#i only discovered this location a few days ago it is SO pretty | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

sparrowrye · 3 months

Text

Demi Demon || Alastor x Reader, part 22

Synopsis: soulmate AU where you have the same mark on your body as your soulmate, and if your soulmate dies, you die too. Alastor needs to make sure that his soulmate is safe so he can continue his reign - whatever that takes. Though it looks like we have a couple secrets of our own.

Previous part

Part 22: in your nature

WARNING: a little graphic/gruesome; also very long lol

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"You doing okay?" Husker asked.

We were sitting out on the porch again. He had his bottle of liquor in hand and I had his phone. I was looking through for more shirts since I—well, Alastor—had gotten blood on some of mine. I was using my Human form and resting my cheek on my fist.

"Always," I responded. I kept scrolling through the website in search of my size. Most of the stores didn't have mine in stock at their locations. I had read an article some time ago, when I had snuck Husker's phone, about how clothes could be ordered in any size at any time to be delivered within a few days. That was before the Great Collapse.

Husker and I stayed outside in the cool summer breeze until dusk. He managed to coax me into talking about the ring fights when I was a kid and I managed to get him to talk about his own life.

He grew up on the surface with his mother, never knowing his father, and got himself into gambling at casinos. He was born after the collapse and supposedly worked with Human Alastor at some point. He wouldn't go into detail because it eventually lead to his deal with the Radio Demon. Since serving Alastor, he's been spending a lot of time in Hell until he was brought up to watch me.

I tried a different store through his phone for clothes. He disappeared inside for another bottle of alcohol. Now that the pretty sky had turned dark, I was about ready to follow him inside. I let out a heavy sigh and stood up.

Then I froze.

I could hear something. It was a buzzing sound. It was close, as if right beneath me but the floorboards were the only thing there. I let my Demon ears show to hear better, quickly discovering the noise coming from Husker's phone.

I clicked open the phone to see a bright blue screen. Rings of red pulsed through the screen and I felt a strange buzz going through my jaw and into my head. I felt a weird, spikey energy pushing into my shields. I immediately strengthened them and shoved the presence away, my eyes never leaving the screen.

The phone began to grow hot. I tried to let go but I couldn't force my fingers to unravel. Something sharp pinched my hand and ran all throughout my body. I tried to retract but my whole body felt like it was being electrocuted. Everything shook uncontrollably.

I fell backwards, my entire body painfully tense as the spikes of electricity faded from my bones. I opened my eyes to a large, extravagant, and bright red room. There were huge windows on one side of the room and everything outside seemed just as red.

"Well hello, my dear." Vox stepped in my view and held out a blue clawed hand. "Welcome to the Vees." He put his hand in my face until I finally took it and let him help me to my feet. He stood a head taller than me.

"Why am I here?" I asked. I caught sight of two Overlords sitting on the couch behind him. One of them was the ring owner who had tried to drug me. Ponytails was the other one.

"I tried to send you an invitation but you know how Alastor is with technology," Vox laughed, his smile wide across his flat screen face. "We never got to properly meet with the whole ring fight and all."

That's when it clicked. He had been the announcer. I knew I recognized his voice.

"What do you want?" my tone hardened.

"Just a friendly chat. Is that too much to ask these days?"

"You tried to kill me."

"I tried to have you killed," he clarified, sticking his claw close to my face, "I didn't lay a finger on you." My expression didn't lessen, my tail whipping side to side behind me. I could feel the ring owner trying to push through my shields.

"Why did you bring me here?"

"Did Alastor not tell you about me?" He put his hands over his heart.

"He doesn't really talk about himself." I scrunched my nose so my sharp teeth poked through my lips.

"Surely he told you about his dear old pal? His best friend?"

"I didn't know he had those." That made all three Ovelords laugh. They laughed for awhile and Vox fell onto the couch wiping away an electronic tear.

"Wow, you really are his soulmate."

I grimaced at Vox's words. My ears fell back a little and I shifted my feet, ignoring the offer to sit beside him.

"You know~," the ring owner lulled his word, making the room serious again, "we could keep you out of his hands if you hate him so much."

"I don't need to be kept anywhere. And please stop trying to get in my head." I shoved against his presence again and he backed off, finally putting some space between us.

"It's my understanding you hate being with Alastor," Vox said, "Husker is quite the good cop, isn't he?"

The hair on the back of my neck stood up. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, I've heard anything and everything you've been saying. I know how you want to learn magic. How youuu...want to be at his level one day but that'll take hundreds of years. Am I getting that right?"

My scowl grew.

"Alastor can't and won't kill me, and certainly not the three of us together. You'd be safe here to do anything you want."

"In exchange for what?" I snapped. Something wasn't sitting right with me about this conversation. There was something hiding.

"Work for us. We don't need you to do a ton of work but it would only make it fair to let you stay here."

Ponytails was looking at her phone half the time and the ring owner stared at me through his ridiculous tinted glasses.

I didn't trust that Alastor wouldn't kill Vox and his friends. Vox sounded incredibly egotistical and too proud to admit someone could better him. Yet if they were good friends, would Alastor spare his life? I couldn't even trust that information either.

"I would need some time to think," I said. I needed to get out of here, out of Hell. I had no idea how to get out of Hell or teleport anywhere. But I could run to Rosie's. She's an Overlord, too.

"Oh of course," Vox stood, "I wouldn't want you to feel pressured into anything. I can show you to a secluded room to give you time to think." He stepped closer to me.

"That's not necessary," I tried to play off. I backed up until my tail touched a door.

"Canibal Town is on the other side of the Pentagram, my dear. Where do you intend to go?"

How was he reading my thoughts? All three of them were still outside my shields. Unless he's been watching and listening since the beginning.

"This isn't my first time in Hell," I feigned. The others had stood up and I could feel energy and magic building up in the room. It felt like three cats ready to pounce on a cornered mouse. I grabbed the handle behind my back and subtly tested it.

"The broadcast will start in a few hours, surely you'll want to hear it." Vox's smile was big and his one eye pulsed black and red. I felt a buzz down my spine and looked at Ponytails. The buzz went away as I kept them well outside my shield.

"Husker and I plan to listen, don't worry." My claws were digging into my palm and I swore I could feel blood crawling down it.

"That wasn't a request, dear."

The room went still. The three of them stared at me, his pulsing eye stopped, and I held my breath. My grip was painfully tight on the door handle, probably smearing blood on it in the process. My shields still held. It felt like they were pulling back a slingshot, waiting to let go.

So I moved first.

I casted a gust of wind and slipped out the door. My foot claws tapped on the floor as I sprinted down the extravagant hallways. I didn't know where I was going. How do I get out? There were other Demons around but none of them stopped me.

Vox appeared like lightning out of various security cameras. His laugh vibrated through the hallways as he tried to herd me in a certain direction. I slid down various staircases, using my wings to brace my falls.

Vox appeared in front of me again. I skidded to a halt and lowered myself to the ground on four legs. I snarled at him through my heavy breathing. His toothy smile was wide across his screen as he told me running was useless.

Sweat dripped down my nose. I gathered it together and casted it into the wind. I brought it around his head and into the back where his circuits were. His screen turned a fuzzy white then a rainbow. His whole body jerked violently and collapsed into the wall.

I jumped past his body and finally came to a lobby. I could see the red buildings through the glass walls. An alarm went off and gray walls started moving down the glass ones. I went down on all fours again and sprinted for the exit. I casted fire first then a freezing gust of wind. I turned my head and braced.

I threw my body into the glass right under the closing wall. It cracked and gave way, making me land on the top of my shoulder and onto my back. I felt the glass shards sticking into my back as I scrambled to my feet.

Demons around stopped to stare. I didn't. I ran down the nearest street and then the next. I zig zagged, slipping past small and huge Demons on the way. I needed to get up to find Rosie's territory. So I jumped on the nearest dumpster and onto a roof.

Hell was a city. I had thought it would be much bigger.

A drone buzzed overhead. I recognized the color as belonging to Vox. I started jumping over the roofs in a desperate attempt to find Rosie's. Everything looked the exact same in this horrid shade of red.

I landed on the next roof and was thrown off my feet. I hit the opposing wall and fell into an alley. Everything hurt as I slowly pushed myself up to my feet. Three large Demons and several small ones stood on either side of the alley. They had various weapons in hand, most of which were a bright white.

I stood on two feet and put my back against the wall. My shadow stretched above me, opened her wings, and let out a howl. Eyes turned to her and I took the opening. I casted wind and debris down both sides to push them off their feet. I opened my wings and flapped up to the roof.

A gunshot went off and my leg hit the edge. I dug my claws into the rooftop as the pain and my own weight dragged me down. A rope wrapped around my wing and a sharp jerk brought me all the way back down. I landed on my side with a snap somewhere in my ribs. I clung to my injured leg and pulled myself against the wall.

The group crowded around me, holding the bright white weapons. I snarled and imagined myself getting bigger. I lunged forward and closed my jaws around one of their legs. I casted the others away like nothing and lifted the Demon up by his leg. His screams filled my ears and he desperately failed to pry open my jaw.

I turned my head mad threw him down the alley. I towered well over the others now, my shadow three times it's usual size. It started attacking one group of Demons as I turned my attention to the other one. Their eyes were wide with fear, hands shaking. I licked the blood from my lips and found myself wanting more.

I was huge now. A true dragon. I trapped many of them under my huge claws and caught more in my large mouth. Their little knives were bug bites and their blood a sweet nectar. I pulled apart, crushed, and swallowed each and every one of them. Their energy faded from their bodies and joined with mine, spurring me on even further.

I searched for more victims but there were none left. I turned in circles several times, limping slightly from the bullet wound on my leg. My broken rib pinched something with some of my movements. My shadow had bright white eyes and teeth, desperately searching for victims too.

Then I saw a figure. I took one step then stopped. It was Striker.

"Well well, ain't this a nice surprise." His one tooth glinted when he smiled. I felt the fear rising in my chest and making my new form grow smaller. I pushed the fear down to replace it with anger. I swayed from side to side as I waited for him to act first. "Had no idea you were a Demon."

My lips pulled back in a snarl.

He reached behind him and pulled out a bright white rope. He started looping it and moving it at his side, ready to throw. I lowered my head and tensed my working muscles. I could feel my fear reaching through my arms and into my fingers. I could do this. I bet his blood tasted sweeter than any other Demon.

A knife buried itself in my thigh. I howled and turned to bite the Demon in half. Rope caught my upper jaw and jerked it back. I dug my claws into the ground and pulled sharply, dragging Striker closer. I reared up on my good leg and slammed my front claws down on him. He jumped out of the way, casting another rope over my head. It tightened around my throat and I felt my magic slipping from my fingers.

He threw another one around my good leg, swiftly pulling me off my feet. I rolled over in an effort to crush him but he was too fast. He cast more rope around my other limbs and tossed them to other Demons. Where did they all come from?

I tried casting wind but nothing happened. My magic was gone. No energy, no magic, nothing. I felt cold.

Striker jumped on my horns and his weight pulled them back. I tried rolling again but I only tangled myself further in the rope. He jumped on top of my head and his weight plus the rope brought it down on the ground. I felt like a fly caught in a spider's web.

"Still no match for me." Striker stepped off my face, whipping his tail against my snout. He knelt down and pressed his claws into my scaly skin. I winced at the pain and tried pulling free. Demons were all over me, pulling from in front, behind, overhead, and on top of me. "I will always surpass your magic. You're not skilled enough to take me on."

My lips pulled back in a smile, though it looked like a snarl. I didn't have the magic skills, but I had other skills.

I let the fear overwhelm me and my figure shrunk back to its normal size. I pulled my limbs free and my shadow threw the ropes far away. Striker lunged and I rolled backwards, sending him over my head with my good leg. He rolled forward then snaked back in seconds.

I grew my tail and hit him into the wall. I choked on another rope that was still wound on my neck. I slipped my hands under and threw my body forward. I leaned back to loosen it and pulled it off. I casted a huge gust of wind that sent the Demons back.

The white ropes stopped my magic.

Striker countered the wind and pierced through my funnel. He threw a knife into my tail and reached for my throat. My tired leg couldn't hold him back. His claws closed around my neck and my vision started to blacken. I raked my own claws down his face and he howled, pulling away.

I dragged myself to my feet and leaned everything into the wall. He came again, bleeding black ooze, and clocked me in the side of the face. He wrapped an arm around my neck but tucked my chin and threw my elbow up into his chin.

He kicked behind my good knee and I fell. He slammed my face into the ground before holding it up by my hair. His knee dug into my shoulders, contorting my body in different directions. I let out a cry from the pain.

"You can't beat me," his hissed in my ear. My energy was gone. I just wanted to stop. But I couldn't.

"No," I struggled, "but I can fight you." I reached up and poked him in the eyes. I pulled against his tight grip and shoved off the wall. I fell on him and he threw me off into the opposite wall. I tried to get up to my knees but my limbs wouldn't support my weight anymore.

Striker stepped toward me. His head jerked to the side as something caught his attention. His eyes widened and he took a few steps back. I could hear Demons screaming and being torn apart. He looked between me and it, trying to decide once again if I was worth the new threat.

A shadow—Alastor's shadow—crawled up the wall. It's wide mouth opened in a screech at Striker. It smothered around him, attacking and throwing him off his feet.

"This isn't over radio fossil!" he yelled, disappearing down the street.

I let out a sigh. The pain was slowly reaching my mind, telling my brain that everything was hurt or broken. I swallowed and slowly, carefully, pushed myself on my back. My chest heaved for air but my ribs wouldn't let me inhale enough oxygen.

Alastor walked over to me, his arms folded behind him with his cane. I couldn't tell which smile he was wearing so I assumed he was angry. My claws scratched the concrete as pain pulsed through my body.

"Alastor...I..." It was getting harder to breathe. "I didn't...he took me. I...I didn't leave—" pain cut off my words. I squeezed my eyes shut as it rocked through my spine and into head.

"I'm aware." He pressed his claws around my temples and I felt the pain dull. He slipped his arms under my shoulders and legs, lifting me up effortlessly. "Take a look, my dear."

I opened my eyes to see the alley littered with dead and deformed bodies. There had to be at least thirty dead Demons.

"That was all you."

My shoulders fell with my spirit. I had killedall of them. I had even eaten some of them. Their sweet blood still lingered on my tongue and I found myself wishing for more. I could see their scared faces in my mind and feel my heart quicken at the mere thought of them being terrified. They had all been so scared when I had transformed.

Alastor turned the other way but I stared at the site over his shoulder. I actually wanted him to let me go so I could do it again. The energy from all of them still buzzed in my body despite the overwhelming exhaustion.

