#so many things we'll never know...and that in itself along with the hope and pain it comes with is so beautiful n oddly painfully comforting

[rewh0re]

—968 words, angst, death, deep talks about life, cemeteries. yea ig that's it. yea also wrote this at 3 am guys i am mighty sleep deprived

a/n; atp I'm doing everything BUT studying or writing my gojo fic :D (gojo fic someday you'll see the light till then this megumi angst has to compensate for it) REBLOGS + FEEDBACKS ARE APPRECIATED!!

megumi can never truly forget that memory.

he remembers clear blue skies and the occasional chirping of birds along with the flapping of their wings. white clouds slowly drifting in the air and dragonflies hovering over the grass. the trees were green and lush, the leaves gently rustling due to the cool breeze which could mean one thing alone—the advent of spring. there was a silence that washed his body with a strange type of peace, a peace he had never quite known, that he had just allowed himself to feel. and there was a presence—you—standing beside him, looking at the unknown grave, head tilted slightly and hands deep in your pockets.

he couldn't help but think—there was so much life bursting amidst a place that housed the dead.

megumi never liked cemeteries. they made him sad, unhappy, gloomy in a way. but you found a certain peace in them. to walk in silence, looking at the many graves—you had said it calmed one's soul. made one think. made one feel grateful for their life.

"it's almost amusing, don't you think?" you had asked, breaking your silence.

"dead people amuse you now?" megumi looked over at you to find you still looking at the grave. how could it ever be amusing to look at a stranger's grave? he swore that sometimes even you didn't understand what you were saying.

"no idiot," you shook your head, a little chuckle bursting out of your throat as your eyes locked with his.

"what i mean is," you sighed "that these people, they were people, like you and me. they had dreams and hopes and aspirations. they worked hard for their passions and hoped to achieve so much through their efforts. isn't it awful how many of these people might never have reached their dreams? their lives cut short as they were snatched away from their own loved ones?"

you ruffled your hair before crossing your arms, "i find it unfair. isn't it unfair? how you never know what will happen? how you, me—all of us—will just become another memory to be forgotten? how we'll just become dust, become one with the earth? our names, just some carvings on some stones and even then—everything will just go on as it is. life will go on. we're just lone stars burning out in the massive universe."

megumi could only look at you. you had that effect on him, rendering him speechless through your words alone. a few seconds passed before he finally found his voice again.

"well," he began, tone laced with a certain gentleness that only showed itself in your presence. "i see it more like the beauty of life. we're here and then we're not. we live and we love and we thrive and we falter. it's the way of life, or the rule of life, whatever you call it. i think that's why we have to make sure we make the most of it. life is unpredictable and that's what makes it so thrilling."

"i think you're right—well—in a way at least. i've learnt to cherish my life. i think with you by my side, i can stand strong and proud and i can live. i'm glad you found me and i found you and i'm glad that we're always by each other's side," you smiled up at him, nudging his shoulder.

"always?"

"always."

wasn't that the promise you made?

it was like looking through a glass window, so vividly was that day's image imprinted on his mind. he wanted to break that glass and take a hold of that memory and relive it again and again and again if it meant he could have you by his side. he definitely would do that if he could.

life is not really beautiful he learnt after he started visiting the cemetery more often. it was cruel, it was ruthless, it filled one with agony and suffering and pain. oh, so much pain.

he never looked at random graves anymore like he did before with you. no, he looked at just one. the name etched on the stone with a few leaves scattered at the base—l/n y/n.

it hurt, it truly did. through you, megumi learnt love and loss, he learnt heartbreak and grief and what it felt like to cry in the middle of the night wishing for you to hold him close and whisper i'm here. you never were though, you wouldn't be there anymore, you wouldn't cradle him and card your fingers softly through his hair or wipe his tears or kiss his worries away. you wouldn't and that was reality and he had to live with that reality.

megumi learnt through you how promises were only made to be broken—knowingly or unknowingly.

but you taught him how to love and to be loved, how to find beauty and peace in the mundane, how to dream big and how to care, to be kind.

he loved you but he had to let you go. alas, you wouldn't want him to be stuck, frozen in a place where darkness loomed and nothing but sheer heartache reigned supreme. maybe it was true that a part of him was gone. maybe it was true that he would never feel truly and completely whole again. but he could swear your ghost would curse at him if he didn't at least try to move forward.

so he laid a bouquet of white carnation at the base of your grave, uttering a silent prayer.

"always." he brought his index and middle finger to his lips and then placed it on the top of the headstone before standing up, burying his hands deep in his coat pockets.

"always." he whispered, letting his words get carried by the air before turning around to walk away.

#—storytelling🌙 #fushiguro megumi #megumi fushiguro #jjk #jujustu kaisen #jjk angst #jujustu kaisen angst #megumi angst #megumi x reader #jjk x reader #jujustu kaisen x reader #jjk x you #jujutsu kaisen x you #megumi x you #megumi fushiguro angst #fushiguro megumi angst

[forbiddensaintessandsinner]

'For once, I'd liked a good feeling...'

Ship Writing no. 2 Geoffrey x Julian (@fumikomiyasaki)

TW: Serious Writing Alerted! (Bit Steamy, Slight Spice, and the Various Choices of the Language)

_____________________________________________

"Alright, that's it for today! Let's call it a wrap, you dorks!"

Yelled a grunt but a loud voice, coming a very upset current manager, who stuck in record of headaches for the past few weeks. The dancers who were in the next line of the next show for the incoming performance was heading underway but the current manager of the Performance Division, Geoffrey was having another pack headache during the preparations.

"We'll be continuing the next routine at later date for the planned finale. You and your asses better be prepared or the next one line for getting late will a get another warning from me. That's it." Geoffrey stated then rubbed his forehead in hopes of soothing his mind that had been in slight pain for the past few days, after that he then left the practice room, with the other remaining demonic dancers getting their things and head on.

Although there was one certain dancer who caught the sight of the Manager's headaches, a smirk that was quite visible was enough for him to get some ideas to sooth and get quality some time with grumpy yet hollow demon.

But oh, so of course, he wouldn't miss this one of kind chance yet, though some planning had to come in mind.l first before the action commence.

-------------------------------------

"Alrighty then Mr. Juju, what's brewing in that puny little mind of yours? Something good happened today?" Snickered a perked up yet interested hollow demon Hiromi, who happened to see Julian with his younger sister April at one of the drink stander tables nearby at the two poker tables in the Casino Division of the dormitory with Toshihiro tending the two siblings as she saw in the opposite side of the table.

"Brewing what on Hiromi?" Julian remarked, showing the smirk to keep the conversation rather at peak.

"I saw that little smirk of yours after that practice ended, another new way to convince Geo for your tiny bidding again? That sounds rather of a cheat for the show~!" The female demon joked with somewhat of a pitiful smile, which Julian eye-rolled at her while April was cleaning up her deck of cards for the next game while watching the conversation with Toshihiro.

"It's not about 'cheating' on the show Hiro. How about that 'something' for the boss?" Julian stated, his grin about his idea didn't seem to fade one bit.

"Yeah we get that already, you damn of a cocky-ass, you're planning something on Grumpo G, aren't ya?" Toshihiro spoke, sounding rather sarcastic for anyone to hear within the dormitory of the gambling and deceitful shows of the underground knowing that it was hell, obviously.

"Well at least someone gets me."

"Now you're just being rude at me? Quite a meanie of you then."

"So then, what's on your mind involving Mister G then?" April wondered as she looked at her older brother, then was getting quite interesting with the flow of the talks between her fellow two seniors and her older brother and decided to tag along in it as well.

It was quite the interesting fact the residents of this dorm came from the dimensional rift border itself before the arrival of the half-myths and more of the other races who came from the rift amongst it's seven countries, normal at sight but was never sane to begin at it's start of the creations. The only seeable demonic residents within the country of Dungeon Inkhell was an absolute underground gravestoned city where they came from. Quite the dark modern itself if you ever see it, but anyone such as the four types of the demons are there are the brutality and sinnerly personaliry in the veins of any demon as well.

Well apparently, many at random can be a victim or the star of the main bloodshed they caused at whatever reason they held, depending it was personal or another thing to be kept in the dark... Though many can show some concern at least or they can just ignore it completely. But that's how many of the demons are within the neverending bloody city itself in the rift.

"Anyways~ Boss is having another of his painful headaches, right? Well perfect timing, cause I planned a little something for the grumpy old hottie." Julian smirked, that looked rather heated onto his idea for his target that he isn't letting it go.

Hiromi had somewhat giggled but rather sinisterly at the hot yet bothered attracted sinner demon Julian towards their boss Geoffrey, Toshihiro eye-rolled at him then April elbowed with a demonic smirk at her older brother left rib but he wasn't bothered by it. Though the three demons didn't bother it to continue towards Julian himself... Though, he seems rather excited for it by the time his boss is soon free from his workload.

-------------------------------------

It was rather wonderful, not much for Geoffrey himself though to say the very least.

The pain within his own head isn't leaving at anytime soon, though Geoffrey had been dealing with it for a while but the pills with it's description were definitely not cooperating with him. The preparation for the next show is underway right now, but with this headache that lasted nearly longer than he thought it might be, it will eventually slow him down faster.

The hollow demon was laying on his bed after the day had slowly ended after the practice, and right now he is resting for tomorrow's stage preparation and the next choreography for the dancers to teach and practice for the show. Yet again, the headache he's having might be his current problem to with much to his dismay of annoyance as he rubbed his forehead as the clock of his room chimed.

"Hah... To her fellow deathness to her sins, why is the duck is this happening to me?" He grumbled, while he was trapped in his thoughts about his headache. A rather visible knock came on his door, a voice had also came through it.

"Oh Boss~ You still up yet, handsome?"

"What the fuck is it now, Julian?"

It was obvious for Geoffrey alone to know who was at his front door of his room, with enough to stand up from his bed, he went to open his front door at his bedroom, only finding Julian who was leaning at his door frame, smirking at his front expression. Though Geoffrey was in his pajamas and so was Julian, however he didn't hesitate to get a good look from his boss and his clothes with his own eyes.

"That's quite a stress work you got there, does it?" Julian flirted with the same cockiness in him, which Geoffrey didn't react much to his flirtings as he should and gave him an visible annoyed look.

"None of my own shit will ever be involves with yours moron, what the seven-layers in hell are you doing here?" Geoffrey asked rather bluntly looking at Julian before him at his door, though he seems rather perplexed but still remained annoyed at Julian's smirking face.

"Boss, I have been aware of your little headache problem by now. Kinda slowing you down to bottom rocks. Doncha't think? I wouldn't mind massaging that pain of yours away~" Julian teased as he walked himself into the room with Geoffrey closing and locking his door.

"What the fuck are you mentioning?" The hollow demon muttered audible enough for the sinner demon to hear him, looking at Julian who pressed him onto the bed as he laid on top of him to get a closer look of his annoyed face.

"A good relaxing massage for your head, boss. Surely you wouldn't mind me relieving your pain in the head, it wouldn't hurt to give it a try with me. What do you say?" Julian smirked as he let himself pressed onto Geoffrey's chest as the two fell onto the bed behind his back, with Julian looking at Geoffrey as he licked his lips looking at him from the top of his view. As if he got a free yet yummy snack for himself go have within a VIP dining hall, having it alone with no one else bothering them.

"Tch... You and your ways of having it.." Geoffrey mumbled as he stand up for an angle position for Julian to work, as he then pressed his fingers onto his forehead- messaging it slowly so that Geoffrey wouldn't wince at the pain that lasted for a few days, with only using his two thumbs and just pressing it with the normal pressure, which it would make it work for someone with a typical headache.

The massage that the sinner demon had made for his boss didn't last much long but apparently it had somewhat worked as the hollow demon can feel that the pain had somewhat left his mind thanks to it. After a short while of doing it- in somewhat of a position that the two were in, especially in a bedroom alone. The hollow demon rubbed his main certain of his forehead, sensing that some of the pain had completely left his brain.

"Well? How was it, boss? Relaxing~?" Julian teased, smirking at Geoffrey who then made eye-contact at him, stayed silent till he responded.

"Not bad I guess, but I don't remember asking a rent free treatment. Especially from you." Geoffrey replied, giving him the same blunt reaction as usual.

Soon then, Julian then re-position himself from as he laid onto his boss's bed under the covers, he then quickly pulled Geoffrey down with him so that he can feel the incoming heated tension between them tonight. Julian then showed a wider smirk that any demon can make when it comes to this rising feeling.

"Well~ I'd like to get things going rather further~"

"Heh... For once, I'd liked a good feeling..."

There wasn't a even a slightest hesitation for the two demons to jump into it for the night is that is still young but always young for two demons, having fun...

Only with no one else around, it's just them alone to have it all.

#ship writing no. 2 #geoffrey schaeffer #geo #disney twisted wonderland #twisted wonderland #mc #oc #ship fanfic

[ashtraythief]

You said you haven’t been in any fandoms before, what made you pick this one and stick with it for as long as you have? I can answer for myself and say I watched Supernatural during a really important and influential time of my life and it just really impacted me. I’ll watch other shows and enjoy them, but it’ll never mean as much to me as this show and fandom does. I will forever be thinking about Sam and Dean and the insane love they had for each other. What about you? What has made you stay this long? Is it the friends, the fanfic, Sam & Dean?

That sounds very familiar 😅

Sam and Dean were definitely the main draw. They just sucked me in and wouldn't let me go. I basically bought the DVDs immediately and made all of my friends watch it with me.

And yeah, I started watching the show in a time of my life where I had a lot going on and I don't know if it was the show itself, but fandom and the creative outlet definitely helped me work through some things.

more ramblings under the cut

There are other shows that I really love and that, at this point I might even rewatch more often (supernatural is rarely a fun, lighthearted, comfort rewatch. There are a couple of eps with uncomplicated joy like Monster Movie or Hell House, but a lot of the time there's too much pain in there fora light rewatch 😅).

I started reading other fandom's fanfic along the way whenever I discovered the gift of fanfic extended to other shows, but I was really hesitant about writing. I think I mentioned before how much harder it is for me to write existing characters, get their voice right etc. But supernatural had a huge, probably the biggest, rpf fandom connected to a TV show. So I got all the wonderful fanfic tropes without the constraints of an existing world/canon/characters. And like, lots of fandoms have thriving AU fics. SPN I think is special in that most fics are set in the canon universe. So all the AU stuff basically happens in rpf. And that's what I enjoy writing and that's why I stuck with it for so long. Plus the community I found is absolutely lovely and I really enjoy brainstorming fics with friends, running and participating in challenges together. I've been reading in many other fandoms, but it takes a lot for me to want to write for them, both in interest and in confidence. And then I need even more confidence to actually finish and post it, so… it's just not a common occurrence. Recently I've been dipping my toe into the rwrb fandom, both because I really love these two characters and what you can do with them and because the spn fandom (esp the rpf side) is shrinking and being plagued by conflict and wank which is getting harder to avoid and it's just nice to be in a new enthusiastic fandom instead of a few apocalypse survivors sitting around a campfire trading war stories. Now don't get me wrong, I'll probably be sitting at the fire until it goes out, but I'll have to spend some time in the shiny new spaces as well.

I'll always love spn, and I still enjoy rewatching it, and I'm hopeful that I'll keep the friends I've been lucky enough to find long after all of this is only glowing ashes in a half-forgotten firepit. But the spn fandom is a persistent hunch, so I think we'll be here for some time longer.

#anon ask

[rendevousz]

not a secret anymore

natasha romanoff x fem!teen!reader

summary: nat reveals a secret to the public when your class takes a learning journey to the tower.

requested: yes

warnings: might come off as half assed writing because this probably is one of my worst works i'm so sorry 😭😭

word count: 1681

notes: i'm so sorry i haven't been writing much, i've recently just gotten extremely busy so i had no time to sit down and write (this one was literally written between all the short breaks i had 😫) and i have a few requests piling up so i hope you guys can understand if they come later <3

"hi, y/n!" ally, an agent, greeted you as you, along with your classmates, walked through the east wing hallway of the tower. your classmates—except for peter, ned and mj— turned to look at you with confused looks.

your class was having a learning journey at the avengers tower and you had contemplated on calling in sick to avoid people who worked in the tower acknowledging you around your classmates.

you were actually an avenger—yeah, crazy—, having been rescued during one of the many avengers' hostage rescue missions few years ago. you were able to single-handedly take down a few of your captors, hence why the team took interest in you then.

now, though you had been trained enough, they decided to keep you a secret in order to protect you. lord knows how many people would try hurt you if they ever found out the avengers had a new, teenage recruit. peter was technically still safe as his alter-ego is masked so you had no choice but to only go on missions that weren't in the public eye.

you also lived in the tower so the agents and staff were undoubtedly familiar with you, some even friends with you, just like ally, who had just passed by with a wave of her hand at you before turning the corner.

"did that lady just acknowledge you?" an annoying voice spoke from beside you in a mocking tone. you gulped, not wanting to respond to flash's irrelevant question.

"hey, loser, i'm talking to you," he nudged your arm with his elbow and you held the urge to grab it and flip his whole body upside down. it's not like you couldn't—you had the skills, obviously— but it's the fact that you didn't want to get in trouble for that.

you ended up keeping quiet, like you always did whenever the boy taunted you. peter taught you to do just that. if it were up to you, flash's stupid face wouldn't even dare to show itself in front of you anymore.

speaking of peter, he was nowhere to be seen by now. you internally rolled your eyes. it had only been two minutes and they were already gone. peter was probably showing them around the place. you had no idea how your teacher didn't notice the three of them missing from your group. you were so going to kill them for ditching you and leaving you alone when they knew they were your only friends. they were also the reason why flash still had his head to this day because they'd stop you from doing anything rash. now you weren't sure if flash would be safe from your fury.

