#I went into a bit of hibernation on them earlier but trust me when I say I'm still insane about them | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

sly-merlin · 4 years

Text

killing me - 8

pairing : law student!reader + yuta

genre : angst , mafia au/ arranged marriage au , smut

warnings of this chapter : cursing and mention of a knife.

words :: abt 7k

summary : “life’s never fair y/n. realise it as soon as you can . it is the only secret for living a regretless life.”

“ curiousity got the cat hitched”

taglist :: (not tagging the old ones because they have read it already bt if u want , lemme know! ) @yiyi4657 @sorrywonwoo @sillywinnergladiator @suhweo @exfolitae @minejungwoo @leesalts @mal-nakamoto23

@kafenetwork @neowritingsnet

K.M masterlist

K.M 7 next

Loneliness. The sentiment long forgotten was kindled again. you were so sure that you were just numb to it by now, had hoped that you won’t be affected by that ever again but the compass was directing to all the wrong sides. To experience what you first did 20 years ago was not something you were ready for but given a thought, it would never be.

This could be counted as your longest ride to the university. You felt sick to your stomach but there was no other place for you to go, no person either. It was in the heat of the moment, you realised that you couldn’t hold it in anymore. You needed someone as a confidant. You closed your eyes, sitting in the bus, recalling everyone but came out blank. Not that you lacked reliable company but there was more than one valid ground to oust the thought of it.

With a head full of trouble, as you entered the university, wonwoo messaged you to meet up. For him, your class was still in progress so you decided to consider the offer.

You and wonwoo were friends or fwb to be precise, with a strong year history. However, that couldn’t eliminate the significance of the word friend. You could always rely on him, he himself had affirmed that occasionally, your trust in him being the foundation brick of the relationship. Maybe he could offer you the consolation you craved right now or maybe his embrace would make you forget it completely.

**************

You stumbled as a tap on the shoulder startled you, but it was only wonwoo.

“Finally! Don’t you miss me even a tiny bit!” he announced while hugging you tightly. “Let’s sit on the bench.”

He took off your bag, working on loosening the straps that were already annoying him.

“how many times do I have to tell you! Wear the bag on one side , don’t tighten them or better,just quit wearing these tops baby” he nagged , looking at you but your eyes were fixated on the trees ahead. the uncertain look on your bare face was making him a bit uneasy. In addition, you did not throw killer eyes at him for calling you baby. And you looked sober. Something was definitely off.

“What’s wrong y/n. you look tired. I mean you are a forever grandma but seriously! Tell me what’s bothering you?” hearing the sincerity in his voice, you faced him, his signature honest smile releasing the tension in your body.

Facing him properly, you put the bag behind you. He was still grinning stupidly. You briefly glanced at him, brain continuously yelling to fuck taeyong’s deal and just tell him everything. Nothing was holding you back now.

Before you could utter anything, the layer of leaves on wonwoo’s head drew your attention. You reached out to remove them, but he caught your hand midway. His hand covered yours entirely as he started placing little kisses on the inside, lips travelling from the palms to the fingers and there he stopped abruptly, a squeal left his mouth at the metal touch.

“A ring. Wow. So, the great y/n knows that the shoes aren’t the only thing available in shops!” he exclaimed, chuckling loudly.

You tried to pull your hand but he did not let go. He observed it closely with a frown settling upon the previous happy face. You yanked your hand again forcibly, this time he complied.

“I have something to tell you.” You mumbled softly.

“it’s a diamond y/n.” his statement took you off guard.

“I have something important to discuss woo.”

“ it’s a diamond ring y/n!” he repeated with a lot more emphasis, voice still polite. But you got exactly what he was hinting at.

“would you hear me out. Please!” instead of denying, you tried to negotiate.

“no. first answer me. From whom did you accept it? Yugyeom? Jungkook? Minnie?”

You were left stunned at his sudden accusatory tone.

“fucking do me a favour and shut up for a sec woo!” this time your words were laced with frustration.

“oh wow” he scoffed before continuing, “ what are you here for! To inform me that you have finally found someone to settle down!”

“what! No! Why are you dramatizing so much over a bloody ring! I need you to use your ears and not mouth! For once please.” Your anger got the best of you as you yelled at him. He stood up, shielding you from the sunrays.

“you can’t possibly explain anything! I just don’t wanna talk right now.” And with that he walked away before you could give him the justification he deserved.

********************

you woke up around 1 p.m. in the library, exactly same place where you decided to sleep away your troubles, like always. After stretching your arms, you activated the phone which has been switched off earlier. As you watched the screen coming alive, wonwoo’s conversation made way to your now empty head. You weren’t so sure anymore that he could be trusted with any restrictive information. If you expose him to all what has happened, you’d be doing more harm than good. Love makes one foolish. And you’d rather die by blocking yourself than have him face the outcome.

Did that mean you loved him?

no. you shook your head at the thought. Love is a strong feeling. Especially the one he had showed you all this time.

Yes. You did love him. A lot. Just not in the way he did. But at this rate, you couldn’t say you if you deserved his love.

Multiple beeps broke out your train of thoughts. You were sure everyone was finding the culprit of breach of silence in the library. So you duck yourself into the desk to hide.

7 calls from johnny. 2 from minjun. 4 messages from johnny.

You nibbled on your bottom lip, opening the messages.

Johnny : did you reach safely!

Johnny : hey, pick up the phone.

Johnny : for once

Johnny : nobody ignores the john don. Don’t break my streak and call me back. Today! Or else I’m coming home. Make sure the dinner is ready!!!!!!!!!!!

Simply rolling your eyes, you recklessly threw the phone back in the bag, walking for the international relations section to get some work done. The second best distraction in life – research.

***********

The day was a complete loss.You didn’t study, pretended half day that you were finding a topic in the library but ended up reading animal farm again. Now you were home and with god’s grace, yuta was not back yet. Tossing the bag on bed, you changed down to cotton shorts and a tank top, ready to make a sandwich to eat as a starter before attacking the icecream you got earlier.

Big T.V, sandwich, ice cream, itaewon class, everything sans yuta was worth living these days. So enjoy it while it lasts. You slouched more into the couches as gaho’s start over played, the melodious voice slowing fading your bitter day.

******************

Yuta was just ready to sleep when he came back home. The idea of three hour training session after a week gap was certainly a crazy one but he realised it only when the deed was done. Now he badly wanted to go into hibernation mode.

Crossing the hallway, he saw the t.v playing gangnam style but noone was there except a white comforter. Upon inspection, he found you sleeping peacefully on your stomach curled up into a ball. He made a few sounds of displeasure at your figure before turning the device off. He was about to leave when something else caught his eye. Green tea ice cream.

He picked up the sealed cup, it was not fully frozen but still chilled enough. Maybe due to the air con. But he was happy. Now he could eat or drink his favourite ice cream and blow a fuse simultaneously. Ofcourse yours! He placed an envelope on the table and went away with the ice cream while not putting the lights out, that too intentionally ofcourse.

*****************************

Tuesday

Awakened by the rooster, you found yourself in the same position as yesterday. The cramp in the neck was now past the pain stage. It was numb to the point that sleeping on other side won’t help either. Supporting the neck with your palm, you started collecting the mess you had made on the table. Remote , plates, empty ice cream cup, the plastic spoon.

Weren’t there two cups???

Or maybe you just slept too much.

You came back from the kitchen to discover an envelope. A dL enevelope specifically.

Nakamoto y/n

-nonghyup financial group.

It was addressed to you! .But you didn’t receive anything of that sort the other day so that meant it definitely involved yuta. And it was from a bank. You didn’t even have an account in that bank.

Nakamoto y/n my ass. You muttered bitterly before opening it. There were some promotional coupons, a small guide on how to open an account. You scoffed at the unnecessary stuff that was giving away nothing. Then you saw it.

A MasterCard. With your name. new name!

You gave the package a once over before closing it again, putting it in the original position. You were fully capable to survive on your own, there was no need for taeyong or yuta’s mercy when it was essentially to fulfil their own feeble ego. It felt like a kick to your noble gut!

Ignoring it completely, you went to wash up hurriedly so you could get out of his hair before he could attempt to spoil your mood any further. When you came back, a very unfamiliar sight astounded you. A man with deep blue suit stood in the kitchen with his back to you and if it was not for his blonde hair, he could easily be mistook for some gentleman. Due to the light blending sound of the juicer, he had missed your incoming. As you passed the sink to get to fridge, dirty dishes caught your eyes that he still hadn’t washed. You were not going to put your hands in his mud and before he could order,you told him off.

“ clean after yourself before leaving or it’ll stink in here.” You quietly said as you washed the oranges for breakfast.

“whaattt?” he asked like you were speaking some gibberish.

“I said clean these dirty dishes”

“Says who!” he raised a brow at you. “the one who was sleeping in the trash herself!”

“what trash? Oh! That was just a plate. And worry about yourself, I know how to wash mine!” you replied continuing the peeling.

“huh! Don’t boss me around. あなたは私の母ではありません!” before you could ask him what he muttered, he threw something on the pile. You slightly winced at the clatter but didn’t turn around and let him leave.

You examined the mess. The noise producer was a glass. The juicer was also filled with vegetable residues. One could only hope that he would take up your suggestion or you would be banning yourself from the kitchen, for ever!

You were peeling the second orange when he came out of his room and rushed out like his tail was on fire. A frustrated sigh left you as you took in the state he left the kitchen in but you were not going to be his maid. If he wanna eat, he could do it himself.

After breakfast, you did some finals revision which were approaching in three weeks but not like you were not prepared. All the papers were submitted, just the thesis topic submission was left which everyone else was already done with. Even jungkook. But you were instead going to use the day to make up with chelin.

******************

The day went as fine as it could. Chelin agreed to go shopping with you but it took more than just a takeout to sincerely apologise this time. She denied you half day, making you race for her forgiveness but eventually gave in at the end, with terms and conditions of course.

You studied till late night but didn’t hear yuta returning. But the next morning you knew that he didn’t arrive at all. And in exasperation and for your own well being, you cleaned the sink to remove the stench. As much as you wanted to call taeyong, he won’t be helping you in anyway, that you were sure about. He pretended to take your side but at the end he was always yuta’s brother. And you were just a nobody.

*******************

Wednesday 3:43

Johnny: where are you? Answer me asap.

You : I’m studying. Don’t disturb me!

Johnny: sure. Don’t show me tantrums and come out. i’m waiting

You : waeyoo??

You groaned at the message. Avoiding him was no more an option!

You : where are you? I’m already on the pavement.

You looked around for a tall figure but he was nowhere to be seen.

“you are alive!” johnny jested, turning you with your shoulders to face him. He was clad in off white button down and white pants, making your worn out self feel like a beggar.

“you tracked me again?”

“woahh! You hit my generosity with a shit face! Expected better from you.”

“ did. You. track. Me .johnny!”

“you started it by not replying. I was worried!” he defended himself a bit comically.

“I swear I’m going to drown this bracelet in a sewage!” you bellowed while getting out of his grip.

“you know you can’t do that and it’s waterproof and maybe gutterproof as well so think harder about throwing it. Hyuck would find it eventually and make you wear the same piece!.”

Scrunching your nose in disgust, you muttered a curse at him which only earned a chuckle from him.

“why are you here anyway.”

“for shopping.”

“what shopping?”

“clothes! Duh. You have a celebration to attend!”

You scoffed at his casual tone. “ what celebration johnny. I’m not doing another shit on taeyong’s order.” You declared, hands crossed on chest.

“it’s not something grand. Just a small get together of office workers and you know you can’t ditch tae.”

“office event! That’s another reason to avoid it. I would be alone with yuta and If you don’t know already, he literally pulls his knife at me everytime he sees me! He’ll k-

“I’ll be there.”

“oh so now this is an office event with family members! Good luck convincing me this time!”

“who said anything about attending as family.” He said, winking at you and dragged you by right arm towards his car. Once you were seated, you stopped him from going further.

“nope. Listen. Lemme think first , then I’ll decide what to wear on my own. If you have time, just drop me home. I’m hungry and I have some work to do.” You tiredly said, dropping your head on the seat. He could only chuckled at your antics.

“then we’ll eat something before shopping and I’m not hearing another word. Fasten your seatbelt lady, we are going on a highway to shopping!” you laughed at his cute shout and he took it as a signal to drive.

After insisting johnny that you were going to pay for your own dress, you both stopped at the mall food court to eat something. A full tummy rotated your mood 180 degrees and you were ready to have him pull you around. He dragged you from store to store to only end up doing window shopping until he found THE ONE! That was what he declared it to be!

You both went around different aisles to pick some clothes. Though you could afford those, you still didn’t had the heart to do so. Your precious money was going for what! Clothes?

After something like twenty minutes, you both met near the changing room as decided.

“Go change and give me a show. I don’t trust your old school brain.”

You huffed but did as he said.

He has gotten mixture of bright colours and soft shades, sleeveless and thin strapped, long dresses!

And the one you chose were south to his north. You wore one that you picked at first, a solid black knee length flowy skirt dress with long sleeves. It looked good on all the right places, so you went out to show him.

“how’s this?” you asked him excitedly but the mood died down seeing his dull expression.

“no! you ain’t wearing anything this short!”

“Knee length is not short johnny”

“change it!”

“uugghh!”

The next dress you wore was ivory draped puff long sleeve mini dress. You almost cooed at yourself but he rejected it again. at every dress you chose, he shook his head in disagreement.

“why don’t you try mine ones?” he quipped.

“um. I don’t wear sleeveless.soo..

“why? Those looks sexy girl!”

“no! get me anything quarter or long sleeved but not these thin straps and no questions coz I’m not answering any!” the questions in johnny’s head died down before he could even form them.

“okkk. No need to bite me over that. Wait lemme find something.”

You stood in the changing room for what felt like eternity when johnny finally called you out with his nosy loud voice.

“these!” he handed you two dresses and signalled to change.

“why are we hustling so much. It’s not like anyone’s gonna bother!” you said in a bored tone, feeling the heaviness of the dresses.

“just go already. I’m getting hungry again!”

Both of his dresses were beautiful. All the previous ones looked quite dull in comparison. And just by looking, you already knew what you wanted. as you took in your appearance after changing, a smile lit up on your face. It was a powder blue dress with golden embroidery. The plunging neckline with fitted waist accentuated your best features though it would only properly fit when you were not bloated from eating. Sheer elbow length sleeves with gold hid what you wanted to in the first place, so they were alright. The satin skirt was long , resting right against your legs, not too flowy but you could already imagine yourself in your black heels that would be hidden under the skirt ,yet complementing it perfectly.

you presented yourself in front of johnny.“I want this one.” You said, tightening your hair tie. he wordlessly walked towards you and removed it, setting your straight hair on your back instead.

“how do I look?” you questioned hopefully. His face adorned a very light smile but it still reached his eyes. He moved backwards and examined your form , pretending to be evaluating you with hands tucked in his pockets.

“you look like-” he paused before biting his lower lip as if finding something peculiar to say. “a woman.” He completed, gaze still fixed on your eyes.

“what! A woman. That’s all!! you are just like- just like yeong! Ugh” you stomped your feet before going back to change into original jeans. You were expecting some high quality comment but nevermind.

After you were gone, johnny couldn’t control his laughter. He knew his compliment was lame , heck it wasn’t even a proper compliment but he meant it. And it was not for the dress you wore but for the smile that he saw for the first time. He sighed before he saw you approaching.

“I’m also hungry. Let’s get takeout. Devil won’t be home. We can peacefully eat without interference.”

Johnny chuckled again before following you.

“hey, isn’t this one a bit expensive.” He enquired as the other dress was a bit cheaper.

“I don’t care. I’ll think of this as a long term investment.”

“how?”

“I’ll repeat it at your wedding!”

******************************

Your stomach growled loudly as you opened the door. Johnny tailed behind you with arms full of food and clothing bags. He went to kitchen as you proceeded to find your shorts, dying to get out of the hellishly tight jeans. Holding your hair in a low loose ponytail, you exited the bathroom only to find johnny standing there like a pole.

“what?”

“what! I gotta pee. Get out!” he pulled you out while entering himself. You returned to the kitchen mumbling incoherently at johnny and opened the take out boxes. As you made your way for the couches, johnny shouted at you.

“you animal!”

“what? Did you call me?”

“you need to heat it first. I’m not gonna eat like an animal!”

You felt slightly unnerved when he extended his hand to carry them to the kitchen again. in no way you were going to stand near it so you transferred the boxes and made your way to the room.

“heat them. I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

“no wait! why are you always running?” he placed the boxes on counter in a swift motion and rushed for your door.

“why are you hiding now?” he asked knocking lightly, not sure if it was locked or just shut down.

“don’t you have food to heat?”

“oh so that’s your way of running from chores!” he dragged out the last words mockingly.

“no its not like that.” Your said in a small voice. “I’ve an irrational fear of beeps. So I can’t go near the microwave.” You mumbled, voice filled with embarrasement. You weren’t sure why you told him but the bullet was out now.

Johnny went quiet before opening the door to find you standing, head hung low. Taking your arm, he pulled you out of the room.

Now you were standing in front of the oven, scared if he was going to run a test on you. You tried to back away but he was quick in caging you with his long ass arms.

“here,” his finger pointed to a certain button, “this is a mute button. You can shut this damn thing dude. Were you living under a rock or something?” he screeched at you in a high pitched voice, making you wince. But you were stunned at the discovery and you were sure chelin was as illiterate as you were in this matter.

“is it also some expensive shit?”

“no dumbo. Most of these have a mute function. Either you were stupid or just unlucky to buy a wrong one. But what’s with the scare.” He asked with curiousness in his eyes.

You drew your eyes away, wishing he would let it go but his deep stare ultimately broke you.

“Umm old trauma,” you started , avoiding his eyes, “I was in the accident with my mama and dad.I don’t have vivid memories of it, the only thing I remember is the noise of ambulance, police, some shouting. Nothing more. When they took me to their hospital room ,maybe coz I was crying or something, they d-died in front of me. H-heart monitors. Beeping again. when first time mrs.park , my orphanage caretaker , took to me to kitchen to make me food, I screamed and lashed at her violently. A lot of teasing followed that incident, by the senior kids ofcourse. But its only limited to few things, I don’t get triggered by cars or music. And she never took me to kitchen after that, maybe that’s why I never overca-.” You faced him as you completed. “th-that’s the story.” Your voice came out as a harsh deep breath.

“I-I’m sorry. I’ll keep my mouth shut from next time” He apologised, his hands sliding from the counter to your waist. “ I- let’s heat this. Your first time. I’ll show you how we use this high end gadget.” He suggested, lightening the atmosphere instantly.

“yeah. I’m very excited!” your words were cheerful but voice wasn’t. he gave you a full on tutorial like a salesman at which you nodded like a very compliant customer. Now you were waiting. Sometime while showing you, his arms had securely held you against the counter, comfortable smiles resting between you two. Johnny’s eyes scanned every feature of your face, in a gaze that was not very tricky to describe. Your own hands were resting on the counter, twitching under his scrutiny. You didn’t want to but couldn’t help thinking if he-

“Woah! What. Is. Happening?” yuta’s surprise entry alarmed you both as johnny levelled himself up, covering you from yuta’s inquisitive eyes.

“Nothing. you say? How was office.” Johnny inquired, immediately changing the subject.

“they love me. That’s enough for me. But what are you up to suh? He wiggled his brows, neck craning to indicate behind-the-scenes happenings.

“we-we went to shopping. And we were gonna eat now. You wanna join?

“shopping? What did you got? Condoms?” he whispered the last part with a devilish smile.

Johnny glared at yuta to which yuta answered with a tired look.

“enjoy yourself. it’s better that I sleep off whatever is gonna happen here. Just keep it low. I’m fucking exhausted and dead.” He retired saying it loudly enough for you to melt in humiliation but he didn’t know explicit comments won’t make you feel low in shame.

Johnny circled to face you after his departure, embarrassed eyes wandering all over the kitchen cabinets above your head.

“I’m not gonna touch it. get it out.” You motioned for the food that was burning in the heat, according to you.

“oh!”

You both went to couches to enjoy the food and talked for about 30 minutes more. It seemed like yuta was seriously out like a light. You laughed, ate, gossiped and when the session ended, he was well aware of your infatuation with certain kinds of drinks and you knew that hyuck was the stinkiest person on earth. All was well and he left, making you happy for the time being.

**********************

Friday

For the whole day, you were busy. Prof. kwang suddenly thought it was best to summon you to fill the absence of his assistant, adding fuel to misery. But you were able to function fully for you hadn’t run into yuta in the last 24 hours. After completing the extra tutoring sessions, you finally arrived at the destination.

You ran out of the elevator as you were already late. Maybe beyond late. As your room keys jingled, a voice stopped you from turning the knob.

“you are late! We were supposed to be there at 7:30. Taeyong is gonna be pissed off at me now and all because of your shitty time sense.” He gritted his teeth,making you angry but when you turned around, you knew you had fucked up. He was fully ready in a black suit, hair swept back and all , like a gentleman but you didn’t get the time to admire him as the look in his eyes was literally enough to scare you.

“I’m a busy person. Just give me few minutes. I’ll be out.” You said quietly, not ready to start a verbal fight with a no-brain case.

“don’t do that.” he stopped you again from entering the room. “ take a shower first. You ain’t sitting in my car with that smell.”

You bit your lower lip to control the overwhelming urge to kick him in the balls for his hypocrisy and simply shut the door.

After a quick clean up, you changed into the blue dress, did some light makeup to hide the black holes under your eyes. Completing the look with red lip, you went out, bare handed.

Yuta was on the couch, playing some game when you saw him.

“aren’t we getting late or something?” you scoffed , standing in his vision. He sized you up as his pupils dilated. Not wanting to entertain him anymore, you treaded to find your heels. He joined you after a few minutes and within two minutes, you were out.

