#ofc do your own research and make sure its not anything else

[enterideahere]

still flabergasted that i solved my chronic UTIs with extensive medical research and not by giving money to doctors who were just telling me to drink cranberry juice.

[brianlesshetaliawritings]

if you're still doing requests- nsfw alphabet with switzerland 👉👈

i am my motivation just doesn't agree if that makes sense and most of my requests i'm either far too ambitious with and keep re-writing or are just not something i'm interested in rn. thank u for handing me an excuse to write about the guy. was an easy and fun write. might have minor errors. very sorry this took a bit ! (also- should i redo the yandere alphabet with him? i feel its REALLY ooc now that i re-read it..)

Switzerland NSFW Alphabet

warnings : nsfw ofc, nothing intense otherwise though. made him dominant here, request again if you want him submissive.

A = Aftercare (what they’re like after sex)

Not the most extra individual, but it's definitely not non-existent or anything. he will be ensuring you're not in pain, not thirsty, not uncomfortable.. He'll probably want to clean up and whatnot though once confirmed that you're all good.

B = Body part (their favorite body part of theirs and also their partner’s)

He likes his own eyes, they're always useful and a lot of his activities frequently require good eyesight, which he has. Definitely enjoys his hands too though, he's pretty used to work that requires physical labor so they're helpful too.

He's never said it, but it's easy to tell your thighs and hips are a favorite of his regarding activities such as these. His hands frequently drift there, and so does his line of sight when he thinks you're not looking.

C = Cum (anything to do with cum, basically)

He prefers it inside, just more convenient in his opinion. He'll understand if you want it outside though, then it'll usually just end up somewhere else on your body, no particular areas of interest really.

D = Dirty secret (pretty self explanatory, a dirty secret of theirs)

Although he feels really creepy for doing it, if you gave him literally any shirts, pants, or anything along those lines as a gift, he likely smelt it while jerking off. It just really gets him going, and he hates it (loves it, just won't admit it to himself).

Also, side note, has thought about fucking in the forest. He usually doesn't like risks, but he feels really in his element when out in the woods and his mind can't help but drift to such thoughts.

E = Experience (how experienced are they? do they know what they’re doing?)

Unexperienced, but not really dumb to what he should do and the alike. Might secretly read a bit to learn what all he should look out for, or do. Keeps looking away every ten seconds though throughout his research because he's sort of a prude.

F = Favorite position (this goes without saying)

Usually goes for Missionary. He's a very simple man, and doesn't like to get too weird when it's up to positions, so it just fits him. Would also be willing to do some other ones though, as long as they aren't too squished or require too much flexibility. It's not like he can't handle either of those, it's just very distracting to him and this is definitely something he likes to focus on.

G = Goofy (are they more serious in the moment? are they humorous? etc.)

Not a silly guy in general, even less lighthearted when having sex. Finds it awkward if you make any jokes, but wouldn't mind if you laughed at any accidents or anything like one of you slipping.

H = Hair (how well groomed are they? does the carpet match the drapes? etc.)

Doesn't see the point to shaving that which very few people will ever see, but he also doesn't like being overly hairy. He keeps it trimmed to a shorter length, just seems like a waste of time to do anything more. It's the same colour as his hair too, not even like the slightest difference.

I = Intimacy (how are they during the moment? the romantic aspect)

Not overly romantic, but it's the small things he does that shows his affection. Always keeps an eye out to make sure you're comfortable, has a tendency to adjust you without asking just to be sure you're in a nice spot. Still embarrased to kiss you, by the way.

J = Jack off (masturbation headcanon)

Only when he finds it neccessary. Switzy is a rather prudent man, and sexual activity doesn't really land on his mind that often. Sometimes though, he does have those straying thoughts. Ones he has to handle himself. Ones he internally punishes himself for, but exist nevertheless.

K = Kink (one or more of their kinks)

Sorta likes the idea of outdoor sex. Just scared of getting caught, is all. He's very much a fan of nature, and he's spent lots of time in it. He largely prefers it there over cities any day of the week. So maybe on some of his property, further out, after he's scoped the whole area and put a million "no trespassing" signs up. (And likely brought a gun.. Just incaese.)

L = Location (favorite places to do the do)

Bedroom, usually. Bathroom, occasionally. Elsewhere, in your dreams. Too horrified at the idea of his sister coming to visit him just to get scarred for life. Hates to do anything outside his/your own home, ignoring the above section of course (when he gets brave enough to test that out).

M = Motivation (what turns them on, gets them going)

As I might've mentioned earlier, he loves your thighs and hips. Size doesn't matter, scarring doesn't matter.. HE JUST LOVES THEM! If visible, they instantly catch his attention, and sort of distract him. Only a teensy bit though, he's not gawking at you or anything.. Also likes it if you give him lots of big kisses while you rub him up. Anywhere on his body too, really, it's his favorite thing. (Even more- he loves if you squeeze his butt. He might huff a bit if you do, but trust, he secretely adores it.)

N = No (something they wouldn’t do, turn offs)

Anything that risky. In any way you can think of. Literally all forms of risks are a major no for him. Physically risky, reputation risky.. All of them.

Also, anything gross. Won't go along with watersports, emetophilia.. Anything along those lines are a no-no for him. Would completely wreck his mood.

O = Oral (preference in giving or receiving, skill, etc.)

Sort of nervous on recieving oral? Not really for himself too, he just doesn't want you to feel physical discomfort or choke or anything.. It's not really his thing. Totally up for giving, though. You might not expect it, but he's actually rather big on giving. Would honestly be satisfied if that's all you two do for the night.

P = Pace (are they fast and rough? slow and sensual? etc.)

He tends to gear towards a happy medium pace most of the time (exceptions can be made..). Sensual isn't really a word to describe it, nor is it rough. Not harsh, but not fluid. He feels if he goes rough he'll hurt you, and that's really not something he wants. But if he goes slow it just makes him feel shy, if that makes sense. It gives you the opportunity to really focus in on him, and he isn't exactly talkative in sex either outside simple questions and the alike, so it makes him feel awkard. A speed that's gentle but not too calm.

Q = Quickie (their opinions on quickies, how often, etc.)

He's not a fan, and he'll rarely ever agree to go along with them. If he does though, then those are the times that the exceptions mentioned above happen. Though, admittedly, even though he isn't neccessarily a fan, he doesn't hate them.

R = Risk (are they game to experiment? do they take risks? etc.)

Okay, unlike above, he's actually a real hater of risks. And there's really no elaborating on it either, as it's pretty much already been covered. Will not agree to risks.

S = Stamina (how many rounds can they go for? how long do they last?)

While usually he tends to try and keep it at one to three rounds, he can do more. He's a physically abled man, and has quite a bit of stamina due to all the training he does and the alike. If he really wanted to he could go for.. Five? Probably could do seven, but he's just not that much of a sex fanatic, so that won't really happen.

T = Toys (do they own toys? do they use them? on a partner or themselves?)

Would never buy any. Why get such a thing if he's already equipped with parts for this activity? Might be willing to try some simpler things though, if you get it. Don't expect him to go for any BDSM stuff though, that's just really not his thing.

U = Unfair (how much they like to tease)

Not at all. He simply doesn't have the patience for it. Teasing him does get you somewhere though, if you're interested. Just don't expect him to humor you for too long.

V = Volume (how loud they are, what sounds they make, etc.)

Tries to be as silent as possible. Naturally, he isn't that noisy anyways, but it still embarrasess him. Panting, grunting. Maybe lower-sounding very muffled whimpering (only if you work to get it out of him).

W = Wild card (a random headcanon for the character)

Has considered jealousy sex.. On multiple occassions. Only racked up the courage for it once. Just finds it too silly and stupid to do it any other time.

X = X-ray (let’s see what’s going on under those clothes)

Uncut, six inches. His pubic hair is a slightly darker blond, but similar to his hair. Only keeps it trimmed since he just doesn't get the point to shaving. Too much drama for something that doesn't really cause any difference besides aesthetics.

Y = Yearning (how high is their sex drive?)

Not high. It's non-existant, supposedly. It's mostly just due to the fact he chooses to ignore it instead of actually indulging himself in sexual pleasure though! Realistically, it's likely just a bit below average.

Z = Zzz (how quickly they fall asleep afterwards)

If he does go to sleep afterwards, it's likely after a couple of hours. He has a few things to do beforehand so he won't get to it immediately. Would definitely stick with you for a bit after you fall asleep though, even if he himself decides to not rest.

[neerons]

hey neerons! ive been following you for a while and i would like to take a moment to express my gratitude towards your dedication to the fandom (kazuomi especially 😋) My question to you is, what music artists (or just the genre if you cant think of anyone particular) do you think the guys (and mc ofc) from masquerade kiss would listen to? Thank you again!

Hey anon! Thank you very much for your kind words and for following me for some time now! That means a lot ❤

What music artists/genre would the MK characters listen to?

Kei Soejima

This is a bit easier for me to notice it from his route but Kei is heavily tied to classical music overall, whether it’s him who chose the music or someone else. Considering his upbringing and culture it also makes sense that he would probably like it. He listens to religious songs as well, such as Ave Maria. Now I’m not sure if he actually likes religious songs but it must at least be nostalgic for him.

He has also been playing “Paganini’s 24 Caprices” on the violin in his Best vs First story. He attends many social events where such musics can be heard since he’s a noble. And during Caleb’s dinner trap, both Kei and MC fell asleep while a classical music was playing in the background, back in his Sacrificial Lover story.

I can see Kei listening to such music and appreciate it, and for me classical music acts as a sort of leitmotiv in his story

Kazuomi Shido

I think Kazuomi would appreciate any type of music that is glamorous or epic, such as musics that come from Hollywood movies. He doesn’t like being bored and loves stimulation, and while he can appreciate art in its many forms, ballads don’t seem to be his favorite thing. It can be seen in Yuzuru’s S1 when it’s Yuzuru’s turn to host the Masquerade restaurant’s events. Yuzuru chose a romantic ballad, and Kazuomi comments about how it lacks some sort of excitement and that he would have chosen something else.

When I think about Kazuomi, I’m thinking of how enticing and extravagant he is. He draws people in, through his charisma and attractiveness. I also think about how much he likes burlesque shows. I immediately would pick a sort of jazzy genre for him. I’m not too knowledgeable about the names of music genres, but after some research I think he would really be into Cabaret music, Swing and Jazz, and maybe Electro Swing as well.

Anything theatrical, sexy, mesmerizing, a bit epic and fun would probably fit his tastes. I’m not sure what genre the 2 romantic soundtracks of MK fit into, but they embody perfectly Kazuomi’s charm in my opinion

Yuzuru Shiba

As mentioned earlier, Yuzu chose a ballad in his S1 when it was his turn to host the party at Masquerade. It seems he likes this type of music, as when MC said how beautiful the performance was, the other guys commented how perfect they were for each other if MC can appreciate something Yuzu chose himself according to his own tastes.

Considering that he grew up for some time in Italy, it could be that he enjoys some genres that have an Italian influence as well, such as any music with a melodic and emotive vibe to it.

I can see Yuzu enjoying classical music like Kei as well, especially because when he was younger, he created a phonograph for Jun so she could listen to her collection of classical records. It doesn’t mean Yuzu himself is interested in classical music, but it wouldn’t be odd if it were the case

Seiichi Setoyanagi (Boss)

This time it’s not easy for me to picture a specific type of musical genre when it comes to Seiichi. I’m sure that as a part of his job, he must be at least a bit knowledgeable about the genres if he ever needs to create an alias with certain tastes, or if it’s his alias’ profession to work with music. However as an individual, I think he would be the type to prefer silence or the sounds of nature over any particular music.

I can’t remember any moment where there is a specific genre being mentioned for him or where he listens to anything. He seems to enjoy his peace and quiet when he’s not working due to his job, so I can picture him appreciating the sound of his environment. Sounds of crickets, tree branches in the wind, rain, etc…

Given his career, it wouldn’t be unlikely that compared to most people, silence is the most effective sound for him to relax

Masquerade Kiss MC

She is quite the romantic at heart, and finds Yuzu’s ballad during his S1 beautiful. She also likes the Mission Impossible movies so it could be that she likes epic musics as well. On a compatibility level, she is similar to Kazuomi when it comes to liking Broadway shows and their interest in movies. However, she’s more into romantic French films rather than American ones compared to him, so I’d say she likes romantic, and maybe even sensual songs.

Romantic ballads might be more of her thing. Just like the Boss, she must be quite knowledgeable about music enough for her to be able to create an alias, or maybe because she’s just into it, because in Kei’s route, she recognizes instantly the music that Kei plays on the violin. She also recognizes the long classical music played in Caleb’s residence in Sacrificial Lover.

I can’t be sure if she likes classical music as well, but I think any of them could enjoy it to some extent. In my opinion, anything that sets a romantic, heartfelt and emotive mood would be her type

On a side note, MC reminds me of the songs “Moonlight” by Kali Uchis, or the instrumental version of “Nothing Burns Like the Cold” by Snoh Aelegra when she’s in her seductive agent mode ♥️💋

Thank you for the ask!

[tomiyeee]

Can I head canon Mikey and Leo’s eye colors from you please Also do you have a Fic of this AU that I can read

of course! i don't own eye color headcanons, i just picked whichever ones looked the nicest with their designs in my opinion 😂 glad you liked them enough to share that hc though! 😊💕

-

and i'm assuming you're referring to my rise genshin au? which i actually don't...have a story for at all, since i don't have a very good understanding of genshin's story/lore to begin with. this au is in all honesty pretty surface-level, at least on my end 😅

however! i've actually had a couple people write their own ideas for it. i'm not sure about actual fic fics, like on AO3 or anything since i've not gone looking, but i've had a few things people have sent in my inbox (sorry it's taken me so long to answer these! i'm not trying to ignore y'all, i promise.. i've just been busy + somewhat overwhelmed by social media in general ;-;)

i'll leave them under the cut for you (and ofc anyone else who's interested!) to read :3

from @snekplush:

Random ideas for the genshin tottmnt au my brain thought of without my concent:

Draxum is a yokai who lived through the cataclysm and knows about Ei making puppet vessel things. Maybe its because he met scara before he turned all fatui. Either way, he knows and bcs of this he wanted to try experimenting creating something similar with artificial yokai to be super soldiers to protect imazuma >:D It never actually worked though because he doesnt know that Ei used khaenriah technology to do that, and he doesnt have access to that. Eventually he cracks the code somehow after hundreds of years of research. And thats how the turts were born >:D

And then since he knows scara is a puppet he found out he became a harbinger. As he looks down at the four artificially made turtles and remembered how Scaramouche once told him about how his mother and creator, Ei, betrayed him because he wasnt fit for his purpose of holding the gnosis, Drax decides this is probably not a good idea. Also he feels a bit guilty because like albedo, they’re like artificial yokai. Artificial, but still yokai. Knowing that Lou Jitsou is someone who travels often, he dumps the children onto him so he doesnt have to worry about them destroying inazuma. That or he found out the khaenriahn orginins of puppet people, and since he experienced the cataclysm thinks theyre too dangerous and then dumps them on splinter. Use this idea however u want :D

-

from an anon:

For your rise genshin AU I feel like that everyone would just like Raph I feel like that he would just get along with everyone because of his leadership and kind nature but I also feel like there will be many misunderstandings about him like you know looks like he could crush you with a finger in actuality it is a kind person not that could be described as The most cinnamon rolls of cinnamon rolls I feel like that all of them would be like but Raph would be the most liked in my personal opinion.

I may have already asked you this but it’s basically a continuation from the last one I feel like that Ralph would get along with itto well it would probably be roped into him And his gang’s shenanigans

Why do I just imagine Ralph taking singing lessons or just singing along with Venti I just popped into my My head and it just seemed a bit funny that Ralph invented just doing like a song and Venti fighting away just to make a melody that just makes it work And people stop joining in a fight I have just make like Geo construct like head and create like a percussionist melody and everyone’s joining having a little bit of fun in Then They do a bow in just the Mora is thrown everywhere

[mooifyourecows]

Ok I'm dead curious and I'm a thirsty nerd, please don't spare me of details. How much did you really research for Hard Times and how much did you made up? Anything from experience? Any surprises while looking up? SHOW US THE RING!!

Also, I just wanna add to the amazing and very true points Suga made the latest chapter, if you don't mind me using the spotlight: Always make sure to purchase from actual locals while travelling. My country has a huge touristic income and, just to use as an example, big events like the football world cup thay happened a few years ago should have injected a stupid amount of money in our local economies because the amount of tourists was really hitting record numbers. Only it didn't, not even one bit. Because all foreign very expensive and very valuable currency was being spent inside hotels and on international touristic companies, not even bothering to buy a snack from actual locals. This kind of exploratory business happens specially at in development places, because the local business are not considered enough to bring international costumers to (or they just can't afford to agree with the tourism companies conditions).

