#raphel/answers

[r4phel]

Your poseidon is maui core..

I had so many reactions in a short period of time upon realizing this.

[ducknotinarow]

[MM Rasey] [SILENT] The receiver's kiss renders the sender momentarily speechless.

| "Shut Up" Kiss starters

This wasn’t like Raph at all. He felt sick to his stoumach or as gross as it might be like he really needed to use the bathroom. His stomauch felt like it was being gripped tightly ad twisted trying to ring out the protien poweder drink he had consumed on the bus ride over. If turtles could sweat he was sure his plams would be leaking and his pits as damp as a swramp. Sometimes he was glad to be a turtle he didn’t have to deal with that issue after all. Eyes closed as he tried to tune out the sound of the crowd in the school gymnasium. His team mates were all still sat on the bench or stretching out getting ready. Raphael felt like he couldn’t breath.

Elijah, his teammate tried rallying him up when he started barking at the turtle who had just not noticed till they were up in his face. Drawing Raphael out from where his mind had allowed him to run away from his worries. As he stared at them for a few seconds. Finally clicking as he gripped on to thier own shoulders and barked back. The rest of his team soon all joined in as they all barked together and growled. It was how they always got hyped up.

It didn't help his situation though, as they all threw thier arms into the air before Elijah took off the first of their team with a match well the rest kept to howler out cheers to him. When the others started to excitedly talk about the easy win they have with Raph on thier team. Raphael just offered his best attempt to seeming confident. Before eyeing his water bottle, he grabbed it and squeezed it with all he could pouring out every drop of water into his mouth. Before wiping his mouth with his arm waving his bottle at the couch. "Mr. Johnson i'm gonna refill my water"

When given the okay and handed over a liquid Iv to add to his water once done Raph took his leave to through the nearest door. The moment he rounded the corner he dropped the act and set his water bottle on to the top of the water fountain. Gripping the sides of it as he let his breath out finally. As if he had been holding it this whole time. Raph reached out to the bottle refill and set the sensor off to drop cool water into the palm of his hand. Throwing it on to his face hoping the shock of the cold would help him settle down. When he heard foot steps, he was quick to straighten up grabbing for his bottle to shove under the sensor to fill it instead.

"Man I sure gotta make sure I stay hydrated for the match!" When he saw it was Casey though, the tension in his shoulders dropped "Oh hey Case" He said letting himself rest against the wall.

Casey offered that soft gentle crooked smile, the one that always showed off the cut in his lip, and the gap in his teeth. The smile that seemed to just melt everything away to Raphael, as he slowly started to control his breath. Letting his eyes close a moment Splinter’s words cae to mind, as he slowly breathed in and held it then slow as he could let it out. Raphael repeated the action a few more times. It wasn’t the first time Casey had seen Raph need to do this, normally it was for his anger though.

Raphael let his head tip back and pressed a hand to his forhead slightly laughing, at how lame he must be coming off right now. “I’m fine” He answered the question, he shouldn’t be shocked that Casey knew something was wrong with him. “Just- they really counting on me out there. Why did our first match have to be against our schools biggest rivals? The whole school is here even! And the guys are all so sure well win just cause of me alone? That’s a lot of fucking-“

Before Raphael could even think of more reasons for he anexity in his gut t start twisting his guts around as they were, Casey’s mouth was pressed up against his. The froce slightly knocked Raph’s head into the wall behind him. Second after though he tugged and pulled Casey in flushed against self by the hips. Letting Casey’s arms move to warp around his neck. The kiss was deep, warm and full of want and so much more. Not a desperation just something claming and sweet. Raph let his hands move to pull up one of Casey’s legs so he could hold it just under thier thigh. So to pull Casey in closer before lips finally came apart. Casey’s forehead rested against his own as he smiled and offered a breathly laugh.

“Why do ya gotta keep giving me gay awakening kisses when were around something related to a spot we like?” Rapheal joked slightly, before feling relaxed as he let his fingers comb through Casey’s hair a moment. Pre game jitters was all it was “Thanks” he mouth against Casey’s lips. Slowly moving away from the wall and letting Casey’s foot return to the floor as he grabbed for his water bottle. Giving it another squeeze to let the water splash against his face.

Slightly laughing when hearing that he got some on Casey, “We’ll do you want me popping out of my shell for everyone to see?” Raphael’s way of telling Casey well the kiss was enjoable it was a bit too enjoyable “Now I wanna win foranother reason cause if you kiss me like that just to help me clam down? I can’t wait to see how you kiss me when I win.” Raphael stated the usual confidence sparking up again “Or ya know maybe more one on one celebrating maybe.” Clearly the water had’t cooled him off enough.

[libby-for-life]

Idea: Lucifer and Lilith wanted to take Adam with them but they needed to make sure Eden was safe outside first. It was no secret, other than to Adam, that he was innocent and far too impulsive with his curiosity. They were afraid he would get hurt. So, they told Adam they would be gone for the day but they would be back. Adam nodded, trusting his to favorite people to come back.

Lucifer and Lilith had returned after the day was up but the Angels caught them before they could get to Adam. Instead of banishing them out of the Garden, they were banished to Hell immediately seeing as Lilith wasn't pure anymore and it was all Lucifer's fault.

They screamed and tried calling for Adam’s name, they promised they would be back for him, but he was too far away to make out their calls.

The angels then left, leaving Adam alone. They didn't tell him they ran off or that they were gone. They just never brought them up. Like they didn't exist.

After a week of seeing no sign of them, he was worried that something happened to them. He asked the angels where they could be and but his questions were brushed aside. Adam was determined to know where they went. The angels tried to distract him with a new wife, but because he was too busy worried about Lilith and Lucifer, he didn't realize she had eaten the apple until too late.

They were banished from Eden.

Even as Adam died on earth, he was convinced his two special people didn't abandon him. They always kept their promises. He just needed to find them. Maybe they were hurt. Maybe something awful happend to them.

When he came to Heaven, the first thing he did was ask for Lilith and Lucifer. For years he pestered the angels of Heaven, asking questions and demanding answers. Until they had enough. They needed Adam to stop questioning so they asked Raphel to make him more submissive and quiet. No one knew what he did, but a whole year later, Adam was completely different soul. No longer was he a loud abrasive man demanding answers.

He was quiet, subdued. Spoke unless spoken to. And just in time for a meeting with Hell's rulers about overpopulation.

Adam wasn't in charge of anything but he was being brought to...hold stuff. That's it. That was his purpose as of right now until it changed when another angel asked him something.

Lilith and Lucifer were not prepared for what they saw. Adam...their Adam...but so different. So...broken. And Michael had the audacity to mock them over it.

"Adam doesn't even remember you! Right, Adam?"

"No, Sir."

[mytheoristavenue]

TMNT 2012 Raphel Hamato x Reader - Give Me a Chance

This was a commission from @virtualdonutenemy, thanks for the work! For any questions regarding commissions, go here.

Summary: After Raph watches your date with a classmate go south, he makes sure not to waste you getting all dolled up.

Warnings: Inuendo, angst, fluff, lime, possessive!Raph, overprotective!Leo, sheltered!Reader, rebounding, lust, sad/desperate!Reader, perv!Raph

You weren’t capable of letting down your smile. There was just no way, you were too excited. After months of subliminal flirting, bashful compliments, and loaning pencils, the cute guy in your comp sci class had finally asked you out and you couldn’t be happier. 

Carefully, you drug the felt tip of your lipgloss wand across your bottom lip, pursing and puckering to spread the shimmer evenly. Glancing down at your phone, you read the time and beamed again. You’d have just enough time to put on some earrings and shoes before having to leave. After doing so, you did a once-over in the mirror, twirling and giggling at the way the hem of your dress flew outwards. Suddenly, as if to rain on your parade, your phone began to buzz, shimmying around in its spot on your bed.

You were expecting to see the name of the gentleman you were meeting tonight, probably calling to cancel your evening plans. The name of your ‘eldest brother’ scrolling sideways across the screen brought you little relief, though. If the boys found out about your date, no doubt they’d try to interfere.

“Hello?” you answered cautiously, pacing through your living room.

“Where are you right now?” Leo’s stern voice rang out through the speaker.

“Home, why?” you asked, secretly impatient as you checked the time. Now you were definitely going to be late. 

“Hang tight, I’m on my way.” The announcement was so sudden that you hardly had time to react but blurted out a flustered opposition.

“N-No, I have a date!” Silence befell his end and you began to wonder if the line had gone dead or he’d maybe lost signal somehow. 

“A date?!” Leo furiously sprang back to life. “With who?!”

“The guy I told you about the other day…?” you murmured, hoping he could recall the conversation well enough for you to avoid elaborating.

“You didn’t tell he’d asked you out!” He pressed further, irritated at your lack of communication. 

“I knew you’d freak out!” you reasoned, a distressed tremble in your voice. “And besides, I didn’t think it was your business!”

“Your safety is our business,” Leo argued, stony as ever. “(Y/N), you know the rules.” The ‘rule’ in question forbade you from doing most things that required you to leave your home unless for school, or to visit the lair; on the few occasions you were allowed to, you were to wear bland clothes. Nothing attention-grabbing like the low cute, crimson red spaghetti strapped cocktail dress you now wore. “There’s no way you can be discrete in that dress, what if someone sees you and follows you home or worse-”

“Please, Leo!” you suddenly interjected. “I rarely ever leave get to do anything and I really like this guy! Please just let me do this one thing!”

The eldest sibling paused for a moment as if taken back, before finally sighing and pinching the bridge of his nose. “Do you promise to be careful? Call us if anything- and I mean anything- goes wrong?”

“I swear, Leo!” You promised, holding your fists tightly to your chest, likely to keep your heart from beating out of it as you waited for his response. 

“Fine,” he reluctantly submitted, shaking his head on the other end. “Have fun and be careful, okay?”

“I will, thank you so much!” You squealed, excitedly stomping in place before abruptly hanging up, presumably to be on your way.

Rolling his eyes and pivoting to return to his training in the dojo, Leo froze when he noticed Raph standing in the doorway to said room, peridot eyes zeroed in on the exit. Before the older knew it, he was being passed by as the other turtle prepared to leave. “Don’t follow her,” Leo warned knowingly, crossing his arms as his younger brother bustled about the room to gather his things. “This is a terrible idea and you know it.”

“Leo’s right, Raph,” Don piped up, exiting the lab and trekking to the kitchen, empty mug in hand. “You know how she gets, there’s no way this is gonna end well for you.” The first pair both glanced up at the new player in the conversation before going back to it. “I’m just sayin’ I speak from personal experience,” the brainiest turtle continued, pouring his umpteenth cup of coffee for the day and stirring additives into it. “Give her some space, man.”

For just a moment, the hotheaded brother halted, taking his family’s advice into account, before ultimately deciding that, he wouldn’t heed it. “Yeah, whatever. You guys don’t know what you’re talkin’ about,” he grumbled, continuing his descent down the stairs toward the exit of the lair. 

Obviously, the others didn’t know you the way he did, he thought. They didn’t know how clumsy and gullible you could be, how badly you needed his guardianship. That's what he told himself anyway, it would be much too embarrassing for him to admit that the real reason he was following you out on this date was to pretend that the guy you were going out with was him.

—--

You stifled a giggle, kicking your legs beneath the table and clenching the rusty satin of your dress in your fists, all in an attempt to calm yourself before your date arrived. Admittedly, you were a tiny bit disappointed to find that your date was nowhere to be seen, even though you were five minutes late yourself. Nonetheless, you got a table for the two of you, ordered a pair of waters and an appetizer, then waited. The tantalizing smell of garlic bread enticed you as it sat untouched in the middle of the table. You thought it was probably bad etiquette to start eating without your date.

Minutes ticked by as your throat became more and more parched- no doubt a product of your constant nervous swallowing. Surely, it wouldn’t be too rude to sip your drink while you wait. Before you realized it, your glass was nearly empty and a waitress was at your side offering a refill. She glanced down at you with a sympathetic smile that you didn’t quite understand at the time before turning and hurrying away. Another check of the time revealed your gentleman caller to now be nearly fifteen minutes that, though to you it felt more like thirty. Screw this, you were hungry.

One basket of bread and another refill later and you found yourself obsessively checking your phone for any word from him, only to find yourself sorely disappointed every time. You were very rapidly beginning to lose hope, when suddenly, your phone vibrated, dancing about on the table. You hastily checked it to find a text from the man of the hour:

“Sorry, can’t make it tonight. Sick.”

You hadn’t even noticed the tears well up in your eyes until you felt them roll off your chin. Even though he’d excused himself as ill, you still felt so…unwanted, so cast aside. Shuddering, you instantly flagged down the waitress, desperately trying to conceal your hurt. You just wanted to pay out and go home.

—--

From a nearby rooftop, Raph watched the entire scene unfold with glossy eyes. It almost reminded him of the pilot to a show you’d made him sit through last summer, only this wasn’t a sitcom. This would likely have a lasting effect on your self-esteem. 

He was a little relieved when you finally stood up and stormed out of the restaurant, frantically wiping tears away with your wrist. You were a bullet train now, racing down the avenue needing to get home as fast as possible. Startled, Raph jumped to his feet, seeing his time to intercept you being diced into seconds. In the blink of an eye, he was on the wet pavement of a sketchy alleyway, stalking behind as your figure darted between cars and tall structures. 

Suddenly, he halted in his pursuit of you- what would you say if you found him following you? There was a good chance you wouldn’t just fall helplessly in his arms like he hoped you would. Was there a way he could surprise you and sweep you off your feet without letting you in on his possessive tendencies?

—--

Wailing, you barged into the lobby of your apartment complex, face hidden in your shoulder as you blew past the doorman, cutting his greetings short. Too embarrassed to sit in anyone’s presence long enough for the elevator to arrive, you burst through the stairwell door, clumsily speeding up them, tripping all the while and crawling back up yourself. After falling up four flights, you finally reached your floor and bolted for the exit, fantasizing about the way your plush bedding would envelop you in security. Still sniveling, but with sanctuary within reach, you shoved your key into the lock and threw the front door open, only to fall forward into the apartment dramatically, catching yourself before gravity could take over.

Exhausted, you haphazardly tossed your belongings onto the floor, shedding layers and accessories as you traversed the space. Heels in the hall, purse on the couch, and earrings on the kitchen island, you finally reached the bedroom in only your red cocktail dress, dainty necklace, and smudged makeup. As your fingers gripped the door handle you stopped, smelling something smokey, possibly with a floral hint. Alert to a possible intruder, you raised your guard and prepared for the worst before gently pushing the door and letting it creak open on its own.