******************

As you entered the decorated hall, you knew johnny made the event sound more smaller than it was. How you were going to survive the long night was beyond your imagination. Every corner of the room was filled with people chatting away with each other. The more you looked, the more you felt like an outsider. no familiar figure met your sight. The anxiety started creeping in and that’s when you saw someone approach you.

“fashionably late yuta! Its understandable though. Look at y/n. she looks so pretty!” taeil exclaimed, wiggling his brows at you.

“hurry up would you?” yuta said in irritation.

“nope. You are still my employee so tongue in your mouth. now let’s announce your arrival first.”

You followed him like a cat, only stopping somewhere at the centre of the room. You noticed that taeil’s footstops gathered attention like none other.he glanced around before clearing his throat as an indication for everyone to quiet down.

“I don’t need to tell anyone why we are here! But formality is a trend in business and I shall follow it to my deathbed,” a combined laugh followed from everyone but it seemed like an inside joke for you. “yuta nakamoto, our dear employee got hitched in a very intimate ceremony and don’t worry even I wasn’t invited! But tradition continues and here were are gathered to celebrate their happiness. He would be gone soon again so it’d be nice if you all give your wishes and blessings for their future. And I’ll also introduce y/n to the family. She is nothing but a charming woman and i hope she ditches others to join our company one day!” a round of applause followed and taeil cleared the path for everyone.

One by one, people loomed towards you to congratulate in their own way. A hand snaked around your waist, startling you momentarily. “just smile.” His whispered into your hair. You nodded before putting on the biggest smile possible for a person stucked in your position. A few stolen glances at him showed that he was also flashing a bright smile as he shook several hands. Some asked your name, some were interested in your occupation whilst one was interested in knowing the jeweller of your ring. You couldn’t say taeyong so you just waved it off with few giggles. Millions questions were running through your head and there was noone to answer. The aroma of the food passing around in trays was not helping the grumbles coming from your empty stomach. Though you both moved to a corner, fellow employees were still taking turns to have the business and personal talk with your husband. He spewed words like he was the ultimate game, but you knew better just by the way his hold on your waist tightened at some particular questions.

You would’ve surely enjoyed his distress but you wanted nothing more than to eat a piece of cake that that just flew by you. luckily for you, a waiter halted at your stop. You grabbed a drink and hurriedly took a sip to soothe your nerves, all when yuta was staring like a hawk. He observed your nervousness right when you entered but it was heartbreaking for him to avoid poking fun at you.

He gulped his glass in one go, releasing a sigh of relief, as he saw taeyong and others approaching. kun, johnny, jaehyun were tailing behind but they seemed quite distant.

“hello mr. lee. We are glad to have you here.” Yuta formally shook taeyong’s hand, your face instinctively scrunched up at his behaviour.

“I see you married a very fine young woman.”taeyong also cajoled but in a very professional tone.

“you met her! She’s y/n. my partner in crime! Loveliest wife ever. But be careful, she’s a bit nosy.” He pointed his words towards you while keeping an arm around your shoulder. You simply rolled your eyes at him. You were about to threw his arm away when others approached you.

“If I wasn’t concerned about my repo here, I would have cooed at you y/n. I wanna pinch your cheeks so hard right now. Everyone thinks you both are so happy, but only I know how constipated you are from inside woman!”jaehyun laughed like he just shared a joke with you but not holding back, you just unleashed the exaggerated version of his laughter.

“oh jaehyun!” you started, slightly hitting your glass on his arm, “ not sure about a pinch, but I can surely punch your pretty face and guess what! I don’t have any repo to maintain. So its your responsibility that I don’t explode or else you won’t have anything to be concerned about anymore.” You finished letting out a fake giggle, but seemed like everyone but jaehyun found it funny as they were all laughing at the diss.

“atleast you think I’m pretty! No wait! it sounds all wrong!” he suddenly whined, encouraging everyone to laugh loudly at his state.

He was still being grumpy when an old man stopped near you, escorted by taeil making the uproar stop immediately. They all bowed at him and you followed suit. From the looks, he seemed in his 70s or maybe more.

“i love when young people find love. Who do you work for kiddo?” he lovingly asked you.

“I’m a masters student. Law specifically. I wish to join chois one day.”

“chois? I don’t like those leeches. You should try in qian mutlinationals. Kun have more opportunities and you can go international from there. He can give you a free ride till china, beyond that you can explore yourself!” as he finished his wise advice, you turned to kun in surprise. He nodded his head at you with a sheepish smile, confirming the words.

“sure, I’ll give it a thought.”

“and you nakamoto! I heard you were back last week but who would like to greet this old man who’s gonna die anyway.” He scoffed at him and you could sense the tone of friendliness in their interaction.

“you are the one to blame. You don’t get out of your house these days. And you don’t even care enough to visit us anymore.”

Now you were super confused.

“ohh! So she knows everything. When were you gonna tell me! When I had gotten diabetes with all the sweet talking.”as they all expressed their amusement, you were getting restless from all the unknown.

“I would love to hear your love story but I am extremely hungry. But y/n I have a work for you”, you nodded at his words, “ convince moon to remarry. I can’t watch him die like me, alone and unhappy. This manforce have failed so I expect a smart woman like you can find a way to do that. Please promise me, you’ll do it for this old man.” You were out of words but taeil made your work easy as he dragged him away.

“I think you’re drunk enough. Let’s worry about me while eating the delicious food.”

“only you can do it y/n!” and he was gone.

“you’ll get all answers so don’t worry. You look lovely by the way but I shall take my leave as I’m also very hungry.” Taeyong explained patting his stomach. Looked like everyone was getting food but you!

“y/n-ah! Not that shorts don’t suit you but dressing up just scaled up your beauty.” kun chimed in causing yuta to scoff. The way air was leaving his nose, it’d blow up anytime soon.

“johnny’s fashion sense is immaculate like always.” Johnny said, raising his collars.

“don’t blow your own trumpet. I was the one who chose it!”

“huh! What she chose were donkey dresses!”

“donkey! You need to change your dictionary.”

“respect. I’m a top level worker in lee financial corps.” He said smugly.

“so they just hire anyone wow!”

“not jus-

“stop you two! We are still here.” You glanced at kun and yuta, eyeing you both.

“I’m just hungry kun. I just had breakfast and coffee and nothing else.”

“then go and eat. I also need a breather from you!” yuta barked, playing with the empty glass.

It was your turn to snort now. But johnny linked his arm with you to take you away before the war could start. You ate as much as you wanted while questioning him,

“how can these employees have so much energy to spare. Don’t they work 9 to 5, then get time to attend a stupid party!”

“they were given half day off today.” He replied, munching the tofu.

“who was that old man?”

“that’s all part of a circle. You’ll complete it one day but I can’t tell u here so wait!”

“hmm. Then what about taeil? About remarrying him! And taeyong and kun’s companies. Dude that’s huge. How do you manage your syndicate.”

“stop! Cant you eat in silence woman. You’ll know when it’s your turn.”

“ok last one. How can yuta be an employee here when only thing he knows is to make juice or slice people!”

“we have his backup who does the actual work. Yuta takes cares of the investors and all. So he’s supposed to be anywhere but here. So it works out. And fyi he’s quite an eye candy here.”

“then go flirt with him! I ain’t in need of a poison candy.”

after gobbling all the starters, you conversed with him for about 20 minutes whilst enjoying your drinks. And he took you back to you designated seat for the night, right by yuta’s arm.

Earlier, you were being hoarded with guests, now it was your turn. It seemed like you were yuta’s assistant who was taking mini business reports from employees. By now you had no doubt that yuta was nothing but a chameleon, well versed in hiding his true self to blend in the corporate environment. You smiled as much as you could, giggled when yuta laughed and turned towards you, gulped numerous kinds of drinks and now you were a bit tipsy or maybe just tired or both.

You were handling fine being yuta’s dear wifey until they announced that there was a dance. And the stupid couples already hurdled to the centre to show off their skills which you didn’t have in the first place. You heard yuta groan as he pinched his nose and that was his most agreeable expression he had from the whole night.

“let’s just flee after this” yuta suggested.

“hell no! my dancing skills can’t be exposed to these prim prom perfect people. I ain’t doing it.” You continuously shook your head at him, the enmity forgotten for a moment. But he had other plans.

“don’t you dare step on me. I’m gonna eat you alive if you holed my shoes!” he suddenly moved you to the pool of people dancing on the floor. He guided your hands on the right places and the position made you both well aware of the tension in each other’s bodies.

“just do what others are doing.” You craned your neck from side to side but got nothing.

“nobody is doing anything. They’re just stitched to each other!”

“exactly.” And without any warning, he pulled you into him, your grip on his shoulders tightening instantly.Standing chest to chest with him, you totally forgot the need to exhale. You didn’t dare move as he delicately swayed you from side to side, his eyes boring into yours. You wondered what conception were you both throwing at others. He was no pro like you but still managed to look like one.

It continued for few moments until jaehyun interrupted you.

“can I have her hand in dance” he asked yuta to which the man just released you. it was so sudden that you were taken aback by his sour mood but everything about yuta was sudden so you didn’t paid much attention when you had a mountain of trouble standing in front of you.

“may i?” jaehyun asked, bowing to you.

“no!”

“oh come on. I’m much better than yuta in dance.” He jerked your hand and next moment you knew, you were waltzing with him. He was doing what you call actual dancing.

“you looked so romantic with him and here I get the stink eye.” he sighed at you.

“because I am confined by the demand of this situation or else even you would be sporting a black eye by now!”

“I feel extremely hurt y/n. we are same age so shouldn’t we be getting along.”

“getting along my ass you son of nepotism.”

“that’s so unlady like behaviour. You should be accepting friendships when you are getting them. As said by a someone very famous, life is fleeting and in your case, I won’t trust the lifecourse too much.”

“stop using instagram quotes on me. Read the context then put into application, jaehyun. Life is fleeting. Chances would be gone before you know it.”

“when was the last time you listened to someone without running your brain hmm?”

“the same day when you were taking a break from running your mouth.”

“you are a terrible dancer.”

“you aren’t any good either.”

“what was the name of the boy who gave you hickies?”

“you want classes from him?”

“nope. I’m more than better at my game. I just wanna confirm what is he? Blind or dickhead! Coz no sane man would come near your beasty at-

“I hope you love your shoes.”

“what!”

A gasp left him, face turning red as he shut his eyes tightly to contain the pain. you had stomped on his foot with your pencil heel and now he couldn’t do anything but mutter curses as he progressed slowly for the bar to sit. Yuta joined him soon only to fan the flames.

As the time passed , drowsiness took control over your senses. Dinner was being closed by now, but you were the hosts or were supposed to be , so there you stood by the door with same i-am-so-in-love-with-my-hubby and it-was-pleasure-to-meet-you grins plastered on your face. Yuta’s hands would be calloused by the amount of hand shaking he had done but not that you cared.

Goodbyes were sent to taeil and johnny as well and when you were about to leave, jaehyun and taeyong came over with some papers in their hands.

“y/n you forgot to sign these. This one is for the property situated in gangnam. I know I promised three in the same area but I changed my idea for bigger and better. This one’s is in Incheon and other is in busan, your hometown!” he recited as he showed you the stamped papers. You were not sure about taking anything from him so you refused.

“no taeyong. I’m good. I’ve my sources and I’ll be joining summer internship so I can fend for myself.” You reasoned.

“it’s part of the deal. Just sign, I mean well please.”

You felt everyone’s eyes on you as you tried to think harder about it.

“leave it taeyong. This tie is killing me so let’s just talk tomorrow.”yuta said, loosening his bow tie.

“It doesn’t concern you yuta and y/n its part of the promise. Do it or I’ll have to force.” Your jaw clenched at his desperate tone. so you snatched the pen , ready to do as he demanded.

“where do I have to sign!”

“here!” he pointed out on the first file. “and y/n y/l/n nakamoto!”

You nodded without glancing at him and signed on all the three files, making it official.

Taeyong flashed you a smile as you returned him the pen, “I’m glad it worked fine. Now you must be tired so we’ll let you retire.”

You passed him without caring enough to reply. Soon enough , yuta joined you.

**************************

The passing trees and streetlights provided the comfort that you didn’t know you needed. It was sweet, the feeling of being alone yet not letting others feel the same. you were trying to count the number of streetlights as you passed speedily.

“aren’t you smart enough to know why taeyong took your signatures tonight?” yuta broke the silence. he took a sharp cut as you lost your count. Not receiving an answer, he spoke again, calmly, “ those properties were on earlier registered on taeyong’s name and that busan one is mine. Taeyong is sharp witted man you should’ve been careful before giving in to him.”

“what are you trying to say!”

“everything’s flying through your head right! To put it simply, you are part of mafia now.” Your head snapped towards him in utter shock as words left his mouth, “ if you try to rant us or steal any info to give away, upon background checkout , you’d be found equally involved in the illegal activities of neos for when if it is proved that me or taeyong are part of underground, our properties would be sealed , stamping your future with them. You won’t even escape income tax department let alone cops! Those buildings are after all, result of our illegal income!” he stopped as he took another turn, not aware of how your eyes were glistening by now. “you can’t leave unless taeyong wants you to and pray if you would ever be able to! It was a surprise for all of us as well so you don’t need to feel betrayed at all. You, me, taeyong, johnny. The great black neos!” he finished as the car halted in the parking lot.

As soon as he unlocked, you ran out of it, tears rushing down nonstop. Elevator seemed too slow, the mirrors were making you more dizzy as it moved upwards. Everything came in flashes from the moment you passed by that alley. This was not the deal that you accepted! Regret and guilt filled you as the the lift opened. Throwing your shoes in the midway, you ran to your room as the tears turned into sobs, wrecking your whole body. Turning in the keys, you casted yourself onto the bed. With burning throat you passed out there.

And yuta stood outside your door, emotionless, in an attempt to envision how this would end for the both of you!

********************************************

yuta or johnny???

thank you so much for reading!

#kafenetwork #neowritingsnet #nct #nct scenarios #nct imagines #nct yuta #nct angst #nct arrange marriage #nct mafia #yuta angst #yuta arrange marriage #yuta mafia

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ragingbookdragon · 3 years

Text

Mistletoe At Midnight

A Connor Kenway x Reader One-Shot

Word Count: 1,100 Warnings: None...well, it’s a bit spicy, but only a wee bit.

Author’s Note: DAY 2 OF CHRISTMAS FICS. I WILL TRY TO GET ANOTHER ONE TM. LET’S. GO. -Thorne

(Y/N).

She swore someone was calling her name, but with how warm and comfortable she was, there was no way she was moving—or opening her eyes.

(Y/N).

She grunted, rolling over in the bed to burrow deeper into the blankets, deeper into the warmth.

(Y/N).

She let out another grunt, but in reality, it sounded much like a bear during hibernation, and she thought someone laughed.

(Y/N)!

Finally, she opened her eyes and glared over her shoulder at the young man standing by her bed. She scowled. “What do you want, Ratonhnhaké:ton? It’s the middle of the night.”

Her heated words didn’t seem to faze him—he’d long since grown use to her attitude. A smile crossed his lips. “Come with me.”

(Y/N) narrowed her gaze. “No.” She flopped back down in the bed and pulled the covers above her head. Not even a minute had passed and suddenly the sheets and blanket she covered herself with went flying, yanked all the way down her body and off the bed.

She sat up in a startled anger. “Ratonhnhaké:ton!”

He stood at the end of her bed with a look of determination on his face. “Get up,” he said rather calmly.

She rose onto her knees, much to annoyed to even think about teasing him from the way his eyes drifted to where her nightshirt rest, just above her knees.

A hiss bubbled in her throat. “Give me back the covers, Ratonhnhaké:ton.”

“No,” Connor retorted, his face pinching. “Get up and come with me.”

(Y/N) stared him down and he her. She jerked, quick as a bobcat, trying to grab the blankets back from him, but he was faster and held them from her reach.

“Give ‘em to me,” she whined, and he shushed her.

“Shh! Achilles will hear you!” Her glare darkened and he sighed, finally holding the blankets back. “Fine. Here.”

(Y/N) reached for them, but before she could take hold, he dropped them and scooped her up. She almost squealed from shock, but his warning from earlier reminded her of the older man downstairs, and she instead let out a hiss.

“That was dirty!”

“You would not come with me.” He countered, repositioning his hold until she was pressed against his chest, his arm under her legs.

(Y/N) wrapped her arms around his neck, tempted to tug a strand of his hair in retaliation. “It’s nighttime! And it’s cold!” she shivered and stuck her hand down the front of his shirt, smirking when he let out his own hiss of displeasure. “See!”

Connor rolled his eyes. “Trust me, Otsi’tsa.” He urged, turning sideways to carry her into his room.

She let out a ‘pfft’, quipping, “Ratonhnhaké:ton, if you wanted me to sleep with you, all you had to do was ask.” His cheeks, even in the dimly lit room, flushed a deep crimson. (Y/N) teasingly traced his collarbone. “You know I enjoy sleeping with you.”

“Stop doing that.” He commanded, but his threat was weak.

Batting her eyelashes, she crossed one of her legs over the other. “Doing what? Telling my lover how much I enjoy being pressed up against him in the middle of the night?” (Y/N) swore his cheeks were going to burst into flames. “Ratonhnhaké:ton, you’re rather warm. I was simply talking about sleeping. What are you thinking about?”

His amber eyes were molten pools, and she could see desire swimming within his irritation. Connor set her down by the fireplace and glared at her. “Stay.” He grunted.

(Y/N) cocked an eyebrow, muttering, “I don’t know who you think you’re talking to, but it sure isn’t me.” He ignored her, walking over to the desk, beginning to rummage around.

Finally, he let out a sound of success, walking back over to her. She stared at him. “So, what did you wake me up for?”

Connor pulled a smug face and raised something above her head, watching as she craned her neck up to get a look at it.

“Ratonhnhaké:ton?” she asked, rather monotonous.

“Hmm?”

“Is that mistletoe?”

“It is.”

(Y/N) took a deep breath and gazed at him, deadpanning, “I cannot believe you got me out of bed to hold a plant over my head.”

He cocked a dark eyebrow. “Is this not the plant that means whoever stands under it shares a kiss with someone?”

“It is.” She glowered at the self-satisfied smile growing on his lips. “Again, I cannot believe you woke me up for this.”

The arm holding the mistletoe lowered slightly, and with a hurt tone, he asked, “I thought you talked about this? You mentioned it the other day.”

“Yeah, when I’m awake!”

“But you said midnight?” he defended.

“Again, when I’m awake!” (Y/N) spun on her heel and stalked off to the doorway, intent to go back to bed. “Can’t believe I was exposed to the frigid December temperature for this.” She disappeared into the hallway, leaving Connor a bit confused, and much more hurt.

He let out a sigh and dropped his arm, feeling a burn spread across his chest. Trying to ignore it, he squeezed the mistletoe in his hand, disregarding the pricks from the points. Connor was about to crawl into bed when (Y/N) appeared back in the doorway, marching up to him.

“Where’s the mistletoe?” she demanded, and Connor held it up. She shoved his arm above his head then grabbed the collar of his nightshirt and yanked him forward. He let out a yelp when his lips met hers and his arm dropped, coming to wrap around her waist. (Y/N)’s arms curled around his neck, pulling him tighter against her and he groaned against her. The mistletoe fell to the ground as his hands found her hips, squeezing firmly.

She suddenly pulled away and back away from him, striding to the doorway. She turned on her heel and grabbed the hem of her cotton nightshirt, pulling it above and off her body. (Y/N) tossed it his way, smirking evilly at the way he took a step towards her, eyes darkening with lust.

“Well? Are you gonna come and finish what you started, Ratonhnhaké:ton?” She leaned on the doorframe and pulled a seductive pose. “You wouldn’t leave a poor, innocent woman to her own devices, would you?” He took another step. “My bed is all cold and much too big…and…” he started edging closer to her and she swallowed thickly. “And…lonely?” (Y/N) squeaked and pivoted on her heel, hauling off as fast as she could towards her bedroom, knowing Connor was hot on her heels. They didn’t get up the next day until evening.

#connor kenway x reader #connor kenway x reader imagine #connor kenway x reader imagines #connor kenway imagine #connor kenway imagines #connor kenway #Ratonhnhaké:ton #ac3 #ac3 imagine #ac3 imagines #assassins creed 3 #assassins creed 3 imagines #assassins creed 3 imagine #ac imagines #ac imagine #assassins creed imagine #assassins creed imagines

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vicarfelix · 3 years

Text

Surprise, Captain!

Vicar Max x Fem. Captain

Warnings: Language.

A/N: I’m gonna just...leave this here.

Word Count: 4,053

“So, is it possible...at all?”

She was always very vigilant and careful about this sort of thing pre-hibernation. She knew the risks and knew how drastically her life would change if she suddenly had a child to take care of. Not that she didn’t want a child; quite the opposite in fact. It was just that she wasn’t ready for that kind of responsibility at that age, nor did she want it.

Truthfully, sex (more specifically, the chances of pregnancy) wasn’t really her first concern when she was awoken by Phineas from the Hope. She definitely had much more on her plate than that. She knew it would happen at some point or another. She just didn’t expect it to be with anyone from her beloved crew.

It didn’t take long for Vicar Max to end up in the Captain’s bed. They had chemistry from the very beginning and it was only a matter of time before they finally crashed together. Their relationship was bliss. She was the happiest she had ever been. It wasn’t until one morning that began the first bump in their relationship.

She woke up that morning much later than usual. So much later, in fact, that she was the last one to get up to begin the day. She had been awfully fatigued the last week or so, but had brushed it off due to the fact that they had been going hard for the last few months. She exited her room and walked up the stairs into the kitchen to see her crew scattered about. Her eyes directed to Max instinctively, her heart warming at the sight of him. He was sitting at the table with a book in his hands. She watched as his eyes scanned every word of each page, his brows furrowed in thought and focus. He finally caught her gaze, offering a slight smile with a twinkle in his eye.