"I told you dear," my ear flicked at his voice, tears streaming down my cheeks and claws digging into his shoulders, "it's in your nature."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Author's Note:

Only like one more chapter before we get to the gooood stuff :P

#alastor the radio demon #alastor x reader #hazbin alastor #hazbin hotel #hazbin husk #soulmate au #soulmates #reqs open #hazbin hotel husk

92 notes · View notes

miss---lu · 1 year

Text

Cheater

You were a new recruit to the avengers. After security footage of you poking around a museum at midnight was discovered by Tony, he knew he had to reach out. He liked your spunk, and you had a particular talent for getting into places you shouldn’t be. And currently the team needed help retrieving a stolen weapon from a very secure location.

Pietro was the one that officially recruited you to the avengers, after all he couldn’t resists a pretty face. That was a few weeks ago and now Pietro was smitten.

. . .

Today was training day and it would be the first time you learned how to physically defend yourself. You had some skills but not a lot of experience. Due to this the avengers gave you Pietro as a training partner.

He was excited to say the least. And he was feeling very cheeky. When he entered the training room he saw you with your hair tied back in a high ponytail. You blew a few strands of hair out of your face as you stopped punching the punching bag.

God she looks pretty.

Pietro smirked as he walked up towards you.

“You know your doing it wrong.” You just scoffed as you went back to throwing some punches.

“I do have to say, I like the pink hand tape. They add a certain cuteness to you.”

“You know, as training partner aren’t you supposed to offer me advice?”

Now turning to face him he saw your cheeks were all flushed. You were flustered and Pietro would be lying if he said he didn’t find it endearing.

He approached you slowly and repositioned your hand. “Try it like this, has more of an impact.”

After a few more punching attempts you started to feel a difference. You laughed a little at the sudden improvement.

“What else you got Maximoff?”

“Well you need to probably work on your agility and speed. How about he do a little race, and see where you’re at for speed.”

He was chuckling when you seemed to consider it. You arched one of your eyebrows up and gave him a smile. “Game on Maximoff.”

. . .

All the avengers wanted to see the race between you and Pietro. Everyone knew Pietro would win after all he had super speed. However all the avengers wanted to see what you were really capable of.

Pietro was talking to Wanda but not really listening. Instead he was looking towards you. Wanda laughed she heard Pietro’s words trail off.

“Pietro, you seem to be interested in the new girl.”

He shrugged and just smiled, “so what if I am? I’m hot shes hot. And she has some spunk to her.”

Wanda shoved him a little as he made his way over to the start line. He assumed you knew you were going to lose, but you seemed awfully cocky.

You blew him a kiss as Tony got ready to tell start.

As soon as the whistle blew Pietro ran towards the finish line. It only took him about a second, but when he got to the finish line you were already standing there smiling.

All the avengers stood with their mouths hanging open, as you started to laugh. Pietro stared wide eyed at you. He couldn’t believe you had beat him.

“How-how did you do that?”

You leaned in close towards him “Teleportation my dear boy. Besides how do you think I got into all those places I’m not supposed to be in.”

Pietro started to smile a bit. “You’re a cheater.”

You just blew him another kiss and winked at him. In the blink of an eye you vanished.

Pietro heading back towards his sister. “Yeah I really like that girl.”

#pietro maximoff #pietro maximoff oneshot #pietro maximoff x reader #marvel x reader #marvel #marvel imagine

242 notes · View notes

666writingcafe · 1 month

Text

Preparation

Levi

Wow. Diavolo's just as bad as the rest of us, isn't he? I mean, literally jumping out of his office window to escape the Devildom and visit MC...that certainly wasn't on my bingo card for this year.

In any case, we do need to locate him. He's known to cause chaos whenever he's left unsupervised, and while I'd love to see a video of him go viral, I know Lucifer wouldn't, and I really don't want to sit through one of his lectures.

Thankfully, I have just the thing that might help.

"This is Crowe," I tell MC, putting the black cylinder in their hands.

"I didn't know you had a smart speaker," MC replies as they examine Crowe.

"I won him at an auction. Apparently he's a prototype. He's created by the Three-Legged Crow Group, the same company that sells D.D.D.'s. As long as someone has one of their phones, Crowe can track their location. All you have to do is ask."

"Sounds simple enough. Hopefully Diavolo has his phone on him." With that, MC asks Crowe to locate our missing prince.

"Lord Diavolo is located at The Drunk Hyena," it answers. "Would you like me to provide the address?"

"Yes." After hearing the address, MC appears shocked.

"Everything okay?" I ask them.

"I had no idea they had a location in the human world." I shrug, trying to hide my surprise. Clubbing doesn't really seem like MC's thing. Then again, Asmo is prone to dragging people to clubs, so who knows?

"The owners must have bought the building and created a portal. That sort of thing happens all the time." I pause. "Still doesn't explain why Diavolo would be there, though. It's the middle of the day."

"Perhaps it was the safest way for him to get here. People tend to not ask a lot of questions at clubs." That's true, I suppose. They're too caught up in whatever or whoever it is they're doing to notice anything outside their bubble.

At that moment, MC's phone rings.

"Good timing," they mutter as they pull it out and answer it. They tell the person on the other end that they're going to put them on speaker before positioning their phone so that it's between us.

"Who's in the room with you?" Oh shit. It's Diavolo.

"Just me," I reply. Diavolo breathes a sigh of relief.

"Thank goodness. I was afraid it might have been someone else. I've been meaning to talk to you about that anime you recommended to me a few months ago. It's really good."

During my quest to manage my social anxiety, I discovered that one of my online friends was actually none other than Diavolo himself, which was weird, because I "met" him on a pretty unknown online RPG, one that only the most devoted members of the gaming community knew about.

As it turns out, Diavolo's secretly a huge gaming nerd. I don't know how he finds the time, since his duties as prince require the majority of his attention, but somehow he's up-to-date on the latest news in the gaming world.

It was definitely awkward at first when I found out, but then I realized that Diavolo just wanted someone he could geek out with. It's not like Lucifer or Barbatos would; neither one of them are particularly interested in video games.

"Diavolo, what sort of trouble did you get yourself into?" MC asks before he has the opportunity to start rambling. I don't have to look at his face to know that he's blushing.

"Well, I may have gotten stuck."

"Are we talking tight space, or something cursed?"

"The latter." He sounds like someone who got caught stealing. "This place has a cursed karaoke room where you can't leave until you get a perfect score on the machine's vocal accuracy challenge."

"So, why haven't you participated?" Silence. "Diavolo, is this a ploy to get me to join you?" More silence. Then,

"Maaaybe." As Asmo would say, he's definitely down bad.

And somehow I'm fine with that. It's weird, I know, especially since I wouldn't have been fine before. I would have been tearing myself down as I holed myself up in my room, because there was no way I could compete with someone like Diavolo for someone's affection.

That's not the case now. I can't really explain why I feel calm; I just do.

"You know MC can't come by themselves, right?" I ask. "You know who would throw a fit if they did." Diavolo sighs.

"Yeah, I do. Doesn't make any sense to me, but whatever. He can feel how he wants." He pauses. "Ask the others if they want to tag along. We can at least make something fun out of the situation."

#obey me shall we date #obey me mc #obey me levi #obey me diavolo #as you can see #i took out the bit where levi doesn't know what a smart speaker is #because that makes no sense to me #i found that particular plot line in the og game to be weird af #also #i decided to take a different approach to mc receiving their second star from diavolo #since i'm trying to have levi grow as a character #and since i rewrote parts of season two the way i did #i'm not going to have levi be the one that's jealous/envious of diavolo #that role will be played by someone else #a surprise #if you will

23 notes · View notes

nightseeye · 2 months

Text

I spent several hours yesterday just. Drawin ponies and makin headcanons after an offhanded thought i had abt changelings lol

Also a buncha headcanons under the cut also:

Thinking more abt Gossamare (changeling queen oc i just made up .5 sec ago). She was plenty ambitious, as most queens are, but her attentions were turned more towards making sure the Hive had stirdier, longer lasting structures. The reasoning was if there was less time being spent rebuilding their home after an attack, or if smthn just crumbled, than that was less stress and more energy that could be spent Elsewhere (like getting food). I think changelings were pretty nomadic as a species beforehand, and while Gossamare didn't introduce a sedentary lifestyle, it was still a fairly new thing, so permanent architecture wasnt really. Good. So it fixed that. Discovered changeling-equivalent concrete, except better bc it was also pretty damn flexible. And self repairing to some extent. Stole architecture from ponies. Even talked with celestia a few times (also fought celestia a few times) (bc she was stealing. It got cleared up but Still). Was stern and kinda strict but Fair. Left its hive in a pretty prosperous era, even if the queens after the next fumbled it kinda badly.

Genral timeline idea: crystal empire era -> [queens after it falls] -> [queen who became sedentary] -> [queen] -> [queen] -> Gossamare -> [2-3 generations of queens] -> Chrysalis -> Thorax (will be poking at this more as i figure out more changeling things, i want the crystal empire to be kinda far back in changeling history, a legend, but not quite mythical status)

Ideas:

• Changelings were nomadic, though they generally (peacefully) stayed around the crystal empire just bein buddies. Cue Sombra fuckin it, and bam. No more good food source and also their buddies are gone. And its Cold. Changelings skeedadle, become true nomads, separate into diff hives for whatever reasons and settle into different nations. Now following the hive that settled into equestria, changelings are. Wary. Decide to stay hidden. Prob the traditionalists+idealists who didnt want to stray too far from the empire in case it came back soon. They settle, roam around, til one day a queen just plops down and doesnt move. Thus the end of the nomad life, although changelings still have little satellite location away from the main hive. Just lil bases and shit yknow? Still not super fond of this enforced hiding thing, but reveals tend to always go super bad, if not from the get-go, then some shit happens later that usually kills the parties in question. So. Hiding it is.

• (Re; the crystal empire: canon says its been gone 1k years, but LUNA was gone 1k years, so ive decided its maybe like. 7k years for the crystal empire. Or just, longer than 1k!!! I want that to be a collective fail on Celestia AND Luna's part, not just Celestia)

• Theres probably stories in changeling history referring to crystal ponies, and a good portion of the empire's population are changelings, or have changeling heritage. Possibly when changelings intially fled, there were a good portion of crystal ponies among them, but their descendants are now just changelings (maybe with a slight sparkle, or having an easier time shifting into ponies.idk)

• When the Crystal empire returned, there definitely an awkward readjustment period, not only from Sombra's tyranny, but that a solid third or more of their population was now... disdained, to put it lightly, by other ponies and now also their new monarchs! And when they found out about the whole Canterlot wedding incident, well. They kept that to theirselves. Its not til Thorax is accepted as a citizen that the crystal ponies reveal that some of them are crystal changelings as well, and it goes over-! Pretty well! A little strained, and more awkward readjusting happens, but overall it goes well (Cadence is pretty sad that she made her citizens feel they had to hide this, but understands. Thorax is mildly upset but it puts some earlier events before that episode happening into better perspective)

• Queens generally die one of 3 ways: Being overthrown and killed, dying against an enemy, or starving bc the amount of love gained can no longer support their appetite. Generally the 3rd happening tends to cause the first, as sometimes those particular queens will start eating into the stores of love meant to support the hive as a whole, thus starving the entire hive along with her. So the hive kills her to stop that. Other times the queen will go out as gracefully as possible, either dying against an enemy in combat, or simply. Starving. Its stressful as fuck to watch, esp if the changeling respect that queen, even if its known to be the better of several options. Theyre generally pretty long lived (abt 500 years give or take) but when its over its Joever (at least until Thorax but not talkin abt that).

• Job is ya gender. Changeling language doesnt really have singular pronouns, mostly just [job][description][name] type deals. Queens have special pronouns though. Changelings have also adopted pronouns from other languages sometimes, but it tends to be more of a like. Curiousity than anything super serious

#THIS HAS NO TAGS WTF #my little pony #mlp #mlp changelings #changelings #queen chrysalis #twilight #pinkie pie #fluttershy #mlp oc #princess celestia #crystal pony #nighty arts #sketch #headcanons

27 notes · View notes

firstelevens · 3 months

Note

and if yes, then for the taylor swift lyrics prompts: sambucky and nr. 13 and 14 (not necessarily combined, more so you can choose which one you like best or do both, i don’t know :)) 🩵✌️ btw I love, LOVE your sambucky f1 au 🫡

This is part of a canon divergence AU that I'm hoping to write more of this coming year. It just fit the spirit of the prompt, if not the letter of it, so I had to throw a little standalone prologue out there. Hopefully you'll see more of this soon!

13. never called it what it was

“You don’t have to do this, you know.”

The voice comes from behind Sam, and he mentally congratulates himself for not jumping out of his skin in surprise. He knows that Bucky almost can’t help how quiet his footsteps are, but if Sam keeps getting snuck up on like this, his blood pressure is going to suffer.

“I know,” says Sam, and leaves it at that. He and Bucky have had this conversation a hundred times in the past two days, and the hundred and first is unlikely to be any different. He keeps his eyes on the lake in front of them and changes the subject. “Pretty sure it’s bad luck for us to see each other right now.”

“Pretty sure that only applies to real weddings,” is Bucky’s quiet reply.

Sam doesn’t know how to reply to that, so he doesn’t. He has the stray thought that they should work on the communication thing, maybe. His parents could have whole conversations in a single look across a room, in one touch of the arm. Sarah and Aaron would tie up the phone line for hours when they were first dating, even Sam and Riley had developed a language entirely their own.

In fairness, Sam thinks, those relationships had all had years to grow, and until forty-eight hours ago, Sam had no idea that he was getting married at all, much less to whom.

Privately, he thinks he might have jinxed it. After a five day period in which he’d re-materialized into existence, fended off an apocalypse, attended a funeral, and watched his best friend disappear to live seventy years of life without him, Sam had been certain that nothing could catch him by surprise anymore.

Then a woman in a crisp pantsuit had appeared at the lakeside property where they were hunkering down, carrying stacks of paperwork and photocopies of birth records from a hundred years ago. She’d sat down in a meeting room and reported to them what she’d discovered five years ago, right before being Snapped out of existence: that Bucky might have been from Brooklyn, but he hadn’t been born there, or anywhere else in America, and that the information had been easy enough to find that Ross’s people were sure to locate it as soon as the motion for a pardon was submitted.

It wasn’t hard to make the leap from there. Calling Bucky’s citizenship into question would be silly, but it would be enough of a distraction that Ross could mire the proceedings in bureaucracy and take Bucky back into custody in the interest of public safety. Sam didn’t imagine it would take too long for the paperwork to suddenly get lost after that, and with it would go any notion of Bucky’s freedom.

He remembered watching the Raft rise up out of the ocean for the first time. His whole life, the water had been home to him, but the desolation of that place had warped it somehow.

That’s what Sam had been thinking of when he wracked his brain for a solution. That’s what he’d been thinking of when he turned to the lawyer and asked, “Well, what if he was married to an American citizen?”

