#and then suddenly its moving day and you havent packed anything and its taking hours longer than expected

[dragons-and-yellow-roses]

I had a dream that it was moving day and I hadn't packed anything, my parents were in the city to help me move and I wasn't prepared at all, and it didn't inspire me to work on cleaning and packing but it did make me super anxious so. That's something.

[anotherbeingsworld]

The First Moon

Pairing: Bryce Lahela x F!MC (Casey Valentine) 

Summary: The first full moon with one Louis Lahela, as it became a tradition till the very end.

Rating: G/Fluff

Disclaimer: I don’t own anything except the storyline. 

Word Count: 1849

A/N: Heyy!! I am finally writing-ish again for now! I havent been writing in a while and this is what I got so far! Uni has been busy along with the lack of inspiration and my scattered mind above all. I have lots of uni related stuff coming and, its definitely gonna take a lot of time. But... I will try to write as much as I could! And... OH is coming back, I am excited to see our surgeon again!! But, here is a fluffy family fic that just somehow came to me days ago as the moon has been shining so beautiful lately. I apologize in advance for grammar mistakes, and... I hope all of you enjoyed it! A special thanks to all my amazing friends here, you guys been amazing and I appreciate all of it.<3

Tags:  @bitchloveskcbaseball​ , @storyofmychoices​ @jaxsmutsuo​ , @mvalentine​ , @princess-geek , @lahellacute​ , @kacie-0156​ , @simp-for-villains​ , @annekebbphotography​ , @brycelahel​, @mrsbhandari​ , @dcbbw​ , @choicessa​ , @choices-confessions , @aylamwrites​ , @fantasyoverreality98​ , @drakewalker04​ , @baltersome​ , @thecordoniandiaries​ , @thundergom​ @choicesficwriterscreations​ @starrystarrytrouble​, @ohramsey​ , @kelseaaa​  , @rookie-ramsey​ , @bratzlahela​ , @ohvamsey

LINK TO MY MASTERLIST

525′600 minutes since one Louis Lahela been introduced to the world as a gift weeks before Casey's birthday. It was the greatest gift one could ever give, as they had finally been a family after all these years. They have been trying for years, for the chance to grow a family of their own. To have kids, to be known as parents.

Their life wasn't very much beautiful, but… the world where they had the chance to be together. The world where the medical world has bonded them together through a place named Edenbrook Hospital.

Their journey together wasn't as easy as people thought, they were obstacles before they found their own happily ever after which leads to a new beginning. From the secrecy of his past, her conflicts towards her personal feelings, the arrival of his past, and… several reasons that kept pushing them away. But, one day. It suddenly disappeared as she realizes her true feelings, as he didn't want to push it away anymore. They wanted to make it work, to be together, and…its true, if you are meant to be, nothing could stop you. And, they knew.

Years later, they finally had the chance to expand their small family as one Louis Lahela was born. It was a long procedure as Casey was put in labor for 25 hours. It was a painful process, as the risk was life and death. They knew the risk, they knew there was a chance for death. The small price to pay in the sense of motherhood, as Bryce held her hand through the pain. The sound of crying, as the room went silent. They survived. Casey and their newborn had survived, and… the tears that were falling down his eyes were the ones he never expected to fall. The one, that he knew was coming… but, he never knew that the tears as the moment he becomes a father made him cry. The one moment he never saw coming, as he moved on with his life. The moment where he left his past, to follow his dreams. But, meeting her. He finally found his new dream, to be with the one he loved the most. And, that person is one Casey Valentine. His wife, his soulmate, his best friend, his partner, and… his one true love. Forever and always.

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

'Do you think he is ready for the real world, Bryce?' Casey asked as they were getting ready for their family outing. As they were a family of 3, instead of two.

'He has the confidence of his father, and the brains of his mother. I think he is ready for anything, aren't you?' Bryce uses his skills to make the baby smile, a skill that he mastered for this very occasion.

'That confidence might lead us to two troublemakers in the future, Dr. Lahela.' A smile on her face, as the Lahela family started on their first journey together.

'Then…. We might need to balance it out real soon.' Bryce replied with a wink, making her blush at the thought of expanding. They had talked, and they were both okay with either a big or a small family. And, Casey wanted a huge family. She never had many relatives as it was always been Dan and herself against the world. Bryce didn't voice out an opinion since Casey knows despite everything, he is going to be the best dad in the world. Either way, they are very happy with what they have now.

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

The journey was short, as they arrived at the park. It wasn't as packed, as it was a weekday. A day where both doctors decided to take a day-off on their free days. It was a way Bryce suggested getting closer to him, as every second of the day. Louis is growing up to become his own man, and… honestly, he wasn't ready to bid goodbye to him once he graduates or to leave him in this world once his time was run out. He knows all of their days are numbered, he wanted to spend as much as he could before he was taken away from him.

They decided to settle on a picnic table, as Keiki joined in the festivities with her favorite nephew. Keiki held onto the picnic basket, as Casey held little Louis in her arms who was asleep soundly. They were shocked that he wasn't a fussy baby, as Casey remembers the story her mother used to tell Bryce before. The fact that she was a fussy one, always cried especially in her car rides.

Louis is different. His tears can be heard as he was welcomed to the new world. Besides that, he was known as a very quiet baby as he wouldn't cry.

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

Their day was filled with baby-family fun activities, as they spend their day with each other's company. Keiki somehow has become apart of their small family, and Casey wouldn't have it any other way. Both herself and Keiki would have their girl talks session that either involves planning Louis's outfits or Keiki's life stories about an adolescent Bryce Lahela from long ago. As a bonus, they managed to capture a lot of their moments. All of the good moments that one day they can go back to, during a rainy day maybe.

Keiki excuses herself as the sun finally sets. Leaving the family of three, as the moon is shining above them. They were exhausted from the activities and, honestly…spending time together as a family made it much worth despite their jobs. All of the families were seen before had left, leaving them. The air was cold, as Casey slips onto Bryce's trusty jacket with their little bundle in his arms.

They found out that Louis was indeed a night owl, as he would often be awake during the early hours of the day. And, tonight was not different at all, as he was awake. He was fully awake in Bryce's arms, cooing at the unfamiliar sight which is not his cot or the sight of his baby room. It was entirely different as his eyes slowly follow the view, searching some familiarity until he was met with his mother's emerald eyes. Looking at him gently, as he was taken in her arms.

Casey gazes upwards, as the moon was shining brightly above them. The little boy in his arms jumps excitedly at the unfamiliarity as the parents can sense the love for adventure that was mostly from Bryce. She gave him an all-knowing look, as they are going to be two troublemakers in the house very soon. The small on his face makes her heart flutters as he placed a kiss on her cheek. And one for his little boy.

'Look, Louis look up!' Casey exclaims excitedly as she points the shining moon above them. Louis followed the gesture, as his eyes lands on the round moon above him. He jumps excitedly in her arms, as his gaze was glued to the moon above him.

'It's the moon little boy! It's a huge moon!' Bryce encourages along as Casey held Lil Louis in her arms who is jumping excitedly at the sight.

'Bah bah, moooh!' His voice sounded mimicking Bryce's words as his eyes gazed on the shining moon.

Casey felt herself tearing up a little at these small moments, the moments she heard a lot growing up. The moments where she wanted to have a family of her own when she was in high school. The moment where her parents told her, to not take it granted. These are the moments where she looked forward to. The moments where it was them against the world.

'It was his first time recognizing the moon, I think I know where he gets that side of his from..' Bryce's eyes narrow at her, as Casey was an astronomer lover at heart despite medicine being her life work. He remembers the little stories her mom used to tell him, about Casey's obsession in stargazing, and anything space-related. Her mother always thought that she would become an astronomer of her own, but... medicine was her destined path and she was proud of how far she came as Casey grew up becoming her best self, and now… the best mother in the world in his eyes.

'He might be the future astronomer in the family aren't you Lil Louis?' Casey said giving him kisses on his cheeks and all, as Bryce lets out a small laugh.

'Or.. maybe a surgeon?'

Casey shook her head,

'Nope, no more scalpel jockey's in the house. Anything but that.' Casey protests as Louis claps suddenly at the sight of a shooting star above them. Both of their gazes followed him, as a smile appears on their faces.

It was their first shooting star with Louis, along with the first full moon for one Louis Lahela. Hypothetically speaking. It was a start that they didn't even know they will ever get a year ago. Standing there now, it felt unreal as they were finally a family. Their wish had finally come true, as Casey knows hers had came true a long time ago, as she first laid eyes on one Bryce Lahela, as the rest of her life was history.

The shooting star above them was slowly falling from a far distance, as the family of three stood silently with the happy coos of their little boy was heard as both of them made their wish.

After a few moments, they opened their eyes. As his hazel eyes were met with hers, a wished was made in silence as they decided to return to their home. Little do they know, their wishes had finally come true, moving forward. 

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

They were more nights like these until the day fate had taken both of them away. Savoring their last moments together, as he lets out his final breath with Casey by his side, as Louis wished upon a similar shooting star years ago. Wishing to bring them back to the moment before, where he saw his first moon.

The first and the last as a family, he grew up becoming the person who both Bryce and Casey raised him to be; an astronomer with a gold heart. He also had two younger sisters who managed to follow his parents' footsteps, as Kailani followed their father's footsteps in becoming a surgeon whilst Alexandra followed their mother's footsteps in becoming a doctor in internal medicine.

The three siblings stood together, at the same spot years ago. The moon was shining above them, as the memories from their past emerge once more. It has been a routine for the Lahela family, as they would often visit the same spot in a few months for a small reunion or maybe…just a chance to relive the old memories once more, as the three siblings know that both Bryce and Casey are happily looking over them, with a proud facial expression at the two shooting stars above the three of them. Just the way it should be.

THE END.

A/N: Heyyy, its me! And I hope all of you enjoyed it! It was a sweet and fluffy one this time, since I am wanting some fluffy bryce content! But, the story kinda made me teared up especially towards the end, as it ends in a not-so happy way. But, its still a happy ending to me! Writing Bryce and Casey really bring me happiness somehow as all the stories were the fantasies that I had for a long time, and bringing it here. It felt amazing, thank you so much for reading once more! I hope all of you had a nice day! <3

[arthurflecksgirl]

STOMPIN ON A DREAM *erotic Arthur Fleck short story *

Arthur Fleck and Reader

Involves: mental hospital, mental illness, sex

It was a quiet night in Arkham state hospital.

The only noise that was quietly floathing through the air was someone humming a song. Not loud, but still noticeable from the other side of the door. Doctor Finn didnt payed much attention to it. The patient with the case number 064823 did it since he came here 7 months ago. He always seemed to live in his own world. Most days it doesnt even seem to bother him that he is locked up in here. Thats how it seemed. But you knever know how it looks like on the inside of the patients heads. Especially when it came to Arthur Fleck.

