#tuesday 11

[seniouesbabes]

Lily Maymac 🌸💋🍒🌸 Good morning Sydney

[girl-dot-tzt]

TOWERS DOWN AND TITS OUT BITCHES

[go-star-sailor]

it's toxic yaoi tuesday... art for a friend

[siveine]

FUCK SORRY IM LATE ITS STILL TUESDAY THO HAVE SOME AFTER WORK TGIRL TITTY TUMMY

featuring my roommates cat, who sat on the sink the entire time, staring at me and meowing softly

@virtualgirladvance @foxgirlinfohazard @derania @godless-of-the-hunt @learningtogirl @xenasaur @catboybiologist @lilithtransrights @digitalsymbiote @hocuschlocus @foxgirlbytes if i missed any of my beloved mutuals

[fiyaharts]

ok now im having fun

[ratatatastic]

chirpy, chirpy~ like father like son i suppose

2024-25 Media Day | 9.18.24 (x)(x)

and absolutely delightful that colby kept up the inside joke yeah babey nothing like our beat and our cats opening up preseason hockey by being chirpy

[fer3112]

How is a girl supposed to react at monumental phannie moments in a normal manner at work when all she wants to do is this

[faultyvessel]

OK SO NOW THATS ITS LIVE. SOME THOUGHTS

With the (I believe) return of Ink5oul everyone’s favourite ominous NB tattooist, I thought it was so neat how we got another instance of a tattoo that was imbued with power. The description of it reminded me a lot of how OG Mag uses the Leitners:

We’ve still got terrifying powers written in ink. We’ve just changed the canvas. TMA is ink on paper. TMAGP is ink on skin.

[kyouka-supremacy]

Sskk sickfic where Atsushi catches a cold for the first time in five years and Akutagawa is unusually smug about it, because differently from Atsushi he's constantly sick and already knows what it's all about / feels like an expert of all the best remedies because he's gone through it countless times before

[seniouesbabes]

Lily Maymac 🌸🍒💋🌸 Camping trip in upstate New York

[ideologyofone]

[billcarden]

girls just wanna have fun!

[arcanarix]

Fated Divergence, Ch. 3 // Yandere! Suguru Geto X Non-Sorcerer Darling

AO3 (+ prev. chapter)

When Satoru examined the parking deck, he sensed a surge of overactivity from low grade curses. Many which he could exorcise himself in practically nanoseconds. He recognized a few—and he knew that Geto had visited here, after all.

Hospitals were already a breeding ground for curses, but there had to be some other trick of Geto’s sleeve. There needn’t any reason to add more chaos here.

When he saw him with you, he wondered what Suguru could want, because on the surface, you didn’t seem like anyone who stood out.

Until he met you the other day, of course, because even he couldn’t deny, he sensed some kind of power dormant within you. Not cursed energy, or anything of the sort… in fact he didn’t have a word for it. The power coming from you felt like a purity, something untouched, untainted even from the horrors you must face as a nurse here and in general as a human being. Perhaps Geto sensed that as well, because above all nothing got the guy’s dick harder than a powerful tool.

Somehow he doubted Geto wanted you for a tool, though; it didn’t seem so.

Maybe not in the traditional sense.

“What’s your game, Suguru?” he mused out loud as he exorcised a demon just before him, one that Geto unleashed himself. He paused, glancing over at a car that he recognized had severe damage to the rear-end of it. Tilting his head, he inched closer.

That didn’t look like damage from a typical accident…  upon further inspection, the bumper had some indentations, like something bit it.

…and then he noticed a cursed spirit attached to the roof of the car, inside.

Grumbling, he managed to absorb that one as well.

“Gojo?”

He turned on his heel, and found you, with a dumbfounded expression on your face.

“Uh, yeah, we still don’t know who did that.” You gestured to the damage to your car. “I’m taking it to the shop tomorrow to get it repaired.”

So, it was your car then.

“Ah. Sorry, I guess I let curiosity get the better of me,” Satoru replied, adjusting his blindfold. “You already done for the day?”

You shook your head. “Nah, I’m just on break.”

Satoru grinned, resting his hand against your car like he owned it. “Oh, yeah? So, what do you do on break? Surely not to chat it up with beautiful men like me?”

Oh, he hoped you bought into the act. He knew how to play it cool when necessary.  

You eyed him with a hint of confusion before glancing down at what you held in your hands.

