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#a storm system is settling in my area

erosuguru · 10 months

Text

not adding a title to this, it was supposed to be a drabble but i got too into it..... oopsie

MINORS+AGELESS BLOGS DNI, Toji Fushiguro x reader, characters are 18+, reader is pink bimbo coded, predator prey kink? idk toji chases reader around the house, 1.1k words

CW: nsfw heavily mentioned but no full smut, toji is horny but reader wants to paint her nails. plushies used as ammunition (reader throws them at toji lol), some proof reading

You usually liked the rain, but today it ruined all your plans and you almost swore hatred on it. You had an appointment with a nail technician which was canceled minutes after you began getting ready due to the rain escalating into a storm (honestly you wouldn’t have gone even if it was regular rain; that would mean ruining your adorable new shoes! You paid a fortune for those!), a friend of yours canceled plans due to said storm as well- Mother Nature was against you today.

It wasn’t ALL bad, you settled for staying inside in your cutest pajamas and you even got a few chores done, now you relaxed on your couch as you painted your nails, your nail appointment may have been canceled but that won’t stop you from your pursuit of aesthetics. The silence was annoying to deal with at first but after a snack and a few episodes of your favorite show, you found the atmosphere quite nice.

You were abruptly pulled out of your tranquility as the door slammed open and then shut, the rainstorm’s noise briefly filled the room before growing muffled again, your eyes followed the noise and saw your giant of a boyfriend covered in rainwater and.. you want to say grime but you think its blood from his latest job. Toji kicked aside his shoes and threw his bag aside grunting to himself, he hadn’t noticed you yet.

As he walked in, the water dripped off him and soaked into your floor, you grew irritated.

“Umm.. could you not?” You asked him with a look of disappointment, you had just wiped the floor earlier! He looked up at you with an indiscernible expression. “I just wiped the floor like 2 minutes ago! You’re cleaning that up!”

Usually, he’d whine and groan about chores but this time he just stared at you, slowly you became unnerved as those eyes studied you- the scariest part is that you didn’t know what he was thinking, but in the back of your mind you knew what was about to happen.

“… Toji?”

He took one step forward towards you.

“Toji, no.” you reprimanded, he took another step

“Toji, yes.” He simply replied as he cracked his neck once, waiting for the perfect opportunity.

“I said no! I’m doing my nails!!” A grin graced his features, one where you knew you have to start running.

You both stared each other down for a moment before Toji lunged at you, you narrowly escaped by climbing over the couch leaving behind a cushion in his arms, he quickly tossed it aside and followed after you.

“C’MERE!!” He practically yelled as he easily leaped over the couch and followed after you, you let out a loud ‘NOOOO!’ the adrenaline quickly spiked in your system as your lover chased you like some starved predator.

Your chase consisted of him almost cornering you in multiple areas of your house, he almost reached for you over the kitchen table, you barely dodged him near the bathroom, you had a moment to breathe at the kitchen doorway before sprinting away after he almost caged you in his gigantic arms.

“Where’re you going, baby?! you don’t love me anymore?!” he mocked you as he laughed, your terrified squeal fueled him, and seeing you run from him excited him to no end. He chased you to your bedroom arriving behind you just in time to see you climb on your bed as if high ground was going to keep him away from you.

“Shoo!! Go away!!” You yelled at him as you threw your plushies at him from where you stood on the bed, he easily parried the little stuffed companions as he let out a sinister laugh.

“What’s wrong? I just wanna show my girl some love!” He circled your bed looking for the right chance to capture you in his arms, you tiptoed and balanced yourself on the mattress- your ‘My Melody’ plushie clutched in your hand; she was your last line of defense.

“That’s what you said last time, and I ended up walking funny for days!” he smirked and his scar curled with his smile, you blushed at the memory of the time he practically shoved you into a mating press and drilled you until you were overflowing with his seed (you were confident this pervert took pictures during that time).

Aiming, Toji’s smug smile hadn’t faltered as you pouted at him, god he couldn’t wait to pin you under him and fuck all his stress away. Throughout his entire day he thought of you; that pouty look you gave him when he teased you, the obnoxiously pink yet adorable outfits you wore that made his dick throb, and of course- how could he live without that ass of yours that was practically begging to be groped by his large hands as he got an eyeful while chasing you?

“Baby doll you’re being dramatic!” Toji tried coaxing you into putting down the plushie but you knew better “Put the bunny down and jump into your Toji’s arms!” he emphasized his point by opening his arms to you, as if you were going to do that after he chased you like a madman all while he was dripping wet, oh and did you mention that you WIPED THE FLOOR before he came home?!

As he blabbered sweet nonsense to you, you made a plan to throw the plushie in his face as a distraction and escape your bedroom, additionally, you got the idea to shut the door behind you and lock him in when you caught the glint of your bedroom key slotted into the door.

It was risky but you know you can do this, this is perfect, your plan is perfect!

… not.

The moments flashed by after you launched your poor soldier at him, you only took one step forward off the mattress, a singular step that went nowhere as you blinked once, and suddenly, you found yourself on your back on the bed with Toji pinning you down with his weight straddling your waist. your expression was adorable; lips parted staring up at him as those wide confused eyes slowly registered defeat, the most humiliating symbol of said defeat was your plushie in his free hand as the other held down both your wrists in one hand over your head.

He let out a low chuckle, one that vibrated in his chest as he pressed his body as close to yours as possible leaning down until your noses were centimeters from touching. He lifted your little plushie to your line of sight and grinned “You put up a fun chase, but I want my prize~”

Toji tossed your trooper off the bed, and as the storm progressed outside your home you were glad you threw the rest of your plushies off the bed when you did.

#toji x y/n #toji x reader #fushiguro toji #toji fushiguro #jjk x you #jjk x reader #toji fushiguro x reader #toji fushiguro x you #jujutsu kaisen x reader #jujutsu kaisen x you

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saintship · 6 months

Note

#12, please? I think it would fit Gaz or Alex so well, my favorite soft, sweet boys 💕

Thank you & I’ve loved your other prompts so far!

Prompt #12 - “Can I hold you?”

Thank you so much! And I agree, they’re big softies when it comes to their s/o

Gaz x reader - Safehouse

With a struggle, Gaz shoves the door to the safehouse shut, panting against its heavy surface.

“Fuckin’ hell.. they could have warned us!” He tossed his crushed radio onto a small table in frustration while you tried to configure yours. Outside, a vicious windstorm was battering the roof, torrential rain making it hard to hear your own thoughts.

“I can’t get a single word, it’s too harsh out there..” You set your own useless radio down, pressing the heel of your palm into your aching temple.

“You alright?”

Gaz’s voice had softened to the tone he used in the confines of your apartment, approaching you gingerly.

“I’m alright.” You affirmed, but still let him hold the sides of your face for a moment as his eyes searched for any injury.

Your relationship was new; only a few weeks ago had you confessed under the dim lighting of the common room, only a few weeks ago did he pull you into a kiss that seemed to seal away any doubt lingering in your mind. He was your partner; the man you’d had a fondness for since the day you met.

The mission’s events seemed to affect him. He stayed by your side as you prepared a sleeping area, insisted he be the one to start the fire, and made sure you had enough to eat before he even opened his MRE. It was almost peaceful for a few minutes after you both got something in your system, before the window panes shook with the wind. You barely had time to take notice before the rain battering the roof sharpened to a dense hail, the noise roaring in your ears.

You didn’t speak for a while as the storm raged, eventually resigning to lay down underneath the worn blanket. Gaz settled beside you, watching the concerning weather for a few moments before speaking.

“Can I hold you?”

It was a soft ask; it didn’t matter to him that you had done it before, all he had ever wanted was for you to be comfortable. But you saw the worry he tried so desperately to hide. He needed to hold you just as much as you needed to be held.

“Of course..” Was the murmur from your lips before you eased off his baseball cap, facing him and tucking your head underneath his. You embraced him gently, running a hand soothingly up and down his back as his arms enveloped you, holding you even closer. You could feel his ragged heartbeat, the lean muscles of his chest and back, his warm palms securing you to the safest place on earth. He was so warm, his breathing soothing you deeply.

And as he was allowed to protect the person he cared for the deepest, Gaz fell asleep faster than he had in months.

#call of duty modern warfare #cod requests #cod mwii #call of duty #cod mw2 #call of duty mw2 #simon ghost riley #john soap mactavish #captain john price #kyle gaz garrick #gaz x reader #gaz x you #gaz x gn!reader

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sunlightmurdock · 2 years

Text

Trouble in Paradise | 0.6 | Bradley Bradshaw x Reader

Synopsis: After the most painful break-up of his life, Rooster is stationed in Hawaii for the next six months. Alone, away from home and hurting, he finds comfort in the arms of a stranger.

Warnings: no use of y/n, age gap (rooster is in his mid-30s, reader is in her early 20s), smut, oral (m receiving), mild public touching, angst

…

Rooster thinks he’s good at keeping secrets.

He is, really. He’s always been trustworthy, and he’s always had a lot of baggage that most people don’t want to hear about — he’s used to keeping certain things to himself. Overall, he’s a pretty private person. Plus, before this, he has never given anyone in his life reason not to believe that he isn’t being honest with them.

Like he likes to be in all walks of life, Jake considers himself to be two steps ahead of Rooster. He knows that something is up. Rooster is never going to give it up willingly, but Jake doesn’t mind digging until he figures it out.

It’s 9pm when Jake hears Rooster’s door close. He glances outside and notices the sun setting, then furrows his eyebrows. They have to be on base early tomorrow, 9 is kind of late to be just heading out. Not to mention, it’s about to storm. Thick grey clouds have been heading their way for the past four hours.

Jake pushes himself up and crosses the room, opening his door and poking his head out into the hallway. There he is; Rooster’s locking his room and digging into his pocket with his free hand.

“Where ya headed, Birdboy?”

Rooster jumps, turning his head toward the other pilot and letting out a soft sigh.

“Just out.” Bradley snips. Jake cocks an eyebrow at him, lips quirking in intrigue. “For a drive.” Bradley adds quickly.

Jake hums and taps his knuckles on the door frame, then glances around the empty hallway. “Mind if I join you? — I’m not busy.”

Bradley pulls his keys from his pockets and checks his watch. He’s in a hurry for someone just going for a casual drive.

“I kinda need to clear my head,” He turns quickly and starts walking away, “Maybe next time. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Jake’s brows scrunch as he watches Bradley speed away from him. He waits until Bradley has turned the corner before he shakes his head and closes his door.

Rooster feels pretty secure in his lie. It isn’t a complete lie, he does need to clear his head. Everything has been feeling kind of foggy since Jake got here three days ago.

He’s been throwing himself into fixing things with Amy. Looking at old photos, online wedding venue catalogues, texts from before.

He can’t stop thinking about you either way. But he’s sure it’s a phase. It’s a kind of need to get this out of his system, type thing. He isn’t the first guy in the Navy to fool around on a posting, and he isn’t going to be the last.

Once he’s home, things will go back to normal. He’ll marry her and his life will finally begin.

You’re polishing glasses, bobbing your head softly to the soft rock playing from the speakers. It’s a super quiet night, it’s a weekday and the storm has sent most people home early.

You’re surprised when the bell above the door rings, even more surprised when you turn and find him standing there. You wipe the smile quickly from your face as Abigail crosses in front of the bar, carrying cushions from the outdoor seating area inside to the back room.

Rooster waits for her to pass before he crosses to sit at the bar. He’s wearing a plain black t-shirt and jeans, along with the same sunglasses he was when you first met him.

You glance back over your shoulder, making sure she’s gone, then lean one elbow onto the bar and prop your chin on it, smiling at him, “Hey, Sailor.”

He shoots a look in the direction that she disappeared, then pushes up from the stool and presses his lips to yours, “Hi, pretty girl.”

Your tongue edges out to wet your lips as you watch him settle back into his seat. You compose yourself so that you aren’t a smiling, blushing mess when Abigail inevitably does come back, pushing away from the bar. You turn and grab a bottled beer from the fridge, twisting the cap off and setting it in front of him.

“How has work been this week?” You lean against the counter behind you. You haven’t seen him since Sunday morning, and it’s Wednesday now. You’ve been just as busy as he has so his absence hasn’t been too hard on you. But his presence does make you especially happy.

“It’s been alright,” He swipes his thumb through the condensation on the bottle, looking down at the bubbles rising to the top. He watches you turn back to polishing glasses as Abigail passes through again. “Just training exercises and stuff. They replaced that guy who got hurt last week, I’ve just been bringing the new guy up to speed.”

You watch his hands fiddle with the bottle. You stand and play one of your favourite games as of recent. Trying to figure him out. You like making guesses about who he is, who he was, before all of this.

Probably on the football team, probably had a couple of pretty girlfriends, a couple of hookups back in college but not enough to have people say that he slept around a lot. Probably Navy parents. Probably a dog person. Probably one of those guys that was super devoted to his sports teams.

“How about you? — What’s my girl been up to this week?” Rooster doesn’t even realise he’s talking to you the way he talks to her. Asking the exact same questions. You’re glad that he isn’t looking at you to see the way your eyes widen when he calls you his.

You swallow your nerves and think back to the hundreds of conversations you’ve had with Ella. You find that you don’t feel as nauseous this time, you don’t feel the same fear that you have other times.

“Just working.” You manage not to sound like a complete idiot. He looks up at you through the dark lenses of his sunglasses. You rest your palms on the countertop behind you and shrug your shoulders, “Missing you.”

Rooster smiles. You stifle the relieved sigh that your body conjures upon realising that you’ve said the right thing. He brings the bottle to his lips and takes a small sip. He straightens up as Abigail enters with another armful of seat cushions.

This time you see her look between the two of you. You smile innocently over at her and busily polish the glass in your hands. He’s the only one in the entire bar, it isn’t unusual that you’re making conversation with him.

“I missed you too.” He says quiet enough for her not to hear. You smile as you turn away from him to place the wine glass in your hands on the shelf. He leans forward slightly and rests his chin against his fist.

You catch sight of him in the mirror behind the bar. Your shirt has ridden up just slightly as you reach up to settle the glass into its spot. He makes no effort to hide the staring.

You turn quickly and grin at him. He smirks softly, caught, and by no means embarrassed about that. You hear the door to the back office close and sigh in relief that Abigail is going to be in there for a while.

“When do you get off?” Rooster taps his hands on the bar.

“Soon, hopefully.” You grin at him, leaning back against the counter, then take your lip between your teeth. Rooster chuckles against the rim of the bottle, looking up at you over the top of the sunglasses.

He takes another drink and checks his watch.

“You hungry?” He asks.

You scrunch your nose at him. “Are you asking me on a date?”

Rooster’s broad shoulders rise and fall in a nonchalant shrug, his lips quirking up into a smirk. He fiddles absentmindedly with the beer bottle, looking between it and you, “Come on, don’t tell me you’re not into me.”

You laugh, crossing your arms over your chest. He winks at you, then leans closer across the bar, “Just wanna take my favourite bartender out for some food after she’s worked so hard.”

You take a stride forward, leaning across the bar and pressing your lips to his. He slides a hand up into your hair, tugging you closer and slipping his tongue into your mouth. He groans softly against your lips, stroking his tongue against yours.

You pull back and smack his shoulder, checking around to make sure that Abigail hasn’t suddenly materialised out of nowhere. He grins at you. You smile softly, surprised but nonetheless excited by his boldness.

“Let me go speak to Abi, I’m supposed to be here until we close.” You decide. He nods, leaning back in his seat as he watches you walk away. You trail your fingers along the wall as you make your way to the office and knock on the door.

“Come in!”

You turn the door handle and step inside, freezing as you stare at Abigail’s computer monitor. It’s playing a live feed of all six security cameras, front and centre is the stream of the camera that sits above the bar.

You press your lips together. Abigail turns in her chair and raises her eyebrows at you.

“Abi, I can explain.” You can’t. You have no idea how to lie your way out of this one. She simply sighs and raises her eyebrows, pressing her palm to her forehead.

“You know that I don’t have the rules that I have to be a cockblock, don’t you?” You have a feeling it’s a rhetorical question. You shift awkwardly on the spot. “I have a lot of pretty, young girls working here. I see the way these guys look at you all, I’m trying to protect you.”

You put your hands behind your back and nod softly, feeling kind of like you’re about to be put on time out.

“You’re a big girl, you can screw whoever you want,” Abi shakes her head slightly as she leans back in her seat. “I just don’t want to see you get hurt.”

You offer her a smile.

“You don’t have to worry about me.” You confirm.

She shrugs her shoulders, “Heard it all before, honey. They’re all perfect in the beginning.” Abi sees the hurt flash across your face for a moment and considers that she may have overstepped. She reminds herself that she’s not your mother, nor do you want her to be. You’ve made this clear before.

“You can go with him if that’s what you were going to ask, I’m going to close up before the rain starts anyway.” Abigail decides. A silent apology for sticking her nose where it doesn’t belong. You smile softly and thank her, then turn away.

He stands up as you turn the corner, pulling his wallet from his pocket and sliding a ten across the counter toward you, “Free to go?”

You jerk your head toward the camera above the bar, not wanting to be so obvious as to turn and point at it. Rooster looks up, lips parting slightly as he looks back to you, “Did I get you in trouble?”

“No, just kinda got lectured,” You explain as you settle his tab and grab your jacket from under the bar, “Let’s go.”

He lets you walk ahead of him, tucking an arm around your waist and pressing his lips to the top of your head, “I’ll make it up to you.”

You close your eyes and lean into his touch for just a moment, then push the door open, “There’s this place that’s a short walk away that’s really good. That way we don’t have to take both cars.” You offer.

“If you say it’s good then I’m in.” He wraps his arms fully around you, pulling you in against you chest. You wrap your arms around his waist and squeeze, inhaling the soft scent of fading cologne. You push away from him and grab his hand, starting off in the direction of the restaurant. He slides his fingers between yours.

You take him to a diner with outdoor seating under a canopy, it’s only about a ten minute walk from the bar and you’ve been here many times with your co-workers.

He’s sitting with his arms folded on the table, already done with his food, watching as you’re finishing yours. You furrow your eyebrows at him as you pick at the fries in front of you, “Do I have something on my face?”

“Actually yeah,” He smiles fondly across the table at you. You turn your head for him, smiling back as he leans across the table and wipes his thumb across the corner of your mouth. Your eyes stare into his as he swipes it across your bottom lip. He swallows and shifts in his seat, retracting his hand, “Got it.”

“You’re blushing.” You tease him, breaking out into a grin that makes him turn a deeper shade of pink. He rolls his eyes playfully at you, wiping his hands off on his napkin. You take it one step further, kicking one shoe off under the table and resting your foot against his thigh, sliding it along the denim until it rests against his crotch. The table cloth covers you, you know it’s fine.

You love the pretty shade of pink he turns when he’s blushing.

“There are people around,” He whispers across the table, furrowing his eyebrows sternly at you. You smile sweetly back at him and rub your foot gently across the bulge in his jeans.

“You two make a beautiful couple.” Both of you look up at the same time, equally shocked to find that someone had snuck up on you. Rooster’s face softens as he realises it’s just a sweet old lady. She seems to be a tourist from the floral printed shirt and skirt she’s wearing. He finds it adorable, and smiles politely, opening his mouth to thank her.

“Oh, he’s not my boyfriend,” You explain, smiling at the old lady sweetly from your seat as you foot strokes over his crotch. He shifts closer to the table, afraid of being seen. “We’re just fucking.”

Rooster turns his head toward you, now a much deeper shake of pink. Closer to red now. His eyes are wide, shocked that you can say that and not be embarrassed in the slightest. You smile across at him.

“I’m so sorry.” He turns his head quickly toward the old woman, “She… she’s just kidding.”

“Oh, alright. Well, you kids have a good night.”

“We will.” You grin across the table at him, trying to hold back your laughter. Rooster waits for her to walk away, watching as she loops her arm through her husband’s and begins to whisper about what he just heard.

He curls his fingers around your ankle under the table, turning his attention back to you, eyes widening expectantly for you to explain yourself. You can’t help but laugh. He watches, brows furrowed as you double over with laughter.

“What was that?” He tries to stop himself from smiling, but your laughter has his lip twitching. He squeezes your ankle, leaning across the table toward you.

“You got me in trouble, I got you in trouble.” You tease him, wriggling your ankle out of his grasp and sliding it back into his shoe. He glances back over his shoulder, watching the scandalised old woman still gossiping to her husband.