Good points Mel! Tourists should definitely try to support the locals over any international corporations! If you can't afford to pay the slightly higher price for local goods and food then you can't afford to vacation in those countries 🤷‍♂️

As for your research question, i do lots of research on all of my stories. It's one of the ways I acquire new interests, actually. Like for Drop in the Ocean (idk if you read it, it's daisuga + sharks) I acquired an interest and love for fish because of all the research I did for that fic. I watched hours of fish and aquarium videos on youtube and looked up fun facts and what not so that I could accurately depict a Suga who was absolutely in love with aquatic creatures. Now i love fish so much I want to get a big huge fish tank and fill it with the little bastards. if i ever want to get really into something, all i gotta do is make it an interest for one of my characters and bam, i’m a fish person now

For Hard Times specifically, I did lots of research on cruises, since I've never been on one before. I also looked up a lot about Ocho Rios and its attractions, even though I didn't wind up using much of it. I have aphantasia (the inability to visualize) and therefore need lots of visual references, so I looked up penthouse apartments and fancy cruise ship suite layouts/blueprints as well as interior decor and clothes and yada yada

I scrolled through pages and pages of Rolex watches until deciding which one Suga stole from Daichi. This is it btw (blurry pic because it’s from my old phone and has journeyed through discord and what not shhh):

And here's the ring I had in mind for the most recent chapter:

I honestly don't like making things up when it's based on a real thing, you know? Like if i'm trying to make a character seem well versed about italy, i'm gonsta read several wikipedia pages, you can count on that. I might not use nearly 90% of whatever i research but hey, at least i will know which countries eat horse and which ones don't in case such a thing happens to come up in casual conversation.

as for the catholic stuff... uhhhh that’s based on my own experiences. not ALL of it, ofc. I didn’t go to a fancy catholic school, but i was raised catholic. Suga’s story about keeping the priest at that convention for so long is partially true. not the neck exercises/stain on vestments part. but i did go to a catholic convention thing (Steubenville Youth Conference) in Washington state when I was a teenager and it was very weird but very amusing. and i was required to go to confession in these little tented off cubes inside this big event center and my confession took like triple the amount of time as everyone else’s because i am a silly goofy little scamp who loves to lie and just made stuff up until the priest was finally like “alright, next”. he was a nice guy though. he was very enthusiastic about giving me advice for all my confessions which was mainly why i was in there for so long. and then when i came out, the person I had been hanging out with the whole conference was like “you were in there for so long hOW MANY SINS DO YOU HAVE?” and honestly, good question because i stopped believing in god when i was like 7 and never told a priest a single truth in my life so babey we are still counting!

the research part of writing a story is honestly really fun for me. I like filling my little notes app with things i might want to incorporate somehow because it’s interesting or could potentially fit really well with the themes and what not. i’m well aware that my world experience is pretty limited. i don’t want my characters to exist only in those limitations though. thinking of a new mental disorder or cultural background to give my characters is SO FUN and EXCITING and i can’t help but dive right into all the possibilities.

but uhhh yeah the end thanks for the question babe 🖤

[realcube]

HQ MEN AS YOUR BOSS ...with chemistry

characters ♡ tsukishima , iwaizumi & kenma

tws/tags ♡ post-post-timeksip (like in their late 20s/early 30s), mild sexual implications, cursing, slight bullying & mild injury. overall sfw. (nsfw ver)

KEI TSUKISHIMA

♡ okay so tsukishima performed really well in the museum and worked the ranks until he got a job as the chief director and curator

♡ at this point, the only person above his is the owner of museum, which is likely an entity opposed to an individual anyway

♡ so essentially, he is the Big Boss™ in charge

♡ obviously he can't go around committing wage theft and cursing out employees (not that he isn't tempted) but even before you came he ran that museum like a dictatorship and unfortunately being an asshole isn't a crime so they can't get rid of him

♡ you only entered the mix when they put up a job listing for a archivist

♡ when you submitted your CV he was like 'WOW the only remotely qualified person yet!'

♡ jk he genuinely thought you'd be a great fit for the job; you were an outstanding applicant and him inviting you in for an interview was more of a formality than anything

♡ but he is so glad he did because when he saw you and how hot you are he was literally dying inside

♡ he was so torn because on one hand if he hired you then you'd be the only thing on his mind all day at work and he might lose his cool and then nobody would take him seriously anymore

♡ all the other employees would think of him as just a doting little loverboy and he'd lose all his authority which he worked really hard to establish, especially considering how young he is for a CD and and and

♡ but on the other hand.... you were the only candidate suitable for the position.... and the only one he bothered to interview so ..

♡ you're hired !!!

♡ he had the perfect solution though: you'd spend most of your time working in the physical museum archives so he would just try to avoid going there, and when you were doing online research you'd be situated in your office... which he put in the musty janitor's cupboard in the basement

♡ (dw he moved the janitor's stuff to a cupboard he had installed on the ground floor; he's not a monster!)

♡ when he showed this to you , ofc you were like wtf?? this is way too small to be an office , you could hardly get any signal from under the ground so what was even the point??

♡ he argued that the room had an outlet in it , therefore it must be suitable for use as an office

♡ before you got the chance to point out that the outlet was on its last life with the wires exposed, growing mold and everything, and also it was obviously only installed so the janitor could plug their vacuum in, tsukishima had already darted off out of sight

♡ you tried to find him but you ended up just walking aimlessly through the museum back rooms for like an hour

♡ eventually you just learned to live with it

♡ but that encounter perfectly represents your relationship with your boss

♡ he avoids you like the plague and on the off-chance you end up in the same room together, he is horribly mean to compensate for how fucking flustered you make him

♡ like even your co-workers pick up on it and are like damn??? you should report him

♡ but he teeters across the line of inappropriate workplace behaviour and never really does anything that could constitute a call to HR

♡ just sarcastic comments about your outfits being 'inappropriate' (it's either too revealing and 'provocative' or too conservative and 'old maidenly')

♡ or quips about your job being easy and low effort compared to everyone else's

♡ which is crazy bc yeah maybe the hardest part of your job is trying not to die of asphyxiation due to black mold exposure in your office but also if it's so easy he should just do it himself !!

♡ sometimes the attitude becomes too much and you really do consider reporting him but you aren't even sure who HR is?? like it might just be him ?? bc the museum is owned by the city of sendai, so do you call.. the mayor ??

♡ it's a very awkward situation that you quickly realise no one can bail you out of , besides yourself

♡ so , being the bigger person, you decide to put an end to this one-sided beef by being so sickeningly sweet he has no choice but to be nice to you. kill em with kindness!!

♡ and he HATES it

♡ every break you have , you're following him around like a lost puppy , asking him about every aspect of his life

♡ if you see tsukishima on your way from your office to the museum archives, of course you're going to tail him around the place, even if that means taking the long way there

♡ and it drives him up the wall because the whole time your talking to him he's internally trying to stop himself from kissing you — partially for himself and partially to make you shut up

♡ the last straw is when you come into his office with a gift

︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵  

you knock on his door and hear a muffled 'come in' from the other side. tsukishima is at his desk and he doesn't even look up from the work he is doing on his computer as you enter, he assumed you are his assistant with the documents he requested to be printed so he says, "just put it on my desk somewhere."

you nod quietly and shuffle towards it. his desk wasn't messy per se but it was certainly busy, so you find yourself placing the box of chocolates carefully upon a stack of papers. only then does he notice the colourful exterior out of the corner of his eye and looks over.

when he sees you , his heart skips a beat and his shoulders tense. though this excitement isn't reflected by the nasty scowl he wears, "what're you doing? and what is that?"

"it's chocolate." you smile, motioning to the picture on the box, "i thought it might cheer you up."

trying his best to ignore his heart racing in his chest , he shifts his gaze back onto his computer, "i don't like chocolate."

"you may not like cheap chocolate but this is, like, luxury chocolate."

he exhales through his nose and glances at you with his signature dead stare, "if you're expecting special treatment for giving me a gift, you can forget about it."

"why would i want special treatment? you already give me enough of that." you huff, elaborating when he paused to express an inquisitive look. "i mean, you're always so cruel to me. i'm clearly your least favourite employee." you find yourself gushing in front of him as your last resort crumbles, and you feel hot tears pricking at your waterline.

"that's not true," he counters, sitting up at his desk chair and turning to you, "i hate all my employees equally." he knew he had been rude to you but he didn't realise he had been so obvious about it.

by the sullen look you wore, that tore him in two, he realised it would take a lot more than words to apologise, "fine. i'm sorry. let me make it up to you with this box of chocolates." he picks up the box you had placed on his desk and tries to hand it to you but you just cross your arms over your chest and pout.

he sighs; a fool to think a joke would lighten the mood and excuse him. he's afriad he might have to go a step further, "and i'd be happy to treat you to lunch."

"really?" your face lights up and that is when tsukki knows he's hit gold.

"yeah."

"twelve o'clock tomorrow. it's a date!" you cheer, skipping out of his office with the chocolates in your hand, leaving him dumbfounded behind you.

when he suggested he treat you to lunch, he meant that he'd give you the money to buy it for yourself, not that he would go out and have lunch with you, let alone on a date. plus, he had a meeting at twelve. which, of course, he bailed on to go on the date with you.

HAJIME IWAIZUMI

♡ hajime iwaizumi (27) athletic trainer 😫

♡ after working as an athletic trainer for small clubs and sports associations, he eventually creates a name and brand for himself and gets jobs working with some of the biggest teams and players in the japanese sports industry

♡ maybe even international if he's that good

♡ so it gets to a point where he kinda needs an extra pair of hands so he can focus his energy on paying one-on-one attention to clients

♡ the extent of your job is mostly just setting up/fixing equitment, ensuring that everybody remains active in group training sessions and occassionally filling in for iwaizumi when he is sick but that has only happened one or twice

♡ you're basically his right-hand man and now that you've been working under him for almost a year, he doesn't know how he'd function without you

♡ you both have a very steady relationship filled with mutual respect and passion for the job

♡ ...

♡ but that's not to say it doesn't get a little unprofessional at times

♡ with the way he looks at you while you are demonstrating stretches

♡ or how his heart melts when he hears how kindly you speak to the clients about their injuries

♡ you just carry yourself in such a graceful manner he can't help but be enamoured by you

♡ even though he can be bold and self-assured at times (and having a v successful training business made his ego go 📈📈📈)

♡ when ever he's around you, none of that really matters

♡ he's definitely not blushing or stuttering in your presence or anything — he's able to keep his cool — but equally, he does NOT have the confidence to make a move or ask you out

♡ there's just no way someone as perfect as you would see him as anything more than your boss

♡ also, if he were to make a move and you rejected his advances, that's your entire professional relationship soiled and things would be so incredibly awkward all the time because he works with you for 8 hours a day mon–fri

♡ or, he might make you so uncomfortable that you quit and then what would he do ?? there's no way he'd be able to find someone as competent as you , and even if he did , it would take him a lot of time to train them to your level

♡ all in all, despite how much he wants to, everyday iwaizumi has to fight the demons inside him that are screaming at him to confess to you

︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵  

work is done for today and you are both tidying up the equitment set up in the gym before you go home. iwaizumi picks up a dumbell, but while he carrying it to the rack, a sharp pain shoots through his shoulder, causing him to drop it and hiss.

in reaction to the thud of the weight hitting the ground, you rush over to his side, placing your hand on his back while kicking the weight away from him so he doesn't trip. "iwaizumi! are you okay?" you ask, concern laced in your voice.

with his eyes tightly shut, he lets out a sigh through his nose and uses his opposite hand to massage his affected shoulder. after around ten seconds of silence, he starts rolling it and slowly opens his eyes, "yeah, i'm alright, (y/n), just a shoulder cramp. don't worry about it."

he leans back over to pick up the discarded dumbell as though nothing happened, but you promptly prevent him from doing to by shoving your leg between him and it. "how do you know that? it could be something serious like a sprain or dislocation."

knowing you weren't going to let up, he stands up to talk to you, unsure of whether to be flattered that you care about him so much or frustrated you won't take his word. "it's been going on for a while. maybe three months. i went to a doctor about it two weeks ago and he says it's just tension and i should get a massage or something."

you smile, relieved to hear he has sought professional help and that it's not a severe injury, "stress, huh? when have you booked it for?"

"booked what?"

"your massage."

"i didn't book one." he replies with a straight-face, putting the weight away.

"oh, so are you going to get your wife to do it for you then?"

"i don't have a wife."

now you are just perplexed. "then how are you going to get a massage?"

"i'm not." he states matter-of-factly. you should've known him well enough to have assumed this from the beginning, but you thought he might actually take the advice considering it's from medical professional. "stress will go away on it's own. maybe i'll wake up half an hour earlier so i can run for longer in the mornings, that relaxes me."

your face contorts into an utterly disgusted expression, which — if he wasn't so preoccupied with tidying the equitment — would've made him shudder. "that's not right, iwa! you need a real massage, they are so good for you."

as much as he likes to put on a tough guy front for you, there's something about your compassionate nature that brings out something mellow within him, so instead of arguing back about how 'i'm too busy to schedule a massage' or 'massages are for old ladies and diva football players!', he simply inquires, "do you think so?"

"yes! you studied sport science so you should know this by now." you tease, rolling away some of the yoga balls laying around, "plus, i know this really good place that you could go for a message. their rates are super cheap and they offer flexible scheduling and after-hours, since you are so busy 'nd all."

although he was originally going along with the whole massage thing because you were so passionate about it, his interest was genuinely piqued now that you mentioned after hours, since the main reason he was hesitant to book an appointment was because their hours didn't align with his word schedule. "really? what's the place called?"

"my house." you declared proudly. iwaizumi chuckled as though you were joking but you elaborated, "i'm being serious. stress is so unhealthy so i'd be happy if you wanted to come to my house after work so i could give you a massage on the couch or something." after the words came out of your mouth, a bashful blush spread across your cheeks, which you attempted to hide by lifting your hand to your face, "which i know doesn't sound appealing because i'm not a masseuse but i have the lavender oils and i can play whale noises on the tv!"

taking notice of how flustered you've become, iwaizumi smirks and pulls you towards his chest with one strong arm, "thank you, (y/n). how about tonight?"

you nods against his firm torso and he lets you free so he can pat you on the cheek, "great. and as payment, i'll take you to dinner."

KENMA KUZOME

♡ okay so he has multiple businesses (stock trader, pro gamer, youtuber, ceo) and thus tons of people working under him

♡ accountants, financial advisors, lawyers, graphic designers, developers, content managers, assistants etc

♡ you name it, he has it !!

♡ so it really depends what job you end up landing

♡ but one thing is for sure that kenma would be so shamelessly biased towards you , it's insane

♡ like you probably ended up applying for a generic position like personal assistant but when you came in for the interview his eyes popped out of his head, jaw dropped to the floor, awooga awooga etc etc

♡ like he knew he wanted to keep you around no matter what

♡ but he is also a certified hustler and therefore needs an assistant willing to bust their ass for him bc he's not going to take things easy just to give you an nicer workload

♡ and he doesn't doubt that you'd be perfectly capable of carrying out all the tasks he asks of you , it's just that he doesn't want you to , you're too cute!!! you don't deserve the struggle...

♡ so he ends up hiring two assistants: you and some other guy that he dumps all of the hard work onto and is lowkey evil to, meanwhile he gives you all the simple tasks and genuinely treats you like you're his boss sometimes

♡ (emphasis on sometimes... he can be bossy too)

♡ like the other assistant is out fighting for his life on the phone with the most exclusive restaurant in japan trying to get kenma a reservation, and at the same time, driving to the dry-cleaners during rush hour to pick up his suit , while also on hold with the actual japanese police department trying to negotiate kenma out of a parking fine

♡ all for kenma to be like 'thanks. please be quicker next time'

♡ meanwhile you are in your spacious office browsing amazon with his credit card info because he told you to buy some cute decor for his office

♡ and when you show him the items you bought he's like 'wow thank you so much , these are so perfect !' (even if he hates them) and will let you spend the rest of your shift doing whatever you like because you did such a good job

♡ which it may sound unfulfilling and infantilising but it's hard to complain while playing video games during work hours in your £400 gaming chair that he doesn't know he bought you

♡ but needless to say kenma is like your bff

♡ you even spend your (paid) lunch hours hanging around in his office while he works , just for fun while idly talking to him and eating your sandwich

♡ and all of his other workers in the building and literally like wtf ....

♡ whenever they try to interupt his work to tell him really important news, he could not care less or straight up tells them to leave him alone and not disturb him

♡ but for some reason, you, a new hire, gets to walk into his office unannounced and not only do you walk out with your job every single time, but he actually enjoys it?!?!?

♡ and you eat your food in there??? one time his accountant was eating a banana when he brought documents into kenma's office and kenma made him vacuum the floor expeditiously

♡ like kenma isn't some crazy evil boss but he definitely does work his employees hard, so for them all to see you get such special treatment while also probably getting paid ten times more then them, ofc some animosity built up

♡ whenever you would walk through the hallways they'd shoot you daggers, if you sat down in the staff lounge nobody would ever sit near you, and there were whisperings that you were more than just a personal assistant

♡ ofc when you told kenma about this, he put a quick end to it

♡ he gave you a 'promotion' to a made-up position he called 'chief social media content curator and critic (csmccc)' which basically entails you watching his videos and streams and telling him which ones are trash

♡ he also sent a strongly worded and vaguely threatening email to the entire deparment , telling them to behave normally around you or else he will have them fired for workplace misconduct or insubordination

♡ so that promptly put a stop to it

♡ but yeah , overall there is some clear favouritism going on but despite that, he still doesn't have the courage to ask you out. he just hopes that all his actions will make it obvious he has feelings for you but you never seem to pick up on it, or maybe you're purposefully ignoring it because you don't feel the same way

♡ sometimes he thinks he made a mistake by hiring you because now if he tries to make a move on you, it's going to be a lot more scandalous than if you were a stranger

♡ however, he tries not to think about that too often. plus, even if he never does confess , he's content having you as a friend

︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵

"kenma!" you rush into his office, despite the big 'DO NOT DISTURB' sign on the door, holding a parcel. "look what came in the p.o. box!"

he was engaged in whatever was going on in his computer, but he offers you a receptive, "hm?"

you tear the item out of its cardboard confines and rave, "the posture pillow!" you beamed, holding it against your abdomen as an example of its use, "i ordered it for you. no more hunchback. yay!"

"i don't need a posture pillow." he mumbled, though his current form wasn't helping his case. "and if i did, i probably already have one."

"but this one is made of foam. the good shit!"

he rans a hand lazily through his hair, silently frustrated and struggling to tune you out, "i should really fire your ass for swearing in front of your boss."

you chuckle awkwardly, "but you're not gonna because i'm your favourite employee?"

"something like that."

"great! well, i'll be out of your hair in just a sec, anyway." you glide over to him and gently place the posture pillow on his lap, "just wanted to ask you something quickly."

without looking away from the screen, he mutters, "what's up?"

"haruka and makoto from accounting dared me to ask you out on a date."

"and you want me to fire them?" he replied bluntly, like it was nothing.

"no!" you gasped and waved you hands defensively, "no, i'm asking you on a date." you said solemnly.

he froze. fingers that were previously typing away at the speed of light, now petrified. he blinked, slowly turning his head towards you with a baffled yet sour expression, "is this a prank?"

"uh, no." you reassured, tucking a lock of his hair behind his ear, "i want to go on a date with you. i've kinda been waiting for you to ask me but then i figured you might not be allowed to because of regulations and stuff."

"that's right."

you offer him a small smile, then mouth, "so is that a yes or a no?"

