#other than that the name sprang fully formed into my head)))

[ru5t]

it is raining so i am thinking about. flash floods in the zones that dry up just as quickly

[dballzposting]

GOTENKS GETS A GIRLFRIEND

Comic from an entire year ago (April 2022) that I just never worked on and finished until now...!

Basically HE MEETS A WEIRD GIRL AT THE SKATEPARK! Lol. I promised that I would never post about her until I had pics to post and you have no idea how many times I had to bite my tongue. 

More info about her + the whole situation + additional and old pics under the cut! BUT It’s really long so you can just appreciate the comic on its own if you’d like.

(Yes the first page is very deliberately mirroring the infamous “Ariel Gets Legs” comic.)

Hi c:

So this was a year ago so let’s see what I remember.

Basically it was March 2022 and that’s springtime for me and the sunshine was starting to affect me. And I was listening to Owl City because that’s the kind of springtime it was. And I was listening to “Deer In The Headlights” by Owl City and I Locked Eyes with my Gotenks figurine and I ... had a vision. This IDEA sprang FULLY-FORMED from my head like the birth of Athena.

You see, watching DBZ, I got the impression that when Goten and Trunks were fused, they didn’t really remember what it was like after. Mainly I think this was from the way that after they unfused, everyone was like OMG YOU GUYS DID IT, and Goten and Trunks looked at each other and were like “...we did?” But I remember a few times just getting that impression.

I think however, that canonically, if that were ever the intention, it fell off quick for convenience's sake. And we don’t really get much implication on the retention of a fusion’s memory one way or the other anyway. BUT, the idea that they don’t remember much was a first impression that stayed with me.

So this idea sprang fully-formed from my head, in the unabashed high of March sunshine and Owl City, in which Gotenks gets a crush on a girl at the skatepark. And Goten and Trunks, who have less than half a memory each, have to piece this together bit by bit. (For example, it starts because often times when they unfuse after Skatepark Funtime, they note feeling a shred of something residual and Odd - anxiety, embarrassment, affection, adoration, discomfort, self-consciousness, anything and everything of that nature. And eventually, they work up the courage to mention it to the other, and they start solving it from there.)

In my head it would be a long and sweet fanfiction on the internet posted by a wholesome individual who would have a presence on fanfiction.net / deviantart / youtube for like 8 years until just dropping off and moving on to bigger and brighter things ... YOU EVER SEE THAT ? Someone who is just COMMITTED to their OC x Canon and they’re friendly and prominent in their own corner of fandom and they do it for years? Yeah. Yeah that was the vibe of this.

I’m not going to be that person and put in the time for that though so just imagine it in your head pls...

The whole point of all of this was definitely just to be so sweet and wholesome. You could replace this post with clipart of the sun and that would get the point across more succinctly I think (seen below)

Anyway.

Now, The Girl. From the beginning I didn’t know how to go about her personality. Should she be rude and rough and disapproving of Gotenks, like the song that sparked this? She would certainly fit into the franchise. Should she be so so sweet like the sunshine that’s feeding this? Maybe she likes the fact that she and Gotenks both have two-toned hair. Or should she be something in the middle, or something else entirely? Maybe it depends on whom she’s talking to?

I figured that if she was sweet, there would be a scene where Trunks is at the skatepark alone and he ends up running into her. He thinks that she seems familiar, and something in him takes pause. She tells him that she’s seen him before, but doesn’t he usually have a buddy with him? He says “Yeah, my buddy Goten-” and she chirps up excitedly, interrupting - “Gotenks?” He stutters a bit, corrects her - “similar name, yeah, but no..” - and at her moment’s sadness and the tug in his chest, it all clicks in his head. 

Otherwise, though, I never formulated a concrete idea.

The thing is I accepted early on that her character was fluid, as in, she would be whatever I needed her to be. I bit the bullet early - “yeah, she’s a fan character made to be the girlfriend of a canon character, yep, this is what’s happening.” So I didn’t stress over how she should turn out, just that, as a yarn-spinner, I’d have yarn to spin. HOWEVER, as I’ve brought this concept back a few times throughout the past year, a semi-static characterization has formed. More on that + her design later.

SO. GOTENKS. THE ACTUAL STORY. From the very beginning it was simply this - Goten & Trunks like to go to the skatepark as Gotenks because it’s wild and reckless fun. They don’t remember much, but they do retain the manic glow of someone having just indulged in their favorite activity. Gotenks SHREDS ! He’s SWAG!! King of the park, man!!

However. There comes a day where he meets a girl who makes him Shut Up. Gotenks, who is always confident and rambunctious, actually becomes stricken speechless. Hence the reference to “Ariel Gets Legs.” So whether she treats him well or not, we have this story where he becomes subdued and shocked around this girl at the skatepark. 

I also had this reeeaaally cute idea that I haven’t drawn yet where his Kamikaze Ghosts act as his inner voice and give him away. He gets nervous around her and just starts coughing, and coughing and coughing and then he HACKS up a ghost who looks at her and says. “WOWIE ZOW! Hottawhat MOMMA! Hoo wow now THAT bird’s got FEATHERS!” and just weird antiquated shit and Gotenks has to stand there and try to get it to shut up without touching it and causing an explosion (and usually those ghosts are his Guys like his Gang like his Lackies his Toadies usually they do what he tells them to do and they make for some swag epic effects when doing shows at the skatepark yknow. But now they are Ruining Everything!!!)

An early concept would be that they meet because he Eats Cement at the halfpipe and she’s there to clean up the mess because his decommissioned cadaver is Blocking The Lane (previously posted pic for reference:)

EARLY and never-before seen pic for reference:

Anyway. So let’s talk about her design

I could have designed her Any Way I Wanted but I followed my heart ... and my heart wanted to make a character based off of a Bird. DON’T ASK ME WHY.

I really like Dark-Eyed Juncos because they migrate to where I live during the winter and I think they’re so sweet. However at this time I had given the Junco schtick to a different OC of mine so I went .. “Ok. What if I used the Yellow-Eyed Junco instead?” Now that was the right move. Pictures of Yellow-Eyed Junco from google Below:

AREN’T THEY CUTE ?! :D

Most of this OC’s colors are actually directly lifted from the bird itself. 

And her design definitely has bird inspirations, like her fluffy goddamn dress that looks like it’s stuffed with feathers, and her spiky two-toned ponytail meant to summon to mind a bird’s tail, and of course her pointy nose.

Here’s another drawing from the time where I was wanting to doodle hair more akin to that which you see on characters like Bulma and Arale (I actually referenced some pictures of Arale in the early design phase)

I still use this picture as a color ref. And her dress just looks so so soft here. I love it a lot.

Anyway. So her NAME.

I thought about this one for a while. I knew that her name ought to be a pun, or just otherwise stupid and goofy. I cycled through a few ideas. I didn’t want to be too unorthodox, but in the end I followed my heart and did a REVERSE-PUN:

Her name is Junco.

This is a real Japanese name. 

She is, like, the only character to have a real and conventional and normal name.

However, she is based off of the Junco bird. 

Her name is pronounced like the real Japanese name though, not the bird.

Jokes on you, asshole.

Runner-ups were “Plum” from “plumage” and for the color of her dress, and the different names for the bird in different languages.

Anyway. So, JUNCO. What’s her deal? To start, as a character, she has bird motifs, and all bird puns are applicable, even if not applicable to the yellow-eyed junco specifically (for example, wayward quotes from her about eating bugs or seeds, or her lexicon containing words like “preening” rather than “bathing,” is valid and likely.)

I think at the beginning I thought that she had a mom whom she lived with and who would pick her up from the park but at some point that dissolved. For all intents and purposes she’s just been Singular. Individual. Independent. TBH I think that she’s been damn lonely.

At some point the vibes became that she, for whatever reason, is alone. She didn’t migrate when the rest did. Maybe she’s waiting for them to return, maybe they never will. But when everyone else goes home at the city-imposed skatepark curfew, she’s the last to wander away and hoist her board into a tree or on top of a streetlamp somewhere and watch the starless sky. 

Gotenks’s reality as a fusion factors into this - he too has a time limit for her, and she’ll never understand what dictates his capricious comings and goings.

As I mentioned, there are lots of branches to this story tree, but whether she likes him or he likes her or they have a rivalry of sorts until coming to hold hands, the trunk of the story is always that they are both weird kids whom no one else understands. 

What’s come to be, and what I’ve been able to articulate clearly only recently, is that Junco and Gotenks bond in the way that two lonely and traumatized kids do. I can’t explain it, it’s just the vibes native to their story. 

But of course, what’s ACTUALLY native to the story is that there are fusion shenanigans with Gotenks’s Cinderella-esque time-limit and this girl at the skatepark who loves him/hates him/befriends him and they know each other intermittently throughout the years and it’s a super sweet & wholesome story and it’s dripping with playful drama and sunshine and they race each other on their boards to “Loaded (George Noriega Radio Edit 2)” by Ricky Martin ..!

And yeah following the events of the above comic she probably keeps the truck to his board + his skate tool + the screws and she uses them to line her nest (other items in her nest include a cartoonish decrepit wood stove and a copy of “Waking The Tiger” by Peter A. Levine.) 

ALSO: The world of potential surrounding the idea of if/how she finds out that Gotenks is a fusion, how she feels about Goten & Trunks, ETC ETC is .. largely untapped because it’s just not my focal point. But there is lots to say, and I have thought a lot about it before, and if I play my cards right I’ll get to post about that later. 

Sorry for the extensive text with minimal visual incentive. I’m hoping to post more pics of them soon when I make them/finish them, but in truth I tend to abruptly come in and out of fascination for this concept, so if I never ever post about it again don’t be surprised. :(

And the thing is last year I posted a lot about Gotenks At The Skatepark and I truly did have myself a bit of an obsession (to the point where I tried to pick up the hobby myself) and that all started with this one random idea of Gotenks meeting a girl at the skatepark .. What a nice thing. Truly one of dballzposting’s few wholesome moments. It was nurturing for the soul.

Thanks for reading. Stay gorgeous out there

[dont-touch-my-soup]

“Hold your breath”

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CW: captivity, manhandling, drowning

The water in the bucket shimmered black. Oryn dropped to a crouch and touched the surface of the water with his fingertips, as if he wanted to test the temperature.

The hair on Jinn’s neck started to prickle and an icy feeling of trepidation ran down his back as a terrible thought emerged in the back of his mind.

Tiny droplets fell back into the endless blackness, forming circles that grew and grew and grew. Jinn stared at them spreading out across the surface until they overlapped. 

His hands were shaking, and he firmly pressed them against his stomach.

He’d never feared water before but right now he did.

His heart was drumming painfully against his chest as the last ripples died down. The surface of the water was perfectly still when Oryn turned back to face him.

Please don’t do this. Please don’t do this. Please. Don’t. Do. This. 

He could feel Oryn’s eyes on him. It was enough to remember his hands on his skin just moments before. 

He didn’t dare to look up. He couldn’t deal with whatever he would find on Oryn’s face. 

He silently counted the seconds in his head while fixing his gaze on Oryn’s boots. Heavy leather boots. They looked warm and new, and Oryn’s feet probably weren’t wet inside of them. 

Jinn knew it was his own fault he was here. If he’d just tried harder Oryn wouldn’t have to punish him. 

Please don’t do this. Please don’t do this. Please.

Jinn pressed his lips together tightly and stared to the ground at his knees. He knew begging only made it worse. It always did.

Oryn reached for him, and Jinn tensed in anticipation. 

But Oryn just took Jinn’s chin in his hand and forced his face towards him. 

Jinn wasn’t ready to meet his eyes yet. Emotions rolled inside of him he couldn’t even name; all of it overshadowed by raw panic.

His breathing turned shallow, and he dug his fingers into his arms so hard it hurt.

“Look at me,” Oryn said but the scent of his perfume was faster than his voice, trapping Jinn like a bug in a spider’s web.

He had to force his eyes away from his hands to look up to Oryn. He felt naked when his gaze finally met Oryn’s.

In the dark light his eyes looked darker too and Jinn felt his stomach turning around.

Oryn’s lips twitched like he was enjoying the panic on his face. 

If only Kell were here. Maybe things would be far worse if he were but at least they wouldn’t be alone. 

Loneliness pierced into his heart like a knife.

“You know you brought this down on yourself, don’t you?” Oryn’s voice cut through his thoughts. His eyes were holding Jinn’s like magnets and it felt like he could see right through him. Jinn swallowed a plea that tried to escape his throat and nodded frantically without fully processing his question. It didn’t matter what Oryn asked anyway when he had that look in his eyes. 

Oryn’s thumb stroked over his cheek and the sickly-sweet smell grew stronger. Jinn imagined how it lingered and stuck to his skin. He felt sick.

He tried to turn his face away, but Oryn didn’t let go and Jinn swallowed down something that felt more like a sob than a plea.

Jinn legs trembled under his body and suddenly he was glad he was already kneeling. He tried to will them to stillness, but they kept shaking. And somehow that was just too much to handle. 

Tears sprang to his eyes, and he desperately tried to blink them away. He was weak. He was disposable.

Like a broken cup, being turned back and forth while Oryn was debating if he was still worth keeping or not.

His body trembled under Oryn’s piercing gaze. He closed his eyes tightly like that would make anything better but even then, the tears found a way through and rolled down his cheeks. Silence weighed on him like a heavy blanket.

“P-please,” he whispered and immediately regretted it.

His head snapped up just to see Oryn’s eyes hardening and panic grew in his gut. 

“You think too much. You’d sing better than most of my other singers, if you stopped thinking so much.”

“I am try-”

Oryn’s other hand shut forward and closed around his throat. Panic was like a thousand needles burning through his skin.

“Stop. Thinking,” Oryn said and for a second Jinn was sure he’d lost his patience. For a second he was sure Oryn would kill him here and now.

He couldn’t move. Couldn’t breathe. His vision got blurry, and the tears just wouldn’t stop. His nose was already getting stuffy, and he knew it would just make everything worse.

Oryn sighed and suddenly let go of him. “Come on. Take a breath for me.”

Jinn took a shaky breath and then without a warning, Oryn gripped Jinn by his neck and plunged him into the water. 

The cold water burned on Jinn’s skin. He exhaled in shock and even though he could stop himself early enough he still lost a crucial amount of air. His hands found the floor and he instinctively tried to struggle back to the surface, but Oryn’s hands held him firmly in place, his fingers tightening around his neck warningly and Jinn forced himself still. 

It was fine.

He knew water. Back when he was still a child, he and his brother used to compete who could hold their breath longer. 

Struggling wouldn’t get him out of this. It would only burn the oxygen in his body faster.

So, he tried to stay as still as he could, his eyes squeezed shut. 

He knew it wouldn’t be enough.

He already felt his chest tighten with the need to breathe in. 

All he could think of was Oryn’s hand still wrapped around his throat, his thumb pressing painfully into his skin.

Panic built in his stomach and he could hear his heartbeat in his ears. Jinn’s feet twitched in search of a way to get him out of this. 

His lungs burned, and Jinn couldn’t help himself. Again, he tried to push himself up as hard as he could. But Oryn didn’t budge. He just shoved him down further.

He needed to breathe in. He needed to breathe in. 

Then suddenly the grip around his neck tightened as he was yanked out of the water. 

Jinn desperately sucked in the air. White spots danced in front of his eyes as he fought for air. Blindly he searched for the edge of the bucket, clinging to it, as if it could stop Oryn from downing him again. 

“It’s not so hard,” Oryn’s voice seeped through the darkness. Warm fingers brushing wet hair out of Jinn’s face. “Just do what I say, and you’ll be fine.”

His hands wandered down to Jinn’s neck and Jinn’s pressed his eyes shut. Oryn was so close Jinn could almost feel his words on his skin, when he whispered: “Now hold your breath.”

Before Jinn could say or do anything, his head was shoved back down again, his fingers dragging uselessly over the rough surface. 

His heart was racing in his chest, pounding in his ears too rapidly.

He knew he wouldn’t be able to hold his breath as long as before. 

His lungs were already aching, begging him to just open his mouth and take a breath. 

Just breathe in, his body demanded desperately.

It would just make everything worse. He knew that. 

Hold your breath.

He couldn’t take it anymore.

His lungs burned. He just wanted to take a breath. 

Just breathe in. Just breathe in. Just breathe in.

But he knew, he couldn’t. He couldn’t.

He dug his fingers into the ground so hard it hurt. Panic swept into his body, and he desperately pushed against the grip in his neck with all his strength. And again, the hand just tightened and forced him deeper underwater. Jinn’s muscles were burning but no matter how hard he tried, Oryn was so much stronger. Helplessness burned a hole in his heart.

His own fault. This was his own fault. He knew that.

Giving up felt like ice in his veins.

But just when he was about to give in to the urge to breathe in, the pressure in his neck vanished and he was hauled out of the water again. 

He drew in a sharp breath; too early. Too fast. Water got down his throat, his nose. It burned like liquid fire. His chest heaved with his coughs. 

Every cough shot a wave of pain through his lungs and for a moment he thought he wouldn’t make it. 

He hung limply in Oryn’s grip like a new-born kitten.

He was trembling so hard, it was disorientating. He had to close his eyes against the dizziness. The room spun around him, and he desperately clung to Oryn’s arm. 

“Do you understand why I am doing this?”

Jinn couldn't answer. He could only cough for air. Breathing was somehow more painful than not breathing at all.

Again, he could feel Oryn’s hands on his face, brushing away strays of hair and water drops. 

“You belong to me. The food you eat is mine. The clothes you wear are mine. And the air you breathe is mine.” His grip tightened around Jinn. “And if you keep wasting them, I don’t see a reason to provide food and clothes and air for you at all. Do you understand?”

Jinn instinctively moved his head up and down. His nose was burning, his throat was burning, his eyes were burning. 

Oryn gave him a shake. “Do you understand?”

“Yes,” Jinn managed between painful coughs, his voice barely a hoarse whisper. 

“I expect you to do better” Oryn rubbed his thumb over Jinn’s cheek.

Jinn nodded. He still tried desperately to breathe in as much air as he could. 

When Oryn let go of him, Jinn plummeted gracelessly to the ground. He didn’t have the strength to catch his fall. 

He curled in on himself. His body violently shaking with every cough, shaking from the cold, shaking from something else deep inside his bones. His head felt dizzy and even when he closed his eyes the room didn’t stop spinning. 

He blinked against the white lights, against the tears, against the dizziness. He could barely remember a time when living hadn’t meant surviving. When surviving hadn’t meant suffering.

Oryn lowered his arm. His sleeve had slid down and was drained with water and for a moment Jinn expected him to punish him for that too. But Oryn just sighed and gently brushed his hands over the cloth before he carefully folded his sleeves back up. 

The lantern right next to him was the only reason Jinn could see the stains dotting the light cloth. Russet-red stains. 

There were only a few things that could cause stains like that.

Jinn swallowed. His body felt numb and heavy and empty.

It took a long time until his lungs worked somewhat properly again.

But his heart and brain were still racing.

Oryn was humming and the sound burned in Jinn’s stomach. He heard himself talking before he even knew what he was doing. 

“He is dead, isn’t he?” Jinn croaked. It would explain why Oryn was suddenly expecting so much from him. It would explain why Oryn was so unpredictable. It would explain why Kell and Thrasher had vanished. And some part of Jinn still hoped they had made it out of here alive, but he knew Oryn to well to believe in that.

The humming stopped and Jinn suddenly wished he could take it back. 

“Not yet,” Oryn said quietly.

And somehow that was so much worse.

_______________________

Thank you for reading! @whumpzone​ @jo-doe-seeking-inspo​ @whump-cravings​ @tears-and-lilies​ @imagination1reality0​ @suspicious-whumping-egg​ @i-can-even-burn-salad​ @siren-of-agony​ @villainsvictim​ (please let me know if you’d like to be added or removed!)    

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[epersonae]

Tagged by @adickaboutspoons - thank you!

Rules: Go to your published works on AO3 and list the first fic you ever published there, the last fic you published, any fic that you wrote for a fandom/ship only once, your favorite fic you wrote in the fandom/ship that has the most works, the fic you wish more people read, the fic you agonized over the most, the fic that sprang fully formed from your mind without any effort, and a work you are proud of—for whatever reason. <3

First fic - A week at a day spa, which is the first fic I ever wrote, and the first time I'd written any fiction in years. It was a bit of an experiment, right before I became completely obsessed with my rarepair. I don't love it, but I don't hate it either. I'd be tempted to take another run at that moment from another direction after everything else I've written.

Last fic - end up several worlds away, the missing scenes companion to for the benefit of all the broken hearts. I just added a chapter with Stede seeing Mary's art for the first time. At the moment, this is my only active WIP; I have a partially written chapter in GDocs that I might work on again soon.

Only fic for a fandom/ship - The dead and the living, my one and only Star Trek (TOS movies) fic. During my time between TAZ and OFMD, I got into a Star Trek Slack and we have done watch parties for a bunch of the movies. somewhere in my head/gdocs I have the start of a long heavy fic about Khan's wife, but this little piece just kind of popped into my head after we watched Star Trek III. I love Carol Marcus a lot.

Favorite fic in the fandom with the most works - Did I really write one hundred and fifty fics for The Adventure Zone????? I sure did. Obviously I have to pick The Reckoning Arrives, which is my longest fic in any fandom, the fic that Ryn and I worked so hard on, the fic that kinda saved my life. But also I was poking through some of my other TAZ fic, and there's actually quite a few of them I still love, but The Woman Who Wasn't There is a fave as far as fics that aren't in my larger continuity. (readers of for the benefit of all the broken hearts will notice a theme about bringing the wife back into the story, which I hadn't really considered until today.)

Fic I wish more people read - another one I found while poking through old TAZ fics: Don't forget to remember. NGL, it's kinda fucked up, but at least it's short? But it's just a tight little story about coping and trauma and memory, and honestly it gave me an outlet at a time when I really needed it. Of my Our Flag Means Death fics: probably the whole devil's threeway series, which is about to be completely decanonized and I'm totally okay with that. I still think I got a vibe that I'm really pleased with and it ended up being the only reunion that I've written, which I think is genuinely funny.

Fic I agonized over the most - for the benefit of all the broken hearts, which I agonized over in so many ways. both in terms of WHAT AM I EVEN WRITING HERE and in the actual work of writing (and the bonkers choice to not name the protagonist in the text), and then in the actual work of editing. I put the most effort into this of literally anything I've ever written in any medium for any purpose.

Fic that sprang fully formed - nice either way, aka the beard fic, which I wrote over the course of a single afternoon driving along the Columbia River Scenic Highway (that was a weird week). Although to be honest, I would say almost any fic less than 1000 words is likely to have sprung fully formed, especially a lot of my earlier TAZ works when I was kind of continuously writing. (Again: 150 works)

A work I'm proud of - it really does have to be for the benefit of all the broken hearts, I worked my ass off on that one and it occupied my whole brain for several months. It was a wild thing to attempt to do, both as a story and as a technical challenge, and I'm so pleased with how it turned out.

Tagging (as always, no pressure but have fun with it!) - @naranjapetrificada, @nekosd43, @gaypiratebrainrot, @mxmollusca, @oatmilktruther, @emi--rose

[bibbykins]

Some Extra Help (M)

First smut of the series! Certainly not the last lmao! I hope you guys like it! Their soft yandere rlly shows here and I’m excited to expand on that dynamic with such an isolated MC who is so oblivious. As always, please do not aspire for unhealthy relationships that I write irl. These relationships only function (and even barely sometimes) in a fictional world. Stay safe and enjoy!

Pairing: Soft Yandere!Yoongi and Jin x Chubby!Reader

Word count: 2.9k

Warnings: 18+, vibrator gets stuck, cunnilingus, fingering, soft dom! jin and yoongi, sub, kinda brat! reader, crying, some name-calling, daddy kink, sir kink, hickeys, dumbification if you squint, yandere themes, beginnings of an unhealthy relationship, toxic mindset, possessive tendencies

Part of The Household’s Bunny Series 

Clad in a black mesh lingerie set with black bunny ears on your head was the last way you thought you would be waiting for the two oldest housemates, but here you were. You never thought you would meet your demise at the hands of a cylindrical chrome bullet vibrator, but here you were. 

Your body was so warm from the thrashing it had been doing each time you so much as cough and it turns on. Worst of all, you hadn't even cum once. You were getting edged by this evil vibrator and it was not helping your already shitty situation.

In what felt like the longest five minutes of your life, you heard the elevator ding, “Y/N?” He called for you and you sighed in relief, somehow triggering the vibrator again.

"Yoongi-AH!" The man's heart nearly stopped hearing his name crumble into a moan coming from you, "Fuck." You groaned and he was met with you on your bed that you had in your filming area with a tripod in front of you, ring light on, and lingerie still intact. Although, with your body's movements a strap had fallen down your shoulder.

He made his way to you, "I'm right here, don't worry." He shushed you softly as he grabbed your hand, sitting on his knees as he placed himself at your head, "Are you in pain?" He asked worriedly and you shook your head. 

You moved a bit and it turned it off as you sighed in relief, "I keep getting right there, and then it takes it away." You whined, chest heaving, "That hurts, but other than that I'm okay." 

He stroked your hand softly, gentle eyes looking down at you, trying his hardest not to be turned on at the sight of you half-naked with a vibrator inside of you, "Is me being here helping?” His voice was always gentler around you.

You nodded as you nuzzled into your joined hands. You had grown rather close with Yoongi in your time here. Granted, you had grown pretty close with everyone in their own way, but Yoongi checked in on you most often and indulged in your clingy nature.

His heart fluttered at the show of affection. He was drawn to you in a way he couldn’t explain and the PDA only made him feel more and more like an infatuated puppy, “Alright, well, don’t worry, Jin will be here soo-”

"I'm here!" The elevator dinged and revealed the doctor, still in his coat and hurriedly making his way to the both of you, "Are you okay, y/n?" He kneeled at your stocking-clad feet before his eyes snapped to Yoongi.

Sensing the confusion, you spoke up, "I am, and he's here for moral support-OH FUCK!" You moaned sinfully as the vibrator sprang to life, gripping Yoongi's hand and he nearly cursed at the eroticism of it all, but luckily for you, the vibrator stopped just as quickly, "I had pulled my panties to the side and slid the damn thing in, but I was so wet I just lost it-ah!" The vibrator awoke inside of you and you cried out.

Jin tried his best to ignore his growing boner and went into doctor mode, explaining that he would be taking off your underwear, "I just need- I left my gloves in the car oh my-" 

"And you call yourself a doctor?!" Yoongi snapped before you squeezed his hand. 

"If you gotta finger me, so be it, if you're- mmh- okay with it." You squealed and the older man nodded nervously, stripping you of your underwear, inhaling sharply at the sight before him. Your thick thighs opened shyly for him.

You were glistening and when you spread yourself for him, he fought a choked moan at your beauty. Yoongi fairing no better as you moaned helplessly, his hand being your only tether to Earth at this point. Since day one, all the men in the house were entranced by you. You were beautiful, kind, and unabashedly yourself. Not to mention they all were some of the highest payers on you OnlyFans. And yet, you just saw this as them being some of the kindest people you met or obscenely supportive housemates. This made pursuing you difficult, seeing as all of the people they have ever pursued were able to read in between the lines of their gestures or bold enough to pursue them. Either way, the attraction to you was a poorly kept secret as their obsession and fixation with you only grew. Even with the two most composed men in the house, the air was quickly heavy with their growing arousal as you took your bottom lip in your teeth.

Maybe it was the idea of being watched or the desperation of being edged, but you couldn't help but be that much more turned on by these two attractive men watching you get sexually tortured. Your mind was getting muddled with nothing but a want to be dominated by these men still in their suits. Your back arched when you felt Jin's slender fingers go in, the bloomings of pleasure going with it, "Fuck, yes!" You gasped out, and it was just now both of the men realized, because somehow they hadn't earlier, you were turned on.

Jin had to screw his mouth shut when he felt your walls clench around his finger. You were so warm and wet and fuck, he really wanted to taste you, "Bunny, don't move so much, you'll just get it more stuck." He softly warned and you responded with a strangled whine that made him curse under his breath. He recalled from your videos that you were a needy sub, but he figured you were playing most of it up for the screen. Surely, you didn’t fulfill his fantasies that naturally. Yet, here you were, being a bratty sub he wanted to tease.

