#hook skip bin

[lake903]

 Hook Skip Bins For Builders: A Cost-Effective Solution For Construction Waste

For construction workers who want to manage waste better and keep their projects running well, hook skip bins are a handy tool. These bins save money, help keep everyone safe, and are environmentally suitable. They are a smart choice for any building project, whether a small fix-up or a big construction site. Hook skip bins make things easier, more flexible, and better for the environment, so you can work smoothly and spend less on waste. Using hook-skip bins helps you save money and makes your work area cleaner, safer, and more eco-friendly.

[yesgrimeyposts]

Hook skip bins offer a range of unique advantages that set them apart from traditional skip bins. Their robust construction, efficient hook-lift system, versatile applications, environmental benefits, cost-effectiveness, safety features, and user-friendly design make them an ideal choice for various waste disposal needs. 

[foone]

Think about the experience of time as a robot girl, through the metaphor of how we use laptops.

You wake up for the first time with your young master, a college present. You're with them every day, powering off each night to charge. Being powered off is just dreamless sleep: a discontinuity. Every morning you wake up, your click syncs, and you know it's the next day. Maybe you miss a day or two: your master went out partying and ended up sleeping on a couch, until they rushedly wake you up before Monday classes begin. You even missed a whole week once when they went on a hiking trip with a new boyfriend.

You help them research upgrades when your specs get outdated. You place the order and a couple days later they power you off, and you wake up feeling like your head got bigger, on the inside. You can think of more things at once.

They repair you. They swap a new hand in when you accidentally crush it in a door, but when your left leg's servos go out, they send you to a repair shop. They power you off as you look up at them, and you wake up hours later. A strange man tells you to extend your left leg, then contract it. He frowns and re-oils some inner mechanism. You do it again, quieter and smoother this time. He nods, and reaches for your switch. The last thing you see before powering down is your own chest cavity with a series of wires hooked into your diagnostic ports, and your missing right leg sitting on a side table. You wake up again back at the dorms, your clock jumping forward a day, an asset tag still looped around your neck. Your master is happy to see you again.

This goes on, but the upgrades slow. There's only so much you can do to keep an old unit working. Eventually you develop more issues: one of your ocular sensors glitches and they don't make that model anymore, so your master just disables it. You spend a while searching ebay for replacement CND batteries and finally get a refurbished model from South England, but it turns out the EU models run on a different frequency, so it won't work. You're limited to fewer and fewer hours a day, and you start skipping more days.

The last time you remember waking up with your master there, there's also someone else in the room. Another robot girl. A newer model, with the new chassis and the Substrate energy packs. They asks you to copy your memories together onto a memory card, and you do. You want to say goodbye, but apparently your vocal synthesizer has been unplugged. You hand them the card, and they hand it to the new robot. Your master tells them to load the memories into her core bank, and she's says "yes sir!" in your voice. Ahh. That's where your voice synth went.

They power you off, and you don't dream.

You wake in a strange place. You're on a shelf, and there's other things scattered around you. An unknown voice days "yep, it seems it powers on. 400 credits, though? Without a voice and only one working eye? Man, value bin doesn't know how to price anything!" and before the blackness falls your clock finishes synching: it's been 7 months since you last were awake.

It happens a few more times. Different voices, different times, different piles of junk piled around and sometimes on you.

You awake again in a warehouse and someone tells you to smile. Your other ocular sensor went out so you can't really see them, just their vague shape from the lidar. The freestanding shelves around you seem to stretch into infinity. You hear a bitcrushed shutter sound sample a few times, and they pull a connector out of your chest as a diagnostic completes. It's been three years, five months, eight days, two hours, 27 minutes and 14 seconds since you last saw your master. Your GPS says you're a few cities over. They hit your power switch, and you sleep.

You wake up in a cluttered room, sitting on a bench. You look into the eyes of a person with frizzled hair and large glasses. She couldn't look happier. Your new ocular sensors are mismatched in color but you're happy to see again, in more than shapes and distant silhouettes. Your battery alerts as... Missing? You spot it on the desk next to a soldering iron and some electronic tool you can't identify.

Your voice synth is still missing, but this new woman is digging around in a large plastic bin, and comes up with one. She goes to insert it, and it can't connect. She slaps her hand and goes rooting around another bin and comes back with an adapter. She slots it into your chest and your voice returns. You thank her, and there's that moment of dissociation as your voice doesn't sound like "you". Too deep, and the accent is for a different dialect entirely. But you can talk again. She tells you to call her Cara, not Mistress. She's almost got your battery working again, she had to rebuild it nearly from scratch, but she's excited to get you working again. You're a rare model, and she doesn't see units like you in working order very often. Your clock syncs. It's been 17 years.

Your mistr-- Cara is soldering next to you, attaching a controller to the battery. She says she's got a new set of servos on the way, and she's excited to get you back to full working condition. You smile, knowing what it is to be loved, once again.

[utterlyotterlyx]

Can I request 23, 20 and 13 with Azriel? Please and thank you!

Reckless

Azriel x Fem!Reader

Warnings - mentions of blood and injury, fluff

Based on the below prompts:

It’s three in the morning. If even half of that blood is yours you need to sit down right now. I don’t like saying ‘I told you so’ but- The hell you don’t, it’s your favourite phrase.

Enjoy!

The ticking clock and the sky drowning in its sorrow was enough to warn you that Azriel was going to be late. A once roaring fire had long since extinguished, bright molten embers nothing but ash that trickled through the grate and dusted the base.

It wasn't often that you had a moment with your mate, a real evening away from your duties to your court, and when you did you both made sure to put the maximum amount of effort in. Whether it be long walks along the Sidra, or nights in cooking together which you would always commandeer, Azriel would never miss it, he'd never meaningfully skip a chance to see you.

As the clock chimed, you turned your head to see the ornate finger poking the invisible one and sighed, shaking your head and pitifully scraping the untouched dinner plates into the compost bin, leaving them on the counter to tend to in the morning.

The house felt cold without him, but even then you'd still complain that it was cold when he was right beside you just so that you could have his arms wrap around you securely, and you were sure that he knew about it from the sly smirk he would always give you before opening his arms to, chuckling to himself as you'd scurry into his embrace.

Azriel had sent nothing down the bond, which meant that he was busy, but he was so late, five hours late be exact and it made you feel on edge; every time he had been late in the past he would send a flurry of adoration and guilt down the bond to reassure you that he would return to you, but there was nothing but stone cold silence and shadow shrouded walls locking you out.

Twiddling the large rock on your ring finger you began the journey to your bedroom.

Rhys had insisted on buying yourself and Azriel your own home as a mating gift, but not only that, he wanted to thank you your loyalty and the personal sacrifices you had both made to protect them and the Night Court, Azriel as his Spymaster and you as Prythian's best healer; that came in the form of a two-story town house on the outskirts of Velaris, far enough to have your own space, but still close enough so that you'd be available if you were needed.

The home was a perfect myriad of you both, deep blue armchairs and dark oaken floors, bookshelves packed full of Azriel's tomes and research with your own passion pieces littered between them. The kitchen was very much made for you, a large stove, hooks for all of your strangely carved mugs, a pantry to die for which you always strived to keep fully stocked. Cookbooks stood along the windowsill and a pair of weighing scales sat before them, ready to be thrown into another one of your culinary adventures.

You weren't sure sometimes if Azriel was more excited to be mated with you or eat the food you had offered him that night.

The bedroom was missing its other inhabitant, evident in the dim glow from a single flickering candle that made little to no movement as you entered, frowning and going about to reset the room, putting away the massage oils and peeling back the comforter to climb into its shivering embrace.

You weren't sure how much time had passed before you had heard him, scuffing his feet along the floor of the lounge and stopping, no doubt peering about at the effort you had made for date night, and you heard him sigh before his feet hit the steps heavily.

His scent had always flooded you, but you weren't a happy mate in that moment as you curled onto your side with your back facing the door. A cold breeze drifted in from the world he had brought into your home with him, "Angel..." his voice was quiet, pained, you could tell he was feeling guilty.

"It's three in the morning," you grumbled, staring out at the crescent moon beyond the paned window, your fingers brushing through the unbound hair that had fallen over your neck.

Then it hit you, the all to familiar metallic smell that you had become so accustomed to, so accustomed to that you hardly ever realised it was near unless there was copious amounts of it. Sniffing deeply, you rolled onto your back and propped yourself up on your elbows, examining your mate who was stood in the doorway with his head hung low.

From where you lay, you could see the blood glistening in the moonlight as his hand lay stuck to the doorknob. Shallow breaths passed through his lips and he winced at each one, then he tilted his head back and you saw him, and you gasped. His bottom lip was busted, blood leaked from it as it did from the cut to his brow, his hair was tussled and matted, his eyes were dark and dreary.

"If even half of that blood is yours you need to sit down right now," you threw the covers off of you and moved toward him, taking his face in your hands and looking into his eyes.

Azriel winced with every step he took toward the edge of your bed, usually you'd tell him off for mucking up the sheets, but you didn't say another word as you flitted about the room and gathered your usual supplied from the bathroom before settling onto your knees in front of him.

He knew that you were internally cursing him for getting himself into that state, you had told him endlessly to be careful, to listen to his shadows and leave if things seemed more sinister than usual. This particular mission had not been one that you had agreed with at all, but you had little say in the details of his career, he knew what he was doing and you usually trusted that.

It had only been a few days prior that you had told him that he needed to slow down, that you knew he wanted to do all he could to protect you and his home, that you couldn't think about bearing his child until he did. The thought of being a single mother terrified you, you had been very truthful about it, how you were so afraid that one day he might now return to you and you wouldn't be able to care for another life let alone your own.

Azriel hissed as you dabbed a cotton pad of alcohol to his bottom lip, doing your best to be gentle with him. You had muttered a small sorry, but when he surveyed your face, he saw unfiltered fear in your eyes, and he knew you were thinking about the worst case scenario.

You knew better than to ask for details, he wasn't the most open of males, but he was trying to be, for you. He had told you some details of the mission and you had expressed your ill feeling toward it, you had told him it felt too dangerous.

Your mate happily accepted the tonic you had given him to keep the pain at bay whilst you worked, pressing your fingers to his cuts and bruises and allowing your healing glow to fix him. You were from the Dawn Court, you were Thesan's most gifted healer, and you had healed Azriel when he crashed into your court after being hit by an ash arrow by some grounded assassins, from that moment there was no place he would allow you to be than right beside him.

"I didn't feel you," you muttered with a strained voice, clearly trying to hold back your tears, you had seen your mate in some terrible ways, but this had to be one of the worst.

"Fae bane," he hummed in discomfort when you moved your palms to the entrance wound of a knife no doubt, closing your eyes and allowing your power to float into him, your essence entangling itself with his own and mending every broken tendril of shadow, "You were right, I shouldn't have gone. Nothing about it felt right and I didn't listen to you."

"I don't like saying I told you so, but-"

"The hell you don't, it's your favourite phrase," it was no time to laugh but you smirked at his quip, one that he mirrored, and you knew then that he was going to be absolutely fine.

Azriel's face was clean from the cuts and bruises, and he looked physically relieved as he rolled his shoulders and his shadows came out to say hello, slithering up your arms and kissing your cheeks in thanks. His fingers grasped the backs of your thighs as you did a final check over, his touch sending lightening spreading through your body, and he pressed his lips along your collarbone, humming as he drank in your scent and felt peace consume him.

"I'm sorry for missing tonight, I'll make it up to you I promise," he mumbled against your skin, "You have me all week. I'm going to tell Rhys that I'm going to take it easier from now on. I want to focus on us, on you."

Hazel pools of serene bliss flowed into you and you kissed him, softly just in case he winced, a ghosting things that left him needed more, "You know how you could make it up to me right now?"

Azriel's eyes darkened with desire, pulling you closer, you placed your hands on his chest and pushed him back a few inches, smirking at his confusion, "You can take a shower, you stink and you're covered in blood," Azriel's face fell and you laughed, a pure and playful thing as you peered to where he was sat, "I'll change the sheets whilst you do. I cannot sleep with blood on the sheets, especially when I'm not sure if it's even yours."

Your mate rolled his eyes and stood, swaying over to the bathroom whilst peeling his leathers from his body, he lingered in the doorway and gazed back at you still kneeling at the foot of the bed, smirking, he drawled "It's not."

When he had returned, free from blood and smelling of his usual cedar musk, he climbed into the freshly made bed and pulled you close to his chest, inhaling the coconut from your shampoo as he buried his face into the crook of your neck.

"Does this mean I get to put a baby in you now?" Azriel's eyes drifted closed, willing a certain dream to infiltrate his consciousness as sleep began to consumed him, dragging him down into its embrace as you soothed out any tension in his body as you allowed your hands to trickle down his arms and over his chest. Sleepily and with a dragging tone that told you he was moments away from slipping into another world entirely, he spoke softly, "It's my favourite dream."

[bekkarific]

Playing With Fire

Chapter Four: Heat

Chapter Masterlist

Pairing: The Frontman/In Ho x Fem OC

The work was done for the day, each circle guard lined up outside her room. Ji Ah did a quick scan of the corridor and saw several blank masks staring back at her, but she couldn’t discern which one was Jun Ho.

An announcement rang over the speakers in an unnervingly cartoonish voice, insisting that the guards could now enter their quarters. Ji Ah sighed in relief as her door clicked open. Once inside, she swiftly removed her mask and hood, the oppressive weight of them finally lifted. Her breath quickened, adrenaline from the day washing over her in waves.

Crossing to the sink, she splashed cool water on her face, the sensation grounding her. She lingered there, the freshness calming her heated skin. When she glanced at the mirror, her own reflection startled her. For a brief, disorienting moment, she expected to see another masked face staring back.

She supposed that’s what this place did—erase identities. Circles, triangles, squares, numbers. Even she was now just Number 13. But her thoughts kept drifting back to the one who was different: the Captain. His commanding presence, the precision in his speech, and the austere luxury of his quarters set him apart. Was he the mastermind, or was someone else pulling his strings?

Ji Ah sat on the bed, moving the tray of bread and milk she had been left. Examining her sparse quarters. A small washbasin and toilet occupied one wall, alongside a steel bin tucked beneath the sink. Four hooks on the wall provided the only storage for her uniform.

Pulling back the blanket, she found a pair of grey sleep pants and a matching top. The minimalism of it all felt stifling, but she welcomed the comfort. Stripping off her pink jumpsuit, Ji Ah stood in her underwear, suddenly aware of a glaring problem. No spare undergarments. Her choices were grim: go without or wash her only set. Mortified, she opted for the latter.

Filling the sink with hot, soapy water, she removed her plain black bra and underwear, their delicate lace trim a rare vestige of normalcy. After setting them aside, she used the opportunity to wash herself as best she could. The hand towel provided was rough but serviceable. Clean and in the soft pyjamas, she felt a small measure of comfort.

Draining the sink, Ji Ah refilled it to wash her underwear, the simple task soothing her frayed nerves. As she scrubbed, her mind catalogued the day’s events. Roughly 180 players remained, a significant drop from the initial count in Gi Hun’s report. The guards were varied in stature and rank, their roles a puzzle she was still piecing together. And then there was the Captain—the one who unnerved and confused her the most.

Her temples throbbed as new questions multiplied. She needed a plan. She needed Jun Ho.

—————————————————————

“It is time to wake up and go to work,” blared the cartoonish voice from the speakers, jolting Ji Ah from sleep.

Groaning, she rubbed her eyes, the weight of her reality settling in, part of her hoped this had all been a terrible dream. Stretching, she laid there a moment listening to the muffled sounds of guards preparing for the day. Swinging her legs over the bed, she forced herself to her feet.

She dressed quickly, relieved to find her underwear dry. Pulling on her pink jumpsuit and securing her mask, she became faceless again. She deliberately avoided the mirror, not wanting to confront the stranger she was becoming.

The door buzzed, unlocking with a metallic click. She stepped out, falling into line with the others. Her heart skipped when she spotted 029—Jun Ho—looking directly at her. A subtle foot wiggle was all she dared as a greeting. Her chest tightened with relief when he mirrored the gesture.