"yes." in that moment he grinned wider than you'd ever seen before. it's usually smirks with him but no , this time the joy was spilling out from him and you could read the excitment all over his face.

[swanimagines]

Summary: Little prequel-like thing to this, where Morpheus gets to know he's going to be a father. Female reader. Suggested by @smokeprincess24

A/N: A little reminder just in case, I don't feel capable of writing about pregnancy bumps (they just feel weird to write to me for some reason), but pregnancy announcement to the child's father is fine. And just an info that I'm not forgetting about my other requests, Sandman is just in fresh memory right now + I need to board its train early so I won't get ignored because I'm late to the hype (which makes me uninspired to write more as that what's happened before) and last one was fun to write so I thought why not write this too while I work on my queue.

Warnings: pregnancy, a sentence-long mention of smut x2 as you can't get pregnant without having someone's seed inside you in some way, but no actual smut ofc, dw my smutless followers, I'm still not writing it even though this fandom seems to have a lot of smut and literally my second request was a smut one and I already had to lecture someone about checking my rules 😅

Word count: 820

Living in The Dreaming and having all these magical beings and creatures around you also meant that some sensed things that weren't there. Today, when you had just woken up and taken a stroll around, one of said creatures had stared at you for a moment and you had smiled at her.

"Good morning, Nerjan," you had greeted the young fairy-like servant with a smile on your lips, but frowned when she kept looking at your belly. "Is something wrong?" You asked as she fluttered towards you.

"My lady, are you aware there is a life growing inside your body? Your blood has started to flow differently than before," She informed you quietly, tilting her head curiously.

You blinked at her. "What do you mean?" You asked and her eyes glowed as she replied.

"It seems you are with child, my lady."

You froze for a few seconds before laughing nervously. "That can't be right. I... Morpheus is an Endless, Endless can't impregnate humans."

"I have never heard they cannot mate or reproduce, my lady. You've been surely misinformed about their nature." She replied simply. "You should tell about the news to Lord Morpheus. I saw him at the library."

You frowned as Nerjan took off, leaving you standing alone in the hallway. You blinked, looking down at your belly and then dread flooded you - what would Morpheus think?

Nevertheless, you took a route to the library and well enough, he was there in middle of books, researching something. He looked up to you the moment you appeared from around the shelves and smiled. "Good morning, my love. Did you sleep well?"

You smiled a little too. "When I'm in your arms, I always sleep well. Otherwise I'd be worried about your abilities."

"Of course," he grinned. "I'd be worried too."

You swallowed, fiddling with your thumbs as Morpheus read a book, tracing some old runes with his index finger.

"I have something to tell you..." You said slowly, unsure how this conversation would go.

He turned back to you and arched an eyebrow, intrigued by whatever you were going to say next. "What is it? Has something happened?" He asked cautiously.

You had to spit it out, not ramble.

"I'm with child," you blurted out. Morpheus instantly stilled, and for a moment, the room went deathly silent.

"With child?" he repeated. "Is it mine?" He sounded cautious—as if perhaps there had been some mistake.

You swallowed thickly, nodding. "I have never been with anyone else than you like that." You could feel your cheeks heating up. "I know we only made love one time, and I didn't think anything would come from it. But..." Your voice faded off as another wave of embarrassment swept through you.

He ran a fingertip over your lips then took both of your hands into his own, holding them into his chest. His expression softened slightly at the corners of his mouth, showing just how happy he was for you. You blinked at him, you were partly expecting him to not be happy about it. He always said he's busy, he's got work - somehow you didn't picture him having a child in middle of it. You didn't even know an Endless like him even could impregnate a mortal, even if he had made you his Queen and now you would also live forever.

"I am glad," he finally murmured before leaning forward and pressing his soft lips against yours tenderly and pressed a palm on your abdomen. "This baby will be cherished in our Kingdom."

He pulled back to see your frown, and his own smile died away too.

"I... I thought you wouldn't want this baby," you confessed.

"Why would you think that, my love?" he asked, stilling again.

"Because you always say you're busy. I thought you wouldn't have time for a child screaming for attention."

His gaze became more intense as he watched you. "Did you think I would regret making love with you? Making you pregnant with me?"

"Well, yes..." you replied softly.

Morpheus' face morphed into a stern look then a small smile came out. "No. My time is spent working but never wasted or unnoticed by any being, mortal or immortal. The best moments are those shared between us two. This child will bring joy to all of us."

You felt tears come up in your eyes, but they weren't sad ones. They were happy and grateful tears because Morpheus loved your child so much already, and you knew he would make an amazing father. You smiled at him, placing Morpheus' hand on your abdomen again.

"We'll be a family, right?" you said, closing your eyes as you leaned against your husband.

He nodded, smiling happily. "Always," he promised as he brushed his thumb over your belly and then nuzzling his face to your neck, making you giggle.

This would be a new, marvelous chapter in your life.

The Sandman taglist: @jesllianaquilesrolon // send in an ask to be added, and specify which of my fandoms you want to be tagged on! Don’t just say “can you add me to your taglist” as I can’t know what taglists do you mean by that!! ALSO IF YOU WON’T INTERACT BEYOND LIKING, I’LL EVENTUALLY TAKE YOU OFF THE LIST!!

---

ANOTHER REMINDER: PLEASE DO NOT REQUEST A SEQUEL WHERE READER HAS A BUMP!! I don't feel comfortable.

[zv5x]

hello !! could u write how ed would react to a drunk reader ? like taking care of them and such ? ofc i understand if u dont feel comfortable w writing that 💗 i love all of ur writing its so cute to.me 💗

Riddler • Drunk!Reader (HCs)

hi, anon! I'm so glad you enjoy my writings!! That makes me so happy!! I'm not very knowlagable about the subject but I'll always try my best for you guys! no tw other than the mention of alcohol and being drunk really <3

❔ Edward was never the party-type. He wasn't very popular in high school, and this definitely carried off into adulthood. So, because of this fact alone, he wasn't invited to very many places with the presence of alcohol. He'll be worried about them, from what he's heard about it. He'll definitely make sure to do some emergency research, looking around at various wikiHow articles and reddit forms with people asking the same questions as him, not having enough time to actually go out and look at an educated article.

❓ He'll also use some of his own knowlage about taking care of the sick as well. He'll have you lay down (hell, he'll tie you down if you try and act fiesty) and insist you relax. He doesn't want you making your head hurt worse than he can imagine it's already hurting, so why don't you try and relax for him?

❔ He'll get you the essentials : water, a snack, an ice pack for your head, or anything else you request he'll have for you within the minute. He wants to dote on you, really! Though, you don't seem to mind at all, seeming a lot more affectionate than usual, even for your standards. Of course, he's reveling in it. He's always extremely affection starved, so this is great! Besides the "influence" behind it, though

❓ He'll definitely lecture you in the morning, giving you study upon study when you wake up, hangover or not. He wants you to know the dangers! He can't have his beloved darling getting hurt! Or he might just have to tag along wherever you go or lock you inside from now on. He's prone to worrying, to an extreme extent.

[writingonesdreams]

Hello, hello, and happy world building wednesday to you~! I hope you're having a lovely one. So, this week I've decided to do something a little different. Would you mind just rambling about whatever piece of world building you've got on your mind? What is it? How do it work? What's your favorite part of it? Are there any sticking points you're still trying to figure out? And anything else you want to talk about ^^

Magic types in Sky of Shards

Hey Ren, happy worldbuilding to you too! Rambling questions tend to be very effective, don't they XD

I'm thinking about the magic this week as you have noticed. XD There are 5 basic types introduced just by the cast, so I have been thinking about the rules.

Magic itself is the term for the chosen type of connection between the mage and the magic of the world, called the magicae. Magicae is ever present in everything and everyone, with medium, element and person having their own specific kind of magicae (like specific scent).

The five types of magic in the story (since I'm not sure if that's the end of them) are elemental, mind, blood, soulfire and wild.

Elemental magic consists of water, fire, earth, air and electricity. Magic acts like a connection between the mage's and the medium's magicae. To use any of the five elements, you first have to build the connection to your type's magic and medium through daily practice AND time spend with it, which usually takes about 15-20 years. Next condition is addressing the element specifically to the place and time the medium is at. So you address water in a lake differently than one in a river/sea/cloud etc. Elemental magic can be addressed scientifically or artistically.

Mind magic has the mind for the medium. It's the only completely mental and non-physical magic, with no external effects. Mind magic creates a connection to another person's mind, so they can share thoughts, feelings and illusions, which is the most common use of this admittedly very rare type. Believable illusions have to be constructed in great detail, with research and with consideration of emotions and vibes you want to generate. It's the most specific magic, since every person's magicae you are addressing is different, each connection to be build individually and quickly or the user's mind will attack you or hurt itself trying.

Blood magic's medium is the body. Ofc you have to understand it very well to use it effectively and helpfully. Most of these mages study medicine, chemistry and biology. Very exact and sciency, it is the most admired and desired.

Soulfire magic is unique in being the most physical and versatile, with the medium being the user's own magicae. It creates visible and tangible waves of energy (often compared to fire, hence the name) that can be used in various ways like telekinesis, burning, warming etc. The intensity and control decide what effect it has. This one is very dangerous with unchecked emotions and requires strict self-discipline and deep connection to the body, mostly build through martial arts, sports and meditation.

Wild magic is the most unpredictable and least understood of the magics as it rarely even responds to people. It's the magic that can't be measured or explained and categorized, its possibilities limitless. Places high in their own specific magicae and habitat (like the Floating Islands) develop it to stunning degrees and effects, like having their own consciousness and will. Dragons are the most common users, often using it instinctually.

Really wanted to make a basic rundown of all times :D thanks for giving me the opportunity!

[marahuyos]

anon asked: Hi I really liked that hc with the pointing lips, I didn’t expect to see this on the tag list and my filipino heart couldn’t contain it 🥺 this is my first time requesting for a genshin fanfic heheh. I want to request a hc something to do with Harana, where the characters (albedo, Diluc, kaeya, maybe xiao 👀 and other characters you would like to add) sing from your window to persuade/court you since it’s part of (our) S/O culture so they wanted to impress them with this... IKSNSJS

*:･ﾟ✧ nakilig ako dito putaena AHAHAHAHHA

doing this quickly bc i wanna do it b4 windblume ends sksks. also i’ll go and link some songs fitting for the characters (all filipino ofc. spoilers its all ben&ben HAHAHAHAHA)!

gn!reader

tw: none

✧ Diluc Ragnvindr | Ben&Ben - Araw-Araw

Umaga na sa ating duyan 'Wag nang mawawala Umaga na sa ating duyan Magmamahal, o mahiwaga

• It’s apparent that Diluc can sing since he won first place in the music minigame. He was taught at a young age on playing and dabbling in the arts like any other young noble should. It comes as no surprise that Diluc knows how to sing and play.

• It was you who had to tell Diluc this tradition when the Windblume Festival hits. When hearing the prospect of reciting poetry to your loved ones, you immediately got excited, which made Diluc question your sudden excitement.

• “Back where I’m from, there’s a tradition where a person will sing to their crush if they want to court them. It’s usually underneath a window sill but either way, I do want to experience it at least once!”

• He imprints the sight of your soft smile at the memory of the tradition. He thinks back on his time learning music as he cleans a beer glass. He’s not a bad singer by any means (ngl i thought diluc was voiced by jonah scott bc hoo boy he sings. but imagine my surprise when he was voiced by mishima skks). He can definitely carry a tune but would he risk his entire dignity by singing under your window sill with a song that he barely knows?

• If Kaeya wasn’t there, then maybe. Maybe.

• So he opts for the next best option; serenading in a private and romantic place. It wouldn’t be the Dawn Winery, there is too much traffic to try and attempt to sing. Windrise is an option but Diluc knows that the sisters of the church comes and cleans the statue (and Barbatos knows that he doesn’t want Barbara to faint from his voice). His next bet is Starsnatch Cliff, where numerous Cecilia flowers are littered across the cliff. 

• With that plan, he now attempts to memorize a song from your country. Diluc’s a fast learner, so he has no trouble learning the notes, the lyrics (though his pronunciation leaves little to be desired), and finally, the emotion carried through the music. Now that’s where he struggled since he doesn’t know how to convey emotion compared to other musicians. He tries his best, even asking Venti for help (enrolled is what Venti would use but at least he was paid with the best alcohol).

• Now to actually play the damn thing. He already struggled when inviting you out to Starnsatch Cliff (and bribing the couple that was there away), he hopes that his fingers wouldn’t twitch from nerves. It was when he began strumming his guitar that he realized something: there was no point in proving that he can sing. There was no point in learning a different language when there were many other different things he could’ve done to impress you. There was no need to potentially embarrass himself.

• But it was worth it when he sees your wide-eyes, your parted lips, and the warmth on your cheeks when he leans in closer. It’s worth it to see your eyes shine just like the stars in the sky when you understood the lyrics. It was worth it to see you say the words that Diluc longed to hear from your lips as he sealed them with a kiss.

Dawn has come within our cradle I pray you never fade Dawn has come within our cradle I love you, my ethereal

✧ Albedo | Ben&Ben - Ride Home

Took a morning ride, found a place up in my mind, no one else can see Maybe it's fate that we lose control In circles around, we go We become who we ought to know We just gotta let it go We just gotta let it go

• I think it’s safe to say that everyone knows Albedo can sing when his VA posted him singing. He can carry a tune and play decently on the strings. It’s just that he closes himself off in his research in Dragonspine all the while the Windblume Festival is in full swing. It’s not like you to leave someone behind while everyone is celebrating so you stand by Albedo for the duration of the festival.

• He says that you didn’t have to keep him company, more so if you don’t know anything about alchemy, but you were adamant to not leave the alchemist alone. Albedo can’t help the warmth fluttering in his heart that you wanted to stay with him. He wanted to try and teach you basic alchemical stuff so you wouldn’t feel bored or left out but he feared the shakiness in his voice would hinder him.

• So, you two talk about each other instead. While Albedo didn’t have anything noteworthy to talk about, you said to him about how you wished you can partake in the music game in hopes to play a love song. You told him that you wanted to try and sing a love song to your crush since it was a tradition in your country. While he bristled at the fact that you have a crush, the way your eyes flitted towards him, with a wavy smile on your face solidified his feelings for you.

• Having that information in mind, he quickly makes a harp out of the materials he has on hand. Such a feat is nothing to Albedo but it wasn’t the music that he was afraid of, it was giving his feelings away to you so suddenly. Learning a new language wasn’t so hard (because he learned it when he immediately realized he had feelings for you, what’s stopping him from learning everything?), but he fears that you may take it the wrong way.

• Or rather, he fears that he may do something he regret towards you.

• But he perseveres. When you were up sitting on a rock formation, studying a rare flower, Albedo stood below you, harp in hand. The sight of him, his beautiful eyes that were used to be so sure are now nervously flitting from side to side. His voice was carried out to the wind, deep and soothing just like the winds that caressed your skin. Albedo is nothing short of nervous but he was sure that he had his point across when he sees your blushing smile.

• All fears vanished when you jumped down a giggling mess, saying that this was the best Windblume Festival ever when you leaned in and kissed him.

So I'm coming home to you, ooh You, ooh You're all I need, the very air I breathe You are home, home

✧ Kaeya Alberich | Ben&Ben - Pagtingin

‘Pag nilahad ang damdamin Sana ‘di magbago ang pagtingin Aminin ang mga lihim Sana ‘di magbago ang pagtingin

• Kaeya won’t deny that he’s just as musically inclined as Diluc. As siblings, they’re naturally competitive against one another, always competing to see who can play the better piece. He wishes he could go back to those days, but bygones are bygones. Now, he strums his harp just for fun. Still, he’s not one to serenade to random strangers so it’s a first time for him to be laying his heart out in the open.

• Kaeya, like a responsible captain, steals you away and joins in the festivities with you with an arm around your waist. Reluctantly, you humored him, as you recount previous stories that you’ve experienced. One particular story that he keeps in memory was when you were serenaded once in your own bedroom window. While you had to turn down the one courting for personal reasons, you can’t help but feel warm whenever you remember the memory. Ever since hearing the bards’ sing their songs for the festival, you can’t help the flutter in your heart.

• Now, Kaeya is a very adaptable man, so he quickly thinks the best way on how to confess to you. Sometimes he has to curse himself from being so successful at flirting at absolutely everyone that he knows you could pass it off as being Kaeya. So he figures out the next best thing.

• Now, unlike Diluc, he’s willing to throw away his dignity for you. He’s willing to throw anything away from you because you were already so etched deeply in Kaeya’s heart.

• He’s a fast learned like Albedo, so it wasn’t hard to learn your language and do the correct pronunciation. All that’s left is to sing it and where. He hopes he could sing it underneath your balcony but you lived near the Cat’s Tail Tavern, where the noise has been raucous in this time of year.

• So he decided on going to the safety of your home, “drunkenly” stating that he was too sloshed to go back to his duties so he wishes to stop by your home until he sobers up. It wasn't an uncommon sight to see, so you relented Kaeya in resting on your couch as you prepared some water for him to sober up. At that moment, he prepares his act. 

• With his guitar in hand, he stands up and meets you in the kitchen. With his fingers elegantly strumming against the strings, his silky voice permeated across the house. His one eye watched your own widen at the sight of the man singing. He relished it even more when he sees the recognition in your eyes when you know the song that he's singing. Each lyric has been beautifully sung and amazingly enunciated that you wondered if Kaeya was a native to your homeland. 

• Kaeya wasn't normally a sap like this. He doesn't just do this to anyone. He even wonders what's the point of this when he doesn't even know that you'll accept him for who he truly is-for what he will do when things go awry. He recounts the words of a bygone father and he feels every ounce of sin he’s committed claw his back.

• But your gentle touch sends them away. Your hands burn the sins to ashes as you told him your ‘I love you’ in your language. And he understood it perfectly.

