#i mean is there anything more human than that?

[mononijikayu]

already gone – gojo satoru.

(manga spoilers for chapter 261)

His eyes flicked to yours, a flicker of pain and understanding passing between you. In that moment, you both knew that there would be no going back to the way things were. The choices made here would haunt you, but you also knew that you would face the future together, bound by the shared weight of your decisions and the unspoken promise of support.

GENRE: shinjiku showdown arc (spoilers for chapter 261)

WARNING/S: domesticity, fluff, angst, trauma, implied death, violence, romance, hurt/comfort, character death depiction of death, depictions of loss and depression, depiction of blood, depiction of killing, depiction of suffering, depiction of anxiety, mention of death, mention of grief, profanity, family drama;

LISTEN: already gone by sleeping at last

NOTE: im mourning so hard, i haven't stopped crying. but i cried more because i can't imagine how my oc would feel considering genmei views satoru as her lifeline. im not even at that part of the story writing, but genmei would be hit hard. she wouldnt be able to move on. she wouldn't be able to stop crying either. but i needed to write this, to get the emotional brunt off my chest. i hope that this comforts you a little as it did with me. i love you all. hugs for everyone.

masterlist

u s and t h e m

THERE REALLY WAS NO GOING BACK FROM THIS. You and Satoru sat alone amidst the aftermath, the bodies of the higher-ups lying around you, a grim testament to the brutal reality you both faced. 

The silence was heavy, a suffocating weight that pressed down on your chest as you stared at the carnage. The acrid scent of blood and death hung in the air, mingling with the faint metallic tang that coated your tongue. Each breath felt like an effort, the gravity of what had transpired settling over you like a dark cloud.

Satoru, usually so carefree and unbothered, looked uncharacteristically solemn. His usually bright, mischievous eyes were shadowed with emotions embroiling into a chaotic harmony. 

He sat close to you, his hand resting on the ground beside yours, fingers almost brushing but not quite. The unspoken connection between you had always been palpable. Even when both of you were a bit younger. It was if anything, even when you both lost Suguru, a thin thread of solace in the midst of the horror.

You glanced at Satoru, seeking some form of reassurance, but his gaze was fixed on the bodies, his jaw clenched tight. The weight of the recent events bore down on you both, the decisions made, the lives taken, all swirling in a chaotic maelstrom of regret and necessity. 

There was no other choice. Not when there was such little time, when there was no way you would leave this for the kids to wrap up. It was a moment where the true cost of your responsibilities became painfully clear, the price paid in blood and sacrifice. This is all that will secure the future.

Satoru finally broke the silence, his voice low and rough. "We did what we had to." he said, more to himself than to you, as if trying to convince himself of the necessity of their actions. “Don’t think too much.”

You nodded, though your heart ached with the truth of his words. "I know." you replied, your voice barely above a whisper. "But after all this time, I thought it would be easier.”

You did think it was easier. You knew what it was like to kill human beings. The act of taking a life was not foreign to you; it had been part of your existence as a jujutsu sorcerer for as long as you could remember. The initial shock and horror of it had dulled over time, replaced by a grim acceptance of necessity. Each death was a means to an end, a way to protect the innocent, to rid the world of curses, to maintain balance. Yet, today felt different.

The bodies of the higher-ups lay sprawled around you, their lifeless eyes staring blankly at the ceiling. These were not faceless enemies or malevolent curses; these were people you had known, some for years. Their ambitions, their fears, their humanity—it all lay exposed in the finality of their deaths. You and Satoru had made a choice, one born out of desperation and the need for a new order, but the cost of that choice now weighed heavily on your soul.

You have always been able to justify your actions in the past. Each kill had been a step toward a greater good, a necessary evil in the grand scheme of things. But this? This felt like a betrayal of the very essence of what you stood for. These were your peers, your allies, albeit flawed and corrupt. The distinction between right and wrong blurred, leaving you adrift in a sea of moral ambiguity.

Satoru's hand tightened around yours, a silent anchor in the storm of your thoughts. His presence was a reminder that you were not alone in this, that he too bore the weight of what you had done. You glanced at him, searching for some semblance of solace in his expression. His face was a mask of determination, but his eyes—those piercing blue eyes—betrayed a depth of sorrow that mirrored your own.

His eyes flicked to yours, a flicker of pain and understanding passing between you. In that moment, you both knew that there would be no going back to the way things were. The choices made here would haunt you, but you also knew that you would face the future together, bound by the shared weight of your decisions and the unspoken promise of support.

“Hm, it doesn’t.”

Silence engulfs you both.

Your eyes flared downward.

A sigh passes through your lips.

"It's not in you to have liked to do this." you finally said, breaking the silence. Your voice trembled with the weight of unspoken emotions, the sorrow churning in layers unknown. “To decide the upper floors had to go.”

Satoru sighed, his gaze fixed on the horizon, a faraway look in his eyes. "We had no choice," he replied, his voice devoid of its usual lightheartedness. "We have no more time to indulge in the future."

There was so much you wanted to say, so many arguments and pleas that burned on the tip of your tongue. But the words refused to come, trapped in the maelstrom of your conflicted heart. Satoru seemed to sense your turmoil, turning to face you, his piercing blue eyes searching yours.

"Just say it," he urged gently. "Tell me how you hate me for what Yuuta and I agreed to do, should I lose to Sukuna."

You met his gaze, the pain and love in your eyes reflected in his own. "I do hate you," you whispered, the confession tearing at your soul. "Because I love you too much."

Satoru's expression softened, and he stood, walking over to you. He pulled you into his arms, his embrace warm and comforting. "The loss of me will pass," he murmured against your hair, his breath warm on your skin. “Hm? You will always move forward. You have to.”

You clung to him, the thought of losing him more than you could bear. "You say it as it is. I had to. Not because I wanted to.”

He laughs a little, echoes of guilt layered among it.. “But you will this time too.”

This is what you think you hated the most about Satoru. How settled he was in his ways, how stubborn he was with his plan. It was a means to an end. As long as it brought down the system, he didn’t care about what happened. As long as his students lived, he didn’t care. And yet you wondered, what he would leave you with. 

How much emptiness, how much grief he would let you settle for years and years — because he cared more about the world he wanted to build. In a way, you loved Satoru too much. You loved him so much you went against the world you had always known.

You had a dream of a normal life. Once when Kaiko and Namie were alive. Once with Shoko, Suguru and Satoru. When all you had left was Satoru, you were determined to live for him. 

But you never gave up on that dream That you would have that white picket fence life. That you would raise a family. That you would grow old with him. But you should have known. You should have known that he was too far gone for you to reach. 

Even with all the love that was between you, you should have known that love would not be enough to bring him back to life. Gojo Satoru had decided that love was a curse. And he lived by it. Geto Suguru had given it to him. 

And he had accepted it. And since that day, you knew that he would have never let it go. Yet, what right do you have to judge him for it? You felt the same, when Kaiko died. And you never looked back. 

“I loved you too much to let you just be a passerby in my life," you finally  said, your voice breaking. "I've lost too much already, Satoru. But…. but to lose you would break me."

He held you tighter, his voice steady and resolute. "You have to be strong, for me and for everyone, y’know that." he said. "They'll need you when I'm gone."

His words cut deep, but you knew he was right. The world would keep turning. The sun would keep moving forward. The march of time, the echo of life would not change. It will go on and on. Even without him. People would need you to be there, to fight for them, to protect them. But the thought of a world without him was a dark, hollow void in your life, in your heart. In your soul. More tears flowed in your eyes. 

Memories echoed in your head, as though they were just reels of your life in a picture show. You knew he could see it too, as though his six-eyes could see it as painfully as you could. As clearly as possible. Eleven years of life, motioned into small moments. Small  moments that encompassed your whole world. Because he was your world. He was your whole world. 

2011

You and Satoru spent a day at the beach, the sun high in the sky and the ocean waves crashing gently against the shore. He chased you along the sand, laughter bubbling up as you tried to escape his playful grasp. When he finally caught you, he lifted you up and spun you around, both of you dizzy with happiness.

You collapsed onto the sand together, breathless and smiling. "I wish we could stay here forever," you said, looking out at the endless horizon.

He squeezed your hand, his voice soft and sincere. "We can always come back. This place will always be here for us. We’ll bring Megumi and Tsumiki with us next time too.”

You smile back at him. “I’d like that, Satoru. More than you know.”

2013

One quiet night, you both lay on a blanket under a canopy of stars, the world around you silent and still. Satoru pointed out constellations, his voice a soothing murmur in the darkness.

"There's Orion," he said, tracing the outline with his finger. "And over there is Cassiopeia."

You nestled closer to him, feeling the steady rise and fall of his chest. "Do you think we'll always have moments like this?" you asked softly.

He wrapped an arm around you, his voice filled with certainty. "Always. No matter what happens, we'll always find our way back to each other."

2014

Your New Year's together that year was magical. You stood on a rooftop, watching fireworks light up the night sky. The colors exploded in brilliant patterns, reflecting in Satoru's eyes as he pulled you close.

"Happy New Year," he whispered, his lips brushing against yours in a tender kiss.

"Happy New Year," you replied, feeling a sense of hope and excitement for the future. "Let's make this year unforgettable."

He smiled, his arms wrapped securely around you. "Every year with you will be unforgettable."

“You guys make me sick.” Megumi whispered under his breath, taking a bite out of his cake. 

“Megumi, don’t say that! They’re in love.” Tsumiki says, smiling at the sight of you and Satoru.

You both could only laugh.

2017

In the quiet of the night, you and Satoru sat together, your hearts heavy with grief for the loss of Suguru. The weight of his absence hung in the air like a tangible presence, a reminder of the sacrifices made in the name of duty and honor.

Satoru's normally bright eyes were dimmed with sorrow, his shoulders slumped with the weight of the burden he carried. You reached out, gently taking his hand in yours, offering what little comfort you could in the face of such profound loss.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, his voice choked with emotion. "I had to do it. I had no choice."

You squeezed his hand, offering silent understanding and support. "I know," you replied softly. "It wasn't easy, but you did what had to be done. Suguru understood that."

Tears welled in Satoru's eyes as he leaned into your embrace, seeking solace in the warmth of your presence. In that moment of shared sorrow, you held each other close, finding strength in your love and the knowledge that you would always be there for one another, no matter what trials lay ahead.

Satoru pulled back slightly, his eyes meeting yours with a sorrowful intensity. "Remember all the things we wanted?" he began softly. "Now all our memories, they're haunted."

Tears welled in your eyes as his words resonate deeply within you. "We were always meant to say goodbye." you whispered, your voice trembling. 

"Even with our fists held high, it never would have worked out right," he continued, his voice barely above a whisper. "We were never meant for do or die, darling."

A sob escaped your lips, and you shook your head. "I didn't want us to burn out, Satoru" you said, your voice breaking. "I didn't come here to hurt you now. I don't want to hurt you. But now I.... I can't stop."

Satoru gently cupped your face, his thumbs wiping away your tears. "I want you to know that it doesn't matter where we take this road. Someone's gotta go."

His words cut through you like a knife, the finality of it all hitting you hard. "It doesn't have to be you."

He smiles shaking his head.

"And I want you to know you couldn't have loved me better," he said, his voice full of love and regret. "But I want you to move on, so I'm already gone."

“How do I do it?” You sobbed to him. “Without you?”

“You can.” He presses a kiss against your nose. “And you will.”

“You were meant to grow old with me.” You croaked to him.

"But now you’ll do it for me. For the both of us, hm? Live a long life." Satoru shakes his head, his voice gentle but firm. "Keep Gakuganji in check. You know that old geezer can’t be trusted to keep the straight line.”

“Satoru….”

“Keep the jujutsu world at peace on my behalf.”

You shake your head against his chest.

You hit your arms against his figure.

Infinity was always down when it was you.

“Live long so that you have stories to tell me."

You buried your face in his chest, your tears soaking into his shirt. "I hate you!" you repeated, the words laced with anguish. “I really really hate you.”

He laughed sadly, a bittersweet sound that echoed in the empty space around you. "I know, darling." he said softly, pressing a kiss to your temple. "I know."

In that moment, you both understood the depth of your bond, the unspoken promises and the inevitable heartache that lay ahead. But for now, you held onto each other, finding solace in the shared pain and the love that had brought you together.

When you let him go that day, you knew.

You would have to wait until you were gray.

