#been too restless to actually produce but i have to get something out before i maim someone

[simplygojo]

The Devil He Made Me - Ch. 3

Authors Note: Hello friends!! Thank you to everyone who has been reading this so far, I appreciate the kind DMs I’ve gotten :) I’m excited for this series a lot so I hope you enjoy, and oh boy am I only getting started. Let me know if you’d like to be tagged in the next chapter!!

ALSO I have been getting some requests, I am super sick right now so I will get to them asap but I LOVE the ideas y’all are giving me!! THANK YOU!

Pairing: Satoru Gojo x f/reader

Series Summary : After being found by Gojo and his first year students in a sticky situation, y/n joins Jujutsu High under the close supervision of Gojo. As time passes, the two of you become close, with a strong unspoken bond forming as you work together. Although, there is something dark looming over the situation, and those at Jujutsu High are determined to get to the bottom of it, before it is too late.

Chapter Summary : Tensions rise as Gojo and the first-years return from their mission, only to find y/n grappling with the growing mystery of her cursed energy. After a fateful encounter with Maki, and an accidental release of power, the higher-ups demand answers. Gojo decides to bring y/n along on their next mission, but when her cursed energy flares uncontrollably during a high-level curse battle, questions of who—or what—she truly is become impossible to ignore.

Word Count : 5k

Warnings : Some general violence, suggestive themes

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The mission at the community college had been tedious but successful. Gojo, Megumi, Nobara, and Yuji walked back onto school grounds, a mix of exhaustion and satisfaction hanging in the air. The sun was already sinking, casting the campus in a soft, warm glow. Despite the day’s events, Gojo’s stride remained as casual as ever, hands resting behind his head, as though he hadn’t just helped exorcise multiple curses.

Megumi was the first to notice you, pacing anxiously near the common area, your movements restless. He nudged Yuji, who caught on immediately and called out, “Y/n! We’re back!”

You stopped mid-step, eyes lighting up with excitement as you walked over to the group. “You guys! You’re back! I’ve been waiting to tell you something!”

Gojo quirked a brow, his usual playful smile stretching across his face, watching you cheerfully walk towards him. “Oh? Miss me?”

You rolled your eyes, though a grin tugged at your lips, your heart produced an extra beat. But, you ignored his comment. “I ran into Maki earlier, and…” You paused for dramatic effect, looking between Yuji, Megumi, and Nobara. “I accidentally released cursed energy. Actual cursed energy!”

There was a moment of silence as your words sunk in. Yuji’s face lit up like a firework, excitement practically bubbling out of him. “No way! That’s awesome, y/n!”

Nobara, leaning against the doorframe with her arms crossed, raised an eyebrow. “Accidentally? Or are you secretly getting good at this?” She teased with a smile.

You gave a sheepish shrug, the memory of Maki’s provocation still fresh in your mind. “I wasn’t really trying. It just… happened. Maki kind of…well to sum it up I guess I just got frustrated.”

Gojo stepped closer, his curiosity piqued. “Frustration, huh? Strong emotions are usually a pretty good trigger for cursed energy.”

Megumi regarded you with his typical calm, analytical stare. “Was it controlled, or was it just a flare?”

“I think it was more of a flare,” you admitted. “But it was something. Everyone here has been waiting for me to do something.”

Yuji clapped you on the back with an encouraging grin. “Hey, progress is progress! You’re on your way.”

“Mm, a fluke maybe,” Nobara teased, though there was a hint of approval in her voice. “But if you’re already producing cursed energy by accident, imagine what you could do on purpose!”

You couldn’t help but feel a small sense of pride swell in your chest. For the first time since being found in the forest, you felt like you had a tiny bit of control over the strange circumstances you found yourself in. 

Gojo’s voice interrupted your thoughts, his tone light but with a strange undercurrent that you couldn’t quite place. “Well, fluke or not, it’s a good sign. Guess I’m doing a pretty decent job with your training after all.”

Your eyes narrowed playfully at him. “You’re giving yourself too much credit.”

“Oh, come on,” he grinned, leaning a little too close, his voice dropping to a teasing whisper. “You know I’m the best you’ve ever had.” He let out a loud chuckle. “Best teacher, that is.”

You opened your mouth to retort but thought better of it, deciding not to feed into his usual antics. Instead, you took a step back, straightening up. “Yeah, well, I still don’t know how to use the cursed energy.”

Gojo’s grin softened just a bit, “Well then, that’s your focus for the next few days.” You nodded quietly, feeling the weight of the task settling on your shoulders. Without another word, you turned away, heading back to the couches to gather your things. The others had already started heading to their rooms, leaving you in the common area with only the faint echoes of their retreating footsteps.

As you bent down to collect your jacket, you felt eyes on you. Glancing up, you realized Gojo hadn’t left with the others. He stood there, casually leaning against the doorway, watching you with an unreadable expression.

“Is there something else, Gojo?” you asked, unsure why he was lingering.

“Not really,” he said shortly. His usual cocky grin had faded, replaced by a gentle smile that seemed strangely out of place—content, almost peaceful—nothing like the Gojo you were used to. “You know, y/n, most of the students around here call me ‘sensei,’” he added with a teasing lilt as you approached.

You let out a soft laugh, shaking your head. “I’m not doing that. Besides, we’re practically the same age. And I didn’t ask for you to be my teacher, so I think it’s fair I just call you by your name.”

As you tried to step past him, he moved quickly, his arm extending across the doorway, blocking your path. You froze, blinking up at him in surprise, caught off guard by the sudden proximity.

“So, that means we have a more casual relationship, then…” he said, his voice low, his gaze fixed on you with an intensity that made your pulse quicken.

You stared at him, unsure how to respond. There was no way he was serious. Gojo was a notorious tease, always testing boundaries with his playful charm. You told yourself this was just another one of his games—something to fluster you, to keep you on your toes. He didn’t mean anything by it… right?

With a shrug, you forced yourself to meet his gaze, hoping your smirk looked as confident as you wanted it to. “I guess so,” you replied, the words coming out more smug than you intended.

Before he could say anything else, you ducked swiftly under his arm, slipping past him and into the hallway. You kept your pace steady, resisting the urge to glance back, but you could feel his eyes on you the whole way.

Gojo watched you as you walked away, his thoughts lingering on the way you spoke to him, the way you moved, the way you handled yourself. There was something about you—something different, something he couldn’t quite put into words. You weren’t intimidated by him. Not in the way most people were. You challenged him in a way that made him feel… unsettled. Intrigued.

He couldn’t help but smile to himself, shaking his head as he pushed off from the doorway and followed in the direction you had gone. There was a lot he didn’t understand about you yet. But one thing was certain—you were far more interesting than he had expected.

—

Later that evening, after everyone had settled back into their routines, you found yourself alone in the common area, curled up on the couch with a book that Inumaki had lent you about the inner workings of cursed energy. It was peaceful, the kind of quiet that you had grown to appreciate after the chaos of training and missions. You absentmindedly flipped through the pages, your mind wandering back to the encounter with Maki.

It had been such a small moment—an accident, really. But the cursed energy that flared from your hands had felt real, like something buried deep within you–something that wasn’t there before–had been awakened, however briefly. You had no memory of your life before being found in that forest, but for the first time, you wondered if this power had always been inside you.

Your thoughts were interrupted by the sound of footsteps. You glanced up to see Gojo sauntering into the room, his hands in his pockets and his signature grin plastered on his face. He plopped down beside you on the couch without so much as a greeting, stretching out his long legs and letting out a content sigh.

“Enjoying the quiet?” he asked, his voice calm as he leaned closer to you to see what you were reading.

You shrugged, closing your book. “It’s nice… for a change.”

For a moment, neither of you said anything. The silence wasn’t uncomfortable, but you couldn’t shake the feeling that there was something Gojo wasn’t saying. His usually playful demeanor seemed… muted. And it wasn’t like him to sit still for this long.

Eventually, he broke the silence. “Are you sure you don’t remember anything? From the forest?”

Your stomach flipped at the question. You had gone over this a hundred times with Shoko, but every time he brought it up, his voice had a new edge—like he wasn’t just asking out of curiosity anymore.

“I’ve told you,” you said, a little more defensively than you intended. “I don’t remember anything. It’s all a blur. I’m not some enemy trying to infiltrate the ‘jujutsu world’ or whatever.”

Gojo tilted his head, his smile softening into something that almost looked like concern. “No strange dreams? No flashes of memory? Nothing?”

“No,” you replied firmly, though his questions had begun to unsettle you. “Why? Do you think there’s something I should remember?”

Gojo leaned his head back and let his gaze drift to the ceiling. You noticed his jaw clench as he did so. "Nah, I just thought that maybe something might come back eventually."

You narrowed your eyes at him, not quite believing his casual tone. “Is that really why you’re asking?”

Gojo chuckled, though it was a bit more forced than usual. “Maybe I’m just worried about you.”

“Worried about me?” You raised an eyebrow. “Since when did you become a big worrier?”

“Since I found you half-conscious in a forest with no memory,” he replied smoothly, though there was a new tension in his voice. 

There it was—the shift you had been sensing in him lately. He was always teasing, always playing around, but in the past few weeks, there had been moments like this where something in his tone changed. Like he was watching you more closely, paying attention in a way that made your skin tingle and your heart flutter. But just as quickly as it came, it disappeared. His usual smirk returned, and the moment passed.

“Don’t overthink it,” Gojo said, standing up abruptly, a mischievous glint in his eye. “I’m a curious guy, and you’re a mystery to us all right now.” He paused, patting down his pockets as if searching for something. “That means you really are just my type, y/n.”

Your breath hitched slightly at his words, but before you could say anything, he casually pulled a small white pastry box from his pocket and placed it on the couch cushion where he had just been sitting. “Picked this up today in Tokyo while heading back from the mission,” he added with a nonchalant shrug before strolling toward the door.

You stared at the box, trying to process the whirlwind that was Gojo Satoru. One moment he was making cryptic comments, the next he was leaving you sweets. ‘What a strange guy,’ you thought to yourself, shaking your head at his unpredictability. There was always something about him that kept you guessing, that made it impossible to fully figure him out. He was an enigma, equal parts charm and mystery, with a habit of leaving you just as intrigued as you were confused.

Curiosity finally got the best of you, and you reached for the box, unfolding it to reveal a freshly baked, delicious-smelling chocolate chunk cookie. You couldn’t help the small smile that tugged at your lips as you stared down at the treat, warmth spreading in your chest. For all his teasing and unpredictability, Gojo had a way of surprising you in the most unexpected ways.

Taking a bite, you practically melted at the taste—it was perfect, like everything else he seemed to do effortlessly. As you savoured the sweetness, you glanced at the door where Gojo had disappeared.

‘Maybe he’s not as impossible as I thought,’ you mused, biting back a grin. Even if he was a strange guy, maybe, just maybe, there was more to him than he let on. And with that, you enjoyed your treat and returned to your studies.

—

Meanwhile, in the administrative wing of the school, Nanami, Principal Yaga, and a few other higher-ranking sorcerers had gathered for a private meeting. The topic of conversation was you—and the growing concern surrounding your mysterious past.

Nanami sat at the table, his brow furrowed as he listened to the others discuss the situation. He had always been one to trust his instincts, and something about you didn’t sit right with him. He wasn’t suspicious of you, per se, but the circumstances surrounding your discovery were troubling.

“We still have no idea where she came from,” one of the sorcerers said, shaking his head. “No family, no records. It’s like she just appeared out of nowhere.”

Principal Yaga nodded thoughtfully, his hands clasped in front of him. “And she has no memory of anything before we found her?”

“None,” Nanami confirmed. “Shoko has done multiple tests. Everything comes up clean. But that doesn’t mean she’s not dangerous.”

Nanami’s words hung in the air, the unspoken implications clear. While you hadn’t shown any signs of malicious intent, the lack of information made everyone uneasy. In the world of jujutsu sorcery, too many unknowns could lead to disaster.

“What about her cursed energy?” Yaga asked.

“She’s shown some potential,” Nanami replied. “But it’s raw. Uncontrolled.”

“And Gojo?” another sorcerer chimed in. “He’s the one working with her most closely.”

Nanami’s jaw tightened slightly at the mention of Gojo’s name. “Gojo believes she’s harmless. But he also has a tendency to take risks.”

Principal Yaga’s eyes narrowed, clearly weighing the situation carefully. “We can’t afford to ignore this. If there’s even a chance she could become a threat…”

“We should monitor her more closely,” Nanami suggested. “Let her accompany Gojo and his students on missions. That way, we can observe how her cursed energy reacts in different situations.”

There was a murmur of agreement around the table, though the atmosphere remained tense. No one wanted to treat you as an enemy, but the unpredictability of your situation was too great to ignore.

Principal Yaga leaned back in his chair, his expression grim. “Keep an eye on her. But if anything changes—if she shows any sign of being a threat—we’ll have to eliminate her.”

Nanami nodded, though there was a heaviness in his chest. He didn’t want to think the worst of you, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that there was more to your story than anyone realized.

—

It was two days later when Gojo approached you with the news.

“You’re coming with us on the next mission,” he said casually, as though it were the most normal thing in the world.

You blinked, looking up from where you were seated on the outdoor training grounds, a faint breeze rustling through the trees as you practiced your breathing exercises. “Wait, what? I’m going with you?”

Gojo strolled over, hands stuffed in his pockets, before plopping down on the grass beside you, stretching out in his usual relaxed manner. “Yep. Nanami and the higher-ups want to see how you handle real-life situations with curses, so you’ll be tagging along. It’s mostly for observation, though. Don’t worry, I won’t throw you into the fire.”

You frowned, setting aside the faint energy you had been trying to summon. Your fingers trailed over the grass absentmindedly as you narrowed your eyes at him. “And you’re okay with that? Letting them spy on me?”

Gojo’s expression didn’t shift much, but his eyes—those usually carefree, playful eyes—darkened just a little. “They’re just being cautious. No need to take it personally.”

“Right,” you muttered, sarcasm lacing your tone. “Because being treated like a ticking time bomb is totally not personal.”

Gojo sighed, leaning back on his arms and staring up at the blue sky. “It’s not that simple. You’re still a puzzle to everyone, including yourself. Until we know more about where you came from and what you’re capable of, there’s going to be some hesitation. You get that, don’t you?”

You hated to admit it, but he was right. You had no idea who you really were or what had happened to you before Gojo and the first-years found you in that forest. As much as you wanted to believe you were harmless, the unknowns surrounding your situation were hard to ignore.

Still, it stung to be treated like an experiment.

“So, what exactly am I supposed to do on this mission?” you asked, shifting the topic slightly, your voice quieter now.

Gojo’s grin returned, though there was still a hint of seriousness beneath it. “Observe, mostly. Keep an eye on how curses react around you and try to get a feel for controlling your cursed energy in a real situation. I’ll be there to guide you, so no need to panic.”

You shot him a skeptical look, brushing stray grass off your pants. “That’s reassuring.”

He chuckled, leaning in a little closer, his voice lowering just enough to send a shiver down your spine. “Trust me. I’ve got you.”

For a brief moment, his playful mask seemed to slip, and you caught a glimpse of something deeper in his eyes—something protective. It was fleeting, though, and before you could dwell on it, Gojo was back to his usual self, standing up and stretching his arms over his head.

“Anyway, get some rest tonight. We leave early tomorrow.”

He gave you one last lazy wave before turning to head back toward the school, leaving you to sit in the growing twilight, the weight of his words settling in. Trust him… Easier said than done.

—

The next morning, you found yourself standing alongside Gojo, Megumi, and Yuji at the gates of the school. The atmosphere was unusually tense, likely due to the nature of the mission. Gojo had explained that the team had been called to investigate a cemetery that had been plagued by a high-level curse, and while it was supposed to be routine, there was always the possibility that things could go sideways.

You weren’t sure how you felt about being thrown into the mix so soon, especially after the incident with Maki. But Gojo had insisted that it would be fine, and as much as you hated to admit it, you trusted him. His carefree attitude aside, Gojo had proven time and time again that he was more than capable of handling dangerous situations.

“Ready for your first mission?” Yuji asked, bouncing on his heels with excitement.

You offered a small smile, though your stomach was doing flips. “As ready as I’ll ever be.”

“Don’t worry, we’ve got your back,” He said, giving you a reassuring nod. “Just stick close to us.”

Megumi, standing a little further back, glanced at you with his usual unreadable expression. “If anything happens, don’t hesitate to use your cursed energy, even if it’s just a flare. These curses are quick.”

You nodded, appreciating his calm presence. Even though you hadn’t known Megumi for long, there was something about him that put you at ease. Maybe it was his no-nonsense attitude or the way he always seemed to have things under control. Either way, it helped.

Gojo led the way as the group set off toward the cemetery. It wasn’t too far from the school grounds, but the oppressive energy that seemed to hang over the area was enough to send a chill down your spine. As you approached the iron gates, you could feel the cursed energy in the air—thick, heavy, and familiar...

“This is it,” Gojo said, his tone more serious than you were used to. “Stay close, and don’t wander off. We don’t know exactly what we’re dealing with yet.”

The cemetery was eerily quiet as you all stepped inside. The overgrown grass rustled faintly in the wind, and the gravestones seemed to loom larger than they should have. You could feel the cursed energy pulsing beneath your feet, like the ground itself was alive with something dark and dangerous.

Gojo motioned for the group to spread out slightly, keeping a cautious distance from each other as they scanned the area for any signs of the curse. You stayed close to Yuji, your heart pounding in your chest as you tried to keep your own cursed energy in check. It was difficult—the atmosphere here made your skin prickle, and you could feel your cursed energy stirring just beneath the surface. 

“Stay calm,” Gojo’s voice rang out softly, his eyes sharp as they scanned the cemetery. “We’ll handle whatever comes our way.”

You nodded, swallowing hard as you tried to focus on keeping your energy under control. But something about this place was getting to you. The air felt thick, suffocating, and you couldn’t shake the feeling that something was watching you.

Suddenly, Megumi stopped, his eyes narrowing as he pointed ahead. “There.”

At first, you didn’t see it, but then, out of the corner of your eye, you caught a glimpse of movement. A shadow, slipping between the gravestones, too fast to track. Your heart skipped a beat as the cursed energy in the air spiked, the oppressive force nearly knocking you off balance.

“It’s moving,” Yuji said, tensing as he prepared for a fight.

Gojo’s grin returned, though there was a sharpness in his eyes that told you he was ready for whatever was coming. “Alright, team. Let’s make this quick!” 

The curse made itself known then, rising from the shadows, a grotesque figure with six twisted limbs and three hollow eyes. It moved with unnatural speed, lunging toward Megumi with a snarl, but he was quick to summon his shikigami, meeting the attack head-on.

The battle erupted around you, and for a moment, you were frozen, unsure of what to do. Your cursed energy was still pulsing wildly inside you, but you didn’t know how to control it. You could only watch as Yuji and Megumi moved with practiced precision, their cursed techniques flowing effortlessly as they fought off the creature. And that is when you noticed a lack of Gojo’s presence. You were just stood there watching, frozen in place.

Suddenly, you felt a surge of cursed energy within yourself—stronger than anything you’d felt before. It came out of nowhere, like a dam breaking, and you gasped as the energy flared to life around you. The sensation was overwhelming, electric, as it crackled along your skin, raw and untamed. Your breath hitched, memories of your accidental release in front of Maki flashing in your mind. But this time, there was something different—this time, you could feel it building in your palms, swirling with more intensity than ever before.

“Y/n!” Gojo’s voice cut through the haze, sharp with concern. You blinked, trying to regain your focus, but everything around you seemed to blur. Out of the corner of your eye, you saw a figure moving jaggedly toward you—a curse, creeping closer.

Your heartbeat quickened, panic rising. Your mind screamed at you to move, to act, but your body felt frozen in place, the cursed energy continuing to surge uncontrollably within you. The adrenaline hit you like a wave, along with an undeniable frustration—an anger, even—at feeling so powerless. Your body reacted on instinct.

Without thinking, your hands glowed a bright blue, cursed energy pouring into your palms. It was hot, too hot, burning as it built up, and before you could process what was happening, you let it go. The blast of raw power shot forward, aimed directly at the curse.

The energy struck the creature with a force that staggered it, causing it to shriek in pain. The cursed form writhed as it absorbed the blow, disoriented and vulnerable. It gave Yuji the opening he needed. He didn’t waste a second, leaping forward with a yell and delivering a final blow laced with a streak of red cursed energy. The curse crumbled into ash, dissolving into the wind.

For a moment, everything was still.

You stood there, breathless, the remnants of cursed energy buzzing faintly across your skin. Your hands tingled, shaking slightly as if they hadn’t quite registered the release of power. The cemetery, once filled with the sounds of battle, was now eerily silent. And then, you noticed it—all eyes were on you. Yuji, Megumi, even Gojo. Everyone was staring, as though they had just witnessed something… different, something they hadn’t expected from you.

The weight of their gazes made your chest tighten. You felt exposed, vulnerable, like a secret part of you had just been revealed—one that you didn’t fully understand yourself.

Gojo was the first to speak, stepping closer. His usual playful demeanor had dimmed, replaced with an emotion you couldn’t quite place. Concern? Pride? Maybe both. His voice was uncharacteristically soft, yet carried a strange intensity. “Well, that was impressive, but a close one, y/n.”

His words hit you like a cold splash of water, pulling you out of your daze. You looked down at your hands, still trembling. “I… I didn’t mean to do that,” you murmured, almost to yourself.

Yuji came up behind you, his hand landing on your back in a reassuring pat. His smile was warm, but his eyes reflected a hint of worry. “Accidental or not, you helped. That’s what matters.”

Even Megumi, who was always so stoic, nodded at you, his gaze steady. “You did well.”

Despite their reassurances, a sinking feeling formed in the pit of your stomach. That power you had unleashed—it didn’t feel like it was entirely yours. The cursed energy felt foreign, almost as though it had been pulled from somewhere deep inside, a place you hadn’t known existed. The sensation unsettled you.

As you stood there, still trying to process what had just happened, you could feel Gojo’s eyes on you. Unlike the others, his expression wasn’t one of relief or approval—it was far more unreadable. His gaze lingered longer than usual, as if he were trying to unravel something, some mystery that only he could sense.

It was the same question that had hung silently between you since the day he found you.

What are you?

His silence carried that question now, as did the way he watched you with a mix of curiosity and concern. He didn’t say it, but you knew. You could feel it. And what scared you most was the nagging fear that you might not want to know the answer.

“You two go see if there are any other low level curses lingering, meet us back here.” Gojo instructed to Yuji and Megumi, who quickly went to secure the area.

Gojo’s voice broke through your thoughts once more, this time quieter, more subdued. “You’re pushing yourself too hard,” he said, his tone laced with an unspoken concern. He took a quick step toward you. “You’re still new to this. You shouldn’t be able to summon cursed energy that strong… not yet.”

You looked up at him, the faint tremor still lingering in your hands, tears welling in your eyes, threatening to spill over. It took you a second to fully realize just how close he was—closer than he usually stood. Your breath caught in your throat as you noticed his blindfold, usually obscuring his gaze, now hung loosely around his neck. It was startling, seeing his ocean-blue eyes for the first time without any barrier, and they were locked onto yours, as if searching for something beneath your surface.

His gaze was intense, almost too much to bear, like a storm brewing just behind the calm sea of his eyes. The way he looked at you, so deeply, so fully—it felt like he could see right through you, down to the very core of your being. Your heart pounded in your chest, and for a moment, it was as though the world had shrunk down to just the two of you standing there, in the aftermath of whatever it was that had just happened.

“I don’t know what happened,” your voice was barely a whisper, shaky, raw with emotion. “It just… came out. Like I couldn’t stop it. I-I’m sorry.”

His frown deepened, the sharp edges of his usual confidence dulling as his expression softened in a way you hadn’t seen before. His eyes, so clear and unguarded now, reflected something you hadn’t expected to see in him: worry. For the briefest moment, the mask he wore, the one that shielded him from the world, slipped. His vulnerability was laid bare, just for you to see.

“That’s exactly what worries me,” he murmured, more to himself than to you, his voice a low, hushed tone that sent a shiver down your spine. His words lingered in the air, heavy with a meaning that neither of you fully understood yet.

For a second, his hand twitched, like he was about to reach out, to touch you, but he stopped himself. The space between you felt charged, a tension hanging in the air that was as palpable as the energy crackling through your fingertips earlier. His closeness, the warmth of his presence, the way his gaze softened as it held yours—it all felt too much, and yet, not enough. You could feel the pull between you, something unspoken, lingering in the narrow distance that separated you.

But then, just as quickly as it had appeared, that moment of vulnerability was gone. Gojo stepped back, the mask of his usual calm, collected self sliding back into place like a practiced routine. His playful smirk returned, though there was still something different about it, like the echoes of his concern hadn’t fully faded yet.

“Don’t think too much about it for now,” he said, his tone light but his gaze still serious. “Just… rest. We’ll figure this out. You’re okay.” And with two fingers he lifted his blindfold back into place.

You nodded, though your mind was far from calm. Your hands still shook slightly, your heart still raced from the intensity of the moment. But more than anything, it was the memory of his eyes, his bare, unfiltered gaze, that lingered long after he turned to walk away, leaving you with more questions than answers.