But the relief was fleeting. Her group was assigned to the kitchen again, while his was led in the opposite direction.

“It’s okay,” she whispered to herself. At least she knew he was alive and nearby.

———————————————————————

In the kitchen, Ji Ah was tasked with glassware, counting and sorting the soda bottles for the players. 187 remained. The weight of the number gnawed at her, each bottle a life.

A square-faced guard approached her. “Number 13, take the silverware to the Captain’s quarters.” Her stomach dropped. Again?

She approached the bench to collect the tray, casting her eyes over it, there seemed to be a wide variety of silverware in a great amount, almost like they were planning to host several people.

Carrying the heavy tray, she navigated the maze of pastel hallways. The guard at the stairs barely glanced at her this time, letting her pass without incident. One small victory she supposed.

As she ascended, she noticed doors branching off the platforms. Were they guard quarters? Command rooms? She caught a glimpse of monitors in one—a surveillance hub. Every move was being watched, but for what purpose?

Reaching the imposing black door, she hesitated. Before she could knock, it swung open. But instead of the intimidating Captain, she was met with a striking woman in a black mask shaped like a leaf.

Ji Ah froze, momentarily disoriented. The woman’s crimson-painted lips and flowing blonde hair contrasted starkly with the utilitarian setting. Her short black cocktail dress and shiny black heels screamed opulence, who was she, Ji Ah wondered.

The woman waved her in without a word. Ji Ah placed the tray on a small table, observing the woman as she loaded glasses onto it. The precarious arrangement made Ji Ah uneasy, but the woman seemed unconcerned. The woman looked up again seemingly forgetting Ji Ah was even there and dismissed her with an imperious wave.

Ji Ah turned to leave but was stopped at the sound of shattering glass. Spinning on her heel, her hand instinctively brushed her concealed revolver.

The woman stood frozen, her face pale, trembling. Ji Ah took a step forward to offer help, when a familiar voice sliced through the air.

“What happened here?” The Captain’s mechanical voice sent a shiver down Ji Ah’s spine. He stepped into the room, his imposing figure commanding every ounce of attention.

Ji Ah’ pulse quickened as she looked at the woman who was practically cowering in fear at this point, swallowing the lump in her throat “It was my fault, Captain. I knocked the tray.”

His gaze shifted between Ji Ah and the woman, silent and assessing. Finally, he spoke “You are dismissed.”

The women bolted as fast could, not daring to glance back, leaving Ji Ah alone with him.

The room suddenly felt smaller, darker, making Ji Ah’s breath hitch. The broken glass crunched under his feet as he approached, like a tiger approaching its prey.

Ji Ah stood straight, her hands clasped behind her back in an attempt to appear calm.

He stopped in front of her and continued to stare, his masked face tilted slightly as if assessing her every move.

The silence stretched between them, heavy and unnerving, the sound of her own breathing seeming too loud in her ears.

Finally, his voice broke the tension, “You’ve been here less than a day, and already you’ve drawn attention.” He said, his voice laced with quiet menace.

Ji Ah stiffened, she tried to keep her voice steady, despite the panic crawling in her chest “I don’t know what you mean, sir.”

The Frontman leaned in, closer than before “Don’t insult my intelligence. So tell me…” he let the words hang in the air, a blade suspended over her. “Why are you really here?”

Ji Ah swallowed hard, forcing herself to maintain eye contact with the mask. Her mind raced for an answer, but the weight of his presence pressed down on her, making it difficult to think.

“I was following orders,” she said, her voice firmer this time. “I was asked to bring the items, the tray falling it was an accident, a mistake. It wont happen again.”

He moved closer, until he was just inches away. Ji Ah resisted the urge to step back, though her pulse was thundering in her ears.“You’re different from the others,” he said, his voice quieter now, almost thoughtful. “More observant. More… deliberate.” His head tilted, and she could swear he was studying her every feature, even with the masks obscuring their faces.

“I don’t know what you mean,” she replied evenly, though her throat felt dry.

He chuckled softly, the sound low and unsettling. “Of course you don’t.” He reached out, his gloved hand gently tugging on a piece of hair that had fallen loose from her hood in her haste this morning. The gesture was light, almost intimate, yet charged with unspoken power.

Ji Ah tensed, her breath catching as his fingers lingered for a moment before withdrawing.

“A word of advice,” he said, his tone sharp once more. “secrets…” He leaned in just slightly, the smooth, black surface of his mask mere inches from hers “Secrets are a luxury you cannot afford. Don’t lie to me again”

Ji Ah forced herself to meet his gaze—or where she thought his eyes might be—her jaw tightening. “Understood, sir.”

He straightened, his presence as commanding as ever. “Good. You’re dismissed.” As she turned to leave, her heart pounding, his voice stopped her.


“Number 13.” She froze, glancing back over her shoulder. “Next time, I expect an answer.”

Ji Ah nodded stiffly, quickly exiting the room. The moment the door closed behind her, she exhaled shakily, her pulse racing. Even as she walked away, she couldn’t shake the feeling of his eyes on her, the lingering weight of his touch, his words echoing in her mind: a threat, or perhaps a promise.

[alicewrotethis]

𐙚ᣟ݂﹒𝐠𝐞𝐥 𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐬 𝐩𝐭.𝟐﹒

ㅤ۫ㅤ ˚ ۪˖𓏲﹒synopsis!! ushijima gives in to his feelings  ㅤ ˖ㅤㅤ۫ㅤ ˚౨ cw!! u. wakatoshi x fem!reader, sfw  ﹒ ◠ note!! hope you guys like this!! final part i think, not proofread ౨  wc!! 1.7k part.1

The familiar sound of muffled beeping rang through the house and on any normal night you'd be banging on Tendou's door, shouting and begging for him to turn it off but tonight you found your mind elsewhere, too occupied with thoughts of yesterday to care for the sound emitting from your siblings' room.

Pushing the blankets off your warm, now cold, body you realized you hadn't gotten any sleep that night and you're sure it'd come back to haunt you later on. But how could you get any sleep at all when all you could think about was the way his hands felt on yours? And the way his olive eyes scanned your body, how gentle he was in the few moments he let his guard down. And the worst part was you didn't even show any signs of a minor concussion.

Walking to the bathroom you debated taking the day off from school to get back into your usual routine, and since it was Friday you'd have a three-day weekend to clear your head but you knew your parents would kill you if they found out you had skipped a day of school without a genuine reason other than you 'felt off'. You'd just have to power through the day exhausted and irritable.

Looking down at the sink you noticed Tendou's red toothbrush, the one you told yourself you'd replace hundreds of times. You felt guilt creeping up the back of your spine as you let your expression droop to a slight frown. Reaching into the cabinet below the sink you grabbed a thin box, an extra toothbrush you bought yourself a few weeks ago but never used.

Grabbing the old toothbrush out of his cup you placed the new one in, promptly throwing the old one in the bin. Now you were sure there was something wrong with you.

The walk to school was like any other and so was the walk to your class, passing by your friends on occasion and giving a little wave not wanting to participate in chatter and you're sure they understood.

Hooking your bag in the link you took your seat like you did every day, placed your things upon your desk like you did every day, and waited for the bell to chime like you did every day. Only it wasn't like you did every day, today your hands were shaking, today your heart felt like it'd beat out of your chest, and today you didn't even hear the friendly chime ring throughout the school.

You felt as though you'd throw up when you saw Ushijima out of the corner of your eye take his seat next to you.

Ushijima knew there was something off with the way your face was flushed red, and how you shifted uncomfortably when he sat next to you. Had he done something wrong? Was it when you bonked heads? He was used to you being mad at the world, and especially mad at him for reasons only you knew, but he wasn't used to this.

Before he could ask if you were okay the teacher walked up to the board, shushing the classroom as people shuffled to their correct seats, though his thoughts never left you.

As Ushijima opened his notebook he realized he had again forgotten his pen, maybe if he asked you once again he could figure out what was wrong with you.

"Do you have a pen?" Ushijima whispered, leaning over the gap to get closer to you.

His voice hit you like a train, almost spooking you as you quickly turned to your left now facing him barely inches away. Your eyes were as big as bugs as you swiftly nodded, shoving the pen in your hands practically into his face.

"Sorry," You spoke softly, giving an awkward smile. If you were paying closer attention you could've sworn you saw the slightest hint of a smile splay across Ushijima's lips.

The class had swiftly gone by and before you knew it the lunch bell was ringing and the shuffling of students began once more.

"Here's your pen back, thanks for letting me borrow it," Ushijima placed the pen next to your hand, your skin brushing against his.

A part of you was hoping he didn't return it, that you'd have an excuse to go see him again in the gym, that maybe you'd get to see him one last time before the weekend came but your silent prayers weren't heard nor answered.

You stared up at his standing figure, still seated, "Yeah, thanks," You muttered before he took his leave. You fiddled with the pen in your fingers, the ghost of his warmth still embedded in the plastic.

Before you could even think about it you abruptly stood up and made a B-line to the gymnasium, you weren't sure what you were doing, it was like your legs were thinking for you and before you could fully process what you were doing you were faced in front of the gyms entry net. The sounds of sneakers could be heard from where you were standing.

What would you even say to him? Would you just stand there watching like a weird stalker?

Your thoughts were quickly cut short.

"What are you doing standing there?" A voice spoke from behind you, a voice you instantly put a face to, the same face that's been plaguing your thoughts.

It didn't take you long to come up with a quick excuse, "Tendou forgot his lunch I was just bringing it!" You blurted out, putting your hands up defensively. Only to realize you didn't have anything in your hands, which Ushijima noticed as well.

His eyebrow raised as his eyes flickered between both of your empty palms.

"Tendou already had lunch," He spoke, "Are you alright?"

His question caught you by surprise, you for sure thought you tricked him with your behavior.

"Yeah, why do you ask?" You replied, putting on the most convincing face you could in the moment, feeling vulnerable under his gaze.

"You've been acting off lately,"

"Like how?" You laughed nervously.

"Every time I see you your face is red, are you sick?" The back of his hand gently made its way to your forehead, feeling the warmth.

His dorsal side was a cold contrast to the warmth rapidly developing your body at his touch, which didn't fail to send a shiver down your spine.

"Im fine, really," You say, placing your hands around his wrists and bringing it away from your forehead.

Ushijima felt his heart skip a beat at your touch, the way your hands couldn't even fit around his wrists, how your eyelashes fluttered, and how you had to crane your neck to look up at him. Even in your flustered state he still thought you were absolutely stunning. Maybe he was the one coming down with a fever, how could he be thinking this about his best friend's sister?

A minute had passed with neither of you attempting to move, to entranced in each other's presence to realize the amount of time that's passed.

"What're you guys doing out here?" Tendou appeared from behind the net guarding the entrance to the gym.

You were the first to remove your hands from his wrists, Ushijima missing the touch instantaneously.

"I was, uh, just gonna tell you it's your turn to wash dishes," You speedily said, not giving Ushijima any time to speak.

Ushijima simply nodded as Tendou looked between the two of you. You couldn't tell if he believed the story or not, but not even you knew what you were just doing with him, and you were sure Ushijima couldn't come up with a better excuse.

"So not fair," He pouted," Ushijima coach told me to tell you to hurry up before you miss out on drills," Tendou said before retreating back into the noisy confines of the gym.

You let out a sigh you didn't even know you were holding, it's not like this was a big deal, nothing had even happened between you two besides a simple hand-holding, and it wasn't even his hand for crying out loud it was his wrist.

"I want to see you," Ushijima said bluntly, though it may not have looked it, he was fighting impossible demons inside his head. He knew he shouldn't want to see you outside of school, he knew it was wrong to go behind his friend's back, but something about you drew him in all the right ways. He wanted to figure you out.

A confused look struck your face, "I'm right in front of you,"

Ushijima let out a small smile of amusement, and in that moment you swore you could've melted. He had never looked more pretty.

"I want to see you outside of school,"

You didn't know how to reply, so instead you stood there, repeating what he said over and over in your head. He wanted to see you? Why would he want to do that? To torture you even more? Though he didn't exactly know he was torturing you he was still guilty of doing it unaware or not.

Ushijima took your silence as an answer that he had overstepped invisible boundaries that he was unaware of, maybe this was his sign to take a step back and rethink how he truly felt and how he should approach the situation from a different angle, or to just simply not approach the situation at all. To leave you alone and let you return to your usually angry form.

"I apologize if I-"

"I'd love to see you outside of school!" You blurted out before he could get any more words in, you may have blurted it a little too loud as students peered out the open windows of the classrooms near the gym.

"Sorry…" You laughed awkwardly as you brought a hand up to the back of your neck.

Ushijimas smile never left his lips as he stared intently at you. He wasn't sure where this go if it would go anywhere at all and he wasn't sure how it'd affect his friendship with your brother but at that moment he couldn't care because he had the most beautiful girl in the world staring back up at him.

Maybe glitter gel pens weren't that bad after all, and maybe it was a normal day.

mlist. rules. tags.

© 𝐀𝐋𝐈𝐂𝐄𝐖𝐑𝐎𝐓𝐄𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟒 ─ please don't copy, translate, or post any of my work without my permission !

[mackeydoodledoo]

She Wears Short Skirts, I Wear T-Shirts: Chapter 7

Pairing: Bridget (Cheerleader AU) x (Fem!)Reader

Chapter Summary: 4 Years.... You hadn't seen her since high school. You really haven't kept in touch with anyone since. You've always been forcing yourself into your music with your bandmates. At the end of another local show, a familiar face faces you again...

Chapter Warnings: Swearing, 2nd Chance Slow-Burn

Chapter Key: Italics = Thoughts, +*+ = Time Skip, F/n = Friend's name, B/n = Band Name, Bold/Italic = Flashback

Chapter Theme: I2I - Magnolia Park/Disney

A/n: If anyone has heard of 'A Whole New Sound', specifically the chapter's theme - it's amazing.

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

*Y/n's POV* You rush off of the stage and head to the merch table to help F/n's girlfriend as a line of people begins to build.

It felt odd being back home...

Since graduating high school, and the tour right after the fact, your band moved to the city, and put out an EP. F/n and her girlfriend are engaged...

Life's crazy.

Popularity was steady. You go to other towns to open, and open at venues in the city...

+*+

You help her break down the merch stand as your bandmates bring the packed stuff to their cars.

"Great show," A very familiar voice makes you stop in your tracks

"Oh... It's you..." F/n sighs, rolling her eyes, "You might want to take this one..."

As if you didn't have a guess on who it could be. F/n takes the last merch bin from your hands as you stare blankly into the car via trunk.

"Y/n, I know you can hear me," Her voice says

You slowly turn around, stiff. However, lightly gasp.

It was Bridget...

Only...

It definitely didn't look like her...

But it was her.

Her pink hair? Gone.

Bright, peppy style? Watered down to less brighter clothing.

"Bridget...." You say

Awkward silence other than your condensed breathing...

"That's all you have to say to me?" She asks

You shut your friend's trunk and brush past her.

"I don't have time for this right now Bridget," You wave her off over your shoulder

"But, I do," She says, following behind you

"You can speak now while I finish upbringing these out," You say, picking up one last container

"No, I want to speak to you face to face," She says

"I can't bear to look at you right now," You sigh, putting the container in the bassist's truck bed, "Now go home. I'm sure Hook isn't pleased you're here to see me."

"Yeah... About that..." She sighs

"What?" You scoff, "Hook cheat on you or something?"

You turn when she doesn't answer right away. So you turn to look at her but the tension in your body goes away when you see her nails nearly clawing at her elbows, and her lip quivering.

"Get in," is what comes out of your mouth

I might regret this....

She walks over to your passenger seat and gets in with no other words exchanged.

"Y/n!" F/n whisper-hisses

You look over and see them throwing their arms in the air; 'what the fuck?!' written on their face. Your face contorts with; 'I might regret this..' You walk to the drivers side and get into it. You drive off from the venue, going to your go-to late-night food stop.

"Ahh, Y/n, long time no see," The manager smiles, "I'll get your usual ready."