He presses his tongue to the inside of his cheek and shakes his head slightly, lips quirked up into a soft smile. You’re still chuckling to yourself after he has settled the cheque and you’re walking back toward the car.

You squeeze your fingers against his and look across to the beach. It’s dark now and it’s for sure going to pour down any minute, but you just need a few more minutes outside. You were kind of hungover this morning, by the time you got up, it was time to go to work — the fresh air is really helping you out.

“Can we sit for a minute?” You tug him off toward the sand. He doesn’t put up a fight, letting you lead him down the steps. You shrug your jacket off and sit down on it, leaning back on your palms and looking up at the sky.

Rooster sits at your side, his sunglasses folded into the collar of his shirt as he joins you and looks up. He isn’t sure what you’re looking at. He just sees one huge mass of grey with the clouds overhead. But, he looks nonetheless. Silently hoping that maybe he’ll be enlightened. Maybe one day he’ll see things the way you do.

“Have you ever had a boyfriend?” He asks softly, still looking up at the endless grey overhead. You take a deep breath, inhaling salty ocean air and exhaling it again before shaking your head, still looking up,

“Like a serious boyfriend?”

Rooster turns his head to look at you, “Yeah.” He then follows your line of sight and squints. He wonders what it would be like to live a day as you. Minimal responsibilities, fun friends, young and free with no one who needs you to be someone you aren’t. He wonders then what he would be like now if he had met you when he was young and free. He begins to wonder if he’s ever been young and free.

Young certainly, but free? — He isn’t so sure.

“No, I guess not.” You shrug your shoulders, it clearly doesn’t mean much to you that you haven’t. “Not serious.”

He mulls over this information, “But you have had boyfriends?” You hum in confirmation, nodding your head slightly. There’s a soft breeze coming from the tide, a calming relief to the constant humidity of the past week. You close your eyes as you let it wash over you.

“What were they like?” He asks.

“Assholes.” You breathe, letting out a small laugh. You open your eyes and turn your head to find that he’s watching you with intrigue. “They we’re just boys. Shitheads.”

He furrows his eyebrows. It feels like he’s trying to look through you for a moment, like you’re a book and he’s finally gotten to the interesting part.

“Did they hurt you?” His voice is serious. Almost regretful, like he has done something to hurt you himself. You think nothing of it, deciding that he’s just being protective.

“Nothing I didn’t get over,” You answer, turning your chin toward the sky again. “How about you? — Any dramatic love stories on your end?”

“I was engaged before I came here.” Rooster doesn’t plan to say it. It just leaves his mouth before he’s even thought of it. You turn your head. Both of you look equally surprised at what he has just revealed. Engaged — you’re reminded of his age all of a sudden. That’s serious. Engaged is super serious.

Rooster watches your features register the shock of his revelation. He regrets it immediately. He knows that he can’t tell you more.

“What happened?” You ask, struggling to string together words further than that. He looks out over the water and wills himself to come clean.

“We were together for six years, engaged for almost a year. We broke up a week before I came.” He doesn’t look at you as he says it. You shuffle closer and loop your arm through his, resting your head against his shoulder. A week before. One week to get over six years with a person. You furrow your eyebrows as you look out over the water with him.

You can’t imagine how deep things would have gotten six years into a relationship. You haven’t even been in a relationship that has lasted a full year yet.

“She left. We fought a lot, towards the end.” He explained quietly, brushing his hand along the back of his neck and letting out a heavy breath. Rooster tries to figure out how to tell you that when he met you, it was over — and now it isn’t. He doesn’t want to tell you.

It’s beyond selfish. He wants it all to work out. To be here and live your no consequences, no long term plan with you. For a while. Then, when he’s ready, he wants her to be at home waiting for him to settle down.

He grits his teeth as he thinks of how furious his mother would be about what he’s doing. She raised him better than this.

“What did you guys fight about?” You ask softly, stroking your fingers along the inside of his forearm. You press your lips to his shoulder over the fabric of his shirt.

“Me. Being an asshole.” He breathes out, brushing his palm over his forehead. He shakes his head slightly. You press your lips to his bicep, then his shoulder again. He turns his head to look as you rest your chin against his arm.

Doe-eyed and smiling sweetly at him, you raise your hand and brush his curls back off of his forehead. “Had you ever considered being less of an asshole to her?” You tease him.

He laughs. Really laughs. Eyes crinkling kind of laugh. You smile against his arm.

“No, I hadn’t thought of that.” He answers playfully, nudging forward and kissing your forehead. He brings a hand up to rest against the nape of your neck, stroking softly over the top of your hair.

You hum against his arm. He lets a few moments of quiet pass, but he’s focusing so hard that you can practically hear him thinking. His knees are bent and his elbows are resting on top of them. You push his knees down so that his legs are outstretched and slide across into his lap, grabbing his face in your hands and kissing him.

“What was that for?” He asks, grazing his fingertips along your jaw, sliding them around to curl against the back of your neck.

You smile at him, “You seem sad when you talk about her. Just want to cheer you up.” You already have. He would be so happy. But things like this don’t last.

This isn’t his future. This isn’t his plan. Amy is his plan, Amy is what makes sense and she’s who he is supposed to be with. She’s who he’s going to be with.

Then you kiss him delicately again. He squeezes the nape of your neck and slips his tongue into your mouth. You hum contentedly against his tongue, sliding your arms around his broad shoulders.

You don’t need to know what comes next. You know he’s leaving and that’s all you need to know. He can make you happy for the time that he’s here. It’s not selfish if he’s making you happy too.

You feel a drop of rain on your shoulder first, then pull back and look up. His hands find your hips as he looks up with you, feeling warm droplets of rain hitting his cheek.

“Shit, come on.” He stands and plants you on your feet, grabbing your jacket from the ground. You intertwine your fingers with his, stopping him from heading back to the main road.

You look off to your left, then back at him.

“What?” He furrows his eyebrows slightly as more rain hits the exposed parts of his skin. You tug him toward you and head left. He follows uncertainly. “Where are we going?”

He squints at the boardwalk you’re headed for. It extends out over the water, it’s closed because of the weather, yet here you are dragging him under its shelter.

“What are we doing?” He asks as you press his back to one of the support beams. Small drops of rain make it through the gaps in the wood above your heads, but as it begins to pour across the rest of the beach, you’re both pretty dry under there.

“Living a little.” You answer, kissing him hard. Rooster’s eyes widen as you pull at his belt. He looks around hurriedly. “Calm down, everyone’s going home, we’re fine.”

“Seriously? Here?” He breathes out, brows scrunching. You tug his belt out of the loop, unbuckling it and popping open the button at the top of his jeans.

“Please?” You tease him, kissing his lips before you slide to your knees in front of him. Rooster shivers, sliding his hand up into your hair as he looks around him again. The beach is deserted because of the storm. He knows how busy this week at work is going to be, he’s not going to be able to see you again until at least the weekend. Maybe a stronger man would’ve stopped you. He leans his head back against the wooden beam as you press your mouth over his boxers.

“Shit.” He breathes out, curling his fingers in your hair. You hum amusedly, trailing your tongue along the outline of his cock, nuzzling your mouth against him until his white boxers are spit soaked and almost see through.

You look up at him through your lashes as you pull his waistband down, smirking. He groans. He shifts on his feet, planting them in the sand to keep his balance, curling his fingers tighter against your roots as you stick out your tongue and trail it along the vein on the underside of his cock.

You brace one hand against his thigh, wrapping your lips around him fully, flicking your tongue against the tip. He groans out again and again, head lulled back against the beam, brows furrowed in pleasure as your mouth works around him.

He tilts your chin and dares to look down at you. His cock twitches in your mouth. He just knows he’s going to be seeing this face in his dreams for the rest of his life. He strokes a thumb over your cheek, surprised by how much it turns him on to realise that he can feel himself through your cheek.

“You’re so fucking pretty.” He murmurs, stroking his thumb over your cheek again, keeping his index finger under your chin to make sure he can see that pretty face the whole time. Doe-eyed and eager to please, working your mouth around him. Rooster grits his teeth to shut himself up.

He lets out a strangled, almost whimper as he slides his hand around to the base of your skull and pushes his hips forwards slightly. You hum, sliding your hand from his thigh to his hip and pressing your nails into his skin. The noise he makes when nose brushes his pelvis sends electricity through you, spurring you on.

“S-Shit… I’m so close.” He manages out, pressing his fingers hard into the nape of your neck. Your lip quirks slightly as you look up at him, mascara smudged under your eyes slightly.

You happily take all of it into your mouth, swallowing and fixing his boxers and jeans. You kiss his cheek as you pull up his zipper and begin to buckle his belt,

“Feel better?” You ask chirpily, making him let out a breathy chuckle.

He rests his forehead against yours as he guides you in for a kiss. He nods against you. He has so much to say but he can’t think of a single word. You buckle his belt and fix his shirt, which was pushed slightly up his stomach to be out of your way.

You kiss him once more, “Alright. Let’s go before the lightning starts.” Rooster breathes out hard as your hand slides into his and squeezes.

Hangman is still up when he hears Rooster’s door close again. He has been reading for a good while now, and watching the storm roll through the base. He grabs his watch from the bedside table and checks then time. Then, he pushes himself up onto his elbows and looks outside at the thunderous rainstorm.

He furrows his eyebrows slightly. There’s no way Rooster was out for four hours driving around in that. So, where was he?

…

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glowinghae · 1 year

Text

meet me at midnight || c.four

[Chapter Four- Waves]

𝐉𝐀𝐒𝐎𝐍 𝐓𝐎𝐃𝐃 + OC

meet me at midnight masterlist 𝟏𝟖+, lots of various torture, trauma, angst, suffering, cheating, violent death, women not supporting women, arguments, fluff but really a lot of angst. smut of all kinds. all characters are over 18,

to be a vigilante requires only three things: a broken heart, the resources, and the will.

𝐌𝐈𝐍𝐎𝐑𝐒 𝐃𝐎 𝐍𝐎𝐓 𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐀𝐂𝐓 𝟏𝟖+ 𝐎𝐍𝐋𝐘! as always a gargantuan thank you to @hllokttyairhead for being an amazing support, editer and friend. truly you are my muse. pls pls pls go and follow her because that is one QUALITY blog.

A path was forming on the floor where Esther paced back and forth, staring at the screen of her phone as she chewed on her fingernails.

“He could be fine.” Esther muttered to herself repeatedly, the red flashing vitals saying otherwise. “Fuck.”

Essie stormed across the room and snatched her suit from where she’d laid it out on her bed. It took her a minute to get it on, but it felt weird to wear it in the light of day; this couldn’t wait for nightfall, though.

Tightening her weapon’s harnesses, Esther swore under her breath. She had her blades, but her gun was missing. Dick must have taken it. This made things ten times harder.

The computer here wasn’t strong enough to make a tracker from the chip that Jason had left her, but Esther knew of one that was. As she slipped her mask over her face, Esther slid her Khopesh into its leather sheath.

Getting to the computer system she needed wouldn’t be a problem, but getting around its guard dog might be.

…

No sound was made as She-Wolf’s feet landed on the balcony outside the expensive loft in East Gotham. The sliding door was unlocked, as Esther knew it would be.

Barbara Gordon was used to masked vigilantes using her balcony as an entrance.

Luckily it seemed that no one was home as Essie silently closed the door behind her. That was good; the last thing she needed was Babs asking a million questions. The living area looked normal, but Esther knew better. Stepping over to the vintage telephone on the bookshelf, Esther lifted the receiver off its stand and rang in the numbers 5-7-4-5-6. The moment she placed the receiver back down, the room began transforming.

The bookshelf split open, and a massive computer screen console emerged. The window curtains drew themselves shut, and the tv disappeared into the floor, replaced by an enormous display case that came from inside the wall.

The case gave Esther pause. Inside was Barbara’s old Batgirl suit. The purple and gold detailing made her smile, and she placed her hand over the glass.

“Teach me that move!” A ten-year-old Esther screeched after getting landed on her ass by Babs. Barbara moved her cape out of the way and reached out to give the girl a hand standing up.

“I’ll teach you that move after you’ve learned to block it.” Batgirl laughed, “If you’re gonna be Bat-Girl-”

“With a hyphen!” Esther clarified, eliciting an eye roll from Babs.

“With a hyphen,” She conceded, “It’s more important you learn how to stop an attack before knowing how to start one. I will say, though, you seem to be picking this up rather quickly.”

A sad expression settled on Esther’s tired face. This had all been so easy and fun when they were kids. She could still remember the first time she donned the mask; Barbara had snapped a million pictures, squealing something about her ‘mini-me.’

So much had changed.

Esther refocused herself, rushing over to the Watchtower systems and entering Barbara’s password, ‘justinbeiber4eva!’ only to curse as she was greeted by an ‘incorrect password’ screen.

Dammit, that had been Babs password for years. There were only two attempts remaining. Esther looked down, noticing a picture framed on Barbara’s desk.

It was of Dick, Jason, and Esther.

It was from middle school. They were all in uniforms, lined up outside the principal's office. Barbara had snapped the picture of them after Esther had thrown a glitter bomb inside the boys' bathroom with Dick and Jason inside. Essie had been mad because they had eaten the last of her cereal that morning.

Esther smirked at the picture frame, the two boys covered head to toe in glitter, angry expressions on their faces, with little Esther cackling between them. No wonder Jason switched to public school the following year. He was probably so sick of her shit.

“I changed the password.” Esther hung her head as Barbara’s voice came from behind her. When Essie turned, Babs was seated in her wheelchair, the door to her bedroom open behind her. Damn, even in a wheelchair, Babs was quiet. “It’s ‘Timstaythehelloutofmystuff12’. Damn, kids broke into it about six times in the past month.”

“Barb, I-”

“You’re not usually the one breaking in here to use my stuff; it’s still annoying, though.” Babs came to the desk and typed in her password, pushing Essie out of the way, “But I’ll admit it’s nice seeing you when you’re not absolutely wasted.”

Esther grimaced at the foggy memory of her stumbling into this very apartment a few months back. Humiliating, honestly. No wonder she hated to drink.

“Let’s just… forget about that.” She blushed. “I don’t mean to be rude, Barbara, but I’m in a bit of a crisis here-”

“I told you not to do it.” Barbara crossed her arms and stared up at her friend, “I know you were angry about Jason, and I know that my incident pushed you over the edge, but I told you not to go after Joker for me.”

“I don’t know how many times I need to say this: it wasn’t me.” The She-Wolf’s tone was impatient. “You know me, Babs, stringing people up for the world to see isn’t my M.O.”

That was true, but Barbara frowned anyway, “Once upon a time, I knew you, Essie.” Barbara said, “Before you started with this She-Wolf persona. Before you started killing people. Before you abandoned all of us.” Esther wished Barbara didn’t say all this with that heartbroken tone. Essie had never meant to cause all this suffering to Barbara and Dick. She knew it was as if they had lost two of their family members that day. “So if you’re here to get help to continue this murder crusade, you can just go.”

Pulling the chip out of her phone silently, Essie handed it to Barbara, who studied it closely before clicking into her computer. Her screens lit up with Jason’s vitals, which looked even worse than the last time Esther had checked. “No killing today. Trying to save someone. This person is important, and I don’t know where they are.”

Barbara searched Essie’s face. She did look concerned, which was weird. Babs turned her attention back to the screen, “Well, they don’t have much time by the looks of it.” She brought up some new screens, “I’m assuming you wanted to make a tracker piggybacking off the signal of the life support system? Hmm, it’s pretty weak. You probably wouldn’t have been able to do this on your own.” Her fingers raced against the keyboard, “But luckily, you’re not on your own.”

Her words hit Esther like a bag of bricks. Esther hadn’t realized how much leaving had hurt Barbara. But she was still so ready to help? “Thanks.” She said awkwardly.

“So, who is it?” Babs didn’t look away from the screen as she asked, “Must be someone you care about, but we share all the same friends. As far as I know, Dick finished up patrol and is over at the manor. Roy and Wally are in their respective cities. So who?”

“Someone…” Esther’s face lit up red, “Important.” She repeated, and Barbara flashed her a smile.

“Someone important to you?” Babs couldn’t believe this. It had been ages since Esther had even shown a little emotion over someone; other than Jason. If only she knew.

“Babs, please. They’re in bad shape.” Esther couldn’t look away from the vitals on the screen.

Barbara glanced at them, too, “Oxygen levels are dropping. Wherever they are, the air is getting thin-”

A loud thumping and crashing sound interrupted her words, and Esther was lightning fast, drawing her blade and getting defensive, “Stay behind me.” Essie moved to protect Barbara, taking slow steps to the glass door where the sound had come from.

Watching her move, Barbara studied Esther Wayne. She was the closest thing Babs had to a little sister, and there had been a time when they were thick as thieves. Even when they both had feelings for Dick, they’d never let it come between them.

But when Jason died, everything changed. Barbara knew it wasn’t just that, though. For seventy-two days, Esther sat beside Jason and experienced unknown hells. All while never knowing that there wasn’t a single night her ‘big sister’ wasn’t out there looking for them. And then to watch Jason die the way that he did. To have Bruce show up only moments too late.

She disagreed with Esther going out and killing criminals, but she’d be lying if she didn’t understand why Essie did it.

Today, however, there was something different in Esther Wayne. That anger that had ruled her for the past year seemed… less hot to the touch. And there was a new confidence in her when she wore this suit. Barbara hated admitting it, but maybe Esther was never meant to be her replacement. Or at least, perhaps the Joker truly had killed the Bat-Girl; it’s just that something else had survived.

She-Wolf stood with a strength that Barbara knew all too well. It was how she’d felt being Batgirl. How she felt now being Oracle. It seemed less like a mask and more like an extension of Esther. Esther was now moving the curtain out of the way of the glass door, only to freeze. Oh shit, it must be something startling to make Esther freeze up like that.

Barbara wheeled herself over to be by Esther’s side and gasped as she saw what Esther was staring at outside the window.

The bodies Esther had left behind the dumpster a few nights earlier had been dropped from the roof of Bab’s apartment onto her balcony. The bodies were in bad shape, and half froze, but that wasn’t what concerned Esther.

It was the katanas that were impaling the bodies through their chests. Not just any katanas, either…

“Care to explain why the League of Shadows is sending you an invitation? Using my terrace?” Babs was right; this was the League’s way of leaving Esther a message. They’d been watching her, and now they wanted to talk.

Esther didn’t have fucking time for this. She needed to find Jason before it was too late. “How long before the tracker is up and running?” Esther asked.

Babs narrowed her eyes, “You know, you and your brother are more similar than you’d like to think.” She referred to Esther ignoring her questions. Bab’s wheeled herself back to her computer, “It’ll be about an hour before the program is ready. This signal is weak.”

An hour?! Sure, it gave her time to find out what the League wanted, but Jason was running out of time. “Do whatever you can to get that time down.” Esther sighed, tinkering with the control panel on her hip that operated her suit's systems.“I’m sending you my suits comm channel; tell me when you’ve got the location.”

“Exactly like your brother.” Barbara huffed. “You better be back later to get those dead guys off my porch.”

…

There had been no note on the bodies to hint at where Esther was meant to meet the League, but that only left her assuming that the bodies themselves were the hint. She’d left them on Ninth, so that’s where she stood now.

The alleyway looked much the same, still dirty, still… alley-like. It was empty, but then again, the League would never be caught dead somewhere as nasty as this. It took Essie only a moment before she looked up and saw the swish of a cloak disappearing over the edge of the rooftop.

Using her grapple hook, Esther followed suit, and a moment later, she was standing face-to-face with Ra’s al Ghul himself.

She wasn’t sure what she’d been expecting, but the Demon was not it. As if her body moved without permission, Esther lowered her head to avoid looking him in the eye. What the hell? Seriously, she hadn’t planned on doing that.

“Ra’s.” Essie acknowledged him, lifting her chin up to stare him down. He looked a little older than what Bruce typically described; it seemed he needed to take another dip into the Lazarus pit. But other than that, the dark features, the pointy cape… It all checked out.

“You’ve grown tall and beautiful, Sadiyah; you’ve become a fine warrior.” His words had a smooth, silky accent to them.

“I got your ‘message’ where’s Jason?” Esther snarled, unsure why he’d called her that name, but it sounded weird… familiar even.

“I was hoping you could tell me.” Ra’s took long, slow strides, circling around where Esther stood.

