#I wish I could just infinitely turn my ideas into something real without having to go through my own medium

[dj-of-the-coven]

Y'all ever just spontaneously lose the ability to make art

[utilitycaster]

In what way did having Laura and Marisha on 4SD damage your view of their relationship? 100% agreed on needing Laura on 4SD without Marisha asap. Slightly off-topic, but Laura is also the only cast member who's never been on two consecutive 4SD episodes. It's frankly impressive she's been able to give any in-depth answers about Imogen with how repetitive questions for her are. It's really indicative of the questions' quality that she provides answers to them before even pulling them out.

re: damaging my view of the relationship (which to be clear - I mean im*dna, not Marisha and Laura themselves), one of my issues has always been that Imogen and Laudna have for lack of a better way to put it, acted (and been treated as) as a glued-together unit but without any glue. It's recently gotten interesting and I hope this conflict that we have continues! But until recently, they've had in my opinion a dampening effect on each others' stories; they're infinitely more interesting to me as individuals than as a couple. Therefore, the way that Laura hasn't been on 4SD without Marisha since "That's Just Right" in December 2022 (and, of her 9 appearances, has been paired with Marisha in 7), and the fact that so many 4SD questions treat them as one unit, even when it's not remotely relevant (eg, the question about FCG's death) and resist the idea of them becoming more distant even if that's where the narrative has taken them (the truly egregious "please say syke [sic]" question from last night) is a real turn off, but also, I'll admit, rather vindicating. I'd much rather have a 4SD where we can treat Imogen and Laudna as individuals with their own arcs and lives, but if we must have this pablum at least I was right that there is a noted pattern of treating them as the appendages of one another with little value outside of being half a relationship on which to project. It's unfortunate, because Imogen's had some fantastic interactions with Orym lately and I'd have loved to hear about that, though Robbie's questions were extremely good and maybe he should write the non-Dorian tankard questions for a while.

I will say the one criticism here that I think isn't really important is that Laura hasn't been on two 4SDs consecutively; I think that's almost certainly just scheduling. She's got a busy acting career and a kindergartner and a lot of the work she does for CR (merch) doesn't require being in-office, so she's always been a little less frequently on the talkbacks than some of the other cast members. Even though Imogen is extremely central to the plot I didn't expect Laura to be on 4SD too frequently; I just wish she could be asked more insightful questions. I'm not getting my hopes up but maybe the Fireside might be an option for something better.

[notiddygxthgf]

𝟎

★ pairings: suguru geto x satoru gojo, satosugu

★ synopsis: Suguru Geto struggles with letting people in after leaving a three-year-long abusive relationship. Enter Satoru Gojo, the boy who doesn't seem to take no for an answer.

★ c.w.: slow burn, mutual pining, explicit sexual content, dub con elements, implied/referenced rape/non-con, mahito is a real abusive asshole, past relationship(s), past abuse, recovery, hurt, comfort, vent fic, based on my shitty ex, my therapist told me it'd be a good idea idk, im a good writer I swear, brought to u by the bch who wrote best friend's brother!choso, sexual tension, new love, fluff, angst, smutt, graphic, psychological trauma, theres a happy ending in here I swear, angst with a happy ending, psychological trauma, PTSD, idiots in love, sexy smut I swear.

★ a/n: NGL I kinda hate how this turned out. but! it had to be done! I had to get it out of the way. the way I think this is gonna work is past flashbacks first, present time next. it's gonna prob alternative between the two for a while. comment your thoughts! let me hear u! feel free to slander mahito... he plays the shitty ex.

★ w.c.; 3.4k

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

𝐔 𝐍 𝐅 𝐎 𝐑 𝐓 𝐔 𝐍 𝐀 𝐓 𝐄    𝐀 𝐈 𝐋 𝐌 𝐄 𝐍 𝐓

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

PROLOGUE

2019. MONTH UNKNOWN.

I WAS ONLY 12 YEARS OLD the first time I tried to kill myself. In retrospect, I can’t possibly imagine what could have been so important to little me that he firmly believed he would rather die than live without it. I wish I could say that I had a difficult life. That simply was not the case. I grew up with two loving parents and a kind brother, in a small town where every friend I’d ever had was within a mile of me at any given point in time. We weren’t rich, but we most certainly weren’t poor. I had everything a child could ask for and so much more.

Again, I wish that I could say I had a difficult life, but that simply was not the case. 

It’s just that I’ve had these… thoughts for as long as I can remember. An unfortunate ailment, if you will. No matter what I did, there always seemed to be something missing. Something I felt I would spend my whole life searching for – or at least trying to supplement.

At 12 years old, I planned my first attempt.

It didn’t work.

So, now, faced with the unbearable burden of deciding what I was going to do for the rest of my life, I chose to pursue a childhood dream of mine. I wanted to go to school to become a doctor. I didn’t know what kind, per se, but I knew that I wanted to heal. 

Maybe I thought, I don’t know… that if I healed enough people, I may have been rid of the ailment – healed, myself.

So I left my small town, enrolling in an academy 30 minutes away from the house. I got into their Healthcare program. Again, what more could a kid want?

Yet the void inside of me only grew larger, more ravenous. I lost touch with all of my small town friends – one by one. I had no one.

But I was pursuing my passion, right? Why wasn’t it enough?

It was in that godforsaken academy that I met him.  

“Pick a card,” he asked me. His grey eyes were so sharp, even then. “Any card.”

I glanced down at the fanned-out deck in his pale hand, eyes crawling over the many different suits and shapes before eventually settling on an ace. I pulled the card out. 

Ace of spades. I tried to memorize it. I also, coincidentally, tried my best to ignore the incessant thrum of my racing heartbeat against my veins, my arteries, my chest. He was sitting so close to me.

It was just the two of us in the hallway. Just me and him and the infinite space between us, the small gap between my right shoulder and his left. 

I handed it back to him. “What are you doing?” I asked.

He slipped the card back into the deck without looking. He shuffled it once, twice, three times. Made a bridge with his hands and let the cards fall back into place. I watched with a remarkable sense of interest.

“Is this your card?” He tucked a stray blue hair behind his ear, producing a card.

I furrowed my brows, about to say something, when I noticed something off about the card. It was different. Where there once was a large blue spade, there now was a small, torn piece of lined paper taped to the surface. The gray lettering on the handwritten note read,

WILL U GO OUT W/ ME?

My eyes went as wide as saucers. My mouth lolled open, lips shaped around his cursed name, “Mahito, I…” 

I thought of my parents. I thought of my religious father. What would he say? What would he say if he found out his 14-year-old son was a homosexual?

I thought of my parents, and I bit my lip, “I don’t know if I can… I don’t know. What if my dad finds out?”

Mahito tucked the deck of cards neatly into the pocket of his black cargo pants. His hoodie was rolled up to his elbows, revealing intricate stick-and-poke linework over his forearms. He shrugged, humming, “Who says he has to?”

The tardy bell rang. We were late for first period.

My mouth opened by itself again. At fourteen, I wasn’t so sure I was ready to lie to my father about something so serious. Not yet.

Seemingly sensing my hesitance, Mahito laid a hand on my stiff shoulder. “Hey,” he muttered softly. “Think about it. Give me your answer after school, yeah? We’ll meet here at 3:30.”

And then he slipped away with a quiet, ‘See ya’.

Without confirmation.

In his absence, I swallowed the lump that had formed in my throat.

2019 February.

Mahito ran away from home two weeks into our relationship. Ran away without so much as a notice or a warning. Ran away and left me there to assume the worst. He didn’t live in the best area. Perhaps he was staying with a friend? If not, was he dead in a ditch somewhere?

There was no way to tell.

He could have at least told me, I had thought. Then again, would I have tried to stop him? Undoubtedly.

They issued a missing persons alert the day after he didn’t show up. I remember seeing the poster all over my social media, all over the streetlights and posts. 

It didn’t seem real. Even as I held the missing poster in my trembling hand, I remember feeling numb. I remember feeling as if this were all some sort of cruel prank, that he would be back just in time for our after-school walk with a smile on his face.

 But there he was, smiling up at me from the page in my hand. 

MISSING PERSON: MAHITO 

Height: 5’8

Weight: 150

Eye color: gray

Hair color: blue

Remarkable features: tattoos on arms

Last seen: February 14th.

I crumpled the piece of paper up, tossing it across my messy bedroom with a sigh. I hadn’t slept last night, and I wouldn’t have slept tonight either.

I sunk into myself, curled into a ball on my twin-sized mattress – the same one I’d had for as long as I could remember – and cried. I was utterly inconsolable. I cried until my voice was hoarse, until there were no more tears left to cry.

Until my phone buzzed.

I assumed it was another homework notification. I didn’t check. What did it matter? In my eyes, my world had stopped spinning. It had stopped the moment he ran away.

But it buzzed again, and again.

It was then that I realized I was getting a call. Begrudgingly, I picked my phone up off of the bed. I turned it over. The screen was lit up with the words ‘NO CALLER ID’. 

I wanted to hang up. Desperately. Wanted to save myself a shred of peace and dignity and move on with my night – in hindsight, I probably should have just hung up when I had the chance. But, no, I felt something in my gut call out to me.

Against my better judgment, I answered, “Hello?”

The line crackled. “Suguru?”

Suguru. 

My heart leapt up into my throat. With wide eyes, I answered again, “Who’s this?”

“Suguru, it’s me, Mahito,” He sighed with relief, like he hadn’t expected me to pick up. Truth be told, I hadn’t expected it either. “I’m sorry I couldn’t call you sooner, my love. I’m calling you from a phone booth right now.”

My love. The nickname sounded like honey coming from his lips, but I knew it was laced with venom. Still, as would seem to be the trend, I was weak for it. 

My eyes began to water again, somehow. “Where are you?”

I knew better than to call him ‘baby’. Not when my father was sleeping in the room next to mine. 

“I can’t tell you that right now,” He answered. Of course, he couldn’t. There always seemed to be something he was hiding from me. I didn’t see it that way back then. “Look, I don’t have much time to talk, I–”

“I’ve been worried sick about you, Mahi,” I spoke again. I felt numb. So numb. “Please, just–”

“I stole ten grand from my mom,” He cut me off. “I’m running away from home. The abuse, it’s just– I can’t. I can’t, anymore.”

His mother was a real piece of shit. I knew that. She never wanted Mahito, not as a single mother. So she tried multiple times to be rid of him – beating him senseless with hangers and wires and even going so far as to attempt to poison him on his birthday. 

Still, ten grand was a lot of money.

Stolen.

“I’m on the run from the cops, I– I think they’re trying to find me,” He panted into the microphone. “You can’t tell anyone, okay? You gotta lie for me.”

I felt sick. Sick to my fucking stomach.

“I’m sorry, I…” I trailed off, holding back vomit. “Hold on.”

I ran to the bathroom and promptly emptied the contents of my stomach into the sink. I had just eaten mac and cheese an hour or so ago, and the vomit was tinted yellow. I could still see a few noodles here and there, only partially digested.

It made me want to hurl again.

“You okay?” he asked me.

“Am I– No, I’m not fucking okay, Mahito! First, you run away without–” I had to swallow bile a second time. I felt it burn as it slid back down my throat. “You could have fucking warned me , or something, and now you’re calling me at eleven at night to tell me you’re fleeing the fucking cops?”

He paused. “I know,” he said. “I know, I’m sorry. You know I love you.”

And immediately, like some sort of magic trick, I felt my exterior soften. I didn’t even care that we were only a few weeks into our relationship. He was my first. It was like he knew the effect he had on me. 

“Suguru,” he said again. “I love you.”

His words were like honey. I took a spoonful.

“I love you, too,” I sighed into the receiver. 

“You’ll keep quiet about this for me, right?”

I was weak for him, as always.

“Okay,” I said.

I found myself sitting at my desk in the middle of the day, struggling to concentrate on the lesson. The classmates at my table – more like a group of desks placed together – were talking about the missing boy.

My missing boy.

They were talking to me, actually, but I had long since tuned them out. It was all a blur for me – a blur of faces and voices and words I didn’t want to hear. 

“He’s a freak,” The boy across from me, Choso Kamo, remarked. “If I were you, I’d break things off before it’s too late.”

Choso’s critical words sent a sharp pang right through my rotten heart. 

“Exactly,” My friend, Shoko, chimed in. She was a pretty thing, about a few inches shorter than me with brown hair up to her chin. She always looked so tired . I wonder if she recognized that I felt the same. “He’s got some serious issues. Guys like that rarely make for healthy relationships.”

Choso leaned in, leaned over the desk to offer more of his thoughts, “You can’t just ignore the fact that more people are catchin’ on, either. What if your dad finds out? You know he thinks that… kind of stuff is wrong.”

Choso was Shoko’s friend. He wasn’t homophobic. A little misguided, but he had the spirit. Hell if he weren’t a raging heterosexual, I might have even gone for him instead. He had that look I liked – sleepy, downturned, dark eyes framed by messy bangs. He never wore colors. He was content to make a statement in black. Black eyeliner, black shirt, black doc martens, black hair done up into two messy pigtails. 

It was his signature look.

Our classmates didn’t take too kindly to ‘emos’ like him, though. He was an outcast. Hell, we all were. That’s why we sat together, after all.

The harsh opinions of my classmates threatened to erode my self assurance. I knew people were talking – people always talked. I knew the hushed whispers of my name as I walked past people and cliques in the mornings on my way to class weren’t a hallucination. 

I knew I had to stand by my boyfriend. I knew I had to stand by Mahito, but the weight of their disapproval put a strain on my shoulders. Does anyone want to hear that their friends don’t approve of their partner?

Admittedly, he wasn’t a very good partner. He had demonstrated that much in the first few weeks of our relationship. I knew he wasn’t good for me, but, fuck, I wanted to try. I wanted to make things work so badly that I ached for it. Everyone else knew he wasn’t good for me, too. 

But, fuck, was I naive to wish I could prove them all wrong?

In my eyes, he was only misunderstood. The ghosting, the red flags, the alarming behavior… I could see past it all because I loved him. My first love. No one understood him the way I did. How could I blame them for their concerns?

It didn’t matter how many voices I had in my ear telling me it was wrong. Soon, he would come home to me, and I would feel his skin against my cheek as I hugged him hello. That’s all that mattered.

How could that be wrong?

“It’s not wrong. How could it be?” I kept my gaze trained on my desk. My vision was blurry, unfocused. My mind felt numb and detached. I muttered. “I love him. He loves me, too. He told me he did.”

He did.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Choso and Shoko exchange a dubious look. 

They didn’t understand him the way I did.

“He told me he loved me,” I repeated the words like a mantra, like a reminder to myself that I was fighting for something. 

That as long as I was loved by him, I would be okay. 

He called again that night. Earlier, this time, at nine o’clock. 

I was in the shower at that time, curled up on the floor, sobbing into my arms. The water streamed past my shoulders, my arms, my nose. I glanced over at the screen through blurry eyes. 

NO CALLER ID.

I closed my eyes. I took a deep breath.

Then, I let the call ring.

Current Day. 

[12:13 PM]

[Automated]: you have 3 new messages. Play back?

[USER] Selected:

[NO] ...

... [View Inbox]

...

[ Last 6 Years ].

[REPLAY>>] Message from 'Blocked Number'.

Transcription:

" Suguru, this is me, Mahito. I don’t know if you can hear me or not– I don’t know if anyone can hear you or not, so please use headphones, or something, I don’t know. I just wanted to call and make sure you’re okay. I’m gonna try and call you later. Right now you seem to not be answering your phone for some reason. Doesn’t matter, though. I’m not in a really good place, right now, I’m… surrounded by a lot of people. So, um.. I just wanted to say that I love you, and I’ll call you a little bit later, okay? Bye– kisses…….”  

[End of Transcription] 

[Automated]: Would you like to play the next message?

[ Yes. ]

“ Suguru, is this– this is me, Mahito. Um.. I just wanted to say that I’m okay. Nothing has happened to me yet. I’m perfectly safe. I’m in a laundromat somewhere. And, uh, I said I love you… I don’t know why you’re not answering my calls… You know that I always try to text you whenever I can– and try to… call you, but… I don’t know, maybe you’re too depressed, or some shit. Maybe you’re mad at me. I understand. I– what I did was wrong, I… What I did was idiotic, and what I did was stupid, and shitty… And I understand if you’re mad at me and you don’t wanna answer my calls. So, yeah, I gues… I’ll try to call you again tomorrow. 

If you’re hearing this voicemail, but you probably won’t, um… I just want you to know that I love you. And I’m trying to do my best just… to see you again. You like pizza, don’t you? How about we do a pizza date sometime, yeah? Somewhere around next week, maybe. Huh? How about that? Sounds cool, right? Yeah, yeah it does. Um, anyway, I… gotta… I gotta go. I have to… do some things. Uh… uh… at least I love you. 

And, I– I might not have brought much with me, but I have the little stuffie that you gave me. It’s in my book bag. Not gonna take it out because people are gonna know what my things look like. I’m always gonna keep these memories close to my heart. I don’t care what anybody says. Even if I go to prison, I’m taking this shit with me. Alright? Um, I guess that’s it. And… last thing? I love you. 

Please, answer me. If you’re calling, that means you actually care, but if you don’t, then… it’s fine. Don’t recall this number. I’m not gonna respond. This is just some random guy’s phone. Okay? Um… I love you, and please stay safe. Please don’t worry, I’m still alive. I miss you. Okay, bye, I love you.”

 [End of Voicemails Received on February 18th, 2019].

[Automated]: Would you like to replay the messages?

[ No. ]

[ Delete ] > [ All messages from {Blocked Number}] 

[Automated]: Are you sure?

[Yes]

[Automated]: Deleting all messages from {Blocked Number}.

THE WIND BLEW IN HEAVY from below, sending a plethora of leaves flying out in all directions. As I knelt down to test the current with my fingers, my boots sank deeper into the muddy riverside.

I sat on the bench in front of the riverbed. Wiping my fingers dry on the fabric of my denim jeans, I took a moment to take in my surroundings. The park was mostly empty, save for a few teenagers

The water always looked pretty this time of year. For a few moments, you stood there drinking in the sight of it.

In the present, I sat alone in front of the serene lake, surrounded by the picturesque beauty of nature. Lush green trees lined the shore, their leaves rustling in the gentle breeze. The scent of damp earth and the distant call of birds created a peaceful atmosphere, contrasting with the turmoil in my mind.

I watched as groups of carefree teenagers ran around, their laughter and joy a stark contrast to the heavy weight I carried in my heart. A deep sigh escaped my lips as I averted my gaze towards the shimmering water.

I wished for the water to possess the power to cleanse me, to wash away the burdens that weighed on my soul. 

The sound of the water rushing past was almost deafening, drowning out the laughter of the teenagers. It consumed my thoughts, leaving me with an overwhelming feeling of dread and isolation. I yearned for the water to offer solace, as if it held the key to absolution and a fresh start, but it remained an unsettling reminder of my own inner turmoil.

I had a vision every time I came here for some peace of mind. It was the same vision every single time. It plagued me every time I found myself in front of the water. It was an image of me, standing at the water's edge, and then, with a deep sense of despair, throwing myself into it, sinking into the abyss and drowning.

As I sat there, the scenery around me seemed to blur, and the vision of my drowning self played on a loop in my mind, a relentless nightmare that I couldn't escape. The lake, which should have been a source of tranquility, had become a symbol of my pain and a relentless reminder of my inner struggles.

It seemed to call to me. I could almost hear the wind carry my name.

Suguru.

The water always looked pretty this time of year. I sat there watching it for a moment too long, wondering what it would feel like to be enveloped by the cold current, to feel it wash me away. 

And, again, the sound of the current grew louder. Deafening. Consuming me.

a/n: l comment and lmk what u think pookiesss

comments + reblogs are greatly appreciated!!

I obviously do not own jjk or anything related to it. please do not reproduce, copy, or translate my works anywhere. dont fk w me im a bruja.

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[obsidiancreates]

Why Bounce Around To The Same Damn Song (Part 2)

(Part 1) (Henry's parenting gets exposed/Real Psychic Shawn/Protective Lassie Jules and Gus) (1/3)

“Uh-oh.” Shawn looks behind them as Gus pushes The Blueberry as fast as it can go within the legal parameters dictated on the highway signs. “Dude, my dad is following us.”

“So? The sun is shining and the ocean is wet.”

“Yeah, but I can see him scowling from here.”

“Again, the ocean is wet, Shawn.”

“Just, step on it, alright? We haven’t really talked much since the whole… talking with you guys thing. I think Lassie and Jules kinda let loose on him.”

“Really?”

“I had a vision of Jules telling Lassie that she wouldn’t shoot a friend’s father. I don’t think either of us really believed her.”

“Dang. … I mean, I can’t lie, I’ve wanted to give him a piece or two of my mind since then.”

“Yes, I’m very aware. And so is your great-great-great-great grandma, who keeps telling me to tell you to go for it. I kinda wish I’d never unblocked myself from ghosts.”

“It helped you solve our last case in record time.”

“No, that one was faked. Right now I can only see and hear spirits who’re either close to me or close to you.”

“Why close to me?”

“We have a cosmic connection Gus, our souls are literally tied together. If I ever die you’re following me within a week.”

“What?! I will not have my lifeforce tied to yours Shawn, you practically beg the universe to kill you every day!”

