#serious injury tw

[jonquilyst]

302. Chapter 10, Episode 25

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Transcript:

(White text = Doctor)

*Molly and Megyn are in Nick's room. Molly is standing over him with her hand on his head. Megyn is standing behind her and sobbing*

*Meanwhile, several doctors and nurses are in the room working to remove Nick from life support*

*With the clock ticking overhead, the monitor tracking Nick's heart flatlines, indicating his heart has stopped. The doctor looks downcast*

Doctor: Time of death: 17:42.

[compelledcurator]

A piercing, high pitch scream broke through the otherwise white noise. No more laughing, music gone, even Jesse's voice taken.

Gambit shook his head, vision coming into focus he was met with devastation. A series of bombs had exploded during the parade. Injured people, mutant and human alike lined the rubble. Touching his head, he slowly checked for any head injuries before scanning the many bodies for signs of life.

Gambits hearing finally kicked back in, screams, sirens, calls for help, he preferred the silence but thankful to have his senses back.

" Jesse? " he called out, everything happened so fast. One minute he was joking about his treats the next he's thrown across the stalled area and in a heap wondering what the hell just happened.

Grabbing his comms he hoped the kids were safe, time to make a plan " Gambits lookin' good,,,,,, anyone comin' my way?,,, er I'm gonna search de area,,,, Jesses missin' " unsure if anyone hear him he got to his feet and again yelled for Jesse, louder this time.

" JESSE "

Fear woke the adrenaline inside this mutant and speed picked up real fast. Gambit tore through broken rubble and stalls, looking for Jesse and the others. Hours flew by and nothing.

Seems police have some areas locked down and rescuers were also taking care of trapped people. Gambit continued, now fearing his newly found brother may be gone.

A little impressed (and maybe a little unnerved) by the sheer amount of sweets Remy had bought, he helped the other set the purchases down on the bench. "Bon Dieu, how're you gonna carry the leftovers? You got that many pockets?" Shaking his head in amazement, Jesse sat in a graceful motion, crossing his legs at the ankle. He hesitated before opening the box of cookies and taking one for himself, cradling it in his palm to avoid getting crumbs all over the ground. Despite Remy's eagerness about buying the things, Jesse didn't seem to mind not ordering, his manner as easygoing as ever.

[scealaiscoite]

.☽༊˚ prompts for helping bathe an injured loved one

¹⁾ sitting on the edge of the bathtub and letting them lay their head against your thigh as the fatigue starts taking hold

²⁾ “i know, i know it hurts but hold on for just a little longer and we’re done, yeah? think you can do that for me, pet?”

³⁾ helping them lean up so you can wash their back, and pretending not to notice them shaking in your arms

⁴⁾ “you needn’t be so gentle, y’know. if today wasn’t enough to break me, i doubt an ill-applied handful of shampoo will.”

⁵⁾ using your soapstuffs because the familiar scent will, hopefully, help calm them

⁶⁾ “i can’t believe it took a night like that for you to let me help you with something.”

⁷⁾ having never seen them in a state of undress before and so, trying admirably hard to avoid looking directly at them in such a vulnerable state

⁸⁾ “so mr/mrs surly and serious likes having their hair washed for them, hm? don’t worry, i’ll keep your secret.”

⁹⁾ climbing into the bath/shower with them, more for the physical comfort than practicality

¹⁰⁾ “i wish the first time you saw me like this could’ve been under better circumstances.”

¹¹⁾ stripping down to the same level of undress as them in an effort to try and make them feel more comfortable

¹²⁾ “can we- can we just stay here, like this, for a minute? please?”

¹³⁾ using as gentle a touch as possible to clean them off and feeling your heart break each time they still suppress a pained whimper

¹⁴⁾ “it’s just me now. you don’t have to be brave anymore.”

¹⁵⁾ trying to towel them dry but ending up just cradling them to your chest with the towel pressed aimlessly between you

[spiderin-space]

One of COTL’s biggest mysteries tbh

[flowersandskeletons526]

"Don't Let Anything Happen To Her" - Warriors Concept Album Fanfic (Part 2/2)

Here's part two like I promised. Same trigger warnings as the first part. There's no actual violence in here, just mentions and threats, but there is still the blood and serious injury warning. I apologize for the angst and thank you humbly for suffering through this with me

Link to part one and yes I know it's long but I don't know how to fix it:

https://www.tumblr.com/flowersandskeletons526/769796493559398400/dont-let-anything-happen-to-her-warriors?source=share

----------

Cleon, Ajax, and Swan burst through the front door within a second. There were no words. Cleon took Rembrandt from Mercy and ran up the stairs to the apartment, the other Warriors hot on her heels. Mercy got through the door last, looking on in horror as Cleon laid Rembrandt on the couch and rubbed her knuckles on her sternum in a desperate bid to wake her up.

Mercy didn’t even register that she had been tackled until Swan was pulling Ajax off of her. “What did you do?!” the enforcer bellowed. “What the fuck did you do?!”

“Ajax!” Rembrandt’s voice was weak and choked, but it carried. Ajax forgot about trying to kill Mercy and went to her side next to Cleon, taking her hand and holding tight as Swan helped Mercy to her feet.

“I’m here, baby,” she said, “I’m right here.”

“Mercy saved me. Don’t be mad at her. Please.”

Cleon was on her feet in full leader mode. “Mercy, go get the hand towels from the bathroom. Swan, get Cochise on the phone. Tell her Rembrandt’s hurt and I want her here right now!”

