#need to let this wip consume me i'm begging

[aaronstveit]

everyone please manifest me getting really into twister au soon🙏

[in-my-loki-feels]

11, 16, and 17 for the fic writer asks!

11. Link your three favorite fics right now.

I originally thought this was a request for fic recs, but all the questions in the game are about your own writing so I guess that's what it means? (Imma do both.😁)

Three favorite fics of my own right now: Beg Me For It, Let Me See You, Feelin Nauti

Three current favs by others: Kneel for Me, Rein Me In, wait for me at the bottom (a Thanzag rec for you!)

16. How many fic ideas are you nurturing right now? Share one of them?

My god, so many. At least 7, but I could be forgetting some. I don't think I've had this many ideas tumbling in my head since the AC2 days. 😆

I have one idea for the President Loki + Don AU where Loki would not only get to take on a female form, but also goes head-to-head with Don's ex-wife (which sounds way more dramatic than it is). I keep setting it aside because it feels like a lesser plot point in that AU and I'd probably be writing it to indulge myself more than others.

17. What do you do when writing becomes difficult? (maybe a lack of inspiration or writers block)

Perfect timing for this question as the wip I'm currently working on is making writing feel VERY difficult right now. If I'm totally blocked or I can't figure out what's wrong with a story/it just doesn't feel right, the first thing I should do is step away and see if the next step comes to me naturally, instead of trying to force it. However, I rarely follow that advice because I'm a clown.

The next step is to reach out for help. Either a beta reader in fandom, or my bestie whose also been my writing buddy for many, many years. No matter the fandom or subject, we can turn to each other, and since she has no emotional investment in the characters, sometimes she can see the problem more clearly.

If it's a lack of inspiration, then I usually seek out some new media to consume. One of my favorite pieces of writing advice is: if you want to be a writer, you need to read a lot and write a lot. Reading, watching a TV show or movie, or listening to new music activates my brain and usually leads to new ideas.

Thank you for the ask! <3

[ladytanithia]

WIP Wednesday

Toying with an idea for Miranja's future... not sure if I want to go this route, and not sure whether Faendal would react this way after a long friendship, lots of adventures together, and serving as her steward for a few years, but my mind likes to fixate on horribly sad things sometimes. Working title is Losing Faendal.

@dirty-bosmer @thequeenofthewinter @thechaosdragoness @gwilin-stay-winnin @skyrim-forever @mareenavee

The sight that met Miranja's eyes was distressing. Camilla lay in a heap on the floor, and Faendal hung by his wrists, locked in shackles on the wall, dull-eyed and despondent.

Pulling out the key she'd taken from the bandit chief, she rushed to Faendal. "I came as fast as I could, as soon as I got Endur's message." She unlocked the shackles and let him down, then she turned to Camilla to check her.

"Don't bother; she's dead," Faendal spat bitterly, sitting on his knees, rubbing life back into his arms. "She's been lying there for hours."

An invisible fist clenched around Miranja's heart. "Oh, Faendal... I'm so sorry. I'm sorry I was too late to save both of you." Her throat clenched up along with her heart, and she fell to her knees next to him, sobbing, reaching for his arm to help him massage the blood back into the numb limb.

But Faendal pulled away with a hateful grimace, and Miranja retracted her hand as if he'd slapped it, her mouth an O of surprise. Her heart stopped altogether for a moment in her bewilderment. She took a breath to ask him why, but he spoke before she could, his tone venomous.

"Don't touch me. You want to do something for me? Then go to the nearest town and send a cart for Camilla. And don't come back. I don't want to see you again. I'm going back to Riverwood, and you can find yourself another steward."

"Faendal..." she squeaked out weakly, choking on her sobs.

"I'm sorry I ever got involved with you. This only happened because some sick Blood Horker bastards wanted revenge against you. My wife is a casualty because of what you've done. My son is motherless." His voice cracked on the last word, and he crawled over to Camilla's body, bending over her with his back to Miranja and sobbing.

All Miranja wanted to do was throw herself on the floor and weep and beg Faendal to have mercy, but she knew all that would do was antagonize him. She got to her feet and ran, blind with tears, back to the cave entrance. Back outside, she screamed her despair to the heavens until her voice was ragged.

She staggered, exhausted, into Rorikstead, heading straight to Sissel's farm, where she pressed a coin purse into Sissel's hand without counting the gold, begging her to take a produce cart to Orotheim as soon as possible, telling her that a woman had been killed and needed the appropriate preparation for burial. She knew that under Bosmer beliefs, Faendal was supposed to consume his dead wife, take her essence into himself, but Camilla's brother was still nearby and would want to inter her in Imperial fashion. Faendal would be sick with the thought of Camilla's body rotting in a grave, but they weren't in Valenwood, and he had to abide by the law of the land.

Throughout everything, she'd never stopped loving him. She had been both happy for him and sick for herself when he and Camilla had married, when they had announced Camilla's pregnancy, when they had announced the birth of their son. She had showered them with gifts, made sure they had everything they needed. They had all loved each other, and Miranja had loved Faendal's son as if he was her own. She was beside herself with disbelief that it could have all gone up in smoke with one horrific event.

Faendal had married Camilla because she was "safe" and he'd never have to worry about her - yet because they were associated with Miranja, neither he nor Camilla had ever really been safe. It was her fault. Never before had she so resented being the "heroine" everyone had made her out to be.

[perceivedregret]

no more pain, except im lying

pt 4 of so it goes. i'm happy to say i've been consumed. rip my other wips tbh /: you can start from the beginning on my ao3 if you'd like. for now, here's pt4

Steve was thankful when he didn’t actually die the first time.

Now he kind of wishes he would have stayed dead.

He looks around, sees the way they’re all surrounded. Hopper stands by the cabin’s door as they all get meticulously taken down by the Suits one by one, their weaknesses being used in full force against them. Steve musters up what little bit of energy he has left and begs for Dustin and Max to run. Those brats have been through enough, they don’t need to see this happen to the three of them, not again.

Everything goes dark as he feels himself burn up from the inside, the injection coursing its way through his body until he can’t do anything but let it completely take him under.

—-----

"Come on! Stop worrying and just think about how cool this is going to be on the way over. Guys, back me up."

Dustin jingles the keys to Steve's car, holding it up near his face with a wide enough smile to make Steve's own face ache. The keys slip from his grasp and Steve instinctively reaches out to catch them, moving so quickly he disrupts the still air.