Felix was the first to announce her entrance;

“Mornin’, Boss!” He chirped.

She grinned at his enthusiasm, offering a small wave;

“Good morning, everyone.” She greeted.

“You sure slept late.” Ellie noted from the other side of the kitchen.

Ellie and Nyoka were the most observant of the crew. They always could tell when something was up. There wasn’t much that got past them. Ellie had been especially cautious in paying attention to the symptoms the Captain had been having. Ellie had an inkling that the Captain might be pregnant. No one knew that Max and the Captain had been together. That was the one thing they had managed to keep under wraps. Ellie knew better than to ask in front of everyone.

“Yeah. All this running around is catching up to me.” The Captain explained.

Ellie nodded silently, but the wheels in her head were turning. Max closed the book in hand, setting it on the table before retrieving a bottle of fizzy tea from the fridge. He poured it into a cup and sweetly offered it to the Captain where she stood at the counter. She accepted it gratefully and raised the cup to her lips. However, the second she caught the familiar mock-apple scent, she felt her stomach become immediately queasy.

A disgusted groan escaped her lips and she moved the cup away from her. She pressed the back of her hand to her nose and swallowed to keep the threatening bile from coming up from her stomach. Everyone’s heads turned to her at the sound of her gag.

“You okay, Cap?” Nyoka asked from her place next to Felix.

Thinking the tea had expired, the Captain asked;

“How long has this been in there? I think it’s spoiled.”

Parvati’s light voice chimed in;

“There’s no way. I just picked those up yesterday. They should be fine for a few weeks!” She claimed.

Max took the cup back, bringing it up to his own nose. He shrugged;

“It seems perfectly fine to me. I was under the impression that it was your favorite...” Max replied, feeling like he had been mistaken.

The Captain shook her head in confusion;

“It is my favorite. I drink it all the time,” She recalled; “That’s so weird.”

That was when the idea first came into her head. It was a quick, almost passing thought. There was no way she could be pregnant...right? It was also in that moment that she realized that she and Max hadn’t been using any kind of protection. The thought had never occurred to her honestly.

Suddenly, she felt nauseous, but not from the smell of the drink. Now was definitely NOT the time for a baby. She had the fate of the colony on her shoulders. How was she going to have the time to grow and raise a child? This was bad. Surely her 70 year hibernation had altered her fertility in some way...there was only one man to ask.

“You don’t look so good, Cap. You sure you’re okay?” Nyoka asked again, now suddenly having the same thoughts that Ellie was having.

The Captain smiled briefly, not wanting to make an issue of it. She assured them she was fine before booking it to the navigation terminal. She needed to see Phineas ASAP. A million things were going through her mind. How could she take care of a kid? What scared her more was the question of Max. Would he stick around if she was with his child?

While the ship was in transit, the Captain meandered around, finding absolutely anything to keep her distracted. She found herself passing by Ellie’s room. If there was anyone she trusted to keep her secret, it was Ellie Fenhill. The Captain knocked lightly on the outside wall, catching Ellie’s attention;

“Can we talk?” The Captain asked.

“Uh-oh. The most dreaded sentence in human history. What’s up?” Ellie replied.

The Captain looked over her shoulder to make sure no one was around. Well, to make sure Felix wasn’t around. He’d tell everyone in the colony if he found out.

“Did...you ever have much experience with pregnancies when you were in Byzantium?” The Captain questioned.

Ellie suddenly knew that the Captain had the same concerns she did. Ellie humored her;

“Oh, sure. Plenty of them,” She clamored; “I see you had your first bout with morning sickness earlier.”

It was a little bit of a relief to the Captain that Ellie was already picking up what she was putting down. She fully entered the room and closed the door.

“I don’t even know if it’s that...but I suppose it could be. I’ve got to talk to Phineas and see if it’s even a possibility. You know, with the hibernation and all...” The Captain trailed off.

Ellie leaned back in the chair she was sitting in;

“Female fertility is tricky. It can be affected by the smallest of things. I’m willing to bet that you’re fine, but if you’re having symptoms then you definitely need to see what Dr. Welles says,” She suggested; “Also, I feel as if it’s now my business to ask. Whose is it? It’s not like any of us have had any real time to settle down.”

The Captain’s silence was misconstrued by the foul mouthed sawbones;

“Oh, shit. You don’t know, do you?” She asked.

The Captain was quick to respond to that;

“No, I do...Ellie, I’m serious you can’t say anything if I tell you.” The Captain said almost as a threat.

Ellie threw up her hands in defense;

“My lips are sealed.” She promised.

The Captain drew a deep breath. Here goes nothing.

“I’ll be honest. Max and I-”

“I fucking knew it!” She said leaping up from her chair; “I knew the two of you were a thing!”

The Captain was startled. How could she possibly have known? The two of you had worked so hard to keep things quiet.

“What? How?” She bantered back.

“The long looks, the lingering around each other, the way he goes back to his room early in the morning. I knew the two of you were sleeping together!” She exclaimed.

The Captain would admit, she was amused by this. She’d expect nothing less of Ellie. Still, the Captain still had a huge dilemma on her hands. ADA interrupted their conversation, announcing that they had landed. After what felt like an eternity, The Unreliable was docked at his lab.

“I need to go. We’ll talk later.” The Captain said, exiting her room.

She cut through the kitchen to get down to the airlock, but was stopped just as she got to the top of the ladder;

“You going alone, Boss?” Felix asked standing from the table.

“Yeah, I won’t be long. I just need to check in with Phineas.” She lied.

Max entered from his own room;

“I’m not sure that’s a great idea. I think someone should go with you.” He suggested.

Normally, this was Max’s way of saying ‘I want to go with you’, but there was no way she wanted Max to be there with her when this went down. Instead of asking Max, she called out;

“Ellie and Nyoka, let’s go.”

Ellie and Nyoka appeared quickly and down the stairs, ready to go. The Captain looked at Max, disappointment clear on his face. She shot him an apologetic look before climbing down the ladder. She didn’t even bother gearing up other than making sure she had her pistol on her. She hoped this wouldn’t take long.

Phineas was in his lab, behind his bullet proof glass as usual. He beamed at the sight of the Captain and her selected crew;

“Ah! Captain! What can I do for you?” He offered.

She looked at him with a worried expression;

“I have some questions...” She stated meekly.

“Of course. Anything. What’s on your mind?” He asked.

She looked over her shoulder at Ellie who was watching intently and Nyoka who wasn’t sure what was going on. The Captain didn’t want more people to know about this than necessary. She used her more extensive vocabulary to cloud what she was actually saying.

“Phineas, would the chemicals used to keep me in suspended animation have any sort of negative impact on my reproductive system?” The Captain asked as eloquently as possible.

Not surprisingly, Nyoka saw straight through the Captain’s bullshit. Her eyes widened and her voice was loud in the room;

“Oh, shit! Cap, are you knocked up?” She questioned anxiously.

The Captain turned to look at her;

“Nyoka, please.” She begged.

Ellie jumped on the shot;

“Just wait until you hear who daddy is.” Ellie snorted with a smirk, looking over at Nyoka with crossed arms.

“Ellie!” The Captain shrieked.

“What? Who?!” Nyoka pressed on.

“Oh, you know. Just The Unreliable’s very own priest.” Ellie spilled.

Nyoka’s face fell and her jaw dropped;

“Max? The vicar? Cap, you sneaky bitch!” She smiled brightly.

The Captain’s cheeks burned with embarrassment, Phineas’ voice cutting in;

“Captain, I’d be worried if you hadn’t partaken in those kinds of activities. I wasn’t sure how it would have been affected. If pregnancy is a...concern, I can run a simple test to know for sure.”

The Captain was overwhelmed. She was stressed from the mission and now suddenly she was terrified that she might be carrying a little one. There was a lot at stake. A baby was not something she was prepared for.

“So, is it possible...at all?” The Captain replied.

“Well, there’s no way to accurately tell how your infertility has been affected, but I would venture to say it absolutely is possible.” Phineas responded

It didn’t take long for Phineas to conduct the test. He made it sound complicated, but really he just took a blood sample to be tested. Sure enough, within a half hour he had the results. The Captain stood in front of him, Ellie and Nyoka at her sides.

“Good news, Captain!” He shrilled; “I can conclude that your test is negative. You are not pregnant.”

A collective sigh of relief could be heard from the Captain and the two women next to her. This had been a scare for everyone involved.

“So, the nausea and fatigue were just coincidences?” The Captain wondered.

Phineas shrugged;

“I would say yes. Do understand, side effects will be present for a little while longer. You were frozen for quite awhile.”

As relieved as the Captain was...she felt the smallest twinge of disappointment in her chest. She didn’t want to admit it, but she had the slightest bit of hoping that she was pregnant. The Captain was already in her 30s and her time to have a kid was now. Within the next five years or so, having a kid wouldn’t have been a wise choice. However, with the way the colony was now, she wasn’t sure that dream would’ve ever been reality.

She realized something else now. She was going to have to tell Max. They were very honest within their relationship. It was something they had been adamant about since the beginning. She knew that if there had even been a question that she might’ve been pregnant with his child, then he deserved to know.

They bid farewell to Dr. Welles, finally heading back to the ship. The Captain was unusually quiet for the given circumstances, which was a surprise to Ellie and Nyoka. Neither of them were the ones to pry into business that wasn’t theirs. They knew that the Captain didn’t have to confide in them and that their boundaries of respect should be appreciated. Although, Ellie knew the psychological effects of things like this.

As the three of them approached the entrance of the ship, Ellie gripped the Captain’s shoulder.

“You wanted it to be positive, didn’t you?” Ellie asked bluntly.

The Captain’s hesitance was all Ellie needed as an answer. The Captain’s eyes shifted to her feet and a heavy, sad sigh escaped her chest.

“No...I don’t know.” She eventually replied.

She entered the ship first, only closing the airlock once she made sure they were all safely inside.

“Hey, Cap...” Nyoka’s soothed; “Don’t be so down about it. You’ve still got plenty of years in you.”

Her words were true, but not any more comforting. Still, the Captain smiled genuinely and thanked them both for being there for her. Nyoka’s statement stuck around with the Captain for several minutes after. Did she really have any time left for a kid? Would she have been better off to have had a child when she was still in her 20s?

She had lots of questions to consider that would weigh heavily on her conscience for the next little while, but she still had one thing she needed to do.

She had to tell Max.

It was fairly late now, far too late in the evening to really go do anything. They’d stay in orbit until in the morning where they would dock at Groundbreaker to get some supplies. The Captain carried herself up the stairs with shaky hands and a pounding heart. She had never had to tell anyone anything like this. How do you simply tell your boyfriend that you’ve just had a pregnancy scare with his child?

She was unsure of how to approach this. Even worse yet, she had no idea how he’d react. Max was significantly older than her. She didn’t care. He didn’t care. But having a baby in your early 50s is way different than when you’re in your 30s. Would he have even wanted to raise a kid at his age? Would he have left the crew? The Captain was beginning to realize just how many things she would have had to consider if she had actually been pregnant.

Her room was comfortably warm and even more inviting at the sight of Max stretched out on her bed. He was in a very light sleep, his arm draped over his eyes as he breathed slowly. The book that was haphazardly discarded onto the floor as evidence that he had been waiting up for you. She smiled softly, her eyes raking over his frame. His toned biceps, his fit core, his hair...Law, she had it bad.

The Captain was quiet as she entered, being careful not to wake him yet. She removed her boots to leave her clad in her socks and soften her footfalls. She picked his book up and smoothed out the pages that had gotten ruffled from being squashed into the floor. She closed it and set it back at the bedside. He always liked to read in the mornings before the Captain woke up.

She eventually mustered up the courage to wake him. She sat on the very edge of the bed, placing her hand on his shoulder and gingerly shaking him awake. He stirred from his slumber, a little miffed for a moment from being awoken. His mood quickly changed when he saw it was just his stunning captain. He looked up at her from where he lay on her bunk;

“Captain, you’re back.” He noted.

She nodded;

“Yeah. We just got back.” She replied casually, still mapping out how she was going to tell him.

He sat up from his position, shaking his head quickly to rid his head of it’s haziness.

“How was Dr. Welles?” He asked curiously.

She nodded again and offered a somewhat convincing grin;

“He was fine.” She answered shortly.

Her brain couldn’t think of anything to say now. At this point, she was at a loss. Truth was, Max had a gut feeling that something was going on. Between her previous reaction to the tea and her refusing his assistance off the ship, he had a notion that something wasn’t right. He had yet to put his finger on it. He leaned his head against the headboard and his hand on her leg.

“Darling, if I’ve done something to upset you in any way, I would like you to tell me.” He requested.

The Captain was quick to deny what he was insinuating;

“Oh, no. You haven’t done anything at all,” She admitted; “I just had some...concerns I needed to air out with Phineas.”

His curiosity was sparked now. What was she on about?

“What kind of concerns?”

She sucked in a breath and looked away at the adjacent wall. This was so much harder than she wanted it to be.

“Max, I went to Phineas because...I thought I was pregnant.”

Now, in all his years, Max had heard his fair share of startling things. This topped them all. The Captain watched as he blankly stared back at her for what seemed like forever. Every ounce of color drained from his face as he attempted to process what she had just said. Her heart was beating violently in her ears. She wanted him to say something. Anything at all. Eventually, he gave a very bleak response.

“Okay.” He replied.

The Captain froze for a moment before responding;

“Okay? That’s all you’re going to say?” She asked, slightly annoyed.

He wasn’t really sure what to say. He hadn’t ever dealt with this before.

“In my defense, I didn’t expect that at all.” He bantered.

She figured that was fair. She didn’t exactly break the news easily. Another silence ensued after. She was fighting tears and he desperately racked his brain for something to say. She had been scared and honestly, she was disappointed now.

“What did he say? Are you?” He asked, biting the bullet.

She shook her head no, eyes averted to the floor. The color slowly returned to his face and he didn’t feel like he was going to faint anymore. However, he was more worried about her. He watched her intently, studying her expression and behavior. He could tell she was upset about it. He had accepted long ago that kids weren’t probably in his future. Not because he didn’t want them, but he was about a decade past the usual first time parent age. He couldn’t miss something that he never had, right? Truth was, he struggled with it sometimes. He had been so committed to OSI and the Plan that he never settled down with anybody. Before he knew it, his parenting days were long gone by. Now, he felt terrible that she was taking this so hard.

“It wasn’t something we had ever talked about. Not that we had any reason to,” She sniffed; “I was just so scared. I wasn’t sure it was even possible for me and I didn’t know how you were going to react and-”

“Hold on,” He interrupted; “Surely you didn’t think I was going to be upset, were you?”

She shrugged, finally looking at him. Tears were brimming her delicate eyes.

“I wasn’t sure. A kid is a big responsibility.” She admitted.

He sat up to where he closer to her;

“Of course, but I wouldn’t think any less of you. I wouldn’t just disregard you that way. I assure you of that.” He confessed.

He noted that she didn’t exactly have a moment of relief at what he was saying. There was something bigger going on. Sure, she was comforted that he was unhesitatingly willing to stick around like that, but suddenly that wasn’t the hard part of this endeavor.

“Something tells me that’s not completely what you’re occupied with,” He astutely claimed; “What’s really going on?”

“There was just a little sliver of hope that maybe I was...” She blurted.

His eyes shifted to the nearest wall for a moment and he nervously shuffled his feet. This wasn’t a conversation he ever thought he would have. He was unprepared, and surely didn’t want to say the wrong thing.

“Well, that’s perfectly normal.” He stated.

“Is it?” She questioned; “How could I possibly miss something I never had?”

He breathed out a short laugh. He knew that feeling all too well.

“It’s not as insane as it sounds. It can be rather easy to fall in love with the idea of something and forget it isn’t actually true. Though I doubt that offers you any sort of comfort.” He rubbed her leg.

She didn’t speak for a while. He used this time to attempt to persuade her.

“I can see you’re disappointed, and rightfully so. But would you really have wanted to raise a child?”

The tears she had been fighting finally slid down her cheeks, a heartfelt confession escaping before she even had a chance to process it.

“I wanted to raise a child with you.”

His eyes went wide at that. He was stunned. He didn’t realize just how much she wanted this. He hated to disappoint her, because at the end of the day, he was the part of the equation that made it impossible. Sure, raising a kid on a ship in the middle of space was challenging. However, the real kicker was the fact that his days of having a kid were long gone, realistically.

She was trying to pull herself together. She wasn’t making it any easier on him by making him feel bad about. That wasn’t her intent to make him feel bad about something that wasn’t his fault.

“[Y/N], I...” He struggled to find the right words; “I’m sorry.”

She shook her head, wiping away the tears that made her feel so vulnerable. At least they reminded her that it was okay to feel this way sometimes. She couldn’t be her best all the time.

“It’s not your fault. I’ll get over it soon enough,” She said; “I love you, and I’m lucky to be spending my life with you.” She said shakily.

He held her hand to his face, kissing her overworked skin. This wasn’t how he wanted tonight to go. But he knew that not every evening with her could end blissfully perfect. That was something he had gotten far too used to.

“I love you, Captain. Baby or no baby.” He kissed her forehead now.

She moved to snuggle next to him, still trying to stop her crying. Every trembling breath she took made his heart sink a little more. He knew she’d be okay with time. She’d come to terms with it and they’d live their normal lives. But for now, she had some healing to do.

And he’d be there for her every step of the way.

#the outer worlds #vicar max #the outer worlds vicar max #vicar max fanfiction #vicar max x reader #yeah #I have issues

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spectraspecs-writes · 4 years

Text

Tatooine - Chapter 61

Link to the masterpost. Chapter 60. Chapter 62.

@averruncusho @marie39544 thank you for reading you get a tag

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Iziz gave me a map to the Eastern Dune Sea, in thanks for freeing his people. It shows me how to read the ancient marker stones in the desert to find my way to the cave. Mission and HK go back to the ship, so Bastila and Carth are with me on the trip back to the desert. The cave isn’t all that far from Anchorhead, but it’ll still be dark by the time we’re done, and I don’t want to be out in the desert at night. But… there’s a feeling… I want to be out there. Where no one will get hurt. I don’t know why I’m thinking that, what could happen out there that I get that feeling. But I do.

“You feel it, too?” Bastila asks me. Doesn’t elaborate. Doesn’t have to. I know.

“Yeah. We have to go out there.”

“I thought you didn’t want to be out in the desert at night?” Carth says, “That sounded like a damn good idea to me.”

“It’s not about being out at night,” I say, “It’s that we have to be out there in the morning.”

“Why is that?” he asks, sounding skeptical, but I can tell he doesn’t want me to say he doesn’t trust me again. He doesn’t want to go over that again.

“I don’t know,” I say, “I’ve just got a feeling.”

“You would do well to trust a Jedi’s senses, Carth,” Bastila says.

“Well, if it’s a Jedi thing, you should have said so in the first place,” he says, “Jedi senses, I trust.”

“I’ve got some basic bedrolls in my pack,” I say, “Some small ration packs. We can last the night in the Star Map cave.”

“The Jawa said something about a dragon out there, though,” Carth says, “Dragons in the cave.”

“Yes,” Iziz says, “The greatest of the desert! There is no bigger. Bigger than the big machines. Jawas don’t know how to fight something so big.”

“Is that what your Jedi senses are telling you about?” Carth asks.

“No idea,” I say with a shrug, “Won’t know until we’re out there.”

“We may have to kill the dragon,” Bastila says, “No creature would take well to others in its lair.”

“There is a hunter,” Iziz says, “A Twi’lek. He has seen many things. Look in the Eastern Dune Sea when you go and he may help.”

“Good to know,” I say, “Thanks, Iziz.”

“You are a good friend of the Jawas,” Iziz says, “We will remember when your kind are gone. Ask if you need any more of anything.”

“Hang on a minute,” Carth says, “I’ll be right back.” He sort of run-jogs back to the ship, and Bastila and I find a place to hunker down in the shade. When he comes back, he’s wearing his typical orange jacket, and he’s rented a speeder. “I’m sick of walking for one day.”

“Fair enough,” I say, smiling, because I’m honestly tired of walking, too. My feet are killing me.

The speeder’s controls are different from those in the Hawk, I think, but Carth drives the thing without a problem. Maybe the controls aren’t that different, I guess, I don’t know. I navigate him out into the Eastern Dune Sea. There’s not really any sign of Czerka out here beyond their marker posts. Maybe the dragon Iziz mentioned has kept them away. Good.

“That cave, there,” Bastila says, pointing at the biggest cave out here, “That must be the one Iziz described.” Carth pulls over a short distance from the cave (but far enough away to keep this dragon from attacking the speeder. If we don’t bother this creature, it should have no incentive to bother us. We’re probably not worth the effort as a meal, if it’s as big as Iziz says.) Waiting outside the cave is a Twi’lek and another hunter, a human, and the speeder they must have come in. The human has a look of naivete about him, but the Twi’lek is patient and relaxed.

“I'm tired of waiting, Komad!” the human exclaims as we get closer, “How big can this dragon of yours be? I'm going in!” And he rushes inside the cave.

The dragon never comes out, but neither does the human. Judging from his screams, it’s pretty safe to assume the dragon ate him. Now the Twi’lek is a little nervous. I can tell he’s trying to calculate his next move.

Until he sees me approach. “Greetings to you, human,” he says to me in Huttese - a common enough language; children usually learn it alongside Basic outside of the core worlds - “I believe I saw you in Anchorhead. I thought I would see you on the dunes. You look like a hunter.”

“Not exactly,” I say.

“Perhaps you are interested in the ways of the hunt?” Komad asks, “Will you help me?”

“I’m guessing you’re interested in the dragon, then?”

“Yes,” he says, “It is an honored creature to hunt, although we must use unorthodox methods today.”