You looked at Shoko and you shook your head.

Your eyes were too red to even look one last time..

As far as you were concerned, he was already gone.

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

AITA for defending infodumping as a concept?

so I don't think I'm the asshole here but I would like to read different perspectives. i had a conversation with a not so close friend and I said that small talk was ableist because it's weaponized against neurodivergent ppl especially autistic ppl.

i'm autistic and I looove infodumping, it's a love language, if I find something interesting I want to share with ppl I care about.

my friend said that small talk isn't more ableist than infodumping. i asked her why she would say something like that and she said she has some kind of personality disorder that makes her think that ppl are looking down on her or something, I don't know exactly. so if a person infodumps and turns a convo into a monologue she feels like she can't make her voice heard and that she's less important or somthing and if the person infodumps about something she already knows about she feels that the person think she's clueless/ignorant and it can often come across as bossy.

I said that that's completely different, infodumping isn't to show we're so smart or anything and it isn't weaponized, and it's frankly really mean to autistic ppl to call it ableist.

she said it wasn't ableist but neither was smalltalk, and the latter can be kind and caring too. I think there's a huuuuge difference tho... as I said, infodumping is to spread happiness and knowledge while small talk is just to test others to see how well they perform humanity or whatever.

[wp-blaze]

A Note on Memories: Birthday Cakes Made by Mom

There is nothing more perfect than a mother that spends hours crafting a magical birthday with every cent and ounce of time she can spare.

[dazaiandhislovelybandages]

Every Corner Of This House Is Haunted {Gojo Satoru}

A/n: It doesn't contain spoilers for the recent manga chapters

Pairing: Gojo x fem!reader

Trigger warnings: mentions of death

Every normal couple goes through tough times. Some worse than others.

The only problem with you and Gojo was that you were far from a normal couple. A jujutsu sorcerer and a commoner. The strongest and... well a normal person.

For the first few months of your relationship Gojo wouldn't tell you anything. All you knew was that he was getting paid a lot of money. Later on, he started to tell you a few cryptic things but nothing serious enough to worry you. It didn't take you long, however, to put two and two together and that was when the 'fights' began.

They were never anything serious, just petty things that could be resolve withing a day if not a few hours -Gojo is a clingy man afterall.

Until today.

No matter how many times the two of you had argued, not once had you slept separetely. You didn't live together but whether the arguement was through the phone or in person, Gojo always made sure that you would sleep in the same bed.

But now you were in his bed, in his apartment and Gojo was in the living room.

Not once had you seen him this angry and it made you even angrier. So now you were left there, laying in bed, hugging one of the extra pillows he had which was now soaked in tears.

On the other hand, Gojo was half sitting half laying on the white couch, looking at the ceiling. He could understand that whatever happened was his fault but the rest... He knew that you would never understand the life of a sorcerer, let alone his life so he always tried to keep things lighthearted, he would bring you souvenirs from his trips and all kinds of things. He really was the perfect boyfriend when it involved taking care of someone else.

When it came to take care of himself...

The strongest was lacking.

That was also how the arguement started.

There were some days when you had deemed it important for Gojo to talk to you about whatever bothered him. And today he made the mistake of telling you about some... plans he had in case things in the future were to take a turn for the worse.

"You cannot be serious!"

"I am."

When it came to his job Gojo could get worse than Nanami.

"Satoru, if you die, I expect your body back, and whatever mind or soul or whatever in there too."

"You will get a body but," He let out a sigh and took a step back. "Forget I ever said that, I'll go take a shower."

"Oh yes right! Avoid explaining why you are willing to let them use your body if it means winning."

"I didn't mean to say it. It doesn't matter okay? Forget I ever said anything."

"Suguru and I were and are the only ones treating you as a human and you are about to shut me out once again because you're used to being seen as nothing more than a weapon. But hey, forget I ever said anything, Satoru."

That phrase was what led you in the situation you were in right now.

This was the only time you weren't sure if you actually had the guts to apologise to him. You meant what you had said and you weren't going to take it back because he had to hear this from someone. But you knew the moment you would come face to face with him again, you would burst out crying.

You couldn't take the look in his eyes out of your mind. He looked hurt, he looked confused, he looked angry... all in one. And it was heartbreaking because him being sad and angry was normal but confused?

"I am... sorry." His voice was what you heard first and then the door opened slowly and he walked in. The whole room smelled like his cologne and... "Come on, talk to me," you felt the matress shift beside you and without putting any thought to it, you moved to the side so he could lay there as well.

"I am sorry," you whispered.

"Nothing to be sorry about, sweetheart."

You could swear it was muscle memory at this point because you turning around to face him and Gojo wrapping his arms around you were in perfect sync.

"I love you, I just-"

"Shh," his big hand found the top of your neck while the other rubbed circles on your back. "I love you too. In fact."

"Oh no," you giggled. Gojo hated keeping the conversations between the two of you serious.

"I love you so much that I will buy us some galvanized square steel, eco-friendly wood veneers and I'll borrow screws from that weird aunt I have and we'll expand this house."

"You don't speak to any of your relatives Satoru."

[puppetmaster13u]

Hear Me Out

Yokai Amity. What are yokai? Japanese spirits. And not just ghosts, a majority of mythical creatures? Yokai.

So how did this happen? Well, like most things, it can be blamed on the ghost portal in the Fenton Basement. And a lot of ecto contamination. Because while they're a small city? They're also in the middle of nowhere, meaning a lot of their foods and crops, they grow themselves. And the ectoplasm? Started sinking into the ground first. Y'know, where every plant grows and then both humans and animals proceed to eat it? Made even worse when those like Overgrowth or Vortex came through? Yeaah, it'd be a miracle if they didn't get contaminated and no surprise that most don't notice their humanity slipping with time with how it's happening to everyone.

Which kind of makes the situation Danny has found himself kind of hilarious? At least to him. The trenchcoat dude seems to be having an aneurism or something similar.

"So... not a meta?" the tiny vigilante child clarified again, head tilting from where he stood at the head of his group. Honestly Danny was enjoying this from his place sprawled across the park bench Honestly Amity had spoiled him with benches designed for extra limbs.

The blonde man seemed absolutely done with everything, hands twitching as though about to cradle his head in his hands or grab something. "No," he wasn't shouting but it was close. "For fuck's sake- your all lucky not to be cursed or worse-" He turned towards Danny. "Why the fuck didn't you?"

The hainu shrugged, wings doing more of the motion than the rest of him. "They're babies-" Or at least one of them was, borderline liminal as they were. "You play along with toddlers." Honestly he saw why his old rogues found this fun, even if he'd never go as far as they did.

The entire team of vigilante children bristled, one opening their mouth to protest before trenchcoat-soul-dude glared at them all before turning back towards him.

"Though what the fuck do you need that for that you'd steal it- not that any artifact like that should be in a bloody museum and not locked away where idiots can't get to it."

He snorted, the sound more dog-like. Or really more yeti-like, what with how he was taking lessons from Frostbite which meant large chunks of time in the Far Frozen.

"Technically I don't need it, my kid does," Danny held up a finger, marveling slightly at the clouds. It was quite different compared to Amity, what with how everywhere was so ecto-infused that the sky was effected.

"And what does a hainu need with-" the trenchcoat man motioned to the cursed object, which honestly wasn't that bad. But...

"Oh no, he's not a hainu, he's furaribi." Danny honestly wasn't surprised that Jordan wouldn't turn out the same as he, de-aged or not. Not that he was memory-less or anything, cores didn't lose that easily, but he did still have the physical brain of a child.

"Adopted?"

"Nope," he hummed, going over the list of things he still had to do today before returning to Amity. Sam had asked him to get a few more flowers to test how ecto would effect them and he had to pick up some computer parts for Tuck.

"How the fuck."

"My sister's a kitsune, my other sister is a shirouneri, my mom is a shishi, my dad a baku, godfather's an itachi, my boyfriend a raiju, my girlfriend a kirin, and my other girlfriend a yosuzume," he ticked off his fingers, not seeing anything wrong with it. Not like people could get into Amity easily after the whole GIW thing.

"... what the fuck does your family tree look like, mate, because that should be bloody impossible."

Danny shrugged, giving a sharp toothed smile. Yeah, the realms didn't care about that with how malleable ecto was.

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

(In case it's not clear: Hainu Danny, Furaribi Dan, Kitsune Jazz, Shirouneri Danny, Lion Dog Maddie, Baku Jack, Itachi Vlad, Raiju Tucker, Kirin Sam & Yosuzume Valerie) (Also feel free to come up with what everyone else might be) (Highly recommend yokai.com for a quick summary of each creature)

[writers-potion]

No, you’re NOT a real reader. I’m so sick of all these people that think they’re readers. No, you’re not. Most of you are not even close to being readers. I see these people saying “I read over 52 books this year! That's one book a week. I'm so smart!” that’s nothing, most of us can easily read 176 books or more in a year. I see people who've only read Daniel Green and claim to be readers. Come talk to me when you pick up Atlas Shrugged, then maybe we can be friends. Also DEAR ALL WOMEN: Fantasy is not a real genre. Romance is not a real genre. Omegaverse is not a real genre. Forced Proximity is not a real genre. Romantasy is not a real genre. Coleen Hoover is NOT. A. REAL. WRITER. put down the baby books and read something that makes your brains hurt for once. Stephanie Meyer and Jane Austin don't count. :) Sincerely, all of the ACTUAL readers.

I don't know where to start, because you've called me out on too many occasions in this paragraph. Here are my (probably unpopular) thoughts on this:

Agreed that the sheer AMOUNT of books you read doesn't make you a good reader - it's what you understand/learn/feel about them that gives you the right to comment properly on a book.

Excuse me but fantasy and romance are genres??

Omegaverse, forced proximity and romantasy are subgenres/tropes in romance that I don't have anything against. If you don't like romance in general, well no wonder you don't like them.

Jane Austen was the author that got me into reading classics. What the hell do you mean when you say she doesn't count???!!

Stephanie Meyer - okay, the first book in the Twilight series wasn't bad, the rest went downhill....don't like her much but I can see why she's popular...

For me, as long as you read, you're a reader.

I believe the purpose of reading (apart from being entertained) is to expand our horizons, step into someone else's head and look into how others see the world. Throughout my reading journey, I've learnt to be better than to judge others on the honestly quite narrow subset of the human experience I've had.

Sure, not all books/genres are "helpful" per se. But novels are meant to allow readers to experience a diverse range of emotions that they otherwise wouldn't, and if reading give someone pleasure, why not? Even though I personally don't like romance too much, I can see the appeal of just wanting to read something for the fun of it. As long as they don't confuse reality with the six-packed, tall & rich billionaire heroes, I respect everyone's reading lists.

NOW, one last note:

Coleen Hoover IS TERRIBLE. Commercial success aside, I hate how to turns literal CRIMINALS into romantists (which doesn't even work).

COLEEN HOOVER IS NOT A REAL WRITER. I'll agree with you on that one.

[dunmeshistash]

one way kui shows some colorism is in the orcs. the only lightskinned orcs are the baby and Leed - the two members of their race that are the "nicest"- the most open to outsiders, and willing to negotiate. this plays into the idea of people with lighter skin being more "pure" in some way. i know there are other characters with dark skin, but looking at the orcs, i think it's a bit of an issue. i dont think kui is a violent racist or anything, but i do think her choices when it comes to the orcs' skin colors reveal some biases she has.

I wasn't gonna answer this at first cause I didn't want to drag that subject further but I couldn't really stop thinking about it.

While is true that there's colorism in there, especially cause Leed is the cutest and most human looking orc and also the lightest one. I think this ask kinda reveals our own biases more than anything

Leed isn't nice at all, Zon is the nice and rational one between the two of them.

Which one of this characters let them go and gave his blessing so the other orcs left them alone, even tho they disrespected him to his face several times, and which one was gonna kill one of them herself cause that's a novelty and was gonna feed another as a toy to the dogs.

I wouldn't say the light skinned orc is the nicer one. Just because she's cuter, a girl and the most human looking one between them doesn't mean she's the nicest. She only respected and helped them once she learned they had a deal with Zon, there's no sympathy for outsiders in this girl.

Ignoring skincolor and thinking about the purpose of the character design I don't think its a coincidence the cute one is ruthless and the "uglier" (Zon is hot but you know) one is the actual one worried about a realistic solution.