They jumped into action. Mercy grabbed the towels and knelt beside Ajax and Cleon. Cleon folded up one to press over the cut on Rembrandt’s head and handed the other to Ajax, pointing to the slash in Rembrandt’s side. “Hold it here,” she said, “and apply pressure. Rembrandt, honey, I’m sorry, but this is going to hurt.”

Rembrandt screamed as Ajax pressed the towel over the wound. Ajax held her down gently, whispering reassurances to her until she stopped struggling. The momentary flight of pain and panic seemed to drain what little strength she had, and all she could do was stare at them blearily as they tried to keep her awake and talking. She kept looking back to Mercy.

“Cochise and Cowgirl are on their way,” Swan said behind them. 

“Great. Come here, hold this on her head to stop the bleeding.” Cleon stood and pulled Mercy away, forcing her to turn her back on the scene. Her voice came low and harsh. “What. Happened.”

Mercy couldn’t answer. She looked down at herself. She was covered in Rembrandt’s blood.

“Mercy!” Cleon snapped. “What the fuck happened!”

Mercy choked out, “They threw her off a fire escape.”

“What?!”

“We got jumped. There were so many of them-”

“Why didn’t you run!”

“We did! We tried! They had cars, they cut us off, I made Rembrandt go up the fire escape so I could get her out of the middle but one of them was already up there and he grabbed her and, and-” Her throat closed up as tears filled her eyes. “I tried to stop him, Cleon, but one of them grabbed my legs and I couldn’t get free until after he pushed her off so I-I-I… I stabbed him.”

“You had a knife?”

“I didn’t kill him. I wish I fucking did but I didn’t. I threw him down the stairs and threatened to cut his throat and that’s when they took off.”

Cleon took a deep breath and held it. She kept a stoic expression, but Mercy could see the terror and soul-crushing panic in her eyes as they flitted about, looking everywhere but at Mercy’s face. “Okay. Okay. Fuck!”

“Cleon, come here!” Ajax snapped. 

Cleon gave Mercy’s arm a quick squeeze before going to replace Swan next to Ajax. Swan stood at Mercy’s side, watching Cleon wipe away tears from Rembrandt’s blank face while Ajax rubbed her arm in an effort to keep her conscious. Mercy had never seen either of them so scared. She turned to Swan.

“Is she going to be okay?” she whispered. 

Swan wouldn’t answer.

The door slammed open. Cochise and Cowgirl ran into the apartment, nearly tripping over each other. Cochise had a heavy backpack with the first aid symbol on it slung over her shoulder. Her little first aid kit had turned into a full on first responder’s trauma bag in recent months after neosporin and gauze bandages could no longer keep up with everything the Warriors put themselves through. She and Cowgirl went pale when they laid eyes on Rembrandt.

“Oh my god!” Cowgirl exclaimed.

“What happened?” Cochise switched places with Cleon. Her eyes were hard and focused, mouth set in a grim line, and Mercy was violently reminded that she had indeed been a soldier in a past life. 

“Rembrandt got thrown off a fucking fire escape,” said Cleon.

“What floor?” Cochise asked. Cleon looked at Mercy. Cochise followed her eyes. “Mercy, what floor?”

“Second,” said Mercy.

“She hit concrete?”

“No, she landed on some trash bags.”

“Definitely had something sharp in them. Rembrandt, hey, look at me. Open your eyes. Ajax, can you get her shoes off, please? Rembrandt, squeeze my hand as hard as you can, okay? Good, that’s good. Wiggle your toes for me. Great.” Cochise held her hand out without looking, and Cowgirl passed her a wooden tongue depressor. She pressed it up the length of Rembrandt’s legs. “Can you feel all this? Rembrandt, open your eyes. Talk to me.”

“Yeah, I can feel it,” Rembrandt croaked. 

Mercy caught a glimpse of her eyes. They were hazy and unfocused, pupils blown wide, and she looked through everyone instead of at them. 

“Cleon, lift her head up a bit so I can feel her neck. Carefully.” Cleon did, much to Rembrandt’s distress, and Cochise pressed along her spine from the base of her skull to her shoulders. “I don't feel anything out of place. Does your neck hurt? I know your head hurts, but does your neck hurt?” Rembrandt mumbled a no. “Alright. Doesn’t seem like there’s any spinal injury but we need to keep an eye out. Mercy, was she able to walk after she fell?”

“She could before she passed out.”

“Blood loss. She doesn’t have the blood pressure to stay conscious if she’s upright. Fuck, that shoulder is definitely out of place. You’re not gonna be happy with me when I put that back, Rem.”

Rembrandt inhaled sharply. “Am I gonna die?”

There was silence. Ajax reached over to cup her cheek, forcing a trembling, uncertain smile in a failed attempt to ease her mind. “No, baby, you’re going to be okay,” she promised. “You’ll be perfectly fine. You’re just a little banged up right now, that’s all.”

Rembrandt closed her eyes, face twisting. “You’re lying.”

Mercy watched Ajax’s heart shatter into a million pieces.

“Cleon, is there still a bed in the spare room?” Cochise asked. Cleon nodded. “Okay. Ajax, bring her in there. I can’t give her stitches on the couch.”

“No!” Rembrandt tried to push her away, but she hardly had the strength to keep her eyes open, let alone move anyone. “Ajax, I wanna go home.”

“Watch her arm,” said Cochise.

“We will, baby,” Ajax said, lifting Rembrandt in her arms. Rembrandt let her head loll against Ajax’s chest. “We just need to get you patched up first.”