"But it feels so good." You gasped out and Jin looked to an equally fucked up Yoongi for help.

Yoongi nodded at the older man before directing his attention to you, which he immediately regretted. Your mouth was slightly parted, tongue nearly peaking out, and when he saw your eyes, he knew you had slipped into subspace, "Baby, be still." His voice was soft, unsure how to proceed, but when you shook your head defiantly, he sighed, knowing what he had to do, "Bunny." His voice was stern now, no longer soft, but it seemed you faltered in your movements, "Am I going to have to hold you down, or are you gonna be still like a good girl?" His eyes were darker now as he scrutinized your form and you whimpered.

Before Jin could chastise Yoongi for succumbing to his desire to dominate you, he felt you clench around his fingers as your body became more still. Oh, so it was working.

"I-I'm trying." You wailed helplessly, near tears.

"I know." He cooed, cupping your face gently, placing a sympathetic kiss on your cheek, "Just keep trying. Can you do that for Jin and I?" He was much softer now that you were listening to him and you nodded with a pout.

"You're doing great, pretty girl." Jin cooed at you similarly, restraint slipping as his finger twisted inside of you, "I almost got it, okay?" You nodded wordlessly but screamed when his fingers touched the vibrating toy. Yoongi had to place his forearm across your stomach to hold you down. Jin nearly had the toy and neither of them wanted to risk your squirming pushing it further in.

"I'm-I'm-" You babbled, chasing your sweet release only to have it ripped away as Jin slid the toy out of you, making you cry fully.

"It's out, sweet girl, why are you crying?" Jin asked lightly as he placed the tiny toy off to the side.

"Please." You begged both of them, tiredly but fully aware, "I just want to cum." Tears were running down your cheeks, "I'm sorry..." You were obviously embarrassed but Jin shushed you softly.

"It's okay, sweetheart, we're not mad." He spoke softly and placed a kiss on your thigh, squishing the skin between his hands, enjoying the plush skin he’s dreamt about for so long under his fingertips, "We can make you cum if you want?" His breath was heavy.

"Please." You croaked desperately.

Yoongi nodded, eyes as soft as ever, "How do you want us, baby?" His voice was low as he wiped some of your tears.

You blinked up at him, "H-However… are you sure you guys want to?" You blubbered and turned to Jin who slid the fingers that were inside you into his mouth, never breaking eye contact until his eyes rolled back in ecstasy, making you gasp.

Jin was usually so composed and polite, but here he was, sucking your juices off his fingers erotically. He had dreamt about the taste of you, but it could not compare to the real thing, the real sweetness of you laying in front of him, wet and desperate. His fingers popped from his mouth and he groaned, "You taste so good, little bunny." He breathed, completely overtaken with lust by now, "Can I really keep tasting you?" He asked, hands stroking your thick thighs until you nodded. He spread you for him and groaned at the sight, "Such a pretty girl." He purred.

"We'll take good care of you, baby." Yoongi promised, leaning down to capture your lips in between his as Jin licked a long stripe up your slip making you moan into the younger man's mouth. His hand slid under your flimsy bra, fingers tweaking your nipples, "You're so pretty when you squirm for us." He groaned, now kissing down the column of your neck as Jin's attempts at going slow were hindered by his excitement to taste you.

He hummed into your pussy, reveling in the squeak that came out of you as he ate you out for all he could. His tongue explored every part your sex had, no surface area left untasted. He genuinely could do this all day if you let him, no place other than on his knees making you feel good sounding better. He watched as Yoongi's lips wrapped your hardened nipple, making you moan, spurring Jin on to dip his tongue into your entrance.

You gasped out, on hand threading into Yoongi's hair as the other went to Jin's, making both of the men groan, "Feels so good, Sir." You rasped, bringing cocky smiles to both of the men's faces.

You wanted to squirm but Yoongi held you firmly in place as Jin fucked you with his tongue, "You feeling good, crybaby?" He whispered lovingly, leaning up to nip your ear lobe.

"Yes, Sir, so good." You moaned out, "Please don't stop, I'm so close." You begged and Yoongi chuckled darkly in your ear, fingers still stimulating your nipples.

"Well when you beg so pretty," He pinches your nipple a bit harder, making you jolt, "How can we make you cum just once?" He chided.

This made your eyes roll back as Jin pressed his face into you further before pulling back for a moment, fingers gingerly making circles around your clit, "Alright, pretty girl, you're going to cum on my tongue and then I'll let Yoongs taste you, okay?" His eyes dart to you as you nod, but his eyes narrow, "You can talk, can't you?" He teases, fingers slipping in and pressing into your clit from the inside, "Or are you just going to cum like this." He sped up his circles as he bluffed hut you shook your head desperately.

"No Sir, please!" You cried out, "Please, wanna cum on your mouth- AH!" Before you could even finish, Jin dove his tongue back into you.

You nearly screamed as you felt the long-awaited orgasm creep up on you, "I can tell you're about to cum so pretty, aren't you baby?" Yoongi teased as he leaned into to kiss you, taking your moans into his mouth.

"Can I cum, daddy?" You begged, making the men tending to you moan.

"Of course, baby." Yoongi murmured into your mouth, "Be a good girl and cum so I can clean you up." That was all it took for the coil to snap as an earth-shattering orgasm overtook your body, screaming for the whole building to hear as he kissed your neck.

Jin rode you through the orgasm with blissful hums until it was time for him to pull away, "That was beautiful, bunny." He praised, "Think you can handle another so Yoongs can have a taste?" He asked sweetly.

You nodded, "Yes, Sir." You breathed and Yoongi's tongue clicked, catching your attention.

"I kinda liked us being your daddies." He pouted mockingly and he watched embarrassment creep onto your face, so he leaned over your, "Come on, baby, are you ready for me to taste you?"

"Yes, daddy." You muttered shyly, making him smile before going to switch spots with Jin.

Jin approached you with a kind smile and gentle eyes as he knelt down to give you a kiss, "Hi, beautiful." He mused and before you could respond, Yoongi dove into you face-first like a man starved. You gasped, gripping Jin's forearm, "You taste divine, but it is nice to see your pretty face all twisted in pleasure." He leaned in for a deeper kiss, tongue massaging your own as you moaned into his mouth.

You felt Yoongi spread your lips before he stiffened his tongue to provide pressure on your clit as he drew circles around it. You gripped his hair, trying to pull him closer but he smacked your thigh as a warning. He guided your hand, pinning it to the side as he flattened his tongue over your slit and repeatedly dragging it up, collecting your juices in his mouth as Jin swallowed your moan, his hand going to your exposed breasts while the other cradled your neck.

"So sweet." Yoongi murmured before his tongue slipped inside of you and he moaned.

"Holy shit!" You gasp and tried to fuck yourself onto his face but Jin held you down.

"Don't cheat, sweet girl." He tsked playfully before sucking harshly on your neck, making you gasp, your hand going from clutching the sheets to tangled in his hair, "Fuck, what are you doing to me." He grunted into your neck.

With the sensitivity from your last orgasm and the skilled tongue of Yoongi, your release was quickly approaching as Jin found a sensitive spot on your neck, "Daddy!" You whined, "It-I-Uh-mm…" You babbled, trying to find words as Yoongi's thumb rubbed just above your clit as his tongue fucked you deeply.

Jin laughed wickedly, "We fucked her dumb, Yoongs, our poor baby." He was truly a different man under the spell of arousal and your taste, "You trying to ask to cum?" He cooed as you grabbed onto his hair harder and he let out a strangled moan.

"Yes, daddy, please can I cum?" You managed to beg yet again and both of the men made noises of aroused approval.

"Of course you can, good girl." Jin murmurs into your neck as Yoongi hums.

With approval from the dominating men above you, you gripped desperately onto Jin and came with a needy cry as Yoongi kitten licked until you finish fully.

"Shit, you taste good, baby." He pressed a wet kiss to your thigh before he slid your underwear back up.

"Thank you, guys." You muttered, eyes barely open now that the exhaustion hit you, "That was, like, super nice of you." You giggle tiredly.

Jin pressed a kiss to your head before standing, going to grab you his jacket in case you were getting cold. "Thank you for letting us taste you." He chuckled.

"You guys aren't leaving, right?" The men stop their movements at your question, "Not that you have to stay if you have better stuff to do or if you feel weird-"

"Do you want us to stay, sweetheart?" Yoongi asked and you nodded, eyes pleading, "Then we'll stay." He affirmed and his heart sank at your relief. Why had so many people left you? 

"Do you want to lay here?" Jin asked softly and you shrugged.

"My real bed is over there and I am dead weight, so it's oka- Jin!" You laughed as he lifted you up like a princess, "I'm heavy, you're gonna hurt yourself." You chided.

"I'm no weakling." He quipped back and you rolled your eyes as he carried you to the bed, laying you down gracefully.

Both men laid on either side of you, pressed close, with their arms around you, "I feel bad not returning the favor." You snorted but the guys protested, "I have this urge to say thank you for being attracted to me because it feels nice to be wanted by you." You rambled sleepily, "I care about you all so much, I'd keep you all to myself if I could." You giggle, like it's an absurd idea, before letting your eyes fully close, "I'm glad we can be at least this close."

The men look to each other as slumber takes you. They exchange knowing looks. Now that they've gone this far, they can't bear the thought of being with anyone else, or you being with anyone else outside of the building. You were a rare gem, and they could not bear the thought of giving you away. People could look, sure, but they could never feel you. The world had its chance with you, and everyone turned their backs on you, so they would now be the only ones to be so close, it had to be that way and soon. Although, bringing this up to you would have to wait. They would need to see how you fare with the other men in the house, who undoubtedly want you just as much. No, needed you. They all unabashedly, undoubtedly, and understandably, needed you.

Tip Jar

[mintwithchoco]

beaux rêves: Ep 4 - Adrenaline

ITZY Yeji x Male Reader

Word Count: 2882 words

Categories: smut, oral, femdom, mommy kink, light bdsm, agent! yeji

aff link

“Stop!”

Avoiding each and every obstacle, the three agents chased down their target who was running through the top of a building, a person simply named “Killer Queen”. The chase was going on for five minutes - countless bullets directed towards each other missing their mark. The agents were running out of ammunition and their stamina wasn’t going to hold up any further.

“Does this guy have any lungs or what?! We’ve been chasing him for hours!” Ryujin shouts towards the others.

“Keep the pace! Eventually he’ll get tired too!” Yeji replied.

“Captain, permission to use Hierophant Green!” You asked Yeji while getting ready to press the button on your watch to summon the weapon mentioned.

“Permission granted!”

As soon as you press the button, your hands turn into a robotic state with green and white color schemes. You then put them close together, causing it to glow bright green and a water-like material is produced on your palms.

“Take this Killer Queen! Emerald Splash!” You shouted.

A giant energy blast was released from your palms which then takes on the form of emeralds, targeted and locked onto Killer Queen at a crazy speed. The agents were confident - Killer Queen had no way of escaping and they were gonna put an end to his crimes by giving him the punishment that he deserves.

But suddenly, Killer Queen flashes his jacket towards the blast and deflects them away, making the agents flinch away from him. They were shocked at the act and realized that this was not an easy enemy.

“What? There’s no way! No one can just deflect the Emerald Splash!” You said, shocked at the fact that The Mafia has overthrown your best attack.

"Hah! You utter fool! Your attacks are weak against me!" Killer Queen then throws a type of bomb towards you.

"Agent Mint!" Ryujin and Yeji shouted before watching you get sent flying in the air by the explosion from the bomb.

Both of them stopped chasing Killer Queen and ran towards your weak body that just fell to the ground. The explosion burned your suit and a little bit of your skin and your head was feeling super dizzy because of you hitting it on the cement roof. Blood started to pour out from a cut on your head, your vision was also starting to get blurry.

Before Yeji and Ryujin could reach you, you fainted because of your injuries. You hear their cries for you as your vision slowly turns black, your mind hoping that there's a chance help would arrive soon.

//timeskip//

Your eyes slowly open. Greeted by the bright ceiling light of the room, you squint your eyes and sit up to look around. You felt your head that was wrapped in bandages and saw a few cuts on your arms.

"Where...Where am I?" You ask yourself before hearing the door of the room being opened by Chaeryeong.

"Oppa! You're awake!" Chaeryeong rushes towards you and hugs you on the bed, making you eventually realize that you were in the ward room of the JYP HQ.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry! I forgot that you're still injured…" Chaeryeong said as she pulled away, noticing you wince from her sudden contact.

"It's fine. How long was I asleep, Chae? Are the others okay?" You asked her as she slowly sat on one of the chairs in the room.

"You've been unconscious for almost 3 days. The others are fine oppa, but…"

"What's wrong?"

"Yeji unnie…She's been out of place after the incident, always looking so frustrated, separating herself from us except during worktimes and most of all - not joining us at lunchtime." Chaeryeong sighed and pouted.

"Killer Queen has caused a lot of trouble for us, and I think she's stressed because of it. Don't worry, I'll try to talk it out with her."

"Alright…Anyways, how are you feeling now oppa?"

"I still feel a bit nauseous, but other than that, I'm a-okay!" You said while giving her a thumbs up, making her giggle cutely.

Suddenly, a knock was heard on the door, making you both flinch. You look at Chaeryeong with a questioning face and she replies back with a shrug. The door then was opened once again, revealing the person that knocked on it was Yeji.

"Oh, you're awake. And Chaeryeong, you're here early." Yeji said while closing the door.

"Y-Yeah...Thought that I would pay oppa a visit before I work. I was lucky enough to see him first awake, hehe~" Chaeryeong said as Yeji came to her right side.

"How do you feel now?" Yeji asked you, and your answer was still the same.

“I’m glad to hear that. Don't worry about the mission, you need to heal up first." Yeji said.

"10:30?!" Chaeryeong suddenly shrieked when she was looking at her watch on her wrist.

"Oppa, I gotta go. I promised Ryujin to help her out with uhh... something, yeah. Yeji unnie, take care of him alright? See you guys later!" Chaeryeong said before quickly rushing herself out of the room, leaving you and Yeji alone.

"Take...care…" You managed to say before Chaeryeong closed the door.

You face Yeji who looked like she was lost in thought. Remembering what Chaeryeong said about her situation recently, you were hesitant to ask her about it as she was looking frustrated. Silence filled the room with ease as you just observed the injuries that you got while Yeji just stared at you with her mind full of thoughts.

"Hey, are you okay?" You ask, breaking the silence between you two.

"Chae said that you’ve been looking distressed lately, is there something wrong?”

Yeji looked at you and was greeted with your concerned expression. She looked hesitant, biting her lips and keeping the gap of her thighs closed. You purse your lips, wondering why she was acting this way.

“...You said you were okay, right?”

“Yeah...Why?”

“Then, I’ll show you what’s wrong.” Yeji stood up from her seat and took off her boots and her socks. You were confused, but then she suddenly sat on your lower region that was covered with a blanket, making you shocked.

“Yeji what the-” Yeji silenced you by bringing a finger to your lips and her head gets close to your ear.

"I'm...sexually frustrated." She whispers softly into your ear, giving you shivers.

"H-Hey now Yeji…T-This is not the best place to be saying stuff like this-" You were cut off by Yeji's lips, deeply kissing you and forcing you to lean back to the headboard.

Your eyes widened. This was a wrongful act, you thought. But upon tasting her cherry lips, you instantly got addicted to it. Yeji demands more of you by forcing her tongue into your mouth, giving her access to dance with your tongue. You both exchanged saliva to each other while your hands promptly moved to her back, gently hugging her.

Eventually, you both ran out of oxygen and pulled away from each other by the force of nature followed with strings of saliva. You stared into each other's eyes, filled with lust, knowing what to do next.

"Mommy's been dying to taste your cock, baby. You don't know how many times I've cum just thinking about it." Yeji said while throwing the blanket away from your lap.

"M-Mommy?"

"Yes, mommy. What's wrong?"

"...N-Nothing, I love it." Yeji gave you a shy smile.

Yeji then kisses your neck hungrily, leaving a few deep red marks all over it as you start to moan at how good it felt. Her right hand unbuttons your shirt to reveal your toned body. After gawking at you, she marks you with her lips all over it until she reaches your abdomen.

Your cock was begging to be released from its confines due to her lust-filled kisses earlier. Yeji smirks as she notices your prominent bulge sticking out of your pants. She cups it gently, making you flinch a little and let out a few breathy moans.

"Fuck baby, I can't wait to taste your cock."

Yeji took off her belt and opened the zipper on her coat to be left with a sleeveless blue leather top. You were glad that she helped you to discard a part of her outfit since they were confusing to your eyes.

Her face was on your crotch once again and she took off your pants and your boxers slowly, being cautious as you were still a bit injured.

Your hard cock sprang out and throbbed instantly, finally feeling the cold temperature of the room. Yeji bites her lower lip as she looks at your cock standing proud, impressed by its size. She grasps it by the base, causing you to inhale air into your lungs until she starts stroking it fully, making you exhale in relief.

Precum starts to leak from your tip, hinting to Yeji that her handjob was going well. Her thumb collects it and spreads them all over your shaft as it keeps leaking more and more, eventually covering them as a whole. Your moans fueled Yeji to continue her work but her mouth was starting to water, hungry to get a taste of you.

"Get ready, baby. Mommy's gonna give you the best blowjob ever."

Without wasting any more time, she takes your cock inside her warm, inviting mouth. Starting with a slow pace, you throw your head back on the headrest, savoring how well her mouth was wrapped around your shaft. She was telling the truth about dying for your cock, her tongue was skillfully licking the underside of your shaft and swirling around your tip.

As she bobbed her head up and down to increase the pace, you closed your eyes. The extreme pleasure was felt in an instant because of your body being unconscious these past few days. You were even more sensitive than normal as your body kept shaking with pleasure as Yeji now fondled your balls with her left hand.

"Fuck mommy…" You moaned.

Yeji's eyes formed an inverted crescent upon hearing your moan. She continues to increase her pace on your cock, her mind sets a mission of wanting to make you feel good. That mission was already completed by how much you were moaning and sweating for her because of the pleasure.

When you looked down to see Yeji, you realized that her right hand was missing from your cock. Just then, you looked harder and noticed that she was touching herself as her leather pants were dangling on her knees, allowing her to gain access to her pussy. You knew it was hard for her to keep pleasuring you and herself, so you stopped her blowjob by holding onto her head.

"Mommy...let me help you." You told Yeji and she took the hint instantly as she released your cock from her mouth and turned her body around on her knees. At the same time, you laid down on the bed and Yeji moved backwards until her crotch was right in front of your face and vice versa.

She was dripping, her pussy glistening because of her wetness. You finish the job of taking off her pants alongside her panties and grab her thighs to bring them closer to your meal. Yeji was already back to her job of sucking your cock but suddenly, she moaned loudly as you pushed your tongue onto her clit, lightly penetrating it. Then, the whole of your lips sticks onto her pussy alongside Yeji now deepthroating your cock.

The ward room was filled with both of your moans, pleasuring each other at the same time. You were surprised that no one has opened nor knocked on the door. It was like the time was letting you feel this moment with Yeji. She continues to slightly choke herself on your cock while you lapped up every part of her pussy that was covered with her juices.

You knew that you were reaching your peak fast. You would love to see Yeji's mouth filled with your cum, but the sensitiveness of your cock right now can only be felt once in a while.

"Mommy, I wanna feel your pussy now." Yeji then pulls you out of her mouth, raises her body and straddles your stomach.

"You want mommy to fuck you?" Yeji said while tracing a pattern on your chest. You nodded quickly as a reply.

"You wanna feel how tight mommy is?" You nodded again but then, you were greeted by a hard slap on your left cheek.

"Don't ever tell mommy what to do." Yeji's tone was cold and harsh, throbbing your cock in response because of how scary and hot it was.

Her hand was back to your cock once again, stroking it gently with a smirk on her face. You didn’t know what she was planning to do, but you knew that it was definitely gonna be pleasuring. She raised her hips and hovered over your crotch, teasing the tip of your shaft on her pussy lips. Your breath started to come out shallow, the friction of her rubbing was getting into nerves as you grit your teeth when you felt a certain sensation hitting your body.

“M-Mommy, p-please…” You begged her.

“What was that baby?”

“Please fuck me mommy! I wanna feel mommy’s tight pussy and fill it up with my cum! Please mommy!” You gave in to her dominance, something that you never had done before.

Without saying any words back, she suddenly left the bed and grabbed something from her little pouch on the seat which was on her arm earlier. Before going back to the bed, she comes to your side and covers your eyes with some sort of cloth, your vision now was filled with darkness.

“Arms up.” You followed her instructions and Yeji ties both of your wrists to each side of the headboard with what you feel like a silky fabric.

“Hm, better.” You heard Yeji say before feeling the bed sink down and the warmness of her pussy was back on your erection. You also heard the sound of clothes being removed and thrown onto the floor, possibly her top and her bra which were the only things that were left on her body.

“Mommy’s gonna fuck you now since you begged for it.”

You didn’t even have time to prepare yourself as Yeji lowered down on your shaft, letting you feel the tightness of her pussy. She didn’t care about adjusting to your size anymore and kept slamming down her hips at a wild pace with a few satisfying groans from her sinful lips.

“Ahh fuck, you fill me up so well.” Yeji moaned as she slowed down her movements.

“Mommy’s so tight…”

Feeling that her hand was now on your stomach, you can imagine that Yeji was riding you with her ass facing towards you. You were a little frustrated at not having the vision of her perfect butt bouncing up and down your cock, but all these props that were put onto you were definitely increasing your arousal. Your shaft was drowned with her juices as you heard the wet sound of both of your crotches slapping against each other.

You never knew that you had a submissive side, and you have to thank Yeji for unlocking this new side of you. Sweat formed on both of your bodies as the air around was getting hotter due to her constant pace of riding your length. Suddenly, your cock impales her deeply until it reaches her g-spot, earning a loud sensual moan from Yeji.

“Fuck yeah, that’s the spot…”

Yeji penetrates herself in that same position over and over again. Her legs and body shakes in response, oxytocin fills her bloodstream in a large amount as her walls strongly clenches on your shaft. It wouldn’t take much longer for the both of you to reach your peak.

“Oh yeah, mommy’s going to cum all over your cock baby.”

“M-Me too, m-mommy, please don’t stop!”

“I would never.”

A few more slams was all it needed for Yeji to orgasm, drenching your cock with an enormous amount of her juices as her walls pulsated around your cock with such intense pressure. It causes you to hit your climax quickly after hers, emptying all of your build up load and filling up the entirety of her insides. You pull on the fabric on your wrists while moaning in a loud volume, wanting to hold her close as you orgasm but you were glad enough that you were deep inside her warm pussy.

“Ahh, fill me up, fill me up….” Yeji said as you sent a few more shots of your thick seed into her womb.

As you both were a panting mess, Yeji lifts off of your shaft inch by inch, both of your mixed cum slowly drips out of her before it leaks out in a large amount and stains the bed below. You felt Yeji’s hand taking off your blindfold and once your vision was back, a sight of Yeji showing her pink splayed lips that was messy with both of your juices. She sighed in satisfaction and leaned her head close to your ear to whisper something.

“From now on, you will be mommy’s fucktoy.”

[gibbearish]

oh thank god finally some misinterpretation to dismantle, i can stop waiting for it to happen

anyways @estradiolicphysics yes, you're partially correct in that that was very much an oversimplification of terf ideology, honestly i figured anyone on this site is familiar enough with the basics of it that making the original post any longer wasn't really worth it. but now i have an excuse to talk more about it so on your own head be it.

what i find most interesting here is that in saying TERF ideology is the hatred of transfemininity in the name of feminism, you provided an oversimplfied version of it as well. the reason TERFs hate transfemininity Is Because They View Trans Women As Men, And They Think Men Are Bad. the ACTUAL CORE of the ideology IS still "femininity good, masculinity bad," and Because They Are Transphobes, they put trans women in the masculinity box. and here you're pretending these are somehow conflicting statements, that the core of the ideology cannot be "woman good, man bad" if they also hate trans women, as if Transphobes Think Trans Women Are Men isn't like. literally just trans 101.

you then use this inaccurate framing to say i'm being transmisogynistic by erasing transfeminine oppression with this misrepresentation of their ideology. however i would argue you yourself are doing exactly that by erasing the Radical Feminist roots of why the Trans Exclusive Radical Feminists believe what they do. did you think TERFs just sprang fully formed from the void and picked trans women as their target out of nowhere? the hatred of transfemininity IS BUILT ON hatred of masculinity because THEY CONSIDER THOSE THE SAME. acting like that's NOT why is, like with much of what op said, disingenuous at best and deliberately misleading at worst, and contributes to erasure of transfeminine oppression by Erasing The Actual Motivations FAR more than me not providing an in-depth breakdown of TERFism within my already in-depth breakdown of One Singular Post does.

then, in a stunning act of performance art, you conclude "do better and reflect," which in situations like this really means "i said you're wrong and I'm Right, so sit down, shut up, and don't talk back." i wonder if perhaps you might have the same politics/motivations as the person in the original post, up to and including deliberately wielding inaccurate accusations of transmisogyny in the hopes people who don't know enough about the situation will just go "ew a transmisogynist" and default to listening to you and ignoring anything i say? the world may never know. if only you had done other things similar to what op did, like misrepresent the origins of something to support a specific narrative, or concluded with "stop saying the things i said are wrong," if you had we could draw an even better comparison showing how the same tactics were used again. it's so sad that you didn't though, that would've been a really good point to make. alas.

anyways, i have reflected, and i am still standing by what i said. thanks for your definitely in good faith input though, and thank you for freeing me from waiting tensely for the first person to break the misinterpretation seal while oh so kindly demonstrating a bunch of my points as a bonus, you were very helpful.

so this post has been made unrebloggable now (shocker) but ive been feeling the need to address it since i saw it on my dash multiple times, so let's explore how lying on the internet works. more specifically, how blending truth, lies, and omissions to whip uninvolved people into anger works, because i think this is an excellent example and that pointing out the misinformation and the tactics used to spread it here is important, both in correcting the specific falsities but also in helping recognize similar tactics in the future.

so here we have several things that are technically true: staff has been very openly shitty to trans women for a long time and them banning predstrogen is clearly part of that, there is currently a movement regarding discussing transmisandry/transandrophobia, transmisogyny and transphobes sending transphobic asks is by far nothing new, and baeddel is/was a slur. however, among all of this are half-truths, unprovable speculation, or outright lies made to make you believe these events are originating specifically from transmascs.

firstly, the transandrophobia movement has been drastically misrepresented here in the same way it has been for the whole argument, "they're just trans MRAs" has been repeated so many times now that i'm gonna be hearing it in my dreams when i'm 80. i can understand not being willing to address the nuance of that whole discourse in one post that isn't directly focused on that, i'm certainly not, but in this example it's not unwillingness to address a complicated topic, it's a deliberate misrepresentation to frame one side of the discussion as The Evil Bad Ones That Can't Be Trusted. additionally, this post IS about that discourse and is just pretending it isn't to mislead a wider audience, so refusing to address it at all beyond this brief mention is deliberately misleading people about the goals of the group because They're The Other Side Of The Discourse. "transmisogynists" is used as a buzzword here, it doesn't actually refer to Anyone Who Hates Transfemmes, it refers to Transmascs Who Discuss Transmasc-Specific Oppression Using A Word They Coined To Point Out That Queer Spaces Have A Big Problem With Masculinity and just. doesn't tell you that's what it means, relying on the structure and framing of the post to create the Transmisogynist = Transmasc association in the audience's head so op doesn't have to say it outright (and of course the implied Transmasc = Transmisogynist association that follows because creating THAT association is the Actual Point of this post). the mentions of transmascs in this post are designed to look like afterthoughts, op says "typically those who espouse transandrophobia" to make it look like they're saying there's other people they're referring to here too, but almost everything in this post draws from the transandrophobia discourse. some random cis transphobe in texas has never heard the term baeddel in their entire life much less used it in a debate about transphobia, this is an intercommunity argument through and through, but op is trying to mask the fact that they're just referring to "transmascs who disagree with me specifically" and make it look like it's part of a wider trend. and again, i'm not going to go into the nuances of transandrophobia here, but i highly recommend reading some of the theory on it by @nothorses (x) and @genderkoolaid (x) because the "theyre just trans MRAs" argument kinda just collapses under its own weight as soon as you look into it even a smidgen. i've linked a couple broad overviews there but they both discuss it frequently and in-depth, specifically nothorses has a pinned post linking to many different discussion threads that i would recommend checking out if you do want to learn more about what the actual conversation surrounding these words is.