"you probably work here as a cleaner on the weekends or something, huh? that's the only way people here would know you," flash jeered. you let out a breath, trying to control your anger towards the boy.

you rolled your eyes, opting to deliberately ignore his insults and walk away instead, hoping you'll bump into those three idiots of friends of yours.

"did you just ignore me?" flash asked incredulously, as if it was a crime to ignore his annoying ass. he pulled you back by your back collar, effectively halting you in your spot.

by instinct, you grabbed his hand that was on your collar, twisting it and turning his whole body around, pinning him against the wall with his twisted arm pressed against his back. it happened in just two seconds which totally caught flash off guard, the boy groaning in pain as he begged you to let him free.

you could hear a series of gasps from all around you and you internally groaned. this is why you always ignored flash's taunting. you didn't want to attract attention to yourself and have people wonder how you could defend yourself so well. but flash just had to provoke you. especially here, out of all places.

"what's going on here?" you heard a familiar voice ask and you sighed.

"oh my gosh! it's the black widow!"

"miss romanoff!"

"oh my gosh, i'm gonna need to get a picture for my mum later, she's gonna freak out!"

you stepped away from flash, releasing him as he dramatically kept rubbing at his arm. as if you even put that much pressure. flash smirked, seeing this as a chance to complain about you to an official avenger.

"this girl right here," flash points an accusing finger at you with a glare, like he wasn't just practically begging for his life twenty seconds ago. "attacked me."

you rolled your eyes, unamused. "i hardly attacked him." you told nat. the woman turned to you, an eyebrow raised as she gave you a knowing look. "this...?" she trailed off and you nodded, knowing what she was insinuating. you'd told her about flash one too many times for her not to immediately figure out who he is from a crowd of students.

"flash thompson. heard a lot about you," she turned to the boy. flash's face lit up, thinking he must've made a name for himself or something that even the black widow knew him. little did he know he did, but not for good reasons.

"i would prefer if you stop messing with y/n/n." nat gave him a sharp look and that grin was immediately wiped off his face. "i– y/n/n?" he stuttered, confused that the natasha romanoff is calling you by a nickname.

"you do know she can kick your ass if she wanted to, right? she's been silent all this while because she didn't want to hurt you but you just never seem to learn, huh?" nat took slow, calculated steps towards him until she was towering over him.

"she doesn't need anyone to protect her because she's fully capable of that but i'm just here to warn you, kid, that she, is not to be meddled with. i'm saying this for your own good, flash thompson. she's capable of much worse than whatever she just did to you. so if i hear you messing around with her or any of her friends," she pauses before continuing with a whisper. "i'll close one eye on whatever she wants to do with you."

you wished you could've taken a picture of the dead scared look on flash's face; it was priceless. you turned to nat once she stepped away from him and she put an arm around your shoulder, leading you both away from the watching crowd.

"i–i'm sorry, miss romanoff," you could hear one of your teachers say and nat stopped, effectively stopping you too as she had you in her hold. "but miss y/l/n is on a learning journey with us and she'll miss the tour of the tower if she leaves with you. we'll be discussing a lot regarding this trip in class and she won't understand what we talk about if she misses this tour. i hope you understand." he spoke nervously.

"with all due respect, y/n's seen the whole tower already," she smiles at him but you could tell it was fake. "even the avengers' residential floors which are closed to the public and most employees of the tower."

your teacher looked at her wide-eyed, mouth open but nothing coming out. nat smiles a fake one once again. "now if you'll excuse us, the both of us have avenger duties to attend to."

gasps could be heard all around you and in the midst of it all, your best friends came back and you made eye contact with them, all of them having the same shocked look on their face.

"avenger duties?! nat, what are you doing?!" you whisper-yelled at the woman who seemed to be enjoying the reactions of your classmates and teachers.

"y/n!" peter ran over to you, your other friends following suit. "oh, um hi miss romanoff," he greets shyly. "thanks a lot, guys, look what happened." you spoke sarcastically, rolling your eyes at them. nat proceeded to drag you away from your friends and the last thing you saw was them mouthing apologies and you half-heartedly mouthing to them back that it was fine.

"relax, y/n/n, the public were about to find out soon anyways." nat said nonchalantly. "what?!" you exclaimed once you two were in a different hallway.

"yeah, you're gonna have press this weekend for this. we're gonna officially announce you to the world as an avenger." she once again says nonchalantly, as if this wasn't the first time you were hearing this. "wait, wait, wait, seriously?" you asked in disbelief. no one had told you anything.

"yeah, i—ohh yeah, you don't know yet," nat remembers and you give her an unimpressed look. she wasn't usually this dumb; she only showed this side of her to you. "sorry, i uh, yeah.. i was supposed to come get you for this. meeting with fury and the rest, yknow?" she tells you and you nodded slowly, taking in the information.

"but tell me it didn't feel good that you got to do that to flash," the woman states excitedly and you playfully rolled your eyes at her. "you got to do something. i'm practically an empty threat to him," you stated matter-of-factly.

"not after this weekend you're not. he'll be afraid of you after. that's what you get for being a smelly bully." you couldn't help the little smile on your face. she really sounded like a child right now and it was adorable.

"alright, natty, whatever you say. let's go before fury releases his fury." you look at her hopefully, waiting for her to laugh at your joke which she responded with an unimpressed look. that of course didn't work as you two burst out laughing looking at each other's faces.

you walked alongside her, the woman resting an arm around your shoulder. you smiled up at her as she talked about her day.

god, you couldn't wait to be able to finally walk out in public with these people you considered family.

taglist <3

@amourtentiaa @rqmanoff @abitofeverythinggg @andreasworlsboring101 @cay-writes-fan-fiction514 @teenwonder @sevenmorningstars @fleurlovesbucky @marauvdersfate

#marvel x teen!reader #avengers x reader #avengers x teen!reader #natasha romanoff x teen!reader #avengers #avenger!reader #mcu x teen!reader #mcu x reader #avengers x avenger!reader #natasha romanoff x avenger!reader #peter parker x reader

[vannybarber]

The Prenup: Final Chapter

Summary: After four years of being together and finally being engaged, Chris wants you to sign a prenup.

Chris Evans x Reader

Warnings: angst, swearing, chris getting his ass handed to him, a lot of pain.

Part One Part Two Part Three Part Four

You lied.

You didn't come back the day after. Or the next day. In fact, you stayed at the hotel for almost a week. You didn't stay in the same clothes of course. You went out to buy everything you needed. Clothes, hygiene products, prenatal vitamins. You were the saddest and most ridiculous thing to walk this earth.

Lisa and Scott eventually came over with your permission of course. You couldn't say no to them. You weren't upset with them.

"How've you been, sweetie?" They both look for your answer, trying to read your face.

"To tell you the truth, I actually feel like an asshole. I honestly realize how immature I was. Chris definitely was, but I was stooping to that level myself. But I won't admit to him just yet. I want him to recognize how immature he was too."

It was crazy to even hear it from your own mouth. But you had time to think it over. You recognized how stupid you looked living in a hotel because you couldn't put your immaturity aside.

"Well this might be a shock to you, but I had a talk with him also and it might've did something." You make eye contact with her and your eyebrows jump. Indeed, you were surprised. She continues.

"I know you guys will be able to resolve this. But you need to try. You've have been together too long to let this get in between you two. I think he finally understands." She sets her hand on yours, which was placed in your lap.

He finally understood? You had to see this for yourself. You hoped to everything that she was right. You actually wanted to fix this and he needed to be on board and feel the same way.

It occurred to you after some time that his points were actually valid. It was just the way he came across is all. You were in your own feelings and took it really personal, which was understandable, but you got stubborn. Even though he got a prenup for his own reasons, you felt as if he didn't love you as much as you love him.

This could all be fixed, but he needed to set some boundaries with Megan. He had no choice. Wait till she finds out about the baby. Evidently none of the other Evans' knew about the baby because it was never brought up. You secretly thank Chris for keeping that between you guys, even though he was most likely still upset that you weren't gonna tell him about the baby right away.

You both are grown ass adults and you're having a child together. This bullshit needed to end.

"Oh my gosh this is great !! All my shit talking did some good." Lisa clears her throat at him. "Along with Ma's great advice of course." You just laugh. You loved your family.

"I think I'm ready to see him. Scratch that. I am ready to see him. I want my fianceé back." You smile and grasp your hands together. You don't think you've ever seen them smile so hard.

"Oh yeah we know you're pregnant." You stop smiling and stare at Scott like you've been caught in the cookie jar. "You know Chris can't keep his big mouth shut." Well that's a Gemini for you.

"Now its really important that you solve this. You're bringing another life into the world!" Lisa exclaims. "Plus I'm gonna have another grandbaby!!"

You giggle and shake your head. "Well we need to head over there right now then!"

Little did you know Chris was on the exact same page as you. Down to every line and every word.

He has always been indecisive and this situation really forced him to take some responsibility and rethink his behavior. You had all the reason to feel the way you did, his intentions clearly being missed by you. Whatever they even were.

He also decided that he was going to set Megan straight about his personal life and respecting you. You were his future wife. And now that you're bringing a baby into the world, she definitely needed to be put in check. He can't even believe how he allowed her to disrespect you like this.

Now he only hoped that you'd want to sort this out and forgive him. He needed you no matter what he said. He did make up excuses because your relationship was too good to be true. He's never had a connection like this before. He never allowed it, but clearly it was for a reason because it give you a chance to come in his life and completely change it for the better.

When he had gotten home from visiting you, his feelings were all over the place. Upset that you didn't come back with him and guilty for making you feel the way you did. He just felt like he was doing the right thing because Megan told him to. Deep down inside, he really didn't even want to get the stupid prenup anyway.

"So where's Y/N? Is she okay?" Shanna asked for everyone. They all expected you to come back too. They didn't know you were this stubborn.

"She's alright. She said she wasn't ready to come back just yet. Which I completely understand. But I feel like a failed once again." He slumps on the couch and lies back. "I don't deserve her at all."

"Now Chris, you know what you have. And what you have is good. Better than anything you had before. You two were made for each other. You're a hard head and I know you're not giving up this easily" Lisa says to him, taking a seat to his right.

"You know she's pregnant." He really shouldn't have said that and he knows it, but he can't keep a secret to save his own life. Everyone in the room gasps. "I found the tests in the bathroom. If I didn't go in there and discover them myself, she wasn't planning on telling me yet."

"Well she probably wanted to fix this before adding more on top of it." Scott adds. And he was absolutely correct.

"Well I'm happy for you! But I you still have this going on." Lisa's voice goes from excited to monotone. She's super happy, but she wished this could have been evented at a much better time.

"Well this could've made things better...or worse." Chris throws his NASA cap on the couch angrily.

Carly speaks up.

"You and Scott should go visit her. I doubt she'll turn it down."

"Yeah Ma. We should see where her heads at. Maybe her mind will change with our advice" Scott agrees. He loves you as a sister. Anything threatening that would have to be put to death immediately.

"Guys, I don't know about that. She seemed pretty definite on how she felt." Chris didn't want to make it worse than what it was, but he always found a way to do that anyway.

"Chris come on" Scott drags out. "We have to try."

"Y/N is a smart girl. She knows what she needs to do and it will come to her. I know it'll work out. And when it does, you'll realize your love is inevitable." Lisa smiles knowing she is absolutely right.

Now she just waits for it all to fall in place.

You were currently outside in the driveway of your house. You drove back there in your car with Lisa and Scott behind you. When you arrived, you hopped in her car to discuss how this was going to go.

Looking at the property, you admit missed your place, but you allowed your infantilism to get in the way.

"Okay he's in there, but he doesn't know you're coming back." Scott speaks lowly from the back seat.

"Wait you didn't tell him?" You snap around mystified. Why did they not tell him?

"Because we wanted it to be a surprise. Well I wanted it to be a surprise." He corrects himself when Lisa throws him a look through the rear view mirror.

"Well um okay. Then this just has to play out itself. Hopefully he's happy to see me..?" You were unsure yourself. The little intimate moment you had before he left couldn't dictate how he'd feel now.

"I'm positive he is, but you won't know unless you get up in there. Go ahead! We'll get your stuff," Lisa encourages. You think she's more excited than anyone. You thank her with a kiss on the cheek and high five Scott then head out of the car. You walk up the driveway to the front door. You didn't get the key out your bag so you rang the doorbell.

A few moments, the door is jerked open. You automatically know he didn't even look through the peephole before he opened the door. He needs to stop doing that.

You appear in his vision and he pauses.

"Y/N? Baby?" Incredulity is all in his voice.

"Yes, that is my name." You giggle. "Can I come in?"

"Uh of course! You live here, ya know." He steps back so you can walk inside. Walking through the threshold, you look around the house as if it was foreign to you. For whatever reason, you expected some dramatic changes. One thing that didn't change is his shoes in the middle of the floor. His bad habit.

"Chris what did I say about your shoes in the walkway?" You scold him and move them to the corner with his others. You can't count how many times you've almost fell face first because of his shoes in the way and truthfully, you not watching where you're going.

"Sorry I forget a lot" he says sheepishly with a tiny smile on his face stopping behind you. This makes your corners turn up as well.

You stand facing him and him facing you. Neither of you say anything. You can't tell if it is because you don't know what to say or that you just really missed each other's faces. Before you do speak, Lisa and Scott are inside with your things.

"Oh guys just put that stuff on the couch. Thank you again!" You point to the sofa, absentmindedly moving closer to Chris.

"We need to talk." Turning back to him, you nod. You remember why you're here in the first place. You needed to put an end to this.

"Right. Patio?" You always go out there to have conversations or just to chill with each other. He nods his head and turns to his family.

"We're gonna go outside and talk for a bit. Okay?"

"Oh yes take all the time you need," Lisa exclaims, shooing you both off. Scott is grinning himself. You just smile and walk to the back door onto the patio. Chris follows quickly behind.

Once you both get outside, you sit down. You wouldn't say it was awkward, but there was definitely some tension. You decide to break it.

"I'm really sorry, Chris."

"Baby I'm so sorry."

Guess he wanted to as well. You were about to talk, but he spoke up first.

"I want to apologize first. I was completely wrong here. I was being an asshole and I deserved everything you said to me. And everything Scott said to me as well." He rolls his eyes at that part. You could only imagine the dragging Scott was giving him. "I allowed Megan to disrespect you and that was a dick move. No one should allow their partner to be treated like that. You're were going to my wife and I stooped that low. I'm truly sorry." He searches in your eyes for something to let him know that you forgave him, knew that he was really sorry at least.

You look away about to let the flood come like Noah and the Arc. You've been waiting to hear that for a while and you knew he meant every word. But now it was your turn. Clearing your throat and wiping your eyes, you speak up.

"This isn't completely your fault, baby." You take his hands in yours. "I am also guilty as well. I acted so immature and didn't even truly try to resolve this because I wanted to victimize myself the whole time. Although you were acting like a huge dick, I still played a part. I am so sorry for not planning on telling you about the baby. That was unfair of me. I know that you love me and that I am important to you, so if you still want me to sign the prenup, I'll do it."

Hearing the words come from your mouth surprised you both. He didn't think you'd ever give in and you sure as hell were making sure you wouldn't. But here you are agreeing to it because you love him that much and wanted to make him happy. Your relationship would work so it would never come to be used. You had strong faith in that.

"That's another thing." He shakes his head and you're now confused. "I don't want you to sign a prenup. We're not doing that. I already plan on talking to Megan about it. And I'm going to address her on knowing her place working for me. Since you know that I love you, so fucking much, I don't need to worry about money. Nor a divorce. Like Ma said, we were made for each other and I'll be damned if I let you get away from me."

"So no prenup?" You needed to hear it again.

"No prenup, love." He grins at you, squeezing your hands. You pull from his grip and jump up busting out random dance moves. His mouth is ajar.

"No prenup! Ain't signing no prenup! Lalalalalaaaaa! No prenup!" After your little dance number, you sit back down with no shame. You needed that.

"I'm glad that you finally came to your senses, Christopher. Your mother taught you well" you say in a pompous manner. He just can't help but laugh. You truly were something else.

"We have a little one coming soon and we have to be out best selves for them. Pinky promise each other that we never ever argue and not fix it in a matter of 25 minutes ever again?" He holds out his pinky finger waiting for yours.

"I promise." You wrap yours around his and grin. "So we're good?"

"Well there is one more thing." He stands up and reaches in his pocket. He pulls out your engagement ring and gets on one knee. Just when you had no tears left to cry.

"Y/N, baby, will you be my fianceé again?" You laugh breathlessly and nod your head.

"Yes, you meatball!" He slips the ring back on your finger and you jump in his arms. Almost knocking him over, he grabs your face and kisses you. You wasted zero time kissing him back because you needed it. It had been so long.

Finally pulling away and balancing your breaths like you just ran a 5k, you both make eye contact and burst out into laughter.

"Come on. Let's go tell them." He grabs your hands and you rush inside the house. Heading into the living room you see them both watching with anticipation.

"So?" Scott speaks and they both stand up.

"Guess who's getting married ?!"

HELP-😌 im so proud of myself. i decided to end this with a nice fluff. it was well deserved. i read you guy's comments and it influenced how i wrote it. some of you mentioned immaturity in y/n and that was really valid. and the point about the prenup making sense.

thank you so much for reading. i am honestly so grateful that you guys liked it. i didn't expect it to blow up like it did. im crying now so bye ✌🏽🤧❤

tags:

@mayafatimakhan @attitude-times @shawn-youth @traceyaudette @kyraroseficreblogs33 @radi0active-thoughts @youthought-iwasa-nicegirl @ohbarracuda @katelyneannxo @jennamarieee623 @craycraycraic @ilikeurdad @captainson-of-coul @joanne-stan @ilovetheeagles @cristinagronk16 @kelbabyblue @onyourgoddamnleft @jessycatth @misz-adrii @geminievans1 @saltyflowermakertaco @a-moment-captured @harrysthiccthighss @dauntless2022 @allboutdatmarvel @ineedpineapple @illyrianprincess @ladycumberbatchofcamelot @thesecretlifeofdaydreamss @marianas-studyblr @obliviatevamps @thevelvetseries @coffeebooksandfandom @shamelessfangirl-3 @quietmyfearswith @kissme-hs @lvgllre @arabescapr @careless-intuition @lady-x-red @donutloverxo @princess-evans-addict

#cevans #chris evans #avengers #chris evans fanfiction #chris evans x reader #andy barber smut #steve rogers smut #captain america #chris evans fluff #chris evans smut

[02-lucy-san-05]

Working on my Genshin Persona - Part 1:

Dialogues:

-> Hello: Ah! I see you are a foreign traveler as well, and the popular one amongst the four us here no less... Pleasure to make your acquaintance! I go by many different names, but you may call me Aia. I hope we can get along quite well.

