#like i'm fine but definitely could be better lol

[retiredcultistredux]

OH! Ptsst!! Hyness! Do you think the core may be reacting to your emotional state? The glow seemed to recede when you calmed down and started glowing again when you were startled!

Ester: "Now that's interesting..."

Hyness: "Y-You...weren't supposed to h-hear that..."

Ester: "Well too bad!! ...Hehe, I just got a funny idea..."

Uh oh.

[mintjeru]

smth about secrets, acceptance, and relief

open for better quality | no reposts | ID under the cut

[Image description: A four page comic of Kaveh and Alhaitham. In the spur of the moment, Alhaitham confesses something to Kaveh. Kaveh is surprised for a moment, but soon notices Alhaitham is tense and trembling from the sheer emotion. He gently holds his hands and talks to him. Alhaitham listens quietly and stares at his hands in Kaveh's. When he calms down, he leans onto Kaveh's shoulder.]

[good-wine-and-cheese]

Grimmer is Immune to Johan

Probably a stretch and my reasoning definitely boils down to “because I think that would be interesting and will analyse text based on this premise” so don’t take me too seriously lol (but I’m right)

I mostly wanted to write this because I lament the fact that Johan and Grimmer never really get any proper interactions together despite being, in my opinion, much better narrative foils to each other than Johan is to Tenma. They were made of the same building blocks, but turned out as total opposition to one another. We do get a faint taste of this through Milosz, and that’s actually part of what makes me argue this point: Milosz was saved.

Before really getting into Grimmer vs. Johan, it’s important to draw another distinction. Grimmer and Roberto are the ones often compared, given their ties to one another. They both went to Kinderheim, and both were similarly broken down to hollow human husks, then left the orphanage and began different lives. It’s here, once they moved on, that an important distinction is made.

While little is known about Roberto and so there’s not much to go on here, he indicates while talking to Lunge that he lived as an impersonal mercenary, with no connections to anyone or anything. Because he never speaks on having had any connection of any kind, my assumption here is this has always been the case for him.

Grimmer on the other hand became very much connected to people. While, yes, it was a facade - he didn’t care about them, he was performing a role as a spy - he did still have a grounded existence in which people were familiar with him, treated him like a friend, a husband, a father. Even if it was false, Grimmer had grounded himself by living a life. Roberto was transient, with no other person to validate his existence.

In a way, I connect Grimmer to Nina; both have little to no memory of their childhood, and both were “given” a new name, living their lives under this new persona and growing into a person of their own, holding that new name as a part of themselves. Basically, Grimmer has an identity. He started developing into a proper person, and allowed himself to move forward with his life as that person. And after losing the people that had become his family, he set his sights on a goal to unearth the organization that had put him through everything he endured. While he is contemplating his past here, he’s doing so through the lens of a forward-moving goal; he can’t achieve it if he’s only looking back. Achieving his goal means he has to keep moving forward.

The reason that Johan was able to get to Roberto, and to sway him to perfect loyalty, was because Roberto had nothing to ground him in the present, and nothing to look for in the future. He was stuck in the past, and having someone validate those feelings gave him ground to stand on. He finally had a connection, but that connection was fixing him into his past, rather than pulling him forward. He’s trapped by Johan and sees no future except “the end”.

Overall this is how Johan works; he himself is unable to let go of the past, and sympathizes with people who in turn have traumas they’re unable to let go of, helping them to embrace that part of themselves instead of moving on. Convincing people to kill themselves isn’t that hard when all that exists for them is their past, and the future has no meaning.

This brings us back to the pseudo-conflict between Grimmer and Johan over Milosz. Indeed, Johan is able to break Milosz down and trap him into his past - the trauma of knowing his mother abandoned him. Rationally, if he were able to look forward, he would know that he has a new family now, in the boys that befriended him. But because he was caught in Johan’s trap, the present doesn’t matter. Grimmer, though, was able to break through with one important assertion: that someone wanted him. True his mother may have abandoned him (or died, we don’t even know!) but so long as he looks forward instead of back, there will be people in the world he will meet that do want him, that do love him, that need him in their lives. He gives Milosz a goal: to find the people that can become his new family, instead of wallowing in the despair of not having his mother.

While I do think that Johan would have had the power to reach and break down Grimmer when he was younger, still more freshly out of Kinderheim and barely established as a person, the Grimmer of now is too grounded in his existence and forward-looking for Johan to be able to ensnare him. The only way I think he might have an angle on Grimmer is through Steiner, as Grimmer still expresses visible vulnerability about not being able to control that other side to himself, but I don’t think it would be enough to convince him that the world is full of despair. His connection to the world, even if manufactured some of the time, is too strong for Johan to crack.

I would have loved to see them have a proper discussion in the show, I think it could have been very insightful.

As an aside, I think it’s interesting to consider both Johan and Grimmer’s dialogues with Milosz as being somewhat self-reflective; Johan feels abandoned by his mother, and therefore unwanted in the world, while Grimmer holds onto the necessary belief that someone somewhere in the world wanted him to exist.

[kadoodles-on-ao3]

have you ever considered shulk/fiora/melia as a ship?

Personally, I do not like it at all haha. Like I as much as I really really really dislike Fiora/Shulk, I think I dislike Melia/Fiora/Shulk even more. Very bad, no thank you, bottom of F Tier.

If you want to hear my rant reasoning I'll put it below the cut, but TL;DR I'm mainly interested in Shulk/Melia and that's it. Sorry if that's not the answer you were hoping for! Oh, and Happy Halloween!!

Part of it is because I'm not that much of a multishipper, especially when there's one ship in particular I really like a lot. If I have my OTP I do not want them spilt up nor want anyone else to intrude haha. And another part of it is I really don't think Shulk or Melia (especially Melia, especially especially when it's involving Fiora and Shulk) would be happy/emotionally-satisfied in a non-monogamous relationship. Not to mention the intense "male-viewer-insert Shulk-is-a-surrogate-for-me harem-fantasy" vibes it gives off haha. (Also, maybe this is just me, but a big vibe/culture/idk-what-word-to-use-lol around polyships comes off to me as people not really thinking characters can just... be friends??? Like if a character shows even a modicum of care towards another that must mean they're in romantic love. And if they do that to all their friends then they must all be in love. Friend groups do not exist there is only shipping. Oh and if they hate someone's guts then they must also be in love, throw em in the mix. I personally don't get it haha.)

But on top of all that, whenever I've come across Melia/Fiora/Shulk content, every single time it seems to be made with the intent/vibe of "I ship Fiora with both Shulk and Melia. And that's it." rather than a "full" OT3. (Same thing with Reyn/Shulk/Fiora/Melia, but that one's "I ship Shulk with Fiora and Reyn, and I also ship Fiora with Melia. And on an off day I might make Melia/Reyn content." But that's it. It's like everyone subconsciously agrees that Shulk and Melia are not to interact romantically, it is forbidden.) And more power to you if you like any of that that but... I don't haha.

I am starved for Shulk/Melia content. I even (used to) check fics/art of the popular polyships that include the two of them just to try to find crumbs of them being romantic together (as evidenced by my above rant) but I found absolutely nothing. Very few people seem to like them together for whatever reason, even people who like polyships with them in it. And with how much depth and potential and intrigue and lore-and-character-arc-integration and general-cuteness I think they have together, that confuses and saddens me.

Jeez I really need to get back to making my Shulkelia catalogue. There's actually quite a bit of art out there for them if you go looking! Not very much and often not very explicitly-romantic but... it's a rarepair for a small fandom for a game that came out over a decade ago, I will take what I can get.

I also really need to get back to writing AAAAAAA I'M VERY SORRY AGAIN

[moonstruckme]

hi mae!! how are you?

i recently burned my thigh with my iron curler and it formed a big scar. it started slowly bubbling up and i accidentally popped it like 2 days ago so now i have fresh skin open 🥲 it’s extra sensitive and i have to patch it up. and when i let the wound breath it HURTS 😭

i was wondering if you could write about this with emt!marauders? or maybe just james? idk lol whatever you feel like writing it about.

AND IF YOUVE WRITTEN ABOUT THIS ALREADY, MY BAD 😃😭

Hi lovely, I'm good! I'm really sorry this happened, it sounds awful!! Hope it's feeling a bit better by now <3

cw: severe burn (no details)

James Potter x fem!reader ♡ 786 words

“I don’t think we should do this.”  

“I mean,” says James, sitting patiently opposite you on the bed, “I don’t love it either.” 

“Then let’s not,” you bargain.

 He gives you a sorry smile. “What do you think we should do instead, angel?” 

You take a deep breath. “Leave it,” you say on the exhale. “It’ll heal eventually. Or it won’t, and the bandage will become my new skin. I could be fine with that.” 

“I’m somewhat attached to your real skin.” 

“We all have to make sacrifices, James.” 

Your boyfriend gives you an amused look, but there’s worry beneath it. You feel guilty for putting him through this. It’s bad enough that he has to change your bandages for you because you’re too squeamish to do it yourself, but now you’re also making him convince you as if it were his idea. 

You blow out a long breath, tilting your face up toward the ceiling. “I can’t see it.” 

“You don’t have to,” he reassures you. “You can close your eyes, baby.”

“How bad is a little infection really?” you ask, but you’re already laying back, succumbing to the plushness of your pillow. 

“I had a dog bite get infected once,” James says, pulling your leg into his lap. Strong, gentle fingers on the underside of your thigh. “I didn’t enjoy it.” 

“You got bitten by a dog?” You turn your head to see him, but he shoots you a look and you sigh, covering your eyes with your hands. “When was that?” 

“When I was little.” One of his hands stays cradling your leg, but you feel the fingers of the other probing carefully at the edges of your bandage. Apprehension climbs up your throat, mingling with the ache of affection that’s already there. You appreciate how delicate James is with you, peeling the bandage up gingerly by one corner instead of ripping it off like some might. “It wasn’t really the dog’s fault, it was just spooked and I didn’t know enough to stay away.” 

You hiss as the bandage sticks to a tender bit of skin, and James coos an apology, stroking the unharmed skin beside it soothingly. Then the whole thing comes off, air hitting the wound and making you tense all over. 

“What happened with the bite?” Your voice is somewhat strained. 

James hesitates. “There was a lot of puss involved,” he says. “You won’t want to hear the details.” 

“Mm, thanks.” 

He chuckles. You can hear him twisting the cap off the antibiotic ointment. Your fingertips press harder into your brow bone. 

“You alright?” he asks softly. 

“Mhm. I’m ready.” 

You still gasp through your teeth when the ointment makes contact with your skin, and James grips your leg more firmly to keep you from flinching away. 

“Sorry,” he hisses, working fast as he can with gentle, caring fingers. “Sorry, baby.” 

“Not your fault,” you squeak out, keeping your own fingers pressed tightly over your eyes. “Thank you for doing this.” 

James doesn’t seem to want to accept your thanks, and you let the silence sit. When he’s done, you both sigh. 

“Thanks,” you say again. For good measure. “Couldn’t have done it without you.” 

“Definitely not,” James agrees. “I’ve no idea what we’re going to do when I’m hurt someday and neither of us can look at it.” 