He was very nice most of the time, not paying much attention to the other patients. Unless he wants to tell some jokes he just wrote down in his messy looking journal he carried with him everywhere he goes. Even to the bathroom. The doctors checked the diary daily, to make sure its fine for him to have it with him.  All in all he was one of the most quiet patients, which doesnt mean that the doctors felt comfortable around him. He was still an unsolved mysterie to them. Even to himself. Always in his own world but still observing. Always daydreaming, talking to himself but still having the presence  of someone who can change not only his but your own reality within a second. Some new doctor even left weeks ago because she was so drawn in by his presence, she was afraid to fall in love with him. Even though he never even talked to her or even noticed her. The intense look in his green eyes, the smirk on his face and the scar on his upper lip which made him look unpredictable and vulnerable at the same time was too much for her to handle. He was in his mid 30ies, his face slightly weathered but insanly attractive. You could hear him dancing through the hallways some nights, always playing a song in his head. His slim body moving graceful, light as a feather. Always an undefinable  expression on his face. A very beautiful but somehow broken man with a traumatic childhood. And alone. Always alone.

Arthur was lying on his back, staring at the ceiling in his white room. White exept for the red , big, messy written letters at which he was staring at.

"I thought of quitting baby, but my heart just ain`t gonna buy it"

He was closing his eyes. The red letters were still there. Now with a black background.

"Quitting" stood out now. The letters started to vibrate in his head. He got nerveaus, so he tried to calm himself down by humming the words. "I thought of quitting baby..." his voice as soft as his hands. His lips shaking a bit while trying to concentrate "...but my heart just aint gonna buy it...." his hands checking his chest, if he still had a heartbeat "...and if I´d think it was worth one single try..." he felt his heart beating, so he must have been still alive. "I`d ride on a big bird and then i´d fly". He opened his eyes. The letters were still there on the ceiling. Bt they stopped moving. He wasnt sure if it was a good thing that his heart was still beating. So many times he wished for it to stop. Just to  get rid of all the darkness around him. Of all the blood. Like the blood onthe ceiling which stared down at him. Judging him.

He tried to remember why he even came here. Why he spent the last months in this room. But nothing came to mind.  He looked at his wrists and noticed some cigarette burns. Maybe he tried to hurt himself. Maybe thats why he got locked up. He checked his wrists for more. No scars. "Who knows" he whispered to himself as the door suddenly opened and Dr Finn came in.

"Good morning Mr. Fleck. Could you please starting to get ready? Today is your day, remember? You can go home."

Arthur kept staring at the ceiling "Maám?"

"Yes Mr. Fleck?"

"Why havent you cleaned the ceiling? The bloody letters made me nerveaus all night"

The young doctor with her long, black hair smiled "Thats no blood, Mr. Fleck. You took a lipstick and wrote it two days ago. We cleaned it so many times but you still keep writing it again"

"I see. Its...its my fave song, you know?"

"Mr. Fleck did you hear what I told you? You can now pack your stuff and go home. But no hurry, just take your time, okay?"

The door closed as Arthurs mind wandered again.

He closed his eyes.

"Hey Arthur, how is it going? Did you missed me?"

He saw you standing there on other side of the room.

"I think I did (YN) ... oh yes.. I did !"

"Good to hear, Arthur. I missed you, too. Its been so long."

He kept staring at the corner of the room. You were beautiful, smiling at him.

"I cant wait to touch you again, Artie. To kiss you"

Arthurs hand was still  lying on his chest, now making its way down. He felt his ribs popping out. His skinny body looking starved. He wasnt eating like he should. All the meds stopped his appetite. His hands sliding over his hollow belly, further down and stopped between his legs.

He could hear your voice from across the room.

"Touch yourself for me, Arthur. I am watching you"

He nodded and grinned at you. Then focused on his own body again.

He was in his underwear only and stuck his left hand in it.

The letters on the wall now a lighter red. Lipstick. Obviously.

"You know this is my lipstick right there" he could hear you say.

"The same lipstick I kissed you with, remember?"

He softly started to play with his dick.

"I`m ...not sure (YN) "

He closed his eyes again. He thought it was the lipstick he owned by himself back from the days when he used to put clown make up on. He was a great party clown. With a huge painted on smile. But maybe that was just a story someone told him.

"Oh sure it is mine, Arthur. And I will kiss you again  with it. Till you`re out of breath. I will smear the red all over your face"

"Yeah?" a smirk on the left side of his lips which lifted up his scar. Made him look even more attractive. His almost shoulder long, brown hair  messy pressed against the pillow.

"Sure. And I wouldnt kiss you on your lips only."

Your voice echoed through his head.

"Where else?"

"Keep on touching youself, Arthur. Its my hand doing it."

"Its your hand (YN). Yeah I....I can feel it"

He softly squeezed and caressed the part between his slender legs, biting his lips.

He imagined you, lying on top of him, petting his sweaty curls. Calling him beautiful. It was your hand between his thighs as he felt waves of lust beginning to floath allthrough his body.

He now got rid of his underwear, his gentle hands around his dick which is getting harder as he imagines you rubbing yourself against his shaking body.

"Arthur, I can feel you all the way inside of me. Pull me closer. Please Arthur! Its could be never close enough!"

His hands up and down faster now.A silent moan coming from his thin lips.

He wanted to come closer. Entering your body, wearing you like a coat that keeps him warm in this cold, dark world.

He wanted to get closer to you, so he pushed himself into you. So gently but with an  almost unbearable intensivity. Just like when he was dancing. His face expression somewhere between pain and bliss.

"Arthur. You`re everywhere"

So were you. Your voice was everywhere. It wasnt only whispering in his ear. It filled the room, echoed from the walls. Your voice was a vibration between his legs, telling him to love you till you can`t breathe anymore.

"Do you love me (YN) he whispered.

All he wanted was to be loved. To be touched. he was graving it all through his life.

All this lonelyness was laying heavy on him, like a straight jacket. Holding him back from dancing with the ones he loved.

"I love you more than anything." your voice came from the letters on the ceiling.

"You have so many different sides. And I love every single one of them"

He masturbated harder now, humming.

"I`ve been a puppet, a pauper, a pirate a poet"

Your moans echoing through his head.

"...a poet, a pawn and a king"

"No matter how many ups and downs you may have, Arthur. I will never leave your side. We are one! Can`t you feel it? We are one body, one mind"

""I`ve been up and down and over and out..."

His eyes twitching from excitement. He is breathing heavier now, his long, dark eyelashes fluttering like butterflies.

He can almost taste your tongue in his mouth. Feel your hands touching the sweaty curls in his neck.

His voice still  whispering "I have waited so long for this".

He could feel the blood pulsing in his sensitive parts.

You were the girl of his dreams.

The one he thought about in his darkest hours.

All of his sexual fantasies he wrote in his journal were written about you.

His only light in a world of white walls and darkness.

He felt  the weight of your body on his fragile pelvis.

Arthur pressed his head into the white pillows as he was about to cum.

He couldnt take it anymore.

"(YN) *moaning* Oh my god, this is just....fuck me. Please (YN). Love me!"

Red lettering  blurring his vision.

He couldnt read what it says cuz the feeling of being able to cum this hard overwhelms him.

Black out.

Melodies.

So many melodies which don`t fit to each other.

So many colors blurring his mind.

Arthur presses his hands against his ears.

The sound won`t go away.

"(YN) ? "

No answer.

His hands are touching the sheets, so he could check if he was still lying in bed.

He was. Wet sheets.

His eyes wandered across the room.

He was alone.

Arthur touched his forehead to check if he had a fever dream.

He was unsure.

His greasy curls hanging in his tired eyes.

He felt a bit ashamed while he was putting his white underwear back on.

He crawled back under the sheets which he wished smelled like him but they didnt.

Another stare to the ceiling.

Red letters.

Lipstick. Blood maybe.

Someone was knocking at the door.

"Knock knock" he said as the door opened.

"Mr. Fleck, time to wake up. Maybe you will try to eat a bit more today?! You lost some weight again"

Arthur closed his eyes.

"You came earlier and  told me I can go home now"

Dr. Finn picked up the diary from the floor.

Taking a close look through the new written pages.

"More song lyrics, huh Mr. Fleck? I am afraid you can`t go home. Its the first time I visited you today. Have you took your medication?"

"Mhhh hhmmm"

"Did you had some visions again, Mr Fleck?"

The melodies got more quitet now.

The walls looked  bright and shiney.

Even the lettering on the ceiling was gone.

All cleaned up.

He put his finger upon his lips, looking in the doctors eyes. Humming. Silently. But you could still hear the words coming out of his mouth.

"..some people get their kicks, stompin on a dream"

Arthur smiled.

THE END

[starr-fall-knight-rise]

Humans are Space Orcs “Baptized in Blood”

A bit of a gore warning for this one :), But I was fulfilling the request of a few readers.

As always, I would love to hear your questions, comments, and requests. Always willing to answer writing questions as some of you have come to me for advice. :)

I will be covering this same topic in one of my short reports later on, so wait for that.

They were holed up inside the, “grocery store” The lights were off and snow had piled itself to almost two feet deep outside the glass doors, trembling from the powerful blowing of the snow. The humans milled about in confused packs.

Apparently blizzards of this power weren’t common, and the human’s hadn’t expected the storm to be as bad as it was. Now they were help up in the powerless store, thought the emergency lights and backup generator kept the place marginally lit and livably warm.

Krill could feel his body working to heat itself, but he wasn’t half as efficient as the humans. Captain Vir had given him his coat. It still had some of the human’s body heat, and so warmed Krill nicely.

Captain Vir sat by the checkout counters head resting back against the wall eyes closed.

Krill panicked silently to the side.

“Adam!” his one eye popped open and looked towards the sound of the voice.

Krill looked to find Captain Vir’s nest-mate or sister waddling towards them. She was even bigger than Krill remembered, and was impressed that she didn’t just fall over from the weight of her stomach.

Captain Vir stood, “Maya, what are you doing here?” He glanced down at her swollen belly, “Where is Jack…. Shouldn’t he be the one out doing this stuff…. You’re due in what? Two weeks?”

She waved him away with a hand, “If I avoided doing thigs just because I was pregnant, than I wouldn’t be doing anything. Besides, I needed to get up and walk around.”

Captain Vir tilted his head to the side, “Why?”

With a sigh, she rested one hand on her stomach and the other on her lower back, “I have had a backache all day. Besides this is the first time in days I haven’t been exhausted, so I wanted to get things done.”

From the corner of his eye, Krill saw Captain Vir tense lightly….. “Um…. I know I’m not like an expert or anything, but. Isn’t increased back pain a sign of labor….?

Krill was alerted by the sudden palpable tension in the room. Nearby humans turned to look at them worried expressions on their faces as they turned to glance at the blocked glass doors.

Maya went white, “I…. didn’t even think about that.”

“Any contractions?”

“Well no, not really.”

“What is that supposed to mean.” Vir was sounding frantic now, not something Krill understood. On his planet a mother laid her eggs in two minutes flat and then they were done…..

How big was a human larvae again?

Suddenly the female human stiffened up and closed her eyes resting a hand against the purchase lane taking a slow deep breath.

“Are you kidding me Maya? You’re in labor in a F***ing blizzard at the grocery store.” It was Vir’s turn to panic.

She frowned at him, “Excuse me for not timing it right.”

