#now i have to give a presentation next Wednesday on my research

[hauntedhowlett-writes]

i can see you (miguel o'hara's version)

pairing: professor/mentor!miguel o’hara x graduate assistant!female reader

rating: explicit (18+ MDNI)

word count: 4.5k

summary:

As Dr. Miguel O’Hara’s graduate teaching and research assistant, you’ve spent years pushing down the inappropriate thoughts you’ve had about the brilliant, gorgeous man.

But what happens when a late night at the lab and a scientific breakthrough leads to a breakthrough of a different kind?

author's note:

my first (but probably not my last) miguel o'hara fic based on taylor swift's song "i can see you" from speak now tv. if you enjoyed this, please consider reblogging or commenting and letting me know your thoughts!

content warnings/tags:

explicit sexual content (18+ MDNI), explicit language, no use of y/n, alternate universe - no powers, age gap (undefined), presence of power dynamics (teacher/student), author took scientific liberties (forgive her, its been 10 years since bio II lab), pineapple on pizza, potentially bad spanish translations, multiple orgasms, overstimulation, vaginal fingering, oral (f receiving), miguel picking reader up, unprotected p in v, size kink, choking, pet names, praise kink, competency kink, dirty talk. let me know if i've missed anything!

Translations you may need:

Universidad Estatal de Nueva York - State University of New York

Sí - Yes

Dios mío - My god

El Origen de la Genética Mutante - The Origen of Mutant Genetics

Mierda - Shit

Te lo prometo - I promise you

Lo juro por Dios - I swear to god

Arañita - little spider

Cállate - be quiet

Mirame - look at me

te sientes tan bien - you feel so good

Perfecto - perfect

________

You’re sitting in the front row, in the seat you’ve claimed as your spot, watching Dr. O’Hara pace in front of the projector screen that displays today’s lesson notes. 

“And what is the hallmark of this mutant gene that demonstrates its incompatibility for transmutation?” He asks the silent room of undergraduates that have found themselves on the roster for his Mutation Genomics III course at Universidad Estatal de Nueva York. 

A few hands go up around the room and Dr. O’Hara points to a student in the back who says, “Uh, it’s got a spiked protein arrangement that can’t be modified?”

“Is that a question or an answer?” Dr. O’Hara asks. There’s a sprinkle of laughter in the room and a smirk tilts his lips briefly. 

“An answer,” the student says more confidently. Dr. O’Hara nods.

“Correct, but that’s not the whole picture,” he says. His eyes catch yours and he gestures for you to join him. Your eyes go wide as you stand and walk to his side at the front of the class. “I’m sure some of you that actually use your available resources to pass my class recognize my teaching assistant. And if you don’t, I recommend visiting her office hours during this section because this is her area of research.”

Your cheeks feel warm as everyone’s attention falls to you. Dr. O’Hara hands you the data pad and steps back, giving you an encouraging nod. You tap the screen, bringing the diagram up on the holo projector and making it larger.

“You’re correct that the spiked protein arrangement can’t be modified, but there’s something more limiting in this particular model. If you look at it from this angle—,” you spin the DNA diagram, “you’ll see something else hindering the modification process. What do you see?”

Hands go up. Dr. O’Hara points to another student who says, “There’s a gap jump. The spike protein would continue to travel across the gap jump and avoid any inserts.”

“Exactly. So, what’s the potential alternative?” 

“Fill the gap. Target the spike protein in your modification cycle,” Dr. O’Hara finishes. “That’s all for today. Your exam next Wednesday will include this presentation, so don’t act surprised when you see the questions.”

A few students stop to speak with Dr. O’Hara as you gather your bag from your desk. His low voice calls your name, the timbre of it sending a shiver down your spine as you step up to his desk.

“You’re running a sequence right now, sí?” He asks, shuffling a stack of papers into order. 

“Yes, it should finish around seven tonight. Sorry, I know that it's late for a Friday,” you reply. He waves a hand dismissively.

“I’ll see you in the lab.” His brown eyes flick to yours and your stomach swoops, heart skipping a beat, same as it always does when he looks at you. 

Dr. Miguel O’Hara makes you nervous. Not only because he’s one of the most notable researchers in the field of mutant genomics, but also because he’s so handsome he leaves you breathless. He’s tall, towering over most men you’ve met, with broad shoulders and a tapered waist that are always covered by a suit and tie in the classroom or a lab coat in the research lab. His tan skin is complemented by dark hair and brown eyes that make you lose your train of thought when you stare into them for too long.

Which…is exactly what you’re doing now.

You clear your throat, stepping back from his desk. Had you been leaning closer? Christ, you hope not. You give him a brief smile before responding, “Yeah, see you tonight. Thank you, Dr. O’Hara!”

“How many times do I have to tell you to call me Miguel?” He calls after you. 

“Maybe when I’ve cracked the sequence!”

________

Miguel watches your hips sway in the jeans you wore to class today, the denim hugging your curves so well he has to bite back a groan. The door to the lecture hall slams shut behind you and he sighs, rubbing a hand over his jaw in frustration.

You drive him crazy. Every class period you’re sitting in the front row, watching him as you tap your pen to your lips or leaning over your desk just enough to give him a glimpse down your blouse or dress. Or you’re in the lab, delicately handling samples and extractions with a level of competency beyond your years, your lip caught between your teeth as you analyze a sequencing output. 

He looks forward to and dreads your impending graduation in equal measure, being free from the constant temptation but losing the greatest researcher he’s met in years. 

Miguel finishes gathering his belongings as the door opens and the next lecturer comes in, nodding at him in greeting. As he steps out into the warm Nueva York air, he has a weird sense that something big is coming. 

He just doesn’t know what.

________

Miguel is waiting for you outside of his double locked research lab that evening, suit jacket hung over his arm and the sleeves of his dress shirt rolled up to reveal tan forearms dusted with dark hair. Your brain nearly short circuits at the sight, conjuring up images of those arms wrapped around your—

No, you think. He’s your mentor. Your handsome, intelligent, and very serious mentor. 

He looks up as you approach, corners of his lips tilting the slightest bit. Or maybe it’s a trick of the light, you can’t be sure, but he presses his palm to the biometric lock and the heavy metal doors slide open. He steps inside ahead of you, putting his face in the frame of the security camera. A red laser scans his face and a light above the second locked door goes from red to green, the click of the lock disengaging echoing in the anteroom. 

You follow him through the door and into his research lab. The fluorescent lights glimmer off the chrome equipment and pristine bench surfaces. A machine whirs, running the sequence analysis you’ve been waiting on. 

“LYLA, what’s the status?” Dr. O’Hara says as he sets his belongings on the desk in the corner.

“Sequence will complete on schedule. Also, your specimen delivery is available in the ultra low freezer,” Dr. O’Hara’s AI assistant, LYLA, announces, feminine voice carrying through the room. 

“I have a surprise for you,” Dr. O’Hara says, tugging on his lab coat as he walks towards the ultra low freezer. 

“A surprise?” You ask, setting your stuff down at the assistant’s work space. 

There’s the beep of a passcode being entered and the heavy freezer door being opened and shut. He’s holding a tray of cryovials, the contents varying in color. He sets the tray on a bench top near your desk and pulls one out, holding it up to the light.

“Isolated arachnoid mutagen,” he says. Your mouth drops open in shock. You rush forward, pressing in close to stare up at the vial with him. 

“You’re kidding,” you whisper. He hands the vial to you, fingers brushing yours. You hold it between your thumb and index finger to inspect the suspension, red in color with tiny flecks of black. “Dr. O’Hara, this is insane. How did you even get this?”

“A guy owed me a favor,” he says. You glance up at his face and you’re suddenly very aware of how close your bodies are. One deep breath and your chest would probably graze his, and did you just imagine his eyes dropping to your lips? 

“That’s one hell of a favor,” you murmur, stepping back. “You want me to work on the extraction?”

“If you don’t mind.”

“You say that like I’m not your research assistant. You can tell me to do anything.” Dr. O’Hara’s eyes go wide and you cough. “I mean, you know, lab related. Research stuff. Yeah. I’ll get started on this. LYLA? Power up the centrifuge and thermocycler, please.”

“Centrifuge is online. Thermocycler will reach optimal processing temperature in t-minus five minutes,” LYLA replies.

You set up all the necessary supplies and prepare the sample for the thermocycler, going through the motions that are now part of your muscle memory - extract, vortex, centrifuge, extract, wash, set in ice. You set your tray of samples into the thermocycler and remove your gloves to hit the start button.

________

Miguel watches you run the PCR test, fixated on the confidence with which you complete each step and your words from earlier continue to echo in his head.

“You can tell me to do anything.”

Dios mío, he thinks. He pinches the bridge of his nose, squeezing his eyes shut as he tries to will away the possibilities that anything could entail. 

“Sequence results are available. Would you like to review now?” LYLA asks. 

“Display,” Miguel says. You spin on your stool to view the hologram of the spliced DNA you prepared. He notices an issue immediately.

“Fuck,” you hiss, stepping up to the control screen and spinning the model. “There’s a deletion.”

“You knew there was a risk of that.” 

You zoom in on the model DNA strand, a broken gap shown in the mutation. “I know there was a risk, but it should have worked.”

Miguel crosses his arms and watches as you bring up the transillumination image of the DNA you had attempted to merge with a human sample. “You wanted it to work. Science is finite. There is no room for should.”

You glance at him. You look like you’re about to say something when the thermocycler beeps and he’s left to wonder what you would have said as you busy yourself with removing your tray of DNA samples. He leans against the bench as you assemble the agarose gel for electrophoresis. 

“Tell me, why do you think there was a deletion?” He asks. 

“The mutagen was incompatible with the human strand,” you murmur, adding dye to your vials. “Just the same as it has been the last dozen times.”

You’ve loaded the wells of the gel with your sample and set it in the tank, closing the lid and turning on the power supply. Miguel takes the remaining tray of arachnid samples to the freezer while your procedure runs. He understands your frustration, he’s run his fair share of failed experiments after all.

After about an hour, the hum of the electrical current from the electrophoresis tank shuts off. Miguel, who had been reviewing a journal submission for El Origen de la Genética Mutante, joins you at the bench as you remove your gel and set it on the UV transilluminator.

“LYLA, scan and project,” you ask the AI assistant. Miguel stands behind you, looking at the DNA bands you’ve generated. He’s momentarily distracted by the fact that he’s so close he can smell the sweet scent of your perfume, something citrusy that reminds him of summer.

You jump suddenly, back colliding with his chest. His hands come up to grip your waist, steadying you as you turn to face him, face lit up in the brightest grin.

“Miguel, look. This arachnid mutagen. It’s a potential match for insertion!” You say excitedly. “It has the same length as the deletion seen with the scorpion mutagen.”

“LYLA, show the current projection against the scorpion scan,” he says. The two images appear side by side and it’s clear that the band of arachnid mutagen fits definitively in a space that appears void in the scorpion samples. “Mierda.”

“You see it, right?” You ask. It’s then that Miguel realizes he’s still got his hands on your waist. He flexes his fingers experimentally, watching as your eyes go the slightest bit darker at the pressure.

“I can see it,” he murmurs. He wants so desperately to lean in closer, to back your body up until you’re pressed between the wall and his body, nowhere to go as his lips explore yours.

But he doesn’t. He drops his hands and puts much needed space between your bodies. He clears his throat.

“Prepare a combined sample,” Miguel says. You blink, checking your watch.

“It’s almost nine. Running a new combined sample would mean we’re here until close to midnight.”

“I’m familiar with how time passes, sí.”

“Are you sure you want—“

Miguel sighs, placing his hands on his hips. “You’re on the verge of one of the greatest scientific discoveries in the last decade. Do you think I give a shit about having to stay late? What kind of mentor would I be if I told you, ‘Oh just wait until Monday to change the scientific world’?”

“One with a work-life balance, probably,” you reply with a giggle. Miguel raises his eyebrows at you. “Okay, okay, combined sample. I’m on it.”

As you rush around the lab, it hits him that you called him Miguel. Not Dr. O’Hara. He’s not sure what that means but he’s certain he wants to hear his name from your lips again.

_______

Dr. O’Hara orders food while your new combined sequence runs, begrudgingly agreeing to a half pineapple and half sausage pizza to split. You’re sitting outside of the lab in the empty hallway, pizza box between you as you eat the slices over grease stained napkins. 

“What are your plans for after graduation?” Dr. O’Hara asks. You shrug.

“Probably get my doctorate. No one takes you seriously in this field without one.”

He frowns. “You’re on the cusp of a major breakthrough, one that could change our understanding of genetic modifications and mutants as we know it.”

“Yeah, and it’s coming from your lab. You’ll get listed as the first author, that’s how this goes.” You pick at your pizza crust, tearing the bread into tiny pieces that you sweep back into the box. 

“I won’t let that happen. If this works, you’ll be the first name on that paper,” Dr. O’Hara says vehemently. “Te lo prometo.”

You smile, caught in his gaze for a brief moment before an alarm rings from his watch. LYLA announces, “Sequencing complete.”

Dr. O’Hara stands, holding a hand out to you. You grasp his broad palm and he pulls you up with ease, the force of it making you stumble slightly. You press a hand to his chest to steady yourself, marveling at how solid he feels beneath your palm. 

“Sorry. Slipped,” you murmur.

He doesn’t say anything, just stares at you with a crease between his brow and storms in his eyes. His watch beeps again and he releases your hand to silence it, the spell broken between you. 

He unlocks the lab doors and you join him at the holoprojector, taking a deep breath. Dr. O’Hara brings up the sequence analysis, the hologram coming to life in the space between you. Your eyes scan the model, checking for gaps, deletions, frayed nucleotides, anything that could mean your procedure didn’t work.

You turn the projection this way and that, looking at it from every angle. You scan the result output reading, eyes jumping to the green SEQUENCING SUCCESSFUL text at the bottom. 

You turn to face Dr. O’Hara, eyes wide with surprise. “It worked.”

“It did,” he replies. 

“It worked,” you say again. You’re bouncing on the balls of your feet, your grin so wide it hurts your cheeks as you rush forward shouting, “It worked!”

Dr. O’Hara’s arms open to catch you, wrapping around your waist as he lifts you from the ground and spins you. He’s smiling, a rare sight for such a serious man, and it makes your heart pound in your chest as you stare up into his face.

“Dr. O’Hara?” You ask as he sets you down, his arms still wrapped tight around your back. “What—“

His lips collide with yours, stealing your breath from your lungs and your words from your brain as you melt against his broad body. The kiss is anything but gentle, with Miguel acting like a man starved as his tongue sweeps into your mouth.

“Dr. O’Hara—“

“Lo juro por Dios, if you call me that one more time,” he growls, lips trailing down your neck with wet kisses, “Miguel. Say it.”

“M-Miguel,” you whimper. He smiles against your neck before sinking his teeth against your pulse point, making you gasp. 

“That’s right,” he says, lifting his head. His brown eyes have gone dark and he’s smirking as his hands find the hem of your blouse, fingertips ghosting across the skin of your abdomen and dipping beneath the waist of your jeans. “Tell me what you want, arañita.”

Rather than trust your voice, you bring your own hands to his shirt collar, working at the buttons of his dress shirt as he opens the fly of your pants. He slips his hand lower just as you reach the last button of his shirt, revealing the tight white t-shirt that outlines his impressive chest.

His fingers rub you over your panties and you feel your knees buckle at the delicious friction. Miguel chuckles, removing his hand to grip the backs of your thighs and lift you against him, your legs wrapping around his trim waist and your hands holding onto his shoulders. He sets you down by his desk, reaching around you to sweep the surface clean, pens and paper falling to the floor.

“In a rush are we?” You say with a laugh. Miguel raises an eyebrow at you.

“Cállate.” He kneels before you, lifting each foot to remove your shoes before turning you to face the desk with his hands on your hips. He grasps the waist of your jeans and shimmies the material down over your hips. When they’re pooled around your ankles, his warm palms grip each ass cheek roughly, spreading you open. “This pussy is even prettier than I imagined,” he groans.

“You think about my pussy a lot, Dr. O’Hara?” You ask innocently. A palm lands a smack to your ass cheek, heat blooming across your skin as you gasp.

“Don’t play dumb, baby, I know you’ve thought about this just as much. You think I can’t see it. Trust me, I can see you watching me in class with those pretty little lips wrapped around your pen, wishing it was something else. Isn’t that right?”

You gasp as he runs his thick fingers through your soaked folds, reaching forward only enough to graze your clit without giving it the attention you desperately want. He leans himself over you, his chest pressed to your back and his lips grazing your ear as he says, “Answer me.”

“Yes, yes,” you pant, the confession earning you that delicious friction, his fingers drawing messy circles around the sensitive nub. He withdraws too soon for your liking, a whine falling from your lips that he shushes, his warm breath on your pussy. You turn your head to look over your shoulder, surprised to find him on his knees.

As you watch, he spreads your cheeks once more before leaning in, licking from your clit to your entrance with a rough groan. Your head drops down, hitting the surface of the desk with a thump as he eats you out like a man who’s found water in a desert. The sounds echoing in the lab are downright indecent, deep groans of appreciation against your cunt and desperate whines from your lips.

“Miguel,” you moan, unable to keep your hips still as his tongue drives you closer to the cliff’s edge of release. “Miguel, I’m gonna cum!”

The man only grips your hips harder, fingers digging deep as he holds you still and doubles his efforts. The thread you’re hanging on by snaps, sending you falling into ecstasy as your muscles go tight and your breath leaves you in a shout of his name as you unravel. 

He pulls away only long enough to stand and turn you to face him, lifting you so that you’re sitting on the edge of the desk, legs spread by his body. He wastes no time slipping two thick fingers inside of your still fluttering cunt, his grin sharp as he sets a pace that has you trying to wiggle away to escape the overstimulation.

“Ah, Miguel!” You yelp, trying to shut your legs. His free hand shoves one thigh wide, pressing it to the desk. “What–”

“Cum for me again, I need to see your face this time,” he demands. He curls his fingers, pressing against your front wall with each drag of his hand from your body. 

“I can’t!”

“What was it you said to me earlier? I can tell you to do anything?” He curls his fingers harder, focusing his efforts on a spot that has you squirming, desperate to get away and to cum in equal measure. “I’m telling you to cum again, arañita, so be a good girl and do as I say.”

Your orgasm crashes over you in a wave, the tightness in your abdomen unraveling as you clench around his fingers. His movements slow as you try to catch your breath until he’s withdrawing, leaving you feeling disparagingly empty.

“Mirame,” Miguel says. You lift your head, pushing yourself up on your elbows and watching as he unbuckles his belt. “You made a mess, baby.”

You feel your cheeks heat with embarrassment as you notice the wet stains on the front of his gray slacks. The feeling is short lived, however, as Miguel unbuttons his pants and pushes them down his thighs along with his boxers, kicking them to the side as he reaches behind his head and pulls his t-shirt off. You’re blown away by how stunning he is, broad shoulders and chest that lead to sculpted abs and a defined adonis belt that draws your eyes to his thick and intimidatingly long cock.

“There’s no way that’s going to fit,” you tell him nervously.

“Why don’t we test that hypothesis?” He asks, taking himself in hand. You blink at him.

“Did…did you just make a joke?” Laughter bubbles up your chest until it’s spilling into the room, your shoulders shaking with the force of it. Miguel takes himself in hand, notching the broad head of his length to your dripping entrance and sliding inside the barest amount, just the tip, but it has your laughter morphing into gasps.

“Mierda,” he murmurs, gaze fixed where your bodies connect. “So fucking tight, arañita.”

You feel like he’s splitting you apart, the stretch deep and all consuming as he fits himself inside of you, drawing back after each inch and slowly thrusting back in and giving you more of his cock in the process.

“You’re so close,” he tells you. “You’re doing so good for me. Tell me how it feels.”

“It feels so fucking good, Miguel,” you answer honestly. “I’m so full.”

“Fucking right you are,” he growls. His hands shove your blouse up, bunching the fabric under your armpits to expose your breasts. He tugs the cups of your bra down before leaning forward, the last bit of his length slipping inside of you as his lips wrap around a pert nipple and his hand gropes the opposite breast. 

Your back arches at all the sensation - the fullness and stretch of him inside of you, the warmth of his mouth and the pinch of his fingers. He moves his mouth to your other breast and looks up at you through dark lashes with darker eyes as he licks the taut peak while holding your gaze.

His hips draw back, the drag of each inch from your body exquisite torture until he slams into you, the force of it sliding you up the desk. You cry out, your hands gripping his shoulders and your fingernails leaving crescent shaped indents as you cling to him.

Miguel stands, his arms looping beneath your thighs so that the backs of your knees rest across his forearms, spreading you open as he picks up his pace. He looks down at your body like it’s his greatest discovery.

“Fuck, fuck, te sientes tan bien,” he growls. 

“Miguel,” you moan, “please, please, please!”

“What are you begging for, arañita? Tell me.” 

“Wanna cum, please, Miguel,” you beg. He drops your legs, reaching up to wrap a hand around the back of your neck, urging you to sit up. You keep one hand planted on the desk behind you, the other diving into his thick, dark hair, pulling at the strands.

He drags his strong nose along your jaw as he murmurs, “Greedy girl, but I’ll give you what you need. Won’t I?”

“Uh huh,” you moan in response. His other hand settles at the base of your throat and his eyes hold a question that has your pussy clenching around him in anticipation.

His palm creeps up, strong fingers wrapping around your delicate throat, squeezing the sides the slightest bit. Your eyes roll back at the pressure.

“Look at me,” Miguel demands, “look at me while I make you cum again with my hand around your pretty throat.”

You gasp for air as he pounds into you, your release sparkling at the edges of your vision. It explodes like a supernova across your nerves, your muscles tightening around him and making him moan, a deep rumble that you echo as his movements grow erratic.

He slams deep inside of you, cock pulsing and filling you with warmth as he groans your name, head dropped to your shoulder. You’re both panting, trying to catch your breath as the sweat on your skin cools and you run your fingers through his hair.

“That was—“

“Perfecto,” he finishes, lifting his head and pressing a sweet kiss to your lips, one that has your heart pounding even harder than the lust filled ones from earlier. “It’s late. Let’s get this cleaned up and get you home. I’ll drive you.”

“You don’t have to do that,” you argue. He scowls at you as you continue to say, “No, seriously, you don’t need to go out of your way—“

“Will you shut up for a minute?” Miguel asks. He holds your face in his hands as he says, “Get dressed. I’m driving you home.”

He steps back, the absence of him making you feel empty as you carefully stand from the desk on shaky legs. He hands you your jeans and you look around in confusion.

“Have you seen my underwear?” You ask.

“Hm? No, I don’t see them,” he hums, buttoning his slacks. The stain from earlier has blessedly faded. 