"Holy shit," Lucas, Will, and Mike gasp, eyes and mouths hanging open comically wide. Steve tries to limit his abilities, always trying to maintain a semblance of normality to their lives as often as he can, so to catch him slipping up is its own surprise.

"Watch it," he mutters, quick glance at the keys to make sure he didn't accidently bend them. "Last time you dropped these I ended up without a house key and had to climb in through the window."

Dustin's smile somehow gets wider as the back of his hands slap the arms of those closest. "I'm never gonna get used to that, holy shit. But whatever, think about it!" He's already shouldering his backpack and heading towards the door that leads to the garage, doesn't bother to look back to make sure the rest are following. "When has anyone ever had the opportunity to take a picture with their own headstone!”

“God, Henderson, I’d hope not ever. Why are you so fucking geeked about this, you twerp. Shouldn’t you be in like, mourning, or something.” He doesn't know why he's following him because he really shouldn't be entertaining this idea. Hopper would probably end up actually killing him if they got caught since he declared him dead a little over three weeks ago, and he doesn't think the guy would be all that opposed to making it happen this time.

“That's the awesomeness of this because you're not really dead. We did all our crying and grieving when we thought you died the first time when Heather snapped your neck. But then you woke up! You die-but-not-really-die a second time and it kinda loses its effect. Except with death number two you now have a headstone! You’re like Han, except less frozen in carbonite and just frozen at nineteen forever.” 

Mike scoffs behind them. "I didn't cry, did you cry?" He stage whispers. Steve rolls his eyes.

"I don't know." Will shrugs, fingers fidgeting with the buttons and knobs on Jonathan's camera that hangs over his shoulders. "I mean, I shed a tear. I think."

"Oh, fuck off," Dustin mutters, beelining straight for the passenger side.

When they get to Steve's car and are face to face from opposite ends of their respective doors, Dustin smiles so genuinely that Steve can’t bring himself to be the buzzkill. If he's honest with himself the idea does sound kinda cool, but he can’t let Dustin know that. Undead superhuman vampire or not, he needs to work on toning down this kid's damn ego.

“Han huh… that’s the cool dude who’s best friends with bigfoot and has the really fast spaceship, right?”

Dustin’s smile immediately drops, the other three bemoaning as they slip into the back seat.

“He did not just call Han Solo the cool dude with the fast spaceship," Lucas groans, slipping in behind the driver's side.

“Bigfoot? Bigfoot?!” Mike sputters, exasperated.

Dustin’s head drops, chin dropping to his chest so fast Steve can hear his neck crack. His head snaps back up, hands coming up as he taps his pointer fingers together. “First off– Han Solo is one of the greatest leaders of the Rebel Alliance. He helped fight for the freedom of the entire galaxy against the Galactic Empire. Okay, that man is a hero, a bad ass… The best smuggler!”

Steve tilts his head, corners of his mouth downturning as he considers the compliment.

“Oh!” Dustin snaps his fingers before his hand slaps the roof of the car. “He gets the girl!”

Steve’s eyes slip shut at the start of Mike cackling in the back seat. “So... he’s not like Han.”

—--

there's more to this part, catch the rest on my ao3

[heartofspells]

Also for SSS

Daniiiiiiii. Totally the first time you've been in my ask box today.

Oh, SSS. This one will be...admittedly rough. It's a continuation to The Demons We're Made of as well as an alternate to Unbreak the Broken, all falling within the same series. Demons is the start, while Unbreak the Broken and SSS are explorations and glimpses into what comes next depending on outcomes revolving around difficult choices.

--

His head whipping up at the refusal, Sirius finally looks at Remus, finding not the desolation and defeat he'd expected, but a steely determination rippling through his brown eyes, pulling Sirius down like quicksand. He blinks, stutters, all his words drying up in his throat as Remus shifts forward on the bed until his knees are pressing into Sirius' thigh and hip, a solid weight, some sort of sturdy comfort that's jarring to Sirius. Hands slip around the sides of his neck, warm where Sirius' flesh feels so cold, just as it always does in comparison. Fingers twine into the baby fine locks of hair at his nape, an action so familiar that it's almost like coming home after the most terrible of days, stripping away shoes, layers of clothing, falling into an embracing bed or a hot bath, welcoming arms always there on the other side.

"Please," begs Remus, holding with a gentle pressure, allowing escape if Sirius wants it but not relenting in his grasp as they sit together. "Please don't. I know we're – " He stops, swallows, his mouth wobbling terribly as Sirius watches. "I know. Things aren't fixed. They aren't better or mended. What I said…Sirius, I'll never forgive myself for it, for that moment of weakness when you needed me to be better."

Sirius shakes his head roughly, Remus' hands moving with the motion. His mouth opens, but a finger slides around, pressing over his lips, Remus shushing him softly.

"Don't say you didn't because you did. You were pleading with me to listen and I didn't. I promised that I would always listen to everything you had to say and when it mattered the most, I failed you. I'm so sorry for that, but I'm begging you now to hear me."

Inhaling a shuddering breath, finger dragging across Sirius' lips with a reverence he could paint the earth with for how many times he's felt it, so strong as it radiates out from his husband that Sirius thinks Remus is frightened he'll never get to touch him again, his eyes meeting Sirius' own, brown melting under the raging furnace of past days.

"Please don't say you're finished. We're not finished, Sirius. If you need more time, that's okay. I can wait. I will always wait for you just as I always have, but I can't let you slip away from me again without fighting to keep you. I can't lose you again." A sob rattles through him, tearless but audible, shaking, Remus licking over his own lips as he tries to stifle it. "I love you. More than anything, I love you."

Closing his eyes tightly, Sirius crumbles forward, Remus catching him with that same consuming warmth. Their foreheads press together, cold and warm fronts of two storm systems colliding, creating something new, a powerful force that ricochets inside every part of Sirius' body, no different than it's ever been for them, not since they were teenagers hiding away inside broom cupboards, avoiding curious eyes and nosy professors, fumbling in the dark, so uncertain but still sure.

"I love you, too," he whispers, "but I – Remus, what if love isn't enough?" And Sirius can't look at him again, can't force his eyes open, the soft words the most horrible of admittances, Sirius' own fears cracking through to the surface, flooding his veins and chest like gates opened, dam walls lifting, water rushing out to drown everything else away.

The spasm that races through Remus is felt deep enough to grate cartilage together between his joints, but the fingers resting on his neck tighten instead of slackening, still not giving up.

Send me an ask about a WIP!

