#sorry im just getting weaker the more i draw these two

[greymarketastolfoestrogen]

I think tumblr made this post unseeable lol. Happy birthday Enoshima.

[cosmic-cd]

thinking about leon again tonight

[bloodyinkandquill]

Coil x Reader who can match his strength

oh my gods i’m finally doing this one i’m so sorry to the requester for how long i took to do this one, now that he’s out and i have a better idea of his personality i’ll finally do this one, ill also do his other request after i finish some of the others requested before it, i still have no clue about egobworder requester im sorry 😭 oh also for this it assumes reader is a phighter like coil!

- Fighting against people weaker than you was soooo boring, and people stronger than you were rare, and usually way too overpowered, so when you met someone basically equal to your strength it was great, and after getting to know him, you became more than friends

- You and Coil’s favorite pastime, when you were both up to it, was to spar, especially if it pissed off other people, it was really funny, but you two always enjoyed it, exchanging blows, using your gears, it was great, sometimes Skateboard would join you, he was noticeably weaker than you two, but not by much, so you’d both hold back a bit, though whenever you spared it was never to harm the other, you both could take it but you were still careful

- During phights you’d use combo moves you had practiced together when you were on the same team, and when on opposite teams you’d go all out to fight with each other, sometimes to the annoyance of your teams because you were more focused on fighting each other than the actual phight, you’d barely notice as you exchanged cocky remarks and laughs, then after the phights were over you’d help each other bandage any bad injuries you had acquired during the phight, as you talked about it and how each other could have done better

- While some of his strength came from the stolen crystal most of it was just true raw strength, with it you two were equally matched, most sparing matches or phights between you two ended in draws or an equal number of wins to both of you, but with it off you could beat him, was still a challenge but the crystal did give him a good boost, even if it might not have been the healthiest thing in the world

- Since your both equally matched you find other ways to compete that usually have an actual winner, arm wrestling is a no, staring contests don’t work when he wins by cheating, blowing in your eyes and such, races, board games, and other stuff like that is your guys’s go-to when you’re both feeling competitive, Skateboard thinks it’s kinda cheesy and pointless but you two love it, and rub your wins in each other’s face

apologies again this one is shorter than i would have liked, i think i have a request for general coil x reader hcs but they never got back to me to clarify if that’s what they want or if they want those head canons for coil, anyways started reading coraline, its my favorite movie the book is way shorter than i thought, i might finish it today honestly

[olde-scratch]

mm momsger high au. i didn't mean to misspell that. inspired by this post from @tobisiksi . sorry this took so long i had everything written out and then tumblr Deleted Everything even tho i had like two backup posts.

i tried to include everyone i could and give all of them unique monster types but there are some repeats :( ib sowwee i tried to make them unique when i could tho. lmk if u have any suggestions for characters or different monster types.

ALSO HAPPY HALLOWEEN!! i have to work but im going dressed as saiki so i still have the spirit

Saiki Kusuo - Lovecraftian Eldritch Horror

i mean. duh.

he poses as his own (human) worshipper to avoid being indoctrinated elsewhere

"i can't attend, i have worship tonight." "oh that's cool who do you worship?" "they don't like being talked about." "ohh so it's an... invite-only system. right......"

deciding now that closed worship systems like saiki purports are generally a total Scam and people avoid them like a plague. it fits with saikis foray into the internet lol

hes still sooo silly dw

to the people with the eldritch kusuo headcanons, i see u..... i hope u like monster high........ :)

Saiki Kuusuke - Cult Worshipper (Human)

bet you thought i was gonna say mad scientist. WRONG that's his day job.

kuusuke operates as a mad scientist since humans aren't allowed into the monster world (afaik humans arent even seen outside of jackson, who is half monster). idk what he makes tho. maybe he pulls a doctor finklestein and makes bone animals to roam the monster world?

kuusuke is the one who got his family into the monster world btw. i mean he definitely found it p quickly after kusuo started morphing and speaking in tongues and shit

kuusuke would LOVE the monster world, at least at first. he might get bored really quickly, but he'd love being able to be more of a crazy bastard than he already is

kuusuke functions as a head cultist for kusuo, but instead of strengthening him with sacrifices and praying for protection, he weakens him with sacrifices (the limiters) and prays for himself to be smote (kusuo to play games with him) (kusuo ignores him a lot)

maybe he made amp/anpu like he did warp. idk.

Saiki Kurumi / Saiki Kuniharu - Cult Worshipper (Human)

they were 100% human before being dragged into the monster world due to their sons

they basically live the same as they do in canon tbh i dont think a lot would change in the monster world

during the new years chapter maybe instead of saying kusuo has powers, they say something about his eldritchness or how glad they are to "worship" such a chill god. god i wanna write this now.

Kaidou Shun - Vampire

okay so not ACTUALLY a vampire but i think it was nopsi who had like an au where kaidou was like a weaker version of a vampire?? GOD i dont remember the name (hampir?? i cant find it on wikipedia, did it start with an f????). for all intents and purposes, im just gonna consider him a weak vampire

i cant remember if he'd be made thru a human/vampire relationship but if he was then i think we should play into the manga hair colors of his siblings and say that whole toki and sora and his mother are all full vampires, he was half vampire (perhaps he's from the father's side of the family from a previous relationship, since his mother has purple hair in her manga cover i think??)

draculara has her red drinks and her spf and her cute little parasol so OF COURSE kaidou has all of those as well. i think it would be very funny if kaidou had his umbrella customized to look like a hidden anime weapon, but it wasn't waterproof so he has to use a different one when it rains

i have a gen 1 og draculara from when i was a kid and i love her she's so cute :] someone draw kaidou in her outfit he'd slay. actually, just draw all of them in her outfit(s). gloom beach teruhashi. sweet screams mera. freak du chic saiki. sweet 1600 saiko. fearleader hairo. you cannot make her look bad idc.

Nendou Riki - Zombie (Frankenstein's Monster type zombie)

okay so this might be controversial but imagine:

everyone's chatting like normal, nendous head falls off, everyone goes deathly silent, nendou puts it back on and goes back to talking, cue kaidou screeching

bc im rewriting this im not gonna go thru my thought process so my idea was that takeuchi was a mad scientist who created midori after himself bc he only had access to a mirror (neither realized they looked the same). takeuchi died and chouno, who was smitten with midori, remade takeuchi who midori named riki and chose to raise as her own. chouno intended it as a poetic final goodbye but cut to 16 years later and hes still not over her lol

nendou being undead could also play into his appreciation for life.... protecting the obviously smaller and weaker saiki and kaidou.... his care for his dad that he never met (altho he might have two dads in this au?).... THE HAMSTER SCENE. NENDOU :((((

Teruhashi Kokomi - Tomie

im SORRY for bringing up junji ito but come ON

for those who dont know tomie, she's basically So Beautiful that men are supernaturally attracted to her until she drives them mad with her beauty. they cut her up and scatter her remains and they turn into more tomies

however. teruhashi isnt just a pretty girl. she's The Perfect Pretty Girl. so we can just ignore all the bloodshed and murder and deathmatches :D

i debated making her a siren but that just doesn't fit her for some reason. she doesn't have to try.

in op's post they made her aphrodite reincarnated but i don't think that there are gods walking amonst the student disembody unfortunately

Teruhashi Makoto - Intersection Bishounen

IM SORRY THE TERHASHI SIBLINGS JUST FIT JUNJI ITO SO WELL

the intersection bishounen is a vengeful spirit that roams the streets and gives fortunes to young girls that drive them to suicide, after which they come back as ghosts and beg for his affection.

makoto is more of a teenage/ya heartthrob than a vengeful spirit tho so we can get rid of all the cool stuff like fortune telling and driving to suicide

the intersection bishounen also didnt want to fuck his cousin so points to him

Hairo Kineshi - Fire Elemental

i KNOW he's BORING

think of heath. i think heath is like the son of hades or something idfk i say fuck that ive never heard that before until i started getting back into monster high that's not canon to me

theres... a surprisingly low amount of sports name puns :( there's casketball, ofc ofc, because mh is american. there's monster soccer from toralei's ghoul spirit notebook, but baseball and tennis from clawdeen and spectra dont get named so they dont have names. thats BULLSHIT btw someone who's good w puns help me im freezing up

gilda goldstag was also a fire elemental right? i dont actually know anything about her other than that she was in the student council bc she was in the doll pack

theres a wind elemental mentioned in spectras ghoul spirit notebook. figured that id mention it idk

i have nothing else to say this should be obvious

Mera Chisato - Shouku-jinki

okay i need to preface this with something that is very important to me about this, the Japanese creature the jikininki/shoku-jinki originated in the story of musou the preist. as far as ive been able to see, there is a second story featured on wikipedia about a pregnant woman that is legitimately someone's fucking oc insert. im not making this up, it appeared one goddamn day and i dont want to make an acc just to get rid of it but i dont want to have my ip address just There and i dont know how to like draw attention to it. so please know that the story of musou is the only legitimate source of the jikininki and the "jijinki" are just someones fucking oc inserts. i dont know why they did this, i dont know how it's still there bc its been YEARS how has no one removed it??

anyways im calm now.

jikininki (or, iirc the more modern version is shoku-jinki) are demons that were greedy or impious in life and were cursed to wander the earth forever starving and thirsty. at night, they eat dead bodies.

sooo remember how mera acted when she got her money back for a day.

her death was the cause of their bankruptcy, maybe they put all their money towards avenging her?

i think that mera would come from a half human, half monster family so she could already be in the monster world, but i dont have to worry about what powers she'd have due to being a monster.

her mother would be a demon and her father a human who doesn't quite know how to navigate the monster would, so he still has to go away to earn money. also imagine four kids following mera around, three have devil horns and taiks and one is just some guy. (idk if she has 4 siblings but you get the idea)

so yeah, mera is immortal, unable to feel satisfied by any amount of food or drink, working herself to the bone to provide for her siblings. the mera lore is Strong w this one.

u could totally also go for some real body horror with her if u wanted

Yumehara Chiyo - Ghost

ill go into the difference between ghosts and souls in toritsuka's part since you cant take away toritsukas thing but you cant just remove ghosts from mh

i initially thought of making her a cherub/cupid but girlie would be getting No One Together. also there's only one cupid in mh and uhhhh there would be no hope if that was chiyo. yk what chiyo loves tho? gossip. u know what spectra loves? gossip.

i think the ghosts in mh all have a chain motif iirc? ik spectra does but sirena von boo also does (the siren/ghost hybrid) and i dont know any other ghosts off the top of my head

anyways yumehara is totally just a regular people ghost. maybe she cries blood or somethin fun like that? maybe have a bit where she keeps getting told off for having makeup and its her eyes leaking or its her having anti blood leaking drops or wipes

Saiko Metori - Mummy

i was gonna make him a vampire but HELLO??? CLEO IS RIGHT THERE????

rich, bratty, self-centered?? DE NILE IS CLEOS LAST NAME.

idk if him being a mummy would change him like cosmetically, like skin tone or hair texture or whatever but i cant draw so that doesn't quite matter to me. altho ig hed probably just look like a pale, dehydrated, brittle pile of bandages if you wanna be historicallty accurate

his father glows because he's ra next question

he definitely decks himself out in a looott more gold than just his earring as a mummy. bangles, cuffs rings, anklets, hair accessories.

the bodyguards are just the tomb protectors that cleo gets as slaves

he gets a custom made desk of pure gold at pk and he never uses it

i think in ancient egypt married couples would be buried together regardless of if at least the wife was dead or alive, so he definitely propositions teruhashi to take a sand nap with him

he gets a pet crocodile. he has a tiger in canon i think and cleo gets a snake so like. nile crocodile obviously.

i cant tell if he lives in a pyramid just randomly in the middle of hidari wakibara, or if theres a bit about nendou asking him where his pyramid is and saikos just like "bro i Dont Live In A Pyramid."

Kuboyasu Aren - Werewolf

hello?? violent, tragic past that comes back to haunt them regularly and interfere with their daily lives?????

i dont think werewolves can turn into wolves in mh but like if you want doggy kuboyasu who's as big as kaidou, go for it

KUBOYASU WITH DOGGY EARS AND A TAIL.... i dont think that werewolves in mh have tails but thats. a crime.

kuboyasu can smell the rest of the cast. god i wanna know what they smell like in the non weirdest way possible.

i dont have a lot to say about this. doguyasu

Toritsuka Reita - Cult Worshipper (Human)

okay so there's a difference between ghosts and souls in this version. ghosts are a form of undead that are sort of just humans that can float and go thru walls and stuff. souls are the base forms of dead people that remain chained to existence with no knowledge of who they were. normal people can see ghosts, but not souls. toritsuka can see both

toritsuka was also raised in a temple in this au, pretty standard stuff. nothing interesting there.

:)

so yk how toritsuka found out abt saiki thru the souls

and yk how saikis an eldritch monster that melts mind and twists reality to his will in this au

toritsuka does not know the meaning of the term eldritch btw

if ur a torisai or toritsuka angst fan then u can always imagine toritsuka thinking himself inferior to the rest of the pk psychickers bc he's a human and didnt even find saiki by himself, but with the help of his ghosts. sorry i gotta push the torisai agenda.

i personally also hc him to be hypersexualized by the adults in his life due to his touchyness from a young age which lead to him being ostracized by his peers when he began repeating the behavior, thus encouraging the development of touch starvation that he misinterpreted as horniness. in other words, "damn bitch u live like this?". sooo do with that what u will in this au.

(could saiki like..... taste his desperation??)

Aiura Mikoto - Cult Worshipper (Devil)

basically aiura but with cute devil horns and a tail that reacts with her mood. she 100% bedazzles and paints her horns like she paints her nails.

shes still a prophet and stuff but like shes just a lil demonic now. as she deserves.

"yeah i can totes check ur future!!" (rips open a portal to the underworld, chants in a forgotten language, focuses in on one damned soul that writhes and screams for mercy as it withers out of existence where it will wait to be reborn into hell after being offered the temporary reprieve of total nothingness) "babe ur bf is cheating on u like one hundo percent. but ur gonna be a bomb ass doctor one day!!"

i want her to trip toritsuka with her tail

she's not human and she lords it over toritsuka's head when they fight for saiki's attention

Akechi Touma - Cult Worshipper (Human)

initially i wanted to make him a bugboy bc yea but consider

saiki knew him in elementary school so he pulled a real I Tracked Down My Childhood Friend Who Is Actually An Eldritch Monster Masquerading as a Pretty Boy with Pink Hair in a High School?!

yeah soo like what if their dynamic was "what if we were friends in our childhood years before you had to leave to stop the uncontrollable desire you had to break down my reality and drive me into irreversible madness, yet despite knowing the danger i faced i still hunted you down, my prayers meant solely to get a response from you devolving into genuine reverence, solidifying myself as your most loyal devotee...... haha jk. unless?"

we all know that akechi likely faced no difficulty finding the monster world dont even ask

you can insert ur own hcs with his mom all ill say is that shes probably masquerading as some sort of cult worshipper or jekyll/hyde situation to live in the monster world. or maybe he just moved schools and lives sort of nearby but not in the monster world idk

akechi would fucking Love the monster world. he'd never get bored of it. you know the sweet potato scene? oh, honey, he's got access to information about the average size of different monsters, along with the influence of proportions and size, magical interference, etc etc. hed fucking LOVE the monster world.

Satou Hiroshi - Ghost

ive already got three ghosts (see suzumiya and makino) but i couldnt think of the Most Generic monster but hear me out

he's a sheet

hes got two black or cut out circles for eyes and a little 'o' for a mouth. just fuckin 0 。0 .

HES SO. USELESS.

SO PLAIN.

SO BORING.

SO GENERIC.

SO. PERFECT.

and saiki is IN LOVE WITH HIM.

toritsuka is honestly so offended that he is not the ghost-themed object of saiki's affections

satous friends and baseball team are either the core basic monsters (werewolf, vampire, zombie, etc) or theyre basic japanese spirits. im. not doing tons of research on if there are generic japanese demons or if theres just sort of one kind of demon that has a lot of forms,,,, im so sorry i can only do so much research please correct me if you know better

Rifuta Imu - Catgirl

i dont know what the name of the actual catgirls are in mh (werecats?) like purrsephone and toralei and meowlody but fuck it catgirl

she would have THE cutest collar. OR she'd have a ribbon around her neck w a matching one on her tail like catrine de mew. she could maybe even have some sort of shredded piece of clothing like catty noir's skirt or a habit of shredding things

im sorry i dont know a lot about cat breeds so i dont have a lot to say about her species

cat themed accessories.......

btw she's a cat bc of japans obsession w cats. i considered making HER a siren since i scrapped that idea for teruhashi but i feel like it just. doesn't suit her.

Bonuses (people i couldnt find that much to talk about)

Suzumiya Hii - Cursed Soul

i mean what else would she be.

okay so shes not a SOUL shes a GHOST i just think it sounds better like that

Makino Arisu - Ghost

ring-style ghost. i think it's called a yuurei? i did my research for her but i forgot it and the og post got deleted so. im upset.

Matsuzaki - Headless Horseman

idk what is his horse would be i just wanted bloodgood to have Presence in this and the principal is only seen like. three times.

i considered giving kuboyasu the status as headless horseman bc of his motorcycle but g1 bloodgood did not serve that much cunt for her type to be given to a 16 year old im sorry

(i also recently got a bloodgood as my first doll when i got back into mh and i love her :] she came w a cool coat that isnt her og coat but its nice anyways)

Chouno Urkyoku - Mad Jester

okay so ik i said he was a mad scientist but he retired that in order to go into entertainment. it's not going too well.

you could also go for a ringmaster/clown route but we all lived thru 2016 (or was it 2017?) and the ensuing cliche-ifying treatment the media gave scary clowns put me off them personally lol they kind of bore me

(if u don't live in the us or don't know what im talking about that happened in 2016, then god i envy you. just look up "2016 clowns usa" im sure you'll figure it out)

Michael (Ikemi something I think?) - Zombie

idk it just fits him

zombies in g1 can only communicate thru moans which makes them nonverbal in some way but g3 STOLE that from us. fuck them.