You shrug, pulling your jeans on and fixing your blouse. Miguel cleans up the stuff he’d knocked from the desk, putting it all back in haphazard piles and grabbing his bag. He holds his hand out to you.

“Let’s get out of here,” he says. He must sense the hesitation you’re feeling when you don’t immediately grab his hand because he steps close, wrapping an arm around your waist and pulling you close. “No one will see us. It’ll be our secret.”

You nod, digging your teeth into your bottom lip. “Just this once?”

“Not if I have anything to say about it, arañita.”

The most fantastic fanart by narutoss.ramen on insta that fits the vibe of professor! miguel:

[eponymous-rose]

A full day today, so I figured it might be fun to write up what a professor's day might look like when not lecturing!

6:30AM: Got up early to virtually attend a friend's wedding on the East Coast! <333

8:00AM: I have been very careful this quarter to shuffle lectures/meetings around so that I have a little time to myself in the mornings to sit at home and drink coffee and eat breakfast and pet a cat while I get the day's work started. No exception today! I pull up an application my PhD student has been putting together for a tech grant and use the proverbial red pen to make some (a lot of) comments. It looks good overall, though! I send him a note to encourage him to send it to our collaborator in the computer science department when he's done with edits. Monday's the deadline, we gotta get moving on this.

9:00AM: I load up a bag with books I keep putting off taking to my office, plus some extra Halloween candy I found to add to my office candy bowl, and head out to take the bus in to campus. Also, pet the cat goodbye (she is unconcerned).

9:45AM: At the office, books and candy put away! Time to prep for my first meeting, which is a committee meeting with someone else's PhD student. He struggled a bit with a recent exam (entirely his advisor's fault, but that's a different story), so we're reconvening as a group to see his progress and cheer him on. He sent an update document, so I run through that and take a few notes. Then it's responding to e-mails (setting up my participation in a federal review panel next year, responding to two prospective graduate students interested in working with me - the combo of a fun research topic and a beautiful campus means I'm now up to 20 inquiries so far this quarter, eep - and sending out an update to the department about the charitable giving opportunities I'm coordinating).

10:30AM: Great presentation by the PhD student about all the things he's done since our last meeting back in April-ish. He's made huge changes to his work, and we applaud (literally and figuratively) how much he's accomplished in such a short time. Also, amazing data visualization! Great work all around. He's set to defend his PhD by 2025 at this rate, definitely back on track.

11:30AM: Time to rush back to my office to meet with my own PhD student! We usually meet on Fridays, but we get tomorrow off for the holiday so we jumped the meeting back. He's a few minutes late due to a missed bus, so my next-door colleague and I talk about cats for a few minutes. As you do. When he does arrive, he's got some cool stuff to show me - we talk about the notes I made on his grant application, and I remind him (and myself) to book flights to a conference in December that is rapidly approaching somehow. (I guess this means I have to do some cool and innovative research before then that I can talk about. Go figure.) He also shows me some cool preliminary results from a project he's been doing with a friend out in Pennsylvania. He's late enough in his PhD that my role as advisor is primarily to get out of his way and make sure he has enough supercomputer core-hours to get his work done!

12:30PM: A break for me! I start in on e-mail again, sending a coordinator my bio and abstract for a talk I've been invited to give (virtually, thankfully) at a student conference in January. I also realize that, because of the break tomorrow, I should really put together a homework assignment and next week's lectures for the class I teach Monday-Wednesday-Friday. Hmmm. I dig through last year's lectures and assignments and realize they've gotten a little out of sync this year. The solution? I may just offer 5 instead of 6 assignments over these ten weeks and give them this one a week later. Class average has been extremely high on them, and I think the students will appreciate a bit of a break. Also means today's job is just to prepare a few lectures based on last year's material. I've got a big chunk of open time later this afternoon to deal with course stuff, so back to e-mail. Going to be joining a friend (who I can't help but think of as the undergrad who sat in during all my grad classes, but is now somehow a full research scientist) on a very cool project putting together a new thunderstorm dataset. Also reached out to another friend about setting up biweekly meetings to hopefully start a new research collaboration and... possibly some fieldwork! I also almost forgot to put a forecast together for our forecasting competition, but I got there in time. Phew.

1:30PM: Meeting with a colleague and the undergrad research intern we co-supervise who is sadly having to leave to go attend school closer to home. This meeting is mostly just us reinforcing to her that we're still here if she needs advice/reference letters or ever wants to work on a similar project with us remotely in the future, but we are going to continue with the research until the end of the quarter, at her request. After the meeting, I get an e-mail about another undergraduate looking for a research project! I present her with the options of a cool lightning project with my colleague next door (waiting to hear back about federal funding for that project, fingers crossed) and that other cool thunderstorm project led by my friend in Oklahoma.

2:30PM: Seminar time! A very cool freshly-minted PhD from California tells us all about her research, a complicated topic about which I knew very little going in and now know... slightly more. There was a very geeky moment in which she showed what happened to a particular part of the climate system when CO2 was added, then showed what happened when CO2 was removed, and the asymmetry of it made everyone in the room gasp and then self-consciously giggle.

4:00PM: Post-seminar snacks acquired (a big cookie and coffee are definitely a good late lunch, right? I kid, I kid, I had a big breakfast and have a big dinner waiting at home) and small-talk survived, I scramble back up to my office. Time to get those lectures ready for next week (pretty quick to do - rather than last year, where I'd show the code on the screen and we'd talk about it, I'm having us write the code together live and debug as we go; harder in the moment for me, but the students are learning so much better!). Get an e-mail back from the new undergrad research intern expressing interest in the lightning project, amazing! Time to get her registered so she gets credit for this starting in January. Also finally get a teensy bit more editing done on a draft of a review article that one of the top scientific journals in the world tapped me to write (???? still surreal beyond measure).

5:30PM: BAND PRACTICE. Our department is so nerdy that the faculty/staff/postdocs/grad students put together a giant band to perform popular songs but as covers so we can make the lyrics about our nerdy research. This tradition has been going on for 30+ years, and the big performance is for an hour at our holiday party every year. It's a riot, and this is my first year joining in the chaos (I'm on keys on three songs!). There are like 25 of us, we have a horn section, a professor plays the mandolin, the students create elaborate musical roasts of their professors, it's great. My parts go great, to the point where when there's some trouble with key drift during an a capella part they call me in to play chords under it and keep them grounded. I love playing music with other people!

7:00PM: Time to pack up and head home for dinner. Phew.

Long day, but also LONG WEEKEND BAYBEE. I don't actually have to do any substantial work this weekend, so that means BALDUR'S GATE WEEKEND BAYBEE.

[mistydeyes]

Hiii this is for your COD pairing!

Appearance

- 5’7

- brown eyes

- shoulder length black curly hair

- I have 2 nose piercings and a few tattoos

- She/her

Personality / interests

- infp :)

- I am a big homebody, I love to cook, bake and read

- I’m obsessed with the ocean. I love the beach and jellyfish

- I would say I’m pretty quiet at first but once I get comfortable I literally don’t shut up

- I love to do things for people i know like giving small gifts or doing little things to make their day better

Job

- im a biochemist and I work in a research lab currently.

- I work with proteins

- I’m looking into getting my MSC

Partner type

- someone who likes to banter with me

- Will listen to my random thoughts and be chaotic with me

- Someone who will be honest and straight up with me

Tyyyyy :)))

Kyle "Gaz" Garrick (a/n WE LOVE WOMEN IN STEM!! y'all working in the lab are really the backbone to everything in health)

How you met: Civilian You loved visiting the aquarium, especially ones that had the tanks that formed a tunnel where you could marvel at the sea creatures as they swam over you. Makes sense why you were sitting in the tunnel in the London Aquarium. "Gorgeous, innit?' a young man replied as he entered the tunnel. You smiled as he took a similar sitting position to marvel at the animals. "It's my favorite place here, something about it is so peaceful," you replied as you pulled your knees in to let other guests pass. "Wonder what they think?" he postulated as he stared upwards, "'time to swim over the canyon, make sure not to fall in'" he joked and you laughed at his terrible observation. "I guess, maybe it's like when you try to avoid a body of water and try not to drown," you spoke aloud and he nodded in response. After some time making conversation and telling some bad fish puns (along the lines of Q: Where do sick fish go? A: To see a sturgeon.), Kyle helped you up. "Want to come to the touch tank with me?" he asked and as you both looked into each other's eyes, you took this opportunity to take a running start as he followed you, laughing.

A peek into your relationship: You rubbed your eyes as you examined the quaternary structure of a protein you were working on. You strained as you tabbed over from the 3D model to the results from your circular dichroism spectrometry. You had a proposal due by the end of this week and needed to quantify your results into a paper. By now, the lab was empty and everyone had gone home. Even your PI left you in the cold lab to look over your results. As you tried to label your figures, your phone buzzed. "Come down to the third floor for dinner :)" Kyle texted and you smiled. You might as well take a break. You took off your coat and quickly made your way down the stairs. As you approached the table, Kyle sat there with some of your favorite takeout. "Hey you," he smiled and motioned for you to sit next to him. "Hey, Love," you replied and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "How's the lab work going?" he asked as he watched you scarf down the second meal you've had today. "Stressful," you sighed, "my PI wants the proposal by the end of this week for my new research and I have a poster presentation on Wednesday." You rubbed your temples and Kyle massaged your shoulders. "Well I'm always here to present to, I'll be sure to have questions for you," he said and you gave a soft smile in response. "Might have to take you up on that offer," you replied. That's how at 11pm, you were presenting your research to your boyfriend as he furiously wrote down notes to ask you "very important" questions.

"Kyle, asking 'How can someone be so sexy and so smart?' is not a question I'm going to be asked on Wednesday" "Just trying to prep you, my scientist!"

[wayystey]

Birth-at-Hellzmas

The City of Hellsville, a metropolis where anything but good resides, being the mirror contrast of Townsville. Ranging from the lowly Worms to the feared Baphomets, the very essence of evil kept this place alive. The roads and homes were bustling with celebration, for the spirit of Hellzmas was alive in every villain's twisted hearts. Inside His Workshop, macabrous carols were sang constantly, and the monarch known as Him was giving out presents to the unscrupulous and naughty fiends that waited in a long line. He was dressed in what normal people would call "Santa's outfit", but He made the plump and kind gift giver look thin like a demonic tree. In general, He is Satan Claws of His town. Two devil-like aides flanked his chair, and a demon in the form of a child sat on his lap.

"Hello there, precious Beelzebub! Care to share with me on one thing you have done this whole year?" He spoke in his usual echo induced voice, asking the little demon.

"I bit my uncle's ear for 5 days!" he exclaimed excitedly, the wings on its back buzzed like a bee.

"That is well enough to be in the naughty category! Now here's your present!" a spider-like boomerang appeared on the hands of Beelzebub.

"Wheeee! Now I can hit my whole family with this for a bajillion Wednesdays!" The little demon chuckled and vanished off.

"Hah, kids will always be evil." He chuckled at the bad seed's euphoria.

"Next!"

The process of giving out gifts to the malignant children continued. Inside the ruler's grand chamber, His close associates were immersed in a party that they deserved. Fuzzy Lumpkins, the pink hillbilly monster was playing his Banjo, singing a "hell-fied" version of "Season's Greetings" song out loud.

Mojo Jojo, an ape with ingenious intellect was also present at the hullabaloo. Despite being invited to the party, he was dabbled in his usual insidious research to get rid of the Powerpuff Girls.

"I, Mojo Jojo, will find the canker that will cause the Powerpuff's downfall. Holiday or not, I, Mojo Jojo, shall focus on nothing but this plan, and make sure it is foolproof!"

"Oh Mojo, would you lighten up and have fun already? It's Hellzmas for crying out loud!" Princess Morbucks, a haughty spoiled brat, was nearby the oblivious simian. She took a moneybag from the base of the Hellzmas tree, and kissed it like it was her own precious pet.

On the Powerpunk's and Rowdyruff's side, Brick chased Berserk around the room in an attempt to kiss her under the mistletoe. Boomer and Bubbles were pulling each other's hairs and making funny faces to pass their fun time, while Brute and Butch were engaged in an arm-wrestling competition.

However, one principal agent of evil was missing from the scene, and she happened to be bedridden. Sedusa, the Queen of Hellsville, was feeling weak and out-of-the-holiday-spirits all month long. She was dressed in a red nightgown, and her black hair was static instead of her usual snake-esque tresses. The cause of her long-term ailment was because she was pregnant for 9 months, and the eve of Hellzmas was her time to give birth to a hellspawn. Her significant other sat on a chair by her bedside, taking care of her every minute. It seemed that He left a duplicate of His that attended to the important Hellzmas duty as being Satan Claws.

"Darling, don't worry about me, I'll be just fine." Sedusa breathed out faintly, looking straight at His green eyes.

"I have no intention of worrying, because I am quite sure you can handle yourself well, my dear Empress of Hell." He kissed her bloodless hand affectionately, praying that the birth of his heir will be a success.

"And it is quite…." Sedusa paused for a moment, for her kind hardly ever utters the pair of pending words.

"….nice and selfless that you decided to leave a duplicate to manage the Hellzmas gift-giving, and stay by my side." the bedded demoness finished her statement.

"Sacrifices are to be made on occasions, you know." He replied.

"So what do you think it'll be? A boy? A girl? A Sweet Transvestite?" the snake-mistress added jokingly, making the circles on His cheek flash brightly.

"It's only a matter of time." He looked at the clock above them, waiting in rapt anticipation. The excitement in his blood began to fluctuate, unable to keep his patience alive.

Berserk, who was flying away from Brick, happened to pass by their door, and she could not help, but eavesdrop at their conversation.

"Whoa! Sedusa never told us that they were to have their baby today! I must go tell the others!" Berserk thought, and flew towards the other villains, whilst Brick continued to chase after her.

"Guys! Berserk called out. The villains stopped doing whatever they were immersed in, and turned their attention to Blossom's malevolent contemporary.

"You won't believe on what I've just heard! Sedusa's knocked up, and….."

"Yea, yea, Satan Claws told us months ago, wiseass!" Brute interrupted and narrowed her green eyes.

"Oho! You said His name! You're gonna be in trouble!" Boomer and Butch jeered.

"Um, incase you haven't noticed, it's Hellzmas, and that means I can say his name whenever I want to only at this time!" Brute rolled her eyes and stuck out her tongue in retaliation.

"No, silly! She's giving birth today!" Berserk clarified to her green-dressed sister.

"Really?" Brat gasped.

"Say it ain't so!" Fuzzy exclaimed.

The villainous gang stormed into His private quarters, startling (more like annoying) the rulers of the town.

"Him! I, Mojo Jojo, have heard this tremendous news of your seed of evil being born today!" Mojo brighteningly explained.

"Guess you don't have to waste your income in helping your wife go through labor, eh?" Princess smirked.

He had His back turned on them the whole time, and finally spoke in a soft, yet cold tone.

"Denizens of Hellsville. In case you haven't noticed……" He turned around and faced them at last, a psychotic expression alive on his magma hued face.

"SEDUSA NEEDS ROOM TO BREATHE AND YOU WHELPS ARE CLOGGING UP THE SPACE SHE NEEDS!" He yelled out in his aggressive masculine tone, sending a bolt of fear in everyone's spines, and the room began to quake momentarily. No one dared to utter a single word during the terse atmosphere.

"Chillax, pops!" Boomer replied, breaking the prolonging silence.

"Temper Temper, Fluffy. These wonderful darlings are just here to witness the seed blooming out of my unholy womb!" Sedusa reassured Him calmly.

"Yeah, what 'Dusa said." Fuzzy quickly added.

"Right…." He calmed down, and sighed. "So, who here wants to aid our beloved patient in delivering her progeny?"

"Ew!" Princess Morbucks, The Powerpunks and Rowdyruffs exclaimed immaturely.

"I NEVER ASKED YOU CHILDREN TO VOLUNTEER, SO SHUT IT!" He irritatingly yelled at the evil kids, who immediately went mum out of fright.

"Now, as I was saying……"

"I do!" Fuzzy loyally raised his furry pink hand.

"Fuzzy, did you ever take Gynecology?" Mojo narrowed his eyes

"Um, I dunno….." the mutant shrugged.

"I believe, that I, Mojo Jojo, am the perfect doctor for this job!" Mojo volunteered confidently.

"Oh, is that so? If you fail to deliver my future son/daughter, you have to feast ten flames on my chalice!" He smirked, raising the stakes for the monkey's task.

A drop of sweat slid down from Mojo's face, as he prepared to kneel before Sedusa's womb.

"Here goes nothing….." Mojo took a deep breath, and prepared for the operating process.

"Don't let me down." the pale woman whispered.

The simian's gloves reached for the patient's womb. Overwhelming pressure seemed to increase in his giant brain, and his inner conscience warned him that he was no man for such a task.

"I….. I can't!" Mojo gulped, and backed off. The demon king face-palmed His forehead, and was frustrated at the fact that the monkey made nothing but fair-weather boasts.

"Are you really a bright monkey? Because you just showed the symptoms of a cowardly chicken. And you call yourself a doctor? How dissapointing." He rolled his eyes, wondering why he would associate with such hubris induced fools.

"Must I do everything MYSELF?" He muttered to Himself, and took the initiative on delivering their unborn child into the realm of the living.

"Stand back." He warned the villains, and they backed off in order to give them the required space for the process to be done.

He raised his crab-like claws, and made Sedusa levitate up in the air like an imposing banshee. Her skin illuminated by a blinding flash, and her husband continued the process by chanting an arcane spell.

"Raef reverof lliw dlrow eht taht nomed lufrewop gnivil eht emoceb dna, rebmuls lanrete ruoy pu ekaw, Nwaps Nrobnu!"

Sedusa let out a pained wail, and a red slithering stream of energy was let out from the would-be matriarch's womb. It landed on the floor and went ablaze.

"Here I thought babies were delivered by storks!" Princess whispered in Brute's ears, who nodded back, since she too shared the perception that the birth system was conducted that way.

Out of the burning pyre, two identical twinspawns crawled out on all fours, making the villains gasp out in amazement. He then lowered his hand, making Sedusa gravitate down gently.

"Whoa!" The Rowdyruffs and the Powerpunks had their bug-like eyes set on the advancing newborns.

"Simply Ingenious!" Mojo exclaimed while triumphantly pointing his index finger up.

"They produced twins? Cute!" Fuzzy and Princess Morbucks said in unison, the latter clapped her hands with glee.

One of the demonic babies had the identical appearance of his father, though lacking the eccentric clothes, the pink frill and the goatee. The other one appeared to be a female, and her head already was crowned with tiny hissing black snakes, and she looked very much akin to her mother, complete with pale skin and jade eyes.

He bent down and took His two new children on his arms, and teleported near Sedusa's side.

"Attention, you lowly despicable villains! I now present to you the future generation of evil! But one cannot be complete without a name, and I hereby christen my new hellspawns: Lucifer, and Desdemona! May they both commit memorable wrongdoings that shall be known to everyone's, be they good or evil, ears!" He roared out in triumph, and raised the two demonlings high up in the air, making the villains cheer with excitement.

He then entrusted the twins to Sedusa's arms, who cradled them in her arms, overwhelmed by their adorable features.

"Aren't they the best products of all that is wicked?" the haughty criminal cooed at Him.

"Indeed, my love!"

In the nearby party hall, a portal materialized out of thin air and out from it emerged the GanGreen Gang.

"Party's over already?" Lil' Arturo asked his boss.

"Nah, it can't be over yet. We're just three hours late!" Ace reassured the Hispanic youth.

"I hope Him and Ssssssssedussssssa won't be mad!" Snake replied nervously.

"Gah? Wat's goin' on now?" Big Billy heard the noises from the ruler's chamber.

Grubber let out his usual raspberry, suggesting his crew that they should check what was happening in there.

"Wait till those miserable Powerpuffs cross paths with..."

The Satan's sentence was interrupted, because they GanGreen Gang came rushing in and joined the villainous crowd.

"Sorry we're late, Creeps. Took a detour to another portal by accident." Ace coolly explained.

"We ended up in some kind of Ghost Zone." Arturo added.

"And there was thisssss pretty ghosssssst rocker that knows how to ssssssing good!" Snake sighed, and daydreamed about the incident when he and his gang encountered a certain Ember McLain.

"Yeah, a pretty hot diva, right guys?" Ace smirked.

The whole gang nodded appraisingly.

"Never mind about that! You're just in time to witness the birth of my new children!" He let out a triumphant laugh, and the gang moved in closer to inspect the newborn twins.

"Looks totally like you." Arturo commented when he made eye contact with Lucifer.

"Niiiiissssse!"

Snake smirked approvingly as he got closer to Desdemona, and felt her serpentine tresses, but the snake heads bit his scaly fingers, making Snake yelp.

"A handful of darlings, aren't they?" Sedusa giggled dotingly.

"Yaaah!" Big Billy nodded, and Grubber let out another raspberry that Lucifer began to mimic for a couple of seconds.

"Can we play with them! They are sooooo cute!" Brat grinned, and she and her sisters flew around the babies

"Certainly! They just livened up this holiday!" He cheerfully replied, remained proud on what he and Sedusa had to work through to create such a worthwhile set of spawns.

"Just don't come crying to me if they spoil your fun." the devil added spitefully, and all the villains in the room laughed out loud. Raising the new twins would be a whole new adventure for the inseparable demonic couple.

6 Days Later:

There was a party once again in the same location of Hellsville. Except this time, they were concluding their one week celebration of Hellzmas with a new-years-eve party. The same group of villains was present during the celebrations, with the addition of Femme Fatale, Roach Coach, the Boogyman and his monstrous crew, the Amoeba Boys, the devious Cat, Mandark's Lab Duck Quackor, Mr. Mime (no longer Rainbow the Clown again) and many others miscellaneous monsters. Sedusa looked nothing like her weakened state any longer. She was back to her usual lingerie-wearing self, and her hair was healthily snakelike once again. The snake-haired demoness was apparently dancing near a pole like a stripper would do, flanked by two devil-like demonesses; and they gave Him, Fuzzy, the GanGreen Gang and the Rowdyruff boys quite the show. The Powerpunk girls gave the Rowdyruffs what appears to be the jealous look, and Mojo Jojo was still engaged in his usual Powerpuff-destroying plot cookings.

"Your Sedusa still is sexy, even after becoming a mommy!" Fuzzy clapped at the demoness trio's dancings.

"Don't get any ideas, Fuzzy." He gave the mutant a serious and leery look.

"Right, boss." Fuzzy nodded, and suppressed his laugh.

"Hey Mojo! Don't you wanna take a look at today's great show?" Ace called out the simian.

"Not now, juvenile fool! I, Mojo Jojo am still busy on thinking of diabolical plots to eliminate the Powerpuff Girls!"

"I beg to differ, Mojo. My kids are well qualified for the job, so why don't you cease your meaningless endeavors, and come join in the fun?" He thought otherwise, and offered the simian busybody.