And the baby orc I think only had an official color in the anime that was made by trigger? I don't remember Zon's son having a color in art by Ryoko Kui. Anyway I'm not defending Kui's choices I just don't think we should have biases "against" or "for" her when we don't actually know her and instead engage objectively with the good and the bad of her work.

[ecoamerica]

Watch the American Climate Leadership Awards 2024 now: https://youtu.be/bWiW4Rp8vF0?feature=shared

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[cosmicjoke]

You know, the more I think about this with Gojo, the more disgusted I am. What even is this? I don't know what the point of this is. If Yuuta kills Sukana using Gojo's dead body, then what the hell was the point of all those power-up's for Yuuji? And what's even up with Megumi? And if all Yuuta manages to do is "weaken" Sukana so Yuuji can kill him, then it's completely pointless other than driving home the disgusting disregard for Gojo's humanity that apparently even his students and last remaining friend in Shoko have for him. Why couldn't Gojo have just weakened Sukana himself, to give Yuuji the chance to beat him? Why couldn't Gojo have just KILLED Sukana to begin with, like he was set up to do by hitting him at close range with Hollow Purple? How is Yuuta in Gojo's body supposed to be more effective at using Gojo's powers than Gojo himself?

This whole thing seems unnecessary and pointlessly cynical and bleak. It's worse than Gojo just dying without apparently accomplishing anything. It's like a total desecration of his humanity.

Now watch, Yuuta won't even be able to actually put Sukana down while appropriating Gojo's body. He'll fail, I bet, and then he'll die, and then we'll be back to more pointless back and forth between Sukana and Yuuji. Either that, or Yuuta will kill Sukana using Gojo's body, then die, and Yuuji's power-up's won't have amounted to shit.

Also, someone pointed out that Sukana was about to have his heart ripped out and die, but the second he saw Gojo's body, he just smacked Yuuji away like it was nothing. Sounds exactly like the same shit Gege pulled when Sukana told the audience in an internal monologue that if he got hit with Hollow Purple at close range, he was done for, only to then... get hit at close range with Hollow Purple and not only not die, but kill Gojo with his very next hit.

That's what I mean by fake-out cliffhangers and Gege's stupid over-reliance on them.

[ro-written]

Bright Like Night, My Sea of Stars - V.S

Tags/Warnings: Sanji is in loveeeee (aw), Tsundere!Reader, reader had a VERY rough childhood (read: Kuro and the Black Cats), violence, angst, fluff, cussing, it is 1 am and I am not editing this rn but i will later lol

Word Count: 4.2k

Playlist:

“CIGARETTES” by Amir Obè “Just Pretend” by Bad Omens “Oceans” by Seafret “Da Selby Pt. 1” by Hozier

He’s sure he was in love. He knew it because the feeling in his chest was one he had never experienced before. Well, not like this. 

Not in the way he feels a squeeze at just a simple look you give him. A concerned look when he’s out of breath from fighting. An excited look that you tried to hide when you realized he made your favorite dish again. A peaceful look when the stars and the ocean blend to create a more infinite galaxy and you have the fortuitous chance to view it. 

Just as the waters echoed back the bright lights of the sky, he mirrored the look you cast while he realized that he, a mere human, had the absolute blessing of being in the presence of an ethereal entity such as yourself. His ocean that will always answer your stars.

He didn’t understand it, to tell you the truth. How could he be so lucky to end up in the presence of the person he knew he was destined to be with?

By chance, it was you and the crew who walked into the restaurant. And as pissed off with Zeff as he wished to be, it was Zeff’s decision to put him out on the floor that landed him in front of you. He kicks himself now for flirting with Nami first before you. Since once he heard that pretty laugh, bright enough to make even the nastiest at Baratie have their heart stutter, he could feel it in his throat. A knot. Constricting against his windpipe. The compliment he had ready to launch at you was right on the tip of his tongue, and it refused to come out. Because nothing he could possibly say could be the right thing. He could never possibly compose the right words to let you know the tidal surges you created within him. So, with a red face, he looked at you and mustered up the word: “Water.”

You stared at him with a raised eyebrow and squinted eyes, lips partly open. “Was that a statement? Or a question?” You had laughed out slightly. His staring started to unnerve you, and you cleared your throat to look around.

“Hey, waiter,” Zoro to the rescue. “You okay?”

That seemed to snap him out of the trance you had summoned Sanji in, he whipped his head to face the green-haired swordsman with a nasty look.

“I am not a waiter.”

With that simple statement, he turned to walk back to the kitchen.

Maybe you had some sort of influence over his decision to join the Straw Hats. But he didn’t admit that. Zeff did.

You seemed to have some sort of effect over him, unfortunately. This effect kept him from being able to come up with witty comments and quips to launch at you and ultimately left him stuttering and stumbling over himself while you watched him with a look asking if he was okay. He wasn’t. In the worst way.

Eventually, eventually, he found his footing and could somewhat properly talk to you. Questions about if you had any input on dinner, if you had seen his whisk, or if you knew how much longer for the next stop (that one could have been directed to Nami or Luffy, but anything to talk to you.) And you can’t forget the silly little flirtatious comments. Not at all his best work. 

“Is that a new haircut?” He asked, leaning against the countertop in the kitchen.

“No?”

“Oh well…you-uh. You look good with it.” He rushed out after that one.

He was a man in love.

And he had no clue what he was doing.

It brought him to Nami’s door one night, after cleaning up from dinner. She seemed to have the most common sense when it came to people. If anyone could help him, it had to be her. I mean, what other choice did he have? 

“Sanji, you have to understand that…for them it’s more difficult than you realize.” Nami sat on her hammock with her arms crossed, staring at Sanji as if he grew another head. He put his hands out in front of him, making exaggerated movements with his arms.

“Well, yea I know they are pretty stoic but that’s why I am he–” 

“No, Sanji, you don’t understand. This is one you might want to sit out.” She cut him off before he got too far ahead. Her words confused him. Sit it out? Why? His face contorted and he cocked his head to the side, frown pulling at his features. Nami sighed, telling him to grab the stool that sat right under her mirror, to which he pulled it out and sat in front of her.

Thus started the story of you.

Taken from your parents at such a young age by the Black Cat Pirates. All because your parents weren’t able to offer up tribute. You were raised to clean the ship, dodging Kuro as much as you could. But it could never last long. It started after you turned ten, the training. The rigorous, violent training. He taught you everything he knew, one way or another. If you didn’t learn quick enough, the punishment would land you with you being stitched together by the ship’s lackluster doctor whose training included being given a needle, thread, and some alcohol and told “good luck!” But it didn’t stop.

Kuro made you eat the Devil Fruit. Forced down your throat while the others held you down. His own little secret weapon, one that people never suspected when happened to “wash up” on their front door step, pleading for help. Or after you became of age, and could tempt people back to Kuro for their final exit from this world. Their screams were why you frequented the comfort of the night sky when everyone was back in bed. Why Sanji could regularly find you staring longingly into the sea. The ocean. Your love, and your demise.

“It’s a lost cause, Sanji. I don’t know if they will ever truly feel such peace to where they can accept such love.”

He left Nami’s cabin feeling especially heavy that night. And when he walked out on deck to see you staring down into the ocean, he held his breath. What does he say now? Sorry that you had the world’s shittiest childhood, but I can treat you right. That would be a winner for sure.

He decided to not join you that night. Or the next.

It wasn’t that he didn’t want to join you. Fuck, he was chomping at the bit to go see you. And that’s why he couldn’t. Not until he figured himself out in this entire equation. He didn’t want to freak you out, scare you away. Everything you grew up with…there was a burning desire for him to protect you. But he didn’t know how.

The complete shift in attitude from the chef did startle you, though. Your interactions of awkward short conversations with his absolute failed attempts of flirting became him attempting to dodge you entirely. You would walk into the kitchen for a snack, just something simple, and he would leave out immediately. You would look at Luffy, sitting at the table with wide eyes, munching on a sandwich. He would simply shrug his shoulders, and continue to grub on his (immensely large) snack. You sighed, rolling your eyes, and headed to the cold chest to get something.

Something within you was…pissed off though. Angry. But you couldn’t put your finger on why.

If that asshole wants to ignore me, then so be it.

You were washing your clothes out on the deck, pinning them up on the wire you and Nami had set up. You had chosen this spot in particular to have the line strung so that the sun would hit the clothes, but also so that you could listen to the waves crash hit the boat while you did your chores. Hearing the water move made your brain silent, making it easier to go on when you were by yourself.

But you weren’t completely by yourself.

You could hear his steps around the corner, stopping just before he “revealed” himself to you, watching you from afar. The crew was always amazed at how sharp your hearing was, rivaling Zoro’s. But being on a boat full of pirates that dubbed themselves the “Black Cats” would do that to you. You still remember the weeks of training Kuro put you through vividly. No matter how hard you tried to put it out of your mind. 

You closed your eyes and inhaled a deep breath of the salty ocean’s smell.

“Sanji.” You called him out from his hiding spot. He hesitated, but then slowly walked from around the corner, taking a cigarette from his jacket pocket and lighting it. He stops a bit of ways from you, watching out at the water.

“So, have you finally decided to talk to me?” You opened your eyes and continued to pin your sheets on the line. His eyes jumped to you, wide with shock.

“Wh– What do you mean?”

“For almost a week now you’ve been dodging me.”

“No I haven’t!”

You stopped your chores before turning your head towards him, eyebrows raised and debating back and forth with yourself if you should knock him in the head or not. You decided on the latter, and scoff instead.

“While this boat is considerably larger than what the crew started with, it’s not that big. People notice when someone is running away from them. Especially here.” You resumed your task again as he sat there, cigarette hanging loosely from his lips, processing what you said. 

You finally finish hanging your laundry and grab the empty basket, placing it on your hip before turning away and walking back towards your room. Before you could get around the corner though, he spoke up again.

“Nami told me.” You froze. “She…she told me what happened.”

You only turned your body slightly, your right side facing him. It was enough of a sign for him to continue on.

“And I’m sorry that happened to you, (Y/N). No one should ever, ever go through even a day of what you grew up with.”

“I don’t need your fucking sympathy, Sanji.” You grit out.

“That’s not what I– I just– I’m trying to– Fucking goddamn it.” He took his cigarette out and threw it out at the water, your eyes staying trained on his face. His hand rubbed down his face, struggling to string together a coherent sentence of what he wanted to say.

“Listen, stove boy, I don’t need you or any of their goddamn pity. So if that’s what this is about, then you can sho–”

“I’m in love with you!”

It was silence. Deafening silence. He couldn’t read your face. It was just…blank.

“I’m…I’m fucking in love with you. Everything about you. Your damn smile that seems like it’s rarer than the All Blue. Your passion and care for this crew. Your bits of wisdom when we need it the most. Your smart ass comments. Just fucking all of it. I want all of it.” His voice sounded absolutely desperate, and if you were to actually stop to listen to the nagging feeling in your gut, you would have recognized it as something. 

“I guess what I’m asking is…I was hoping that maybe we could…be…closer? You and me?” With bated breath, he watches as you stare at him, taking in everything he said.

And you responded with one simple word.

“No.”

His heart pounded in his ears. Blood rushed to his head as his heart jumped to his throat, effectively choking him of his answer. You stood there watching him for a moment before you sighed, turning around to continue your walk.

“Then I will never stop.” He called out, once again, stopping your feet’s movement. You didn’t turn around again this time. He took one step closer to you, though.

“I won’t stop (Y/N). Not until you realize that you are safe. That I can keep you safe. I won’t stop until you realize that you are deserving of love. And I will show you that love.” You grit your teeth, jaw clenching.

“Until my heart has been ripped from me, and my body is tossed into this cruel ocean. And even then, not even the harshest storms or waves will keep me from you.”

You walked away.

It was a particularly difficult battle, but nevertheless, you persisted. Your kyoketsu-shoge flew through the agitators attacking your crew, blade slicing through them effortlessly. You could hear Sanji’s grunts from his fighting behind you, and you took a split second to look back, checking in on him to ensure he was okay.