She carried her into the spare bedroom, Cochise and Cowgirl following behind. Cleon made Swan go with them. Swan looked back at Mercy, hesitating, but Cleon insisted, saying Cochise was going to need two extra sets of hands and Ajax would be preoccupied with keeping Rembrandt calm. So she went, leaving Mercy alone with Cleon in the living room. Mercy couldn’t stop staring at the couch, now dyed with a red so dark it was almost black.

There was so much blood.

Cleon held Mercy by the elbow and gently guided her to have a seat at the kitchen table. “I need you to tell me exactly what happened,” she said. “From the start. Do not leave anything out.”

Mercy took a deep breath. “Rembrandt finished tagging. We were walking home when we heard these dudes behind us and they were saying shit and I told them to back off. I only did it once, I didn’t taunt them or anything, and then we ran. We were almost back when they cut us off in a car. Two cars. There were so many of them, Cleon. They had us cornered and I saw the fire escape and I made Rembrandt run up ahead of me but there was a guy already up there that I didn’t see. He grabbed her and said something about killing a few Warriors and then he threw her over the railing. Ajax gave me a knife for if there was trouble and I stabbed him in the back, pushed him down the stairs, and threatened to kill him if the rest of them didn’t leave. They all ran off, and that’s when I grabbed Rembrandt and got us home.”

Cleon nodded slowly. “I’ll start with saying I’m not mad at either of you. I’m glad you didn’t try to go up against all of them. Proud of you for that.”

“I’m not stupid.”

“What exactly did the guy say?”

“He said it was so easy to get through Brooklyn and it was going to be easy to kill off a few Warriors and take Coney Island from us.”

“This was a gang? Did they say their name?”

“No. Rembrandt said they were from Staten Island.”

“What were their colors?”

“Purple jackets with, like, a crown on them, I think.”

Cleon’s face darkened. “The fucking Princes,” she snarled. “Did you hear them say any names?”

“No. None of them. They were a little too preoccupied with trying to kill us to introduce themselves.”

“Stay here. I need to make a call.”

Mercy sat at the table, staring at the scratched wood. She couldn’t bear to see her hands, covered in dried flaking blood, so she kept them folded in her lap and tried not to cry. The adrenaline had mostly left her system and left her a shivering mess. She couldn’t break down, not right now, not if they might still need her to help. So far they didn’t, and she was left alone to her thoughts at the kitchen table.

Why hadn’t she seen him on the fire escape? Why hadn’t she been strong enough to fight him off? If she had been stronger, if she could run faster, if she was more observant, maybe this wouldn’t have happened. She should have run from the get and not even bothered telling them off and maybe they wouldn’t have had the opportunity to get ahead of her and Rembrandt. If she’d just been a little faster, she could’ve gotten him before Rembrandt fell. Yeah, she stabbed him, she made them leave, but it was too little too late and now Rembrandt might die because Mercy wasn’t fucking strong enough.

As she drowned in the what ifs, Cleon screamed at someone over the phone in the other room. The person on the other end of the line hollered back so loud that Mercy could hear him over the receiver.

“Your guys threw my tagger off a fire escape! They told my girls they were going to kill them to take over Coney Island!”

“Cleon, I didn’t know they were there!” the man on the line shouted. “They were supposed to be patrolling!”

“Didn’t know? Didn’t know?! You didn’t know your idiots were completely out of your borough?”

“Cleon, believe me-”

“I don’t gotta believe shit, Tommy! One of my girls might die because you didn’t have a handle on your bitches. If that motherfucker isn’t left to die in a ditch, I swear I will swim across the fucking Narrows to put your ass six feet under with him!” There was a long pause. “Expect a call from Masai.”

“You don’t need to get the Riffs involved,” said the other gang leader.

“Oh, you’re gonna want him there to mediate because if I show up alone, there’s no one to stop me from putting you in a body bag and keelhauling you under that fucking boat!”

Cleon slammed the receiver down and immediately picked it back up to call Masai. In the brief silence, coming from the spare bedroom, Mercy heard a muffled, “One, two, three!”

There was a sickening pop. Rembrandt let out the most agonized, bloodcurdling scream Mercy had ever heard.

When Cleon finally got off the phone, she came to stand beside Mercy. Facing away from her, she gripped her shoulder hard enough to hurt. Mercy noticed her shoulders shaking as she tried not to cry.

Cochise, Cowgirl, and Swan came into the living room. Cleon and Mercy got up to meet them.

“Is she-”

“She’s alive,” said Cochise quietly. Her voice was detached and clinical. “She lost a lot of blood. I don’t know what she landed on but I’m guessing broken glass because she’s cut up pretty bad. Her vest saved her from the worst of it. The shoulder was dislocated. I put it back and tied it up as best I could with what I have right now. I’ll go out tomorrow to get a real sling. She won’t need surgery on it, at least. No spinal injury but definitely concussed and I’m sure she cracked a couple ribs just from how it looks like she landed. Possibly a sprained knee. Real bad bruising. She won’t be tagging for a long time.”

“But she’ll be okay, right?” Cleon pressed.

“She’ll live. She’s sleeping now. I would've liked to keep her awake a little longer to get a better feel on how out of it she is, but…” Cochise shrugged helplessly, eyes downcast. “I already put her through enough tonight. I gave her some painkillers and hopefully those help but it’s… it’s bad. Honestly, I don’t know how she came out of it walking. Cleon, if she starts to have real trouble breathing or her cognitive shit goes downhill, we’ll need to take her to a real hospital.”

As Cleon and Cochise talked, Ajax came out of the bedroom. Mercy was the only one to notice her, shoulders set, face blank as she made a beeline for Swan.

It was a cheap shot. 

