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fairybinie · 2 years

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COPYCCINO — 30: before the storm

synopsis: soobin has been talking to who he thought was his unrequited crush on messages, only to find out through a visit to their coffee shop that it was in fact not them. not only does he meet the real y/n, he runs into their friend yeonjun, an ex friend of his who he has some unresolved issues with. as soobin and the real y/n are getting to know each other, yeonjun and soobin are working through their misunderstandings, as well as trying to figure out who the catfish was.

taglist: @iyeonjuni @soobnny @taeyun @yyx2 @odxrilove @ifwtyun @luvrbin @iuwon @moondust-zia @jakekgs @soobintoyou @ijhyo @cherr-y-eji @peachy-yabbay @ameliesaysshoo @sunlightwoo @enhacolor @hotboyyeonjun @multi4lifer @milkycloudtyg @bluhr @strawberri-uyu @magicalstudentwhispers @notdrunkbutdazed @cheolsaurus @butterflx @cherrybeomgyu @skinnygowon @gu8ki @feyregels @blahbluhblahbluh @hueofjamjam @wccycc @mnlylonely @seventeeneration @hyukabean @boba-beom @moaberryjjunie @soobmint @tae-ology @voidbeomgyu @hyuntaena @loverhyunn @ericyjun @calumsfringe @7thgyu @ashxxkook @soobsfairy444 @sansluvr @flrtsbin

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a/n: written (4.8k) + smau. light profanity, a bit suggestive, me attempting my best to describe the observatory i went to a couple years ago and me being peak delulu 🥴

the special moment that all lovebirds look forward to the most.

the first date.

after spending the week anxiously waiting for the day to come, having conversations wondering how it’ll go, it’s now about to happen.

y/n wasn’t planning to put their heart on the line, let alone actually develop feelings for this boy. ever since that day he walked into the cafe, finding out what the real dilemma was, they thought that was gonna be it. the primary reason for their interaction would revolve around this person who catfished soobin, with their own pictures.

but then that problem went away. and they were still talking.

y/n tried not to think about the logistics of anything. is it odd that they now like the boy who got catfished with their very own photos? maybe. it wasn’t their fault that happened though. nobody can control how they feel.

especially if it’s reciprocated.

you could say the same thing for soobin. he got his heart broken finding out the person he admired so dearly turned out to be who they said they weren’t. he found out by meeting the actual person too, nobody can make this up. his heart needed time to heal, and turns out that healed heart found something to keep its beats going. it found someone.

fast forward to the present, each of them scrambling inside their closets to find something presentable. there’s y/n having an internal battle deciding whether they want to do just cute or just casual, as if they can’t do both. on facetime with the trio after deciding that their texts did absolutely nothing for them.

with the help of yeonjun, taehyun, and kai, their outfit was finally assembled. a creme crewneck that was slightly oversized, a pair of plain black shorts they had to dig to find considering all they own were ripped items, their white air forces which were still in their prime thanks to taehyun, that man is crazy about keeping things clean. lastly, some accessories and beanie to pull everything together. it did end up being both simple and cute, especially complimenting the weather as it was starting to finally get chilly out. after a couple hours in distress, y/n was finally satisfied. yeonjun takes all the credit, of course.

soobin on the other hand, had it fairly easier. after checking in with kai over an outfit he was contemplating on, deciding that beomgyu and sieun also did absolutely nothing for him, he was all set. a designed black hoodie with a nice pair of black sweats and his white shoes to tie everything together. the man did spend a while pondering if he should wear his glasses, or if the look was better as it was. remembering the times he’s worn his glasses in front of y/n, the compliments he received, he ultimately decided to go for it.

this time around, y/n stopped by soobin’s dorm to pick him up, as they were driving in y/n’s car. soobin did offer to ride on his bike together, but it was quickly shut down after looking at how long it would take to get there on two wheels. no way.

after greeting each other, not missing the chance to compliment each other for both wearing air forces, several blushes exchanged, the two were now on their way to the desired location.

“i can’t believe we were gonna ride on your bike,” y/n turns the music down to speak after quite some time. they offered to play some tunes as they drove to spare the times they weren’t talking, which was a great decision as the two shared some high notes together.

soobin brings his attention back onto y/n after staring out the window for a bit, admiring the scenery that was the orange and pink hues in the sky.

“i didn’t think it would take us two days to get there,” soobin defends. he chuckles after adding, “it’s crazy what the difference between a car and a bike could be.”

y/n nods in astonishment, remembering how genuinely surprised they were at the difference in destination arrivals.

“can’t say i wouldn’t enjoy those two days on that bike,” y/n notes slyly. they definitely would’ve just kept this to themselves, but throughout the week, they decided that they wanted to be more daring. slowly, they've been more open with soobin and it’s led to many cute moments.

soobin has definitely noticed.

the boy smiles shyly to himself as he readjusts his seatbelt. gotta do something with your hands. “i would too.”

a comfortable silence ensues as they’re both left with their thoughts in their mind. before they knew it, they finally arrived.

setting their car into park, y/n locks the doors as they remain in their place, leaving a confused soobin to sit and stare.

“you’re not gonna like this,” y/n warns, some pity written all over their face.

soobin blinks as he takes off his seatbelt cautiously. “i’m not gonna like what?”

“we have to walk.”

the seatbelt is off and soobin laughs, finding y/n’s randomness endearing. “i don’t mind walking a bit.”

“we have to walk up a hill.”

soobin nods his head slowly, not entirely seeing the point. the boy hates exercise, but there are exceptions. “i don’t mind walking up a little hill.”

y/n shuts their eyes, hoping it wouldn’t lead to this but unfortunately it did. they bring their hand to gesture towards the green landscape in front of where they’re parked. “that’s the hill.”

and it was huge.

soobin feels a dry gulp in his throat. he saw that hill when they parked, but he was hoping there was another way to get to the observatory instead. he was way wrong. there were no exceptions, he hates exercise.

“do you wanna just grab a burger and call it a day?”

y/n pushes his shoulder and soobin smiles, more so because he’s dreading the walk.

“cmon let’s go, it’s gonna be fine.”

before he could protest, the doors were unlocked and y/n was out of the vehicle, forcing him to do the same thing. they walk side by side as they cross a small bridge, finally being met with the obstacle they feared.

the walk wasn’t as bad as soobin had expected, but it was still tiring. the more they kept going, the steeper the hill felt. he’s internally grateful that he has long legs to withhold all this force or else he’d be dead meat.

can’t say the same for y/n. they were not blessed with long limbs. surprisingly, soobin made his way to become a bit ahead than y/n. the boy had to look behind him a couple times to make sure y/n was still following.

as they make their way to the end of the hill, a deep hole into the ground takes soobin by surprise as he just barely dodged it. he stops in his place to see y/n about to walk right on it, and warns them quickly.

“hey, there’s a-”

too late. y/n nearly face planted on the ground if it weren’t for soobin catching them into his arms, y/n’s hands fidgeting around to find a place to settle. redness seeps into their cheeks, their face feeling hot. in hopes that soobin couldn’t notice that, they look down at their shoes and attempt to ignore the fact that they almost ate it.

“terry’s not gonna be happy about this one,” they joke, commenting on the fact that their shoes had some dirt on them now. so much for those clean five months.

soobin smiles at the fact and doesn’t miss the chance to joke around. “i thought you knew the way around here,” he says in reference to the fact that y/n has been here before.

y/n rolls their eyes as they stomp the dirt off their shoes one last time. “and i said it’s been a while, your point?”

the two face right in front of them and they realize all that hard work has come to an end, seeing that the observatory is right there. before they can comment anything, the pair realize that they’re still holding hands. they glance at each other, the purest smiles on their faces. almost as if it was insinuated, they stay that way and y/n continues.

“let’s head on, shall we?”

the two head straight forward, hand by hand, butterflies in their stomach, ready to have a good time by the stars.

...

walking into the place, soobin was filled with so much joy. it almost looked like a plaza inside, with a mini museum alongside the actual planet and stars presentation a couple rooms over. there’s a built in food court with a variety of food options, and of course the view on the roof. one could say this was heaven. soobin would say this is disneyland.

the pair find their way to the receptionist as soon as they walk in. a bright young lady who seems to enjoy working there is behind the desk.

“welcome! how can i help you?” she greets the couple.

soobin and y/n exchange a quick look from happiness before y/n begins to talk.

“two tickets for your next planets program please,” y/n asks, unknowingly squeezing soobin’s hand from their excitement.

the lady searches on her computer and gives a curt nod, a slight hum escapes from her lips. “the next showing is in about ten minutes, is that alright?”

soobin’s eyes light up hearing this. the sooner the better. “couldn’t be better!” he says out loud, a bit embarrassed by his demeanor. y/n however, finds it adorable. he’s just like a big kid.

the lady emails their tickets and gives one last goodbye before they head off. “tickets for two, enjoy the show!”

the pair exchange some thank yous and begin to walk over to the room where the showing will be. ‘tickets for two’ kept replaying in y/n’s mind, it’s almost like a confirmation that it really was the real deal. a date.

the air inside was crisp, the air conditioning at the perfect temperature and it seems like there’s even a hint of some scent as well. ocean breeze, they think.

when they finally go inside the room, they see how truly huge yet compact it was. the seats were structured like a circle, the rows getting bigger as the circle gets wider. the projector screen is right above them.

they take their seats along the middle, finding a space where it wasn't too crowded. the presentation should start any minute now, and everyone in that room is filled with anticipation.

the two sit restfully in their seats, waiting quietly. y/n shifts their head over to look at soobin, who is looking up above. they take in his features, almost like this was the actual show. the purple lighting inside the room made him look out of this world. like this was in a movie. the way his glasses sit perfectly on his face, they couldn’t believe a pair of specs could suit a person so much. perfectly shaped and perfectly clean, the black color matching his entire appearance so nicely. the way his hair is not too messy, a few pieces going in different directions giving it that every day look. reminiscent of boba pearls. the way his eyes are fixated above him, looking ever so glossy and full of life. the color was plain, yet it still felt so different than the others. they had no problem getting lost in them. the way his nose is the perfect size, feeling the instinct to boop it with their finger. the way his dimple is peeking through his cheek despite not smiling, almost like it was a restful home. the way his lips gape open slightly, as if he couldn’t close it all the way, showcasing some of his teeth. as weird as it sounds, y/n loved his teeth. they weren’t perfectly straight, but whenever he smiled they were as white as milk, its structure reminding them of a rabbit’s. his lips are plump and colored, looking ever so healthy and not chapped at all, giving them the urge to kiss-

“what’s on your mind?”

shoot.

y/n is taken aback slightly, blinking a couple times to bring them back into reality. they see soobin is looking deep at them, a small smile on his face. he looks so peaceful, just waiting for the show to start.

“nothing, just,” y/n hesitates while searching through his eyes. the galaxy was meant to be right above them, but they find it inside him. ‘you’re really pretty’ they want to say.

“enjoy the show, bean.”

and with that being said, the room begins to slowly dim until it’s completely dark. some earthly music starts playing, and an announcer takes over everyone’s ears.

“what exactly, is the galaxy?”

...

after the viewing was over, y/n and soobin decided to look around the museum a bit. plenty of paintings hung all over the walls, the plaques displaying their meanings. a few sculptures presented at certain spots that left them in awe. they weren’t art people, but it really left an impression on them.

going to the food court to get a bite was next on the itinerary. the two would go on to share some conversations while simultaneously blowing on their noodles. they sat outside, having a perfect view of the hill right beside them. a few jokes were made about the fact that they went through hell on that hill, dreading the fact that they would have to come down again when they leave. surely it should be easier, since they’re going down instead of up.

now, they’re outside on the upper level of the observatory. the stars inside were beautiful, but nothing can ever beat the real thing. they’ve been here before the sun was about to set, and now the dim night sky has taken over, showcasing the bright twinkles in the sky. the air is brisk, chilly as y/n had expected and hoped for. the heat was finally coming to an end.

surprisingly, they were the only ones out here at this hour. they’ve definitely utilized it, talking about anything they could think about.

“you were right,” soobin speaks up after some time. he faces y/n to his side while leaning his elbows against the ledge. “it’s beautiful here.”

y/n beams hearing that. “i knew you would like it,” they reply in a sing song tone.

soobin nods his head assuringly and thinks of an idea. “do you want a picture out here?”

before y/n could say anything, soobin is already right behind them, whipping his phone out from his pocket. y/n turns around and slightly leans on the ledge, unsure with what to do with their hands.

“you’re taking it on your phone?”

soobin stops himself from opening his camera app on his already unlocked device and ponders about what he’s doing. it was like it was a natural instinct. he shrugs his shoulders gushingly with a soft laugh, “i mean, yeah.”

y/n feels their cheeks begin to rise in heat as they attempt to figure out how to pose. they ultimately decide on a slight tilt of the head, arms stretched out behind them, the view behind complimenting their position.

soobin begins to count down from three and the camera’s clicks can be heard. y/n slowly brings their eyes onto soobin, who doesn’t seem to know he has the biggest smile on his face. maybe they’re crazy, but perhaps they’re the reason why.

y/n scurries away from where they were standing and begins to push soobin to where they once originally were, leaving the boy to remain confused. y/n whips their phone out from their pocket and starts to unlock it, getting their camera ready.

“you need pictures too!”

soobin tucks his phone behind him as he starts to pose a bit, a peace sign being the most natural thing he could do. he may be stiff, but y/n thinks he’s gorgeous. a simple peace sign, a head tilt, his eyes closed shut with a small smile makes their heart melt.

they gather around to view the photos, asking to send each of them to each other. before they can put their phone away, y/n brings the camera onto selfie mode. soobin takes the hint and instinctively fixes his hair, a habit of his. the two get as comfortable as they can, noticing that the longer they took these photos the more close in proximity they became. by the end of it, y/n is leaning onto his upper right chest, soobin’s head resting peacefully onto theirs.

it was at this moment when soobin began to think about what sieun had told him not too long ago, their first hangout that wasn’t detective work.