Bucky, who’d spent the entire meeting until now sitting concerningly still, had suddenly whipped around to look at Sam, eyes wide. He’d felt Rhodey’s eyes on him, too, but the lawyer hadn’t blinked. In a few seconds, she’d sketched out a game plan on a legal pad, laying it out on the conference room table alongside all the other options she’d presented.

The first ‘You don’t have to do this’ had come shortly afterwards. Sam’s response had been the same then as it was now.

He feels Bucky come to stand beside him, his left hand resting on the railing a few inches from Sam’s right. The gold threaded through the vibranium sparkles in the sun, and he has the childish urge to trail his fingers over it.

“I’m disappointed,” says Sam, just to stop himself from reaching out. “I would’ve expected Princess Shuri to make a flashy black-tie addition to your arm for the wedding.”

“She added strobe lights, but they only work when it’s dark,” says Bucky, dry as a bone, and it startles a laugh out of Sam.

“At least we know the reception will be fun.”

Bucky hums in what he assumes is agreement. It’s quiet again for a moment, but he can sense Bucky shifting uncomfortably and he knows that there’s more.

“While, um– while we wait for the strobe lights to kick in, she did make us these.”

A crown of flowers suddenly appears in front of Sam, jasmine and jacaranda woven together with some kind of vine. He gingerly takes it from Bucky’s hand.

“Is…is this traditional? For a Wakandan wedding?”

“No,” comes another voice from behind them, and this time Sam does startle, nearly dropping the crown in the process. They both turn to Princess Shuri, dressed for a wedding and grinning cheekily at them both. “They’re not Wakandan tradition, but they are the kind of thing that Americans do when they get married abroad. I thought it might make the wedding pictures more believable.”

Sam laughs and perches the crown on his head. “You really do think of everything.”

Shuri’s mischievous smile softens. “I’m glad you’ve joined us here, Sam Wilson,” she says. “Nobody else appreciates my foresight.”

“Putting a bluetooth speaker in my arm is not foresight, Shuri,” says Bucky. “It’s just the product of a weird dream you had after staying up for forty hours in your lab.”

“It could be both,” protests the princess, laughing, and Sam can’t help but look over at Bucky, tired of sticking to peripheral glances.

He’s got the flower crown on his head, too, purple and white just like Sam’s is. His suit is a deep burgundy to complement Sam’s rust colored brocade, and Sam can only guess that Bucky received a visit similar to the one that Sam got from Ayo this morning. He’d opened the door to his quarters to find her holding a garment bag. She’d offered it to him and told Sam that she would be honored to see him marry James—it had taken Sam a moment to remember that his husband to be wasn’t actually named after a college mascot from Wisconsin—in the reds of her tribe. Sam, who’d spent the morning missing his family something fierce, had almost been too overwhelmed to thank her.

Now, he can see that it was a two-pronged attack, and while Sam’s suit fits him pretty well, there’s clearly a tailor in Birnin Zana who had all of Bucky’s measurements stashed away on file somewhere, because the way that that jacket sits on his shoulders and hugs his arms could not possibly happen by accident.

When Sam manages to tear his eyes away, he only barely catches the end of Shuri’s sentence.

“...whenever you are,” she’s saying. “But I can stall, if you two want another moment here.”

“I think we’re good,” says Bucky. “How much time does anyone need to get ready for a fake wedding, anyway?”

Shuri tsks at him. “Perhaps you shouldn’t ask that question to someone who knows how long your spent on your hair this morning.”

Bucky makes a face at her, and Sam’s pretty sure that she blows a raspberry in response, but he’s distracted. Something about Bucky’s words feels wrong, even though all he’s doing is telling the truth.

He can’t get all caught up in that now, though. Instead, Sam turns to the princess. “I’m all ready to go, too.”

“Good!” says Shuri, clapping her hands decisively. “I’ll escort you in, Sam, if you will allow me. Bucky will follow shortly with Ayo.”

Sam tells Shuri that he’d be honored to walk with her and offers her his elbow, which she takes. They start to make their way to where the ceremony will take place, but Sam hesitates for a moment, looking back over his shoulder.

Bucky’s name comes out of his mouth before he can stop himself, and Bucky’s gaze immediately lands on him.

“Yeah?”

It’s not a fake wedding, Sam wants to tell him. You marry someone because you want them to stay and I think you should be able to stay. That’s not fake; that’s as real as anything else.

But he loses his nerve and just taps the flower crown on his head. “Your crown’s crooked. Just so you know.”

“Oh,” says Bucky. “Thanks.”

“Yeah.”

They look at each other for another beat, and Sam is so sure that Bucky is going to say something, but then he looks away, reaching up to fix his crown, and all Sam can do is let Shuri lead him away.

#sambucky #marriage of convenience fic is just so FUN y'all there's so much room for pining deliciousness #but also nobody ask how many versions of this prologue I wrote #zainab does ask meme things #taylor swift prompt fics #anon you sent this to me in November thank you for your patience #my fic #anonymous

26 notes · View notes

morgansunflower · 11 months

Text

Too Much Pain For Too Long

Jason Todd X Wayne/Prince! Reader

Warnings: suggestive content, explicit language, childbirth and angst

Words:1473

Arthur's notes! After Cadmus failed to control Superboy/Conner they clone H/N. Half of her DNA is from Wonder-woman and the other from Batman.

Roy disappears Jason has to find his best friend. Though he can't just leave his lover and unborn child.

Old Roy who didn't have a wife, who didn't have a baby girl would suddenly disappear but certainly not the Roy now. Jason knew his best friend needs him. He couldn't just leave his lover. She would be safer closer to the family but going to the Manor was too much for either of them. So Y/N stayed in a safe house in Gotham.

She sat in the restaurant alone eating her fries. She looks on her phone seeing a text from Jason. Jason wore his Red-hood uniform as he text her.

-still nothing on Roy's location only that the light is involved. I feel sick thinking about the shit their doing to my brother. Anyway.. How are you? You ok? How's the baby? -

-you're a good friend Jason don't forget that. I'm doing OK but pretty lonely to be honest -

She texted then him the pictures of the ultrasound of their baby and one full length with her standing on her side so he could get a good look at her bump.

He looks at the pictures his heart was a entire mix of emotion. He absolutely hated being away from her. From his girls. Though he was so happy to see the pictures.

"tell Y/N I said hi and I hope she's feeling OK" Donna said seeing the way Jason had that look he only had when he looked at Y/N.

Y/N sees his response her heart warming to shaking tears. She really did miss him.

-thanks for making me feel better love. She's gotten so big!! ❤️❤️❤️. I miss you both so much. Donna said hi-

-we miss you!! Tell Donna I said hi too and I'm doing OK-

When Jason was Robin he met H/N a clone of Batman and Wonder-Woman. A second cloning attempt by Cadmus but failed nonetheless. She was close to Jason's age. They became close friends. She lived with her mother while visiting her Father. There was no doubt Bruce and Diana noticed their closeness. Which was why she never stayed the night with her father. When Jason returned broken after dying.. she broke her father's demands to see him. Her relationship became ill with her parents when she left to join the outlaws. It wasn't until recent years her parents were now together and married. She couldn't bear to think to see them again.

The outlaws were Jason, Y/N, Roy and Donna. After Roy's ex lover passed he discovered he had a daughter whom he never knew. The Outlaws then officially retired. Jason and Y/N helped Roy and Donna settle into their new home. Lian became Y/N and Jason's God-daughter.

Y/N was unaware that her little brother was a few feet away from her. Damian was taken aback seeing his half-sister. She nearly gasps seeing her baby brother.

"hi Dami" she said

He sits down with a glare on his face "why didn't you tell me you're in Gotham? Or perhaps that I'm to be a uncle?"

"would you have told them?..."

"tt no.. Where's Jason?" Damian asked rather than anger his tone was worried.

"Roy disappeared. Jason left a few days ago to help find him"

"you've been alone..." Damian scoffed

"not anymore" she said.

2 days past Y/N's due date. Damian stayed with her as her contractions came and went. She blamed it on Braxton hicks because they hasn't been consistent.. Yet.

Inside the arrow cave. Jason helped Roy walk to the stretcher. Jason gently laid his friend down. Roy knew Ollie was going to lose his shit when saw him. Roy gripped Jason's arm letting out a heavy wince. They had found him after had had been taken by the light.

" calm down Red.. You're safe now pal" Jason assured his shaken friend

"where's my.. W-wife" he stuttered

"I'm right here" Donna softly said.

Donna cupped his face as her husband was groaning vigorously from his painful injures. The two tend to his injuries as Jason gets a phone call. He answers the phone.

"Dami is everything okay kid?"

"you must hurry!! Y/N is in labor!" Damian shouted

"what?! Is she at the hospital?" Jason's heart races as he feels he is about to shake.

"I'm in the ambulance with her--" Damian stammered as she screamed

"AHHHH!!" she screamed over the phone.

"get lost Jaybird.." Roy mumbled with a wince

"I've got him Jay. Go!" Donna said

Jason runs out the cave to the boom tube to Gotham "ok tell her I'm on my way!"

Damian stood in the waiting room alone. He was deeply worried for her. What if something happens? She's in so much pain. He feels absolutely helpless.

Bruce and Diana went to see their daughter and Jason, assuming he is with her. Too much time had gone by. They both wanted to see them and apologize for not approving of their relationship. Bruce sees the tire skids from a large vehicle. Diana feels her heart heavy, something felt dreadfully wrong. She called her daughter but the phone rings from inside. Bruce quickly opens the door to the safe house. Diana heart falls seeing the blood with a liquid substance on the floor along with a broken mug with milk on the floor.

"Bruce! There's blood!" Diana cried

His heart beating rapidly as he feels as terrified for his daughter's life. He looks throughout her apartment unable to find her. He searches for anything to give him signs of where his daughter is. He looks on the counter seeing the last phone call she dialed was 9-1-1. He then calls the hospital. Bruce and Diana stood in the women's and children's building of the hospital. Together they look through the glass mirror, in the cot seeing the little newborn baby girl. D/N D/M/N Todd. Bruce steps back looking down in guilt. So much fighting for no reason it seemed like now. Diana holds his hand.

"we have to be there for them my love. I can't not know my granddaughter"

"I know" he sighed kissing her hand. "it's my fault. I was so hard him, and Y/N. I already lost my son.. I didn't want to lose my daughter too.."

"there's still time" Diana assured "we both could have been more understanding and open but instead we became overprotective"

Bruce lightly shakes his head "I am terrible father"

"you were scared that's not being terrible that's being human" she snapped not allowing him to doubt himself.

Y/N was exhausted still sleeping while laying on the stretcher. Bruce stands by her bed. She has her hair in a messy bun, her previously sweat covered face was now cleaned, her breathing heavy from the intense pain she had endured. Diana sits on the chair inhaling sharply. Y/N began to stir in her sleep. Bruce takes a hospital cup that was already filled with water. She slowly opens her eyes groaning. Diana gently smiled to her.

"D-dad? M-mom?"

"are you feeling OK?" he asked

"been better... How did you two?"

She gently sat up. Bruce began pushing the button to let the bed lean up. Diana puts the straw to her lips letting her take a sip. Her labor was at latest 12 hours and had only ended 30 minutes ago.

"Damian told us that you were in Gotham" Bruce bluntly stated

"we came to check on you and saw... Saw that you needed us" Diana said tears in her eyes.

"I-I..." she sighed so much to say and yet she couldn't form the right words.

Diana touched her forehead.

"we know. We're so sorry" Diana immensely apologies crying

".. You're our daughter. Nothing will ever change that" Bruce said nearly in tears

Y/N began to cry. They accepted her and who she loved. Diana hugged her daughter. Bruce rubs her hair. Moments later Diana left to check on Damian and let him know everything was OK. Jason carried D/N to see her mommy. He opens the door seeing Bruce looking at him.

"B.." Jason said hoping a fight wouldn't break out between them.

"son.. May I hold her?" Bruce asked

"... Sure...."

He gave his daughter to Bruce wondering why he was here. He held her with a soft smile on his face. Jason looks to his lover who was smiling to him. He wasn't in the mood to ask for details over how Bruce knew they were here. Diana stepped in with Alfred, Dick, Barbara, Tim, Duke, Cassandra, Stephanie and Damian. Dami had called Grayson which led to everyone finding out. Y/N softly laughed at the amount of people in the room.

"ok guys wash your hands and one at a time"

Jason sits next to his lover letting her lay on his chest. "might as well get comfortable.. This'll take a while"

Requested taglist @too-strong-to-lose @asrainterstellar

#Clone #Cadmus #batfamily #jason todd x wayne! reader #Jason Todd X Reader #Pregnancy #unplanned pregnancy #Fluff #Damian Wayne #roydonna

45 notes · View notes

existingonanotherplane · 2 years

Text

Happy Stranger Things day :D!!! Byler tag is winnin rn c:

Here’s Part 2 of the ‘i love you’ series, sorry it took so long c:

Uh oh, Michael! That look you’re giving is a little tender 😟

Mike is bored as hell.

Who knew that the government slowly taking over the remnants of his home town while some dude, who he guesses is obsessed with Will, is trying to end life as they know it would be so slow.

Not that he wants any life ending things to happen. He just never thought he'd find himself bored, of all things, while the world was trying to end.

It was the day after the talk with Will about the painting, which if hes being honest, he still feels really good about. Maybe he'd been a little sappy saying that he loved him but it was true! And he didn't regret it.

It's been a few months since everythings started and other than the very obvious changes that have happened like the weather or the gates, Mike has been feeling like he's been getting hit with surprise after surpise every other week.

Dealing with the aftermath of the injured friends, the town ripping into four, Max was in a god damned coma, and Eddie-

Mike didnt like thinking about that moment. Even if things were marginally better now. So he doesn't. The feeling lingers anyway.

Point is lots of things changed and they haven't stopped.

It wasn't long after that that Will and El had decided he'd let the rest of the party (and extended party as well) that they'd discovered some kind of hidden power in Will. They'd explained how they weren't sure why it did'nt manifest in Hawkins before they moved, other than the True Sight and Now Visions, that there was more that he could do.

Mike is pretty sure they're still keeping an ability of his hidden but from what they can understand, his powers are similar to El in the since of like, moving things with his mind and going into the Void. The differ though, because Will's makes things react like how the upside down or its creatures does.

Like flickering lights or sometimes, when he's feeling strongly, particles will appear around him. There's a few theories going around with this, the craziest one, thanks to Dustin, is that maybe Will is a walking gate.

Mike isn't sure about that but he knows Will has always been tied to the UD since things have started. Will feels like he can't escape the upside down but maybe its the other way around?

He thinks that's maybe why Will was able to sense that Eddie was still barely alive down there. He and El had been able to locate him, and although it had caused a lot of heartache they got him out. So now he sits in the hospital with Max.