“Hide in my car from people and eat my lunch…”

He glanced at your bento box, and then back at the car, and then back at you, who looked drained as hell from a tough shift that wasn’t even over yet for you. His face fell.

He could take a hint!

Sort of…

“Oh, well then pardon me for intruding on your alone time. I was just exploring.”

“Right,” you remarked, your tone incredulous while taking out a slip of paper and scribbling something down. “If you wanted my number, you could just ask instead of doing all of this extra shit.”

He stared for a moment, a little befuddled. Did he expect more resistance? Maybe a tad.

Well, he did need your number, but not for the reasons you were possibly thinking.

Even if you were beautiful. He knew better than to do anything. Even now, he wasn’t about to meddle in his ex best friend’s love life.

Not unless he had to save you from a gruesome fate—being in Suguru’s radar was already a prescription (heh, he couldn’t help it) for disaster.

He felt a certain responsibility toward you, just like he still felt a responsibility for Suguru. Suguru wasn’t himself anymore by a longshot—even what he preached now didn’t align with what he believed in once before.

It was almost like putting young teenagers on the front lines to do an adult’s job was damaging to a young brain. Now Suguru became a shell of himself, a slave to the negative emotions he consumed from humans.

Realizing he was still staring at you, he adjusted himself. No need to make this situation more awkward for either you or him than it already became.

“Sorry,” he replied with a bashful smile, rubbing the back of his head as he accepted the slip with his free hand. “Well, that was easier than I thought it was going to be. You don’t seem like the type of lovely lady who impresses easy.”

You snorted. “You thought correct. I was half expecting you to reject me because you were taking so long to say something.”

“No! Of course not. Who could pass someone like you up?” He waved as he gave you some space. “Well, stay safe, alright?”

Stay safe? Seriously? He berated himself in his mind as he retreated, refraining from wanting to smash his head into something. Wouldn’t that just spike her anxiety up even more…?  

-- -- -- -- --

Peaceful sleep didn’t come to you that night.

You woke up in cold sweats, panting as you tried to remember you were safe then. Whatever you dreamed about, it couldn’t hurt you. But what you saw… it felt too real, yet you didn’t want to believe in this spiritual whoo-whoo shit. Not until you had enough evidence, because you weren’t about to fall for this shit.

Still…

It felt like numerous eyes from a monster glared back at you, and while you tried to sleep, it felt like hands roamed all over your body, exploring your most intimate parts.

Sleep paralysis? This didn’t feel like sleep paralysis at all.

But somehow you still didn’t believe in whatever horse shit Suguru Geto and the sort of people he attracted believed in.

You sighed, laying back in bed, pondering your options.

Then incessant buzzing of your phone had you jump in your spot.

At this hour? You glanced at the time on your lock screen. It’s 3AM…

Gojo: Hey. It’s Satoru Gojo. 😎

Oh, right. You’d given him his number. Maybe you were hoping for something to come out of this, but you doubted anything would. You idly wondered what he looked like without his blindfold on—he seemed full of it when it came to his appearance, so he better be able to back up those claims.

Smiling in spite of everything, you texted him back.

You: Hey, Gojo. Can’t sleep?

Gojo: eh, my bedtime’s not for another hour

You did a double take at the time.

You: you sleep at 4AM?

Gojo: and get up at 7 🫡

You: you in the military or something?

Gojo: in a way, but no

Gojo: hey listen, be careful around suguru

You quirked an eyebrow at that. Again with the cryptic bullshit? You had little patience for it but decided not to pry.

You: I don’t really trust the guy anyway?

Gojo: good. He’s more dangerous than you think, alright? If you need anything, call me

You: thanks, gojo

You eventually managed to get some sleep.

You decided you’d endure those nightmarish ghouls for now.

-- -- -- -- --

“Your patient died,” Mei announced as you entered the clinic the next day. The toll last night’s broken sleep took on you was evident—deeper set bags under your eyes, your face looked pale, like you’d just seen explicit horrors you couldn’t describe. Which wasn’t far off.

You glanced up at her, perking an eyebrow.

“Which one? I treat every patient on this floor,” you reminded her.

She froze, unsure of how to approach the matter, clearly.

“The young girl, Asuka Tanaka. The one who was supposed to be discharged today.”

Your eyes widened as the realization dawned on you, and you wanted to deny it.