‘if you really like y/n for who they are, not all the yun stuff, then you have your answer.’

soobin wants to keep doing this. he wants to keep doing this with y/n. throughout his whole life, he hasn’t been the daring kind. always stuck to his routine, comfortable in his own skin. y/n completely changed that for him. putting aside how they originally met, y/n’s introduced him to so many new things. something as small as hot chocolate, to now, a place that has what he absolutely loves. stars.

he wants to be with y/n for who they are, not yun. they were never yun, yun was them.

and he thinks he has an answer.

“can i tell you something?” he asks after they’ve repositioned themselves where y/n is leaning on the nearest pole, soobin only a few inches in front of them.

“you can tell me anything.” y/n’s voice is as quiet as it can be. all of a sudden, it’s like the whole world can hear. it’s just them.

soobin takes a second to compose his thoughts, figuring out how to speak them without sounding jumbled. he decides what’s best for him is to get straight to the point. that’s all that matters anyway.

“i’ve gotten over yun.” he says confidently. it also happens to be the first time he’s said it out loud, almost like it was a confirmation. there’s nothing to take back.

y/n’s heart skips a beat, wondering if this was gonna go where they think it was gonna go. they only hoped for the best. “have you now?”

the boy nods his head in agreement, a hum escaping from his lips. now was the time to explain.

“i’m gonna be honest, it was hard at first. i’ve never had someone be so open about their feelings for me so i just took them as my whole world,” he lays his heart out. y/n does their best to listen, even if it does sting a bit. but they must realize this was before they met.

“... and then they lied to me, using your pictures,” he sighs in disappoint. “i didn’t want to continue liking someone like that.”

“... for a few days i thought about what they meant to me. that if there was a chance for forgiveness, and part of me really considered it.”

it hurts y/n to hear him say that. feeling sorry that he’s ever stooped to that level. a person who deceits this terribly doesn’t deserve to be forgiven this easily.

as if soobin could read their mind, he shifts towards a different direction. the one he intended on.

“... but hanging out with you, getting to know you, i’ve realized that this is what a good person is. someone who’s honest, down to earth, loving,” y/n doesn’t miss the chance to blush.

“... i want to spent my time with someone like that. if i’m gonna have feelings for anyone, i want them to be for someone just like that. so i’ve moved on.”

y/n had honestly thought that’s where he was going to end it. just a disclaimer, he’s moved on. that was good news on its own, but it was far from over.

“sieun told me that you and yun are two different people,” soobin recalls, a transition towards his final point.

y/n chuckles in agreement, clicking their tongue in the process. “she’s not wrong.”

“you’re you, yun is yun,” soobin starts to close the distance between them a bit more before the words finally escape from his mouth.

“... and i like you.”

he finally said it. just where they were hoping it would go.

“... you’re you, you’ve always been you. not yun. i like you for you, y/n. not anything that has to do with them.”

if y/n had any doubts, this would be the most reassuring thing they’ve ever heard. but they’ve always trusted soobin. they didn’t think he’d ever develop feelings, but they can say they never thought he’d consider them the same person.

“...and, yeah,” he could’ve said more, but he was already embarrassed enough. he technically just confessed. it was all y/n needed to know.

“i like you too, soobin.” y/n adjusts their position so they’re standing a bit more straight.

“i never thought i’d develop feelings for you, but something shifted in the middle of it and i’m glad it did.”

even if y/n said anything else, he wouldn't have heard. his mind is too fixated on the fact that they like him back.

the two stand for a few more beats, stupidly looking at each other in admiration. as if their minds were telepathically communicating, cherishing the moment as much as they could.

“so..what happens now?” y/n asks, stretching out the question.

soobin purses his lips in thought until he remembers what happened earlier today. y/n had no idea, but he knows that they were staring at him earlier. staring at him with thoughts in their mind.

“what were you thinking about earlier before the show started?” he brings up. to avoid any further questions, or y/n using the opportunity to act dumb, he specifies. “when we were sitting in our seats and i had asked you.”

if y/n wasn’t thrown off by the confession, they were definitely thrown off now. they stutter quietly as they think about the best possible answer they could come up with.

“i..i told you. to enjoy the show.”

soobin tilts his head in doubt while sucking in his breath. “hm, i don’t think that was it. what was it really?”

y/n scoffs and rolls their eyes, crossing their arms in defense. “i thought you weren’t a mind reader mr. psych major.”

“i can be when it comes to you,” he replies nonchalantly.

ooh.

y/n gives up. they’ve already told him they like him, what more could they lose.

“i was thinking about how pretty you are,” y/n adds in a rushed whisper. “about how pretty your lips are.”

soobin widens his eyes with a smirk on his face. he gestures his hand towards his ear and bends forward in a teasing manner. “what was the last part? couldn’t hear.”

y/n scrunches their nose in annoyance, wondering where the cocky attitude came from. they sigh in defeat, responding with clenched teeth. “about how pretty your lips are.”

he expected the answer, but still, soobin couldn’t deny the fluttering sensation that just ensued.

“thought so,” he comments while asking one last question. “is that everything?”

maybe they were tired of holding back, or maybe it’s because they actually wanted to go through with it already, but y/n immediately gave in.

“about how i want to kiss them.”

soobin responds with a ‘hm’ while shifting his gaze back onto the sky.

“glad it wasn’t just me.”

he lets the comment sink in before looking back at y/n, a bit of a sorrowful look replacing his confident demeanor. “i’ve never kissed anybody before.”

y/n is genuinely surprised by this, their face probably giving it away. how could he have never kissed anyone? there’s nothing wrong with that, but based on who soobin was, they figured that he’s at least had the opportunity before. he’s a great guy that anyone would love.

“i have once,” y/n admits. “wasn’t that great, though.”

soobin feels his heart drop to the pit of his stomach, a bit disappointed that he wouldn’t be their first as they would be his.

“must’ve been a lucky person,” he mutters under his breath, but decipherable enough where y/n could hear.

they chuckle a bit before revealing everything else. “oh yeah, his way of thanking me for giving him my last cookie during recess. we crashed lips and then i cried after because he tasted yucky.”

once he realizes they were a child, soobin feels a sense of relief come over him.

technically it doesn’t count.

“i want to,” soobin hesitates. “i just don’t know how.”

y/n considers his honesty before thinking about their next move. they reach for soobin’s hands, to which he lets them hold, and they pull him near them so they’re only inches apart.

“from what i know, you could put these here,” y/n places his hands on their waist, soobin finding them to be a perfect fit as he lets them get comfortable. y/n brings their hands to wrap themselves around soobin’s neck, to which soobin lowers himself a little to match the height difference.

“and i could put these there.”

if they chose to, they could listen to the sound of their breathing. their faces are right there, all that’s left to do is the actual deed. two people, giving looks of readiness. about to have their first kiss.

“what if i taste yucky too,” soobin asks, he’s being half serious, at this point he’s just saying anything.

y/n snorts while bringing their head down, their hands securing themselves tighter around soobin’s neck, him doing the same thing on his part. y/n collects themselves as they bring themselves to look back up at soobin, closing their lips while looking at his in thought.

“i doubt that.”

through each second, their heads began to move closer to each other, the tips of their noses barely touching. soobin’s head tilting one way while y/n’s tilts the other. the only thought being on both their minds is if their breath smells okay.

soobin’s had his eyes open the entire time, not trusting his sense of vision. he sees y/n start to close their eyes, so he only figured he should do the same thing. he doesn’t know how close their lips are at this point, but his eyes are fully closed, and it’s not until he feels a warm set of skin where he knows they’re finally in contact.

it’s slow. there’s no need to be rushing, no intensity, this was their first kiss after all. their lips taste sweet, y/n’s being their vanilla chapstick they reapplied earlier that night while soobin’s tasting like the cherry icee he had for lunch. cherry vanilla, a sweet flavor for a sweet kiss.

for being his first kiss, soobin is surprised he’s making just as much effort as y/n was. he was worried that they would be doing most of the work, since they seem to be more knowledgeable about how this goes. the fact that y/n has started to move their hands around to where they began to tug on soobin’s hair told him that he was doing something right. he feels their fingers swirl around his dark set of hair and it drove him crazy.

he doesn’t even notice that his hands have moved up y/n’s waist to their middle to upper back until he feels himself start moving y/n up against the pole. the night was as quiet as it could be, no crickets chirping, no cars driving on the highway near the place. just the sound of their lips smacking against each other ever so delicately.

y/n feels their stomach begin to twist around, their blood circulating through their fingers down to their toes, once they feel soobin’s tongue begin to ask for an entrance. they weren’t planning on going this far, frankly they were surprised that soobin even acted upon it.

they let him in.

they weren’t shoving theirs down each other’s throat, it was almost like each of them knew how far was enough. the sighs escaping from each of their lips every now and then indicates that they were enjoying it.

almost instinctively, both of them began to feel their throats closing up, a sign that their air supply was starting to give out. nobody was timing it, but it was certain this kiss went on for a good few minutes.

getting their last few moments in, they finally release.

they remain with arms wrapped around each other, each having to lick the strings of saliva from their mouths clean. they’re searching through each other’s eyes, attempting to figure if they really had just kissed each other. a smile creeps up on their faces when they realize they most certainly did.

“well,” soobin’s voice sounds hoarse. his first time speaking after all this. it comes across more as a statement than a question.

y/n feels their cheeks begin to hurt as they reply with satisfaction.

“definitely not yucky.”

...

please do not translate, modify or repost on other platforms.

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toyybox · 7 months

Text

Spiderwebs #13: Tape VI (Sugar-Coat)

Masterlist

content: lab whump, captivity, immortal whumpee, death wish

Jackie awoke to silence.

He realized that the lights were out. He didn’t turn the lights off last night—forgot to, honestly. Heather must have checked up on him at some point, but she had left without saying a word. That meant there was no new experiment. Yet.

He didn't like the thought of her watching him sleep. He hoped—no, he wasn’t—well—

Better not to think about it. He was being paranoid. Old habit, paranoia, one that had protected him back then but was useless now. A burden that served only to haunt him. After all, what reason would she have to try anything? Why would she?

He felt sick at that thought. There was no other way to describe that emotion—he didn’t want another way to describe it. Better not to think about it. Don’t think, don’t even imagine. What happened to that? Jackie had gotten so good at not thinking about it. Why did he have to slip up now?

The trick was to distract yourself. Jackie got up out of bed, untangling himself from the covers. He turned the lights on. The items he requested were still on the nightstand. Oliver Twist sounded boring. He could read later. What Jackie wanted was the notebook and pen.

He sat back on the bed and took the pen, clicked it open. He took the notebook and spread it to the first page. A blank page, what a wonderful thing. He hadn’t drawn anything since coming to Heather’s house. Make no mistake—he wasn’t an artist by any means. Still, he liked to draw, the way a puppy liked to chase its tail. It was pointless, but fun. It occupied his hands and his thoughts better than anything else.

The pen wrote smoothly, despite being a cheap thing of plastic. The ink came out thick and deep black. He scratched in a few lines before the door opened.

“Sleep well?”

Heather wasn’t holding a scalpel, which was nice. She instead held a piece of paper and the tape recorder. That all-knowing, eternally waiting thing. The only other witness. She also had a book bag slung around her shoulder.

“Slept great.” Jackie placed the book and pen into a nightstand drawer.

“Don’t put the pen away.” The tape recorder clicked to life, an action that was starting to irritate Jackie. “We’re doing something more relaxed today. I thought I should give you a break. And we’ve already covered the basics.”

“Sure.” Jackie took the pen out of the drawer.

“Right, so… you can sit there.” She pointed to the writing desk. “Take the paper and write something.”

He took the sheet of paper. “What should I write?”

“Whatever you want. Nothing inappropriate, of course.”

Jackie did as she asked and sat down to write. He was still too fuzzy from sleep to think of something clever, so he stuck to the basics—the quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.

Heather watched over his shoulder. “Subject has not lost their fine motor skills, despite their severe injuries. You have nice handwriting, by the way.”

“Thank you.” He put the pen down. “Was that it?”

“I need you to answer a few questions first. How is your pain now? Using the scale of ten, again.”

“One or two.”

“How have the scars healed? Are they still there?”

“They’re still there. Healed fine.”

“I see.” She then brought a thick journal and a much nicer fountain pen out from the book bag. “Now, I never got an answer to those questions. Age, family, and birthplace, please.”

“Why does it matter?” Jackie didn’t want to answer. Where were those fighting words he wielded only weeks ago? Answering honestly felt like giving up.

Heather didn’t register this comment as rude or snarky, although it was his intention. “It’s good to have that information later on, for my studies. In case I ever need it.”

“Let me guess. If I don’t answer, you’ll torture me?”

She looked up from her journal with an amused, yet puzzled, expression. “It’s only three questions.”

“Will you, though?”

“Torture is a strong word.” She tapped her pen against the journal. “I can take away your privileges. Would you rather sleep on the concrete?”

Jackie almost said yes, asshole, I’d rather sleep on the floor than be your lab rat, but that wasn’t a good idea. He needed to gain her trust. He needed to be patient.

“Why didn’t you say so?” he replied, forcing the enthusiasm into his voice. “I’m Jackie Rockwell, age twenty-one. I don’t remember my family’s names. I was born in Washington. I’ve lived here my whole life.”

Heather scribbled something down in the journal. “What do you mean, you don’t remember their names? Do you have memory issues?”