[tonysslut]

Second Chances. Chapter 2

Series Masterlist

Previous chapter

Warnings: Angst, slight mentions of negative self-talk

Word Count: 2k

A/N: I'm so sorry this has taken me so long, this is still a WIP and my very first attempt at a series, so any feedback is appreciated.

Chris relentlessly tried to contact you, he left hundreds of messages and another hundred missed calls. He knew he fucked up. What he had going on with her was a mistake, alcohol controlled his actions and before he had time to process anything, he woke up in a hotel room with her wrapped up in his sheets. 

He was going to tell you right away, but rumors started spreading before he had time to come clean. That was the first time you brought it up, looking at him with so much sadness in your eyes. He didn’t have it in him to tell you, not with the way you were crying in his arms, feeling how the guilt consumed him as he reassured you that nothing was going on. 

But that didn’t stop him from going back to her weekly, telling you he had a work trip or that production had to run an hour or two more than planned. He would come home and see you had fallen asleep on the couch waiting for him, smiling in your sleep when he carried your tired figure to bed. After a few weeks of him coming home late, you stopped waiting up for him, he knew there was no turning back at that point. 

Eventually, pictures of him got leaked and he knew he needed to end it, but she didn’t like that. She would constantly text him, even going as far as calling him during the day. Part of him wondered if she knew your relationship was falling apart, the way she would word certain messages made it seem like she was hoping you would catch him. 

And you did, in the way he least expected. He felt his entire world crumble beneath him when you told him you knew. He didn’t know how to react, everything happened so fast, he didn’t know what to do. He tried so hard to get you to stay, he cried, he begged, but nothing worked. 

After you left that night he stopped taking care of himself, he would spend all day sleeping, and all night drinking. He had no idea where you had gone, your belongings were still here, you wouldn’t just leave them behind so that gave him hope that you would show up and he would have another chance to explain himself. He called Scott to see if he knew where you were but he was met with a long lecture about how much of a shitty person he was for cheating on you. He didn’t fight back or argue, he just let Scott tell him off, he knew he deserved it. 

With no other way of contacting you, he started to stalk your Instagram, hoping maybe you would post something so he would at least know you were okay, but nothing, you had completely gone off the radar. Every night he would hug your pillow to his body, inhaling the scent of you that still lingered, falling asleep with the hope that maybe in the morning you’d come home again. 

It had been a few weeks since you left Chris’s house. The days felt like a blur, leaving your hotel bed felt impossible, all you did was cry. Cry over what Chris did to you, cry over how disgusting you felt, cry over how you constantly compared yourself to her. That was probably the worst part, looking at her pictures and picking yourself apart. You thought she was so much prettier than you, so much more talented, just so much more. 

Eventually moping around became exhausting so you started looking for a new place to stay, your hotel room was starting to become suffocating. You ended up finding a nice apartment and were accepted right away, you felt a sense of relief knowing you had a place to call home again. But reality suddenly came crashing down when you realized you needed to get your stuff from his house. You had been dreading this moment, you contemplated just leaving everything there, but you knew couldn’t do that. So you decided to just rip the bandaid off and text Chris. 

“Hey, I need to pick up my belongings from your place. Could you let me know what time works for you?” 

You read over the messages over and over again, your finger hovering over the send button. Nerves took over your body, quickly hitting the send button before you chickened out. Almost instantly you saw the three dots, letting you know he was typing. 

“You can come now if you’d like.”

His response made your stomach drop, you weren’t expecting him to answer right away, let alone tell you to come now. You sent him an ‘okay’ back and grabbed the moving boxes you bought the other day before heading out the door.

You couldn’t control your nerves as you drove back to your once shared home, maybe this was a bad idea? Did you really need your stuff that bad? You could just replace everything over time. Deep down you knew you needed to see him one last time, you’d be lying if you said you weren’t worried about him. Pulling into the driveway, a wave of sadness washed over you when you parked. Flashes of the night you last saw Chris invading your mind. 

You shake it off and head towards the door with the boxes in your hand, knocking on the door, you take a deep breath and brace yourself. You hear faint footsteps and the door swings open, you take in Chris’s appearance, his beard is overgrown and messy, his under eyes are an angry red with a small mix of purple, he’s lost all his color, and it even looks like he's lost some weight. 

“Come in.” His words snapped you out of your thoughts and you realized you had been staring.

You give him a small smile and step inside. The house looks the same as when you left, even the blanket you used that night was in the same spot on the couch. Dodger comes in from outside and makes a beeline towards you, knocking you to your knees in the process. He whines and licks your face in an attempt to get impossibly closer. 

“He missed his mama,” Chris says from behind you, looking down at the pup.

You grab Dodger's face and kiss him on the head, turning around and giving Chris a small nod. His comment makes your stomach turn, but you try your best to no acknowledge it and focus on what you came here to do. Getting back on your feet, you make your way up the stairs, noticing all the pictures that were once scattered on the wall were now smashed and spread out through on the side of the stairs. 

Looking down, you notice a picture from the night Chris proposed. You two looked so happy, foreheads touching, and nothing but love in your eyes, but now you question if his love was ever genuine. Stepping over the picture, you continue up the stairs. 

You push the bedroom door open and head towards the closet, wanting to make this go by as quickly as possible. You notice Chris didn’t follow you upstairs and silently thank the universe. You sort through your clothes, putting back all the clothing that belonged to Chris back on his side. Once done with the closet, you made your way towards the bathroom and grabbed your toiletries. 

Double-checking to make sure you had everything, you took one last look at the room, feeling the tears starting to form. The place that once held so much love felt so cold and empty now. You take a deep breath and start to carry your boxes downstairs and to your car, Chris silently helped you by taking the heavier boxes. 

“I separated your stuff in the kitchen in case you wanted to take that too.” He says as he looks towards the kitchen when you walk back into the house. 

“Um no, it’s okay. You can keep it.” You didn’t see the point in bringing any of those appliances anyway, Chris bought most of them for you. They weren’t yours. 

You look down at the ring that sat on your finger, you don’t know why you still wore it but you knew you needed to give it back. So you did just that, slowly sliding it off and handing it to Chris. He looked at you and the ring and back up to you. You could see his eyes watering, all you wanted was for him to just take it so you could leave. 

“What? No. Y-you, keep it. We can work things through so you need to keep it.” he says, eyes set on the ring. 

“Chris, there's no fixing this. I don’t want it.” You can hear your voice shaking

He looked at you with a shocked expression, like you just told him the world was ending. You see the tears slip from his eyes, making all of this so much harder. You didn’t want to do this, you just wanted to get your stuff and leave. You knew coming here was a bad idea. 