"Meaningless?" Mojo exclaimed, and stormed towards the devil while fuming.

"I, Mojo Jojo, have wasted ten billion brain cells in thinking of such plans to get rid of my nemeses! And YOU are telling me that it is all for nothing?! Why, I'll see to it that….." Mojo stopped speaking, and his attention was now focused on the dancing she-devils.

"Mmmm, enthralling!"

"I knew that this would make you stop toiling in your meaningless plots." He smugly grinned.

Mr. Mime approached the cot where the twinspawns were playing with their dolls which their father manifested as their gifts; and made weird faces to entertain them.

"Aren't they just evilicous?" Junior and Slim said together.

"Indeed that the little girl is the precise apple of Sedusa's eye!" Femme Fatale admired Desdemona's hairstyle.

Big Billy poked the babies out of fun, but Lucifer belched out flames, which singed the cyclops' face.

"Fiesty lil' tyke!"

Amid the laughter and pomp, three shady looking criminals were apparently plotting something behind the rulers' back.

"…..so if we gleap the babies, we'll earn loads of cash, right boss?" the two henchmen greedily asked about their boss' ambitious, but foolish plan.

"You got that right! Now Doe darlin', you serve as the distraction, while Moe and I try to make off with those two little brats!" their boss Gruum instructed.

"Right!" Doe ran near the entertainment corner where Him and his posse were still enjoying Sedusa's pole dance. She went up with the three dancing wenches, and began to perform a loud vocal performance which attracted most of the villains' attentions. While they were all distracted, Moe and Gruum snuck near the twin demon babies, and snatched them away from the cot. They kept their hands over the infants' mouth to mute out their cries, as to avoid any unnecessary exposures.

"Why in hell did she make an unscripted appearance in our performance?" Sedusa paused dancing, and arched a brow. The answer came suddenly to her, when she took a glance at Moe and Gruum fleeing with her children. Sedusa went to Him, and whispered a few words in His pointy ears. An angered expression suddenly appeared on his face, then He nodded in agreement and went with Sedusa to thwart the foolish thieves.

Just when the two thieves were about to exit the Party Hall, the demonic couple teleported near the door; the cross expressions still showing bold on their faces.

"And just where do you think you're going?" Sedusa crossed her hands, now grinning scornfully at the thieves.

"Um, we…we were just uh….." Moe began to stutter.

"We are just playing with the newborns, that's all!" Gruum sheepishly answered.

"Spare us the excuses! YOU THINK WE WERE JUST BORN YESTERDAY?" He yelled at the thieves.

"PLEASE, SPARE US, YOUR HIGHNESS!" the thieves began to whine for their lives, for death seemed clearly inevitable just now.

"Oh we won't hurt you!" Sedusa cooed at their pleaders.

"You, you won't?" Moe asked, relieved.

"They shall be the one to determine your final judgement!" Sedusa haughtily pointed at the babies still held on the thieves' hands.

Desdemona and Lucifer began to transform into slithering red snakes, and they sprang out of the thieves' grasp, hissing at them viciously. The two fool-headed criminals let out a high-pitched scream.

"Think twice before you mess with OUR family!" the Satan laughed, as he and Sedusa witnessed their children devouring the two thieves whole as their dinner for New Years, and then reverted back to their original infant forms, belching loudly after a few seconds.

The whole villain crowd cheered at Desdemona and Lucifer's spectacle, and they earned the sight of a benign smile that were visible on their cute little faces.

"Wait, something's still amiss!"

The crowd suddenly fell silence.

Sedusa suddenly took another glance at Doe, who was about to flee for her life. The asp-queen took no second thoughts, and lashed out her snake hair at the fleer's direction, coiling her tight.

"No one upstages me and steals the show!"

Sedusa raised up the long lock that coiled Doe tight, and threw her into a nearby lava pit. The criminal let out a agonizing screech, and fell down to the engulfing flaming liquid.

"Dang, she got wasted!" Ace sneered.

"Guess we better be careful about stealing the demon kids!" Boomer and his brothers stifled a giggle.

"Real mature, Rowdyruffs." Brute, Berserk and Brat rolled their eyes, and Brick and Butch suddenly stopped laughing. At Brick's serious nod, Butch kicked the stomach of Boomer.

"Hey, I was just joking, guys!" the blond Rowdyruff clasped his stomach in pain.

"Kids….." Sedusa grinned, and looked at her Husband.

"Aren't they powerful already?" she commented on the crawling twins near the base of the demonic couple's feet.

"Of course! To be blunt, I was already over-the-top since I was only five days old!" He replied smugly.

"But alas, no words are coming from their mouth!" Sedusa contemplated the lack of language that the babies exhibited.

"Relax, Sedusa. In due time, their speech shall psychologically destroy their unfortunate prey!" He laughed, and pulled Sedusa closer to lock her lips in a tongue twirling kiss.

Half of the villains "Ooooh'd" in admiration, while the other half (consisting of minors) looked away with the usual "Ew!" remark. As both demons' finished their kiss, Sedusa picked up their pair of progenies, and placed them back in their cot.

"Guys! Since January 2008 shall start soon….." Fuzzy began to express his idea, but Ace apparently thought the same idea, and immediately finished his statement.

"….we should raise hell in Townsville!"

"Hmm, sounds like a nice way to spend the New Year's Eve, boy! What's better is that those insignificant Townsville fools shall begin their year BADLY BY OUR ARRIVAL!" He raised his crab-like claws and laughed maliciously, while the other villains did the same.

Sedusa bent over to the cot, and stroked the locks of baby Desdemona's hair.

"Now kids, Mommy and Daddy will be gone with friends for a while. Don't worry about any protection lax, some babysitters shall keep a good eye on you devils until our return!"

He nodded, and summoned a pair of Devil Guardians to watch over His children, and waved his claws to cleanse off the party mess from the whole residence.

"Now let's go and start the New Year OUR WAY!" Him roared and the entire group of villains (minus Desdemona, Lucifer and the demon babysitters) disappeared from the hall.

Enter, The City of Townsville.

11:59 AM

Every citizens were waiting in rapt anticipation for New Years to begin, especially the Powerpuff Girls.

"And now New Years shall start in a matter of seconds. 10, 9, 8, 7, 6….."

Everyone roared with excitement, as they watch the Powerpuff-style rocket (which Prof. Utonium created during the whole month of December) was about to take off in the skies to make great fireworks.

"5, 4, 3, 2….."

Suddenly, the countdown was interrupted, and a red hole appeared on the night sky. Numerous armies of villains (now enlarged as giants) dropped down from the skies, led by the monstrous Him and Sedusa.

"HAPPY NEW YEAR, PUNY MORTALS!"

"Uh oh, we've got trouble!" Blossom gasped at the sight of monsters everywhere.

"Why couldn't we have fun in the beginning of the year?" Bubbles dismayingly exclaimed.

"Who cares? It'll be fun getting rid of those creeps!" Buttercup cocked a grin, and the girls flew up towards the gargantuan villains. Even though the favor was against them, and were outnumbered, it was worth taking a chance to beat them up at the dawn of 2008.

(A/N: Hah, like those girls will even win against the bajillion amounts (written on purpose) of baddies! Unfortunatly, I have drained all my energies in writing this fic, so I'll have to stop writing here. Well, not really, since I have a few more writing juice left in me to add a few little plot teasers.)

Back in the Hellsville Grand Chamber, the twin hellspawns were busy playing with their toys, while the babysitters were still looking after them.

"We sure did keep up our appearances, eh?" Lucifer apparently can demonstrate language abilities at this age, and his voice was echoic just like his Father.

"Yeah. Mommy and Daddy have barely any idea that our intellect is as great as their's!" Desdemona cackled, her voice sounded similar to Sedusa's but with the echoic reverb added.

"It's boring in here. Playing with our toys and staying at home while we could also be having fun with Popsie and Mumsie! Why can't we fucking go kill some loser, Dessy?" Lucifer threw his rattle at Desdemona, her snake hair caught it in the nick of time.

(A/N: LMAO, Lucifer sweared! xD)

"Bleh, they think that we'll get hurt or something, dear brother." Desdemona reassured her twin.

"Wanna go explore the town, sis?" Lucifer eyed the window mischievously.

"I thought you'd never ask, Lucy! That way, our reputation can automatically attain its importance, instead of mother and father automatically making it for us!"

"Sounds like a great idea! Wait, hey! Don't call me that!" her brother pouted, earning a sly raspberry from her sister.

"But first….." Desdemona snapped her fingers, and two clones of theirs' appeared in the cot.

"Now we can get the hell out of here, Lucy!"

"CALL ME LUCY ONE MORE TIME AND I'LL……."

"Shush! The babysitters might suspect something. Let's go!"

"Alright!"

The twins exchanged devious glances and teleported away in a puff of red smoke that disappeared as quickly as it materialized.

"Did you hear something?" The androgynous babysitter asked its also-ambiguously gendered partner.

"Uh, no. We should probably feed them worms now!" The other babysitter replied, and they went to the cot to pick up the decoys.

And so once again, the day shall be doomed, thanks to Desdemona, Lucifer, and the rest of Hellsville

The End

[engbergsinfinland]

OK -- so I got delayed again, and I wrote part of this post on Wednesday and part of it on Friday! I will signal what is what ;)

The following four paragraphs are what I wrote on Wednesday:

Greetings and happy Wednesday to everybody. Today, I taught, and it was my last day of new content for the semester. Next week, the students have a workshop for their final presentations and then the following week they have their presentations. I can't believe how quickly we've arrived at the end of the term! Of course, we're not quite there yet, but it's within view.

I feel like I was very busy early this week. And there's still a lot more to do. Tomorrow, I have to sit on an interview panel for Fulbright and I have two recommendation letters to write for students from UNM who are applying to grad school, both to PhD programs (one in Biology, because I teach part of my load in Biology and I am happy to answer questions as to why, and one in Technical Communication), and I also have to get ready to circulate a draft article to a reading group in about ten days. This research/reading group is the "space/environment reading group" here at Tampere University and my literary studies work, the tiny bit of that that I still do, fits into their focal areas, so they're going to be nice enough to give me feedback on my draft in preparation for a presentation I'm giving to the Lawrence London Group in mid-December. I also have to make more progress on the 5th chapter of the book that I'm co-authoring with my colleague Joe. And finally, I'm writing the protocol for a research project that my colleague here, Maija, and I are doing and we have to have it go through ethical screening, because it is based around interviews with technical communication professors in Finland who teach exclusively online. Anyway, I haven't given much of a work overview lately, so, there ya have it! Whew! Stresses me out even listing everything I have to do -- and that is not even everything ;)

So, I wanted to return to "a Finnish thing" that you should know about -- since I don't have much day-to-day fun to recount, as things have been pretty routine here as of late. OK, so the Finnish national epic poem is called the Kalevala, which I wrote about last post. Let me fill in a few more details. It was compiled by a man named Elias Lönnrot in the 1830s, and he assembled it from Finnish folks songs that were well known to folk singers across eastern Finland, largely, but not only, in the Karelian region (which is now in Russia, but that is another story). So, my college roommate, Halima, and I have created a reading group to get through the Kalevala together. She loves epic poems and was game when I suggested we do this. We are about 10 cantos/books in, and it is so interesting! I have read the Odyssey and Iliad, and I have read the Irish epic (The Táin), and I had read some Icelandic epic poetry, a little bit. But, the Finnish one is a bit of an oddity, because it is not something that has been in existence as a text for very long -- only two centuries. But, as I know I mentioned, it was foundational to Finland's movements towards independence.

Anyway, Halima and I had our first Kalevala reading group on Monday. We talked about the role of women in the epic, the strategies used for enacting magical acts through song, the manner in which the hero (Väinämöinen) is cursed for not following directions, and we noted parallels to other epics. I went to the public library, Metso (which is called this because it is shaped like the bird the capercaillie, and the library is shaped like that bird), on Monday afternoon, and I ended up getting two books that are scholarly works about the Kalevala. I also checked out a kids' book called The Canine Kalevala, and the kids have read it, though I have not yet, but I looked at it enough to see that they changed a fundamental part of the narrative concerning the relationship between Väinämöinen and Aino, the sister of Joukahainen, who Joukahainen "gives" to Väinämöinen after he loses what amounts to basically a rap battle. In the epic, Aino does not want to marry Väinämöinen and drowns herself (again, I mentioned this in my last post), afterwards becoming a mermaid, and she gets to refuse Väinämöinen one more time in this form. In The Canine Kalevala, Aino does not decide for herself whether she is going to marry Väinämöinen and deny him, but rather she is rendered as a kind of Miss Piggy figure, who is in rapt pursuit of the hero (in Miss Piggy's case this is Kermit, of course). The Canine Kalevala situated Väinämöinen as having to flee from the advances of Aino! He travels north to try to evade her. This is such an odd and inaccurate change, but perhaps the author of the version for children did not want to deal with Aino's self-sacrifice and self-determination as a woman, to not marry the old man who she was given to by her worthless brother.

OK, I am writing all of the following on Friday!

So, I am going to include -- because I am a scholar, what can I say, and I need to show you textual evidence -- images of the original passages that deal with Aino deciding her own fate and of the way in which The Canine Kalevala presents Aino to children.

I encourage you to zoom in on these images and read them, you know, with all of the time you have on your hands ;)

OK, I will leave this little detour into comparative literary analysis to the side for now and tell you more about our week. Eric and I survived three more Finnish classes, a practice we manage to succeed to perform every week. There has been a real decrease in the number of students though. Some have had to leave the class because of work, some have had to leave because Finnish is just too hard a darn language, and some have had to leave because they have moved. This week, were were learning about how nouns take on different endings to connote where (from where, at where, and to where) something is taking place or where something is. It is super confusing as you might imagine, because in English and Spanish, the only two languages I know (well, I can read some French), there are actual prepositions that describe those spatial relationships. Not so in Finnish. Here is one sentence as an example. "My phone is in my purse on the table." In Finnish now: "puhelimeni on laukussani pöydällä." The first word there is "phone," the second word is "is," the third word is "in purse," and the last word is "on table." The basic forms of those words are "purse/laukku," and "table/pöytä." Now, if we were changing this to be "my phone fell out of my purse onto the floor," the directionality of the "out of" and "onto" would create new endings for those two nouns. Totally crazy! As you see, or at least this is how we feel, Finnish is a very difficult language. And on top of it all, there is a spoken Finnish and a written Finnish ;)

OK, I will tie this all up, because this has been so long! Tonight we are going to the local professional hockey teams' match against each other! They are both in the top division, which I have talked about on this blog, and they only play each other twice, about, each season. So, tonight is the Ilves/Tappara game and we are going with another family. And we're going to dinner first! Otherwise, we will have a relatively relaxed weekend, I hope, as the calendar is rather sparsely populated with things we have to do. We might do some Christmas decorating! I am sure I told you that people do that earlier here than many Americans do. We are going to jump on board that train this year.

[mavy1]

First week of the semester has me feeling like that John Mulaney bit where he's like "brush your teeth, now BOOM! Orange juice"

[afeelgoodblog]

Best News of Last Week

Edition #011 - Hope you had a great weekend. Let's read some positive news

1. California enacts law to strip badges from bad officers

California has joined the vast majority of states in setting up a way to strip the badges of police officers who act criminally or with bias, a change that was among several criminal justice reforms signed into law Thursday by Gov. Gavin Newsom.”

"Officers can now lose their certification for serious misconduct including using excessive force, committing sexual assault, intimidating witnesses, making a false arrest or report, or participating in a law enforcement gang."

2. Inventor of Hand-Cranked Washing Machine is Distributing the Low-Cost Device to Refugees

The inventor of a hand-cranked washing machine has travelled to Iraq to distribute the low-cost device to refugees.

Navjot Sawhney created the Divya to allow those living in poverty to be able to wash their clothes more easily. He said the two-week trip to northern Iraq to hand out the machines has been a "completely humbling experience".

"To give them the dignity of clean clothes is very fulfilling," said the former University of Bath student.

3. Ocelots rescued from traffickers returned to wild in Ecuador

Six ocelots rescued from illegal wildlife traffickers have been returned to the wild in northern Ecuador, the environment ministry said on Saturday.

"They released six female ocelots (Leopardus pardalis) in the Cotacachi Cayapas Reserve," near the border with Colombia, it said in a statement. "All the specimens returned to their natural habitat after a rehabilitation period of approximately one year."

4. CRISPR Gene-Editing Experiment Partly Restores Vision In Legally Blind Patients

“On Wednesday, researchers revealed the first evidence that the approach appears to be working — improving vision for at least some patients with the condition, known as Leber congenital amaurosis, or LCA, a severe form of vision impairment.

"It's a really amazing technology and very powerful," says Dr. Mark Pennesi, professor of ophthalmology at the Casey Eye Institute at the Oregon Health & Science University. He presented the results at an International Symposium on Retinal Degeneration in Nashville, Tenn.”

Imagine being the person who had their sight partially restored. You have what you believe is a life sentence and one day you get your sight back, and if you never had it at all what an overwhelming experience to witness a beautiful sunset for the first time. I would just travel around seeing cool things for like a year. What an awesome story.

5. Rare Arabian leopard cub is born, raising hopes for the species’ survival

“The birth of an Arabian leopard cub in Saudi Arabia is fuelling hope for the survival of one of the world’s most critically endangered animals.

The Royal Commission for AlUla (RCU) has just announced that the female cub was born on April 23 at the Arabian Leopard Breeding Center in Taif, Saudi Arabia.”

6. Orlando school elects its first transgender homecoming queen

"It made me feel like I actually belonged," Bialosuknia said. "Not just like a joke. Cause that was one of my fears, I was in bed one night like, 'What if they were just doing this to laugh at me?'"

Bialosuknia is 17, and in her first year living the way she wants and feels. Just a few months ago, she started her transition.

"I still have a long way to go and more change is coming," she said.

7. Duane Garvais-Lawrence biked and ran across the country — from Washington state to Washington, DC — to advocate for more resources to address the crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous women.

“Duane Garvais-Lawrence biked and ran across the country — from Washington state to Washington, DC — to advocate for more resources to address the crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous women. He met with families of the missing along the way and with lawmakers in DC.”

That's it for this week. Until next week,

You can follow me on twitter . Also, I have a newsletter :)

Subscribe here to receive a collection of wholesome news every week in your inbox :D

[helliontherapscallion]

(Y/n) and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Week: Tuesday

Monday     Wednesday     Thursday (Part 1)     Thursday (Part 2)     Friday     Saturday     Sunday

Spotify Playlist (collaborative)

Warnings: anxiety, doctor’s offices, taking pain pills (not sure if I need to tag that, but just in case), stalkers, blackmail, swearing, non-consensual taking pics of nudes, slight body dysmorphia, self-loathing, toxic friends

Word count: 5,326

(A/N): another long chapter, my little wlw heart loved writing this chapter! Also holy shit I was not expecting the first part to blow up, thank you to everyone that read it! Gosh, it’s enough to make a grown woman cry :’)

You cracked open your crusty eyes to Wilbur poking his head into your room. “(Y/n), Dad wants you.”

You groaned rubbing at your eyes in an attempt to get the sleep out of them. “I’ll be down in a sec.” Your voice was scratchy and thick with sleep.

He closed the door silently and you heard his socked feet thumping down the hallway. Your pain faded slightly into soreness, but your shoulders and upper back were slightly stiff. After you drug yourself out of bed, you shambled down the stairs to see your family at the table eating breakfast. Your stomach growled loudly, making you blush slightly in embarrassment. 

Your eldest brother snorted. “Hungry (y/n)?”

You slumped into your seat next to him slowly shoveling food into your mouth. “You have no idea.”

“You wouldn’t be that hungry if you ate dinner when you got home like I told you to do last night, young lady. You better eat every single thing on that plate.”

There was no arguing with a stern Dadza, so you reluctantly complied. Meanwhile, Tommy and Tubbo were telling Wilbur about your match animatedly. 

“And the ball was like fwoosh and she- the ball and-and-”

“And she hit it and Haley hit it to the other side! It was so cool!”

Wilbur merely smiled listening to them ramble about how badass you were last night. They made you feel genuinely happy that they admired your volleyball abilities; they were probably your biggest fans and that made your day most of the time. You remembered the first match they came to during your freshman year, they had run up to you right after the end-of-match whistle blew to spew about how good you were on the court. They met the team that day. Your team adored having them at your games, over the years they slowly replaced your school’s mascot. They played a huge part in morale boosts before and during matches. 

He looked over to you, “I didn’t know my little sister could be so badass.”

You felt your cheeks flare up. “It’s nothing I haven’t done before. It really wasn’t anything special.”

“(Y/n),” Philza pursed his lips, “you did all that with a bruised back, I’d consider that something special.”

“Wait (y/n), you’re hurt?” Tommy and Tubbo looked at you with wide concerned eyes.

“Yeah, but it’s not that bad. I can still move and stuff.”

Techno rolled his eyes, “it’s bad if you’re going to the doctor for it.”

“Eh, it doesn’t hurt as bad as it did yesterday, so I’m not worried.” 

“You’re deadass wincing everytime you move your arm,” WIlbur deadpanned, “it clearly still hurts.”

“Well yeah, I didn’t say the pain went away completely. Fuckin’ dumbass.”

“Language,” Philza glared at you two, gesturing to the two fifth graders watching the exchange with interest. 

You and Wilbur resumed eating and murmured out a defeated “sorry Dad.” You both glared at Techno when he huffed in amusement. 

“If you three keep bickering, you’re going to be late to school. Remember, you two have to drop off Tommy and Tubbo today cuz I’m taking your sister to her appointment. Now go get ready, I’ll take care of your dishes.”

Your brothers took off up the stairs, each competing to get to the bathroom first. Occasionally, you would hear shouts and slapping noises. You felt glad you didn’t have to deal with that today. Judging by Techno’s gruff voice laughing and an explosion of loud complaints from the rest, you assumed that he won today. “I swear, they’re gonna put me in an early grave.”

“You and me both Dad, you and me both.”

You went into the kitchen and pulled out a bottle of pain pills from the junk drawer. Various bottles of Motrin and Advil were scattered around the house because when you live with a rambunctious family like this one, people are bound to get hurt and headaches are common. Popping three into your mouth, you washed it down with a glass of water. The sound of the running water faucet and the slight splashing of water filled the silence of the room. 

“How’s your back? Does it feel any better?”

“Kinda, today it just feels more sore than throbbing, my headache went away mostly, and my shoulder doesn’t feel any worse, so that’s better I guess.”

He shut off the water and reached for a towel to dry off his wet hands. He moved over to the freezer and grabbed a frozen package of peas that your family never ate. You all used it whenever one of you would get a bruise. He moved behind you and held it against your back without warning. Flinching forward from the unexpected temperature change, you winced with the wave of pain moving brought you. 