Her shoulders deflated, “You don’t know?” But the look in his eyes didn’t quite add up. It took Esther a second, but after a moment, she sighed heavily, “But that’s not what you said, is it?” Ra’s knew exactly where Jason was; he just wanted Essie to figure it out on her own. “This is a test.”

Ra’s gave her a charming smile, “Think of it as more of an opportunity. A challenge. I want to see what you’re made of. The time is fast approaching when you will need to be prepared.”

This was the same weird bullshit that Ra’s spewed every time he saw Esther. Wait, no. That wasn’t right. Esther had only ever seen him in pictures. Her brain felt foggy, but she shook her head to clear it and snarled, “Listen, old man, I have no interest in the stupid games you like to play with Bruce; You already cost me Jason once. I won’t let you do it again.” She drew her khopesh from its sheath and lowered her center of gravity.

Ra’s stopped in front of her and placed his hand on the hilt of his sword, “You would do well to remember some respect, child.” His facial expression darkened, “Too often, you seem to forget that you only exist because of me.”

Too often? What was he talking about? Esther wasn’t sure, but her head felt like it was going to split open, “Big deal,” She squeezed her eyes open and shut, trying to see through the headache, “You defrosted me in a microwave and then left me to be poked at by doctors for the better part of a decade. It doesn’t mean I owe you anything.” Essie grunted, lifting her blade a bit higher.

“Is that how you remember it? Pity.” Ra’s had a smug smile on his face, but his expression faltered as he got a better look at her sword. “Shifrat Mumazaqa.” The Shattered Blade. “Where did you find such a weapon?”

Esther squinted in confusion, pausing to inspect her khopesh. Its blade was an onyx black, some kind of old writing etched into it. “I paid a visit to my family’s exhibit at the museum. Found this on the way out, figured it was a shame to leave a beautiful weapon to rot while ten-year-olds gawked at it.” Sometimes, late at night, Esther would notice scratches in the blade with an almost violet hue.

Ra’s studied her blade, moving in closer for a better look. “How interesting that this weapon should call to you. It’s quite ancient. I have not seen it with my own eyes in many centuries.” He reached out a hand to examine it, only for Esther to lightly smack it with the blade. A warning. “You’re not foolish enough to fight me, girl. We both know you’re not quite there yet. Perhaps soon, but not on this day.”

He was absolutely right. And she knew it. To fight Ra’s al Ghul was a death wish, but Esther felt desperate. “Just tell me where Jason is.”

“I look forward to your success.” Ra’s smirked and dropped a smoke pellet onto the ground.

Esther reached up to turn on her mask, but he was gone by the time its lenses powered on. She switched it off as the smoke cleared, angrily sheathing her weapon and kicking at a loose shingle.

So Ra’s was testing her, and he wanted to be sure that she knew it. Why? Not to mention, Jason was working for him, shouldn’t Ra’s care a little bit whether or not he lives? He couldn’t be that confident in her abilities, could he? Ra’s hadn’t even seen Esther fight before.

Ra’s al Ghul had never bothered with Esther Wayne since placing her parents' samples into a surrogate, not since Bruce had taken her away from the clinic where she’d spent her life as nothing but a lab rat. So why was he here now?

She didn’t really have time to think about it, though. There was too much to do. Esther flicked on the mic in her mask.

“Babs, please tell me you have good news for me.” Esther sighed into the comm link, staring at the place Ra’s had been standing a moment before.

“I got good news, bad news, and news you just won’t like.” Bab’s voice rang from inside her mask.

“Go.” Esther huffed.

“Good news is that I got the tracker working.” Esther let out a breath of relief, thank God. “Bad news is I no longer have access to your suit's systems, so you need the physical chip.”

No. Esther didn’t have the kind of time to go back to Barbara’s apartment; Jason’s vitals looked bad the last time she’d seen them. Who knew how bad they were now.

“Babs, is there any way you could just tell me the coordinates?” But Esther knew what her answer would be.

“I could, but that’s too broad an area. It would take you too long to narrow down the exact spot. Now,” Essie could hear Oracle’s finger clicking on her keyboard, “The last bit of news is good, but don’t get mad at me.”

An eyebrow raised from underneath Essie’s mask, “Okay.” She drew out the ‘y’ in suspicion.

“The chip is on its way to you right now. It should be arriving any minute-“

“Looking for us?” The smooth voice was all too familiar to Essie, and her shoulders slumped. A silent groan went off in her head as she turned to see Nightwing in all his glory standing behind her.

“Who’s us?” Esther growled, knowing the answer even before Robin flipped from the building above them onto the rooftop they were all now standing on. “Okay, Babs, I understand sending Dick, but why the fuck is the kid here?”

“Training.” Nightwing looked her up and down; damn, she looked hot in her She-Wolf suit.

“Train somewhere else.” Esther spat and held her hand out, “The chip now, please.”

Tim Drake pulled the chip from his pocket and held it out to her, “Come take it from me.” He grinned. It was a challenge and not one that Esther was in the mood for right now. She had enough challenges on her plate at the moment.

Looking between the two of them, Esther’s eye twitched. Does this kid think this is a fucking joke?

“Tim,” Nightwing warned, “This might not be the time for” Too late. She-Wolf had already flipped Robin over her back and had her foot on his neck, pinning him to the ground. “You’ve got to stop letting her get in close. That’s where she does her best work.” Dick sighed. Esther kept the pressure on Tim’s neck as she snatched the chip from his fingers, adding a light smack to his face for good measure, “Okay, I think that’s enough, Essie.”

She released him and clipped the chip into the side of her mask, her visuals lighting up with a map and Jason’s vitals, all bordering her sight range. Jason’s heart rate was slowing down rapidly. When Essie saw his location, she groaned. Please, not the old Gotham South Elementary...

“Fuck.”

“I’m assuming that means you’ve seen our other problem?” Oracle said, and Esther palmed at her forehead. “Whoever your friend is, they need to pick better friends. Black Mask has been using that abandoned school as one of his safe houses for a while now. It’s his best guarded one.”

“And it’s far away.” Esther chewed on her cheek. “They’ll be dead by the time I get there.” Tears welled up in her eyes behind her mask, but she choked them back. This wasn’t the time to get emotional; it only clouded her judgment. “And I don’t have my guns.” She glared at Dick.

Tim sat up from the ground, grunting in pain, “I can take you on Bat-Wing.”

“No.” Esther shot back, not knowing what the fuck ‘Bat-Wing’ was.

Nightwing shifted on his feet, “Essie, Babs has two dead guys at her apartment courtesy of Ra’s al Ghul, if you need help-”

“I can’t.” She was pacing again, trying to come up with some way to get to the school in time. Dick got ready to argue, and Essie relented to telling him a little bit of truth just to save some time, “He’s issued me a challenge.”

The blood rushed from Dick’s masked face. “Shit.” He muttered, running his hand through his hair.

“That is… not good.” Barbara’s voice chimed in, and Tim got to his feet, his expression somewhat confused.

“Uhh, I’m lost.” The young Robin stared between the two older vigilantes.

Nightwing clenched his jaw, “When Ra’s wants to test the measure of a man, he’ll often set up impossible situations and set them loose to see if they can find a solution. He calls them ‘challenges.’ Bruce has done more than I can count, but Essie..?” He glanced at her, “Ra’s has never extended one to Esther before. And she’s right; we can’t help her. Much.”

“Uh, why?” Tim asked, and this time Esther answered.

“He’ll kill you.” Her words sent a shiver down his spine, “The challenge has been extended to me. If I receive too much help, I fail, and we all get picked off one by one by the League of Shadows as punishment for disrespecting their traditions. ‘Tuqus Alshaytan.’ The Rite of the Demon.”

Tim’s eyebrow raised, “You seem to know a lot about that.” Esther paused. He was right. She knew little from what Bruce had told her in the past, but… She didn’t remember him telling her the challenge's name, let alone its name in Arabic. Of the languages that Esther knew, Arabic wasn’t even one. “But there’s literally no other way to get across the city in time, not in broad daylight at least.”

“He’s right.” Babs said, “Ra’s has always allotted Bruce a little help. A good assassin uses his resources. Let us help as much as we can. As long as it’s just you that goes into that school, I don’t think Ra’s will punish you. It is convenient, though, that Bruce is busy working on a missing person case. I wonder if Ra’s didn’t want him helping you.”

Dick put his hand on Esther’s arm, and for once, she didn’t flinch away, “We’re right here, Essie. Let us help.”

Esther bit her lip and then huffed, “Okay. What the fuck is this ‘Bat-Wing’ thing?”

Nightwing did a double-take, “I’m sorry what?” Was she actually agreeing to their help? They hadn’t worked together in so long. “Wow, whoever’s in that school must be important.” He said under his breath.

Tim looked shocked as well, “Uh, right, then… It’s probably better if you just… see for yourself.”

…

“Don’t you ever, ever mention this again.” Esther hissed but could barely be heard over the wind roaring past them.

Turns out the ‘Bat-Wing’ was a new toy that Bruce made. Basically, a glorified hang-glider that went very fast. Unfortunately, it was only built for one rider, so Esther was holstered like a baby against Tim’s chest.

She looked like a fucking idiot.

“Dick got enough pictures to last us a lifetime.” Tim laughed, “And you get no pity from me. Because of you, I had to take my school pictures with a broken nose.”

“Uhh, right. How’s that coming?” Esther yelled over the wind.

“Still broken, thanks.” Tim griped, making a sharp turn to the right. Esther felt her stomach in her throat, “You okay? Lookin’ a little green there. Dick gets sick on this thing too.” He was enjoying this.

“I’m fine! I’ve been flying since before you knew the quadratic formula.” Granted, that was using her old Bat-Girl cape, but it was pretty much the same. It had… just been a while.

“Oh, I know!” Tim sighed, “Dick never shuts up about it. Apparently, you and Todd ditched out on a lot of responsibilities to take midnight flights around Gotham. He’s still salty that you guys left him to deal with the Christmas Charity alone.” It disturbed Esther to hear Tim talk about Jason, the Robin he’d replaced. But she tried to remember that she was mad at Bruce about that, not Tim. “Truthfully, I’m jealous of you guys. You all have so much history… You’re a family. I know you’re mad at them, but they still miss you so much. I’ve… never really had that.”

Esther’s heart melted. Maybe this kid wasn’t as bad as she thought. “Listen, kid,” She sighed, “I’m sorry about your nose. It’s hard for me to go easy on you. I- I don’t do it to be mean... Most of the time at least. Losing the last Robin… Truthfully I don’t think anyone should be Robin anymore. But since you are… I don’t pull my punches because I know someone else won’t either.”

“I know!” Tim’s voice hinted at the possibility that he was smiling, “That’s what Barbara said. She told me not to hold it against you. They talk about you and Jason all the time. And Alfred… Well, you need to come see him. No one talks higher of you than him.”

Alfred. Esther missed him so much. What she wouldn’t give for one of his famous cookies right now. “And… Bruce?”

“Oh.” Tim took another hard right. They were getting close now. “Well, you know Bruce. Always hard to read. If anyone brings you up, he gets really quiet. I think he feels like he failed you. You and Jason. Sometimes I see him sitting at the piano, but he never plays it. But you did, didn’t you? So… I guess he thinks about you a lot.”

The piano was one of the few things that Esther had brought from the clinic with her. To this day, she never felt as peaceful as she did while playing the piano. After everything with Joker, it was the only thing that relaxed her.

But the fact that Bruce would sit there to think about her..? It was hard because Essie was so mad at Bruce. So angry at him for so much. For being too late to save Jason, leaving the Joker breathing and replacing Jason. It hurt so much. But he was her brother.

Jason wanted him dead. Esther could tell from how he’d talked about him the night before. Sometimes… Sometimes so did she. On the bad nights. The nights when she’d wake up and swear that Joker was about to start cutting her up again. On those nights, filled with terror and rage, she wished Bruce would suffer for not saving them.

But on the good nights? The nights where she’d find hidden packages on rooftops filled with medical supplies and a note asking her to come home. The nights when they’d run into each other, and she knew for a fact that he was letting her go. On those nights, Esther missed him too.

Grief and trauma were just- just so hard to process. Even with Jason back now, it didn’t erase all that had happened.

Esther could see the school quickly approaching, and she felt Tim start to bring the glider down gradually, “Hey, Tim?” She called to him, and Tim nodded in acknowledgment, “If you go into my room at the Manor, there’s an old Monopoly board under my bed. Thursdays around noon, Bruce and Dick eat lunch in the kitchen. It’s physically impossible for them to reject playing a game.”

Tim’s eyes softened, not that she could see them. He’d mentioned not feeling like he was a part of a family, and now she was giving him tips to experience it.

Maybe Esther wasn’t as bad as he’d thought she was.

“But if you go through any of my other shit, I will literally skin you alive.”

Maybe.

…

The windows to the school were boarded over entirely, and from the outside, any passerby would assume it was abandoned.

“Should I go through the front doors?” Esther scanned the area, not seeing much to be worried about from the outside.

“Is that a joke?” Barbara laughed over the comm link. “That place is probably swarming with Black Mask’s boys.” Esther squinted, spotting a side entrance around the corner of the building. It was blocked off, but the window next to it was shattered. With a bit of maneuvering, she could probably get through.

“I’ve got an alternative, but I’ll need help getting through the building.” Esther made her way to the window, pushing slowly on the board that covered the open frame.

“I’ve got the blueprints here!” Dick’s voice sounded through the comms, and Esther sighed.

She almost laughed at the fact that she heard Barbara sigh at the same time as her. Some things never change. “Sorry, Dick decided he wanted to ‘help’ from my end.”

“I don’t know what you’re apologizing for; I’m a delight.” Dick grumbled, “Anyways, that window goes to the old guidance counselor's office.” Dick paused, “Also, uh, Esther. I know it’s kinda weird timing and everything but um… Bruce is making me do this charity volleyball competition next month… it’s kind of lame… but you know-”

Esther heaved herself over the ledge and into the building. “If this can wait, Dick, please let it.” She grunted, and Dick went silent. The office was empty, as she expected. She left the window unblocked for a quick exit later.

“The tracker is coming from the west end of the building. It looks like it’s in the old cafeteria.” The building was starting to fall apart. This elementary school had been shut down in the 90s, and boy, did it look it. There was a poster on the wall of cartoon children holding hands around the world, and some other ethnicities were a little too… on the nose.

“Jesus,” Esther mumbled, silently exiting the room to walk the dark hallways. Here and there, little beams of sunlight peeked through cracks in the walls.

Footsteps stomping down the hall forced She-Wolf to jam herself into one of the dark cubbies in the wall. It wasn’t the best hiding spot, but it should be dark enough for her to go unnoticed for a little bit.

“Asshole’s gonna die soon either way. He'll run out of oxygen even if we can’t get the safe open.” Two of Black Masks men pass her, pausing a few feet past her to look around, “Or bleed out. Kenny got him pretty good earlier.”

Esther’s fists balled up. She wanted to kill them and be done with it, but that didn't feel right with Barbara and Dick listening in. Today just kept getting harder and harder.

Sneaking up behind them, Esther grabbed both of their heads and smashed them together as hard as she could. A sickening crack echoed throughout the room, and Esther blinked, blood pouring from one of their heads.

She may have overdone it.

In her defense, Essie hadn’t been pulling her punches for a while now.

“The effort was appreciated,” Barbara noted, and Esther was grateful for the acknowledgment. “Turn left up ahead.”

“Did she just murder those guys?” Tim’s voice came through the comms, and Esther inwardly groaned. Were they watching her like a sick soap opera?

Following Barbara and Dick’s instructions was easy, despite the winding hallways, the real challenge came when she peeked into the window of the cafeteria. Fuck. She ducked down quickly.

“Oracle, there’s like twenty guys in there. It looks like Black Mask put a giant safe into the old kitchen walk-in freezer. I think my guy is inside.”

“If they got into a shootout with that many guys, your friend probably locked themselves inside to try and wait them out.” Barbara sighed, “I don’t suppose you have any explosives on you?”

“I do, actually.” Esther hoisted herself on top of one of the cubbies and pushed a ceiling tile aside, jumping up and catching the ledge with her fingers before pulling herself up into the crawl space. “Problem is, if I blow the door, the pressure will melt my friend's brain.”

Crawling until she was over the cafeteria, Esther smirked, “I might have a better idea for them, though. Cover your ears.” And with that, she cracked open the ceiling tile just above where the men were using a blow torch to try and break through the vault. Esther lit her bundle of little bombs and waited precisely three and a half seconds before dropping them from the crack.

The timing was perfect. The bombs had barely touched the ground before exploding with a violent BOOM. Stronger than Esther had been expecting because it caused the ceiling tiles to give out, dropping her about 13 feet off the ground and landing her on her ass.

“Oh, did she just eat it?” Dick asked.

“Yeah.” Barbara laughed, “But when doesn’t she?”

Esther sat up, the smoke clearing and a couple of the men stirring as well, “Shut up.” Esther groaned. She got to her feet and smacked a couple heads into the floor, knocking them out and possibly causing permanent brain damage. Whoops. One guy was definitely dead, but Esther kept that detail to herself.

“You don’t have long before someone investigates that noise,” Barbara informed her, and Esther sighed. One problem at a time, and right now, her next problem was the six-inch thick steel safe she needed to open.

“Great. Now I just need to magically know the code.” It was a digital keypad; theoretically, she could hack it to open it, but that would take time she just didn’t have. “Let’s see… Seven letters long. Password hint: your favorite movie.”

Esther blinked. Black Mask’s favorite movie? Seven letters… No. It couldn’t be that easy, could it? She started typing into the keypad.

T-H-E-M-A-S-K

The safe gears whirred and clicked from inside until the door cracked open an inch. No way.

Esther swung the door open, and ran inside, pausing as she took in the sight in front of her.

Gold. Jewels. Weapons. Gold weapons that were bejeweled. Piled as high as her knees. At the far end of the safe, on top of one of the piles, sat Red Hood, his head lulling to one side, a pool of blood soaking into the stacks of gold coins he sat on top of.

Esther made a sound almost like a whimper in the back of her throat, rushing forward and kneeling at Jason’s side. He’d been shot between the armor plates on his abdomen and his thigh. Yeah, Kenny really did get some lucky shots in.

Jason wasn’t moving.

Taking his head in Essie’s hands, she shook him softly, “Hey, hey. Come on, don’t do this to me.” She put her forehead against his, “Wake up.”

No response.

“I still need you,” Esther whispered, tears stinging in her eyes. She couldn’t be too late. Not again.

Suddenly Jason let out a raspy cough, his body shifting slowly, and Esther nearly let out a sob of relief.

“Hey, you.” Jay was smiling under his mask. “I got you the Hana- the Hanuk- The candle stick thing.” Jason lifted the solid gold Hanukkiyah in his right hand off the ground by an inch before weakly dropping it again. Esther let out a strained laugh, letting her head fall to his chest.

“It’s a man? You’re saving a man? Who is he? Ask her how tall he is.” Esther’s ear twitched at how loud Dick was talking from Barbara’s side.

“Dick, be quiet.” Oracle sighed, “She-Wolf, Black Mask has another safe house about a mile away. If he knows you’re there, it won’t be long before reinforcements show up.”

Understood. But Jason wasn’t going anywhere in this state. Esther pulled a small black device from her belt, which, even with his mask on, Esther could tell Jason was staring at. “That’s gonna hurt, isn’t it?”

With a nod, Esther uncapped what appeared to be a lighter. Inside, however, was carbon subnitride which burned a hell of a lot hotter than the average lighter. With the push of a button, a blue-white flame lit itself, and Esther placed Jay’s hand on her thigh with her free hand, “Hold tight.”

The room filled with Jason’s strained grunting, his teeth gnashing together as Essie cauterized his wounds to slow his bleeding. His gloved fingers dug into the flesh of her leg, her heart aching; Esther had hoped never to hear him again in this kind of pain.

Once his wounds weren’t bleeding as bad, Esther hooked his arm around her shoulders, “We need to go.” Jason nodded in response, bracing himself as she lifted him up. They limped out of the safe, Esther taking Jason’s gun from his holster and holding it in her free hand.

“There’s not much ammo left.” Jay grunted, “You didn’t need to come. I was figuring it out on my own.”

“That’s what it looked like.” Esther’s snark made him roll his eyes. She moved them out of the cafeteria, “You swore up and down to me that you had this handled. I’m never listening to you again.”

Jason could tell that even though she was relieved that he was alive, Essie was pissed at him. So he mustered all the charm he could in his condition and hit her with it, “Have I mentioned how fucking tiny your waist looks in that suit? It’s hot.”