If I reveal just how I feel I hope you won't change how you look at me Admit all secrets I keep I hope you won't change how you look at me

✧ Xiao | Ben&Ben - Kathang Isip

Pasensya ka na Sa mga kathang isip kong ito Wari'y dala lang ng pagmamahal sa iyo Ako'y gigising na Sa panaginip kong ito At sa wakas ay kusang lalayo sa iyo (lalayo sa)

• Could Xiao even sing? Guizhong may have instilled some Liyue music in his veins when he was still a baby adeptus, she may have pulled her hair out once or twice when Xiao keeps breaking the guzhengs. At least Xiao has a decent voice, so Guizhong wouldn’t strangle Xiao with a forced sweet smile on her face. After the archon war and the yakshas fall, Xiao never sang or picked up another instrument ever again.

• Not when he passed Mondstat, hearing the insufferable bard play his tune, hearing the people who’re safe from karmic binds profess their love for one another, it made him sick. But by Guizhong’s hair would he waste this opportunity to leave you alone in the Windblume Festival. Even if he has to drag you away from the crowd in fear of him lashing out. He is not apologetic to him dragging you away but he does wonder why you would rather choose to spend your time with him rather than enjoy the festivities.

• It was at the city walls, you and Xiao enjoying the almond tofu you prepared beforehand. You did most of the talking, talking about random things that you can get. Xiao would always dutifully listen because he-honestly-you’re the only mortal that wormed his way into his heart and now he wants more but afraid of the consequences. He listens to you rambling about a courting method where one person serenades the other while they were in a higher place, just like the city walls.

• Human courting rituals have been the most confusing thing to Xiao; why go through such great lengths just to confess to someone your feelings? Shouldn’t straight up saying it be better and save time for each party? Even when he says this, he can’t help but watch your eyes glimmer at the thought of someone serenading you, in a night just like this.

• He was willing to embarrass himself for you, as he planted his feet on the wall railings. “Wait here.”

• He jumps and before you could say anything, he uses his Anemo Vision to keep him afloat. On his position, he was below you by a few feet. You watched in confusion when he summoned a lyre (and you could make out a scowl on his face, as if he was cursing the instrument) and soon, he began strumming it.

• His harp skills... could do some work. Some tone-deaf bard might have bawled his eyes out if he hears him play, but he was willing to swallow that embarrassment when he gets to have his point across. He hopes that he does, laying his heart like this just for you to take apart, for you to heal, for you to do whatever you want with it. He was willing to be weak and revere to you as someone as grand as an archon. 

• Xiao wasn’t expecting you to understand but when he sees tears in your eyes and your hand covering your mouth, he immediately stopped his singing and hurried to your side. Though, he didn’t have to. You already jumped down and got caught in his arms. He felt your tears soak his skin, your incoherent babbles muffled by his shoulder but he could make out that Xiao’s feelings aren’t one-sided.

I'm sorry For this imagination of mine I guess it's just because of my love for you I will wake up now From this dream of mine And in the end I will stay away from you (stay away from)

[imaginesupply]

Homecoming - Chapter Four

(Gif's not my own.) 

Summary: The day has arrived, Captain Syverson is going home. For good, this time. He is going home to a civilian life he can hardly remember and a wife he barely knows, with memories of the war still fresh on his mind. Love might not be able to heal everything on its own, but it’s a good start.

Genres: Romance, drama.

Story warnings: Smut (always fully consensual), mentions of PTSD and nightmares and mental health, angst, hurt and comfort, fluff, mentions of war (minor), mentions of cheating (minor), mentions of pregnancy (very minor), police appearance (very minor), violence (very minor).

Notes:

-It’s my first time writing for one of Henry’s characters and I’m unsure I did Sy’s character any justice.

-This is a Capt. Syverson x OFC (Ada) story, written in 3rd person POV but OFC’s physical description is very limited so it could also be read as Capt. Syverson x Reader, I think.

-English is not my first language, so there might be some mistakes. Proofread, but not beta’ed. We die like men and all that.

-Timeline is a little wacky: The movie takes place in 2003 and the U.S. forces were withdrawn from Iraq in 2011, but I never set a precise date because I don’t think it’s essential for this story. However, some elements might not be realistic because if we set this story in 2003: Phone cameras quality was not as good as it’s now, but for the purpose of the chapters, I will need you to imagine you could film great videos with your flip phone haha. Plus, it says Sy is coming back after being deployed for more than three years which makes no sense unless we set this in 2006 or later. I am asking you disregard any time inconsistencies.

-Also: I am not American. I only lived in the US for six months and it was in the Midwest, not Texas so please bear with me if I write something stupid.

-Finally: This will be a Christmas fic and I intend to post the last chapter (there will be seven in total) on or before Christmas. However, religion is never mentioned in this story and the Christmas-sy elements of this story are limited to family gathering, gift giving and tree decorating.

Chapter Four starts after the cut. (Chapter Three can be found here.) Let me know if you wish to be tagged in future chapters or if you wish to be removed from the tag list.

Chapter Four

Chapter warnings: PTSD, angst (or as much angst as I’ll ever write), couple’s fight, outdated expectations of marriage (is that even a warning?), mentions of masturbation.

This chapter is a little different from the previous ones and it’s stitched together weirdly. Also, there’s no smut (which is unusual for me!), but Chapter 5 will be more humorous and lighthearted.

°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°

“When’s your next leave?” Harper asked from behind the wheel, knowing better than to take his eyes off the sand road. He had been transferred to the Special Forces after the whole water pumping station incident, with Sy’s approval.

They were at the very back of the convoy, like always. It was the only way Sy was able to keep all the Humvees in sight and look out for everyone.

“Not sure I’m gonna be seeing home before July.” Sy replied, blue eyes scrunched up as he tried making something, anything out in the darkness surrounding them. Doing this scouting mission at night hadn’t been his idea, but the order had come from higher up and it was when the guards were at their lowest.

Harper smiled, a short huff escaping his chest. “Ah yes! What are you going do once you’re home for good?” The soldier asked, the tiniest hint of teasing in his voice. “Give your wife a small army of Texan babies?”

Sy scoffed, his chest shaking beneath the heavy protective vest. “Eyes on the road, soldier.”

“Yes, captain.” Harper chuckled even as he obeyed the command.

The rest of the drive went by in silence. The whole point of doing it at night was to be unseen and unheard. Confirm it was an armory so that an airstrike could later destroy it. Quick and easy.

Sy absentmindedly rubbed his finger through the thick glove, trying to feel the wedding band beneath. He never took the thing off, but it still somehow eased his mind to make sure it was there – make sure she was there across the ocean. They had talked on the phone the night before and he could still hear her shriek as she stubbed her toe on the doorframe whilst pacing around the house as she spoke to him. She wanted to order new tires for his pickup truck because she was afraid the current ones would be expired once he got back. He told her not to worry about any of that, but she insisted and then asked about Aika, changing subjects. No matter what they talked about, he always slept better after hearing her voice.

The landscape changed ever so slightly. They were there, right outside the deserted town’s walls. Sy gave everyone the order to pull up and get ready. It was only when he stepped out of the Humvee, his feet landing swiftly on the soft sand and the cold night’s air hitting his face, that he realized that Sy had been there already. He was dreaming again.

He had been there hundreds of times, taken the same steps, given the same orders and run away from the same explosion. After having the same nightmare night after night, the shock and the surprise element had lessened, but the dread remained unchanged. Sy was cursed to relive the same scene again and again, for moments even wondering if he lacked imagination so much that his mind was unable to come up with anything else.

Still, every night, he'd try changing the outcome, attempt to take control of his past self and make different decisions: refuse the mission, take a different team, catch Lieutenant Wilkins before he had a chance to run into the trap. It never worked. The result was always the same with him shouting for everyone to retreat and grabbing on to the back of Wilkins' uniform, trying to drag him out of the building, unsuccessfully. Then the telltale detonation followed, the building shook and they were thrown backwards with the explosion. When Sy landed on the concrete, there was a corpse - or what remained of it - on top of him. It was what had shielded him from the worst.

He once tried to warn Wilkins about the child's voice asking for help, to tell him it was a trap and that they needed to ignore it, but he was unable to speak. They were there, on the exact spot, a large room right down the stairs with no windows or lights, only three parted doors. Unlike the first time, the real time, he knew what was about to happen, through what door the grenade would be thrown out of before rolling on the dusty ground. And he went through it all over again.

It was the noise that alerted him the first time, the impact as it hit ground and then the rolling sound on the uneven surface.

"Retreat!" Sy heard his own voice shout loud enough for the rest of the team behind them to hear, then an echo of hurried, heavy footsteps followed.

He knew what happened then. Sy waited for the faint, unidentifiable cry for help and for Wilkins to blindly bolt towards the voice, the grenade.  He knew he'd unable to stop him this time just like all the others. What was the point of making him relive the same failure over and over again?

"Help!"

Sy froze on the spot, unlike all the other previous nights. This time it was not a random infantile voice. It was Ada's. She was crying out for help, for him.

This time it was him who dashed after the voice, the grenade exploding before he could reach her.

°°°

Ada thought that they had dodged the bullet, that they had somehow managed to avoid all the stuff she had crammed her head with when she had found out Sy was retiring from active combat sooner than expected. The notes she had taken, the websites she had visited, the therapists she had researched and ranked according to online reviews; she had started to think none of these would come in handy. Apart from that small incident when grocery shopping and the whole thing with Tom, Sy was okay, they were okay. Or so she thought.

It only took maybe eight days of Sy being back home to find out that wasn't true. It was almost like when you took a plane and fly halfway across the globe. The first days you’d eat dinner at 3am and go to bed three hours later and nothing felt real. Then it settled in. But this wasn't a spontaneous holiday or a mid-life crisis, this was an honorable discharge. Sy wasn't leaving behind an unsatisfying career, he was leaving the war.

He came home. They reunited, caught up with each other, basked in other's presence. Ada had to keep reminding herself that she could fall asleep at night without the anxiety of feeling like she was wasting away his leave with something as frivolous as sleep.

Only sleep wasn't frivolous, Ada soon came to realize. Sy slept well the first few nights back home. The exhaustion helped, so did sex. Sy would kiss her, roll over, pull her into his arms and fall right asleep after it.

That changed quickly. On the eight night, she woke up to pee hours before dawn only to find his side of the bed empty. She found him downstairs playing on his new console. It was the jetlag that made him unable to sleep, he said. Ada knew better, even as she acquiesced.

The following night, after making love and taking care of her, Sy didn't even bother pretending he was going to bed. "I won't be able to sleep anyways and I don't want to keep you up," he claimed, putting on a t-shirt and some sweatpants before going out for a run. It was past midnight.

After going two days with barely shutting his eyes, Sy did finally fall asleep in bed with her. Ninety minutes later, he was awake again.

"You okay?" Ada groaned softly, forcing her eyes open but it was too dark to see anything. She had woken up with his tossing and turning.

"Yeah, just go back to sleep," Sy replied dismissively, turning on his side and facing the window away from her.

Ada was about to do just that, believing his words in her incoherent sleepiness, when her hand touched his clammy back. He had managed to sweat through his t-shirt, but his skin remained icy.

"You're not okay," she whispered to herself before switching on her small bedside lamp and sitting up.

"I told you to go back to sleep, Ada," Sy protested, still facing away from her.

She shook her head softly and tried to pull him into her arms, but he was too heavy, and she couldn't move him without his help. "If something's wrong, you can tell me, you know."

She waited in silence for him to answer, to say something, anything at all. She had planned on watching podcasts, meeting with veterans and whatever she could do to help, but Sy had come home several months earlier than planned and she didn't know what to do, what was expected of her as a wife, as his partner, as his support person.

"Alright, you don't have to talk if you don't want to," she attempted quietly, sliding back into bed and moving in behind him, doing her best to be the big spoon for once. "We can just cuddle until you fall asleep."

Apparently, that turned out to be the wrong thing to say. Sy jumped out of bed as if her touch had burnt him. "I'm not a fucking child, Ada. I don't need your cuddles."

She flinched at his tone, taking a deep breath but her voice still came out strangled. "I was not implying you were a child, Sy. I just thought - no - I just hoped that you would find some comfort with me," she admitted but he was already getting dressed, sweaty skin and all. "Clearly I was wrong."

His face was red behind his full beard. He was pissed, she could almost feel him buzzing as he tried to restrain his anger and not - she didn't know what he was keeping himself from doing. Whatever it was, Ada was sure his next words hurt just as much as whatever he was initially going to do.

"I don't need you to fucking comfort me, woman!" He spat out, putting on a pair of boots. "I don't need anyone's help and certainly not my wife's!"

With that, he marched to the bedroom door, forcefully throwing it open. "I'm going out for air. Don't wait up for me."

They barely saw each other the next day. Sy texted that he was going to spend some time with his mom. Still hurt and offended, even though she knew this was not about her, Ada left for the day without telling him her whereabouts.

She took her car and drove to the animal shelter to help out. No one was expecting her there, but they gave her some work to do and it did help her feel better for a couple hours at least. But it was barely noon when she was done and she refused to go home, meeting up with friends instead. None of them asked why she wasn't at home practically glued to Sy. They were used to their friend pretty much vanishing off the face of the Earth whenever Sy came home for two or three weeks, but they were wise enough not to question it.

His words had stung. Ada was aware he had been mad, and that people always said dumb stuff when they were mad, but she did find some truth in his words. Why would he need her comfort? Her help? Or even a wife at all?

Sy had lived thirty-three years without knowing her and then three more married to her but living continents' apart. He could command soldiers, lead missions, plan attacks and whatever it was that he also did back in Iraq. The house was his, his mom would be overjoyed to cook for him and do his laundry again if he didn’t want to do it himself and Ada didn't kid herself - if he wanted sex, all he had to do was walk into a bar.

So, technically speaking, she knew Sy didn't need her. He was a grown ass man who could survive on his own better than ninety-nine percent of the population. What had hurt her was that he didn't want her, nor her help or her comfort. And if he didn't want her to try and make his life a lil' bit better, what was even the point.  Ada didn't know and all the cocktails she consumed didn't provide an answer either, but they did end up forcing her to eat almost her own weight in food to soak up all the alcohol before driving back home at ten.

She was still fishing out her keys to open the front door, when Sy pulled it open with so much force, it almost flew off its hinges.

"Where the fuck have you been?!" Sy shouted as soon as she set a foot inside.

"I was out with friends.” Ada took off her shoes by the door. "How's your mom?" She looked up only long enough to find him staring down at her with his thick arms crossed in front of his chest.

"I sent you a dozen texts and called you just as many times, but you never picked up." Oh, his tone had switched to that unsettling calm before the storm.

"I apologize, my phone was on silent," Ada replied. It was true, though she had still noticed his calls and texts. "Look I am tired, and I am going to take a shower." She said before walking upstairs to their bedroom.

To her surprise, Sy followed her up, stopping only at their room’s threshold as if he weren’t allowed inside without her forgiveness. "I am sorry for yesterday," he sighed, leaning against the doorframe.

“It’s okay.” Ada shook her head, undressing rapidly and balling up her dirty clothes to throw them in the hamper. She smelt like a whole bar and she was desperate for a shower.

“I didn’t mean it, what I said,” he added, finally walking inside the room but still keeping his distances.  

“It’s okay, don’t worry.” She reassured him, disappearing inside the en-suite. This was just a fight. Couples had them all the time. Sy had even apologized. “I am sorry too. For today.”

His voice startled her, Sy was closer than she had expected. “Do you have need for me?” He asked, making her still as she bent down to fetch some fresh towels from the drawer. Did she have need for him? Ada frowned even though he couldn’t see her face. She heard him sigh again behind her.

"I felt useful back in Baqubah. I ran that city, commanded soldiers, gave my country something and then an explosion happens, two of my men die. And you know what they do? They send me home. Not to punish me for fucking up; they send me home because they thought I had witnessed enough shit and deserved an honorable discharge. Whatever the reason, my services weren't needed there anymore."

"Then I come home to my wife, to you, Ada. And you know what?” He asked before providing the answer himself. “The doors don't screech, the mirror has been replaced and my wife doesn’t even need me to take her out on dates or to the movies because she already has someone for that. So really, what's my goddamn purpose here? The house doesn't need me. You don't need me. Even my mother doesn't need me what with her new boyfriend. So why the fuck did I come back?"

He paused and Ada took it as a chance to stand up and face him. She didn’t know what this was. His voice wasn’t loud, he wasn’t shouting, and his posture didn’t appear hostile. They weren’t arguing, this was something different. “That’s not-” Sy cut her off.

"Then, last night, I realize that while you don't need me, I sure as hell need you, Ada. And that's not how I imagined my marriage would be. I should be the provider. I should be taking care of you, not the other way around."

"This is not the 1950s, Sy," Ada chuckled faintly despite herself.

"That don’t matter. It's how I was raised: preside, provide and protect. I don't care about the presiding part; I knew from day one that I'd never be able to boss you around and I didn't want to. But I still very much believe in providing for and protecting what's mine, and instead, you're the one doing that. So, not only did I fail my men back in Iraq, but now I’ve failed you too."

“No. Stop right there.” Ada interrupted him, more forcefully than intended. "Okay, first, you never failed me. Don’t you ever say that.” Sy huffed from his spot by the door, clearly unconvinced but she was determined to get this out. “Second, I... I think you need to stop settling for being needed and instead accept that you are loved, at least by me."

Sy stiffened against the doorframe, his face taking over an unreadable expression beneath his beard. Shit. Did she mess up again? "Did I say something wrong?"

He didn’t reply right away. Ada took a few steps to him when his words took her by surprise. "You said you loved me."

She stopped in her tracks, opening her mouth and closing it again a few times, stammering. Confusion was evident on her face. "Well, yeah."

"You've never said it before," Sy explained, the hint of a smile on his lips.

Ada frowned, a little unsteady on her feet as she thought back. "Are you certain? I'm pretty sure that is what I ended all our phone calls with."

He shook his head. "I meant in person.”

"Oh, I never realized.”

The cold bathroom tile floor was not the place either of them would have picked out under different circumstances, but it was where Sy finally allowed himself to be cuddled into the warmth of her embrace for the first time, his head resting against her naked breast with her slow heartbeat lulling him into a different kind of peace. “I do love you, Sy.”

Ada was no fool, this wouldn’t soothe all his troubles, but for now, it was a start. And that was all she could ask for.

°°°

Sy sat down on the chair in their study. Most walls were covered with Ada’s textbooks from floor to ceiling. He huffed at the sight. If you’d told him five years ago that he’d end up with an academic wife, he’d have laughed in your face. Now, he tested touched the shelves, watching them wobble slightly and decided he ought to build her something sturdier.

