#and i managed to chime in and answer literally all of them that they were stuck on

[nintendont2502]

Whenever I need to know the zodiac order I'll forever be going "okay aradia tavros sollux karkat nepeta-" so really who's saying you don't get anything out of reading homestuck

[dumbseee]

oh shit.

pro hero!bakugo who has a crush on you.

pro hero!bakugo katsuki x idol!reader.

genre: fluff

__

- the first time bakugo agreed to do an interview was because todoroki and izuku were also there. the top three heroes were asked all sorts of questions before the journalist finally asked thee question. "so~ you guys are so private, we don’t really know much about you. so let’s get to know our top three heroes! first question, who is your celebrity crush?" she asked, a smirk on her lips as she looked at the three heroes in front of her. izuku blushed, fumbling with his answer, todoroki crossed his arms on his chest, saying that he had no time for that kind of stuff, and bakugo scoffed, crossing his legs on the small table in front of them. "celebrity crush? do you have other shitty questions or are we done?" he glared at the interviewer who nearly melted on the spot. izuku elbowed his friend and offered an awkward smile to the poor woman. "but aren’t you a big fan of y/n? i heard you sing her songs under the shower, one time." shoto chimed in, face blank. "what?! no! what are you saying ice hot?! i’ll fucking crush your face, come here!" bakugo jumped from his seat and had to be restrained by izuku and a few security guards, meanwhile shoto sat there, wondering what he did wrong this time.

- the interview went viral, with everyone making fun of the mighty dynamight and his little crush on you. he nearly sent shoto to the moon after seeing all those edits of you and him on social media or your fans calling him the president of the fandom. your fans are even shipping you together! and he’d be lying if he said that he didn’t like it. he actually made a fake twitter and tiktok account where he’d like and favourite every single edit/tweet about you. he’d be smiling and blushing like a high schooler in the dark of his room.

- he has a locked drawer in his room, where he keeps all your albums and merch. he’d literally set on fire whoever manage to open it and discover his little secret.

- he spent hours in front of his phone, the screen showing your dm page on instagram, he wanted to dm you so bad. make the first move and try to get close to you, but bakugo was a coward, as funny as it sounded, bakugo was very intimidated by you. he ended up throwing his phone away, he’d try again tomorrow.

- one day he got called for an incident involving a woman and someone who tried to break into her house. nothing major so bakugo went alone, imagine his shock when he saw that the victim was you and the man was your stalker who’s been following you and harassing you for months. he immediately saw red and grabbed the man, slammed him to the ground and threatened to shove a bomb down his ass if he moved. "are you okay?" when you saw dynamite arrive from your window, you immediately ran outside, since you felt safe with the hero around. you hugged yourself and nodded, looking down at the shaking man, but bakugo didn’t believe you. soon enough, police arrived to arrest the man and everyone left, leaving you alone with bakugo. "he’ll leave you alone now, i���ll make sure of it." he smiled gently, putting a hand on your shoulder you forced a smile but slowly lost it when you saw him getting ready to leave. you quickly grabbed his hand and looked at him with pleading eyes, the sight made his heart jump. "please, will you stay with me?" how could he say no?

- bakugo couldn’t get rid of the pink color decorating his cheeks. it was the first time he met his celebrity crush and bakugo wished it was different. he wished he came earlier so you wouldn’t even be aware that your stalker was trying to break into your home. you offered him some food and water but he declined everything, you were getting ready for bed when the incident happened so you were exhausted from practice and rehearsal. you also felt bad for keeping him with you when he was clearly busy or tired from patrolling. "i’m so sorry for bothering you, i know he won’t come back, but i’m still terrified." you played with your hand and felt tears burning your eyes. "don’t. you don’t have to be ashamed for feeling scared, but trust me when i say this, this bastard won’t ever come close to you again." he said it in such a low tone, you thought you imagined it. you nodded and hugged him, which surprised him to no end and also made him as red as a tomato. he didn’t know what to do with his hands so he simply put them around your waist, gently patting your back.

- you fell asleep with the light on, bakugo was sitting on the chair next to your bed and kept his eye on you. he stayed with you till the sun woke up. he noticed every detail of your face, the small freckles decorating your beautiful nose, your long and dark lashes, your full and soft lips and overall your beautiful face. you were, without a doubt, the most beautiful woman bakugo had ever seen in his life. while looking at you, he felt a weird sense of possessiveness and protection wash over him. he wanted to protect you and make sure no one would ever hurt you again.

- when you woke up, you saw a small note on your nightstand, "had to leave for work pretty girl, but don’t worry i’ll see you soon. here’s my number: xxx - xxx - xxx" you didn’t know why but you smiled at his note. of course, you immediately registered his number and sent him a lovely text, thanking him again for yesterday and inviting him for dinner some day. you also signed it "your celebrity crush (;" bakugo almost choke on his coffee when he read your text.

[mikedfaist]

love our famous reader but i’m thinking a lot lately about reader who isn’t famous but still has proximity to the industry. maybe she’s his makeup artist or hair stylist for a film… very sweet to think about them getting closer over the course of filming

i'm sorry i switched povs, i have been awake since 5:30 am, i am only human

She would have worked as one of their makeup artists for West Side Story, and let me tell you, every morning he would prance onto set in the hopes he would be first in her chair. She was the one putting his tattoos on every morning – sometimes dirt, sometimes blood – and all of the boys knew he had a crush. They’d exchange looks with each other when her back was turned, and Mike would glare daggers at them telling them to shut up.

He’d always run to her when he needed any touchups, or just simply wanted to talk. They’d talk about Steven, and which movie of his was her favorite.

“ET, of course,” she beams. “Can’t think of a sardine without thinking of that movie.”

A morning would come when one of the boys sat complacent in her chair, turned to look at her through the mirror. “Hey, so, do you have a boyfriend?”

Mike freezes in his spot.

“Who’s asking?” She chimes.

“Just’a question.” All the boys are looking at Mike, who refuses to look up from his phone.

“Nope,” she replies with a pop. “Again, who’s asking?” She’s joking; she’s not expecting an answer. She’s too busy rubbing mousse through Ben Cook’s curls, and not paying quite enough attention to her surroundings, until one of the boys speak up.

“Mike.”

The trailer fills with boyish yells, and Mike literally wants to disintegrate into his chair. He wonders if they really need him on set today. They can film Cool without him, right? Is it too late to recast?

It’s a little while later when Mike needs touchups, that he finds his way to you in your trailer. You’re sitting on the sofa, knees pulled up to your chest as you read a book.

“Michael, hello,” you sit up, closing your page around your finger. “What’s up?”

“Just, uh…dirt is coming off.”

“Say less, darling.” You stand up, and Mike sits in his usual seat. He can’t even look you in the eye. He also can’t seem to ease the burning from his cheeks after hearing such a term of endearment from you. “How’s it going out there?”

“Good, yeah, I think.” He adjusts himself in the chair; his back is killing him. “Should be done on time today.”

“Perfect. I love to hear it. “She dabs her brush onto her palette. “What’cha got going on later?”

“Nothing, I don’t think. Might just go home and rest up for tomorrow.”

“What about Friday? I know you aren’t on the call sheet. That’s a Sharks day.”

“Might do something with the boys? I don’t think we’ve talked about it.”

“When are we hanging out?” His eyes meet yours in the reflection of the mirror, and you reply with a shrug. “The boys were acting like you maybe wanted to hang out, but I couldn’t hear over their rambunctiousness.”

“I…” His mouth was dry. He noticed you stopped applying the makeup and held the brush precariously in your hand. “I didn’t tell them to say that.”

“Oh, I’m sure you didn’t, but you didn’t answer my question.”

“You wanna hang out?”

“That’s what I’m asking.”

He’d nodding his head before he manages words out. “Okay…” He blinks, scanning around the room, looking for nothing in particular. “Uh, Friday? When will you be out of here?”

“Who knows. 5 or 6, maybe? We’re doing rehearsals for I Feel Pretty. I shouldn’t be any later than 6.”

“Wanna aim for 7?”

She smiles, running some mousse through his hair. “It’s a date.”

[millenialfanfictionaddiction]

Being Team Japan’s Manager:

Miss Manager is Great with Kids

Team Japan x Female Manager (she/her)

Warnings: swearing, obviously kids (sometimes they are scary 🫣)

Request here

AN: I apologize if this isn’t the best 😅

You know what’s really funny YN?

The similarities between being Team Japan’s manager and working in a preschool

Honestly it’s pretty much the same thing

Iwa drops the kids off for their morning practice

Yaku yells at them, scolding them for not playing nicely with the other team members

You have to remind them to eat and take bathroom breaks

Essentially, the same 💅

Which is why your transition from teaching to being team Japan’s manager was so easy

The guys 👉🏻 instantly love you

Was there really any doubt?

Of course, some of them *cough* ATSUMU *cough* HOSHIUMI *cough* make it their life goals to be hard on you

You can’t tell me they aren’t annoying and finicky about literally everything 🙄

But once again, it’s fine because you’ve dealt with snotty, marker covered kids pretty much your entire life

Literally these guys have nothing on a group of 3 year olds

The guys never really asked much about your previous job, not really caring much about where you came from before you started with them

Aran would occasionally bring up the subject but you’d just shrug, answering, “a little of this, a little of that.”

Let’s be honest, there’s no conversation that doesn’t involve volleyball lasting for more than 5 seconds in the Gym

Especially with Atsumu, Kageyama, Hinata and Bokuto

Guys really think that other occupations don’t even compare to Volleyball so why waste the time talking about it

However 👀 the boys would soon find out just how much they should have asked about your prior employment

Because you see, Kuroo had a little something up his sleeve to help promote Team Japan

“Come again?” Asked Gao

“A kids camp! Ages 4 to 9!” Kuroo excitedly explained

“Count me out,” Sakusa groaned

“You really think it’s a good idea for little kids to be running around while we practice?” Kageyama questioned

“Well you would t be practicing, it would strictly be for the kids,” Kuroo responded

“NO PRACTICE!” Screamed Atsumu, Kageyama, Hinata and Bokuto in unison

Iwa narrowed his eyes as you tried to keep a straight face, “listen here, if you don’t participate, I’ll have coach bench you and give your number up!”

The group immediately straightened up as Kuroo smirked

“Maybe it won’t be so bad? I mean it’s only for a couple hours right?” Komori responded

The guys all nodded as you tried your best to keep your composure

A week later, the camp was underway and let’s just say, it was going about as well as Seijoh’s chances of going to nationals 🫠

“Oh my go- gosh!” Atsumu shouted, stopping himself again from nearly letting out a bad word in front of the children

“These kids are actually feral!” Hoshiumi screamed, trying to wrangle two kids who were throwing volleyballs up into the bleachers

“I thought these kids were suppose to like volleyball!?!” Aran asked

“I never said that,” Kuroo chimed in, as he and Akaashi watched form the sidelines

Akaashi was there to do a special report on the teams event as well as take in the free entertainment

Bokuto and Hinata were rolling around on the floor, attempting (huge emphasis on ATTEMPT) to show the kids receiving

Sakusa was sitting with a group of kids who were “too cool” for this

Ushiwaka had already made 3 kids cry just by walking up to them

Iwa had left to cool down because he was at his breaking point

And you, well you had seen enough

Suddenly, Kuroo watched as you grab the microphone and headed to the middle of the gym

“Hey kids, who wants to see a professional athlete serve?” You shouted as all the kids (yes I’m including the athletes) looked over at you

Suddenly, screams and shouts filled the air as all the kids flocked towards you

The guys, Kuroo and Akaashi, included all watched in wonder

“Ok we all need to sit in the chairs because this guys serves can be either really good or really bad. Atsumu, show them!”

Atsumu rn 👉🏻👁️👄👁️ HEY MY SERVES ARENT BAD!

“I’d say it’s 50/50,” Sakusa chimed in as Atsumu growled

“Hey how come I don’t get to show them my serves Yn?” Kageyama grumbles

“Tobio you’ll get a chance just calm down and wait your turn ok?”

After the show of serves, you again grabbed the kids attention

“Ok so who wants to try spiking??” You ask as a million tiny hands shoot up

“Ok everyone get in line, littlest to oldest, and we will all get a chance to practice!”

You made your way to the nets, team and children following you like little ducks as you began to coordinate

Iwa watched in awe as your skills, impressed at your ability to manage such a wide age range

I mean 💅 this is Yn Iwa, what did you expect?

After the event, the kids all came up to you after getting their autographs and gave you a big hug

“Thanks so much Miss Yn!” They all smiled as they ran to their parents

“YN why didn’t you tell us you were good with kids?” Yaku asked

You just shrugged, “it never came up.”

“I mean it makes sense, look how good she is with the other idiots,” Iwa said, nodding over to the feral group

“OMG YN THAT WAS SO FUN! Can we do that again??” Bokuto screamed, jumping up and down

“We deal with enough children daily so no,” Sakusa said, turning to leave going to the locker room

“What kids- HEY WHAT THE HELL OMI??” Atsumu yelled

You just smiled, knowing your boys were the best kids around 😌

[waklman]

Pool Rules

summary: you get yourself into trouble trying to surprise your boyfriend during swim practice.

pairing: bob floyd x female reader.

warnings: no use of y/n. fluff, like one suggestive joke. 18+ blog in general.

olympic swimmer au

the last lap masterlist.

“Floyd, security detained your girl again,” Jake flatly announces, stalking into the locker-room with his very own girlfriend in tow, leading her inside with their hands entwined.

“Again?” Bob pivots on his damp feet, zipping up his arena jacket back up out of courtesy. 

Really, it should alarm him more that you’ve been snagged by pool staff, but this was the third time it’s happened, this week.

“It was so mean!” Jake’s girlfriend chimes in, microfiber towel thrown over her head. Not bothered enough to ask if Bob’s decent, she rips the cotton draped over her eyes and Jake grits, wrestling to get it back on. “They just—they grabbed her thinking she’s some random fan that snuck in! Isn’t that horrible?”

“Would you just—get out of here Floyd.” Jake redirects the scolding to his teammate, still fighting against his girlfriend as she erupts into a bout of giggles at Jake’s struggle to keep the towel in place. 

Understanding that Jake’s frustration isn’t fully targeted towards him, Bob nods and steers his body towards the exit, leaving his pile of dry clothes behind on the bench.

Assuming you’ve been stuck into that detainment room, Bob makes his way up there, swim tights still dripping wet.

Nearing you in his climb up the stairs, he sighs remorsefully, turning the corner. They probably stuck you in the grubby plastic chair that you swore flattened out your butt. And despite his tireless efforts to convince you otherwise, you were fully set on the fact that your rear quite literally sunk.

With a gentle knock to the door, the athlete cuts through his own stream of thoughts. And in getting no answer to the polite gesture, Bob pauses, waiting out a few more seconds before cautiously letting himself inside.

He’s not the least bit surprised to find you sitting in that very chair you hated so much, pouty face painted in streaky lines of red white and blue. As usual, you look like you’re ready to cheer on the U.S team at any given moment. 

Wordlessly coming to a stop in front of you, Bob lets you stain his white nylon jacket with your patriotic face paint as you slump forward, landing flat on his stomach. In all fairness, his bare legs do wet the front of your shirt in return, but it doesn’t seem like you care all that much when you whine and curl your hands behind his thighs to pull him closer.

“Hi there, pretty girl,” he looks down at you, his shriveled hand petting the back of your head. All it takes is the feeling of you leaning into his palm, for the tight wounds of Bob’s muscles to finally loosen, despite his wearied efforts to alleviate the strain post-practice. 

“They still didn’t recognize me from last time,” you dejectedly share, ignoring his greeting. “The guys that put me in here didn’t even believe Seresin when he tried telling them I was your girlfriend.”

Doing a quick scan of the dusty room, Bob notices that they’ve left you unsupervised this time. From a technical standpoint, the athlete can’t exactly blame them for not realizing who you actually were. Because everytime you did pay Bob a visit, you wore bizarre USA themed outfits to cheer him on—that altered your appearance each time. 

He hated to admit it but, Bob was impressed that Jake could even manage to tell you apart from one of the crazed fans camping outside the training center.

But, even if you were one of them, Bob knows there’s a partially pathetic side of him that would still forget how to expel a breath if he saw a girl as cute as you choosing to root for him, instead of one of his teammates. 

“You know why? It’s ‘cause you get prettier each time you show up looking for me. They can't believe how I got so lucky with you," he finally suggests with a small smile, coaxing you to stand up.

“Let me see what you got on today, Champ,” he reaches for your limp hand, pressing a kiss to your knuckles before lifting it above your head, to twirl you around.

A shy giggle bubbles out your chest when your boyfriend spins you, whispering about how pretty you looked as he runs his eyes over you. 

Not wanting to make you dizzy, Bob slows down the movement, his hands moving to your hips to steady your balance. “Where’d you get this from? It’s cute,” he leans back slightly, chuckling when you proudly puff your chest at him. 

Pulled up on each of your legs are knee high socks, one blue and one red with white stripes lined at the hem. And stretched across your t-shirt is a saturated Getty image of your boyfriend, gold medal between his teeth.

Lifting yourself on your tippy toes, you glide your fingers through his damp strands, pushing it out of his face. “Would you believe me if I said I had it made? I think it’s my favorite picture of you,” you confess.

A surge of butterflies suddenly flutters in your stomach, when your eyes slowly drift down to his flushed chest, that just barely peeks through the small gap of his unzipped jacket. You swallow, spotting a droplet of water still clung to his skin that runs down the line of his torso.

“Oh yeah?” He teases, pulling your attention back to his face. Though Bob’s trying to act coy, a rare side of him that had his coach choking on his sandwich the first time he witnessed it—there’s a matching tint of pink on his cheeks that gives him away. 

Lightly tugging on the roots of his hair, a mischievous look washes over your features. 

“Mhm, I just love having you on me honey,” you playfully bite back. And there goes the controlled breathing practice Bob spent half his life perfecting.

“Okay, that was—that really wasn’t fair,” he falters, feeling another wave of heat settling into his already flushed skin.

"Oh I'm sorry, didn't know we were playing fair now," you egg on, watching your giant boyfriend grow shy.

Bob only pokes his cheek with his tongue, until he takes in the fact that you’re wearing a shirt with his face on it. And he couldn’t see it any earlier because you’ve been trapped up here the whole time.