-> Good Morning: *yawn* Mooooorrning, did you sleep well~? Time to start a new day... I'll wip us up some breakfast and we'll be on our way shortly. Unless... you wanna stay in and sleep a little more?

-> Good Afternoon: It sure is lovely today, perfect hour for landscape painting! I wonder... Ooohh I hope there aren't any Wopper Flowers or slimes hiding anywhere here! O-oh...! Umm... can you sit on that log over there? I-I sort of... want you to be... a part of the painting...

-> Good Evening: Hmmm wanna stop by Wangshu Inn and say hi to Xiao? I-I'm not saying that because I'm hungry and I want to eat!!! M-my stomach just happened to be rumbling and... and... ughhh fine, you got me... but it wouldn't hurt to see Xiao too though... Its been a while since I've last seen anyone there...

-> Goodnight: The sun has gone down to where it first came from... but it still shines so bright that it's reflected by the moon itself... A true beauty to behold... Ah s-sorry! I was just thinking out loud... I'll see you in the morning, sweet dreams...

-> Chat_1: I wonder how everyone else is doing back home... I hope they're all okay...

-> Chat_2: *Sniff sniff* What's that scent? It smells... familiar...

-> Chat_3: If only the others could see this world too... Then it wouldn't be as lonely for me...

-> When it rains: I like to think that rain is the tears of the clouds baring, if not, a little pain. Let's just hope that thunder won't strike us as the grieve...

-> When it's windy: Such a lovely breeze... So carefree and without worry... If only most people were like that, but alas! It's surly better than nothing...

-> When it snows: Fluffy snow falling from the sky... Only the best can be found up in Dragonspine! A reflection of short lasting purity as it melts away when the summers come back...

-> Alt_Sprint_Start: No time to waste...

-> Alt_Sprint_End: Emerged from stone and dust...

-> Gliding: Haha! I can see everything from up here!

-> About Aia - Reality Shifting: Have you ever felt like you just wanted to leave this reality and craft one on your own, so you have somewhere to call home at least...? Ah well who am I kidding, of course you have, haha, you and your brother used to shift between worlds quite a lot before he was taken by the Abyss... How do I know? O-oh umm... that's uhhh something I heard... from a story!

->About Aia - Rumors: Something that I realized over the course of a few months living here is that rumors about everything tend to spread like wildfire, no matter the event's important or how big it is. It's like an ear to ear newspaper just circulating among everyone, constantly changing to fit everyone's stories. Despite their deceptive nature, however, they too are mediums of information when trying to find leads for something we need. Speaking of leads, aren't you also basing your search for your brother on rumors and whatnot...?

-> Anything to share: I genuinely don't like being in big crowds like in bustling market places and big cities because there's a high risk of me losing my travelling companions in there. Should we ever get separated, even for a slight glimpse of time... my mental system will "Overload" resulting in me having a breakdown in front of everyone...! That's why I prefer to go alone while travelling, anyone would be embarrassed to be associated with me passed that point, so I'd be saving to trouble of public humiliation for the both of us really...

-> Interesting things: This may come across as a surprise to many people who have yet to fully know me but... I have a special nack for knowing things I'm not supposed know and doing things that would never be typical of me to do them. I'll always be lurking about, silent as a stone... I know almost everything about almost everyone in Teyvat, and yet... people don't even know I exist. I know everything one has to hide. H-hey now... let's not draw any swords out here... I-I would never use any of the information I gather against anyone else!!! Blackmail is just not my thing, and it never will be!! I'm not a Fatui after all you know, and even they know it's unethical to use... And besides, I have no use for what I gather, so I just stire it in a small section of my brain so it'll never be forgotten...! I swear on this husk and I hope to forever disappear into the void, you have my word!

-> Aia's Hobbies: Hmm sometimes I draw and read when I'm not exploring and adventuring, sometimes I like walking through busy shop streets like the ones in Liyue! If I can scrounge enough mora, I'll buy a few hand made sketchbooks and reading book. My favorites are the ones that are writen and illustrated by two amazing individuals whom I have a feeling we both know haha! Their work is quite inspiring to behold, it gives me a new sense of hope that I too can be as great as them one day...

-> Aia's Troubles: I can't tell if you noticed but I'm really no good with verbal communication... It's such a hassle for me to get to the point of what I'm trying to say... and most of the time it ends up being the complete opposite of what I want to say.... At this point I've completely given up on trying anymore so I just try to stay quiet for as long as I can, until the time where I will have to say something. That only happens in critical situations only anyways so, I guess... "Yay Silence...!"? I don't know...

-> Favorite Food: I'll eat absolutely anything that's edible and won't have any weird side effects on me! It really doesn't matter what it is, if I can digest it, then I'll most definitely eat it... that being said, I do very much enjoy ramen noodles and sweet things, but there's not much of that in the wild so...

-> Least Favorite Food: Well, people can't really expect a gourmet meal or a specialty drink in the depths of the wild and whatnot, so ultimately we have to make do with what we can gather so that it's filling and can last us for a couple of hours. That being said, I guess the Boiled eggs with Violet Grass and Sweet Mint I made when I first got here probably examples of what not to cook when in the wild. Please... for the love of Celestia, don't say anything to Xiang Ling and Paimon, they'll kill for sure!

-> Visions: Visions...? You mean this? Hmm... yes, it is quite the welcome gift, at least for me when I first got here, can't really speak for the others. From what I understand, they serve as elemental catalysts, allowing one to use the elements as they please - quite the interesting concept if I do say so myself. In my opinion, Geo Vision Holders are the ones who fascinate me the most, I can't tell whether it's due to their character as people - a trait which they'd have in common, or it's due to something greater. Either way, Geo is easier to manage, but I respect all vision holders individually, no doubt! _____________________________________________________________ ->Fallen_I: For... the unknown...and...forgotten...! ->Fallen_II: Take me...home... ->Fallen_III: Leave me... alone... -> Opening a Chest_I: Hmm, now what do we do with all these little trinckets? -> Opening a chest_II: Well would look at that... -> Opening a chest_III: One being's unneeded utilities are another's valuables... -> Opening a chest_IV: The chest has served it's purpose well. -> Elemental Skill_I: This will do for now. -> Elemental Skill_II: This is much more fitting -> Elemental Skill_III: Here we go! -> Elemental Burst_I: Come forth, my scythe! -> Elemental Burst_II: Come through, my creations! -> Elemental Burst_III: The all-seeing eye passes judgement upon you! -> Elemental Burst_IV: Say your prayers! -> Low hit taken_I: Who dares-? -> Low hit taken_II: Can you not. -> Low hit taken_III: Do it again, I dare you, you little- -> Heavy hit taken_I: Don't touch me! -> Heavy hit taken_II: OW! Grrrr...! COME BACK HERE AND FIGHT ME! -> Heavy hit taken_III: Are you testing me?! -> Low HP_I: I'll do it myself...! -> Low HP_II: Come on... just a few more hits will do the trick...! -> Low HP_III: Don't worry about me... go, now! -> Low HP_IV: Who cares...! I'll take care of this, now go! -> Joining the party_I: Are we going somewhere? -> Joining the party_II: Sketchbook...pencils...food...yup! I'm all set! -> Joining the party_III: Let's goooo, I'm so exited to go out! -> Joining the party_IV: Let me carry those things for you.

Ok it works 👍🏾

The above is my reference, Noelle is best waifu

Fight me.

#genshinoc #genshin impact #oc #oc persona #Youtube

[pleasancies]

First Shot

wordcount : 2k+

content / warnings : futuristic whump, lady whump, defiant whumpee, electrocution, hunted, animal attack, starvation, human experimentation, animal death, graphic depictions of violence, eating live animals, leg injury

I was planning for a simple running off from wild animals story but stuff happens. The story got dark. Tag : @summer-of-whump

***

Previous Chapter

Avis woke up with a shiver. Wind gushes through her hair. Little thorns prickled at her back. She tried to heave herself up, but there's a twinge of pain in her arms that runs deep into her bones. It was dark, but she could smell the rain, hear the sound of leaves rustling and crickets chirping. She needs to get up. Keep moving. This isn't the lab anymore. She has to go back. Avis slowed her breathing. Her finger clawed into the ground. Grass brushing against her palm. With a count of to three, she heaved herself up. Pain flared on her arm. She grimaced. Pushing her body to stand was easier.

Every step was uncertain. Bare feet meets fallen twigs. The sound of it breaking is almost deafening. She felt around. Trees, moss, and stone. Avis was afraid she's going around in circles. But she's free, as baffling as it is. Last thing she remembered was the lab. The oxygen mask. John and Lisette. Fenrir.

Did they left her her because they thought she's dead? The test, whatever it is, was a blank in Avis head. Possible memory wiping technology? Too many question marks. Potential threats to report when she managed to get back to her friends.

"Hello, Miss. How are you feeling?" The voice made her jump. She turned her head, frantically looking where it came for.

"Down here. Look at your feet."

Sure enough, there's an ankle bracelet. Avis did the sensible thing to do, prying at it so it falls off. It was glued to her legs.

The voice speaks again, "This is the test we were preparing you for. Don't worry, the serum will kick in soon and fingers crossed it works. Now, I'd like you to—"

"Go fuck yourself, John." Avis spat. She grabbed a sturdy looking branch. Clenching her jaws, she forced it between her ankles. Avis let out a small yelp, as the twig tears apart the fused flesh and machine. Drops of blood falls along her toes. Still, she kept going without hesitation.

A nasty crackling noise send Avis movements into a halt. Her entire body jerked as electricity pierced her ankles and burned her veins.

"If you tried to break free then I'll zap you again. Got it?"

Avis tried to speak, but her teeth was still chattering from the aftershocks. She could hear Lisette murmuring on the other side. The girl was too far from the mic for anyone to clearly hear.

John went on, "I really don't want to do this. The more we hurt you, the more likely this project fails and you die. But you took things to an extreme."

"I'm a Heretic, I have to do what I have to do," Avis muttered. Her ankle cuff buzzed a noise that might have been an exasperated sigh.

"I urged Professor Clayton to release you without the shock bracelet. I don't want to reinforce your group's indoctrination that we're sadistic tyrants. But I guess he's right. You and your people are beyond saving."

"I don't need a baby-faced intern who looked like he could die if he lift a potato sack to save me."

Lisette's laugh can be overheard from the speaker.

"That goes for you too, Lise. You're complicit in this," John gruntled. "Fair enough, answer me, Miss. How do you feel? Avoid using profanities, please."

"Like I've been electrocuted, dear boy."

"Other than that. Emotions, physical conditions, list everything."

Avis frowned. It would be so easy to flip him off. Why would she answer to some milquetoast intern about how she feels? The boy might never even starve in his life. Her jaw and gums hurt. After the shock, her ankle felt strangely heavy. There's a veiled threat in his words. They injected her with something.

"How do you feel, Heretic?"

Do you even know my name?

She pick herself up, looking at the distance. Now she could see faint outlines of the trees around her. Faint glints of light hidden in branches. A camera? Avis stared at it.

"Hungry."

"Good, good. How about your emotions, and your perception. Compare to what you see and hear when you first wake up to now."

"A-agitated. Pissed. I want to kill you. My left arm hurts. My teeth hurts." Avis stopped, composing her thoughts. The tip of her fingers felt foreign. As if it belonged to someone else. She wondered what Sherman are doing now.

"Miss."

"Sorry. I'm thinking about my friends."

There's that buzz again. She could discern it. General interference and background noise. Keyboards clacking. Pen scratching at paper.

"Why do you think of them?" John's voice sounds so clear. Sickening. Avis could hear his breath. It was slightly shallow. Did this kid has ashtma? The image of him wheezing to death as she slowly crush his windpipes made a tight sensation in her belly.

"Dunno. Can you stop talking? Your voice makes me want to gnaw at my ankle."

"Alright. Answer my question first, Miss. Any significant change in your senses. This could be vision, hearing, smell, anything."

Avis point at the hidden cameras, "One, two, three, four, there might another one over there, but I need to come closer."

She put a hand on her stomach. It's like there's a hole in there. Somehow it reminds her of the well in her parents' house. The twinge on her arm had dissipate, replaced by a dull throb coming from the inside of her gums. There's just so many things she doesn't see or hear before. Hard to keep track. Her thoughts were jumbled, running all over the place. John muttered a curse.

"John, I thought you said there's no need for profanities."

"You're not supposed to hear that. It's the serum."

Avis froze. The buzzing thoughts stopped. Cold panic gripped her chest. The forest she's starting to feel familiar with becomes unrecognizable. As if someone had brought her to a mirror world. The trees and rocks similar, yet still a twisted replica of itself. How could she not notice?

"What did you do to me?"

"It's only temporary, calm down."

She hissed. Avis took a start, crouching on the ground. The cameras are more than blinking lenses. She could see the machines, the holes it's stuck to. She lunged at the closest one. Her thoughts blend into a murky set of instinct and sensation. Lisette shouted in the background. Avis bit at the lenses, and pulled. She bashed it on to the trees. Stray cables flew.

There's still more eyes watching her. A few trees away. She took a step back, lowered her body, and—

An ear-piercing scream echoes throughout the woods. Her vision went dark. Her body convulsed. Avis fell. She grunted as her back collide with ground.

Still pumped with adrenaline, Avis practically jumped from the ground. Her head flinched back before she speaks. "C-coward! Where are you!"

Another shock. Blood leaked from her ankle. Avis curled in on herself. She blinked away her tears.

No, I'm not going to die like this!

Her body wailed in protest as she heaved herself up. They tased her again. And again.

She lay there for a while, afraid to move. Her fingers twitched. Something had grown in the tips of her nails.

"You're allowed to move now," the voice from the bracelet said. It was deeper. Older. "Please stand."

Getting up was a chore. Avis almost flinched as she expects another sting. One of her feet feels heavy. She leaned at a tree, trying not to move so hard. The gnawing feeling at her stomach is stronger now. She was still shaking and her ankle hurts everytime the skin touches the bracelet.

"I'm so sorry for ruining this Professor," John said.

"Don't be sorry. She's still awake. Project Fenrir, would you please tell me about your injuries?"

Avis grimaced, "You burned my ankle."

"How about your hunger?"

She wondered what Professor Clayton looked like. Until now the man only exist as a name John and Lisette talked about. How big is his head? Does it fit into her mouth? Avis shook her head. Disturbing that the serum made those thoughts came so easily to her.

"You didn't see me eating did you?"

"Aside from the camera I guess not."

"Thought so."

Maybe eating the head is unwise. It would satisfy her anger but it might hurt her jaw. Avis hope this professor is fat. More meat to fill her sick.

"I want to eat you, old man."

"We'll feed you. Soon. This is your test. We will send you a moving obstacle. Defeating them will grant you food. The wound in your ankle might hamper your movements, but if you're as skilled as your file suggest, I believe you can survive them. Good luck!"

Avis cursed under her breath. They left her no choice but to obey. She put her finger into her mouth. Her teeth had grown. Sharp edges and bigger fangs. She hoped the change isn't too drastic. Her friends would have a hard time finding her if she looked like a monster. James kids' would be afraid of her and she couldn't be their nanny anymore.

She should keep moving. Whatever that moving obstacle was, it's not going to be pretty.

Despite her limp, it was easier to navigate the forest. She had adjusted through the dark, and the uneven terrain wasn't so rough after you noticed it's patterns. It was an artificial forest. For miles there was no animal or a single fruit growing in the trees. The ground won't be too altered by the vegetation.

James had taught her once about the fake forests. The trees are real and organic, everyone knows that. But what's unsettling was it's history. Years ago, when the seeds of the trees weren't even made. The Empire was given a choice of which artificial plant variety it's going to use for conservation efforts. They chose the ones unable to bear fruit. The official documents said it produce oxygen more than the others. Besides, most of the land animals that can survive without human intervention had gone extinct. But the thing killed nearby wild plants. Soon enough, the main source of food are from corporate farms and their trademarked seeds.

Avis thought about James while she aimlessly walked in the forest. How he might think, working as a forester and having to plant the artificial seeds. She missed him. She missed Sherman, Emmett, Nancy, pretty much everyone. She hoped they made it out of the city.

A howl tore through the forest. The hurried steps making a beeline to Avis location. She heard panting and leaves crunching. It was a pack. Avis crouched, running more with her hands than her feet. She made a turn. The wolves changed their direction.

The animals were more intelligent that it supposed to. It doesn't seem to follow Avis by a trail. Everytime she repositioned herself the wolves follow. Always a straight line to her. It wasn't long until her throbbing ankle made her trip. Avis bit her lip. She shouldn't make a noise. She grabbed at her bracelet, desperately pulling at it so her burns get a chance to breathe. The footsteps grew louder. She clenched her teeth and started to stand.

The ground was spinning under her feet. Avis staggered. She was out of breath. Her stomach is growling.

Left foot, right foot. Come on, move!

Her face meets the forest floor. The hairs in the back of her neck stood up. A growl. Right behind her.

It dragged her by the neck. The other lunged at her face. Avis clawed and kicked. It hits the air. Another touches flesh. She smelled blood. Her throat was dry. She heard a yelp. It pulled her out of panic. Avis crawled as fast she could. They can't make her kill these animals.