“Shit, sorry.”

“You’re good. Just give me a little warning next time,” you chuckled. He gently placed it back on your back and you sighed from the slight relief that it brought you. You leaned into the peas and closed your eyes. “That feels amazing.”

“I bet. That bruise was pretty bad yesterday, can I look at it again?”

You reluctantly left the sanctuary that was the medical grade frozen peas and leaned forward, moving your hair out of the way for him. “Knock yourself out.”

He made a hissing noise as soon as he moved your shirt out of the way. “Dad, it probably looks worse than it feels.”

“...Have you seriously not looked at this yet? It looks pretty bad, hun.”

“Well, sorry I can’t move to look at my back without being in pain. I’ll try harder next time.” You snarked him.

“Hey, watch the attitude. Here, I’ll take a picture so you can see how bad it is.”

You heard the rustling of fabric as he fished his phone out of his pocket and the obnoxiously loud click of his camera app. You turned around to look at the damage. You squinted at his bright phone screen. Your entire back was swollen in some areas and was covered in ugly reds, blues, blacks, and purples. You made a disgusted noise in the back of your throat and cringed away from the screen. You always got nauseous seeing injuries.

“Yikes.”

“Yikes isn’t the only word I would use, it’s bad (y/n).”

“It looks worse than it feels, I promise. I’m gonna go get ready so we’re not late to my appointment. It sounds like the boys are finally done with the bathroom.”

You hobbled up the stairs slowly and made your way to the bathroom. The door was wide open ready for you to use. Turning on the light, you closed the door in a hurry so that your brothers wouldn’t try to get in again to hog the bathroom like they usually did. You frowned at your appearance. Your hair was sticking up in every direction and you had dark eye bags around your dull looking eyes. A few pimples dotted your skin like constellations in the night sky, but much uglier and more out of place. Turning your body, you scanned your figure. Your eyes watered as you realized that you had gained some weight. Adrian, Sammy, and Annie were right, you looked like garbage all the time.

You ripped your eyes away from yourself in the mirror with disgust etched deep into your features. You were disgusting through and through. Ripping your brush through your hair, you winced at the pain emanating from the back of your head. You deserve the pain for letting yourself go. Once you were slightly more satisfied with your appearance, you stepped out of the bathroom and quickly changed into the clothes you would wear today. You decided on a hoodie and a pair of tights. You didn’t feel like dressing yourself up. 

You once again walked down the stairs and slipped on your shoes to meet your dad in his car. You idly scrolled through your phone while you waited for him, looking at your notifications for the first time that day. You had ten texts from the group chat that you were in with Adrian, Annie, and Sammy.

Sammy <3

(Y/n) where the hell are you?

Adrian <3

Do you guys think she ditched us?

I knew she was ignoring us

Sammy <3

Who ignores their friends?

Annie <3

(Y/n) apparently. 

She has more important things to do ig

Oh my god

Do you guys think she skipped school?

Adrian <3

I wouldn’t put it past her

Maybe she finally gave up

(Y/n)

I’m sorry guys, I just have a doctor’s appointment today

I would never ignore you

Sammy <3

Yk, it’s hard to keep defending you when you keep ditching us..

(Y/n)

I’m not ditching you!

I’m sorry I didn’t tell you guys about my appointment

I’ll make it up to you guys

Adrian <3

How?

You’ve already skipped out on us enough already

Annie <3

Oh ik!

She can write our final research paper for us Dri!

I haven’t started it yet lmao

Adrian <3

Saaaame lmaoooo

Sammy <3

Guys, what about me???

Adrian <3

Idk, figure it out yourself

Sammy <3

Rude!

Uhhh

Ur gonna put together my final presentation for us history

(Y/n)

Alright, I can do that for you guys

Sam can you pls send me the rubric? 

Annie <3

Thanks love ;)

(Y/n)

No problem, I like doing things for friends

My dad’s coming, I gotta go

Talk to you guys later

Adrian <3

Byeeee (y/n), ur the best!

(Y/n)

: ) <3

You put your phone down as your dad started up the car and pulled out of the driveway. The drive was quiet as you stared out the window and thought about how much work you now had to do. On top of your own classes, you had two more to write and a presentation to make in a class you hadn’t taken since the first semester in your sophomore year. The research papers had to be at least four full pages long with a minimum of ten sources each due on Friday and you had no idea how big Sammy’s US history presentation has to be or what it’s even about. But that was fine, you’d do anything for your friends. 

“So, who were you texting? Your boyfriend?” He asked jokingly.

“Oh, just Adrian, Sammy, and Annie. I don’t have a boyfriend Dad,” because you were a closeted lesbian, but you wouldn’t tell him that anytime soon. “You know that.”

“I know,” he chuckled, “it’s been a while since I’ve seen them. How have they been?”

“They’re good. Adrian got a job at the diner, he’s a host. Sammy and Annie have been focusing more on raising their grades.”

“Good for them! You should invite them over for dinner sometime.”

“I was actually thinking that I could maybe go hang out with them on Halloween...?”

“(Y/n), the family was going to take Tommy and Tubbo trick-or-treating.”

“I know, but there’s always next year. Plus, we haven’t been able to hang out in so long! We’re always free at different times.”

“I don’t know (y/n), what if they don’t want to trick-or-treat next year? What were you planning on doing with them?”

“We were just gonna hang out at Annie’s house and watch some horror movies,” you lied. He would never let you go if he knew you were going to a party. Especially one where alcohol would be involved and hormonal teenage boys ran rampant actively scouting for an easy lay.

“...I’ll think about it.” The car pulled into the doctor office’s parking lot.

“Thank you Dad! It’s been a while since we’ve all hung out together.”

He chuckled as you both walked into the lobby, checked in, and waited for your name to be called. About ten minutes later, you were summoned by a nurse so you went into the back leaving your dad to wait in the lobby. The nurse recorded your height and weight (much to your dismay, you gained four pounds) and asked you the standard questions about your injury and uncomfortable questions about your overall health. The clacking of her acrylic nails on the plastic keyboard filled the awkward silence.

Once that was done, she left and you had to wait a little bit for the doctor. After slipping into the backless gown the nurse left, you mindlessly scrolled on your phone. Jumping when someone knocked on the door, you looked up to see your family’s doctor smiling at you.

“Hello (y/n), how are we feeling today?”

“I’m alright.”

“I hear that you had quite the fall onto some concrete, is that true?”

“Yes, I landed on my back and the back of my head.”

She reached over and squirted hand sanitizer onto her hands, rubbing it in and looking back at you. “Can you please lay on your stomach so I can take a look at your back?”

You nodded, shifting on the uncomfortable paper covered cushioned table onto your stomach. You felt her cold hands gently graze your bruises before she pulled out her stethoscope. “Can you take a good deep breath in for me?”

You complied and she instructed you to let it out. Doing this multiple times along your back, she put her stethoscope away and continued prodding at your exposed back. 

“There’s definitely some swelling in multiple areas… It doesn’t feel or sound like you cracked or broke any ribs, which is excellent… Do you have any pain deep in your shoulder when you move it?”

“Yes, I landed on it wrong last night at my volleyball match.”

“How would you describe your pain? Stabbing, sore, throbbing…”

“More sore, but a little stabbing pain when I move my arm.”

She moved her fingers to examine your shoulder. “It doesn’t sound like a sprain or fracture, can you move it up and down for me?”

You moved your arm up and down, front and back, and side to side. “You still have a full range of movement, that’s good. Can I have you sit back up again?”

You sat back up and she started testing you for a concussion. After passing her tests, you were cleared of having a concussion. “Alright (y/n), it appears that you only strained your deltoid and teres muscles and you have severe bruising along your back. Make sure you ice your back and, if you have one, wear a shoulder compression sleeve. Anti-inflammatory medications such as Ibuprofen will help with the swelling. Other than that, you have a clean bill of health! You can still participate in volleyball practices, but you need to take it easy. Don’t do anything that will strain the muscles any further.”

“Thank you Dr. Samson,” you smiled at her. 

“You’re welcome. I’ll leave you to change back into your clothes and you’re free to go! You may leave the gown on the table.”

She left the room and you redressed yourself. Walking out to the lobby, Philza’s head perked up when he heard the door opening. He stood up and walked over to you with a slightly worried face. You both walked back out to the car.

“So?”

“Dr. Samson said that I don’t have a concussion, sprains or broken bones. She told me that I just strained my shoulder muscles and I need to keep ice on my back.”

He visibly slumped in relief. “Thank god. What’d she say about volleyball?”

“She said that I could keep playing, but I have to take it easy.”

“Good, wouldn’t want you missing finals on Thursday. Do you know if the team you’re playing is any good?”

“Dad, of course they’re good, we’re the top two teams in the area.”

“I bet their setter is nowhere near as good as you are and I bet the setter and spiker aren’t as synced as you and Haley are. You two make a good pair.” 

“Yeah we do, don’t we?” You looked out the window and smiled a little and felt your ears turn red. The very mention of Haley’s name was enough to make you feel like you were on cloud nine. The car fell silent again as you neared your high school. 

In your AP world history class, the class was looking at the test you had taken yesterday. Surprisingly, you got a 74% on the multiple choice part and a 50% on your essay portion, so that landed you with a just below passing grade. You thought you completely flunked that test yesterday, so that was a pleasant surprise. It took a good portion out of your overall grade in the class, lowering it from a comfortable A- to a slightly alarming B. You supposed it could’ve been a lot worse. Besides reviewing your tests, the class didn’t do much except starting the reading for the next chapter.

Your psychology online class went like it usually did, however your phone blew up with texts about midway through the block. Glancing down, you saw that it was Haley. Shouldn’t she be in class?

Hales : )

(Y/n) meet me in the locker room right after school

I need to talk to you before practice starts

It’s an emergency

(Y/n)

What’s going on?

Hales : )

I’ll explain after school.

Can’t talk about it over text

(Y/n)

Alright, see ya then ig

You felt your gut twinge. Something’s wrong, but you didn’t know what. You were worried about Haley, usually she was really bubbly. You’ve never seen the senior act so strange before. You could only wait the block out until the bell would release you from the confines of the library and into the locker room. After sending a quick text to your brothers that you were going to stay after school for your practice, you stared blankly at your laptop’s clock as you counted down the minutes left in the class period. Ten minutes. Eight minutes. Four minutes. Two minutes. Thirty seconds-

You shot up from your seat as the bell rang. Pushing past some groups of freshmen that congregated in the hallways, you made a beeline for the locker room. In the locker room, you found Haley sitting on the metal bench on the opposite end of the locker room with her back facing the last row of lockers and facing the brick wall. She was clenching her phone in her hand with an iron grip. You hurried to sit next to her.

“Hales, what’s going on? Talk to me.”

“It’s bad (y/n). Like, really bad.”

“What’s bad? You’re worrying me.”

Wordlessly, she unlocked her phone and handed it to you. On the screen was something that you weren’t expecting to see. You scrolled through the contents and felt your stomach drop with each scroll; someone took pictures of you and Haley throughout the match last night. Every picture was a violation to yours and Haley’s dignities, they had gotten zoomed in pictures of your boobs and asses. Deeper, there were even pictures taken of you changing into your volleyball uniform through your open window. You were only in your underwear. Haley had a similar picture that you scrolled past as fast as you could. Scrolling to the bottom of the text message thread, the person that sent Haley the pictures added a caption to the last picture. It was a picture of you and Haley together celebrating your match, her arm slung around your shoulder with your mouth open mid-laugh.

Unknown

I’m sending these out to the entire school unless you stop hanging around her.

If you tell anyone, the pics will be printed off and put in every single locker and bathroom the school has.

You’ll be the sluts of Klinkver High. 

Cut all ties now. You have two days. 

Do not try me.

“Jesus christ Haley. Who the fuck would do this? This is sick.”

She took her phone back and locked it without looking at the screen. “I don’t know (y/n). I wanted to tell you not to openly talk to me for a few days. We don’t know who took these, we don’t know what they’re capable of. I don’t wanna risk angering them.”

“We can find them! If we look close enough, we might find a few clues where they were sitting. Do you remember seeing anything suspicious last night?”

“(Y/n), our best option is to leave it. We just can’t talk in person anymore; we can still text each other.”

“Hales, how are we gonna not talk? I’m your setter.”

She ran a hand through her thick black hair. “I don’t know (y/n). Just-just don’t talk to me anymore, I don’t want your pictures leaked.”

“I don’t care about my pictures. My name’s been drug through so much shit this past year that it won’t affect me. I don’t want your stuff leaked.”

She gave a watery laugh, “you care too much, I love that about you…” Glistening eyes turned to look deep into your own. “I’m so scared (y/n), I don’t know what to do.”

You pulled her into a hug, wincing slightly when she squeezed her arms around your upper back. She buried her face into your shoulder and started shaking with muffled sobs. “Haley, I promise I’ll catch whatever sick bastard is doing this to you. You don’t deserve this.”

She said nothing as you rested your chin on the top of her head and started to rock her back and forth slowly. You two stayed like that even after her sobbing resided, finding comfort in each other’s presence. Glancing at the clock, you realized that you two have been in the locker room for an hour. Practice was set to start in fifteen minutes, people were going to start coming into the locker room soon. 

You reluctantly pulled away from the hug and looked Haley in her bloodshot eyes, “I’m not going to let those pictures of you get leaked. I swear on my-”

The door to the locker room swung open and loud laughter echoed throughout the room. Haley pushed you away and speed walked off to a bathroom stall, slamming the door shut behind her. 

“Damn (y/n), what’d you do? She’s pissed.” 

“It’s none of your business, Zara.” 

“Oh, so it’s a lover’s quarrel then~” She cackled, her hair bouncing slightly with each heave of her shoulders. 

“For the love of… Haley and I aren’t dating, we’re both straight.” She’s straight.

“Mmhm.” She brushed past you to go to her locker. You followed her, your locker was in the grouping next to hers. You shared the area with Haley. You changed as fast as you could so that Haley would have time to change before practice starts. Speed walking into the gym, Zara was hot on your trail wearing a shit eating grin.

“Why are you in such a rush? Giving your girlfriend the silent treatment?”

“Zara. We aren’t dating. For the last time, we’re both heterosexual, not homosexual!” You wildly gestured with your hands to emphasize your point, your voice being amplified by the vast gym. Coach Williams gave you a confused look from across the gym. 

“You just keep telling yourself that.”

“I’m serious.”

“Hi serious,” a soft voice replied from behind you, “I’m Jazzy.”

You groaned at the pun at the same time Zara started cackling, giving the short libero a high five. “Nice!”

“That was so bad, Jaz.” You couldn’t help the smile that found its way onto your face.

Zara poked your cheek with a wide grin. “C’mon, you’re smiling!”

“I am and I hate it.”

Your bickering continued with Jazzy watching you two with a content smile. The remaining members of the team (Haley, Marlene, and Zuri) filed into the gym right as Coach Williams blew her whistle. 

Practice went by slowly without Haley talking to you. Sure, you had the rest of the team, but it didn’t feel the same with you guys ignoring each other. If the team or Coach Williams noticed you two not talking to each other, they didn’t say anything. By time practice was over, you all went to the locker room to change. After slipping into your fuzzy pajama pants, you sat on the bench and texted Wilbur to come pick you up. He was supposed to pick you up after practice today because he and Techno took the car home after school. Five minutes passed and he still didn’t reply. He probably won’t see the text until you got home from walking.

You sighed, resting your chin in your palm as you leaned forward. One by one, the girls left the locker room until it was only you and Haley left. 

“Do you need a ride (y/n)?” She asked gently.

“But what if the person sees us together? I can just walk home, it’s not really a big deal.”

She rolled her eyes at you. “It is a big deal. It’s cold and dark out. You could get kidnapped or something. You don’t even have a coat with you. I’m giving you a ride whether you like it or not.”

You playfully rolled your eyes at her and stood up to walk next to her, “okay, mom.”

“Don’t give me that attitude young lady.”

“You can’t tell me what to do, you’re not my real mom!”

She gasped and lightly smacked the back of your shoulder, “I married your- are you alright? Shit, I didn’t hurt you did I?”

“No, you’re good. It’s just this damned bruise.”

She moved her hands and frantically turned you around to pull the neck of your shirt down. You two stood in front of the school’s main entrance with the nauseatingly bright fluorescent light bouncing off the reflective surface of the tiles. The orange tinted street lights lit up the sidewalk outside.

“(Y/n)-”

“I know what you’re gonna say.”

She scoffed, “oh really? What am I gonna say then, o wise one?”

You turned around to face her, “‘oh, this is bad, yadda yadda yadda.’ Everyone’s been saying that about it. Honestly it looks worse than it feels. Tis but a scratch, m’lady.”

She snorted and covered her mouth, “never call me ‘m’lady’ ever again.”

You started to walk to her car in the empty parking lot. “Or what? What’re ya gonna do?”

“I swear to god, (y/n), I’m gonna leave you here.”

“Do it, pussy. Bet you won’t.”

“You really wanna bet?”

You grinned at her, “hell yeah.”

She broke off into a mad dash to her car, laughing freely into the night sky. You chased after her trying not to move your arms much, your laugh mixing with hers like a perfect symphony composed of the world’s best musicians. The sound of your rubber soles slapping the pavement resonated throughout the parking lot as you quickly gained on her. Reaching out to grab her shirt, she smirked at you and sharply turned to the right into the grass.

You grinned as her pace slowed down slightly. You’d be able to catch her at this pace. You pushed your legs to move faster as she looked at you from over her shoulder and shrieked in surprise at how close you were to her. You cackled at her reaction, reaching out once again, you grabbed her hand. She was stopped dead in her tracks as your shoulder was yanked with the sudden momentum, making you hiss in slight pain. Despite that, you didn’t let go of her soft hand. 

You both stood there under the moonlight and the soft orange street lamps trying to  catch your breath. The slightly damp blades of grass tickled your ankle as you shifted to face her better. Through gasping breaths and a dopey grin, you said “you… lost, pussy.”

She let out a breathy laugh as she pulled you to her car. “Shuddup.”

“Make me~”

She opened the passenger side door for you and got into the driver's seat. Her car smelled like vanilla and citrus. “Oh, you will later when I make you do more sets in weight lifting tomorrow, hurt shoulder be damned.”

She turned on the ignition and the car revved to life, soft indie pop wafted from the speakers. She backed out of the parking space and sped off to the main road. “You wouldn’t…”

“I’m your captain, (y/n). I can make you do whatever I want.” You felt your cheeks heat up a tad. You were happy that she couldn’t see you.

“Naw, you’re too much of a softie for that. Admit it, I’ve got you wrapped around my little finger.”

She chuckled as she pulled into your driveway and put the car in park. “...Alright, maybe you do. Just a bit.”

She turned to look at you. She looked stunning with the shadows accentuating the contours of her face perfectly. You found yourself glancing at her lips and leaning slightly towards you. To your surprise, she started leaning into you as well. Before your lips could finally mesh together, she pulled back with a sigh and ran her hand through her hair. You felt a rush of disappointment and fear course through your veins. She didn’t like you like that, you should’ve known better. You were so stupid. So, so stu-

“I can’t (y/n). I want to kiss you so bad, but we can’t. Not yet at least. Not until we find the pervert that took those pictures of us.”

You sighed, “right.”

The car was filled with awkward silence. Not even the soft music streaming from the speakers could alleviate the awkwardness. God, you really screwed up your friendship, didn’t you? Sammy, Adrian, and Annie were right; you messed up everything you touched.

You coughed, “I think I’m gonna…”

“Yeah…”

You grabbed your bag and walked into your house, the smell of chicken slapping you in the face instantly. Without checking in with your dad, you hurried up the stairs, desperate for the warm comfort of your bed. That, and if you wanted to get Sammy’s presentation and Adrian’s, Annie’s, and your research papers done by Friday, you had to start as soon as you could. You were going to skip dinner for tonight, you’d just grab more breakfast tomorrow morning. 

You plopped on your bed and got started on your research paper. Luckily, you already had all of the sources you were planning on using and the rough outline of each body paragraph, so writing the actual paper wasn’t going to take long. You worked until you heard a knock at your door. 

“(Y/n),” Techno’s monotone voice called out, “dinner’s ready.”

“Tell Dad I’m not hungry. Practice’s got me beat, I’m going to bed soon.”

He grunted, “you know he’s not gonna like that right?”

You felt frustration start to swim circles around your chest, “Techno, just tell him that I’m not hungry right now. Please.”

“Damn, you don’t need to be like that. I’ll tell him.”

You heard his stomping footsteps thumping down the hall. Shit, you pissed him off. You were a terrible person, he was just trying to get you to eat something, Pushing back the tears that threatened to spill from your eyes, you forced the panic that was starting to swirl around your body in laps deep into your being. You didn’t have time to deal with your failures and stupid emotions, you had to get this done. You didn’t have time to think about Haley’s warm breath ghosting across your lips. You didn’t have time to think about how she probably regretted almost kissing you. You didn’t have time to fall into an anxiety spiral, you needed to focus if you wanted Adrian, Annie, and Sammy to forgive you. You ruined yours and Haley’s friendship and did the same to yours and Techno’s. They were the only ones you had left. You needed to be a better friend.

Taglist (comment if you want to be added or if I missed you, it won’t let me tag some tumblrs :((( ):

@immadatmostthings  @thaticecreambish  @hee-hee-haw  @dearnataliealoveletter  @wasteofspacze  @dcml04  @bbigbbrainn  @dirtydiavolo  @vanhakirja  @rinzyx05  @misselsbells06  @ialexabsuniverse  @im-a-depressed-gay  @energy-drinkk  @mothra-main  @i-need-hugs  @dragons-lurk-here  @katj733  @m4r-s  @vievi  @dykeragee  @waterstrawberry  @aplaintart  @kakamiissad  @myunfinishedsymphony  @nagitokinnieissad  @autumnpleaves  @justanothergirlwithdemons  @zachariethememerie  @moon-asia  @m0on-blue  @strawberrysodababy  @akikko-yataro  @haikkeiji  @shiningsunrises  @cinnamonmochi  @queen-turtle-boiii  @imanewsoul  @sparkling-gayyyy  @angelicaschuyler-church  @vixenfoxpup  @ella-ivanov  @shio-yuki  @mosstea-png  @ijustshatbricks

[perpetualoverthinker]

Books and Bagels — Pope Heyward

not my gif!

Summary: It was only fitting that Pope Heyward would fall for the girl at the library.

Warnings: none—pure fluff

WC: 1k

A/N: This is my first time writing for Pope, so I hope I did him justice! Also! this is for @pogueslandia's 1.5k celebration/writing challenge (congrats again!!). Had a ton of fun doing this !

prompts: “I have the feeling that you’re trying not to kiss me and I give you permission to just do it.” and "B gets so nervous about their dinner date with A that they accidentally make enough food to feed ten people"

You had just started volunteering at the Kildare County Public Library for the summer when you first saw Pope. He had walked through the front doors with a stack of books in his hands as you were shelving near the entrance.