Her face heated up, knowing he was just laying on thick, but… it was working, “That’s nice; put your tongue back in your mouth.” They were headed down the main hallway, sticking close to the walls in case Esther had to drop Jason to fight.

“Oh, these two definitely smashed.” Barbara’s voice gave away the fact that she was absolutely beaming.

“No way, this guy’s just being a creep!” Dick was panicked.

“Does Dick always make an idiot of himself in front of Esther?” Tim asked, crunching on what sounded like… popcorn? That little shit.

“No!” “Yes.”

“Es, watch out!” Jason pushed his body weight against her, and they stumbled into a side hallway just in time to miss getting shot by some men hiding behind an open door. Esther got back on her feet, helping Jay back up, when she realized that her comms had gone dead silent.

That was until Dick Grayson broke that silence.

“I’m sorry. What did he just say?”

Fuck. “Did he just call you Es? As in Esther? As in, Esther Wayne?” Dick’s voice had gone up an octave, and he was clearly freaking the fuck out.

“I’m gonna need you to bring it down about three levels, please. I can explain later.” Esther spoke through her teeth as she shifted Jason to her other shoulder.

“Is that Night-turd?” Red Hood smirked under his mask.

There was a moment of silence over her headset, and Esther knew why. Only one person had ever called Dick ‘Night-turd’. But as far as Dick Grayson knew, that person was supposed to be six feet under. But suddenly, many things were making sense; she could hear the gears moving in his head.

Surprisingly, Barbara broke the silence, “Esther, what’s… going on?” Esther’s head was spinning; in one hand, she was supporting Jason’s weight; in the other, she was shooting anything that moved, and now her comms were blowing up in her ear… She was starting to miss working alone.

“You have got to learn to keep your mouth shut,” Esther grumbled, the two lurching down the hallway until they came to a three-way intersection. Shit, which way had she come in again?

“So it is Bird-Brain.” Jason laughed. “Long-time no see, Dicky-bird.”

Barbara gasped, and Dick was in complete shock based on the moment of silence.

Tim’s voice chimed in, “Is that…?”

“It’s not possible.” Barbara sounded like she was on the verge of tears. Honestly, so was Esther, but for entirely different reasons.

“Can he hear me?” Jason asked, not bothering to wait for an answer, “Hey, Dick? Fuck you.”

“It’s him.” Dick’s voice was deadpan.

“Everyone shut up right now, or I’m going to fucking rip someone’s throat out.” Esther exploded and everything went silent. She was extremely overwhelmed, and her head was spinning. Taking a deep breath, she re-centered herself mentally. “Barbara, which way? Now.”

“Right.” Was her only response, and it was eerily silent on their end now. Maybe it was the threat, but more than likely, it was the shock.

Esther hadn’t meant for them to find out this way, but what other options had she had?

“You’ve got Black Mask’s boys coming to the north.” Dick’s voice was cold like steel.

“Take the main exit.” Jason coughed, blood splattering across the front of his suit from it. “To the left, up ahead.” Esther followed his instructions, freezing in her tracks as, about 10 feet ahead of them, a man the size of a minivan stepped out from one of the side rooms.

“Ooooh… fuck.” Esther and the goon made eye contact. Now, Esther was a tall girl. But damn, this man was HUGE. Her incident with Bane had already proved that she wasn’t much of a match for guys this big.

Jason glanced at her, “Shoot him.” His tone was incredulous that she hadn’t done so already.

“I can’t.” Esther muttered, setting Jason down against the side of the wall as the behemoth stepped closer to them, “There’s a child present.” Jason shot her a confused look, and she tapped the side of her mask.

“Thanks for thinking of me!” Tim squeaked over the comms. “But I think you should be more concerned about Barbara. She hasn’t blinked in like… two minutes.”

She-Wolf gave the gigantic thug a wide berth, inching circles around him in a defensive stance. The guy was missing an arm, dragging an enormous sledgehammer in the other.

“Tim! One arm, massive, giant hammer, what intel have you got for me?” Esther could see his dark eyes locked onto her, like a wolf hunting a mouse.

“I-I don’t know- Barbara and Dick are in front of the computers, and they aren’t moving.”

“Abramavici!” Jason called from behind her, “He used to work for Joker. And who the fuck is Tim?”

That’s why he looked sort of familiar. He was there the night Joker’s men took her and Jason.

“On second thought, Tim. I’m gonna put you on hold.” Esther reached up and turned off her mic. This guy wasn’t walking out of here alive. And a gun was just too easy. “Alright, Big Boy, I guess this is round two.”

“He doesn’t speak English.” Jason grimaced through his pain. Good thing Esther hadn’t paid him any mind because it was at that exact moment that Abramavici charged at her.

He wasn’t swift, but god, was he just big. And he swung that hammer around like it didn’t weigh anything. As soon as he got total momentum, Esther ran straight towards him, sliding across the floor at the last minute to dodge his hammer. She slid right between his legs, ramming her elbow straight up as she passed underneath, making Abramavici stumble as he clutched at his private parts.

Jason clenched his teeth, not exactly feeling sorry for the guy but at least glad he wasn’t facing off with her.

Coming up on the other side of the giant, Esther scrambled to her feet. His back was now to her, and she dug her heels into the ground, bolting towards him. She veered to the side, kicking off the side of the wall and catapulting herself onto his shoulders, locking her thighs in a vice-like grip around his thick neck.

Abramavici stumbled around, shocked that she’d easily gotten on top of him. He swung his hammer fruitlessly as Esther locked her wrists together and brought her elbows down as hard as she could against his head, again and again, and again.

The man must have had an iron skull because he just took it like she was simply an annoying fly he was trying to swat away.

One enormous hand came up and grabbed her thigh, clamping down and throwing her like a towel across the room with a twist of his body. Esther rolled across the floor, absorbing the shock in her knees and elbows.

She used the momentum of the rolls to twist herself into a kneeling position, one hand resting on the floor and the other reaching up for her blade. Anger flared up in her chest; Esther was so over this.

In one fluid movement, Esther pushed herself off the ground and unsheathed her khopesh. Abramavici was waiting for her, swinging his hammer once more. Esther felt the air shift just millimeters from her face, but her body was moving independently, entirely confident in itself and its timing.

The hammer missed by a hair.

And as soon as it was past, Esther forced her feet off the ground, kicked off of the thug’s knee, and, using the power of her speed and her legs, shot herself into the air. Her body twisted in mid-air, adding to the thrust of her dark blade before she brought it down hard and unrelenting against his neck.

There was a moment of silence as her feet hit the floor, landing in perfect position.

A moment later, a loud thwack sounded as Abramavici’s head landed beside her, rolling a few feet away.

Jason watched with a dropped jaw, “Es,” His eyebrows furrowed, “Where did you learn that move?” His tone was hesitant, and Esther herself faltered.

“I-” She didn’t know. Batman had never taught it to her, and it wasn’t one she’d learned on her own. And yet Essie’s body had just… known exactly what to do.

Esther stood up, her head rushing as the adrenaline passed. She rushed over to help Jason back up. If they didn’t have time before, they were significantly out of it now. She could hear more men running down one of the hallways.

Jason kept glancing at her as they rushed towards the exit, “That… was a League technique.”

There wasn’t time for Esther to think too hard about what he was saying as she kicked the door open, mid-day sun flooding their eyes. Gunshots sounded behind them, and Esther cursed under her breath, “It doesn’t matter. We need to get out of here!” Esther let the doors slam behind her.

The daylight disoriented Jason, and his body started to shut down from his injuries. “Over there.” He pointed weakly, and Esther saw what he was referring to… his bike. Esther dragged him across the street, throwing her leg over the side of the motorcycle. “Do you even know how to drive one of these?” Jay’s voice was concerned, but Essie had a feeling it was for the bike and not for her.

“Shut up.” She growled, Jason getting on behind her, his muscular arms holding her tight around her waist. Esther couldn’t lie- it was kind of hot. Her thighs clenched together tightly at his hands gripping her hips. “Just hold on.” She mumbled, her cheeks turning pink as he rested his head against her shoulder.

Revving up the engine, Esther tore off, bullets whizzing past them. Esther zoomed down different streets, riding in silence before noticing Jay's quietness. “Hey!” She called over her shoulder. No answer. “Jason!” She yelled. Essie could feel his arms slipping from her waist.

He was unconscious.

And just in time, two black cars pulled up on either side of her, windows cracking down and bullets blasting through the air. Esther Wayne just could not catch a break today.

Releasing one hand from the handlebars, Esther elbowed Jason in his gunshot wound, internally apologizing as he groaned loudly, arms tightening around her again. Thank god.

“Ouch.” He grumbled.

“Now would be a good time to use the gun!” Esther yelled over the wind, using the size of the motorcycle to her advantage as she wove in and out of traffic.

The Red Hood reached down her thigh and pulled his gun out, firing at the tires of the car to their right. The tires imploded, and the vehicle veered off the side of the road; into the side of a building.

Just one left.

Esther glanced ahead, ducking her head to avoid getting shot as Jason and the other car exchanged gunfire. The light about a hundred feet up flicked red and opposite traffic began to move through it. Shit.

She thought the word too soon, groaning as an eighteen-wheeler slowed to a stop in the middle of the approaching intersection.

Jason wasn’t going to like the idea brewing in her head.

“Jay!” Essie called back to him, and his shots paused.

“A little busy here, sweetheart!” He shouted back.

She-Wolf swallowed hard and hit the throttle, the bike jolting forward suddenly, “Stop firing and just hold on!”

Jason’s eyes went wide as he realized her plan, “No, no, no!” Too late to stop her now, Jay gripped her hips with a deathlock as Esther pushed all their weight onto one side of the bike, tipping it over and skidding them parallel with the ground as they slid underneath the belly of the semi-truck.

As soon as they were clear on the other side, Esther used all her strength to tip the motorcycle back onto its center. “Holy shit!” Jason moaned in her ear, and Esther bit down on her lip. She’d always known that adrenaline made her horny, but damn, she needed to calm down.

“You just earned a fucking lifetime ban from my bike!” Jason yelled over the wind, Esther slowing down as no other cars were in pursuit.

Esther grinned under her mask, “That was fun!”

She turned to the right, and Jay looked around. “Where are you going?” He asked, but he had a feeling that he knew.

“I’m sorry!” Esther sighed, “I don’t know how to fix you up, and you keep going in and out of consciousness. I gotta take you to Alfred.”

“No.” Jay tightened his grip on her; a warning. “Take me to my place,” He coughed up some more blood, “I have what I need there-”

“Jay-” Esther’s eyes flickered.

“Just do it!” Jason groaned against her, “Seventh and Twelfth.”

…

Esther pulled the bike into the alleyway, practically falling down the steps of his stoop as she held Jay against her. They stumbled into his apartment, and Esther blinked.

It was… charming. An apartment beneath a townhouse on the upper west side of Gotham, a nice neighborhood. It was small but had tall, Victorian walls and surprisingly large windows for being level with the street outside. A living area and kitchen greeted them, and Jay had clearly been renovating the space as it was half painted and plastic covered everything.

“Wow, and here I am squatting in a church.” Esther blinked before helping him to his room.

Jason was losing consciousness again, but he managed a “Door at the end of the hallway.” Before drooping weakly.

He was going to die. Again. If she didn’t do something soon. But she was honestly out of her depth on this one. Who knew what kind of internal bleeding he had?

Esther opened the door and threw him onto the bed inside. Now, this room seemed more like Jason. Neat and tidy. Weapons decorated the walls, and a bookshelf was over his bed frame. Essie laid him up in his bed, removed his mask, and shook his shoulders, “Red. Come on, Red. I need you to tell me what to do. Where’s your stuff?”

His eyes remained shut, but Jason lifted his hand to point at a dresser across the room. Esther scrambled to it and searched the drawers, finding nothing but clothes. Until she noticed the false bottom on the lowest drawer. She pulled it up and saw a box. This had to be what Jason was talking about.

Ripping it open, two silver pendants were nestled into a velvet cushion. What the hell? Esther picked one up with shaking fingers, eyeing it closely. There was a thin ridge a third of the way down the pendant, and Esther realized it wasn’t a pendant at all. It was a vial.

Rushing to Jason’s side, Esther twisted the vial open and forced his mouth open, pouring the glowing green liquid down his throat in one fell swoop.

Esther sat back on her heels beside him, her hand on his cheek. Her breathing was labored as she studied him, waiting for any response.

Jason stirred, coughing harshly. Esther could see the pink rush back to his cheeks, and she let out a sigh of relief, “Jesus Christ.” She laughed in reprieve.

“You don’t even believe in that guy,” Jay smirked, his eyelashes fluttering as he peered up at her. He looked so lazy like he was melting into the bed. “You mind helping me out of my suit? The blood is sticky.” He grimaced, and Esther made quick work of pulling his suit from his skin.

A sickening squelch sounded as she removed the armor around his gunshot wound, but once it was gone, she stared in shock. There was no wound. Just a scar. Essie traced the mark with her fingertip. “That liquid… Was that..?”

“From the Lazarus pit? Yeah.” Jason sighed, already looking about a hundred times better. “A little souvenir I brought back from North Africa when the League returned to Gotham. I made it this long without using one, and now I’ve only got the one left.” He rubbed at his face. “I’m sorry, sweetheart. I know I promised I’d be back before you woke up.” He lifted his hand and brushed her hair away from her cheek, his eyes scanning her body as Essie worked on removing his tactical pants, “What about you, are you okay?”

Esther stifled a laugh, and she pulled his boots off, “You’re asking me if I’m okay? You were literally dying not even two minutes ago.” Her fingers were trembling as she stood up and returned with a wet rag to clean his wounds. But Jay’s eyes were lasered in on her tremors.

“When did those start?” It felt good as the warm rag gently wiped the blood from his skin.

“The shakes?” Esther asked, and he nodded. “After the Joker.” She sighed, “They come and go. How does this feel?” She was pressing lightly on his thigh, where his other bullet wound was. She was kneading her knuckles into the area, which loosened the muscles in a way the Lazarus water just couldn’t.

Jay moaned softly, “Really nice, actually.” He stretched his leg out, sighing in contentment as she brought both hands to work into his tired muscles. Esther squirmed on the bed, swallowing hard at the noises falling from Jason’s lips as she rubbed out the tension from his thigh. “Essie,” Jason peeked an eye open, “You’re bleeding.”

Sure enough, she was. Her hip had a rose blossoming from it. One of the bullets must have grazed Essie while on the bike. “Oh, shit.” She muttered, peeling her own suit off until she was standing in her spandex shorts and sports bra. The shorts barely covered her ass cheeks, and the sports bra didn’t do her smaller-than-average breasts any favors.

Yet Jason was drinking in every inch of her with greedy eyes.

The cut on her hip was a few inches across but, luckily, not that deep. Esther held the rag tightly against it to stop the bleeding.

Jason pushed her fingers aside and held the rag there, pushing her, so she sat on his lap. The pressure he applied to her wound was firm but tender. “You shouldn’t have had to come save me. I-” He rolled his eyes, “I was distracted, and Roman’s boys got the drop on me.”

The truth was that all night his mind had kept wandering back to his time with his girl. His girl. Even now, that sounded so delectable in his head. The way it felt to fill Esther to the brim the night before, to finally, finally, claim her as his. Yet it hadn’t been enough, and he knew from the beginning it wouldn’t be. Jason knew that the moment he tasted Essie, there’d be no quitting her.

Esther could see him getting lost in his thoughts, and she wiggled on his lap until she was comfortable, enjoying how her movements pulled him from his head. “That’s okay,” Esther bit her lip, “We all get distracted sometimes.”

Was she- Flirting with him? Jason studied her expression, how she batted her lashes at him and how her chest had turned bright red. She was. She was flirting with him.

“Oh,” Jason raised an eyebrow, “You mean like how distracted you were on my bike?” He smirked, remembering how she’d pushed up against him when he wrapped his arms around her waist and how her facial expression lagged when he groaned in her ear. Esther looked away in embarrassment, and Jay snatched her chin in his hand, “You thought I didn’t notice?”

He forced Esther to look at him, enjoying the way her chest was suddenly rising and falling rapidly. Jason moved to sit up, but Esther put her hands on her chest and pushed him back down, “No.” She said firmly, her bottom lip jutted out in an enticing pout. “I wanna help you relax.” Essie’s fingers traced the edge of Jay’s black boxers, and Jason felt himself twitch from underneath the soft fabric.

Esther palmed at Jay's growing erection through the thin cotton, causing Jason to exhale softly. Sometimes this still didn’t feel real. Esther Wayne wanted Jason Todd. It was inexplicable, and yet, as she freed his cock from its fabric prison, she was looking at him like she wanted to devour him.

She snaked her body downward, resting between his thighs. Jay’s massive thighs made her look small, and as she took his dick in her hands and licked a stripe from base to tip, those thighs tightened and flexed. Jay was so fucking hard right now. His hand tangled in her hair, trying and failing to hold it back for her.

Gentle kisses were placed along his shaft, followed by her sweetly licking at his swollen and throbbing head. She lapped at the slit there, tasting that salty bead of pre-cum that had escaped. “O-oh God.” Jason groaned, his hips pushing himself against her lips, desperate to feel them close around him.

“He’s not here right now.” Esther smirked, swirling her tongue around his pulsing red tip, “Just me.” And without wasting another second, Esther pushed his fat cock past her lips and down her throat, letting her mouth pool with spit before pulling back off of him, a line of saliva connecting her mouth and his cock together.

Holy shit. Jason couldn’t look away from her; she didn’t even look ashamed of the spit line; instead, she just let more drip off her tongue and down his shaft. “Fuck, you’re a messy girl.” He breathed, so fucking transfixed by her.

Esther nodded, never breaking eye contact as she relaxed her jaw and went back to sloppily sucking his dick. Her pace was achingly slow, her fingers wrapped around his base and matching time with her ministrations. Essie’s spit dripped down over her fingers, only making her movements more messy and wet.

The sounds coming from her mouth and fingers were unholy. God, Esther was so messy, and Jason fucking loved it. His grip in her hair tightened, and he forced her to take the entirety of his cock; causing her to choke around it. “You like sucking my cock?” Jay asked, holding her still with his dick halfway down her esophagus.

Esther’s eyes started to water, her face becoming pudgy and pink, but she nodded anyway, “Mhrgm.” Essie garbled, laying her tongue flat against him, and she bobbed her head up and down a little faster.

“Oh, holy fuck, you do.” Jason breathed heavily, using his grip on her nape to guide her movements, trying not to cum at the sight of her hot tears falling against his lower stomach.

He just knew she was giving him all she had, and it was more than enough. Jason could see her nipples through her sports bra, and he fought the urge to rip through her clothes again. Jason held her head steady suddenly, caressing her cheek for only a moment before rutting his hips up fast and hard.

If she was going to give it all to him, Jay would take it all from her. Jason fucked himself roughly into her mouth, relishing the warm, wet sensation around his shaft. She looked so perfect, getting fucked into like this. “You take me so well, baby. You do such a good job taking this cock.” He growled, his hips moving at an almost rabid rate at this point.

And Essie fucking loved every second of this, her thighs clenching together tightly at the sight of Jason turning animalist above her. She was soaking wet at the sight of him. And those praises tumbling from his mouth? Esther would do anything just to hear those words said so sweetly yet carnally again.

Esther looked up at Jay through her lazy, fucked out eyes, moving her fingers to caress his balls. Jason couldn’t look away from her; she looked like a goddamn wet dream of his. “O-Oh shit-” He squeezed his eyes shut briefly as Esther hummed around his shaft, the vibrations sending him to another fucking planet, “Oh baby, you keep doing that, and I’m gonna cum in that pretty mouth.”

There was literally no fucking thing she wanted more.

Pushing her hair back from her face, Esther swallowed down more of Jay, more than she thought was possible. As he bottomed out inside her throat, Essie gave him big innocent eyes, and that was it for Jason, “Fuck, sweetheart, I’m gonna cum. I-I’m g- I’m gonna-” He panted multiple times, fucking into her mouth at a crazed, uneven pace before pulling out just enough to coat her lips and gaping mouth with his hot load of salty cum. His stomach twitched and seized as he squeezed his eyes shut, his mouth hanging open as he moaned loudly.

Esther swallowed it down, licking at her lips and savoring the taste of Jason on her tongue. He opened his eyes in time to watch her clean his cock off with her lips, and Jason seriously considered fucking her into the next week.