Captain Vir looked down at Krill, “Um…. You’re a doctor.”

Krill stared at the two of them, “You aren’t serious.” He looked back at Maya and the encouraging smile on her face though her eyes were very, very worried. He sighed, “Yeah, I am.”

It was almost impressive how fast Vir whipped up some extra support. Doing their best, they turned one of the back offices into a passable medical room wiping down all the surfaces, binging in anything soft and Pillow-shaped for support. Any useful tool was rounded up on Krill’s instruction. Maya insisted on helping despite being racked by pain every 45-60 seconds. She took it like only a human could with an easy smile and a pleasant request for some water.

Despite offering to let her sit down, she insisted that walking would probably be better.

Krill honestly wasn’t sure what to expect, and the true horror wasn’t really foreshadowed until, a few hours later, Maya went suddenly very still doubling over in pain eyes closed teeth gritted. Vir came over to support her arm as she whimpered through her teeth. She was there for almost sixty seconds standing back up face streaked in sweat eyes wide.

“F***k.” Vir muttered, “Krill, she’s getting closer.”

They transitioned her to the other room having her lay down. Krill did what he would do during surgery, though he was setting up for a procedure he had never performed.

The true horror hadn’t exactly been revealed yet. Upon request, captain Vir said that a baby could be anywhere from three to ten pounds whispering that it was very possible for the baby to get caught the wrong way, or break the pelvis, or get wrapped up in the umbilical cord.

Krill felt cold. Pregnancy wasn’t supposed to be dangerous…

Vir Knelt next to his sister’s head holding her hand, he kept his eyes very intentionally focused on her face stammering out instructions for breathing and reminders to try and keep relaxed.

Then it was like a switch was flipped, and the human began to scream…

Krill had never heard such a terrible grating noise, like an animal being tortured to death. Under her protective covering, the human writhed in absolute, and complete agony hands becoming claws nails dug into skin and Vir yelped in surprised pain drowned out by the terrible sound of her agony.

Sixty seconds…. And she collapsed back down eyes opening wide, bloodshot, face red body drenched. Those eyes turned on her brother, and the sweet human female bared her teeth at him, “F***K you…. Adam.”

He blinked, “What.”

“You heard what I said.” She snarled, “Now shut up.”

Krill was shaking. Did human females…. Kill people during labor.

She threw her head back and screamed again. The tone could have shattered steel like glass. It rocked the room as if the gates of hell had opened. Vir whimpered in pain, blood trickled down his hand, but that was…. That was absolutely nothing….. this was…. This was horror.

More than once he was forced to dodge out of the way as something was thrown at his head. The human screamed abuse at him, she screamed at Vir, and then she just screamed. Rivulets of sweat ran down her face, and she huffed in exhaustion.

He was shaking like a leaf in a hurricane.

Vir was shaking with him. For once the human and Krill were in agreement. This was just…. Horrific.

By his calculations, they were close. He ordered her to push.

She snarled at him, but did as told.

Her scream could have ripped the fabric of the universe body straining as if she were about to spontaneously burst or rip in half, and then he was covered in blood struggling to maintain a grip on the slimy wriggling creature bright red and screaming. The human shrieks died away replaced by the screaming of the slimy, maggoty, blood-covered, thing he held in his arms.

A dull thud followed the sudden transition.

Vir lay collapsed on the floor to the side completely passed out.

Hm…. Weird?

In shock, and still shaking, he cut away the slimy red cord before washing away the blood.

The tiny human shrieked in indignation.

With the way his arms were shaking, he just prayed that he wouldn’t accidentally drop it. He felt as if he were in shock, the room moved in slow motion around him. And there was the female human, she had crawled to her hands and knees and was concernedly peering over at him. Her hair was in tangled wet ropes around her face, but her eyes were wide, the anger was gone.

In pleading, she reached out to him, and he gladly handed the mess over to her.

She smiled at the ugly creature in her arms cooing and stroking at its red-screwed-up face as if she held a bar of gold or the secrets of the universe, but no…. it was more than that, it was the kind of expression that expressed her willingness to walk through fire if only to hold that which she now held in her arms.

You didn’t walk through fire for gold.

***

They had moved her to the next room over and piled all the used materials into a trash bag. They would need to be taken away with medical waste when the blizzard was over.

Captain Vir had originally woken up. He was shaky, and shell shocked, which Krill would have found funny if he didn’t feel exactly the same way. The two of them sat in the hall together one of them looking nauseous and the other trying very hard not to scream and run away from the humans. Through the open door, they could see the human resting quietly next to her sleeping larvae: resting in a large plastic container robbed from the store shelves. Both of them slept quietly now.

“You’re species is horrifying.”

“Tell me about it.”

***

The “Miracle” of birth, you absolute batshit crazy idiots. That isn’t a miracle, it’s not beautiful. That’s like calling a potful of intestines beautiful. How have your species survived? Why would your females willingly CHOOSE to continue your species?

Terror germinates inside of them, slowly growing upwards, getting bigger feeding on the nutrients of the body. It saps your strength and steels your livelihood, it forces you to eat and gain wait so it may subsist on the food you eat. Then it crawls its way from your body, ripping itself from the womb squalling and screaming. It tortures you as it exits, what kind of thanks is that?

And when it is all over, you love it, you keep it, and you feed it. You hold it for hours on end and sing to the monster that rests quietly in your houses.

In reality, it is a fitting way for a human to come into the world. Everything you do is dangerous, being a child is dangerous, being a mother is dangerous, and continuing your species is a sacrifice uncomprehended by the rest of the galaxy.

Though all of you participate in war, dance with pain, only your women fight with death to bring life, at cost to their own health and their own sanity.

As deathworlders, you are pulled from the blackness, children of death.

 Humans are born in pain, heralded by a chorus of screams, and baptized in blood. 

[p-artsypants]

Rage Awakened (3)

@chachacharlieco @violetstar-writes (If anyone else wants to be tagged in updates, please let me know!)

Ten years ago, Terra, Aqua, and Ventus lost their fellow apprentice, Sora, in Deep Jungle. Now, they are to return with two new students, Riku and Kairi, to lock the heart of the world. All the while, something watches from the trees. Feral!Sora AU

Ao3 | FF.net

That night, Kairi laid awake, thinking. She couldn’t get the strange boy out of her head. If he really was Sora, what were they going to do? Take him back with them?

But ten years alone in the jungle would change a person. Did he even know how to speak? Could he still summon his keyblade?

Would they just have to leave him behind? That didn’t seem fair. Even if he wasn’t Sora, being all alone in the Jungle just didn’t seem right.

When he looked at her, his expression held a lot of emotion. Fear, curiosity, and lot of wonder. How frightening it must have been to see another creature like him, and yet so different.

From her sleeping bag, she looked over at her teammates. Everyone was asleep and all was calm. The fire was still going, though only bright enough to cast a soft light on the immediate area. Crickets and strange animals hooted outside the treehouse, where the moon shone blue light through the windows.

Kairi loved nights like this. It was so different from her days in Radiant Garden, where even the nights had noise of the city, of clanking and whirling machines. In the Land of Departure, the nights were nearly silent from her window high in the castle. This though, this was just perfect. She had been to so many worlds in the last year, traveling with her teammates. Nights like these, where the darkness retreated at the light of the moon, and life persisted.

It was relaxing and comforting. Though the Jungle held many mysteries and dangers, this was a haven.

Suddenly, she heard the sound of feet hitting the floor, though very gently. She glanced to the other end of the treehouse and saw a silhouetted figure, crouched and crawling towards them.

Kairi didn’t move, though she prepared in case he meant harm. Eraqus once said she had a problem with naïveté, and that she often trusted people too quickly. Still, she felt like this stranger meant no harm, for if he was the same boy she had seen earlier, he easily could have left her to die out on the field.

The boy slowly tracked through their camp, his steps imperceivable over the sound of the crackling fire and Terra’s snores. He curiously dug into the first pack he found, which belonged to Ventus. He pulled out a shirt, feeling the fabric and turning it over to examine it. When it failed to interest him, he shoved it back into the bag.

Then he slowly and hesitantly leaned over Ventus himself, studying his face. Then he moved onto the next person.

He peaked in everyone’s luggage, pulling out interesting items to sniff or taste. Though he didn’t actually take anything. Then he sniffed each of her teammates, touching their hair and any armor that was nearby.

It felt like she had been watching him for an hour before he finally made his way over to her. She closed her eyes, pretending to sleep.

She heard him shuffling through her clothes, then heard him sniffling near her ear. She stayed extremely still, keeping her breathing even, as his face drew closer to hers.

It seemed his evaluation of her would be different from the others, since she felt the softest skin against her lips.

Her eyes fluttered open in shock.

Those blue blue eyes stared right back at her, with all the wonder in the world.

She didn’t scream this time, just stared back at him.

Had he just...kissed her?

His eyes widened slightly as a smile took over his lips. He seemed thrilled that he had awakened her.  

Carefully, since he was only inches away from her face, Kairi sat up. He remained close, but followed her movements.

He flicked his eyes over her body briefly, now that she was in pajamas, but continually met her eyes. Likewise, Kairi looked over him, now that he was close and not about to leave.

He had a large leaf on his arm, held in place by mud. It looked like a primitive bandaid. She frowned, and threw off her blankets.

The boy didn’t like the action, and whimpered, thinking she was leaving.

Instead she stood and quietly walked over to their first aid kit. She opted for a potion, so as not to startle him by summoning her keyblade. Then she took her canteen and a rag.

All the while, he watched, curious as to what she could be doing.

Finally, she smiled at him and beckoned him to follow her outside.

He did so eagerly, ever interested in her world.

Outside the treehouse, on the balcony, Kairi knelt and wetted the rag with the canteen.

The stranger was quick to crouch in front of her, immediately in her personal space.

She reached out, her hand hovering over his arm.

He tilted his head, looking at her expression, and then where her hand was. Then he leaned that arm towards her.

Carefully, Kairi peeled off the leaf and began to wipe off the mud. A potion would heal up the wound just fine, but it would have to be clean first.

The boy hissed suddenly and ripped his arm away.

She dropped the rag and held out her hands in a calming way.

Seeing she meant no harm, he slowly reached his arm back out, letting her finish.

Once clean, she offered him the potion.

Instead of taking it, however, he reached his hand out and touched her face ever so gently, then leaned in, unaware of how uncomfortable he was making her.

She couldn’t help but laugh a little, mostly out of nervousness. “Haven’t you looked at me enough already?”

His eyes widened at the sound of her voice, and he gave a silent laugh, like a dog panting, and danced on his toes.

Again, she offered the potion.

He sniffed it, and then gave it a withering glance.

“You drink it,” She pantomimed drinking, and encouraged him to do the same.

So he did, but screwed his face up after at the bitter taste. But then he blinked, feeling the pain in his arm gone. Glancing down, his wound was completely healed, and there wasn’t even a scar. He did his little dance again.

“See? All better!”

He showed his appreciation by swooping in and nuzzling his nose with hers.

She crinkled up her face in response, not expecting the action.

Then he backed off a few inches, his eyes bright, and pleasant grunts coming from his throat.