Nendou Midori / Nendou Takeuchi - Frankenstein & His Monster

i explained this in nendous thing im not repeating myself sorry

PK Principal - Gorgon

yes its bc of the glasses

also i think theres something fun about being able to say he can rule the school with an iron fist (or ig rock fist) without needing to use his eyes

Kongou - Minotaur

big strong and VIOLENT. you can also play into manny's more delicate side with kongous change of heart after saiki helps him realize what matsuzaki does for him

Takahashi - Goblin

idk i think it just suits him

Shima - Changeling

her whole bit is being a forgettable face so what if she was always just a Little Bit Different every time you saw her

Iridatsu family - Mummy

okay ik ive already done mummy but HEAR ME OUT.

idk abt the mom but i think it would be funny if yuuta was just covered in bandages and his whole thing is tripping over/hitting people with them

The pervy teacher who wasn't actually pervy at all he just had an unfortunate face - Human

he's not even disguised as anything

the monsters saw him and said "nah im p sure he's one of us" and then took him

teacher doesnt quite care cause the monster world has better health plans /j

The "your manga artist is gnc af" guy - Kitsune

kitsune are typically seen as elusive tricksters which doesnt suit his character BUT

theres a whole joke about japanese mangakas being worked to the bone to provide chapters every week or so for serialization even going so far as to hide or make excuses as to why they did not complete the chapter

i feel so bad for them bro i could not (used to do weekly updates for fics for 5 years before i started needing money bc i turned 18)

also. someone give that man fox ears and a tail.

The Alphonse guy - Invisi Billy

idk what invisi billy is but he can be here helping alphonse hide from the shame of his chunnibyou :D

Makoto's rival guy - Banshee

it just. Suits Him.

idk if there are male banshees bc we only know sarah screams and her mom but we can have a trans icon if we need

[fanficgirl444]

his girl 💜

Jang Ki Yong x fem reader 

Genre: smut, fluff

Word count: 532

you were out with friends having drinks at a bar when suddenly, he showed up.

you watched each other from across the room trying not to draw too much attention to the obvious sexual tension between the two of you. His new drama had just came out and Ki Yong was basking in the new found fame, but with the new fame came lots of eyes and ears watching his every move.

all you wanted was to run to him and openly love him in public, but you had to put his life first, that didn't mean you couldn't tease..

you puckered your chest over the bar making sure to catch the attention of the bartender, using him as a pawn in your game. tonight you wanted to be loved by Ki Yong and if you had to flirt in order to get that you'd do it.

his eyes fucked you in ways you wished his body could right at the bar, you excused yourself to the bathroom knowing he would only follow. you smelled him before you could see him and that only made your knees weaker. you were deadly inlove with this man and he knew it

"why are you doing this to me y/n?" Ki Yong asked as you turned to meet his obvious bulge that rested on your butt.

"what am i doing to you? tell me." 

you were always bratty, always had a tone when you addressed him and that only made him more fascinated by you.

" go get the car, i'll meet you outside" you ordered and he couldn't run fast enough to do as you said. He said his goodbyes and ran out, you waited a while and left meeting him a block lower from the restaurant.

the ride home was quiet, you couldn't risk an accident, patience was something you had to practice until you both got home.

as soon as your front door closed, his hands were all over you, groping you, he kissed every part of you he could until you were both finally naked. you couldn't make it to the room, opting to be bent over the couch just so that he could finally be inside you after so much teasing.

"ahhh, your pussy is so warm baby, you were carved just for me, weren't you baby?" Ki Yong asked, whenever you made love all your dominance slipped away, doing anything he want just so he could fuck you the way you needed.

"baby, you fuck me so good, i-i love you so much, please don't stop !" you begged as he slowly but deeply thrusted in you.

"i'll do whatever you want baby, just please keep squeezing me just like that baby, you're so goood to me, i love you more princess"

he sang your name like a mantra, telling you how warm and tight you were for him, calling you his good girl.

"im gonna come J, please please please " you begged, you didnt know what you were begging for, you were hypnotized by the way his hips rocked you to your orgasm

"cum for me baby, im right behind you" and just like that you released  on him just as he had released in you.

" i love you so much," you whispered as you let go

" i love you more princess, i'm right here, i got you "

" my girl "

________________________________________________________________

sorry for any mistakes :) any tips will be gladly appreciated 

[rurus-writing]

The Blood Vial

Chapter 2

Notes: Doing this again before drawing the vampire cookie i have in my pfp cus HES SO GORGEOUS IM IN LOVE

Genre: Romance, fantasy (?kind of), lil angst is here, but It'll be worse moving on so dw <3

Word count: 1.601

Tws: Mentions of blood, the topic of dehydration, if that does make you uncomfortable.

First chapter here.

╔•══════•༺۝༻•══════•╗

During the several other days, he could feel something changing. Vampire was coming in a lot earlier, even when the bar was full in motion! It was odd surely, but why? Sometimes, Sparkling had to be the one taking care, as Vampire was quick to lay down on the floor. That wasn't normal either, but he was having too an hard time.

He also noticed Vampire getting weaker. Physically, he couldn't even stand at times. It was concerning, to the point of him asking about It to Alchemist. She said to not worry further, and that It wasn't such a big deal. Though, the tone in which she said so wasn't the most reassuring either.

Something was off. He wasn't even having such of a daily routine, either. Sparkling was too focused on these events, that he didn't hear the door opening up again.

"Sparkling?"

He zoned back in, now being in front of Herb cookie, who didn't have his usual flower pot. He probably put It somewhere else or left It home. He didn't see him for quite the time, he was a regular too after all.

"I'm sorry for not coming that often! I had to help Clover cookie, and was pretty busy...what happened! You look terrible."

Sparkling didn't react much, as he proceeded to put out some of his best glasses. It wasn't because he didn't care about Herb's concerns, he did, and yet there was something that couldn't make him think that straight again. He turned around, trying to adjust the mess that was his hair. When was the last time he combed It? He usually did three times a day, what has seriously happened??

"Work stress. I probably should take a day or two off... I didn't have much of a deal working at this hour, but it's recently become more tiring."

Herb sat down, sipping some of Sparkling's beer he already preparred. He however didn't want to get that drunk, so he did little sips, while waiting for Sparkling to finish. The drink did taste good, just as sweet as Herb liked.

"You really should!! It's no good for you to overwhelm yourself like that!! Take time for yourself after this turn."

He gave him a little, yet sad smile. Thruth is, even Sparkling didn't know whether to take that opportunity or not. Sure, if It was a couple of days, cookies wouldn't have minded It, but there was something holding him back. He didn't have time to reply, as the door's bell rang again, opening up to a crawling, drunk Vampire.

Sparkling immidiately rushed, leaving Herb much more than confused. Since he visited Sparkling during the day, It was unusal seeing Vampire so soon. But understandable, there must've been a reason why he was always so drunk.

As the blonde guy carried him over, he heard Vampire's soft whispers, asking for more Bloody Mary. He didn't listen to his rambles, and rather out him down onto the nearest couch. Herb silently got up, and got closer

"Vampire?? What are you doing here?"

The drunk man, with a little grin on his face, after mumbling something about grapes, tilted his head over, now looking at Herb, who was quite concerned.

"I dunnooooo...Sparkly...could you take the medicine for me? I might haave made Al mad maddy, and don't wanna upset her moreee..."

Sparkling sighed, trying not to seem annoyed. But, he did like how his new nickname. Sparkly, huh? Sounded good enough, and It wasn't too embarassing either, so It was a win. He went back in, as Herb was now being the one taking care of Vampire. He opened the package, and to his horror, It was empty. Completely empty.

Everything has been drained from earlier days, and he didn't notice that. His and Al's house was too far off to be brought there. What if he acted upon instincts? And what about Herb?? He had to act quickly. He rushed to the nearest cellphone, which was on a tiny oak trunk. Sparkling panickly reached for Al's number.

Hopefully, he had almost every cookie's number, and wasn't too hard to find. As soon as the ringtone faded, he immidiately started to call out for her.

"AL??ALCHEMIST??"

"Sparkling? What's wrong?? My brother isn't botherin you, Is he? It's too early got him to-"

"Alchemist, listen to me. I may have...screwed up, and desperatly need your help"

He had to interrupt, even if he wasn't the type of person to do so. It was an emergency, and not knowing what to do, It was the only thing Sparkling could've done. And Herb was potentially in danger, and he didn't want anything on his conscience. He trusted Vamp, but if It was too late, then...

"Hey!! What have you done?!? Could you explain better?? This Is more confusing than whathever i'm working on."

Sparkling gasped too for air, trying to find the right words to explain everything. Even if It was Vampire's fault of not taking It at home, he felt as if he was to be blamed, too.

"Re... remember the vials you gave me? Vamp wanted one, as he didn't drink anything at home... that's what he said, so i went to take one, and everything is empty. Every single one. Herb's here too... I'm frightened. I don't know what to do."

He didn't want Herb nor Vampire being hurt in any way. If only he took time to check on them, this wouldn't have happened.

"Spark it's not the time for melanchony, god damn... I'll hurry, Vamp owes me a big deal! If only he wasn't so careless...Get Herb away, and hide. Don't open the door until I'm there!

The call ended. He hurried back in, as Herb and Vampire were talking, as if he was just pretty drunk, nothing happening. Herb turned his head around, going to welcome his return, but instead focusing on his terrified eyes. He wanted to ask what was wrong, now this wasn't normal at all! Was he hiding something? Why would he?

Herb didn't have enough time for questions, as he got pushed away by him. He couldn't resist much, and when he was already out of the door, everything was suddently closed. Even the curtains were all down, not letting Herb see anything at that point.

He tried to open up the door with his own strenght, but couldn't.

"Sparkling?!?! SPARKLING!! OPEN THE DOOR??"

He could've heard him, but decided not to. He gasped again. Vampire was still concious, which seemed to be a good thing. He tilted his dizzy head over, wondering why Sparkling had such a worried gaze. He should've been rested by now. He only had to bring in some vails..

"Mhm...? Why did you kick him out? He didn't do... anything..."

"We ran out of blood. That's what happened."

Sparkling said, with a much irritaded tone. He wasn't ready for this, and looking now at Vampire, who was visibly disturbed, he wasn't either. He just hoped Al could arrive in time. Vampire was all of a sudden quiet. Probably speechless, Sparkling didn't know either. He finnaly got up, not looking at Vamp. As he was getting used to walk again, he gave in a little message, to try to change subject.

"I'll...take some water now. Alchemist will soon be there with what you need, until then-"

He couldn't finish the sentence. He heard a loud thud from behind. Sparkling thought It was either Vampire falling, or something else. He was paranoid, before finnaly turning back.

Vampire wasn't even on the couch anymore, as if he just disappeared. Out of the blue. This clearly didn't help, and waiting for Alchemist wouldn't have done anything better. He felt something reaching out for him from below. It was an hand.

Vamp's hand, which was a lot more like a claw.

He was crawling on the floor, not sure because of hydritation, or if It was a symptom of his bloodlust. It however allarmed it, like It should, as Vampire used that as a way to stand up. Or something even worse.

Sparkling grabbed a nearest mop, and used the wood part in order to defend himself, so he could reach for a room to stay in. His only options were either his room, which was upstairs, or his wine storage, which was a lot closer. He reached for his keyes, now getting closer and closer. He touched the doorknob.

No use.

He suddently was on the ground, unable to move.

Vampire completely jumped on him, as he dangerously came close to his face. As Sparkling was indeed shivering, he again grabbed the part of the stick that was left from the mop, using It as a defence, as Vampire started struggling.

It lasted for a bit, as his fangs soon shattered what remained in pieces. It was now the chance for Sparkling to get in, slamming the door, as hissing and other sinister sounds could be heard. He was too exhausted to talk, and had to remain active so he wouldn't get bitten. And so Vampire couldn't do the same to others or himself. Time passing, that seemed hours for him, the situation slowly calmed down, and with

Alchemist's arrival a few minutes later, he was relived. He slowly opened the door, as Alchemist did feed to a semi unconcious Vampire one of her vails. It wasn't even that late, but he could've felt so much tiredness. To the point of fainting, before Alchemist could've said anything.

Mabye, he did need a day off.

╚•══════•༺۝༻•══════•╝

[highstwildflower]

Highly

A/n: this is really long I’m sorry!😂

Words: 2000 ca.

The cloud that erupted from your lips vanished into thin air, reminding you of the man who used to fan the smoke away from his reach. Now the spot next to you was empty, no one was complaining and no one was bugging you about being unhealthy. The thick joint was pressed between your lips once again, sucking the poison into your lungs. The relaxing plant infected your system and everything slowed down. The stars swimming above you dripped into the moon that was filled to the brim. You finished the joint, leaning back with a heart that was aching. Moving around you found the position that allowed your heavy heart some rest, your phone was out of reach and you were too lazy to retrieve it. You wanted to shoot him a text tho, telling him all the words he never got to hear.

Instead you lay there, images burning behind closed eyes. Images of his green forrest eyes that disappeared when his laughter erupted, how you would kill to hear that laugh again. The feeling of  the vibration through his chest as he sung you a new tune. How he used to look at you, eyes searching for inspiration and the look in them the second he found it. Being his muse had been the greatest achievement of your life. Your favorite memory was from the frosty night in December only five moths prior, ditching a party the two of you had ventured off into the night. He had held you close when you arrived at your shared home, bodies moving in sync, the rhythm you fell into in the bed had been steady and slow. Intimate love making till dawn. Your bodies not craving sleep, instead you had moved to the patio. His large body had been pressed firmly against the lounge couch and he had pulled you against him. Limbs draped over each other's and low voices filling the air with words of adoration. The conversation following the flow of the wind, the chilly morning offering you an excuse to snuggle closer to your love. He had happily accepted the closeness, and soon series of laughter had erupted into the slow morning. Just the two of you, bodies pressed together and love flowing freely.

You mind had turned off to the memory of him, and next thing you knew you woke up in your lonely bed. It had never felt so big when Michael had been taking up half of it. The empty room taunting you and the long halls hunting the memories that was made here away. As days fell into night and night turned into days your speckle off hope had vanished. The hope of feeling his body once more, his lips on yours and his voice rumbling against your skins. Instead you tugged away your emotions everyday walking through life as someone else, and only allowing the emotions to take over at night. Most nights your mind raced to the loving memories, but some nights it was the burning memories of pain the pressed into your head.

Dating Michael had been fun and easy, when he asked you to build a home with him you had been ecstatic. Slowly reality dawned on you, the rockstar lifestyle being far away from the life you wished to led. His drinking turned into situations that was hurtful, a large number of girls pressing on. Wishing to enter your relationship, you begging him to change every night when he would stumble through the door.

The last time you saw him stung in the back of your mind. Just mere hours after you had told him that he had to stop with the excessive amount of alcohol and he has kissed you with a promise of doing better. You were fuming when you heard him fumbling with the front door, the creaking of the door setting you completely off. With steam clouding your mind you had entered the entrance and he had shot you a short smile. As he came close the words that left his mouth dragged your breath away, leaving your body defenseless "I though you were out with us? Who was the girl I kissed than?" He carelessly moved through your house towards the bedroom. Tears drawing pathways down your cheeks and hiccups threatening to spill passed your lips. You stayed up all night, waiting for him to sober up. Every minute of the night was spent considering the conversation of tomorrow. When he was clear in his head, he yelled out for you, his words bouncing of the walls. Your fragile body towering over him, and your voice anything but fragile. He was shunned from the house, leaving in a hurry as you yelled out your pain. Months passed where you awaited his next move, silently hoping that he would beg for you to forgive him. Instead you got nothing.  His stuff was still where he left them except from his guitars. And you knew everything but his guitars was replaceable. When Calum had turned up at your door with a sorrowful painted across his face you knew he was there to pick them up. It hurt every time you glanced at the empty room having yet to entered it, dust was covering the corners and slowly tugging the room into a dull forgotten memory.

Your high ponytail was swinging from side to side as you strutted down the sidewalk. The pep in your steps were just a reminded to yourself that you had the power to move on. When you spotted him at your favorite coffee shop, your steps came to a halt. His eyes meet yours long before yours meet his. He saw you and froze. Your smile telling him that you were doing good but your eyes spilling your secret. Awkwardly you walked over to him "hi stranger" your voice was a pitch higher than usual and you mentally scolded yourself for the preppy outburst. His voice was darker than you remembered but the impact of his words stronger than you expected "Hi. How are you?" The concentration on your face told him that you were trying your best to stay cool "I'm good , yeah very good. What about you?" The forced smile made his heart ache and his guards grow weaker. "Im glad you are doing good y/n. Im getting through day by day. 4 months sober yesterday" His voice grew with pride as he told you about his sobriety, and his smile grew even larger as he saw the proud look on your face. Without thinking twice you leaped into his arms, hugging him tightly against yourself "Im so proud of you Micky." Your cheeks grew red as you realized that this wasn't what was normal for you to do anymore. The break up meant that you had to sacrifice being close to him and just watch his life from afar. You knew he was sober, his instagram had told you so. But to hear the words leave his mouth made you ache with pride. When he felt you draw back he pulled you into himself again, not ready to let you slide through his fingers once more. Your smell was filling his nostrils and he wanted to keep you wrapped in his arms forever. When he let go of your body, you stumbled back and took him in. He looked better than ever, more fit and more alive. The silence laid as a blanket making the air hot and thick and just as you were about to say your byes he spoke up "Do you wanna catch up some day? maybe drink a cup of coffee?" you smiled shyly at him, and the fact that he had cheated on you was forgotten, "Yeah I would like that." Just like that you had a date with him, your body felt like yours for the first time in months and the pep in your step were no longer forced.

The knock at your door alerted you that he had arrived. You opened the door and smiled at him a laugh followed shortly behind "Quite weird having you knocking on your own door" he smiled back at you before he spoke "Thats ok, you look absolutely beautiful love" he handed you the flowers in his hand and you felt oddly embarrassed, such gestures never fell naturally to Michael. More a man of words he would praise you, shower you in physical affection but stray away from gifts. The ride in his car was longer than you remembered it, the small drops of sweat that was collecting at Michaels hairline let you know that you weren't alone with the crippling feeling of anxiety that started to form the second you woke up. His hands were both clutched to the steering wheel and as he turned into the coffee shop your stomach turned with anticipation. "I was thinking we could do to go? And then go to our spot?" You smiled at his idea, that he remembered how much you enjoined your spot.