so, after framing the movement this way, they go on to say that the reason predstrogen was banned wasn't /just/ because staff has a long and established hate boner for trans women, but because the transandrophobia movement was teaming up with TERFs to mass-report her and other transfemmes, and implies that this is part of a deliberate conspiracy between Transandrophobia Truthers™, TERFs, and staff. you'll notice that there are no, say, screenshots of transmascs saying theyre deliberately reporting her or of that they're working with TERFs, behind-the-scenes lists of people who reported a certain account, or any evidence for this beyond "she was a trans woman, they're trans men who hate trans women, she got banned, so these must be related". which i find especially funny now given that photomatt has continued melting down about this since it happened and made it pretty clear it yknow. was just part of staffs ongoing hate campaign against trans women that has been going on much longer than the transandrophobia debate? and that maybe the fact that The Literal CEO is having a personal meltdown about this might explain where that could be coming from or at least why it's been allowed to continue for so long, moreso than any individual users reporting someone could? but i digress.

who reported what account is completely unprovable as a casual user unless people directly admit they did it, so to bring it up like this begs the question of what actual reasoning they have for saying it beyond trying to tie a current display of bigotry into an unrelated discourse. that's not to say it's impossible people who discuss transandrophobia were wrongfully reporting her, because again, thats something we have no way of knowing, and the internet is a shit place so i wouldn't be surprised. but given the circumstances and the rest of the lies here, i have my doubts about this being an actual yknow. Thing That Happened rather than just another lie to make people mad at transmascs. now one could make the argument that op wasn't saying transmascs are /deliberately/ teaming up with TERFs/staff, that "teaming up" was just a poor choice of words to refer to multiple groups who happen to have the same goals in mind at the same time but aren't actually coordinating with one another, but given the deliberate misinformative slant of the rest of the post and the overall phrasing in this section, i have trouble extending that grace. regardless, however, that doesn't change that who is reporting who isn't something verifiable, so stating it here as a confirmed fact is disingenuous at the absolute best, and a lie chosen specifically because it's unprovable at worst. if op /does/ have proof that transmascs have been teaming up with TERFs to get trans women banned, not including that with this post is just uhhhhh dumb, and if op /doesn't/ have proof then Why Would You Go Around Telling People That's What Happened Unless You Were Lying To Them On Purpose With Ulterior Motives.

next, op goes on to discuss the rise of the term baeddel. now as i said before, the truth here is that it certainly was a slur and certainly can still be used as one, again the internet is a shit place so i would be a fool if i tried to say "no one is using this as a slur". however, this is once again a drastic misrepresentation of the situation. baeddel's rising use is due to certain trans women reclaiming it and aligning themselves with the original group's politics, namely that femininity is good and masculinity is bad (aka terfism 101), with the added caveat that by abandoning femininity for masculinity, transmascs are evil and betraying devine womanhood and their community by putting more Evil Manhood into the world. of course that in turn is a drastic oversimplification of their politics and i highly recommend checking out this post with an actual in-depth exploration of the history (and without my added flavor), but the important part to note here is that this is not a term transmascs just Started Using one day because they hate transfems so very much as is implied here, its use is directly tied to a group of people saying "hello, here is what i am, and here is what this word means about what i believe," so others went "ok, these specific beliefs are called this." bringing up the fact that it historically was a slur is misdirection here, when you look closer this is almost a 1 to 1 translation of TERFs crying that TERF and radfem are slurs because People Don't Like Their Politics And Therefore Them, so the name for their politics is used negatively, so therefore it's a slur. that argument just has a little more oomph behind it this time because It Was A Slur Originally. and again, that isnt to say no one is now using it as a slur, the rate of decay for online discourse is ridiculous so it being boiled down to and used as "evil transfemme" has certainly already happened, but to act like /every/ use of it is a slur is literally just a lie, when you self-identify with a term based on your shared politics with the original group then you do not get to claim everyone using that term to describe those politics is doing so exclusively to attack you. also this part is entirely speculation but given that op's url is basically just. baeddel switched around to dae bel, i would hazard a guess that they perhaps are indeed aware of the origins of its re-use? but again, that's entirely unprovable and based just on wordplay, but like. given the Everything here i wouldn't be surprised. now, there's definitely an argument to be made about calling users baeddels based just off of their politics when they don't personally self-identify with it, if that constitutes calling someone a slur and if TIRF should be used instead, but crucially, that is not the argument being made here. the argument being made is "ANY AND ALL use of this term is calling someone a slur," and that literally just Isn't The Case.

finally, to tie the whole post off, op reminds us 1) if you hear anything bad about any trans woman ever, it's probably a lie to make her look bad, and 2) if you hear anyone say anything about transandrophobia, disregard everything else they have to say because they hate trans women. not "be critical of the things you see or get sent" or "be on the lookout for things following a certain pattern," a unilateral "anything bad is probably fake and anyone who uses the bad words is probably evil." that is not something someone does if they are genuinely trying to raise awareness of an ongoing trend, that is what someone does when they want you to turn your brain off and be mad at a group no matter what they say.

so yeah, in summary, do be critical of the things you see and be on the lookout for certain patterns, because sometimes people will just Lie to you. or, sometimes people will tell you portions of the truth while leaving out crucial bits so that you'll come to the conclusion they want without anyone being able to say they lied to you without typing up a thirty paragraph long hell post. transmisogyny is absolutely a problem on this site and there are 100% valuable conversations to be had about it and its presence within the trans community, but this post is not that. this post uses real transmisogyny and the wrongful termination of a trans woman's account as set dressing to say that it was all because of evil transmascs who run the trans community behind the scenes conspiring to take out transfemmes, so you should ignore anything they have to say because All of it is secretly motivated by transmisogyny. they're never discussing transandrophobia because it's something that actually effects them, they're doing it to hurt trans women by saying they have it worse. they're never telling you about shitty things a trans woman did to spread awareness, they're lying to make her look bad, or even if it's true they're only talking about it as part of a hate campaign because she's trans, they wouldn't care otherwise. they're never using a specific term because People Use That Term For Themselves, they're calling someone a slur because they hate trans women. there's always an explanation you can think up that ties it back to transmisogyny, and op says that instead of assessing all of what someone says and the context behind it to determine if that's what's happening, you should assume transmisogyny is the answer and refuse to engage any further as soon as you see a word you've been told is bad.

this post is discourse recruitment masquerading as a public service announcement that doesn't offer you any routes to actually learn more about what's going on, it just tells you Here's What's Happening, Here's Who's Evil And Should Be Ignored, And If You Disagree You're Also Evil And Should Be Ignored. content of the actual post aside, i think anything framed that way should be taken with a MASSIVE grain of salt and this would have raised my alarm bells even if i wasn't already pretty familiar with the arguments, people who genuinely want you to know something just because it's good to know will give you options to learn more or encourage you to actually use your critical thinking to assess things, not tell you to sit down and shut up and ignore anyone who disagrees with them.

anyways i guess tldr

[heyitsphoenixx]

I Hope You’re Happy Pt. 2

Because my brain only works at ungodly hours of the night apparently. Part 2 to a pyw au.

TW: brief mentions of rape, murder, self harm, suffocation. SFW, just angst mainly.

All Parts AO3

gif by: @/kyloren

“…I’mma have the last laugh… cause the second you forget me is the second that I come right back…”

The radio played while Cassie drove down her familiar neighborhood streets, windows rolled down and hair dancing in the wind. When she left the hospital she had taken some time to briefly wipe the days old makeup off and bandage her bleeding arm with some spare wrappings she kept in the glove compartment. She'd had more than her fair share of bold men in her past outings to have the sense to carry first aid in her car, though it was rare that they ever made it into her car.

She was wearing a grey hoodie, thick sunglasses, plain trousers and plain sneakers, completely unlike her usual wardrobe. Again, thanks to experience, she was always prepared with multiple wardrobe changes in her trunk. And she was especially grateful for that when she was mobbed by cameras and microphones as she left the hospital, each one shouting a different inquiry as to how she possibly escaped, if she cared to comment on Al Monroe's charges, and what would Nina say if she could see her suffering wasn't for nothing?

She'd tell every one of you to go fuck yourselves on wooden spikes, that's what she'd say.

Cassie's phone was on the verge of sounding like one never-ending note with the amount of messages and voicemails it was getting at once. She knew Gail was in there somewhere, and she fully intended on getting back to her later, but right now she had to visit someone else first.

She would recognize the sweet smell of those specific rose bushes at the end of the world. As she pulled up to the Fishers' driveway, Cassie could barely contain her excitement. She was still reeling from seeing the footage of him in handcuffs, and though he wasn't in prison yet he might as well have been from how giddy she felt. She had to share this feeling with the one other person in the world who could know how she felt.

She sprinted towards the front door, feet barely hitting the concrete as if she was running on air, and Cassie could swear she heard Nina's laughter right alongside her. She planted her feet in front of the door, shook her shoulders to try and contain herself, and rang the doorbell. Her hands formed fists and then sprang outwards again and again, willing the energy out of her.

Finally, the door opened and Cassie threw herself on Nina's mother in pure joy.

"I can't believe it, I actually can't believe it! After all this time, after all his parading around and coasting by his entire life and being celebrated for it at every turn, and no one giving a damn about her, no one ever saying her name, he's finally fucking caught. I finally got him!"

Cassie at last released her arms from Mrs. Fisher's neck long enough to see her face, and it was not at all what she was expecting.

Her lower lip was shaking, her face was heavily tear-stained, and she was shaking her head at Cassie. Cassie felt her stomach drop down to the depths of the earth at the sight.

"Do you have... any idea, what you've done?"

Cassie's mouth hung open in shock.

"I-I..."

"No, of course you don't. Because you could never do the one thing I've ever asked of you. You could never let it go. Not for her, not for me, and certainly not for yourself. And now look where we are. Really, go look."

She motioned behind her to the TV in her living room. Cassie warily stepped into the house and sat down on the plastic-covered couch to watch. Across the screen flashed the ten second clip they'd been showing all day of the police putting handcuffs on him at his own wedding. For about two of those seconds she could see in the back the grainy outline of Ryan Cooper on his phone, towering over everyone and looking absolutely terrified. She stifled a grin at that. And then her name was on the screen.

"VICTIM BLAMING: CASSANDRA THOMAS VS. AL MONROE

A FAIR FIGHT AGAINST LEGAL RIGHTS"

Headlines like this scrolled on the bottom of the screen beneath pictures of Cassie's scalpels and various surgical tools she had brought with her to the cabin. Her rental car's license plates she had thrown into the surrounding forest. The bed he had tried to kill her on, complete with fuzzy pink handcuffs attached to the frame. And finally, an old picture of Nina.

The journalist ( if you could call her that, Cassie thought), was spinning the story to imply that there might be more evidence to the possibility of a dual attempted murder than was once thought, and that Cassie's actions may have been the result of a scorned lover's last-ditch attempt at justice, and Al Monroe might actually be the real victim who was simply defending himself from a revenge-driven maniac.

Cassie sat frozen on the couch, her hands hugging her knees and her eyes wide. She knew the news would spin it, she just wasn't sure how. This definitely exceeded her expectations.

"I mean... a scorned lover? Come on, now that's a reach."

"Do you know what this means, Cassie? If he pleads not guilty, then you, me, and everyone else involved in this mess that we've had to live with for years now, that I've had to live with, it's all going to come right back to the surface to be dredged up for the public. My dead daughter is going to be judged for what he did to her! And it's all your fault, Cassie!"

She was sobbing into her hands now and shaking. Cassie stood and gently started to wrap her arms around her, but she was pushed off.

"Get away from me! Get out!"

Cassie's legs were starting to fail her as she shuffled backwards.

"I-I'm so sorry Mrs. Fisher," she mumbled, her voice a trembling whisper.

"Don't call me that! Get out, now!"

Now Cassie could feel her bones collide every time her feet hit the concrete at a run to her car. Tears threatened to fall as she turned the ignition, and she was fully sobbing by the time she got to the end of the street, the road blurring in front of her.

She stopped four blocks later for fear of crashing into something if she kept going. She was glad to have her sunglasses back on as she let herself weep.

————————————————————

Cassie scrolled through the hundreds of notifications on her phone as she did her best to appear as small as possible. She sat at a table in a coffee shop she never went to. It was always too hot and the coffee was always too cold. But she didn't want to be recognized, and she didn't want to give that burden to Gail, who had texted her about thirty times asking where she was and saying how happy and relieved she was to know Cassie was alive. It was all Cassie could do to read through the messages, she certainly couldn't respond to any right now.

The unusually gloomy summer rain that had begun outside matched her mood as she nursed her coffee and made a face at it, taking it's temperature very personally.

"Can't get any fucking worse," she muttered to herself, staring out the window with her sunglasses on indoors.

"Can I get a coffee please? Just black."

Cassie's spine straightened of its own accord for the second time that day. Now I know God is a man, she thought. Only he could pull this level of crap. Maybe he's so stupidly tall that if I look down with my hood up he won't be able to see me.

She tested her theory. It might have worked if not for her ruined manicure.

"Cassie?"

She blew a long breath out of her mouth in defeat.

"We have a winner."

"Oh, you've got to be kidding me. Was everything else today not enough, now you're stalking me too?'

"Yes, Ryan, after all the events of today I have decided to add even more to the growing number of problems in my life by obsessing over you. You got me." She lowered her hood and took off her sunglasses as he stood on the opposite end of her table.

"I mean, no offense," he said sarcastically, "but I specifically go to this place now to not see you. I drink this cold, shitty coffee because I assumed you would never lower your standards this much."

The barista at the counter behind him made a show of being audibly offended, and Ryan turned to her as she walked off in a huff before he could apologize.

"Good going, Boy Wonder," Cassie teased.

"Well, I'm not wrong, am I?" Ryan muttered, shoving the non-coffee-holding hand in his pocket.

"No, you're right, it's absolutely terrible."

He stood in front of her awkwardly, looking like the personification of Uncomfortable.

"Do you want to sit or something?" she guessed, annoyed at having to guess at all.

"Hm? Oh, um, no. I've got a-a dog, now. At home. I need to um, feed him-"

"Just sit."

"Yeah, right, okay."

He clambered onto the relatively small plastic chair across from her, making him look even more like a giant than usual. His short blond hair was tinted almost brown now from being out in the rain, and the sleeves of his sweater that fit in all the right places were rolled up to his elbows now. She hated him for it.

"So? Aren't you going to ask?" she goaded.

"Ask what?" He sounded genuine, and she could feel her temper rising from it.

"What I've been asked all day," she said almost resentfully, waving her phone around. "How did I escape? I was surprised you didn't ask at the hospital the second I woke up." Ryan snorted.

"Should we even be talking about this, before the trial? Before either of us get up there?" he asked in a low voice. She made a face.

"They have everything I ever had on you now. If your reputation's gonna be ruined it's not going to be because we chatted semi-civilly in a shitty coffee shop."

That got a chuckle and half a smile out of him.

"Honestly Cassie, I didn't think to ask because I didn't care, I still don't really. I was just relieved you were alive. And God knows I can't give an explanation for that." He glanced out the window while he sipped his drink. He proceeded to scrunch his face and stick out his tongue.

"Oh, God, yeah, I've gotta stop coming here," he mused, which drew a smile from her. She looked down at her hands in her lap.

"I'm so sorry, Cassie," he admitted after a moment. She looked up in quiet surprise.

"I can't pretend that whatever I'm feeling now can compare to what you've been feeling for, well, years, but seeing that video of Nina again... it fucking tore me up. Cause yeah, I blocked that out of my mind completely after graduation. And... I have to live with the fact that I just... watched. I stood there and watched, and fucking worse, I laughed, and I'll never forgive myself for that. And... you shouldn't either. I would never forgive me if I were you, and I'll never forgive me as me, like I just said, but-"

"Ryan-"

"Hold on, I just, I have to say this." She could see him so clearly trying to grasp for the right words and feeling like he was failing.

"I am so, so sorry, Cassie. And I know that'll never be enough, and it shouldn't be, but I'm sorry for all of it. For standing there, for denying it, for blaming it on me being a kid when I should've known better-"

"Ryan." She let him take a breath for the first time in a few minutes. She had been listening and watching his face like there was a polygraph test attached to him, assessing the validity of his sincerity like an angel of death. In that moment she heard Nina's mother in her head for the hundredth time that day;

Don't be such a child, Cassie!

You could never do the one thing I've ever asked of you. You could never let it go.

It's all your fault, Cassie!

She exhaled through her nose, considering him.

"It will be... a long time... before I can forgive you. But, I think, that day exists... in the future."

His shoulders dropped ever so slightly from his ears, and he gave a curt nod in thanks. They both sipped their coffees unflinchingly.

"Would you want to possibly get some not-shitty coffee?" he quietly suggested.

"Oh, I can't, I have to go home and feed my imaginary dog," she teased.

"Hey, he is not imaginary."

"We broke up four days ago. You got a dog in four days?"

"He looks like a small homeless man and I would die for him."

"Okay, you buy some quality coffee and then you can go feed your squatter."

"Sounds like a plan."

[ghostlywritten]

If Only I Had Stayed In The Shadows - Chapter Twelve

James Potter x OC

A/N: At last, the long awaited chapter. Sorry for the wait, my laptop has been failing on me. Hope you enjoy.

Words: 3,8k

Prologue  Chapter One   Chapter Two  Chapter Three  Chapter Four  Chapter Five  Chapter Six  Chapter Seven  Chapter Eight  Chapter Nine  Chapter Ten  Chapter Eleven

It was the last weekend before the beginning of the exams for literally everybody. The library was packed with not a single seat unoccupied as well as the common room, where people had even taken to sitting on the floor to study, the dorms being too sitfling.

I had been one of the lucky ones to get a seat at a table, revising my notes with James next to me.

"How do you brew the Elixir to Induce Euphoria?"

"You add shrivelfig, porcupine quills and stir four times anti-clockwise. Then you add a sprig of peppermint, Sopophorous beans and wormwood and stir six times anti-clockwise," James recited, twirling a strand of my hair between his fingers.

"That is correct."

"Yes!"

"Alright, your turn-"

"Hey, what about my reward?" James asked and I looked at him questioningly, "My kiss?" He pouted and I gave in almost immediately, not being able to resist his big earth-coloured eyes as I leant forward to press my lips against his.

"Hmm, that's it," he hummed approvingly and it made my face grow as I thought of him saying it during certain other circumstances. I was a girl, a sixteen year old girl, and of bloody course my mind would wander towards certain things that I could be doing instead of studying, now that I had a boyfriend...things, that I couldn't have had managed before on my own. And with a boyfriend as hot as mine I couldn't help but let my gaze linger whenever he stretched himself during Quidditch warm-ups, causing his shirt to deliciously rile up and reveal his abs, or watching him bite his lips whenever he concentrated hard on something, wishing he would bite me-

"Love? Cec? Hellooo?" James snapped his fingers in front of my face and I blinked. "Are you spacing out on me? Siriusly? After you dragged my ass to sit and study with you? Jeez, then ungratefulness stinks," he huffed in mock-annoyance and I shook my head to get the thoughts out.

"Sorry. What were you saying?"

"It's my turn. What colour does the Potion have and what is it for?"

"The colour should be a bright yellow and as the name implies, it's supposed to induce the drinker in a sudden euphoria."

"That is absolutely correct!"

"Of course it is," I replied arrogantly, flinging my hair before giggling. James smirked, leaning forward. "Come and get your reward then." My heart leaped in my chest but I managed to stop him with a hand on his chest. "Nah, I'm good," I teased with a shrug, briefly wondering where Marlene was. She would have been so proud of me right now. James frowned for a second before promptly throwing himself on me. "Uff, James!" I exclaimed, pearls of laughter escaping as he snuck his arms around me to lessen the blow of landing on the hard floor, pinning me down effectively with his body.

"How dare you reject my generous offer of rewarding you with a kiss?" James said gravely, chuckles drifting through his words, "You shall be punished with more rewards."

"Bite me!"

"Gladly!" I squealed as he started attacking my neck, nipping playfully at the sensitive skin.

"Can you stop with your childish antics?!” Lily's voice ripped through our laughter. She stood up with a peeved look, gathering her things. "Some people are actually trying to study!" She stormed off before any of us could form an answer.

James sprang up, adjusting his glasses as he held out a hand for me whilst looking after her. I brushed off any dirt from my clothes and went to sit down.

"I should probably go and check on her," he suggested and I wanted to ask why when he was already taking off.

"Alright," I said lamely to his back, watching until he disappeared through the portrait hole. I plopped back down on my seat, glancing at Alice, who was completely immersed in her notes, not even aware her best friend's departure. Looking down at my own notes, I tried to focus but my eyes kept drifting from word to word without taking anything in as my mind kept replaying the way James ran after Lily with little to no hesitation. 

'You're thinking too much into it...

...I wonder what they are doing right now...'

I sighed loudly, frustrated that I couldn't let it go. Peeking at the only studious girl at the table, I stood up. "I'm...gonna go to the loo," I excused myself and left when I received no response.

Walking out of the common room, I promptly slapped myself on the forehead.

Was I really going to follow them like a creepy, insecure girlfriend? Obviously.

Was I going to find them with the head start they had now? Obviously not. Dumbass.

Glancing back at the portrait of the Fat Lady guarding our entrance, I pondered whether to go back inside or try looking for them. Lily was most likely heading to the library to join Remus at his study table that he had occupied since this morning. I cringed at my own behaviour when I decided to look for them. 'Im just making sure she's fine so I can focus back on my exams,' I reassured myself, 'Nothing creepy about tha-'

"Ow-!"

"Oi, Cec," Sirius greeted me gruffly, holding onto my arm until I steadied myself as he had bumped against me quite strongly, "Sorry about that. Didn't see you from the corner."

"It's all good," I replied, glad for the distraction as I straightened my robe and looked up at him. He seemed distraught, his hair unkempt and his tie hanging loosely around his neck. I would have guessed he had a good snogging session if it weren't for the sad glistening in his eyes. "Hey Sirius," I called softly as he fidgeted, already turning away, "Is everything alright?"

"Hm?" he looked over his shoulder, his expression carefully blank, "Yeah, of course. Everything is fine. Why?"

I shrugged, not wanting to point out how he seemed less than his usual joyful facade. "Just asking. Where you've been anyway? I thought we would study together in the common room?"

His face twisted into something akin to anguish and I furrowed my eyebrows. "I was with Reg..ulus," he said, turning away.

"Did som-"

"Look, I don't wanna talk about it," he snapped.

"Sirius..." He stormed off towards the portrait hole and I was left staring after a back for the second time this day. I felt the worry built up, sensing that something bad must have happened. Because, no matter how hurt or angry Sirius was, he was always very good at hiding it. Unless he was drunk or something major had happened. And since he didn't seem drunk right now...my feet started moving before my mind had been made up, walking back towards the Fat Lady and pushing every thought of James and Lily into the back of my mind. This was urgent, my platonic soulmate was in pain after all.

Stepping into the common room, I spotted the black-haired boy rush up the boys dormitory and steeled myself before following him upstairs, hoping nobody saw me step to left instead of the right passage towards the rooms. I tentatively walked down the small hallway I had never dared to step in in all my six years before, searching the signs on the doors for the Sixth Year's dormitories. Pressing an ear on one of the doors, I listened for any sound. Fortunately, there were some shuffles and the familiar voice of my friend cursing as he dropped something heavy. Just as I contemplated on whether to knock, the door swung up revealing Sirius, who had rid himself of his robe and jumper, holding a bottle of Firewhiskey in his hand and the other tightly wound around the door handle.

"What are you doing?" he asked, narrowing his shining eyes.

"I-"

"Just leave," he grumbled, his voice tense as he was holding back the tears that hadn't fallen yet. Dread filled me now as he rushed past me to the bathroom, shutting the door soundly behind him. Something was seriously wrong. This time, I didn't hesitate to follow him, pushing back the cringe at opening a boy's bathroom and peeking in. The room was empty except for one shower cabinet in the far back where the water was turned on, running at full blast.

"Sirius, I hope you are not naked, because I'm coming in," I warned, giving him a second before I opened the cabinet to find him sitting on the floor, drinking from the bottle of Firewhiskey as the water pattered down on him.

"Why can't you just leave me alone?" he mumbled, his voice thick and croaky from the burn of the alcohol, "I don't want to talk about it." He leaned his head back, closing his eyes as the water trickled down on his face and further, drenching his clothes.

"We don't need to talk," I said quietly, hoping he could hear me over the water, "I just wanna be here for you." And with that, I stepped in fully-clothed and closed the cabinet door behind me, sliding down next to him as I proceeded to get completely wet in a less than a few seconds. Sirius kept quiet, only raising his bottle to me before pressing it against his own lips when I shook my head, wondering which of the drops trailing down his face were from the shower head and which from his sorrowful eyes.

I wasn't sure how long we sat there but Sirius got up after what seemed like hours, clearing his throat as he lowered the water volume. "I'm...gonna get you the Invisibility Cloak so you can sneak out. Wait here." I nodded. "And don't turn the water off or someone might come in." I nodded again and he stepped over me, pushing the door open and disappearing from sight. I sighed as he left, trying to ignore the uncomfortable feeling of my clothes sticking to my skin. He came back after a few minutes with cloak and wand in hand, casting a Hot Air Charm over me as I got up and turned off the shower head. It was completely silent, but somber in some way as we proceeded to walk out of the bathroom with me under the cloak and him at the front. He held the door open, squinting to see if I had passed and I mumbled a quiet 'thanks' when I was out.

Nodding, he stepped out as well, shoving his hands into his pockets, having dried himself as well. "I will...see you around," he said, a softness in his voice and slightly slurring, "I'm just gonna head to bed."

I nodded before realising he couldn't see me. "Okay. Sleep well, Sirius."

"You too."

Turning away, I took a few steps when I heard Sirius whisper my name. "Cec, I- thank you. For being there," he stammered, seeming uncharacteristically unsure of himself. I wondered then, how many people he had shown his emotional side before. Guessing from what I knew about him, I would say it dwindled down to the four people he kept the closest plus maybe Regulus. It warmed me, that he now included me into that circle as well even if I kind of forced him to as I had followed him around. "Cec?" he called out questioningly, his grey eyes flittering around as he pondered whether I was still there or not. I quickly stepped back towards him, carefully taking his hand and squeezing it slightly. "You're more than welcome, Sirius," I whispered and his eyes softened when I raised my cloak to let him see me for a split second. "Good night."

"Good night."

Walking down to the common room, I noticed a considerably less amount of people were gathered around to study, mostly Fifth and Seventh Years. But Alice was still there and even Marlene had joined her, though her face rested on her notes as she drooled on them, fast asleep. Glancing at the clock on the wall, I noticed it was past nine o'clock. The thoughts of Lily and James that I had pushed into the back of my mind resurfaced and I swept the room with my eyes in search of either of them. There was no way Lily would have gone to bed so early on the last days before the exam and I briefly remembered all the times we had together to study until past midnight for our O.W.L.'s last year. 'Was she still at the library?' But the library had been closed for an hour now.

My stomach grumbled in that moment and the sound resonated throughout the otherwise quiet room. I blushed, despite the fact that no one could see me under the cloak, as a few heads raised in confusion. Only now did I realise how hungry I was since I had missed dinner and also skipped lunch earlier this day. 'A quick snack from the kitchen it is,' I decided, walking towards the entrance and out of the common room. 'And on my way I can make a short detour to see if Lily actually managed to convince Madam Pince to let her stay past the closing hours to study. Wouldn't put it past her to play the Prefect Card for this.'

Skipping down the stairs, I took the corridor to the library and found it entirely deserted. I sighed relieved, not knowing what exactly I was relieved for, as I turned away to head towards the kitchen. The halls were empty and dark, with the occasional light of the half-moon breaking through the tall windows and I breathed in the fresh air of a summer night, enjoying the peaceful silence as I strolled towards the kitchen.