“Uh, you’re welcome?” Kairi laughed.

He tilted his head to the side. “Wel...come?”

“You can speak!” She clapped her hands in joy.

He mimicked the action. “Speak!”

“Ah, but not very well, I guess.” Still, she touched her chest, right above her heart. “My name is Kairi.”

He glanced at her hand, then her face, and mimicked the action, hand on his chest “Kai...ri?”

“Close.” She took his hand and placed it on her chest, “Kairi.”

Realization hit him. “Kairi!” He patted her heart. “Kairi!”

“Good! Now...” she placed her hand on his chest, right over the ‘X’ scar. “What’s your name?”

He looked at her hand, frowned, and without another word, leapt over the railing and into the darkness of night.

Kairi was left alone, only able to wonder. She touched the tip of her nose, then her lips, and blushed.

—

The next morning, over breakfast, the group talked over their plan for the day. They decided they would split up again, same groups, and travel East and West this time.

Kairi was barely paying attention. After the boy left, she finally was able to fall asleep, even though he had only given her more questions than answers.

“Kai?” Riku asked, noticing how quiet she had been.

“What world’s did Sora like?” She said suddenly.

Terra and Aqua stopped eating and pondered the question.

“Why do you ask?”

“I just...wondered. Maybe there’s a way to find out if it’s really him by bringing back some old memories.”

Aqua considered, “Gosh, I don’t know if there was a world he didn’t like! He was so friendly to everyone...almost to a fault.”

“You know the most important rule of keyblade wielders?” Terra asked.

“We mustn’t meddle in the affairs of other worlds.” Quoted Ventus, like a good noodle.

“Well, he loved to meddle. He always found a way to get in people’s business. Usually, we helped solve problems, but mostly Sora just stuck his nose where it didn’t belong.”

Aqua pondered, “But a favorite world, specifically? Well, he liked The Caribbean. He loved being a pirate and the big ships.”

“He also liked Neverland and flying.”

“And oh! He liked Halloweentown!”

“For Santa?” Asked Riku, like it was the obvious thing in the world.

“Of course for Santa.”

“Aqua, do you remember what world he talked about for weeks after we came back?”

“Um...gosh, we went to a lot of worlds back then. Which one ware you thinking of?”

“Enchanted Dominion.”

“Oh yeah!”

The other three just looked in question. “Where?”

Aqua sighed sadly. “It’s one of the early worlds that fell into darkness. Princess Aurora and Maleficent’s world.”

Riku groaned loudly.

“What’s crawled up your butt, Riku?” Asked Terra at the reaction.

“I hate that bitch so much.” He shook his head. “Sorry for the language but…she’s just the worst.”

“I thought Princess Aurora was nice.” Said Ventus, innocently. Since her world had fallen into the darkness, she had been living in Radiant Garden, along with two other Princesses, Snow White and Cinderella.

“Not Aurora! Maleficent! Geez…”

“She was the one who made you succumb to the darkness, isn’t she?” Kairi asked.

He rolled his eyes, “yeah. Anyways, that’s in the past now. What did you guys do in Enchanted Dominion?”  

“You guys know about Aurora’s curse, right?”

“Let’s say I don’t…” Ventus cringed.

“When she was an infant, Maleficent cursed her to die at the age of sixteen, after she would prick her finger on the spindle of a spinning wheel. Only because of the good fairies did the curse change from death to sleep. And with true loves kiss, the spell would be broken.”

“Well, it must not have come true then, given we saw Aurora a few weeks ago.”

“Oh, it did come true. When we arrived in the world, the curse had already come to fruition. Aurora was asleep in the tallest tower, and the fairies had put the whole kingdom to sleep as well, so no one would worry.”

“That had to be weird to walk into,” Said Riku.

“Extremely.” Deadpanned Terra.

“We wandered around for awhile until we found the tower that Aurora was sleeping in...well, Sora found it. He tried waking her up by tapping her shoulder and going, ‘excuse me ma’am.’ Then the good fairies found us and explained the curse, and that Aurora’s true love, Prince Phillip, was being held prisoner in Maleficent’s Castle.”

Terra laughed, “when Fauna explained that Aurora needed a kiss to wake up, Sora said ‘well, I’ll kiss her!’ He just didn’t understand why it had to be this one guy specifically. It was hard to explain without using the analogy of a key to a lock…considering he’s been able to unlock any door he’s wanted with the same key his whole life.”

“So what did you do?”

“Well, the fairies asked us for our help, since they didn’t want to worry the kingdom, and they led us to the Forbidden Mountain. Sora at least stayed behind at the gate, but he insisted on being part of the adventure. So Terra and I snuck into the fortress and freed Prince Phillip, but we had to fight our way out. And just as we were about to reach King Stefan’s Castle, Maleficent appeared.”

“And she was pissed.”

“I know how that is...” Riku said under his breath.

“The fairies had given Phillip a sword and shield, so he wasn’t completely defenseless...but it wasn’t much help. She turned into this huge dragon!”

“Oh wow, she can do that?” Ventus asked, horrified.

“She’s a witch with the powers of darkness. There’s no telling what all she can do.”

“So you fought her as a dragon?”

“Yeah, and she put up one hell of a fight. And Sora fought valiantly, well, for a...I think he was five at the time?”

“You let him fight?!” Kairi shouted, aghast.

“We always did. How else was he supposed to learn?”

“I don’t know! Somehow less dangerously!?”

“So, what happened?” Asked Riku. “Maleficent is still prowling around, but Aurora is awake. Homeless, but awake.”

“Well, Phillip dealt the finishing blow.” Aqua said.

Terra quoted, “‘Sword of Truth, fly swift and sure. Let evil die, and good endure!’ At least that’s what the spell was supposed to do.”

“But we were all surprised to hear she was back. She’s like a weed that won’t stop growing. We led Phillip up the tower to Aurora, and he kissed her. She woke up, and so did the rest of the kingdom. And they all lived happily ever after…until the darkness came.”

Kairi hugged her legs to her chest, totally invested in the story of young Sora. “So, when you guys came back, he talked about it a lot?”

“Mostly the dragon,” Terra explained. “In our downtime, we would play this game…” He trailed off, and then sighed, remembering.

Aqua laughed. “Oh my god! I remember! We would play this game where…” she caught her breath, “where one of us was the ‘dragon’, one was the ‘Prince’ and then the other was the ‘Princess’. It was basically reenacting what had happened in Enchanted Dominion.”

“Honestly, I loved being the Princess,” Terra said, unabashed. “I actually just slept.”

“The catch was that the ‘Prince’ had to wake up the ‘Princess’ with a kiss. Usually on the cheek or forehead.”

Terra sighed, “yeah, but there was one time where Sora was the ‘Dragon’ and I was the ‘Prince’ and he insisted I kiss Aqua on the lips.”

“Did you?”

The treehouse was quiet as he said quietly. “…yeah.”

Riku and Ventus laughed loudly at his blushing face.

“I know it must hurt,” Kairi said, once things calmed down. “Talking about him again, but it’s really nice to hear about him.”

Aqua smiled, forlorn. “Yeah…full disclosure, if this wild stranger ends up being him, I am going to cry.”

“I had forgotten a lot of this until we started talking about it.” Terra admitted. “It was just…easier not to think about it. I still remember him declaring, quite proudly, that one day he was going to find a Princess like Aurora, one that would wake up with his kiss. I told him it was inappropriate to kiss girls while they were sleeping and he retorted,” he made his voice high pitched and whiny, “but all the other Princes are doing it!”

Something about that statement made Kairi’s heart ache.

“That was over ten years ago, but it doesn’t feel like it.” Aqua said, raising to her feet. “Well, we have a jungle to search, and two things to find now.”

[firelxdykatara]

Day 2: Hidden Identities

So this is a day late, but hopefully not a dollar short! (lol kill me my jokes suck) ANYWAY, this is for Day 2 of @thirtydaysofzutara and was heavily inspired by @artcraawl‘s amazing Zutara Mulan AU pictures. Some of it is directly from the movie, some is embellished, anyway I hope it’s a fun read, as I certainly had fun writing it!

---

“I don’t know if I can do this, Tui.”

Katara gave one more half-hearted tug, but her father’s sword remained stubbornly embedded in the tree’s trunk. With a sigh, she flopped to the ground, thumping her fists against the hard-packed soil in frustration. Her companion, a silver dragon-lizard with impossibly black eyes, scurried up the tree and perched on the flat of the blade, tugging gently, but to no avail. “It’ll come out! You just have- to be- persistent!”

With a final tug, the lizard slipped from the blade and fell to the ground. Katara pushed herself up on her elbows with a groan. “I’ve been persistent! It’s not working! I haven’t even been able to get that stupid arrow out of the pole.”

“No one else has, either,” Tui pointed out, curling her tail over her shoulder and rubbing a spot of dirt from her scales.

“That’s not the point.” Katara sat up and pushed herself to her feet.  “They belong here. They don’t have to prove anything.”

“Neither do you, as far as they know.”

“Sure, and what happens when they find-”

“Who are you talking to, Tak?”

Katara froze. Tui scampered into the bushes with an alarmed squeak, and the moment stretched uncomfortably, as the woman tried desperately to convince herself that voice belonged to someone—anyone­—else. It didn’t work; she was pretty sure she could feel his amber gaze burning holes into her back.

He had the disconcerting ability to make her feel like he could see right through her façade—through the warrior she was trying to be, to the scared, homesick girl beneath.

Time sped up again, and Katara turned to look at Zuko, who was standing behind her with his arms crossed and one eyebrow raised.

“Uh…” she began, before realizing her voice was pitched too high, coughing to cover it up. “No one! I’m just, talking to… myself…” She trailed off, rubbing the back of her neck with one hand (mostly to hide the fact that she kept reaching for a lock of hair that just wasn’t there anymore). Her eyes slid to her sword, still sunk into the tree trunk, about the same time Zuko’s did. Disapproval radiated from his lithe form in waves, and Katara had to fight back the nervous laughter that kept threatening to bubble up.

“Oh, this is… I was just training…” she said, grabbing the hilt tightly in both hands. It still refused to move, and she braced herself with one foot on the trunk. Finally, with an almighty yank, the sword came free, and the momentum sent her careening off-balance.

Zuko ducked just in time—the blade passed a hair’s breadth over his head.

“Oops,” Katara muttered, giving a weak chuckle as she clumsily shoved her sword back into its sheath. “Cut it a little close there-” Spirits, Katara, stop talking.

The captain looked less than impressed as he straightened back up, looking at her with some emotion in his eyes that she couldn’t quite describe. Then he sighed, shaking his head. “Pack up.”

Something churned unpleasantly in the pit of her stomach. “What?”

“Go home. You’re through here, Tak. I’ve tried my best, but you just aren’t suited for war—not in my company. And if you’re the best that Chief Hakoda could send in his own stead-” He broke off, squaring his shoulders. “You’d be more of a danger to your own comrades than the Fire Nation soldiers. And I won’t have good men, even you, needlessly killed because they weren’t ready.”