Once he was all clean, Esther wiped her mouth on the back of her hand, grinning up at Jason, who was still breathing heavily, eyes half-lidded in ecstasy. Jay pulled her by her hair until she was eye-level with him before bringing her in for a lazy, slopping kiss. He could taste himself on her tongue, and he growled from the back of his throat.

Pulling herself from the kiss, Esther placed a tender peck on Jay’s forehead, “I’m gonna go get a drink.” She bolted off of him, Jay sighing in contentment as he slipped his softening cock back into his boxers.

Oh god, that was so much better than he’d ever imagined it. Even now, as he could hear her rustling in his kitchen, his body was like jello, as if he had no bones in his entire body.

When Esther returned, she had two glasses of water in her hands. Jason eagerly took one and gulped it down, not remembering the last time he had drank some water. “Thanks.” He placed the glass on the side table before hooking his arms around Essie’s waist and pulling her onto the bed, cradling her in his arms. Jason littered kisses all over her face, which screwed up in mock sourness. “Oh, don’t act like you hate me now,” Jay teased, “Not after you left me face fuck you like a little slut.”

Esther’s face heated up, and she laughed aloud, smacking Jason in the arm, “Asshole.” Jay yawned heavily, his eyes struggling to stay open. Esther brushed his cheek with her thumb, “But an asshole that needs to sleep.”

Jason huffed, “No, I need to follow up on some leads. Can you bring me my laptop from the office?” He yawned again, and Esther gave him a guilty look.

“See,” She scratched his scalp soothingly, “I thought you might say that….”

Red squinted at her suspiciously, “What..?”

“You need to rest.” Essie pouted, “No if, and’s, or but’s… So I maybe crushed up like six of your melatonins and put it in your drink.” She said it so fast that Jason almost didn’t catch any of it, but he still managed to decipher her words and groaned.

“Es, those are prescription strength.” His eyelids felt so, so heavy. And wow, had his pillows always been so comfy?

“I know.” Esther bit the inside of her cheek, “Sorry.”

She slowly got off Jason, his eyes closing a moment later. Esther threw a blanket over the top of Jay and placed a kiss on his cheek.

“Stubborn little bitch.” Jason mumbled before dozing off into a deep, drug-induced, but well-needed sleep.

…

The shower pressure in this apartment was heavenly.

Esther hadn’t had a proper shower in ages. At least not one where she wasn’t nervous that a nun would hear her and call the cops.

So its high pressure and warm, soothing water felt amazing against her skin. As if all the tension in her body was melting from her skin and swirling down the drain. She missed this, having a space of her own to deflate. At the beginning of striking out on her own, Esther had tried renting multiple times, but each time Bruce would show up to try and ‘talk some sense into her.' Even when she tried using fake names. So going entirely off the grid was the only option he’d left her with.

And this place really took Essie by surprise. It was… genuinely stunning. A model of old Gotham architecture that looked like Jay was renovating to have a touch of modernism. But why? Seemed like a weird hobby to have in between working for the League of Shadows.

Coming out of the shower, her bare feet shivered at the cool touch of tile beneath her. Her eyes caught on the drain in the middle of the black and cream patterned tile… Okay, now that made sense. She could picture Jay washing down the blood from his exploits.

She wrapped a towel around her battered, bruised, and scarred body before walking back into Jason’s room. Jason was sprawled out across his dark comforter, snoring quietly. The sight made her smile. Safe and sound. Before walking to his closet, Esther paused at his bookshelf. Pride and Prejudice, Persuasion, Wuthering Heights… Twelfth Night. That one caught her eye. Jason loved the regency era but hated Shakespeare. Twelfth Night was Esther’s favorite.

Thumbing at its spine, Esther pulled the hardcover from the shelf and flipped through the pages to find countless notes in sloppy black ink. One particular part was underlined and caught her eye…

“Make me a willow cabin at your gate,

And call upon my soul within the house;

Write loyal cantons of contemned love

And sing them loud even in the dead of night;.”

Esther’s heart thumped in her chest. Of all the lines, he liked that one. Shaking her head and trying to hide the meek smile on her lips, Essie put the book back on its shelf before walking to the closet and picking out an old gray t-shirt and a pair of black sweatpants.

As she dropped her towel, Esther caught sight of herself in the mirror. Her body looked… broken. But the part Esther hated most, that made it hard to look at her reflection was the three gashes across her stomach.

Esther typically covered them with makeup, high-waisted pants… or just any way she could. Those three gashes were from day fifty-six with the Joker… The day he invited Victor Zsasz to come and play…

Shivers ran down her spine, and Esther quickly slipped the oversized shirt over her head. If it was out of sight, it was out of mind. The sweatpants hung loosely around her hips, but that’s how she liked it anyway.

A sound made her freeze. Clinking was coming from outside of the room. Like… Someone was in the kitchen. Esther snatched a gun from Jason’s nightstand. She slowly eased the bedroom door open, slipping around the corner, and unclicked the safety as she pressed herself against the wall that separated the hallway from the kitchen.

More shuffling could be heard, and Esther recognized a distinct chopping sound. Someone was definitely in there, and they were… cooking?

“I know you’re there, alsaghir.” Little one. Esther’s eye twitched, wondering again why she could understand that word. And why that silky, smooth voice sounded just so… recognizable.

Esther peeked around the corner to find a strange sight.

Talia al Ghul cutting up vegetables in Jason's kitchen.

“I brought ingredients for tabbouleh.” Talia was achingly stunning, her clothing accenting her otherworldly beauty. Her voice was dripping honey, “You loved it when I would make this for you.”

Esther approached slowly, lowering her gun, “I- We’ve never met before.” She squinted, and Esther was greeted with the same splitting headache from earlier in the day.

“Are you sure of that, alsaghir?” Talia’s soft brown hair fell perfectly around her oval face, her skin like moonlight. No wonder Bruce had a soft spot for her. “My father sends his congratulations on completing your rite. The first of many to come. Although he would ask that in the future you accept no help from your… comrades.”

Leaning against the wall, Esther studied Talia. “That’s… nice of you to deliver the message.” And also highly inconvenient for Talia to come all this way. “I hope it wasn’t a long drive.” She raised an eyebrow, and Talia laughed at her attempt at small talk.

“Jason is doing well then?” Talia asked, turning her back to check on the flatbread she was warming on the stovetop. Esther couldn’t lie. It smelled heavenly. But something in Talia’s tone caused her eyes to narrow.

“He’s resting.” She answered simply. “Why are you here, Talia? You didn’t come all this way to check on Jason and me. One of your handmaidens could have done that for you.”

Removing the flatbread from the heat, Talia turned back to Esther and placed the fluffy carb onto a plate at the small table. “Sit.” She instructed, and Esther felt the urge to obey for some reason. Slowly, she sat at the place that Talia had prepared for her, taking a sip of the water that had been placed there.

“I’m sure you’ve noticed a significant lack in your memories by now.” Talia raised an eyebrow at Esther, and Essie blinked. How did she-? “Probably starting from the moment my father met with you this morning. Things you can’t remember, things you shouldn’t know but do… Perhaps even a change in your fighting skills.”

What the hell was going on here? How could Talia possibly know what was going on in her head today?

“Jason begged my father to leave you out of his plans, but as I’m sure you know, the Demon is not easily swayed by the demands of others.” Talia chopped some parsley into fine pieces, “So tell me, Sadiyah, what do you remember of your childhood?”

There was that name again, so foreign, yet… it didn’t feel wrong to answer to it. “Stop calling me that.” Essie’s eye twitched again, but her voice was much more timid than usual.

“Why wouldn’t I use the name given to you at birth?” Talia tossed all the chopped ingredients together, “But I suppose I should be more understanding. It’s not like you remember.”

Her words made Essie’s head pound, “What… are you talking about?” Esther rubbed at her temple.

“You have had something stolen from you, Sadiyah, and you don’t even know it.” Talia placed the bowl of food in front of Esther before squeezing a lemon over the top, “Do you truly believe that my father would have created something like you- something with so much potential and then just left you in the care of strange doctors? Eat.”

The food did look fantastic, and Esther was starving. She eyed Talia; Esther used the soft, warm bread to scoop up some of the salad(?) that Talia had made. The moment it hit her tongue, her head panged like it was going to split open. She had tasted this before; Esther knew it. But she also had no memory of it. “You’re saying… Ra’s has my memories?” She choked out, eyes squeezed shut in pain.

A flash of an image crossed her mind, Talia al Ghul sitting criss-cross in front of her, swords laid out between them, as they both ate from bowls containing food that looked a lot like what sat in front of Esther right now.

“Ahh,” Talia hummed, “I knew you’d remember this. You would have eaten my tabbouleh every day had I permitted.” She leaned against the kitchen counter, “And not necessarily. He stole them, yes, but he never truly took them from you.” Esther continued to eat (What could she say, it was really good), “They live inside you yet. Just… locked away. And all you need is the key.”

A sigh escaped Esther’s lips, “A key, I’m guessing, that you have?”

“An astute observation, Sadiyah.” Each time Talia used that name, Esther winced. “Yes, I have what you need to remember….”

The older woman trailed off, and Esther rolled her eyes, “And you want something in return?”

Talia placed the dirty dishes in the sink before she turned once more to give Esther a sly smile, “You need not concern yourself. It’s an easy task. I simply need you to deliver something for me to your brother.”

“Deliver what?” Esther’s eyes narrowed once more, wondering if it was a weapon, a message, or some weird sex thing. All three of those sounded annoying at best to deal with.

“Aidkhul!” Talia called over her shoulder, and Jason’s front door opened. A small frame entered the room, covered in a heavy cloak with snowflakes decorating the dark fabric.

The figure removed its hood, and Esther’s jaw tightened. Perhaps a child would not have been so shocking, but it was the child’s face that astonished her- the boy child couldn’t have been older than eight years old, and yet he looked exactly like…

“Sadiyah, this is my son. The rightful heir to the Demon.” Talia put her arm around the boy, whose eyes were examining Esther like she was his prey. Esther met him with the same calculative stare.

“Damian.”

tags: @niphredil-14 @honeybee54321 @princesscumdump444

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rising-volteccers · 10 months

Note

I have a prompt for Friede. He gets sick but he's the last one to notice. Like everyone is taking care of him in their own way.

Thank you very much for sending this prompt! I'm currently sick myself and wrote this all in one go while medicated and sporting a 102F fever. I suppose I just wanted to make him suffer alongside me hhh...

Anyways! Hope it's still an enjoyable read! I think this is the longest piece I've written thus far so I'm pretty proud of it still haha!

Series: Pokemon Horizons

Characters: Friede, Cap, Murdock, Mollie, Orla, Liko, Roy, Ludlow

Waking up that morning, Friede found himself struggling to sit up. His body felt heavier than usual, though he supposed that was expected when he took night shift for the past couple of days. Manouvering the ship through a storm, battling strong winds and dipping temperatures took a lot out of someone. At the very least his crew didn’t lose too much sleep over it, especially the children.

Cracking a huge yawn that he barely covered, Friede went through his usual routine at a more sluggish pace. He briefly forgot where he kept his goggles and he almost exited the room without tying up his hair. Cap gave him odd looks throughout it all but aside from a questioning noise, he scampered up his shoulder as he headed to the dining area.

By the time he entered, everyone was in the midst of digging into the wonderful breakfast spread Murdock put out. He barely stifled another yawn when Orla greeted him with, “Morning sleepyhead. Thought you were gonna skip breakfast there.”

“Mm? Nah, I would’t miss it without someone getting on my case about it,” he replied with a cheeky little grin at Mollie, who merely raised an eyebrow at him. Friede ignored her sudden interest as he took a seat at the end of the table.

Friede wasted no time in pouring himself a mug of coffee. With how tired he felt, he needed a bit more caffeine in his system. The first sip made him pause, and he pulled the mug away to scrutinize the dark liquid.

“Hey Murdock, did you use a different coffee blend?”

Murdock looked up from his own plate. “Hm? Nah, it’s always been the same. Why, it tastes weird to you or something?”

Huh, if nothing changed, he supposed it was his taste buds being weird for some reason. Oh well, nothing that he couldn’t drink. Friede gave an airy wave that made Murdock stare at him for awhile longer before he passed the bread basket to Roy.

With a half mug of coffee in him, Friede found himself lacking a bit of appetite which he chalked up to his tired state. His stomach felt a little weird after a piece of toast and a few berries so he decided to stop before any accident could occur.

“That’s all you’re eating?” Orla commented as he drained the rest of his mug.

“Yeah. Guess I’m not as hungry as I thought,” he replied, once again stifling a jaw cracking yawn. As he rubbed his eye with a finger, he missed the way his crew exchanged glances with one another.

“You feeling alright?” Murdock asked, sounding oddly cautious.

“Yeah, probably just all those late nights catching up. Nothing that going to sleep earlier tonight couldn’t fix.”

Suddenly feeling a little stifled from the attention he garnered, Friede stood up from his chair–placing a hand on the back of it to steady himself through a brief wave of lightheadness.

“Hey–”

“I’ll catch you guys later then,” he spoke quickly, flashing them all his usual smile before turning on his heel to exit the dining area. Cap quickly finished his own food, cheeks stuffed and then dashed after him.

That was a little weird, admittedly. His crew stared at him like he had two heads at the end. Couldn’t figure out why but oh well, maybe that was a one time thing. Friede paused to allow Cap a chance to settle on his shoulders again. It was his turn to do some chores today so he might as well get to it now if he wanted to nap later.

–

After he cleared the table and washed the dishes with Roy’s help, Murdock went to the cabinet to pull out a tea caddy. He opened the lid to check what blends he still had left. Only he, Liko and Mollie really enjoyed tea while the rest were coffee drinkers (or in Roy’s case, a Tapu Cocoa fiend). He rarely made tea for those outside their little group but he figured it was necessary today.

Murdock knew that Friede wasn’t feeling well. If his sluggish nature wasn’t a tell, then his lack of appetite spoke of an uneasy stomach. While Friede couldn’t match Roy’s huge appetite (typical for a growing boy and one where Murdock encouraged), the good captain usually ate his fill before going about his day.

The chef took out the honey jar as well as a half cut lemon from the fridge. While he waited for the water to boil, he took out a red thermos from a different cabinet. Rarely used seeing that he was more than happy to make the crew something from scratch but one that should fit his purpose right now.

Within twenty minutes, he exited the kitchen with the thermos in hand, filled with a blend specifically made for uneasy stomachs. Murdock found Friede and Cap quickly enough; it was his turn to mop the deck, which he found him to do with slow, sluggish swipes.

Swallowing down the flare of concern, Murdock called out, “Hey Friede!”

Friede nearly dropped the mop in surprise but he straightened up with a tighter grip, then turned around to regard him with a semblance of a pout.

“What’s with the attempted heart attack so early in the morning?” he grumbled. Another check towards his unwell state was him being a little testier than usual.

“Sorry. I just wanted to give you something. Here you go.” Murdock handed Friede the red thermos. At the questioning look, he gave a disarming smile, keeping his voice light. “It’s honey lemon tea. I’m slowly using up what we have left before we restock in a few days.”

“Okay? Thanks I guess.” Murdock knew him well enough to not take the somewhat dismissive response to heart. Likely confused when his brain wasn’t running on all cylinders, not to mention the choice of beverage given. Coffee or Tapu Cocoa were the go-to more than a whole thermos of tea.

“No problem. I’d appreciate if you could give it a try later and give me some feedback on it. Wanted to see if the ratio I put works or not,” he added. By framing it this way, Friede would find himself obligated to do so, which Murdock hoped involved him taking a break whilst drinking it.

“Yeah sure.”

“Right, I’ll leave you to it. I’ll see you around lunch then.” Murdock didn’t stick around after that. Had he tried to push more, Friede might get defensive, stubbornly loveable fool that he was. The chef decided to make a hearty soup for lunch to see if his captain could stomach it later.

–

“What’s on your mind Liko?” Roy’s question startled the girl out of her thoughts. She jumped a little in her seat, spooking Sprigatito who fell off her lap in turn. She spent a few minutes apologizing to her starter before answering Roy, who looked a bit guilty after that.

“I’m sorry for startling you. I didn’t think you were so out of it,” he apologized, hugging Fuecoco tighter to his chest.

“N-No it’s fine! I was… mm, I was thinking about earlier.” Liko replied, shifting to the side so Roy could take a seat seeing that she piqued his interest.

“What about earlier?”

“You know… how tired Friede looks.” Having been a part of the Rising Volt Tacklers for awhile now, Liko had time to observe the crew’s habits and behavior, storing everything into her little mental file cabinet. She knew that Friede’s sluggishness was unusual for the seemingly upbeat guy. At least, he’d try to hide if he felt off on account to avoid worrying others.

“I guess you’re right. I don’t think I’ve seen him yawn so much during breakfast! That’s usually my thing!”

Liko giggled at his words, though her expression drooped into a more thoughtful one. “Yes, which is why I think he’s not feeling 100% right now. And he’s either not admitting it or he doesn’t think much on why he’s feeling so tired. A-At least that’s what I think.”

Roy tilted his head, so much so that Liko could practically see the gears turning. “I think you’re right. I remember Orla mentioning once that he’s a stubborn, lovable oaf of a man that thinks he needs to shoulder everything himself!”

She blinked in surprise at that. She hummed, fiddling with a lock of her hair. “I-I see. I think you should avoid mentioning that to either of them…”

“Hm? Yeah, alright.” Roy hugged his Fuecoco once more. “So… do you think we should help him?”

Liko nodded, swinging her legs. “Yeah! I think we should! Maybe he’d feel better if he gets some more rest. It’s his turn to do most of the chores today I believe.”

“We can help him out with that so he can go take a nap or something.” Roy had a huge grin on his lips, hopping up from his seat. “What are we waiting for?”

Liko quickly got up to join him, leaving Sprigatito to curl up and nap on the couch for the time being. The two kids hunted down their mentor until they spotted him carrying a basket of laundry, heading towards the back of the ship where they hung them out to air dry.

“Hey Friede!” Roy called out. Liko saw the way Friede startled, almost dropping the basket before his grip tightened at the last second. She quickly joined Roy to stand at his side.

“Liko, Roy,” he began slowly, eyes narrowing slightly. “Did you need something?”

The kids exchanged a quick glance before Liko stepped up to answer. “W-We were hoping if we could… um, swap chores today!”

“Yeah!” Roy was quick to follow up, steamrolling through whatever response Friede might have said. “We have plans to do some training tomorrow so we were hoping if we could do our chores today to have some free time tomorrow!”

“Training?” Friede sported a questioning look but Liko took note of the fact that it wasn’t an immediate dismissal.

“Y-Yeah! We… wanted to get more practice on battling so we can help defend our home if stuff happens.”

Liko resisted the urge to squirm from Friede’s assessing gaze. Roy wasn’t as nearly affected but she had a feeling the boy too waited with bated breath for a verdict. At last something in Friede’s eyes softened, and he sighed.

“Well, I guess I can take over your chores tomorrow. Make sure to inform Mollie about the change, alright? Don’t need her coming after my neck for foisting off work onto you two…”

Liko had a feeling that they weren’t supposed to hear that last bit. She chose not to say anything aside from carefully grabbing the laundry basket from him. Friede sighed once more, regarding the pair with a half smile.

“If you want to practice with Cap too, let me know. I’m sure he’d be up for it.”

“Y-Yes, thank you!” she responded, injecting as much enthusiasm into her voice. Liko supposed training was on tomorrow’s agenda. Hopefully Sprigatito would be up for it.

“Yes! Me and Fuecoco are ready for the challenge!”

“Alright, alright.” Friede covered his mouth from an abrupt yawn that sneaked out. He ran his fingers through his hair, then stood up straighter. “If you two need me, I’ll be at the captain’s deck.”

“Okay!” She clamped down the urge to add I hope you’ll feel better soon!

The two kids watched Friede walk away and up the small steps until he disappeared into the room.

“You think he’s going to nap?” Roy asked.

“Mm… I hope so.” Liko eyed the laundry in hand. “Come on, we better go hang this up while the sun’s up.”

“Okay!”

Liko hoped that Friede would feel a little better with some rest, knowing that Roy too shared her sentiment.

–

Ludlow slowly pushed the door to the captain’s deck open. Peeking his head inside, he found Cap staring inquisitively at him before recognition flashed in his eyes once his gaze landed onto the folded blanket in his arms. The Pikachu raised a paw at him, forming a little thumbs up.