The car came to a halt at the empty parking spot. Michael was quick to climb out of the car and open your door for you. Slowly you made your way towards the spot. Surrounded by nature you felt your breath become easier. The large stones that leaned against each other offered a place to take a seat. He came prepared with a blanket and a packed picking. Like so many times before you took place next to each other, the still warm air clinging to both your bodies as the sun continued it's decent. The ocean reached the stones and splashes were sent into the sky. His legs rested and made contact with the firmness of your other thigh. Slow conversation filled the space between you and drew you closer. Coffee was sipped and sandwiches shared. The sun came into contact with the ocean and Michael dived into the cruel conversation that was awaiting you. His body turned to yours "I'm sorry" his words were low but you heard him, your eyes meet and you signaled for him to go on. He took deep breaths of fresh air, worried that his fragile words wouldn't be enough "I'm sorry for everything I put you through. I've realized that I was so far out of line. All my decisions fell back onto you. And I'm awfully sorry about kissing another woman. You are truly the only one for me. I understand if you aren't interested in being with me ever again, but I've changed y/n. I'm still working on myself, but you are my motivation every single day and I want to make it up to you." You mind was clouded by his words, the mentioning of his infidelity was like salt in wounds but you wanted to give him a chance. "Yeah you sucked" you tried to lighten the mood but you both knew that, that was a light way to put it. You continued while gripping his hand " I want to be with you Mickey. But it is definitely going to be difficult for me to trust you" you smiled a careful smile at him and he moved even closer, desperate to feel you. His hand moved to your face as he silently asked for your permission to press his lips against yours. You nodded your head, eager to feel the movement. The world stood still, birds chirping became louder and the intensity of the small gesture made you dizzy. Michael was right there with you, you soft lips sending him into a feeling of ecstasy.

Silent promise between lovers who had been torn apart filled the now colder air. Sun kissing the ocean and dancing in warm colors. Pulling one another closer, and thinking of each other highly.

[woashi]

PLEASE tell us about the au

AAAAAAA okayokayokay I’ll try my best to explain it! I’m not the best explanation man!! Things might b all over the place and make no sense!!!

I am not the best writer and this AU spawned from my urge to draw reigen with a staff and horns-

Before I explain the main stuff

Horns in this universe contain ✨Magic✨ in them. Natural magic users magic kicks in (?) at around the age of 13-14. Growing horn process is basically like uhh less painful head teething I guess

If horns are broken (like torn off or smashed) there’s a small period of time where the magic lingers in the air, people can absorb this magic air thing, but that leaves the person you’ve destroyed the horns of weak.

I SHOULD MENTION!! Magic users also have magic in their blood, it’s weak since most of the magic is in the horns but it’s like a last hurrah before you then start using up like, life points iguess.

Magic can also be transferred into plants, even dead trees, nothing will happen it’s like a lil magic bank, it’ll just store it until you need it or if someone else finds it but it’s almost weaker depending who gets it first. People who never got the magic using abilities will stick tree branches in their head for makeshift horns and beg for people to spare some of the funny magics to their branches

RIGHT NOW I’ve explained the weird ads magic system stuff (it’s a Doubleyou Eye Pee WIP) now it’s time for the funny mob characters !!

Reigen is a very talented magic user, he works for the king as an assistant to Mogami. Blah blah blah he works there for ages almost taking Mogami in skill wise, Mogami suddenly turns unusually sour, Hey reigen! Snap! Half Horn gone! The other broke! Goodbye!! Now somewhere at the end of the forest. Reigen, now somewhere is going to find his way back to the kingdom and beat the shit outta him, he doesn’t even want his spot back. He’s going back to kick ass.

MOB TIME. He’s the most unfinished one out of the main two, so I’m very sorry if nothing makes sense!

So Mob and Ritsu are the same age: 8 years old, Mob lives in a nice cosy village filled with funny magic people! *vine thud* until he didn’t!!!!! Bam bam woah who’s that? Why it’s claw!! Claw grunts are all like yeah let’s destroy this town and steal magic!!1!! This event causes Mob to be separated from everyone, he’s somewhere in the wreckage of his old village, then woah!! Funny guys here tryna kill him!! Like anyone he starts to panic.

First thought: start screaming(?????) The claw grunts here are stupid and want their ego fed so they taunt him cuz why not! Child is being very annoying and loud, something comes out from the bushes!!! Woah Mister Reigen Arataka?? He’s there and he mocks the living fuck outta the claw grunts then for a second they all get distracted by mob .. iduno saying something? Then boom bam Reigen knocks them out.

Kind happy act over, Reigen only wanted to boost his ego for helping a defenceless kid. Mobs like “yo I’ve lost my family. Could you help me!” And Reigen’s like “No. I’m busy, I don’t have time to babysit.” Mob gets sad about that then wooosh!! The hood from his cloak I forgot to mention previously goes down to reveal…. Tada!!! Growing Horns! Ones half in his head, the other is visible. Holy shit magic 8 year old???? That’s like… unusual.

First thing Reigen thought was “damn this kid probably has more magic than I do right now………… wait.” Then he connects two and two together and decides to help Mob find his family.

But only if he helps him first.

AAAAAND that’s all I have right now! Sorry if it’s long and made no sense!!! I know I’m using time as an excuse for my lack of writing skills but it just hit 2am here!!!1!,££:’suhsbw

AGAIN really sorry if this didn’t make sense!! My brain literally made the AU whilst I was drawing and im kinda building off of it rn!! Alsoaloslaodjsm Thank you for asking about my AU!!!! Im sorry I don’t have too much to deliver for it but I am working on it!! Though I probably might not take it anywhere besides where it already is ^^;;

I rambled a lot on this I know I keep apologising but sorry again for that aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaswvhsyshwnsosh 🙏🙏🙏 also I was like rly excited when writing this so the way I’ve worded things are uhhhhhh not the best- if you need like more things explained better pls ask!!

[stinkfacestories]

Bull’s Eye

"Vaaashended.." Iron bull cursed. He and the Inquisitor found themselves at a dead end. The room was filled with large steel trimmed boxes. There was no escape.

"We fight then" The Inquisitor drew his sword.

"Not this one, boss. I'm not one to turn away from a fight but we have no exit. The whole base will flood this room if they catch us." Bull said. He was feeling the wall for hidden doors. Sometimes these bandits were smarter than they looked. He tapped one of the crates. Then another. He found a hollow one. 

"Get in boss, we can hide till midnight then when there all asleep we can escape" Bull lifted the heavy hinged lid.

"You first" you said.

"Nah, if they find us I wanna be between you and the sharp edge of a weapon"

Bull lifted you up and set you in. He crawled in after. It was a tight fit for just a single human, let alone a qunari of bull’s swole size. The hatch was heavy though and when it closed it latched. A few moments of squirming and you were as comfortable as you were going to get.

The crate was well sealed, but not airtight. The body heat between you made you and Bull break out in a sweat.

"Boss? You good?"Bull asked.

"Good as I can be at the moment"

"That's your face I feel isn't it boss"

You paused. In the wriggling and wiggling to get the lid closed and be in a comfortable position Bull had squat squarely on your face.

"It is" you replied

You couldn't see but you bet Bull was smiling.

"Shit boss, I wasn't trying to. Here let me see if I can.." he tried to move. There was no way for his big body to fit inside the crate any other way. The shifting just resulted in his muscular cheeks slapping your nose side to side.

"It's fine, it's fine" you said, stopping him. 

He stopped. "Hopefully we won't be in here to long"

The sweat was bad enough, but you were privy to the noxious fumes and odors of Iron Bulls rear.

"Less then four fucking days and here I am giving the Inquisitor the world's longest Rik'na a'Ishi"

You were picking up a few qunari words since bull joined but that one was new.

"Oh. It's just a stupid kid thing. Bullies tend to do it to weaker boys in the houses. I think the closest translation in human terms is smell, or stink face. Care to guess why?"

You didn't need to think very hard. Your nose clued you in. "I can guess Bull. I got a good nose and I don't think you bathed in a while"

A normal Rik'na a'Ishi would only be a few seconds. Have a friend kneel behind the target, push him so he falls, then rub your ass in his face. 

"What's the point?" You ask.

"Kids being kids; make sure they know you're the dominant type; sometimes just for a laugh."

"From the outside I could see it being funny," you said.

Bull chuckled

"Yeah go on you can laugh" 

"No boss, it's not that. I can feel your breath and it tickles" Bull said.

You moved your face around in the darkness. You notice that your nose has wedged itself in a hole torn in Iron Bulls pants. You traced the curve of his taught skin till it found the hair mangled valley of his cheeks. The Iron Bull was going commando. Your nose jumped over the chasm. The way he had been squatting had peeled the cheeks apart slightly; there was still miles of nutty brown flesh between you and the bullseye.

"You got a hole in your pants I think" you said.

Bull chuckled. "Yeah, that was a good Farakes" He suddenly got real quiet, as if he let some secret slip.

"What's a Farakas?"

'It's nothing boss."

"Is it like a party?"

"No. Some things are best keep secret boss"

"Well now I really want to know. Tell me what is a Farakas?" You blew out your nose. If Bull wasn't going to tell you he could expect a lot of tickling.

"I'd nothing. It's like a belch.." he trailed off muttering something under his breath.

"I didn't catch that last part; say again?"

"It's like a belch..but from your ass."

"You split a hole in your pants with a fart?"

"No, I split it with a good fart." He shifted again. "It's bad luck in the quen to say the word fart when your trapped in a cramped place; doubly so if it's the Bull who has his ass wedged in your face"

You recall your times in the barracks as a soldier, your older brothers and uncles. "Give me some credit Bull, I'm no featherweight mage."

"Oh boss, I know you're as badass as they come, but you don't know how bad the bulls ass can be. You know how Cullen keeps getting reports about a bear roaming around the camp at night but can't seem to find it?"

You had read the reports. For the past three nights just before dawn the night watchmen had been reporting low and long growling sounds. They were expecting a bear woken from hibernation, but they had yet to find any signs of the creature.

"Those are me," Bull said. "A sure sign I'm about to wake up is me letting slip with some slow growling juicy ones"

You shuddered "Maybe when we're back at base we can share a drink and I can experience this legendary beast. From a safe distance downwind that is."

You heard Bull's stomach groan. It was the cry of a tortured soul.

"If we have to stay in here much longer you may get to experience it up close. I'm gonna pinch it off as long as I can boss" Bull said.

What felt like hours passed. Guards kept coming in on routine patrols, none the wiser that two stowaways were crammed in one of their boxes. Your shoulder had begun to cramp. You needed to stretch it. With some working you managed to press it between Bull's legs.

"Woah, boss. Hello." Bull jerked as your arm ran along something long and rubbery.

You gave it a squeeze. "Feels like some sort of toy snake?"

You heard bull chirp. "Close boss. That's my toy snake"

You let go, red in the face. “Im sorry Bull I didn't mean to” “It's all good boss; I just usually like to know someone more than a few days before we get to the tug of war.”

Frantically you try and think of a way to change the topic, only to fail utterly by asking “So, what's got you so excited?” You squint so hard. You wish you could slap your own face. Of all the things to ask.

“Well I was just thinking about the last time I ripped one in someone’s face. The chargers and I were on the storm coast. We were waiting for some nobles to finish whatever shit nobles do when they are together. I was leaning on a rock just watching the waves. In and out. In and out. Really hypnotic. Guess I nearly dozed off. Snapped back to life when I let off a real tak’rethanka-- the wet roar of a dragon--. Rocky and Grim were behind me at the time. Poor grim took the brunt of the black. Rocky was ok. Nutty dwarf lost most of his sense of smell working with explosives. Grim though. That was the last day I remember Grim talking. Now he just grunts. I think I may have melted something in the guys brain, ya know boss?”

As Bull talked about the past you could feel his big rubbery snake bobbing and weaving up and down over your arm.

“That’s the kinda thing that gets you… excited… bull?” You say.

“Shiiit boss. No one really knows about that. I'm not usually with someone this long talking with them having my ass in their face. I’m into some weird shit aint I boss?” “Bull, if it's one thing I've learned about the world so far, it that there is too much crazy shit to worry about what makes people happy. If it makes you feel good I say do it.” You tell him.

“You’re alright boss. More than all right. Don't you worry though I won't let it mess with the job. And i'll make sure your plenty clear before I let rip” Bull says.

“That's gonna be kinda hard in here don't ya think. My face has been wedged in your ass for over an hour.” “I can hold it back boss”  Bulls stomach whined again, this time louder. “This is a nasty one though. It's taking all my willpower to keep the beast at bay.”

“Just get it over with and let it rip. I don't want you to explode” You tell him.

“Nah I can't do that boss. This is a real bad one.”

“I know you want to Bull.” “No, no I want nothing of the sort” He tells you.

You reach out and slap his rubbery cock. “Your ardor gives you away. Trust is important, and truth is the basis of trust. You want to do this.”

Bull cursed in qunlat. “You see right through me boss.” He shifted again, “By the way I wanted to ask. That thing you do with your sword when you draw it. Where did you learn that?” “Well it's a funny story, a few years ago” You start, but you never got to finish the story. As soon as he had distracted you, bulls cheeks let fly with a low rumbling fart. It was like staring into the mouth of a dragon. It washed over you like rain. The entire crate vibrated. Your nose was assaulted with the smell of fresh steaming shit. Bull was a consummate master of the gassy arts. He could have just let things out in one monstrous crack, but he metered it out, just enough to maintain a low droning hum. He caught you mid breath so you were forced to breath in a lung full through your nose. Your eyes watered. Suddenly you knew why Grim may have lost his ability to speak. 

The rest was silent.

You and Bull were in a sauna now. The floor was wet with buckets worth of sweat between you too. Bull just let out a sigh. 

“I tell you boss, very few things feel as good as letting it out after you’ve held it that long.” There was no answer. “Boss? Are you still alive down there?” You coughed. “...Bull” you weakly groan out. Alive, but possibly barley. “How in the the maker can you make such a thing inside you”

Bull was blushing again. “I know. I know. I'm a master. Bet you regret giving me the permission eh boss?” “Shit no Bull. Out of all the farts I’ve ever been privy to in my life, that one will go down as the most epic, the most legendary. You have my permission to let rip whenever, wherever, you want.” Bull stifled a belly laugh. “I don't think the camp guards are gonna be happy about that.” “If anyone gives you trouble, you have my permission to sit on their heads. You can even sit on mine again if you ever want” You tell him.

There was a tender silence between you. As if you were both having a conversation about something more meaningful than farting.

“Boss….” Bull said. “Feel free to say no if this is outta line but, after this mess here is over. Do you wanna fuck?”

[petri808]

Fandom: Fairy Tail. Rating: Mature.  Nalu AU ANGST trigger warning.  Based on this post.  Just under 10k words

Lucy Heartfilia is diagnosed with a heart defect. Stuck in the hospital waiting on the transplant list, there is only one thing bringing any light to her dreary world; a volunteer named Natsu Dragneel who truly becomes her bittersweet savior.

@uzumaki2810 Here you go, I hope you like it :)  Also thank you to the angst queen @doginshoe IM SORRY I FORGOT TO ADD THIS MESSAGE ;-; she beta’d and bore the tears with me to make sure it was a good story :)

~~ ~~ ~~ ~~

It all started back in her last year of middle school when puberty really kicked into overdrive and she developed a well-endowed chest.  She assumed the little pricks of pain related to the added weight cause they sure gave her a backache if she pushed herself too hard.  Exercise was overly exhausting, so there went any chances of making the cheer squad in high school.  Not that Lucy was really interested in sports, but by the start of high school she realized any physical activity needed to be avoided.  But she didn’t want to worry her father since it was a random pain that would only surface if she exerted herself; ergo it was her boob’s fault, and she kept the pain to herself.

As time passed, and her high school years carried on, Lucy did her best to ignore the symptoms, even when something new manifested itself.  Fatigue…  she was studying too hard.  Rapid heartbeat… well, there was that cute boy that just walked by.  Shortness of breath when she laid down…  it’s just from the weight of her chest.  Each and every time, Lucy found a rational explanation.  She buried her nose in her studies as an outlet, which she really didn’t mind so much.  Her favorite thing to do in the world was to write quick fantasy stories she’d make up, and she’d often spend her breaks holed up in the library researching some new topic of dragons or fairies or whatever had caught her attention.

“Ugghhhh,” Lucy flinches as the blinding white light breaks through the surface of her vision.  She shields her eyes and slowly opens them but can only manage a tiny squint.  Her mind was groggy, and she swore her limbs felt like dead weights.  “W-Where am I?”        

She hears the muffled sound of her father’s voice calling for a doctor.  Why was there a slight ringing in her ear?  Something about she’s awake now, hurry?  The rest had been too muffled to understand.  Had she been asleep?  Lucy was completely confused. But the light… the light was so bright!

“Ms. Heartfilia?  Ms. Heartfilia, can you hear me?”

It was a strange male voice talking to her.  Where did her father go?

“Yes,” she croaks out, flinching as her body is coming out of its slumber and suddenly a sharp pain hits her again.  Lucy winces, this was worse than before.

“Ms. Heartfilia, do you know where you are?”

She shakes her head.  

“You’re in the hospital, dear.”

Wait!  It was her father’s voice again.  What did he mean she was in a hospital!  Lucy forces herself to open her eyes fully, though, keeping her hand between her face and the overhead lights.  “Why am I in a hospital?!”

Lucy hears the doctor's voice again, seemingly at a distance because her viewpoint was limited, speaking to someone.  Fainted.  Temporary amnesia.  Congenital heat disease.  Wait what?!  “Hey what’s going on?!” she calls out then is hit by another spike of pain.  Damn it!  “Dad?   Hello?!”  But it’s like she was being ignored.  Birth defect.  Advanced case.  Surgery.  “Someone please talk to me!”  Tears prick at the corners of her eyes.  “Talk to me!!!”  A third, and now the largest stab of pain hits her.  Lucy cries out at the pain and curls in on herself.  More shouting and the voice returns, hands probing something near her chest, and machines starting to blare out warning beeps.

“Please calm down Ms. Heartfilia, calm down, don’t push yourself too much or the pain will get worse.”