You drop your hands from your eyes and sit up on your elbows, careful to look only at James and not down at your leg. It’s not hard. He’s a lovely sight, even with that sympathetic pinch to his mouth and worry tightening the muscles around his eyes. You reach for his hand, and his expression lightens. He wipes his fingertips off on his jeans before giving it to you. 

“We’ll have to call Remus,” you say, squeezing his fingers. 

A laugh startles out of him. “I thought you were going to say you’d put your squeamishness aside for me. Or that it wouldn’t be gross because you love me, or something.” 

“I would if it were true,” you reply, “but I’m afraid I won’t be much help if I’m gagging over you the entire time. I’ll hold your hand while we both don’t look, though.” 

“Mm, fair enough.” He scoots closer on the bed. His hand finds your opposite hip, rubbing a slow back-and-forth. “And you’ll distract me with kisses while I’m nursed back to health?” 

“If it’ll help.” Your voice is soft. “Though I should point out that I haven’t received any kisses.” 

Twin dimples appear on either side of James mouth as he leans over you, careful to avoid your hurt leg. “Patience, angel,” he murmurs as his lips brush yours. “I’m not done with you yet.” 

[aveloka-draws]

When drawing your comic panels, sketches, and so on for humanoid characters, how do you handle anatomy?

I’d guess that it’s a pretty instinctual thing for you by this point after seeing all your (awesome, amazing, WOW I strive to draw as good as you do one day) art. I can’t manage to draw anything past a simple headshot lol, and even then I still struggle a good bit. I feel like I’ve gotten a lot better than I used to be though, and that’s definitely a good feeling.

Any helpful tips? It’s fine if you don’t have any though—I was just curious.

Whether you are a begginer or more advanced at drawing references are always helpful, not necessarily meaning to copy them but rather to study them so you can figure out how the body works and you can pose it however you want more easily! I'm still not that good but with enough practice they can look pretty decent.

I feel you about drawing headshots only, i used to do that a lot too. You could try to thumbnail (basically make a little sketch) your idea so you see the whole picture rather than just focusing all your attention in a portrait.

Iiiii hope this makes sense and hopefully helps? There're really good video tutorials on youtube that go WAY more into detail to tackle anatomy that have helped me a lot, Proko, Mark Brunet, Ethan Becker's channels are some that come to mind!

[yukkuo]

I WAS ABSOLUTELY ENAMOURED BY THE PIECE YOU DID FOR SEONGJI?? OMG IT WAS SO GOOD and its criminal how thats the only fic of him i could find, if i may can i request a really fluffy piece where reader is a huge tease and Seongji just tries to desperately hide how shy he is? (if possible, can reader wear glasses and be around his height? it'd be funny seeing him steal them just to irritate reader lol just to get smacked)

This is actually so funny cause I have glasses myself and to imagine Seongji acting slightly like a goofball makes it better. Also I have zero clue what the word count it but this is somewhat long.

Seongji Yuk x gn!reader

Warnings— flirting, tooth rotting fluff

𝐀𝐍𝐍𝐎𝐘𝐈𝐍𝐆

Seongji would have thought that he would've been alone his whole life. After escaping the Shamans grasp, he full heartedly accepted the quiet and loneliness that whatever gods above have given him for the rest of his life.

Though of course, just like in the fairytales, someone always disrupted the gods deeds.

"I swear you have some of the most prettiest hands I have ever seen. I'm being serious." Seongji would have had never thought that someone— anyone actually, would compliment his condition. Having been cursed with an extra finger in each hand and foot, he was considered an anomaly to human society.

Yet everytime you were near him, you thought so different. You complimented and praised him for surviving up until now and how his hands made him unique.

Though it always came with a side effect..

"..."

"You look like a cat when you shy away it's adorable! Who knew a big guy like you could be so timid?"

You always teased him unfortunately.

He probably should have had been used to it by now, Seongji has known you for... Actually who knows how long. But it's definitely been long enough. Long enough to get used to your teasings and small pranks.

Was that going to happen though?

Probably not.

"I'm trying to cook. Shut up." He refused to make eye contact with you. Only focusing on what he had on his cooking pot while trying not to mess up.

"You can cook just fine, can't you?" Was all he heard from you, he didn't think much of it until you wrapped your arms around his waist from behind. His body tensed up completely, almost dropping the cooking utensil onto the food. Curse him for dropping his guard for practically zero around you.

"Keep cooking." Your hot breath brushed against his ear, along with your glasses lightly moving his hair. His hand began to shake, Seongji knew how to survive— but absolutely did not know how to survive this nor was he prepared ever in his life.

The his ears began to turn into a light red tint, his heart thumping at an abnormal rate. Was this normal? Surely it was.

"Your hands are pretty. But your gorgeous, you know that right?" You gently rubbed your cheek against his like a cat, your words slurred slightly— hinting that you were either getting sleepy or just extremely comfortable with him.

Seongji wanted to shrug you off, wanting to tell you how stupid and corny you sounded but he didn't have the heart to tell you. He sighed and lifted one of his hands, trying oh so hard to sustain the blush on his face to only fail miserably, he gently pushed your face away from his which took you by surprise.

"Go away, you have better things to do." He muttered, still refusing as much as to even glance your way and focusing on his cooking just as you had told him to a few minutes ago.

You dramatically groaned, leaning your weight onto his figure which didn't even make him budge despite being the same height. "Noo..."

"Stop being a baby and go."

"Nooooooo"

He called your name sternly, making you let go of him and huff out small incoherent grumbles. "Man... You're just a hater.." Of course, you didn't actually mean them and he knew it.

Hearing you retreat, he had let go of the breath he had been holding for who knows how long.

You stared at the group of kids not too far away, a small smile on your lips. It had been so peaceful recently— except for Vin Jin being there and erupt chaos to disrupt the peace because that kid was filled with energy.

Yet even with his chaotic energy, you called it peaceful. They were all carefree and didn't have to worry about the shaman or the other citizens of the town here up in the mountain with you and Seongji. Like all of you were a big and happy family.

It felt warm.

You didn't notice it cause you were too busy staring at the group, that someone had begun to creep up behind you. In a blink of an eye, everything was blurry for you. Your lips parted slightly while blinking more before putting a hand up to adjust your glasses.

They weren't there any more.

"Wow, you're pretty blind." Spoke a voice next to you. You turned your head and saw Seongji trying to look around with them before looking at you with that same stoic expression.

He didn't even react to stealing your glasses, he still had the same expression as always without an inch of his facial features twitching even the slightest.

"Hey." His voice snapped you out of your daze, only to make you deadpan. How and why was he still good looking? Even with the glasses that might as well be a bonus.

"What?"

After what seemed for a little too long, the man slowly raised up his hand.

"How many fingers am I holding?"

"..."

"Woah.."

"Hey... Aren't those.."

"Why the fuck are they running."

The group of teenagers began to huddle slightly as they witnessed a scene of you chasing Seongji to God knows where while he's wearing your glasses.

Mary couldn't help but to laugh a bit, Vin Jin and the boys were just hyping up Seongji but knew you would still catch up to him.

In the end, you managed to grab a hold on the jacket around Seongjis waist to which the boys had to pay Mary for losing the bet.

You took your glasses back and smacked the back of Seongjis head. Then pinched his cheeks with an irk mark on your forehead.

"You think you're sooooo funny don'cha?" You continued to pull his cheeks more, an irritated smile on your lips while your eye twitched.

Seongji didn't react much, he winced slightly at first but it didn't really hurt.

Oh well, at least he was able to look at you now.

[allisonlol]

Ah, a Jouno simp...I've always been more of a Chuuya and Fyodor simp. Having said that Jouno is fast becoming a new contender. On that note..if you get time (uni is a real time eater) could we maybe get headcanons on ideal types of woman for Chuuya, Jouno & Fyodor please

a/n: chuuya and fyodor are on TOP too! jouno was love at first sight tho <33 but i would love to do this for u!! keep in mind y'all this is my OPINIONNNN so be nice or else. felt like i was writing kunikida's list of ideals LOL

warning: fem reader

(Chuuya, Jouno, Fyodor) And Their Ideal Woman

Chuuya

i feel like he's...not really picky??

like as long as ur decently nice and somewhat confident he'd be down to get to know u

i feel like chuuya would definitely be drawn to someone who puts a lot of effort into their appearance tho. he does the same so it's not a double standard!!

^such as well-put together outfits and styling ur hair or makeup to match

this is random but i think he likes girls who wear glasses...it's fine if u don't but bonus points if u do!! especially the round frames

doesn't care about height much. but if ur taller than him don't tease him too much or he'll be insecure :(

personality wise, i think chuuya would like someone who is sweet and a little shy, but knows when to stick up for themselves? like not a pushover

someone who is soft-spoken would be a nice contrast to his hotheadedness and bring out his softer side <3

Jouno

his type is me. next

all jokes but i think jouno would like someone who is very similar to him

^you would have to have a substantial amount of things in common to get close to him in the first place, since he doesn't waste his time on anyone

i'm thinking someone who is quick to aggravate, reserved, and sarcastic

there's a lot of playful banter instead of flirting

appearance doesn’t matter much since he can't exactly see you lol. but he would like to lightly trace over ur face and such to picture what you look like

due to his enhanced sense of smell he would love someone who smells good all the time...like regularly uses lotions and perfume but doesn't over-do it (too much would give him a headache)

^has an inclination towards sweet and warm scents, like vanilla. claims the florals are "too overpowering" (although he likes cherry blossom)

i also feel like jouno would like someone with longer hair. he likes running his hands through it or playing with it :)

Fyodor

he likes anyone who will shut up and sit down to obey his order <3

i'm only partially joking here. he would need someone who will typically submit to him

^doesn't mind pushback once in awhile tho. likes the debates that come up if you question or disagree with him

fyodor would like someone who is very quiet, softspoken, and intelligent. the less friends you have, the better too!

^wants you all the himself lol. if you're very introverted, he won't have to worry about you getting close to anyone else as much (did someone say...possessive...)

does want someone who is close to his intellect but doesn't match it. he wants to be able to teach you things and feel superior

don’t bash me here BUT i think fyodor would like a woman who fits that “trad wife” stereotype. like just chills at home and does housework for him. he tends to neglect taking care of himself and his surroundings so he appreciates if you care for him in that way

i also believe fyodor would be drawn to someone who's style resembles his own. i have a very distinct image of a woman with dark hair, elegant clothing, dark makeup

another one who appreciates if you put a lot of time into your appearance

immense bonus points if you're also russian or can speak the language

taglist: @deadmitochondria @miycutie @scul-pted @exorcisedstraydog @chuuyasboots @shy-socially-awkward-intovert @beandaifuku @stygianoir @sonder-paradise @dreaming-of-ambedo @nervousyetconfidentway @beautiful-is-boring @irethepotato @serenareiss @thescrunkly @ashthemadwriter @mrsdostoevsky @creamygojo @disa-ster

[pinguwrites]

Ooooh, what about this? Future!reader accidentally time traveled to 1940s when she met William Killick, and he had to take care of her due to injuries she had. She ended up staying with him while rejecting his advances because she was trying to find a way to go back to future, and it wouldn’t be fair to him if she were to accept his advances, but she didn’t know William was sabotaging the solutions to ensure she would stay with him forever.