Katara watched as he walked away, trying very hard to keep from noticing the way his muscles had tensed (probably from anger) beneath the thin padding of his training vest. “He’s right. I know he is. But…”

Tui poked her head out of the bushes. “But you want to prove him wrong.”

A wry grimace twisted at her mouth. “I was too willful and stubborn to make a good wife, remember? It must be good for something.”

“So what are you going to do?”

The sun had set, the last of its amber glow receding from the skyline just as the full moon began to peek through the clouds. “I don’t know…” Katara murmured, gazing up at the sky—she traced the moonbeams with her eyes, until she caught one that illuminated the arrow still stuck at the top of that tall, wooden beam.

She could have had it down weeks ago, if she’d wanted to risk waterbending—but it was supposed to be a physical exercise. For all that she was at a disadvantage compared to the rest of the company (not that anyone but Sokka realized it), the last thing she wanted to do was prove herself by cheating. But there had to be some way to get to that arrow. And maybe, if she got it down herself…

 Hours later, the only thing preventing her from screaming in frustration was the fact that Zuko’s tent was only ten feet away. “Come on,” she grunted, taking another running jump at the pole—and, as before, she made it a few feet before falling to the ground in an ungainly heap.

She might have had a better chance at getting higher, if not to the top, if it weren’t for the weights at her wrists. Katara picked herself up for the thousandth time, dropping the weights and dusting herself off. (It was a good thing her family didn’t seem to have the ‘quitter’ gene, or she might have contemplated just leaving, like she’d been told.) She couldn’t help the nagging feeling that there was something about this exercise that was missing, that she just didn’t understand. She picked up the weights again, holding them in front of her, inspecting the etchings in the gold. It was an ancient form of Earth Kingdom script, and she could only make out a few letters.

Somehow, she doubted anyone had carved a cheat sheet onto these things a thousand years ago, anyway.

But as the weights swayed gently on their leather ties, something occurred to her—it was so simple she could almost kick herself for not thinking of it sooner. It was so obvious. It wasn’t just about having to struggle against the weight. It was about discipline and strength—using them to her advantage.

Squaring her shoulders, Katara faced the pole again—this time, when she jumped, she swung the weights, tangling the leather ties together, and she began to climb.

Halfway up, she almost wanted to let go, forget the whole thing. Her arms were screaming in protest, and she kept slipping even as she gained inches in height—sweat was streaming down her face in small rivers, and she could feel her tunic sticking to her back. The cotton binding around her breasts was beginning to itch something fierce. But she had already gotten too far to quit, and so she kept going—gaining inches and losing centimeters, until she could see the top of the pole. She could almost reach out and grab that arrow.

The sun began to peek over the horizon once more, and Katara gasped for breath, her muscles screaming in agony as she grabbed the top of the pole and finally pulled herself up. It was a deceptively wide beam of wood, in fact, and easy enough to perch on was she grabbed the arrow in one tender hand and pulled it free.

It was only when the cheering began that she realized she’d drawn a crowd.

A tired grin crossed her face, and she subtley bent some of her sweat, coating the arrow-head with a thin layer of ice. Just as Zuko’s tent flap opened, she threw the arrow down—it landed with impressive accuracy, thudding into the ground at his feet as he stepped out. He looked up at her, and while it was difficult to tell from how far away she was, Katara almost thought he looked proud.

 ---

 “I’m sorry. About your uncle.” Katara winced inwardly—she kept forgetting to pitch her voice low enough, but Zuko didn’t seem to notice. He was staring at the fire; if he’d heard a word she said, he didn’t indicate it. Which was almost a relief—she wasn’t sure she’d be able to get into a conversation about lost loved ones and not accidentally blow her own cover.

Sokka had been helping as much as he dared, once he’d realized her plan, but there was only so much he could do to keep her from ruining everything with her ‘stupid girly habits’.

Apparently, talking about feelings qualified.

Either way, Zuko clearly wasn’t in the mood for company. Katara turned to go—if she hadn’t already become so tuned to the tenor of his voice, for reasons she couldn’t even begin to explain, she might have missed it entirely when he said, “Thank you, Tak.”

She stopped, glancing back at him—he was giving her at least an attempt at a smile, and it suddenly struck her how very young he looked. Especially for a captain.

He really couldn’t have been more than a couple years older than she was, and it was hard enough for her to manage to keep her own life straight—she couldn’t imagine what it was like trying to lead an entire company.

She opened her mouth to say something else—she wasn’t quite sure what, but since when had thinking ever stopped her from blurting out what was on her mind?—when she heard the screech of a bird of prey high in the sky above them. It sounded familiar, almost… almost like…

She was six years old, and the snow had turned grey from falling ash. Buildings burned, people were screaming and running away, bursts of fire from soldiers in the streets kept illuminating the overcast sky, and Katara couldn’t find her parents.

“Mama!” she shouted, tears streaking through the soot stains on her face, running towards her house. Everything was chaos, but she still knew home. Somewhere, high in the sky, a fire hawk screamed—the little girl could see it circling over her family’s hut, an omen she couldn’t quite comprehend.

When she opened the door, the smell of charred flesh nearly knocked her off her feet. It was-

“The Fire Nation!” Katara heard herself shouting, those last images from her memory still superimposed over her vision, the smell sticking to her all these years later. She wanted to gag, but there was no time. “They’re here! They-“

An arrow whistled through the air and into Zuko’s shoulder as he stood, knocking him flat.

“Zuko!” Katara rushed to his side as more arrows floated into view just over the snowy hilltop—he waved her off, pulling the arrow free with a grunt and clambering to his feet.

“Everyone, get out of their range! Grab the cannons!”

It was pure chaos, after that. Zuko’s company scattered—they grabbed armloads of cannons and their weapons and ran, forcing the Fire Nation soldiers to abandon their high ground advantage if they wanted to do any real damage. Out of range of the arrows was also out of range of their firebenders, and it took everything Katara had not to panic and freeze.

“Sokka!” The relief nearly knocked her over, but she held her ground, grabbing for her brother’s hand and yanking him out of the way of another arrow barrage. “Where’s Zuko? Is he-”

“He’s fine! We need to set up these canons, Tak. Now!”

Their answering barrage sent shockwaves rippling through the ground—when they were down to the last cannon, Zuko appeared behind them. “Hold- we don’t know who’s left. If…”

He trailed off. The smoke cleared, and revealed the bulk of the Fire Nation army still intact on the hillside.

Ozai was at the army’s head. Katara could feel his smug smirk from here.

“Sokka, take that last canon. Hit Ozai, if it’s the last thing you do!” Zuko commanded. “Men- prepare for a fight!”

Katara’s hand went to her sword hilt, but something was still bothering her. Taking out Ozai wouldn’t decimate the Fire Nations forces—they’d keep coming, they’d kill everyone. How many more villages would suffer the way Omashu had? The way her tribe had? The way-

She caught sight of the snow-covered mountain just behind them. They weren’t going to have time to retreat back through the mountain passes to safety, but maybe, if she could only just… She reached, but nothing. Practicing her bending in secret had only gotten her so far, and that snow was too far off. But…

“Give me that!” She pushed Sokka aside and grabbed the cannon. It would work. It had to.

 ---

 Katara was beginning to lose feeling in her arms. She hadn’t realized Ozai’s blade had cut that deep, but now Koda’s saddle was soaked in her blood, and she had barely been able to muster the strength to grab Zuko and pull him to safety.

The avalanche had stilled, snow wiping the last traces of the Fire Nation army away, and Katara finally slid from her horse’s back, stumbling to her knees. Zuko had regained consciousness, and he rushed to her side. “Tak! Are you alright?”

She gripped his arm and pulled herself upright, nodding weakly. “I’m fine, is everyone else-”

“We made it, Tak,” Toph said, affectionately thumping her shoulder. “Thanks to you. That was brilliant.”

The others chimed in, and Katara smiled, for just a moment. And then she collapsed.

When she opened her eyes, she recognized the colors of the medical tent above her cot. For a moment, Katara was dazed, confused—how had she gotten here? Where were Zuko, Sokka and the others? How-

Her clothing had been removed. The breast binding wraps were visible, overlapping the bandages around her abdomen. The doctor was looking at her, perhaps to be sure she was truly awake, but when she opened her mouth to speak, he turned away and left the tent.

Katara sat up quickly, wincing at the tight feeling of the wound in her stomach, wanting to protest—but then Zuko stepped inside, and the words died in her throat.

It was then that she realized her hair was loose—the thick, dark brown waves that just brushed against her shoulders were much more visibly feminine now that she no longer wore them in her father’s hairstyle, and the breast wraps had only been effective at hiding her figure when covered by padding and armour. Now, she felt her cheeks burn as Zuko’s eyes followed her figure, and realized the truth of what the doctor had obviously told him.

“So it’s true,” came Long Feng’s voice as he entered the tent behind Zuko. Where the latter’s gaze was completely unreadable, Long Feng didn’t bother to disguise his disgust. He surged forward, grabbing Katara by the arm and dragging her out of the tent, throwing her into the snow with just her blanket for cover. She fell to her knees before the rest of the company, tears of humiliation freezing to her lashes before they even had a chance to fall.

“A woman,” Long Feng hissed. “A despicable traitor to our great kingdom!”

Toph and Aang stared in shock. Sokka started forward, but Katara shook her head. It was too late for her, but she would not let her brother take the fall, too. “My name is Katara. I only came here to save my father-”

“More lies!” Long Feng insisted, turning to glare at her as Zuko approached. “Devious snake!”

“I never meant for it to go this far!” Her eyes met Zuko’s, and she pleaded with him silently. Please understand. “You have to believe me! I only wanted-”

“Silence!” Long Feng shouted.

Sokka ran forward. “Wait! You can’t do this—she’s my sister!”

“Sokka, no!”

But the damage was done. “You knew about her deception?” Long Feng was practically quivering with rage. “Stand aside, boy, or you will share in this traitor’s fate!”

“Sokka, please-”

He refused to budge. Katara could still see Zuko, staring at the both of them now, sword in hand. He took a step forward, and several gasps ran through the company—Toph and Aang looked ready to rush to their defense, but Long Feng threw his arm out and stopped them. “You know the law!”

For just a moment, Katara met Zuko’s eyes, and thought she saw something flickering in their depths. Something other than anger or disgust. Something warm.

Then it was gone, and Zuko threw his sword to the ground. “A life for a life,” he said, staring down at her. “My debt to you is ended.” Finally, as if only now realizing he was there, Zuko looked at Sokka. “Take her home. Don’t bother coming back.”

He turned on his heel—Long Feng made a noise, as if he were about to protest, but Zuko turned on him with a glower that could’ve melted steel. The advisor finally cowed into silence, he turned to the rest of his men and motioned for them to move out.

 ---

 “You trusted Tak. Why is Katara any different?”

“You stole my victory.” “No! I did!” “… The soldier from the mountain!”

“She’s a woman, and from the water tribes! She’s not worth protecting!”

“I have heard all about you, Katara of the Water Tribes. You followed your brother off to war—stole your father’s armour and ran away from home. You impersonated a soldier, deceived your commanding officer, dishonored the Earth Kingdom, and… you have saved us all.”