“I don’t know why they keep doing this to you, I’m sorry Champ,” he feels the need to apologize, drawing you in for a hug.

Bob considered himself a fairly polite guy, but when his girlfriend’s been given a hard time repeatedly—he feels less inclined to be so nice in his next run-in with security. 

But instead of showing his sudden wear in patience, he relaxes completely—finding it nearly impossible to retain any tension in his body when you gently scratch at his scalp.

“It’s okay,” you assure him, twirling a piece of hair around your finger. “You found me anyway.”

“They made you sit in that chair though.” 

“My butt is probably so flat,” you let out groan at the reminder, pressing your feet to the ground. 

Not a second later, Bob goes to squeeze your butt. “Not, really,” he decides, seriously. "Even if it was, I don't think I'd care."

“Don’t you lie to me,” you scold, brows pinched together.

“M’ not. Did you want me to check again?”

Before you can anything, a uniformed man stands under the door frame, lifting his eyes off his clipboard. Almost in sync with eachother, you both stiffen hearing the noise.

“Alright young lady, I cleared things up with—Oh..”

note: swimmer bob swimmer bob swimmer bob!! as always thank you for reading, and reblogs are greatly appreciated!

join the taglist for this series here or follow me on @waklman-library and turn on notifs to be notified when i post!

tags: @Genius2050 @eli2447 @s-u-t @averyhotchner @et-homephone @olymosity @wkndwlff @cruelmissdior @eternallyvenus @queerqueenlynn @sushiwriterhere @ravenhood2792 @Natdrunk @goosterroose

[milaisreading]

can u do its our girlfriend (ryusei shidou version)?? 🙏🏽🙏🏽 w/ sub20 time? 👀

Author: Here it is! I hope u like this one and thank u for the request🩷

Warnings ⚠️: Reader uses she/her. Requests are open

⚽️Blue Lock belongs to: Muneyuki Kaneshiro and Yusuke Nomura⚽️

The U-20 team felt a pretty huge shift in the dynamic when 2 certain players joined the team. One of them being Shidou Ryusei and the other one being Itoshi Sae. Now, Oliver as the captain did try and was somewhat successful with getting along with Sae, meanwhile Shidou... well he is a great player but really hard to get along with. But one thing Oliver noticed was that there was a rift and tension between Sae and Shidou, who were by all accounts always the closest to each other. The issue started a month ago when Oliver, and later on the team would notice how much bossier Sae was with Shidou, and the boy was in return a lot snappier with him. It was really getting out of hand and Oliver was ready to rip his hair out. Japan's U-20 team had an image to uphold and the last thing Oliver needed was their manager yelling at him to get them in line.

"You dumbass antena man, focus on the goal!"

"Under eyelashes senior is now the boss around here, huh?"

"Can someone shut them up?" Sendou pointed, tired from all the yelling.

"Why are they even arguing?" Teru questioned.

"God knows." Hayate shrugged his shoulders, watching as Oliver and Niou walked over to the bickering duo and pulled them away from each other.

"Alright! Enough!" The team flinched at Oliver's yell, but kept quiet.

"What's the issue you two? You have been acting like you killed each other's families!" Oliver started as Niou sighed and continued after the captain.

"We are just worried. Not only is this giving an issue to us as a team, but also to you two as a duo on the field." The long-haired boy explained as Sae and Shidou sent each other a side glare. The rest of the team kept quiet and watched the two as the huffed and looked away from each other. Oliver was pretty much speechless, he expected this from Shidou... but never from Sae of all people.

"This must be quite serious, Sae would act more mature otherwise." Teppei whispered to his friends and Miroku told them to be quiet.

"Spit it out." Oliver demanded and it seemed like Shidou finally broke.

"Under eyelashes senior here is butthurt his crush likes me more."

"I am not! All I said was that (Y/n) picking you as her boyfriend will come to bite her." Sae said back, shocking the team even more now.

'Shidou...Shidou has a girlfriend?!'

"Did I just hear correctly?" Hayate questioned with wide eyes and looked at his friends. Miroku and Teru slowly nodded their heads as Teppei and Sendou kept quiet, but were equally wondering how truthful that statement was.

'No way... he got a girlfriend before me?' Sendou thought with a huff.

'Ehh? I can't imagine Shidou with anyone.'

"What?" Niou raised an eyebrow as he closed Oliver's open mouth.

"Shidou basically got a girlfriend, way above his league if I may add." Sae repeated.

"Shut the hell up!"

"You know I am right. She literally could have had anyone, why you?" Sae said as his anger raised again, causing Shidou to smirk.

"Turns out my personality is more appear to her."

"Wait... Shidou has a girlfriend?" Oliver blurted out, causing the two to look at him.

"Yeah, they have been going out for a month." Sae rolled his eyes.

"Something you will never experience, might I add." Shidou chimed in.

"You two...are joking with us? Right?" Sendou suddenly spoke up as they raised their eyebrows.

"No?"

"You sure? Sae that was a good joke." Miroku let out a laugh as Hayate and Teppei held back their laughters too. Niou tried to calm them down while Oliver tried to stop Shidou from yelling.

"What's that supposed to mean?!" The blonde asked, taking offense at their reactions.

"It's just...you don't seem dateable..." Teppei answered, earning a nod from Hayate.

"You are too loud."

"And you say weird stuff at times."

"Sorry, but there is no way someone is dating you." The statements caused Shidou's anger to rise even more, but along with that also came the insecurities. He could handle Sae saying those things, since he is pretty jealous of his relationship, but hearing people who are pretty much strangers to him say those things... it really stung.

"I think you are capping."

"Yeah... Sae and Shidou stop joking around-"

"Wait Sendou... who is your girlfriend?" Oliver asked, trying to wrap his head around this whole concept. Shidou wanted to answer the question, he did. He wanted to show off his cute, beautiful and funny girlfriend to everyone. But one part of him wanted to keep that part quiet, private. Sae knowing about her was enough as it is, he didn't need them to know it too.

'Especially when they don't seem to believe it anyways.' Shidou said nothing as he walked off towards the locker room, sending a warning glare as Niou and Teppei tried to get the name out of him.

"Enough joking... let's just get changed. Our training session is over." Hayate said as he pointed at the clock.

"Sae, can you please tell us who the girlfriend is?" Teru wondered.

"Yeah, otherwise we will think this is a joke." Oliver added in but the redhead just shrugged his shoulders.

"Believe whatever you want. I am not saying anything out of my respect for her. When she feels like meeting you guys, you will know."

While everything was going on outside, Shidou was in the locker room enjoying how quiet it was. He somewhat cooled down from the fight and his mind kept wandering off to (Y/n).

'Ahh~ just her cute face could make any of my bad days good. She is so kind and sweet, the World really doesn't deserve her. I wonder what she is up to.' Shidou thought, growing a little agitated.

'I didn't see her at all in the past 3 weeks, stupid Blue Lock and Ego... keeping her away from me like that.' Shidou pouted. He really missed her and hoped to get the chance to see her before that match with her team.

'Seems like it's just wishful thinking.'

Teru yawned as he walked down the hallway from the bathroom. After such an eventful day he just wanted to get dressed and go home to sleep.

'Maybe a good dinner and some movies would be a good idea.'

"Excuse me, do you know if Shidou Ryusei is still here?" The boy jumped up at the sound of a unfamiliar feminine voice from behind him. Turning around, Teru was surprised to find none other than Blue Lock's manager, (L/n) (Y/n). The boy's face turned beet red and slowly nodded his head.

"Y-yeah... why do you need him?" Teru asked shyly as the girl grinned at his answer.

'She is even prettier than on TV!'

"I need to see him, can you please call him or bring me to him?" She asked and Teru quickly nodded his head, laughing nervously.

"Of course! Follow me, sorry if I am jumpy a little."

'She will think I am weird now...' Teru thought nervously, internally facepalming at his own behavior.

"It's fine, my team is the same right now. Probably excited for the match coming up?" (Y/n) asked in a reassuring manner as Teru slowly nodded his head.

"Y-yeah..."

'Her voice is so soft...'

"Shidou!" The group turned to look at Teru as he ran into the changing room.

"What?" The blonde asked in annoyance, still mad at the way they spoke to him earlier. Teru took a few deep breaths as he tried to calm the redness on his face down.

"The...the manager fo Blhe Lock wants to see you..." Teru panted out. The blonde's frown turned into a grin as he quickly packed his things.

"What?! (Y/n) is outside?" Teppei and Miroku asked with wide eyes as Oliver grinned at the news. Niou and Hayate kept quiet along with Sae. The older Itoshi became restless at the mention of (Y/n)'s name while the other 2 grew a lot more nervous.

"Later, losers." Shidou chuckled and ran out with his bag.

"Hold it- Why is she even here?" Niou wondered as Teru spoke up again.

"It turns out the girlfriend Sae and Shidou talked about was (Y/n)."

The room grew quiet as Sae quietly left the room, hoping to catch up to the duo before they left.

'Shidou...'

'Is dating...'

'(Y/n)...' Sendou, Hayate and Miroku thought as Oliver's eye twitched.

"What do you mean?! No way did that guy get to her first!" Oliver yelled as Niou nodded his head.

"She was probably blackmailed into dating him."

"True. (Y/n) seems so sweet and kind..." Teppei started.

"And beautiful, she puts all the idols I know to shame." Sendou sighed dreamily.

"I also heard she is so considerate. I heard she always makes snacks for her team." Hayate chimed in.

"Forget that! Did you see the way she holds herself when talking to the reporters?!" Oliver added in with a blush.

"Yeah...she has to be blackmailed." Miroku concluded as silence fell among the group.

They looked between each other and at the door as Niou cleared his throat.

"I need to go to the toilet."

"Hold it! Why did you take your bag-" Before Hayate could finish his sentence, Niou was already outside the locker room.

"Hey!" Oliver yelled, running after his teammate and the rest joining in.

"I hope you like it! It's like a good luck charm for the upcoming matches!" (Y/n) grinned as Shidou held the necklace she bought him a few days back. It was a simple, 4 leaf clover pendant on a gold chain, but it did make Shidou's heart race a little and his face turned red from the attention.

"Thanks, th-this means a lot. I didn't get anything for you." Shidou said, getting a little shy from the sudden gift and (Y/n) shook her head.

"I am happy and fulfilled as long as you are, Ryu."

'So adorable! And all mine!'Shidou thought as his cheeks started heating up and he coughed.

"Want to eat something? There is a good restaurant-"

"Are we eating somewhere?" Shidou felt like all the rage he previously felt came rushing back as Sae appeared put of nowhere, putting his arms around (Y/n)'s shoulders.

"Sae-san?! Where did you come from?" The girl wondered, a little startled by his appearance. Shidou watched with a snarl as Sae turned his stone cold look to a much softer one as he glanced at (Y/n).

"Good to see you, (Y/n). You look just as pretty as the last time I saw you." The girl blushed a little at the comment as Shidou pulled her our of his grip and glared even harder at Sae.

"We, as in (Y/n) and I will go and eat now. You can go somewhere else." Shidou said as he started pushing (Y/n) in front of himself.

"Ryu, you don't have to push me.... but I feel a little bad..." (Y/n) admitted in embarrassment as the two stopped and looked back at Sae. Shidou raised his eyebrow, wondering what she actually meant.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, Sae is your friend, maybe we could invite him along. He probably wants to eat with us too." (Y/n) smiled softly as Shidou felt his heart crack a little.

'She is so considerate! That Itoshi doesn't deserve this level of kindness! My cute, little girl.' Shidou thought as he poked her cheeks.

"Ryu~" She pouted as the boy chuckled.

"You are so adorable... Fine, we could invite Sae along." Shidou sighed, as he really couldn't say 'no' to (Y/n).

"Ahh~ Shidou? Is that your lovely girlfriend?" The blonde boy flinched as he heard Niou's voice and the two turned to look at the group. The blonde tightly grabbed onto (Y/n)'s hand as they observed the group. Shidou watched in horror and anger as he noted all their expressions as (Y/n) waved at them.

"Hello!" She exclaimed.

Niou, Hayate and Miroku had the most normal expression, just a small blush on their cheeks. Teppei hid behind a blushing Miroku as he sent (Y/n) a few glances here and there.

'So cute~ she is even more adorable in real life.' Teru, Oliver and Sendou where meanwhile blushing messes as they stared at (Y/n) and waved at her.

"It's so lovely to see you, (Y/n)-san. We weren't aware you and Shidou were dating." Niou spoke up as he walked closer to them.

"Yeah! Congratulations." Miroku added in as Teppei followed them.

"Can I get a picture with you?"

"Me?!" (Y/n) asked the boy in confusion as Sendou and Oliver chirped in.

"Yes, it would be lovely."

"You look even lovelier than a kpop or jpop idol."

"A-ah... Thank you, Sendou-san." The girl blushed a little as Teru and Hayate chimed in.

"Move a little, Shidou- Can I get a picture with you too?"

"Can you please be our manager? The old man is annoying." Hayate groaned, earning a hit on the head from Oliver.

Shidou watched in disbelief as his teammates tried to chat up his girlfriend, his jealousy close to reach its limit.

"Told you that (Y/n) is a real eye catcher." Sae snorted, equally annoyed at the scene.

"Shut it! I know...it's my (Y/n)... my girl we are talking about."

[sachirobabe]

Chapter 5

Gojo Satoru x reader

Wc: 3576

Curseless au

Summary: Amidst the zombie apocalypse, your courage shines as you not only saves lives but capture the heart of Gojo Satoru. Together with his first-year students, you all embark on a perilous journey, not only for survival but in a quest for a cure that adds a poignant layer to the unfolding romance.

<— Previous | Masterlist | Next —>

"Where's Shoko?" Gojo asks as the two of you walk back into the kitchen/dining area.

Before Nanami could answer, the kitchen doors swing open, revealing a girl with brown hair. "What now—oh, you must be Y/n." She smiles. "I'm Shoko, I'm so happy to have someone smart."

"Oh, thanks," you laugh, "Are you a doctor as well?" She nods and takes out a cigarette.

"I for sure would've thought that you'd quit those by now." Gojo shakes his head, assisting you in sitting.

"I will." She rolls her eyes. "Unless we figure out how to make our own." Shoko winks at you.

It's ironic, a doctor smoking. They're all about health and here she is, smoking a cigarette without a care in the world, literally.

"How do you deal with him?" She asks you, "I already like you more than Gojo."

"He's not that bad." You say and he grins at you. "Well," you begin, "he did almost get us killed the first time we met."

"He's never leaving your side now." Shoko shakes her head, "You should've seen him before all of this happened."

"He was insufferable." Nanami's deep voice chimes in.

"Hey!" Gojo frowns, "I'm not that bad."

The entire group laughs, it felt a little nice to forget about the tragedies happening outside. It's quickly ruined as you let your mind slip away from the conversation at hand.

You remember everything that you had taken for granted. Now you're sure it'll never go back to normal unless there's another planet suitable for sustaining life. Even then, there's no way of knowing if there's someone capable of building a rocket.

You're in the beginning stages of spiraling, you feel like crying and shutting out the whole world. You excuse yourself to the bathroom, everybody continues the conversation. You briefly hear them talking about getting some rest for the night as you leave.

You quickly close the bathroom door behind you, your breathes become more rapid and tears begin to fill your eyes, you don't bother in blinking them away. You think it's better to feel your emotions rather than conceal them. You manage to keep your meltdown quiet, so others wouldn't worry as they walked by.

The thought of life and how everything is gonna turn out is eating you alive, your tears fall quicker when you think about if you'll survive, you're careful when going out, but are you going to have to live your entire life killing zombies and scavenging for food?

You're overwhelmed by the amount of questions flooding your mind, but you begin to calm yourself down, firstly by your breathing. They're not as frantic as before, you remind yourself to take it day by day. 'You're not alone now.' You repeat to yourself.

You blow your nose and wash your face to cool you down, your eyes look tired as you stare at yourself in the mirror. You give yourself another minute to make it look like you weren't just having a breakdown.

As soon as you open the door you're met with Gojo, his arm freezes in mid-air as he was about to knock.

"There you are." He smiles, you force one back and quickly advert your eyes, faking a yawn. "Everyone's heading to bed, you tired?"

You nod, even though you aren't. "Are you?" You ask and clear your throat after it came out raspy.

"Not really. We don't have to keep watch either, Nanami turned on the fence and made sure all the doors were locked." He says.

"That's good." You nod.

"Let's stay up a bit," He smiles and wraps his arm around you to help. He definitely notices your eyes being red, he's seen you tired and this was not it. "I'm so glad we found my friends—"

"Gojo, I'm sorry, but I really am tired." You interrupt him, now feeling even worse than you did.

He stops you both in the hallway and forces you to take a seat next to him, "No you're not. What's wrong?"

"Nothing, I'm tired like I said." You sigh.

"Liar." He sits next to you, fiddling with his fingers, "I could tell something was up when you left."

You try again once more, "I had to use the bathroom, nothing else."

"Bullshit," He starts, "This is my question. What's wrong?" His eyes now meet yours and you avoid his blue eyes.

You clench your jaw. You felt pathetic having to tell him that you were crying because of the future, you had only known him for a few days, but your trust in him had grown exponentially due to the circumstances, and that scares you as well.

"I didn't feel good."

"About what?" He pushes.

"The future. It's scary and sometimes it overwhelms me." You shrug, resting your head on your good leg.

He stays silent for a moment, nodding to your statement. "You can talk about it to me. No more of this 'I barely know you' bullshit, we're all surviving together."

You flinch a little at his harsh words, "I was just upset, that's all. When I'm upset I cry, it feels better to let it out." Your eyes are now staring into his, "And it terrifies me that I don't know what the future will be like. Will we have enough food? Will the government save us? It's endless."

"We'll get through it. Day by day." He reassures. "You don't think I'm terrified too? I worry about keeping my students safe, my friends, and now you. The government probably doesn't even exist anymore, we're fending for ourselves, which is terrifying, but the more people you have, the easier it is."

You feel your tears begin again and look away, this time you're able to blink them away, Gojo was making it harder because he rubbed your back reassuringly.

"I already failed in keeping you safe." He sighs, "It was so stupid of me to not think about jumping it before the zombies came." His brows furrowed.