“But it won’t.”

“You don’t know that.”

“I do. I’m the universe’s most favorite and specialist boy.”

“You, are a grown-ass man.”

“Not to the infinite cosmos, Gus. To it, we’re all little babies, little jelly-like babies.”

“I hate not being able to tell what’s your nonsense and what’s actual supernatural knowledge you possess.”

“But it’s so much fun for me that you can’t! Oh, hang on, vision incoming.” Shawn puts his hand to his head. “You’re stopping for jerk chicken on the way home.”

“You know that’s right.”

“... With Lassie and Jules joining us.” Shawn frowns, and closes his eyes. They move rapidly under his eyelids, replaying and re-examining the vision. “And they’ve got bloody knuckles.”

“What?! What are we walking into?!”

“I-I don’t know! I can’t- it’s just a glimpse. It could just be from a case or something they just got back from.”

“But?”

“What do you mean but?”

“But, that’s your ‘I’m not convinced by my own theory’ face.”

“... The blood looks pretty fresh.”

“Shawn, if we walk into the station and it’s being held up or a criminal gets loose, I will kill you.”

“One week after me, Gus, max.”

“Tsk!”

They park, both keeping low as they tumble out of The Blueberry, just in case- until Henry stalks up behind them.

“What the hell are you two doing?”

“Crrrap.” Shawn stands up straighter and turns, plastering on an innocent smile. “Dad! Here to ah, report some of those seagulls that keep stealing your fries off the porch? Sorry to inform you but, I’m not sure Lassie arrests animals other than squirrels.”

“I’m here about that.” Henry points at Shawn, so close he’s practically pressing Shawn’s nose. “And all the other crap you’ve been pulling lately.”

Shawn’s eyes cross for a second as they take in the point. “You’ll have to be way more specific, Pops.”

“This is getting obsessive, Shawn.” Henry pulls back. “I don’t understand why you feel the need to stalk me-”

“Stalk you?”

“-or anyone else just to prove how good you are-”

“Whoa whoa, Shawn is not stalking anyone.” Gus steps forward, closer to Shawn’s side. “Especially not you.”

“Then how is he coming up with this stuff?” Henry crosses his arms. “And on your last case, you didn’t come by to see me once.”

“Because we didn’t need to,” Shawn says. “Dad, come on, I know I come to you a lot but Gus and I solve cases without your help all the time.”

“Shawn I pride myself on being able to figure out patterns in people’s behaviors.”

“Now that is a real shocker, I had absolutely no idea.”

“And the patterns you follow are the easiest ones. You get a case, you get stuck, you come to me, you solve it.”

“Not every time,” Gus defends again. “Besides, shouldn’t you be happy? We’re bothering you less and solving more cases.”

“Yeah, and I want to know how.” Henry tilts his head up, trying to look at Shawn from above like when Shawn was a child. “Because I’m starting to worry that I need to step in before you do something truly unforgivable in the name of winning.”

Shawn scoffs and looks away, shoving his hands into his jacket pockets. “Look, Dad, I’m sorry if we made you feel left out, or-or snubbed, but I’m not stalking anyone. I’ve been honing some new skills, that’s all.”

“New skills.”

“Why do your questions never sound like questions?”

“Because it’s not a question, Shawn. What skills?”

“Awesome ones.” Shawn finally looks back to meet his father’s eyes. “So awesome that your face can’t even handle them.”

“That’s not an answer.”

“Great! You don’t ask questions and I don’t give answers, we’ve got a solid dynamic here. Let’s move on before it gets stale.” Shawn turns and jogs into the station. Gus lingers a moment, looking over Henry- really looking him over, seeing him through Shawn’s perspective properly for the first time ever.

Neither of them are surprised when Henry follows them into the station.

“Dad, seriously, I’m about to land us a case,” Shawn whisper-hisses as they walk into the bullpen.

“There’s nothing on the police radio about any new cases,” Henry argues.

“I’m not using the radio.”

“So how are you so sure you’re getting a case?”

“Trusting my gut.”

“Shawn, Shawn!” Henry grabs his son by the arm and yanks, making Shawn turn to face him. “I’m being serious, kid. Whatever methods you’re using now are effective, sure, but-”

“But what, Dad, I- you don’t even know what I’m doing!” Shawn feels eyes on the three of them. Great. He lowers his voice. “I promise it’s nothing illegal.” He pauses, and tilts his head. Technically his visions could be considered an invasion of privacy, right? Does being in a room metaphysically count as trespassing? And he did use one flashback vision to get the code to a safe while Gus was busy with something else, so… “More illegal.”

“So what is it?”

Shawn looks into Henry’s eyes… and blinks. Sudden understanding washes over him, the slight irritation giving way to deeper bitterness- and hurt, but on Shawn it just makes him look… normal. Toned-down, withdrawn, normal. “This isn’t about worrying about what I’m doing. It’s just driving you nuts that you can’t figure it out.”

“Yeah, which you were hoping for anyway, with all the flaunting. Congratulations kid, you found a new way to get on my nerves. Now tell me what you’re up to. You don’t have enough money to pay people off for information, you’re barely passable in sneaking or laying low, and you’re not really psy-”

“Shawn, Gus.” Jules walks over, eyes cold as they linger on Henry. “Is everything alright?”

“Yeah, Jules, it’s fine.” Shawn flashes her a small smile. “Pop-pop here was just begging for me to give him some of my blood for a new hair regrowth regiment. He’ll need to scrub his head with my plasma, everyday, with a follow up pineapple head mask. I was just turning him down.”

“Well, good. We need you both on the case that just came in.” Jules passes Shawn a file, now fully ignoring Henry. “A twenty-five year old but very experienced water sports champion was just found stabbed to death in the back of an abandoned community center construction site.”

Shawn flips through the file, focusing on the pictures. “Abandoned community center?”

“Project ran out of funding, and no-one bought the land after because they found out it was completely ruined with lead deposits.”

“But this report says that a new survey just cleared the land of all health risk concerns.” Gus pulls out the report in question to read it more closely. “The old one was just wrong? What?”

Shawn nods. “Things are definitely fishy, and not just because I can smell my dad from here. And uh…” Shawn’s next thought is interrupted as he hones in on the stab wound in the base of the victim’s neck, and his hand goes to his head. “I am sensing that the wound in the neck was made by a different weapon than the wounds in the chest.”

“Yeah, the neck was done with something circular, like a um, knitting needle-”

“Or pen?”

“Yeah.”

Images flash through Shawn’s mind- too quick to be helpful. He sees a struggle, he sees a blow to the throat with a fist, then with a pen- 

He narrows his eyes, playing it over again. When the attacker punches her throat, he reels back when she starts asphyxiating. His hands are shaking when he stabs the pen in.

“He was trying to save her,” he mumbles. “Jules, I think this was an accide-”

“Alright, that’s enough.” Henry snatches the file out of Shawn’s hands. “You don’t have nearly enough information to just call this an accident.”

“He had a vision, clearly.” Jule’s voice is stone-cold. “Carlton! Shawn has something for us!”

Lassiter walks up, his frown deepening. “You’re working with your dad on this?”

“No! No, he just- he followed us in here.”

“Because he’s a control freak,” Gus adds. Shawn looks at him with surprise, and Gus looks a little surprised himself at the sudden boldness. 

Lassiter just tenses his mouth and then nods to Shawn.

“I had a vision.” Shawn puts his other hand up to his head now. “The attacker is angry, but not enough to kill. No, no, I see panic! He’s using an old trick, a pen in the throat to help someone breathe, he’s trying to save her!” 

“Oh, no.” Shawn spares one glance at Henry, and sees horror. “No.”

“Dad, seriously, I’ll tell you later,” Shawn whispers, nudging Henry away a little. “I think we should start with suspects who cared about he- HEY!”

Henry drags Shawn away into a quiet corner, and Shawn notices out of the corner of his eye that Lassie’s hand twitches towards his jacket for a second. It can’t look that aggressive to someone watching, can it?

“You, are not, psychic,” Henry says firmly as soon as they’re tucked away.

“I never said I was.”

“You don’t have to. That’s what that was just now, wasn’t it? You think you’re actually psychic.”

“Can we please do this later?” Shawn keeps his voice as low as possible. “In case you missed it, I’m kind of on a case right now.” The word ‘case’ is said so quietly that it’s silent, the only sound the shifting of saliva in Shawn’s mouth.

“You’re spouting bullcrap and putting the real detectives on a bad lead,” Henry whispers back.

“Dad, you have to trust me on this!”

“What makes you think you’ve earned enough trust for me to let this happen?! You are not actually psychic, Shawn!”

“What if I was? Huh? If I was and I could prove it, would you let me get back to my job?” He didn’t want to do this, he didn’t want to ever do this, he wanted to just play around and confuse his dad forever-

“Prove it.” Again with the not-questions.

“Prove it, yes. Here, like this- the other day I had a vision of you sitting and watching a show you and Mom used to love and you picked up your phone to text her but deleted it all instead. How about that, does that convince you?”

“Where were you hiding?”

“Nowhere! Dad, seriously, I’ll explain right after this if you just-”

“No! No, Shawn, no, because if this is getting to your head that badly then this needs to end.”

“Wh-” Henry is stalking away back to Gus and the detectives before Shawn can fully process what he means. “Dad!” He jogs to catch up. “Dad, wait-”

“Detectives, I have something to tell you both, out of extreme concern for Shawn’s mental wellbeing.”

Gus scoffs. Jules and Lassie don’t look convinced of Henry’s intentions either. It’s enough to throw him for a second, a second long enough for Shawn to catch up.

Henry looks at Gus, then Jules, then Lassie. “What’s going on here? First I get thrown out of the station, now I’m not taken seriously when I’m worried about my own son?”

“Look Spencer,” Lassies says, looking down at Henry, “To be frank, starting something off with you being concerned about your son’s mental wellbeing isn’t exactly a convincing start.”

Shawn’s eyes widen and he starts making a slicing motion across his neck.

Henry crosses his arms. “And why is that?”

“You’ve never exactly pulled your punches when publicly lambasting him.”

“And you’ve never defended him to me before.” Henry narrows his eyes. “And Guster’s never insulted me like he did earlier.” He turns to Shawn. “What the hell did you say?”

“Nothing,” Shawn says quickly. “Nobody’s saying anything and Gus and I are leaving, and I’ll explain everything to you some other time that’s not right now!”

“No! No, you are not running away from this, tell me what you told them to make them treat me this way.”

“He told us about his training,” Jules says even as Shawn tries to motion for silence again. “And as much as we appreciate the help he’s able to provide to the department because of it, it was… unethical at best.”

“Unethical.”

Shawn tries to pull Gus away. 

“Oh come on Spencer, even I know that you can’t do all of that to a child and expect them to have all their screws tightened in place.” Lassiter crosses his arms. “At least when I memorized the Miranda Rights at seven it was because I wanted to.”

“Oh, so he told you everything.” Henry eyes Shawn. “That I trained him to be a detective and he threw it all away to be a psychic.”

“He’s a psychic and a detective,” Jules says firmly.

“No, he’s not.”

“Dad-” 

“No, this has gone too far, Shawn. Detectives Shawn is not and never has been psychic, but he’s begun believing his own lie and I’m seriously concerned about his mental state.”

[hughiecampbelle]

Dependence Pt. 5 (Roy!Sibling x Roy Family)

Alternatively Titled: We Ain't Angry At You Love, You're The Greatest Thing We Lost I am getting this lyric tattooed on my body I'm dead serious

Characters: Kendall, Roman, Shiv, Connor, Logan

Word Count: 1,879

Inspired By: You're Gonna Go Far by Noah Kahan

Tag List: @locke-writes

A/N: All I have is the snippet to listen to and it makes me sob every time. I'm thinking of moving 1k miles away from my family, from my home, from everything, and every bone in my body wishes they felt the way this song feels. Every nerve in my body wants them to feel this way. I hope they'll miss me that much. Anyways, it reminded me of Baby Roy and the Succession finale. Yes I did cry while writing, what about it lol!! Feedback is always appreciated!!! 💜💜💜

Dependence Pt. 1 / Dependence Pt. 2 / Dependence Pt. 3 / Dependence Pt. 4

Being The Youngest Roy Would Include: Pt. 1

Being The Youngest Roy Would Include: Pt. 2

You’re gonna go far, he says into you, his arms tight around you. You try to stop yourself from crying. Again. Sniffling into him, into his shoulder. Everything about this moment makes you want to turn around. To call the whole thing off. But then, how can you call off an entire lifetime? Your bags linger at your feet, everything you could fit into two suitcases. You didn’t start out like this, the day didn’t start out like this, but as it progressed, as things fell into place, you realized there was no place for you. In their lives, of course. Connor promised you your old room again, if you ever wanted to visit. But this place, this apartment, this city, it wasn’t yours anymore. It wasn’t home. You’re not sure it ever was to begin with. You remember to call me when you land, okay? An,whenever you need someone to talk to, I’m always here. He has this shake in his voice, the kind that tells you he’s doing his very best to keep himself together. Composed. You can’t say anything, the words getting caught in your throat. Instead you just nod, sobbing into his sweater. He holds you tighter, rubbing your back. When he stops, he cups your face, meeting your teary eyes, wiping your cheeks. Pops would be so proud of you. He wouldn’t. He never was. But at some point you have to stop chasing something that never existed, something you can never have. You smile for Connor’s sake. Maybe he really believes it. Maybe he’s just saying it. Either way, you’re glad you went to him. You’re glad you told him. You’re gonna so far, you have no idea. He sighs, as if the words have been sitting on his chest for a long time. As if this is the first time in your life he’s felt real, genuine relief. You want to be held a little longer. You want to be loved the only way a father, a father by choice rather than blood, could ever love their child. Without conditions, without restraints, without a ceiling or a floor. Infinite. Beautiful. You’ll have to let go eventually, part ways, but for now he holds you like he did when you were an infant. Never could he have imagined the life you’d live. It was a fantastic surprise. You were a fantastic surprise. 

You continue to awe him every single day. 

You catch him at the bar, nursing a martini. Your hands begin to shake, but you settle them at your side, sitting beside him. You can do this. He wasn’t expecting you, sliding his drink away from you. You’re okay, you’ll be okay. You can be around it, you have to in order to say goodbye. He notices the luggage before you have the chance to say anything. Going somewhere? You bite your inner cheek. Yes, actually. He turns to you. His stitches have opened, the wound bright and red. Angry. You try to read his expression. There’s a hint of fear. He saw you in that bed, screaming, crying, begging not to be alive anymore. You knew he meant it out of love, but you couldn’t face it anymore. You couldn’t be looked at like that anymore. If you wanted a fresh start, a real one, you had to get away. You had to find somewhere with people who saw you for you, not your mistakes, not your darkest moments. Somewhere inside him, he understood that. Somewhere inside him, he wanted the same thing. Leaving for him wasn’t an option, though. Is that so? What does Mummy think about that? He sips his drink. You don’t want to roll your eyes at him. You don’t want to be annoyed with him. You’re not sure how long it’ll be before you’ll see him again. I, I didn’t tell her. I’m not telling her. He lets your answer settle for a moment. You’re not sure what he’s thinking. You never have been sure. Roman could be so unreadable, so unpredictable. You keep talking, trying to fill the silence, a lump developing in your throat. You’re speaking so fast, almost hysterical. You have to explain yourself. You have to explain yourself or you’ll die. I have to get away. I’m not sure for how long, I just, I can’t be here anymore. I have to stay sober and I can’t do that here. It’s not because of you, because of any of you, I want you to know that. I’m, I’m sorry if that upsets you or makes you ang- But he interrupts you, leaning over, hugging you. Not as tight as Connor. It’s as if he’s afraid to touch you still, afraid to hurt you. Gentle. You feel his muscles tense then relax. Whatever you gotta do, you do. Just don’t scare me like that again. You promise him it will never happen again. 

It won’t. It doesn’t. The hurt from home doesn’t follow you, wherever you go. 

You can’t reach the other two. You try calling, the deja vu twisting your stomach. The last time you tried to reach them, the last time. . . No. Stop it. This isn’t that. You’re better now. Shiv picks up, waiting for you to talk. You don’t care what happened. You don’t care what went down in that boardroom. You don’t care that he’s CEO now, that you lost. She’s your sister. The same sister that comforted you after nightmares, who iced your bruises, who wanted the best for you from day one. Whatever happened couldn’t change that. She gave you so many chances, time after time, and you let her down. You let everyone down. She still cares, she always would. You would, too. The words come up, out, before you can stop them. How much you love her, how much you’re going to miss her, how badly you need this, how much you wish you could be with her right now. You hear her take a sharp inhale in, a shudder in her voice. I’ll come and visit, yeah? Wherever you end up, I’ll be there, okay? You nod. Yeah, yeah of course. You can feel your eyes well up again. She was your big sister, the only maternal figure you’d ever known. It wasn’t your mother who shushed you to sleep at night, holding you close. It wasn’t your mother who gasped at the bruises you gave yourself in a fit of rage. It wasn’t your mother who climbed into that hospital bed with you when you were sick and scared and didn’t want to fall asleep alone. It was Shiv. You're Shivy. Your sister. Do you have everything packed? Always fretting, always worrying. Yes, Mom. You laugh. You know she’ll be a good mother. Maybe she doesn’t think so, maybe Tom doesn’t, but you do. She took care of you your whole life. She’s still trying to. You um, you have your chargers? Extra socks? Do you need me to- I’ll be okay, you interrupt. You’re both quiet for a moment, taking one another in. You can feel her wanting. Wanting to reach through the phone and kiss your cheek, to hold you so close your hearts beat at the same time. Wanting to keep you there forever, not wanting to let go.

She always knew this day would come, though. You’d always had big plans. You could never be confined like the rest of them. 

You couldn’t reach Kendall. It went straight to voicemail. So you sat in the lobby of Waystar, trying to figure out exactly how to put it. Every thought in your mind, every thank you and I’m sorry and forgive me and I forgive you. Everything that’s ever sat between you two into a compact, meaningful message. You didn’t want to worry him, that was the last time you wanted, for any of them. You sat and watched everyone pass by. They were celebrating the new owner, one of the biggest deals they’d ever made. Some on their way to get drunk, others drunk already. Too much champagne. Finally, after a long time, you called again, listening to his voice play the message. Kendall, it’s me, you start. What next? You’re sorry. You’re sorry for putting them through all that you’ve put them through. The alcohol, the drugs, all those scary nights where they didn’t know where you were, if you were okay. All those nights where you weren’t sure where you were, if you’d make it out. You were sorry for calling him that night, for putting the blame on him if anything happened. You were sorry for blaming him. For not being the baby sibling he deserved. He deserved better, he expected better. I’m uh, I’ll be out of town for a while. You forgave him. You forgave him for all those outbursts, all those times he hurt you and Shiv and Con and especially Rome. You forgave him for turning into your father, the man you despised, the man you feared, the man you loved. I’ll be okay. I won’t, I’m not, I’m clean. I’ll stay that way. You loved him. You loved him despite the fear, despite the outbursts, despite the narrow path he chose to take. You loved him, and love him, because he’s your brother. He begged for you to stay awake, stay conscious. He wanted you to live even when you didn’t. That night, he looked like a ghost. I’m gonna miss you. A lot. Thank you for taking care of me, for loving me, for being there, you want to say. Thank you for being the best brother you could given the circumstances. Thank you for protecting me from him, from everyone. Call me when you can. I love you. Bye. 

This isn’t some magic answer to your sobriety. This isn’t a cure. Hell, it might be you running away again. Who knows? But you can feel it, finally. The anger, the rage, the wrath. That burden starts to feel less heavy day by day. It won’t disappear completely. You’re a Roy, it’s in your blood, in your genes. But it gets easier to carry, to hold, to take with you everywhere. You don’t want to cave in, not as much. Sure, a strong drink would help, but you made promises. You made promises you’d like to keep. Promises to yourself and to your family. You’d call Connor when you landed, wherever that is. You’ll tell Shivy, too, so she can come and visit. You’ll check in with Rome and give Kendall another call. Hopefully this time he picks up. Hopefully this time you can have a real conversation, you can talk to him, really thank him for all that he’s done. But you know your place is not here. Your people are, they always will. That mausoleum will be waiting for you like it waits for them. Eternity you’ll get to spend by their sides. Now though, now you have the choice. The choice to get better. The choice to get away. The choice to be free. You’ll see them again, you always will. They’re your brothers, your sister, the people who raised you. You’ll see them again despite the distance.

They can’t get rid of you that easily.

[argentumcor]

Disney's Wish vs. Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, Wish Trailer Edition

Wishing is at the center of both Puss in Boots: The Last Wish and the upcoming Disney movie Wish- evidently. It seems to me, though, that these movies are taking very, very different approaches to wishes. One is a good approach, a good lesson, and one is bad- possibly outright evil, dressed in a sparkly package.

To start with, what is a wish?

"A wish is a dream your heart makes." Okay, nice bit of poetry, let's be a little more academic.

Dictionary.com:

verb (used with object) 1. to want; desire; long for (usually followed by an infinitive or a clause): I wish to travel. I wish that it were morning. 2. to desire (a person or thing) to be (as specified): to wish the problem settled. verb (used without object) 1. to desire; long; yearn (often followed by for): Mother says I may go if I wish. I wished for a book. 2. to make a wish: She wished more than she worked. noun 1. an act or instance of wishing. 2. a request or command: I was never forgiven for disregarding my father's wishes.