As Gojo turned to walk away, his usual swagger in each step, you couldn’t shake the feeling that something was shifting—that this wasn’t just about you anymore. All of the mystery surrounding you was concerning.

And in that moment, you realized he wasn’t just concerned about your situation—he was concerned for you.

[doodoodinklefart]

okAYYYY so ive been planning this au for literally forever and i couldnt get white diamond satoru and black sapphire suguru out of my head... ive seen a couple other hnk x jjk aus floating around but i wanted to take a crack at it!! i'll just explain these three + the setting for now cuz theres a bunch of other shit brewing in my head LOLOL honestly hnk and jjk are pretty different themes-wise i feel so i couldnt rlly help changing a lot abt the world LMAO

in this au its not just a couple gems in the school, there's a bit more of a society and structure outside of it. there are still the three major "clans" though maybe more like major cliffs?? lol?? that the gems are formed in that produce a much higher frequency of strong, high quality gems. i imagine that before the idea of working together (modern jujutsu society) had come about, gems fought to have control of these spots to assure that they would have those to protect them from lunarians (aka curses we're playing a bit fast and loose here). while there were many attempts to merge the clans, the fighting was more a waste of time if anything, so they stayed separate. jujutsu high in this au would probably just be the school, a set of gems that are trained to always be ready to dispatch lunarians and protect tengen (who is the prayer machine here), who has basically been dormant.

and THATS where we get to white diamond. i wanna say while diamonds are p common irl, its rare here for there to be a fully formed diamond lustrous that actually has inclusions. while there have been extremely strong lustrous born from the gojo cliff, white diamond is the first diamond in several centuries, filling a vacancy after others had been taken away to the moon. not only that, he's got special eyes too!! im thinking he can see sunspots from far away, or maybe can tell artificial gems from real ones, like being able to see their inclusions or something. probably both!! either way he has to wear special blackout glasses during the day. his eyes are really reflective so he can work at night too, but that often leaves him restless.

white diamond—in his mind at least—is untouchable, and really it may as well be true. due to the combat training that he's gone through and his hardness of 10, he has never sustained so much as a scratch. he had a tendency to break all of his sparring partners back home, and thus he feels he's hit a brick wall with his training, and that the only things that will come close to putting up a challenge are likely lunarians. he doesn't really care much for weaker gems at this point, and is eager to finally fight lunarians for once. eventually, he is sent off to the school to begin what he would call "actually worthwhile" training.

black sapphire, on the other hand, was born practically from nowhere, in a unremarkable place with little more than himself and a few other older gems that were around to help shape him. with a hardness of 9, he was the strongest among them and—after his first dangerous encounter with lunarians—he realized he had an obligation to protect the rest of them. his strength often leaves him feelings alienated, as he normally ends up working alone for fear of other being taken away. i wanna figure out how to incorporate his ct better but for now ill just keep thinking about it. for now, it was probably his strength that got his scouted and sent to the school.

boulder opal, or just opal, is in training as a doctor at the school, and shows extreme promise. her lax attitude reveals none of her medical prowess, especially when it comes to gems with missing pieces. she has a particularly good eye for finding missing shards, or finding pieces that she can replace missing shards with. there's nothing she can do if their inclusions reject the replacement, however. maybe she has a way of resonating with the other's inclusions to speed healing up on bigger points of damage?? idk ill figure it out

ANYWAYYY this is getting super long so i'll end this shortly BUT!!! basically, white diamond, with black sapphire (who he calls saph), and opal are all training under yaga sensei (idk what kind of gem he would be yet LOL). diamond, at first, sees opal and saph as weak, but quickly realizes they have their own feats. saph in particular is the first lustrous that has ever made sparring fun, because while he's less durable his combat skills make up for it tenfold. maybe black sapphire is the first to ever leave a break on white diamond who knows... opal is probably always having to put the two back together. theyve never lost to a lunarian before, and have certainly never come close to being taken to the moon. these two are the strongest together, and each finally feel like they have a place to belong.

alsooo..... they do get a mission to escort a "star plasma vessel" of sorts. tengen slowly erodes over the years and needs a compatible lustrous to replace their missing pieces. boleite (riko) happens to be that gem, and diamond and saph need to escort her.... lmaoaoao now i have to design riko, toji and kuroi...

[decks-writing-blog]

Whatever the Fuck Benrey is: Chapter Nine: Can't Hurt

Chapter One

Previous Chapter

~

Benrey read whatever he could find online, searching specifically for weird and interesting stuff, until Gordon fell asleep on the other end, his soft snoring coming through the phone. He then read a little more just in case. Gordon had sounded awfully shaken after all. A not unfamiliar quality to his voice, he’d been that shaken or worse during much of their trip through Black Mesa together, but… Benrey now knew how fragile he was. And he’d decided Gordon was his pet so it was his responsibility to make it better.

Eventually he had to call it good enough though as he didn’t know when the hotel manager was likely to return and he needed to be gone before then. So he closed the web browser and shut the computer down, making sure to turn the monitor off as well.

“’Kay, uh, gotta get off the computer now before I get caught. I’ll call you later or text… I don’t know, whatever I feel like. Doesn’t really matter ‘cause you can’t hear me anyway. Bye.” He hung up and started back for his room.

~

He waited until the sun was fully up before pulling his phone off charge again. Gordon hadn’t texted. Not surprising, he’d have heard the ping but he was starting to get restless. Playing games was great and all but… no multiplayer games or anyone to chat with while playing was less fun. Something else to do again for a little while would be welcome.

‘awake yet?’ he sent to Gordon.

He stared at he screen for five minutes before giving up; apparently the answer was ‘no’. Maybe a good thing… unless Gordon was having another nightmare. Perhaps Benrey should’ve gone back with him. He’d thought about it but during the first trip nothing dangerous had happened and then on the car ride back, all the nosy, annoying, bothersome questions had convinced him not to. But if Gordon’s mind was an enemy… it couldn’t kill him though, could it? So it was probably fine.

Pocketing the phone, Benrey turned his attention to the window. Lifting the closed curtains, he stepped under them so he could look out and see if anyone was around. … No one seemed to be so he grabbed his new camera before walking through the wall, putting him out back behind the hotel.

It was warmer out here already, the pleasant desert heat starting to set in. He’d never given his enjoyment of warmth and heat much thought, they just felt nice, but perhaps Gordon was correct and he was cold-blooded; didn’t produce much heat of his own. Did that matter? … No, but it was kind of interesting.

Shaking off that thought, he started making his way around to the front of the building so he could follow the sidewalk. It would perhaps lead to somewhere interesting, right? Upon reaching it, he slowed his pace a little. He had nowhere to be, nothing to do, and no one coming to bring him back to the Black Mesa facility.

He fiddled with the camera, turning it on. Gordon had called it cheap when getting it for him but it was far from a shitty disposable one. It had digital display, making it feel fancy to Benrey. As he walked along he snapped a photo of anything that caught his eye. Roadkill, the way the sunlight glistened off the jagged edges of a broken window, what at first look like more roadkill but upon zooming in was actually just an old boot that had been run over a few times, and other such things. A lot of it wasn’t really that interesting but he’d never been in Tuefort unsupervised for more an hour or two before.

People passed him, going both ways. The sidewalks were bare enough that his slow pace didn’t bother anyone enough to bump him or tell him to go faster. No one paid any attention to him whatsoever. If he tried to talk to any of them, they’d brush him off, say they were too busy. He’d need a cop uniform if he wanted anyone to heed him. … Gordon had stressed he not cause problems though and borrowing a cop uniform to join their ranks, even for a little while, would undoubtedly cause some. Especially since cops were a lot like the military, right? They liked to shoot things. Getting shot if he got caught trying to sneak in would likely call attention because of the whole healing, not human thing – which Gordon would probably classify as a problem – and he was expressly forbidden from shooting back if he could even get a gun.

What if he did it anyway though? Or if he was breaking the rules, what if he did something properly fun? Like steal a car. He’d never driven in real life before but he could probably figure it out. A car chase with the police had to be even more fun if it was real, right? Not that something being fun in a video game necessarily made it fun in real life but it sure seemed like the kind of thing that would be.

There was car parked on the side of the road ahead. An old rusted blue pickup truck that if video games were anything to go by would probably be pretty slow and clunky to handle. So not exactly the fastest chase but for a first time might be good. He slowed to a stop as he reached it. It was empty, its owner nowhere in immediate evidence

Normally, he’d have just phased through the door and tried to figure out how to steal it from there. It seemed as if it might be fun so why not go for it? But if he did, Gordon would be mad. Not that making him mad was a big issue or anything but… it would mean no PS3 for sure. And Gordon might start hating him again. Not a huge deal but he was just starting to like Benrey and ruining that would be lame.

Also, Gordon might do more than just start hating him again. He might change his mind about keeping him secret from the rest of the scientists. Some or all of whom might decide to try to get Benrey back into Black Mesa’s custody, Gordon may even assist them in such an endeavor. With a car, Benrey could theoretically escape and evade any such attempt much easier than on foot. He could drive out of Tuefort and go anywhere in the world; lose them so thoroughly they had no hope of ever catching up. But that would mean no more Gordon or Tommy or the rest of the Science Team unless they came with him. Tommy was the only one who might and that was a big ‘might’. Probably he’d be alone, possibly for a long time. No one to play games with if he ever did get a console and TV of his own somehow.

And so, he lifted the camera and snapped a photo of the truck before turning away and resuming walking down the sidewalk. Following the rules wasn’t all bad anyway. He was always telling Gordon to follow them, mostly just for fun now that he wasn’t a security guard anymore. So Gordon doing the same to him was justified.

As if blessed by resisting the urge to stop behaving, his phone pinged in his pocket. Putting his camera away, he pulled it out instead. Gordon had responded. ‘I am now. Good morning.’

Not wanting to attempt texting and walking – he’d seen people on TV doing so walk into poles a few too many times to risk such an embarrassment himself – he continued walking until he found a bench he could sit on while he typed out his reply. ‘not gonna ask if im still behaving’

‘No. I trust you. Don’t betray that trust or no PS3 for you.’

Benrey had made the right choice for sure; Gordon trusted him now. Neat! ‘sleep well no more nightmares?’

‘None that I remember.’ Not a ‘no’ though or any kind of confirmation that the rest of his night had been good. ‘Thanks for last night. I appreciate it. Do you think we could have a phone call before I go to sleep tonight?’

‘sure’

‘Thanks. Talk to you then. I need to go eat breakfast.’

Well, now Benrey had something interesting to do later. Not until tonight though. … Bubby was supposed to come back to Tuefort today, right? Benrey closed his text chat with Gordon and scrolled until he found Bubby’s number.

‘hang out when u get back to 2fort play games maybe?’

It was only a few seconds before the answer came. ‘No’

Seems getting back on Gordon’s good side didn’t mean he was back on everyone’s. Not surprising but still…‘:(’ He put his phone away and resumed walking.

Not even five minutes went by before his phone buzzed again. It was Bubby. ‘Fine. We can hang out. I got nothing better to do anyway.’

‘sweet text me when u get here’

***

With the half the survivors off on their rescue mission deeper into the facility and a few more dropped off at the hospital, there were only a few of them left to begin the salvaging of resources, research documents, experiments, computers – even the damaged ones, as long as the hard drive was intact or other parts that could be sold or reused elsewhere – and anything worth taking in general. A small enough number that even Breen was all but forced to bodily help as well. Gordon’s single hand gave him the perfect excuse to drift between assisting Dr. Coomer and Tommy instead of going off on his own like everyone else was doing.

Most of the work involved breaking into the living spaces not marked as belonging to any of the known survivors. They were looking for bits of experiments brought home, research papers, or anything else related to the work done by the scientists of Black Mesa. A lot of scientific advancement had taken place here, some of it with the potential to be pretty big, anything that could be salvaged would likely be worth the effort. At Gordon’s suggestion, they were also collecting personal artifacts to send to families who’d lost loved ones. Which added a whole new layer of work; putting things into boxes marked with the appropriate person’s name.

Naturally, going into unexplored rooms revealed more bodies. Well into the process of liquefying, some were genuinely hard to tell if they were human or alien. After last night’s nightmare, that was even more unsettling than it otherwise would’ve been. Gordon used his missing hand as an excuse to not be the one to drag them to new body pile in the center area to be burned once they were all done here. That left him to search those rooms alone and sadly, the smell didn’t leave with the body. Somehow, he managed to not vomit until the third such room.

By the time his body gave on heaving his guts up, allowing him to straighten, darkness danced at the edges of his vision. He swayed as he left the corner and stumbled out of the room. The smell seemed to follow him, closing the door helped only a little. With a groan he leaned his back against the wall next to and slid down the wall to sit on the floor. Surely a break was warranted.

He pulled out his phone and pushed it open. ‘Hey.’ he texted Benrey because he hadn’t closed their chat.

‘yo’ came the answer a short time later.

‘What you up to?’

‘hanging with bubby u?’

Perhaps Gordon should be worried about that given what happened the last time Benrey and Bubby got buddy-buddy. But he’d moved past that with Bubby a while ago now and seemingly Benrey now too somehow. ‘Taking a break.’ He wanted to talk more but what could he say to continue the conversation? And Benrey had just confessed to being busy hanging out with Bubby so all he added before hitting ‘send’ was, ‘Don’t have much time though. Talk to you later.’

‘k’

Gordon was sort of starting to not be bothered by how bad his texting was. Enough so that reading back over their prior conversations was somewhat comforting. Not as much as more conversation would’ve been but enough to keep him sane until Dr. Coomer announced his return with a classic, “Hello Gordon!”

Putting his phone away, Gordon looked up at him. “Hello Dr. Coomer.”

“Did you find anything in the room while I was disposing of the corpse?” His voice was chipper as always… or not always, but most of the time. Was he really chipper or was it something else making him speak like that? Some kind of speech impediment that effected his tone? He definitely had some kind of speech something going on so… maybe. Regardless he certainly didn’t seem bothered.

“How do you do it?”

“Do what?”

“Not lose your mind.”

“Well, it helps that my mind is in my brain which is inside my steal-plated skull.” He tapped the side of his head. “That makes it quite hard to lose. Have you lost yours? I could help you find it. What does it look like?”

Seemingly Gordon had indeed lost his mind because it had been his idea to come back here to help any survivors they could and he’d volunteered to help with this too. Why had he done that? He could’ve just let it be, not come back to help anyone because he was already out. Surely he couldn’t have been blamed for such; he owed no one any more than he’d already given. But here he was… and he was about to get up and continue, wasn’t he? The research was important but more than that was taking care of the bodies. Burning them in a big heap wasn’t the best funeral but it was far better than letting them continue to rot alone. And their loved ones deserved closure in the form of whatever could be gotten to them alongside the news. Breen hadn’t been planning to do the latter until Gordon had pressed him to, making Gordon’s presence valuable.

And so with a heavy sigh, he stood. “Nah, I’m sure my mind will turn up on its own eventually. For now, let’s go back in here and finish searching it for stuff.” Before Dr. Coomer could answer, he turned and headed back in.

~

Despite their plans and best efforts, they were unable to finish going through the whole living area in a single day. Gordon could perhaps still leave on the morrow, let the rest of them to finish the job. Tempting but he should at least finish making sure people who’d lost loved ones would be getting what they could of said loved one’s possessions. It was the only thing left he could do.

And so after exchanging greetings during the promise pre-bed phone call with Benrey… “Also, I’m probably gonna be staying another day.”

“Why?”

“Gotta finish with this area then most of us are heading back to town. Except for Breen,” at Gordon’s suggestion because he was the head of Black Mesa and thus should stick around until everyone else was out, “and a few others waiting for the rescue team.” After that would come the long arduous process of sending teams down to save what all they could to bring back from the other areas of the facility since it’d be a long time before it was operational again and some of it would be needed at wherever their temporary setup ended up being. Not to mention, hiring the people to even start fixing it couldn’t start until as much of the top secret stuff was removed as possible.

“Lame.”

Lifting his coffee half way to his lips, Gordon paused to look down on the phone, currently on speaker and resting on the couch’s armrest. It was a bit precarious with how close to the edge it had to be to allow the charging cable to reach it but as long as he was careful not to bump it, it should be fine. “Why’s that lame?” He hadn’t expected Benrey to care much.

“It’s boring and your rules are dumb, making it more boring.”

“You got plenty of video games though.”

“Yeah, no online games though and no one to play with. Bubby’s worse at Melee than you and you only got one hand. He doesn’t even like it, said it wasn’t ‘very fun’ don’t know what I see in it.”

“Well… sorry. I’m sure you’ll survive though.”

“Barely.”

“Just uh… continue to behave, please.”

“I will, I will… only ‘cause you promised to buy me a PS3 though so you better keep your promise.”

“Well, when I do head back, Breen’s lending me the company card to rent a space to store all the stuff we’ve already recovered and to rent a building to start setting the lab up in if I can find a good one. And uh… we’re kinda owed something nice, right?”

“Ooh, naughty. Gonna steal some money, huh? I could report you for that. But uh… I ain’t a security guard anymore so… I guess I can look the other way. Just once, only ‘cause I want it real bad.”

“It ain’t stealing. He’s lending me the card and I’m like basically second in command of the company now anyway. I’m calling multiple shots on this salvage operation so… I probably won’t do it but it’s a fun thought, huh?”

“Boo! Lame. Gordon Goody-two-shoes-man over here being a big loser. I finally let you steal something and you chicken out.”

Gordon chuckled hard enough to almost spill his coffee. He had to lean forward and put it back on the coffee table in front of him. “Don’t worry, man, I’ll still get you a PS3, soon as I can, I promise. Gotta worry about getting a more permanent place to stay first though which is gonna be expensive because … duh. But soon as I get back, I’ll play more Melee with you or whatever you wanna play, ‘kay?” That actually sounded like a good time.

“Yeah, ‘kay.”

“Now, uh, in the meantime…” He paused to retrieve his coffee cup, giving him a bit more time to figure out how to word this. He hadn’t given it as much thought as he should’ve before calling. Benrey had given him a good opening angle though. “You said that uh… you like playing games with people. Obviously we can’t over the phone but maybe uh… you play something and talk to me while you do, read the text and stuff, maybe talk to me about it a bit? It wouldn’t exactly be hanging out, watching you play something, but it’d still be less lonely, right?” And more importantly would keep him on the phone with Gordon for potentially a long time, hopefully even all night, if he was willing.

“Don’t you gotta go to sleep soon?”

“Nah, skipping a night of sleep won’t hurt.” Or at least not as much as the nightmares he’d likely have should he attempt to sleep. He’d spent the day rooting through dead people’s stuff and occasionally coming across the dead people themselves, after last night’s nightmare, that was bound to make getting good sleep impossible. So really, not trying to sleep was likely to be more restful in the end.

“Really? You sure? ‘Cause uh… don’t humans sleep every night?”

“Usually, yeah but only because not doing so makes us kinda tired. One night isn’t a big deal though so since you’re like… bored and lonely, hanging out over the phone should help, right?”

“Oh, okay.” Benrey, as expected, didn’t need much convincing. And staying up apparently wouldn’t do him any harm either, making it a win-win. Having a non-human friend was fantastic. “I haven’t started Wind Waker yet so I’ll do that one.”

“Sounds good.” Gordon finally took a sip of his coffee. Brewed as strong as he could bear it, he winced a little at the taste but he’d likely get used to it long before the night was through because it was going to be a long one. Benrey should help make it bearable though.

~

Doing the same stuff as the day prior but this time after a night of no sleep was both harder in some ways and easier in others. Harder in all the ways staying up all night made everything harder; trouble focusing, mild headache, general overall ucky lethargic feeling. Easier in that, emotions and thoughts dulled by exhaustion were harder to stir into despair even upon discovering another forgotten body behind a locked door.

Even when it got up to start shambling towards him he didn’t feel as bothered as he should. Instead he raised his gun hand and riddled it and the headcrab controlling it full of holes. His gun hand wasn’t as loud as normal guns but that didn’t mean it wasn’t loud.

“Wow, that uh… woke me up a bit, I think,” he said over the ringing in his ears as he watched the headcrab zombie fall.

“Fine shooting, Gordon!” Dr. Coomer said, patting him on the shoulder before stepping forward to bend down and grab the corpse’s wrist. “I will drag this to the corpse pile now while you continue our search.”

“’Kay, see you in a bit.” The adrenaline had been the exact thing he needed. He was doing just fine.

They finally finished a few hours after lunch, just a bit too late in the day to justify going back to Tuefort today. Instead Gordon sat down with the rest of the group again. While they all set to chatting, he folded his arms into a pillow for his head on the table in front of him. Surely a quick nap while everyone’s conversation floated over him would be fine. If the nap lasted long enough maybe he wouldn’t even need to go to bed proper tonight… wouldn’t that be nice?

~

Gordon woke with a jolt, his heart racing, his breath fast. Despite that, the dream was already starting to fade from his mind, leaving nothing clear in his memory other than that his dreams had conjured the mass of rotting flesh again. He could almost still smell it even now… no not almost, could.

The headcrab zombie he’d killed had been close enough that some of its gore had splashed on him when he’d shot it. Tired, he hadn’t changed his clothes, especially since a shower wasn’t available; this part of the facility had run out of reserve water yesterday. There wasn’t enough to be overpowering but it did make his stomach churn with nausea.

Shaking his head, he reached over to the nightstand, fumbling along it until he found his glasses. The clock read 11:35pm. Dr. Coomer must’ve brought him to bed, either immediately or once bed time rolled around. His nap had lasted a while. … It didn’t leave him well rested by any means, especially since he’d still had nightmare but it had helped a little anyway.

With a groan he dragged himself out of bed and over to the light switch so he could see well enough to change clothes into something that didn’t have the smell of death clinging to it. Once done, as was becoming habit – whether good or bad was hard to tell – he checked his phone. Benrey had texted several times since their last exchange.

‘yo want to do another call before bed?’ ‘u good?’ ‘tomy said u fell asleep at table wierd place to fall asleep but ok’ Each was about an hour apart, according to their time stamps.

Having been off charge all day, the battery was running low so Gordon wondered back out the living room area to retrieve the charger, bringing it back to his room to plug in while he sat down on the bed to reply. ‘Yeah, exhausting work so took a nap, lasted longer than I thought.’ Should he apologize for worrying Benrey. That’s the vibe he’d got from the texts but… it was hard to tell for sure with just words on a screen. Much more likely, Benrey was bored and thus looking to converse to pass the time. Probably best not to assume anything. ‘You keeping yourself entertained?’

Perhaps lending credence to the idea that Benrey had been worried by Gordon’s lack of response, his reply came swift. ‘sort of im bored call?’ He was saying he was bored though so probably just that. There was no reason he should care enough to be worried.

As Benrey had done to him, instead of responding, Gordon pushed the keyboard back in place, allowing him to call. The charging cable meant that he had to keep it on speaker as it couldn’t reach to his face comfortably but he’d likely have to set it so eventually away like he’d done before.

“How often do you need to sleep anyway?” he asked as soon as Benrey picked up. How many nights in a row could he depend on Benrey to keep him company while everyone else was asleep?

“Uh… like once a week or every other week if I’m really not in the mood. Humans gotta sleep more than that, right?”

“Yeah, we gotta sleep uh… most nights, missing a night here or there is fine though, not an issue at all.” And he didn’t need to mention the whole eight to nine hours thing. Not that Benrey would care but if he told Tommy or Dr. Coomer that Gordon was intentionally not sleeping as much as was recommended, they might try to bother him about it. And then he’d have to explain he wouldn’t be able to sleep well anyway so might as well try to avoid the nightmares via not sleeping until the was too exhausted for them. … Or maybe they wouldn’t care either. Gordon was the only normal human in the group, the weakest among them by far. Why would any of them care about how fragile he was?

“But uh…” he continued before the pause could carry on for too long, “that means, the other night, when you were here and joined me in bed you, um, didn’t need to, right? You just… wanted to?”

“Yeah, bro, you’re warm, it’s nice. Won’t happen again.”

“Nah, it’s fine, you can… I mean, uh… it was nice. So you know, if um… again wouldn’t be bad if you wanted to and… stuff. Only if you want to though… or um… uh…” He shouldn’t have brought it up but if Benrey were physically here right now it would’ve been really fucking nice. So it was probably a good thing he wasn’t because Gordon’s desperate loneliness was pathetic and he really needed to get over it. Especially if it was making the thought of cuddling Benrey of all people sound appealing. Not that it had been bad, just he shouldn’t want to do it again. But could he really be blamed whilst in Black Mesa, the source of his nightmares? Once out, surely it would be better.

“Uh… maybe. Let’s talk ‘bout something else, huh?”

“Yeah, good idea.” Anything would do as long as he wasn’t alone in this horrid little room. He’d go back to Tuefort tomorrow, in the same car as Tommy or Dr. Coomer, didn’t matter which, and then things would go back to being good.

Next Chapter

[betweenthings2]

23 from the gentle love prompts maybe?? (there’s an obvious Rambler™️ between the two of them so what if it was the less obvious choice 👀) (not to tell you how to write) (whatever you do is gonna be cute as hell) (thanks bye<3)

Thank you so much for the ask!! My apologies for taking so long to answer this. I have no good excuse, but you should absolutely feel free to tell me how/what to write. The prompt list is here if anyone else wants to see it =)

Gentle love prompt 23. letting them ramble when they need to let off steam.