Absolutely not. He was not discussing this, not with her. “No, my memory’s fine. It’s a long story. We don’t talk anymore. Most of them are dead, anyway.”

“I’m sorry for your loss.” She looked more relieved than anything—probably happy that nobody would notice him gone, that sick freak—but she didn’t push the topic, at least. “Let's move on to the next question. Before all this, were you aware of your immortality? Or any sort of advanced… I don’t know, healing?”

“Not the immortality,” he said. “I guess I’ve healed pretty quickly my whole life. Never had any health issues. Never gotten sick before. I’ve got a good immune system.”

This all must have been fascinating, because Heather was writing like there was no tomorrow. “Never gotten sick? At all?”

“Yep, pretty much.” His usage of the term was strictly metaphorical.

“How curious.” She scratched a final sentence into her journal. “You don’t know why you’re immortal, I assume?”

Jackie nodded.

“That’s fine. We’ll find out eventually.”

Not if I can help it. “Are there any more questions?”

“No.” Heather opened the book bag up and stuffed her journal back inside. “What do you want for breakfast, by the way? I can make eggs again. I have cereal. If you want something specific, I can go buy it.”

“Cereal is fine, thanks.”

Heather nodded and hurried up the stairs. The door opened, then it closed. He waited in silence.

She returned with a bowl of milk and cereal, which he recognized as cornflakes. The spoon stuck out the top. The ceramic was cool in his hands.

Heather didn’t move. The tape recorder was still running.

“I’ll eat this now, then,” Jackie said.

“Yes. Go ahead.”

He took a spoonful and put it in his mouth. Heather didn’t make any move to leave.

“Are you going to watch me the whole time?” He set the spoon back into the bowl with a tautness in his movements. It clattered against the smooth surface.

“Yes, that’s the plan.”

“The plan.” He placed the bowl onto the writing desk. “I’m not hungry anymore.”

She took the bowl and shoved it into his hands again. “You need to eat.”

“No.” He handed the bowl back to her.

“Jackie.”

“What?” he snapped. “I’m sorry I don’t want to be drugged again. I’m not hungry. Leave me alone.”

“That was one time. Did I drug your breakfast yesterday? Or the day before that? Or the day before that, even?” She took his hand and placed it on the spoon. “There’s no sedatives in this. Trust me.”

Trust. Like they were friends. Like he could afford to have trust. Unfortunately, it was eating the damned cereal or getting shoved into a freezer. Either way, she had a point. Nothing else he ate had been drugged, not since that fateful first escape attempt.

But he wasn’t giving in that easily. "Do you have to stand there while I eat?"

"Yes. Is there a problem?"

His grasp on the spoon was deadly. He considered chucking it at her head. Considered being the key word, because he was certain that freezers were much more uncomfortable than basements. "The problem is that it's creepy."

"Oh, calm down." She rolled her eyes. "You’ll be fine. Just eat."

It was a struggle not to throw the spoon now, but he managed. Instead of using it as a projectile weapon, he began to eat the cereal. It wasn’t particularly delicious. Kind of bland. Still, he hadn’t eaten anything else that morning, so he didn’t dislike it. All the while, Heather stared at him with growing curiosity.

Halfway through, he stopped. "What’s your problem?"

She shook her head a little. "Nothing. It's nothing. Carry on."

He continued, but not before giving her another scathing glare. He ate the cereal without any further problems. Other than whatever was going on with his captor, of course. She was looking at him like he was sprouting daisies from his mouth. Had he done something wrong? Maybe she was losing her grip on reality—it wouldn’t surprise him, to be honest.

She checked her watch. It, too, was expensive, the face inlaid with what looked like real diamonds, the strap woven of solid gold. A small smile shadowed her face.

"What's happening?" He leaned forward a bit, trying to catch a glimpse of the time. Eleven o'clock. That number was meaningless to him.

"Nothing. Nothing's happening. That's what's so interesting." She tried to stifle that smile by biting her lip, though it still managed to crack through. "Subject—"

"What do you mean, subject?' He leaned back, his posture sharply upright. "I thought the experiments were over."

Now she was—she was having a seizure? Choking to death? No, she was laughing. Laughing. Because he ate a bowl of cereal. It was quiet, muffled through her attempts at keeping a straight face, but nonetheless audible.

"Subject—" She took a deep breath, and her voice returned to normal pitch. "Subject can survive lethal doses of poison. Enough dosage to kill ten people, ap—apparently." Another fit of giggles. "It's—oh my God, I'm sorry, I just—"

"Heather!" He scowled as she grinned even harder. His voice took on a flustered, awkward pitch. "You said this wasn't drugged! Hey! Stop laughing at me!"

"I'm not—I'm not laughing at you—" She covered her face with one hand. The laughter ceased, unsteadily, the way ocean waves gradually crashed into gentler and gentler motions, cut through with brief fits of coughing. "I wasn’t—I didn't lie, did I? There weren't any sedatives. It was just arsenic."

"Arsenic?"

"Just a little bit!"

"Enough to kill ten people?"

"Don't sound so offended." Her hand dropped to her side. She was still smiling. "You're fine, aren't you? You're perfectly fine. God, Jackie, you really are a miracle."

He didn't know how to reply. He could see the comedy in the situation, yes, but his bewilderment at her sudden amusement and his ire won over. Why ire, he wondered, when he expected some sort of betrayal? Maybe a part of him wanted to be proven wrong. Maybe he wanted to finally trust, finally let his guard down, ridiculous as that was. Maybe he just didn't like being laughed at for not dying.

"Well, then, I suppose I can cross poison off the list. Experiment concludes here." She took the recorder and turned it off. Her face was a little flushed. From laughter, most likely, or maybe even embarrassment. Giggling was unprofessional, as Heather would put it. Doctor Moreau probably never giggled. Especially not at his Hyena-Swine. She swallowed, setting her face back into neutral. Then, she stood straighter, cleared her throat, and took the empty bowl from his hands.

"Where did you even get enough arsenic to kill ten people?" Jackie asked, ending the lingering break in conversation.

"I have my ways." Her head tilted a little at his expression. "Come on, I needed to test it somehow. Would you rather I force feed you arsenic?"

"I don't care. It’s not like I get a choice, anyway."

He wanted the words to scrape her, cut deep into that guilt he'd seen before. It didn't work. She got up and walked away instead.

"I'm glad to see you're catching on." Heather placed her hand on the door handle. "I'll be back in a few days. Yell if you need anything."

"You better not forget my lunch.”

"I'll set an alarm, don't worry." She waved his concerns away with her other hand. "I'll bring your dinner as well. Or supper."

“You’ll bring me dinner? Or supper? Bless your heart. What did I do to deserve such mercy?” He stood up with an affronted stiffness. “Honestly, this sounds like a lot of trouble for nothing. You wouldn’t even need to set any alarms if you just—“

“Spare me your escape plans.” She slipped through the doorway. “Don’t break any furniture, by the way. I’m not replacing that bed.”

“Oh, yeah? Well—“ Heather was gone before he could finish that clever retort.

The lock clicked into place. A strange, echoing feeling struck a chord in his chest. He wanted to be left alone, yes, but not alone in the basement. Not in the eternal stillness of what was really a sugar-coated cell, stagnant and stuck in place until she decided to visit him again. He walked up to the door, hesitating all the while, listening to the sound of her retreating footsteps with bated breath.

“Heather!” He knocked on the door, at last. “I need something. Get back here.”

No response, even as he repeated his call once more, then twice more, then a reluctant third time. His captor had failed to realize that it was difficult to hear anything behind a locked door, unless you were close by. Heather must have already reached another floor by then. She, unlike him, was free to move, free to leave, free to indulge whatever whim struck her.

Otherwise, she had heard him clearly, and had simply chosen to ignore him. It wasn’t hard to believe.

Jackie turned back to his room—not his room, just the room he was locked in, Jackie reminded himself—as the feeling rose in pitch, plucking every taut sinew in his body. He could draw, or he could read, or he could scream into a pillow. He could think about things, talk to himself. He could break every single piece of furniture in there, just because. He could let the tap run until the whole place was flooded. He could throw his comb at the walls until it snapped. But he didn’t want to. He didn’t want to do any of those things. He didn’t want to do anything at all.

What did he want? To die, of course, but other than that? Sleep was the closest thing. It was good enough. A few hours of forgetting. He could escape the concrete floors and blank walls, if only until he woke up, if only in his dreams.

He collapsed into bed with a small groan. All things considered, it had been a good day, but it had exhausted him nonetheless. A break from reality would be more than welcome.

happy Friday the 13th! :)

Taglist:

@theelvishcowgirl

@lthrboy

#whump #whump writing #my writing #Spiderwebs toyybox #lab whump #immortal whumpee #nothing's scarier than bland cereal am I right #it's better if you add fruits and such #plain Kellogg's is horrendous #spider #tw spider #new halloween banners yay!!

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bwabys-scenarios · 12 days

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hey, so would it be okay for this to just be read and not answered? i want to respect everyone's privacy.

so, i used to be in your old discord you now privated and that's totaly fine! whatever makes u most comfy! i kinda put two and two together with the person u were talking about on here and someone who left that discord like 2 weeks ago. IF its the same person im thinking of, then they are currently being harassed, called a c*nt, delusional, anon is asking for usernames of people, which they refuse to give and dont want to speak about the situation further (they honestly arent even talking about it and seem to be moved on? idk what anon is on about). essentially a very similar message to yours of dont harass anyone or ask questions further, we both will move on etc i saw it and your message that hate wont be tolerated and i really hope whoever the anon is isnt sending you hate either... it's a weird situation and idk what to do other than bring it to attention, even tho i know you want to move on and heal from this person, i also feel strongly about cyberbullying and people who are nosy and want to get involved for no reason. i just wish healing for everyone involved<3 anyway, that's all and i hope that you are doing well regardless! im wishing you a lovely day or night mwah<3

No, anons haven’t sent me any hate at all, this is actually fucking disgusting. Maybe I haven’t gotten the hate yet? Either way I’m assuming it’s someone from my old server or someone sending them hate just to cause more drama between the two of us.

So big announcement, if you’re sending hate to anyone on my behalf, I want you to fucking show yourself. I want you to apologize. I already asked everyone to not send any hate to anyone, it’s not hard at all to do.

I made a mistake making it public(though I did not mention their name once on tumblr), and this is a very harsh lesson to learn. I have the person that’s receiving this hate blocked or I would personally apologize to them, but if they see this, that’s not what I wanted at all. If you find out who is sending you the hate you can contact me and I’ll make sure they get reported. You can also report anonymous messages, and it should still affect their account! I did this in the past and it got someone’s account who was bullying me taken down.

I never mentioned the persons name publicly but I did vent about them in my discord after the big falling out because I was so frustrated. I didn’t want more people to know who they were after I calmed down so I kicked everyone I didn’t trust.

If someone I trusted did this, it breaks my fucking heart. This is not what we do, this shouldn’t be tolerated by anyone. Idc what anyone did in this situation, she didn’t do anything worthy of receiving hate. No one should get that kind of shit. No one.

I would have hoped people had some common fucking decency. This literally pissed me tf off.

It’s a big lesson, even if you think you can trust people with information, you always have to be careful. That’s why I made a whole new server with no drama and no vents or anything to prevent this. It’s partially my fault, even if I didn’t say their username on my tumblr I did say it in my discord server. At the time it only had around 20ish people, but soon after I posted in vent I made the vent channel private and kicked 10 people, the unprivated the vent channel after. Before we had a falling out I didn’t mention them at all, and it should have stayed that way.

I haven’t checked their account since I blocked them, but they should be able to block the anonymous accounts. I’m pretty sure it blocks alts as well? Because when I block someone at least I’m unable to see the account on my alt. Idk about being blocked though. Sorry I don’t usually try to go to someone’s account after I’ve been blocked.

I’d recommend turning off anons for a while, it’s what I did after the fallout because I was afraid of getting bad anonymous asks as well. And at the time before I turned it off I did receive a few nasty asks about me being dramatic etc, but I didn’t really give it much thought.

People enjoy drama and stirring the pot. I think I’ll also turn off anon and limit my messages to people I follow only for a bit just to be safe 😭

If you send anyone hate on my behalf, you are scum. I don’t tolerate bullies, that situation has been over with for nearly a week now, and we both moved on. There’s no reason to send hate to anyone.

I’m sorry, in the future I’ll be more mindful of who I vent to. It’s just not okay, I thought I could trust my server of FULLY GROWN ADULTS to act like adults should, but clearly fucking not. I’m not only disappointed, but also angry and upset.

If you think sending someone hate on my behalf helps me at all, you’re wrong. All it does it hurt others and cause more problems for me. This has brought back all the stress of the situation when I felt like I finally moved on from it.

I’m sorry, again, it’s my fault for trusting the wrong people. I’ll keep my venting between my closest friends from now on. This is just not acceptable behavior, who the fuck sends someone anonymous hate over INTERNET DRAMA? Go outside, touch some grass, interact with someone in the real world!

I offer all of my apologies to the person affected. Not mentioning their name, but I really hope this message clears everything up. I don’t want anyone sending ANYONE hate.

#announcement

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demondamage · 2 months

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hi!

dont answer this if you feel like its too much info, im just genuinely curious and interested!

im the anon who asked about the hyserectomy a few weeks ago, and i just wanted to check in and ask how your recovery is going? ive been really thinking about getting one myself but im really scared i will lose sensation *down there* and have issues with recovery. ive had multiple surgeries before and some of em caused lasting nerve damage and i dont know if its a thing with hyserectomis. ive heard it might make you get reduced sensations and if thats a risk i couldnt do it. online they mostly avoid the topic and i dont know anyone else who had one recently. its a huge decision and surgery and as much as i love the benefits of it, it still scares me:///

Hey! I am an absolute open book about this sort of stuff so no worries about asking! For my hysterectomy I got my uterus, falopian tubes, and cervix removed (left the ovaries for hormonal reasons!)

