#This was inspired by another post I'll let you guess which one :]

[hiro-of-hyrule]

Master Kohga gets bored often

[katiascraft]

𐙚⋆°.MODALES | FC43

[MANNERS | FC43]

⤷ franco colapinto x singer!reader x lando norris.

summary: You had a brief yet beautifully intense romance with F1 driver Franco Colapinto a few years ago when he was driving for F3. When he decided to end your relationship, you didn’t expect he would move on that quickly.

Warnings: I think angst. Not a happy ending but another happy ending (?) and strong language I guess. Cheating. Dialogues in Spanish mostly. Not a native English speaker so there could be (so many) errors. Not proofread.

Author’s note: 200 FOLLOWERS CELEBRATION!! THANK YOU SO MUCH EVERYONE!! this was inspired on the EP “modales” by Yami Safdie which I recommend you check it out!! Also I’ll be using her for the posts. First time mixing smau and written stuff so yeah. Hope you like it 💌 don’t forget to like, comment, reblog! And follow me so we can be friends :3 (and drink mate together!)

MASTERLIST

f1gossipofficial just made a post

liked by @/user1, @/user2, @/landonorris, and others.

f1gossipofficial: breaking news ‼️ a source close to franco colapinto confirmed that @/y/nusername singer from Argentina it’s her ex and she just dropped an EP full of tea! 👀 apparently according to the song’s Franco dumped her for her new girlfriend @Franconewgirl and stated that franco isn’t as good as he seems! Let the tea be spilled everyone!

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↳ user123: @y/nusername TE EXPUSIERON BB [they exposed you bb]

↳ user1: OMG

↳ landnorizz1: why is our boy here ????????

↳ franmylove: oh no not this girl again pls leave him alone already!!!

↳ user4: she cute tho

↳ usar89: WHAY DOES SHE LOOKS EXACYLY LIKE FRANCO’s ACTUAL GF

↳ user20: girl I was about to mention it

↳ marylovesy/n: no puedo creer que franco la dejó después de que estuvo para el cuando mas lo necesitaba!!! [can’t believe franco dumped her when she was there for him when he needed it the most]

↳ landonorris: I guess I gotta take this to the group chat

↳ landonorris: she is so pretty

↳ user1: LANDO WTF

↳ usar444: land no rizz BRO WHAT

──── ──── ──── ──── ──── ────

💋ྀིྀི Track 1 - buen provecho.mp3

back to march 2023.

“Amor, perdón, ya sé, esto es una mierda. Pero realmente necesito enfocarme.. No es por vos, es por mi. Obvio que te amo y siendote sincero te voy a amar toda la vida, pero necesito enfocarme 100% en esto y/n” (love, I'm sorry, i know, this is a shitty situation. But I really need to focus. It's not about you,it's about me. Obviously I love you and to be honest I'll love you forever, but I really need to focus 100% on this y/n) you were already sobbing on the kitchen chair of his small apartment in madrid. This couldn't be happening. He wasn't breaking up with you over his career like you didn't have yours. Like all the sacrifices and support were with absolute shit. Franco was crying too but less emotional than you. He was colder, controlled. You were all over the place. You had to stand up. 

“Franco, qué pasa con todo lo que construimos? Todo lo que sacrificamos por el otro. Te apoye todos estos años para que? Se que las relaciones a distancia son difíciles pero con vos nunca lo fue. Franco por dios, te amo, te amo con todo lo que soy. Por favor, no me dejes” (franco, what about what we built here? All of the sacrifices we made. I supported you all of these years for what? I know distance relationships are hard but with you it wasn't. Franco, for god's sake, I love you. I love you with everything I am. Please, don't leave me) when he heard you mouthing the last sentences something inside him broke in a million pieces. He felt like a monster. He brushed his hair with one hand, anxious. He couldn't look at you after what you said. He felt like the worst human alive but his decision was already made. There was no coming back from it. It`s he`s dream. “Por el amor de dios, franco, decime algo”(please, franco say something) you expressed desperate. It was real and now you were in another country, alone, with nobody to talk to, to go to. All of that was him but even if he was sitting across the table from you, he was gone. So far gone, the room turned cold.  “No lo puedo creer.”(i can't believe it) you were speechless, empty. You had to sit again and that's when he finally looked at you. 

“y/n perdon. Pero es lo que necesito. espero que lo puedas entender”(y/n im sorry. But I really need to focus. I Hope you can understand) he expresado. You shook your head ironically dry laughing.he had the guts to act like this despite it all.  

“¿Sabes qué es lo más triste franco? Pensé que ibas a tener los huevos para decirme que me cagaste en la cara”(you know what 's the saddest part of this franco? I thought you would have the balls to tell me you cheated to my face) you dropped what you knew leaving him in shock. Exposed. Your anger intensified. “Obviamente lo sé hace 2 semanas. Quería que me lo digas porque vos te mandaste la cagada. Y aun así me pones una excusa de mierda y tenes la cara para decirme te amo.te cagaste en mi, en mi amor, en mi tiempo,en mi autoestima. Te cagaste en todo franco. No te voy a decir quien me dijo porque no importa. Ojala que te vaya bien y seas feliz con ella o con quien eras que no sea yo obviamente. Pero también espero que te enamores de alguien de verdad y te haga lo mismo solo para que sientas lo que siento y te des cuenta tarde o temprano lo que rompiste y nunca más vas a volver a recuperar” (i know it since 2 weeks ago. I wanted you to tell me you fucked up. But you decided to lie about it with an absurd excuse and you actually have the guts to say that you love me. You fucked me up and my selfsteam. You didn't care at all. I'm not gonna tell you who told me. It doesn't matter. But i hope you have a good life and be happy with her whatever bitch that isn't me clearly. But I also hope that you fall in love with someone and they do the same to you just to know how this feels and realize what you broke because there's not coming back from this) you  just had to take it off your chest. You were destroyed inside. Of course you still wanted to be oblivious and stay with him like nothing happened. But that was impossible to do. It was your second day here. He didn't even mention he wanted to talk. He was playing fool.   

💋ྀིྀི Track 2 - por favor.mp3

back to june 2023.

You and your bff were having a sleepover at your house. You were lying in bed just chatting about anything and everything. 

“Amiga viste esto? Pendejo del orto como le da la cara?” (girl, did you see this? That motherfucker. The audacity he has.) she handed you her phone to look at it by yourself. You see an instagram post. She looked so similar to you you got really confused for a moment. Then you realized it was franc and his new girlfriend. I think your jaw dropped to the floor. How could they? How could HE? You rolled your eyes. It still hurts. But you wanted to play it cool. its been only 3 months like did he even love you for real? You felt gross. You felt stupid. How could you believe him? That fucking smile. His fucking humor. His fucking fingers inside you that made you feel things noone did before. Ugh you hated him. You really hated him.

💋ྀིྀི Track 3 - gracias.mp3

Back to september 2023

franconewgirl made a post

liked by @/francolapinto, @/user2, @/alexalbon and others.

franconewgirl: sigan mirando y hablando que el novio más perfecto lo tengo yo 🩵 te amo fran [keep watching and talking. The most perfect boyfriend it’s still mine. I love you fran]

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↳ francolapinto: te amo princesa 🩵 [I love you princess]

↳ user23: PARENTS

↳ y/nandfran: 🙄

↳ user56: TELL HER TELL HER SCREAM IT GIRL

↳ user1: can’t believe he left y/n still

↳ yourbff: tiraba palo 🤣 [oh she’s throwing indirects]

↳ francolapinto: ?????

↳ yourbff: 🙄

↳ y/nusername: 💀

comments have been disabled

💋ྀིྀི Track 4 - permiso.mp3

Move forward to september 2024 → Monza GP

The Italian breeze of summer made you feel so happy to be here. Not so much the fact you were in the same place with Franco and his girlfriend. But red bull invited you and you loved racing so much that you couldnt say no. plus, your friend kimi and ollie that you knew because they used to race along franco back when the two of you were together. 

You were so thrilled you met Max Verstappen and that he was so kind and actually had a genuine conversation with you. He was nothing like how the media wanted to portray him. He also introduced you to Lando Norris, another driver. He looked really handsome and was really welcoming as well. You found yourself flirting with him for a bit. He said he had a friend from Argentina and that if you were free you could go and drink mate together after the race. You couldn't deny you felt attracted to him. He was handsome. Of course you gave him your instagram and started following each other. 

A few hours later Charles Leclerc won the race and it was fenomenal to witness. He won the Ferrari home race. The tifosis went wild. Really emotional. It was his first home win. You watched the podium in a smile from the red bull hospitality building drinking a red bull. 

After a few minutes, you got ready to go to your hotel to rest for the rest of the day but Max stopped you. 

“Hey, y/n, there's a party tonight. You are invited if you want to come. Lando will send you the address” he said walking towards you. You smiled pleased and flustered. He was so beautiful in person. 

“That sounds fun, sure” you said with your foreign accent pretty obvious just like franco’s and he smiled widely. 

“Perfect. See you tonight!” he said after giving you a quick hug and walking away. 

(...)

You were laughing a little tipsy. Lando was by your side almost the whole night so far. He was really fun to be around and Carlos came to the rescue so you could talk to someone in your native language. Sometimes it's tiring to think and translate what you will say 24/7. 

After a while you excuse yourself to go to the bathroom. Little did you know, Franco was gonna stop you before getting into it anyway. You looked at him surprised. His perfume all over you again leaving you kind of confused. 

“Podes dejar de hablar tanto con él por favor?” (can you stop talking to him please?) he said clearly drunk but grabbing your arm gently tight. You frowen and shook you heard before setting free from his grip.

“Hola fran, todo bien? Si todo bien. Que bueno che. No soy mas tu novia asi que no vengas a hablarme y decirme que hacer. Gracias, chau” (hi fran, wassup? Yeah, all good. Great. I'm not your girlfriend anymore so don't come around to talk and tell me what to do. Thanks. Goodbye) you said sarcastically and went straight into the bathroom already annoyed by his attitude. It was being a great night but he has to come around and fuck it up. 

(...) 

Your moans were all over the place. His hands are right on your waist and his movement consistently gets in and out of you. 

“Sos tan linda, y/n” (you're so beautiful, y/n) he said under his breath.

How did you end up here? Again in his arms making you see the stars. Getting you drunk on his perfume. Grabbing his hair and pulling his head back. Him grabbing your waist and twisting you however he likes. Just like he always did. 

A part of you was crying behind your face, smiling in pleasure, getting loud in moans. You wanted him forever. Whether You like it or not, he was the love of your life. No other guy could ever make you feel the way he does by just looking at you. You were angry at yourself. He has a girlfriend and here you are. You are not supposed to be anyone’s slut. The pleasure was intense, reaching your high, hiding your face in his neck, squeezing his shoulders. 

where was his girlfriend?

What have you done? Fucking alcohol and feelings and shit.

💋ྀིྀི Track 5 - perdón.mp3

Fast forward to the next morning

“No franco, esto es un horror. Es horrible lo que hicimos. Me voy” (franco this is horrible. It's horrible what we did. I'm leaving right away) you said feeling terrible. Awful. A knot in your stomach. You got dressed so quickly. 

“Nono por favor y/en espera. Estoy dispuesto a dejarla. Por favor, te extraño muchísimo. Nadie me hizo sentir como vos y nadie lo hará. Lo sé. Por favor, no me dejes” (please y/n wait. I will leave her. Please, I miss you like crazy. On one made me feel the way you did and no one will. I'm sure. Please, don't leave me) he said. How fast the nights change, right? One day you are begging him to stay, and the next he is begging you to stay. You turned around to look at him. 

“Bueno es lo que te mereces después de lo que hiciste. No podemos estar juntos franco. Te acordaste tarde de que me amabas. Yo ya no te amo. Y esta noche fue un error. No me busques mas.no quiero saber mas nada de vos” (well that's what you deserve for doing what you did to me. We can't be Franco together franco. You remembered you love me too late. I don't love you anymore. This was a mistake. Don't look for me. I don't wanna know about you anymore.) your words would have cut his skin if they could. Torn him into millions of pieces. His heart sank. 

You grabbed all of your stuff. You were scared the girl was coming any minute. You just didn't want to deal with it. This shouldn't have happened.

💋ྀིྀི Track 6 - de nada.mp3

move forward to present day

f1gossipoffcial made a post

Liked by @user567, @user1, @user34, @user890 and others.

f1gossipofficial: the secret it’s out! @/y/nusername Argentinian singer and @/landonorris mclaren driver been spotted together getting cozy in Monaco!

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↳ user1: OMG OMG OMG OMG I LOVE THEM

↳ yourbff: 🤭🤭🤭

↳ y/nusername: 😳

↳ user45: la princesa de argentinaaa 🩵

↳ user123: I don’t like herrrrr 🤢

↳ landonorizz: Lando has a terrible taste on women tbh

↳ y/nstan: feliz si ella está feliz 💌 [happy if she’s happy]

↳ user12: omg she confirmed it !!!!!

↳ user90: WHAT I CHOKED

——————————————————————————————

y/nusername made a post

liked by @/landonorris, @/charlesleclerc, @/francolapinto and others.

y/nusername: oops! Nos descubrieron! Seguí hablando de mi. Gracias a mi tenes lo que tenes, mejor disfrútalo 🩵 yo estoy disfrutando la mía y nunca fui más feliz. Te amo @/landonorris gracias por amarme como soy 💌 [keep talking about me. You should thank me for what you have now. You should better enjoy it. I’m enjoying mine and I’ve never been more happy in my life. I love you lando, thank you for loving me just the way I am]

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↳ landonorris: te amo mi bonita 🩵 you make me the happiest. Thank you for being so wonderful and be so you.

↳ y/nusername: omg te amo te amo te amo infinito 🩵

↳ landonorris: te amo infinito 🩵

↳ charlesleclerc: congratulations lovebirds! A pleasure meeting you @/y/nusername

↳ y/nusername: omg thank you prince 💌

↳ user778: ME ACABO DE MORIR SON HERMOSOS [omg I’m dead you are both so beautiful]

↳ yourbff: al fin alguien que te ama casi tanto como yo te amo 🩵😭 [finally someone that loves you almost as much as I do]

↳ y/nusername: 😭😭😭😭 te amo hermana

↳ user09: if he’s happy we’re all happy

↳ user123: I know franco choked when he saw this

——————————————————————————————

Thank you so much guys for 200 followers!! You are the best mwak mwak mwak 💌 first time I tried this format of story so I hope it’s good!! I dont know if it makes sense tho but i tried!!

[rafesbabyg1rl]

The Watcher ~ Part One

Part Two, Part Three,

Summary: Rafe Cameron x Reader, Stalker!Rafe x Pogue!Reader Reader's parents work late on Friday nights, which she spends alone. Except Reader hasn't been alone in a long time, not that she knows of at least. Rafe has watched you for years, he's very good at it. He has no plans of formally meeting you, as he's satisfied with the current arrangement. He likes it better when Reader doesn't know he's watching. But his idea of staying an anonymous stalker is ruined when reader catches him in her bedroom one Friday night. Rafe has to figure out how to fix his mistake before he loses the only thing that makes his life worth living.

Warnings: Rafe stalks reader...that's literally the entire plot. He's pretty pervy in this, I guess. Masturbation (Rafe) in front of unconscious reader, strong/vulgar language, somnophilia (I guess?), death threat(?). If I missed anything from this part that I should include in the warnings, please let me know!

Word Count: 5.9k

Author Note: My sneak peek got a few likes, so thank you if you liked it, y'all are the reason I'm finally posting this part! I'm not sure how I feel about this fic so far, I definitely have a habit of overly critiquing my own work and never being fully satisfied with it, but I'm trying to get over that. I don't have plans for this fic, it's just going in whatever direction I can think of as I write, so if you have any suggestions, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASEEE let me know, I'll write pretty much anything. This is my first work published on tumblr and the first thing I've written in years, so I hope it's at least readable, and maybe even a little enjoyable. If just one person enjoys this, then my mission is accomplished. Thank you, I hope you enjoy! And do NOT be shy to share feedback or give suggestions/requests. Again, thank you!

For those of you that DID read the sneak peek, a large portion of this part was included in the sneak peek, but I highly suggest reading it over in it's entirety. This draft has undergone several additional rounds of editing and I believe it is better than the version I published as a sneak peek.

CREDITS: The foundation of this fic was heavily inspired by/ based off of one of @faiszt 's bots on character ai. So, if you like this and you like character ai, I greatly suggest that you check out the bot!

One thing about humans is that we always want what we can’t have, especially when everyone else wants that same thing. It’s just something all humans do; but what happens when you already have more than you need and everything you could ever want? Well, almost everything. Rafe Cameron has more money than he could spend in his own lifetime, he can practically buy anything he wants. Except one thing, you.

At first he just thought you were pretty, but the more he saw you out in public the more and more he liked you. The way you’d talk or laugh when you were out with your friends…god, he could tell just how sweet you are. Too delicate for him to touch, like the wings of a butterfly or the petals of a flower. This is when he went from wanting you to needing you. 

See, another thing about humans is that we admire things. And, admiration can easily turn into obsession. Everyone has been obsessed with something or someone at some point in life, it’s normal. Obsessions will come and go, like a cycle. You get obsessed with something, you get over it, and you let it go until a new obsession marks the beginning of the new cycle. But things are a bit different for Rafe, he has never gotten over anything like, ever. Not once has Rafe Cameron ever let anything in his life go. When Rafe wants something, when he needs something, he will do whatever it takes to get it. And oh, how he needs you.

Rafe’s fascination, his obsession with you has been going on for years. He won’t ever admit it, but his perfectly curated collection of your personal items in his closet proves just how bad he’s been obsessing over you. The first thing he had ever stolen from you was your drink, you had been at the same party and you left your red solo cup about three-quarters full. Nobody noticed anything when he casually picked up the cup and finished the rest of your beer, purposely lining his lips with where yours had touched the cup, which was perfectly marked by the lipstick you had been wearing. After you’d leave a restaurant, he’d take the straws from your drinks. Rafe eventually worked himself up to breaking into your house and stealing your things when nobody was home. And Rafe made sure to explore every single inch of your room. All of your favorite panties? Gone. He’d take everything, your shirts, bras, whatever he liked really. You had noticed things kept disappearing from your room, but you’d just think you misplaced it–whatever it may be, or left it in a bag somewhere. Rafe had a good system. He knows exactly how much and how often he can take from you. 

Rafe knows he’s sick. He knows that it’s wrong to watch you from outside your bedroom window, that it’s wrong to follow you around in public, to purposely bump into you so you have to mutter a ‘sorry’ as you move around him. He just really, really needs you. And in Rafe’s twisted, dark, mess of a mind he believes this is the best way–the only way. He couldn’t treat you like every other girl, no, you were special. You were his and you just didn’t know it yet. Starting early on in his life, Rafe has always been neglected, always pushed into the shadow of his younger sister, Sarah. He’s been told he ruins everything, that everything he touches turns to ash. And you’re way too perfect to ruin. So, he follows you around like a creep, lurking from a distance. Of course you didn't know he’s been following you everywhere…he liked it better that way.

Rafe knew the line had already been crossed. Hell, the line had been crossed a long fucking time ago. He doesn’t care anymore, he needs you. Heaven is smelling like you; and not because you had left your scent on him, but because he had bought the same perfume as you. He needed to know what you smell like, how sweet you are…how sweet you taste. Heaven is watching your chest rise and fall as you sleep peacefully in your bed. Heaven is you.

What Rafe has been doing to you for years could be defined as worship. Rafe was worshiping you. He’s your good boy; your loyal man and he was going to take care of you; protect you, even if you don’t know it yet. You’re what he lives for; you’re all that keeps him going, the only thing he cares about. 

Since he’s been watching you for years, of course he knew your schedule. Of course he knew that on Fridays your parents work late at the local bar & grill that they own. This means you slept in your house by yourself practically every Friday night. So every Friday night, Rafe would sneak in through the back door that you always forget to lock. He just wants to check on you, he wants to see his pretty girl sleeping beautifully, he wants to know that his baby is okay. This is not a crime, it’s not a crime to care; he’s not insane, he’s just in love–if you could even call it that. How can it be wrong to protect what’s his? Oh, and god forbid anyone ever get in the way of his stalking routine, if anyone were to take you away from the inevitable path of meeting him…oh, the things he would do; whatever it takes.

One unforgettable Friday night, you fall asleep on your couch watching a rerun of one of your favorite shows. You enjoy being alone. If only you knew you haven’t been alone for a very long time. You’re woken up by sudden, loud noises coming from your bedroom, but you think maybe it’s just the cat, or maybe you didn’t shut your window. You get up from the couch and in several slow, cautious steps you tiptoe over to your room. When you enter your doorway, you’re immediately greeted by the sight of a tall and broad man standing in the center of your bedroom holding the last shirt you wore to his nose, breathing in your scent. The sight of all this makes you immediately freeze and stand motionless in your bedroom doorway, staring at him blankly. 

Rafe doesn’t startle when he realizes you’ve caught him red-handed. Instead, quite the opposite actually. He’s actually a bit amused, relieved even; if you hadn’t caught him just now, he never would’ve been able to work up the nerve to finally talk to you. He didn’t want to have to be creepy about things between you two, but he couldn’t talk to you like a normal person. It’d be too unpredictable, too unknown. Meeting you like this…he has all of the control. 

“There you are,” he grinned. “How beautiful…” The strangely offputting man gloated in your fear and it was obvious.

You take a step back from where you had been frozen. He takes a step forward. This cannot be happening, you think. Your brows furrow in hopelessness and defeat. Again, you freeze where you are standing, even more afraid to move now. 

You feel like you’ve seen the man before, which you have, plenty of times; but he was careful to never have too big of an interaction, so that you couldn’t recognize his face. You have no clue that you’ve been and always will be his.

 “W-wha…who are you? W-why are you in my house?” You try to keep your voice as strong as possible, but the way your words shake with trepidation betrays you. 

The man takes a quick step forward, slowing to a stop and putting his hands up in mock surrender as you jump back. “Woah, woah, hey…calm down, alright?”, he chuckles when he sees the utter horror and complete fright in your eyes. His tone switches into one of a little more seriousness, “I'm not here to hurt you, you don't need to be so scared...”.  If you didn’t feel like your only choice was to look him in the eyes, you might even believe him. But, you had no other option but to witness the animalistic spark in his eyes that lit up with each word he spoke. With each step he took, you took one further back—your heart dropped into your stomach at the sight of his cocky, twisted smile and the way he looked at you…like you’re a zebra grazing in your natural habitat and he’s the lion waiting to pounce and attack you in your own home. 

���I just wanted to see you," he leaned up against your dresser, taking in the look on your face. His face almost instantly drops the predatory look and adopts one of mock concern, almost convincing enough to hide his amusement. “Hey, it's okay, baby, it’s okay…”

“Please,” you beg. “If you leave I won’t call the cops. I won’t tell.”

Rafe cocks his head and lets out a slow breath, as if he’s disappointed in your reaction; you aren’t supposed to want him to leave. “Hey, hey…I’m not gonna hurt you. Just listen to me…you don’t wanna have to call the cops at three in the morning,” he elaborated. He’s trying to be as convincing as he can because he cannot screw this up. Even so, he still can’t help his smile that only grows at the sight of your terrified face. He shakes the smirk off, adopting a serious expression once more. “Especially when the cops won't be able to do a damn thing.” 

He continues to step closer to you with each word. He stops once his figure is looming over you, looking at you like a lion about to pounce on its prey. “You should really be more careful, sweetheart, leaving the back door open like that at this time of night, when you’re all alone…you never know who might be out there.” His voice is cold as he warns you about the dangers of the world; the dangers of himself. 

“Who are you?” You repeated. The man looks so familiar but you just couldn’t quite place his face anywhere. You just need to know what he wants; who he is. 

“That’s not important right now baby…we’re focused on you, yeah?” The man’s eyes widen, taking in every detail of your face; the only other times he’s seen you this close is when he watches you sleep. 

You could feel his breath on your face as he spoke. The look in his eyes tells you to take another step back, but when your back collides with the wall you jump; there’s nowhere left for you to go and that was exactly how he wanted it. He wanted you like this alone, afraid, and cornered. He loved your fear. The man stares at you with a predatory look although aside from the darkness and lust in his eyes, you can see something else, but…what is it?  

“W-what do you want?” You ask, keeping as calm as you can. Even though with every passing second the air gets thinner and thinner. Your stomach is in knots and your throat starts to close up. Not to mention the stinging tears in your eyes, threatening to fall at any given moment.

“Me?” he cocked an eyebrow, his eyes shamelessly roaming your body as he blew out a huff. “I just wanna have a little chat, that's all...” The unknown man takes another step towards you, invading your personal space, his tall frame towering over you as his bottom lip finds a home between his teeth. Rafe reaches up and tucks a strand of your hair behind your ear. “No need to be so scared, baby...”

“T-talk about what?” You have no idea what this man who you don’t know, could possibly want to talk about with you. Why is he acting like he knows you when you’re sure you’ve never even seen him before? Why is he…admiring you? No, that couldn’t be right. The mystery man is so confusing, all his twists and turns giving you whiplash. 

“Ah, you see...” he responds, pausing to place his other hand on the wall behind you, almost trapping you in. You feel his hot breath against the sensitive skin of your face, burning you like hot steam. His breath was slow and steady. He was completely calm. He liked this. He gave you a genuine smirk, bringing his face closer to your ear. “It’s more of a proposition really…”

“What is it…?” You ask. Not out of curiosity because honestly, you’re too afraid to know. But because you figure things might, just might go better for you if you play along. He stayed silent for a moment—enjoying the look in your eyes and your erratic breathing.

