#how to restore my sense of smell with no medications

[stareiiez]

𝑭𝒍𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒓 𝑷𝒆𝒕𝒂𝒍𝒔 & 𝑩𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒅

-- seven

Leonard Church ( Epsilon) x Reader

Lavernius Tucker x Reader

note: GETUP RVB FANS I'm here to serve something that's been sitting here for two years. Who's ready for restoration??

content: angst. slow burn relationships. love triangle. potential character death. smut in later chapters. pining. hanahaki disease. blood. bodily fluids. female reader. dark topics are used here a lot. 2.1k words.

The once steady thump- thump- thump- of your heart shattered at the image of Church standing in front of you. His presence, short but broad nearly blended into the lilac-altering shades that were painted on Doc's walls. You blink, once, twice, thrice, four or five times until the burning of your lungs quells your brain to force oxygen to filter into your nose and down your esophagus.

Your lungs fill, expanding in your brittle ribcage that tickles against the lung sacs. The carbon monoxide you exhale sounds shaky as it flows out of parted, chapped lips. You can't help it, not one sense of you, for the most part, is stable in this situation. You can nearly see the small, rusty wheel cogs turning in his brain as his helmeted head flows from your ashen face to the flower sitting calmly in Doc's hand. The smell doesn't hit him, it can't hit him because he's an A.I.; well .... 'ghost' for the most part. Your stomach turns as his head tilts back to you once his vision is glued to the wilting flower. Its petals were curling inwards like the oxygen surrounding it was lethal and would only kill it the more exposure it got to it. 

"Well?" after a beat of silence, he speaks up again. His voice nearly makes you flinch, but with Doc by your side, you can't do much but slowly press your weight into his forearm armor. "What's with the flower? Actually, fuck that, what are you two talking about?"

His feet, soundless against the hard steel floor, take three steps to the two of you. His head tilts back and forth between the plant to yours, slowly turning, ashen face. You can only blink, sometimes you don't even dare to break the shocked eye contact you have with the pale gold visor of Church's helmet. "I'm waiting." His voice drips in sarcasm, and the heady impatience in the underlying tone of his words are only magnified when his hands are planted on his hips. 

Doc clears his throat, his hand instantly curling around the flower in his bare palm. His nose wrinkles at the feel of the velvety soft petals crumbling and growing damp and squishy in his fist. "She was just showing me the first real flower that she managed to grow out here. Who knew stale old cave water could grow marvelous things! "

Church turns his scrutinizing gaze away from you just long enough to have his pale eyes look Doc up and down slowly. So slow in a way like he's trying to read out every single cell in the medic's body. "I didn't know you were into flowers, Doc."

The latter throws Church a smile, one that looks so nervous and not genuine, but he's trying his damn best to get all eyes off you and your borderline panic attack. "Sure! Botonology was going to be my new major if I didn't get immediately accepted into med school and shipped out here. Donut even offered to help me run my little flower shop when we get back home after this cruddy war." Doc stutters nervously, his cheeks flushing at the vain attempt to lie his way smoothly towards Church.   

If you were in any right mind, you would have had a mark of your palm in the middle of your forehead from how hard you would have facepalmed. Instead, you can only breathe, count to ten in your whirring head, and try to come back to reality as fast as humanly possible. Your head tilts and catches the glint of light that bounces off Church's visor. He hadn't even been listening to whatever bullshit Doc spewed out of his mouth. He was busy watching you, studying, trying to figure out why you looked so tense and why your chest hadn't moved since the first moment he had even appeared in the room. 

"Can I talk to you for a moment--" Church reaches for you, his fingers don't even have the chance to grasp at you because you're moving your arm away from his transparent touch. "Alone."

"Are you kicking me out of my room? You can't do that! I'll tell Sarge and he will . . . he'll come to yell at you and ---"

"It's fine, Doc." Your voice breaks the nearly growing ramble that leaves Doc's mouth, his cheeks are red and his glasses are growing just a tad hazy from how much he speaks. "It'll be fine."

Doc blinks, mouth snapping shut with the loudest clack of his molars striking against each other in abrupt shock. He blinks twice or three more times until he scurries out of the room. Your eyes faintly trail after the back of Doc's head. He doesn't have time to even turn back to you and offer some silent look of support before the sliding doors have closed and locked behind him. Church's part, how he hasn't grown aware he can hack into the ' mainframe ' of Red Base and manipulate objects by his will is a shock. The idiot has grown smarter. Your head tilts. The corner of your mouth lits in a soft curve upwards, shoulders shrug and you silently have one moment of smug to yourself. Shocker.

However, that feeling goes away when Church swims into your vision and his visor is locked onto your eyes. You knew his own were trained on you. The light color of his irises would be trying to drink your expression in. Figuring out emotions and trying his fucking best to start up a conversation. If he wasn't dead he would have approached you like some fucking feral animal that was backed into a corner, fear in its eyes and ready to pounce on whoever was there to help it. 

You probably look like that feral animal. You haven't bathed in a couple of days ever since your coughing fits have turned into full-on vomit moments of colorful flowers. You couldn't sleep. Nightmares of drowning on dry land while blood and flower vines would seep from your nose and open mouth, your eyes would roll back and be poked out by sharp rose thorns that would rapidly creep from your body. 

It was like hell on earth, and for some reason, Church was your Lucifer. 

"Are you starting some kind of garden with Doc in the caves? You know they're used for Tucker to masturbate in right?" Church quips, his voice breaking the short moment of silence between you two.

"Do you think I care what Tucker does on his own?" More importantly, do you care about what he sexually does on his own? No. No, you don't. 

"More importantly did you just decide to pop up because of my little 'garden adventures' with Doc, or is there something else you needed." Your voice sounds snappy. The longer he is here, standing around like he's the second dumbest person on the fucking planet. The more you start to ache. 

Nausea smacks you around nearly as fast as the rate Church's hand tries to reach for your own. To hold and caress in that soft little way he used to do. For someone that was such a bitch boy. Who whined, complained, and threw temper tantrums if things didn't go his way or his team brought him to temperamental suicidal thoughts. He could always melt some of you into his open palm like putty.  

Some part of you yearns for that feel of warm skin on your skin. Nerves fizzle, your skin twitches and you swear you nearly close your eyes just when you're about to picture a smooth palm grace your fingers. Hell, you would even take his hand to your cheek. A soft hand, fingers brushing against your cheekbone. Those same fingers tangling into your hair or brushing a strand away from your features. Your nose twitches briefly and you nearly hallucinate the smell of gunpowder, metal, and faint cologne. It smells like Tucker. 

Your eyes blink the unfocused look you have in your colored orbs. The temporary daydream you have about the one fucking man who touched you, and not managed to have flowers sprout in your lungs, has ended. What you could have pictured as smooth and soft pale-colored skin was replaced and shifted back to the see-through baby blue of Church. 

It's disappointing. Not only disappointing but it's weird how desperate the human body is when they crave physical contact or warmth. Your own body has you craving Tucker rather than the man who's trying to figure out what in the hell is wrong with you. It seemed like if you could close your eyes once again, really squeeze them shut, and pretend like Church didn't even exist in front of you, you could imagine the rich and earthy tones of Lavernius Tucker. 

What the fuck. 

Instead, Church is standing in front of you, concern etched in his eyes behind the visor of his helmet, and it's only growing more in the zeros and ones that make up his pupils. A sharp inhale leaves your lungs. You wish you could crumble the same way as the way the flower folded so easily against Doc's palm. You wanted to be ended rather than deal with the sharp questioning eyes of your situation. 

"I'm concerned about you, and I never get concerned about anyone. You should be lucky." You couldn't help the scoff that leaves your bleeding lungs. Well, soon to be bleeding lungs.

"Except for Texas, glad I share the same area of concern with an old flame." Church flinches, his digital frame laps in the way those fuzzy vertical lines ran over an old TV screen. Nostalgia.

"It's different with you. You don't infest my brain. You also don't beat the shit out of me whenever I breathe too loud next to you." A smile would crack behind his visor if he could muster it. It's forced at best, just to try and ease the scowl you have on your face. " Just---- . . are you, healing? Feeling better? We can call someone if Doc isn't help-" 

"NO." You bark. The thought of involving more people in your disease is the nightmare you wish not to experience. The UNSC would take you under the knife and scalpel. They'd treat you like some freakish science experiment and run tests before they ever attempt to find some cure for you. They'd make you worse before they decided to be humane enough to make you feel better.

"No, I'm okay. Besides it's only been a couple of days at least, I'll heal. Besides you get worse before you get better, right?" Your voice softens around the edges. It's a sign that has Church exhaling heavily like he, himself, was in your shoes and stressed behind compare. His frame wanders closer, golden visor tilting to look closer at you. 

"Right. Well enough of asking about you, aren't you going to give a fuck about me and my travels as being a full-on ghost?" The tension between you two drastically shifts, it's a lot lighter now that the subject changed. It's accepted quickly, you don't have it in you to be mad he's back to his old selfish self once again. Your mouth tilts up into a small smile. 

Lungs wetly rattle with a chuckle you grant him. If 'ghosts' could experience warmth from somewhere in their cores; Church would feel it. He'd give anything to feel the small flutter in his heart again whenever he witnessed the soft crinkles in your eyes and nose when you laughed because of him. Tex never laughed around him like you did. It was always rough and demeaning when she laughed at him. Your laugh was a drink of water for a man who didn't know he was dying of thirst. Something something, poetic bullshit. He just liked it when you lit up in amusement around his presence. That's all. 

"Let me hear it. Tell me all about where you've been and if you've scared the shit out of anyone that deserves it." Your eyes soften in the corners as you focus your gaze on his armor. The walls that were surrounding you have lowered enough to let your shoulders lower from around your ears. The knots that have formed in your neck and back ache less now when you two settle into your banter back and forth like you used to when Church prattles on about his adventures in his 'haunts' around Blood Gulch. 

It feels perfectly normal for the first time in what feels like forever. 

[fenharel-enaste]

Aftermath || Elendil x Reader

Rating: Teen and up audiences

Summary: You discover your lover Elendil has been injured during the battle in the Southlands and you rush up to heal him.

Content: Angst (reader gets anxious about losing Elendil in battle), descriptions of battle, minor injuries, so much comfort, fluff, lots of kisses, cheesy lines (yes this is a warning), they're so in love ok??

Word count: 2.2k

Requested by: @aamon47 Thank you so much baby! 💖💖 (And sorry for the 2 months delay omg 😂)

Notes: I know this is Moments Before Disaster, but you will be okay don't worry. I know it because it's my fic and I say so ✨

It’s also on AO3!

You remember the moment Elendil asked you not to accompany him - you were a citizen of Númenor too! You were no different from the rest. 

“It’s been hard enough to accept that Isildur's enlisting. The thought of possibly losing you too... it's unbearable. I'm not going through that again.” You felt his words sharp like a knife as you realised what he was trying to say. But you couldn’t just stay ashore and do nothing. You'd been thinking about it for days and had already made up your mind. 

“I understand, my love, but that’s not your decision.” You explained with a soft voice as you cupped his cheek in your hand. 

“Yes, it is, in fact. Remember that as captain of the expedition, I am the one deciding who goes on the ships. I could prevent both of you from going on board.” There was determination in his eyes, but also fear and despair. He was conflicted, for he’d like nothing more than to fulfill any of your wishes. 

“But you won’t.” You knew he wouldn’t, and he knew it too. He was not unaware that you both shared that same sense of duty. He couldn't take that away from you. “I know I've never wielded a sword; I'm not asking you to bring me to the battlefield, but I can help in many other ways. Let me watch over you. Please.” You pleaded, looking deeply into his eyes. He let out a resigned sigh and nodded as he held your face in his hands. 

“Isildur will be in the rearguard with the queen. And you will help at the outpost, we still need people there. Don't come out until the battle is over, understood?” He was pleading you with his voice. You knew this wasn’t easy for him, so you accept what he asks of you. And he presses a kiss to your lips, holding you so tight against him that he leaves you breathless, not wanting to let you go. 

*********** 

Today is the day you finally reach the western coast of Middle-Earth, but when you arrive in the Southlands, you’re informed that the enemy is even more numerous than you had anticipated. You're scared to death, more for Elendil than for yourself, but the words of reassurance coming from his lips as they tenderly kiss yours restore your courage. In this moment, you can truly understand why his men would be willing to follow him anywhere, as you would as well. 

You take up your position at the outpost you were assigned at, where a few more soldiers are stationed in case reinforcements are needed, but it is mainly set up as an improvised medical post. It's not too far from the battle, in order to allow the wounded to reach it as soon as possible. It is there where you kiss Elendil goodbye tenderly, imploring him with your eyes to return safely, as you did every time you bid him farewell when he had to set sail on sea guard matters. But this mission was far more dangerous. 

The waiting takes an eternity. You try to distract yourself by organising supplies, but the sounds from the fighting can be heard as if it were only a few yards away. The clashing of swords, the cries of both soldiers and villagers fearing for their lives, the erratic galloping of horses, everything is a piercing noise in your ears. You had heard stories from soldiers about war, how it is life-long scarring, but you never thought it would be so unbearably overwhelming. 

You even feel like you could smell death.   

You can only think of Elendil in the midst of that turmoil, wondering if he was still unharmed... still alive. You feel a pressure on your chest that grows heavier and heavier, almost keeping you from breathing. Isildur is also there with his father, what if something happened to him as well? 

You are not able to think clearly, you're already wearing the light armour Elendil had made you promise to wear, so all you have to do is grab a sword from the small armoury before you turn your back on the post and head for the battlefield. However, you feel a tight grip on your arm before you can walk too far away. 

“What do you think you’re doing? You’re going to get yourself killed!” It's the voice of one of the soldiers who were to remain at the outpost in case the first group called for reinforcements. 

You want to answer back, to explain you had to go and make sure your loved ones were safe, but the words fail to leave your lips. Yet the soldier seems to read your thoughts. 

“You’re one of the very few healers we have. You won’t be able to help them if you’re dead.” And those were the words that made you come to your senses. He was absolutely right; you'll certainly get killed if you go alone and with no orders. You suddenly feel stupid for acting so recklessly. You nod to the young soldier, who sits down at your side and converses with you to keep you company during the long wait. 

They make you laugh telling you about that time they were so embarrassed about screwing up during training that they didn't show up for days. You're so immersed in the conversation that you didn't notice the noises of the battlefield had ceased several minutes ago. You hear the trot of a few horses and your heart skips a beat when you look up to see Elendil and a few other riders approaching the outpost. You can't hide your smile as you rush to your feet and run to him. Your heart is racing, but your chest feels lighter than ever as you get rid of the crushing weight you felt on it seconds ago. He was safe. Your man truly has the favour of the Valar. 

The way Elendil looks at you when he gets off his horse is the same as when he saw you for the first time, like you were the most beautiful star in the night sky, unable to take his eyes away from you. He welcomes you in his arms and crushes his lips against yours. No words are needed to tell each other what you feel right now, just touches, kisses and relieved smiles.  

However, when you lower your arm to wrap it around his side, the captain winces slightly, breaking your embrace. “What’s wrong, love?” You ask worriedly and look down to see Elendil's hand on the spot you had just brushed with your arm. “By the gods, Elendil, are you hurt?” Too many thoughts flood your mind once again and the unease returns. You rush to guide him to the post infirmary. 

Elendil follows your lead, but notices your concern and makes sure to reassure you. “Oh, I’m alright, my heart, it’s just a scratch, I've had worse than this.” You believe him, but you're there precisely to treat any injuries he or any other soldier might have, his wellbeing is your responsibility now. You lead him to a bench for him to sit down and then help him take off his armour, and that's when you see it. It's not a deep wound, more like a huge, swollen bruise that covers most of his side. It wasn't that serious, but it was going to hurt him for a while. 

“How did this happen?” You ask him as you bring some ointments to the table and take a sit next to him. 

“I fell...” Elendil grunts as he tries to hide a pained expression when you brush your fingers gently across his punished flesh. You raise your head to stare at him in disbelief. People don't get bruises like that one just by falling. And the captain sighs deeply. 

“From the horse.” You widen your eyes in horror, “Oh gods, Elendil...” You know a fall from a horse mid-battle was very likely to be deadly, for a number of reasons. You can feel your breathing quicken, and you find it more and more difficult to stay focused on the task at hand. You cannot stop thinking that you truly could have lost him, you could have lost him and you would have stood there and done absolutely nothing to protect him. 

You are not aware of how erratic and uncontrolled your breathing is, nor of your tears running down your cheeks until you feel Elendil's warm hands on your face. He makes you meet his eyes as he gently wipes away your tears. 

“I’m here, my love, look at me... I’m here, alright? I’m here with you now.” He soothes you with a hushed voice before placing tender kisses on your trembling lips and cheeks. “I’m alright, my stars.” And he holds you tight against him, resting your head on his chest, allowing you to hear his heartbeat, the proof that he was there with you, safe. “How could I die, my love, knowing that my heart would cease beating for you?” You feel the warmth of his words run through your body and your mind slowly quiets, your breathing decelerating, until you feel only him and his heartbeat. He really is there beside you. And you feel soothed enough to speak. 

“I was so scared, I couldn't stop thinking about you there, not knowing if you were hurt, if you were...” Elendil then lifts your face to interrupt you with his lips before allowing you to finish your sentence, reassuring you once again. 

“Do you understand now why I was reluctant to have you here? To have you in such a distressing position?” He asks leaning his forehead against yours, your noses nuzzling delicately against each other as he strokes your hair with his hands. “But still, I’m deeply grateful to have you here with me. I can't possibly think of anyone better than you to mend my wounds, my love.” 

A chuckle escapes your lips at his words, he’s always trying to make you feel better about yourself. “You know I'm not exactly the best healer you can find, I've only done this a few times before.” 

“You’ve healed me many times, my stars.” You lover says with the sweetest smile on his face. You don’t quite understand his question... 

“When... I don’t...?” And you feel your words of puzzlement vanish into thin air as Elendil runs his fingers across your cheek, brushing a strand of hair away from your still tear-stained face. 

“You have.” He assures you with loving eyes, as if it were just the two of you in that post, his gaze filled with something you can only describe as devotion. And then you understand what he means to tell you. Tears well up in your eyes again, this time due to a very different emotion, and you kiss him one more time with a wide smile on your face. 