Mike wonders how many more times he's going to lose something to that hellhole only for it to come right back.

He shakes his head, not really sure how he ended up thinking about all that in the first place.

Head knocking back on the couch, Mike releases an honestly extreemly dramtic and long sigh. The meeting they had schedueled for today could not get here any faster.

'knock knock knock'

Was that the door? The meeting isn't for another three hours so honestly Mike isn't really expecting it when he opens the door to find none other than Will standing outside.

"Will!" a smile flys over his face before he could think otherwise. Not that he'd want to anyways.

"Hey!" Will greets back in a tone similar to his own. His own pretty smile gracing his face.

Mike takes a moment to give Will a once over. Not for any particular reason but he thinks it only makes sense to look when Will is constanly looking as nice as he does. Even in an apocolypse, Will still manages.

Today he's wearing a turtle neck, something they've all started doing since the weather took a turn for the colder, some baggy pants and the same boots hes been wearing since he found them a couple weeks ago at the shelter. It's a simple outfit but Will looks good anyways.

"Uh, Mike?"

Mike's eyes snap back up to Will's face. He looks a little red and Mike wonders if he's cold. He backs away from the door frame so Will doesn't freeze, recognizing that the weather, while still super cold, is actually good in the whole "not raining poision" kind of way.

Will shuffles past him, giving him a strange look on the way in. Mike realizes that he has yet to respond.

"Sorry! Zoned out there for a second." He says in a rush, glancing back over at his friend. Will nods, looking a little confused or maybe concerned, but Mike is too focused on how cozy he looks and that same tingling feeling he had gotten yesterday returns.

Maybe he needs to the doctor? He walks over and wraps Will in a hug instead.

"What's going on? You're here so early." Mike says, leaning his cheek on the top of his head.

He feels Will adjust a bit, moving a little closer.

"Yeah, they were trying to rope me into more cabin repairs."

Mike lets out a breath of air, laughing. They'd been staying there for a while and there's still repairs that they've had to do. At least that giant hole in the roof is gone.

"Oh yeah," he says instead, "we wouldn't want that. Can't have you working too hard." Mike finishes, squeezing Will a little more into the hug.

Will lets out a laugh, knocking his hand against Mike's side and making him jump back to avoid the impromptu tickle attack he would've gotten.

"Says the guy who breaks down the moment someone even thinks of excersize." Will says through a laugh.

Mike rolls his eyes. He's not that opposed to working out, no need for dramatics.

"I don't think you're any better, Will."

And that might be a lie actually, because Will has defintly filled out compared to Mike's own lankiness. The height is nice though and he's managed to keep his title as the tallest in the group, althogh Lucas had almost taken that from him.

Mike reaches for Will's hand, correcting a little instead for his wrist. It might be a little weird if he just grabbed his hand. Before pulling him out of the walkway and towards the basement.

"Remind me. Why do I talk to you again?" Will says behind him and Mike bites down a smile, knowing he's about to say something stupid.

"Can't resist the Wheeler-" he lets out, stretching the second half of his name.

Will goes dead silent but Mike knows that if he looks back Will would be struggling to hold in a laugh.

He giggles to himself when he hears a "Dude. No." instead.

Time passes pretty quickly after that. He and Will hung out for a while. Mostly talking or playing games or even just sitting there and enjoying each other's company.

Everyone eventually showed up and the meeting started. With things being a waiting game there wasn't much to say. It became an overview of the plan they'd come up with some adjustments here and there, scheduling training for various people, talking about supply runs and then just general updates.

All in all it went smoothly but now everyone was packing things up. It was getting late and there's a curfew now. Not to mention, being out after dark was overall dangerous. Mike didn't enjoy everyone leaving the way they did but he knew they had to.

They had just finished their goodbyes and were loading into their respective cars. Will had ridden his bike over to his house and was now getting on it to ride it over to his family's car before Mike stopped him again, placing his hand over the bike's handlebar. And subsequently, Will's hand.

Mike didn't want anyone to leave really but it felt especially strong with Will in that second. Maybe he should ask him to stay over? Wait, no he can't do that either because of the early morning training he had.

Mike sighs, hunching slightly and looking back down at their joined hands, smiling at the sight. Palm tingling where it sits on top of Will's.

Wait-

He glances back up at Will, who looks a little flushed, probably from the cold, but is looking at him curiously. He and El had started doing this thing where they tilt their head in confusion. He's not sure who started it but it was insanely adorable and maybe Mike should say something instead of just staring at his best friend actually.

"Um, there's a meeting tomorrow too, right?"

That might've been the dumbest thing he's said. They'd just got out of the meeting. The next one's date was written on a board downstairs. Mike had been the one to write it. He wants to slap himself.

If Will thought it was weird he didn't say anything.

He smiles a little as he replies, very easily and not at all strange like Mike had just been, "Yeah. It's at the cabin."

And Mike knew that because when they had said it Will had bumped his shoulder with his own and shot him a smile so of course Mike committed it to memory. Which is a normal thing to do. Will hasn't been smiling as often and not to mention it's a great smile so why wouldn't he?

Plus it's like his duty to commit it to memory as his best friend.

Mike nods a few times, probably too many, hunching down a little more to look at Will's face in full.

"Cool… Welp, uh, goodnight William."

He's an idiot.

He hears Will mumble an almost inaudible "Ew, what the hell." A small smile playing on his lips, which Mike isn't looking at. Or well he is looking at them but it's a totally normal amount.

He pulls his eyes back up to Will's just in time to see him roll his own and Mike thinks he loves him.

"Goodnight, Michael-" Will starts, exasperated and fond.

"Love you. Get home safe." Mike finishes. Voice sounding sweeter than even he was expecting.

Will's face looks much like the last time. A little shocked but there's a smile starting to form. Mike watches some color flood into his cheeks and a full body tingle settles itself over him.

"Will! C'mon!" Jonathan yells over from inside of the car. Successfully snapping Mike out of whatever trance he had been in. He was definitely staring at his mouth for too long that time.

"I'm comin'!" Will shouts back, placing his feet onto the bike pedals.

He looks back at Mike briefly, a little sheepish when he says

"Sorry. I'll be safe." He pushes off beginning to pedal towards the waiting car but mike doesn't miss his words,

"Love you too, Mike." He can hear the smile in his voice.

Maybe Mike's heart melts a little but he wouldn't tell you that.

_________

Notes: (might post this on AO3 if i finish it haha)

And that's that. part 2 c: Would y'all believe that Mike is still not aware of his feelings :D. He'll figure it out c: Now it's time to start part 3. Happy stranger things day!

<<<Previous part

137 notes · View notes

aita-blorbos · 10 months

Note

AITA for trying to fulfill my girlfriend's dream?

[SUICIDE MENTION TW]

Some years ago, I (46M) met a girl (39F) we'll call C. And she was perfect, practically an angel on Earth. She cared for people so much despite everything seemingly trying to beat that kindness out of her, and the way she spoke you couldn't help but hang on every word. She wanted to help the world by making this medicine out of a compound she'd discovered that'd help cure humanity's evil. It sounds insane when I type it, but you have to understand, C could make anything sound possible, and I'm not the only one who thought so, she'd gathered up a whole research team including me and my best friend (48M). Together, we started working on isolating and refining her compound into a drug for human use. (It's not exactly legal to do that kind of thing where we lived, so we had to keep it pretty hush-hush, but it was for the greater good.)

Things were going well, until the youngest member of our research team volunteered for a human trial before the drug was ready and died as a result. C was determined, but by her own admission had a weak heart and took this very hard, thinking it was her fault. Her mental health deteriorated in the next few days until I caught her in the middle of a suicide attempt. I panicked and salvaged what of her I could (I'm pretty sure she was and is still alive, she's just not in a place where she can communicate very well). We needed her knowledge to continue work on the drug, and I couldn't stand to lose her.

I tried to carry on her work, but I didn't believe in it the same way C had, and I was pretty broken up about the whole situation. Without C, the entire research team fell apart with disaster after disaster. I did what I could for them and moved us to a new location to try and finish this for C, but now the entire research team hates me.

I don't know what to do. I want it all to be worth it in the end and see this world saved like she wanted, but I'm starting to wonder if maybe I should've just given up on this, on C.

EDIT: Apparently it's not even just the research team, it's also my secretary? Which I don't understand, considering we've barely spoken.

#aita #am i the asshole #unreality #SUICIDE

13 notes · View notes

auroraescritora · 8 months

Text

THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE HOME - PERCY/NICO AU HIGH SCHOOL - CHAPTER X

Hi, how are you? Just in time, huh? I'm trying not to split up the story too much. So, I hope it's acceptable. Feedback is always good.

Enjoy it!

Previous chapters: CHAPTER I / CHAPTER II / CHAPTER III / CHAPTER IV / CHAPTER V / CHAPTER VI / CHAPTER VII / CHAPTER VIII / CHAPTER IX

"Are you ready? I didn't tell you we were coming." Percy took his hand and pulled him out of the car.

Nico couldn't believe he was back in the house where his best memories were made. This was the house of his childhood, the place where he had discovered that love and affection were still possible after his mother death. It was the place where Nico had discovered that love could come in many shapes and sizes and be expressed in simple or complicated ways.

"Maybe we should come back later?”

"She'll be happy to see you.”

"Are you sure?”

"Nico, this is your home too. It always will be.”

Nico had to take a deep breath, stopping in front of the front door. He felt so guilty! Percy wasn't the only person he had left behind. Sally had also been one of them. His second mother, the person he could tell everything after Percy, always offering him a tight hug and an open kitchen.

"Percy, I--”

"Shhh." Percy held his hand, smiled at him and finally pushed open the door of the house, leading him inside. "Mom! We're here!”

It didn't take long. Soon they could both hear the sound of heels on the white granite floor, and appearing from one of the doors that Nico knew to be in the kitchen, Sally came almost running and with so much energy that for a moment Nico saw himself in the past, the first time he had come through that same door, seeing the simple but elegant decor. Cream-colored sofas, almost white blue walls, puffs and blankets scattered around the room and a large television. The smell was the same, the same fragrance of freshly made food, sweet and sour, making him smile immediately.

"Nico, my son." That was all he heard before Sally's attack came, thin, strong arms encircled him and long, dark brown hair fell over him, Sally's perfume was still the same.

"Gods, look how much you've grown! And those cheeks, hm? So pretty.”

"Mom!”

"Percy, look at him. Have you sorted yourselves out? I hope so! You've been gone for three days! That's the least I can hope for.”

"Sally." Nico finally said, smiling, and leaned towards her, receiving another hug from Sally with pleasure.

"I can't believe I'm getting my assistant back! Our menu has suffered with you gone. How about we discuss it tomorrow? Are you staying with us today? What a question! Of course you are.”

Sally took his hand, pulling him towards the kitchen and Nico looked back, seeing Percy shrug. He knew it would take time for Sally to grow tired of him now. And as the saying goes, "like mother, like son", or something like that. And since there was no point in fighting with any of the Jacksons, Nico let himself be carried away by Sally, not that he minded; it was always fun to spend a few hours in Sally Jackson's company, delicious food, relaxed conversation and a friendly shoulder to vent on.

***

It had been a long time since Percy had walked the streets of his neighborhood. They weren't what they used to be, from quiet and humble to full of tall buildings and noisy cars due to the subway line located a few blocks from his house. The good thing about all this was that now there was a store or a market, or even a shopping center, on practically every corner. Which was exactly what he was looking for. Walking nonchalantly, Percy went straight to a stationery store and soon found what he was searching for, a dark leather journal with a delicate and beautiful appearance, just like Nico.

He paid for it, walked around the mall and found himself standing in front of a familiar Jewelry store, remembering going into that place years ago and buying something special, but never going through with his plan. Now, a few hours later, he was on his way home. Imagine his surprise when his mother's helpers came in with bags after bags of food and pots and pans. Percy wasn't even surprised anymore. In fact, it was a familiar sight, but one he hadn't seen since Nico had left, the house full and the scent of sweets and snacks permeating the air.

Well, it looked like his present would have to wait.

Without being seen, he went to his room, left the bag on the bed and opened the first drawer of the dresser, finding the rings he had bought. Could this be the moment he had been waiting for? After all, they had already made it clear that they loved each other, so why not take the next step? He had learned that the best thing to do was never to assume anything, and if he didn't speak up, how would Nico know? Percy couldn't wait to see Nico's reaction.

So, exchanging the rings for the diary, he took the box with the rings and put the diary in the drawer, feeling confident. Percy left the bedroom and headed towards the kitchen, almost running into a girl wearing an apron from his mother's restaurant. She apologized and hurried out of the house, without the usual flattery. He hoped this one would last longer than the others. It wasn't that his mother was a bad boss, the problem was that most people didn't have the same enthusiasm as she or Nico had when it came to cooking.

Percy finally entered the kitchen and was faced with a full feast. He saw roasted, fried and boiled meats, grains and pasta of all kinds, not to mention sweets and salty foods that weren't all that healthy.

“Are we having a gala dinner or what?" He had to ask as soon as he entered the kitchen. It was kind of funny. Sally and Nico were there, along with several helpers, covered in flour and other things Percy couldn't identify, all wearing identical aprons and moving around in such an organized way that they looked like worker ants.

"You're right, darling!" His mother exclaimed. She wiped her hand on a towel, as energetic as he'd seen her in a long time, or at least not at this "child who ate too much sugar" level, and hugged him tightly, before walking back into the kitchen to check the oven and make sure everything was in order. "Call your friends! Call your friends' friends. No, better yet, call your friends' parents too.”

Percy wasn't sure about that. Did he even still has that many friends left? Percy shrugged, about to do what his mother had asked when Nico appeared in front of him, trying to find a place to put some sort of whitish cake on the table.

"I will help you.”

Percy moved some things around and finally found a space, taking the dish from Nico's hands and placing it on the counter.

"Here's my baby. Where have you been?”

"I'm not your baby.”

“ You are not?”

Was now a good time? No matter how Nico was dressed, in his school uniform or in his tight pants, and even now with flour from head to toe, Nico would always be the prettiest and cutest thing Percy would ever see, especially when he tried not to be embarrassed by this public display of affection.

Percy put his hand in his pocket, touched the box and watched for a moment, seeing Nico lower his head, his black hair protected by a hairnet, allowing him to see the blush spreading strongly across his dark face and down his long, elegant neck. Percy didn't hold back, he grabbed the back of Nico's neck and pulled him close, kissed him slowly and longingly, and only stopped when he heard a moan and the sudden silence that followed; the murmurs around them stopped and so did the sound of banging pots and pans.

"Per," Nico whispered in an almost non-existent voice and grabbed his arm, his face now on fire. So shy and so sweet, Percy could feel the sugar on Nico's tongue and the sweetness in his gentle touch.