“Y/n please, I know I fucked up. But I’m more than willing to spend the rest of my life making it up to you. Whatever you want or need, I’ll do it.” He steps closer to you, grabbing your hand and pushing towards your chest trying to get you to keep the ring. 

“We can’t” you whisper “There’s no fixing us, I can’t look past what you did. You look and feel like a stranger to me now. I fell for a lie, you broke my heart and trust in ways I never thought were possible. Now please just take it.” you beg

“So you’re just going to throw away the past 5 years? Like they were nothing!” He suddenly yells, anger getting the best of him. He instantly regrets it when he sees you jump at the change of his tone. You stare at him dumbfounded. It takes you a moment to process his outburst.

“You threw it all away the moment you chose to sleep with her! Don’t you dare try to pin this on me! This was all your doing, I did nothing but love you! I left everything behind for you, I quit doing the things I loved for you! I spent countless nights waiting for you to come home like a fucking idiot while you were out with her and you just expect me to fucking forgive you?” you yell, chest heaving up and down.

“You know? For a while I blamed myself, I felt like I wasn’t pretty enough, I wasn’t sexy enough, that I wasn’t enough in general. But even if I was all those things, you still would’ve cheated, wouldn’t of you?" You look him in the eyes, letting everything that built up these past few weeks come out. “I hope from the bottom of my heart that she was worth it Chris. I really do.” You choke out the last few words, dropping the ring on the kitchen table and slamming the door shut as you left. 

You feel deja vu take over as you quickly get into your car like the last time you left. You didn’t have a destination in mind, just wanting to get as far away from Chris as possible. Eventually, you ended up in a wooded area and pulled off to the side of the road, walking into the woods to try and clear your mind. The pain becomes unbearable as you drop to your knees and scream, feeling it come out from somewhere deep inside you. You throw your head back as you cry, wishing this was all a bad dream and that you were on the verge of waking up to the happy life you had just a few months prior. 

You let yourself calm down before driving back to your hotel, dragging yourself straight to bed, wanting this miserable day to be over already. Tomorrow you’d move into your new place and be able to start over, at least that’s what you kept reminding yourself before you drifted off to sleep. 

Next chapter

[wiltingdecay]

wip wednesday!! (because i'm sure it's still wednesday somewhere in the world)

i promise one day i'll post an actual completed fic and not just endless wip wednesdays for every new thing i start

very very very nsft wip today! rowan and julian being sweet and horny during foreplay. minors dni under pain of death :]

Rowan giggles almost playfully in response, his hand that's not on Julian's cock running lazily across his chest and playing with the hair growing there, arm tightening around Julian's waist. "I'm assuming that's a yes?" He murmurs teasingly into Julian's ear, soft lips brushing the shell of it with every word. "You wanna know how wet I got for you? You wanna feel how warm and soft I am when I slide up and down on your cock? You wanna make me cum? You wanna cum inside me?"

"Yes," Julian groans, his voice strained, his cock aching and leaking precum, his entire body singing Rowan's name and practically buzzing with lust and want and need for him. "God, yes. Please, darling, please ride me, please let me feel you, let me fuck you, let me pleasure you, it's all I want, please, please, please..."

He hears Rowan humming happily under their breath as they tenderly press kisses to the notch of his jaw. "Hmm, you don't have to beg me for it, lovely," they tell him sweetly. "This is all for you, remember? I'll give you everything you want, I promise. You don't need to worry about a thing. Okay?"

Julian lets out a long, ragged sigh, feeling tears prickle underneath his closed eyelids again. But these aren't tears of frustration; they're tears of happiness, of the all-consuming contentment and love he feels welling up inside of him, from his head down to his feet. He has never had a love like this before, never had anything that even came close, and it still surprises him sometimes that he's finally found it. He still wonders, sometimes, what he ever did to deserve it. To deserve them.

But Rowan has never cared whether or not Julian's thought himself deserving of their affections. They have simply given them to him anyway, and left it up to him whether or not he will accept them.

He does, of course. He always does.

[waywardtakami]

- don't leave me

✦pairing: hawks x gn!reader

✦c/w: language, slight mha manga spoilers, 16+ only , angst

✦a/n: hello!! I'm very excited about this fic, it's my first gn one! It's been sitting in my wips for so long and I'm finally happy with it. hopefully people will still read this without there being smut. thank you! <3

✦summary: hawks gets hurt during a mission...

✦w/c: 2k

Keigo had left you again to fight in another mission. He had only been gone for a few days, but you wished he was with you instead. You missed him so much. He hadn't been physically by your side in so long, causing your heart to ache again. Times like these were practically torture. Waking up without him by your side was agonizing, but you were used to it.

His job was all-consuming and you knew him being away for large amounts of time would affect you when you committed yourself to this relationship. There was a constant worry for his life and maybe a little for your own. 

You and Kei decided to keep your relationship as private as possible so no one would go after you. He didn't want anyone to kidnap or hurt you. 

Even though his musk scent was flooded throughout your shared home, you still tried distracting yourself the best you could.

After making your favorite food, you plopped onto the couch and turned on the TV to try and take your mind off him. 

As the TV flickered on, your boyfriend's face flashed across the screen. A gruff voice played over what was being shown. You assumed it was just something about his stats or a recent interview per usual. It didn't help the feeling in your heart subside by seeing him.

You changed the channel, again and again. But every channel had been taken over by the same broadcast. You eventually fixated and listened.

Your heart dropped.

Hawks had been accused of murder. 

"Murder...?" you mumbled to yourself. "No..he...what?" Your heart was beating so fast it felt like it was about to thump out of your chest. You were stuck in a pool of emotions of confusion and immense shock, it was like your head was on fire. 

Dabi...one of the League of Villain members was behind this. All the information you received was from Keigo's colleagues and the media. 

Keigo had been hurt bad...real bad.

The fact that you couldn't do anything about it had you overwhelmed and panicked. When you finally found out which hospital he was brought to through FatGum, you drove yourself there.

Of course he was brought to one one of the furthest ones from where you guys lived. On top of that, traffic was horrendous. With everything that had gone down, the citizens of the city were frantic and trying to get home to their families.

Your hands and entire body practically trembled while driving. Your eyes pricked with tears at the thought of Keigo's wounded state. "He's fine he's fine he's FINE!" You kept telling yourself over and over. 

When you made it to the hospital, there was a large number of people in the waiting room. The sounds of people clamoring in and trying to get a room were deafening. You hurried over to the front desk. 