One wolf caught her by the hair. They yanked her off the ground. She land head first onto a tree. She slid down, only to be bit by the ribs and feet. Avis flailed her claws into the air. They dropped her.

The smell of blood was too much. It filled her nostril. The emptiness in her middle ached. Avis lost. Her teeth finds flesh. Her ears barely register the dying cry of the two dogs. She chewed. She swallowed. Warmth filled her stomach. Nerves flared in delight.

When Avis came to her senses, there was only her and two carcass.

"Congratulations, Fenrir. You passed your first test with flying colors."

Next Chapter

#whump #whump fic #oc whump #whump series #lady whump #lady whumpee #dead dove do not eat #animal attack #animal death #electrocution #defiant whumpee #starvation #human experimentation #futuristic whump #summer of whump #summerofwhump #summerofwhump9 #leg injury #injury whump

[inglourious-imagines]

The Only One (Lewis Nixon)

Requested by: @dontfearthereaper-09

Summary: You're Colonel Sink's granddaughter and you're helping out with paperwork - you eventually fall in love with Lewis Nixon and start dating. However, every relationship has its ups and downs.

Prompt: a requested one - I wish I'd never met you.

Author's Note: I struggled so hard with this and I'm not proud of it at all, but hope it is what you wanted. A big thank you goes to for @alienoresimagines and her great help as always!

Taglist: @alienoresimagines @teenmagazines @meteora-fc @eugenesmorphine @band-of-brothers-cz @real-fans  @not-john-watsons-blog @tealaquinn @ok-roemanov @mrseasycompany @punkgeekchic @wexhappyxfew @hellitwasyoufirstsergeant @rayofshanshine @mavysnavy @easynix @stressedinadress @georgeluzwarmhugs @easy-company-tradition @immrsronaldspeirs @snafus-peckuh @curraheewestandalone @warrior-healer @justamadgirlinabox @happyveday

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.

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"He felt now that he was not simply close to her, but that he did not know where he ended and she began." - Anna Karenina, L. Tolstoj

Y/N had never in her life shooted from a rifle or even held it in her innocent hands. She had never known combat, real combat, where men kill and die. She had never endured real physical pain.

And still, Y/N was standing in the middle of Camp Toccoa during the hot summer days of 1942 with a huge grin on her face. She finally persuaded her grandfather to let her join the paratroopers. Well, she was there to help out with paperwork mainly, to be there at hand for the intelligence officers, but she also managed to pull a few strings so she will be undergoing the combat training like every other soldier even though she's not allowed to go and fight in France.

The first weeks were exhausting - physically and mentally - with the combat training Y/N volunteered for. She constantly felt like she's at the verge of giving up and going home. 

But Y/N didn't and neither will she. Even though it was the hardest thing she'd ever done in her life, it seemed right. This is where Y/N Sink belonged.

But thank God it wasn't just exercise, work and signing documents. One evening, when everything was finished for the day, her grandfather Sink took her with him to a certain celebration, more like an occasion to get drunk and forget that a war is going on just across an ocean. 

It was certainly the most eventful night during her stay in Camp Toccoa, Georgia. Y/N lost her grandfather nearly 10 minutes after they walked in the pub. She immediately befriended two guys - George Luz and Joe Liebgott. It seemed like they'd known each other for years. The soldiers heard all about the mysterious woman that had been helping out in their training camp weeks ago now but never really got the chance to talk to her.

George introduced her to the rest of his friends within Easy Company and they spend the night together laughing, downing shots one after another, dancing and joking around. Y/N felt relaxed and genuiely unworried that night so when they were told to break it up and get some sleep for tomorrow, it suddenly saddened her. The Easy Company boys were the most welcoming, kind and funny men Y/N'd met during her stay and she was sure that she's not gonna have a chance to talk to them like that night for a long time.

There was a soldier waiting for her outside of the pub to escort her into her room but Y/N kindly told him to fuck off and he made sure to be quickly on his way. 

So there she was again, standing under the starry night in Georgia, a warm summer breeze dancing through her hair while she struggled a bit to remain on her feet due to all the alcohol flowing in her veins. 

"Have a trouble finding your way, Miss Sink?" a deep voice filled her ears and Y/N jumped a bit on her spot as she didn't see him coming from behind.

"I'm perfectly fine, soldier." she tried to answer with a firm steady voice but a quiet giggle escaped her lips.

"I can see that. Let me help you there, Miss." he offered his help kindly, smirking. The Moon was illuminating his face making his hair appear darker than the night itself and his eyes shined like two stars up at the sky.

"I assure you, Mr Nixon, that I have no trouble at all. I can manage myself." Y/N stood behind her words but a part of her desired his gentle hand on her lower back steadying her. 

"I'm surprised you know my name." Nix laughed raising his eyebrows as he took a few steps closer to her.

"And I'm surprised it was just a can of peaches." Y/N replied boldly looking directly into his dark eyes.

They were covered in silence for a few moments but they burst out laughing in the next second earning some "shut the fuck ups" from the nearest barracks.

The duo spent the rest of the night walking around the camp as they eventually ended up in her room talking about nothing and everything. By the next morning, Y/N knew every little thing about Lewis and he knew every little thing about her. 

It was no surprise, to Easy Company boys or even his grandfather, that the two of them started dating just a couple of days after the party. Richard Winters soon payed Y/N a visit informing her how he's never seen Lew so damn happy and cheerful all the time.

•••

At the end of May, 1944 when all the preparations for D-Day were finishing, another party was thrown in honor of the paratroopers that had earned their jump wings. Y/N persaued Sink to take her to Britain with him so she was able to celebrate with all of them. 

She was a bit tipsy already because George Luz made her drink three beers and the forth was already on its way. 

Lewis Nixon glared at the duo with a bottle of whiskey in his right hand and a cigarette in the left. He watched how Y/N's lips curled into the most beautiful smile he'd ever seen at something George whispered in her ear. She burst out in a hearty laugh as she touched Luz's shoulder gently and this simple action reminded Lewis the night they met for the first time. An uneasy feeling burned through his chest - it suddenly became hard to breathe. Nixon clenched the glass in his hands and he'd have break it eventually if Richard didn't shake with Lew's shoulder.

"Not now, Dick," the intellingent officer snapped immediately, "we'll talk tomorrow. I'm heading back to my room."

And with that, he stood up and walked out of the pub without any other glance toward his girlfriend. The bottle of Vat '69 was left on the table half full.

•••

"Baby? Why did you disappear so quickly?" Y/N barged in his room while he was sitting behind his desk looking out of the window absently. 

"You seemed quite happy with George." Nixon murmured quietly, he didn't even bother to turn and face her.

"What is this all about? Is there a problem?" she asked kindly moving closer to her broken soldier. The sweet tone of her voice was making it even harder than it already was.

Lewis Nixon looked at her for the first time. "I think we shouldn't be seeing each other anymore." He sounded decided, strongly convinced in his statement.

Y/N suspiciously eyed his face whereas Lewis tried to avoid her concerned look. "Is this about George?"

"No, it's not about fucking George!" Lewis raised his voice and stood up from the little chair, "you are better without me, okay? I drag you down, Y/N."

She stared at him in disbelief. "What the hell are you talking about? I love you and only you, damn it!"

"You just think you do!"

Y/N's eyes began to water and when the first hot tear rolled down her cheek Nixon's heart broke into million pieces. He hated himself for hurting the most precious human being on the Earth but he had to do it. There was no other way.

"I wish you trusted me more, Lew." she breathed out reaching out to caress his cheek but changed her mind in the last second and her hand fell to her body.

Lewis pressed his eyelids tightly together forcing the coming tears stay inside of his soul. "I wish I'd never met you."

•••

The next days hit Y/N harder than her first days at Toccoa. No combat training, no amount of paperwork had ever made her feel so broken, tired and demotivated. As weird as it sounds, even after the relatively short relationship with the Easy Company intelligence officer, Lewis was a big important part of her life. He made her feel so many new emotions, he fulfilled her soul and heart like nobody else did.

And now, it was all gone.

Everyone noticed the sudden cold behaviour between Y/N and Lewis but they didn't really know what happened. Y/N brushed it off every single time when someone asked her and no one really dared to approach Nixon. 

It wasn't like the duo stopped communicating absolutely. Lewis after the argument stormed off and got drunk, he was genuiely wasted, but he also realised what a mistake he did. It was the first time Y/N told him she loved him and he was still able to make the person who cared for him the most go away.

When Y/N tried her best to avoid Nixon, he tried his best to talk to her as much as possible, every day he left her a note at her desk along with a flower and every time she accidentally glanced at him he sent her an apologetic smile.

Y/N knew her anger and hurt was slowly fading away. Lewis felt truly sorry - alcohol and jealousy wasn't really a great combination.

•••

My dearest Y/N,

I know you don't want to have anything to do with me, and I don't blame you, but there's still something I need to tell you. I'm just gonna hope that this sort of letter is not lying in the bin already.

I want you to know that I regret every single word I said that night. Clearly my jealousy and my alcoholic problem (as much as you hate me right now, please don't tell anyone I just admitted that) came in the way and I thought you're better off without me.

I'm not the perfect boyfriend, Y/N, and I never will be. I'm not funny as George, and I guarantee you there's gonna be more arguments between us. But I can assure you that no matter what happens, I will love you for the rest of my life. 

Hope you can forgive me,

I'm sorry.

With love, your Lewis

A tear soaked into the piece of paper as she pressed it to her heart. Little did Y/N know that she will love the idiot forever.

#lewis nixon imagine #lewis nixon x reader #lewis nixon #band of brothers imagine #band of brothers #band of brothers imagines #hbo war #easy company imagines #easy company #war #imagine #fanfic #love #george luz #richard winters #joe liebgott #joe toye #eugene roe #ronald speirs #carwood lipton #shifty powers #floyd talbert #buck compton #bull randleman

[hhjs]

cerulean. joshua hong.

part of the shades of blue series.

Joshua had always an outstandingly bad talent for being late. And today was no different.

It's almost midnight. And you'd requested his presence a few hours back. He huffs, rather disappointed in himself. Studying his own home with one sweeping scan.

Postcards glued to an aged refrigerator, monet's lilies hanging, polished, pink and blue and the worst of all,  empty frames in which your wedding photos used to sit.

Suddenly, it's as if he's swallowed sand, coffee scalds his throat  all the way down and he wonders if that's what he is to you, a blank, empty space in which a Joshua used to be, a body without a heart. 

Joshua wonders when you stopped loving him. If you had stopped at all. Because he was clearly falling behind in that regard.

What is the period, edge and end to love? Are words, sentences and a shut door enough? (separation, I don't know you anymore, Joshua. A thud. The loudest sound in the entire universe. )

When had you slipped right through his fingers? And why hadn't he noticed?

The swiftness with which you'd let go astounds him. Like you'd been trying to for a while. Like you'd been thinking about leaving him for so long, the act itself had become weightless. Easy.

After a particularly heated argument, your absence had become a pulsing, breathing, gaping wound in the anatomy of his life and Joshua was then finally sure this departure was going to be different from all its predecessors.

Where were the days when the most difficult thing in your relationship was a stack of lecture notes and sharing a milkshake, and sneaking heated kisses between classes?

When he didn't work so long, when you didn't fight so hard.

When had this marriage become so acutely unbearable for you? Wasn't it just yesterday that he'd gotten down on one knee? Held your child's tiny fingers? When he'd had the selfish joy of having his family all to himself? When was forever and always reduced to laughable visits?

No. Joshua thinks. This can't be the end. It isn't the end. No. If he loves you, if he knows you-

"Are you listening?" You sigh. Closer like this, when your knees are touching, when you're sitting atop the coffee table, when you're all dressed up, it's like nothing's changed at all. As if he could reach out and touch you and drag the hem of the cotton back. Pull something of the past into the present. 

He blinks, clears his throat and tries not to hold your hand like he wants to. Suddenly, he is tempted to splutter out a nervous, I'm here. How are you? How do you feel? I'm listening. I'm here. I'm here. I'm here. I'm not leaving.  

 Not again. Not like before.

But Joshua settles for a pathetic 'I'm sorry' instead. 

"I said..." You pause, cocking your head to the side. Tight lipped frown. Looking as though you're tired of hearing those words. "The kids asked about you again... so I called you."

"Is that really...why?" He queries, gulping. Minghao had regrettably notified him of your date with Mingyu. And he hadn't bothered to leave out the part where you'd been utterly hesitant.

There's a glimmer of hope. Sudden and sparkling in his eyes. Undisguised and unabashed yearning. Something subtle, untold, that says I'm sorry. Please. We can fix this.

You deign to not accept unsaid apologies, you want to hear it, hang in the air, understand it, but unable to control the bubbling sensation inside your stomach, you stand. Abruptly. Facing the dressing table. Fixing your already made up hair for the billionth time.

"Baby." Joshua whispers, placing his curious digits on your bare shoulders. He hasn't touched you for weeks. Suddenly, missing you becomes an overwhelming thing. Tangible. Akin to diving headfirst into a chilly pool. Like being punched in the gut. "Please... don't go."

"Don't do this." You say and there's a broken ring to these words. As though you're forcing words out of your throat. Everything that you've tried to push away immediately hurls itself back at you. "I-I can't. It's too...hard."

"I know." He breathes against your neck, mouth ghosting along the shape. "But... we'll get through this. I-I promise-" Joshua feels you stiffen under his touch. And it terrifies him.

"Joshua." You say his name, slowly, your tone dropped down a few octaves, like you're afraid the poets might hear you, like you're afraid brazen lovers would unlearn the lies about a love that never ends. You're staring at his reflection like you've stared so many times before, when he'd slip an eager hand down your arm, when he'd kiss the top of your head and remind you that he was the luckiest man on earth. Joshua hasn't done that in a long time. And you're reminded of why you're here in the first place.

"There isn't a we. Not anymore." He's staring at you like he's stared so many times before but this time, he hardly recognises you. The adamant frown weighing your mouth down. The dull gloss in your welling eyes. He steps back. Gradually. Defeated. "Where were you all this time?" You choke out, overwhelmed by just how willing you once were to be his again. Just once. If he'd ask. Joshua finds that no words, no time, no sweet nothings will ever fill up the spaces between you. The cracks. All that pain. Anguish. That had taken form all the while he was absent.

After, he stares at your receding back. The thing shrinking and shrinking, blurring out against your window pane. Just when Mingyu slides his palm down the curve. Just when he hands you a bouquet and whispers something that tugs your mouth upwards. And then it happens, slowly, you leave him behind, until you're so far he can't make out your silhouette. He doesn't stop you.

Because Joshua had always an outstandingly bad talent for being late.

And today, yesterday, everyday since, was no different.

#neocaratnet #kwritersworldnet #kwordsmiths #thesvttown #joshua hong #joshua #hong jisoo #seventeen joshua #seventeen imagines #seventeen scenarios #seventeen angst #seventeen x reader #joshua imagines #joshua angst #joshua scenarios #jisoo scenarios #jisoo angst #jisoo imagines #joshua x reader #jisoo x reader #kpop imagines #kpop fanfiction #kpop fanfic #kpop angst #shades of blue : cerulean.

[penwieldingdreamer]

Accidentally in Love

So as there are so few stories about the good Doctor Mike Varshavski I thought I’d try my luck here. I’m in no way a nurse or a doctor, so every medical term or anything to do with medicine will be reviewed on the WWW. Let me know what you think, and if it’s worth getting to the 2nd chapter.

Summary

After a long shift, Mike only wanted to get home to his two dogs Roxy and Bear, but the woman coming to the ER shortly before the end of his work day might have more in store for him than he thought

Chapter 1

With a slight wince I closed my eyes, leaning back on the hard bed of the ER, feeling the springs nudging harshly into my back through the thin mattress.

It was a stark contrast to the soft hands working on my face.

“Okay, Miss Bennett. That was the last of it.” the doctor sitting by my head said, pulling his gloves off.

Now the normal reaction of someone getting their head stitched up and smiled at by the nice doctor in the ER, having better things to do like saving lives, would be a 'Thank you', but I'm not normal – and drunk.

Which was why I ended up at the hospital at 2am on a Saturday night.

“You're hot, Mr. Doctor Mike.” I slurred, my head lolling back and the darkness enveloping me, my only coherent thought being the hole I needed to find to crawl into.

~¤~

“How come you always end up with a douche?”

Karen, my best friend since High School took a long sip of her Cosmo, shaking her head at my unfortunate luck. The guy I was supposed to meet for the night had stood me up, telling me he couldn't come to the restaurant I had invited him. Unfortunately I had already been there and saw him with another woman.

So, yeah, it's bad luck and bad karma right now.

Grabbing my third shot of Tequila, which I really deserved after that supposed date, I glared at her. “Well, maybe, because you always try to set me up on these dates. How many of your co-workers have you got to send them my way?”

She held up her hands and grimaced. “You know, I'm only trying to help you out. You've suffered the single life long enough now. Pete was an asshole, but I want you to see that not all of them are like him.”

“Yeah? Good luck with that.” I grumbled, the rosé wine in my hand. After that fiasco we had met up and gone out to Pinot's Pallette, a nice bar near the Overlook Medical Center in Summit, NJ, where Karen worked as a nurse.

She always thought with me being traumatized by Pete's ways in the relationship we had, Karen needed to find a way to get me back on track.

My first and last relationship lasted three months and after the break up I threw myself into work. But now my friend was tired of my 'I don't have time for a relationship' excuses and my mother always chewed my ear of, telling me how she would never see me walk down the isle and have more grandbabies.

Karen put her hand on mine as I leaned back in the seat, looking over at her. “I'm sorry for all the idiots I'm sending your way. I just thought with them being doctors and nurses at the center that they would at least be the right ones.”