To be more casual: a wish is something you want and the act of requesting it. Language is funny, that the desire and the act of expressing the desire are the same word.

Everyone has wishes, for things, for people, for events, for conditions, for events and conditions to happen to or for people. A lot of our lives are spent trying to get those wishes fulfilled.

Should every wish be granted, if it were possible? Every single one of us would say that our wishes should be granted! Your wishes are great for you, they line up with what you consider to be a good.

The thing is, they might not be good for another. I don't mean in terms of you getting a slice of the pie and another doesn't, I mean maybe you wish someone dead, or hurt, or to belong to you. 'Dark desires' is sold as a sexy phrase, but it is actually a real thing and not a good one. Dark desires include assault and murder and worse.

In all honesty, even your supposedly benign wishes might not be good for you either. A child may wish to eat ice cream all day, every day, but the result of getting that is going to be feeling sick and probably being sick and most definitely severe weight gain. It's not a bad thing to wish for an ice cream, in the way it would be bad to wish for someone to die. But maybe you aren't supposed to get it for your own good. I can name things in my life I dearly wished for, to the point of pain, that it turns out it was far better for me to not get. Heartache is in itself an evil.

Bad people have wishes, as well. In fact, a big part of what makes them bad is that they are pursuing the fulfillment of bad wishes, or pursuing the fulfillment of a benign wish without any regard for how they are achieving or the consequences of the wish or its pursuit.

I'm not Aquinas, this is a summing up of the issue, lots of writing has been done on pursuit of the good, I'm just giving the highlights, if you're curious about this sort of thinking (even if you don't agree or aren't interested in faith), Bishop Baron covers it a lot in his various lectures and it is a key point among many Catholic philosophers.

So far as the trailers reveal for Disney's Wish, the great conflict fo the movie is that a king with the ability to grant wishes does not grant everyone's wishes- he only grants those he believes are for the good of the kingdom as he sees it. The heroine believes- it seems so far- that everyone's wishes should be granted.

The king is clearly depicted as vain and egomaniacal. It could be his judgement is flawed and so his idea of good for the kingdom is wrong. This is a rather traditional narrative- that the holder of the office is failing to properly execute the duties of that office.

That isn't the impression the trailer leaves, though. It seems to be saying to us that, well, everyone should get their wish! A wish is a dream your heart makes!

The king wishes to keep being the wish-granter in accordance with his own will, why shouldn't he get his wish, then? Say a man wishes he could have his neighbor's wife, or that his pain-in-the-rear neighbor should die, or his competitor's business should catch on fire, should they get their wishes?

Another point. In the trailer, we see (I think, these things get cut interestingly sometimes) someone's chicken get turned into a giant chicken by the heroine, presumably because that's their wish. Well, is it good for the chicken? It's got thin little bird bones. The utility of giant eggs is questionable and chickens have a very limited laying span anyway- but a giant chicken sure would feed a family well, though then of course if they want that meal again, they'll need another giant chicken. Also, I've met chickens, and they are descendants of velociraptor and it isn't just genetic. I would not recommend anyone having a utahraptor sized chicken in their home. This wish being granted may not actually be good, as happy as the chicken owner seems to be with it.

Yes, I'm aware this is a cartoon chicken, but it's being used by the movie to make a moral point about wishes, or so it seems so far.

Contrast all this to what The Last Wish says about wishes.

There are in that movie three wishes that are being pursued: Puss' wish for his nine lives back, Goldie's wish for her birth family, and Jack's wish to own all the magic in the world.

Puss is a great hero. The whole opening is about this, and it shows that yes, he really is. Vain, yeah, but heroic. His nine lives enabled him to be a great hero, both literally (in theory...) and in how he perceived himself. If he had his nine lives back, he would feel better and the world would have a hero back.

But the movie makes clear that it's better he doesn't get his wish. He wasted his lives in stupid ways, failing not only to value his own life but the lives of others, like Kitty, who he left at the altar. Those stupid deaths also failed others because he chose vainglory and self-indulgence instead of facing danger doing what heroes do: fighting for others. It's very clear that is what he plans to continue to do when he gets his lives back. By choosing not to pursue the wish but to choose his life- to fight Death for it- and then to help keep evl from getting the wish, he chooses the far higher good.

Goldie wants her birth family back. She's never known them. She has been raised by bears, and even if they're talking bears who wear clothes, they're bears and she's human. Her reuniting with her family, who have lost their little girl all these years, would be a good thing, right, for her and them?

Except by wishing this she hurts the family she does have and has had for a long time now. She puts them in danger by pursuing it, but they keep pursuing it because it matters to her and they love her. She has failed to value that love, and by choosing to deny her wish- by blatantly choosing to save her baby brother instead- she finds a higher good.

Jack wants to own all the magic in the world. He is straight up evil, a callous, cruel, vain, envious villain who only wants power. He should not get his wish- this is a land of talking beasts and fairy tales, if he to all the magic, who knows that might happen? The heroic thing done to stop him was destroying the possibility of anyone getting the wish, and everyone involved realizes that's a good thing in profound ways, both for the world and themselves.

Not all wishes should be fulfilled for the good of the wishers and the good of others. To say it isn't fair is a profoundly selfish view of justice and goodness, narrow and limited, that thinks that all people are benevolent and good intentions for oneself, or even others, are guarantees of good outcomes.

Chalk it up to another materialistic ethics fail, though I think even a hardline materialist would agree that not all wishes should be fulfilled based on the material effects with some thought. However, I do think materialistic ethics fails to give people a foundation with which they can say a thing a person desires is actually bad for him or her.

A trailer is a small thing to judge a film that isn't out yet and we all know they can give some very wrong impressions. I hope it addresses these problems with 'every wish shouldn't be granted' from other than the vain villain's mouth, but with Disney these days I really have my doubts.

[tooruluv]

Katsuki Bakugou x F!Reader ( part 1 )

❝ ...and then there’s you. ❞

description: you and bakugou have hated each other since childhood. through the constant bickering, fighting, and actual fist fights... you had no idea that you had been writing to him.

genre: angst, soulmate au where you have a notebook that you can write to your soulmate in

word count: 3.8k

warnings/notes: strong language, lots of angst, aged up characters, bakugou being bakugou, reader has an air manipulation quirk created as part 1 of 3 for my winner of my tooruluv2kparty contest @katsulovee​ <33

teaser | part 2

| masterlist

“ ‘cause when the sun goes down, someone’s talking back ” - talking to the moon, bruno mars

┏━━━━━⋇⋆⋆⋇❦⋇⋆⋆⋇━━━━━┓

The storm only escalated, casting the sky in deep blues and greys. Loud rain clattered against the roof of your apartment building, the ceiling of your top floor apartment being the only thing that separated you from the pour. 

The rain may be cold, but you were on fire.

You had been livid all day, positively outraged by the man who seemed to always be in your way. He was the most arrogant, most opinionated, and most… loud-mouthed person you ever met. You were screaming from the inside out, burning with rage.

Groaning, you sprawled out on your bed.

Katsuki Bakugou was the biggest fucking issue on the planet. His absurd need to be the best at everything he did, his cold demeanor and venom that spews from his mouth -- you wanted nothing more than to punch him directly in the throat. 

With a deep breath, you flipped open your Soulmate Journal. 

The world was such a strange place, full of quirks and criminals and heroes and villains. To add on top of that, when you turn thirteen a journal just… appears. And whoever is your soulmate can read everything you write. Once they read it, they can reply or talk to you that way and the ink disappears. There are plenty of rules that go along with it, like if you turn thirteen before your soulmate does, the ink is red until they receive their own journal. Or how the journal itself is indestructible. Or the biggest rule: you cannot write any given name. 

When you’re thirteen, your life is full of hope and wishful thinking. Almost everyone at that age is excited to start writing to their Person, the one who they were supposed to be created to be with. You were surprised when you opened yours to find nothing written.

You assumed that you were a bit older than your soulmate, but that was quickly shut down as you wrote in black ink. Your soulmate hadn’t written anything. 

It took two months for him to write back. Two months of your excessive writing and nearly diary-like entries. Two months of you wondering if they would ever write back. Until he did.

Today sucked.

That was all you wrote, your past two months of writing still ever present and glaring at you with smudges and hinted annoyance. The ink started to fade like Harry talking to Tom Riddle, reappearing with new handwriting.

It was scrawled across the page with terrible handwriting, very much one of a middle school boy. 

Life sucks. Deal with it.

You were now twenty two, an adult and that once hope and love has turned into pessimism and indifference. And life still sucked. 

You were pretty famous, your air manipulation quirk one that catches a lot of attention. That, alongside your rivalry with the second most famous hero Bakugou, brought an abundance of recognition. Bakugou completely steals your thunder every chance he has, stealing your light and victories. 

You hated him. With the utmost disrespect, you hated him. Since your days in the hero academy, the two of you were at each other’s throats. He would even stop in the middle of antagonizing Deku to make some horrendous comment towards you instead. 

You ended up scribbling along the Soulmate Pages, heated rage boiling with each word.

Hey Honey! I need to vent if that’s okay.

Of course.

You would not believe the shit I have to endure in real life. I wish I could describe the hatred I have for this man I work with, he’s a real piece of shit. Anyway, how was your day?

My day was about the same as yours, living with the idiots of real life. If we could write names I would because there’s this bitch I work with that I fucking hate.

Maybe we need new jobs (insert laughing face even though I’m livid right now)

Yeah. Maybe. But we’ll get through it.

It took years for your soulmate to warm up to you. The first interactions were hesitant, slow, and barely considered conversations. But now you can discuss your day as if you were texting a friend, talk about your likes and dislikes. 

He was your soulmate after all.

You learned that he was a boy and an only kid, he had a strong quirk, and that he liked ramen. He was a rule follower and his handwriting always used proper punctuation. You told him all about your life and how you wanted to travel away from everything.

You wanted to know who he was, more than anything. 

You wished you could tell him your name and quirk, where you lived and who you were. You wished he could do the same. 

You’ve tried, of course, to write out your name and location. But the second the words were written onto the page, they turned into a random assortment of letters. Gibberish. Never to be written, never to be known.

“Dude, fucking relax!” You rubbed your temple at your desk, voice spitting venom against Bakugou’s loud vocals. “Not everything is about you, just sit down and wait to be sent on a mission.”

“What did you say to me?”

Katsuki Bakugou had been going on and on about how Deku got assigned to a mission in upper Japan, sent to work with a separate force for a bit to expand his horizon. He was outraged, yelling and standing tall and broad to pretend to be bigger than he was. 

You were doing paperwork, trying to concentrate despite his yelling and complaining and bitching. You were hovering above your seat with your legs crossed, papers scattered (it was a habit of yours, to just kind of hover a couple of inches off the surface of things; air manipulation and all that). 

“I said,” You turned to look into his ablaze eyes. “Sit down and wait. Not everything is about you.”

You only threw fuel into his fire, you could hear the sparking between his fingers. You turned back to your paperwork. 

“You don’t get to tell me what to do, you’re not even in the top five heroes.” Bakugou barked in your direction. You could feel his heat as he approached your desk. “You can sit and do your own paperwork all you want! I need to be put on serious cases, just like stupid Deku is always placed on.”

“You can argue with me all you want.” You moved to continue your work, pretending to be unbothered. You could feel the anger boil in your chest. “But you still are and will always be measly little number two. Now shut the fuck up, you’re interrupting those who are actually working.”

He was going to hit you, you knew he was. You two ended up fist fighting all the time, oxygen and explosions ending in destruction. Before he could, your boss walked in with a bellowing, “Bakugou! Get over here, I have something for your loud ass!”

You decided to give him a bored middle finger as he walked away.

They say that words are the way of life. You could say an infinite amount of words and sentences in your lifespan, you could say a word and only ever say it one time. Each assortment of words are different each time, something new every day. 

You figured that’s why you hated the soulmate thing. 

Finding your soulmate should be one of chance, of pure coincidence and meeting of strangers. With the journal, you are starting something you only hope to find. You could go your whole life without finding your soulmate.

And that is terrifying.

There are horror stories of writing to an endless notebook, sad movies created where the lettering turns back to red before they’ve found each other. You wanted nothing more than to meet and just… be with the man you’ve been writing to since you were thirteen.

It seemed to be some sick joke, a tease in the palm of your hands.

When you were young, you attended UA High. It was meant to be the best school for heroes, grooming them into the best of the best. Both of your parents had been heroes themselves, your mom with a cloud quirk and your dad with wings. You took after a bit of both, no wings and no clouds but could create air currents and manipulate the air surrounding you within a certain radius. It has something to do with your breath and lungs, but you never looked too much into the actual DNA aspect. 

When you arrived in the hero program, you passed the tests with ease. You tried to focus mainly on yourself and gaining your own points, alongside a couple of students with the same idea. 

You were pissed when you were placed in 1-B instead of 1-A. It was the start of your rivalry with the explosion boy. 

Luckily, you quickly gained friends. You actually seemed to have a soft spot for Hitoshi Shinsou, and you and Itsuka Kendou seemed to be the only two with brains (this led to many conversations resulting in shit talking and giggling). So in the end, you weren’t too upset to be placed in the second best class. 

And you did get to fight with Bakugou a lot more without punishment, your professor wanting to be number one as much as anyone else. 

One particular day that you remember to this day, one that really labeled your hatred for Bakuogu, was just a normal day at first. You were finished with your normal morning classes and just beginning the hero portion of the day, the training and fighting. 

Your class was working with Class 1-A for the day, teaming up with one of their students and seeing how your quirks would act both against and with each other.

You were, of course, teamed with Bakugou.

The fucker was already set in his ways, loud and in need of attention at all times. You were well aware of his… loud personality… at that point, being beside Shinsou when he called your class “extras”. He was already someone you wanted nothing to do with. 

“Good luck.” Kendou muttered to you when your names were announced as partners. “See ya.”

The second you headed to him, you could feel his apprehension. He wanted nothing to do with you. And you wanted nothing to do with him. In fact, you were hoping for Uraraka as your partner, wanting to see how your air manipulation would work with her gravity. 

Apparently the professors wanted to see the oxygen working with the burst of flames. Which, honestly, is cool yes — but it was the person behind the explosions that you did not want to be a part of.

Bakugou was not one to mumble under his breath. 

“Why am I paired with you?” He rolled his eyes, crossing his arms across his chest. “I could at least be with someone interesting like Mind Control over there.”

You already wanted to punch him. “You’ve obviously never seen my quirk.”

“Clearly it hasn’t been interesting enough to be worth my attention.”

“Say that again when I remove the oxygen straight from your lungs.” You threatened, knowing damn well you didn’t know how to do that yet. “Let’s just get this over with.”

He let out a long exhale, moving into position. You were already flying by the time he let off his first explosion.

His utter disrespect for you and your quirk not only irritated you, but only was the start of a long term competition on Who Can Be Better Than Who that lasted the rest of your time at UA.

Through the constant loud arguments, the yelling in the cafeteria and the comments just loud enough for the other to hear, the fist fights and the swearing that was reserved only for each other, you found comfort in talking to your soulmate. It was relaxing after a long day of pure annoyance and shit talking to finally just get to have normal conversations with someone you enjoy. 

Are we allowed to ask about school in this thing?

I don’t think so.

I’m sighing. Pretend that you could hear my sigh.

Wow, that was a loud sigh.

YOU’RE FUNNY! Anyway, I really want to know if we go to school together :(((

I don’t even think we can talk about JRTPD or BO::SOMD. See, they turn into gibberish.

 I mean… we can say school. So we can ask ABOUT school just not… specific schools. 

That’s true. I go to a special school and am the best in my class. You’re getting lucky by having me as a soulmate.

Well I would only hope so. Need a smart soulmate for fun facts.

Fun fact: you’re pretty cool. I guess.

Ah, the admission of your love for me.

Not love. I don’t hate talking to you if that does anything for you.

The one person you don’t hate. I’ll take it, Soulmate.

Don’t push it.

We should give each other nicknames. Since we can’t call each other by our real names.

Does the book allow it?

My parents did it before they found each other.

Okay. Like what?

I can call you Hot Head, because you’re hot and because you are always writing about how mad you are.

No.

I can always go with something cute like Honey.

This is gross. I was thinking like gamer tag nicknames.

Okay, Honey.

I take back what I said, asshole.

Honey and Asshole. The perfect pair. We could solve crimes!

I’m going to bed now.

Goodnight Honey ♡ I know that you aren’t reading these but you will in the morning. Dork.

“Do you know who your soulmate is?” You asked.

You were hanging out with Kendou, Monoma, and Shinsou in Kendou’s bedroom. The dorm rooms were all set up the exact same way, but for some reason Kendou’s always seemed to be bigger. 

“No idea.” Monoma shrugged. “I don’t think I want to know until I’m older, we’re too young and I want to focus on graduating first.”

“He’s right.” Kendou twisted in her position on her bed. “Why? Do you want to know who yours is?”

“I want to know more than anything.” You sighed. Your head was laid across Shinsou’s lap on the floor. “We get along so well and I try to talk to him every day.”

“How do you know it’s a he?”

“He told me.” You laughed. “We tried really hard to narrow it down as much as possible.”

“It sounds like he wants to know you too.” Kendou said. She giggled. “I should ask my soulmate their gender.”

“What about you, Shinsou?”

“I barely write to mine.” He shrugged, making your head tilt a little. “I’m sure they understand.”

“I’m sure they do, they were made to be yours.” You looked up at him with a smile. “Of everyone, I thought you would write the most.”

“And why’s that?”

“Because most people are scared to talk to you in real life.”

He flicked your forehead. “You aren’t scared to talk to me.”

“I’m not scared to talk to anyone.”

“I’ve noticed.”

You sighed and closed your Soulmate Journal, the rain now casting a dark shadow across the entirety of the sky. Your face was flushed in red, hair disheveled and you were still in your hero uniform, dirty and kind of burnt. 

Katsuki Bakugou had not only interrupted your victory, but he had claimed it as his own. His desperation to be the number one hero hadn’t stopped. It’s been years, you’ve grown past his stupid desire and he simply… hasn’t.

You fought the villain yourself, using your quirk to it’s full capabilities and trapping them in a circle of air. You fought for over an hour by yourself, taking up the mission while out and witnessing it first hand. Your freshly bought coffee was long forgotten as you raced after the thief.

The second you landed the thief, the ball of air dissipating as you grew tired, Bakugou arrived in a fiery feat and handcuffed the villain. Of course, the main photos were of him with the handcuffs, standing proud as if he hadn’t stolen your fight. 

His argument was that he did help. Yeah, he did ‒ for three seconds.

Katsuki Bakugou was a piss stain upon himself, truly the worst of the worst who’s own personal interest outweighs anything else in his life. He will never be anything but second best because he never thinks of anyone but himself. 

If only he could read thoughts instead of turning his sweat to ignition. Then you wouldn’t have to put your harsh thoughts into tone.

Your Soulmate was one of two people you genuinely enjoyed talking to, he always seemed to be on the same page as you. The other is Shinsou, from your high school. He was the only one you really kept in contact with.

Sometimes you like to convince yourself that Shinsou is your soulmate, since he hasn’t found his either. But you compared the handwriting and it didn’t match at all. Shinsou’s handwriting was much smaller and neater than the man you would eventually call yours.

“This is so fucking stupid!” You screamed, your rage reaching its max.

You threw your journal across your bedroom, the storm masking the sound of it banging against the wall by your bed. You were pissed, you wanted nothing more than to see Bakugou’s downfall. It’s been years. You were over it.

You were over it all. You were over him, you were over not knowing your soulmate, you were over being alone in your stupid apartment. It all reached it’s apex. Maybe you needed a shower, or maybe you needed to move from your job.

Your fit was interrupted by a loud crash on the roof of your apartment building. You nearly jumped at the sound, the sound not even close to the crashes of thunder. 

You rushed to the roof, your hero senses kicking in more than your regular carefulness. Once you were outside, you were almost instantly drenched in the rain. Only a couple of yards ahead of you was a man crumbled to the ground; they must’ve hit the roof harder than you thought.

When they turned, clutching their side, you knew instantly who it was.

“Deku?” You rushed towards him. “I thought you were in Hirosaki for some serious villain.”

He moved to stand, much taller and broad than he was back in high school. Yet still with the fluffy green hair and bright eyes with hope always seemingly sewed in. 

“I was. I just… I need your help.”

“Why do you need my help?” You helped him stand fully, taking his hand from his side to check for an injury. He wasn’t bleeding. “Doesn’t Uraraka live around here?”

“I don’t… want to involve her in this.” He stood straight. His healing must’ve started. “I… this is something I need you for.”

“Okay…” You crossed your arms. “What do you need?”

“I know what you’re going to say.” Deku started, and you didn’t move. “But it’s Bakugou.”

“No.”

“C’mon, Aero, I know that you two…”

“No.”

“Please, I…”

“Deku, you know more than anyone how and who he is. Whatever it is, he can deal with it himself.” You started back towards the stairs. “I appreciate you coming to me, for whatever reason, but this is something that you have to find someone else for.”

“Don’t think of this as us doing something for him.” Deku rushed to stand in front of you. “Think of it as a favor for me. You owe me one.”