"Hello Ma'am I need to see Hawks, he should be here." She wouldn't let you in his room. You wanted to see him, no you needed to see him. You started crying, pleading, begging for her to let you go in his room. But the front desk lady apologized and insisted he needed to rest and isn't accepting visitors. 

You knew it was really because she probably thought you were just some fan of his. Or maybe even a reporter trying to sneak in photos. But no, you were his baby, his life, and they weren't going to let you in.

"I'M HIS DAMN PARTNER FOR GOD SAKES!" You yell while slamming your fist against the counter. You didn't realize how much impact you put into your fist until you felt pain in your hand. The waiting room goes almost quiet and heads turn to look at you. You glance back to see all the faces turned to you. 

Your voice softens from embarrassment. "Please...just let me see him." Your fist still against the counter looking at the nurse with tears streaming down your face. 

She stands up and moves closer, "I'm so sorry, I believe you…" She slides a clip board with a few papers attached. "...but we can't let you in just yet he's still recovering from his injuries, he needs to rest right now. Please fill these out while you wait." She looks back up with you with a faint smile. She really does believe you. She can see it in your eyes, the pain, she understood.

You release your hand, and pick up the clipboard. Looking at her on the other side of the counter you give her a face flustered nod and mouth a quick "thank you."

You go sit down comfortably in one of the empty chairs to wait for keigo to wake up...

The news of your wounded boyfriend was already half across Japan. After filling out the forms you scroll through your phone to calm yourself down. You kept seeing post after post about him. Almost all news headlines had his name. 

You think to yourself about how much of it is all bullshit and that he's fine. Deep down you weren't sure if the words your brain kept telling you were true. You click on one of the posts about him that reads: 

"THE NUMBER TWO PRO HERO DEAD" 

Your heart skips a beat, but quickly you realize it's just a fake. You scroll through, lightly skimming the bullcrap you were reading. You scroll and see a photo taken of him the night he was brought to the hospital. You wonder how the press even got a photo of him. You focus on the photo, he does look dead. It only showed his upper body, completely covered in burns. More tears forming at the corners of your eyes just seeing him in the photo. Oh and his wings, his big bright vermilion wings...gone.

You were a complete mess at this point but your sniffles and choked sobs were interrupted by the front desk lady waving to you. "He's awake." 

Quickly following her into the room you see him. As you stand in the doorway for a moment, your heart sinks. You hurry to him. He had bandages wrapped around his head. His hair was short and mostly singed off. And his wings...they really were gone. "I'll leave you two alone," the nurse walks out and closes the door behind her.

You turn back to him.

"Kei?" you whimpered out.

His half lidded eyes look at you. His formerly bright, charming and yellow pupils have become dark and filled with anguish. He was wearing a mask over his nose and mouth with two tubes coming from the sides of it. He couldn't speak or breath himself, due to his throat being burned. 

Of course he knew it was you. Tears welled up deep inside and coursed down his cheeks. Seeing him like this had your body nauseas. You move to cup your hand on his face, feeling the material of his mask rather than his soft subtle skin. You graze your thumb against his cheekbone to wipe away his tears.

You pick up one of his hands to hold it in yours. "Kei….I'm so glad you're okay." You were sniffling through each word. He slowly raises his arm to point to the phone sitting on the table near his hospital bed. Handing it to him, you watch as his calloused fingers type out what he wants to say. 

"Angel, I've missed you so much, please never leave my side." You faintly smile at him, wishing you could hear those words come from his mouth and not the AI voice. 

"I won't leave you Keigo, I'm here, I won't go anywhere."

He types again. "I'm pretty beat up, but I think I'll make it."

Your ears focus on "think" for a moment. "Yes Kei you'll be fine, everything's gonna be okay. You felt a bit better being in his presence but you still couldn't bear the sight of him. Your eyes began to prick with tears once again and this time Kei was the one who bought his hand up to brush your tears away just like you did moments ago. 

You try your best to wrap your arms around him without causing him anymore pain. You could feel him wince when you laid your head against his chest. "Sorry Kei I didn't mean to hur-" He waves his hand and shakes his head, signaling that it's okay.

Your body looked calm despite how tangled your mind was.There were many questions that flooded your mind. So many things you wanted to say. But you could worry about the details later. Right now you were finally with him again, there was no way you were letting him leave you ever again.

You were bent over, upper body on top of him at an awkward position. You didn't want to hurt him, so this had to work.

Despite the position, you took in the moment with your boyfriend. Feeling his chest slowly rise up and down. You close your eyes and imagine you were back home with him in bed. Just snuggling on a weekend afternoon, light shining in on him making his wings light up beautifully against the sun. His golden locks and glowing skin, his scent washing over your senses. Your warm bodies practically glued together. You wanted that again, you wanted everything back to normal.

He moved one of his scarred hands to your back, slowly rubbing up and down. He knew he wasn't going to make it. He was fighting so hard on the inside. So damn hard...for you. He didn't want to leave you, he couldn't. His mind wandered about the life he had planned to have with you.

He faintly smiled under the mask when he imagined you walking down the aisle...holding your first child...sitting in little rocking chairs growing old together. That's all he wanted.

Both of your tears never stopped. You were both silent. The only sounds to be heard were each other's quiet sniffles and the monitor Keigo was attached to, making a faint beep to his heart beat. Still laying on his chest, his breathing started to slow and so did the beeping, being lost in the moment you didn't notice really but he knew.

He waved his hand signaling for you to stand up and brought his hand to take off his mask. He couldn't hold on much longer. Every aching pain inside him felt like knives stabbing his insides and with each stab more time from his life was taken.

"Kei, you need to keep it on to breath, please." He shakes his head and takes it off anyways. The beeping still started to slow. The mask hung off the side of his face. His honeyed voice now husk from the burns. 

"Baby...I love you so...so.." He coughs making him hiss at the pain.

"No..fuck..Kei stop, you're going to be okay just put the damn mask on." 

"I'm too..far..gone, I have no more fight left." 

Holding his jaw in your hands,your face inches from him. "No you have to stay strong for me, please don't leave me again, I can't do this without you." 

"Kid...please...when I'm gone...find someone else and-

"NO- I ONLY WANT YOU!" You cry out, holding his head to your chest. Long-lasting sobs leaving your mouth.

"I love...you" His breathing is heavy from trying to speak. He needed to tell you this. He needed you to understand how much he loves you.

Moving his head from your chest. "I love you too...kiego." You manage to say through your choked sobs. 