THIS IS ABSOLUTELY WONDERFUL LIKE HOLY SHIT. I was about to write something like this with Tommy in Black Heart, but I opted out, and I hadn't even considered this with William, so I'm so glad you requested it!!

this was supposed to be a short-length fic lol, it's like the longest thing I've ever written on here

Home Is Where the Heart Is ⸻ William Killick

pairing | william killick x future!reader

summary | You don't think much of the box when it arrives at your front door. That is, until you open it and are transported decades into the past. There, you fall into the arms of a handsome soldier, who is intent on making you stay.

word count | 9k

Warnings: DUB-CON, possessive!william, future!reader, period typical sexism it's okay when it's william, reader has a software job, weird time travel plot (who knows how the box got there? it's totally not going to be revealed in part two ;) ), mentions of war, reader simps so hard, p in v sex, breeding kink

Disclaimer: The Edge of Love characters, plots, quotes, etc. do not belong to me and belong to the rightful owner(s). This is only fanfiction and this is just for fun.

A/N: I'm honestly not too proud with how rushed it was, but I'm glad it's out there. I'm definitely doing a part two. Be warned for errors.

You were lying in a field of grass, tall, bushy trees lining the area around you. You seemed to be in some type of countryside because in the distance you could faintly see quaint little houses and farmland (at least, you assumed it was; your vision was awfully blurry), but other than that, you had no clue as to where you were.

“Ah,” you hissed, noticing the cut on your body. When you arrived — however that happened — you had scrapped your arm on a sharp rock embedded in the dirt, and now it was bleeding, red blood trickling down your arm.

You sighed miserably, trying to make sense of the situation.

Yesterday, a packaged box arrived on your front doorstep. No address, no company, just a note in pen, To [Y/n] [L/n]. You were a little wary of its contents but brought it inside anyway. You opened it and uncovered a machine, steel and simple in its construction, yet difficult to understand. There was no instruction manual or labels for the buttons, and it took you a while to know if you were even looking at it right, the only hint being the Roman numerals inside the dials.

After tinkering around with it, you must have fallen asleep, because the next thing you knew, you were in a completely other place. All you had on were your clothes, some money, and your phone, which, surprise surprise, had no signal, so all you could do was look at your downloads — completely useless — and take a photo. 

I must’ve been drugged, you thought, still feeling hazy. I should have called the cops the moment I realized something was off.

You got up and took off your socks, trying to stop the bleeding with it. It wasn’t the most hygienic, but it was all you had at the moment, and you weren’t about to tear off pieces of the shirt you had on, especially not when you were already shivering. 

The contraption had traveled with you, and though you were aware it was the reason you were here in the first place, you thought it better to bring it along, as evidence. You could show it to the government, and they could use their little science ways to find the culprit. All would be fine.

All will be fine.

You started walking. You didn’t have any shoes on for protection, so it was difficult to step across the dirt, with all its rocks and insects swarming about, but you managed to get to grass quick enough, and it felt much better, almost healing to walk barefoot on the softness of mother nature.

But you didn’t get very far. Eventually, your stomach started grumbling, and you felt like your intestines were twisting inside with desperation. Your sock was now red, and your hand was trembling, so with a defeated sigh, you let go, of both the sock and the heavy machine, allowing the blood to flow freely. You bent over to pick the sock back up first, but the sudden movement made your head reel, and before you knew it, you were out again.

+++

“You’re awake,” a voice said, a male’s voice, a British accent that sounded like butter. Oh, butter, if you could get your hands on that alone you would be satisfied. 

You opened your eyes, blinking. A figure, with pale skin and dark hair made it’s way over to you, and in a panic, you crawled away, eyes darting across the room. You were on a bed, bandages on your arm, but before you could calm down or even begin to think properly, panic took over, your heart rate elevated, and you sighed, before passing out again.

+++

For about the third time today, or however long you were out, you woke up. This time your vision was much clearer, but you still had this nasty migraine in your head. You were sick inside, the kind of sick that happens when you haven’t eaten in a while but can’t eat because you feel like you’ll throw up. 

You wondered if you were in the same place again. You remembered a man, with a soothing voice, but he wasn’t here right now. Though the possibility that you had been kidnapped entered your mind, you noticed the lack of bonds and chains on your body. He was probably just helping you, you reasoned.

You slowly got out of bed, wincing at the shooting pain in your arm. You observed your surroundings. The bedroom was very minimalist, and . . . quirky. You loved the design and the materials used, as it reminded you of a cottage, but there was nothing helpful in sight. All the technology you could see, like the kitchen, needed to be updated and was worn out. There was some type of record player, or CD tape, or whatever that was called, on one of the counters and a radio beside it. 

You didn’t bother with any of that. You were thirsty, throat dry and gnawing at you, so you went to look for water, hoping that whoever lived here didn’t go out and get it from a fucking well. He probably does. Look at this place!

“Shit!” you swore, your knees buckling from underneath you. You felt so weak and miserable and vulnerable. It hit you at this moment that you were probably a hundred miles away from home, in a strange place in a strange home you’d never seen before. How were you going to get back? What were you going to do?

Tears started welling in your eyes. You hated that you were being so emotional. Why couldn’t you toughen up and deal with the situation like a proper adult?

You leaned onto the counter, trying to balance yourself, when the front door opened up, and the man you saw before walked in, carrying a bag full of vegetables and other foods. He quickly placed the bag down and held you in his arms, his warmth comforting and relaxing.

He had short, dark hair, and a sharp jawline, and from this distance, you could see light freckles scattered across his cheeks. He had the most beautiful blue eyes you’d ever seen, like glaciers, like the ocean. Fuck, he was so handsome. 

“Here,” he said, guiding you back to the bedroom. He set you down on the bed, gazing at you with such intensity, like adoration or devotion. 

“W-who are you?” you asked, voice cracking. “Where am I? Hngh.” You rubbed your temples. Didn’t he have any pain medications?

“My name is William. William Killick,” the man introduced softly. “Don’t be scared, I’m not going to hurt you.” He went off into the kitchen and brought back a glass of water. You drank it slowly, the cool liquid flowing through your body, wetting your mouth. “I didn’t know if you had family nearby, so I took you to my place.”

William paused, as if thinking of what to say next. “Get more rest, it’s night.”

You hadn’t even noticed the time, but one look out the window told you he was right. It was pitch black outside.

“You’ll wake up tomorrow, and have some breakfast.”

You shook your head, and handed the glass back to him, only for him to set it down on the nightstand table. “Where’s my phone? Where’s my . . . box?”

He stared at you blankly, before clearing his throat. “Your stuff is in the back. I didn't know what it was — hey, don’t move.” William’s strong hands kept you in place, pushing you back down to the bed as gently as he could whilst still keeping a firm grip. “Rest,” he ordered. “Don’t need you fainting on me again.”

You wanted to argue, but you couldn’t. You laid your head on the pillow, without a choice but to trust William, and fell asleep, wrapping yourself in the blanket with a content sigh. All the questions you had, all the thoughts, faded away and were replaced by darkness.

+++

You dreamt of yourself and yourself. You, the spectator, were standing outside a window, but it wasn’t just any window. It was your window, the one that led to the inside of your bedroom, where you could see you and William — the strange man — entangled in the sheets. Lovers. You two were lovers. You two were making love. 

Anyone would have felt creepy watching someone else, and anyone would have noticed someone watching them, but none of that happened. The sun should have cast a shadow on you, but it didn't. The passerby should have called you out, but they didn’t. 

You had just enough awareness to realize that this was a dream. How were you back at home already? Why were you and William kissing?

While originally you felt nothing, like a simple observer without thoughts, you were suddenly flooded with heavy emotions. Confusion, shame, lust, confusion.

But in just a few moments, the world around you crumbled, like an earthquake, and the sun and moon passed by, stars moving across the heavens, and you were warped by time, back in the same place you were before. 

+++

You woke up with a gasp, cold sweat running down your body, and immediately William was by your side. You rested your head on his chest, grasping onto his shirt desperately, not wanting him to leave. 

“Shh, shh,” he cooed, running his fingers through your hair.

“Sorry,” you muttered, making no effort to leave his side. “I don’t know . . .”

“Shh.”

You both were like this for a while. Faint images of your dream passed through your mind, and from what little you remembered, you assumed it had been a wet dream. 

I can’t believe it, you thought. Having a wet dream — about a guy I barely met. Control yourself!

You pulled away, already missing his warmth. William frowned a little but didn’t say anything. “What’s your name, darling?” he asked. 

You hesitated.

“I told you, I’m not going to hurt you.”

“[Y/n],” you finally told him. “Where are we?”

William narrowed his eyes. You had a feeling he knew more than he was letting on, but you didn’t want to press.

“Wales,” William answered.

You froze. How the fuck did you get to Wales? What the fuck, what the fuck, what the fuck.

“Um, that’s nice,” you said awkwardly. “How long has it been since you found me?”

“A few days.”

You tried not to panic, but all you could think about was your job and your friends and your family. Have you been reported missing yet?

“You must be hungry,” William said. “I’ll cook something for you. I’m not the best, but I don’t want you to wear yourself out.”

“It’s alright.” You waved his concern off, though it did tug at your heartstrings that he was worried. “I'll get some fast food.”

You dug through your pockets, hoping your wallet was still in there. Thankfully it was. You pulled it out and grabbed two crisp twenty-dollar bills, but William hissed and pushed it back in, his hand not leaving yours. 

“What are you doing carrying around that much money?” he asked, giving you an incredulous look. “How are you meant to protect yourself? Where’d you get that? Do you have a husband?”

You pushed his hand away. “I work. And what’s the problem?” 

You knew that the American dollar wasn’t equivalent to a British pound, but was the difference that bad? Sure, forty dollars was a lot of money if you were just going to a gas station or something, but nothing to get excited over. 

William huffed. “You can’t just show me that much money like that. What if I was a thief, hmm? What would you do then?”

“Are you?” you asked, not understanding why he was making such a big deal out of it.

“No. I’m a gentleman.”

You scoffed, amused, but there was a little smile on your face. “A gentleman?”

“Yes,” he insisted. “A proper man.”

There was a moment of silence between you both. You wanted him to hold you again, but you thought it would be best if you just went on your way. 

“Thank you for taking care of me,” you said, getting up from the bed. “And bandaging me and all.” You gave him one of the bills. “I know it’s in dollars, but I’m sure you can convert it.”

William didn’t take the money. “You’re not leaving — you’re still hurt. I’d be remiss if I let a lass half as pretty as you alone on the streets.”

You chalked up his way of talking to the region. You honestly found it quite attractive. That, coupled with his British accent, made you feel like you were in one of those romance movies. You had to remind yourself that he wasn’t in love with you and that you were just acting irrational and horny.

“I’ll be fine. We’ll exchange numbers, do you have a charger?”

“What?”

“A phone charger. My phone’s probably dead.”

“The box?”

You narrowed your eyes. “No, the rectangle. The phone.”

“Ah, the one that glows?”

You briefly wondered if he simply didn’t know what a phone was. You knew some people preferred not to have modern technology in their life.

“Yes. I need to call someone — ”

“ — It stopped glowing.”

Great. William obviously didn’t have a charger. And if he didn’t know what it was, no one nearby would. All that was next to do would be to walk to a big city and hope someone there could help you get back home.