Beyond the door, Raph lounged on your bed, waiting for you to arrive home. Surrounding him were throw blankets and pillows, an open take-out box with a steaming pizza, piled with your favorite toppings, and a rose-scented candle burning on the nightstand. Illuminating it all was your television, set on the menu screen of your favorite childhood film, the remote control resting on his chest. “Welcome home,” he said cooly, voice full of gravel, but a languid smile speaking volumes. You couldn’t hold back the sobs that poured from your throat as you lurched forward, collapsing against him.

Raph went rigid beneath you, having been concealing his anxiety about your reaction for quite a while. As you heaved and wept against him, he eased back into you and slowly wrapped you in his arms, hushing your woes. “Dollface, what’s the matter?” he asked carefully as if he didn’t already know.

“Leo was right,” you shuddered. “I never should have gone out with that stupid prick!”

“A date, so that’s where ya been?” Raph asked lightheartedly, pushing you away by your shoulders so he could see your face. “No wonder you’re all prettied up.” Your heart skipped a beat at his words and blood rushed to your face. “Now tell me who that asshole is and what he did to you.” 

“H-He…” you sniffled, sitting up fully on your knees and in between his. God, you looked so vulnerable in that position, and the way the ruching of your dress pulled your waist in- That wasn’t the point. “He just never showed up…” you muttered weakly. “He didn’t tell me he was sick ‘til way after he was supposed to be there…” You couldn’t keep yourself from crumbling again, falling back into his arms. 

“Shhh…” he cooed, scaly hand caressing your shuddering back. “I got ya, babe, it’s okay.” What seemed to be hours passed with him simply holding you as you cried when you finally spoke again, albeit in a quiet and broken tone. 

“R-Raph, do you think I’m pretty…?” 

“My God, babe, is that even a question?” he suddenly snorted, prompting you to erect yourself to gain distance from him. He could plainly see the hurt in your eyes as you loomed over him, though his eyes were elsewhere- darting all over your body and eating you up. “Like seriously, how honest do you want me to be, 'cause we’ll be here all night.”

“I don’t want you to lie…” you answered, anxiety bubbling up in your blood. 

“I mean where do I start?” he laughed, hands ghosting over your hips, but never actually making contact. “You got these perfect hips and that pretty face, tight ass,” he smirked as you flustered more and more above him, eyelids becoming heavy with want. “You’re a total fox baby.” he dazzled, finally laying his hands on you. “I always wanted to make you feel pretty, just give me a chance baby and I swear, you won’t ever doubt yourself again.” You felt dizzy under all his attention. You’d always had a feeling Raph had a crush on you, but you never would have thought him so passionate. Gradually and instinctually, you leaned closer to him, hazily sealing your lips against his, humming lightly. Kissing him felt so natural, and so necessary, neediness taking you whole.

“(Y/N), I love you,” he confessed, eyes trained on your lips as he parted from you. You weren’t entirely sure whether or not to believe him, as everything around you moved so fast but you felt so special… “So whadaya say, dollface? We got food, your favorite movie, and all night…” he persuaded you, pulling you closer into his lap. “I can help ya get changed into something a little more comfy if ya want...”

Finally, your painted lips curled into a beaming grin and tears pricked your eyes once more, this time for overwhelming joy. “Okay, let’s do it.”

Taglist: @sunshinesdaydream @helpyaw @thelaundrybitch @momii @camillahorne26 @turtle-babe83 @fyreball66 @sharpwindow @roseygardenfan @witchofthenorthstar @pheradream15 @post-apocalyptic-daydream @hyunonion @killmewithafanfic @virtualdonutenemy

[fjsjjgnnfjdjf]

Size allergy (2/?)

I literally disappeared from the social networks because of my college work…. But every free moment I had I dedicated it to advance in this story… In this chapter we will see that Mikey is also having some… Changes 😮

Warnings: This chapter will be of pure anguish for the brothers, especially for Mikey.

English is not my mother tongue, if you see an error, please feel free to comment.

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

On a normal day, the brothers would probably have ignored the younger member's cry, but, in addition to the fact that the current situation was far from normal, the box turtle's cry seemed to be one of pain. Raph's overprotective sense was at its highest alert now, his little brother needs him; without much thought, he did something he would later regret, he grabbed Leo and Donnie in each hand (he didn't want to let them out of his sight) and rushed to Mikey's room. 

Raph's brothers used to be used to Raph grabbing them by the shell to get their attention or pushing them around rather roughly when he launched into action, but it's a lot different when you're being pushed or pulled up by your arm than being grabbed like you're a doll. Leo and Donnie were barely processing their sizes yet and suddenly they were each in a fist of their big brother, that was much rougher than they were used to. 

Raphael, completely clouded with his panic, hurried to Mikey's room. Upon entering, his initial relief at seeing that the box turtle wasn't shrunk like the other two was quickly displaced when he noticed that the boy was on the floor in a fetal position, his eyes shut tightly and making pained noises. 

“Mikey!” he exclaimed standing next to him, what the hell was going on with his brothers?!, he left Leo and Donnie on his shoulders, so he could kneel down in front of his little brother “What's going on?” 

The twins grabbed hold of Raph's mask, Donnie even used one of Raph's tails and tied it around his waist, he was feeling extremely vulnerable right now.  

“Raph, it hurts!” exclaimed the boy loudly as he squeezed his arms and legs tighter into position “My whole-body hurts!” he cried out, with a few tears escaping his eyes. 

The box turtle was so lost in his own pain that he didn't notice Leo and Donnie on his big brother's shoulders. For their part, they were shocked by the younger one's cries, though they were mostly distressed to see him suffer and not be able to do anything about it. Raphel was even worse, he picked Mikey up from the floor and hugged him, hoping it would help with his pains. 

“Here I am... Raph is with you...” he hugged him and massaged his shell, trying to bring him relief. 

“Is he going through what we are going through?” Leo asked Donnie with concern. 

“I don't know...” answered the genie turtle, from his position he tried to observe and turned to Raph “But... He doesn't have the same symptoms, brother” 

“Raph... Help me... I can't stand it” begged Mikey, still unaware of Leo and Donnie's presence.  

Raphael kept hugging Mikey to try to relieve his muscle pain. Then Mikey sneezed and that's when he started to change size. But, to his brothers' surprise, it was not as they thought. 

Raphael felt it, as his hands separated in the embrace he had around Mikey and then it became clear when he felt the boy's weight increase, MIKEY WAS GROWING.  

The three brothers watched in surprise as Mikey moved closer and closer to Raph's height. The snapping turtle set the boy down and backed away, not knowing again what he was supposed to do. Mikey was still bent over hugging himself (not realizing what was happening to him), but still noticeably getting bigger. Luckily to the boy's relief, this only lasted a moment longer before it stopped, the pain in his muscles suddenly starting to dissipate. Looking at him from a distance, Donnie estimated that the boy was probably twice the size he had been before, probably bigger than Raph if he stood up. It wasn't very obvious from being on the ground, but he was certainly bigger. When Mikey looked up (finally coming out of his cloud of pain), he saw that Raph was farther away and looking at him in a panic.  

“Ugh...” he held his head a little “Ra-Raph? What happened?” he didn't understand anything, suddenly the pain was gone, but his brother was far away from him, why? And, why everything looked strange? 

“Eeeh... I...” the snapping turtle was at an impasse; he didn't know what to do anymore. On one hand, he wanted to succor his little brother and try to bring him relief, on the other hand, he wanted to protect his shrunken siblings who were literally on his shoulders from anything that could hurt them. 

Mikey wasn't understanding anything, he tried to get up and that's when he realized that something certainly wasn't right. As he stood up and looked at his older brother, he realized he had to look down at him, plus the ceiling of his room was closer now; as expressive as the boy was, he practically jumped up and down in shock. 

“Woah! What just happened?!” he exclaimed in an exaggerated manner as he looked at himself and looked around. 

Due to Mikey's shouts of surprise, Leo and Donnie had to cover their ears because of the loudness of his voice; this made Raph come out of his frozen state and take the initiative to try to control this situation, even though he was on the verge of collapse. 

“Mikey!” he exclaimed to get his attention, mentally apologizing for doing it with his brothers so close to his head, he made a hand gesture to Mikey to lower his voice “Shhh... Easy, Raph is here... You have to talk slowly” he approached his little brother, although it was strange to see him looking up. 

“B-but Raph... What happened to me?” he saw his own hands; they looked as big as Raph's now “Why am I growing up?” the boy's attention suddenly wandered to his older brother's shoulders and his eyes widened like saucers “Wh-what? Leo?! Donnie?!” he pointed out coming much closer than his older siblings would have liked. 

The twins again covered their ears at how loud their little (and giant) brother was talking, Donnie even backed up a little, clinging even tighter to Raph's mask. 

“Mikey! Turn it down!” Leo exclaimed, the box turtle not coming out of his shock. 

Despite the strangeness of the matter, Mikey moved away from the initial impression and his curiosity took place, he reached a finger up to his big brother and touched him lightly on the plastron. 

“...Leo?” now his voice was a little lower than before “You're tiny” he touched him again, which made Leo recoil and pull the tail of Raph's mask, demanding him to control the situation, as Mikey was not being gentle, and it didn't help the fact that he was now even bigger than his older brother. 

“Yes Mikey...” he replied trying to keep his composure “B-but please... Be careful” he didn't want to hurt his little brother's feelings, but he felt uncomfortable. 

Mikey lowered his hand; this situation was definitely crazy. Then he saw Donnie on Raph's other shoulder, he looked shocked, so no doubt he didn't know anything about what was going on. Then he saw Raph, his big brother would know what to do, he always fixed problems, didn't he? 

“Raph?...What's going on?” he was forgetting he had to keep his voice down, but he was too confused and wanted answers. 

“I-I...” stammered the snapping turtle, knowing that now all eyes were on him “I have no idea...” that didn't bring any calm to the already confusing situation. 

“...Donnie?” Mikey now turned to his purple brother, it was strange to see him so small and with such a vulnerable expression, though he couldn't blame him. 

“Ah! I might have a hypothesis!” he was surprised by the sudden attention towards him, he was gripping Raph's mask tail very tightly “But Mikey, could you please take some distance?” It was bad enough to have Raph's eyes magnified from his perspective, but to now have his little brother's eyes magnified even more made him feel extremely uncomfortable. 

“Okay...” Mikey couldn't tell how Donnie was feeling, although he could easily tell by the look on his face, so he decided to sit down, it made him feel less awkward too “But... How did you guys shrink?” he pointed again to the two shrunken brothers. 

Donnie mostly explained what he felt and how he passed out, Leo seconded by pointing out that the same thing happened to him and Raph commented on the part that the two of them didn't know, that they slowly shrank to the size they were now. While the opposite happened to Mikey, he pointed out that he also felt like he was sick before he changed. 

“Raph, you haven't felt anything this whole time?” Leo asked curiously “You're the only one here who hasn't changed” 

“No... This doesn't make sense” he commented to himself, which didn't help much having his brothers directly on his shoulders, he wrinkled his expression with annoyance “We have been together all the time these days... Is there anything you guys have done that you haven't told me?” he looked around at everyone, searching for some trace of a mischievous look in their eyes that would hide something, but nothing, just confusion. 

“Donnieee?” Leo asked his brother, although he was very likely that he had nothing to do with this, he was never too much to bother him to lighten the mood. 

“Agh... Do you really think I would work on something like this?” he replied in a dramatic tone, already sounding more like before. 

“I don't know... Once you brainwashed us because you felt like it...” commented Leo, he crossed his arms and smiled “I would see you quite capable” he said with a sarcastic tone. 

“Stop that Leo” Raph scolded him, then turned to the genius turtle “Donnie, you said you had a hypothesis, what is it?” he didn't want his siblings to get sidetracked from the main problem. 

“Well, more than a hypothesis I have a guess... We may have been exposed to some mystical compound during the camping” he answered with a hand on his chin, that suddenly made it all make sense “But I can't say for sure without my devices, I need them to know what's going on here” he said while tightening his grip on the tail of Raph's mask, he obviously missed his stuff. 

“And where is your stuff?” Mikey asked, now he just noticed that Donnie didn't have any of his technology on him “You don't even have your battle shell” he was worried about his brother being without his protection in this whole situation. 

“We left them in the medical area, when Raph grabbed us earlier” commented Leo looking with some annoyance at his older brother. 

“Raph was scared” commented the snapping turtle with embarrassment. 

“Well, next time at least give a warning... That was very rude” commented the red-eared tortoise. 

“As much as I hate to admit it in more ways than one, Leo is right...” continued Donnie “No offense” he added when he saw Raph's pout. 

The boys decided to leave Mikey's room and head for the medical area where Donnie's braces were. Even though they were sure that their father was still sleeping, they tried to be cautious, if they could try to fix this problem on their own, all the better. Once in the medical area, Raph and Mikey grabbed the purple turtle's things and headed for his lab. However, there was a problem, Donnie's glasses (which he could use to detect what kind of mystical substance they had on them) were now too big for him to wear, and he couldn't see through a contact lens (as these were activated when they were on his head). Conversely, Raph couldn't wear them because his head was too big and Mikey (in his current condition) also had them too small. This situation just sucked. 

“Hey, how about asking Draxum?” suggested the youngest when he noticed that his older siblings seemed out of ideas. 

The three of them looked at their younger (but now bigger) brother as if he was talking nonsense. 

“Draxum? Why would he know any of this?” Leo folded his arms, still having a hard time getting used to the idea that this yokai who brought them so much trouble in the past was now considered “family”. 

“Well, he was supposed to be a scientist, right?” Mikey tried to explain “Besides the fact that he created us” 

“The fact that he is a scientist does not make him more qualified than me to solve this situation” Donnie argued with annoyance. 

“Maybe he's a good choice” said Raph, feeling the betrayed look, he was getting from the purple one on his shoulder. 

“Wait, you can't be serious Raph!” claimed Leo “Would Draxum really mind helping us in...?” he pointed at himself and pointed at Mikey “This whole situation?” 

“Well... Technically he owes us, thanks to us he's not in jail” Raph tried to reason, although it was true that he didn't sympathize much with Draxum yet either, it was probably the only alternative they had now. 