George comes home in a whirlwind of activity and energy, an anomaly, but Matty can't really say that he minds. It's been a quiet day for him, most of it spent curled on the couch with Mayhem, watching films, while George has been out, actually working. Matty's missed him.

It's passed dinner time, so George greets Matty with a kiss and Mayhem with a scratch behind the ears before going upstairs for a shower, but it's not more than twenty minutes before he's back, joining Matty in the living room to see the end of the film that's playing. Mayhem wanders off to see if George put anything in his bowl, so they have the couch to themselves, and they're both quiet through the end of the film, but when Matty curls into George's side, restless energy practically seeps from his body, so as soon as the credits begin to roll, Matty moves so George can get up.

George doesn't move, but he sits up a little bit straighter and asks, "How was your day?" 

"Fine," Matty answers. "Didn't really do much, but it was kinda nice to not have to do much. How was the studio?"

George sighs like he's at the end of his rope, and says "'s a really cool project, but there's all this back and forth and no one can agree and it's like trying to herd cats. How do you get people to do what you want?"

Matty laughs. "People think I'm a little bit unstable and erratic and they don't want to upset me?" Then he shakes his head and says, "Actually, I just tell people how it's going to be. Like, when we want things to be a certain way, once we've decided, I just tell people it's going to be that way."

"I don't think either of those are good options," George responds, slumping against the backrest. "Thanks, though."

Matty laughs again, then his expression softens to something very fond and he asks, "Tell me about it?"

"'bout what? How everyone just wants to argue about things?"

"No, the project, you idiot," Matty responds, still watching George will a fond expression.

With Matty's urging, George is off, talking about the ins and outs of the project, the intricacies of the production, the points of contention.

Matty doesn't really catch everything George says. Some of it goes over his head--he's not involved in the project George has been recruited work on, and by his own accounting, he isn't anywhere nearly as skilled as George when it comes to producing--and some of it doesn't really register because he's too busy simply looking at George. He's too busy being in love with George.

George talks with his hands, gesturing to supplement his words, and Matty is half mesmerized watching simply the way he moves and listening to the sound of his voice. At some point, Mayhem returns, nosing at Matty's hand, then George's when Matty doesn't have anything and George goes from gesturing to scratching Mayhem absently. It makes Matty feel ridiculously soft and in love, and he lets himself be lulled by the sound of George's voice.

"What d'ya think?" George asks, possibly for the second time, looking expectantly at Matty. Mayhem is looking too, almost like he and George are both waiting for an answer.

Matty blinks. "What?"

George laughs. "I love you."

"What?" Matty repeats.

"You didn't hear a single thing I said, did you?" George asks, half smiling.

"I heard some," Matty protests. "I was listening, but I got distracted listening to you talk. And then Mayhem came back and you looked really cute with him."

"You're impossible."

"You do the same thing to me," Matty insists.

"Maybe," George relents, pulling Matty back into his arms.

Matty lets it happen, perfectly happy to be back in George's arms, and when he's comfortable, he says, "You do feel better now, though, don't you?"

George presses a kiss to Matty's temple and murmurs, "Don't let it go to your head."

Matty laughs and burrows a little bit closer, and after a few moments, he says, "Glad you feel better."

[evelynmlewis]

The Boy in the Castle - Final Chapter

Previous

Chapter 9

Ilya banged on the heavy oak outer doors of the guard-house, and his weak fists produced only a solid thudding sound.

“Come on!” He yelled up at the battlements. “Let him go. He’s just a kid. Please.”

The men on the walltop scratched their heads and looked down at him.

“SIR, PLEASE!”

“Go away, man!” shouted the guard on top of the gate.

“What do you even want with him?!”

“How should I know? Get out of here! You should be grateful, you lout!”

It was only when one of them raised his crossbow that Ilya started to back across the threadlike bridge.

His horse was waiting on the other side. Yes, it was his horse. He eyed up the castle desperately. “You can’t do this,” he kept muttering to himself; a useless mantra. “You can’t… you can’t…”

He mounted the horse, and spurred it down the road in his frustration, then stopped, and reined it in. No, he couldn’t—!

He pulled around and started awkwardly back in the other direction. There was the bridge again, but nothing was different. He rode back and forth aimlessly, back up and down the road, wandering, then stopping, as though sizing up the castle to attack it. He knew they were all watching him with amusement. Pointing and laughing, most likely. But what could he do? Boris had said it, he was only a common hireling, no threat whatsoever.

He continued this restless motion with increasing desperation throughout the day, as the sun fell lower in the sky.

 Finally, when the sun was touching the far horizon in the west, he stopped and simply looked up at the castle from a distance. Everything seemed still and quiet. There was no motion, not even a breath of air.

The sun dropped below the horizon, and shadows fell across the land.

Now it was too late. Ilya slumped forward in the saddle. Not caring anymore, he dropped the rein and let the horse decide where to go.

The animal took him south, along the road toward Lohova. When he reached the town, it was still night. He paid no mind to his surroundings. But when he practically fell off the horse behind the first inn he encountered, something slid out of the saddlebag. It was his own coin purse. He opened it.

It was those accursed 100 coins.

Now it seemed only cruel to send them. He had half a mind to throw them in the gutter. But he had given no thought to how he was to pay for his stay.

After paying at the inn several days in advance, he set about trying to forget the events of the past week. It didn’t work very well.

It was while he was there on the second day, drinking himself blind, that he felt a hand grab him by the back of the shirt.

“Well, if it isn’t Ilya Severin.”

He looked up to see the face of his old royal army captain.

 Another glance around the tavern showed him what he’d been too drunk and dispirited to realize before. There were quite a few royal soldiers in here, actually, seated here and there, filling up the back tables, and they looked like they were celebrating.

All at once, everything that he’d seen while riding in, but not really looked at, clicked into place. The unusual numbers of people in the street. The colorful flags and banners hung from windows. The white doves flying in great flocks through the air.

This meant Lohova was controlled. And if Lohova was controlled, Stosla, the capitol, was controlled, and if the capitol was controlled…

Did we win?

“Well?” mocked the captain. “Too drunk to answer me? Do you regret leaving us, coward? You yellow-bellied, chicken-faced, lump of worthless…” He shook Ilya by the shoulders. “What’s the matter? Aren’t you going to defend yourself?” He dropped him in disgust, and Ilya sank back into the chair, limp and bleary. “Oh, that’s right. You haven’t got any fight in you, have you?”

“Oh come on,” called another soldier across the tavern. “We’re having a good time, my man. Just arrest him and have done with it.”

“I suppose,” the captain begrudgingly admitted to the soldier, his lieutenant.

“We can send him on to Stosla where they imprison the deserters. I heard the King is on his way there, to arrive soon.”

“His arrival was delayed, no one knows where he is.”

“Regardless, we took the city on his order, did we not? I’m sure he will be back on the throne soon. After we return from smoking out the Vroek Coalition’s mountain hideout, you could even stop in to see Private Severin sentenced, if you like.”

 “All right,” grumbled the captain, although Ilya was sure he would have liked to beat the tar out of him on the spot.

Not even the news that the Vroek Coalition would soon be defeated could lift his spirits. The prospect of going straight back to jail, however, was darkly ironic.

***

And so, Ilya was taken to the Capitol at Stosla, and put into the royal jail. Now he had been imprisoned by both sides of the conflict in the space of a few days. But this time, it was for actual crimes. And he almost didn’t care anymore.

At least, he told himself he didn’t. But there was a small, barred window high in the wall, that looked out on the street level, and he found himself raising his head to look when the sound of marching feet passed by. After the space of one week, the boots of the King’s men marched back through the streets. They had returned.

It was not long then before a man came to get him. It was one of the palace guards. This imprisonment had somehow gone much quicker than the last one, as though he had been half sleeping the entire time.

“You’ve been summoned by the King,” said the guard.

Now, suddenly, he was fully awake, and painfully self-conscious. He started in alarm. “What?!”

“The King has returned and he asked for you specifically. By name. Come on.”

Ilya shrank back, his eyes widening. He hadn’t figured it was possible for things to get worse, but somehow they had. Most people were not sentenced before the King.

“Y…you’ve got the wrong idea,” he stuttered. He didn’t know what to say. Were they going to accuse him of some even worse crime than desertion, like treason? God forbid it had something to do with Castle Tyrna.

“I don’t know what idea I’ve got,” said the man bemusedly. “The King wants to see you, that’s all I know.”

Still he hesitated. “What, right now?” he pulled at his clothes. “Like this?”

The soldier looked him over with a skeptical eye, seeing his dirt and sweat and grime. “No, not like that. We’ll have you put some real clothes on.”

***

The castle at Stosla was tall and white, with red colored rooftops. They walked through a great green courtyard with bushes pruned into elaborate shapes. There was a flock of white doves, kept by the crown, housed in one of the towers, and the flock was out, making joyous circles over the rooftops as domesticated birds are wont to do.

He could hear the sound of bells ringing across the lawn, up from the city outside. As they came toward the gilded doors, the doves swooped straight down the pavilion and flew up from behind them in a great cloud, so that he could almost feel the brush of their wings on his shoulders.

The doors opened. Sunlight slanted into the great hall through the upper windows, in bright golden beams. White flowers dripped from the windows and vases and every surface. Gold trimmed arches ringed overhead.

There were so many people.

It was actually only two dozen attendants or less, but to Ilya it seemed that it was many, and he felt overwhelmed. The men at the door were armed with swords. The women… why were there women?

From the other side, the King walked in. He was dressed all in red, with a long robe that dragged against the floor. On his head was a golden crown set with rubies.

A heralder announced him. “His Royal Majesty, Aleksandr II Konstantin.”

Everyone in the room briefly kneeled. Ilya dropped to his knees, feeling like the breath was knocked out of his body.

Alexei ran up and threw his arms around him.

Suddenly, it was like a cloud passed out of his mind. He wasn’t going to die, but it was more than that. He felt very alive. The colors in everything suddenly seemed sharper and clearer. Maybe it was all right, being alive.

“It’s you,” he said.

“It’s me,” said Alexei. They had partly separated but the boy held his hands with his small hands, and Ilya looked at them in wonder.

“But…” He looked around at the room full of people, more perplexed than anything, and sat back on his heels. “I… I don’t know anything about anything, do I?”

Alexei gave a wan smile, but his eyes were full of tears.

“How did you survive?”

“Anatoliy helped me escape.”

“I’m so confused. I don’t understand.”

“I can explain.” A man’s voice came from behind him, and he looked to see Anatoliy coming up behind. Now, instead of being dressed in the clothes of the Vroek Coalition, he was dressed in the Royal uniform. The young man bowed respectfully and smiled. “If you would permit me, Your Majesty.”

“Yes,” Alexei nodded. “Please.”

“After the Queen and young Aleksandr fled Belova, they stayed in secret at Saint Beska’s Abbey in Rostek, hidden by the nuns. But the Queen knew that they would eventually have to return. From the abbey she sent communications with the army, and finally as the conditions grew more favorable, they signaled her, alerting her that they would within days retake Stosla, and that she and her son must return with all haste. For it is not good for a kingdom to be without a king.

"But, though their insider knowledge, which I had been providing for some time, told them that the Coalition was not likely to interrupt them on their planned route, the way was still through Coalition territory, and it was necessary to travel undercover and exercise the utmost caution. With them, they carried the royal messenger doves to signal their approach and order the army to advance into place to secure their position as they entered the city.

“As a spy infiltrating the ranks of the Coalition, I had been recently stationed in the headquarters at Castle Tyrna, but had been unable to reach the army to convey information on this matter.”

Ilya nodded readily, he had at least figured out this last part.

“Dismayed as I was to encounter the Queen and the young King, the Queen had not yet been recognized, and so I was able to use my rank to shelter her for a time by preventing the examination of her affects. The King had not yet been discovered, and as you well know, I kept him hidden in my room.”

Alexei tugged on his sleeve, and Anatoliy stopped.

“I wanted to tell you,” said Alexei. “But Mama said not to tell you anything because it would put you in more danger.”

“I see.” Ilya flushed, rubbing the back of his neck absently. To think that he’d been hired to transport the young King without knowing; and that he had treated him so dismissively as well. He looked down at the tile.

“After a while,” said Anatoliy, “I was no longer able to have the Queen visit my rooms because the rumors were becoming too pervasive and risked both of our covers. I do sincerely apologize, your Majesty.”

Alexei sighed and squeezed his eyes shut. “I know. I d-don’t hold it ag—” Ilya could tell he was about to start crying. The boy sniffled and wiped his eyes, then began to explain again. “I couldn’t get to Mama to ask her if it was okay, but I knew she was in trouble and I had to do it myself. I decided to be brave like you said. I sent the doves anyway. I told them where we were. I knew they couldn’t show up in time to save me or Mama, but it was the only way to keep you from getting killed.” He trailed off, and Anatoliy took up.

“The young king also doubtless knew that the army was in position to retake Stosla and could not continue waiting. They needed the signal regardless of His Majesty’s personal arrival. However, the handwritten note was an idea of his own.

“When General Boris arrived at Castle Tyrna, he of course immediately required the handover of the Queen’s personal effects. I knew what would result from this but could do nothing, as the Queen had been separated from me for some time. The box contained many documents and items with the royal seal specifically designed to prove her identity. However, the fact that her son was traveling with her was not immediately apparent.

“I had suspected that Alexei was getting out from time to time, though he had hidden his disappearances from me. When I returned to my rooms that day, I found that he was gone. Instead, I found a note. He had warned me that he was about to reveal himself. I had little time. I slipped into the passage in the rock.

“This was a room I had requested by design, so that it would be easier for me to move about as a spy and escape if necessary. The crown well knows about the secret passages at Tyrna, and we know them better than the Vroek Coalition – the castle was ours before it was theirs, after all.

“I slipped back to the dungeon to release Alexei. His Majesty had been there for only a few minutes.”

Ilya breathed a sigh of relief.

“Then we went to the tunnels, which was something I’d been reluctant to try earlier, but His Majesty had left me with no choice. There was a lengthy, hidden path which I was aware of, but had never traveled before. We walked for miles in the dark under the earth until we came up in the neighboring region. It took several days for us to reunite with the army, and finally, to reach the Capital.”

“There was so much that I didn’t know!” exclaimed Ilya, trying to contain his emotion but failing. The faces of Alexei and the others, along with the bright banners and flowers swam around him. “Everything I thought was real… why, I did not know, but I thought… I thought you had been killed. I thought that they were going to kill you.” He clasped the boy’s hand.

“They were,” said Anatoliy. “That part was real. Trust me that Boris no longer lives. He died by my hand.”

This time Ilya wept openly and for real. “But I don’t understand. It is not just that you are a child, but especially knowing that you are the King… why surely you have duties, obligations, you are needed, and so what is a smuggler and a deserter? I am nothing.”

Alexei spoke. “Don’t you remember what you said? A king has to protect his subjects. If he’s a good king, anyway.”

“But what about my crimes?” his voice shook.

Alexei smiled. “Do you think I would bring you here and not pardon you for past offenses? We shall be friends forever, I think.”

Ilya looked up at him.

“Now, you don’t have to keep sitting on the floor. Please, stand up.”

Ilya slowly stood up from the floor. “Thank you. Your Majesty, Aleksandr, sir.”

The boy laughed. “Aleksandr was my father. You can call me Alexei.”

The new courtiers, much moved by the sight they had just seen, broke into a light applause. After the two of them had departed from the hall, they spread this tale far and wide throughout the land, and that it has come to you, my dear reader.

The End.

[inafieldofdaisies]

WIP Wednesday | Tagged by @euryalex @socially-awkward-skeleton @direwombat @trench-rot 🤍 | Tagging @poisonedtruth @adelaidedrubman @shegetsburned @g0dspeeed @nightbloodraelle @nightwingshero @madparadoxum @aceghosts @jacobsneed @jinfromyarikawa @josephslittledeputy @josephseedismyfather @purplehairsecretlair @detectivelokis @vampireninjabunnies-blog @strangefable @strafethesesinners @sstewyhosseini and anyone with something to share <3

I present you another snippet from Chapter 8 where we finally get to meet some new OCs that are set on catching John and becoming heroes. Enter Charlie "The Menace" Morgan...

The Spread Eagle was empty when Calahan entered, his day had started at 5 am with a couple of Peggies stumbling across his camp and ruining his chance at getting some rest. "You've been marked, Sinner! John is coming to get ya-", was the last thing their leader had said before Hartley sent him to meet his beloved maker. And since then, his day was going just peachy. He needed a drink, or more like five. No rest for the wicked. Or do I say the "Sinner"? "Rookie, the usual?", Mary May shot him a smile from behind the bar. "Why is it so quiet, gorgeous?" Seeing a friendly face was already brightening his mood. "Take a guess." "What do I win if I guess right?", his wink made Mary May roll her eyes. Her reaction caused him to think of Sabrina and how she never took his charm too seriously either. Where the fuck are you, Gray? Who has you? He couldn't go 5 minutes without thinking about all the people close to him that the Seeds had captured few days back. It made him restless, angry, ready to lash out on any Peggie that crossed his path. "First drink's on me." Calahan gave her his best "I'm so lost in deep thought" face, the same one he used anytime Whitehorse lectured him on how he should be behaving as a Deputy. "I'd say-"

The sound of the bell cut him off as the doors to the bar opened and three Resistance members walked in, involved in what seemed like a very heated discussion. "Mary May, drinks, darlin', we bear good news!", the oldest of the trio chimed in. The voice belonged to Charlie Morgan, a man in his late 30s, with short dark hair and beard, shifty pale eyes and neck tattoos. "Rookie! Just the man we need!", he shouted before slapping Calahan on the back with unnecessary force. Hartley was already over the interaction, dreading whatever he and his buddies had come up with. Back in the days before the Reaping he wouldn't have been caught dead interacting with Charlie, but as Dutch had said they needed any assistance they could get. He only wished the helping hand in question was better at their tasks and didn't spend half the day drinking at The Spread Eagle, calling it "work for the cause". The sooner I get Hudson out and track Gray down, the quicker we'd make actual progress and rescue the others. "What is it now, Charlie?" "Deputy, we have him!", it wasn't Morgan that responded but a teen that couldn't have been older than 17, an unfamiliar face to Hartley. "Have who? And you are?" "Justin Harker. My ma and I moved in here few months back, may she rest in peace.", he offered his hand to Hartley, which he shook, then added in a whisper, "We've got intel on John Seed!" Charlie sat down in the chair next to Calahan's, downing the glass Mary May had produced in front of him. "Bastard's running a leaky operation, Rookie. Heard from a source he's left that bunker of his on his own. But it gets better… in less than an hour he will be headed to his ranch." Hartley shook his head, "Sounds too good to be true, Morgan. You sure you didn't dream that up?" "Deputy, it's true. We're going there, thought to stop to ask you to joins us for the ambush.", Harker couldn't contain his excitement. "We're capturing that bastard and making him suffer today.", Charlie let out a maniacal laughter at which Mary May slapped her palm on the bar, giving him a pointed look. "Keep it down. I'm running a business here. First and last warning, and you're gonna be making your own booze in your toilet." "Sorry, darlin'." The third guy remained silent, Hartley knew his face but for the life of him couldn't remember his name. "So you coming, or not, Rookie?" Calahan sighed, his head was already throbbing enough, and Morgan's presence wasn't helping. "No, I'm exhausted. I doubt this is going to pan out, boys. No offense, but you're miles away from being a capture party. Best case scenario, some Peggie is fucking with you and sending you on a wild goose chase… Worst, well… you'd be captured and meet John face to face, but in his bunker." "Rookie, are you afraid?", Charlie chuckled. "You heard anything from what I just said, you asshole?" "Now, now, let's all calm down.", third guy broke his silence, waving his arms around. "We're going, Rookie. And you can sit on your ass and be afraid all you want. I'm catching that bastard that carved my chest and carving his face as payback today. Let see then how well his broadcasts perform after I'm done with him."

Charlie downed his second drink and stormed out without a look back, followed by Mr. "Calm". Hartley grabbed Harker's arm as he went to leave, too. "Kid, if you know what's best for you, don't go anywhere with Charlie Morgan." The teen shook his head, "It's fine, Deputy, I made a promise at my ma's grave, I plan on honoring it." "You know which channel to call if you get anything?" "Yes, Deputy. I will be sure to keep you posted." With that he left, heading outside to join the others. "God, I hate Charlie.", Mary May groaned. "Then why serve him, gorgeous?" "Can't be picky in these times, now can I? As long as he pays… but I'm getting close to banning him indefinitely." Calahan rested his head on the bar. "You really not going to go with them?", Mary May nodded towards the now closed door, "There's still time." "Nah. I'm good. Don't believe John Seed would just offer himself on a silver platter like that." "Well, in that case, why don't you head upstairs, catch some sleep on the couch? Didn't plan to say it, but you look like shit.", Mary May smiled. "Don't I know it. Sleep avoids me like an ex-girlfriend these days." "You still worried about Sabrina?" "No news, absolutely nothing. It's bizarre." "I'm sure something will turn up." "Thanks, gorgeous." Hartley took a final sip of his drink and climbed upstairs, ready to get some needed rest before he'd have to head back out.

John drove in silence, his eyes glued to the road while he felt like he was on autopilot as the last few hours replayed in his mind. His emotions were all over the place: from how the morning started with yet another close encounter with Sabrina through the decision to take her to the ranch to holding her lingerie in his hand as he imagined peeling it off her body. Bad idea. He had no clue what had possessed him to do it and she seemed just as shocked. He needed to put as much distance between them as soon as possible, if he was to come back to his old self and focus on his tasks. Then there was Savannah and her genuine excitement at his presence and their "trip". He knew he had made the right decision the second she told him she's not afraid of him even if he's a "Peggie". He didn't want to imagine those big green eyes fill with fear at the sight of him. Ever. "You doing okay there, Seed?", Sabrina whispered after a while, amusement seeping into her tone. John nodded, gripping the steering wheel, "Just thinking, going over my schedule." A complete lie… but he doubted she'd appreciate the truth, especially spoken out loud in front of her sister. He took his eyes off the road for a second to sneak a look at Sabrina just in time to see her faint smile vanish completely off her face. Her hand shot out to his knee, his name coming out in a panicked whisper, making him look back ahead. The road they were on wasn't empty as it was before, instead a car and an armed man stood blocking their path as the truck came to an abrupt stop. John looked in the rearview mirror, contemplating driving back the way they came from but two more men had popped out from hiding, headed for the truck with determination. The Resistance.

"Who are these people? Are they Peggies? They don't look like it.", Savannah spoke up, her face twisted in confusion. "I'm sure it's just a misunderstanding, pumpkin.", Sabrina responded just as one of the Sinners shouted, his voice carrying through their open windows, "Out, Seed, don't think of doing anything funny. There's no need for anyone else to get hurt." "John-" "Rin-Rin, what's happening?", panic was taking over Savannah's voice. One of the men was by the driver's door then, rifle trained, ready to haul John out of the truck by force. "It's okay, Savi." He leaned in, wondering if he's smelling Sabrina's scent for the last time as he whispered in her ear, "There's a gun in the glovebox, the Bliss bullets are non-lethal but they will slow them down, do what you must to protect Savannah." Then he turned to the Sinner, calling out, "I'm coming out. There's a child in the car." "John, this is a bad idea." He knew as much, but the alternative presented just as much danger. "It's not my time yet, Deputy. Don't worry." He opened the door, climbing out with one last look at Sabrina, knowing chances were she'd drive away now that the road behind them was clear and leave him to face Judgement at the hands of the Resistance. She owed him nothing, especially not when her sister was in danger. "Walk, Seed.", the Sinner gritted out, his rifle poking John in the back, urging him on. As they neared the lone gunman, he raised his hands, "I'm unarmed, let the others go." He wasn't exactly unarmed, he still had Sabrina's knife, though using it would be a gamble with his own life. "You're not in charge here, you bastard.", came out the familiar voice of Charlie Morgan, his dead gray eyes narrowed with a look of hatred, hinting at his intentions. That very man had his turn sitting in John's chair not that long ago, screaming about revenge while John carved "Gluttony" into the Sinner's chest. From the corner of his eye he could see the youngest of the group speak into a walkie, probably calling in reinforcements. Captured. Me?

John wanted to laugh at the irony, but thoughts of Sabrina and Savannah clouded his mind. "You haven't learned anything from your Confession, have you, Charlie?" It was the wrong thing to say, making Morgan's face twist up in rage, gaze shifting to the truck behind them, "Maybe I should go drag out that lady of yours, march her over here, see how mouthy you are then, you bastard." John tried to keep himself in check, but something must have flashed across his face, urging Charlie to keep pushing. "Yeah, I'd start with carving into her. Make you watch. Then comes your turn. How does that sound?" He turned to the older Resistance member, "Bring her here, Blake." "You have to love them, Brother.", Joseph's voice did little to calm the anger bubbling up inside. The thought of Morgan putting his slimy paws on Sabrina made John see red. Before he can even attempt to silence the urge for violence, his hand had taken out her knife from the back of his jeans and in one brisk motion plunged it into the neck of the Sinner that had led him there. Before Charlie could react he was on top of him next. The whole time the youngest Sinner stood frozen in shock. His pistol shook in his hand at the sight of one of his comrades lying dead on the concrete, blood pooling beneath him and the other was close to follow in his footsteps, too. "Charlie, this isn't what we planned…Hurting others…Blake's dead.", the teen mumbled, voice small. John ignored his panicked ramblings, keeping his attention fully on Charlie, his smile dark as he said, "Yes, you haven't learned anything, Charlie." Morgan was nowhere close to giving up, his fury fueled his struggle and eventually allowed him to overpower John. He was set on grabbing the knife as he came on top with a maniacal look on his face. "You carved my chest, now it's time to carve that pretty face of yours, you bastard. See how Joseph likes you then."