“I get the impression predators like this are rare on Tatooine. Killing one could upset the whole balance of the planet,” I say. You can’t be a scout as long as I was without picking up a bit of ecology. Especially since that was my whole thing.

“You are correct, human,” Komad says, “The natural cycle on Tatooine spans hundreds of years, but there are complications that must be addressed. Complications from our presence.” Ah, yes. I imagine this ecosystem is quite fragile. “Krayt dragons feed on banthas. If the numbers of either species fall, the other grows too numerous, and unbalances the cycle. Now settlers use banthas, so there are less for dragons to eat. This one is moving closer to Anchorhead. Perhaps there will be more, but he is the threat tonight.”

“If the Star Map is in there,” Bastila says, “we may have to deal with the dragon first.”

Forget the Star Map. This guy is speaking with a respect for the planet that I’ve never heard in any other hunter. Hunters are generally in it for their own profit. I think Komad could care less about profit. If killing this krayt dragon would only bring him wealth, he wouldn’t do it. “I’ll help,” I say, “What do I need to do?”

“We must bait the great beast out of hiding and ambush him swiftly,” Komad says, “There is no room to engage him in the lair, and his hide will repel blaster fire. I have placed mines around the mouth of the cave. We must coax him out, but this is the end of his season of hibernation. It will take much to rouse him.”

“He’s probably hungry, then,” I say, “I mean, I’m usually hungry when I wake up.”

“My thoughts precisely. The food of a beast this size is almost exclusively banthas,” Komad says, “and foolish hunters, if we are not careful. To lure him out we must lure his food to tempt him.”

“I’m not exactly a bantha rustler,” I say uncertainly, “I dated a dewback farmer once, but she lured them in by making them think she was a giant berry. I get the feeling this won’t be as simple as putting on a red shirt.”

“The concept is similar,” Komad says slowly, uncertain what to make of my digression, “Banthas too have their food of choice. I have some bantha fodder here, to lead them here.” He hands me a small satchel full of a super stinky mush. “If you bait the banthas here, the mines will deal with the dragon as it emerges to feed. Not exactly a glorious hunt, but it will ensure the safety of the region.”

“Seems to me like there’s more to this than just luring some banthas,” Carth says.

“There is one added threat,” Komad says, “The Sand People regard banthas as sacred. Attempting to feed the herd in this area will likely lead to an attack. We are far from the weakened tribes around Anchorhead. The Sand People of this region are strong, fierce, and will think nothing of killing you. Be careful.” He looks past me, toward a small group of banthas. “Lead them here. I wish you luck against the Sand People.”

I hand Bastila the bag of fodder. “You lead the banthas. Carth and I will take care of the Sand People.”

“Why me? I’m sure I could fight the Sand People as well,” Bastila objects.

“I have no doubt. But Cartha and I have fought them already earlier today. We know their style,” I say, “Plus once the banthas start following you, they won’t stop. If you join the fight, the banthas will be right behind you.”

She sighs. “I suppose you’re right,” she says, “I’ll lead them to the cave.”

“We’ll take the perimeter,” Carth says. He finds a good place to stand to wait, and I join him. He’s lucky enough to be able to pick Sand People off from a distance, even if he doesn’t make a perfect shot every time. I have to get up close and personal, right in their faces. My aim sucks.

Bastila doesn’t even have to get very close to the banthas before they smell the fodder and turn to follow her. They don’t move very fast, but then they don’t have to.

I hear the Sand People before I see them. “You ready?” I ask Carth.

“Ready,” he says. When the first Sand Person comes into view, Carth fires his blaster, hits one of them right in the arm. There are two more behind the first one. I pull the purple lightsaber back out and jump right to the warriors, blue and violet blades flashing. The first Sand Person wasn’t prepared for me, and put up no defense. My lightsaber went right through him, and he hit the sand. The other two raised their gaffis the second I hit the ground.

They match my speed. I try to focus on one at the time, but when I turn my attention to one, the other moves to strike me from behind. I end up ducking a lot. I try to move in a way that keeps them both in Carth’s sights. He misses a couple times, but he never fires a shot when there’s a chance it could hit me. I can feel it.

He shoots one in the head, burning a hole through his mask. This makes the last one even angrier, and he raises his gaffi over his head. Leaving his center exposed. I quickly thrust my lightsaber into his stomach, and he drops his gaffi in shock. In death.

Carth and I run back to the mouth of the cave, where Bastila is being slowly accosted by the banthas. She has no appreciation for the bantha kisses, which is understandable since their tongues are as long as she is tall. She drops the bag and they let her escape, whuffling at the bag with their big noses.

“Quickly,” Komad says as we all move away from the cave, “be ready. The banthas are in position and will soon stir our restless prey. I hope the mines do their job quickly.”

“I’m ready.”

The ground thuds. “Oh boy, he's a big one!” Komad exclaims.

Jesus fucking Christ.

The frag mines piece the dragon’s soft underbelly, quickly dropping the dragon. The banthas are unharmed, but they move away from the cave. They probably don’t like the rumbling or the smell of the dragon.

“It is done,” Komad says, “and the great beast is dead. To my shame, I denied him a final fight, but I will honor his memory to make amends.” He takes a big knife and cuts into the dragon’s belly, and pulls out two bloodied orbs. “I thank you for your aid, human,” he says, “You have earned a share of the victory, such as it is.”

“So long as I don’t have to reach into his stomach to get it,” I say with disgust.

“This krayt dragon pearl is yours,” he says, trying to hand me the pearl. No, I am not touching that. Bastila takes it instead with the Force.

“Mother said this is what my father was looking for,” Bastila says, “It must fetch a high price.”

“Indeed,” Komad says, “But don't let the spoils be your only reason to hunt. Wealth fades. The sands remain.

“You should return to Anchorhead, human. Night on the dunes can be dangerous,” he says.

“I think it would be more dangerous if I left,” I say.

“You are a Jedi?” he asks, “I should have guessed from your gait. Even a Jedi can die, human. Remember that.”

“With every passing moment.” Komad gets into his own speeder and leaves in the direction of Anchorhead. “It’s almost first sunset. We should get in the cave. Carth, can you bring the speeder in closer?” He nods and does so, as Bastila and I head into the cave.

The cave is dark, and I can barely see a thing, but I can feel the Star Map. Like it’s reaching out to me. I don’t like it. Carth turns on the lights on the speeder, and I can see the Stap Map. And the statues that I saw in my vision. Like fallen rubble. Looks like an alien. Not one that I’m familiar with, though.

We all step closer to the Star Map, and it activates on its own, just like the one on Dantooine did. I start to interface my datapad with it to download the coordinates.

“Anyone else get the feeling that finding this Star Map in the back of this krayt dragon's cave is more than just a coincidence?” Carth says.

“I do not think it is mere chance that we have found the Star Map here, no,” Bastila says, “The Star Map is an artifact of the dark side. The krayt dragon may have been drawn here by its dark power, only to be enslaved by it.”

“Well, I’ve got the coordinates,” I say, “We should hunker down for the night. Try to start a fire before it gets too cold.”

Whatever’s coming won’t come until morning.

#knights of the old republic #star wars #kotor #fiction #autistic artist #star wars knights of the old republic #kotor fic #specs writes stuff #rena visz #oc #fem!revan #ls!revan #bi!revan #carth onasi #komad fortuna #bastila shan #tatooine #chapter 61 #the quest for the star forge

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tancong · 5 years

Text

Confession

Your cute OCs brought me out of my writing hibernation @koshkavinni. I can’t believe you’ve done this.

Part 1/2

“Hien!”

Aloin rushed over as soon as her eyes found no more enemy in sight. Hien frowned and brought her hand up to making a shushing motion, only to find her arm dropping back to her side soon after as her legs began to wobble. Before she could hit the ground, Hien found herself in the arms of an angel.

“Hey hey, I’m fine … Stop yelling so loudly, there might be others that can … hear us.” Despite her head spinning and her breath shortening, Hien still did her best to look around for danger, to make sure that Aloin was safe. There was a weak but brave smile on her expression, trying to comfort the woman that was holding her so tightly that it was almost painful. Well, not quite comparable to the pain from the barbed arrow in her side but still.

“You’re so pretty … Like an angel … If it’s like this … I wouldn’t mind dying …” Hien’s hand brushing gently over the soft cheek of the woman who held her was pushed away with a frown.

“Shut up. I told you that I was- You should have just..! We’ll talk about this later.” Aloin chastised in a more hushed tone as she inspected the arrow. Her brows furrowed as she quickly looked around. “I’m going to have to pull it out … It’s poisoned. Bear through it.”

Hien blinked as she turned her head from the blue sky to look over at the troubled expression on Aloin’s face. She frowned, “I don’t think it’s going to come out that easily … Just … Leave me here. Get help. I’ll be alri-”

The scream that came from Hien as the arrow was quickly removed was muffled entirely by a pair of lips pressed tightly against hers. Even if she was weakened somewhat by the poison and the damage, it took everything Aloin had to hold her in her arms until the other woman went limp for a moment. From there onward, it was time for her to heal the bleeding and cure the poison. Not the easiest of tasks after expending so much of her magic and strength during the battle already but neither was it impossible.

When she finally woke up, Hien looked around to find Aloin scavenging a few items of interest here and there. A gentle touch to her abdomen confirmed that the arrow was gone, leaving only a small trace of the wound. She got up shakily by herself as Aloin looked over with a frown. “Took you long enough to wake up. Let’s go.”

They were careful as they exited the dangerous area of the forest. Once they neared the outskirts of the city once more, the two relaxed more. Hien glanced to the side before slowly matching her pace with Aloin once more.

“... Are you still mad?”

Aloin frowned at her, “Of course I am. You nearly got yourself killed. Over nothing. Do you know how worried I was?”

Hien frowned as she fidgeted just a bit, breaking her gaze from the overbearing glare of Aloin. “I saw the bandit flanking you … and I was worried. If something happened to you, I wouldn’t have been able to forgive myself.”

Aloin chopped the top of Hien’s head lightly with the side of her hand, “Then maybe you should consider how I feel when you rush into danger like that. What if I had been out of magic? Or if the wound had been deeper? Or if there were more enemies? Or I messed up with my healing?”

“But you didn’t. I knew you wouldn’t let any of those things happen. If one of us had to get hurt, I would rather die than to let you.”

That earned her a slap. “Don’t you dare say that! Don’t you ever, ever think that you should die because of me! I … You! … Mmph!” Aloin stomped off ahead as she couldn’t formulate the words to speak in her anger.

The walk continued in silence as Hien trailed behind, silently touching her cheek as she pondered upon her feelings. With her free hand, she gently laid it over her chest, feeling the warm rhythm her heart. The sign that she was well alive thanks to Aloin. And, as she looked up toward the back of the other woman, the skip of her heart that told her that the other woman was far more than just a trustworthy companion to her. It was something that she knew for a long time now but could never bring herself to say anything about. After all, what would the other lady think if she were to vocalize such a thought? In her mind, Aloin was close to an angel. Compared to her, Hien felt as if she were just a peasant, a barbarian even.

She took a deep breath as she sped up, catching up to Aloin. Her pace slowed until she was right behind the other woman, who seemed to have also slowed her pace as if she had been waiting. Hien didn’t say anything for a moment, opting to gaze at the forest around them. When she finally brought her eyes back to the silver hair of the woman in front of her, Hien could have sworn that Aloin quickly turned her head around. Had she been looking back? No …

“Ah … I was a bit delirious earlier from the poison … I hope I didn’t say anything weird … Did I?”

Aloin didn’t seem to react as she hid her light blush by continuing to look forward. “No … Don’t worry about it …” A pause. “Wait did you … Remember the part when I pulled out the arrow?”

Hien blinked and looked up, thinking about it for a moment. “Oh right … You pulled that arrow out without warning me. That was quite mean you know.”

“How else am I supposed to do it? Wait for the poison to seep in more and for you to keep pretending that everything was alright?” Aloin turned around then, walking backward as she spoke in a mocking low pitched voice. “I’m Hien and I’m fineeee. Don’t worry about me Aloin, just let me die from the poison. No no no, the bandits might hear us.”

Hien watched for a moment before bursting out in laughter, covering her lips with her hand. It eventually ended with her having to lean against a tree, laughter unrestrained now as Aloin stopped in the near distance, unable to restrain her own smile and the embarrassed blush on her cheeks.

As her laughter finally died out, Hien walked by Aloin with a soft pat on her head. “Hey don’t treat me like a child! It wasn’t that funny. Why did that even make you laugh so much?”

“Of course, of course. In any case, all I could remember was hmm … A lot of pain … But there was also something really soft … Was it your healing? Or arms? Mmm, I can’t remember.”

As Hien recalled the danger that they had just gone through, a pit formed in her stomach. Reminded of how lovely Aloin was when she was smiling … How caring and sweet. How selfless and endearing even to someone like herself, Hien couldn’t help but feel conflicted. What if … there would be no next time to confess her feelings? What if the next time, it would be Aloin that sacrifices herself, leaving her helpless and unable to help. Then … All alone again.

“So you don’t remember … Ah, perhaps that’s for the best … Aha …” Aloin commented with a soft laugh of relief. She fidgeted for a moment before taking a few quick steps to catch up to the side of Hien. Just as she always was. She spoke softly to Hien, “Well … I can forgive you if you apologize and promise to never run straight into danger again.”

Aloin continued walking and waited a few moments before frowning as she looked over at the vacant expression on Hien’s face. She waved her hand in front of the other woman, “Hello? Is Hien still here?”

Hien blinked and gave Aloin a sheepish smile, “Ah … I’m sorry, I was thinking about some stuff. Did you … say something?”

A cute pout appeared on Aloin’s expression followed by a soft ‘hmph’. “... I said that I’ll forgive you if you apologize. And promise to not run into danger again.”

Hien shook her head, “I cannot do either of those things. In my situation, I did what I thought was best. Even if it was stupid in hindsight … even if you yell at me, I don’t care as long as I can make sure that you’re safe. So … I won’t apologize and I can’t promise you to never do that again.”

Aloin’s eyes widened at the frankness of the woman beside her. It was not unexpected, Hien had always been headstrong and assertive in these sorts of things after all. But … just this once, it made her heart fuzzy and put a gentle smile on her face. She let out a soft sigh of resignation, “I should have known … What am I ever going to do with you …”

They walked in comfortable silence for a while. Hien found herself gazing over at the thoughtful expression on her partner’s face. As she finally looked away, the soft voice beside her spoke up once again.

“After that last run in, I just … I have something to confess.”

Hien paused for a moment before stopping in place altogether. She turned toward Aloin, her expression serious as she mustered her courage. “I also have something, Aloin.”

The silver-haired woman’s curious expression quickly turned into a wide-eyed blush as Hien cupped her hands around Aloin’s face. Their eyes did not leave each other for what seemed like an eternity, even if it was only a few seconds before Hien continued speaking is an endearing tone accompanied by a bashful blush.

“I would do anything to keep you safe. I would follow you to the ends of the earth and from thereon. So … Just trust me and don’t ever leave my side.”

Aloin’s eyes softened as they fluttered with a genuine smile on her lips. She nodded gently before placing her hands on Hien’s arms, moving just a bit closer. “And I, you.” With that, their lips met. Their first real kiss, surrounded by the peaceful white hue of the flowers which bloomed around them. A sign of innocent love in a world full of danger and fear. A love between an angel and her stubborn guardian.

#god they're so cute #and gay #ultra gay even #OC #writing

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anabananafofana · 5 years

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It would be a sickfic if only it was fictional.

I’ve recently convinced one of my flatmates to start exercising with me. I’ve always had the habit of exercising and I’m especially keen of running, whereas she doesn’t have such an active lifestyle and tends to eat more than she needs, in my opinion, besides her thin built. But who am I to say anything.

Anyway, so we started working out together last week. We completed a FitnessBlender 5-day challenge and I thought that was it - it was make it or break it, at the end. I thought she would either be excited to keep on exercising or that she would never do anything like that again. I was very happy to hear that she wanted to keep on doing the routines, after we were done with the challenge.

Well, this week I could not join her in starting a new challenge because it proved to be too much on my hip, on top of long runs. So she started by herself and it seemed like it went great. Afterwards, she rehydrated, made herself some dinner and just sat at the kitchen table, scrolling some app on her phone. It was either Facebook or Instagram, I don’t remember.

I was in the living room and upon realizing how long it had been since she went in the kitchen and how quiet is had been for a while, I muted the TV and was disturbed by the silence in the house. So, I called her name and she didn’t reply. Then, I cautiously made my way to the kitchen, not knowing what to expect, but thinking the worse - whatever that could be, trust!, I’ve thought about it.

I got into the kitchen and saw her there, as I’ve told you, sitting at the table, absentmindedly scrolling through some posts on her phone. She looked so out of it, that I instinctively focused on her face, he barely blinked, and I stood at the door between the hall and the kitchen and called her name. She didn’t reply, again. In fact, she didn’t even seem to realize that I was standing there, just a couple of feet away. That’s when my mind “zoomed out”, probably at the need of having a broader view of the surroundings to see whether there was something it was missing that would explain my flatmate (and friend!) behavior. Nothing. I saw nothing. Looking back at her, who was still (it all probably happened in less than 2 minutes, but it felt so long!) not acknowledging me, I realized that she was shaking. So I came closer to her and slightly touched her shoulder. She had a hoodie on. She was startled by my touch and, for a second, she just looked at me with a blank expression. Then she seemed to be “back” to herself and said, “hey, you scared me”. I was mind-blown, since I had been there for a while and even called her name, but I also realized that there was something going on, so I kept calm and composed and just asked her what was going on. She told me that nothing was going on, that she had exercised, drank water, cooked, ate, washed the dishes...”everything is fine”.

I insisted for a bit, asking what was wrong, but she would just give me the same answer. And as much as how I was seeing her didn’t match the answer, it did seem genuine. I was so confused. Then I calmly told her the obvious - that she was shaking. She tensed up her whole body for a second as if she had just realized that that was happening after I’ve told her. After that, she looked like a melting pot of emotions. At first, she looked confused, then embarassed - she even blushed a little bit, then sad, and upon hearing me asking once again - “*what’s* wrong??” - this time a little bit less calmly, I reckon, she burst into tears and said: “I don’t know!! Everything is fine!” I didn’t say anything and didn’t do anything either, my hand was still on her shoulder and as much as I wanted to hug her, at that moment, I wanted to give her some space and just be a safe place for her to keep on talking, is she wanted to. And she did keep on talking, in between sobs, trying to catch her breath as she said: “We just learned that we finished this college semester successfully. This one was probably our best one yet, it was much less stressful than the previous ones. And I’ve been healthy, exercising, cooking, washing the dishes, doing laundry....everything is fine! We are so blessed and everything is fine!! I don’t know what is wrong, I feel like such an ungrateful bitch....” And that was something among this line that I could no longer wait. I turned her on the chair, so she was facing me, I held her face, told her she was not ungrateful, and (trying hard not to cry, as it hit me in a sore spot. It was just too relatable), I hugged her and felt her fast-beating heart and how cold her hands were when she finally let herself completed in on my hug.

I didn’t let her go until she wanted out. This took a while, a couple of minutes, but it was somehow effective. She stopped sobbing and now the tears were just flowing and making their way down her cheeks and onto her sweatshirt. She looked at me, directly in my eyes, with such a sad look in them, and tried to explain herself, but ended up with another “I don’t know”. I said “I know. Me neither.” and, at that moment, we seemed so close and equally vulnerable. I stood up, got her some water, she took some sips and then I asked her if she would take a hot shower, as she was probably feeling colder because she had exercised and still her clothes workout clothes on. Besides the fact that a hot shower helps to alleviate tension and, consequently, helps to fall asleep. She didn’t say anything, she just took a deep breath and just rubbed her running nose on her hoodie`s arm. She had stopped crying and looked calm now, and just made a gesture as if saying “whatever” or that she was done with the day and said she would just go to bed. Knowing her, and how doesn’t even sit on her bed with her regular clothes if she has gone out with them, I knew she wouldn’t be comfortable and seeing how cold she was and how hard she had exercised earlier on, that was a no-no. So I told her that I promissed that she would feel much better after a shower and a good night’s sleep. So I helped her to get upstairs, turned on the shower, told her not to lock the door, and after a good 20 minutes or so, she was done, got her pajamas on, I put her toothpaste on her toothbrush, to speed things up, she got into bed, I gave her a valeriana pill (it’s a plant, like chamomille, that has soothing/sleep-inducing effects) with a bit of water, tucked her in and asked if she was gonna be okay, she said she would but she didn’t. A couple of minutes later, I heard her crying, as I was sitting on my bedroom, just across hers, both of our doors open. It was a quiet cry that I wasn’t even sure if that was actually what was happening, at first. So I went to check in oh her and she was lying, curled up in a ball, crying. I gently got her to sit, held her for a bit, gave her some tissues and water, she calmed herself down not too long after, and I asked her whether she wanted to go pee before trying to sleep again, as she had had quite some water by then. She did, then she came back saying how sorry she was and I just said that it was ok. She didn’t have to be sorry about anything and that I was there for her because I genuinely care for her and wouldn’t have it any other way. So I asked whether she wanted company and somehow we ended up cuddling and woke up this next morning as if both of us had hibernated. I woke up first and moved kind of recklessly, stil half-asleep, moving her arm away from my shoulder, until I realized that that was someone else’s arm lol. I turned around, looked at her, who was awake now and while my brain recalled what had happened the night before, my dummy self just mumbled: “did we sleep together?” hahah She said “yeah, but - no.” We got up and had breakfast followed by a walk at a nearby beach (we live at a walking distance from a beach) and despite the cold wind, it was so refreshing. Everything was refreshing. Her sleeping through her sadness and me sleeping through the exhaustion of having cared to try to put her pieces back together and by finally being able to give in to sleep after realizing that she was able to, was so very refreshing. Waking up knowing that we balanced our energies over night, having a good breakfast filled with an intimate energy and genuine trust and then the walk at the beach. Refreshing.