I had the surgery just over 6 months ago and by now I am fully recovered! The only nerve issues i have had is occasional pain along the internal scar, but this is a common thing for me with scars. The 2 weeks after were difficult in the "cant sit and body feels incorrect" way but that goes away. I also had a bit of a rough recovery due to things in my life but even with that I was fine!

Heads up- under the read more is going to be some "sex talk" in the sex ed sort of way!

I can still have orgasms exactly how I did before my surgery. The important thing to remember is that the main cut will likely be internal (where your cervix is) since going through the abdominal wall is a BITCH. So if your orgasms really require you to have your cervix being hit then-- consider that. But if you prefer clit or other stimulation, those were totally unaffected for me!

There is definitely a difference. It might be a "mindset" thing but it feels less deep? Depth is a little less comfortable and feels different (the cervix cramping sensation of that being hit is replaced with more like what hitting a vaginal wall feels like) but I have always preferred width over depth so for me this is not an issue. You can always leave your cervix, but I can not attest to how that heals.

All in all- I am SO GLAD I got my hysto. I was having cramps from hell and now I never have to worry about pregnancy again. Surgery is never risk free and it would probably be best to bring this up with a trusted doctor (and depending on your area- finding a doctor in a sex/trans positive and pro choice area. I got my recommendation through planned parenthood! They dont do this procedure but they had lists of doctors who they trust! I am also in CA and our public health department is V liberal. I got my uterus removed by a woman with a pronoun sticker on her badge lol). Also- everyone's body is different and I think if sensation is something very important to you (i know it is to me lol!) Consider all of your options! But- hey it worked for me so there is that!

If you have more questions you can absolutely slide into my inbox. I am sometimes bad at responding but I will do my best! Good luck!

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iriswords · 1 year

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Febuwhump Day 28 - “You’re safe now”

You can also read this on ao3 and find the rest of my febuwhump fics here

tw: graphic depiction of violence, mentions of death (and subsequent undeath)

Fandom: Batman (reverse robins au)

Words: 2135

Damian’s first reaction is to disbelieve his mother. It is a sign of how shocked he is because he trusts his mother with his whole heart. They’ve had disagreements in the past, but he now knows for certain that she loves him unconditionally. She would not lie about something so big. Not even if she were forced to.

That means Timothy is alive.

And yet, the first words that come out of his mouth are, “You’re lying.” His hand is white from how hard he grips his phone but he does not care. His mother has to be lying. There is no way what she is saying is true.

“I am not,” says Talia softly. “Timothy is alive, Damian. Some assassins spotted him in Gotham a couple of weeks ago, and Ra’s went to retrieve him. I called you as soon as I could.”

Timothy, alive. Damian didn’t attend the funeral. He hadn’t had the strength, as hypocritical as it had been of him. He spent so long hating this bright boy who had stolen his suit and his place in the family, and it took his death for Damian to realize that Timothy had not stolen anything at all. But at the time, Damian was blinded by jealousy and by anger coming from his stranded ties with his father.

Damian mourned Timothy from a distance. He didn’t know the boy all that well and wasn’t attached to him. The most they ever talked was when they argued and threw poisoned words at each other. To Damian, Timothy’s death rang more like a failure than like a wound.

It is over time that Damian learned to truly mourn him. After he reconciled with Bruce, Damian learned more about Tim than he ever had while the boy still lived. Damian got to know his brother through the memories of others and the pain in his father’s and grandfather’s eyes. After Jason came to live in the Manor, Damian took his role as an older brother seriously. Through it, he learned everything he had missed with Timothy.

“How is it possible?” asks Damian. The world spins around him and his mind reels from all the harm Timothy could be exposed to. A strangely protective feeling develops in his chest, one he has felt countless times toward Jason but never toward Timothy.

“I do not know,” answers his mother. “We have looked into his tomb. Everything indicates he crawled out of it.” Damian’s stomach churns. Timothy was long dead when they buried him. That can only mean that, for some reason, he woke up in his coffin. That he had to dig himself out. Damian cannot stop himself from imagining the scene. From the splinters embedding themselves in Timothy’s fingers to the dirt choking him. From his terror to his utter loneliness.

Damian wishes, suddenly, that he had gone to the grave in the past two weeks. He would have noticed, then, its desolated state. But would he have concluded that his brother woke up or would he have assumed someone stole his corpse?

“Ra’s forced him into the Lazarus Pit,” continues Talia. “His injuries are fully healed and he came out of his catatonic state this morning. He answered all my questions and I am fairly certain it is him and not a clone.”

“You want me to come and retrieve him.” Damian isn’t certain he is the best person for this role. Timothy would not be relieved at seeing him.

“Ra’s means to train him. You know how harsh this training is. Timothy may be healed and responsive, but he is no less a traumatized and lost child. Do you really want to leave him in the League? I will respect your choice if that is what you want, Habibi, but I know you.”

Damian knows she is right. He would never wish anyone to undergo League training. It is efficient, but it is also deeply traumatizing, and though Damian does not regret his origins and his upbringing, he knows how harmful it will be to Timothy. Bright, brilliant Timothy, so compassionate and insecure. Neglected by his parents and unloved by his only brother. Cunning and determined, too; he will survive Ra’s, Damian does not doubt it. But it will come at a price, and that price will be his innocence. His brightness. His love for the world, already so damaged by everyone who failed to love him properly.

“I’ll come,” he says.

Damian goes alone. He does not tell his father that Tim is alive. He does not tell anyone. He still has doubts about the reality of this coming back to life, no matter how much he trusts his mother, and he does not want to shatter his father. One death was enough.

He leaves under the pretense of paying a visit to his mother. It is not entirely false, and the event is not uncommon; over the years, as Damian’s relationship with his mother strengthened, he visited her several times, usually out of Nanda Parbat.

His mother waits for him at Nanda Parbat’s entrance. Damian hasn’t come back to the city in many years. It has been even longer since he saw his grandfather in person. In dreams, the man often haunts him. Some days, he even whispers in Damian’s ear. But the two have not met since Damian left the League at age ten.

Anxiety curls in Damian’s stomach at the thought of seeing his grandfather again but he ignores it. Ra’s is a threat and so are the rest of the assassins residing in the League’s stronghold at the moment. But Damian can best every single one of them individually and he knows many will obey him and his mother rather than Ra’s. Damian may not want anything to do with the League, but in the minds of many, he remains the Heir. With Ra’s reign wearing out, the assassins growing more and more tired of his endless cruelty and uncertainty it brings, Damian knows he is not in much danger in the League stronghold.

Talia and Damian, mother and son, slip into the stronghold silently, like old times. The building is achingly familiar to Damian, a remnant of his childhood he will never be able to let go of. Assassins bow their head as they pass Talia and Damian, their eyes trailing them with unmasked curiosity or riveted to the ground in learned respect.

“He’s in the training room,” whispers an assassin to Talia as they pass by her.

Damian’s mother thanks them with a nod, and the two of them turn to the next corner. They do not talk as they walk ever nearer to the training room. Whatever happens today, Damian knows his mother will bear the consequences. He does not dare ask her if she has planned to leave the League, too, too afraid of her answer. He wants to tell her she is always welcome in Gotham, but he doubts she wants to live there.

The training room’s door has been left open. Damian remembers from his childhood how Ra’s loved to offer a show to all the passersby whenever Damian was getting punished or when Ra’s knew Damian would fail to beat his opponent. The open door does not bode well for what is happening or going to happen.

Damian and Talia stop at the threshold. Ra’s turns his back to them, blissfully unaware of their presence. Timothy kneels before him, his head bowed and his shirt off. His back is marred with bloodied cane marks.

Anger swells in Damian but he reigns it in. Not yet. Not yet but soon, he promises himself and Timothy.

Around Timothy and Ra’s stands a circle of assassins, all of them masked and wearing similarly neutral expressions. Talia walks into the room first. Ra’s does not acknowledge her until she stops beside her.

“Ah, wonderful of you to join us, my daughter,” says Ra’s. “You’ll be Timothy’s first opponent.

Damian watches, his sword drawn and ready to use, as his mother bows her head in seeming agreement. The next second, she explodes in movement and goes for the nearest assassin. Damian immediately follows her and joins the fight. The assassins are skilled, but half of them fold to their knees in surrender before Damian even reaches them and the other half is no match for Talia’s and Damian’s abilities.

Throughout it all, Ra’s does not move. Damian can feel his grandfather’s eyes on him but, as always, he is more content with observing than with fighting himself. He much prefers to kill his enemies slowly, while looking them in the eyes once they’ve thought they won. But Damian knows he will win today.

Finally, when the assassins are either kneeling in surrender and acceptance of Damian’s authority or dead on the floor, Damian turns to his grandfather. Timothy kneels between the two of them, tense as a wire and shaking.

“Grandfather,” Damian greets coolly. His mother comes to stand by his side, and Ra’s lips pull into a derisive snarl. “How nice of you to inform me you recovered my brother,” continues Damian. He does not miss the way Tim’s head perks up slightly at the word.

“Your brother, you say? My informants must have been mistaken, then, for I thought you did not care for this boy. None of them saw you at his funeral.”

“That does not change anything to the fact that Timothy is family and I will never allow the League to touch my family.”

Ra’s takes a threatening step toward Tim, his hand going for the dagger at his hip. “And yet I am the one who found him and healed him. If you do not want me to touch him, then I will have to restore him to his original state.”

Damian does not hesitate. He leaps before he can think, stepping aside Timothy and lunging at his grandfather. Ra’s is strong and skilled. He has been training for lifetimes, whereas Damian is only in his twenties. But it does not matter. Ra’s is too arrogant, and he too often underestimates his opponent. Damian is no exception to that rule.

They fight, dirty and bloody. Damian drops his sword and favors his dagger, and he draws as much blood from his grandfather as his grandfather draws from him. He lunges, leaps, dodges, blocks, and parries with all the strength and skill he has honed over the years. He musters all his cleverness and all his desperation, his desire to bring Timothy back home. When Ra’s disarms him, Damian effortlessly picks up his dropped sword and keeps going.

They dance around Timothy, Talia, and the assassins for a while, neither managing to overpower the other. Finally, Damian presses the tip of his sword to his grandfather’s throat. His arm quivers slightly from exhaustion, but he keeps his grip firm.

“Give me one reason not to kill you today,” he tells his grandfather. Before today with the assassins, Damian had not killed in years. For his brother, he would put aside all and any rule concluded with his father.

Ra’s smiles ruefully. “I have none to give,” he says, and he probably thinks Damian will spare him, or that he will be transported to the Pit in time. But Damian is tired of the threat his grandfather constantly poses to Damian’s loved ones. He is keenly aware of Timothy still kneeling behind him, hurt and trembling. Vivid cane marks flash before Damian’s eyes, and he draws back his sword to swing it.

Warm blood splashes against Damian’s face and he watches with dispassionate eyes as his grandfather crumples to the ground, choking on the blood oozing out of his slit throat. A high-pitched keen rises in the air from behind Damian.

Damian whirls around to face Timothy and drops his sword when his brother violently flinches back. He crouches down in front of his brother and looks at his brother’s face for the first time in more than a year. Timothy has not aged. He is skinnier, and his eyes bear the haunted shadows of trauma, but he still looks just as young as he did before he died.

“Damian?” he asks in a tiny voice, and Damian recognizes in that voice the boy who constantly doubted his place in the world.

“It’s me,” answers Damian. “You’re safe now. Ra’s won’t hurt you anymore, I promise you.”

Timothy’s eyes frantically searched his face. “And the Joker?”

“Dead,” replies Damian grimly. Father didn’t know before the act was done, and he barely disapproved when he learned of it.

Timothy’s face crumples at Damian’s answer, and he throws himself at his brother. Damian catches him in a firm grip. It is the first time he hugs Timothy.

“It’s okay,” he repeats. “It’s alright. You’re safe, now, and I’m bringing you home.”