"Is John going to be okay?", Savannah's eyes were brimming with tears. Sabrina's gaze shifted from the scene in front of them back to her sister as the armed man led John away. She rolled the windows up, afraid what might carry through them. "Hey, look at me, everything is going to be okay.", she reached her hand out to Savannah, "Don't look ahead, okay?" "Okay." Two paths were presented to her again: to drive off or help John. Her brain screamed at her to be rational, that Savannah was the only priority, that she should crawl over the console and into the driver seat, turn the truck around and leave. Her conscience argued he's in danger because of her: because he took her out of that bunker in the first place and he was breaking a rule by taking her to his home to protect her sister. And her heart… it reminded her he's the man from her visions. That she would be abandoning him to die, never to see him again. Acting or not. I can't leave him. Her father was not one for inaction, it's what led to his death and he passed that dangerous drive down to his daughter. She knew what he would do. Her mind was made up the second she saw John take down one of the men. You're going to get yourself killed, Seed. In a blink, she was reaching into the glovebox, pulling out the gun, absorbing the familiar feeling as she gripped it and released the safety before she turned to Savannah. "Keep your head down, whatever happens, you don't look. Lock the doors behind me, Sav." "John-" "I'm going to get him." She kissed her sister's forehead, rushing out of the truck, her eyes zeroing in on John and another man locked in a struggle on the ground, fighting over a knife. Above them stood a teenager, face frozen in shock, as he pointed the gun at the two men, unsure what to do, if he should shoot. "Charlie, stop it! We agreed we're taking him in alive! We had a plan!" Charlie? She knew that name, many times she and Hudson had to escort him out of the Spread Eagle after he had decided to sleep there after a full day of drinking. Then suddenly one day he had disappeared, taken in by John's men only to reemerge with a dark look that refused to leave his eyes, constantly talking about getting revenge on the Project. In that moment he was set on killing John, screaming about carving into his face as payback. Seems like your own sins are catching up with you, Seed. Did you have him in that room, too?

The teen's gaze shifted from the ground up to Sabrina as she drew in closer, he raised his pistol in panic, pulling the trigger but his hand was shaking so badly he missed, grazing Sabrina's arm instead. She ignored the sting, hitting her target in a spot at his shoulder that was less likely to be leathal, the tricky shot incapacitated him, but whatever was in the "bullet" took him down in seconds, to the point she was worried she had killed him somehow. A brief moment was all it took for Charlie to get distracted when his friend's body hit the ground, giving John the chance to strike and sink the knife into his neck in one swift move. "A chance at Eden, Charlie. And you threw it away.", came as a mutter. He rolled the man's body off him as Sabrina reached her free hand out to pull him up. "Sabrina.", he lay still for a second, his blue eyes staring into hers, betraying his bewilderment at her assistance. "You expected me to leave?" John nodded, as he grabbed her outstretched arm, his own hands were bloody, getting hers covered too. He got up, smoothing the strands of hair that had gone out of place during the scuffle. "You should have left. Your sister-" "She's okay. I told her to lock the doors. I don't leave people behind, John." "Even me?" "Even you." "And yet, that boyfriend of yours left you behind. Ironic." "Boyfriend?", Sabrina's eyes narrowed in confusion. "That blond Deputy.", the resentment was clear in his tone and the mask slipped for a second as his features morphed into a dark frown. She didn't correct his assumption when she said, "Calahan. And he didn't leave me, I told him to go." "You sacrificed yourself so he gets away. You must love him then." Fishing for information now, are we? "I simply didn't want to risk his life too. I can take care of myself." "That I've seen. You're quite resourceful.", John wipped her knife off his jeans, "Your little gift saved my life, Deputy." Gift. Ha.

""A knife in your boot can save your life one day.", it's what my father used to say." And Scott Donovan was right, her own knife had helped John. "Smart man." Sabrina gave him a sad smile as she kneeled down, checking on the teen at her feet, "He was. A truly good man." Barely lucid, but still breathing. Good. "We have to go, Deputy. I'm pretty certain this one called in reinforcements." She nodded in response and when John made a move towards the teen, knife still clutched in his hand, she put herself between them, adding, "If you're planning on killing him, too… I won't let you. He's a kid, couldn't even hold his weapon steady. Enough lives were lost today, John, and it's barely noon." "Fine, Deputy." After moving the bodies off the path, they headed back to the truck, as he asked, "What do we tell Savannah?" We. That's progress. Sabrina took a deep breath, "I- for once I'm not sure, I need a minute." His hand was on the small of her back, offering silent support as they reached the passenger's side door. To Sabrina's relief her sister had followed her instructions: she was curled into herself, her auburn hair barely peeking out between the seats. She looked up cautiously when Sabrina knocked on the glass. "We're okay, pumpkin. You can open up." Savannah climbed over the console, rolling down the window, "Are the bad men gone?" Gone. Both literally and figuratively. "Yes, Sav. Pass me your water bottle, will you?" Sabrina and John quickly washed off whatever they could from the blood before climbing back into the truck. Soon they were back on the road with the men's bodies not visible in the rearview mirror anymore as Savannah's face poked inbetween the front seats, her green eyes focusing on John then on her sister. "You're both okay, right?" "Yes", came out in unison, making her laugh out loud. John looked at Sabrina before shifting his gaze back onward, his lips curling into a triumphant smile, "Deputy, you just said "Yes"." "No, I didn't.", she deadpanned. Savannah giggled, "Yes, you did, Rin-Rin." John tilted his head in her sister's direction, "See, Savi here says I'm right." "You're unbeliavable." "So you keep telling me.", and he had the audacity to wink. He just killed two people and is smiling like nothing has happened. Sabrina rested her head against the window, ignoring the pain in her forearm and trying to keep her emotions in check while Savannah and him chatted away, filling the time until they reach their destination.

[fingerless-glovez]

Mori Yurei School Uniform Vignette: "Just To Hold Me Over"

Synopsis: Mori is hungry during passing period, but lunch is still a whole period away. Frankly, he’ll take anything as long as he can eat it…

Interior Hallway

“Finally… Enigmics really knows how to give you a headache. Definitely doesn’t help that Sebek yelled at me the whole time…”

Mori sighed as the bell finally rang, happy to finally be free from class. Of all the new classes he needed to get used to, the math classes were by far his least favorite. He very much preferred the science classes, where something happened whether you got the formula right or wrong, and any specific mistakes could be traced back to a certain measurement. Plus, in science, he had ingredients and equipment to cycle through and keep his focus, rather than staring at a paper for almost an hour writing the same formula with different numbers over and over and over again.

With math, Mori just couldn’t wrap his head around all the numbers and formulas which just led to more numbers that he didn’t know the purpose of. He didn’t feel he was gaining anything from figuring out the way numbers and curvy lines on a grid represented one thing or another, nor did he feel smarter for adding and multiplying a jumble of numbers and letter variables before dividing them and figuring out exactly what number each letter was supposed to be. And as if that didn’t fry his brain enough, he sat in the back of the class right next to the loudest person in the freshman population. Mori liked Sebek, and appreciated that he was trying to help him out since he was really good at this stuff, but Great Seven, was he one tough tutor! More often than not, Mori would be struggling to understand a question and put the formula together correctly, and Sebek’s way of remedying that was to repeat the steps with increasing volume until he could get back on track.

Before he could grieve too much about his academic woes, however, Mori heard a very familiar sound, accompanied by an even more familiar pang in his stomach.

“Great,” He grumbled, “All that compounded stress made me hungry. And I’ve still got a whole period to go through before lunch…”

“Why, hello there, Mori,” Mori paused his sulking to see that Lilia had addressed him. “Goodness, you’re looking a bit worse for wares. Did something happen?”

“Just a rough class. Turns out living most of your adolescent years out in the wild doesn’t translate well to graphs and number sense. But I’ve been through worse, I’ll live.”

Lilia tilted his head, “Really? I could’ve sworn I heard you moaning about Sebek. He isn’t bothering you at all, is he?”

“No, not really. He’s actually been trying to help me with enigmics. It’s just that he’s…” Mori trailed off, rubbing his head in discomfort.

“Intense?”

“... Yeah.”

Mori’s stomach growled again, and he rubbed it sadly, which caught Lilia’s attention.

“Oh, are you feeling hungry?”

“I am,” Mori admitted, “But lunch is still a whole period away. Maybe I should start packing some snacks to eat during passing period, just to hold me over until then.”

That was when Lilia grinned. “Khee hee hee… Then Mori, my friend, you’re in luck! I happen to have just what you’re looking for!”

Mori perked up at that proclamation. “W-Wait, really?” He stammered as Lilia produced a container filled with… Something. They looked like little black discs. “Um… What are these things?”

“They’re cookies, of course!” Lilia chirped, popping open the lid, “I was feeling restless last night, so I decided to do some late-night baking. I’ve been trying to find a taste tester all morning, but unfortunately, all my classmates and other Diasomnia members seem to be quite busy today, judging by how quickly they all scurried off when I asked. But if you’re hungry, please go ahead go ahead and help yourself.”

Curiously, Mori picked up a “cookie”, watching as little black crumbs fell to the floor. It didn’t look particularly tasty, but…

“Alright. Thanks a lot, Lilia.”

And then he took a bite.

“Oh, it’s my pleasure,” Lilia said with a smile, “Do you like it? Be honest with me. I can take it.”

Mori chewed the snack, then swallowed.

“Honestly…”

“STOP!!!!”

“Huh?!” Mori and Lilia exclaimed in unison as Sebek jumped between them as if to block Mori from taking another cookie from the container.

“Do not eat those!” He cried, but his face paled when he saw his classmate already had a cookie in his hand, and that part of it was missing. “No… You’ve already taken a bite! I’m too late!”

“S-Sebek, what’s-” Mori tried to inquire, but Sebek grabbed his arms and cut him off.

“This is bad. Does your stomach hurt? Do you as though you’re about to throw up?”

“N-No? Why-”

“You don’t have a headache?”

“Well, I do feel one coming on now, but only because-”

“I knew it! You’re already experiencing symptoms! Quickly, we must get you to the infirmary before-”

“Sebek, please!” Lilia finally cut in, “Can’t you see you’re scaring him?”

Sebek let go of Mori and turned to his senior, “But Lilia! I fear his health may be at risk! His pathetic human stomach likely won’t be able to handle whatever you put in those cookies, especially given how scrawny he is! Tell me, how many has he had?”

“I’ve only given him the one he’s working on now. He expressed to me that he was hungry, so I gave him one. Which reminds me…”

Lilia tuned his attention back to Mori, who had popped the remainder of the cookie in his mouth and was now rubbing his arms where Sebek grabbed him, “What do think? Was it good?”

Shaking off his extreme confusion and rising anxiety, Mori finished chewing and swallowed. “Um… No, it wasn’t. At all. It was as burnt as it looked, but it also tasted kind of salty. I think there was some mint in there too, which did not mix well with the other flavors.”

“Oh… Is that so?” Lilia sighed and shook his head, “Drat, I must have confused the salt and the sugar again. But you didn’t have to finish it if you didn’t like it. I wouldn’t have been offended.”

Mori shrugged, “It’s fine. I’m just happy I got some food in me. Thanks, Lilia.”

The bell rang, indicating that passing period was over. Mori jumped at the sound.

“Shoot! We’re late! We should go before we get in too much trouble. I’ll meet you there, Sebek!”

“Have fun!” Lilia called as Mori scampered off, “What a nice young man. You’re quite lucky to have him in your class, Sebek.”

Sebek didn’t reply, instead staring at the space Mori had already disappeared from.

“Sebek?” Lilia prompted.

“How…” He breathed, “How did he do it…?”

“What?”

“How can he stomach something that Lilia made?!”

Fin

(Mori lived in the wild for 6 years and has a high tolerance for eating food even if he doesn’t like it. Half of his diet was grass, berries, mushrooms, and weird plants.)

[aeoki]

High and Low: The Centre of the Earth - Chapter 11

Location: Australian Land (Night) Characters: Tetora, Tomoya, Hinata, Touri, Mitsuru & Hitsugi

Season: Autumn Writer: Akira

Tomoya: Unfortunately, this seems to be real.

Tetora: Osu. We don’t really know what’s going on, either.

Let’s retrace our steps. After eating my delicious cooking, we were playing tabletop games until we got sleepy.

Tomoya: There’s something in that sentence I want to correct but I’ll ignore it for now… Then, we got sleepier and sleepier, probably because of our exhaustion from being in the bus all day for the past few days.

And we fell asleep like a device being powered off. At least, that’s what it felt like for me. And when I woke up, I was here.

Tetora: It was the same for me. And here I thought I had pretty good endurance~ I felt myself drifting off to sleep and I was out like a light.

It feels like I was fed some sort of sleeping pill rather than falling asleep naturally due to exhaustion, though.

Tomoya: You’ve taken them before? I’m kinda scared of things like that so I could never take them.

Tetora: They sell ones without harmful ingredients at the pharmacy. I sometimes buy them when I’m shopping for protein supplements.

Maybe I’m pretty restless or something but sometimes I can’t fall asleep. There’s been a lot on my mind recently too.

Tomoya: Oh… Yeah. There’s no way you wouldn’t be going through something rough, huh.

But even so, you don’t show your weakened side to us and you’re always so energetic. You’re really amazing, Tetora.

Tetora: Ahaha. I’m being stubborn, that’s all. I just don’t wanna show my lame side.

Mitsuru: Hey! What’s this, anyway? Where are we?

Why’re we here? Did we get taken to some random place while we were on the bus?

Tomoya: That doesn’t sound quite right, either… I don’t really know what’s going on, so I’m pretty confused too.

Tetora: …This might be the worst possible situation.

Mitsuru: Whaddya mean, Tetsu-chan?

Tetora: Maybe we’ve been kidnapped by some sort of international crime group. 

Tomoya: …Seriously?

Tetora: I wanna believe that we really haven’t, but I can’t come up with any other explanation.

Tomoya: Well, yeah…

Rather than being teleported to a random place all of a sudden, it feels more realistic to assume we’ve been physically kidnapped by some bad guys.

Mitsuru: Huh? What? We’ve been kidnapped? By who?

What for? I’m just from an average household, so we wouldn’t even be able to pay a ransom if they demanded one, y’know?

Tomoya: The same goes for me. Maybe they were targeting the rich Himemiya or something–

Mitsuru: Ah! And where is he?

Tetora: He’s still asleep. Look, it’s pretty dark so you probably can’t see properly, but he’s lying over there.

Touri: …………

Hinata & Sora: …………

Mitsuru: Ah, you’re right. They’re all asleep… Anzu Nee-chan too.

Nee-chan, Nee-chan! What’s going on? Tell me!

Tomoya: I don’t think Anzu-senpai knows what’s going on, either. Looks like she’s just asleep.

Tetora: If this was a prank, it’s weird if the “producer” is asleep too. That’s not something that should be filmed.

Tomoya: If it’s not a prank, then there’s a big possibility we’re actually victims of some sort of crime, though.

Tetora: …………

Mitsuru: Hm? Huh? Hey, Hitsugi-chan’s not here!

Tomoya: Hm? Ah, you’re right! Everyone else is here, but him.

Why’s that? Don’t tell me he’s the one who started this prank…?

Tetora: Hmm, he didn’t seem like the kind of person to do something that mean, though.

Maybe he woke up while the rest of us were asleep, realised we were kidnapped and ran away…?

If that’s the case, then there’s hope. Kurone-san will probably get help.

Tomoya: How would he get help? We don’t have any means to contact each other.

Tetora: M-Maybe he’s gone to the nearest town by bus?

Tomoya: We were basically someplace in the wild with nothing around, though. The nearest town is probably a few hours away too.

Tetora: …That means even if Kurone-san managed to escape, our prospects of getting saved is pretty dim.

Tomoya: There’s no guarantee that he escaped successfully too… Just how did we end up like this?

They made us go on this low-budget trip and we even decided we wouldn’t be discouraged and would still enjoy it somehow.

But now we’re victims of a crime… When it rains, it really pours.

Tetora: T-There’s no evidence that we’re actually victims of a crime right now!

Tomoya: What else is there~? Ahh, jeez, why are we seriously in this mess!?

← Previous Chapter ᠂ ⚘ ˚⊹˚ ⚘ ᠂  Next Chapter →

[thevoyageurmoteplass-writing]

I was restless. After everything that had happened, I’d expected to get a decent night's sleep; thought that learning to control fire and trying to save the city might actually have exhausted me. But apparently not. Even having gone out in the middle of the day to con a few people, in the hopes of feeling a little more like myself again, had done nothing to satisfy my need to do something. Perhaps it was the fact Cosmo hadn’t been there, instead he and Dart had been trying to come up with new and improved ways for our little group to be heroes. Jeff might have wanted to manipulate the hell out of us all, but he’d made a great choice in our little group.

With a groan, I finally threw the cover off and went to look at my spoils from the day. It wasn't much: a couple of ten pound notes, a club card for some supermarket or another, and a key that I don’t remember taking. Still, the motions of getting them had been what I needed; apparently, being a superhero was a rather lucrative business when Ano had figured out fake bank accounts and loads of other cunning things to protect our identities. A smile, that was all it had taken for some to let their guard down. I’d robbed them blind before actually asking anything, instead seeming way too excited about being in the city where those heroes had done that thing.

Heroes. The word still didn't sit quite right with me. I knew that I’d helped save the day, but I also felt a little like a circus monkey. Don’t get me wrong, those guys are perfect for a distraction, but I was suddenly very aware of what it felt like to be asked to do things again and again, just for the entertainment of a few people.

Without thinking I stuffed the things into the pocket of my jacket. If I wasn't going to get any sleep, I may as well make use of it.

I was dressed in less than five minutes, my thoughts already focused on what I was going to do. Or try to, the streets were dead. Despite there being a new kind of protection, people were still scared. Scared other bad people with powers might cause trouble and their heroes wouldn’t be around to protect them. Even heroes need their shuteye.

Yeah, not just the villains you need to watch out for, I thought, a small smile slipping easily onto my face.

'Hey!' a voice called, but I ignored it. “Hey” already sounded too cheerful to be anyone I knew or cared about. 'Willow!'

The use of my name froze me. I mentally tried to place the voice but got nowhere. Quick footsteps forced me into action though; I rounded to see the jogging figure approaching.

The person was a girl, probably a couple of years younger than me. Her hair seemed to bounce on her shoulders with each step she took, even as she slowed down slightly. There was a smile on her face that caused me to arch an irritable eyebrow.

'What'd you want?' I spat before the girl was too close.

She faltered momentarily, but didn't actually stop until she was a few paces away. I could already feel the heat on my hands, a comforting kind of protection whether I needed it or not.

'You found a key, didn't you?'

'I don't know -'

'It's OK,' the girl said hurriedly, 'I got one too. It's weird, but -'

'Is there a point?' I interrupted coolly.

The girl paused for a beat before chuckling, shaking her head ever so slightly. 'Sorry, sorry, I got excited,' she said, before sticking out her hand. 'I'm Ella, and that key...' She scrunched her face as her voice petered out.

My eyebrow arched further.

'Darius said this might be hard,' she murmured, before heaving a sigh. She slipped something carefully from her pocket.

Instantly, I was on edge. The heat of my hands intensified; I could see the faint orange glow that came before actual flames.

But the girl produced a key, one that looked exactly the same as the one in my own pocket. 'It takes you to a place where you can relax,' she explained, moving towards a shopfront.

I watched, unable to look away. This kid had stopped me, and now seemed to be going into a darkened shop with a key that I also had. I wasn't sure if she had the power to create keys to any door, if she was actually the owner's kid or something, or she was about to rob the place blind. It was that uncertainty that drew me closer to her, curious to how all this played out.

'Yours'll do the same,' Ella said, glancing back over her shoulder and shooting me a bright smile. 'Any door as long as it takes a key.'

I didn't have time to question it. Ella had already unlocked the door and opened it outwards.

'Welcome to The Voyageurs Möteplass,' Ella said brightly, stepping through the doorway.

After everything that had happened in recent months, I had hoped that nothing else could shock or, I had to begrudgingly admit, impress me. But I was proved wrong. Beyond the doorway life seemed to flourish, even though from the outside it had looked completely empty. People that looked like nothing I had seen before bustled around, chatting amicably, an air of almost bittersweet happiness tinged the whole thing. Ella's grin seemed to widen. She waved to people that passed, and they seemed to smile back even if they'd looked in thunderous moods beforehand.

'Are you stealing my lines, Ella?' a large man with amusement bright behind his eyes asked. There was something imposing and yet oddly comforting about him.

'Just testing it out, Darius,' Ella said brightly.

He chuckled jovially. 'I think young Badger was looking for you. Something about "The joke to end all jokes," I believe.'

Ella chuckled affectionately before turning back to me. 'I'll be seeing you,' she said, before hurrying away.

Part of me wanted to tell her to come back, to try and have at least some semblance of before this revelation beside me to help make sense of it, but she didn't. Instead, I turned quizzically to Darius.

'Why don't we have a drink, Willow.'

'How'd you know my name?' I asked carefully, once again feeling the protective heat of my power.

'When a hero -'

'I'm not a hero.'

Darius inclined his head slightly as way of an apology. 'This place is for adventure weary travellers to rest a while amongst their own. I could -'

'Is it magic?' I asked before I could stop myself.

A flicker of that bright smile. 'Yes, now, shall we close the door so as not to let the warm air out?'

I hovered for a moment, my toes on the threshold. Cosmo would have loved this, and he was going to be so pissed at me for more than one reason. But I was curious to see what other treasures were hidden beyond the doorway; who knew, there might have been some interesting pockets to pick.

So, ignoring my better judgement, I stepped into the café, and closed the door behind me.

[sissytobitch10seconds]

Sing Me Your Heart: Fish in a Birdcage

Fandom: The Umbrella Academy Summary: They had always been closest to each other, but it was different when they also had the others around. Five and Viktor don't usually fight but when they do it's messier than anything else they've ever done. Warnings: Mentions of Underage Sex, mentions of eating disorders, pseudo-incest, and canon-typical child abuse Word Count: 4,964 Ship(s): Viktor Hargreeves/Five Hargreeves/Luther Hargreeves/Allison Hargreeves/Diego Hargreeves/Klaus Hargreeves/Ben Hargreeves

Archive link!

A/N: So my brother suggested that I write a fiktor fic to this song and I couldn't, for the life of me, come up with something for it. I've written a lot of fiktor and I don't want to repeat myself, haha. I thought that it would fit well in this series, especially since I've been wanting to revisit it for some time! It's not imperative to have read the previous fics in this story for things to make sense, but it would definitely help. Thank you all for reading! Stay sissy and bitchy everyone &lt;3

Sing Me Your Heart:

Fish in a Birdcage

An Umbrella Academy Fanfiction

A Luther Hargreeves/Diego Hargreeves/Allison Hargreeves/Klaus Hargreeves/Five Hargreeves/Ben Hargreeves/Viktor Hargreeves Fanfiction

By Sissytobitch10seconds

They’ve been in a bad mood since the last mission that they went on. It was something that always happened since when they had to work together in that extent it often brought up bad memories from when they were in the previous universe. 

Luther and Diego were able to work together far better than they had been back when they did this the first time, they spent far less time arguing and more time actually working out a plan. Allison had lost the arrogance that she once had and used her power a lot less flippantly. Five was able to control his powers more than he had been the last time that he was seventeen and starving. Klaus had learned how to control both his drug habit and his powers so that he was more than the tag-along or the lookout. Ben had also made friends with the Horror and was able to control it without it hurting him. The biggest change was likely that Viktor was with them, which was something that none of them would have ever been able to dream of in their last timeline.

By all accounts their mission had actually gone well. It was something small this time, unlike the world-saving missions that they had been forced through the last couple of months. They were still tired and rather banged up, which made them all pretty irritable.

Klaus staggered off to his room after seeing his newly broken arm was given the attention that it needed from their mother. Diego and Luther were forced to go with their father so that they could debrief him on everything that had happened. Allison and Ben walked towards the bedrooms with their fingers intertwined, sharing secrets that they didn’t want anyone else to know. That meant that it was only Five and Viktor standing out in the hallway.

Five felt jumpy and restless. The mission that they were in involved a lot of talking and very careful moves, which meant that he couldn’t burn off the extra energy that adrenaline always gave him. He already felt like he was bouncing off the walls and he hadn’t even tried to lay down so that he could go to sleep yet.

He started down the hall so that he could get to his room and burn off some brain power with the litany of math problems that he had been working on. He also likely needed to work on his music before his producer started coming after him because they didn’t have enough filler tracks for the album that he was meant to be putting out during the next month.

Before he even made it past the foyer, he felt a hand slip into his, “Hey, do you want to go back to my room?”

He wasn’t able to make any words surface in his mind. Too much was happening and yet not enough. He had to be somewhere else, do something else, to distract himself from the thoughts of what had been forced to do to get back to his family all those years ago. So instead of replying to his boyfriend with kindness and compassion like he knew he should have, he activated his power. With a pop and the strong scent of ozone, he appeared in the center of his bedroom. 