The librarians working the front desk greeted him warmly, recognition washing over their faces. You watched as he chatted with the women, leaning on the counter and flashing a charming smile. Cute, you thought to yourself.

They soon pointed over to the history section, where you were currently shelving, and you quickly busied yourself with the books on your cart, hoping they hadn’t caught you staring.

You heard him walk up to the stack, your cart positioned between you two. You each took turns stealing glances at each other, Pope’s easy charm he had shown before now replaced with an endearing shyness. You could feel a smile tug at your lips as you noted the shift in his demeanor.

“Hey,” he turned to look at you, book mid-shelve, “I think that’s the book I’m looking for.” Pope pointed at the book in your hand.

“Oh.” You held the book in front of you, reading the title, Lost Treasures. “You going treasure hunting or something?” you joked, handing the book over to him.

“Uh, yeah actually,” he chuckled as you tilted your head, your smile still present despite the confusion on your face. “It’s a long story.”

You turned your attention back to your books, nodding skeptically. “Well, I’d love to hear it sometime.”

“Oh, uh y-yeah, sure…” You grinned, amused by the boy’s flustering.

“I’m y/n, by the way,” you said, continuing to place books on the shelf in front of you.

“Pope.” He pointed to himself, albeit a little awkwardly. It only made you like him more.

“I’m here Wednesdays and Fridays, y’know. If you ever wanna tell me that story of yours…” you said while pushing your cart out of the stack. You glanced back at him one more time before walking off, biting your lip and smiling to yourself.

It was safe to say that Pope would be there again.

---------

The following weeks, Pope came into the library every Wednesday and Friday. He would pretend to browse the shelves or do research, when, in actuality, he would just follow you around as you shelved your books (sometimes even helping you). You would laugh at his jokes and he would find little ways to impress you—his mind filled with an abundance of different facts and anecdotes.

One of these days, you were in the classic literature section, Pope handing you each book as you found its rightful place on the shelf. The two of you were talking about your favorite classics as you worked.

“I’m just saying, his books are mind-numbingly boring,” you said, taking a book from Pope’s hand.

“What are you talking about? Hemingway wrote some great books!”

“Literally nothing happens in them. Old Man and the Sea? Just about a guy catching a fish.”

“It’s not just about that. It’s about perseverance and the nature of life.”

“Yeah, yeah. He was kind of a dick, though.”

Pope laughed and clicked his tongue. “Yeah, can’t argue with that,” he conceded, shaking his head.

You held your hand out for the next book, but Pope was no longer handing them to you. Turning your head towards him, he was looking at you, nervously fidgeting with his hand.

“Everything good, Pope?”

“Uh, yeah.” He paused. “Can I ask you something?”

You could feel your heartbeat quicken, hopeful for what he might say next. You had been waiting for him to ask you out for a week, almost resorting to just asking him yourself. You steadied your breath, answering as nonchalantly as you could. “Sure.”

“I was wondering if you wanted to-”

“Yes,” you blurted, probably definitely a little too quickly. “Shit, wait,” you clapped your hand over your mouth, “I’ll let you finish first.” You nodded for him to continue, trying to contain your giddiness.

Pope smiled widely. “y/n, would you like to have dinner with me?”

“I’d love to.”

---------

Pope had told you to meet him at the beach. Your body was abuzz, thrumming at the thought of what he had planned for the night. You stumbled your way down the hill that met the sandy beach and spotted him next to a blanket, covered with food. It was enough to feed ten people.

“Wow, Pope,” you said as you walked up to him. “You really went all out, huh?” You surveyed the blanket, spotting an array of cheese and crackers, pasta, and fruit. You noticed a particular spread, causing you to look at the boy, head tilted and eyebrows raised. “Bagels?”

Pope laughed sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. “I wasn’t quite sure what you liked…”

You moved forward to sit cross-legged on the blanket, smiling up at the boy reassuringly. “It’s perfect.”

You and Pope sat there for hours, talking about whatever the two of you felt like and feasting on the absurd amount of food. You were laughing hysterically while taking a bite out of your bagel, smearing cream cheese on the side of your mouth.

As you tried to catch your breath, Pope reached out and wiped the smear away with his thumb, causing your breath to hitch. You both looked at each other, tension crackling through the air.

“I have the feeling that you’re trying not to kiss me and I give you permission to just do it.”

His eyes widened. “Oh, o-okay. Mhm, yup, yeah I’ll just-”

“Pope.”

“Right.” His lips met yours, his shoulders softening as you brought your hands to rest on his face. Pope braced his hands on either side of you, leaning forward and accidentally tipping your cup of water. Ignoring it, he mumbled a quick ‘whoops’ into your lips, causing the two of you to laugh in between kisses.

[nomenomens]

Nomen

Chapter III - The Reluctant Heroes

CW: None for now, but please consult About Nomen for more informations.

WC: around 1700 words

Previous Chapter: Chapter II - Last Kiss

Next Chapter: Chapter IV - The Music of the Night

Masterlist

************************************************************************************************************************************************

February 16, Wednesday, 18:02 (present time)

Eren was a fine looking guy, I had to admit that. Tall, impressive green eyes, which really intimidate me, but I needed to put on a strong facade and not give in. I was already at a disadvantage since he seemed to know about me and my situation, while I had no idea about who he was. Sebastian mentioned something about ‘Eldians’ and ‘titans’ but since I wasn’t able to read the new file, nothing made sense. I had to hide my worries and look collected and ready but the determined look on Eren’s face was a greater obstacle than I anticipated. I silently thanked Sebastian to be there, he was my anchor and he knew that, which was his own reason to tease me every time he could. I hated him but again, I would’ve been lost without him. 

“I don’t have a lot of time, would you please get to the point, mr. Jaeger?”

“Woah, someone is jumpy here.”

“It’s only ‘cause I don’t have time to chat with you. I’m sure Sebastian filled you in about the circumstances I live in…”

“There was no need, I know already. By the way, I really don’t like to waste my time, so I’ll be brief as you wish. You received a file today, there will be a name that belongs to you, that name is Historia Reiss. You’re not the first Historia Reiss as you’ll read, but that first one…I wish to protect her from her fate as much as I can.”

“So you want me to pick up an identity to protect someone you care about?”

“Let me finish. By the way you ARE Historia Reiss. Don’t ask me why you two share the same name, I don’t know. Also, you won’t pick up anything, you’ll just discover another piece of the puzzle that is your whole identity. As Historia Reiss, you are royalty to me, to us Eldians, and I need you to take your role as our Queen in her place, and not just to protect someone I care about, but because you have more experience than her.”

“Well, mr. Jaeger, your information are incorrect. I don’t know anything about ruling. My brother left me his empire but I’m still learn-…”

“Our military government will guide you. You’ll just be a puppet for the masses to look at, just as you are now, surrounded by collaborators.”

I was left speechless. Was he insulting me and simultaneously hoping I would just follow his wishes? 

“I’ll let slide your tone this time, mr. Jaeger but you’ll know that’s absurd. There’s always more to reigning than just be a puppet, otherwise you would let the first Historia be the Queen she should be, and also I’m not exper-”

“You will decide to accept the crown. Listen, you’re free not to believe me, but…well, let’s just say I saw the future and I know for sure how things will end for Eldians if we don’t take action and you���re gonna be our Queen.”

“It’s not the first absurd thing I hear in these last eight years, I’ve also been a Land God for a while…but I have no idea what you’re talking about. I don’t know anything about being a Reiss, or Eldians, whatever that means, so I’ll need to make some research about you and what you’re saying.”

“Land God?”

“It’s water under the bridge, pay it no mind…I thought you knew everything about me.”

“Seems I don’t.”

“In any case, I can’t just trust you blindly, but I can read my files, do my research and then interrogate you again. While I do that, you’ll be my guest…”

“You mean hostage.”

“…distinguished guest who will be attended…”

“Surveilled.”

“…by my staff in the guest house. Sebastian will show you the way.”

“You know, I can get free any time I want.” 

We’ve been standing on the terrace at the same distance, in the same position for all that time, but his attitude was starting to get on my nerves. This obnoxious blockhead needed to learn that I wasn’t only a puppet. Yes, I relied on Sebastian and other collaborators a lot, but I’ve always had an opinion and the last word was mine. I wouldn’t just accept every file, every aspect of my fate without questioning. I was ignorant, not stupid and I would’ve choose my battles on my own accord. 

“If me accepting your crown is so important and you’re so sure I will do it in the near future, you’ll have to put up with my methods and stay here for all the time I need to get answers. You know, mr. Jaeger, I like to trust people. Actually no, scratch that, that was a lie. I hate trusting people but I’ve learned that without small acts of faith you can’t really go very far. That is why Sebastian isn’t killing you right here on this terrace, even if you already know too much about me and that’s reason enough for me to get rid of you. That is also why I said I will look into what you’ve just told me and give you the benefit of the doubt. I may be a fool, but before killing someone I wish to search for reasons to keep them alive and get every information I can, and I don’t care about the methods. I will get my answers, one way or another. Now you can patiently wait while I deliberate to agree with you, as you say I will, or you can be chased by a demon to the end of the world and trust me, that won’t be pleasing. Sebastian likes to be mean and I don’t let him have his fun very often.”

I tried to convey every ounce of braveness into my little monologue while I whispered and spit my words with disdain getting more and more close to him. Eren didn’t even flinched, but Sebastian got closer to me and grabbed my elbow, that probably meant that my tone had been resolute and the message was delivered loud and clear. 

“Was this your pathetic attempt at threatening me?”

“I never launch and empty threat, mr. Jaeger. I was only describing two possible scenarios of how this conversation could end. The choice is yours.”

I was still only a few inches from him, staring into his eyes that showed no emotion whatsoever if not what could be described as a toxic mixture of rage and resignation. He had the look of someone who was full of himself and had nothing to lose, a dangerous look that made me feel a chill running through my spine. He stared at me for a while, neither of us heard Sebastian telling me to go back inside the apartment, so he dragged me along with him and then Eren spoked again. 

“I’ll stay only to see you crawling back to me and accept your fate.”

“Good boy.”

I grinned and stared at him while Sebastian took me inside my room. We continued to look at each other until I was out of sight. I felt adrenaline rushing through my body. I’ve never spoken to a stranger in that way, but that guy had something that I couldn’t describe but had me snapping. Sebastian’s scoff called me back to reality.

“What’s so funny?”

“You. The way you tried to threaten him. The way you spoke. I’ve never seen you like this.”

I glanced at him with eyes full of hate. I hated him. I hated when he made me feel ridiculous and powerless and, unfortunately, that was his hobby. He loved making fun of me, especially when I pathetically tried to show strength in front of others. He laughed at me even when we made our contract. 

“Usually you wait to make fun of me when I start to cry after the rush of the discussion, why are you laughing now?”

“I’m not laughing, I’m barely snickering and to be fair, this is different.”

“How?”

“I’m not amused, I’m enthralled.”

While saying those words, he took me by the shoulders and pushed me up against the wall, pressing his body onto mine and keeping me at his eyes level. My feet were floating in the air, since he was several inches taller than me, my hands grabbed his wrists in an attempt to anchor myself while he kept me in check, closed between the wall and his body. I felt my cheeks turning red and blamed me for being like clay in his hands. I hated him but I also wanted him. Unfortunately he was aware of that. 

“When I agreed to form a contract with you, it was exactly because I knew you had that rage hidden somewhere. I was only waiting for you to let your bottled up feelings run free and you did it so well, for a first time. You were beautiful.”

His face got closer to mine and I tried to keep a straight face when his lips came in contact with my cheeks, where he stayed for a few seconds before whispering into my ear.

“Thank you for showing me your rage. I can’t wait to devour you. You know, for a moment you looked just like your brother.”

He let me go, putting me down gently on my feet and then moved his right hand to collect a lock of my hair, twisting it slowly around his pointer finger three times before letting it fall back on my chest. I was still staring at his purple-red wine eyes, perfectly framed by the longest natural eyelashes I’ve ever seen. Now he wasn’t smiling though. His lips were a neutral line, his eyes suggested he was far away lost in his thoughts. He was probably picturing the moment when he would devour my soul, since my brother’s one was denied to him and a lot has passed from his last meal. The sound of the bathroom’s door opening up woke us both up from our impasse and he rapidly escaped from the window, and my eyes followed his figure ‘til he reached Eren to escort him to the guest house. In the meantime, I removed my scarf and tried to press my cold hands on my cheeks to attenuate my blushing. Was I catching feelings for the one demon that would end my life?

************************************************************************************************************************************************

Author's note: thank you for reading this, as always! First things firsts, finally we got to see Eren. As I tried to explain in the 'About Nomen' section, this is both canon and canon divergent, and you'll see it even better in the followings chapter, hoping you will actually stay and continue to read this. For this chapter song, I've decided not to include the lyrics for a change, but the title was fitting enough. Also it was playing in the background while I was writing Eren and Roni/Historia's argument. As per usual, I'll link the video down below.

As an anticipation for the next chapter...you'll get another point of view. I hope you'll enjoy it!

[hyuckssunchip]

Redemption Pt. 2

Pairings: Jungwoo x reader, ft. Johnny, Jaehyun, Mark

Words: 2.3K

Warnings: Language (there is almost always language in my writings), some angst

Summary:

Y/N finds Jungwoo in a compromising position weeks after their breakup. A list of misunderstandings leads to outcomes neither of them can bear to handle. Will the two of them be able to move past this and sort things out again? Or is there no room for redemption?

Part 1 | Part 2 |

The tickets from the movie of our first date

"Hey I'm sorry I'm late." There was a breathless voice that came from across the room. A boy in a grey shirt stood before his date and she blushed shaking her head.

You reached for another piece of popcorn, slowly chewing on the piece before sighing and reaching for another.

As the last call for your movie showed on the big screen you glanced at your watch again.

"Is this your movie?" He was tall, wearing a baby blue shirt and wore a thin pair of spectacles. Definitely not your blind date.

You sighed.

"Yeah, it's supposed to be."

"Supposed to be? You don't want to watch it anymore?" He asked, taking the seat in front of you.

"My date stood me up." You said bluntly, "I'm not really in the mood for a romance movie right now."

"How about murder mystery?" He flashed two tickets in the air, and sent you a sweet smile.

"Murder mystery? You don't really seem the type." You laughed, looking at the screen one last time. Perhaps this was a blessing in disguise.

“Excuse me? I’ll have you know that this is research and I kill people on my down time.”

You cringed at him.

“Okay, that was bad, I know. But don’t you pity me now? Now you have to join this loser for a movie date.” He smiled, his dimples on display.

You laughed standing up from your chair, “If you promise never to say stuff like that again, I’ll join you.”

“So it worked!” he fist pumped the air before skipping the way to the right theater with you in tow.

Maybe this won’t be so bad after all.

“I can’t believe that it was the police officer the whole time!” You spoke animatedly, genuinely shocked that you spent the majority of the movie liking the man.

“I know right! People are so crooked.” He said, shaking his head on disappointment. “But what a great plot twist right?”

“Yeah I thought for sure that it was the store owner. I mean who carries around a metal wedge like that?” You nodded enthusiastically, way too into the conversation.

Jungwoo laughed beside you. “So you don’t regret joining me?”

“Nope, I think I rather enjoyed myself.” You sent him a cheesy smile when you noticed that the two of you had already made it to the exit.

You didn’t want this to end quite yet.

Almost as if he sense your hesitation he spoke up. “How about dessert? There’s this fantastic ice cream shop just down the street and I’d love to treat you, y’know cause I just stole two hours of your time.” He grinned softly.

“I’d love that.” You couldn’t help the smile that was bursting to break free.

“Then shall we?” He asked in a fake posh manner, sticking out his elbow for you to grab onto.

“We shall.” You linked your arm and his and the two of you left for the shop.

The evening had started out sour, but like always Jungwoo managed to bring a little extra spark into your life. Imagine if he had never come up to you that evening, imagine if he had never stepped foot in that movie theater. You might’ve lost out on the most important thing in your life and never started your journey with Jungwoo. Where would you be now?

JUNGWOO’S POV

PRESENT DAY

The movie ticket of our first date.

The three boys looked down at the list and contemplated what they should do next. 

“Okay, how am I supposed to find movie tickets with the same movie and date?” Jungwoo groaned. “This isn’t going to work it’s just stupid.”

“Hey, it’s gonna be fine. All we need to do is get comfortable with photoshop. Right? It’s not like it’s that hard to make a pretend movie ticket.” Jaehyun rested his hand on Jungwoo’s shoulder, “It’ll be fine.”

“Sure it will.”

“Do you atleast remember the movie? And date?” Mark asked, notebook already in his hands again.

“Of course I do. How could I forget?” The last bit he muttered under his breath, but still loud enough that the boys could hear him. 

They gave each other pitying looks.

“Right. Write it down then.”

Jungwoo’s hands moved on its own. 

“Dude! No way! That’s what you watched on your first date?” Mark couldn’t help but giggle at the title, earning a glare from Jungwoo and a shove from Johnny.

“Dude. Not helping.” Johnny shook his head at the youngest before turning back to Jungwoo.

“Sorry. It’s just that they’re making a sequel to that. It came out last week.”

Jungwoo cringed at the thought, vowing not to watch it.

“Was it good?” Jaehyun asked, more interested in the movie than the current situation.

“Yeah! God you would not believe the plot twist there. It was awesome, I would totally watch it again-”

Johnny shoved the two of them. “Guys, not important right now.”

Jungwoo had retreated back, heads in his arms again and sighed, hearing the others talk.

“Sorry.”

You didn’t know how you got yourself dragged to the movie theater in the middle of the week. It was Wednesday and it seemed like all of a sudden your friends decided that movie night could be moved up a few days.

“Popcorn?”

You nodded haphazardly in response to your best friend Jennie’s question. 

“Cool, I’ll wait in line, go ahead and go to the bathroom, I can see you squirming from here. I’ll meet you in the theatre.”

You sent her a look of relief, and rushed towards the bathroom. 

Staring at yourself in the reflection of the mirror, you couldn’t help but notice the large black circles under your eyes. You rubbed them once more before heading to the theatre. 

Jennie had picked out the movie, dragging you along and you pulled out the ticket that she shoved into your hands the moment you walked in the building. 

Theatre 2 B14.

That should be easy enough to find. Although your direction skills could always use improving.

You froze as you stood before your theatre, noticing the large poster next to it. 

No.

You recognized the familiar poster, same cast, give or take a few, but it was almost identical to the one you remembered as your first encounter with Jungwoo.

You scrambled for your phone and typed in the title of the movie, your heart dropping at the description. It was the sequel. 

Your feet refused to move, stuck in the same spot and you heard a loud bang coming from the theatre. The commercials had already started. 

A group of teenagers bumped into your shoulder trying to enter the theatre, you stumbled forward, hearing the faint giggles and muttered apologies. 

It was the push that you needed to make your way into the theatre. 

As you walked up the aisles to find your seat you felt a wave of anxiety as you noted the group of rowdy boys in the seats next to yours. 

You sighed, knowing that you were in for a uncomfortable movie. 

Taking your seat, the boy next to you turned to give you a hesitant smile, almost as an offering of an apology in advance. 

Your blood ran cold. 

“Jungwoo?” It came out as a whisper, catching in your throat, but it was undeniable that he heard you.

He gulped, eyes fluttering across your face.

The noise next to you seemed to hush, a familiar voice called out to you, tearing you from Jungwoo’s face.

“Y/N?” Mark couldn’t control the amount of shock as well as the other boys, letting you know that you were the last person they were expecting. You lifted your hand into a shy wave, to which they returned, leaning back into their respective seats.

“So...”

You turned awkwardly to your ex, waiting for him to continue.

“Are you excited for the movie?”

You raised your eyebrows, the idea of small talk still uncomfortable to you.

“Yeah, I guess... I hope it lives up to the first one.” You blushed in memory of your first date brought up subtly.

Although it was dark, the red tint on Jungwoo’s was noticeable by you.

“Yeah... I heard it was good though, Mark’s already watched it and he dragged the rest of us here again.” His voice dropped a few octaves, lowering as the commercials got quiet as well.

You nodded, facing the screen, refusing to take your eyes off of it.

“Y/N.” There was a hiss coming from your right, you found Jennie desperately trying to find your form before initiating a crouch run to your side. She sank into the seat and leaned towards you, not noticing the boy next to you.

“I’m so so so sorry. But Lucas just asked me to pick him up from school. My mom stranded him again and he won’t stop calling.” She grimaced and looked at you apologetically.

Your eyes widened, realizing that she was planning on leaving you here. 

“He’s been waiting for three hours and I actually think he’ll try to kill me in my sleep if I don’t go to pick him up.”

You nodded, knowing that Lucas may be younger than his sister, but he was ten times bigger and had enough passion in him to do so.

“Okay.” You moved to get up, you didn’t really want to stay here alone. “I’ll come with you.”

“No. You should stay for the movie, we already paid and movie tickets are not cheap. Plus I think you’ll like this one, it looks right up your alley. I’ll call you tomorrow.” She shoved the bucket of popcorn into your lap and left before you could respond.

You sighed, slumping in your seat and picking at the pieces of popcorn that sat on top.

Jungwoo looked over at your side profile nervously from his seat.

You were tempted to move into Jennie’s unoccupied seat, eager to distance yourself from Jungwoo. But your body didn’t move.

His eyes followed the movement of your fingers, aching to reach out and grasp them in his own.

Less focused on the beginning of the movie and more concentrated on the bucket in front of you, you could feel yourself eating your way through your anxiety of the situation.

You choked slightly, turning red from embarrassment and tried to suppress the urge to cough.

You felt a nudge in your side, Jungwoo slid his drink towards you, and invitation to relieve your throat of pain.

You hesitated, as childish as it seemed you really didn’t want to drink from the same cup as him, but you were suffering.

You gave him a thankful smile and sipped for moment until you felt alright again.

In return you stuck the bucket of popcorn out towards him, after all there was no way that you could finish the whole thing on your own.

Halfway through the movie you felt the warmth of his hand graze yours as you simultaneously reached for a handful. As cliche as it seemed you felt sparks fly up your arm and you flinched pulling away, watching him do the same.

You hated that you still felt your heart rush at the close proximity. You hated that  he still made you nervous. You hated that you still had these feelings.

Before you knew it the closing credits had rolled across the screen and the lights of the theatre began to fade on.

From the corner of your eye you could see as the other boys stretched and stood up, making their way out of the theatre. It was only you and Jungwoo now.

You avoided eye contact, moving to make your exit. He followed.

The bright lights of the lobby had you blinking in distress. Johnny grinned at your fazed state and walked the group over to where you were standing, Jungwoo steps behind.