“You know Karen, my mom and you could conspire together, she'd love nothing more than that.” I waved to the bar keeper to get me another shot of Tequila.

My friend smiled at me, reaching up to brush my brown locks out of my face. “We just want what's best for you, Laur.”

“Ha, yeah.” I grumbled onto my glass, taking a sip from my cocktail. “At the moment I'm quite happy with my apartment in a nice neighborhood, that I'm able to afford and a job I like, so no worries about me having a good life.”

Moving away from me, Karen surrendered and let out a sigh of defeat. “All right, if I promise to not set you up on another blind date, will you stop looking so sour and enjoy your night out with me? Evan has been a little chit since he decided to move in with me.”

I couldn't help the laugh that escaped me when she told me about her boyfriend. He was a nice guy, a doctor working at Overlook, but he also had his negative traits, like leaving his clothes all over the place or the dirty dishes in the sink until Karen came home from her shift to clean it up.

She grinned at me and lightly hit my arm, the dark mood I had been in just moments ago flown out the window.

After another hour and one more glass of wine we both decided to call it a night, the time already flying now that it was nearly one in the morning.

“I'll just head to the restroom, all that wine and jokes are making themselves known.” Karen said, the corner of her lips lifting in a mock pained smile, getting up from her seat, swiftly grabbing her jacket and purse and moving to the toilets.

At the mention of a full bladder, mine called to attention, too, so I followed her, my tote and cardigan in hand.

The restrooms were located in the back of the bar, down a flight of stairs. The blonde in front of me grinned, linking our arms like we always did.

I was just about to take the first step down, with Karen behind me, when a couple, giggling like crazy made their way up to us. Mentally shaking my head at their antics I turned back to my friend, rolling my eyes.

“Laura?”

That's when a soft gasp tore itself from my throat, the voice still all too familiar.

“Pete?” I cocked out, so shocked at seeing him again.

Karen watched us carefully, hoping neither of us would make a scene. And just as my ex-boyfriend wanted to say something, I tripped, missing one of the steps. Falling.

I don't know if it took only minutes or hours to land at the bottom of the stairs, but it all happened in slow motion and all I could see was the horrified look on Karen's face, all I could feel was the pain that spread all over.

With how fast she ran down the steps, she nearly crashed into the wall, helping me to sit up. Pete stood frozen on the top of the stair well, watching everything unfold, while his date obviously wanted to move on. “Come on, she's drunk of her ass, no wonder she crashed.”

“We should call an ambulance.” he muttered, pulling out his phone, but Karen stopped him. “No need, I'll take her over to Overlook. We'll be fine.”

Nodding his head, Pete and the giggly woman left us while the blonde beside me was in full on nurse mode, trying to see what I had gotten myself into now.

She knew I was clumsy, always had been, but when I was drunk it was even worse. With a grimace I looked up at Karen, the pain radiating from my head down to my left hand and leg. And it wasn't the only uncomfortable thing that happened, no.

“Karen?”

“Yeah?”

“I think I peed my pants.” I spoke so softly and Karen had to strain to hear me.

~¤~

“So, Doc, you got plans after shift?” Matilda, a middle aged nurse at Overlook asked the young doctor, as he leaned on the nurse station the emergency department.

He grinned and rubbed the back of his neck. “Ah not really, Matilda, it's been a long shift, so I'm just heading back to my fathers, getting the dogs and sleep.”

“Not to worry, you only got about twenty min...” she started, but the entrance door to the ER was pushed open. Karen Walters, one of the nurses working at the hospital came in, supporting a young woman to help her walk through.

“Mike, thank god.” she called, seeing the dark haired doctor standing there. “I kinda need your help.”

Mike immediately jumped into Doctor mode and helped the young woman onto a stretcher. “Get Bay 3 ready. Obvious laceration to the head, probably needs stitches.”

He then turned to Karen, ignoring to slight groan coming from the bed. “What happened?”

“Her name's Laura Bennett, age twenty-five, Caucasian . We were out for drinks, then ran into her ex-boyfriend and she tripped, fell down a couple of stairs. Hit her head pretty hard but I don't know about the rest. She's stubborn like a mule when she's drunk and won't let me check.”

“I'm not stubborn.” she slurred, throwing her left arm over her face and showing off a few nasty bruises along her forearm, a big one around her wrist. They'd have to get it checked out in X-Ray. “But I think I peed my pants.”

Mike winced slightly, thankful that she didn't seem to be in too much pain or not feel it with all the alcohol in her system. “It looks like a sprained wrist, but we'll have to x-ray it after I stitched her head.” he told Karen, before turning to Laura. “Miss Bennett, how about your friend helps you out of these bloody clothes and into one of our nice and warm gowns, then I can take a good look at your injuries.”

With a lopsided grin, the young woman eyed him carefully. “Oh, now I get it. You want to see me naked.”

The blonde nurse groaned and apologized profusely for her friends behavior, thinking that maybe she hit her head harder than she thought. “Sorry, I guess it's the alcohol and the hammering head that's got her like this.”

Mike smiled, laying his hand on Karen's arm and nodding back to Laura. “No worries. At least she's a woman. I already got three guys flirting with me today. Now help her get changed.”

~¤~

#dr mike #doctor mike #mike varshavski #mike varshavski imgaine #doctor mike story #fanfic #accidentally in love

[courtorderedcake]

Hallow : ch XIII - CSSNS 2019

“The Goblin King was prepared to host the Darkness, stealing Fae women away to their corrupted lands underneath the ground as concubines. The Darkness chose another in his stead, but not before this selected vessel enacted a devastating attack in its vengeance, revealing its hatred & rage. The battle was a lesson the old kings had forgotten; never underestimate an opponent.

Many more lives were lost as they razed over any who dared defy The Goblin King’s will. Only the pure love of our rulers united in matrimony, breaking the Vorpal Dagger, sealed the darkness and the Goblin menace away. The light flourished under their fair rule, and the queen bore a child as pure as moon beams, swan feathers, and starlight. They lived happily ever after, and shall be written in history as Heroes for All Time.”

This is the history Princess Emma memorizes from the day she is born, paraded about and presented only with the highest protection. The palace is a cage she wishes to escape, desperately. Not careful what wishes she made, Emma discovers history is written by the victors - The Dark One has an entirely different version of the events that took place.

Read on AO3 here.

Rated E for explicit themes, Mature situations, and Fae fuckery.

Written for @cssns

Ch 8 / ?? - In which a true apology is given

*** ARCHIVE WARNINGS VERY MUCH APPLY FOR THIS CHAPTER. PLEASE READ WITH DISCRETION.

The Darkness was roiling mad, a furious mass of thorns that exploded in his rib cage and up through his spine. It ripped threw his head, his shoulders tightening as it dug in like a macabre torture device of old. He kept trying to explain, trying to make it understand his reasoning, but it only howled like a wolf outside the sheep pen - 

YOU HAVE NO REASONING FOR WHAT YOU HAVE DONE, YOU STUPID MAN! 

She had to be well in order to fight long enough to survive for Nil; to not just hang herself while the Dagger melted silver down her clavicle. 

DO YOU NOT REMEMBER OUR JOINING, OUR PACT? HOW TO ACT WITH FINESSE, TO BREAK SOMEONE WITHOUT EXERTING PRESSURE, OR HOW TO PUSH THEM OVER THE EDGE? 

Calling for Alice and asking her to go to Emma's aid was a good thing strategically, and her actually appearing like some sort of fogged looking glass apparition he summoned was a blessing

YOU COULD HAVE FOLLOWED MY SIMPLE PLAN FOR YOU TO PUSH HER WHILE SHE WAS BREAKING! 

The voice changed in timbre and tone as it sometimes did, easily digging its points home. Killian could practically see his father, drunk and dismissive, shouting at Liam and beating them both bloody under one of the massive pines. The memory of watching Liam with a broken jaw as he went into his first year in the junior naval recruits was the one it dug its claws into, the Darkness fueling old anger and shame. 

YOU SAW HER HIDE FROM YOU, YOU COULD HAVE EASILY WORKED YOUR WAY UNDER HER SKIN AND GOTTEN HER FOLLOWING YOU TO NIL. YOU COULD HAVE EVEN PRESSED FOR THE SHARD, IF SHE WAS TRULY AT HER WIT'S END - INSTEAD YOU TRIP OVER YOUR TONGUE LIKE A BOY! AN IMBECILE! 

It pressed him, but he was not weak. He could crush his father ten times over now if the bastard wasn't dead, and no one could get under his skin again. Certainly not some crying woman, especially the daughter of an enemy, and such a valuable card to hold in play if he wanted to be free. Maybe he had told Alice too much about his worries over Emma, while Robyn watched with bewildered dismay. Maybe he blurted how she was acting, and they thought that he was showing weakness or worry. Imagined of course, there was nothing - 

SHE BEWITCHES YOU INTO SYMPATHETIC STUPOR, SHE FILLS YOU WITH IDEAS OF REDEMPTION YOU DO NOT DESERVE, YOU ARE SO CLOSE TO YOUR REVENGE, OUR REVENGE, AND YOU FAIL ME. I MUST PUNISH YOU, I MUST HURT YOU. 

He braced himself; the pain of broken bones as he folded into himself was enough to make him wish for true death. 

I WISH YOU WERE DEAD, FREEING MYSELF FROM YOUR INEPTITUDE WOULD BE A BLESSING WELL MET WITH YOUR DEATH. 

They both knew it was fruitless, the idea impossible while the dagger was still broken. He would survive the pain, and the Darkness would greet him in its vengeance without fail. With eyes closed tightly, he braced himself for what was to come. 

Instead of pain, though, it cackled, and Killian felt more fear than before. 

Oh yes, feel that fear, Dearie. No more physical pain for today. You mentioned strategy - I have a strategic plan for you, regarding a fitting punishment; the sort worthy of this sort of betrayal. You've been misbehaving without consequences too long now, your leash forgotten. Do you remember when you failed to stop Snow Margueryte and her Charming? Do you remember how I tormented you for your failure? 

Killian shook his head in horror. Not that. 

Oh yes, that. It's time for your nightmare. I'll provide you mercy and heal you first… Be patient, for when I'm done we'll begin my favorite game with you. We haven't played in such a long time… 

His bones began to knit back together, cracking into place noisily and sloppily. Emma's voice suddenly echoed into his chamber, breaking through the Darkness' cackling. 

"Dark One!" She was blazing with rage and light magic, Killian barely able to stand upright at her advance. The Darkness felt licks of her fury strike, its yowls of pain as it hid itself away a bitter requiem of relief. 

Killian gritted his teeth as he adjusted his frame to lean against the wall, his body still healing slowly even as the Darkness exited. "Princess?" he rasped. 

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" she shrieked; he thought she might move to strike him, to hear the venom with which she spat the question out. "You went through Ariel? Through Alice and Robyn? Through Eric and Marta? Did you think that I would not find out immediately or that they would not tell me of your attempt at deceit? What information did you hope you could squeeze from them while I was dealing with the consequences of my failures? You already know all of them, what could you possibly use against me now?"

He winced, and not all from pain. A vague guilt that had a name - remorse perhaps? 

“That wasn't the reason, I didn't - I wanted to -"

"I don't want anything to do with you. How many times do I have to -" Emma's magic hit him again, his corroded mind practically melting as her magic burnt the Darkness where it attempted to remain stuck to his bones. His knees wobbled. 

"Emma, I just need you to know -" 

Emma interrupted as he tried to take a breath, sweat beading on his forehead. "No. No, you don't need me to, you want me to. Big difference, buddy, and I have a choice in whether or not I listen. I don't want to listen."

His voice sounded small to his own ears. "I just want to know that you're okay."

Emma laughed, her eyes wild and teeth bared. "You know that I'm okay, that I am just dealing with a war, deaths, betrayals, figuring out who to trust and who isn't a monster. You've known I was alright since I left you, since I didn't come back - it's you who isn't alright. You’re scared. I don't blame you for it either; I can't imagine how it must feel to be unable to make your own choices, but I am not and cannot be your crutch. Find someone else."

Nodding, he scrubbed his face, and then carded his hand through his hair. "I thought - Never mind. Please just - You'll have to take care of yourself to survive. Keep yourself safe, and the shard; talk to Ursula and Ariel, alright? I was - I thought they might be concerned for you, and I am sorry for bothering them. And you. That's all. Nothing else."

Marta poked her head in, clearing her throat. "Uh, Killian. Ursula has a ship ready for you, and she's requested that you leave immediately. I've offered to go with you part of the way to make sure you don't do anything else untoward."

Emma snorted, spitefully. "Thanks Marta. Sorry you got the short straw."

Marta sighed. "Princess, do you need me to -" 

"I'm fine," Emma snapped. "Just about done here." Marta gave a nod, taking her leave. 

"I'm going to leave then," Killian said.

"Good. If we never meet again it will be too soon."

"If it means anything, I'm glad you are safe. I'm glad the shard is safe. I am glad you are with people who can help you, and who are… good at protecting you. I don't - you don't have to worry if they are trustworthy, and they won't fail you. Goodbye, Princess."

"Farewell, Dark One." 

He walked in a daze to the place where his ship waited, uncaring and unaware of the Selkies booing him, the food and trash thrown at him, of Ursula, Eric, Ariel, Alice, and Robyn watching his trek out of the caves with Emma. He stared, Eric and Ariel openly glaring, Robyn giving him the same squinted look of confusion that she had previously, and Alice too busy talking to Emma. 

To distract her from him. A dull heaviness pushed down on his shoulders, weight settling in his stomach. 

Marta was already waiting for him on the ship, a look of pity for him on her face. "Ready?" she inquired softly. He nodded, and they drew anchor. The ship moved through the calm water, everything quiet as they departed, including the voices that made up the Darkness. 

The portal out was a one way exit, the ship's wheel in his hands a steadying comfort. They caught the breeze, leaving the tranquility of the underwater oasis and sailing off the proverbial edge of Ursula's world to land in stormy waters. 

He had to blink a few times as a bright green bolt of blinding lightning cracked in the heavens. The storm was massive, and he followed its course along the horizon, seeing an armada skirting a hurricane before it hit something unseen, the clouds breaking apart. Killian ran to the stern, Marta joining him with a hand over her mouth. 

Ursula's caves flickered into view, appearing like a great bubble from the sea floor by some otherworldly force. As the caves crested the surface, the protective forces that had been shielding the caves broke with a resounding force, the huge crash as they struck the surface to sink again sending a shockwave through the water. Their ship pitched back and forth as they held steady to her moorings; the water had become a roiling mess of waves from the magic radiating off of the fleet in the distance. Green lightning struck the water all around it, and even from their distance Killian could see floating carcasses and the mass of birds seeking carrion, the water a sickly olive color. The storm began again, and Killian brought the spyglass in his pocket to his eye to examine the strangest fleet of mismatched ships Killian had ever seen, and tethered at its front was the cause of this destruction - King of the Merfolk, the previous King of the Sea: Ursula's brother, Triton. 

Shuddering in disbelief of the King's fate, even if deserved, Killian tried to map and count the plan of attack from their positions. Frigates, sloops, and even a few galleons were interspersed with metal rusting boats in styles Killian had never seen. The largest was something Elsa had called a barge, and it led the ships as the storm beat around them, the towering man with a large, dirty, grey beard at the lead. Focusing with a twist, he surveyed Triton further. The partial God was bruised and emaciated, held by a golden collar around his neck that linked to the barge with its towering blocks of rectangular metal boxes. Following the chain from the man’s collar to a raised dais that lay on a deck, Neal lounged nearby in a windowed observation level, looking bemused. Triton was under the control of the prince, his powers controlled by Nil's desire to possess Emma. 

But they would never, never get through to Ursula - 

Triton waved a large trident around, and the storm sparked with green and purple electricity. Ursula's secret realm lurched into view again as he spun the weapon with skill, before it sunk below in another huge crash. Their ship creaked ominously as the waves sent them flying. Triton bellowed loudly, making Marta whimper next to Killian. 

"We have to go back," Marta whispered, watching Killian close the spyglass. 

"Go back? For what, the pleasure of being ripped apart by Goblins and a demi-god? She doesn't want me there, what good -" 

Marta slapped him hard, changing from a highborn prim matron to the visage of a livid sorceress. 

"Stop thinking about yourself for one damned minute, you narcissistic clam! Even if that is the Darkness in you, recognize that this is bigger than you or your princess - my friend and my people are about to be slaughtered. I know what you did. I know how you exploded over that fleet like some sort of comet, and how you screamed the entire time begging for forgiveness. I was there in the water, before and after. I watched you kill those men, I saw them die; it took days to get the blood out of my pelt. Are you really going to let that happen again? Even if they aren't your people?"

Remembering the Darkness and its threat of reliving his worst nightmares, Killian paused. A spark lit his chest into a blaze. 

"If you wanted to die so badly, you could not have chosen a more reckless bastard willing to assist." He turned the ship, heading straight towards Triton and the Goblin fleet. 

What are you doing?! 

Killian felt the Darkness wake again, still weakened. Reading his thoughts, it quieted at the promise of a battle, the idea of any sort of confrontation too delicious to push back against. It acquiesced to his intended course, lending strength that made Killian grin ferally. 

They had just passed where the portal had spit them out when he heard the noise of another ship close by, only slightly behind. It caught up with them in an instant, and he had to blink; the silhouette was so familiar, the way it glided through the water as if it flew, almost like the Jewel but not quite - 

The thought was obliterated as Emma came into view on the deck, her hair whipping around her scowling face. 

  *✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ

  "Get her out of here. This place is about to be a war zone if they manage to pit Ursula against Triton," Marta yelled at Emma's vessel, pointing to where Triton moved the water in huge eddies, the sea opening up and closing. 

Ariel yelled back, obviously frustrated and pointing at Emma. "We told her that, she -" 

"This is what Emma wants to do! We need to help Ursula, and we need to help your father, so why are you so oblivious you twit?" Alice marched toward Ariel, pointing, no longer soft spoken. 