You move to have your lips brush his, softly, delicately, like butterfly wings, just long enough that he could inhale your breath, feel the warmth of your skin. He closes his eyes and connects his lips to yours. It was deep and passionate, like you were kissing him for the first time. You held one side of his face with one hand, and held his hand with the other. 

But when you pull away, his eyes don't open. It's like that's all he wanted, no needed. One last kiss, one last touch. To feel you. 

His breathing completely slows, and you're left with the prolonged beep of the monitor. He was gone. The man who was always too fast for his own good, had left you and the world too fast.

✶tag list: @levithestripper @sleepysnk @conniesspringersgf @regretfulfairies @miyanom @sashatotie @romeoandjuliet96 @strawberry-pp @megvmi-s @cinnamonnn-roll @gooddayzarerare @kkodzvken

[cross-d-a]

I want to know ALL about Wu Xie embarrassing time traveler!Li Cu!!! ✨✨ I'm also v intrigued by Nie Huisang death death death

(Also, Cross you have so many wips; I read in awe. And to think I thought I had a lot of star wars fix-it ideas! I only have anything at all written down for two of them!)

(this refers to the WIP tag game I completed a few days ago!)

Wu Xie being EMBARRASSING & Li Cu Time Travel: 

I’ve got a series of interconnected oneshots planned where Li Cu just- accidentally hops back in time to every drama/book and helps out the Iron Triangle. and it’s more like LI CU embarrassing WU XIE haha

I thought it’d be HILARIOUS if Li Cu got to see how Wu Xie (UR MY DAD BOOGIE WOOGIE WOOGIE) is so YOUNG and STUPID and EMBARRASSING when he’s young!! Wu Xie making (ACTUALLY) innocent doe eyes at an emo Xiao Ge?? GROSS. Wu Xie accidentally (DELIBERATELY?) setting off multiple traps in a tomb?? Li Cu is 10000/10 going to RECORD THIS on his phone and bring it BACK to the future and make fun of Wu Xie FOREVER. Also!!! There are SO MANY SNAKES in Ultimate Note!! And?? Conveniently?? Li Cu has a lil’ snake buddy?? MAYBE HE COULD HELP??? 

I basically want Li Cu being the Actual Competent One and the baby Iron Triangle floundering. Mostly Wu Xie. I want Wu Xie floundering. I also want Wu Xie SO EMBARRASSED when Li Cu hops back to his own time. 

li cu: DAD UR AN IDIOT 

wu xie: i DONT WANT TO RELIVE IT PLS AND THANK 

li cu: nO!! U ARE GOING TO SUFFER!! UR SO STUPID u set off FIVE TRAPS

wu xie: i hate you 

li cu: no u don’t u just told me u loved and appreciated me for saving ur life like ten minutes ago. there were tears in your eyes. actually they were streaming down ur face. u might have been hugging my leg and sobbing

wu xie: tHAT WAS SIXTEEN YEARS AGO FOR ME OK i am an OLD MAN

Nie Huaisang death death death:

I think it’s hilarious that you picked out one of the resurrective immortality fics considering we were JUST talking about the old guard hahaha. This one I actually have a good chunk written so far, so here is a long snippet near the beginning. Context is that Nie Huaisang’s mother is VERY pregnant and she’s riding through the mountains to visit her family before she gives birth. WARNINGS for gore (kinda??) and child death and just- DEATH in general:

There are beasts in the mountains. Ravenous, born of fury and blood, more ragged spirit than flesh. Their claws are jagged and broken and their maws drip with sizzling saliva. They have roamed the mountains for years and years, and have only grown more enraged, voracious.

The Nie Clan have always harnessed the butchery of their past. Binding rage and ruin to themselves, channeling it through their hearts and into their swords until they are one and the same. Until it feeds upon their flesh and their spirit, gnawing on their bones, carving out a little space for itself between brittle ribs. Until, one bloody piece at a time, it consumes them whole.

The Nie Clan’s power is also the source of their doom, and these beasts who roam and know only hate hate hate are Nie-furen’s doom, as well.

They descend upon the Nie in the dead of night, a roiling mass of snapping teeth and furious howls. There is blood, screaming, desperate flashes of Dao magic and heavy blades. But there are too many and it is not enough.

But the mighty Phoenix of the West has always been filled with unmatched fury and she is full of new life and about to burst. She will not let her child die here today. Not before he can breathe sweet fresh air and keen that first high cry. Not before his father can cradle him in his arms and his older brother can plant a kiss on his forehead.

That rage within her swells. It devours her spirit and bleeds out her eyes as she screams screams screams- a raging beacon of power and brutality and every ancestor’s grief.

She slaughters everything in her path.

When she comes to, she is soaked in blood and there is pain in her belly and an ache behind her eyes and in every breath- but she is alive. She lies amidst the ruins of her people and the lingering darkness of vanquished spirits and Shan Xifeng—

She goes into labour.

It is long and hard, lasting through the night into the bloody dawn and beyond. She manages to crawl to the edge of their encampment but no further. She twists into a curl of agony and cries into the clouded sky.

Her son is born on the cusp of evening, just as the sun slides behind dark, ragged peaks. He is born soft and warm and silent.

Shan Xifeng cradles him in quaking hands. Cups his cheek to her breast. His tiny head is blood-streaked like his mother. Blood-streaked like her friends and family around her.

It is an irony that on one of the most important days of her life, she is surrounded by her loved ones and yet they are all dead.

“Little one,” she murmurs, and tilts his limp head. “Little one, please.”

But he is silent as the dead around her and that grief swells again in her breast. It gnaws on her ribs and scrabbles at her throat and she is shaking shaking shaking.

“No,” she spits. “No! He has done nothing wrong! Nothing! Does he not deserve his first breath? His first cry? Does he not deserve the family that awaits him?!”

She screams into the sky and tastes blood between her teeth. “Take me instead! I beg of you! Please let him live! I would give my life! Every single one of them, so that he may live!”

Her sword quakes along with that dark raging thing within her and she clutches her dead son close.

Then—

The faint, elegant curve of a fan in the corner of her eye. The shift of cloth, the echo of a breath. The glimmering of ethereal gold and silver, like someone has spun the stars and sun above into delicate thread.

Summoned, like a beast to blood.

“All of them?”

Shan Xifeng knows better than to face an unknowable thing and so she bows as low as her broken body will allow. She stares into the bloodied dirt and breathes in dust and rasps, “Yes.”

“Hm.” A flicker of a stretching smile, coy, with a hint of sharp teeth. She does not see the fathomless dark behind those stark white teeth, a gaping void of ravenous benevolence. It is hidden behind the flare of the fan. “Do you understand what you ask for?”