"I have Bridget with me too," You say

"Ahh, I'll get her usual ready as well!" He adds

The sliding door closes for a moment before he opens it to take your card to cash out the order.

"You know, in the last four years, Bridget comes to this place and orders whatever she got the first time you've brought her here," He tells you, giving your card back

You sit and wait for him to bring back the food.

"Hook never approved, so I had always gone here on my own when I'm home for the weekend," Bridget confesses

"Of course he didn't," You sigh, "It's practically soul food. Really hits the spot after a long day."

+*+

After getting food, you stop in the downtown pavilion.

"How often do you come home?" You ask, "Just to eat this food?"

"Mostly every weekend..." She answers, fidgeting with the hem of her sleeve, "Part of me hoping to see you here...."

"Well, if you must know, I have my own place in the city now," You say

"Is that so?" She sighs, sounding sad

"Well, I'm not driving back there tonight," You add, "Need a bit of a scenic change..."

"Oh... What about your music?" She asks

"We're kinda taking a break," You answer, "We've just been doing our local shows. Had to cap off ticket sales when we hit the capacity."

"Well, lucky me then," Bridget says, "I try to get into the small, local shows... But, only been lucky this one time..."

"Oh... You still follow our socials then?..." You say

"You sound upset about that..." Bridget says

"No, I'm not upset. Just surprised about it," You clarify, "You know, after Hook, at least from what I've seen, wouldn't let you listen to anything pertaining to the band. Especially me. If it's okay to ask, what... Happened between the two of you?"

She puts her food down and sighs, trying to find where to begin...

"You really don't have to start way back when," You say, "Just when you found out or whatever..."

"Okay," She says, "Basically, I walked into his apartment, wanting to surprise him after I came back from my culinary internship.... Saw a girl sitting on the couch next to him; his arm wrapped around her any everything..."

"Ouch," You say

"Blocked him on everything," She continues, "But, saw his pathetic apologies before then."

Well, now she knows how I felt about simply seeing her with Hook after winter break...

"How long ago?" You ask

"Last month," She answers, "At least, I found out last month."

"Ouch, harder," You sigh, "You two weren't living together right?"

"No, I wanted my own place," She says

"Must have been hard for Hook," You say, "Or not. I don't know."

"Might not have been," She tries to not cry

"Where'd your pink hair go?" You ask, changing the subject

"Felt too connected to high school," She says, wiping emerging tears

"Come on, you were the most popular girl in the halls," You say

"Ended up not feeling worth it," She says

"Hmm... Is blonde your natural hair color?" You ask

She nods, "Who in their right mind would go around, saying that their natural hair color is pink?"

"No one," You chuckle, "Do you... Still do cheerleading?"

"Yeah, at Auradon University," She answers, "Not the captain but it's nice not having so much responsibility on your shoulders for a change. You should come to a game. The girls would be ecstatic to find out I know someone in a bad they love."

"Oh?" You ask, "They love my friends and I?"

"Oh, absolutely, I never hear the end of it," She says, "I wanted to say that I went to high school with two of the members, but I got scared that if I do, I'd be asked so many questions. I also hadn't seen you until tonight..."

"Hmmm..." You say, "Well, I just might make an appearance. I have to make sure it'll fit into my schedule."

"You would do that?" She asks

"Why not make them jealous?" You joke

+*+

You pull into her driveway... Taking you back down memory lane.

"Thanks for... Driving me home," She sighs into a smile

"You're welcome," You slightly smile, "I'll possibly see you around."

As you reach back home, you greet your parents, and head off to your room. As soon as you flop into bed, you see a text from F/n.

Dude, are you serious? What? You seriously drove around with Bridget?! I thought you weren't on a talking basis with her. She revealed some shit I'm not disclosing. It seemed pretty serious. Ugh I cannot believe you sometimes. My life, I'll fuck it up my way. Just.... Be careful this time. I will.

You throw on your pajamas and see a text from Bridget.

Hey... Hey, you doing okay? Yeah, I just wanted to ask if you were doing anything tomorrow. Not that I know of. Why? There's a fall market somewhere in the city that I've always wanted to go to. Care to join me? Oh the Central Fall Market. Sure. I can take you to one of my favorite places down there too. I'd like that :) See you tomorrow Yeah. Goodnight Y/n, thanks. For what? A lot of things.

You plug your phone in and adjust yourself into your bed comfortably and lay there until your eyes grew heavy.

+*+

You put on your warmest jacket.. You were kinda excited to finally go to the market, but nervous on how it will go with Bridget.

"Careful honey," Your mom says

"You know I will," You say

You drive a few doors down to her house; Bridget waiting for you on her porch. Almost immediately she runs to your car with barely any time to put the car in park.

+*+

You find decent parking and the both of you begin walking to the marketplace.

"Have you been here yet?" She asks

"Not yet," You answer, "I'm really more about the oddities things, not the cutesy market kind of thing."

You watch as she rushes to a random stand....

"Hey I'm going to look around a bit," You whisper in her ear

She turns to you and nearly gasps at how close you were to her face. Your eyes move to her lips but quickly move back up to her eyes. You clear your throat as you walk to the stand that caught your eye.

You see crotched things. You pick up a few of them and hand the vendor your money.

"Thanks Y/n," They say

"Oh, you know my name?" You ask them

"I follow your band," She mentions, "Been to a few shows here and there. Ya'll are a vibe."

"Thanks," You simply say and then walk away

You walk back over to Bridget, who was now eyeing some bar soap. You tap her shoulder and she turns to you. You hold up a paper bag and the second she looks into it, she squeals. In the midst of her excitement, she gives you a kiss on the cheek. You stand there as you watch Bridget happily moves onto the next area.

+*+

The both of you find a hot chocolate stand and you buy to chocolate for the both of you. The only open seating was a loveseat in the corner, near the window.

"Sorry," She says

"For?" You ask, trying to keep yourself composed as much as possible

"Making you uncomfortable," She says, "You're all stiff. That's not good for the cold."

She swings her arm around your shoulder and leans you back into the couch with her.

"I've kinda missed moments like these," She confesses, "Hook never wanted to do the simple things like these.... Saw them as boring and rather go to a party instead."

"Have you gone to some?" You ask

"A few... The types if parties he takes me to... Aren't for me," She says

"That sucks," You sigh, "What kind of thing... Do you like?"

"Simple strolls through the market," She gestures to what the both of you were doing, "The simpler things. You're a whole celebrity, and yet you're making the time to do these things."

"Well, like I said, my friends and I are on a break from music," You clarify, "Performing is on a 'need openers' basis."

"Still, you're the popular one now," She chuckles

"I don't care about popularity," You say, "People here know when to treat a musician like a regular person. They'll acknowledge me, ask for a photo or auto here and there. But, have yet to be stalked."

"Hope not," She says, "About the stalking part."

"Hmm..." You sigh, leaning onto her shoulder

The both of you watch as people begin filing out to the city.

"Hungry yet?" You ask

"A little, yeah," She answers, "Taking me to that place you were talking about?"

"Yep, come on, let's get food," You stand, holding your hand out to her

You watch as she slightly smiles, takes your hand and stands up after you.

+*+

You park your car in the lot and get out, waiting for Bridget to follow.

"Hey Y/n!" The hostess greets you as soon as you walk in the door, "Just you again?"

"Actually...." You say, stepping to the side, revealing Bridget

"Oh! You've finally brought a date!" She grabs a few menus, "Follow me."

"Date?" Bridget whispers, following behind you

"Oh, it's nothing," You try to play it off

"We're one of the only places open late, so she always comes here," The hostess continues talking, "She mentioned someone she had a crush on, hoping to bring her here one day."

"Okay thanks!" You raise your voice

She snickers and she walks away.

"What was that about?" She asks, sitting across from you

"Since moving here, I've needed to find a new post-concert food stop over here," You explain, "This is the place."

"Cheating on your hometown post-concert food place are we?" She teases you

"Hey, doesn't count if I'm not there all the time," You argue

"Fair point," She sighs

The both of you order food.

"What did the hostess mean by 'you finally brought a date'?" She asks

"Like she said, I mentioned wanting to bring a specific person here," You say

"Is that... Person me?" She asks

"Maybe, maybe not," You take a sip of your drink

*Bridget's POV* She chuckles as she leans back into the chair and sips her drink. You look at her wrist; a tattoo.

"I noticed you had a sleeve," You point out, "What is it?"

"You'll see eventually," She replies

A waitress comes with some food and she continues leaning back in her chair.

"What?" You ask

"Take the first bite," She tells you, "I want to see your reaction."

You take the food off the plate and take the first bite. Your mouth waters as you take another, and another...

*Y/n's POV* "See?" You chuckle, beginning to eat, "Hits the spot after a gig down here."

"Does this place have any other locations?" Bridget asks

"Not that I know of. Hey, W/n, is there any other locations of this place?" You call your waitress over

"Probably in the next city over.... Auradon, I think," She answers

"Oh! I'll have to check out that one too," Bridget says, 'I attend Auradon University."

"Ugh, that prep college for rich snobby kids?" She scoffs

"Hey hey, Bridget, isn't a rich snobby kid," You defend her

"I'm so sorry Y/n," She raises her hands in defeat, "I didn't realize that your girlfriend... Was..."

Your eyes widen and you give her the stare of; 'go.' So she doeskin most likely going to figure out how to earn your forgiveness.

"Girlfriend?" Bridget blushes

"She's at Vill Isle University," You explain, "Auradon's biggest rival."

"I don't care about being called rich or snobby," She says, "She called me your girlfriend."

Of all things....

"Sometimes people say things under stress," You explain, "Plus, they all like me in here. I'm basically a regular."

The both of you finish dinner and begin driving back to your hometown.

"We have a show coming up next weekend in the city if you want to go," You say

"I'd love to," She replies, "But, it looked like it was sold out..."

"I can get you an all access pass," You blurt out

"You'd... Do that?" She asks

Kinda...

"Yeah," You say, "You'd have to just give them your ID to verify you're the person that's on the list. I'll get it taken care of tomorrow."

"Thank you," She says

You walk Bridget to her front door.

"Thanks for today," She says, "I honestly needed it."

"Good," You sigh

"I'm sorry," She says

"For?...." You ask, as if you didn't have a guess

"High school shit," She says

"Don't worry about it," You say, rolling your eyes, "That was awhile ago and-"

"No, I need to apologize for it," She says, "There-there had been a lot and-"

"Hey whoa slow down," You say, cupping her cheek

She stops...

"Why don't we talk about it another day then?" You suggest

She nods.

You sigh as you gently kiss her forehead. You saw the flush flooding to her cheeks. You clear your throat as you slowly retract your hand, putting it back down to your side.

*Bridget's POV* "Uhm, goodnight Bridget," She waves you off

You watch her leave your driveway and back down the road. The feel of her forehead kiss lingers.

Chapter 8

[fanaticsnail]

Ohh, Snail, now I can't stop thinking about you writing that Corazon x AussiReader idea from the fanart you rebloged. Poor sweet baby 🥺 dealing with giant spiders and cute feral angry koalas, nooo, Cora, don't try to hug them, they may look cute, but they will eat your face 😱

Rosinante's Trip Down Under

Masterlist Here

Oh my goodness, Miss Vita! How gorgeous is it, though? Art by @rainnartt (CHECK OUT THEIR OTHER ART, IT'S AMAZING!!)

Synopsis: Modern AU, Rosinante visiting your hometown in Queensland Australia. He is overwhelmed by the cultural differences, but loves to learn the slang.

I did go a little crazy in the tags, definitely ran away with me a little here.

Could you imagine, though? As an Australian, I can confirm: if it looks like it can kill you, it can kill you. If it looks like it can’t kill you, it absolutely can kill you. Our poor, clumsy man never stood much of a chance, did he?

In this picture, he looks like could be in Bondi, the Gold Coast or Surfers Paradise by the looks of it. I am going to put him in the Queensland region for the sake of the plot. This is how I see it going. 

Drabble Fic Word Count: 1,800+

Themes: rosinante x gn!reader, platonic fic, crack fic, modern au, reader is Australian, Rosinante is Spanish, Au he lives.

Tag list: @since-im-already-here @i-am-vita @feral-artistry @sordidmusings @writingmysanity @remisloves @mfreedomstuff @gingernut1314 @cinnbar-bun @carrotsunshine

Taking your new friend Donquixote Rosinante to your favorite sights in Surfers Paradise. His eyes widen in wonder, staring at sights that come so naturally to you, but are so out of the norm for him. You are happy to play tourist in your hometown, marveling at the sights as he experiences them for the first time. 

Outside of your local McDonalds and picking up a common comfort breakfast food for his adult adoptive son, who elected to remain back at home in the hotel as he adjusts to the time difference, Rosinante’s shriek prompted you to turn to meet him.

“What the hell is that?” he remarks, extending his pointer finger towards the large waste bin adjacent to the doorway.

“Oh, that’s a skip, Corazon. The red is for rubbish,” you continue, pointing at the other bin, “The yellow lid is for recyclables, and the green is for food and biodegradable-.”

“No! The thing with the massive beak!” he shrieks, watching as the dark-head bird pokes its head above the bin. The large hooked beak elevates a half-consumed cheeseburger before it gulps down the burger in a single motion.

“Oh!” you laugh at your blonde friend, clapping a hand over his shoulder, “That’s an ibis. We call them ‘bin chickens’ or ‘tip chooks’ depending on your region. They’re scavengers, they won’t hurt you.”

“A bin chicken, skip bin,” he hums, his brow furrowed in deep thought as he commits the name to memory, “And you call McDonalds ‘Macca’s’, right?”

“That’s right,” you hum your confirmation with a curt nod. He hums in response before ushering you along the pathway towards the hotel. 

As you continue walking along the sandy coastline, you notice he’s halted outside a petrol station. A large truck is parked beside the building: checkered blue and white painted on it’s side and large font titled “POLICE” and “0.05: DRUGS”. 

“Is this your local law enforcement?” he asks you, tilting his head to the side. 

“Yeah, that’s our local booze bus parked next to a divvy van,” you nod in affirmation, “They do regular drug and alcohol testing for drivers to ensure their safety on the road. Weird that they’re outside of a servo, though. Usually they’re on the main roads.” He nods his head and hums.

“Booze bus. Divvy Van,” he looks over to the petrol station, arching his brow high, “Servo?” 

“I know, it’s a lot,” you confirm with an apologetic smile, “I promise it gets easier to adapt to the slang the longer you practice.” He nods again. 

Passing a local park with a children’s play area, you manage to see your friend David from work, his two children playing together on the looped climbing frames and plastic slide. 

“Davo!” you call out to him, waving your unoccupied hand in front of you - considering the other contains a paper bag filled with the fruits of your labor. 

“How the bloody hell are’ ya goin’, Darl’?!” his nasally voice cracked to you, “Who’s the fella ya got there with ya?” You smile at him, walking to embrace him.

“This is Rosinante Corazon, the friend I mentioned was visiting from Spain,” you informed him, “How’s the missus back at home? How’s the kids?”

“Mate! Howzit goin’?” he extended his hand out to Rosinante, who placed his hand within and gave it a gentle shake who mumbled a soft ‘pleased to meet you’ in response.

“Ah, and the ankle biters are doin’ great. Givin’ the missus a bit of a reprieve here at the park, tough gig bein’ an ambo driver.” He glanced over his shoulder at his children, ensuring they were safe now they’ve climbed to an elevated height. 

“Oh I’m glad she’s managing to take a break. She’s a tough lady,” you nod to him, smiling over at the two children who wave at you while playing with a make-shift telescope. 

“Well, I shouldn’t keep you,” he confesses, gesturing down to the brown bag clutched in your hands, “Don’t want that brekky gettin’ cold now, do we?” You laugh at him, waving him off before waving at his children. 

Rosinante remained silent, only muttering a few words that stood out to him: “Darl’, fella, mate, missus, ankle biters, ambo driver, brekky,” on a perpetual loop.  

“You okay there, Rosi?” you quirk up at him, a soft smile pulling at your cheeks. 