“Hey Y/N.” Jaehyun waved shyly at you before shoving his hands back into his pocket.

You smiled in response before turning to face Johnny, who looked like he was dying to say something.

“Y/N fancy seeing you here.” There was a grin that crossed his face, he looked too happy to be seeing you here.

You furrowed your eyebrows and nodded at him, not saying anything.

Standing awkwardly in the group you glanced at your phone checking the time. It was getting late and you groaned suddenly realizing that Jennie had left earlier. You no longer had a ride. 

You grimaced, pulling your phone out to text her, then realized that it was best not to bother her,  as she was dealing with a very upset Lucas.

“What’s up?” Johnny asked, peering over at your screen.

“Nothing.” You sighed, “I just remembered that my ride left earlier. I should go now to see if I could catch the bus.”

He shook his head, “No way, why don’t you let us give you a ride?”

“Oh. You wouldn’t mind?” As much as you hated the thought of being confined in a car with the four of the them, it was much better than getting on the sketchy bus that comes by every hour.

“Of course not, the bus is gross.” You nodded thankfully.

“Oh, that makes things easy then, could we pick up my box of things on the way then?” You asked, remembering that Johnny said they were at his place.

There was a pause, and you didn’t miss the look the three of them gave each other.

“I-uh... I forgot I actually have this thing I have to go to, with Mark and Jaehyun. Jungwoo, why don’t you drop her off?”

Your eyes widened at him. 

Jungwoo nodded more enthusiastically than you expected him to. 

You glanced at him, reluctantly following his lead. 

How bad could one car ride be?

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© Copyright 2021. hyuckssunchip. All rights reserved.

[nicknellie]

Ok, so obviously Luke’s relationship with Emily was very strained before he left home. But what about with his dad? I present to you, headcanons about Mitch and Luke Patterson’s father-son relationship, featuring trans!Luke.

(I tried to keep this light-hearted but it didn’t really work so... I’m sorry.)

Luke and Mitch were always close

I’m talking all the usual father-child activities: Mitch taught him how to swim, how to ride a bike, took him to his first sports games, they went fishing once (but Luke fell in the lake so they never did it again), they go camping together, everything and anything

Luke wasn’t the best behaved child growing up though, so his parents were always trying to think of things that would calm him down or at least distract him

It was Mitch’s idea to buy Luke his first guitar

Mitch used to play acoustic guitar and thought it would be a fun thing to share with Luke, and it might help him be better behaved

The first time Luke played he wanted to give up immediately because he couldn’t do it on the first try

Mitch sat him down and taught him everything he knew (very patiently, because little Luke was not willing to learn)

Eventually he got the hang of it and loved it to pieces

It made Mitch so proud to see his son enjoying himself so much

Mitch was the first person Luke spoke to when he was questioning his gender

He was ten or eleven and knew next to nothing about gender identity, so he went to his dad because he had been so good at explaining things in the past

Mitch was as supportive as you could imagine - as soon as Luke felt ready, the two of them headed out shopping to buy new clothes and things

Truth be told, Mitch didn’t know a lot about gender either, but he made it his mission to research it until he felt that he knew enough to be truly supportive of Luke

After Luke had also come out to Emily, the three of them went to their first pride event - Mitch didn’t think he’d ever seen Luke smiling quite so brightly

(Luke wrote My Name Is Luke and played it to Emily as his way of coming out - she was also incredibly supportive, and Mitch cried)

Luke asked for an electric guitar for his fourteenth birthday

Emily wasn’t so sure, but Mitch was the one to persuade her that it could be a good idea

“You know how much he loves music, it’s not as if it’ll be a waste of money.”

Luke, of course, adored his electric guitar

He’d put on “shows” for his parents, which were really just him sat in the living room, blocking their view of the TV, singing covers of his favourite songs

Then he met Reggie, Bobby, and Alex one by one, and they formed Sunset Curve

This is when things started to go downhill

Emily didn’t want Luke in the band - not because she didn’t want him to enjoy music, but because she had a lot of misconceptions about rock musicians and things like drugs and drink

When the arguing started, Mitch was stuck between a rock and a hard place - agree with his wife or agree with his son

He could see both sides of their argument and whenever they argued he either tried not to get involved or tried to calm it down

Neither tactic really worked

It hurt him to see his family falling apart

After the first big argument between Emily and Luke, Luke stormed off to his room

Mitch spoke to Emily first

“If he’s enjoying it and staying safe then what’s the problem?” he asked her

She had sighed and said, “I just don’t want him to get hurt.”

Later, Mitch hesitantly knocked on Luke’s door

Luke said, “Go away,” but Mitch ignored him and walked in

“If you’re here to tell me that mom’s right and I should quit the band then you can save it, I’m not leaving.”

“I wasn’t going to say that. You want to go somewhere? Get something to eat, just go on a drive? You can’t stay in your room all day.”

When Luke didn’t reply, Mitch said, “Just the two of us.”

They went to Luke’s favourite fast food restaurant and Luke’s mood brightened steadily

Mitch listened to him gush about the band, talk about all the gigs they had lined up, laugh about his friends’ antics

He didn’t think the band could be dangerous or a bad idea, not when Luke so clearly adored it

The fights only got worse - it became routine for Mitch to calm Emily down first, then go and take Luke somewhere

They went to the cinema, crazy golf, the beach, museums, the planetarium, haunted houses in October, Christmas markets in December, or they would just wander around or go on a long drive

Whatever Luke needed to take his mind off it, Mitch was happy to help him

It got to the point that after an argument Luke would be stood by the door with his coat on, ready to leave

We know Luke and Alex dated for a bit in the nineties - Mitch was the first person Luke told when they got together, and he was the shoulder Luke cried on when they broke up

Mitch was just arriving home from work the night Luke ran away

He could see his bike disappearing around a corner, and Emily was falling apart

She explained everything - Mitch held himself together; he thought Luke would come home eventually

He blamed himself a bit; he felt he was the one who had taught Luke that if an argument got too heated it was alright to just leave

After three days, he started to worry

He called the police, told them of a missing person

“Please, it’s my son. His name is Luke Patterson, he’s been missing since Wednesday night. Apparently he hasn’t been in school either. My wife and I... we miss him so much, we just want to know he’s safe.”

He and Emily made missing person posters together, along with the ones issued by the police

The ink on most of them ended up smudged after one of them cried on it

Mitch took out newspaper ads in the hopes that somehow Luke would see it

(Luke did see the ads, he just never responded to them - he would tear them out of the newspapers and keep them in his pocket because it felt like that way he had a bit of his parents’ love with him)

He and Emily went to Reggie, Alex, and Bobby’s houses to ask them if they’d seen Luke - on Luke’s request, none of them really gave a straight answer

One night, Mitch was looking out of the living room window

He thought he saw someone in the bushes

He wondered - hoped it could have been Luke

When he did a double-take, he saw that no one was there

He decided it was a trick of the light

On the night of Luke’s death, the police showed up at the Pattersons’ house, lights flashing, sirens wailing

Luke had been missing for months - of course Mitch and Emily assumed the worst

Of course they were right

They identified the body together

Mitch cried as Emily hugged her son - that probably wasn’t allowed, but she did it anyway

Emily whispered something to Luke but Mitch couldn’t hear what it was

Mitch said goodbye afterwards

He smoothed down his son’s hair, closed his eyes, straightened his jacket, held his hand, hugged him gently

Silently, he thanked Luke for everything he’d given him and done for him, for making him a better person and teacher and father, for being so perfect

That night, Mitch picked up his own old acoustic guitar for the first time in years

He played a lullaby he and Emily had sung to Luke as they tried to get him to sleep as a baby

He played the first song he’d ever taught Luke

He played a few of Luke’s original songs, the ones he’d liked so much that he’d learnt them himself, without telling Luke

He played the guitar at Luke’s funeral

But he didn’t play again after that

He remembered his son in other ways: framing hundreds of photographs and hanging them around the house, volunteering at a youth group on Friday nights, switching career paths and training as a teacher

One year, for Emily’s birthday, Mitch named a star and gave her the certificate

He had called it Luke

“Our boy was always going to be a star,” he told his wife, “and now he really is.”

[whatdoesshedotothem]

Wednesday 5 March 1834

8

12 10

Rainy morning and F54° at 8 am- Breakfast at 9 alone till Marian came in about ¼ hour – stood talking (she mended the pelisse at the hands) of Miss W- till near 11- Marian really behaves very well about it - a few minutes with my aunt (she had had a restless night) and out at 11 10 - Pickels not here - Mallinson hewing and 1 man holing stone posts, too wet to work at the farmyard door-heading - sauntered about - spoke to James Smith and William Green - possibly to go on the 1st of April but the latter to come as usual but on ½ wages ie. £15 a year - had to tell Marian all this - came to my study at 1 ½ - fair from about 11 to after 12 then rain again – from 3 40 to 4 wrote 4 pages and 1 p. of the envelope to Miss Walker - mention my call at Cliff Hill – her aunt will write to tell her to come home -  ‘I shall not annoy myself about it, because I am sure you will take it as it ought to be taken, and merely be sorry that some of your friends are not wiser – what would Dr. Belcombe say?’ ...... The Priestleys nearly inquired after her - ....... ‘What is in their mind about Lidgate? My opinion is a fixed one because I see, and feel, more and more,  that is right – when have you found yourself wrong in following my advice?’ To come here tomorrow if she likes, and if she comes during the assizes I shall not be one of the grumblers - anxious to hear what her sister says – suspect she is no better satisfied than the rest - ‘as things are at present,  I shall not write to your sister - perhaps I have some right to expect that her great affection for you might give me some claim upon her  thanks  for all I have done for you – I have at least helped you in the [?] of a plan which wants nothing but perseverance, and this alone might deserve some notice for those to whom your welfare is so dear - But tell me you are doing so well, and all else will be comparatively indifferent’.....  It seems an age since leaving her – tired of the words goodbye  –‘I ate 2 of your oranges just before getting into bed last night, merely for the pleasure of thinking of you’. Then P-s would not advise her coming here - ‘In proportion as opposition will be in vain – talk will be greater ’. – Will send the dimensions of the north parlour fireplace in my next - may perhaps get Horner to sketch the side of the room - then wrote to Hutton to say I had received the  pelisses, and wrote by this post to Messrs. Hammersleys and c° to pay him or demand the amount of his bill £10.6.6 - and wrote to Messrs. Hammersleys to pay Hutton as above and pay £5 to Messrs. Laffitte and c° Paris to be paid by them or demand to Mrs. Anne Tiler on account of Madame la comtesse Henrietta Virgile Galvani and shall be glad to know if Messrs. Laffitte have received the argenterie forwarded to them on my account from Calais by M. Quillacq and when they Hammersleys had received the answer to let me have their account - Dinner at 6 10 and then coffee in 50 minutes – Eugenie packed the box containing crape bonnet, worsteds, velvet brush and biscuits and my letter 4 pages and 1 page and ends and under the seal of envelope to ‘Miss Walker’ - containing printed note from Huddersfield and 4 half crowns in white paper written ‘sent by Miss Lister to Mrs. Bewleys’ 2 women servants Wednesday 5 March 1834’ - sent off the box by Thomas to go by tonight’s mail if  taken for 5/. or 6/.  or if not by Highflier and my letter to ‘Messrs. Hammersleys, Bankers, London’ and to Mr. Hutton, 114 Park street Grosvenor square London Postpaid’ and John’s letter to his son Joseph Booth (Mr. Scott’s white wall corner Malton) that I forgot when in York and so now send post paid - reading (to p.276) and making extract from 2nd series Waldensian Researches London 1831 - with my aunt from 9 10 to 10 - ¾ hour reading the morning Herald - Rainy day and evening except tolerably fair from about 11 to after 12 at noon - F now at 11 ½ pm in blue room 55° in my study (fire in the stove all day) 59°

[craftypeaceturtle]

Distanced, part 1

Summary: A group chat fic! How shall these useless students cope with daily life.

Note: This is my first attempt at anything even remotely like this! I have no idea how this will turn out so feedback is greatly appreciated! Intrulogical. 

Next part here!!

.

MESSAGES: To Remus Prince (Presentation)

Tuesday, 16:15

Hello. This is Logan Sanders from Prof. Smith’s seminar. Do you have any suggestions for how we should go about completing the upcoming assessment?

Remus Prince: who dis

I literally just stated it. Logan Sanders.

I wear the tie.

Remus Prince: OHHH

Remus Prince: Well 1stly

Remus Prince: What’s the best planet in the solar system?

Pardon?

Remus Prince: i LitERaLlY JuSt stAtED iT

That has nothing to do with anything, we just need to get through this project.

Remus Prince: if u want to work then u have to answer

Jupiter. 

Remus Prince: cool.

Remus Prince: You’ll do.

Remus Prince: My name is Remus.

I know. We did actually swap phone numbers. We in fact discussed which topic we would be doing for over fifteen minutes in the seminar. So we have indeed met. If you continue to be obnoxious then this will be a easier project. 

.

MESSAGES: To Remus Sanders (Presentation)

Tuesday, 16:22

Why did you ask that question?

 Remus Prince: I asked my brother that question and he answered earth

Remus Prince: I’ve had trust issues ever since

Roman’s favourite planet is Earth? 

 Remus Prince: HAH

Remus Prince: ye he’s an idiot

Remus Prince: I’ve gotta test everyone now.

Remus Prince: You passed btw

Remus Prince: WAIT!

Remus Prince: Do u know Ro?

Yes, he is my friend and roommate. 

Remus Prince: What was ur name again????????

You can literally scroll up and reread it. I refuse. You got into university for a reason and so you can manage my name.

Remus Prince: jk

Okay then. Do you want to discuss how we should go about creating this powerpoint?

Remus Prince: what’s there to ‘discuss’?

We can separately conduct our research however it is regrettably better to meet up in person to practise not only giving the presentation but also the construction of the presentation itself.

Remus Prince: man you just love sending essays huh

I have written out longer messages. I don’t understand the point of sending a sentence at a time and risk getting interrupted. Plus at least my texting doesn’t seem all like an assault of constant notifications. 

Remus Prince: fair

Shall we say that we should aim to get our presentation research finished by two weeks (15th). That leaves us another two weeks to construct the powerpoint, gather more research if necessary, then practise presenting. 

Remus Prince: k

GROUPCHAT: Goths, Emos, and Remus

Tuesday, 16:26

Octopussy: can I vent for a sec

Octopussy: So! I’m just sitting here. Y’know. Vibing. 

Octopussy: Then out of nowhere the nerd from my class starts messaging me about the group project that’s due a month away

Octopussy: like wtf

Octopussy: nice to know the nerd thing isn’t just appearance

Vigilant: help

Octopussy: he made a big deal about meeting up as well to do this!

Octopussy: No one in the class even cares!

Octopussy: No one is even remotely

Octopussy: Not even close

Octopussy: To thinking about that project right now!

Octopussy: We’ve got ages!

Vigilant: oh sweet jesus

Octopussy: Like! We’ve got a month!

Octopussy: AN ENTIRE MONTH

Octopussy: Like he also wants to meet up as well to practise

Octopus: Like ew.

Top-Hat-Gay: Are you done?

Octopussy: ye

Octopussy: he’s a dick

Vigilant: oh thank god

Top-Hat-Gay: Ha, as if you believe in god.

Vigilant: If it stops Re from not spamming us then I’ll believe whatever. 

Octopussy: rude

Vigilant: bitch

Top-Hat-Gay: On an actually important note, which one of you last used my nail bag?

Octopussy: me!

Octopussy: you need more green 

Top-Hat-Gay: No I fucking don’t!

Top-Hat-Gay: There was an entirely new bottle in there!

Octopussy: I said what I said.

Top-Hat-Gay: I hate you. 

Octopussy: Thank bby

Octopussy: ALSO!

Octopussy: I found out the nerd also lives with Ro.

Top-Hat-Gay: So?

Vigilant: hE’S FORBIDDEN

Top-Hat-Gay: Wait so the nerd is Logan?

Octopussy: He is!

Octopussy: not that it seems to be having any effect on Ro. he’s as dense as a brick.

Top-Hat-Gay: I saw him today going into Remy’s. 

Vigilant: Why are we even talking about him

Vigilant: Like who gives a shit.

Octopussy: dunno

Octopussy: just thought it was weird

Top-Hat-Gay: Maybe you should switch partners. Especially if he wants to meet up at some point.

Octopussy: nah

Octopussy: not worth it

Top-Hat-Gay: A teacher wouldn’t care. They only want to see good grades. They won’t mind moving stuff around for you.

Octopussy: He seems harmless. 

Vigilant: you literally called him a dick after one conversation.

Octopussy: he is a dick

Octopussy: he seems stuffy but just a nerd through and through. He’s not going to be a prick or anything.

Vigilant: This isn’t really about him. He already got you talking about you know who in your first ever conversation. Maybe you shouldn’t hang around him.

Octopussy: I just thought it was interesting

Octopussy: It doesn’t mean jack shit

Octopussy: Not everything I talk about has some grand meaning.

Octopussy: I just thought it was weird that this nerd I share my classes with also lives with my bro. 

Top-Hat-Gay: And that’s perfectly fine Re.

Octopussy: soz V

Octopussy: didn’t mean to blow up in your face

Octopussy: just annoying to feel psycho-analysed 

Vigilant: soz

Octopussy: okay! 

Octopussy: that’s proof enough!

Octopussy: we can behave to each other so ice cream plz!!!!!!!!!!!

Top-Hat-Gay: JESUS CHRIST I SAID THAT AS A JOKE LAST YEAR

Octopussy: I will eat V’s posters unless you give us reward good boy icecream

Vigilant: chocolate pls

Top-Hat-Gay: jesus do you lot know how long it takes for me to put on my cape to go shopping

Vigilant: yes

Vigilant: we are precisely aware of exactly how long it takes

Vigilant: that’s why we don’t go shopping with you

GROUPCHAT: THE FAM ILY

Tuesday, 16:38

Pat-on-the-back: Heya guys, are we all in for dinner tonight?

Logan.S: I am.

YourHopesandDreams: I will be in at 7. If you could be so compassionate to push your meal back until then, I would be truly indebted to you.

Pat-on-the-back:  Fine by me!

Logan.S: I am agreeable.

Pat-on-the-back: Also Lo! Are you finished with your work?

Logan.S: I have finished my to-do list so I am available if I’m needed. 

Pat-on-the-back: No, you’re all good! I just wanted to check. It sounded like you were doing work for like four hours straight.

Logan.S: It took three hours thank you very much. 

Logan.S: So what are we doing for dinner?

Pat-on-the-back: I was thinking lasagne! 

Pat-on-the-back: also! Don’t think I’ll notice that change in topic!

Pat-on-the-back: I thought we all agreed on two hour stretches of work with a 15 min break at least. I mean... it’s even written on our calendar! There’s no way you forgot, did you Mister! 

Logan.S: It’s fine Pat.

Logan.S: Just let it go

Logan.S: I needed to get it done

Logan.S: I don’t need to be babied. 

Logan.S: I’m taking a break now. I’m okay.

Pat-on-the-back: I know, I’m sorry. I just want to make sure. As long as you feel okay then everything’s alright! How was your work anyway?

Logan.S: Fairly ordinary actually. I had to go through some of my notes and rewrite a couple of pages then I had to organise a group project due the 2nd of March. 

Pat-on-the-back: Sounds productive!

Logan.S: Thank you.

YourHopesandDreams: Ew. Group project. Who’s your partner?

Logan.S: We are in entirely different courses, why do you think you would know them?

YourHopesandDreams: Everyone knows the drama students know everyone. 

Logan.S: I’m working with Remus.

YourHopesandDreams: You should ask to swap partners. 

Logan.S: I won’t do so unless I have a genuine reason. I’ve not had any interactions with him previously and while he did seem half-hearted and obnoxious in his messages, he seems harmless. If he messes everything around then I will but I won’t make a fuss unless I have reason to.

Pat-on-the-back: That’s fair but please make sure to tell us if he pulls anything.

YourHopesandDreams: Your loss. 

.

MESSAGES: To Nerd

Wednesday, 3:02

hey u awake

Nerd: What on earth are you doing up at 3am? 

Oh

Soz

Wrong number.

MESSAGES: To Nerd

Wednesday, 3:12

Nerd: What is your favourite planet?

wha

Nerd: I figured it would be fair to ask your test to you. For all I know you could be as uncultured as your brother.

can we not talk about him

I dunno really

I wanna say pluto because they deserve it

but I kinda like saturn best.

Nerd: Any reason why?

Just kinda interesting

Big, lots a moons, ring. 

It’s just a cool planet. 

Nerd: Fair enough.

Do you have a reason to like jupiter?

Nerd: If I’m being honest, my science teacher absolutely adored Jupiter. I don’t know why but that memory of him ranting about how cool it was just really stuck with me. I was only about 8 years old. But I found myself agreeing with him. Back then my fascination was a lot more childish. I thought it was fascinating that since Jupiter was a gas planet it hadn’t been blown away yet. I grew up from that view but the interest never left.

ew that was almost cute.

Nerd: I concur that was very unprofessional.

WAIT

WAIT

HOLD ON

Why hasn’t Jupiter blown away!?!?!?!?!??

Nerd: Excuse me?

8YR OLD YOU IS A GENUIS 

Nerd: There’s no atmosphere in space!

But there’s pressure and junk isn’t there? 

Nerd: The pressure is pulling the mass into the centre which keeps the planet whole.

Do you think we could step on Jupiter?

Nerd: I don’t know.

I thought you knew space!

Nerd: I do biology! To get into a biology degree, I did a bunch of biology based subjects! Why would I know anything about space?

I dunno.

I guess if you look like a nerd people just presume.

Nerd: I’ve personally found it’s the confidence. If you act confident enough then everyone presumes you know exactly what you’re doing and you’re in control, no matter how out of place you look. 

I’ll drink to that!

Wait, in what situation would you have learnt this!?!

Nerd: I have a bad habit of accidentally going to the wrong class and just going along with it rather than anything else. Although I should say I did fantastic in that architectural history class. But this habit has caused some awkward situations. I have also impersonated a store manager to explain why me and my friend were there when really he ran into the warehouse searching for a kitten. 

HAH

That’s brilliant

Using your nerdy powers to overthrow society.

Does this mean you’re a liar?

Nerd: I call it ‘managing life’. 

HAH

Sounds about right.

Why are you awake at this time?

Nerd: I could ask you that.

[hidden-otaku-stuff]

Different but the Same (pt. 7)

tw: A few swears, insecurity, family trauma

Word count: ~5.1k

Rating: R18+/M

Omegaverse AU, Rating: 18+/M

Pairings: Iwaizumi x fem!reader, Ushijima x fem!reader

Summary: An unexpected encounter at the Inter-High tournament tossed you into a whirlwind. Being tugged between two males, two different packs, who will reign supreme in this battle for your heart?