You can't break away from each other, completely oblivious to who might be looking, it didn't matter at all. The only thing that mattered was that you were back in each other's arms, enjoying every caress, scent and taste. You barely notice when a shy voice interrupts your moment. 

“Ahem... captain?” 

“What is it?” Elendil inquires with annoyance in his voice after being forced to break from the kiss. But his expression softens when he recognises the speaker. You know them too, they're the young soldier who conversed with you earlier, making you forget just for a little while where you were and taking your thoughts away from the horrors of the battle. 

“It is the queen, my captain, she requires your presence.” The soldier replies in a quavering voice. Elendil is a well-loved captain, but you're aware he can also be quite intimidating sometimes. 

Elendil nods and the soldier turns away hastily. “Soldier.” He calls out before they walk away and they stop to look back at the captain. “Thank you for staying and keeping her safe, I truly appreciate it.” He declares with a grateful smile. And the young soldier returns the smile before going back to their duties “A pleasure, captain.” 

You then give Elendil a questioning look after listening to the exchange. How did he know...? “You told them to look after me?” 

“Of course, my love.” Your lover cups your face in his hands and places a tender kiss on your forehead. “You didn't think I was leaving you here alone and unprotected, did you?” And you almost throw yourself into his arms again, but then you remember the bruise on his side and restrain yourself. 

“I really should bandage that, otherwise it will hurt when you wear your armour.” You say before standing up to reach for some bandages, but the captain pulls you down to sit on his lap. “I’ll let you do that, my sweet lady, but I’m afraid my lips also need some healing, don’t you think?” You giggle at his words. You can't believe how lucky you are to be so loved by him. You would be more than willing to heal his lips every day for the rest of your life. 

Tagging:@starlady66 , @grinkitty, @wint3r-h3art 💖

[enigmamuse]

Devotion of an Apostate

Fandom: Pathfinder: Kingmaker (TTRPG) Relationships: Orson/Jaethal, Jaethal/Original Male Character Word Count: 963 Rating: T Content: Drama & Romance, Slow Burn, Developing Relationship, Canon-typical Violence Ongoing multi-chapter fic | Rating & tags updated as needed | Light spoiler warning for Pathfinder: Kingmaker TTRPG/Companion Guide Character line art by @transnashton​, color & bg by me

Read on AO3

Summary: In a stroke of strange fate, Orson Hargrave - holy Summoner of Pharasma and new king of the Stolen Lands - becomes entangled with the most unlikely of companions: the gracefully cruel, undead champion of Urgathoa. Jaethal's sharp wit and dark inclinations challenge the new sovereign as the pair grow closer, navigating the contrasts of their developing intimacy and warring faiths.

“Could you raise the blanket a bit higher?” Orson speaks in a carefully monotone voice as he averts his eyes from the curve of pale skin in his peripheral vision. He gingerly wraps bandages around his companion’s shoulder, making sure that his movements aren't too abrupt - his previous medical attempts having failed to account for the responsiveness that a body of Jaethal’s low temperature could have. He never suspected that she was fragile in any sense, but the slender arm he now held, usually similar in coloration to his own,  mottled brilliantly in the dim candlelight between them.

“I should be lucky a monster has not torn its claws near my breast, lest I would find myself bleeding out as I waited for you to overcome your delicate sensibilities,” Jaethal’s sardonicism bites, but she adjusts the modesty blanket as directed.

“I am not so prudish as–” the healer begins to rebuff, but feels his pitch raise as his thoughts flash to when the elf stripped away her garments as he set down his medical tools at her bedside earlier, the red silk of her dress falling off her shoulders and down her back in a way that had stilled his ill-prepared heart. He clears his throat discreetly. “I’m sure you can understand how this is different.”

“From today’s events,” Jaethal replies, “I would hope so. Your performance with the troll left much to be desir– ah!” she winces as a sharp pain shoots through her chest. Orson reactively draws a supportive hand to her side.

“Careful.”

“I know.” She shoots him a glare, but he takes her momentary contempt in stride.

“I know you know,” he sighs. “Sorry. Without using healing magic, the recovery process is… imperfect, to say the least. I could fetch Harrim–”

“Don’t.” Jaethal snaps resolutely. With an upturned nose, she postures herself in a way that, despite the vulnerability her exposure leaves her, carries a dignity more suited for portraiture than a medic’s table. “Contrary to your belief in my faith's hedonistic tendencies, I don’t care for people to see me like this. And your grimace at my own methods earlier did not go unnoticed.” A lump of shame turns in his stomach. There are times when Orson is able to push down thinking too deeply of Jaethal’s inherent truths, but there is only so much he can do to disregard the lingering smell of death that accompanies her magic - its thick, mocking saccharine scent just barely perceptible to a well-trained undertaker like himself. He wishes he could ignore it. With guilty eyes, Orson’s gaze falls to her half-covered form, and an extraordinary stillness overtakes him. His hand traces over several whitish marks - thinly healed lacerations and puncture wounds decorating her ribcage, sides, and back - the diversity and volume of which paints a violent memory of the exiled elf’s past.

“Admiring the handiwork? I’ve done what I could to mitigate their appearance. I think I did quite sufficiently on the front, at least.” She raises the blanket to show an almost imperceptible slash across her midsection. “It would seem Urgathoa had no preference when it came to the full restoration of my appearance.” Her voice echoes with the same jadedness typically reserved for those not providing her divine sustenance.

“I could look into taking care of these for you,” Orson murmurs, thumbing the scarred tissue. Despite her coldness, the soft raised edges and grooves of her scarring anchor him to the moment, once again reassured of how real and tangible she is to him. He turns to the assortment of medicinal reagents in his kit, but feels a pull at his sleeve.

“I take minimal issue with them.” Jaethal brushes her long hair forward to stroke it thoughtfully. “They are a minor inconvenience and, more poignantly, a reminder of others’ ignorance towards those who want more for themselves. Namely me.”

The summoner beholds his companion's unamused expression - a cold, uncanny silence which evokes memories of the stone effigies of saints and psychopomp ushers that served as familiar company in his upbringing. His own look of solemnity softens as he considers how fitting the elf’s countenance would be amongst the grim churchyards that he once considered home. “I think it’s brave of you to volunteer to talk with everyone about your…” his words stalled on the taboo between them, “condition. I know what this might bring up for you.” He speaks closely to her, slowly inspecting the faded remnants of a laceration that runs down her scapula.

“You may share your condolences after everything has been settled. Besides,” Jaetha tsks and straightens her back, and Orson corrects himself in return, embarrassingly aware of his bedside manner. “It was your convincing that we share these details sooner rather than later. Things went well with the clerics, but… I cannot afford to be comfortable right now. In the face of so many unknown variables, the disquiet I feel will carry me to survival.”

Orson finishes his work silently, but takes pause as he instinctively calls forth a bloom of divine magic to expedite the wounds’ closure. With bated breath, the lattice of pale light sigils falls apart before making contact with the elf’s skin, though she makes no sign of perturbation. He sighs.

“Done for now.” He turns to avoid watching her dress, adjusting his glasses before rolling down his sleeves and gathering his healer’s tools. Anything to busy himself. “I’ll check in tomorrow night for a follow up. Avoid anything too strenuous or moving unnecessarily– well, you know.” He halts midway through the tent’s closure, looking back to Jaethal as she sits at the edge of her makeshift bed. He’s left with the distinct feeling that something is unfinished, but quickly buries the curiosity that begs for speculation. “Goodnight, then.”  

“Goodnight.”  

[nevernmoncher]

Zapper, Silver Water, CBD, and NAC for COVID-19 Recovery

The Delta variant of COVID-19 brought forth unique challenges, including long-lasting symptoms such as loss of smell and taste. In my personal battle against this variant, I turned to a combination of natural remedies: the zapper, silver water, CBD oil, and NAC (N-acetylcysteine). This blog post shares my experience with these remedies, their impact on my recovery, and how they helped alleviate my long COVID symptoms. Please remember to consult with a healthcare professional before trying any new treatments.

The zapper, a small electronic device that emits low-level electrical currents, played a significant role in my recovery from the Delta variant. By using the zapper daily, I experienced a reduction in fatigue, improved respiratory function, and an overall boost in my immune system. The zapper's ability to stimulate the body's natural healing processes was instrumental in my journey towards recovery.

Silver water, known for its antimicrobial properties, became a vital part of my COVID-19 recovery regimen. Consuming silver water helped inhibit the growth of the virus and supported my immune system. Additionally, it played a crucial role in restoring my sense of smell and taste, which had been affected by long COVID. Regular intake of silver water, combined with other remedies, contributed to my overall well-being.

CBD oil, renowned for its anti-inflammatory and calming properties, proved to be a valuable addition to my recovery journey. By incorporating CBD oil into my daily routine, I experienced a reduction in inflammation, improved sleep quality, and a sense of relaxation. These benefits were particularly helpful in alleviating the lingering loss of smell and taste, which are common long COVID symptoms.

NAC (N-acetylcysteine), a powerful antioxidant and mucolytic agent, played a crucial role in supporting my respiratory health during my battle with the Delta variant. By taking NAC supplements, I noticed a significant improvement in my lung function and a reduction in coughing and congestion. NAC's ability to break down mucus and promote respiratory health was instrumental in my recovery.

While my journey with the Delta variant was challenging, the combination of the zapper, silver water, CBD oil, and NAC played a vital role in my recovery. These natural remedies not only helped me overcome the virus but also alleviated the long COVID symptoms of loss of smell and taste. However, it is important to note that individual experiences may vary, and consulting with a healthcare professional is essential for personalized guidance.

My personal experience with the Delta variant of COVID-19 and the remedies I used, including the zapper, silver water, CBD oil, and NAC, showcased the potential of natural remedies in supporting recovery and alleviating long COVID symptoms. These remedies played a crucial role in boosting my immune system, restoring my sense of smell and taste, and promoting overall well-being. As we continue to navigate the challenges of the pandemic, exploring natural remedies alongside medical guidance can provide a holistic approach to our health and well-being.

[deadlyflan]

Ah! My favorite scene is from the TMNT Chain Reaction fic that I wanted to talk about when I started this Ask-A-Thon. It's my favorite interlude because it's the first full-sensory experience my OC, a mutant turtle girl named Dinah, gets of the TMNT core cast.

She's been recovering from a medically induced quasi-cryogenic sleep. Her eyesight has been greatly reduced. She's not in full control of her limbs. She's been bed-bound while the restorative process slowly brings her back to health.

The TMNT family has been treating her with kid gloves. Not only is she medically fragile, but she's the first girl mutant they've ever encountered. Out of respect and reasonable worry, they've minimized physical contact, tried not to crowd her, and generally been very careful about their interactions with her.

While that's polite and good--because they are good boys, these 1990s TMNT movie-verse turtles--Dinah's lived experience has been with an exceptionally tactile pile of sisters back at her home laboratory. Dinah, with her vision reduced to extreme near-sightedness and her mobility reduced to near zero, has been getting more and more distressed by the LACK of contact in this new place with its new people.

EXCERPT OF (draft)SCENE::

The men moved so quickly! Her eyes refused to focus, but even if they had been cooperative, Dinah wasn't sure she could have kept up. Dark, blurred shapes were moving and talking at the doorway. ‘Mike’ had appeared on the mattress at her left. By the time she registered his presence, suddenly the first man was much closer.

They’d confirmed they were turtles when she last woke, so the colored bits on their round heads were probably hats. Now that they were at arm’s length, she could tell that the first was blue and the one on her left was orange. Good! She could use the hats to tell them apart when they weren't talking. 

“I'm going to lean you forward a moment while my brother sets up the pillows behind you. Is that all right?" Leonardo stood near her hips. He had previously picked her up a few times in getting her to the bed but this would be the first time she was awake and conscious enough to ask about it.

Both men were much larger this close, and definitely the same kind of strange-smelling turtle as the one who held his hand to her cheek. She could not distinguish their individual scents, though. They mingled and merged with each other and the rest of the room, but the flavor and textures her nose reported added to their imposing auras. They waited above her and she squinted to make sense of how their hats worked. Where were these giant turtles’ eyes? 

Michelangelo cleared his throat. Dinah’s silence had stretched and left Leonardo standing there awkwardly. Something had confused her. All they needed was approval to get her settled.

"It'll only be for a moment. You’ll be able to sit up on your own." Leonardo wasn't sure what had derailed her, but for a split-second she managed actual eye contact, and he could feel his cheeks heating. He ignored his body's reaction to the awkwardness--his only option with Michelangelo kneeling right there on the bed. 

Dinah’s attention snapped back from wherever it had wandered. "Oh. Yes, sir."

Mike snorted. "That's no ‘sir,’ that's Leo.”

Caught off guard by the ‘sir,’ Leonardo was grateful for Mike's interjection. "Michelangelo’s right. No need for formality with my brothers or myself. Let me just lean you forward first."

Leonardo leaned down, folded back her blankets just a bit, and slid a hand under each of her arms. Her under arm skin slipped beneath his fingers like silk. There wasn't a spot on his entire body with scales so smooth — well, not anywhere a gentleman considers while helping a bedbound young lady. He cracked down on that train of thought immediately. He eased her upright. She struggled for a moment to keep her head at the right angle, but got it under control before he could change his grip. 

He could feel the bones of her upper arms. If anything dampened inappropriate reactions, that did. Some human, possibly one he had known and trusted had raised her in captivity for years and fed her the bare minimum. He held her upright effortlessly, but his thoughts now focused on the coming information. Anything she could tell them would help free the other turtles and take out Perry and anyone assisting him.

Dinah marveled at the warmth radiating from his hands. Not overbearing and hot like human hands, but gentle and permeating like a nice lamp. He held her upright effortlessly, as if she were a stack of fluffy towels. Finally sitting up, her blood pounded in her head and she reeled in a swirl of strong arms and warm hands.

Michelangelo made short work of the pillows, mounding them up like a wall with a concave impression that would cradle her shell. Bonus, it offered support for her head if she needed to lean back. He was an expert at this arrangement; it was hands-down the best for binging movie marathons. "All set!”

Leo flashed his brother a tight, grateful smile over Dinah’s head. He was back in control and very ready to move into the planning portion of all this. "Thanks, Mike. Can you pull those?,” he pointed with his eyes. He indicated the waterproof layers beneath her and Mike caught on quickly. "I'll make sure she stays covered and move her backwards with you.”

Leonardo slid one hand further back to cradle her shell and let her lean back against his forearm while he pulled her blankets up as high as he could. Only inches from her, he addressed her once more. "OK, Dinah. You ready? On three. One. Two. Three."

He casually lifted her just an inch or so. He moved her easily with one arm around the bowl of her shell and the other pinning her blankets high on her left side as he dragged her backwards in concert with Michelangelo.

Dinah held her breath. He was enormous! Every time he moved closer, she reassessed her estimate of his size. She had never known a turtle with shoulders so broad. And he was definitely a turtle. His front plates brushed hers when he first lifted her. It grated on strange nerves like two teeth touching unexpectedly. She shivered at the sensation. Her head fell forward and bumped gently off his jaw and shoulder. His skin pressed against her cheek and she felt his firm muscles shifting beneath his scales. 

His scent surrounded her. Undeniably turtle, but absolutely nothing like any of her sisters. His musk flooded her nose with a rounded, dark scent that clarified what she’d smelled in her blankets and in the room. This, though? It snapped into focus the way her eyes would not — she had simply never been close enough to perceive it properly.

Oh, he smelled so healthy and strong; the kind family must take good care of him! Dinah breathed him in because he smelled new and strange and pleasant on a level she couldn't describe, but mostly because his scent was the same general shape as her sisters’ even if its textures and colors were all unexpected and different. She ached in the back of her throat and down into her chest. It was so close. Almost like being home. Almost.

She was sniffing him. Dinah was—was more than sniffing. She was breathing obviously, mouth open right up against his neck! Leo felt heat surge across his face. His brothers warned him about innocent, sleepy sniffs! Not… this!

Leonardo settled her against the pillows as quickly as he could without jostling her. He gulped a deep breath out of nervousness as he pulled his arm away. This close to her, he got much more than he had bargained for.

At this range, he understood what he did not get by sniffing near the doorway. Her scent was subtle, but there was almost a taste to the air. The same way you could smell the coming snow. The same way he could pick out each individual brother in a pitch black melee. The same way he knew when a brother was actually sick or just faking. Something lit up in the back of his mind that screamed, ‘GIRL.’

Leonardo's blush kept right on marching. It rolled from cheeks to beak to forehead to neck. Dammit. He breathed out and retreated, worried he’d overstepped somehow, but he paused and frowned. There had actually been a subtle sour note to the end of the smell, like an unpleasant aftertaste. To her scent. Something was off. She wasn't healthy.  No kidding, she wasn’t healthy. He could see she wasn't healthy. He knew she wasn't healthy. It was just beyond bizarre to have his nose confirm it.

Leonardo rallied, trying not to let his thoughts show on his face or carry into his voice. Stay on target. "Are you better now, Dinah? Can you tell my family what you were telling me? About the buyout date?"

2. I would love to say that, 'yes! I use advanced techniques like foreshadowing and symbolism all the time!' but honestly, I'm more focused on making sure everything that's supposed to happen happens and everyone's reactions make consistent sense.

3. My process? I daydream the SHIT out of it. Play through the scene--don't like it? Brain Etch-A-Sketch! Shake your head and try it again. I have a bunch of paper journals where I trial different ways a scene could go. Write in pen and never look back. Just play and replay and spin it around and write it again. Does it feel better this time? Cool.

Day 3

What’s your favorite scene you’ve written? Why is that one your favorite?

Do you use symbolism and/or foreshadowing often? Why or why not? If so, give an example if you’d like.

What is your process like when coming up with a story?

[lorcantips]

How to treat your sense of smell after COVID? Home recipe with no medications

How to treat your sense of smell after COVID? Home recipe with no medications

Please check the CC for your language translation if you need. Loss of smell and taste is very common after COVID-19 infection. source

[pi-cat000]

BNHA: Kakashi dimension hops crossover (3)

Summary: Kakashi gets dumbed into the My Hero Academia universe through random plot devise.

Characters:  Kakashi Hatake

Fandoms: My Hero Academia and Naruto

WARNINGS: Mentions of violence/injury

START  / PREV  /  NEXT

...