But just when he thought Nico would pull away, as he often had in the past, Nico just stood there, clinging to his arm, looking at him without knowing what to do. Maybe this wasn't the right moment, because if Nico had reacted like this to just one kiss, caught off guard and all anxious, what would Nico do if he got down on one knee in the middle of the kitchen?

Unfortunately, when something like that used to happen, Nico wouldn’t know what to do. He would freeze from head to toe, and as if he had no script for this kind of situation, Nico rather do nothing for fear of making a mistake.

"Beautiful. Give me a hug, hm?”

Nico blinked slowly and bit his lips, looking unsure. In the end, Nico did as Percy asked. He put his arms around Percy's waist and hugged him tightly for a long moment, hiding his face against his neck, Percy hugged him back and stroked Nico's long hair, comforting him.

"Right.” Percy raised his head and, still hugging Nico, looked around at each of his mother's helpers, which had the desired effect.

Everyone began to move as one and the atmosphere returned to normal. He thought about apologizing to Nico, but the thought of Nico understanding that kissing him in front of other people was wrong made his stomach churn. Nico was a very perceptive being, and if he understood that he was doing something wrong, Nico would never do it again, like the time they were talking to some people, Nico laughed too loudly and someone scolded him, after that, it took him months to see Nico smiling in public.

"What you got for me?”

"Have you ever had Japanese cake?" Nico seemed relieved by the change of subject and let go of his waist. He took Percy's hand and led him to a light, spongy cake, unlike anything he had ever eaten.

Nico cut off a piece and put it on a plate for him. As soon as he took a bite, the cake melted on his tongue, something so delicious that Percy couldn't explain it, so he just moaned, closing his eyes in pleasure.

"That good?”

"Everything my baby does is exemplary.”

"Thank you.”

Percy stopped eating and paid attention to Nico. In fact, he stopped and watched him. Nico looked happy and content in his apron and flour-stained clothes. He looked like a little chef, proud of a job well done.

"I saw it in a restaurant in Verona and wanted to try it.”

"Beautiful.”

"You should study cooking." This time it was Sally who spoke, finishing a chocolate tart and watching them discreetly. She approached them and put one of her hands on Nico's shoulders. "Have you thought about it?”

***

"You should study cooking. Have you thought about it?”

Nico blinked slowly, trying to concentrate on anything other than the way Percy was looking at him, who almost missed the moment when Sally approached the corner where they were standing.

"Hm?”

"Have you decided on your graduation course?”

"Ah." Nico glanced at Percy out of the corner of his eye, but focused on Sally. "I don't know. Hades wants me to do administration.”

"Why not something you're talented at? Like music or cooking? Arts?”

"I... I'd like that very much. I don't know if Hades would allow it.”

"You know, the other day this nice, polite man brought his family over for dinner. He said that the place where he works has an excellent cooking course." Nico took a good look at Sally, trying to figure out what that meant. "Why don't you do a double degree? I have his contact if you're interested.”

"It's also close to home." Percy added.

Nico stopped everything and leaned on the edge of the bench, trying not to get his hopes up.

"I couldn't.”

"Darling, you don't have to worry about the details. Have a look, will you? I'll take care of everything.”

"No, Sally. You don't have to... I never--”

"It’s okay, darling. Money is not a problem." Then Sally smiled at him all radiant and caught him off guard once again, hugging him tightly. "No matter what you choose. We'll support you, now and always.”

"Oh." It was all that escaped his throat, a choked, muffled sound against Sally's shoulder. His vision blurred, and his throat tightened, but his heart beat strongly, a delicious warmth heating his chest as Percy's hands touched his shoulders, embracing him and Sally at once.

"Mom is right. We'll support you no matter what, even if I have to go to Italy with you.”

"Did you plan this? To surprise me and not let me think about it?”

"Nico, of course not, silly!" Sally exclaimed energetically and grabbed his shoulders, her big light brown eyes hitting him right in the middle of the chest. "Percy did some vocational and aptitude tests last year and since then we've been looking for the best options. You have to do them too, they're pretty accurate. Does next week sound good? Ah, we have so much to do!”

And so, as if talking about his future was something ordinary, Sally continued again, mixing something in a large glass pot with a spatula.

"That's right, then. College decided. Will we have a wedding?”

"Wedding?”

"Of course! The sooner we set the date, the better! What about a house? You'll be near us, right? And... Percy didn’t talk to you yet?”

Nico didn't know if he was ready for such a big step, he didn't even know if he could finish high school without self-destructing himself, let alone… marriage.

"Mom!" Percy grumbled. "She's joking. Don't listen to what she says.”

It was Percy who said it, but his gaze was intense on him, thoughtful and analytical. And... maybe... maybe Sally wasn't joking, if it were for the disappointed expression on Percy's face.

"Since when have you been planning these things? “

"Since…”

"Since when?”

"Ever since I realized that waking up next to you was the best part of my day.”

Nico thought there was something strange in his eyes, they wouldn't stop watering. It must have been sinusitis. Yes, that was it. Maybe an allergy.

"Aren't you going to say anything?" Percy insisted, and suddenly the world disappeared and only the two of them mattered; the sound of banging pots and whispers disappeared, even the hurried murmurs around them vanished.

"What was I supposed to say? Are you asking me to marry you?”

This was the best and worst moment of his life. Percy smiled at him and reached into his pocket, pulling out a delicate velvet box. And then, the worst came, Percy knelt down on the floor full of flour and sugar, and opened the box, showing him that inside were two identical gold-plated rings with a small diamond in the center, one large and the other smaller, with delicate engravings around the rings, the rings so delicate that Nico was afraid to touch them.

"You can't be serious!”

"I bought them before you ran away to Italy. I wish I'd told you sooner. I was afraid it would drive you away again.”

And without asking permission, Percy took hia hand and slid the smallest of the rings onto the ring finger of Nico’s right hand.

"This ring is proof of my commitment and fidelity to you. It's my promise to always be by your side and to always give you whatever you need and want. No matter what or where.”

"Percy, stop it! Right now! You don't want this." Nico pulled away from Percy's hands and tried to take the ring off, feeling anxious, but he couldn't get it off. Something inside him stopped Nico.

"Of course I want it. I love you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you." Percy kept smiling and remained kneeling, as if paying for his sins in a prayer of love.

Percy crawled on his knees until he was close enough to touch again and offered Nico the box, saying: "It's your turn to put it on me. Will you marry me?”

"Gods!" Nico whimpered, that tightness in his heart and warmth in his chest spreading like hellish flames through his veins. "You'll regret this. You'll regret it so much. Then, don't blame me for what happens.”

"I take full responsibility.”

Sniffling, Nico knelt down too and did the same as Percy, placing the ring on the ring finger of Percy's right hand and observing their hands together. Not even in his wildest dreams could Nico have imagined something like this.

"Satisfied now?”

"And my kiss, hm?”

Still feeling anxious and shaky, Nico jumped into Percy's lap and kissed him with everything he had, being greeted by the strong embrace of the person Nico loved most in the whole world.

#my writing #nico di angelo #percy/nico #percico #pernico #percy jackson #there's no place like home

7 notes · View notes

suffering-and-happy-about-it · 2 years

Text

An Unlicensed Therapist (A Steven Grant One-Shot)

Description: Your life was simply too good to be true - a bunch of the best friends on the planet, a job in one of the best attorney offices in Manhattan, and a nice guy you were seeing. But one day, your best friend Carly suddenly decides to get married to her boyfriend of five years... And that was when you felt like your life was crumbling apart.

Prompt: You are the maid of honor at your best friend's wedding, but you are single and sad about having to attend solo. Stressed and grumpy on the long flight there, you have a few too many drinks and pass out, drooling, on the shoulder of your seatmate. When you arrive at the destination, you are mortified to discover that your handsome seatmate is the best man.

A/N: Yes, I am mentioning the Jen Walters (She-Hulk (2022)) and it's because I really love her character (Tatiana is slaying!). Also, don't worry, Marc will be present. This is more of a bridge to get me back into writing because I feel like I've been slacking in this department in the last few months and I'm not really having fun with the series I'm writing for atm and I was relentlessly dragged into the MK fandom by my one and only, @missdictatorme. This is for you baby.

Pairing: None, really but Steven Grant x fem!reader, I suppose?

Word count: 5.1 K

Warnings: Well, the reader getting drunk and pouty, Marc coming off a bit of an angsty bitch at first, me hoping I didn't screw it up, break up and besties cheering each other up.

The plane around you was fucking crowded. More than that. According to the plan Carly had sent you via e-mail, your seat was located in the very front of the craft. As you walked through the small row between the seats, bumping into other passengers either with your bag or ass, you could feel the sadness and anxiety spiking in your chest. How did you even get into this mess of a situation? Well, to understand it, you had to travel back in time. Not for much, just two weeks' worth of it.

Two weeks ago:

To be honest, you were fucking tired. It was only Monday and were barely standing on your feet with how fucking tired you were. With big trouble, you barely slipped out of your high heels as you hung your keychain on the stand, balancing your cold coffee in your other palm. Taking a long breath, you finally stood in the small hall of your dark apartment, stretching your neck. It felt like you hadn't found a moment to simply catch a breath, sit down, and relax in the last few weeks, whether it was the weekend or labor day. Truth be told, the situation was pretty tense in the attorney's office you working at - you and all the other concipients were working harder than a pocket watch, trying to help all of your attorneys out. Even the lawyers themselves were pretty much clueless when it came to this particular case. Well, clueless wasn't the right word to use, but they were somewhat hesitant to propose any specific steps. This was something that rarely happened at Goodman, Lieber, Kurtzberg & Holliway, GLK/H, or GLK&H for short.

So yeah. Your work life was pretty stressful at that time. With a long breath, you decided to sit down at the dinner table while going through the post you were carrying from downstairs - without a second thought, you swung your feet onto the chair next to you, pouring yourself a big glass of wine while looking at all of the envelopes. There were a few interesting ones that caught your attention - one of which was your mother sending you a postcard from New Mexico (where she was vacating at the time), a few leaflets from your favorite boutiques across Manhattan (where you shopped when you wanted to look fancy for a work occasion or a formal one) and the last one was a small, pink envelope with a few hearts drawn all over it. Looking at the name of the sender, you realized it was your absolute best friend Carly who was sending you a letter. Not knowing why she did so (when she could literally pick up her phone and send you a text or call you), you picked a small knife and carefully opened it up... Realizing it was a wedding invitation.

For quite a bit, you stood still with the envelope in your palm and knife in the other, reading through it again and again, trying to understand if she was just fucking with you or was being serious. Your brain wasn't catching up, it seemed so. Sure, she and Kevin were an amazing couple (one of the sweetest you knew and one of which you introduced, in fact), but they never even spoke of proposing to one another - and suddenly, you were asked to be the maid of honor. Not too long after that, you were dancing your victory dance while dressed in your silky robe, a towel wrapped around your wet hair, a coal facial mask smudged all over your face, and Carly on the phone with you, explaining to you that this entire Hawaii wedding was a sudden, spontaneous idea.

Soon after, you got into all of the preparations, and let me emphasize that it wasn't exactly the most fun thing in the world - to make everything in your life work while simultaneously trying to create the perfect wedding. But honestly, you'd do anything for her. Now, on top of your very fucking stressful job, there was a whole wedding you helped to organize with the help of her mom and sister Aggie. At moments, you were thanking all the gods that you were specifically trained for chaos specifically (GLK&H was nothing more than chaos), otherwise, you wouldn't be able to compute the amount of information you needed to remember. While you were the one helping Carly with anything she asked you for, from making sure that everything will be prepared on time and according to her expectations, you were simultaneously helping her with picking the dress, the bouquet, the make-up, and... How did you manage not to get insane was beyond you.

At least you got some great help in the guest department and the bachelor and bachelorette parties - Kevin gave you his best man's number (to your surprise, the number was reserved for London) and let you two figure it out as a team. You never called each other, you never had a FaceTime or anything... You only sent each other texts and lengthy e-mails. The mysterious Steven, as the man introduced himself to you, was nice enough to check every e-mail you were about to send to the guests, the resort, or other agencies you were in contact with, and on top of that, he was making sure that there was everything in order. He honestly made everything so much easier for you. And voila, two weeks later, you had it all set in stone and sorted out - everything on your list was checked, and there was nothing left to do. Everything was to be absolutely perfect for the newlyweds... Shame the extended weekend wasn't about to be perfect for you.

The whole time you were pouring your heart into the preparations, you were sure that this guy you were seeing, Lucas, was about to be your date - sure, you weren't living with each other, but you were seeing one another on an almost daily basis and used to do all sorts of things together, sleepovers included. For the longest time, he presented himself as the prince charming you always hoped to meet one day. Lucas was very attentive and loved to spoil you; he stopped by the office on your lunch breaks just to bring you a coffee or lunch (and to tell you that he can't wait to hold you in his arms later that evening), he took you out and seemingly enjoyed doing even the most boring activities with you. Naturally, you assumed that prince charming was coming along. Who wouldn’t be up for a short vacay in Hawaii? It was a fucking dream coming true. Yet, just before you were about to drive off to the airport, he walked up to you, looked you in the eyes, and put his palm on your shoulder... And broke up with you. Imagine it. You were standing there with your mouth open, dressed in very tight cycling shorts and an oversized, ugly Hawaiian shirt (which you borrowed from Kevin) with an enormous straw hat on top of your head while this dreamy, almost too-good-to-be-true guy is holding your shoulder in his palm, telling you that it would never have worked anyway. That he was bored. That he had met someone else the other day. And that he fell for her, saying that he’s so sorry for not going with you to the wedding.

Well, you thought to yourself, fuck me, fuck him, and fuck this. You were in deep fucking trouble (not really, but you loved being dramatic). With your head held high, like the fighter you were, and your cheeks wet from tears, you drove yourself to the airport, telling yourself that you’ll make it the best wedding in the world nonetheless. Your ma didn't raise no quitter. You didn’t need a stupid man by your side to feel happy. You’ll just order enough margaritas to make yourself forget his face and if you’d be lucky enough and the known wedding superstition will come true, you’ll have the best man bending you over by this time tomorrow. In Hawaii.

Let’s say that this didn’t go as planned either; half an hour later, after going through the control of your luggage and ticket, you were sitting in the middle of the airport with an over-sized iced chocolate latté that had too much sugar in it with your headphones deep inside your ears, listening to Diana Ross and Jen’s voice on the phone. It was early Friday morning and you couldn’t call Carly to cry about what kind of son of a whore Lucas was (since it was literally her wedding weekend), Nikki wasn’t picking up and Jen was the only one who was most likely already up and getting ready for yet another day in the GLK&H. She was also one of the nicest and calmest people you’ve ever come across; you weren’t exactly besties, but you surely could call one another a friend.