"You weren't the one climbing, I was. I got myself hurt, don't feel like you need to take responsibility for that. You've already done so much for your students." You say. 

He shakes his head, his white fluffy hair falling into his eyes. "I don't know what I'd do if any of them got hurt. Any of you." He admits.

"You put a lot of pressure on yourself." You say, "I think you should depend on us sometimes too." He smiles softly at your words and gently bumps his shoulder with yours.

"Do you feel better?" He asks, noticing your sleepy face.

"Yeah. Thank you, Gojo." Your head leans back against the wall, your eyelids feel heavier with every blink.

"Satoru."

"Hm?" You say, barely keeping your eyes open.

"Call me Satoru." You nod and rest your head on his shoulder, he doesn't mind, laying his own on top of yours.

It was silent for a few minutes, Gojo listens to your breathing soften and knows you've just fallen asleep. Now that he's alone in his thoughts he thinks about a lot that you said, he wonders how a cure could be found. He knows it'd be impossible to turn zombies back into humans, but what about preventing humans from turning?

It was late enough, he hadn't slept much in days, he was really feeling the effects of it. He gently moves your head off of him and is careful when picking you up bridal style. He quietly walks into the room and sees Nanami awake, a small flashlight in his hand as he reads a book.

He gives his friend a nod as he sees his futon is already set up, he gently puts you back down, making sure your injured leg is straight and not gonna ruin the stitches. Then he places a blanket over your body, he stares at you for a long as he can before his eyes give out on him and he passes out.

Your thigh is extremely sore, the small cuts have began to scab and your stitches are swelling, but that's to be expected. You finish wrapping and stand up, the place has running water and electricity, so you enjoyed a warm shower.

You walk down to get breakfast, wondering what the plans are for today, you see everybody already eating.

"Your food might be cold." Nanami says as he slides your plate and you thank him.

"Do you want it warm?" Satoru asks.

You're a little confused, "What?"

"Your food," He says, "do you want it to be warm?"

"Um, it's okay, it's my fault it's cold—" You begin, but he takes your plate and is off to the kitchen.

"Your leg feeling better?" Shoko asks, her fork is cutting up some of her food as she slowly eats it.

"I'm very sore today, so no venturing out for me." You chuckle, you tell her in a little more detail about the stitches and how it's healing, knowing she'd understand.

Satoru comes back with your food, now steaming. He sits back down and takes a bite of your sausage, "It's a fee."

You rolled your eyes, "Thank you." The first and second years were messing around in another room, so it was just the adults at the table. Satoru really knew how to push people's buttons, you've lost count at how many times Nanami has rolled his eyes at the white haired male.

"I'm trying to be serious here with you, Gojo, but I'm about to throw you out to the zombies." Nanami threatens, he takes his map back from the man child, erasing the drawings he was making.

"You know I'd win." He grins.

"Unfortunately. I'll take you out myself then." He glares and lays the map back out on the table, you move your plate to the side so there'd be more room.

"What's this?" You ask, putting your full attention on the blonde.

"A map, duh." Satoru says obviously. You can't tell if he's trying to annoy you as well or if he really meant his statement.

"I'll help Nanami and take you out too, smartass." You deadpan. "The markings." You face Nanami.

"These are all the radio towers we've tried." He softly smiles at your response to Satoru, but it quickly goes away, you're still able to catch it though.

"Oh shit. You've really gone far." Satoru brings himself back into the conversation.

"We'd like to try this one," Shoko places her finger on the map for a moment, "But it's very dangerous there."

"Gangs?" You question and she nods.

"We'd need all the help we could get, I would've liked to leave today, but.." Nanami stops, pointing to your leg.

"You wouldn't risk going without me? I don't want to hold any of you back." You say.

"Gojo says you're valuable when fighting. I'd feel more comfortable having another set of hands and eyes." Nanami explains, "How long would it take for those to heal." He means the stitches.

"Anywhere from 2-4 weeks if I'm careful and clean the wounds often." You estimate. "Could be longer because I'm running out of antiseptic."

"What's that?" Satoru frowns.

"Rubbing alcohol, idiot." Nanami mutters the last word, but Satoru's hearing picks up it.

"Or hydrogen peroxide and iodine." Shoko adds, "For this being military, there's no infirmary."

"Where the hell are we gonna find antiseptics." Satoru rubs his forehead.

"Luck, by visiting the pharmacy's nearby." You say.

"We can do that." Nanami decides, "Anything to get you to heal quicker."

You give him a small smile and thank the group, they are all getting ready to walk around and try and find some extra resources. You are obviously staying behind, you'd only bring the group down in the condition that you're in.

"I can stay with you." Satoru offers.

"No way. I'll be fine. Nothings gonna happen here." You assure, he's bringing up a chair for you to sit in so you wouldn't have to stand while keeping watch to open and close the gate after they leave.

"They don't need me." He smiles, "Plus I know how lonely you'll be without my presence."

"If anything, she's gonna be relieved." Shoko says as she leans against the doorframe and inhales from her cigarette. Satoru frowns at her, "Besides, I need a bodyguard."

"Nanami will be there." Satoru answers.

She shakes her head, "I need all the protection I can get."

Satoru knows what she's doing, "You've survived so far."

"She doesn't need protecting," She points at you with her cigarette, "she's badass. And she saved you." She reminds.

"I wasn't armed," He defends himself, "otherwise I would've protected her." His nose is high in the air, annoyed with the conversation.

"I'll be okay, Satoru. You guys shouldn't be too long anyway." You shrug, "Now go get ready."

He pouts, really wanting to stay there with you. As he leaves he glares at Shoko and she laughs. Nanami comes up after them and explains how to turn the fence on and off, even though you wouldn't need to, and how to open and close the gate.

It was simple, not complicated at all. Shoko handed you a medical book to read knowing you'd get bored. You open the gate and the group quickly slips through, as soon as Satoru goes you push the button to shut it again.

Satoru turns to face where you're at and waves, you chuckle and wave back, not sure if he can even see you. They slowly become smaller and smaller as they continue walking.

You were advised to not move in case anything happens and they needed to be let in quickly. You weren't planning on moving either way, you want to minimize the movement to not reopen the stitches.

Occasionally you'd read a page of the book and look up and scan the area to make sure the group wasn't back yet. It quickly became tedious, you sigh and push the book to the side. You look out to the semi-open land, it was a little out of the city, but there were still occasional buildings and complexes.

Your mind is constantly worrying about food, there is a storage unit attached to the military base you're all currently staying at, but foods gonna run out quickly even with rationing.

Gardening had been a small hobby of yours when you were little, you remember planting all kinds of vegetables with your mother. You smile softly at the thought, your father would snap pictures of two then he'd join in as well.

'Gardening doesn't sound too bad', you think to yourself, but you also think that you'd all have to be permanently stationed somewhere, it'd be difficult to move plants, you didn't know too much about that.

Out of the corner of your eye you spot white hair, it was of course Satoru. The group was back, you frown as you felt like not much time had gone by. The sun was starting to go down a little, you must've been daydreaming a lot longer.

You make sure no zombies or others were following them as you push the button to open the gate, you shut it once they've all slipped through and slowly make your way back down to the main area to greet them.

"Any luck?" You ask.

"We found antiseptics." Itadori answers, wiping his nose from the cold.

"And some bandages and stuff, no luck on food though." Shoko smiles and takes off her coat.

"Let's go, I'll help you re-bandage." Satoru says, holding you again.

"First-years, you guys are in charge of dinner." Nanami says and sits down with Shoko and the second-years.

"Ramen." Nobara declares as she heads into the kitchen and the two boys follow after her.

"Anything happen out there?" You ask Satoru as he sets you down on the toilet seat.

"Nah. Not much trouble, what about here?" He says as he carefully unravels your wrapping.

You shake your head, "No, but I was thinking," You begin and he nods letting you know he's listening, "I've been worrying about the food and how quickly we're gonna go through it, if we can find some crops or seeds anywhere I can replant them."

"Not bad," He smiles widely, "I don't think we'll be staying here permanently though."

"I know. I'd also like to have a lab to work with Shoko in, you know maybe find out some more things about the zombies." You say, "A military base would be the best for us, it's secure."

"I agree," he sighs, "I'm not sure how long we'll stay here." His hands are careful as he dumps the liquid over your thigh. You're starting to get used to the burning.

"Has Nanami had any luck radioing?" You do some breathing to help get your mind off of the sting.

Satoru shakes his head, "I don't think we will, but it's worth a shot."

You watch him clean up the liquid, his hands are still freezing as ever, but he's starting to get the hang of bandaging.

"Let's get you all better, starting with no walking." Satoru picks you up carefully just how he did the night before.

"Woah—" Your eyes widen, "I can walk—"

"Nuh uh, we want you healed as quickly as possible." He says.

"You'll get tired of carrying me." You answer back.

"I'm strong." He winks at you and then looks ahead.

"What if I have to go to the bathroom." You deadpan.

"Looks like I'm going too." He smiles widely. "Kidding, I'll wait outside." He rolls his eyes.

The next few weeks go by excruciating slow, you felt terrible about getting injured, but it couldn't be helped now. Everyone was so helpful and kind during your healing process.

You had gotten closer to the second-years, all of them have been great. Maki was still a little unsure about you, but at least she was kinder now.

Satoru though, in just a few short weeks you had developed a small little crush. He had a way with words and was much more comfortable with you now. You know it'll go away, you've just been deprived of human interaction. That's what you keep telling yourself.

But in the meantime, it was fun to have one despite the circumstances. He was there for you for your whole recovery, anything you mentioned he got it done.

"You want to watch?" You ask confusingly to Satoru.

"Yeah!" He excitedly says. "I was forced to be your butler so I wanna see my work be payed off."

"You offered." You press your lips into a thin line and he just chuckles at your reaction. You slowly removed each stitch and Satoru watched intently. You could feel his breath on your leg from how close he was.

"We should keep this as a trophy!" He says as you plant them in his gloved hand.

"Why would I do that?" You frown, inspecting your work and seeing your wounds healed. You still put on some ointment to keep it from getting dry and itchy.

"Is this your first time having stitches?" He asks and you nod, "Well, I'd say that's a milestone."

"We're not keeping them. That's gross." You say and force him to toss them in the trash.

"Let's see that leg in action." He backs away and gasps dramatically as you stand, "Good as new! All thanks to me." He stands proudly.

You roll your eyes at the man and walk past him, it felt good to stand and walk on your own. You still have to be careful since the area is still a little tender. Everybody was sat near the kitchen, all eyes turned to you and smiles were plastered on every face as they realized.

"You're good as new!" Itadori gives you his famous smile.

"Glad to have you back, these losers need a bodyguard." Nobara says and both boys glare at her.

"We should start planning." Nanami says as you sit down, he notices Satoru walk into the room and frown when he sees his students already taking a seat next to you. Nanami eyes the spot next to him and Satoru grumbles.

"It'll take us about three weeks to get there and back." Shoko says, pulling out a small notebook and pencil to write things down.

You feel someone bang on the table twice, all of your attention goes to Inumaki as he signs, "What about the cars?"

Nanami sighs, "It'll bring too much attention. I don't want any trouble." He signs back.

Inumaki thinks for a moment, "I think it'll make us look scarier and less approachable."

"I agree." Panda signs.

"Maybe next time, we have to be strategic with our risks." Satoru joins in and Inumaki slumps in his seat, not wanting to walk for weeks.

"We have our rest stops, remember?" Maki says to help ease the pain of walking for long periods of time.

"And what if the tower doesn't work?" You say, Satoru interprets for Inumaki since you're still learning to sign.

"At least we'll know." Nanami eyes the map, "I know there's a huge military base near the coast. I used to drive by it sometimes."

"It's far from where we are and if we get there and find out it's taken, we'd have nowhere to go." Shoko adds.

"Alright, so when do we leave." You say.

"Tomorrow." Satoru declares.

[dear-mrs-otome]

Jude Jazza - Fake Lovers Event + Sweet End

(AKA Villainous Love That Unfolds on a Moonless Night but fuck that title it's too long)

I make no guarantees on accuracy. I make no guarantees on seriousness. This is, on multiple occasions, a shitpost in summary form - but I hope you enjoy it anyways.

~~~~~~~~

Our story opens on Kate - her lips hot, her heart pounding - telling Jude that she never wants to be the ‘lover’ of someone like him, ever again.

Jude thanks her sarcastically, before telling her it should have been him turning down someone like her to begin with…and Kate’s in total disbelief, wtf is wrong with me style, at the fact that his cruel smile is kinda doing it for her right now.

Absolutely fucking not, she’s telling herself. IX-NAY, FULL STOP, BAD OVARIES DOWN GIRL.

~~~Rewinddddd~~~

After she’d become the fairy tale writer, Victor had come up with an idea to help Kate get to know the boyos better, her first task. To pick one of the members of the Crown and spend the day as their ‘lover’. She’s like, nani the fuck?? How am I supposed to pick someone for that? But Victor’s clearly evil accounted for this, because he’s got the solution - if she can’t decide, he’ll decide for her. With DARTS.

Already prepared for this, Victor hucks a dart at a target and then immediately turns to her all soberfaced and apologizing. Not feeling that apologetic though because the next moment he’s smiling as he says she might be in for a bumpy road. He leads her to the lounge and goes right up to JUDE, of all people, which has Kate utterly dismayed. He literally managed to pick the WORST person possible, didn’t he?!

Jude is far from pleased at being interrupted, looking up from his paper with bitchface as Victor explains his proposal, and his answer is clear. A flat nope.

Just because she’s a woman, he’s supposed to have her pose as his lover? He doesn’t think she’s got the stomach for it in the first place.

Victor cheerfully tells him he’ll bump up how much money Jude’s getting next month, and Jude’s still far from pleased at the idea but money clearly talks, and with a patented-Jude ‘tch’ and a sneer he turns to Kate. 

Jude: Once we’re outta here, I don’t wanna hear whining anythin’ like ‘I wanna go back’ or ‘I hate this’ or whatever. Promise that and we’re on.

She’s thinking fine fine, she’s come this far already may as well give it a go. She’s gotta take this first task and do it well  so that she can be trusted as a fairytale writer and get out of this castle.

Kate: Yes! I promise!

Jude lets out a sigh like he can’t believe she just said that so enthusiastically, and Roger chimes in looking totally gobsmacked. He warns her that she’s just earned herself a rough go of it, making a promise to Jude - Jude’s deadly serious about keeping promises he’s made, but he expects the same of anyone else, and he’ll exact cruel ruthless revenge on anyone who breaks their word. 

Kate’s all kinds of nervous hearing that now, and when she echoes it she glances over to find Jude with a cruel smile on his face, as if enjoying her fear.

Jude: Don't make promises so easily, Princess. I’m gonna spend the rest of the day teachin' you that.

~~~~~~~~

It takes her only a few minutes to regret her life choices, wishing for nothing more than to go back home already.

Jude and Ellis had told her they were going to work, so she tagged along with them, and it had taken only a brief while before Jude had ducked into an alley off the road and there been accosted by a man with a knife. He jumps out, yelling about how he can’t forgive (a thoroughly unimpressed) Jude for wanting to make the man lose his mansion, his property, everything he has. No matter how much he works he’ll never pay off his debts, the man shouts. His family will be ruined! It’s ALL Jude’s fault!

Jude merely says Ellis’ name, and in a blink Ellis has the man pinned to the ground, disarmed.

Leaving Kate shocked by how fast he moved and how deftly he handled that. 

Jude reminds the man it was HE who broke his contract - if he wants to starve to death paying for a lawsuit he can’t win, go right on ahead. Tossing those words at him all casually as he simply walks by, leaving the man wailing on the ground. 

The dude seems pretty defeated, so Ellis lets go of him and gets up to follow Jude…but Kate is conflicted. Obviously she doesn’t have any clue what sort of deal the guy had with Jude, or how he broke it, but he seems pretty busted up and too pathetic to just leave him lying there in the dirt like this. Feeling bad, she takes out her handkerchief and hands it to the man - but all that ends up doing is enraging him, feeling like he’s being pitied by a girl like her. 

He grabs her leg rather than the kerchief, causing her to squeal and tell the man to let go of her, but he shouts at her for mouthing off to him. 

Just as she’s frozen in fear…a well-polished shoe smashes the man’s face. 

Jude: Don’t just touch something of mine.

Kate’s aghast as she follows the leg attached to the heel still grinding into the man’s face and finds Jude standing there, looking down at the dude and looking pissed. The man manages a few grunts, but that just causes Jude to grin and say how much he’s relishing the man’s miserable expression. Laughing at the sight of the blood running from the agonized man’s nose before turning away.

Kate forces herself to follow Jude, leaving the broken man behind, but she still carefully leaves her handkerchief beside him before she goes.

~~~~~~~~

Though the method might leave something to be desired, she’s gotta admit to herself that Jude protected her, and so she thanks him when they get back out to the street. But Jude just scoffs that she’s a sheltered princess, and tells her he didn’t do it for her. It’s because right now she’s supposed to to be ‘his woman’, and if he lets someone doing something to her slide to her it’ll only cause problems for him - AKA he’s gotta keep up appearances.

She thinks to herself that she’d rather he just accepted her thanks, since he did help her, but she gets why he was so vicious about it at least. And she broaches the subject of the guy, asking what the deal was with him, but all Jude says on the matter is that the guy made promises he couldn’t keep, and now he’s paying for them. 

Jude: Pretty sad, pathetic, and hilarious, innit?

She’s trying to figure out how Jude’s so chill about a dude hating him enough to want to kill him - actually, scratch calm, he looks almost like he’s enjoying the whole thing. Like he’s having fun. And she thinks back to the write-up she’d seen on Jude:

‘Curse: The 13th Fairy. Ruthless, arrogant, and vindictive.’

Sounds spot on, she’s thinking. 

Jude reminds her to watch herself, lest she end up like that dude, because he knows she was just thinking how she wanted to go back home and how she hated all this. (AKA about to break her promise too)

Kate: I might have thought it, but I didn’t SAY it.

Jude: A shame. I went into that alley and put you in danger and everythin'.

Cue Kate like…whaaa? She asks incredulously if he's saying he tried to get her attacked on purpose to make her break her promise?!?

Jude smirks and implies she managed to guess right, which only enrages Kate.