You were thankful you did, as one of the “Purple Band” pirates charged at him while Sanji dealt with one aggressor already. You whipped the rope around on your weapon, turning your body and letting it launch towards the pirate. The ring wrapped perfectly around his leg, and you pulled, causing him to fall into the sand. Using your strength, you pulled him over to you, him fighting and clawing at the sand the entire time in order to get away. However, as soon as he was close enough, you jumped on him, blade sinking deep through his sternum in his chest. After one last gurgle, he finally stopped wiggling, and you took a deep breath before unsheathing your blade and wiping it off on the (now dead) pirate’s clothes. You stood up, unraveled his ankle from your rope, and looked at Sanji, who was watching you. 

It surprised you, but you tried to not show it in your face much. You could feel your heart pounding, however, ready to burst from your chest. You brush it off as coming down off the adrenaline from a fight. But you watched as his eyes scanned down your body, checking to see if any of the blood from the battle was yours. He only breathed out a sigh of relief when he decided it wasn’t.

“Are…Are you okay?” You asked him in a voice that sounded almost worried. Almost.

“I’m good. How are you? Are you hurt anywhere?” He took a gentle step forward, but stopped before he got too far. But something had caught his eye. A slight shine came from the sand.

“I’m fi–” 

“Look out!” He flings his body against you, causing you to drop to the ground. 

The next thing you hear is a shot, a yell, and his body dropping to the ground next to you.

You heard Zoro’s Wado Ichimonji slice through the gun, and, eventually, the pirate who had shot the ghastly bullet. But it all tuned out for you, as you stared at the blond man groaning through his gritted teeth next to you, rolling onto his side.

“S-Sanji?” You crawl on top of his body, seeing him open and close his eyes dazedly. “Hey, look at me now, keep those eyes open.” You pat his cheek gently.

“I must be dead…” He smiled, looking directly at your face. “Because there is no way such an angel like you is on top of me. Not in this lifetime.” His smile was cut off by a painful grunt.

“Hold on Sanji, Zoro and Luffy are coming over and we– we are gonna get you back to the ship, okay?” You sputtered out words while you tried to remember any medical training you possibly could. But Kuro never thought you would need anything like that. Sanji gurgled up some blood, with some of it splattering onto your face.

“(Y/N) we need to grab him,” Zoro’s voice came from behind you as you stared in horror at the cook’s endless coughing. Nami grabbed your shoulders and pulled you back, allowing for Luffy and Zoro to pick Sanji up and hurry him back to the ship. You sat there in the sand for a moment, Usopp to your left and Nami to your right, watching as the two men carried Sanji back. But eventually, you got up, and rushed to follow them.

Hours.

Hours of Nami and Usopp keeping you out of the room while the doctor that Luffy and Zoro found was in there to help Sanji. You could hear his grunts and yells as you paced around the deck, trying so hard to focus on the sounds of the ocean, but only able to hear him. 

He was in so much pain. And you couldn’t do anything about it except fucking wait. He took that goddamn bullet for you, and you couldn’t do shit for him.

Eventually, the yelling stopped, and before you could bolt to the door to bust it down, Luffy and Zoro walked out. Their faces looked grim and you tried to get a read on them besides that. As soon as you tried to open your mouth, the doctor walked out, apron bloodied. You couldn’t take it anymore.

“Is he gonna be okay?” You stood solidly, attempting to keep your voice as steady as possible. None of the crew members had seen you in such a state. Sure, you could keep yourself together well enough, but they could still see the look in your eyes. A frantic search for someone to tell you anything. The doctor simply sighed, adjusting his glasses.

“I’ve done what I can for now. All you can do at this point is wait. It’s up to him and how much fight he’s got in him.”

You stared at the older man. A part of you wanted to reach out and strangle him. To tell him to go in there and make Sanji better. To make him keep going until your cook woke up. But you didn’t. How could you? He did his job, and that’s all you could have asked for.

So, your shoulders fell and you took a deep sigh before you walked into his room.

“I’m worried.”

“Well, we’re all a bit worried.”

“Yea, but, Luffy…(Y/N) has been in there for the past four days. Only leaves to eat or use the bathroom. It’s not healthy.” Nami dropped her hands in exasperation. Luffy simply stared at her, a pained, tight-lipped smile as he tried to figure out what to do.

“We both know how any conversation would go. I think we need to let this play out, Nami.” Zoro stepped in to give his insight. He shared a somewhat similar personality to you the most. If anyone might have any idea on how to proceed with your (unhealthy) actions, it would have been him.

“I hear what you’re saying, but I really do think we should go–” The door to the kitchen opening cut Nami off, and you walked in. Everyone’s eyes turned to you, and you simply looked back at them. The sudden silence told you everything you needed to know about the conversation you walked in on.

“I was just going to make some soup for him. He may be hungry when he wakes up.” Was all you stated before moving to the stove to get started on your cooking.

You had taken over pretty much all of the “Sanji watch shifts.” Occasionally, they would pop in to see how both he, and you, were doing. They would come in to see you changing his bandages, or would find you reading a book to him aloud at times. More often than not, though, you would just talk. Out of the months the crew knew you, these past four days have been your most talkative. 

Usopp even swore he heard you sing once. They all brushed that one off.

You finished making the soup, putting it in a bowl and grabbing a spoon, making your leave to allow the others to keep talking about you.

You knew they were worried, and some part of you felt bad for being the cause of the worry. But an even bigger part of you could only think of Sanji and doing whatever you could to make him feel better. Your mind was set.

You sat down right back where you had been for days, soup in your lap ready and waiting for him to wake up. You stared down at it, thinking back to a few weeks ago, a bit after his declaration of love. 

He had made your favorite dish. You don’t even know how he figured it out, or if maybe one of the crewmates told him, but you couldn’t bring yourself to really mind too much. Not after taking a bite out of it. It was even better than when you had it for the first time all those years ago. When Kuro decided to “treat you” for your sixteenth birthday. At least, that was what he said. You knew the truth – that it was actually because you had scored him such a big treasure all by acting a little helpless and scared at the doors of some mansion an elderly couple owned. Right before he came in to…

“How is it?” Sanji sat in front of you, a smile on his face, eyes wide. You didn’t realize you had been staring so hard at the dish as if it was speaking to you. Your head jolted up, registering what the cook had just asked.

“This is…it’s good. Thank you.” You continued to eat, and he sat there watching as you took down another bite, and another, and another. One corner of his lips lifted up and there was some type of…adoration in his eyes.

“You know, I learned a phenomenal recipe for it when this one chef came in to Baratie,” he went into a story as you continued. “He showed me certain tricks and what the best types of ingredients were for it.”

“Yeah? What did he teach you?” You look at him with a raised eyebrow, still shoveling more food in.

“Well I can’t tell you all my secrets, now can I?” He winked at you. It felt weird, how smooth he could flirt with you now after everything that happened between you two. Maybe that was all it took for him. Putting his heart out to you as he did.

“What if you’re not here one day? How else will I be able to make it this well?”

“You don’t gotta worry about that, love. I plan to always be around to make it.” He looked down at your, almost clean, plate.

“I’ll make whatever you want. If it means your happiness, I’ll do it.”

You didn’t realize the tears were falling until one dropped onto the rim of the bowl. You looked up at Sanji’s body, still out cold, and wiped the tears off your face. You let out the littlest laugh.

“You know, you told me I didn’t have to worry about knowing those little tricks you mentioned because you’d always be around. Guess who was right?” You laughed humorlessly, still staring at his face. He was so pale, one might have mistaken him for being dead. And with his breathing so shallow…

It broke you.

“You wanted to be close? Right? Well if you wake up, we can be closer. That’s all you gotta do, stove boy. You wake up, and I will listen to all your ridiculous flirting attempts and try all your different food experiments and…” Your voice died out, once again staring at the bowl in your lap. Fuck. 

You finally decided to just put it to the side and get up to kneel right next to his bed, grabbing at his hand.

“I’m…I’m scared, Sanji. I’m terrified. I can’t get close to any of you because I could hurt you. Kuro isn’t dead and when he finds out that all of you have become something to me, he will kill you. Friends get in the way of doing a job. He will kill anyone to get me back, his fucking weapon, and I can’t–” Your voice cracked as the tears once again ran down your cheeks onto your chin.

“...I can’t lose you Sanji.” You put your forehead down on the bed. “You’ve made me safe here. Always putting me before you, always checking on me. You fucking made me my favorite food. And he can take that all away once he finds me.” You sobbed into the mattress. Reality struck you viciously, repeatedly, over your back, with a metal pipe. What happens when he doesn’t wake up?

“He won’t.”

You inhaled sharply. 

“He won’t take anything.” His voice croaked out, hoarse from having no water for days. “Kuro.”

You lifted your head up from the bed to look at the chef’s face. His eyes, while a difficult feat, opened up to look at you.

“Because I won’t let him come near you. Ever again.” He looked so deadly serious. “You’ve had to protect yourself for so long, (Y/N). Please, let me do it.” His hand squeezed yours, reminding you that you still held it.

A smile took over your face, and you laughed. A true laugh. One that you couldn’t remember when, or if, you’ve ever felt before. One that supplied your entire body with elatement. Relief filled your lungs, and you threw your body over his to give him a hug. With this, he too laughed, feeling honored to see the rare sight of you truly, thoroughly happy. 

The waves crashing outside against the boat filled the air, and your body relaxed 

If you couldn’t feel the sea, well…

He would be your ocean.

This was written by @/ro-written and is not to be plagiarized, translated, or distributed anywhere else. Copyright 2024.

All comments, reblogs, and likes are always welcome!

[liveontelevision]

Suffer Pt. 6 | Lucifer x Reader

The first parts! ;) Pt. 1 / Pt. 2 / Pt. 3 / Pt. 4 / Pt. 5

A single anon request and a 56-page Google doc later, this is the last part, my friends. Thanks to everyone who's been so invested in this, this turned into a bigger project than I thought it would lol But! I'm so glad everyone's been enjoying it, and I hope y'all like the ending! I'm sorry for all the cliffhangers along the way haha (not really)

An extra thank you to the anon who requested a simple babysitter fic and ended up inspiring this whole deal!

♡♡♡

It’s almost been a year since you arrived to the hotel. You arrived when the building was in less than pristine condition, and just a few new guests had arrived. It was a few days after you saw Charlie’s interview on the news, that being what brought you in, despite it’s failure. You were just happy to see her face after all that time. Yet, above the cluttered space and the holes in the walls, there was a more malevolent scheme being hatched.

Any soul who might pass the princess’s room would be bombarded by curses, screams, and growls that sounded less than human. So, most the hotel residents decide it best to avoid that corridor. But not our trusty hotelier. His hand reached for the handle, after deciding that making a bold entrance might not be the best idea. His motion was put to a quick halt by a flurry of curses coming from the other side of the door. Alastor didn’t realize Charlie held such a..colorful vocabulary. Despite that, he went on.

He was greeted with a sight that, unfortunately, wasn’t new to him. An intricate web of red thread connected to pins, all scattered across a once pristine wall. It all connects a collage of images, some that he recognized, some that looked like nonsensical scribbles. The view is obstructed by a furiously pacing princess of Hell. Mumbling completely incoherent complaints, she doesn't notice the opening and closing of her bedroom door.

Alastor, being the sadist he is, props his stance with his microphone, his forced smile unmoving. He enjoys the view for a moment before finally clearing his throat to bring her attention to him. She nearly stumbles over her own feet, ready to scold him for materializing into her room, despite the fact that she was just too out of it to see him walk straight in.

“Al! Good! I need another pair of eyes, come here, come here, look!” She approaches him faster than he expects, and he’s ready to reel away, but is unfortunately hooked around the neck with Charlie’s disturbing strength. With an arm around his shoulders, she drags him forward to examine the wall, as if it made sense to anyone other than her. She starts talking nonsense, again. Something about friendship and Heaven, things he never really cared about. Things he usually tuned out whenever they came up. He only seems to partake in the conversation once he heard your name.

“Alastor.. She’s one of our first guests. I honestly can’t believe anyone showed up after that terrible interview I had earlier, I’m worried i’ll mess things up, again! I mean, all of Hell already thinks i’m a joke.. I just- really need this to go well.” Her mood seems to calm, but to a state of despair. Alastor let’s out a symphahetic awe, patting the top of her head.

“Aw, our poor princess. I understand your concern, my dear, this hotel must mean quite a lot to you.” He faines a sympathy that only convinces Charlie because of her state of disarray.

“Of course it does! And she’s already so kind, I’m sure she’s close to redemption! Maybe this will be a quick one! A-and we don’t even know it, right? That has to be it!” She seems to be reassuring herself, only to be met with an unresponsive radio demon. She groans. Dragging her feet as she walks to the edge of bed, She sits down and lets her head fall into her hands. 