"Of course I want to save my father, but how the hell is she going to help when she isn't even in her right mind!" Ariel spat, before regret played across her features. "Emma, I'm sorry, I didn't mean that in the way -" 

Alice and Robin cut off Ariel, though their words were lost to a forceful gust of wind. Alice looked livid, gesturing at Ariel to the point that Eric had stepped in and tried to separate them. Emma looked frozen in place, opening her mouth to say something, but thought better of it and retreated. Killian caught her eye, but she just looked through him, and instead jumped when thunder boomed over their heads.

Wind ripped at their own sails, Marta running to the front of the ship as Killian raced toward the back, glancing over to see Emma's sleeker vessel roll in the waves. The storm itself seemed concentrated around them suddenly, growing in ferocity. Massive waves, fueled by Triton’s powers, drew up shipwrecks that crashed into their vessels, jostling the princess and sending Eric to the wheel to frantically steer. Ariel was red with rage, screaming at Alice and Eric, while Emma tried to get their attention. 

Killian yelled at them to stop, but they only pointed their shouts at him, rain now pouring down on them like the sky had opened. 

Emma let out a scream of frustration, and Killian could see it before it happened, moving with a rope in his hand as he threw back the last of the vial in his pocket, jumping into the water only moments after Emma lost her balance and flew over the side. 

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  "Stop fighting, it's making the storm - " Emma shouted, but it was drowned out over the roar of waves, the downpour, and the brawl. A wave tore at her, and she was thrown roughly to the deck, her hand catching a rope for support. The wind whipped the rigging skyward, her cuff falling away as she flew off the planks and into the ocean. 

The water hit her full on, taking her breath away. She scrambled for the cuff, realizing too late it was lost in the sea. The dark water was freezing, crushing her in the indeterminate up and down. In a panicked moment she tried to summon the cuff, and when her magic simply sputtered, she tried to conjure air. No bubbles formed around her, her magic strained or weakened by Nil's influence on the sea. Fighting against the current left the air in her lungs burning, but she could not give in. A life of no more sky was how all of her nightmares seemed to end: here in the silence of drowning, in a life with Nil, or surrounded by darkness that was too alive. What would her mother say? Her father? With their fiercest faces on, speaking of honor and hard won peace - 

"We never give up in this family, Emma. We always find another. Good always wins."

Now she wanted desperately to ask at what cost? At what cost did good win, when this was good? Good should not be having to struggle, banished from a realm for no more reason than hatred, locked away forever or until you could be of use, punishments that were cruel and unusual - that wasn't good winning. 

That cost didn't need to be paid when there were so many other paths available. If only they had sought wisdom, if they had reached out and tried to see what might be good for all… Emma wished that she could have helped them do better, that maybe if she wasn't drowning, if they weren't imprisoned, if the weight of what they built hadn't come crashing down, they all could have changed things. 

Her eyes blurred and bright spots burst in her vision. Blackness closed in, her magic dampened, embracing the beginning of the end, until a hand grabbed her own. It pulled hard, tearing through the water. A blue light came from somewhere in the dark, but when she reached for it Emma felt her legs touch a tail, hand tingling from shock. There was no way it was him; Ariel was right that she had lost her mind, this was just some strange vision before she would wake in her bed. Arms wrapped tightly around her, pulling her upwards, trying to beat the water that leaked into her mouth and nose, and there were his eyes, like he actually - 

Landing on hard wood with a thud, she could dimly hear voices of concern, but mostly she could see a soaking wet Killian looking down at her in fear. Emma coughed, choking on water as he watched her, breathing in harshly himself and falling back to his elbows. Too weak to move away from him and much weaker still to try to ask why, she stared at him in angry confusion. 

"You really need to stop drowning around me," he said in explanation, wiping wet hair away from his face, as if it meant nothing. "It's a terrible way to go, and I have made it abundantly clear that I will not let you."

Emma couldn't help the laughter that bubbled out of her at the absolute absurdity of everything, the hurt in her chest from the lack of oxygen, and how much hatred she wanted to feel even though she could not summon it. 

"I'll try and keep that in mind. Thank you," Emma whispered with as much annoyance as she could muster. Killian cracked a cheeky grin, and Emma felt the urge to punch him rise. 

"Emma, I'm so sorry. We realized that you were gone after he was jumping off the other side after you - " Alice rapidly began, before crushing Emma in a hug. The rest of her friends gathered, the storm calming around them on both ships. 

There was a loud splintering crack as more of Ursula's realm was pulled from hiding. Goblins threw ropes at the caves, climbing like spiders into the network of tunnels as Selkies launched their own bare defenses until they were dragged out in nets. 

A massive tentacle broke from the water, smacking hard against Triton as Ursula pushed free into the onslaught. Ariel gasped, and Marta began frantically pacing the deck. 

"What do we do?" Marta asked. Everyone turned towards Killian, who looked at his feet. 

"Don't look at me," he snapped, pointing to Emma. "The princess here does a far better job at improvisation methods. Ask her, she's your leader."

Emma blinked, staring at Killian with a suspicious glare. She thought for a moment, pushing past everything that had happened, her fears evaporating as she moved into planning. 

"We help Ursula, and we help the Selkies. Eric will pilot to Ursula, while some of us take the other ship and destroy what we can of Nil’s armada." She spoke calmly, delegating tasks quickly and methodically cycling through what they would need. "Ursula needs more time to try and get her denizens all out, so we need to make any sort of distraction we can. We can draw them away or at least split their forces if he knows I'm here."

"That is a terrible - " Ariel began, but Emma stopped her with a harsh tone. 

"If you have nothing better to offer, Ariel, I don't want to hear it."

Ariel managed to look shocked, before swallowing with a nod. "Let's free my father."

They split as a group, Emma giving Marta a solemn nod when they turned away to head towards Nil, Eric steering their ship straight into the formation. Killian forced his way between two ships in the rear, blending in easily, using their mix of styles to his advantage. It wasn't until the the first ship lay silent and burning that any attack looked like it was taking place. At least he could do this; maybe they could do this and for once take a victory. 

Marta steered hard into a barely held together wooden sloop. Alice and Robyn wreaked chaos with strange smoke bombs detonated by arrows while Killian lit sails on fire, the Goblins seemingly not understanding why liberally leaving petrol around could be a problem. The armada's wooden ships burned hot in the water, making the storm even eerier, green lightning mixed with the bright reds of the flames creating barriers for any course direction. It was clear that the Goblins were not familiar with any Naval strategy, and Emma felt a small surge of hope. Eric had a steady hand as he watched Ariel create portals, shutting them around longer vessels when they were halfway through with screeching crunches. 

The Goblin fleet took notice, but Nil made no move for Emma as their ship took fire. Eric and Ariel disappeared onto a steel boat with a claw like contraption while Emma tried to magic herself onto another ship’s deck without success. Her hands trembled, sparks finally lighting and sending her sprawling on a shiny silver floor surrounded by huge containers stacked on each other. A Goblin stared at her in confusion before she lunged, plunging her sword into its chest out of instinct. The Goblin fell with a thud, and Emma began to run. These ships were long and easy to cross. Her mind was made up to get to Nil before he could get to the Selkies. 

Killian appeared in the middle of the last surviving holdout of metal barges, pursued as he jumped across a row of metal containers above Emma while she herded a group into the space below. The Goblins above carelessly knocked containers down in a tumble, burying her pursuers. Emma met his eyes briefly, giving him a nod.

They continued through the maze of metal on opposite sides of each other, flowing into an easy strategy together that made her angrier still at Nil - angry that she could possibly consider working again with the Dark One. It was too simple to fall back into their unfriendly truce. The thought had barely crossed her mind when the wood under her feet splintered and bowed, her feet slipping as the barge tipped forward, barreling towards the sea floor. The impact of the hull against the rocky ground sent her flying, the noise alone reverberating through her teeth like she was shattering as the rocks came towards her at frightening speed. 

The same black blur as before pushed her into swirling water. The force of the whirlpool crushed them both, but her hand crushed his even harder while he pulled upward. Water resettled again as they gasped for air together at the surface, Killian’s hair sticking flat against his face. The water was full of debris and flame, smoke making it impossible to see much of anything. Ships ground together all around them as he helped her cling to a chunk of wood. It was in both of their best interests for her to be alive and uninjured, but here he was playing some sort of savior that went far beyond the bounds of their truce. He was behind her, at her side, or in sync with her step, both of them working together with an ease as if they were partners, and yet that’s not what they were. It made her angry, furious even, even in the midst of battle. 

"Killian, what - " But before she could finish, she was forced to push him frantically out of the way as a huge chunk of a rock formation fell, the resulting force smacking them together. "Look out, go!" 

More rocks fell around them and cut through the smoke, Ursula's lair appearing again to all as its protective shields flickered to a shuddering halt, the walls looming over them as it hurtled downwards again towards the sea floor. One of the main chambers swallowed them as the lair descended, pushing water aside as it split around them, crystals raining down in sparkling pieces. Caught in the push back of the water, they were pulled with the mass of rock as it fell away and began settling into the bottom of the sea. The force of the ensuing wave, however, pushed them back up and over the surface, Emma's back smacking against what was once the cave floor. The two pieces were still crumbling, but now sat horizontally in the water to create an invisible shoreline made of stone. Emma had little time to acknowledge where she landed, the wind escaping her lungs when she tried to shriek and shield her body from another round of the boulders. Killian pulled her into a roll, ending up above her breathing heavily. 

"G'off - " Emma let out a panted breath from under him, weakly protesting at his weight. "Catch your breath, and g'off!"

Killian rolled off of her onto his back, letting out puffs of air as he did. 

"Sorry," he rasped, and finally pushed his hair out of his face with a wet slap. Emma let out a laugh, regretting it instantly as she coughed. 

"S'alright." Propping herself upright on her elbows, she quickly glanced around the cave fragment where they had washed up, now its own small island in the turmoiled sea. Standing and peering around the cracked rock, her breath caught again. 

Ursula's realm was broken into pieces around the remaining ships, cracked and jagged mountains of what was once the cave jutting out of the water. The piece they were sequestered on was at the outer edge, so obscured by smoke that they could not see Ursula at all until Triton's first blow landed and swept the billowing clouds away. 

The brother and sister stood in the water in front of Nil's barge, both of them colossal and struggling against each other’s strength as Ursula's tentacles wrapped around the trident. Nets were thrown towards what was left of the caves, dragging selkies into a cargo hold, the water carrying sounds of distress to her ears. Emma slipped through the crack, running towards the water, but there he was in her peripheral, because of course he was. Of course he would stalk her even in the middle of a battle - 

"Don't you dare tell me not to do this, not to do something - " Emma hissed, putting more distance between them. He stood slightly in front of her, but made no move to stop her. 

"I wasn't going to," Killian replied with a sideways glance, following slightly behind when she pushed past. "Do you have a plan?" he asked when they got closer, nets hauling in screaming women and seals. 

"Get the Selkies out and turn Nil's focus fully on me so that Ursula can free Triton. Nil doesn't care about his people or how many die; he will only notice if a new plaything is put in front of him. I don't know how much time Ursula needs, but that's my last resort plan."

"I have a plan, and it should buy you time if you - " 

"Trust you again?" She whirled on her heel back towards him. "That's below even my last resort plan. I will never - " 

"I've betrayed you, and I understand that you owe me nothing, Em - Princess, but I swear to you now that I give you my fealty. I swear on Milah, Liam, and Elsa that I will be your ally, and help you in this war. Take a leap of faith here, please, I promise you that - " She turned away. Killian tried to follow, but she held up a hand. 

"Shut the hell up, Killian. Just stop. Please." Her voice wavered slightly, and he halted behind her. Seeing him look actually admonished, actually concerned as he pushed wet hair away from his face, Emma lowered herself into the water. 

"Fair enough." He whispered.

"By the way," her shoulders tightened, though she didn’t bother to glance at him, "if you're really sorry, truly apologetic even in some part of you that can still muster that emotion, a true apology would be changed behavior. Which is why if I am faced with you and Nil as my options, I will take this dagger shard to the bottom of the sea. I’d rather die than pick either of you."

"I am - " 

"I don't care, Killian. Thank you for your help here, and thank you for saving my life. It does not change anything."

Emma propelled herself forward into one of the nets, leaving him behind again. It dragged her and several frightened Selkies up over a deck, depositing them into some sort of holding cage. Emma moved quickly, cutting through the ropes with a knife that Ursula had given her. Handing it off to a nymph, Emma lifted herself from the floor with discarded netting, looking around to see what all was taking place.

Emma spotted Ariel in a corner, waving for her attention and pointing to a wall with a circling finger. She could make a portal; good - a quiet and easy way to get the Selkies to safety. Emma motioned to the groups of Selkies netted on deck, prioritizing those who were held down by Goblins or in view of the archers taking aim near the King's raised area. The first two attempts were straightforward, no Goblins milling around to stop them. The third was more harrowing, almost cut short by a Goblin's shrieking. Killian snapped its neck from behind as Emma braced herself for discovery, her eyes widening further when he ducked down and helped her cut through a heavy cord that bound the Selkies. They split apart again, the last groups too close to the front and at risk of being directly under a rain of archers. There was a shadowy section of boxes that she could dip behind for cover, but without the archers’ eyes distracted, it would be impossible to get to. Killian signaled from a corner, ducking behind a tarp when a patrol went by. 

Emma stayed still in the hold, pleading with her eyes, trying to tell him that she needed only a little time. He gave her a slight downcast smile, almost a grimace but not quite, and sprung from hiding. Slashing and hacking at a set of Goblins to provide a distraction as she ran to cut the last nets, he made his way toward the front of the huge metal ship until Nil bellowed. Nil pointed one of his gnarled fingers at Killian, eyes widening in recognition as his face turned from anger, to a smile. He laughed, opening his hands and spreading his arms as if presented with an old friend. 

Watching with a sick feeling churning in her gut, she saw Killian bow lowly. To her great horror, his wide, crooked, grin was once again back. 

  *✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ

  The bow he gave was met by several Goblins overtaking him, beating him as they placed shackles on his arms and legs. They weighed heavily, burning against his skin. Iron. Of course it was iron; it was earth, after all. Goblins were right behind Dwarves with their affinity for earth magic, able to bend iron with ease. 

Nil walked towards him wearing a fur cape draped over his shoulders that sparkled in the dim light. Killian could see that it was a poorly crafted blend of Merscale, Selkie pelts, and varying Ansapi skins. Even despite Nil’s garish and disgusting costuming, Killian saw the faintest glimpse of Milah in the man's unsure eyes. Then, the Goblin smiled broadly, and any trace of her was wiped away. 

"You made it!" Nil bellowed, seemingly overjoyed as his guard looked on in confusion, ignoring the lifeless bodies that lay around the ship and its strange cargo pillars, marking Killian’s path. 

Killian struggled slightly, testing his bonds as they seared the flesh. "Certainly did," he hissed. 

"Where is my Queen? My radiant bride-to-be and future submitting wife?" Nil practically sang. Killian could see his mouth was wet, the too long tongue in his mouth slick with salivation. 

Killian suppressed the disgust that threatened to spill over at the prince’s language. 

The Darkness caressed his bones, tickling gently under his skin. 

Tell him. Do it. End this. 

Killian set his jaw, thinking of Emma's hand on the barrier she had created in the woods, the way her brows had pinched and lips had turned down. She had trusted him briefly, even going so far to say that he had good inside of him when she first forgave him, and to say she wished him peace when she left. 

There had been a moment when she hesitated before going into the portal, thought about looking back at him, and he had hated her for almost forgiving him again. He had hated her for so much more than her slender shoulders had ever had to bear, blamed her for so much; he’d even told her in no uncertain terms that she should suffer as Milah had. And still, she was here, looking at him with those eyes that he couldn't escape. 

No no no, you listen to me, only to me. I am your master, you are my hound to beat when it fails to bring me my kills! No, NOW LISTEN, LISTEN. END THIS. 

He couldn't stop thinking of the anger and relief when she spoke his name again upon seeing him before Ursula, the way she had dismissed him instead of making him grovel like she should have, demanding her pound of flesh for what he had put her through. The way she was glancing at him now with apprehension and fear. 

She is a weakling, full of uncontrolled emotions and too much trust that has led to her ruin. Go on, stop stalling! Hurry, hurry now, we can get the shard and - 

And giving her to Nil would end with nothing more than misery for not only her, but anyone who stood in the Goblins’ way - Royals and Fae like Marta, or the numerous scattered Fae that refused a crown once before - 

“Well?” Nil asked, laughing raucously.

Well? Give him the princess, you blithering simpleton - 

Killian cleared his throat, preparing himself. "She's dead."

What!? 

"I must have misheard you, Dark One," Nil chuckled dangerously. "Say again?" 

Yes, say AGAIN? WHAT ARE YOU DOING? END THIS. 

The Darkness tried to force its words onto his tongue, but he would not let her forgiveness by dismissal be in vain. 

ENDTHISENDTHISENDTHISENDTHISENDTHISENDTHISENDTHISENDTHISENDTHISENDTHISENDTHISENDTHISENDTHISENDTHISENDTHIS END THIS, GIVE HER UP 

"She's dead; she ran from me weeks ago. I found her body in a ravine, the shard dissolved to ash. I will never be freed." He spoke as bitterly as he could, channeling the hatred easily. 

"What?" the Goblin Prince screamed, enraged. "She is strong willed and has a bite to match that delectable bark, so she cannot be dead. She is like my own stolen mother, and destined for her blood to strengthen the throne. No, she cannot be dead."

You won't buy her time with this, you fool! This is inevitable, she is his and will be his like your whore was his father's. You must get the shard - 

"I assure you, she is. Even in death, she made it difficult. The ravine was deep and absolutely bloody terrible to climb into. I can't imagine falling down it was anything even she could have survived."

You will suffer for this. 