Kate: You’re the worst!

Jude (100% unrepentant and grinning): Why thank you. I’m lookin' forward to finding out just 'ow long that sassy attitude of yours lasts.

~~~~~~~~

She’d assumed saying they were going to work meant an office or something, but instead they bring her to the dockyards. Makes sense though she guesses, when you own a trading company. 

Jude sends Ellis off to prepare for some unspecified ‘thing’ that might happen tonight, and Ellis seems to get what he’s alluding to, bidding Kate a cheerful farewell and leaving her wondering just what they’re talking about and where Ellis is going. Pondering that she follows along after Jude as he moves about the dockyards, giving instructions here and there. He speaks with dock workers and the foreman and she finds herself a seat between crates to watch him as he does. Taking in the way everyone looks at him with a mixture of fear, nervousness, and sometimes hostility - tempered with respect.

He finishes up the conversation, and a friendly young man comes rushing up to Jude, who pulls a face at how loud the man, Jack, is. Jack is delighted that Jude remembers his name, and Kate’s a little surprised to see that someone out there is a Jude fan. 

That’s about when Jack notices her there, and asks who she is.

Jude: Oh, my woman.

Jack’s about to losing his mind over this revelation - holy what?? Bossman’s girlfriend?? And he’s practically shouting, so loud that Kate’s cringing as a sea of eyes turn her way. It freaks her out and she wonders if it’s all in her imagination that she feels like people are all jinxing her.

Jude scowls and says what of it? What if he does have a girlfriend? Jack’s left trying to make excuses and apologize for making a spectacle, until Jude just long-suffering sighs and tells him to get back to work

Felling hella uncomfortable, Kate’s scrunching herself down between the crates and such trying to stay out of sight as much as possible, when she senses Jude’s amusement and looks up.

Jude: Yeah, good, stay small like that. There’s plenty of people who’d kill you just for bein’ my woman.

She asks if he’s meaning to say she might be attacked again like she was before, getting nervous all over again remembering that guy who’d grabbed her leg.

Jude asks if she’s scared, and she starts to say OF COURSE but she stops herself, trying to decide if he’d consider it a complaint if she did. (AKA a violation of her promise)

He snorts at that and steps closer and says of course she’d be terrified - a sheltered, defenseless princess like her? It’ll be a miracle for her to make it home unscathed after all the things that’ll happen to her. 

Only when he finishes does she realize he’s backed her up against the crates, with nowhere else to run - a fact he gleefully points out. He wraps his fingers around her throat and squeezes, not enough to hurt or cut her air off, but tight enough to make her blood run cold. 

Kate: Sto-!

She keeps herself from finishing that too, not willing to tell him to stop and risk breaking her promise. But being unable to resist like that only amps up her fear more.

Jude: If I put just a bit more strength into this hand, you’re never going back to the castle. Alright?

Kate’s thinking NO ACTUALLY THIS IS FAR FROM OKAY?! But she can’t protest so she does the next best thing - glares at him furiously.

Jude lets out a little laugh and says he likes that face, it’s the cutest thing he’s seen all day. He almost feels bad for her, because she clearly wants to go home but can’t say it. If she breaks her promise, he’ll do terrible things to her, no?

He seems amused, clearly seeing right through her fears and conflict, and she wonders if THIS is what he meant when he’d threatened to show her that she shouldn't make promises so easily. But that’s just what she does.

Pissed off now, Kate finds her voice, and furiously she tells him it’s not because she’s afraid of his vengeance that she doesn’t protest. It’s simply because she doesn’t want to give up on earning their trust and earning her freedom.

Jude looks taken aback, as she finishes by telling him that’s why she will keep the promise she made to him.

He clicks his tongue and lets go of her, and the sudden rush of blood to her head makes her dizzy. She staggers and starts to fall, but he grabs her by the upper arm and hauls her roughly back to steady on her feet.

Jude: Can’t have my woman just falling down can I?

She’s fuming to herself about how he’s still quite literally The Worst, when he tells her he’s going to be taking care of some business so she’s on her own for awhile here, and with that he just unceremoniously leaves. And stays gone, for hours…long enough for Kate to be left wishing for home once more as she’s freezing her ass off once night begins to fall. 

The young man from earlier, Jack, approaches her, and she recognizes him. Jack tells her that Jude’s sent for her, and she’s fuming internally at him leaving her along for friggin ever and then summoning her whenever he damn well feels like it…but she forces herself to smile and accepts Jack’s offer to take her to him.

He takes her through the streets to a business warehouse, and inside she sees an unfamiliar man dressed in black with a bowler hat on, and guards surrounding him. 

Bowler Hat Man: Are you Jude Jazza’s girl?

A wary Kate tries to back out, but she’s grabbed by Jack. Appalled, she asks Jack if he’s stabbing Jude in the back, but Jack tells her it’s not betrayal - it was just contracted work, and he’s found a better-paying job. Who wouldn’t take it?

Jack hands her over to the Bowler Hat Man, who evil chuckles over how he figured Kate would make a worthwhile hostage so he’d had her brought in - that man bringing a woman along is something that never happens. Kate asks if by ‘that man’ he means Jude, and the Bowler Hat Man agrees. He tells her how Jude killed a dude who tried sending a woman to seduce Jude for his own gain, and that Jude seems to surprisingly give a shit about ladies. 

Kate’s like uhhh are you sure you’ve got the right person here?? This amuses the Bowler Hat Man a ton, but he says basically that Jude’s got some dirt on him, and he’s going to leverage Kate’s safety in exchange for negotiating.

She asks what’ll happen if Jude refuses, and the Bowler Hat Man simply says too bad so sad, that’ll mean she dies. THAT scares the shit out of her, because she knows there’s no freaking way Jude’s going to negotiate for her. She’s gonna have to figure out how to somehow get out of this all on her own.

Kate tries to tell the guy that she just tagged along with Jude to work today, but Bowler Hat says nah girl you were spotted getting all flirty at the docks today.

Kate: Did that seriously look like we were flirting? He was strangling me!?

Bowler Hat Man says hey, some people are into that kinda thing, and Kate’s about ready to choke at that.  She starts vehemently protesting that she really truly doesn’t have anything to do with that man (Jude), this is all just a huge misunderstanding!

Jude’s voice: What a terrible thing to say about your lover…I’m wounded.

She turns around at the sound of his voice and the thump of something heavy falling to the ground, and sees Jude there walking in past an unconscious guard, tossing out a snarky greeting and an apology for interrupting.

SWEET END

The man in the bowler hat recognizes Jude, and he grabs Kate, wrapping an arm around her tightly and pressing something up against her forehead that she realizes, to her horror, is a pistol.

Jude: Ha, that’s a great look, Kate.

She’s bracing herself for the inevitable moment where Jude says she’s not his lover and he refuses to negotiate, at which point…she’ll be killed. Just the thought has her shaking like a leaf with fear - and Jude seems to be genuinely enjoying the sight of her in terror as he laughs and says how much he likes the frightened look in her eyes. 

He asks if she wants his help, and she’s thinking NO SHIT ISN’T THAT OBVIOUS?

She’s nodding YES desperately, only to be left more and more of a nervous wreck as Jude strings her along, until the Bowler Hat Man is like, so much for a sweet reunion between lovers?

Jude’s a little disappointed he’s got to stop enjoying the sight of Kate in distress and pay attention to the man, but he switches his focus from her to Bowler Hat and states that it seems the guy is using Jude’s warehouse for business other than they’d agreed on. Jude doesn’t give a shit if he wants to use it to sell guns or whatever other nastiness - BUT. They had a contract that specifically said no buying or selling of PEOPLE didn’t they?

Kate’s thinking, holy crap they’re trading in people?

Bowler Hat wants Jude to overlook all that though - after all, he says, even poor people can fetch a good price when sold. It’ll line Jude’s pockets and help clean the filth from London’s shithole excuse for a port.

Jude’s just silent at that, and the guy keeps wheedling - Jude loves other people’s misery, and money, so of course he’d let something like this slide, right?? If Jude agrees to it, he’ll give Kate back unharmed.

She’s summing this all up in her head, that obviously what’s going on here is the guy broke his contract with Jude to use a warehouse he’d rented from him to engage in human trafficking. And now he’s trying to threaten Jude into letting it continue.

The whole thing makes her sick to her stomach, and while she doesn’t WANT to die she can’t wrap her head around sparing herself at the expense of ignoring the awful shit this guy’s up to. 

She could never, ever, do such a horrible thing.

So, biting her lip to hold back her fear, she looks squarely at Jude and puts all her effort into keeping her voice from trembling when she speaks. 

Kate: Jude…that nod earlier? I take it back.

He startles at that before he answers.

Jude: You’re seriously hopeless, you know that?

But her heart skips a beat at the smile he’s wearing when he says it - pitying and dumbfounded, but somehow still gentle. She’s honestly having a hard time believing what she’s seeing.

Slightly warm fuzzy moment all gone though when the smile falls from his face and he says he doesn’t need to be told what to do by her, so quiet down. His eyes are cold when he turns back to Bowler Hat and says there’s a few things the man seems to have misunderstood about him that he’s going to clear up. 

First - that Jude loves other people’s misery and money. What he loves is eating the rich, basically. He loves the despair when the high and mighty, like Bowler Hat, fall from their comfy lap of luxury. 

Bowler Hat has only a moment to be like, wtf? Before the air in the warehouse is torn apart by gunshots and screams, as the guards surrounding Bowler Hat all collapse. He’s so dumbfounded that Jude easily darts in and takes advantage of the distraction to twist his gun arm back. 

Secondly, Jude tells him, is that no matter what kind of leverage someone tries to use against him he’ll never let anyone get away with breaking a contract.

Jude: Third…

He rips Kate away from the man and into his own arms on a sneer.

Jude: Whatever my answer is, I’m gonna be sure to get her back without a scratch.

He drives a knee hard into Bowler Hat’s stomach at that, and the man falls over on the spot. Kate’s still trying to catch up to the fact that Jude’s helped her again…and trying to tell her pounding heart to chill out. It’s most definitely NOT racing over Jude saving her bacon, or because he’s holding her. Absolutely not. Clearly it’s just because she’s scared.

Clearly.

She knows she’s telling herself lies nobody would believe, and in the meantime Jude aims the pistol he stole from Bowler Hat at him and tells him not to worry - he’s not going to turn him over to the police. In return for that, he just asks the man to be the subject for some dangerous research. Jude takes perverse delight in the idea of Bowler Hat experiencing the ‘joys’ of physical labor for the first time.

When the agonized man finally passes out, Jude calls out for Ellis to carry the guy off, and Ellis materializes out of the shadows with his own gun in hand. He observes on a smile that Jude seems pretty pleased right now, which only leads Jude to pull a face and tell Ellis to go get his eyes checked if that’s what he sees, after dropping this dude off at the lab.

Ellis seems a little disappointed, but he does as asked and disappears with Bowler Hat.

Kate asks if the man is going to be killed, and Jude tells her that he accepted this mission on the condition that if he could destroy the human trafficking ring, he alone got to decide whether the target lived or died.

Jude: I don’t see why I should let condescending bastards, living comfy and cushy lives while they exploit others, get off with something as easy as dying. It’s the way of the world that what goes around comes around, and it wouldn’t be fair for them to die before suffering through the same hell, right?

Kate’s still reeling from the revelation that this was all a mission though, and says as much aloud. Jude grimaces at her screeching and says what the heck else would it be?

Kate: So you didn’t come to my rescue because I was kidnapped by accident…

Jude tells her he knew they’d try anything to get him to negotiate with them, so she’d make a natural target if she was seen out and about with him. Kate’s like, wait you KNEW THAT and you left me alone?!

They devolve into arguing, Jude exasperated that she’s gotta pester him with so many obvious questions and Kate still furious that hello?? She might have been KILLED?!

Jude, scoffing: I’d never do anything to get my bait killed.

Kate’s just seeing red over having been used as bait, and she tells Jude, once again, that he is The Worst. Jude’s practically rolling his eyes as he tells her she already used that line earlier, doesn’t she have any new ones? Lighting up a smoke, he walks out of the warehouse - pausing on the way to land a hard parting kick on Jack, who is lying on the ground with the rest of the defeated guards.

~~~~~~~~

Back out at the docks, Kate questions Jude as to the nature of this ‘dangerous research’ he’s going to use that man as a subject for, but he tells her it’ll never have anything to do with her. 

If it’s so dangerous, it seems like it might have serious and permanent effects, and she’s wondering whether Bowler Hat will come seeking revenge on Jude if he survives it. Also remembering with a shudder the hatred in the man’s eyes who threatened Jude with a knife in the alley. She could never stomach living with people constantly hating you and wanting to see you dead.

Kate: The more you torment people, the more they'll just hate you…why do you have to torture them?

Jude just smirks and tells her it’s the price of a delightful hobby, and she asks if it’s really fun enough to risk his life over. He stops at that and turns back towards her, causing Kate to almost crash into him, leaving them almost nose to nose. 

Jude: Can I torment you until you hate me so much you wanna kill me, just to be sure?

Only for him to immediately break out laughing when Kate gasps, and say he’s just fucking with her. Quite pleased with himself at having her at a loss.

He tells her that a sheltered princess would never get it, and she thinks that she doesn’t understand and she doesn’t WANT to understand. 

This man’s a cold-hearted, arrogant, ruthless sadist…but…when he put her in danger today, it was Jude who freed her and kept her safe. If he’d really made that promise to her with ill intent, she’d not have made it through the day unscathed. 

That moment where Jude had promised to spend the day showing her the folly of making promises so lightly comes back to mind again…and she realizes he’d done exactly what he’d said he would and taught her the rules of this dark world she’s stepped into. Maybe because he knows the importance of a promise. 

That doesn’t make showing appreciation any easier to swallow though, leaving her to force herself to thank him for today. 

Jude asks what’s with the surly attitude saying it, would it kill her to smile more? Aaaand Kate’s back to exasperated with this man, but she tells him she learned a lot about the dangers of making promises and that she’ll be more careful next time, all on a smile this time.

Jude snarkily praises that…then grabs her chin with a cold smile, setting her flailing and asking what he’s doing.

Jude: You’ve done a good job of keeping your agreement with Victor and your promise to me…but I saved your life two times today. You owe me twice.

Kate’s in disbelief, even as ruthless amethyst eyes glint at her bewitchingly. Like a cunning predator, toying with its prey. Then Jude smirks and wonders aloud…what exactly should he get in return for saving his ‘sweetheart’?

FIN

(The little scene we get at the start of the story is from the epilogue)

~~~~~~~~

<< Bitter End | Epilogue >> (TBC)

~~~~~~~~

@violettduchess @just-simping-over-genshin

[wolf-among-mechs]

Detachment

Unnamed world Coreward Periphery 19 August 3049

“Strongman here. Me and Knight are finishing the final sweep. No contacts. Coast looks clear Major, metaphorically and literally. Over.” Amrus spoke over the long range comms. Asuka couldn’t help but chuckle. It had been a fun sight seeing the lance come together. She felt a bit of pride in that she had managed to turn such disparate people into a cohesive unit that could rely on each other. It was the fun part of the mercenary life Asuka had come to know.

“Understood Strongman. Return to base with Knight.. The archaeology team have set up their camp and are going to start planning locations. Over.”  She responded on the radio.

“Copy that Major. We’re RTB. ETA ten minutes. Out”

With that handled. Asuka steered her Marauder II to the northern side of the landing area outside the modified Leopard dropship.

“Hotrod, Tesla. This is Black Wolf. What is your sweep looking like? Over.” She spoke into the radio.

“Looking pretty clear here, Major.” Jake reported.

“Any sign of the radar signatures from last night? Over.” She thought it best to make sure it was nothing. Maybe it was a smuggler ship she thought to herself.

“Not a thing so far Black Wolf. We’re about to finish the sweep. Over” Angelica added.

“Well that is one less headache for now I suppose.” Asuka said to herself.

“Alright you two. Prepare to return to base when you finish up. Over.” She stretched in her seat for a moment. The mundanity and routine was starting to settle into her. Nothing wrong with a milk run every now and again.

“Wait one Major. We have contacts, far. They're transmitting on open frequencies.” Jake said. Silence filled the air. Jake's informality on the radio annoyed Asuka briefly. Mostly because she wasn't sure what was actually going on when left hanging. She moved her Marauder ready to respond. She grumbled at having jinxed herself a moment earlier.

“Hey Major. Any clue what the heck a “batchall” is?” Jake spoke and killed the silence. Asuka stared at the speaker in her cockpit. That word sounded familiar somewhere. But where? When her memory found the answer, the cooling vest might as well have sprung a leak from the cold chill that ran down her spine. A few years ago Wolf's Dragoons had let her in on the secret from where they were all from. She was a full warrior and their equal, even though she was born in the inner sphere. They reasoned that she deserved to know the truth. That they were of the Clans. Survivors of General Kerensky's exodus from the inner sphere. Batchall was a term from the homeworlds. Used to issue challenges among the clans. She had been told that the clan homeworlds would be many jumps away from the inner sphere, nowhere near where they were now. No one in the Dragoons would use it. The fact it was being used now could only mean one thing. As Colonel Wolf had told her. The clans were coming. It was only a matter of when. It appeared that the answer was now.

“Major?” Jake asked for some sort of response.

“Asuka?” Tesla chimed in. She was worried now. This wasn't like the major.

“Could you transmit the sensor scans of whoever sent it? Over.”

“Sending now. They are some really ugly ass battlemechs. My computer can't make heads or tails of the darn things. Probably pirate franken-mechs. Zero points for style.” Jake chuckled, trying to remove the tension in the radio air.

“Same. My computer keeps bouncing between models trying to figure it out. Over.” Angelica added. Asuka looks at the sensor images. She recognized one of the images. The name Timber Wolf came to mind. It didn't mean much on its own. Only that it was indeed a mech from the Clans. But from what she had been told they were all faster. Better armoured and had more powerful weapons than you could find in the inner sphere on average.

“They're getting really riled up that we haven't answered them Major.” Jake felt pressed for action.

“Tell them you must return for bidding. Then cut communications and fall back immediately, double time. If they start shooting, do not engage, begin evasion. How copy? over.” Asuka snapped into a serious consideration. The most important objective she could think of was to let the Dragoons know that the Clans were coming.