By the way, if you’re wondering, we’re both straight women. Or at least we think so. ;

#longstory #sickfic #notreally #caring #depression #friend #friends #connection #daretocare #healing #supporting #bethereforoneanother #mentalhealth #support #reach #help #embrac #vulnerability #goodhumans

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eclecticpatrolsweets · 3 years

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Fog strange talk Season 3 ——Jinjiang City 2020 Top7

(Language: English;Shooting: American group;Released in: USA, worldwide)

preface

The city was swept by high temperature, and there were two pairs of mandarin ducks, who migrated for a long time to build their nests and settle down in a warm place. One was unable to bear the high temperature and fell, dying on the concrete floor. One opened its wings to block the hot sun for his partner. The male struggled and died soon. It was a long way and a spare dream. The mandarin ducks did not eat or drink, and rested beside their husband.

Mandarin ducks are amorous, not to mention people in the city.

Top7

It was another beautiful morning, and Sheng continued sleeping in bed. He had not worked for a long time.

I interviewed with several companies before, but they were not optimistic about my previous work experience. Even though he had operated projects with tens of millions of assets, the working technology of higher enterprises was not acceptable in small cities in this backward city near the river.

Sheng was not discouraged. He needed sleep more than ever, like a hibernating frog.

Reluctantly, he got up, dressed and went downstairs to Suming's coffee shop.

"It's been a long time since I had my coffee." Su Ming saw or came to the store, very happy to meet him.

"Quite a long time. I don't have a job, so I can spend more when I work."

'A good young man who cares for his family!

"Praise makes me feel excited and happy!"

Su Ming made the coffee and handed it to Sheng, who asked, "How is your business here?"

"There are definitely fewer people consuming these days."

"Yes, all idle so long, did you go to the injection?" The coffee is steaming up.

"Yes, you don't want to tell me you have a problem with the injection, do you?"

"Return true be such, not be to inform me to give an injection, go for the first time, did not have a needle, changed other hospital for the second time, the trouble of the bosom after finishing is more, beard hard grow, resemble wild grass same."

"How was the traditional Chinese medicine hospital?"

"It was like witchcraft. My stomach stopped hurting for the first two days and MY body gained strength. Then I burned my face with the medicine I was prescribed.

"If you go to bed earlier, your endocrine system is good and you don't get as many breakouts."

"You introduced a man, Wei Dongshuai, who suffers from severe insomnia."

"He thinks you're mysterious, and he doesn't believe in all this nonsense about curses and vampires."

'And yet he believed in God!

"People always have some sustenance, such as you save every ticket, no one in Jinjiang City will save every ticket for going out in the past ten years."

"There are habits, or hobbies, for a reason. For him, in a car is a kind of luxury, so he keep the good in every each ticket, we get together, together to do the plane, arrive together, each process is pleasant, so I would like him keep each ticket, rather than from direct throw away a long time ago. Many years later, when I look at the tickets again, I feel a little bit of memories and feelings. It's nice."

"Wei Dongshuai is more realistic."

"Does he still come into your shop often?"

"Recently, he delivered goods to the mountain. He got up early to buy vegetables in the morning market, and delivered vegetables up the mountain. He ran around in the morning and afternoon to provide more ingredients and goods to the mountain. I haven't seen him for months."

"He's got a lot of nerve serving on the mountain. I think you need to tell him that vampires in the mountains are no better than people."

"He won't listen."

"Also! Man's destiny depends on his ability to see reality clearly. What is reality? What can be touched, what can be felt, what can be recorded by scientific instruments is reality, which is simply how it exists in the environment -- why don't you think about going up the hill to deliver coffee?"

"I want to live to be old! How are things going?"

"Suddenly want to have a person to accompany in the side, miss a person, carefully think about it, not miss anyone. I don't know what it's like to be alone and frustrated after suddenly leaving. I'm used to being alone."

"Stop relying on unworthy people and figure out how to improve yourself in the future. You're coming out of your bad heart."

"Sounds like you know a lot. Your parents taught you that?"

"Vested interests are still vested interests! It's important to find the right person!"

"So do I! Nobody talks to zombies, and I'm suddenly silent, because I don't talk to dead people

. I think I should be careful wei Dongshuai, strong body will make demons and ghosts appetite big open, really become a living dead, it has no human nature."

"He was totally focused on the good life ahead of him, and people on the hill never gave credit."

"I feel privileged and lucky to have known such a clever friend!" Sheng sipped his delicious coffee.

At night, Xiao Yang stood at the door of the white bar. When he saw Sheng coming, he smiled and said, "I knew you would come soon, but I didn't expect how soon. Impressive!"

"I am kind and do not want to use the life of others to continue my youth, nor do I want to use the clever blood of others to make my thinking clear and write great works. I prefer the living to the ghosts, as long as they do what I say. In the field, for a long time I eulogized life. Life doesn't come easily. Why did I kill so much?" He pressed the ocean against the wall and said softly.

"I don't like the way you smell, but the way you act! Enjoy your food." Xiao Yang gently stroked Sheng's cheek. He could feel sheng's skin improving.

"The more I want you to hunt with me."

"I'm sure it will. There aren't too many special guests tonight. Would you like me to have dinner with you?"

"My pleasure!

Xiao Yang and rise sitting at the bar, rise can't wait to pick up a big cup of "drink" purr drink.

The corners of his mouth were stained with bright red water. Xiao Yang wiped her lips with her forefinger, sucked the stained fingers, and closed her eyes to enjoy the sweetness.

"You're like a guy who hasn't eaten in years. Xiao Yang laughed.

"When I was a kid, I was weird. Once I started eating, I would forget everything. Food has a very powerful attraction for me."

"Believe me, when the thing you need most is no longer scarce, you don't have a strong urge to acquire it, and you savor the pleasure of things more slowly and carefully!"

"That, of course, is the point of hunting." Sheng is very happy.

"Your body is not suitable for outdoor sports, a strong body is the prerequisite for hunting, I smell a smell of antibiotics on your body, what's wrong with you?" Xiao Yang wondered.

"Well, I shouldn't have kept it from you, but I was kidnapped some time ago. I was tied up and had jars of blood drawn. The needle wasn't clean and I had some symptoms.

"I used to work in a hospital, and the antibiotic smell was really bad, and I was worried about what that stuff would do to you when it got into your body. How is it now?"

"Many of the symptoms subsided, but strange things kept coming up in his neck and chest."

"They're knots, and your collar can't hide them. You are not supposed to come back so quickly. You are supposed to recover so well that when the bad men see your vigorous body, no one will dare to lay a hand on you."

"I have come back to do some business that I must leave at once, and it must be done beforehand to avoid future accidents."

"You are a very cautious man! Did you ever think that something unusual was done to make you think that Jingang City was not a trap?"

"I didn't expect it. I trusted Jingangseong too much."

"Then keep trusting. How soon will you leave?"

"Vinyl was my manager, and they killed him right after I got back, so I didn't have to go back. I was there."

"Vinyl is your reserve food?"

"I can't wait to taste him," he said with a smile as he leaned close to xiao Yang.

Xiao Yang pursed his lips, making him look more boyish. "I'll give you mine," he said.

Sheng was puzzled. "You don't? Or have I offended you?"

"You are a gentleman, giving to those who need it most." Xiao Yang said, embrace Sheng's neck, put the mouth of the cup to Sheng's lips, poured milk to Sheng. Drop by drop, the red "drink" slides down the side of the glass into the deep mouth full of hunger and thirst, full of male hormone confusion.

Xiao Yang sniffed the aroma remaining on her lips, her face acting very erratic.

"Even Vinyl doesn't do that."

"This is the kind of skill we should have. Skilled skills build character. I wonder how you can live with Vinyl. It's always weird when you get older, or when you don't, or when you're suddenly young."

"It wasn't that I had the skills, it was that he wanted to be with me, and I was so grateful to him that he was there when I needed him most, and he was gone when I forgot him."

"You're lucky! Vinyl saw you change your youth?"

"He is very dear to me, and he likes me very much when I am young."

"There was a big event before, a writer was killed, there was a young man pretending to be a middle-aged writer flute, alerted the officials, you are flute?"

"Yes! I'm standing in front of you alive."

"The officials want your blood, and the hunters will do their bidding."

"I've found out why the kidnapper took my blood."

"I'm sorry you didn't give Vinyl a chance."

"He has a mind of his own, and as someone who loves him, I should respect that. When I got back, the Vinyl items mailed to me were missing a lot of winter clothes, and they needed more care."

"It's cold here in the winter, and you don't see anybody in the next spring."

#fog strange talk season 3 ——jinjiang city 2020 #my writing #writing #chinese horror story #jinjiang city 2020 #American Horror Story season 10 remake serialized #american horror story

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imaginetonyandbucky · 7 years

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Tony is arrested post-Ultron and is held in the Raft. Bucky gets captured too, and held in the cell next to Tony's. They support each other through Tony's "interrogations" and Bucky's impending execution, and slowly fall in love. So when Steve arrives in the middle of the night to rescue Bucky, there's no way he's leaving Tony behind.

Combined with:

1014 Hello, you guys are the best, I LOVE this blog ❤ would it be possible to get some more protective Winter Soldier ?Like maybe Tony gets hurt (up to you as for how/why) and the WS comes right outand just turns into a big mother hen, fusses over him and everything ? (Btwit's obviously totally alright if this prompt doesn't get picked, I'll be happyto read anything you are willing to write and share ❤)

A/N warning for torture, starvation, water deprivation, seriousamounts of dub-con, suicidal ideation, past hydra trash party references,pre-slash, medical aftermath including a foley tube (catheter), not ClintBarton friendly, notparticularly Steve Rogers friendly, kissing, frottage, bonding over shitty experiences

Thanks to @mto-art for their artwork. A few weeks back, MTOapproached me with interest in doing a collab project. I tossed one of theabove prompts at them, and I got an art piece back in a few days. The fic waswritten about half before I got the art and half after. So, the art does notmatch up exactly with the fic (for instance, Tony’s got his hair, and neitherof them are in the prison outfits) but the sense of the fic; Bucky protectivelyover an unconscious Tony, trying to keep him from drowning and defending him…that carried through.

This fic is four chapters long, approx 10,000 words, and has some cliffhangers.

Chapter One: Stark Men are Iron

Stark men are iron.

Tony Stark sat on the stone floor in his cell, wearing nothing butan orange prison jumpsuit. His hands were on the back of his neck. Absently heran one over his head. They’d shaved his head when he arrived. The stubble wasgrowing back in, but in another few days, they’d do it again. He supposed itwasn’t that bad; having no hair was probably better than having greasy, long,tangled hair that people could grab hold of.

He’d lost track of how long he’d been there, locked in this hole.

Oubliette. A place to throw people to forget about them,

Ross had figured it out. Wasn’t hard to do, really.

Blamed him for what Rogers had done; the break out at the Raft.Made Tony a scapegoat, if nothing else. And no one was going to come for Tony,were they?

Hell, it was possible that no one on the outside -- no one legit-- even knew he was gone. There were rumors that someone had finally crackedthe Life Model Decoy problem. A well programmed LMD could distract and confusefor a while.

There was no way to keep track of time; they fed him irregularly.Infrequently enough so that he was slowly watching himself starve to death.He’d probably lost at least ten kilos, just based on the fit of the jumpsuitthey made him wear. And what food they did give him was pretty unsavoury, threeof ten, would not order again.

He was dragged off to a shower every half dozen sleep cycles orso. Well past when he’d started to stink; he didn’t even notice his own bodyodor much anymore. He’d learned to take his jumpsuit off the moment he heardthe Cleaners coming. Being marched naked through the halls and to theshower-facility was unpleasant, but less so than the alternative. If he was stilldressed, they’d just throw him in the water anyway and it was fucking cold inhis cell. Sitting around in wet clothes was really damned uncomfortable.

He saw no one else, except the Cleaners, and a few times when They-- whoever they were, really -- had questions. There were other prisoners; Tonyheard them screaming sometimes. Occasionally, they heard him screaming. Butnone of them were close enough to communicate with.

Tony had been tortured before.

It didn’t get easier with practice.

(Mobile readers: more below the break)

There were questions. Sometimes they made sense. Sometimes he evenanswered them. It didn’t matter; he didn’t know any of the things they wantedto know. He had suspicions, but by the time Ross had him arrested --black-bagged really, he’d been unpersoned with brutal efficiency -- Rogers hadprobably already moved.

Tony found himself hoping so. That Rogers had gotten away; thatall the rogue Avengers were somewhere safe. He’d known, damnit, that Rosscouldn’t be trusted, that what Ross was really after was control of poweredpersons. Tony knew he wasn’t immune from that, but he’d thought, he’d hoped, byplaying the game, to buy them time.

His time was up.

Tony was going to die in that cell.

He tried to view the matter objectively; he’d always known deathwas the only outcome. It was a numbers game. Eventually, the house always won.Red, black, even, odds.

But Stark men were iron.

They were chipping away at his defenses, bit by bit. He wasn’timmune; even if his passcode was ridiculously long, they could try everycombination. Eventually, he’d break.

Stark men were iron. There was a deep coreinside Tony that knew nothing about surrender. It only knew survival.

Eventually he would break. Or die. But he saw days, weeks, monthsof pain and fear and suffering before that happened. He knew he’d long fordeath and be denied before they were done with him. That pathetic, mortal fleshthat would keep him tied here where he could do no good anymore, he could onlyhurt people he cared about. People he’d sworn to protect.

Perhaps, in the end, they’d turn him into a killing machine, likeBarnes before him. Like Romanov. Like countless others.

He’d lost track of the days; there was no time in this place. Heate, he slept when he could. They came and they hurt him. That was all therewas.

Tony wasn’t expecting it when the door opened.

It had only been two or three sleeps since his last “shower.” Theywouldn’t be in a hurry for that, despite it being its own kind of torture. Coldwater, harsh chemicals, the humiliation. Sometimes the guards would shock stickhim, just for fun.

He blinked. Even with his eyes adjusted to the dim lighting, thecell was dark. The guards were mere shadows against the corridor lights.

Someone was shoved into his cell; they stumbled forward a fewsteps, hit the wall. Yelled, turned, but the door was already sliding closed.

The sound when they hit the locked door wasn’t a fist striking,not flesh against metal, but metal against metal.

It was loud, and Tony cringed away from it. Sparks flew, sendinglittle flashes of light, like hostile fireflies. The door didn’t budge or bendor break. Given what Tony was starting to suspect, that was unexpected.

The shadow stopped, after a while, panting for breath. Thenturned, took a few steps toward Tony. Yeah. One of these days, Tony wasactually going to be wrong about something, and it was going to be a good day.

James Barnes, aka the Winter Soldier, stepped closer. Close enoughfor Tony to see the glint of recognition in his eyes.

“I’m supposed to kill you.”

Yep.

Six weeks earlier

Coming out of cryo was nothing like waking up.

Pretty much the first thing he always did was puked. And not likea quick, simple, ate-too-much vomit, but retched until there was nothing leftin his stomach, and continued to heave until his throat was raw from stomachacid. Until he was spitting blood and until his lungs ached and his diaphragmwas strained.

Hibernation sickness would probably kill a man who wasn’tenhanced.

The horrified look on Steve’s face told Bucky that the Wakandadoctors hadn’t bothered (or hadn’t known) to explain. Or hadn’t done so inenough detail that Steve had believed them. Bucky didn’t care. What he did knowwas at least Steve was there. He patted Bucky’s back lightly, or kept one handon the back of his neck, or murmured nonsense that was supposed to bereassuring.

By the time that was over, the tingled had started. Pins andneedles didn’t even begin to cover it. More like dirks and daggers. Everymuscle in his body seized up, cramped, twisted, ached. Bucky’d beenthrough torture that wasn’t as imaginative and painful.

Finally, though, it was over.

“They figure it out?” That was the only reason Bucky had said theyshould wake him up.

“Stark did,” Steve admitted. “So he claims. Princess Shuri lookedover his process. She okayed it.”

Because of course Steve needed someone else’s okay, these days.Not that Bucky blamed him; Stark had good reason to want Bucky dead, andgetting him out of Wakanda under the guise of scrubbing the brainwashing wouldbe the only thing that’d do it. And Stark and Steve… didn’t trust each otheranymore.

Turned out not to matter; Stark’s quinjet -- along with Stark, andall his supposed brain-fixing equipment -- went missing. The whole fuckingthing just vanished enroute.

There were rumors that Ross -- or someone above Ross, eitherlegally or otherwise -- had been hoarding a team of enhanced persons. Eitherbrainwashed, or controlled, or had loved ones in hostage situations. Thepossibility was raised by the rogues that Tony had been taken in revenge forSteve’s mass jailbreak. A scapegoat. Maybe to lure Steve into making a secondattempt.

Woulda been a great plan, except Ross (theoretically, if it wasRoss. It might not have been. But in any case, the only people who knew howbadly the Avengers had broken themselves were in Wakanda and probably nottalking to Ross.) didn’t realize that Steve…

“You ain’t even gonna look for him?”

“Buck, I wouldn’t even know where to start,” Steve protested. “Noone knows where he went down -- if that’s what happened. Or who would havetaken him.”

“So find out, punk,” Bucky protested. “You got a whole goddamn teamhere of spies and superheroes, here. Hell, you gotta fuckin’ witchqueen.”

“I am not going to ask the team to help find the man who lockedthem up in the first place,” Steve said.

It didn’t take much for Bucky to draw conclusions: Steve was stillangry with Tony because of the Accords, because of the fight in Siberia, andall that boiled down to Tony had -- with every good reason in the world, andeven Bucky wouldn’t deny that -- tried to kill Bucky. And Steve wouldn’tforgive him for that. Which meant, like every other Bad Thing that had happenedover the last seventy years that Bucky had even been tangentially involved in,this was his fault.

He didn’t argue with Steve. There was no point and it was justgoing to be exhausting.

He found Romanov, however. Told her what he was planning. She’dback his play, and she did. She knew about red in the ledger.

Some things you just had to do, no matter the cost.

The cost was simple; he fell right into the trap meant for Steve.

Tony didn’t bother to try to run. Where would he even go? The cellwas only ten by six, and a good two feet of that was taken up by hisridiculously tiny toilet and the seldom-functioning sink-tap. (All his drinkingwater came from there, and if he was lucky, they turned it on every ten hoursand he had to be awake, and have his jug underneath it when it started or he’dlose his opportunity and be damned thirsty by the time it turned on again. Thathad happened a few times. When his urine got thick and orange, he started tobecome worried that they were going to let him die of thirst. No such luck withthat, although it would have been excruciating, it would also have been quick.)

There wasn’t even a point to try to fight. In his suit, maybe, hewas a match for Barnes. When he wasn’t weak from the bad food, erratic water,and frequent torture. When he’d not been forced into solitude for -- fourweeks? Two months? He didn’t know -- and no room to stretch or exercise. Cold,all the time. He couldn’t fight.

Honestly, at this point, if Barnes wanted to strangle him todeath, Tony wasn’t sure he wouldn’t just say thank you.

“Well, get on with it, then,” Tony said. He didn’t move; hadn’teven bothered to look at Barnes since realizing who it was.

“I don’t do that, anymore,” Barnes said. He all but flopped downon the cell floor next to Tony, close enough to touch if they both reached, andonly not further away because there wasn’t that much room in the cell.

“Don’t kill people? There are some GSG9 guys whose families sayotherwise.” Might as well get this over with. Tony was good, very good, atpoking hornets’ nests, and while Barnes wasn’t the craziest fucker Tony hadever had to deal with, he shouldn’t be too hard to roust to some sort ofmayhem. The question would be, could Tony possibly direct it?

“I--”

“Look, Red October, what the fuck do you think happens to a normalhuman, even one wearing combat armor, when they get hit in the face with afucking cinder block?” Actually, that guy hadn’t died, and the doctors had beenimpressed with that, but he needed some massive corrective surgery and whilehe’d gotten his neck broken, there’d been no spinal damage. Tony wasn’t abovelying.

And he was just a little bit petty.

Okay, maybe a lot petty.

Like anyone was keeping score.

(Except him.)

So he wasn’t exactly surprised when Barnes shifted, and thenpounced.

Tony kept telling himself that he wanted to die, to go ahead andget it over with, not to struggle--

And then realized two things.

He couldn’t struggle; Barnes was strong, and Tony was usedto fighting in the suit, which made the man’s strength even worse. Barnes hadhis wrists pinned in mere moments.

The second was that Barnes wasn’t hurting him. He had Tony pinned,helpless, legs spread and Barnes nestled in between them.

Oh… oh, god, no.

“What are you doing?” Tony’s voice went up severalregisters. “Get off me!”

Tony had been through a lot of shitty, terrible, painfulsituations. Humiliated, tortured, betrayed, defeated… and he’d probably had sexwith a lot of people who didn’t have his best interests in mind, but--

“Get off me!” Panic flared. He bucked up, using the minimalleverage he had--

Tony couldn’t speak suddenly, because Barnes had his metal handover Tony’s mouth, and then shoved two of those shiny fingers inside. Tonycontinued to struggle, shaking his head from side to side and pushing at thosefingers with his tongue, trying to dislodge them.

“It’s all right,” Barnes said, low in his ear. In Italian,which Tony’s brain stuttered over a few times, trying to translate and then hefell into it. “I’m not going to hurt you, but they need to think I will.I don’t know how many cameras they have in here. I’m not going to do anythingwithout your consent.”

Tony went limp for a moment, confused. Barnes pulled those fingersout, slick with Tony’s spit and wiped them gently over Tony’s cheek, leaving awet trail. It was… weirdly seductive, kind of gross, and wholly unsettling. “Hateto break it to you, Gottlieb, but you’re already doing this without my consent.”