 It was… surreal. That was the only way Katara could describe the feeling that overtook her, when she realized that not only was the Earth King bowing, but so was the entirety of Ba Sing Se. As far as the eye could see, citizens were stooping low, and it was all but impossible to believe they were honoring her.

Even Zuko was bowing—even her brother. She wanted to tell them all to stand up, that she really hadn’t done anything that extraordinary, but she didn’t want to risk losing the King’s good faith. The moment eventually passed, anyway, and Katara turned to find the Earth King smiling warmly at her.

“I would be honored if you would accept a seat on my council, Katara,” he said—Long Feng looked like he was about to faint.

“B- but sir, you can’t just- there are no positions open!”

“Alright. You can have his job.”

This time, he did faint. Katara had to smother a chuckle before taking a deep breath and shaking her head. “You honor me, your majesty, but… I think it’s time for me to go home.”

He nodded, as if he’d expected nothing less of her.

The Earth King gave her his medallion and Ozai’s sword, and when Katara finally turned to go, she very nearly ran right into Zuko. “Oh! Zuko, I-”

“Katara-” he began, at the same time. They both broke off; Katara bit her lip, waiting for him to continue. He cleared his throat. “I, uh- you fight good. Well! Proficiently, you- you’re an excellent soldier.”

Their eyes met, but Katara was the first to look away, this time. “Oh. Thank you, Zuko. For everything.” And then she left, finding Koda and pulling herself into his saddle to begin the long journey home.

“You don’t meet a girl like that every dynasty,” the Earth King declared—sounding very much like he was calling Zuko an idiot.

 “Would you like to stay for dinner?” From a distance, Katara could hear Grandma Kanna’s voice, “Would you like to stay forever?!” Zuko laughed. “Dinner would be great.”

[scaryscarecrows]

Roots and Leaves, Pt. 6

DC did it first. Take your grievances to them.

Jason and Sheila e-mail back and forth for about a week before she says that she has Thursday off so if he has Thursday off does he want to meet for lunch again?

Last time wasn’t bad. Not a lot of staring or people or anything. He can…he can probably do it again. And it’s a few days away still, so he has time to psyche himself up or, worst case scenario, fake his death and move to Canada.

And it’s been a week and she hasn’t pulled out the Pity Card on him yet and maybe…maybe this’ll all work out okay. She might never be Mom, because Catherine’s always gonna be Mom, but…but she could be Mother, maybe. He can see that in the distant (or not-so-distant?) future.

But he’s not going to rush into things, that’s what got him here in the first place. Patience, grasshopper.

Thursday rolls around and he hasn’t faked his death and moved to Canada, so he has no choice but to put on jeans and a hoodie and resign himself to a couple of hours, easy, of no sunglasses and no e-book shield.

Sorry, any small children who might come out of this traumatized.

Okay. He brings his Kindle anyway, and his sunglasses for the journey, and sticks to his normal Civilian Weaponry-couple’a knives, one pair of brass knuckles tucked into a hidden pocket in his hoodie. Last thing he needs is for someone to pick up a bullet, match it to the Red Hood’s, and come knocking on his door. His luck is bad enough that’s exactly what would happen.

Besides, it’s noon on a Thursday, and even in Gotham that’s a slow hour. Bank robbers gotta eat, too.

The monorail ride there is literal Hell (three fighting couples, two crying kids and old man with no personal spaaaaace!) and he’s literally gasping for air when he stumbles out of the car. He likes people. Honest. If he legitimately hated them all, he wouldn’t risk his life to help them. But interacting with them…he could do without that, mostly.

Whatever. Whatever. It’s over, he lived, he’s had worse.

(And no, he doesn’t hear faint cackling in his head, and that’s final.)

It’s windy today, the type of wind that buffets people every which way and is determined to keep his hood off his head. He fidgets with the drawstrings until it’ll stay and buries his hands in his pockets. Wind sucks. He can feel pollen and dust and Gotham Grime being blown onto his skin.

“Jason!”

Is he there already?

Sheila…looks a lot more haggard than she did before. He tries to remember if she’d mentioned being horribly busy, doesn’t think she did, and figures that to be fair, he hasn’t mentioned the bruise that goes halfway up his back.

She smiles, her awkward driver’s license smile, and waves. Yeah, she doesn’t…it must’ve been a long week, or maybe a rough drive or something. She looks tired.

“Hi.” He’s not sure what to call her, still. Miss Haywood is too disconnected, Sheila’s too personal, and it’s way, way too soon for Mother. Names are a pain. “I’m not late, am I?” He knows he’s not. “Monorail was packed.”

“So was the subway. Can I…?”

Her arms are half-out and he figures she’s asking for a hug. He can do a hug, as long as it’s a short hug.

���Yeah. Thanks for the warning.”

Holy crap, she feels frail. But to be fair, barring Dick’s tackle-hug, everyone’s felt frail since…since. So it could just be him. Hugs are weird now.

(“HUG YOUR DADDY!”)

No. Not today. Everything’s fine.

It’s a sort-of short hug, short enough, anyway, and he wonders, abstractedly, if a day will ever come that he’s used to that sort of thing again. If it even matters whether he does or doesn’t.

It does. Of course it does. And the day will come, in time, and he’ll be better, be normal, be what people want him to be.

Little steps.

* * *

They’ve fallen into a companionable silence and for once Jason’s not jumping whenever someone walks by in a purple sweater or anything when Sheila forces her lips out from between her teeth and says, “I know you were Robin.”

Well. That’s, uh, there’s that out of the way.

“Yeah.” There’s clearly no point in denying it. She probably put it together when Batman came knocking. “For a little while, yeah. I was.” He tastes blood, wonders how long he’s been doing that, and wishes he had gum. Or a mint. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you right off, I just…old habits die hard, I guess.”

“Oh God, no, no, I didn’t mean-” She takes a drink. Her hands are shaking, she’s shaking and he doesn’t know what’s wrong. “I just. I thought I should probably make it clear that I did know, so you wouldn’t…I know I was absent, but I don’t want…you shouldn’t feel like you have to hide things from me.”

Oh. That’s. He doesn’t know what to say. Bruce, God knows, has the emotional capabilities of a Himalayan Salt Lamp. Thankfully Jason hadn’t been the type to go through crushes every two weeks, or he probably would have been in Hell. He certainly wouldn’t have…it’s not like he would have shut down the conversation, but sharing and caring? That would have been awkward and best not repeated. Alfred was the go-to for that sorta thing.

All right, then. Since they’re dropping sudden bombshells ‘n all…he has to know.

“You worked for Joker.” There. It’s out. He said it.

And now he kinda regrets it-the self-loathing on her face is a pretty good match for his own, and he can’t tell himself it’s anything less than deep, deep wishing to have made better choices.

“I did.” She straightens up, begins tearing apart a piece of bread on her plate. “Briefly. I’m not proud, but he had a line to my mother, knew where she lived, knew her schedule…knew.” She swallows hard. “Knew she had to rubber-band her jam jars because she couldn’t open them otherwise. I panicked. But it was only for a couple of months-pills, he wanted pills, as much as I could get him. And then he just…went away. I don’t know what he did with them.”

Honestly, after everything, he can’t…he doesn’t have the right to say much. And honestly? There was that one guy, who accidentally cut the fucker off in traffic and couldn’t get away from him.

And look at him. The first man he killed, that wasn’t…oh, sure, he probably had it coming, at least a little, but Jason wasn’t thinking about that or considering it like he does now, he just…he wanted to kill Bruce. Because that was right and reason at the time even though he knows it’s insanity now.

No, he can’t say much.

“I’m sorry,” he says softly, and it’s suddenly easier to look at his hands. “I didn’t…that sounds awful.”

“No.” She tips his chin up and it’s an effort not to pull away and to remember that it’s fingers, warm human fingers, and not the pointy end of a crowbar against his skin. “You deserved to know. It’s only fair.”

Truth be told, it’s a relief to know that she hadn’t…yeah, technically she could’ve…maybe done something different, but she hadn’t wanted to work for him. She wasn’t like the ones he’d christened Dumb and Dumber that…they enjoyed that kinda work.

Lunch is finished in relative silence after that, though, and he’s wondering what’s going to happen now when she rifles through her purse and swears.

“Damn…I meant to grab an old photo album I wanted to show you, with some old family pictures and things.”

Pictures of Willis? Yeah, he’s good. Pictures of other people might be interesting, though.

“Next time?”

“My apartment’s a few blocks over.”

Something feels off. He’s paranoid, he knows he’s paranoid, but something…she’s been shaky and weird all afternoon and he doesn’t…

Calm the fuck down, you freak out when someone window-shops for too long!

“Is everything…is everything okay?”

Or maybe something is wrong-she pulls a napkin over and there’s suddenly a pen in her hand.

“I really do want you to see these pictures, Jason,” she says, but her hand is moving and there’s the ever-so-faint skrit-skrit of pen on paper. “I swear you got my mother’s eyes.”

The napkin slides over to him and he glances down. Her handwriting’s spikey and awful-doctor writing to the bone-but his is no better and he can read it well enough.

An old colleague has been hanging around the hospital lately.

Oh.

That explains a bit.

“Sure.”

Her shoulders drop and she crumples the napkin, nails picking it into shreds.

“I’m sorry to do this to you,” she says softly, nearly too soft for him to hear, and he’s quick to shake his head.

“No, no, I don’t mind, I’m glad you…if there’s anything I can do to…”

Shit, she looks like she’s going to start crying and that is indeed PANIC in his throat. Tears are not good.

“You’re a good boy.” Her voice is watery but there are no tears to be seen. Thank Jesus. “I promise next time we have lunch it’ll be normal.”

Oh, good, things haven’t plummeted down to fiery Hell because of all the revelations flying around.

“Everything’s gonna be fine,” he says, and whoops that’s his ‘all will be well, citizen, never fear!’ voice. But it must work, because the about-to-cry look disappears. “Um. Do you wanna…it looks like it’s gonna rain, should we get going?”

And so they do.

* * *

The wind has picked up and it smells like rain. He’s not looking forward to patrol later.

The wind’s not so bad, though, to stop Sheila from lighting up with a self-depreciating, “I know I’m a doctor and should know better, but I honestly don’t care.”

“I can’t really say anything.” He holds up his own pack and rattles it before pulling one out. It’s not as calming as it usually is and he doesn’t know why.

Eh. It’s been a long day, that’s all. He’s not used to interacting with people on a personal level anymore, which is his own fault and probably not necessarily a good thing.

The first few drops have started to fall when they arrive at her building-big, square, and simplistic. She fishes out her keys while they’re in the elevator (which smells like new car, for some reason).

The hallway is deserted. It’s a little creepy, to be honest-his own building might be crap, but there’s always activity. And then, of course, there was Arkham’s hallways, or what he could hear of them. Noisy. Always noisy. But this? Wayne Manor was silent like this. It unsettled him then and it unsettles him now. Call him a city boy, whatever, but he needs noise.

The brass knuckles and knives in his jacket are warm and comforting and he knows he’s not gonna need ‘em, but they make up for this creepy-ass silence.