But the peace would only last for so long.

I reached the corridor with the painting of the fruit bowl, fastening my steps as my stomach gave another protesting growl. Just when I was about to tickle the pear in the painting, anticipating all the good food the elves would cook in a matter of minutes, the door opened from the inside, nearly banging against my forehead. I stumbled back as the door swung to the side, revealing James. My heart skipped a beat in surprise but also at the sight of twinkling eyes that seemed unnaturally light in all the darkness surrounding us. Grinning, I grasped at the hem of the cloak, ready to spook him when he turned back towards the kitchens, engulfing his face in a warm glow of light coming from the big room.

A shadow crossed his features and he held his hand out for Lily, who was laughing softly as she took it, letting him help her out of the hole. "Thanks," she said.

"You are very welcome," James replied with a grin as the door shut close, engulfing us all in a sudden darkness. I blinked, squinting in hopes to see better as my eyes adjusted. For a second everything was silent before the two started walking. Biting my lip, I followed them before I could think about what I was doing. 'We are all headed to the same direction, I can't help it that I need to walk behind them. And since I'm not hungry anymore- oh, who am I kidding, I'm starving,' I complained to myself, cursing my brain for having the urge to spy on the two in all my insecure glory.

They walked in silence for a while before standing on the staircase.

"Thanks for the food," Lily spoke up as they waited for the stairs to stop moving, "I really needed it."

"Figures. You didn't eat anything today," James replied.

"How do you know that?"

"Eh," I could practically feel him blush as he stammered for an answer. "I just saw you and Cec studying all day, so I guessed that you hadn't eaten anything yet. Cec hasn't at least."

"Right," Lily said quietly, walking up the stairs as they stopped moving. I followed silently, watching the moon reflect on her brilliant red hair and noticing James did, too. "You know, I was surprised how you two suddenly got together."

"Hm?" James hummed, looking at his shoes as he stuffed his hands into the pockets of his robes.

"I mean, one day you were asking me out and the other you were suddenly hanging around with her and started dating," Lily said in joking manner and James chuckled along, though I couldn't grasp the joke in it. "It was...surprising, yeah," she ended awkwardly and the mood turned somber.

"Well, I guess it surprised a lot of people," James chuckled again, seemingly nervous as he ran a hand through his messy mop of hair. "But, Cec is great. She is amazing, really," he added, his voice turning steady and gentle, tugging at my heart strings. I felt a smile form on my face.

"She is quite great, yeah," Lily agreed softly. Now I felt bad for eavesdropping. 'You're siriusly messed up, dumbass,' I scolded myself. But I didn't stop. "I'm happy for you guys. It's nice to see Cec so happy and seeing a normal side of you."

James scoffed, "Normal?"

"What?" Lily giggled.

"What side of me has not been normal before?"

"I'm just saying, it's refreshing to know a side of you that wouldn't enchant cupids to read me sappy poems and throw pink glitter all over me," Lily recalled, laughing to herself as James blushed beet-red.

"Well, normal is overrated anyway," he muttered into his tie, smiling as Lily bumped her fist against his arms.

"I kinda miss it," she said and I noticed her eyes widen as soon as the sentence left her mouth. James' lips quirked up, his eyes shining. "Do you now?" he asked smugly, laughing as she slapped his arm.

"I mean," she started but paused. The mood turned slightly somber as she fiddled with her sleeve.

"You mean?" James prompted almost eagerly and I bit my lip, the tugging in my heart strings turning to harsh pulls.

Lily sighed, "It's nothing. Just, now that I know the 'normal' side of you, the one, you probably show to your friends and Cec...I think, all the stuff you used to do was quite endearing."

James kept quiet for a second. "You mean, when I endlessly chased after you?"

"All the things you did to ask me out. The cupids, the flowers, the sweets...," I distinctly heard Lily gulp as she stopped and turned towards him, causing him to falter in his steps, too. "I didn't recognise it back then, but it must have cost you a lot of effort and I think that's sweet..." James held his breath. "...and a little bit excessive." They both chuckled lightly before turning quiet, staring at the other.

"So, it was not for nothing after all," James muttered softly, almost as if he were dazed as he stared into her eyes. I clutched at the cloak tightly, feeling cold all of a sudden.

Lily cocked her head to the side, strands of red hair gliding over her shoulder like ocean waves. "Yeah. It did not get me to say yes back then, but..."

"But?" James pressed, taking a step forward.

Lily took a deep breath as if she were preparing herself for something, "But...if I had known this side of you before, I might have agreed. To- you know." I stilled, my tight grip on the cloak loosening slightly. James' eyes widened and I could see the elation spread through his face even if he didn't smile.

"To going out with me?" he asked breathlessly. Lily hesitated before she nodded. For a minute, we all stood in silence as James stared at her, dumbfounded. Lily's eyes flickered around as if she were scared to get caught. "Anyway, it doesn't matter!" she stated, too loudly for the quiet atmosphere, "I mean, you are with Cec now and you guys are happy."

"Yeah...yeah we are," James said, still in stupor.

"Yeah, so..." Lily gestured forward, turning to start walking again.

"But what if we aren't?" James spoke up, causing her to halt in her footsteps. My heart stopped.

"What?" she asked, looking at him over her shoulder.

It was James' turn to take a deep breath as if he were preparing himself for something, "What if Cec and I weren't happy?"

Lily furrowed her eyebrows. "What do you mean? You guys look besotted with each other."

"Yeah, that's the thing," James said firmly, determination flooding his features. "We look like we are besotted with each other. It was an act." I swayed slightly as if I had been punched in the chest. "It was just an act." It was just an act. The words seemed to echo in the hallway, pounding relentlessly into my eardrums as I stood frozen, staring the bespectacled boy.

"It was an act?" Lily asked incredulously. James nodded. She turned towards him fully in disbelief. "You were acting like you were together?!" James nodded again. "Why?"

"I was trying to show you a more civil side of me," he said and my eyes widened. 'Be civil' I heard my own voice resonate through my mind. I tried to keep my breathing even as my chin trembled. "I wanted you to see what kind of guy I am since you wouldn't go out with me. I wanted you to see the real me. How I would be if we were together."

Lily stared at him. "I don't even know what to say...," she trailed off.

"Since you appreciated all the efforts I put into asking you out, you could appreciate this as well?" James asked hopefully and I was starting to feel sick. It was just an act. Something in me shattered. I turned away, trying to shield the little, constricting organ in my chest from his words.

"But wait, is Cec part of this? How is she managing to pretend this whole time?" she pondered and James' face fell. Noticing this, she narrowed her eyes at him. "Is she pretending, James? Does she know about your relationship being an act?"

James tensed up, biting his lip as he glanced away and it was all the answer that Lily needed. Her emerald green eyes widened. "James...," she breathed in disbelief, "How could you do this to her?"

"Listen, Cec won't take it too hard," James tried as Lily shook her head in disbelief, "She knows it's nothing serious. We've grown closer, yes, as friends."

"I don't think she sees it like that," Lily responded and I chose that moment to walk away. Because she was absolutely right.

Chapter Thirteen

[pillage-and-lute]

An Ever Fixed Mark (Part 9)

Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, (here) Part 10,

Read it on Ao3 HERE, 

WARNING: Character injury as a major plot point. Lots of mentions of blood.

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Roach’s hooves hit the dirt like hammers, scooping up great clods of earth with each beat. Her gait barely registered to Geralt as blood welled up underneath his hand. There was so much, too much. His lap was soaked, it ran over the saddle and down his trousers, staining his boots and roach’s sides. It mixed with the dust on the sides of the road to form horrible rust-colored clots barely visible in the dark.

And Jaskier.

Jaskier was dying, his face white, his eyes rolled back, almost closed. Geralt pressed his hand tighter to the wound on his husband’s thigh and pressed Jaskier to his chest with his other hand. He wasn’t riding with reins, he didn’t need them. Roach sensed his desperation, likely smelling his anguish and fear. He had to trust his horse and Jaskier...Jaskier would have to trust in him. In the distance, the lights of Oxenfurt glittered in the darkness.

------

They had been traveling back to Oxenfurt anyway. The summer was still feverishly hot and travel had been rough. Even with his newfound resolve to do right by his husband, Geralt’s temper had been fraying. He knew he’d been talking less, marinating in the heat and his own sweat. He knew it was annoying Jaskier, who kept trying to make conversation, but Geralt wasn’t well built for heat, and his black armor and clothing cooked him. 

Jaskier had been complaining for days, too. There weren’t many settlements around for him to play in and the fields were too hot, the waterways too muggy, and the forests too oppressive. They slept in the open without a tent to avoid simply cooking in their sleep. 

There had been a moment, though, not so bad as the others. A clearing in a forest, lush, but with plenty of shade, and Jaskier had looked so beautiful. 

Geralt had been remaking some potions, teaching Jaskier the names of some of his less monstrous ingredients, pointing out what was good for salves, what was safe for humans, and so on. 

Jaskier had held up a buttercup, root and all smiling at the little petals. “I knew they were poisonous, of course,” he said, stroking the root with his thumb. “But I never thought they could be useful.”

“Only this,” Geralt said, taking it from him and cutting the roof. “Sagebrush buttercup, the root is still poison, but combined with Moonmoss it’s okay enough for a witcher.”

“Not for humans, though.”

“No, still poison.”

Jaskier had toed off his boots and leaned against Geralt’s shoulder, picking the flower up again, rootless now, and twiddling it in his fingers. “Seems fitting,” he said at last, and put it behind his ear.

Geralt wasn’t great with words and those had been cryptic, but he felt like he was missing something important.

“Hmmm?” he asked. Jaskier was getting really good at understanding him anyway.

“A Jaskier, only okay enough for a witcher,” Jaskier said, smiling a little sadly at Geralt.

There was such an odd tone there, something more there. Like Jaskier truly thought he was only suited to...but down that road madness lay. It also lay in the way sweat made Jaskier’s cheeks shimmer in the dappled sunlight. 

“Why are you Jaskier?” Geralt asked, going back to grinding the roots with the flat of his blade. It could have been phrased better, but Jaskier understood.

“It seems a little silly now, but when I was about ten or so I was rather melodramatic,�� Jaskier said, ducking his head. 

“Hmm,” Geralt said. 

“I felt...so alone. There was just no one who seemed like me. Father thought music and poetry and anything except hunting, fistfights, money and war were silly. I annoy people,” he tilted his head back onto Geralt’s shoulder. “I annoyed you at first. Still do sometimes. --It’s okay,” he said, cutting off Geralt before he could hum his dissent. “I seemed to be a burden and a pain to everyone, something fleeting in their lives. I felt like a buttercup, fine to see in passing on the side of a road, but bad in a pasture, poisonous to eat, of no use to anyone and likely to get crushed by a boot.”

“The boot in question being your father?” Geralt said, setting aside his crushed roots and beginning to shred the Moonmoss, horrible, slimy pale stuff, between his fingers.

Jaskier knocked their heads together gently. “Congratulations, Geralt. You navigated an extended metaphor. Anyway, it was a little melodramatic, but so am I, so it stuck, at least in my mind.”

“I think it’s better than Julian,” Geralt said, scooping his moss and root mixture into the boiling pot.

“Me too,” Jaskier said, quietly.

Around them, a light summer rain had started, sprinkles and mist, mostly, but in the deep shade it was almost chilly, even to Geralt. Jaskier picked up his lute and played a pleasant tune for a while, fingers light on the strings. Geralt let his concoction bubble before pouring it into one of his Brimstone Glass vials. He examined the way the light hit the bottle, making slightly more of a show of it so that Jaskier might notice.

Dinner was cold rations, a hot meal being too hot, even in this pleasant respite. They’d picked up dark rye bread in the last town and were eating it with a paste of late-season wild garlic. Jaskier began eating but he shivered and said “Geralt, could you be my hero and pass me the doublet.”

Geralt pretended his whole body didn’t tingle whenever Jaskier called him a hero. He didn’t need to ask which doublet. Jaskier had plenty, but the doublet, that was the basilisk leather. Geralt held it out and took Jaskier’s bread as he slid the doublet on. Passing the bread back to Jaskier when both sleeves were fully on his arms. 

The rain picked up, still pleasant compared to the heat, but Jaskier and Geralt stood, Jaskier holding his bread in his mouth, and packed up those parts of their camp that would suffer from the rain.

“Do you see--” Jaskier asked, just as Geralt handed him his lute oil.

“Is the--” Geralt said, interupted by Jaskier handing him the hoof knife he’d been searching for.

“Do you think--” Jaskier began.

“The horses will be fine, should we--”

“Yeah, keep the tent packed away, the bedrolls--”

“Will be fine if we lay them on grass instead of mud,” Geralt finished. Then he realized how close he was standing to Jaskier.

“Jaskier,” he said, reaching out for the raindrop quivering on his husbands cheek. “I--”

Jaskier fell to the ground with a cry.

There was a crossbow bolt in his leg and already blood was wetting the forest floor. 

The bandits were dead in seconds. They’d likely only seen a well-dressed noble, all alone. They’d never expected something like Geralt. 

Anger and panic and dreadful fear all fought for dominance as Geralt dispatched the luckless thugs. The fear was icy cold in his veins. Whatever evil, dark coldness had first driven humans to create fire filled his blood. 

There was fire as well. Fury and anguish rose in him like great tides of flame. It was like the Trials all over again, he was being burned from the inside out, being remade until something new lived in him.

He stepped over bodies without a second glance, boots leaving bloody prints on the ground, soon to be washed away.

Jaskier was curled by Roach, hands clutching at the wound in his thigh and surrounded by scarlet. 

Geralt left Thunderbolt, Jaskier’s horse, tied in the clearing, Roach never needed tethering and sprang to his command. In his arms, Jaskier bled. They were so close to Oxenfurt.

They had to make it.

------

That had been then. Now, the lights of the city blazed in Geralt’s sight and he cursed himself and everything else. 

Jaskier was cold in his arms.

Before he had twitched or grunted, sometimes, horribly, he’d cried out at being jostled. He was still now, and too cold. His human heart was beating slowly, slower now than Geralt’s. But he had to live. He just had to. Jaskier had to live because...

Because Geralt loved him. Wholeheartedly and without reservation Geralt loved Jaskier, was so in love with him that it had clouded his judgement.

He’d been about to say as much, about to tell Jaskier the truth, when his husband had been struck down.

Geralt loathed Destiny, but he knew too much to deny her existence. This had been a judgement.

Geralt knew what life he led, he knew his Path, had known that humans couldn’t walk it. And he’d brought Jaskier anyway. This was punishment for falling in love and not leaving Jaskier safely in Oxenfurt like he’d planned from the start. 

The basilisk doublet flapped around Jaskier like a shroud. Had Geralt really thought it was enough? A single, simple doublet? Had he intended to fight cold and hunger and sickness with the swords he strapped to his back? Had he planned on fighting Destiny herself to keep Jaskier safe?

If Geralt could have struck Destiny down he would have.

The doublet hadn’t even kept Jaskier safe from the crossbow bolt. It was still embedded in his thigh, a terrible reminded as Geralt staunched the bloodflow. It hadn’t been enough. Geralt might as well have killed Jaskier himself. 

Jaskier’s father would certainly say that he had. Witchers would be hunted. There’d be a war and people would die all because Geralt had fallen in love. He’d been selfish and kept Jaskier at his side, luxuriating in praise and a pair of beautiful eyes. Dreaming that he could have love instead of leaving Jaskier in Oxenfurt where he was safe.

Geralt was taking Jaskier to Oxenfurt now, he only hoped his husband would still be alive when they got there.

Roach’s hooves rang on cobblestone as the first vestiges of the city flew past. Geralt flew into the city, louder than a rumor and faster than a plague. His eyes sought the telltale signs of magic, glowing gold and fighting to see in the darkness and the rain.

His love was going to die. He was so still against Geralt’s chest he was never still. 

Geralt prayed. He hadn’t prayed since the Trials. Even then, that hadn’t really been a prayer, that had just been a scared little boy screaming for somebody, anybody, to make it stop. 

Geralt prayed to every god he could think of. He wracked his brains as Roach ran through the city, trying to remember who was the god of poetry. Jaskier had been magic, a poet who could talk to the dead, such a person couldn’t just die this way. Geralt made an appeal to Justice, who he didn’t believe in.

Jaskier is good. He begged. He deserves to live. 

Take me instead.

Geralt’s eyes, moving in a far different plane than his mind, saw what he’d been looking for. 

Smoke. There. Green smoke, nearly invisible against the darkness and the rain. It curled up from the chimney of a building, poorly built and leaning out into the street but Geralt knew there was magic inside. 

He jumped from Roach, not taking the time to slow her down. His boots skidded on the cobblestones but he ran to the door, shifting Jaskier to one arm and knocking to wake the gods.

“Healer!” he screamed. “We need a healer!” His hand slammed the rusted knocker down like thunder.

“Please!” he was crying without tears, his voice taking a desperate and thin edge. “Please, we need a healer!”

The door was swung open without ceremony and Geralt barged inside. There was a workbench with scrolls across it but Geralt swept them off, laying Jaskier onto the wood like an offering at an altar.

The mage, placed a delicate hand on his chest and pushed him back.

He followed, feeling numb. The addrenaline was fighting his system, the fear of the ride stopped dead because there was nothing more he could do. 

That was the worst part. There was nothing more he could do. Geralt sank against the wall in the corner of the room, his heart racing and his mind achingly blank.

Some small part of him realized that Jaskier’s feet were bare. He’d left his boots back at camp. 

The mage was flowing magic over Jaskier in waves. It gathered in a purple mist over his wound, mixing unpleasantly with the blood.

“Pick up those scrolls,” snapped the mage, who didn’t look at him.

Geralt did, his body moving without input from his battered soul. His fingers smoothed yellowed parchment and curled it back up into neat tubes. 

“He’ll need paying for,” said the mage, hands poised over Jaskier as her magic slithered.

“Name your price.”

“I don’t want coin.”

Geralt gritted his teeth, watching the magic pull the bolt from Jaskier’s thigh. “Name. Your. Price.”

“What if I ask for your name as payment?” the mage said, not looking at him.

“I’ll give it to you.”

“And if I ask for your life?”

“You can have it.”

She hummed. Geralt knew it was a habit of his own but it set his teeth on edge.

“What if I ask for that?” she said.

She was pointing to Jaskier’s mother’s ring, the opal glittering on his finger.

“It’s not mine to barter, but for his life, I’m sure he’d understand,” Geralt said. 

“Luckily for you I’m not interested in trinkets.”

“What do you ask?” Geralt said, fed up with the games. Whatever perfume the mage was wearing was making his head spin too, it was nice, fruity and clean, but too heady for his heightened senses. 

“I want a baby,” the mage said, levelling stunning purple eyes on him.

Geralt’s mind reeled. “I can’t give you one.”

The mage sighed. “I know,” she growled, yanking her magic as it swirled. She snatched up a jar of something dreadful and began to smear it.

“Even if I promise you my first born,” Geralt said. “It’ll never happen.”

“I know that, witcher.” She spat it like a curse, but Geralt got the feeling that her issue was not with his profession. 

“Witchers come by children by the law of surprise,” he said, watching the salve sizzle on Jaskier’s skin and wincing.

“I want my own.”

Geralt scoffed, eyes fixed on Jaskier’s leg as it started to ooze.

The mage whirled to face him, her hand coming up and slapping him before even his witcher reflexes could stop it. 

“Go,” the mage snapped, eyes flashing. “I don’t want your derision.”

“But Jaskier--”

“Won’t be helped by you,” the mage snarled. “Go do something useful and come back when you’re ready to pay up.”

“With a baby?”

“I’ll think on payment,” she said, magic turning Geralt’s feet for him. “Leave.” 

The door slammed behind him. 

Geralt stood on the cobblestones, water soaking through his boots, meeting Roach’s gentle gaze. He stroked her muzzle, feeling the velvet against his palm. 

Jaskier’s feet were still bare, he thought. Mind too tired and broken to even bother with baby-wanting mages. Jaskier’s boots were at camp. 

Geralt rode there and back, before dawn. He’d been able to pack everything up and find stables and lodgings without ever actually thinking of anything except Jaskier.

Jaskier’s cold, bare feet. Jaskier’s closed eyes. Jaskier’s blood all over their campsite and Geralts clothes. Jaskier’s lute, tucked away safely in it’s case an unfamiliar weight on Geralt’s shoulder. 

Jaskier’s eyes as Geralt had almost said I love you.

That thought, as Geralt stood outside the mage’s door again, still bloody and clutching Jaskier’s boots in one hand, finally broke through the haze.

Geral was in love with Jaskier. 

The mage had asked for his life, his name, and he’d agreed without even having to think. 

Geralt didn’t just love that Jaskier was beautiful, or that he adored Geralt. Geralt loved Jaskier, whole and simple. He loved that he slept like an octopus, he loved that he hated mint. He loved that Jaskier loved poetry. He loved him.

It seemed to be carrying over into everything else, and had been for some time without Geralt even realizing it. Geralt loved music now. He loved poetry. He loved sleeping curled besided someone else. He loved buttercups. 

His buttercup was lying somewhere inside the mage’s house, maybe dying. Maybe dead. Because of Geralt. It was Geralt’s fault.

He knocked on the door. 

It opened at the first tap. 

The mage was there, but Jaskier was nowhere to be found. Geralt’s head whipped around, panic rising in his throat.

“Stop,” the mage said calmly. “He’s in bed upstairs.”

“Is he--”

“He may live. He may not. Anything now is up to him.”

“I want to see him.”

“I want payment.”

Geralt growled. “I didn’t bring a baby with me.”

The mage pouted at him infuriatingly, violet eyes laughing. “Obviously not. I considered what you said.”

“What?”

“About the Law of Surprise.”

“You said you wanted a baby of your own.”

The mage sighed. “I want the choice.”

“You don’t get that choice.”

Her gaze narrowed dangerously. “Do you think I don’t know that? I want to be whole.”

“A womb won’t make you whole. It doesn’t make someone a mother either.”

The mage’s eyes flashed and she stepped forward dangerously but Geralt was simply out of emotion.

“My mother gave me up to be made a mutant. She had a womb but what kind of mother does that. His father,” Geralt gestured upstairs to where he assumed Jaskier was. “Gave him up in the hopes he’d be slaughtered. He may be the reason Jaskier was born, but he’s not a father.”

“I want the choice,” the mage said stubbornly.

“You still have the choice to be a mother,” Geralt said. “Some mothers end up with children and don’t get a say in that so go...adopt some kid.”

“Are you making fun of me?”

Geralt scrubbed his hand over his, frankly, filthy face. “I don’t have the energy for that. Look...what’s your name?”

“Yennefer.”

“Yennefer, decide on payment - not a baby- so I can give it to you and see my, my bard.”

“I’m claiming the law of surprise.”

Geralt blinked at her blearily. She was exceptionally beautiful, but she was also in the way of seeing Jaskier. “That’s only if you save my life.”

“Then I’m claiming it from him.” 

Geralt didn’t have it in him to argue. Destiny had heard the claim. Whatever good luck Jaskier saw next was hers. 

Geralt walked slowly up the rickety stairs, heart sitting low and heavy in his stomach. He paused at a door, hearing a heartbeat beyond. It was Jaskiers. It came as a surprise to Geralt that he could recognize it so readily, but he knew it as well as his own.

It was thready and thin right now, though, and Geralt hesitated. Moments of their time flashed before his eyes, meeting Jaskier, how beautiful he’d looked in his wedding attire, him threatening thugs with a fish knife, him talking to the dead. And he lay on the brink of death in the next room. Could Geralt actually bear to see him like that?

Geralt would probably never forgive himself for a lot of things, including bringing Jaskier with him in the first place, but if he left him now...no.

Geralt walked into the room and knelt beside the bed. Watery dawn light filtered through the window, across Jaskier’s pale face. It was much too pale. The past weeks of sunlight and freckles seemed to have been erased from him, making him much more the man Geralt had met at Chateau Lettenhove, and less the man he’d come to love. 

Geralt washed his hands and face in the washbasin in the room. He still felt grimy, even with his hands scrubed raw, but he knelt at the side of the bed and took one lute-calloused hand in both of his. 

Whatever happened next, whichever way Jaskier was tipped on the scales of life and death, Geralt would be with Jaskier when it happened. 

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[dp-marvel94]

Danny and His Blob Ghosts

Summary: When two blob find and affectionately latch onto Danny, the halfa immediately adopts the small ghosts. But things are not as they seem. With Danny's horrifying recurring nightmares, Vlad Master's ominous behavior, and the blob's strange human-like eyes, keen intelligence, and intense fear of the older half ghost, there might just be a greater connection between Danny and his blobs, one that will shake the boy to his core.

Word Count: 11,420

Also on AO3 and Fanfiction.net

Note: Based on this post by @ectoblood. 

You know how I said, I wanted to write a fic about the blob clones? Well...this is so late but I've been sitting on this for a while and finally finished it. So here's the story! This is an au where this story happens in place of Kindred Spirits. Instead of trying to make half ghost clones, Vlad creates fully human clones of Danny and....well...you'll see what happens to them. But anyway, enjoy and feel free to tell me what you think!

The boy looked about 10 years old, with black hair and lilac eyes. He stood in a sterile, metal room, looking so out of place. Machines whirled around him, vials glowed with something neon green, and in the center, sat a gaping metal hole in the wall.

"You want me to put this on?" The boy asked, holding up a familiar looking jumpsuit. It was white with black accents. He swallowed nervously, pointing at the ominous opening. “And go in there?”

“Yes child.” A cold voice answered, from somewhere behind the boy.

The child blinked. “Why?” He asked innocently.

There was a long suffering sigh. The boy turned at the sound, his eyes falling on a white haired man. “Must I explain this to you again?” 

The boy looked down, cheeks reddening with shame but he said nothing.

The man stepped forward. “That is an inactivated ghost portal. A machine similar to this one gave me my abilities.” To demonstrate, he summoned a flame of red energy to his hand. “And this one will give you the same abilities. I will turn it on with you inside and you will become half ghost, like me. You will be powerful. Finally the perfect heir. The perfect son.”

The child paused, taking in the words. Tentatively, he glanced at the hole, swallowing. “Will it hurt?”

The man tisked. “Don’t worry about that. Now get moving. We haven’t got all day.”

The boy didn’t move, anxiously looking between the machine and the man. 

The half ghost looked up. “Don’t you want to make your Father proud?”

The child bit his lip. “Yes..but-”

“If you do this, I will let you go upstairs.” The man offered, coldly. “There is a room for you with a bed and toys.” He wrinkled his nose like the word was distasteful. Then he looked down, hands ghosting over the control panel. “I will tell you your name as well.”

The boy’s eyes widened hopefully. “Really?”

“Yes.” The man hummed, replying passively as if the conversation was of little interest to him. Then he looked up. “Only my perfect half ghost son is allowed to know that information.”

The child nodded. The hope remained in his eyes as he put on the jumpsuit. He squared his shoulders, walking towards the tunnel.

“Very good. Now go inside.” The half ghost encouraged. 

The boy stepped forward slowly, carefully stepping over wires.

“Stop and face me.”

The child stopped and turned around. He swallowed again, eyes flitting around the tunnel nervously.

“Now, do not move.” The man instructed. His hand moved to hover over a large button. “I will press this button. Again, I emphasize. Do not move. Do not run.”

“Run?” The boy squeaked out. “Father, maybe I shouldn’t-”

The man ignored the words, slamming his hand down on the button.

"Father, I don't wanna do this anymore." The child cried, reaching forward. He tensed, eyes widening as green lights sparked around him. “Father!” With shaking knees, he started forward. 

The man frowned. “I told you not to move.” He pressed another button and a glass wall slammed down over the opening of the tunnel.

Inside, time seemed to slow. “Father! Please!” The boy ran to the front. “Let me out!” The green light grew brighter, the smell of ozone filling the air. “I don’t wanna do this!” The child shouted. 

“Please! Father!” There was a ripping sound, quack of thunder, the smell of burning flesh. A blood curdling scream cut through the room.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Danny sprang up, a shocked scream in his own throat. His chest heaved and his hands shook. The images of the...nightmare?....rang in his head. That was a nightmare, right? But...but...the smell- ozone and citrus and chard flesh- burned in his nose. And that scream…..