“She was perfectly healthy!” you reasoned, and you tried to shake off the emotion from your tone, but you couldn’t. Why that little girl and not any of your patients on the verge of dying, anyway? That would have been at least easier news to break to their families, but how would their parents react to their perfectly healthy daughter dying when she was suppsoed to go home?

“We know,” she sighed. “We don’t understand what happened. One of our other nurses found her… and it was…”

“What happened to her?” you demanded.

“We don’t understand. Not fully,” she replied, tone steady and careful. “But it looked like someone came to…”

You felt tears welling up in your eyes, unable to listen or even make out what Mei was telling you, but you knew better than to get too emotional in the workplace. You had no choice. You always delivered this type of news to patients and patients’ familiies every damn day, but why did this feel so sudden to you?

“Do her parents already know?” you found yourself asking, as your lower liip quivered. That poor girl was barely 6 years old.

“Yes, they came in this morning to pick her up…”

“Oh God,” you sighed, trying to steel yourself from these emotions. You had a shift to finish first before you could fully process what happened. This was just part of it all, unfortunately.

“We’ll have dinner soon this week, yeah? On me.”

You smiled, having turned off your emotions for now. Came with the profession. “Sounds good. Thanks.”

“So wait,” Mei began, and you paused, becknoning her to continue. “Who was that guy you spoke to the other day?”

“Still so invested in my love life? At a time like this?”

Mei couldn’t help but sigh.

“Listen! Mine is nonexistent so I’m living vicariously through yours. Forgive the abrupt change of topic, but I just wanted to know, and perhaps it’ll serve as a distraction for you too.”

You pursed your lips. Typical Mei, all about the gossip.

“He was just asking me about Crazy Cult Man.”

“Is he a wanted man, or something? Well… in some cases, that’s true,” Mei hummed, “Lots of people joined that cult just because he’s hot.”

You shrugged. “Like Hell if I know. That guy just kept warning me away from him, but it’s not like I’m interested.”

“Damn, if you’re not, do you mind sharing with me?”

You groaned at her antics, rubbing your temples. Way too early for this shit!

“Mei!”

“Can you blame a girl for trying?” she pouted those pretty red lips of hers. If Mei had a little more confidence, she could get any guy she ever wanted.  

“You’re impossible.”

She shrugged. “You love me anyway.”

“Alright, you doofus. I’ll see you later.”

You had to put on your big girl pants and finish the rest of this goddamn shift. You had some new patients come in from last night, something about a lot of vomitting and nausea and a whole other plethora of symptoms that didn’t point to anything untreatable, at the very least.

What you didn’t expect to find as some new patients was two twin girls sharing a room, having fallen ill. Those two girls whose caretaker happened to be—

“—Suguru? What a…surprise to see you here.” No, you weren’t all that surprised. But you were surprised to find that he really did take care of twin girls, and it wasn’t just an act.

“Ah, I didn’t think I’d run into you again so soon,” Suguru replied. “It seems that my girls got some food poisoning from that bakery, so we had to take them here.”

Those two girls didn’t look too pleased to be here from their expressions. They looked fearful, but you figured that was expected. Nobody liked being in the hospital, even for something as typical as food poisoning. That and they still seemed young, teenagers at most, and everything about the hospital seemed scary.

“I’m sorry to hear that,” you replied, surprised that you could keep an even tone. “The doctor will be here soon, but judging by the severity of the food poisoning, it looks like your girls are going to be here for a few days.”

The twin with the brown hair glanced at Suguru. “That bites…”

“I told you not to eat too many of those Danishes,” he chastisted like a stressed out father would. You would smile at the scene if you didn’t know what sort of person Suguru was. Which you only had an idea, but that was enough to go off of for you.

“They were too good to pass up, Geto!” The other twin, who had blonde hair, replied.

“We’re sorry, Geto,” the blonde twin added.

“It’s alright, Nanako. I just hope you’ve learned your lesson this time around. We can’t keep losing money to things like this.”

Hospital bills definitely aren’t a joke, you mused to yourself. Even for someone as rich as Geto.

“So you already know this person, Geto?”

“Yes, Mimiko. She’s also fond of those Dansihes you both like so much.” It sounded like he was trying to sell them on the idea of you. Suguru glanced at you while he was speaking to his twins, and you felt something churn in your stomach. You swore you wanted to vomit yourself right then; something about his presence overwhelmed you, overstimulated you in the worst way.

He frowned, sensing your discomfort. With an all knowing glint in his eyes, he spoke up.

“Having nightmares lately, my dear?”