Her phone was laying on her table as she put on her make-up, leaning into her mirror - so you could perfectly see each swoosh of her mascara and brush along with her forcing her double chin out just to make you giggle (since she quite literally didn’t have one). “Listen to me, Y/N.” - The woman said in a firm voice, putting her lipstick on while doing so. - “You are one of the most persistent, strongest, and stubborn people I’ve ever met. Like seriously, the office would fall apart in flames if there wasn’t for you and Nikki being our damn concipients. And I mean that. Like, without your constant hard work, information research, and cheering up, we’d be nothing - a hot pile of trash. You’re the driving force of GLK&H and don’t make some idiot make you feel otherwise, yeah?” - With that, she jolted, picked her phone up, and walked over to her closet.

“Yeah.” - You whined in a high-pitched voice, holding back the sob as you tried to dry the tears off your face. Your mascara was running all over your cheeks and the expression on your face was resembling a small child's who was throwing a tantrum, but Jen’s words made you genuinely feel better. So, you managed to crack a small, almost pathetic smile for her. “There is my tigress! Hello, I've missed you, sugar!” - She cheered, her voice filled with support. - “So, tell me now, will there be any handsome men that might take over Lucas’ spot, even for the weekend? You know how weddings go."

"Jen!" - You exclaimed with shock, laughing at what she had just said. This made her chuckle as well. - "I don't really know. It's gonna be a really small wedding, you know, just family and closest friends. And most of them seemed to be coupled anyway." "Then what about that Steven guy? He never mentioned he'd be having a date and from what you've told me, he made your life so much easier... And from the e-mails you've shown me that were sent by him, the guy really knows his grammar and is very polite. That's a promising start?" - Jen guessed, shrugging her shoulders as she pulled out a red turtleneck. She looked like a bombshell with that piece of clothing. - "You know what? Don't say anything, it'll be a surprise. What you gonna do on board the plane is that you'll order as much alcohol as you can. And trust me, girl, you'll have 10 hours to accomplish exactly that."

That happened two hours ago. Now, you were walking to your seat with your handbag, still dressed in that oversized monstrosity and very tight shorts while slowly moving forward, waiting for all the passengers in front of you to find their seats or to simply sit down. Most of the attendees were flying over by the next flight, but you needed to arrive sooner to make sure everything will be prepared for them, taking all of the weight off Carly's shoulders. After fifteen minutes of awkwardly standing around, you finally managed to walk to the front of the economy class, looking right at your seat - the problem was, there was a guy napping there already. Looking around nervously, you bit your bottom lip before bending over to him and shaking his shoulder nervously.

To be frank, the stranger was very handsome from what you could see. His black wavy hair was styled messily, there was a visible stubble on his cheeks contrasting the soft, rosy lips. The features of his face were giving you some kind of Spanish teacher on high school vibes - you liked the curve of his nose and his dark brown, sleepy eyes as he tried to wake up. "I'm really sorry but I'm dying to get on my seat, sit down and let my legs rest. I was waiting in that line for a long time." - You explained quickly, pointing to the seat next to the window. The man turned his head around with confusion, looking at the seat and you before picking himself up in hurry. - "Sorry, miss. I've been dying to catch a bit of sleep, I'm on the plane since yesterday evening."

If you'd be in a better mindset, you'd immediately notice the thick British accent that you had just let slip past your radars altogether. You couldn't be bothered, to be honest, trying not to cry all the fucking time. Plus, the man was nice enough to apologize to you so there wasn't anything strange about it. "Off to Hawaii too, hm? What for?" - You asked while letting him help you with your luggage, slipping past him to sit down in your corner.

"My best mate's wedding. He finally decided to hit it off with a girl he's been seeing for the longest time, good for him." - The gentleman answered immediately, offering you his right palm to shake hands. He was holding your bag in the compartment with his left hand still. This piece of information would tell even the biggest idiot that the man standing right in front of you, the handsome gentleman, was the mysterious Steven you've been exchanging e-mails with for the past couple of weeks. But, apparently, your brain decided to take a vacay as well, leaving you and your stupid ass on your own. - "Name's Steven, in case I could be of any help. Could be useful since we'll be sitting next to each for the next ten hours." "Totes." - You agreeded, shaking his palm. - "Name's Y/N. In case I could be of any help."

As soon as you both sat back down, Steven dozed off right after he fastened himself, knowing well he won't be up to even listen to the instructions. As he told you, he took off early Thursday morning just to get to the USA and to Hawaii from there - plus Marc was being a pain in the ass for the past few days, borrowing the body during the night again. So, because you were listening for both of you and your sleeping companion, you were paying extra attention, practicing all the moves the crazy nice flying attendant was showing to you - while knowing that in the next three hours, you'll be either dead asleep or drunk beyond socially acceptable. As soon as she reached the two of you, asking what you'll be drinking, you told her that you'll have a double margarita. "And what can I get for the gentleman?" - She asked you, assuming that you two are most likely traveling together. Not that you'd be complaining though. "Oh, he'll have a double shot of vodka. You know, poor guy, flying gets him all railed up. Just look at him." - And to make the situation even more comical, Steven snored loudly and flapped his mouth. The woman gave you a funny look but didn't ask further questions since alcohol was all-inclusive in economy class. As soon she put the glasses in front of you, you took a deep breath and looked at them.

"What is that awful smell?" - Steven mumbled sleepily, opening his eyes just to see you clinking the margarita glass and shot. - "Dear Lord, lady. You'll feel sick, you know that right?" "I know, yea." - You answered with a resolute nod, kicking the entire shot inside your mouth while trying not to puke. Fuck, that was some good vodka right there, burning your throat as you gulped it. Giggling, you covered your mouth and let out a long breath, shaking the feeling off. What you didn't notice was that the man was watching you intently, furrowing upon seeing your eyes getting starry.

"You're not feeling alright, are you, mate?" - He whispered quietly as the first sob left your body, making your shrug your shoulders as you tried to keep it in. Then, with tears running down your cheeks, you turned your face to him and shook your head. This time, the man carefully put his palm on your shoulders, all the empathy showing on his face. - "Wanna talk about it, love?" While being the typical gentleman Steve usually was, he brought all hell broke loose upon him, which was a fact he realized much, much later. At first, your rambling was coherent enough for him to understand that a guy broke up with you just before you took off to Hawaii (which also explained the empty seat between the two of you), which Steve deemed an absolute dick move. Sometime between your third and fourth shot of vodka, you started to cry about your job (he only understood that you were working as a concipient) and at the seventh one, you were barely making any sense. Steve was humming, patting your shoulder, answering "Of course, yeah" or "Oh, I'm so sorry to hear that, love" whenever he seemed fit.

Four hours into the flight, he really couldn't understand a single fucking word from your heartbroken, drunken, and crying speech. So he continued on with patting your shoulder, looking aside with boredom on his face. You were going on and on and on. 'I don't wanna interrupt your train of thoughts, pal, since even you thinking about spinach is more interesting than whatever she is going off about...' Marc's voice popped inside Steven's head suddenly while the other man was staring at Steven through the spoon laying on the small table, making Steven jump on the seat a bit as he suddenly woke up from a slight trance, looking around with confusion. It could be heard that Marc thinks you're simply yet another crazy airplane lady he had heard so much about and wasn't taking you too seriously. Your eyes were piercing through the profile of his face, clearly trying to figure out which of the four Stevens is the real one, waiting for something. 'But I think that Little Miss Sunshine over here just asked you something.' "Could come again, love? I got lost in my thoughts." - Steven asked nonchalantly, giving you a small, warm smile. "I asked you if you think I'm pretty?" - You repeated the best you could, leaning your elbows into the armrests between you. The man rose his eyebrows in surprise, clearly being caught off guard by that question. At first, the answer seemed to be a very long 'Ermmmm...' as Steven thought about what could be the answer for a drunk lady.

The man looked in your face with literal puppy eyes, nervously fidgeting his fingers around, holding onto his trousers. Pretty? If you were pretty? You were gorgeous, to be frank. Even in his dizzy, sleepy state, back when Steven introduced himself to you, he was able to catch your pretty smile as you shook his palm. Back then, your hair was tidily framing your face as you tried to hold yourself high, trying to make up for all the pain and sadness inside. And now that you were drunk, you were not only gorgeous but adorable as well - he liked your face all warmed up from the alcohol and your eyes shining as you stared at him as if he was the most handsome man you've ever seen... Which sort of hurt because he realized that you were just drunk out of your mind. Trust me, Steven very much realized you're an absolute angel and if he had the balls to go for it, he'd tell you that you caught his eye immediately... The problem was that Steven was being a Steven and a red alarm was going off inside his head.

'What should I do? What should I do? What on Earth should I say, Marc?' - Steven yelled on the inside while looking into your face with his eyes popped a bit and his mouth open. 'First things first, you need to calm down, pal. Drunk women are one of the most dangerous beings on this planet because one wrong word can make them burst into tears. And this girl has clearly been through enough already.' - Marc assumed based on the raccoon eyes you were rocking, trying to keep Steven cool as he was about to guide him through this minefield. - 'What happened to her, by the way? I was taking a nap and woke up when we had a drunk girl sitting next to us.' 'Her bloke broke up with her just before she got on the flight.' 'Oh, wow. I take everything back. That's a dick move. It makes a lot of sense now.' - Marc mumbled apologetically even though you couldn't hear him. He felt like a dick himself, calling you crazy and all that. With that, he looked an intent look on you. - 'What do you think?' 'That she's gorgeous and before you manage to oppose, mate, it's not because she's paying me attention, thank you very much. I wish you would see before she got bladdered, her smile was so... Adorable.' - Steven answered, finally closing his mouth as he gave you a warm smile. Damn, he knew you won't remember any of this by the time you'd be getting off the flight, but he was keen on giving you the answer you deserved - especially after what happened to you.

'Steven, that would be a low fucking blow - telling you that you like a girl just because she's paying you attention. Geez, you really think of me that low, huh? We both know that you're a handsome man, come on now. Alright, alright, listen up - here's the game plan.' - Marc opposed heatedly and Steven could literally feel him rolling his eyes. He'd definitely tell that to Steven if Grant wouldn't call him out first. "Y/N, love." - The man answered after a long with, catching your palm in his to make sure he has your full attention. - "Let me start by saying that your beauty doesn't depend on one twat's opinion and you shouldn't let the break-up mess with your mind, alright? But if you'd like a more sincere answer, I think you're an absolute killer and in my opinion, you're stunning. So, what you're gonna do for me, love, is that you'll pick your pretty chin up and make sure you'd make the guy jealous if he was here with you, alright? Could you do that for me?"

At first, the muscles in your face contracted a bit before a huge smile broke out on your face... And it was so contagious that it made Steven smile back at you. - 'Good job. See? Wasn't that hard, was it? Now ask her if you can take a nap because I can feel how drowsy and tired you feel, Steven. We don't want you fainting, do we?' "I'm going to nap for a bit and I'll listen to some music. Would you want to share the headphones?" - Steven asked quietly, holding back a long yawn. Bloody hell, he was really sleepy. And so, with a grateful smile, you let Steven slip into the empty seat next to you, took one of the headphones, and closed your eyes as well, falling asleep while listening to some calm indie and pop music.

Well, let's just say that wasn't the story a few hours later - six to be exact, as a big thud made you wake up. As expected, you didn't remember the better portion of the night. Holy fucking mother of God, you thought to yourself, moaning as you caught your temple. You needed a Coke, a glass of water, and some painkiller asap. For some random reason, you had a headphone in your left ear, listening to Cavetown. You were only able to identify the band because you, Carly, Nikki, and Jen sometimes put them on during your road trips. As you clicked your tongue, you realized that the spot under your lips if drenched - realizing it was your own saliva. Oh, God. Oh no. What if Steven was already up and saw what happened? Oh shit, that would be embarrassing. You might've planned on asking him for dinner if he'd have the time after his wedding plans. And shit only got worse as you opened your eyes, realizing you're laying on someone's shoulder. Your heart was racing so fast that you started to sweat as if you smelling like an opened bottle of vodka wasn't fucking enough. Horrifiedly, you looked above just to see Steven's sharp jaw and black locks. He himself was, thankfully, still asleep - his temple was leaned into the seat's headrest, his lips opened wide. Holy fucking mother of God, you repeated while ripping the headphone out and standing up, sneaking around the sleeping man to disappear as quickly as you could.

As you walked down the stairs, you put chewing gum into your mouth and covered your eyes with sunglasses, putting the enormous straw hat back onto your head. Good, you thought to yourself as you let a deep breath out, good. You got dumped yesterday and you beslobbered all over that really handsome and very nice guy who was listening to your fucking bullshit. Great. At least it was a stranger who we won't ever see again. Thank fucking God, I wouldn't be able to look into his damn eyes again. Walking down the stair and into the hall, you could almost immediately see Carly and Kevin standing in the welcoming crowd, holding two huge handmade signs - one has your name all over it, beautified with hearts, clouds, and stars (which was clearly done by Carly herself) and the second one spelled 'Steven Grant' - the mysterious Steven, you thought. The greeting was amazing - all three of you laughed happily, Carly showing you her engagement ring as you two happily jumped around, performing the victory dance you were known for around the office. Sure, Kevin pointed out that you smelled like a fucking pub, but as soon as you told them what happened (since Carly naturally asked about Lucas), they both nodded and promised you that this will be the best weekend to get over him. They even mouthed that Steven would totally be all over you as soon as he'll meet you - He is a total innocent sweetheart on the outside, Carly whispered, but you know what they say - it's always the quiet ones. Try spending time with him, I think you two will click.

Turning your head around, you saw Steven the Gentleman, as you decided to dub him, walking in your general direction - your face got sweaty as you turned away from him, trying to disappear into the crowd, praying that this guy had never even seen Kevin. But he was coming closer and closer. And when he stopped right in front of Kevin to shake his mate's hand and hug him with laughter (kissing Carly's cheeks right after, congratulating both of them), you knew you were fucked. And not just fucked. You were about to die from embarrassment - you wanted to dig your own grave and let Carly bury you six feet under; you knew well that she shares the sense for drama, so she'd be on board for sure. At least he took the shirt off, not making you feel even worse. If Kevin would ask why is he wet for... Oooof, you'd faint. You'd start crying and run off, proclaiming that your social life is absolutely non-existent. But as soon as Kevin brought Steven's attention to you, you managed to draw out a very awkward smile while offering him your palm, pretending you've never met this dude ever in your life.

"I'm Y/N, you know, that girl you were correcting the e-mail after. If that would be of any help." - You said quietly, your face heating up once more as you tried to stay calm. The man could feel your palm shaking and sweating, but he didn't note it as the gentleman he was. When he woke up with your saliva all over his shoulder and you nowhere to be seen, he wasn't upset or anything like that. If anything, this thing you deemed embarrassing proved to him that the entire flight was totally real - that it wasn't just his dream. You were real. "Oh, totes." - Steven smiled, rephrasing what you said before getting hammered - this caught your attention and made you smile a bit more genuine. - "Name's Steven, in case I could be of any help."