Leo and Donnie continued to argue with Raph about their reasons why involving Draxum in this was not a good idea, while Mikey suddenly lost from the discussion when he started to feel pain in his muscles again. His brothers seemed so engrossed in their discussion that they didn't notice that the box turtle was crinkling his eyes and holding onto Donnie's table to keep from falling to the floor as his legs ached as if he had a cramp; he didn't want to scream again, not with his brothers shrunken so close to him, but suddenly the pain generalized to the rest of his body and he squeezed the table with his hand, leaving a dent in it and ending up falling to the floor. 

“Mikey?!” Donnie exclaimed, drawing the attention of the other two. 

“Ugh...” grunted the boy as he lay on the ground feeling that agonizing pain again “Guys, it's hurting, again” again he hugged himself tightly, but now, dread accompanied his gaze. 

Raphael leaned in front of his little brother. “No no no no... It's not possible, not again, why?!” his mind screamed as he tried to hug Mikey as much as possible. 

“Mikey! What do you feel, What hurts?!” Leo exclaimed, he was worried to see his brother in agony “Is it like before?!” his doctor side came out to take the place of his naturally relaxed manner. 

“Leo... It hurts... It hurts all over... Wo-worse than before” the boy was trying his best not to scream, but it was costing him too much “I-I'm scared, guys... Help me!” he suddenly exclaimed, unable to hold back his desire to scream. 

Raph was startled and the twins covered their ears tightly from Mikey's sudden scream. 

“That's it!” Raph exclaimed, grabbing his phone “I'll call Draxum!” 

This time, neither Leo nor Donnie had anything to object, Mikey was in pain and they needed help (even if it was from someone they didn't like). Leo moved to Raph's other shoulder to give him room to grab his phone and held onto Donnie so he wouldn't lose his balance. While Raph tried to keep his little brother calm, massaging his head, with his other hand he had pulled out his phone and was frantically searching for Draxum's number. When he finally found it, just Mikey hit two sneezes and, just as before, began to grow in size. 

Raph prepared to back away, “being worried” would be a calm expression for him at this point. Mikey was growing faster than before, if anything before he could be said to be taller than Raph, now he was becoming a real giant. Leo and Donnie watched in genuine shock and helplessness at the scene. And Mikey, he knew what was happening to him, even if he had his eyes closed, he could feel his body stretching and increasing; at a certain moment, he opened his eyes to confirm his senses, Raphel looked smaller than before and was backing away from him, it was a strange and unpleasant feeling, he never imagined that his older brother would see him with fear. But he couldn't blame him, he was afraid too, how long was this going to last?, while he fully trusted his brothers, he feared growing beyond the confines of Donnie's lab; however, no such thing happened, as he again stopped before getting any bigger. 

Raph immediately rushed to his little brother's aid, now, even in his fetal position, he was almost as tall as he was. He probably couldn't even stand upright without hitting his head on the ceiling of Donnie's lab. 

“Mikey?...” said Raph cautiously approaching to stroke his brother's head, which was now much bigger than his hands “Are you okay?” he tried to give him a few strokes, both to calm him down, and to calm himself. 

“Don't look at him like that, he's your little brother, you're still the oldest one here” the snapping turtle mentally reminded himself. 

“Ugh... Yeah, it doesn't hurt anymore” Mikey said placing a hand on his head, he noticed how his big brother seemed too attentive to his movements. 

The boy wanted to get up, but he heard a scream, which now sounded too low for him. 

“Wait Michael!” it seemed to be Donnie's voice “Don't stand up! The lab is not big enough for you now!” the hands of the small figure on Raph's shoulder beckoned him exaggeratedly. 

Mikey wasn't going to stand up, he just wanted to sit down, he wanted to see if everything was okay. Despite his brother in purple's protests, he sat cross-legged and couldn't hold back his surprise when (even in that position) he towered over Raphel, he felt bad for the looks his brothers were giving him now. 

“Guys?... I...” pouted sadly “I feel like a monster now...” a couple of tears came out of his eyes and Raphel's caution instinct was immediately replaced by his big brother instinct. 

“Ow Mikey... You're not a monster” he said as he lunged forward, taking care of the siblings on his shoulders, he hugged his little brother's chest trying to reassure him. 

For a second, the three older brothers were silent to comfort the box turtle. Mikey let out a couple more tears, but managed to calm down quickly as he felt that his brothers were there with him, no matter how big he was, he was still the little brother; he hugged them, surprising himself for being able to embrace Raph completely now. 

“Raph, I seriously think you should call Draxum” Leo said giving his brother's head a light smack “If Mikey grew bigger, it could mean that Donnie and I might shrink more” he pointed at Donnie with concern. 

This immediately raised Raph's concern even more, he could deal with a huge Mikey, but if Leo and Donnie shrunk even more, maybe he could really hurt them and he wouldn't even notice. He quickly grabbed his phone and selected Draxum's contact, which was already on screen. 

After a few rings Draxum's familiar monotone voice answered, sounding somewhat annoyed. 

“Raphael, what's wrong?” he answered lazily “And make it quick... I was about to go to sleep” 

“As kind as ever” Leo commented to Donnie. 

“Ehh... We have a little problem” said Raph, with a nervous chuckle “Can I put the camera on?” 

“Ugh...” Draxum's frustrated expression was heard “Make it quick” 

When Raph shared the screen, he focused on his shoulder to show Leo and Donnie, who looked at the yokai with some indifference, then focused on Mikey, who smiled at him. Draxum went from annoyance to slight surprise, only to sigh afterwards. 

“Hi Barry” exclaimed Mikey waving his hand slightly with a friendly smile, at least his mood hasn't changed. 

“Boys...” he replied with a sigh “Can't you go a day without getting into trouble?”

Prologue Previous / Next

[thiniceofeternalyouth]

MISLEADIN' ME SERIES: CHAPTER THREE

HATARAT

⊳ Gojo Satoru x f!reader

series masterlist

Genre: angst, fluff, adventure, sci-fi, cosmology.

Chapter warning&tags : ooc, mentions of blood, pus, arthropods and food; profanity, suggestive themes

Words count: ~12.5k

⊲ previous next ⊳

An unpleasant feeling pressed shamefully on your chest. You sat in your workroom replaying in your head the events that had happened a few minutes ago hiding your face in the palms of your hands. That weight was driven deeper beneath your ribs by a pair of green eyes across the room staring fixedly at you as if wanting to leave a burnt mark on your skin.

"If I'm understanding ya correctly," Rachel began saying squinting her eyes. "The first time in your life guy took your hand and the first thing ya did was put a dagger to his throat?"

"Technically, he didn't take my hand, he grabbed it," you tried to parry pulling your hands away from your face and glancing at Rachel. She only raised her eyebrows skeptically at your words causing you to grimaced your face and burrow back into your palms. "God," you squeaked into the skin of your hands.

"Come on, sis," Rachel leaned back in her chair and laughed. "I think our dad has long since resigned himself to the fact that ya're going to die a spinster."

"Don't bring Frank into this, it's none of his business," you mumbled sighing heavily. "In fact, don't tell him about it at all."

"Oh, come on," Rachel said cheering you up. "Ya know he says sensible things sometimes. The peace of mind and safety of mankind is a good thing, but ya shouldn't forget personal happiness."

"Since when does this 'personal happiness' consist of just marrying me off?" you muttered with skepticism in your voice.

"Who said anything about getting married, dumbass," Rachel moved toward you only to flick her long burgundy fingernails across your forehead. "Let's start by saying that it's easier to deal with adversity with 'your' man and it's less sad to die alone," the red-haired girl said with a soft sadness in her voice, her shoulders slumping a little as if nostalgia was smothering them from behind.

"Rach-" noticing her faded look, you started in an apologetic tone, but Rachel shaking her head from side to side, immediately interrupted you.

"Forget it, it wasn't your fault," she grinned, her green eyes brightening again and she immediately changed the subject. "There's no way in hell I'm going to believe you're running around with that white-haired guy just because..." Rachel stammered hesitating. "By the way, why are you running around with him in the first place?"

"His kids asked me to," you said without a shred of shame in your voice shrugging your shoulders.

"Oh, yeah," Rachel drawled squinting her eyes slyly. "Right. Kids. Well, since ya're not interested in him, I'm keeping him," you only nodded toward the door from the workroom at her provocation as if to signal 'go ahead'. "What kind of nerd have you grown into!" The girl was immediately in your face, your cheeks clutched in her hands.

"Raphel-"

"You expect me to believe that you went to Xibalba¹ just because the kids asked you to?" she asked clearly not expecting your answer. "Sure, you could chalk it up to the fact that your ass just can't sit still, but you know, sis," she squeezed your cheeks a little tighter. "Something you're obviously not telling me, because your face is getting a little too warm!" she exclaimed laughing.

"That's because there's nothing to squeeze it that hard!" you squeaked trying haphazardly to get her hands off your face.

***

[19 Nov, 2018; 07:02am; hunters' headquarters]

You had already drained three water bottles in the morning; your body was exhausted from the endless flow of information and lack of sleep. Your reddened eyes darted randomly from the screens of monitors to the pages of old dusty books, your gaze occasionally freezing on the cube that was among all this information mess on the table in your workroom. You felt a growing irritation inside, either from the endless search or from the coming powerlessness. Your gaze turned less and less often to the cube as if you were ashamed to look into the eyes that flaunted it and, damn it, how you wanted to exclaim that he should stop looking at it that way and that it was not easy for you either. The internal war of fatigue with stubbornness was interrupted by the click of the door and you turned around muttering something to yourself. Kyle.

"No, I'm not tired, I'm not hungry, and I'm still not gone insane," you mouthed in a monotone voice, and barely did you blot the exhaustion from your eyes when you noticed he wasn't alone.

"What ya doing?" inquired Kyle, looking at your desk.

"Recording an unboxing on YouTube, what does it look like?" you sneered, not expecting an answer to the question you asked. "Why did ya bring the kids here?"

"I had nothing to do with it," Kyle said raised both hands in mock defeat. Several pairs of young eyes stared back at you from over the man's shoulder, a naive flame of undiminished enthusiasm burning in them.

"We wanna help," Itadori said taking a few steps in your direction.

"I don't get it," you stammered wrapping your index finger and thumb around your chin and giving the kids a perplexed look. "You have air-conditioned rooms here with great sea views, unlimited access to food and gaming pc with Netflix subscriptions and you're still wanna to swashbuckle," your gaze lingered on the guys for a couple more seconds and then with a splash of your hands you jumped up from your seat and started dragging all the available chairs closer to your table. "Well, since you're so eager to help, welcome."

"What do we have to do?" inquired Maki.

"Here," you tossed a huge pile of books mixed with old scrolls in front of their noses, the dust rising into the air making Itadori cough. "Look for and mark any mention of sealing, closing, moving, anything square and small and anything that consisted of or is made up of human skin."

"Marking?" asked Itadori in bewilderment, looking at the ancient waste paper. "How can you do that? You opened your mouth as if to say something, but closed it and exhaled through your nose before grabbing the nearest pink marker and drawing random patterns on the page of one of the books.

"See? Nothing happened," you said with a shrug and tossed the marker aside. "No one died or got sick. Now get to work," you prodded them rubbing the top of their heads and turned to Kyle quietly, "Our house is starting to look more and more like a kindergarten."

"And the zoo, too," Kyle grinned glancing at Panda. You grinned back and settled back into your seat once again bending your head over the riddle. You could feel the excitement building in the room as if ancient magic had challenged the human mind. The workroom became increasingly filled with the sounds of rustling sheets and quiet conversations. The eyes of the kids were vigorously following the written lines trying to get something useful out of them, one could hear the squeak of markers and someone's methodical clicking of fingers.

As the clock ticked, someone would put away their markers, knead their hands or feet, someone would wipe their eyes with the palms of their hands and reach for a bottle of cool water, but the mountain of already re-read materials would inevitably grow behind your backs. The conversations had already died down, only measured breathing was heard and you looked around at the kids and stood up from the table heading for your personal small refrigerator. You opened it and appraised the contents with a glance, mentally figuring out if there was enough for everyone or if you'd have to spend the energy to go upstairs for more. Your hands grabbed a few chicken sandwiches and popped them into the microwave and while they were getting appetizing you pulled a few small boxes of strawberry mochi out of the fridge. When everything was ready, you scooped it all up and returned to the table arranging the loot in front of the kids. At the quiet but enthusiastic cheers, you unconsciously affectionately patted one of them on the top of the head glancing at your phone screen hoping to see messages from Megan, who was scouring the Internet for something useful among the pile of junk. Nothing. You wanted to curse under your breath, but you shuddered remembering you weren't alone in the room and settled back in your chair.

It was getting evening outside the window and you looked at the tired faces in the room." That's it, kids, rest up. First go to the canteen for dinner, and then do your own thing," no one objected to your remark because of fatigue. The students stood up and quietly said goodbye to you and walked out of the workroom. "You know what pisses me off the most?" you turned to Kyle, who turned his crumpled face to you. "Monks and Buddhists and whoever else sits in those monasteries never keep information about anything in an informational form. And I don't relish the thought of bouncing around shrines somewhere in the mountains of Tibet looking for scrolls made of papyrus and cow shit," you muttered and hid your face in your palms, Kyle only hummed tiredly. "How am I supposed to get it out of this fucking box!"

"God only knows," Kyle said shrugging.

Your eyes widened and you pulled your hands away from your face, your head snapping up sharply. "God, ya're a genius!" you exclaimed loudly and immediately jump up from your seat. You ran over to the closet and began throwing the contents aside in search of your backpack.

"Where do you think ya're going?" Kyle asked disapprovingly getting up from his chair. You glanced at the bottom shelves of the closet, then ran to the bed and leaned over to see what was underneath. You finally found your hiking backpack underneath and without slowing down you sprinted over to the table and grabbed the cube, then headed for the exit grasping your jacket in the process. "Hey!" shouted Kyle.

You holding the handle of the already open door, finally looked up at him. "An audience with God!" you said and with a final wave of your hand to him, you slammed the door on your way out.

