on janitorial punishment,” you explained, your voice sounding just slightly snotty.

Kathie tutted. “So soon? I’ll have a word with the captain. Not the first time he’s overworked my patients.” 

The captain has a history of this? 

Ugh. 

You pulled your pillow closer to your face. You focused on the fabric threads, your eyes going cross eyed, as you mumbled, “I don’t think he likes me very much.” 

“Trust me, kid,” Kathie laughed. “He doesn’t like anyone.” 

When the bandages were done, Kathie helped you roll over onto your back.

As you nuzzled down into the bed that would be yours for the next week, you had one thought that stood out against the others. Anyone, except for Petra. 

“I’ll bring you a tray of dinner tonight, and with that you can take your painkiller. I’m giving you a stronger dose, so it might make your stomach uneasy. I’ll send someone up for your things here soon, alright?” Kathie set a folded, linen shirt on your lap. You were bracing your chest with the blanket from the cot. 

“Alright,” you mumbled as you slowly tugged the cloth over your head. It’s not as though you have a choice. “Miss Perrine?” you call before she can leave. 

“Yes?” 

Your cheeks felt warm and rosy before you could speak. “Did you, by any chance, treat a patient by the name of Krista Lenz?” 

Kathie shook her head without any thought. “She a friend of yours?” 

“You could say that,” you shrugged. You didn’t want to feel to sad to hear that. It’s good to know that Krista wasn’t hurt. 

“I can ask around. I’ll see if she’s stationed here. Do you want me to let you know?” 

You carefully leaned back against the propped up pillow you pushed behind your neck. “That would be lovely,” you murmured. “Thank you, Miss Perrine.”