"Steven, when did you start saying totes, dude? Never heard you say that." "Oh, I met this really sweet lady yesterday. She was very nice." - Steven answered with the sweetest smile, making you smile as well. But, in any case, you were determined not to hang out around Steven too much so he wouldn't think you're even more coo-coo than he already must've been thinking.

Well, let's say... That didn't go according to the plan either, did it?

#steven grant x fem!reader #marc spector x fem!reader #the moon knight baby #i did it #mom are you proud #and honestly it was so much fun #i hope the MK community won't strangle me to death because I hope i got the characters at least somewhat right #steven comes across as an innoncent 24/7 confused poor soul to me #and marc can come across a bit strong to me at first #until he gets to know someone better #ALSO JEN WALTERS CAMEO BE LIKE HELLO #I LOVE HER #mcu imagine #mcu fanfic #based on the portrayal of moon knight (2022) as seen in the series #oof i'm nervous #moon knight x fem!reader

99 notes · View notes

potentiallypolyglot · 2 months

Text

Career Change Update #4?

Okay, it's been forever since I posted a formal update, but I've been making a lot of progress!

I can't find my earlier posts about this so I don't remember where exactly I left off. But in the past I was talking about debating between some universities in either Beijing or Shanghai to get my masters in translation. I am committed to attending a Chinese taught course so that I can be surrounded by native speakers as I learn and of course I'd also be of more help to my fellow students in that way.

In August, I had the opportunity to visit both Beijing and Shanghai while visiting my college roommate. It was an amazing experience and I hope everyone has the opportunity to visit China. There are definitely some things you should know before you go though so maybe I'll make a separate post about that someday. Both cities were great, and it ended up being hotter in Beijing than it was in Shanghai the days I visited. Unfortunately for Beijing, it was the first city I visited and I ended up getting a bit sick from jetlag. I was already leaning toward Shanghai at that time though.

Upon my return to the states, a few people expressed strong feelings that I should go to Beijing. One being my roommate whose parents live relatively closer to Beijing. And another person who told me that Shanghai "wasn't real China", even though she hasn't travelled farther than Europe. Whatever. But I ended up speaking with a friend who studied in Beijing a little more than 10 years ago and I thought Beijing might be a nice place after that. Plus Shanghai has some heating issues in the winter and might be too muggy in the summer. So around end of November/beginning of December I began the application process.

I hit some roadblocks pretty much immediately, mostly in the form of my insufficient Chinese proficiency, but also partly in the form of being terrified of applications. My friend who studied in Beijing ten years ago assured me that his application process had been super simple. Basically, he emailed the college and they asked him for some documents and they admitted him and he got the Chinese Government Scholarship easy as pie. I quickly discovered that China has made some huge strides in the process over the last 10+ years (go figure, I definitely should have expected that). I did email them though and they replied with the application websites, as they should.

But the real issue is that I don't have high enough Chinese proficiency, much less documentation (HSK certificate), to apply for a Chinese taught masters course. So my plan has changed. It's actually a little bit more like my original plan in fact. I've decided I will teach English in China for 1 year to improve my proficiency and then apply for my Masters degree. I am currently in the process of getting my TEFL certification and expect to begin applying for positions in a few months!

As my research and daydreaming about life in China continued, I was still somewhat undecided about the city that I wanted to live in. Maybe I could teach in one city and then study in the other. But what if I put roots down and didn't want to switch it up? But all this and lots of Google searching lead me to an entirely new destination. A smaller city in Southwest China and not everyone is perfectly happy with the new location, but my mom really likes the idea and I'm excited about it so that's all that matters. They also have university there with my major so I won't have to relocate. And the lower costs of living there mean that the university will be affordable for me, even if I don't get the scholarship.

Also of course, it's comparatively less international than Beijing or Shanghai so it will be easier to practice Chinese rather than being roped into always being an opportunity to practice English. It will also be harder to fall into a pattern of only hanging out with other expats since there are fewer expats to be found.

So very excited stuff! And I'm more than halfway through my TEFL classes so there will be more updates to come! I've also transitioned out of my previous job into a lower level support role in order to ease my impending departure.

#career change #career change update

2 notes · View notes

gremlintiny · 4 months

Text

Defender (1)

~Everything here is just a work fiction. Every person, place, institution, event and etc. is not a representation of any of the real ones. Written purely for entertainment.~

Word count: ~5800

Genre: lore, mystery, alternative universe

Warnings: mild angst (yet), unnoticed loneliness, hidden information from OC/MC, illness, mentions of latin names (I'm sorry, I had to-)

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

After several days of migraine, nausea, vomiting and fever, Mikaela could finally spend a day without strong symptoms of his sickness while learning about the structure of the human brain. It was indeed a nerve-wrecking subject which still had solvable mysteries in it and many thought that they would be the one to find an answer to at least one of them in the future.

Mika was like that too. He hoped to discover something new, something significant to engrave his name into the history books of Strictland. Although when he shared this information with a faint smile on his face, his colleague looked at him with a puzzled expression and told him not to smile again. When he thought about it later, also remembering what he was taught in school several years ago, he recalled that it was a sign of an emotion, ‘happiness’. He didn’t even notice it until the other party mentioned the fact that he was showing something like a ‘feeling’. It came naturally, but he didn’t feel what the books described. Although it went somehow like ‘happiness is nothing but a trick to distract our precious mind from trying to gain more knowledge’ which sounded kind of awful when one wanted to become a known researcher.

So, he tried not to think about meaningless things when he finally could rest and train his ‘precious organ’ without having to fight against the virus. It was pretty exhausting to work like that too, being completely isolated and he was only allowed to go in to do crucial parts of the progress. Pig and chicken neurons won’t measure themselves and produce enough ingredients to work, will they?

When he finished a part about the eighth, vestibulocochlear nerve, he got up to make some nutritious supper while listening to the radio’s news. He usually paid attention to the evening programme, mainly because he had the most time in that interval and he developed this habit.

Hearing that nothing unordinary happened, besides people making bad or reasonable decisions again, he went back to his book to continue the previous topic. It was timely as well, since most of his migraine was located next to his nerve VIII. He only scoffed a little silently because he had no problems with his hearing and the doctors assured him that his health should be restored after a few days or maybe 1-2 weeks of rest, at max. It had nothing to do with his brain nerves.

Soon, the young man felt sleepiness creeping up to him. He finished the current part (“The colliculus inferior and cell types”), put down the now closed book and headed straight to the shower.

In fact, he was a man of habits. He woke up around the same time every day and went to bed in the evening as well, after eating a meal that won’t upset his body or brain. He had to work six days a week which meant he could only improve his knowledge about human anatomy in his little free time, so he tried to use all of it to the maximum extent. He needed to provide enough energy to his body to function effectively, therefore he rarely forgot to eat or drink, although he had to pay extra attention to his posture, which tended to be similar to the Pandulus borealis, aka the northern prawn’s shape.

He also liked talking to himself. Pretty much. Even in his workplace, but fortunately, his colleagues were sort of maximalists as well, so they didn't pay much attention to him and they didn’t have to spend 10 hours together inside one room either. The separation and required workaholic mindset solved this problem. It didn’t help Mikaela take good care of his throat though, even the intelligent scientist wondered sometimes why his vocal chords hurt when he excused himself after clearing his throat.

When something wasn’t going right or was distracting to his mind, he got somewhat disoriented that wasn’t left unnoticed by the others around him. A researcher suggested once a ‘mental disorder’ test, that ‘can analyse up to 200+ diseases with a high accuracy’. Mikaela declined this rather too pushy offer and just practised staying rational in those weird situations.

During his quick, cold shower, he was thinking about his life. He went through it from time to time, just to imagine himself as a lead doctor in the Academy’s main laboratory. It always caused a convenient biochemical reaction in his body. As he was a scientist himself, he tested this in the office with the most equipment. He did this during a short break instead of going for a walk in the simple garden so he only had time to check the dopamine and cortisol levels. The first was higher than what was written in his medical report and the latter one was lower.

He didn’t even notice the small smile sitting on his lips as he put his toothbrush back to its place after finishing the fancy thought and walked to the bed with a bottle of water in his hand. A newspaper awaited him on his nightstand that included the happenings in his area. He speedily ran though some pages but nothing significant was in it. His gaze lingered around the pictures of some rebellious individuals and a photo collection of a new historical event. He swore to visit it when it opened and he had a day off before putting the paper down and steadily slipping into the territory of sleeping.

His first, supposedly freshly healed day started off with another headache. Although it was different from the ones haunting him during his illness, it still left Mikaela in a less organised state. At least it disappeared right after he drank a shot of the usual whole body ‘booster’ dosage, as some called it.

He ate a protein rich breakfast, packed his lunch and the prescribed immunity system support tablets, then he walked to the institute. Most workers lived a few blocks away in order to make it easier to approach the building. Generally, people had to stay near the place they had to visit almost every day, such as the office or the factory. This way, the government saved a lot of money, just as the residents. It was only rational like this.

The day was pretty normal, Mikaela didn’t have to stop as many times as he thought he would and most of his coworkers greeted him with professionalism, although some seemed to behave differently. Since he didn’t have to meet those often, he simply didn’t think about it more. They were probably either scared of getting ill as well or thought it was wrongful to let somebody rest this much without giving them a warning.

His research was going more or less well, most of his material was kept neatly and his absence only caused them to have more time to adjust to the new environment. Not like it meant anything, many scientists just leave their subjects alone to die without having to use anything and still collecting data from them. Yet, Mikaela couldn’t really agree with them. His main test substances were cells, mostly neurons from different animals but he couldn’t bring himself to just let them perish from not getting enough one of their primary needs.

After all, his job was at that time to grow organoids to run different kinds of experiments on them to discover what part of them reacts to various factors which could happen to the real organism. He had heard about a person two days ago in another section of the company who was assigned with the lead team in studying ‘emotions’ and how to stop their harmful effects. The fact that he was almost completely separated from the others was the really strange part of the news. Despite that it was probably because he could focus more on the research and the chance of distractions or reactions was lowered significantly. He had to be a pretty remarkable person, since usually only one person got this promotion out of a hundred chosen scientists a year.

Mikaela was inspired to work harder from that point on to achieve that title too. By this driving thought, he continued planning out several tests to perform after the current one ended. Or if he got the permission to start another one in the meantime, during it. Many were running at least two experiments at the same time to have results ready faster, but only those got authorization who proved themselves worthy and collected enough to divide their attention. Or, more like, divide their time into two or more segments and they only focus on the one they wanted to, then jump into the other task with full force.

This section’s main commission was to examine livestock and other useful animals to enhance their nutrition score, then with the additional time and money, to provide more information about their nervous system, hormones and yet not 100% known regions.

This is how Mikaela got his job. He specialised in the human brain, but his knowledge was proven worth in this field as well because his goal object in his tender was to improve the encephalon’s nutrient uptake that can help with mental performance based on the support of the modification of molecules found in food.

Still, his thirst for human anatomy was not fulfilled with only reading and watching detailed videos of it. He wanted more. It is why he pursued a long-wanted dream of his, especially after he had just heard that somebody was randomly promoted to such a crucial position.

Maybe this is why his next week was spent mainly in the institution, under the artificial lights’ cold touch. But he wasn’t really different from the people working there, he was used to this environment and found purpose in it. If the particular test was successful or could at least give him some new information. Naturally, it was an impossible task since most experiments will be a failure at first, and only after some tries, can it be fruitful and stay consistent. Or one might have to give up that specific test for some time, if it is proven impossible at the moment.

Despite that it seemed like Mikaela’s efforts were rewarded with more and more answers, he still had a long way to go. But that day, he sensed something. He was a little bit more sloppy than before, less efficient and his mind occasionally wanted to turn itself off, like it got tired of thinking so much. But it has been functioning like this for decades, what’s the meaning behind the change?

The silent evening reading sessions were getting worse and worse too. Mikaela felt like his head was going to burst if he looked at one more paragraph in the suddenly thick looking book. He still enjoyed knowing more and not so common facts, but the dry, monotonous hours made him exhausted sooner than normally.

He began wondering, was this the aftereffect of the virus? He even questioned it at the appropriate person but he was reassured of being physically fine and it might be just a sign of retirement. Mika blinked a few times at this, because he was not used to these ‘bad jokes’ as some scientists called this kind of behaviour. After the explanation, he left with an even heavier chest - which has never happened before.

Fortunately, a few things could actually help to make this weight vanish. He listened more to the radio’s news and read more papers about not only scientific topics, but everyday events. Making food got longer as it was easier to do too instead of learning. He hasn’t abandoned his habits though, everything was going similarly with some changes in the activities.

Next day, he had to visit the industrial doctor because all of the colleagues he met informed him how pale he was. Even though he didn’t recognise any physical abnormality, the only strange thing was the supposedly existing pressure on his sternum and costae. He told this the medic as soon he was asked about any pain in his upper body, excluding his heart and head. An unidentified light flashed through her eyes, immediately disappearing after half a second.

Mikaela had to be discharged without any concrete results because she couldn’t find anything wrong either, but she looked like she wanted to say one more thing before letting the man go. In the end, she just closed her mouth, took a deeper breath and told him to be careful, it might be only some exhaustion but it could also mean a much worse disease.

With these weird words, his concentration dropped again. He didn’t even finish his lunch, the same type he eats everyday, destroying it to the last bite usually. ‘What’s wrong with my properly calculated portion? Did I make a mistake while making it? Or were the eggs larger, perhaps?’ Mikaela thought as he was stimulating a chicken heart organoid which was commissioned by another food processing company’s head assistant. A few important sponsors and patrons liked eating chicken heart containing meals as it had a convenient bite size and nutritious, ideal to consume regularly. In fact, Mikaela was also a fan of them since he could include them easily in his diet, although he didn’t do it that often. He preferred chicken breast, fish and eggs for some reason.

Seeing how the little heart reacted to different signals, did not help his appetite. He tried to suppress the thoughts of him being defective with the explanation of ‘I have used this ingredient in my own meals, and we get too many orders over the last years in connection with chickens. It is repetitive and not a real challenge.’ Another word popped into his mind as he was chasing away the other ones. ‘Boring’. He remembered it from a distant memory where a kid was saying it elongated. It happened probably during a lesson because an older voice lectured the child quickly. Being bored literally means the person feels a defined emotion and can express it as well. Which is pretty bad around here.

Luckily, a newcomer’s question broke him off this train of thoughts. The man has just finished learning in Prestige Academy and was already accepted for this government job as a full-time working researcher at the ‘human emotions’ fraction. He had to show more of his best to be able to stay there. But what was he doing here, again?