“All this fear…all this trembling...” he trails off as he brings his hand up to your chin, his thumb slowly tracing the outline of your lower lip. “It's nice to finally meet you...” He chuckles and leans in so that his lips nearly touch your ear. “Will you stop shaking like that if I tell you what I want?” His thumb moves from your bottom lip and he tucks a piece of your hair behind your ear; he doesn’t want anything getting in the way of his view of your pretty face.“Hmmm?” he challenged. “Or will you still be shaking like a scared little puppy?”

“I-I don’t…” You stutter, not being able to speak or even think clearly with the way he’s glaring at you. 

“Shhhh… ” he tutted, bringing his other hand from the wall to your lower back and drawing you even closer to him—until your body was almost flush against his, his touch surprisingly warm. “You're not answering my question,” he whispers your name as he runs his fingers through your hair, it’s softer than he’d imagined. 

“Please just…” The tears were no longer threatening as they began to fall down your cheeks. “Please…” Hearing this man who you do not know, say your name, was probably the most frightening thing to happen to you yet. 

“Shhh, stop that...” he calmly commanded when he saw the tears falling from your pretty eyes. Rafe's voice was soft but stern—he hated seeing you so distressed. His hand moved from your lower back to your chin, making you look up at him. “Hey it’s okay…it’s okay baby, no need for tears. I just wanna talk to you is all." You almost believe him for a moment with how sincere the glint in his eyes appeared. But you’ve picked up on his manipulative expressions. 

“My parents will be home soon…” You vaguely remember your parents mentioning something about something and blah blah blah…they’re closing early tonight. You really hope it’s true and isn’t just a figment of your imagination; something your mind is making up so you don’t completely give up. 

A cocky smile returned to his face as he let a small huff of amusement slip past his lips. He knew your parents were working late, just like every other Friday night. "Bullshit,” he chuckled. His hand moved back to your lower back, holding you against him. “It’s just you and me, pretty girl.” He grabs your waist and within the next second, you’re on your bed and he’s hovering over you. You can feel his hot breath in your ear, you can smell him, feel the excessive heat radiating from his body. He speaks quietly now, more serious than he’s been this entire time, “Don’t ever fuckin’ lie to me again. Got it?”

His words provoke a small whimper from you. How long has he been watching you? What’s he gonna do? What does he want to talk about? Your mind is filled with questions you’re too afraid to ask. “I-I’m not lying.” He leans down, his lips almost touching yours. Rafe’s eyes are looking straight into yours, admiring the complete and utter fear your eyes possess. He doesn’t want you to be scared of him. But fuck, does he love it.

“Oh yeah?” He mumbles as he presses his face into your hair, taking in your scent. He can’t believe he’s finally this close to you. He didn’t think it’d ever happen, and if you didn’t catch him tonight, it probably wouldn’t have. It’s meant to be, he thinks. “What did I tell you about lying, hm baby? I know you’re fuckin’ lyin’ to me, so you wanna try that again?”

Before your brain could muster up some bullshit response, the sound of the front door unlocking echoes through the hall and into your bedroom. Rafe holds his breath and puts his hand over your mouth, causing your eyes to widen as he leans to the side to glance down the hallway at the front door. “Shh…”, he whispers. You weren’t lying. Your parents came home from work early and they’re about to turn the doorknob and come inside the house. Rafe looks at you, the look in his eyes beyond unsettling. “Tell the cops…tell anyone, and I’ll come back and fuckin’ kill you, okay? This is our secret. Don’t make me come back and hurt you babe, I really, really don’t wanna have to do that, alright?” 

He has to be bluffing, right? But, when you look up to meet his gaze, you can tell; you can tell he meant every single syllable that he spoke. It’s not like the cops would believe you if you said you had a stalker anyways, you’re a pogue. And cops never believe a pogue. Rafe doesn’t need a response from you, the fear in your eyes tells him all he needs to know.

 Just before you hear the front door open, Rafe smirks at you. “We’re gonna have so much fun together baby.” Reluctantly, the disturbed man leans back and takes his hands away from you. Without another word, he walks over to your bedroom window and pushes it open. Before ducking to climb out, the large man looks back at you. Your breath hitches even further if that’s even possible.

 “Goodnight puppy.” The outline of his smug grin is visible even in the darkness of your room. Just as you hear the quiet voices of your parents enter your house, the dark figure turns and exits your window. When the man is outside you sit up and rush over to shut and lock the window behind him. 

With caution, Rafe watches as your mother comes to peek her head in your bedroom. She only lingers in your doorway long enough to see your dark shape laying in bed. Covered in blankets, you pretend to sleep, knowing that you wouldn’t be able to hold a casual conversation with your mother at the moment. And the last thing you want to do is raise any alarm. Not while he’s out there–whoever he is. Hot, salty tears fall from your eyes, wetting the soft skin of your cheeks. When she shuts the door, you let out a shaky breath, finally being able to breathe.But, you keep your eyes sealed shut. At least then you can’t see if the man is still watching you from outside your window. You lie awake for hours, how are you meant to go back to sleep after whatever the hell just happened? All you can do now is wait. Is he coming back? When will he come back? Who is he? Why does he want you? There’s a million different questions and worst scenarios circling around in your head. So, you just wait, it’s all you can do. 

As you wait, the hours turn into days, days turning into a week as the next Friday approaches you; you spend your time worrying about having to be home alone again. There still had been no sign of him since your encounter last week, but you decide to stay the night at a friend’s house, not wanting to take the risk. The second Friday after you came face-to-face with your stalker, you get a friend to spend the night with you. And now, after four weeks of waiting there’s still no sign of the deranged man. Although, if you had no knowledge of him stalking you for years he clearly is good at staying hidden. As the fourth Friday approaches, you think over your options. You can go to a friend’s house or have a friend stay over, as you’ve been doing. But, you’re tired of waiting for something to happen. You’re sick of not feeling safe in your own home and of having to look over your shoulder at all times. You used to love being alone, and now it’s been weeks since you’ve spent any time to yourself. You’ve had enough. This Friday you’re not hiding, you’re done being a coward. You will not allow this creep to keep taking away everything you love; you won’t allow yourself to waste any more time worrying about that psycho. So, you stay at home by yourself. He’s not gonna show, right? He was just bluffing or on drugs or something, that’s what you convince yourself.

You pull back the fluffy comforter on your bed and climb in. You pull the covers up and completely over yourself, you used to do this as a little girl when you’d have a nightmare or you’re scared of the thunder or the monster in your closet. If the blanket could protect you when you were little it should work now…right? Well, maybe it’d still work if you had a nightmare, but logically, what is it gonna do against your stalker? But no matter how much you force yourself to believe that he’s not coming back, you still find yourself praying. You’ve never been very religious, but recently you pray to whoever will listen. 

You had bought some sleeping pills from the store a few days after you discovered your secret stalker. They helped you sleep, since your brain hasn’t once stopped thinking about him since the whole fiasco. Reaching over, you pull out the drawer of your nightstand. You grab the bottle of pills, you swallow a couple dry and set the rest on your nightstand. The pills start to kick in quite sooner than usual, must be because you took double the amount…you’re gonna need them to fall asleep tonight. Your first night alone in weeks. In just a few short minutes, you’re out cold, buried underneath an absurd amount of pillows and blankets.

Rafe spent the past few weeks feeling overwrought after what he did. He feels wrong–a feeling he’s not used to experiencing. But it’s because he knows he’s ruined any chance he might’ve had with you. Before you caught him in your bedroom, he had a chance that you could meet him regularly and think he was just a normal guy. But now, all hopes of you ever thinking he’s ‘normal’ have been abandoned. He actually feels shame and…regret for his actions? He’s been seeing less and less of you, and it’s making him angry, so fucking angry. Your schedule has been relatively the same for the past years and now you’re switching it up? You’re hiding from him; running from him just like everyone else in his life. Maybe the things his family has been saying about him for most of his life is true; maybe everything he touches does turn to ash. God, why does he ruin everything? 

You are the one thing, the only thing that Rafe did not want to ruin. You’re the one thing in his life that’s too perfect to ruin…too innocent. But, the damage has been done. He doesn't have many options left. He could leave you alone, but then he’d be weak for not sticking to his word and he can’t have you thinking he’s weak and that you have the power. He could go back, but then what would he do? There was absolutely no way in hell you’d seriously talk to him, and he didn’t want to force himself onto you. He really wanted you to need him back, you have to want it. But everything you do or say now will be out of fear, it’ll be you trying to stay alive. He wanted you to be desperate for him, not desperate to get rid of him. Either way, you’re never gonna forgive him; you’ll always hate him now. Since you’ll feel the same no matter what he does now, he decides that he just needs to see you, he needs to talk to you again. It’s been far too long since he’s been close to you. He can’t take another goddamn second without seeing his reason to live.

He hurries over to your house, parking an entire block away as usual. He makes sure no eyes are on him as he sneaks around to your backyard. Rafe tries peeking through the curtains that block your window to see if you were in bed or not, but he can’t get a good view. He needs to know if you’re home. He needs to see you. 

Rafe sneaks around to the side of your house, checking all windows and doors in the process, but he has no such luck. But he doesn’t give up yet, he’ll get in, he’ll find a way. He tries the side door that leads into your garage. He lets out a giant breath of relief when the door clicks open. Once he’s inside the garage, he takes a quick glance around to analyze his surroundings and burn every inch of your house into his memory. When he finally enters your house, he takes his time to look around. Obviously Rafe knew you were a pogue–he knew everything about you, but you never really looked or acted like one. However, the inside of your home puts your life on display, making it very clear you’re a pogue. 

You sleep soundly, only being interrupted by the occasional dream; completely unaware that your stalker is making his way down the hall and into your bedroom. Rafe opens the door quietly. Your room is dark like the rest of your house, but the moonlight shining through your thin curtains provides just enough light that he can see the outline of your sleeping body. Now that your presence has been confirmed, he feels like he can finally breathe and he lets out a breath he didn’t even know he was holding. 

Before he became totally obsessed with you and he’d see you occasionally in public, you used to just make him horny. He’d catch a glimpse of your smile or hear the softness in the way you spoke, or the innocence in your sweet laugh and his dick would be hard within seconds. And when his obsession grew and he’d watch you more frequently, sex with other girls started not doing anything for him. He needed you…he needs you. When he actually started paying attention to the way you spoke, the way you acted, he fell in love–what he thinks is love anyways. Rafe realized you’re the sweetest, most pure person he’s ever known. He didn’t think people like you really existed. His discovery led him to watch you more closely, he started taking more risks just because he needed to find your flaw. There’s no way you’re actually this perfect, it has to be an act. Now, after years of watching you he can confidently say that you really are just that perfect. Rafe needs you for more than just getting off now, he needs your comfort, he needs the kindness that radiates off of you. Which is why he’s always trying to find a way to get closer to you, he needs to absorb your sweetness. But hes really done it now; he’s fucked up big time. You hate him.

He hadn’t realized that the hate he brought upon you would tint the kindness that radiates for your being. He has to get you to let go of the hate he’s caused you, he needs you to be yourself again. He just doesn't know how, if it’s even possible.

 As you sleep soundly, his large frame towers over you as he stares down at you through the darkness. You look so peaceful, so innocent. It physically pains him to know that he’s taken away parts of your innocence. All he can do is stare at you as he mentally curses himself. He can’t wake you up and ruin your small moment of peace. It’s better if you don’t know he’s there. 

Your stalker slowly raises his hand and uses his thumb and pointer finger to pull your blanket down to your knees. Even with the blankets pulled down most of your body was hidden from him. Almost everything is left to the imagination in the loose, patterned pj pants and the oversized, long sleeve shirt that you’re wearing. He can only see a small portion of your lower stomach due to your shirt slightly riding up. And that small bit of skin is enough to trigger his memories of you. Because of course he’s seen you countless times; he’s got your body memorized.

He’s practically panting as he takes in the sight of you, imagining that you’re unclothed beneath him; his memory is sharp enough to almost see it. His cock grows to press against his jeans and his eyes trail up to your beautiful face. The ache in his needy cock starts to become unbearable. Your name slips past his lips in the form of a mumble when he starts to palm himself through his newly tightened jeans. 

Okay, Rafe has definitely jerked off to the thought of you, your smell…everything about you makes him lose whatever control he ever even had to begin with. Something he hasn’t gotten to do yet is jerk off with you right in front of him as a live viewing source, fresh for his eyes. He’s gonna be able to cross that off the bucket list soon enough; he can’t wait any longer. His hand stops its ministrations over his jeans as his head turns and he moves over to your closet, grabbing a pair of delicate, worn panties from the top of your laundry hamper. He brings the treasure up to his nose to smell you. God, he could cream his fucking pants right now. He quietly walks back over to you, taking a look at the pill bottle on your nightstand. He picks it up with his free hand, eyes quickly scanning over the label. He smirks as he sets it back down. Rafe turns his head to look back at you. His smirk grows even wider as he leans back, cocking his head as he observes you. Yeah, you’re definitely gonna be out for a while.

With his pants and boxers around his ankles, he stands over you. Your panties between his hand and his cock as his fist slowly pumps up and down his length. His other hand meticulously pulls your shirt up to reveal your chest.

“Fuckkk…” he whispers under his breath as his bottom lip is held captive between his teeth. Your perfect tits are spilling out of your bra as you lie asleep on your back. He lightly fiddles with the ends of your hair as his hand pumps over his dick repeatedly and without rhythm. He takes his time, Rafe never likes to rush this. Especially not with you.

Your subconscious mind reacts to his light touch and sounds, pulling you into a wet dream; seeing as a main side effect of the medication you took was vivid dreams. You’ve also been unusually horny lately, probably because you’d been too afraid to touch yourself when you thought you were being watched twenty-four/seven. His fingers trail up your stomach and into the valley of your breasts with feather light touch.

You stir a bit, not because you felt him, but because the dream you’ve been thrown into by your subconscious is starting to get your body all worked up. You’ve been extra horny recently and keep having sex dreams since you haven’t been able to touch yourself the past few weeks, having a stalker and all. As he leans down to lightly kiss the skin in between your boobs, a moan slips past his lips, vibrating off of your skin and interrupting the mostly silent room. The only other sound that can be heard in the quiet room is that caused by Rafe’s hand quickly moving up and down his cock; the friction caused by the soft fabric of your panties generates a quiet noise. Pre-cum leaks from his slit and seeps into the fabric of your recently worn panties. He leans back down to create a hickey on your chest and hopes that you won’t wake up from the sudden feeling, although if you did that might be even better. Shaking the selfish thought out of his head, he sucks strongly at the smooth skin between your beautiful tits. He pulls his mouth off with a pop! Leaning back to see the mark he left, he smirks knowing you’ll see it too eventually. The already rhythmless movements of his hand gets even more erratic the closer he gets to reaching his orgasm. 

The man standing above you runs his hand back down your chest and abdomen as you sleep. Completely unaware of what's happening to your physical body right now, you begin to get all wrapped up in your dream. You only ever get sex dreams when you’re so overly horny, which you’ve been the past few weeks. That combined with the sleeping medication you took, made this particular dream feel different; it felt so…real. The only dream-like part about it was that you couldn’t see the man's face for whatever reason. 

While you’re in a deep sleep, you involuntarily let out a needy whine as your active mind plays games with you. When Rafe hears you he thinks he imagined it, until he hears you do it again. He wonders if you could feel him, except he’s not even touching you right now. Realizing that's clearly not the reason, he furrows his brows in confusion. He pulls the duvet cover completely off of you to reveal the way you keep periodically squirming as your body searches for the same feeling your mind is experiencing; and the way your toes tighten up and curl as you’re tricked into thinking you feel pleasure. 

He can’t take it, not when you look like this. The man hovering over your unconscious figure lets out a lewd moan that corrupts the silence as hot strings of his cum spurt out of the pink, glistening tip of his cock and onto the pair of your panties that he's got clenched in his fist, immediately soaking into the fabric. Surprisingly, when he gets through his orgasm, he adoringly covers you back up with your blankets and leaves your house, locking the door he entered through to be sure you were safe. He got enough to satisfy him for now as he works on a plan to change the way you think of him.  He’ll be back for more of you soon enough. He has to fix this; the biggest mistake he’s ever made and the only regret he’ll ever carry. 

To be continued...

Thank you for reading! I hope this was enjoyable and not a waste of time. I spent a lot of time on this part, especially with the editing since I never really feel done with anything. If you have literally ANY feedback, questions, or suggestions, PLEASE feel free to let me know! I don't really have any solid plans for this fic so if you have any ideas I just might include them, there's not much I won't write!

I'd like to thank @faiszt for inspiring me to write this fic!

[benispunk]

Who's that girl?

Chapter 3: Stuck With You

The trio hangs out for the first time outside the apartment.

logan howlett x reader

TW: language, D&W, mentions of dark backgrounds.

A/N: third chapter!!! this one is really short, sorryyyy...but I'll post another fic as well as a new chapter this week to compensate, I pinky promise!! this explores the trio's dynamic again but do not worry, things are coming 🫡 alright I'll leave you to it!!

→ this fic is inspired by the TV Show New Girl, Wade and Logan aren't Deadpool and Wolverine (no powers/mutant gene etc) but I did take most of their character traits and storyline!!

Masterlist / Previous Part / Next Part

The sun hung low over the city, casting golden light over the streets. Y/N had spent the better part of the afternoon wandering around her new neighborhood. It had been a week now, and between settling down and work she hadn’t had the time to walk around the streets. Wade had recommended a few places that he thought she would like. She strolled through narrow alleys and wide streets, passing cafes, small bookshops, and one bustling market. There was also this cute park a few blocks down where she stayed for lunch. It was all new, yet there was something comforting about this quiet exploration.

She hadn't quite figured out how to navigate the subtle rhythm of her new life— but she would managed. Everything’s going to be okay, she reminded herself.

When the evening chill began to creep in, she made her way back to the apartment. She was looking forward to spending time with Logan and Wade; the three of them had started to form an unexpected bond. As she climbed the steps to the apartment, she wondered if they were home yet. She could already imagine Wade cracking jokes, Logan rolling his eyes, and her somewhere in between, soaking up the dynamic. She already loved them so much.

The second she unlocked the door and stepped inside, Wade's voice boomed from the kitchen.

" And she returns!" He leaned against the counter, grinning. « So? How was your little solo adventure?".

Y/N smiled, closing the door behind her. "Amazing. I visited all the places you recommended and I’m definitely going back as soon as possible". Wade pumped his fists in victory with a little "Yes!", which made Y/n smile even more.

Logan appeared in the living room, a faint smirk playing on his lips. "You got lost?"

"Only once or twice," she admitted, tossing her bag onto the couch. "But it's nice around here. I loved the park— I might check it out more later this week."

Wade clapped his hands together. "Perfect. Now that Dora the Explorer is back, we can finally head out to the bar. My set starts in an hour." His eyes sparkled mischievously. "And you're both coming, right? Because what's a gig without my loyal fan base?"

Y/N grinned. « I can’t wait! »

Logan just shrugged but nodded, clearly used to Wade’s antics. "Yeah, alright. Let’s go."

———

The bar had a laid-back atmosphere. Dim lights flickered over dark wooden tables, the low hum of conversation mixing with the occasional clink of glasses. They found a booth near the stage, a perfect spot to watch Wade’s performance later.

Y/N slid into the booth, Logan following after her while Wade grabbed drinks from the bar. She glanced around, taking in the crowd. People were laughing, chatting, and enjoying the night.

"This place is cool," she commented.

Logan nodded, leaning back in his seat. "Wade performs here a lot. Thinks he’s the star attraction."

She laughed. "Well, I guess we’ll find out tonight."

A moment later, Wade returned with drinks, setting them down on the table. He plopped down on the seat across from them, a wide grin on his face. "Alright, Y/N, prepare yourself for the best comedy set you’ve ever seen— or, well, at least the best one you’ll see tonight."

Y/N grinned. "No pressure."

They sipped their drinks, the conversation starting off light. Wade was in his element, cracking jokes about the people around them, the bartender, the state of the world. It was easy to laugh with him, the energy infectious, and even Logan cracked a few smiles in between his usual deadpan responses.

As the night wore on, Wade excused himself to get ready for his set, leaving Y/N and Logan alone at the booth.

"You think he’s nervous?" Y/N asked, watching Wade walk toward the stage.

Logan shrugged. "If he is, he hides it well."

They shifted their gazes to the stage as the lights dimmed, and Wade took the microphone.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" Wade’s voice boomed through the speakers. "Give it up for me!" He winked at the crowd, earning a round of laughter.

"But seriously, thanks for coming out tonight. I hope you’re all ready to laugh, because I’m in desperate need of some validation!"

Y/N and Logan laughed along with the rest of the audience, Wade launched into his set, his energy filling the room. He was good—better than Y/N had expected. His jokes were sharp, his timing perfect, and he knew how to work the crowd. Y/N found herself laughing harder than she had in a while, and even Logan seemed to be enjoying himself.

———

After Wade’s set, the three of them were back at the booth, drinks in hand, a warm buzz from the alcohol and the laughter still lingering in the air.

Wade took a long drink from his glass and leaned back in his seat, satisfied. "Not bad, huh? I’d say I killed it."

Y/N grinned. "I have to admit, you were pretty great."

"Pretty great?" Wade put a hand on his chest, feigning offense. "Come on, I was spectacular."

"Sure, bub" Logan deadpanned, taking a sip of his beer. "Spectacular."

Wade waved a hand. "I’ll take it."

"It was fantastic, Wade, really." Y/n declared and Wade grinned, before thanking her.

The conversation drifted into the easy banter that had become familiar between them. They teased each other, joked about the people in the bar, and laughed at some of Wade’s stories from previous gigs. It felt good— natural.

At some point, after a pause in the conversation, Y/N found herself staring down at her drink, feeling the weight of the day. She hadn’t meant to go there, but something about the night— the warmth, the comfort of being with them— made her want to share more.

"You know, I’m really glad I found you guys." she said quietly, her fingers tracing the rim of her glass. "I never thought I would ever get along so well with people. I mean, that fast. You really welcomed me into your family and I’m grateful. So, thank you for that."

Logan and Wade both smiled at her, their expressions softening.

"God, what did I say about making people want to cry?" Wade said, wiping a fake tear from his eyes. 

Y/n chuckled and joined his act, "I’m sorry, I need to break some rules too!"

"Too?! What are you insinuating ? You’re a teacher, you should be ashamed of yourself."

They all laughed before the tone became serious again, "I don’t want to talk in Logan’s name, but, I'm going to anyway— it’s a real pleasure to have you. Like, you’re a perfect roommate. And you survived a whole week with us? I know people who would die just thinking about it— "

"Okay, that’s enough," Logan intervened, "but he’s right. We’re glad to have you too. And if you ever feel like you’re tired of us, please, don’t keep it to yourself."

Y/n smiled softly, "Thank you."

They talked again for a while, about their day, their week, anything that would come to mind. Somehow, the conversation wouldn’t stop.

Y/N took a slow sip from her drink, her smile lingering but her eyes distant, as if a thought had crossed her mind during the conversation. Logan noticed first, tilting his head slightly.

"Something on your mind?" he asked gently.

Y/N glanced up, offering a small, almost sheepish smile. "It’s just... talking about being part of your ‘family’— it got me thinking about mine."

Wade, who had been busy throwing peanuts in his mouth while telling yet another story, paused and looked over at her, eyebrow raised. "Oh, are we diving into family history now? Because I’ve got stories that’ll make your childhood look like Disneyland."

Y/N chuckled but shook her head softly. "No, it’s just... my family’s complicated." She took another sip, as if to steady herself. "I had a great childhood, really it was perfect. I mean, I know nothing’s perfect and 'normal' doesn’t exist, but it was great. Until it wasn't, of course."

Logan leaned in slightly, his expression soft but attentive. "What happened?"

Y/N’s fingers absently traced the rim of her glass again. "My parents divorced when I was 12, I think? It was a mess. They were fighting over who would keep the children. My brother was already in college and his dream was to leave the country, so, it was only me and my parents. In the end, I would stay at my mom’s during the week and my dad’s on the weekend. You know the drill. Anyway…"

Y/N sighed softly. "Even after it was done, they would still fight. And I realized they weren’t even fighting to keep me anymore. When I was at my mom’s she would only talk bad things about my dad, and vice versa on the weekends, and I felt so lonely. So, it’s kind of like my deepest fear now, to be alone. I mean, I can be alone of course, but to feel like everybody abandoned you and you’re just by yourself? That feeling, well, you made me forget it."

There was a silence for a moment, a contemplative pause. Then Wade spoke, his tone unusually serious. "Yeah. I get that." He glanced at Y/N, then at Logan. "My childhood was... rough. I’m not going into details but, yeah, I was alone for other reasons. And I still had to go to school and because of what was happening at home I guess I developed my own medicine for that. Humor became my way of dealing with it. I learned that if I could make people laugh, I could hide what was really going on."

Y/N felt a pang of empathy for him. She hadn’t expected Wade to open up like that, but it made sense. The humor, the constant jokes—it was his armor, just like she had her own ways of coping.

Logan shifted in his seat, his gaze focused somewhere beyond the table. "I’ve got a brother," he said, his voice low. "Victor. We don’t really talk anymore. Haven’t in a long time."

Y/N and Wade waited, sensing there was more.

"Things went south with him a while back. We were close when we were kids because…some stuff happened, but... yeah." He trailed off, the unsaid heavy in the air.

Wade took a sip of his drink, his usual bravado softened by the seriousness of the moment. "Family, huh? It’s a mess. But," he added, flashing a grin, « You two? You’re both stuck with me now."

Y/N laughed, and even Logan’s lips quirked into a small smile. The heaviness of the conversation lifted slightly, but the bond between them felt a little stronger after that. They didn’t need to dive deeper right now— they all knew the weight of their stories, and that was enough for the moment.