“Go ahead and struggle, it’s okay, you can’t hurt me,”Barnes said, and that was just insulting. And also, terrifying, because Barneswas right. Tony could struggle, a little, but Barnes was like a rock. Theservos in the metal arm made noises, clicks and whirrs, as Barnes flexed, keepingTony locked in position.

And oh god, Tony was going to be sick, because he literally waslike a rock. Barnes was sporting an erection against Tony’s thigh. Tonyredoubled his efforts, writhing and twisting, but all that seemed to do wasmake Barnes toss his head back and roll his body against Tony’s.

“No,” Tony gritted between clenched teeth. “Don’t you--”

Barnes interrupted that with a kiss, mouth moving over Tony’s,muffling the sound, swallowing down Tony’s protests. Barnes continued to thrustagainst Tony’s leg, and Jesus, if it hadn’t been so weird, and Barnes didn’thate him so much, Tony might have melted into the kiss. It’d been so long sinceanyone had touched him. Barnes licked his way into Tony’s mouth, and when Tonywent to bite down on that invading tongue, the metal thumb ended up in hismouth at the hinge, keeping his teeth apart.

“Listen to me,” Barnes whispered, mouthing down the side ofTony’s neck. “They want me to hurt you, they think we’ll save them thetrouble. Leave us somewhere and they can spin any story they want. If they --if they think I’m going to rape you, they’ll let it happen. So we need them tothink that’s what’s happening. So we can stay together. I am here to rescueyou.”

Barnes bit at Tony’s collarbone, and that was one of his weakspots. Despite his -- inspite of? Tony didn’t even know -- his revulsion, Tonyarched up into that with a stuttered, shocked groan.

Tony couldn’t decide what it was; the sensual sounds of Barnesspeaking Italian in Tony’s ear, the fact that nothing Barnes was doing actuallyhurt, and did, in fact, feel good to Tony’s touch starved and aching body, orthat Tony was really just that fucked up. But he was starting to get hard andthat was… that was… shit, shit, shit.

“Aren’t you a little short for a stormtrooper?” Tony snarked.

Barnes didn’t even blink, but there was something about the wayhis mouth came down on Tony’s throat that implied a smile. So, Barnes was notas culturally deprived as Steve had been, maybe? “I have a plan. Two plans, actually,but you’re going to have to play along or neither of them is going to work.”

“And I’m just supposed to trust you?” Tony was incredulous.But he must, at least a little, because he was playing along, speakingItalian. He couldn’t seem to stop struggling. He was panting for breath; hismuscles burned from the futility of trying to get Barnes off of him.

Barnes pressed his jaw against Tony’s and what he said was fuckingsub-audible and how the hell did he do that? His voice travelled rightthrough Tony’s skull, but couldn’t have possibly been heard by anyone else.“Come with me, if you want to live.” It was the best, and most fucked up,impersonation of the goddamn Terminator that Tony had ever heard. And he didn’teven hear it with his ears, it vibrated through his jaw and teeth and directlyinto the tiny, delicate cochlear nerve.

Barnes’ metal hand was roaming all over Tony’s body, and there…fuck, what-- “Goddamnit, no,” Tony burst out as the zipper of his prisoncoveralls went down. And when had Barnes stripped himself, because that wasskin-on-skin and Tony was still pinned, helpless and--

“Go ahead and bite me,” Barnes told him. “It’s okay,it’ll heal, but we need the blood.”

Tony’s eyes widened, terrified and disgusted. “You cannot useblood as lube,” he protested, horrified.

Barnes ducked his chin at that and Tony was revolted to see he wastrying to hide a smile. “I’m not… oh, for fuck’s sake, just hurt me. Theyneed to think we’re fighting.”

“I am fighting,” Tony protested. Tony braced himself andbit down hard, because oh, god, if he really was going to get fucked by theWinter Soldier, he didn’t want to do it dry, but oh, Jesus, this was so…

Blood, coppery and brilliant, flooded his mouth, and Tony spat,and spat again; his stomach roiling and he was struggling, harder than he’dever fought before, God, no, he did not want--

“Sorry,” Barnes said, and then rocked against Tony’s thigha few more times, grunted and--

“Sorry about-- oh, god, gross,” Tony hissed as Barnes shothis load over Tony’s stomach and leg.

#winteriron #tony x bucky #tony stark #bucky barnes #pre-slash #dub-con #reference to past hydra trash party #torture #starvation #this is dark y'all #mind the tags #dead dove fic #what it says on the tin #prompts #tisfan #Anonymous

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jugs-and · 4 years

Text

the last couple of months

I have attempted to explain the entire story to various friends - it’s a mighty long story. It’s been a mighty long year, more than I realised before I started writing this account.

I’m probably the asshole in this situation, but it’s my blog so eh. I needed to say it somewhere for future records because I may be scatter-brained but I take intense pride in record keeping to make up for it.

19th April - We didn’t talk for a week - she said that she thought I’d given up on her.

1. Opening blows.

2nd May. It was the most innocent of days - we were just bantering about life. There was nothing really different about the day, it was just the normal Saturday night conversation - I’d just returned from a run, so I was just relaxing with my hairy legs on the table and mixing G&Ts. The call is always the highlight of my week and I was just free-wheeling as the night grew darker and darker.

I asked about her university time - well, really I had initially opened up about my time in university, and I was recounting it. She has always been deeply fascinated with the enigma of N- and She then just on the train of thought as well, and she recounted, and recounted deeper, with more stories than I had heard before - about attempt to enter the medical exam, and then failing the second time as well. Then she went silent - just completely mute.

This was a Saturday, so I hung up, and left it. Thinking that I’d be able to continue this the next day. She didn’t say anything the next day, and the day after when I sent through a photo of my breakfast.

6th May. She sent me an email on the Wednesday about how down she felt - the email was horrific:

> After our talk last Friday, I felt low, so down like I have never felt in years.

> I just wanted to have a fun, warm conversation with my friend and here I was, buried in my memories, of shame and self-deprecation.

My heart dropped to the bottom of the ocean. The thing about E- is that she remembers everything - she will remember incorrectly as well, if it makes her look worse and in a bad light.

I had said some thoughts out loud, about her ex-boyfriend being her only support system and I finally realised that it was no small feat to strike out alone to move to New Zealand those three years past. These thoughts which were probably not quite appropriate to say out loud or how I wanted or intended them to sound.

I replied straight away, outlining that I didn’t enter into the conversation with any ill-will or maliciousness. It wasn’t really a good time to point out that her version of events was quite erroneous which is leading to a lot of the misunderstanding - but I didn’t want to be seen as gas-lighting.

She didn’t reply.

2. Restarting the Conversation

11th May. A week later, I sent another email because I was honestly just feeling lonely at the time. I thought we were going to go into a hibernation mode where we don’t talk for a number of months and we’d just be in a cryogenic freeze. As tradition, I initiated the email contact with a mindless paragraph with everything on my mind at the moment, how helpless I felt in the midst of all of this to resolve the situation and distance created.

She replied the next day, which was surprising. I didn’t know what to take from that. She tends to wander off and not return for a while, and act like nothing had changed.

13th, 14th, 16th May. Throughout the week we continued to trade emails on the topic of expectations and the nature of support in the context of friendships versus romantic relationships. It was sort of like normal, she said that she found the support outside of me, which sort of hurt. I know the words are not really there to injure, but it injures me like someone who was deeply invested in their favourite television show. Here I was watching the series finale unfold in slow motion - with the sinking feeling that I’d been cancelled much too early.

17th May She encouraged me to call her whenever I was ready to discuss. I moaned that communication was hard - I don’t know, she came back discussing tantra practices.

3. Talking restarts

19th May - She sent me a Jean Paul Gaultier facemask - but normal talking resumed and it was strangely normal. Photos of nature, everyday things - I was scrambling to get enough content to drag up to the next weekend - but no, we did the normal flirty talks with innuendo and BDSM, which any normal person would see as intensely sexual.

The next week was fleeting conversations about what was going on in life. It was toward the end of COVID19 restrictions and one of the days I was back in the office with Ashley and Summer. We were going to call that weekend, but postponed because I was at Colin’s house for a bbq on Saturday, and calling Mum on the Sunday. I postponed it out of annoyance, I guess.

4. The beginning of the end

25th May - E- shared about her weekend, both Saturday and Sunday. We’d been typing for a couple of minutes, so I decided to call. I remember calling outside the meeting rooms and on the way to the central lifts. I remember being surprised she picked up - I was sat in my car for most of it. The first two hours were wonderful, but then we moved onto the topic of religion.

I was so tired and slightly broken. I was increasingly attacked by some earlier comments she’d made about my tortured state-which I thought was sort of unfair. She was also really dismissive about the moment I talked about how busy I was, and alluding to, oh gosh. I could be doing so much else right now.

There was an unprecedented arrogance to the way I said things - and a few things on yoga, namaste and the spiritual pursuit - I said a lot of things I still probably won’t back down on, but said in incredibly poor taste. E- has a good skill of taking sentences out of context and finding quotes to match and justify the feelings in her heart. It was a four hour phone call, and the last hour was the most difficult hour of my life. I was so defensive, and every part of my body was screaming to burn all the bridges.

26th May - She talked like normal. After I apologised, she said she wanted to move on and We had a conversation like normal - she sent through quizzes to do with inherent biases, and I responded like normal, somewhat, whatever that means. Across messages, and I was in a bridge burning mood. I poured out everything about how dismissive she is sometimes, and they are not respected or explored, even if she doesn’t agree with them.

I didn’t talk for a week. I was travelling to Cape Reinga that weekend, so I didn’t pursue it anymore.

5. Silence

Since that conversation, we’ve spoken sparingly. I sent a photo of the signpost at Cape Reinga pointing at Vancouver, recounted about the guy who shouted racial epithets at us in the carpark.

We’ve called twice. Both times, I’ve left very quickly, and I don’t know what I was going to say.

05 June - The first one, I called, and asked how she was. She’d been distant as always, and I’m not sure if I was supposed to be surprised. She told me about her weekend, and I left after 20 minutes. She was in a shop, and a bit distracted, so I didn’t think too much about it.

08 June - She returned the favour and called me. Talked to me about her knees, and what sort of state they are in - I’d asked her about them during the weekend because she sounded in some sort of discomfort. She discussed the movies she’d been watching, and I was slightly irritated that she made no attempt to relate the movies to me, but it was a recurring issue which I’d ignored somewhat.

6. Cooling down

I guess we’ve traded one-line messages over the past week with increasing weariness - and on some level, it feels like the end. I’m greatly relieved that she is doing much better, and it gives me a lot more peace in being able to let go.

The most irritating is hearing things I told her three years ago, but talking like she’s stumbled on them by herself. I’m realising how little she listens, or trusts in other people. She repeated the same things like it’s the people that are going to save you - the same things I’d been telling her three years ago - fuck dude - that was me.

The urge in my heart is to say that I feel I’ve never truly been listened to - I’ve never had my words of encouragement, my words of caution, my words of love - they’ve never been treasured. I’ve been chasing after the girl beneath the layers of insecurity, anxiety and longing for maternal care, and full of chronic emotional distance - I don’t know if she is there anymore. While society couldn’t see it, I know I was her first ever real friend, and now I just look like I’m crazy desperate.

I don’t think she realizes how hard I’ve worked to support and be a friend to someone who has been incredibly hard to be a friend to the past three years. Where she’s had literally no one on the other side of the world - I’ve ignored a lot of bullshit and I’ve always prioritized her above a lot of my other friends. I’m only holding on for the moment because I spent so much time and effort, but I have zero affection whether platonic or otherwise.

7. Burning bridges

We called for a hour on Sunday (28th June), it arose organically, she’d been out for a sushi dinner at one of the top restaurants in Vancouver. I knew she was with H-, so I didn’t really want to call. But she turned on the cam to show me everything about her apartment - shit-talked with zero regard regarding finding people online, and I excused myself as my parents were up for the weekend. At the end she faced the camera towards herself and said “Thanks so much for calling, I love it” with the warmest, cutest smile in the world.

I’m just here, writing this record. I have a lot of these records, but I don’t think I ever post them, and they become out of date - so they just live in my inbox. But I very much feel like I want to burn every bridge right now.

#this feels terrifying and liberating to press post

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kyraensui · 7 years

Text

What kind of bond is this?

Summary: Lotor testing his luck and pride as an Alpha to court an infamous omega, Keith.

Rated: Teen & Up

Chapter 5 of 8

Can read at AO3: http://archiveofourown.org/works/12559508/chapters/28737124

Keith had made some odd decisions before in his life. There were a few good ones, but somehow, he attracted some bad ones without lifting a finger. He wondered if someone had curse his luck and didn't know about it. He wasn't sure if this was a blessing or a curse as his finger made soft scratches on the juncture of his neck. It was still fresh, but it made his body shivered from the phantom feels coursing through his skin. And it was so embarrassing too. His whole face flushed when he remembered how he lost control of his own body. The heat and passion of the stupid Alpha's touches and words. He shook his head and slapped both of his cheeks. Lotor was definitely a different kind of Alpha who doesn't let his urges control him. He liked that part of him. He treated Keith as a person, not an omega who needs to be claim by society’s standards.

He felt love. He just wished Lotor would stop making him feel embarrassed when he says stupid things to him. It was cheesy and ridiculous, but Keith find himself being red every time. Lotor was the most cheesiest Alpha he had ever met, but holy heavens, he was ungodly one handsome man.

Keith sat up on bed in fetal position and wondered if he was ready to take another important step in his life. He could feel it coming. His stupid heat decided to come out of hibernation now that he found his stupid Alpha to bond with.

[Earlier in the day]

Keith could feel the back of his hair standing on its end from the warm breathe breathing down on his exposed skin. He wiggled his body in hopes of escaping, but the grip has not loosen one bit. "Lotor please. Someone will see us." His nose nuzzled behind his ear. "Let them be. I want everyone to know it's you I want." Too close. His lips was too close to his hot skin. It didn't help that Lotor was topless when Keith had walked in on him doing some bench press. Perfect six packs and broad chest can make any omegas fall to his feet. The thought of his hand feeling the ripples of those abs and how firm those muscles are was very tempting. It was calling him to touch them. To run his hands all over like a paint brush on the white canvas.

No no no. What am I thinking?!

He was losing himself with each whiff of Lotor's scent. The one scent that gave Keith many sleepless nights after he took his first whiff. He wanted to be wrap up in the scent like a blanket on cold nights. "Keith." His body trembled when Lotor whispered against his ear. He bit his lower lip to hold back. He won't give in. "Can I tell you my little desire if I get that special invite?" Lotor loves to talk a lot, but then again, Keith likes to speak as little as possible. Keith hummed softly and nodded. He yelped when he was pulled back and sat on Lotor's crossed legs with his arms still wrapped around his small frame. "Thank you." His nose went back to nuzzle against his neck. "Let me show and tell you." With one arm holding firm on his cute omega, Lotor lifted his finger up and placing it on lower lip. "A kiss to greet." His finger moved to his left cheek. "And here." Then to the other side. "To shower you with affection." Keith shook his head, but bit back again when his slender finger traced along his neckline. "Paint this with small kisses. No wait, one long lick sounds better. To taste your salty skin. Mmm..." "Pervert." He whispered. Lotor chuckled. "Affectionate, love." Low whimpers escaped when his fingertips circled around the juncture of his neck. "Omega's sacred spot. One of few places to entice extra pleasures to an omega. A spot where an Alpha can lay their claim." His lips leaned closer and blew a puff of warm air against it. He was rewarded with delicious shivers from his cute omega on his lap. "Since it's sacred, I can wait with great patience for the invite from the pretty goddess. To feel worthy to be his protector." Keith wanted to melt, but he wasn't sure it was from embarrassment or how awkward he felt about Lotor's fancy way to confess. "You could have---" His violet eyes cast down. "You could have use your special scent to make it easier." "No Keith." His finger moved over to his right chest and tapped. "I want to have this with your conscience mind. I want to have our commitment to last and built on honesty." "Lotor..." "That way, we can do our hot and steamy sex later." Keith's face felt very warm and if he had a mirror, he would see his whole face turning beet red. He twist, turn and wiggle on Lotor's strong hold until the warmth went straight to his ears.

Oh my god. Oh my god. I did not... I just did not feel that.

"Do not worry Keith. I won't doing anything to defile you, but trust me, if you keep wiggling your cute butt like that, then I'm going to tie you down to a chair and make you watch as I take my release with my hand over my c—-" "Pervert pervert! Too much information!!" He chuckled. "You will take sole responsibility for my arousal, Keith. It’s not my fault that I’m very attracted to you. Want to know in much better details of how I will make your body melt to my great touch?” "Qu---quiet you!" It didn't help when he felt it too, but he was not going to let Lotor know. Just the feel of it was enough to make him feel tingling hot. He spoke the words with lightning speed. Lotor blinked with confusion spread all over his face. "......" "......" "Keith?" Keith looked down and away with shifting eyes. "Don't make me repeat it." "......" "......" "Please?" "You're invited!" He took several deep breathes and squeaked when he found himself shifted and turned with his back laying on the soft rug. His eyes looked up and his breathing hitched when he saw those shimmering blue eyes stared down at him. Platinum hair cascaded down on him like beaded veil. Keith tilted and shifted his head away when Lotor came down with his lips rested softly on his neck. True to his words, his neck was peppered with small kisses. Soft moans echoed in the vast room. He spread his legs apart for room and feeling his firm thigh rubbing against him. It felt like heaven. "Thank you Keith." Keith looked up at the ceiling with glossy eyes. Just when did he fell? He wrapped his arms around Lotor and held him tight for what's going to come. A strong anchor to hold him down. "Shh... Relax love." Love. It had a lovely ring when Lotor called him. His eyes widen and his body jolted up against the Alpha above with his fingernails scratching Lotor's back. He mewled with sights of little color specks in his vision. It felt so good.

Shiro would be happy now that I'm bonded with Lotor. This will ease off his stupid over protectiveness. And get Lance off my case for being picky.

Keith hugged his legs closer and buried his face between his knees.

Oh god. I can't believe I came when he marked me.

Lotor was nice enough to let Keith go, but without laughing at him for being a shy omega. He punched him on the shoulder before running to the bathroom. What's taking him long in the shower? It's not that Keith was waiting for Lotor to finish his shower. He was not that kind of person.

Nope. I should just sleep before him.

Just when he was going to turn in, his eyes became wide and immediately looked away.

Crap! Why am I acting like a blushing virgin?!

Lotor chuckled at Keith's cute antic when he came out of the hot shower with only a white towel wrapped around his waist and drying his long hair. "You---you took too long!" He stuttered. "Of course I did. Do you know why I took long?" Keith shook his head without looking at him. "Because I kept rewinding that special moment when I was invited to claim you." He ruffled his wet hair and placed the towel around his neck. "A cherish memory that I finally was able to win you over with my charms." "Your charms are still cheesy." "You still enjoyed them." He smiled, but it turned into a sly grin. "You know I can't wait to hear those lovely sounds again and the feel of your supple body against mines. Your body felt so nice and firm. The way you moved--" "PERVERT!" He immediately threw the blanket over his body and curled up in hopes that it will make him invisible. It was a pitiful thought when he felt the bed shifted in weight and felt a pair of strong arms wrapped around his torso. Those chuckles were crystal clear in his ear. "No no, my lovely omega. It's called love." Lotor nipped the soft flesh of his ear. Keith whimpered. "And I can make you become addicted to my love..." His tongue went inside his omega's ear and licked it. "with your upcoming heat."

Noo! I take back my invitation! Restart, restart!

He found it a blessing and a curse to be bonded with Lotor. Keith had hope his heat would lay dormant a little longer, but alas, he can't win over his stupid body.

You traitor.

It kicked him hard two days later.

#keitor #keitorweek2017 #vld fic: blind love #vld fic #voltron #voltron legendary defender

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purplesurveys · 6 years

Text

229

What are you doing to improve or maintain your health currently? Well my scoliosis is getting worse by the day, so I keep myself from slouching and being in any position that strains the part of my spine that bends. Gabie also lent me an anti-slouching thing that I have to wear and tighten around my shoulders and back. It has nothing to do with scolio, but it helps tons. ^To add to that, what are some other things you could be doing? The doctor I went to before suggested swimming laps, but I’ve never done that ever since I had the checkup. I also want to get a second X-ray checked since I’m positive my spine has gotten worse since May 2016. How much do you currently weigh? It’s usually in the 87-95 lbs range. How much do you want to weigh? I’m okay with that, even if it’s underweight.

Do you ever look at someone's social media posts and feel a little jealous? Yeah, a little. But it’s envious, not jealous.

^If so, why is that? They have all these luxuries and get to go to all these places and I’m stuck at home with a mom that routinely yells at me. Idk but for me those social media posts are a bit of a trigger so I mute those people for a bit until they’re done. What book(s) are you currently reading? None. What chores did you do today? It’s pretty early in the day and I haven’t even gotten out of bed yet. What chores do you need to do? The only thing I’m in charge of is wash my own dishes so I’ll be doing that once or twice today. What are you wearing currently? A blouse and some shorts. Do you like how your hair looks today? It’s just bed hair. It’s alright. Are you on a diet? Nope. List 10 of the prettiest people you know or have met. Gabie, Michelle, Gabe, Ate Nica, Ate Jane, Audrey, Gabie, Gabie, Gabie, and Gabie? List 10 favorite girl's names. Isabela, Renée, Olivia, Arden, Audrey, Mia, Ava, Charlotte, Noelle, Harper. We’re going out of bounds here but Paulette, Lily, and Julianna are all lovely too. List 10 favorite boy's names. Joaquin, Franco, Miguel, Luis, Gabriel, Pio, Santi, Javier, Lorenzo, Matteo. Do you think you are attractive? I think I’m okay, but I’m not gonna go ahead and call myself attractive... Do you have anyone you can trust? Of course. What are some things you plan to do tomorrow? I said yes to a Christmas party tomorrow so I’ll be there, but before that I’ll stop by the mall to pick up Gabie’s gift. She’s been wanting Life Is Strange, so I coordinated with her dad in secret–he’ll be getting her a new PS4, and I’ll take care of her first video game on it. :) Are you behind on things? Usually on gossip, yeah. Do you take time to rest? More than anything. HAHAHA What health problem are you struggling with currently? Mental health and scoliosis.