“I really need this to work. I’ll do anything for this to work..” It was a quiet mumble, muffled into her palms, but Alastor heard exactly what he wanted to hear. His grin twisted, something Charlie didn’t see, as he sits at her side. He gives her a quick pat to her back, in some form of comfort.

“Charlie, dear, I understand how much this little project means to you.. I do. And I want nothing more than to witness you trying as hard as you can to keep it up.” Even if it fails. Charlie looks up to him, the bags under her eyes suddenly very apparent. “How would you feel about a little deal? Just a small one, no souls on the line, I guarantee.” 

She’s been warned by Vaggie in the past. Actually, his entire reputation is enough to make her uneasy by the idea. but… 

“I-I don’t know. What did you have in mind..?” She asks reluctantly. He let’s out a chuckle that almost sounds sinister.

“Believe it or not, our little guest and I have a bit of a history.” You can barely call it a history. You served him and Rosie on occasion when you were working in cannibal town. “I’d be delighted to oversee her safety and process to redemption! It’s just as you said, she’s already a gem, Heaven is waiting for her, I can feel it. This will be a breeze for the both of us.” His offer comes off as sincere and touching to Charlie. It wasn’t like him to openly mention his relationships with other demons yet, the idea of you having a close friend throughout this process might just be what you’re missing.

“That’s so sweet of you, Alastor, but.. What do you want from me?” She has to ponder a moment before even considering letting this go on any further.

“Well, you’ve given me a roof over my head and.. A tower for my broadcasts.. Hmm..” He taps his chin, as if he’s in thought. “I’m not quite sure I’ll need from you at the moment, since you’ve just been so hospitable already.” He places a hand to her shoulder, the kind words causing her eyes to well with tears a bit in her weakened state.

“There has to be something.. Well, maybe we can both think this over, once I have a clear head.” She sighs her words, standing from the bedside. Alastor takes her hand and brings her to a halt.

“Oh, but I’d love to get to work as soon as possible, if I may be so bold.. I’m not quite sure what you could offer me in this moment… How about we work out the details, later?” He speaks as if he’s coming up with these words on the spot. He’s had this planned since day one, though. Any chance to get a favor from the princess, he’ll take. Charlie turns to him and sees the strange green glow surrounding their hands. She attempts to pull away, but his grasp is tight.

“Well.. I mean…” She’s still hesitant. He watches her rub her eyes. The still relevant exhaustion gives him a bit of hope.

“It’s simple. I’ll do everything in my power to keep our little guest comfortable and on the path to redemption, no acception. In return, I’ll ask of you one single favor when the time comes.” The glow only continues to swell with his words, and it's clearly making her reconsider. “It’s not as serious as you may think, Charlie. Just a favor between friends, really.” Friendship seemed to strike the right tone.

“I guess.. If it’s for the hotel… Okay, Alastor. It’s a deal.”

-

Back to the dreaded fight just a few months later. You're seeing red.

“Charlie! You made a deal with Alastor?? What were you thinking?” You’re scolding her at this point. The situation barely had time to cool down before your worries began to kick in. Her horns and ruby eyes are still present, she hasn’t even had time to calm herself from the previous display. Lucifer is essentially holding you back, a hand across your front as you try to approach her. It hurts you a bit. Does he think you’re some kind of danger to her?

..Are you putting her in danger?

Alastor is still propped on the ground. He holds a hand around his neck, in hopes of soothing the aggressive collar that had materialized around it just moments ago. You’re all keeping your distance from eachother.

“I-I wasn’t! I wasn’t thinking! It was after the interview! You saw it, you know didn’t go well! I-I had all of Hell laughing at me, laughing at the hotel- He was offering help, I have no idea why he’s acting this way, I swear..! I.. I-” Charlie’s demonic features start to recede when she feels a hand on her back. With heavy breaths, she looks over to Lucifer, who was standing by her side now, ready to comfort her. With a small hiccup, she falls into his arms, gripping his shirt tightly as she did. Her head fell to his shoulder, thoroughly staining his vest with her tears.

The room is uncomfortably filled with her silent sobs. Your heart aches too much looking at the touching display between father and daughter, and your guilt from snapping at her is making you fidget. That’s when you got to thinking.

The deal was for Alastor watch over you until you got to Heaven. For him to do anything in his power to keep you on the path to redemption. To prevent any behavior that might stunt that process..

“Oh.. oh, my god. You’ve been buttering me up this whole time.” You turn to face a still recovering Alastor. The realization grabs the attention of both Morningstars, they raise their heads to look towards the commotion. “The gifts, all the time we spent together.. Was because of this deal? Did.. did you ever actually care about me?” You grip at your heart, ready to rip it straight from your chest. He stands, brushing debris from his entirety.

“I doubt you’ll believe me after such a display of violence, but.. Yes. I did enjoy our time together, despite the requisite of being under my protection. It was quite entertaining before it was… tainted.” His hisses out his final words, contrasting the sweetness of it all. Tainted?

He was kind to you as soon as you arrived in the hotel. Despite the drama, you’ve been inseparable since. Things only got convoluted after.. 

“Under your protection..? Is that why you’ve been turning me away from Lucifer?! Fuck- it is! You’ve been playing games with me for months! Getting in my head..! H-How could you..” He hasn’t just been physically keeping the two of you apart. From day one, your mind was manipulated into thinking Lucifer never wanted you.

“Well.. not to defend myself, dear, but I was merely considering your redemption. I believe there’s some sort of sin in worshipping the Devil.” Oh, now he’s just trying to make more trouble.

“Oh, fuck you Al, I don’t worship him, I love him!” Your comical response seems to drive a shocked expression or two towards you. But you’re too upset to elaborate. You want to tear him apart. You want to see him experience as much pain as you’re feeling now. Luckily, you weren’t the only one. In a blur of a movement, Alastor was brought back to the ground with a thud.

A foot to his chest, Charlie has him pinned to the ground. Her fists are clenched, the aura surrounding her creates a suffocating heat.

“You took advantage of me, Alastor. You betrayed my friends, my family.. My trust.” Despite the demonic tones underlying her voice, it still sounds pained. You didn’t know she could do this, but her clenched fists become encased in fire. Just like her fathers’.

You’re surprised to see him lurking behind, but not attacking. After all you’ve seen, you were sure he’d have ripped Alastor’s head off at this point. His eyes widen, a display of fear you werent expecting. You follow his gaze to see Charlie holding a familiar angelic spear to his neck.

You hear an unearthly growl come from her chest, and before you can think, your arm is wrapped around hers. You can feel the resistance, realizing you had stopped her right as she was about to put an end to it all. Put an end to him.

“Charlie! Stop!” You yell out. You have to do it once or twice more, your words not quite reaching her yet. Once she turns to you, her eyes are still dripping with tears. “Charlie, don’t. This isn’t you. You’ll regret it, I know you will.. I know you.” You’re begging her to stop. As you feel the muscles in her arm start to relax, you reach for the spear and pull it gently from her hands. She releases her grasp without a fight.

You usher her off, glancing back to Alastor for a moment to see his wound had reopened from that. He had an obvious slash across his neck. You gulped, realizing how close she was to actually killing him. She places her hand over yours, where your arms are still linked.

Charlie let’s out a sigh, looking to her shaking hands, then clenching her fists. She looks to you, then back to Alastor.

“But.. everything he’s done to you… It’s not right, I’m not sure I can forgive him..” She’s speaking quietly to you.

“Well.. You don’t have to forgive him. But he doesn't deserve to die, Charlie.” You state the obvious and it makes her flinch. “And.. you should let him stay.” You hear a collective What? from the room.

“I know I know.. but… this whole place is about second chances. I.. think he can change. And even though, he is being such a dick right now-” Your voice is cracking, as if you can hardly believe your own words. “-I still believe it. You taught me that.” You smile up to Charlie. After a moment you turn your head to Lucifer, meeting his eyes. He looks more in shock than anyone, almost hurt by your act of mercy. You’re surprised by his expression, not realizing Charlie had slipped from your side to approach Alastor.

“She’s right, you know. I can’t forgive you, Alastor. Not yet, at least.. But you’re welcome to stay here, considering all the help you’ve done for the hotel.” She sounds stern, still not entirely convinced this is the right call.

“Yeah, some help you’ve been, you prick..” Those are the first words Lucifer has muttered in awhile. You approach his side to jab him with your elbow and shush him. Despite your scolding action, your presence only reminds him of your previous confession. He crosses his arms and continues to curse quietly, despite his flushed cheeks. Charlie steps closer to Alastor.

“You’re still here, because of her.” Charlie’s voice goes dark as she gestures to you. “That favor I owe you? Is letting you live. This deal is done, Alastor.” She hisses her words out. The intensity and anger radiating from two of the most powerful creatures in Hell is enough to leave even Alastor a bit weary. He nods, still gripping his wound that has been repeatedly opened these past few days. Other than that, he slinks away with barely a scratch. Lucky him. 

Once he’s out of sight, Charlie let’s out a groan and falls to her knees. With a unison call of her name both you and Lucifer rush to her side. You place a hand on her back, attempting to keep any displaced hair from her face. She leans into Lucifer’s chest, a heartaching sight of sniffles and apologies.

Before long, she seemed to exhaust herself. Curled up to his chest, Lucifer smiles, despite the circumstances of their closeness. He lifts his eyes just slightly to see yours. You look embarrassed. Before he has a chance to question you, you rise from the ground.

“You should take her to bed.” You say in a hushed tone, gripping your arms and making some distance. “She needs some rest after.. all that.”

“Sure, but.. are you-” He speaks just as softly, opening a portal behind him silently.

“I’m fine. I’m-” You let out a sigh, beginning to move towards the stairs. “She needs to rest, Lucifer.” You remind him.

“Oh- Oh.. Right, yeah.” He rises to his feet, effortlessly lifting Charlie into his arms and stepping through the portal. You try to keep moving. You try to not meet his eyes as the portal shuts, but you find yourself unable to go on. Once they’re gone, you cover your mouth, only making your labored breaths worse, but you’re desperate to muffle any cries. You feel yourself wobble in place, before seeing a portal open to your side. It leads to your room.

After stepping through, you silently approach your bed. Your legs suddenly turn led, and you're hitting your bed with a gasp. Your exhaustion is enough to keep your sobs to a minimum at least.

-

The feeling you have when you wake up is worse than any hangover you’ve had. With alcohol you can at least forget your troubles. But on this morning, you can vividly remember the previous night. You sit up, your body aching. You only wonder why for a moment, before realizing you had fallen asleep sideways across your bed, your legs still dangling off the side. You still need sleep.

You remove any uncomfortable clothing or accessories that had pressed marks into your body and return to bed. The right way, this time. Your pillows feel like heaven after all that’s happened. Heaven..

You try your best to sleep, you really do. Your body is essentially begging you to empty your thoughts just for a few more minutes. But your mind is sending you tossing and turning, any times you close your eyes, all you can imagine is everything you've done wrong. Your eyes drift open after trying to force them shut, and your eyes spot the radio on your nightstand. You sit silently for a moment, maybe try to close your eyes again..

Nope.

Before you have a chance to process every movement, you’re opening your door and thoughtlessly throwing the radio outside. You don’t care where it ends up, clearly. You were waiting to hear it break, into multiple pieces hopefully, before shutting your door. You’re met with a startled groan instead. Taking a moment to process that you had thrown an old-timey radio at someone, you stand at your door with a yawn.

The panic hits you. It could’ve been Alastor, assuming he stayed. It could’ve been Charlie, who doesn’t need any more conflict. You could’ve taken out Niffty as far as you know. Swinging the door open, your eyes see the radio first. They’re wrapped in your victim’s arms.

“Good catch.” You let out hoarsly, rubbing the sleep from your eyes to clearly see Lucifer.. It could've been worse. He let’s out a breathless thanks, clearly having the air knocked out of him. You definitely didn’t hold back with that throw. And it wasn’t exactly a lightweight radio.

“Er.. Sorry. I meant to say sorry.” You try to recover, your words are followed by another yawn. You watch him drop the radio into a small portal he conjured below his grip.

“Good morning to you, too. I was, uh.. about to check on charlie, but-” He’s ready for a conversation that you aren’t. You quickly shake your head, pulling your door in.