***

Once you were on the other side of the door to your workroom, you quickly realized in your head that there was neither time nor inclination to waste energy on the long journey. You closed your eyes and mentally pictured an office whose windows were perpetually draped with dark gray curtains, with a laptop invariably on a graphite smooth desk, a mesh pen stand, a crystal decanter with an amber-colored liquid and a pair of shiny clean glasses beside it, all framed by a pile of folders and tax documents. Behind the desk was a black office chair that looked simple and unassuming, but a single glance at the materials it was made of made it clear that it was expensive. On the walls hung graphite shelves in the tone of the desk, on which stood various books, bling, and a few live plants. The whole picture was completed by a cozy and suddenly bright couch with soft cushions. You opened your eyes and before you stood the same picture that had just been in your imagination. There was no one in the office. You walked around the desk and sat down in the chair grabbing a tiny sculpture of an Art Nouveau woman from the shelf. Your fingers slid along the curves of the sculpture and you marveled at every carefully made crease in her veil, every dimple in her skin, as if the sculptor had subdued the stone and made it as docile as clay. The distinct sharp sounds of heels on parquet were heard in the hallway, growing louder and louder. As soon as it stopped just before the door, someone turned the key and pulling the doorknob and entered the office.

"Laitta! Long time no see!" you exclaimed cordially as soon as someone turned on the light.

"WAIT!" you shrieked as she leaned over the table, her face a few inches from yours, her hand clutching your chin in anger. "It's evening; let's not force things because not everyone has left the building. We don't want anyone to get hurt, do we?" You rambled quickly making innocent eyes. The goddess hesitated for a second, but immediately released you resting your head back in the chair.

"Stand up," she commanded icily, and you obeyed.

"Okay, okay, why are ya being so prickly," you walked around the table and Laitta sat down in her chair, opened up her laptop and started doing her busy work without paying any attention to you. "Laitta," you addressed her, resting your hands on the table. There was no response. "La-a-a-aitta," you tried again deliberately drawling your vowels. Nothing again. "Laitta!" you leaned over her and shouted right in her face.

"WHAT!" she barked losing all her patience.

"I need your help," you grinned clearly pleased with your result.

"First return what you stole," she leaned back in her chair crossing her arms over her chest. "Then maybe I'll help you."

"Aren't you a little petty for a Goddess?"

"Petty!" Laitta bellowed in your direction. "You stole an item capable of moving something into the past of something with the planet's position at that time intact! Is the Atlas just another piece of bling for you?"

"What difference does it make?" you asked in bewilderment shrugging your shoulders. "You as a user of Atlas can't employ that ability of it anyway."

"I wasn't going to use it, but I need its side effect!" she exclaimed. "Look what's become of me in these few years without it," she pointed to her face. The once young, statuesque lady had turned into an older, but still statuesque woman in just a couple years. Her dark curls had turned gray, her thin graceful hands were covered in wrinkles and fine cracks, as was her face. "Still, no one, no one can use it but me. Give it back," the rage in her voice changed to a plea.

"I knew you'd beg," you sighed pulling something out of your backpack. You placed on the table an object of silver or platinum that looked a lot like a compass, except there were many times more directions on it and the circumference of that compass was clutched by an Ouroboros ¹.  Laitta grabbed the Atlas and headed for the restroom in her office, and you sat down on her desk with your eyebrows raised wondering how important it was to her. A couple minutes later a young girl appeared in the office, her black hair glistening in the artificial light of the lamp; her skin, visible from under her clothes, became thin and velvety; her dark eyes having regained their youthfulness, gained luster. "Ya know, age was good for you," you sounded a little disappointed.

"Shut up," Laitta said smiling. She was clearly pleased with her new youth and her uplifted spirits seemed to wipe away any previous rage.

"My turn," you said, clapping your hands and hopping off the table and reached into your backpack again. You took out a light cube and put it on the table.

"What is this abomination?" asked Laitta taking a second to hardly tear her gaze away from the small mirror she held in her hand and examine herself going over her curls now and then.

"There's kind of a person in there," you said with doubt in your voice because you still didn't believe that was possible. "I wish I could get him out of there."

"Is it sealed or something?" asked Laitta finally transferring her eyes from the mirror to the cube examining it. "Nah, sorry. Can't help it," she said wrinkling her nose and returning to her beauty.

"Fine," you hissed in her direction maintaining a friendly smile. "Just don't whine later when your face starts getting wrinkles and Atlas disappears again."

 "Wait," she said in a low voice watching as you already stuffed the cube into your backpack and headed for the exit. "There is one option, but I can't make any guarantees." You turned around and raised your eyebrows, signaling her to continue. "There is one place, and according to ancient rumors it could destroy any seal that was imposed. A place called Hatarat."

"And it is located..?"

"Xibalba," Laitta said looking you dead in the eyes.

"Couldn't have worked out better," you mumbled rubbing your forehead with your fingers. You weighed in your head the facts that you hadn't been able to find a shred of information in the past ten days, hadn't moved forward with your search, had a little less than nothing on your hands and decided that maybe this gamble was worth it. "So how do I get into this underworld?"

"There's more to it than that," Laitta said with a shake of her head. "For mortals still alive, the gates only open in a parade of planets. A full parade of planets."

"Incredible," you said raising your eyebrows and looking at your hand as if there was a watch on it. "The only thing left to wait for is... How long is it? 143 years?"

"You won't have to wait," the Goddess said glancing at Atlas. "I can't move myself back in time, but I can't move the rest of the people," Laitta thought rubbing her chin with her graceful fingers. Noticing your concerned look and as if reading your thoughts, she added: "Don't worry, your little hooman in the cube won't be affected by the rules of the creation. It is done without his knowledge or consent. But you," she pointed her index finger at you drilling you with her gaze. "Don't look at anyone. Don't talk to anyone. I doubt there will be any other crazies like you in that place, but don't get into anyone's memories.

"I know the rules," you said with a shake of your head.

"I hope you're ready," said Laitta holding out her hand to Atlas. "You as a fragile living matter are more likely to be torn to shreds, though."

"And what are the odds of that?"

"Ninety-ten," chirped Laitta smiling sweetly.

"Ya could have kept your mouth shut," you said rolling your eyes.

"One more thing," Laitta said rotating the Atlas's case, with each section it made a distinctive clicking sound. "You'll have exactly twenty-four hours to return to your original location, or you'll stay there forever. You need to time yourself as soon as you get there."

"Wait," you stopped her frowning your eyebrows. "Are you telling me that if I unsealed him and he and I don't make it to the original location, we'll have to spend the rest of our lives chilling in the eighties?"

"What are you, an idiot? Are you listening to what I'm even talking about?" Laitta tried to suppress you with a look. "Moving you to the past is only necessary for you to enter the gate, Xibalba itself has nothing to do with time at all, it simply doesn't exist there and you will be the only entity that has it. I told you that this is done without the knowledge and consent of the person inside the cube, he is still bound to the present moment, whether you want it or not, so after the unsealing he will be here. Not specifically in my office of course, I honestly have no idea where exactly he will deploy. The fact is, once the cube is opened you'll be alone in there. But you, stupid creature, have given your consent, so kindly return to your original location within the allotted time frame or stay dancing to Van Halen ³.

"Okay, spin your compass already," you waved her off slinging the straps of your backpack over your shoulders.

"If you make it, I'll see you back here in a second," Laitta summarized, spinning Atlas faster and faster. "And if your body still can't handle moving, I'll be scrubbing your bloody dust off the walls."

***

[3 Mar, 1982; 12:01am; Central America, somewhere in the forests of Guatemala]

Bloody hands. The first thing you saw when you opened your eyes was your bloody hands. The skin was torn in places like an old lightweight dress. You rolled up the sleeves of your irretrievably ruined sweatshirt, and reached into your backpack in search of bandages and if you were lucky, alcohol. You pulled out what you needed and clamping the fabric of the torn off sweater sleeve between your teeth, you began carelessly dousing the fresh wounds. Your hiss merged with the hiss of your skin. You spit the cloth out angrily and began bandaging your hands starting at the wrists and working your way up to your shoulders praying that there was enough white material to cover everything. As soon as the procedure was finished, you looked up and realized you were somewhere in the heart of the subtropical rainforest. In the darkness of the night, each individual twig teased you illusorily depicting living creatures to which your imagination ascribed malevolent motives. Every sound created in this place seemed to be clearer and closer than it really was. You shook your head dumping such thoughts away from your mind and moved forward across the untrodden terrain ignoring the pain in your hands.

"The deeper into the wood ya go," you muttered to yourself treading through thickets of plants and tree roots setting your phone's timer for twenty-four hours and breaking branches of bushes and trees to give yourself clues to return. You could figure out where you were, but you couldn't imagine which way to go because Laitta hadn't said a word about it. Suddenly, for some unknown reason you froze in place turning your head from side to side and staring at the darkness of the forest. The emptiness of the forest to be more precise, because you couldn't even hear the rare sounds of animals or insects anymore. The hair on the back of your neck stirred and the ground fell out from beneath your feet. Literally. The ground sprinkled like crumbs leaving a huge hollow space as if out of nowhere forming a cliff.

"Oh, shit!" you shrieked grabbing at the bare, decrepit roots of the tree, your hands responding with a sharp pain that you didn't pay attention to. You hung like that for a few minutes wondering if this was the 'gate' that Laitta had told you about. After a few more seconds, you let go of your arms and flew downward more out of excitement than fatigue.

Your body didn't feel the pain of hitting the rocky floor, but you couldn't say you'd fallen into soft cotton candy. You rose to your feet and shook yourself off, then pulled your phone out of your pocket to check the time remaining; nine hours and twenty-two minutes. What?

"It's not good to steal time," you said to someone trying to make out your surroundings. Suddenly the torches were lit illuminating the dilapidated, dark walls, water dripping down to the floor filling the room with its gurgling sound. When you turned around, you saw a narrow passage into an unlit corridor.

You walked over to one of the torches hanging on the wall and pulled it from the torchere with some force. "I'm going to need this," and then you headed straight for the hallway.

All you could hear was the sound of your footsteps and the crackling of the flames. Unfortunately for you, you felt something crawling on your skin around your waist; you quickly slipped your hand under your sweatshirt and pulled it out sharply. "Ew," you squeaked with disgust in your voice, wrinkling your nose, and when you saw that you were holding a scorpion, you shoved it away from you.

Your gaze returned to the straight road; the space of the corridor had widened considerably, flanked by horribly detailed huge sculptures of scorpions that went further into the emptiness of the corridor, which seemed to have no end. "Ya're not coming alive, are you?" you said letting out a nervous chuckle. You walked forward slowly and once you were between the two statues, you aimed the firelight at one of them; your gaze lingered on the huge stinger, you swallowed nervously and continued on your way trying not to look back. Something ran down the back of your neck and your hand automatically flicked the arthropod away from you. It was as if the corridor behind you had begun to make unpleasant, subtle noises.

As you advanced, the noise grew inexorably as if a thousand tiny jackhammers were pounding behind you. The scorpions on your body became more frequent and you realizing that the noise behind you was coming from the approaching stomping of tiny limbs rushed forward without looking back. Suddenly a sharp pain pierced your side and you pulled out a small wooden stake; the end of it was soaked with your blood mixed with something else. Glancing at the wall, you saw that there was a small hole through each statue. All you could do was curse to yourself and toss the wood aside continuing to run. Your breath hitched, your eyes became hazy, your fingertips began to go numb and before you could react, you crashed into a wall that had appeared out of nowhere.

The stomping stopped. It was unclear whether the pursuit had stopped or whether you couldn't hear anything because of the ringing in your ears. Your body was lying on the damp surface and a strange force was trying to open your eyes. Your chest ached because you felt you were missing something important. Time.

Your eyes snapped open and you jumped up. Your head was still buzzing and you looked around carefully trying to keep your balance. Even though the torch was lost, you realized that this was a completely different room. Water was running down the walls echoing in the dark room. You took a couple of cautious steps forward, then something crunched under your feet; someone's remains estimated to be about a few hundred years old looked damp as if they were still decomposing. You stepped over the corpse carefully noting that your footsteps were becoming visceral.

Your eyes had almost adjusted to the darkness; there was nothing here but four walls that was deformed in places, a few corpses, a foul odor and a single double door that looked so impregnable at first glance that it was much easier to give up and go back. The trickling of the water increased. You ran your hand along the walls near the door - nothing. As your fingers formed the familiar triangle pointing downward, an inner voice said.

      "Relocate."

 Nothing happened, but you weren't surprised: in places like this, the 'lords' make sure that no magic is used in their territories. You took a step away from the door to try to get a better look at what was around it, making a bubbling sound; you lowered your head and saw that you were standing ankle-deep - no, not in water - in a thick, dark maroon liquid.

All the while the room was filling up with blood and doing so faster and faster as time went on. As you swallowed the nausea, you looked around trying to see where the fluid was coming from. You couldn't see the mechanisms, but you could see a lever that was just below the high ceiling. There were only two options: either try to get there on your own or wait until the room was completely flooded, which seemed easier. The problem was that if the doors opened inward, the pressure in sealed room would keep them closed forever or until the room was empty again.

The blood was up to your knees. You carefully shuffling your feet through the thick of it, came to the wall where the lever was located. It was absolutely smooth, but the adjacent wall was half-destroyed and had some defects and small protrusions. Climbing up this wall to the ceiling was easy except that you turned around when you were under the ceiling. There was about couple feets between you and the lever. It's unclear what kind of hope made you reach for the lever with such force that in an instant something crunched in your shoulder; you clenched your teeth and brought your hand back to the ledge grasping it. Your fingers, wet with sweat and blood, began to slip.

"Fuck it," you shrieked quietly and gathering more air into your chest and turning your body toward the lever, you pushed your legs off the wall with force. Your hands gripped the lever awkwardly and you slipped and grabbed it erratically pulling it down toward you; as soon as it gave way with a terrible creak, you slipped and fell straight into the bloody mess.

The room emptied again after only a few seconds, but immediately filled again with your gasping coughs and spit. You tried desperately to wipe your eyes, but it seemed to make them even dirtier. After a few failed attempts you still managed to see something, and you began to slowly rise to your feet, peering through the door. "Got the joke," you drawled words grudgingly examining the sashes, which were open not to the inside of the room, but to the outside. "Funny."

You waddled toward the door holding the side of your body where the poisoned stake had been stuck earlier. The sight before your eyes took your breath away. An incredibly beautiful huge cave, the walls of which shimmered with numerous violet lights as if someone had put a spotlight on them. Giant stalactites were hanging from the vaults of the cave, which you couldn't even see; you standing on the cliff could also see the tips of the same huge stalagmites except for which you couldn't see anything. The violet sparks of the cave circled around you flying up and down as if beckoning you to go somewhere; as if bewitched, you wandered after them.