“Look, darling.” You ignored the way your heart fluttered when he called you that. “I don’t know what a phone is, or why you’re here, but I know that you still need to recover.”

“I appreciate it,” you said. “But I really have to go. I have work and — ”

“ — Surely you can take a day off. What is it you do?” William asked. 

“I’m a software developer. I code.”

William had a blank face. A pink blush dusted his cheeks. He cleared his throat, “I, er, I’ve never heard of that. You mean computers? The big ones that take up a room?”

“No, it’s not the fifties.”

“Well, 1946 is close.”

You didn’t know what to make of that. “What does 1946 have to do with this?”

William observed you intently. “The year. The year is 1946.”

You blinked. It couldn’t be. It couldn’t be the 20th century — that was impossible. So many things were wrong with that. How come it was you who traveled in time? Why didn’t the government know about this? Even if you were ignoring the question of how, there were still so many whys.  

“No,” you said slowly, inching away from William. What kind of sick prank was this? He was supposed to be helping you, not confusing you. “You’re messing with me.”

William sensed that you were uncomfortable, because he backed away, his hands in the air. You could tell he was waiting for the perfect moment to get closer.

“I’m not a liar . . . Are you from the future?”

Fuck. You weren’t sure. How could that even be possible?

“No,” you said hesitantly. “I dunno, I must be . . .”

Your eyes subtly peered past William and at the door. If only you could get past him . . . 

You looked straight at the window, making sure to grab his attention. “Oh,” you whispered, putting on your best shocked expression. The moment he was distracted you sprinted past him and bolted out of the room and out the house, running across the field to the next house you could see. Your arm still hurt, but you were willing to shove down the pain.

“No, no, please!” William shouted, running after you. 

In just a minute, he had caught up to you and tackled you to the ground. He pinned your hands above your head and sat on your lower stomach, rendering you useless. His lips were so close to yours, and the look on his face was pissed.

“What are you doing?” he asked, voice forceful, gripping onto your wrists tighter. 

“P-please,” you pathetically sputtered out. “Don’t hurt me.”

He didn’t budge. “I’m trying to help you — I’m not lying to you, and I’m not going to hurt you.”

“You’re hurting me now,” you cried, squirming.

William’s eyes softened as he realized what he was doing. “You promise not to run again?”

You nodded, your lower lip wobbling. 

“Alright.”

He still didn’t let go of you, but he did pull you up from the ground, wiping the dirt off of your back. Tears flowed down your cheek like rainwater, and you couldn’t help but curl in on yourself.

William held onto your arm as he walked you back to the house, not allowing you another chance of escape, but he did wipe your tears gently and soothe you. You felt embarrassed. Why did you run? You had acted purely on instinct there. This man was clearly only trying to help. 

“Look,” he said softly, sitting you back down on the bed like a child. “I’ll take you into town, hmm? Show you around and all — maybe that’ll convince you. You must be quite far into the future to be dressing like that and to have a . . . phone with you, so things will be different, right? What year are you from?”

“. . . 2023.”

“I knew it. On your phone, there was a date. I wasn’t sure then, but . . .” William suddenly reached his hands up and rubbed his thumb across your chapped lips, catching you off guard. “They’re dry,” he said. “I’ll draw up a bath for you so you can bathe while I cook. I’ll get you some lotion afterward.”

You nodded. What else could you do?

+++

William had cooked some simple fish and chips while you cleaned yourself. You had to use a tin tub, which was insane to you, but you didn’t complain about it. He supplied you with clothing, an old-fashioned dress his mother had accidentally left here. You were grateful it was not from some ex-girlfriend or wife, even though you had no right to feel that way. You put aside your other clothes to wash later.

After finishing with that, you sat down at the dining table, and like the hungry girl you were, you gobbled the food down eagerly. It was so fresh and delicious, not at all like the food you had in the future, pumped with chemicals and artificially bred. You tried to be as neat as you could, but it was difficult when you were starving. William had watched on with amusement, telling you to slow down and straighten your back every once in a while.

He took the plates away when you both were done, and then did as he promised and gave you some lotion, but instead of letting you apply it, he took a bit of cream on his fingers and rubbed it on your lips. “Stay still,” he murmured. 

“I-I can do it—”

“No, you can’t. You’re still injured.”

You understood his reasoning. And you didn’t mind him touching you like that.

“The rest of my body is dry, too,” you blurted out.

What were you thinking? You didn’t even know this man. Trying to get him to touch the rest of your body — stupid girl.

William’s breathing hitched. “As in . . . your knees as well?”

“. . .”

He cleared his throat. “Well, then. Put them out, over my lap.”

You bit your lower lip, watching on as he rubbed his hands over your legs. His touch was so warm and it felt more like a massage. You felt bad about doing this, leading him on. If he was right about the time travel, then you couldn’t entertain any sort of relationship with him. It wouldn’t be fair. 

But it was just an act of service. It didn’t mean much, right?

“Oh, that’s nice,” you said, resting your head on the bed. You felt a bit off allowing a random man to do this to you, but he wasn’t random now, was he? He had saved you. And besides, he was he who insisted he rub the lotion in the first place.

“What is the future like?” William asked. “Is there another war?”

“Sort of. Not really,” you answered, which panicked William. “Don’t worry. If you’re talking about America and Russia, no one dies.”

William chuckled. “I should hope not. I don’t fancy serving in another world war.”

“You served?” you asked curiously. 

“Yes. As a captain in the British Army.”

You supposed it was normal. Most men in this time either signed up for the military or were drafted. You couldn’t imagine the horrors William must have gone through. You would never be able to understand the trauma he carried with him. You were curious, but you knew better than to ask. He didn’t need your pity, and you certainly didn’t want to offend him.

“I’m sorry,” you said.

“For what?”

“That it had to happen. War and all that.”

“Does war not happen in the future?”

Now you felt a little stupid.

“Well — yes. It does. I’m just sorry. We learned about the world wars in history — and I just — I’m not claiming to know anything. Yeah, sorry.” You looked down.

William didn’t say anything to that. He just kept rubbing your dry skin. Afterward, he put the lotion away and sat next to you, running his fingers through your hair.

“I expect stories from you. I want to hear everything about the future.” 

You still didn’t believe you were in the past, at least, not completely.

 “You can tell me as we pass through town,” he added.

“I need to wash my clothes first.”

Willian narrowed his eyes. “You’re not going to wear that anymore.”

“Why not?”

He pursed his lips. “It’s too revealing. A woman should never go out wearing those types of clothing.” He sighed. “Perhaps it’s different in the future, but here, you’ll get hurt if you dress like that.” He continued playing with your hair. “I want you to be safe. So, you have to promise me that you’ll stay by my side at all times, yes?”

You nodded. You always thought that if you caught men talking to you like this, you would slap them, but here you were, turned on by William’s sexism. It was different, you reasoned. He was more focused on protecting you than restricting you. Was it bad that you found that hot?

“Good girl,” he said proudly. “Good girl.”

+++

Walking through town had been more of a frightening experience than you expected. You realized, without a shadow of a doubt, that you were indeed in the past. Producing a prank with this level of investment and money was pointless, and you never had any mental issues in the past, so why would one suddenly show up now? And even if it did, you couldn’t possibly be imagining this all in your head. 

All the cars were shiny and new, yet old models, ones that wouldn’t be produced in the future. All the women and men wore traditional clothing, like the dress William picked out for you. The hairstyles were medium-length and curled, or slicked back, with lots of gel and products used to keep them in place. You were grateful William didn’t ask you to do any of that. Not that you would have let him. At a certain point, you would have drawn a line.

“I have to get back,” you told William as you walked on a trail. “The machine has something to do with it. I just have to figure out how it works.”

“That’s an engineering job,” he pointed out.

“I’m good at math and science. I work in advanced technology, so I should be able to figure something out. All it needs is a bit of testing . . . I was wondering if I could stay with you for a while until I figure out a place to stay. I’ll give you all the money I have and I promise I’ll find a job — ”

“ — No need. Stay as long as you like. I don’t want your money. I won’t stop you from finding a job, but it’s not necessary. I can handle any expenses.”

You didn’t argue with him. He didn’t seem averse to the idea of letting a stranger stay at his place. It made sense. People in this time were more hospitable and open (at least, when they felt like it), and William, being a man from the forties, would never allow you to carry any of the financial burden.

You still felt a little bad. 

“Thank you. It means a lot to me. Now, what is it you want to hear about the future?”

William’s eyes lit up excitedly. “Do flying cars exist?”

You chuckled. “No. But we have self-driving ones.”

“Self-driving? How do they work?”

You paused. You had no idea. “I’m not sure. They probably have sensors to detect other cars. And, well, there’s a map. So it’s connected to a satellite . . .”

“Satellite?”

“It’s this thing in space. It does . . . stuff. It’s manmade.”

“Space? Have we discovered alien life?”

“No. But we have sent rovers to Mars and we’ve landed a person on the moon.”

William stopped walking. “The moon?” he repeated, bewildered. “Have you gone?”

I wish. “It’s only for astronauts. You have to be trained for that sort of stuff.”

“And when did this all happen?”

“Around the 1960s. There was a space race between America and Russia, and America won.”

Once you got the ball rolling, William would not stop asking questions. You answered them as best as you could and avoided topics like the current political climate and weaponry and all that. After he was done with all the serious stuff, like advancements in science and whether robots had taken over the world yet, he moved on to more social and cultural topics. You were relieved to find out that he wasn’t racist or homophobic or incredibly misogynistic. If anything he was rather tame about it all, and was glad that women had earned more rights, though he seemed upset that the dynamic of a gentlemanly husband and lady-like housewife wasn’t pushed upon society. 

“There’s nothing wrong with things going the opposite way around,” he had said. “Two people of the same gender marrying. It’s only that women need to be looked after, and if she doesn’t want to work, then it is her man’s obligation to do it for her. And in return, she must be obedient and serve him whenever he pleases — whether it’s by cleaning the house or . . . other things.”

“And what if she doesn’t want it?” you questioned, referring to the other things.

“A man should always make sure she likes it.”

You could practically feel all the feminism leaving your body at that.

The conversation ended when you reached back home (home? It’s not your home, you reminded yourself). William replaced your bandages with care. You were already starting to feel better, since the cut wasn’t too big, and you offered to help with cooking dinner this time.

After that, you decided to tinker with the box.

It was made out of some type of metal, with two different dials on the top and a button on the side. But it wasn’t like anything you’d ever seen before. The first dial went from zero to nine (zero being nulla) in Roman numerals, and had four hands, each of them colored in order: red, green, blue, and yellow. Respectively, there were four tiny colored knobs on the side, like the ones by a watch, where you could move each hand. The other dial was the same case.

“It must be the date,” you said aloud to yourself. “But which is which?”

Taking a gamble, you pressed the button, but it didn’t do anything. All it did was signal a small lens to start blinking red. 

“Are you sure you should do that now?” William asked, coming up from behind you. “Look at this.” He crouched to your level on the floor. “Your eyes have bags underneath them. You’re still tired.”

You rubbed the area beneath your eyes. Did they really have bags? You hadn’t realized.

“I should probably go to sleep then,” you said, putting the box down and getting up.

William walked you over to the bedroom, and was about to leave when you asked, “Where are you sleeping?”

“The couch.”