“Solid copy. Letting them know.” Jake replied. There was another silence.

“They’re saying they are here to conquer the planet on behalf of clan Wolf?” Angelica added over the silence.”Must be their pirate na- Major We’re seeing Aerospace fighters above. There’s… Five battlemechs. Three heavies. two mediums.” Angelica reported.

“Conquest huh?” Asuka said to herself. There were no doubt more forces on the way. They had to get off the planet and get a message back to the dragoons.

“What is your estimated time of arrival Hotrod?” She asked over the radio.

“We’ll be back in about six minutes at the current speed.” 

“Understood. Be ready for takeoff when you arrive. Out.”

“Big Sky, this is Black Wolf. Start the Leopard’s engine and ready for an emergency take off. Expect company in the sky. Over.” Asuka said on the radio hurriedly. She had to do this as quickly as she could.

“Orders to scramble received Black Wolf. Big Sky will be airborne in seven minutes. Over.” The dropship captain responded. Asuka quickly tapped over to long range ground radio again.

“Strongman. Knight. Come in.” She spoke into the radio.

“Knight here. We caught your transmission to Hotrod and Tesla. We are en route double time. Expect us in four. Over.” Emily responded.

“Confirmed. To all units. Board the leopard immediately. Secure mid flight, do not waste time. Over.” Asuka finally announced to let her lance gather back up. She switched to the broadband frequency to the Rasalhagian archaeology team. Currently discussing the directions to work in. 

“Break break break.” She announced herself on the channel to clear it. “Emergency transmission from the Warsong mercenary unit. We have multiple hostiles inbound. We will not be able to hold them off. Evacuate immediately. We are dusting off in six minutes. Broadcast civilian status and avoid engagement. Acknowledge. Over.” She was met with silence for what felt for too long.

"Acknowledged? Warsong group, we'll begin the evacuation.” Somebody eventually says.

“I need you to understand, you have to run. Return to Rasalhagian space. I can explain when we get spaceside. Right now you have to trust me if you value your lives. Major Asuka out.” she swapped the frequencies. She didn’t have time to argue.

In the far distance she could detect the aerospace fighters on the sensors. They weren’t engaging. She couldn’t figure out why. Maybe they were just observing for now.

++++++++++

“Hey… Tesla.” Jake said over the short range radio. “What’s up with the Major? She sounded really spooked by something” “I don’t know, Hotrod. I have never heard her like that. I’ve seen her leap in front of a King Crab to save one of the phoenix hawks a few years ago. Fought off an entire lance on her own. I don’t want to know what scares her.” Angelica hit the jump jets in her modified Marauder to leap over a gorge to keep running. Jake’s Crusader was in hot pursuit. Despite the high speed of their mechs, the strange mechs were keeping up. Mostly. They didn’t all  appear to have jump jets and wanted to maintain group cohesion. Giving both Angelica and Jake the advantage in mountainous terrain.

“How the hell are those things keeping up so well? Their weapon loadouts would take up so much weight for the engines to push for those speeds.” Jake grumbled as he noted that the pursuers were maintaining distance for now. Neither he or Angelica could figure out why.

“Extralight engines maybe?” Angelica suggested.

“That’s what I think the sensors are saying but not any model signatures I can tell.”

“Maybe Asuka knows who these guys are?”

“Probably. She seemed to have an answer to whatever the batchall thing was. It sounded like they were going to attack us there for a moment. Now they’re just keeping away.”

The question hovered in the air between them, unsaid. “But for how long?” Neither of the two mechwarriors wanted to jinx it and tempt fate. But at least they were slowly gaining a lead thanks to the jump jets. With luck they won’t be running into the dropship under fire.

++++++++++

The modified Cataphract and Rifleman belonging to Amrus and Emily respectively came walking up a hill towards their Leopard Dropship and Asuka’s Marauder II.

“Get into the dropship. We are leaving in just under two minutes.” Asuka spoke on the short range comms. Both Amrus and Emily wasted no time and ran to the two open bays on the side dropship. Leaving the two on the other side for Jake and Angelica. With the modified last one on the back for Asuka. The moment they entered it the doors started to close behind the Cataphract and Rifleman

"Hey, wait for us!” Jake said as the Crusader jumped up the hill. Shortly followed by Angelica’s Marauder.

“They’re right behind us, Major! There’s another group of five that showed up on long distance approach.” She reported.

“Get inside the Leopard.” Asuka ordered. Jake didn’t waste a moment. Angelica swung around to look out towards the pursuers.

“They’ve got extralight engines for sure. They didn’t lose use for a second.” Angelica almost sounded out of breath despite it was her Marauder that had done all the running. Asuka switched her radio frequency.

“Big Sky. Time to take off?” She asked.

“Four minutes.” The captain responded. He knew she didn’t want the why of how a flap had locked up by a hydraulic system software fault. Nevertheless. 

Asuka cursed under her breath.

“Copy that.” She responded and switched the channels again.”

“They’re going to be here. We can’t take off with ten mechs shooting us apart while we wait.” Angelica was worried. Things were looking grim.

“Get to the dropship. I will hold them off.” Asuka stated. “I can give you four minutes. You all must go to Outreach, tell Colonel Jaime the clans are coming. He will have to explain. Give him your sensor logs, the battleROMs. Everything. I will maintain telemetry for as long as possible.” Asuka said as she prepared her battlemech for combat.

“What are you crazy? We can’t just leave you here!” Angelica cried out. “We’ll fight them with you. Open the bay doors. We stand and fight!”

“I’m open for that Major!” Amrus added getting ready to bring out the Cataphract again. “One for all and all for one!” Emily cried out cheerfully as she fired the targeting systems back up in the Rifleman. “I don’t care who or what clans are. They’re not gonna come to our planet and kill a single one of us!” Jake directed his Crusader to crack its knuckles. ”Let’s show them who’s boss!”

“THAT’S ENOUGH!” With one swift motion, Asuka brought down the foot of her Marauder onto Angelica’s. Snapping the foot actuator. Making the entire mech stagger. Silence and shock akin to being struck by a PPC from out of nowhere hit them.

“WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!” Angelica cried out as she struggled to keep the mech upright. Her mech staggered and then limped to one side.

“Disregard the order to open, Captain. Angelica. Get into the dropship. Now! I can give you the chance to escape and warn Outreach. If we all fight, any one of us might punch out and we do not have the resources to retrieve anyone in such a short time. There will be more of them. We are outnumbered and outgunned. I want you to live so you can figure out a way to fight them.” Asuka pleaded. ”We do not have time to argue.”

“But…” Angelica started. She didn’t want to leave anyone behind, least of all someone who taught her everything she knew. “Inside Angelica. Now.” Asuka ordered. For just a few seconds, Angelica was silent. She didn't want to go through with it but she knew that what Asuka was right. “Understood Major.” Angelica limped her Marauder inside. The bay door closed behind her. She punched the instrument board in frustration. 

A silence fell upon the entire team. All of them knew that there were risks in this line of work. That there would come a day where you had to play the losing hand. No amount of strategy or bluffing could you get out of it.

“Please take care of Shadowfang and Peanut for me. They are really good dogs.” Asuka manoeuvred her Marauder II to turn towards the distant sensor signatures.

“Asuka! What if you win though. We can’t leave you. We’ll swing by and pick you up when you win.” Emily said, trying to believe that it was possible. Ten to one weren’t good odds even for Asuka.

“Do not linger to find out if you see a chance to break away. Your survival and the information you have is more important.” She sounded as though her death was not a possibility, but a certainty.

The last bay door Leopard began to close. The last the rest of the lance could see from the backdoor was the silhouette of Asuka’s black and gold Marauder II walking off.

“Give them hell Asuka.” Emily spoke up to break the silence.

“Kick their ass!” Jake joined in.

“This is Big Sky.” The Dropship captain spoke up. “Three minutes to take off.” The engines began to roar as they made the final warming up.

++++++++++

“Warriors of Clan Wolf! Hear me! I am Asuka Hoshi of the Warsong Corps! I Batchall every single one of you! I bid only myself! For the safety of my Sibko! Who dares to be the first to face me?!” The radio from the biggest Marauder they had ever seen announced on broad frequencies. This caused a pause among the mechwarriors of the star formation. The words made sense to them. Just combined it was just a very strange sentence, it was not how it was supposed to go.

But on the other hand, it was the closest thing they had encountered resembling a civilised fight. It had all been shambling husks of once proud mechs limping towards them in barely functional states with foul and uncouth language on every radio frequency. Resorting to poor attempts at ambush and deceit. Hearing someone challenge to a fight was a welcome change of pace. Even if it was clumsy and almost incomprehensible. A timber wolf stepped forward from the formation. The only one that she could recognize from the Dragoon files.

“I am Mannix, Warrior of Clan Wolf. I accept your challenge.”

Asuka looked around the rest of the mechs surrounding her. Her computer couldn’t make sense of them. But that was fine; she didn’t need names or full readouts. Working as a mercenary and fighting on Solaris had taught her to identify a rough make up by sight alone. With a flick on a console they all became Red one through five. She needed to at least keep track of them.

Red one was assigned to the “Timber Wolf.” Two box missile pods sitting over the shoulders and its cockpit sticking out looked like a Catapult though with far larger windows. Its most notable deviation being a pair of Marauder gun pods at the end of the arms. It either had to run very hot, have no armour or no speed in order to mount all of that Asuka thought. But she already knew it was quick. That left two possibilities. In theory anyway.

Red two was trying to maintain distance. It looked like a starved Archer mech with missile pods built into a narrow torso. Instead of fists it had laser cannons. One larger than the other on each arm. The way the arms flared out reminded her of wings.

Red three was flanking the previous one, it was a left-handed Panther that looked like it had been compressed to a squat form turned into several boxes and left without the signature Panther head. The barrel in its left arm was surely a PPC going by the muzzle. 

Red four appeared to Asuka as a skinny Warhammer but with gun pods with PPC barrels  in its arms instead of only PPC barrels for lower arms. It also appeared to have Phoenix Hawk feet. It looked unbalanced to her as a result.

Red five was by far the most baffling looking one to Asuka. It looked like a locust with arms but massively up-armoured with a laser cannon below the cockpit and a large laser and medium cannon on each arm. The fists looked ridiculously large on the frame. Stranger still was the cowl at the back of its torso. 

“Are the rest of you cowards? Is Mannix the only one of you willing to fight me?” She bellowed out. Confusion spread once more among the clan warriors. That's not how this was supposed to go. Adding to this was that the hefty Marauder in front of them was heating up and overheating simply by standing there. Unbeknownst to the clan warriors, it was activating the triple strength myomers within the Marauder. Giving it a greater speed and far greater power in physical combat.  Before anyone could really make heads or tails of what she was saying. Asuka spoke again. 

“No matter. Prepare yourself Mannix of Clan Wolf.” With no further warning, Asuka charged towards the strange mech. Mannix had no idea what was going on. The Marauder in front of him suddenly sprung into a run far faster than a mech of its weight should. It fired the autocannon and PPCs on the charge. Mannix shot back with all the lasers. The teal and green beams of brilliant light scarred the Maraude; leaving molten trails on the armour plates while the PPCs and shells ripped through his protection. But no amount of training prepared him for what was next. The Marauder crashed into the timber wolf and trampled over the legs. Shattering and snapping armour, myomer and actuators. In one fell swoop his timber wolf now had no functional legs. This was not how duels were meant to be fought. As far as the warriors of clan wolf were concerned. The heavy Marauder moved with speeds it should not. It was overheating and fired all guns despite the heat and rammed into its enemy and savaged it enough to brutally  incapacitate it in a single moment. This was barbaric if not outright feral and bestial.

“I will take on all of you!” Asuka roared into the radio before the rest of the warriors had a chance to do anything about the duel having gone completely sideways. Asuka took aim at one of the medium mechs, Red three. Firing one of her PPCs and and both lasers in her arm pods while the Ultra Autocannon fired shells in rapid fire. Red three tripped and fired back. Without any warning, the rules for duels, Zellbrigen, were gone. It was impossible to tell if it was intentional or simply that the challenger didn’t know. Red three fired its own PPC of its and struck the Marauder, the lightning bolt exploded an armour panel on one arm. The other mechs woke up and laid down a hail of fire at Asuka. Another PPC bolt struck her while a third missed from Red four. Two green lances of light pierced the air from Red five’s cannons. Despite the damage, Asuka barrelled towards another mech, Red four. It fired two great volleys and pulse lasers at the Marauder. Armour plates melted and explosions rendered the heavy armour, exposing the right arm's myomers and actuators as well as the gun pod housing. But Asuka wasn't deterred. She smashed into the mech, trampling the legs and causing the missile racks to explode internally, CASE systems making the ammunition explode outwards. Making the mech disassemble itself.

In her head’s up display she could see the Leopard take off. Blasting off as quickly as it could. She drew a small breath of relief. Her task was almost finished. She wished she could turn to see the plumes of exhaust and smoke from the Leopard as it flew aware. A final assurance with her own eyes that it was escaping. Her sensors picked up two fast moving contacts above. In a single split second she realised they were Aerospace fighters. Aiming for the Leopard. They were flying overhead. She took aim without hesitation. Lining up every weapon that could reach, the PPCs and the autocannon. Firing everything. The bolts and shells struck true. The fighter spun out of control and turned into a fireball on the way down. The Marauder was far too hot for comfort now because of it. The shells for the autocannon risked ignition in the ammo feed. 

The remaining three mechs threw all the fire at her. Trying to fell the bestial Marauder. An actuator of the left leg was hit after all the armour protecting it had been turned to slag by lasers and blown apart by missiles. The armour on both sides of her torso was ripped apart. The entire mech stumbled as the left leg gave out. Asuka spun around and took aim at the other aerospace fighter roaring past overhead. The entire cockpit flashed red from the overheating warning. A fire broke out on her right on the instrument panel with a rain of sparks. 

“Dear old friend.” Asuka addressed her battlemech. “Hold together just a moment more, please.” She raised the unsteady arms to lead the shot. She held her breath as she aligned the reticules that trembled from the incoming damage and heat. Her thumbs pressed down on the buttons. The PPCs let loose their blue spears of lightning,  the autocannon fired twice in quick succession. The warning systems screamed at her for overheating alerts. She flipped a switch to override the auto-shutdown system. The man-made lightning bolts impacted with the aerospace fighter, two explosions from the depleted uranium high explosive shells found the fighter in the air. It spun out of control as well. The relief that washed over felt better than a blast of winter air ever could in the sweltering cockpit.

Asuka turned her attention back to the mechs we were surrounding her. She fired the autocannon at Red four, landing explosions on the torso and leg then and bolted towards it with all the speed she could press from the Marauder. In her limp advance. Its PPC struck her right arm and blew PPC in her gun pod apart. Lasers savaged her broken leg, and another PPC struck her left arm. Despite the laser and lightning, she moved forward. Red four backed up. Prompting Asuka to summon one more bolt of speed from the engine to drive her forward up close. Red four fired machine guns, lasers and PPCs. Her right arm was gone, torn apart by the blast of a PPC. Centre torso was almost completely unarmoured. The left arm and torso were exposed by laser and machine gun fire. On the comms she heard the warrior of Red four scream something about Surat and Dezgra. Asuka gritted her teeth as she brought her remaining arm to punch the mech. With a terrifying crash the entire cockpit of red four flattened, the arms and legs went limp and it fell over backwards.

She spun around to deal with Red three and five. Both had given the raging demon Marauder a wide berth. With a damaged leg, Asuka could do little. She aimed at Red five bringing up the PPC and autocannon and fired. She only struck armour while she maintained the limp towards it in an effort to punch it too. The two remaining mechs fired at her.

A PPC removed what armour remained on the right torso and ripped apart the autocannon. The lasers for red five struck all over her, cutting apart the last of the left leg, the Marauder staggered to the side and attempted a step forward. The last laser struck into the torso. Hitting the ammunition for the autocannon. The CASE system installed in the right side funnelled explosive red clouds backwards and forwards as the torso ripped apart. The engine stalled as the fusion integrity of the extralight engine could no longer be maintained. Asuka jolted first from the neural feedback of the internal explosion running down her own side like a cattle prod and then was violently thrown forward as the mech crashed forward from inertia. The last thing she saw through the cockpit window was the dropship’s smoke trail, slowly fading to the air. They had escaped. Then everything went dark. 

The Marauder fell like a rampaging beast had been put down by hunters. The two remaining mechs maintained distance as though the felled enemy would rise again. Every available weapon trained on the wreckage, just in case.

++++++++++

In the Leopard. The lance of mercenaries were staring at the telemetry and battle-data from the Marauder of their leader and mentor. Seeing her torn apart by a literal flock of wolves was too much for some of them. With each damaged component somebody whispered a swear. Until finally, the remaining high explosive shells in the right torso were ignited and exploded. Killing the engine and thus the mech itself. Ceasing telemetry to the Leopard and the lance. Its final note was recording no ejection.

Silence reigned in the mechbay. Only to be broken up by the dropship captain.

“This is Big Sky, we’re clear of the AO and exiting the atmosphere. Hold onto something folks. Next stop, Outreach.”

[benjaminthewolf]

Plastic Man Lol

And the Batman to DC pipeline thickens.

Warning: Samesize

****

“OH YEAH BABY, AND ANOTHER GAME GOES TO: PLASTIC MAN!” the boisterous, stretchy hero called unrelentingly in glee.

“*tsc* Shut up, Min-Min player.” Booster Gold teasingly mocked as the game went back to the fighter select screen.

“Oh, now look who’s talking, Mr. “I main random”.” Plastic Man swiftly retorted before a sudden chime of “DING-DING” interrupted their reciprocal bout of insults, causing both men to excitedly let out a gasp.

Jointly dropping their controllers and instantly scrambling over to the door like a couple of ravenous hyenas, literally stumbling over each other and barely managing to avoid knocking over one of the many lamps in the house as they did, Plastic Man and Booster Gold ecstatically swung open the front door and positively burst through it, letting out an echoing cry of elation that consisted only of the two simple words once they were finally through. Two little words that are, indeed:

“PIZZA TIIIIIIIIIIIIIME!”