Someone shoved you in the back forcing you to come to your senses; you turned around sharply, but there was no one around, not even the purple lights and you were alone in the darkness for the umpteenth time. You stood in the middle of the stone nondescript bridge and a feeling of confusion and loneliness slowly began to fill your chest. You looked around like a small child at a crossroads trying to figure out which way to go. When you couldn't figure it out you sighed and sat down on the edge of the bridge, your feet wiggling nonchalantly.

"I take it the river of scorpions and the river of blood have already been," you addressed someone in the void. "What's next on the entertainment program?" there was a rocky cracking sound after your line, the bridge sagging. The realization struck you with a lightning bolt as if conducting a current through your body, but there was no strength left even to run; your hand gripped your inflamed side harder and you collapsed down along with the splintered structure.

The sensation of something soft and pleasant spread through your limbs. It felt weightless. You still hadn't lost consciousness, though you were close to it. Your body was sinking into something again, but it was clearly no longer blood, much less water, trying to push you to the surface; it was something much, much thicker. You'd lost your coordination in the fall and there was no way to tell which way to swim and your eyes couldn't see anything either. Quickly extinguishing your incipient panic, you began to move slowly your arms from side to side, up and down trying to catch the flow of air. After a few minutes, the oxygen in your lungs began to run out and you desperately moved to the random side doing the same manipulations with your hands. Finally, your fingertips began to blow and you raked your hands in that direction with force. As you surfaced, gulping in air mixing with that was dripping from your face, you grabbed onto something at random hastily climbing up there. Once you were on some surface, you finally lost consciousness.

      "Get up."

You feeling a long-forgotten sense of unease began to mumble something indistinctly, your hands clutching yourself tighter in your arms.

      "I SAID GET THE FUCK UP!"

You jumped up sharply grabbing your stomach with a hand that felt like it had been kicked. Realizing you were alone and he couldn't be here, you moved your hand to your chest trying to calm your racing heart. After a couple of deep inhales and exhales, you finally came fully to your senses; your gaze fell on the spot you had floated out of. A whitish liquid was spreading across the bottom of the cave changing from a dull yellow to a dark green in places. Pus.

Fully regained consciousness you grabbed your back trying to make sure that your backpack was still there; when you found it, you took off the straps and putting the backpack on your lap and undid the lock, some dire need made you check if the cube was still there. It was lying carelessly among a pile of junk, scraps of some papers, alcohol, and even a climbing rope. "Ya know, I'm expecting at least an invitation to dinner after this," you muttered and pulled out your head from backpack before tucking it behind your back and slinging it back over your shoulders, hitching the extra straps around your waist. You noticed that the bandages on your arms had turned into ragged dirty rags and threw them off. Dark energy was already splicing your wounds with thin black lines that looked like nasty worms. 

"Bestie, I hope you keep me safe from blood poisoning too because I've got it with one hundred percent probability," you addressed the dark energy as if it were alive and after standing still for a couple more seconds, you moved forward.

The next environment was something like a huge unlit hall and unlike the previous places, the floor and walls were decorated with shimmering black tiles with silver joints, and around the perimeter of the room stood what looked like animated statues of owls with burning eyes and outstretched wings. Messengers of the lords. In the middle of one of the walls there was a huge gate, whose flaps rounded sharply towards the top forming a sharp long peak. Almost the entire door was decorated with an angular but systematic ornament that was illuminated in red. Barely had the annoying thought of how to open them popped into your head as the gate leafs began to slowly open. "I don't need a lot of begging," you said heading straight for the gate.

Once you passed through it, you stepped onto a road lined with a cool blue mist that blocked all vision. Unlike the other rooms you had passed, there was no sound here, the feeling of absolute vacuum beginning to weigh on your mind. Ignoring the loss of one of your senses, you stubbornly continued on your way. Your eyes still saw everything, and everything was clear; the fog began to swirl ahead as if enveloping someone in its weightless embrace. A familiar silhouette appeared and you caught a glimpse of blue-black hair as you came closer.

"Kyle?" you asked in confusion, unable to hear your own voice. He turned around and looked at you, immediately flashed back into the mist. In absolute silence a deep, low and yet humiliating laugh began to rise from the bowels of the underworld. Remembering the lords' passion for creating artificial scarecrows to humiliate travelers who mistakenly greeted them, you could only roll your eyes.

You finally emerged from the fog and found yourself on a vortex of four roads, each of which was saying something in unintelligible whispers, but all your attention was taken by a dilapidated low pedestal that stood between two of these roads. You tsked at one of the paths whose whispers seemed the loudest and walked towards the pedestal. Once up on it, you were faced with a huge circular platform, the circumference of which was marked with diametrically opposed small gilded circles, one of which had a narrow, thin hole in it, just the same shape of your dagger's blade that was already in your hand. "Need a twist?" you thought to yourself leaning closer to the gold circle, trying to insert the dagger into the hole, but it wouldn't budge as if it had been drawn. You wrinkled your nose in bewilderment shaking the remaining dirt and dust off the circle with your hand, but it wouldn't come off. "Reflection?" you asked yourself suddenly, and lifted your head up.

Your body thudded against the surface that was supposed to be the ceiling and you hit your head hard against the floor. The room turned upside down. Your nerve endings were no longer paying attention to the countless bruises, your mind was already at home taking a warm bath and eating a delicious dinner, perhaps even at the same time; something told you that there were only a couple of steps to go.

You looked again at the large circular platform and saw that there were now numerous straight lines connected to each other inside it; the dagger was now easily inserted into the opening of the small circle, but no matter which way you turned it, nothing happened. "They could have at least included instructions," you thought indignantly looking around the pedestal for any symbols. Nothing.

The lords of Xibalba, though fearsome, were very predictable creatures. All lords wanted sacrifices, and the masters of this place took gold or blood as the myths would have it. Since you hadn't brought any jewelry with you, there was only the second option.

      Slash!  

You swung the dagger sharply across your palm and directed the flowing stream straight into the hole. The red liquid filled the lines as mesmerizingly beautiful as a falling domino would be stacked. As soon as the end of the broken lines joined the beginning, the platform flashed red and went out, immediately moving aside with a deafening screech; you were back on the edge of another precipice. Isn't this the Hatarat?

The first loud click sounded, the first step leading downward appeared. The next step immediately followed with identical sounds; the rhythmic clicks that were created seemed to count down the time to something inevitable. You obediently stepped off the first step plunging into darkness.

This time you could see nothing, absolutely nothing. You were standing on a tiny and looked like moonlit piece of land. As soon as you tried to step beyond the light, someone pushed you back. You tried again, with the same result. "One," someone's murmuring voice exploded and spilled the same recent laughter in your ears and you shuddered unseen.

"What do you mean by 'one'?" you shouted in indignation. "I'm fucking alone here!" barely had you finished speaking as you quickly slurred and it came to you. You threw off your backpack and began rummaging through it looking for the cube. When you pulled it out and brought it closer to your face, you gasped in surprise: all of its facets were glowing red; you spun around in disbelief at your surroundings. "See ya, boxy," you said, smiling. "I hope it won't kill you," after which you threw the cube with force somewhere into the darkness.

The ground beneath your feet shook so violently that you fell on your back out of balance. Your body was covered with stone chips. The faint light that had illuminated you earlier went out and you were left in a darkness that your eyes could not adapt to. Praying mentally that everything had worked and you hadn't accidentally destroyed the artifact along with the person inside it, you gathered your will into a fist once again and was determined to find a way out of this cloaca.

***

After a dozen bruises, a couple of fights, and hundreds of swear words, you were standing in Laitta's office again. You'd been here just a second ago for her and she was still clutching the Atlas, but her eyes were deep in the laptop screen. Unable to say a word, you just stood there, waiting to be noticed.

"Look, the news is reporting a four-point earthquake somewhere off the east coast of Japan, supposedly a tectonic plate shift. Your doing?" she asked you sliding her eyes over the lines then shifting her gaze to you. "Ew, you look like shit."

"Screw ya," you mumbled examining your body, which was covered in dried blood and congealed pus, your clothes were torn in places and your tangled hair added to your charm.

***

You and Rachel were already lying on the workshop floor; she was on top of you pinching your skin randomly in different places not letting you move. You laughed at the ticklish sensations and cried out when Rachel put too much pressure on you. You both didn't hear the door click open because of all the fun chaos.

"Are my girls fighting again?" a low baritone crept into the workroom. You and Rachel raised your heads at the same time looking at the intruder. A portly man of advanced age, whose eyes always seemed narrow because of his cordial smile stood in the workroom doorway watching you, his eyes full of paternal love. His long gray hair was gathered in a low ponytail, his not-young face was adorned with stubble in the color of his hair. Kyle was next to him, too. You and Rachel looked at each other sharply and realizing from your angry look that questioned if she was the one who called him here, Rachel shook her head in panic. "Hey, Dad!" Rachel jumped up first and ran in his direction. "We were just talking about you!"

"Kind words, I hope?" the man asked enclosing Rachel, Kyle and the approaching you in a hug.

"I'm gonna fucking die," hissed Rachel, who had the misfortune to find herself in the middle of a bear hug.

"Here they are, my loved offspring," the man chuckled kissing each of you on the top of your head.

"Hi, Frank," you said detachedly as if resigned to your fate.

"Dad, back off, we're not little kids anymore," Kyle muttered breaking out of his embrace. "I'm going to bed."

"Raised a rude boy," Frank stretched out with a smile on his face as he watched Kyle walk up the metal stairs, then let you and Rachel go. "And I have exactly two gifts for you."

"Mommy!" squeaked someone's childish voice, and from behind Frank's broad back something redheaded and small came rushing toward Rachel nearly knocking her to the ground.

"Mike, honey!" Rachel exclaimed picking the boy up and wrapping her arms around him burying herself in his baby soft hair. You mentally noted how pleased you were that her attention had shifted from you to him.

"So, what's the second gift?" you turned to Frank with growing displeasure in your voice realizing who else he'd brought.

"Hey, Y/N-ie," a quiet voice greeted you. Hidden behind the man's broad back was also a little girl in a blue dress, and she was covered in freckles from top to bottom, her small hands shyly clutching a sheet folded in half to her chest.

"Hey, my little bun," you greeted her softly in return gently picking her up in your arms and carrying her towards the bed that Rachel and Mike were settled on. "Tris, give me and Grandpa Frank two minutes and I'll be sure to look at what you brought, 'kay?

"Okay," Tris nodded her head clutching the sheet to her chest even tighter. Setting her down on the bed, you headed towards Frank and jerked him into the bathroom forcefully but still quietly slamming the door behind you.

You gave the gray-haired man a fierce look. "Frank, what the hell are you doing here? What are you bringing the kids here for?" you hissed at him trying to keep your voice steady.

"Are ya gonna burst or something if ya ever call me dad?" Frank looked down at you crossing his arms over his chest.

"Don't ya dare change the subject!"

"Look, ya didn't even come to Hopetown for Christmas," Frank said shrugging, disappointment flashing across his face for a second and a needle of guilt stabbing into your chest. "So I decided to bring Mike and Tris to you at least, if only for a little while."

"Frank, I'm sorry, I really am. But you know it's very dangerous out here," you ran your hands through your hair and put your arms around your shoulders as if trying to reassure yourself.

Big hands gently touched your cheeks and you looked up at Frank, your eyes widening with worry. "Have you forgotten who your father is? I can give you all a head start still," and at the same time he pulled you against his chest, and you nuzzled your nose into it letting out a relieved exhale.

You would have been happy to pamper your soul further while you were stroked through your hair like a little girl, spitting and forgetting about all the misfortunes, but the sense of responsibility nurtured from childhood made you pull away and retreat a couple steps. "Ya take the kids tomorrow and you're going back to Hopetown," with that said you left the bathroom.

When you went back into the workroom, Rachel shushed you, even though you didn't make a sound. You raised your eyebrows in surprise, but when you saw Mike and Tris laid comfortably on your bed you nodded understandingly. Such a long ride to your place could take a lot out of even the naughtiest of children. You glanced at Frank and Rachel gesturing for them to go to sleep and after they had quietly left the room, you moved closer to the bed. As you adjusted the blanket and wrapped the little bodies tighter, your gaze fell on the bedside table; the same folded sheet laid on it that Tris had been carefully cradling. You sat down beside the bed and unfolded it carefully, and before your eyes was something blotchy and bright, made up of all sorts of shades of blue and purple with dull yellow incongruous stars sprinkled all over it. "So much for the cosmos," the warmth spilling into your chest came out of your mouth with a soft, quiet laugh that you tried to extinguish with your head tucked into the sheet.

The next afternoon as the sun was setting, you walked down the hallway toward the kitchen trying to hold on to the pile of paper bags that contained the groceries mixed with some medications you had just bought. Finally dumping it all on the dining room table, you opened the refrigerator and started filling the emptied contents grabbing Mike who was crawling from the kitchen unit to the refrigerator and putting him back on the floor; once the groceries were spread out on the shelves of the refrigerator, you opened the top drawer to put the medications in there, while changing the coffee cup someone had left in front of Tris' nose, which she was already reaching for with her little hands, for orange juice. "Keep an eye on them," you said to Frank grabbing the only unopened paper bag.

You grinned softly as you watched your students and older hunters pair up with students from the Tokyo magical college, probably having just finished eating dinner in the canteen walked out of the left door of the living room. Stepping onto the threshold of the living room and gathering all your courage into a fist, you headed towards the right door that led to the infirmary.

Your quiet footsteps were all that could be heard in the lighted corridor of the infirmary and with each step you took as you approached the room where Megumi and the white-haired sorcerer were lying your confident gait became slower and more awkward. There was no point in delaying the inevitable, so you stopped at the wall right next to the open door and drew in more air clutching the paper bag tighter to your chest.

Just as you wanted to step out from around the corner, you heard quiet negotiations; you shook your head in bewilderment. Had Megumi woken up? You appeared on the threshold crashing into two pairs of eyes. Both were sitting on Gojo's bed talking quietly about something, but as soon as they saw you, they immediately fell silent. "Oh?" you smiled, tilting your head slightly to the side. "So the reunion has already happened after all. It's a shame, because I wanted it to be a little more festive," you looked at infirmary's surrounding.

There was an awkward silence. After a few seconds, the headmaster got up from the bed coughing meaningfully. "Well, I don't want to lose my lunch muffins, so... I'll leave you two alone. Y/N," he nodded his head in farewell and you watched him going away, puzzled because his room was in the other direction.