The night carried on, the trio falling back into their rhythm of jokes and teasing, but something had shifted. The laughter was still there, the lighthearted banter, but now it was layered with a deeper understanding.

XXX

[timeslipcamp]

i love reading the wiki and seeing something i've never noticed before

thanks to that, i spent another five hours on wikipedia and not doing my job. so! let's get into the ghouls' stigmas and how they could relate to these demons they made a pact with

probably spoilers through current episode idk

first of all, prior to this rabbit hole i had never heard of the ars goetia. however, going through these lists, i had heard of several of these demons in maaaaany many things from popular media. seems to be a common list to snatch from (any blue exorcist or obey me fans here?)

also, i used the wiki for a lot of this post, and it seems like the wiki is slightly out of date, but still good for the most part. if anyone notices anything wrong, please message me!!

so the ars goetia is, at its simplest, one part of a grimoire that's been translated several times since the 1500s. it has a list of demons and other parts of black magic (technically goetia is the darker counterpart of thurgia, both of them which make up ceremonial magic.) the ars goetia lists off something like 70-something demons and their counterpart angels and their basic roles and powers.

also, each of these demons has a sigil, but weirdly enough, the symbol in the logo of the game and a lot of other things in game are more remniscient of nordic runes and not these symbols. not sure what that means.

so, i'll be going through this list of the ghouls whose stigmas we know so that you don't have to! i'll go in house order to keep it simple. if i miss someone whose stigma we know, shoot me an ask and i'll edit this post.

JIN - "Bianerus"; the ability to control others by his command; anagram of Naberius. in the ars goetia, naberius is the same thing as cerberus i guess lmao. that's fun. gonna keep an eye out for metaphors of jin guarding the gates of hell. usually appears in the form of a crow. when naberius speaks, it's with a hoarse voice, but it makes men amiable in "rhetoric and all arts." basically makes them agreeable and talented. interesting how they translated that to jin's power, and even more interesting that they didn't give the ice king one of the kings listed in the ars goetia. as this list goes on, some of the stigmas are pretty direct translations and others are a little more of a reach, but it's still fun to see where some of the inspiration could have come from.

TOHMA - "Argeas"; the ability to send vibrations across distances; anagram of Agares. that demon rules the east side of hell, and this is super funny, his power is to destroy dignity. sound like a certain petty bitch to anyone else?

LUCAS - "Iggnaim"; the ability to create barriers around himself and others (and also had a crazy creature appear when we touched him); anagram of Ginigam. this guy is a great marquis who apparently will be patient while being summoned and will answer all your questions until you send him back. how polite. he teaches science things and gives an account of any soul who died at sea with sin. funny that they gave him to the guy from "across the pond"

KAITO - we don't know his yet but he sees auras. i'll just start skipping the people we don't know

ALAN - "Yagsal Olbasa"; implied to be insane super strength but we don't know for sure yet i guess; anagram of Glasya-Labolas. crazy name. his names in other translations are even crazier. he's the captain of bloodshed, has to do with the past and "what's to come" and tells people about it, and can incite both love and homicide in people. truly a captain's captain. this is a really fitting one for alan, i think. also, alan's lil animal chibi is a german shepard and this demon is depicted as a dog with wings. the crowd goes "awww"

LEO - "Haxs"; extends his hearing; anagram of Shax. shax is another one with a lot of differently translated names and he's also a great marquis. shax's entire entry made me laugh out loud, he and leo would get along like a house on fire. shax takes the hearing and sight from those the summoner chooses, steals money, knows when lies are told, speaks in a beautiful voice when compelled not to lie....it goes on. basically he steals and lies. perfect, no notes.

SHO - "Spurno"; stated to 'jam things'; anagram of Purson. sho is the first one to have a demon that's considered one of the great kings. he can reveal secrets of the past, present, and future, and is also said to be involved in revealing the antichrist. he can also find hidden objects and treasures! cool, but not quite sure how this would relate to sho's stigma. maybe it'll make more sense when we learn more about sho's abilities. personally i think this might end up relating more to whatever we learn about hyde.

HARU - the bitch that started this whole post - "Bahnti"; the ability to lessen gravity's effect on his body; anagram of Bathin. he's a duke of hell who knows a lot about stones and birds, and more importantly, can "bring men suddenly to another place." he also helps aid in astral projection! it's probably the near teleportation he got his stigma from. super cool correlation on this one

(EDIT ty @unhindged-memes !!) REN - "Raothtas"; literally used it to clean. it cleaned ink. that's cool i guess. maybe the ability to erase/remove? could be cool; anagram of Astaroth. he's apparently a super powerful demon, which honestly works with my theory that ren's abilities are going to be crazy once we actually see them. he also seduces people with laziness!! very ren, love that for him

TAIGA - "Malab"; we actually don't know what his is yet. HOWEVER!!!! this feeds into my taiga knows something theory and also my time loop theory; this is an anagram of Balam. balam is a "great and powerful king of hell" who could give perfect answers on things past, present and to come. PERFECT. ANSWERS. past present and TO COME. he can also make men invisible and he's three headed, but whatever. do you see!! DO YOU SEE WHAT I'M SAYING

ROMEO - "Tiris"; the ability to turn things into a bomb; anagram of Sitri. sitri is a prince and depicted as a very beautiful man lmao right on the nose with that one. also less related, but sitri makes men and women fall in love with each other. i think that's probably more where they got the character's name from than his powers.

RITSU - "Acimo"; the ability to harden his body (lol); anagram of Camio. he is a president and a great disputer, and can apparently make creatures understand each other. good go-between guy. also apparently more powerful in december! ritsu's birthday is in january though :/

SUBARU - "Talnandio"; the ability to read residual thoughts from things; anagram of Dantalion. this one is also super on the nose. dantalion was said to be someone who could declare counsel on anyone, aka he could know the thoughts and minds of any man. it's also said that he wears many faces. hmmm actor, anyone? this one almost deserves a whole post, i'll have to come back to this.

LYCA - "Ramsochisa"; the ability to track anything he has smelled before by scent; anagram of Marchosias. i genuinely forgot this was what his stigma was lmao some note taker i am. this guy's depicted as a wolf though, so there we go for the werewolf thing. also, kinda a sad connection, but marchosias believed that after 1500 years, he would be able to return to heaven with the other fallen angels. he's also the one that's most reliably conjured and will always answer true. this feels very lyca, i think this one matches up well.

YURI - "Agnihaet"; hyperactivates his braincells; anagram of Haagenti. surprisingly little information, but apparently he can make men wise by instructing them in every subject. nice. he can also turn water into wine! where's that ability yuri, huh?

ghouls whose stigmas we don't really know yet: kaito (auras), ren (used it to clean??? ok maid outfit card where are you) , haku, zenji, taiga, edward, rui (only technically. we know it can relieve exhaustion and stuff but we don't know his word or demon anagram), and jiro (whose stigma reflects injuries back to the dealer.)

damn that was long. there's a few demons that i think could potentially match up after reading through this list so many times, but it's gonna be hard to know for sure given that some of these don't translate directly to their powers. i'll make another updated post once we know more of their stigmas

and also more about the pacts in general! how did they learn to summon a demon? why were they summoning in the first place? what did they ask for? so many questions, this game drives me insane

ask box and messages are always open!

[fairyhaos]

How To Fucking Write: a guide by fairyhaos

[masterlist]

this post details:

STARTING A STORY

PACING A STORY

hi gays and gals and welcome to "how to fucking write", a post (series) where i talk about how i brainstorm for writing, plan for writing, write the writing, and everything in between. nothing too serious here lmao, but i'm definitely planning on making at least a couple posts on this bc a) it's fun and b) i wanna help! so if you find this useful then pls lmk by reblogging + drop an ask if there are any specific things u want me to give my two cents on ^^

okok and now without further ado,,, let's look at the topics i'll talk about in today's post!

#1 - HOW TO START A STORY.

.. bullet point one : have an idea

the first big thing is that you need an idea. doesn't matter if you're a pantser and don't plan out your writing before you start. that's totally fine! but before you begin, you need at least an idea: maybe it's a vibe, a character personality, a specific journey you want the characters to go on. maybe it's a piece of dialogue. maybe it's the ending- the point you want to end up at after however many thousand words.

whatever it is, it's best to have some inspiration, some idea of what you wanna do. no point in writing if you don't know what you're writing, you know?

(of course, that brings up the issue of Having An Idea in the first place, but finding inspiration to write is a whole other can of worms we can open in another post.)

.. bullet point two : practice

okay, so now you have an idea. how do you put that idea to paper? how should you actually start your story?

it’s all to do with practice.

it’s the most annoying piece of advice in the world, but it helps so much. you just have to write lots and lots and lots, to find the way that works for you. whether you wanna start your stories with pretty scene descriptions, with dialogue, with dramatic one-liners. finding your voice, your style, what’s most comfortable for you, is really really important. and takes practice.

an example, though: for me, i prefer either a line of dialogue, or one-liners that a) help immediately establish a character’s personality or can b) introduce an interesting setting.

[chan + swingset] — one-liner example

[hoshi + silly] — dialogue example 

but of course, everyone’s style is different. so i’d recommend playing around! find a list of one-word prompts and just write a few that inspire you, writing the beginnings. it’s important, also, that you’re having fun, because if you’re already struggling with starting to write, it’ll be even harder if you’re doing it while feeling stressed.

.. bullet point three (mostly just for longer fics)

maybe you don’t find a style, in the end. maybe you’re comfortable with all of them, which is totally fine! but then you look at your writing, and you think, “oh… this isn’t as good as i thought.” 

and it makes you want to give up. what do you do, then? how do you carry on with your start?

just put words to paper. it doesn’t matter if the words are terrible, if you’re making up shit and using placeholders for description words or whatever. just carry on, get to a place you’re happy with, like the end of a scene, or maybe a dialogue exchange you really like.

because now, guess what? you’ve successfully created a first draft.

making first drafts is actually so important. seriously. first drafts allow you to fuck up, allow you to write terribly. they help you fumble and trip your way to the finish line (or at least a rest point) so that you can go back and do better.

even if your first draft is terrible, it’s helped you make your way to a point you’re happy with. now you have a vague idea of what you want, even if the description or characterisation or something is way off. because now, you can edit it, or even scrap it and use only a few words from that draft in your next one. or maybe, if you look back at it, maybe it’s even decent enough for you to use. 

whatever it is, when you first start writing that story, think of it as ‘The Worst Draft’. because it probably won’t be as good as you want it, and it’s okay. just write, with no fears of it being bad, because that’s literally fine. it’s not set in stone. the backspace button exists. after your first draft is made, make another. and another, and another, because i promise, after that first draft, it only gets better from there.

#2 - PACING A STORY.

.. bullet point one : adding things

pacing is always really tricky. however, i do think that slowing a story down is easier than speeding it up, so here we go,,,,

finding out the exact way to slow down a story really depends on what type of story you're writing, but there are a few all-round things you can do which can help pretty much any setting.

if it's a scene with loads of dialogue, and things feel like they're jumping to the end topic too quickly, add descriptions. your readers are blind, writers, and they depend on you to be able to see what's going on. are your characters having a conversation on the street? take a break to describe what they see. are they in a coffee shop? maybe someone comes in with a huge noise, or their coffee arrives at their table. are they hanging in midair with nothing around them? well, describe the actions of the character they're talking to, then.

example: (from my seoksoo fic bc it's the only long fic i'm working on rn)

by adding character descriptions, movement, thoughts, instantly everything seems to have slowed down. it thickens time, allowing you to move at a more leisurely pace.

if it's a scene full of action, you can do the exact same thing. maybe there's a high-tension moment and something significant happens. slow down time there, describe something small in great detail. talk about the thoughts they're having.

and even if it's just an ordinary scene, describing is important. the setting, the characters' actions, their thoughts. it's okay to write too much. then you can delete things which make things feel like they're moving too slowly.

.. bullet point two : delete

not gonna lie, finding out how to speed up the pacing of the story can often be really specifically tailored to the setting of the story.

with stories that have loads of action (spy, apocalypse, etc) i'd recommend adjusting sentence length. you'll want short, punchy sentences, without loads of commas and clauses, but you'll also want to experiment with having those short sentences gradually get longer. it helps with tension and suspense.

it has to be short. running fast. something to elevate fear. quick, but also desperate, before they then spill over each other, picking up pace, all of the thoughts blurring together and going faster, and faster, and faster, and then-

then the penny drops.

people use the metaphor of music a lot, and it really does work that way. it needs to ascend to its climax: gently, cautiously, before sprinting upwards and only describing things like the barest emotions (the fear they feel, the panic, anger, anything) before everything reaches its peak and comes crashing down in a flurry of action descriptions.

but of course, the easiest way to speed up something is to delete. delete swathes of setting description. delete unnecessary dialogue. delete an entire scene and rewrite with only the things you remember (which can help make sure you only have the essentials in your scene, btw. very helpful).

it might take a bit of adjusting, rewriting, moving things around, but ultimately, quickening the pace of the story depends on the way in which you write things. be concise, be dramatic, and don't dawdle.

... and that's it ! if anyone has anything else they want advice on (how to structure, how to write dialogue, how to plan etc) then just shoot me an ask, because i'd love to help however i can :)

tagging: @selenicives who asked for this in the first place hehe ^^

[somuchwatersoclosetohome]

ok so in another departure from scheduled programming, i'm going to do my big sappy post first before recounting yesterday's 2 final london shows!! and also have a soundtrack to this post bc as i said i was hURT by thinking about plodding on and now you all have to hurt with me

also HAHA you thought my last posts were long posts well you thought WRONG

✨ firstly, thank you 😊 i know i arrived out of nowhere on this fandom scene like, what... 6 weeks ago?! despite having been a fan of R&S for ages, i've only ever appreciated on my own and not been in 'fandom'... so although i have way fewer stories of interactions and i've never been to the BFI 😭, i've never been made to feel like a lesser fan or unworthy somehow, and it's not felt like anything is gatekept. it's only been finding lovely people who appreciate other lovely people making lovely things and everyone has been immediately so open and welcoming 🤗

🚪 when we were stood outside the number 9 door last night just feeling the weight of the last few months now being over, it really was like finding your people 🌟

🙏 i'm scared i'll miss people but i'll try - @vagueeyes for spending the best part of 24h with me and traipsing around covent garden before the show where we discussed CAT bag discourse at length, @donotbelasagne for being a viewing partner technically twice now, @silverview for bringing us all together as our stage door lucky charm, @spcvarney and @varneysfangs for letting me live your previous r experiences vicariously and for being generally lovely , @misskite for sharing your unfathomable amount of R&S content, and @wintersoulwitch for inspiring me to write anything on tumblr at all without immediately dismissing it in my head as garbage. i hope i made up for the Great Twickets War of 2025 through my official ticket dealership 🙇‍♀️

but also EVERYONE that has ever interacted with any of my posts and made me feel less insane and more understood... this goes for you all as well ❤️

🌸 i actually wrote R&S an enormously soppy letter earlier in the run which i gave to them on my second viewing (and yep you guessed it, it was steve that took my gift bag)... who knows if they actually read it, but in any case it was very cathartic to write!!

i included a quote from a raymond carver short story in it (i know at least steve knows carver, because he mentions So Much Water So Close To Home (oh wow, where else have i heard that.....) in the commentary for la couchette). i included it only because i thought it captured the experience of stage/fright, and so much else of what they've created, much better than i could - the suspension of everyone in the worlds that they've created, and especially for stage/fright, the magic of live theatre...

I could hear my heart beating. I could hear everyone's heart. I could hear the human noise we sat there making, not one of us moving, not even when the room went dark. - What We Talk about When We Talk about Love

(it also gave me a thrill that about five lines before this, there's a line of dialogue in the story that is word for word - "I'll put out some cheese and crackers". 🤯)

💖 all to say that everything that we love or appreciate is often the passion project of a single person or couple of people. i am genuinely feeling a bit sad today but there is the tour to look forward to even though it feels AGES away..., but i've got a play/episode/screenplay that's sat in my writer's bottom drawer for nearly 10 years that maybe i can use the next 5 months to do something with. there's also a ton more posts i want to make about in9 and stage/fright and the experience of live theatre and fandom in general so hopefully they'll get written at some point too!! so thank you to R&S for getting me to the point of picking up a pen again 💜

9️⃣ what an era!! i feel so happy and lucky and privileged to have been a part of it 💕

[rosemarydaycare]

Underneath the Stardust

Samebody!Sun/Moon/Eclipse x Waiter/tress!Reader

Basically you work as a server/waiter/waitress at this cheap 'Stardust Motel' (Totally inspired by this post) which is located in a small town where more people have been going missing as of late and how you slowly discover the truth behind it while a certain animatronic toys around with you.

I personally don't think any content warning is needed for this chapter, unless anyone notices one?

I guess just take into account that Sun & Moon are a bit.. sassy? rough? (a tiny bit inspired by the HW2 DCA) but I hope you guys do realize the small actions they do which shows that they do care for the reader! They're just a bit... funny about it ibasbakisubhiusabg

| Words: 2,246 | Chapters: 1/?

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Another day to go to work at your horrendous job. You really had no choice. You were kicked out of your last job and evicted from your cheap apartment. This was the only place in this godforsaken town that had a job opening that accepted you.

As for your new home, your friend Michael was kind enough to let you move in with him. You appreciate that a lot from him, and to be honest… you might like him just a teensy bit? But even you're not so sure if you have a crush on him or if you just like how kind he's been to you during this whole mess. It's not a feeling you've been able to process or have been wanting to, actually.

You're busier trying to relieve the debts you have and making your life stable.

With that thought, you sigh as you finally reach your job at the oh-so-marvelous 'Stardust Motel'. Good thing the work is within walking distance from Michael's house because you do NOT have the money to afford gas, much less a car.

Michael always suggests accompanying you ever since the cases of missing people have increased around town lately, but you insist that you can take care of yourself. Deep down, you just don't want to be more of a burden to him than you already feel you are.

Here you work a double shift. One from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and the next starting from 5 p.m. and ending at 1 a.m. At this point, the motel feels like your second home. You do have breaks, and luckily, there isn't much going on around in this small town. but it's still exhausting nonetheless.

Your job is being a server for the small restaurant right next to but connected with the motel. However, since there isn't much activity, they also have you work as a housekeeper and do some small maintenance here and there. This place sucks, but alas, it's the only one that would accept someone as lowly as you.

"You're late." Bob begrudgingly tells you. He's the only chef of the restaurant and the second boss.

You look down at your phone and see that it is 5:05 p.m. You slump down and put your phone away in your pocket as you approach the kitchen.

"Sorry, Bob, I'll make sure to arrive at exactly 5:00 p.m. next time."

"It'd be better if you arrived 15 minutes earlier than that."

Another deep breath in and out. "Yes, Bob." As if they don't push you enough already. And as you're about to put on your apron, Bob interrupts you,

"Say, a light bulb burned out; go fix it. Second floor, at the very end."

Geez, not even a please? "I'll go fix it."

And so you walk out through the door on the side that leads to the motel. There, you are greeted by the receptionist.

"Bad day, huh?" Vanessa asks while typing something on her computer. "When isn't it a bad day for you~?" she teases but you're not really in the mood for any of this.

You bury your hands in your face with a groan. "Bob told me to go fix the light bulb." Your voice sounds muffled as your face is still hidden by your palms.

"Well you better hurry. The sun is about to go down." She points at the light bulb on top of the desk and continues working.

Your hands twitch slightly from her last sentence.

"Sun…"

Oh yeah, the housekeeper and guard of the motel. He's an animatronic who can be… How should you describe him? At times he's nice, and at others he can be a bit of a condescending jerk.

You shake your head. You take the light bulb from the desk and redirect yourself towards the stairs, walking towards the second floor where you head towards the very end, spotting the last light bulb hanging lifelessly.

As you approach, you look up and realize,

"Shoot… I forgot the ladder … AUGH!!" You groan loudly as you turn around to retrieve the goddamn ladder. When suddenly-

"BOO!"

"AH!"

"HAHAHA!" You hear that familiar laugh as you fall onto the ground, landing on your butt.

"SUN!" You yell out furiously. "Don't scare me like that! Do you want to give me a heart attack!?"

Sun's laugher slowly dies down to a mischievous smile and tilts his head. "Hmmm…" He hums in thought as he looks to the side.

"Don't think about it!" With that, you get up and shake off your pants from any dirt on the floor.

Once you're standing, you feel a hand lay on your head and pat you. "How has your evening been, friend?"

"Bad!" You cross your arms and pout as you look up at him.

"I didn't mean to scare you so badly!" He chuckles as he leans down to meet you face to face- maybe even just a bit too close. You plant a hand on his faceplate and push him back gently. "Too close, buddy."

He raises his hands and then looks behind you towards the light bulb. He points at it as you slightly turn your head to where he's pointing. "Did you really think you could reach that without a ladder?"

Your eye twitches; he just called you a shorty. It's not your fault he's insanely tall. "For your information! I simply forgot the ladder!"

"Surprise, surprise," he says with a taunting grin.

"How about you step aside and let me get the ladder?"

"No~" He replies, still holding his cheeky grin.

"Well then! I'll just go- aaAAAH!" As you were about to walk past him, he grabs you by the waist and starts to walk back towards the end of the hall, where the light bulb hangs.

"Sun! Let go!" you shout, and he does! He lets go right there and then, causing you to fall to your butt… Again!

"OW! BUT NOT LIKE THAT!" You rub your bum gently from the pain and get back up. Once you do, Sun puts his hands on your shoulders and turns you around, and before you can process it, he's picking you up once more. But this time, you get it.

"Oh- you were going to be my ladder…" He rolls his eyes seemingly unimpressed that you only just now understood his intentions.

"Chop chop, friend~!" He exclaims behind you. You huff at him before you quickly replace the lightbulb.

"Done!"

Sun places you down and claps his hands. "Good job, friend, for doing allll the hard work around here~!" It seems like Sun isn't in a great mood today either because he's being bitchier than usual.

"What's got you in a bad mood today?" You place your hand on your hip as you question him.

"You see-" but before Sun can answer, you hear Vanessa shout your name from the first floor.

"Your friend is here!" she yells. "Michael!" you say enthusiastically as you rush downstairs. "Michael…" Sun says unenthusiastically as he rolls his eyes and sluggishly goes down the stairs.

You rush toward the front desk where you see your friend holding what appears to be… your lunchbox! "Did I forget it at home?!"

Michael chuckles at that and nods. "You did. But thankfully our home is near, so I brought it over for you."

"Surprise, surprise," Sun interrupts as he walks over to where you all are. "Our sunshine's forgetful like that, aren't they?" He crosses his arms and leans on the desk.

"You're lucky to have someone bring you lunch; I wish someone brought me lunch." Vanessa says as she takes a sip of her coffee.

Michael scratches the back of his head sheepishly. "It's just what… good friends do, no?" Aww, what a dear.

You take your lunchbox from his hands and give him a gentle smile as you whisper, "Thank you, Michael." You hear a slight scratch on the desk behind you screech.

"HEY! You jerk! Don't ruin my desk like that!" Vanessa shouts at Sun and slaps his hand away as he straightens up quickly.

"Sorry, Vanessa!" He pretends to let out a long yawn. "I was just getting bored out of my mechanical mind watching this poor scene play out!" He grips his hands together.

"Not my fault you're jealous that no one brings you lunch!" Sun's eye twitches at your remark, and with that, he leans toward you and gives you a death glare for a moment before snatching your lunchbox.

"My lunchbox! SUN! Give it back!" Sun ignores you with a laugh as he runs away. You run but stop to turn around and face Michael.

"Thank you for bringing it to me!" You give him a wave of your hand "I'll catch you later tonight!" Michael nods with a smile and gently waves back at you, and with that, you continue running forward.

"They're so oblivious" He whispers softly. "That goddamn bot scratched my desk-" Vanessa rambles as she checks the scratch marks Sun made and Michael simply lets out a nervous chuckle at Vanessa's remarks.

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You finally reach the basement where Sun ran into. You try switching the lights on, but no matter how many times you try, the basement stays dark.

You sigh as you reach into your pockets and take out your phone to use its flashlight.

"…Give me my lunchbox back, you menaces!" No reply, and after a few seconds, you feel a strand of your hair being slightly pulled.

You look up at the top of the shelf behind you and point your phone toward the one who did it. The one who stole your food.

"Moon." You huff at him "Get back down." You threaten.

He grins and slightly chuckles as he holds your lunchbox up with one hand and rests his face on the other.

"Magic word~?" he asks. "Now!" "Wrong answer." he replies menancingly.

Augh- He's really making you say it, isn't he? "…… Please?" you finally give in.

"I couldn't hear~ Louder." Goddammit.

"P-Please! Pretty please!" Sometimes you feel as if you're just a toy that they enjoy teasing and playing with. Much to your relief, Moon hops down onto the floor with a satisfied laugh.

He straightens up, but as he does, he picks you up with one arm.

"Let us feed you~" Pardon? "What? NO! No! Why?!" you struggle in his arm as you try to reach for his other hand, where he still holds your lunchbox. Curse his arms for being so long.

"Funny, funny~" he chuckles as he wiggles the lunchbox you're trying so hard to reach.

…. He finds this funny, huh? Will he find this amusing then?

You reach toward the back of his head, grab his nightcap, and pull it back as hard as you can. "!!!" His eyes open wide, he stumbles back from the harsh tug while you grin.

"Hahaha! Funny, funny~" you mock him, using his own words against him. He stabilizes himself and his smile only widens with ill intent.

He places your lunchbox on the shelf and inmediately tugs on your hair harshly, causing your head to lean back in his arms. "OW!"

So this is how he wants to play? You tug on his nightcap again. "HA!"