Beside him, something buzzed. The boy looked down. “Oh, Aster.” His expression softened, his eyes met the blob ghost’s purple ones. The fist-sized ghost blinked at him, rubbing up against his side. “Thanks, little guy.” The blob purred, the sound vibrating through Danny’s side and his own core hummed in kind. A comforting emotion pressed into his mind from the other ghost and Danny sighed in happiness.

Not for the first time, the half was grateful for the small green blob ghost. He’d shown up about a week ago and had hardly left Danny’s side since, serving as a comforting presence in the boy’s stressful life. His name, Aster, had been based on Sam's suggestion, for a flower with purple petals much like the blob’s strange eyes.

Something brushing up against his arm drew Danny out of his thoughts. He looked down at Aster; the little ghost had flown up and was nudging his arm. In response, the boy moved his other arm to pet the blob, who again purred at the contact. 

After a moment, Aster’s eyes again meet Danny’s. "Sorry I woke you up." The halfa muttered. “I had a nightmare about my accident. Except I was younger? And Vlad was there for some reason?”

Suddenly, the small ghost hissed in displeasure at the name. He puffed up, his dim aura brightening as a clear spike of his anger touched Danny’s mind.

The halfa raised a brow. “You clearly don’t like him either. Good call.” He hummed. “That man’s a fruitloop. Insane bastard.”

Aster hissed again, something like agreement projecting from him. 

“You said it.” Danny replied. Then he yawned. “I need to go back to sleep, Aster. See you in the morning?”

The little ghost’s aura dimmed and he floated down, settling back on the bed, beside Danny. He squeaked once, before closing his eyes.

Danny gave the blob one more little scratch. “Good night.” He laid down and went to sleep.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Danny blinked awake to sunlight streaming through his window. Even without looking, he could still feel the cool presence of the other ghost beside him. He smiled, enjoying the warm bed and the comforting presence of his companion...before he looked at the clock. 

The halfa’s eyes widened and he shot up. “Shit. School starts in 10 minutes.”

The movement shook the bed, startling Aster awake. The blob ghost squeaked in alarm.

“Sorry.” Danny muttered, jumping out of bed. “Gotta get ready.”

He scurried around, putting his clothes on while he brushed his teeth. Then he started stuffing material into his bag. “Where’s my math homework?” Rapidly, he shuffled through papers. “I know I did it!” 

Something cold nudged his arm and Danny looked down. It was Aster, with a piece of paper clutched in a mouth-like depression below his eyes. Eyes widening, the halfa grabbed the paper. 

“This is my math homework.” He muttered in surprise, looking down at the blob. “Thanks bud.” Danny gave the other ghost a pat, before Aster darted off.

The halfa shrugged, grabbing his shoes and rapidly tying them. Less than a minute later, there was a chirp in front of him. Danny looked up, again the green blob ghost floated in front of him, this time clutching a foil wrapped packet.

“Poptarts?” The boy grabbed the food. “You’re a really smart little guy, you know that?” 

The small ghost hummed happily in response. 

With his shoes on, backpack packed, and breakfast in hand, Danny stood. With hardly a thought, he summoned his transformation rings. The light passed over his body, replacing Danny Fenton with Danny Phantom. Now in ghost form, the halfa floated off the floor and towards the window. Aster followed.

Raising a brow, Danny glanced at his companion. “You’re coming with me? I’m going to school so you’ll have to stay out of sight. Don’t let any humans see you.”

The blob bristled, rolling his eyes. A very middle annoyance projected from him.

Danny held up his hands. “Alright, alright. You already know that. Come on.” He motioned for the smaller ghost to follow, both of them turning invisible as they phased out of the room and started racing towards school.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The rest of the day proceeded fairly normally for Danny. He went to class, ate lunch with his friends, and had to duck out of English when his ghost sense went off. The halfa darted to the restroom to transform and Aster appeared in the visible spectrum a moment later. The little blob followed him, keeping out of Danny’s way while he quickly captured the Box Ghost. 

Once Danny capped the thermos, Aster floated down and rubbed up against the half ghost’s arm, giving a congratulatory squeak. 

The ghost boy laughed. “Dude. It was just the Box Ghost.” He gave the smaller ghost an affectionate pat anyway. “I’ve gotta go back to class. See you later.”

After that, Danny didn’t see the little blob ghost again in public, though his presence was never far away. The weak ectosignature danced at the edge of the half ghost’s perception, suggesting the blob was hiding somewhere invisibly. 

Soon enough, the school day ended. Danny said goodbye to his friends and started walking home, with the invisible blob ghost trailing him. A fifteen minutes walk later, the boy was walking through his front door. After grabbing a snack, he headed up the stairs.

Danny paused in the second floor hallway. A cold feeling swirled from his core, settling in his lungs. The prerequisite of his ghost sense. Brow furrowed, the half reached out with his core, trying to feel the signature of whatever was alerting his core. It was weak and….Danny’s eyes widened; the signature felt very similar to Aster’s but not quite the same. Confused and wary, the half ghost opened the door to his room.

Danny frowned in confusion. There, floating over his bed was a strange looking blob ghost. It was sky blue with white patches, like clouds flickering over its surface. It raced around the room, squeaking anxiously. Confusion and distress rolled off of the small ghost in waves, making Danny shiver. 

Shaking his head, the half ghost closed the door and approached. The blob froze, neon green eyes falling on Danny. Its eyes widened, before it let out a happy and relieved squeal. In a flash, it flew at Danny, thumping against his chest with such force that the half ghost stumbled. For a moment, he was stunned. He would think it was an attack except…. The little ghost was trembling against him, relief pressing into Danny from the blob. It...no….he…(Danny had no idea how he suddenly knew, but the ghost, pressed right against his core, was a boy.) was purring, his emotions practically screaming Safe. Safe. Finally safe.

With a gentle hand, Danny cupped the sky-blue ghost. “Hey, hey. You’re okay.”

Beside him, Aster warbled questioningly before floating around to face Danny. The green blob wiggled up beside the other blob, maneuvering himself so Danny was holding both of the smaller ghosts. Aster hummed, pressing into the other blob and both closed their eyes. 

Danny stumbled to his bed, bewildered by the situation. He patted the new ghost with his free hand. “Whatever happened to you, it’s okay now. I would let anything happen to you.”

At the words, neon green eyes looked up at him, eyes crinkling with adoration. He purred.

The half ghost smiled. “So...do you have a name, little guy?”

The blue blob looked down, sadness projecting off of him. 

“Oh.” Danny frowned. “How about…..Skyler? ‘Cause you’re sky blue with white patches.” The new blob looked up, confusion poking Danny’s mind. The halfa shook his head. “I know it’s not that creative. I can think of something else if you want.”

The blue blob’s eyes widened and he chirped sharply, a clear no. Instead, he pressed into Danny again, humming happily. 

“So you like the name?”

Danny didn’t know how someone without an actual head managed to nod but the little blob managed it. 

“Alright then. Your name's Skyler. This is Aster.” Danny pointed. “And I’m Danny.”

Both blobs hummed, their affection communicated loudly. The half ghost smiled. “I love you guys too.” His core vibrated in his chest, purring with the other ghosts. Finally, he pulled his hand back. “I do have homework to do guys.”

Aster warbled disappointedly but backed up. Skyler hesitated, eyes flickering to the side uncertainly. The other blob nudged the newer blob encouragingly and with the prompting, the blue ghost floated away. 

With that, Danny went to his desk to work on homework, while his blob ghosts watched, snuggling with each other.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Skyler proved to be even more clingy than Aster. That night, the little ghost insisted on sleeping on Danny’s chest. The next day, he settled in Danny’s hoodie pocket as soon as the boy put it on. 

“Come on. You can’t stay there.” Danny said, gently pushing the blob out of his pocket. 

Skyler hissed in displeasure before burrowing himself in the fabric again.

The half ghost sighed. “Alright. You’ll have to stay invisible then.”

The blob poked out of the pocket just enough to give Danny a confused look.

“So people can’t see you.”

The confused expression remained.

Danny furrowed a brow. “Do you know how to do that?”

Skyler let out a defeated sounding sigh.

“That’s a no then. Here, let me show you.” Danny placed a finger of the blob and concentrated, turning his hand and the other ghost invisible. After a moment, he pulled his finger back. “Now you try.”

The small ghost pinched his eyes closed in concentration. He disappeared, flickering invisible and visible like a dying light blub before the flickering stopped.

Danny smiled proudly. “There! You did it.” 

Skyler remained fully invisible in his pocket and that’s how he stayed for the rest of the school day.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Things continued like that for a while. The blobs snuggled with Danny while he was sleeping. They followed him on patrol. They hung out with him while he was doing homework. Aster and Skyler even meet Danny’s friends and sister.

“They’re so cute!” Jazz cooed, petting the two small ghosts.

In response, Skyler purred, leaning into the contact. Aster rolled his eyes and growled grumpily.

Bewildered, the redhead pulled her hand back from the green blob. “What was that?”

Danny snorted. “Aster’s mad that you called him cute.”

“Really?” His sister looked down at the green blob. “These two can actually understand what we’re saying?”

The half ghost raised a brow. “Of course they can.” 

“It's kinda weird.” Sam said, uncertainly. 

“Yeah, blobs aren’t normally that smart. Plus….” Tucker pointed. “Don’t those weird, human-like eyes give you the creeps?”

Danny turned back towards the blob ghosts, frowning at the statement. He studied the two, with tilted head. They did have round eyes, with pupils and sclera but inhumanly colored irises “I don’t think it’s that weird….I mean….blobs having eyes isn’t common but ghosts’ eyes can look really similar to humans’”

Sam, Tucker, and Jazz looked at each other questioningly before the goth shrugged. “I guess you're right. Ghost’s are pretty strange in general.”

Danny nodded and the conversation ended. The teens all got to work on homework with the blobs settling on Danny’s shoulders to watch. Then Danny’s phone rang.

He glanced down at it and groaned at seeing the caller id. Without comment, he answered the call. “What do you want Vlad?”

As soon as the word left his mouth, Aster and Skyler startled. Both darted back, hissing loudly.

“What is that noise, Daniel?” The older halfa’s voice came through the phone.

Ignoring the question, Danny looked back at the blobs, waving down with one hand. “It’s okay. Quiet down you guys.”

Across the line, Vlad scoffed. “Is that those obnoxious blob ghosts?”

“They’re not obnoxious.” Danny huffed. “Wait, how do you know about them?”

“I have my ways.” The older halfa said cryptically, before continuing casually. “Anyway, how are you, my boy?”

At the words, the blobs ghosts both hissed again. Skyler floated farther away from the phone, higher until he’s pressed against the ceiling. Aster however pressed right up to the phone, growling lowely.

Danny lowered the phone. “Aster, Sky. It’s okay. He’s not actually here.”

Over the phone, Vlad growled. “Control your pets, Daniel.”

The younger half straightened, narrowing his eyes. “They aren’t my pets, Vlad.” Despite what others would think, the two blobs were not his pets. They were….his friends, the ghost boy supposed.

“Of course not.” Vlad scoffed. “Just like that green mutt is not your dog.”

“No, that’s not…” Danny pinched his nose. “Why are you calling me, fruitloop?”

The half ghost could almost hear the eyeroll. “I was calling to inform you, I have business in Amity Park in a few days and your dear mother and oaf of a father invited me to stay with your family.”

The younger halfa groaned. “Are you serious?”

At the same time, the blobs hissed above him.

“Yes, I am serious.” The older halfa replied coldly. “And again, can you call your pets to quiet down?”

“Again, not my pets.” Danny gritted his teeth. “And no. I agree with them. Hissing’s the right reaction to you.”

“Now, don’t be difficult, little badger. Are you not looking forward to seeing your dear uncle?”

“F*ck off.” The boy hissed, earning enthusiastic buzzes of agreements from Aster and Skyler. His friends also chuckled, giving him approving looks while Jazz frowned.

“Such language, Daniel.” Vlad rebuked. “Do you kiss your mother with that mouth?”

The ghost boy narrowed his eyes. “Will you stop talking about my mom?”

“Now, your dear mother-”

“Will never love you, because you’re a creepy old man who can’t let go of your crush on a happily married woman. Goodbye.” With that, Danny hung up the phone angrily.

The halfa put his head in his hands and groaned.

“Dude. I’m so sorry.” Tucker said.

Danny just groaned again. A moment later, the two blobs who had been hovering near the ceiling flew down to the boy. Chirping soothingly, they brushed up against his arms. In response, the half ghost raised his head. He gently cupped both blobs in his hands and drew them to his chest. He looked down, addressing the smaller ghosts. “Thanks guys.”

Sam raised a brow. “They really don’t like Vlad, do they?”

“Yep.” Danny nodded.

The technogeek half-smiled. “They fit right in.”

The half ghost nodded in agreement.

After that, there was more complaining about Vlad. And finally, at Jazz’s insistence, the teens started on their homework, with the blobs watching from one of Danny’s shelves. Once they were done, the group watched a movie. After, Sam and Tucker went home and Jazz went to her room leaving Danny alone with Aster and Skyler.

The half ghost looked up, spotting the two blob snuggling together on his shelf. Sky was trembling slightly, eyes down cast. Danny frowned, reaching up to give each ghost a scratch. “Come on guys. I’m going to bed.”

The blue blob looked up, eyes brightening. He floated down the half ghost, purring as he nudged the boy’s hand.

With that, Danny settled into bed, with Skyler laying on his chest and Aster beside him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The little black-haired boy was crying, his blue eyes filling with tears.  "Daddy, please I'll be good!”

Vlad sneared, gripping the child’s arm tighter. “Stop sniveling boy.”

He trembled, weakly pulling away. “I’ll be good, Daddy. I promise!”

The man shook him. “Be quiet.”

“No! Let me go!” The child cried, pulling harder.

“You are insufferable.” Vlad gritted his teeth. Letting go of the small arm, he roughly pushed the boy.

“No!” Snot started running down the child’s face. “Daddy!”

“If this works, it will be worth it.” The man sighed.

The boy’s eyes widened as he scrambled up. “Daddy, I’m scared!”

The man ignored the pleas, instead he pressed down a large button on a control panel.

The child stumbled forward, chest heaving as his feet quickened. His heart pounded in fear. “No! I’ll be good! Please!”

A glass wall slammed down in front of him and the boy screamed, pounding on the barrier. “Let me out!”

“It will be worth it.” Vlad repeated to himself. “He’s young and impressionable. A son I can mold in my image.” He pressed down the button and there was a flash of green.

The child panicked, the tears increasing. He pounded harder. “Daddy! Let me out!”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

His own heart pounding, Danny woke up to the sound of a child crying. His sleepy mind ran in circles. What was...who was...that dream….

Another wail of pure emotional agony. That little boy….he must be here…. With his eyes still closed, Danny sleepy reached towards the sound. In front of him? Above him? He needed to find the kid…

Danny’s hands reach out to comfort, falling on something cold and squishy, like jello. Wait...that doesn’t…..

Something shifted, the minimal weight on his chest increasing. He was touching something else, something fuzzy...and soft? He petted the things and the sound died down into a whimper.

Mind swimming and fuzzy with sleep, Danny fell asleep again before he could think more. In the morning, he thought it was all a dream.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Downstairs, the doorbell rang. It had been three days since Vlad’s phone call, three days since Danny’s half-remembered nightmare featuring the insane bastard. Below, the door opened and then closed a few seconds later. His father’s enthusiastic greeting boomed. From his seat on the bed, Danny groaned in annoyance; it sounded like the fruitloop was here.

“Danny!” Jack called. “Come say hi to your uncle Vladdie!”

The younger halfa groaned again, this time louder. Skyler, who’d been perched in the boy’s lab and purring, startled; the blob suddenly looked up, his eyes wide and fearful.

Danny’s expression softened. He patted the smaller ghost. “It’s okay, Bud.”

“Danny!” His father yelled again, this time more instantly.

The boy frowned. “I’m gonna have to go down there.” 

The blue blob gave the half ghost a wary look, nestling into the boy even as Danny tried to push him off. “Sky. Come on.” 

The small ghost whined, refusing to move even as he was trembling. Then Aster, who’d been relaxing on one of Danny’s pillows, floated up and towards the other blob. Giving the blue ghost a nudge, the green blob offered a comforting purr. Skyler chirped worriedly in response. Then Aster nudged him again, more encouragingly. With something like a sigh, both blobs floated off of Danny’s lap before setting onto his pillow.

“Danny! Come down here!” This time, it was his mom yelling with a serious tone.

“Coming!” The boy yelled back. He looked back at his blobs. “Just stay here guys, okay?”

Aster gave an agreeing if warry warble. Skyler, however, didn’t respond, still trembling slightly.

Danny sighed, his own stomach knotting with worry. Squaring his shoulders, the boy braced himself to face the other halfa.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Fenton family, plus Vlad, sat around the coffee table with cups of tea and hot chocolate. Jazz and Danny traded warry looks as Vlad proved to be as creepy and obnoxious as ever. Making vague and not-so-vague ominous jabs at his dad, while paying the insults off as jokes. Shamelessly flirting with his mom. Overall making everyone, except the oblivious Jack Fenton, uncomfortable.

Danny gritted his teeth, barely holding back a seething comment about Plasmius. Oh, he wasn’t above underhanded comments about Vlad’s status as a lonely bachelor in need of a cat. But, even begrudgingly, their secrets were off the table. So no comments about the older halfa’s hairbrained schemes to kill his Dad, marry his mom, and convince Danny to be his perfect half-ghost son. The ghost boy shivered at those last words. That uncanningly reminded him of something he heard in his-

“Here Daniel. Let me take your cup.” Vlad said, interrupting the younger halfa’s thought.

Danny wrinkled his nose, giving the man a distrustful look. “Nah. It’s fine I can take it.”

The older halfa raised a brow, holding up the other mugs in his hand. “Really, it’s no trouble.”

His parents pinned him with questioning looks and the younger half ghost conceded, handing his mug to Vlad.

The corner of Vlad’s lip turned up, into something vaguely smug as he walked into the kitchen.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After a dinner that was as tense and awkward as Danny expected, the boy went to his room with an excuse that he had homework to do. Really, he didn’t want to be in the same room as Vlad Masters for any longer than he had to. But his stomach still flopped. He hated the idea of that insane fruitloop being in his house, around his parents. The other’s presence gnawed at him, the barely perceptible ectosignature (not weak but suppressed by Vlad’s human form) constantly putting his core on edge.

Danny shook his head, forcing the thought away. He’d just have to trust that he’d be able to hear on the off chance that Vlad tried something. The boy did actually have homework to do. And he should check on Aster and Skyler.

With a sigh, the boy pushed open his door before closing it quickly.

“Aster. Skyler.” Danny called softly, his nose wrinkling as the two didn’t appear. “Guys, it’s just me.” The boy tried again. 

Where were his blobs? With some concentration, Danny reacted out with his ghost sense. His brow furrowed, the signatures flickering into his awareness. The two smaller ghosts were close by. But where?

Danny searched, opening his closet and drawers. His eyes flickered over his bookshelf, dresser, and desk. “Come on guys.” He whined slightly at finding nothing.

Just then, a small chirp sounded. Danny turned, his eyes flickering down. There! Lowering himself to the floor and onto his stomach, he peered under the bed.

“There you guys are.” Danny rolled his eyes playfully. “Are we playing hide and…” He trailed off, finally taking in the smaller ghosts. Both were shaking, their eyes wide and fearful. Expression softening, the boy reached under the bed. He gently cupped each ghost in his hand and pulled them out from under the furniture.

“You guys are really scared of Vlad.” He said, voice only slightly surprised and pained. 

In response, both blobs whimpered.

“Shush. It’s okay.” After slowly sitting up, Danny pulled both blobs to his chest. The action was as close to a hug as he could perform with the two fist sized ghosts. “Like I said before, I wouldn’t let anything happen to you guys. I definitely won’t let Vlad anywhere near you.”

Aster and Skyler both cooed, comforted by the words. They started purring, Danny’s core doing the same in response.

For a long moment, the three stayed together in their almost hug. Then finally the halfa asked. “Better?”

Both blobs blinked, before giving affirmative chirps.

“Good.” Danny smiled, letting the other ghosts go. “I do actually have homework to do. You guys can watch or….” He pulled out his phone, offering it to the blobs. “Youtube? I can put on a video for you.”

With a hum, the blobs took the seconds option. They huddled on the bed while Danny worked on homework. Several hours later, the half ghost finished and joined the other ghosts on the bed. They watched some videos before the half ghost yawned.

“Alright. I need to go to sleep.” He stood and started towards the bathroom to brush his teeth.

Standing in front of the door, Danny reached forward for the knob. It didn’t turn, locked apparently. Inside the toilet flushed. There was the sound of the sink turning on and then off thirty seconds later. Then the door swung open. 

Danny frowned. “Vlad. What are you doing?”

The man raised a brow. “Using the restroom Daniel. What else would I be doing?”

The younger half ghost scowled but said nothing, instead stepping past the man and into the bathroom. He then slammed the door in Vlad’s face.

Danny sighed, looking down for a long moment as his annoyance at the older halfa flared. But he pushed the feelings away. The guy hadn’t actually done anything bad. Maybe he wasn’t actually planning anything worse than getting on Danny’s nerves. 

After a long moment, the half ghost looked up again. Remembering why he came here, the boy reached for his toothbrush. And….his eyes widened. It wasn’t in the cup by the sink or on the counter. Danny wrinkled his nose. Taking a step back, he looked to the floor. Maybe he...or another certain halfa….knocked it over. But nothing. It wasn’t in the trashcan either or in the drawers. It wasn’t under the sink or even in the toilet or shower. 

Danny rubbed his eyes, groaning. “Where is it? Did that fruitloop do something to it?” The boy looked up, shaking his head. No, why would Vlad do that? Well...he could take it mess with him but Danny could have left it at Tucker’s house the last time he stayed over. Or his mom or sister might have thrown it away. He really did need to get a new one anyway. He bent down, opening the doors to the counter under the sink. Like he thought, there was an unopened toothbrush. He opened the package and brushed his teeth before going to bed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Floating underwater. The sting of water and ectoplasm in his eyes. Gasping for breath.

The beep of a heart monitor. Cold metal on his chest. The syringe full of red blood.

Images flashed through Danny’s sleeping mind, his eyes flickering rapidly under his lids.

Waiting. Watching. Raining dripping down the window. Shivering in his thin hospital gown. Loneliness.

Green slime and sleek metal. The smell of old pennies. The roar of machinery. A scream.

The young halfa’s heart started pounding in his chest, a whimper exciting his throat.

Sudden silence. Wet leaves and earth. The sound of a shovel hitting rock.

He’s...where is he? What happened? Why can’t he...why can’t he feel his hands, his feet, his body?

The boy gasped in his sleep, his heart skipping a beat. In the waking world, there was a rustling, a soft thump.

A shadow falling over him. Red eyes loaming over him. The flash of a needle.

Several things happened at once. Danny’s eyes popped open. There was an enraged hissed and a sudden thump.

“Why you little!” A man’s voice growled.

The boy shot up in bed. It took only half a second to recognize the older halfa in ghost form. “What are you doing in my room Vlad?!” The angry demand evaporated as Danny registered something else. There, squeezed in Vlad’s hands was a trembling Aster. The half ghost’s eyes narrowed, his voice rising in hysterical rage. “Get your hands off of him!”

Without thinking, Danny transformed and flew at the older half ghost, throwing him into the wall with a punch to the face. The blob ghost squeezed in alarm while Vlad grunted. “Daniel!”

Behind him, Skyler squeaked in alarm.

The boy bared his teeth. “Let him go.”

Vlad let his eyes flash. “Or you’ll what?”

His hand lighting with ectoenergy, Danny’s eyes flickered worriedly to the squirming Aster. “I’ll...I’ll…”

Vlad smirked. “Thought so.” His hand’s grip tightened slightly, causing the small ghost to let out another whimper of pain.

Danny paled slightly, eyes widening in panic. Then the sound of feet pounding up the stairs rang out with the distant sound of his parents’ voices. Skyler whimpered.

His eyes flickering to the door, he considered for a second. Danny’s expression hardened. “I’ll expose both of us.”

For a moment, Vlad looked like he wanted to scoff, like the boy was bluffing. Then his eyes widened slightly. His gaze flicked to the ghost in his hand. “For this thing? You wouldn’t.”

Danny hissed. “You wanna test me?” 

Feet continued to pound, the sound now coming from the end of the hallway. “Danny! We’ll get that ghost!”

The two halfa’s stood off for seconds but it felt much longer. With barely a thought, Danny summoned the ring of his transformation but paused it before he could change. Vlad’s gaze flickered down, considering.

The voices were right outside the door. In a second, Vlad released the other ghost and disappeared. The moment he was out of sight, Danny transformed.

His door banged open. “Where’s the ghost?!” Dad shouted.

Danny turned around, sighing in relief that neither blob was visible. “He flew off when he heard you coming.”

“He?” Mom asked.

“Pl- The Wisconsin ghost.” The half ghost said, suppressing a smile. He might as well get Vlad’s ghost form in trouble.

Dad’s eyes lit up. “The Wisconsin ghost! Madds, let’s go! Maybe we can still catch it!”

A worried look crossed the woman’s face. “Are you alright sweetie?”

Danny shrugged. “Yeah. He didn’t do anything to me.”

Mom studied him for a moment before her expression softened, seemingly satisfied. “Come on Jack.”

With that, the adults left Danny alone. As soon as the door closed, both blobs reappeared and flew at Danny. Silently trembling, they nuzzled against the halfa for protection. Deeply troubled, he sat down on his bed with the blobs settling into his lab. He petted them as they shook with fear. 

Vlad was up to something. He must have been. He’d been loaming in Danny’s room while he was sleeping. The memory, those images kept circulating in Danny’s mind but he couldn’t make sense of them or of the strange images of his dream. Were those two things connected? And...anger boiled in him. Vlad had threatened Aster. The man had put his hand on his….not- pet. His friend? That wasn’t the right word either. There was something...more familial about what he felt for these two blobs. He loved them so much. And Danny had threatened to out himself to save Aster. It scared Danny to think...he might just have done it. But he tried not to dwell on it instead wondering what Vlad was doing. But no answers came to his mind, just more worry as Aster and Skyler remained as quiet as death.

Danny didn’t sleep again that night.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Vlad left early the next morning without a word to Danny. He hadn’t tried to go into the boy’s room again. He hadn’t even made so much as an insult to Jack. Instead, he seemed vaguely angry, like whatever he planned failed. But Danny couldn’t make sense of that. What had Vlad wanted of him, while he’d been asleep? And….the boy swallowed. Vlad would have done whatever he wanted if Aster hadn’t attacked him.

But what had he wanted?

Eventually, Danny got out of bed. It was a lazy Saturday, just hanging out at home as he was grounded. It would have been a decent day except…

“Where’s my mug?” Danny grumbled. He really wanted his favorite mug, the one with the NASA logo, for his coffee. But it was no where, not in the cupboards, the dishwasher, the sink. It wasn’t on the counter or table or in the living room. Eventually he gave up, realizing it was the same one he used yesterday and handed over to Vlad to take to the kitchen. Danny groaned, putting his head in his hands. The man took it, didn’t he? The petty jerk.

Soon after, Danny found that his comb was gone as well, when he went to take a shower. His stomach flopped, getting an uneasy idea.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The rest of the day, Danny did homework and hung out with Aster and Skyler. The two remained silent, bodies tense with stress despite the halfa’s encouragement. That is, they were silent until...Sky finally cracked.

It was that night. Danny took the pair up to the roof to look at the stars. It was nice and peaceful for once, the dark sky full of sparkling stars. 

Then, a soft whine broke out. 

Danny looked to the side, spotting Skyler. Eyes softening, he picked up the little ghost. “Yeah. It’s okay. Let it out.” Skyler whimpered, the sound growing louder.

Soon after Aster joined in also whining as Danny stroked both of them. The boy let them cry, frowning in consideration.

Wheels turned in his head. How much Aster and Skyler hated Vlad before they even knew him. The way they’d hiss and tremble. And yet...Aster was willing to attack the older halfa for him.