What does your heart long for? Right now it just wants a long-ass Christmas break just hibernating in my room. No plans, no outings, no interruptions. What are you learning? I’ve recently learned that I increasingly hate the holiday season with every year that passes. Do you take life day by day? Only when I’m at my worst and have to keep a daily progress/track of myself. Otherwise, I’m too impatient for taking things day by day. Have you been struggling with bitterness lately? Not at all, there’s nothing to be bitter about. Do you have a lot of questions? As a journalism major? You bet. Is it snowing where you live? No and it never has. Do you watch the snow fall? I totally would if it snowed here. List 10 fashion trends you like. Too much work. List 10 fashion trends you dislike. See above. I don’t even actually remember enough trends to make a list of 20, so. Are you ready for Jesus to come back? I’m not Christian and I really don’t like celebrating Christmas. Do you believe that Jesus lived and is returning? I believe in neither. What's your current favorite Bible verse? None of them. When was the last time you went to church? Two weeks ago. I got to skip last week’s since I was being initiated for my org and I had never felt so free. Are you spiritual? No. Have you ever experienced anything supernatural? Like one small instance in my aunt’s house once, but as I said in my previous surveys I like to think it was just my grandfather fooling around with the door. Do you believe in spiritual gifts? No. Do you believe in callings? No. If so, do you know what your call is? Nothing religious, definitely. What superpower do you wish you had? Time travel is all I desire in this brief lifetime. What superpowers, if any, DO you have? I can whip up a 5-6 page essay assignment in 30 minutes to an hour depending on how much I know about it. I can also procrastinate every single pending thing on the last evening and turn it from chicken shit to chicken salad, but college has since taught me it’s SOOOOOO much better to do everything earlier, so that’s a superpower I haven’t been using much. Do you have too much clutter in your home? No, my mom hates clutter more than anything. Have you ever tried weed? No. Have you ever considered smoking pot and then decided not to? Never considered it even once. It just never seemed appealing to me so I never bothered with it, simple as that. Have you ever smoked a cigarette? Never. Now that I strongly dislike, since I have my own experiences from it. If you were rich, would you get a professional photoshoot done? Absolutely. I can be extra sometimes too. Do you own slipper socks? Nope. What's your favorite Christmas carol to hear playing when you're shopping? Anything by Michael Bublé, really. Do you stalk anyone on Facebook? I don’t. Stalking just feels weird to me, especially if it’s a stranger or a relative of someone I know. Have you ever completed a 30 day photo challenge? No but I used to do the themed 30-day challenges when they used to be a thing on Tumblr like seven years ago. Have you ever taken a photo every day for a year? No. I should probably do that. ^If not, would you ever want to try that? Totally. Have you ever thought about what your new year's resolution will be yet? I don’t do resolutions. I can always start on a new habit tomorrow if I wanted to. Do you get enough exercise? I get zero exercise. Are jeggings your favorite pants? Never had a pair but they sound kind of uncomfortable to me, being that I hate leggings. Do you have way too many photos stored on your computer? No. I actually make it a point to not put photos or videos or anything on my laptop since I don’t want it to become to full and then slow down and have it die. I only have school stuff on my Mac so like PDF files, Word files, e-books and all that boringness. Do you take a lot of selfies? I took an average of 0 selfies this 2017, that should tell you something. What is something that's a mystery to you? The rest of the universe. Do you have any painful memories? My entire life has been just an accummulation of painful memories. Do you pray? No.

In what social class are you? I guess I’m in the middle. In what social class to you wish to be? Indifference. Do you ever imagine that you are English royalty? HAHAHAHA yeah on a sucky day I like to think I’m secretly one then they’d whisk me away from everything and I never had to worry about a thing again. Do you have any English ancestry in you? Zero English blood. What is the origin of your last name? It’s Spanish and Portuguese. What is the meaning of your first name? It means bright and shining.

^Whatever it is, do you feel that it fits you? Other people can answer that for me. Do you ever multi-task? Yes. Are you multi-tasking right now Nope.

#survey #surveys

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ilovelocust · 7 years

Text

Three Shiros and A Keith (Part 3)

Note: Holy cow, I did not expect this part to end up so long (This is what happens when I outline beforehand). Champion heavy chapter, but well, I’ve got a lot to establish with him. Also, up to ya’ll to decide who suggested strip poker. Enjoy!

<< First < Prev.

They’re playing hearts, because none of them are carrying anything of value worth betting, and he isn’t drunk enough to be talked into losing a game of strip poker. Much better to play a game where the three other parties don’t have motivation to gang up on him…Oh…that’s a thought worth examining more closely, later.

Takashi plays the last card of the round, and that’s game. Shiro has officially kicked all their asses. God, he’s bored of playing cards. Also hungry. Maybe? Yes, it’s his lucky day, after all. The weird alien snack bar he’d picked up at their last stop on a space station is still in his left pouch. Score. He’s just about to take a bite, when he notices the three pairs of grey eyes trained on him. Right, no ones had dinner, “Um, you guys want to split?” Won’t be much for any of them, but should keep stomachs from growling at least.

Champion and Shiro both shake their heads as Takashi reaches out a hand, “Sure,” He says eagerly. Keith breaks him off half and waits for him to take his first bite. Takashi’s face puckers up like he just bit into a lemon. Which is a pretty apt description of the flavor. There’s a reason he never got around to eating this bar. Keith snickers, as Takashi chokes it down and sends him a big eyed look of betrayal. He doesn’t feel the slightest bit guilty. Takashi turns to Shiro instead, “I can’t believe you let my sweet Keith grow up to be such a mean person,” He says accusingly.

Shiro shrugs, “He did that all on his own.”

Keith snorts, “Like either of you are innocent.” People wouldn’t call him Golden Boy, if they knew how Shiro had behaved around his friends.

“I don’t know what you could possibly mean.” Shiro says all false innocence, putting a hand to his chest.

“Two words. Alarm Clock.” Remote control installed into his alarm that let Shiro change it’s time whenever he wanted. Keith had spent a week of confusion arriving at class progressively earlier and earlier until his clock finally went off at 1 AM on a Saturday and he realized who he needed to murder.

He gets three smiles of fond remembrance. Ah, so everyone in the room is guilty as sin and fair game then.

Keith finishes off his half of the bar. Still just as sour as he remembers it, but way better than nothing. Which is what he has now. What are they going to do for food? “Hey Shiro, how long are we going to give Allura before we try and get off planet on our own?”

Shiro breaks out of his revelry and looks out the small window. A small slice of the quickly darkening sky is visible, “We’ll start scouting around for an escape route tomorrow.” He says slowly, thinking, “If we haven’t heard from Allura by tomorrow night, we’ll make our own way.” Sounds like a reasonable plan. They won’t starve by then.

“If we can find a clear spot, Red will come pick us up.” Keith offers. That will save them the trouble of figuring out how this particular planet likes to arrange its shuttle controls.

“We’ll see. The only open places I know of are the space port, which will be heavily guarded, and the ocean, which we’ll have to find a secondary means of transportation to.” Eh, it’d been fun to see the looks on Takashi’s and Champion’s face when Red swooped down to pick them up, but he’s fine with any means that get him off planet and don’t involve maiming a bunch of people.

“I know this is a stupid question,” Takashi says from where he’s shuffling the cards, “But I’ve got to make sure we aren’t overlooking the obvious. Is there a reason we can’t just give these aliens back their device? If they get it back, they might not care as much about catching us and security could relax.”

He’s not wrong, but, “Lotor’s men have infiltrated the planet. We barely got the relic away from them this time.” And not without consequences as their two guests demonstrate, “If we give it back, they’ll steal it for themselves. Used properly this could easily turn the tide of the war in his favor.” Keith explains. Hard to believe this hadn’t come up sooner. The blind trust Takashi and Champion have shown by following them without question. Sure they were all being shot at, but Shiro and him could have easily been the bad guys.

“What war?” Champion cuts in. His tone suddenly harsh.

Keith looks over, Champion’s face is stone. Deadly serious, “The war against the Galra Empire.” Hadn’t Lotor’s name made it obvious?

“You’re a rebel?” Champion shouts. Jumping to his feet, shock and anger evident on his face. Keith follows him up, hand on his bayard. Is Champion a Galra sympathizer? He can see Shiro doing the same beside him, prepping to dart in at the first sign of violence. They’re both in their casual clothes from sneaking into the temple, but there are two of them. A fight would be in their favor. Champion spares one glance for Shiro, then focuses back on Keith, “Do you know what they do to rebels?” Champion hisses.

“No, not particularly,” Keith says, he takes a cautious step back. He needs space to properly wield his sword. Champion starts to follow him then stops, seeming to finally register the impending violence of the situation. Champion takes his own step back. Keith relaxes his grip, but doesn’t take his hand off his bayard. He won’t start a fight if Champion doesn’t.

Champion shakes his head, pulling on his forelock in a stress move Keith recognizes from Shiro, “The lucky ones are executed immediately.” His voice has gone low and quiet, “The interesting ones go to the druids. The examples are sent to the arena. Drugged up to the point they’re either too weak to fight or would tear their own mother to shreds.” That sounds like personal experience. Keith looks back at Shiro. Was killing the Empire’s examples something he had to do? He can’t tell from his face, “Keith, rebels die horrible deaths.” Champion continues, he doesn’t sound angry anymore, more borderline distraught. Is he worried about Keith’s safety? Oh.

Keith lets go of his bayard and steps forward. Ignoring Shiro’s hissing at him to stop, he places a hand gently on the front of Champion’s shoulder. Champion looks to his hand, to his face, and back again, “I am a paladin of Voltron. Defending the Universe from the likes of the Empire is my job.” He’d do it even if it wasn’t, but job was harder to argue against.

Champion’s hand reaches up and clasps his own, “You’re going to die, if you fight them.” He says, almost pleading.

Keith smiles up at him reassuringly, “I’m a little better armed than most.” To put it mildly, “When we get off planet, I’ll show you.” Voltron was probably still hibernating in his universe. Without that weapon, he can see how the fight might look hopeless. Though that hasn’t stopped the Blade.

Champion doesn’t believe him. He looks over Keith’s shoulder at Shiro and snarls, “You’re going to get him killed.”

Shiro hesitates a moment longer than Keith would like before replying, “Keith makes his own choices.” He does. Shiro may have given him the message that his help was needed, but he’s the one who jumped at the call.

“You should have talked him out of it,” Champion hisses back.

Shiro grimaces at that accusation. Keith yanks his hand free, jabbing a finger into Champion’s chest, “Shiro’s not responsible for me fighting the Empire. I chose to risk my life for the greater good, and you don’t get a say in that.” His sympathy for Champion’s concern has evaporated. He won’t be guilted out of doing what’s right.

“You’re going to die,” Champion repeats, hands falling to his sides.

“That’s my decision,” Keith replies, glaring at him.

Champion deflates when faced with his anger. Looking away.

“…right. Sooo, anyone want to play another round of hearts?” Takashi asks.

They play several more boring but blessedly silent games.

Keith’s temper has cooled by the second round of hearts. Enough so, that he can look over at Champion’s rotating expressions of upset or guilt and feel bad for him again.

He’s really convinced that Keith’s going to die. How can he judge too harshly, when he’d do the same in his position? If Takashi was talking about going to Kerberos despite knowing what was going to happen, he’d have gotten pretty pissed too. Didn’t matter if Takashi wasn’t his Shiro. They shared the history and pieces of personality that made him fall in love with Shiro in the first place. It’s impossible not to care about his well being. No, he’s pretty much has to forgive Champion. That or he’d be a massive hypocrite. Doesn’t mean he’s going to apologize. Asserting his ability to make his own decisions isn’t anything to feel sorry for.

He doesn’t know who starts it, but someone yawns and suddenly they are all doing it. It’s gotten pretty late. The sky outside long ago gave up even a hint of the sun. “I’m out.” Keith lays down his cards. He’d actually had a good hand for once, but he’s tired and the floor isn’t going to get less hard the longer he stays up.

“Sleep in here,” Shiro says, while rounding up all the cards. Nothings been said, but looks like everyone’s been ready to turn in for a while. Someone just had to go first.

“That the plan,” Keith replies. He’s seen way to many horror movies, to wander off in the abandoned building on his own. There might be alien hobos after his kidneys out there.

Keith stands up and looks around. Everywhere looks equally uncomfortable. Despite his survivalist reputation, he’s always managed to make sure he at least has a broken down couch to sleep on. Bruised hipbones and waking up sore aren’t worth saving a little bit of time by not scanning around apartment dumpsters for thrown out furniture.

“You can sleep on my lap if you want,” Champion says from behind him. The words sound like a come one, but when he turns, Champion is just looking at him. No quirked eyebrows or shit eating grin, that come with Shiro’s really obvious suggestive remarks, “I know how you hate sleeping on the floor,” He almost says yes, both because Champion is right about his hatred and as a sign that he’s forgiven the man, but from the corner of his eye, he catches the way Shiro has gritted his teeth.

“Thanks, but I think Shiro would miss having his teddy bear,” Keith says instead. He doesn’t know what Shiro’s problem with the Champion is, but he’s not going to do things that make him obviously uncomfortable just because they haven’t had a chance to talk about it yet.

Champion hides it well, but Keith has practice at reading Shirogane facial expressions. He still thinks he’s in the doghouse.

Their sleeping arrangements are the best they can make of a bad situation. Takashi rolls up his officer jacket in a makeshift pillow and crashes on his own in the cleanest spot he can find. Shiro picks a wall with a good view of the door, and Keith curls up in his lap as promised. Champion ends up along the same wall, about five feet away. Shiro has trouble sleeping if he can’t see the entrances of a room. He’s not surprised Champion’s the same way.

Despite his exhaustion, Keith has trouble falling asleep. Champion keeps looking over at him sadly whenever he thinks Keith’s eyes are closed. It hurts his heart to see, and makes his brain whirl with thoughts. He hasn’t asked, but the prisoner uniform Champion wears matches the one Keith found Shiro in. The only reasonable conclusion is that in his universe, he hasn’t escaped the Galra.

When Shiro first came back, he put on a brave face to lead their nascent team, but behind closed doors, he’d just wanted to hold and be held. He’d been so starved for kind touches, that on their days off they could lay together for hours doing nothing at all. Shiro is better now. He no longer needs those long periods of time except on very rare stressful occasions. The Champion, though, he’s just been freed from his cell for the first time in who knows how long, and he’s still alone.

Keith sighs, “Hey,” Keith smiles softly as the Champion looks over to him. He wiggles an arm free from Shiro’s hold, “You don’t have to sleep all the way over there,” He pats the ground beside them, “Come over here, and you can hold my hand while we sleep,” It’s a pitiful offering, but Champion looks at Keith like he just offered him the world. He scoots over and picks up Keith’s hand without hesitation. Holding it with both of his own. There we go, that’s better, “Night,” Keith settles against Shiro again, purposefully not looking up to see what Shiro thinks of this development. They’ll talk in private tomorrow. He needs to establish what boundaries with Shiro’s doubles will make him comfortable, but for now, they’ll settle for this. A little comfort for another hurt soul. Shiro can deal for one night.

Next >

#Sheith #shiro #keith #voltron #Three Shiros and A Keith

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phosphorescent-naidheachd · 7 years

Text

Falls the Shadow

[Part One] Part Two

Freed from the carbonite in which he spent nearly a decade, JEDI GENERAL OBI-WAN KENOBI found himself in a new and confusing galaxy. Blind from carbon sickness and without any knowledge of recent events, he was forced to place his trust in PADME AMIDALA as they fled the planet.

Now, heading into hyperspace, OBI-WAN KENOBI presses his companions for answers...

“Obi-Wan, meet Luke and Leia. Luke, Leia – Obi-Wan Kenobi.”

Luke and Leia were the children Padme had returned to the ship with, both probably somewhere between four to ten standard years of age if the sound of their voices was any indication, and they stared at him with great curiosity, young eyes wide.

Not that he could actually see them, of course, but the combined weight of their gazes laid heavily upon him.

Obi-Wan returned their curiosity threefold.

There is something about them… oddly familiar, yet elusive…

If only his connection to the Force wasn’t so unstable!

Out of instinct, he continued to reach for it again and again, only to wince when he came up against that void of raw nothingness in his mind. The occasional sensation filtered through, but each was faint and liable to vanish at any given moment. He might as well have been trying to carry sand in a sieve.

Knowing it would do him no good, he released his frustration and focused on the matter at hand.

“It is a pleasure to meet you, young ones,” Obi-Wan said, bowing slightly in his seat. “I regret that I cannot rise to greet you properly, but I am afraid I’m still a tad under the weather from my hibernation in carbon.”

The children spoke near-simultaneously, words overlapping.

“The pleasure is ours, Mister Kenobi.” – That was the girl, Leia, clearly parroting a phrase she had heard from her elders.

“You were frozen in carbon?” – That was the boy, Luke.

“Luke, manners,” Padme said absentmindedly.

“Sorry,” the boy said, letting out a huff of air. “Nice to meet you, sir.”

“He isn’t gonna be happy about this,” Leia said apropos of nothing, as Padme settled herself into the pilot’s seat.

Padme sighed and when she spoke, her voice was quiet: “I know.”

“He?” Obi-Wan asked, raising an eyebrow inquisitively.

Luke began to speak, but Padme cut him off before he could get a full word out.

“Yes, ‘he’,” she said. “Darth Vader.”

Darth –

“Another Sith?” Obi-Wan asked, and if his voice was a touch plaintive, he thought it could be excused under the circumstances.

“Quite,” said Padme.

He could hear the brittleness behind her composure.

“I don’t suppose you could enlighten me any further?” Obi-Wan asked when she made no move to answer his initial question.

“Not yet,” Padme said, the telltale click of keys informing him that she was entering data into the ship computer. She then added, “You are shielding as we discussed, yes?”

It had been less a discussion and more a throwaway command before she left him on the ship to go retrieve the children, but Obi-Wan nodded.

“Yes, milady," he said. And he was, as best he could under the circumstances. “But I would be better able to protect us if I knew what, precisely, I was protecting us from.”

This Darth Vader presumably, but... how would he know and why would he care?

“Wasn’t patience supposed to be a Jedi virtue?” Padme asked dryly. “I promise, I will tell you everything once we’re safely into hyperspace.”

“And I intend to hold you to that promise.”

“I would be disappointed if you didn’t, Master Jedi.”

The intensity of the children’s focus doubled with this statement.

When Leia spoke, a frown was audible in her voice. “But I thought all the Jedi –”

“Leia, Luke, why don’t you tell Obi-Wan about that podrace you watched last week.”

The distraction was obvious even to the children, but it didn’t stop them from taking the bait.

Luke in particular chattered excitedly about the race, and Obi-Wan let the boy’s words rush over him, coating him in their effervescent light.

“ – then Vinzdulza executed this totally wizard turn and –”

When was the last time he had heard this level of innocent enthusiasm?

Ahsoka, a small voice whispered. And before her, Anakin.

…Anakin…

They couldn’t reach hyperspace fast enough.

“There,” said Padme, closing the compartment door that separated them from the children with a snick. The air was faintly staler in here than in the main cabin, with a lingering hint of something spicy. “Now I can answer your questions.”

And though Obi-Wan had many questions swirling through his head – where were we earlier? why are there children accompanying us and who are they? who is this Darth Vader and when did he appear? did the War ever end, and if so, who won? what precisely did young Luke mean by his statement about the Jedi? – he knew just where he wanted to begin:

“Where is Anakin? And how did I come to remain in carbon for nine years?”

“The Citadel mission went KUBAR as soon as you landed on Lola Sayu,” Padme said frankly. “Somehow your carbon slab went missing during the unloading and decarbonization process. In retrospect, it’s obvious who was behind that – it reeks of our glorious Emperor’s handiwork – but –”

He blinked and shook his head in hopes of clearing out his ears. The hibernation sickness must be even worse than he had thought.

“Sorry, I could have sworn you said Emperor.”

Padme sighed. “Things… have changed, Obi-Wan. This isn’t the galaxy you left.”

Obviously, he thought, inner voice sardonic.

“Anakin was frantic after you went missing,” she continued, “and when the Council called off the search for you after a few days of fruitless searching… Well, he didn’t take their decision very well.”

Obi-Wan nodded in understanding.

With the war, they needed every capable Jedi on the front lines. The Council would not have been able to afford to throw away so many valuable resources on any one being. But Anakin… Anakin had never been able to place the needs of the many over the needs of the one – not when it was someone he cared about. It was one of his greatest strengths and one of his greatest weaknesses.

As if you would handle it any better if Anakin were the one to go missing, his inner voice scoffed. Hypocrite.

“The Emperor –” she broke off at her hypercomm’s insistent beeping. “Sorry, just a minute. I need to take this.”

She must have pressed the ‘accept’ button, because a man’s voice soon filled the room.

“Lady Vader, is this an inconvenient time…?”

He recognized that voice; it belonged to Senator Bail Organa, one of Padme’s known allies in the Senate, and one of the more decent politicians he had met over the years.

Then the title he had used to address Padme sunk in.

What in the –

“I am afraid so. The winds are stirring and I expect we’ll see rain before the night is out.”

“…I see. My apologies for contacting you at this hour of the night.”

“That’s hardly necessary, Senator; it isn’t that late yet. Can your reasons for contacting me wait?”

“It is not immediately time-sensitive,” Senator Organa said. “Should I contact you later via this frequency, or…?”