How could this get any worse…

That was 3 years ago, and the sands of time were running low.

Her father had done all he could, dragging her to specialist after specialist, exhausting a chunk of his fortune on doctors from one coast to the other, only to be told Lucy would need a heart transplant or she may not see her twenty-first birthday.  The most they could do for her while she waited on the transplant list was implant a ventricular assist device into her body.  It gave her a small measure of freedom instead of being tied to a normal transcutaneous machine, but it was still uncomfortable.  Her movements were restricted, she had to be careful of catching a cold, and what ended up being the hardest part, was the breast reduction surgery they had her undergo at the same time of the VAD surgery to reduce the weight and strain it added to her heart.

For so long she’d blamed her large breasts for causing all her pains, but now that she knew they weren’t, it was sad to see them go.  They were a part of her after all, no matter how much of a headache they could be.  For weeks after the surgery, Lucy could barely look at herself in the mirror.  She didn’t recognize herself anymore.  This youthful woman with tubes sticking out of her stomach which attached to a device around her waist that helped her weakened heart muscles do their job to keep her alive.  That had been the diagnosis, a congenital birth defect that weakened her heart muscles, and as she aged, the muscles would continue to deteriorate.  Oh, her father was so furious when they were told she didn’t qualify for an artificial heart because death wasn’t imminent.  

It hadn’t taken long after completing high school that the depression had surfaced.  All of her friends were moving on to college, most to distant campuses so she had no one to talk to.  Lucy would hide away in her bedroom for days at a time as the internal struggle mounted.  Why continue to go through this pain and struggle… why not just end it quickly and painlessly.  It was tempting.  From the research she’d done on heart defects, the end wasn’t very pretty.  Her only hope was a donor, but people die every day on the transplant list waiting for a heart that never came, just growing weaker and weaker….

At least the VAD had given her two decent years, but her days of being an outpatient at the hospital had come to an end.  Even with the device assisting her heart, Lucy’s body was struggling to deal with the strain.  The smallest exertions required fuel from her heart to power her body, so even something as minimal as the fatigue of reading a book for too long could trigger an arrythmia or worse, and the pain that may accompany it.  She needed to stay in the hospital so that her heart could be constantly monitored and if there was any sudden change, they could address it quickly.

The doctors were doing their best to keep her alive in the hopes a donor would surface.  But you never knew when one would become available, and her time was running short.  The original prediction of not making it to twenty-one was fast approaching.  Frankly, Lucy felt like it was by the luck of the draw and the odds were better at a Las Vegas casino.  It was a lonely experience being cooped up in the hospital and thankfully there was one glimmer of happiness amongst the sterile white halls.

“Lucy!”      

“Hi Natsu.”

He smirks, “I brought you something.”  The young man was bouncing on the balls of his feet with his hands clasped behind his back.  

All the volunteers that visited the hospital were kind people, but there was one that made Lucy smile the most.  A young man named Natsu Dragneel.  She’d told herself at the beginning of her medical odyssey that she wouldn’t let anyone get too close to her, not only for her protection but there’s.  The pain of losing someone you care about was an emotion Lucy had borne at the tender age of five when her mother lost her own battle to cancer, and it was a feeling she didn’t wish upon her worst enemy.  But this man sure made that promise a tough one to keep.    

Natsu’s adoptive mother was a long-time surgery nurse at this hospital, who had had taught him the value of life.  It was because of seeing her kindness towards people that spurred his decision to be a volunteer.  Even at eighteen years of age he knew that volunteering would be difficult, and five years later, he would admit it never got any easier.  Many volunteers eventually burn out, especially when dealing with the terminal patients, but Natsu pushed through, reminding himself it was those very patients that needed their support the most.

“Oh,” she quirks an eyebrow, “what is it?”

“Tada!” he whips out a single yellow rose with pinkish-red tipped petals and hands it to her.  “My younger sister showed me how to dye the tips, isn’t it cool!”

Lucy takes the flower, “wow that is really beautiful!  The pink even matches your hair.” She lifts it to her nose and picks up on the light rosy fragrance it exuded.  “Smells nice too.”  She tries to hand it back to Natsu.

“Tch, my hair’s not pink, it’s salmon, and I made it for you,” he smiles, “something to brighten your day.”  Natsu then walks over to the small bathroom and fills a cup with water, brings it back and places it on the small windowsill next to her bed.  “For the flower.”

“Thank you,” Lucy blushes a little and hands him back the bloom since she couldn’t reach the cup herself. “It was really kind of you to bring me that Natsu.”

“Nah,” he places the flower in the cup for her, “I’d do anything to make you smile.”

It wasn’t every day, but Natsu would come to see her as often as he could.  His regular job as a construction worker wasn’t a regular 9 to 5 kind of thing.  Some weeks he might work five days straight, while on slower periods like the winter and early spring months it may only be a couple of days a week depending on weather.  He’d told her that working with his hands was something he enjoyed immensely, and the company was training him to be a carpenter.  

Natsu sure wasn’t what she’d expected of a construction guy.  Oh, his hands showed the roughened appearance of someone who worked hard for a living, but she thought they would be these rough and tumble kind of men.  Not Natsu, with his goofy and sweet personality.  She could only imagine how well such a line of work helped to keep the man in shape.  He always wore t-shirts and jeans, but his trim features hidden behind the fabric were easily discernable.        

The light of the sun brought the yellow rose to life along with a slight tremor in her heart, not of pain but of adoration.  Lucy smiles sweetly at his remark, her eyes crinkling, glinting with a tinge of moisture she had no control over.  She didn’t want to admit her growing affection for this man who always said the sweetest things or made the most charming gestures.  Natsu was always so compassionate and supportive, while never making it seem like it was just his job as a volunteer to comfort the patients.  It was easy to wish that maybe… he was doing it just for her?  

Lucy ducks her head, hiding the hint of jealousy coating her cheeks and tone, “I’m sure you make such kind gestures for the other patients too.”

“Oh, no,” Natsu sits beside her and takes her hand, “just you.”  He gently lifts her chin, forcing her to face him.  She averts her eyes, but he stares forward, softening his glare, almost wanting to chuckle that he’s had such an effect on her.  “You’re special to me.”

Of all the patients in this small hospital, Lucy Heartfilia was the one his heart grieved for the most.  It wasn’t fair, at only twenty years old, for this beautiful and intelligent woman to be tied to a hospital bed, watching her life flash by in the form of ridges and valley peaks.  The first time they had met was two years ago, but back then she would only come in for overnight monitoring’s or check-ups, and after her major surgery, she stayed for a few months during the recovery process.  By now, they were friends, but it had taken work on his part to get her to open up to him.      

“No, I’m not…” Lucy sucks the corner of her bottom lip in to stifle the tremor.  

His tone deepens in a comeback, “Yes, you are.”

Her eyes finally snap to his, and when she sees the determination behind them, reality kicks in.  He was telling the truth!  Oh, heaven help her.  It was cute to dream, but not for it to be real.  She feels a sting in her chest and pushes his hands away.  “Please don’t,” her voice is barely a whisper, trembling from the stinging pain in her heart and her soul.  “I-I shouldn’t be….”  ‘This is so wrong…  Because I’m dying and he deserves someone better.  I shouldn’t have said anything.’  Stupid little daggers of jealousy!  She clutches her chest, willing her heart to still, and pain to subside, ‘please go away!’

“Hey, hey!” Natsu immediately switches his concern from being flirty to concerned.  “Lucy please calm down, I’m sorry I didn’t mean to upset you!”

“I-It’s okay, I-I’ll be okay.” She fights the tears back with all the strength she can muster.  Lucy didn’t want to cry in front of Natsu.  “Please, Natsu, I don’t want to get our hopes up l-like that…. If this… If things were different….”

“Shhh,” he cradles her face, “shhh, it’s okay Luce, I feel the same way.”

After a few moments, Lucy lets out a long exhale.  “I appreciate it, I really do.”  She looks up and cracks a pained smile.  “You’re the only thing keeping me going, but I-I just don’t even want to think about not being there for you…”

It was Natsu’s turn to crack.  “Please don’t finish that.”  He looks down, holding back the urge to cry or show how upset it makes him.  “I don’t want to think about that.”

“But it…”

“You don’t know that, no one knows that, and I,” his voice falters, seething with all the will of his soul placed behind it, “I will cling to hope till my dying breath.”

The sudden change in his demeanor, switches Lucy from feeling so self-absorbed in her own thoughts to realize, Natsu has had an effect on her, but she truly had an effect on him too.  It hurt even more now that his behaviors weren’t just a rouse to make her happy, and it killed her to think of what he will suffer when she goes.    

“I’m sorry, Natsu.  I didn’t realize.”  She grabs his hand, squeezing it hard.  “Natsu I’m sorry.  Let’s stop thinking about this then, hmm,” doing her best to keep her tone soft and comforting.  “Look at me, Natsu, please, I don’t want to keep fighting with you.”

He sighs, “you’re right.  That’s the last thing I wanna do with you.”  It was a surprise even to himself that he’d lost his cool, and for the first time the awareness of his growing infatuation became real.

“Good,” she squeezes his hand again.  “Hey, um, you know its lunch time, we could eat outside since it’s a nice day…” her voice grows tentative, “if you’ll join me.”

“Lucy Heartfilia, are you asking me out on a date?” He chuckles, ready to put all the sadness behind them.  “Because if that’s the case,” the sparkle in his eyes return, “I would be honored.”

For the next couple of months, Natsu and Lucy’s friendship flourishes, as her physical body slowly deteriorates.  It was hard, he couldn’t lie, to watch this happen, and if it wasn’t for the strength of his convictions or his plain stubborn attitude about it that kept him upbeat.  He knew that she needed him to be her strength, and that fueled his desire to make sure she smiles every day.  

Lucy didn’t know, but his mother would keep him updated on her condition.  Not that he needed to know all the technical jargon, for he could see it with his own eyes.  Lucy herself would tell him just enough information when she needed to, but he never pushed or pried for it, letting it always be on her terms.  The cardiomyopathy was getting worse, her heart muscles barely functioning on its own at this point.  She had her good days and bad days but walking around wasn’t really an option anymore aside from brief steps for a purpose.  It also meant that the muscles in her legs were weakening too.  Physical therapy once a week worked with Lucy on light stretches to keep them from completely atrophying, but it was all they could do for her at this point.  But no matter how much weight she lost, or that her hair didn’t hold its familiar luster, to Natsu she would always be the same radiant woman he adored.  

She’d resigned herself to this fate a lot better than Natsu would have thought a person could do.  When he tried to picture himself in her shoes, he was sure he wouldn’t have the strength to keep going, but that was what amazed him even more about her.  On her agreeable days, Natsu enjoyed getting her out of her room, even if for brief periods of time.  Lunch or dinner in the cafeteria, the grounds of the hospital on a sunny day, or even stargazing when the evening air was warm.  He’d bring a wheelchair, and off they’d go, talking about anything or nothing, avoiding the subject of her condition, just giving her a smidge of a normal existence for once.              

Lucy opens her eyes at the knock on her door to see a familiar face pop through.  “Hey Natsu,” she cracks a pained smile.  

“Hey Luce, how ya doin’ today?”

She starts to sit up in the hospital bed, but when it’s clear to Natsu the woman was struggling, he quickly rushes over and assists.  “Thanks,” another light smile.  “I’m sorry, I’ve been a little sore today.”

“Never apologize to me,” he smiles back warmly.  No matter what, he always did his best to appear upbeat for the patients despite his heart literally breaking for them.  He places his hand on hers, “so, tell me gorgeous, are ya hungry?  We could dinner date in the cafeteria if you’re up to it.  My treat,” he winks.

“Stop calling me gorgeous,” Lucy chides the sunny young man, despite the small rosy glow of her cheeks.  “I know I’m not, and that’s okay.”  With the help of a psychiatrist and over a year of therapy, Lucy had finally accepted her fate and kept moving forward as best she could.  If she will die someday, she will die with dignity.  Stress wasn’t very good on her heart, so once she made peace with her circumstances, even her physical ailments had benefitted.  

“Pfft,” Natsu pretends to be offended, “are you calling me a liar because I know I’m not blind.”  His grin growing along with the deepening of red along her cheeks.  “Besides, you know I won’t stop no matter how much you complain about it.”  

Lucy laughs and her eyes twinkle, “I know, so we’ll keep agreeing to disagree.”

It was in these moments, and why he did what he did, just to see this woman’s eyes light up, that sent his own heart into palpitations.  Deep down Natsu knew that the chances of Lucy making it out of this hospital were slim to none, but you’d never know it when he spoke to her.  He stifles the urge to sigh. Oh, how he wished the circumstances were different.  In a perfect world, Natsu would love nothing more than to walk this woman down the aisle.

He circles the topic back around, “so… dinner, on me?” he teases lightly with a wink.  “We can take a trip through pediatrics where there are a few recent arrivals.”

Her gaze lowers as she hides the seventh heaven emotions the young man stirs in her.  “I’d like that.”

Natsu squeezes her hand, “I’ll be right back, lemme grab your carriage milady.”

As Lucy waited the few minutes for Natsu to grab a wheelchair, she closes her eyes and does a breathing technique to calm her heart.  She hadn’t wanted to show the slight tinges of pain she was getting as they spoke, because she knew it would have worried him.  They’d been steadily increasing in frequency lately, and she fought to keep him from discovering that.  But she couldn’t help it.  Despite her condition, Lucy was still a young woman with an intact mind, she still had desires like any other, and when a handsome young man close to her age flirted with her, of course she would react to it!  She did her best not to let these thoughts sink in too deeply and told herself he was merely doing it to make her feel better.  It was a lie, but it was the best way to shield herself.

“Ready?”  Natsu extends his hand to help Lucy to her feet.

She nods and takes hold, gripping on while he maneuvers her around and onto the chair.  It weakened Lucy to where her muscles were slowly losing their strength because her heart was struggling to keep her body oxygenated and functioning properly.  With support she could stand for brief periods, but only with support.  At least with Natsu, she could put her faith in his hold that he’d never let her fall.  

After adjusting the foot plates and making sure Lucy was comfortable, Natsu takes off towards the cafeteria two floors down.  He’d already alerted dining when he’d gone out for the chair they were coming down, to prepare a meal within Lucy’s dietary needs.  It wasn’t a terribly restrictive diet, but there were some limits, such as no stimulants like caffeine, or anything with a high fat content.

Natsu loved these little dates as he called them.  On warm sunny days it may include a stroll outside for some fresh air, or if it was cold and rainy, merely sharing a cup of light hot chocolate in the visitor's lounge in front of the massive floor to ceiling windows.  But if Lucy wasn’t feeling well, he was content to sit by her side in her room, talking, telling stories, or doing anything just to cheer her up.  Sometimes he would fantasize during these events as if they were simply at home and relaxing like a normal couple.

“Oh yay, beef barley,” Lucy stirs and lifts a spoonful up before letting it flow back into the bowl.  “My fave.”  She knew why they gave it to her, but that didn’t make it anymore appetizing.  Barley was supposedly good for heart health, and the protein it contained was useful for her body.  She crunches up the soda crackers the meal came with and drops them into the soup, letting the pieces soak in.

“I don’t mind it,” Natsu shovels a spoonful into his mouth.  He always made it a point to eat the same thing they gave Lucy, so she felt more normal about it.  “But if you really don’t want it, I could ask them to make you a sandwich instead.”

“No, no,” she waves her hand, her voice oozing with a sense of longing mixed with frustration, “it’s okay, I’m fine with it.  I just would kill to eat a fatty, tasty, slathered in sauce cheeseburger with a side of waffle fries or something you know.”

Natsu snorts a laugh and almost chokes on his food as a mental picture of Lucy chomping down on a burger, with sauce dripping down her chin both amuses and arouses him.  “I-I can imagine,” he bangs his chest a couple times to dislodge some liquid that made it down the wrong pipe.  “Throw some sriracha sauce on that vision and you just named one of my favorite foods.”  Could this woman become any more of his dream girl?!

She giggles, “So, um…” Lucy hesitates for a second.  She didn’t want to sound desperate or anything, but loneliness was the quickest way to send her back into a depression and she cherished the time the man spent with her.  “How much time are you spending with me today?”    

“As long as you’d like,” he winks.  “I always do my rounds first and come to you last so I can stay as long as I want to.”

Ugh!  The flirty thing again!  Lucy wills her body to behave.  “Wow, that makes me pretty special, huh?”

“Extremely,” he leans in, letting his gaze grow half-lidded, and his tone mellowing into a soothing cadence. “I’m gonna steal your heart one day Luce, that’s a promise.”

“What?!  Pfft,” damn, she can feel the heat rising in her cheeks, “there’s no point in stealing a broken heart sir…”  Despite the desire to feel aroused over his comment, it also brought a sense of sadness to her she fought down the urge to let tears rise to the surface.  ‘He’s just teasing… he’s just being sweet, trying to make me feel normal… It’s not real Lucy, It’s not real!’  But oh, how she wished it was!  Natsu was the perfect man that any woman would kill for.  Sweet, strong, handsome, silly, she could go on and on with the list.  He was the one ray of sunshine in her dreary world now that she truly was all alone in it.  The stress of caring for her had driven her father into his own massive heart attack last year.  She had no one, except Natsu.

“I mean it Luce,” he reaches out and takes her hand, letting his thumb sweep over the skin.  “Broken or not, I want to steal it and have the person it’s attached to a—ll to myself.”

“Please don’t,” Lucy pulls her hand back.  She could feel the tears pooling and if she didn’t stop it now, they’d soon fall.  “You know I appreciate it, really I do Natsu.”  Lucy looks back up at him and cracks a pained smile.  “But you deserve someone who’s not broken.”

The absolute pain measured in Lucy’s eyes, and the sorrow in her voice was like a dagger straight through Natsu’s soul.  He could understand her desire of not wanting to believe in miracles or to shield herself from further pain, but that only killed him more.  She deserved so much more out of life. Ugh, if only he had a direct line to destiny so he could kick its ass and tell it to leave Lucy in peace!  He didn’t want to upset her anymore.  “Okay, I’ll stop pushing too hard.  But I promise you Luce, one day you will walk out of this hospital a healthy woman, and you can steal my heart instead.”