There was no latent natural chakra here. The air and environment were dry as a bone, meaning the only chakra he had access to was the stuff produced on his own. Kakashi is not entirely sure what impact this will have on the 1000 or so ninjutsu he has memorised. He suspects it might increase the chakra cost of external and area affecting ninjutsu. Any jutsu that relied on there being natural chakra present in the environment to supplement the user’s own chakra would be harder.  So, no large destructive or transformative ninjutsu. No earthquakes or earth walls, no freezing large bodies of water or creating whirlpools, most wind techniques would be out. Fireballs should be okay as they relied primarily on the shinobi’s chakra pool, but controlling large quantities of fire would be tricker. The same reasoning applied to lighting techniques, chidori would work fine but anything bigger might cause some strain. As long as he wasn’t aiming to wipe out a Division’s worth of enemies, he probably wouldn’t notice the limitation. Large-scale destructive ninjutsu had never been a specialty of his anyway. And he still has chakra to reinforce his body alongside genjutsu, taijutsu and the sharingan.

Well, he is pretty sure he still has the sharingan …

The only way to confirm his theories was to do some field testing.

Thus, Kakashi waits for Iori to do her final rounds and, just before the night shift starts, he ducks out of his room. It is at this time that the nurses would be at their most unobservant, tired out by ten hours of work. It is late in the evening, meaning most of the hospital staff  have left the building. It makes it ridiculously easy to steal down the halls, unnoticeable even in spaces lit by bight florescence.

After discovering that a Quirk Registry was a literal list of bloodline abilities stored on a digital database accessible to any medical professional, Kakashi has decided to stop applying Konoha’s information security standards to the hospital.  He is still a little weirded out by his execution of what was probably the easiest heist of medical information he had ever carried out. 

A few days of stalking Doctor Wada around the hospital at opportune intervals led to him discovering the man’s office. After that Kakashi hides in a corner and watches the man work. Because no one here had any sense of environment/spatial awareness, he has no trouble keeping in the man’s blind spot even with a limp. Thus, he can memories how the doctor goes about updating his patient information, which is all digital and stored on the computer, involving a passcode, a name and navigating through several screens worth of readouts and icons; all of which were infinity easier to understand when compared with the readouts produced by the computers in Konoha’s research division, encoded as they all were.  Three days later and he has access to all his medical files and the files of every one of Wada’s other patients.

Tonight, Kakashi has the time to properly read them. Hopefully, there would be no complications with his eye, and he could clear himself for experimentation. His chakra levels were good enough for it.

‘Name: ‘Kakashi [no surname]’/ Address: ‘[n/a]’ / Sex: ‘M’ / Blood type: ‘O’ / DOB: [n/a] /

No family or medical proxy located. Hospital billing to be covered under City of Hosu Villain/Hero Collateral Damage Register.

Quirk Factor: ‘Sharingan’ [Primary Effect: n/a]; [Activation: n/a] [Type: emitter] [Secondary Effect: passive regeneration]’

Kakashi scrolls through his report, committing the information to memory, eyeing the many notes on his physical and mental wellbeing, listing his various broken bones, sprains, and other injuries, most of which Kakashi is aware of, all of which were well on their way to recovery.

'...Early concerns expressed over collapse of right lung and damage to respiratory system are being reassessed due to passive accelerated regeneration....'

Ah yes, he vaguely remembers something going straight through his chest during the fight. He examines the surgeon's notes which recommend close monitoring and an extended hospital stay alongside various medications.

'...Additional concerns over potential complications due to prior injuries/scarring (see attached report)....’

Hmm, he skims over a note describing older scaring around his chest. The report has flagged quite a few of his past scars and bone breaks as concerning and evidence of past physical stress involving combat. Not too far off the truth. Something to keep in mind if they ever asked him about his past. Honestly, he is somewhat impressed by the thoroughness of the report and the efforts gone through to keep him healthy. Linked is to medical notes are details of the two surgeries he had undergone while unconscious alongside various other actions the hospital had taken in their bid to keep him alive.

‘Primary quirk factor confirmed by the patient as single-ocular quirk ‘sharingan’ located in the left eye. Quirk most likely to be a passive emitter type with line of sight or eye contact as an activation requirement. Quirk effect is unknown. ‘Sharingun’ was restored during surgy under the supervision of Sueno Manzo and predicted to retain its function upon recovery barring further complication.’

‘Patient exhibits the symptoms of memory loss, apathy, and confusion suggesting a case of post-traumatic amnesia. If quirk has a memory storage function as is typical of ocular quirks then there may be a link between the quirk effect, damage to eye, and memory loss symptoms. Diagnosis requires a second opinion. Requested consolation with Neurologist and Ocular-Quirk Specialist still pending.'

‘Secondary quirk or mutation factor ‘regeneration’ increases patient’s metabolism and bodily functions, resulting in increased cell repair and recovery. Without a baseline for recovery speed predicted recovery timeframe is unknown.’ 

Well, ‘predicted to retain its function’ was good enough. All the major concerns raised by the doctor were linked to memory loss that didn’t exist. Kakashi ducks out of the office, heading back to his room. It was interesting to know that his recovery rate was considered abnormally fast. Fast enough to be considered a ‘quirk’ in its own right. No doubt a side effect of chakra use. It was a well-known fact that shinobi with developed coils recovered from injuries faster than civilians.

He would have to keep this in mind when engaging the locals in combat. The people here would have slower recovery rates when compared with Konoha’s civilians, who still had chakra even if their coils were underdeveloped. He wouldn’t want to accidentally kill someone misjudging their ability to heal from an injury.

…

...

With patience born from his many years of field experience, Kakashi waits for the next shift change before sneaking out once more. His destination is the hospital’s roof. Guarded by one solitary security camera- which he had disabled two days ago and had yet to be fixed- it is the only place he can go and be reasonably sure not to be disturbed for any length of time. Generally, cameras were pretty useless against any shinobi who could pull off an academy level transformation or a basic genjutsu. Even when the cameras were hidden, most shinobi moved too fast to be reliably picked up on film. He is not sure if that reasoning applied here, seeing as the technology was significantly more advanced.  Regardless, as he was recovering and conserving both energy and chakra, avoiding them is his best bet. Most of the cameras he notes are on the outside of the building, placed in plain sight with no care taken to keep them hidden. He wonders if there is a purpose to that. Enforcement of compliance through a display of observation? Are they decoys and there is additional security hidden somewhere he wouldn’t think to look? Is he falling into some sort of trap sneaking around so obviously and gathering information? It was hard to answer these questions when he has no baseline to draw from. As he had yet to see evidence of extensive security or traps in the building he is proceeding with his plan.  

It is early morning when he ducks out onto an empty roof, having stolen the key from what he thinks are the hospital's maintenance lockers the day prior. The air outside is cool, devoid of the stench of disinfectant that had been clogging his nose for the last few weeks. He hated how smell played havoc on his sensitive nose, blocking his sinuses.

Shielded on one side by a taller, windowless section of the building he has a good view of a wide two-lane road where the occasional vehicle would enter or exit the building. At night the area is quiet save for the hum of a distant activity, probably more of the engine-run vehicles, which were irritatingly noisy and commonly used by the people here.

The sky above him begins to lighten. Soon the sun would peak between the tall glass-covered buildings opposite the hospital. The artificial structures shimmer, reflecting the whitening sky. A trip into the busier sections of the ‘city’ is still impending, all his attention being focused on scouting the hospital and absorbing as much information about the place as possible first.

The first test he does is an attempt at summoning his nin-dogs. He has a few ideas on how he might reverse summon himself between worlds or, at the very least, send a message to let people know he was still alive.

Quickly, he bites his thumb, crouches, touching the roof with his palm and pumping in the required amount of chakra. For a second, he thinks it might work. Lines of inked fuinjutsu characters blossom under his palm, spiralling outward, absorbing the chakra. However, instead of activating in a puff of summoning smoke, the energy disperses, sinking into the dead, chakra-less concrete, the seal failing. Frowning, he uses the remaining blood on his thump to sketch out a simple storage array. It activates, sealing in a loose piece of brick without a problem. No, it wasn’t the fuinjutsu that had failed but the nin-dog summoning specifically. There went that plan.

Somewhat disheartened, he begins unbandaging the left side of his head. Just as the sunlight begins to peak between the buildings opposite, he opens the sharingan.

The chakra drain creeps up as the world around him snaps into sharp focus. Every crack in the brick, every mote of dust, every wisp of cloud, is clearly outlined even as colour is dulled to increase contrast.  Kakashi glances around and waits, letting the image of the foreign skyline burn into his brain to be forever stored and remembered in crisp detail.

After a few seconds without significant pain, he lets out a long breath and prepares for the mental strain of activating the Kamui Sharingan. The process brings with it flashes of memory, Obito’s scared face twisted with hate, and a blurry battle. The memories were all faint and far off despite having the Sharingan active at the time. He rubs his chest in discomfort. He thinks he knows who might have stabbed him now. Obito…He releases a tired breath and shoves all the uncomfortable revelations off to the side where they wouldn’t bother him. There would be plenty of time to ruminate at a later.  

Kakashi lets the first stage of Kamui activate, making sure there is nothing in his eyeline. He doesn’t want to accidentally destroy the stairway that led back into the hospital by sucking it into a different dimension. After confirming that the technique is stable and the charka drain is manageable, be prepares to pull himself through, ignoring the beginnings of a faint headache. Despite it being a brand new technique, Kakashi is nothing if not a master at reverse engineering ninjutsu on the fly to suit his own needs. The world warps and shimmers, his chakra levels take a nosedive, and his eye aches.

 A field of unmarked stone appears in place of the hospital roof, displacing tall buildings with uniform blocks of grey, white and black. An eternal, unchanging landscape, dimly lit despite there being no light source, stretches out in all directions. The Kamui no Jikūkan, time–space dimension. There is no signs of destruction or the battle he now vaguely remembers occurring before he had been ripped away from the Elemental Nations altogether. He wishes he could recall how it had ended. Had Obito re-joined the fight with Madara? He hopes not. He hopes he at least managed to take Obito out and give his allies a better chance. Obito was his burden to shoulder after all.

As he tries to dig up something useful from his patchwork of memories relating to his battle with Obito, a faint secondary chakra source catches his attention. The thread of chakra is distance, connecting to something very far off. Obito’s eye? A lingering connection between the two eyes was the only thing that made any sort of sense. He vaguely remembers how he had been in the process of activating the Kamui no Jikūkan when the area had been flooded with demonic chakra.

This is good…If it is Obito, and Obito is still in the Elemental Nations, then he might be able to reverse the collection and pull himself back. The only problem with this plan was that he would need the same amount of chakra to return or risk killing himself. In other words, he needs a lot of chakra. Far more than he has or will ever have access to naturally. As he is the only being with chakra here, this is a problem.

Kakashi lets out another tried breath, “Always a problem…” the area around him remains silent. He knows the theory behind chakra draining and collecting seals. With a bit of patience and self-discipline, he would be able to slowly build up and store the chakra needed to return.

Well, he would definitely be breaking his record for lateness by a long shot. He runs calculations and comes up with a depressing year-long wait time. And that was if he dumped every ounce of his chakra into the seal the moment he got it. Obviously, that would turn him into a comatose vegetable and, as nice as he thinks these people are, he doesn’t trust them to look after his unconscious body for a year. So, it would be double, maybe even triple, that time.

Three years of waiting in this weird unknown word unless someone on the other end of the connection figured out how to bring him back. He had seen Naruto pull of miracles before so…maybe there was hope? Though, everyone might just think he had died given how badly injured he had been just before his disappearance. If that were the case, then no one was coming for him and he would be on his own for the foreseeable future.

“Mah, what a pain.”

He crouches examining one of the plain blocks, massaging the area around his eye. It stings and he is beginning to feel chakra fatigued. He can almost imagine the familiar names of the memorial stone etched into its surface. By the time he returned, the fourth great war would be well and truly over, assuming time moved at a similar speed between here and there. He supposed it was fitting. He wouldn’t be Kakashi if he didn’t let the people he cared about down one last time.

He lets out a long sigh and reverses the Kamui technique, letting himself fade back to his new world and reality. 

The chakra exhaustion hits him like a landslide and he stumbles onto one knee. His eye, which had been aching since he initiated the Kamui no Jikūkan, is now wet. The wetness turns out to be blood, which is pooling like tears and running down the left side of his face.

Maybe he had been pushing it, using the full Kamui after wasting a bunch of chakra on summoning when he had barely been at half his capacity to start. That, and he was obviously still healing.

Blearily, Kakashi wipes his face with the back of his hand heaving himself back upright. He has dealt with way worse. With one last glance at the sun now shining brightly from between the strange buildings of his new temporary home, he heads back inside to find something sterile to clean his eye with.

He collapses back into his hospital bed where he causes a stir as the nurse checking in on him notices the blood soaking through his hastily applied bandages. He lets them fuss in contemplative silence.

NEXT

[razieltwelve]

Upgrade (Final Effect)

“Well, I think it’s safe to say that your immune system sucks.”

Tali’s eye twitched. “I’m aware of that, yes.”

“Hey, don’t blame me.” The Dia-Farron grinned. “I’m just calling it how I see it.” She chuckled. “But that’s why you’re here, right? You want to know if there’s anything we can do to help you.”

Tali nodded. “That’s right. Is there something you can do to help us?”

“Short-term? Definitely. Long-term? We’ll have to see.” The Dia-Farron held up a syringe, and Tali instinctively took a step back. “Oh, please. I’d warn you before I stabbed you with this. Anyway, the short-term solution to your problem is nano-machines.”

“Nano-machines?”

“Contrary to common belief, you can’t just shove someone full of nano-machines and expect them to become some kind of invincible monster. Nano-machines still have to obey the laws of physics, which means if they’re fixing someone’s body, they have to use what they’ve got around them to do it.”

Tali’s brows furrowed. “Okay...?”

“If, for example, I tried to use nano-machines to heal someone after they’ve been decapitated, it’s not going to work. They can’t build someone an entirely new head out of thin air. That’s why nano-machines are typically given in either syringe or intravenous form. The idea is that by giving them material to work with, you maximise their effectiveness. For example, if I was to take a rifle and blow a hole in your chest, I could pour some nano-machine goop on you, and you’d probably be fine. I mean, yeah, it would hurt, but you’d live.”

“Kind of like medi-gel.”

“Yes and no. In your case, though, nano-machines are perfect. We’re not trying to restore lost flesh or repair damaged tissue. What we want is to give you a functional immune system. All we need to do is to train nano-machines to distinguish between Quarian cells and foreign agents. Once we do that, we can just dose you up with some nano-machines, and they’ll handle the rest.”

“That simple?” Tali asked. “Really?”

“It would likely take a couple of weeks, just to make sure we’ve worked out all the kinks, but, yes, that simple. It’s actually something we’ve done before to help patients with weakened immune systems.” The Dia-Farron shrugged. “Long-term, though, what you’re looking at is a combination of gene-smithing and bio-forging to build a better immune system. Once we’ve worked out how to do that, we should be able to design it to be passed on from one generation to the next.”

“And how long will that take?” Tali asked.

“It depends. It could take a decade or more, but if your people are willing to forward all of your medical information to us and participate in some testing, we could probably cut that down to several years.”

Tali took a deep breath. “And how much would this all cost?”

The Dia-Farron’s smile was distinctly toothy. “I’m sure we can work something out.”

X     X     X

Tali rolled the syringe around in her hand. It was such a small, simple thing. Yet the nano-machines it contained had given her people freedom they had not experienced in generations. She had been the first to take the nano-machines, but others had soon followed as their efficacy had become obvious.

Her people were still adjusting to going around without suits, but more and more of them were taking the injections, so they could enjoy a life without anything between them and the outside world. To be able to pick something up without gloves, to be able to smell the flowers without an air filter, to be able to hold her friends in her own arms... an injection every twelve months was a small price to pay for all those things.

“It’s kind of funny watching adults roll around in the grass like children,” the Dia-Farron drawled. “But it makes sense given your people’s history. And, hey, my branch of the family teams up with hamsters basically from birth, so it’s not like we’re normal either.” On her shoulder, her hamster gave an amused squeak.

“A lot has changed,” Tali murmured. “My people don’t have to wear suits everywhere, and we’re even being given planets to settle.”

“Meh.” The Dia-Farron waved one hand. “You lot make good minions, and good minions should be rewarded. Besides, that treaties gave us absolute control over those worlds. If we want to give you a few of them, then the Council can file as many injunctions as they want. It’s not going to do anything.”

“You are very strange people,” Tali said.

“The Children of Remnant grew up almost alone in the stars. We looked for friends, and for the longest time all we found were the corpses of those less fortunate than ourselves.” The Dia-Farron shrugged. “You Quarians made mistakes, but you’re good people. You don’t deserve to slowly dwindle away and die in the cold of space.” She paused. “Although you’re probably going to have to explain to your people about our taking in the Geth thing.”

Tali sighed. The... issues her people had with artificial intelligences ran deeply indeed. They had begun to grow more accustomed to the AIs that the Empire favoured, if only because they were so very different in appearance and bearing than the Geth, but they still greatly preferred speaking to an organic whenever possible. “I’ll do what I can, but I think it would be best to give us more time.”

“Fair enough.” The Dia-Farron stretched and then glanced up. “Hmm... we might have some rain soon. You should tell the others to get inside. Nano-machines might give them a functional immune system, but getting drenched still isn’t a good idea.”

Despite the warning, Tali ended up staying out to feel the rain on her skin, along with most of the other Quarians who’d taken the injection. If the Dia-Farron thought they were foolish, she was kind enough to say nothing, even when they hurried in, shivering and cold, from the rain.

[winsmoke]

Hey.. could you please do nct dream reaction to s/o having high fever and just wants cuddls? 🥺 like how would they take care of them.. make it fluffy please.

𝐧𝐜𝐭 𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐬 to you having a high fever (covid edition)

↷ ⊹ 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐤

Gets stressed easily so he takes your temperature every twenty minutes. Secretly checks the symptoms for covid and then glances back at you with an I dunno kinda face. Decides to take the L because he can’t resist the pull of your burning cheeks and nestles himself on top of you for warmth.