You froze.

“How did…?” you trailed off, feearing the answer.

“You look exhausted fighting it off,” he explained. He observed what was around you, the same way Gojo did when you met him. So there were things going on around you? You didn’t believe in this stuff, but if it was going to help you…

“You felt like numerous eyes were looking upon you. You woke up in cold sweats. Do you want me to help?”

You stared blankly at him. “Are you saying you can do something about this?”

“I can put it all to rest. Just leave it to me.” He glanced at the twins. “Watch closely, my loves.”

Within seconds, you felt your exhaustion vanish into thin air as he acted as though he absorbed something from you.

“Let me know if you sleep better tonight.”

You didn’t know how to react.

 “Alright. Well, let’s focus on your twins’ recovery.”

You glanced out the door to find the doctor down the hall.

“She’s almost here,” you continued. “I’ll step out for her.”

“I must get going, my loves,” Suguru announced, planting a kiss to the crowns of both of their heads. “Be nice to those treating you. Should everything go well, you’ll be back home by tomorrow at the earliest.”

He followed you out the door as the doctor stepped into that room.

You turned around. “Yes?”

“I’d very much enjoy if you stopped by the temple sometime. The girls are eager to get to know you. I saw it on their faces.”

“Th-that’s very kind of you to offer, Suguru, but—!”

He raised a hand to stop you, and you knew better than to test his patience.

“I insist, darling. I’d love for you to come after the girls feel all better from your clinic’s top-notch treatment. Them getting sick felt like the perfect opportunity to take them here even if I could treat them at home.”

“I don’t recommend that at all. If it was a mild case of food poisoning, then perhaps, but—!”

“—I believe you’re just the nurse here, darling. We’ll see what the doctor orders.”

No man alive was ever allowed to talk to you like that. You swore you felt a nerve snap, but you refrained from showing too much emotion. You doubted you could do much to deter or intimdate him, anyway.

“Might I have your phone for a moment?”

You knew better than to reject him. You offered your phone with a new contact page open for him to enter.

“Thank you, my dear. I sent a text to myself so I got yours as well.” He flashed his own phone.

Fantastic… you thought, biting back a sigh.

“We'll see you tomorrow, then."

“Very well. Until tomorrow, darling.

-- -- -- -- --

The night fell silent. You relaxed in your bed, focusing on your breath work. It was part of a therapy exercise you learned some time ago, something to help calm your nerves and help you sleep.

Something you so desperately needed.

Unfortunately, your quiet time was interrupted by your text message notification.

Groaning, you swiped your phone from the nightstand and saw who it was from.

Gojo: hey, just checking in

You: hey. I could be better for sure

Gojo: what’s up?

You: we lost a young patient today. No more than 6 years old.

Gojo: god, that’s terrible. What happened?

You: no one really knows, honestly.

Gojo began to call. You answered with a defeated sigh.

“Hey. Figured hearing a voice would be better than measly text,” he greeted over the line.

You giggled, your voice dripping in sarcasm. “My hero.”

“Feel free to call me that all you want!”

You giggled again. He was actually kind of funny.

“Are you going to be okay?” His tone seemed genuinely concerned.

“I will be. I’m just so sad for her.”

“You never get used to it, huh? The loss.”

“Not at all,” you replied. “Doesn’t matter what anyone says about professions like these.”

“I can definitely understand. Hey, like I said, I’m a call away.”

“Hey, wait, Gojo…” You bit your lip. Should you say anything at all?

“What’s up?”

“Geto came by the hospital today too.”

A pause. A long, uncomfortable pause. That same churning feeling in your stomach returned. Weren’t you supposed to say something?

“He did?”

“Yeah, his twins got sick with food poisoning,” you explained. “They’re still there.”

“Thanks for telling me.”

Should you keep going?

“He… he kept inviting me to his temple.”

“Don’t go,” he replied a little too quickly. You paused this time. Of course not. Why the hell would you ever want to go there?  

“I know,” you assured him, sighing. “But… if he really is as dangerous as you say, what if he tries something?”

“I’m here,” he told you, tone gentle and confident—like he appeared to be. “Don’t worry.”

“You’re laying it on real thick, Gojo,” you found yourself saying while chuckling.

“Hey, I’m just happy to help those in need.”

You couldn’t help the smile on your face.

“Thanks for checking on me, Gojo. But enough about me. How are you?”