She sighs, “You can’t promise something like that.”

“I have faith,” Natsu gives her his wide, ear-to-ear grin and a wink.  “You’ll see.”

How could she stay upset after seeing that smile of his?  That damn ear-to-ear grin that lit up his eyes.  The eternal optimist, Natsu Dragneel trying so hard to keep her spirits up.  He and that smile may very well be the one thing keeping her going at this point.  “Okay, okay,” Lucy chuckles, “I give up, yes it's possible.”

“Woo Hoo!”  He pumps his fist in the air in an exaggerated victory, “that’s the spirit!  Now eat, so we can go check out the babies!”  

Lucy laughs again and nods with a smile, “okay.”

It was harder than she let on to him because she knew how much he enjoyed checking out all the new arrivals, but seeing those babies coming into this world while she would be leaving it shortly was painful.  All those hopeful, bright little lives….  They were a bittersweet reminder that a hospital holds two balances; the power to bring life into this world or take it away by not being able to heal a person.  She didn’t blame the doctors, for they were doing their best, because sometimes the sands of time runs its course and there is just nothing more they can do.  It was simply a part of life, to be born and die, never knowing when the grim reaper would come calling.  

“Look, look!  I was told three were born yesterday.” Natsu points excitedly as he parks her chair in front of the viewing window of the nursery.  He plasters his face against the clear glass.  “Two girls and one boy.  Awww, one already has some hair!”  Turning back to Lucy, “can you see okay, would you like me to help you stand up?”

“Thank you for the offer, but I can see just fine,” Lucy throws on a smile for effect.  “They are quite adorable, aren’t they?”

“Are you sure?  You know the doctors want you to stand sometimes so that your legs don’t atrophy as quickly.  I will gladly bear the weight.”

“Are you saying I’m heavy?!”  She was just teasing, but it was the perfect setup to do so.

“What?!” he waves his arms, “n-no way!  You’re not heavy, I meant I’m stronger so I can hold you up…”

“So, I’m weak?”

“Wait, what, no!”

Lucy giggles at how much the man was stepping all over his tongue.  “I’m just teasing you, Natsu.  I know I should, but I’m just a little tired today.”  That was partially true.

The man pouts, “so mean Luce,” he whines and throws on the saddest puppy dog expression he can muster, even a sniffle for effect.  “But it was an excuse to hold you in my arms.”

Oh, how quickly the tides can turn as his bold little statement sets her face ablaze.  He re—ally needed to stop with the flirting, or she was about to have an actual heart attack!  “All right,” Lucy groans, “just for a few minutes.”  It wasn’t the first time she’s allowed him to help her stand and maintain her balance, but before his little retort, she’d never thought twice about it.  

Natsu locks the chair and adjusts the foot plates out of the way so that Lucy can put her feet on the ground.  “Just take all the time you need,” his voice grows soft and soothing, “don’t rush.”

She tests her leg strength by pushing with the balls of her feet against the floor, rocking them and applying pressure to warm up the muscles.  Brief movements, like getting from the bed to the wheelchair were one thing, standing for a few minutes or walking a few feet were another.  It was frustrating and embarrassing, so she avoided it as much as possible, like when going to the bathroom.  Lucy didn’t mind when the nurses assisted her with that compromising predicament, but this was embarrassing in a different way.  

Once she feels her legs are ready, she holds out her hand which Natsu quickly takes hold of and braces her other on the arm of the chair to push herself up.  When she gets to a standing position, Natsu moves around her body, placing an arm around her waist as he gently guides her the two feet to the window.  He stays on constant alert, monitoring any change so if her legs decide to buckle, he can catch her.  As soon as she reaches the window, Lucy places her hands on the slight ledge of the sill.  Natsu then switches his position to stand directly behind her, wrapping both arms around her upper chest to hold her close, but above the tubes in her lower abdomen.  

Could he feel how much her body was heating up from the intimate contact?  Lucy fought her own emotions to keep from escalating and stressing her heart out, for she was keenly aware of how they would look to anyone passing by.  Dear heavens, it was hard to do with his chest pressed up against her back…. She wished they could stay like that forever.  ‘Breathe… just breathe, Lucy…. Look at the babies, just focus on the babies…’  That only made it worse.

The babies….  Just a day old. The little angels were like moldable clay.  They’ll grow… they’ll change…  Will they become teachers or astronauts some day?  Oh, look at the one, smiling in his sleep, how precious.  Someday, will they make their dreams come true?  What will they be like?  Good little kids or naughty, friendly, the life of the party or a shy introvert?  Like many young girls who dreamt of becoming a mother someday, Lucy had envisioned having a family of her own with the love of her life and the white picket fence.  A little girls fantasy.  She closes her eyes, praying that Natsu wasn’t paying attention to her.  The tears pool behind her eyelids and she stills the desire to sniffle.  That fantasy was now dashed like a shipwreck against the shoreline, never to sail the seven seas again.  Natsu would have made the perfect husband and father for such a fairytale, and he will one day, just not in her storybook ending.

She’d been so focused on fighting back her emotions, that Lucy hadn’t noticed Natsu’s head was now resting against her shoulder or how his face was curled against the nape.  

“It’s okay to cry sometimes Luce.”

His whispered voice, so close to her ear, breaks the dam.  Lucy squeezes her eyes tighter and fingertips curl, tensing against the windowsill.  Shit, he knew all along.  Her knees tremble as the tears flow freely, but she feels his hold tighten around her to keep her from falling.  It had been some time since she’d allowed herself to release the pain in this way.

Natsu hadn’t been certain of it until now, but in the last several times they’d come to the pediatric ward, he’d sensed a change in Lucy’s energy.  She always wore a smile with a hidden agenda and now he’s confirmed his suspicions.  Well, it was his mother really that pointed it out one day when he’d mentioned it to her.  The woman was great at understanding human emotions and after years of caring for patients, she’s learned to follow her intuition.  

“Lucy was a young woman who may not live to be a mother or have a family of her own, of course it might upset her to see the infants.”  His first inclination was to stop bringing the woman to this ward, but his mother gave him a second option.  “Help her grieve.”  Those three words coming out of his mother’s mouth stunned him briefly. What did she mean to help her grieve?!!  “If Lucy has no one to turn to, how can she process what is happening to her.  Show her it’s okay to be upset, help her let out the pain before it consumes her.”  

“I will hold you for as long as I need to Luce, just let the pain go.”

But it was killing him to do this!  Natsu had told his mother that he didn’t think he was strong enough. The woman simply smiled, patted his cheek and said, “I believe in you son.  If you truly care, then you’ll have the strength to move mountains for her.”  Damn his mother and her intuition, though Natsu realized only a fool couldn’t see how much he was falling for Lucy.  He’d sell his soul to a demon to get her a new heart.

Strangely, Lucy’s body wasn’t reacting like she thought it would.  Stress usually caused her blood pressure to rise and strain her heart muscles, but that wasn’t happening.  She couldn’t stop the tears from flowing like a broken spigot, and maybe that was the best thing, like a release of the pressure that had built up unbeknownst to her.  Her hands move from the windowsill to Natsu’s arms, clutching to and resting her head on them.  Lucy couldn’t look up, not yet, but she needed to let him know she heard his words, and they meant the world to her.  

She would have made an amazing mother, Natsu was sure of it, and it would be a lie to say he’s never thought of or imagined them staring through this viewing window at their own little boy or girl one day.  Would the child have Lucy’s beautiful golden waves or chocolate brown eyes?  Or maybe take Natsu’s salmon pink hair and onyx eyes.  No matter what, the child would be perfect and loved.  A child that as the day ticked down on the transplant list was losing hope of ever being born.  Crap!  Natsu squeezes his eyes closed tight.  He couldn’t let her see him struggling with this, but damn if those images didn’t just cut him deep.

Neither of them knew how long they were standing there or even if any of the other hospital staff had noticed.  They were in their own little world while time passed them by.  It was Lucy who finally let out a small exhale as a last release of all that had struck her today, and with that tension gone, the tears turned into exhaustion.  Ever cry so hard and for so long that your body became lethargic?  Lucy yawns wide and deep, her eyes growing heavy and clouded, a little lightheaded, ready to go to sleep.

Natsu kisses the crown of her head and without a word, maneuvers her so she can sit back down in her wheelchair.  He sets the foot panels in place and helps her feet onto them, then pushes her back to her room.  There is a companionable silence, as if all their wordless exchanges had communicated volumes that needed no explanation.  Once back in her own room, Natsu helps her onto the bed and set the wheelchair aside.

After helping to re-attach her heart monitors, Natsu checks, “is there anything else I can get you before I go?”  She shakes her head.  “In that case…”

Lucy motions for him to lean in closer and once he’s close enough, she hesitates briefly then places a kiss on his cheek.  “Thank you for everything Natsu.”

His eyes widen, shocked by what she’d just done.  “Luce?”

“I just felt like doing it,” she blushes.  “Tonight… I don’t know, I just feel so much better and it’s all because of you.”  Lucy closes her eyes as a yawn cuts through.  They were so tired…    

“You are very welcome,” Natsu smiles.  He moves to leave, but Lucy grabs his hand and squeezes.  When he turns back to look, her eyes are still closed, and there is a slight smile on her face which brings a swelling of his pride.  He leans down and kisses the back of her hand.  “Rest now, and I will see you again tomorrow.”

Mister Sandman beckoned to Lucy of mystical creatures bathed in glittering stars, calling upon father time to bring peace to a weary soul.  She didn’t know why, but though the pull was strong, she fought his dreamy reverie.  Today had been the most emotionally charged day in a long time.  All the tears Lucy had shed brought a new peace to her spirit, something in this entire experience not even a trained therapist could have given her.  The amount of love that Natsu provided, whether platonic or wishful yearnings, calmed her, and pushed away the emptiness she had felt for so long…. So long stuck in this pain.  She wanted to relive this day forever, safe in Natsu’s arms, drowning in the pool of his obsidian hues.  ‘… to steal his heart…’  Lucy knew she already had, just as he had stolen hers in a way.  A sense of warmth floods through her body, shielding her to the cool air-conditioned room.  Lucy’s smile widens as her mind slips into the abyss of dreams, of a pink-haired prince who’d finally set her soul free.

“Natsu wake up,” the voice repeats as the person attached to it shakes his sleeping form.  “Natsu wake up.”

“Huh?” His clouded mind hears the voice of his mother.  “What is it?”  He turns his head, his eyes temporarily pin-pointed from the harsh lamp light next to his bed.  “Mom, what are you doing in my room?”  Natsu pushes himself to a sitting position as his mother takes a seat next to him.  With his vision focusing better, he finally notices the moisture clouding his mother’s eyes.  “Mom, what is it?!”  

She takes his hand, squeezing it tightly with her head slightly lowered in pain.  “I-I’m sorry, son, but the hospital just called me…. Your friend, s-she had a massive heart attack.”

By the time his mother had finished the sentence, Natsu had stopped listening to anything she was saying. He knew, the moment she’d said I’m sorry… to wake him up in the middle of the night, it had to be….  All the blood drains from his face and his shoulders slump.  He felt dizzy, weak, like all of his strength were stripped away, leaving him an empty shell.  He turns his head slowly, the tears already flowing down his cheeks in an endless trickle to meet the woman’s sullen gaze.  This wasn’t happening!  Not yet!  Lucy was fine today!  Fine!!  He wanted to scream!  But his throat was closed up, choking back the sobs that wanted to break free.  

“Oh honey,” the woman wraps her arms around her son and pulls him tightly against her chest.  “I’m so sorry,” her own tears flowing freely and hitting his face.  “Don’t give up hope, they were able to save her, but she’s been placed in a medically induced coma.”

It couldn’t be true!  Why weren’t his cries coming out?!  Natsu’s voice refused to make a sound and all he could do was weep.  It hurt so much!  His fists clench at his stiffened sides.  This wasn’t fair!  

“Let it out son, don’t hold it in,” she coos, doing her best to soothe the pain.  “They believe she didn’t suffer because it happened while she was asleep, that should give you a bit of comfort.”

No, it doesn’t!  She was still in a coma!  He’d almost lost her!  And, “I-I never g-got to s-say good... good…” he couldn’t finish it.  What if she never woke up again?  Natsu’s heart ached at the thought he may never again hear her beautiful laughter or that silly snort she would sometimes make when he teased her.  This world was too cruel to do this to a woman who should be in college, starting the next stage of her life.  A fit of sobs racks his body, ‘I never got to tell her I love her…’

“Would you like me to drive you there, son?”

“Yes, please mom, i-if you don’t mind.”  

“Of course.”

Natsu paused in front of the closed door to Lucy’s new room, unsuccessfully preparing himself for what he knew he would find behind it.  On the way to the hospital, his mother had filled in a few more details that tore the man up and brought a wave of guilt flooding over him.  Had he caused the heart attack?

The heart monitor alarms had gone off only 30 minutes after he had left her for the evening, and the doctors wasted no time in implementing emergency resuscitative efforts.  They deemed it a miracle, but after 10 minutes of herculean efforts they were able to get her heart restarted.  Lucy was then moved to the ICU unit and placed on other machines such as a feeding tube and ventilator to keep her alive.

Maybe he shouldn’t have pushed her to see the infants after all.  Maybe the crying had stressed her out and neither of them had known it.  She seemed perfectly fine when he’d left!  Happy, in fact, happier than he’d seen in a long time.  Natsu’s fingers absentmindedly trail over the area she had kissed.  Lucy was at peace when he’d left.  His mom told him her sudden fatigue may have been a sign.  Or maybe he clenches his jaw, that kiss was her way of saying goodbye, like she knew something might happen once she’d closed her eyes.  The way she’d grabbed his hand when he tried to leave….  “Fuck!” he grits outs as the tears pool in his bloodshot eyes again.  “I shouldn’t have left her…”  

He pushes the door open and his knees buckle instantly at the sight.  Tubes… all the tubes, and monitors, the beeping and lights, bright flashing lights of the stat graphs, subcutaneous fluids hooked to her arms, the drips… slow drips of liquid and medicine flowing into Lucy’s body.  He wasn’t ready for it.  Her beautiful face partially hidden by the feeding tube running into her mouth and the breathing tubes entering her nostrils.  If it wasn’t for his mother standing at his side, Natsu would have collapsed to the floor when his legs lose all their strength and crumple.  The woman guides him to a chair placed beside the bed.  

“Oh god, Lucy!”  The tears pour out and sobs take control of his body.  He throws his upper body over hers, clutching desperately to the blanket covering her, and burying his face into its folds.  Natsu felt a part of his soul die right then and there.  “You don’t deserve this,” his muffled words stolen by the fabric.  Why couldn’t they find her a heart?!

“Son,” Natsu feels his mother’s hand resting on his shoulder, but he doesn’t respond.  “Son, there’s no telling how long Lucy will stay in this state, so it’s best you say your goodbyes now.  They say that people can hear you even if they are in a coma.”

But all he can do is shake his head fervently, denying it to the world and himself that Lucy wouldn’t come out of this.  He had hope, damn it!  Natsu refused to say goodbye because that meant he’d given up hope Lucy would recover somehow.  

The woman seemed to understand her son’s frustration and didn’t push.  “Then, just talk to her son, let her know you’re here.”  

“Mom, could you… I wanna be alone, please?”                

“I’ll come back in an hour to take you home.”  

Natsu just nods in response.  He hears the door open and close, the click of the lock like the final latch being set on a coffin, sealing them to their fate.  He’d known the dangers of giving his heart to Lucy and yet despite what was happening, still had no regrets.  She deserved the peace of knowing someone loved her, and if this really was the last moments, Natsu could have that tiny measure of satisfaction knowing he was the one who had provided it to her.

“But you’re not gonna die yet, Luce.  You can’t, do you hear me, you can’t!  It’s not your time yet, so you need to fight for me please…”  Oh, how his heart was shattering into a million pieces as if he was the one with the problem.  It fucking hurt!  Emotional daggers stabbing him in the chest repeatedly.  “You’re stronger than this, Lucy!  I know it, you’re gonna wake up from this!”

By the time his mother returns an hour later, the sheer exhaustion had consumed Natsu.  She finds him passed out, and it takes a bit of begrudging effort to get him to leave Lucy’s bedside.  He was so afraid to leave again in case she passed away, because he didn’t want her to die alone.  It was his mother that coaxed him into believing that she wasn’t alone as long as he kept her in his heart.    

Day after day, week after week, became a never-ending cycle of zombiesque activity.  Natsu’s body was there, trudging through routine, but his mind was broken, battling between keeping hope alive and giving up.  He went to work, did his job, then headed to the hospital.  It got to where the staff had placed a spare bed in the room, and he practically lived in the ICU with Lucy.  He was lucky that his mother was a long-time nurse and he a volunteer with an impeccable standing that the hospital allowed him to bend the visitor hour rules.  They knew the woman was alone in this world, so maybe they also felt a sense of duty to become that family for her, because nobody deserved to die alone.

He grew obsessed with anything to do with her condition and used the lonely hours to scour the internet for information.  Sure, much of the stories about coma patients being able to hear weren’t really solid or verifiable, but any glimmer of possibilities was worth the effort.  It couldn’t hurt to try.  Whether it was telling her about his day or what was happening in their town, Natsu would keep talking.  He bought a kindle and read stories he thought she would like, fantasies of princes saving princesses filled with mythical creatures.  He remembered her saying she used to write such stories and wished he had been able to read them.

When he was too tired to read, or his throat was too sore to continue, Natsu wrote her letters.  The staff and his family were getting worried about Natsu.  So, the hospital’s mental health service counselor had come in one day and spoke to him on the off chance that they could get through to him.  While he refused to listen to most of the advice, he found the writing to be helpful.  Maybe when Lucy awakens, she could read them. But for now, it was one way he could pour out some of his thoughts in silence.      

He was always tired and exhausted, pushing himself through this day-to-day routine, sometimes forgetting to eat.  Concerned staff would often pop their heads in to check on him to make sure he had or scolded him when the hours grew late and they knew he needed to work the next day.  His bloodshot eyes held dark bags under them, and his mother swore he was losing weight.  But he would always push them off saying he was fine.

“No, you are not son.  As a mother I am supremely proud to know I raised a son who cares this much, but I don’t want to lose you too.”