↷ ⊹ 𝐑𝐞𝐧𝐣𝐮𝐧

Goes full Shakespearean on you when he enters your bedroom: Where art tho fair maiden? Ah! Could that be she lying on thy bed? Makes up for his horrible performance by cooking you a soup that restores your strength, wrapping you in a blanket that smells of his cologne, and humming softly into your ear.

↷ ⊹ 𝐉𝐞𝐧𝐨

This man HARDCORE. He’s naturally warm bodied so to prevent this from being a sweaty mess, he stands in the December cold for a solid ten minutes before sprinting into your arms. Diligently repeats the process. Rechargeable human ice pack at your service. Only member willing to get sick with you.

↷ ⊹ 𝐇𝐚𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧

Kinda a brat when you just want to cuddle all day: Ugh get off me, my arm is falling asleep. Insists on being the small spoon and that you stroke his hair. Secretly pleased that you’re incapacitated because you can’t fight his cute urges like pinching your cheeks and administering butterfly kisses.

↷ ⊹ 𝐉𝐚𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐧

Knows you have a fever before you do. I sense a disturbance in the universe... Jams a thermometer in your mouth: YOU HAVE A 98.7º TEMPERATURE WHICH IS .1º HIGHER THAN 98.6º. When your temperature seriously climbs, he fetches you advil and water, petting your hair lovingly while you sleep hugging his legs.

↷ ⊹ 𝐂𝐡𝐞𝐧𝐥𝐞 

When you text him you have a fever, he replies: you got the rona 🤨  while simultaneously running to his car. Man comes strapped with spit tests, one for both of you in case you’ve exposed him. Initially insists you both wear masks while you lay together but then rips it off you when he can’t hear your beautiful voice. 

↷ ⊹ 𝐉𝐢𝐬𝐮𝐧𝐠 

Tries following Jaemin’s example: helps you drink water but then spills it down your front. Gives you ibuprofen but then realizes it was sleeping medication that could tranquilize a small whale. Since you are completely out of commission, he doesn’t have anxiety when cuddling you the way he prefers. Gets a little worried when you don’t wake up after sixteen hours.

[fires-of-ninjago]

D for Chubby Zane please, I just love him so much

Chubby Zane coming right up!

Title: Rumbles of the Earth

Words: 700

Ship: Mountainshipping

Warnings: None

“Oooohhhh, I don’t think that’s helping, babe,” Kai muttered, as he laid along-side Zane.

“I told you not to eat all that pizza and ice cream, dear,” he hummed as he continued lightly rubbing little circles against his stomach. Despite his moaning and groaning, he knew that this was the best way besides medication that made him feel better, Kai still had to complain.

“But Jay ordered pepperoni and Cole got orange-strawberry cream to finish it off; you know how much I love that!” He whined as he wrapped his arms around his stomach, and buried his face against Zane’s belly. He knew what was coming, and he was trying as much as he could to relieve the cramps. Zane on the other hand was see-sawing between wanting to facepalm and comfort his boyfriend.

“Kai...sweety...love of my life…” he started, “you are lactose intolerant.” Kai groaned as he wrapped his arms around his Nindroid. Zane felt his hologram flicker a little from just how tight Kai was holding him.

“They were so gooooood!” He cried. Zane was about to suggest that he grab him some more ginger ale, when Kai suddenly let loose a loud, rumbling fart.

“OH GOD!” He shouted as he sucked in his stomach. It was so loud and powerful that it shook the bed! Zane smiled softly as he watched his Master of Fire relax a little.

“Do you feel better?” He asked. Kai sighed as he cuddled with the Nindroid.

“I’m starting to,” he muttered in content. Zane smiled as he pulled his beloved closer. He felt like he was just about ready to doze off when he heard someone enter the living room.

“WOOOOAAAAH!” He heard someone whistle from the doorway. “What crawled up your ass and died?!” Zane struggled to hold back a laugh at Cole’s remark; Kai however chuckled loudly as another rumble escaped.

“That’s what you get for feeding me all my favorite dangerous foods!” He said. Zane opened one eye just as Cole let out a coughing laugh.

“Gaaahhh!” Cole groaned at the sound. “Next time I’ll make sure you get an ice cream sunday before you get captured!” He gave an over-dramatic gag as he braced himself against the nightstand. “Zane, dude, how the hell can you stand this?!”

“I’m used to it,” he responded. “I shared a bunk with you and Jay nearly a year; I was there that night you downed two whole cakes!” Kai chuckled as Zane answered the Master of Earth. Cole grumbled as he feigned hurt.

“Hey! At least I didn’t cause an earthquake when I rip one out!” Kai’s laughter grew as reached down to cradle his aching stomach.

“That’s because we were on the Bounty; it felt like we’d been hit by a cannonball while mid-air!” Zane snickered at his boyfriend’s response.

“Hey! It was not!” Was all that Cole could get out before Kai pulled him down onto the bed and let another one rip.

“Gah, let go!” Cole cried as he flailed around. Zane laughed as he wrapped his other arm around Cole as well.

“Nope! If I have to live with it, then so do you!” Kai laughed harder as he completely forgot about his poor life choices.

“Oh man, I love you guys!” He cry-laughed; letting out another blast of lactose gas as he did so. Zane would have started to gag had he not deactivated his sense of smell.

“If you really love us, then you’ll stop eating so much dairy!” Cole cried. Kai calmed down just enough so that he finally stopped farting.

“Only if Zane talks to Borg about rebuilding his old skin.” Zane felt something in his chest flutter, as he and Cole gave their boyfriend a slightly worried look. Kai must have noticed it, because rolled over to let go of Cole.

“What? I know you can restore your old form with your holoprojector, but I miss the old you,” he said. “I miss the feeling of hugging you in the morning...how soft you felt when I hugged you while you were cooking.” Zane felt his eyes start to well up as he felt Cole and Kai pull him closer.

[cl-01-kestis]

My Little Rebel - Inquisitor!Cal Kestis x Female Rebel!Reader | Part 14

Summary: After getting a new leg installed, you travel into the depths of Coruscants night life and find yourself in a surprising scenario.

Warnings: hints of nsfw, alcohol consumption

(Keep in mind Cal is aged up to 19)

Quick note: This original post had an nsfw scene in it, I’ve taken it out because I feel like it doesn’t fit the story well at all. I’ve still implied that something happened, but you can perceive it however you want.

The sounds were so deafening, silence flooded your mind and you hated it. High pitched ringing rattled around your ears and pierced your ability to hear for a while after it stopped. You can’t remember the last time you opened your eyes, the light slid through your lashes and you felt like you might’ve been something other than alive. You could still feel your heart beat, you still sucked in weak breaths of air through your nose.

The first thing you smelled was metal, thick stench of silver varnish, polish and gasoline. You wanted to gag but something about being it seemed to calm you down, you felt like you were back on Yavin again but you knew you weren’t. Your fingers twitched and you opened your eyes slowly, immediately shutting them back over when you tealised two big bright lamps were bent over your still form which seemed to be lying on a leather made bed, a medical bed.

You weren’t in the Mantis, that’s for sure. The last thing you remembered was falling down after getting your leg cut clean off, after that everything was black.

“She’s waking” You heard a foreign voice speak, clearly there was people in the room spectating you as you slept. You attempted to open your eyes once more and squinted them instead of closing them over, your arms moving beside your waist to push yourself up and regain full consciousness.

As soon as your eyes adjusted to the light of the lamps looking down on you, they focused on the brand new shiny leg, replacing the one that was cut off. Only then did you realise just how much of your leg you lost, the metal started right at your v line and was attached to a metal brace that was wrapped right around your hips.

“Where am I?” Was your immediate response to your surroundings, shifting your position so your legs dangled off the bed and you held your head to avoid getting a headache due to how quickly you had woken.

“Hiding in the lower levels of Coruscant” Cere’s soft voice called out, the sound of chair legs scraping against the concrete floor before her face appeared in front of you. Cere was slightly lower than you due to how tall the bed was, looking up at you with her beautiful brown eyes and trying to avoid staring so much at your new leg. Processing her words, you let out a soft hum in response and blinked a few times to adjust to the light.

“We were lucky enough to find a mechanic who fixed you up, the leg should take a few days to get used to” Cere informed you in a serene voice, resting a hand on your knee on your real leg and reaching out her other one to hold your hand. You nodded your head at her words and looked up to find that Merrin was fast asleep in the corner, sitting on a chair with her arms folded and head tilted slightly to the side.

“Everyone’s asleep, the time’s 10 at night, I’d get more rest if I were you” You turned your head to meet the eyes of a young man, around the age of 18 with scruffy, curly hair and a face that was patched with oil and polish. Clearly he was the one that fixed you up.

“Thanks” You smiled at him, watching as he wiped his hands with a clean cloth after rinsing them under a tap which was in the corner of the room.

“It’s no bother, just don’t walk around too much just yet, this’ll take a while getting used to” The young mechanic said, chucking the dirty rag somewhere random and walking up to tell you more about your new metal leg.

“It’s made of Alum, commonly used for Mandalorian armour so it should stay intact for a few years. You can move it around, it’s attached your nerve endings to the legs so it shouldn’t be too difficult to find your way around it” He explained calmly, getting down on one knee in front of you and holding your ankle.

“If you may, I’d like to test the flexibility” He offered with a kind smile, earning a blush from you as you nodded your head and let him do what he had to do.

He stretched your leg out as if it were your other one, his hand holding down the robotic legs knee as the other one cupped your ankle, strething it so it was level with your hip and making sure he wasn’t going too far. You felt strange, it was as if you felt his fingers ghost on where your ankle should be, you never knew what it felt like to have a fake limb but here you were. Recklessness got you here and taught you a valuable lesson.

You were surprised you weren’t as shocked and as heartbroken as you should’ve been, you were pretty laid back about losing a leg, that says a lot about you. But you’re a Jedi after all, Jedi shouldn’t be scared and that’s one thing you aren’t. So you blame it on that.

Plus, it looks cool as hell. When people notice that one of your legs isn’t natural they’ll probably stay away from you, which is a good thing. Intimidation might be the way to go through to restoring the Jedi temple, you want people to avoid you and this was the first step of doing so. But still, a part of you felt pissed off because your real leg was sitting around somewhere in the holocron vault.

“How does it feel?” The mechanic asked, stretching it further. You felt strange around the area where your ham strings should be, he did say he wracked your nerve endings with the legs ones so it made sense as to how you could still feel everything.

“It feels normal, not sore” You replied, wriggling your robotics toes and rolling your ankle to test it’s flexibility.

“That’s good! If you’re ready, try standing up” He got off his knee and stood up, dusting his trousers off and reaching out for your hand.

You were reluctant to take it at first, your eyes flickering to Cere who nodded at you in encouragement. “You can do this” She smiled.

Taking his hand, you lean forward and hike yourself up onto your feet. Instantly, you crashed down onto the floor and thankfully landed on your hands instead of your face, saving you a few other instalments.

“Thought that might happen, it’ll take some time to walk straight” Cere informed you, looking at the mechanic who nodded his head at her statement and helped you back on your feet, this time holding your arm whilst Cere held your other.

“This is so weird” You sighed, closing your eyes briefly to gather your thoughts and gain the strength to take your first step on your new leg.

“It will be, dear” Cere assured you softly, rubbing your shoulder before helping you sit back down on the bed you woke up on, patting your back before leaning down and pressing a motherly kiss on your head. You smiled at her gratitude and squeezed her hand before letting her go back to sitting down beside Merrin who was still fast asleep.

-

Some time had passed and it was coming up to 11:30, Cere was asleep and so was Merrin but you were wide awake, getting used to walking around with a new leg and having the support of the mechanic who kindly gave you a crutch if you were to ever fall over.

You paced around the workshop for some time, using the crutch and waddling about till the pain in your leg went away and the nerves got comfortable enough to let you walk around without any trouble. Sleep wasn’t something you craved at that exact moment so you decided that sneaking out and finding clues about your past would be useful.

“Hey listen, have you seen a lightsaber around here?” You asked the mechanic whilst walking up to him without the crutch but still holding it in your hand, watching as his expression changed from emotionless to surprised.

“You’re the owner of that thing? Here I was thinking the Jedi were extinct!” He exclaimed with a delightful tone, grabbing your lightsaber from his workshop table and chucking it to you from a fair distance, a far enough distance that required you to reach it with the force.

“Not all of us” You replied with a smirk, bringing it up to your gaze and widening your eyes once you realised there had been a few changes made to the lightsaber.

“I noticed it wasn’t in very good condition when you came in, decided to patch it up... might be useful” The man said, walking up to you and pointing to the hold at the opposite end of the hilt.

“Double blade...” you whispered to yourself in amazement, looking back up to the mechanic with big bright eyes and bringing him in for a tight and unexpected hug.

“Thank you for this” You mumbled in his ear, squeezing him before letting him go and bringing your attention back to the saber. The mechanic cleared his throat and smiled, trying to suppress the blush spreading on his face as he watched you further inspect the newly improved saber.

With the click of the button, your lightsaber burst into life and a matching blade appeared on the other side. You felt so emotional looking at it, this would strengthen your combat skills enough to take down a full Inquisitor, it made you happy to see it. You’d heard so much about different Jedi who wielded double sided lightsabers, they were only used in advanced combat so it was never common amongst most of the Jedi. Only the most skilled could wield one.

Testing its movement, you adapted quickly to the new model of lightsaber and spun it skillfully around your body. You adjusted to the heaviness of the model and made sure it didn’t hit any parts of you as you made the saber come to a still once more and turned it off, the blades sheathing back inside the hilts.

“This is perfect” You beamed, nodding in approval at the mechanic who bowed his head in gratefulness and let out a relieved chuckle.

“That’s good to hear” He replied, turning to his workshop table once more and leaving you to get ready to wherever you wanted to go. But you were lost for directions at the moment, you’d never been to the lower levels of Coruscant before so of course you’d get lost without some advice.

You didn’t want to pester the mechanic further, so you approached the bed you woke up on and placed the crutch on it, dusting yourself off and grabbing your combat trousers which had been taken off for the procedure for your synthetic leg.

“You have any idea where I can find a popular club around here? It’s not what you think it is, I’m just trying to get in touch with someone” You turned around to the mechanic whilst fitting your new leg into the leg hole of your trousers, slipping it through and then getting your other one in.

“Why a club?” He asked with confusion, screwing on a gadget to a droid which was out of power, he was clearly trying to regenerate it.

“It’s busy, clubs are usually full so it’ll be a good place for me to blend in” You replied with reason, earning a fair nod from the mechanic who put down the screwdriver and wiped his hands.

“I’ll write down the navigations for you, look out for a club called the Outlander, that’s one of the most popular on the top level. But if you’re looking for something more on the lower side, go for Club Kasakar” The mechanic said whilst scribbling a bunch of messy handwriting in Aurebesh, your second language.

Not many people knew, but even though you were born on Coruscant, long before the Jedi found you, your mother and father were from Corellia so your first taught language was Old Corellian. Only when the Jedi found you did you start speaking Aurebesh.

“Here, this should help” He said, walking up to you and handing the piece of paper with a smile. You took it graciously, thanking him silently before looking over his handwriting and studying the navigation to both of the clubs.

“Also, one more thing,” you looked up to the mechanic who looked at what out were wearing.

“Turn up at a club like that, they won’t let you in... no offence” He warned you with a small ghost of a smile, making you blush and look down at your attire before clearing your throat.

“Thanks” You mumbled, bidding him a farewell before turning around and finding your way out of the workshop, clipping your lightsaber underneath your poncho and keeping it well hidden.

You arrived on a small landing platform that was stretched out into a large pot hole that went so far down, you couldn’t see the bottom. This was all the lower levels of Coruscant, vehicles of every kind drove past, carrying either locals or visitors, maybe even tourists. You skimmed over the large space to check if there were any taxi’s floating about whilst also making sure neither Merrin or Cere were looking around for you. You needed time alone.

You looked down at your wrist, a holowatch was wrapped around it and you were surprised to see it was in good condition after all you went through. Flicking through your contacts, you stuck your tongue out and frowned as you searched for the one person you needed to see most.

Clicking on his name, you waited. The sound of dialling rung out in the air around you and it took half a minute for the other end of the line to pick up. Some rustling was heard but you didn’t waste any time in getting the message across.

“I don’t have much time, save all your questions for later. Meet me at the Outlander club on Coruscant at midnight, don’t let anyone see you” You spoke clearly, checking your back to see if anyone unwelcome was listening in and realising who you were speaking to.

“I’ll be there” Cal replied.

“Good” You said sharply before hanging up and waiting on the platform for a taxi to come and pick you up. You had a long night ahead of you.

-

It was cold outside of the Outlander, busy to say the least, but waiting in the cold made you look like your date stuck you up. You made a stop at one of Coruscants designer shops and bought yourself a black mini dress and a pair of cheap silver heels. You weren’t going to waste your time on anything flashy so you went with the most basic option you could get. You were freezing though, you kept your poncho on due to the dresses lack of material.

You wish you had looked at your options before picking the most simple thing there was. In terms of comfort, the dress you were wearing had nothing towards it, instead it was for showing off and had the sole purpose to catch everyone’s attention. You felt embarrassed as strangers walked past you, looking you up and down like a piece of fresh meat before entering the club. You watched people go by opposite from the entrance with one leg bent, heel against the wall as you held your poncho close to your shivering body. Your legs were on show and had a wet look to them due to the dampness of the area and the fact it was lightly raining. The neon lights illuminated your figure and made you vulnerable to the naked eye.

You turned your head at the sudden shift in the force around you and felt your heart squeeze in your chest, looking over in the far distance to see a flash of red hair. You lifted yourself from the wall, eager to see if it was Cal as you walked a few steps forward and leaned on your toes.

Cal emerged from the crowd of people he was hiding in and searched around to find you, gold eyes shifting from body to body as he stuffed his hands in his black trouser pockets after adjusting his black blazer. You swooned are the way he looked, noticing the all black suit he had on and noticing he took your advice in making sure no one noticed him. He blended in perfectly.

“Cal!” You yelled out to him, waving your arm in the air to catch his attention which worked immediately. His eyes snapped to yours and his face lit up like a Life Day tree, picking up his pace and eventually crashing with your body. He wasted no time and swept you completely off your feet, spinning you around and setting you back down to kiss you passionately. You smiled in the kiss as he held you tight and used one hand to cup your cheek, his thumb stroking it softly as you tangled your fingers in his hair.