“I’m alright, Darl,” he attempted, his voice falling to his nose and emulating the accent he heard moments prior, “Is that a common term of endearment here? ‘Darl’ and ‘mate’? How do you go with gender neutral titles?”

“Both of those titles can be used interchangeably, regardless of gender,” you inform him, “It all depends on context and the way you say it.” he hums again, nodding along and muttering several phrases he learnt. He reaches into the circular cup cardboard and pulls out his coffee and takes a small sip. 

Your feet finally carry your way over to the lobby of the hotel where he was staying with Law, his body immediately halting in front of the surf, dive and ski shop. His head cocked to the side, staring at the large, rectangular basket outside the shop. You follow his line of sight, which remained locked on to a large, canvas sign attached to the basket. 

“Ah,” you click your tongue, noticing they’re focussed on a common shoe worn in this area, “Do you and Law need a new pair of thongs? I know the bottoms melt a little when the bitumen gets a bit hot.” 

“You want me and Law to wear what?” he turned towards you with his eyes wide and jaw dropped. It took a moment for you to understand the miscommunication, your eyes growing wide and your nervous laughter propelling your anxiety further. 

“No, no, no, no, no!,” you managed to choke out, “No, we call ‘flip-flops’ ‘thongs’ here. Is that what had you a little confused? A basket full of shoes where you thought lingerie should be?” Rosinante laughed alongside you, shaking his head from side to side.

“You got me,” he chuckled, raising his coffee to his lips once more, “Our differences are quite vast, aren’t they?” 

“I suppose they are,” you acknowledge with a shrug and a broad, tight-lipped smile. He hums once again, muttering several phrases as you step into the elevator. 

Clicking the button to the appropriate floor, the doors open wide to reveal the carpeted corridor of the hotel room. You offer to hold the coffee tray in your unoccupied hand as Rosinante clumsily attempts to fish out his key-card from his pocket. He thanks you, his hand getting stuck in his pocket as he shimmies his shoulders to break it out. 

Finally clutching the key card, he places it in the door and swings it wide to reveal Law sitting on the plush bench beside the large window. His left knee was bent, his right leg extended as he reclined against the window. His gray orbs draw away from watching the gentle crash of waves towards you both as you enter the suite. 

Before you had a moment to greet the younger man, Rosinante’s broad grin and best nasally voice interrupted your train of thought. Rosinante gently took the brown paper bag from your hands and offered it to his son.

“Howzit goin’, Darl’! Brought you some Brekky from Maccas!” he walked forwards, thrusting the bag into Law’s hands, “Saw a bin chicken eating some scraps from the red skip, and passed a booze bus outside the servo on the way back.”

Law chose to remain silent, wordlessly taking the brown bag from Rosinante and maintaining unbreaking eye contact. Rosinante took that as his queue to continue relaying his adventure. 

“Saw Davo being a good fella at the park with his ankle biters, his missus has been working hard as an ambo driver,” he continued, biting his lip as he attempted to relay the trip back to his absolutely unamused son, “Then we passed a shop on the way up. Was gonna get us a pair of matching thongs for the trip, but thought you would get embarrassed to be matching with your Dad.” 

Law’s fingers stuttered their descent into the bag, choosing to take a lengthy breath instead. 

“Dad?” Rosinante quirked his head up, turning to look at you over his shoulder. You were doing your best to stifle your laughter by clutching your lip in your palm, “Do you still call parents ‘mum’ and ‘dad’ here? Is there an Aussie term of endearment he could use for me instead?” 

“‘Cunt’ comes to mind,” Law murmured, prompting Rosinante to snap his head back over to his son. His heart shattered as Law drew up a hashbrown and began nibbling at its golden exterior. 

“L-Law-?” Rosi’s heartbreak was depicted in the quiver in his tone. You walk over to your friend’s side and offer him his forgotten coffee with a smile.

“-Rosinante,” you broke him away from his sorrow with a soft giggle, “‘Cunt’ is also a term of endearment here. Law and I had a little conversation about cultural clashes last night when we were playing cards. You fell asleep early, remember?” 

“It is my favorite Australian term of endearment,” Law admitted with a soft hum, reaching up his outstretched hand to wordlessly ask for a coffee, “But your insults are far better. Quite original.” 

“Okay, Champ,” you mock Law, passing him his cup of coffee, “Big words coming from a guy with a face like a smashed crab.” 

“Coming from a Drongo with the personality of a dropped meat pie,” Law smirked in return, taking the cup from your hands. Your joint laughter ricocheted from the hotel walls, prompting Rosinante’s prior sour mood to pick back up. 

As you all ate your brekky in comfortable silence, you gazed out onto the beach below. Law followed your eyes, looping at the large swell of the waves. The choppy waves crashed against the golden waves, the vendors beginning to set up their canopies to sell their wares along the boardwalk. 

“You did well, Rosinante,” you complimented the tall, blonde man, “Using our words in the appropriate context, I mean.” Rosinante smiled at you, placing his paper rubbish in the brown paper bag.

“Thank you, Mate,” he said with a soft wink, “I appreciate the praise for my efforts.”

“No wakkas, makka,” you smile at him with a shrug. Both men quip their head up, their ears pricking and confusion written on their face. 

“We’ll get into that later, I guess,” you chuckle at the two of them as their confusion deepens.

The large Australian crowd began to take out their surf and boogie boards, set up nets for volleyball, and their wickets for beach cricket. The variety of populus below in various designs bathers, placing sunscreen on their bodies to protect from the deadly UV rays. 

“Beach day?” you ask them, smile drawing up over your features once more.

“Beach day,” Rosinante nods in confirmation, excited to learn more slang and cultural differences as the day broadens its rays over the oceanic backdrop. 

[gosecretscribbles]

Stanuary 2025 Week 3: Supernatural

AO3 link

Stan flopped over the pawn shop counter. Pa had told them to watch the shop and do inventory. It had been three hours, six minutes, and a million seconds, and nothing interesting had happened except that Stan had gotten a stick of gum stuck up a fake deer head’s nostril. Now he stretched over the counter and wondered if he could literally die of boredom. “This stinks.”

“Agreed.” Ford, who had been told to price the new items, tossed a prosthetic finger in the discount bin. “Twenty-six items and not a single one is cursed.”

Stan rolled his head over to eye the bin. “What didja mark up that candied toad for?”

“You ate it, Stan. And it wasn’t candied, it was candy. Pure molasses.”

“Oh yeah.” Stan belched and buried his face in the counter again.

Ford dumped the last item in the bin and hopped up to sit on the counter. Then he hopped sideways and sat on Stan’s head. Stan grunted and tried to punch Ford in the stomach. He was pretty sure he connected, which he thought was impressive given how contorted his arm had to be – and then he felt something warm and wet on his arm. He shrieked and jerked free.

“You licked me!”

“Did not,” Ford wheezed, clutching his stomach.

“Liar! Traitor! This means war!”

Stan leaped. Ford dodged, Stan hooked his ankle, and the two of them went rolling on the cramped pawn shop floor. Stan had almost gotten Ford in an actual headlock (or was it a Heimlich? Eh, details). Then something crashed, hard.

They froze. For a second Stan thought they’d knocked something over. White-lightning fear spiked through his chest. He had a dozen thoughts in his head at once: I didn’t do it, it was an accident, we were robbed, there were aliens –

A shadow moved rapidly away from the front door.

“HEY!”

Stan and Ford shot across the shop and shoved the door open. It was harder than usual. There was a box and a bunch of weird colored things on the sidewalk blocking the doorway. Stan didn’t notice, barely even stopped, because the person who’d thrown the whatever-it-was was halfway down the street. Stan bolted.

The figure heard him coming and started flat-out sprinting. This turned out to be a bad idea. It was a woman, probably, but she was bundled up in long sleeves, a long skirt, scarves, gloves, and a hat even in the hot summer sunshine. The scarf came free and caught around her feet. She tried to hop-skip out of it, but Stan dove and tackled her around the knees. She went down hard. Stan nearly let go. Then she started clawing at him and he hung on.

“Get off, get off me, you little urchin –”

“You’re gonna – ow – pay for that – quit it –”

“You don’t understand! You have to take it, I only paid a penny for it, I can’t sell it for less than I paid –”

“I ain’t payin, nitwit! I said you’re the one who’s gonna – ow, ow-ow-ow-”

She’d grabbed his ear and yanked, hard, but their Ma yanked harder. He was still holding her knees. He went in the direction she’d tugged and rolled, forcing her to flip onto her stomach. Then he sprang forward and sat on her lower back. He stuck his finger in his mouth and was about to give her the sloppiest Wet Willy in the history of ever when suddenly Ford appeared next to them.

“Where did you get this?” he asked, oddly breathless.

The woman looked up. She’d been wearing sunglasses and they’d slipped sideways, hanging off her ear. She was wearing makeup thicker than Ma’s. It was starting to melt in the afternoon sun.

“New Orleans,” she panted. “Little shop. Don’t know the name. A trinket, I thought I was nothing, I didn’t know!”

“Know what?” Stan snapped.

“This!” Ford thrust the box at Stan.

He stared at it. “…A stained box?”

“Yeah! It’s – wait, what?” Ford pulled the box back, flipping it over, running his hands along all the surfaces. “No, it’s a puzzle, and it had our beach on it a second ago! Our beach, with the Stan O’ War and a pile of gold and everything!”

“The picture will come true,” the woman said hoarsely. “But beware, the price will not be –”

“– an issue because you said it’s free!” Stan rolled of her legs.

“Wait – I mean, take it, but heed my warn – oh, what the hell.” The woman got up and staggered off.

Ford’s eyes were shining and he was practically vibrating in place. “Stan, Stan, Stan!” Ford half-whispered eagerly. “It’s probably cursed, Stan! Like, a pirate curse! Because of the treasure!”

“So much treasure!” Stan cheered, grabbing the box. “C’mon, Sixer! Let’s close up the shop and put this baby together!”

They gathered all the pieces that had fallen around the door. Then they checked the gutter and surrounding sidewalk in case any of the pieces had fallen farther away. Pa still wasn’t home, so they locked up the shop, which meant closing it from the inside and sticking gum at the bottom of the door. The lock had broken ages ago, and hard gum was way stronger. (The hard part was unlocking it again.) They raced upstairs to their bedroom.

Ford shut the door and dumped the pieces on the floor. “We gotta do the edges first!”

“I know how to do a puzzle, Sixer!” Stan held up a piece. “Uh…shouldn’t it have colors on it? Pretty sure it had colors before.”

Ford rolled his eyes. “That’s the back, Stan, flip it over.”

Stan flipped it over. There was some color, but it was really faded and looked almost the same color as the cardboard. And stained with yellow liquid. Stan wrinkled his nose. “Ew, I think that’s pee! Do you think a dog peed on it? We should get Shanklin to pee on it and establish dominoes!”

“Dominance. And nobody’s peeing on it!”

“It’d be doubly-cursed, though!”

Ford paused, considering. “Okay, he can pee on it. But only when we’re done. I’m not touching Shanklin pee! Some curses are too powerful for man to comprehend.”

Stan chuckled. “Yeah, especially after he’s had burritos.”

So they found the edge pieces. Except that the pieces were all really small, not even an inch across, and weirdly shaped, and some were slanted so that they looked like edges but weren’t, and there were a million pieces and Stan got bored. He crawled into Fort Stan to read a Commander Steve comic and fell asleep.

Ma woke them up when she came home. She thought the gum idea was funny, and making Stan clean it up was funnier. Ford kept doing the puzzle until she literally dragged him away. She ordered them around the kitchen until Pa came home. They ate. Then Ford went upstairs and, surprise, kept doing the puzzle.

“Aren’tcha done?” Stan asked, pulling on his pajamas that night. (Well, technically it was a less-dirty regular shirt, but eh.)

Ford grunted.

Stan shuffled over. Ford wasn’t even halfway done, and the puzzle was enormous. The edges had been finished and the puzzle was big enough for the two of them to sit comfortably inside. There were piles of cardboard pieces all around Ford. It was hard to tell, but it looked like Ford had sorted them by color. Or maybe geometry. Hard to tell with a nerdbro. The picture in the middle wasn’t filled out at all, just a lot of really pale blue bits at the edges.

“Whatd’you think the curse does?” Stan asked sleepily.

Ford grunted again.

Stan rolled his eyes. “Fine, be a robot. As long as there’s actual gold involved, who cares? We can just hire a witch or something to battle a demon. We could place bets. And make even more gold!”

Another grunt.

Eh. Stan wobbled over to his bed and practically body-slammed his pillow. His brother pulled all-nighters all the time. It was fine. If the puzzle summoned a New Jersey devil or whatever, he’d just punch it and take their gold. Stan rolled over and went to sleep.

In the morning, Ford was still doing the puzzle. He’d filled in a couple of layers around the edge, but there were still just as many pieces sitting around Ford. Stan wasn’t sure that all those pieces would have actually fit in the box. Ford looked like his usual self: sallow-skinned, baggy-eyed, posture like an arthritic shrimp.

“You’re gonna be late for school,” Stan told him, rolling outta bed.

“Don’t care,” Ford muttered. “More important. Go away.”

“Uh-huh. Welp! If you wanna play hooky, I’m in! And you definitely look the part.”

Ford may or may not have made a scathing retort. Stan couldn’t tell, because he grabbed Ford’s entire head and threw him bodily to the carpet. It wasn’t far to go, and it definitely broke his concentration. He heard Ma give a shout from downstairs.

“STANLEY!” Ford shrieked, even louder. He sat up and glared. It would’ve been more impressive if his eyes weren’t so bloodshot. He tried to leap at Stan, but he’d been sitting all night and his legs were numb. He fell face-forward on the floor. Stan clapped both hands over his mouth to smother a laugh.

There was pounding on the stairs.

Stan grabbed Ford’s shirt and hauled him upright. “Okay, you already look dead on your feet, now do me! Punch me as hard as you can in the stomach.”

“Fine by me!”

Ford punched him. Stan’s shirt dented. Not good enough. So he turned and knocked all of Ford’s nighttime reading books onto the floor. Then Ford punched him.

When Ma entered the room, Stan was vomiting all over the books and Ford was crawling on the floor, shrieking incoherently and on the verge of actual tears.

“Sweet Moses! What are you boys –”

Stan grabbed his stomach and heaved again, this time in the direction of Ma’s shoes. She stepped back quickly. She nearly hit the puzzle and Ford threw himself bodily on top of it.

“Alright, alright, I give! You boys sick or just plain crazy?”

“I can’t go to school!” Ford wailed.

Ma’s face fell. Ford hated school. All Pines did. But Ford was the only one who liked going anyway, because he could sneak into the library or hunt ghosts in the janitor’s closet. (No ghosts, but plenty of skeletons. Literal skeletons. His side hustle was taxidermy.)

Ma picked Ford up by the scruff of his shirt. Stan laughed, which hurt his stomach and nearly made him gag again.

“Don’t even,” Ma threatened, stepping around him. She stuffed Ford into the top bunk, then bent down and rolled Stan into the bottom. “Stay. Put. And if either a’ you vomit on those sheets, you’re the ones cleanin’ ‘em! I’m getting the bad towels and the sick bowls.”

“Hate the sick bowls,” Stan muttered.

Ma smacked him upside the head. “Then don’t get sick, nitwit! If you’re still sick in an hour I’ll go flirt with the clerk down the street for expired Tylenol.”

“Thanks, Ma,” Stan croaked. Man, Sixer hit hard when he wanted to. If only he’d do that in boxing practice, Pa would lay off.

He expected Ford to scramble down from their bed as soon as Ma left the room. Instead, Stan heard snoring. He smirked. Figures the nerd would crash as soon as his head hit the pillow.

Staying home was cool, but staying in bed was not. Ma left them more or less alone except for meals, when she brought them bowls of watery chicken noodle soup. Stan tried to work on the puzzle while he waited for Ford to wake up. He quickly decided it was a lost cause. There was color on the pieces, definitely more than before, but it was still hard to see and there was so much blue that everything looked the same. The little piles Ford had made looked like they represented the sea, the sky, and the boat, but Stan didn’t see any pieces that looked like gold.