First, he had to take care of some administrative bullshit for the new job he'd be starting at Camp Marbry in January. He had always hated bureaucracy but there was no escaping it. He had learned it the hard way as a private. Maybe it was also time he started going through their utilities folders. Ada had taken over all of it when they got married, managing their bank accounts and paying the bills. Sy hadn't taken of that shit in years but he probably should relieve her of some of those chores.

His eyes wandered over to the neatly organized shelves under the office desk, trying to find the correct binder when his attention landed on what appeared to be a fancy silver notebook. Was that the one Tom had mentioned?

Sy knew he shouldn't go through her stuff, but he was curious and it was not like she had hidden it or anything. Ending his hesitation with a shrug, he picked up the notebook only for stray bits of paper to immediately fly out and land on the carpeted floor. "Shit!"

He bent down and gathered them all up quickly in his hand, lest Ada find out he was snooping and chide him like a soldier. He sat back on the chair and started reading through some of the bits and slips of paper he had caught: "shaving gel not cream!", "dog treats (the fancy ones)", "boxer briefs in L"... They were all dated too. Sy figured they were just old shopping lists until he opened the notebook.

The first part appeared to be a logbook of sorts with notes about each and every one of their calls for the past year. Sy went over some of them, grinning despite himself. He never imagined Ada took notes during their weekly phone calls.

"Sy says it's really cold at night in the desert."

"He seems a little down..."

"Aika has a sweet tooth." Damn, he missed that dog!

“Explosion. Two men dead.”

He skipped over the next few pages, remembering it all too well. After the logbook part, came a set of lists, all dated. "The monthly care packages," Sy realized, reading through them and concluding that this was where the bits of paper had fallen from.

All the care package lists were cross-referenced with the calls logbook. Sy had never understood how she always managed to send him exactly what he needed. He wasn't even aware that he had mentioned most of these small things to her. Most of the time, he didn't even understand how she managed to fit so much stuff into those small USPS boxes. Whenever he tried putting everything back in the cardboard box for safekeeping, half of it didn't fit back inside.

He flipped through a few more care packages before landing on a particularly long list. The date was highlighted, it was the package he had received on the month of his birthday. Ada had made him promise not to open it before the 18th. “You can open the box, but I will know if you open the present before your birthday, Sy,” she had warned him on the phone, trying to sound very stern.  “And if you do, I’ll come to Iraq just to whoop your ass.” He had laughed so loudly, Harper had knocked on his door to make sure he was alright.

Sy laughed again as he went over the list, remembering how the private from the deliveries and postal department kept on complaining because packages this big were 'not usually authorized' and that he was getting 'favor treatment' because he was captain and that Ada shouldn't even have been allowed to ship a box exceeding the maximum dimensions. Sy had taken the package from the soldier and asked if he fancied a trip to the infirmary. That had shut him up quickly.

There had been candy (no chocolate because it had melted through its packaging once when she had tried sending him some), gum, the two first James Bond novels, dog treats, a new photo of his niece and nephew, underwear that was way too fancy for him and a handwritten letter from Ada.

What had immediately caught his attention was the very neatly wrapped gift box with a big red bow and a small card that reminded him once more not to open it until his birthday and only when he was alone.

Sy laughed, remembering how giddy he was to open that damn box. They'd gone on a recon mission on his birthday and when they got back, everyone was exhausted and dirty. He had hurried to the showers, cutting off some soldiers and then rushed to his private room to open the gift.

In all his adult life, Sy could only remember blushing three times, two of them the same day. First was when Ada said 'I do’ and he tried sliding the ring on her finger, but nervous and tipsy like he had been, the damn tiny thing slipped off his hand and fell on the carpet. Second was when the limo supposed to bring them back to their hotel was caught up in traffic, and the two of them decided to get it on in the chapel's storage room while another couple was getting married. Not only did they promptly – and accidentally, might he add – knock over all the props, he literally ended up fucking her through the cheap and unstable dry wall. The look on the couple’s face had been priceless!

The third time was on his birthday. Inside the box, he had found a handful of professionally made photos of Ada in lingerie and sometimes not even that much. If that didn't have his mind spinning and his dick throbbing after so many months away, he certainly couldn't believe his eyes when he found a small tube of lube and a transparent fleshlight.

It was not the gift as such that made him blush. The photos had him beyond excited and he was all too eager to try out the fleshlight. No, the embarrassment only settled in afterwards. More specifically when Sy remembered that despite having a private room as a captain, the washrooms where shared and he found himself cleaning the fleshlight in the sink with the little water they had, hoping no one would see him.

"Oh shit!"

Sy jumped in his chair at her voice, he hadn't heard her get home, let alone upstairs.

"Fuck. You weren’t meant to see that, Sy.” Ada babbled, quickly walking up to him with a sheepish look on her face.

Sy smiled, interrupting her as he seized her hips and pulled her down to sit on his lap. "It’s okay, darlin'."

Ada's eyes widened incredulously. "Really? You’re not even mad at me for meeting with a therapist to get advice?"

Sy closed his eyes, nostrils flaring for a moment. Right. Admittedly, he had not yet made it to that part but while he wasn't exactly keen on discussing his private life with strangers, he felt no anger at finding out that Ada had tried to look after him. Her words from last night had somehow made it through his thick skull.

"No, I'm not angry, not even for that. I know you were just trying to-"

Sy opened his eyes again at her silence only to find his wife grinning like the Cheshire cat as she looked at the open page on the notebook.

"You didn't even make it that far, huh?" She chuckled, pointing at the list. "Nope, you were still stuck with that ridiculous birthday gift I gave you!" While her tone was accusatory, Sy could see that she was trying not to burst out laughing.

Rolling his eyes, he pried the notebook from her hands and set it down on the desk. "It was not a ridiculous gift. I kept it all," Sy reassured her, pressing her body closer to his. "Well, not the lube. That was gone in weeks. And the photos are definitely a little used now but-"

Ada kissed him out of the blue, shutting him up. "Sy, I really love you but you're giving me secondhand embarrassment right now."

The bear of a man laughed, holding ever impossibly tighter before kissing her forehead. "I love you too, wife." Then, another thought crossed his mind. “Do you think it’s possible to send a care package to a dog?”

@colourmeinblue​ @hail-horror-queen​ @youthought-iwasa-nicegirl​ @kmuir1​ @madbaddic7ed​ @coffeebreathy​ @purplelove75​ @summersong69​ @helenaellie​

[yeojaa]

I agree and disagree on some points about streaming, esp bcs I studied IPR Law extensively. It is futile to argue about the morality aspect imo, bcs at the end of the day its illegal. So if someone streams n it gets taken down, HYBE is well within their rights to do so. People can be hypocritical at times when trying to defend illegal streaming, bcs at the end of the day the legal basis that is used to take down streams is the same one that protects all other creators from having their work stolen. For example when accs get reported for plagiarism - the basis for that is rooted from the same law. Without these means of protection creatives wouldnt be able to make a living out of their work. However I do understand about that not all people can afford bts content - it is expensive. Even when u do have the money it is often times wiser to keep it. It also feels silly since streams get taken down but clips get distributed almost immediately after. They also can’t take down everything cause people circulating these clips/pics/gifs/etc and talking about it is ultimately what makes bts’s career - its promotion. So like, when u rather not spend money but there are readily available links, ofc ppl are gonna watch- illegal or not. Morals be damned, ppl do things bcs they can. Just to be clear I’m not at all critisizing u for streaming bcs ultimately I understand, but I’m also saying that this is inherently a complex issue. Even in the legal field, the handling of these infringements is not at all black and white. I myself advocate for other alternatives, like going dutch with friends, if u can. In a perfect world we would all have money to spend on anything we want. But this world is far from perfect. Again im not at all coming for u, frankly as far as im concerned u can do whatever you want. Im just sending this as food for thought and to put things into perspective.

as much as i appreciate you coming into my inbox to give your opinion on streaming, it really wasn't warranted. i don't think i've disagreed that streaming muster broke the law. the whole point here - which, frankly, i think you've missed - is that just because something is illegal doesn't mean it makes the person who did it a reprehensible scrounge (as the original anon put it). sure, there are criminal laws that protect people, that keep, y'know, killers at bay. murderers behind bars. etc. but there are also laws that have been put into place to protect the 1% and to capitalise on the wealth disparity. not all laws are made equal. hello, the war on drugs and incarceration of bipoc?

so studying the law is all well and good and having an opinion on things is, fine, go ahead. i've been in law for the past five years, too. but the topic right now is about whether my streaming of muster, and hundreds of people's subsequent watching of same, made us bad people. the answer? no. (and this point, dear friends, is not up for debate.)

in case you'd like some food for thought:

someone pointed out that the muster tickets were priced based on the conversion from USD. while i've not done the research to check if this is true, if it is, that's a huge deciding factor on whether people can afford things. sure, for countries where their currency does well against the american dollar (euro, gbp), this isn't a problem. but for others? sorry capitalism has a chokehold on us and we'd like to escape it.

not all army are adults with jobs. some are teenagers, preteens, whatever. they may not have money or they may not be in a position to ask for it from their parents/guardians. but if they have the option to watch something from a group they really enjoy, they shouldn't? because oof! sucks for you, kiddos, but y'all are broke and stinky. that's unfair and classist.

comparing streaming of bts content to other creators having their work stolen is so... odd. because bts is not just another creator. bts is a huge group worth millions of dollars. they are signed with big hit (or whatever, hybe, idk) that's worth billions. do you think any one of us army that streamed muster would try to steal from an independent/small creator or business? do you really equate <1000 people watching a stream that generated over $100mil in revenue as the equivalent to stealing from an artist?

by the same logic above, gifs shouldn't exist. clips of performances shouldn't exist (outside of those prepared specifically by BH or their affiliates). scans and photo card pieces shouldn't exist. only the people who can afford things (which are not cheap, by any means) should be able to enjoy them and everyone else can kick dirt. again, divisive.

how do you think bts became popular? i mean, yes, they're wonderful and great and the boys deserve all the recognition in the world. but did they do it all, purely through their own advertisement and content? i mean, sure. but how was that shared with the community? probably because of people like me, people like the incredible gif and clip makers, editors, etc. on this site. personally speaking, if i hadn't seen all the clips and gifs i had when i first got into bts, i probably wouldn't have fallen so deeply into this goddamn bangtan hole. but i did. and now i've spent hundreds upon hundreds of dollars to support them. this sort of community sharing is what keeps demand high and helps people get into bts.

anyway, those are just a handful of points i really think you and other people need to consider, as well. at the end of the day, you can have whatever opinion you want. will i respect it? maybe, if you present it like this. i don't and won't agree with a lot of what you've said but here ya go.

[wiypt-writes]

Stark Spangled Banner

Ch39: The Reunion Part 1: As Long As There’s Hope, We Have A Chance.

Intro: As the remaining Avengers continue their search for Tony, Steve and Natasha take a trip to Clint’s farm to find out what happened to the Archer and his family.

Warnings: Bad Language words. Discussions of miscarriage- if this is a trigger please stay away)

Pairing: Steve Rogers x OFC Katie Stark

A/N: Please heed the warnings…biggedy up to my girl @angrybirdcr​

Disclaimer: This is a pure work of fiction and classified as 18+. Please respect this and do not read if you are underage. I do not own any characters in this series bar Katie Stark and the other OCs. By reading beyond this point you understand and accept the terms of this disclaimer.

Chapter 38

Stark Spangled Banner Masterlist // Main Masterlist

It was eleven days post the Snap when Nat decided she couldn’t take it anymore and told Steve she wanted to go to Clint’s.

“I have to know.” She pleaded, looking at Steve. He sighed and glanced over her shoulder to Katie who merely shrugged offering him no back up. She knew where Nat was coming from, it was killing her not knowing what had happened to Tony.  

“Alright.” He acquiesced. “Let me grab a jacket.”

“I’ll meet you on the jet?” She asked. Steve nodded and watched her go before he turned to his wife who was studying him over her coffee. “If Barton was alive he would have been here by now.” Steve dragged a hand down over his beard as he dropped onto the sofa next to Katie. “I don’t understand why she doesn’t see or get that?”

"Put yourself in her shoes.” Katie sighed as she curled in on herself under a blanket on the sofa as a particularly nasty cramp hit her stomach. “You’d do the same thing for Bucky, or Sam, or me.”

"You know that I would.” He replied, noticing her shift in position and he frowned, but before he could say anything she placed her hand on his bearded cheek.

“Then just go, let her see. Plus, you could be wrong.”

“I suppose it’s happened from time to time.” He quipped and Katie smiled as he leaned over to press their foreheads together.

“Are you feeling okay?”

“Not really.” She replied honestly, “But I’ve taken some painkillers, and Dr Kellet is coming over later. Thank fuck she wasn’t snapped.”

“I can ask Thor to go with Nat instead.” Steve looked at his wife who shook her head. “She asked you for a reason.” Katie said gently, “She trusts you. And I think if its bad news, she’s gonna need you, not Thor.”

“Are you sure?” He looked at her again and she nodded. He gave her a soft kiss, bumping his nose against hers, a soft smile on his face. “I love you, Doll.”

“I know.” She smiled back. “And I love you too, Soldier. Now go.”

As Steve had predicted, Barton’s farm was deserted. The two of them walked around, checking for any signs of life and Steve found his attention drawn to the picnic table not too far from where they had landed. It was loaded with condiments, plates, cutlery and scraps of food as a squirrel darted off the top from where it had been scratching through whatever other animals had left. Steve couldn’t help but remember the first time he had visited, when he had marvelled at the normality of Barton’s life outside the Avengers. Clint had kids, a wife, a complete alter ego. At the time Steve had almost been jealous, wondering if he and Katie could ever get that life. And then he’d gone and caused them both to be on the run, essentially ending that domestic dream.

And if he hadn’t, then Thanos certainly had when he’d snapped away their baby.

Natasha, meanwhile, had stalked straight into the house. Steve, hearing the door snap shut behind her turned and watched as she stomped straight back out and over to the barn at the far side of the yard

“Natasha?” he called.

She didn’t respond. With a sigh, Steve jogged after her, his boots slapping the damp grass of the lawn as he followed her into the barn. She dodged round the tractor in the middle, making her way to a door at the far side. Steve noticed a key pad at the side and Natasha clearly knew the code as a moment later there was a beep and it swung open to reveal what he supposed could only be referred to as an office of sorts, or as Katie would call it, a ‘man-cave’. There was a desk which sported some hi tech coms devices along with a computer. At the other side was a large flat screen TV mounted on the wall, a small couch, a stereo but none of that was what Natasha was looking at. She’d headed directly to some form of smaller room at the back and opened that to reveal a shelving unit of sorts. On one of them was an empty case that had clearly held a bow and arrow. Natasha then bent over and when she stood up Steve noticed she was holding a government issued ankle bracelet that had obviously at one point been around Clint’s ankle.

Not anymore, it was in two pieces.

“He’s alive,” Nat’s voice cracked. “Steve. he’s…he’s alive"

It was good news in a way, but then again, where was he? Surely if he and his family had survived then Clint would have brought them to the compound to find the rest of the team. But this looked like he had left in a hurry. Alone.

Which made Steve think that his family hadn’t been so lucky.

Natasha, satisfied that Clint was alive but clearly nowhere to be found at the farm, suggested they head home and see if they could track him from the compound. Steve hadn’t the heart to tell her that he didn’t think they’d have much of a chance and he knew deep down that if she was being honest, she probably thought the same thing. Instead, he nodded and they headed back over to the jet, which is when the pair of them heard something skulking around the side of the house. Natasha whipped out her gun as Steve spun, drawing himself up to full height. Exchanging a look, they both rounded the porch, cautiously approached, but as soon as Steve saw what it was, he relaxed.

“Hey buddy.” He courched down to pet the sandy coloured one-eyed dog that belonged to Clint, scratching behind his ear as the dog gave a little, desperate whine.

“Clint just left him.” Nat sighed, blinking back her tears. “He loved that dog, I don’t understand.”

“He won’t have been thinking straight, Nat.” Steve looked up at her, then around slightly, chewing the inside of his cheek before he made a decision. “We’ll take him home with us.” He stood up and, giving a sharp whistle, he was pleased to find the dog simply trotted behind him, up the ramp and happily curled up in a corner on a fleece Steve laid out for him.

“Do you know how old he is?” Steve asked, scratching the dog who rolled over, offering up his belly for a rub.

“Well when they found him the vets estimated he was about six months old…so seven now, give or take.” Natasha watched Steve who smiled, and made a cooing noise at the dog as he continued to pet him. “Never had you down as an animal lover, Rogers.”

“Always liked dogs.” He smiled. “I used to beg Ma for one all the time when I was a kid so she let us dog sit the neighbours. It set my asthma off, damned near killed me. So that put paid to that.” He took a deep breath and stood up, looking down at Lucky who flipped himself the right way up, pulling himself to a sitting position, his head cocking to the left. “Besides, I couldn’t just leave him there.”

“Katie’s right about you.” Natasha smiled. “You’re nothing but a huge softy under all that muscle.”

“Yeah, well, don’t tell anyone.” His brow raised. “I got a reputation to uphold.”

As they settled into the cockpit, Steve glanced at Natasha who was looking at the pieces of Clint’s ankle tag which she’d brought with her for some reason. But as he watched her turn them over in her hands, he had a sudden thought that there was someone else they should probably check in on as well. He voiced his thoughts to Natasha who nodded, and plugged in the co-ordinates for an airfield in San Francisco which was about thirty miles away from the address Scott Lang had listed on his house arrest details.

In little over an hour and forty later they pulled up outside Lang’s house and both hopped off the bike. No one answered so Steve simply kicked the door in and, once they were inside, they found it had been deserted some time ago. The remnants of a breakfast lay on a plate on the side growing mold and there was a mug and a plate in the sink. Natasha headed up the stairs, as Steve checked around the ground floor to see if there was anything that might give them a clue. The only thing he noticed was a calendar. The date of the Snap was circled, 23rd April, and next to it was written ‘QR- Research’. He didn’t have a clue what that meant. Letting out a deep breath he walked back into the hall and Nat came back down the stairs.