He jumped off of the little box that he had landed on, which was technically an old training method that his father had used when he had first unlocked his powers. He didn’t need it anymore, since he had both used his powers extensively in his first universe and then again when he had come back. He was able to get his location down to a tiny point even if he wasn’t able to see it before he jumped. He still liked having the dedicated landing port in his room so that if someone had moved something then he wouldn’t ruin whatever that was by landing on top of it.

The chalk that he had been working with before the mission bell went off was still sitting on his desk. He picked it up and began to press it against the wall so that he was prepared to pick up where he had left off as soon as his brain was back into the mode that it needed to be in. He was feeling frazzled and out of sorts because what he had expected from the mission hadn’t actually turned out to be the case. 

There was a knock on the door and then it opened to reveal the very boyfriend that he had left downstairs. Viktor’s chest was heaving, which showed that he had run up all of the stairs to get to the attic room that his boyfriend had taken as his own when they all decided that they needed to spread out in their manor. His face contorted in anger and he shouted, “Five Hargreeves!”

Five jumped and nearly dropped his chalk. Anger reared up inside of him as well, he was frustrated and wanted to sort himself out by focusing on his math problems. “Viktor! Can’t you see that I’m busy?”

“You don’t get to be busy when you can’t even be bothered to use your words with me,” he shouted. “We had this conversation a week ago when you did this to me the first time. Were you not listening or do you just not care?”

If he hadn’t felt the way that he did, he would have been able to recognize that Viktor was feeling scared and hurt. That was the main reason that they got in fights after they went on missions, because Viktor was always terrified that his place on the team was going to be revoked and he would be forced back into his medication. He wasn’t in the right mind to be logical, only scared and feral, so he snapped, “I was listening.”

“Then you just don’t care, which isn’t much better!” Viktor shouted, exasperated and obviously getting more upset. The space above his cheeks and onto his nose were beginning to turn red. The lines around his mouth crinkled as he tried his best not to cry.

Five, logically, knew that Viktor didn’t do well with arguments because of what had happened the last time that they had all done this. The morning before he had gotten in his head that he had to try time-travel, they had gotten into an argument about whether or not Viktor needed to hear the reports of how the missions went when they all came back. Then Five had disappeared and Viktor had been left without his best friend and defender in a house full of people that had been taught to hate him the entire time they were growing up.

His brain wasn’t acting logically, which was causing quite the struggle between them both. The part of him that existed in that deep, dark void in the back of his consciousness was screaming at him to stop what he was doing, tell Viktor that he was in the wrong, and make up with the boy that he loved more than the world itself. He wasn’t used to listening to that voice despite having been back in the careful arms of their partners for quite some time, so he acted out instead.

“Not everything has to be about you! We did all of this shit to try and stop you from blowing up the fucking world but you should have known not to do that anyway,” Five snarled. “We forced ourselves to relive our trauma and be exploited and abused by a man that wants nothing more than a social status boost because you made us. You’re the reason that we’re all back here and usually miserable!”

That struck a nerve that Five had forgotten even existed. When they had all first come back, they had discussed it with each other and agreed that they had all made mistakes but their father was the most at fault. If any of them were unknowingly drugged and as powerful as Viktor was, then there was a high chance that they would have responded much worse than how he did. Still, Five was angry and scared and trying not to let the memories of his dead partners flash into his mind like they were trying to.

Viktor opened his mouth to say something but the only thing that came out was a sob. He placed his hand over his mouth and turned his head to the side so that it was harder for the other man to see the streaks of tears that were making their way down his cheeks. When he finally did manage to say something, he said it so quietly that Five wasn’t sure that he had said anything at all, “If you hate it so much then why don’t you just leave again?”

“I… I don’t hate it here,” he admitted. Seeing his lover that vulnerable, crying and shaking in his room, reminded him too much of the way that he had screamed at them to let him out of the basement. It brought back memories that still haunted him, both when he was awake and asleep.

Five set the chalk down on his desk and then began to rub his fingers together so he had some kind of stimulus to distract himself. He walked over to his bed and sat down heavily, refusing to look up and meet the gaze of the man he had fought tooth and nail to get back to. “I promise I didn’t mean that I said. I was just… I get like this sometimes after missions, which is why I come up here to try and burn off the energy.”

“You don’t burn enough energy when we’re running around trying to stop robbers?” Viktor asked. He was slowly untucking from himself and crossing the space between them so that they could sit beside each other.

Once the bed dipped with the weight of another body, Five tentatively reached out and threaded their fingers together. He could see the red color of his chalk stick now sticking to the alabaster skin on the back of his lover’s skin. He shuddered as he got the image of Viktor in that crisp white suit, bleeding from a bullet wound in the center of his chest, stuck in the forefront of his mind.

The question that the other teen had asked was a valid one. Five didn’t quite understand how his powers worked either and there was no way that they were going to get Reginald to explain it. He knew that all of his partners were under the assumption that using his powers wore him out similarly to the way that someone would get tired from running that distance. It was different than that, more like a muscle in his brain had gotten tired to the point where he was so sleepy that he could barely function. They had been around him when he was first being trained, along with the rest of them, so all they had seen was him passing out.

“I feel like a bird trapped in a cage,” he whispered. He leaned over so that his forehead was resting on Viktor’s shoulder. A long time ago, in the first timeline and before Dolores, he wouldn’t have been able to have that kind of vulnerability to someone. Touching was always off-limits for them because Reginald was under the assumption that it would make them grow too close to each other. He was right, of course. As soon as they had started not listening to him and doing things that they wanted, they had all realized just how in love they were.

“What does that have to do with anything?” Viktor asked. Five could almost feel the way that his brows were furrowing and his beautiful lips were tilting down into a frown.

“I… I know that it doesn’t make a lot of sense. I used to have free reign to go anywhere that I wanted to, even if I couldn’t use my powers. I liked having that kind of freedom because I had never had it before I left,” he tilted his head down towards his hands. He wanted to be able to look into the eyes of the man that he loved, to admit all of the things that were brewing inside of him, but he was unable to. At the end of the day, underneath all of his bravado and arrogance, he was a coward. “When I first arrived in the apocalypse, I actually just wrecked everything that I could find. I ate so much chocolate and candy that I puked, I destroyed a building, I lit fire to something that I wanted later on. Of course it got a lot less fun when I realized what had happened and the excitement of knowing how to time travel was ruined by not being able to go backwards yet.”

When he stopped speaking, the room was so heavily covered in silence that he felt it almost as a physical force pushing down on him. “I was hoping that when I came back to the timeline but didn’t time travel that I would have the same kind of freedom, but I don’t.”

Viktor threaded his fingers together with Five’s so that their palms were pressed flush together. He leaned over so that their heads were resting against each other, but he kept his eyes closed so that Five didn’t feel as overwhelmed with the oppressive force of him. It gave him the strength and reassurance to know that while they had a stupid fight every now and again, it wasn’t going to result in them breaking up like he always feared.

He took a deep breath as he steadied his resolve to keep going, “We have to stay here and pretend that we don’t know what’s really going on when we do. We know what Dad is planning for us when we’ve gotten old enough to handle it and our powers are at a certain level but we can’t let him know and that leaves us trapped in this stupid house. I… I had thought that I would be able to go where I liked and do what I wanted but I’m still trapped here.”

“Do you think that you’re trapped when you have us?” Viktor asked, his voice soft and compassionate.

He thought about it for a minute, getting his thoughts in the line that he had tried to achieve when he was looking at the math scrawled on his walls. “I was using the metaphor earlier for a reason, Viktor,” he chuckled.

“Just explain it to me then, you ass,” he laughed. He pulled away enough that they were looking at each other. Five lurched forward so that he could pretend to bite at the tip of his nose, which resulted in Viktor wrapping his arms tightly around him so that they were both forced to flop back onto his bed.

They growled at each other, both of them now pretending to nip and bite before they burst into laughter. It released the rest of the tension that had been built up during their fight so that they were settled back into the comfort and adoration that always hung over them when they were together.

Five let out a little sigh and turned his head up towards the ceiling. “I don’t think that I’m totally trapped when I have you all, nothing like what it must have been like when you were growing up here without me. It’s just… I’m a bird trapped in a cage. I have all the food, water, and cleaning supplies that I need to live but I’m not free to do as I wish. I can’t fly or soar or air out my wings in the sunshine. I have companions but they’re also trapped.”

The silence that hung over them again was still oppressive but also far lighter than it had been moments prior. Viktor let out a little sigh and then tucked his head against Five’s neck so that his nose was pressed into his boyfriend’s collarbone. “If you’re a bird inside a cage than I’m a fish.”

---

Their partners had come to check on them a little while after their fight, which was the last time that they were all in Five’s room. They tried not to gather in one place over and over again because it was more likely that their parents were going to find out about what they were doing. It had been enough time, almost six months, since they had that fight and the idea that followed afterwards, that they were safe moving back to that place.

Viktor was fussing around the space in a way that made Five want to explode. He was desperately looking forward to when they turned eighteen and their father was forced to hand over the money that they had made when they were underage. The laws that protected minors working in Hollywood and similar careers had been cracked down as soon as the Academy debuted, which meant that not even the great Reginald Hargreeves could get around them. As soon as they had their money, they were going to buy a grand place to live and have the domestic bliss that they had dreamed of for a collective of almost fifty years.

He had finished setting up the projector and the sheet that they were going to be putting it on an hour ago. The sheet was pressed before it was put away because Grace never did anything halfway, but they had steamed out the wrinkles that were left after it was folded in the drawer so that it would give a better viewing. They had also moved the mattress off of Five’s bed and onto the ground with all of the pillows and blankets they could hold.

They had opted to keep the sheets on it instead of taking them off like when they were doing less-than-savory activities, especially since that would make it easier for them to clean everything up. They had laid out the pillows so that they all had somewhere to lay even if someone had to be on the ground because they weren’t all going to fit onto the mattress. They had also collected quite a few snacks from the last time that they were allowed to make a public appearance, but they were partially hidden underneath the bed still.

There was a knock on the door and they both jumped. It was easier for Viktor to hear when people were coming than it was for Five given his super hearing, but he had been so distracted while trying to get everything in exactly the right place that he had decided it had to be in that he hadn’t realized their lovers were that close either. 

Five jumped off of the bed and then pressed a quick kiss to his boyfriend’s cheek. They had been spending a lot more time just the two of them, especially since it was father-sanctioned, which meant that he felt more comfortable with being intimate than he was usually. He rushed to the door so that he could invite in the rest of their polycule.

“Five, what is going on?” Allison asked as the door was opened.

“If you would come inside instead of asking questions then you could find out faster,” he rolled his eyes. He moved to the side and everyone piled in. 

Before anyone could say anything about their confusion or surprise about what was happening, Viktor started, “I want everyone to find a place to sit and then get comfy! We have a lot of surprises and I want to get this all started so that we can fit it in before have to go down to training.”

There was a jumbled response from their partners, but they all did as they were told despite their usual reluctance. Luther sat down in the center of the mattress since it was almost impossible for anyone to have him on the outside of a cuddle pile, especially when the entire house felt as chilly as it did in that moment. Diego sat down next to him and they shyly held hands, even though they had been together since they were fourteen. Klaus cuddled up into Diego’s side with Ben in between his legs. Allison sat down on the other side of Luther and then motioned for them to come and join her. Five did as he was asked, tucking himself underneath a blanket while also leaving enough space for Viktor if that was where he wanted to sit.

Viktor darted back to the bed and then grabbed the shopping bag that they had hidden. He distributed the favorite sodas of each of their partners and then the candies as well. He set the bag of popcorn that they had purchased down within reaching distance of Luther without giving it to anyone specific. Instead of sitting down next to Five where they had expected him to, he sat down on top of Luther’s lap.

It ended up working out better than any of them had been expecting it to because of their height difference, it also allowed him to feel warm and safe. “Vik, you really shouldn’t have,” Klaus crooned as he opened the box and began to shove the M&Ms into his mouth.

“We really should have, we’re about to subject you to my and Five’s embarrassment for about an hour,” he chuckled.

“Does this have anything to do with where you’ve been sneaking off to every third Thursday for the last six months?” Allison asked, turning her head down to Five. She then pressed a kiss to his forehead so that he didn’t think that she was mad. It was an issue that they had early in their relationship but not for very long afterwards, especially since they were all a lot more willing to communicate than they had been before.

“This is exciting,” Klaus cackled as he cuddled further into the nest that they had made amongst each other.

Five turned his head to the side so that he could watch for any nerves that might be shining through Viktor. Once upon a time, when he had come out to them as trans and then again when had admitted about his eating disorder, he had been almost so nervous that he was going to start using his powers without meaning to. Now he looked like they were simply going to watch a movie together.

He picked up the remote from behind Luther on the bed and then used it to traverse the menus. He clicked on the file that they had saved to a particular DVD the day before when they had received it. The screen came to life and the beginning credits of the music video, along with the sound of Viktor’s violin playing began to overwhelm the room. All of the other sounds had completely died down so that the only thing that was playing was the music.

I'm a fish inside a birdcage

My brother always sings me songs

With his beak, he tries to soothe me

He makes me feel that I belong

Unlike the one that Viktor had shown in the showcase all those years ago when he had first come out, the music video was animated. It showed a swirl of orange ink spreading through the blackness that the credits had been on top of. There was a brief flash of a fish that turned into a bird before it morphed into two figures standing near the window. One of them had long hair and their legs tucked up into their chest, obviously a representation of what Viktor had looked like when he was a child. The one stand to the side of him had short hair and was very obviously Five.

He has a wild imagination

And tells me things that must be true

Like there's a world where I can take flight

Where I can freely move

The two figures leaned in like they were whispering together. Their tiny hands met up so that they were clasped together. It was intimate in a way that all childish relationship were, unknown to adults who couldn’t remember that time any longer. The there was another black swirl and the image was gone.

So carry me from these walls

Brother of mine

Show me the world outside

It has to be true

I'm counting on you

To be my wings and my eyes

The image turned into a black bird in the same of a raven, the fan tail elegantly stretched out next to wings in flight. In the claws of the great bird was a fish, hanging in a way that looked uncomfortable but cradled so that it was obvious the animal wasn’t dead. Together they moved past a building that looked like the Academy and then into the greater streets of The City. It was unclear where they were moving because the camera would pan around the figures so that buildings were visible but then they were cradled against the clouds a moment later.

As I breathe into our silеnce

There's a voicе that comforts me

It's a voice of understanding

It's the voice of empathy

The black inkyness returned so that the image changed again. This time it was shrowding the two figures in blue and black instead of orange. They were older now, but the one closer to the window still had long hair. They turned towards the other figure and said something that made one with short hair lurch forward so that he was holding onto the one that spoke. They held onto each other, shaking slightly, until the image changed again.

Wings of feathers, tails, and fin tips

We feel each rock so differently

You gave me more than I could ask for

Indistinguishability

The image shifted so that they were standing out in the garden, though it was a space that only other Umbrellas were going to be familiar with. They were both smiling, sharing something that made the one with short hair laugh. The one with long hair’s smile dipped as they stepped onto a rock and then fell into the black screen that transitioned them into the next screen.

So carry me from these walls

Brother of mine

Show me the world outside

It has to be true

I'm counting on you

To be my wings and my eyes

The image of the bird holding the fish returned again. They continued to soar over the city, but then they burst out into the world. They were moving fast enough that lines formed around them. The ocean transitioned into the desert, and then a forest, and then a grasslands. 

So carry from these walls

Brother of mine

Show me the world outside

It has to be true

I'm counting on you

To be my wings and my eyes

As the second chorus started, the black and the blue transitioned into a purple replacement for the last color. It swirled together into a tight ball before it exploded into another tender scene. The two characters were laying on a bed, one of them tilted towards the headboard and the other towards the baseboard. Their hands were woven together but the other was resting over their eyes, like they were having some kind of transcendent experience that only they were privy to.

Once the song had ended, the nervous energy that Five had been anticipating erupted in his boyfriend. He leaned over Allison so that he could grab Viktor’s hands to reassure him that everything was going to be okay.

“This was what you guys had been working on?” Klaus asked. He moved away from Diego so that he was propped up and could look at his partners better.

Viktor flushed a dark red color that made Five wanted to grab his face and kiss him like mad. He resisted when his boyfriend spoke again, “Yeah, what did you think?”

“I think that it was amazing,” Allison gushed as a grin spread out over her face. “Did you play all of the instrumentals in that piece?”

“I did,” Viktor said proudly. It had been Five’s voice that was singing, a sound that was deeper and growlier instead of the higher, clearer tone that he sung in. 

“You sounded wonderful, sweetie,” Luther directed his attention towards Five instead of praising Viktor. It made the smaller teenager’s heart sing. He loved watching his boyfriend’s reaction to being praised, but he wanted people to pay attention to him as well. He grinned and wiggled around Allison so that he could steal a kiss.

When he settled back down, he broke through the conversation that Ben was having about who they had gotten to do their animation for the video. “We have a whole album coming out with songs about our feelings towards each other and what it was like for us to live in the Academy.”

“Believe it or not, it was actually something that we came up with when we were fighting the other day,” Viktor laughed.

“That’s actually easier to believe than you think,” Ben replied with one of his sassy smirks. Viktor rolled his eyes and then leaned in to steal a kiss so that the teasing was unable to continue.

When he pulled back, he met Five’s eyes and the two of them had a silent conversation, pushing the love that they had for one another back and forth until they were sated. They would always be beside each other, even if that had to be in spirit alone.

[bumblerhizal-art]

throws upcoming fic plans at wall

1. The Novhen origin story (working title "Rites of Passage") is probably going to be at least 10k words, which is a lot for me. It takes place in spring of 9:29 Dragon, giving Novhen a year im service before the Blight begins. The Denerim portion will be more or less game accurate, but after he is conscripted, we deal with how the timeline readjusted so that Novhen and Alistair undergo their Joining together. Current main project.

2. When i finally have all Companion Novhen lines finished, I'll go through another round of editing, and upload the scripts to AO3. The changes will probably just be general quality edits, finalizing approval values, and consistency checks. Only working on incidentally.

3. There is one prompt for Zevwarden week i have an eye on. Well, more than one, but i can only feasibly work on one. The struggle is the only developed oc i have romanced him with is Novhen who broke up with him halfway through the game which really narrows down the range i can work with if i want to keep it compliant to my canon, and i get a lot of satisfaction out of adding to the official Novhen series.

4. I have two story prompts unrelated to the upcoming ship week that i still need to finish.

5. I've considered writing a longfic chronicling Novhen's playthrough of Origins, but that'll never come to fruition for a couple reasons that can mostly be summarized as either a matter of stamina or me hopping around the story too much. Either way, it can probably be blamed on the ADHD

What I'm thinking instead is, as I replay, I should be taking careful notes of all quests and relationships then record the story through Novhen's journal entries. Besides helping me figure out the dates, this allows for short entries largely made of sentence fragments (and sometimes deviating into lists and sketches!)

There are the issues that Novhen will exclude many things from the journal because it's either a Warden secret or sensitive information about someone else. For example, he's not going to give full details as to how his wedding went wrong. If he's keeping a journal, he knows there's a significant chance it will be preserved by his family after his death. Maybe even read. As he becomes more famous, that risk becomes greater. Of course, this could make for a fun dabble in unreliable narrator, but another partial solution is that once he becomes a Warden, Duncan starts training him on the ciphers

I-the-author could take the persona of a future/modern translator of the Hero of Ferelden's recently discovered personal journal. A wonderful excuse to add annotations within the text for a sense of comedy and another check against unreliable narrator. He writes something blatantly false and the translator attaches as a note a whole ass appendix proving him wrong

Before i can begin pumping that out, besides needing to already write it in full (+ the 60hr playthrough), i'll want to have written and uploaded Rites of Passage and how Novhen meets all the other origins. Also, this will be the playthrough that decides whether or not Loghain lives.

[finelinevogue]

the fact that Y/N has post natal depression Is somewhat refreshing idk I just don't see it talked about much on here and if it is it's like Hella angsty and the partner doesn't understand what it is but I was wondering if u could touch on it a bit more cause it's something I'm really scared about happening to me and I just want harry to hold me and tell me it's going be okay 😚😚😚😚

P.s. if u don't wanna it's understandable

anon: can u write about harry helping y/n through her ppd maybe like the 3rd time was so bad that h decide that he won’t be having more children

so this was requested twice so i would love to be able to write this for you both, hope this is okay - mind it’s heavily angsty!;

tw: vomiting, ppd and od

oli - 4, felix - 3, belle - 12 weeks

Motherhood was really fucking hard.

The birth of your newly born daughter, Isabella, had really taken a back pedal on your mental health. You had suffered with post natal depression after the birth of your two sons, but nothing as bad as this.

It had hit you around the 7 week mark after giving birth. The pregnancy itself was okay, even though she was slightly premature, but it was after you’d taken her home that it’d all spiralled downhill. It started with complications with her breastfeeding - like she was rejecting the milk that you had produced. It hurt to see her reject you and your body, finding more comfort in drinking from a pre-made milk bottle as her dad rocked her to sleep. You recall the evening so clearly and felt like an utter failure as you watched her drink a bottle of formula for the first time.

“Ssh ssh,” Harry cooed to your 7 week old daughter as he rocked her in his arms on the rocking chair in her nursery. She was whining because she was hungry, but the problem was that she wasn’t accepting your milk. She hadn’t been accepting your milk all day and now it was becoming dangerous for you to keep on saying ‘Oh i’ll just try later.’ Harry had told you to make a formula bottle for her. “Mummy’s coming.”

As much as you didn’t want to, you were walking back to the nursery with a warm bottle in your hands. You’d tested it on your hand to make sure it wasn’t too hot and then taken a sip to taste it, out of jealousy, and you thought that it didn’t taste any different to you. Then again you’re not a 7 week old human whose only date is milk.

“Look here’s mummy with your yummy milk, okay? Look Belles!” Harry cooed at his darling angel and you only wished he wasn’t as happy for her as he was.

“Yeah.” You spoke softly, handing him the bottle and standing nearby, part of you hoping that she would reject this too and she wasn’t just rejecting you.

But no, she drank the formula like it was her last meal.

“Such a sweet girl, aren’t you?” Harry praised her, watching her in awe as she kept on drinking the formula. Watching as she was drinking to become the strong girl you knew she’d become. It just hurt that it wasn’t you that could help her become that.

You felt powerless. Worthless, even. The one thing that you had carried the weight of your breasts around to do and you couldn’t even do it. Your nipples were so sore and your breasts ached so badly and it was all for nothing. Perhaps it was punishment for being such a bad mum. Perhaps you’d never been good enough for this job and it was your bodies way of shutting you down forever. You wouldn’t need the ability to produce milk anymore, because you weren’t worth the title of becoming one again. You wanted to be happy for your little one, seeing her happy but all you felt was rejection and sadness. She didn’t think you were good enough to be her mum and that really hurt.

Along with the breastmilk problem, Belle also became very stubborn when you wanted to change her nappy. Anytime you tried to change and help her she put up a fuss, kicking her legs and sometimes she would bite or hit you away. It was just a reminder that you weren’t a good enough mum for her and that she didn’t feel safe enough around you. She didn’t find comfort in your presence and she was so fussy about what you did around her. With Harry, though, she was an angel. She loved him so much and obviously he made her feel so loved and safe - something you’d clearly never be able to give her.

There was also the chores of being a mother to your other two sons too. Oli and Felix were old enough to understand that they had a baby sister, but they weren’t old enough to understand how miserable you were. Harry wasn’t even able to figure it out yet. You tried your best to put on your bravest face, knowing that your family needed you to be strong but the truth was that you were crumbling on the inside. You were feeling less and less like yourself and you were waiting for the moment when you’d completely fall apart. Nothing felt right anymore. Everything was just numb.

“You two boys okay?”

You walked into the children’s playroom see that they were sat at the little table colouring in. Felix’s little legs dangled slightly, whereas Oli’s legs touched the floor and it made your heart swell at how big they were both getting.

“Yep!” Oli cheered, scribbling with his left hand as his tiny tongue stuck out from his lips as he concentrated - a habit passed onto him from his father.

“What are you both drawing?” You asked, coming over and kneeling on the floor beside them and having a peek at their drawings.

“We’re colouring for daddy.” Felix answered, some of the words not being pronounced properly due to his young lisp and lack of being taught how to say things correctly yet.

His words stung though. You appreciated that he was only a toddler and he meant nothing evil or malicious by it, but it hurt to think that maybe, just maybe, your sons were doing this for their dad because he did so much more for them than you did. Of course you tried to be the best mum you could, but maybe you weren’t doing enough. Maybe you weren’t meant to be a mum after all, or at least not a good one.

“O-oh,” you tried to hold back the tears in your eyes because your boys looked so proud at their artwork - and you should be too. “Tell me about them then, my loves.”

Oli went first, “So this is me and this is Oli and this is dad. It’s us playing football like we did the other day, mummy.” He pointed out to each of the figures, some looking actually quite terrifying but you’d never have the heart to tell him that. The figures were all holding hands though and it hurt to think that you weren’t a part of that.

“Oh that’s so good Ols!” you rubbed his head of hair and then turned to Felix’s, “What about you Fix?”