You frowned. “It’s your house and I’m your guest. You’ve already done so much for me – ”

“— If you’re going to suggest you sleep on the couch, then it’s a no. That’s final.”

“But — ”

“ — Final.”

You sighed. “Then come sleep with me. I’ll stay on the floor—”

“ — No—”

“ — Then we can share the bed. We’ll put a wall of pillows between us, like this.” You grabbed a pillow and placed it in the middle of the bed, separating the two sides. “Not so bad, see?”

William relented. “Alright.”

He crawled into bed with you. His hair fell over his face as he adjusted, and the last rays of sunlight coated his body in colors of orange and yellow. If your phone wasn’t dead, you would have asked him to sit still for a picture, because at this moment, he truly looked breathtaking. He was a beautiful man. You wondered if he knew it.

“What?” William asked when he noticed you staring.

Flustered, you turned your head to look up at the ceiling. “Nothing. I was just making sure you were comfy.”

Out of the corner of your eye, you could see William lick his lower lip. 

“You’re a sweet lass,” he commented. “You always think about others first.”

He reached over, and for a moment, you thought he was going to kiss you (which, admittedly, despite having had a wet dream about him, scared you), but he only brushed a small speck of dust off your shoulders and murmured “Goodnight”, before burying his chin into the blanket and drifting off into sleep.

You followed in suit soon after. A part of you was hoping that you could start a life here. You’d buy a nice house and live out a simple and peaceful life. You and William didn’t even have to be romantically involved. You could just be friends, and you would be happy with that. 

But a part of you also hoped that when you woke up the next morning you would be back in your own bed, in your small one-story house that you remember being so excited about buying. You knew you would never like living here in the long term. There were too many things wrong with this time and you didn’t want to be the brunt of its issues. Not only that but being aware of all the tragedies that would soon occur . . . Did you want to be faced with the moral dilemma of whether or not you should stop them? How would your presence affect things in the future? After living your whole life in 2023, you could never adjust to life in 1946. 

You had to find a way back. There was simply no other choice. 

+++

William showed you many things. Just as he was interested in the future, you were interested in the past. The things that excited you most of all were old-school versions of what you had in the future. Washing machines, refrigerators — they were all so different, yet the same, and it was fascinating. 

You even met a few people in town. They were nice enough to hold a conversation with, though they found it weird that you lacked decorum and the social understanding of the time. The women were chatty and mildly passive-aggressive, and the men — well, the men flirted with you quite openly.

William had told people that you were family, someone related but not close enough to be bothered with technical terms like cousin or niece. No one asked questions when you two explained it like that. All the men must have thought that if you were his family and that if you had no ring on your finger you must be looking for a partner.

You were charmed by their advances, but never serious about them. Besides, William hardly let them get a word in before he shooed them away.

By the time weeks and weeks had passed you became acquainted with everyone, seen every sight to see — including the swan lake William took you to — and become close enough to William that he opened up to you. You learned that while he wasn’t an orphan, his parents never held much interest in him other than the occasional birthday letter, and the reason he came out here so far away from the city was to find peace of mind.

You grew to admire him, and you were sure he grew to admire you, too. And soon, you started to feel a certain type of way. A way that made you daydream about all the things that could be, only for reality to stomp across it and remind you of the harsh truth. 

+++

William was driving a car, a modern car, your car. He was humming a little tune on the radio, singing some lyrics, hands loosely holding the wheel as he passed by a gas station. It was some Taylor Swift song, and you remember faintly thinking: Of course, he likes Taylor Swift.

He looked over to you. You were sitting by his side, a passenger princess, looking out the window. All of a sudden it was night and you two were driving down a lonely road, parking by the side of some lake. In the distance, you could hear crickets and ribbits, but you paid them no mind.

You were curled up in William’s arms, looking out the sunroof of the car, the light of the moon gently descending through the glass. You offered him a piece of chocolate, and you two just sat there, in the dark, nibbling on snacks and observing the sky, until you woke up.  

+++

William had to leave for work, like usual. He again told you not to leave his property line or stray out too far, which, again, was fine by you because most days were cold and bitter.

You spent your time messing around with the box, careful not to touch the wires in the back. Once you put your mind to it, you figured out how it worked. You paid attention to where the hands were currently located and found something promising. The first dial’s hands had the numbers I, IX, IV, and VI, and the second dial was nulla, IX, nulla, and V. Alone, you wouldn’t have been able to tell what the numbers meant, but with context, you understood. The first dial was the year, and the second one was the month and date.

You didn’t quite understand how the box brought you from the future, but that didn’t matter, as it was broken. There was a little loose piece on the backside that had been damaged — a little dent, probably when you were first transported here. All you had to do was plug it back in, but the only problem was, you didn’t have a screwdriver, and you certainly weren’t going to wrench your fingers near a bunch of wires.

When William came back you told him your solution. He agreed and said that tomorrow he would take you to a local store to buy a screwdriver, and he even apologized for not having one in his house. But for now, he said he wanted to take you out to lunch.

“Lunch?” you questioned nervously. Was he asking you out on a date?

You thought about it for a moment. You did want to go, but your mind was too preoccupied with getting back to your time. Besides, it wasn’t fair to him. You did like him, but you two could never actually be together. It was all in your head.

It’s all in your head.

“You know I’ll have to go back someday,” you said, watching William’s expression become more neutral as if he was hiding his emotions. “I dunno . . . I’m getting a little attached to you,” you said with a laugh, trying to lighten the mood.

William seemed to understand where you were going with this. “It won’t be like that. I wouldn’t blame you,” he said earnestly, taking a step forward. “We ought to enjoy our time together, while it’s still here.”

He made a valid point, enough to convince you. He had been doing that an awful lot. Convincing you. 

William took you out to a nice restaurant. The food was a bit plain, but it was good and wholesome. It reminded you a lot of William’s cooking, only fancier and more well-presented. Not only that, but the atmosphere felt calming and almost romantic. You noticed that most of the people here were couples, holding hands and giggling with each other, however young or old.

Was this William’s intention? Did he like like you? Or was this just him being courteous? You couldn’t imagine that many people here were used to dating or one-night stands. But you wouldn’t know unless you asked him, and you were too nervous to do that. Besides, you didn’t want to make a fool of yourself. William was a very traditional man, would he even want a woman like you? A 21st-century girl?

After you two were finished eating you engaged in another walk. 

“Come closer,” William said, holding out his arm for you to take. If you didn’t have any self-control, you would have jumped his bones right then and there. He was right. He was a gentleman. No man in the future would have done this for you unless they were trying to make a joke out of it.

You placed your hand on William’s arm hesitantly, trying to figure out the exact placement, walking side by side with him. It was a little cold, however, and you shivered, catching William’s attention almost instantly.

“Oh, you poor thing,” William cooed, talking of his coat and wrapping it around you. It smelled of him, a little musky, smoky like a cigarette, but in a very subtle way. “You’re so nervous. Have you never had a man do this for you?” he asked. “Hold out his arm for you to take, give you his coat?”

“No,” you admitted. “Men don’t do that in the future.”

“I do,” he said, stopping both of you in your tracks. The area was secluded, mostly covered in trees and bushes, far away from any passerby. “I would do that for my woman.”

It was quiet for a moment.

“Well,” you said, wistfully, “whoever she is she’ll be a lucky woman.”

+++

William took you to a local shop to buy a screwdriver next. It all felt very domestic, something that you could get used to. You imagined running errands like this with William in the future. He would be absolutely fascinated by a grocery store, by the internet, by everything. If you thought hard, you could see it — a wondrous smile on his face, a giggle escaping his lips. 

You tried not to think of it that much. After your fantasy passed your thoughts turned sad and cold, because you knew that would never happen. It will never happen. As much as you liked William, you missed your family, you missed your house, you missed everything.

When you both got back home, you plugged the broken piece in and screwed the nail. William watched on beside you, a frown on his face, drinking some tea.

“Here,” he said, inching closer, “I don’t want you exerting pressure on your arm. Let me do it.”

He grabbed a hold of the screwdriver, but he bumped into you in the process. With a gasp, he dropped his cup of tea. It shattered across the floor, glass pieces flying every, hot liquid (thankfully not boiling) splashing all over. You shrieked and backed away, watching as one of the glass shards cut right through one of the wires.

“William!” you snapped, but then your eyes turned watery, because of the cut on your hand.

He immediately went over to you, careful not to step on any glass, and picked you up bridal style, moving you away from the mess and towards the couch. 

“I’m sorry,” he breathed out, looking panicked. “It was an honest mistake — I’m so so sorry, I can’t believe I just did that — are you hurt?”

You laughed at the absurdity of it all, even though you were clutching your finger in pain. It was a very small cut, something that would be healed within a day. “Calm down, William. I’m fine. Are you hurt?”

He shook his head, looking worried, or perhaps, scared was the right word. Yet, you couldn’t figure out why.

“William,” you said slowly. “It’s fine. You do realize we can just fix the wire? I just need a heat-shrinking tube and a soldering iron, nothing I haven’t done before.”

“. . . Oh.”

His tone made you wonder about his intentions. You’d been so caught up on how good of a person he was, helping you and giving you room and food, but really, what was his motive? Because it almost felt like he was trying to get you to stay . . . It sent a sinister feeling down your spine, albeit a tug on your heartstrings as well.

What do you want from me, William? What do you want?

+++

More time had passed. It was difficult to acquire things in this small town, and it occurred to you that such resources were not readily available at this time. You didn’t want to bother William by pestering him to go into the city for materials, so while you would bring up the topic every once in a while, you mostly kept quiet.

You took the chance to relish your break. After all, you weren’t working. It was like a fully paid vacation, so you might as well take advantage of it.

William still had a job, but when he came back, you two would just talk and talk and talk, conversations so smoothly flowing that it felt like you’d known him for years. When you weren’t talking, you were still in each other’s presence, doing your own thing. Occasionally, William would make sneaky moves like wrap his arm around your shoulder, or do the la bise. He claimed he was part French, and it was part of his custom, but even if that were true, you knew the la bise didn’t involve full-on smooches on the cheek.

You never stopped him from doing things like that, but you also never reciprocated, despite how badly you wanted to. All this stalling wouldn’t change the fact that you still had to leave. Not only that, but you were starting to feel homesick. 

You missed calling your friends late at night, you missed watching colored TV, and you missed hot showers. You missed easy-access painkillers for your periods, and searching all your queries on the internet. You missed the future. Badly. And you could just feel that the day of return was near.

+++

“You dance, yes?”

Snapped out of your thoughts, you turned to William. You were both lounging on his couch, relaxing, talking, as the time passed by. He had given you a magazine to read, but you weren’t reading it, just dozing off.

You shrugged. “Yeah. I’ve gone to clubs. But — no, I can’t dance like that — William,” you whined, half-heartedly struggling as he pulled you up to you feet. “I’m going to ruin it, I don’t know where to place my feet or — ”

“ — You could never ruin anything, darling. Your presence alone is enough to satisfy me.” 

You looked away. “You can’t say things like that, William.”

“Why not?”

You took his hands off you before he could even start the music. 

“I don’t like it,” you lied.

William frowned. “That’s alright. Let me hold you. I know you enjoy that.” He chuckled. “When we first met you wouldn’t let go of me.”