“Don’t do this now.” 

“I’m officially cashing in my favor.”

You sighed, “Fine. Can you at least tell me what we need to do for the asshole?”

“I’ll tell you on the way.” He nearly jumped in joy. “But you cannot tell anyone. Not Shinsou, not the police, and not our boss. This is under the radar.”

“Oh, shit.” You followed him as you flew next to him. “What are you getting me into?”

tag list: @katsulovee @paradisebabey @seaofemptygold @zhaixiaowen @daylghits @haikyuusimp91 @darknessyournewfriend @samwise-though @liaxxx109

[narutogwriting]

I’m Ready

Pairing: Naruto Uzumaki x Reader

CW: SLIGHT nsfw, cavity inducing fluff Length: 2.9k+

Summary: You and Naruto have been dating for a year now. After having to be seperated for so long, the war is finally over, and Naruto knows he wants to stay by your side forever

Could be considered a sequel to “Touch Starved” or stand on its own

REQUESTS ARE OPEN!!

Two days. The Fourth Great Ninja War had only lasted two days, but it felt like a lifetime. Maybe because of everything that happened leading up to the war. It was hard to picture it all now, the smaller battles, the trainings, even the way your friendships had been built up over the last few months. The war only lasted two days, but it was years in the making.

And now it was over. Lives were lost and the world was forever changed, but somehow good had triumphed the way it did in all the books and movies. 

Well, not somehow.

Winning the war was a team effort, every person in every village had done their part, even gave their lives, but you knew what you’d always known.

None of it would have been possible without Naruto.

Ever since you’d met him when you were both twelve years old, you knew there was something different, something special about Naruto Uzumaki. By the time you’d met, everyone else was starting to figure it out too, but you knew right away. You couldn’t have imagined just how special, how important, Naruto would be to the world, but you’d had no doubt in your mind right off the bat that Naruto was going to do great things.

When Naruto asked you to be his girlfriend when you were both sixteen, you felt like the luckiest girl in the world. You couldn’t believe that Naruto wanted it to be you by his side as he took on the world. That spot next to him had always been occupied by you anyways. You wouldn’t have known how to step aside if he were to love someone else.

But it was you he loved. Things had moved so fast between the two of you. One day you were best friends and by that night, you were his girlfriend, falling asleep in his arms and kissing him goodnight. You’d already lived together at that point; it already felt like you and Naruto were spending your life together.

It wasn’t even a full week later that Naruto had let the “L” word slip. The two of you were at the training grounds, but you hadn’t been in the mood to train. You went with Naruto since he wanted to work on target practice, but you had decided to sit back in the shade, writing in your notebook as you leaned against a tree. 

“Did you see that!?” Naruto had called. You glanced up from your book to see that he’d hit the bullseye dead on, and he was grinning excitedly at you.

“Good job, Naruto. But you always hit the bullseye.” You gave a small laugh, glancing back down at your notebook. You missed the pout on Naruto’s face.

What Naruto had been asking you if you saw was the backflip he’d done as he threw the kunai--he had to challenge himself after all. But you were hardly paying attention to him, too caught up in your writing. Well that wasn’t going to stand.

A moment later, you felt wind past your hair as a thud came from the tree above you. You looked at the tree to see a kunai lodged in the trunk just over your head before looking back at Naruto to see a smug smirk.

“Naruto!” You snapped, closing your book. “Are you crazy!?”

He giggled like a child, rubbing the back of his head. “Like you said, I always hit my mark. I wasn’t gonna hit you!” But you were already on your feet, charging him and tackling him to the ground. Naruto’s back hit the floor with a thud, and you could hear the air escape him. Straddling him, you placed your hands on his chest and stared down at him.

“Did you really need my attention that badly?” You asked him curiously, tilting your head. Naruto was looking at you with those wide, beautiful blue eyes that sparkled in the sunlight. He stared at you so intensely, so earnestly, that it made you blush. “What?” You muttered, glancing away in embarrassment. 

Naruto sat up, wrapping an arm around your waist to keep you close to him on his lap. Slowly, you turned your head back to look at him, captivated by all that was Naruto. You were feeling more shy than you ever had before, but Naruto looked and felt as sure as ever as he took you in. “I love you is all.” He grinned at you, leaving a big kiss on your cheek.

There wasn’t a doubt in your mind that you were fully, completely, totally wrapped up in Naruto. You didn’t think you’d ever get free, and you knew for a fact that you never wanted to. 

It was later that night that Naruto took your virginity. It was slow and sweet and awkward and clumsy--everything a girl could hope for for her first time. Naruto kissed you everywhere his lips could touch, his eyes took in every inch of your body. You don’t think you’d ever been so nervous in your life.

But it was Naruto, and like everything else, he made you feel brave. You couldn’t help but wonder how he knew what to do so effortlessly. You had no idea how anxious the whole thing made Naruto because he was so attentive to your needs.

Naruto would later admit to you sheepishly that he’d done a lot of research to make sure he didn’t hurt you. He took it slow when his fingers pressed inside you for the first time, pumping and curling experimentally as he listened to your body to know when he was doing it right.

His thumb clumsily circled your clit as he slid inside you slowly, taking his time despite the urge to just sheathe himself completely. Your fingers gripped his shoulders as you rocked into him despite the pinching pain. And then, suddenly, it didn’t hurt anymore, and your stomach began to flutter. It didn’t last long, with Naruto spilling inside you sooner than he would have liked, but you felt satisfied, on cloud nine, nonetheless.

You couldn’t figure out if it was a blessing or a curse the way your and Naruto’s relationship progressed so quickly, because as soon as everything seemed perfect with the two of you, everything else began to change.

Naruto took the world by storm just like you always knew he would, and the two of you were separated more and more. You wanted to be with him at every point, but you were both ninjas with different roles. You did your best to keep focused, but you missed Naruto terribly when he was gone, and you always feared that he would forget about you. He was quickly gaining the respect of not just the village, but the whole world, just like he’d always wanted. Now that he had everyone else’s attention, would yours matter to him as much?

But when Jiraya died, Naruto wanted nothing more than to be in your arms. There was no one else that could have brought him back from the brink, that darkness that had seemed so overwhelming. You weren’t there in his fight with Pein, you couldn’t be, but he wished you were.

When he meets Minato, finds out that the Fourth Hokage is his father, he can’t help but tell him about you, how despite how miserable and alone so much his childhood had been, he’d do it all over again as long as it led him to you. And his father tells him how happy he is, that if he and Naruto’s mother couldn’t be there for him, that at least you had found Naruto.

And Naruto smiles at that, because you did find him, right when he needed you. He’s confident that in any time or place, any lifetime, you would find him again. And he would find you.

When Naruto meets his mother, it goes much the same. He learns how Kushina and Minato fell in love, a story he never would have imagined he would get to hear. Kushina doesn’t miss his blush when she tells him to find someone like her, and he tells her that he already has. Shyly, Naruto tells his mom about you, how you were his constant, and how much he loves you. It brings them both to tears, because neither of them ever imagined they would have this moment.

And Naruto can’t wait to tell you about it all, but your time together is so few and far between, and you spend most of it in each other’s arms. Every time you touch him again, the relief in you is almost violent, because every time one of you leaves, you’re not sure if you’ll see each other again.

Many lives are lost in the time leading up to the end of the war, but by some miracle of the universe, you and Naruto are left standing. Even so, as he and Sasuke laid barely on the brink of consciousness, both short one arm as Sakura cried over them, you kept your space. It was a scene you knew Naruto had been dreaming about for years, his one real wish to have Sasuke back.

So you’re happy, excited, relieved for Naruto to have his best friend home, but you’re scared too, terrified, really, of what this will mean for your relationship. Now that Naruto has the one thing he’d been dreaming about for years, would that change the way he felt about you?

You’d had enough foresight to buy birthday presents for Naruto early before any stores became a casualty to the battle. With so much destroyed, Naruto couldn’t believe it when he woke up in the hospital surrounded by balloons and streamers, and of course you. “Happy birthday, Naruto.” You smiled from your seat by his bed. And Naruto wasn’t ashamed by the fact that he was crying, because you loved him, and you were here, and even if one day he lost everything else in the world, he had you.

In the days that follow the war, Naruto hears stories of what everyone had experienced in the Infinite Tsukuyomi. He wonders what he would have seen had he been trapped inside. Sasuke being home was a given, and now it was reality. He didn’t have to dream.

He knew for a fact that you would have been in it. And he would be with you forever. That was his dream, what he wanted even more than becoming Hokage one day. He couldn’t imagine his life without you, and he hated how much time he had had to spend away from you for the past months. He never wanted to have to go a day without you again.

It’s only a week that Naruto was in the hospital. Tsunade wanted to keep him in for longer, but Naruto couldn’t stand to spend another night not laying in bed with you. Which meant that he was almost completely bedridden for another week after he came home, with you waiting on him hand and foot.

“You did this on purpose,” you teased him, helping him sit up as you fed him ramen. “You just wanted to make me take care of you.” Naruto just grinned at you in response.

“Having a beautiful girl feeding me ramen? That’s like, the ultimate fantasy!”

You still thought it was too soon, but Naruto was up and moving by week three, eager to get back to training. “You’ve missed all the cool things I’ve learned, too. I have to show you.” Naruto bragged. 

Poking the stub that was his right arm, you laughed. “Better let Tsunade fix this then, if you want to show me anything new.”

Naruto pouted. “But I’ll have to be in the hospital overnight…” He protested. You gave him a soft peck, rolling your eyes at him. 

“I think we can survive one more night apart.” You made a move to pull back, but he secured his arm around your waist, kissing you again. 

“Just one more night?”

~

Naruto had gone in the night before to get his new arm. He’d pouted and tantrumed and tried to put it off, but finally told Tsuande he was ready.

“It’s just one more night,” you’d promised him as you said goodbye, wrapping your arms around him. 

He kissed your head. “Fine. But promise me something?” he asked. You nodded, looking up at him. 

“Of course,” 

“Meet me tomorrow on the hokage heads at six?” 

So that’s where you were heading now. The sun was beginning to set, lighting the sky up with beautiful hues of purples, oranges, and pinks. You smiled as you climbed the stairs thinking of all the days twelve year old you and Naruto had spent sitting up here, talking about your dreams. You were so young then, neither of you had the foresight to imagine you would be where you were now.

As you got to the top of the mountain, your heart leaped seeing the setup Naruto had waiting for you. A blanket was laid out on the ground, surrounded by lit candles. Plush pillows filled the blankets for comfort as well as glasses of sparkling champagne with your favorite dessert.

He stood there waiting for you with his bandaged hand, and you realized you’d never seen anything as beautiful as Naruto, and you found yourself running to him, jumping into his arms and kissing him deeply as you wrapped your legs around him. 

Laughing, he kissed you back, holding you to him tightly. “I missed you too,” he laughed when you pulled away.

You beamed at him, and it made his breath hitch. You were so gorgeous. Never in his wildest dreams would he have imagined that someone would look at him the way you do, and his eyes started to well up realizing just how lucky he was to have you. 

As he set you down, you gave a small laugh. “Naruto, are you crying?” You asked him, reaching up to touch his cheek. 

 He scratched the back of his head as he stared down at you. “I can’t help it… I just love you so much…” You smiled at him, but he wasn’t done yet.

“Ya know, all that time we spent apart, I thought of you almost every second. Even when I got to talk to my mom and dad… I just wanted to tell them about you…” He took your hands in his, looking at you with a level of admiration that made you blush.

“And, ya know, I know you think it was silly that I didn’t want to go get my new arm cause I didn’t want to spend the night at the hospital, but I just don’t want to have to be away from you again. Not ever.”

You looked at Naruto almost curiously as butterflies fluttered in your stomach. “I’m not going anywhere,” you assured him.

Naruto gave a soft smile, so different from his usual animated grin. “I know,” he said quietly as he began to drop down to his knee. Your jaw dropped as one hand went to cover your mouth. 

“N-naruto… What are you doing?” You asked.

“I love you. So much. And for so long, since we were twelve.” He said, looking up at you. “I never really realized how much I was missing all my life until you came into it. And it was all worth it, all my loneliness, all that time I spent feeling like an outsider… Because when you came into my life, all that pain turned into so much happiness, I thought my heart would burst. I didn’t know I could survive being so happy after being so alone for so long.”

Tears were falling freely from both of your eyes. You didn’t know when you’d started crying, but now you couldn’t stop. 

“We’ve all been through so much in such a short amount of time… I could’ve lost it all. I could’ve lost you. But I didn’t, and I’m so lucky I didn’t.” Naruto continued, smiling through his tears. You tried to quiet your sobs so you could hear him better. “And it’s because of that,” He reached into his pocket, pulling out a small box. “That I want to make sure I get to spend the rest of my life with you. I want you forever. Will you marry me?”

Disbelief. You couldn’t believe this wasn’t your imagination, that this was really happening. “Naruto… We’re only seventeen, we’ve been dating for like a year!” You laughed, and he just grinned confidently.

“I know,” he told you. “I know we’re young, but I know that I love you, and I know that I want to be with you forever. I’m ready. What do you say?”

He almost dropped the ring because you were on him in a second, tackling him to the floor, peppering his face with kisses. “Yes,” you cried between kisses. “Yes of course! I love you. I love you so much.”

“Wait, the ring!” Naruto laughed, waving around the box. “I spent a lot of money on this, ya know! You should at least look at it!” But you just kept on kissing him.

“I’d marry you with a paper ring,” you told him before pressing your lips to his. “Any time, any place. As long as I get to be with you.”

Naruto wiped at his cheeks, staring at you through his blurry eyes. Every time he thought he couldn’t get any happier, you proved him wrong. 

He finally was able to grab your hand and slide the ring on it. “Now you’re never gonna get rid of me.” He told you before giving you another kiss. 

“Promise?” You asked him with shining eyes?

Naruto couldn’t understand it. How had he ever gotten so lucky?

“Promise.”

[gojology]

Strawberry Flavored Pocky.

pairing : teen! gojo x gender neutral reader warnings : the big three: unedited, most likely badly written, and some cursing. also there’s like.. graphic imagery that gojo and reader exchange to eachother. it’s just banter though! wordcount : 2273 a/n : for that one anon that wanted teen gojo. my stroke of genius always occurs when im eating strawberry flavored pocky i swear.. anyways yeah this is unfiltered writing n it’s probably like not the best tbh and maybe i didn’t nail teen gojo’s personality but u know what this was so fun to write

     The sound of the tear of the wrapper containing the Pocky you had just bought was music to your ears, crinkling with every touch. Your fingers are itching to grab for the deliciously coated sticks, but you’re stopped by someone none other than Gojo Satoru himself.       “What’d you get?” he inquired, seemingly unbothered by the face you were making, he hadn’t even greeted you with a simple, “Hello.” he sat down on the bench seat right next to you, uninvited.       In his hand were many bags of various sweet treats, you could only make out some familiar ones- ramune flavored gummies, a bag of chips, vibrantly colored candy. Your lips quirk downwards, exhaling, turning to face the setting sun.       “Just some Pocky.” you flatly respond, beginning to pick the biscuit up. Contrary to Gojo’s wide choice of snacks, you only really had one favorite- Pocky. Specifically, Strawberry flavored Pocky. The sweet, yet somewhat tart aftertaste treat dominated your mind almost day and night. It wasn’t everyday that Yaga would be lenient enough to take the four of you to the local convenience store. You were waiting for Shoko and Geto to finish shopping to finally head home for a night of yummy snacking.       Gojo sighs, lazily dropping the treats right next to his side, they sat idly, limply resting on his thigh as he crossed his right leg over his left knee. His hands warmly nestled into his snowy white hair, his elbows jutting into your personal bubble.        “Not one to chat, are you? What’s the problem? You scared?” his tone is teasing, and you jerk your head to face his. Your head is tilted, like your confused, but in reality you’re just astounded how obnoxious he was.       “Why in the world would I be scared of you? You wouldn’t lay a finger on me. Yaga-Senpai would rip your limbs off one by one and fling you into the horizon! And he’s not even that far away, I could report you to him if you even get on my nerves in the slightest.” you shot back, huffing and taking your first bite on the biscuit. You instantly melt.       He flashes you a toothy smile, and you stiffen, did he ever take anything seriously? “Oh my, so riled up. Only scaredy-cats would talk about how not scared they were. Look, you’re even shaking-” he gestures to your just slightly shaking, tightened grip on your Pocky. “-I win, Y/N! Boo hoo, case closed, gimme your Pocky~”        “No, fuck you and your fat ass trying to take my Pocky, I’m not shaking from fear anyways.” you sternly retort, warmth rushing to your cheeks for whatever reason. “I’m shaking because I’m resisting the urge to duct tape your mouth shut and gouge your eyeballs out.”       He chuckles warmly as if your gruesome detailing was humorous, he probably didn’t know you meant it. He too, ripped open one of his snacks. “Calm down, Y/N. I was joking, I could buy Pocky’s whole stock and probably also buy my position up as CEO if I wanted to. I wouldn’t leech off of you, sugar.” readjusting his crooked, circular shades, he looked down at your now slack grip on the wrapper.      Unanswering, you’re grumbling instead. Under your breath, you’re curious as to how Gojo hasn’t realized how obnoxious he was, and how much longer could he survive without his head exploding from how big it was from his inflated ego?      Gojo grinned. He was all too aware of those things, but who really cared?      “Not unless you let your guard down!-” unable to finish the rest of his sentence, he yanked up the wrapper from your hands, using the extent of his long arm to dangle it high above your head. Your reflexes are far too slow to react, causing you to glare at him in a mixture of shock, hatred, and disbelief.      “Give-” you jump, arm reaching towards your snack, but he backs off, snickering and still dangling it above your head. “It-” now you’ve leapt up on the bench, grabbing at the wrapper to no avail. “Back!-” whimpering and flailing your arms out, every time you came close to retrieving your rightfully owned pack of Pocky, he’d simply throw it to his other hand so carelessly it pissed you off. All the while giggling, juggling it like a clown.      A breath of laughter escapes his lips as he looks at you, prancing around like a circus act on the bench, yelling curses and many death-wishes to his clan. Your eyebrows are knitted together, and he can’t just help but realize how adorable you were when concentrated in getting something- so stubborn.    “Okay, okay!” and as if Gojo had flipped a switch, you simmer down, looking at him with an impatient side-eye. “You want it, doggie?”     “Refer to me as doggie, and I’ll send a pack of strays to ravage you.”       Gojo exhaled out of his nose. “You’re a funny one, doggie.” did he just dismiss the conversation you two were having literally 2 seconds prior? “I’ll ask this again, do you want to get your treats back?” his eyes are glinting with amusement and child-like glee. You were almost sure that he had started calling your beloved Pocky as treats because of just how well it suited the nickname Doggie. It looked like you would be getting no where unless you paid no mind to him calling you such a.. Derogatory name.       Grumbling and studying the concrete you were currently trampling on, you exasperatedly sigh.       “Yes. I do want my Pocky back.” you grunt, averting your gaze to anywhere but Gojo’s shoes.       He perks up in approval, drawing out a long, “Hmmm?” as if he hadn’t expected you to give up so easily. “What are the magic words, Y/N?”       This was so humiliating.       “Please?” you politely say through gritted teeth. If it weren’t for the general public bustling about, you would’ve lunged for his unruly hair and tear it out of his scalp.       “Hah! You think I’m gonna do that sorta bullshit?” he crosses his arms, Pocky tucked safely under his arm. You wince, thinking about how the biscuits may potentially be snapped in half. Did you really want your snack still? It probably smelled like Gojo’s armpit sweat, death, and all the bad things in the world combined. “You’re gonna have to earn it, Y/N, in a game.”       Now convinced that Gojo was the manifestation of all the bad karma that you had avoided, you stare at him with wide eyes and fear, the irritation long gone. Games, no, scratch that, literally anything with Gojo only resulted in a small, or maybe large piece of your sanity torn away from you, lost to the infinite dark abyss. Maybe that’s why Geto seemed to slowly go insane everyday.       “On second thought, I’ll just go-”      He cuts you off, alarm now displayed on full view, his face contorting back to neutral. “Wait, no! It won’t be hard. Pinkie promise.” extending a pinkie towards you, you gently slap it away. The mood change was so instant, you were still shocked, that, and he was almost a legal adult and still believed in pinkie promises.      Still hesitant, you quirk an eyebrow, crossing your arms over your chest. “I’d rather spend another two dollars than play whatever game your planning, unless you tell me about it.”      “That’s a given, besides, it won’t take too long, Y/N. I think you’ll like it.” he replies cheerfully, leaning and whisper-yelling into your ear, fruitfully jolting you up. Seriously, did he have any idea what personal space was?      After just a few seconds of thinking, you roll your eyes in defeat. “Okay, what’s this game?”      His incredibly long fingers inserted themselves inside the crinkling wrapper, pulling out a slender stick. You’re almost sure your salivating, and subconsciously swallow the lump at the back of your throat. “Okay, rules of this game are... Hm, we both place our mouths at both ends of the stick. You get the pretzel part because that part sucks.” mischief flickers in his eyes briefly. “Whoever can get down the Pocky longest without being afraid of kissing and pulling back, loses and doesn’t get the Pocky. Whoever stays in their place wins. I’ll throw in some money, deal or no deal?”       “This doesn’t sound.. Fun.” you were still skeptical, but curiosity was blossoming rapidly inside of you. Could you really resist such an intriguing request? The guy was rich, and he did say he’d throw in some money. Gojo probably hated the thought of you, too. You could probably get up and close, get him to cower away from the thought of locking lips with you, and you’d be on your merry way.       “Um, actually, never mind. Let’s do this.” you chirp, the weariness had depleted completely. Besides, Gojo would pester you into doing it anyways, this would effectively save time. The expression on his face was indecipherable, silently wishing to yourself to see his eyes. You wonder if they’re wide open, in shock of your acceptance.       He gently placed the biscuit between your lips, his thumb brushing against it. Your breath hitches, now he’s up close. The shades adorning his handsome features, concealing those vivid blue eyes of his made your heart pace quicken in just seconds, maybe it was because he could see you- and you couldn’t. Your gaze shifts to the tufts of white hair hanging above his forehead. His bangs look lusciously soft, so soft you wonder what it’d be like to ruffle his unruly hair, what did it smell like? What conditioner did he use?     Your cheeks darken, but you hope he doesn’t notice it. This was what people thought of when they saw pretty people up close, it wasn’t like you had a thing for him, he was just attractive, that’s all.      “You look real stupid holding that stick between your teeth and looking at me.” he comments, charmingly smirking as you give him another death glare, unable to speak in fear of dropping the Pocky stick. You could count each individual hair strand he had on top of his head with the amount of time he was taking.      Chomp.     You take the first bite, and you can’t help but realize how much your heart is fluttering about in your chest. Eyelashes fluttering, nerves getting jittery, the exchange was strangely intimate. No kidding, of course it was- if the two of you were adamant and continued to chomp on the stick, it would only end in a kiss. There was no way around it.      He takes a bite too, his lips look curved in a dopey smile, but there’s not a single word traded between the two of you, just tiny, slight nibbles. It would be eons until someone finished, and you were growing impatient by the minute. Quicken the pace. Quicken the fucking pace.     So you did the unthinkable, you quickened the pace.     Taking a large bite, he pauses for a minute- as if to think, before taking an even larger bite. Now, 2/3′s of the original stick is gone. One more large bite, and a kiss would follow suit. Now, you’re sweating bullets, eyes bouncing from him, back down to the microscopic sized Pocky. His lips are so, so close. Soft, plush pink, so glossy you’re inclined to ask what brand of lip gloss he uses. You can hear his breathing grow heavier, why wasn’t he giving up?      The two of you don’t take a single bite, plainly avoiding the objective, the world around you had evaporated into thin air. It’s you, and Gojo Satoru.      You nibbled a little bit more, and then you make up your mind. You’re going to kiss-       Growing chatter grew closer to closer, and you realize Shoko’s monotone and Geto’s lively voice, alongside a very disgruntled Yaga.       “Yeah, she’s pretty hot. I actually liked the movie- Uh...?” the steady rhythm stopped against the concrete. Immediately, you straighten and clear your throat, spitting out the Pocky stick into the nearby grass. Gojo follows suit, shoving his hands deep into his pockets and twirling around. “Oh hey, Geto!-”       “Are we interrupting something? Something.. Important?” Shoko quizzes, struggling to stifle her giggling. A sheepish smile was displayed widely on your face for the world to see, hands behind your back like you were hiding something. Gojo, on the other hand, is facing the other direction, whistling and staring at the now setting sky.       You stutter, cheeks growing even darker. Yaga looks as disgruntled as ever, facepalming and murmuring to himself. Geto looks ecstatic.        “MY MAN!” he beams. “WERE YOU GOING TO-”       “SHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!” Shoko shushes him in response, turning her head back to the two of you. You looked like you had just seen a ghost. “We thought you hated Gojo, we’re just...” her head is cocked slightly, an understanding expression on her features. “Just surprised, is all.”       Spluttering, you try to explain yourself- but no sound comes out. Your mouth is opening and closing, struggling to find the words.       “I do hate him... I just... He.. Pocky.. He uh...”       “Sheeeeeeeesh! Poor Y/N over here is going through some shock right now!” Gojo muses aloud, he places an arm around your shoulders, pulling you in under his arm. There’s a small, coy grin on his lips. As if he didn’t try kissing you 1 minute ago. “Just ignore them, anyways, what are we having for dinner tonight? I heard there’s a really good KBBQ place down the street that just opened..”      As much as you hate Gojo, his ability to escape anything did come in handy.    Well, maybe you didn’t hate him as much as you were leading on.     You’d go as far as to say.. Maybe you enjoyed some parts of him.      