@febuwhump

#my writing #creative writing #fanfic #fanfiction #febuwhump2023 #febuwhumpday28 #reverse robins #graphic depitions of violence #tim drake #damian wayne #hurt tim drake #tim drake whump #dc #batman #batfamily

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bylertruther · 2 years

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i desperately want to write some kind of (potentially the last of us part 2 vibes inspired [aka just gay, country, cozy, and gritty]) established monster apocalypse fic with slightly aged up characters but i can't make up my mind on whether i want to write ...

a season one-esque retelling in the sense that will goes missing and the party ignores the safe zone's rules to go off and find him + they run into a feral eleven who helps them but fails to mention at first that she comes from the colony tht took will and it's kind of like a prison break type of fic too but overall it's all about hope and new beginnings and waaaay too close calls and The Power Of Friendship and coming home and being scared but doing it anyway and many many Realizations of the homosexual variety

by|er are boy besties and have been ever since they met on the rusty rickety swings and it's very much Day In The Life Of Two Monster Apocalypse Survivors Who Are NOT Dating Seriously Stop We're NOTTTTT Hehe<3 until Shit Goes Down and Oh God Oh Fuck What The Hell And FUCK FUCK FUCK WAIT NO STOP PLEASE and oops what do ya kno eddie/bob/hopper/insert other influential mentor character here jus got fed to a pack of demo-dogs or something else equally as horrific by some rival group and the party is helpless to do anything but watch and so after they hold the funeral they go off to avenge them (aka SHUT UP yes it's jus a tlou2 knock-off basically maybe don't look @ me) + it's about the lengths you'd go to for the ones that you love, what parts of yourself you lose and find on the path to revenge, what it means to be alive vs actually living, making your own way in the world, how much you can change before you become someone else entirely, what it means to actually honor the ones you lose, and The Healing Power of Love of course

fuck the "will goes missing" trope all my homies hate the "will goes missing" trope, this time .....okokok maybe will does go missing actually BUT mike is right on his tail bc Over My Dead Body Will You Take My Best Friend Away From Me and maybe they get chased away far enough by whatever monster that they get lost because it's all in the middle of their settlement falling/being overrun and it's nighttime and they don't know what's happening everything was fine just thirty minutes ago wtfwtfwtf and they have to find their way back home and there's lots of hurt/comfort of the physical and emotional variety bc Everything Happens So Much and when have they ever gotten a break literally ever + it's about finding hope where it feels like there is none, "just hold on a little longer, okay?", learning what makes home feel like home, us against the world-isms, will gets bitten by a demo-bat or something and doesn't tell mike (don't worry he's immune lol) but mike soon realizes anyway bc will is shifting his weight weirdly and mike is Always looking at him (but not in a gay way bro i sWEAR bro we're FRIENDS We Are Friends now hold my hand pls), aka Paladin and The Cleric vibes 100% essentially jus two gay hooligans and their awful very bad no good week away from the camp

will and el aren't The Chosen Ones so the monster apocalypse happens anyway without them causing it but when will was taken away it was because his test results came back weird n brenner's team wanted to study him for Finding A Cure reasons but something goes wrong one day and they both make it out of the lab (& maybe word gets around to other settlements abt two missing teens n mike finds a poster while out and when he takes it back n shows ppl it just gets him looks of pity but not from joyce, the only other person that never lost hope). fast forward to feral will-el being a two man wolf pack that are just trying to find will's family wherever they may be now (will corrects her and tells her its their family btw and he's told her so much abt them at this point that it really does feel like she's known them her whole life almost bt she's secretly scared to hope that they're still alive even if she'd never tell him that bc she jus wants a family so much she doesn't want to be let down if they aren't) and this one is more of like ... A Day In The Life / Character Study type of fic bc they Do find the party (they break in somewhere to get supplies n there's so many monsters n the last time they all saw each other they were kids and will-el are covered up so they don't recognize each other n ofc will-el are bandits so they get captured and then yanno. they rip off will's face coverings and it's like Omgggg Surprise It's Me Aha Sorry I Bit You And Almost Took Your Knee Out And Hit You With A Metal Pipe Can You Please Uncuff Me Now Hehe<3). aka will-el find their way back home and now they have to figure out what home really is and how to reintegrate into society. it's about the ghosts of your past, reconciling what you knew with what's in front of you, falling back into old habits and having to learn new ones, falling in love all over again, mike waking up from the same nightmare he always has and going to will's room in the dead of night because he has to be SURE that this is real that will's actually alive that it really is him right in front of him and that he hasn't been taken away again and that this isn't just another dream within a dream, learning how to be a human being again, and it ends with someone's wedding ofc.

#i .... actually have a lot of scenes written for all four of these lmao but i get Overwhelmed bc i want to pick ONE n jus stick to #it before starting another BUT !!!!! I CAN'T EVER PICK !!!!!! AND SO I ONLY EVER HAVE BITS N PIECES OF 3843904 FICS #AND OUTLINES AND ENTIRE FOLDERS FULL OF STUFF BUT I CAN'T PICK SO THEY DON'T EVER GET COMPLETED AND #GOD.#also some of these would be mike pov and there is literally nothing scarier than that i'd rather post my entire asshole on my blog #than get ripped to shreds by the mike kinnies. DHBFKJBJFHB #but yeah idk. rubbing my chin staring at my screen like this -> 🧐

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court-jobi · 1 year

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A Scar and its Story

Pairing: Thorin x Tessa (Modern OC)

Words: 1,836

Ratings: Teen & Up

Warnings: (TW: for descriptions of face scarring, just in case)

Summary: She could only liken this feeling to a few things: and not many of those were things any soul here in Middle Earth could understand. Anyone who’s ever been in a car accident has trouble getting behind the wheel for the first few times, right? ‘Well, anyone except for Thorin if he knew how to drive. He’s not scared of anything.' This line of thinking got Tessa through watching each of her Dwarven friends heal. But the whiplash, the pains the mind and body remembers, and especially its scars… those seemed hard for her to forget-- even as she looks at Thorin's face and its new story to tell.

A/N: As if Thorin could ever be anything but beautiful in her eyes... Tessa still worries over the scar Thorin has- and what it reminds her of. Set after the events of 'Better Angels' if you've not yet checked it out! Not required, but fun to enjoy sequentially. Thank you for the likes and comments for my OC already! Tessa and Thorin send their love~

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Tessa really tries not to, but her eye drifts to the scar on Thorin’s forehead.

Following Dwalin to the infirmary she'd gone pale and showed a worried eye in front of the healers that she couldn't hide in time. Based on how bloody it had been– seeing the King unconscious when she first gone to see him after the Battle- the worry from all sides was understandable. Everyone was concerned for him, chiefly his nephews. Though in her mind, the sight of all of her dearest friends in pain hurt Tessa for far longer than the few weeks for their war wounds to settle into scars.

It's hard not to remember that day; even as lovely as it was to be honest about her feelings for him... Things were still fragile, tender, and it was growing into something more each day. Thorin carried on so beautifully; regally, and in perfect stride once he could walk again.

And she’s never said a word on it; perhaps to her detriment. Maybe that's why it's still hard to speak of it.

The only time Thorin himself mentioned looking this way in recovery was when he assured her,

'Dwarves wear their scars as leopards their spots. I was bound to earn some of my own, one day.'

Thorin does say it like a thing of pride. When others hearken to it, their joshing praises gives him a devilish quirk of his now split brow, knowing it as a loud and proud claim ‘he won’.

…but that very fact is what flitters around– unsettled in her stomach. For Tessa? She knows it as a sign of just how close she was to losing him . Time and some emotional distance away from the Battle brought her to push those thoughts far from her mind for a while.

But that changed today.

"Have I misplaced soot on my face?" Thorin asks, bemused.

Thorin caught her staring and she was nearly too shy to admit it,

"Oh, no!" Tessa gently brushes his coat lapel back, along with his hair in a corralling gesture. "It's just--"

Tessa stopped herself, and lied.

"-- I'm just happy to see you."

To see you. To be seeing you, everyday.

A month ago, that hope of seeing Thorin Oakenshield alive and well had been stamped to near-embers.

"It's my joy to see you, too~" Thorin takes her hand to kiss it; yet she avoids looking while he does so. "... Though, I think that look in your eye is far from joyful."

A guilty pang caused Tessa to force a smile onto her face,

"Gosh.. I didn't mean to worry you."

In a moment, she turns self conscious which Thorin reads, too– he clue? She stopped walking.

Thorin is seeking some sort of answer as he watches for her next words. The way he looks at her so intently– fishing for some reason why she’s hedging away from him when she’s done nothing but look for a way to stick by his side over the past weeks, relearning the Mountain together…

Tessa knows this change of character must look odd to someone like him. She hated this feeling.

Thorin noticed her flit a glance to the hall behind him; with a tip of his head to block her view, he redirects in her line of sight. Right back to him.

"We have time, Sanâzyun.” Thorin eases with those happy high brows, “What troubles you?"

Honesty it is …

Steeling her nerve and pulling up all the calm she can offer, Tessa squared up to Thorin for closeness. Confident enough they weren’t going to have an audience around… she braved the chance and held onto his hand.

"Everyone sees this as a warning:” Tessa combed back Thorin’s part with a few fingers; only light enough for a quick touch, “-A less-than-gentle reminder, should anyone dare try to test a king so great as you. As they should, obviously . No matter who you ask, the sight of a new scar is the same; they see it as a badge of honor.”

Tessa swallowed her hidden truth, thick in her mouth.

“But…I catch it in the light sometimes, too. And I'm afraid I don’t see it that way. All I can see is… well… how close I was to never–"

See you again – Tessa buries the thought, burns it. That’s certainly something she can't say out loud without crying.

"--It's my saving grace," she recovers gently, "-whenever I look at you. I remember that shit-show of a day, and that, to see you with it now means we got to the other side. But it doesn’t really– I don’t know–” Tessa floundered, “I know that should be a good thing- is a good thing! I should just celebrate it with everyone else! Hindsight 'should' give us comfort, right?...

Thorin glanced to their joined hands, then back up to Tessa with a look- between confusion and pity and that look of desperation when he tried to follow along with her rabbit trails.

Tessa could only liken this feeling to a few things: and not many of those were things anyone in Middle Earth could understand. Anyone who’s ever been in a car accident has trouble getting behind the wheel for the first few times, right? ‘Well, anyone except for Thorin if he knew how to drive. He’s not scared of anything,’ Tessa thought.

Knowing the analogy would be fruitless, Tessa just shook her head, sighing her own insecurity away.

"After all the time y’all spent getting here, it was hard seeing you like that, after fighting. Close calls scare me, Thorin. Especially when it comes to you."

" My… ” Thorin ponders this. “The mark– it pains you?

Tessa’s lip quirks. Not necessarily, but what she does feel strikes a chord of longing.

"Pain's a strong word.” Tessa confides, “--but, close enough."

No one was in earshot, but still she glanced about for any prying eyes.

His face is deadly serious, likely feeling he missed something gravely important.

"I did not know you felt this way..."

"Because it's silly! And selfish– so of course, I never brought it up."

Thorin’s hand tightened on hers,

"You are not selfish."

"I mean over voicing any fussing over it.” A hand refreshed her own part while she kept her pm interlocked with his, “I figured saying anything comes off as vain, which isn't my issue at all with it. Yours is the one opinion who matters, not mine.”

'Its not like you could ever be less beautiful to me…'

Despite her fighting it against the memories of a bleeding and gashed Thorin, mist flooded Tessa’s eyes– even through her light laugh.

Thorin called her by name, “Look at me, please.”

She sniffs back and meets his eyes again. Squared up to her again, Thorin came to hold her hands in both of his.

“You know I don’t give a single care what I may look like…” The dwarf shared with low comfort in his voice, as he confided to her just the same as he would a dear friend, “Even if I were left completely marred after The Ice, I would do nothing but speak of it; and show my grateful heart to anyone who will hear, for my second chance to live . Truly live. To lead the dwarrow who saw me through the darkness I faced to a better life. And be happy I’m alive at all…”

But as he continued to reason with what she just told him, Thorin processed her different, caring point of view,

“You say you are glad enough for this, and– for that I’m touched, but please know...the scar I carry means more to my people than just a reminder of a foul fight. And even more to me.”

Thorin brushes her eyes of the emotion at bay, watching her settle into a look transfixed on him.

"Not a day passes... that I don't thank Mahal for honoring my wish on Ravenhill."

Tessa couldn't trust her voice’s watery delivery, but had to ask…

"What wish was that?"

"To live past the morning light. So that I may tell those I care for, the things I'd not said before..."

"And what things are those?"

And with the unspoken circling the air between them -under the staggered placement of blue-flaming lanterns of the upper thoroughfare they stood upon, Thorin cups Tessa’s cheek– and draws her into a hug speaking directly to her ear.

"That you are not selfish , Tessa. You've not the bone in your body. "

In turn, Tessa squeezes into his arms, and sinks.

Away from Thorin's gaze in the nest of his hair, the most fanciful of thoughts screamed in Tessa's mind, begging to be let out. To sort them out, she simply closed her eyes.

Perhaps it was the cheesiest, romantic thing she'd ever thought to say, but something told her the men of this world wouldn't mind. Middle Earth is a place of the greatest folklore, but surely they had their own children's stories, too. And perhaps they didn't glorify these small marks as the testaments of their greatness, but maybe to show just how much he means to her, Tessa can try her hardest to relate to Erebor's people– to tell of the pride she has in her King...

"Thorin?"

"Yes."

Tessa swallowed her nerve,

"You-- know you're the stuff of fairy tales, right? You have to know that."

Thorin remained quiet- maybe puzzled more than anything. Inside, the tremor in Tessa’s chest was only stilled by the fact her dwarf still held her close. His head had turned, perhaps waiting for her to explain.

So, still locked in Thorin’s arms, Tessa turned in and released her guts to him: wedged by that soft point next to his ear, careful of her volume.

"Balin said," Tessa had to smile, "the stories are already going around about you: 'only a matter of time before it's set to song', like all the famous living legends are. I know you'll probably hate me saying this... but I do agree with him.

"I grew up with fairy tales too, dozens upon dozens of them– I haven't even told you them all, yet... But I think yours is the greatest one I've ever heard.”

At her words, Thorin’s paused the sway he'd set them in. Surprised, to the point of heartache.

Tessa smirked, and threw light into her voice before she could risk looking him in the eye:

“N'who gets to say they've seen their hero save the day with their own eyes?" Tessa buried a bit into his hair, " Much less get the greatest hugs they've ever had in their life from them…"

A huff of something sweet and shy passed Tessa’s sapphire-stitched shoulder, then she heard the King’s voice just as gentle turn to talk into her ear,

"Your victor, am I?"

A short, affirmative hum.

"The Mountain's.. or truly yours?"

The massive smith’s hand came to curl her waist into him; but Tessa answered fairly,

"I guess I do have to share you ..."

Thorin's answer, practically purred by her ear, " No, you don't ."

Tessa smiled… but one that mellowed when she felt his lips caress her temple, at the same part where he himself now bore a split in the skin,

"As it happens,” Thorin teased beside her, “-you are mine, as well ."

#majestic thorin #thorin x oc #DiME: Sanâzyun #my oc #my work #thorin oakenshield #the hobbit fanfiction

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goronska · 1 year

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My OCs - Eodum (the Demi-God of Time)

[Masterlist]

The biggest whumper in my OC set, yet for all the good reasons… Illustrated by picrew.