“I do,” she says without hesitation.

The grin widens, lips scarlet and dark against bone-white skin. “Then I shall grant your wish.”

A shift of cloth, then a cool hand cups Nie-furen’s cheek, guiding her up. Her eyes flicker open and she sees what no mortal has ever seen, and then that fan whispers against her cheek and blood-red lips press against hers and the last thing she feels is her golden core trembling spasming dying as life is pulled from her breath- all the lives she has ever lived, the one she lives now, and every life she could have ever lived.

Shan Xifeng falls into the bloodied dirt beneath, still clutching her dead son to her breast. And then there is no one left living in that small clearing.

Pale, bony fingers trace a delicate line through the blood that lingers upon her cheek. It is still wet and useful. Stained fingers press against scarlet lips and the life held between stark white teeth is breathed anew into that blood.

Carefully, bone-thin fingers trace a deliberate character upon the newborn child’s left cheek. The blood shines, brilliant and devastating, before fading back into a gruesome name across pale skin. Slowly, the child begins to twitch, brows wrinkling in displeasure, before a high keening wail escapes tiny lips as the child take its first breath.

“Your mother does not know what she’s doomed you to.”

A day later, travelers upon the road hear a faint keening noise not far from their wagon. When they find the clearing, they gag and retch. When they find the weak, whining child clutched in his dead mother’s arms, they shake their heads and then stare at the crest emblazoned upon the woman’s clothes.

Two days after that, the child is delivered to Nie-zongzhu’s disbelieving arms.

“No,” he says, violent spirit quaking deep within him. “No. It- it is not true.”

The traveler ducks his head and clasps his hands in a bow. “I’m sorry, Zongzhu. We were not able to take the bodies with us. You’ll have to send someone to check, but…it was the crest of your house. And…” he hesitates, then nods to his companion who stumbles up and offers a sword.

Not just any sword. A dao.

Shan Xifeng’s dao.

Feng.

“No,” Nie-zongzhu cries, falling to his knees.

“I-I’m so sorry,” the traveler stutters. “I am so, so sorry, Nie-zongzhu.”

Nie-zongzhu sobs, clutching his newborn child to his chest. “Little one,” he weeps. “Oh, little one. At least life is kind enough to have spared you.”

“Yong,” the traveler blurts.

Nie-zongzhu stares uncomprehendingly, tears running hot down his cheeks.

“It- it was written upon his cheek in- in blood. I- I think that is what his mother named him. She must have done it with her dying breath. She must have wanted you to know. He did not enter this world nameless.”

“Yong,” Nie-zongzhu echoes, trembling. “It- it is a good name, for my brave little boy.” He cups his son’s cheek and sobs. “Brave like- like his mother,” he murmurs, voice thin and quaking. “She named you well.”

And perhaps it is bravery that made Shan Xifeng give up the chance to ever be reborn. Perhaps it is bravery that saved her son’s life.

But it was all a mother’s wretched love, and Shan Xifeng did not write the character for brave upon her son’s cheek.

No, it was not Yong for bravery, but Yong for eternal.

And it is not his mother who wrote it.

Perhaps it is bravery that saved her son, but is the curse of eternity really a kindness?

No, no Shan Xifeng did not truly understand what she asked for.

But Nie Yong soon would.

The next section starts with:

The second time Nie Yong dies, he doesn’t even realize it.

He is four years old.

and the third section starts with:

The third time Nie Yong dies, his Adie kills him.

He is nine years old.

It’s basically an Angst Fest with a happy ending bc...I just need a happy ending Always. I just REALLY love resurrective immortality and I love making my favourite characters Suffer :)

I hope these were fun and satisfying to read!! 

♪(ﾟ▽^*)ﾉ⌒☆

(also omg NO it’s a CURSE!!! I WISH I could just finish SOMETHING!! ANYTHING!! OMG!!! I am so envious you’ve managed to restrain yourself to a few!! Also!! I am SUPER excited to find out more about your fix-its!!! :D)

[jafndaegur]

Noise of Rain | Chapter 1

Sesskag

Endless Forlorness Made me Numb

A/N: so @fandomplethora and I were talking about Mo Dao Zu Shi AUs. And I was like "nooo, I'm not gonna work on my Sesskag version. I have too many WIPs already". You know, like a liar. So here's my MDZS au for Sesskag🤣 it happens during the course of the canon-timeline, I guess before Final Act. Sooo yeah. I hope you enjoy whatever the hell this is🤣🤣🤣

｡☆✼★━━━━━━━━━━━━★✼☆｡

Kagome watched with pursed lips as the last of the sun set over the horizon. Gilded rays fluttered over the earth, streaming across the trees and grass like rivers of fire. Warm. Beautifully and utterly warm. The dying sunlight drenched her skin, and she tilted her head back—trying to drink in it's comfort. 

Trying to ignore the pressing cold digging its way into the edges of her senses.

Sunset's birth left a wake open for the creatures she'd come to dislike and maybe even hate. Soon she knew the faint pale wisps of the Soul Stealers would come into view. They would approach but never broach, as if taunting the unspoken agreement of distance. Time and time again, they teased the limits, dancing along the edge of her sights until she spun around. In the back of her mind she wondered if it would be worth it to just fork her spirit over to Kikyo. The undead priestess deserved a life, free from trickery or deceit. Something pure—

Only caught by the ascended.

After all, before her egregious turn to...what Kagome liked to think of as the emo rebellious phase, Kikyo had been rather fair and just. The death dealt to her an unfair blow by fate into the hands of a psycho spider demon.

But as the thought began to teeter close to the cusp of action, Sango's voice called her from their campsite and the idea dissipated.

Still. 

That darkened patch in the back of her mind, the one that hid behind bright smiles and dazzling sapphire eyes, pulsed. It reached out and brushed against her reiki, causing the edges to crumble to dust, unreplenished. Not that Kagome knew.

It wasn't as if anyone were helping her cultivate her priestess powers. So if she felt a bit more fatigued or a little more drained, she blamed it on the fact that Inuyasha was nowhere to be seen in the camp. Although she hadn't expected to see him. With the Soul Stealers in close proximity, they always chimed his cue to leave.

The passing scenery is going to collapse—

Cold wrapped her mind and complete midnight gripped her reiki. She cried out for help but no one could hear. 

They didn't need her. Just a jewel-shard detector.  They didn't want her. Just a lesser reincarnation.

—along the obsequious side.

"Oi, Kagome," Inuyasha's voice drew her from her sleep-deprived autopilot. "Can't you pick up the pace?"