As the gigantic mountain of pizza boxes that the poor, overencumbered delivery person was carrying had already been paid for online during the initial order, the two comedic superheroes, carrying their overboiling momentum forwards, simply snatched up all of those sweet, cardboard rectangles, right out form their quivering arms, whooshed back inside, and let plop them down onto the countertop as Plastic Man casually extended his arm backwards in order to close the door.

“AWWWWWW YEAH!” Plastic Man yowled out while Booster began to rub his hands together whilst drooling prolifically on the floor.

“NOW! Remember the rules we agreed to beforehand!” the equally as exhilarated hero relayed to his friend whilst laying a gigantic, stretchy, almost tarp-like palm over the two equally-sized stacks of pizza boxes that now lay relatively far apart from each other, sitting next to each hero as such, in order to prevent Booster from starting too early.

“Hmm…OH! YES, THAT’S RIGHT!” Booster eventually came to his senses after a while. “We have to start at the same time, we ONLY eat the pizza, so no water, or sneaking in a pepto bismol, just the pizza!”

“And whoever manages to eat the most slices within the thirty minute time frame wins!” Plastic Man finished up for his friend.

“Correct!”

“Then in that case, Booster Gold…” Plas’ voice began to trail off whilst he took hold of his first slice and simultaneously set a thirty minute timer on his phone.

Booster, recognizing that the eating competition was about to start, promptly grabbed onto his own first slice, whilst giving his competitor a nod.

“...on your marks…”

Both men narrowed their eyes in concentration.

“...get set…”

Booster Gold gave his lips a lick in preparation.

“EAT!”

****

“Bleeeeeugh……” Booster Gold painfully groaned out whilst clutching his stomach in nausea. “Plas, how did you manage to do that?”

The shape-shifting man in question, in rather stark contrast to his friend, was, seemingly completely fine, despite having just completely downed an entire uncountable mountain of pizza, of course. Plastic Man was standing upright and tall in his pride, with both his hands confidently placed at the sides of his hips.

“I HAVE NO IDEA!” he clamorously answered Booster’s question. “All I do know is, I WON!”

“...yeah…yeah definitely…woofta…” the time traveling hero conceded whilst picking himself up in the aftermath of the food binge. “I’m alright, I’m alright, I just…*burp*, oh…okay much better.”

“Well!” Plastic Man suddenly spoke up once again whilst placing a few fingers under his chin. “Guess that means there’s only one thing left to do!”

At first, Booster was rather confused at what Plas was talking about. That was, of course, until the infamously loud hero continued to voice his thought process out loud.

“Now let’s see…what should I do for my victory…OH!”

Gently wrapping a couple of elongated arms around the waist of Booster before carefully lifting him into the air, Plastic Man proceeded to finish his out-loud train of thought before Booster could object to what was happening, partially to keep him from doing just that.

“I mean I’ve still got plenty of room in here, so why don’t I shove in YOU?”

Booster Gold just couldn’t help but let out a giant smirk of barely controllable laughter the moment things finally settled in his mind.

“Oh boy, I sure am lucky you can safely take the acids out of there!” He proceeded to chuckle lightheartedly. “...and that you’re my friend, of course.”

“AYYYYUP!” Plas tumultuously replied before casually widening his jaws to the point where it became rather trivial to slip ol’ Booster inside. “NOW PLEASE HOLD STILL! This is gonna get messy…”

Rolling his eyes for a while at his old buddy’s dumb joke, Booster proceeded to simply do as he had been requested whilst he was slowly inched forwards into the gaping, stretched-out maw that was laden right before him. Plas began drooling rather uncontrollably as his tongue finally graced the time traveler’s cheek.

“MMM! TASTES LIKE-WELL IT TASTES LIKE…” having suddenly forgotten where he was going with that statement, Plastic Man took a second to regather his thoughts before finally finishing the sentence. “...well, tastes like pizza of course! AAAAAAAAAAAA!”

And, just like that, Booster’s upper body became firmly lodged inside of Plas’ maw, as the stretchy superhero on the outside continued to stroke his slimy, smooth tongue across the man’s face. Plastic Man proceeded to widen open his gullet in order to eventually fit Booster Gold through, whilst his plump, dangling uvula swayed about slightly with each consecutive breath that he took in and out.

Plastic Man carefully inched Booster Gold forwards as his gullet was further stretched. Booster was soon able to gaze directly down the man’s esophagus, as his head was cautiously lodged inside. Eventually, Plas carefully untied his arms from Booster’s middle and moved them over to his legs as he initiated the first swallow. Booster Gold’s head and shoulders proceeded to be squelched past Plastic Man’s upper esophageal sphincter as a considerable bulge began to form itself on the outside.

With his head firmly squished into the walls of the throat, Booster could hear another swallow resonating around the area whilst he was subsequently shoved deeper into Plas’ esophagus. Now, it was only the man’s lower legs and feet that needed to be gulped down.

Plastic Man, as he no longer needed to hold onto Booster so that he didn’t fall out of his maw, proceeded to use one of his stretched-out limbs in order to drag over a chair from the kitchen table for him to sit on as he finally swallowed one, final time, squelching Booster Gold all the way into his throat, and thus, en route towards his stomach.

Naturally, whilst the muscles inside the throat rhythmically shoved Booster forwards, a nice, pronounced bulge had been created on the outside, therefore prompting Plas to gently poke and prod at the thing as it continued to go down.

Eventually however, Booster Gold was squeezed past Plastic Man’s collarbone, and as a result, the throat bulge disappeared, leaving Plas with the only other option of subsequently placing his hands near his awaiting middle.

Booster, meanwhile, was nearing the end of the journey, as Plas’ pounding heartbeat, as well as the distant yet ever-growing growls and groans emulating from his stomach consistently reverberated within the area. Finally, Plastic Man’s lower esophageal sphincter became visible, proceeding as such to squelch Booster Gold’s head out into the stretchy hero’s stomach area, before the rest of his body promptly followed suit.

As was expected, Plastic Man’s elastic, malleable being effortlessly protruded forth from the meal it had just been delivered, a humongous stomach bulge rapidly growing out as more of Booster’s body entered the squishy chamber within. Plas could feel the gigantic weight laying inside his guts as he wrapped his elongated arms around the thing with a considerably pleased sigh, whilst relaxing his body onto the chair.

Booster on the inside, meanwhile, was also getting himself settled down, as he semi-awkwardly wiggled around for a while in order to get himself into a more comfortable position. Eventually finding the one he desired, however, Booster placed his hands behind his head and lay one leg over the other, as he, too, let out a sigh.

Plastic Man’s slick, goopy stomach walls casually churned and shifted around him, occasionally squeezing in for a moment before the eventual release, whilst the natural white noise of glorping and rumbling positively flooded Booster Gold’s ears.

Taking a moment to give the man on the outside a pat, Plastic Man, being suddenly taken aback, couldn’t help but blush.

“Aww…man, well ya didn’t have to do that now, did ya?” he awkwardly stammered out.

Booster let out a lighthearted snicker before at last responding.

“ ‘Course not, just thought you’d appreciate it is all!”

Upon hearing Booster Gold’s admission, Plastic Man grew an even deeper shade of red.

“...I…well I mean…uh…”

“Nah don’t worry about it, Plas! You’re all good!”

Taking Booster’s statement as a means to deflate the awkwardness, Plastic Man gave a sputter before speaking.

“Yeah, no of course, of course there, pal! Uh…thanks!”

“Yoooou’re welcome Plas!” Booster gave a friendly eye roll whilst responding to Plastic Man once more. “You’re welcome.”

[dragonshifter-minecraft]

Chapter 36 - Seeing Eye

[Previous] ~ [Next]

[Word Count: 2397]

[Content Warnings: Non-Graphic Treatment of Injury, Brief Description of Scars]

The making of the potions, as expected, was all over the place. Sapnap and George had made jabs at one another the whole time, both verbal and literal, while it was all Bad could do to keep them from spilling the ingredients or breaking the bottles. Dream wasn’t sure whether to be annoyed or laugh with them, too distracted by the stinging pain in his leg. But eventually, the potions had been brewed, and despite the off-putting taste, the man in green quickly slugged down the first one he was handed.

“Thanks, guys,” he grunted, hissing as the pain in his leg abruptly flared up, before dying back down. He wasn’t sure how long he’d be out of commission for, but at least he’d gotten Bad what he needed to continue his quest on his own. He glanced up at the dark-hooded slayer, “I guess you’ll be going, then?”

“Wait, um,” George spoke up suddenly, before hesitating, “does he have to…? I mean, we’ve done so much already, couldn’t we just…?”

Dream raised his eyebrows in surprise, while Bad could only look stunned.

“You’re sure?” the man in green queried carefully.

“Well,” the other Dragonshifter shrugged, “we’ve gotten this far. We might as well see it through, right?”

“Hey, it’s not like we had much else going on,” Dream acknowledged.

“I’m down for anything, at this point,” Sapnap added with a grin.

The Enderfolk let out a quiet squeak, which quickly drew everyone else’s attention.

“You really mean it?” he urged softly, staring at George and looking like he was about to cry.

“…yes?” was the tentative answer.

“Oh my goodness, thank you!” he squealed, squeezing the Dragonshifter into a hug without warning.

“So, can I have my staff back now?” Dream questioned pointedly. The human at last relented, retrieving the wildwood staff and handing it over to the man in green without a fight.

Leaning his weight onto the staff, he was at last able to stand, managing to limp past the others and make his way to the worktable with only a little extra effort.

Plopping himself down at the stool, he grabbed one of the two potions still set in the brewing stand. He typically wouldn’t have risked drinking a third, but if they were all going to help Bad find the End, his leg needed to be healed enough to travel.

With a long journey ahead, the preparations began.

“I’ll handle the food,” he had declared as he turned towards the furnaces. Retrieving the mutton stored in the large chest, he pared them down into thinner slices before setting them over the remaining embers in the furnace. He didn’t bother to stoke it, but instead allowed the low heat to dry out the meat into something that would be easier to transport.

“Sapnap, go grab the spare bedrolls from upstairs,” he had instructed the dark-haired man, who swiftly turned to bolt up the stairs.

“George, you’re on water duty,” he had said to the other Dragonshifter, who quickly grabbed up the empty glass bottles set around the brewing stand, at Dream’s direction.

Bad had moved to get the door for him, and he was careful not to drop the bottles as he made his way down the path, outside.

Crouching carefully beside the waterfall, he rinsed out each bottle to make sure there was no potion residue left, and then filled them each up with water. He stepped back inside to be greeted by the smoky smell of burnt food slowly being replaced by that of nicely-seared mutton.

It was around that time that Sapnap returned from upstairs, carrying only one bedroll.

“Looks like there are only two of these,” he mentioned.

“Actually, I have one back at the inn I was staying at,” Bad chimed in. “I hadn’t really planned to stay the night here, so I didn’t bring it.”

“Then that makes three,” the human went on, “not enough, but we’ll manage.”

“Until then,” Dream began, glancing over towards the mortar filled with blaze powder, “let’s make those Eyes of Ender.”

As he grabbed an Ender Pearl, the dark-hooded slayer stepped forward.

“Let me do it,” he murmured.

The man in green didn’t argue, handing the pearl to Bad.

The Enderfolk scrutinized the orb for several seconds, turning it over in his hands. Silently, he reached down into his boot to retrieve his dagger, and as if it were the most natural course of action, he brought the blade down and into the glassy pearl.

There were a couple shocked gasps from the other three, looking on in horror.

Thankfully, the pearl remained mostly intact, save for a single oval-shaped hole that had been broken into its surface, surrounded by small, spidering cracks. Returning his knife to his boot, Bad then leaned over to grab a pinch of blaze powder from the mortar, before finally sprinkling the fiery granules into the small break.

The pearl instantly lit up in his hand, bright yellow light swirling within. A dark film formed over the slit-like crack, its insides melting into distinct shades of blue and green. By the time the light had faded away, the orb’s appearance had entirely changed to resemble a slit-pupiled eye – an Eye of Ender.

He’d done it!

As he was still wrapping his head around what he’d just accomplished, a startling warping noise was heard, accompanied by a draught of abruptly-displaced air. That was swiftly followed by shouts of alarm from the others. Purple particles danced about as Bad whirled to face the source of the panic, and was met by the sight of a tall figure, skin black as pitch.

An Enderman had just teleported into the house!

“What the hell is that?!”

“Don’t look at it!”

“Wot?!”

“Dude stop looking!”

“Whuh—Why?!”

“George, are you dumb? That’s an Enderman!”

“Look away, you moron!”

Despite the loud back-and-forth from the other three, the creature was completely focused on Bad, staring down at him intently. Slowly, it raised one of its hands toward him, snapping him out of the strange trance he’d been in.

The slayer staggered back with a sharp yelp, dropping the Eye of Ender entirely. It rolled on the hardwood floor, the alien’s gleaming purple eyes following it.

The Enderman’s long arms reached down to grab it in both hands, offering Bad another brief look before abruptly teleporting away, taking the Eye with it.

There was a beat of stunned silence shared between the four.

“…we all just saw that, right?” Sapnap was the first to speak up.

“How did you see anything when you were shouting at me?!” George shot back crossly.

“Are you okay, Bad?” Dream inquired, ignoring the bickering as he approached the still shell-shocked Enderfolk.

“He took the Eye,” he murmured softly, utterly bewildered. He looked up at the man in green, asking almost beseechingly, “why would he do that?”

…

“I think they’re gone, Skeppy,” the humanoid feline mentioned with a hopeless sigh, lowering the crossbow in his clawed hands.

“Dammit, son of a—” the human had begun to curse, only to cut himself off as he heard a stern ‘language’ in his head, “ffffffreaking how?!”

“That Piglin did say we were dealing with shifters,” the cat-hybrid reiterated, dark-furred tail flicking absentmindedly, “it makes sense they wouldn’t act like normal dragons.”

“Shifters this, shifters that, I’m beginning to think L’Manberg doesn’t have any actual dragons,” Skeppy hissed angrily, kicking a few loose red pebbles to go skittering across the ground. “If we don’t find any real dragons soon, I say we leave. Let them deal with their own people. What do you think, Antfrost?”

“I mean, a dragon’s a dragon, isn’t it?” Antfrost argued, an ear flicking in irritation. “But I kind of agree. Unless we can actually see a dragon attacking, I don’t think there’s any point trying to figure out who’s who.”

“Yeah,” the human groaned, burying his face in his hands, “hnnyuh, I wish Bad had come with us.”

At that moment, there was a burst of purple particles, and both slayers leapt back to realize too late that an Enderman had teleported right between the two of them. Both had reflexively stared at the alien being before they could stop themselves.

The Enderman opened its jaws with a furious screech.

Skeppy cast a deafening roar all around them, while the feline darted forward to attack.

It had vanished again before he had the chance.

“What the hell, what the hell, what the—” Skeppy had been rambling, only for Antfrost to cut him off.

“What is this?” he questioned, staring down at something resting on the netherrack, apparently left behind by the alien creature.

“Is that an Ender Pearl?” the human inquired, stooping down to investigate the strange orb-like object.

It was about the right size, but its coloration was all wrong. It looked like a giant cat’s eye, with a slit pupil and an iris that was a curious mix of green and blue.

“Definitely not,” Antfrost hummed. “We should bring it with us. Puffy’s seen a lot on her travels, maybe she has an idea what this is.”

With that, Skeppy scooped up the strange Eye, stowing it in the pouch at his side, along with the rest of the Ender Pearls he carried with him.

…

As the group returned to Aureus, it was only a matter of quickly stopping by the nearest town so Bad could collect his things. The other three had waited well beyond the borders of the settlement, and when the Enderfolk finally returned, he was lugging a bedroll alongside a small bag of supplies. The former had been deposited along with the other two, in the magical bag Dream kept tied at his hip, though Bad had insisted on carrying his own bag, himself.

Then, as the dark-hooded slayer brought out one of the many Eyes of Ender that he’d crafted, the other three stood around him to see what would happen.

Bad held up the Eye.

…Nothing happened.

“How’s it meant to work?” George inquired.

“I have no idea,” the Enderfolk groaned.

“Is it like a compass?” suggested Sapnap.

“Do we need something else to make it work?” Dream wondered aloud.

Squinting, Bad lightly tapped the side of the eye with a finger. The slit pupil appeared to dart in a different direction for a moment.

Oh!

Drawing his middle finger back against his thumb, he gave a hard flick to the side of the Eye. The object emitted a resounding popping noise as it flew from his hand, raising itself into the sky and leaving a trail of purple particles. It gradually slowed to a stop, floating in the air only a moment longer before it dropped back down to land in the grass.

Overjoyed shouts went up from the other three.

“Woah!” “Yeah!” “That’s awesome!”

The Enderfolk said nothing, stepping forward to pick the Eye back up, white-glowing eyes alight with wonder. He slowly turned back towards the others, grinning hugely.

“It works!” he squealed, nearly bouncing on the spot.

“How’d you do that?” the man in green man queried eagerly.

“I held it up,” Bad mentioned, raising the Eye as he spoke, “and just flicked it!”

This time, as he struck the orb, it floated back towards him, continuing on even after he’d ducked out of its way. Like before, it did eventually slow to a hover, but this time, it unexpectedly shattered in a burst of purple particles.

“What the—” the slayer gasped, staggering towards where the Eye had been destroyed. He skimmed the grass underfoot, wanting to be sure it hadn’t fallen and he’d somehow missed it, but it wasn’t there.

He winced as something in his head pounded.

Sometimes they break…

“It… I think it broke, they do that,” he uttered at last. “But it was definitely going this way.”

Drawing another Eye from his pack, Bad started forward, though he was quickly halted in his tracks by Dream’s voice:

“Hold up, Bad, we don’t even know how far we have to go,” the masked man rationalized, and the Enderfolk quickly realized that he was absolutely right – even knowing the direction, there was no telling how far the portal would be.

“Okay, so what do we do?” Bad inquired, turning back to face the others.

“We could just fly there,” George suggested, taking a step back as though he was considering transforming.

“Just, wait a minute,” Dream stopped him, “Bad, can I see one of those?”

The slayer handed over the Eye, and for a moment, the man in green considered it, then raised his masked gaze towards the direction the prior one had flown.

He walked a brief distance, heading perpendicular to the way they’d soon be going, before raising up the Eye and giving it a flick.