Ajax absolutely rocked her shit with a brutal hook to the jaw. Swan hit the floor like a bag of bricks, lying dazed on her back. Next thing Mercy knew, Ajax was on top of her with her hands around her throat, screaming at the top of her lungs. Her vision began to tunnel before the others were able to rip Ajax off of her. She rolled onto her side, coughing and holding her throat as they wrestled Ajax to the floor.

“I’ll kill you!” she roared. “I will fucking kill you! You’re a dead woman!”

Cleon pressed all her weight on Ajax’s shoulders to pin her down. Cowgirl tried to hold her legs so she would stop kicking at them. Cochise had her in an arm bar, wrenching it behind her back so far Mercy thought she was going to break it. They still struggled to hold her.

“She was supposed to be safe with you! You were supposed to protect her and you let her get thrown off a fucking building! She almost died because you needed to learn a couple blocks!”

“Ajax, stay down!”

Swan was on her feet and helping Mercy up, bleeding from her mouth. Mercy watched Ajax’s rage morph and dissolve as she broke down crying hysterically. Cleon grabbed her by the neck to get her to stop banging her head off the floor. She just kept wailing, “I should’ve gone with her! I should’ve gone with her! I should’ve gone with her!”

When it looked like she wouldn’t try to get up again, Cleon said, “Mercy, Swan, get out of here.”

Which was a mistake. Hearing their names reignited Ajax’s fury, and she started thrashing and spewing death threats again. Swan dragged Mercy to their bedroom and locked the door behind them.

Mercy sank to her knees as her resolve finally collapsed. She dropped her head into her bloodstained hands and sobbed like she never had before in her life. Swan didn’t speak, only sighed as she gathered Mercy in her arms, gently rocking her back and forth. She held her tight, cradling her head against her chest. Mercy clung to her like a child waking from a nightmare, which was what this whole awful night had become. One big horrible bloody mess.

When Mercy stopped crying after a short eternity, Swan pulled back and cupped her face in her hands. “Are you hurt?”

“No,” Mercy sniffled. “That’s the fucked up thing. I’m fine but Rembrandt, Rem, she-” The words stuck in her throat like needles. “I thought we would be okay. I thought I could keep her safe but I failed her.”

“You didn’t fail her. You got her out alive,” Swan reassured. Mercy found it impossible to look her in the eye. “Who did this?”

“Cleon said it was the Princes or something after I told her their colors.”

“Mm.” Swan sat back on her heels. “They’re getting bolder.”

“Who are they?”

“The laughing stocks of Staten. Bet they thought they could score points if they annexed part of Brooklyn.”

“I heard Cleon talking to their leader. He said he didn’t know anything about it.”

“I believe that. That’s one of their issues, Tommy doesn’t have a hold on any of them. Probably will now, though, after this. With a transgression like that, I wouldn’t be surprised if they threw the guy off the back of the ferry.”

Mercy shuddered. “Are you okay? Ajax hit you hard.”

“I’m fine. Just cut the inside of my cheek.” Swan helped Mercy stand, looking her up and down. She opened the door a crack and peeked down the hall. “They’re not out there anymore. You should go shower. Change clothes.”

Mercy nodded. She needed to get the blood off her.

Swan sat in the bathroom with her while she showered, bringing her a towel and a change of clothes and offering to brush her hair for her. When she asked what Mercy wanted to do with her dirty clothes, Mercy told her to throw them out. She let Swan lead her to bed. Swan cradled her in her arms and held her tight until she cried herself to sleep. 

The next several days passed in a blur. Mercy didn’t sleep for more than an hour or two at a time. She ended up on the fire escape in the middle of the night more than once, leaning on the railing, staring over the edge, the vision of Rembrandt lying broken there searing itself into her mind. Only Swan could convince her to come back inside. Cochise and Cowgirl came over every day to check on Rembrandt. Cochise said she was healing relatively fast, all things considered, and most of her stitches could come out within the week. Rembrandt was only conscious when Cochise had to look her over, and even then she apparently struggled to stay lucid. 

Ajax rarely left her side, and only for a few minutes when it was necessary. The other Warriors made it a point to keep her far away from Swan and Mercy.

When Mercy passed the room, she sometimes heard Ajax mumbling indistinctly through the door, but she never heard Rembrandt. 

Cleon asked Masai to come down to Coney one day. Mercy was forced to recount every little detail about that night, down to the color of the man’s eyes and the sound he made when she buried the knife in his back. As she got around to that part, Ajax came into the living room. She stared at Mercy sitting at the kitchen table with Cleon and Masai, expressionless, her eyes hollow and cold. Mercy’s voice faltered. The two gang leaders looked behind them, and Cleon was quick to rest a hand on Ajax’s back and guide her back to the spare bedroom.

Mercy heard her whisper, “You don’t need to hear this.”

Masai wanted to talk to Rembrandt about what happened but Ajax shut that down immediately. Not that Rembrandt was aware enough to answer questions, anyway. Cleon respected Ajax’s refusal. What she didn’t respect was the litany of violent threats towards Masai that Ajax added on; a sanctionable offense on any normal day. Masai assured Cleon that it was alright and he didn’t take it personally. 

“If the roles were reversed,” he said in that low, gruff voice, “I would’ve threatened to beat my ass, too.”

Five days passed with no real improvement in Rembrandt’s condition. Mercy sat at the kitchen table with Cochise and Cowgirl. Swan and Cleon talked out of earshot near the door.

“Do you think Ajax will ever stop trying to kill me?” Mercy asked quietly.

“If she wanted you dead, you’d be dead,” said Cowgirl.