Danny glanced down, studied the two odd looking blob ghosts. Their large human-like eyes, their odd coloration, the variety of emotion and the keen intelligence, their ability to telepathically communicate their emotions to Danny.

The boy frowned. They were strange for blobs and they were afraid of Vlad. Skyler had come to him, to him specifically. He’d been panicked and afraid. And Danny had somehow known someone had put him through something horrible, someone that the boy promised he would protect the blob from.

The question sprung up in his mind and exited his mouth before he could think. “Did Vlad….” He looked down. “Did Vlad experiment on you guys?”

Aster and Skyler’s whines cut off suddenly at the question. Both pairs of eyes looked up at him questioningly and a cacophony of emotions poured into his mind, communicated by the blobs. Fear, shock, and panic. Then rapidly, Aster’s eyes flickered between Danny and Skyler. The other blob shook, eyes watering. Huge, mounting, panicked confusion hit Danny like a train.

He gasped at the emotion. “You guys don’t remember.” His eyes widened. “You can’t remember what happened to you before you found me.”

Aster wiggled in a movement meant to be a nod. Large sadness welled in Danny at the thought. He then looked at Skyler. “Sky, what about you? Do you remember?”

The little blue ghost didn’t respond for a long moment. There was no sound, no acknowledgement until finally, the blob looked up at Danny. He trembled and a mournful sound rang out.

Danny’s heart skipped a beat. That wasn’t a whine or a whimper. It wasn’t a squeak of pain or alarm. It was a heartbroken sob. The volume rose and Danny dropped the ghost in shock. It was...it was the sound of a child crying.

The half ghost shuffled backwards, the sound ringing in his head. That...he’d heard that before. “In my dream.” He muttered. “I dreamed...I dreamed about a little boy crying in a portal, with Vlad.” The sob increased and Danny’s eyes flickered to the blob. “And you’re…. you’re crying in his voice." He stood, shaking. “After my dream, you were crying like he was but…”

Something connected in Danny’s mind, his eyes falling on Aster’s purple eyes. Purple eyes...like his first dream, the ten year old with purple eyes, the same color as his mother’s. And Skyler...with the little boy’s, the little boy who looked like Danny, his voice. And….both of those children died.

But...a horrifying idea sprouted in his mind. His favorite mug, the one he’d been drinking from yesterday going missing. His comb, his toothbrush as well. His dream (?) last night. Vlad loaming over him with a needle. What if….what if that had been real? What if the older halfa was here not to mess with Danny but to collect more...samples? DNA samples to make more, to make another….

Danny gasped, shaking as a specific word rang out in his head. No. NO. NO! His mind cursed. That could not...that was not. That couldn’t be what happened. Vlad couldn’t do that. He wouldn't do that. Yeah he was a petty jerk, a crazy fruitloop, an insane bastard. He did horrible things, like stealing and lying and manipulating. He tried to ruin his Dad's reputation. He tried to steal their portal and kidnap Mom. And he infected Sam and Tucker with ecto acne. He made Jazz and him fight each other. And unleashed the ghost king. But… he wouldn’t do this. He wouldn't clone Danny. He wouldn't kill children to make a half ghost. And yet….

Wouldn’t Vlad? Wouldn’t the bastard do anything to get what he wanted? And wasn’t what he wanted most his perfect half ghost ‘son’?

Danny remained frozen, his mind rebelling, refusing the idea. It couldn’t be...His blobs couldn’t have been-

A questioning chirp shocked the boy out of his thoughts. He blinked, finally remembering where he was. On the roof, watching the stars with…. He looked down, eyes falling on the two blobs. Aster chirped again, his eyes wide, questioning and yet compassionate. Something in the expression calmed Danny. 

After taking a breath, his gaze shifted, falling on Skyler. The boy’s brow furrowed. The blob had stopped crying, his round eyes full of guilt.

Danny’s expression softened. “Skyler.” He started.

The little ghost warbled sadly, floating into the air. Tentatively, he approached the half ghost. When Danny didn’t move to stop him, the blob gently nuzzled up again the boy’s chest in their version of a hug. Skyler hummed and an emotion….no, a word...pressed into Danny’s mind. Sorry.

The boy paused, from where he’d been gently stroking the little guy. That wasn’t a voice, not quite. But it was close, so close to being one. He could almost imagine-

Danny shook his head. “No buddy. It’s not you. You didn’t do anything wrong. It’s just...I think Vlad...he might have….” He swallowed. “I think you guys might be my-” The boy cut himself off, his mind rejecting the word.

He couldn’t think that, couldn’t wrap his mind around it. What that would mean for Aster and Skyler. What they were. What they are. What they lost. And...what this would mean for Danny, what these two really were to him. He couldn’t think about it all. So the boy pushed the thought out of his head. 

Instead he held Skyler closer and after a moment, Aster joined him. Danny hugged his blob ghosts until the small blue one wiggled out of his hold, complaining loudly. The half ghost chuckled at the sight but his heart hurt. It ached, torn between acknowledging and rejecting its crazy hypothesis, even as Danny was lying in bed and falling asleep.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Grainy footage played on a computer. A ten year old boy holding a hazmat suit, listening as Vlad explained how an inactive portal will grant him ghost powers. A five year old boy, crying and screaming as the man threw him into the machine.

The viewer watched with wide eyes, his hands shaking. His heart pounded in fear. “He’s going to do that to me too.” A teenager’s voice muttered.

The footage continued, both children crying for the man to stop. The teenager tensed as the portal started up, green light flashing. He covered his ears, stomach threatening to eject his dinner as the crying morphed into horrific screams of pain. But his eyes stayed glued to the screen as the light of the portal solidified into a swirling green vortex and….the screams cut off.

The teen blinked at the monitor, waiting. After a small eternity, the Vlad on the screen moved forward. Strictly, he called for a response. None came, the portal and the lab silent. Then Vlad changed, transformed. In a moment, the human was replaced by a ghost and he floated into the newly opened gateway.b 

Another long pause. The viewer twitched, his gaze flickering around the dark lab surrounding him, the same one that these videos were recorded in. His eyes moved back to the screen and finally….Vlad exited the portal.

The boy’s hand moved to cover his mouth and the cry that exited it. On the screen, Vlad was carrying a body. The charred and burnt corpse of a child. 

The teen gasped, learning over in sudden nausea. The words poured out. “He...he killed them. He’s gonna kill me. I’m going to die.”

Words exited the speaker. “Another failure.” Vlad sighed, dropping the body. “Hopefully the next one will survive and I will finally have my half ghost son.”

The boy straightened, his brow furrowing. His mind raced with thoughts and questions. But paramount- “I need to get away from him. I have to escape.”

He stood, rapidly closing the video and logging off the computer. Rapidly, his brain planned. He needed to run or find a way to contact someone. The police? Or…that boy from the older videos, the white haired one who in human form looked like him. His name was….Danny? And he lived in a place called Amity Park? The boy frowned. That wasn’t that useful but maybe-

The hydrologic hiss of the lab door turning shook the boy out of his thoughts. His heart skipped a beat and he sprinted. He was supposed to be asleep on his cot. He flopped down and pulled the blanket over himself, just as the door finally opened. The boy kept his eyes half lidded, watching the man approach him in the dark. Just feet away, he closed his eyes and slowed his breathing, faking sleep.

Vlad, the only person he’d ever known, his apparent maker, his capturer, his would-be murder, leaned over him. The boy froze, hardly breathing. He waited, hoping the man would go away. But then, there was a sudden pinch in his arm.

The boy screamed, startled, and tried to sit up but sudden dizziness overtook him. His head swam, his vision blurring before he passed out.

Sometime later, he blinked awake groggily. The boy groaned, wrinkling his nose. He was lying on something cold and metal. Something was digging into his back. He blinked again, his eyes slowly focusing on the ceiling. It was metal; he was still in the lab but….he shot up into a sitting position, his heart suddenly pounding. He was in the tunnel of the inactivated portal.

“Oh, you’re awake already.” Vlad’s voice came from outside the portal. He sounded disappointed. “It’s a pity. I’d hoped to keep you from panicking.”

The boy swallowed, standing. But he said nothing, glaring at the man even as he walked up to the glass wall.

“Do not bother to pound on that. I will not let you out.” The man said calmly. Then he rolled his eyes. “And do not snivel like a child. You are better than that.”

The teen balled his fists, anger rising. Oh, he wanted to do that. He wanted to scream and cry like the others had. The ones who died without even this man’s pity. He wanted to, because he was a kid and he didn’t deserve this. None of them had and it made him want to scream in rage. Instead, he bit back a growl.

Vlad looked up, slightly pleased. “You are being pleasantly calm, my boy.” He smiled, the pride on his face sickening. “Very good. Now just stay where you are and this will be over quickly.”

 The boy scowled but kept his mouth shut. He resisted the urge to curse the man and tell him exactly how much of a bastard he was. Instead, he focused on the man with a determined look. 

“I do hope this grants you ghostly abilities.” Vlad pressed down the button and the machine started to whirl. “You appear to have the spirit for it.”

The spirit, ha. The boy bared his teeth, the sudden chill raising the hair on his arms. It was starting. The opening portal would either kill him or..."I know what you did to the others. I saw the videos." He sneered, remembering the crying kids from the videos, the bodies left behind. The machine might do that same to him or...he remembered the other boy in the videos. Danny, with his white hair and green eyes. Images of him darting around the sky, shooting opponents with green energy. Ghost powers, like the man in front of him welds. Like he himself could...no, like he would gain. The boy straightened. "When I survive this, I will stop you.”

Across from him, Vlad’s eyes widened in shock.

The green energy was building around the teen, the smell of citrus and ozone assaulting his nose. “You'll never do this to anyone again."

The man stared at him in disbelief as the roar of the machine grew. The light burned the boy’s eyes and then...there was sudden pain. Screaming. The smell of burnt flesh. His heart pounded in fear before it twitched, the rhythm failing. His lungs spasmed, unable to take in air. His vision was overtaken with black as the pain ripped his body apart. His knees buckled, mind screaming for this to end. He never felt his body hit the ground.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Danny woke up, a scream on his tongue. His mind raced, confusion overtaking him. What was that? Where...who? What…?

Above him, something hummed. Danny’s eyes flickered to the source of the sound. There, floating over his bed. It looked like...a piece of the night sky, suspended in his room. The half ghost’s brow furrowed, taking in the ovalong object. It was black as night with pinpricks of light, like stars speckling its body. Slowly, Danny reached forward, his fingers brushing something cold and squishy. 

The things hummed again and Danny blinked, his mouth falling open as eyes opened above him. Icy blue eyes blinked, intelligently taking him in. Mind still trying to catch up, the boy sat up. He held out his hands for the ghost to land. Because this was a blob ghost, another one like Aster and Skyler and…..

The blob let out a soft purr, an emotion pressing in Danny’s mind. Relief. Determination. Knowing eyes focused on the boy and he swallowed in sudden dread and anxiety. It...He was exactly like Aster and Skyler.

The blob shivered, feeling the half ghost’s nervousness. A small measure of comfort touched Danny’s core. At the same time, the other two blobs who had been laying beside him, finally stirred. Both pairs of eyes flickered up to the other ghosts. Aster gave a curious buzz before floating up. A few seconds later, Skyler followed, more tentatively.

For a long moment, the new blob watched the other two, recognition dawning in his eyes. He quickly looked between the two but there was no realization, no understanding in the green or blue blob’s gaze. The starry blob chirped encouragingly, beckoning the other two forward. After a pause, Aster moved, gently nudging the new blob in greeting. Seeing it safe, Skyler hovered forward as well, greeting the new blob in kind. The dark blob hummed, enthusiastically greeting the other two ghosts. He bumped both, letting out a purr.

All the while, Danny watched, mystified. His mind sputtered, trying and failing to put the pieces together. His horrific dream with a new….clone. And then a new blob showed up. It couldn’t...it didn’t….. His stomach churned, revolting at the idea.

Finally, the new blob looked at Danny again. He sighed, pressing two words in the boy’s mind. Follow me.

The half ghost blinked in surprise at understanding the words. But he didn’t question as the blob floated up, off his hand and towards the door. Instead, he transformed. His core hummed as he hovered forward. He followed and it scared him that he didn’t hesitate. Because he should. He shouldn’t follow a ghost who just showed up in the middle of the night. Except…. While part of his mind whirled, the ghost part whispered, that  this ghost was trustworthy and familiar, someone he knew closely.

Flickering invisible, Danny followed the ghost through the house and in the basement with Aster and Skyler following. The group continued into the ghost Zone and across the empty space. Just minutes later, they came to a familiar site. There, in a cave on an abandoned rock...was the metal frame of a man-made portal. 

Danny froze. “That’s Vlad's portal.”

The dark blob stopped, turning back. He landed on the half ghost’s hand. Safe. He’s not here.

The boy blinked, understanding despite the few words. Vlad wasn’t on the other side and he trusted this new ghosts because he knew him, that he was a-

Danny shivered. “Come on.”

The group floated through the portal and into a metal covered room. The half ghost’s breath hitched and in front of him, Aster and Skyler whimpered. Danny swallowed. This was Vlad’s lab, obviously. But he...he recognized it, from his dreams. Shaking, he surveyed the room, eyes falling tubes of ectoplasm, metal and glass chambers, and...a cot in the corner.

Danny felt like he would be sick. But the dark blob nudged him onward before he could think. The group phased up through the floor and into a rustic looking cabin. This room Danny also recognized; they were inside Vlad’s cabin in the Rockies. The new ghost continued, into the forest. They flew for ten minutes before the starry blob stopped cold.

They were floating over a small clearing, tall grass surrounded by trees. Except….Danny’s eyes wandered and his heart dropped. In the light of the full moon, there were three patches of earth, each with vegetation of various heights. On one, the glass was maybe pinkie length. On the second, shoots were just bursting out of the ground. And the third….the earth was freshly up-turned.

Danny floated down, to the base on the first. His gaze flickered between the places as his eyes started to water. He knew...he knew what these were, what these had to be.

“These are graves.” He whispered, his knees shaking. His heart ached, shattering as a sob burst on his lips. “These...my dreams...my dreams they were real….Vlad really….he did….oh god.”

The boy doubled over, his stomach forcing its way into his throat. “Oh god. Oh god that bastard he-”

In front of him came a cry. Danny looked up. Aster was floating in front of him, facing away from him. The little ghost was shaking violently. He shifted in the air, gaze flickering from the ground to the next patch. And there was Skyler. The little ghost was crying again, the noise that of a young child. And...oh god. Aster’s voice….it was the same, a boy, maybe 10 years old, crying.

Danny’s eyes widened, reaching forward. “Aster...Skyler...you guys...you’re really…” He looked down, tears falling. “These...these are yours.”

Rapidly, Aster turned. His gaze flickered to Danny, below him, and then to the other two blobs. Horrified shock wavered, turning into equally horrified realization. His eyes widened, welling with tears, actual tears. He was shaking and crying and….Skyler was doing the same, an identical look on his face. And Danny wanted to race forward and hug them except for...oh god, they were floating on top of their-

There was a flash of light in front of Danny. It was...it was the two blobs. Their aura’s flared, the light enveloping their bodies so strongly that they looked like two balls of light. The half ghost’s heart pounding. What was happening to them?! What was-

The light expanded, pressing outward and up. Stretching and morphing. Growing into a shape. A shape that looked like- There was a pop as the light disappeared….and Danny wasn’t looking at blobs anymore. 

In front of him were two humanoid ghosts. Directly in front of him, the boy (because he was a boy, oh god, this was a dead 10 year old child!), the boy had white hair, light green skin, a black and white hazmat suit. He was looking at his hands, flexing his fingers in awe.

And to the side was a gasp. This boy looked maybe five, with sky blue skin and clouds shifting over his skin and clothing. Glowing green eyes looked up at Danny, green eyes identical to his and exactly the color and shape of- 

“Skyler.” Danny whispered through his tears. At the noise, the other ghost looked up. Familiar purple eyes fell on him. “Aster.”

With no more hesitation, the small ghost flew at him. He threw his arms around Danny, clinging to him in a hug. “Danny.” Skyler, because this was him, the same ghost as his little blob, whined through his tears.

“Sky.” Danny repeated, his whole body shaking. A moment later, another pair of arms clung to the older boy. “Ash.” He cried.

Danny returned the hug, clinging to these two. His sorrow swelled, tears streaming down his face. His knees shook, the weight of emotions dragging him down. The three collapsed to the ground, in a pile of limbs, tears, and sobs.

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” The half ghost repeated, like a mantra. “I should have….I should have known that...that.” He should have known who these two were, not just any blobs but his...clones...his clones. These were his clones. “Oh god, Vlad he...he cloned me...and he made you guys and….oh god he killed you!” Danny’s chest heaved. “I didn’t...I didn’t know...I didn’t stop him. I should have...I should have stopped him...I’m sorry. I’m sorry.” The guilt poured out with the grief.

All the while, the other two ghosts wept in Danny’s arms. “I...I remember now.” Aster whispered. “I remember how I...I died.”

Danny squeezed him. “I’m sorry.”

Skyler sobbed, gaping Danny’s suit like he would disappear. “Why did he...why did he hurt me?”

The half ghost had no answer, not comfort. Instead, he promised. “He won’t hurt you. He won’t touch you again. I’ll protect you.”

The little blue ghost sniffled. “I..I love you, Danny.”

“I love you too.” Danny returned. “I love you guys so much.” And he did. He did so much. These two had been in his house, in his room, by his side for weeks. And he’d loved the two even when he didn’t know who they really were. And they were really his clones. His dead clones. They were dead because...he...he hadn’t been there when they needed him. He’d let Vlad kill them. They were...they were full ghosts because he hadn’t been there and…

The boy cried and his two clones cried for what felt like ages, until there were no more tears. Slowly, the two younger ghosts pulled away. Aster whipped his eyes. “It’s not your fault.” He said quietly, looking up at Danny. “You didn’t know what Vlad was doing.”

The boy blinked, his lip trembling. “But-”

A flash of light cut off Danny’s words. He turned his head, eyes falling on another morphing ball of light. The figure stretched, snapping into shape and leaving another human-like ghost. This one looked Danny’s age, like he could be Danny’s twin if it wasn’t for his starry, dark as night skin. 

The new ghost slowly knelt down to be at eyes level with the others. He blinked, fixing glowing blue eyes on Danny. “He’s right. You didn’t know.”

Danny considered, taking in the person in front of him. His heart clenched at the words, guilt swelling. But he had questions, questions that were more important than wallowing in his guilt. “So...you’re a clone of me. Like Aster and Skyler here.”

The other boy frowned, pinning Danny with a serious look for ignoring his statement. Eventually, he stated. “Yeah. I am.”

Danny blinked, taking in the information. The confirmation of what he’d already worked out. Vlad had cloned him and those three clones were in front of him, including two who had been right under his nose and this new clone. Finally, the half ghost nodded in understanding. The next important question..."And what's your name?"

The blue-eyed boy bit his lip. "I don't have one yet. But I was thinking...Orion." He paused, letting the word linger.

“Orion.” Danny tested the word out. "I like it." He half-smiled.

"Figured you would.” The newly named Orion’s lip turned up in a slight smile. “I saw the glow in the dark stars on your ceiling and the model rockets." He looked down at his starry hands. “I guess liking space is something we have in common.”

“Yeah, I guess it is.” The half ghost tilted his head, not knowing what to think of that. He decided to press on. "And… that last dream I had, earlier tonight? That was you….you showed me how you…uhh...how you..."

"Yeah.” Orion confirmed softly, understanding the unspoken end of that statement.

The half ghost shook his head, stomach flopping at the thought. “I saw...I dreamed about how it happened to Aster and Skyler too. But I thought they were just weird nightmares but...those weren’t.”

“No. Those were real.” The other teen replied. “I...after I….you know... I woke up in the Ghost Zone and… I found you...I guess...I kinda sensed where you were...and I found you but you were asleep.” He looked down at his hands. “I don’t know how I did it but...I knew that I could show you what happened...so I did.”

“And you brought me here.”

“Yeah...I just...I recognized that these two” He motioned to the other clones. “Were like me.”

“But we didn’t remember that.” Aster finally offered. “I just remember finding you, Danny, and knowing that you were safe and...you felt familiar.”

Skyler wrung his hands. “I knew you’d keep me safe.”

“Of course, I would… I will.” Danny threw an arm over the two clones. “You guys felt familiar to me too but...I had no idea why, just that… I cared about you guys.”

Slowly, the younger two clone’s (in appearance at least) lips turned up into smiles. Danny gave both a pat, before turning attention back to Orion. “So you brought all of us and these two remembered so….” He motioned to all of the former blob’s human-like bodies.

“Why aren’t we blobs anymore?” Aster questioned.

“Yeah.” Skyler wiggled his fingers. “I look different.”

“I think it’s because you remembered who you are now.” Orion offered.

“And you?” Danny raised a brow. “Why were you…”

The starry ghost smiled teasingly. His aura flared, the light blurring his features. The light compressed and….a blob was floating in front of Danny. The small ghost chirped, flying over Danny’s head to ruffle his hair. He flew back around to his spot. There was another flash of light and Orion was back in front of him, grinning brightly.

Danny’s eyes widened. “You can transform back and forth?!”

“Yep.” He affirmed.

“Can you teach me?!” Skyler interrupted.

Orion ruffled his hair. “Sure thing. You too, Aster. We can try it in a bit. But yeah...I can do both. Can’t really talk as a blob but...it’s pretty cool. I didn’t show up like this, since I wasn’t sure you knew about Vlad cloning you and…” He motioned to himself. “Meeting your almost look-a-like might have freaked you out.”

“It probably would have.” Danny worried his lip. “But I know the truth now. I know who you guys really are and what Vlad was doing and….” He looked down. “I saw how all of you died.”

Orion’s expression fell, the stars on his face a green tint in something Danny thought might be a blush. Skyler and Aster also blushed guiltily. 

“Sorry.” Aster muted.

“No it’s….It’s okay.” Danny said. “I need to see but….” He looked at Orion. “I have a question about what you showed me.”

The other teen looked up. “Alright, what is it?”

"Why didn't you fight him?" The other boy asked. “When Vlad had you in the portal. You didn’t yell at him. You didn’t try to get out. You just...you just stood there.”

Orion sighed. “I knew there was no point. I couldn’t fight Vlad or convince him to let me go. I knew the portal...it would either kill me or I’d end up with ghost powers so I guess….I chose to hope I’d survive and end up a half ghost, like you.”

Danny frowned, considering the words. After a long serious pause, he said quietly.  "But you didn't survive."

The half ghost regretted the words not even a second later as Orion's expression fell. 

"You're right. I didn't come out of the portal a half ghost.  I did die." 

The heartbroken expression on the clone's face made Danny's heart clench. In response, he leaned forward to embrace the other boy. Orion tensed in surprise before relaxing and returning the hug. The two stayed like that for a long moment, the gesture gradually becoming less awkward and more comforting and familiar.

Finally, Orion whispered into his original’s shoulder. "But I'm still here, aren't I?"

Danny blinked, taking in the words. He pulled away. He wiped his wet eyes; he’d started tearing up again at the reminder of the other’s death. But….he slowly, tentatively smiled. “Yeah, you’re right. You’re still here.” He looked down at the other two clones and then over the field again. Those three graves, three clones that died but…. He looked back at the group of ghosts in front of him. The same three clones. Danny’s eyes widened. “All of you are. You’re all still here.” The words carried the weight of the realization as his heart swelled with hope. 

The boy looked between Aster and Skyler on either side of him again, his eyes shining with affection. “And you guys are my….” He trailed off, at a loss for words. He’d said it in his head before; Aster and Skyler were his blobs, his...friends? That was the wrong word. They were his clones. No, not just...they were his- “You’re family.” Danny finally said with conviction. He looked across from him, at Orion, deliberately. “All of you are.”

The teenage clone’s expression softened. “I’m...I’m really happy to hear that.” He looked down, before saying quietly. “It’ll be really nice to have a family.”

Meanwhile, Skyler blinked up at the halfa. “Family?” He asked hopefully.

“Yes. Of course.” Danny’s heart clenched at the tone but he still offered a smile, ruffling the smaller ghost’s hair. “I wasn’t there before you guys...you know but…”

Aster cut in him. “I already said...you didn’t know so it’s okay.”

“Yeah.” Orion agreed. “You don’t need to blame yourself. I don’t blame you. I’m sure these guys don’t blame you either.”

The ten year old nodded his head. “No. I don’t blame you.”

Skyler, who’d been eagerly following the confusion, leaned over to hug Danny. “Me neither. So don’t be sad.”

With that, the half ghost was won over. He sighed. “Alright, alright. I get it. But still…..I’m here now. We’re all here now...and we’re together so….we’ll be there for each other no matter what happens now. Right?”

“Right.” Aster and Skyler said at the same time.

A moment later, Orion smiled proudly. “Right.” He then floated off of the ground, offering Danny his hand to stand up. “So how about we end this tonight?” Danny took the hand, standing with the clone’s held. The other boy then pointed back the way they’d come, through the forest and into Vlad’s cabin. “We make sure Vlad never does anything like this again.” He turned back around towards the fresh patches of dirt.

Danny turned, his expression falling as he understood Orion’s meaning. Then he straightened, determination overtaking him. “Yes. This ends tonight. That man’s gonna pay for what he’s done. Let's start with….who wants to help me trash Vlad's lab?"

 The younger two full ghosts nodded while the teenage clone gave his original an eager smile. “Yes, please.”

The four set off, flying together through the sky. That’s how they’d stay, Danny hoped. He’d meant what he said. These three were part of his family and he’d stick with them. They’d stick together. And together, they’d make things right. 

[lailoken]

“Foxglove (Digitalis purpurea), also known as fairy thimble in Ireland.

It is generally accepted that the name foxglove is a corruption of folk's [i.e. fairies'] glove. According to James Britten:

The name Foxglove has, in all probability, nothing to do with Reynard, but is rather connected with the fairies or little folk. This derivation is fully borne out by other of its names; e.g. the North Country name, 'Witches' Thimbles'; the Irish name 'Fairy-cap'; the Welsh, 'Maneg Ellylln' (Fairies' Glove); the Cheshire, 'Fairies Petticoat'; and the East Anglian 'Fairy-thimble'. [Science Gossip, 1 February 1870: 43]

However, a belief collected from County Leitrim implies that foxgloves, rather than being fairy plants, are dangerous to fairies.

If you have a cross or peevish child, or one that from being in good health becomes sickly, and you have reason to believe it is a fairy child, following plan may be tried in order to ascertain whether this is the case. Take lusmore (foxglove) and squeeze the juice out. Give the child three drops on the tongue, and three in each ear. Then place it at the door of the house on a shovel (on which it should be held by some one), and swing it out of the door on the shovel three times, saying: 'If you're a fairy away with you!’ If it is a fairy child, it will die; but if not, it will surely begin to mend. [Duncan, 1896: 163]

There are occasional records of foxgloves being considered to be either 'unlucky' or an omen of war.

[Around Tutbury, Staffordshire, in the 1950s] picking foxgloves was un- lucky and they were absolutely forbidden inside a house as this gave WITCHES/the DEVIL access to the house. [Stevenage, Hertfordshire, May 1982]

The summer of 1914 was a record one for foxgloves, regarding which an old [Staffordshire] man remarked, 'I don't like them, missus; they mean war. Them foxgloves is soldiers.' [Hodson, 1917: 452]

Children inflate foxglove flowers and pop them.