“I’ve missed you” He whispered as your lips departed, pressing his head against yours and closing his eyes as you hummed in response.

“You look amazing” You said to him, leaning away and taking a step back to inspect his outfit to which he blushed and waved your comment off bashfully.

“It’s nothing, I didn’t want to be noticeable so I went for the most simple thing” He said with a shrug, taking a joking spin which made you smile and let out a soft chuckle.

“But you... wow” He gasped, eyes noticing your dress underneath your poncho. In response, You unwrapped the poncho from your shoulders so Cal could see the rest of your dress, twirling and trying not to freeze to death as the cold enveloped your top half once more. Cal breathed out a sigh of amazement.

“Wait a minute” Cal stopped and frowned when he noticed your leg. The light shone against the Alum leg and caught Cal completely off guard. Any sign of happiness to see you was replaced with anger and confusion.

“Who done this? When did this happen?” He asked eagerly, taking a step towards you again and holding your hands delicately with his.

“I had a run in with an Inquisitor, it’s nothing” You brushed off his curiosity, trying to avoid telling him the fact you stole holocrons and almost got yourself killed.

“Maker (Y/N) you could’ve been killed!” He exclaimed, huffing to himself as you rolled your eyes and shook your head.

“Not trying to sound big headed, but I’m a Jedi” You smirked, causing Cal’s frown to slip off his face and replaced with a small ghost of a smile. He nodded his head awkwardly.

“Fair point, but let’s not forget you still have much training to do” Cal offered you his arm which you gladly took without hesitation, strolling in with him into the club as your other arm held on to your poncho. You two received many looks as you walked in the Outlander, feeling the bass of the music in your feet as you walked over to a high table and stood at either side of it, facing each other with smiles on your faces.

“Of all the places I thought I’d next see you, this is not what I pictured” Cal joked, earning a giggle from you as you leaned your elbows on the table, the neckline of your dress hiking down slightly and revealing your cleavage.

“Even so, no one will find us here... it’s just me and you now” you said coyly, tapping your fingers on the surface of the table as Cal flashed you a mischievous smirk.

“Last time you said that I had you pinned down on a bed” He replied, immediately causing you to blush and look away, fighting back a chuckle as he leaned on the table and placed his hands over yours. You bit your lip and looked back up to meet Cal’s flirtatious gaze, he winked at you before a waitress approached your table with a bright smile.

“Hi folks! Welcome to Outlander, what can I get you to drink?” She said in a speaker voice, holding a tray against her chest as she looked at the both of you.

“You speak Old Corellian?” You asked her in a quieter tone, seeing her furrow her brows before managing a smirk and nodding.

“Mimmin doko” I do. She replied, earning a smile from you as you leaned up and cleared your throat.

“Ihn spelulo de Coruscant visci Fho Uhl sinioro Il Ihn spelulo de Corellisi vin Fho mi” A glass of Coruscant whiskey for the gentleman And A glass of Corellian wine for me. You said effortlessly, seeing the waitress nod as she scribbled down your order on a small holopad, smiling as she finished and nodded.

“Coming right up” She chuckled, turning around and making her way back to the bar as you turned back to Cal who had a more than shocked expression.

“Where the kriff did that come from?!” He asked in amazement, whistling to himself as he looked you up and down seductively, intrigued by what he heard.

“Corellian parents, kinda cool right?” You simpered, stroking Cal’s forearm which made him raise a brow at you in amusement.

“Cool? It’s hot as shit” He said lowly, making you laugh and tap him playfully as he leaned in close to you, your heads almost touching.

“Why’d you speak it to the waitress anyway?” Cal asked curiously, looking around to check once more if anyone was looking at either of you as you smiled and cleared your throat to pass the time.

“Hidden identity I guess, to cover up our tracks so no one knows who we are” You said.

You and Cal chatted for a bit and waited for your drinks whilst listening to the music blasting around the club, people dancing at all corners as you two blended in and looked like everyone else, normal. Cal occasionally touched your arm and intertwined his fingers with yours, knowing fine well he wouldn’t be able to do this with you around people for a long time after. The thought made him sad but you understood how he felt, the two of you were the most dangerous people in the galaxy according to the Empire and Rebellion. You were destined to destroy one another, but at this exact moment you could be with each other without anyone knowing. Now that thought was calming.

“Here’s your drinks!” The waitress from earlier returned with your order, lifting the drinks and placing them on the table effortlessly.

“Lui mia kar” Enjoy my dears. She smiled before walking away and leaving the two of you alone once more. You looked at your drink and then to Cal’s, noticing he had glowing blue whisky which made him look at it as though it was a foreign object.

“Care to tell me what you ordered for me?” Cal asked in a sultry tone, picking the whisky glass up and inspecting it before taking a chance and trying it. His lips met the rim of the glass and he tilted it up, the blue liquid reaching his mouth and making him hum as the whiskey poured on his tongue.

“Coruscant Whiskey, it’s a drink my friends and I got drunk on a lot when we all started living on Yavin” You chuckled, watching as Cal’s face twisted in different emotions. At first he was skeptical about the taste but he raised his eyebrows and smiled.

“It’s not that bad actually, pretty sweet” He commented, setting his glass down and smiling at you.

“It is, Coruscant offers sweet whiskeys but some can be a bit too sweet. Corellian wine on the other hand, any type of wine from there is perfection” You smirked, picking up your own glass and taking a sip from the ruby red liquid inside. Cal watched you closely, noticing the way you licked your lips after you finished sipping. He couldn’t stop his eyes from looking down below your neck, noticing the way your breasts were held in tight against the material of your dress. Cal took note that you weren’t wearing a bra considering the dress had extremely thin straps and would look rather strange with one on.

You noticed Cal looking and leaned your head down so you were blocking his view, earning a blush from him as he quickly looked away and took another shy sip of his whiskey, shrivelling up at the taste for a second before getting used to it once more.

“So... how goes the Inquisitor work?” You couldn’t help but ask, watching as Cal frowned and pursed his lips, it was clear the question had damaged the mood slightly.

“It’s... boring, nothing too important’s happening” He said in a more than melancholy tone, avoiding your gaze as he looked at your hands, almost as if he was studying them.

“Trilla- The second sister, she’s frantic about catching you” He added.

“Am I really causing such a stir? What’s next, Darth Vader knows about me?” You scoffed. Cal stayed quiet.

Your heart twisted when he didn’t reply, he only swallowed and looked down at his whiskey in guilt. You leaned back slightly and felt a lump growing in your throat.

“Well shit” You chuckled, not out of amusement but rather fear, just to shake the tension off your shoulders.

“Does anyone know you’re here?” You asked. Cal shook his head and returned his gaze to yours after what seemed ages. You sighed in relief.

“At least that’s something...” Your gaze shifted over to the bar which was shaped in a hollow circle in the middle of the room, many customers sat at the counter and ordered drinks of all kinds, some others were selling death sticks. You watched in interest and skimmed the room until your eyes landed on the bathrooms in the far corners of the club. You noticed couples either going in or coming out, making you blush and look away before picking up your wine and taking a few big gulps of it which made Cal’s eyes almost bulge out of his head.

“Careful! Don’t get drunk on me just yet” He scolded you playfully, bringing the base of the glass down on the table as you still kept a firm grip on the body.

“Need something to shake me up, it’s been a stressful day” You said, hinting at your leg which made Cal nod his head in an understanding manner, his eyes lingering on it for a few seconds longer before clearing his throat and reaching his hands up to his collar to loosen his tie and undo a few buttons.

You couldn’t stop yourself from looking at his pale skin underneath his shirt, you could see a muscle in his neck flex which made your heart flutter, unable to take your eyes off him. He took notice to this and smirked, walking around the small table so he was next to you and wrapping an arm around your waist.

“You know, i don’t mean to sound provocative, but I wouldn’t mind taking you somewhere more private” He said in your ear as you sipped slightly at your wine, trying not to choke on it as your face heated up and you looked at Cal with wide, surprised eyes.

“And for whatever reason would you want to do that, Mr Kestis?” You toyed, hands reaching to Cal’s tie and pulling on it to bring him closer to you, your lips inches away from each other as he let out a low chuckle and grabbed your hips.

“I’m sure you know why” He whispered, using his other hand to grab your chin and tilt it up slightly as he peered down at you with his bright golden eyes. You didn’t look away, you felt impelled to kiss him right there and then but you were around so many people. It took a lot to fight the urge off and Cal shifted around your thoughts out of curiosity, a cocky smirk growing on his face as he pulled you closer to him and smashed his lips onto yours, almost knocking the wind out of you.

At this point you didn’t care about the embarrassment of people watching, you kissed Cal back and didn’t hesitate to open your mouth and grant him access to taking it a step further. Your hands tugged on his hair and you felt his fingers dig deep into your hips, his other hand shifting from your chin to your ass which made you yelp in surprise.

“Maybe somewhere private doesn’t seem so bad” You breathed out as you separated your lips from his, feeling his hot breath tingle on your face as he pulled away and nodded his head. He was flushed in the face, licking his lips as he grabbed his whiskey glass and finished off whatever was left in it, cringing at the taste once more before grabbing your hand and taking you away from the table. You didn’t have time to finish your wine but you managed to quickly leave a few credits to pay for both of the drinks.

The air was thick as the two of you approached the entrance to the bathroom, but neither of you thought anything about what you were doing. You received strange looks from people who were nearby the bathroom, knowing fine well what you two were getting up to. You laughed as Cal looked behind his shoulder and cracked a smile, pulling you close and kissing you once more before leaning into the bathroom door and taking you with him.

You and Cal stood at the bathroom sinks beside one another, flushed with heat as you washed the sweat off your faces with water from the taps. You had messed up his suit and he ruffled your dress, the hem hiked up more than it was supposed to. You both kept replaying the events that just took place in your heads, side eyeing one another and letting out the occasional giggle which was muffled by the music outside of the bathroom.

“We should probably get back to the club, it’s starting to heat up in here” Cal said, turning to face you and reaching over to your shoulder to fix the strap of your dress. You nodded your head, clearing your throat and taking his hand so he could lead you out of the bathroom, eyes linked to yours a second longer than necessary before he turned around and started walking towards the door.

The two of you returned to your tables very suspicious looking, ordering another round of drinks and looking to one another with great blushes on your faces. You could definitely say you spent this night well.

[thethousandyearwitch]

Eye for an Eye

A "Medical Experimentation"/Black Market Surgery KakuHida fic, because it came to me in a dream.

"Hidan wakes up after a wild night, only to find himself in an uncomfortable and yet enticing predicament featuring a good looking stranger and the miracle of Jashin. And maybe both parties can get something out of this situation..."

Rating: Explicit due to some gruesome talk

Ship: KakuHida

Words: 1702

AO3 Link

Nauseating Darkness. That was the first thing Hidan perceived when he woke up. The feeling of a room, that you’re not even seeing, spinning.

He should have known that this would happen, after the hot bartender kept pouring drinks on the house before he could even finish them. It wasn’t his intention to get drunk off his ass, but free alcohol and shallow compliments from some goth chick can change a night quite quickly.

Reflexively, the man tried to turn to his side to soothe his nausea, only to feel a firm resistance on his wrists. The restrictive movement called his attention toward how cold he felt overall, and how fucking uncomfortable whatever he was laying on was. At the same time, he could hear some movement close to him come to a halt.

“Hey, hey, I’m not in the mood for some BDSM games, I think I’m gonna hurl.” He slurred and tested the restrains again. A gurgle crept up from his abdomen, and the suffocating darkness still wasn’t giving way to any light.

“What the fuck.” A deep voice echoed, definitely not from the cute bartender that Hidan had hoped he took home with him. It wasn’t a question, more of a baffled statement. The young man wasn’t a stranger to taking men home with him, but this was definitely not planned, and the unclear discomfort from his abdomen that stretched all the way to his sternum was enough of a boner-killer that he just wanted to get a shower and a prairie oyster.

“Dude, just, uncuff me, get this fucking blindfold off, and I promise I’ll write you a 3page essay apology for the missed sex or whatever.”

“What- No, stop. Listen closely to me.” The deeper voice came steadily closer, and Hidan was sure he could feel the warmth of another body inching closer to his. “I am not about to fuck your sorry ass. You had some real bad luck, and drew the interest of one of my clients, who paid me to remove your eyes and a couple of organs.”

The spinning inside of his head only got worse, and Hidan let out a confused groan. “The fuck is that supposed to mean?”

“There’s no blindfold, dumbass, your eyes are already sitting on my desk ready for pick-up. I don’t even know how or why you are alive; you’re probably banged up on some drug cocktail that cancelled mine out. But you’re going to bleed out any second. No hard feelings.”

Oh. He’s been tricked. Of course, free drinks are never truly free, but he’s never paid with organs before. First time for everything.

The pressure on his body became clearer to him now. He could feel the burning edges of an incision, reaching roughly from 1cm below his bellybutton up to the tip of his sternum, between the 6th and 7thrib. The foreign body that squirmed itself under his ribcage, wrapped itself with learned precision around his heart, that could only be a human hand.

“Can you not afford a bone saw like any other unlicensed doctor?” Hidan laughed and could feel the pressure on his lungs. Every muscle in his body slowly started to follow his command again, warming back up with steady relaxation and contraction.

“I don’t need to justify my expenses to a dead man talking. I don’t care about leaving a neatly chopped up body, and neither does my guy who’ll get rid of you after the job.” Something cold and sharp pressed against Hidans Aorta, a scalpel, he was sure. “Any last words?”

The pain from the incision gave way to a booming headache, itching and scratching the inside of his skull. Slowly, white spots came into his visions, like a night sky that revealed itself one star at a time. “Yeah, what’s your name, asshole?”

“…Kakuzu. Goodby-“Before he could finish his parting words, Hidan snapped his arms free of the leather straps that held him down, and he threw himself at the other man’s throat, toppling both of them to the ground. His eyes had fully reconstructed themselves, and away from under the surgery lighting, he could slowly take in his surroundings in dimmer light.

“This place is a fucking shithole.” The floor was dirty, the walls and even the ceiling were covered in dark stains, an oakwood desk near the wall was held together with layers of yellow-ed glue, next to it a beat-up office chair with scotch-tape adorned seating. His eyes wandered to the man he kept pinned below him, covered in Hidans spilled out lower intestine. “You’re not too bad though, damn.”

His hands were wrapped around the throat of a well-build man, probably a couple years older than him, with rich, sepia brown skin, black hair tied in a knot. He wore a surgical mask, but it couldn’t fully cover the ends of what was clearly a not yet fully healed Glasgow-smile. But what was most striking about Kakuzu were his eyes; His sclera was a dull red, and his Iris were a bright emerald green. “Why would anyone want my eyes when you’ve got the grand prize resting in your skull?”

Under Hidans firm grip, he could feel the strength Kakuzu had to use just to speak up. “What the fuck are you?”

“I’m my gods most favorite little bastard! Now, how about a little trade, ‘kuzu?” He shifted his weight off of the other man’s windpipe, just enough to let him breathe under a strain.

“What do you want?”

“My guts, ideally back where they belong. And in return- “He grabbed Kakazu’s hand, which until now had been busy digging his fingernails into the immortal’s arm, and guided it to Hidans restored eyes. “-I’m sure your client would go bonkers over two sets of eyes.”

There was a pointed silence between the two, Hidan grinning as his internal organs tried to work against the pull of gravity, tissue already trying to reconnect itself with a painful burning sensation. For a moment he thought that the incision would close over his exposed organs before he’d get a response.

“Get on the table. I’m not going to waste anymore anaesthetics on you though, or else I won’t turn enough of a profit.”

Hidan climbed back on the operation table, arms rested behind his head, legs crossed leisurely. “Money greed is a sin, y’know?”

“That’s fine by me, I’ll buy myself a VIP seat when I get there.” Kakuzu readied a medical sewing kit, and unceremoniously crammed Hidans intestines back into his abdominal cave, to which he squirmed in response, but snickered as well.

“It’s not too late to repent! Jashin takes every poor soul that knocks on his door with the correct offerings, and I have a feeling you’ve got what it takes. And I’m living, breathing proof of his miracles. Or else how will you explain all of…this?” He waved his hand around in the general direction of his eyes and his open wound, and Kakuzu swatted his hand away.

“I don’t know, I don’t care. Maybe you’re the result of a radioactive freakshow. Maybe I’m finally succumbing to asbestos poisoning. Now hold still or I will have to tie you back down again.”

“Kinky! Say, after you’re done stealing my eyes again, wanna grab some drinks?”

“Drinks is how you got into this situation in the first place.”

“I’m not regretting it~”

This earned him an eye roll, though more importantly, he realized Kakuzu didn’t say ‘No’ to his proposition. The surgeon finished the final stitches and gave his work a satisfied nod. He placed a glass jar, filled with some strange liquid, on a smaller table next to the operation table, and leaned in closer to Hidans head. “Now for the money-makers.”

“Wait-wait-wait, how are you gonna take ‘em out? You’re not just gonna snatch them out with your fingers, right?” Hidan fidgeted, though his manic grin didn’t falter. His chest was rising and falling heavily with rapid breathing, pulling at the fresh stitches.

“You really are an idiot. The eyes are too delicate and firm to be taken out like that. I’ll be using a tool that looks like a spoon, but has the sharpness of a scalpel, to basically scoop them out. Getting scared?”

“Are you kidding? I’m really getting excited now…”

Kakuzu huffed and placed one hand on the right side of Hidans face, using his thumb to pull the skin under his eye down. “No squirming, or I’ll take your teeth as collateral.”

“Don’t entice me, ‘kuzu.”

The sharp, cold tool slid smoothly between eyelids and eyeball, and without much resistance it curved into the eye socket and severed the optical nerves. In just a second, Hidans vision on his right side went black, and his heart beat violently against his chest. The pain was overpowering, searing, and exciting.

The surgeon dropped the disconnected eyeball into the formaldehyde jar, and switched hands to get a better grip on the left side of Hidans face. “Halfway done. Need a break?”

“Stop being a fucking tease…” Hidan breathed out, face flushed with excitement, fingernails helplessly scratching at the side of the solid table.

And without any further warning, the tool slid behind the second eyeball, severed nerves, and discarded it into the jar.