Turning your head, you met the sorcerer's gaze. Not sure where to begin, you waved your hand gently. "Hey."

"Hey," he averted his gaze, fiddling with his fingers.

Exhausted from the growing awkwardness, you not knowing where to start until then decided to start with what you held in your hand. "Uh, anyway... I've got apples, peaches, orange and cherry juice in here," a smile grew on Gojo's face as you listed and he bit his lip. "There's also a mochi here. With green tea, chocolate and mango," the sorcerer stopped smiling and his already large eyes rounded with shock and you laughed. "Don't look at me like that. Your students served ya up on a plate," you walked over to his bedside table and carefully set the paper bag down all the while feeling the stare but somehow not feeling uncomfortable about it. "This is my apology for yesterday's uh, incident. I acted impulsively."

"Hey! Just an apology?" suddenly the quiet sorcerer was suddenly as loud as everyone had described him to be. "And here I was beginning to think someone actually cared about me." He turned away from you pouting his lips making you laugh once again.

"And I never said that was the only reason," you never saw the look on Gojo's face as you moved towards the unconscious Megumi. You walked over to the boy and running your fingers gently over his forearms, took his hand examining it; the dark energy was now painted in chaotic dark lines only at his fingertips. "There, he's feeling much better now, so he should wake up soon." Wrapped up in your thoughts of Megumi, you didn't even hear Gojo walk up close to you; turning around, a whistle escaped your lips. You'd never viewed him this close and full-length before not counting that incident when you saw nothing but a red veil; you jokingly raised your head covering your eyes with the palm of your hand as if protecting them from the sunlight. "Mister, isn't it blowing hard out there?"

Not looking up from another thousandth joke about his height, Gojo laughed softly sitting down on the couch at Megumi's feet. "Nah, it's not blowing," he wrapped his long fingers around his chin cocking his head as if in thought. "Though, pipsqueaks can really be kinda hard of hearing."

"We never introduced ourselves to each other," you held out your hand to him looking at him unflinchingly.

He felt either awkward or embarrassed under your gaze; hastily and invisibly clutching the sheets in his hands, Gojo tried to wipe away the sweat that protruded on his palms all the while feeling his cheeks grow warm, but he still extended his hand in return and you shook hands. "Gojo. Gojo Satoru."

"Y/N. Just Y/N," even though your lower face wasn't visible Gojo could feel how bright you were smiling at him taking a seat next to him on the couch.

"Well, Y/N," he swallowed quietly, feeling the warmth radiating from you and if you hadn't been in the room, Gojo felt like he would have slapped himself to come to his senses. "How much more do you know about me?"

"Let me see," you sat on the couch and started to dangle your feet. Even though the beds in the infirmary were quite high themselves, Gojo still had his hand over his mouth pretending to just lean on it, even though he was trying not to laugh. "You're kind of an arrogant creature who doesn't recognize anyone's authority, but with your power it's forgivable," you said, crooking one finger. "You have a heap of altruism in you just so long as nothing goes against your selfish desires," you crooked a second finger. "You're a very light sleeper, I don't think that point needs explaining," you bent a third finger. "You're a fan of ridiculously expensive shirts," you curved your fourth finger. "You also go to the dentist every two months to get another cavity treated because you love sweets too much," you curved the last finger on your hand. "And you also get drunk from one glass of wine," you added and though you really wanted to continue you were afraid you'd be considered a stalker.

"Wow," his voice sounded very quiet for some reason. "And you really remembered all that?"

"Of course I did," you shook your head and grinned staring at him. "I'm a manipulator," he stared at you wide-eyed for a couple seconds then the chamber filled with your soft, seemingly melded laughter. As you laughed, you looked him over with an elusive concern. "But more importantly, how are ya feeling?"

"Wonderful," he crooned looking at you the way professional liars do. He appreciated your skeptical look and realizing the attempt had failed, continued to reassure you. "Really, I'm fine. Sometimes weird thoughts pop into my head, but it's happened before," he smiled awkwardly his eyes fixed on the floor and he clasped his fingers together.

Your conscience gnawed at you for invading his personal space enough already. Suppressing the urge for further questioning and casting a glance behind your back at Megumi, you turned back to Gojo. "Just try not to be alone right now."

Loneliness. The curse or freedom that had followed him all his life, neither letting him fall normally nor fly high constantly keeping him between heaven and earth. "But I have no one to go to," he thought to himself, for the first time not finding the courage to say it out loud.

"Y/N-ie?" a thin voice made you look up. A little girl stood on the doorstep having changed from yesterday's blue dress to a light purple one.

You grinned and patted her knee gently beckoning her over and letting her know you weren't the least bit angry that she was walking around the huge house alone again. "There's my little tail," you picked her up, kissing her on the temple, making Tris giggle uncontrollably. When she calmed down, she immediately stared with her dark eyes at the white-haired man. "Tris, this is Gojo Satoru, the strongest sorcerer alive," you dramatically and meaningfully expressed his status causing his cheeks to warm again; afterward you glared at Gojo. "Gojo, this is Tris, my uh- my daughter," you stammered a bit as you stipulated her status, for which you mentally slapped yourself on the forehead. 

Gojo stared at you in amazement then furrowed his eyebrows incredulously. "Aren't you a little young for the role of mommy?"

"Why, do ya wanna figure it out?" there was a teasing challenge in your voice and you moved a little toward him.

"Yes! I mean N-NO! I mean- Oh my god," Gojo started to stutter and immediately hid his flushed face in his hands. You and Tris sat there looking at him with a look of satisfaction at your prank even though the girl didn't understand what just happened and was just copying your behavior.

"You didn't conceive Megumi at thirteen, did you?" Gojo was even more confused by your question, but when he realized what you were getting at, he pulled his face away from his hands and looked at you raising his eyebrows; you only nodded in response.

"Are we going to watch the Iron Giant?" Tris interjected into the conversation.

"Hmm, are we gonna watch this cartoon for the hundredth time?" you cocked your head as if pondering even though you already knew your answer; dark eyes were looking down at you expectantly. "Of course we'll watch it. Wanna join?" you turned towards the sorcerer again. "Or grown men don't watch cartoons?"

"Gladly," he said carefully hiding a smile. Picking up Tris, you headed into the living room and this time you got another tail.

***

Two elderly men sat in the kitchen sipping hot blueberry tea and watching the three of you on the couch in front of the TV. You and Gojo were sitting close together and Tris kept talking restlessly between you piling pillows around you and trying to get comfortable on either you or the sorcerer. Gojo seemed to be making jokes all the time and after another joke you pinched his nose instead of laughing causing him to let out a disgruntled squeak pursing his lips playfully. "They seem to be getting along quite well," Frank turned to Principal Jaga not taking his eyes off of you.

The headmaster hummed skeptically setting his cup aside. "That restless one gets along pretty well with everyone. As long as they don't get in his way. Anyway, I'm glad he can exhale a little now after everything," Frank sighed restlessly at the principal's words wondering when that opportunity would fall to you as well and the principal certainly noticed it. "So... demons?"

"Well, you could say that," Frank smiled shrugging his shoulders. "A good half of what's said about them in any of the sources is true except..." the gray-haired man faltered, unsure of how to present the information staring first at the end credits of the cartoon you and Gojo were watching then looking up at the night sky through the living room window. "Except they're not of mythological origin. And we call them dioreacts."

The principal furrowed his eyebrows and stared at Frank, but exploded into a low cackle a couple minutes later. "Aliens? Are you serious now?"

Carrying a soiled popcorn dish and hearing the last part of the conversation, you couldn't help but intervene. "What's the matter? Have ya always seen aliens as green little men with mustaches on their heads?"

"No, it's just... Extraterrestrial intelligent life exists after all?" the principal shook his head in disbelief squinting his eyes.

Having put the dishes in the sink, you turned around and leaned against the kitchen unit; Gojo sat down next to Frank and he seeing that you were without Tris, gave you a questioning look. "She wore us out pretty well and fell asleep on the couch. Don't ya dare wake her up," you pointed your index finger threateningly at Frank realizing that if she woke up it would be up to you to entertain her; you then focused your attention on the headmaster. "After all, in the concept of 'extraterrestrial intelligent life' we only understand one word: extraterrestrial. What 'life' is and what 'intelligent' is for some reason no one is in a hurry to explain. So yes, to deny its existence just because it is beyond our comprehension is rather silly."

"But how did they end up on Earth?" the Director asked and you could tell by the look on his face that he still took you for crazy.

"We have no idea why they suddenly began their space expansion. Maybe because of some threat, maybe somewhere in their world they had already evolved to the point where they had nothing left to do but conquer space to keep their evolution from stalling." You scratched your temple thoughtfully and stared up at the night sky. "It's also unclear where they came from, whether from another star system, another dimension, some parallel worlds, another fabric of space-time or Balk ⁴, but either way, there's two pieces of news, good and bad," you perked up, and walked over to the table and sat down across from Gojo who had been listening intently to you all this time. "First and good, they can't interact with us outside of the human body in any way, and neither can we with them. We simply don't have such senses, but the bad one... The bad one sounds exactly the same, but with a different implication. They're infesting people's bodies nonstop. And all this makes us think that they really left their homeland in a hurry because of some danger, and now having found themselves here and having found a shelter in a human body they want to settle here."

Gojo clicked his teeth, something dark and unfamiliar in his eyes. "Why don't they live in peace? We humans are friendly enough creatures."

"It's just that unlike Earth creatures who have an aquatic basis for life, they have it tied to human blood plasma. In large quantities. But they eat us because we're delicious, I guess," you tightened your lips at the unpleasantness of this conversation.

"How is that possible?" the principal asked. "I mean, it's human bodies that they're inhabiting, so they're an earthly life form now, too."

"There is nothing earthly and much less human in them after fusion because the atoms in their molecules have been reshaped and rearranged," you stated flatly, your voice as if it had turned metallic. "By combining certain atoms in a certain sequence we get a structure with properties that a simple bunch of the same atoms don't have, and the name of that structure is a molecule. The basis of life is not somewhere out there at the level of individual atoms, it is higher. The basis of life is molecular. Now try to swap at least two atoms in molecules and living matter having lost its emergent⁵ property will immediately become inanimate turning a human being into a corpse. Now imagine when the Diomorphea having appeared on this planet, began to collide with humans, either completely accidentally or completely intentionally provoking fusion; How many people were killed while the Diomorphea was trying to find the right configuration of atoms with which to exist?         

Gojo tilted his head to the side, which made his hair stick out even shaggier, reached out to you and snapped his fingers in front of your nose bringing you out of your information trance. "Diomorphea? What the hell kind of pokemon is that?"    

"So-called core. According to the information gathered over thousands of years, the hunters came to the conclusion that all dioreacts used to be something whole, but at the first successful fusion they split into pieces, God only knows how many," you kept looking at the sorcerer trying to stifle the urge to ruffle his hair. "So, the Diomorphea is the core or the first dioreact, ya name it. And there's a suspicion that it's the one that's somehow directly involved in the fusion of all the other split-off dioreacts, otherwise, if every dioreact could conduct a fusion we would all be dropping like flies without explanation."

Gojo hummed propping his head up with both hands. Although he showed genuine interest, his eyes were involuntarily sleepy and he desperately tried to blink away the drowsiness causing his long white lashes to flutter. A mesmerizing sight. "Given the nature of our work, it's strange that we've never encountered them."

"We'll take that as a compliment," you chirped swinging your leg, and your bare foot grazed his equally bare ankle. Casually tapping the table with awkward fingertips and pretending that none of this had just happened, you leaned back further into the back of your chair. "Yeah, and if you've encountered them, it's unlikely ya paid attention. Unless you could feel the effect of the uncanny valley, only instead of disgust and fear ya'd feel an uncontrollable rising sense of anxiety. No one's had that?" you looked around the table at everyone and seeing the headmaster and Gojo shake their heads negatively, you shrugged. "No wonder, ya people are unusual too," suddenly looking up and remembering that you should be somewhere else right now, you added. "Actually, not all dioreacts are bad. Some of them blend into the normal human rhythm of life, and just a couple dozen of them are of great help to us. We owe them a lot, because they told almost everything we know because now even though all dioreacts are divided, they are still a single organism and they see, hear, and feel everything that others see, hear, and feel. The name of such dioreacts is insiders," you jumped up from your chair grabbing your phone off the kitchen counter.

Frank, looking around in confusion and trying to catch a glimpse of your flailing figure looked visibly perturbed. "And where do ya think you're going, young lady?"

"Meet the insider, he texted me," you shouted already from the hallway sitting on a chair and putting on your socks.

"Actually, we contact the insiders ourselves for security purposes!" the indignation in Frank's voice grew with every word uttered, his low voice making the dishes on the table almost shake.

"Really?" you blurted out sarcastically, hoping he would hear it. "And for what purpose did you disable our house's security protocol then?"

Frank couldn't take it anymore, he snorted in indignation standing up from the table so abruptly that the chair beneath him fell over, and headed toward you out into the hallway. "Did I have to make Tris and Mike cut their hands open to give your artificial intelligence their blood for examination?" the tone of his voice sounded like you wanted to leave as soon as possible. "Ya do realize this is a trap, don't you?"

"Well, or the information is so urgent that the insider just doesn't have time to wait for us to deign to contact him. Come on, this one's been tried and tested over the years," you gibbered hastily pulling on your sneakers. "Otherwise, this is such an obvious trap that I'm going to fall for it purely on principle! That's it, I'm out of here," with that you gave Frank a quick hug and dashed out the door that led to the basement floor.

To your surprise, you heard the sound of rushing footsteps behind you. Gojo remembering his past experience didn't dare to grab your hand again. Luckily for him, you finally descended the metal stairs and turned around and seeing your face once again, all the words he wanted to say flew out of his head. "Well, uh— take care," he smiled nonchalantly tucking his hands into his pockets.

"As always," you nodded your head smiling back and examining his endlessly mussed hair. "I apologize in advance," you reached out with a hand, briefly but gently ruffling the snow-white hair. "Gosh, even softer than I thought," you squeaked and whether from haste or embarrassment ran out the huge metal door, leaving Gojo utterly confused, alone with his suddenly feverish heart.

Two days later, you were insanely happy to hear the usually annoying beep of the key card because it meant you were home. Your split eyebrow was almost healed and there were only a couple of minor bruises on your body. As you passed through the metal door, you noted the absence of the white room; the security protocol was still disabled, and therefore Frank was still here. He was right after all, this was all just another trap and the insider who'd been feeding you information for years was dead, but you'd rather eat your own pinky than admit that to him.