“And you’re not, I’m perfectly healthy.”

“You know as well as I stress is harmful to the body.”

Natsu sighs and runs a hand over his face, “mom, I’m fine, I even cut back on work hours to make you happy.”

“And I appreciate the gesture, but you’re still working, just here!”

“Mom, I’m fine!  Please, just leave me be, I-I don’t want to fight.  I just want… I’m not leaving her.  End of discussion.”

His mother sighs, knowing that her stubborn boy would not listen.  “Just please, Natsu, eat more, get more sleep, do it for me.”

“Okay, okay, I will.”        

“I love you, son.”

“I love you too, mom.”

She kisses his forehead and turns to leave, taking one last look at her boy, and to Lucy.  Grandeeney Dragneel pauses with a bittersweet smile as Natsu resumed reading quietly from his Kindle.  Somehow, she knew that young girl loved her son back, and it broke her heart to know they were like those star-crossed lovers from a long-lost folktale, never destined to truly be together.  She liked Lucy.  The girl was smart and sweet, very articulate whenever she visited during her rounds, and her strength through this all was remarkable.  Even after being dealt such a cruel hand by fate, she never grew bitter or resentful.  Her son couldn’t have fallen for a better girl.  Grandeeney slips away quietly before the moisture building in her eyes could be seen by Natsu, bracing against the closed door, and praying for a miracle.

Is this that tunnel people talk about?  Lucy wonders as all she could see through her eyelids is the brightest light that seemed just too brilliant to be normal.  Her eyes hurt a little from it, but if this was heaven, why is there still pain?  She forces her lids open and tries to shield them with her hand that… doesn’t seem to move, huh?  But it wasn’t just her arm, her entire body felt heavy.  The images filtering in through her vision were blurry, slowly gaining focus as her pupils adjust to the light to see, wait, ceiling tiles?  Why does heaven look so much like a hospital?

“Oh good, you’re awake.”

Lucy looks over and sees a doctor standing beside her.  “Where am I?”  Or more like why am I here?  

“Do you remember the heart attack?”  She shakes her head.  “You’ve been in a coma for two months after you suffered a massive heart attack.  But luckily, a local donor came through...”  He goes on to explain about the surgery telling her that the transplant surgery went well, her body was accepting the new heart, and while she’ll still be going through three to six months or rehabilitation and monitoring, she was on track to make a full recovery.  

“Oh-okay, thank you so much, doctor.”  It was a miracle to be alive again with a new heart.  But something felt wrong, missing?    

“I’ll be back in a couple hours to check on you again Ms. Heartfilia, but if anything feels off in the meantime, be sure to ring the nurses.”  He moves to leave, but she stops him.

“Doctor, the donor, can you tell me about them, please?”

The man hesitates for a moment.  “Well Ms. Heartfilia, privacy laws don’t allow me to….”

“You don’t have to tell me their name or anything.  Please, just a little information.  I’d like to know who saved my life.”

The man sighs and takes the seat next to the bed, clearly torn with what he was about to say.  “He was a young volunteer at the hospital who tragically fell asleep at the wheel and passed away from a car accident…”

The doctor's voice droned on for another minute as he tried to reassure her that the man didn’t suffer. It was quick and painless from a one-car crash.  As if that was supposed to make her feel any better.  Lucy didn’t need to be told the name as tears poured down her cheeks, because she knew.  She just knew.  That was what was missing, for she knew that if she’d had received the new heart, Natsu would have been the one by her side when she’d woken up… unless he could be there.  With all the wires attached to her arm, she could barely move them without the sting of the I.V. lines, but she didn’t care.  Lucy’s hands cover her lowered face as the tears continue to stream.

“I’m very sorry, Ms. Heartfilia.  Would you like me to have someone from mental health support to come see you?”

Lucy shakes her head. She couldn’t speak, she couldn’t even think.  

“Mrs. Dragneel would also like to speak to you when you’re up to it.”  

More tears and sobs choke out. Oh god that was Natsu’s mom, how could she face Natsu’s mother!  

Seeing the woman’s distress, the man nods and squeezes her shoulder, “Again, I’m truly sorry Ms. Heartfilia.  We all miss him very much.  Please try to get some rest,” and leaves the woman to grieve in her own way.  

Her head was spinning.  It wasn’t supposed to happen like this!  Why was destiny such a malicious bastard to take away the one person she had and leave her in this world all alone?  Lucy clasps a hand over her chest, recalling the last conversation, that last night with Natsu.  She squeezes her eyes to the pain of the memories…  He’d made her so happy… so very happy, and yes, she remembered thinking for the first time since her diagnosis; she didn’t feel alone anymore.  Fuck if she didn’t want to just keel over again, but that would mar the beautiful gift that she’s received.  Natsu believed with every fiber of his being that she would walk out of here one day and she will live on for him, that’s a promise.  “Our heart,” Lucy breathes out…  But how ironic that he was right all along.  She really did steal his heart in the cruelest of ways… 

[rwby-ask-central]

RWBY CRACKPOT THEORY TIME! (SPOILERS?)

So this post will be a rather long one because of all the theories and the level of detail I want to go into. So buckle up kids!! It’s starting time!

Theory 1: TEAM JN_R is gonna die. So let me start with the most likely death: Nora! Why? Well we saw in a trailer that she used herself to conduct electricity through Amity, and she’s CLEARLY in pain. In the opening of the show, we see Penny’s fathers working on Amity (presumably) and it flashes Watts on the other side of the glass. So it’s likely they’ll try to recruit him and he’ll play along. He’s still a villain. It would be the perfect opportunity to take out someone. It would deal a moral and actual blow to the group. Now, Ren’s death relies on Nora. Call it cliche, but I think if Nora dies, he’ll take his own life. He still carries the dagger, it’s clear they have feeling for eachother and they’ve been together for a long time. So that’s where it comes from. Jaune will probably meet his end the same way Pyrrha did. Not necessarily by Cinder’s hand. But all the same. And if my theory of Pyrrha being sent to the same realm that Ozma was when he met the God of light, then the two lovers can rest eternally at last. You’ll learn that a bunch of my theories rely on this main theory.

Theory 2: Salem will obtain the maiden powers through more...malicious means. I’m not sure if it was confirmed or not, but if Salem is able to corrupt people as she was, she can offer to ressurect Nora (following theory 1) in return. Of course, if this wasn’t the case, perhaps she could offer to ressurect Pyrrha. Or even....Summer Rose.

Theory 3: Neo is going to die. See, we know that Salem controls the Grimm. Neo is seeking revenge against RWBY for Roman’s death. What if..AND HEAR ME OUT...she knows Ruby wasn’t at fault. She pretends to hate Ruby to get close to Cinder, by extent, Salem. She’ll try to take her revenge, but between Salem, cinder, and everyone else on board? She won’t even make it in touching distance. A futile attempt, but one she risked her life for.

Theory 4: Neo’s evolved semblance. It was hinted that Semblances can actually evolve to some degree, back in volume 7. This theory comes from my partner!! What if she has the ability to project illusions, similar to Emeralds, but it’s not a mental task. And I spun it off into a sad bit where I said she uses that semblance to project a clone of Roman and sleep next to him crying herself to sleep. ;-; ITS SO SAD AND IM SORRY.

Theory 5: RWBY Corruption. Similar to the theory of using dead people as bargaining chips, this one is more..just to torture them. Salem would corrupt the corpse of Adam and make it undying, sending it after Blake/Yang. They would be facing a foe that can’t stay down from thier past. Adam has caused so much damage (mental and physical) to the pair. It would probably continue to scar them seeing his corpse try to fight them mindlessly. Salem offers to put the man to rest for good by taking one of Team RWBY. After the trade is done, she corrupts the girl to replace Adam.

Theory 6: Sad Summer Times. Somehow, Team RWBY/JNR make thier way into the whale ship. Somehow, Salem is about to fall and perish. As Ruby swings her sythe to strike her down, the black goop from the Grimm pools slides off, revealing a still alive Summer Rose. By the time Ruby sees this, she can’t stop. A head goes rolling on the floor. The goop reassembles itself into Salem. She used a Vessel to sacrifice in the event she was in Danger. (You can think of this one as a substitution Jutsu from NARUTO, but with an actual sacrifice to use).

Theory 7: Salem is trying to start over. She’s suffered so much, she’s already cost thousands of people thier lives when she was human. What if she’s trying to gather the relics to create a new, better world where she and Ozma and live happily without fear of death or age?

Theory 8: Salem’s goal is bigger than any of us can imagine. She already has magic. She’s growing stronger, she’s taken down most of the Kingdoms. There’s nothing to stop her. What does killing the Gods possibly get her? She can already rule over the world as she is. There has to be an even bigger picture

Theory 9: Emerald will defect from Salem’s troops. She came with Cinder because she thought she cared. She’s being neglected SO. HEAVILY. She must hate it. If you look back to the opening, we see a hall of villains that lead up to Salem. If you noticed, Emerald wasn’t there. But MERCURY WAS. It seems odd to only show off one of the low-level henchmen?

Theory 10: Winter will kill James Ironwood. The man...he’s become Salem but for the good guys(? Is he even still?). It was clear NONE of the ace Ops openly approved of the murder James committed. Winter is recovering. The military has been Winter’s entire life, running away from her family problems instead. If James threatens her military career, she probably wouldn’t hesitate to strike. Even if Winter doesn’t murder James, we know she wouldn’t hesitate to Usurp his position. We know that Winter and Weiss will clash this season from the opening.

Theory 11: Ozma will die for good. Or at least by separated from Ozcar. This one doesn’t really have a reason behind it other than the fact that Ozma keeps getting weaker and we saw Salem looming over Ozcar in the opening. I think this would be a great opportunity to allow Ozcar to better expand his own legacy, not the shadow of Oz’s. He would take up Oz’s legacy, but forge his own path the right way. His way. One more theory to go!!

Theory 12: We are reaching the Natural end of RWBY. At least the first generation. As far as I recall, Monty was able to write up about 10 volumes worth of lore and plot. We are going into volume 8. No one said the entire thing is about the VICTORY of Team RWBY. rather, it’s a story about the world of Remnant in its most interesting days. What if the story (from our perspective) is actually about the victory of Salem, accomplishing her goals and seeing the world struggle to fight against her in their final days? Strange theory, but I have such a weird draw to this one. I genuinely feel like Team RWBY won’t succeed in thier goal to stop Salem. I don’t want to see them suffer, but I can’t see them winning. Not unless some magical miracle happens. Which I’m not saying CANT happen....just that I don’t believe it will.

Theory 13: Raven saves the day. I’ve been thinking about a character redemption for Raven since her run away in Volume 5. It would be perfect. She agreed to turn herself over to Salem in exchange for leaving Atlas. I don’t think Salem would agree to it, or even honor the agreement if she did, but it would be amazing if Raven showed up to try and make amends.

I know this was a VERY long one, but I really needed to just let out a giant theory blast. Even if none of these make sense, I like them. Or at the very least, I think they make interesting story bits to share or think about “what if X happened”. Thanks for reading!

[thekidultlife]

Word prompt request pls? Minghao and hands?

(A/N: I uh...if you guys have been following my blog and Leanne's, we've been watching an anime called A Certain Scientific Accelerator and have been going crazy over it for a past few days. I always loved that series and took the time to read the novels, so this was directly inspired from it....i know you guys wanted some fluff but im in a mood for horror these days 😂 -Hyeri)

◇

"Just a little bit more."

In this deep dark underbelly of a certain city of science, lies a dim luminance amidst the abyss. Light reflected from the human-sized cylinder filled with an unknown liquid, illuminating the large room with a freakishly green glow.

"Just a bit more...with these hands..."

A young man whispered to himself little encouragements as he continued to dance his fingers on the keyboard. His monitor was showing various stats as cables big and small wrapped around him and the cylinder in a snake-like hold.

Despite the speed of his hands, the young man was holding back sobs, puncturing his voices of encouragement like a pierce through the heart.

"I'll...I'll grant your wish..."

In this deep dark underbelly of a certain city of science, a different kind of flower had bloomed.

Years before everything had happened, life was much easier and uncomplicated.

He was Xu Minghao back then, a talented neuroscientist who came to the city lured by generous research grants and advanced technology. There wasn't any downsides as he began his research on dementia and neurological diseases. It was the greatest time of his life surrounded by people who thought like him and appreciated what he was seeking. It was paradise.

Yet when Minghao thought it couldn't get any better, you came along.

"This is test subject 00 - 1a."

You were introduced to him the day, the first of his human volunteers.

"Call me Y/N though! Being called a test subject is pretty awful," you told him as soon as the other head scientist walked away.

Minghao smiled, he had feared you'd be as stoic as the name given to you, yet it seemed those fears were unfounded.

"Then nice to meet you too, Y/N. I'm Minghao," he replied and you grinned, flashing your bright full smile.

"I'll be in your care, doc!"

Y/N was someone who was easy to work with, as Minghao had noted in his logbook. You were nice, cooperative and friendly, and little did he realize how he was slowly growing attached to you.

"Looks like your vitals are fine, Y/N," he told you one day after a regular checkup after a round of tests. "I'm wondering though, why did you become a test subject for this kind of research?"

To his question, you had only grinned. The dull teal green gown on you flowing like the wind as you moved, making him look elsewhere.

"Now, now, doc~ Are you curious?" You asked with a teasing look, "Haven't you found out anything in your research?"

Minghao glanced at you with a frown. "You seem pretty normal, apart from your sudden bouts of unconsciousness."

Smiling, you replied with a twinkle in your eyes. "Looks like you aren't from around here, are you doc?"

It didn't take him long to warm up to you and your bubbly personality. It was the only warmth he could feel down in the desolate and freezing labs, the only one who could make him feel less like a bastard for experimenting with humans and more of a doctor trying to help someone.

"You like to paint, doc?" You asked, munching on a sandwich as you watched him type on a computer.

"From time to time. Why'd you ask?" He replied as he looked up to you.

"Your desktop wallpaper. I felt like you drew that."

"Oh?" Minghao raised his brows, piqued by your comment. "You're quite intuitive, aren't you?"

"I have level 1 telepathy. It's more than enough to sense a few things," you told him with a slight giggle.

"That's amazing. I didn't realize the extent of your abilities," Minghao remarked, to which you only waved your hand in dismissal.

"Not as amazing as others out there," you continued, as your tone went to a downcast turn. "I'm a level one and I can't see a day without suddenly collapsing. Here in this city, people like me are called liabilities."

That was the first time he had heard you open up to him. Minghao gazed at you with heaviness in his heart as you made a bitter and cynical smile.

"I wanted to be useful, just for once in my life. Even if that means I have to be a test subject, at least I can help other people with conditions like me, right doc?"

Despite the smile on your face, Minghao felt the pain and the hurt you had endured all your life. He hated it. He hated how much life had robbed you of the light; a light which you were now ironically seeking at a place where it never shines through.

"It's ok, Y/N," Minghao told you as he wrapped ypu in a tight hug. "I'll help you with your dream. I'll make sure that this research wouldn't be in vain."

With that promise, Minghao began to work extensively. He wanted to remove that painful look on your face as you smiled at him, waving as if it was normal to sit inside a large machine trying to manipulate your brain. It was a sacrifice you were willing to make, and he was determined to achieve your goal.

It was for you. All for you.

Minghao wasn't stupid. He knew you were dying. The bouts of fainting and collapsing was getting more and more frequent. Each passing day, you had grown weaker and he was becoming more and more desparate.

"Her condition is worsening, Dr. Xu. What do we do? She's the most successful of all test subjects."

There was no need for asking.

"Let's move to phase two."

He hadn't thought of it at first, but he had already sunk himself knee deep into the mud without even knowing. He had never realized how twisted this city was and how he had submerged himself in its dark, dark abyss voluntarily.

The first time he saw it was during a failed test.

A huge forced slammed around the thick concrete walls of the room, creating a slight tremor. The glass separating the scientists from the test site suddenly cracked, reflecting the horror on Minghao's face as he saw you pick up a stray iron bar and walked towards a weakened attendant with an uncomprehensible expression on our face that was akin to wicked delight.

"Die. Die. Die. Die! Die!!!"

You screamed, hammering the attendant with the iron bar hard enough to draw blood.

"N-no...stop it! Y/N stop!"

Minghao was the first one to scream as he raced down the testing room, bursting the door open and stopping you before you could commit murder.

He had never recovered from what he saw that day, yet he didn't have the strength to stay away from you.

"...what happened that time, Y/N?" Minghao asked, interviewing you.

You gazed at him, eyes tinged with panic.

"I...I don't know. I'm sorry..."

Minghao could feel the anxiety in your voice, the guilt of killing with your own hands. He didn't want this.

"Y/N, let's just stop this..."

"No!" You shouted, which then turned into soft sobs. "No...no....not now, please, doc. I don't want to be like this anymore...I don't want to be sick anymore."

"Y/N..."

"Please...would you grant me my wish?"

And he did.

And it came with a terrible price.

"No, h-help! Help me please!"

Screams were heard inside the testing room, blood was splattered on the wall. Yet Minghao had become tolerant of it. It was ok. It was for you.

"Who would've thought overlaying a Level 5 esper's thought patterns would make her more stable, though a bit violent. This is good data, Minghao. Congratulations."

He could hear the grant sponsor greet him yet his face remained stoic. He glanced at the folder beside him, not noticing that the research had changed names over the course of several years.

"This marks the first step to the project. Thank you for your work, Doctor."

He was congratulating Minghao as if it was the end. No, it isn't the end. Not yet.

In the deep dark underbelly of a certain city of science, Minghao walked towards the testing room. He could hear water dripping in irregular beats, his steps echoing across the lab.

It was once clean and bright, but now it was in disarray. Abandoned and empty after an incident years before. Minghao had moved on to other projects as well yet he still came back.

"Hi, doc," you greeted him with a bright smile, hands bloody and uniform stained red.

"Hi, Y/N," he replied, his eyes were now heavy and exhausted. Xu Minghao had changed over the years. "How's school?"

Grinning, you pushed the body of a female classmate out of the way so you can reach him.

"It was great! I made some friends, but they didn't really like me..." you pouted, seemingly innocent. "So I made them like me!"

Minghao made a small smile. This was fine. At least you were happy.