[fangirlsmood]

Tomioka Giyuu x reader - inferiority complex

Summary : Noticing how Giyuu doesn't know his own worth, you try to remedy his inferiority complex.

Warnings : Spoilers about Giyuu’s past.

author notes : Seeing our little Giyuu blame and put himself down breaks my heart, it's time for someone to comfort him and tell him what an amazing person he is.

_ Tomioka-san ! 

Hearing your voice, Giyuu stopped in his walk and turned to you, nodding his head to greet you. You noticed that he was holding a bunch of papers, probably a mission report he had to return to Oyakata-sama.

_ You’re already back ! After filing your report, would you accept ...

_ No.

_ But...

You've been begging him for a while to train you. He had saved you a few months ago from a demon and since then you had only one wish: to become like him. You were infinitely grateful to him and you were so admiring. Not really knowing how to fight but wanting to be useful you had started to help at the Butturfly estate. However you wanted to do more, you wanted to save people before they could get hurt like Giyuu had done for you.

_ Ask another person.

_ Kocho-san is already taking care of Kanao, Rengoku of his little brother ... Everyone else is too busy to spend time with me. I want you to train me... please.

He looked you straight in the eye for a moment then sighed, unable to resist your perseverence :

_ Fine. I will train you but don't expect me to be a good teacher.

Since that day Giyuu trained you every time he return from a mission. You couldn't be happier. The training was difficult, tiring and sometimes painful but for you it was an honor. Even if he didn’t said it Giyuu was proud to see your progress. Besides, it was nice for him to have company. 

•••••••••••

One day, at the end of a hashira meeting, Rengoku came to approach him.

_ Tomioka ! We don't see much anymore (Y/n) at the Butterfly estate. I heard that you train her.

 He nodded, Rengoku let out one of his loud laughs :

_ It's surprising ! I had offered to train her but she had refused. Is she doing well?

_ She’s not bad.

It was surprising indeed. You told him that no one was available to train you and he learned it was a lie. Why had you been lying to him? He didn't understand what you could gain from it.

••••••••••

That night he found you serving dinner for both of you like you did almost every day since you had become his student. 

_ Welcome home ! How was the meeting ?

_ Good.

His gaze immediately made you uncomfortable. Usually he always gave you a warm look, while now he was looking at you coldly, as if he had difficulty recognizing you. He took a seat in front of you and began to eat. After a heavy silence which weighed on him as well as on you, he decided to speak :

_ Why did you lie to me ?

You did not remember having committed such an act against him. Seeing your confused stare he developed his point :

_ Rengoku told me he offered to train you. Why did you tell me that no one has time for you ?

You didn't think he would find out someday. Nothing in his attitude or his voice let show anger but you knew he was necessarily upset. Giyuu was a man of his word and honor, for him a lie was a lack of respect. You were terribly ashamed, however, you manage to stammer an explanation :

_ Oh ! It’s not what you think ! In fact it is but... I mean I didn’t really thought about it... Believe me it was far from my intentions to disrespect you, I would have never offended you on purpose ! I just... I just wanted to be trained by you.

_ Rengoku is a really good and strong man. You should have accepted his proposal. 

He marked a pause.

_ Go back to him, if you ask him I think his offer still stands.

Was Giyuu denying you? Did he no longer want you as a student? He got up and turned his back to you as if to end this discussion but you got up in turn, you wanted to stay by his side: 

_ I don’t want anyone else to train me ! 

_ It would be better for you.  He will be able to take care of you and make you evolve. 

Suddenly you realized what was going on. Giyuu thought Rengoku was a better hashira than him. Didn't he know how strong he was too? You stood in front of him so you could look him in the eye, so he would know you weren't lying :

_ You’re strong too. And you’re a good professor. 

_ You don’t know what you’re talking about. I am stronger than you that’s all. 

_ You’re a hashira ! You’re one of the strongest !

He lowered his head you saw in his eyes, him who was usually so impassive, a hint of sadness.

_ I don't deserve this title. I shouldn't be there.

_ What do you mean ? 

You noticed that his hands tightened on his haori.The words struggled out of his throat, as if part of him wanted to hold them back while another wanted to get them out :

_  Those who owned the two parts of this haorie should be there, they should be alive. Them, not me.

It was the first time Giyuu had talked about his past. You kept silent, you didn't want to rush him. You just wanted to understand him, reassure him, make him feel surrounded. 

_ (Y/n)... I know you admire me and it's nice to have someone so dedicated by my side but you don't know everything. You idealize me. I am not a strong. I am not a good person.

One of his hand clenched the red part of his haorie :

_ I wasn’t strong enough to protect my sister...

His other hand clenched on the other part :

_ I shouldn't have passed the Demon Slayer exam ... Sabito should have, he was much stronger, much better in everything, but he protected me and it cost him his life.

You were speechless. Knowing that Giyuu, who was so generous, strong and usually impassive, had suffered so much broke your heart. You wanted to cry for him but you knew it would only cause drama. You will cry another day, now you needed to cheer up your beloved master.

_ Rengoku will know how to protect you, you will be safe with him. 

••••••••••

The next morning Giyuu couldn't find you anywhere. He assumed you had chosen to join Rengoku. He was sure it was the best option and it suited him for the moment. He felt ridiculous for confiding in you last night, and was too embarrassed to see you again. Nevertheless he had become so used to your presence that he already missed you. Part of him regretted telling you to leave. 

Fortunately you came back little less than a month after your departure and with a surprise. You ran to him yelling a "tomioka-san" as a greeting before handing him a package. A little taken aback he examined it for a moment. Impatient you pressed him a little : 

_   It's a gift for you! Open it !

He followed your instructions and found a nice little bundle of papers taht were of different sizes and different colors. The writings and the ink used were also diverse. You started to explain nervously :

_ I wanted you to know how amazing you are, so I asked the hashira, your old master and a few of the people you saved to write down what they liked about you or what you had did good for them ... Oyakata-sama and Gyomei-san could’nt write but they dictated to me and I transcribed everything ... I didn't think it would take so long to contact everyone, sorry ... 

He had already started to read. Everyone had written something even Obanai, Sanemi and Shinobu had found a few nice things to say. Shinobu had recounted a mission accomplished with Giyuu and admitted that without him it would have been a failure while Obanai and Sanemi were content to write a single sentence where they said that Giyuu was not "that bad" and that "some of these techniques were quite impressive". Urokodaki gently reprimand him so that he would stop always blaming himself and telling him that he was proud of him. 

And finally there was your letter. It was the longest and as he read it he wanted to cry with joy. He wondered what he had done to deserve so much praise, he wanted to deny all these compliments but you had written a real reasoning full of examples to support your words that he was obliged to recognize his qualities. 

He felt his heart melt. it must have taken so much effort from you to collect all these little words, it was a real treasure that you had just offered him. You watched him silently in his reading which lasted a long time and since he didn't say anything you wondered if it was really a good idea :

_ Erm... Do you like it ? It's okay if you don't, but keep them anyway. That way you could always reread them when you needed to ... you know ... know how amazing you are.

A smile covered his face and you noticed that his eyes were bright like a child who discovers the world. His smile was so faint you might not have noticed though it was the sweetest you've ever seen. 

_ Thank you. It's the nicest thing anyone's done for me. It must have taken a lot of effort from you to convince Obanai, Sanemi and Kocho and put it all together.

_ You deserve all the effort in the world.

You gave him a huge smile and he believed you. He felt all the weight he had on his heart, all his guilt shut up in the face of all these kind words. For the first time Giyuu told himself not only that he was lucky to have you by his side but also that he deserved to be happy. Every time he read one of the letters he said to himself, although it was still hard for him not to doubt it, that he was worthy. More than feeling worthy, he felt loved.

••••••••••

Navigation

[dreamteamspace]

They really went there huh

/rp (good lord I rly hyperfixated on this essay huh)

torture tw, abuse tw, manipulation tw, gaslighting tw

So the Dream SMP built a character, once maybe morally gray, who slipped straight into villany with little to no desire to change, and willing to cause a LOT of pain to get his way. Despite this, he doesn’t question what he does enough to stop, justifying his actions with a good intent that doesn’t come close to justifying what he’s done.

C!Dream is unremorseful of what he’s done, he’s quite literally manipulated and gaslit (like actually, not in the way everyone keeps throwing the word around) c!Tommy, almost drove him to take his last life- like, jesus christ. That’s not even to mention blowing up L’Manburg three times, encouraging c!Wilbur, wanting the discs JUST to have power over c!Tommy, etc.

SO, he gets thrown in a box for it so he doesn’t hurt anybody anymore, making his own hubris his downfall (narrative consequence my beloved). This leads us to a good finale - the bad guy, the person who’s caused objectively the most pain and destruction, is now unable to do so anymore, taken down by the person whom he tried to weaken. It is also revealed he was planning on blackmailing and threatening pretty much everyone, but now everyone gets their stuff back.

Good, right?

Especially for the finale, yeah! The message of the finale is good, c!Tommy manages to escape his abuser with nothing more but his clothes on his back and fights his way back to c!Tubbo and his home.

He doesn’t let his trauma (which is still very present!) let him become a terrible person (arguably the way that c!Dream DID let his frustrations make him a terrible person, c!Tommy, despite bearing quite a heavy weight, recognizes when he begins to turn that way and actively works against it).

It shows that while alone, c!Tubbo and c!Tommy were outfought by Dream, but because c!Tommy went the length to ask for help (which he didn’t even really seem to be relying on actually showing up), he wins! It truly is a good message.

C!Tommy escapes his abuser and manipulator, refuses and fights his trauma to not become someone he doesn’t want to be, and defeats his abuser by asking for help and receiving it, even more than he thought he’d get. He refuses to play c!Dream’s “game”, refuses till the very last moment to let c!Tubbo die, to surrender and say goodbye to him.

So, great! Good finale! C!Dream The Villain is boxed like a fish in a prison of, quite literally, his own making. It sent a good message to people. C!Tommy wasn’t expected to forgive him and did, in fact, axe him down twice, causing c!Dream to finally fall from his high horse.

Most media would stop at this point, say the villain is now defeated and never show them again, or have them come back another one or two seasons later, escaped and seemingly unharmed and worse than ever.

Alternatively, there’s a throwaway line, (or, in good media, a genuine, reasonable backstory, complete with remorse and bad role models and complicated situations), that allows the villain to be redeemed.

In GOOD redemption arcs (See: Zuko from avatar tbh), the villain was already never quite as heartless, or stressed their good intent, or felt remorse for what they felt they “had to do”. Then, ideally, the villain takes a looooong time adjusting their habits, regretting their actions and changing until they’re considered redeemed.

Not on the Dream SMP, though.

They don’t stop at c!Dream’s defeat.

He doesn’t dissapear off-screen and is never spoken of again. His life continues on, everyone’s does, just like it would in reality. He doesn’t magically want to become a better person, far from it. So no redemption. But he doesn’t dissapear, either.

They go on to, slowly, stress how awful the conditions in Pandora’s Vault are. c!Bad says c!Dream should be imprisoned, but at least at slightly better conditions. We’re in very VERY morally gray territorry here. Nobody says c!Dream is a good person, of course not, but even c!Bad - who knows Dream was planning on keeping c!Skeppy in a cage to control him with - goes, “yeah, he should stay boxed, but does he really need to like... suffer suffer?”

Still, c!Dream seems to be kindof inconsistent in his behavior. Is he faking his pain? Is he not? His actions don’t fully make sense for either take. He acts differently to each person, but at the same time some things he does don’t make sense if he were just fishing for pity.

Then c!Sam admits to trying (and thinking he succeeded) to “break Dream’s will”, to quite literally starving him for weeks.

Okay, so now we’re a step further. C!Dream is now suffering even more, although already boxed and unable to hurt anyone. Pandora’s Vault is one thing, but now c!Sam just seems to be out for revenge and nothing more. Instead of spending his time with c!Tommy, he spends his time pickaxing(?) c!Dream.

C!Sam isn’t an angel, and we should all know that by now. He does what he thinks is right, but he’s deeper than that, all characters on the DSMP are.

He cares deeply for the Badlands, and would always choose them above anybody else. He’s a capitalist. He built the prison because it would benefit the Badlands resource-wise, despite knowing Dream would probably use it on his enemies, and it was no secret that ALL members of L’Manburg, especially c!Tommy, are his enemies. C!Sam, undoubtedly, knew that. He still built it.

Arguably, he didn’t know about c!Dream’s attachment obsession at the time, but the point still stands.

People have already latched onto the untold story happening between c!Dream and c!Sam, and frankly, we barely know enough about it. Does c!Sam torture him regularly? Do they talk? Does c!Dream try to verbally fight back? CAN he fight back? We don’t know! We’ve gotten proof for both, between c!Sam saying that c!Dream is terrifying even in prison and c!Dream going silent to go on strike. We don’t have enough of an idea how bad or how good it truly is.

So the people who prefer to humanize c!Dream and explore morality imagine c!Sam to downright torture him, people that prefer to see c!Dream as nothing but evil due to his actions imagine prison on the DSMP to not be equivalent to real life prison, and thus nowhere near as torturous as people are making it out to be.

Now all that is thrown out the window as c!Quackity quite literally tortures him.

So now the internet is faced with a question that, judging by some of the impulsive reactions *cough cough* celebrating torture *cough*, it didn’t turn out to be ready for.

Tell me.

How far do we go?

C!Dream hurt a LOT of people. He did a lot of things that caused irreparable damage. Now what? Do we torture him forever? Why? Because he deserves it? How do we determine that without comparing one kind of pain to another?

It’s custom and kindof generally respectful not to compare people’s pain too accurately, because different things vary greatly in severity depending on the person that experiences them.

At what point do we say he’s suffered enough without comparing exile to the prison?

And if we DO compare, does that even make the question easier to answer?

And if he’s never suffered enough ever, killing them would be a mercy...

At what point has a person done enough damage that they “deserve” to die? What if someone only did half of the things c!Dream did. But if c!Dream gets infinite punishment, and half of infinity is still infinity, do they ALSO deserve endless suffering?

Do you think every person that did something you can’t emphasize with deserves to suffer for eternity and die?

I’m not saying we SHOULD emphasize with c!Dream. He did things we cannot justify, that NOTHING can justify. He did things that were, by their nature, unjustified.

I’m also not saying anybody should forgive him. I think it’s a GOOD thing that c!Tommy doesn’t want nor is narratively pushed to forgive c!Dream.

But c!Dream doesn’t need c!Tommy’s forgiveness to be... a person.

There’s a saying that I’m sure you know, that goes “I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy.”, because there’s things you wouldn’t want any human being to experience. Not because you like them, not cause you think they’re right, but because they’re human.

And perhaps this is my personal opinion, but I don’t think c!Dream being a bad person justifies dehumanizing him, because then we get into an area where someone needs to meet criteria just to be human.

-

I met someone once, whom, because of outside circumstances I knew I probably wouldn’t meet again. We’d been getting along just fine for people who just met, and were both getting into an interesting discussion about morality. They kept insisting upon something I kept refuting, so they said they needed to get something off their chest.

They proceeded to tell me that they had, years ago, while a teen, manipulated someone in a relationship, pushed boundaries and tried to convince them to do things they didn’t really want to do to get what they wanted.

They cried, while telling me, too terrified to tell anybody they know, terrified nobody would ever speak to them again, insanely regretful of their actions. They didn’t know whether to go back and apologize or just stay as far away as humanly possible, didn’t know which one the right thing to do is.

It had been years, by then, and I talked them through it. I said that what they did was bad, and there’s no going around that. But I also said what I saw, which is someone who would never do something like that ever again. I saw a human being. Someone who regrets a mistake they did and now, after enough time has passed, would do anything to make it undone.

Someone who is too terrified to be close to anybody in fear that they would do it again. I don’t remember if they already went to therapy or not, but it was definitly on the table, or in the near future.

They asked me how I could possibly even keep talking to them after they told me all that. They implied they felt like some kind of monster despite literally chocking back tears, firmly convinced they don’t deserve to be close to anybody in their life ever again.

I never swerved from the fact that what they did was wrong, and harmful. But I also told them they’re human. The universe isn’t keeping score. They want to be a better person now, and they were never going to learn how if they never let themselves be close to anybody.

I told them to seek therapy, and to slowly, carefully, try. Assured them that the fact that they regret it so strongly will at least help them in not falling back into the same pattern, and if they do, they can learn to recognize that.

They thanked me after the conversation, genuinely, especially for the fact that I didn’t sugarcoat what happened, because I know otherwise it would’ve felt like I was lying, like I was just sparing their feelings. I wasn’t. I was thinking about how to make sure they get to live without hurting anybody.

As per the circumstances, we didn’t speak again after that, which we knew basicly from the very start.

-

I still think about that conversation a lot.

Do you think they should’ve been locked up for life after it happened, instead?