“Nono, I need some time.. To wake up. I’ll see you around, though.” You didn’t expect him to perk up from his words, but he does. His smile is infectious. You watch him give you a little wave before shutting your door. You lean against it, your smile that you had been presenting to him, leaves you almost immediately.

There’s so much on your mind. You scan your room, memories of Alastor popping up no matter where you looked. Every chat you’ve had in here, every moment you’d call him in for advice for clothes or accessories, all the nights you’d fall asleep listening to his voice. Your eyes stopped at your vanity seat. Draped across the back is a bittersweet sight, your gifted red sweater. You finally rise to your feet, quickly reaching for it and holding it tightly in your hands. You hesitate before bringing it to your nose. You’re not sure why. Why would you want to remind yourself of anything involving him? Did you think that same scent that’s brought you comfort so many times would have the same affect? You give it a shot.

Hesitantly breathing in, you’re immediately reeling back, throwing the sweater down to your ground. Your hand covers your nose, that sickenlingly sweet honey scent now smells like rotten flesh. Like road kill. You need some air. Digging out a different sweater, one you haven’t had to use in months, you decide you just need to walk around for a bit. The hotel was big enough that you could safely avoid any unwanted attention. Plus, you were sure Alastor’s pride was too wounded to freely roam the hotel. And his other wound.. You hope he’s okay.

You groan out loud, mentally cursing yourself for your sympathetic thoughts. You make your way down to the lobby, and are met with a surprisingly clean lounge. You scan the walls that were previously cracked, the carpets that should be stained with blood, then wonder where Vaggie’s suddenly conjured spear might have gone. What would have possessed Charlie to choose such a weapon.. an angelic spear? She didnt really want him dead, did she? She's emotional. And extreme. Like her father. You decide not to question it any further. It’s not like you were upset by the erasure of the previous night's events.

-

A day or two passed. Your mind seemed unwilling to accept the reality you're currently in. You're anxious, and paranoid to any sentence thrown your way. You're constantly looking around corners, checking all parts if your room before locking it for the night. Yet, if someone were to ask what was making you so nervous, you wouldn’t have an answer.

You found yourself taking those little strolls often, though. Keeping your body in motion, with only the sounds of your breathing keeping you company, seemed to clear your mind. It never helped come to terms with any seething pain you felt, but it cleared your mind at the least.

You'd pieced together a few things in the meantime. After passing the bar, where Angel and Husk were chatting, they would smile and wave, ask you join them form a drink, but you’d decline. Neither of them seemed to know about anything. Maybe Niffty cleaned the mess. Maybe Alastor asked her to. Before anyone could see the outcome of his mistakes.

You passed Vaggie in a hall, and she immediately looked concerned. She opened her mouth, an Are you okay? sits on the tip of her tongue. But then she looked at you. Your body only mirrored the fog of your mind, baggy eyed and wrapped in some blanket as you roamed the halls like a damned ghost.

“Hey, um- it's.. it's gonna be-" you held your hand up to her.

“I know. Thank you.” You smile, the action stiff, considering you hadn't used those muscles in awhile. Vaggie knew. That was fair, though. You were glad Charlie had someone to confide with. You walked on after she gave a hesitant goodbye wave.

One night, when your body had taken over and you were wandering aimlessly, you realized where you ended up. Not only were you standing in front of Lucifer's workshop, he had already spotted you through the window on the door. He opened it before you could fully take in your surroundings.

“Hey..” You let out softly. What else are you supposed to say? You didn’t come prepared. You feel embarrassed standing in front of him, realizing how much of a mess you must look. You're not even sure what part of your mind made you end up here.

He doesn't respond at first, another speechless moment letting your mind wander. He opens the door more, offering his space to you. You look at him and he smiles before you shuffle inside. You take in the sight. You haven't actually seen it, considering your circumstances after the hotel was renovated.

“It looks nice in here.” You say quietly, your voice cracking just a bit. You walk through, tracing your fingers along desks and tables, stopping and looking at family photos on occasion. You looked to Lucifer’s smiling face in a picture where he was lovingly holding his wife and daughter. How did you end up like this?

“Oh- um.. thank you, it's more than enough space for me, but, uh.. it's nice.” His voice sounds unfamiliar as it snaps you from your mindset. He moves to his main bench, which is slightly elevated by a platform that connects to the windowed wall. You eventually make your way around, standing near him.

“Are.. you… How are you..?” You listen to him struggle to form such a simple question, and yet you have an equally hard time trying to respond. Obviously, you were crushed. devastated by the betrayal and overwhelmed by everything else.

“I'm okay.” You reply thoughtlessly. It was your go-to answer. You hear a muffled chuckle and look over to him. He's blocking the laughter with his fist in front of his lips. Is he laughing at you?

“Sorry sorry, I just.. know that you're lying. You've done this before, don't forget how much time I've actually spent with you.” You want to scold him for acting so bold, for saying he knows you better than yourself, but..

You're leaning against the table in one moment, and before you know it, you're hoisted to sit on its top. You felt like a relief you didn't realize. Your feet were aching. How long were you walking the in the halls today? The sensation of his hands planted on your waist. to steadily bring you to the counter, lingered after he had removed them.

“I used to see you wandering around back home- at the mansion, I mean. usually after a tough day. But it's been a few days, so I just thought you might be-”

“Why are you so calm?” Your sudden question made him visibly finch. "You were tricked, too, you know. He tore us apart. How can you be handling this so well?” Your voice starts to turn agitated. You weren't sure why you were taking it out on himm, but you both knew in the moment that this was the first time you’ve let any emotion out since the fight.

“It's like some.. malevolent force is constantly tearing us apart. One moment I'm happy, I'm in love, I'm smiling- then the next, you're just gone. and everything else that keeps me sane goes with it.” You feel a flood of tears beginning to well. Tears that you should've been letting out days ago. “Is this some kind of fucking curse? Why can’t things just be easy..? A-Are we just doomed?” You're wiping your face clear, your words becoming sloppy and hoarse.

“Maybe.” Your head lifts to see him, still calm as before, but with a solemn look on his face. “But, we keep finding eachother, right? And all the good times.. they'll stay good, won’t they?” You nod your head reluctantly.

He approaches you, with a hand on your shoulder, he's wiping away tears with the other.

“Honestly? I'm not handling this well at all. You're right, the universe has done nothing but tear us apart and hurt both of us. And I’m just about ready to tear Alastor limb by limb. I want Charlie to be okay.. I want to keep you by my side and never let you out of my sight this time.” You see his emotions range throughout his words, his eyes flashing red for a moment. He calms himself down, running his hand down your arm to hold your hand. You don't resist.

“But, you made some good points back there. And I just thought.. if you're strong enough to let that prick live, after everything, then.. Maybe I-I.. I'm trying to be strong.” He sounds almost embarrassed to admit it, and the comment on your strength leaves you a bit red in the cheeks. “You've always been so strong, darling. I just wish you'd tell me how you're really feeling.. I miss talking to you. Not this.. empty shell.” His words stung and he knew it as soon as they slipped from his lips.

“W-wait, no, I mean..”

“It’s fine, you're not wrong.. Jerk.” You share a little laugh with him, the mood lightening for just a moment. “Lucifer, I'm.. I'm so tired.” You let out weakly. That barely scratches the surface of everything. It's as if your mind was boiling over, with all the thoughts of Alastor turning sour, and the thoughts of redemption suddenly in question, not to mention all those feelings of Lucifer that were repressed until just recently. You want Charlie to be okay. You want things to be normal, but.. you're not quite sure what normal looks like. You wish you could say all this to him.. it’s hard to put it to words. But you're trying. He makes you want to try harder.

You feel a gentle hand holding your cheek, bringing your blurred thoughts to clarity and meeting eyes that left you breathless. When was the last time you've looked in his eyes? A blush forms across his cheeks, your gaze seems to fluster him. He clears his throat, getting his mind back.

“You're not okay. But.. You will be. I promise.” With a wry smile, you let the weight of your head fall into his palm.

Your eyes meet. He leans in and you feel his arms snake around yout waist. Looking back, you're almost embarrassed by the way you leaned towards him, eyes shut, head tilted, your lips just slightly parted. You were startled by the feeling of his head resting on your shoulder. He only pulls you closer after he feels your breath start to deepen, his hands gentle across your back. You finally return his touch, digging your nose into the crook of his neck and gripping tightly at his shirt.

It used to feel like, if you let go, you'll never hold him again. God, how the possibility scares you. But.. it feels a little different this time. You weren’t worried about him disappearing, this time.

You’re so comforted by his presence, you let yourself fully relax to him. You open your eyes just slightly, blinking out some tears that still remained, thoroughly ruining his top. You pull away, meeting his eyes again.

You feel as if you were close to forgetting this side of him, but you recognize this face. You saw it the night you first kissed him. You saw it after seeing him at the hotel for the first time, then when he decided to sweep you off your feet for a little date. You saw it after every little date that followed. You realize he's never stopped looking at you this way.

“I love you, too.”

-

I had to put that worship the devil in there it just made me laugh so sorry if that seemed out of place lol

And not to fear my friends,

I plan on making a little epilogue about how everyone's recovering, and some sweet, yummy, fluffy goodness to top it off.

Again, Thank you all so much for your support! :)

I'll be working on some requests next, and some more vamp Luci! Kind of in love with that guy ngl

Taglist! (good lord I hope I got everybody )

( @vififofum / @thornwolfy235 / @tinywolfiegirl / @chipper-chip / @bat-boness

@misfitgirlwrites / @nayomi247 / @lonelynmisunderstood / @escapistoftherealworld / @b4ts1e / @hamthepan / @kyo-kyo1 / @looking1016 / @polytheatrix / @littledolly2345 / @lillianastuff / @yourlocalcryptidbee /@0strawberrysorbet0 / @themageofblood / @jayyyayaysblog / @floralsightings / @azmosposts / @8har0ley8 / @actuallyspiderwoman / @sirenetheblogger / @christineblood / @kaytemchugh / @cimadreamer / @simpdevil66 / @azmosposts / @m3ow1 / @acrazyartist / @redfoxwritesstuff / @4k1to / @meesachan / @corvusskid / @alientee /@xx-spooky-little-vampire-xx / @alon3lylov3r /@sapphireravensworld / @mjmdragons / @catticora / @the-maladaptivedaydreamer / @carrie0-1 / @shamblezzz / @cassandras-nest / @wendigonamecaller / @chirimeimei / @sapphireravensworld / @sillywormtrixareforkids

[mistershr1mp]

I don’t necessarily blame Shoko, Yuta, or any other sorcerer for the choices they’ve had to make regarding the use of Gojo’s body.

It is absolutely heartbreaking that Gojo, a man who consistently has questioned in his life what makes him himself, and is the titular person who wants to change the cycle of jujutsu sorcery and protect kids from being turned into weapons like him’s corpse is now being reanimated by the student he once saved and came to love. However, this is entirely quintessential of how being a sorcerer is a curse more than anything.

Being a sorcerer means that you have to slowly chip away at your own humanity when it really counts. They’re not just fighting any Joe Schmoe, but SUKUNA. And keep in mind that we’re at this body snatching point after they’ve witnessed tons of people die and have been feverishly saving as many people as possible so they can fight again. Literally every person in these chapters is a victim. These people have experienced immense trauma and have basically been raised by violence of course their perspectives are going to be warped.

What’s more heartbreaking to me is I don’t even think any of them thought in a million years Yuta would have to do this. I truly believe they just believed in Satoru because that is all they’ve ever known. And then he lost, and not too long after him losing they initiated the swap. Not even a second to grieve or process what’s happening.

[heart-of-the-morningstar]

Angel Reader - First Preview

Yeah, looks like the Angel Reader is gonna win the poll so I started cooking! It’s short but it’s something! No active warnings for this preview

It was no secret that you and Lucifer shared a special bond. You two were as close as friends could be. It was a little odd to be fair; a seraphim and a virtue were definitely an unusual pair. Nonetheless, neither of you cared what the rest of Heaven thought of you. You did your best to ignore the rumors that were floating about; saying your bond with Lucifer ran deeper than just a friendship. It wasn't true, of course, and those relationships were heavily discouraged by the Elders. Neither of you would dare consider stirring up trouble...more than you already have, that is.