“Girl!” Cochise exclaimed.

“What! I’m right! Look, Mercy, Ajax doesn’t actually want to kill you, not outside the moment of, y’know, choking you out like she did, but honestly? She’s probably going to hate you for a long time. And I don’t know if she’s ever gonna trust you again. Definitely not around Rembrandt.”

“Okay, that’s a mean way of phrasing it-”

“But I’m right.”

Mercy dropped her head onto the table with a loud thunk and covered it with her arms. 

Ajax’s voice pierced the air. “She’s awake.”

Everyone leapt to attention. Ajax stood by the window, her arms hanging at her sides, hands relaxed. Her eyes were puffy and bloodshot. Mercy doubted she’d slept at all since that horrible night. 

“How is she?” Cleon asked.

“Still really out of it but she’s talking again.” Ajax turned her head and faced Mercy. “She wants you.”

Mercy swallowed hard. She headed towards the spare bedroom. Ajax grabbed her. She froze. The others were already moving to separate them, but Ajax didn’t hit her or try to strangle her again. Instead, she wrapped her arms around Mercy and pulled her into a bone crushing hug, burying her face against Mercy’s shoulder as tremors wracked her body. She took three deep, measured breaths, and then pushed Mercy back to hold her at arm’s length. Her brow furrowed and there were tears in her eyes and she opened her mouth like she wanted to say something but nothing came out. She merely swept past Mercy and went to sit beside Cochise at the table. 

Mercy’s heart ached as she left Ajax behind and went to see Rembrandt.

She found the tagger sitting upright in bed, propped up on pillows, staring idly out the window at the sunset. Her arm hung in a sling with an icepack on her injured shoulder. There was a big bandage on her head where she’d been cut, the edges of a bruise peeking out around it. She wore one of Ajax’s shirts, and where it rode up around her midsection, Mercy could see that her entire torso was wrapped in bandages. Her eyes were sunken and she was still pale and there was a little hitch in her breath like breathing hurt but she was awake. She was alive.

Rembrandt turned to look at Mercy, still weak. She flashed a tiny smile. “Hey.”

“Hey.” Mercy perched on the edge of the bed next to her. “How are you?”

“Still in a lot of pain, but I’m okay,” Rembrandt said. “I’m sorry Ajax went after you.”

“How-” 

“Cochise told me when Ajax stepped out for a second. Warning for when I woke up. I’m sorry.”

“It’s… it’s okay. She apologized.”

Rembrandt frowned. “She what?”

“Or, I think she did. She hugged me just now.”

“Huh. You’re right, that is how she apologizes. You’re okay, right? You weren’t hurt?”

“No, I-I’m fine. I got out alright.”

The tagger nodded, smiling as her eyes flitted back to the window. “That’s good.”

Mercy couldn’t stop the words that blurted out of her mouth: “How the fuck do you seem happy right now?”

Rembrandt’s brow furrowed. Her smile wavered but never fully left as she took a deep breath. Mercy caught the wince when she did it. “I’m still alive,” she whispered. “When I went over the edge, I felt like I was falling forever. I thought about how I would never get to paint again. I’d never get to go out with Cochise and Cowgirl. There would be no more movie nights with Cleon and Swan at their place. I wouldn’t know if you were safe. I wouldn’t get to tell Ajax-” Her voice broke. She leaned her head back and closed her eyes as a tear rolled down her cheek. “I thought I’d never get another chance to tell Ajax how much I love her.”

“Rembrandt-”

“But then I hit and… I wasn’t dead. I saw the sky and I heard your voice and I wasn’t dead! I definitely feel like I got thrown off a fire escape, believe me, but…” She shrugged one shoulder. “I’m happy.”

Mercy held Rembrandt’s hand and brushed away the tears on her face. “I’m sorry,” she choked out. “I’m so, so sorry, Rembrandt. I’m sorry I couldn’t keep you safe.”

“Mercy, I don’t blame you. I got hurt. It happens. This time was just… bad.” Rembrandt squeezed Mercy’s hand. “You got us out of there. That’s what matters. And I know Swan has told you the same fuckin’ thing so if you’re not gonna listen to me, at least listen to your girlfriend, man, damn!” It got Mercy laughing despite the tears welling in her eyes. “Will you promise me something?”

“Yeah, of course, anything.” 

Rembrandt’s smile disappeared. “Please, don’t hate Ajax.”

“I don’t hate Ajax,” Mercy said immediately. “If Swan was where you are right now and I had to go out there and look Ajax in the face, I’d try to strangle her, too. We’re even.”

Rembrandt laughed, which turned into a wince and a muffled groan as her chest spasmed. Mercy laid a hand on her uninjured shoulder and waited for her to get her breathing back under control. She let her head loll to the side. “She’s never gonna let me out of her sight again, is she?” she asked.

“Probably not. I hate to break it to you,” Mercy joked, “but you did actually get tossed off a fire escape.”

“Wow, really? Hadn’t noticed,” Rembrandt said sarcastically, and that got both of them laughing again. “I’m really glad you’re okay.”

“I’m glad you’re okay, too.”

“Hey, by the way, where did you get a knife?”

“…Ajax.”

“Oh, mother-!”

[geode-crystal]

“Don’t you hurt a single hair on his/her/their head.” for the prince and knight duo ❤️

-- @whumperofworlds

Hello friend! Thank you for the ask!! You get a fun little whumpy drabble lol

______________

“Don’t you touch him,” Darius snarled. “If you hurt a single hair on his head…”

He stood in front of Mianu, sword raised, using his entire body to shield Mianu’s form. Mianu was huddled as far into the corner of the tiny, dismal room as he could possibly go. He was curled in on himself, clutching at the wound in his side, his other arm lying limp on the ground. His own magic betrayed him, shadows pulsing around his bad arm. His breathing was ragged. Shallow. His face was pale. And Darius didn’t want to think about all the other injuries he had sustained.