EODUM the Demi-God of Time [age mentally a teen, but exists for around 30 years, he/him, sexuality unknown but seems to have a thing for men, mostly found in the realm of Inbetween]

Eodum is a hurt child of two mothers, out of which one was divine and the other royal. His beginnings can be traced to the time where queen Merahtua, after giving birth to Merah, bargained with goddess Ubisi to not get her daughter Traced. The price was simple, but high - no more children for the queen. And to make sure it is so, Ubisi literally tore out her womb (regardless of later healing, this was the most painful and humiliating experiences in Merahtua's life).

The womb in question got used by Ubisi to, as always, satisfy her curiosity. The experiment in question was: Can I create life? The answer is basically no. Only Life can create Life from scratch in this canon, but Ubisi matched part of her DNA with the one from the queen and by some sort of godly parthenogenesis created Eodum, who grew in a bodypart suspended somewhere in the Inbetween.

Emerging from that cocoon was practically an independant little boy with purple skin, a mess of black hair, Ubisi's strange, magnetic eyes and horns. And this is where the Red Goddess lost interest in the experiment and left Eodum on his own.

Eodum's main power is controlling the time and its various aspects. But if he wants something spectacular, of bigger scale, he would lose all his power for several days. He can also regulate his size a bit, appearing as small as 160 cm to almost 5 m if he wants to be more intimidating. Yet, his emotional developement is very… stalled. He still acts like a little brat and only recently came into interactions with more people.

It started more or less 2 years ago, when Setia discovered the way to reach Inbetween and met the demi-god for the first time and they came up with a plan, involving, among other things, finishing the rule of the mother who left him behind (Setia is still not fully aware, Eodum is half-sibling of Merah). Main goal: be nothing like her. So instead of being rather fair, but vengeful and sinister, he wants to become benevolent and use his power to mostly reverse any harm done.

He quickly realizes that he cannot control his power well enough for such purposes yet, as he badly disfigures a few trees in the Inbetween. Setia offers himself up for practice, because they both realize, if Eodum actually saw how the damage had happened, he could reverse it with less problems. Honing of Eodums skills quickly escalates - from easy bruising and a prickle to a finger to draw blood, into full-blown torture sessions Setia agrees to suffer through for the sake of future gains. We are talking fractured bones, 3rd degree burns and worse. The man is then healed and promptly sent to bed back in the palace to rest. Never has the world witnessed a stranger dynamic.

Upon Eodum fast forwarding king Garura to his death (the boy doesn't care about political stuff nor death), he is discovered back by Ubisi and Life and the two beings have a huge fight over motherhood, ending in Ubisi sending him off to Merah and Sydney to look after him. As his power is drained by the Garura ordeal and other stuff, he is… grounded in Ireland for around two weeks.

Shocked he will have no slaves like Setia at his disposal to practice, he domesticates a rat from The Silver Arrow and is seen often just exploding the rat into pieces and then reverting it back again with his sheer power, like an instastory boomerang video. The rat gets also a name, which is famously You Bitch Shit (because Eodum finds it hilarius that if you say it quick enough it almost sounds like Ubisi), starts having a nest in his mess of a hair and goes with him everywhere, docile and curious.

Actually, the visit becomes a blessing. That's the first time the demi-god experiences love, especially from Merah, and gets taught the extent of his abilities by Aoibhin, the local druid lady from the woods. And also its limits - he is heartbroken finding a dead hedgehog in the forest which he cannot bring back (he later has the idea to make hedgehogs and rat his holy animals, masssanger between him and people). This and interfering with what other gods did.

Humbled, he gets back to Inbetween and Vermillion only to discover Setia is now forced to become the next King, caring more about Adam than Eodum, but also Eodum's first Temple being erected on the ruins of Ubisi's Temple in Allaine, a small city far from the capital. He makes sure to perform his first public miracle and one night promptly fast forwards the building to complition, much to awe of his soon growing number of believers.

The battle for his believers has just begun. But will the rebels of Vermillion honestly back him up when his Key Hour comes? And does he really know any other way of showing his affection than hurting the beings he love beyond recognition and then patching them up again?

#my OCs #Eodum #demigod of time #whumper #what a lovely lil blorbo #Eodum x Setia #Ubisi #vermillion #RP stuff #time control

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dragon-fics · 1 year

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SR: Ch. 4 Progress

Summary: After a rough storm forces Alys to stay with him, Shruikan comes to the conclusion that "drastic times call for drastic measures" though they're not that drastic to him.

Prologue, Ch. 1, Ch. 2, Ch. 3, Ch. 4

Shruikan was so excited about going hunting for the first time. Though it took him a while to catch anything. Alys watched him for a little while from her room in the castle, with the aid of a spyglass, and eventually paid him a visit, finding him gnawing on a bone like an adolescent dragon and purring proudly to himself—the purring cleared any nearby wildlife away, shaking the trees and ground, and Alys’ bones.

“Good first hunt?” Alys asked, stepping closer.

Shruikan nodded, almost grinning. Very successful, if you ask me. He puffed out some smoke and continued to purr.

Alys coughed and smiled. “Good. You did very well. I was watching.” He scratched his jaw. She quickly learned that Shruikan responded well to positive reinforcement, though he found it very strange at first for the sole reason that he’d never had a positive thing said to him. Figuring that out made her think of Ugauc, who was always handing out compliments to others.

He purred at her touch, warm happiness passing from him to her, then a trickle of embarrassment. You better not have been judging! He turned his head away defensively.

She shook her head. “Of course, I wouldn’t, Shruikan. You did absolutely wonderful.”

That was a week ago when he could comfortably slip out of the cave. Alys had removed his sustainability spell, so he’d grow hungry and thirsty—for the first time. At first, Shruikan found it quite disorientating, but became accustomed to it soon enough. Alys thought he liked feeling it, that he enjoyed feeling normal. Removing the enchantments on him that hindered his natural being had altered his personality too, at least slightly.

He was calmer, better tempered, and all round, seemed happier. Though he was clingy and quite juvenile, having not had the chance to mentally, emotionally and psychologically mature.

Alys pitied him for it and did her best to be patient with his childlike behaviour. She’d taken care of so many hatchlings she hoped it’d get her through.

With Shruikan starting to hunt, he found it hard to do it with one eye, so next came healing that.

Alys moved her glowing wrist away from Shruikan. The flameless lanterns she’d brought to his lair lit up the cave and, most importantly, him.

He held his eye shut, his large eyelid twitching as the Alys’ spell took its course. She watched silently, desperate to make sure he wasn’t in much discomfort.

Alys looked at the rest of him. Compared to the cavern, he only took up a small amount of space—very different from his original cave-breaking size. He was about the same size as a dragon seven centuries old, about three times the size of Ugauc, and most of the new dragons were. His scales were still in an awful state, though; brittle and damaged. Though a little better with actual nutrients going into his body.

Shruikan opened his eye after a few moments and looked around. This is… different. He blinked several times and stood up slowly, getting used to his new vision. He looked over himself, then the cave.

Alys got to her feet, dusting off her leggings. “I’m hoping a good different.”

Of course. He huffed amusingly. Anything you do is impossible to be bad.

She blinked for a moment. “Thank you.” She looked away, getting bashful.

Shruikan watched her for a moment. I see why they trust you with hatchlings. You have the best intentions for everyone, don’t you?

Alys hesitated; her mind drawn to Ugauc. “Having good intentions isn’t all it takes… there’s perseverance and effort involved as well.”

He hummed. I suppose so. You have enough experience for that.

Alys smiled a little. “I guess so.” She stretched and then heard a wicked wind whistle past the cave and a fierce chill hit her. “Things have really gotten rough out there.” She looked out at the mouth of the cave.

Shruikan followed her gaze. Rain lashed outside and the wind was treacherous. The first storm of the autumn.

She shuddered. “That looks… messy.” As if to add to her statement, lightning sparked from the clouds and struck out in the sky. A deep rumble of thunder followed a few moments later.

Shruikan growled softly, agreeing with her. You better not be planning on going back in that.

Alys shook her head. “No. I’d be insane to do that. I’ll get in contact with someone in Ilirea, let them know I’m staying.” She went to her back and crouched beside it to find her scrying mirror.

He continued to watch the rain spill and stepped towards it. Extending his neck at the entrance, Shruikan felt raindrops slap against his muzzle. He snorted and shook his head, backing up.

Alys tried not to laugh and walked to him with her mirror in hand. “What do you think of it?”

Wet! He grumbled. And cold and sore! Is all rain like this? Why do you like it?

Alys shook her head. “No. not all rain is like this. It's just really heavy because of the warm summer weather. It’s usually lighter, calmer, and soothing to listen to.”

Shruikan hummed and dried his snout on his foreleg, water droplets and scales falling to the floor. I’ll take your word for it. He turned away to go back to his bed of animal hides that Alys had helped to skin and gather.

She smiled softly and used her mirror to contact Eragon, one of the handful of Riders still at Ilirea. At first, a blur of his figure formed, then the mirror came into focus.

“How goes your aiding?” he asked, taking a seat with his mirror.

Alys nodded. “Pretty well. I’ll be staying here until the storm passes.” Lightning lit up the woodland in front of her.

Eragon nodded. “Understood. Stay safe, Alys.”

She inclined her head. “I will.” She waved her hand over the glass to clear his image and turned back towards Shruikan.

He stared at one of the flameless lanterns with wide eyes, tapping it with one of his talons. Alys had to watch for a few moments before clearing her throat. “It’s very dangerous is an Erisdar breaks, Shruikan.”

He immediately straightened himself and stepped away. I understand. They’re quite fascinating, though.

Alys nodded in agreement. “They are. A very ancient form of light, made by an elf who taught the dwarves. Very useful underground.”

Shruikan hummed deep in his throat and looked at her. I take it your master is content with you staying here.

Alys nodded. “He’d be insane to not be.”

He curled up on his new bed of hides and nodded. Good. I’d personally deal with it for you.

She shook her head. “That’s not how things work, Shruikan. And that’d create more trouble for me than an angry headmaster.”

Shruikan huffed, smoke puffing out of his nostrils. He thumped his tail on the stone floor. I’m just saying he should appreciate you more. You do a lot for them. He has no reason to be upset with you. And if he was going to be, I’d make sure he knew how valuable you are.

Alys blinked, having heard something similar from Ugauc once. “O-oh. Well… thank you.” That was a similar response to what she’d said then, too. A trickle of sadness and pride flowed through her, and apparently on to Shruikan.

Is it hard? Knowing how he’s doing?

Alys shrugged. “Truth be told, I don’t know exactly how he’s doing.” She looked away. “I know a bit,” she paused. “That he’s in pain, but that’s it.” She glanced down, pausing again. “And that he’s dying.” Her gaze fell downward. She hated admitting that as much as she knew it.

Shruikan’s lip lifted in a snarl and twitched. And they’re still forcing you to stay away?

She looked at him and nodded. “They said they’d inform me when it was best to come.”

He growled, the terrifying sound echoing through the cave. That’s an excellent way to turn a Rider against the rest.

She looked down again. She wanted to agree, but part of her knew they thought her being there would cause the same. She hugged herself. “I don’t care if I don’t have a dragon. I just want Ugauc to be okay. To not be in pain anymore. I’d make sure of it myself.” She slid down, sitting with her face in her knees, sniffing softly. She didn’t want to cry again.

Shruikan stopped his display and came closer to her, sniffing her face. He’d never seen a human like this. He touched his snout to her head. I’ll help you, Alys.

Alys looked up and frowned. “H-how?” she couldn’t help but stammer.

I’ll bring you to him. He hummed and moved to curl around her. I’ll help you.

*~*~*~*

It wasn’t long after dawn when Shruikan nudged Alys awake. She blinked, her body sore all over from her connection with Ugauc. She looked at him, her vision blurry.

Are you okay? You sounded in pain? And you were talking, and your eyes were leaking.

Alys wiped her face, noticing it was wet. “Crying.” She corrected. “I connect with him at night, its pretty painful.” She thought she heard Shruikan whine.

That’s it. He stood up quickly and stretched his wings. I’m not waiting any longer.

Before she could say anything, he grabbed Alys in his talon and left the cave with a swift beating of his wings.

Alys struggled to breathe with the pace of the wind passing her. “Shru—Shruikan!” she protested, hitting his strong, scaled finger. “At least let me pick up my stuff!”

Shruikan didn’t respond verbally, but altered his course towards Ilirea.

She stared at him from between his fingers and tried to get into his mind. He was angry and fearful. Some images of Ugauc that she’d shared with him were on his mind. She stroked his scales, trying to calm him. His anger cooled a little, but he kept his pace, determined. It wasn’t long before he passed over Ilirea’s walls and slammed down into the courtyard of its castle.

Alys grunted when he landed roughly, and he let her go. She heard shouts and roars from within from Riders, dragons and soldiers.

Shruikan crouched down, opening his maw and flaring wings in threat. He hid Alys behind his leg, not willing to let her get hurt.

Out of the keep ran Eragon, Murtagh and Arya—with the rest of the handful of riders in Ilirea—with Nasuada trailing behind. All seemed equalling fierce, confused and scared, not that they’d admit the latter. Shruikan watched them, growling.

Alys drew in a breath and touched his leg. “It's okay. Ill handle this.” She summoned her strength and walked out from behind his leg, looking at the Riders and her cousin.

#shruikan #shruikan's rider #sr #the inheritance cycle #inheritance cycle #inheritance cycle fanfic #alys #alys emmasdaughter #fanfiction

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firelordgrantham · 2 years

Text

OK so I have not read WC any further than DotC/The Last Hope (publishing/chronolocigally) but I've got insomnia, I've browsed tumblr, and I'm ready to fight Erin Hunter on a Wendy's parking.