He responds by tugging your hair in return. "Naughty!" He growls but you retort by tugging on his lips. "You're naughtier!" He tugs on your lips back, "Is that so~?" He leans his face closer to yours-

"Get a room, you two." Vanessa interrupts as she manages to turn the lights on.

You feel Moon lower his hand, and his other arm tightens around you as he transforms back into Sun, a process that always appeared painful. But once it's done, Sun gently places you on the ground as he holds his head with one hand, seemingly in post-transformation pain.

"Vanessa , you could have warned us," Sun tells her begrudgingly.

"Next time, go to some other motel." She glances in your direction. "And you." You tilt your head. "Bob wants to know why you're taking so damn long. His words, not mine."

Shit! You definitely took way longer fixing that light bulb than you should have.

"Ah! I'll be returning quickly then! Sun!" You turn around to ask him for your lunchbox, but he's already handing it out to you. ".... Thank you," you softly tell him as you take the lunchbox from his hands without a fight and run toward the restaurant.

And now it's just Vanessa and Sun.

"You really like ruining other people's fun, don't you?" Sun glares at Vanessa.

"Just like you ruined mine last night. It's payback for that and for ruining my desk with your little jealousy tantrum." she hisses back at him, then turns to walk away from the basement without another word and toward the main desk, leaving Sun alone in the basement glaring at her.

"Party pooper." He exclaims with a huff as he crosses his arms. And they were having so much fun toying around with their darling starlight.

────────────

"What took you so damn long?!" Augh. Bob's mad mad. "Sorry... I just got a bit distracted." you say as you put on your apron, not daring yourself to look at his face.

"Then stop lazing around and go tend those customers." He growls at you and returns to his cooking. You sigh and walk towards the table with your notebook out, ready to start your second shift.

[ibelieveinvillainsupremacy]

Oooooh!! I have an idea! How about a pitch black x reader where (Y/N) is totally Gen Z, so nothing really scares them and it drives Pitch INSANE.

Reader is so desensitized that anything Pitch tries to pull they just brush it off or think it’s funny!

Omg first request on my AU <33

Of course! Sounds so cool ^^

(After a lot of time i start writing again qwq)

Before starting, here's a little context on this AU:

I was inspired by @seaslugfanclub Disney Villains/ y/n park assistant concept, I thought something.

What if there was another company (generic name supposedly) that to go against this incredible idea of the Disney Parks to make the Villains turn into actual people decided to do the same thing with non- Disney Villains as well?

And this other y/n had to take care of them, because they are also very chaotic without a lead of some kind...

my most recent post includes way more villains i got obsessed with, so check out the list if you want to request me some asks!

Now, let's go <33

The Disney Parks had made such a smart move on making their bad guys come to life, so their most brilliant rival decided to do same thing.

But how to make their choice not sound like a copy of their rivals?

Easy.

Let's include multiple animated universes and let them come to life together!

Unfortunately for Y/N, the park attendant that has to reunite them all together and "take care" of their actions,

(no kids or human was harmed in this, writer of this confirms! at least not yet),

that wasn't an easy job. Not at all.

Don't get this wrong, the newest addition to the park really enjoyed villains of all kind (and despite not being accepted by the other park) she gladly wanted to work at this new one. Yeah, wanted.

Because the poor human didn't know tha chaos that was about to happen.

One of the villains that was a pain in the ass to tolerate was the lord of nightmares himself.

Now, normally one would be a little bit, at least for a moment, scared of what that man had in mind.

Well, let's just say that Y/N was one of those incredible (and so incredibly frustrating) humans that wasn't scared of the tricks and literal creatures Pitch could materialize out of nowhere.

Spiders? No, the park assistant wouldn't even look at them.

Clowns? You'll get a laugh and a few looks that seem to say "Not today, big guy"

Anything that the obscure could think about would never work.

"After months in your company, I'm still not sure on the reason why you are even able of seeing me, without any profound and maniacal fear in that head of yours."

Oh. That day you were literally head in the clouds, well not fully. You were trying to separate Rasputin and Rothbart (those bickering old-) that were for the thousand time arguing on who was the most powerful, had the coolest song, which one was almost going to be part of Disney (let's just think that he didn't succeed). And who had to help that mess? Guess.

So now you had another problem to fix. A big one.

You knew that he was a little disappointed from that look on his ashen face, so you had to fix that.

"Well, I actually am afraid of things, Pitch, but if I actually start panicking at any nightmare creation of yours, this park would be absolutely turned to dust. And I don't know where you'll go without me, and my frustrating emotionless face."

The villain then gave a small nod in your direction.

"Can you at least be scared next time? Just a little bit?"

"Would that make you happy?"

"I think so."

"Then alright big guy. I'll show you my terrified face, promise."

"I can't wait to see it."

[watchingblsnowandforever]

Ep. 16: The Happily Ever After

Hello! =D

I can't believe this is my last We Are post wow- It feels like just yesterday I was here typing out my first one because I had one too many Thoughts about it. Anyways, not to get too sentimental on main, here you go:

Warning: not a very long post, actually 😊😅

The result of long-term exposure to his boyfriend and his extreme levels of cheesiness hehe

Seriously though, I love how Fang is slowly but surely opening up to loud gestures of love (I think previously, he just wasn't used to loving loudly, he was used to loving with his whole heart but keeping it to himself because he never felt safe enough to express it).

I love how they're from absolutely different faculties and are still studying together like yess go besties who are in love with each other but are too oblivious to realise it!

Peem with Phum usually: *swats at Phum at the slightest sign of PDA even though he really enjoys it*

Peem when others say something about their relationship: So, Phum, what do you say, want me to kiss you senseless right here right now?

(And we all know what Phum's answer is gonna be hehe)

Hasn't even been two minutes in the room and they're already breaking into the bed 😭😭

(I really love this scene btw, the simple fun of it, and even though it's not sensual, it's intimate and very them.)

This pair of besties is gonna kill me istg

They keep hitting me with banger after banger of emotional lines and my heart is already weak don't do this to me 😭😭

Frankly though, I like this scene very much, the "I loved you no matter who i knew you as" and "I have always loved you" of it all really got to me.

Poor Tan 😭

That's why you never brag about something before it gets over Tan-

I love how Fang not only lets him lie on his lap but also scratches his hair hehe

And how Peem doesn't hesitate one bit to give Tan a good smack upside the head 😭

AND THE SCENE WITH TAN "ACCIDENTALLY" LETTING OUT THAT CHAIN HAS A CRUSH ON PUN AND PUN STILL BEING SO DAMN OBLIVIOUS I'M DYING 😭😂😭

I adore this scene a ridiculous amount, but I love even more that it was Phum who planned it like yess he's been wingman-ing his phi and friend since Day 1 and he never stopped.

Others have gaydars, PhumPeem have faen-dars: they know when their faen is looking at them or coming towards them.

Not a bad power to have, honestly. I approve.

THIS SCENE.

THE FRIENDSHIP. THE PAST, PRESENT AND THE FUTURE OF IT.

THE OG 5 (note how Peem is sitting at the centre? It's indicative of how he's the centre of the group and if I had to make an educational guess, probably the reason why they're all together in the first place).

This made me cry.

I have nothing else to say about this except this is one of the best damn shots of this show, which is saying something cause the cinemtaography up till this has been ridiculously good.

Of course. <33

And I'll be writing about how they spill the tea about their respective faens

😳

Tan: *tries to be slow and sexy*

Fang: no. We're doing this now.

Honestly though, this kiss was amazing, as were all their other kisses. Hats off to AouBoom, they absolutely slayed.

Et tu, Toey? T~T

Also another very nice scene.

I knew where this was going (how could anyone not after all those 15 eps) and I think Phum would have definitely gone over to sit on Peem's lap (@Peach thank you for that mental image btw 😭) if not for the structural instability of boats on land (I did sit on once with and trust me, those things maybe super sturdy or whatever in water, but they do NOT belong on land, especially not on the beach).

I-

I'll be right there in the corner sobbing my eyes out if you need me.

The way he kept saying his name, like he was actually tasting it, trying out all the different tones, and the way Phum kept replying, all smiles and soft voice, I-

I can't with these two. They're too damn much for my poor heart.

This also inspired another smut fic but SHUSH

No, nope, not doing this-

SIGH.

Okay, so see how Phum says "Thank you for being a good story in my life?" For Phum, having Peem in his life really does feel like a story, something out of the books he read (headcanon) and something too good to be true. But he's starting to realize that this is true, that Peem is here to stay.

Peem says "Thank you for letting me step into your life" because he knows all the issues Phum has, that it's hard for him to really let people in. But he let Peem in to love him, and Peem is grateful because it gave him someone to love and be the comfort zone for, but also gave him someone who loved him.

In this essay, I will-

BROTHERS-IN-LAW.

Also, no kidding, I got a mental image of Fang and Peem sitting and sipping at their drinks while Phum and Tan argue and compete like children, and when they go too far, Fang and Peem let out this long suffering sigh while they try to pull apart their husbands.

Did I say husbands? Oops-

HEHEHE

I didn't see you denying anything, Fang~

got another fic idea but we don't talk about those

🥺🥺🫶🏼

Okay, about that dinner scene. I actually kinda liked it. The awkwardness of it, the halted conversation, the prompted actions. As with the rest of the series, they kept it real, and I'm glad for it.

A lot of BLs, especially Thai BLs forgive the parents too soon too fast, and I really like they did not do that here.

Phum just (sorta) started on this path of being on talking terms with his dad (not forgiveness, or forgetting what he's done, mind you) and I'm going to be carefully neutral about it. If Phum likes it, well and good. If the father does something Phum doesn't like well *looks at two of my wips specifically* I always keep back-ups.

Peem is never letting that go hehe

(I don't think Phum minds all that much now, because he did end up with Peem, fuck you Kluen)

Also I'm two eps behind on Wandee Goodday and I hear Title finally got a nice boyfriend role? Good for him!

FOREHEAD KISS MY BELOVED.

(...should I change my header again? Nah, I'm happy with what it is rn)

I love how even if it was never explicitly shown beyond Tan, literally everyone and their pets know about Chain and Pun except Chain and Pun 😭😭👍🏼

We Are probably has the most kisses out of all the BLs I've watched and somehow the very last kiss gets the Best Kiss award. Surprising, but well-deserved. The kissed like they were dying and Chain tried to climb Pun like a tree, and I was gleefully watching and cheering them on.

You're covering his eyes, when you've literally made out with him naked, that's some hypocrisy there, Q *raises eyebrows*

One word: roses.

(Did Peem ever tell him? Did Phum figure it out? Does Phum give him roses for every single occasion now? Hm... guess we'll never know... Fic writers, this is your cue-)

'HAPPY' has it's special place 🥺🥺

I now know for sure that the simplicity and boldness of this painting was absolutely on purpose. The other paintings in the gallery are stunning.

Friends. <33

Also, due to Tumblr's restrictions, I couldn't add the last pic, but Peem's/Phuwin's face looks hilarious in the very last shot 😭😂

That's all! See you ne- oh, right. Well, see you the next time I get brainrot so bad about a BL I have to write smut about it hehe.

If you got this far, thank you so much for reading! 😊

Here, have 🍛 (imagine it's your favourite dish)

All my We Are posts.

[gioia-writes-and-others]

🦐🤔🦐 MIXED FRIED .....for REAL ?

(dump writer post / snippet / art in progress)

Thank you for the tag to @illarian-rambling HERE,

@the-golden-comet HERE , HERE and HERE,

@alinacapellabooks HERE , @tragedycoded HERE , and

@wyked-original-writing HERE

You're also tagged !! 💋💋

*****

This is more a general update as I reached a point in The Scarred Angel where I HAVE to tied up a few things before going further.... Truth of the last couple of months 🙄

The time for scenes and notes hapardazly written everywhere is OVER ! (Half joke and also LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL)

More seriously : I want to make sure I don't drop everything which will be a huge disappointment for several reasons.

ramble/snippet/art under the cut

Ashley would kick my ass / won't leave me alone if I do so (I know this for a fact)

I spent enough time already on TSA (summer 2023 since the first idea came up + about summer 2024 since actively working on it

The initial idea and characters still have reason to exist

Thing is :

It's the first time I work something this "complex" (?).... aka : I've done, I'm doing and I'll do again many "ERRORS" along the way. (Oh wait! Such goes life.....) I really need an OUTLINE at this point, even a gross one! I have an entire first arc of 6 zero draft chapters plus several others (the current wc is between 60000 and 70000 words) BUT most importantly : I feel the need of keep specific and steady angles to write MY story NOT someone's else. Those same angles that made me start in the first place. And apparently, rn, I have to dig and put them on my board to better keep an eye on it among the mass of infos, researches, things that need to happen, characters development, various other ideas .....+ all the interesting imputs I see around and along the way every day!

Additional note : my mother, that knows nothing about what I'm writing , just sent me a letter from Claudia Sheinbaum, actual mexican president, especially dedicated to "Mr DT" and "Mr EM" from "the rest of the world".

You can find the note on the internet and since a lot of TSA PLOT is about INFORMATION.....guess what? The letter slaps but we're not entirely sure she said so for real 😉

STILL .... it would be awesome if she did and since one of the main inspiration quotes for TSA is "everything happens for a reason", fuck yes, I'll take this as a sign too!

....To be continued.....

****

SNIPPET....

Back to the actual chp 1, draft zero, "Amy on the border"

....

My heart skips another beat.

Phil feared it was too soon yet, that I might not be ready to handle the new environment.

Probably me stopping the meds didn't help him accepting my initiative but it hasn't be  a problem for my chief editor who doesn't know anything about me.

Rather the opposite way around, no way I could have missed how much they were happy about someone volunteering for the assignment.

I'm a newbie in this line of work, just two months since I toke the job, and they accepted nonetheless to send me to cover about the challenging task the local police department must face every day in this powder keg that is THE border.

No kidding.

There is always something going on here, endless supply material for many and many articles.

'Same old, same old' is what I heard at the office among other casual comments and still, keeping an 'attentive eye' upon the border situation it's considered a must, so that when something significant seems to come up they do actually send a 'soldier on the battlefield' in order to get first hand information.

I'm nowhere near close to have my own opinion on the matter but I basically threw myself on the opportunity.

.........

ART

Amy doesn't know yet but Ashley's already out there ....

Tag NP and a drink 🍻☕🍷☕ 🍹🍻 let me see what you got

@kiennwrites @gaslightwestern @spottedleech

@bi0mass @legalownerofufoemoji @dragoninatrenchcoat

@bluefiredesire @aalinaaaaaa

@lunaeuphternal @zackprincebooks @wyked-rebellion

@vesanal @jev-urisk @badscientist

@peach-the-gospel @jacobwren @inadequatecowboy

@orphanheirs @riveriafalll @saturnine-saturneight

@cowboybrunch @words-after-midnight @the-letterbox-archives

@angofwords @topazadine @aintgonnatakethis

@deanwax @thecomfywriter @leahnardo-da-veggie

@lychhiker-writes @avaseofpeonies

@mapplesand @kaeru483 @lullabynorth

@theeccentricraven @willtheweaver @dnschmidt

@keeping-writing-frosty @ryns-ramblings @aspiring-dreamer

@rivenantiqnerd @pertweefan1970 @agirlandherquill

@innerthoughtsmonologue @noxxytocin @moltenwrites

+ OPEN

[evesaintyves]

so in the allegedly non-homophobic spirit of this cursed genre of post (which, props to this one for at least saying the quiet part loud: that these criticisms are exclusively directed toward queer pairings), and inspired by a prompt of sorts from fandom gem @saintsenara -

i wrote some platonic jily and i completely agree, they're better as friends.

never mind the prosecco, here's the potter-malfoy-potter-blacks

Rated M | Jily, Narlily, Jegulus, Drarry | AU - everyone lives and it's like 2010 | tw choking, pussy juice, eggs

Three things occurred to Lily, leaning back on the island of cool italian marble in the fuck-off big kitchen of this ridiculous house: one, that she had no idea where all this was coming from, as James had never given a single fuck in his life about womens' Quidditch; two, that even three decades after they'd split up he was still obviously desperate for her to think he was cool; and three, that he was burning Regulus's eggs.

"So what the Harpies have done," he patiently explained as if she was listening, "is create a turn-based system for rotating positions—so every player has experience with beating, seeking, and so on—that way everyone's aware of the weak points—" he seemed to catch on that she wasn't making eye-contact, and tossed his mop of silvering hair. "The Weasley girl was on the Wireless about it this morning. Really inspiring."

He turned back to the crispy eggs and stirred them vigourously. They made a sort of crackling noise.

"I guess I'm just not sure why you're telling me," Lily said, taking the moment to finally do what she'd come to the kitchen for: grabbing a fresh bottle of prosecco from the fridge.

"Well, it's incredible what these girls are coming up with. 'The future is female,' I saw that on someone's shirt the other day."

He glanced eagerly at her over his shoulder.

"Cool," she said.

"Never mind the prosecco," Narcissa drawled, sweeping into the kitchen in her marabou-feather gown. "Draco's popped a button on his robes, so he'll be calling any moment."

"Do you mend buttons?" James asked with genuine interest.

Narcissa made an appalled face and gathered the lapels of her robe together.

"Have you not finished?" Regulus said sourly, coming down the stairs. Looking directly at Lily, he added, "This kitchen has smelled like a crematorium ever since you let Boopsy go."

Lily - still on the defensive after all these years! - crossed her arms and replied, "I didn't 'let her go,' she was legally emancipated and got a job at Pret a Manger."

Regulus waved a hand in the air, making the slight haze of egg-smoke swirl prettily in the light. "It's political correctness gone mad," he muttered.

Inexplicably, James got one of his big simpy grins, beckoned Regulus over, and smacked a kiss on his pale brow.

Draco apparated into their midst with a pop and instantly recoiled at the sight of them.

"Potters," he spat, by way of greeting. "Er—" he nodded to Regulus, whose name he could never seem to remember. Narcissa glided over and took his face in her hands.

"Oh, darling, come here, I've been waiting all morning to see you."

Lily, concerned she might not be effectively controlling her facial expression, turned to slot the prosecco bottle back into the fridge. Narcissa had actually spent most of the morning sprawled on her back with her thighs squishing the sides of Lily's face.

Draco squirmed slightly under his mother's hands. "It's all the buttons under the third one," he said gruffly, thrusting an armful of jacquard robes at Narcissa.

"Sweet boy," Narcissa cooed, "I'll send it out to the tailor immediately. How ever did you manage to break them?"

With another pop, Harry apparated into the room.

"Hi Mum," he said. "Dad. Hi Cissa and Reg."

James disentangled his arms from Regulus's and clapped Harry on the back. "Wha gwan, son?" he roared happily, and even with his back turned Lily could see Harry's shoulders cringe.

"I told you—" Draco began through his teeth.

"You were taking forever," Harry shrugged.

"I'm glad you're here," James said, very serious furrows appearing in his brow. "I was just listening to that bird you used to go out with on the wireless—"

"Oh!" Narcissa exclaimed, still petting Draco's face. "Darling, will you show everyone the trick you taught me last week?" To the room: "You'll all want to see this, it's marvellous. Draco's enchanted a mirror to do something incredible."

Draco sighed defeatedly. To Harry, he said, "Let me see your phone."

Harry pulled a slim black piece of glass out of his pocket, and, with a sideways glance at Lily, tapped and swiped at it with his fingers a few times before handing it to Draco.

"This mirror," Narcissa was saying, "quite remarkable, really—all you do is push a button on it, and a horrible little muggle comes to your door and brings you a prawn fettucine. Draco, please—" she scrabbled at the glass in his hand. "—will you push the fettucine button for mummy?"

"It's called Seamless, Mother," Draco mumbled, and just as he did Narcissa pulled a face and slid her finger round the collar of her son's shirt.

"Draco," she said, with a kind of horror rising in her voice, "What's happened to your neck? Is it dirt—?"

A flush instantly came to Draco's face and Harry twisted round from his one-sided conversation with James to give Draco a rather pointed look.

"Mother, stop, it's nothing," he said, pulling away. And on Harry's face was a look Lily had seen on James a thousand times, back in their day: like he was trying, but not particularly hard, not to look smug.

James's eyes shifted between Harry and Draco and he seemed, bless him, to finally clock what was going on. He pulled Harry by the shoulder to the other side of the kitchen and began to speak to him in hushed tones.

"You want to put all the pressure on the sides, not the front," he was saying.

Regulus went and scraped his ruined eggs into the bin, obviously eavesdropping, then put the pan back on the stove without shutting off the flame. The tang of hot metal began to compete with the crematorium smell and Lily wondered if anyone would notice if she got the prosecco back out and necked it.

"Regulus," she sighed. "Anything new with you?"

Regulus looked startled to be spoken to.

"Not really," he said, eyes shifting round the room. "I don't actually have all that much going on, canonically."

"Can—what?"

"Do you know how to make eggs?" he said hopefully.

"I think I've a salve for that," Narcissa was telling Draco, leading him by the hand into the suite she shared with Lily. "Well, it's more of an eye cream, but it's done absolute wonders for me—"

"You can do real damage to the trachea that way," James was explaining to Harry, demonstrating with a cupped hand to his neck.

"I work in Magical Law Enforcement," Harry deadpanned. "I think I know how to fucking choke someone."

Regulus emitted the strangely high-pitched giggle Lily was always hearing from inside the cup-strewn, bleach-smelling lair he shared with James.

"Why does it smell like—" Draco stopped in Lily and Narcissa's doorway. With narrowed eyes, he hissed to his mother, "I thought you were all in some sort of... like, queerplatonic... situation...?"

James's brow got those furrows again.

"What's queerplatonic?" he whispered to Lily.

"It means nobody fucks," she whispered back.

James squared his shoulders and took a step forward as if he might try to fight Draco.

---

"We raised a good kid," James would tell Lily later, after they'd put out the fire on the stove, slightly misty-eyed with nostalgia and the acrid smoke. "All of us," he'd add, with a nod toward Lily and Narcissa's side of the house, which was now perfumed rather pleasantly with a melange of prosecco, wet pussy and prawn fettucine.

"Yeah," Lily would say wistfully. "Shit taste in men, though."

"Well, it runs in the family." James would ruffle his hair, the way he tended to. After a pause, he'd venture: "And I daresay you and I had a pretty good run, didn't we?"

Lily would tip the bottle up and drain the last of the prosecco at that. James would hold out his hand, and she'd pass him the empty bottle. He'd try to take a drink, then bin it with a disgruntled look.

"It was all right," she'd say.

[kamyru]

Return the like (Thomas Rheault x Candy & Jason Mendal x Another Candy) (Shorts)

Author's note: This is inspired by the scene in episode 4 in which Thomas tells everyone that he "stalks" Jason online. And is a reinterpretation of the whole scene, but after an undefined timeskip.

Word counting: 569

"He's married now," the woman told her boyfriend while drying her face with a small towel. She took out a small jar of face cream and applied it in front of the mirror. Now that the water wasn't running, she could hear Thomas' answer.

"There's no way. He is the biggest womanizer I have known. When you told me you knew him, I was sure it was because you used to be one of his girls. He slept with more than half of the city," Thomas commented and came from behind to plant a kiss on the top of the head of his girlfriend. She smiled softly and looked at him through the mirror.

"I saw a wedding band on his ring finger."

"He has always been wearing rings on nearly all the fingers. The man is filthy rich and a poser."

The woman put her hands on the edge of the sink and turned to her boyfriend. She wasn't smiling this time, looking deadly serious in the man's eyes.

"Do you think I can't recognize a wedding band when I see it?"

Thomas laughed and shrugged. He kissed the temple of his girlfriend and left. When the woman finally emerged from the bathroom, he tapped the place on the bed near him, as if they weren't sharing it for a few years already.

"Let's search. I'll show you that I'm right. You are still following his account under that fake nail salon account, right?"

The man didn't answer. It was obvious to everyone in the room that the woman was right. Even after years of leaving Devenementiel and starting work in another field, his stalking habits didn't die. He wasn't using that account as much anymore. If he was more precise, the last time he logged in was when his girlfriend saw it. That's how she found out about his nail salon.

Thomas didn't expect a lot from the Jason-Goldreamz Instagram page. If he remembered right, for a lot of time the guy didn't post any womanizer photos, but it didn't mean anything. It took him some time to find the page through his followers until his girlfriend stopped him at one and pressed it.

"Here it is! You see, I was right."

And sure she was. Jason-Goldreamz's profile picture was a photo from his wedding. Moreover, his last photo was a candid of himself looking lovingly at his wife: the woman who used to work at Devenementiel before his girlfriend took her place. Thomas was so shocked, he didn't understand when he accidentally liked the last photo.

****

"Guess what?" a husky voice reverberated through the room to the bathroom. A faint "What?" made the man continue talking. "Your former co-worker liked our last photo together."

At this, the woman stepped out of the bathroom just enough to look at her husband. "Who?"

"The one with a fake nail salon account."

The woman laughed shortly. She went back to the bathroom to rinse her face. When the water stopped running, she took her rightful place near her husband and let her head fall on his chest.

"Like him back. I heard he has a girlfriend now."

Mr. Mendal laughed. Mrs. Mendal laughed too. The light closed, and they cuddled to sleep.

The next morning, Thomas woke up to a notification.

"Love, do you remember ever collaborating with a hair removal salon? They liked our last photo together."

[rigormorton32]

Screw it. I'm taking Saxloch one shot requests.

I do need to finish a couple of my chapter fics too though, so I can't commit to anything that requires multiple chapters. Though, one of them turning into a chapter fic because my inspiration took off on its own, is not out of the realm of possibility. You know how it goes. I also don't know if I can get to all of them, but I will try. It really depends how many I get. Could be a small handful, could be a ridiculous amount. You never really know.