All that damage, all because Darius hadn’t been fast enough.

But he was here now. And he wasn’t going to let anything happen to Mianu again.

The enemy soldier sneered. Their own sword was held casually at their side, tip down, practically touching the cold stone floor. An easy threat… and a sign that they were far from intimidated.

“A little late for that, don’t you think?” they drawled.

Darius bristled with fury. His own sword leveled out, pointing right at his adversary’s heart.

“Walk away,” he hissed. “Right now. Or I will ensure that everything you did to him will be unleashed on you. Tenfold.”  

The enemy only smirked. “Cute. But let’s try this: you stand aside, and allow our dear young prince to follow orders. Or I could run you through, toss you aside, and make him follow orders.”

Mianu winced. A soft cry, a pitiful hiss, passed his lips. Darius had never felt such hatred.

“Over my dead body,” Darius snarled.

The soldier laughed. “Alright. I’m flexible.”

And their sword flashed as they lunged right for Darius. Darius was only too eager to meet the challenge. Whatever happened to him didn’t matter. As long as it meant Mianu got out without any further harm.

It was his duty as a knight. And his honor as Mianu’s love.

[snoffart]

put him out of his misery.

uhh LOL very rare for me to oc post but I've been playing ffxiv and made some OCs... my cowboy catgirl Zaeli (half miqo, half hrothgar) and her adoptive father, Harmon.. For the endings context, Harmon is a wanted man and his bounty is quite high. A man sought him out and took him down, and Zaeli killed that man for vengeance. It implies at the end that she will put Harmon out of his misery.

[good-beanswrites]

If it's okay with you, could you write a drabble about the hypothetical aftermath of Amane getting attacked by Kotoko?

Welp thank you pal for making me absolutely insane with this request 👍 I ran through a few hypotheticals and realized I had to shift some things around since there were so many absolutely tragic outcomes. I worked something out but damn if it didn’t make me emotional to think about how uniquely rough Amane has it. Even making sure she's in a good place at the end, this got pretty serious, so warnings for child abuse and cult references. 

(So in canon, Kotoko goes in order and attacks Fuuta, but Kazui steps in. Then she attacks Mahiru while he’s distracted with his injuries. She’s about to attack Amane, but Mikoto gets in the way (my hc that he did it on purpose survives!). By the time they reach a draw, Kazui is back, and the two of them can prevent Kotoko from any further action against Amane. Sticking to this apparent system of three attacks and one rescue, I’m just shuffling around the injuries for this story. Fuuta’s attack went unnoticed, and he’s in the same state as canon Mahiru. Mikoto steps in before Kotoko can fight Mahiru, so Mappi’s the one who get out physically unscathed. While Mikoto checks on Mahiru, recovers himself, or discovers Fuuta, Kotoko is able to attack Amane next. Kazui comes to help, but not before she leaves Amane looking like canon Fuuta.)

Mahiru could practically feel her heart shatter into a million pieces when Amane finally cried in front of her. She hadn’t shed a single tear yesterday – it was the shock, Shidou said. Mahiru was skeptical. After all, she had been shocked, too, and cried plenty.

Amane woke as she came in with breakfast. She took a moment to survey herself, bandages peeking out from beneath her pajamas and an eyepatch securely over her right eye. As calmly as one might say “good morning,” she started to cry. Mahiru might have missed it, if Amane hadn’t wiped at her good eye with her sleeve.

“Oh, sweetheart…!” Mahiru rushed over to her. “It’s okay, I’m here.” She wanted nothing more than to wrap the girl in a secure embrace, but she remembered the mass of bandages that were around her chest. Shidou had mentioned broken ribs and bruises. It took everything in her not to cry along with Amane, at the thought.

“I can get you another ice pack, if you need. Or more medicine.” Her mind spun with ways to help with pain. Many of the first aid supplies had been used to keep Fuuta from the brink of death, but surely there were extras to spare for Amane. 

The girl just shook her head. 

She muttered, “I can’t… I…I’m going to be punished, I’m going to be punished…”

“No! You’re safe now.” Mahiru placed her hands gently on Amane’s arms. “Kotoko’s not coming back. We’re all watching over you. You’re safe. She’s not going to hurt you anymore.” 

“That’s not…” Amane pulled away. Her voice stayed level, despite hiccups interrupting her. A hand reached up to her eyepatch. “It’s this. It’s all of this. It’s sinful. I took it off last night, but he must have…” She started unwrapping it. “They’re going to punish me...” 

With a careful motion, Mahiru held it in place and took Amane’s hands into her own. She’d been picking up on the signs ever since they arrived here together, and a final wave of understanding washed over her. 

“I can’t let you do that.”

Amane’s expression twisted, though words came out far more frantic than fiery. “Let me go.” 

Mahiru didn’t. “I’m sorry. Amane, you need this treatment.”

“That is not your decision to make. That is not any human’s decision to make.”

Mahiru pressed her lips together. “I know. But I can’t watch as you… I can’t sit by again while someone…” She was careful not to apply any pressure, but she could no longer fight the urge to gather Amane up in her arms. “You don’t need to be afraid of those people, anymore.”

“I’m not afraid.” Amane hiccuped. “They love me, and I love them. I need to be good for them.”

“I love you, and I don’t want to see you in pain.”