Here is how I see whatever the situation is (and by whatever I mean I've got no idea what is going on or what book we are on).

Last book of the arc: Bramblestar, Squirrelflight and Lionblaze lead three patrols to attack Windclan because of a border squirmish that got out of hand. Ivypool was left in charge of the camp and the protection.

As Squirrelflight's patrol attacks the cove in which Wind has its camp, Bramblestar's patrol is caught by a hunting patrol led by Breezepelt. They attack each other.

Flash back: Jayfeather is discussing the upcoming attack with the other patrol leaders, since he's expected to heal people at some point. Leafpool is going with Squirrelflight's patrol, Alderheart with Lionblaze's. Jayfeather is staying at camp and is trying to knock some sense into Bramblestar.

"You lost your seventh life last week because of this weird sickness the dog got you!" (nda: rabies) he hissed.

silence falls on the den as people realize he just told them Bramblestar only had two lives left. Bramblestar snarls at Jayfeather and doesn't consider his advice to stay in camp instead and not lead the patrol.

"You're not getting any younger either!" Jayfeather adds. "You were already a warrior at the beginning of The New Prophecy, and that's a long way ago!"

"What's TNP??" Bramblestar asks.

"A star clan thingy nevermind" Jayfeather says. "Anyway you're old, you should go to the elders' den, retire, not lead the clan into a freaking battle which you could have avoided."

"Are you telling me we shouldn't have this battle?" Squirrelflight asks.

"Nah, we still should", Jayfeather answers. "I lust for blood. But still, Bramblestar is needlessly reckless!"

"I still have strength, and two lives to spend for my clan." Bramblestar says.

"Yeah, I guess, whatever, your life, your death." Jayfeather says.

"Then I guess it's settled."

End of the flashback. Breezepelt attacks Bramblestar very violently and they fight very violently. Squirrelflight on the other hand just got in Harestar's den (I heard Onestar was dead at some point and Harestar succeddeed him but idk). Harestar's mate, some ridiculously young she-cat who was retconned into his kits' mom, attacks Squirrelflight, because who knew, the kits were actually in the den to see their father and she's protecting them. Bramblestar loses a life to Breezepelt while Lionblaze arrives just in time in Wind's camp to see Squirrelflight die under his eyes. He is devastated and fights like the lion that he got his name from, impressing his apprentice, and Bramblestar, going back to consciousness, attacks Breezepelt from behind and kills him. The rest of his patrol fled when they saw their leader lose a life because there's no reason Tunderclan would be the only clan not to flee in such circumstances.

The attack on Windclan is more or less a success, but Bramblestar collapses upon passing the border and dies of his injuries during the night. Jayfeather is pissed beacuse both leader and deputy died and he is supposed to design the new leader. He goes to the Moonpool to have a vision about that.

Kestrelwing sees him there and is pissed too because of the attack. Jayfeather tells him he could drown him on the pool right now and no one would suspect the blind medicine cat, but he won't because he's the bigger person and also Kestrelwing is totally right about the attack. It was stupid. Bramblestar was stupid. Everybody is stupid.

Wait, was? Ooooh mousedung Jayfeather just revealed to Kestrelwing that Bramblestar lost his last life! Kestrelwing runs to Wind Camp while Jayfeather naps next to the pool. He would have tried to drown him but Dawnpelt, who left Shadowclan a while prior, is living around and he doesn't want her to start drama about him drowning a medicine cat again.

Star Clan appears before him. He sees Yellowfang, Oakstar (because why not) and Bramblestar himself, who are like ''what's up dawg what are you doing here?" and he tells them about Squirrelflight being dead and who's gonna be the new leader? Bramblestar didn't know Squirrelflight died because they didn't see each other yet on this side. Yellowfang is like ''idk just chose whoever'' and Oakstar is like ''wait there's this rule!"

so they all gather around him and he says:

"In thunderclan we do 2 male leaders, 1 female leader, so basically Squirrelflight should have become leader, but she died so now the only thing Jayfeather should do is chose a female as new leader.''.

Jayfeather awakes and is like ''wow thanks Star Clan that was useful'' sarcastically and goes back to Thundercamp, thinking very deeply about who to chose. He stumbles into a few signs put by different Star Clan members with different opinions, which each indicate different persons (Rosepetal, Blossomfall, Icecloud and Lilyheart).

So he goes to a particular tree, takes ivy out of it and drench it in a puddle then brings it back to clan and is like ''it's a sign! Star CLan is telling us Ivypool should become the next leader! also they told me so in a dream''.

Everyone is like ''why Ivypool? what's the sign?'' and he is like ''well Ivy drenched by a pool's water'' and they are like ''yeah it adds up" and make Ivypool a leader. She names Cinderheart as her deputy.

The rest of the book is Ivystar and Jayfeather scheming together so that no one realizes there was no sign saying Ivypool. Also the rabies that killed Bramblestar's seventh life killed almost all of the oldest of the clan because Thornclaw and Cloudtail and all are very nice and all but they are far too old to still be warriors in the what, 8th? 9th arc?

#warrior cats #warriors #jayfeather #warriors au #warriors fanfic #ivypool

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chronicals-of-top-surgery · 2 years

Text

25 days post OP 6/20/22

Jeez, five days have passed already?? Time is FLYING by.

Well, a day or two ago I took a nice hot shower and because I wasn't super concerned about water getting into places it shouldn't (which was a concern when my nipples weren't fully attached yet) I was able to get everything cleaned. Sadly, I need to exfoliate because just rubbing my shoulders made a ton of gross, dead skin fall off.

Speaking of gross dead stuff falling off, the hot steam got the scabs really loose. My right nipple has almost no scabbing now and my left lost a TON. It's seemingly very healthy and pink and perfect under there. The top is weirdly not super smoothed down to the skin or flush, it's raised around the top edge but I think it'll smooth itself out and be fine.

Though, while I was gently lifting away the scab bits that were flaking and falling off anyways, one bit of scab gave a weird amount of resistance. Turns out, there's a fuckin SUTURE hiding under the scab!! Like a whole stitch, hiding, totally missed by the doctor 2 weeks later. I sent him a text and showed some pics and he said I'm healing up perfectly, I look amazing, and that the suture will dissolve and fall away on its own so just don't bother it and it'll be fine.

I only have 6 more days of wearing my chest wrap too. Ive been taking breaks for a few hours at a time. Just letting everything breathe and relax a little, especially when the wrap is just not cooperating and is rolling up and sitting on my scars weird which hurts. My sides do hurt but I think it's from the wrap and laying on my sides. I've been able to sleep on my sides a little but I keep just rolling back over to sleep on my back again.

Everything is super sensitive. Especially in the center of my chest between the two scars and like in between where my breasts used to be, it's just really tender to touch. Like touching a super raw sunburn, or (and maybe only my fellow autistic folks will really get this one) when someone pets or rubs you in the same spot over and over for too long it starts to hurt? Yeah that sensation. Really uncomfortable. It feels better with the wrap on it and nothing brushing up against it but my whole chest is just sensitive in a bad way

For some reason, right below my nipple and a little to the outside, it's hard as rock. Idk what that's about bc the rest of my chest is more squishy. I'm guessing it's muscle?? Or part of the suturing? Idk, it doesn't hurt, just a little strange note. It's on both sides, mostly the left, so I'm assuming it's normal.

I still am trying to not really stretch, I still haven't done any heavy lifting, pushing, or pulling. I plan to keep it that way for another month, hell, until I'm moving out for college (3 months total healing). I want to be CERTAIN I don't cause any damage and I want my scars to heal as pristinely as possible, and right now I have the luxury to do so. Besides, as of right now, if I stretch a bit too far or push a bit too hard, it does hurt. I haven't had anything besides a twinge of achey pain or a quick pinch but id rather listen to those little hints of pain telling me to stop while I'm ahead and not push it further.

Ive got my online college orientation tomorrow so I have that to look forward to. I also need to start talking to my boss about when I'll be returning. But I can worry about that tomorrow. I still have 10 days before my leave ends, I'm not on the very last second of planning. It's still flexible and calm and I'm not gonna freak myself out over a minimum wage job. The only reason I haven't quit is because I want to transfer to a store in the college town and take advantage of tuition reimbursement.

So yeah! It's going good, I'm taking it easy still, healing is nice, I'm no longer stressed about my nipple because it turns out it's scab was just a LOT thicker than my right one, and everything is healing good! Im outside of the scary zone now, no more fear that a nipple will fall off or that something will get infected. Now it's just a gentle waiting game for the sutures inside to heal and dissolve away and for my scars to settle and start permanently healing. It won't be completely healed for like 3 years (the deep scar on my hand took about that long to go from reddish pink to my skin tone) but I just need to make it to the period where I'm safe to work out again which I think is like 3 ish months? I'm fine with that honestly. I'm not going to start working out again until I have the campus gym accessible to me.

I'll keep updating this periodically! Im really fond of this blog and all like 3 people who follow it, and it's a great archive for myself and my memories. Somehow being in Miami simultaneously feels like yesterday and a year ago. I miss my companion, I miss how much he doted on me and cared for me. Of course my mom dotes on me too but that's a good mom for ya, I love and appreciate it but I still yearn for him too. Little bit of gay yearning never hurt anyone yeah? Yeah. I'll keep updating here as I go along and heal! Until the next post!

#ftm #lgbt #top surgery #top surgery recovery #trans #transgender #transmasc

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beardedhandstoadshark · 6 months

Note

Any ghost stories or accidentally struck upon one?

Only ghost story I ever heard in my life was the rumor that my grade schools was haunted. And that was less treated like a ghost story and more like a " yea we know who cares“

So for context, that school is old, having turned 200 years old when I still went there, and is made up of 2 buildings- the new one that houses most of the rooms and all the important logistical stuff, and the original school. The rumor came from the weird way that old building was used.

It was made up of three floors, and the first floor acted just like your regular school floor. Stickers on windows, two bright classrooms with lots of colors, heck, they even had pcs. That was back when Windows XP was still the go-to, so quite modern all things considered.

The second floor held an equally colorful extension of the after-school care in one room, and a third classroom in the other. That’s where things got slightly weird - the daycare extension was originally an unused classroom, while this one was still in use - but only for a single week each year.

You see, in our school, 4th graders had an extra school "subject". It was more of an event week though still mostly just school, with its defining feature being that it wouldn’t happen in their regular classrooms like all the other subjects but specifically in that otherwise unused first-floor classroom of the old building. We all just thought it was a way to celebrate the schools history, as it did involve historic stuff, even though the years didn’t really match.

And then there was the third floor. The attic.

The only thing anyone knew was that, it was, for a long time had been, and to my knowledge still is after all these years, completely and utterly abandoned. No one was allowed to go there, and even despite being the place that needed it the most, it wasn’t even so much as touched when they renovated.

And if you tried to go out the room while in care, you’d obviously be stopped- not because you could accidentally fall down the stairs, but you might try to climb them up.

Aside from that, we also had a tree nicknamed the climbing tree because it was genuinely amazing to climb on, having lots of sturdy branches that started from the ground up to wind in all directions. If you ever saw kids climbing on the climbing frame that was right beside it, it was because there was no space on the tree left. Not only was it bigger and better, the tree also had quite the stories to it!

For one, it was rumored to be 100 (not 200) years old. If it’s still standing today, I could honestly see it, given just how sturdy, branched-out, but also marked the tree was. You also had that it was magic or smth because of a weird hole in the middle and the way some branches grew, or that if bark was peeling away somewhere you should rip it all off and slap some dirt from the ground on there so it can heal properly. There were…quite a few rumors about all the trees on that school yard, actually?

Anyways, of the lesser known rumors was actually an add-on to that first one about the tree‘s age. This one stated not only was the it really a century old, but the reason it’s there on the actual schoolyard and not on the side like the others was that it was specifically planted for a kid that died in the old building after

falling down

the

stairs.

Do you want to know what the theme of that event week I told you about was, anon? The one with the years that don’t match the schools‘ age?

It was "Reenacting school 100 years ago".

#another anon ask #the problem with ghost stories is that they’re all like OOooooOoO someone died here!#but like. I live in Europe #I eat burgers in a building that’s older than the United States of America #OBVIOUSLY someone died here yknow XD #it just stops having the same punch it always seems to have in movies #anyways a teacher once picked a few of us to help her get some stuff up the attic #it was Hecken DUSTY #and also would’ve made for a good spooky setting tbh #had a bunch of old tables and chairs #a single pair of chairs stacked with one turned 180° on the other so the legs went up #in the middle of the attic #iirc #which i probably don’t tbh #VERY likely tiny me added some drama onto those memories #so yea. Saw the forbidden attic :3 #and am also gonna ignore that this took like an hour to write #and a frankly embarrassing amount of looking up English words I learned in that very grade school lmao

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m5ria · 11 months

Text

Chapter 14: The next steps

I wake up and see a sky full of angels. I wonder if I double-died and went to Heaven this time. Is that even possible? Has all of this been a dream from the start?

I try to move and feel if I still have a body, but everything hurts. I guess pain means body.

Nothing’s been a dream. The sky of angels is my bedroom’s ceiling. I’m in my bedroom.

I try to look down and see my wounds, but my body is covered by the blanket. I painfully raise a hand to touch the area above them and check how much they healed. A painful response reports that there’s going to be a long recovery.

Stupid healing superpowers! Right when I need them, they leave me.

I try to stand up and groan.

“Don’t move!”

The voice scared me so much that the flinch hurt. I look around and see Charlie, standing on my right.

“You still have to heal,” she mentions the obvious. “I can’t believe you woke up so soon!”

“How much time did it pass?” my voice is weak.