In the deep dark underbelly of a certain city of science, a murky darkness filled with despair existed.

-Hyeri

[itsbebachan]

Unfortunate Soul Chapter 3

Hey sweeties, first I want to thank all of those that have given me kudos and shown your love for my little fic. I am truly touch, it let’s me know that there is someone out there that enjoys my writing. I am truly sorry that I’ve been M.I.A. but as you may not know I am a flight attendant, mother and wife which makes it very hard to find time to write. But I promise that I will see this fic to the end. I truly do appreciate that you stay with me on this journey and I will see you guys soon.

Two weeks went by like nothing had ever happened. Katsuki ignored my presence and continued being his usual obnoxiously cool self. It was like the news of being a father meant nothing to him. I couldn’t stand it; it was killing me inside seeing how he just went about his normal life like if he had no care in the world. Tenya was my rock in the days that followed. He never left my side making sure I was okay and had enough to eat. He kept reminding me that I was now eating for two. I still couldn’t find the courage to tell my parents, I was too embarrassed and scared to say anything to them.

As the days went by, I found myself getting weaker and weaker. I had no idea what was happing to me. Tenya and the others were staring to suspect that something was wrong but they never pushed me for information. They believe I would tell them if something was wrong. I was woken up by terrible stomach pains. It felt as if something was trying to rip their way out of me. I started crying uncontrollably begging for the pain to stop. My mom ran into my room almost tearing down the door in the process, dad and Tenya were not too far behind.

“Zuku, honey what’s wrong? Tell me, how can we help?” My mom was crying along with me, I could feel his anxiety and fear and all I wanted to do was hug him and make him feel better.

“Tenya, call the ambulance. Tell them that a Uke might be having a miscarriage” Dad yelled and we all just started at him in shock. Tenya gave me a look saying he was sorry then ran out of my room to make the call leaving alone with my parents. I started crying and yelling even louder as I had no idea how my dad know I was pregnant. I know that my dad worked in the “Angelic Project” so I guess he has some idea of what is happing to me.

“What do you mean a miscarriage? What is going on here?” My mom was freaking out, I could see his concern written all over his face. I tried to tell him, I really tired but the words were stuck in my throat and nothing was coming out.

“Shota, honey. I'm sorry this is happening but our baby has been showing signs of being pregnant for some time now. I know a lot has been happening here at home and I want you to know I’m not blaming you for not noticing.” My dad held my mom in his arms, his cries were too much to bear.

“Toshi, this can’t be! Izuku is such a good boy. We have taught him better; I just can't believe this is happening.” Dad hugged mom so tight all the while cueing in his ear that everything was going to be alright. All the while I just sat there sobbing, feeling my whole world crumbling down.

Tenya walked into my room announcing that the ambulance was on its way. He came to my bedside and held in his arm which helped me calm down long enough so I could explain what was going on to my parents. I breathed in his Seme’s scent of sandalwood and fresh cut grass and centered my thoughts. I could feel my parents growing anxiety and know that now was the time to come clean.

“Mom, Dad. I could never find the right time nor the right words to tell you but I guess the best way to do it is by showing you.” I raised my pajama sleeve to show them my hormonal watch. Those damn word “Pregnant” kept on flashing like some fucking Christmas light. My mom would have fainted if dad wasn’t holding him. I could see pain and concern clearly on their faces and I knew deep down that they were disappointed. My dad was the first to speak.

“Izuku, I need you to start from the beginning and tell us what happened. Who is the father of this child?” He was calm but I can tell that a storm was brewing inside.

“It’s Kacchan, dad. We dated for almost a month. I know that I did wrong and I understand if you want to kick me out but you have to understand, I love him. I love him more than anything but he doesn’t want us and that doesn’t matter because I’m keeping him my baby. He is the only part of Kacchan that I have left.”

I was crying uncontrollably by the end of it. Tenya just kept quietly holding me and let me just let it all out. Mom’s cries were just soft whimpers as my dad’s face just sank. I could see the wheels in his head turning and I was afraid that he would tell me I had to get rid of my son. The room stayed silent for a few more minutes, we could all feel the tension in the air. Finally dad spoke just one word “marriage” at first I thought he meant Kacchan but then realization hit.

“What?” I was confused.

“Izuku. I’ve known for some time now that you were pregnant. I was just hoping that you had more faith in us and told us what was going on. I know all the signs; you're tired all the time, your moody and even your scent has changed. But like I said, I had faith. So to me the logical step would be for you to marry the father of your kid, but as you have just told us that he doesn’t want it then other measures must be taken. I believe it’s time to hire a matchmaker and find you a Seme that will be willing to take your child in, you know that we Semes are very territorial and the idea of our Uke caring another Seme’s child is enraging.”

He was right of course. No Seme is gonna want me, that’s why my mom was so heartbroken. He knew that any chances I had to have a beautiful happy life was gone. I got out of my bed with Tenya’s help and went to my mom, he’s soft whimpers were drawing me in. I knew I had to make this better, I knew I had to make this right.

“Mom, please don’t cry. I know I did wrong but I can’t change what has happened. I need to know that I’m not a disappointment, I need to know that you still love me and want me to be a part of your life. I need you mommy.” I was crying at his feet begging, praying that he would not push me away. I’ve heard awful stories about unwed Ukes that their parents just send them out of their homes with nothing. Mom looks at me with so much sadness in her eyes that just for a second I think he will be kicking me out. He kneed in front of me and grabbed my arms so I was looking at him.

“Zuku, honey. I love you, I could never kick you out. I am disappointed in you honey, I thought that you would know better than to let some punk sweet talk you into anything and of all people Katsuki. I don’t know what to say. This whole situation is not ideal but like your father just mentioned we need to act quickly. You must be married before you start showing, I’ll go and call the matchmaker to bring potential mates folders first thing tomorrow morning. So we can start the preparations at once. I know baby that this is not how you wanted to meet your mate but we are left with no other options.”

He hugged me and we just sat there in my quiet room while the world keep turning and people just went along with their normal lives.

@alovelie @girl2257 @strawberry-panic @0-ddball @monkeyzz-r-ur-bff @dragon-lover-idk @iyemicomic1920 @leynly @otaku-chan-world @jawazia @im-the-villin-in-this-story @itsatomichyena @rainytears2 @nevergrowingup101 @littlelovebug98 @anxiety-ridden-teen

[damienthepious]

needed some catharsis. mind them tags.

Wait For Yours To Interlock

[ao3]

Fandom: The Penumbra Podcast

Relationship: Lord Arum/Sir Damien/Rilla

Characters: Lord Arum, Sir Damien, Rilla

Additional Tags: Second Citadel, Lizard Kissin’ Tuesday, Established Relationship, Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Injury, Bedside Vigils, Injured!Damien, (im deep in my feelings. my friends said this was catharsis so it's fine. it's fine)

Summary: Rilla once said that she knew, someday, she would probably need to bury Damien with a talon through his heart. On rare occasion, that lurking future brushes too close for comfort.

Notes: I said i wouldn't get something out this week because. Reasons. And i wouldn't have for sure if it weren't for tumblr user @shorter-than-her-tbr-pile and tumblr user @pinkpuffballdude . Thank you thank you thank you, i love you both so much! Title from the song Don't Give Up On Me by Andy Grammer.

~

It takes a long time for Arum to convince Amaryllis to go to bed.

Of course it does.

It's impossible for her not to feel like this is her responsibility, but there is nothing more she can do at the moment. There is nothing more either of them can do, at the moment, and she has been awake for days. It takes a long time, and a lot of convincing, and an argument that would have been a screaming match if it weren't for-

(He will not wake, even if they scream. It would be far too painful to prove this fact, to shout above him and-)

But Arum manages, eventually. So now, Amaryllis is asleep, and Arum…

Arum leans against the wall, and stares at the cot in her exam room.

He stares, and for quite a long time, nothing changes.

"Foolish little honeysuckle," he hisses.

There is no answer, of course.

"Always so careless with yourself. Thoughtless. What did you think would happen? What did you think would happen, Damien, if you continued to throw yourself at-"

He straightens from the wall, and begins to pace, stalking back and forth. He cannot continue to stare at the bed, but his eyes keep drawing back to the stillness of the form there. His mind demands the reminder: he is still breathing.

He is still breathing.

"How dare you," Arum mutters, and he did not intend to say those words, but- "How dare you. How dare you do this to Amaryllis. Can you not see how she worries for you? Can you not see how much effort she expends? Patching up every injury, every cut, every broken bone? Every foolish little-" he clenches his teeth hard, hisses through them, tries again. "Has she not done enough already? Has she not wasted enough bandages on you, because you cannot keep your foolish self safe? How dare you do this to her-"

Arum feels that he should be shouting. His voice is, instead, coming in a hoarse, whispered sort of scream. It feels like it scrapes up his windpipe as it goes, but-

He cannot seem to control the words. Perhaps this is how Damien feels, under more ordinary circumstances.

Arum continues to pace. Damien continues to lie perfectly still.

He still breathes. He still breathes. Arum can still hear his heart, can still hear it beating, even if it sounds- not quite right. There is something off about the rhythm, something off about the pace, perhaps. It does not sound as it usually does when Damien sleeps.

But Damien still breathes.

("All we can do is- wait," Rilla says, her voice cracking down the middle. "All we can do is wait, now.")

"How dare you make her worry like this," he growls, and then he pauses for a long, long time, holding his breath without meaning to.

Damien. Still, and quiet. It is unnatural.

"How dare you do this," he repeats, his voice growing weaker with the repetition, and he pretends not to notice the tightness in his throat, the way he chokes as he continues, "I do not see you speaking your heart now, honeysuckle-"

He has to stop, digging the claws of his toes into the wood of the floor, his posture hunching as he hisses a breath through his teeth. His limbs tremble with the tension of how tightly he is holding himself still, his teeth clenched so hard that his jaw hurts.

After a long pause, during which Damien neither moves nor speaks nor stirs, Arum gives a strange breath of laughter.

"How… how does she do this, Damien?" he keens, helpless, and then he takes a hesitant step closer to the bed. "How does she endure, watching you careen from one danger to the next?" Another slow step, and Damien still does not wake. "How does she- I… I cannot bear it. I cannot bear this. How am I meant t-to-"

He chokes another strange laugh, takes another small step. "I did not need to fear such hurt as this when… when it was only myself and my Keep. Death would only be death, then, honeysuckle. My own would be survived by my Keep, and if I failed my Keep enough that it fell, I would fall with it. Now- now-" He searches for the words, creeps closer, flicks his tongue and scents the sterile blank smell of this room, obscuring the more familiar scent of Damien's skin, the more unwelcome scent of the blood.

"Now… there is so much more at stake. I cannot bear the thought of yourself and Amaryllis being torn from me, but- what can I do against it? Your knighthood, her work, the war- my own very nature. I cannot… I cannot protect you, I cannot do anything but endure the terror of your loss and- and I do not know how. I do not know how to bear it. It would be- it would be easier if I cared not at all for you, little human. If I could see you so waylaid and feel- nothing."

Another step. Arum looms over the bed, and he feels so large and so out of place, even here in Amaryllis' hut where he knows himself welcome. He looks down at Sir Damien, and he feels so much that he fears it will crack his ribs open to escape the too-small vessel of his body.

"I was not meant to care for any but myself and my Keep," he says, his voice very small. "It would be so much easier if I could return to that feeling. If I could go home to my Keep, if I could bury my affection in the greenhouse and forget this pain, forget this terror. It would be so much easier, Damien," he keens. "But-"

Damien breathes.

"I cannot forget. I cannot excise you from my heart. And- and I wouldn't dare, even if I could."

Damien breathes, perfectly still.

"Honeysuckle… honeysuckle… wake up. Please." He swallows roughly, and Damien's slack face mocks the waver in his voice. "I know you cannot hear me. This is- mere foolishness, I know. I know… I am not helping. I am not… blessed with Amaryllis' talents. There is nothing I can do for you, not now, and my words- my own words pale beside yours. I would cut my tongue out to hear you speak them now, honeysuckle. To hear you speak at all, I would- please. Please."

His legs shake. His hands twitch with the deep desire to touch his poet. Before his limbs can betray him entirely, Arum relents, and sinks to kneel by the bedside.

"Foolishness," he says again, gazing up into Damien's beautiful, terribly still face. He reaches out, but he does not touch Damien's skin. He wishes so badly to brush the curls from Damien's brow, but his position feels so precarious. Damien looks so fragile. Arum does not feel his own touch would be safe.

"Honeysuckle, wake up. Honeysuckle, come back. Please… please, don't-" he sucks in a breath. "Don't do this to her. She has expended so much effort, so much worry and care in patching your sorry hide together. Wake up. Just wake up."

Damien does not answer. Arum knew he wouldn't. His insides still feel curdled with the hurt of it.

"Don't do this to her," he repeats, his voice lower. "Don't do this to- don't do this to us, honeysuckle, please don't-"

("And if he wakes up-"

"If?"

"W-when, I meant when, Arum, don't-")

Arum shakes his head, pulls his hands back to press to his own chest, holding in the throbbing of his heart, his pain.

"The Universe prefers- the Universe desires a good story. An interesting story, at the least," he mutters, clenching his claws against his own scales. "I- I know- this world is better with you alive. All is brighter, more vibrant for your presence. Surely the Universe knows…"

He inhales, forcing himself steady, and he makes himself sway closer. Makes himself lift his hand out again.

"I… I don't know what I would do if we lost you," he whispers, and then he clenches his teeth. "I- I refuse to- to contemplate it. That is not how your story ends, honeysuckle. Not here. Not yet. We don't lose you like this. I refuse."

Damien does not wake. Arum did not expect him to. He scowls, fierce, and settles his palm down over the back of Damien's hand at last.

"I love you, Damien. I love you, and I will stay as long as I need to. I will be here when you wake. That is how this story goes."

~

Damien wakes bleary and confused, but the morning light calls to him as it always does, pouring honey-soft through the warm curtains, birdsong and the distant, early bells from the Gate of Tranquility pouring in with it.

All of it pouring in, through the open windows of Rilla's examination room. Why… why would he be…

Damien remembers.

The pain comes a moment after the memory: a vicious sharpness in his ribs, the muddy thudding ache in his head resolving to something he can understand, the wobbly, shaky sense of disconnection from his limbs.

… Disconnection from most of his limbs. There is a pressure on his left hand, vaguely warm, familiar, pleasant. He can feel that sensation perfectly well.

It takes a rather frustrating level of effort to tip his head to the side enough to see the source of the pressure. He blinks, bleary, against that warm morning light, and when his vision resolves he sees Arum.

The monster is half-draped on the bed, his snout buried in the sheets, two arms clinging loosely to the cot, one hanging down out of sight over the edge, and the fourth hand curled, careful and delicate, around the back of Damien's hand.

Damien can piece together the vague shape of what occurred in his unconsciousness well enough. The lizard looks exhausted even in sleep, and he looks anything but comfortable, half-supported by the cot, twisted vaguely sideways with his shoulder against the bedside table. He must not have meant to fall asleep. Damien feels his mouth curl despite the fogginess in his head, because the idea of it, this attempted vigil succumbing to the drain of sleep-

Damien loves this monster with a brightness that still shocks him. He wants to turn his hand, to press his palm to Arum's, but- well. Just at the moment, he can barely manage to twitch his thumb. He blinks a bit more of the light from his eyes, looking more closely at his lily instead.

There's a blanket draped over Arum's shoulders, as well. A familiar blanket, one that usually finds its home on Rilla's bed, and Damien can imagine as well how the cloth must have ended up settled there. He exhales, something that would be a laugh if he had just an ounce more breath to give, and he hears a scuffing noise across the room.

"Damien," Rilla says, her voice thick and exhausted and raw. "You're awake-"

Damien manages to tilt his head enough to see her as she stands, as she darts to the side of the cot opposite from Arum to touch his face, to check his pupils, and he cannot help but smile at her touch.

"Hello, my flower," he whispers, and his own voice is cracked and dry, and as she moves his head so gently and checks him over, he contemplates her words again in his somewhat muddied mind. "Was… was there concern, then, that I would not?"

Rilla does not answer, does not meet his eye, but her jaw tightens, her brow dips, and Damien's heart pulses with sympathy, with guilt.

"I'm-"

"Don't you apologize, Damien," she says in a firm murmur, angling his head so she can inspect the wound he can feel near his temple. "You're a knight," she says simply, and then she shrugs. "We both know it comes with the territory."

Damien closes his eyes and purses his lips, and he thinks briefly of the ream of now-crumpled paper from the one letter he cannot seem to write. "Hm," he manages. "I suppose that is… I suppose."

"Just- relax and let me do my job."

Damien does as she says, pretending for a moment that he is blessed with Rilla's touch for a less worrying reason as she inspects his injuries more fully.

"I expect that the blanket upon our lily was your doing, my love," he says eventually, quietly, and Rilla snorts a low laugh.

"Yeah, well. He wanted me to sleep, but he was still gonna worry himself sick all night in here with you. I just- waited until he stopped talking. I knew he was exhausted too."

"You- you slept in here as well?"

"Slept is a strong word," she hedges, shrugging.

"Rilla," Damien says, but his voice is too weak to carry the gentle chiding he wants it to.

"You sure as hell wouldn't sleep if you didn't know if I was gonna-" she cuts herself off, pressing her lips together tight, and then she gives a wobbly sort of smile. "I couldn't, okay? I just- couldn't."

"Oh," Damien whispers. "Oh, love-"

"You sound like you spent a week in a desert," Rilla mutters, rubbing one eye absently. "Hush." She reaches a hand out again, this time only to brush his hair away from his forehead. "I'm gonna go get you some water, okay? Don't- just don't. Don't move, don't talk, don't do anything stupid, yeah?"

Damien ducks his head, entirely unable to bury his gentle smile. "I wouldn't dream of it, my love."

"Hush," she says again, firmly, and then she puts her hand very carefully on his shoulder, leans down, and presses a light kiss to his hair. "I'll be right back."

Damien sighs, still smiling, and his eyelids are too heavy to hold open as he hears Rilla tiptoe from the room.

When that noise fades, he is left only with what woke him in the first place. Sunlight, soft through his eyelids, and birdsong and distant bells, and-

Much closer by, the slow sleeping breath of Lord Arum.