You spoke on the phone for a bit, before Gojo had to hang up—something urgent with his job came up, he mentioned, and that he would check up on you later in the week. You fell back in your bed, staring up at the ceiling. He seemed like a genuine guy, but you doubted anything would escalate.

That night, in spite of the terrible day, you slept like a baby. Completely out like a light. No nightmares, no eyes, no creatures, no cold sweats… nothing. It still didn’t mean you believed in any of this; perhaps it was just coincidence. Nothing beyond that.

You weren’t going to seek Geto’s help for anything.

You knew much, much better than that.

-- -- -- --

“Hello, Nanako, Mimiko,” you greeted the next day when it was time to check their vitals.

“Hello,” Mimiko responded in a robotic tone.

“Are we set to go home yet?” Nanako asked, “Hospital stays are so boring!”

You chuckled, “We’ll see if the doctor says you’re ready to go.”

“Awwww,” Nanako huffed.

“You’re so dramatic, Nanako,” Mimiko quipped, “Geto influences you too much with those theatrics of his.”

“Speaking of, did he come to see you today?”

“He’s on his way,” Mimiko responded with a nod. “Geto looks like he really likes you, ma’am.”

“If Geto likes you then we have to like you,” Nanako piped in with an animated expression. “He has great judge of character.”

“Does he now?” you inquired, but you didn’t expect anyone to answer that—mostly talking to yourself.

“Ah! Hello, my loves,” Suguru waltzed in with some bouquets of flowers. “I have bought these for my girls, and a bouquet for you, my love. You seemed like the daisy type?”

Of course he was right about that.

You accepted the bouquet graciously, never mind the tightness you felt in your chest. “That’s kind of you, Suguru.”

You were definitely planning on tossing those straight in the trash.

You set them aside.

“Have you considered my offer, my dear?” Suguru asked, and you froze. You weren’t looking forward to answering this because you weren’t sure how he would handle rejection. You had to do this… smoothly.

As delicately as possible, like you were handling some fine China.

“I’m afraid there’s no room in my schedule right now to visit any time soon.”

“Ah, that is a shame,” Suguru replied with a click of his tongue. “We’ll work things out, I’m sure. The girls are eager to know you more after you treated them. Isn’t that right, my loves?”

The two twins nodded.

“She’s nice,” Mimiko stated. Suguru petted her head.

“Indeed.”

Using his twins as leverage over you? Oh, that was just diabolical.

Once you took the twin’s vitals, you stepped out of their room with your new bouquet in hand, taking it to your office to dump it into the trash. Your heart pounded out of your chest. At the very least, it didn’t seem likely that Suguru would cause any havoc in this setting. But now he had other means to torment you, and he hadn’t tried just yet.

You feared for the worst—and a part of you feared for your life.

[limmy]

What have I become.

[ghost-proofbaby]

i wrote something about eddie last night entirely unasked for and entirely unnecessary. who wants it.

[lifblogs]

After

@summer-of-bad-batch Week 11 Prompt: "I didn't think I would get this far." Rating: General Audiences Word Count: 1909 Summary: Tech has gone missing on Pabu, and his family tries to find him, helping him away from a dark path. Author's Note: Okay, so this fic alludes to suicidal thoughts, but never uses the word. However, despite the heavy topic, I think this is tame enough without any graphic depictions of even catastrophizing thoughts or nightmares, that if this was an episode, older children could watch it, and might even need it to relate to. I'm sticking by my rating here. (Also, happy Tech Tuesday, everyone!) READ ON AO3

Hunter awoke to Omega shaking him. It didn’t take long for him to come to full consciousness thanks to all his years as a soldier, but the sleepiness still lingered in the back of his mind.

“What is it?” he asked. “Is everything okay?”

“I think Tech’s missing.”

Hunter shot up out of bed.

“What? Why?”

“Well, he’s not anywhere in the house. I already looked. I thought I heard him leave hours ago, right before dawn.”

“And he isn’t back yet?”

Omega shook her head.

“Are the others up?”

“Mostly. Crosshair’s still grumpy.”

Despite the perhaps dire situation on their hands, Hunter gave a small laugh. “When isn’t he grumpy?”

Omega leaned against him, but then grabbed his arm and started dragging him from the room.

When they got to the kitchen, Wrecker and Crosshair were already there. Crosshair was leaning over, like he was protecting the mug of caf in front of him, its steam wafting into his face.

Omega sat in Hunter’s chair at the head of the table, and Hunter leaned against their counter, arms crossed.