“I drew daddy as the best.” He pointed to a trophy that the figure - more like a stick-man-slenderman - was holding, which was decorated with the award of ‘my hero’.

“I told him to write hero, mummy.” Oli added, and you smiled at both of them.

“Well done. Good job both of you. Daddy will love these!” You only wished that they would draw something for you. You hated to think that you were being petty, but honestly you just wanted to feel loved. “Shall I go cut up some apple for a snack, hey?” You asked, trying to feel useful.

“Daddy is making us smoothies!” Felix answered and you had to stand up, up and away from their heigh, so they didn’t catch the tears in your eyes.

“Okay! Don’t forget to give him those pictures - he’ll love those.” You praised them and they both giggled to each other.

The sight of your sons laughing should’ve made you so happy, but it only reminded you that you weren’t the source of their happiness. You weren’t on their mind enough to be their inspiration for drawings. You definitely weren’t their hero. You were just a woman to them, not a mum. You wanted to be so much more but it was clear that they didn’t need you. They were loved by their dad and each other, not in need of your heart.

Eventually Belle settled down and was sleeping better through the night, leaving you and Harry to much more peaceful nights sleep. Well, just Harry.

You had found it near impossible to get to sleep now. You lay awake at night wondering when Belle would next wake up, wondering when she’d next need you. Harry was always quick out of bed though, even if he actually was sleeping, to help her ordering you to stay in bed and rest yourself. You couldn’t help feel like he was telling you to stay put because he knew you wouldn’t be able to do your job properly - and you started to believe him.

You’d found yourself getting jealous of those that could get to sleep. When you were walking down the road you’d judge a person by how much sleep they looked like they got last night. You definitely looked like you only had 2 hours - even when you’d only had 37 minutes but who’s counting? Your dark circles were heavily noticeable, but no one cared enough to ask. Even Harry stayed clear of you more and more often; spending more time with the kids than you and sleeping on his side of the bed instead of yours at nighttime.

There had been one evening where you had been so restless that Harry had gotten so frustrated and left the room, with a blanket and a pillow, and slept on the couch. You’d never felt so much like a burden than that night. Your family was rejecting you and you felt like a failure. You were a success at failing in everything. The meals you cooked went half eaten by everyone because you would’ve forgotten to add a key ingredient. The children preferred to spend more time playing with their dad because you weren’t energised enough to play the games they wanted to. Your daughter still rejected your milk. It was all too much and you just wanted one nights peace for it to change.

Last night had been that night.

Fuck these were so addicting. You were finally getting the sleep that you so badly craved, only with the help of tablets.

You wanted the sleep because that was the one place you could escape to. You needed that escape to help you get out of bed the next morning. Life was too hard for you to not dream, and without dreaming you didn’t want life.

It started off with taking one every night before bed, but then they stopped working again, so you started taking two, then three. Four was obviously where your body hit its limit.

“Mummy? Can you come tuck me in please?” Oli asked, little toy giraffe in hand and shaking you in hopes of waking you up to send him peacefully off to sleep.

You’d gone to bed a bit earlier tonight, lying saying that you were extremely exhausted. Harry said he would be able to handle things and that’s when you excitedly ran upstairs to take your pills; 4 of them. You’d made it into your bed, feeling slightly drowsy after completing your nighttime routine, but then you started to feel unwell and really ill. Before you’d passed out you’d stuck your fingers down your throat in hopes to make the feeling in your stomach disappear, but it ended up you throwing up all over the bed and pass out right there.

“Mummy! Wake up!” Oli rattled your back, but you were still unresponsive.

Oli padded out of the room and down to his sisters room where he knew his dad was. Belle was being extra fussy this evening and Harry suspected it had everything to do with you retiring early. He heard Oli come into the room just as he’d gotten Belle down.

“Y’alright buddy?” Harry whispered, tip-toeing out of Belle’s room, leaving the door open slightly, and crouched down in front of him.

“No. Mummy’s not waking up.” Oli pouted, rubbing a tired fist over his eye.

“She’s probably in dreamland, bud. She was really tired today.”

“She’s really tired all of the times.”

“I know, Ol.” Because Harry did know, but he was too much of a coward to face up to the problem. The doctors had said that post natal depression can strengthen with every birthed child, but he was too blind sighted by the fact that you’d overcome the first birthed post natal depression so quickly, and was so in love with his baby girl, that he didn’t truly see how bad things had gotten. Harry had tried giving you some space, distancing himself from you in bed and spending more time with the kids so you could relax and rest up, but nothing seemed to be working. He was surprised, actually, that you’d been having better sleep recently and so was hopeful that maybe the worst of the depression was over.

Hell, was he so wrong.

“Go to bed, bud okay? I’ll be there in a minute.”

“Wake mummy up so she can give me a kiss.”

“I’ll try little man, alright?” Harry scuffed his sons hair and then watched him walk off to his room.

Harry walked into your dark room, the air smelling slightly sour, and walked around to your side of the bed. He sat down next to you sighed heavily. He needed to speak to you, no matter how tired or angry you’d be with him. He was losing you as a wife and a mother and a soulmate and a lover. He was just losing you, just as you were losing yourself and he was doing tip-toeing around the problem any longer. He was going to try and make this better. He was going to better understand how you were feeling in order to help you.

“Baby?” He spoke softly, nudging you gently, “Baby wake up.” No response. “Y/N, my love? Wake up for me darling, need to speak with you.” Normally you would’ve stirred by now but there was still nothing. “Y/N?” Harry shook you a bit more urgently now - one that would surely wake even the deepest of sleepers. “Y/N!” He shouted, perhaps a bit too loudly for the comfort of his children.

He turned you over and that’s when he knew this was very, very, bad.

Your face was pale grey and your mouth was covered in the remains of vomit, and he suddenly understood the gross sour smell from before. Your hair was greasy and stuck all in the wet sick all over your face. Your eyes were puffy from the remains of tears. You looked dead.

“No, no, no. Y/N! No you don’t.” Harry’s eyes starting weeping and he couldn’t think straight. He checked your pulse on your wrist and timed it - it was unhealthily faint. He wouldn’t be surprised if you were in your last beats of your heart. His tears and sobs were uncontrollable, but he had to be both strong for you and his children, as well as for him. “Fuck sake pull yourself together Harry. Okay, baby hold on please. Okay? You don’t get to leave me like this, you hear me? I love you so much, baby. Fuck i’m so sorry.” He gently placed your head back down on the pillow and pulled out his phone.

999

“What’s your emergency?”

“I need a-an ambulance p-please. I-I think my wife i-is dying.”

The rest of it was a blur for Harry. Him trying to wake you up. The ambulance arriving. Oli and Felix crying when they saw you being carried away on a stretcher. Belle’s deafening screams. Harry’s heart beating for the both of you.

Beep. Beep. Beep.

It was the rhythmic beeping sounds that woke you up.

Your whole body felt achey and sore, your head a pounding mess. You opened your eyes slowly, adjusting them to the light of the room. You expected to see the family photo on the wall opposite you and the white of your curtains, but you were met with a heart-monitor machine and a hospital bed instead. You looked down at your body and noticed a cannula in your arm, making you squirm because you hated stuff like that so much. Your nose had a tube running inside it too, feeding you the oxygen your lungs weren’t receiving properly.

It then dawned on you how you weren’t in the room alone. You saw a sleeping Anne and Gemma on the chairs in the far corner, with Felix and Oli tucked against their sides - Anne with Oli and Felix with Gemma. It was so cute to see them so cuddled up close. They looked peaceful. You took note of the baby pram that was at the end of your bed, most likely playing bed to your beautiful daughter. Your mind felt lost. You can’t really remember what had happened, apart from taking four of those sleeping pills. You fully remember the weight of feeling worthless and useless as both a mum and a wife, though, and that feeling was still very prominent.

Your eyes lastly landed to the side of you, where Harry was sat but also laid on your bed. The top of half of his body laid upon the bed, his head buried onto this arm deep within the bed, whilst his bottom stayed rooted to the chair. His hand was holding yours tightly, which was a sign that he wasn’t asleep. You were so scared to face him though. You had failed him, again and again and you weren’t sure whether you could be enough for him anymore. Enough for your family anymore.

You squeezed his hand three times saying ‘I love you.’

“Y/N,” He whispered so hoarsely, but you were so focused on him to even catch it. He looked ruined, and you’d done that to him. His eyes were dark and tired, but also red and puffy from where he’d been crying. His hair was a mess and you could tell it hadn’t been washed in a while. How long had you been out for? You felt rested in your sleep, but not in your mind or your heart.

“I—” Your breathe got caught in your throat, but you persevered to finish your words. He deserved to here them. “I’m sorry.” You were whispering so you didn’t disturb anyone else in the room.

“No, stop it. I’m sorry baby.”

“Harry don’t, you don’t have anyt—”

“Stop yes I do I—”

“Harry please you don’t owe—”

“Y/N listen!” He cut the little volley-conversation and ordered you to just stop. You started crying when you saw that he was too. “Whatever you’re going to say, don’t. Whatever you’re thinking, stop it right now. Because I love you. Fuck, I do. I love you so much that when I found you unconscious in a pile of your own sick thinking you were dead, my only thought was that I wished it were me instead”.

“Harry, you don’t mean—”

“My god Y/N! You don’t get it, do you? I would do anything to switch places with you right now. I would suffer a thousand times over if it meant you were okay. I’d suffer in hell for you. Nobody else but you has ever made me feel like this. I married you because I love you and I want to wake up next to you every day of my beating hearts life. I chose to have children with you, because I knew how great of a mum you’d be and what beautiful people you’d help bring up into the world—”

“But i’m not.” You cut Harry short, trying to pull your hand away from him but he didn’t let you - only tightening his grip and pulling himself closer towards you. He was so close you could kiss him.

“Not what?” He asked, although he already knew the answer. You’d both had this conversation before, but you were both tired of it and were ready for it to be your last now.

“A good mum. I’m- i’m not a good mum or wife, Harry and i’m sorry.”

“I told you not say it and stop thinking it, because you’re completely wrong Y/N. You’re a good mother and a good wife, because you are a good person.”

“But i’m not great.” You whimpered, thinking back to the drawings your Oli and Felix had done. “I’m not the best.”

“But you don’t have to be, baby. You see our beautiful, healthy, happy and safe babies over there?” Harry turned to look at them, love in his eyes as in yours. “They wouldn’t be all those things, no matter how you feel about yourself, without you. I could never have brought them up to be half the people they are without you by my side, the way you make me a better person. You claim you don’t got this, but baby you’re already doing it and have been doing it for 5 years with our children and so much longer with me.”

“I’m just so fucked up Harry.” Your head tilted back on the pillow as you got heavily emotional over the situation.

Harry shook his head and moved his hand to cup the back of your neck, moving your head forwards until it met his. The touch of his skin against yours, no matter where and how small, made you feel alive and you’d missed him and that feeling so much. You missed loving him so much.

“Listen to me.” He ordered, keeping you still. “You are strong and you are brave Y/N Styles. No matter what you tell yourself I will be here every goddamn day of my life, if I have to, to remind you that you are worth more than your fucking weight in gold. You are my heart. You are my soul and the mother to my greatest achievements. I know they are yours too, just as I know I am your heart.

“You are.” You whispered so quietly under your breathe, but Harrys heart warmed when he caught you saying it. He knew though.

“Just let me love you. Let me be there for you. If you want medication then let’s do it, and i’ll be there for every step of the way. If you want to go to a rehabilitation centre for a bit, that’s okay we can—”

You shook your head and licked the tears away from your face. You were both such tearful messes, but the love between you was undeniable. “No, no please, no.”

“Okay, okay, love. We won’t. See, you’re okay. I promise, you’re okay. Stay with me, yeah? I’ll love you and keep you safe, just as you will me.”

“Promise.” You told him sincerely. He brought his lips to yours with that single word. He was so proud of your for being so brave and strong. He wishes he was half the person you were. His lips conveyed those thoughts of his and you could taste the love and passion burning through his heart and out on to his lips. He tasted like home. z he was home. Your lips smacked together messily, but you didn’t care because you loved each other too much and had kissed each other even more. Once you pulled back he stayed close to you, smiling at you with such awe. “I think.. I think I want to try medication please.”

Harry didn’t say ‘okay’ or ‘sure thing’, no. He said four words that meant more to you in that moment that any others in the universe. More than saying ‘I love you.’ Words that reminded you that not everything is okay and that sucks really bad, but you’re doing your best to get through it. It was a reminder that you had so many people who loved you and cared for you. It was a gun at the starting line symbolising that the journey ahead wasn’t going to be easy, but worth it.

“I’m proud of you.”

[bokettochild]

request: sometimes time likes to be alone underwater. with his iron boots and zora helmet, it's easy to just take a stroll at the bottom of a deep enough lake, away from the rest of the world. he did not expect, however, to find legend relaxing inside a small hole in the stone. Mer Legend.

Oh boy! I was vibing with this one for a while, I just wanted to make it perfect!

I'm pretty happy with what I made too, but man is it long!

(I hope this makes you happy, anon!)

When he and Malon have kids, he hopes they don't have this many.

Nayru knows he loves his boys, but they can get a bit much sometimes. They can get loud and overwhelming, and as a man who’s used to traveling primarily alone, with maybe a fairy trailing behind him or his trusted mount, it’s a bit overwhelming. He’s not used to being around people so much, Malon and Talon are his only consistent company and even then, the work they share means that often times it’s only him and his thoughts as he mucks, mends and tends things around the ranch.

Sometimes, when the boys get especially rowdy and playful, it’s just nice to get a moment of quiet to himself. Between Sky and Twilight he knows that nothing overly chaotic will go down, and he trusts the boys to keep each other in check.

So, when they come to the Pup’s Hyrule, their battle in this world over and most of their number restless as they wait for the next portal to arrive and whisk them away, Time allows his boys their space, and with a quick exchange with the only two he can trust to not burn something down (at least while the younger ones can still see them) he heads off into the forest to get a little space to himself.

Of course, he can’t really go far, not if he needs to hurry back, but he doesn’t really need to. His destination is Lake Hylia, which is only a short distance from their camp, maybe ten or fifteen minutes, and, when he gets there, he allows himself to actually breathe for once.

Wild, Warriors and Wind had been locked in a game of cards when last he left, the champion soundly beating the other two both at cribbage while Wars bemoans his poor luck, and Twilight and Sky were discussing wood carving with Hyrule, with the occasional comment from the smithy, who is only too happy to throw in something related every so often as he looks up from his book. That leaves himself and Legend, and he’s long since learned that the vet was one to disappear for his own space when possible.

He’s not overly worried. Legend has items and experience that far outmatch most of their group, and if he runs into trouble Time has little doubt that he’ll be able to get himself out of it to at least gather reinforcements, if not handle the issue by himself.

A deep breath of relief escapes him as the eldest of the heroes pulls a few items from his own bag. The boots are a familiar if not welcome weight as he slips out of his armor and dons the tunic and cap of the Zora, his breath bubbling softly as he steps into the lake before him with a contented sigh.

The cool water floods over the top of him, tugging at his hair and bubbling in his lungs, but it’s doesn’t burn the way that it should. He breathes easily beneath the rippling surface of Lake Hylia, the Zora tunic granting him freedom beneath the waves.

There is little sound beneath, only the muffled noise from above the surface, the flow of the water and-

Time’s ears prick forwards as a single blue eye turns to search the space around him.

Someone is singing.

It’s a haunting sort of melody, one that draws you in and makes you dazed, and Time finds himself stumbling over his own feet as he searches for the source. It is not a Cursed song, nor anything powerful from what he can recall, in fact, it’s almost familiar. It sounds similar to something he hears hummed about their camp at night while the boys take watch. He’d never been able to place which of the young heroes hummed the lilting melody, but he’s let it carry him off to sleep many a time before. Only this song, the one that twines about his head and whispers in his ears and makes his feet trek closer and closer to its source, this song is different, it’s haunted and Broken, and it is sung in a Voice.

Not a voice like most of those above the surface have, but a Voice like a fairy or spirit might have. One that pulls at your very soul and sings in your mind, un-hampered by wind or waves, able to carry across miles to be heard by those that it Sings too.

Heavy feet trod faster.

He’s under no spell, but he is a Link, and by now he has learned that all of their kind are blessed or cursed with courage and curiosity both, and to be without the latter is simply unthinkable for the young-at-heart hero. Something –the forest imp in him maybe- tells him to find the Voice, find the Singer.

He’s only made it part of the way across the lake, hasn’t even left the shoreline properly, when the song stops. Unease creeps over him as he looks around, alert and ready for trouble, only to see nothing but the peaceful stillness of the lake bottom around him.

There! His mind supplies as something pink flits in the corner of his vision, and he’s whipping around to come face to face with-

Long tangled hair drifts in the waves as glistening scales reflect the light pouring down through the waves. Too deep, too dark eyes stare at him in shock for a brief moment, and then-

The creature, the thing, is gone in an instant. Whipping away as it’s glimmer fades into the waves around him, speed no doubt granted by the brilliant tail of the thing sending it rocketing out of his grasp before he even has a chance to speak.

He tried to follow it. He does! But quite soon the adult part of his mind is reminding him how dangerous the thing could be, and that he still has his boys to return to back on the surface. It’s been exactly thirty-two minutes and thirteen seconds since he left them at their camp, and by now they usually would have sent someone to check and make sure that whatever member of their party had strayed off was alright.

Removing his boots is all it takes to float to the surface, despite the fact that he still holds the things in his hands, and it’s with no small amount of relief that he realizes that the bank of the lake is free of other heroes.

Time gathers his things together, wringing out his hair and clothes before returning to his normal gear and heading back to the camp.

Smiles and chuckles greet him as the young heroes tease.

“Go for a swim, Old Man?” Legend quirks a brow, staring up from his place by the fire.

Time doesn’t answer him, but he does shake his head violently enough to spray the younger heroes with water, earning shouts and shrieks from them as they try and shield themselves from the wet. “Seriously, Time?” Warriors moans, wiping lake water from his face. “What are you, a dog?”

Time smirks at the captain and, to everyone's surprise (which produces no small amount of delight for him), he barks.

“What sorts of people have you met in your adventures?” Sky asks a couple of days later, head cocked to the side as he watches his brothers. “You all talk about so many races, but I don’t think I've heard of most of them.”

“Well,” Wild smiles, there’s a glint in his gaze that isn’t quite mischief, but it’s a warning to be wary anyway, because they all know what a crack-pot their cook can be at times. “There’s Hylians, of course, and Sheikah, Yiga, Gerudo, Rito, Gorons, Zora and koroks! You’ve probably already met the Sheikah, since you mentioned knowing an Impa during your journey, and the Yiga are an offshoot of that group.”

Twilight blinks and stares, Warriors furrowing his brow as he two older heroes stare at the younger, but Wild seem entirely unaffected.

“Gerudo are a desert people. They’re really tall, and extremely strong! Most of their race have long red hair and slightly darker skin than the people around Hyrule. They are a society of all woman, with only one man being born to them every hundred years. They worship the goddess Din for the most part, and live out of an opulent city set in the desert where they specialize in the crafting of weapons and jewelry, and the farming of exotic plants.” The champion then proceeds to run down traits and knowledge about the other races, matter-of-factly, as if the details he is sharing are things that everyone from the surface knows.

“Wow.” Sky laughs as Wild finishes. “I had no idea.”

“There’s also the minish.” Four adds. “And the Wind Tribe, who are sky people, of course.”

Sky looks curious, but Four says nothing more, instead gesturing to the other heroes to share their thoughts, which they do.

“Terminans.” Time offers. “Very similar to Hylians.”

“Ordonians.” Twilight adds with a fond smile. No explanation is needed.

The others all nod along, but Legend rolls his eyes. “Humans, like, non-Hylian humans, Shifters,” The vet stares upwards with a light scowl as he ticks the races off of his fingers. “Technically they’re humans too, but Wild counted the Sheikah and Gerudo, so there’s also the Lorulians, Labrynninians, Holodrumese folks, Hytopians, Drablanders, Subrosians, Catalians-” Legend frowns. “I could swear there are more but I can’t really recall.”

Time, for whatever reason, he can’t really say why, cocks his head. “Any water people other than Zora?”

The vet snaps his fingers. “Mer-folk! Thank you, Time. I guess fae and animal folk count on that note.”

There’s a scoff and Warriors is leaning forwards with a smirk. “Fairies and animals, sure, but mer? Seriously, Legend? Have you even met a mer before?”

“Many times.” The veteran drawls, cocking a brow in the captain’s direction. “On multiple adventures. What about you, cap? Jealous you couldn’t snag one for your guild of brides?”

Warriors blusters about indignantly, earning laughter from the others as Legend smirks, but the man recovers quickly enough. “I do not have a guild of brides! That is- that is utterly disgusting!”

“Could have fooled me.” Legend teases, sipping some water from a flask.

“Give him a break.” Twilight snickers, shoving the vet playfully.

The unfortunate thing about Twilight’s shoves though is that the ranch hand doesn’t seem to know his own strength, and Legend is small enough that the light push is enough to send him scrabbling to not hit the ground. More laughter rings about their camp, but this time at the vet's expense, as Legend topples over into the dirt, spilling his drink and failing his arms as he goes.

“Yeah, yeah, laugh it up.” Legend huffs, pulling himself back up and dusts off his clothes, scowling at the water spilled on him. “Great.”

“Oh, come on, you came back soaked to the skin earlier, what’s a bit of water going to hurt you, huh, vet?” Warriors ribs, smirking.

Legend shoots him a half-hearted glare.

“Legend,” Time starts slowly. “How would you describe the mer?”

The vet pauses, gaze resting maybe a moment too long as his hands as he brushes off the hem of his tunic. He’s already done so and there’s really no reason for him to do it again, but he does anyway. “What you’d expect.” He shrugs haltingly. “Hylian on top, fish beneath. Tail, long hair, that sort of thing.”

The old man hums. Legends ears twitch, nose shivering slightly as violet eyes flit over their group. “Care to expand on your sky people story, Four?”

“I’m good.” The smithy replies lazily.

Time would pass it off as a strange one-time thing, he would, but there are... other factors at play.

They’ve traveled to Four’s time, fighting off monsters and solving puzzles the same as they’ve always done. The boys are taking some downtime, playing hide and seek, and just like the last time, Time takes himself down to the river they’ve made camp ear and dons his Zora gear.

He isn’t expecting to see the creature, the mer, again, much less hear them singing -after all, this is a Hyrule far before his Pup’s- but there the creature is. It- or they- frolic in the water, chasing fish and singing softly. The tune is lighter than the last one he heard, a different song entirely, but there is no denying that it is the same mer.

Gold flecked, petal pink scales shimmer beneath the twisted lights that invade the water, hair of the same colors flowing in the current as long fingers, tipped with pointed claws, reach out to swipe at the fish swimming wildly away. They don’t catch anything, but Time hears it giggle anyways, the tune of its voice bubbling in merriment as it rolls like and otter and turns to explore some other part of the river bed.

The cursed curiosity of a hero niggles in Time’s mind. How is the same mer from before in this timeline, ages before Twilight would even be born? And why do they play and explore as if they’ve never seen this river bed before in their life?

Long claws pull through sand, and although their hair blocks their face from his view, he can still hear the warble of delight as the creature removes something sparkling and bright from the river bed. The mer floats in place, turning the item over in their hands curiously before whisking it out of sight and returning to their search.

A mer that likes treasure, huh? Why is he unsurprised?

His own soft laugh startles them, and for a half of a moment, golden ringed, violet eyes, wide and bright and full of shock, meet his own.

The mer is gone before he can make a move.

He asks Legend about it the next day. As they travel along the path towards the nearest town, Time falls back to ask the vet more about mer.

“Do mer like treasure?”

Legend starts, eyes wide as they meet his own, and something in the back of his mind is nagging him that the look in the vet’s eyes is somehow familiar. “What?”

“Do mer like treasure?” He repeats himself.

Legend stares at him, blinking slowly as they continue along the path, but eventually the vet shakes his head and answers. “Depends on the mer. They’re people too, Time, they can have varying interests and hobbies. There is no standard for mer. None.”

“Don’t they all swim at least?”

Legend’s gaze is flat. “There are disabled Hylians aren’t there? Not all Hylians can walk, and not Mer can swim. Some just choose not to because they don’t like it!”

Time frowns. How does the vet know so much about mer culture? “How do you know this?”

The vet shrugs, eyes darting away. “I’ve been a lot of places and met a lot of people. Mer are no exception.”

“I thought you hated swimming and the water?” Wind breaks in, falling back to join the two of them with an odd look on his face. He looks like a puppy and it’s killing Time not to ruffle the kid’s hair.

“Didn’t always.” Legend returns, smiling wryly down at the sailor. “But enough of that. The real question here is if you’ve ever met one, sailor.”

“A mer?” Wind furrows his brow, looking away with a soft sigh. “The water in my world isn’t safe for the people who lived in it. There’s hardly even any fish in most places. The Zora in my time had to adapt to the air instead in order to survive.”

Awkward silence falls over them, the vet looking guilty for a half a moment before he settles a hand on the kid’s shoulder. “The goddesses aren’t always fair, Maliit, it’s not your fault.

Time hums his agreement, heart aching for yet another young hero and a world that suffered for Time’s failure to have properly saved it.