Back to nauseating darkness. All of Hidans other senses felt enhanced, he could smell the preserving chemical mixed with his fresh blood, he could hear the buzzing of the lamp above him, he licked his lips and tasted only his sweat, and most of all, he could feel the lingering warmth of Kakuzus hand still on his face, his thumb brushing over Hidans cheekbone.

“You’re a walking organ bank.” The younger man didn’t reply, too busy with catching his breath. “I could save money on anaesthetics and trying to lure idiots to operate on. I’d have any organ anyone could want – on demand.”

“I’m not gonna let you cut me open every day for free, yknow?”

And suddenly Hidan could feel hot breath ghosting over his ear, so close that cold shivers ran down his spine.

“Maybe I do have some free time for a couple drinks, and a little business talk.”

[lilhemmo]

Can I just say I absolutely LOVE your vegeta x reader fics? God, everytime I you see upload one I genuinely get so excited. I don't really have a specific ask/request but can you PLEASE write more vegeta fics. I will enjoy quite literally anything as long as it is about my favorite saiyan prince.

a/n: my heart is GUSHING with feelings, my lovely little nonner. i hope you keep requesting to keep my keys clicking. thank you so much, i appreciate your every word!! how about some sweet geets for ya?

a/n(2): please don’t hold me accountable. yes i know vegeta is not really shown being sweet. but idc.

“V-Vegeta?”

His voice is gruff when he answers, “Yeah, what is it?”

You swallow and try to keep him from being able to so clearly understand that there are tears in your eyes as your voice shakes. “C-Can you come’n get me?”

“Didn’t you drive there?” he scoffs, and you think you hear the rustling of sheets. He must be sitting up. “Don’t tell me you allowed too much of that liquor to take over your senses again? I mean, really-”

“I think someone put something in my drink.”

You hear a pulse of energy and then the line cuts out.

You try to force yourself away from where you were talking with a group of people, most likely where your drink was tampered with, and stumble towards the front entrance. 

There’s a pounding outside and the energy that you’ve come to learn how to sense is pulsating like a bomb from the other side of the door.

On cue, Vegeta’s boot slaps against the door and it swings open, slamming into the back wall to cut a hole in where the knob would be. His hair is glittering gold, eyes a bright blue. The small canine-fangs he sports are bared, a growl echoing from the back of his throat. 

He’s looking for you, but your eyes are crossing and you find yourself falling down into the soft pillows of the couch. You try to cough out his name but it never comes, the word dying on your lips. 

“Who did this?” he practically howls, his hands curled into fists at his side. 

The room clears out in the center and he can finally spot you on the couch. You vaguely feel the base of his palms scooping you up. You can make out the warmth of his chest but your vision is hazy.

“‘Geta?” you cough. Your head lolls against his shoulder and you think you hear him start cursing at the people around you, but you’re not sure. 

“Uh, dude, she doesn’t look so good,” you hear from a few feet away. You want to shout at him that it’s obvious you don’t feel good, but your lips are heavy and stuck together like they’re glued. You moan and Vegeta turns his attention to you, eyes wide in fear. 

He grunts, digging his boots into the ground as he turns and flies out the doorway and back towards Capsule Corporation. 

Your body is deadweight in his arms and he wonders if you’re dying. Vegeta fumbles in the air, kicking himself for not grabbing a senzu before he flew to find you. 

“‘Geta?” your voice is husky and your eyes are misty. He squeezes you closer to his chest as Capsule Corp comes into view. “I-I’m sorry.”

“Hush,” he speaks harshly. You wince and curl back into him, gripping his shirt as tight as you can with your fist. He grimaces - that was not what he meant. He just doesn’t want you over-exerting yourself right now, his heart is racing in his chest as if he were in the middle of a brawl. 

You mutter something else as his feet touch down at Capsule Corp. Now is one of the times when he wishes he had let Goku teach him instant transmission. He opens his balcony screen door and lays you down on the bed, brushing a thumb over your flushed cheek.

Unlocking his bedside cabinet, Vegeta pulls a senzu from where he hides a small stash in a tiny pouch. You’re fully unconscious and in no state to chew the bean yourself, so he’s going to have to find another way for you to swallow it. Vegeta grunts before taking the bean between his teeth and chewing it just enough that you should be able to absorb enough of it to wake back up. 

His mouth comes into contact with yours and he transfers you the bean, cradling your jaw with his fingertips. 

Vegeta’s touch does not leave you, but merely travels. He tucks one of his palms against your neck, his fingers splayed into the locks at the base of your head. He holds you close, deciding to rush you to the medical bay as the senzu bean travels through your body, healing you as fast as it can.

He is careful as he places you down on the hospital bed, the smell of antiseptic wafts in the air and for some reason it makes Vegeta feel safer. His breath is tight in his chest, coming in short bursts as he sits in wait. 

“‘Geta,” you gasp, sitting up sharply.

You can’t believe that he reels you into his own hold. The feeling of his arms around your torso is foreign but welcome. You tuck your head into the crux of his neck and take deep breaths. 

“You’re fine now,” he murmurs absentmindedly into your hair. “The senzu restores your health but not necessarily all of your energy. You’ll be tired for some time.”

You focus on his pulse thudding in your ear, trying to keep your breathing on pace. You never imagined Vegeta would allow you this close to him, let alone be the one who is pulling you in. 

“I-I’m sorry, I know it’s late,” you mumble, your fingers curling around the fabric of his tank top. Your voice grows thick the more you think about what could’ve happened to you at the party had you not given him a call, “Bulma is out of town and Chi-Chi doesn’t have a phone. I-”

“Stop apologizing,” Vegeta barks.

You hesitate, tilting your head back to look up at him. Your eyes are wide and he almost looks apologetic through the anger that’s pulsating in his irises. He swallows thickly and his throat bobs, “You were in trouble. Of course I would come.”

Your voice is stuck in your throat. Vegeta blatantly telling you he would help you shakes you to your core. His fingertips graze against your shoulders and lower back as he resituates himself to better look you in the eyes. 

“The only reason I didn’t kill the bastard who did this is because I needed to bring you back here for a senzu,” he grits his teeth and you feel his hands turn to fists against your back. Vegeta turns his eyes away from you in shame, a pale blush coating his cheeks. 

You allow your hands to find purchase against the top of his chest, your fingernails just scraping against his exposed collarbones. You blink slowly, the senzu doing exactly as Vegeta said - you’re healthy, but drained. 

“I-” you start, your tongue like sandpaper in your throat. You feel the heat of tears threatening your eyelids.

Vegeta scoffs, “I can’t believe you allowed yourself to get taken advantage of like that. You should be more careful!”

The first tear glides down your cheek and you swallow your emotions, “I-I know, ‘Geta. I’m sorry.”

“It was foolish,” he continues. His eyes flicker faintly blue and you wonder for a moment if he’ll go super just out of pure frustration at your folly. You rub your nose with your sleeve, not able to look him in the eyes out of pure guilt, an apology tumbling from your lips.

Vegeta brushes the pad of his thumb against your cheek to catch the tear, his palm resting against your jawline, “If you had been hurt, I-”

Your vision is blurry, but it doesn’t stop you from seeing the emotion flickering in his irises. Your lower lip trembles, “I know, I’m just a burdensome earthling. I’m sorry, Vegeta, I-I know you’re busy.”

Vegeta presses his cheek against your temple and brings you back into him again. You can feel the quick beating of his heart, hammering against his ribs. Your tears dampen his shirt and your stomach swirls at the knowledge that you were just about to the point where anyone could have taken advantage of you at that party. 

“It has nothing to do with my schedule,” Vegeta mumbles against the shell of your ear. His breath is hot against your skin and a blush fights its way up your neck despite the emotion burning in your chest. 

He is gentle when he speaks again, “And you are not a burden.”

A few moments of silence pass and you find that your eyelids are heavy and you want to fall into a deep sleep. You want to take a long nap and wake up to pretending that party never even happened.

“You need rest.” Vegeta stands back to his feet and you are cold at the absence of his warm Saiyan body. You go so far as to release the smallest of whimpers from the back of your throat, your eyes squinting shut as you search for the blankets. 

His upper lip curls at your actions and you wonder how big of a disappointment he thinks you are. He does a funny thing next, something you wouldn’t expect - his arms loop under your knees and around your shoulders and he hoists you into the air. 

“C’mon, lets get you into a real bed.” 

Vegeta is quiet as he walks you to a familiar wing of Capsule Corp. Your eyes are heavy but you feel yourself dipping down into a soft mattress. The warmth of bed covers engulfs your body and you feel safe for a half of a moment before you remember the events of earlier and why you’re here and the fear grips your heart like a vice once more. 

“V-Vegeta?” Your voice shakes and your lower lip trembles. His hand ghosts over your arm as you speak. “Can you please stay here?”

“I am staying here,” he says plainly. He looks down at you as if you were a simpleton, “This is my room.”

You shake your head and curl a fist around the sheets, “No, I mean here-here, with me. Please.”

Vegeta blinks a few times, “I-you want me to sleep with you?”

You wipe your eyes with the back of your hands and it looks like he finally realizes how emotional this whole situation has made you. Without another word, he lifts up the sheets. When you don’t move immediately, he makes a clicking sound with his tongue, “Well, are you going to move or what?”

You shift your body under the sheets to align with the other set of pillows on the opposite side of the bed. You curl the comforter underneath your chin and look over at him as he gets comfortable. Vegeta lays on his back, palms against his chest as he stares at the ceiling.

“Thank you,” you murmur, turning so you’re on your side. You curl your toes beneath the blanket, waiting for his response, if there even is one.

Vegeta’s eyes never falter from the ceiling, but he does answer in a quiet voice, “I told you earlier - if you’re in danger, I will help you. There’s no need for niceties.”

“Well, I’m saying thank you.” You take a breath, “Vegeta, I don’t know what would have happened if you hadn’t shown up. I was so scared. I think you deserve a simple thank you.”

Now he turns, dark eyes tracking over your face as he carefully considers his next words. His upper lip curls and you wonder what he’s thinking. 

“I’m glad you called me,” he finally answers. His gaze softens the longer he looks at you. “I-I’m at ease knowing that you’re safe.”

You brush your ankle against his underneath the covers, watching as his breath hitches. You’ve never been this close to the Saiyan - he’s always been a bit distant with you. You were honestly sure it meant that he didn’t want you anywhere near him. Now, you’re wondering if it meant the opposite. 

“Vegeta, I-,” you feel your voice get caught in your throat as a blush burns your cheeks and neck. You swallow your inhibitions and look him in the eyes, “I need to tell you something.”

He shakes his head and reaches out to wrap an arm around your waist and bring you close, “Hush, little woman. Sleep, or else I’ll make you.”

Every part of your body screams to have him make you, but you don’t want to break the moment up, so instead you tuck your head under his chin and relish in the closeness of him. His body is firm and sturdy and warm, and you feel the safest you think you’ve ever felt in your entire life. Your arms are tucked against your chest and your ankle crosses with Vegeta’s, his breathing heavy and slow against the crown of your head. 

It doesn’t take long for the weight of the day to drag you under into sleep. Your eyes close just as you feel the warmth of a kiss buried in your hair. 

When you wake up the next morning, your body is engulfed in warmth and your head is resting against a firm figure. You remember that Vegeta agreed to stay with you last night - you honestly figured he would leave as soon as you fell asleep, so you’re surprised that he’s still here. 

You’re even more surprised to hear his voice, gently murmuring as his fingers run over your body. 

“Saiyans are proud,” he sighs, traipsing a fingertip just under where your shirt has ridden up on your back. “I guess that’s the reason it’s so difficult to admit the way I’m feeling. It makes me seem weak, and my pride won’t allow me to let down my guard.”

You pretend like you’re still sleeping and curl further into him, your palm against his stomach as your thigh overlaps his under the sheets. There is a gentle laugh that vibrates his chest at your actions. You want to smile but you don’t want him to know that you’re awake and listening.

“Plus, Saiyan men were never great at the caring part of relationships. We didn’t have the time, between winning worlds and conquering for Frieza. There wasn’t a moment to care about your family because you were always in some sort of war.”

He turns and shifts so his chest is completely pressed against your own, a hand holding your head gently so you don’t move too much and wake up. Vegeta sighs against your forehead, his nose buried in the crown of your hair. 

Vegeta takes a deep breath and you feel his throat bob, “Truth is, I was frightened when you called me, and even more scared when I found you passed out at that place. I wanted to rip every person there to shreds at the thought of-”

His heart is beating heavily in his chest as he tries again to finish his sentence, “…the thought of losing you.”

You feel his arms tighten around you and you feel a surge of emotion spiking in your chest. You let out a gasp at the contact and your charade has been broken. You try to turn the gasp into a yawn, stretching your toes and rubbing your nose against the column of his throat. 

“You’re awake,” Vegeta says. His voice is gruff and it sends tingles down your spine.

Tilting your head, you look up at him with a gentle smile, “Good morning.”

“How are you feeling?” His thumb brushes a stray hair away from your face. You’re impressed he hasn’t untangled himself from you yet. You nod, smiling yourself, “A lot better. Safe.”

“I’m glad,” he answers.

You take a chance with what you say next, “I wish we could be this close all the time.”

“Tch, don’t be unreasonable,” Vegeta smirks, a palm running down your thigh to catch under the curve of your knee. “If we were this close all the time, you’d be in constant danger. We couldn’t have that, could we?”

Your eyes shine and it turns his smirk to a smile. You’re not sure you’ve seen him smile much; it shows the edges of his canine teeth that you wonder what they would feel like against your neck. He must notice the shift in your gaze because his grip on your thigh tightens. 

“I’d put myself in danger for you,” you whisper, your hand trailing up his chest to thread your fingers into the hair at the nape of his neck. You nod, your lips parted in the anticipation of possibly kissing him, “I-I would.”

“Why you stupid little woman,” Vegeta’s voice is kind despite the words coming from his mouth. His free hand tips your chin upward and, using the soft flesh of the underside of your jaw, holds you there for a moment. “You’re foolish.”

Your mouths are a hairsbreadth away and when you murmur your next words, your lips brush, “A fool for you.”

When your mouths collide, your body lights on fire. Your chest burns and your belly turns over. You smile against his lips and his thumb glides over your pulse point, the thin skin on your neck tingling at his touch. One of your palms grips his shirt and the other explores the tense planes of muscle on his back. 

“Foul woman,” he mumbles as he traipses his lips down from your mouth to your jaw and neck. “Palming at me like an animal.”

He bares his teeth against your throat and you gasp, your hips shifting against his thigh. Your fingernails dig into the muscle of his back, squeezing your eyes shut when you feel the contact of his teeth with your skin. 

“Y-You’re the one biting me,” you manage, voice breathy.

Vegeta turns his head upward to look you in the eye, “Would you like me to stop?”

“No,” you respond decisively. That simple word lights a fire in his eyes and he ducks his head to your neck again, encouraging your body with a harsh squeeze to your thigh. You wonder for a moment if there will be bruises, but you don’t have long for cohesive thought because as soon as his teeth break the barrier of your skin, your body melts under his ministrations.

Vegeta nudges his nose over the sensitive flesh of your neck, “You sweet little woman. I can’t wait to hear all the sounds I can get you to make.”

Later that day when you walk with Vegeta through the halls of Capsule Corp, everyone is talking. Maybe it’s because Vegeta normally walks alone. Maybe it’s because no one has ever seen you outside of your lab. 

Or maybe it’s because his hand is on your back and there is a smile on his face as he guides you through the building. 

Or maybe it’s the kiss he plants on your head just before he enters the gravity room for some training. 

But, again, no one can really know for sure. 

[eileniessa]

I keep forgetting to send the 5+ headcanons ask so here goes. Stuck-up royalty Tissaia and faerie Yennefer because I love opposites attract tropes.

Send me an AU and I’ll write 5+ headcannons about it - still accepting asks.

Royalty Tissaia and Faerie/Fay Yennefer

This is 2,500 words long. I got carried away xD I'm glad you sent this ask. I actually had an image of fey Yennefer already in my head and this gave me an opportunity to come up with a story around it! Enjoy :)

Tissaia de Vries is a human Queen who rules over the kingdom of Thanedd. Her castle is in the portside city of Aretuza.

Yennefer is a winged elf and guardian of The Whispering Wood. She is fey and the last of her kind. She has pointed ears, dark horns, and black wings protruding from her back.

On her way to the five crested hill, a sacred and neutral piece of land between the five kingdoms that has been used to host diplomatic negotiation for centuries, Tissaia’s convoy is attacked by banner less men. Her guards are outnumbered and Tissaia is forced to retreat into The Whispering Wood, the fey kingdom from which no man returns.

Only two men dare follow Tissaia. One of them shoots her horse in the leg with a crossbow and it bucks and throws her off. She hits the ground hard and narrowly avoids getting shot in the head. She takes cover in a dense part of the forest and keeps running.

Her dress gets caught and ripped by the undergrowth and she trips on the hem of her skirt and falls. One of the men catches up with her and restrains her. The other thrusts a sword towards her chest. Blood soaks Tissaia’s dress and splatters across her face, but it isn’t hers.

A tree root protrudes from the man’s stomach and when his friend drops Tissaia and runs away a figure flies down from the trees and snaps his neck. His body falls to the side to reveal – it can’t be – a winged elf, and species long thought dead. Tissaia runs away.

Yennefer kills the two-armed men that had entered The Whispering Woman but spares the defenceless woman. She bares her fangs at her and tries to chase the outsider back to the border, but the forest has other plans. It’s trees and roots bend to drive the noblewoman deeper into the woods and Yennefer watches it lead her.

Tissaia emerges from the trees at the edge of a cliff overlooking a valley. She’s in the middle of the woods! How could this happen? Tissaia orientates herself and tries to go back into the woods but the fey creature blocks her way.

There must be something special about her, Yennefer thinks. And that’s when she smells it. Vanilla, apple spice, and magic. The noblewoman smells of magic. Yennefer has never spelt that on a human before, or anything from outside the woods, but there is something familiar about it.

Yennefer tries to get closer to Tissaia, but she backs away. Tissaia looks down and throws herself off the cliff. Death would be better than what the fairies have planned for her, Tissaia thinks.

The second of indecision saves Tissaia’s life. Yennefer catches her before she hits the ground and ties her to a tree with roots and vines. She rips Tissaia’s dress apart and looks for any unusual markings on her but finds nothing, though she does get an earful from the human, who claims to be Queen of Thanedd and demands (yes demands) to be released.