“No sign of anything being packed from his closet and his bed wasn’t made.”

“Well, his calendar seems to suggest he had a research date or something but other than that…” Steve trailed off as he spotted the red-light on the answer phone was blinking. He glanced at Natasha who inclined her head towards it and he reached out hitting the play button.

“Hi, Daddy” a little girls voice spoke and Steve and Natasha exchanged a look. Steve knew Scott had a daughter, but it struck him then that he had never even bothered to ask her name. “I tried your mobile but you’re obviously busy doing cool stuff with Hope and Dr Pymm…Mom said that you should come over tonight for five now your tag is off and it’s your favourite for tea. Oh and I got a new ant farm for you to try out. I love you, byeeeee!”

“Scott took two years house arrest to be with his daughter.” Steve shook his head, raising his eyebrows. “He wouldn’t just run out.”

“Think we’ve seen enough?” Nat sighed.

“Yeah.” Steve looked at her. “Let’s go home.”

***** “Well,” Dr Kellet looked at Katie as she sat up on the bed in the medical area of the compound, “there’s nothing physically wrong. Everything looks okay. I expect the cramps will settle down soon. It’s not uncommon with miscarriages, Mrs Rogers to feel some discomfort, especially when there’s been a procedure involved. And this, well, it wasn’t a normal miscarriage either so…”

Katie nodded and looked at her hands.

“How are you?” The Doctor asked and Katie looked up. “And I don’t mean physically.”

“I’m okay, I suppose.” Katie let out a deep breath. “I mean, I know there’s nothing I can do about it but it doesn’t stop me wondering you know, if I could have done something or-”

“Even in the case with normal miscarriages there’s nothing that anyone can do.” The Doctor spoke softly. “It’s a natural reaction, Mrs Rogers, you’re still in the grief cycle.” She clicked her bag shut. “Don’t be too hard on yourself. Give it time.”

“That’s what Steve keeps saying.” Katie mused, softly.

“How has he been?” “Amazing.” Katie smiled instantly. “He’s been an absolute rock, I know he’s upset himself but he just…” she trailed off. “It’s good that you have one another.” Dr Kellet smiled as she handed Katie her bag containing her pill. Neither of them spoke much, it was a silent gesture that made them both feel a little strange. They hadn’t even discussed the subject of her birth control going forward, but with everything that was going on Katie was suddenly struck with the thought that even the simple things like obtaining medical treatment was going to be much more difficult as they’d lost half the people that kept medical centres open.

Doctors, Nurses, receptionists, porters…

“I’m going to be meeting with the Local Authorities.” Dr Kellet looked at Katie as if she had read her mind. “All the remaining specialists have talked about how we need a, well, sort of a how we go forward planning session.” “Let me know if we can help in anyway.” Katie nodded. “That’s what we have the Stark Relief fund for.” Dr Kellet smiled before the two exchanged goodbyes and the Ob-Gyn left, leaving Katie alone with her thoughts which were disrupted when she heard her phone going. It was a message from Steve to tell her they were on their way home with good and bad news. Katie wasn’t sure if she wanted to know, to be honest, but she assumed the good news was Clint was alive, the bad news well, it didn’t bear thinking about. Deciding she would rather hear it in person, she replied and told him she’d leave some dinner for them both in the communal kitchen, and with that she headed off to find something he could cook.

****

Steve and Natasha landed home at just gone eight in the evening. And, given that they hadn’t eaten since breakfast, they headed straight to the kitchen with Lucky in tow and found two plates of lasagne waiting for them in the fridge, one substantially larger portion than the other. Whilst it was warming up. Steve gave Lucky a drink and then found some left over chicken and scraps of vegetables from the roast dinner the night before and placed them down in a dish for him to eat. Lucky wolfed his make shift dinner down, and so did they. Between them they ate their helpings, plus the leftovers, along with a helping of salad and then walked down the dimly lit corridors, dog on their heels. It was completely deserted.

“Feels odd doesn’t it?” Nat remarked “I mean it was always so busy.” “We will fix this Nat.” Steve spoke, and he wasn’t sure where his optimism was coming from, but seeing Clint was alive gave him more hope than he’d had that morning.

“Thank you for coming.” She said as they stopped by the stairs that led to her apartment.“I really appreciate it.”

“You don’t need to thank me, Nat.” Steve smiled, giving her a hug.  “Do you wanna take our guest or should I?” he gestured down to the dog. She shook her head. “Katie has a soft spot for that dog, plus you said yourself you’re a dog person. I prefer cats.”

That didn’t surprise Steve in the slightest and he found himself smiling slightly as he replied. “Alright, see you in the morning,” before he watched her up the steps and was pleased to see some of her usual Black Widow swagger had returned.

“Come on, buddy.” He turned to the dog which obediently trotted besides him, tongue lolling, his one eye trained on the super soldier.

Katie was awake in bed, the speakers in the room playing what sounded like the Trouble Man soundtrack as she lay on her side, facing the door, her hands absentmindedly playing with the pillow she had clutched to her chest.

“Hey.” he said as he walked in and she looked up, smiling softly. He leaned over to give her a gentle kiss before he frowned. “You’re crying.” It was a statement, not a question, as it was something she seemed to do quite a lot of recently. He sat on the edge of the bed and with tender hands, wiped her tears away with his thumbs as she sat up. “Is everything okay, I mean with…”

“Oh, yeah, I’m fine. I was just thinking about Sam, that’s all.”

Steve bowed his head, swallowing a little. Sam had been such a constant in their lives since they’d met him some four years previously, and two of those years they’d basically spent as house mates. It felt strange not to have him round, laughing and joking. Quite frankly, Steve felt like someone had ripped away his arm.

“I miss him too.” He admitted gently, and Katie looked at him, reaching up to cup his face. Steve sniffed a little before he shook his head.

“So, what did Dr Kellet say?” He changed the subject. “Nothing much. Says I’m physically alright, any discomfort I’m feeling should be gone soon.” “Do you need anything? Pain relief or…” She shook her head “I’m okay, honestly.” She took a deep breath. “So, what did you find?”

“Clint’s alive.” Steve stood and shrugged off his jacket, laying it on the back of the chair by the dressing table. Katie gave a sigh of relief which was short lived as she spotted the look on Steve’s face.

“What is it?”

“There’s no sign of him. He’d bust off his tag and left. I don’t think his family made it.” Katie bowed her head “They’re gone? All of them?”

“I think so yeah.”

“Fuck.” Katie screwed shut her eyes as her head fell back and she looked to the ceiling.

“We do, however have a guest.” Steve added, looking over at her.

“Who?”

“Lucky.” At the sound of his name the dog came pounding into the bedroom and jumped straight up on the bed.

“I couldn’t just leave him there.” Steve explained as Katie smiled and leaned over to scratch the dog behind his ears, promptly causing him to lay down, his head in Katie’s lap. She wrinkled up her nose.

“He stinks!”

“Yeah well he’s been alone since Clint left, God knows what he’s been up to or eating.” Steve shrugged as Katie looked down at the dog who rolled over for a belly scratch and she obliged. “And it doesn’t look like Lang made it either.” Steve finished heavily, watching as Katie tickled the animal.

Katie shook her head sadly, a tear falling onto the bed as Lucky rolled back over and moved to lick the side of her face before he jumped down on the floor.

“Nat wants to give Barton a few more days to cool off before we look for him but I’m not sure he wants to be found.“  Steve dropped back onto the side of the bed, removing his shoes and then his shirt thinking back to what he had seen at Clint’s. He laid his palms flat on the bed and dropped his head gently, letting out a sigh. He heard the sheets rustle as Katie edged her way closer to him, leaning her head on the back of his shoulder, nuzzling her cheek against him.

"How is Nat?” She asked.

“A little bit better now that we know he’s alive.”

Katie nodded as she dropped a kiss to the back of Steve’s shoulder before he stood up, “I’m gonna take a shower, I won’t be long.”

“Okay. Where’s Lucky gonna sleep?”

“I dunno.” Steve eyed up the dog who was now led on his back on the floor as if he’d been with them all his life “Looks like he’s comfy there.” “Yeah, it does.” Katie smiled.

Whilst Steve was in the shower Katie went into the closet and pulled out one of the old duvets for Lucky to sleep on, folding it up and placing it at the end of the bed. Steve was out of the shower shortly and climbed into bed besides Katie, reaching over and turning off the light before he settled down on his back and Katie cuddled up to him, head on his chest

“So what have you been up to today?” He asked gently, his hand rubbing her back.

“Still trying to get a lock on where Tony is. Other than that, well, I saw the doctor,  made dinner and then I wasn’t feeling great if I’m honest. So I came back here and Thor sat with me for a while, just talking.”

Steve took a deep breath, pulling her a little closer as they both fell silent for a moment, before she broke the silence.

“You now, knowing Clint is alive makes me feel a little more optimistic.”

“Optimistic?”

“Yeah, think about it.” Katie’s hand traced hapes on his bare chest “That’s six out of seven of the original Avengers confirmed alive. Tony has to be as well, it makes sense.” “I’m not following.” Steve frowned. She propped herself up, so that she was leaning on his chest, her eyes locking onto his.  “Thor was talking before, those stones, they have a magic beyond anything we know. Thor doesn’t believe for a second that who’s left is merely a coincidence and neither do I. It’s happened for a reason. Tony’s out there, I can feel it. We just need to find him.” “Honey, I understand what you’re saying-“ Steve started, he wasn’t sure he agreed. He didn’t believe in fate, it was bullshit. But before he could say anything else she cut him off.

“Please don’t.” she said, shaking her head. “Don’t what?”

“Take this hope away from me.” She whispered, her eyes still locked onto his in the dim light of the room “Apart from you it’s all I have right now.”

He sighed and nodded, chastising himself. If it made her feel better who was he to try and make her think any differently just because he did? Eventually they would have to face facts but now, well he just wanted her to get through the next few days, one at a time. With that in mind, he bit back his response and kissed her head.

“Sorry, you’re right. As long as there’s hope, we have a chance.” She kissed him gently before settling back down, and it wasn’t long before she drifted off. *****

A week or so later, Thor returned from another scouting trip with no news or sign of his people and this time he set deep into a brooding depression, appearing only for meals. Not even Katie could talk him round. Pepper was keeping herself busy liaising with who was left at Stark Industries, turning her attention onto how they could help after Katie had told her about Dr Kellet and the Health Authorities. It kept Pepper busy and gave her something to focus on.

Steve, Natasha and Rhodey spent most of their time talking to the people who were conducting the census and the authorities, whilst Katie buried herself away with Rocket and Bruce trying to calibrate the scanners to reach further into space, bouncing off the NASA satellites to boost their range. But they continued to get nothing. The elephant in the room, however, remained Fury’s pager. In the two weeks they’d had it no one had managed to get working, not even Rocket, despite his attempts to fix the booster that was attached to it.

As the Nineteenth post snap afternoon drew to a close, the Racoon let out a frustrated sigh and downed the small screwdriver he had been using and shook his head.

“If I had the right parts I could sort this easy, but without getting up to Contraxier I wouldn’t know where to start.” “What’s Contraxier?” Katie asked.

“A market-slash-junk-slash-booze hole” Rocket shrugged.” You can find most stuff there. That’s where I stole Thor’s eye.”

Katie knew better than to ask.

“It’s so goddamned annoying.” Rocket continued. “I mean it’s a simple technology too, they’re ten a credit. All it needs to do is produce a magnetic field across each of these coils and bingo.” Katie looked at Bruce whose head had instantly shot up.

“Say that again?” The Scientist instructed gently. “These coils.” Rocket pointed to the item as Bruce walked over. “Each of them needs a magnetic core and then all of the little individual magnetic forces add together and it powers the…what?” He asked as Bruce looked at Katie and she grinned.

“An electromagnet?” She shook her head, almost laughing at the ridiculousness of the situation. “That’s all it is?” “I’ve no idea what you Terrans call it, but if that’s what that does then yeah.” “I can’t believe it.” Bruce picked up the device and slid it under the large magnifying glass Rocket had been using, letting out a groan of frustration. “I took my eye off the ball, I could have sorted this straight away…” “You’re kidding me right?” Rocket sighed “Seriously?”

“Bruce, we’ve had a lot going on, don’t...” Katie began to sooth the man who was now frantically rushing around, grabbing various bits of material as he continued to curse his stupidity.

With a final curse, he settled down at a seat, bending over the device, his nose barely an inch away from it.

“It was an electromagnet. A god-damned electromagnet.” Bruce shook his head as he stood up and placed the Pager on a plinth inside one of the glass cases he used to experiment in. He fiddled around with some wires, muttering to himself before standing back. As the three of them crowded round, the screen on the pager lit up and the word “SENDING” flashed across the screen.

Katie looked at Bruce, her face splitting into a smile as he looked at her, the corner of his mouth twisting upwards.

There was another glimmer of hope…

**** Chapter 39 Part 2

[jeongyunhoed]

Past-Present-Future Black Dahlia

Two major tragedies bring Lee Mirae closer to the edge as she goes through the stages of grief in a more violent manner that would affect not only her relationships with her boyfriend Jeong Yunho and her half-brother Choi San, but also has her becoming closer with the immortal mutant Kang Yeosang. Fueled by rage, grief, and pain, along with a very rude awakening that has Mirae spiraling out of control and questioning everything she holds dear.

Group: ATEEZ Member: Yunho Pairing: Jeong Yunho / OC Genre: Action, adventure, angst, fantasy

Watch Out! : Violence, blood, death, grief and loss, major character deaths, use of weapons, some jealousy (but no cheating ofc), implied smut (not sure if there is any but i’m putting it out there nonetheless), mental illness (probably?), gambling and alcohol

Anything else? : Mentions of other idols of course as well as other characters. SuperM, Dean, Chanyeol, Zelo, soloist Park Jihoon to name a few.

Author’s Note: First chapter is here! Compared to the previous stories from the AU, this might have very long chapters, like more than 10 pages in google docs long. But anyway, tag list is open, and yeah. Enjoy the first of a rollercoaster of emotions.

This whole first chapter also, is me giving brief backstories of what happened before/backstories of many characters here. Basic plot is mine, characters are not. This is all for fun/entertainment/emotional anguish. 

Masterlist

Chapter 1

When one is at their breaking point, everything begins to change.  The lines between right and wrong are blurred, and one’s moral compass begins to spin into oblivion. 

9:00 p.m. 

Laughter filled the almost empty space of Viva Polo, having closed for the night except for a table occupied by Lee Mirae, Park Chanyeol, and Kwon Hyuk. The rest of the tables had already been overturned, marking the end of another day at work, at least for Chanyeol. The three of them had a tradition of meeting up every week, something they started doing after the previous adventures they had. 

The three of them were mutants, and to their knowledge, they were the last surviving members of the group that saved the country, if not the world during the Seoul attack. A year after that, the three of them found each other again, reuniting to save the country once again from an evil cult bent on achieving utopia through taking control of its citizens. Two adventures that had major consequences on the three of them, and events that they will forever remember. 

Two of them, Mirae and Hyuk, were classified as omega-level or level 5 mutants, with powers that were impossible to surpass by any other mutant thus far. Mirae was not only gifted in a mastery of hand-to-hand combat, both armed and unarmed, but she had the gift of manipulating potential energy into kinetic energy. She could turn virtually any object into an explosive and if channeled to an extreme extent, was able to level a skyscraper. 

With her abilities came the secondary gift of a healing factor that made her almost immortal and slowed down her aging immensely. Because of her ability to manipulate energy, she was also able to generate static that resulted in a very strong psychic block that was only made stronger by another omega-level mutant, Jang Ino. From the adventures she had on her own and even after the Utopian cult, another ability manifested itself in her; taking souls and trapping them into objects, usually her deck of cards. 

Meanwhile, Kwon Hyuk, a well-known music producer and songwriter, was a level 5 telekinetic and could move anything with his mind. His psychic abilities also gave him the gift of producing shields that were almost impenetrable. 

 In their adventure into the Utopian cult, Hyuk developed his telepathic abilities, which he used to extract memories or read into memories of others. Hyuk was nearly captured by the goons from the Utopian cult when they met again, and has since tried to use his powers as discreetly as possible with some difficulty. 

Hyuk didn’t formally join Mirae and Chanyeol until the later days of the Seoul attack, having laid low, undiscovered by Ino who was at the time, serving his father Professor Inhwan Jang. Hyuk had openly used his powers in front of the group during a time when Mirae and one of her other colleagues, a telekinetic named Luhan, were affected by the goblin king’s inducement of traumatic memories that caused their powers to manifest for the first time. 

It was there that Hyuk realized that he could do so much more with his mutant gifts, rather than use them solely for trivial purposes.

Hyuk had a cousin, the singer Lee Midam, who was under his entertainment agency, in the 10-member group called Silver. Midam was, like him, a psychic, but of a different kind. Midam was a psychic that could make the worst fears or strongest desires of another person come to life before them. Midam also had the ability to sense when a person will die in the near future. 

Park Chanyeol was a level 4 pyrokinetic, also known as an alpha-level mutant. He created and manipulated fire in all its aspects, from turning into a fire being to being able to put out and set fire onto virtually anything. In his fire form, he was granted the ability to fly and heal and even out of his fire form, Chanyeol could withstand extreme heat. 

He worked with Mirae in the Center for Paranormal Research upon his discovery by Ino, leaving his work in his mother’s Italian restaurant behind to find purpose for his abilities. For some time after the Seoul attack, Chanyeol thought he was the only one left, until he was seen by another survivor, their tech guy Choi Junhong, looking over the remains of what used to be the Center, the epicenter of the entire attack. 

From the adventures they had, the three of them still managed to continue with their lives. Hyuk stayed in his agency to work on music, Chanyeol helped around his parents’ restaurant and live club, while Mirae ran the music store that she took ownership in after the passing of her adoptive parents. Hyuk and Chanyeol also helped other mutants like them, Mirae’s old colleagues from her days as an assassin under a sanitarium, practice controlling their powers. 

With the way the events of the past years shaped them, their lives would forever be intertwined and they knew it. Even with the disagreements that occurred in the final days of the Seoul attack, with the three of them being the only survivors from that group that acted, they were like family to each other. 