Separately, the two of you were considered "mischievous" as Sera would say. But together, you created a whirlwind of ideas and spectacles that would land the both of you with serious reprimand more than once. You tried your best to behave, but Lucifer brought out the worst, or perhaps the best, in you. You were the only one who believed in his dreams and his passions, and he was more than encouraging when he asked about your ideas for creation. It was heartbreaking when you learned that he had been left out of the creation of the new world. To you, his ideas were not dangerous as many others believed, but inspired. When Lucifer told you that he wanted to see Earth for himself, you covered for him, as any good friend would do. His visits became more and more frequent and your lies became less and less believable.

Every time Lucifer returned from Earth, he would go on and on for hours about the wonderful and fantastical things he'd seen. But what he wanted to talk about most was the human woman, Lilith. You had witnessed for yourself how the human man Adam had treated her; demanding control and with no regard for anything but himself. He was selfish, you believed Lilith was right for fleeing the garden. You hoped that the new human woman Eve would fair better. Lucifer had found Lilith and immediately was enraptured with her. You were happy for him. Mostly. There was a small pang in your heart every time he mentioned her, but this was your best friend; you wanted nothing more than for him to be happy! There was also the constant threat that now loomed over him. What would Heaven do if they found out about Lucifer and Lilith? You vowed to keep his secret, you couldn't bear to witness any punishment befall him.

One day, Lucifer came rushing to your room with an idea that could shake Heaven to its very core.

"Free will?" you asked Lucifer. "Are you sure that's a good idea? I mean, the Elders-"

"The Elders are wrong," Lucifer responded curtly. "Humans deserve to have free will. They shouldn't just be puppets on Heaven's strings. It's not right! They should have the right to choose!"

You sighed. "I don't disagree with you, Lucifer. You're right. But...I'm worried. What will happen once they do have it? Once it's given, you can't take it back. And what will happen to you? You have to know there will be consequences if you go through with this and I...I'm..."

Lucifer pulled you into a tight hug, and you instinctively returned the gesture. Holding him felt like one of the greatest gifts you could ever receive. "It'll be alright. No matter what happens to me, I know this is the right thing to do." He pulled away from you and smiled, holding your hands delicately. "You are a wonderful friend and a true reflection of what Heaven should be. I don't want you to worry anymore. I can't get in any worse trouble than I've already been in before, right?" he laughed.

His golden eyes shined brightly, you loved the way he lit up when he told you about his dreams. You finally smiled back at him. "Thank you, Lucifer. I trust you completely. When will you return to Earth?"

"Tomorrow," he responded. "Lilith and I will meet with Eve. She seems like she would be more receptive to the idea than Adam. Perhaps she could convince him afterwards!" With a wave of his hand, a shiny, glowing red apple appeared in his palm. "This is my gift to humanity. It's the least I can provide."

You leaned in and planted a tiny peck to his pale cheek. "Please be careful," you whispered.

A light golden blush dashed across his cheeks. "O-Of course." He turned around slowly, opening the door and was about to leave when he turned back to look at you. "I'll be back tomorrow after it's done. Don't miss me too much!" With that, Lucifer walked out, leaving you alone in your room once more.

You couldn't help but feel an overwhelming sense of dread.

[yvqip]

in honor of ch 261

The passing of the torch. The inability to grieve. A duty to kill protect. Is this what it means to be a sorcerer?

CW: angst, mentions of gore and death, just about what you’d expect, wip(?) bc i couldn’t bring myself to write anymore,

A collection of Yuta’s thoughts during the possession (+a bit of Suguru’s as he watches in the afterlife.)

The moment you died, something in the air changed. It was as if all that tension keeping everybody upright suddenly released into this all consuming dread. Lying there on the ground, split in two, was more than enough proof you really were closer to mortal than the god jujutsu society claimed you to be.

I’m sorry it took losing your humanity to make people realize you had any.

I’m sorry I have to do this to you.

If I could do it any other way, I would. I’m sure you understand that though, better than anyone else. You died on his anniversary too. I was only able to take a peak at who you were under the guise of ‘the strongest’, I don’t understand you nearly enough as he did but I’ve seen enough to know the burdens you carry. I know you missed him, I saw it in your face a year ago and I saw it again before your fight with Sukuna. I’m sorry you two didn’t get the peace you deserved even after death. I’m sorry you had to lose the only one who saw you as Satoru.

Standing there, facing that monstrosity, instilled a carnal fear into my bones, one that I couldn’t show in front of the audience you taught and guided. The audience I have to lead in your place as the new ‘strongest’.

Is this how you felt? A sacrificial lamb pushed to the forefront of battle for the reason of powers you had no role in choosing?

I do my best to hide the tremble in my hands as Shoko slices me open. I’m doing this for the others, to give them a better fighting chance, to honor the sacrifice you made for us- stealing away the fire from the heavens and granting us the opportunity to grow even more- offering yourself on a silver platter in exchange of our youth. You were chained to humanity, reduced to a weapon intended for us.

Were you able to see yourself as anything else after he died?

Although the fire is dwindling despite your efforts to maintain it, I understand you now, giving yourself as tinder to spark the next generation. I’ll become it in your stead. After all, I’m the strongest now too, and I’ll take care of the 1st and 2nd years just like you said.

Shoko finishes the last of the stitching.

I wonder how she feels witnessing her two best friends turned into husks, bodies desecrated by both sides of jujutsu society even after death.

I’m back on the battlefield.

5 minutes to make this count.

I’ll make sure you and your best friend rest together soon. It’s the least I could do for you.

~

The scene before me is sickening. I can feel the bile build in the back of my throat despite my lack of a physical body.

How could they do this to you?

I had spent this time waiting patiently for you to arrive, only to be taken from me the moment you do. I never held any hatred for those in Jujutsu High, and I never questioned that until now.

Are you Satoru Gojo because you’re the strongest or are you the strongest because you’re Satoru Gojo?

I recall saying those very words that shook the foundation of your identity. I said it because I knew it would hurt you. I said it because I knew I was the only one who had ever held your heart in the palm of my hands. I said it not believing it was true. Yet, as I witness your body be used as a puppet, I question if anybody else ever felt the same.

Did you die with me, Satoru?

Does any body else see you as that? Did you exist to the world of jujutsu outside of ‘the strongest’? You’re still far ahead in terms of power, but it seems you chose well with your students, especially that boy, Yuta Okkotsu. He’s like you, more so now than ever since he’s taken your place. They’ll eventually catch up to you.

We’ve failed to protect the youth again.

Seeing your corpse on the table as Shoko performed the operation brought me back to the day I lost part of you. You stood there, Riko’s body in your arms, your eyes devoid of the usual light within it just like now.

‘Suguru.. should we kill these guys?’

Thinking back on it, perhaps I should’ve said yes. We would’ve been on the run together- but we’d be together all the same. You would’ve never had to be Jujutsu society’s scapegoat, you would’ve never had to fight Sukuna.

It wouldn’t have had to end this way

Maybe I shouldn’t have left. My lofty goals were of near impossible height, one that only you could reach. But I had to try, damn it. If it took rebelling against the gods to do it, I’d gladly hold the weight of the world as punishment if it earned you freedom from the chains of jujutsu.

[angelsdean]

i'll be honest, i truly do not understand when people get all up in arms whenever anyone involved with spn describes cas's love for dean as beyond the human understanding of love, as if there haven't been posts made on here for years by fans literally describing cas's love for dean / destiel's love as akin to worship, a powerful force greater than god, cosmic, all encompassing, profound, etc etc. i thought the outrage was silly when jensen expressed the idea of cas's love being more than romantic back in denver con 2021 and i think it's silly now with these bedlund tweets. not to mention being more than and beyond something imo means it encompasses the romantic AND more. it's romantic, it's platonic, it's cosmic, it's worship, it's everything. and i think that's beautiful. and yes, it's exactly what their love is. a huge profound force that changed the narrative, that wasn't meant to be there, that kept breaking through anyway.

and i understand what people are saying about this language being used for a queer ship etc etc, but like, there's nothing inherently wrong or negating their love in saying that it's a greater love. if anything i think it's saying, hey, see these two? yea their love is bigger than what we can even comprehend. idk i'm just going to continue to take these statements in good faith. and also, until the reboot happens, they can't really say more about destiel beyond the bounds of the confession. jensen, bedlund, misha, etc can't speak to dean's feelings, for instance, or confirm anything one way or another, because if those feelings are a major plot point to be explored and acknowledged in the continuation then to speak about them now with any kind of definitive statement would be spoiling / jumping the gun, and it's not their place to make those statements yet, if we are indeed going to see more of dean and cas's story in the future (which i mean, at this point based on their statements about the reboot it's really a When not If situation).

[readypanda]

Indigo Park Spoilers (and very long post) ahead

Since Indigo Park is the newest fandom I've been dipping into, I figured I might as well make my own analysis for the game. The question I'll be discussing today is,

WHAT EVEN ARE THESE THINGS?

(sry for bad picture quality lol)

The thing I find interesting about these mascots (Molly, Lloyd, and what we've seen of Finley) that kind of sets them apart from other monsters in the mascot horror genre is...they almost seem like they're just animals. (I'll go over evidence for this in this post)

Think about it. In other mascot horror games, we've gotten:

animatronics possessed by dead children

employees/kids surgically(?) turned into toys

people mutated by a giant ink machine

animals/people who have had their DNA spliced with a mutagenic chemical

A little girl somehow turned into a monster (I think??)(really sorry Amanda I don't know what you are)

etc.

(I'm not up to date on all these properties and I know there's many more, so forgive me if my lore understanding is less than adequate. you know how it is with indie horror)

The important note about all these is that for the most part, these mascots are intelligent, or at least have the capability of intelligence. Almost everything on this list was at one point human, in fact.

So why do I think Indigo Park is any different? What leads me to believe they aren't intelligent? (at least, the animal versions of the characters that we run from in the game. Whether they are separate from the versions of the characters Rambley interacts with is something I'll touch on later)

I think the most obvious piece of evidence in regards to Molly and Lloyd (again, not much info on Finley yet) is how Lloyd acts. He doesn't talk at all, he just stalks the main character and attacks like an animal might (with the exception of a couple times he stands on two legs or props himself up here and there).

As for Molly, I hear you saying, "But she talks! We hear her speak!" And yes, dear reader, you are right. Molly does speak. This would disprove my argument of the mascots being purely animalistic, if it weren't for this kill screen.

Now, do we ever actually hear Molly say something that isn't a repetition or couldn't reasonably be a repetition? Has she said anything to prove her intelligence at all? (genuine question here because I haven't examined every one of her voice lines lol. If I'm wrong about this then whoopsie!)

Despite the past 250 words of speculation, though, whether they act just like animals isn't actually that important. We'll see more of them in later chapters anyway (or Lloyd and Finley at least) so that will likely prove or disprove this point with time.

The more interesting question is, what are they? Like, physically?

When Molly dies, we clearly see blood around her decapitated head. At the very least that rules out animatronics or something mechanical. In addition, in the audio of the hidden tape you get when you show Rambley one of the collectables, you can hear two staff members complaining about being replaced by "new mascots" right after they "got a new raccoon costume." This could mean a few different things, but it seems to imply that the mascots we see in this chapter are meant to be replacements for actors in suits (for meet and greets, promotion, shows, etc) and/or replacements for limited, expensive, and cumbersome animatronics. If this is true, we can also probably rule out them being human. Unless Indigo Park also had a secret human experimentation lab, which I wouldn't put past them.

I think it's too early to definitively state what these mascots are, but based on the evidence of above, I have a theory.

My personal theory is that these mascots are just animals who have been changed or mutated in some way to allow the park to have more "realistic" representations of the characters (also probably to cut down on the costs of paying a human employee). That would explain why they act the way they do and why they are so violent. They literally are just wild animals who have been warped to represent these cartoon characters.

Another important caveat to this theory is that, if this is true, then the mascots who attack us in the game are most likely NOT Rambley's "friends" as he knows them. That would explain why he doesn't call attention to Molly chasing us or Molly's dead body (with the exception of one very small reaction when he talks about the mascots). You would expect him to seem a little more upset if he thought that was his friend, but maybe on some level he knows it's not really her, just a representation of her.

That brings up another question, which is a can of worms I won't fully open here: Do Molly, Lloyd, and Finley have sentient "AI" equivalents like Rambley? If not, does Rambley know his friends aren't real? I'll let you decide.