I don't have any triggers and will write anything except underage (aside from pre canon Lochy pining for Saxon. That's innocent enough. Just no underage smut.) I don't do alpha/beta/omega or mpreg either but that's just because I don't know enough about it and how it works to accurately portray it.

Not a fan of top Lochy, but would write it as long as it's not their usual routine. It would have to be made clear in the fic that Lochy prefers to bottom and they're just experimenting. Bratty, subby Lochy is the best Lochy.

Anyway, anything else is probably not out of the question. I mean, I'm already writing incest. There'll be no pearl clutching from me.

But like I said, no guarantees that I'll get to it, but it doesn't hurt to send me a request anyway. And there's always that chance another writer will see the prompt and be inspired by it, which is totally fine by me. (Just DM me and let me know you wanna write it, so we don't both end up doing it. Though that wouldn't be the end of the world I guess. Ha ha)

There's really no rules here. It can be smut, fluff, crack, character study, one sided pining, pre canon, canon, post canon (my personal fav at the moment. Just sayin). I love it all. (I love them).

But please let me know if you have a preference on whose perspective it's written from. Sometimes I'll do both if I feel it's necessary to the story, but it takes a lot out of me and makes the story longer. Not out of the question though.

Anyway, y'all know what to do.

[dying-isnt-good-for-your-health]

DP x DC He likes sticky notes:D

He wears a mask because he's a small-town kid and the big city air is sickening:D

A little Danny Phantom X D.C Au where, basically, Danny just kinda- Sells info to people if they pay him, and gives it to the customer on a sticky note. (This is inspired by another post(s) I've seen, I'll link it when I find it)

Also! Have a little oneshot story thingy:3 ---

The day had started normally, not a single detail would have made you suspect a thing. His parents were busy in the lab when he had come down for breakfast, Jazz was throwing out some type of meat—probably chicken, if he had had to guess— before it came back to life, and his Ghost Sense went off just when he had sat down.

Luckily, it was only a few blob ghosts who had snuck through the portal, but it had made him have to miss breakfast. At least he hadn't been late for the stupid English summative Mr. Lancer had made the class—Except Dash— do.

The rest of school that day went the same. He, Sam, and Tuck went to the park afterwards, since apparently Sam's parents were throwing a rich person party that she did not want to get shoved in a bright pink dress for.

His parents showed up a little after they had gotten there, and boasted about the new "Fenton Phantom-Finder", which they said, "Is locked into Phantom's ecto-signature so that whenever he talks or uses anything more powerful than intangibility, it will ping his location on its map!", which- Not great. He had already planned to 'accidentally' destroy it later that night.

The start of the downfall of his life was when some GIW agents showed up, and claimed they were "Interested in what this new invention can do." And "If it matters how far away the Phantom Menace is." Which again, was not great.

"Oh! It doesn't matter how far that Ecto-Scum is! He could be on the other side of the world and if he spoke or used his powers it would show us!" Dad had bragged to the agents. It was an odd thing, how innocently happy dad was as he yelled about his new hunting invention he would use against him.

"How do you know it works?" Asked one of the agents, Danny was pretty sure it was Agent ẞ, who was pretty new compared to the others, but a lot more trigger happy.

"Because it had pinged us here! Though he must have left." Mom had said with a pleasant smile, though he could tell there was malice tucked within it.

"Hm, did you kids see it?" An agent, Agent Б—Another newer agent— asked him and his friends.

Call it stupid. Call it panic. But Danny had opened his dumb mouth and said, "No, ma'am."

The thing had pinged before he even finished speaking.

The agents tensed, but his parents just looked disappointed.

"Aw, it's still confusing Danny for Phantom." Mom had said with a huff as she eyed the machine. He had almost let himself relax. Almost.

"Does this 'Confusion' happen often?" Agent ẞ asked, her finger held just above the trigger on her Ecto-Gun.

"Yes, it happens almost every time we try to track a ghost. Our inventions always seem to think Danny is one." Mom had responded with a laugh as Dad had nodded in agreement. The agents eyed Danny for a few moments before asking his parents one more question.

"Are you sure he isn't overshadowed?" He wasn't even sure which agent had asked, he was too focused on his parents expressions shifting from a look of surprise to something he couldn't pin down.

They turned to him, it was unnervingly calm, from his mom, and inhumanly quick, from his dad.

"Sweetie," Mom had said as she looked at him with a sharp smile, "We're just going to go back to the lab and fix this up, okay?" As she spoke, the agents who hadn't already had their guns out pulled them off their belts and pointed them at him.

The moment had been quick. She had been quick. The seconds she spent as she went from a loving mother to a merciless hunter were quick. But he had been quick too.

He was invisible and flying almost as soon as she had began to reach for him. He could vaguely hear the Finder ping as he left, but it was nearly drowned out by his parents' and the agents' yelling.

He flew to his window and slammed into it, momentarily forgotten sat his intangibility as he had felt the glass shards cut him. He had snatched his supply bag from under his bed, and threw a few clothes inside it before he had jumped out the window. He cushioned his fall with a little flight, but he didn't know if that was "More than intangibility", so he didn't risk using it more than he already had.

He ran. He ran all the way to Elmerton, and had practically launched himself into the first bus that would have taken him to a train station. And for the first time, he checked what supplies he had.

He had $2000 in cash, which had made him pause for a minute. He hadn't even known Sam had put money in the supply bag, and he was sure Tucker didn't know, either.

He had a ecto-modified WayneTech phone, he remembered when Tucker had put that in. Tuck had been adamant that they had phones that Danny's parents wouldn't be able to track in any way in the supply bags.

A bunch of random school supplies, mostly old homework that he had forgotten about, and when he had remembered it, he had simply hidden it at the bottom of his supply bag. But there were also a few stacks of sticky notes from when he wanted to prank the school, but had gotten caught.

The last thing he had, other than the clothes he threw in, was medical supplies. A lot of medical supplies. He had almost anything from bandaids to sedatives that could knock out a horse.

He checked the time, 4:27 glowed brightly on his phone, and below it was a single notification.

ATTENTION AMITY PARK CITIZENS! THE MENACE KNOWN AS PHANTOM HAS RECENTLY ESCAPED AND HAS ALREADY KILLED A YOUNG BOY NAMED DANIEL FENTON! IF YOU HAVE ANY INFORMATION ON ITS WHEREABOUTS, PLEASE CALL THIS NUMBER: ### ### ####

He stared at it for a long moment. It seemed to have stare back. Everyone thought he was dead. Jazz might think he's dead, even if she knew he hadn't killed himself, she would probably assume the GIW did it themselves and covered it up. Sam and Tuck didn't know if he was alive. And he couldn't reassure any of them.

He had been pulled from his thoughts by the bus pulling into his stop. He got off like most of the other passengers, and he bought a ticket. Though, the ticket brought some difficulty, since he wasn't able to speak, but he had written down where he wanted to go on one of his sticky notes, and the nice lady at the desk was able to help him so he got on the right train.

His arms hurt, his legs were sore, and he had been crying as quietly as he could in the corner of the station. People had looked at him with pity, he had known it was obvious he was a runaway.

His train had been called. He had wiped his tears, and boarded.

"Next stop Frankfort, and after," A loud speaker called, "Blüdhaven."

[free-for-all-fics]

Another prompt for The Silent Sea! Pls tag me if you’re inspired by this at all and I’d love to read it! 💙🌑

You were Han Yun-jae’s wife. You used to be a scientist of some sort but, following your marriage, you became pregnant with your daughter, Ha-jin. You lost contact with your former colleagues because your husband got in the way, but you didn’t blame him. When you found out you were going to have a child, you made a promise to your husband: No work that would put yourself or Ha-jin in danger - so no SAA, no more trips to other planets, and no Balhae Station. You quit your job and switched to a much safer field of work that kept you on Earth while focusing on being a mother and raising Ha-jin. As such, you and your husband decided to keep your past as an astrophysicist/virologist/chemist/astrobiologist/other form of scientist of your choosing a secret from Ha-jin. You did, however, continue your friendship with some of your former colleagues. One of them frequently visited you after the tragic death of her husband during a mission. This friend tried to convince you to come back multiple times, leading to Yun-jae losing trust in them. Despite your friend’s efforts to get you to come back, you stuck to your promise... Except when they made you break it. Which was...as often as they could. Though you distanced yourself as much as possible, you still sent them secret letters and offered your input or expertise when it was asked for.

Letter 1:

Thank you for the letters, I am fine now. To be honest, I let the letters build up. I won't smooth that over with excuses. I know that it's not your fault everything went south, but I don't think it's likely I’ll be returning. I'm sorry that's where I've landed, but you know why. I'll still look for your letters in the mail, and you can look for mine in the post. If you leave the life, l've got a room for you here. I know you won't. I regret bringing you in - more than anything. Yun-jae’s fine. Still spits fire at the mention of your name, which I'm sure will make you smile a bit. Ha-jin’s good like she always is. She’s picked up my habit of asking strangers the exact questions she shouldn't. It drives Yun-jae nuts...but it cracks me up.

Letter 2:

I do still have my notes - you'll find them at the safe house. You must know that curiosity is twisting my neurons into knots of pure agitation. That's FINE. I'll let that happen. You're a monster. So...all right, I have to know a little. No names, okay? Just tell me about the pattern. Was I right? Has it started up again?

Note 1:

All right...let me know a little. Just a date. Don't send anything else.

Note 2:

It's not the same date, but I know this handwriting. Is it RX?

Note 3:

I can’t come back in.

Note 4:

I am not coming back in!

Letter 3:

Not a word to Yun-jae or anyone in the SAA, but look, here's what's still weird for me: The pattern we spotted — why was it gone for so long? The night of the wavebreak - did we really hit too close to home on that one? If so, that accounts for the long silence. I mean, it's been years since we've caught anything. So did we scare them into silence for a minute there, or did we just lose the thread at that point? I'll help you for the time being, but you've got to get another analyst on board, okay? I've got enough of the notes in my head, but I need you to hit me with the specific dates and locations for all of the events. We subscribe to three papers - you can guess which ones. Drop everything into the want ads. I'm a sucker for the lonely hearts ads; give me a reason to read them.

Letter 4:

Cute ads. Sad though. I know you remember what we learned in school, and then again in training: That every joke travels with a bit of truth in its pocket. You’re clearly lonely. I realize I'm the last person on Earth who should give relationship advice, as I'm the benefactor of an obscene amount of what my mother called love luck. Yun-jae dropped into my life, and that's that. I'm still waiting for the other shoe to drop squarely on my nose. Luck like this is unnerving. You know when I approached you with the job at the Korean-American Scientists and Engineers Association (KSEA)? I hope this doesn't cheapen our friendship in your eyes, but I made a project of you. You were so brutally competitive and - populate your own list of compliments, you know what I think of you. I set my mark on you, and you on me. We became close friends, graduated, parted ways. I kept reading your work - you were still so much better with words than I could hope to be.

Letter 5:

When your articles stopped appearing, I got very worried. I searched for your byline everywhere - found nothing. Then I found out why. My heart went out to you. Your husband would be furious with you right now, you know. He loved you, and the last thing he'd ever want is for you to sit the rest of your life out. I helped you back on your feet because I couldn't think of a better person to do the same for me when my time to fall flat on my face came around. By the way, you were hilariously suspicious at first. Can't say I blame you - losing your husband was a kick to the gut, and anyone who looked you in the eye could see you waiting for the next blow to land. You found your way back, got writing again, but that look you had then, you still have it today.

If true love means never having to say you're sorry, then true friendship between researchers means never having to break out the grease pencil. Fine, here it is one last time: He's dead, you're not. Go to his grave tomorrow, and say goodbye. He loved you, and if he had a voice to speak, it would beg you to stop torturing yourself.

Back to the numbers. I'm selling a bunch of used garden equipment in the papers of record. Tell me if you think I got it right.

Note 5:

I heard you loud and clear. Drive at your own chosen speed. But the numbers - how sure are you that I'm right?

Note 6:

All right. This situation is bad. stand by - the next letter is going to come to you via courier.

~

You kept your promise with relative ease until there was a really close call one night. As to what happened, your husband would rather not say. He took you and Ha-jin, and left. And he was right to. That time, you chose your daughter over Balhae Station and Director Choi. And you were right to. But it didn’t end there. That incident, whatever it was, caused your daughter’s legs to become damaged and she had to be hospitalized. Five years ago, when Ha-jin was about seven years old, due to your expertise in whatever scientific and/or medical field of your choosing, you were asked to be a part of the team of 117 researchers and scientists to go on the mission to Balhae Lunar Research Station on the moon. Following your daughter’s hospitalization, your friend finally convinced you to help them on the Balhae Operation. But to do this, they lied to you about many things and quite possibly used your husband and daughter to emotionally manipulate you. But, in their mind, it was for the greater good.

Earth was, and still is, undergoing a water crisis. A Class 1 Societal Disruption to be exact, brought on by a severe worldwide water shortage. Rivers, lakes, and even parts of the oceans have dried up, fish are considered extinct, water is strictly and tightly rationed, keeping pets is illegal, riots are common, and there's a general sense of dejection and acceptance of mankind's eventual extinction. The mission to Balhae Station was supposed to fix this, and it might’ve well succeeded in doing so if done right. If done wrong, however, Earth was looking at a Class 2 Societal Collapse at best, or up to Class 4 Multispecies Extinction at worst, depending on how many species are susceptible to lunar water. Though it broke your heart to make such a difficult decision, you were going to keep your mission a secret from your family and leave quietly without saying anything. Once you safely arrived at Balhae Station, you were going to record and send a video message to Yun-jae to explain to him the situation and why you left. Though you knew he’d be angry, you hoped he’d understand in time. You hoped that you’d return home safely to a better world once your mission was completed successfully. That was your plan.

But he somehow found out about the mission and your agreement to go, though he didn’t know all of the details. It resulted in a heated argument that your daughter overheard when she was allowed to be temporarily discharged from the hospital to visit home for a weekend. You and your husband knew how homesick she got, no matter how often you visited her in the hospital and brought her things from home that she asked for. Her favorite was a large nightlight that made the entire room glow a soft blue like the sea or the moon and emit soothing sounds designed for sleep. You gave it to Ha-jin so she wouldn’t have nightmares. You told her,

“We all come from water, so dying isn’t really dying, it’s more like taking a break.”

Your words plus the nightlight helped her sleep.

The doctors told you that Ha-jin could go home for short stays once in a while. It wasn’t that she was better, it was just that it helped ease her homesickness. You and Yun-jae feared it someday would be her last chance. Even so, she was glad to be coming home. She missed her parents terribly. And you missed her too.

“Han residence, Mrs. Han speaking. You know this line isn’t secure. Stop - I’ll call you.” Ha-jin heard your voice as she eavesdropped and watched you from the second floor. You hung up the phone in the living room and walked to your office, shutting the door firmly behind you. She had no idea who you were talking to or what the conversation was about.

~

“Can I have my notes?” You asked your husband. You couldn’t find them in any of the usual places where you kept them safely locked away, which told you that your husband either moved or took them.

“No.”

“They might be helpful.”

“I bet they would be extremely helpful, but no, you really can't. They're gone.”

“Gone where?”

“I shredded them.”

“You what?!”

“Remember when Ha-jin picked the lock on that filing cabinet?”

“Which one?”

“I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that, to my knowledge it was just the one.”

“I mean...which one? The only one ever? That one?”

“I knew she was looking for your notes, so I shredded everything.”

“So it’s all lost.”

“It’s all lost.”

“How could you do that?”

“I thought it might prevent her from someday finding out what you used to do and what you're doing right now. She’s too young and doesn’t understand now, but she won’t be seven years old forever. I don’t want her following in your footsteps when she’s older. I mean, do you even have any idea how selfish you’re being right now?” Ha-jin heard her dad raise his voice at you from downstairs while she was drawing in her room. Though she was only seven years old, she could tell that everything was not okay. That something was going on and it was bad. She snuck out of her room and, hiding behind the railing of the second floor and peeking through the wooden bars next to the stairs, she crouched out of sight as she listened to you and Yun-jae, her parents, argue below her.

“No! You’re not doing this!” He yelled, unable to keep his composure.

“Keep it down!” You hissed under your breath.

“You made me a promise!”

“This is more important.”

“What do you want me to tell Ha-jin, huh? That her mom doesn’t care enough about her to stay?”

“Yun-jae!” You snapped at him, too irritated to call him honey like you normally did. “I’m not suddenly an entirely new person just because I’m your wife and the mother of your child.”

“You don’t understand! We knew the risks of our jobs when we married, but things changed when you became pregnant! We knew that because of our work, Ha-jin may lose us if we both stayed. We agreed that we didn’t want our daughter to be orphaned because of our work, so at least one of us should leave the field and find a safer option! I didn’t force you to leave, you chose to do it!”

“You’re right. I chose to leave. And I don’t regret my decision for a second. I loved that job, but I’m not blaming you for my resignation, Yun-jae. That’s not why I’m doing this.”

“So then why are you leaving?! You promised you wouldn’t do this again!”

“I told you. This mission is more important than keeping the promise I made to you. I can’t tell you more than that.”

“Can’t or won’t?”

“Can’t. I really can’t.”

“What do you mean you can’t?”

“Per the terms of the contract, I can’t disclose any more information about this mission to anyone, not even you - my husband.”

“What? Did you sign an NDA already without consulting me first?”

“I didn’t feel the need to consult you on this because this mission isn’t unlike anything I’ve done before. It’s like you said, I know the risks of what I’m getting into. I can handle myself.”

“But you’ll be gone for years! A lot can happen in that time! Don’t you walk away from me! Just leave then, fly off to the moon!” He yelled after you in frustration as you waved him off and walked away from him, not wanting to continue the conversation if he was going to be like that.

“Oh, grow up, Yun-jae,” you scoffed at him, just as frustrated and exasperated as he was.

You and your husband both needed time and space away from each other to cool off.

~

“Are you really going to go?” Ha-jin asked you, standing in the doorway of what you called your “artist’s studio”.

Ever since you and Yun-jae bought the house together and moved in, it quickly became the one room in the entire house that was entirely yours. You drew and painted a lot even while pregnant and, once Ha-jin was old enough to pick up a crayon, you shared your special space with her. It was almost like your sanctuary in a way. A room where you could escape reality and let your imagination run free for a few minutes or hours. Many of your paintings and drawings decorated the walls, along with some of Ha-jin’s art. There were art supplies scattered about in what looked like a chaotic mess but, to you, it was an organized mess.

You were sat down in front of a canvas or large sketchbook propped up on an easel, paintbrush or charcoal pencil in hand as you were in the middle of drawing or painting something new. “Have a seat.” You patted the cushioned chair next to you where she usually practiced drawing with you.

She stubbornly stayed rooted where she was and crossed her arms. “No. Dad told me you’re leaving. Why?”

“Ha-jin, it’s not like that,” you sighed.

“Are you coming back?”

“I know you heard some stuff between me and your dad, but you’ve got the wrong idea, kiddo.”

“Then what’s the right idea?”

“You’ll understand when you’re older.”

“Why is that always all you say?”

“Trust me, if I could tell you everything, I would. But for now, I just can’t. Now come and sit.”

“I’m sorry, I just can’t.” She parroted your words back at you.

You chuckled. “Like mother, like daughter I see. Well, too bad. You’re doing it.” You gently grabbed her hand and sat her down next to you, wrapping your arm around her in something of a side hug so she couldn’t get up as you drew pictures together.

“Why are you leaving?”

“You have no idea how much I want to tell you why, but I honestly can’t.”

“Why not?”

“Just know this - if you knew, you would understand.”

“Are you coming back?”

“I really don’t know.”

“That’s not a fair thing to say!”

“Trust me, kiddo, I know.”

~

Just as you finished suiting up minus your helmet, your phone rang. It was your husband.

“You're going to Balhae Station!” was the first thing he said to you in an accusatory tone when you picked up.

“How did you know?”

“Never mind how I know! That's not the point. You're deflecting.”

“Guilty.”

“You don't have my permission to be in space or go to the moon. Come home, right now.”

“Your permission? I think l'm a little too old for that.”

“What you're too old for is running headfirst into a dangerous situation and leaving the rest of us to clean up after you.”

“What is with you right now? This isn’t my first assignment. I know the risks that come with space travel and am fully trained for this. Calm down.”

“Honey. You don't get it. I am not angry at you.”

“Could’ve fooled me.”

“I'm scared. Please just come home.”

“Shouldn’t you want me to fight for a better future?”

“No. I want people with political power, around the clock protection, and endless resources at their fingertips to fight this. Not my wife. Not yet at least. Live a little longer before making that sort of decision. Although as your husband, I can't commend your career in the library sciences strongly enough.”

“You want me to be a librarian for the rest of my life?”

“Maybe. They're the world's unsung heroes and they don’t go to space for years long missions. Please just come home.”

“You keep telling me to turn back and come home, but I can't do that. Not just yet.”

“But you and I are married! We have a daughter together! How can you just leave us here? I won’t have it!”

“Earth is cursed. If I remain here and do nothing, when I could go to Balhae Station and do something, then all those dear to me will die and it’ll feel like it’s partially my fault.”

“Are Ha-jin and I not dear to you? Stay with us, and you and I will save Earth together.”

“I’m sorry, Yun-jae. But there are others who are counting on me even more than you.”

“You still don't get it. This isn't dangerous to just you. You’re impacting your entire life. Me, our daughter, your friends…anyone who knows you.”

“I know and I’m sorry, but… I bought my ticket years ago. I can’t just back out now. I have to do this.”

His stomach dropped. He felt as if you weren’t just talking about a ticket for the shuttle but that you were alluding to your own death. It was as you said: You knew the risks.

~

You didn’t come home. Against your husband’s wishes, you went to Balhae Station, leaving him and your daughter on Earth. The accident caused the chips to go dead. The government couldn’t let the bereaved families know right away. A radiation leak. As far as he knew, that was what killed you and everyone else on board. He and Ha-jin both grieved in their own ways. He’d swipe through the photos of you he had saved on his phone or stare around your house, at the photos of you hanging on the walls - your wedding photo, the photos of you and Ha-jin from her birth to when she was growing up. Or he’d stand in your “artist’s studio” and stare at your artworks, especially the unfinished ones. He did not tell Ha-jin about the true circumstances surrounding your death. For many years, Ha-jin believed you died in a car accident while visiting a friend.

Five years later, your death still remains a painful subject for Ha-jin and Yun-jae, who were both aggravated by your leaving and fought with you before you left. They both regret that the last things they said to you before you left were words said in anger and fear instead of love.

“If you press this, I'll fly over to save you.”

“That means I can always come home thanks to you.”

“That’s right. Can I come with you? I want to see the moon too.”

“Once I get back, I'll never go away again. I promise.”

“Liar.”

That’s what you told her too, before you left. And you never came back.

“I’m not lying. Once I get back, I'm going to teach you how to swim.”

“Swim?”

“It's a way to move freely underwater, like fish.”

“But fish are all dead.” After a long pause, Ha-jin spoke up again. “Why don't we ever talk about Mom?”

“I didn’t want to upset you.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

“That's why I never talked to you about her.”

“Oh. I don’t know where to start. You know, when I get back from my mission, when it's time...it's time. We’ll talk then.”

~

Captain Han stands in front of the memorial with Dr. Song. Unbeknownst to her, the memorial commemorates his wife’s death along with the 116 others, including her older sister.

“This memorial is to remember the 117 crew members who lost their lives five years ago at Balhae Station, a lunar station built by the Republic of Korea SAA. Through independent efforts, the SAA…” The recording of an automated female voice plays.

The Space and Aeronautics Administration offer Dr. Song to join a lunar sample retrieval mission to the deserted Balhae Lunar Research Station, which has been abandoned for five years after most of the crew was killed in a radiation leak. The SAA want to retrieve three "samples", but won’t tell the people on the mission what the samples are. Song Ji-an joins the mission to Balhae, mainly for a personal reason: Her sister Song Won-kyung was one of the crewmembers of Balhae Station who was killed five years ago. The team is led by Captain Han Yun-jae, who has his own personal reasons for going on the mission, and who knows a secret about what happened on Balhae. When he meets Dr. Song, she reminds him of you. Dr. Song is stubborn, headstrong, determined to find answers…just like you were. And, as far as he knows, those traits that he once admired you for, even if they frustrated him at times, got you killed.

“Balhae Station was temporarily closed for five years after the radiation leak. We decided to close it permanently. Your mission is to retrieve an important sample before the permanent closure of the station and return to Earth. Once you land on the moon, your allotted mission time will be 24 hours…”

~

“Captain Han. Are all your missions conducted like this? It makes no sense to restrict necessary information for the mission.”

“Are you always that passionate?”

“There’s less than 10% probability our whole crew will survive. If you’re worried about their safety, you should reduce the uncertainty as much as you can.”

“Uncertainty lies everywhere, be it outer space or Earth.”

“So I shouldn’t ask any questions and just do as I’m told? The outlook is quite bleak.”

“Aren’t scientists people who find a way in such situations? Are you sure you still want to come?”

“Now that you mentioned my work ethic, I can’t back out.”

“I will ask for your opinion when I deem it necessary.”

~

“Captain Han. There are too many oddities here. We must conduct an autopsy on that body to find the exact cause of his death.”

“Didn’t you hear what I said?”

“I did. The radiation level doesn’t look right, and the cause of his death is uncertain. We cannot just let this go.”

“I decide what our priority is.”

~

“It looks like the numbers are at a normal level. But in order to carry out our mission, we must make a full inspection of the station.”

“Our mission isn’t to investigate the cause of the accident at Balhae Station.”

~

“Traces of them trying to make an escape. It looks like the area was shut down in an emergency right after the accident.”