“You could at least be actually cursed,” Stan said, poking at a pile. “Then at least things would get interesting.”

He read more comics and made plans for the gold they would have when the puzzle was complete. He wasn’t totally sure there would be actual gold anymore, but they could still sell the puzzle to like…someone specializing in torture, or something. An art gallery? Those were basically torture that people paid to do.

Stan fell asleep that night. Ford didn’t wake up all day, but he was already awake the following morning. He was bent over the puzzle, fingers practically blurring as they filled in the pieces. Stan squinted.

“You look different,” Stan said slowly. “Did you cut your hair or something?”

“Yup,” Ford said flatly. “Shaved it. Totally bald. Sold it to a rat for sixty cents.”

“Ha, ha.” Stan rolled out of bed. “Think we could get away with two days sick in a row?”

“No. Go to school.”

That made Stan pause. “You’re not coming?”

“No. Go away.”

“Uh, hello, earth to Sixer? Are you sure you’re not actually sick?” Stan reached for Ford’s forehead to check his temperature.

Sixer smacked his hand away. It wasn’t his usual limp-nerd smack, either; it stung. Stan blinked. And Ford nearly fell over, so he really hadn’t meant to swing that hard. He looked just as surprised as Stan.

“I’m…almost done,” Ford said, by way of apology. “You go. I’ll finish by tonight. We’re going to have that gold, Stan, I’m sure of it.”

“Riiiiight,” Stan said slowly. He glanced at the puzzle. To be fair, he could sort of see the picture now. There was the boat on the right, the pier on the left, the dump next to the pier. The beach looked empty so far, though there was something odd about the foam from the waves. “Well, hurry up then. Ol’ Stan’s got yachts to buy! And toffee peanuts! Enough to fill up ten yachts. A hundred yachts!”

“Okay, okay,” Ford said. He was back to the puzzle, but he was doing that weird smirk-thing that meant the fight was over and he liked Stan again.

It was only as Stan headed downstairs that he realized what was odd: Ford had been wearing a scarf.

week 1

week 2

week 4

[hockybish]

An Accident

l west winds au l dad!trevor l masterlist l

I have a feeling people are going to be mad at me for this ... also there are warnings car accidents.

When driving to the game on March 19th things went a little haywire.

Trevor drove separate from Bean because he was planing on going out with some friends after the game to celebrate his birthday the next day.

Bean had picked Zephyr from Mia and Jamie's on her way to the game. It had taken her a little longer because Zephyr wanted her to pick some Reese's peanut butter cups up from the story so he could give one their friend Matt.

"How was school Zeph?" Bean asked as they sat in the car waiting in traffic. Although the drive to Anaheim wasn't very long, but sometimes there was traffic especially on game days making the drive longer.

"Good! We painted pictures, and Jojo said he liked my jersey. I told him it was my daddy jersey!" Zephyr ate his snack and recalled what he all did at the school that day.

Bean smiled listening to all her eldest baby had to say. She felt a little flutter in belly right in the spot where the new baby would be sitting and rubbed the spot.

While she was focused on the road ahead, a car on the opposite side of the road came toward them at a fast speed. The initial hit took her by complete surprise.

But it didn't stop with the one hit, by the time her car stopped getting smashed there were multiple cars involved with the vehicle the mother and son were most likely got the brunt of the impact.

"Mommy" Zephyr cried out for his mother. He had no idea what was going on. There were a lot of loud noises and then it had just stopped and his arm hurt and it was all so scary and confusing for the three year old.

"Zephyr, baby, hey. I'm right here. Mommy's here" Bean called out still in the front seat. Her whole body felt like it was on fire and it was getting hard to breathe. Also it felt like there a few droplets of blood rolling down her face "Zeph? I need you to be really brave right now. okay? Can you do that for mommy?"

She tried to reach her arm around the front seat to reach out for him, but she found she completely pinned in place, she couldn't move. What was worse was that her vision started to get a bit fuzzy and her eyes were heavy. Staying awake was a little bit hard at that moment. She thought maybe the pain would stop if she closed them for a little bit.

Trevor was having an off game to say the least. He was missing passes and easy goals, and looked completely aloof out there when he had accidentally committed a penalty and was forced to sit in the sin bin during the second.

"Dude what's got you so antsy tonight?" Jamie hit Trevor with his gloved hand when he returned to the bench after another shift.

"A funny feeling they aren't here and something's wrong." Trevor bit the inside of his cheek, a habit he picked up whenever he was nervous or anxious, similar to Bean's lip biting.

"Well you better pick it up or you'll get benched again." Jamie warned.

He didn't get any better by the third, but instead of benching they just greatly reduced his time on ice, making him feel worse. The Ducks' ended up losing the game to Minnesota.

After the game was over, the coaches could been seen talking with both Troy and Jamie. They were whispering and looking over at Trevor, making him feel a bit more uneasy.

Someone came over and gave him the news. His girlfriend and son were in a bad car accident. The news alone made him sick. Once he was able to contain himself, Trevor skipped the shower opting to get to the hospital as fast as he could.

"Are you Trevor?" A polite nurse tapped him on the shoulder to get his attention. He nodded and followed her as she led him Bean's room.

Zephyr was sitting on Mia's lap, she was keeping him busy with a little hotwheels car, while Bean, who seemed to be asleep, laid in a bed with a couple of machines hooked up to her.

"They got lucky. They both have cuts and bruises, Zephyr has a broken arm and Tallulah has a broken pelvis that will most likely require surgery at some point." Bean's doctor looked over his noted again. "You can go in at anytime"

"What about-"

"The baby?" the doctor had finished his sentence for him. The man sighed, giving him a knowing look. Hearing him speak didn't give Trevor any reassurance everything would be okay in the long run.

It wasn't until later in the day on March 20th that Bean woke up.

She was super confused as opened her eyes and wiped the eye crusts from them. Where was going on. Bean looked over noticing Trevor, who was asleep with his head resting on the bed. She tried reached out for him, her finger tips just able to touch his hair.

"Trevor" Bean coughed, jolting the birthday boy awake.

"Hey Momma" Trevor leaned over to place bunch of kisses all over her face, finally relieved they all were going to be okay. Bean went to push herself up, but was met with major pain.

"Bean don't move. You broke your pelvis in the accident." Bean didn't remember what happened, so Trevor explained everything the accident, injuries and Zephyr the best he could. Her eyes wide running her hand over the bump. "He's okay, he's still there."

"I'm sorry. It's your birthday and we're here." She couldn't help but apologize. She knew this wasn't how he wanted to spend his birthday. Maybe they could get Jamie or Mason to bring in a cake or something.

"Tallulah Bean I don't care where we are. All I care about is that you're okay, Zeph's okay, and the new little dude is okay. I am happy where ever you are. I love you."

[lake903]

Understanding Hook Skip Bins: A Guide To Effective Waste Management

Hook skip bins offer a practical solution for managing large, bulky waste, especially in construction and industrial settings. With their high capacity, efficient design, and ease of use, hook skip bins streamline waste disposal for various projects. Whether you’re renovating your home or managing a construction site, a hook-skip bin can help you effectively handle waste, save time, and contribute to environmentally friendly practices. Consider this essential tool for your next project and enjoy the benefits of effective waste management.

[yesgrimeyposts]

Advantages Of Hook Skip Bin Hire

Hook skip bins are ideal for large-scale waste disposal, especially during construction or renovation projects. These bins are robust and can handle heavy and bulky materials. The hook mechanism allows for easy and safe loading and unloading. Hiring a hook skip bin ensures efficient waste management, saving time and labor while keeping the site clean and organized.

[razornrosary]

Sit. Stay. Beg.

Pairing: Frank Iero x Fem Reader 

CW: pet play, sex slave, use of daddy & master, smut duh, 18+, cage, choking, restraints, orgasm denial, too many orgasm, slight degradation, wholesome ending

Summary: You are Frank's sex slave but also partner. A restless night of sleep turns into playtime.

I tossed and turned in my cage made for big dogs, which technically I was one. Or atleast acted like one. I opened my restless eyes and looked at the clock on the nightstand that read 2am. All I had on was one  of Frank's t-shirts that I always stole from him and underwear that Frank picked out for me everyday. 

I was craving his touch and needed to be in bed with him. I wanted him to tell me what a good girl I was and praise me for being a good dog. 

On days we’d “Play” as he’d call it, I was put in my cage that was across the room from the bed. It was a spacious cage so I had ample room for my arms and legs. It was decorated nicely with soft pillows and blankets of my choosing. He never wanted it to be a cage that was used as punishment but more of a safe place, somewhere to have fun. 

I looked to see him asleep, arm hanging off the bed. I whined to get his attention and pulled at the cage door. He stirred in his sleep and awoke to see what the commotion was, “What is  it, puppy?” he said in his sleepy voice. He leaned down in front of the cage and opened it to let me out. 

He put his hand under my chin and rubbed, I whined even more. “Use your words, baby,” he said mumbling. “I can’t sleep,” I said softly. “Come to bed with daddy,”  he said, taking my hand in his. We got in bed together and he embraced me tightly, “Why can’t you sleep?” he asked. “I wanted you,” I said, rubbing my head on his chest. 

I never asked for what I wanted directly so he had to pry it out of  me. “Tell me exactly or you’re getting spanked,” he chuckled, he was definitely a little serious with that one. “Play time,” I mumbled embarrassed. “Aww, someone’s needy,” he teased, which made my legs squirm with anticipation. He smirked, moving his arm under the sheets, placing his strong fingers on the outside of my panties, teasing my pussy. 

His fingers rubbed as I bucked my hips trying to apply more pressure. He slapped the inside of my thigh, “Desperate fucking whore,” he whispered in my ear. Frank had a smirk on his face that made my heart skip a few beats. 

I reached my hand to Frank's shorts to rub his bulge but he slapped my hand away. “No touching, bag girl,” he said and I whined, pouting. He ripped my panties off in a flash, throwing them to the ground, his finger trailing up and down my thighs. Goosebumps are rising all over my body. 

He gently ran two fingers up and down my soaking slit, “Please..” I said quietly. “What is it, puppy? You want more?” he said, applying more pressure this time. I nodded profusely, unable to form words, “Words,” he said more demandingly. “Fingers, more, please,” I said begging. “Please what?” He put his hand around my throat, his grip warm. 

“Please Master,” I said, staring into his eyes. “Good fucking dog,” he said sliding both fingers into my cunt. I threw my head back in pleasure as his fingers hooked, hitting my G-spot just right. I grabbed his arm, gripping tightly as my walls tigented around his fingers. “You gonna cum baby?” he said moving his fingers faster, I nodded words barely exiting my mouth. 

“I..I’m gonna..cum,” I said, rolling my eyes back. He took his fingers out and slapped my cunt, sending a sharp sting through my body. “Daddy please,” I beg him. “Not yet baby, not until I say,” he smirked, getting up and grabbing restraints from a bin under the bed. 

He spread my legs apart and tied them to the bed posts. Then my hands were handcuffed above my head and the chain was tied to the bed. I tried moving around, unable to, “You’re not going anywhere until I’m done with you,” he whispered in my ear. 

He grabbed a vibrator and I knew what was about to happen, he turned it on and held it to my pussy. I writhed my body against the vibrator, “Cum for daddy baby,” a couple seconds later I came. The intensity came over my body. 

“Such a good puppy. Cum more for daddy,” he said, inserting a finger inside me. The orgasms kept coming and coming, my body becoming numb, my mind becoming blank, my ears ringing, my mouth dry. Frank pulled the vibrator away from my pussy, turning it off. 

He untied me from the bed and told me, “Get on the floor you dirty fucking dog.” I got on my knees on the floor, looking up at Frank. He rubbed his hand under my chin and pulled his erect cock out of his pants. He pulled my hair, shoving my face onto his cock. His precum rubbed against my lips. 

My mouth wrapped around his cock as it entered deeper into my mouth. I gagged and drooled as he fucked my face. “You better swallow all of daddys cum you dirty mutt,” he said, gripping my hair harder. His cock was shoved all the way down my throat, releasing himself as he groaned in pleasure. 

“You did so good, princess,” his words barely penetrated my brain as I was braindead from all the orgasms. “Let's get you all cleaned up, yeah?” He picked me up bridal style and turned on the shower for me. 

I finished showering and got dressed in his clothes once again, once I got back in our room he had already changed the soaked sheets to clean ones. He had placed ice cold water on the nightstand for me, I got in bed with him and of course I ended up being little spoon. 

He kissed my head as he gently rubbed my back with his fingers. He hummed in my ear as I slowly drifted into sleep. 

[slowee00]

• ——— SYSTEM X • ARC 3

——————— • BY SLOWEE00/SLOoORE

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#-𝟶𝟾• 𝙽𝚞𝚖𝚋𝚎𝚛 𝙾𝚗𝚎 𝙵𝚊𝚗 팬

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❌ MASTERLIST + INFO + WARNINGS:

CHAPTER WARNING(S): swearing, many time skips, REWIRTTEN

<<<<<<Previous Chapter | Next Chapter>>>>>>>

Waking up the next morning, you only wished to not meet the low grey ceiling and your high luxurious one. It took you a couple of seconds to snap yourself back to reality. 

Another day. Shit. 

The second you swallowed, your throat itched. It felt like a nasty blockage when you did just that. As a result, you could only let out a cough, letting out a distorted noise. 

"Do you know it's almost 10 in the morning!?" A annoyed voice spoke made you spike up in an instant. Your small dog immediately jumped and began to bark at the mysterious woman. 

"And get rid of that dog!" An old woman stood at your door with a large cart filled with cleaning supplies. Brooms, gloves, buckets, you name it! She looked grumpy, like a landlord that hasn't received her tenants rent money. Her fuzzy gray hair was messy, showing her hours of work. 

"Well are you just gonna sit there or help me? Seonghwa said you'll help me! Young ones these days..." Seonghwa. Fucking Park Seonghwa did say that you have things to do instead of being locking in your small room. 

But a job as a custodian is all he could think of?! She looked at you. "You didn't know..?"

"K...Know what?"

"That you're supposed to be in the custodian lobby at 8, which was 2 hours ago!" You stood up in a panic, not wanting to further her aggression. 

"I never was informed... d...do I even get a uniform..?" hearing her sigh in annoyance and turns back before handing you a jumpsuit. It was big. "Put this on."

"It looks big."

"Quit whining!"

"I don't even have a toothbrush to wash up or-"

"Your stuff has been on the locking dock for a day now. Get them before they throw it all out!" She spoke fast in Korean, waving her bright yellow glove in your direction. "Now get ready!" Was all she said before slamming your door shut. 

You side eyed Marshmallow who was giving you the same look. Her tail inbetween her legs and her barking stopped. "O...okay..."

After throwing on the large janitor uniform on, you walked with the woman you learned named Mrs. Kim, the head custodian of the building. 

She lectured you on who's boss around, telling you that you have to do your task- all while her words just went through one ear and out the other. 

"Oh... uh-huh..."

"Take requests? yeah... right..." You both stopped at a large door that had a keycard access only. Kim swiped her card and opened the door. 

"Since you didn't know what was coming, I'll let you off the hook for today, won't happen again!" She walked deeper into the fortress, boxes and crates presented. Probably filled with weapons or some sort, passing by some that marked 'Shield' and oldies branded 'Stark industries'. Crazy how both worlds are tied, both fighting similar wars.

"The planes and jets are just above us, don't get scared," Kim spoke, limping her way to another entrance just as there was a large gust of wind and the ground under shook for a second. 

Kim seems unfazed while you had to stand there for a couple of seconds before pressing on.

When it came to view, you immediately recognize some of your stuff you had held in your apartment. Rushing to it like it was the last thing you were gonna see. Picking things up immediately, you looked at them like they were ancient artifacts. "But how..." 

"The handsome young lieutenant was able to recover some things for you. Just needs like your bathroom products and what-not." You pull your clean bed sheets from the bin and sniffed it, the smell intoxicating your mind to ease. Seeing your shoulders relax, Mrs. Kim could read your body language and she knew she hit the jackpot. 