“Don’t mind me,” he uttered softly. Ludlow shuffled his way inside, steps light in comparison to the soft snores escaping the young captain’s lips. Once he reached the large chair, he took a moment to observe Friede.

Being a fisherman by trade and at heart, he knew to be patient whilst keeping his senses open for even the slightest of changes. Be as still as a calm lake, hand ready to reel in the moment his lure caught something. Ludlow of course applied this in his everyday life, too.

Thus without it being explicitly stated, he knew that the rest of the youngsters were looking after their ill captain. He knew why they’ve yet to outright state it to his face; Friede could be infuriatingly stubborn, insisting that he was fine despite feeling otherwise. Ludlow supposed it matched his ambition at least. One couldn’t have thought of converting his fishing boat into an airship without being strong-willed and just a little eccentric.

Still, he personally believed that there was a time and place for everything. Friede truly was lucky to have such caring people in his life. Ludlow didn’t exactly place himself in that circle, preferring to continue his observation of these youngsters from his spot day in and day out.

Carefully, he unfolded the blanket before draping it over the slumbering captain’s form. Ludlow could do nothing about the rather uncomfortable position he slept in without the risk of waking him up but he did his best to tuck the blanket in. Cap too assisted him, using his paws to tug the blanket higher up.

Friede remained fast asleep throughout it all. Ludlow eventually took a step back, shared a knowing nod with Cap before shuffling his way out of the room.

–

Orla toiled the morning away within the engine room but her mind drifted every so often towards a certain someone on this ship. She didn’t let any of those thoughts affected her work as she didn’t want to worry the Pokemon that assisted her. By the time she emerged from the hot room around lunch time, she was free to ruminate about that stubborn, loveable oaf they had for a captain.

She knew that Mollie and Murdock shared similar thoughts during Friede’s time at breakfast earlier. All of them knew him well enough to know that he either refused to acknowledge his ill state or he didn’t connect the dots.

Friede was a brilliant man, that Orla won’t deny. His plan to fashion an old fishing boat into an airship was successful mostly due to her work but the layout he presented helped with the foundation. Orla built around his vision until they had a home in the sky, soaring high and free.

As intelligent as he was, the guy could be fairly dense in keeping track of changes to his body. Sometimes he actively hid that fact, believing that he could handle it by himself until one of them had to drag him by the ear to Mollie. Other times, it just didn’t click that maybe, just maybe his body wasn’t feeling all that well.

Orla had a feeling that it leaned more towards the latter this time. He wasn’t as defensive, though his exhaustion may have tempered it down. Regardless, his infuriating stubbornness likely remained, as it won’t even if his brain actively cooked itself. Thus Orla would give him a bit more time to come clean before dragging him to the infirmary.

In the meantime, she went to freshen herself up for lunch. Worrying about that knucklehead made her hungry, so she wasted little time in carving herself a spot at the dining table. Murdock informed them that soup and sandwiches were today’s menu. Orla lacked any doubt that it was in consideration for Friede.

Who, as lunch progressed remained absent. Liko and Roy exchanged glances, while Murdock looked like he wanted nothing more than to get up from his seat. Ludlow and Mollie ate on as usual but she took notice on the way Mollie tapped a finger on the surface, signalling her rising ire and worry.

Orla bit back a sigh. She quickly finished up her meal, then declared to the table that, “I’ll go check up on Friede.”

It felt like the table collective exhaled a relieved breath. Murdock flashed her a grateful smile while the kids exchanged soft smiles with one another. Mollie looked up, quiet but her eyes sent a clearly defined message.

Let me know what happens.

The engineer dipped her head once, then stood up from her chair.

“He was napping in the captain’s deck last time I checked,” Ludlow spoke up, surprising them that he knew in the first place.

“Oh, so he did get some more rest…” She barely picked up on Liko’s muttered words prior to her exit from the dining room. Her steps were collected as she made her way up the steps to the deck.

Orla opted to enter without knocking. Her entrance drew Cap’s attention, who looked a little relieved. Her heart rate sped up slightly as she closed the distance between the door and the captain’s chair.

Taking one look at Friede, she knew why Cap reacted that way. Putting aside the uncomfortable position he fell asleep in, she spotted the dusting of red high on his cheekbones. Sweat dotted his forehead, easily revealing a fever once she pressed the back of her hand against it.

She hated being right in this situation. Orla pulled out her Rotom Phone and sent a quick text to Mollie to prepare the infirmary since she was bringing a fever stricken idiot there within the next ten minutes. After that, she gently placed a hand on Friede’s shoulder and gave it a little shake.

Friede groaned, looking like he was trying to free his arms from the blanket in order to swat her hand away. Orla gave a harder shake, this time punctuating it with, “Hey Friede, come on wake up.”

Eventually hazy yellow eyes opened, and he blinked in confusion for a few seconds before they settled onto her face.

“Orla…?”

“Yeah, it’s me. Come on, I’m taking you to the infirmary. You’re sick,” she stated promptly. Before his ill timed stubbornness kicked in, she needed to make decisions so that he only had time to react and not think.

It took a bit of effort for Orla to pull Friede to his feet. She had to shoulder the sudden weight pressed against her, his deep heavy breaths spoke of a sudden wave of lightheadness that he tried to get in control of. She gave him time to stand a little steadier on his feet, then with an arm around his waist for support, she started to guide her sick captain towards the infirmary.

–

Mollie had things prepared by the time Orla and Friede came stumbling in. She wasted little time in helping Orla get him on the bed, where he struggled somewhat from the hands that wanted to take his flight jacket off.

“I don’t want you in too many layers,” Mollie spoke, gently gripping Friede’s shoulder as to ground him. She waited until he settled down before starting her check-up.

After Orla left the infirmary, her hands swiftly went from one test to another; checking his temperature, pulse, the inside of his throat when he mumbled about a scratchy throat during her questioning session. Eventually, she came to the conclusion that Friede was in for a few days minimum of bed rest until the worst of the symptoms eased up.

Mollie raised an eyebrow at the mullish tilt to his eyebrows once she gave him the verdict. “I don’t want you to pass out nor increase the chance of spreading this to everyone. I’ll be having my hands full looking after one stubborn idiot.”

“Harsh,” he mumbled, cowering when her eyes hardened. Mollie could be a little cold when someone had the misfortune of igniting her ire. She preferred a cool sense of professionalism rather than allow fear to settle in. Friede genuinely worried her but as the nurse on this ship, she had to keep rational if she wanted him to recover as quickly as possible.

“Am I wrong?” she challenged.

Perhaps something finally clicked into that feverish brain of his as Friede hunched in slightly, eyes darting to the side.

“No,” he admitted. “Sorry for worrying you.”

As much as she wanted to keep a hold of the slight thrum of anger beneath her skin, Mollie simply heaved out a deep sigh, briefly pinching the bridge of her nose.

“I wish that you’d stop hiding when you’re not feeling well, Friede.” Her eyes settled onto his contrite expression. “Do you realize that you’ve got everyone worried today?”

“I, uh, I actually didn’t.” His voice sounded like a child being reprimanded, which she supposed wasn’t far from the truth. “Honest, I just thought I was feeling more tired than usual. But I guess that’s why Murdock gave me that tea, and the kids offering to switch chores with me…”

It took a lot of willpower to not roll her eyes. Honestly, this brilliant man could be so dense at times.

“I don’t know whether it’s better that you’re ignorant or stubborn. Regardless, you’re on bedrest for coming days. I’ll give you some medication to take after you have something in your stomach. Murdock made soup so that should be easy on it.”

“He did?”

“Yes Friede. Everyone noticed you weren’t feeling well–except for you, unsurprisingly.” Her blunt tone didn’t quite match the way she slowly draped a blanket over his form. “Now you’re going to briefly rest here while I have Murdock bring some soup for you to eat. I expect you to eat as much as you’re able to, then take the medicine. Do I make myself clear?”

“Crystal,” he mumbled, sighing blissfully once Mollie placed a folded damp rag over his forehead.

Mollie smoothened the blanket once more, her own expression softening somewhat. “Try and get some sleep, alright?”

“Mm…” She supposed that after the fight drained from his body, he couldn’t resist succumbing to some much needed rest. Mollie observed him for awhile longer, then checked her cabinet for the appropriate medicine to give Friede later.

With everyone pitching in to take care of their stubborn, loveable captain, it was her hope that he’d return back to full health before the week was up. Until then, she was in for a whole lot of whining in her immediate future…

Not that she fully minded, she supposed.

#Pokemon Horizons #Pokeani #Professor Friede #Liko (Pokemon)#Roy (Pokemon)#Murdock (Pokemon)#Orla (Pokemon)#Mollie (Pokemon)#Ludlow (Pokemon)#Captain Pikachu #Hana writes stuff #A fun challenge to write multiple POVs aside from Friede's!#I hope I got their voices more or less alright

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veronicaphoenix · 8 months

Text

“They look at each other like they were almost lovers, like they should have kissed, and made love and laughed in bed together, but they chose to stay friends instead. They look at each other with what ifs and could haves and hearts full of regrets.” —Nikita Gill.

Chapter tags & trigger warnings: best friends to lovers, alcohol intake, sexual content, p in v (protected). | Word count: 5k | Cross posted on AO3. | Series masterpost. ✧.*

General trigger warnings: This work addresses and depicts issues related to addiction and violence, contains explicit sexual content, and explores themes of childhood trauma. Reader discretion is advised. +18

I don't know how we ended up like that.

One moment we were fine, and the next we were drunk.

At some point, our brain cells had ceded control to the alcohol. We had lost all inhibition to the extent of finding ourselves in a situation from which, in other circumstances, we would have recoiled without giving it any second thought.

But this time, it was different, and I couldn't take my eyes off Lia, nor my body from hers.

We had started the night with a horror movie. We'd had dinner half an hour before and then settled into the studio with a bowl of popcorn and a couple of beers. For weeks now, I hadn't been in favor of Lia drinking, given her situation and her condition with alcohol, but it was Saturday night, we were alone, and we'd had a good day, especially Lia, who after weeks of not showing any sign of joy, had managed to smile and I'd even heard her laugh.

I had missed that sound, and every day that had gone by without it and that I'd had to endure seeing the reddened areas on Lia's skin had been days spent in a kind of banal Hell, only soothed by the knowledge that under our roof she was safe.

So we'd taken two beers back to the studio and had settled in on the pullout-sofa, which had remained open since I'd given Lia my room weeks before and I had moved into the studio. We had brought a few cushions from the living room and a couple of pillows from my bedroom.

Outside, a strong wind was blowing, but we didn't mind. However, the storm outside matched the mood that Lia and I had set up inside the room, where we lay sheltered under the LED lights and the scent of an incense stick that I had lit a while ago.

Halfway through the movie, Lia got up and stepped over my legs and hopped down to the floor. She told me she was going to get a bottle of water. She was only wearing the T-shirt I had lent her a few days before and it was huge on her. It was practically hers at this point. When she returned, she had a bottle of water clutched to her chest with one arm and two more bottles of beer in her hands. I looked at her disapprovingly, but I couldn't say no when she gave me that look with puppy dog eyes.

The second beer became a third, and the third, somehow I can't remember, became a fourth. And by then Lia was already under the influence of alcohol, and I was starting to feel sleepy and a little dizzy.

At some point, amidst the laughter that was overtaking us as we watched the movie that should have made us jump out of our seats and stop our hearts every random second, I noticed two glasses with half a finger of whiskey and an ice cube about to melt on the small table next to the couch. When had they gotten there?

When I asked Lia, she leaned forward to see what I meant. She shrugged, but her breath exuded the unmistakable smell of the same drink. She suggested, between funny gestures, that she would take them to the kitchen, as if that would get the drink out of our system, but as soon as she stood up on the mattress, she wobbled. I grabbed her calf, pressing my fingers into her skin. Lia, by inertia, grabbed onto my shoulders to stabilize herself, unsuccessfully. Her hair fell over my face. And finally, she fell on her ass in the same place where she had been sitting.

Two seconds later, her laughter flooded the studio. It took me a while to react. The part of me that still had my feet on the ground was telling me that I should be concerned and do something before Lia got worse. Since I had brought her home weeks before, she had been medicating herself practically every day to calm her restlessness and keep her nights from breaking down with nightmares of her being back at Mitch's house and her mother, a figure in the distance, reminding her that this was what she deserved, just as it had been with the women in her family before her. I hadn't behaved myself when it came to my drinking either. I feared that if I didn't do something, if I didn't stop her, Lia would continue down a path that rarely ended well. However, there was another voice in my head, the one that belonged to the part of me that had already succumbed to the alcohol that night, and I ended up bursting out laughing as well.

I let go of her leg. Lia said something about how hard I had grabbed her, and looked down at her calf, where there were now red marks where my fingers had been. Her hair was loose and tousled, but even through her locks you could see her smile fall, and for a moment I thought Lia would look at me with terror in her eyes and run away.

While the bruises on her arms and face had faded days ago, the scars were elsewhere on her body.

"What are you made of?" She asked then, taking me slightly by surprise.

I frowned and then raised my hands.

"I just wanted to keep you from falling flat on your face," I replied.

"That wasn't going to happen," she replied, a half-smile reappearing on her face.

"Of course it was."

Offended, she picked up the nearest cushion and threw it at me somewhat clumsily. It didn't hurt me, but I threw her an amused warning anyway.

"Hey!"

"I wouldn't have fallen face-first! I'm...!" She paused for a second, her eyes on mine, as if she had suddenly forgotten what she wanted to say. On the TV, where the movie was still playing, someone had just died, although the truth was that neither Lia nor I had been paying attention to the story for a while, and the sound was just background music. "I'm fine!"

"Oh, yeah? Prove it to me," I challenged her. I leaned back against the cushions on the headboard of the couch, and was tempted to cross one ankle over the other, but I didn't because I knew Lia was going to fall.

Grumbling, she braced herself with her hands on the mattress and made an effort to stand up. When I raised a hand to ready myself in case I had to catch her again, Lia pointed at me and told me not to even think about it.

Stubborn girl.

She struggled, and wobbled a few times, but managed to get to her feet and as she stood up there, she looked down at me with her chin raised and brought her hands to her hips, wrinkling the fabric of the t-shirt and making it ride up a tad, revealing more skin from her thighs. My eyes wandered there for less than a second. I couldn't stop smiling.

"See?" She muttered proudly.

"Very good," I replied, pouting my lips in acceptance. "Now get down from there and take those glasses to the kitchen."

See if you can do it.

I saw in her eyes that she was momentarily lost. She was blinking repeatedly.

"You underestimate me, pretty boy," she said haughtily, then. "I can do that and much more," she continued, raising a hand and pointing a finger to the sky.

I would have been lost in the thought of her looking adorable if it weren't for the fact that she was drunk, and that Lia was not the healthy, happy Lia I wanted to see.

"Which philosopher said that phrase about balance...? "

She was beginning to ramble. She scratched her chin.

I squinted at her from my position. Lia was looking around, as if the sentence she was trying to find in her brain was etched in some corner on the walls around us, in the room where the guys and I had so much stuff piled up, from various computer screens to guitars to countless wires and plastic vines that crossed from one end of a wall to another.

"The balance..." she said in a whisper. "The balance is perfect, I think. Or maybe... Wait."

"Lia..."

"No!" she exclaimed, raising a finger again, this time to stop me. She was off balance again, as the softness of the mattress and her inebriated state didn't match, and she made a couple of clumsy, automatic jumps to the end of the pullout-bed, inadvertently stomping on the TV remote and causing the TV to turn off.

My body immediately rose up. I grabbed her arm and pulled her up to keep her from finally going face-first onto the floor, and in doing so, I was the one who fell backwards. I took Lia with me, who let out a squeal as her body met mine. She lay on top of me, her chest against mine, and her legs over mine. She shifted until she was prostrate with her forearms resting on my chest. My hands found hold on her hips.

"I remember!" She exclaimed. Her eyes were wide open.

I couldn't remember what the hell we were doing, or what the plan had been that night. I felt dizzy and out of place. Lia's alcohol breath whipped over me, and it mingled with the vanilla scent of the shampoo she was using and that had found a place in my bathroom since she was living with us.

"'Perfectly baaaaaalanced, as all things should be.' It was Thanos who said it. We went to see the movie together at the cinema, remember?"

She smiled. She looked very comfortable on top of me.

I don't know how she was able to remember those things given her state.

I didn't give a damn who said what. I had long since stopped watching Marvel movies. The only thing I could focus on now was the light brown color of Lia's eyes, a lighter brown than mine and sometimes, depending on the angle of the light, turning the shade of sand at sunset on the beach. It was not only that that enchanted me. The closeness made me lose myself in the universe that was in her orbs, in the grandeur of them, the long, thick lashes that framed them and the flicker of them like the wings of a butterfly, the little wrinkle at the side corner that was pronounced every time she laughed, and the way Lia's gaze itself was softening.

Until I realized that she was looking at me as if she was feeling the same thing I was feeling.

A minute before, we had been looking at each other with the confidence we had always looked at each other with. Two friends enjoying an evening together. A good movie and a bowl of popcorn. Nothing more.

Now, there was something else that hadn't been there before, (or maybe it had been... but I had tried to keep hidden for both our sakes).

Whatever we had been discussing had been forgotten. It had been lost in some corner of the room until it had managed to escape through some slot leading to the outside and had mingled with the wind increasing in the streets.

That amusement and yet confusion that had been present in Lia's eyes had dissipated. What was in them was now unfamiliar to me, but at the same time almost well-known.

Her gaze had always been my shelter, although this time, what seemed different was that Lia looked at me as if....

She looked at me as if she had had me in front of her all her life but hadn't noticed; as if she had just found something she had been looking for for years; as if she had been given her breath back even though for a few moments we both held our breath when our faces met mere centimeters from each other.

As the maddening beat of her heart softened, her light breathing intertwined with mine. I could feel against my chest the rise and fall of her own; how it slowed as our smiles fell and our gazes met in an instant that hung in time.

Lia's eyes dropped for an imperceptible second.

They looked at my lips.

Hers parted.

It didn't go unnoticed to my gaze because my eyes also went to her mouth.

My hands were resting on her hips, her hair falling on the sides of my face, and the thought that crossed my mind at that instant was that I wanted to have her lying under me, her hair spread out on the sheets like a pile of silk, and my fingers itched as I wanted to reach out and touch her face, her cheeks that were burning from the alcohol and the commotion we had formed in the room minutes prior.

I sensed her hands seeking support on my chest, her fingers wanting to cling to the fabric of my black t-shirt, which clung to my skin as her fingers began to press gently. It was as if she wanted to pull me closer to her without giving it all away, as if she wanted to make me believe that maybe it was just my imagination.

The more daring part of me was the part that made me roll on top of her to have her where and how I wanted her. Lia held her breath. It was only two seconds.

One of my legs was between hers, and my knee was very close to her groin. Lia was only wearing my T-shirt, which was huge on her, but in that position, and having fallen on the couch and now having me on top of her, the fabric had slipped up her stomach and the only thing separating the wettest part of her body from my knee was the fabric of her panties and the fabric of my sweatpants.

The thought nearly made me lose my temper. I felt dazed and weak-willed, (at least in regards to the kind of will that made me make sound decisions), and I cursed myself for allowing myself to drink so much; for allowing her to drink so many beers that night and not even have the memory of watching her pour us two glasses of whiskey on the rocks up to the top.

My vision blurred for a few seconds. As it cleared again, I saw a gleam in Lia's eyes that hadn't been there before. Outside, the wind was rushing, swaying tree branches and blowing objects around the yard and down the street. It was as if the chaos we had created between the two of us inside the house had been replicated outside, and the exhilaration I felt inside me was also a reflection of what was happening outside. The sky had been cloudy for hours, and soon it would start to rain.

I didn't care, because at that moment, all I wanted was to be petrified, with Lia under my body, her huge eyes locked on me, her breath attuned to mine, her vanilla scent flooding every one of my senses, enveloping me, and the slight flicker of her eyelashes making me lose the last ounce of sanity I had left.

Lia slightly flexed one of her legs. Her whole body reacted. I don't know if it was on purpose or if it was unconscious. My knee brushed against her crotch. The next thing I saw was her tongue moistening her lower lip. I felt her hands press hard against my back, press me to her, and then she raised her head a little and her mouth caught mine.