The memory, still fresh in your mind, made you flustered. 

“. . . William, what do you want from me?” you decided to ask.

He furrowed his eyebrows. “What do you mean?”

“I mean — what do you want from me?”

William licked his lower lip. “Nothing. I just want to take care of you.”

“But why?”

You could practically feel William’s nervousness. It was like when he dropped that glass. He radiated an almost jumbled energy, a desperate energy.

“Haven’t I made it more obvious?” he finally said, his hands on your waist. He brought his fingers up to brush the hair out of your face. “Am I not clear?”

You knew what he was going to say. But you wanted to hear it from him. “Clear about what?”

“I want you.” Your heart started beating. “I don’t care if you’re not from this time. I don’t care if you have a life in the future — I can be better. I can be your life.”

“. . . William.”

“Don’t take that tone with me,” he said, tilting your chin up so you could look him in the eyes. “I know you want me too. I can see it.”

“But we can’t,” you weakly protested.

“So is this what you do?” His tone grew more sharp. “Imagine things in your head and never act on them?”

You stayed silent. He was putting you in such a difficult position, couldn’t he see that?

“What’s wrong?” he continued. “Am I not good enough?”

“William,” you tried to pull away. “I have to go — ”

He locked you in his arms. Your body was so close your noses were brushing up against each other, and his voice dropped to a whisper. “Maybe you’re worried I can’t please you right.”

You could have shouted. Why was he being so forceful? You ignored the way your body grew warm — you couldn’t do this. You couldn’t and so you wouldn’t. 

“I don’t want it,” you lied again.

“Well, I told you, a wife should always submit to her husband’s desires.”

“We’re not married!”

“We will be.”

You froze.

William took your silence as an opportunity. He leaned forward and pressed his lips to yours, turning his head slightly as his hand rested on the back of your head. You were caught off guard but didn’t try to push away. It felt so nice, and warm and inviting. Why you were denying yourself this? Why were you denying yourself love?

When your lips parted, a string of saliva connecting you both, you placed your hands on his chest. You had an idea. A brilliant idea. Why hadn’t you thought of this before? “William. I still have to go, but — ”

He growled and lifted you up, carrying you over to his bedroom, tossing you onto the bed, and pinning you down on the mattress. “No. I won’t let you. I won’t let you! Don’t you understand? I’m perfect for you — I can — I can.” He looked miserable. In fact, he looked like he was about to cry. “Let me show you,” he said, determined. He started unbuckling his belt with one hand. “Let me show you what I can do.”

You hadn’t realized how hard William was, but when he finally took out his cock — fat and pale, with pre-cum leaking at the tip, his balls a little hairy, you gulped, the area between your legs getting wetter.

“Take off your panties,” he ordered. “And lift up that damn dress.”

You didn’t. To be honest, you were a little frightened by his behavior.

William sighed and did it for you, spreading your legs apart, only for you to shut them close. “You don’t even have a condom!”

“I’ll put out,” he said impatiently, forcing your legs apart again. You gasped, not expecting contact to be made so soon.

He rubbed his cock against your wet cunt, soaking himself. He had this satisfied smile on his face, eyes closed for just a moment, before he looked down at you. 

“I thought I’d have to warm you up a little,” he said. “You’re beau — stop it! Don’t struggle.”

He held your arms down as you writhed. “Please, William — I believe you,” you said. “You can fuck me good. Just listen — ”

William shook his head. “You’re the one who's supposed to listen. Listen and take it.”

With that, he pushed his cock in and started thrusting, hard and fast, your hands still pinned, his face contorted in pleasure. His moans were loud and shameless. He had his head right above yours, peppering small kisses on your lips. You tried to ignore how good it felt — him inside of you, but it was becoming increasingly difficult by the moment. 

“Ah, I knew you weren’t a virgin,” he said, noticing the lack of blood or discomfort. “That’s okay — I still love you.”

“Love?” you repeated, trying to focus, but your abilities were lost when he used his thumb to rub your clit. “Wa-a-it!”

“Don’t say that,” William said, his tone surprisingly soft given how rough his movements were. “I wouldn’t be doing this if I thought you didn’t want it. Just enjoy. Enjoy me.”

The bed was starting to creak, moving back and forth, rubbing up against the wood floor. Your breasts were bouncing, catching William’s eyes every once in a while. His cock slid in and out of you with precision, hitting that swollen part inside of you every time. His thumb on your clit only added to the intense sensation. 

Your eyes fluttered shut, and you stopped struggling. You let your head hit the pillow, mouth parted, breathing heavy and hot. At the same time, you were overcome with a feeling of hurt. You couldn’t deny that you wanted it, but for him to take you so forcibly . . . and for you to actually like it . . .

“Are you alright?” he asked, slowing down his pace a little. He looked you in the eyes. “Do you feel good?”

You thought about lying, about crying out No, please stop!, but that wasn’t the truth, and in the end, your desires overcame you. “Y-yes. I want more.”

William relaxed, and his grip on you loosened. He placed one hand on your hip, the other by the side of your head. 

“You’re beautiful,” he praised. “Every day I look at you and think of how grateful I am that I found you. Laying there in that field, little flowers around you. An angel. My angel.”

You wanted to tell him how grateful you were, too. That it was him who took you in and not someone else, but the words never came out, only sighs and moans, but he seemed to understand what you were trying to say. 

Another kiss.

“You’re soaking me. You’re soaking the sheets.”

A little embarrassed, you turned your head. “M’sorry.”

William forced you to look back at him. “Don’t be sorry. I like knowing how eager you are for me.” 

Another kiss, but this time he slipped his tongue in, sweeping against yours before he pulled away, a string of saliva breaking as he did.

“We’ll live here,” he continued, his thrusts becoming more erratic, “in this house. Together. I’ll take you to the movies, we’ll have picnics in the garden, and I’ll write you love songs on the piano. We’ll have children — a girl, I hope — and she’ll look just like you. It’ll be wonderful,” he promised. “I’ll make you so happy, and you’ll make me happy, too.”

You couldn’t help but ruin the moment. “If I did that I would never see my parents again.”

He frowned and didn’t say anything. Then, “I think you’re getting agitated. You need to come, that��s it. You need to come and then you’ll finally understand what it is you’ll be missing out on if you leave.”

“T-that’s not the point — ”

“ — I’m so close,” he murmured. “Fill you up, so damn tight. Ah, you’re perfect.”

When you realized what he meant your eyes widened and you shook your head adamantly. “You said you’d pull out!”

“That was before. I’ve changed my mind.”

You felt familiar pressure build up inside of you. You could imagine yourself, breasts big with milk, belly round and smooth, William reading children’s books to your unborn baby as if he could be heard. The thought alone made you sickly sweet, the idea that life between you and him could be so domestic.

But couldn’t he just wait for a moment?

“I’ll — ah — be with you — every step of the way,” he grunted. “I won’t leave you. So, don’t be scared.”

“William,” you said shakily. “Just listen — ”

But it was too late. Collapsing on top of you, William poured his hot seed inside your cunt, his whimper addicting, like it was something you could hear a thousand times over. A few seconds later, you fell victim to the same fate, and there you two lay, with each other, chests heaving, bodies sweaty and sticky, coming down from the heights of ecstasy. 

You could feel his heart pound against yours. Thump, thump, thump. And you could feel yours as well. To think that this man had just gotten you pregnant. It all happened so quickly. It happened so quickly and you were completely fine with it.

“William,” you said after finally catching your breath, turning to face him. “You know I still have to go.”

It was his turn to cry. His tears watered up, glassy, his lower lip trembling, but you could tell he was doing his best to keep it in. “But I love you,” he whispered. “Am I not enough?”

It broke your heart to see him like this. So vulnerable in front of you. It was then you knew you were making the right choice, a hundred percent. You had finally found your match. And to think that you almost let him go . . . 

“But I want you to come with me,” you said, hopeful. “Come with me, William. Come with me to the future.”

Taglist: @henrywintersdearestgirl @shroombloom-rry @meetmeatyourworst @mrkdvidal1989 @madnessandobsession @slut4thebroken @qqquartz7 @madeinuk

[baldursgate3tempobsessed]

Ok, I’m a little confused on how to word this request so bear with me.

Would you be willing to write a short fic about Astarion and The Main Character, sharing a tent at camp because relationship, and the main character giving Astarion a massage because he got hurt in battle, but Astarion starts moaning too loud on purpose, and making the other people at the camp think they are having sex?

I realize how weird and specific this is, but I love the idea of Astarion being an absolute Ham, and making the others uncomfortable XD

(Bonus points if the Main Character plays along)

LOL. Yes, I am willing. CW: Actually not many? Allusions to sex I guess? Maye spoilers to be safe? Brief mention of sadboy back story? This is honestly pretty tame.

~

Astarion wasn't against adventuring. If anything he was a fan, especially when comparing it to his old life. But he was only a fan when it was him doing the bloodshed, not when he was the one being knocked around into walls by massive ogres.

It hadn't been the worst pain he'd ever felt, far from it. But it had been fairly intense. Intense enough for it to take multiple tries for him to get back on his feet. And to have you fawning over him.

"Are you sure you're okay?" You asked as the two of you entered the tent hours later, still hovering behind him, "Is there anything I can do?"

"I'm fine darling," Astarion sighed as he plopped down onto his bedroll, exhausted beyond belief, "Nothing that a good night's sleep can't fix."

The healing from Shadowheart had done wonders, even if his muscles were still screaming at him. He was sore yes, but it really was nothing dire. But that wouldn't stop you from fretting, a fact that Astarion was a fan of.

It was no secret that he liked it when you agonized over his well-being. At first he had been a bit offended at your constant worry, taking it as a lack of belief that he could take care of himself. But then he realized you just... cared. About him of all people. Deeply and intimately, in a way that Astarion had never known, but one he could certainly get used to.

"Want me to have a look?" You asked as you sat next to him, your hands already helping to do the work of taking his armor off, "Maybe a massage?"

"That would be perfect," Astarion sighed, more than happy to let you pamper him. He had been hoping that you would ask that. You did have talented hands, "Thank you darling."

After he was divested of his armor you had him lay on his stomach, his back bare as you straddled his legs. Then you got to work, kneading his sore flesh like a pro. Astarion could feel the tension seeping out of his muscles. You really were so good at this, just one more perk of accidently falling in love with you.

He was moaning before he even knew the sounds were out of his mouth. But he didn't give it much thought, not when he knew you didn't mind. If anything you liked hearing him feel so content, even if he could get a little loud.

"Tch."

Astarion blinked his eyes open at the sound. Was... was that a scoff he heard? Astarion strained his ears, listening out of curiosity as you worked wonders on his back. That was one benefit of being a spawn and elf hybrid, he had vastly superior hearing abilities.

"It's happening again," That was definitely Lae'Zel's voice, the gravely cadence instantly recognizable.

"Oh come on, it's not that bad!" He heard Halsin say quietly, only to be met by collective groaning, "Whiners, the lot of you. I would have expected better from you Karlach."

"All I'm saying is that they could pitch their tent a bit farther away, that's all!" She laughed back at him, "Can't a girl be a little jealous?"

"Or a little annoyed," Shadowheart grumbled.

"Or a lot," Gale agreed, grumbling in that very specific way that made Astarion want to slap the frown off of his face.