“You just pity me because I’m young.”

“Why does your age matter? You are a lovely young woman – you are my friend – and I can’t bear to see you in pain.”

The two sat in silence for a moment. Mahiru doubted she would take that as an answer; Amane had refused to call any of the others her friend. At least she didn’t argue. In fact, it seemed she was leaning into the embrace a bit more. She sighed a shaky breath into Mahiru’s uniform.

“Listen, Amane. Can you do me a favor? I’m trying to be a good girl, too. To make up for something awful, I need to make sure you’re alright. Can you help me? Can we be good together?”

A long pause followed. Amane’s voice spoke up, ever so gently.

“I suppose I can consider it.” She added quickly, “for the sake of your redemption. Of course.”

“Of course.”

[interstella5555daily]

Day 6

"I'll drive the rest of the way."

The idea of what happens during High Life to the rest of the band + shep has haunted me since I got into interstella

[pfhwrittes]

a soap and isla drabble for the daemon au below the cut

"ye can't ignore me forever, isla." soap sing-songs, reaching out to flick at isla's dark ear. she huffs and pointedly gets up from the sofa in the rec room to flop on the floor, facing away from him. soap nearly smirks at her dramatics, his highly-strung other half of his soul.

"c'mon bonnie girl." soap whines, more doglike than the belgian shepherd that shares his soul, and stretches out into the vacant space, nudging his toes into the sable fur of her flank. there's a zing of irritation down their bond and soap has to fight to keep his face neutral.

soap pokes at her again, and again, and again, jostling her over and over until finally isla whirls around to click her teeth noisily mere millimetres away from soap's medical boot.

"steamin' jesus, ye nearly had my entire leg off there!"

"well stop bein' such a wee cunt then!" she snaps, her lips curling away from her teeth in a snarl.

"i'm no' bein' a cunt!" johnny defends himself, "i'm just bored! ye ken what it's like!"

isla grumbles and gets up to pace a circuit of the rec room, her teeth chittering quietly as she lopes in circles from exit to exit.

soap sighs noisily and starts tapping a rhythm on his thighs.

christ, how the fuck is he gonny survive another three weeks of this?

[jonquilyst]

301. Chapter 10, Episode 24

Previous | Story Page | Next

Transcript:

(Pink text = Megyn)

(Cyan text = Molly)

(White text = Doctor)

*The doctor reappears from the hallway*

Doctor: Molly? Megyn?

*Molly turns her head in response to the doctor's voice*

Jayden (patting Megyn's side to rouse her from sleep): Wake up, Megyn... The doctor wants to see you.

Doctor (after leading Molly and Megyn to a secluded area): I'm so sorry to tell you this, but... Nick's brain hasn't shown any activity in the last six hours.

Doctor: After conducting several tests, we've concluded that he is brain dead.

Molly: What? Wh-What does that mean?

Doctor: It means that despite being placed on life support, all functions of the brain have stopped. There is no hope for recovery and the person is legally and clinically dead. I'm afraid Nick's brain injury was too severe for him to recover.

Doctor: I'm so sorry... Please allow me to escort you to his room where you may both have time to say goodbye.

[brown-little-robin]

okay so @quirkle2 sent me an ask about the aftermath of the Teru vs. Mob fight, and I went and wrote out the whole fight in the ask. I'm moving it to this post so that I can answer the Actual Question in the Actual Ask like a normal person. anyway here you go

Teru's Series of Really Bad Decisions

or, How Mob Came Out Of the Teru vs. Mob Fight Completely Unscathed

So here's the thing. Mob's zombie disease colony is pretty invested in keeping its host alive, so even while the fight is happening, he's healing really fast. And despite his top-dog persona, Teru doesn't actually enjoy injuring people. (The sensation of touching another person bothers him—that's why most of his attacks are things like slaps or punches, where he's only in contact with people for a moment before the force of the blow shoves them away. He'll kill or torture people, but he subtly avoids extended contact with them while doing so. It makes him nervous to resort to hands-on violence, because that's how a zombie fights and for his own survival, Teru HAS to act like he's above zombie behavior.)

So it takes Teru a while to work himself up to the point of actually committing to injuring Mob. At first, Teru is just punching him in the chest and stomach, shoving him (he pushes him into the school swimming pool at one point and then has to pull him back out because Mob never learned to swim and is drowning. major L for Teru's pride), taunting him, using blunt force and watching in disbelief while the other boy just takes it and breathes through the pain. He expected Mob to hit back right away, and then Teru would use a bit more strength and intimidate his opponent so much that he'd admit Teru's strength is way beyond him and then they'd be on amicable terms. But that doesn't happen.

Also, Dimple isn't back yet in this AU, so the fight takes place mostly in silence, which weirds Teru out. He's used to fighting with people yelling and screaming around him, and hearing nothing but pained noises and a few confused questions out of his opponent really bothers Teru. He grabs Mob and shakes him, asking why won't you fight back??. He's definitely like Teru! he's got the misty eyes and he's breathing out miasma and he has the healing ability to jerk his arms free of the ropes he was tied with and have the raw rope-scrapes on his arms heal over a minute later, but he won't! fight! back!!

Meanwhile, as Teru is shaking him by the shirt-collars, Mob is having flashbacks to his life wandering as a zombie before the cure. He's remembering Dimple clearer than he ever has before, and he's embracing those memories for once, clinging to his guilt over (he suspects) killing his friend. And, remembering how nice Dimple was to him and Ritsu, how Dimple shared strawberries with them, how he would coax Mob out of the rain, how Dimple reached for Mob's face while Mob's teeth were closing in his arm—he stares at Teru with all the loathing he feels toward himself, for killing Dimple.