“Are we absolutely sure he’s missing?” Hunter asked.

“Well, he’s been gone awhile,” Wrecker said. “And he, um…” Wrecker stopped talking, turning his head away, scars jagged in the morning light.

“What?” Crosshair asked, tone venomous.

Wrecker was rubbing the back of his head, and Hunter leaned forward slightly, seeing the guilt that crossed his face.

“Last night wasn’t so good for him,” Wrecker said. “He mentioned not feeling like himself anymore, and that he was scared, and the nightmares wouldn’t leave him alone. I’m not sure he slept at all. And he seemed on edge, or… maybe like he was planning something.”

Hunter’s stomach plummeted.

“We need to find him. Crosshair, Omga, search lower Pabu, take Batcher with you. Maybe she can sniff him out. Wrecker and I will take Upper. And I’ll contact Echo, see if he’s talked to Tech at all recently. He could be trying to leave Pabu. Or…”

“Or worse,” Crosshair sighed, getting to his feet, readily abandoning his caf he loved so much.

Omega’s face crumpled, and she gripped Hunter’s hand hard when she got up.

“It’s all right,” Hunter told her, even though he wasn’t sure it was all right. Tech could be— No. He’s not. Don’t think about that. “Tech’s gonna be okay. We’ll find him.”

Hunter was the only one not dressed, so he rushed to do that as Crosshair, Omega, and Batcher left.

Then, he and Wrecker headed out.

“Let’s talk to Shep first,” Hunter suggested.

Wrecker nodded. “Good idea.”

The sun that usually felt so nice on Omega’s skin, like a brilliant, comforting warmth, now had arms that gripped her tightly, its presence oppressive.

“Do you think he’s—” Omega started as Batcher loped off ahead of them.

“No,” Crosshair cut in, almost immediately banishing the dark images in Omega’s mind.

“You don’t even know what I was going to ask.” The situation was making her moody. Plus she was due for her period soon, and she now recognized that she got emotional right before those.

“Of course I do, because I’m thinking it too. He’s alive. He  has to be.”

Tech didn’t have many friends on Pabu these days, and Phee was away on business, so they didn’t have to bother searching houses or talking to many people.

Though, the fishermen and workers at the docks mentioned seeing him early, probably while the sky was still gray.

“Which way did he go?” Crosshair asked the bearded man before them, who was busy feeding Batcher a fried fish.

He adjusted his hat. “He took a boat out, heading southeast. Boat’s still missing.”

Someone else heard their conversation, a younger woman with skin darkly tanned from the sun. “Should we send out people to look for him?”

Omega could tell Crosshair wanted to say they had it covered. It was in the tight way he crossed his arms, the severe line of his mouth.

Omega tugged on his sleeve, imploring, and he looked down at her.

“Yes, that would be good,” he ended up saying. “I’d like to take a boat out as well.”

No one had a problem with this, and soon Omega, Crosshair, and Batcher were in a skiff, heading across the ocean. Omega leaned against the rail, letting the salt spray cool her somewhat. Her other hand idly petted Batcher, who was beside her, excited to be out on the ocean.

Knowing Tech had taken a boat out didn’t make her feel better. He could be anywhere, could have done anything to himself out there.

“Did Tech talk to you at all?” Omega asked.

“Why would he talk to me?”

“Well… you both went through traumatic experiences. You’d understand.”

Crosshair surprisingly didn’t seem to harden, to shield himself, as he looked at her. His face softened, and his eyes grew wet.

“So would you.”

She hung her head.

The reason she’d heard Tech leave so early was because she couldn’t sleep. The first half of the night had left her plagued with nightmares that made it so she couldn’t even move, body so afraid it froze her completely. And the rest of the night was spent trying to banish the dark feeling in her chest, the fear grazing across her skin. Nothing had really worked, and she was tired, could feel it in her eyes, and the way the lines of what she’d been trying to read blurred together. Trying to sleep in the early morning hadn’t done much, and she still felt terrible from it.

And now she felt even more terrible because her fear and anxiety had kept her from seeing what Tech was up to. He’d needed help, and she’d just been useless, frozen and afraid in her own bed.

“It’s not your fault,” Crosshair said. “You’re a kid. It’s not on you to take care of these kinds of things.”

“But how could I not?” she said. “I’m trained, just like you.”

“That’s not the point.”

“Then what is? I’m older than you.”