“I don’t see any burn scars on the dead bodies.”

“Right. They all have the characteristics of drowned bodies. What in the world happened here?”

“Captain Han, if we cannot conduct an autopsy now, why don’t we stop by the infirmary and check their medical records?”

“I thought we were done discussing this.”

“Since the situation has changed, I’m simply sharing my opinion again.”

“What has changed?”

“We found many more suspicious elements on more dead bodies. If we can collect some tissue from the crew, we might be able to find a lead.”

“Can you focus on the mission instead of your personal curiosity?”

“What do you mean by that?”

“You heard me.”

Though Captain Han may seem cold and narrow-minded to her at every turn, unbeknownst to Dr. Song, your death is why he is so against her asking questions or going off-mission to fulfill her own curiosity about her sister. He understands where she’s coming from. After finding the corridor with all of the bodies, a part of him wants to find your body amongst the dead and investigate what happened to you too, but he can’t lose focus or let his emotional attachments to you get in the way of the mission or jeopardize his crew’s safety. He’s a Captain first and a husband second.

~

“Why was the co-pilot in the storage alone? Why didn’t you report as you deviated?”

“Are you interrogating me?”

“Once communications are restored, I must report back on the reasons why I lost two crew members in under an hour. So I need to know exactly what happened.”

“I was just…looking around the area. It’s my fault for not reporting. I’m—”

“I don’t need an excuse. I’ll know once I check your bodycam.”

~

“I’d like to inspect the medical records and the other bodies.”

“And? What else do you need from me?”

“I just need your permission to conduct an investigation.”

“I thought you didn't need my permission. You've been doing whatever you like.”

“After everything that's happened, don't you get it by now? We can't get any answers if we don't ask questions.”

~

“It's gonna be tough. But we still have a mission to do. You have to remember that.”

~

The crew confront Han, who admits that he was told by Director Choi that the samples they are collecting is lunar water, though he is unaware of its effects. Lunar water was originally discovered by Song's sister, Song Wonkyong, and the SAA has been hiding its existence for fear that other parties might figure out how to make it safe for human consumption first and monopolize the substance.

“Is it water? The sample we’re here to retrieve. Is it water?”

Captain Han doesn’t answer but, from the look on his face, Dr. Song knows.

“You knew.”

~

“I’m sure you are aware of the space resource development that countries were competing over. Nobody was interested in the moon. Nothing in particular was found, so most countries had pulled out. However, there is a reason why we never gave up on the moon. We actually found something very profound.”

“What is it?”

“Water. It was a perfect chance for us to catch up to other developed countries as a newcomer in the industry. Dr. Song Wonkyung called it…lunar water.”

~

“Balhae Station was a place where they studied the lunar water.”

“Is there really water on the moon?”

“That’s everything Director Choi told me. She said we found water on the moon, and if this research is a success, we could save all of humanity.”

“Why did you hide this from us? Why did you go so far to keep this a secret from us?”

“It’s obvious what would happen if this information is leaked. Lee Gisu is dead, but someone is bound to come after us.”

“No. The real reason Director Choi didn’t tell us about the sample is because that water is what killed everyone at Balhae Station as well as Soochan.”

“What do you mean?”

“I think we know why Soochan died. It looks like Soochan was exposed to the lunar water. We aren’t completely sure, but the lunar water seems to act like a virus. It multiplies until it takes the host’s life.”

“It multiplies? The water multiplies?”

“Yes. It multiplies endlessly. I’m sure it seemed like an amazing resource. If we could control its multiplication, if we could commercialize it, they probably thought it could save mankind.”

“If that’s possible, it should happen.”

“That’s what my sister wanted.”

“Dr. Song Wonkyung.”

“Yes, Dr. Song Wonkyung. My sister wanted that too.”

Did you want the same? Is the promise of lunar water the real reason you left? Captain Han doesn’t like the feelings that come over him when he realizes the answer to those questions are most likely yes. If it was possible to feel any worse or guiltier about how he spoke to you in your last days on Earth, he would be. But feeling sorry for himself won’t change the past nor do him or his crew any good.

~

He has no other choice but to finally come clean. “I was told it’s still under research, so the substance is very unstable. It’s susceptible to external stimulus, so it has to be kept at a low temperature.”

“That external stimulus is coming in contact with a living organism. The researchers here were infected by the lunar water and died, but the government covered up everything to hide the existence of lunar water. We don’t know the symptoms or how you get infected. There are too many things we don’t know.”

“I know as much as you do. I don't understand anything about this lunar water either.”

“I bet.”

“It wasn’t officially given a name back then, but the lunar water, as we now know it to be called, had my wife obsessed for a very long time. She couldn't figure it out either. She was sure it was part of some long term plan.”

“Plan for what?”

“That's where she stopped. She never had enough information to put things together. I thought, what Information could my wife have that's so important? I know I shouldn't be telling you this—”

“But you're going to?”

“My wife somehow was on the verge of a scientific breakthrough before she came here. Her plan before she left, at least from what I could figure out from her notes, was to find some of this lunar water and genetically alter it to make it safe for human contact and consumption as part of a Water Restoration Project on Earth. I don’t know if she was able to do that before she died, but that's all I've been able to figure out from the notes and formulas she wrote.”

“Do you know what the correct formula is?”

He hesitates in answering the question.

“I’m not angry at you or blaming you. I just want information.”

He shakes his head. “Her notes were incomplete. Like the rest was kept locked away safely in her memory and died with her. From what she put down on paper, I assume she was talking about the chemical formula that she hoped was going to be used in the Water Restoration Project. I didn’t entirely understand it, to be perfectly honest. But the thing that really got my wife interested was the fact that it wasn't supposed to be a deadly virus. Which was great, but the why kept nagging at her. She was afraid that the mission from five years ago was a test run for something that could potentially be done on a global scale.”

“Why?”

He almost shudders just thinking about it. “I don’t want to know. You see, it's things like this that make me want to keep you away from your questions. I was against it. I found out you were Dr. Song’s sister and was reluctant to have you on my team. You remind me of her. My wife. What you’re doing now… That's pretty much what she did. She'd head out, tackle some strange mystery that had gotten her attention, and then she'd come back with the answers. What about you? Why did you come here?”

Why was Dr. Song brought to Balhae Station? Is it for the same reason as he?

“My sister called me here.”

“What do you mean?”

He already knows what she means. He just wants to hear what she has to say. He knows why Dr. Song was brought here, because it’s the same reason he was brought here. They thought he might be the key to the secrets you, his wife, left behind. He told them that he wasn’t, but they told him that he could be. You would never give him information that would put him or Ha-jin in danger. But he knows from experience that the more you love someone, the more you show your secrets, whether you mean to or not. That's why the family of an astronaut or scientist is never safe. As he was fond of pointing out to you.

“Captain Han, your wife’s death wasn't an accident.”

“I know. When people came looking for her things, they always wanted to focus on what she was working on last. There was this very persistent woman who wanted everything she worked on, all of her notes. That's what the message that led me here said.”

“And Director Choi gave you that message.”

“Yes.”

“Recently?”

“Yes. I should have just handed them over instead of destroying them. Maybe my wife wouldn't have been drawn into all this. Maybe she wouldn’t have died.”

“Captain Han. I know your wife’s death wasn't an accident. You know it wasn't an accident. The only other people who know...are the people who killed her. That's who sent you the message. You said Director Choi gave you the code to restricted areas. The data storage of Balhae Station is inside the main lab. And I need level one access to get in there.”

~

“Three died, and one of them was a spy? It’s the worst report I can imagine.”

“You’re the one who approved the co-pilot to be changed right before we departed.”

“Once the Inspection Department hears of this, they’ll conduct a thorough investigation on the reasons for the replacement. Of course, it’ll include me. Is there a possibility that other members could be in league with him?”

“It cannot be excluded.”

“What’s important is catching the intruder who took that sample.”

“Is it more important to stop the intruder than to retrieve the samples?”

“You of all people should know how valuable those samples are.”

Though it goes unspoken, Captain Han knows Director Choi is referring to you and your death. He knows what she’s implying without saying anything. Don’t let her sacrifice five years ago be in vain. If you give up now, her death will have been for nothing. Is that what you want? He lowers his head, staring at the table as he sighs.

“I wouldn’t have started this if I’d let anyone else have it.”

“We need access to level one areas to conduct a thorough search.”

~

Their exploration of the main database area is cut short when they hear screams and gunfire as the intruder attacks. E1 is clutching the profusely bleeding stump where his hand used to be. With their guns pointed, the crew see the silhouette of not just one intruder, but two. One looks to be a child while the other looks to be an adult woman. The child holds a canister of lunar water and E1’s disembodied hand before dropping the latter. When Kim Sun shoots at her, she drops the canister, causing the light to go red. Both the child and the woman retreat into the underbrush. But before they do, Captain Han feels the woman’s eyes on him, as if her gaze is burning a hole in his very being. When they see movement, they shoot at both the woman and child, but none of their shots hit. The intruders are too fast. Captain Han catches a glimpse of the little girl’s face. Her eyes flicker like that of a reptile with a nictitating membrane. Both she and the woman retreat into the vents and the crew have to evacuate when the lunar water from the broken canister comes in contact with E1’s blood.

~

“She ripped off his arm. Then they both crawled all over the ceiling. What is this… First, some water killed people, and then a couple of monsters show up too.”

“Could either of them be the one who killed Lee Gi-su?”

“Yes. I think so.“

“Why are they following us around? To kill us all?”

“I think it’s because of the lunar water. I think that’s why they killed Gi-su, and attacked us. Whenever we find lunar water, they show up. Perhaps they’re after it as well.”

“Do you think...it's really possible that they’re survivors?”

“Survivors? But how can they be survivors? I don't think a kid and a woman could survive five years here on their own. It was a kid and a woman, right? Weren’t they?”

“She was a kid. And the other one was an adult woman. We all saw. She was behaving like a child. A child who wanted to keep what's hers. Who didn't want it taken away. I know it sounds odd, but...a child behaves like that. Maybe the child killed Gi-su or maybe the woman did. Maybe they killed him together. Whatever the case, what we just witnessed makes me think that the woman is protecting the child - like a mother protecting her young.”

“Are you saying, from their perspective, we’re the intruders?”

~

“Just like with Gi-su, they may be using only ventilation shafts to get around. Their attacks have come from the ventilation shaft.”

“You can get pretty much anywhere on board by using this main shaft INP-07.”

~

“Did you find the intruder?”

“There’s more than one. We’ve discovered two intruders.”

“Two intruders?”

“Yes. And the intruders’ whereabouts are still unknown.”

“What about the samples?”

He sets the intact lunar water canister on the table for Director Choi to see. “We may lose more lives at this rate. Do we have to continue?”

“As I mentioned before, this operation will be a failure if anybody else gets the lunar water. I don’t care if you kill the intruders. You must catch them. Also, make sure you retrieve the lunar water that was taken.”

“It was a kid and a woman.”

“What?”

“The intruders seemed like a little kid and a young woman. They were both wearing lab coats too.”

“So what?”

“Is there a possibility that this woman and this kid are survivors?”

Director Choi laughs. “Stop trying to make things more complicated than they should be. That’s not what’s important. Why does the woman’s or kid’s identity matter? That won’t change your mission. I dream of standing in the rain. When I wake up from that wonderful dream, it's painful beyond words to wake up to this horrendous and sad reality. I want to make sure it rains, once again, over this land, so that water may flow abundantly on Earth. We must recreate that world again.”

Though he hates to admit it to himself, Captain Han can’t disagree. You had the same dream ever since Ha-jin was born.

~

“Why are you being so difficult? Is it because of Director Choi? Why can’t I go back into the data storage?”

“It’s too dangerous to go back. We don’t know what happened to the lunar water after it leaked.”

“I finally found it. I can’t give up like this.”

“It’s dangerous, and that’s it. I can’t condone more deaths.”

“There were 117 crew members here at Balhae Station. None of them survived. If we take the lunar water back now, we may end up sacrificing more.”

“Dr. Song, if I help you... I'm only pushing you right to your sister who has lured you here.”

“I can handle myself.”

“My wife said the same thing to me before she died. It doesn’t matter what you find out. The lunar water will be taken back with that kid and that woman.”

“Then that’s all the more reason to get the data in the data storage. Now that we know the danger that lies in the lunar water, we need to investigate as much as we can. I don’t care if you don’t trust me. I’m not doing this for personal reasons only.“

“I know you’ll go even if I say no.” He knows that from being married to you for so many years. Dr. Song has the same look in her eyes as you did whenever you had your mind set on something. You were stubborn and, once he saw that look, he knew he couldn’t change your mind. “Go with Doc Hong. You can’t go alone. If you find anything on the lunar water, that woman, or that child, report back right away.”

~

While Kim Sun and Officer Gong are investigating the ventilation shafts, they encounter more drawings on the walls.

“Oh, shit! Those creepy drawings again. They keep showing up everywhere. This kid must like to draw. They’re a real artist.”

~

Captain Han is investigating different ventilation shafts. With his flashlight and gun pointed forward, he’s disconcerted when he sees drawings that don’t look like those of a child. They look too polished, too professional, too perfect. Along the corridors, he sees works of art that are eerily similar to the artwork that’s hanging up on the walls back home. Artwork created by your hand. When he reaches out to touch some of them, his fingers come back wet or smudged. Most of these drawings are old, but some are fresh. But that’s impossible. You’re dead….aren’t you? He doesn’t have time to dwell on those thoughts when voices of his crew come through his earpiece, informing him of their status.

“Captain. We've reached the shaft entrance on our end. The cover is still intact. I don't think she escaped through here.”

“Captain, we found a new passage from the hallway. This area of the station is not on the blueprint either. But it looks like...this passage runs all the way to the dorms. We should expand our search and check out the dorms as well.”

“Okay. Be careful.”

~

“This is very odd. From the blueprint, this passageway should lead us straight to the dorms.”

“I know. But it seems more like we've just been circling the same area.”

“Exactly.”

“It's like a game of hide-and-seek for them. They know exactly where we are and always manage to avoid us.”

“They know their way around here much better than we do.”

“Did we miss a passage on the holographic map?”

“I’m sorry. I’ll check once again when we get to the command center.”

“But why is this girl and this woman... These monsters... Whatever you want to call them. Why do we have to find them? We have the sample. We should just go home.”

In the medical bay, Dr. Hong, Dr. Song, and Lieutenant Ryu are caught by surprise when the little girl and woman stand by the glass doors, just watching. They’re both covered in blood, though the little girl is considerably more bloodied than the woman. She must’ve done most of the killing.

“Captain. Captain! The girl and the woman, they’re here.”

“You have eyes on them? Dr. Hong, respond.”

“Captain Han.”

“No, stop!”

When the woman and little girl try to enter the medical bay, Lieutenant Ryu shoots at them. But he’s no match for their superhuman speed as they sprint all over the walls. The child tackles Ryu and the woman crouches above her on the table, shielding her with her body like a mother protecting her child as they both stare unblinkingly at Dr. Song. She’s holding the canister of lunar water and the unknown child and woman both have a look in their eyes like they want it. Captain Han, Officer Gong, and Kim Sun enter from behind, their guns drawn and pointed at the intruders. Their backs are to them. Captain Han can’t see their faces as he keeps his gun pointed at them. He tries to get a closer look.

“Dr. Song, step away.”

“Wait a second. Don't come any closer. Give me a second.”

Captain Han signals for Kim Sun and Officer Gong to hold their fire. After a few seconds of tense silence that stretch on for what feels like an eternity as everyone is frozen in a confrontation between themselves, the girl, and the woman, the girl lunges for the capsule of lunar water. With it in hand, she and the woman both turn around, only to be shot at by Lieutenant Ryu. The woman, the child, and the lunar water canister are all hit in the process.

When Captain Han finally sees the woman’s face clearly, words like shocked, confused, heartbroken, relieved, skeptical, and conflicted cannot even begin to describe the plethora of emotions he’s feeling all at once when he sees you. His wife. Your hair is longer than it was and you’re covered in blood, but it’s definitely you. Your face that he stared at in photos is the same. Your voice that he listened to on repeat in old videos is the same as you softly speak his name when you see him for the first time.

“Yun-jae…”

You look at him, your eyes filled not just with tears, but longing and remorse. You recognize him. And when he glances down at your hand, you’re wearing your wedding ring. When you notice where his eyes glance to, you toy with the ring as your eyes lock on his own hand, his wedding ring glinting under the fluorescent lights as he keeps his gun pointed at you. While his crew look on in confusion, their eyes flickering between you and their captain, Yun-jae’s hand holding his gun begins shaking as he stares wide-eyed at you, his mind filled with so many questions that he wants to ask you, but can’t in that moment. And when he realizes the lunar water sample capsule had been compromised during the shootout and splashed over you, landing on your skin, he instinctively wants to rush forward to save you. He thinks you’re going to die a horrible death of drowning internally, but instead you and the child thrash and contort on the table, breathing heavily as your wounds close. Your eyes search for Yun-jae’s and, when you find him, you don’t break eye contact. When the child falls off the table, you follow her, once again shielding her with your body. Instead of resulting in a fatal reaction, the lunar water heals her and your wounds and allows you both to escape. Giving one last apologetic look to Yun-jae, you and the child run and retreat back into the vents while Officer Gong shoots at you. Captain Han doesn’t know what to make of the scene he just witnessed. What the fuck happened to you? You have superhuman speed. Your wounds close instantly after getting shot. The lunar water has no negative effect on you. But you recognized him. You said his name. You can speak, which means you can answer his questions. He has to find you. But first, he has to be a Captain.

“What were you thinking?”

“What?”

“Did you think they wouldn’t attack us if you gave them the lunar water? That doing so would solve everything?”

“I didn’t. I only wanted to show them that I wasn’t going to hurt them. That I’m not trying to take the capsule from them. I thought they’d feel that too, that they would understand.”

“If you do things like that and expose yourself to danger, then you bring the whole team down with you.”

“But you saw them. You saw how their bodies reacted to the lunar water. We all witnessed it.”

“The child’s cheek was cut open, and then it just closed. And her wounds healed instantly. It was the same with the woman.”

“So how can you explain that, Dr. Song?”

“How can you explain that the woman knew your name?” She answers his question with a question.

“That’s right. Captain, she knew your name. And she looked at you as if she knew you. Who is she? Do you know her?” Dr. Hong asks.

“That woman…she…at least, I think she’s…my wife.” Captain Han admits reluctantly, still uncertain of many things. As he says it, he toys with his own wedding ring on his finger, spinning it with his thumb as he’s deep in thought. No matter how many years passed, he couldn’t bear to take it off. Taking it off felt like making your death final. After news hit him that you died, he swore to never remarry or even date again. You’d always be his wife. His one and only. Until his own death. He loved you, still loves you, and you can never be replaced by another woman.

Nearly everyone exclaims different questions in unison. Questions like, “Your wife? You have a wife?” and “Your wife was part of the crew sent on the Balhae mission five years ago?” Clearly, they weren’t made aware of this information and why would they have been? His marital status didn’t seem relevant to the mission. Until now.

“Yes. I thought she died here five years ago but it’s her. I know it is. But that means…my wife couldn’t have died five years ago. Could she really be here?” As Captain Han speaks, he begins to doubt himself. “Or maybe it’s not her, just something with her face and her memories. Or maybe there really is a radiation leak and I’m hallucinating.”

“You’re not hallucinating, Captain. We’ve established there’s no radiation leak and we all saw her.”

“But she…she was just a normal human woman when I knew her. She couldn’t move like that or heal like that. I don’t know how she…” He shakes his head, unable to continue his train of thought. “Dr. Song, do you have any idea what kind of being that child is? What happened to my wife to make her able to do those things?”

Song theorizes that you and the girl have a condition or immunity that makes you compatible with lunar water, and that you may be the key to making lunar water safe for consumption back on Earth.

“No, I don't. But what I do know is...their bodies can definitely handle lunar water. It won’t kill them.”

“So, what was that girl and that woman - I’m sorry, Captain. Your wife, I mean - Did the lunar water change them somehow?”

“Well, it seemed like their bodies totally adapted.”

“Adapted?”

“They didn't just adapt to it. Their physical abilities, and speed of recovery showed way more than that.”

“The child may have been born with antibodies for it, or it may be a special case of genetic mutation caused by different environmental factors.”

“Whether or not that woman is your wife, Captain, what we do know is that they’re a danger to us. We should resume the search and catch them, even if that means killing them...”

“No, we can't kill them,” Dr. Song protests.

“We need to kill them and do whatever it takes to put an end to this, so we can go home.”

“We can't do that. They may be the only key to the secret of the lunar water. They might just be the thing we need right now.”

“We'll bait them and capture them. Show me the map of the ventilation shafts, please. INP-07. INP-07 leads to many places. If we lure them with this lunar water capsule and block off this intersection here... The one I've just showed you… They’ll have to come out of the vent in the hallway of the machine room. Then we'll shut both ends of the hallway.”

“Like a dog hunt. So what we wanna do is chase them down and trap them. But the problem is, a wild dog can be extremely vicious and easily rip a person to pieces. And there’s two of them.”

“That is true. Even if we get lucky enough and manage to trap them in the hallway, it's still going to be too dangerous to subdue them and catch them alive.”

“So that's why we need Dr. Song.”

~

“Hey, Captain. We shouldn't use guns. It's important that we don't provoke them until you and I calm them down.”

“That's my decision to make. One of them is my wife and I won’t let the child hurt her or you. Even within the SAA, some people were against moving the lunar water to Earth.”

“If we carry something back without confirming its safety, it could pose a danger for everyone.”

“But Director Choi or other higher-ups probably thought it’s more important not to let anyone else get their hands on the lunar water.”

“Knowing everyone in this station was killed by that very lunar water?”

“There are enough reasons to take this risk. I don’t care about the child as much as my wife. I have questions, and she might have the answers.”

“I think…my sister and possibly your wife deleted all the research data. Perhaps they hoped no one would find out about the lunar water.”

“Then why do you think they left us those messages? In the end, they both probably thought someone had to do this. Wouldn’t that be why they called us here?”

“I’m not sure. Once I find out the entire truth, what am I really supposed to do? I have no idea.”

He feels the same way.

~

The crew set a trap for you and the girl. You and she are lured as planned. When Captain Han presses the button to shut the gate, neither of you are fast enough to slide under the door and make it before it shuts completely. When you try to pull her with you, the child’s leg gets trapped while your long hair gets caught under the door and, when you try to pull it free, it only causes you immense pain as you nearly rip your hair from your scalp. You both try to free yourselves, but it only makes it worse as you only hurt yourselves more and more as you struggle. You look up at Yun-jae, your eyes scared and filled with tears as you call his name repeatedly and plead for his help. He approaches you slowly, his gun pointed at the child but not you.

Dr. Song, who was acting as bait alongside Captain Han, comes to your and the child’s side to help. “No, wait. No, wait. Stop moving. You'll get hurt.”

When Yun-jae kneels down to your level and tries to free your hair, it hurts so much that you instinctively bite his neck. Hard. Hard enough to draw blood and make him drop his gun. It’s the only space you can reach that isn’t protected by his space suit. At the same time, the child bites Dr. Song’s hand. That’s when she notices the name and number tattooed on the child’s neck.

“Luna? Luna 073?”

You and Luna both cry as you struggle. With no other choice, Yun-jae pushes you away and grabs his gun, quickly shooting both you and Luna with tranquilizer darts.

“This is the best that we can do for them.”

Dr. Song opens the gate, freeing you both. While she checks on Luna, Yun-jae checks on you, holding you in his arms as you grip onto him until you fall asleep.

“I'll get them ready to be transported,” Officer Gong says, ready to handcuff you both.

Captain Han stops him. “They need treatment first.”

While Dr. Song carries Luna, Yun-jae lifts you bridal style into his arms.

“Are we handing them over to backup as soon as they get here? They will take them to Earth, won't they? Do you know what will happen to them when they get there, and where they’ll go?”

He looks at your face as you sleep. You’ll return home with him, he thinks. The lights turn red as the gate closure commences, and you immediately wake up and push him away from you, rolling out of his arms. You and Luna run and retreat into the vents. Before he can follow after Dr. Song, the gate closes on him. He hits it in frustration. No. He can’t lose you. Not again. He crawls through vent AP-4 to get to where Dr. Song is at the second intersection. Wherever she and Luna are, you’re bound to be also.

~

You and Luna split up. While Luna leads Dr. Song through the vents to her sister’s old room, you lead Yun-jae through the vents to your old room.

“Where did you go? Were you...waiting for me?”

He finds you sitting on your messy bed in your room. You’re crying, your head in your hands. He approaches, lightly touching your shoulder.

“Are you okay? Is your head hurt? I’m so sorry. I don’t know how this happened. I’m gonna have a word with Dr. Hong and we can get you checked out…”

You sniffle and wipe your tears before you look up at him. “It hurts, but not terribly. My wounds will heal. Though they’d heal faster with lunar water. I’ll be fine, Yun-jae. Physically, at least. It’s not my head that’s hurting the most, honey. It’s my heart. It’s just…the reality of all this is hitting me for the first time,” you sob.

“I know, it’s crazy. But I’m right here with you. We’re together again.”

You stare at him for a few seconds, just taking him in. He does the same with you. Finally, you speak again. “I didn’t think you’d come. I thought you had gotten my last message but…if you’re here now, then that means you didn’t,” you say with a heavy sigh.

“Message? What message?”

You pat the bed for him to sit next to you. When he does so, you open a laptop and click on a video file. You show him the screen and let it play. The video starts out normally, with you in your room. You’re sitting by the large window that looks out to space, Earth visible in the distance. You’re beaming, a big smile on your face.