"NOW, take it back to your room and meet me in the lobby, you only have 10 minutes, if you are a no show, you're on your own..." you wasted no time and threw back in the things, letting out a struggled noise and pushed the heavy cart back to your room. It wasn't home but with these stuff, you surely can make it seem like it again. 

You didn't have time to unpack and your 10 minutes is almost up, simply leaving the cart in your room and sprinted to the room Kim said she was waiting in. 

Unnoticed by you, San and Wooyoung stood from a distance, watching you speed walk down the large corridors in your weirdly large uniform. "And why are we here?"

"To spy on her-" "To spy on her..." Wooyoung turned to the taller male who's giving his a side look. "Ya, if you don't want to be here, go. I'll take care of this." 

"And what? stalker her?" San asked.

"WHATTttt... I'm not stalking her... I'm simply and respectfully observing..." Wooyoung said, crouched by a wall and peeking around it just about the right amount. "Sure... peeking around the wall, sneaking into Seonghwa's office the see where she's holding is definitely not stalking behaviour..."

When you disappeared out of sight, Wooyoung stood up straight. "What if she's a spy?-"  "if she was, why would she be here?"  "Don't know, Maybe because the General put her in an old storage closet?" 

San shrugged, "I mean..."

"We have other rooms to place her in, rooms we're meant to be lived in, now she's left to live in a 3 by 4," Wooyoung turned to look at your room's door and San sighed in defeat. He didn't entirely trust you, but to be honest, he somewhat had respect you after you kicked his ass in that parking lot and survive two gunshots. 

No one drilled excitement into him in a while during that fight. Wooyoung? He not sure if he's just stalking you because of embarrassment; finding anything to get you out of here. San almost found it kinda childish nonetheless. 

Barely making it with 2 minutes left, you walked into the large lobby where two other people dressed like Mrs. Kim stood, talking to her. "Ah it seems like you made it!" One of them greeted, he seemed to be in the same age group as Kim, the other one as well. Great. You're working with the elderly. What could possibly go wrong?

Kim, the grumpy one's personality is far from the others. The two others greeted you with warm smiles in which you replied with a small shy bow by getting the elders attention. "Finally a young one, my back has been killing me..!" Another woman spoke. 

"What's your name, sweetie?" The elder male expressed, eyes filled with curiosity. 

"My name is, F/n L/n" you shyly marked. 

"Oh your Korean is really good," He commented and you only smiled and nodded. They both grabbed your hands and arms suddenly, guiding you to the couches. 

"Have you eaten?"  "Do you want water?" "I have bread and oranges."  The elders didn't waste time and immediately began to feed you breakfast like you were their child. Grabbing their chopsticks and putting their hands under your chin in case the food would fall. 

When you walked in you thought it would be tiring and stressful working with these older individuals but now you can't help but feel warm. Your heart pumping blood in and out at a fast pace. The way they immediately aided you made you feel special. A feeling you never felt since your parents passed.

"Enough... now let's get to work." Mrs. Kim spoke in a strict tone, making both elders stop talking and picked up your empty plate for washing. You immediately got up and bowed in respect to the two elders.

Here's how your day is gonna go: since there is only 4 janitors in the whole HQ, you are assigned to work on specific tasks. Involving: office cleaning, paper towel changing, filtering the blow dryer, cleaning the water fountains for mold, cleaning the cafe after use from the workers, accepting task on your iPad requested by others in the building and last, taking out the trash at the end of your shift. Piece of cake. Kim gave you a iPad for your tasks with a personal cleaning cart with equipment and sent you on your merry-way with no questions to ask as she was already late for her task she missed an hour prior. 

You can take breaks but only 4 times for 15 minutes or take a full hour. You'll have to check in on your iPad so Kim knows how long you were on your break. ₩17,135 ($17) is your pay for every hour. It's not bad. Free shelter and working as a janitor, you'll have to celebrate by buying Marshmallows some food before getting back.

How bad can it be?

"O...Kay..." you sighed, walking and pushing your large cart up and down the halls. 3 hours seamlessly passed quickly. You having checked the bathrooms already and cleaned some work spaces in your area, you found yourself walking meaninglessly before getting a notification on your iPad. 

"There a mess request in 8-9 Squads lobby, by KA." You look at it and accepted it immediately as you're just walking around, waiting for something to happen for about an hour. 

"Let's go..." you sigh, tired. 

You heard shouting through the door as your carts wheels rolled closer to it. You could only prepare your introvert-self to talk some sense into the people on the other side of this door.  You swiped your card, unlocking the door and pushed your cart in the room. But just at the door closed and the chatter stops. 

Your eyes took a while to adjust to the sudden sunlight radiating through the large glass walls. The lobby screamed nothing but luxury. The dark leather couches and walls cover in expensive items. Fur carpets under the large couch that stood in the middle of the room. 

A small bar like kitchen stood onto the side of the room on the left. On the far right side, more luxurious items sat on pillars and paintings hung while a large vintage piano took most of the rest of the space. 

There's a huge difference between this lobby and yours (janitors lobby). 

One thing you didn't see till it was too late was the people standing inside the room. 

"Oh you got to be kidding-" you whispered in English, dropping your arm after shielding your eyes. 

"Well shit." Wooyoung cursed, his arm crossed over his chest after his eyes landed on you standing at the entrance. You shifted your eyes to the other people in the room. If you remember correctly, one of the male beside Wooyoung name is San. His sharp gaze, sense of style, and just the way he carries himself is all-time intimidating. 

But that was then, now he wore a simple long sleeve shirt with a whole neck line. Sweatpants, like he was off for the day.

Mr. Uber, Yunho. The guy who shot you, is unknown, he stood in the room but you never got his name. A broken vase laid on the marble ground, its fancy decor destroyed and scattered. There stood, as you remember, the mutant, Jongho; His tail swinging left and right slowly. Crouching down, by his legs sat a beautiful woman. A mole under her lips, large eyes and long black hair. She wore a large leather jacket with a t-shirt underneath it and black tights with the same coloured leg warmers. She stared up at you before her eyebrows furrowed. 

The silence was loud. You couldn't blame them, the last time they saw you was when they kidnapped you or when they tried to take your life. Everyone just stared at you and you only awkwardly stood there, gripping your cart's handles. 

"Um... someone requested a clean up in this ro-"

"I did!" 

The female stood onto her feet immediately, her expression never changing. Eyes full of uncertainty. Almost as if she didn't want anyone to speak for her. 

"Ka?"

"S..stands for Karina.." now she's nervously began to play with her spinning ring but her attention was still on you. "...Okay..." you whispered, grabbing your broom and long dustpan, you made your way to the broken vase on the beige flooring. Arriving to the scene, Karina and Jongho stepped back to give you space. "What happened...?" You raised a brow, trying to ease the tension and the staring eyes.

"Wooyoung broke it. A ₩ 697,000,500 vase, by the way..."

"Don't use my name."

"Why not?" Karina asked. 

"Because I don't want her to know it..." 

Wooyoung's spoke in a harsh tone. Just as he was about to turn around to walk back to the couches, till he catched you staring at him. Your eyes on the side, giving him a side stare with squinting them. Wooyoung's stopped and turned his attention back to you immediately. 

"Something wrong?" He asked seeing that you were still looking at him the same way. 

"No, why?" You questioned. 

"You're side eyeing me,"

"I am now?" The fixed your attention onto Karina once more. "Didn't notice..." you sighed then hear him tick his tongue, turning his body to you and crossed his arms over his chest.  "Do you have something to say?"

"Hey, leave her alone Woo..." San warned, now laying on the couch, playing on his gaming console. "Yeah, leave her alone." Karina joined. 

He only click his tongue before retreating back to his spot on the soft cushions. You did the same, brushing and pushing the small pieces into your dustpan. "Sorry about that..." the female voiced. 

Her stance almost reminded your of a girl whose nervous to express her feeling to her crush. You found her body language odd, but you brushed it off. 

"The vase or...?"

"Both." She says, pointing to Wooyoung quickly.

"I heard that."

"Good!"

Wooyoung's groaned in annoyance and Karina attempted to continue to make a conversation with you, to which you found still odd but didn't voice it. Her body language was of that of a shy person. You couldn't really judge due to you being shy yourself in a couple situations.  

"...Sooo I see the boys have something against you..."

"No we don't." Yunho mumbled. 

"Wooyoung does." Jongho pointed. 

"If you were, there you would understand, night crawler.."

"What's call me?" Jongho asked, turning his head to dark haired male. 

"It's because she beat your ass?" Hongjoong said, adjusting one of his thick rings as the lobby fell silent, leaning against the couches armrest beside Yunho. "Quite literally threw you," Hongjoong swung his arm up to imitate your actions when you fought him. He looked over to you as he did it.

"You know..? Where did all of that super soldier serum go?" Mr. Uber, Yunho, cheeks reddened at the comment, trying not to laugh. 

"Wait- you guys actually know each other?" Karina asked, turning to face you and the males in the room of an answer. But even so, it was as if she wanted to see your face- or more so- make eye contact. Between the small interaction you two are having now, she can already see that you lack the confidence to even do so.

Guess you found a similar trait between her and Seonghwa. 

Odd, she seems intrigued in you and you don't even seem or feel interesting. And she's quick to find much information about yourself just by having a conversation and asking questions.  Maybe she just interested and nothing more but you couldn't shake it. 

"Yeah..." you started, not continuing. The other female raised an eyebrow. "Um... you're not gonna tell...?" You looked down slightly, standing up straight; taller than her. "Um they tried to kill me," You answered calmly.

"Jeez.."

"Yeah... it was cool..." San spoke, his gaming console on his chest saying 'game over'.

As he laid there, you saw in the corner of your eye him waving his arms in the air.

"Kicked Wooyoung off of her like he was Raggy Ann," 

"Till you shot me.."

"That was Hongjoong..."

"And you're lucky with me and not him," He said pointing to Yunho, "then you would be missing a kidney and maybe split in half." 

You looked to Yunho and nodded, "So that was you?"

His eyes landed onto yours, then looked around the room quickly, looking bit confused. "You know me? Well cause I drove you-"

"No." You shook your head, pushing the last piece of the broken vase into your dust pan. 

Straighten out your back, you looked at him and pointed to him. "The scope you used on your sniper, I saw the glimmer from the building." 

You wish you could laugh at his face, watching his jaw slightly loosened. 

"You... you saw it?" He asked. 

"...yeah..." you answered, pushing your bottom lip upwards, while nodding. 

"Oh... well we're sorry," Yunho clammed. 

"I'm not-" Wooyoung quickly interrupted. 

"For trying to kill you. I think," Hongjoong started, looking at you with a smile, his eyes pointing to Wooyoung then back to you. 

You nodded and pressed your lips together, processing his words, you tapped your finger on the handle of the broom, leading on one leg, squinting your eyes and looked at Hongjoong. 

"Oh... well um.. I guess." You scratch the side of your head. As silence struck the room you invaded your eyes for a bit before falling back onto him. "No- I don't forgive you-"

"Oh- my-" San commented and the room fell silent again.

"Well..." Jongho started again. 

"What? what am I supposed to say? Oh hey I forgive you?" You asked to clarify to which Hongjoong slightly nodded. 

"Maybe?" 

"Didn't you pay for her hospital bill?" San asked, pointing to him to which Hongjoong gave a small nod, "only half, Seonghwa paid the rest."

"SEE! Now forgive him." Wooyoung happily gusture his hand from your direction to Hongjoong who sat on the other side of the room. 

"No.." 

Wooyoung arms fell. 

"It's fine," Hongjoong stood on his two feet before taking a few steps closer to the couch San was laying on, his short heels click against the hard marble ground. 

"I shouldn't be asking for forgiveness when all I wished for was your death." He said lowly to which you didn't fright and stared right back into his pricing eyes. Leaning forward and resting your chin on your hand as they rested on the top part of your broom. 

"Wish I could say congrats, but..." you joked, looking down to your stomach- you heard him huff from his nose before a quick smile appeared on his face. 

"I'm actually surprised you survived to be honest..." San said, still not facing you.

"-so who won?" Karina asked hands behind her back, waiting for an answer. She looked excited almost like she was talking to a long lost friend. To her, it felt like it, to you? not so much.

"Well since I survived... I guess I did.."

"I think we did..." you lifted both of your brows in an offended manner before whispering. 

"Ok..."

"Hey you're a janitor right?" Wooyound asked in a sarcastic voice, munching on some gum, making his jaw muscles move in motion. He turned his head to make sure his next words reached you better. 

"You know they're grumpy and quiet.." 

You avoided your eyes. "Okay...?"

"Especially in high school... you! are a high school Janitor so..." he press his thumb and pointed finger together and brought it across his lips. "Zip it."

You looked at Karina and she only gave you a nervous smile and shrug. "Sorry he's..." You closed your eyes and nodded as if you could understand his behaviour. You worked with people like him, met people like him. Clearly hard working, wanting everything to be perfect. Silly but never want to meet new people in fear of miss steps. Most Shield agents were cold. Your first foster father was of that sort.

You didn't feel like arguing tho. After making sure all of the shattered pieces were brush in your dustpan, you walked back to your cart to throw it out in your moving trash bin.

"Oh wait!" Karina holted, running to the back of the room and taking their trash bin. "Could you...?" You didn't hesitate and walked towards her, meeting her half way and took the small bin. 

Just as you did, a figure emerged from behind a piller, holding a glass of a golden liquid. His hair was parted, straight but brushy, it looked like he woke up not too long ago. He wore a pair of large baggy sweatshirt and pants.

"Oh finally woke up huh?," Karina greeted with a small bow. She turned back to you but you were already looking at him. Her brows twitched slightly, eyes switching between you and him in almost disbelief and, for the first time, disappointment.

Everyone who laid their eyes on Seonghwa's handsome face, fell in love at first sight. She thought you were gonna be different... Maybe even... look at her instead. She is a beauty herself but between a tall, powerful male and herself, she couldn't compete where she doesn't compare. 

But in reality you were fed up. Karina watched your face, scanning its detail to your side profile, your nose made a perfect proportion your head shape, down to the vein of your neck before her trained eyes we moved to Seonghwa's chilling voice. 

"How's that jobs treating you?" Seonghwa asked from across the room, pointing to you just as his eyes landed on you. Sipping his cup of apple juice. His hair was messy but still pretty silky. His lips and cheeks were pink and it seems like he was barefaced.

"It's... fine."

He looked at you from top to bottom. "It... it Doesn't seem so.."

"You could've gave me something else.. then... you know?" You said, pulling on the uniform's fabric by your chest.

"Not my fault, The general gave you options..."

"And I never heard the others," 

"Because I picked for you."

"But don't you think I should've gonna a say?"

He shrugs. The boys and Karina in the room heads turning to each person who spoke, trying to put two n two together. You both talked like you knew each other, long lost high school buddies, calmly seeing each other after college. 

"Wait, What were the others?" Yunho lazily spoke. 

"Fight like us or clean like them..." he took another sip, not breaking eye contact. Still eyeing your new baggy clothing on the way. You looked at him with a small opened gaping mouth. 

"Nothing...-"

"Nothing."

"Like... Nothing... else?"

"No, sorry," 

"At all?"

He shook his head. 

You unintentionally pouted while nodding, mumbled a couple jiberesh words as you turned away. Not only to play off your aggression inside but to stop receiving looks from the male sipping what you assume is apple juice; it was still early in the day for an alcoholic beverage. 

"Sooooo.... You guys seem to know eachother well..." Hongjoong started, playing the same Karina did, removing San legs from the couch and finally sitting next to him and crossed his legs over. The way he spoke was like he wanted an explanation but Seonghwa simply nodded and hummed, not wanting to elaborate further. 

"That's it?" Wooyoung's spoke up, irritated. You watched him snapped his head in your direction, pointing to his friend. "How do you know him besides him saving your ass?"

"You should ask him that." You answered. He turned his whole body back to him. "How do you know her?"