Crosshair rolled his eyes. And Omega felt heat rise in her.

She huffed and turned away, leaning over more, hoping the water would cool her intense feelings. Batcher put her front paws on the rail, mouth open, tongue lolling. Omega petted her, actually paying attention this time because what else was she supposed to do with this anger?

After a lot of silence from Crosshair, Omega’s anger had dampened, and Crosshair said, “Sorry. I didn’t mean to make you upset.”

She sighed, and sat on the bench across from him.

“I’m already upset. That’s the problem. Or, I guess Tech is. I’m scared, Crosshair. I’m really scared.”

Her mind conjured up horrible images, kicking up her heartbeat, her breathing faster and shallow, and her throat ached, tears pricking the corners of her eyes.

Omega wanted to curl into herself, and cry, but a soldier wouldn’t. So she didn’t.

Crosshair took a break from steering to put a hand on her shoulder.

“I’m scared too,” he admitted.

Time seemed to pass too slowly, yet too quickly all at once. Maybe Tech’s life was slipping away from them.

When Pabu was almost completely out of sight, they found a skiff similar to theirs, bobbing on the waves.

At first Omega couldn’t see anyone in the boat, and her heart beat wildly, climbing up into her throat. Batcher started barking, telling Omega to search harder. Then she saw a lone figure, and she straightened, trying to get a good look at him.

Oh, thank the stars, it was him!

“Tech!” Omega called.

He didn’t respond.

Crosshair’s answer to this was to get in close, and lash the two boats together before jumping over to the other one. Batcher followed.

“Tech?”

“Tech?”

Tech lifted up his head, somewhat surprised that anyone had found him. Batcher was licking him, and he gave her a few pats. Crosshair took a seat across from him, and Omega rushed over to give him a hug once Batcher settled down. Tech returned it with numb arms.

Omega pulled back, and he turned his head away again, somehow ashamed he’d been found, that he hadn’t done what he had originally came out here to do.

There was darkness in his chest, and hot fear beating away in his body. His body. How odd it was to call it that, what with all the parts that were missing, all the scars, all the cybernetic and mechno “enhancements.” He knew some of them were technically aids, and they allowed him to walk, and see, but they were parts that were forced onto him by… by… Him.

Tantiss was years away now, and he’d tried getting used to his body, had talked to Echo about it over his comm chanel again and again, had tried to train, and even do fun things with it, like playing on the beach with Omega. Still, he wasn’t the same as he was. And he never would be again.

Tech hated his body today. Had hated it all night. Had tried ripping his mechno-fingers off in a frenzy, before remembering them they were anchored to his joints in his hand. He’d even tried wrecking his mechno-leg, but its design was perfect. Trembling fear had begged him to damage his cybernetic left eye, but that was when he couldn’t take it anymore.

He didn’t want to be here, but he was. Somehow he was, and his family had found him, like they’d found him before.

He took in a shaky breath, looking at them, seeing the signs of aging—the few new wrinkles on Crosshair’s face, Omega’s height—and he knew he himself had those signs, his hair graying.

How am I here?

Tech felt numb at this point, and not one with… with the body he was supposed to be in.

Before he could really understand it, he was crying, and Crosshair held his arm, rubbing it, and Omega came in for another hug. Batcher licked his hand, not fazed by the mechno-fingers.

“What’s wrong?” Omega asked.

Tech wanted to laugh and say, Everything.

Instead, he found words that somehow explained it all, getting out through his tears and his aching throat, “I didn’t think I would get this far. I never thought I’d make it, that I’d live. At—at times I wasn’t sure if…”

Despite what he had originally planned to do, he couldn’t get the words out, turning his head to look at the waves and their cold depths below.

“Me either,” Crosshair admitted.

Tech looked at him with a new light right then. They’d talked—of course they’d spoken of that place, but…

“But it’s okay,” Omega said, words shaky as if she didn’t truly believe them. “We all made it out. He’s gone. We’re never going back.”

“So what do I do?” Tech asked. “What am I supposed to do now? Even now I’m not always used to living here.”

Omega took his hand, looking at Crosshair, and he seemed to know what she was thinking, and he nodded. “We can find out together,” she said.

“Let’s get you home,” Crosshair told him.

Home. Perhaps he would like to go home.

Tech nodded, and Omega stayed in his boat on the way, assuring him that maybe there could be more than just surviving, that there was an after that he could be a part of, and it could be worth living for.