"Good," Killian whispered, mostly to himself. Emma looked at him from the remains of the net, where the Selkies were now freed from their confines. She motioned for him to stop, but he shook his head, wet strands of the shaggy mess sticking to his forehead. The Goblin Prince paced, before taking deep breaths and turning again to face Killian. 

"Then why have you come here, slaughtered my fleet, and created chaos? I've heard about your glory under my father. Did you really come here empty handed to tell me you're untethered?" Nil attempted to sound amused, but the desperate edge was heavy in his tone. There was no control there, just an angry brat brashly striking out at everyone. 

Killian put on a pedantic smile, causing Nil to immediately start shifting in his place like a child. "Why wouldn't I? I only create chaos, and with no master that means I can strike against you too. Your damnable father may not be here, but I can still hurt you," he drawled, a bit of The Darkness in his voice for finesse. 

What are you doing, what ARE YOU DOING? 

"Then you're useless to me. It's lucky I don't believe you." Nil smiled with a menacing edge. "We'll just leave you here for safekeeping until I can verify this unfortunate and convenient tragedy. My betrothed is a beautiful specimen and so strong, it's hard to believe she isn't ferreted away somewhere. Her tenacity knows no bounds, yet again like my beloved Mother. I love that fighting spirit, she will make a strong future king, as it is written." Walking to a large flat piece of iron and picking it up from the floor, the sheet rolled like paper in his glowing hands until it crafted into a large curved spike.  

There was a sharp pain in his chest as the U bend of the makeshift iron anchor broke through the skin of his back, cracking ribs. Killian groaned, falling back, but Nil was there, standing on top of the iron contraption and pushing it deeper. Pushing the other side of heavy iron through his ribcage, Killian felt the air escape his lungs in a choking rasp, forcing him to double over, while Nil gave him a hard push into the sea. 

You've killed us both you fool. I hope you're happy. 

"We don't die. I'm content to lie at the bottom of the sea if that means another does not have the same fate as Milah. I meant what I said."

You will know true agony for this. Your insolence has been a problem, but this? This you will suffer for; this you will know true pain for. 

"Aye, I'm sure of it. For now, enjoy the water for the both of us."

The dark pressure seemed endless, and the pain was constant, but it cleared his thoughts. Killian of the Blackwater, left to sit in the blackest depths forevermore. The Darkness writhed and cajoled and raged, but nothing it did could disturb his peace, the idea of penance weighing heavier than the cold, deep nothingness. 

He wondered if this was what Liam felt. The thought didn't hurt him this time. 

The anchor dragged along the sand at the bottom, drawing another sound that escaped in bubbles. More pain burned through him as his lungs filled with water. Stars lit behind his eyes, bright pops of color flashing in time with the stabs of pain. Hours passed like this, his thoughts just as full with briny water as he tried not to think about how long this torture would continue. A firework lit in his mind as the anchor hit a rock, sending reverberating shocks through his body. He wished vainly for the darkness to take him instead of the bursts of brightness. 

But no, the light would not go away. It became a pinpoint, then a glow that was warmer and more comforting than anything he thought he would know, growing to spread through him. He cracked open his eyes to see what he thought was a fierce angel, or quite possibly a nymph or siren, who swam before him encased in bright sunshine shimmers of light with a halo around her head and wearing Emma’s face. 

There was no mockery, for which he thanked the heavens; she simply lifted him, felt the iron, and dropped him suddenly. Tentacles wrapped around the thickest bend of the molded metal, wood crashing around them as the strange suction cup dotted arms yanked. Then, the weight in his chest loosened and he was flying, finally free. It was too much; he flew too high and too fast, falling just as quickly, his eyes shut tightly. 

He fell on something hard, forcing him to cough up water as he raised himself on his side. Soft hands pushed hair out of his face, and something warm crashed into him against where the iron had been. He groaned as whatever it was that had settled against him. A person? When he let out a breath, the person - yes, it was definitely a person - began hitting him.

They stopped suddenly, and after no other smacks came for several moments he opened his eyes to see Emma staring back at him with worry, concern, and anger filling her own gaze. 

"You fucking idiot!" she screamed. "You -" 

"You know that I can't die, right? I'm a survivor.” 

"You still… Even if… If you had been hurt, hurt worse than this I mean, I… Why did you do that? I had a plan, and you - you bought us so much more time, I should have let you - I should have trusted - We couldn't have done this without you, I just…" Emma swiped at her eyes. "Why would you, you absolute…" 

Trying to sit up and practically toppling them both, he groused wryly at her noise of concern. "Maybe I just needed reminding that I could be on the hero's side, or maybe I knew you would never let me get off that easy and without yelling at me, you stubborn - " 

Emma hit him lightly again, her voice laced with strained amusement and lessening terror. "Don't move. Just stop, don't move, you arrogant ass."

"Princess, you deprive me of a dashing rescue, and then add insult to injury - "

"Emma. Please, I…" She straightened her shoulders and began to laugh, his grin at her not helping. Her voice cracked when she tried to start talking, and though she cleared her throat, she could not hide the tremble. "I think, Emma is just fine. Or I quite liked when you called me Swan." 

"Hey, hey now," he soothed, and when he laid a hand on her cheek she turned her face into his palm, holding her own hand against his. Emma couldn't hold back a shaky breath as a few tears escaped, and he pulled her tightly to him. "Hey. Don't cry. I'm the one who was gravely injured. It was about time you saved me from almost drowning, even though I technically cannot. We'll count it as one to three, with me in the lead. You can't steal that too, Swan." 

Her hiccupping laugh and weak wristed smack made him snort. The wound in his back closed, the Darkness ever keeping him alive, even as it still stopped short of his hand. Finally, Killian allowed himself to look around. They were on an old style ship, a light fleet frigate possibly, with no one else in sight. It felt vaguely familiar, but so did simply being at sea. Emma shuddered against him, cold and most likely exhausted as he pressed her for details. 

"What happened to Nil's armada?" 

"Your claim that I was dead caused the Goblin Prince to throw a full-on tantrum, leaving his own ship by portal. The mages he left in charge couldn't control Triton when whittled down in numbers. By the time Nil came back with his father, Triton was free, Ursula was laying waste to anything with Goblins on board, and the Selkies were free and trying to heal their wounded while regrouping. Ursula threw us on this ship after we looked for you, and the two of them destroyed Nil’s entire armada. Nil escaped through a portal at the last second, though. I watched through your telescope." Emma blushed lightly, pulling away from him. "Ursula said this ship will mean something to you, but I don't recognize it other than it being the one we used today. It's sort of a hodge-podge of Mer-craftsmanship; a frigate, speed sloop, galleon, and tall ship all crammed together. The base and bunks seem to be mostly the galleon? It's that ship Eric pulled out of the water before -"

"Liam's ship," he breathed. "My ship."

"I thought yours was The Jewel of the Realm? This one says something about being Jolly." She pointed over the edge, and he joined her to peer over. In sloppy carved graffiti, some sea dwelling mer-miscreant had replaced the clean script of the Fae Navy with 'The Jolly Roger'. 

Killian couldn't find it in himself to be angry, instead laughing as he crossed to the stern, feeling the same breeze that his brother and he had felt, the sea immediately calming him. Emma had only made this all the better, expending any magic she hadn't used drying their supplies and the ship's hold. Once waterlogged books filled with his brother's notes were crisp and clean, and a patina worn sextant looked almost like new on a pristine desk. Opening a trunk, he found naval uniforms pressed for a day's work, closing the lid after running his fingers over the brass buttons and fringed epaulets on the shoulders. 

Then there were the other ships, the pieces of other wrecks merged to what was his, that made up the crooked interior, filled with casks and casks of glorious rum. 

He created a small fire in the tiny galley, heating it with the butter they had left, still in Ingrid's strange plastic pastel container, before joining Emma on the deck with two cups as she arranged blankets. 

"How's your hand?" Emma asked, watching him settle. 

He gave a shrug, trying to mask the fire coursing through his bent fingers. "S'fine." 

He took a heavy swig, the rum doing nothing to help the pain in his hand. Emma rolled her eyes and crawled beside him, taking his cold palm in hers. "Which means 'it hurts' in High Killian. You're truly a terrible liar."

"The Goblin believed me when I told them you were dead." 

"Barely, and I mean, case and point." Emma smirked, her magic glowing softly. 

Killian barked out a laugh, and her magic spread, his hand stopping its searing throbs. He sighed in relief, and picked up a steaming mug. 

"Any idea where we're off to?" he asked. Emma sighed wearily. 

"I haven't had much more that a moment while you looked around yourself, but I believe we’re in this general vicinity." She spread out a large map that he had not noticed, unrolling it and pinning it down with a few stones she must have found in Liam's collection. Amethyst and a chunk of bismuth glittered at each corner. Emma pointed with the ends of a navigational compass to a location in the blue defined area she had made a circle around. "The stars aren't great right now, but I remember them well enough to find the cardinal points. There was a current map where I found this, and based on the stars and our speed, I think this is our trajectory if we're seeking the closest shore to land on." She tapped a small speck on the map with the compass, some unmarked island. 

Killian raised an eyebrow, remarkably impressed. "You know marine navigation?" 

Emma shrugged, with a teasing smile playing on her lips. "Even a proper noblewoman needs hobbies."

"I'm beginning to believe that you aren't the most proper of noblewomen, Swan."

"My reputation is ruined, you'll have to seek out other debutantes to fill your season."

He was caught off guard by her quip, and laughed in surprise, her giggling joining his. He brushed a finger over one of her lines on the map. "This is going to take some time, if you're right. Have you been at sea for any length of time?" 

Emma shook her head, and sighed. "No. The sea wasn't a place for a princess." Her tone was sour, and she looked at him with the glint of irritation he'd begun to notice was present when she spoke about the ridiculous notions of the royals. 

"Well, now it seems it is." He gave her a wink, and her cheeks flushed a deep red, the rum seemingly warming her further. "We'll be in close quarters, especially with what a mess of mismatched parts below deck is. Stay off my toes, and we'll be fine."

Looking at him with a cocked head and an amused expression, she gave a mock salute while imitating his accent. "Aye aye, Captain, sir."

He grimaced, and downed his rum. The Darkness had quieted again, probably due to her close proximity and how her magic seemed to target it lately. 

Emma took another large swig of rum, her skin heating with a visible flush. Killian grinned at her, taking the mug down to pour more for them. When he handed it to her, she took another swig, seeming to savor the burn in her throat and warmth in her belly. Giggling, she let herself fall back onto the blankets they had laid across the deck. 

"The last time I was this drunk was when I kissed you," she laughed, rolling onto her side clumsily to look at him. "After we escaped Pann."

"You were much more drunk then," he laughed back before realization dawned on him. "Wait, you remember that?"

"Yeah, and you lying about it." Her grin was playful, and she laid her head down to hide half her face in the blankets. Killian felt his ears heat, and tried not to choke on anymore of the rum. "Why did you, anyway?"

"I didn't - it was obvious you were out of sorts, just…"

"Knackered? Foxed? Three shades to the wind?" Emma giggled, and when he didn't return the laugh she reached for him. "I didn't mean to upset you, I definitely shouldn't have done that. I mean, I don't regret it, because it was nice and you have nice lips and a nice face, and - " She rambled, and his eyebrow raised. She let out a groan and covered her mouth. 

"A drunken mind speaks a sober - " he chuckled awkwardly, Emma reaching to push him softly before he could finish the proverb. There was a part of him that felt strange, full of pride, while all at once wistful. 

"Shut up," she whined, her blush making her eyes more green. "We will never speak of this again."

"Not a word from my nice lips about it again, I swear it." Miming zipping his lips, Emma groaned once more, falling back into the blankets again while laughing. Her laughter, being out at sea, the rum - it was heady when mixed with the thought of the way she had felt. There was no way he could admit anything more than that to himself, let alone Emma. 

Later he checked her coordinates against the constellations, both of them looking at the stars and looking over the map by candlelight. Emma fell asleep as he began to work in silence and he coaxed her to take a pillow to lay her head on, the quiet snoring lasting for a few hours. 

She tossed and turned under the blanket, briefly scaring him with the suddenness of her flailing. 

"Emma? Are you alright?" 

"Don't touch me, please don't touch - " she startled awake, throwing her body away from his own. With hazy eyes filled with tears, Emma scrunched into her frame just as he saw her do within Ursula's realm, magic leaving her in waves. "Nil, no, please don't - "

The first few bursts of magic caught him off guard, hitting him squarely in the chest. The third he tried to roll away from as it hit his hip, the movement fully pulling her from the night terror. 

Her breathing was rapid and unsteady, as she murmured an apology, fingers twisting her hair. 

She looked exhausted, and Killian wondered again when the last time she had gotten proper rest was. Approaching carefully, he wrapped her in the blanket she had thrown off, helping her to stand. 

"Go sleep in the bunk. It will be more comfortable for you," Killian whispered, and Emma let him tuck a stray piece of her hair behind her ear, his skin meeting the softness of her cheek. He nodded to the hatch, helping her down the ladder until she closed the latch behind her. Sitting down on the deck to look over the maps again, he attempted to rub out the twinge in his chest that had begun to ache from where her magic had dealt its blows. 

  *✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ

  The dress for the evening of this ball is beautiful, and fits her like a glove as she twirls for her father. He's happier than she has seen him in a long time, eyes crinkled at the corners, watching her like she is the most important thing in the world as she shows him the intricate crystal work that glitters in the light. 

Her mother hugs her from behind, a rare warm gesture rather than the iciness that Emma is used to in their relationship, decorum and etiquette frowning on displays of affection. The green velvet of her mother's gown smells like moss, pine, sweet grass, and fresh snow as her mother rests her head on Emma's shoulder. 

Her father twirled her again, and they're at the ball. As unsure as she is what this party commemorates, the food and drink do not disappoint, nor does the selection of dance partners. A warm set of hands covers her eyes, and she can feel the press of a person against her back but it isn't unwelcome at all. Instead she feels the roughness of his palms, stubble against her neck, warm breath in her ear, and Killian’s voice. 

"I have a surprise for you, darling," he whispers, and Emma feels her stomach flip like it had once with Graham. To her surprise, she feels trust and a sense of peace that he is with her here, and grins at his gift. The music goes silent in the ballroom, along with the guests, as if a great breath has snuffed everything out. "No peeking now…" Killian’s hands fall away and she screws her eyes tightly shut. 

A finger traces her exposed spine, and she giggles, the nail sharp against her skin while feathers soften its trail. Although not completely unpleasant, it feels off the longer and further it goes, and she shivers as she leans away from the touch. The person behind her wraps their arms around her tightly, making it impossible to move while trailing their nails down her exposed skin. Emma struggles, and she feels a sickeningly familiar giggle rumble through the chest against her back. 

This wasn't Killian any longer. She keeps her eyes shut, trying to wish away the sour smelling breath against the junction of her throat. 

"Open your eyes, my beautiful wife, my queen to rival all queens. Open your eyes and behold my gift to you," Nil hisses, dragging his tongue along her shoulder blade. 

Despite trying to clench her eyes shut with everything in her power, they are forced open to the light of the ballroom, twinkling lights that briefly blind then illuminate the bodies on the patterned floor. Crimson puddles lay around the courtiers as they themselves laid too still, livery soaking up the blood. Emma lets out a cry, running and slipping in the pools, her skirts and slippers filling with wet warmth, the taste of copper on her tongue. 

Her parents slumped in their thrones, eyes and mouths open too wide, and Emma hears herself now as she chokes out moans, her voice too small but so loud in the silence that permeates in the absence of life. From behind her father's throne, Killian appears, his hands and face drenched in the same red that blooms from her parents necks while he wipes his sword on his waistcoat. 

His face contorts in a sinister grin that only widens when he catches her horrified gaze, his eyes flickering to the floor. His eyes that are terribly, and awfully sad. 

Emma turns back to Nil, his smile akin to Killian’s own, the dagger in his grip as Killian takes a place slightly behind him like a prostrate lap dog. Emma shakes her head, falling to her knees. 

"Do you not like my gift, my radiant queen? I wanted something that left an impression as your last sight before the Darkness of your new life begins." Nil cocks his head, moving to her to lift her chin. Emma feels tears stream down her cheeks. "You will learn to love the Darkness, just as you will learn to love me, and love what I have done for you. Come, wife. Come."

The ballroom disappears around her as the world goes black, the floor falling away to leave her tumbling into the abyss. She lands on a soft surface, hands scrambling to feel around and escape. Her arms tangle in silken sheets as pillows, down, and bedding seemed to hold her, realizing she's landed in a bed that is not her own. The bedding fabric tightens around her wrists and ankles, forcing her body into a prone position, forcing her into a vulnerable position, even as she struggles in the dark. A rustling catches her attention, her body tense as she tries to place where the noise came from. She could see nothing in the gloom, no matter how much she tried. Nil's voice slithered through the murk. 

"You're home now, my magnificent queen. Home and safely held, to get you acclimated to life here, to the absence of light." The sound of fabric falling to the ground came from her left, followed by dragging footsteps echoing across the space, Emma's breath coming in panicked gasps. 

She feels the creak of the bed near her feet, a knee against her calf as a feathered hand slid up her thigh. Emma pleads for him to stop, desperately trying to get away from his touch. 

Nil's voice is silky against her hip. "You'll get used to this too, not that I mind. Fighting makes a better future king."

Screams ripped from her throat and he pulled away, hissing at the noise. "Dark One! Hold her mouth silent!"

Killian appears through the darkness, leaning over her as she begs and pleads for this to stop. His eyes glow blue, and they are still so sad as his hand covers her mouth, muffling her voice. He looks close to tears, like he's breaking himself, his hand trembling against her lips while he tries to comfort her even as Nil returns to her thigh.

"Emma, I'm so sorry, Emma, shhhhh, please." The room grows brighter, his eyes are brighter and he is clenching his jaw in fury. Emma can feel the light coming back, but Nil's hands press on, too close to where they should never be, and her begging gets louder along with Killian’s voice right above her, "Emma, are you alright?" 