“It’s the next morning,” she answers.

“Oh, ok.” I close my eyes, relieved. At least I wasn’t unconscious for too much time.

I move slightly to test the pain in my wounds. I should have recovered by now, at least halfway through. Yet, it doesn’t feel much better than yesterday.

“Why ... Why didn't I heal already?"

"I guess that Valentino may have used a holy knife. Not too holy," she adds quickly. "The kind of knife that is used in religious ceremonies on Earth. Still, enough power to poison and kill the majority of demons."

"Oh ..." I sigh, closing my eyes. "Good."

"Can I ask you something, Diana?"

I look at the Princess. She regards me with curiosity and worry at the same time.

"Ask away."

"Do you possess other powers? Besides quick healing?"

I study her for a couple of seconds before replying: "Didn't Alastor tell you?"

"Alastor knows?" she looks at me confused.

"I thought … I thought that he would tell you everything regarding the hotel."

"That would be a wild guess," she smiles feebly. "If there is one thing you should know about that demon is that he acts in his best interest. Telling me such information would only cheapen its value."

"I guess you're right," I smile amused.

The silence afterwards pressures me. I don’t know what to tell, what to reveal. There are already lots of strangers who know a split of my powers. Well… a split of what I know about them. It’s dangerous to confide with this kind of information.

"You couldn't have stood up Valentino unless Alastor would have helped you,” Charlie keeps on. “He couldn't risk a confrontation with Valentino, and you turned up with two wounds. I did the math."

“What happened? Between you and Valentino?”

This question kept buzzing me these past two days. The way I got meddled in something I barely understand … That’s my fault, I know. Yet, it would have helped to know some context.

Charlie sighs and circles the bed, sitting on my left side, closer.

“Diana, I’m … I’m sorry this happened to you. I should have told you what happened. And I shouldn’t have agreed for you to take the fall.”

“Well, I deserved to take it…”

“Don’t lie anymore,” Charlie smiles. “I know the full story. I am, after all, the Princess of Hell. There are few things I seek that can stay hidden from me.”

“Still…”

“The reason why I agreed to let you do this is…” She turns her gaze to the window and sighs. “I know now it was stupid. I put too much faith in Al to protect you. He was there to smoothen the situation.”

“I can assure you he did little of that,” I cut in, annoyed.

“A few weeks ago,” she resumes, “Valentino, alongside his two other associates, Vox and Velvette, attacked the hotel. For various reasons, but I found out that they were hired by … my father.”

“Lucifer?” I ask her with wide eyes.

“Yes,” she toys with a strand of her hair. “My father hasn’t been supportive of my project from the start. I thought my mother would help the situation, but my father decided to hire the Vees to take down the hotel. It was … a tough fight.”

“I… am sorry to hear that.”

“The other reason is … Angel. Valentino owns his soul. If he comes in contact with Angel, he might have the power to force him to go work for him again. And Angel has suffered immensely after the fight. I thought that Valentino would be less … possessive with a total stranger. I was wrong.”

“It’s ok, Charlie,” I speak up, still processing what she told me. “Remember that I chose this as well. I knew the risks. Don’t blame yourself.”

“I should have been there,” Charlie goes on. “Or come up with a better plan. I’m sorry I failed you.”

“You didn’t,” I smile, slightly moved by her words. Then, I think about the whole situation and the consequences that might occur. The future doesn’t look bright. “I am sorry, Charlie.”

“What?” she opens her eyes wide, confused.

“I could have handled it better.” I realize I could have avoided tormenting Valentino

and fled as soon as I got free. But now … “Valentino can’t figure out I’m part of the hotel. I must take my leave.”

I try to stand up, but pain sings in my bones. Charlie gently presses her hands on my shoulders, pushing me against the pillow.

“Diana, don’t! You can’t leave like this! You can’t leave at all!”

“Charlie,” I try to reason with her, “if Valentino finds out …”

“Screw him!” she harshly curses. “I’m done with those assholes telling me what’s possible and what’s fiddlesticks! Everyone in Hell thinks this hotel’s a joke. I’m not gonna let them decide it’s absurd, not when I have finally found hope. In you, in Angel, in Ren.”

Guilt threatens to suffocate me more than the pain.

“From now on, I’ll protect you,” her eyes are fierce on mine. “I promise you.”

Oh, no. I hate promises.

My brain works non-stop to untangle this mess. The Vees don’t know yet I’m here. I can still hide here for the time I’ve established. I still have to recover. I can’t be this vulnerable in the wild.

But my presence might attract trouble now at the hotel. If any demon can recognize me and report to the Vees, it’ll be like the second hotel war. I can’t cause this. Maybe it’s better to vanish faster than expected.

Regardless of my final decision, I can’t let the Princess see or influence it. I pretend to yawn, thanking her for everything. She leaves my room with a hopeful smile.

As soon as she closes the door, I gather the courage to rise. My hitched breath is in rhythm with the pulsating pain. I barely manage to stand on the bed.

It takes me one hour to stand on my feet and another hour to walk. I feel the bedroom claustrophobic, witnessing my constant struggle and pain. I summon the bubbles and choose one on the ground floor. I need to get some fresh air.

However, I didn’t check if anyone would be there. I stumble on the couch near the fireplace and groan.

“Diana?”

I look up and see Angel. He seems to have returned from somewhere just now. But the worrying part I notice is the slightly purple eye on his face. I immediately react. “What is that??”

“You shouldn’t be here,” he refuses to answer me. “You should be in your bed, all stitched up.”

"Angel," I try to walk to him normally, but I wince. He regards me from above with restrained irritation. "I'm so sorry. You were right. I made things worse. I shouldn't have gotten mixed up."

He stays silent, looking down at me. His both sets of arms are crossed.

"Seriously?" I ask him. "The silent treatment?"

"You'd know," he replies.

I don't know how to take this. Should I be worried that he's belittling me or glad he's talking to me?

"What happened?" I press on.

"Oh, the usual," he rolls his eyes. "I danced, fucked, danced again, fucked again. My job, in short words."

"Is your job supposed to get you beaten, then?" I scorn him.

"Not really. That's yours, after all." He gestures to my white bandages. I turn my left side away from his look.

"I know I screwed things up," I defend myself. "I was merely trying to do what I thought was right."

"Don't ya see it?" he asks exasperated, clearly annoyed. "You're in Hell! You don't do what's right. You do what fits ya!"

"Maybe that's true with any demon out there," I hiss at him. "But I'm not a herd demon. I do what I want. And all I wanted was to avoid a bigger mess!"

"Well, congrats then!" his healthy eye looks at me accusatory. "You just started another war!"

"What do you mean?" I ask him. Not that I didn't know the answer already. But I want to hear him say it.

"Valentino won't accept this. If he couldn't get over the heist, he's not gonna accept defeat, especially from a no-one like you! He's gonna want revenge. And this time, he's gonna drag in everyone close to you."

"But I don't have anyone close to me," I whisper.

"Do you think he cares? No! He’s gonna find out one way or another what will break you. And he’s gonna …"

He interrupts himself mid-sentence. His eyes are lost, far away in an unknown memory. I distract him and he comes back to reality. All the ghosts in his eyes vanish.

"Do yourself a favor, toots," he looks at me, smiling weakly. "Get outta here. Hide wherever ya came from. Live ya (after)life as freely as ya can."

He then leaves me in the hallway.

He told me the same I told Charlie, which only confuses me further. If I keep talking with everyone, I won’t be able to make the decision alone. I need space.

I summon the bubbles around me and disappear. I want to go to the blue woods, but they're too far away for my training, so I make small jumps.

It takes me five minutes and immense energy to arrive at the same glade I've been reborn in. I let myself stay on my back and watch the red sky the same way I did my first day here.

Pain surrounds me like a tornado, both physical and emotional. Regret and anxiety feel like suffocating me, but my outside body feels like stone.

I don’t know how many minutes pass, if I am awake, sleeping, or dead. I hear a line of music far away, a soothing one whatsoever. I wasn’t too much of a fan of jazz back when I was alive, but now it feels like the best choice to keep the pain in check.

However, I don’t notice the music getting louder until a shadow covers me. I slightly open my eyes and see a tall red demon, looking down at me with quiet satisfaction.

I don’t make any move to get away from him. I don’t care if he’ll attack me.

“Smile, my dear!” Alastor speaks over the music he’s emanating. “I have an offer to make you!”

Next Chapter

Previous Chapter

Masterlist

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maikry · 11 months

Text

Ana- Threads of Fate

Glistening tears drop from Ana’s eyelashes, falling onto the fabric below her. It had been weeks. Weeks since he last visited. Weeks since he graced her shop with a smile. Three months ago, Kiyo entered her life. Two months ago, his rich, tawny beige skin touched hers. One month ago, their lips finally met. Everything had been so wonderful. And then he disappeared.

Why did she have to love him? Love the subtle grin when he said something clever. Love that sense of humor. Love the galaxies she could see in his onyx eyes. Love his dedication to protecting people.

The dedication that may have gotten him killed. The aberrants take no prisoners. They are mindless beasts with no heart, killing and devouring without mercy. Being an ameliorate is a dangerous profession, she's aware. But it didn't stop the fear that something terrible had befallen him.

The entrance door chimes, but Ana can't greet the customer for the lump in her throat. She lets go of her supplies and tries to wipe away her tears to see who had come in, but feels a rough hand on her cheek before she can. “Please don't cry.” the familiar voice speaks, “I never want to see you in pain.”

Ana gasps, eyes still blurry, shocked to hear her love, Kiyo. She places her hand on his, closing her eyes as he wipes her tears away from her brown skin, a brilliantly warm color, amber incarnate. “I thought I'd never see you again.” she whispers. “That you died.”

“That would hardly keep me away from you.”

Looking into his prominent eyes, she gives a small smile. Ana glances at the rest of him, expecting his kneeled form, only to find him sitting in a wheelchair.

“I tried to get here earlier, but I couldn't.” Kiyo admits.

“What happened?” her words are breathless, unsure of the answer to come.

“Some of those aberrants can be damn well huge. And without backup, I had no choice but to fight it.” He sighs, gripping the blanket that drapes over his legs. “I killed the beast, but it got its revenge.”

Pulling the fabric away, Ana looks at the empty space below his knees where skin, muscle, and bone should be. But there is nothing. Ana’s eyes begin to water once more as she sucks in a shuttering breath.

Kiyo takes her hand once more, clutching it tightly. “Turns out this creature had venom in its claws. I managed to avoid most of its blows, but that damned beast caught my legs as I backed away from one of its attacks.”

“I'm so glad you're alive. That you're here.” Getting up out of her chair, Ana leans into Kiyo, placing her arms around him gingerly, as if he could break at any point.

She feels his arms close around her as the warmth of his breath heats her heart. “Of course I'm here. I could never leave you to be alone. Not like that.”

Ana begins to cry, held in his embrace, Kiyo soon following suit. Losing her father in a fight against an aberrant has piled trauma on the pure soul that is Ana. She cursed the day she fell for an ameliorate, knowing the pain it would leave in her wake. But being here, knowing he's alive, makes the pain worth it.

“I'm going back home for healing and rehabilitation.”

Sniffling quietly, Ana nods, "As you should. Maybe I can come and visit when I can close up the shop."

"Ana," Kiyo sighs and shakes his head, "I live in Eirid."

Eirid, being a restrictive land, unwelcoming to outsiders coming in without formal reason, makes Ana's visitations virtually impossible. She clutches his shirt. She is mad that the laws of the land were making this all so difficult. "So, when should I expect to see you again?"

His voice is low, almost unheard as he whispers, "I was hoping you would come with me."

Ana raises her eyebrows in surprise as she pulls away from his hold. "What do you mean? I can't enter into Eirid, I'm not of the blood. I can't pass without permission of the Elders and our queens, and that would never happen."

"It's is well kept secret, but those rules can be bypassed." Kiyo admits. Her expression morphs into a look of confusion as he continues, "You see, a non-Eiridian can enter and live in Eirid if they are joined by law with an Eiridian."

"Joined by law-" She starts, "You mean like, joined together. Like the whole thing. The thing. The big "M" word. The-

Her rambling is cut short as Kiyo pulls out a small, ornate ring. It has no gems, but the intricate carving says enough. "I'd kneel if I could, but I need legs to do that, so here goes."

Kiyo sucks in a breath and gazes up to the most beautiful woman he's ever met. "Ana, would you do me the honor-"

"This isn't a joke, it is? You're being for real?"

Laughter erupts from the male and he nods. "Yes, I'm being for real. Ana, Will you-"

"You love me enough to even ask me? Since when?"

The disbelief may have deflated most men, but Kiyo only gets more determined to get the words out. "Ana. Listen to me. I have always loved you. From the moment you greeted me into this store, I have loved you. I loved you when you laughed at me tripping on our first date. I love you when you have a thought in your head, so you forget to listen to what I'm saying. But listen to me now."

He gingerly takes her hand, his other holding the ring higher than before. "Ana, will you make me the happiest man in the world, and marry me?"

Ana, finally focusing entirely on her lover instead of the raging streams of thoughts going on in her head, giggles and nods her head. "Of course, I'll marry you. Yes, yes, a million times yes!"

Kiyo pulls her hand in, sliding the ring onto her finger. Leaning in closer, Ana places her lips onto Kiyo's, savoring the taste of him. Her soul is emitted in a bright light, her heart an escapade of light, and love, and life.

She knows things aren't going to be perfect; life never works as perfectly as that. But they had each other. And with Kiyo, Ana knows that everything will work out in the end. Because they had love, and love can conquer anything.

#original #one shot #original character #short story #fantasy #backstory #original writing #oc #fantasy short story #fidigal #romance #fluff #oc fluff #mai

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