Yennefer ignores her (such titles mean nothing in the woods) and steps in close to smell her. The magic on her is faint, and that’s why she had missed it the first time. The Mother Tree. Tissaia smells like the magic from The Mother Tree. Yennefer asks Tissaia under who’s moon she was born but she refuses to say. Needing answers, Yennefer throws Tissaia over her shoulder and carries her through the woods.

In the valley beside the lake, there is a great tree that reaches into the heavens – The Mother Tree. The Winged elves had built their homes amongst its leaves and that is where Yennefer takes the Queen. She ties her to the branch that has grown through the floor and ceiling of her treehouse and leaves to find the pixies. They are mischievous little fays with tricky powers. One species has the power to make people tell the truth – or more accurately spill their guts.

Yennefer uses their magic to interrogate Tissaia and learns that she was born under Freya’s Moon in the spring. From that, Yennefer divines the truth she seeks. Before she was born one of the bordering kingdoms invaded The Whispering Wood and stole the heart from The Mother Tree. Many of Yennefer’s people were killed and when the Mother started to weaken, they knew the heart had been destroyed. If Yennefer felt its magic in Tissaia that meant only one thing – she was the product of its destruction. A child born from a healed womb. Yennefer must get that magic back.

Tissaia is furious about being held captive (and about being dirty, and cold, and humiliated and so on and so forth) and threatens Yennefer with war if she does not set her free. Yennefer laughs at her ‘you have no power here, human,’ she says. Before Tissaia can start talking her ear off again (does she ever stop making demands?) Yennefer gags her and goes to see the gnomes.

She gives them the task of finding out whether the magic can be extracted from Tissaia and given back to The Mother Tree. Since the heart had been taken the fey kingdom had been left vulnerable to attack. Where once there were hundreds of winged elves only Yennefer remained and the other fey species had also suffered great losses.

Yennefer returns to the treehouse and when night falls she unties Tissaia. Unless she can fly, she isn’t going anywhere. She gives her a change of clothes and reluctantly Tissaia changes – irritated skin is better than freezing to death in wet silk. Yennefer locks her into the hut and goes to sleep in her treehouse.

It the morning Tissaia tries and fails to hit Yennefer on the head with a wooden chair (she’s not one for sitting around and waiting to be rescued) which sees her back in Yennefer’s house tied to the tree. Yennefer leaves her to go check in with the gnomes. They haven’t found anything yet. They're known for their wisdom, not their speed.

While patrolling the border Yennefer gets the sense that Tissaia is in danger and rushes back to The Mother Tree. An Ent is standing in the lake and throwing boulders at everything in reach, including the treehouses. Yennefer goes inside and carries Tissaia to safety. She hands her over to some dwarves and goes to confront the Ent. She battles it with her sword and magic until it collapses into the water. When it surfaces it is no longer hostile and Yennefer leaves it be.

She goes to get Tissaia and finds her half-way up a cliff that the dwarves are too short to climb. Tissaia loses her grip and Yennefer catches her but hits the ground hard and takes the brunt of the force after turning their bodies to have Tissaia on top of her. She thinks her wing might be broken 

Tissaia untangles herself from Yennefer’s arms and wings and considers running but can’t get her legs to move. This fey put her life in danger to save her from the Ent and the cliff. She cannot leave her like this. Tissaia kneels beside Yennefer and feels her hands tingle. She places her palm against the broken wing, and it starts to heal. Tissaia’s shoulder burns and twists but she stays with it and heals Yennefer’s wing. The pain stops and she passes out. Yennefer puts her to bed and watches over her.

In the morning Yennefer explains that what Tissaia did was magic and that she has that power because she was conceived using the heart of The Mother Tree. Tissaia doesn’t believe her and thinks that she is hallucinating. She hasn’t had her medication, that’s why she feels weird. She had been poisoned as a child and had to take regular antidotes to stop it from killing her. Yennefer agrees to go retrieve the vials from her horse but knocks them from Tissaia’s hand when she uncorks one. ‘That is no antidote’ she says, ‘it’s poison’. A poison that can suppress magic and turn some fey to dust.

Tissaia’s parents knew she had inherited the magic from The Mother Tree and had been trying to suppress her powers. Yennefer says that the forest needs that magic back because without it the kingdom is unbalanced. Some of the fey, like the Ent, are turning wild. The kingdom’s magic has been poisoned. They need to magic of The Mother Tree to keep the peace and heal that land. Yennefer’s magic cannot do that. It is for defending and protecting the fey and was once shared between her and her people. Now they are gone it has all been given to her.

Tissaia asks to get some fresh air and Yennefer takes her down the lake to bathe. She watches her from the shore (she doesn’t like to get her wings wet) and encircles Tissaia’s body with her wings when she gets out to stop the other faeries from looking at her.

They go for a walk and Tissaia asks Yennefer if she saved her because of her magic. Yennefer says yes and no. The magic might be lost of she died, but even without it, Yennefer would have done what she did. It is her responsibility to guard the forest and those that live there and since Tissaia has been forced to stay she is her responsibility. But that is not the only reason. Winged elves will also protect their mates with their lives, and Tissaia is hers. That was how she knew she was in trouble. Yennefer didn’t think it was possible to bond with a human, but she had. She could feel it.

Tissaia feels ashamed and guilty that her life has come at the cost of Yennefer’s people and The Whispering Wood and agrees to stay until she can give the magic back. With The Mother Tree restored the woods could fortify and better repel the invaders that had hunted Yennefer’s species to the point of extinction.

She stays in the treehouse when Yennefer goes out to patrol and walks through new parts of the woods with her every morning and eve. She begins to enjoy the freedom and release of life in the woods and Yennefer makes her a rope ladder so that she can come and go from the treehouse as she pleases. Tissaia ventures out more each day and gets acquainted with many of the fey along the lake. She is curious about the other creatures that live in the woods but promised Yennefer that she would not stray far from The Mother Tree.

Yennefer and Tissaia get close and one night, after Tissaia asks how it is that Yennefer always appears when she is in trouble or in pain, Yennefer admits that it is because they are mates. That was not the answer that Tissaia had been expecting (not by a long shot) but she finds that it is not entirely unwelcome. They kiss under the stars and sleep together in a bed of flowers by the lake with Yennefer’s wings wrapped around Tissaia to keep her warm (and because Yennefer has to do something with them!)

A month passes and the gnomes come to them with an answer. The magic can be taken and given back to The Mother Tree, but not without killing the host. Tissaia says that she is ready to die for the woods, to right the wrongs of her ancestors and to help protect the fey, but Yennefer won’t let her. With no other way to help the Woods Tissaia knows that she must return to her throne and protect the fey from there. They spend one last night together and, in the morning, Yennefer flies Tissaia to the edge of the woods and watches her get picked up by a patrol.

They do not see each other for months, but Tissaia does catch a glimpse of Yennefer in the trees on her way to another summit at the hill. King Stregobor, whose kingdom lies on the other side of The Whispering Wood, had been trying to rally the other three kings to launch an invasion to wipe out the fey and had been making headway until news of Tissaia return spread and she intervened in the matter. Today, they would be signing an agreement to try and make peace with the fey and, if unsuccessful, to leave their land in peace.

That had been the plan, but things quickly went south with Stregobor plunged an arrow into her back. Piece of shit. And he might have killed her too, had Yennefer not been watching over her. Vines wrap around Stregobor’s wrist and hold him back and Tissaia sees that the arrow in his hand is not of human design. He had been trying to frame the fey.

Yennefer flies down from the trees and tries to take Tissaia into the forest but she won’t run. Stregobor has to be stopped. The other Kings appear with their soldiers and Yennefer covers Tissaia with her wings but she pushes them away. She stands between the men and Yennefer and says that it is not the fey that have broken the peace.

The others kings are reluctant to believe Tissaia’s story but the fact that Yennefer is not currently trying to tear them to shreds and that Tissaia came out of the woods alive is enough to stay their hands. But not Stregobor’s. He gets into a fight with Yennefer and burns her skin with iron powder. Tissaia tries to stop the fighting but Yennefer keeps her away with her wings.

In the end, Yennefer comes out on top and starts to squeeze the life out of Stregobor, the man responsible for killing so many fey. Tissaia tries to talk her down. If she kills him then they will never achieve peace. The fey will not be safe and neither will she, not with her magic. Yennefer lets Tissaia go and one of the Kings takes him to his castle where he will stand trial for the attempt on Tissaia’s life and for the ambush. Tissaia has always been Stregobor’s biggest opposer to invading The Whispering Woods and without her, he had hoped the other Kings would fall in line.

It takes several years but Yennefer and Tissaia get the other kingdoms to sign a peace deal and acknowledge The Whispering Wood’s status as kingdom of the fey. The five crested hill becomes the six crested and for the first time in centuries, man wanders into the woods and fey wander out. Magic is reintroduced to the other kingdoms and the lands become more fertile than ever. As Tissaia masters her magic the rare fruits and plants of The Whispering Wood spread across the continent and the fey become stronger again. Tissaia and Yennefer spend their time between the two kingdoms and after fifty years of peace, they retire to the woods where they live out the rest of their very long lives.

[selenitawars]

A Sequel to the Sequels.

It's been a week and one day, how are you all in those post-TROS support groups?

Well, I was here chilling and had an idea that was born from our thousands theories. So, bora lá!

Before I say what I'm thinking, let's agree in a couple of things:

Ben is alive. don't @ me

Balance is NOT restored.

Won't be easy to do that.

Won't be easy for the galaxy to Rise again.

The kids (most) sensitive to the Force are out there.

Ok, here's my theory:

Rey is pregnant with a Force child. Now, this seems crazy I KNOW. But, I've been talking/thinking about it, so PLEASE read these posts before you continue.

Theory.

Doubt 1.

Doubt 2.

Doubt 3.

Also, this post is AMAZING. 100% accurate. I believe can help too.

This are my ideas more organized, but let's call it prologue 'cause this shit screams fanfic material.

Rey finds out she's pregnant. Confusion, fear, acceptance and happiness, one more purpose to our girl. She loves the baby at first instinct. She does not know much about how it happened or why, but that doesn’t matter. It’s her child, she will protect at all costs. Yet, Rey is afraid and lost, being so young and a mother, without much guidance or idea of what is like to have a parent in your most young days, makes her insecure.

While pregnant (I imagine until the 6th month of pregnancy at maximum) she is searching and studying about how to bring Ben back.

She brings him back from the WBW, but he is very weak, needs immediate medical attention and stays in some kind of coma for a while (couple months, really).

Rey goes into labor, it’s a hard one, painful. She cries because it hurts physically, but mostly because she is scared of not being strong enough to do it. She is so emotional and terrified.

At some point, she is sobbing desperately. Rose, who’s by her side, holding her hand and drying her sweat, gives her the words. Rey knows she has that power, she is the only one who can birth this baby.

Couple more pains, couples more tears. ONE LOUD AND FINAL SCREAM.

“Rey!”, Ben wakes up in a beat. He jumps. Stronger, but he shouldn’t be up just yet. “Rey!”. He’s confused but certain of one thing: Rey was in pain. He needs to find her. Then, the doctors come, try to calm him. “Where’s Rey?”. It’s the only thing he asks.

Poe shows up. It’s awkward for a moment, but both of them can only think of Rey. “She’s fine, man. She’s resting.”

Rey sees her baby. A boy with a lot of hair, darker than hers. She feels so complete, again. Not much after, she sleeps, exhausted. Stays like that long enough until Ben finds her.

He sees her through the window of her room. He has no clue she was in labor, Finn tells him. Which becomes more confusing, but is also why even with Rey at his sight this pulling in the Force still calls him.

Before they meet or Ben meets the baby, one of the nurses needs to talk to both Generals.

“When we uploaded the information of the baby’s exams, the system automatically set Rey as his mother based on her DNA information we have collected.” “So?” “The system also set the father.”

Her friends, who spent the last months supporting Rey at the maximum, go and talk once she is awake (probably after she has to feed the tiny one). They try to explain in the same words the nurse did. Before they say Ben’s name she...

“I know.”

She kinda knew already, but it was this strange and distant feeling, not as clear as seeing the baby’s face. Such a Skywalker-Solo hair, skin and traces. “I don’t know how, but it’s true.”

“Rey.” Finn starts a little worried with his friend reaction. She seems tranquil now, but who knows. “What?”, she stops looking at her son for a second. “He’s awake.”

AND FINALLY THEY MEET.

They don't hug insanely or anything, only stand there. But the baby's in the room, asleep by Rey's left. Ben is on her right side. He is still a little pale and his lips are a little bit dry. She is pale too, but looking stunning.

Basically, they're glad to see each other, both thank each other and worry about their current health. Then, Ben can't hold his tongue, having no idea how long he's gone, asks basic things that lead to Rey explaining in a simple way what she did.

"So, you saved me while pregnant?" "Actually, I was more powerful than ever. Really believe he helped me find you."

Ben knew that was a Force baby, the look in her eyes told him. He didn't mind much about it. Too glad to see her and full of this new joy, this brand new feeling.

"He has a name?"

She looks at him. She has a name but this is the first time she says it out loud. And as if she had called him, the boy wakes up, calm and happy. She takes him. To see him closely, Ben ends up sitting next to Rey. He smiles so much at the sight of the little boy that it's almost a laugh.

"You wanna hold him?"

"I don't know if I should." Ben wants to, but it's a little shy about it, feeling this weird bond between him and the baby. Rey senses it.

They look in each others eyes for seconds and lean slowly for a sweet and calm kiss. Once they separate, they keep glancing at each other. Until she finally says:

"He wants you to." Perfect choose of words. In a second, Ben is up again.

As soon as he grabs the little human in his big hands, Ben smiles from ear to ear. He shows his teeth and the first tears fall out his eyes. For a quarter of second it's like Rey and the rest of the place vanishes, the most important part of her was in his hands and he saw so much looking at a brand new life.

Rey watched the scene and cried as well, nothing could stop the truth. The will of the Force. This thirst for balance. She took a deep breath. "Ben, according to his DNA..."

"Don't worry." Ben interrupted. He knew what she was going to say. Rey saw Ben everytime she looked at her son, Ben saw his entire family and felt Rey's endless essence. "I won't interfere."

"What do you mean? Look at him. It's like having an almost exact copy of you. You can't deny it."

"I'm not denying it." Still holding his son for this precious couple of minutes, in which he could protect him, Ben was making the hard decision. He looked at Rey, "He is yours. Your child." Now, his tears were most sadness, just happy that boy got the best mom he could ever have.

The Force knows it's ways and that's why

"Ben, we are one. Remember? This child could never only be mine. He was born from our bond. I don't know how or why, but I don't care!" She was sobbing, felt sad Ben still thought this, not baring the idea of losing him again. "I have you two with me now." She said firmly, demanding this. "You're not going anywhere, Ben Solo. We have a kid to take care of."

Once again, he smiled. Not the same smile she saw when they first kissed, several months ago, a even better one. He wanted to take her in his arms, but somehow he already did. Between Ben and Rey, no words needed. He was filled with joy when he looked again at the baby and saw his son's eyes looking at him. So comfortable there, close to his chest. Still crying, feeling the biggest and purest emotions, Ben finally calmed down a little to say "Hi! How are you? Did you take care of mommy while I wasn't here? What?!"

"What?!" Rey repeated worried, didn't realized Ben was pretending the baby was answering him. "Oh right. She really knows how to take care of herself." He laughed, too happy to care if it was cheesy at all. "She will be the best mom to you." His voice was soft, sweet and calm. "And I promise, nothing will ever stop me from being your father."

Rey was sure this was the happiest day of her life. Ben kissed softly the baby, feeling his smell before handing it back to his mother. She tried to stop the tears, but it was harder for her. From Ben's point of view she looked so perfect, spreading love, light and affection in the most natural and spontaneous way. With the one they both loved the most in her arms.

"I'm can't believe you're actually here." She looked up to Ben who was holding her face, smiled and took a deep breath, relieved they were both just fine, with her. Again, turned to see her best gift, blinking as if it was a curious and fun thing to do, discovering bit by bit, what is like to be alive. "Can't believe I have you both."

He kissed her temple and she allowed herself to lay on his chest. Relaxed for the first time in months, while he appreciated the simple and perfect view.

"I don't plan on going anywhere, sweetheart."

Guys, please let me know what you think. Should I continue it?

beijas

[etherealvoidechoes]

What If? - WS - Blinded - XCOM 2 Fic

This idea was burning a hole in my brain so here. Maybe a “What If?” series for the future. So enjoy a Zhang fic as I torture the man more. Not entirely canon to “Wandering Souls”, but some details may be canon for the future.

Warnings for thoughts of death/suicide and a description of a wound.

----

The woods were eerily quiet. But also calming. Just the sounds of the still flowing streams echoed throughout the forest. There was the occasional sound of dried leaves crunching under foot from scavenging animals. The winter was slowly encroaching as the first signs of snow were falling. Crisp winter air wicked against Zhang’s face. He took in a deep breath, savoring the cold air biting at his lungs. It made him feel alive.

“What can I even do now?” He let out a sharp exhale; hanging his head low.

Yet, he was feeling somber. He had been for a while. A few weeks since that incident. He raised his head to the sky. Glazed over eyes staring into the heavens. Barely reacting to snowflakes falling into them.

Blind. That was still setting in for him. But the memories were still fresh in his mind.

“Shoving Liz and Hazel out of the way… A second late on blocking all that acid that spewed from the cracked suit of that walking tank… Enough snuck through and struck me.”

He shuttered. He could remember how quickly the world went black; that sickening sizzling from his flesh burning away. And the horrendous smell. He hadn’t felt that pain in years.

Another sharp breath before he raised a hand to his eyes. Shakily, he traced the traced the blistered and burned skin around his eyes. Bleached white, charred black, and pink flesh that remained. Just above his nose and below his eyebrows. Flinching whenever he hit a raw spot of exposed muscle.

“Miracle… a miracle, it was only around my eyes. Could have been my entire face.” He considered that to barely be a miracle. “Still… I’m blind.”  Futilely, he waved his hand in front of his eyes, just hoping he would see something. But it was just darkness. A mere hint of golden psionic echoes of where he could sense his hand was. Ghost lights, he liked to call them. Occasionally it would happen around camp allowing him to “see” everyone, but it was inconsistent. He couldn’t figure out why.