“One of these days, we’ll go on a mission, do something, just the three of us again,” Chanyeol said fondly, finishing the last slice of pizza from his place. 

“Even if we don’t go on something like that, we should still do something, just the three of us,” Mirae repeated with a grin. “It’s been a while, hasn’t it?” 

“Yeah, someone needs to watch your back this time, you nearly got your powers taken away,” Hyuk pointed out, taking a sip of his iced tea. 

The last adventure Mirae went on involved a demon and their followers, the one responsible for a long-running conspiracy that went behind the glitz and glamour of the country’s entertainment industry. Mirae was outmatched and captured, her powers being used to channel the summoning of the demon Ose. It left her boyfriend Yunho and her half-brother San, along with her old colleagues including immortal mutant billionaire Kang Yeosang, to be the ones to save her and the world. 

Mirae shook her head. “It was only one time. Just one. But I’m starting to think I’m losing my touch, to be honest,” She looked down at her now-empty plate. 

“I wouldn’t think of it that way if I were you,” Hyuk patted her shoulder. “You still have your powers, don’t you? Didn’t Junhong say your powers only got stronger after that? You’re practically invincible.” 

“Says the person who is also practically invincible,” Mirae grinned. 

“But I don’t heal like you do. Chanyeol doesn’t even heal like you unless he sets himself on fire.” 

“Can you stop talking about injuries now? I think we’ll be late for that training session both of you promised the guys,” Mirae nudged the telekinetic. 

Chanyeol got up at the mention of the training session. All of their plates floating in mid-air, the cutlery and glasses sorting themselves out, as Hyuk followed the taller male into the kitchen, making sure nothing dropped. Mirae smiled to herself as she removed the tablecloth and the napkins. 

The boys at the safehouse would be waiting for them, San and Yunho included. Choi San was her half-brother, and had almost the same abilities as her, including her healing factor and a mastery of martial arts. Unlike Mirae, who channeled her powers mainly through her extendable staff, San channeled his into a harpoon gun. 

San’s powers first manifested in his high school years, as a result of the constant pressure placed on him by their father, who wanted him to pursue a career he himself wanted. Upon learning how to control his abilities better, San ran away from home, eventually learning the skills he knew to become a paid hitman. San also witnessed Mirae getting taken away to be interned at the sanitarium, and he looked everywhere for her.

Jeong Yunho was Mirae’s boyfriend. Yunho was also like her, skilled in hand-to-hand combat, both unarmed and armed. Yunho was also a mutant, an immortal mutant who possessed the ability to teleport, but could only do so in dark places. 

Yunho’s powers manifested when he was killed in Morocco during what would be Mirae’s final mission before she was discharged. Her memories of him were seemingly erased in the final electroshock therapy session used to alter her recollection of missions. They only found each other again when Mirae was being targeted by the Kang crime family, descendants of Yeosang who held a disdain for mutants. 

Hyuk returned from the kitchen. “What’s that smile about?” He asked. 

“Nothing, nothing, I just realized how it’s been a while since we did something like this together,” Mirae replied. 

“Lee Mirae, you’re getting sappy.” 

“Did I lie?” She laughed. 

“No, but that’s weird of you,” Hyuk laughed as well. “I mean you are right. I’ve been busy practically managing the group, Chanyeol’s busy here, we’re just busy living our lives.” 

“My point stands that we’ve never done anything together in a while, unless those goblins come up again and try to kill us,” Mirae joked. 

“Hopefully not,” Said the psychic, the table in front of them turning itself over on top of another table. “Even with the way things ended back then, I’m glad the three of us found each other.” 

The kitchen doors opened and Chanyeol returned, wiping his hands, with his backpack in tow. “Whose car are we using?” He asked. 

Without another word, the three of them extended their fists. Both Mirae and Chanyeol had scissors, while Hyuk’s hand remained curled into a fist. “Guess it’s yours then, Mr. Psychic,” Mirae grinned. 

“Be glad I stopped for gas before coming here,” He gave them a look as they left the restaurant. 

~ 

The car pulled up in front of a brick-walled building that had a vending machine. It was the entrance to the safehouse that now became the headquarters of everything mutant-related. It was also where Mirae’s old colleagues were now staying, with the exception of two; Jung Wooyoung and Park Seonghwa. 

The three of them got out, sensing the slight change in the air as they approached the machine. They knew there was a sort of cloaking over the spot that shielded anyone from seeing that the vending machine moved to the side to reveal a secret passage. Chanyeol, Mirae, and Hyuk entered the dark passageway and stopped at the red door at the very end. 

The safehouse was similarly modeled to the recreation room in the Center for Paranormal Research, with a couch and beanbags surrounding a flat-screen television and several game consoles. There was a sleeping quarters and a shower area and a kitchen that was only stocked with instant food. Ino and Junhong’s labs and offices were in the two other doors in the kitchen area that had a small dining table where they would at least take turns in eating. 

This time, the safehouse had since expanded thanks to Ino’s ability to manipulate matter. Junhong’s lab was much bigger, more beds were added to the sleeping quarters, and there was a small training room that Junhong fortified. A shelf was behind the television, showing all the weapons carried by the group of men who now resided in the place; a rapier, a set of nunchaku, and a few axes and shurikens. Those belonged to three people: Kim Hongjoong, Choi Jongho, and Song Mingi. 

All of them were trained assassins, skilled in hand-to-hand combat both unarmed and armed. While Mirae and Yunho were no longer part of the group, the remaining members were turned into personal guards of the Kang crime family and underwent several experiments to turn them into super soldiers. All of them were impervious to pain and were a lot more agile in their movements. 

It was those experiments that triggered the mutant gene in each of them, their own mutant abilities manifesting around the same time. Hongjoong possessed superhuman speed and could be as fast as the speed of light that also enabled him to heal if wounded. Seonghwa was a telekinetic, whose powers also made itself known if his eyes and fingertips glowed green. Mingi, like Chanyeol, was also a pyrokinetic, but unlike Chanyeol, could only manipulate flames that already exist. 

Wooyoung on the other hand, possessed the ability to turn into a shadow being. His shadow form allowed him to be intangible, as well as give him superhuman strength and a healing factor. But along with his shadow form, Wooyoung developed a kind of extrasensory perception, where he could see past and future events from a person or an object, or even a name. 

Jongho had the painful ability to manipulate his bone structure, and his arms and legs would produce a sharp spike that could pierce anything. 

They immediately noticed that a few other weapons were shelved, as they were likely in the labs or in the training room; a set of sai, katanas, a bow and a quiver full of arrows, and the harpoon gun. Everyone was indeed present. 

“Hello?” Hyuk called out as they closed the door behind them. 

“We’re here!” Chanyeol called out as well. 

“Yunho? San?” Mirae spoke, looking around the empty living room. 

Suddenly materializing in front of them was Ino. “Good! You’re all here! The rest of them are in the training rooms, but can you wait a little bit? There’s something I’m finishing and I hope the three of you can test it out for me,” He said. 

Jang Ino was a prime example of a true omega-level mutant, with abilities so powerful he was almost like a god. Ino had the gift of manipulating matter, inter-dimensional teleportation, telekinesis, telepathy, duplication with sentient clones, intangibility, precognition as well as the ability to see everything as it happened. Ino’s abilities manifested much later than the rest of them despite not being much older than Chanyeol, Hyuk, and Mirae, and thus had more difficulty trying to control each of his abilities. 

“Really? What is it?” Mirae asked as Chanyeol put down his backpack while she put down her staff. 

Ino looked excited. “Another training room, or…?” 

“Another Danger Room,” Hyuk nodded. “Can it not turn into a vortex manipulator again?” 

“I can’t promise that, but it’s as safe as ever, right? Just like old times,” Ino was beaming. “Ah, well, you might as well see it for yourself. I’ll call the rest of them,” and he disappeared. 

“Are we supposed to wait for them here?” Chanyeol glanced at them, and they shrugged. 

A commotion erupted from the door that was Junhong’s lab, making them turn around. “For a telekinetic, you could’ve aimed better! You could’ve killed me!” Hongjoong appeared, shooting Seonghwa a look. 

“You sped away in time! You knew it wasn’t going to reach you anyway!” Seonghwa argued back. 

“Well I wasn’t able to, not when Mingi keeps playing with that lighter of his! It’s like having to pass by a dragon each time I’m next to him.” 

“So your situation is actually my fault, is that what you’re saying?” Mingi spoke, looking at them incredulously. “I was practicing my pyrokinesis the way Chanyeol hyung showed me, right, San?”

“Stop including me!” said the male who had a visible white streak in his hair similar to Mirae’s. 

“This was a department store-bought shirt and Jongho just had to ruin it!” Wooyoung shrieked, pointing to the tears in his sleeve. 

“Welcome to my world, Wooyoung! Live with it!” Jongho shot back.

“At least I don’t have spikes coming out of my sleeves and pants!”

Chanyeol and Mirae exchanged looks. Hyuk stifled a laugh. “Kind of reminds you how much we bickered back then, huh? I bet those guys would’ve loved to see a repeat of this,” He chuckled. 

“Nothing seems to have changed after all,” Mirae laughed, their reactions making the group stop in their tracks. “We just had dinner,” She explained. “I see training’s been going well?” 

“Not so much when the rest of them bicker more than San and I do,” out of the group came Yunho, who immediately swept her up in a hug then exchanged high fives with Hyuk and Chanyeol as he pulled away. 

The taller form of Junhong appeared from the crowd as well, with scorch marks on his lab coat and a hole in his clipboard. Ino had materialized again as well. “So, the Danger Room, Junhong?” Hyuk asked. 

“Yes, yes, the Danger Room,” Junhong led them to the pair of doors on the other side of the space. He pushed the button, the doors opening up to reveal a dark room covered in what looked like steel tiles. There was a panel of buttons near the doors from the inside and on one side of the room, was a booth. “Ta-da!” He announced, looking over at the three of them, while the rest looked amazed. 

“A little shift in elements here and there, I was able to expand this entire space of ours, make it a little more familiar, don’t you think?” Ino smiled. 

Mirae approached the panel of buttons near the side. “Ice fortress, dystopia, post-apocalypse, zombie invasion, alien invasion, gladiator arena,” She read out. Mirae turned to the next set of buttons and looked over at Junhong. “Why is my name at the top of this panel? Am I a level of difficulty?” She asked, looking puzzled. 

“The highest,” Ino spoke. “But that level’s reserved for the three of you, not that these guys can’t do it, but the three of you are more experienced.” 

“San and Yunho are just as experienced, if you ask me,” Mirae pointed out with a shrug, choosing not to argue any more. 

“Yes, but they’ve never been through the same missions as you and Chanyeol did back at the Center, remember?” Ino reminded her. “The creatures at the museum, the goblin warriors at the train station, and their throne room, and the jewelry store at night?” 

“I remember the jewelry store one,” Hyuk said, glancing at her. “We were coming from dinner when the store exploded. It was the time I found out Mirae was a mutant.” 

Mirae smiled at her friend’s recollection. “Yeah, you came from that singing competition too.” 

Chanyeol grinned. “The train station, I remember that well. Everyone hated us when they saw what was happening in broad daylight. Junmyeon got hot coffee thrown at him...” He looked down the more he remembered. 

Ino noticed Wooyoung squinting at him, the rest of them looking fascinated by their brief trip down memory lane. “Well, I thought I’d show the rest of them how the three of you would do things in these simulations. Hyuk, I know you joined us late at the time, but you still know a thing or two on how to handle non-human entities, right?” He said. 

“Oh yeah, I was with you all at the Esteholm,” Hyuk smiled. Sensing everyone else’s confused expressions, he chuckled. “It’s a hidden marketplace for non-humans, goblins, witches, warlocks, ogres…” 

“You mean those things were actually here all this time?! On this planet?!” Mingi gaped at him and they nodded. 

“Okay, okay, we’ll have a lot of time to talk about that later, but let’s have the three of you take this new Danger Room for a test run?” Ino suggested. “The rest of you follow Junhong into the booth, we’ll all watch from there.” 

“What are we taking on?” Mirae asked. 

Hyuk approached the panels. “What about…” He stopped when he read the mode at the bottom. “Evil villain mansion? What kind of mode is that?” He laughed. 

Chanyeol and Mirae laughed as well. Mirae glanced at the booth, giving a thumbs up to Yunho and San, who looked excited as did the rest of them. “It’s exactly what it is. The mansion of the bad guy,” Junhong said from the booth. 

“Alright then, put up the difficulty rate to my name, I guess,” Mirae said. 

“That’s what I had in mind. Initializing evil villain mansion, Lee Mirae difficulty,” Junhong announced. 

Hyuk backed away, until he was back to back with Chanyeol and Mirae. They heard tiles shifting and a swirling of colors all around them, bringing in a strong gust of wind. Mirae took out her staff from her jacket pocket and extended it. After a few moments, the swirling was disappearing, and they found themselves in what was the ballroom of a large, abandoned house that had some bits of modern technology on the locks of the doors and the windows. 

“Okay, so this is the evil villain mansion,” Chanyeol mumbled as they took in their surroundings. “Where’s the evil villain, then?” 

Mirae took a step forward, seeing two metal circles near the large fireplace. There was a seven-pointed star engraved on one circle, a hexagon that had the shape of a keyhole in the middle engraved on the other. The circles began to turn, until it slowly went up to reveal coffin-shaped tubes. 

“This is oddly specific,” She muttered. 

Hyuk and Chanyeol stared at the tubes as well. The closer they looked, they saw bodies, blackened and as if they had been mummified. “This is very specific,” Chanyeol nodded, feeling a chill down his spine as they approached the tubes. 

Back at the booth, the rest of them stared at what was happening. “Can they see us?” Jongho asked curiously. 

“I don’t think they can, can they?” Hongjoong glanced at Junhong, who was looking at the panels of controls. “But the surroundings look so real.” 

“I know I should be used to this, but this is something I’ve never seen before…” San was staring at the tubes that were opening up in front of the three. 

“Me neither, and I thought I’ve seen everything,” Yunho nodded. 

From the side of the room, Wooyoung could suddenly see flashes of scenes in his head. He looked back at what was happening, seeing Hyuk, Mirae, and Chanyeol nearly destroy the surroundings they were in as humanoid demons with large talons began to attack them. The flashes kept coming. He could see people he hadn’t seen before having been inside the very booth they were in. Yet, Wooyoung wasn’t sure if this had already happened or it was about to happen. He stayed watching the simulation that Mirae, Hyuk, and Chanyeol were in. 

~ 

“Kind of familiar, isn’t it? The train station,” Mirae’s eyes and fingertips were glowing as she sent shockwaves towards the two demons, but to no avail. Instead, the demons clapped their hands, sending similar shockwaves towards her. “They’re parrots.” 

“What do you mean parrots?” Chanyeol had transformed into his fire form, dodging the attacks that were coming towards him. 

“They’re copying everything we do,” Mirae spun her staff a few times before hitting the demon, only to be sent back by the other, who had turned into a fiery figure as well. 

“Can they copy this?” Hyuk waved his hand, sending the two demons in mid-air. His eyes widened when the figure also raised their claws at him, lifting him up and off the floor. “This is impossible-” He crashed into the wall, moving away when some of the decor fell down. 

“Looks like Junhong had his work cut out for him,” Chanyeol tried to burn down the doors of the room until the surroundings changed into what looked like a massive dock full of zeppelins and tables full of volatile chemicals in test tubes and beakers. “Yeah, now I can see why Mirae turned into a level of difficulty.” 

“Let’s try not to touch anything, or interact with anything on those tables,” Mirae looked around on alert. 

They heard a blast from all the way on the other side of the room. “Looks like they found us,” Hyuk said, trying to move the zeppelins as carefully as possible towards the source of the blasts. 

“Those might explode if you let them get blasted,” Chanyeol called out at the telekinetic. 

“Would you rather we get out of here with those? We don’t even know what to use these for” Hyuk pointed out, still trying to move the airships as the blasts grew louder, the impact exploding the tables closest to it. “At least they get blasted and we don’t-” 

Boom. 

There was a blast on their side of the dock, sending the three of them to the floor, as bits of shrapnel and the chemicals on the tables exploded. A large cloud of smoke enveloped them, soon revealing that they were no longer at the dock. They were back in the Danger Room, or at least what was left of the Danger Room.

Mirae opened her eyes, feeling considerably beaten as she looked around, surprised at what she was seeing. Her clothes were scorched, her staff was gone, and from the gust of wind that hit her, she realized what happened. 

The safehouse seemed to have exploded. 

Mirae looked around for a sign of Chanyeol and Hyuk. Was she still in the simulation? “Mirae! Mirae! Mirae! Are you alright?” She turned around, seeing Junhong, Yunho, and Hongjoong run up to her. “The machines overloaded when I was about to take you three out of there,” The tech guy explained. 

She nodded, a feeling of dread suddenly overcoming her as she looked around the area. “Chanyeol? Hyuk?” She called out, kicking away a few bits and pieces of the rubble that surrounded them. “Chanyeol-” She stopped, feeling her heart sink. 

Chanyeol was lying on the floor, a puddle of blood near his head, and bits of shrapnel having hit his sides. Mirae looked around for a sign of the telekinetic, only to realize that he was also lying on the floor, eyes glazed over. A piece of shrapnel hit his head.

“Chanyeol, Hyuk,” Mirae bent down, moving the rubble away from her best friends. She refused to believe it, refused to think that what happened really happened. “Chanyeol, Hyuk,” She took one of the sharp rocks and cut open her wrist, pouring some of the blood into where Chanyeol was hit. “Come on, both of you, this isn’t funny,” She saw that they weren’t moving while her wrist had already healed. 

Junhong bent down to check Hyuk’s pulse, only for his expression to fall when he realized there was none. “Mirae,” He tried to say. 

“No, I know what you’re going to say, and I don’t believe you,” Mirae shook her head profusely, crawling up to Hyuk. Tears were already falling from her eyes as the reality was hitting her bit by bit. “No, no, this can’t happen, not here, not now, no,” She patted his face, but no response. “No, Hyuk, no, don’t, please-” A sob escaped her as she held his body. “Hyuk, no, no, no, no, no,” She sobbed, reaching out to hold Chanyeol’s hand that was going cold. “No, please no, Chanyeol, Hyuk, you two can stop it now, please…” 

“Mirae,” Junhong said again. 