Her brow twitched and she tried to find a good reason to not "Sit" him then and there. But her chest heaved and the exhaustion washed over her, and she acquiesced. Today was neither the time nor the place. As their group moved forward in the direction of the next Shikon jewel piece when the hanyou had picked up scents of Sesshomaru traveling their direction. In a bout of stubbornness, he refused to change course. Insistent that if his half-brother wanted to fight, then he wouldn't shy away.

Kagome's brow rose as Sesshomaru’s own little group met up with theirs. 

Rin perched happily on Ah-Un's back, Jaken in tow, and the proud daiyoukai at the front—the little quartet brushed passed them as if they weren't there. Other than the pleasant wave and hello Rin shouted in their direction, it was almost like they didn't exist.

Almost.

As they continued on, Kagome shivered as the sensation of Sesshomaru’s youki swept over them. It probed with an innocent inquisition that was disarming. She wondered why he was searching to change the hidden. But in the moment that she detected his power, it eased away and left them.

"What an asshole, he probably just came around to show-off," Inuyasha huffed.

Kagome wondered if that was the case. The full youkai had been searching for something. But what? 

She felt herself going to the dark spot in her mind, wondering if she took hold of it and reached out—would Sesshomaru’s presence return? Was this darkness, this strange thing, was this what he looked for? Kagome felt half inclined to try. She wanted him to turn around.

To notice that she felt…

Miroku called out that he noticed a dark aura from the north, something suspicious and chilling.

Kagome sighed and supposed that it didn't matter how she felt. Hitching her backpack onto her shoulders, she closed her eyes and sifted for that familiar feeling of the sacred jewel. While she wasn't sure, something stirred her heart in the direction the monk had pointed to. 

With a triumph smile, she hopped up to the front next to the half-demon. "I'm not 100% sure, but I think there's a shard in that direction."

That pleased Inuyasha enough. "Alright! Let's get a move on then."

They made camp a couple miles out from wherever they were headed next. A heavy dread had covered the little campsite, the nearby evil seeping close enough to have everyone on edge. Inuyasha and Miroku both kept a vigilant watch neither one comfortable to rest. Sango helped keep Shippo and Kirara calm enough to doze into a restless sleep. Kagome stared off into the distance. The Soul Stealers were in the opposite direction of the unholy aura; wandering, looking.

But unlike the previous night where they had toyed with the notion of trying to take her spirit again, their movements differed. Unorganized and haphazard—the ghostly creatures meandered in confusion.

Heart pounding against her chest, Kagome couldn't help the small smile wiggling its way onto her face. In her mind's eye, she cupped the darkness more. After all, it had swallowed her reiki whole, hiding it from even Miroku's detection.

It protected the treasure by throwing away the guidance everyone depended on.

The middle of the night sung out to her and she awoke on a cold sweat. Someone was crying. But everyone had fallen asleep. Miroku and Inuyasha seemed fitfully sleeping at best, while Sango and Shippo curled in for warmth against Kirara's warm side. The fire-cat however, glanced at her with worried large eyes. 

Kagome hoisted the holy bow and arrows onto her shoulder. She gave an appeasing pet the demon's nose.

"Don't worry, I'm just going to investigate," she murmured gently. "Something's off. And I want to make sure we don't walk into a trap later."

Kirara gave a low growl but she did not move otherwise.

Kagome smiled and snuck forward. The morning had yet to start, so the air felt frigid and moist. Dew just barely started to accumulate on dark forest and heavy grass. Pushing her way through the underbrush, the inner compass in her chest pointed the direction she needed. Not to mention the voice she'd heard began to cry louder. Words still weren't quite comprehensible but the sentiment was there.

The forest started to scar away, replaced by shale and growing rigid crags. Heavy mist permeated the area more. Kagome drew her bow and crouched low, still persisting. The crying started to take on a form.

 Noise of rain. It wept. Noise of rain your footsteps cry.

And suddenly just like that, Kagome spun around, arrow ready to shoot. Naturally,  Naraku stood behind her—his arms behind his back, his face pensive.

"Kagome," he greeted, voice heavy and hesitate.

Her brow cocked. "Naraku. What do you want?"

Noise of rain—

"What are you doing here so far from your watchdog?" He asked, still nothing but curiosity and even perplexity radiating off of him. 

—your footsteps cry.

"Something called me," she whispered.

The spider hanyou's crimson eyes narrowed and he walked away. "Follow me."

As they trekked, the mist began to seep with a type of miasma, but for some reason... It didn't hurt her. Shady, inky tendrils looped slow through the air as they trudged upwards, following the rise of the mountains.

"I found this place, yet it confounds even me." Naraku drawled, dark hair wavering. "There is some type of life. But it refuses to interact."

"Can you blame it?" Kagome bit back.

He chuckled darkly.

They reached the peak. 

Below them an infinite spiral of darkness. Except this time not one voice cried out to her. They all whispered and unfurled. They all heard her. 

They reached for her.

"What's down there?" She murmured. 

"As far as I can tell, these are burial mounds." Naraku hummed. "Any one place you dig, there are bound to be bones."

The darkness over her reiki swelled. Kagome trembled.

"The miasma here is not my doing," Naraku continued. "It's not poisonous. Just resentful. It's quite the odd place."

She reached out her hand and the voices smiled. "You are wanted here. Please help us here. This is the end of all lies."

"I don't think it's resentful," she whispered. 

"Interesting theory," Naraku's voice curved and drawled. "Would you like to test that?"

Before she could ask what he meant, his foot collided into her back. She screamed as her body tottered over the edge. Loafers slipped, hands grasped air, and her body tumbled into the abyss' embrace.

Weak and limp she couldn't move her limbs. Every fiber, every bone, everything must have shattered at the impact's drop. Her lungs heaved painfully. The voices giggled and suddenly they were no longer begging but controlling. They grabbed at her, trying to tear her apart and reach for the reiki within her soul.

Yet that darkness from earlier, the darkness that had appeared one day and started to grow the next…

She imagined Inuyasha looking mournfully around his surroundings, wondering where she abandoned him—just like his first lover...

Her mother and brother called out for her endlessly. Their worried tones climbing and climbing but never finding the ears they wanted…

Sesshomaru’s youki poked and prodded, searching, searching, searching for her…

Her darkness consumed every part of her reiki, like a wildfire over a bonfire, it ignited a flash that had her toes digging into the ground and her will sending her to stand.

Her aura spread and she clenched her jaw, commanding the voices to quiet.