Astarion rolled his eyes, finding himself to be a bit annoyed as well. While it was true that the two of you could get... excited, you weren't that bad. And Astarion had made it a point to sneak you far away from camp when he really wanted to have his way with you. What more could they ask for? It just felt like envy at this point, an envy that Astarion was petty enough to resent.

"All I'm saying is if I lose one more wink of sleep because of those two, they're getting a piece of my mind," Gale continued, "I'm sure we all can agree on that."

Oh. Well in that case...

"You're so good at this my sweet," Astarion moaned loudly as you worked over a hard knot in his back, "The best I've ever had."

He could hear more groaning from the peanut gallery, but better yet he could hear the smile in your voice as you quietly answered, "I'm just happy it helps. You're so bruised sweetheart, I'm surprised you're still standing. Your pain tolerance is really something else."

That was unfortunately true, a natural consequence after decades and decades of torture. But at least it served him in his newfound freedom.

"Maybe I just like it when it hurts," Astarion groaned loudly, an obvious lie. Especially to your ears.

It was enough to have your hands pausing on him. You leaned in close, whispering a question in his ear, "Are you doing what I think you're doing?"

"Darling, I'll do anything you want me to do," Astarion murmured, hoping that the ridiculous line would get his point across. And it did, of course it did. No one understood him better than you.

Astarion glanced at you as you leaned back, pleased to see the telling smirk on your face as you got back to work.

"Do you like that baby? Should I go lower?" You asked loudly, biting your lip near the end to keep in a giggle, "Would you like that?"

"Please," Astarion moaned out, only half of the sound faked. You really were just that good at giving massages. And the show you were both putting on was having the desired effect.

"For the love of everything that is holy keep it down!" Gale yelled out into the night, doing nothing more than encouraging Astarion to get even louder, "Perfect darling, right there. Gods, I'm close."

"Mm, flip over. I wanna see your face during," You shot back. Astarion could hear it in your voice, that barely contained laughter. And he wasn't doing much better himself. If anything he was a little surprised the others hadn't caught on yet. Maybe even a little offended. The dirty talk you had together wasn't this bad, a fact that they would know if they had actually ever heard it.

But before Astarion could belt out his big finale, the flap of your tent was being pulled open, Gale's voice yelling into it, "For the love of Mystra would you two shut up- oh my gods. They aren't even naked!"

That was the end of the façade. The two of you burst out laughing, you falling down to Astarion's side as you erupted into a pair of giggling idiots.

Karlach joined Gale at the door to the tent, her voice cracking halfway through on a laugh, "I told you they were hamming it up! Wyll, you owe me ten silver!"

Gale was already turning back, a pout on his lips as he muttered, "You're both lucky it was fake. We were five seconds away from sending Lae'zel in to shut you up."

"The threats aren't going to help my desire to continue fucking with you in the future," Astarion called after him, wiping amused tears from his eyes as they both stepped away. You turned to face him, still giggling up a storm as Astarion wrapped an arm around your wasit.

He kissed your cheek, still grinning ear to ear, "I think it's safe to say that I feel much, much better now."

[clovestreet]

let me- ethan landry

an: i am absolutely FERAL for this man atm...😨i just had to write something abt him..

summary: you have been super stressed about exams lately and ethan knows the best way to make you feel better. (also this is DEFINITELY more soft ethan??) but i like that.. lol

warnings⚠ SMUT (16+), oral (f receiving), strong language

Hell on earth was organic chemistry.

Your absolute fucktard of a professor had scheduled your exam on the same day as two of your other exams. This man had it out for you.

You massaged your temple as you drummed your pencil on your notes. Your brain wasn't functioning anymore. You had been sitting at this godforsaken desk for three hours now. You needed a break.

You forced yourself out of your chair and faceplanted on your bed next to your boyfriend in defeat. You sighed into the mattress and tried to gather your thoughts.

"Something bothering you baby?" your boyfriend laughed as he rubbed small circles into your back, clearly amused by your frustration with trying to memorize aromatic compounds.

"I can't do this anymore E, "I'm actually so exhausted."

"I wish someone would just kill the stupid bastard." you groaned into your palms.

Ethan gulped and immediately froze in his movements and you weren't sure why. But then he was comforting you again like nothing had happened.

"I'm sorry baby. If it makes you feel better, I just failed my last exam."

You laughed as he pulled you closer, the grasp of his arms melting away your stress.

"Honestly, I don't know if anything could make me feel better at this point.”

“Unless you can teach me the structure of carboxylic acid." you said with your hands on his chest staring into his dark eyes.

His chest shook with laughter and it was music to your ears. Ethan was so comforting and even being in his arms took you to a place far away from your worries.

"Definitely can't do that, but I think I can take your mind off it for a little while." he murmured into your lips.

"Oh yeah? How's that?"

"Well it usually starts with my head between your legs” he says in a low whisper.

You immediately feel your cheeks flush with warmth and squeeze your legs together.

You completely froze and waited for him to finish his sentence.

“ ..And ends with you screaming my name or something like that." he says with a devilish smirk.

He grins like a lovesick bastard at your embarrassment and tilts his head down to connect his lips to yours. He smiles into the kiss and you can feel your pulse weakening at the way his tongue explores your mouth.

His lips travel down your neck and you know exactly where he's going. You pull him off of you and look him in straight in his hazy brown eyes.

You and Ethan had been together for a little over a year now and you had been intimate more times than you could even begin to remember. You still got nervous before he went down on you and you just couldn't help but feel insecure sometimes, but Ethan always made you forget about all of it when he touched you.

"E, are you sure? You really don’t have to, I-”

He immediately stops you with a confused expression on his face.

“Baby are you kidding? I live for this shit.”

“I should probably get back to studying E, I just-"

He cut you off again, this time taking your head into his hand and made sure you met his gaze.

"Fuck studying. Let me make you feel good babe."

His thumb gently brushed over your cheek as he searched your eyes for an answer.

"Ok, fine." you said softly with a shy smile on your face.

"That's my girl." he said with a grin spreading over his face as he placed the softest kiss on your lips.

His fingers danced their way over your ribs under your shirt and his lips were placing gentle kisses on your hipbones. His fingers made their way down to the waistband of your shorts and his eyes quickly glanced up to yours asking for consent. You quickly nodded your head, becoming more and more eager for him to touch you by the second.

He pulled down your shorts gently and tossed them behind him. He hooked his fingers under your lace panties and pulled them down painfully slow. Once they were off, he grabbed both of your legs and put them over his shoulders. He wrapped his arms around your legs and pulled them open.

He looked up at you through lustful eyes while licking his lips.

"I got you. Always." he said in a low whisper placing a kiss on your inner thigh.

You brushed a gentle hand over his curls and offered a weak smile to him. You could feel your anticipation for his touch becoming stronger and your legs were shaking before he even touched you.

You could feel his breath on you and you couldn't take it anymore. You wrapped your fingers in his curls and guided him onto you.

He licked up your slit as you sucked in a shaky breath. Your thighs immediately clenched around him, but his strong hands pulled your legs right back open. His tongue started to circle around your clit and your fingers were already tugging on his curls. He groaned into you and the vibration had you letting out a choked moan.

"Right there E." you gasped.

He looked up at your face contorted in pleasure and started to grind his hips onto to the bed. Ethan was the kind of boyfriend who genuinely could get off from pleasuring you and have absolutely no shame about it.

He was lost in the taste of you and you were lost in his touch. You couldn't even remember what you were stressed about in the first place. Your mind was consumed by the feeling of his tongue sloppily tasting you and swirling around your clit, the tight grip of his fingers prying open your thighs, his dark eyes peering up at you through hooded lids occasionally rolling back into his head every time you moaned his name.

His hand slid carefully down your thigh as he slipped his middle finger into you, pumping in and out at a deliciously slow pace.

Your fingers tugged harder on his curls and he practically moaned into you.

"F-feels so good E, you're so good" you whined.

"I know baby I know, I'm gonna get you there I promise." he murmured into you, pressing wet kisses on your clit.

His words made you toss your head back and your back arch off the bed.

He slipped another finger into you, pumping a little faster this time.

Your fingers loosened from Ethan's hair and slid down his bare shoulders. His fingers started to curl inside you, purposefully hitting the spot he knew would send you over the edge. You moaned loudly and your nails dug into his back.

He groaned into you so loudly it almost caught you off guard. If you hadn't known better, you would have thought you hurt him. But you knew better by now. His sounds sent you even closer to the edge.

"Come on babe, let go for me." he breathed into you.

You could feel yourself impossibly close to your high with Ethan's gaze trained on your face. The second Ethan's nose rubbed your clit you were done for.

All you could do was moan his name over and over again, your nails digging into his back sure to leave marks. He fucked you all the way through your high until you were practically dragging him off of you.

You put your hand on the back of his neck and guided him toward your lips. God, he was so beautiful, even with the taste of you glimmering all over his features. You pulled him down into a breathless kiss and brought him closer by draping your leg over his waist.

He drew back and cupped your jaw looking down at you.

"I really hope you're not thinking about studying anymore tonight, because all I want to do-"

"Shut up and kiss me Landry."

[wonderlandcrown]

Well That's a Big Cat

Hello everyone I'm very much alive, just been extra busy w/ school lately and been getting too much sleep

There's been a lot of chimera/overblot Grim on my dash lately so I'd like to contribute : Chimera Grim's Design

So starting off, Grim has a ring of blue fire surrounding his neck, much like a lion and its mane, this could either reference the chimera, or it could be referencing the King of Beasts - Scar.

Also it's interesting how the Shroudbros and Grim both have blue fire, with the Shroud family curse being that they burn away blot and how Grim has an addiction? to eating the left over Overblot stones (and seems fine after eating it) I remember seeing a theory about how Grim might've been the monster that killed Ortho, (given how Grim doesn't remember much about his childhood) Forgetting about your childhood is a actually also a sign for childhood trauma, no idea if it applies to cat-monsters though. .u.

Also, see those tentacles behind the mane? Does it remind you of someone? Our favourite octo-capitalist perphaps?

Ah yes, the snake tail. Again, this could either be referencing the chimera or the snake in the Scarabia icon. (both maybe?)

Dragon wings!!! The chimera doesn't reference dragon wings so this is definitely referencing Malleus' dragon-fae lineage. Interestingly, I don't see any references to OB! Riddle or Vil, those two could be harder to reference since they don't have a clear "animal" motif, I would appreciate it if anyone notices anything lol.

But we're still missing the goat, the chimera has a "goat protruding from it's back" but I don't see it anywhere on Grim (again, if you notice something or know someone who is better than analysing stuff pls tag me ToT)

@prince-kallisto has posted about how Twst has LOADS of religious symbolism(specifically Christian symbolism), so check them out for a clearer analysis on the stuff I'm abt to say. Goats are a symbol of Satan/The Devil in Christian mythology, and given how Maleficent(a dragon) herself has demonic symbolism the dragon wings on Grim's back could symbolise the "goat protruding from it's back".

[liliewrites]

Let's see then 🤔🤔 Ngl lately I've been having such a hyper fixation on Arlecchino's hands, like not even in a sexual way (although.. 😏), I just think her hands are absolutely beautiful and the prettiest thing I've seen sooo...