Do you think this real human being, that I spoke to, that took years to realize their mistake - and never would have realized it if they hadn’t had the time to, if they’d been killed right afterwards - deserves to suffer forever?

Let me tell you something, from someone who’s been in more than one abusive situation: People that hurt you are human.

That doesn’t mean you have to forgive them. That doesn’t mean you have to like them. That doesn’t mean you have to make an effort to understand them. That doesn’t mean you need to go anywhere near them ever again.

You can hate them. You can be angry at them. You can (and should) go as far away from them as possible, and/or defend yourself.

But that doesn’t mean you have to dehumanize them.

You’re allowed to hate and dislike people that are human, because you’re human, especially if they hurt you. That’s how life is.

And to go back to my original point - c!Quackity torturing c!Dream is not something that should be celebrated.

There’s a difference between necessary measures (locking c!Dream up so he doesn’t hurt anyone), and torturing people for fun.

It’s not right. It’s never going to be right, and do not justify literal torture on human beings, and do not make someone lower-than-human to justify torturing them.

Taking revenge on someone for what they did tenfold is romanticized, I know, but I promise you it’s not actually as cool as it sounds.

[darlingpetao3]

House of W (Multiple!Wells x Reader, Chapter 9)

Rating: T

Summary: After having to deal with the deaths of an infinite number of Harrison Wells in the Multiverse, you, a magic-wielding meta, have a breakdown and unwittingly create a happy, fictitious sitcom life with some of your favourite men. In a world of comedy and cameos, can Team Flash and an out-of-town magician break through your powers to save you? And what if you don’t want to be saved...?

A/N: Well folks, it’s the final chapter... I’m not sure it’s actually all that great, but here it is and I hope it’s well received, nonetheless! Thanks for coming on this crazy ride with me <3

Tag List: @fandomdancer​ @bluesclues-1234​ @crissymadlock @firstofficer-tilly​ @disneyoncerlover815​ @marvel-lady10 @thecaptainsgingersnap​ @noctvrnalmoth​ @alexxlynn @dontbedumb3​ @heyl0lwhatsup @ryou-cosmos​ @arianalilyblack​ @sonnensplitter​ @imagine-yourself-happy​ @stuckysdaughter​ @wintersire @i-dont-care-lol​ @booksandfandomsarelife1 @marvelhastakenovermybeing​ @marisughh​

PROLOGUE | CHAPTER 1 | CHAPTER 2 | CHAPTER 3 | CHAPTER 4 | CHAPTER 5 | CHAPTER 6 | CHAPTER 7 | CHAPTER 8

Eobard Thawne clutches his fist down beside him, surely feeling the surge of Speed Force energy running through his entire body once more. He looks like he’s just taken a hit of the most addictive drug—eyes flashing a dangerous crimson, his whole being vibrating at the speed of sound before everyone’s eyes.

The Reverse Flash turns to Libby and Belle—who both remain frozen in place out of sheer shock after realizing that this man isn’t who he claimed to be—and gives them one of his iconic shit-eating grins.

“Thank you, girls,” he says smugly. “I couldn’t have achieved any of this without you. The next time I have your real uncle under my boot, I’ll think of you wonderful girls.”

“What have we done…?” Belle whispers rhetorically to her sister. A speechless Liberty only shakes her head in reply.

Eobard locks eyes with Barry, who stands in the doorway to the kitchen. The villain smirks before he bolts off, running upward along the diminishing forcefield wall and out through one the holes forming in it. Barry watches on as he decides to let his adversary go. He’s learned by now it’s never the last time he’ll see Eobard Thawne. That bastard always seems to find a way back into everyone’s lives. He’s like a cockroach that won’t stay dead.

Yes… Barry will come face to face with the Reverse Flash again. He may not know when, but when he does, he’ll be ready.

Because right now, you need him.

Your world is falling apart.

Again.

The forcefield continues to fall slowly from above. Your time is limited. You know that in mere minutes, everything will disappear, including the people you love. 

“Mom, we’re so, so sorry,” Belle tells you desperately. “We thought he was just teaching us how to perfect our powers. It felt like a game!”

“My dear, sweet girls,” you look them straight in the eyes as you explain to them, “I assure you both, it’s not your fault. Okay? You had no idea who he really was or what he was capable of. It’s not your fault, do you understand me?” They nod through their tears. “You two may have grown up incredibly fast, far too fast for my liking, in fact, but I am so thrilled that you were- are mine. You will always be my little girls. No matter what.”

“Thank you for being our mom,” Liberty says to you in all seriousness.

“No one is cooler or stronger than you,” Belle adds with a smile very reminiscent of her fathers’. If these two aren’t careful, you’re going to completely lose it in front of them.

Off in the distance, you spot Barry watching this heartfelt scene play out. You wave him over to meet his nieces, so he can see what you’ve created for yourself up close and personal. Libby and Belle should meet their real uncle, a true hero, before they’re…

Barry places a hand each on the girls’ shoulders. See, Barry? They’re real. And I’ll lose them too. Do you feel my pain now? This is what I live through all the time.

Barry’s eyes begin to glisten until the tiny bulbs of tears hold still, unwilling to fall just yet.

“It’s so nice to finally meet you both,” he tells them. “You’re both such bright stars.” They give bittersweet smiles up at him in silence. You don’t think they fully understand what will come to pass in mere minutes, but you do. You can feel it in your bones.

Barry steps back from your family unit so that you all can have one more last moment together. You take this final opportunity to bring your girls in close for a tight hug, letting a sob escape you despite trying to keep it together for your family. You wave a hand over to your husbands as if to gesture for them to get in on this family group hug, and quickly. They do so promptly, all four of them enveloping you, Liberty, and Belle as if to form a loving hug shield.

“I love you,” you make sure to say these three precious words, making eye contact to each and every one of those you have magicked into being here with you today… before they disintegrate before your very eyes.

And soon enough, you can’t even feel them anymore. The forcefield has vanished within the Lab’s basement, along with the Wells and the twins.

You cry. You shake and your body wracks with the sort of sobs that hurt your throat. Barry makes sure he holds you tightly. Caitlin approaches carefully and ends up holding your hand. Then it’s Cisco who puts his own hand on your shoulder as everyone else in the room looks on at your despair.

***

After some much-needed rest in the Medbay, you awake to a spookily quiet Labs. You’re not sure of the time (or day, even), but regardless, you figure it’s best to head home. Goodness knows it’s probably still in shambles. That’ll need to be fixed.

You heave a sigh as you leave the Cortex.

“Come on, you can sigh louder than that.”

You turn around to find the unexpected voice belonging to Zatanna. You imagine she must have had to recoup as well from the amount of magic she would have used to break through to your world.

“Oh, hey,” you say tiredly. “I take it you’re on your way, then?”

“Yeah, I have a show in Coast City in two days, so I better head off.”

“Listen, I’m really sorry to have brought you into all this madness.”

“No, please. If anything, I should thank you as well as offer my condolences... Your magic is something I've never seen before. Honestly, I’m still intrigued by it.” Zatanna hesitates. “Would it be weird if I gave you my contact information? I don’t come across many others with true magic. I’d love to keep in touch. Maybe we could learn from each other?”

“Yes, of course,” you agree. “I think that’s a great idea.” She hands you her card—a glittery black business card with her name and number.

“So, hey,” she says, “You going to be okay?”

You take a few seconds to think her question over.

“I think, in time, I could be,” you answer truthfully.

“I know it may not be much,” Zatanna says, “but one of my powers involves granting wishes. Before I go, is there anything I can do for you? You’ve been through so much. I’ve seen it. And everybody has something they're hoping for. Something they wish they could change…” She pauses, waiting for your answer, but also seems distracted. You wonder what kind of life this woman has led. What has she done in her past that she regrets or wishes for from the bottom of her heart?

“I only wish for Harrison Wells to be in my life,” you answer honestly. Is that so much to ask for? It seems to be that way.

“Is that what your heart most desires?”

You sigh. “More than anything.”

There’s another pause.

“You know, sometimes you’ll find that our wishes come true on their own, even without magic,” the magician points out ominously.

“That’s code for “I just can’t make that wish come true,” isn’t it?” you joke, somewhat.

“The people that we love—they’re only gone when we stop carrying them with us. How you choose to carry Harrison Wells is up to you.”

You let that sink in and press a hand to your heart. He will always be here with you. Right here. You’ll make sure of it.

“I wish you all the luck and magic in the world, (Y/N),” Zatanna says kindly. “It was nice to meet you.”

You nod in thanks, unsure of how to respond to that. With her aged, thick book under her arm, Zatanna Zatara walks down the S.T.A.R. Labs corridor, but you swear her body vanishes before she rounds the corner…

Despite all the trouble you’ve put her through—everyone, really—with all of this, you can still take comfort in the act of making a new friend.

As you walk through the empty hallways of the Labs, you make it to where the elevator lies. You go to press the button to summon the machine when a ding sounds before your finger even touches the button. The doors slide open, and the face that greets you shocks you to your very core.

“Hello, there,” he says.

In fact, you are so stunned that you take a step back, but in doing so, you stumble and begin to topple over. Luckily, a certain someone’s quick arms catch you in time.

The face you know all too well, Harrison Wells, that is, glows with a calm happiness as he looks down at you in his arms. Behind immaculate see-through frames, his pretty blues eyes twinkle like the stars. He smiles like he knows you. You stare up in disbelief, in relief, and in love.

“Hello… Harrison.”

[asksidon]

Back once again with a new ask! Lol are you sick of me yet? Your last one was absolutely wonderful, as always! 💙

Can you please do Sidon stargazing with a gn reader? The cliffs around the domain are gorgeous, I imagine the view of the night sky would be wonderful (and maybe even a little romantic!)for gazing.

The sleeve of your shirt snags on a rock, and you feel yourself slipping, distracted. Desperately, you are trying to correct yourself before Shatterback Point becomes literal. Then you feel a tight, red hand on your arm, and you know he's got you.

He is looking back at you with concern in his eyes. "We should have taken the waterfall up. I could easily have carried you on my back--"

You shake your head, then indicate that you want to keep going. As much as you admire your prince and dream of him, you feel too shy to accept his offer. Just his hand on you is enough to give you butterflies... you cannot imagine what it would be like if you were riding him. The thought, and that phrasing, causes you to let go a sudden breath, and he mistakes it for a different kind of tension.

"Really, Y/N, I'm worried about you. If you fall, I can't fly, you know. Much as I would wish to, for your sake."

Finally, you reach a trail where you can walk again. The path winds upward and into the Lynel's den. Dusk has fallen. Sidon hesitates, then reaches for your hand to lead you along (!).

"If we're sneaky, we won't need to engage him," Sidon whispers. "Where we're headed is well out of his way."

You feel a little disappointed; you would have liked to see Sidon in combat, but at the same time, it would have made you nervous.

Despite the chill in the air, you feel warmth in your face and the hand that Sidon holds in his own. Before long, you hear the sound of heavy hoof-falls. Once you get a glimpse of the beast, you feel exceptionally nervous about the fact that Sidon has none of his guards with him. When you unwittingly step on a twig, causing it to give a loud snap that attracts the Lynel's attention, you feel even more so. Swearing under your breath, you look to your prince, then at the Lynel.

Both stand still and stare at one another. You feel Sidon release your hand as the beast prepares a shock arrow. "Hide. I will catch up to you," the prince whispers.

Sidon produces the trident that you have sometimes seen him carry, but never use. Before the Lynel can shoot, he springs into action with it. He has said he can't fly, but to you, he might as well be flying, or perhaps air-dancing. He deftly dodges the Lynel's attacks and, with his speed, creates an opening to deliver a blow.

You run and crouch behind a huge rock while the Lynel is distracted. You hear its menacing growl as Sidon delivers another blow and air-dances away from it. After a few more hits, and what seems like a lifetime to you, it finally collapses. You run to Sidon and frantically check him for signs of blood or scratches, but he is unscathed.

He is laughing.

"That was exhilarating," he says to you. He turns and picks up shock arrows, then the creature's bow, and presents them to you. "Something to remember this by."

You have no idea how to shoot, but you take them anyway. You feel dazed as you look up at him, taking in this new side of him.

"Y/N, do you feel alright?" He crouches down in concern, placing his hand on the side of your face. "Do you still want to do this?"

You nod. The sun has completely gone down by now, but there is still plenty of light from the almost-full moon, the cloudless sky filled with a myriad of winking, glimmering lights. Even from here, it takes your breath away.

Sidon leads you the rest of the way to the highest point of the cliff, then removes his overcoat and lays it out on the ground for the two of you to sit on. You place the bow and arrows on the ground next to you. From here, it is hard to believe the stars are so far away. As you look at them, you realize Sidon is looking at you. You can’t imagine why, when faced with this view. But from what he has told you, this is something he has done since he was a young lad, with Mipha.

When you meet his gaze, he seems tentative. “I’m sorry if that seemed inexcusably reckless back there. With the Lynel,” he explains. “I would never have brought you here, best view or not, if I did not feel confident in my ability to protect you.”

It is difficult for you to find the words to explain what you feel, but you try. The more you learn about your prince, the more you admire him... but admire is not the word you want to say. You fear that the real word might scare him away. When he smiles at you and leans closer, it is tempting for you to close the gap. But what if you are misunderstanding his intentions?

You refocus your attention on the night sky for a time, and he points out the brightest star in the west, named for his ancestor, Ruto. “It seems silly, to put a name to something so beyond words, labels. Something so infinite,” he remarks. “But then, I suppose it’s not infinite. I expect it only has a few million years left in its lifespan.” You look at him, and he winks at you.

You feel the heat rising to your cheeks again as he waxes philosophical. “Some things seem beyond names when you know them well enough. Their ever-presence does not cause you to take them for granted, exactly, but you get so used to them being there that you can’t imagine life without them. Their loss would be... absolutely devastating.”

He isn’t talking about the stars anymore. You look down, hardly able to believe you are sharing this moment, and he reaches for your chin to tilt it up, forcing you to look at him.

“Y/N, maybe it’s wrong. Maybe I shouldn’t feel this way... but if you feel it too, please say something.”

Your heart skips several beats as his words fill you with courage, and you lean forward and kiss him. He holds you close, more softly than he would like, knowing you are a little more fragile than he is.

After several moments, he breaks the kiss. You can tell from the look in his gaze that he wants more but is restraining himself. He pulls you close and settles for gently stroking your hair. Neither of you need to say a word; everything you feel for one another is as clear as the night sky.

[estrel]

It’s in the Knowing (that Wishes Come True)

destiel december 2020 prompt: sledding + spn advent calendar 2020 prompt: wishes wc: ~1.4k

[READ ON AO3] 

“Dean, you had,” Sam huffs, “infinite possibilities at your disposal. And you wished for–for this?”

Dean’s a little confused, too, looking out at the mountains. Almost every inch is covered with a layer of snow, but by far, the hill they’re standing on has the thickest blanket. Dean’s feet sink into it a little when he shifts his weight, studying their surroundings.

Apart from the clearing they’re in, the place is littered with trees. Dean’s gaze follows the trunks up, until he’s looking at the sky, which is quickly losing light. He thinks he can make out the beginning twinkles of constellations, and when he laughs, a puff of frosty breath obscures them for a moment before fading off.

Then he smells it—something like firewood, he thinks, and turns towards it. Eyes still searching the tops of the trees, Dean catches sight of a thin column of smoke, likely from a cabin nearby.

A few feet away from them, a tree branch packed with snow loses its hold, and the whump of the snow hitting the ground startles Dean out of his thoughts.

“I don’t know, man,” Dean says, “It’s not like I really had a choice. I just, you know, just had this thought, I guess, and now…we’re here.”

He turns back to Sam, who focuses on Dean once more, seemingly having caught sight of the smoke too.

“I’m assuming…those have something to do with it?”

Dean’s eyes follow the direction Sam’s finger is pointing to, which is a somewhere on the ground and behind Dean, off to his left. Just at the edge of the hill sit two sleds—the old, wooden kind that seem like they’re always one good bump away from splintering into a million pieces, but somehow never do.

He chuckles, moving towards them to check them out, when Sam urgently pats his shoulder. Dean swivels around, taking in Sam’s confused—but not shocked—expression, and once more tracks his stare to see what he’s looking at. 

Dean finds himself mirroring his brother, but otherwise smiling despite himself.

“What took you so long?” He hears himself say, feels Sam looking at him weird in response. If this was his “wish,” then this only made sense—it’d just been a matter of waiting for him to show up.

Cas levels him with a stare that says ‘really?’ and Dean moves to meet him half way.

“Jackets,” Cas says, handing Dean a thick black one that looks like it’s meant for snow. Dean takes it. “And Jack,” Cas adds. With a gentle tilt of his head, Dean looks over and sees Jack, not too far away, walking briskly towards them with something small in his hands.

“You two always come out here practically naked,” Cas says, leaving Dean and handing Sam his own jacket. “And the lumberjack outfits are fine for when it’s any other season, but you do realize it’s the dead of winter, right?”

“Well, you…” Dean starts, about to tell him off for the dress shoes and trench coat he’s never seen without, except that Cas isn’t wearing them, he’s…

“Cas, is that—are those—are you wearing boots?” Sam asks, a lilt of amusement in his voice.

Cas looks down, frowning. “These are my snow boots. Dean got them for me last Christmas.” He shoots Dean a confused glance, as though Dean should be in on this, and Sam was the one acting deluded. Dean can’t really bring himself to care, too busy smiling at the rest of Cas’ outfit.

He’s about to comment on the snow pants, which are black and baggy over Cas’ lower half, but Jack makes it to them just in time, pushing something into Cas’ chest.

“You forgot your beanie,” Jack explains, and then looking up at them, “I thought you guys came out ahead of us so you could ‘get the sleds ready.’ Cas and I started on the cookies so they should be done by the time we get back.”

Dean watches Cas slip the beanie on, losing his breath a little at the sight. The thought occurs to him—when he’s looking long enough to notice Cas’ red nose and ears and cheeks—that angels don’t usually get cold.

“Hang on—you left the oven on unattended?” Sam says. Pulling his eyes away from Cas, Dean chuckles at the wild look on Sam’s face, like he’s half ready to bolt for the cabin to stop it from catching fire.

“Of course not.” Jack frowns at him like he should know better. “I charmed it with the spell you taught me. It’ll shut off automatically when it’s done.”

Sam relaxes, forcing a smile. “Right. Uh, Dean? Can we talk for a second?”

Dean follows him around to the nearest tree, which is far enough away that Jack and Cas probably won’t hear them over their own conversation (Dean thinks he hears something about hot chocolate) if they talk quietly enough.

“We can’t stay here,” Sam says, “We have to find a way out.”

Dean wets his lips, “I know, Sammy, but…” He looks over at Jack and Cas.

Sam is quiet for a second before he notes, “You want to stay.”

He shrugs. “Just…just for a little while longer. We can–we can go sledding, eh? We haven’t done that since we were kids! And then—then we can figure out a way out of here.”

Sam has a look of growing concern on his face, something Dean thinks is teetering too close to pity.

“What?” He jokes, “You’re telling me you don’t wanna see those two sled? It’s not for us, Sam, it’s for the nerdy angels over there.”

His brother manages a smile, which is a relief. “Sure,” he says gently. Dean pretends not to hear it, heading now for the sleds and waving them all over.

He pulls the sleds apart, placing them each by the hill’s edge, but not so close that sitting on them would be enough to send them flying down the slope.

“Okay,” Dean starts, “How do we want to do this?”

Dean knows the answer before anyone says it. Better stated: he knows his wish before anyone else does.

“The logical route would be to pair up,” Cas says seriously, “You and Sam have done this before, so each of you gets a sled.”

Dean feels his chest go tight with anticipation for a second, and then it subsides. He nods.

“Good idea. Who—”

“I’ll go with Jack,” Sam interrupts, a wry smile on his face. Dean quirks his lips in a smile, cocking his head to the side in a mild ‘screw you’ gesture to his brother. He turns to Cas.

“Well, hop on then Louise and we’ll sail off this cliff together,” Dean says. He waits for the recognition to spark in Cas’ eyes and he smiles—for real this time—as Cas situates himself in the front of the sled. He spares Jack and Sam a glance, amused at how Sam is struggling not to take up most of the sled with his legs, before sitting down behind Cas. 

And he stays like that for a moment, sitting awkwardly and gathering his courage, until he musters up enough to wrap his legs around him.

“I’m nervous,” he hears Jack say. Dean thinks, Me too. Sam laughs and reassures Jack that it’ll be fine.

“Okay, uh, you’re gonna have to lean back once we kick off, alright?” Dean instructs, trying to remember how to do this. 

“You promise I won’t fall?” 

Dean swallows. “Nah. I’ll hang on to you.”

“Let’s race,” Sam says. He can feel him staring and avoids Sam’s gaze. He’ll blame the tint on his cheeks and ears on the cold, if Sam ever asks. 

Dean scoffs, “You’ll lose.”

“Prove it,” Sam responds, and then he’s pushing off and leaving them in the dust.

Dean’s surprised by the laugh that escapes him, and then he’s pushing off too, and he and Cas are propelled down the snowy slope after the others.

Cas leans back as instructed. Dean’s pretty sure the guy can feel the rush of his heartbeat with his back on Dean’s chest like that, but Dean can also feel Cas’ steel grips on his legs, nails digging into his shins. 