Teru says, "What's with that look?"

Mob says, "I was just wondering, why do you feel the need to hurt people who are just trying to live? Do you think you have to, because you're a zombie?"

And Teru, who tries not to think of himself as a zombie, goes, "What?"

"Oh, I was just thinking—there was someone I knew who was a pretty good guy—compared to you. And I hurt him."

That makes Teru drop Mob like a hot potato. He doesn't want to fight like a zombie but he has to get this hypocrite who hurt his own friend and refuses to fight him to DO something—and they happen to be in the home ec room, right by the gas-powered generator for the home ec equipment, so Teru causes a gas explosion on purpose and blocks the door with his body, trying to force Mob to fight his way out to avoid burning alive. That's how Teru ends up losing his perfect hair—he may be special but he's still got zombie disease, his pain receptors don't work right and Mob is coughing too hard in the smoke to warn Teru that the fire ran along the ceiling and got to Teru's hair. The fire is how Mob's clothes get singed. He's not seriously burned, at least not by the time Teru sees him next (Teru rushed to the swimming pool when he realized his hair was on fire), but he's shaken and coughing and smells like smoke.

They both stumble out of the burning school building. Mob has his Moment Of Realization and correctly guesses that Teru's life is completely empty; Teru's acting like this because he's trying to ignore that he's a zombie and has no real friends because everyone is scared of him, and Teru isn't making any effort to live like a person instead of a monster.

That's when Teru just straight-up strangles Mob, throwing away his determination not to fight like a zombie. Mob has already ruined Teru's untouchable appearance and likely condemned Teru to being shot by his own people for causing all this property damage. Teru's life as a human is over already, he thinks. Mob refuses to fight back, passes out, ???% appears, you know how it goes.

And get this: Mob's zombie disease colony has expended a lot of its energy already (consuming its own drones for sheer power) to heal Mob from the blows and the burns, so when ???% puts his body into high gear, the colony registers EMERGENCY CONDITIONS and starts replenishing its energy using anything available—the colony deploys its own disease drones into the entire surrounding area and consumes all of the miasma in the air and water and, STILL not having enough energy for this, dives into Teru's body and eats 90% of Teru's colony. This is the equivalent of ???% absorbing all of the energy in the atmosphere AND Teru's psychic powers, which always makes me hold my breath in canon.

Teru can see this happening, by the way. Like Mob, he can sense the presence of zombie disease in all forms. He senses Kageyama's disease colony suddenly exploding from his body and eating all of the colonies in the area. what a sight to behold.

Anyway, so, yeah, Mob then wakes up with his body fully healed, in front of a burning school building, sensing absolute emptiness all around him.

He can't fix the school building. Not in this au. All he can do is kneel down and cry. He failed to change. He thought he was better now, he thought that he was in control of himself now, but he did it again—he hurt someone on accident again.

And then Teru stumbles over to him with his hip still spasming from where ???% threw him by his leg and goes, "Kageyama, you were right... without our power, we have nothing..."

and Mob looks up to see people stirring around them, and Teru is alive, he didn't kill Teru, he didn't kill anyone, and he goes back to Salt with the Body Improvement Club in a kind of shell-shocked daze.

[the-lunacy-system]

Our fucking band director is going to make the whole band run

THIRTEEN FUCKING LAPS ON MONDAY MORNING

(Our body can't even handle one lap)

[M1 & B]

[babysitting-hellhound]

This is Ez typing again. I'm big so I can type for Chester.

He wants to first of all thank everyone for their warm wishes in our inbox. We probably aren't going to answer any of the older ones, but we both deeply appreciate it. It's making us both feel so much better already, so he and I can't thank you enough.

Now on to more serious things. TW for serious injuries and near death.

We were in a three-way car crash that almost killed one of the other drivers involved. Chester was also in critical condition, both of his legs and an arm were broken, and that's why I'm here to talk for him. I was miraculously uninjured but definitely in serious shock for a while.

He almost died on us a couple days after the accident, and I was very scared I was going to have to make THAT announcement instead...but he's going to be alright, and is recovering too. We technically shouldn't even have been released from the hospital yet according to the doctor.

Here's the scary part about the future: Chester may never walk again. I wasn't present for a lot of the details but I was told it has something to do with spinal damage. If I get more information (He doesn't want to scare me, which I understand. It could be bad for me in littlespace) I will tell you all what I can. I know that doesn't affect our online presence as much as him being in pain will, but it's an important detail we know needs to be told.

Lots of love from Chester and Ezzi, Even though we were new to the community you all helped us feel more than welcome.

-♣

[craudiaaa]

"I saved your soul."

(if there's any tw in this image that isn't in the tags please warn me)

[coiledqueen]

ooc. hoooly guacamole

stopped home from work for lunch and was helping my elderly neighbor move some heavy boxes down some flights of stairs. I told her to let me handle the lifting but she insisted on taking a box down while I wasn't looking and started to fall backwards. without really thinking I dove to catch/brace her and we took a tumble down the last few steps--

good news? she's completely fine. I held her and ate the rest of the fall. bad news is that my bones are sufficiently rattled and I'm in the waiting room as a patient this time lol. needless to say I'm pretty sure I sprained something so I'm not going back to work. in the end, I'm just happy she's okay. and I'll probably delete this soon but typing something out is helping me process this whirlwind of events lol.

life has been so WEIRD lately!! just gotta roll with it! planning to return here very soon (I'm begging circumstances to let me cook, I need to write...), it's just been a whole week...!!