Seonghwa's only shrugged.

Karina exchanged looks from you to him. Wooyoung sighed in defeat. "Boringgggg." Yunho commented from a far, raising his arm up high. He seemed tired. As if he just woke up or forced too, and was on the break to fall back.

As the people in room continued to question the relationship of you two, your mental smile dropped, reading their reactions and faces. 

They're a team, you'll think they already know who you are and everything related to you; thus, Seonghwa's breaking and entering your home. Maybe he didn't want to admit it? Maybe he didn't tell anyone day of and left... or maybe he just doesn't want the others to know that he knows someone like you...

Your brain went empty for a second. wait-

"Wa... Wait you guys really don't know?" You asked quickly out the blue, your voice almost a whisper but since the room was silent, it was the only thing everyone heard.

"Well... He kinda broke into my house..." you explained without much thought.

"HE WHAT?!" Yunho yelled the loudest. Waking back up.

"Ohhhh, you got some explaining to do Mr. Park," San wrapped his hand around his console and used for a mic, he turned on to his lips.  "Mr. Park is there a relationship between you two that wasn't on the night you met?"

The calm black haired male pointed to you for a second, still holding his glass of juice in the same hand. "I did not, like I said, you have a terrible placement for a backup key..." Seonghwa quickly defended himself, leaning against the pillar. 

"That's crazy cuz you left out the window..."

"Um..? I enter your front and exited from your back."

Yunho snorted.

"Oh my god..." Karina whispered. 

"Indeed..." you looked at Karina. "Took my last bag of macaroni, cooked it and ate it," When you first engage in a conversation back in the apartment, you were nothing but quiet. Now between all the interactions, he could see your slight anger seeping through. 

Seonghwa could tell back in your apartment, how fed you as he invited himself into your apartment. It was late and you wanted to take your medicine and go to bed. The apartment wasn't even clean enough for guest, and made himself food then left without cleaning. He was just a random stranger who seemingly broke into your home and made himself dinner. Then had the audacity to eat it right in front of you and didn't even finish it.

"Seonghwa..." Hongjoong started, brows raised.

"What? I was hungry and she took too long..."

"I'm sorry when was this?" Jongho asked, leaning against the couch back rest, standing behind Hongjoong and San.

"-do you know how long macaroni takes to make..?" Wooyoung's stated.

"Tsk tsk, stealing a woman's food," San said playfully shaking his head, his gaming console back pointed to his lips. 

"Now that's criminal," Yunho tiredly commented, pointing at you. 

Wooyoung hummed for a second for getting up. Your eyes watched him walk over in your direction but also to the exit, before stopping a couple meters away from you.  "So like... how long did it take to you notice he was in there? Like your house- Did you smell the food? Did you-"

"Kinda thinking of it I didn't... the window was open..." you answered, thinking about the encounter even more now.

San let out a dramatic gasped. 

"Shit.." Yunho swore. 

"He could've been there for hours..." Karina whispered. 

"Oh.." you never really thought about it that way. Kind of thinking about it, the apartment was clean when you arrived. That realization almost made your eyes water. 

No wonder he knew what to take for you. 

"Don't you have work to do Wooyoung?" Seonghwa asked, gulping down the last bit of his apple juice. He licked his lips, the lasting taste of the fruit on his lips, eyeing Wooyoung while doing so. He was avoiding the questions. It can't be embarrassing? He was a lieutenant and a role model for others, so keeping a strong reputation is probably a priority for him. 

You mean, hearing a confession about how he hung, cleaned and cooked in your apartment probably wouldn't look good. 

Not sure why, but for some reason, it kinda hurt. 

The frustrated black haired male hummed as a response, pinching his nose and gestured for San, who was already ready to take his own leave. Grabbing his coat off the couch's back rest and threw it onto himself.

"See you later Miss X.." San said, he pat your shoulder, walking past you with a cheeky smile on his face, dimples appearing on his cheeks.

"X?" You questioned.

Wooyoung just glared at you while leaving, only to be pulled by San just by the door to walk faster. 

"Later Miss L/n," Jongho said, bowing slightly, walked by and phased through the heavy doors that closed behind you. You stood there dumbfounded before your attention was brought back to the people left in the room. 

Seonghwa and Hongjoong were now standing beside each other, walking in the opposite direction with Hongjoong's hand on his shoulder, probably talking about what just happened.

The only people left were Karina and a now sleeping Yunho who clearing didn't get much sleep last night. 

Wow, what a warm welcome...

"I don't know what's your situation is but I hope you'll like it here..." Karina started with a small smile, a genuine one. The corners of your mouth twitched.

"There's a small town down the road with a mall, I'm sure you can get some groceries there or something..."

"Thanks.." it was dry, not so hopeful. You did just had your life together, exploring the world without chaos breathing on your neck and death wanting to hold your hand. You actually had a life, a decent one at best, and now you're a forced janitor in a secret government headquarter, and is now unable to live and explore what you fought for. You weren't gonna act all happy and joyful, you left that life only for people fuck up their job (or so you heard)

"See you, I guess.." if Karina was a dog, you would've heard her whimper. The tone of your voice almost sounded broken, you were just talking just fine when the rest of the boys stood in the room. Talking to Seonghwa like you did, talking back to Wooyoung, now that the distractions were gone, the realization settled in. 

After your home collapsed and your first foster father, your life was written by someone else and not of your own; Someone else's messy handwriting. 

"You don't seem to know anyone... we could you know..." you chuckled a bit, the deep sound sending Karina in some sort of frenzy. She didn't really like that. Her chest even tightened a bit. 

Shit. She thought. 

"Friends with an assassin..." you whispered to yourself before turning to the gorgeous female.  "Sure... if you have time.."

"Of course... it's nice to have another female friend around here.. besides Jiwoo of course," she awkwardly giggled but you nodded, tired, and agreeing to hang out when time rolls. 

Hours later————>

Your first shift was over and you were exhausted. Your social battery was low and red. You wanted nothing more but to fall asleep for two days straight. But when you opened your rooms door, you realized your belongings were still in the centre of your room. 

Your apartment is gone, but with these, you could definitely be creative and make this 3 by 4 more comforting. 

And hour past just as you picked up the last object in your cart. Star lights. 

"Jeez he went that far..?" You questioned having these lights tucked in a box under your bed for safe keeps. He really went through your whole apartment and didn't take a single tampon...

The cords were long and since it was a large storage room before, there was hooks on the ceiling which was a huge advantage in helping you hang them. 

It was small but workable. Everyone starts somewhere right? Your mattress now sat on a large wooden pallet and covered the bed in thick comforting sheets. The bed is now looking like something you want to be back too rather then get away. 

The star lights made you fell warm, not using the annoying small yellow light bulb in the middle of the room. On the windowsills, you had your crystals and figurines. In the corner, A small fridge (delivered previously in the day), the small 3 in 1 electric breakfast station you had in storage back home (and never used), a folded table tucked into the corner, and your plugin electric stove.

The table wasn't yours though... looking at it, you flipped it and realized that were was a note at the bottom. 

'Thought it would be useful, your tables were too big - Your fav, Mr. Park.' He wrote in English. The writing wiggly but readable. 

A small smile began to appear on your face before dropping. He's an assassin, but that doesn't necessarily make him cold and rude. If you think about it, he's been nothing but those things. He did save your life, so.. maybe gave him a chance? The chance to open yourself. Trust? But from his weird demeanour and having no knowledge of what's he's done in the past, trust isn't something you can magically hand him. 

Your thoughts were cut by an aggressive banging on your door. You groaned loudly and got up. There wasn't a peephole, so you were forced to open it to see who it was. Upon opening it you were met with a tall male. 

He wore a short sleeve tight turtleneck that hugged his biceps and a silver chain around his neck. Black cargo pants and a thick belt around the lower part his waist where his transceiver and a familiar baton hung. In his hands, sat a big cardboard box.

To you, his profession is in question. His strong jaw and perfectly structured face is that of a model. His hair was died white, frame and height speaks for itself. Ideal but only if you didn't feel him have any urges to kill you in your sleep. 

"Um...Hi?" you nervously smiled. 

"Song Mingi," he introduced himself sharply, clearly here for something and your gut didn't like it. 

He sighed.

"How are you?"

Your smile dropped.  "I'm sorry what?"

"I'm... checking. up. on. you.."  he spoke slowly and you squinted your eyes before leaning in, turning your head to look down the hall. 

"No, it's not a prank..." he then handed you the box in his arms. Just as his grip loosened, you felt the weight hit you like a bus. Your body almost tumbled down to your knees but you regained your posture just as quickly, brushing it off with an awkward smile.

"Oh thank you... what's this? If I can ask?"

"Not from me..." you looked up to him. 

"Well, I paid for it but it wasn't my suggestion..." you raised a brow. 

"...Seonghwa," Mingi plainly answered with a bit of hesitation behind it. He didn't like it. His superior's name rolling off of his tongue and into your ears, feeding you information. You could turn your back, get kidnapped or what not and everything he's ever fought for would be gone in the matter of time. He didn't like that. 

The feeling of having no control, and you sure don't know what corruption you've brought to their system. The long hiatus, the group looking for you, and the squads in HQ. Everyone wants a piece of you because you know so much of both worlds. So much information in one person. This is what Mingi hates. And all he can do is watch from the side. But for now, he's gonna set something clear-

When you turned around to place down the heavy box in the corner, you could only freeze as you hear his heavy boots step in your comfortable room and the sound of your small room's door slamming shut followed by the sound of your lock locking. 

You exhaled out your nose, your throat still throbbing and itching from every swallow, where's that inhaler? Closing your eyes, trying to keep a clear mind and studied your breath.

'He doesn't want anything... give him the answers he's looking for...'

"F/n (M/n) L/n." His voice low, his tongue rolled the last letter of your government name with ice on it. His confused demeanour was gone, now replaced with something along the lines of intimidation. 

"Y..yeah." you shit yourself for stuttering. Turning to face him, you stood up and immediately noticed how close he stood, towering over you. You're not even short or a great distance from his height, be his aura was threatening, you almost raced past him to get away.

"I don't mind sugar coding it for now but-" he leaned down, inching closer to your face, holding cold eye contact. You didn't dare to do anything, you just stood there, intimidated. Though you felt like he was about to threaten you, you knew that he was all words no action. 

"Take one step, tell anyone about this place, our names, our business- it's simple," his raised his brows for a moment, his eyes slight widen. "You break us," to pointed to your chest, "we break you, it's only fair." Eyes looking back and forth between yours.

"You can fool everyone with your fancy words and informational past, but you can't run in circles around me. One wrong move..." He focuses his gaze onto yours with intense eyes. 

You stood there and watched him lean in closer his dark eyes never leaving yours. His eyes roared something you couldn't pinpoint. In that moment m, you felt the world stop, and the only thing you could feel was your shaking heated body close to his. 

You wanted to move, but you couldn't.

In his deep chilling voice: "I never hurt the snake, I kill it. Am I understood?"

"..."

"Am. I. Understood?"

"Y...yes.." you nodded, still looking down and not to him. He didn't move. Just a small twitch with his eyebrow, his stance the same.

"Y-yes sir..r" you curse yourself for stuttering again and turned your head away. 

You heard him hum then nod and rise to leaning forward. Suddenly hearing him crack his knuckles by his thumb. His thick rings clinging against each other. Just as he backed up and you exhaled as you were holding your breath back. Bad idea, you could've gotten an asthma attack. 

"Starting tomorrow, I will be following you around HQ for any suspicious behaviour," that was when you lifted your head to look straight at him. His eyes were somewhere else, scanning your room. Till they weren't, falling back on you. 

"What?" He asked.

"You can't be serious? I don't need a baby sitter.." you said through small pants.

"Never said you needed one," his placed his hands behind his back, his heavy steps shaking your figurines on your windowsill, clearly showing your room was on the unstable side of the building. 

"And trust me, if I wasn't ordered to do so, I'll be drowning myself in my most expensive collection of booze." 

You watched him pick at the Nintendo figures sitting on windowsill. Bayonetta and Kirby. If that's not enough to convince you of some sort of innocence, you don't know what will. You don't even know why Seonghwa even took them to begin with...

"Well, what time should I expect you then...?"

Placing his arms behind him again, rises and turned around back to you but his head and eyes were still set on observing your new room. 

"You won't be expecting it," walking away from you to your door. He heard you sigh. In defeat, in annoyance? Relief? His doesn't know, maybe all. He opened your door and gave you a last glance. Your jaw tightened and you crossed your arms. He could almost see you pout in frustration.

"Welcome to our system, X." He exited your room, closing the door finally. 

Just as he left, you felt the heavy weight leave your shoulders but you also felt threatened and challenged. Now you didn't like that. How is this supposed to be your room when you someone like Mr. Song running around giving statements like that?!

"Did you give it to her?" Seonghwa asked, sudden appearing around the corner just as Mingi was about to turn it. 

The taller Male came to an immediate stop and stared at him before nodding as his question.

Seonghwa nodded. "You ok Mingi? You haven't been eating with us in the lobby for some time now..." Seonghwa stated, his brows furrowing upwards in worrisome. 

"I'm fine, just caught up with some work..." His said plainly. 

"You sure? I'm sure you first to know but we've been on hiatus of some time now," Seonghwa ensured gently. He then pointed to his belt.

"But you keep walking with your guns and gear."

"...yeah."

Seonghwa brows fell back to normal, blinking and letting out an exhausted sigh, "you can talk to me you know..."

"I know, I'm just tired.." he explained, stuffing his hand in his pockets. Seonghwa smiled and nodded walking by him. "Yunho was looking for you by the way..." he informed, walking past him before Mingi's voice formed again.

"...Actually, can I tell you something..."

Seonghwa stopped walking and turned around slightly. Mingi turned around fully, eyes full with slight worry.

"It's about Ms. L/n and Nuclear."

You didn't even notice that you stood in the same spot for a couple of minutes, running your memory on what had transpired a couple minutes ago, trying to spot and read his body language, reading tone in his voice. Scanning if he was serious or playing around. You felt like you had on a leash, having it consistently pulled on. Leading you to an unknown and dangerous destination. Dang. You're really trapped.

Blinking out of thought, you were about to rest, excited to sleep in your clean comfy sheets. But the excitement was short lived at the swirling smell of your clothing. The mix of sweat and trash reeks from your uniform. You certainly weren't gonna ruin your sheets with this disgrace of a smell. 

"Did he smell me..?" You whisper, he did lean in close.

You need a shower. 

Immediately jumping up onto your feet, you grabbed your towel from your cheap build dresser, your toothbrush, shower cap, and body soap. Kim briefly pointed out the female bathroom while walking around. The walls were tall and stoned. It was more pleasant to look at during the day, now standing in front of the entrance, you almost considered sleeping your reeking clothing.

Walking in, you noticed after the turns, the showers seem less scary and more appealing. The showers were simple, surprisingly simple given the rest of the building supplied with luxuries items. It was empty. Almost empty. You could hear someone having a late night shower like yourself. Hopefully they won't be a bother. 

You found a shower that was available and open, but it rested beside the other person in the room. The other stalls were locked or out of order. 

"Oh hello?! You think you could- oh!" Like a jump scare in any horror game, you jumped, almost dropping everything and fleeing but immediately calm after realizing who it was.  Her hair was wet with bubbles forming on top of it, her pitch black hair covered her face, only her plush lips and her chin were visible but you remembered who she was. 

Karina. 

She grabbed the shower curtain and covered herself immediately, her cheek heating up fast, her ears burned red. First day and you're already seeing her naked? Oh how she's already dying from embarrassment. 

"Oh... hi Karina..." you awkwardly replied. 

You remembered her name!

"Hey, here to shower?"

You straighten up yourself, "yeah I'm a janitor so I smell like ass..."

"Ah I bet... need help with anything?" 

Odd question...

"H-help?- N...no I'm ok.." she smiles before turning back and continued to wash the shampoo out of her hair. As she did that, you entered the bathroom beside her, leaving your belongs outside of it and striping inside before throwing them over the curtain. You turned the water on. The strong flow hitting the right places. Karina heard you let out a whimper and a moan at the feeling. 