The flare of fire she ignited shot through me from head to toe, and before I could reconcile how dangerous that was, what we were doing and under what conditions, my hands were already on her face, on her cheeks, in her hair, and my mouth devouring hers as if outside there was a hurricane and we didn't know if we would ever see the sun again.

At least I was aware that without Lia there was no sun, and after that night, I was sure there wouldn't be either if I didn't have her like that, trapped under my body, at my mercy, surrendering herself. Her kisses were desperate, as if she had just reached the surface of a sea in which she had been drowning. I kissed her hard, returning the same passion that seemed to run through her veins. I was aware that it was probably the alcohol, but she couldn't talk sense into me. I preferred to believe that Lia was the one in control, that she was the one who wanted me there, my body pressed to hers as the wind became increasingly aggressive outside, my mouth on hers.

I slid one hand up to the back of her head, to the nape of her neck, and raised it a little so I could make the kiss deeper, cocking my head to the side at the same time. My tongue brushed against hers, and once they touched, there was no turning back, and our breathing became ragged and labored. Little exhales began to escape from her mouth, tiny noises in which her body begged for air but to which she refused to pay attention, and as the seconds, or minutes, passed, the exhales turned to moans, and the choked sound of them almost made me lose my mind.

Despite the alcohol, Lia had to be aware of what she was doing. She had to be aware of how much she was turning me on, of the hardness that was crescendoing in my pants and would soon press hard between her legs.

Fuck.

Her hands moved desperately up and down my body. They went from my back to my neck, to my face, to my hair. Then they sought the warmth under my shirt, and an electric current coursed through me as her fingers stroked the skin of my back and rib area. I shivered, and almost jerked as her body pressed tighter against mine. This time I was sure it had been on purpose. My erection slapped the spot between her legs and Lia gasped over my mouth, eyes closed. I grunted as I saw her expression. A surge of pleasure had just swept across her face, and I could hardly believe it.

If it continued like this, it would make me lose consciousness, and I didn't want, being with her, to unleash that primal version of me that sometimes emerged when I was on stage and that people loved in my voice and in the movements of my body. I didn't want to be that person with Lia despite the number of images that began to fill my head.

She started pulling my shirt up, and I let her take it off me, shaking it off to get rid of it as it went over my head and down my arms. The two seconds our mouths spent apart felt like forever, and when I was naked from the waist up, I descended on Lia again vehemently, holding her face, my fingers tangling in her hair. I moved my body so that I was completely over hers. My erection throbbed in my pants, and it was beginning to ache from being held under the fabric of my underwear and sweatpants.

Unable to restrain myself despite the voice telling me to stop and get away from Lia, I slipped a hand under Lia's shirt, my own t-shirt, the one she had appropriated days before and had been torturing me with day and night, every time she walked around the house showing off her legs and revealing the curve of her ass every time she stood on her tiptoes to reach the cups and the tea boxes in the kitchen cabinets.

Damn you, Lia.

Her skin was soft, and I sensed it bristle under the touch of my fingers. When I reached for her bra, I slipped my fingers under the seam until I reached her breast and felt under my fingertips the feel of her nipple, which became hard as a pebble. Lia let out a moan into my mouth, and when I pinched her, her nails dug into the skin of my lower back, making me feel a pain that pleased me.

Lia's body was tiny under mine, and I didn't want it any other way. I could lie to myself all I wanted in the daylight and tell myself the opposite over and over again, but Lia was made for me.

And I was made for her.

The next morning her lips would be dry and sore, but I had no intention of stopping kissing her as long as her lips sought me out.

I played with her nipple between my fingers, enraptured by the little noises coming from her mouth. When she pulled her head back and rubbed against my erection, I attacked her neck, nibbling at the sensitive skin there. There were so many things I wanted to say to her... The voice in my head wanted to grab her by the shoulders and shake her, tell her that I was going crazy and that we shouldn't be doing that, that we were each other's best friend, that we had promised....

As I kissed her on the neck and branded her, I considered the semantics of our promise. We had promised we wouldn't fall in love with each other, but we had never talked about sex, and people had sex all the time without being in love.

Keep hiding it as much as you want, Noah....

I shifted my hips toward Lia to quiet the voice drilling me, and let myself go.

I thought I heard my name on her lips. A whisper. A moan. Her hands dug into the band of my sweatpants, and pressed the skin of my ass, drawing me to her.

We would only stop under one circumstance, and that was if Lia decided she didn't want to go forward.

Because I definitely did.

One of Lia's hands slid down the side of my hip and groped the front of my waist. She hastily unbuttoned the knot of my sweats, and probably would have slipped her hand inside without preamble had I not neglected her nipple and grabbed instead her wrist, stopping her.

I lifted my head. Lia opened her eyes, and what I saw in them did not please me.

I was afraid that wasn't my Lia there.

"Lia," my voice escaped hoarse and raspy from my throat. I was trying to catch my breath, my sanity and my willpower. It was too much, and Lia's body was still under mine, clinging to mine, soft and warm. Lia's eyes darkened, her lips moist, and her cheeks flushed.

I could have told her anything, reminded her that we were two friends about to cross a line from which there was no return, that she was drunk, that I was a little way too tipsy, and that my head was spinning and I was scared.

Instead, I asked her if she was sure, and her answer was my undoing.

"I've been waiting for this my whole life."

I kissed her fiercely, as if I couldn't breathe without her. I told her to give me a minute. I stood up and walked out of the studio, stumbling over my own feet and bumping into the wall on the way to the bedroom. Everything seemed different around me, and as soon as I entered my room I had to stop for a few seconds and lean against a piece of furniture to remember what I was doing there. I walked over to the nightstand on my side of the bed. The fact that I already saw my bed as a shared place with Lia should have set off alarm bells days ago, but I hadn't wanted to assume that, because I liked that one side was hers, that her things were on the other nightstand, her smell on the pillow.

The boys were right. How long it would take for me to acknowledge it in front of them, I didn't know.

I opened the bottom drawer and rummaged through the shit I had stored there until I found what I was looking for. Just before I left the room, I heard Lia grow impatient. Her voice carried down the hallway and reaching my ears, almost making me laugh despite my state.

"Noowaaah!"

There it was, that stupid and adorable way of calling me since she was six years old.

"I'm here," I replied as I returned to the studio, trying to keep my balance. I had to put on a fucking condom and I had to do it right. At least that had to be done right.

Lia was propped up on her elbows, and looked at me with eyes full of impatience and lust. There was, at the same time, something childish in them, as if by leaving for those thirty seconds I had taken a toy away from her.

I glanced at her from under my eyelashes. Seeing her there, waiting for me, rubbing her thighs because there was no other way to satiate the heat she felt between them, had me on the verge of bursting.

I got rid of my sweats and boxers, and when my cock jumped into Lia's view I saw her eyes widen even more if possible, darken, and her lips part. She was killing me. I opened the condom wrapper and put the rubber on, and it didn't take two seconds before I was back on the mattress. Lia dropped down, submitting, her hair creating a halo around her. She let out a little cry of surprise when I grabbed her below the knees.

"Come here," I said.

I pulled her a little towards me, and hooked my fingers into the sides of her panties to pull them off.

Lia was fucking gorgeous, and I don't know what I'd expected, or what I'd imagined, but she was a gift I'd held in my hands forever and hadn't dared to unwrap.

I lay on top of her. Her hands went to my shoulders, to my hair, and she pushed me by the nape of my neck so that I would kiss her again.

My cock brushed against her entrance. She was wet. Soaking wet. I rubbed against her repeatedly, slowly, feeling her, reveling in the heat emanating from her and how slippery she was. If only the latex barrier hadn't been there... I needed to find out if her insides were just as slippery in the next sixty seconds or I would die right there.

She spread her legs further apart, giving me access, and I moved my hips slightly away to position myself at her entrance. I held my cock with one hand and stopped kissing her to direct my gaze to the point where our bodies were about to merge. Lia clung to one of my shoulders. I pushed. She held her breath, her chest swelling against mine. I looked at her again, and as I sank into her, I wordlessly begged her not to look away from me. I wanted to be a bystander in how her pupils dilated, how her lips parted, how she held back the first moan of our union and then let it escape as she relaxed and settled into my length, into the sensation of having me inside her. Her muscles molded to mine so quickly that I considered whether everything we had been through boiled down to the fact that we were meant for each other.

From the time I had found her that spring morning sitting on the sidewalk in front of her ramshackle house to the time I had saved her from that bastard Mitch while I was battling an unknown disease, and every single thing that had happened in between, had led to that moment, to Lia and I lying on the sofa bed in the house I shared with Jolly and Jessie, naked, drunk, and lost in our own and each other's pleasure.

I was delusional, but at that moment I didn't want to think about any other possibility. I didn't want to think about tomorrow, about the time when Lia would wake up and the alcohol would have dissipated in her veins, when she would realize that she had allowed me to sink into her and that we had both touched heaven when we cum. First her, and then me, following her to a peak from which I never wanted to descend.

When I started to move, I wasn't sure if it was the alcohol or the pleasure that made me almost lose consciousness. I remember Lia's body under mine, trying to move in sync with mine, the moans escaping her mouth and sneaking into my ears as her hands caressed my arms and back. I remember my name on her lips, and how that was a drug I knew I couldn't live with if I didn't take it again soon.

Although a part of Lia was far from there, Lia was everything I had dreamed of. Those dreams where I had crossed the line and imagined what it would be like to feel Lia naked under my hands, trembling with my fingers inside her, with my tongue caressing her most erogenous parts, had been close to reality, but this was so much better. When she asked me to go faster, I replied with a "shh" in her ear. I pulled her hand away from my back and moved her arm until I held it above her head. I intertwined the fingers of our hands and continued to torture her in a leisurely, delicious rhythm, my face sinking into her neck, feeling the caress of her hair on the side of my face.

We didn't last long, and the last thing I remember was lying on top of Lia, in her arms, both of us trying to catch our breath, and hearing her little laugh sneaking under my skin. Her fingers touched my hair, and I think I fell asleep to her caresses.

#noah sebastian #bad omens fanfiction #noah sebastian fic #noah sebastian x ofc #bad omens fic #noah sebastian fanfiction

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pareidoliaonthemove · 8 months

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Lemmings

The fact that all Colour-Coded Officers, and the Angels were off-Cloudbase in a fortnight long training refresher – at the World Senate’s command – was enough to put Colonel White’s nerves on edge.

The replacement compliment of terrestrial staff was, as expected, highly competent and highly capable of successfully completing the duties now required of them. The fact that they were terrestrial staff, and not assigned to Cloudbase in the first case was a very fine line of distinction. Assigning personnel to stations at the creation of Spectrum had been a fraught process, and many of the men and women temporarily staffing the base had every right to be there.

But events had overtaken them all, and the experience the Cloudbase officers had accumulated in dealing with the Mysterons now made it very difficult to dispense of their services, even if these group trainings sessions had always been intended. White’s nerves vibrated at the slightest sound from the communications systems.

So when Lieutenant Silver cheerfully announced an incoming communication from Doctor Fawn at the Helsinki base where all his most experienced officers were currently stationed, he had a sinking feeling in his gut.

And when the entire conversation was Fawn rather abruptly telling him: “Get down here. Now.” White felt sick.

Whatever White had expected to find on arriving at Helsinki, it wasn’t to be hustled immediately into the terrestrial base’s medical suite.

Fawn met him in the reception area, his mood apparently not having improved since he called Cloudbase. With a curt jerk of his head, Fawn stalked off into the corridors, unerringly threading through identical corridors.

As they approached a set of large doors with a sign in two languages, neither of which White understood, Fawn called over his shoulder. “I am a Doctor, Colonel. Not a veterinarian!”

White went to respond, but Fawn slammed his way through the doors, an unnecessarily dramatic entrance to the room beyond. White followed, and his jaw dropped in shock.

The room was the main ward, and all the beds were occupied. To his left, and sporting various casts and bandages lay Lieutenant Green, and the Captains. Along the other wall were the Angels, similarly encumbered.

Fawn stormed to a stop in the middle of the room, and spun on his heels, boots squeaking on the linoleum. “You have encumbered me with a pack of lemmings,” Fawn growled.

He spun again, pointing at Scarlet, laying confined with a neck brace, and a stunned expression on his face. “And that one is their king!”

As White struggled to regain his composure, Fawn stalked back out the door. “Until you find staff whom I am properly qualified to treat, I am on leave!” he bellowed, before disappearing.

The doors settled into stillness before White found his voice. Fixing his staff with a cold gaze, he cleared his throat. “Ladies and Gentlemen, I trust there is a perfectly reasonable explanation for all of this.”

Notes:

The standard disclaimers, I do not own Captain Scarlet, either the Original or CGI Series. (Although I do own copies on DVD.)

I do not do this for money, but for my own (in)sanity and entertainment.

#captain scarlet and the mysterons #fan fic #my fic #captain scarlet #colonel white #doctor fawn #the whole spectrum crew

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heavenbat · 1 year

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Vote for Disaster Dragonborn

After much deliberation, I decided to enter my dragonborn barbarian to @the-ultimate-oc-tournament :3 so here's a bit of propaganda for her hehe

I played her in a homebrew campaign one of my friends ran, titled The Drowned Archipelago.

She started out as a blacksmith in a small village; for the most part, she was content to just tolerate how life was, despite the Lord of the town being an absolute shitheel who constantly took advantage of the commoners. She and her family were of the opinion that if you kept your head down and didn’t get involved in things, you’d survive just fine.

But then she met Epiket (owned by @ushauz), an air genasi gardener, who was much more opinionated and much less willing to accept things the way they were. She fell head over heels in love with him, and slowly began to agree with him. It wasn’t Fair that the Lord could sit so high and mighty on the backs of the working class. And so she began to get angry.

Eventually, she and Epiket began to conspire against the Lord. They settled on a plan to poison him at a banquet and, surprisingly, pulled it off. In the aftermath, though, they were forced to flee; Crista drew the most attention to herself, knowing that because Epiket had a lung condition she’d be able to handle any pursuers better, she tried to make the law come after her and give Epiket the best chance to escape.

Her travels took her to an area of the world known as the Drowned Archipelago, a cold, forsaken pirate-riddled series of islands in the southern sea. And that’s where she began to unlock her barbarian abilities, tapping into the sea’s storms themselves to fuel her rages. Eventually she even develops wings, a gift from a storm god:

For the most part, she still tends to be rather laid-back, very go-with-the-flow. She tends to not get involved in things... unless the situation involves commoners getting taken advantage of. She’s quick to stand up for the little guy, because in many ways she still considers herself one. Loud, crass, and pretty straightforward, she tends to face things with humor up until the point where she starts getting angry. And though she’s not technically educated, she’s still fairly clever, and loves coming up with wacky inventions and weird solutions to problems.

also she's polyamorous and ended up in a relationship with a half-orc tailor:

Fun Facts:

She speaks with an Australian-esque accent

She once stole a special harpoon from the Big Bad (Naga Tor) and then engraved "Naga Tor is a weenie" on it (with help from the party's bard)

Speaking of, at the very beginning of the campaign, before she'd even gotten a level of barbarian, she successfully out-rowed Naga Tor's ship, a notoriously dangerous pirate ship, on just a rowboat. She refuses to let him live it down.

She's borderline illiterate; she can read and write, but she's very very bad and slow at it

Due to her being a Storm Herald barbarian (which allows her to breathe underwater) and developing wings, she was dubbed an ATB: All Terrain Barbarian

Being a Copper dragonborn, she has the ability to spit acid; she uses this in her blacksmithing to do acid washes

She once spat acid at the head of a corrupt merchant's guild because she was tired of his bullshit

When she got a lot of gold for a reward, she immediately donated all of it to repair a city's failing sewage system (and thus pissed off the merchant guild for not going through the "proper channels" aka giving them a cut of the profit)

When the party got attacked by a giant serpent made of animated silks and ribbons, Crista's solution was to let herself get eaten by it and then cast thunderwave from an item she got, thereby exploding it from the inside. It worked :P

The party once ran into a water devil trapped in a pot of boiling water. The party put out the fire under the cauldron and then Crista, wanting to see if it could talk, stuck her head underwater. While the water was still boiling hot. Not her brightest moment XD

Her solution to fighting an ancient black dragon was to pilot an airship into it. It worked, and also the party managed to (barely) survive

yes she has a mullet

she was originally a Homestuck OC and I've just exported her to several different universes. In at least two of those universes, she invented steam-powered technology

Once she got her own forge/blacksmith shop, she named it "STOrMS FOrGE". the sign reads exactly like that, and that was after she got help spelling it; that was her third attempt, and when someone pointed out the r's were lower case she said "eh fuck it I ain't makin another one, it's close enough"

also she ended up becoming a werewolf:

#Crista Stormhammer #oc #dnd #dragonborn #barbarian #dungeons and dragons #original character #bat draws #I love her lots she was so much fun to play as #my scrungly lil blacksmith #long post I'm sorry #I keep thinking about making the campaign into a webcomic....

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travellers-log-lawrence · 11 months

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I've been following your logs pretty much since you started broadcasting them. It's always nice to see a traveler find their footing in this expansive universe. Some are like you, full of wonder and optimism, others become disillusioned after having a particularly unfortunate series of events. But I don't think I've ever seen one do what you have done and share their progress publicly.

We Travelers seem to be a solitary kind. Or at least so I have observed. I don't know how many there are of us and with dozens upon dozens of galaxies each with billions of systems to explore, I think that's it's pretty much guaranteed that you will never run into another Traveler outside the Anomaly.

I hope I haven't overwhelmed you with the prospect of how incomprehensibly large the unknown is. The universe is vast and full of wonders, count yourself lucky for being one them.

Now, before I send out this transmission, I want to tell you a few things about myself, and also one of my biggest regrets:

Just like you, I'm not sure how I got here and I have no recollection who or if I was before I became a Traveler.

I've been a member of a few communities consisting of fellow Travelers, most of whom had decided to settle down on a planet. Wanderlust has always pulled me away from these found families. I don't regret saying goodbye, but I will forever regret the pain my leaving has caused, for them and for me.

One time I found the grave of a Traveler on a planet plagued by a constant ice storm. The grave was mere metres away from a crashed starship. I built a memorial in the area, to celebrate their life and all other lives similarly cut too short. Last checked, other Travelers had visited this site, sharing similar stories. There also seems to be an unspoken agreement to not lay claim to the crashed ship, lest we disturb the final resting place a friend we never got to meet.

Sometimes I like to put valuable items in the pockets of distracted Travelers while I'm aboard the Anomaly. I've been around for so long now that Units and Nanites mean little to me anymore and so I'd rather give them to someone who can make better use of them. And if they don't want the items? Well, they're always welcome to destroy them. I'm not going to miss that Stasis Device either way.

That ship you found not long after you awoke? I suggest you keep it, even if you no longer have a need for it. I made the mistake of salvaging it for parts not long after buying a ship from a Gek at an outpost we both landed at. I may own six different star ships and even my own freighter, but none of them feel like home just like my Radiant Pillar did. I miss it dearly.

I'm going to stop recording now, it's already a lot longer than I intended. For what it's worth, I do hope that you find Artemis. Nada has been worried sick ever since they went missing.

May we one day meet, I'd love to show you some of the things I've discovered.

I.. I don't know what to say.

[Archer sounds audibly choked up.]

I've listened to this on repeat a few times, and I just.. thank you. For sharing all of that. I can't tell you how much less alone I feel after listening to this--after listening to all the broadcasts I've been getting.

And thank you again. For the advice. I haven't even thought about getting another ship yet, but I'll hold even tighter to mine. It's small, it's cramped, but it's been my home since I woke up. Especially since I'm too broke to afford a new one yet.

I hope we meet someday, too. Maybe I'll have some discoveries to show you.. maybe take you to see Novil's moon.

Maybe I can take Artemis there, too.

#no man's sky #nms #in character #unreality #responses #transmissions #log 112

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little-engineer-who-cant · 1 year

Note

I want know about your Black Sails aus!!

Ah, thank you for asking!! I have several so this is a very long answer.