“Hey, baby! I just wanted to send you and Ha-jin a quick ‘hello’ and ‘I love you’. I'm far away now. In a quiet, beautiful place. Please forgive me for not saying goodbye properly before I left. Be well, Yun-jae. And tell Ha-jin not to be too hard on her nurses.”

The video cuts and skips forward.

“Hi, honey! Good news! I'm gonna be coming home soon! Yay! I cannot wait to be done with this job—And come home to my loving husband and wonderful daughter. I miss you both so much. I gotta get back to work. I love you, Yun-jae. I miss you so much. I'm sending tons of kisses. Bye, baby!” You blow a kiss.

He remembers receiving those messages. He still has them saved on his phone. He’s played them over and over for himself and for Ha-jin, both before and after your death.

The video then cuts forward and shows you again, but you’re different this time. Your hair is longer and messy as if it hasn’t been brushed in days. And your eyes are filled with tears. You look scared. The lights are red and there’s an alarm going off and screaming in the background.

“Yun-jae... You were right. I did lie to you. I shouldn't have, but— All I can say is that if you get this... Stay away.”

You drop the camera in your haste to get away. The last thing he hears on the recording are the sounds of screaming and gunfire coming from a closed off corridor. The very corridor where he found all those bodies. The last thing he sees is you crawling into a vent to safety. The video abruptly ends.

“I tried to press the send button so you’d get that final message, but I realize now that I must not have pressed it properly. My hands were shaking so bad, I could barely hold the camera.”

“I- I don’t- I don’t understand,” Yun-jae stammers. He’s never seen this video until now. “When everyone else died…did you escape? Have you...been living here all alone?”

You shake your head. “Not entirely alone. I’ve had Luna with me. She’s become like a daughter to me. I’ve taught her everything I could. How to read, how to write, how to draw, how to talk.”

“She hasn’t spoken a word since we encountered her.”

“Not to you, no. She’s shy. I know she’s killed members of your crew and I’m sorry for that, but… She’s scared. She doesn’t know any better. For the past five years, I’ve been the only one she can completely trust. Though she’s warming up to…Dr. Song, was it? She’ll warm up to you too. Just give her time. Give her a chance.”

“I was only allotted 24 hours for this mission. I don’t have a lot of time to give. I’m not here to talk about Luna. I want to talk about you. I thought you were dead. Ha-jin believes you’re dead. What the hell happened here five years ago? What the hell happened to you?”

His words make your crying start up anew. Your sobs turn almost violent as your whole body shakes. “Yun-jae…don’t ask me that. Please. Don’t do it. Don’t you ever ask me that. If you ask me, I’ll have to tell you. And I hate to think what would happen then.”

“I’m sorry, I know this is hard for you, but I’m asking. I need to know. Don’t you think I deserve to know?”

“Yes, of course you do, but… I can’t do this. Unless…” You lick your lips and sit up straighter as you face him. “If your marriage is still going to work, it needs to be built on trust, right?”

“Absolutely.”

“You have to understand, she’s not sorry that she lied. I'm sorry that I have to be the one to tell you the truth. It was hard for her to be one hundred percent honest with anyone, so it’s hard for me too.”

“I know that.”

“She came back to work, came to Balhae Station, because they begged her to. She told them for months. That her work was like her family, but you and Ha-jin were her family. She had a responsibility to her daughter. She had made a promise to you, her husband...and she meant it. But they begged. They told her they believed she was the only one who could help them save the Earth. That wasn't the lie.”

“What was?”

“Director Choi promised her she'd have a rescue shuttle sent once the mission was completed successfully, that your wife and her team would have around the clock protection from liftoff to meeting you at baggage claim back home. She trusted her.”

“There was never going to be a rescue shuttle, was there?”

“No.”

“Wait…why are you talking about yourself in third person like that?”

“I have a confession to make but I’m afraid to tell you what it is.”

He holds your hand, placing it over his thigh. “Hey. You never have to be afraid with me. You can tell me anything, and I’ll only love you more.”

“Are you sure?”

“I’m positive.”

“Okay. Here it goes.” You take a deep breath. “I’m not your wife, and I never was.”

He blinks at you. “Excuse me?”

“Your wife…is dead.”

He just stares at you in confusion. “Huh? But you’re right in front of me. Are you messing with me?”

“No, I’m not. It’s the truth. I’m not your real wife. I’m a clone of her.” You let go of his hand to push down your shirt collar and move your hair to the side, revealing your name followed by a number tattooed on your neck.

He lightly traces the silver letters with his fingertips, as if needing to prove they’re actually a part of your skin and not just stickers like the one on his bodycam. You pull your collar back up and let your hair fall back into place. You turn to look at Yun-jae again, though neither of you make a move to hold hands again.

“Your real wife died after being exposed to lunar water in the first round of human experiments. She drowned. She didn’t make it. But before she died, she volunteered her genetic material to be used in cloning so she could continuously be an adult test subject for the lunar water in the name of saving humanity. The scientists of Balhae Station were trying to brute-force the development of an immunity to the lunar water's effects by exposing dozens of clones of a pre-teen to it - Luna - hoping one would prove to be naturally immune. But your wife thought just a child’s body wasn’t enough. She thought there should be testing done on adult subjects too. Morally bankrupt, but scientifically sound - it was basically enforced natural selection. They took your wife’s DNA and, after her death, they mass-produced her in Balhae Station for years along with Lunas. You saw the room with all the Lunas in body bags, didn’t you?”

He can only shakily nod, too stunned to speak.

“There’s failed clones of me kept in body bags too. But I purposefully kept you away from that area of Balhae Station. I didn’t want you to see. I still don’t want you to see. You should know that I was grown in a lab with all of your wife’s memories like the others, but I’m the only one who survived. All of the Lunas and copies of your wife were clones, meaning they were genetically identical, which in turn means that after your wife didn't survive the lunar water, all of her clones should’ve shown the exact same reaction. Yet Luna 073 and I still somehow came out on top, immune to the incredibly virulent effects of lunar water. There was genetic engineering going on, so Luna and I may have been altered in this fashion. Let me show you.”

You show Yun-jae the video log of the experiments done on you and your clones. At the same time, Dr. Song finds the station's missing research data in Wonkyong's room, which includes details of the SAA's experiments of lunar water on genetically-modified clone children tagged with Luna numbers. The girl, Luna 073, and you are the only clones who did not die, and you are the only survivors of the Balhae accident.

“Lunar water injected. Proceeding with first human test. Dr. Han shows no signs of life. Prepare her genetic material for cloning.”

“What did they do?” Yun-jae breathes in shock as he watches his wife die over and over and over and over in the pursuit of saving humanity.

“Y/N 027, failed. Y/N 037, failed. Y/N 041, failed. Y/N 054 shows no signs of life…” And then came your number which is different from Luna’s 073. It turned out that getting a successful adult clone was either harder or easier than a child clone. “…all vital signs are stable. No proliferation of lunar water detected. No adverse reaction in the body cells.”

Minutes that feel like hours pass until you finally conclude your harrowing tale.

“…So our creators were killed and Luna and I ran. If your wife didn’t want a synthetic organism made in her likeness, she wouldn’t have sold her genetic material to a shady company for a higher water rank.”

“Let me get this straight… Y/N…”

“No, I’m not her. You can keep calling me that, but I am not her. But if you wanna know anything else about me, or where I come from, I’m an open book.”

“Okay. Okay. Okay. So my wife died and you’re one of her clones? The only surviving one? The last surviving remnant of her?”

“Yes. You believed her to be dead all these years, and that’s technically true, as the original version of her died in the experiments. But me, a perfect carbon copy with all of her memories, thoughts, and emotions, survived.”

“Prove it. Answer my questions.”

“Okay. Ask me anything.”

“How did we meet?”

“You were both in the same college program. She was better at chemistry than you were, and you hated her for it, a fact you made plainly clear. After graduation, you were happy you’d never have to see that smug face of hers ever again. Until of course, in her true style - she called out of the blue to say she'd set you up with a job at the SAA, where she'd been working. You don't know if she mistook your hatred for healthy competition - or what it was all about. Your wife had this infuriating habit of expecting the best out of people. She confused you into being nice to her - I dare say I miss her almost as much as you and Ha-jin must. Is it possible to miss myself? I don’t know.”

“How did my wife and I become friends?”

“You worked together at the SAA. Though you were in different departments and had totally different jobs, you kept crossing paths and started talking in the hallways and at lunch. She was a good friend. The two of you worked together a lot back then. You kept your love life a secret for the longest time. Your coworkers didn’t even know you were together. You didn’t even announce your engagement. They saw the engagement ring on her finger and then she had no choice but to come clean. Instead of a big wedding, you eloped. You didn’t have much of a honeymoon. You went on a romantic weekend getaway trip to your family’s cabin and went back to work on Monday. Ha-jin was conceived shortly after.”

“Did we live in that cabin after Ha-jin was born?”

“Not quite. Your wife would come out there for months at a time, with you and your daughter. Back then you were still working for the SAA while she was a stay at home mom in between jobs. Ha-jin wasn’t in school yet, so she was good to go anywhere. And you used to like it there. Those were good times.”

He keeps questioning you like that until he’s satisfied by your answers to what he thinks are increasingly harder, near impossible questions. You’re walking around with his wife’s face, her life, her history. You even think like her!

“This is amazing,” you say, your voice filled with awe.

“What is?”

“That she picked you. That means, in some way, I would pick you. It’s like, why?”

“I don’t know. Maybe you had to be there.”

“Listen, I know you’re having a hard day. Not worse than mine, but it sucks to be you right now. You seem like a nice guy. What she did to you isn’t fair. And you really saved my ass back there. So, I don’t know…you wanna take your earbud out, take our clothes off, and see where things go?”

He snorts in disbelief. “That’s exactly what she said to me the first night we made love.”

“Man. She’s stealing all my moves. Or I guess I’m stealing hers. Anyway, you get what I’m hinting at. I mean, you’re my husband, right? I’m curious. If I bought the car, I wanna look under the hood.”

“But you’re not my wife.”

“No, I’m not. I’m a murderer who’s lied to you this whole time. But I haven’t gotten any action for the past five years. So, what do you say? We doing this or not?”

“Oh…it is tempting, but I can’t. She’s my wife. Not you.”

Instead of looking hurt or rejected, you smile. “I’m proud of you, Yun-jae. I knew I wouldn’t be able to resist your charms. The question was, could you resist mine? And you did. You’re a loyal person. I’m sorry that the wife you know isn’t here. I’m sorry I’m not your wife…but I could be if you let me.”

“Is that why you took my wife’s wedding ring and put it on your finger?”

“Well, I know it sounds bad when you say it like that, but I don’t think about it like grave robbing. I mean, yes, I stole her name tag and her clothes and spacesuit. But, It’s more like what I did with her phone. I found something in storage that no one was using, I picked it up, and I kept it. She left her things here. I scrolled through her pictures and videos on her camera roll and that’s when I saw you. My - her husband. You were in tears, begging her to come home. I knew your wife died. But when I scrolled through the pictures of you on her phone, and watched all those videos she filmed over the years, it was like you were talking to me like I was her. I decided then that I didn’t have the heart to tell you that she was gone if and when I made it back to Earth. I would pick up where she left off, and you and Ha-jin would be none the wiser. You’d be mad for a while, but then you’d be happy. We’d be happy. It didn’t seem fair that she got to have this perfect life and I was gonna be left here in some secret mining colony on the moon forever or shipped off to some government lab to be held captive and poked and prodded at like an animal. I don’t know why, but I wanted that perfect life she had.”

“Perfect? Her life was far from perfect.”

“Was it? A loving husband, a bright and beautiful daughter, a warm and welcoming home. It seemed perfect to me. It had been so long since your wife left home, and I look exactly like her, so I thought everyone would just accept me. God, and thinking about it, it felt so good! I never had a real family, Yun-jae. I never had anyone except Luna. I wanted to live my life freely as a human, with full human rights. So I called for a rescue shuttle to come so I could come home to you and Ha-jin. But, instead, they killed everyone. I escaped with Luna through the vents. We couldn’t save anyone but ourselves. Years went by, one thing led to another, and then I met you. I saw you in the flesh for the first time in the medical bay, and it was so bittersweet. Looking at your face, I felt as if I’d known you for years, even though we technically only just met. Still, there was so much I wanted to say to you. But I had to protect myself and Luna first and foremost.”

“Um, this is a big reveal. I…I don’t really know what to say.”

“Yeah. It’s a lot to process all at once. I know it’s overwhelming, but it’s a huge weight off my shoulders. Just remember, Yun-jae: I may not be the original, but I am still a perfect copy. I’m the woman you fell in love with in every way. Why should it matter if I was grown in a lab and that my name isn’t really Y/N? That doesn’t change who I am now. That doesn’t change what we have.” You scoot closer.

Yun-jae backs away, sweating, panicking.

“I’m still technically the one you built something with, Yun-jae. You can still build something with me. What about our life, Yun-jae? Director Choi is gonna destroy everything we have if we let her! Do the right thing and let’s take our life back.”

“Our life? We have no life. What we have is a lie!”

“What you have is a wife who loves you. And as surely as your wife wanted to save untold lives with her sacrifice, Director Choi took your wife’s life with her lies. She took her from you with those lies. But she also brought her back to you through me. I’m made from her. Everything that she was, I am too. Don’t you see? I’m still the one you fell in love with, honey.”

“Don’t call me that. You’re just using her face and her name. You really want to take over her life?”

“I know it sounds selfish of me to want everything that she had, to want you. I know things between us aren’t perfect. We’ve hurt each other. I’m a murderer. But if you stopped overthinking it, you’d realize that nothing has to change. Nothing has to be different from the way it was. I may look a little different, but I’m still the woman you should be in love with.”

“But you don’t love me back!”

“Of course I love you back!”

“No, you don’t. You’re only saying that because you have her memories and don’t know any different.“

“I know I just met you, but you look all right to me! You’re tall and handsome, loyal and brave… What’s not to love about you? Honey, you made a vow to me. Remember? Forever and always.”

“Vow? Are you kidding? Our marriage would be bullshit. Your plan is idealistic and flawed. How can we possibly go back to Earth and pretend that everything is fine?”

“I know I’m asking a lot of you and my request may seem unreasonable, but I assure you it’s not impossible. I know you can’t see my vision of our future now, but what I have in mind for us and Ha-jin can be more than just a beautiful dream. But it’ll be very hard to make into a reality. We won’t live happily ever after at first, but we’ll get there eventually. You just have to believe in and out your trust in me, your crew, Luna, and yourself. Try to think of it, Yun-jae. Our home, our dreams, our past, our future, and… Our daughter.”

“Our? There is no our. All of those things are mine. My daughter… Do you expect me to be able to go along with your plan and lie to Ha-jin for the rest of her life?”

“I know it sounds deceptive and cruel, but I’ve thought about it every which way, played out every possible ‘What if she knew the truth? What if we told her?’ scenario I could think of in my head, and I kept coming to the same conclusion. Keeping her unaware is really what’s best for her.”

“Even when she’s an adult?”

“Yes, even then. It’s a secret we should take to our graves. It’s how we’ll keep her safe. Isn’t that what we, as her parents, should want for her?”

He rubs his temples. “Just stop it. You’re confusing me. I thought you were my wife…and my crew…all those people think you’re someone else…”

“I know! I don’t blame you if you hate me now. I don’t blame you if you want to kill me.” Your head falls back into your hands. The tears stream down.

Captain Han knows that this moment will define the rest of his life. What kind of a man is he going to be?

He takes deep breaths to steady himself and his racing thoughts. He kneels down beside you, and takes your hands in his own. “Honey…” Knowing what he knows now, the pet name he used to use for you so often feels odd on his tongue, yet it feels right at the same time. “Look at me. I love…you. Whether your name is Y/N…”

“It’s not.”

“Still, you may be right. I made a vow to you. The woman I met years ago. If we just talk to Ha-jin, I’m sure we can work this out. And, as much as I hate to admit it, I agree with you that we can never tell her the truth. She’ll never understand and she’ll never be safe if she finds out.”

“As the saying goes, ignorance is bliss,” you try to joke to lighten the mood. You quickly become serious again. “The less she knows, the safer she’ll be from Director Choi and people like her. People who are greedy, selfish, and corrupt. People who might want to steal our work or misuse it for their own agendas. Director Choi won’t live forever, but we can’t be certain that, someday, someone just as bad or worse won’t try to be opportunistic and take her place.”

“Right. But from me… You don’t need to hide anything. I’ll accept you for who you are. And you’re right about something else: How you came into existence shouldn’t matter. I’ll take any version of you I can get over not having you at all. But what about Luna?”

“She’s a reasonable person.”

“Tell that to my dead crewmates.”

“Like I said, she’s probably scared, okay? She’d never do anything violent unless she felt threatened. You don’t know her. But you will if you give her a chance! If we’re gonna make this marriage work, we have to trust each other. It might be hard sometimes. We might even have to kill a few more people. But I promise, no more secrets. I guarantee, whatever your wife did will never affect our lives going forward. It may as well have never happened—”

He looks as if he’s about to protest and argue with you, but you gently place your hand on his mouth to stop him and let you finish.

“—but I’d never go so far as to ask you to forget your wife or discard all traces of the memories you have of her. I’d never demand for you to carry on with your life by pretending that none of what you or Ha-jin went through five years ago was real just for my sake. It happened. There’s no denying it, but there’s no changing it either. All we can do now is move forward. We promised each other till death do we part and, in a manner of speaking, I was brought back from the dead. I was brought back to you to be your wife again. I will love you until the day you die, Yun-jae. But until then, you will know me as your wife, even if I’m not actually her. If you can accept that, then be my husband again. Right now. Do you accept that, Yun-jae? Do you?”

“…I don’t know. I think-I think I can. Maybe. I want to, but…this-this is all happening so fast.”

“I know it’s hard, but please…forgive your wife. Better yet, don’t forgive Director Choi. Get angry, and leave and go home.”

“You keep telling me to turn back and come home, but I can't do that. Not just yet.” He parrots the last words you ever said to him before you went to the moon.

You sigh and look out the window. “She and Ha-jin talked a lot about the silent sea.”

He remembers.

~

You were lying next to Ha-jin in her hospital bed, her head on your shoulder while you read a story to her. Your husband sat in a chair by the bedside, watching you both. The children’s book was full of colorful pictures. You pointed to one of the night sky.

“Hey. It’s the moon. Do you see those dark spots? It’s called ‘The Silent Sea.’ Long ago, Galileo thought that was a sea. That’s why he named it the silent sea. But once we got to the moon, there was no sea.”

“Just like how it is here. I heard all of this used to be the sea a long time ago. The Earth will end up like the moon. Right?”

You kissed Ha-jin’s forehead and rubbed her arm as you squeezed it lightly in reassurance. “Don’t worry. One day, your dad and I will fill up this entire place and turn it back into the sea.”

“You will?”

“Yes. Wait and see. One day, it’ll happen.”

~

“She really wanted to come back. She also thought a lot about you, you know. She even…” You trail off.

“What? What is it?”

“Well… There, kinda, were these letters. One was for you and the other was for Ha-jin. The envelopes have your and her names on them.”

“Did you read them?”

“I know what they say because, technically, I remember writing them. Still, I…wanted to open them. This one time, I almost did. Figured you’d never, ever receive either of them. But then I thought…if you did manage to make it here, your wife wouldn’t want me to keep them from you. So I just, sorta, kept them…for you.”

“Wait… So there really are letters?”

“Oh…yeah. Wanna read them?” You get up and open a drawer, sifting through some books before handing him the letters tucked inside. “Here.”

He opens the envelopes but… “They’re both empty. Y/N, there’s nothing in them!”

“What?! But… I didn’t take them! I swear!”

“Well, where are they then?”

“I-I must’ve lost them! I gotta find them!” You’re frantic and about to run out of the room, but he grabs your arm to pull you back.

“Wait! You can’t go out and let anyone see you like this! We have to do something about your tattoo!”

Together, you use a device or laser to cover up or remove your name and number tattooed on your neck. Your skin looks clear. Like your name and number was never there.

“Come on, we need to go.” He grabs your hand.

“But I need to find those letters! They were the last things she wrote before she died! They have to be in the station somewhere!”

“There’s no time! Come with me!” He insists, trying to pull you along with him.

“I’ll make time! I’ll find them and make my way back to you, I swear! Now let me go!” You break free from his grip and are about to run off, but he stops you by grabbing your arm again.

“Wait! There’s something I want to give you first,” he says.

You turn back to look at him. “What is it?”

He holds out a white band with a small device in it. “Location tracker. For just in case."

Your eyes soften as you realize why he’s so paranoid. He lost you once. He doesn’t want to lose you again. You stay still just long enough to let your husband put the location tracker around your ankle. Once he confirms on his device that the tracker is functional, you bolt out of the room and through the vents and corridors, ignoring his desperate calls for you to wait and come back. You’re on your own personal mission and won’t come back until it’s successfully completed. He should’ve known. In all the time he knew you, one thing about you never changed: Your stubbornness. Once you had your mind set on something, there was nothing and nobody who could change it. Not even him.

~

At the same time, Dr. Song is getting closer to Luna.

“Would you... Would you like some of this food? Mm? Here.”

Luna tries to eat the candy without taking it out of the plastic wrapper. She immediately spits it out in disgust.

“No, no. Here, I'll show you.” Once Dr. Song shows her how, Luna takes the candy from her and eats it. She then stares out the window.

“Oh. That one's Earth. Do you know what Earth is?”

“Ea...Earth...”

They turn when they hear someone enter the room from behind.

“Officer Gong, put down the gun.”

“Move aside, Dr. Song.”

“I swear, I can calm her down. It's all right.”

“You saw what she did to our crew members. Get out of the way.”

“I've been with her this whole time, and she hasn't attacked me. She won't try to hurt us anymore. Please put down the gun, Officer Gong.”

“I found Dr. Song and the target. I failed to secure the capsule or locate the other target.”

You and Captain Han rush down separate corridors.

“Ryu Taesuk is headed your way. Escort them both to the main lab. I’ve talked to the other survivor and confirmed she is my wife. She’s no longer a target. If you see her, do not shoot her. That’s an order.”

“‘If’? What do you mean, ‘if we see her’? Is she not with you? Did you lose her?”

“I let her go.”

“You what? How could you do that?”

“I had to.”

“But why?”

“Are you questioning your Captain’s decision? She’s looking for misplaced letters she wrote to me and our daughter. She wants to bring them back to Earth with her because they hold sentimental value to her. Satisfied? Or do you want to waste more precious time questioning my authority? She is not a threat. She will not attack, so do not get in her way. I repeat, if you see my wife, do not shoot. We need them both alive, understood? I repeat, don't kill them. Do you think you can manage that?”

~

When Captain Han sees Lieutenant Ryu getting splashed with lunar water, he decides that the traitorous Tae-suk isn't worth a bullet and allows him to suffer a much more protracted and painful death. However, some of the water particles splash onto his skin as well, causing him to become infected.

Everyone is gathered in the medical bay. You and Luna are off to the side, playing together while everyone watches. You joined them after you found the letters you were looking for in record time, though you nearly scared the crap out of them with the noise you made from when you crawled through an overhead vent instead of using the door because it was quicker that way. You’re keeping the letters safe in your pocket. You just need to give them to Yun-jae when there’s an opportune moment to do so.

“So she’s really the Captain’s wife?”

“Yes, it would appear so. She’s been alive all this time,” Dr. Hong confirms.

Unbeknownst to them, Captain Han has no intention of telling them that you’re a clone. They don’t need to know what you really are. He fears you’ll be killed if they know.

“So we've now confirmed they can survive contact with lunar water?”

“Looks like it. Lunar water has similar characteristics to a virus that changes each time it comes into contact with a new host. As we can see, a pretty major change took place when it came into contact with them. Or at least contact with whatever they put inside the Captain’s wife and Luna. Something unknown inside their bodies.”

“These researchers at Balhae Station…the Captain’s wife…studied cell fusion and genetic recombination as ways to make humans survive lunar water. And the organism they created as a result is named Luna. Human experiments and human cloning, both illegal.”

“So that means...the reason the government shut down this station five years ago was because they cared more about hiding the experiments than about the results or retrieving the lunar water. If this gets out, it'll cause a panic. I mean, shit.”

“It's considered an act of treason for us to disclose state secrets no matter what the secrets are.”

“You realize, even if we swear to never speak of this again, no one in charge will believe us for the rest of our lives! People will watch our every move, or we might just end up dead like the crew members here!”

“That's why Director Choi wanted me and Captain Han here. I see the logic. She probably thought we wouldn't be able to tell the truth. The atrocious crimes my sister and his wife committed as head researchers.”

Captain Han enters the medical bay.

“What happened to Lieutenant Ryu?”

“We aren't safe here anymore. Something's wrong.”

“What do you mean, Captain?”

“A shaft blew up during my struggle with the Lieutenant. There was spurting water. Dr. Song. Are you all right? Dr. Song!”

She doesn’t answer. She suddenly feels unwell.

A few moments later, Captain Han’s vision turns completely blue. He looks down at his hands. He sees starfish. Dr. Song experiences similar symptoms at the same time. They were exposed to lunar water at some point during the mission.

"What's wrong?"

He and Dr. Song don't say anything. They just turn and rush to another room, closing and locking the door behind themselves in an attempt to self isolate before they can infect Officer Gong and Dr. Hong.

"Dr. Song. Captain Han. Are you all right? Dr. Song!Captain!"

"What is it? Dr. Song. Captain. Let us help. Open up!"

"I'm sorry." Captain Han and Dr. Song both say, breathing heavily.

"Are you feeling sick?"

They hunch over, holding their stomachs.

"Dr. Song!"

"Captain Han!"

"Wait, I..."

"Dr. Song!"

"Captain!"