[In Cornwall foxglove is known as pop dock:] Dock from its large coarse leaves; pop, from the habit of children to inflate and burst the flower. [Britten and Holland, 1886: 153]

[Gloucestershire, Forest of Dean, 1920s:] amusing ourselves lazily popping 'snompers'. We picked spikes of beautiful pink foxgloves ... then took off each flower, trapping the air with thumb and forefinger, and pushed the ends together till they'd explode with a pleasant little [Foley, 1974: 18]

Similarly, in the same area:

[From my grandparents, b. 1856 and 1860:] Snomper, or snowper (rhyme with cow) = foxglove. A favourite admonition to a noisy child: "Shut thee chops; thee bist like a bumble bee in a snowper.' A favourite occupation in summer was to trap a bee in a foxglove bell to hear it buzz angrily! [Cinderford, Gloucestershire, November 1993]

On Guernsey the foxglove was known as claquet, 'derived from the children's amusement of popping or bursting (claquer) the flowers on the palm of the hand,' and its flowering provided guidance as to when mackerel-fishing should start: Quand tu vé epani l'claquet, Met tes leines dans ten baté, En t'en vâs au macré. (When you see the foxglove blossoming, put your fishing-tackle into your boat, and go off for mackerel). [Marquand, 1906: 39]

At Hartland in north Devon foxgloves are associated with the osbcure St Nectan, to whom the parish church is dedicated. According to what appears to be a comparatively recent tradition, St Nectan and his sister arrived in Cornwall from Wales, and made their way towards Hartland. At Stoke they were attacked by robbers, and the Saint was decapitated. However, their journey was not delayed, for the Saint picked up his head and continued. Wherever a drop of BLOOD fell from his wound a foxglove sprang up [Dunsford, 1981: 176]. Today a Foxglove Procession is observed 'with great gusto' before the morning Sung Eucharist on the Sunday nearest the patronal feast, 17 June. Although parish magazines survive from 1909, the Procession is not mentioned until 1927, when the then incumbent arranged a proces- sion after 3 p.m. Evensong on St Nectan's Day [The Revd Louis Coulson, Vicar of Hartland, January 1982].

In folk medicine:

Foxglove leaves were placed in children's shoes and worn thus for a year, as a cure for scarlet fever-in Shropshire. [Haynes, Bedfordshire, August 1984]

The lus mor—or soft leaves in the heart of the plant out of which the fairy thimbles grow—is good for healing a CUT. The little hard hard thread on the back of the leaf should be pulled out and the leaf heated at the fire and applied to the CUT. [IFCSS MSS I128: 26, Co. Cork]

The foxglove provides the major British example of how traditional remedies might prove worthy of investigation. In 1775 William Withering was asked for an opinion on a traditional Shropshire reme- dy for DROPSY. Of the twẹnty or so herbs the remedy contained, Withering quickly concluded that the important active ingredient was foxglove leaves. Thus, as patients for whom all other remedies had failed became available, he began to experiment by administering differing dosages of foxglove leaves in a variety of forms. After ten years he published his results, listing 163 of his own patients and a number treated by other physicians, and, although foxglove leaves had originally been used to stimulate the production of urine, he was also able to report that they had 'a power over the motion of the heart to a degree not yet observed in any other medicine' [Withering, 1822: 103]. Several of his contemporaries also considered foxglove leaves to be useful in the treatment of TUBERCULOSIS, but this was never proved, and it is as a drug for the treatment of heart ailments that an extract of foxglove-now usually the Mediterranean woolly foxglove (Digitalis lanata)—continues to be used.”

—

Oxford Dictionary of Plant-Lore

by Roy Vickery

[pitch-pearl-void]

Hi! I love your work! Do you take requests? If so, would you mind doing something like maybe Skulker is looking for Phantom so in the middle of the day he comes to find Fenton to use him as bait while he's in the middle of class? And the class' reaction, because holy crap Fenton knows a ghost, and Phantom coming to save him? If not, that's totally fine, too!

I love the idea! I may have gotten a little carried away...whoops ^-^’ I focused more on Fenton and his classmates than on the romance, but I hope you’ll like it!

A paper football smacked directly into Fenton’s neck. Fenton cringed and gritted his teeth. In the desk behind him, he heard Dash snicker and the dull smack of two hands connecting as he high-fived Kwan. Mr. Lancer continued droning on about Shakespeare’s career, too passionate to notice Dash’s behavior—assuming he would care. He would probably just see it as another form of punishment for Fenton’s actions.

Not punishment for taking too many bathroom breaks or arriving late to class, though. No, Fenton’s days as a misbehaved student were supposed to be over, brought to an end by his and Phantom’s separation. He no longer needed to escape class to fight ghosts. He no longer needed to think about ghosts at all.

In theory…

Avoiding ghosts might have worked if Fenton could just stop thinking about his other half. 

For weeks after they had separated, they had barely spoken, but then Fenton had to go and open his big mouth, invite Phantom to play a round on his video game, driven by some instinct or by some longing he couldn’t put a name to. Phantom was just…he was his missing half. Being around him felt right. It wasn’t that crazy that Fenton had missed him, right? That they had stayed up nearly all night talking, playing, and joking? That Phantom visited almost every night, that they were rebuilding something new between them?

There was just so much to talk about, so many things to share, so many things to experience together in ways they never had as one. A month had passed with the two of them growing closer, and Fenton was losing his mind, he was sure of it.

What else but madness would have made him meet Phantom’s kiss with one of his own?

He had gotten caught texting Phantom. There was just so much they needed to figure out about what they were feeling… Lancer had confiscated his phone and moved Fenton to the front of the class where Lancer could “keep an eye on him.”

A fourth football landed without Lancer’s eye seeing a thing.

Fenton groaned and dropped his forehead onto the desk.

“Head up, Mr. Fenton,” Mr. Lancer ordered without looking.

Amazing, Fenton thought irritably as he lifted his head. He knows and sees everything except—

An invisible hand seized Fenton’s wrist, cold metal plates painfully squeezing his arm. He drew in a sharp breath. Before he could call out a warning, the ghost flew above his desk, lifting Fenton by his arm until they were at eye-level several feet from the ground.

Skulker, fully visible now, grinned viciously at Fenton’s stunned face.

“Crime and Punishment!” Mr. Lancer yelped.

The other students jumped from their seats, screaming. They ran for the door, but Skulker activated something by flicking the fingers of his free hand, and green electric bars sprang up in front of the door and the windows. The students cried out in fear and backed away from the bars. Fenton grabbed the arm holding his wrist and tried to pull himself up or at least relieve the strain on his shoulder and wrist. He grunted, kicked his feet, but he couldn’t manage a chin-up one-handed. He could barely do them with two.

“A bit overkill,” Skulker mused aloud, staring at Fenton’s classmates, “I have my bait, I don’t need hostages, but perhaps one of you lot can perform a service for me.”

“Skulker,” Fenton growled under his breath, trying to slip his voice underneath the fearful screams and yelling so he would only be heard by Skulker, “what the heck are you doing? You know I’m not half-ghost anymore, let me go.”

Skulker laughed, a cruel, creepy sound due to the robotic speakers and the natural echo in his voice. Fenton’s classmates shrank back from him. “You now serve a new purpose for me, whelp.” He swung Fenton by his wrist, Fenton’s legs swinging freely, and then, before Fenton could squeak a protest, he tossed him.

Fenton cried out and tried uselessly to activate powers that were no longer there. It took five seconds. Five seconds of falling before he landed on the cement floor. 

Air burst from his lungs. Pain and shock exploded from his back. He tried gasping in a breath, but his lungs didn’t seem to be working. He choked before managing a ragged inhale.

Skulker’s boot pressed down on his chest before he could roll over and curl into a ball. Fenton groaned, his back screaming, but he wrapped his fingers around the boot and tried to shove it off. He couldn’t. Without ghost powers, he was too weak. He was too disoriented. Had he hit his head? He thought his back took the full brunt of his fall, but his head might have bounced back.

Add super healing to the list of powers I wish I had right now, he thought woozily.

He had never hurt so much during a ghost fight, not even when he had been thrown through buildings. He had made craters in pavement and climbed out of the pit with only a sore shoulder. If this was the sort of dangers full humans faced during every ghost attack…

No wonder they always ran away.

Except Sam and Tucker… Fenton pried his eyes open and turned his head toward his classmates, desperately searching for the friends he knew wouldn’t be there. They shared a math class with Valerie during final period. Skulker must have waited until Fenton was isolated from any other ghost hunter who could help. But why?

“Where is your communications device?” Skulker asked him.

Fenton turned his head and blinked stupidly up at him. “What?”

“Your…” Skulker snapped his fingers together as he searched for the word he needed, “rectangular device. Phone. Phone! Yes, that was it. Where is your phone, whelp?”

Fenton tipped his head back and looked toward Lancer’s desk. It was probably there somewhere, but…he could see Mr. Lancer and a few of his classmates huddling behind the desk. He lowered his chin and looked incredulously up at Skulker again. “That’s why you’re attacking me? My phone? What the hell do you need my phone for?”

“Dude,” one of the jocks, Brad, hissed. “What the fuck are you doing, Fenton? Shut up and do what he says!”

Skulker snorted—or mimicked one, anyway. “Better do as the other whelps advise, child. You’re a great deal more delicate without your powers.”

Fenton hissed in a breath, but his classmates would hopefully miss the implication—if he spoke fast enough and gave them something else to think about. “Tell me what you want my phone for, first.”

Brad groaned.

“He’s a dead man,” Kwan whispered.

“To contact your ghost half, why else?” Skulker said disdainfully.

Fenton wanted to scream. “I don’t have one!” he said, the words almost tripping over each other as they rushed from his mouth.

“What?” Skulker’s menacing tone softened into something almost civil. “A phone? You don’t have a phone? Perhaps I can make one for you. I understand these devices are important to human development. And it would serve my purposes to be able to reach one ghost child through the other.”

“Stop—Damn it, Skulker! I don’t have a ghost half!” Fenton tipped his chin up and raised his voice. “I am one hundred percent human!”

“Oh yes, now,” Skulker grumbled bitterly. “You two have cheated me of a unique specimen.”

“Wow, sorry,” Fenton deadpanned.

“What the fuck are they talking about?” Dash demanded. He tried to whisper it, but his high-pitched voice easily carried his words to Fenton and Skulker. “What the hell is a ghost half? Why is that robot ghost after Fenton?”

Fenton glared pointedly up at Skulker, trying to communicate a silent “look what you did” reprimand, but Skulker only moved his head in a way that made Fenton think the tiny ghost inside it was rolling his eyes. A blade shot out of the armor’s wrist. Skulker touched the flat side to Fenton’s cheek, and Fenton drew in a breath, the cold touch of the blade spreading throughout his body.

“Your phone, whelp,” Skulker said, once again sounding menacing. A few of Danny’s classmates wailed in terror.

Fenton snapped, “I don’t have it!”

Skulker twisted the blade, the edge pressing into Fenton’s cheek. “Last chance, whelp.”

“Wait!” Lancer stood from behind his desk. Paulina and a couple other students stood with him, looking petrified. “Stop, stop!” He lifted Fenton’s phone above his head. “I have it! You can have it if you release him.”

“No, I don’t think I will.” Skulker blade moved away from Fenton’s cheek, however, allowing Fenton to breathe a little easier. “Awaken it for me.” Skulker’s false lips spread into a wicked grin. “We shall be making a little phone call…”

Fenton narrowed his eyes.

“Uhh…” Lancer began, uncertainly. “It’s, uh, it’s asking for some sort of password?”

“His password is numerical!” Mikey called from within the crowd of students clustered around the door. “A pin! Seven-eight-nine-zero.”

“Hey!” Fenton cried. “How do you know that?”

“You have other things to worry about, Fenton!” Kwan reminded him pointedly.

Lancer typed in the pin number and then stared down at the phone like he was facing down a complex puzzle. “How, uh, do I make a phone call on this thing?”

“Oh here!” Paulina snatched the phone from Lancer’s hands. “You just press the little phone icon, see?” She glanced up at Skulker and seemed to shrink in on herself, her confidence faltering. Fenton couldn’t really blame her. He remembered being terrified of Skulker the first few times he had met him too. “Um, what’s the phone number?”

“Child?” Skulker nudged Fenton’s cheek with the flat of his blade again.

Fenton kept his head turned toward Paulina and glared at Skulker from the corner of his eyes. “What?”

“The phone number, human child.”

Fenton snorted. “You haven’t said what you want to call him for yet.”

“Isn’t it obvious?”

“Spell it out for me.”

“In my efforts to study my prey’s habits, I have noticed the two of you getting…” Skulker tilted his head, “closer, shall we say? You have been spending a great deal of time together, lately. I don’t know how far things have gotten, but the signs of a ghost in love are fairly obvious. That is a weakness I can use. You are a weakness. Once he knows I have you, my prey will come to me.”

“You should change your name to Stalker,” Fenton grumbled, blushing.

The blush worsened as his classmates made little “ohhh” sounds of dawning understanding.

“Fenton has a ghost boyfriend,” Mikey said, his laugh too strained to be natural. “That must be what they mean by ghost half!!”

“Idiot,” Kwan groaned. “If this ghost doesn’t kill him, his parents are going to.”

Dash cupped his hands over his mouth and shouted, “Hey, Fenton, maybe you should dump your kinky ghost boyfriend before you get the rest of us killed over it!”

“Oh, fuck you!” Fenton shouted back, turning into the blade in order to glare at his classmates. “We’re not dating! We just kind of—He just…it’s complicated!"

Skulker snapped, “Whelp!” and turned Fenton’s head with the blade until Fenton’s glare had resettled on the ghost. “His phone number. Now!”

“No!” Fenton snapped back. “Forget it! I’m not going to let you use me as bait so you can—”

He cut off with a shriek of pain as the point of Skulker’s blade sliced across his cheek. Hot blood gushed from the wound and spilled toward his ear. He writhed under Skulkers boot and reached up to cover the wound, but Skulker’s blade slapped his hands away. Fenton’s classmates were screaming again, the tentative calm Fenton’s behavior had inspired shattered by the sight of so much blood. Tears streamed from Fenton’s eyes. Skulker slapped his hands away again before he could touch his face.

“You!” the hunter pointed at Paulina who quailed and shrank into Lancer. He protectively wrapped his arms around her. “Those devices can capture photos, can they not? Take a picture of this and send it to my prey as well.”

Paulina, trembling, shrieked, “I don’t know the number!”

Skulker looked down pointedly at Fenton. “Shall I give you a matching gash on your other cheek or will you cooperate for once, whelp?”

Fenton glared up at him and gritted his teeth against the pain.

“Look through his contacts!” Mikey shouted.

“Stop—” Fenton gasped in pain as speaking stretched the wound in his cheek. “—Stop helping him!”

“We’re not helping him we’re helping you, you suicidal maniac!” Dash shouted back.

Paulina’s hands shook as she maneuvered through Fenton’s phone. “What would the contact be? What—what do—h-how will I know which one is…?”

“He was texting someone during class,” Lancer said quickly. “That may be your best bet.”

“Mr. Lancer!” Fenton protested.

“Alright!” Paulina nearly sobbed. “Alright, I got it!” She pressed the phone to her ear, and Fenton squirmed under Skulker’s boot.

“Paulina, don’t!” he pleaded. “He’s just going to spring Skulker’s trap!”

“Hello?” Paulina gasped into Fenton’s phone, apparently ignoring Fenton. “Are you Danny’s ghost boyfriend, er ghost half? Yes, my name is Paulina, you have to come quick, there’s a ghost here!” Fresh tears escaped her eyes. “I don’t know his name!”

Skulker grinned. “He’ll know me once you take our picture.” He nudged Fenton’s chin with his blade, forcing his head to turn toward Paulina so his right cheek rested on the floor and the wound on his left cheek was exposed to the air. “Behave, child. Let him see the injury.”

“Uh, hold on,” Paulina told Phantom, “he wants me to take a picture…I don’t know! I’m just doing what I’m told!”

Fenton glared at Skulker from the corner of his eyes as best he could. “You’re a real piece of work, you know that?”

“I know.” Skulker grinned viciously down at him. “It’s part of the fun.”

Fenton heard the camera on his phone make an artificial shutter sound and clenched his jaw, the wound on his cheek shrieking.

“O-okay,” Paulina stuttered. “I’m sending it.” She pressed the phone to her ear again. “Did you get it yet? Danny’s bleeding really bad. If you can find Danny Phantom, tell him we need his help!”

Skulker tipped back his head and laughed. “Yes! Tell Phantom to come at once!”

“Oh!” Paulina exclaimed. “You got it? Yeah, it’s a lot of blood, but—” Her expression froze. Her eyebrows furrowed and she pulled the phone away from her ear so she could glare at it. “He hung up on me!”

Skulker chortled. “Excellent! He will rush over here at his fastest speed, don’t you think, human whelp?”

“Probably,” Fenton bit out through his clenched teeth.

Skulker removed his boot from Fenton’s chest, and Fenton didn’t waste any time rolling onto his stomach. He frantically pushed himself onto his hands and feet and scrambled toward his classmates huddled by the door. They backed away from him like he had some sort of disease. Skulker fired something at him—a net—and Fenton crashed to the ground again. He screamed his frustration and struggled against the ropes. Kicking. Pulling. Twisting.

“Damn it!” he howled.

Skulker laughed delightedly at his efforts. He stomped toward Fenton, his mechanical boots making hissing, clicking noises as he approached. “I see you are as fierce as ever, whelp.” He grabbed ahold of the net and lifted Fenton into the air. Fenton hissed as his weight caused the thin ropes to bite into his skin. “But woefully weak. I wonder…if I tied to you to your other half, would you slow him down?” His grin grew more vicious. “That would make for an interesting game.”

Fenton wiggled in the net, trying to get comfortable as he glared at Skulker. “You’ll have to catch him first.”

“It’s only a matter of time, now. His protective instincts and weakness for you shall be his downfall this day.”

Fenton growled through his teeth and kicked Skulker’s chest as best he could through the net.

Skulker snorted. “That tickled…”

“Are you guys sure this was a good idea?” Nathan asked anxiously. “I mean, inviting another ghost here? Isn’t that just going to result in this classroom turning into a battlefield?”

Fenton’s classmates murmured uneasily to each other.

“Not if Phantom gets here first,” Dash declared, his voice only trembling slightly. “He beat this ghost before! He can do it again, no problem!”

“Would you like to tell them, or shall I?” Skulker asked Fenton in an almost conversational tone.

Fenton scowled at him and slumped in his unwelcome hammock. All of his and Phantom’s efforts to keep whatever was building between them secret until they could figure things out for themselves had just been shattered by Skulker’s attack. “Fine,” he grumbled. “Go ahead. They’ll find out when he gets here, anyway…”

Skulker threw his arms outward, Fenton and his net swinging from his fist. Fenton hissed his name in complaint, but Skulker ignored him. “I am Skulker!” Skulker declared in a ringing voice they probably heard from several classrooms down. “The greatest hunter in all the realms! I have vowed to capture the ghost child known as Danny Phantom, and now thanks to all of you and Phantom’s other half…” Skulker raised the net and grinned victoriously at Fenton’s scowling face, “my prey is at this moment speeding toward my trap…”

The quiet that fell over Fenton’s classmates was deafening, tension adding an oppressive pressure to the air so that it felt like Fenton was suffocating.

It was broken by Paulina.

“No!” she screamed. Fenton flinched, assuming her reaction had to do with him and Phantom’s feelings for each other, but Paulina proved him wrong as she fumbled with Fenton’s phone. “No, no, no!” She pressed the phone to her ear. “Pick up, pick up, pick up! Don’t come here, Ghost Boy! Don’t come!”

Skulker laughed. “It’s far too late for that! I have studied my prey well. His temper is always at its most irrational when one he cares for has been harmed.”

Fenton pushed against the confines of his net again. “You bastard,” he growled.

“It’s just Fenton,” Dash said weakly. “Phantom wouldn’t risk everything just for Fenton, would he?”

“But Danny is his ‘other half,’” Mikey pointed out. “That’s what the robot called them. It might be a ghost thing? Danny could be special to him.”

“What, like soulmates?” Kwan asked, sounding almost intrigued.

“It’s Fenton!” Dash gestured at Fenton’s hunched form inside the net. “Just look at him! There’s no way he could be Phantom’s…other half. Soulmate. Thing. No!”

Others murmured their assent.

Fenton groaned. “I can’t decide if being called Phantom’s soulmate is better or worse than the alternative,” he whispered.

“Better,” Skulker whispered back. He lifted his other arm and stared at the screen on his wrist, only partially listening to the humans. “It’s far more amusing.”

“Yeah, for you.”

“Excuse me?” Amanda shoved Dash’s shoulder and pointed at Fenton. “Danny can’t be Phantom’s soulmate?’ Who here has been acting like a total badass? Who just bantered with a ghost while they were threatening him? Who got his cheek slashed because he was trying to be a hero? Like, uh, hello? Are you guys blind? They’re practically the same person!”

“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” Fenton groaned.

Skulker chortled.

“Fenton is nothing like Phantom!” Dash objected, sounding offended.

Fenton struggled in his net and searched the classroom for signs of Skulker’s trap. The only thing Skulker had activated were the glowing bars in front of the door and windows, but that was just to keep the humans trapped in the room, wasn’t it? That was why they only blocked physical exits and not the walls or ceiling.

Fenton narrowed his eyes. None of his classmates had actually touched the bars, they had only backed away from them. Skulker might have used the bars for the fear factor, not as a true barrier, and if that were the case, it made sense for them to only block the door and windows. He only needed to stop the humans from getting or receiving help.

“Hey!” Fenton shouted. “Someone run through those bars and get Sam and Tucker!”

His classmates stared incredulously at him. None of them moved an inch.

“It’s far too late for that as well,” Skulker said gleefully. “My prize shall be here in five, four, three, two…” he paused dramatically, “one.”

Phantom flew through the ceiling, his hands already coated with green energy. His head jerked left and right as his eyes searched the room, coming to a stop on Fenton in his net. His eyes widened and his jaw clenched. Fenton swore. His classmates shouted, some cheering Phantom’s name, others screaming for him to run, but Phantom’s eyes narrowed and he looked too pissed to think about running.

“Skulker,” he growled, his glare moving toward Skulker, “let him go.”

“That would be counterproductive.” Skulker lifted Fenton in his net and gave it a little wiggle. Fenton grimaced as he swayed. Phantom’s gaze jerked back to him. Something dropped to the floor, but Phantom’s eyes had become fixated on Fenton again. “If you want him, Ghost Child, come and get him.”

Phantom bared his teeth.

“Don’t do it!” Dash shouted.

Phantom shot forward, one fist pulled back for a truly epic punch. Skulker floated back a few steps, and as soon as Phantom flew over the space where they had been standing, a beam of light shot up from a small cube on the floor. Phantom’s eyes widened. Fenton didn’t understand until a vortex began to pull Phantom down into the cube.

“The Fenton Thermos,” Fenton gasped.

“Inspired by it,” Skulker corrected. “I have endured the indignity often enough to replicate its effects.”

Phantom fought against the pull, struggling to fly out of its range, but the cube floated off the ground and followed his movements. The tip of his spectral tail touched the cube, and in moments it sucked him in completely.

“Phantom!” Fenton and his classmates shouted. He struggled against his net, pulling on the ropes and kicking his feet outward.

Skulker laughed his triumph as he walked toward the cube. Fenton stared in horror at the little black box, his chest aching. Phantom had been captured because of him. It wasn’t over, not by a long shot, but…it wasn’t looking good. Skulker bent down and picked up the cube. He looked between it and Fenton, a wide, vicious grin splitting his face.

Fenton glared at him. “What?”

“How long has it been, human child?” Skulker asked him. “Two years?”

“Just about,” Fenton mumbled.

“It has been a long hunt…”

It’s not over yet, Fenton thought. He tried fitting his fist through the gaps between ropes, but it was no good. The holes were too small. “You cheated!”

Skulker’s eyes narrowed. “Cheated?”

“Cheated!” Fenton repeated.

“I baited and set a trap!”

“You cheated!” Fenton looked at his classmates. They were muttering and staring at the black cube in Skulker’s hands like they had just witnessed something impossible. “Right, guys? He cheated!”

They stared back at Danny with haunted eyes until Dash surged forward, pointing angrily at Skulker, and shouted, “Cheater!”

Starr gasped and exclaimed. “Yes! Cheater!” Her voice took on a practiced tone, and she chanted, “Cheat-er, cheat-er!” until the rest of the class caught on and began to chant it with her.

“I did not cheat!” Skulker yelled, offended, but the class continued chanting. He growled viciously, growing increasingly infuriated by the witnesses to his victory calling foul. It was exactly the kind of pride snatching maneuver Fenton had hoped for, and he waited anxiously to see if Skulker would take the bait.

He did.

“FINE!” Skulker roared. He lifted his arm higher and glared at Fenton as the other students quieted and shrank back from him. “I shall give you and your other half one last chance, whelp.” Slowly, he spread his metal lips apart in an angry grin. “I believe you know how this game is played. Let’s see how well Phantom can keep you alive when he’s tethered to you.”

Fenton sucked in a breath. It wasn’t unexpected, given Skulker’s previous comments, but all the same it was frightening, being hunted. He looked at his classmates. They were his only chance to leave a message, and he shouted, frantic, “Tell Valerie!” before electricity arced through the net into his body. He screamed, arching his back, before everything went mercifully black.

 I would absolutely love to continue this as an actual short story. Like, you’ve all heard of “Danny’s classmates taking a field trip into the Ghost Zone,” now get ready for “Danny’s classmates leading a rescue attempt into the Ghost Zone to free Phantom and his other half/boyfriend Danny!” Ahh it would be so much fun. Valerie would place herself in charge (because she’s actually been through this before, and because she won’t say why they all assume its because she once dated Phantom too which pisses her off) and she and Sam would butt heads a bit on what to do. Tucker would 100% brag about how much he knows about the GZ to Dash and friends like “yeah, that’s right, I’m a badass” but they’re all still reeling over the idea Phantom is 1) gay 2) dating Fento-loser.

Phantom and Fenton, meanwhile, are doing their best to stay alive on Skulker’s island while also dealing with the romantic tension between them.

I would absolutely love it. I have no idea how I would pull it off. Action scenes are my weak point, and I’m not entirely sure how I would sneak all these kids past the Fenton parents, if Jack and Maddie should even be told, if Lancer should go with the kids, or even if they could all fit in the Specter Speeder. RIP my idea lol. I think I might put it up on Ao3 just as a potential story some day? I’m not sure. It needs work, but I made leavemyelevator-alone wait long enough for this prompt lol

[kilyra]

Found the Trouble

A/N: Well no one asked for this either, but I really enjoyed “Looking for Trouble” so I made a follow up! I think there might be one more to this arc - I’m loving Johnny! I’d say this fic takes place maybe mid S1, when he’s still subletting to a yoga class but is starting to get more students.

After weeks of training with Johnny, you find you’re getting a little closer to him than maybe you should...

Warnings: Racy bits and Bad language but no spoilers. Also a warning is I don’t write past racy bits (which I’m not even sure are that good, I’m so rusty!) so you might want to have a proper smushalicious fic lined up to read after this LOL

If you want to be on my tag lists, (all or just a character) just let me know!

“So, you deal with that bitch in Accounting yet?”

As Johnny stood on the mat across from you, wearing his black gi with his knees softly bent, he was clearly ready to make a move. Which made his random question even more confusing.

“W-what?”

Your skin prickled with anticipation as his eyes flickered over you, but his serious expression didn't betray his plan. "You know...what's-her-name. The one that threw you under the bus last week."

It was a conversation you had as he drove you home from a late practice. One of the many times he drove you home, actually, since most of the practices ran late. Or if practice wrapped up, you were often so caught up in conversation that you stayed late anyhow. And, although you had politely protested at first, it became routine for Johnny to drive you...and often spend a few more minutes in the parking lot of your apartment building as you finished your chat. Time seemed to speed by too fast when you were together. 

The fact you were fully crushing on him like you were a teen again didn’t help.

Wondering what this new tactic was, you hesitantly answered. “Uh...yeah, no, I know who you're talking about. I just...there's nothing to deal w-”

Rushing forward, he roughly grabbed your arm to yank you off balance. Stepping to the side, you dug your fingers into his wrist, forcing his hand open enough to catch him in a wrist-lock. Following through the motion, he was forced to bend and turn away as you raised his arm behind him.  

Letting go, you kicked hard against his backside, sending him stumbling forward. Dropping his arm to catch himself, he stopped short of falling to the floor. Shooting a look at you over his shoulder, a quick lift of the corner of his mouth was all the approval he'd offer.

"You were pretty pissed after all that bullshit she pulled last week. You're seriously not going to do anything about it?" He continued without missing a beat.

Slowly rising to his feet, he tucked his chin and kept a steady gaze on you. Your eyelids fluttered in quick blinks to stop yourself from getting trapped in his stare.