I've written a one shot where Abigail Ashe comes back to Nassau in Season 3. She watches, learns and reconciles the events of Seasons 3 and 4 before going her separate way again to settle in the colonies and keep a quieter resistance alive in the Deep South (I love Freedom Fighter Abigail theories and the lack of information post-Charles Town is an excellent playground). It explores Abby's mourning for her innocence, as well as her more complicated feelings towards pirates (Flint and Vane especially) in regards to both believing in their cause and being angry about what happened to her personally. From everything with Ned Lowe (and how she hates Vane for taking her, is grateful that he killed Lowe) to the death of Miranda (and her father's culpability in it) and finally to Flint's role in her father's rise and fall, it's a study of the grey area she inhabits. Mostly it focuses on various conversations between Abigail and Vane because they share one scene together but the way Abigail answers him with such an emphatic "good" in that cell despite being completely terrified of him compels me. That entire scene is so good, from the conversation about Lowe to the asking if Abigail's father loves her and the detached certainty of her answer that he'll pay and Vane's reactions to that having really only seen Eleanor and Richard's father-daughter relationship, it's just a very good scene.

A concept that also fascinates me that I've started playing around with is an AU where Vane and Miranda actually meet and how a chance stumbling upon one another turns into a personal power struggle between them where Miranda is bored and wants to push back against someone who's not Flint while Vane wants her to be afraid of him and is peeved it's not working. That one's more for the sheer fun of it because I had a vision in my head of Vane trying to play it cool across an afternoon tea setup with Miranda and failing miserably. Miranda is just having a good time ruffling feathers all around, including Flint's.

I also have a Pirates of the Caribbean and Black Sails crossover series that's a bunch of characters ruminating on one another (James Norrington on James McGraw and the scandal that caused in the Navy. Elizabeth Swann on Abigail Ashe and being the daughter of a governor involved with pirates, etc.) Basically it's a small collection of short, mostly canon compliant character studies that I'm having a ton of fun exploring.

Similarly, one that I've been writing for a long time but that will probably never see the light of day is a Black Sails and Game of Thrones crossover solely inspired by Tom Hopper being in both shows (for like 5 minutes in GoT). The basic backstory is that magic has been waking up for a long time and sometimes, people get caught in the crosshairs. Dickon Tarly is being sent to foster, his ship is caught in an awful storm that dumps them somewhere with different stars and they run afoul of an English vessel, resulting in Billy Bones being impressed and eventually leading him to Flint.

The story itself focuses on Billy Bones washing ashore back in Westeros instead of Skeleton Island and having to reconcile his life as a pirate and revolutionary with his childhood, and assumed birthright, as a powerful feudal lord. I lean a lot into the fantasy elements of ASoIaF, including long dormant magic waking up, the roles of gods versus the possibility that none exist and Euron's entire eldritch deal as he invades the Reach. Billy Bones comes back to a war-torn Westeros as someone jaded by the system of civilization that he's now thrust into the middle of. But Billy Bones cannot be what Westeros requires, Billy Bones is an agitator not lord. He may not have any ghosts chasing him here, but he has to reconcile two very different lives, build new alliances with war torn children of former enemies and navigate his father's ambitious plans all while trying to come to personal terms with the ramifications of his actions throughout Season 4. Also, you know, there's a madman destroying the Reach, ice zombies coming from the north, the capital is on fire and as Tyrells start dropping like flies, a lot of people are looking to him for answers he does not have, nor does he want to give.

Overall, this one's a silly premise that I'm having fun exploring and it's a very good visual of how I have changed and developed as a writer over the years.

#black sails #ask #I could talk about my AU ideas for days thank you so much for asking!

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solarsavoy · 2 years

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My World Monday, Thera the planet

I'm going to start with something a little random. Therans stopped using the word "world" a long time ago at the point when Deshi appears on the planet and says the word "world" and they correct him to realm. That's because to say Thera is a "world" is technically inaccurate. The planet itself doesn't have a name and the only place that holds life, to their knowledge, is the realm of Thera, so that is the only place that "matters". Thera is their world, but it is not the entire world, so they prefer to use the term realm and the word world was phased out.

The reason for this is because unbeknownst to them, there are actually three realms: the realm of Thera, the Desert realm, and the water world.

When making my planet, I watched a documentary on Netflix that proposed life on a planet that was tidally locked with their star. What that means is one side is always facing the sun, so it's constantly baking from radiation, and the other side is in perpetual darkness, and thus freezing. However, life can exist in the balance that is the ring around the planet where light is indirect on one side and coolness of the dark constantly threatens the other. It is the most thermally stable area on the planet and thus able to sustain life.

However, Thera isn't tidally locked, but this poses the idea that parts of the planet may not be inhabitable, and some are, which is the case of Thera.

There are three regions and only two are known to Therans. I'll start with the biggest one, the Desert realm.

This is where most of the radiation hits, the center of the planet. Though the Hummes moon protects the planet from some forms of radiation, it doesn't protect from all of it. I'll be using Earth terms to describe this. Between what would be considered roughly the Arctic and Antarctic circles lies the Desert realm, a large expanse blasted by the radiation of two stars. This causes severe wind storms that push anything that moves towards the poles of the planet. This includes water that has not been vaporized, the foundations for life, plants, animals, light metals (important later), dust and small rocks. This constant barrage of junk eventually builds up and creates two large mountain ranges along the Arctic and Antarctic circles (which are at 66 degrees latitude and in Thera's case it's more like 50-55 degrees latitude in comparison).

Oh, almost forgot, no plate tectonics on this planet, so they weren't made the standard Earth way.

These ranges grew to be so tall that eventually, they were able to protect the poles from the more severe temperatures created in the Desert realm so that water could liquify and not get evaporated back out into space.

This brings me to the realm Therans do not know about, the water world.

On the south pole is a large collection of water that neither freezes nor goes back out into the Desert realm because of 1. the mountains and 2. the strong winds created by the binary star system that ensures it only goes one direction, down.

And now the north pole, Thera. This pole also collected water, but unlike the south pole, they also collected a bunch of dirt and plants and amoeba life and so on. Essentially, Thera is a giant island that covers the water world that settled onto the north pole. This planet runs hotter than Earth so the poles aren't freezing like ours are and to combat the extra gravity that a super Earth would have, Thera floats and is constantly being pulled on by the moons' gravity. This is why Deshi doesn't feel heavier on Thera, which is something that would normally happen on a super Earth.

Because it's a rocky planet, it has a different type of gravity than a gas giant and because there's more of it, the gravity would be heavier than it is on Earth, which is why the five moons are very important. Their constant pull on the "island" that is Thera makes the gravity not as intense for the life it sustains. Then there's the constant push of the winds from the Desert realm climbing the mountains, cooling the extremely high temperatures of it in the meantime, comes back down into Thera at a more reasonable temperature and stabilizes just how much the pull of the moons affects the "island", essentially holding Thera in the perfect place for life.

Eventually, the "island" fused with the mountains which is why water words also don't exist. They don't have oceans, they don't understand tides, there are no rivers except underground, and they only have scattered lakes not fully buried. This is also unique as you could dig literally anywhere and find water. Anywhere. And the trees are also very easy to draw water from using spiles. Instead of syrup or other sap based viscous liquids, you get a more pure form of water than usual.

Anyway, another occurrence of me needing yet another day to explain things, so I'll get into Thera as a biome next week.

To finish this part off, I'm actually going to go back to the Desert realm. Unlike Earth where the smallest concentration of water in any desert is still at least 6%, the Desert realm on Thera is always under 2%, often dipping under 1%, which is extremely dangerous for life. Again, the hottest desert on Earth is still at 6% of water in the atmosphere and Thera's Desert realm is barely a third of that most times.

Another interesting fact, the inside of the mountain range is actually quite cold, even forming ice in places. (And I found all these desert and mountain details out because of Stag for his origin book, Echoes of Stag. -_- It's all his fault.) Something the wind also does is keep Thera warm, unlike inside the mountains which never gets direct sunlight OR the regulated winds from the Desert realm, which is why it reaches freezing temperatures.

And there you have it, the planet of Thera. More about the realm of Thera next week, unless you'd like to hear about something else. Thanks for reading!

Suggestions for future My World Mondays:

Thera as a biome and how it works. (may combine with below, we'll see)

Weather on the planet.

The great Hummes/Solara conflict.

A bit more about Marka, the kingdom with a perpetual sunset. (I'll do a map and explain how time works on Thera too because they kind of go hand in hand.)

#daily delivery #My World Monday #Krystar #worldbuilding #analysis and explanation #how to make a planet #im a space geek

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nijjhar · 11 months

Video

youtube

How did sacked Husbandmen of the Winepress establish themselves in the C... How did the sacked Husbandmen of the Winepress establish themselves in the Churches and jilled people? https://youtu.be/fZPNZNOSxZI Hi Brother, In Jesus, we are the twice-born Royal Priests capable of Preaching the Gospel from the core of our hearts through logical reasoning that Brews “Logo” and Logo is His Word = God Himself. The Royal Priests are Roving Preachers of spirituality received directly from our Father Free and Freely we give seminars. So, anyone who takes money, he cannot love God and without God, they ply the dead letters for fleecing the people called turning stones into Bread and Butter. Such Dog-Collared hireling Priests would drive in luxurious cars and live in houses provided by their stone-headed devotees. In fact, they are stealing money from the Church purse as Judas Iscariot was doing and Jesus threw him out into the Darkness. Ananias and Sapphira blasphemers against the Holy Spirit were not allowed into the Church of God, One Mammon-Free Fold headed by our Bridegroom Christ Jesus. Jesus took the 11 into the Wedding Chamber where He washed their feet the arrogant Simon and the Pharisees didn’t but Mary Magdalene did. And through “Eucharist”, He married the Virgin Solitary Brides to remain solitary making others solitary and capable of entering into the Royal Kingdom of God where the True Vine the bridegroom Christ Jesus is Planted by our Supernatural Father Elohim, Allah, Parbrahm, etc. Thus, these Churches that employ Dog-Collared licenced Priest bound in the letters of the law themselves cannot set others Free in the Holy Spirit but bind them worse than the Rabbis from the Yoke of which He had set us FREE. This is how Matt 12v43-45 is fulfilled and the Anti-Christ Synagogues of Satan killed those who wanted to express themselves. The sacked Husbandmen of the old Winepress, the Temple, were good for no other job than that of a Priest. After the deaths of the Apostles, they stormed the Church of God headed by Christ Jesus and set up a similar system as was in the Temple calling the Chief Priest a Bishop and Pope and they killed those who disobeyed them making the situation worse than before the arrival of the Light Christ Jesus. Much more in my other videos. I am from the Punjab where the second coming of Jesus in the name of Satguru = Christ Nanak took place in 1469 among the Kings and Emperors of Darkness the people of the Khatri tribe who didn’t hide their tribal identity under the spiritual self-Hindu as the Chosen people had done under the spiritual self-Jew. By doing so, the Chosen Elite people became the sons of the most powerful Satan Al-Djmar Al-Aksa, the religious fanatics that wanted to kill Saint Paul for exposing their hypocrisies or a set of blasphemies. Angel Stephen in his long speech to the Synhedrion emphasised that Abraham was a Nobel Man brought from the Iraq area to settle in the Middle East as Adam, Sarah as Eve and he gave them the Promised Land as the Garden of Eden. But out of the 12 sons of Jacob, only Joseph was truthful Salt of Abraham whilst the rest of the eleven were telling lies and they were murderers –John 8v44. As soon as the eleven crook brethren sold Joseph as a slave to the Egyptian, there was none remained who was faithful to Abraham and Yahweh, the Lord of Nature at large. Now, Abraham is the father of the faithful and not the unfaithful super bastard fanatic devils – John 8v44. Yahweh protects and feed you so far you are faithful to your tribal father as the Egyptians were and not the super bastard unfaithful and Saltless people to Abraham and Yahweh. Joseph became prosperous under the protection and wisdom of Yahweh, the Lord of the Nature whilst the crook liars and murderers were dying of hunger. They had to leave the Promised Land that belonged to Abraham and take shelter in Egypt where their brother Joseph got them the best land to settle. But as the Pharaohs changed and became cruel, then Prophet Moses appeared among them and He brought them back to the lush green Promised Land as the faithful sons of Abraham and no more rift among the brethren under “Eros” or the snake was lifted up in the Wilderness where they ate Manna as compared with the most delicious food Jesus offered to them in the desert urging them to join hands with him by eating the flesh of Jesus or what came out of the mouth of Jesus, digest that over your heart with the Teeth of logical reasoning to ....... POST “VIRAL”. MUSSALLMAN = GURMUKH SIKH. https://youtu.be/7VmQG3ew19E MATT. 13V24-30:- ATOMIC WAR EXPECTED ON 14/11/2023 Punjabi - Ch. Saddam Hussein Khokhar Jatt https://youtu.be/XAb1fhT3Mqk Much more on my website:- http://www.gnosticgospel.co.uk/UnitedJatts.htm WHY TEN LIGHTS? www.gnosticgospel.co.uk/tenlight.htm Any helper to finish my Books:- ONE GOD ONE FAITH:- www.gnosticgospel.co.uk/bookfin.pdf and in Punjabi KAKHH OHLAE LAKHH:- www.gnosticgospel.co.uk/pdbook.pdf John's baptism:- www.gnosticgospel.co.uk/johnsig.pdf Trinity:- www.gnosticgospel.co.uk/trinity.pdf

#youtube

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hejlesenboone32 · 1 year

Text

Water Well Hand Pumps

On most appliance oven brands many access the inner oven area without treatment of door. Should you like take away doors for ease of access then follow the manufacturer's procedure for removing it. On most GE models, open the door partly and gently access on door to slide off the hinges. On Whirlpool and KitchenAid type ovens open the door to the full open position, lower hinge clips - see product manual for location -, close the door partly and slide the actual off the hinges. To cut a long story short, I wishes to conclude by saying one situation. In my opinion the the tube king TK999 overdrive pedal could be the round tube best thing I reached get the crunchy sound I like on my riffs and solos. Insulate the skin of total venting system and tape all the seams with heating tape or duct tape also works easily. The heat tape created to to work only on steel or aluminum piping because for this special stick. Look around pre galvanized square tubing is everywhere! Anywhere you turn or look, we will see some connected with structure or means of conduit, that steel tube is staying for. Which happens to be not to call the pipe that is "out of sight, from your mind" the actual serving its purpose under the ground. 7) The vulnerability against assault is fairly little. Destroying china seamless steel pipe or one guy canrrrt afford to wreck superior health structure thanks to the redundancy for this construction. To hit a guy of several cm diameter from the gap is laborious. The masts are relatively thin too and guarded by cameras, radar and trained all of the employees. The tube could be hit from the first several 100 km's before it vanishes inside sky, but then air would flush in the tube, stopping the nearest vehicles. Cascade over a vehicle itself, going that fast and to be able to be seen from outside is very improbable. Those who desire God's presence above everything else find refuge from the storms of life. A refuge isn't an escape; it a good inner associated with peace and confidence that transcends our circumstances, providing peace and protection among the most violent hard thunder storms. Now light a propane torch. When the flame settles down, move the torch so nowhere tip of your flame is 1/2 to 3/4 inch from the joint. Heat the entire joint and along the tubing for two main to 3 inches in all directions. Watch where you're pointing the flames. Heat until the flux begins to boil. Do not overheat. Tube turkey calls are comprised of latex which is tied with rubber band up to the half for this tube call's top and hollow casks. Tight-lipped gobblers often respond well to tube call contemplating sound is probably unusual can rival a box or a slate have got normal sounds to be heard within spring season for gobblers. Being different, in those activity, can be so helpful.

#scaffolding pipe #lsaw pipe #ssaw steel pipe #galvanized pipe

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switchandsocket · 1 year

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There is wish for the future with the USB plug.

On top of that, as bluetooth innovation and also WiFi enhances, we will not require to connect in at all. I was in a resort area in Thailand and I plugged in my battery wall charger packed with batteries from Japan. You could linked into one in Africa merely as quickly as New York City. The global situation is amazingly intricate and also is not getting settled by any global order either. As you could picture this triggered any variety of fires as the cables were quickly overloaded with devices that everybody could not do without. Your Walmart shaver will still die if you plug it into a European socket with a bare adapter, Indians will still be reminded of the British Empire every time they unplug a laptop, Israel will have their own plug which works nowhere else in the world, and El Salvador, without a national standard, will continue to wrestle with 10 different kinds of plug. In 1904 Harvey Hubbell invented the "Separable Attachment-Plug" which was the first screw-in light bulb socket, transformed on with a pull chain.

There is wish for the future with the USB plug. However, it will be years yet prior to there is an alternative to batteries. The power situation in India is so overloaded with the quantity of digital tools there that it's normal to have regular going power failures anywhere. Many thanks to all these developers we now have surge bars that control our power use even in the situation of an electrical storm. This was adhered to by the first screw-in electrical plug, which was screwed into the very same socket as the lighting fixtures. "In the meantime, this means that things really aren't going to change. My battery wall charger might still throw the batteries throughout the area in Thailand.When electrical energy first ended up being preferred home appliances were wired straight into the power hvac system - no plugs.com. We could possibly bring with us a little package with the varying plug types with chargers that would adjust to the regional power setups.

The batteries actually bulged of the charger and also flew throughout the area, absolutely fried and also pointless. Although the power going to the USB plugs still varies, the plug itself is all the very same. Who in 1928 would take a brand-new vacuum china wholesale Wall Wifi Socket cleaner or a lamp with them on a ship to Europe? There was the destruction of Europe and also England during World Battle II and also the need to restore as quickly as feasible." This situation started long ago with folks not understanding just how the development of future global travel and also communication would impact us all.

The Brits took all their electrical devices to India yet after that they left in 1947, leaving an aged variation of their plug still being used in India today. I first discovered this in a most significant means. Here is what Harry Herman composing for "Gizmo" has to state regarding it. Hopefully it will all be undetectable in the wall surfaces and also we will not have to deal with snarls of cords accumulating dirt in those corners OR absence of standard electrical plugs.It would be OK if there were just a couple of variants in source of power and also plug configurations.So what's the problem? Any person who takes a trip understands that these handy plugs are not standardized, nor is the level of power utilize the very same

#china wholesale Wall Wifi Socket Suppliers

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the-firebird69 · 2 years

Text

The ground is now condensing a bit and it's going to be a lot safer because the sand won't shift and we weren't able to build things closer to the top and the bunkers that are here are all very deep 80 ft no they're 80 MI anything below a miles on shifting sand and even below that and we usually have a bunch of network of tunnels I wasn't possible and we tried flex stuff and just doesn't work and reborning it it doesn't work very solid stuff it got kinks in it finally we said it's not going to work and it's true it doesn't work the sun came up with the system that does work and we used it in an emergency as it's very helpful and we used it all over the world. But now we have to tell you we have an emergency here and we need those tunnels and the Earth doesn't settled so we have to do temporary boring and we can use the worm but it just takes a long time so those two things take too long to do so wondering what's going on with us has this tunnels and water is going through nothing else and we have to control it just send tons of troops down and there's huge numbers going down and they continue huge okay fast numbers floating downwards it's a huge show. Now there's going to be a change and it's because of the fleet of saucers. And a whole bunch of big ones showed up a few hundred milers. Made a big difference and a couple black chips and they're pushing it out and it's going out to see and can't see it but it it will if it doesn't boy are we going to be pissed in other words and they're doing the best they can and it doesn't seem to be doing much and her son's right that's what's happening so we're going to have to help and he said you can reduce the severity of the storm spread it out so the arenas spread out or reduced to what it is now and we get that

But here is in a nutshell if he moves up to Port Charlotte and goes to a shelter they could declare the area of the shelter is in a hazard zone he says they may have already and it's not in it yet but it probably will be I guess nowhere to go and nowhere to get anywhere so really it's up to the government to help evacuate people there's a lot of people can't move and this is what they're saying all over the world well come get you and relocate you so he's like a symbol for our people because you leave them stranded in situations so people are in and we have a heads up for years okay about today

Thor Freya

He can him and Holly want we've been telling you the whole time we're getting ready for it it's in groups out and trucks I'm going to take them and we modify them and repaint them we fit them and put it back in the service. Tonight we're moving hugeobuluskin and some of them are here in Florida no but it might be offshore I want you to be surprised and by the way don't Target them from space cuz you'll be targeted from the obelisk and yeah you can just say we are egg laser with one hit I go through the whole thing incinerate half of it

Hera Zues

True too we did the workout and figured out that we have to go at half power so we don't blow it up completely but it would be destroyed

Thor Freya

Jesus Christ and we're sitting here doing nothing except making a storm happen on ourselves I don't waste of freaking time and space

Let me see what he's saying everybody can't stand it Billy z couldn't stand it it's ridiculous people can't tolerate it so they go nuts and start getting rid of us and that's what he's saying that's ridiculous I'm not going to sit through this sit through my movie and we're in actual movies all the time and we get it

Mac

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