Masterlist | prev | next

ch. 7: battle of the packs

“What’s Ushijima-san doing here?” One of her Omega classmates whispered to her friend, looking over their shoulders at the door. The impressive Alpha took up the entire doorway. Semi had left with Tendou just moments ago. 

“Ushijima-san? What are you doing here?” (Name) looked up, echoing the other Omega’s sentiment as her eyebrows furrowed at the sight. The bitter scent of jealousy clung to the air as they glared at (Name).

The corner of his mouth twitched. He lifted a bag. “May I eat lunch with you?” She looked at him, then back at her desk where her textbooks were sitting. A moment of hesitation.

“Uh, sure.” She closed the book, placing them back into the bag as she brought out her own bento. “I thought you normally eat in the cafeteria with the pack?” Ushijima pulled a chair to her desk, settling himself into it. He almost seemed too big for the chairs, she noticed. 

“Yes, but you don’t, and I wanted to eat lunch with you.” He opened his bento, taking out an apple as he bit into it. “Were you studying?” 

She carefully chewed a piece of salmon. “Yes, I was. I needed to finish a group-project before we leave for Tokyo on Friday, so I figured I’d do all my individual work during lunch so I had enough time.”

“What is the project on?”

“It’s just a history project on Japanese revolutions, I’m providing the research and assembling part of it into an essay for a presentation since I’ll be missing the presentation.”   

“You are a proactive student,” Ushijima commented, finishing his apple before he opened up his lunch-box. 

(Name) laughed at his comment. “Not always,” she admitted. “But I do have to try harder since I’m going to be applying for university soon.” She eyed her veggies. “I don’t wanna mess up on my finals this semester.”  

“Do you have time to help me study as well?”

She blinked. “Help you? Ushijima-san, I thought you were planning on going pro?” She laughed. “You already have a spot on the national youth team, don’t you?” 

He shrugged, carefully chewing his next bite. “I still would like to graduate with good grades. And after being so invested in volleyball for so long has left...much to be desired about my academic skills.” 

(Name) hummed. “I suppose that’s fair.” She took a sip of her lemon tea. “We don’t have practice on Wednesday, I can tutor you for a bit at the library after school.” She bit her bottom lip; the original plan had been to go to Aoba Johsai’s practice that day, but she really needed to finish this project and that took precedent. 

“That works for me.” 

“So, what does the great Ushijima-san eat for lunch?”

Ushijima looked up, blinking at her. “The ‘Great’?”

“Well yeah, since you’re quite famous in volleyball circles, and exceptionally popular in our school.” She eyed the group of Omegas that were shooting daggers at her. He glanced over, only for the Omegas to fall over themselves in fits of giggles to escape his gaze. (Name) wasn’t stupid, she knew that Ushijima was a highly sought-out Alpha. In fact, most of the volleyball team was. Something about them just simply screamed masculinity and attractiveness. The fact that they were almost exclusively a pack of Alphas probably contributed to the notion that they were ‘supreme’ Alphas, which of course was supported by the fact that the leader of the pack himself was an Apex Alpha. She snorted internally. If only they knew how stupid all those Alphas could get. It wasn’t particularly uncommon for exceptionally brave Omegas to attempt to court Ushijima, only for him not to realize what was going on and point-blank rejecting them. 

“I suppose that’s fair.” He tilted his bento to her. “I’m having hayashi rice.” 

“Ooh, that looks and smells delicious!” She complimented. “Did you make it yourself?” 

Ushijima nodded. “My grandmother taught me.” He gazed at the food for a moment. “I spent a lot of time with her as a child. This is what she’d make me whenever I did well or had a bad day at school.” 

“Your grandmother sounds lovely.” She smiled at him, taking another sip of her tea.

“Would you like to try?”

“Are you sure?” She hesitated. The Omega was all-too familiar with the immense appetite of Alphas, and she didn’t want to take away from his meal.

“I wouldn’t have offered if I wasn’t sure.”

She snorted. “Always the blunt one, aren’t you?”

“Is that bad?”

“No, it’s refreshing.” Her mind wandered to Iwaizumi, who used to leave things left unsaid, assuming that others would know what he was thinking. Granted, after being with him for so long, he’d gotten better with communication. Ushijima eyed her, holding the bento out. “How about a trade?” She picked up her box. “It’s probably not as good as your grandmother’s hayashi rice, but you can try my teriyaki salmon.”

“Did you make it yourself?”

“Of course, you know I love cooking.” A small smile made its way to his face, matching hers; he was familiar with her cooking especially since she had brought onigiri to practice a few times since they had played the college team.

Ushijima nodded, “thank you.” They traded bentos. Behind the mouthful he had was a sense of warmth that he hadn’t experienced in a long time. The type of warmth that comes from care and love that speaks directly to the soul. It flooded all of his senses. Olive eyes glowed as his scent filled the room.  

“This is so good, Ushijima-san! Thank you for letting me try it.” She purred in delight at the explosion of flavor that bathed her tongue. It tasted familiar. A meal you come home to on a windy fall afternoon after being out all day. “I’ll need to get the recipe from you sometime. If you and your grandmother don’t mind, of course.”

Another curt nod as they passed the bentos back. “I’ll teach it to you someday,” he promised. “I enjoyed your salmon.”

“Thank you!” She beamed. “I’ll make you some of my curry next time. That’s one of my better dishes.”

“Thank you for bringing onigiri to our practices.” Ushijima nodded to her. “We all appreciate the effort.”

“It’s the least I can do!” The Omega wriggled happily. “I enjoy cooking and I’m always happy to take care of the pack.”

“What else do you enjoy cooking?”

She tapped her chin thoughtfully. “Anything really. My parents took me to France last holiday, and I’ve been experimenting with French dishes since then.” Her (e/c) orbs examined the Alpha. “Do you cook often, Ushijima-san?”

“Not particularly.” He closed up his bento, cleaning up. “I do not have time for simple luxuries like that.”

“I can imagine volleyball keeps you extremely busy,” she hummed, placing her empty lunchbox down. She pulled out a bag of cookies. “Would you like to have one?”

“What is it?”

“It’s a strawberry cheesecake cookie.” She bit one, a smile expanding on her face at the flavour. “It’s one of my favorite things to bake when I have free time.” (Name) pulled another one out, handing it to Ushijima. He took it carefully, examining it before nibbling it.

“Why do you enjoy cooking?” 

A melancholy expression crossed her face as she stared at the cookies. “I’ve always liked the idea of being in a pack, even before I presented.” She smiled slightly, a tear trickled down her right cheek. He froze, confused. His scent hummed as comforting pheromones pumped out. The Omegas in the background all keened, leaning closer with eyes fluttering shut as they inhaled. “As a kid, I would follow my mother around the kitchen, learning how to cook and generally just spending time with her. I loved watching her pour her heart out into a dish where you could just taste the love, y’know?” (Name) leaned back in her seat, fiddling with the bag. “My father was terrifying. You never knew whether or not he cared or loved you, and it was more often than not that he was upset.” A wry laugh and a tear escaped her left cheek. He watched with concern, his finger lifting the tear off of her face. She leaned into the warmth of his caress, eyes shutting as she let out a soft sniffle. “It was hard knowing what love was in that household, so I figured I’d make it obvious in all of my actions.” She lifted her face to his, blinking back the rest of her tears.

“I am sorry to hear that.” Ushijima’s hand slipped into hers, squeezing it. 

“It’s not your fault.” She cleared her throat, wiping her face with the back of her hand. “So, why do you like volleyball, Ushijima-san?”

He took another bite, hesitating at the sudden topic change. Ushijima squeezed her hand again, enjoying the soft warmth and hoping that his actions would comfort her. “My father used to play volleyball professionally and taught me as a child. My parents are divorced, and he’s abroad right now. It gives me a connection to him, and I enjoy the sport.”

She giggled, eating another cookie. “I’d enjoy it too if I were as good as you.” 

They sat in a pleasant silence as they finished the cookies, simply enjoying each other’s company as a thumb idly swept over her knuckles. The bell rang, and he let out a gentle sigh. His hand slipped away, gathering his stuff. “Thank you for having lunch with me.” With a slight bow, he got up to leave.

“I’ll see you at practice, Ushijima-san.” (Name) waved before the Apex Alpha disappeared out of the classroom door. 

****

She looked up at the sound of a door opening as the fresh scent of pine drafted in.  “Babe, I’m home!” 

“In the kitchen!” She called, using a spoon to stir the pot. Loud shuffling noises echoed the apartment before warm arms wrapped around her waist.

“What’s cooking, good lookin’?” He pressed a kiss to her jaw, his nose brushing against her neck. 

“You need to stop hanging out with Oikawa,” she replied, leaning back into his embrace. “Just making some ragout. How was practice?” 

“The usual.” Iwaizumi’s warm breath caused sparks of electricity to shoot through her veins. “Oikawa was still practicing when I left.” 

“I see.” She surveyed the pot. “Do you want to invite him over? There’s more than enough food for the three of us.” The Omega turned down the fire, letting the pot simmer with a lid. “Even with your monstrous appetite,” she teased, pecking his cheek.

Iwaizumi grumbled. “I just want you to myself.” 

“Should’ve thought of that before joining such a needy pack!” She chirped, turning in his arms to face him. “He’s your best friend, and I worry about him sometimes.” His eyes glinted as he frowned slightly. “You know I worry about both of you, but he’s an idiot so he ends up with both of us worrying about him all the time,” she chided. He huffed.

“Tch. Fine.” 

“I guess I better stop by the grocery store then,” she made a move towards the sink, only for his grip to tighten.

“Why’s that?”

“To pick up some milk-bread to entice him into coming.”

He let out a faint growl. “Just stay here with me.” Iwaizumi’s arms held her close to him. Her eyes fluttered shut, listening to his heart-beat. “I’ll give him a call and we can cuddle while we wait or something.”

“Aren’t you hungry?” (Name) pulled away, blinking owlishly up at her mate. He opened his mouth to argue, only for his stomach to grumble in response. “We could always eat without him.”

“You know he’s just going to whine about it.” Iwaizumi ran a hand through his hair, annoyance clear in his expression.

“Fine, then help me make some onigiri? You can bring it to the pack tomorrow for me.” 

He laughed, his fingers carding through her hair. “You really are too good to us.” 

“Only because I have you in my life, Haji.” Pine hummed like a freshly lit candle. “Now, go call that idiot of a best friend and I’ll start making more rice.” Iwaizumi released her, stalking towards his back in the living room.

“Oi, Shittykawa. Get your ass over here. (Nickname) made dinner and she wants to feed your dumbass for some reason.” The Omega giggled, hearing his best friend’s shrill cry of indignation even though he was not on speaker. She scooped the rice out of the rice cooker, preparing another pot for their dinner. It was more than common for them to always have freshly cooked rice, especially considering how often she was meal-prepping and making onigiris. It was fortunate that her parents understood her pack mentality, and would finance her grocery habits. Her pack would also typically step up and buy her ingredients or give Iwaizumi money. “Yes now, otherwise we’re going to eat it all and you’ll have to get your own food.” Iwaizumi pinched his nose, eyes squeezed shut. He almost always regretted calling Oikawa, but he knew that his mate would’ve bothered him even more if he didn’t do it. Iwaizumi ended the call, placing his phone onto the dining room table. “You ready?” 

He slipped into the kitchen, surveying the counter. “Do you mind making the eggs? I always like how you season it.” Her lip quivered as she sent him a soft, pouty expression.

“Don’t make that face,” he grumbled, lightly flicking her forehead. “You just have to ask and I’d do it.” He pulled on his Your Opinion Wasn’t in the Recipe apron. She glanced down at her own, giggling at the phrase printed on it: I’ll Feed All You Fuckers. Mattsun had gotten them the aprons as a gag gift one Christmas, but she loved them. 

“You’re the best!”

“I know.” 

She stood beside him, slicing strips of seaweed while he prepared the eggs. Containers of pre-made fillings littered the counter alongside bowls of seasonings and toppings. They danced around the kitchen with practiced movements after years of cooking together. He would reach for some seasoning, only for her to have nudged the bowl towards him already. She would reach for the rice, only for him to scoop out a portion onto the nori. Laughter and music filled the air as they simply enjoyed each other’s presence. 

“I missed this,” she admitted, carefully shaping one of the balls as she sprinkled more furikake flakes. 

 He bumped his hip against hers, tilting his face down so his lips brushed against her forehead. “I’ve missed you.” He placed his onigiri down onto the plate, leaning down to press his lips against hers. “I’m so lucky to have you in my life.” 

The door-bell rang, and she was quick to pop a spoonful of salmon filling into his mouth. “Yes you are,” she winked. Brown eyes widened, as she took off her gloves and apron and skipped over to the door. “Hey, Oiks!” 

“Thank you for having me! Ooh, that smells delicious.” Oikawa stepped into the kitchen, beaming at the tray. “You won’t even greet your guest, Iwa-chan? So rude!” 

“Oi, you’re lucky she invited you over for dinner.” Iwaizumi glared. “Otherwise you’d be hungry and at the gym still.”  Oikawa pouted, opening his mouth to whine more.

“Boys.” The Omega’s eyes narrowed. “Go set the table. And you,” she flicked Oikawa on the forehead causing the male to yelp, “stop overworking yourself. If I hear that you’ve stayed late again and that Iwaizumi left without you, I’m going to handcuff you to him.” 

“Kinky.”

“Oi!” A loud crack as Iwaizumi slapped the back of his head.

“Dinner table! Now!” 

Oikawa joined Iwaizumi at the table, helping him clear it and setting out utensils. “As sweet as she is, I always forget she has a scary side,” Oikawa comments. “She must get it from having you as a mate.”

Iwaizumi’s face darkened. “At least I have a mate.”

“You’re so mean!” 

“Boys!”

“Sorry.” They chorused together. Iwaizumi shoved Oikawa, muttering insults under his breath.

****

“Ushijima-san, that’s not right.” She tapped her pencil on her notebook, surveying the Alpha. He let out a sigh, looking up and blinking with exasperation. 

“What did I do wrong for this one?” 

They’d been sitting in the library for the past three hours, two of which had been spent solely on chemistry. It wasn’t that there was a lack of effort on Ushijima’s side. In fact, he had tried really hard to solve the problems by himself. He would just end up using the wrong formula or accidentally skipped a step here and there which caused problems. “You’re supposed to use this formula instead.” She pointed at the formula sheet she had provided him. He leaned in closer, his shoulder brushing against her back. The warmth seeped through his muscles, her scent easing the tension he felt from studying.

“I see...but why do we use that one instead?” As she opened her mouth to explain, the library doors were thrown open. They both looked up as familiar scents filled the room. Ushijima nodded as his pack-mates made their way to their table. “Hello Tendou, Semi.”

“Wakatoshi!” Tendou exclaimed, only to be shushed by the librarian. “We were wondering where you were.” He sat on the opposite side of Ushijima, leaning into his personal space. Semi rolled his eyes, sending the Omega an awkward wave as he took a seat beside her. They were seated at a circular table.

“Hi, (Name). Sorry to bother you.” 

“Do you wanna go get dinner off-campus?” 

“Tendou, that’s not what we’re here for,” Reon reprimanded, hurrying in through the doors to stop the middle-blocker. “Is it alright if we join you two? We all need to study.” Reon glared at the other two. 

Tendou let out an elongated sigh as Reon plopped his bag beside him, sitting directly across from the other Omega. “Sure,” (Name) smiled. “There’s more than enough room at the table. But I’m not tutoring you guys!” 

Tendou cursed, crossing his arms. “Why not? You’re tutoring Wakatoshi!”

“Because I’m tutoring Ushijima-san, and I don’t want to tutor you, Tendou.” 

“Semi-Semi! I’m not a bad student, right?”

“Tendou, you’re the one who always ends getting us kicked out of here.” Semi retorted, taking a seat beside the Omega as he pulled out his own study materials. Tendou crossed his arms, pouting. “Get your stuff out, Tendou.” 

Tendou let out a loud tch before reluctantly pulling out his pens and pencils.

“I am sorry about this,” Ushijima whispered to (Name), leaning down so his mouth was by her ear. An involuntary shiver coursed through her as she lurched back slightly.

“It’s okay, Ushijima-san.” She cleared her throat. “Anyways, this is what you need to do here.” She copied the problem down on her page, writing out each step and carefully explaining why she was doing such. 

“Tendou, stop it!” Semi cursed, glaring at the red-haired Alpha. She looked up, only to have a wad of paper bounce off her nose. Confused, she furrowed her brow. 

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing, Tendou?” The group halted, all looking at her. Semi looked impressed, Ushijima was impassive, a flicker of surprise crossed Reon’s face, and Tendou had an apprehensive look on his face. 

“Having fun?”

She crossed her arms, eyes narrowing dangerously. A shiver crept up Tendou’s spine despite being an Alpha. “And what are you here to do?”

“Distract you guys!”

“Tendou,” she warned. 

He deflated slightly, face darkening. “Study?” 

“That’s right.” She fixed him with a hard gaze. “So, what are you going to do?”

“Pull out my English homework and do it.”

“Well get to it.” Tendou sulked, proceeding to do as he stated. With a satisfied smile, she turned back to the other boys. She blinked. “Why are you guys staring at me?”

“We’ve never heard you curse before, (Name)-san.” Reon commented, meeting her gaze steadily. 

“Yeah, I didn’t know you had it in you,” Semi chuckled, ruffling her hair. 

(Name) batted his hand away from her head. “You guys realize who my Alpha is right?” She rolled her eyes. Ushijima stiffened slightly; all eyes except hers flickered to him momentarily. “He’s always cursing out Oikawa and the rest of our pack-mates.”

Ushijima cleared his throat, leaning down to look at the problem, his wrist brushing against her arm. “That doesn’t sound like a healthy pack environment.” 

(Name) raised an eyebrow, glancing over at the Apex Alpha. “It’s not like he does it to intimidate or fight them. It’s all playful. They’re all fond of one another.” She cleared her throat. “Besides, I don’t think you can talk, Ushijima-san.” Olive eyes shifted up to stare at the female Omega. “Your pack was literally built upon the mentality of who is the strongest volleyball player, not with genuine connections.”

“Hey now, that’s not right,” Semi interjected. She looked at the ash-blonde Alpha. “We might’ve met like that, but we wouldn’t have agreed to be in this pack if we didn’t genuinely like one another.” 

She blinked. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to be offensive.” 

“I understand where you’re coming from (Name)-san,” Reon added, sending the fellow Omega a pleasant smile. “From an outsider’s perspective, it can seem a bit forced. Just like how we might have a certain perspective about the Seijoh pack due to being outside it as well.” He leaned back. “But, based on your experiences with the pack, do you still truly think that?”

(Name) hesitated a moment. “No,” she admitted. “I do think that there are real bonds between you guys.” Her gaze examined each of the males sitting at the table in front of her. “To be honest, it does remind me of my pack. You guys are playful in similar ways, and I can tell that the bonds between you guys will last.” 

“You’re in the pack too,” Ushijima finally said, his eyes glancing down at the watch on her wrist before raising to steadily meet hers. The other males also eyed the accessory. Tendou’s eyes sparkled. Semi raised his eyebrow, and Reon simply kept the pleasant smile on his face. 

“I suppose I am, aren’t I?” Her gaze was down, staring at the maroon sleeve that sat in her lap from the jacket that hung on her chair. “Anyways,” she cleared her throat, “we have exams soon so let’s get back to studying, yeah?”  

****

“I don’t understand this!” The Beta complained, head plopping down onto his book.

“Kindaichi-kun, let’s start at the top again, okay?” Her pencil tapped against the book, carefully reading the instructions. “They just want you to solve for x, okay? Where do you think you should start?” Kindaichi peeled his face away from the pages, brows furrowed as he stared at the problem. Kumini was across the table, reviewing his English homework. Both first years were Betas. Laughter erupted from her living room, causing her gaze to shift. “Oi! You guys better be studying, or I’m not feeding you.”

“We’re studying!” Makki called.

“Don’t worry (Nickname)-chan! We’re working hard.”

“You’re hardly working, Oikawa.” Mattsun retorted, flicking through his history textbook.

“All of us are working but Shittykawa.” 

“Iwa-chan!” 

“Don’t lie to our Omega-chan,” Makki rolled his eyes.

“Stop arguing and do your work!” 

“Sorry.” They all chimed.

(Name) pinched her nose as she sighed. “I always wonder how you put up with them,” Kumini commented, not looking up from his work.

“Me too.” She replied before she glanced back down at the page besides her. “There you go, Kindaichi-kun! You’re getting the hang of it.” 

“Thank you for helping me!” 

The Omega giggled, ruffling his hair. “Of course, I told you, I’m always here to help.” She stood up, stretching. Her eyes scanned the rooms. In the living room, Iwaizumi was sitting facing her, his back to the TV as he worked on the living room table, pouring over his literature book. Oikawa was sprawled on the chaise sectional, his laptop sitting besides him as he jotted down notes on the notebook on his lap. Makki and Mattsun were sitting down at the table on opposite sides of Iwaizumi, facing each other as each focused on their own homework. She had been seated besides Kindaichi at the dinner table, their backs to the kitchen, with Kumini sitting across from them. Her eyes glanced at the clock, it was already 7 P.M.

(Name) let out a deep sigh, making her way towards the kitchen as she put on her apron. She was scheduled to leave for Tokyo tomorrow during lunch, and would be gone for the rest of the weekend. The Omega pulled out a cutting board, pulling out various ingredients and spices to start preparing dinner. “Do you need any help?” She jumped, looking up to see Oikawa standing in front of her. His elbows were on the counter, his head propped up against his arm.

“Don’t you have work you need to finish?” 

“I finished! Besides, I feel bad that you’re always the one cooking.”

“Yeah, cause we don’t trust your cooking,” Mattsun commented. Another page flip.

“Why did I even ask you guys to join my pack if all you do is bully me,” Oikawa grumbled, crossing his arms and pouting.

“Why don't you help me peel the veggies?” She offered, gesturing to the potatoes and carrots that sat in the strainer in the sink. “Just, please don’t hurt yourself, okay?” He washed his hands, standing by her side. “Don’t want Coach killing me for messing with his setter’s fingers.” 

“Maybe Shittykawa shouldn’t help then,” Iwaizumi replied, walking behind them to refill his water bottle from the fridge. 

“I can do this! Have some faith in me.” Oikawa rolled up his sleeves, washing his hands and grabbing the vegetable peeler enthusiastically.

“I will kick your ass if you fuck up.”

“I have some confidence that he will be okay.” She smiled, pecking Iwaizumi’s cheek as he stood behind her. One of his hands squeezed her hip before he headed back to his homework. 

“Some?!”

“It’s better than none,” she shrugged, washing the rice besides him. 