“Yeah, it turns out she's an asshole, but it's not like I can get her fired over it, so what's the point? It's just more drama. My manager knows the truth at least.”

Stalking you like a predator hunts its prey, his lip curled in a sneer as he shook his head. Tension raced down your arms as you braced yourself, ready to try and block a hit...or listen to an arrogant lecture.

Instead, he swiftly closed the gap and grabbed a solid handful of hair. Clapping your hands over his, you pressed his fist to your scalp and snapped forward at the waist in a quick and low bow. Driven to his knees, Johnny was on the mat with his arm low to stop his wrist from being hurt.  

As both of you let go, you stood up and took a moment to fix your hair without stepping back.

Still kneeling, Johnny's eyebrows drew together in disapproval as he looked up at you and spread his hands apart. The gesture caused his gi to open, exposing his bare...and deliciously toned...chest in the process. “What the hell? Is that all you're gonna do?”

"What? My team knows the truth and they're on my side...that has to be enough."

Rolling his eyes, he rocked back to his feet and stood up while pointing to the mat where he had fallen. “No, not that...that. Hair grabbing isn't part of karate, but if you were one of my students, I'd have had you on your ass for that.”

Heat flushed your chest as he barked at you. That move was perfect and you both damn well knew it.

“For what? I nailed that!”

Not even a hint of amusement seeped into his face as he moved forward. Sidestepping, he started to circle, but you stood your ground and watched his movements in the mirrored wall across from you. Straightening your shoulders, you practically challenged him to argue.  

Which, of course, he did. "And where's your follow-through? If someone grabs your hair like that, it's not just some asshole harassing you – you're in a fight. It's not enough for him to let go, you need to put him down, or he's just coming right back only now he's really pissed.”

Your eyes were glued to the mirror as he stood between you and the dojo wall, staring at the back of your head and silently daring you to argue. Gritting your teeth, you tried to stay quiet but...

“I don-”

Shouting sharply, Johnny sprang forward and threw his arm around your throat. Panic burst through you as you tried to grab his elbow, but he smoothly closed the headlock, flexing his muscles to apply extra pressure. Gasping, you struggled to pry him off you as he pulled you flush against his chest.  

“Come on, Y/n. We've done this one before. You know what to do here.” There was a steadiness to his tone, unaffected by your desperation.

Focusing on his words, you thought back to the few other times he showed you how to break the hold. Each motion was hesitant as you fought the blur of your scrambling brain, but shifting your weight, you leaned enough to drive your elbow into his stomach. As he let go, you grabbed his wrist and stepped back to put his arm in a hold behind him.

Breathing heavily, you held his wrist as adrenaline still washed over you. Even your hands were shaking as you tried to control yourself. Did that bastard really put you in a headlock with no warning?

"Nice work. Now from here, you ca-"

Sidestepping, you let go, but raised your arm, bracing along his collarbone as you threw your weight forward. Letting you push him, he moved with it as you pinned him against the wall. You intended to push him away, to yell at him for being a jerk.

But instead, you found yourself staring into his bright blue eyes as he smirked. 

The rush shifted as you breathed in the scent of stale sweat and spicy cologne while you felt the quickening rise and fall of his chest under your arm. Keeping his hands relaxed at his sides, he didn't resist, seemingly uninterested in pushing you off. His eyes only just darted to your lips, but it was enough to start a new flame in your core.

“Not bad. But the point of self-defence is to create space between you and...your attacker.” The strain in his voice was almost too slight to catch.

“Maybe I don't want to create space...” Your reply came out in a low, breathy exhale.

His eyes skimmed over your face as the smirk slowly dropped. Suddenly, you became acutely aware of the fact you were pressed against him, and while he didn't try to move you, he wasn't exactly reciprocating.

Immediately, your ears grew hot as you realized you might have misread everything. The easy chats, the lingering looks, the fact he was bothered by the idea of you taking the bus after dark...it didn't mean he was up at night, fantasizing about you when he should be sleeping, like you were. It could just mean you were friends...

Doubt struck hard. Shaking your head sharply, you eased off the pressure and pulled your arm away. "Sorry...”

Before you could step back, his hand jerked up, roughly grabbing your waist and keeping you in place. Your breath hitched in your throat as your lips parted. But no words came out.

Johnny paused long enough to search your face for a sign to stop. But as your gaze dropped to his mouth, he swiftly moved in. His lips came crashing onto yours as he pulled you closer, his hand dropping to your hip. There was no gentleness or even a fight for dominance as he deepened the kiss. His tongue pushed past your lips and invaded your mouth. But you welcomed it. You were greedy for it. Grabbing the fabric of his gi to steady yourself, the skin of his bare chest was warm and inviting under your fingertips.  

You wanted more.

Your free hand snaked up to the back of his neck, gently grabbing his hair. Soon, his hand also ran up your side until it settled to the back of your head, keeping you in place. As his tongue explored you, a very real need grew. If you didn't pull away to clear your head, you weren't going to stop until you were both in his office, naked and exhausted.

Rolling your hips against him, you knew you didn't care. No. You did care...you wanted it. You wanted him.

Lowering his hand from your hip to your leg, he guided it around his waist. Protecting your head, he spun you around, pinning you against the wall and lifting your feet off the floor in one smooth motion. Bracing yourself on his shoulder, you wrapped your legs around him, hooking your feet together and pulling him close as he ran his hand up your thigh to hold you with a bruising grip.

Pressing his hips forward, giving you all the friction you ached for, he captured your moan in his unending kiss. It wasn't until you started to grind against him, hugging your legs tight and feeling how hard he'd grown, that he finally let you catch your breath as he kissed his way down your neck. Letting your head relax to the side, your soft whimpers filled the room, egging him on. As his hand roamed up the back of your shirt, you knew you needed to get somewhere more private. Immediately.

Your fingernails scratched at his scalp as you tried to form words between your panting breaths.

But before you could manage it, the bell above the dojo entrance jingled as the door opened. You both froze.

To your horror, a young man's voice called out. “Sensei?”

Kicking your feet free, you hid your face in Johnny's chest and the lust-filled haze was replaced with embarrassment. Loosening his hold, Johnny let you slide until your feet hit the floor, but otherwise stood still. His flaring nose and clenching jaw was his only response to the teen wandering into the room.

“Sensei Lawr- Oh! Oh...um...I'm sor-” The teen sputtered as soon as he came far enough in to spot you.

"What is it, Miguel?" Johnny's voice was commanding, but he refused to turn around.

“Uh...never mind, it's...” Miguel's awkward fumbling grew worse as he started to back out.

Your heart hammered in your chest as you finally pushed Johnny back a step. Had you truly believed you could just casually fuck your instructor and it would be no big deal?

With your cheeks on fire, you slunk out from behind Johnny and hurried over to your bag. Grabbing your stuff, you waved Miguel back into the room. "No, no, it's okay. I have to get going anyhow."

"Wait? What? No, come on, don't be like that. I can still give you a ride home."

Not affording a look back, you didn't even glance at Miguel as you brushed past him. You needed air.

"No, it's fine. I'll be fine." Not only did you cross a line, but you found the trouble you had been looking for.  

“Would you just-”

The cool, sobering evening air greeted you as you rushed out, letting the door cut off Johnny's words.  Glancing up the street, you stopped the bus turning the corner.

You couldn't outrun your embarrassment, but at least you could make a quick getaway.

Taglist:  @foreverfaeries​  @flower-two-writings​  @getlostinyourparadise​   @selfishkiddo​  @angelicshinigami  @parkersbabey  @whyhaveyouwritten-mehere​   @livingmybestfictionallife​  @sorryyoureoutofmyleague​

[honorbound-to-the-pen]

Fictober Day 3

Prompt number: 3

Fandom: AFK Arena (mobile game)

Rating: Teen and up

Warnings/Tags: Major character death, major character undeath, angst, hurt not comfort

Prompt: “I’ve waited for this.”

 The words echoed around the large stone chamber, deep beneath a long-forgotten, forsaken necropolis: “I’ve waited for this”. Baden sat firmly on Thane’s chest, straddling his torso and pinning his sword and arm to the frigid floor with his knee. Thane’s face was white, his teeth clenched and his jaw taut, vaguely shaking, though from anger or cold he was unsure. 

 Grinding his knee down onto Thane’s wrist and huffing at the grimace of pain that flashed across his face, Baden gazed down at his jagged spear, his head cocked slightly to the side. After several seconds of apparent deliberation, he tossed the spear into the dark of the cave, into the darkness. Both men heard it clink against a shadowed wall and roll to a stop; though, Thane couldn’t see it, pinned as he was, and Baden kept his dead-eyed green gaze fixed on Thane’s face.

 With one hand now free, Baden reached up and behind his head, his fingers briefly fiddling with a clasp, before removing his hand, his mask-muzzle coming away in his hand. Baden stared at it for a second, before meeting Thane’s eyes again, his expression making Thane’s blood run cold.

Using Baden’s face, the lich forced Baden’s lips into a cruel smirk. It looked unnatural and demented, coupled with Baden’s still emotionless eyes. If Thane concentrated on the air just behind Baden’s head out of the corner of his eye, Thane could almost make out the lich’s outline, sickly green and grey, looming behind Baden with the same awful smile affixed to his face. 

Focusing back on Baden’s face, Thane’s heart picked up; a sudden change from the slow, icy throbbing that had been present moments before. Baden’s face was filled with anguish, his brow furrowed and his mouth open, as if ready to speak. 

As if on cue, Baden’s mouth slammed shut, making Thane wince instinctively in sympathy. Baden’s face regained it’s horrible smile, this time spread even wider.

“He really likes you, this one. Yes, he spends all of his days pacing inside his head, trying to find his way out,” the lich ground out. Baden’s voice sounded strange, his tongue unused to such mockery and cruelty— especially at Thane’s expense. “Your poor boyfriend, still believing he will get back to you, someday, somehow. It’s sweet, really, how devoted he is to you. Did he ever tell you? How much he loves you, how he had planned to propose after you were both discharged? How, at night, in his tent, he would imagine you there, laid out next to him, just close enough to-”

“Shut up. Get out of him, leave him out of this. This has nothing to do with him.” Thane’s voice shook with anger, the life he and Baden could have had— still could have— flashing in front of his eyes. His heart ached in his chest, the weight of hope and pain and love so heavy a burden it hurt like something physical. 

“Oh, but it does, little soldier. Our lovely Baden tried to escape me, desperately tried to escape my hold on him, to find you and warn you of what I had planned.” The disgust was evident in the lich’s/Baden’s voice, his lip curling in distaste at the sentiment. “While this may not be how I had planned to get rid of you, the little thorn in my side that you are,” the lich said, accenting his words by pressing Baden’s hooked dagger, which had served as his hand since his death, into Thane’s neck. The lich/Baden applied just enough pressure to release a dribble of blood from just under Thane’s chin, but Thane met the lich’s/Baden’s eyes and held his gaze, refusing to tip his head back to escape from the point of the blade. 

“Oh yes, I’ve waited for this. With you gone, his spirit will finally be broken, and he will be mine to control, body and mind. He is remarkably resilient; no matter how many times I tortured him and flayed his skin from his bones until his eyes went dark, he still refused to submit. So committed to his mate. Endearing, really.” The lich used Baden’s hand to run his fingers across Thane’s cheek. This time, Thane did move away; Baden’s skin was cold and dry, and Thane’s skin tingled in mixed disgust and desire where Baden/the lich had touched him.

“I will give you a moment to say goodbye. Use it wisely, it will be the last you spend together while both of your minds are your own.” With that, Baden’s face became lax, the lich seemingly having withdrawn into a recess of Baden’s mind. 

Baden blinked his eyes several times, his mouth twitching minutely as he came back to himself. Shaking his head like a dog, he looked down at himself. At the sight of Thane, still pinned by Baden’s bodyweight, his eyes widened and he gasped. 

For a moment, the pair looked at each other, breathing heavily. Thane closed his eyes, breathing deeply, before opening them again and meeting Baden’s. Though they were still the same sickly green they had been minutes before, they now held such an air of kindness and sorrow, so much so that Thane felt tears prickling behind his eyes.

Baden shifted his leg to free Thane’s hand before reaching down with his own and grabbing Thane’s, interlocking their fingers and squeezing gently. Bringing their fingers to his lips, Baden pressed a cold kiss to Thane’s knuckles, gazing down at him in open adoration. Despite himself, Thane’s face began to color; Baden had died while they were still in the army, still in the service of the Rayne family. Such casual affection and intimacy had never been allowed between the two of them, both too dedicated to their duties.

“Hello, Thane. It’s been...so long. I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to bring him here, with us, I was trying to-”

“Don’t worry, I know what you meant to do. I’ve missed you, more than anything. But right now, we’ve got to think about how we’re going to get out of here; I haven’t the faintest idea how I got here, I wasn’t in my right mind while I was finding my way.”

“We’ll get out, don’t worry. I know the way, I’ll show you. Just give me a moment, it’s been so long since I’ve seen your face without...it’s been so long.” Baden’s smile faltered for a moment, his words becoming clipped and rough, before leaning down to rest his forehead against Thane’s, both of their eyes shining with unshed tears and their mouths forming into trembling, tentative smiles.

Leaning down, Baden came closer to Thane’s face, his lips pressed together and his hand gently squeezing Thane’s three times. Thane sighed softly, closing his eyes as Baden moved to kiss him. When the kiss didn’t come, Thane opened his eyes, brow creased in confusion and concern. 

Smiling back down at Thane was the lich, once again wearing Baden’s face. The smile was too wide and too cruel, eyes once again a dull olive color when, moments before, they had been wonderfully alive. The lich chuckled, raising their still interlocked hands off the ground and tilting his head.

“Such sentiment. So sweet. You didn’t really think I would let you both go, did you; I did tell you to say goodbye, after all,” the lich chuckled, face unchanged as Thane tried in vain to wrench his hand from the iron grip the lich/Baden had on his hand. “Ah ah ah, little swordsman, there is no getting away.”

“He really thought he was going to kiss you, didn’t he? I assure you, he had every intent of doing it, I just couldn’t let him be so tainted like that. The emotions he had as he leaned down, though...delicious.” The lich closed his eyes and hummed with satisfaction. “Though equally as delightful is his despair. I wish you could hear him, you know; he’s screaming your name, trying to break away from me and make his way back to you. The poor dear, he thinks he can do it. Ah well, no matter. Time to finish what I—we— came for.” 

The blade resting against Thane’s neck, warmed to the temperature of his skin and slightly sticky with his blood, rose several inches. Baden/the lich repositioned himself so his knees caged Thane’s stomach and ribs. Thane had given up trying to extricate his hand from Baden’s, though his arm was still tense, his muscles taut and ready to strike. 

“Goodbye, Thane Rayne. Perhaps I shall raise you, much the same as I did Baden; then you two can be together in undeath. Such a fitting end for the two lovebirds. Now, this will only-” In a flash, Baden’s spear arm came down and stabbed into Thane’s chest. Thane gasped, pain overwhelming all of his senses in the brief seconds before his eyes lost their light.     “NO,” screamed Baden, seeming to wrest control away from the lich for a moment. Tears sprang to his eyes, falling onto Thane’s chest and mingling with the blood already soaking through Thane’s jacket and armor. 

“Oh yes, little soldier, the little swordsman has breathed his last.” Wrenching his arm back, Baden/the lich withdrew his spear arm from Thane’s chest. The jagged edges of the spear hooked into Thane’s chest, lifting his body off the ground several inches before tearing and thumping back to the floor. Blood poured out of the wound, flowing over Baden’s knees and soaking his greaves and the cloth underneath them.

In Baden’s head, he was screaming, beating the walls of the cell he occupied in the times when the lich fully occupied his body and mind. His spear arm clashed and clanged off the stone walls, chipping and overshadowing his echoing crys. 

Outside of Baden’s mind, the lich used Baden’s mouth to smile down at Thane’s corpse. Getting to his feet, Baden/the lich brushed dust from his pauldrons, covering them in Thane’s blood. 

Stepping over Thane’s body until he stood at his head, Baden/the lich reached down and grabbed Thane’s cape, gathering the fabric in his fist. Straightening up, the lich took one last look around the chamber before turning and striding towards the darkened entrance of the room— where Baden’s spear lay, dragging Thane’s body behind him, the cape still clutched in his fist, heedless of the trail of blood that they left.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/34271986

[bestiesenpai]

Gojo lyric challenge

I found this cute lil challenge on Pinterest! A picker wheel chose Gojo, I excluded repeating lines or else I would have gone mad, and the song I chose was medicine by shawn wasabi :)

“I’m so- so sick!” Sniffling like a toddler with a wicked cold on a Friday night wasn’t what you had in mind when you imagined how your weekend would go. Wrapped tightly in a blanket, you shivered on your couch as sweat began to form on your brow.

“How bad is it, (Y/N)?” Satoru asked over the phone, running a worried hand through his hair. You sounded awful, much worse than when he talked to you the day before. Your voice was shoddy and he could hear you breathing through your mouth.

“I’m cold sweating and I love it.” Rolling your eyes, you crumpled into the couch cushions with a groan. “One moment I’m hotter than ever, the next I’m colder than ice! I feel high, not sober.” Deflating even more, just being awake was a struggle for you right now.

“Want me to come over and bring you medicine?” His heart ached for you, and even though he was at the school it was the weekend, surely he could disappear for a few days with no issue?

“No, I don’t want you catching this.” Throwing the blanket over your eyes, you fought back the urge to sneeze. Satoru had begun speaking again but you were too busy scrunching up your nose to listen, head pounding from the effort.

“(Y/N), babe? You listeni-”

“Achoo!” Fumbling with your phone, the force of your sneeze - and the two that came after the first - was enough to push you further into the couch and fumble your phone, effectively hanging up on Satoru and dropping it between the couch cushions.

Ripping the blanket off your face, you blindly grabbed the box of tissues you left near you. There was snot pouring out of your nose, making your face irritated from all the rubbing you were doing.

Too numb to do anything else, you grabbed your phone and trudged to the bedroom, shivering with every pass of air against your face. Once in the dark room, the dull headache you had subsided slightly and you collapsed under the covers after taking a shot of cold medicine.

Tossing and turning in the night, your sickness felt like a fever dream that would never be over. With the medicine it was easy to fall asleep, but through the course of the night you woke up in a feverish fog, not fully conscious but enough to toss the blankets off your sweat covered body and then grab them again.

Waking up in the morning was a struggle, sleep still having a tight grip on you as your body tried to fight the illness. Your blankets were up to your chin, but there was sweat pooling in the ditches of your body.

Just as you were about to throw the blankets off your body and cool off, your phone began to ring, it’s incessant vibrating making the mattress shake.

“H-hello?” Fishing through your blankets, you grabbed it on the last ring.

“(Y/N)! Baby, how are you? I tried to call you back last night but you didn’t answer!” Satoru’s slightly scared voice spewed out over the phone. Taking a few deep breaths, you finally freed your body from the blankets.

“I’m wide awake in bed with my clothes on the floor.” You grumbled, looking to your side to see every article of clothing you went to sleep with in a pile. Satoru chuckled at your answer, relieved that you had survived the night without him.

“Let me come over today, please? I’ll bring some medicine and make some soup for you?”

“I don’t have anything to make soup.” Shivering as all the sweat evaporated away, you burrowed under the blankets again.

“I’ll go to the store.” Satoru answered immediately. There was a heavy pause as you thought over his answer, brain sluggish on forming words. “C’mon (Y/N), don’t leave me hanging. At least gimme a no.”

“I’m thinking.” You said with a whine, making Satoru laugh again.

“You really know how to test my patience.”

“If you come over you have to wear a mask, I don’t want you to get sick.” Now it was Satoru’s turn to whine. You could almost imagine him stamping his feet on the ground like a child and pouting.

“Fine, I’ll wear a mask. Now what kind of soup do you want, I’ll go to the store before I stop by.”

“Surprise me.” Ending the call with a curt grunt, you relaxed back into bed. There was no energy in your body, not even enough to grab the medicine off the bedside table or get a glass of water for your parched throat.

Falling back into a restless slumber, you slept through Satoru calling you once he was at the store and when he was outside your apartment. Luckily for him, he had a key to your place and was able to let himself in, tiptoeing quietly through your house.

“(Y/N)?” He called out for you, taking off his mask once he saw you weren’t in the lounge room or the kitchen. “Are you sleeping?” Walking to your bedroom, he grinned when he saw you passed out and drooling on your pillow.

Sitting on the edge of the bed, Satoru fixed your blankets and moved your body into a more optimal sleeping position, one where your neck wasn’t being strained in a weird way and your head was elevated to help you breathe.

“Satoru?” All your twisting and turning had left you tongue tied, mouth feeling incredibly dry as you said his name.

“Hey sleepyhead.” Leaning a little closer to you, he grinned widely at your confused face, his eyes searching you from behind the glasses he had on.

“P-put your mask on, dummy.” Fumbling to push him away, you grabbed the mask that rested on his chin and pulled it over his face. “You’ll get sick.”

“(Y/N), I already am sick.” Fixing the mask on his face, Satoru laughed. “You got me feeling lovesick.”

“Lovesick?” Rolling your eyes at the cheesy line, you couldn’t help the smile that spread on your face.

“Mhmm, and ooh baby do I love it!” Gripping his heart dramatically, Satoru delighted in the fact he got you to laugh. Even behind his mask you could tell he was smiling like a fool as he looked at you.

“So what did-” Your question was cut off by a gross, wet cough. There was sticky phlegm coating the back of your throat, and the force of your actions had snot running down your nose a little as well.

“Here, here.” Grabbing you a few tissues, Satoru sprang up from the bed. “I’m going to make you some tea.” Nodding as he left the room, you coughed into the tissues and blew your nose loudly.

With a spinning head and wobbly legs, you pulled yourself from bed and threw the tissues away, walking blindly to the bathroom to take care of the needs that you’d been ignoring in favor of sleeping.

“What’re you doing out of bed?” Standing at your empty bedside with his arms crossed, Satoru tapped his foot impatiently as you reentered the room.

“Pee.” You said with a sniffle and Satoru immediately dropped his arms, pulling back the covers to help you lay back down.

“I bought some really strong herbal tea from the store, an old lady told me it works really well for sickness.” Picking up the mug he left on the bedside table, Satoru blew away the steam billowing from the top.

“It smells horrible.” Even with your nose blocked you could smell how strong the tea was and your lip curled in disgust.

“I know, but it’ll make you feel better.”

“I don’t want it, Toru.” Your lip formed a heavy pout and you turned away from him, turning your back on the tea that you could smell even with your face pressed into a pillow.

“Just have a little bit, I promise you’ll feel better!” Tugging on your shoulder, Satoru eventually wore you down enough to make you turn over. With watery eyes and a soft glare you took the mug and took a drink of the tea.

“Oh I love how it tastes!” Nearly gagging on the strong taste, you swallowed down a big gulp to appease Satoru. Falling back down into bed, you rubbed a hand down your face. “Happy now?”

“Very. I’ll go start on the soup.”

“Did you get a recipe from that old lady?”

“No, the internet.” Flicking your arm, he left the room. You could hear him digging through a few shopping bags and banging pots and pans in the kitchen. The longer the tea sat in your stomach, the more it warmed you up and soothed your throat. Taking another sip, you slowly got up from bed.

“Hey, what’re you doing up?” Satoru peeked at you from the kitchen, his sharp blue eyes watching you trudge to the couch with a blanket wrapped around you.

“I’m bored just laying in bed sick.” Propping yourself up on cushions, you sank into the couch with a labored sigh. “So why not be sick out here?” Satoru chuckled, mumbling an agreement before returning to the kitchen.

Twenty minutes later, the soup was done. It was a simple recipe, one that Satoru didn’t need to fuss over too much in terms of prep. Carrying another steaming cup of tea in his other hand, he sat next to you on the couch.

“Here’s the soup, and more tea.” Sitting up slightly, you attempted to take the bowl from him. “Are you sure you’re feeling well enough to feed yourself?”

“Yes.” Right as you said it, a sneeze pushed your head back, leaving your temples throbbing.

“Mmm, I’ll help.”

“Whatever.” Sitting up more so he could feed you, you tried not to look at Satoru’s cheesy grin as you ate.

“Ya know, I don’t know if I’m supposed to like it this much, you being sick and all.” He cooed, setting the bowl down to give you some tea.

“If it was up to you, I’d never be getting better.” Taking a sip from the tea, it burned your tongue and made you wince. “I want more, more of the soup.”

“Of course, my love.” Bowing his head, Satoru picked up the bowl again. “Now here comes the airplane!”

Once all the tea and soup was gone, you curled into the side of the couch. Wrapped up tightly in blankets, you weren’t really paying attention to what was on the television. There were slow or sudden conversations that you couldn’t follow, words being spoken that went right over your head.

“How could you sleep with both my father and brother?!” The soap opera character on screen shouted angrily, getting ready to throw a drink at another.

“Toru, what am I watching?” Lifting up your heavy head, you looked to the other side of the couch, where the man in question was watching the show intently.

“Hell if I know but it’s pretty interesting.” He answered with a shrug, taking a glance at you. “Hey, why’re you so far away?”

“Because I’m sick.”

“I’m lonely.” He pouted behind the mask you insisted he keep on. “I want to hug you, you’re not feeling well.”

“Don’t touch me!” You shouted to the best of your ability with a painfully scratchy throat, but it was too late. Satoru was already leaning over to your side of the couch, encroaching on your space and manhandling you to the middle to lay on him.

“It’s always worth the wait, each time we touch.” Snuggling into your blanket clad body, Satoru let out a hum.

“Satoru Gojo, let go of me!” Attempting to wiggle out of his embrace was impossible, he had too tight a hold and your body wasn’t exactly at its strongest.

Your struggling made the blanket you’d wrapped around your head fall off, exposing your face and head to the cold air. Seeing the opportunity present itself, Satoru leaned down and kissed your forehead.

“Satoru! Why’d you kiss me you’re gonna get sick!” You watched in horror as he threw his mask onto the coffee table.

“You should know by now babe, all the rules are always bending, but only for us.” With a smug grin, he gave you another kiss before you could dodge him.

“The principal will be mad if you get sick because of me.”

“Eh, let ‘im. Who cares?” Leaning back, Satoru took you with him, moving more of you into his lap. “I’ll kiss you every day and every night, no matter the circumstance.”

“You’re so annoying.” Mumbling under your breath, you cozied up into his embrace more, no longer having the energy to fight it. Rubbing a hand up and down the full length of your back, Satoru let out a hum. It was quiet between you two for a few minutes, until a tickle in the back of your throat forced your body to convulse in a strong cough.

“Oh baby.” Satoru frowned slightly, giving you a few hard pats on the back. “Have a tissue.” He stuffed a couple in your hand, watching behind his glasses with concern in his eyes. “Hey, how often should you have medicine? I don’t think you’ve had any today.”

“Gi-ve me m-medicine twice a day. That’s what the label s-said.” You answered between coughs, fighting to catch your breath.

“Okay, one sec.” Shifting you off his lap, Satoru dashed to your bedroom to grab the bottle of medicine. When he came back, your coughing had subsided, but you were mentally drained from the ordeal.

“You’re too good to me, Toru, I’ve taken up your whole day being sick.” Dabbing at your watery eyes, you noticed the distinct lack of direct sunlight coming into the room. The sun was setting behind the buildings surrounding you, casting long shadows into your home.

“(Y/N), I don’t care. I won’t leave until you get better, I’ll stay forever if you let me.”

“Forever’s a long time.” You grinned, taking the tiny cup full of medicine that he poured for you and drinking it quickly.

“You make time feel never ending.” Satoru replied, getting comfortable on the couch with you again and cuddling you in his lap.

“You’re so cheesy.” Giggling at the line, you wrapped him in a hug. “Don’t be mad at me if I keep you up at night with my coughing.”

“Keep me up, I don’t mind.” Giving you a kiss on the cheek, Satoru hugged you back even tighter. “Just gives me more time to watch these stories.” He pointed to the TV right as two characters got into a fight.

“What a wonderful doctor I have.” Rolling your eyes, you lay your head in the crook of his neck, letting the dialogue from the TV become white noise and lull you to sleep.