It flew in roughly the same direction, and then fell to land on the ground, unharmed. Although his face wasn’t visible, the frustrated slump of Dream’s shoulders was enough to communicate that his experiment hadn’t gone exactly the way he’d wanted it to.

“I can’t be sure,” he mumbled, “but I think we’re gonna be going for a while.”

As soon as the man in green had handed the Eye back to Bad, he’d promptly stepped back to transform. The green dragon reappeared quickly, though he faltered a bit as he put too much weight on the hind leg that had previously been shot. He briefly cast a glance back at it, where the break in the tough hide was still visible, surrounded by smaller, lighter-colored scales. It was more than likely going to scar, but he figured it would still be manageable for the time being – they’d be flying for quite a while, anyway.

“Alright, let’s go!” Sapnap cheered, running over to clamber excitedly up and onto the Dream’s back.

George finally transformed as well, turning to meet the gaze of the Enderfolk.

“Can I…?” Bad probed tentatively.

“Come here,” the blue beast huffed with a beckoning tip of his head, bending down close to the ground.

The slayer approached, hoisting himself up onto the base of George’s neck.

“Ready?” the green dragon queried eagerly.

“Yeah!” “Yep!” “Let’s do this!”

With that, Dream sprang into the air, wings deftly bearing him skywards. Behind him, George did the same, albeit with slightly less finesse.

Their adventure had only just begun.

[Author’s Note: Has anyone seen that post about how some writers can pump out a battle scene in like a day, but get stuck on how a character crosses a room for three months? That was this chapter. This dialogue-heavy, slow-paced, necessary-for-setting-things-up chapter. Heck, I had to go write what Skeppy and Antfrost were up to just to get my mind back on-track with this one – but there’s some nice foreshadowing in that scene, so I can’t be too mad. Anyway, this chapter concludes the first bout of posting! I’m going back into hiatus again so I can finish this thing. Mark my words, you might think you know where this is going, but trust me, this ain’t your standard Minecraft speedrun! Until then, I love to hear from you guys, so feel free to let me know what y’all think – or don’t, whichever you’d prefer! Love you all!]

[ohmytomorrowisthursday]

Until I Fall - Part Five

Levi Ackerman x Fem Reader.

Eventual romance but this is a slow burn, definitely angsty and darker. It will also focus a lot on Hange, Erwin and the original scouts. Eren and the 104th training corps will be around but I’m focusing on the older characters in here. Your self insert name is ‘Azeria Becker’ pronouns She/Her/Hers. Using a name because don’t like using ‘y/n’.  

Cannon universe. I wrote this for myself but I hope that you enjoy it, too lol <3

As you stood in front of Levi on that final day, you couldnt help but remember every last moment of your time in the scouts. How had you gone from that scrawny young rookie trying to fight titans to Erwin’s right-hand soldier who overthrew the government and was about to charge to your death? It was never fair, you’d never get enough time together. Standing before him, his eyes full of the sadness of the truth, it hurt too much to say Goodbye, don’t forget me. I’ll love you forever, so instead you said the only word that you could manage to speak; Survive.

cw: imagine literally every awful/gory thing that happens in SNK. Death, violence and gore. Drinking, sex.

You can find all chapters here.

Year: 845

The training went on like this for weeks. Every morning you would meet and train until breakfast, and then train more with the squads. You trained through the winter, even on the coldest of mornings.

It was exhausting at first, but soon your body could endure it better. Levi wasn't much of a talker but he did seem to divulge some things about himself to you. He grew up in the underground. His mother died when he was young, and he grew up for a time with a man named Kenny. Erwin recruited him. He didn't like dirt. He thought that the Military Police were absolutely incompetent. It wasn't much but you felt this was the closest thing that he could give you to personal information; the man was a wall, a grumpy, sarcastic wall. Every now and them he seemed genuinely happy when you were trining. Not in a beaming smiling way, but he would let out a laugh or make some morbid joke at your expense that amused him. Maybe you were becoming friends. You liked the moments that he did seem happy, and you always tried to bring that out in him.

At times, he got on your nerves a little too much. He was also such an asshole. He would not refer to you by your name, only brat, idiot and loser, and maybe he'd sprinkle in a few curse words. He hardly acknowledged your presence outside of morning training, and sometimes it felt as if he was truly trying to kill you when you fought. "I'm only trying to make you better, you're shit," he would say, but sometimes you didn't believe it.

"Oi brat," He said to you as you walked back to the dining hall from a morning of fighting, "Come find me at lunch. There's someone you need to meet." You were taken back. Levi never invited you to do anything. You searched his face for some answer as to who it was, but he only wore his same cold neutral frown. You'd just have to wait

That lunch, after training with your squad you searched the dining hall for Levi. Finally, you spotted his dark hair and eternally sour face. He was sitting next to Erwin Smith, your heart dropped to your stomach. Erwin was the First Squadron Leader. He was the best of the best. Cunning, brave, skilled. The crowds gathered in the streets to see his fleet. He always rode behind Commander Shadis. What was Levi thinking?

You cleared your throat to get his attention. "Levi," you said, timidly. You stood behind Levi at the bench as he ate his meal. He didn't acknowledge you.

"Azeria Becker," Erwin chimed. You were terribly nervous. "Captain Erwin," You said, saluting. He looked at you with a softened face. He was already much nicer than Levi.

"Please, come sit," he gestured to the corner seat beside him and of course, you obeyed. It was weird to sit with Levi in the dining hall, all you ever saw of him was fighting in the woods. It was so out of place. He continued to look down at his food and ignore your presence.

"Levi tells me that you've been training together," Erwin said, drinking his tea. "Yes, we've been training every morning." Levi told him that? When did he tell him? Levi talks about me?

Erwin nodded in acknowledgement, "He says that you are quite skilled." Hang on. Levi paid you a compliment? That was simply impossible. You blushed a little. You must have. Levi was an asshole, you didn't think you would ever live up to his expectations.

"Oh, uh-thank you," You mustered out, "I've been doing my best to be ready for our next expedition."

He nodded at you, once more. You noticed that despite his softer eyes and kinder face, Erwin was just as unreadable as Levi. "That's good. It's impressive to see such resolve from a recent trainee," he paused, "That's what I am meaning to talk to you about. Our next expedition; I want you to join my squad."

Your eyes opened wide. You couldn't believe it. This was the squad. The best of the best. You had always wanted to fight alongside them, but you never thought it would come this soon. "Captain! I am honoured! I promise I will not let you down!" You were shocked. He smiled. "I am glad to hear it. You start training with us tomorrow. I will inform your squad leader." You watched him as he left the table, a mix of shock, excitement and panic ran through you.

"Levi- I- thank-"

"Don't spoil a good moment, brat," Levi said, finally lifting his face from his plate.

"But you said I was shit," he looked so annoyed with you. You couldn't believe you were going to be fighting alongside him.

"You are shit," He sneered, "I'm just going to use you as titan bait."

You smiled, "I just can't wait to see the look on your face when I kill more titans than you."

"Tch. You wish," He lifted himself from the table and left. You could swear you caught him smiling.

    You were so happy all afternoon. So happy, that your task of cleaning the horse barn didn't seem to bother you much at all. You were going to be in Erwins Squad, riding beside Levi, Hange, Moblit. They were going to be your team.  More importantly, you could finally see it; Levi was your friend. You had finally earned his respect. Perhaps you had it all along and you just didn't know it. In any case, you were elated. This was the beginning of an adventure, and you could feel it.

By the time you got back to the dining hall, everyone in your graduating class knew. They surrounded the table that you sat at.

"Azeria! How could you not tell me you're joining Erwin's squad!" Ilse said, grabbing hold of your arm. You laughed, "I just found out at lunch! I haven't had a chance!"

"I can't believe it! I mean, of course I can, you're one of the best from our class but it's just so fast!" She squealed. It was true, you and her were the top of your class that year. "Don't worry, you'll be joining me soon, I know it." She smacked your arm, "I know it too!"

chapter six

[little-mouse-adventures]

4 headcanons meme for Butler!! :D

okay so this is literally from a month ago and i do not remember what the actual prompt thingy was BUT i know one of them was like... a sad headcanon or something, which my brain took as "hey how does Butler react when Juliet has to kill someone for the first time" and now here we are, a month later, with nearly 3k words about that. so that was fun.

“…east wing has a staff corridor that we can –” The Major cut off his description of the best exit route should things at Mr. Fowl’s upcoming meeting go sideways as the intercom sounded. He glanced towards it, and then at his nephew, who gave a slight nod and moved to answer the ringing phone.

Artemis the First was asking just how crammed the staff corridor would be when Butler stepped back into the room.

“Excuse me. May I be dismissed for a few minutes, sir?”

“Whatever for?” Major Butler asked. “Deliveries ‘round the back, everyone else can be seen into the sitting room by the maid.”

“It’s… Juliet’s back. The taxi’s coming up the drive now.”

“Juliet? I had thought we weren’t expecting her for another three weeks,” Artemis the Second chimed in.

“Yes, she’s returning early.” Butler answered his employer but kept his eyes on his uncle’s. There were precious few reasons Madam Ko would allow an acolyte to return early from the Academy. None of them were pleasant.

“Of course, you can go. In fact, I think a break would be good for all of us.” Artemis Senior said. “We’ve been at this for hours. Let’s go say hello to Juliet, and then I think it’s about time for tea.”

The Fowl patriarch stood up from his custom-made leather chair at the head of the table, giving no one a chance to argue with him. He passed his arm over his son’s shoulders and spoke to him quietly about the behaviour he expected of him at the meeting as they walked down the stairs towards the front door, sandwiched between Butler in front of them and Major taking up the rear.

Butler tried not to hurry. If Juliet was seriously injured, Madam Ko would have called ahead. Still, though, something must be wrong with his baby sister, and worry coiled through his stomach like a snake.

Watching her step out of the taxi, though, nothing seemed immediately wrong. No limp, no casts or slings, no telltale hunching that would indicate broken ribs or damaged internal organs. A concussion was unlikely to be reason enough to send her home, which really limited the possibilities for why –

When she turned around, bag slung over her shoulder, Butler took one look in her eyes and knew immediately why she’d been given early leave. He saw her catch sight of the two Fowls standing between him and their uncle, and she made a valiant effort to put on the professional mask Blue Diamond bodyguards wore unthinkingly.

“Hello,” she said, and managed a weak smile that didn’t reach her eyes.

“Sir, permission to take the rest of the day off,” Butler requested.

Artemis Junior started. “A few minutes to say hello, certainly Butler, but the rest of the afternoon? What about Mother’s request for dinner at Bozzini’s later?”

“Granted. Tomorrow, too. Unless…Major, any objections?”

“None, sir.”

“Father, what – “

“Not now, Artemis. Welcome back, Juliet. Take all the time you need to get settled.”

Artemis Junior was even more shocked at his father’s tone than his bodyguard’s request. He couldn’t recall Father using that kind of gentleness used except when speaking with Mother.

“Thank you, sir,” Juliet’s voice was barely above a whisper. Her brother moved forward and draped his arm across her back. She managed another smile, slightly stronger this time, for her uncle, who nodded and lightly squeezed her shoulder as Butler led her through the entryway.

Artemis Junior was thoroughly puzzled. And slightly irritated. At nine, he knew better than to ask what was going on after being told not to by his father, but he couldn’t help but feel like he was the only person in the group didn’t know something. He didn’t like the feeling.