It was so late that you were sure that the whole house was asleep with its occupants, but feeling terribly hungry and remembering that there was nothing in the refrigerator in your workroom, you headed for the metal staircase trying to keep the sound of your footsteps in the quietest range. Finally, after turning the doorknob and closing it carefully behind you, you carelessly but also quietly kicked off your sneakers and went straight to the kitchen in total darkness.

When you reached the corner of the kitchen around the corner where the dining table and the refrigerator were located you heard a strange commotion. You listened leaning against the doorjamb, your hand in a dark haze ready to grab your dagger. The quiet creaks of the wooden table, the rustling of clothes and suddenly the sounds of kissing. Hearing it, you wrinkled your nose in confusion. Had Rachel really started bringing lovers into this house? The black haze from your hand disappeared immediately; after thinking about it some more, you hummed contentedly but quietly thinking that maybe it was Kyle who had finally found someone, but still remaining creepily annoyed by the fact that they weren't doing it in a more private place. "Nuh-uh, I told you," a teasing male voice made the already immobile you literally freeze in place. "No kissing on the lips, we've talked about this a thousand times."

He was answered by an equally teasing, languid foxy voice. "What's the matter? Are you saving yourself for the one?" you squinted your eyes and tried to rack your brain to remember anyone in this house with a voice like that.

"I don't see any point in exchanging spittle," Gojo barely finished the sentence as you stepped out from around the corner a bit to check that your hearing wasn't deceiving you. No, that's right. Two half-naked bodies pressed against each other on your dining table. Sorcerer pulling away from the woman began unbuttoning her blouse. "Are you sure you want to do this here?"

You stood still and not knowing what to do, watched their actions with completely blank eyes swallowing a disgusting lump of feelings that tasted more like a dirty floor cloth soaked in rotten blood. If only your legs had been buzzing with fatigue a few minutes ago, now even your head ached. The heavy chains that had shackled your heart long before and had loosened their grip over time, clenched it with renewed vigor.

 "Oh, come on!" she giggled pressing her naked thighs against his waist. "Those saints are all sound asleep by ten o'clock at night."

"Then spread your legs a little wider," Gojo grinned finally unbuttoning her blouse and exposing the last of what was hidden.

You flicked the switch, and the light spread across the room just as quickly as your patience was wearing thin. "Not everyone," your face now had a good-natured expression on it instead of blank eyes. "When I told ya not to be alone, I didn't mean it like that, ya know," Gojo pulled away from the girl abruptly and looked at you apparently swallowing.

You didn't forget for a second why you'd come here and you strode lightly past them and straight to the refrigerator. Opening it, you appraised the contents with a glance. "I don't judge people for their kinks, but if ya want to fuck in this house find a more private place."

"We'll remember that," the girl chirped giving you a sly look; still prostrate on the table, she playfully covered her bare breasts with the fabric of her blouse. You grabbed a carton of chocolate milk and slammed the refrigerator door shut and because of your unpleasant emotions, you didn't even notice the sorcerer standing next to you barely moving his parched lips as if he were struggling to get a single word out.

"Or at least not on this table," you tapped your knuckles on the wooden surface next to her white-gray mussed hair. "Because we eat here from time to time. Although, if you're going to eat her out, then I don't even have an objection," you were still keeping a friendly attitude, but it seemed to Gojo that you were literally spitting those words in his face and it also seemed to him that he really deserved it.

You were a moment away from leaving the room, but suddenly you heard the click of the door to the infirmary. You jerked open the refrigerator door and stood across from the two half-naked figures even though you realized that the refrigerator door and your size would not hide the outrage. The next unfamiliar faces were in the room and you slammed the door shut with force barely concealing your irritation.

A woman appeared at the door, a white medical coat draped over her shoulders; her tired look suggested that she was of the same profession. An old man came out behind her. She gave you a look that expressed nothing but a desire to go to bed. "What's going on here?"

"I could ask ya the same question," you waved your hands. "Who are you?"

"Shoko Ieiri, a doctor at Tokyo Magic College."

"Great, that says a lot," you said not hiding the irony bubbling in your voice. You glanced over at the bald old man standing next to her with the ridiculously long beard; you couldn't see his eyes from under his thick gray eyebrows. All of his ears were pierced in completely different places, the jewelry in them playing in the light. The old man seemed to be smaller than you were tall. "And what kind of fossil is that?" the girl behind you burst into laughter, though to you the whole situation was so absurd that it was no longer possible to keep yourself in check.

Shoko cast a glance at the old man before directing her eyes at you and if it weren't for the circumstances you would managed to note that you were crazy about her mole under her eye already. "As of late, our higher-up. Yoshinobu Gakuganji.

"Bring him back to the dig," dropping that phrase, you walked out of the room closing the door with such force that plaster sprinkled from the walls.

You were coming down the stairs to the workroom, one of your hand clutching a carton of hard-won chocolate milk, the other typing an angry message to Frank barely hitting to spell.

[11:57pm] You: I've only been gone for two days so bother explaining why the fuck some obscure doctor paired with a walking antique is walking around freely in our house and someone is fucking on our damn dinner table

next ⊳

Chapter notes:

Xibalba – the underworld of the Maya peoples

Ouroboros – a snake eating its own tail; one of the oldest symbols known to mankind. Representation of eternity and infinity, the cyclical nature of life

Van Halen - famous American hard rock band of the 80s.

Bulk - long story short, massive bodies like stars, planets and black holes bend space in the vicinity of themselves, roughly speaking in this form woosh ◡ (you can say 'push down'), space cannot be pushed into nowhere, so Bulk that's the theoretical place where space can be pushed

Emergence - the presence of properties in the system that are not inherent in its components individually; irreducibility of the properties of the system to the sum of the properties of its components (imagine that someone methodically and repeatedly throws a bunch of stones into the air and after each throw there is a non-zero probability that the stones will fall on each other in a certain way forming a certain structure and this structure will have its own set of properties that the pile of stones itself does not possess. For example if once the stones fall so that they form a house (it sounds stupid but this is just an example) it will have properties like protection from rain wind animals etc)

PHEW THIS ONE WAS HARD

[nuetronstars-rd]

for the people who are confuse about my oc

Raphette Rimmer lister is a fan-made character. She's the daughter of Rimmer and Lister. take that as you can. Canonly.

She's originally an red dwarf persona of myself, when I was 10 years old, on tumblr.

by the time I got into Fall Out Boy, I've confirm that he(she), isn't me anymore. He is their own character. Changing to Raphale (GO phase go crazy), to Raphaelia, to Raphelle, to Raphette. + Raphaela.

I've been also thinking changing her middle name. Kristine was named after my middle name Christine, was named after my aunt, and goes by. Story wise, she was named after Kochanski. I wrote a origin story about Raphette (sort of), Kochanski was barely in it. she was pretty much a forgotten Ex. This made me realize why should her middle name be Kristine anyways? I guess season 6 will be the best answer. They probably though Kochanski would more likely be part of the crew. Like 7 and 8 did.

Although she's the youngest OC in Red Dwarf history. She's still 10 years old. (yeah she CAN age, but that's when we'll get to there.)

There will be time where the series will chat about Body Change, sexuality, Maturity, Puberty's, The Talk. When we do get there, I will be very careful on how I demonstrated this kind of topic. as a teenager myself, I may be very exaggerated or inaccurate. keep that in mind

BTW, please don't do anything NSFW to her. do not sexualize her or any characters in Neutron Stars. They are all MINORS.

[jovialwerewolfpirate]

:Meet the new student at Monster High 1- 8:

Name: Rath Flare

Age: 1, 708 fire's years old

Monster Parent: Father- Dragon and Mother-Phoenix

Killer Style: purple t-shirt with rising fire's design on the rightside of the shirt and the shorts sleeves had rising fire's design too.I got.sky blue pants with long fire's flares both of the pant's.

Freaky Flaw: me and my best friends are in a rock group together we played every night or day at concerts or pep rallies.

Pet: his name is wildburn he's the elemental fire panda I loved him so much in my heart and since I was a little Dragon/Phoenix boy.

Biggest Pet Peeve: I support hybrid monster's across the world and help them with their power is inabilities .Since I am the son of the Dragon and the Phoenix .I can help them them with their abilities.

Favorite School Subject: history and math scientist classes cuz I love those classes this is and I love every single class.

Least Favorite School Subject: to be honest I really hate math every time I sell a problem is only give me the wrong answers so I tried and tried and got all the right answers.

Favorite Color: Firy Orange

Favorite Food: I love spicy food different types of spicy foods my father and it's amazing spicy I need delicious food a lot and my mom and cook some veggies for me too.

BFF'S: Vinalistar Blazer( Son of Plant Monster and Dragon), Raphel Redstirpe ( Son of Demon Red Panda), Flutteray Von Bónes ( Son of Fairy and Skeleton), Meowster Vérde ( Son of Werecat and Plant Monster), Mortas Ván Fangtrion ( Son of Vampire and Unicorn), Antleron Vampstein ( Son of Weredeer and Vampire), Monarch Vàn Spooker ( Son of The Ghost and Butterfly Monster)

[astrodrawsturtles]

Ah, now that I have a proper side blog set up for my TMNT art, I have a whole backlog of stuff to post to my PERSONAL PROJECT

For a little over a year now, i’ve been developing my own version of the TMNT story called “TMNT: New World Mutants” (you may have seen it floating around Instagram lol) 

In any case, these are some more major sketches I wanted to compile for the project 

[chaoticwhumperbr]

Glass Heart Princess

Hey guys! Posting a very short story I wrote for a friend, just because I don't want my blog to be empty haha, not very good because it's burning hot in here today so I'm pretty stressed but, it's okay for a first story.

Enjoy!

★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★

Princess Thalia had great expectations for that night, an entire evening of a ball to celebrate her birthday? Sounded like a great way to spend time with friends and also, her secret lover.

Most would say it’s cliché of a princess to have a secret lover, she didn’t mind. Knowing all her days were made better by the presence of Raphael, her assigned bodyguard who always made her heart start to race when she came into the room, after some time it couldn’t be helped, they got into a relationship.

Her birthday wasn’t so different, after a night of indirect flirting and staring at each other in the ballroom, they met in her room, Raphael knocking once before coming in, his dark hair and green eyes immediately making Thalia blush, he smiled at her.

“Hey, birthday girl… Should I say, lady, my princess?”

Thalia got up and jumped on him, hugging her lover quite tightly.

“I was wondering if you wouldn’t come, my love! I’ve been waiting.”

“I would never leave you waiting for so long, dear princess.”The man said with a chuckle, caressing her face.

From there on the night was perfect, they cuddled for most of the night and when they weren’t doing so, they kissed. After a few hours, in the middle of the kissing, Thalia abruptly stopped and sat back down on her bed, one of her hands feeling the beats of her heart.

“What’s wrong, my princess…?”Raphael sat next to her, clearly extremely worried, she seemed to be in pain.

“My chest hurts… I don’t know.”It was getting hard to breathe, even, so she started breathing heavily, that was the first time she had ever felt so sick in her entire life.

“My princess, it couldn’t be, they wouldn’t poison you, no…”Her bodyguard was desperate, if they had poisoned her, that was his fault, he didn’t protect her enough, that was it.

Thalia was suffering too much to respond, her breathing was getting faster and she finally was able to explain what was happening to her, looking at Raphael.

“My heart is going to explode, it’s beating so fast, am I dying?” The girl seemed terrified, looking to Raphel for answers, he seemed just as nervous, though.

“No my princess, you’re not. Try to take deep breaths, maybe it would help” He helped her lay down, though it just made her sit back up quickly, clearly having trouble breathing.

“You don’t understand.”Thalia grabbed his hand and pulled it to her chest, placing it right over her heart. “Can you feel my heart racing?”

And just like Thalia had told him, it truly was racing, not the kind of racing it would get after a fight or even regular exercise such as running, it was unnatural as if her heart was some kind of trapped bird trying to find release from its cage.

Not happy with only feeling the beats, Raphael gently placed his head against her chest, the erratic sound of her heartbeat feeling her ears, the sound he once found beautiful was now the source of uncertainty and fear.

“What do I do?”Raphael asked, seeming desperate, the girl just shook her head, clearly terrified.

“Hold me, if I die… At least it will be in your arms.”

Thalia said with a soft but sad smile, Raphael did exactly was asking, holding her close to his chest, her thundering abnormal beats strong against his heart, pounding with fear on the perspective of losing his love, if she died… He wouldn’t recover from it.

After a few hours, though, her heart finally slowed down, the beats seemed so regular it was almost as if she had never gotten sick before, by that time, though, Thalia was sound asleep in Raphael’s arms, perhaps their love for each other had blessed her back to health, that was what they both believed in.

[bookloveravenue]

Guild Hunter (book 14): Archangel’s Light by Nalini Singh

Nalini Singh returns to the world of the Guild Hunters for the most highly anticipated novel of the beloved series—a love story so epic it’s been half a millennia in the making…

Illium and Aodhan. Aodhan and Illium. For centuries they’ve been inseparable: the best of friends, closer than brothers, companions of the heart. But that was before—before darkness befell Aodhan and shattered him, body, mind, and soul. Now, at long last, Aodhan is healing, but his new-found strength and independence may come at a devastating cost—his relationship with Illium.