Oikawa gingerly picked up a potato, peeling the skin off. “Whoops!” He yelped as it shot out of his fingers. 

The Omega gave him a blank look. “Don’t make me regret inviting you over, Shittykawa.”

“Don’t use that nickname too!” Oikawa pouted. “Iwa-chan, don’t teach your mate your roguish ways.”

“I will end you.” Iwaizumi dead-panned, not looking up from his textbook. 

“When did it become ‘bully Oikawa’ day?” Oikawa muttered under his breath, scowling as he finished peeling the potato. The Omega took it out of his fingers, moving back to the cutting board in order to start chopping the vegetables.

“That’s every-day, Oikawa,” Makki retorted, causing Mattsun and Iwaizumi to burst into laughter. Kindaichi stifled his own laughter out of respect for his senpai. 

“Behave yourself in front of your kouhais,” (Name) scolded, scooping the potato pieces into the pot. A smile breached her face as she surveyed her pack-mates. She was used to such banter, and she was glad that the years hadn’t changed them that much. Kumini shut his book, stretching out. The Beta made his way over to the couch, plopping down and curling up into one of the blankets she had laid out. 

Kindaichi’s brows furrowed as he sighed in exasperation. “(Name)-san, I think I need some more help.” Kindaichi called hesitantly, face flushing pink as he avoided her eyes.

“Bring your work over here, Kindaichi. I’ll help you.” Iwaizumi waved him over, making room on the table beside him. “Oi, Mattsun, scootch over.” 

“Thank you, Iwaizumi-san!” Kindaichi scooped his things up, making his way towards his senpai. Her heart skipped a beat as she glanced between the carrots and Iwaizumi and Kindaichi. Iwaizumi really was the perfect alpha. 

Bonus

“Ushijima-san, are you okay?” Ushijima jerked, looking up. Standing in front of his desk was (Name). She placed a sports drink onto his desk. 

He cleared his throat, “yes I am. Why do you ask?” 

She raised an eyebrow at him. “I could smell you down the hall.” Ushijima frowned, sniffing the air. He hadn’t realised that his scent carried so much. “What’s going on?” She slid into the seat in front of him, straddling the seat so she faced him.

Ushijima shook his head. “It is nothing serious. Do not worry.”

“As your pack Omega and the manager of the volleyball team, I will worry. Whatever affects you will affect the pack.” Her face softened. “Please, Ushijima-san? I just want to help.” 

His frown deepened before he let out another sigh. “I am just stressed about school.” 

“School?” Her brow furrowed. “Do you need another study session?” 

“That might be helpful,” he admitted. 

“Do you normally get stressed out about school?” 

 Ushijima bite back a groan. “More often than I’d like to admit.” He took the drink, uncapping and sipping it. She had gotten him his favorite flavor. 

“Is there anything else I can do to help?” Her (e/c) eyes carefully surveyed him as she considered solutions for his problem.

“No, I’m sure I will be fine after a bit of help.”

“Whatever you say, Ushijima-san. If you think of something, please let me know okay?” She swung her legs over the chair, standing up. “Break is almost over, I should head back to my classroom.” As she moved towards the door, his hand shot out to grab her wrist.

“Actually…” He hesitated, a fear of rejection creeping up his throat. “Do you mind scenting something for me?” 

She blinked owlishly at the request. “Scent something?” (Name) looked down at his hand. It was trembling. 

“I find comfort in your scent,” he admitted, averting his eyes as he looked at the buttons on his blazer. “And I think it would help calm me down when I study.” Her face softened. Though scenting things was typically reserved for courting couples or unmated individuals, she supposed she could do the Alpha a favor. After all, she was his pack’s Omega. 

“Of course, Ushijima-san.” She took out a handkerchief from her pocket, placing it gently onto the desk. “Let me know if you need me to re-scent it, okay? Or if you need something else scented.” 

“Thank you, (Name)-san. I greatly appreciate it.” 

She stepped away, a pink flush filling her cheeks. “No problem!” She laughed awkwardly. “I’ll see you later for practice and we can talk about more study sessions then, okay?”

FUN FACTS

💟 The first time an Omega tried to ask Ushijima out, he ended up accidentally closing the door in her face. Another Alpha also tried to court Ushijima, only for him to think it was a joke and he told them off, saying that the joke wasn’t funny.

💟 The first time (Name) had made salmon, she’d accidentally undercooked it and gave her family food poisoning. Since then, she was extra diligent with her food prep. 

💟 Both Ushijima and (Name) were raised to believe that food was the language of love. 

💟 The first time (Name) had made them dinner, Iwaizumi had accidentally eaten all of the food leaving the Omega to make herself some instant noodles. Since then, she’d learn to make four times the portion just in case. 

💟 The Seijoh third-years have a competition to see who could give the worst present to the others. So far, Makki was in the lead.

💟 The Shiratorizawa librarian had placed multiple suspensions on Tendou to prevent him from being in the library. He was only allowed in the library with supervision by Reon or Ushijima. 

💟 The very first person to officially join Ushijima’s pack was Tendou. Semi was the second.

💟 Ushijima actually hadn’t told his pack-mates that he was courting (Name), but the third-years knew him well enough to guess as much

💟 The Seijoh pack has monthly study sessions which Kindaichi and Kumini always go to in order to see (Name). They miss their pack-mother but were too scared to admit it.

💟 (Name) has actually withheld food from the Seijoh boys before. They had to offer a group apology in order to get their ‘food rights’ back.

💟 Oikawa had accidentally burnt his finger-tips when (Name) was teaching him how to make milk-bread their second year. He was put on bench-rest for two weeks 1.5 months before Interhigh. 

💟 Sometimes the other third-years had a competition to see who could make Oikawa the most upset. When (Name) found out, they were lectured for over an hour. They still secretly did it behind her back whenever they had a chance though. She mostly didn’t want them teaching their underclassmen to be mean to one another and would sometimes secretly team-up with Iwaizumi and Mattsun.

💟 Ushijima spends so much time playing volleyball and working out that he sometimes forgets about his homework.

💟 Though scenting is an intimate thing typically reserved for mates, Alphas in packs are allowed to ask Omega members to scent things for them. That being said, Ushijima only asks (Name) to scent something for him and he asks her every week because of “stress”.  

AN: Tons of bonus content this week! I think this is one of the longest chapters I’ve posted for this fic :)  

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[thoughtsonhurtandcomfort]

12C, part 12

Part 1 |  Part 2 |  Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 |  Part 6 |   Part 7 |   Part 8 |   Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 |

Tag List: @deluxewhump @whumpinggrounds @yet-another-heathen   @its-mysweetlittlesecret-blog  @killtheprotagonist

Content Warnings:  immortal whumpee, lady whumpee, captivity, lab whump, dehydration, starvation, exhaustion, temporary character death, sort of dehumanization? or perhaps better stated as disregard for ones humanity

Author’s Notes: I call this chapter ‘I have no clue what I’m doing but I’m trying’. Brought to you by 6 lovely souls. :) Usually I do a deeper edit of these but I’m feeling lazy tonight and really want to get this one up so I can move forward. I was also a little writer’s blocked this week so apologies if it’s not my best work. :\

Also, I think I might post the next set of parts under a new title...picking up where this leaves off, of course! But there’s something nice and complete about there being 12 ‘chapters’ to this, and as you’ll see, the title being named for the room might not apply anymore. ;)  So if you’re on this tag list or watching this series don’t be alarmed if suddenly a new title is there when the next part pops up.

----

Emmeline has been gone before - taken away for testing or left somewhere overnight so they can check for results in the morning.

But this is different.

Everything is gone. The table, the equipment, everything except the camera in the corner. The room is completely dark and empty.

Liv pulls out her clipboard and flips to her page for the room - or, she would, if it was there. She hasn’t been given any checklist, any notes, anything for room 12C. It’s as though no one was ever there.

Slowly she backs out of the room and shuts and locks the door. In her mind she begins frantically skimming through every moment of the day she can remember. Did anyone look at her differently? Say something to her?

This has to be my fault somehow.

Right?

And yet, no one called her to an office or confronted her in the hallway. She came in to work and went about her day as usual. Surely if they suspected her of tampering with a subject, or any other violation, they would take action immediately?

Unless Emmeline is being punished instead of me.

But where is she?

Liv goes through her final routine tasks of the night on autopilot, her mind turning over every worst possible scenario.

Maybe Emmeline was taken to another lab. Maybe there’s an even more top-secret level to this lab that she has no idea about. Or maybe...maybe that bastard Dr. Crafton did something with her…

An additional thought creeps in that Liv refuses to dwell on.

What if she died for good this time?

But that can’t be true. Even at her most fearful and cynical, Liv can’t comprehend the tragedy of Emmeline’s light being snuffed out in this prison after hanging on so long.

She has to be alive somewhere. Suffering, scared, but alive.

But where?

----

In the days that follow Liv performs her magnum opus of pretending things are fine.

On the surface she’s as calm, quiet, and moody as always. Inside she’s constantly paranoid, expecting to be confronted at every turn, pulled into an office and questioned. She’s wary of the researchers and of security, even of her own boss. She over analyzes every look and interaction.

But one, two, three days into the week and nothing has changed except Emmeline being gone and, as of Wednesday evening, a new resident in room 12C. The balancing act in Liv’s mind between ‘I’m so fucked’ and ‘where is Emmeline’ tips in favor of the latter. It’s not as though she can ask someone. So she starts simply...listening.

Her late hours are an obstacle; most of the researchers have left by the time she starts cleaning. But the ones that sometimes stay over tend to be the chattiest when they believe no staff - at least, in their mind, no staff worth acknowledging - are present.

It takes caution and patience, but soon from observations and overheard conversations with her headphones in, Liv manages to piece together what happened.

There are whispers of new subjects, more than they have room for. Frustrated complaints of how the ‘research’ with Emmeline was going nowhere, of failed blood transfusions and transplants. ‘Fascinating but useless’ was how one of them put it. Without results the funding would soon dry up, but selling her to a competitor would be disastrous if the competitor had success where they didn’t.

But that’s as far as Liv gets. A why without a where. They don’t have a room for her or funding to continue research, but they won’t sell her. In a better world they’d let her go, but Liv doesn’t humor that idea for a second.

Her suspicions still linger on Dr. Crafton a little while longer. Considering his newfound enjoyment of torture, she wouldn’t put it past him to ‘volunteer’ to move Emmeline to a private lab of his or something.

This soon disproves itself for her. In the fleeting moments she sees Dr. Crafton he seems irritable, not at all like a man who got exactly what he wanted. Then one evening she overhears him griping about the ‘wasted potential’ of the former subject in 12C and Liv is sure he doesn’t have her.

Any satisfaction she gets from these discoveries is quickly dulled by still not knowing where Emmeline is. Liv keeps showing up, keeps hoping, does her work in spite of the gnawing ache of Emmeline’s absence. All this time Liv was trying to help and comfort her, she didn’t realize how much of a help and comfort Emmeline was in return.

I just want to see her again...

----

A week passes, and then another. Liv still listens, still keeps an eye out, but her hope is fading. No one notices, of course. She was always a little sullen, always kept to herself. As long as she continues to be a good worker, no one bothers her or questions her.

That night is particularly quiet. Most subjects are asleep or keep to themselves. Even the chatty guards in Hall A are bored and end up listening to a sports radio show rather than talk to each other or Liv.

Near the end of her shift Liv makes her way to that floor’s storage room. It’s a small, dingy room with a single lightbulb that barely illuminates all of the shelves that line the walls. Nothing important resides here - not samples or expensive medical equipment. Only cleaning supplies, tools for maintenance, a handful of basic first aid, and obsolete equipment gathering dust, some of which might be older than the building itself.

Normally Liv prefers the supply room on the floor above; it’s a little bigger, a little cleaner. But tonight she’s feeling lazy and settles for this one.

As she’s putting things back on the shelves, she notices something pushed back against the far wall that wasn’t here before. It’s just a crate, long and sturdy but unremarkable. But what piques Liv’s curiosity is its presence here at all. No one uses this room except her, the janitor who fills in on nights she’s off, and sometimes maintenance. Maybe one of the researchers might come looking for something they need, but more often than not this room sits neglected.

Liv kneels beside the crate and feels around for a way to open it. She finds a latch and unclasps it easily, then manages to wiggle the lid up enough to get her fingers under. It isn’t even on that tight, and it only takes a couple pulls to lift it open.

What the fuck?!

She gasps and recoils, falling back and scrambling away from the crate, breathing quickly. Not much gets to her around here, but she was not expecting to open that thing and find a dead body.

Once the initial shock subsides she sits up and brushes her hands on her jeans. This doesn’t make sense. Subjects that die are given autopsies and then incinerated. If it’s here in the facility, why isn’t it in a lab room?

Shaken but determined, Liv scoots closer to the crate and peers in again. It’s hard to make out much in the dim light, but she can tell that the body is...fresh, for lack of a better word, and padded with some kind of loose packing material. She moves up along the box, having to tilt a little to keep her own shadow from blocking her view so she can see the face - 

For several long, silent moments, Liv just...stares. She blinks against the darkness, trying to process what she’s seeing.

“Emmeline?” she says aloud, barely recognizing her own voice. Hands shaking, she takes out her phone and turns on the flashlight.

The face illuminated by the light, gaunt and lifeless, is unmistakably Emmeline’s.

Liv quickly turns off the flashlight and puts her hand over her mouth to suppress a sound of...of…

Of what?

Relief that she found her, or fear that she’s dead dead, or disgust that they stuck her in a box in a storage room like nothing more than a piece of old equipment.

There are too many questions going through her mind and she pushes them all aside. She reaches a shaky hand down and cups Emmeline’s face. It’s cool to the touch, but Liv has seen her share of dead bodies before and something about this is...different. Like her body is lingering in some state between life and death, simply dormant. It’s just a half-assed theory, but it gives her hope.

Liv brushes her thumb over Emmeline’s lips, finding them chapped. There isn’t a mark on Emmeline’s body, and any drugs to put her under would have worn off by now. The most obvious and awful conclusion is that they simply let her die naturally of dehydration, alone in the dark.

A tear slips from Liv’s cheek onto Emmeline’s neck and trickles down out of sight. Liv sits back with a loud sniff and rubs at her eyes with the back of her hand.

“Fuck,” she whispers. “You deserve better than this…”

She slips her hoodie off and leans forward again, draping it like a blanket over Emmeline. Like this, it’s almost easy to believe that she’s just sleeping.

“It’s going to be okay,” she says numbly, “somehow.”

Then she puts the lid back on, stands, and leaves the room.

----

In the time between when she leaves after discovering Emmeline, and when she returns the next day, something shifts in Liv.

The sight of that drawn, still face haunts her dreams. And when she wakes all she can think about is the notion of Emmeline being stored like a piece of furniture only for them to take out and hurt again someday when they have funding or whatever the fuck.

When Emmeline was in one of the lab rooms the idea of trying to help her with guards and cameras around felt impossible. But the storage room...that she can work with.

She waits until the end of her shift before going to the storage room again. She doesn’t even have to act differently or come up with an excuse; she has plenty of legitimate reasons to be in there.

As soon as the door closes behind her she grabs her water bottle from her cart and goes right to the crate. She opens it cautiously, as though not wanting to startle its occupant. But Emmeline hasn’t moved an inch or changed in the slightest since last night.

“Hey,” she says quietly, just like she would when entering room 12C. It feels natural even if Emmeline doesn’t answer.

Liv leans over the crate and tips the water bottle to Emmeline’s lips. She lets just the smallest trickle of water slip in at first, then another, then another. Nothing happens right away, but Liv isn’t deterred. She has no idea how her immortality works, but Emmeline has been ‘dead’ for days now, surely it will take more than a couple sips of water for her body to heal.

She leans one arm on the edge of the crate and rests her chin on her arm. With the other hand she continues slowly pouring water down Emmeline’s parched throat, a little at a time. Pour. Stop. Wait. Look for signs of life. Pour again.

It feels a bit like watering a plant, and also not at all like that. Emmeline is not nearly so replaceable.

When the bottle is empty, she caps it and sits up with a sigh, stretching her stiff shoulders. She can’t help feeling disappointed. She was expecting something to happen. But it’s okay - if it takes time, so be it.

Just as Liv is reaching for the lid, she hears a soft sound. She freezes, arms out, listening intently. It wouldn’t surprise her if it was a rat or something, with the state of this room…

Several silent seconds tick by and she’s starting to believe she imagined it when the sound happens again. A little louder...and close…

Heart pounding, she looks down into the crate. At first glance nothing has changed, but the longer she looks...yes. Yes, she’s sure of it - her hoodie, still draped over Emmeline, is moving ever so slightly with barely-there breaths. When Liv presses her fingers to Emmeline’s wrist, she finds a weak pulse.

Oh my god. Oh my god, it worked.

The soft sound comes again and it is now clear that it’s the sound of a sighing breath. Triumphant as she feels at having done something right for a change, Liv knows things are far from good. Emmeline is in bad shape. This is going to take time.

Liv touches Emmeline’s arm for a moment, watching her face. Little changes apart from the puffs of breath that now escape her chapped lips, but it feels like a victory. Not to mention a big fuck you to the researchers.

“Hang in there,” she whispers. “I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

It kills her to have to put the lid back on and leave Emmeline in the dark like that. The best she can hope for is that she remains unconscious a little longer. Liv is impatient, she wants to make this all better right now. But for both of their sakes, patience is necessary.

Hang in there, she tells herself, as well.

----

Part of being patient means not going back to the storage room every night. She used to barely use it at all, and she fears too sudden a change in her behavior will draw unwanted attention. It’s one of the hardest things she has ever done, to walk past that room knowing Emmeline is inside and then keep walking.

Still, Liv manages to hold out for a few days before returning. She parks her cart just inside the storage room door; she doubts anyone will enter, but if they do, the obstacle might buy her some time to quickly close the crate.

Emmeline is no longer breathing. Liv expected as much, but it hurts all the same. This time, though. This time will be different.

Once again she feeds her sips of water and soon enough there are signs of life. This time, Liv is prepared with another bottle - this one filled with apple juice.

She cups Emmeline’s head and lifts it a little to give her a sip of the juice. Another, then another. Slow, patient, hopeful. Emmeline’s pulse grows stronger, her breathing more steady.

And then she moans, and it’s a weak, pitiful, broken sound, but Liv is so damn relieved to hear it, because it means she is that much closer to waking.

Liv continues giving her sips of juice, watching her throat bob as she actively swallows it. Suddenly she begins to cough and it startles Liv so much she nearly spills the juice all over her. She quickly pulls the bottle away and sets it aside, her eyes fixed on Emmeline.

Emmeline’s coughs fade into raspy breaths. She groans and shifts uncomfortably. Then finally, finally, her eyes slowly open.

She’s frail and shaky. Her glazed-over eyes flick around, uncomprehending. Her mouth opens as though to speak, but when she tries nothing comes out.

“Emmeline?” Liv says, very quietly.

At the sound of her name, Emmeline’s eyes land on Liv. The recognition on her face is immediate, and Liv can’t help but smile.

“Hey. It’s just me. Here...”

She holds the bottle to her lips again and Emmeline drinks eagerly.

“Careful, not too fast...that’s better...okay I’m going to take it away again, I don’t want you to overdo it…”

She sets the bottle aside again while Emmeline gasps for breath after practically chugging the whole thing down. Liv can’t blame her, and hates to deny her what she so desperately needs, but she also doesn’t want to make her sick.

“Just breathe. You’re okay.” Relatively. “I’ll give you more in a minute.” She reaches down and takes Emmeline’s hand.

“Where…” Emmeline’s voice cracks. She pauses, swallows, starts again. “Where am I?”

“Do you want the good news or the bad news first?”

“...good.”

“The good news is you aren’t in the lab.” Liv gives her a moment to process that before regretfully adding, “the bad news is that you’re still in the building. In...a storage closet.”

Emmeline blinks slowly up at the ceiling, her brow pinched. “What?”

She shifts again and Liv realizes that she’s trying to sit up. Liv instinctively reaches to help, putting a hand on Emmeline’s back - only to withdraw when Emmeline gasps.

“S-sorry, I was just - “

“No,” Emmeline interrupts. “Please - put it back, it was warm…”

Liv remembers how cold Emmeline’s skin was when she found her like this, and this room is just as chilly as the lab. She slowly settles her hand on Emmeline’s back again and helps her ease herself up. It’s hard to resist the urge to touch more - a hand in her hair, an arm around her shoulders - but she doesn’t know whether it would be welcome.

But Emmeline is shivering and she has to do something.

“Here…” she takes the hoodie that has been acting as a blanket for Emmeline these past few days and slips it around her shoulders. “Arms.” Emmeline obediently slips her arms through the sleeves.

When Liv zips it up Emmeline curls her arms up to her chest and presses her face into the cuffs of the sleeves. “Thank you, this is - oh - “

Emmeline’s eyes flutter shut and she sways, nearly dropping back into the crate. Liv steadies her with a hand on her shoulder.

“Shit...hey, breathe, you’re okay…” Maybe sitting her up so quickly wasn’t the best idea.

Taking slow breaths, Emmeline opens her eyes again. She looks so tired in spite of being under for so long. But then, she’s been denied food, water, warmth, proper rest, safety, and the type of weariness living like that brings is bone-deep and not so easily solved.

Her eyes dart around the room - from the old metal shelves to the dim lightbulb to the concrete floor, and heartbroken understanding falls over her face.

“When they put me in this box,” she whispers, looking so empty, so resigned, “I thought they were moving me somewhere. Maybe another lab. I thought within a day or two the lid would come off. But it never did. It was so dark and cold and...and you weren’t there, and…” her lip quivers and she clutches at the cuffs of the hoodie. “I was scared…”

Liv swallows around the lump in her throat, feeling her eyes burn. Those fucking bastards. “I thought they took you away too, at first. Finding you was...kind of by accident. But now that I have...” she steels herself, knowing once she says this, there’s no going back. “...I’m getting you out of here.”

Emmeline looks to her, eyes wide and tentatively hopeful. “You are?”

Liv chews her bottom lip and nods. “I have a plan. I just need you to hang in there a little longer…”

“I can do that,” Emmeline replies, voice wavering. “Please just be careful…”

“I will.”

Emmeline looks half about to cry, half about to pass out. Liv gently nudges at her shoulders, easing her back down into the crate.

“Please don’t take the shirt,” Emmeline whispers as her eyes close.

“I won’t,” Liv promises. “It’s yours now.”

“Thank you…”

A tear slips down her cheek and Liv brushes it away with her thumb. She leaves her hand there a moment for Emmeline to lean into, seeking out every small bit of comfort she can get. Liv wants to give her more, so much more, but she can’t. Not here. Not yet.

“I’ll be back,” she promises as she reaches for the lid. “Just hang on a little longer,” she adds as she lowers it, cloaking Emmeline’s sleeping form in darkness once more.