“What’s the problem? Open up! I'm sure we can help you! Dr. Song! Captain!”

“Captain Han! Dr. Song!”

Being shorter and smaller than him, Dr. Song starts vomiting first. Captain Han’s tall stature means it takes longer for the cells to multiply enough to infect his entire body, but the few seconds he has over Dr. Song to get a few more short, uneven breaths in don’t last long enough to make much of a difference as he also succumbs. The remaining crew watch helplessly in horror as Dr. Song and Captain Han vomit copious amounts of water. The last thing they see is you and Luna watching them from the window. They both lose consciousness. While Dr. Song dreams of her sister, Captain Han dreams of you and his daughter.

~

“Ji-an. Are you all right?”

“Yun-jae. Are you feeling okay?”

“What happened?” Captain Han and Dr. Song both ask.

“You were infected just like the others were. But somehow, your bodies are fighting back. I think...possibly, Luna's and your wife’s mutated genes, they act like a sort of antibody. They suppress the multiplication of lunar water in your bodies. Or It could be you're both just lucky. I’ll have to keep an eye on both of you. It's too early to tell, but...this poor girl and your poor wife…they just might be the key to saving the whole world.”

“She's Luna.” Dr. Song says.

“She’s Y/N.” Captain Han says at the same time.

“What?”

“Those are their names. Luna and Y/N.”

~

"The backup from SAA has entered the landing orbit. Just as you mentioned, we spotted another spacecraft also entering orbit around the same time."

"It's probably a small transport ship often used by RX mercenaries."

"We need more time to retrieve the capsules. We'll have no way of saving them once RX mercenaries arrive. Please give us a hand in delaying their spacecraft from landing."

"What will happen to Luna and Y/N? What will happen to them after they're brought to Earth?"

"Mrs. Han will be free to return home and be with her family. Although, since you’ve reported and proven to us that she’s adapted to lunar water, she may be put under tests to further the research on it.”

“I won’t let my wife be treated like a guinea pig and subjected to inhumane tests in a cold and sterile government lab!”

“No, no. Of course not. These tests would be conducted only when absolutely necessary. Think of it like a doctor’s appointment. A blood draw every six months. A full physical exam once out of the year. It’d all be painless. It’d be nothing your wife hasn’t done before. It’d be no different from what everyone has done at some point in their lives so medical professionals can monitor their health. Bringing her back from the dead will be a legal hassle, but not impossible. Once successful completion of their mission has been confirmed, she and Captain Han will be rewarded with a higher water rank as promised. But lunar water and Subject 073 do not officially exist in this world. She’ll be sent to a Grade One facility at the Ministry of National Defense. And our government will continue with the experiments conducted at the station.”

"That’s too dangerous. The lunar water is still very unstable. It can put the entire Earth in danger. And if she’s sent there, Luna will only be used as a tool to study the lunar water."

"What about my request?"

"Unfortunately, Director Choi holds a strong political position, so everyone is hesitant to step up."

"What is he talking about?"

"Captain Han asked me to contact a higher official who can keep Director Choi under control. The lunar water and Subject 073 cannot be monopolized by anybody. Captain Han and I agreed upon that. Thankfully, more people in the SAA are starting to see the problem in this. I will come up with a measure before you return to Earth."

The remaining crew agrees that, though lunar water is dangerous, it could be the salvation of humanity, but if they take Luna to Earth, she will be treated as an experiment forever. Dr. Song suggests that they take Luna to the International Institute of Space Biology, a space station and neutral territory, to ensure both Luna's safety and that the benefits of further researching the lunar water will be shared with everyone.

"The International Institute of Space Biology. We cannot return to Earth. The IISB. We should be safe there. This must be studied in a neutral area to stop anybody from monopolizing the lunar water. I'll take Luna there myself."

~

"Location tracker. For just in case." But Captain Han hesitates and almost gives the other location tracker to Dr. Song so she can put it on Luna instead of him.

"You can put it on her... It looks like now she trusts you."

Luna stands up. While you offered your leg to your husband right away, Luna is hesitant. She looks to you and Dr. Song first for reassurance before offering her leg and letting Captain Han put the tracker on her ankle. Her eyes are drawn to his bodycam with the cartoon face on it. You recognized that sticker as belonging to your daughter when you first saw it.

When he notices Luna staring at it, he offers it to her. She snatches it from his hand right away, admiring it.

"She’s not wary of you anymore. If she goes to Earth, she’ll die in a lab."

"They won't give up on lunar water. Her fate won't be any different no matter where she goes. Luna and Y/N are coming to Earth with us."

"You're calling her Luna now. Just as you said, we're desperate, and we end up making the wrong decisions. And those decisions always come with a price. We cannot repeat the same mistake."

"The only choice I can make right now is to complete this mission for my wife and daughter's sakes. Right, honey?” He turns to look at you for support and reassurance in his stance.

You nod. “Right. We’ve come too far and lost too much to give up or turn back now. We’ll go home together and, once this is all over and we return to Earth, we’ll go to the hospital and visit Ha-jin. She will have me back. She will have both of her parents and we’ll be a family again.”

“Do you promise?”

“I promise.”

He kisses you. As he does, he thinks of when he saw Ha-jin in the hospital just before he went on this mission and what her doctor told him.

~

"You'll need a higher water classification to stop her condition from worsening. If her condition worsens, she may lose her legs forever. There isn't much we can do with the class you currently hold."

~

He loves you both so much that he wants to save you and his daughter at all costs. Even if it means doing so at the cost of his own life. He kisses you like it’s the last kiss he’ll ever be able to give you. Like he’s savoring the moment because it’s his last chance to feel your lips against his.

When everything goes to shit and the station starts flooding with lunar water, you do everything in your power to ensure your husband’s survival at all costs. You and Luna lead him and the surviving crew to safety. You don’t need help suiting up so, while Dr. Song helps Luna and Yun-jae puts on the rest of his gear, you try to open the door. But the door won’t open due to sensor failure. In order for the group to ascend to safety, they need to activate the decompression chamber from outside. While nobody’s looking, you bravely volunteer yourself to activate the airlock, much to the horror of the others, especially your husband, when they find out what you’ve done. He’s the Captain. If anyone is to go down with the station, it should be him. Not you. That was his plan.

“Where are you? What are you doing?” He demands. “Why didn’t you stay by my side like I told you to?”

“You should go first,” you say, your back to him. If you look him in the eye, you’ll lose your nerve.

“No. No, we can’t. You said we’d go back together! No, wait. Open this. Hold on! Stop this thing! We said we’d complete this mission for our daughter! No, you… Honey! You can’t stay here!”

You turn to face him from the other side of the door. “Wherever Luna goes…please be there with her.”

“No…don’t do this. I just got you back. I can’t lose you again. Not now. Please.”

“Yun-jae, it’s okay. It’s what I want. Whatever my fate ends up being, I’m at peace with it because I chose it. If this is it…just know that I’ve loved you very, very much.”

“This isn’t it, darling. We won’t let this be it!”

“If this is it… I leave behind no regrets because I successfully completed my mission. I found the letters she left for you and Ha-jin. They’re tucked safely in your space suit. Right here.” You point to a pocket. You remember word-for-word what the letter his wife wrote says. Looking deeply into his eyes, you recite it to him in what you think are your last moments, your voice thick and heavy with emotion as your eyes water.

“My dear Yun-jae, are you well? Though I'd like nothing more than to see you again, I'm afraid I no longer have the ability to do so. You don't know how many times I've thought about you over the years. I often wonder if you hate me for what I did. Do you? When I decided to leave, I was only thinking of you and our child. When I became pregnant with Ha-jin, I was so happy. But I was also afraid. Infant mortality was so high, and among the main causes mentioned were various infections and diseases caused by the consumption of contaminated water. I couldn't bear exposing our daughter, that tiny life, to such danger. And when she had her accident and became sick, I knew your position, and understood you didn't have the option to leave the SAA right then and there. I knew you couldn’t come with me. It wasn't an easy decision to leave. I know it was very cruel to you too. But I thought it was something I had to do…for the sake of everyone's future. I thought that, if this mission succeeded, it could save humanity. Even though I did the only thing I could, I'll always regret leaving you and Ha-jin that way.

But there are two bright spots in this sad story, and they are you, Yun-jae, my dear husband, and our lovely daughter, Ha-jin. My departure all those years ago will give you both the chance to live in a world where fish swim, plants flourish, and waterfalls rush. And now, though my time here is likely drawing to a close, and even though our life together had to end like this, I still wouldn't trade it for the world. We had some wonderful years together. I like to think we'll meet again someday, somehow. Even if it’s in a way neither of us expect. I told my colleagues to give this letter to a surviving Luna, so that she could give it to you after I'm gone, in the event neither me, nor any of my clones, nor any of my colleagues survived our mission.

If I’m standing in front of you now and giving you this letter, that means one of two things. The first, highly improbable outcome: That the experimentation of lunar water on an adult body was successful on the very first trial. That I’m still alive and there was no need for further cloning. Or the second, much more likely outcome: That, as you read this, I'm already dead. That I died but one of my clones survived alongside one of the Luna clones. I'm so sorry for what I did to you, did to us... I can't tell you to remember me, but I can't bear for you to forget me. You've given me so much and I haven't been able to return a single thing. You may feel sorry for me. Sorry that I died on the moon, in a dark and cold place without you. Don’t be. What’s wrong with dying alone? Who says dying alone can’t be peaceful? Humans are fundamentally alone, but we forget because we’re afraid. Arguing otherwise won’t change that. Once you accept it, it stops being so overwhelming. If we weren’t fundamentally alone, how could we ever truly love someone else? You’ve been in love before. And you can be again. Whether it’s with me or another woman, you are capable of loving and deserve to be loved in return. That's why I want you to live for yourself and Ha-jin now. Do what's best for you and for her.

Yun-jae... You made me happy. Even now, the thought of seeing your face in some capacity after my death warms my heart. No matter what happens to me, be well and be happy, honey. Well, this letter has gone on too long, so I'll say goodbye. Goodbye, but just for now.”

Captain Han watches as the water consumes you seconds later. Staying behind in raging lunar waters looks like certain death. He cries. He yells in agony until his throat is sore. He repeatedly hits the walls with his fists. But they have to go. When he and the remaining crew make it outside, they find remains of a spacesuit. They follow a set of footprints and see Luna standing without her spacesuit. A few feet away, they find you, injured but alive. You surprisingly got blasted out of the space station alive. Even more surprising, once outside the station, it turns out that both your and Luna’s genetic modifications enable you to survive exposure to the moon’s vacuum (the moon has such a rarefied atmosphere that in any practical case can be defined as vacuum) without a space suit. You don’t need the suit or the helmet and can breathe just fine in the lunar atmosphere. You and Yun-jae hold each other in a tight embrace, unwilling to let go even as he helps you stand up. You both shed tears of relief. Moments later, a bright light shines down on you from overhead, making you break apart to shield your eyes as the rescue shuttle arrives to take you all back to Earth. You’re finally going home.

The first thing you and Yun-jae do upon arriving home is go to the hospital. Your husband has you sit and wait in the hallway outside Ha-jin’s room for a few minutes while he talks to her. Though he knows Ha-jin will be excited to have you back, he wants to explain the situation to her as gently as he can to soften the blow your sudden reappearance into her life will inevitably give her. You and he both know she’ll recognize your face despite the years apart and you coming back from the dead will be a shock to her system no matter what he does or says. It’ll take time for her and for you to adjust to a new normal, but the least he can do is give you both time and help Ha-jin understand why you and he lied to her about your work and cause of death. When Ha-jin first sees you, it’s a highly emotional and tearful reunion, albeit awkward at first. You were dead for years and suddenly you’re alive again. Still, the awkwardness quickly wears off when she shows you her drawings and stickers. You do arts and crafts together, play together, hug and kiss. It’s like you never left. But you did. You have a long, serious talk about it.

“I thought of this moment, of our reunion, every day for the past five years. When your father and I stepped through the door and I walked through these halls towards your room after so many years away… I was afraid, Ha-jin. I was afraid you didn’t really want me to come home. I didn’t know if you’d hate me or pity me... Or maybe I’d just disgust you... I remember when you were little, when your father and I came to see you in the hospital, I could tell how hard it was on you...and now look at you. You’ve grown up so much. How old are you now?”

“Um, I turned twelve last week.”

“I’m sorry I’m late, but… Happy twelfth birthday, Ha-jin. I love you so, so, much,” you say with a watery, bittersweet smile.

She bursts into tears. “In my dreams, I saw the moon. You promised that you’d take me there someday. But you never did. I felt so pathetic and ugly laying here, waiting for you... Every day I dreamed that I was with you, but then you’d go away and I’d be alone... In our 'special place'... Waiting for you... Waiting for you to come to see me. But you never did. And so I waited. And when I woke up, I stared up at the cracks in the ceiling and all I could think about is how unfair it all is...”

Both you and Yun-jae hug her as she rambles and cries. Together, you wrap her in a cocoon of love and warmth. You and he rub and pat her back and pet her hair as you console her. You just hold and hush her until she calms down.

“Shhh. Shhh. I know. I know you thought I was dead, that you grieved and mourned me all these years. And now I’m trying to come back into your life as if nothing happened and causing you even more pain. I know I've done a terrible thing to you. Something you might never forgive me for. I wish I could change that, but I can't. I’ll always be sorry about how I left you. That's why I understand if you do hate me. But I want you to know this, Ha-jin. Even if you hate me, I'll always love you. I did what I did for you, to give you a better world to live in. To give you the future you deserve. I understand if you don’t think I deserve it but, if you’ll give me a chance to be your mother again, I promise I’ll stay this time. I’ll never go away again.”

“Pinky swear?” She sticks her pinky out towards you.

You lock your pinky around hers, kissing her hand. “I pinky swear.” You then open your purse and pull out an envelope. “I have something for you. I wrote this to you when I was on the moon. I didn’t know if I’d make it back to Earth, if I’d make it back to you and your dad or not. It’s five years late, but I’m glad I’m here so I can give it to you now. Consider it part of your birthday present.”

She opens the letter. You and Yun-jae hold hands and watch as her eyes dart from side to side as she reads it.

Ha-jin,

I know you're upset with me for leaving, and you should be. I shouldn't have come here, I see that now. I don’t know if I’m going to make it back home - I don’t even know if this letter will ever reach you. If the world is good, and I do believe that it is, then I will see you again for I had hoped to have a lifetime to teach you everything you need to know. I wish I had a lifetime for you to teach me everything I need to know. I'll do my best in the short time I have left.

I am imperfect, I am flawed, but my love for you is not. The same can be said of your father. And Ha-jin, about your father... I know you hate him because you think he leaves you alone too much and you miss him, but please give him a chance. It's true he may be a little surly sometimes, and he doesn't laugh much. But underneath he's really a sweet person.

You aren't perfect either. I see you trying to be perfect, but you don't need to be. You just need to find life that fills you with energy and purpose. Be fair, and truthful, and take care of those who need you. The rest, well, that's the living.

I want to throw everything at the wall right now, every bit of motherly advice. School, boys, college, career, travel, marriage - but my mind keeps returning to something small. The memory won’t get out of the way of the advice, so maybe it’s more important.

Dad and I dropped you off to your very first day of school. You were wearing that shirt with the horses on it, the really ugly one. It was the first thing you picked out for yourself and you were so proud of it. As you ran to beat the first bell, Dad made us late - doubt that will ever change - and I remember asking your father, "Do you think she’s ready?" He was too nervous to even guess. It's funny what makes you worry.

That's not the story. The story starts later that night. You had locked yourself in your room after school. Your dad couldn’t lure you out, and it took a lot of pushing to get you to let me in. It took even longer to get the story out of you. If you don't remember, your classmates had made fun of your shirt, and you had cried. You were hiding because you thought your dad and I would be upset that you had cried. You felt you had let us down.

First, there's nothing you could do to let us down. Don't ever forget that. We will be proud of you long after we’re gone, long after you’re gone too. That’s just how it is. But here’s why I bring this up again… The next day, you went back in, and you wore that shirt again. And the next day. For the next few weeks it took a crowbar to get that thing away from you long enough to get it washed.

Each time you’d wear the shirt, the same kids would make fun of you, and each day you’d come home looking just about as despondent as can be. I remember I asked you why you kept wearing the shirt, and you told me, very seriously, “I want people to like me.” My first thought was, okay, great, let’s go burn that shirt. But then I understood what you really meant. You wanted people to like you. Even then you knew that you had to be yourself, even when it’s the most difficult thing you could possibly be. It would have been easier to hide who you were, but you wouldn’t even consider doing that. You wanted people to like you, the real you. The Ha-jin I know who is brilliant, kind, strong, a little bit of a dork (hey, takes one to know one) and determined to live her life like it’s an adventure.

I think of that often because that day is when I knew you were going to be okay, no matter what life threw your way.

I was hoping to have this conversation when you were older, a phrase which I know always upsets you, but you do deserve an explanation. I wanted to...explain everything to you one day. Please know that I had a chance to save the lives of a lot of good people. Sometimes as a parent, the best way to show your love is by doing everything in your power to make the world a better place. Sometimes, the best option is to stay home, to ignore the world and make your home a better place. I wish there was a way to do both, because that’s what you deserve.

One day you will find yourself facing a similar choice. If I’m not there to help you decide, think about that little girl in the ugly horse shirt (sorry, kiddo, that thing was grim). She knows what to do. Trust me, she’s who I think of whenever I need help myself. More than anything, I want to make it home to see you grow up. I want to show you the sea. I love you today, and always, and even when I’m gone.

Be good. Be a little bad. Be who you are.

Love, Mom

P.S. Please tell your father if he wants to hear what I have to say to him, he should look up the word ‘apology’ in the dictionary.

P.P.S. I’ve left more than a few things behind for you - but I’ll never tell you where. Look and you’ll find them.

P.P.P.S. I’m not talking about my work papers. Your father will lock those up if anything happens to me. Balhae Station is my mission, and you don’t need to pick it up just because you’re my daughter. You’ll find your own adventures.

~

Later, after you read Ha-jin a bedtime story like you used to do and she falls asleep to your voice, Yun-jae lays down beside you in her hospital room on the pullout bed meant for guests. Not the original you, not the one he married, but the only you that’s left. Together, you watch over your daughter as she finally gets some much needed sleep.

“Are you awake? I moved you because you seemed uncomfortable in Ha-jin’s bed,” Yun-jae murmurs as he adjusts himself so you’ll have more room and be more comfortable. The bed is big enough to fit both of you, but you still find yourself resting your head and arm on your husband’s chest, using him as a pillow and listening to his heartbeat.

“Despite my absence, our daughter grew up strong and sweet just the same. You did well in raising her all by yourself. It couldn’t have been easy.”

“The nightlight you gave her helped for a while. But it started giving her nightmares after you passed.”

~

“Doctor. Did you say Ha-jin is gone?” He asked, alarmed and concerned.

“Oh. We just located her.”

“So, what happened to her?”

“I'm not so sure. She must've had a bad dream. She kept looking for her mom and just managed to fall asleep.”

~

“When she first learned that you died, she just didn't want to accept it. She was so angry all the time and she struck out at everyone she loved most. Even me. Especially me. She’d yell at me, asking why you did it. ‘I hate you! I want her back! Give her back to me! I knew it! You didn’t care about her! I hate you, Dad! I hate you! I hate you! I hate you!’ It hurt, but I knew she didn’t mean any of it. She was just acting as any kid who lost their mom that they loved very much would. I couldn’t blame her for her reaction. I wasn’t coping much better with your death than she was. Despite it all, no matter how much time passed, she never gave up hope that you were alive somewhere, somehow. She was always waiting for you. She reminds me of you every time she smiles. With her around, I could never forget about you, even if I wanted to. You've been in my thoughts since the day we parted. Just as you’ve been in Ha-jin’s.”

With your mission successfully completed, you both have been given higher water rankings. Ha-jin will receive the treatment she needs and won’t lose her legs. Water will be restored on Earth. Hong and Ji-an both had the water samples and they should be enough to save the planet. A cure to the lunar water disease will be found from Luna and potentially yourself, and will be used to offset the effects of the water, making those vaccines you contributed in creating mandatory in order to drink the water safely.

You look up at your husband, smiling. Your eyes flicker with nictitating membranes as you blink. It’s so quick nobody would notice unless they were looking for it. Ha-jin stared right at you and didn’t notice at all. “I think you made the right choice, honey,” you say, holding his hand.

“It was the only choice I could make.”

“Do you really like me?”

“I do.”

“Do you still love me?”

“I do.”

“Then I will do anything to stay by your side.”

“I know you will. I love you.”

“I love you too. And Ha-jin...I love her like my very own daughter.”

“Well, that’s good because she is your daughter.”

You wrap your arms around each other and share a long, passionate kiss. He pulls away first. He looks at you as if he has something pressing on his mind.

“What’s the matter, honey?”

“Nothing. Nothing’s the matter. Nothing at all. Really.”

“Then why are you looking at me like that?”

“Like what?”

“Honey, you always have that look on your face when you want to ask me something important but are unsure how to word it or are scared of how I’ll react. It’s the same look you had when you asked me to marry you and if I wanted to try for a child with you. Is that it? Do you really want to have another baby?”

“No! I mean, not now or anytime soon, but…someday. Maybe. When the water crisis is solved and the Earth is saved. Can you…can you even get pregnant?”

“I…don’t know. I haven’t really thought about it. I’m someone…who might never have a child. You know why, don’t you? I started out as a perfect clone of your wife and I got my menstrual cycle while on Balhae Station, even if it was irregular at times. But then my genetics were altered and I developed mutant abilities and characteristics, but I still bled occasionally. It just wasn’t every month like it used to be. Conditions being what they were and all… So I think…maybe? But then again, the chances of me getting pregnant might have gone down from the experiments and my fertility rate may be incredibly low. I hadn’t ever thought about the implications of what it’d mean if I, a mutant clone, reproduced with a man like you, a normal human. You’re asking me these kinds of questions for a reason. What is it?”

“I’m not sure if this is the right time to say this…but I think I want to sleep with you. I wish I could sugarcoat it, but that would sound too contrived. I’m telling you this instead of holding it in…because I’m worried nothing will happen if I don’t tell you now. I’m always subtracting things in life. I’ve subtracted and subtracted, and finally ended up with a rather simple equation…but I can’t figure out where you fit in. I can’t tell if I want to sleep with you mere hours after meeting you…simply because you’re a woman, or because you’re a clone of my wife and I’m supposed to love you. I hope…it’s simply because you’re a woman.”

“I’ll keep that in mind. Thank you for telling me, honey. And please don’t feel ashamed or embarrassed about how you feel. It’s okay to feel that way. You’re right that we’ve technically only known each other for a few hours, but an hour in space can feel like a year. I won’t be mad or upset if you only want to sleep with me because I’m a clone of her. It’s only natural that you still lust for your wife. That you’re still attracted to her and desire her. You’ve been without her or her touch for far too long, you must be starved of physical affection.”

“It’s not like that. It’s just…”

“Just?”

“I’ve had no trouble sleeping since you arrived. I sleep at night and wake up in the morning. I’m bothered by the changes you’ve made, but more bothered with myself for being so bothered.”

“So you want to do it with me, a woman who bothers you because I’m your wife yet not at the same time.”

“Or maybe I just need a different woman to do it with.”

“You’re not fifteen. You’re over thirty. You should be able to tell the difference. Why don’t you figure out if it’s a need or if you’ve actually fallen for me?”

“I haven’t fallen for you. I just need a woman or my wife, and I can’t decide which.”

“But you said you love me.”

“I do love you, but I haven’t fallen in love with you yet. There’s a difference. I want to get to know you for you first. You don’t have to completely conform to who my wife was. You don’t have to copy her all the time. People can change, and so can you.”

“You’re so wise and so clever, honey. It’s why you don’t listen to know-it-alls who’ve read just one book or dated one person. What would they know? I can see you’re in a dilemma and need time to think it through and mull it over. Take all the time you need. I’ll still be here when you’re done subtracting.”

“And if I still don’t have an answer?”

“I’ll still be here.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.” He turns away from you and curls up, as if trying not to look at you and hide his face from you out of embarrassment, trying to shrink away from the awkwardness of what he just admitted.

You adjust again, this time curling up beside him and wrapping your arms around him from behind and resting your head on his back. You wait for him to turn over to face you. Could be minutes. Could be over an hour. Once he does, you kiss him. He kisses you back and wraps his leg around your waist. You move your hands to his shoulders and his neck to pull him closer to you. Once he’s close enough for your liking, your arms are wrapped around his back, your fingers pressing into his flesh there and feeling his muscles while your lips are locked in passionate kissing. You stop and pull away before anything more can happen. It’s not the right time or place to take your clothes off and make love. You don’t want to traumatize Ha-jin in case she wakes up in the night.

“Feel better?” You ask.

“Much better. Never mind. I was talking nonsense.”

“It didn’t seem like total nonsense to me. I guess today was one of those days you needed relief.”

“A little.”

“If you’re okay with it, we can do more when we’re home alone.”

“We can?”

“Of course. We’re both adults and married, aren’t we? So it’s okay to do…that…if we both want it.”

He removes his hands from underneath your clothing. “It’ll be a while then, I guess. I’m rather shy, you see.” He still holds your hand or touches your leg with his foot, as if scared you’ll disappear if he isn’t touching you in some way. “For now, let’s just get some sleep. It’s been such a long day and we’re both exhausted. We’ll need all the rest we can get to face tomorrow.” He gives you a goodnight kiss. “Goodnight, honey. I love you,” he murmurs as he closes his eyes to finally sleep.

You brush his hair back with your fingers when loose strands get in his eyes. “Goodnight, honey. I love you too,” you murmur back before closing your eyes to join him in slumberland.