As they serve side by side in China, a territory yet marked by the evil of its former archangel, the secret it holds nightmarish beyond imagining, things come to an explosive decision point. Illium and Aodhan must either walk away from the relationship that has defined them—or step forward into a future that promises a bond infinitely precious in the life of an immortal…but that demands a terrifying vulnerability from two badly bruised hearts.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/57414576-archangel-s-light

********

October 16, 2021

My Review: 5/5 Stars

FINALLY! We finally get Illium and Aodhan's story and it was amazing. I was beyond lucky to get my hands on an ARC and have never been so happy to do so. Illium and Aodhan are probably my favorite characters from this series, despite there being so many others that I truly love. But there is something about these two that have drawn me the moment they entered the page. And after much waiting, their time has finally come. Illium and Aodhan have in a difficult spot the last year. Their dynamics have changed and it is time for them to finally face it. They are both stubborn and letting their stubbornness get in the way of reason and rational thought. But enough is enough. Illium flies to Aodhan to help him with the situation in China. But neither are prepared for what was left secretly behind. While they deal with present day, we get flashbacks of their friendship. Starting all the way to the day they met as babies. We see them grow together. We see them at their best and at their worst. One of my favorite things about this story is the truths that are revealed. Specifically with Aodhan. We finally get answers. We get answers to his past and we see exactly how these moments shaped Illium and Aodhan, and of course Raphel and the rest of the Seven. The other thing I loved is the progression of Aodhan and Illium's friendship shifting to the possibility of more. This book covers so much of their lives. These important bits that again shaped them but also showed how deep their love for one another went. How despite the horrors, it still existed. And now they have reached a time, where Aodhan has finally healed and Illium can acknowledge that his friend is growing, they can fully recognize exactly what they are to one another. Absolutely beautiful. And it felt like a beginning. Their love story is just starting. And I would love to see another book with them as they continue to explore this new thing between them. I loved their history and growth. It shines in this book. Also this present day story line had quite the amount of twists and turns and I wonder how else it will shape the future. This was definitely a favorite of mine from the series and no surprise because again, they are my favorite characters. Beautifully done!

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[ducknotinarow]

Summer - Have you ever ... wished you were a mutant, and not a human?

| send my muse ‘have you evers’ and they have to answer truthfully!

“Okay pop’s this one for all th pizza douge!” Summer exclaimed as she skidded to a hault on her roller blade. Croching slightly as Raphael chuckled across the way. Moving to take up his postion infront of the goal she was using for partice improving her bank shots having Raph play as goalie for her. It was late enough that no one else was out but not to late that it wouldn’t be werid to see Summer at the small run down park. No more then a stones throw from the apartment. The sun was still cast just enough of an orange light but the street lights were buzzing once they turned on. The ones that had working blubs at least that was.

Either because they burned out and had yet to be replaced. Or, someone had gone around and knocked out the blubs busted them easily when rocks she slappeshot into them flew into the class, shattering it with ease. Not that Summer had any idea who that she who did it was of course. Summer pushed off aganst the wheels of her blades, moving the puck back and forth as she pressed forward. Eyeing her Dad and the easy advataged he had here. Where Casey was tall, Raphael was stocky. So he made a good goalie to practice with. Something he loved getting todo for Summer any chance given.

“Ya not getting this one kiddo” Raphael claimed as Summer drew closer.

“Gonna make you eat those words as a side dish to dinner pops.” Summer claimed as she started to veer to th left, arms pulling back as she was getting ready to swing with all she had in her with. Watching how her dad seemed to shift on his feet weight moving that way before she moved her stick to the other side and slapped the side as hard as she could sending the puck to Raphael’s blind sid. Watching the puck smack against the rim of the goal expected it to bounce off and slide into the net. But, just when it flew back Raphael stopped it and set the puck flying out.

“OH COME ON!” Summer complained as she dropped her hockey stick, Raphael chuckling hard t her disapppointment.

“Come on bug, ya really think I don’t kno ya gonna try and play dirty and use my ‘blind side’ ‘ike that? Ya Dad’s the biggest cheap player I know.” Raphael stated as he moved to rest back against the goal.

Summer just hung her lip as she moved to go grab the hockey puck mubbling under her breath. Grumbbling about how she would show hi a cheap shot, as she bent down to grab the puck to try once more. Only to be startled by apperence of another human. An older man at least older than Casey, though Summer would claim he was the very same age winkles and all. Summer startled as they seemed ready to complain about all the noise she was making. God forbid a child make any sound after all.

“it’s just me.” Summer interuppted with, not to only shut the guy up but to get a message out to her Dad. The guy didn’t buy it as he walked around her and stormed his way towards the goal. Raphael as no where to be found.

Summer felt relief lift the worry off her shoulders till she saw the man start making way to the net Summer pushed off as hard as she could on her blades letting herself fly. Slammig into the goal net, she should have knocked it clean over but she was able to spot Raphel’s strong grip on the bottom of it so it woudn’t fall over and her into the bushes. Smiling she turned around acting as a barrier between the older man and her dad.

“But ya ‘ight my dad’s well be real sore ith me if I don’ get home soon.”

The look the man gave at the implacation of her having ‘dad’s’ had wondering, if the fact one of them was a mutant would make it worse to the guy. Once it seemed safe enough she turned back around to peek into the bush. “Papa ya okay?”

Raph held out his hand holding the hockey puck out before letting the rest of himself poke out. “Ya really need to work on your aim Bug.”

——-

It’s funny Summer never saw her self as well anything then what she was. A human. Sometimes she struggled with the whole being a Jones thing because well she wasn’t biologly a Jones. And she knows that shouldn’t matter and it din’t matter but still it sometimes mattered to her. Summer sometimes felt listless about it. Expect when she was with her sister Ariel.

She knew the feeling was mutual, and in the past? Yeah it could sting but sometimes not having much going on in your skull wasn’t always a bad thing. As Summer idly blanced a crush soda can on the end of her hockey stick. Ariel was busy getting ina. close look to the river that run under the brdige. Serching for the srouce of s sliver shine. More junk for her to hoard basically, Ariel loved to collect human things after all.

Summer dropped the crushed and swatted it hard with her hockey stick smiling watcing how it flew out into the near by trees. “Hey Ari did ya come across anymore cans?”

The pair of them both stopped when hearing the collective voices of others coming. Summer gripped her hockey stick tight in her grip and bit back on her teeth. Snagging the bag Ariel had been using to collect her finds she dropped it on her head allowing whatever to fall out and lang on her clinging where ever. Selling the ‘crazed’ look she was hopping. “Head to the manhole on first street, it’s the closet one i’ll meet you back at the lair.” Summer addressed.

Soon sucking in air as she bealted out her dad’s battle cry “Goongala!” Scarying the group of teens who nearly came across Ariel asily heard calling Summer a freak btu still not willing to risk getting hit with the hockey stick she was swinging around.

———

Summer hissed a bit at the slight sting of pain as she held out her hand to her uncle Donatello. He little act paid off but resulted in Summer tripping over a old rusty face and skidding across a gravel path. Summer least was used to pain. As she focused on what her uncle was doing it was a weird sudden thought that connected out of no where. “ya know uncle Donnie?” Summer suddenly states as she looked own at her hockey stick laid out across her legs well he was busy working on plucking out the emended rocks from her busted up knee. Well, he seemed to looking at the cut along her leg likely seeing if stitches would be needed. A good clean at least since the fence she tried to jump when chasing those other kids was beyound just rusty. When he gave her his attetion she was still looking to her hockey stick.

“If I were honest? An’ ya asked me if I wihed I were a mutant? ‘d say yeah” She stated with out need for a second thought to her statment. “Cause it aways kind of sucked that so much of my family is mutant and i’m not. Yeah some is human but even then? I still different cause of where I came from and all.” Summer contuined to breeze throuh mostly because her uncle knew alot of this it was just the rambling path she was taking to get to her point.

Just how her mind seemed to work. Took ever detour that foalted on down her thoughts. Looking down to the tape of her hockey stick. She had everyone on her team sign it. Then all her family as well. “I felt like being a mutant would make me fit in more.” She finally expressed “It made more sense but then? I chased off those dimwits actting like a crazy person in the park.”

She ignore the fact she kind of was that.

“I mean its like what you were helping me study about from class. The nature and nurture thing?” She finally looked up at him “Maybe it’s better i’m a human raised around mututans cause I know just cause you aren’t human you are human.” She said as if that was plain as day to say. Just assuming her uncle understood her point. “And I think I wann become a vet!” She smile brightly as if this all connected. Funny enough it was because he was fixing her up now that she landed on that thought.

"I mean your a super smart turtle? and you would want to be human so to do more science stuff right? But you can't which is dumb. But, I wanna help my mutant family out more but I can't BUT i could!" Summer states happily. Sure shes been able to help hide them but it never felt like enough. "I know I know its me who knows what im gonna say and stick to but i've really thought hard on this Uncle Donnie. And watching you take care of me gave me the final push needed."

[radnewspaperroom]

Don't look if you haven't unlocked Lesson 65-A

THAT EXPLAINS HIS CLOTHING CHOICES AND THE DODGEY ANSWERS ABOUT THE CELESTIAL REALM

Whdoqmajdu4b4oru

Does this really mean he's gonna fall from grace? Is he willingly becoming human? 🤔 is that something that could be done? *would be done?*

I'm leaning toothed hard nope area cause if that wad the case: Lilith could have requested to become a human and stopped the whole Celestial war from happening

But demons are made because Father decides they can't enter the Realm anymore, right? Like with the brothers, yet Lilith was supposed to die an angel instead devildom instead of falling from grace and becoming a Demon too?

Or is he being punished for being so un-angel like as of the latest seasons and it's only temporary? Like he's had them taken for a thousand years or until he proves himself still worthy?

It seems like the ones who knows are: dia, barb, lucifer, raph, solomon

So, is Luke in the dark? How do all these guys know, yet Luke doesn't? It couldn't be a power sensory thing right?

With Raphel and all the others knowing, spmeones going to let it slip during the festival, and how's THAT going to go down?

I just...I can't wait for lesson 66 now lol

[praeteritus-memories]

“can I sleep with you?” To atem

Yami hadn't meant to fall asleep at his desk, but he was tired after reading so many books on who or what he could have been. Yet his dream gave him an awful possibility at an answer to that.

His dream was unclear, as any dream is, but all he could see was fire and suffering. The sounds of people running away in fear, the Egyptian Gods behind him, yet he doesn't know what. Did he cause all that destruction? The echoing words of Dartz and Raphel still haunting his mind, the very possibility that he could've been a maniac tyrant.

The last thing he sees before waking up was the faces of the people he punished in penalty games. The man he set ablaze and the teenager he drove to madness.

His body felt cold when he woke up, fear coursing through him despite knowing that the nightmare was all but over. Refusing to sit there for a minute longer, he all but ruins to the now shared bedroom he had with Edward.

While he didn't want to talk about what he dreamt just yet, arms pulled Edward close. His face hiding in his shoulder, all but desperate to forget his nightmare and only know Edward's feelings.

[raphavarrane]

DAY 4: NIGHT IN

@footballchallenge 30 days of domestic fluff

after seeing her do laundry willingly the day before, raphel decided to treat his girlfriend. usually the couple’s saturday nights were date nights but raphael had a better idea. whilst she spent the day out with friends, raphael and his fellow international team members antoine griezmann and lucas hernandez set up the house.

“so you think she’d like all of this?” raphael asked, rubbing the back of his neck.

he was always nervous when he was doing something without the input of margo; he just doesn’t feel like he knew what to do. raphael is a firm believer that it’s the thought that counts; well, that’s what margo always tells him when he burns the romantic meal he tried to make.

antoine slapped raphael’s back, bringing him back to reality a little too hard for his liking, in reassurance.

“dude, if she doesn’t love it, lucas will come cuddle with you.”

the three friends chuckled, then continued to with their work.

—————————————

by the time margo had made it back to the front door, all the lights were off. she didn’t question it, telling herself that raphael had already gone to bed. quietly she walked back inside, taking delicate steps towards the living room.

when margo heard the sound of the tv in the background, she guessed that he had fallen asleep on the couch like the big oaf he is. but as margo turned the corner into the living room, she quickly realised that raphael was no oaf.

in place of where the couch was, a mattress was led on the floor with two poles carrying fairy lights near it. it was covered with blankets and the smell of hot chocolate filled the air. before margo could scream bloody murder, raphael walked in, wearing what looked like a cozy jumper and grey sweatpants and her nerves were instantly sealed.

“glad to see you’re finally home.” raphael murmured into her ear, taking off her jacket and taking her bag.

on raphael’s cue, antoine walked in and took all of margo’s things away. raphael interrupted margo before she could even ask what antoine was doing at their house, guiding her over to blanket fort.

the couple settled on the mattress, margo cuddling up to raphael’s chest, her cheek hugging the softness of his sweatshirt.

once seeing raphael’s hand in the air, lucas walked in, two cups of hot chocolate in hand. when they thought she wasn’t looking, raphael and lucas shared a fist bump before lucas shuffled away, leaving the couple alone under the makeshift fort.

“i can’t believe you did all of this for me.” margo stared, tracing her fingers along raphael’s jawline.

“that smile of yours is worth a million blanket forts.”

raphael took her hand in his, kissing every finger then stopping on her ring finger. he stared at, annoyed at how plain and basic it looked. raphael would place a diamond worth thousands of dollars on margo’s ring finger if she’d let him.

“damn, i can’t wait to put on ring on it.”

instantly, raphael regretted his impulsive ways. he waited, biting his cheek for margo’s response. raphael ruined the moment and he knew it. he sighed, rubbing the back of his neck in embarrassment.

however, much to his suprise, nothing was said. margo laid her head against his chest and soundly fell asleep against her boyfriend’s sturdy chest. raphael took the answer he had been given with a frown on his face and eventually fell asleep as the nervy silence took over.

[buckleyy--diazz]

Happy New Year 🎉

Here's a super short a fluffy Meliorn x Raphel ficlet with Raphael and Meliorn being soft boyfriends 😊

🎉🎉🎉

Raphael looked over where Meliorn was lounging on the couch and smiled. After years of failed relationship and disappointment he had found love in the form of a sassy seelie knight who accepted him completely and he couldn't have been more in love. In love...they had actually never said the words. Meliorn lifted his eyes and smiled back at Raphael.  

“Come here," said Meliorn softly, “the ball is about to drop.”

“Are you really watching the new years countdown?” replied Raphael, slightly judging his boyfriend.

“Yes.”

“You do know that we are immortal and that it doesn't mean anything?”

“Yes.”

“Can’t you answer me with more than one word?”

“No", answered Meliorn clearly trying to to laugh when Raphael glared at him.

“Stop judging me and join me on the couch" said Meliorn as he lifted the blanket he was currently wrapped in, Raphael rolled his eyes but walked to the couch and plopped down next to his boyfriend. Raphael wrapped his arms around Meliorn, and put his head on Meliorn’s chest.

On the tv the countdown to the new year started, Meliorn and Raphael counting the last seconds of 2017 until the ball dropped.

Meliorn lifted Raphael’s head with two fingers under his chin and kissed him softly.

“Happy New Year baby.”

“Happy New Year, I love you" answered Raphael, smiling.

Meliorn smiled and kissed Raphael once more.

“I love you too" Meliorn said against Raphael’s lips.

-FIN-