Sheila opens the door and motions him inside. It’s dark inside-blackout curtains, probably-but he can hear the rain. It smells like new car in here, too, and he wonders, off-handedly, why-

-it’s not empty. He’s walked into one too many ‘empty’ buildings to be very, very attuned to the sound of somebody breathing. Okay. Be calm, back out and shut the door.

He’s about to do exactly that when the light switch clicks and bathes the whole place in stark white. White walls, white floors, white furniture.

Which only makes Harley Quinn stick out like a sore thumb in all that red and black.

“BAY-BEE!” She could never hope to match Joker’s grin, but she gives it a good go, stretching her makeup. Okay. Change of plans. Get Sheila out of here (and preferably out of the building), deal with Quinn. “It’s been a whiiiiile!”

He takes in the mallet leaning against the couch and the shotgun (are those fuzzy dice? Really?) in her hands and comes to the conclusion that great, she’s riding the crazy train.

But maybe she hasn’t seen Sheila yet. Where’s that goddamn light switch?

He moves, only a little, only to feel the unmistakable press of a gun against his lower back.

“Don’t. Move.”

And the world drops out from under him.

No. No, no, no, she said she quit, it was over, she said they’d let her go, she said-

The door shuts. He twists so he can still see Quinn in his peripheral. Sheila’s face is a blank mask-no tears, no joy, no nothing. Just quiet determination and he doesn’t understand, she said…

“Mom?” The word feels thick and wrong in his mouth, but maybe…maybe she’s brainwashed or hypnotized or something, maybe she doesn’t…isn’t…

“Sorry, kid.” The words are harsh but her tone isn’t. Quinn giggles in the background but she sounds so far away and Sheila’s still pressing a gun against him. “It was you or me, and, well…it had to be you.”

What?

“Aww, come to mama, baby!” Quinn giggles again before straightening up and scowling. “Now.”

His feet drag him forward, sneakers scuffing against the white carpet an’ Heaven’s s’posed ta be white, innit, so why does this feel like Hell and what’s going on she said she said-

For once horrible, desperate second, he wants Bruce. Bruce wouldn’t…yeah, he’d thought, at first, that he’d left him but he knows that he didn’t, he really didn’t, he just…

Bruce wouldn’t have pulled a gun on him, he wouldn’t and God, if he’d just fucking talked to him-

“I did what you wanted, Quinn.” Sheila’s voice is so, so flat and is this all she wanted from the beginning? Is it? “Now call your man.”

Quinn doesn’t even look at her. She’s looking at Jason like she always did-like she’s torn between wanting to rip his head off and wanting to wrap him in a blanket and keep him.

This is his own goddamn fault, he just thought…just once, just once-

“Quinn!” Desperation now, and the gun wobbles against his hoodie as she steps out from behind him. “I did what you said! Call your man!”

Okay. Okay.

He forces himself to take a few deep breaths that taste like that last cigarette outside and says, voice as steady as he can make it, “Let her go, Harley. Leave her alone, I’ll. I’ll do what you want, just. Just let her go.”

“Aww, look at you!” Her pigtails sway and he finds himself oddly hypnotized by the movement. “I knew ya had to be Robin for a reason.”

Yeah. Yeah, he was Robin and that’s all he’ll ever be, the one that fucked up.

“Please, Harley.”

“Nyeh…” She adjusts her grip on the gun, finger dancing near the trigger, and looks down at her knuckles. “Eeny, meanie, miny, moe, catch a Batman by the toe. If he hollers, let ‘im go, eeny…meanie…miny…moe!”

He sees it before she does it, but there’s no time-he’s moved maybe half a centimeter before the gun goes off-

-and Sheila.

Falls.

His ears are ringing. They’re ringing and everything’s so white except her, all blonde and blue and so fucking red because Harley didn’t miss and if he’d been quicker, he should have been-

“Aww, don’t be sad!” Harley’s not alone, of course she’s not. He should have known from the start stupidstupidstupid. “Doncha know what happens to people who know too much?”

Her eyes are open. They’re open and they’re looking at him like this is his fault and it is if he hadn’t…

S’like Joker said, once.

“Good boys know how to lay down and DIE.”

“Mistah J had a spot for ya, baby.” Huh? “But you up an’ left us before it was time! So since it’s his birthday-” The fucker has no birthday he just appeared one day too evil for Hell. “-I thought I’d get my puddin’ somethin’-” She winks. “Real nice.”

And they’re on him.

Harley’s goons are dumb, but they’re also big and they manage to drag him down for a minute before he gets a knife out of his sleeve and drives it into the nearest jaw.

“Andre!” Yeah, Andre ain’t comin’ back from that any time soon. “I thought we taught you manners!”

He reclaims his knife and scrambles back up and okay okay maybe he can get outta this-

WHAM!

Lights out.

[the-fiction-witch]

NOT A MONSTER! P1/3

REAL LIFE: X TARZAN COUPLE: TBS (SCINECTIST) X READER (JUNGLE WOMAN) RATING: CUTE + FUNNY SMUT REFERENCES

THOMAS’ POV:

I walked well tried to walk across this deep, wet, hot jungle not doing too well at it “come on Tom” Jack laughs walking far in front of me “This is your expedition and you've been back there for miles” he laughed “Yeah well, I'm a lab work kinda scientist not like you a lets explore the Amazon scientists the very busy metropolis of London in clean safe locked labs is where I like being, this is a million miles from my comfort zone” I explain just as I fall in some mud and see a huge purple and green spider “ahhhhhhhhhh!” I scream jumping behind him “Oh my god, your so cute” he laughs “Don't call me cute” I tell him “that’s weird” “you are though” he smirked, “Oh found our camp”... I sat up in a tree in my hammock trying to get some rest when I heard a noise, "hello? who's there?" I ask but no reply "who is there?" I ask then suddenly someone fell on me "wow!" I say in shock just as a beautiful girl sat up on top of me she wore only a small skirt made of leaves and her tit's covered by her hair "hello" I smile at her she looked scared and ran off into the jungle "Hey! wait! come back" I yell running after her till I see her climb a tree so I climb up after her and she sat on a branch looking scared "hey don't worry...I won't hurt you" I tell her and she just looks more scared "what are you doing here?" I ask her "do-Ing?" she asked very confusedly "do you not speak English?" He asked "English?" she asked puzzled "English?" she asked pointing to me and poking me in the chest "Yeah, I'm English" I laugh "so do you have a name?" I ask her "Name?" she asked turning her head to the side "Yeah do you have a name, what are you called?" I ask her "called?" she asked "Yeah, like uh... I am thomas" I told her "thomas?" she asks confused "thomas," she says sitting up and poking me a few times "thomas?" she asks running her hand through my hair and then trying to open my pants and look down "WOW!" I say pushing her hands away "I get your curious but, watch where your hands are going" I told her "hands?" she asked "curious?" she asked very confusedly "curious?" she asked pointing to me "no thomas" I laugh at her "thomas?" she asks pointing at me "Yeah, well done" I laugh at her she then just ran her hands over me quie t alot very confused and curious about me “man?” she asks confused 

“yeah?” I ask alittle puzzled why she seems so shocked by that 

“man!” she yells happily hugging me 

“Uh okay” I shrug a bit confused "why don't you come with me eh love?" I ask her offering my hand to her and she shyly took it 

I stood trying to teach the girl I found to talk very very basic English just as Jack came back from exploring "wow! what the hell is that?" he asked   "Relax its a jungle girl I found, I call her y/n" I explain "what the hell Tom? you bring some wolf raised crazy girl into camp without even fucking telling me" he yells "I know, I know i just, I wanted to help her," I tell him "help her, so it has nothing to do with the fact she has no concept of clothes?" he says looking behind me and I turn to see y/n stood around having now taken off her little skirt and moving her hair up trying to use a pencil to tie up her hair "Wow okay love, don't do that," I tell her making jack laugh trying to give her clothes but she has no idea what im doing 

“so tom, what exactly are you trying to do with her?” he smirked 

“well the overall goal bring her back to societly I guess” I tell him 

“really, becuase are you sure she knows that” he asked

“I think so, what other reason would you think i bring her back to where im living?” I ask just as she close closeer to me looking confused 

“well she’s a jungle girl, bassicaly, she’s an animal, did she ask you anything unusal?” he asked 

“a easier question would be has she asked me anything normal yet” I shrug 

“alright... uh y/n?” he asks her making her look up “why do you follow him?” he asked her

“man” she giggled snuggling into my arm “mate” she giggled 

“aww see she thinks im her friend, she kinda has been calling me her mate all day see she’s my friend” I explain to him 

“tom when have we mentioned that word to her?” Jack asked me 

“uhhh we havent?” I say a bit confused how she learnt it as she snuggles closely into my arm 

“she has no knollage of the slang of mate does she? and she basicly is an animal, all she knows is you a man and have clarified to her that your a man and have taken her and took her away to your home and now she is calling you her mate” he explains as y/n snuggled closer to my arm 

“Oh fuck” I sigh “but thats not what I ment” I sigh 

“but she doesnt know that”Jack laughed as y/n started moving her hands around me slyly and i kept stoping her 

“MATE MATE” she yelled happily trying to drag me off 

“no no no no thats not what i ment” I tell her “HELP ME!” I yell to jack as y/n keeps trying to drag me away 

“Mate!” she yells happily gigigly 

“you got yourself into this, you get yourself out” he laughed at me 

“y/n, No no mate” I tell her and she looks upset

“no mate?” she asks confused 

“no, learn, teach” I tell her and she looks puzzled “uhhh, learn, then mate” i tell her and she gigles and jump hug’s me

“when mate?” she asks giggling 

“soon, when you learn” i tell her so she giggles and happily lets me sit her down and begin to teach her about the outer world.