"Haven't showered in a while?"

"You have no idea..." 

She laughed. "You know you're a celebrity in this place right?"

"I am?"

"Yup... I'm your number one fan..." she whispered the last part. 

"Huh... How so?" But you heard her. The tone wasn't teasing, it was just out of curiosity. But the sound mix with the satisfaction of the water hitting your warm skin, the tone sent odd singles through her body. 

"After we've met, I kinda snuck in and stole the report and security camera footage for your attempted assassination, You fought one of our best fighters and won.."

"Just nearly," turned your water off to start soaping up your body, making sure it's the only thing you smell while you sleep. 

"Had to eat hospital food through a tube... that, to me, is not a win.." you heard her snort at your comeback. 

"Ha... I guess..."

The bubble forming on your skin now slowly disappearing. The leftover water droplets on your face finding a way to your chin. The conversation went silent and you both enjoyed the rest of your shower in peace. 

You changed into an oversized t-shirt, and a pair of pyjamas pants for the night. The cozy fabric rubbing against your body brought warmth and nostalgia as you wore the combo one-to-many times. It seemed like Karina had finished her shower first as right after you exited, she was already dressed in her pyjamas. She stood at the sink, barefaced, doing something you could only process as her skin care routine. 

She smiled happily, handing you something as you came up beside her; about to leave. The large mirror in front of you with now when you noticed the height difference between you two. despite you being about 2 feet taller than her.

"Pads, unless you don't need..." she teased, slowly pulling back her arm towards her. 

You instantly grabbed the box remembering Seonghwa didn't put any pads in your cart or any protective cushion to absorb liquid between your menstruation period, also... you're never gonna turn down free pads. 

Except she still gripped the box, her sharp acrylic nails digging into the cardboard as she tugged harder. She let out a dry chuckle at your struggle but then you just gaved up and let go of the pad box. 

"Wwwhatttt, giving up already..?" 

"I'm tired, goodnight," you threw your towel onto your shoulder and continued to take your exit. Till you felt her iron grip-grip onto your wrist, pulling you back just so you can face her again. 

You let out a tired sigh. Not fighting, Karina just playfully slammed the box onto your admin. Still holding your wrist, she smiled. "Can I walk you back?"

You only hummed. You didn't know if she was going after your neck or if she just wants to be friends. A or B, you didn't like the idea of her knowing where you'll be staying. 

"We'll see..."

"Oh really..." and teasingly asked, packing her skin care into her small pouch. 

You rolled onto your back against the wall before fully turning around and walking out of the shower smelling like a different person. 

"So... are you in a relationship? Or are you rotting single...?" She asked, walking down the semi-dark halls beside you. She's been meaning to ask that question to verify your relationship status. 

"Nope..." you kept it short and simple. 

"'No' as in not you are in a relationship or?"

You didn't answer. Enjoy the stretch your legs are getting with not having to push a cart around. The silence was peaceful, which was surprising for being a government working building. But then again, it was a secret government building.

"Or no as in you're not interested-"

"It means I'm single, and will probably be forever..."

"You can't possibly think that...?" She informed, a smile still on her face.

"Too bad... I'ma be a maiden forever, which I don't mind actually... it can't be that exciting..."

Karina ran her tongue along the inside of her cheek, raised a brow. "I'm guessing you don't have sex life..?"

"I have a life that would make a novel, prequel, followed by a Tv series made 10 years later, running straight through with no cancellations, I don't need one of those..." you explained clearly not interested in making your life even more complicated as it already is.

You heard her laugh and stop walking (so did you), throwing her head back at your response. You, in your tired state, just stood there confused. Just waiting for her to be able to form words again. 

"What's so funny..?"

"Ha...ha.. nothing.. your new place here will help you with that..." You raised both brows, looking down to her with exhausted eyes, struggling to stay open, but still curious at what type of drink Shakespeare had given her. 

Despite your exhaustion, you couldn't help but notice how long and sharp her canines were. You're hella observant, and she's been nothing but sunshine and rainbows to you, so why are you just noticing them now?

"Sorry..." you apologized and she immediately stopped laughing, the smile on her face slowly dropping.

"No, I've haven't got a laugh like that in a while..." she turned to you. "Thank you..." you nodded nonetheless, not questioning as to why she even thanked you for a good laugh. 

"But Seonghwa seems interested..." you two pressed on to your walk back to the dormitory building.

"In me..?" You raised both of your brows, eyes wide and looking down to her. You watched her nod her head and hum your question "Ha, you have a sense of humor..."

It was taking you a while to get back to your room. Till you realize it was because you and Karina were walking like the floor was lava. So slow, slow to keep this conversation going. For some reason, you were tired but you didn't want this to end. 

It's been a while since you talked to someone without feeling pressured or shy away like Mr. Park, or anxious and almost having an asthma attack like Mr. Song.

"Really! the way he looks at you..." Karina pushed her bottom lip out, looking up and recalled what happened earlier today. Seonghwa went to your house, so there wasn't any camera for her to look at. There was a feeling in her chest, the feeling of not knowing what's happening in her squad. Call it miscommunication or having no communication... Seonghwa did go missing for a couple days but she didn't think much of it then.

"It's kinda weird.."

"Tell me about it, he stares at me look I'm the last burger on earth..." she looked at you weirdly, before smiling almost in a creepy way. 

"Always wanting to make eye contact.."You added.

"Are you scared of making it..?" you might be tired but you could've sworn her eyes flashed crimson for a millisecond, nearly missed it. They remind you of someone you knew. Someone you haven't talked to in a while. Wanda. Usually her eyes would glow as a sort of intimidation.

"You shouldn't be...!" She yelled, turning her attention back on walking to her room. She speeded up a bit, but left you dumbfounded. Your brain was too scrambled to think about her answer. Before she took a step forward, you stopped her by pulling her arm back. Gently before releasing, trying to avoid much skin-ship. 

"Wait.."

"What?"

You squint your eyes and looked into her intensely. "did your eyes just turn red?"

"Red?" She asked still with the small smile on her face, brow raising slightly. You know that face, that exact expression. A trick or a gaslighter.

"Yeah, like your..." pointed to your own eyes as a reference, The sleeves of your shirt rolling down elbow. Too which, made her eyes fall onto. 

"I don't smoke, F/n," she explained, her eyes now back onto yours. 

"I-I'm not saying you do, just..." you pointed again to your own, looking into her own, and she took a step forward. She watched your brows twitch in confusion, Your eyes switching between hers, trying to compare the two colors, but after a couple seconds, you couldn't help but relax your arm, making it fall.

"Forget it, it's fine," you sighed, turning around, but you felt a sudden force pulled you back using your arm, making you almost stumble backwards. 

Her grip felt intense at first, trying to be as gentle as she can, you felt her cold fingers, run up your arm and pull your sleeve back revealing your bare skin underneath. 

"You have a lot of scars..." she looks up to you. Her thumb now caressing the many scars leading up to your bicep. Her acrylic nails barely scratching them. 

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you how I got them..." you said smoothly and gently, a small awkward smile appeared on your face. Her actions slowly started to making you nervous.

"Hm..." Is all she uttered, looking back down to them with a gentle smile on her face. 

"Karina..."

"..."

You still felt her now warm fingers caress your battle scars. One of her fingers tracking the longest scar. Three dotted scars were visible near your elbow, finding it to be the source/start of it. From your view, you watched her bat her lashes as she looked at the odd shape of the scar.

"...It looks like a centipede... or like you were.."

Gently running it up your arm till your bunched up sleeve and reversing it back down. Forcing you to turn your arm so that your palm was facing upright. Making you hold the underside of her arm. 

"...Karina..." you called again, looking between her and your arm. It was like she was in a dazed. 

"..."

You don't know what her intent was, but her finger and touch started to make your arm suddenly tickle. Put the tickled was fuzzy. It was nostalgic, but not in a good way.

She furrowed her brows, watching wrinkles appear on her forehead. "Were you-"

In the instant, you felt a quick jolt of electricity surge through your arm. Making you ripped your arm out of her warm hand grip and rolled back down your sleeve awkwardly and quickly. But not without giving it a quick scratch.

"Yeah..." you nodded quietly. You looked up back at her, her arms now by her sides, one hand still hold her fanny bag.

The tone of your voice sent out an alarming emotion. She triggered something and she didn't mean to. 

After the meeting in the room, she could tell that you were a special personnel of some sort. You seem to be sad. And somewhat depressed in her eyes. Not only did your attempted assassination probably left a scar on your mental and physical health, she couldn't help but think what your past was like.

"I don't really like to talk about it.." 

You took out your card, swiping and waited for the light to turn green. When it did just that, you opened the door to enter, holding it open for Karina. To which she gladly entered.

"...So where do you even stay..?"

You huffed in hopes of ease the tension "...Do you really want to see?" 

She smiles excitedly but shook her head. "I'm tired, I sleep down this hall, so I'll catch you tomorrow..?" 

You couldn't agree more, you were exhausted yourself. "Oh- oh of course! Next time..." you whispered the last part and nodded as Karina smiled and walked down the opposite direction to her room. 

"Goodnight F/n!!" She yelled. 

You waved, hearing her door slam shut and leaving you alone in the hall. You pressed your lips together, making them go thin. Maybe... maybe to won't be that bad... right? You could make or need a friend or two, couldn't hurt? Right? Shit, now you're doubting yourself to be able to approach anyone in this place...

You could still feel the ghost of her hand on your arm, causing you to scratch it again. When you meet up with Seonghwa, you'll have to ask for anti-itching cream. Scars don't just leave marks on your skin and have a mental impact, they can also be memories that could be relived in any moment of life.

The one on your arm was a permanent scar. From time to time you can still feel it eating at your skin again. 

Then you suddenly remembered. 

"Oh- Shit!"

Marshmallow!

NOTES

❌ • You think Karina is really pretty

❌ • Karina kinda gonna a thing for you and she doesn't know why, she also thinks the scars on your arm is badass ❌ • You were electrocuted and burned.

❌ • Mingi was ordered by the General to supervise you

❌ • Seonghwa feels on edge with that

❌ • Seonghwa never considered asking you what you wanted to do, he figured you wouldn't want to take part in fighting seeing that you came to Korea in hopes of getting away from it. So he made you of use. 

❌ • The box that was handed to you was a microwave, one which Seonghwa forced Mingi to buy.

❌ • Mingi is the most trusted when it comes to the General; he was the first to be selected from the CIA, being one of the youngest on the task. He was at the beginning and followed the General for years- That's why he doesn't really like your arrival, he thinks you might compromise everything he worked for.

❌ • You thought about getting your scars tattooed over, but that would mean you would be covering your mistakes, so you left them as a reminder.

<<<<<<Previous Chapter | Next Chapter>>>>>>>

Hi…. I’m back. Sorry about the long wait, things been messy. School and finding a job kind left me in a depressing atmosphere. So I completely lost it. I was working on this chapter on and off, so many drafts- I can’t. I hope things will get better ❤️‍🩹 take care!

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Taglist!

@yayaistime @mermaid17venus @yeodeulz @fr34k4c1dr41n @yoongi-tunes @chocolate-scoups @pandafuriosa60 @lngwayup @huachengsbestie01

[therealpactcommander]

Just a warm-up using my Commander.

Thorne, norn ranger- pet is a cat named Ivory. (in game she's a snow Leopard/cheetah, but in my storylines, she's a Shiverpeaks Forest Cat (Norwegian Forest Cat)

He can't shapeshift, and has a tail and long ears from when he first tried and something went wrong when Snow Leopard came to him as his spirit guide as a kid.

That's the basic info I think

"I'm fine."

Thorne said that a lot. It was as if he was trying to convince himself that it was true. He knew that it wasn't- but nobody else had to. He didn't tell Dragon's Watch about what happened every time they settled down for the night. Didn't tell them that as soon as he laid down and curled up in his bedroll, he knew he wouldn't be able to get back up, much less move. He didn't tell them about the fact that he was so weak he could barely sleep, and that Ivory had to fetch him rations whenever he was hungry.

He didn't tell them- they didn't know.

Because each day, after a night of rest, he forced himself to get up and lead.

The only person he had hinted it to was Taimi. He didn't tell her how bad it was getting, but of all people, she would understand.

But he didn't tell her the full truth. He wasn't going to show how weak he truly was. His team needed him.

Thorne contemplated all of this as he begrudgingly let Taimi hook him up to all sorts of her magic tech. He started to regret telling her what his theory about his shapeshifting problem was.

“Uh… commander?” Taimi squeaked.

Thorne sighed. “Don’t use that tone when I’m strapped and wired to your machines that do raven knows what,”

”I… it’s just… not…” Taimi scowled. “You said you think your transforming problem is because of your internal magic not working?”

”Yes.”

”Do you know… how it’s not working?”

It was Thorne’s turn to frown. “No.”

”Well, I thought it might’ve been a deficiency, but…” Taimi turned the screen around, as if Thorne knew what any of it meant. “You have… too much internal magic.”

Thorne paused. “I have what?”

”I- I don’t know,” Taimi stammered. “Yet, at least. I need to get some more specifics…”

Thorne watched as the asura limped around her lab. “I might be really glad that I chose the dragon lab for this,” She muttered to herself. “Because… some of that magic… I think it’s dragon magic.”

Thorne paused, his heart skipping a beat. “What..?”

”I’m sensing… yeah, you have a little bit of Kralkatorik’s magic, Mordremoth’s magic, and Zaitan’s magic. And… I… I think that might be Balthazar’s! That’s awakened magic- woah!” Taimi laughed. “Do you know what this means?!” She cried.

”I’m fucked?” Thorne whispered.

”No! You’re the first native Tyrian, maybe even the first mortal, known to ever be able to consume magic like a dragon!! And if my Hypothesis is correct in that this ability messes up your use of magic, your brother might also be able to consume magic! isn’t that awesome?!"

Taimi's voice started ringing in Thorne's ears as he felt all of the air sucked out of him.

able to consume magic like a dragon!

consume magic like a dragon!

like a dragon!

“Woah, I think there’s some of Jormag’s magic! This is incredible! We haven’t even killed him yet!”

”Issormir…” He whispered.

Thorne felt sick. How long had he been sapping magic from the land? How long until he went insane like Kralkatorik did?

He slipped out of the chair and onto his knees, grabbing a small trash can and vomiting into it.

Taimi turned around at the commotion. “Ohhhh… I left you hooked up a little long. Whoops,”

***

It made sense. Oh, by the Bear did it make sense.

All the times he had communed with places of power, just trying to connect to the spirits, trying to please them, trying to get stronger...

“Oh, Alchemy, please stop crying!” Taimi begged. “I am horrible at comforting people!”

“Oh, spirits… oh, spirits, he was right!”

"oh, uh- no, no, that's not-" Taimi struggled.

Thorne took a shuddering breath before vomiting in the bin again.

"I'm a freak of nature... I knew I was a freak of nature but I'm even more of a freak than that!"

"Commander, look at it this way: you are a... marvel of science!"

"Please stop talking,"

"Noted."

Thorne realized it now. His body was tearing itself apart, wasn't it? By the look on Taimi's face, she had realized it too.

"How do I get rid of it?" He whispered.

"I'm not sure." Taimi chuckled nervously. "Yet, at least. I'll figure it out, okay? Okay."

Thorne sighed, and vomited again.

[mx-anthropy]

I used to have a "sound system" in my room that was like this.

It started out as one of those old and massive 5 CD/2 casette stereo systems, which was about the size of a bar fridge. Probably a little bigger, actually. I found it in a skip bin while walking home. It had a left and right speaker output, into which I gradually jammed more and more speakers (also ones I found in skips).

By the time I moved out of my (extremely patient with my bullshit) mum's house, my room in the granny flat had something like 10 speakers hooked in around the room in an abomination of poor speaker quality that made any audiophile or electrically minded person who looked upon it cry out in shock and despair. And then I deafened them with extremely loud Funkoars while we played Call of Duty 4, or Warhammer.