He sees the mer again. Not just when he’s in the water himself, but when he’s keeping watch during the night or on occasion when he goes fishing with Twilight. The Pup says nothing about seeing gold and pink beneath the water, but Time finds himself watching it all the same.

It darts beneath the dock they’re fishing on one time, and when Twilight’s line gets a tug, the rancher pulls it up only to find the one of his boots dangling from the other end.

Time can’t help it, he laughs.

So, this mer is a prankster, huh?

He takes to seeking them out, trying to catch their attention or try to talk to them, but nothing works. The minute that gold and violet eyes meet his own, petal pink scales flick deftly in the waves and the mer is swimming away.

But Time isn’t dumb.

He knows that the same mer cannot reasonably exist across all of time, not with all the changes that come to the world with each hero. He knows that this being is somehow following them, and h’s got a rather good idea exactly how it’s happening.

It’s a long shot, but he knows for a fact that Legend is always gone from camp before he sees the creature, and enough times startling the vet when asking about mer has taught him that the expressions between the two are the same. All he knows on the mer’s face is shock, but the vet’s eyes glimmer the same shade of violet, even if they are different in size and shape, and the petal pink hair that the vet comes out of the forest with one evening after their group was separated is uncannily similar to the shade of the mer.

They’ve made camp again, and rather than climbing into the water when he catches a moment alone, Time settles on the shore, not in the mood to be in the water but in need of its calming song. The air has been tense the past few days, and Time welcomes a brief moment to relax, forcing himself not to think of the gaping wound in his Pup’s side or the ragged breath that wheezes between the rancher’s lips.

Twilight will be fine, he reminds himself. Hyrule and Warriors had worked together to tend the wound and while it would definitely leave a scar, the danger of losing their beloved friend and brother (and maybe son?) is not so high anymore.

He welcomes a free breath, away from the hurt gazes of his boys as they try and process that their beloved canine friend and the rancher are one and the same. A chance to think without having to stop those who were out of the know from bombarding those who were in it with questions.

He’s glad to be free of the questions himself.

Legend seems to be too, if the glint of pink beneath the waves is to be believed.

He doesn’t approach this time, doesn’t try entering the water to speak. He’s tired and he wants his spae, and he imagines Legend would like his own too. So, instead, he sits on the bank, feet trailing in the water and ocarina on his lips as he plays softly.

The tune is a sweet one, one he’d written himself that lilts and dips softly, very nearly perfect for a dance, but far more suited to a night by a fire or watching the sunset. And sunset it is, fading light stretching out across the water, glinting of the surface and reflecting off of gold and pink-

He stops, eye wide as he turns towards the flash in his vision.

Gold and violet stare back at him, framed in curling pink as Legend freeze half-way through pulling on his tunic again.

Gold fades just as the scales dissapear and leave the vet siting on the shore, tunic still bunched around his shoudlers and violet eyes wide with fear as he regards his leader.

“I won’t tell.” Time forces, turning away his gaze and returning his focus to the instrument in his hand. He doesn’t play, but he doesn’t look up either.

“It’s an item.” Legend forces, strained. His voice is still tainted with whatever power had shifted him between forms, and it’s sweeter and more melodious than normal. “I found it on my third adventure. Got cursed.”

“Like the rancher?” Time hums softly, not having to look up to know that Legend is shifting nervously, foot tapping madly at the ground beneath him.

“Yeah.” Legend huffs.

“Okay.” And he does look up them, calm and as open as he can make himself seem as he meets the vet’s gaze.

“Just okay?” One brow cocks as Legend crosses his arms.

“Just okay. It’s your secret, Legend. I can’t change what I’ve seen, but I won’t tell the others either.”

Legend nods, wary bit willing to accept the words, if only for now. “If you say so.”

They’re on their way back to camp, Legend carrying an armload of fish and Time carrying both of their bags when the vet stops and glares at him. “I don’t want to hear any jokes, alright? I get enough of those from Twilight and Sky.”

“They know?” The old man tilts his head in question.

Legend flushes, ducking his head and setting off again at a speed some might label a scurry. “No. Hurry up, these fish are gonna rot!”

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

Waves lap around his head and it’s all Time can do to break the surface, coughing and hacking as he struggles to remain above the water.

The portal had come at the worst time ever, and no one had been ready to be dropped into the center of the ocean.

Lightning crackles overhead as waves swirl and crash about him. The ocean rages and Time is again reminded how small Hylian’s are in the face of Mother Earth herself.

“Boys!” The shout rasps from his throat as he spins to look about, praying to every deity he knows that he’ll find the rest of them safe and sound, or at the very least together. Never mind that Twilight still can’t walk, much less swim. Never mind the smithy’s shattered arm and Wild’s fear of the water. He can’t panic about those right now, he has to find them!

“Over here!” Sky’s voice answers him. The Chosen Hero clings to the shivering form of the smithy, both are soaked and trembling, but they’re managing to stay above the waves.

“My Hyrule!” Wind calls out as Time strikes out towards them, and the sailor continues once he’s close enough to see that at least five of his boys are safe. “We’re near land,” Wind nods in a random direction and Time wonders briefly how the sailor even knows that. “It could be a challenge in these waves, but we can make it. Have you seen the others?”

Hyrule looks up at him hopefully, the water-logged traveler fighting madly to stay above the water but succeeding despite the waves. Time reminds himself to help the boy learn to swim more effectively later, and more importantly how to properly tread water, but for now he focuses on answering Wind. “You're the firsts. We’ll have to hope the others are alright, getting y’all to safety is my first concern.

“But Wild!” Hyrule splutters, choking on some water as Time swims over to give the traveler someone to cling to. Freezing fingers latch ahold of his armor as teeth chatter, the waves are neither kind nor warm and with their health as it is he’s certain someone is going to end up with a cold when this is all over. “And Twilight! A-and Legend and Wars! They’re out there somewhere!”

“We have to hope Legend and Warriors can elp the other two. We can’t do them any good if we’re fighting to stay above ourselves.” He tries to same calm, but his own mind and heart scream with the same message that Hyrule’s voice does, and its all he can do to push it down.

Thunder rolls overhead and waves beneath as they push off towards the shore, each of the older heroes aiding a younger one as Wind guides them all towrads the supposed island.

Time hs never been so relieved to see sand in his life, and as Hyrule pulls himself up the bach and Wind helps Sky to settle Four, Time can only pray that he’ll find his way back again. “I’m going to look for the otehrs. Wind, stay and help Sky.” The sailor looks as if he wants to hesitate, but he knows better than anyone how a small body can be lost to the waves much easier than an adult. “Make a fire, warm up as best you can. Keep an eyes out. I’ll come back if- when I find the others.”

He stops only to shed his armor and don his Zora gear, but a single dive beneath the water is enough to tell him that it’s for naught. Wind wasn’t joking about his water being toxic, and a single breath of the stuff leaves Time heaving as soon as he breaks the surface.

His chances of finding the boys have lowered considerably.

Nayru above, don’t let anyone have sunk beneath!

Time swims for all he is worth, pushing past weariness as he battles each and every wave. And he’s just beginning to lose hope when he catches sight of something silver reflecting in the water as lighting flashes above.

“Time!”

Blue whips around to meet its twins as Warriors comes to swim beside him. “Have you found any of the others?”

“Wind, Sky, Hyrule and Four.” he breathes back. “You?”

The captian looks rueful but nods to his side. “Legend.”

Time can’t help but start as Legend’s eyes peek above the surface. Golden and violet are glassy in the pale ace of the vet, but they’re there and that means that Legend is alive.

“I’ve officially met my first mer.” Warriors sighs, but there’s worry in the captains voice and face both.

“Split up.” Legend’s voice rasps, and there none of the melodic song that Time is used to hearing from this form of the vet.

Legend is pale, far too pale.

“What’s-”

“Wind’s world.” Warriors tells him. “Water here is toxic.”

The water is toxic. The water, which mer have to breath to stay alive, is toxic.

Time’s gaze shoots to the vet but there’s only a flick of gold and pink as he disappears beneath the waves. Warriors groans.  “He keeps doing that! I swear, I have no way of knowing if he’s even still there, but he still insists on disappearing like the little shit he is.”

Usually, Time would scold his brother for such a tone, but he knows that Warriors is just sacred. He’s terrified, and it leaks into his voice and his actions, and the only way that the soldier knows how to hide the fear is by biting back with venom, not dissimilar to the vet’s own actions.

They swim together, searching and calling out for the two missing heroes. Hope is beginning to fade and Time can feel a gnawing fear eating away at his heart as he thinks of the gaping wound in his Pup’s side and the likelihood that Twilight would even be able to swim with it.

His pup’s chances aren’t high.

“Look!” Warriors shouts over the storm, jerking him from his thoughts as his eyes follow the captain’s pointing hand.

Pink bobs on the surface, backed by bedraggled and soaked black fur as Legend hauls Twilight’s limp form through the water.

“Pup!”

He’s taking the lad from Legend as soon as they’re in reach, and Legend seems to sag in relief as the weight is removed from his shoulder. “Was with Wild. Bring him to-” The vet wheezes and ducks beneath the water for a moment, coming up with a pained expression on his face. “Bring to shore. I’ll get Wild.” He gives them no time to respond, tail flicking as he disappears beneath the waves again.

Time and Warriors exchange a glance and head back to shore, supporting the weight of the rancher between them.

Wind and Sky have managed to get a virtual bonfire going on the shore, and the sailor has laid what blankets and bed-rolls he’s found of their equipment in front of it, allowing their dampened things to ry as he and the other three heroes bundle together for warmth.

It’s with a cheer that they al; greet Time and Warriors as the two emerge from the ocean, and Time can’t help but smile a bit in relief at seeing them all safe again. Only a little longer and Legend will be back with Wild, and then he can rest easy knowing they’re all out of the storm.

Rain still patters against already soaked skin and cloth, but with the fire flickering before them Time can’t bring himself to care over much.

Hyrule’s fingers shiver as they slide over the wound in Twilight’s side, cleansing it from the poisonous water that has soaked into the bandages, and while Twilight grits his teeth and winces, he’s at least conscious enough to do so, and that alone brings some peace to the others.

Warriors informs the others of the whereabouts of their two missing brothers, and Time helps to settle Twilight on one of the warming bedrolls. It made still be wet, but it’s better than getting sand in the pup’s wound.

They wait in tense silence, bundled together to share heat as nervous gazes watch the shore. Wind hasn’t stopped muttering under his breath and Four isn’t doing much better with his half formed sentences and steady murmurs.

It’s only when Wild’s golden hair can be seen on the shore that they all release a breath of air.

Cornflower blue is wide and glazed, likely from shock, but it doesn’t stop the champion from reaching back into the waves to pull out his companion.

Legend is a mess.

The veteran gasps and splutters for breath once he’s free, skin a sickly shade of white and eyes just as glazes as Wild's own as the two clings to each other, and when the two stand together Legend is leaning heavily against the shaking champion, and it’s only through sheer luck that Time and Sky get there in time to catch them before the duo collapses back into the waves.

Wild curls against Time’s chest, fingers shaking and eyes blank as the man carries him back to the fire. Legend doesn’t even stir, lying limp in Sky’s hold as the Skyloftian bustles back to join the other heroes.

Nothing is said about the glistening tail that fades into legs once Legend is warmed and dried, and even if anyone had dared the stern gaze of the first of their number would have been enough to silence them.

Violet blinks hazy and distant beneath the warmed fabric of Sky’s sailcloth, but they are all safe. They are all safe and they are alive.

“Thanks to Legend.” Wild whispers when he comes back, head resting against Times collar bone. “Without him I would have never got Twi back to shore.”

“Three cheers for the vet.” Wars forces a smile, and while the cheers are heartfelt and thankful, they do nothing to lighten the mood.

Legend doesn’t even seem to hear them.

[thegamecollection]

“COULD SHE REALLY BE HERE... WAITING FOR ME?”

Last night’s Silent Hill transmission brought us updates galore on a franchise that has been uhh, well, sorry but... “Silent” for the longest time. 2014 to be exact. From what we could see online and based off our customer response via social channels, fans had set expectations pretty low ahead of the event. This of course makes what we got given THAT much sweeter!

What we thought was going to be a live show ended up being a 48 minute video instead, but you’ll hear no complaints from us here! 

We’re focusing our love and attention on the heavily rumoured Silent Hill 2 Remake that came through the fog and onto our screens at long last! In spite of the reservations from this hugely dedicated fanbase regarding Polish studio Bloober Team’s involvement, the trailer looks stunning. BT of course have a little bit of a patchy background in the horror genre with hit and miss performances on previous titles like ‘The Medium’. Whether such a huge remake should be in their hands will remain to be seen... But it’s an unenviable task, we’ll say that!

“In my restless dreams... I see that town.”

And so have we. On the back of supreme survival horror remakes like Resident Evil 2 & Alan Wake, we undoubtedly speak for many when we say that we’ve waited a long time for Silent Hill to make a next gen appearance. The potential is almost TOO much! We hope that Bloober Team can handle it...

The game will be a timed PS5 console exclusive whilst also making an appearance on Steam for PC gamers. This period will run for a year before hitting Xbox and we’d imagine, Game Pass!

No release date was confirmed which is a little disappointing! If we had to take a guess we’d say late 2023 but we wouldn’t be shocked at early 2024... Still, we can’t be too greedy when we’re finally getting what many regard as the greatest survival horror game of all time on next gen! More updates on this as and when it drops.

Silent Hill f

Crazy really... We spend almost 10 Silent Hill-barren years waiting for something, ANYTHING, even at some points leaning on other games (Abandoned) with conspiracy theories of Hideo Kojima’s next crack at the series! And then we’re hit with nearly 50 mins of so much Silent Hill goodness that we don’t know what to do with it!

The above and titled Silent Hill f will be a completely new story set in 1960's Japan featuring a beautiful, yet horrifying world. A young girl explores an eerie town, empty and alone. Constricting floral reeds begin to appear and bind as she fights (and fails) to break free. We see her, transformed by these supernatural events into a floral (or perhaps fungal) hybrid that ends with... Her face falling off. Silent Hill, ladies and gents.

Written by Ryūkishi07, famed for Japanese visual novels dealing with murder mysteries, psychological and supernatural horror - This may have peaked our interest even more than Silent Hill 2. What a way to end the show! Much like the aforementioned, no release date confirmed but we’d imagine we’ll see a lot more gameplay and solid info in early 2023.

Return to Silent Hill

Other announcements included a movie sequel to the 2006 original that starred Sean Bean. Konami assistant producer Rui Naito has stated that it’s actually been the “catalyst” to this new wave of Silent Hill games that we’ve got on the way. Check out the teaser here!

Silent Hill: Townfall

Lastly, there’s the above game co-produced by Annapurna Interactive (Stray) and multiple BAFTA award winning No Code Studios (Stories Untold, Observation). Very little was revealed but its mysterious trailer has got us all talking... On a walkie-talkie of all things! Check out the teaser here!

All good things come to those who wait - and this fanbase have waited. We’re now, at a guess, within a year of an array of Silent Hill releases and enthusiasts around the globe can rejoice as they say out loud:

“Well, I'm alone there now, in our special place... waiting for you.”

Eyes peeled for more updates, TGCollectors! It’s a fun time for Survival Horror...

-Jack

[cherrycocaineee]

13. Dean Winchester - Confession

    Bobby was sitting at his desk flipping through the millions of dusty, old, torn books he had collected over the years when I came down the stairs, carrying my purse along my shoulder. The sound of my small feet thumping against his creaky wooden floors caused him to look at me. He was already drinking scotch this early in the morning and the tired, purple bags under his eyes proved that he had a restless night just like usual. I smiled sympathetically at him as I approached, getting a large whiff of the liquor he was pouring down his throat. I could hardly count the number of times I’ve warned him and the boys about drinking so much, yet they never listened. Though I didn’t really expect them to, considering all of the things they’ve seen in their lifetime.

  “Where are you off to?” He asked, pouring himself another glass of scotch.

 “We’re low on groceries,” I hummed, “so I’m going down to the market to pick some stuff up. I’ll make breakfast when I come back, okay?”

   “I’ll hold ya to that. You need any money?”

 I shook my head and patted the side of my purse before leaving for the market. It wasn’t a long trip, it was literally a block from where Bobby lived. When I arrived at the small, yet vibrant place, I inhaled the sweet scent of freshly picked produce and other aromas. Inside I pushed the basket around and collected everything we needed for the house: fresh produce, meats, bread, eggs, and much more. Considering how much fast food I use while travelling with the boys, I was happy to find a place that sold freshly grown fruits and vegetables, and freshly cut chops of meat, and more. I spent an hour in total at the market before paying for my groceries and heading back to the house.

  While carrying all of the paper bags inside, I could hear talking going on inside. I shook it off as Bobby being on the phone and continued.

  “Bobby, I’m home,” I called, “I’m about to start breakfast, so why don’t you trade that scotch in for a cup of coffee.”

  The voices from the other room quieted down just as I placed the groceries on the kitchen table. I walked out of the kitchen and saw Bobby standing in the middle of the room with none other than Dean and Sam. My eyes widened at the sight of them. The last time I saw Sam was when he jumped into the cage, holding Lucifer in and knocking Michael inside too. And Dean, well, I hadn’t seen him since he went to live with Lisa and Ben. It had hurt a lot when he left too, not wanting to stay with Bobby. Not wanting to stay with me. But I didn’t make a big deal about it despite being madly in love with him. Though I’d never tell him that since he was in love with Lisa.

  “Hey, Persephone,” Sam and Dean said simultaneously, making my eyes water.

  “Hey,” I whispered, a smile forming on my face.

  I walked over to them and embraced them both, feeling their large, muscular arms wrap around my thin frame as they held me close. As I pulled away from the hug, Lisa popped her head around the corner. My chest was tightening as I saw Dean walk over to her. They went off to speak to one another, I cleared my throat and turned my attention to Sam.

  “When did you get back from hell?” I asked.

  From the look on his face and the way he was rubbing the back of his neck with his rough hands, I knew there was something he wasn’t sure he wanted to tell me. Or at least the truth anyway. But he decided that he’d tell me in the end.

 “A year, actually,” he muttered.

  My forest green eyes widened at his words. I spent the next fifteen minutes tearing a new one into both Sam and Bobby, who had been hiding this from me the entire year, then returned to the kitchen to cook breakfast. There was a mix of frustration, betrayal, and other emotions mixing up inside of me as I started scrambling the eggs and cooking the sausage and bacon. Quiet sizzling could be heard throughout the kitchen, masking the sound of my humming while I cooked. As I was moving on to the coffee, I heard footsteps coming from behind me so I swirled around to see Dean walking in. He didn’t look too happy either.

  “Did you just find out that Sam’s been back for a year too?” I questioned, throwing away the old coffee grounds into the trash.

 “Well yes,” he stated, “but that’s not while I’m upset.”

  I had started plating the food by then, starting off with Ben’s since he was here and was probably hungry.

  “What’s going on?”

  I set a cup of coffee down in front of him.

  “Sam needs my help hunting a Djinn,” he answered, “and I’m worried because the things might come after Lisa and Ben.”

  Honestly, I should have seen that coming. Sam, despite being back from hell, wouldn’t have asked Dean for help if it wasn’t life or death. It made me wonder if they’d only come to drop off Dean's family or to ask me to help. Don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t jealous of Lisa, in fact, I was happy for her and Dean. It just hurt every time I saw them together.

  “So that’s why you brought them to Bobby’s,” I whispered, buttering some fresh French bread, “so we could watch them while you guys hunted the Djinn?”

  “Well actually,” Dean said, placing his cup on the table, “just for Bobby to watch them. You’re coming with us right?”

  A small, sad smile appeared on my face as I lifted up Bobby’s plate while shaking my head.

 “I don’t hunt anymore, Dean. When Sam jumped into that cage and you left to go live with Lisa and Ben, the two of you left me behind. So I just stopped hunting. Now I just clean up and cook while studying.”

  “Studying?”

  “I started going back to school. Granted it’s online but I figured I might as well get an education.”

  It was silent between us, so I just walked away and headed towards Bobby with his breakfast. He was sitting at his desk once again when I arrived and graciously welcomed the warm food. I went back into the kitchen, where Dean was still sitting, and picked up the plate for Ben then headed upstairs to give it to him.

  Lisa was unpacking their overnight bags when I reached the room they were staying in. Ben was sitting on the bed, playing some video game on his gaming device. Tapping on the door, I caught their attention and smiled welcomingly.

  “Hey,” I said, “I’m Persephone, a friend of Sam and Dean’s. I made your son some breakfast if he’d like to eat.”

  A smile appeared on her face in return, “thank you, Persephone. I’m Lisa and this is Ben.”

  I didn’t tell her that I already knew her name, that would be rude. Instead, I shook her hand and placed Ben’s food down on one of the nightstands. He thanked me and started shoveling food inside his mouth fast. It reminded me of how Dean would eat when he was in a rush. Swallowing the forming lump inside my throat, I left the two of them to finish unpacking. Halfway down the stairs, I froze and gripped the railing tight. My heart felt like it was racing, tears were streaming down my cheek as I tried to collect myself. Wiping away the unwanted water leaks, I sighed softly and went downstairs. Sam and Dean were getting ready to leave when I made it to the main room. The two Winchester brother’s faced me when I entered.

  “You sure you don’t want to come, Perse?” Sam inquired.

 I held up my hands and giggled, “no thanks. You guys be safe.”

  I hugged them tightly, almost relaxing when I felt the safety of their embrace. They said a final goodbye to Bobby and I then left for wherever it was they were going to hunt this monster. Bobby returned to his breakfast and I went into the kitchen to pack up the leftovers and clean up. Once the kitchen was tidied up, I headed back upstairs to my room to get some reading done. I had some homework assignments that were in desperate need of doing before midnight tomorrow and I liked to stay ahead of the clock.

  Hours and hours passed before I finally passed out while reading my book. No dreams occupied my slumber while I napped, however, I was eventually awakened by the sound of someone knocking on my door. Stirring around in my covers, both eyes pried themselves open and stared at the dimly lit ceiling before looking to my right and seeing it was well past three o’clock in the morning. Another knock echoed throughout the room and I finally dragged myself out of the comforting quilt and onto the assaulting, cold floor. I rubbed my eyes to wipe the sleep away and pulled the door open. Lisa was standing on the other side, holding a plate in her hand.

  “Bobby said that you were up here studying, and you missed dinner,” she said, “did I wake you?”

 “Yeah,” I groggily whispered, “but it’s okay.”

  I took the plate from her and saw that she had cooked some chicken noodle soup. It smelled great, reminding me of my early years in life when I still lived with my mom. She followed me inside of the room as I sat criss crossed on my bed with the soup in hand, smelling the melted butter on the toast. My eyes met the clock once again and was astonished to see that I had slept and studied for such a long time. It felt like only seconds ago that it was morning and I had just finished cooking breakfast.

 “Persephone,” Lisa said while I slurped the soup up, “I’m sure you’re aware of the things Sam and Dean do, right?”

  “Of course,” I answered before scooping another spoonful of soup in my mouth.

 “How were you okay with it? I mean, don’t get me wrong, I love Dean and I understand that he’s gotta do what he has to, but sometimes I worry that he’ll come home hurt or something will follow him home.”

   Though there was a ping in my chest when she said she loved Dean, I couldn’t help but smile at how worried she was for him. It was something that he definitely needed since he was always worrying about other people. I placed the plate onto the empty nightstand and scooted closer to the edge of the bed, patting the spot next to me. When Lisa sat down, I took her hands into my own.

  “It’s a lot to process,” I whispered, “when I met Sam and Dean, I was so unsure about leaving everything I knew to travel with them and fight all of those monsters. But I know deep down in my heart that they would never let people they love get hurt and they’ll die trying to protect those they consider family. Especially Dean. What you can do for him, is just be there, even if it’s hard. Because at the end of the day, he needs that most of all.”

   The two of us shared a hug before she agreed she would do her best to make Dean feel loved and secure. After saying goodnight to me, she retreated back to her room, closing the door behind her. When she was out of sight, I grabbed my soup again and slowly started slurping it up again. It was comforting knowing that she would be taking care of Dean. Once he came back, I’d persuade him to go back with Lisa, telling him that he deserved to be with someone that made him happy.

   The next day came quickly and I hadn’t fallen back asleep after my conversation with Lisa, so I spent the rest of the entire night reading. Soft, illuminating rays of sunshine burst through the clear, white curtains in my room as I finished throwing on a short-sleeve, white, shirt that only tied close. Running my fingers through my brushed hair, I fixed up any lumps that were visible.

  Bobby was asleep at his desk when I reached downstairs, so I went over to him and wrapped a blanket around his snoring body. Picking up his almost empty bottle of scotch, I carried it back to the kitchen to put it away and make a new pot of coffee. Wanting nothing more than to sit outside with a non-school book and my delicious morning nectar, reading as the sun played against my pale skin. There was no telling when Sam and Dean would be home, along with there being no way of knowing when they would wake up. So I wanted to get in as much peace and quiet as possible before the day began.

  With the coffee cup in my right hand and a good book in the other, I sat on the back of one of Bobby’s rundown cars and started reading. Four chapters in and I was already getting up to make myself a second cup of joe. Just as I slipped off the back of the rusted car, Dean and Sam pulled up. The sun was only just inching towards the middle of the sky when they arrived. Both climbing out of their seats, I noticed that they were not only tired but relieved.