Damien opens his eyes again, tipping his head to see his monster again, and Damien's muscles twitch with yearning to pull Arum up, to gather him closer, to embrace him on this too-small bed. He huffs out a breath, his lip curling wryly at his own current limitations, and then he focuses on his hand instead. Surely that cannot be too difficult to manage.

It takes far more effort than it should. Damien has fought battles more difficult than the simple turning of his hand (more difficult- but very few that mattered to him more). The weakness of his body can be overcome. He has done so countless times before.

He is patient, though his arm aches with even this simple motion. He is patient, and like a key in a very old lock, his hand turns, and he exhales a sigh when he can at last press his palm up into Arum's. He curls his fingers, slow, and he squeezes with what strength remains.

Violet eyes slit open in the golden morning light, and Arum blinks, staring at their joined hands for a breathless moment.

Then the breath shakes out of him, and he looks up.

"Honeysuckle," Arum whispers, and there is more relief in his voice than the word can hold. "I knew- I knew you wouldn't-"

He reaches out, and draws his claws down Damien's cheek as gentle as falling petals.

Damien feels the smile on his face like an entire garden in bloom, and Arum's violet eyes are so bright, so wide, as safe as home.

"Good morning, my love," he whispers, and when Arum's breath hitches, Damien squeezes his hand again. "Thank you for watching over me."

[kwrittink]

Nothing Is What It Seems 3

Pairing: Im Jaebum x Hybrid!Reader

Genre: Fluff

Warnings: mentions of hypothermia, near-death experience, a little angst, mentions of nakedness

< two                                                                          four>

All humans are animals, but not all animals are human - or that's what some are always trying to impose. Truth is, in the present world, humanity is a rare thing to find within people. Of course, people who are kind exist and that is socially well-seen, to care for someone or something in need brings soft smiles to peoples' faces, a pat on the back and a couple words of praise. 

But people most of the time, as you knew them, were trash. And they'd never fail to prove it time after time how shitty they could be. How cruel, for free and for fun they could get. But it wouldn't matter, right? You'd soon be dead anyway.  

"Y/N please keep your eyes open," you could feel movement but your eyes felt so heavy it was nearly impossible to abide to the request, the mildly familiar voice urging you to keep awake. You couldn't decipher who was the one talking to you, mind fuzzy and whole body numb from the cold. "You can't- You have to keep awake," the urgent tone worried you, brain trying to force your body to move but with no avail. You barely even recalled what happened and where you were at. 

"Cold," you thought or maybe muttered, if your lips were still working, numb enough to not even tremble. You felt pressure around you, light and darkness like someone was playing with the light. His voice was so far, and you could only imagine it was Jaebum, the only one that would be this desperate to help you, since Geojong was probably hiding from the hybrid murdering raids, which you had forgotten to exist, having set up a meeting with the same man carrying you in his arms. 

Sleeping on his arms was fine anyway since he was safe. You could snuggle up to him, to his warmth. It's okay, he's here now. That was your last thought before you fell unconscious, fooled by the sense of security only that man could have brought you. 

--

"I don't know what to do, man. She's- I think it's hypothermia," Jaebum was so scared. Glancing to the backseat of his car, he watched your even but weakened breathing almost holding his breath himself, heart threatening to come out his chest.  

Mouth dry, he waited for his friend - the one that worked at a hospital as an intern - to respond. The city's public hospital was the only place he could think of at that point, at least proximity-wise. The man at the other side of the phone sighed. "I'm sorry Bomie, I don't think I can do much... I don't think I can risk internship this way, you understand right?" Hell, he did, and couldn't force Youngjae to help you when his career depended on him. He should have decided to for himself, he thought, but it wasn't like Jaebum would hold that against him. 

The next best option was to get her to his home and try to get you better himself, though he didn't know how exactly. Turning on the heater inside his car to the max, Jaebum breathed out, typing on his phone about first care for hypothermia and trying to get his shit together to assimilate things better. 

It was a life or death situation but someone from the outside wouldn't understand why he cared so much. In that world, a hybrid was something in between a slave and a pet, just a thing that could be replaced or thrown away, if anything. But of course he didn't see you that way... Or any other hybrid for that matter. As Jaebum read, he tried not to think about how his heart stirred in his chest every time he woke in the morning since he had met you, at first hoping you'd find and like the food he hid in the trashcans right before you woke up - snuggled with his jacket always - or arrived at that alley for that matter and then when you two started having your meals together, him realizing that, not surprisingly, you were very smart and cunning. Instead, Jaebum made a mental checklist of what he already had on his home and what he'd need to buy as fast as possible. Wouldn't be so hard if it wasn't beginning to snow. 

--

There was no feeling at first. 

When a person dies, there's this internal questioning of what was going to happen - or if anything was to happen at all. There's this expectancy, the hint of fear of the nothingness, right before one realizes that in fact, they're not dead. Because the uncertainty is overwhelming, and there's no way death feels like that. 

The feeling of eternal seeking is what starts to pull one to consciousness. Depending on the extent of harm or injury, it takes longer for the mind to reset and start healing, but surely there's a pull to somewhere. 

The voice of a loved one helps to set a direction, for instance. 

"I should heat up more water? Maybe make porridge... Can you eat that?" His voice was sort of a mutter and you barely discerned it at first, but then realized it was him. It was Jaebum - as much as your mind wanted to call him by another name, the only other person that supposedly cared about you one day - talking to himself apparently, wondering how he'd never cared of the things you shouldn't probably eat as part feline and what would be good for someone that was recovering from hypothermia. Oh yeah, right. Those jackasses that threw water over me while I napped nearly killed me. I hope that was worth the good laugh. 

"Y/N?" Your name was uttered softly after a pause when you groaned. Peeking your eyes open you searched for his figure around you, the dimmed lights of the room - wherever you were anyways - gentle to your eyes enough that his frowning expression was clear to see. 

"Oh hey, come here often?" You tried to joke but your voice was hoarse. Jaebum scoffed, probably getting you were trying to be nonchalant and shook his head, the crease on his forehead smoothing a little as he leaned, hand pressing carefully on your shoulder to keep you from moving and trying to get up. 

"Do you like pumpkin soup?" He asked, a small grin working into his lips as you nodded softly. Sighing he got up from the chair he had been watching you from, muttering something along the lines of 'pumpkin soup it is then' under his breath, shoulders finally relaxing as he walked out of the room, steps a little dragged with exhaustion. You wondered how long you'd been out for. 

As soon as you were left alone, you started making out your surroundings. Turned out you were in a bedroom - not his bedroom, maybe the guest room, since it lacked Jaebum's personal scent -, wrapped from head to toe with fluffy blankets and an electric one under your body to give back your body warmth. The air was also warm, which meant the heater on the room was turned on high, probably to help with your recuperation. 

Upon further inspection, you realized that you were also naked under the blankets, but nothing else had happened to you, which meant Jaebum had to undress you only solely because of the need to get you out of the frozen/wet clothes. Or that what you trusted and believed. Still was slightly embarrassing.  

Oh, but of course, you snickered upon glancing to the side and finding a change of clothes - his clothes - on top of the nightstand. Carefully, you unwrapped yourself from the improvised cocoon, grabbing the sweats and pressing them to your face softly, sniffing the smell of the softener Jaebum used and his own scent, since somehow it didn't leave the fabric. 

"You'll have to let it sit for a mom- What are you doing u- Shit I'm sorry!" The whole thing happened fast, you didn't pay attention to his approach till Jaebum was at the door balancing a tray with the soup and a cup of something hot, about to scold you for getting off the bed but suddenly noticing your very bare state and almost dropping everything as he shut his eyes and turned away quickly when you hissed at him. As fast as you could, you put the things you were holding onto, face feeling hot and tail standing behind you. You hoped he didn't see you smelling his clothes. 

"You can come in now..." Your voice was meek and still hoarse, eyes not meeting his figure as Jaebum slowly re-entered the room. There was an awkward silence weighting on top of your heads before he cleared his throat, finally drawing your attention back to him.

"So pumpkin soup... It's still a little bit hot, so you have to blow a little," getting closer, he placed the tray on the bed, standing awkwardly beside it while you sat back on the mattress, this time tucking yourself under the covers. "Also I don't want to sound like a parent or anything but avoid getting out of the bed for now at least... You gave me quite a scare, you know." 

"I'm sorry, I- I hope I wasn't too much trouble," you started, suddenly feeling guilty of having him to look after you when he had no obligation to do so. You had to repay him of that one day, somehow. 

Instead, Jaebum snorted. "Not trouble at all, you were just sleeping really deeply. For two days." Your eyes widened at the information, only then really understanding the gravity of the situation you were in. You almost died, again. "H-Hey, don't cry... It's all good now, you're safe." You took a second to realize that the reason your vision was blurry and warm feeling on your face was your tears bursting suddenly and rolling down your cheeks. Hesitantly, Jaebum reached to wipe one side carefully, his touch making something bunch up inside your chest, dense and heavy. Somehow this second near-death experience didn't phase you as much as the first one - for obvious reasons - but still made you sad that because you were a hybrid, things like those were common. You did want a home... But something yours, something you owned. You wanted somebody, but because you chose them. Not because you were someone's pet, you were already quite aware of what that resulted in. 

Jaebum made your resolve a little weaker, though. 

Calming down, you cleared your throat and blinked away the remaining tears, wiping the moist of your face with a sleeve. "That's smelling really good," you said, throwing the man in front of you a small smile, watching the lines of worry on his face soften before he picked up the tray again, moving to set it on top of your legs. 

"I hope it is. This is what I came up with that was somewhat sweet and warm, since I'm not a fan of hot cocoa," he explained and you snickered, sinking your spoon on the creamy soup and tasting it, flinching only slightly at the elevated temperature. It tasted rich and flavorful, really sweet but savory at the end that pushed you to keep eating. You weren't really a fan of vegetables of anything - because of half of your nature, - but that was really good food, mostly because it was warm, tasted like something cozy and familiar, like care. 

Like home.

_________________________________

masterlist

[onetwothreeopalau]

Together Meal

Steven stuck his tongue out in concentration, gripping the purple crayon tightly in his fist. The colour was a little too dark for a perfect depiction but it didn’t matter. What he was doing was of upmost importance. He didn’t have time to buy new crayons. The task he had taken upon himself to complete was of upmost importance! It was almost life or death! It was-

“Er, what are we doing again?” Asked Opal, and Steven let out a sigh before grinning.

“I’m drawing an official Crystal gems picture, see?” He thrusted the page towards her, where he had already drawn a picture of Garnet looking out to the distance mysteriously (she wasn’t posing, Steven had just seen her and decided to draw her.) and he had started Opal. He had barely drawn an outline and yet he’d already had to explain what he was doing three times over.

“You see, I was going to take a photo but then I thought, 'where’s the passion? The creativity? The love?’ And also I dropped my phone in the ocean, so I thought a drawing would be just as good!” 

Opal nodded, trying her best to understand Steven’s rambling, but not quite succeeding. Steven took the piece of paper back and resumed working. “Hey Opal?” said Steven suddenly, as if a thought had just occurred to him, “How do you stay on your toes like that at all times?” He stood up and attempted to copy her by standing on his tippy toes, but he felt himself stumble. Before he could steady himself, two of Opal’s arms reached towards him and stabilised him.

“Balance.” She said simply, getting back into her pose.

Steven waited for her to elaborate, but she said nothing more. Steven nodded and pretended that his question was answered and went back to his drawing. He didn’t have a cream coloured crayon for her hair, so he had to settle for just drawing the shape of it with his black one, but overall his picture was pretty good. Probably one of the best he’d ever drawn.

“I’m all done!” He grinned and went to the fridge and decided on the area to place his artwork. He reached as high up as he could so it would be visible to anyone entering the house and put a magnet in the shape of a cookie cat (RIP) over it to secure it. Maybe he should’ve drawn himself too, but it was too late now. The picture was already on the fridge, and an author wouldn’t exactly edit their book after it was published.

“Nice picture.” said Garnet who had somehow managed to sneak up behind him. “Opal and I are going on a mission, but I have something to give you before we leave.”

Steven waited for whatever that was, and she leaned down and wrapped her arms around Steven’s shoulders and Steven smiled, hugging her back. “We’ll see you soon.” she said. Garnet and Opal walked over to the warp pad, and in a flash of light, they were gone.

Steven waved goodbye, even though he knew the two gems couldn’t see him, and then he went up to his bedroom. He tried to amuse himself with his video games, but he couldn’t help but fantasise about what it would be like when he could go on missions too. It would be awesome! He would kick butt, and Garnet and Opal would be like “wow Steven, you’re so amazing, we’re so proud!” And he’d be like “aw thanks guys,” and it would be amazing and exciting.

He couldn’t wait.

He played ‘Awesome Plumber Siblings’ for a bit but then he decided to do something nice for the gems and make them a meal for when they arrived back. They could all eat it together, like a Together Meal! He ran down to the kitchen, taking the stairs two at a time and rummaged through the cupboards to find food and he pulled out anything he could find, eventually settling on a large pile of pancakes. He originally kept it classic, with just maple syrup, but it didn’t feel special enough for the gems so he added mini marshmallows and more syrup, although this time it was chocolate flavoured. It was almost perfect but it still felt somehow..  incomplete. He looked at it for a few moments, trying to decide what needed to be done. And then he had an idea! For the final step, just to make it perfect, he took a dark red cherry and placed it on top of the stack. It was a true work of art.

Now all he needed to do was wait for Garnet and Opal to arrive back. Garnet said they’d be back soon, so there was no way they would be long.

An hour later, Steven was starting to get bored. He lay on the couch looking intently at the warp pad. He wanted to be there the second they arrived back. Finally, after what seemed like years, the warp pad lit up. He jumped off the couch and went to greet them, but instead of saying hello like they normally would, they both went straight for the temple door.

Garnet’s stones lit up first and Steven just watched her go in, holding something large and noisy in her hands, but quickly regaining his wits, he grabbed the Together Meal he’d made and followed Opal into her room. He called out her, but she didn’t seem to notice. Steven was used to Opal being distracted and so he continued to follow her into her room. The place was cool and the air felt slightly damp.

As his eyes adjusted to the darkness, he realised that all around him were steep rocks, caves and waterfalls. There seemed to be no rhyme or reason to everything, but Opal practically danced around as if she didn’t even have to look to avoid tripping over some of the lower, jutting rocks. She eventually stopped at the highest waterfall Steven could see and jumped to the top before sitting cross-legged, her eyes closed, looking peaceful.

Steven felt guilty for trying to bother her and went to leave, but he quickly realised that he had no idea how to get out. He had no way of finding the door and even if he could find it, he didn’t know how to open it.

“Opal?” He called, but she didn’t hear him. “Opal!” He made his voice as loud as possible and she looked down, her calm face turning shocked the second she saw him.

She jumped down into the water below the waterfall, barely making a splash and began to look over him, checking every area of his body. Steven giggled. She was tickling. “Are you okay?”

Steven tried to smile, feeling bad for worrying her. “I made us all a Together Meal!” he said, lifting the plate. “I wanted you Garnet and me to have it together. As a family!”

Steven didn’t notice the split second grimace on her face. “It looks lovely. But Garnet is busy, and um- so am I.” To his relief, but also disappointment she began to steer him in the direction of the door.

“Are you sure?” He said pleadingly, and Opal looked conflicted for a second, before her face turned devious. It wasn’t an expression Steven saw on Opal often, but when he did, he knew he was in for a fun time.

She took his hand and began to lead them in a different direction, pausing occasionally as if having second thoughts, but they eventually arrived at a rockpool, filled with calm silvery water. She stuck her head in and made a motion for Steven to follow suit.

He stuck his head into the water and looked down. Quickly he realised he could see Garnet and in his shock he tumbled further into the water. Opal tried to stop him, but she was too slow, and Steven fell into Garnet’s room, still holding the Together Meal. Opal sighed. She thought for a second about going back to her waterfall and forgetting about it and dealing with the fallout later. Steven would alright with Garnet, she tried to reason.

It was tempting, but she couldn’t and with a sigh she followed Steven through the water.

The room was a lot hotter than hers, but luckily it wasn’t unbearable like it could get. She picked Steven up, so he couldn’t touch anything dangerous and sat him on her shoulder. Garnet turned to the source of the noise and she grinned sheepishly.

“Steven. Opal.” Garnet casually bubbled whatever she’d been holding but didn’t send it away. She looked at the ground by Opal’s feet, and Steven followed her gaze to see his beloved Together Meal splattered in the ground, sad and soggy looking.

“Our Together Meal!” He wailed. Opal just shrugged lightly, but Garnet looked sympathetic.

“You spent a long time on that Steven.” she said, voicing exactly what he was about to say before he could even open his mouth.  “I’m sorry it was destroyed. I’ll help you two,”with that she gave a look to a sheepish Opal somehow managing to perfectly convey her disopointment even without her eyes being visable. “Out of my room. Then, you can make another one for us to share tonight.”

Steven grinned, but weirdly Opal didn’t look too happy. Maybe she was mourning the old one like him. “Okay!” He said anyway, and Garnet took him to the door.

Back in the house, he took a deep breath of the cool fresh air. Opal’s room wasn’t too bad, but the air in Garnet’s room really was hot and it was starting to get suffocating.

“Opal! Do you wanna help me remake the Together Meal?” Steven asked her hopefully.

“Sure."

Steven smiled. He missed the first edition of the Together Meal,in all of its wonderful foody glory, but he'd made it because he wanted to do something nice for the gems and this one would be even better, because now he got to spend time with his favourite gems in the world.

                     Notes:        

So this is a lot less magical than what happened in the show and the reason for that is mostly because this was actually the first chapter I’d written and so I had a much weaker grasp on what I wanted to do with the characters and plot for this. It’s also why this is slightly shorter.

I’m having quite a low energy day™️ so my editing for this mostly consisted of getting rid of grammatical mistakes and any glaringly bad sentences than adding things to make it better or more interesting like my normal editing tactic is.

Sorry if I’m sounding too negative, don’t worry, not every authors note will just be me whining non stop (hopefully 😓) Have a nice day!!

Oopsie im a little (nearly 2 weeks) late in posting on Tumblr oops