TIMESKIP:

It has been six months since I found y/n and just about now she’s speaking proper English and kinda has a grasp on how things work and so today she was showing me a bit of her life before I came here “I don't think this is safe” I tell her as we stand atop a tree and she gets some stuff ready

“very safe” she giggles

“are you just saying that to make me feel better?” I ask her 

“Yes” she giggles 

“great” I sigh 

“come on” she giggles standing with a vine in her hand 

“uh okay” I say a bit worried tightly holding ontpo her waist 

“hold tight, dont want you falling down” she giggles before she jumped we went amost half way across the jungle before landing on a lower branch of a far tree and i just sat there holding onto her with a death grip making her laugh at me before begining to climb up the tree so i follow her almost falling down a few times until she pulled me up into tree house it seemed old but very strong “what is this place?” I ask her 

“my home” she sighed 

“this is where you where living before i found you?” I ask her looking at the few little objects all around the place and she nodded sadly so i go and give her alittle hug from behind “dont worry soon i will take you back to london with me” I told her and she smiled “then you can love in a real house, with real walls, bed’s, cats” i tell her making her laugh

“I have a cat” she giggled going to the window and whistleing and soon enough a huge tiger appered at the botom of the tree so she slid down and started petting it and hugging it so i went down to see it 

“uhhh right, you have a tiger” i say a bit confused

“can my kitty come home with us?” she asked sweetly 

“Uhhh.... we will see, Im not sure my cat’s would last two seconds with yours” i tell her 

“she’s freindly” she giggles

“still” i tell her

“come on” she says after she looked to the setting sun grabbing my hand and dragging me off somewhere with her  till we reached a little waterfall and cove with crystal blue water she kept going dragging me into the water with her it was shallow just about deep enough to stand up in but deep enough to sit everywhere else we sat down and just sat comfortably for a while until the sun went down and fireflys light up the whole pond and beatufy flowers where everywhere 

“its beautiful, I see why you lived out here” i tell her 

“I like to live here, but soon we go” she said sadly

“We will dome back, I promise, we can come back and visit and things” I tell her and she smiles moving to snuggle her head into my neck so i wrap my arms around her happily till suddenly her tiger jumped into the water splashing us with alot of water as she did making me pull her closer so she was now laid over me as we laughed till we just looked at each other and I move a bit of hair from her face and she smiled “have I finished learning now?” she asked 

“I think so” I tell her 

“mate?” she giggled

“is that all you think about?” I ask her with a laugh 

“why do you ask?” she giggled learning in more 

“becuase its all I think about” I smirk at her learning up and conecting our lips and within seconds we where laid in the water making out passionatly 

Y/N POV: TIMESKIP:

I stood in a new clean dress with my bag and my tiger ready to go back to cvilization with thomas and jack I was so excited we where to be leaving in a few hours to go back to london, I stood in camp packing the last few things when I felt arms around my waist and little kisses down my neck “hey tommy” I giggle turning and giving him a kiss 

“you ready?” he asked me 

“yeah” I giggle happily 

“come on then” he said taking me outside but as we got outside a tree fell 

“THOMAS!” I scream...

[thegreatindubitablydee-blog]

Ok so follow along

Mid Thursday my wife informs me that shevis moving out and taking the kids and the only car we have. She says she plans on doing this on Saturday. Im completely blindsided by this because we haven't fought or really argued to much. We sleep in the same bed this night and there was even laughter in some of our conversation.

The next morning (friday) Im told shes leaving that adternoon instead and she packs up and leaves. I come home alone to an empty place. Heres the thing though, she has the car. I buy the cheapest bike walmart has and launch into the hours long bike ride only to find my front tire refuses to hold air. So I walk basically across the county because I have no other option. I asked for help from the people I work with and im told no. I dont know anyone else here.

I make it home with blisters after 3am. I make sure im ready to go back to work and I try to get a ride but no one will. I tried to ask at work and no one will. So im stuck at home. I spend my weekend walking all over to get what I need to fix my bike. I time a test ride to make sure i can make it on time to work.

Tuesday comes and I leave at 4am. Its overcast and chilled and pitch black. Theres 900 churches in this little town im in but the spirit must not be catching on because nobody moves left. There are times i can feel their door mirrors whiz past me. My gps decides not to work and im very new to this part of town. I get half way there and I get lost. Lost lost. No fucking clue where I am. I had asked a shop owner for directions to the bike path and he said to follow the train tracks and I cant miss it. I missed it and the tracks left me chasing miles of two lane black top roads that hardly have houses occupying them, much less street signs. Its 8:30 and I cant get a call through so I try my managers cell phone. I leave a voicemail explaining im going to be late and that I have no idea where i am.

A couple hours later and the roads still are leading to more two lane black top. I can see nothing but trees in the distance when im able to get a glimpse of horizon. My brain wants to panick about if i will even make it out to get home. The mager i called texts me asking where i am and why i havent told anyone anything. I text him i called him and left a vm hours ago. I immediately called my service manager. I tell her im lost and she acts like ive just offended her with stupidity. This woman is usually someone I look up to for her caring demeanor. The end of the call finds me still lost and with less help than I had before.

I text my manager with every update can provide. This requires some effort to do because my phone is in my back pack. I finally get my bearings and find I was many miles off course. I finally make it to the bike path and that should be the end of my problems. Just a matter of pedaling for another two hours and ill be at work.

Then my front tire goes flat again. So i walk it up the hills and ride it down them until the front tire comes off the rim. Now i abandon the bike behind a barrier and im walking. Its no long now though and i text my manager this fact. Now, a kind person would have understood the treck id just taken and sent a truck to pick my up. Id have been at work in less than ten minutes if they had. They dont so my walk lasts an hour or so. I have now been traveling non stop for 12 hours.

I get there and wipe down and change clothes. I clock in and my service manager calls me to her office. At first it seems she just wants to be helpful and she is printing off train schedules and directions and all with a very factual and straightforward demeanor.

Then turns away from me to pick up a paper off her desk and with a couple of unnecessary bounces in her chair she turns back towards me smiling while saying "well, I hate to kick ya while yer down". Her demeanor has changed now. She was waiting for this.

She happily explains to me that i am being written up for no call. I make my case and show the evidence and none of that matters.

She then doubles down and began to speak to me in the tone she speaks to her 5 year old in. "If we are late again we will be terminated"

I have just walked literal holes into my feet simply to come work for you lady. You are completely aware of why i find myself walking to work and you are completely aware that this entire thing found itself on my shoulders suddenly and without warning. You could have done so many things differently in this situation but my personal opinion is that you dont believe I have tried any other options. I believe you feel I am doing this out of stupidity and not because I am out of options.

I handed her back her unsigned write up form and I tell her she can keep her job. I get up and I get my things and I leave.

It rains on me as I walk home.

So lets recap...

My wife left me and took the car id just spent my savings to get, I havent seen my kids in days, ive just walked like 300 miles over about a week, I was treated like a stupid child by the only people I really had left, and I quit my job.

I hope your world isnt falling apart.

[tumblunni]

Oh and yeah the point of this is that apparantly sleeping on your stomach is bad for you and that’s why I’ve been getting more migraines lately That + the lack of sleep. Cos usually I’m insomnia all the time anyway yet this is the first time its happened?? I think its cos now my new bed is all high quality and such, it means my head is being pressed further back when I sleep this way. it didnt use to happen when I slept on the floor, which is weird also apparantly I just have the constitution of an ox cos NO DAMN SLEEPING PILLS ARE WORKING FOR ME even taking double the reccommended dose of these ‘chewable herbal’ ones just made me dizzy and headachey not actually tired But like i physically CANT sleep unless I’m in this one stupid position! i thought if i could force myself asleep then maybe i’d get used to it at least i dont know why i’m so picky and i just freak out and roll over each time it really does make me feel weirdly anxious whenever i start getting tired and i’m laying on my side or back its like even if im absolutely FUCKIN ON THE BRINK OF DEATH TIRED i will suddenly be so fucking awake u guys its like i gain the strength of ten men to break the chains that must surely be holding me in this position cannot sleep AT ALL, just sit there disassociating at the ceiling and feeling like i really need sleep, which is THE WORST and i always get to a point where I’m so exhausted I cant even think straight, so my subconcious just rolls me over so i can finally sleep and like.. when I was a kid this was EVERY POSITION I had SO FUCKING MUCH TROUBLE SLEEPING i just remember the hours upon hours of laying there alone in the dark begging someone to switch my damn brain off, and how ‘mum, please, five more minutes’ was like A GENUINE DESPERATE CRY OF HELP. PLEASE DON’T LEAVE ME HERE. I PHYSICALLY CANNOT SLEEP. I had no clue that normal kids had more selfish reasons for wanting ‘five more minutes’, and like.. they just CHOSE to not go to sleep... And my mum’s solution was just to put this friggin baby guard thing up on my bed, like a wall so i physically couldnt get out, which is solving the problem of you having to listen to me but NOT SOLVING THE PROBLEM OF ME BEING TRAPPED IN HELL FOR SIX HOURS DAILY I physically couldnt sleep until i was so exhausted i fainted, and I think I just panic when i have to remember that, and someone all my years of training in how 2 sleep just vanish if i’m laying on my side WHY DOES IT FREAK ME OUT SO MUCH WHAT IS THIS and GODDD I managed to overpower my dumb brain for like FOUR MONTHS two years ago, I was sleeping on my side for that long, but then i just started subconciously rolling back over and now i’m back to being Inexplicably Worried About Side Alignment as if those four months never happened :( and now its just UGH I cant even sleep on my stomach anymore and I KNOW that it’s what’s causing my neck pain but i STILL CANT STOP DOING IT because OTHERWISE I JUST DONT SLEEP AT ALL i’ve been trying to lay on my back all day while i’m awake to try and get used to it, but the problem is that there’s just not much you can do while laying on your back. except get really anxious about laying on your back. and like.. at least I can play 3DS when I’m Encasing Myself In The Side Cage but still i’ve been doing that FOREVER and it still somehow doesnt correlate to being able to sleep in that position. If anything its probably more convincing my brain that This Is The Time Of Awakes so yeah i’ve heard about sleep masks and gel masks and headphones and orthopedic pillows and im just gonna fuckin BUY THEM ALL, PLEASE SAVE ME and probably look into some way of physically forcing myself to not move while I sleep, like seriously man why do weighted blankets have to be so expensive and only in child sizes... seriously WHY DOES A LIGHT BLANKET BOTHER ME SO MUCH i cant sleep unless like.. my shoulders are somehow being compressed to this very precise level of weight and nothing more or less and I guess thats why sleeping on my stomach helps, cos my shoulders scrunch up and the Mandatory Blanket Requirement is lowered but then if you’re on your side there’s NOTHING on your shoulders and on your back its like.. only technically the bed is on your shoulders but you are the weight, yknow?? I DONT KNOW. DOES ANYONE KNOW. All I know is tht i keep waking up sweating myself to death cos i have too many duvets during summer CAN I BUY SHOULDER CLAMPS IS THIS A THING THAT EXISTS oh god this sleeping guide I’m reading legit reccommends buying a dakimukura NOPE NOPE NOPE why is that on an official medical website obviously they dont use that word for it tho, it just feels like.. umm, you did not do any research into what those things are usually sold for, did you? but it is a good tip that hugging something maybe helps sleep on your side I think maybe thats why my brief four month attempt failed? I haven’t slept with a soft toy for a while cos I’ve been trying to grow out of it. or, well, cos I thought I was gonna move house briefly so i packed stuff up but then i got rejected and now im too lazy to unpack again. and aaaa I know tht hugging a New Soft Toy is always best for the first night of sleeping troubles, cos for some reason I’m oversensitive to textures and fresh out the box ones have that particular smell and all. But I don’t have any currently new ones right now, and its probably gonna be a whole year til the kickstarter for that game delivers the rewards. And I havent made ANY progress on that plushie I wanted to make because I havent had ANY DAMN SLEEP, and anyway it was gonna be a five foot tall monstrosity that would probably crush me to death. GUARDIAN OF ALL THE OTHER PLUSHIES! I’ve only completed the eyes XD so yeah AAA should I try and make a new and different smaller plushie for something?? maybe I could do my fanmade idea for a monster for that game and like.. even if I change my mind and dont submit it to the contest, then meh at least I still have a plush. and I could always reuse the design in something else. or it could just be my helpful sleep friend. Cos like.. LITERALLY IT WAS A SLEEP THEMED MONSTER maybe this is a sign