  “How’d it go?” I inquired, “seemed pretty quick.”

 “It went fine,” Sam replied, “except Dean’s got a big slash on his arm. They came right at us.”

   I went over to Dean and saw that he had wrapped his cut in a cloth but the blood was still leaking through. Clicking my tongue, I shook my head while leading the two of them inside. Sam explained on the way that they had figured that the Djinn were targeting both of them, so they went back to Dean’s home and waited there. When Dean noticed that his friends and neighbors were being killed, he ran to help and ended up almost dying. But Sam helped him. The fight raged on but in the end, the Winchester boys came out on top. Sam went to wash up while I started taking care of Dean’s wound.

  With the First Aid Kit laying beside me on the kitchen table, I unwrapped his wound and gulped at the sight of it. Dean chuckled.

  “Makes you miss the old days, huh?” He laughed.

 “Not really,” I giggled, “a lot of it may have been great but watching the two people I cared the most about get injured was never easy.”

  “It was never easy watching you get hurt either.”

 I cleaned up the wound and sprayed some of the cleaning solution on it causing Dean to wince. It made me laugh because of how soft he had become in the last year. After rewrapping the wound in a proper bandage, I threw everything else away and put the first aid kit back in its rightful spot. When I looked back at him, I saw that he was staring at his hands.

  “Are you thinking about leaving Lisa and Ben?” I asked, returning to the table.

  “I’m not sure,” he stated, “if I leave them, more monsters could show up looking for me and hurt them, but if I stay then even more monsters will show up and hurt them to get to me.”

  “But at least you’d be there to protect them.”

 His perfect, bright green eyes met my own darker, emerald ones.

  “If you left Lisa and Ben today, then you would never be able to forgive yourself if they got hurt without you being there. However, I know, and Lisa knows, that you would do anything for the people you love. So maybe you being there is what’s best right now.”

   The words seemed to sink in before he nodded in agreement.

 “Then it’s settled. I’ll be going back with Lisa and Ben when they wake up.”

   I squeezed his shoulder and sat down at the table. Running a shaking hand through my hair as a soft sigh left my lips. I don’t know what came over me, all of a sudden I felt that maybe I should say something to him if this was the last time I’d see him. I had no intention of breaking him and Lisa up but I couldn’t keep it to myself anymore. It was practically tearing me up inside.

  “Dean, there’s something I need to tell you before you go,” I whispered.

 “What is it?” He asked, his eyes never wavering away from me.

  My palms felt sweaty and my throat felt drier than I had ever felt before. Taking a deep breath, I faced him and smiled. I chickened out.

  “I’m going to miss you.”

  I went to go back to my room, but Dean grabbed my wrist stopping me from leaving. I clenched my fist tight and turned around, not ready to face him because I knew he could read my face like a book. He stood there holding my arm, not tight but not lightly so I would stay there.

  “That’s definitely not what you were going to say,” he said, “tell me.”

  With a final deep breath, I nodded my head, “I love you.”

  His eyes widened and he dropped my hand, letting it drop to my side. I felt it sway before coming to a slow stop. Then I held it to defend myself.

  “I’m not saying this to break you and Lisa up,” I said, “I want you to go with her and be there for Ben. But I also wanted to let you know, in case we never saw each other again.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me sooner?” He croaked, and I thought that I could see tears in his eyes.

 I could only shrug my shoulders, “with everything going on, it just didn’t feel right. And then you wanted to go live with Lisa after Sam was gone so I just never told you.”

   Our conversation was interrupted by Ben and Lisa running into the kitchen, Bobby walking behind them, and embracing Dean. They were happy that he had come home with hardly any injuries. Dean wrapped his arms around them both but he was staring at me. I smiled sweetly, holding my hands in front of me while watching them be reunited. Lisa and Ben were ready to go home with Dean, and even though I knew Dean wanted to stay and talk more about what I had just confessed, I helped push him out the door. If he stayed any longer, I was definitely going to want him to stay forever. But I couldn’t be selfish. Sam, Bobby, and I stood at the front door and waved as the three of them drove off. When they were out of sight, my hand dropped. I felt Bobby place his hand on my shoulder and look at me with understanding.

  I wasn’t sure when the next time I would see Dean again, but I knew that it wasn’t going to be any time soon. And if I was being honest, I didn’t want to see him again. He needed to be with Lisa.

[giftofwonder]

Cirque de Yuuie - MHA Various x f!Reader

A/N: Hey guys! So this is going to be a multi-part series of one shots. Each part will be a different character. There might be smut, we’ll see what happens. This is the introduction to the plot and characters. Some characters might have multiple parts as well. Let me know if you want anyone specific and also if you’d like to be added to their tag list! Also, let me know what you think! Feedback is always appreciated.

Intro

Your eyes cracked open, taking in the deep midnight hues that were cast over your room. Pale moonlight bathed everything in a faint glow.

You shifted, rolling to look at the clock on your bedside table. You groaned, pushing yourself up to sit on the edge of your bed and turned toward your open window. You could hear the boisterous chatter from the streets below. A cool breeze swept in and danced along your heated skin, and you welcomed it with closed eyes and a soft sigh.

Each night you found yourself waking up restless and antsy, unsettled. You’d sit in the confines of your room, and then dress and make your way to the tavern across the road. Tonight was no different.

Your tired limbs trudged across the cobblestone, pushing through drunken bodies that reeked of liquor and sweat.

You grunted as you pushed open the heavy oak door, finding it just as congested as outside. Bodies littered the room heavily, the music and laughter so loud it left your ears ringing. You weaved through the empty spaces and took a seat on a stool by the bar.

“The usual?” You heard a voice called out.

You glanced up, locking eyes with the bar tender as you gave a faint smile and nod.

A glass was slid in your direction a few seconds later, and you wondered if he’d already had it ready for you. You figured that must be the case, it was routine at this point.

“No luck sleeping again, huh?” He said, leaning across the counter as you nursed your drink.

“Afraid not, seems like this is becoming my normal.” You gave a dry laugh, trying to offer up something lighthearted.

“Seems like it. Something troubling you?” His head cocked to the side.

“Just the usual, nothing too bad.” You said, shifting your glass around in your hand.

“Come on now, you waltz in here every night and drink, people with problems that aren’t too bad don’t find themselves perched on one of my stools this often.” He whispered, his gaze intense as he inched across the counter toward you. His hushed voice was lost in the roars of the crowd around you, but you could hear him clear as day.

He wasn’t wrong. You had to give him that. The cluster of people surrounding you dispersed as groups made their way to exit back to the street.

Mummers still resounded around the room, but in the now much quieter atmosphere, you felt yourself relaxing. You leaned forward, propping your elbows against the chipped counter and braced your cheek in your palm.

“I just feel...I don’t know...an overwhelming amount of disinterest in my life. I wake up, I work hard and long days, I come home, eat and bathe and sleep. It’s a never-ending cycle that I’m doomed to repeat each and every day. It all just feels so lackluster.” You said, your voice soft as your eyes gazed at nothing.

“Well, that is quite the conundrum. Might I ask, why don’t you just do something else?” He quipped back with a grin.

“If only it were that easy.” You sighed, eyes slowly drifting back to him.

“Isn’t it, though?” He asked, a mischievous gleam in his eye.

“Is it?” You asked, brow furrowed in confusion.

“Hear me out, I’m no stranger to a hard days work by any means, but I like what I do.” He shrugged.

“Making drinks?” You pressed.

“No, I watch people. Get to know them, help them sometimes. You work in a pub and you meet a lot of people, hear a lot of stories. People get a bit of alcohol in them and suddenly their lips become uncontrollably loose.” He chuckled.

“So you’re nosy, then?” You spat back, a smile turning the corners of your lips.

“I prefer curious, it sounds much more pleasant.” He offered.

He turned and grabbed an envelope from behind him and slid it across the counter to you. It was unmarked, other than the intricate wax seal holding it closed.

“What’s this?” You asked, taking it and inspecting the “CdY” ingrained in the seal.

“A chance to escape.” He shrugged, and then leaned back abruptly, hands grasping glassware and a towel to polish the crystals surface.

“What do I owe you?” You asked, standing and grabbing your coin purse.

“Nothing. This ones on me.” He waved his hand.

“Well, thank you. I appreciate it. By the way, what is your name?” You asked, tucking the envelope into your pocket.

“Shinso, now get out of here and go off to do whatever it is you do when you stumble out of here each night.” He called, waving his rag at you. You smiled at the mirth lighting his eyes, offering a wave as you turned and made your exit.

______________________________________

You plopped onto your small wicker chair, it’s grooves lining up with your back perfectly, molded to your body after the countless hours you had spent hunched over in this seat.

Calloused fingertips reached to caress a fine silk that you’d never be able to afford. You pulled it to you, laying it across the table ahead and dug the patterns for a dress from the chest beside you at your feet.

You were a seamstress, and a fairly popular one. Women and men from both high and low society sought you out to tailor and craft their garments.

You had stitched an amazing collection of clothing, from simple gowns to the most intricate of pieces. Your customers had often boasted about your work, that you were able to create anything.

Until recently, you had been doing fairly well for yourself. You had purchased a home of your own, a massive feat for an unwed woman, especially one in her early twenties.

In the last six months, that had changed though. There had been civil unrest, looting and fighting at the capital. The local government had pushed back, increasing taxes heavily. With that blow came another, a new tailoring business on the other side of town. It offered cheap labor, using children from the orphanage as virtually free hands. The turn around was quick, much faster than the length of time it took you to produce a garment. But the quality was terrible. They used cheap labor and cheaper materials.

The first time you had seen their work, you had laughed till tears brimmed your eyes. However, the quick production and cheap cost had ended up hitting you hard. While the wealthy had no issue having you fashion something for them, most everyone else had flocked to them. It wasn’t terribly hard to do a simple stitch. To take in a gown or a suit. Suddenly, you found yourself praying for work as the jobs got fewer and fewer.

Meanwhile the heightened taxes left your coin purse extremely light. You hadn’t struggled like this in a very long time.

You finished the silken garment, folding it delicately over your arm as you took it over to the rack to hang.

Once hung, you patted off your apron and felt the crinkling of the forgotten envelope tucked in your pocket. You pulled it out, fingers dipping into the paper to tear it open. The red of the invitation was so bright, a high quality velvet lined in gold trim. You then wondered the status of your friendly barkeep, but chalked it up to his large amount of connections. Surely, a drunken man could be persuaded into giving an invitation in exchange for a free round.

Your eyes scanned along the paper, reading the fancy script that outlined the details of the event. You scoffed as you made your way back to your chair, shaking your head as the invitation was tossed onto your table.

A few moments passed before you picked it back up and read over the card again.

______________________________________

Your heels clicked against the pavement as you approached the large gate before you. You were in a state of awe at the lights and music making the night feel alive.

You stopped at the ticket booth, met with a disgruntled employee who looked half asleep. His thick yellow quilt was pulled taunt around his body and his hollow eyes stared at you with something akin to annoyance.

“Welcome to “Cirque de Yuuie”, admission is ¥220.” His bored voice stated monotonously.

“Oh...I actually have an invitation.” You said, giving a weak smile.

He held your gaze for a moment before he quirked a brow, his eyes scanning over you before he gave a sigh and a shrug.

“Alright, give it here.” He held out his pale hand, and you gently placed the invite in his palm.

He quickly pressed a stamp to your hand and shooed you away, so you turned and entered in through the gate.

______________________________________

You had wandered around the grounds for a while, but saw no familiar faces. It was odd, not even children were present. The cost had been rather high to enter, perhaps it was an adults only event.

After you had completed your lap, you were not too far from the entrance to the large tent in the center of the area. Red and white fabrics were draped beautifully, tied off with an intricately woven gold banding.

As you went to step forward, a large wooden pole cut in front of you, you gasped, your head shooting up to find a cheerful looking clown above.

“Whoops! S’cues me miss! Almost stepped on ya there!” He laughed, his painted lips opening to reveal his bright smile.

“Oh, no I’m sorry! I was enthralled by everything and wasn’t paying attention.” You waved him off.

“Ah don’t worry about it, it’s a beautiful night, and the tent looks great! I’ve been distracted by it myself! The names Mirio, by the way.”

“Y/N, it’s nice to meet you.”

He nodded and stepped to make his way off back into the crowd.

“HEY WAIT!” You heard a loud voice call out, and not a moment later, two more clowns turned the corner. One with green hair raced along side a blonde with large sunglasses and a lightening-shaped black streak in his hair. They were tailed by a very awkward and scared looking mime who ran behind them silently looking like he was going to be sick.

“Come on, Amajiki! Hurry up!” The blonde clown yelled behind him, causing the mime to flinch and pick up the pace. You laughed at their antics, they were definitely a good source of entertainment.

“LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! THIS IS YOUR ANNOUNCER: PRESENT MIC, PLEASE GATHER TO THE MAIN TENT AS THE FESTIVITIES ARE ABOUT TO BEGIN.....YEAAAHHH!!!!” A loud voice blared through the speakers overhead.

You pushed through the gathering crowd, entering through the fabric doorway. The ceilings were vaulted, and you were amazed by how large it seemed inside.

Chatter broke out amongst those around you as you passed a sign that read “Yuuie’s Spectacular Freak Show!”

You followed the corridor, peering in the labeled rooms as you passed by.

“Strongest Men Alive! All Might and Red Riot!” Inside the room were two muscular men. The blonde man was tall, looming over the crowd as he smiled and flex. The redhead was laying on a bed of nails, and a crazed looking woman with pink hair walked across him while he looked on unfazed.

“One Body- Two Men! Twice!” A man sat, arguing with himself, the crowd would call out questions and he’d answer two opposing ways, often breaking out into an argument. The crowd giggled and taunted as he yelled seemingly to himself.

“The Vampire: Toga!” Your stomach twisted as you watch the girl give a cat-like grin and chug a vial of blood. Shackles held her to her spot but she called out to the audience, telling them to come closer and let her have a drink.

“Invisible Girl: Toru!” You blinked at the empty room, rolling your eyes as you pushed past to the next stall.

“Frog Woman: Tsuyu!” A girl in a green dress crouched in a pool, her long tongue falling from her mouth as her large hand gave a wave. You couldn’t help but notice her webbed fingers and the faint croaks.

“Worlds Largest Woman: Mt Lady!” An insanely large woman sat on her knees, smiling and chatting with the audience. She was beautiful, but had to be at least 9’ tall.

“World’s Largest Man: Fatgum!” A very large man sat in the center of the room smiling and waving as he let children drift into his stall and eat from the various sweets lining the table beside him. Though the adults around you spoke insults quietly, you couldn’t help but think the man looked very kind. You smiled softly at the sight of a child hugging him in thanks before returning to their mothers side.

“Bird-Man: Hawks!” A young man laughed loudly, his beautiful red wings flapping as he gave a slight show to those who watched. Many looked on in awe and wonder, and women swooned at his charm. His feathers seemed to almost sparkle and while you noticed something mischievous in his gaze, you were mesmerized nonetheless.

“Dabi the Dragon and the Indestructible Bakugou!” This room was larger, and smoke poured out. You were curious about this one, as there was no crowd gathered out front. You only saw one person, a rather attractive but angry looking man, growling as he noticed you. He rolled his eyes as he lit off explosives in his hands.

Your hands shot up to cover your eyes, before peering out to see the man looked fine, bored even.

“That was amazing!” You exclaimed.

“Course it was!” He sneered.

Suddenly, the curtain behind him rustled and another man emerged from the darkness. He was shirtless, his body scared in burns that wrapped around his torso, arms and face. His black hair spiked wildly, just like the blonde beside him. He smirked at you, sauntering toward you before lifting your chin with his index finger.

“Want me to put on a show for you, doll face?” He whispered. You nodded mutely, feeling much like the mime you had saw earlier that night. He chucked and stepped back. His hand grasped a bottle and he turned his back toward you, taking a large swig from the drink.

He abruptly turned back, and blue flames shot from his mouth and filled the room. You could immediately feel the immense heat and no longer wondered how his scars came to be.

He wiped his mouth with the back of his arm, giving a small cough before grinning at you.

“Well, what’d ya think, princess?”

“It was amazing! Does it hurt?” You asked.

“Hmm? Nah, not really. Just burns a little.” He snickered at his joke while Bakugou rolled his eyes in the background.

“I also do a bit of sword swallowing.” He added, stepping in close to you.

“Oh, yeah? That’s a neat talent to have.” You spat back awkwardly.

“I could teach you, after the show that is. I’ve got a good one for you to practice on.” His deep voice said in a hushed tone, hot breath hitting you as his hand gripped the crotch of his pants.

You stumbled back quickly, mumbling about needing to find a seat, and then ran off to the main room of the tent.

Your heart was pounding as you took an empty seat in the front row that had your invitation number on it.

The lights around you dimmed and the seats behind began filling quickly. People chatted amongst themselves until the music changed and the curtains at the far side of the tent were drawn.

A pale looking man with light blue hair and red eyes slowly walked out, taking center stage.

“Welcome. I’m so glad all of you came to join us for the show.” His hoarse voice spoke out loudly. His eyes dragged along the audience, taking in those around him.

“My name is Shigaraki and I’ll be your host tonight. You’ll see things that you never imagined, acts of wonder put on display before you. Prepare to be in awe and amazed.” He cheered, giving and eerie grin.

______________________________________

Halfway through the show, they called for an intermission. The lights brightened as people stood and flocked outside to grab drinks and food.

You stayed put, reflecting on the show so far. There had been an amazing act with tightrope walking, acrobats and aerial silks. They had been called “Children of the Sky” by those sat around you. Aoyama, Mina, Uraraka and Nejire were their names.

Then there had been the father and son act of fire performance. Enji and Shouto Todoroki. They danced with fire and spun batons and hoops that were blazing. Their act would have been more enjoyable if the father had been quiet, but instead every few moments he’d call out to his son correcting his posture and moves. Mid performance, Dabi had joined them on stage. His blue flames shining brightly in contrast. He had quickly noticed you and his eyes lit up as your stomach filled with dread.

He marched over, pulling you from your seat as gasps and whispers of his damaged skin rang through the crowd. He didn’t seem to notice. Or didn’t care. He had spun you around, dancing as his azure fire lit his arms. You were worried you’d be burned, but the fire never touched your skin. He brushed his arms with his hands, extinguishing the flame, as the music had haunted. You watched the smoke rise from his skin as you frowned, but he simply took your hand and pressed a chaste kiss to the back of it before walking away.

You heard a voice rasp out “fucking show off” before seeing the angry blonde, Bakugou, take off after him.

Now you sat, watching a small man with balls on his head. He wore a jesters outfit and juggled before those left seated in the crowd. Slowly he made his way to you.

“Hey, how do you know Dabi?” He asked bluntly, wonder in his eyes.

“Oh, I don’t. Not really. I saw him in the freak show. That’s all.” You said, uncomfortable with the small mans leering.

“You actually watched him?” He asked dumbfounded. “No wonder he’s all over you.”

“What do you mean?” You asked perplexed.

“Uh hello, he’s gross looking. Definitely not as attractive as someone like me.” He beamed at you. You stayed quiet, unsure of how to respond and afraid to break the poor guys dilution.

“Hey I also do puppet stuff, you wanna see?” He asked, tone chipper.

“Oh, no that’s okay-“

“Okay cool, watch this!” He cut you off, pulling a small puppet from his suit. He dropped it and it limply hit the ground, the string much too long for him. The puppet dragged around weirdly as the jester spoke in a high pitch, giving the wooden body a voice.

You blinked, watching the train wreck as the doll slid through the dirt, getting jerked around by the man before you. He picked up the puppet and threw it at you, it landing in your lap. Then he pulled the string and yanked it back to the ground. You abruptly stood and walked away, hearing him call after you, but you only quickened your pace.

Once outside in the fresh air, a loud bellowing laugh burst from your lips. That was the weirdest thing you’ve ever had to deal with and you had been holding in laughing in the strange boys face.

“Seems like you’re enjoying the show.” A voice cut in.

Your head quickly spun, meeting the red eyes of the ring leader.

“Yeah! It’s nice, you guys are doing an amazing job!” You scratched your neck, feeling the hairs on your arms standing at the sudden tension as the mans smile fell.

“You weren’t invited here.” He stated.

“I...well I was given an invitation.” You replied.

“It wasn’t yours though. It wasn’t meant for you.” He said, eyes blank as his head cocked to the side.

“No, it wasn’t. I don’t know who it belonged to. A bartender gave it to me.” You explained.

“Hmm, is that so? Well, do enjoy the show then. But do me a favor, sit in a different seat when you go back in.” He sneered, and then he was gone as quickly as he had appeared.

You headed back inside, choosing a different seat in the front row that had been unclaimed earlier.

The music roared again as the clowns, Midoriya, Kaminari and Mirio, put on a show. Kaminari was being shocked while Midoriya rode around on a unicycle. Mirio stayed on his stilts and walked around the stage dancing and doing tricks. The trio was truly fun to watch, and then the mime, Amajiki, was shoved forward. A spotlight hit him as he stood frozen in fear.

“Come on buddy, you can do it!” Mirio whispered loudly in support.

Amajiki took in a big breath and lifted his arms, hands shaking as he formed an invisible wall in front of himself when a box hit him in the head and a drunken man “booed”. Amajiki immediately rushed to the shadows, pressing his face into the wall of the tent as an air of dread surrounded him.

“Uhhh...look over here!” Midoriya yelled out, pulling the attention of the crowd as he gave a large shock to Kaminari. Kaminari then “beeped” and “booped” and drooled as he wobbled around. The audience cheered and laughed.

Finally it was time for the final act of the night, the mysterious and powerful Mr. Compress.

A spotlight roamed the stage, and in a cloud of smoke he appeared. He wore a mask, top hat and yellow overcoat. His cane tapped against the floor with each step he took.

“Tonight, I will make you question everything you know about the world. Everything you believe to be real!” He called, and the crowd went wild, hooting and hollering.

He started with a few jokes, one about how he wasn’t the type to pull a rabbit from his hat, but then his hat shifted and he took it off. He pulled out the first rabbit, and then another, and then two more. You laughed at his seeming confusion. Finally, he plopped his hat back on his head and called out Bakugou to the stage. Bakugou marched to him, stomping his feet and crossing his arms as he came to a stop beside the magician.

Mr. Compress draped a large piece of fabric over the man, and then quickly pulled the cloth back to reveal a confused looking Shouto.

“I was just over there.” Shouto said, pointing to the other side of the tent.

“Yes! And now you’re over here!” Compress smiled, giving a grand wave of his arm.

“Aren’t I the one doing the magic then?” Shouto said blandly while Compress laughed.

“Alright then, do another trick for us.” Mr. Compress said, his tone amused. Shouto stood there silently, expression blank.

“I’m-“

“YOUR FIRE! USE YOUR FIRE SHOUTO!” His father yelled from off stage. Shouto glanced behind him, annoyance radiating from him.

“No. Nevermind. Just put me back where i was.” He said to Compress. Not a second later, the cloth was thrown over him and pulled off to reveal what looked like 100 butterflies.

The crowed oohed and awed in response, and you felt your eyes widen in amazement as well. It was so quick, you were trying to understand the trick, but could hardly wrap your head around it. This guy was good.

He went through a few more tricks, each a little better than the last. Finally he called for a volunteer from the audience.

Many hands shot into the air, while yours meekly raised. You weren’t one who gravitated to the spotlight, in fact, you had no desire to go onto the stage and have everyone’s eyes on you. But, you had promised yourself you’d let go for tonight and do as the bartender recommended. Escape.

Perhaps he could sense your distress, or maybe it was just because you were the closest to him, but he slowly walked toward you and extended his hand.

“If you wouldn’t mind, I’d love it if you could assist me madam.”

You smiled, cursing inwardly at yourself, as you took his hand and let him pull you to your feet and lead you to the stage.

Red Riot ran over holding a heavy wooden chair, one you might find used as a throne.

Compress lifted the bottom of his mask and pressed a kiss to the back of your hand, much like Dabi did, before directing you to take a seat. You did as you were asked, feeling the heat of the light on you, thankful that it’s blinding light prevented you from being able to see the crowd.

Mr. Compress started his speech about defying nature, and the use of powerful magic.

“Do not look away for a second, it is imperative you see your reality bent before you. With the help of my beautiful assistant, I will show you that the limitations we set for ourselves are often just an illusion. Anything you can think of is possible!”

He turned toward you, pulling the yellow coat from his body and leaving himself in his black vest and pants, the orange shirt beneath now visible. He pushed up his sleeves and held his hands outstretched toward you. You felt the chair jerk and sucked in a breath. It lurched again, and soon you were floating above the ground. You kicked your feet and smiled, trying your hardest not to shift in the chair.

Then the lights flickered, and a spotlight fell from the ceiling, crashing into the empty seat that had been assigned to your invitation.

In the moment of chaos, the chair dropped harshly, cracking against the ground as the impact tossed you to the side. You grunted, the wind knocked from your lungs and your eyes unfocused after smacking your head in the fall.

Screams were heard as the crowd panicked and scattered, the roars of animals following after them.

A harsh tug lifted you back onto your feet, and in the darkness you could see nothing, but allowed the person to drag you from the tent as your head spun.

Your mind was trying to process as you were pulled into a trailer, and as your body met the cot inside, you fell unconscious.