Anyway, that just about closes my thoughts on this silly raccoon game. Thanks for letting me ramble on about it, and thanks for making it to the end of the post!

Lemme know about your own theories in regards to what these things are, or if there's any key evidence I missed. Kinda threw this together lol. Most of it will likely get disproven by future chapters but hey, thus is the price of theorizing ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[lani-heart]

|| series masterlist || next // previously

parings -> riki nishimura x reader genre -> non-idol au, school au, hyrbid au warnings -> neglectment / rejection word count -> 1.9k

abstract -> all humans are the same... aren't they?

niki perspective 

I can’t believe I let those stupid people make me doubt her.

That was very stupid. But it was now the second day and she reassured me that I could quit anytime. I heard several whispers when I entered. They thought I would be punished and didn’t expect me to come back here unscathed.

“Doesn’t it make sense though? His owner never punishes him” I soon heard. Oh, how I loved her. “You're here?!” the dog hybrid said. “I was worried your owner must return or punish you,” he said and I smiled. “She isn’t like that. She said I did the right thing” I said happily and he was shocked.

“That's not how you’re supposed to act though! You’re supposed–” “Yeah I know but I promised her I wouldn't change because of these lessons. I'm just here to act properly at parties, that's it. Not because she’s forcing me,  don’t have to impress anybody” I said and he was confused. 

I know everyone would be different. I’m an exception. I have the best owner out of everyone. 

“You’re lucky,” he said and I smiled. “I know” 

I learned his name was Jake. He was recently rescued from the streets when he was abandoned very young. I don’t remember much of my life on the streets or prior. All I know is my life with her. 

The class was finished without anything wrong this time. Maybe I can convince her to go to the convenience store today. 

“Niki!” I heard and I scoffed. “Yah! It's Riki” I said as I saw the Hawk hybrid approach me. He was wearing designer clothes with a jeweled collar. “What do you want?” I asked and he scoffed. “I’m older than you. You should show me more respect,” he said and I rolled my eyes. “Hmm. What year are you Riki?” Jake asked and I answered with ‘2005’. 

“I’m older than you too!!” he said and I scoffed. “Our owners want us to be friends,” he said and I laughed. “Yeah right. y/n knows I’m not interested in making friends” I said and he clicked his tongue before grabbing the back of my collar. 

“Hey!!” I said as I tried pushing him off. “How do you get away with everything? I heard stories of what you’ve done and she still keeps you around?” he said and I scoffed. 

“She’s not like your owner!” I corrected and I would’ve had the nerve to scratch him away but… he was from that girl who seemed to have a good status that would get y/n in trouble. 

“Yah! Let him go” I heard and I saw the familiar overgrown tiger. “Who are you?” I heard him ask and he scoffed. “Someone who isn't scared to hurt the pretty little bird,” he said while the Hawk let me go. “Come on you’ve kept her waiting long enough,” he said and I followed Hongjoong. 

“There's no way you’re forcing me here,” the tiger told his owner and y/n laughed. 

“Hongjoong was sick of waiting,” she sighed and I chuckled. “Oh, Jay! e/n  asked me to watch you for today. She’ll pick you up tomorrow,” she said and I was confused. “What?!” I yelled and she smiled softly. 

“She’s on a trip right now. Her dad asked mine and here we are” she explained and I sighed. It was a request from him.

“No trouble today?” she asked me and I shook my head. “The black cat is bad luck y/nnie,” Hongjoong said and I glared. “It was worth a try,” Seonghwa said to her and she smiled. “Trust me Hongjoong. If Niki didn’t want to attend I wouldn't have him do it” she said and he smiled. “I know, he’s just stupid, '' he said and I glared at him. 

“Remember, for dinner you can’t say no,” Seonghwa said. Today was her monthly dinner with her friends AND she was babysitting the stupid hawk?!

 “y/n I wanted to go to the convenience store today,” I said, still wanting to stock up on snacks… especially if he's gonna be with us. “Niki, you should eat a proper meal tonight,” she said and I pouted. “You’re not even gonna be here which means the chef won't come by tonight,” I said and she sighed. 

“Fine you win”

jay’s perspective

Riki was a strange hybrid. He was wild and crazy… and had so many horror stories that the two were the talk of hybrid talk in gatherings.

y/n was just as maybe even more strange. She was the only child of a very wealthy businessman. Everyone wanted to be in her good graces… but the hybrid she owns doesn't match her personality. He’s too much trouble. 

Seeing her outside of the fancy clothes and jewelry though… She was the same as him. Both are childish despite their status. 

“That's not true, take it back!” he said as she shook her head trying not to laugh as they argued which is the best kimbap flavor. 

They already had a full basket and are now on their second. “Jay do you want anything?” she asked me and I shook my head. “Then starve tonight,” Riki said and y/n hit him playfully. “I’m going out tonight and there isn't much food at my apartment so please choose something,” she said. I had never eaten this kind of food before. 

Ramyeon… tteokbokki… frozen chicken? This is bad for my diet. 

“You’ve never had this type of food before have you?” Riki asked as y/n looked over the candy. “It's not a part of my food plan,” I said and he rolled his eyes. “Just get a ramyeon, kimbap, and ice cream and you're set, '' he said as I picked out one called buldak, a random kimbap flavor, and ice cream. I haven't had ice cream since I was in America. 

When she paid Riki still asked if we could get street food. She said yes and I was shocked at just how badly of a diet they had. Or that she even went along with his requests… he asked so carelessly. 

“I've been craving spicy fish cake,” y/n said “Ooh how about Mandu?” Riki suggested. “Ooh! And some chicken skewers!” y/n said and they grinned happily. 

What was this?

“Remember not too eat much. You still have to go to dinner” Riki said and she groaned. “I need street food. They’re planning on drinking” she said and he chuckled. “Be careful, okay?” he asked and she smiled softly and nodded. 

So he did care for her too? 

“Jay, are you sure you don’t want anything?” she asked and I shook my head. She looked disappointed with my response, causing the overgrown cat to roll his eyes. “Eat it, it'll be rude if you don’t,” he said as he handed me a chicken skewer. 

I've never tried Korean street food before… it was famous though amongst tourists and locals. I tried it and was surprised at how good it was. I regret not asking for one now…

Too bad it'll probably be my last time trying it…

We arrived when they dumped all the bags on the counter… they didn't even put it away. He didn’t even offer to help nor did she ask.“Niki showed Jay the guest room,” she said and he nodded as I followed him. It was a very spacious apartment… I don’t think it should even be called an apartment.

I saw my duffel bag. I’m glad she didn’t forget it this time… 

I didn’t know what to do now… stare at another wall I guess? Maybe sleep?

I heard laughing though…  I left my room to see the two putting stuff away. She was in a hoodie and sweatpants with a hair roller on her bangs. Riki is now in a shirt and sweats.

“Oh, Jay! You can use the TV by the way; it has many games. You can ask Niki how to use it” she said. Luckily, I have a PS5 for my entertainment at home. I wasn’t allowed to play certain games though…

“Buldak?” she said as I saw the ramen I chose. “That's Jay’s … he chose it,” Riki said and she nodded while putting it on the counter with the kimbap I chose. “We need to go grocery shopping,” she said and I was confused. “Why don't you have someone do that for you?” I asked and she chuckled. “Cause it's fun!” she said with a grin. “They won’t get us snacks otherwise,” Riki said. 

“Too many snacks are bad for you” I muttered. “y/n, he’s no fun” he whined and she chuckled. “Come on, quit being grumpy,” she said and he playfully huffed. 

“How long have you had Riki?” I asked and she smiled. “Uhm well I was seven and you were eight right Riki?” she asked and he nodded. “So twelve years! We celebrate every December 9 since we don’t know Niki’s exact birthday” she said.

Twelve years? That's such a long time… and only with each other?

“How about you?” she asked and I sighed. “Six months,” I said and she nodded. “Who’s been your longest owner?” she asked… so she did know how people like her were. “Two years,” I said and she sighed. 

“I hope you find a forever home,” she said with a sad smile. “Do you think if you didn’t meet Riki when he was young you’d keep him the way you do now?” I asked and she sighed. “Niki is my number one companion and my best friend. He’s not an object to be sold” she said, a little angry. 

Did I anger her?

“I can finish. Go get ready, yome-chan” he said and she nodded while she left. “Did I offend her?” I asked and he shook his head. “She’s just defensive on the topic,” he said as he put things away for her now. 

“That dog hybrid is right. You’re lucky to have her” I said and he looked at me with possessive eyes. “I’ll be given away soon,” I said and he sighed. “I know I am. She’s stuck with me whether she likes it or not” he muttered. “I think she likes it,” I said and he chuckled. 

There was silence afterward. 

I hate you, Riki. You have a life I would kill for. 

I soon noticed the strong scent of perfume that had faded before. She was in a red dress with the white fur coat she had the other day.

“You forgot this,” he said while pulling out her hair roller. “I’ll be out with Seonghwa, Wonyoung, NingNing, Chenle, and Yeosang,” she said and he nodded. “Pace yourself and eat well, okay?” he asked and she smiled. 

“Bye Nik, Bye Jay!!” she said while Niki helped put her heels and coat on while she left. “Is a bodyguard or a maid coming?” I asked and he shook his head. “No, we wait for when she comes back,” he said as he sat on the couch. 

“You look confused,” he said and I chuckled. “You’re like her friend… you're not even a hybrid for her,” I said and he shrugged. “Maybe one day I’ll finally get someone to keep me like she does with you,” I said and he sighed when he paused his game.

“You won’t have that. Not with the social status you’ve been stamped with. Every one of those stuck-up kids does it to collect, brag, and dump you. They’ll repeat the cycle over and over again” he said now showing his distaste for humans. “What about y/n?” I asked. 

“I don't know… one day she might do the same” 

taglist -> @ilovecheese09 @gudkc @nikisvanillaccola @blossominghunnie @mheretoreadff @k1ttylvr @starzniiky @kibs-and-bits @b3tt7boop @in-somnias-world @lol6sposts @xiaoderrrr @jihyosgf

please don't be a silent reader !! reblog, comment, and like <3

[dantedemondino]

Alright screw it Planet of the Apes OC’s go brrr-

Meet my trio (someday quartet?) of apes.

(Full refs are on my Toyhouse, check my pinned post!)

(KINGDOM SPOILERS BELOW FOR LORE)

Locust! A kind hearted, yet rather confident bonobo. (Rather he lacks common sense-)

He grew up in “some clan”, it’s not important anymore to him. As much like other neighboring clans and tribes they were seized by Proximus, all in the name of “Caesar”. Who ironically Locust somewhat doubts ever existed- he didn’t mind it terribly, though he found this obsession with the door equally as foolish. In his mind he thinks: If this Caesar dude is so great and powerful and made humans fall, and you want to be him? Why do you need the human stuff? Of course that question doesn’t last long.

In the chaos of all the war and flooding, he found himself washed away from any ape he had gotten the privilege to know. He fled as soon as he could get on his four limbs- deeming that this constant aggression between gatherings of ape was too much. So he set to try the “Hermitcrab” life. (Hermit. For English is hard for humans, let alone apes.)

Darwin. A weathered chimp, with a sharp mind. (May be accused of witchcraft.)

Darwin gets his name for a reason- while he isn’t hell bent on being anything like a human/Caesar like Proximus? He is a very inventive/curious ape. His clan used to inhabit a faction in the factory area of a rundown city. While few dare to touch the human work, when it gets too dangerous? He had more wonder than preservation. He learned how certain rock dust reacts to heat- meaning he held the power of fire in his hand. (Only to brutally scar himself of course.) He was lucky to not ever meet Proximus, as I feel it would go terribly-

He meets Locust because that goofy bonobo doesn’t take a hint that someone might live in the conveniently lively building- and after spending that much time alone in the city? He can’t help but conveniently take pity on them. Eventually departing into the jungle with him too!

Ari. A chill but rather nerdy orangutan. (A self proclaimed scholar of “Caesar”)

Despite living in the treetops, she is very down to earth. And in a literal sense to how they met Locust & Darwin. She proclaims its fate the way she fell out the trees onto the only other two apes she has seen in a long time. Thanking Ceasar, she watches as the two scoff? Oh boy- two misguided people! She would proceed to try and join them in an attempt to teach them about the actual words of the law giver.

Little does she know she too will find some of her ways are lies…