Hongjoong and Yunho exchanged looks, hearing the rest of their colleagues including San appear, all of them had traces of the smoke from the explosion on them. 

“No!” Mirae shook her head again, until she broke down. They were gone. Her best friends. Gone.

[katherinewilliams221b]

For A Greater Good 18/18

not my gif

He Who Must Not Be Named

Summary: Kate Williams, young healer and member of the Order,  joins Durmstrang’s staff at Dumbledore’s request. Her mission? Find a     Death Eater and survive long enough to tell the story. Set in 1996.

Pairing: Charlie Weasley x ofc/mc

Masterlist

[Part 1] [Part 2] [Part 3] [Part 4] [Part 5]

[Part 6] [Part 7] [Part 8] [Part 9] [Part 10]

[Part 11] [Part 12] [Part 13] [Part 14]

[Part 15] [Part 16] [Part 17]

A/N: bold lines are from the book Harry Potter and The Order of The Phoenix

Severus Snape emerged from the shadows to stand in front of his ally.

“I was starting to think you wouldn’t come, Severus.” The voice of Albus Dumbledore was, as expected, steady and confident. “Do you have it?”

Snape approached him, eying the room with suspicion. It was the first time he had stepped inside Dumbledore’s hiding place, but despite he trusted the man, a chill ran down his spine. Keeping a stoic expression, he reached inside his robes and handed him a rolled piece of parchment.

“She had it with her. As you said.”

Dumbledore unrolled the document and nodded slowly. Another name wrote itself with the others.

“It is vital that Cornelius sees Voldemort first. After that, I will personally make sure that this information reaches the aurors.�� The bearded man walked to the end of the room; the dim light of a candle outlined Fawkes’ silhouette.

“My name appears on that list.” Snape watched Dumbledore’s hand halt in the air. He turned around and with challenging eyes, he stared at him as he unrolled the parchment again. Turning his gaze back to the paper, Dumbledore pursed his lips together as if he was going to whistle and with a light blow, the name ‘Severus Snape’ left the paper in the form of black ashes.

He looked up at the potions teacher from up his glasses. Snape nodded.

“What happened to Yankelevich?”

“She will be brought to Nurmergard” The phoenix moved so his master could slide the parchment under him. “Attempted murder, at least.”

“I don’t understand why you sent Williams. Yankelevich wasn’t an immediate threat and Alastor could have done it faster and more efficiently.”

Dumbledore turned and put his hands behind his back. “You underestimate her. She’s learnt fast, and listened to your instructions, didn’t she? You were busy training Harry to notice, of course, but her occlumency skills have improved enormously, and she’s been practising how to communicate with Mr Weasley.”

“You said she would, yes…”

“Well, she refused using her patronus to communicate, and she needed to be away from him to practise.” He opened his mouth to say something else, but he reconsider it. At Snape’s piercing stare, he kept going, “Astrid knew someone was up to no good and needed a favour, however,” he pointed at Fawkes’ nest “that was my goal.”

He walked to the nearest chair and sat down, grabbing a goblet from the table. Before sipping, he caught how Snape’s jaw tensed. “Besides, Alastor’s never run freely around a castle, breaking rules and finding places he is not supposed to enter. She has.”

“How did she know how to find it?”

“I said her skills had improved, not that they were better than mine. I might have… given her a small guidance.” He raised his hand up to his temple’s level and brushed his index and thumb together. “ I was certain that Karkarov knew about the existence of the room. It was the most logical place to hide it.”

“Where is he now?” demanded Snape.

Dumbledore looked at his partner with amused eyes, but corrected his demeanour quickly. “I have no idea. I mistakenly believed he would be in the forest. I sent a letter to Katherine in hopes she would meet him there. Turns out, he is smarter than I thought.”

“It won’t be long until He finds out Karkarov’s writing that.” Snape pointed at Fawkes’s nest, and the bird chirped unhappily.

“I know.” He tsked and took a sip from his beverage, “But it was his choice.”

“What are you going to do until then?”

“We’ll wait. That spell is not easy to perform. We’ll let him write as much as he can.” They fell silent for a long while, lost in their thoughts, until Dumbledore spoke again.

“When?”

“Tomorrow. He wants the prophecy.”

“Of course. Of course…” he stood up and crossed his hands in front of him and searched in his companion’s black eyes. Snape reached inside his sleeve and took out a small vial with a silver liquid in it. He handed it to Dumbledore, who read the tag ‘K. Williams. Durmstrang’.

“She will not remember the names.”

With one last nod, Albus Dumbledore observed how his confidant dissolved in the air.

--

Katherine Williams awoke for the second time in the same Grimmauld Place’s cold room. She let the sun rays hit her eyelids and savoured the memory of Charlie’s firm body against her own.

When she reached behind her, only cold sheets wished her a good morning.

Promise me something. Promise me you’ll wake me up to say goodbye.

She stared at the pillow next to her and sighed. To be fair, he didn’t make such a promise. He didn’t say anything at all.

Putting her disappointment aside, she prepared herself for one of the most exhausting whirlwinds one could face: the loving care of Molly Weasley.

Sitting up with her back against the headboard, she stretched her neck to the side and had to do a double take at the nightstand.

A pink flower with orange undertones sat beside a piece of paper that was folded in half. Her stomach flipped, and she considered forgiving him for leaving.

A snapdragon for the strongest of flowers.

I hope this wasn’t a one-time thing. Owl me.

“Oh, shut up!” Kate whispered, but a chuckle escaped her mouth, anyway.

Movement on the other side of the door startled her, and she hid the note under the pillow before quickly hiding herself behind the covers.

The doorknob turned, and Mrs Weasley entered the room.

“Oh, thank Godric you are alright!” Molly was by her side in four long strides and cradled Kate’s head in her hands. “How are you feeling? Charles told me you woke up last night. You look pale. Did you rest?”

“Yes, Mrs Weasley, I’m fine. My head is spinning a little, though.”

“Of course, of course, let me see that arm.”

Internally complaining, Kate let her put the cream on her arm and tend the bruises of her neck.  She didn’t have the courage to tell her that wouldn’t make the scar disappear. When she finished, Molly nodded with a satisfied smile and proceeded to pick up the clothes that were scattered on the floor. Kate held her breath during the entire the process.

“This boy... tsk... taught him better than this! At least he could have brought his clothes with him…” Kate wasn’t sure if she was oblivious or if she was giving them a green card because they weren’t at The Burrow. In any case, she felt the need to take Charlie off the hook.

“I’m sorry, that’s my fault, Charlie let me use his clothes after I showered and when I went to sleep... they were bothering me.” That wasn’t exactly a lie. She gestured her neck to point at her bruises and then remembered that maybe there were ones more recent, that she did not want to explain. Charlie had never left a mark on her, but that night he felt a tad possessive and she wasn’t sure he could be trusted.

Although Molly hadn’t commented on them while she was applying the cream, the younger witch rested her hand there, trying to appear casual. Just in case.

“Ah, don’t worry, dear.” Molly waved her free hand nonchalantly and went to pick her cloak from the floor. While putting on the robe that Charlie had left at the end of the bed, Kate remembered that she technically stole the uniform band.

“Oh, this is warm! What a nice coat!” She waved the magically warmed piece of clothing, admiring it, and something the size of a matchbox flew across the room in doing so. “Oh! I’m so sorry, I always check the pockets and now look at this!” She murmured something under her breath and went to pick up the mysterious object, but Kate interrupted her.

“I’ll get it, don’t worry.”

“Very well, then. I made you some breakfast, but it’s already cold, Charlie made me swear I would let you sleep in!” She laughed and when she was crossing the threshold, she added, “Arthur got your trunk, it’s downs… ah!”

Mr Weasley appeared from behind her with a smile on his face and his hands on her waist.

“Oh, not you too, Arthur, I have enough with your sons apparating everywhere…”

His husband ignored her with a laugh and entered the room, her trunk following him in the air.

“Special delivery!” He roared.

“Thank you so much, Mr Weasley.” He approached Kate, and after hugging her shoulders with an arm, he kissed the top of her head. “You scared us the other day, eh?” He squeezed her. “But, let’s thank Godric you are safe and sound! I must go to work now, if you’ll excuse me…”

“I’m fine, really. We healers recover quickly. Tonks filled me in, and I’m feeling alright.”

“Alright, then. I’ll let you change.” Molly placed a hand on her own cheek for a moment and left the room without another word.

The moment Mrs Weasley closed the door behind her, Kate spooned around and crawled down the wooden desk to retrieve the small object.

Placing it on her palm, she murmured ‘engorgio’, making the tiny leather journal grow to its original size.

Letters, maps, notes, names, drawings, and a full research on how to magically cross plant species were contained in that notebook. The past six months were portrayed in those pieces of paper, and their value was incalculable.

Looking up, she faced one of the obscure paintings that belonged to the Black family. Kate stared at a woman standing on a bridge in what appeared to be a forest, and a question formed in her mind. She needed to go to St. Mungo’s.

 Convincing Molly that she could go alone to the hospital was harder than the mission she just came from. After a diluted Invigoration Draught and some help from Lupin, she managed to step out of Grimmauld Place.

She didn’t feel ready to apparate, and she doubted she would ever be, so she enjoyed her walk through the streets of the city. With the muggle money that Lupin gave her, she jumped on the first underground station she saw and followed his directions.

She got comfortable on an empty seat and observed the people on the train car. When she saw a couple getting handsy in a corner, a wave of sadness washed over her, and had to look away.

She missed Charlie terribly. The night before was too desperate and rushed, she didn’t have time to savour the moment. She didn’t even ask him about his mission with the giants, about his dragons, or about how he felt all that time alone at home. Being on a mission kept her head occupied for most of the time, but now, with nothing to do, she anticipated some time of loneliness.

She brought her hand to her chest, and her heart ached even more when she couldn’t find the necklace that Charlie had gifted her many years before. No. Stop it. You’ll get answers and study your notes and then... and then you will have to explain to Dumbledore you lost an important document that could have saved lives. Brilliant.

Soft clapping noises brought her back to reality. A woman in front of her was struggling to hold an excited baby on her lap. Kate observed the child and smiled when his little finger touched her mother’s nose. The baby turned his head and stared at Kate for a while before raising his arm to wave at her. She chuckled and returned the greeting, her trip improving slightly and temporarily.

 Walking through St Mungo’s doors had a mixed effect of nostalgia and excitement. She had spent many hours in that hospital studying, training, and learning, and all of a sudden, she was fresh out of Hogwarts again, with all the emotions that implied. Taking a deep breath, she walked through the corridor and started searching for her first mentor and boss, Madame Louise.

She scanned the faces of the healers that were working, rapidly treating the patients like frantic ants recollecting their food.

“Williams?” Kate turned at the deep voice calling her and recognised the robust middle-aged woman in front of her. “What brings you here? I thought you were working in Romania?”

“Hello, Madame Louise, yes, well I was… working there. But I’m here as a patient today.”

Madame Louise frowned and looked at Kate up and down before giving a curt nod.

“Wait on that bed.” She said before turning and walking away.

Kate sat as directed and stared at the beautiful glass stained windows of the place.

“I request you let me go right now! This is nonsense.” She could recognise that firm voice anywhere. To her right Professor McGonagall was lying on one of the beds and arguing with a boy that Kate figured he was wishing he hadn’t been born.

She walked towards them and put a hand on the boy’s shoulder. “I’ll take it from here, thank you.”

“Who are you? You are not a healer; Madame Louise will hear about this.”

“Mister, this young woman knows more than you, do us all a favour and go with your mother.” Intervened McGonagall.

“I heard Jared O’Leary was looking for you.” The boy shifted in his place and nodded nervously before leaving them alone.

“Professor, what happened?” Kate’s healer mode activated and started scanning McGonagall for injuries and signals of distress.

“Oh, Williams, a lot is been happening this past year. I can imagine you’ve been informed?”

“Vaguely. I arrived two days ago from…”

“I know.”

Kate grabbed the file at the foot of the bed and read the report on McGonagall’s state.

“Four stunning spells to the chest?” She looked up and asked with her eyes, but her professor wasn’t in a mood for a talk.

“Williams, I must get out of here and go back to Hogwarts. I’m afraid it’s going to be too late by the time they let me go.”

“Professor, you could faint just by… too late for what?”

“Williams!” Madame Louise motioned her to come closer. Kate hesitated, but followed the mediwizard to a quieter space. “What happens to be the problem?”

“I’ve been poisoned two days ago.”

“In that case you should have come earlier, don’t you think?”

“There’s been… complications. I wanted to ask you if it’s possible to poison someone without using a vial or a potion or, I don’t know, food or drinks.”

The woman hummed and crossed her arms in front of her. “That’s rather strange.”

“Is this…” Kate moved the collar of the shirt to the side, revealing the red marks that hadn’t disappeared yet. “… a possible way?”

Louise grabbed the glasses that were hanging by a chain around her neck and placed them on the tip of her nose to inspect the injuries.

“The poison could have been injected with some kind of needle, but the shape of these marks means claws or… nails.”

She took her glasses off and waved them while talking. “I imagine it is possible, but you must have a very twisted mind to carry around poison in your nails. Also, you need to be very careful, a bad placement of the poison can cause yourself to get ill. In what kind of troubles are you getting into, Williams?”

“It’s a story for another day.”

 “Madame Louise, I can’t find Jared O’Leary…” The boy that was treating McGonagall appeared from behind Kate.

“What are you talking about? Go back to work! Naturally, you can’t find him. He doesn’t work here anymore!”

“But she…”

“Is every patient cured, Mr Boyle?” Kate slid away from the conversation to where Professor McGonagall was resting.

“I suddenly feel tired…”

Kate nodded and checked that the potions on her nightstand were filled and in order. A hand grabbed her wrist, and she turned to look at McGonagall.

“Katherine. You must find Potter. Something terrible is about to happen.”

Kate frowned and got closer to her former professor’s face.

“The Ministry. Try the Ministry,” she whispered.

Kate didn’t think twice. She ran all she could to the underground station, receiving some odd glances from the surrounding people.

When she arrived at the Ministry stop, she could sense the commotion even from the muggles that were passing by.

“A gas leak.” She heard while climbing up the mechanic stairs. Some people complained at her rudeness, but she couldn’t stop and apologise at the moment.

“There’s the press. Those vultures. It was probably a problem with plumbing. Look! The water reached the first floor!” A man said.

Kate tried to walk among the curious souls that were conglomerated around the building and recognised the protection bubble that was forming around it. She slid under it with ease.

“But I heard an explosion! I’m telling you!” a woman said to a journalist.

She tried to enter the building, but what seemed to be an auror stopped her.

“Let me in! I’m a healer!”

The man remained stoic and grabbed her arm.

“Identification?”

“I… I don’t have it right now but…”

“You can’t go in, Miss” She tried to get rid of him and she almost succeeded, but when the doors to the Ministry opened, she stopped the struggle. Four aurors walked out the building protecting several figures that walked behind them. She tried to reach them, but the security guard grabbed her again.

“You are the cursed girl! Daily Prophet here! Are you involved in the accident? How do you think your father will react to this? How do you think this is connected to your brother?”

“I’m not…” dumbfounded by the flash of a camera, she tried to escape from the journalists.

“Miss Williams! Miss Williams! What can you tell us about the person who died?”

She couldn’t hear anything, see anything, someone pushed her, and she felt another flash of a camera. Her head was spinning.

Cornelius Fudge stepped out of the building and pointed his wand at his neck. He cleared his throat and all the attention was directed at him.

“It is with great regret that I must confirm that the wizard styling himself Lord… well, you know who I mean… is alive and among us again.”

--

[Epilogue]

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[obsidianpen]

I’m very curious about Starlings! I think I’ll just indulge in it regardless, but I’m still curious about its similarities with your fanfictions, like BG and Hauntingly. Is there romance in it that resembles your version of tomione, for example? With or without the semblances, the way you write is “gorgeousness and gorgeosity made flesh”, so I’m definitely gonna give your originals a go. And Congratulations, I’m sure even now that they are great stories

Hooooo boy. Okay, so Starlings is my BABY. Basically, after writing a bunch of FF and some original works for years, Starlings is the story where I took all my favorite ideas and used them all, unapologetically. So, in terms of similarities to my FF’s, there are a lot (only the things that were my ideas originally ofc). 

For example, you are correct in your guess in that the main pairing is very similar to my Hermione/Tom dynamic, even though that only just starts to develop in the first book (I have three full books already planned out from start to finish). Tallulah, the main character, is very book smart, curious, and headstrong. Given the unique way in which she grew up, she has the characteristics of someone who lived their childhood years as sheltered, spoiled, extremely loved, and yet knowing that they are missing something major in their lives. 

Other things that will look familiar are the captive/captor dynamic that eventually turns into a hunting spree (I guess I live for that?), the visual/sensory descriptions of magic, and the exploration and understanding of the word love as a central theme.

The biggest difference between Starlings and anything else I’ve written - Starlings has almost only women-identifying characters (at least in the first book). 

One thing I can say about Starlings now is that the version I am posting on my Patreon is a first draft. I’ve been thinking about this story a lot, and there are some major changes I want to make to it. This includes Tallulah’s human heritage, which hasn’t even been fully divulged yet but which I feel I need to address differently (I’ll probably make a post about that on Patreon soon because it’s important), and digging more into the varying cultural backgrounds of the characters that are in place. Starlings takes place in a different world (Faerie world, otherwise known as Ethereal), but the characters come from all over in the ‘normal’ world. While I’ve done research into each of the places I’ve picked and made mentions of their varying first languages and things like that, I think there is an opportunity to do more that I am missing right now. 

ANYWAY I plan on finishing Starlings, I hope, this summer. I’ll be searching for beta readers at that point, and I would love to get people from all over to read it, so if you are reading this and you are a great reader/editor/etc and want to read it first for free (and probably I can pay you but I am also broke AF so that will be a discussion but I am happy to talk about that! Maybe we can trade and I can send you some glass stuff or a drawing???) please DM me! I’ll start a list. Then, once it’s all done, I’ll probably sell PDF’s for cheap, either on my own or on amazing or something. I don’t see myself ever trying to go the traditional publishing route with anything I write.