“Excuse me Mikaela-ssi, but I have been given the task of checking on workers who were forced to take a sick leave. I only have a few questions to ask, may you have the time for this quick survey at the moment?” The younger one was not too organised, maybe he hasn’t gone to many people yet. Even though his section is far away from Mikaela’s... There were probably only a few cases in the last month, nothing else.

“Sure, just give me a minute to put my equipment into a sterilising chamber.” The Gallus gallus domesticus organoid observing male did it promptly and neatly to secure the normal depuration. “Thank you for your patience, I can pay attention now without a problem.”

“Thank you too. First question; are all of the symptoms gone or do you still notice some changes in your health?” Mikaela of course answered honestly, even mentioning the light weight feeling on his chest. He didn’t see the same unknown light in the other one’s eyes appearing too, as it did in the doctor's.

“Okay. This is not uncommon in the cases of getting infected with a virus still in the testing phase, unfortunately. Second question; have you felt any changes in your work or everyday life?” It was a slightly strange thing to ask. The context was right but something simply wasn’t on track fully, although Mikaela couldn’t wrap his head around this matter.

He had to give an appropriate response though. “Well, truth to be told, only smaller ones. The biggest change is getting exhausted faster than before, but I also had to rearrange my schedule at home a little bit.”

“Could you elaborate more on the altered schedule?” Was heard the sudden interjection of the younger man. Mikaela had to blink twice to react quickly.

“Yes, of course. For example, the duration of making food got longer and I read more news instead of scientific books. I still do the latter one as well, but not as much as previously. My habits stayed the same nonetheless.” He tried to answer earnestly but the weight got somewhat heavier on his upper body.

The other party only nodded, finally looking away to write it down on his sheet. “I see, thank you.” The strange glow flickered. “Third question, based on your previous response; have you seen or heard anything in the news that was outstanding in any way?”

Mikaela’s head started to hurt, yet again. “No, not really. It’s more like I find the news more appealing after working.” Why would any of them stand out? It didn’t sound necessary to his illness and healing process.

The survey contained a few more questions, as he could tell by glancing at the paper secretly. “Okay. Fourth one; has anybody, who looks unreliable, approached you?” Mika simply said no since he didn’t know anymore what kind of questions were these.

“Thank you. Last one; what do you feel in general?” Did he make a mistake when looking at the sheet and there weren’t more questions in reality?

The older one had to blink more before answering. “My physical conditions are normal, I am able to do my daily exercises as well without serious problems and there doesn’t seem to be anything wrong with my immune system either.” That not promising light got weaker at the end of Mikaela’s sentence in the other’s iris. One couldn’t tell if it was good or bad.

The newbie nodded a bigger one and finished writing. “Thank you very much for your cooperation and time, Mikaela-ssi. You will receive your report within two days.” He almost stepped away before stopping his movement. “Ah, and have a nice day.”

Mikaela’s head tilted faintly to the right without him noticing. “Ah, thank you for your time as well and… have a nice day. Is it another practice at the Human Emotions Department?”

The younger one’s moderately narrowed eyes weren't overlooked by the blue-eyed person. Even if he didn’t have any clue what they meant. “Something similar. Goodbye.” And the newcomer was already walking away, leaving a rapidly blinking Mikaela behind in the laboratory.

Something was off. He could tell, but had no idea what. Experiencing two similar things during the same day was almost impossible to be a simple coincidence. As the figure completely disappeared, Mika quickly noted down everything they had said and tried to write down what happened at the nursery too. He might encounter more strange events in the future and he can connect the dots - if there are any.

Concentrating on his project was almost useless with these new, odd phenomenas in his mind. Fortunately, he only had two hours left until his clocking out so he finished the important parts and left almost right away. In fact, he usually went home late after the end of his working hours but he hoped nobody would take it as a sign of something bad. He just needs more time after the long break. That is why they have to do these tests on him. To make sure he can continue working as an efficient person.

With many racing thoughts in his head, he headed home. Even went for a longer walk to improve his physical health even sooner, and to clear out anything that had been restricting him these days.

He couldn’t recall where this idea came from. Was it in a health related article or in a newspaper’s biology section? He only seemed to remember a blurry picture of a paper, with a running man on it. His mind was failing him once again, he usually could recite what he read a few days ago, but this time, it was just like a part of a dream.

He shrugged it off as he started walking faster, which felt exceptionally great at the moment. The air wasn’t contaminated as much as it usually was on weekdays, said the report coming from the speakers on the walls. Somebody was always on duty, telling the latest and most important events to keep the citizens updated. It was a first class way to have everything as organised as it can be, for example, proficiently preventing accidents.

After a good half an hour walk, he returned to his home to rest as well. Mikaela quickly took a detour to the store before that to restock the ingredients he uses the most and to buy more immune system supporting ones. Those ones aren’t his exact type but he knew some recipes to make use of them. They were also more expensive.

Arriving at the flat, he immediately headed to the kitchen after washing his hands and face. First thing first, the soup - an abundant soup of vegetables and collagen rich bones and meat. He made it extra spicy since certain ones, like ginger, can really boost the body when it’s needed. The second meal was a stranger one, but he had a weird taste to begin with. He prepared spinach and salmon, and tried to top it with fresh lemon juice and plump but he rather put it aside for his tea after the filling dinner. Ginger tea and lemon go with each other, if one’s taste buds like them.

The black haired man had to collapse into his sofa to avoid sleeping on the floor or at the table. Had to pay more attention to his posture too, and turning into a new life form with a bent back wasn’t his goal. He slowly turned on the radio to have something to listen to as he closed his eyelids.

He didn’t even make an attempt to fool himself. He was way too tired to properly process what they are saying in the show. Was it the weather cast? Or the news? Or an informative one? The last thing he heard was something about ‘black piranhas’ or what and his brain suddenly jumped into the darkness.

Around three hours later, he suddenly got woken up by a random noise, although Mikaela wasn’t sure that it wasn’t only in his dreams as he dreamt about him being clumsy in the laboratory. Don’t let an elephant into a porcelain shop, he thought to himself as he tried blinking and rubbed his face. His sleepy mind randomly recalled a saying that his parents usually told him in his childhood.

Since it was already evening, he quickly washed the dishes, put the remaining food into the fridge for tomorrow and after, if it lasted, then went to grab the vacuum cleaner. As he finished his usual routine, because he needed it to keep order in his apartment, the man with light coloured irises was eyeing the mop as well. He really didn’t feel like doing it pshysically, but it was time to wipe the floor shiny. With a strong exhale, he began the operation.

Don’t squish all of the water out, let it wet the consistent dirt, it will soak it in anyway and one can just easily swipe with the mop and it’s gone. If not, repeat the process until one's eyes get dry from staring at that one spot too intensely to make sure it’s really not there anymore. For the naked eye, at least.

The poor radio was still saying its things in the background while the male was tidying as fast as a dying coral. A woman with a high pitched but somehow smooth voice told the audience about the new achievements in nanotechnology, then a man was interviewed who was a professional in hearing implants. The next member on this show introduced himself as a soon-to-be doctor who is currently studying and practising to be a special ophthalmologist, determined to bring light into more and more people’s nervous system through an artificial ‘eye’.

Despite these topics being pretty interesting, Mikaela had to concentrate on doing his chores and he only listened to it half as well as typically. He noticed a faint pain on the side of his head when he finally sat down, but it had been there for minutes, based on the stage of the physical feeling. Did it appear during the nanotechnology results’ short but compact summary or was it when the next one started talking about the diversity of problems that can cause the hearing to deteriorate and the many reasons behind the complete loss of it?

Because he could only try to measure the time accurately, he gave up on determining the exact time and wrote “Was doing normal household chores and didn’t notice it right away. Estimated headache duration: 20-35 minutes.” down in his ‘Health check’ notebook.

The whole flat was looking glamorous, he even cleaned the blinders. One can not be careful enough when it comes down to respiratory problems caused by dust or mould, although it was already the middle of spring.

Plopping on the sofa again, he exhaustedly glanced at the book he was reading in the last few days, then the newspaper, with all thoughts lost. It was soon time to sleep, why bother with doing it? ‘Maybe the paper, that should be fine before showering, I only have less than half an hour to do anything…’ He said to himself in his mind.

However, after a long and deep sigh, he grabbed the print and thudded back into the seat, sitting as normally as he could to help his spine, respiratory and digestive system. At least this was his excuse. Soon, his eyes widened a little bit as he was reading the articles. The young man found one about the human emotion cancelling program where a previous beggar, who even used drugs, successfully became a doctor in cardiac surgery.

The whole situation was exceptional, because they usually get dragged to the disposal site to make one last use of them. But a bunch of lucky ones got the chance to live another life, as a working and ordinary person in this society. If it could continue in the future, more and more lost minds could be integrated back to the public as normal people. Isn’t it the most reasonable solution to this problem?

But one shouldn’t run right into a good looking wall, head on, as soon as something new happens. It will take a long time and a lot of persuasion to actually achieve this goal. Endless hours of paperwork, permissions, approvals, results, presentations, public opinion, countless subjects and still, nothing would be guaranteed. Maybe the said person who graduated as a doctor, had already been at university for years but something caused him to quit it and the downfall began. What if the majority of those people hasn’t even put their feet into a school building or they aren’t even motivated the slightest to change?

Mikaela then moved onto the next news, because thinking about this wasn’t his job yet, despite the goals of his. His brain couldn’t process the first sentence as he was still brooding over this possibility and the thought of a new application to work in that department.

The light eyed one had to read it again because of that, of course. Then he just blinked quickly a few more times. The article was about a criminal organisation who wanted to spread the disease - human emotions. They call themselves the “Black Pirates” and they are overly dangerous since they would even use violence to make the residents of Strictland feel those threatening things. The writer included the known pictures of the main members, eight men, dressed in black, as the name suggested. If anybody sees them, they have to report it right away so the community can stop an epidemic of human emotions that might even end this world.

Mika stopped blinking faster than he usually does but at the same time, he didn’t notice his brows getting knitted. He found it absolutely irrational to cause the society to fall over some ‘feelings’ that can even hinder people. He was completely okay as a normal, emotionless person, working a useful and brain training job before going home to make food, read interesting books and news. Imagining the havoc it would cause if he tried to spread this theoretical disease made him shake his head as a sign of disapproval.

The man rather just finished reading the article, then jumped onto the next one to stop his mind running around this topic. What a useless thing to do if they could just live their lives in this paradise where everything is in order. Fortunately, the next subject was a better option to read before going to bed since it shared the results of ecological wins regarding bigger towns. A certain group gave their all in to upgrade the water system and many reported seeing the more sensitive species habiting the waters again, after decades.

The last conscious thoughts of Mikaela were about the re-education of defective ones and the walk he will take on the weekend to check on those new-old species. The rebellious gang didn’t cross his mind more than once, and only to recall the features he had to report if he saw them.

Since the weather cast had a high accuracy, he took their advice during the following days. He put aside the warmer clothes and only brought one plus sweater when he went to actually see the wildlife mentioned in the newspaper and overall the whole area as well. Mikaela made sure to carefully examine everything he wrote down in his notebook. He even added things he was able to notice, took pictures of many things to organise them later in a community group’s article. Numerous people uploaded information there to share it with the world and to document it easily.

A week later he finished this little project. He thought he had done a good job after gathering much data and comparing them to others’ studies and results. Of course, it was just a free-time programme to do but he still wanted to give his best. After all, he already had a connection to animals, why not upgrade his knowledge by spending more time in nature? It was also recommended by the main face of the health facility to go out more, which was heard on radio or on the streets and seen on the television a few times a day, but they suggested this strictly only for scientific reasons. No matter how bad the weather was.

Many went out even in a storm to collect enough information for their project. But most people spent the majority of their freetime in their blindfolded houses or flats. Mikaela didn't even know how other people lived their daily lives. Based on what he had heard from his colleagues, they spent their time similarly like him after work.

He just shrugged his shoulders unconsciously before checking out the document for hidden mistakes and misspelt words, with his references opened on other sites. The days were grey almost all of the time anyway, there was no meaning of trying to do something more sensible. One was fine in the apartment, reading or doing chores, for example. He didn't need anything else to live and it was completely normal.

The success rate of his experiment got higher after he exercised his brain more in the afternoons, with the observation of the endangered species, the environment and reading much more of this topic on the net. His mind seemed to work perfectly again. He could breathe fine, just like before.

He didn't get any more strange surveys or questions either, so he thought he passed them and that there was no problem with him. It was simply a little aftereffect of the still not fully tested virus. The chances of him being a danger to the others were low to begin with, but when he got the last special medical report, where everything was good, he stopped thinking about it more than it was necessary to do.

His co-workers also didn't avoid him as much as during the last few weeks. He got into more conversations in scientific news or also regarding their own tests, which was a great way to improve one’s knowledge and way of seeing the world. Or, if not the world's, but a small project's that he was doing, too. Life went back to completely normal, and the weird pressure was gone from his chest too.

Mikaela stuck to his habits strictly most of the time, but he was able to be flexible about changing them or rarely even replacing one with another. The former one happened with observing the local species and reading newspapers. He didn't replace the latter though, it was simply reduced and relocated in other sessions. The subjects of his books stayed more or less the same, but he put his hands on more ecological ones to improve his view of the real universe.

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

The middle-tall man was peacefully working on a new song he wanted to release soon. The pinch was decided a long time ago, but something was still missing. The problem probably lied in the rhythm of the drums itself, although he felt like something else was off.

After hours of trying to figure it out, he dropped down his pencil and smashed his head not so violently into the half wooden, half plastic desk. He truly was tired and the fact that he had been doing this painful, not so fruitful brainstorming for days straight during the nights after work, did not exactly help the man.

He exhaustedly glanced at his phone which showed him three unread messages from his brother, whom he hadn't seen for probably two months now. The thin figure slowly regained his power to sit sort of normally and answered the other one.

His brother wanted to meet him before the male and his group had to go on another tour, again, and also, maybe even to go home for a family lunch. The sleepily blinking one felt his chest getting tighter, his throat getting stuffed with a non-existent material and he just made one blink longer to think it through.

True, he will have time after next week. Yes, that could be just fine. Meeting his beloved ones might even charge him up a little bit. After fighting the urge to actually fall asleep, he typed it down to his brother, who was pretty happy based on his unsually qiuck reply.

The younger one smiled, with much love in it, and told the older sibling that he will go now to sleep, finally. The other man urged him to do it, half-jokingly scolding him for torturing himself like this again, and again. But both of them knew that the musician loved doing his job, with all his might and would even fight the whole world to bring this sensations to others.

#ateez #ateez fanfiction #ateez lore #mikaela #i hope i can write all of it #it will be angst dw #mikaela and his bizarre adventures with ateez #z #defender

2 notes · View notes