And no, she isn't, but the room is gone and he's saved her, eyes blue in her blurry vision - 

Waking up in terror after the rum had worn off, Emma had hoped for more sleep, but even the alcohol was unable to combat her nightmare on the deck. The dream continued to plague her, pieces of it making her breath catch until it fades. Killian was in her dreams more frequently since his return, both ambivalent and malicious in each turn. Killian had helped her down into those chambers, and although she still was slightly hazy, it was a welcome change. 

It was odd to be in the room of a person that had changed into a stranger inside his own skin, the remaining discarded bits of what was a life scattered in disarray. Lighting a candle, she looked at the open trunk and the uniform placed reverently over a desk chair, letting her fingers run along the buttons and brush the fringe of the epaulets. The books she had pulled earlier were still out, and she opened dog eared pages, surprised by the different sets of handwriting in the margins.

Sturdy, block text that reminded her of laws and bills that her parents had to sign underlined passages, while a flowery script poked fun at those footnotes. The flowery text seemed to enjoy more poetry and philosophy, which the block text had teased heavily. Based on what she knew, Liam and Killian respectively were the authors, Killian’s text much more chaotic and flamboyant. Another hand's script had joined later, letters beautiful and words softly pushed together. It wrote love notes in the corners, or bracketed passages, occasionally a watercolor picture left tucked neatly in the pages where they wrote paragraphs. Milah, Emma assumed. 

Killian had once painted, she discovered after finding a ribbon bound stack of his work. Pictures of Milah were his main focus, then the water, landscapes, and animals. His work was humorous and surreal on occasion too, and Emma wondered what that man had been like, before everything happened. He had been different then, and it made her feel anxious and vulnerable to wonder if that man was still buried somewhere within the tortured soul she now kept company with. 

Stripping to her shift to combat the last of summer's heat, she laid down on the bunk, surprised at the luxurious nature of the bedding. Here in the cabin, she could better hear the water, waves rocking the ship. Later, she heard his footfalls, opening her eyes briefly as he whispered that she was alright, stroking her hair gently. 

Emma could feel the remnants of the dream, the same as before and the same that had haunted her since she had found herself in Ursula's domain. He kept on with his soothing until the tension in her shoulders fell away, the traced patterns against her scalp in sync with the waves. The ghost of the old Killian still remained, she mused smiling sleepily, the one she could trust. She fell immediately back to sleep, resting for the first time in weeks and dreaming of home. 

[thestormlionessmemes]

Memoirs of a Geisha Quotes

At the temple there is a poem called "Loss" carved into the stone. It has three words, but the poet has scratched them out. You cannot read loss, only feel it.

The heart dies a slow death, shedding each hope like leaves until one day there are none. No hopes. Nothing remains.

This is why dreams can be such dangerous things: they smolder on like a fire does, and sometimes they consume us completely.

He was like a song I'd heard once in fragments but had been singing in my mind ever since.

Grief is a most peculiar thing; we’re so helpless in the face of it. It’s like a window that will simply open of its own accord. The room grows cold, and we can do nothing but shiver. But it opens a little less each time, and a little less; and one day we wonder what has become of it.

I don't know when we'll see each other again or what the world will be like when we do. We may both have seen many horrible things. But I will think of you every time I need to be reminded that there is beauty and goodness in the world.

I dont think any of us can speak frankly about pain until we are no longer enduring it.

We lead our lives like water flowing down a hill, going more or less in one direction until we splash into something that forces us to find a new course.

I think the things I remember are more real than the things I see.

If you aren't the woman I think you are, then this isn't the world I thought it was.

I had to wonder if men were so blinded by beauty that they would feel privileged to live their lives with an actual demon, so long as it was a beautiful demon

Sometimes we get through adversity only by imagining what the world might be like if our dreams should ever come true.

Hopes are like hair ornaments. Girls want to wear too many of them. When they become old women they look silly wearing even one.

Now I know that our world is no more permanent than a wave rising on the ocean.

If a few minutes of suffering could make me so angry, what would years of it do? Even a stone can be worn down with enough rain.

A mind troubled by doubt cannot focus on the course to victory.

Water is powerful. It can wash away earth, put out fire, and even destroy iron.

If you have experienced an evening more exciting than any in your life, you're sad to see it end; and yet you still feel grateful that it happened.

We can never flee the misery that is within us.

If you keep your destiny in mind, every moment in life becomes an opportunity for moving closer to it.

Waiting patiently doesn't suit you.

Of course, a sign doesn't mean anything unless you know how to interpret it.

We none of us find as much kindness in this world as we should.

She dances, she sings. She entertains you, whatever you want. The rest is shadows, the rest is secret.

A tree may look as beautiful as ever; but when you notice the insects infesting it, and the tips of the branches that are brown from disease, even the trunk seems to lose some of its magnificence.

Flowers that grow where old ones have withered serve to remind us that death will one day come to us all.

Well, a peach has a lovely taste and so does a mushroom, but you can't put the two together...

Yet somehow the thing that startled me most, after a week or two had passed, was that I had in fact survived.

At that moment, beauty itself struck me as a kind of painful melancholy.

Nothing in life is ever as simple as we imagine.

You seemed so desperate, like you might drown if someone didn't save you.

A wounded tiger is a dangerous beast.

All at once I felt so vain, like a girl posturing for the crowds as she walks along, only to discover the street is empty.

Never give up; for even rivers someday wash dams away.

We human beings have a remarkable way of growing accustomed to things.

I didn't say to act dead. I said act helpless.

When a man takes a mistress, he doesn't turn around and divorce his wife.

Nothing is bleaker than the future, except perhaps the past.

Every step I have taken has been to bring myself closer to you.

Passion can quickly slip over into jealousy, or even hatred.

#meme #sentence meme #rp meme

[fanwarriorfictions]

One-

A Stranger Things Fanfic

Chapter Eight- Part Three

Phina didn't know exactly what happened, all she remembered was the smoke, the pain, and then the darkness. Her head throbbed, like she had gotten punched in the temple ten times in a row.

She sat up, holding her head in her hands. She let out a low groan, the pain getting worse from the movement. Phina tried to shift her body, so she could look at her surroundings, which sent a burning sensation throughout her right leg and up her side. She let out a shriek, looking down at her blood covered body.

Four deep claw marks adorned her leg, starting from her upper thigh and ending at her calf.

She looked around her, trying to place where she was. She was laying in the parking lot of the middle school, but, not really. No, she was in the upside down. The scene looked familiar, like, like, well, she didn't know. All she knew was that she had seen it before, and she was willing to bet her reoccurring nightmares had something to do with it.

The Demogorgan must have grabbed her, before bringing her to this place. Why she wasn't dead yet, she didn't know. Clearly, she was bleeding enough to attact it, but if it wasn't interested in her, that meant, their was more blood, more food for it to eat.

"The kids," Phina realizes, involuntarily jumping, which caused her to groan in pain.

She needed to get to her kids, she needs to save them. Phina tries to bend her leg, but endes up screaming out instead, there was no way she would be able to do anything like this, she has to stop the bleeding.

Phina grabbes the shredded material of her jeans, tearing away the pieces until her right leg was completely bare. She places her hands on her leg, where the bleeding was the worst, concentrating on the fire within her.

Normally, flame or heat would not affect her, so she had to make this hot, very hot. Her eyes began to glow golden, her palms heating up. Within seconds, her skin began to burn, the wound cauterizing. She bit her lip, hard, to keep from screaming, blood now pooling in her mouth.

   The smell of her own burning flesh made her want to puke, she bit down on her lip harder to prevent it. The blood begins to slow down in that area, almost completely cauterized. Phina pauses for a breath and then she is sending even more heat into the wound.

It stops bleeding completely, and Phina spits out the blood in her mouth, breathing deeply. She gritted her teeth and stood up, screaming out as many curses as she could. In answer, she heard the shriek of the Demogorgan. It was inside the school, screeching as it slammed itself into a wall, over and over again. Phina limped towards the noise, trying her best to block out the pain, but she could feel every agonizing step of it.

Phina turned the corner, into the hall of which the Demogorgan's shrieks came from. A portal, like the one her and Nancy had crawled through in the forest, opened on the wall, and the Demogorgan forces its way through it.

Phina sees her chance, and she boltes, the adrenaline keeping the pain of her leg at bay for the moment. She hears gun shots being fired from the other side as she neares the portal. As she dives through it, they go quiet, the only sound she can hear is the Demogorgan's shriek.

Phina falls to the ground, watching as the Demogorgan jumps on top of a man. Phina gets to her knees, watching the monster, waiting for it to see her. Then, she freezes, not because of the Demogorgan that was feasting away upon its dinner, but because of the man who was the feast, Dr Brenner.

Memories that have been locked away for 11 years slammed into her, and she felt no need to save that man, none whatsoever. No, not with the things he put her through, not with what he put Eleven through.

Her eyes fill with tears, a low, aching sob passing her lips, Brenner lookes up at her, the pain in his face as the monster ripped into his stomach turning into agonizing confusion.

"One," he whispers, "One, help me."

Phina let out another quiet sob, "papa," then she was running.

Tears streamed down her cheeks, but she didn't turn back, she just ran. Every memory her brain had suppressed flashed through her mind like a movie. Going backwards through the painful memories, until it landed on her earliest one, Dr Brenner, the man she had once known as, papa.

   He had raised her for the first five years of her life, and she lived in pure agony. She was tested on, experimented on, cut open and analyzed. She was a specimen of which they had never seen before, the birth of their crazed obsession with gifted individuals. Then she got away, killed her way out as at only five years of age, yet not a child, not even close.

When the gunfire starts up again, Phina followes the noise, pushing her past back into the corner it had been hiding in for all of these years. She runs faster, turning down a hallway, seeing the kids running towards her almost instantly, Dustin carrying El in his arms.

"Phina," Mike shoutes, confused, but relieved to see his sister, with her here, that meant they had a protector, and he knew Phina, she would make sure they were safe.

She cries out to him, "Mike!"

She runs towards them, towards their shared goal of a classroom to hide in. The kids ran into the room, Mike waiting for his sister to get in before slamming the door behind her. They didn't stop to reunite, just followed Dustin to the back of the room, where he and Lucas lifted El onto a table.

Phina almost sobbed when she saw how weak the girl looked, she looked near death. El clung to Mike, like he was her life line, which might of very well been true.

"Just hold on a little longer ok," Mike pleaded with El, "he's gone. The bad man's gone. We'll be home soon. My mom, she'll get you your own bed. You can eat as many eggos as you want.

"And, we can go to the Snow Ball," Mike smiles.

"Promise," El shakily asks, her voice breaking.

Mike looks at her, "promise."

They smile at each other, and Phina smiles at them. Phina feels weak in that moment, the adrenaline coming down from its high. She places her hand on Dustin's shoulder to keep from falling over. He looks up at her, seeing her incredibly pale face, then down at her leg, his own face paling.

"Holy shit Phina," Dustin yelled, "what happened to your leg!"

"I'm fine," she says, but almost falls right after she says it.

Lucas and Dustin support her, letting her lean on them.

She lets out a breath, "just a little dizz..."

Shrieks and gunfire sound from just outside the door, the lights flickering worse than before. Dustin yells out a little and Phina pulls him and Lucas into her sides, ready to protect them. They all watch the door, Phina pushing the boys behind her. The gunfire stops, and everyone glances at each other.

"I-is it dead," Dustin stutters.

After a few moments of silence, Dustin gets his answer. The Demogorgan slams through the door, breaking it from its hinges. The boys freak out, Phina pushing them backwards.

"Get the wrist rocket! Get the wrist rocket," Dustin screams.

Phina shares a look with El, one that speaks a thousand words. As the boys freak out, firing rocks at the monster, Phina and El silently say a million words to each other, each a different variation of I Love You Sister.

Phina helps El from the table and takes her hand. Lucas fires a large rock at the monster, hitting it in the chest as El uses her power to make it fly back into the front of the room. The boys stare at it, shocked, as Phina and El push their way in front of them. They walk forward, towards the monster.

"Eleven, Phina, stop," Mike shouts, running after them, only to be thrown backwards by El.

Phina, with her new found memories, uses her power to grow a cage of green vines around Mike. Her power, was more than just the fire she knew she had, it was all the elements.

The girls continue towards the Demogorgan, it's painful whimpering the only noise. As the wall cracks behind it, dark purple vines from the upside down crawl outwards, wrapping around the monster, adding to the crushing weight of El's power.

As the girls came to a stop in front of the monster, they turned back to the boys. Phina's heart broke as she saw her crying brother, and the distraught boys standing on either side of him.

"Goodbye Mike," El says, then looks to Phina, "you don't have to."

Phina looks at the girl, confused, before realizing what she was saying. Phina started to rapidly shake her head.

"No. You are not doing this alone," Phina says assertively, "do you understand me!"

Before El can even answer, Phina is turning back to the monster, raising her hand towards it. El follows her lead.

"No more," El tells it.

   Phina hesitates one more moment, looking back at her boys, "I love you boys. I always will, don't worry, all will be well."

Phina turns forward, and she releases a stream of fire from the palm of her right hand, her left reaching out to grab El's. The monster lets out the loudest roar she'd ever heard, she ignores the pain that eruptes in her head.

Phina vaguely hears El begin to scream, and her own scream begin in answer. Her senses slowly begin to fade, her hearing, smelling, tasting, and then her sight. She is left with just feeling, the heat of her fire at her palm, the tight hold El had on her hand, and the shaking of the Earth beneath them as the sister's release themselves upon it.

And then she's completely in the dark, no longer feeling El's hand. Phina falls, El screams louder, and the world takes a shuttering breath.

-1736 words-

Probably on of my favorite parts to this story. And finally, Phina gets her memories back, and along comes new powers. I know the whole "controlling the elements" thing is a little over done and is used basically everywhere, but hey, I'm cliche and I don't give a damn, it's cool. Anyway, hope you enjoyed this chapter, this is about the last of the intense action so I hope you aren't disappointed.

-Morgan

#steve harrington #steve harrington x oc #stranger things #stranger things fanfic #strangerthingsfanfic #strangerthings #slow burn #one #romance

[edream93]

Hmmm lets see... A side story of We'll Light the Fuse would be great... How about Carlos and Diego singing a song together? say, Breaking the Habit from Linkin Park (but maybe in universe, Diego wrote it)

Okay, so they’re not singing together but I was able to put in “Breaking the Habit” by Linkin Park. The live piano version is the one that is being played in this. Hope you enjoy! It’s not exactly a side story of “We’ll Light the Fuse” because it takes place a few months after Diego has been in Auradon but…it does have a few ideas - some that are obvious, and some that are definitely not that obvious - for the main story.

—

Diego let out a long low whistle as he looked around all the up-to-date equipment in the music room. “Wow. These Auradon folks really don’t hold back, do they?”

Shrugging, Carlos shifted uncomfortably on his feet. “I suppose. You would know though. I wouldn’t know the difference between a C sharp and a D flat,” he said sounding unsure.

Diego let out a chuckle, walking over and ruffling his cousin’s hair. “They’re the same note, pup.”

The younger De Vil boy merely shrugged. “See? Told you.” Music was never really his thing. He could appreciate it when he had to, but much preferred fiddling with a piece of tech than with piano keys any day.

Diego chuckled, sitting down on a piano bench and lifting the lid up from the piano’s keys. Carlos watched as his cousin tested each key, the boy looking pleased when it seemed that all of the white and black pieces were in tune. If Carlos was a genius when it came to technology, Diego was equally a quick study when it came to music and was pretty accomplished not only with playing the guitar, piano, and few other various instruments but he was also a talented singer and songwriter.

The music in Auradon was vastly different from music on the Isle. Where music on the Isle usually was a mix of discordant chords and out of tune screaming that always seemed a few beats behind itself, Auradon was filled with catchy melodies and beats that often had Carlos tapping his foot along with it.

Though it had taken a few weeks to adjust and absorb in as much of Auradon’s music as possible, Diego’s music had managed to combine the melodic, hypnotizing beats and rhythms of Auradon with the haunting soul clenching sounds of the Isle and was quickly making a name for himself. Just a few weeks ago, he was offered a gig at the famous House of Mouse, a popular club where all the up-and-coming artists played at for their big breaks.

The youngest De Vil boy was taken out of his thoughts when he heard notes being pecked out on the piano. The song was familiar, one that Carlos had heard Diego humming many times on the Isle, usually after getting beaten by his father before he was able to move out on his own. It instantly made each and every one of the scars he covered tingle with phantom pain.

He wasn’t even aware that the song that Diego had been humming for years had words until the other boy started singing what must have been the opening verse:

“Memories consume like opening the wounds

I’m picking me apart again

You all assume

I’m safe here in my room

Unless I try to start again

I don’t want to be the one the battles always choose

‘cause inside I realize that I’m the one confused

I don’t know what’s worth fighting for

Or why I have to scream

I don’t know why I instigate

And say what I don’t mean

I don’t know how I got this way

I know it’s not alright

So I’m breaking the habit

I’m breaking the habit tonight…”

Suddenly Diego stopped. He stared intently at where his hands shook on the keys, letting all the bad memories from the Isle, - his father’s neglect and sometimes drunken abuse; the countless times he starved; being powerless in helping his so young, so small cousin - letting it all go in one breath, letting the tension leave him. It would always be a part of him but Diego refused to let it dictate who he chose to be.

He let out a fond sigh when he looked at his cousin, smiling sadly as he got up and wrapped the now crying boy in an embrace that still felt somewhat new and unfamiliar to him but also so right, the younger boy clutched desperately on to him.

“It’s okay pup. Let it out. That’s behind us. We’re okay now. We’re gonna be okay…”

#edream93 answers #diego de vil #carlos de vil #disney descendants #breaking the habit #linkin park #prompt request #edream93 fanfiction