“No. I will initiate contact. But do let our friends know that while I am sorry, I must cancel the dinner party; circumstances, you understand. …Vader out.” She clicked the comm off, then turned to Obi-Wan and said, “Now where were we?”

“That is something I was wondering myself, Lady Vader,” Obi-Wan said.

“Ah yes. That.”

A consummate politician, only the barest trace of discomfiture was audible in Padme’s voice. More than anything, she sounded wry, as though she were inviting Obi-Wan to laugh along with her.

Obi-Wan was not in the mood to indulge her.

After the silence had dragged out a few seconds, Padme began to speak again.

“It was a difficult time. For all of us. But Anakin… he was devastated, Obi-Wan. The only other time I’ve ever seen him so… so angry and guilt-ridden and… and lost was when he found his mother tortured to death on Tatooine all those years ago. So I’m sure you can imagine how well he took the Jedi’s counsel about ‘letting go’ of his attachments after their edict forbidding him to continue to look for you.”

Obi-Wan winced.

He could picture it all too well.

“I think the only reason he didn’t go rogue right then and there was because he had Ahsoka to consider,” Padme continued. “As it was, I know he spent over half the time he was supposed to be leading his troops following up on leads to your supposed location. He and the Council were constantly at loggerheads, but they couldn’t afford to ground him. Not with the war going so poorly.”

She let out a sigh.

“Anakin has always been a bit… volatile… but losing you… it started a chain reaction. Of course, with the benefit of hindsight, I’m sure other factors were at work too.”

She spat the last of these words out like a curse.

Obi-Wan suspected that if his eyes were functioning, he’d see her hands white-knuckled and her lips pressed into a thin line. It was that kind of a tone.

“Other factors?” Obi-Wan asked.

“I’m getting there,” Padme said flatly. “Less than a year after you went missing, both Anakin and the Republic fell.”

…

There was a faint ringing in his ears.

Anakin dead?

The Republic gone?

No sooner had he mustered the composure to ask a question, however, than Padme spoke again.

“And in their place, rose the Empire, the Emperor, and his attack dog, Darth Vader.”

Which brought them right back to one of his initial questions. Not to mention several new ones.

“A man can’t take a nap without the galaxy falling apart on him, I see,” Obi-Wan said. Frowning, he added, “Where, precisely, were the Jedi when all of this was happening?”

“Obi-Wan.” Padme’s voice was unbearably gentle as she laid a hand on his arm.

He tensed under the touch, instincts screaming at him to close his ears, that he didn’t want to hear this.

“It all happened so quickly,” she said. “When I went to bed that night, everything was normal, for a given value of normal. When I woke up… it was as though the galaxy had gone mad. He called an emergency session of the Senate. When we arrived, we saw a significant portion of the Separatist Senate was there too. -- I still don’t know how he managed to convince so many of them to come, let alone sneak them all into the building. -- There was very nearly a riot. But he somehow got everyone under control and told us that the Jedi had orchestrated the entire war in a bid for control of the galaxy. He claimed that Dooku had never actually left the Jedi, but had gone undercover in order to help weaken the Republic, and that between him, the Council, and their spies, the Order had been playing both sides of the war.”

“Wha –” Obi-Wan sputtered, only to be cut off by Padme.

“I know,” she said. “You’d think surely anyone with any sense would be able to see through such a blatant lie. But… well, I suppose your famous disdain for politicians was not entirely misplaced. Most of them were all too glad to accept such a convenient scape-falumpaset. When Palpatine declared the war at an end now that they’d located the true ‘enemy’, they cheered... never mind that half of them had been warmongering just minutes before. And not only did the two Senates swallow his words, they applauded when he suggested the reunited Republic become an Empire for a – how did he put it? – ah yes, ‘safe and secure society’. The vote in favor was overwhelming.”

Her voice was bitter.

“And the Jedi?” Obi-Wan asked quietly.

“We later learned that clone troopers turned on their Jedi in the field. On Coruscant, Darth Vader and a battalion of clone troopers marched on the Temple. When they had slaughtered everyone inside, they torched it.”

Nausea lurched and for once it had nothing to do with the carbon sickness.

“Survivors?”

“Only one that I know of,” she said. “Ahsoka was still alive the last I heard. She’s with the Rebel Alliance… which is where we’re headed.”

One.

One survivor out of…

Arms folded across his chest, the wide sleeves of his robes overlapping to hide his hands, Obi-Wan forced himself to take a deep breath. Despite being tightly clenched – or perhaps because they were – his hands shook.

“…How did Anakin die?” he asked at last.

The silence that fell was tenser than the previous ones.

Obi-Wan knew what she and his former padawan had meant to one another and sincerely regretted any pain that the subject might cause her… but he had to know.

Had Anakin fallen in defense of the Temple? Had his own troopers on the field shot him down? Had he tracked down this new Sith, seeking vengeance for his fellow Jedi’s deaths, only to meet his own?

After what seemed like an interminable pause, Padme spoke.

“He isn’t dead. Not yet, anyway.”

[Part Three]

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bambooxchello · 7 years

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The Melting Pot - Chapter 25

***Chapter Links***

[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] [18] [19] [20] [21] [22] [23] [24]

~~~

The plane was large, Erza could never remember the names of the different aircrafts. She preferred to fly on her own pair of wings, and she hadn't been able to do that in centuries. This craft in particular was military grade, meant to hold dozens and dozens of soldiers plus their cargo. That was exactly what they were going to use it for.

Erza was helping her friends onto the plane, all but carrying Levy to her seat. Stubborn girl, she thought as she sat the blue haired girl down. She was still hurting, her loose clothing brushing against blistering skin enough to make her dizzy. Yet she still refused to be left behind.

Erza knew how to help though, in a small way.

"Try to stay awake til I get back," she told Levy as she straightened.

"Sure thing boss," Levy said, trying to keep the strain out of her voice.

Erza smiled at her before turning away, she always admired the girls fighting spirit. She wound her way through the quickly filling plane, nodding in greeting to those who spoke to her. She was on a mission, looking for one man in particular.

"Erza! Here!" she turned to the sound of the voice, seeing an arm waving over several heads.

She made her way to him, smiling when she reached him. "Freed, so glad ya made it."

"Like I'd miss the big fight, or keep Laxus away for that matter. " Freed was a tall man, a sorcerer with a thick British accent lacing his words. His long green hair was braided back from his face and his eyes a soft blue. He wore a sleeveless coat that stretched to his thick black boots, showing ancient writings tattooed onto his arms. A rapier rested at his hip, usefuly when the had to get up close with an enemy. "Besides, I had to deliver this to you didn't I?"

Erza easily caught the small red jar Freed tossed her way, tucking it into her jacket. "Your a dear lad."

"Not many people need essence of Caron anymore, especially since there's only one tree left."

Erza smiled, a bit sadly. "Those trees used to be all over the highlands, we used to tend to them. One of the young ones was injured badly in the Italy attack, she'll be needing all the help she can get. Any left over I'll use on the others."

Freed nodded as he turned to finish helping loading things into the plane, "Let me know if you need anymore. There's still time to harvest before it hibernates for the winter."

Erza nodded her thanks before turning back to the others. It took her a bit longer to reach them, there were more people on the plane than before, but soon she was kneeling in front of Levy. She was glad the girl had yet to put her jacket on, leaving her poor arms exposed.

Levy cracked her eyes open as Erza uncorked the jar, breathing in the sweet Caron perfume. "What is that?" she asked, her voice only slightly less strained.

"This is essence of the Caron tree. It is an ancient tree once cared for by us dragons," she informed her as she dipped her index finger into the paste. "There is only one tree left in existence, and it is in the hands of a trusted sorcerer. This is made with its sap, and has unique qualities." She gently dragged her finger against Levys skin.

The woman tensed and hissed in a breath, before sighing in relief and going boneless.

"What does that do?" Cana asked as she knelt beside Erza to watch.

"It helps ease pain, the scent alone does that, and helps increase ones healing rate."

"So, what, it's a magical healing potion?" Natsu asked.

Erza chuckled lightly as she continued to put the cream on Levys arm, writing in ancient Dragonic. "Not quite. Human bodies aren't meant for quick healing, yer cells and metabolism can't keep up. Unlike mine, which is made for that. The cream, along with the spell I'm writing, will start mending the major damage. The burns will lessen but wont go away all together yet, bones will begin to knit, as well as deep skin tissue. There is still a chance of scaring, but she will be in much better shape to fight. I'll use the left overs on those of ya who have more troublesome injuries."

By the time she was finished explaining the spell was written on both of Levys arms, and the girl was beginning to doze off. Erza set the jar down and took Levys hands in each of hers. Erza took a deep breath, and as she exhaled smoke drifted from her nose, and warmth spread from her to Levy. The cream on her arms glowed a warm honey gold before slowly dimming, and she released their hands.

Levy cracked open her eyes and smiled tiredly. "Thank you Erza."

"Not a problem lass. You should sleep the whole flight, it will help with the healing."

Levy nodded slightly and closed her eyes, falling fast asleep. Erza had everyone settle into their seats and began using the rest of the cream on Natsu and Cana. When she was finished the doors of the plane were closing, a hush falling over the overfull plane.

Erza stood, pocketing the jar as she did. "Get some sleep, it will be the last you'll have in awhile."

She turned and headed for the front of the plane, where she knew Jellal was preparing to take them into the air. As she made her way into the cockpit, she caught sight of his copilot, a slightly younger woman who was nearly Jellals twin, her long blue hair braided back from her face much like Freeds.

"Arina! I didn't think you'd make it lass!" Erza grinned as she sat opposite of her husband.

The woman grinned as she pulled on a headset. "You really didn't think I'd let you and my brother of all the fun again did you?"

"Are we ready to take off?" Came Lilys voice as he entered the cockpit.

"Say the word boss," was Jellals answer, the engines roaring to life to warm up."

"By your leave Fernandez."

With that, Jellal and Arina piloted the plane down the private runway in Denmark, taking off for the Siberian wilderness. In all actuality, they headed for a small island just off the Northern Russian shore between the Laptev Sea and the East Siberian Sea called the New Siberian Islands. The plane would fly over the main island, delivering the first attack before landing on the Eastern coast of the island and unloading their army.

Once the plane was at its elevation, Jellal gently took Erzas hand and kissed her palm. "Get some sleep dragonfly, it will be the last you have in awhile," he said, echoing her earlier words.

Erza snorted lightly at the usual nickname but did recline in her seat, never releasing Jellals hand as she dozed off.

She was awoken several hours later to Lily called silence to the crowded plane. She stood, pausing when Jellal tugged on her hand. "Be safe love," he told her sternly.

Erza smiled and leaned down to press a tender kiss to his lips, one that soon grew hot and almost desperate. She reluctantly pulled back and squeezed his hand. "I don't do gallows kisses sweetheart."

Jellal smiled a bit guiltily, "Then be safe like I told you." He gave her another swift kiss before finally releasing her hand.

Erza made her way into the belly of the plane where Lily was informing everyone once again on the landing plan, finishing with "Flyers to the rear." She made her way to the back of the plane, along with about two dozen others. There were witches and shifters, as well as two of her dragon kin.

"Glad to see you made it Mirajane, Laxus." She greeted them.

"Wouldn't miss it for the world!" Mirajane said with her usual bright smile, her Scottish accent matching her own. She was a beautiful woman, tall with long snow white hair that was currently tied into a bun at the back of her head. Her eyes were a deep gray, with a fire burning in their depths that her cheery smile hid well.

"Like I would miss fighting beside you again," Laxus said with a small grin of his own, his brogue rumbling in his chest. His short golden hair was spiked in a Mohawk, a jagged scar went over his right eye. He was a large man, even larger than Gajeel and was stacked with muscles.

"It'll be nice to spread our wings again," Mira said excitedly as she stretched.

Pleasantries were abruptly ended as, with a loud groaning, the back hatch of the plane began to open, revealing the barren land below them. There were commands for non flyers to stay strapped in so as not to get sucked out of the craft, having to shout over the rushing wind.

There were whoops of excitement as shifters and witches ran for the abyss, jumping out into the ether. The three shared a sharped tooth grin before following after the others, leading from the platform.

It had been ages since she had experienced the wind rushing through her hair, whistling in her ears and the feel of weightlessness. As the ground grew ever closer, she shifted.

#the melting pot #tmp ft #bambello #bamboo writes #fairy tail #superhero au

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beneaththetangles · 4 years

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Annalyn, Kaze, and Japes Strike Back!

Beneath the Tangles continues to expand, both in the quality of work our volunteers are creating as we seek to share our passion for anime, manga, and light novels, and in how we reach out to our audiences. So it’s hard to imagine that there was a time when we almost shut our doors for good. At the end of 2015, I realized I was burnt out, both creatively and from serving through this digital ministry. I was looking for new opportunities, ways to stretch myself as a writer and creator, and was also discouraged by the contraction of our readership. In sum, I was ready to let Beneath the Tangles go—if not permanently, then at least into a long hibernation.

Goodbye, Thank You, and God Bless

<![CDATA[//><!]]>

Looking back, it would have been a bad choice to halt the momentum of the blog, but I was tired and needing rest. So what else was there to do?

Enter Japes.

I don’t remember exactly how the conversation went, and how everything developed, but I did realize that Japes would be the man to lead Beneath the Tangles in my stead, if he was willing to take the job. Thankfully, he did (or at least was kind of enough to accept my request!), and was soon joined by two of our other writers and trusted colleagues, Annalyn (who now usually goes by Lex) and Kaze. They took charge for more than a year, until I returned in spring of 2017, and instituted a number of changes that set a foundation for what Beneath the Tangles is now, including a more professional approach to our content and to editing; a heavier focus on more thoughtful articles; and emphasis on other media, including the podcast.

We four chatted recently about that year + of leadership—what it entailed and what it meant:

Twwk: When I left Beneath the Tangles, I was so worn out that I paid zero attention to the blog for months. It was a while, then, before I realized that Japes had asked the rest of you to step into a leadership role. How did this triumvirate form?

Kaze: I honestly don’t remember the exact details. I recall Japes approaching us with the proposal because he realized he couldn’t handle the task alone (a testament to how amazing Twwk is for doing it!). At the time, I was heavily invested in advancing the blog’s success, so I was very interested in taking up responsibilities beyond just writing.

Japes: I’m really going to have to jog my memory as well. It was only a few years, but, considering the sheer number of life changes I’ve experienced in that time, it feels like it was a lifetime ago.

Without getting too deep into matters (yet!), though, I know that Twwk first handed me the reins when I was in college. Personally, that period was the perfect overlap of my heightened desire to discover my faith for myself, my peak anime obsession, and an absurd amount of free time. Around graduation, it didn’t take long for me to figure out that running the blog like I had opted to was not one person’s job. Or rather, it wasn’t one working person’s job. I quickly found myself on the road to burn-out after I moved here to Tokyo.

At the time, both Kaze and Lex were extremely involved as well. The three of us naturally found ourselves working together, and between Kaze’s deep knowledge of Japanese and otaku culture and Lex’s writing and editing abilities, it seemed like a no-brainer to ask them to be a part of leadership.

Twwk: What do you remember best during that time you three led together?

Japes: I clearly remember the enormous relief I felt upon being able to share editing duties with two other people!

Kaze: I remember a lot of discussions about how to transition BtT from a simple blog to more of an organization with a stronger presence and sense of community. One of the ways we attempted that was making a Discord channel to connect with readers. It didn’t turn out as we hoped, since we shut it down after a few months, but I hear that’s been started back up again.

We passed around a lot of other ideas that never came to fruition as we always came to the same problems being a lack of time, resources, knowledge/experience, and as one might assume, money. Still, it was a memorable period brainstorming with Japes and Lex about how to accomplish our overly ambitious hopes for the site.

Lex (Annalyn): Goodness, there’s a lot to remember. Highlights include brainstorming and video hangout sessions with Japes and Kaze. Sometimes we talked BtT, but sometimes we just hung out—played an .io or Pokemon game as we chatted. We obviously knew each other before, but this time added a dimension to our friendship that I’m really grateful for.

I definitely remember my hesitation over some of the changes. I was very slow to get behind some of the ideas for growth. I was afraid that a more professional look could take away from the warm, casual, inviting look that first made me feel welcome in the comments. I also wanted to ensure that we grew in accordance with our mission and not for growth’s sake. Not to mention how I was concerned about our—and Japes’ in particular—ability to keep up with too many additions. But I trusted Japes and Kaze, and together, we were able to do some great stuff.

I remember bringing in some fantastic new staff members, who I now can’t imagine my online community without.

Oh, and writing posts on behalf of BtT on MyAnimeList. That was cool.

Each memory unlocks another one, so I’ll make myself stop now.

Oh, circling back to an earlier question: I believe we stepped up to at least some admin duties with Japes earlier than suggested above. I think as early as January, maybe February that year. Because by March, we had MDMRN on board, and I was scheduling Anime March Madness tweets.

Twwk: Ah, I have you to thank for Anime March Madness in addition to MDRMN! I had no idea. I love that tournament…so much fun to put together!

Lex: Well, it was MDRMN’s idea. We just said yes. And, in my case, scheduled tweets about it.

Twwk: I guess that leads to my last questions, which are 1) What led you all to put the site back into my hands and 2) What are you all up today—lifewise and related to this hobby / ministry, if anything?

Kaze: What led me to hand the site back over was the harsh reality of being a working adult. Between the exhaustion of a full time job and the daily *2-3 hour commute* I simply did not have the time or energy to be so involved with the site. I tried to keep up with writing blog posts, but nowadays, the time I spend on anime and games is far less than before while dropping writing almost completely, though some readers may have noticed that I now report on anime conventions I attend as that takes much less time and thinking on an event I was going to attend anyway. I still keep up with ongoing anime, but I amaze even myself at how quickly I drop things now when comparing to the habits I had only a few years ago.

Lex: I’m still writing and editing—but now, it’s as a career. I work freelance. I’ve been doing this for years, but I feel like I really got my business running on my terms in the past several months. Unfortunately, no otaku or similarly geeky clients so far, though I’d like that someday.

I don’t have the time or energy to write simply as a hobby anymore. I participate in NaNoWriMo every year now, but that’s pretty much it. I’ll admit I’ve drifted away from anime. I think all that blogging burned me out a bit. It’s not the escape it once was. It’s kinda weird to be on the fringes of that, unaware of the season schedule. I’m getting increasingly out of touch with current anime—a big difference from when I was blogging regularly and knew the current anime, the Twitter hashtags to use, etc. But I still enjoy it. Still watch it. Just not as often.

Japes: The more I hear from Lex and Kaze, the more I remember myself. My answer essentially echoes what Annalyn and Kaze said: life hit. It comes at you fast, and that’s a lesson I learned the hard way. Over the past three and a half years, I’ve moved across the globe, worked in three different industries, gotten married, and experienced numerous changes in hobbies. It’s made me appreciate not only the time and work you put into the site, but the balance you strike between hobbies, career, family, and ministry. I feel like I’m getting better, but it’s absolutely a lengthy process.

These days, I’ve moved into translating Japanese to English professionally, mainly in the gaming scene, though I’m hoping to move into a more administrative role in the near future. Though I’ve become a bit more disconnected from the anime community, I’ve found that my relationship with my wife and with my colleagues has broadened my horizons in the otaku community at large, if you want to call it that. Manga and video games have become more a part of my life than they were several years ago, certainly. Ironically, though, I think my current lifestyle has taught me to appreciate a lot of more mainstream Japanese media that would have once made me scoff.

In terms of ministry work, that has been quite the journey in and of itself. My first year here in Japan, my “job” job intersected heavily with ministry work, so that was the focus of much of my time and energy. After that year, when I moved into datacenter work, I experienced for the first time what it felt like to be totally spiritually isolated. My work and hobbies were no longer oriented around my religious beliefs, and there was nobody telling me to go to church, so I found myself just naturally slipping into a comfortable, but lonely, hole of apathy. I would go on far too long if I gave all the details, so I’ll just summarize by saying that my experiences here in Japan and in different career fields have helped me to balance different priorities and to discover the benefits of things in my life I once considered nuisances. That has led me to a refueled zeal for embracing Christianity in a more intentional way.

Now I know you’re supposed to be the one asking the questions here, Twwk, but I have to ask: How did you feel about Beneath the Tangles during those years of your absence?

Twwk: I’m on the spot now? Haha. Well, I could echo a common refrain here—burnout. I needed all that time away to rest, and I could rest knowing it was in your hands, and Kaze’s and Lex’s. I also underwent an apprenticeship of sorts in writing (though my editor doesn’t know I consider it as such!) and learned so much about social media, that when I came back to a site that was better structured and putting out stronger content, I felt I could contribute to this upward movement, to places the blog had never gone before and couldn’t with me as I was. So to put it into an anime metaphor, your time together was like a shounen manga where the hero (me of course? LOL) goes away to train and other heroes band together and train as well, and then everyone gets back together to fight the common enemy.

Except, of course, Kaze and Lex departed for the reasons mentioned, and you’ve also been too busy to contribute as I know you wish you could. And I really wish you three were still here helping guide the ship, as your strengths would make up for my weaknesses. But as I’ve learned, this ministry and our lives are points on a grid of this journey as we’reused to serve God in others’ lives. He moves us as he wills, and if that’s away of Beneath the Tangles, it’s for a reason, though the impact you three made will continue to feed this site and future iterations of it in profound way until the journey for BtT is finally done. So thank you for all you did—Beneath the Tangles would certainly no longer exist if it weren’t for all your effort, much less reach the audience we do now. I will always be indebted.

=====

Japes, Lex, and Kaze remain active on Twitter—give their accounts a follow to see what movies, series, and games they’re checking out these days, and where their lives are taking them.

#Anime #Interviews #Christianity #Anime Conventions #Blogging #Articles #Author: TWWK #Author: Japesland #Author: Kaze #Author: Annalyn

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