Everyone else was deeply grateful the young boy hadn’t yet seen first-hand what someone looked like after having committed their first murder.

~~~~

Butler led Juliet down the hall to the wing of the Manor set aside for the Butlers in residence and their families. He didn’t offer to take her bag. He knew how prideful she was at being able to handle things on her own, and how much it mattered to maintain the feeling of control after taking a life. He could feel her slight trembling and opted to guide her into his own room, rather than hers.

“Do you want a shower?” he asked.

Juliet shook her head.

Usually, when she returned from the Academy, she was nearly bouncing off the walls, and chattered endlessly. Now, though, she just stood in the middle of the room, silent, still, looking as lost as she had when she was four and told her parents wouldn’t be coming back.

Butler helped her guide the heavy field kit off her shoulder and put it beside his own bag near the door. “Do you want to talk about it?”

Juliet shook her head again. Then she turned to look at him, and he saw the tears well up in her eyes.

Butler wrapped his arms around her tightly with a deep sigh. “C’mere, baby sister,” he murmured.

She broke against him, leaning into his chest and throwing her own arms around his waist, holding on like his presence was the only thing keeping her from falling completely apart. Sobs tore out of her throat. Butler felt her knees buckle and caught her weight easily.

“Alright. Alright now. I’ve got you,” he said into her hair. “I’ve got you now. You’re alright. Everything’s alright.” Butler continued to speak quietly, offering gentle reassurance, as he carried his little sister to the bed. He settled her on his lap and tucked her head under his chin, like she was seven years old again and waking up from a nightmare.

They sat like that for some time, Juliet’s tears soaking her brother’s shirt, her sobs nearly drowning out the lullaby he was humming as he rocked them both back and forth. Eventually, exhausted, Juliet’s uncontrolled keening settled into shaking breaths and hiccups. She didn’t let go of her brother.

Butler leaned back slightly to look at his sister. He pushed some of her hair off her forehead before reaching for a tissue from the box on his bedside table and holding it to her nose. “Blow,” he ordered.

“I’ll get you all snotty,” Juliet argued.

“Bit late for that,” Butler countered, which coaxed a watery smile out of Juliet. She blew her nose noisily and reached for the tissue to wipe her face. Butler snatched it away and wordlessly handed her another.

Neither spoke. Butler knew how this went. He’d gone through it himself. He’d helped younger acolytes through it, and even some young colleagues after he’d graduated. It was a natural and expected consequence of their career. That didn’t stop his heart from breaking for his baby sister.

She leaned against him again, her head resting in the hollow of his shoulder. Butler could feel the dampness of fresh tears against his neck as she turned her face into him. He kept his arms wrapped tightly around her as she quietly cried.

Eventually, the hand she’d fisted in his shirt tightened and she took a deep, shuddering breath. “I… I just… grabbed him, his head, from behind, after Tony shot his leg, and I just…” Juliet stuttered. The tears and memories made her gasp. “I just twisted… and he… I could feel him… just…”

“Alright, easy now. Easy,” Butler said.

“He just died! He just fell! One second, he was alive, and had a gun, and I was behind him, and then he was just… just dead!” She couldn’t seem to stop crying. Her throat was raw, her nose stuffed, her eyes sore. And still she couldn’t stop the tears.  It was all she could do breathlessly cling to the solid weight of her brother while the scene played out again and again in her mind.

Butler pressed his cheek to her hair and squeezed her tightly. “I’m sorry,” he told her, knowing it was inadequate, but all he had. “That’s a hard thing to process. Especially for your first time.”

“Have you ever…”

“Yes.”

Juliet nodded silently and pressed herself closer against Butler, desperate for the support he offered. He took the chance to shift their positions slightly, so he was leaning against the headboard instead of sitting at the edge of his bed. Juliet shuffled off his lap when he did but curled up against his side, not willing to relinquish the comforting weight of his arm. Butler tucked a strand of Juliet’s hair behind her ear, and when she leaned into the touch, started lightly stroking his hand down her braid.

Thoughts and emotions swirled about in Juliet’s mind. Slowly, the tumult died down. The quiet, steady rhythm of her brother’s breath and heartbeat and hand gave her something to focus on, to use as a backdrop of consistency to settle the maelstrom of emotions.

“When you… the first time you…” Juliet paused. Questions sat heavy on her mind, the words on the tip of her tongue. It was indescribably hard to face what she’d done. She was, and forever would be, a different person now than she had been before. But different didn’t mean wrong. Her family was proof of that. Still, she needed the confirmation that she wasn’t alone in this. She took a deep breath and tried again. “The first time you killed someone. What was it like?”

She felt more than heard her brother’s sigh. He was quiet for a moment before he spoke.

“We were ambushed, and my squad leader took a bullet in the arm trying to shield our Principal. It made him drop his gun. The enemy still had his, was still aiming at us. I picked up the gun. Fired. He took it in the chest.” Butler’s voice got quiet. “I remember how focussed I was on him. Not while I shot. But after. It wasn’t an immediately fatal shot, and I could hear him breathing. Trying to breathe. I must’ve got him in the lung. It was that kind of gurgling, choking… even over the screaming of our Principal, the orders of my squad leader – he’d gotten himself sorted, grabbed the pistol of one of our fallen, and started shooting back. Even over the screaming and the shooting, I could hear him trying to breathe. And then, suddenly, I couldn’t.”

Juliet had tilted her head back to look up at Butler as he spoke. He didn’t seem to notice, though he did keep absently passing his hand over her hair.

“How old were you?”

“Twelve,” he said, then let out a short huff of mirthless laughter. “Twenty-five years ago, now. I didn’t realize that.”

There was no regret in his voice. There was no sorrow. But there was a quiet, calm pensiveness to it that did more to relax the tension in Juliet’s muscles than she had thought possible.

She had spent years being told she would eventually have to kill someone in in her training, or line of work. It had seemed like a game before.

Her brother, her uncle, her senseis… all had tried to drive home that murder, even for a good reason, was not going to sit lightly on the soul. She hadn’t really believed them. She’d seen her family shrug it off. Her tutors talked about it like it was nothing. After snapping a man’s neck in her bare hands, though… even a decade of psychological indoctrination and practice in personal debriefing and emotional regulation couldn’t quite prepare a fourteen-year-old for that kind of trauma.

A wave of calmness hit her as she realized that her brother didn’t just shrug off killing, that the memories of it still made him pause.

“Does it get easier?”

“Hmm?”

“Not the… killing. I don’t think I’d want that to get easier. But the… processing.”

“No. But you get better at it. You learn what works for you and what doesn’t, and how to constructively handle the emotions and physical reactions.”

Juliet nodded. One of the first things acolytes learned at Madam Ko’s was identification, sorting, and processing various emotions. As ten-year-olds, it didn’t always work, but the basics were there. In hindsight, Juliet could see just how much of her tutelage had been based around the methods with which one could center oneself during and after traumatic events.

She was surprised to find herself unconsciously using some of those tools. Madam Ko hadn’t let her leave the Academy until she, her sensei, one of the psychologists on site, and Madam Ko herself had sat down and worked through the immediate aftermath, but Juliet hadn’t been aware of just how effective her compartmentalization skills had gotten until she was sitting at home and able to unpack everything around those who wouldn’t judge her, and would support her no matter what.

When a quiet knock sounded at Butler’s door, Juliet made to sit up, to look professional and grown up. Her brother’s arm tightened around her, and he pulled her back down against him.

“Come in,” he said, and the Major opened the door and walked through. He had a tray balanced on one arm, and Juliet’s stomach growled as she smelled the homemade spaghetti sauce that had always been her preferred comfort food. She didn’t remember when she last ate something besides airplane peanuts, the weight of what she’d done heavy in her stomach.

“I figured you two hadn’t eaten,” Major said as he put the tray down on the bedside table. He raised an eyebrow at his nephew for the clutter already on the surface – consisting only of a cell phone, charge cable, pistol magazine, novel, tissue box, and bottle of Tylenol – before sitting down on the edge of the bed and looking at his niece. “How are you feeling?”

“Hungry.”

“Eat, then. It’ll help.”

The teenager took the offered bowl, careful of the hot edges. She leaned back against her brother, not yet trusting herself to not fall apart without the support – emotional and physical – his presence provided. For his part, Butler settled his own meal on his lap so he could eat it one-handed.

“We still need to talk directions,” Major said to Butler.

“Of course. You were saying the staff corridor, east side? Isn’t that the staff fire escape?”

“Yes, but if it’s viable it exits closest to the car park. There’s another exit, bit more awkward to get to, at the southeast entrance by the coat check. That’ll be the backup.”

Juliet sat quietly as she listened to the soothing depth of the voices of her family as they talked shop. They didn’t seem to pay her much mind, but as soon as she was done eating large hands took her bowl away and pressed a large bottle of water into them. She drank it slowly, head on her brother’s chest. The steady rumble of his voice and thump of his heart had her eyelids drooping, but every time they closed, she saw the same image of a dark-haired corpse falling to the ground, surprise and pain on his face, and she jerked awake again.

“You need to rest, kiddo.” Juliet started as her uncle’s hand landed on her knee. “You’ll be alright, but you need to rest.”

Juliet bit her lip. She didn’t want to leave this cozy little corner of the world just yet, with her family around her. “I know. Can I… can I stay here?”

Butler shifted so he could lever Juliet over him and onto the floor. She reacted automatically, feet planting themselves firmly even though her legs were numb from the hours she had sat curled up. Her uncle had stood at the same time, and immediately reached out to pull her into another hug.

Butler stood as well and pulled the covers down on his bed. The Major picked Juliet back up and put her in the middle of the big bed before resting his hand on her head for just a moment. “You’ll be fine, Juliet. Just rest.”

He stepped back and nodded at Butler. “Let me know if I can expect you in the morning,” he said. Butler nodded back.

The Major left the room, taking the dishes with him and closing the door with a quiet click. Juliet glanced at him as he left, but then watched her brother as he tucked her in and settled back down onto the edge of the bed.

Butler ran one large thumb over his sister’s brow, wanting to ease the pain he saw in her eyes.

“Close your eyes, Jules. It’ll be alright. Just close your eyes.”

Juliet shook her head. She didn’t want to see the endless repetition of what she’d done.

“Juliet. Close your eyes.” Butler’s voice was firm.

Juliet took a deep breath doing as she was told, hands curling into fists in the covers.

“Just relax,” Butler murmured. “Just relax, recognize what happened. Recognize it was a different place, a different time. You’re here now. You’re here now, and it’s over. You did what you had to do, and it’s done. You’re safe, you’re here.” He kept repeating much the same, continuing to stroke her forehead to ground her, until he felt her shudders slow and her muscles relax.

“Dom?” Juilet murmured, taking the chance that given the circumstances, she could use her brother’s given name.

“Hmm?”

“Will you stay?”

“Of course, baby sister.”

Juliet’s smile was weak and watery, but genuine, and stayed with her as she fell asleep.

[ladylilithprime]

We're Rising, We're Soaring

Series: Fluff Is My Jamstiel

Fandom: Supernatural: 

Pairing: Sastimmy/Jamstiel (Jimmy Novak/Sam Winchester/Castiel)

Rating: General

Tags/Warnings: Witch Sam Winchester, Hunter Novak Brothers, Jimmy and Castiel Are Twins, Sam Winchester and the Novak Brothers Are Married-In-Spirit, Sam Winchester Is An Indulgent Godfather, Flying

Summary: Samantha Maxine Moore has been looking forward to this ever since she got her perfect report card. Sam Winchester-Novak doesn't mind indulging his goddaughter in her somewhat literal flights of fancy.

For: @fluffyfebruary challenge!

Prompt: Day 15: Reward

Read on AO3

THE PEACEFUL JUNE afternoon in the garden of Palo Alto's most powerful witch was abruptly disturbed by the roar of a car engine that cut off sharply followed by the opening and slamming of a car door and hurried footsteps running along the flagstone path to the gate. "Uncle Sam! Uncle Cas! Uncle Jimmy!"

"Sammi!" four adult voices chorused in varying levels of delight and exasperation. Another car door closed, more gently than the first, and less hurried footsteps followed up along the flagstone path as Jessica Moore sighed, "We've talked about this, Sammi. You don't know if your uncles might be in the middle of a meditation or sparring when we come over to visit, so you have to be quiet at first."

"Sorry, Mom," Samantha Maxine Moore said contritely, ducking her head before looking up at her godfather and his partners. "Sorry, Uncle Sam, Uncle Cas, and Uncle Jimmy."

"It's okay this time, Cabbage," Sam WInchester-Novak chuckled as he brushed the dark soil off his hands. "We knew you and your mom were coming, so we're just taking care of a bit of replanting."

"Are you sure you don't mind?" Jess asked, her eyes searching Sam's, then glancing over his shoulder toward his partners. Thanks to the open bonds between them, Sam didn't have to look behind him to know that John Castiel and James Constantine Novak were exchanging fondly exasperated looks.

"He took a nap after lunch," Jimmy answered . "And Cas and I are here to catch if he tires out faster than he thinks he will."

"Besides, we know Sammi has been looking forward to this ever since she got her report card," Cas chimed in. "We would not dare disappoint her."

"Wrapped around her finger, you are, all three of you," Jess shook her head in amusement. "Alright then. Sammi? Remember the rules?"

"Hold on tight, no screaming, don't let go at any point, and don't tell my friends that when I said my uncle would take me flying I didn't mean in a plane," Sammi recited, rocking back and forth on her heels with a bright grin.

"Someone's been spending too much time with her Uncle Dean," Sam snorted, accepting a wet cloth from Jimmy and wiping the remaining dirt off his hands. He rolled his eyes when Sammi turned bright green puppy eyes on him and shook his head. "Okay, come on then."

He stepped out of the garden gate and turned to accept a kiss each from his partners. Cas was the one who handed him the "broom", which was really a ceremonial staff made from a long branch of red oak that had been carved into the shape of an oar and engraved with several protection and strengthening runes. Technically, Sam didn't need it or anything else to fly, but Sammi had insisted that a witch needed to fly on a broom and the staff had been the closest thing he was going to get without using an actual sweeping implement.

And Sam knew that having something solid under them, even just a hardwood oar, made Jess feel better about the whole enterprise.

Sam focused on the staff, wrapping his mental "hands" around the wood of the oar, and then let go, making a show of letting it float in the air by itself, much to Sammi's delighted bouncing. Bracing himself on the handle, which "obligingly" lowered to make mounting up easier, he settled himself with as much comfort as he could manage sideways on a wooden pole, then reached out an arm. Jess chuckled as she lifted her squirming seven-year-old up and into her godfather's firm grip.

"Hold on tight to the handle," Sam reminded her, adjusting his own grip forward to give her room to wrap her hands tight around the carved surface. "Ready?"

"Ready!" Sammi nodded. "Love you, Mom!"

"Have fun, sweetheart!" Jess laughed as she stepped back and waved. With a quick glance over at Jimmy and Cas, Sam took a deep breath and allowed his focus to shift, turn, and move. The oar, and its passengers, was sent racing up away from the ground and above the treetops to the delighted whoops of the straight A first grader with the best witchy godfather ever.

[awlumii]

So basically this au is sort of a forbidden love/ reincarnation au style thing, and Cyno is this mysterious, powerful sorcerer who practices dark arts living in this dark, creepy woods outside your town, who is basically a folktale to the villagers. You’re basically the village healer who dabbles in magic to find cures to diseases and help nurse your people. It’s got a soft worldbuilding/ magic system style about it and focuses on atmosphere rather than structure to the worldbuilding (one reason being because I’m lazy and another being I genuinely love soft worldbuilding.)

Now, get ready for a lore dump:

Basically, a few centuries or millennia ago, you and Cyno were a couple (you still being a healer and him being a wizard but not a sorcerer— in this au, the word ‘sorcerer’ specifically comes with connotations of practicing dark magic), living together pretty happily: your standard fairytale romance.

One day, some disaster struck, and you were killed in this event. Cyno pleaded with the gods to bring you back to life, but they refused, claiming that it was not in their power to decide these things nor give them to him. Unable to accept this, he started turning to forbidden magic: pulling stars from the sky to demand answers, capturing sprites and spirits and harnessing their pure forms of magic to try and find a way to bring you back.

As he practiced such things, he grew increasingly powerful and one may even say corrupt, focused singlemindedly on his goal to bring you back from the grave. However, he was meddling with affairs and reaching levels of power a human never should, and so the gods told him to stop, giving him one chance to go back to his old ways of life and forget about you. He refused, and when one god tried to force him to stop, he managed to overpower them, which shocked the heavens even further: he literally had the power to rival a god, and win. After leaving, Cyno continued to practice these arts, either not noticing or not caring the harm he was causing to his surroundings. He lost himself in his desire to bring you back, even losing his heart itself, until all that remained in his chest was an empty, gaping void. (He’s not evil: he just went too far and crossed too many lines, and now is paying the price for his mistakes.)

Eventually, the gods decided that he was too dangerous, and had to be punished. Working together, they stripped him of most of his powers (though by human standards, he is still insanely powerful) and cast him down to the woods: a dark, mysterious forest with labyrinthine paths and twisting, maze-like trees and palpable, black shadows. They gave him a lantern which could only be filled with the light of a star— something difficult to come by in a land with an empty sky— and shackled him to the woods with a little chime around his ankle, filled with the songs of the spirits he harnessed beforehand. This was to be his prison for all of eternity.

Ever since, he has been wondering the woods alone with his star and his chime, and myths of a malevolent, mysterious, not-to-be-trusted sorcerer have spread around local areas, though these myths are very vague and don’t really tell listeners anything other than ‘don’t go into the woods and if you run into him, or you’re screwed.’

The gods weren’t done yet with him, however: to add salt to the wound, they decided they would bring you back after all, but he wouldn’t know it was the same you from the past: every time he saw you, if he ever did, he would be reminded of the old you, and his empty chest would sting at the memories of those happy days spent by your side long gone by.

Fast forward, and as I said, you’re a healer in your village. A disease breaks out (I’ll get to this in more later) and you go to gather some herbs and flowers to try and combat it, including this one type of flower that grows on the borders of the forest and the woods. Because of your fatigue, you end up stumbling into the woods, and get lost. Cyno shows up and leads you back to the forest (because you remind him of somebody he knew long ago), after which you leave some flowers for him as a thank you.

That’s all I’ve properly written so far, but worry not: there is more to ramble about.

In the next chapter (spoilers ahead for anyone who’s already read the first few parts), I’m thinking that you keep leaving flowers for him now and again, meanwhile the disease is getting worse and more people are being infected. You possibly catch it yourself, and when you next leave a few flowers for Cyno, he leaves a batch of berries back.

But these are no ordinary berries, because I found a way to make them angsty.

Basically, because you were a healer in your old life, the same disease broke out while you were still alive, and together you cultivated a berry to cure it. Cyno found a way to grow these in his garden in the woods as a memento of something he did with you in the past. When you leave that bunch of flowers in the present, he recognises the symptoms and decides (again based on the fact that you simply remind him of the old you) to give you a few berries to help you and your village out. It makes him feel like he’s sharing something with you again (and he is: he’s just cursed so that he’ll never know it.)

And the taste of the berries is quite literally bittersweet: they used to be sweet when you grew them together in the past, but since your death and his banishment, Cyno has found that the soil in the woods is not fertile, and so the berries, though still initially sweet, take on a bitter aftertaste: not too far off the main emotions of the story.

I also have some more ideas for future plot threads but I have a little too many, so I need to organise my thoughts before continuing…

The whole forbidden love thing comes from not the gods disliking you falling back in love, but rather that Cyno himself won’t allow himself to fall in love with you because he’ll feel like he’s betraying the old you, not knowing that you’re basically exactly the same person. (More angst: yay!)

The woods itself is very mysterious, and I’ll keep it that way, I think: nobody, not even the gods, know where it came from, or what lives inside it, or how old it is: the woods is actually out of the gods’ reach to manipulate. They can stick Cyno in there, but once he’s in, whatever happens in there is out of their control.

I really want to write a scene where he captures a star for you and gifts it to you, too… I have plans for it and oh my goskskaoaolana

(I can send you a few links to the stuff I’ve already written for it if you’re interested… :,))

…Apologies for the essay but I cannot express how much I love this au…

-🎻anon

dawg you had me at worldbuilding, i am so fucking intrigued by this, WHAT

the way cyno can overpower a god and the ambiguity of the forest is so fucking amazing — it reminds me a little of greek/roman mythology and the way that the gods of the pantheon seem to be all-powerful, but not even they can toy with things such as fate... this au has me fucking stimming i'm so djhdsidhsvdjsbd AAAAA YOU'RE SO AMAZING YOU'RE LITERALLY THE FUCKING COOLEST EVER

[faydingrain]

Kai Hale

A puff, and Evie's candle flame vanished.

"I remember that!" Daisy said.

Enzo huffed, muttering, "Whoa…the student council is serious…"

“Darn right!” Ayan chimed in, knowing Miss President purposely left out particular details for the sake of the gathering.

“How did you know what kind of curse it was?” Fuyuki asked.

“I had already investigated other possibilities, and I’m familiar with these sorts of things,” Evie answered.

“How so?”

“I’ve dealt with them in the past. And, teachings from my mother’s side.”

Intrigued, Fuyuki spared further questions for later and nodded.

“Well, that’s my tale. I believe it’s your turn now, Kai.”

“Alrighty.”

***

Crisp October air chilled a young Kai Hale’s exposed skin. It was a good day for a walk—perfect for the always hoodie-clad freshman.

Since his enrollment in RVS, he had yet to check out the forest beyond the lake. There were all sorts of rumours amongst the upperclassmen, from ghosts of the people murdered there to cryptids to literal demons running amok.

So, of course, he had to check it out. It's not like that shit was real, so what was the big deal?

Sauntering past the serene lake waters, he continued somewhat with a purpose. Part of him wanted to find something horrifying (“Ooooohh, I’m aloooone! Whatcha gonna do about it?” kinda thing), but another just wanted to enjoy the nice early-evening out. Leave thine tricks for a later dumbass walking all alone in the dark, secluded woods.

His eyelid twitched, and he paused. He dug at his eyelashes for the offending thing, and removed what looked and felt like a small, fine string. Spiderweb, huh? It was that time of the year, so the little hatchlings would likely be out.

Is that the best this forest ‘s got?

A tsk, and he shook the web free.

Far enough in the forest, it grew more and more difficult to see. Which…he found weird. Despite the falling sun, there should still be enough open space for it to be illuminated a little more.

He found himself squinting a short distance further. Which, was a good thing, because a large, sticky string smacked him in the face not long later. His body recoiled, arms flailing to get the junk off of him. 

Wait, why was that string of web so huge?

He furiously shook the clingy crap still on his arms, instinctively searching for the offender.

…Nothin’.

In the pit of his gut, an uneasiness welled up, but he shoved it back down. His feet took off across the dirt again.

Until another web snared him. In another fit of spasms, he managed to shake the stuff off, but not without itching to smash the dumb bug (pardon, arachnid) responsible for this.

His head whizzed around. Where was it? Where was it?

He took another step.

And that was all he needed to find it.

Looming above him, its abdomen larger than an SUV and legs stretching probably the length of a charter bus. The hairy demon sat atop a large, well-made web shielding the sky.

His eyes searched literally anywhere else. Dangling spider threads guided his eyes to even more large webs, and even more gargantuan spiders.

A scream caught in his throat. He turned to run back, but one of the beasts had already blocked his way, and was spinning a new web across the path.

The minute he found another opening, he bolted that way.

You’d think that’d be the end of it, right? But no. You’d be dead wrong.

Once he found a clear-enough route, he believed himself to be on the path to freedom. But, with the area rapidly growing darker and darker, he hardly noticed the wall of webbing until he crashed right through it.

A growl-yelp escaped his mouth as he skid to a stop, twirling in violent circles to rid the webbing from his hair, his mouth, his eyelashes, scraping around his neck. In the midst of his flailing, the spider he must have disturbed slowly emerged atop the branches, squeezing through an opening and skittering his way.

Fuck the stupid webs! He finally screamed and sprinted away through the blackness, hurtling through trees until he finally saw those serene lake waters in the dim light again.

He collapsed onto his knees and gasped for air. Then, like a fool, he glanced behind him.

Whereas there was nothing but a regular forest before, webs upon webs now claimed the space beyond the water. Hairy legs and fangs shifted amongst the sheets of webbing. Octads of sinister eyes peered at him just out of their reach.

He raced back to his dorm.

Scaretober 2023

Brisk Wind on a Dark Trail

Midnight Moon

Gargoyle's Watch

Cold Stones in the Fog

Spirits Rising

Haunted House

Witching Hour

Bubbling Cauldron

Candy

Eyes

Spider Silk

Feathers

Tail

Scales

Fangs or Talons

An Offering of Blood

Dark Ritual

Spook Scary Skeletons

Carnivàle Morte

Still-Beating Heart

Sharpened Blade

Mask

Looming Shadows

The Devil's Hand

Monster

Reflection in the Mirror

Rusted Chains

Stitches

Precious Jewels

Incantation

Halloween

Epilogue