He laces an arm around Cas’ chest, pressing him closer. “I’ve got you!” he reminds him. 

There’s a beat, and then over the sound of the wind whipping against their faces, Cas says, “I know.”

-

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[minachuuu]

The Colors of The Night

❣The Colors of the Night❣

❤ Pairing: Jinsoul x Fem!Reader

❤ Genre: Fluff (And maybe just a lil dramatic, but not angst as such)

❤ Word Count: 7.2k

❤ Song Suggestions: Singing in the Rain by Jinsoul & She by Dodie

A splash, deafening to her ears, Jinsoul opened her eyes to find herself floating in a black sea. But nothing about it felt cold or wet, but a warmth surrounded her body as she sank even further. Gray scaled, she looked at her own reflection on a mirror made of water below her, void of color or even depth for that matter. 

Jinsoul’s hand tried to reach in front of her, in case she found something to touch, something to feel. But instead she noticed her skin was a pale shade of gray. Her feet moving one behind the other create ripples in the air as she moves forward hoping to find something to see, something to hear. 

“Hello?” She whispered, but the dark nothing surrounding her amplified her quiet call with each echo. The sound bounces so at least it meant this place wasn’t endless, she thought.

But what is logic to the realm of dreams? What is and what isn’t? Some people say it’s just your mind playing games, some say dreams are everything your heart wishes.

Rings of waves expanding away from her bare feet touching the surface of the crystal water, distorting her own image as she shook her head away from it. What is this place? Where to go when the black extends infinitely around? 

“Jinsoul?” An echo far away responded to her, almost like a familiar song, making her head bolt up to search for the source. Urgency filled her veins, what she heard was no stranger’s voice, but one she couldn’t mistake.

“Y/n?” 

A drop of water fell on Jinsoul’s cheek, running cold down her skin. Her finger carefully wiped it away, and raised so her eyes could analyze it. Color, the wet skin over her finger had color once again. She looked down to the water mirror, the route the drop had travelled down her cheek was colorful again.

“Jinsoul?” She heard again but closer this time, maybe a little to close. Almost as if you were just mere inches away from her face. The only thought of that action made her cheeks spark in heat, but as much as her eyes searched for you she couldn’t find you.

“Y/n…” She gasped as you finally stepped out of the shadows, floating just above the water mirror below her. “What is going on?”

Your skin was void of color, only available to a gradient of light and dark grays, but she noticed a ring of light all around you pulsating in shades of blue, that illuminated enough so you could see each other, as if the rest of the void wasn’t there. Her breath halted as your hand cupped her cheek, the warmth of your skin roaming down to her neck. 

“We’re here.” You whispered as you got closer and closer to her, your hand not losing grip of her face. The rattling ideas in her brain urgently raced to her heart, accelerating its beats.

“But where is here?” She squinted her eyes, hoping that you didn’t realize how much they moved their focus from your eyes to your lips and from your lips to your eyes.

“Uh- the plaza?” 

A fresh breath of air attacked Jinsoul’s lungs as the void, the water mirror and you all disappeared in front of her eyes. Black turned into a gray film behind her eyelids, as a shadow moved back and forward and her ears filled with the sounds of a busy street, muffled behind the closed windows of the groups’ van.

The car had finally come to a full stop on the side of the road, blinking lights that reflected on the white snow left to be melted at the new warmth of the spring arriving. All that was left was to wait for Jinsoul to wake up and realize you had arrived at your destination.

“Oh my god,” Hyejoo gasped from the back seat, shaking Jinsoul’s shoulders strongly. “Unnie died again! Nooooo! Jinsoul Unnie! Whyyyyyyyy?!”

“Hyejoo!” Chaewon slapped the younger girl’s arm playfully as you and Yeojin chuckled at her exaggerated wail. “Don’t say that!”

It wasn’t new for her, she noticed that you were becoming a resident in her dreams. Maybe it was a sign of missing you after all the hussle of the preparations of a comeback and promotions, she always said to herself. It started with once a week, then twice, three times, everyday. 

Sometimes she just found you like a background character, offering her back that loving smile that she was so familiar with and adored. And other times it was just you and her. But every time that happened, her heart woke up agitated, her brain unable to get you out of there.

“Don’t say… don’t say what?” Jinsoul mumbled as her eyes opened, adjusting to the light on this side of her slumber. Her eyes slowly widening at the sight of your face just in front of her, as she raised her hands up to her increasingly heating cheeks.

“Oh-” Hyejoo cleared her throat as she straightened herself in her place. “Nevermind.”

“Welcome back.” You whispered, gently putting one of her stray hairs behind her ear. “We’re here but if you’re tired, we can go back to the dor-”

“No way!” Her energy suddenly jumped in hopes to deflect your attention away, gathering her stuff as she unbuckled her seatbelt. “We’re already here!”

Your eyes found her bandmates who just shrugged and nodded their heads back at you as she opened the door to the van. She scrambled to get her coat on clumsily and the sight got a sigh out of you, a smile adorning your lips as you shook your head. 

“Are- are you sure?” You stuttered.

“We’ve waited enough to try this new place, I’m sure!” Jinsoul waved at the manager in the driver seat as she jumped out of the van. “Thank you for the ride Manager-nim!”

You quickly followed behind, gratefully bowing your head at her managers and bandmates. Jinsoul took your hand in hers while helping you out of the van, but refused to let it go once you were out.

“Ah, why did you have to make only two reservations?” Yeojin sulked on the front seat as she turned around to face the others. “We could all use a good massage after our schedules lately, right?”

“I’m not coming near any of you when it comes to massages.” She pouted back, making everyone giggle. “Not after the last time you tried pinning me down forcefully to the ground.”

“I didn’t make the reservation, Y/n did!” Jinsoul pointed at Yeojin with her free hand, winking confidently. “I’ll bring all the members when we finish promotions, I promise.”

“Ah, your word Unnie!” Yeojin gasped, “And Y/n-Unnie is here as a witness!.”

“It’s fairly new, so we’ll try it first.” You chuckled as the van door started closing in front of you, your free hand waving back the girls. “And then I’ll make sure she tells you the truth.”

“Word!” Yeojin pointed back at both of you. “See you later!”

“Enjoy your date!” Hyejoo blurted out as the automatic door was almost closed, when you heard a sudden sharp slap come out of the van. “Ow! What was that for?!”

You chuckled at the last thing you heard before the door clicked and the engine on the car started. The manager offered you both a warm smile before his eyes were back on the road and the van was driving away. Both of you turned around as Jinsoul turned your intertwined hands into intertwined arms. 

“I’m sorry for falling asleep on the way here.” Jinsoul admitted as your feet started moving towards the modern building in front of you. “Most have been a quiet or awkward drive for you, you should have woken me up…”

“I don’t think one can have a quiet drive when Yeojin is in the car,” You chuckled, shaking your head. “Besides, I know you are still in the middle of promotions and I figured you could be tired, so I just thought you preferred a little nap.”

Jinsoul's cheeks blushing again caught her by surprise, as she turned her face to the other side so you wouldn’t notice it. Quick to brush it away, she shook her head, skipping in her place. 

“But isn’t that why we are here today? So we can relax and just spend a peaceful night together?” She cheered on. “By the way, thank you for inviting me, I’m sorry I made you wait so much but you know-”

“I wouldn’t dare trying a new place without my best friend, you know it’s our thing!” You admitted, taking pride in your bond and traditions. “And because it was your turn to choose last time, for mine I decided that a spa would be a really good option.”

“Casually after I told you the other day that all I wanted was a massage more than anything?” Jinsoul chuckled, tugging at your arm.

“Yes, it was merely a coincidence.” You tried sounding as serious as possible, barely hiding your real intentions. 

Jinsoul could easily have told you that she was way too tired or was busy to hang out with you tonight, it wouldn’t be rare for any of you. Usually when she was in the middle of promotions, you waited until she was free to see each other, but this time around you were a little surprised that she was the one that insisted on seeing you. Of course, you thought of something that would be good for her, something relaxing. 

You didn’t realize that your eyes were fixed on the girl intertwined at your arm, as a smile kept growing over your lips. It was her eyes looking back at yours as she giggled that brought you back into reality in a second.

“Hey, our reservations are at eight.” You cleared your throat, fixing your eyes to the front. “I think we have time to grab a little snack before getting there.”

“I think there’s a little store that way,” Jinsoul pointed farther into your path and your eyes fixed on the distance, where a little stall with a warm yellow light illuminated a fruit stall on its front. “The snacks are on me!”

You chuckled back at her as you both excitedly accelerated your walk, getting to the corner of the block and to the front of the store. 

You opened the door and let her go inside when something of a bright pinkish-orange sparkled in the corner of your eye. Peaches, they looked almost like fake ones of how bright they shined. 

You picked up a couple, eager to show them to Jinsoul and excited for the taste of something fresh. As you entered the store, shaking away the cold wind of the night behind, you looked through the aisles, searching for your friend until you finally found her on the back, her eyes roaming through the refrigerators and the drinks inside them.

“Ah, found you.” You closed in, bouncing lightly with every step. “The peaches looked really good for not being in season, so I grabbed a couple.” 

“And I got you this too.” She shook a bottle of apple juice as she closed the fridge. “Is it okay?”

“Yes!... Do I really get that all the time?” You chuckled as Jinsoul nodded, “You know me way too much, I bet I’m made of seventy percent apple juice by now.”

And maybe you taste like it too. Jinsoul jumped startled at her own thoughts, immediately turning around in her place, afraid that her eyes or reddening cheeks gave them away.

“Should we go pay now?” Her voice trembled as she ran towards the counter. You followed her closely and put the two peaches on the counter, aside of your drinks and chips. 

The man tending the store was scanning the items, as you rested your head over Jinsoul’s shoulder. The gesture grabbed her by surprise, as she shook her head. Why did a common gesture between you and her suddenly make her heart jump and yearn for more like never before?

You grabbed the items once she paid for them, and headed out of the store. You walked silently side by side through the street at your own calm pace as you snacked on your chosen food. 

Out of everything that Jinsoul tried to do to avoid getting more and more confused about her feelings towards you, her eyes insisting on landing over you did not help at all. The warm and cold lights of the melting snow and the lanterns rested like heavenly light over your face. She could swear time slowed down and her lungs forgot how to work correctly.

“Hey-” You started a conversation that you tried holding until an appropriate moment, your voice bringing Jinsoul back from her own trance. “What were you dreaming about in the car on the way here?”

“How do you know I was dreaming?” She squinted her eyes towards you. You couldn’t contain your smile at her pouty lips mouthing her question as her eyebrows raised in curiosity.

“Well, you were kind of twitching on your place, and mumbling stuff under your breath…”

“It was a weird dream to be honest.” Jinsoul hesitated, still not sure on what it meant or how to feel about it. “It looked a lot like a possible nightmare…”

“Really?” A displeased gasp was heard in your tone as you bolted your eyes away from her. “Why do you say that?”

“Oh, cause…” Her eyes wandered around trying to find a good alternative to her actual dream, especially now that she was unsure how’d you take it if your name slipped out of her mouth after saying it looked more like a nightmare. So she went to her other best option, the first that came to her mind. “I dreamt that I was blonde again.”

A hard laugh escaped your mouth that made some people turn their heads at you, as your head shook at her response. You remember vividly those times, and you know she didn't enjoy some parts of it but not quite to classify it as a nightmare.

“You didn’t even look bad when you were blonde!” You launched back at her as you calmed down. “C’mon Jinsoul, you’re so pretty, everything suits you well.”

“Tell that to my scalp!” Jinsoul sneered back hoping that your laugh and her comment distract you from her red cheeks after you commented. “Even you said that you liked me better with dark hair!”

“And I do! I just thought... I heard you calling my name when you were dreaming and I was curious.” You sighed, your eyes capturing hers for a second. Jinsoul’s eyes avoided yours as they grew wider, the red on her cheeks intensifying. “But, I just misheard it in between your mumbles...”

“No, not at all!” She panicked, her hands fidgeting as she hid them in the sleeves of her long sweater. “Well, I mean, maybe-”

“Oh look!” You interrupted, your feet halting as your hand pointed at a stall beside you. “We’re finally here.”

You reached a clear glass door, your hand grabbing a cold metal handle that you pushed and let Jinsoul pass first into the lighted heat of the building. A little bell rang your entrances, as warmth hit your faces when you closed the door behind you, instantly making your coats useless. 

A waterfall fountain adorned a marbled wall on the other side of the room, plants climbing on both sides of it. A polished and wavy wooden counter sat in front of it, aromatic candles sitting on top of it whose flame danced in a soothing and amicable wave.

“Welcome, welcome! You can leave your coats on the hanger right beside you!” The lady behind the counter on the other side of the room greeted both of you in, waving gently. “Can I have the name of your reservation?”

“Of course, it’s Y/n Y/L/n, I made a reservation at 8.” You approached the counter after hanging both your coats, the lady searching for your name on the screen at her desk.

“Ah! Here it is.” She smiled as she read the information. “A Couple Package reservation for Jung Jinsoul and Y/n Y/L/n. Is that right?”

“It is!” You responded as you handed your credit card to the lady.

“C-Couple?” Jinsoul stuttered as her head tilted in curiosity.

“It was almost the same price as two separate reservations. But we get to use the Couple installations, a box of chocolates, and best of all...” You chuckled as you turned around, excited for the last benefit. “Matching slippers that we get to take home!”

“They have your initials embroidered!” The lady added to your enthusiasm as she handled your card back. 

“AND they have our initials embroidered!” You repeated even more excitedly as you nudged her arm playfully. “Your members say we always act like an old married couple anyways so why not take advantage of that?”

She laughed at your sparkling eyes and the slight bounce on your feet. She always loved your child-like spirit, mostly because she was just like you. You both made each other feel like it was okay to get excited at little or apparently insignificant things in life, like… matching embroidered slippers.

The woman nodded, signaling you both to follow her. She showed you the way to your changing rooms, but with each step, Jinsoul’s heart suddenly started ramping up.

She was sure not that kind of person, but she couldn’t deny that she was getting a bit mad with all of this. Friendship worth half a lifetime, unconditional. Nothing of this sort was out of the ordinary for any of you, the holding of hands, the intertwined arms, the subtle skin touches, changing clothes with the other around, daily messages. She was used to seeing your lemongrass scent, the sparkle in your eyes, your wide smile and singsong laugh. 

Why all of a sudden all those little gestures made her mind fly away and her heart jump in circles?

With her numbed and cloudy mind, she didn’t realize when you both were already laying down the massage beds until she felt a warm hand travel through her back with strength in its grip. Her eyes recognized her surroundings, calming down when they laid over your silhouette just parallel to hers. 

“You seem like a young couple,” One of the ladies preparing something on a table on the other side of the room asked, “How long have you been together?”

Both your cheeks harmonized in hues of red and pink, as you locked your eyes with each other, trying to find any word to answer to that.

“We’re not together!” Jinsoul spitted out. “We’re just friends… really good friends.”

“Really good friends?” The lady laughed as she repeated to herself, you chuckled as Jinsoul realized that emphasizing that phrase might have been a little too much. “I could have sworn... there’s such sincerity in your eyes, you look like a just married couple.”

“Eh, other friends say we sometimes act like an old married couple.” You giggled. “So I guess you aren’t that far from the truth.”

“Well, one can never know what the future holds.” The woman turned around from her table, a tray with hot towels and facial masks prepared, leaving it on a counter that separated you and Jinsoul. “Finishing the massage, I’ll proceed with your desired facials. Meanwhile, enjoy the massage. Don’t worry if you fall asleep in the process, the best thing you can do is relax.”

“Thank you!” You answered, as the woman bowed and exited the room. 

Jinsoul couldn’t help but repeat that entire conversation over in her head, but was brought over again to this reality when you extended your hand across the little gap that separated both. She grabbed back your hand, intertwining your fingers as you closed your eyes, willing to submit yourself to the relaxing atmosphere.

But Jinsoul refused to close hers. They didn’t want to leave the sweet image of your hand resting with hers, but she also feared that everytime she closed them she woke up seeing you in a whole different light, colors surrounding you that she was unsure that she wanted to explore any further.

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

A splash, deafening to her ears, Jinsoul opened her eyes to find herself floating in a black sea, again. Nothing about it felt cold or wet, but a warmth surrounded her body as she sank even further. Gray scaled, she looked at her own reflection on a mirror made of water below her, void of color or even depth for that matter. 

Jinsoul’s hand tried to reach in front of her, but she already knew there was nothing to touch, something to feel. Her skin was a pale shade of gray and her feet moving one behind the other created ripples in the air as she moved forward hoping to find the only one she knew that was here to see, to hear. 

“Y/n?” She whispered, but the dark nothing surrounding her amplified her quiet call with each echo. The sound bounced back to her ears as she hoped to find you in the endless void again.

“Jinsoul?” An echo far away responded to her, like a familiar song, making her head bolt up to where you appeared last time.

“Y/n!” 

A drop of water fell on Jinsoul’s cheek, running cold down her skin. Her finger carefully wiped it away, and raised so her eyes could analyze it. Color, the wet skin over her finger had color once again. She looked down to the water mirror, the route the drop had travelled down her cheek was colorful again.

“Jinsoul?” She heard again but closer this time, a little to close. 

“Y/n…” She gasped as you finally stepped out of the shadows, floating just above the water mirror below her. “Here you are.”

Your skin was void of color, only available to a gradient of light and dark grays, but she noticed a ring of light all around you pulsating in shades of blue, that illuminated enough so you could see each other, as if the rest of the void wasn’t there. Her breath halted as your hand cupped her cheek, the warmth of your skin roaming down to her neck. 

“I’m here.” You whispered as you got closer and closer to her, your hand not losing grip of her face. The rattling ideas in her brain urgently raced to her heart, accelerating its beats. She squinted her eyes, hoping that you didn’t realize how much they moved their focus from your eyes to your lips and from your lips to your eyes. 

But this time she decided not to stop the natural path of her instincts, letting herself get closer to you with each second. 

But a second drop of water came down over her, as it caressed it’s way down her face leaving a colorful path behind her like it’s sister before. She took a step back, startled. But then a third drop came down, now landing on your face. A fourth, a fifth, more and quicker landing on top of you and the void around you, uncovering behind them a complete and colorful path behind them.

She looked down, discovering that her gray gown only turned a deep dark blue as each drop decorated their way through. Your laugh echoed through the endless void, as your smile complemented your now colored, blushed cheeks and pastel blue gown. The drops started illuminating up the emptiness around, each of them turning into a star as they froze in space and shined with this cyan hue over them. 

Jinsoul’s eyes vaulted up to catch you running across the stars, raining all around you as you splashed your feet over the water mirror, now a path, a rainbow of hues of blue that reflected your radiance.

“Let’s go!” You signaled back to Jinsoul as you took off running in a direction by yourself.

“Y/n! Wait!” Jinsoul ran behind you, trying her best to reach out for you. Her hand only barely grazed yours as she tried to keep up with your pace.

“What are you waiting for then?” You shouted as you kept your feet dashing through the water, making your reflections almost unrecognizable in the ripples that you left on your path.

“I- I don’t know!” She yelled back, her hand only barely grazed yours as she tried to keep up with your pace. 

Where did you get your speed from to run away from her that quickly? She started losing speed as her legs gave up on her. Her feet halted as she raised her face to the sky, the raining stars softly showering her skin.

Violins and a piano in the distance accompanying the constant beating of her heart that acted as a drum to this scene that looked out of a painting. She let herself enjoy the sight for a second, enough for you to stop running away from her and come back to her.

“Is this what you want?” You giggled through your tired breath, holding your arms to the sky.

Her head tilted at the confusing question, shutting her eyes closed, letting her lungs catch back their breath, shaking her head clear of any mudding thought. But after opening her eyes, everything was still there.

The way you played with the rain of stars around you. The blue glow landing and perfecting your silhouette, as it cooled down your skin and painted your cheeks purple. It was only you in front of her, bearing that smile that wrinkles your eyes that she loved so much.

Maybe it clicked in her mind at that precise moment, but she wanted to be the reason for that smile someday.

“Yes…” She launched herself into your arms, holding you closely to her body. Close enough so she could feel your beating heart against hers. You tied your arms around her back, as her hand travelled to your chin and turned it towards her. Her lips urged on closing the gap left to reach yours, as she whispered back against them. “Yes, this is everything I want.”

“JINSOUL UNNIE!”

Jinsoul jumped on her own seat, her hands flying in self defense, hitting against the window beside the couch she was napping on. 

“AH!” She gasped at the impact, taking her hands back to her stomach where she curled around them.

“Told you it worked!” Hyejoo chuckled in the front seat now. 

“We’re almost there unnie,” Heejin was seated beside her on the back seat of the van, quickly packing her stuff up on her bag. “Finally home.”

A strong sigh escaped out of Jinsoul’s mouth as she threw her head back into the headrest, her hands rubbing her eyes as she was welcomed back into this reality.

“What were you dreaming about over there?” Sooyoung asked from the seat in front of her. 

“Oh c’mon!” She groaned as she grabbed her bag and scanned for items to clean up. “Why does everybody know when I’m dreaming things?”

“Because you talk in your sleep.” A chorus filled the van as Heejin, Sooyoung, Hyunjin and Hyejoo responded at the same time.

“I… I do?”