It bothered him deeply. He couldn’t do much without his eyes. Build bombs. Decode and rebuild weapons. Train those unfamiliar with guns. Help scout and help direct where they would move to. And he could barely focus on his psionics with how his senses were trying to adapt to the new change. He was… useless. He hated that.

“There’s a chance,” he paused, biting his lip, “there’s a chance this is permanent.” He hated his mind was even going there. “We don’t have the equipment to restore this sort of damage.” But he had a sinking feeling his new condition would not be changing. “I know that’s what they aren’t telling me.”

He knew the groups medics, Helios included, were not being truthful with him with how he was recovering.

Eyes are looking like they didn’t take much damage. Still hazy, but looking better. The surrounding wounds are healing fine. A few more weeks and this should all close up.

He could remember their voices clearly. Beating around the bush to keep him from freaking out as they did their examinations and treatments. Especially when he asked them directly. He hated that.

“Will hear the same song and dance when I get back… When will they be truthful with me?”At least when he blew his knee out ages ago, the medics didn’t lie to him. “At least that got restored when ADVENT revitalized me… don’t have such luck for my eyes.”

Another sharp sigh as his mind dwelled on the negative. Zhang wasn’t sure how would do without his eyesight. He could tell he wasn’t coping all too well. Probably explained why his psionics were a mess again. Emotions on the haywire even though he tried to keep on a brave face for the group.

“Good excuse for some to get rid of me now. Kill me if they wish.”

Kill him. A grim chuckle left his lips. Death. Such a lovely thought. There were still some who viewed him with great suspicion, especially when he had to share why two Skirmishers, Freed ADVENT, knew him so well. That vile him. How delighted Skiv was that day. Her suspicions were correct, but was deeply disappointed the entire group didn’t turn on him that instant.

“I wonder…” Another grim chuckle. He wondered if Skiv and her cohorts were still trying to plan his demise. She had several opportunities now.  Fine opportunities. Yet strangely, she hadn’t made an attempt on his life since the incident. Was she… “No.” He softly laughed. “Impossible for her to have a shred of empathy for me.” The laugh shifted into a dark cackle, disturbing the quiet of nature. It lasted a for a minute before it died off into a coughing fit.

“Im–impossible.” The mere thought of that made him grin. With the amount of fights and attempts on his life Skiv had made over the year, had this one incident “opened” her eyes and heart? “Impossible.” He didn’t think so.

A little more laughter at such inane thoughts before Zhang let his mind wander back to the sounds of nature. An attempt to keep his mind off of his condition; to help steady his mind and wrangle his psionics. A deep breath of that biting cold air again; he closed his eyes and let his mind wander. A little meditation.

Crunch. Crunch. Crunch.

The sound of snow crunching foot caught his ear. He grumbled. Looked like his little sneak away time was over.

“Who found me?” He turned his head in the sound’s direction. The crunching quickly stopped. But there was no voice. “Hm…” Suspicious. He turned his head away and the crunching sound started back up. Another quick turn and it stopped again. Strange.

“Hm…” A grumble came from deep within his throat. Was someone playing games with him? He opened his eyes, a futile attempt to get the “ghost lights” to work. A glimpse of some sort of echo of the person nearby. But there was nothing. Even when he concentrated, nothing.

“Who’s there?” He asked with a sharp tone. A few seconds passed by. No response. “I said who’s the—”

Crunch! Crunch! Crunch!

The crunching started back up again with increased intensity. The hairs on the back of Zhang’s neck raised. An attempt on his life? About time.

Just as he haphazardly got up from a stump he was sitting on, raising a psionicly infused hand, the crunching suddenly stopped.

“What the…” His head jerked around, trying to get a read on the area. Still “seeing” nothing. “The hell is going on?” He muttered under his breath. Nothing was making sense. Only a few in the group were sneaky, but none were as sly as Lynette, Vox, and Ossis. Unnaturally light-footed individuals.

“Vox? Ossis? Lynette?” One by one he said their names, but still no response. “Who… wait.” He sensed something. Heard something. A rough, labored sniffing. “Don’t tell m—eeEEE!”

Before he knew it, something was shoved his face. Followed by something slimy tickling cheeks.

“TYCHO!”

That curious lizard had found him. Greeting Zhang in the way he loved to pester the man. A snout to the face and a good, wet lick. Explained why he couldn’t “see” nor sense the lizard’s presence. Weird dimensional phasing aspect of his species that made them immune to psionics.

“STOP THAT!”

With a firm hand, Zhang grabbed Tycho’s snout and shoved it away. Tycho let out a snicker; Zhang could only imagine the smug look on the lizard’s face.

“Damn you.” He still wondered why Tycho had chosen him for the brunt of his shenanigans. There were other psionically inclined people in the group who should have perked his interests. Yet the lizard only had eyes on him. And it had been awhile since Tycho had pestered him.

“Damn you.” A sharp growl came from Zhang as he wiped the slime off his face. He was tempted to blast Tycho with a bolt of energy, but knew the lizard could easily dodge it. A sharp breath, the psionics imbuing his hand dispersed. He sat back down on the stump. “Leave me alone, you serpent.” A sharp warning to the troublemaker.

Yet the curious lizard stuck around. Trotting around Zhang. Studying the blind man.

Crunch. Crunch. Crunch.

Trotting around. Those curious eyes studying the blind man.

Crunch. Crunch. Crunch.

Zhang gritted his teeth. He wondered if he was going to have to chase the lizard off to get some peace back. How impossible a task that would be.

“Hm?” Suddenly Tycho’s trotting stopped. What was the lizard planning? “What are you—HEY!”

He felt something rub against his leg a few times and then something heavy plop into his lap. Felt like Tycho’s head from the weight.

“Meeerrp!” A odd growled chirp came from Tycho.

“What in the world are you doing!?” Zhang snarled. He shoved the lizard’s head only for Tycho to plop it back down.

This little song and dance continued for a while longer until Zhang threw his hands up in defeat.

“I don’t understand you.” He raised a hand to his head as he sighed heavily.

“Meerrp!” Tycho made that chirp again and dug his head into Zhang’s lap.

“What the…”  Zhang was ready to shock him with some energy until he figured out what he was doing. “Are you nuzzling?” He had faint memories of Tycho doing something similar to Lynette and Ossis when he wanted some attention.

“Meerrp!” Another chirp from the lizard. The digging continued.

Hesitantly, Zhang brought a hand over to Tycho’s head. His hand hovered for a moment before he finally made contact, stroking Tycho’s head. Warm and silky scales greeted his hand. The faint shivering of the quills when his hand brushed against them. Such an interesting feeling.

“Meerrp!” Another chirp came from Tycho, and what could be described as a purring hiss came from him. Then the sound of snow crunching with solid thwacks. He must has been wagging his tail.

“Strange…” This was the first time Tycho asked for affection from him. At no other time did Tycho allow him to pet him. He had better luck with his siblings. The only contact Zhang ever got was from shoving and throwing the lizard off of him. Tycho only let a select few in the group ever pet him. “You are a strange one.”

Tycho let out a snorting snicker.

As long as Zhang kept stroking his hand against Tycho’s head, the lizard stayed oddly docile. And the two stayed like that for a while. Zhang letting his mind somewhat slip back to meditating as he kept Tycho occupied.

Now Tycho tried to climb onto Zhang a few times, but he quickly knocked him off. He was far too big to be a “lap dog.” Testing Zhang’s limits as always.

——

A stiff breeze struck Zhang’s face, shaking him awake.

“Hm!?” His head jerked around. “Hm.”

The sound of insects chirping was filling the air. The surrounding air chiller than before. Must have been close to evening.

“Fell asleep.” A sharp yawn left his mouth. He was surprised he drifted off like that. Just as he started to stretch, a sudden weight lifted off of his lap and the sound of crunching snow circling around him.

“You stuck around?” Another surprise for him. Tycho stayed even when he drifted off.

“Meerrp!” Tycho chirped a reply.

“Strange thing…” He wondered if Tycho was setting him up. Lowering his guard to pounce on him soon.

Another stiff breeze struck Zhang’s face. He shuttered and let out an audible burr. He pulled the hood of the coat over his head.

“Time for me to head back.” He mumbled. That would be a slight challenge, but hopefully there was a slight psionic trail for him to pick up and lead him back. Usually how he found his way back. As he got up and turned in the direction he felt like camp was in, he felt a solid thwack against his left leg.

“Hey!” Looked like Tycho’s sweetness was disappearing. He knew the familiar feeling of the flat side of that bladed tail making him. “You litt—HEY!”

Another solid thwack against his leg but this time Zhang grabbed onto Tycho’s tail.

“I am sick of your shi—!” Suddenly he felt himself jerked forward, but he quickly caught himself. “Why you lit—”

“Meerrp!” A chirp and a sharp snort from Tycho cut Zhang off. With his tail still in Zhang’s hands, he pulled slightly but not enough to get it free.

“What are you trying to do?” He felt another tug, the tail almost slipping from his hands. He quickly tightened his grip and followed where he felt it going. “What are you doing?” He grumbled.

A few minutes of walking in silence, it finally dawned on Zhang what Tycho was doing in his own mischievous ways.

“Leading me home.”

Tycho walked at a steady pace, pausing whenever he felt like Zhang was trailing behind too much or was losing grip of his tail. No tricks. He was genuinely guiding Zhang through the woods and back to camp.

“Why the sudden niceness?” He couldn’t help but ask. Even when Lynette tried to get him to behave during their private conversations, Tycho would always find a way to pester Zhang.

Tycho replied with a chirp and gruff snort. Zhang wondered if there was a smirk or another sneer on the lizard’s face. An amusing thought.

“Shaojie!” A voice called out, followed by hurried footsteps of snow crunching underfoot.

“Lynette?” He recognized the voice. He turned his head towards her voice. Faint echoes of Lynette running towards him.

“Ah!” Zhang let out a gasp as he felt arms wrap around him tightly.

“Your safe.” Lynette let out a relieved sighed.

He was stiff as a board. Hands out to the side. He was hesitant in returning the hug. Her winter coat was coming in and there was a high possibility those venomous quills were on her back. He didn’t want to risk getting pricked. Sometimes the new growth was potent, and he didn’t want to go on a trip. “Lynette…” He let a wheeze as the hug grew tighter. One more squeeze before she finally let him go. “Why are you—”

“Where the hell have you been!?” Before he even had a chance to speak, Lynette had grabbed his face. Those cool, padded fingers tracing the damage around his eyes. Thankfully, not with her claws.

“Hey…” Zhang let out a slight hiss as he flinched. He tried to pull away, but she had a grip on him. “Thinking. I needed sometime to myself. Too much noise around the camp.”

“Without telling anyone where you went?”

“I’ve done this before,” he let out an annoyed sigh, “and have been fine.”

“Dammit, Shaojie…” Her fingers tightened on his face for a moment before relaxing. He could see her echo look away from him. He could imagine the angry and disappointed look on her face because of his stubbornness.

“Look…” He let out a sigh. There was a hint of guilt in his heart. This wasn’t the first time someone came looking for him when he disappeared without a trace. “Lynette, I—”

He felt those fingers of hers tighten on his face again. Perhaps she didn’t want excuses? But he felt his face being drawn forward until something pressed against it. Then he felt her warm breath.

“Just…” Lynette paused. “Just let us know where you’re going… Please…” Those fingers of her tracing his eyes. “I know you’re hurting. Please… just let us know.”

I know you’re hurting. That cut deep.

He let out a heavy sigh as he closed his eyes and pressed his head against hers. What to say? What could he say? Hearing the worry in her voice made his heart hurt. He wondered if this outburst had been building for a while. There was always a hint of worry in her voice when he would appear in the camp again, but she never pressed on why he kept disappearing.

“Lynette… I’m sorry. I just… just needed time to think… about…” Zhang was hesitant to bring up his worries. His fear he’d never regain his sight.

“I know. Your eyes.” She sighed. “The docs are still unsure if they will heal properly.”

“I don’t want to be useless…”

“Shaojie… you’re not useless.” She kissed his lips.  “You need to heal. You’ll adapt to this. We’ll adapt.”

“Lynette…” He wished he had her positivity. He raised his hands to his eyes, brushing against hers as he felt the wounds. “I don’t think I can adapt to this.”

“Shaojie.”

“Eep!” Zhang squeaked.

Her hand had slipped down to his goatee and was giving it a few good tugs. “If you survived the near crippling torture you showed me, I think you can survive this just fine.”

“Nrrgh…” He grumbled, more or so towards the tugging. She had a point. He endured that torture for years. This trial of lost sight couldn’t compare to that. “Point taken. Now that stop.” He swatted her hand away. She softly chuckled.

“Get that critical brain of yours thinking on the positive. We don’t need another moper in the group.”

“I’ll try.”

“Good.” She kissed him again and this time he kissed her back. “Just talk to us. Okay? Helios would be more than happy to listen.”

“I’ll try.” He chuckled at her mentioning Helios. “He would be.”

“Meerp!” A snorted chirp came from Tycho

“Tycho!” Both of them exclaimed.

Feeling left out from all the affection attention, the mischievous lizard managed to squeeze himself in between the two and got his snout in their faces to give them both slimly licks.

“Oh, come on!” Zhang sputtered as he pulled back.

“Tycho! You know better!” Lynette quickly pushed him off of her.

Tycho let out a snorting snicker. He clambered back onto Lynette, playfully nipping at her face in-between licks.

“You make it seem like I never give you any love.” There was a hint of annoyance in her voice as struggled to keep the silly beast off of her.

“To think he was being nice to me earlier.” Zhang grumbled as he wiped the slime off his face.

“He was being nice?” Lynette laughed. “To you?” She couldn’t believe that.

“Surprisingly, yes.” He walked back over to her, but stayed wary of Tycho. “Think he’s ‘concerned’ about my condition. To a point.”

“Really?” Still hard for her to believe. “You’ve been concerned about Shaojie, boy?” She managed to grab his face and keep him at arm’s length.

“Meer-meerp-meeerp!” Tycho let out a strange purred chirp as he struggled against her grip.

“He actually let me pet him.”

“Seriously?” She looked at Tycho and then back at Zhang. “I have to see that to believe it.”

“Doubt he’ll let me do it again anytime soon.” He shook his head and chuckled.

“Alright, get off!” Lynette manage to push Tycho off of her but not without a few more licks. “Eugh… such a handful.”

Tycho made his usually snorting snicker before trotting over to Zhang and pretty much head butting his leg before he started rubbing against it.

“Well, I’ll be…” She couldn’t believe what she was witnessing.

“Guess he wanted to prove my doubts wrong.” That surprised Zhang that the lizard was did that. He prepared himself for a tail whack, if it was coming. “Strange thing.”

“Well, I hope this is a good omen. Maybe he’ll stop pouncing on you.” She laughed.

“Doubt that.”

A stiff breeze rustled the leaves overhead, whipping some snow around.

“Burr.” Lynette shivered. There was a slight clacking sound coming from her back. Must have been those quills. “Think it’s time for us to head back.” She went over to Zhang, grabbed his arm and led the way back to camp. “Roaring fire and some decent food cooking.”

“Who’s cooking?” He started walking.

“Ary, Clay, Ceras, and Ansli.”

“The chef brigade. So better than decent.”

“You can’t be picky now.”

“What?” He shook his head. “I’m a bit tired of Chryssalid, especially when Row is cooking.” He chuckled.

“Row does do weird things because of his… peculiar palette.”

“Alien palette.”

“It’s not that bad.” Lynette gave his arm a good squeeze.

“You can’t eat Chryssalid, so you don’t know how weird his meals get.” Zhang shuddered just remembering some of the meals and unfortunate side effects. “Venom as a spice.”

“…Fair point.”

It wasn’t long until the familiar chittering of the Shroud could be heard. Their cover against ADVENT and other hostiles. As they passed by the barrier, the sounds of all the camp ruckus started to fill the air. Busy as usual.

Just hearing the ruckus got Zhang’s brain turning. He couldn’t keep disappearing like this. Even though this condition was eating at him, these disappearances of his were putting the group in danger. Someone always came looking for him if he didn’t return before dark. And dark was coming earlier every day and who knew what the winter would be like. Didn’t need rescue parties for the search for those that were looking for him.

He let out a heavy sigh as it was all starting to hit him. His actions were selfish. “Letting that attitude slip in again.” He thought about his time he blew out his knee. “Letting the feeling of uselessness eat at me.”  Though he was still of use to the cell he was a part of, he hated he couldn’t be active in the field anymore. Just an old man with a cane building bombs, training new recruits, helping plan operations, and barking out orders. No more direct action.

“Need to talk about this.”

“Hey…” Zhang paused, both in speech and movement. He shifted is head slightly to look at her.

“Hm?” Lynette felt the sudden stop and turned to look at him. He had a pained look on his face. “Yes? What is it?”

“Can we talk, tonight?”

‘“Yes,” she raised a hand to his face, “what’s on your mind?”

“A lot of things.” He leaned on her hand. “My eyes and other things.”

“Get some weight off your shoulders?”

“You could say that.”

“Heh, heh.” She softly laughed as she patted his face. Finally. “More than willing to listen. And I’ll make sure someone doesn’t bother us.” From the corner of her eye, she glared at Tycho, who was just behind them.

The lizard snorted and made a whine, mimicking the mouth movements she made. He sauntered by them, giving Lynette a good whack to her butt with his tail.

“H-EY!” She yelped. “Behave you or I’ll have Ossis running you ragged!” A quick threat from her. Another snort came from the lizard as he continued on his way back to the camp.

“I have a feeling he’ll bother us no matter what you do.” Zhang snorted.

“You’re probably right sadly.” Lynette sighed. Tycho was always seeking trouble.

“At least we’re just talking tonight and not ha—”

Those quills on her back started to clack. She smacked his shoulder. “No!” She shuttered. “Don’t remind me of that.”

“Heh. Sorry.” A devious chuckle slipped from his lips as he flinched.

“At least your humor is coming back.” She shook her head. “Missed that.”

He chuckled again. “You did?”

“Yes.” She wrapped her arms around him. “Don’t push it.”

“I’ll try not to.” He carefully wrapped his arms around her. “And thanks.”

“Mm hm. Welcome.” She pressed her head against his before kissing him again. “Love you.”

He returned the kiss. “Love you too.”