“Yep, and honestly it’s kind of cute sometimes.” Hyunjin turned around to face her, resting her chin on the back of the seat. “Other times it’s a little scary, depending on what your mumbling about”

“I- I was dreaming with Y/n.” Jinsoul sighed, quietly and hoping nobody really listened to her. 

The car filled with silence let her breathe for a second, as she gathered her stuff around. Her phone, earplugs, wallet-

Her eyes paused for a second as she opened the wallet up, resting over a polaroid picture of one of your escapades together to a theme park. A tender smile drew over her lips as she stared, only to be brought back by Sooyoung’s voice.

“When are you going to tell her?” Sooyoung had adopted the same pose as Hyunjin, Hyejoo’s face peeking from all the way up the front, and Heejin laying close beside her. All eyes over her made her cheeks light up like fire as she fumbled her words.

“I- I barely just accepted that I have a crush on her!” She defended herself as she shoved her wallet back in her bag. “There’s no need to rush things up.”

“Rush?” Hyejoo sneered as she turned around, facing back the front. “You call eating each other with the eyes for two years ‘rushing things up’?”

The girls in the car chuckled at her comment, but it only made Jinsoul pout as the thought sank further into her mind. The car arrived at the front of their dorm, just in time for this conversation to be forgotten. 

All the girls rushed out of the van, eager to finally be able to sleep for an entire night. But Jinsoul took her time, mostly because her mind wasn’t really into leaving the van but constantly reminding her of you and what she would do now that she was finally free and inevitable you would see each other again.

But a loud sound got her out of her cloudy confusion. A thunder rumbling through the skies as she walked her way to the front door. 

“But it’s just spring, why is it thundering?” Sooyoung asked, waiting for her as she held the door open. “Do you think it will rain?”

“I don’t think so.” Jinsoul answered plainly. 

Yves shrugged as she closed the door behind her, both of them walking the stairs up to their dorm floor. And as they opened the door, the sight behind it was different from any other day that you could imagine. 

The usual chaos one could imagine that a twelve person house could bare, was nowhere to be seen as every corner you encountered there was one girl just laying down on whatever surface they found comfortable enough to do so. A special sight only available at the end of a harsh and intensive promotion period.

“I’ll see if there’s something in the kitchen that we can eat,” Sooyoung told everyone as she left her bag on the floor beside Yeojin. “Or would you be alright with ordering something?”

“TAKEOUT!” A chorus of not less than seven girls filled the air, some not even on a visual range and probably already laying over their beds.

Sooyoung just nodded and walked her way to the kitchen, as Jinsoul threw her entire body on the couch beside Yerim. She got her phone out, leaving her bag on the floor. Turned it on to browse for a while until her eyes were heavy enough, only to realize she had unread messages from you.

‘You’ve done so good this comeback, I’m so proud of you. Last day of promotions! Hwaiting!’

‘Saw the broadcast, beautiful as always. Text me back when you get home, you’ve done great!’

She was ready to dial your number up when a sudden knock on the door was heard, making all the girls around raise their heads.

“Is anyone missing?” Vivi started counting the girls around, counting the ones she already knew that were in their bedrooms. 

“No, everyone’s here. We were the last van.” Jinsoul answered back.

“Maybe it’s a manager?” Jiwoo screamed from her bedroom, as the knocking sounded again.

“Is anybody going to get the door?” Haseul shouted from the kitchen.

“Fine, I’ll get it.” Jinsoul moaned as she got up from the couch. It was only enough for her to get close to the door when a familiar scent invaded her senses. Lemongrass.

She already knew who laid on the other side of the door, and still the image of your silhouette standing right in front of her as she opened the door surprised her. She stood there for a second, a second that felt like hours to her just staring at you. The beating on her heart speeding up, her cheeks blushing as for once she was thankful for not having taken all her makeup off.

“Hi!” You cheered up with your shoulders and usual smile. Raising up your hands, they were occupied by large plastic bags filled with containers full of food. “I figured neither you or the girls would have any energy left to cook anything, so I brought you this as a congratulating gift.”

“Y/n…” A swift whisper was the only thing that she could get out of her lips, her eyes scanning you up and down, until it hit her. “YOU ARE SOAKING WET!”

“...Yes.” You shrunk your arms as you lowered the bags of food, a little heavy to keep carrying them up. “I thought it wouldn't be such a big deal, it never rains in the first days of spring. I was cruelly proved wrong.”

“Please come in! Warm up!” She insisted. 

“No! Don’t worry about it, I just got out of work so I’m just passing by quickly on my way home.” You shook your head, chuckling at the whole situation. You noticed the heads of the rest of her members start popping up from behind her, curious at the scene. “I wouldn’t want you to take care of this right now, you all must be tired. I’ll just go back to the car for something...”

Jinsoul’s mind lit up a thousand ideas on it’s own, cornering her into making a decision. She turned around, to which the other girls quickly averted their gaze somewhere else.

“Hyejoo!” She called loudly.

“WhAT?” She snapped her head towards you two, sinking her body farther on the couch.

“Come here!”

“Unnieeeeee!” She whined, covering her face with her arms. “WHy ME?!”

“Do you want food or not?!” Jinsoul grabbed one of the bags and shaked it up almost like a prize to a well trained pet.

You chuckled at the exchange, not really surprised, since you hung out with them fairly often. A silent pause filled the air as you watched the girl on the far end of the hallway heavily raise her body from the couch.

“I’m coming!” She groaned. Hyejoo offered you a smile and a nod in her usual way of greeting as she took one bag on each hand, her tired eyes moving back and forth between you and Jinsoul. 

Sensing the tension in between both of you, she politely bowed at you and rushed back into the house, as Jinsoul grabbed a coat from the hanger on the side of the door and quickly put it on.

“Let’s go!” She gasped as she grabbed the nob behind her.

“What are you doing? You’re going to get soaked!” You tried holding her back, but hesitated into touching her to not wet her with your dripping clothes. “I just have to grab something from the car, bring it and I’m out, I swear”

“Well, maybe you want some company on the way down the stairs?” She shrugged as she crossed her arms over her chest, evading your eyes as she started to regret her ideas one by one. “My… company?”

Your cheeks reddened at the sight of a flustered Jinsoul in front of you, and with her eyes sparkling back at you, you could never deny you loved her company every second you could.

“S- Sure.” You stuttered, getting caught by surprise when she intertwined her arm with yours. “You’re going to get we-”

“It doesn’t matter.” She cut you up plainly. 

The rest of the way down the stairs was strangely quiet and quick. You wanted to ask her how everything went, maybe how you weren’t able to get her out of your mind for the last three weeks since you last saw each other. She was very serious and you thought it was because she was really tired. Totally understandable after a month and a half of promotions. 

But inside of her she was trying to build a courage that she didn’t even know she had in her. 

Opening the door to the main building, you managed to free yourself from her hold. Together you stood under the roof of the porch as you sighed, mentally preparing yourself to brace the rain once again. Uselessly, you raised the soaked hood on your jacket up to your head as you walked down the stairs as Jinsoul was already exploding with a thousand words to say.

“Y/n!” 

She shouted as you were already halfway, immediately regretting her decision when she saw you halting and turning, standing and waiting for her to keep talking right under the pouring rain.

“I- I like you!” She felt her body almost giving up under her when the words spluttered out of her mouth. Her hands were shaking as she waited for your response, but she could only see your eyes squinting back.

“What!?” You had barely listened to her words under the loud rain surrounding you, and of course it didn’t help that Jinsoul barely whispered them.

Jinsoul's eyes shut as she shook her head. Maybe later that night she would grow to regret what she was about to do, but it wasn’t everyday that she got an opportunity like the one in front of her. 

She stepped out of the porch, each step getting her closer and closer to you as she crossed her arms on top of her chest. But all she could do against the nerves rattling her body was to keep spitting words that just came into her mind.

“Look, I didn’t want to tell you this way. I didn’t even think that I was going to tell you today, soon or ever to be honest, but here we are.” She started. Rings of waves expanding away from her feet touching the surface of the crystal water, distorting her own image as she shook her head away from it. “I have been dreaming each and every night, every nap, and every second it’s you. You’re there and it’s something that makes me happy. It makes me wish that I didn’t have to wake up.”

“Jinsoul-”

“And one can only bear so much without wondering what it all means. Why do I count the hours of everyday just to be able to hear your voice through the phone or receive a text from you?” She was closing in on you, and the least of her worries right now was the rain pouring on top of her, she just wanted to get everything out of her mind. “But it’s your colors that bring me peace at night, they let me find my way through the dark… This doesn’t make any sense, why would you know what all of this means if I don’t?!”

Only then she dared look up at you, only to be met with a painting coming straight out of her dreams.

The drops illuminated the emptiness around, each of them turning into a star, reflecting the street light around as they froze in space and shined with this cyan hue over them. And there you were in the middle of it all, the way the rain of stars looked like it jumped around you. The blue glow landing and perfecting your silhouette, as it cooled down your skin and painted your cheeks purple. It was only you in front of her, bearing that smile that wrinkles your eyes that she loved so much.

“Why are you smiling at me?” She shrunk in her place, just hoping that a miracle happened and you weren't able to listen to everything she just splurged out of her mouth. “It was nothing, really-”

“Oh Jinsoul.” You chuckled, capturing her attention. She noticed a ring of light all around you pulsating in shades of blue, that illuminated enough so you could see each other, as if the rest of the void wasn’t there. Her breath halted as your hand cupped her cheek, the warmth of your skin roaming down to her neck. “Because I know what you’re talking about.”

“What?” She let her arms fall down to her side as layer behind layer started to fade from her soul, bringing her closer to you. “You understand?”

“Every word of it.” You whispered, a secret well kept between two souls that waited for each other mere inches apart. “I thought I was the only one that couldn’t get you out of my mind.”

“That means…”

“Jinsoul, I like you too. I have for a long time!” You giggled through your tired breath, holding your arms to the sky. “And I have dreamed that I told you this a hundred times already but still woke up and everything was exactly the same!”

“There’s a way to know if it is a dream or not…” She gasped, her mind clearing for the first time since this crush on you muddied her thoughts. The rattling ideas in her brain urgently raced to her heart, accelerating its beats. She squinted her eyes, hoping that you didn’t realize how much they moved their focus from your eyes to your lips and from your lips to your eyes. 

“And what is that?” 

“Because if this is a dream, I wouldn’t be able to do this.”

Jinsoul launched herself into your arms, her hands cupping your face as her lips urgently closed the gap on yours. Startled at first, you body tensed up taking a step back to counter her body weight over yours. But just as moved away from you, your arms hurried to her waist, bringing her back to you.

She was right that other night, your lips tasted like apple juice and peach, a sweet combination that she could never be tired of tasting for the rest of her life. Your skin was as soft and tender under her touch, with the tips of her fingers tingling like if they were gracing down a silk made rainbow. 

And your eyes, how she could stare at them forever. It was just for a second that you pulled apart for air, but it was just enough for her to notice all the variety of colored nebulas and stars that shined on them only for her.

How could she convince herself it wasn’t a dream? The cold wetness of the rain dripping down both your bodies, fighting with the warmth of your embrace, it was not comparable to the ghostly sensations that dreams offered her.

“You know-” You sighed, anything in the world unable to erase the smile off your face. “I think I will accept your offer of coming in and warming up.”

“Yeah,” She chuckled back, shyness returning into her face as she loosened her grip over you. “It doesn’t sound like a bad idea right now.”

You offered your hand to her, and she didn’t hesitate a second as she intertwined her fingers with yours. Not forgetting the last bag of food waiting on your car, you chuckled as you returned to the safe, warm and dry interior of her dorm. 

She could stop staring back at you, making sure you were still there by her side, and no one around tried to wake her up and away from in any way.

Because for once, her thoughts weren’t cloudy or cluttered, but bright and surrounded in a blue hue that always seemed to follow you around in the night. Maybe for the first time, Jinsoul was sure what her favorite color was.

[imagine-lcorp]

Written In The Stars (One Shot)

Request

Hi! Can I request something like Lena falling in love with an alien reader?

A/N: Hey guys!!! First one shot of the year!!! Let’s hope we can keep the rhythm this time...also I broke my phone so I’ll probably be less active on the app...the writing is still going tho so yaaay! Anyway, I hope you enjoy this one and as always, let me know what you think! Love ya beautiful people! 

Lena Luthor x Alien!R//Word Count: 2,204 -------------------------------------------------------

When she was younger, Lena Luthor used to look at the night sky with infinite awe. The map of stars that hung above the Earth had been the place where she could find solace and a sense of peace. The stars were never alone, always needing one another to form their constellations. They reminded her she was also not alone even if it seemed like it.

However, as she grew up most of that wonder translated into scientific interest, which started to diminish as she found herself enthralled by more practical sciences. The sky, as vast as it was, was a mystery she recognized she couldn't unravel in her lifetime. She needed to focus on more earthly things, but she was content to be another curious viewer of such canvas of light.

Being a curious viewer, however, was something that changed abruptly when the existence of extraterrestrial life was proven by no other than Superman. Even more when it was known the Earth had been a refuge for many more aliens than it was possible to believe. The stars had reached the Earth, and they came bearing their own cosmic forms of life.

The population had been divided between those that accepted and welcomed the space travelers and those that rejected the idea, defending their right to their land and planet, fearful of an unstoppable invasion, living with the enemy and whatnot. For a while, Lena found the latter to be a matter of great concern. She wanted people to feel safe and believed they had the right to know who among them was or not an alien.

It wasn't until Kara came to knock that idea off, presenting her with an alternative story and reminding her that those aliens too had a right to their own freedom. She opened her eyes to the reality most of them lived. They were mmigrants of desolated planets, seeking shelter from wars and just like Superman, seeking a new home after their planets had been shattered. There were a few bad seeds, yes, but most of them were only looking for a better life. Wasn't that enough to give them a vote of confidence?

Her alien detection device was then transformed into an image inducer, a new gadget that helped aliens conceal their true appearance if they wished to look physically human. It was great to blend with the crowd, and it was a great success in the alien market.

"Miss Luthor, Kara Danvers is waiting for you in the conference room." Jess told her one day as she arrived to the office.

"Kara?" She found herself surprised by the sudden visit of the journalist. "Does she want another interview?"

"No, she has come along with someone else. She said she only needed a few minutes with you."

"Alright." Lena said leaving her purse on her desk and taking a couple of files from Jess to revise them later. "Let's see what it is."

Lena Luthor entered her conference room to find two figures chatting amicably at the room table. One she could recognize immediately, with her golden locks and bright smile, the other she had no idea who it was but as soon as your eyes were on her she was curious to find out.

"Lena!" Kara said rising from her chair, with you following suit. "Thank you for meeting us in such short notice. We promise not to take too much of your time."

"Kara, of course. How can I help?"

"Well, actually, I would like to introduce you to (Y/N) (Y/L/N)." At the mention of your name, you stepped forward, extending your hand to Lena. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Luthor."  

"Lena, please." She said taking your hand.

"Then, please, call me (Y/N)." You said with a firm grip and a kind smile, something rare for Lena to see during those days.

"(Y/N) is the leader of an alien race residing in National City." Kara continued with a proud stance.

"Is that so?" Lena replied with a raised eyebrow and the hint of a smirk on her lips. "Is (Y/N) your real name?"

Lena's words prompted a chuckle from you, and you decided to clarify before there were any misunderstandings.

"It's my chosen Earth name. I don't think you have enough tongues to be able to pronounce the real one." You said with a playful smile. "Also, I wouldn't go that far. I am what you would call a representative, and it is of a small group only. Miss Danvers here is just too kind."

"She is, indeed." Her smile only grew bigger as she saw Kara fail to conceal a little pout.

"Well, you're still a great representative." Kara said.

"But to what do I own the honor of you visit?" Lena said gesturing to you to take your seats again. Kara smiled at you and moved along with you towards your seats.

"Right." You said pulling a small box from your jacket. "I'm here to deliver this."

Lena took the little box from your extended palm, her curiosity growing as she inspected its contents. Inside she found a little black matte icosahedron, nothing extraordinary by the looks of it.

"What is this?" She finally asked.

"The alien community wanted to thank you for creating the image inducer. It has helped a lot of people, especially those of us that don't exactly fit into the human shape." You started to explain as she inspected it.

After the launch of her device, Lena recalled, the company had received countless letters and e-mails, most of them in gratitude for helping the aliens in National City as they were still fighting for acceptance within the human population. It helped them find jobs, housing and places to be without having to worry about their looks or if other people reacted negatively to them. It helped them feel safe.

Only then Lena understood the impact it had on other's peoples lives and how her work had helped them accomplish that.

"So this is a thank you gift." You moved your hand and placed a finger on one side of the icosahedron.

Lena was startled as the other sides of the new device in her hand started to open. Suddenly the room was filled with a clear colorful light, but it was more than that. It was lines and spheres and points and spirals well defined. It took her a moment to realize what it was but Lena found herself looking around the conference room with a fascination she thought she had long lost. As the conversation followed, you explained Lena the device in her hand was a space chart. It contained information about several planetary systems, their galaxies and stars, and common routes to reach them, you said as if it was nothing but a travel guide.

Lena turned her eyes towards you a few seconds later, ready to declare her own gratitude when she noticed your expression. You were staring at a far corner of the room, not with the usual distant look of a daydreamer or that of someone who has lost interest in the present moment. You were looking with intention and, more than that, with longing in your eyes.

"It's wonderful. Thank you." Lena finally said, pulling you out of your thoughts. You blinked a few times before the smile returned to your face.

"If you ever wish to know a bit more about what's out there, you can always consult it and if you need help navigating it, I'll be more than happy to help."

Lena thought about it for a moment more. While she had long ago left her intentions of unraveling the skies, she saw a chance within those stars. This was the opportunity she had been hoping to find in National City. If she could gain the trust of the alien community, she would be able to expand her work and better help not only them but the whole city. To help put the world back together instead of tearing it apart. She was more grateful then to you, for giving her that chance.

Besides, she thought, it was also a chance to fulfill her curiosity about you.

It wasn't long after that meeting that you were back at her office, teaching her how to use the space chart. Her attention bouncing from the lines of stars and planets to understanding the technology behind the device. While her studies on science and astronomy made it easy for her to identify the structure and functioning of the chart, and the several celestial bodies it showed, she still had to learn how to translate that into terms she knew and relearn the names people used to refer to their own planets and stars. You did your best trying to explain how both things worked, which she highly appreciated.

As days passed, Lena took a new liking to your teachings which turned into more personal reunions. You didn't limit yourself to talking just about stars or planets but about the different cultures that inhabited them. Mentions of your home planet became more regular and you even used it to contrast the big differences between Earth and the rest of worlds you had known. Lena was delighted to indulge in such conversations, taking in as much as it was possible.

The way you talked about your home planet, your country, if such concept even applied, your family, your house, everything, was enough for her to look at you with the same awe she used to look at the stars when she was younger. She knew she wouldn't get to know all the stars in the universe but just knowing you, she thought, made up for it all.

"The sunsets there were hours of golden light washing over the citadel, and the nights were, oh, the night was too beautiful with its waves of light across the sky." You told her one day as you both had finished one of your reunions.

You were leaning against Lena's balcony, both of you observing the sun go down behind the city skyline.

"You know, I don't think you have ever showed me where you're from." Lena said, crossing her arms and taking a step towards you, seizing the opportunity. You had showed Lena at least dozens of planets, especially those closest to Earth's solar system but yours, for everything you talked about it, somehow still remained a mystery.

Lena felt a slight pang in her chest as she saw the smile in your face turn sad.

"No, I suppose I haven't." You said and after a moment, where you seemed to ponder a few options, you moved your head, signaling Lena to follow you back inside her office.

You took the space chart from her desk, activating it and moving your hands again until the hologram in the room moved, showing a single planet in the center of the room. You took a few steps back and gestured to Lena to take a closer to look at it.

"Here it is."

The planet, surrounded by seven moons, was a very Jupiter look-a-like. Lena was instantly enthralled by the colors and the stripes, swirls and waves that formed the planet's atmosphere. The hologram displayed a name in a language Lena certainly didn't know and that made her wonder just how many tongues she would need to pronounce it correctly.

"It's beautiful." Lena said, still looking at it.

"It was." You replied, and she turned to look at you with a confused frown and a question clear in her face.  

You moved the chart once more, reducing the image to show the whole system your planet used to be a part of.

Lena saw other nine planets but only one caught her attention as its name was being displayed in an alphabet she actually recognized.

"Krypton." She whispered, eyes widening in shock.

Everyone already knew the story. How the almighty Kryptonians had traveled to Earth when their own planet had been destroyed. But no one, including her, had thought too much about what it had meant for the rest of their own little universe. Lena imagined it then, an explosion setting a chain reaction. Not only one but several worlds shattered, with their people trying to escape the path of destruction.

Lena's eyes landed on you once more, finally understanding the longing she had once seen in your own eyes. She also knew, in some way, what it was to lose your home. So she approached you, slowly taking your hand and muttering an apology, for whatever little comfort it could give you.

"It's alright." You said looking intently at her with a reassuring smile. "I found a new home."

"And I'm glad you found it here."

You made her feel at home, Lena thought and, as she smiled back at you, she thanked the stars for giving you both the chance to find a home along each other, and hopefully, one day, a home for you both.