Could I request sitting next to Arle while she's working or literally doing whatever and just absentmindedly playing with her hand cause they're just so pretty and how she might react to her s/o liking that part of her so much 🙏 Would NOT complain if it somehow lead to nsfw but I'm perfectly fine with maximum fluff 😌

Honestly, wdym "enough yapping", there is never enough yapping about Arlecchino.. I just think she's neat fr, I wanted to hug her so bad while catching up on the Fontaine story quests as well as her companion quest lol. And I am absolutely here to hype you tf up 😤😤😤💪💪 Keep up the great work as always ! Have a wonderful day

-🔥

HELLLOOOOOOO 🔥 ANONN!!:)) AHAHAHAHAH thank u for the ask, oh yes , FINALLY i have the opportunity to write about arlecchino's hands.. hoyoverse did her justice like oh THEY KNEW what they were doing to the sapphics.

- warning/s ; no smut, but a bit of suggestive content at the end:)

(men please dni utc!)

"hello, darling!"

you cheerfully greeted your wife, whom was working in the study room. she looks at you, nods at you, then looks back at the papers.

"hello my beloved, are the kids asleep?" she asks as you sit down beside her. you nod at her question, scooting over to peek at her papers, but not too close to invade her personal space and interrupt her. "yes, my love. the kids are taking their afternoon nap but.. what are you working on, hm?" you ask, staring down at her hands that held the papers. you could make out numbers and lengthy paragraphs of formal and fancy words, all of which arlecchino was reading and signing.

"just some financial reports, darling. nothing special, i was thinking of expanding our home to better.."

oh, you tried to listen, but as soon as your eyes focused on her hand, it made it hard for you to listen. "... and then we could improve our training facilities.." you heard, absentmindedly nodding at her words. ".. so we could make the children have more.." again, you nodded.

damn it, your wife wouldn't mind it if you held her hand just so you could focus better on her words, right?

so you grabbed her right hand in yours, the one that held the pen. she wasn't using it anyway since she was busy explaining to you her plans and ideals for the orphanage. "- and so i was thinking, beloved. in order to raise the children's competency, i wanted to have them isolated in the mountains, without any kind of support whatsoever. it will help improve their surviv-"

"WHAT? NO!"

you immediately cut her off, looking her with an absurd stare due to her suggestion. how could she even suggest that in the first place?

"of course, no, i wasn't serious with that suggestion, darling. i was testing whether you were listening or not, and you probably were not."

oh, you let out a sheepish chuckle, feeling a teensy bit embarrassed for being caught. regardless, arlecchino did not look upset and squeezed your hand that held hers. "is there something the matter, beloved? usually, you always diligently listen to my reports." she asks, genuinely concerned about you and it makes your heart flutter. it made you feel guilty, having to be distracted by a silly little reason, so you decided to listen to her better this time. "nothing, beloved. my mind was.. just preoccupied. let's talk about it later after you tell me your report." you told her, and arlecchino protested no further, explaining to you all over again her plans for the house.

you definitely did listen better this time, with your hands unconsciously fiddling with her hand. you were pressing on her palm, intertwining your fingers with hers, your thumb tracing small shapes and doodles on her palm. your mind taking little side notes like.. the texture of her hand wasn't that rough, but it was definitely a bit different from normal skin. at first, you were worried if this was causing her pain or any physical harm, but she assured you that it wasn't. still, you wanted to know the cause of her blackened skin and the pattern on her arms.

on the other hand (haha get it), arlecchino told you about expanding the facilities of the orphanage, adding another bedroom to make room for more children, etc etc, much to your relief as none of her plans included isolating them in the mountain.

after she talked, now it was your turn to provide your insights and opinions,adding some suggestions of your own. arlecchino listened to you intently as she greatly appreciated you and your passion for the children, she could tell that you genuinely were concerned about their well being and that you loved them greatly. she couldn't help but spare loving glances at you.. and knowing glances down at her hand. now she thinks she knows why you were so distracted.

after finally putting down your suggestions, you decided it was time for a little break. "well, my beloved. i assume we can wrap this up? i think all that should be fine for now." you told her, placing the pen down. for the whole time you had been talking, you never let go of arlecchino's hand. it was either two hands holding hers, but if you had to write, then only one. this didn't go unnoticed by your wife, but you did forget about it halfway into the discussion.

"i agree, i say we talk about some other thing, my dear."

"hm, like what?" you curiously ask. oh, there's more to talk about?

".. like how you've been distracted the first time i talked, but when you held my hand, your focus seems to have returned. perhaps you'd like to confess, darling?"

you only blink for a minute, then looking down at your hands holding hers. "o-oh! oh, right.." you stuttered, obviously flustered that you've been caught. you looked away, slowly letting go of her hand. "i didn't say to let go now, did i?" she told you, before pulling you on to her lap. she held her hands out in front of you, leaning her chin on your shoulder. "now, beloved, what is it about my hands that interest you so much?" she asked, and you thought for a little while, gather your little notes from earlier.

you intertwined your hands with her, and arlecchino saw the cute smile on your face as you started to talk. "your hands.. they're rough and calloused, they've probably done things humankind would deem twisted and cruel but.." you brought both hands to your lips, pressing a kiss on her skin. the small gesture made arlecchino feel her heart flutter, you looked so adorable on her lap, while speaking words of affection. ".. but these are the very same hands that work hard to provide for me and the children, the same hand that gives me warmth and security even on the coldest of nights and.." your thumb brushed against that one significant ring on her left hand, a ring that matched yours. "- these hands belong to the woman i dearly love."

that was it for arlecchino, she couldn't help but burst in joy- and she showed it in the form of spreading soft, ticklish kisses on your bare neck in front of her. you couldn't help but giggle at your wife's attempts at being playful again. she wrapped her arms tightly around your waist, making you unable to lean away from her. "my, you say such sweet words that directly hit my heart- and you expect the knave not to retaliate with an attack of her own?" she joked, continuing to tickle you, wanting to hear more of you sweet giggles. "i-i get it! i get it, i surrender, my love!" you exclaimed, feigning defeat. as the playful little moment between the both of you died down, arlecchino had her arms wrapped around you, a loving smile on her face as her forehead leaned on your back. "hm, can i have a kiss? as compensation for winning?" she asked, making you laugh at her words. oh, it was funny- more so that it came from the woman whom the public claims as dull and emotionless, as in front of you, said woman was currently looking like a fool in love as she held you in her lap.

you got up and shifted your position on her lap, now facing her. at the sight of your pretty, gorgeous face that she's come to love coupled with your weight pressing down on you-know-where, she couldn't help but feeling a certain type of yearning for you. her hand cupped your chin, pulling you in for a kiss that was not sweet nor innocent in any way. her tongue tied with yours, running along your bottom lip, and continued kissing you with intense fervor that you were unable to keep up. when she pulled away, however, a grin on her face that made shivers run down your spine was plastered on her face. her hand on your chin, the other rested on your hip.

"hm.. beloved, do you want to see what else these hands can do for you?"

[yuquinzel]

[ 8:37 pm ] — miya atsumu.

the clock reads 8:37 pm, exactly 14 seconds to 38 and atsumu is painfully aware of each long, dragging and excruciatingly endless second because it's been exactly 4 hours, 19 minutes and 12 seconds since you left on him read.

he's currently laid on his bed, in his dimly lit room where the only source of illumination is the faint fluorescent glow of his mobile screen.

he's frowning, brows furrowed at the dull ‘seen 4hrs ago’ in anticipation because at any second now he'll see the ‘typing...’ indication and he doesn't wanna be late to reply.

atsumu is a fast and an energetic texter. he sends you at least 14 cat videos with the “ur the third one” message immediately after each. or he sends you those ‘ask your friend which hour of the day you are’ followed by a “you. blue hour” hopefully awaiting your reply because he needs to know if you think he's the golden hour or not.

y/n 🛐: you're definitely the golden hour then lol

the better twin: damn. didn't expect that.

he actually did. hoped for it in fact. he thinks about it for the next week.

you're not the type to leave people on seen for more than 5 minutes. at least not him. you reply as quick as you can with the same energy as him and have a habit of liking his rather funny texts from time to time.

so he's more confused than upset right now, thinking of all possible reasons you could've read his messages but were unable to reply. he hasn't seen you since last friday when you told him about a week long road trip with your family. his frown only deepens when the clock hits 8:40 and there's no sign of a reply from you.

he's beginning to type a quick “are u good?” when his screen flashes with a call. your contact name. the phone rings in atsumu's hand but his fingers are frozen.

you're calling him.

you don't like phone calls.

atsumu clears his throat because he doesn't want you to hear him squeal with excitement, but he's giggling and kicking his feet, running a hand over his heart and rubbing his eyes to make sure it really is you. he lets the phone ring for a mere seconds before picking it up, “oh hey” he hopes it's as casual as he thinks.

the moment he hears you speak from the other side, atsumu knows he has lost, “ATSUMU! I'm so sorry for leaving you on read. i was in the car and battery fucking died before i could reply and i lost my charger!” you're chasing after your own words, each cut by the next one.

“oh, nah that's fine. so ya found yer charger?” he groans internally at his words, but truthfully he doesn't know what to say.

of course you didn't willingly leave him on read. of course you're calling him now because you don't want him to think otherwise. of course your words are rushed, you've always been that way.

“oh, right yeah. i got home and charged it as soon as I could” you laugh with a newfound sense of relief.

atsumu blinks, “yer home already? weren'tcha coming this sunday??” he asks.

“ohh, no, we decided to come back earlier”

and the voice call ends, leaving you confused.

it's 9:29 pm and there's a knocking at your door, hastened and impatient, the way you know someone always knocks.

“’tsumu? wait, why are you here at this hour?” you ask, wide eyes set on the setter in front of you panting like he ran a marathon.

“ya said you were back and ya must be tired so i gotcha ice cream—” he breathes out, gesturing to the bag in his hand, “—gee, coulda told me you were comin’ back today, when'd ya get here anyway? how was the trip? did ya take pictures?—”

“atsumu” you say softly, and he pauses, “breathe ”

atsumu lives about 45 minutes away, 15 if he takes the car but as he's panting right now, you know he's ran all the way here. and if he stopped by the convenience store down the street and still get here in time, you're sure he needs at least a minute to breathe.

he smiles one of his boyish, princely smiles, “also got that movie ya wanted ta watch”

“i thought you'd have watched it already?”

“wanted ta watch it with you” he's giggling with excitement you know he's trying to hide.

“okay” you laugh, grabbing his hand to pull him inside.

“okay” he repeats.

© yuquinzel2023 [ plagiarism is a violation of moral rights ! ]

[asdfghjklmals]

BACK TO SCHOOL✩༶‧˚

GENRE + T/W: sfw, fluff. WORD COUNT: 4.5k words. TAGS: satoru gojo x fem!oc. adoptedkiddos! megumi & tsumiki. overprotective!oc.

SYNOPSIS: oc gojo girlfriend and satoru take megumi and tsumiki to get registered for school! AUTHOR'S NOTE: this was such a random piece that was sitting in my drafts, but i wanted to write more of guardian oc gojo girlfriend and satoru. oc gojo girlfriend will throw down with anyone who says shit about her kids or her man lol i think it's her scorpio sign. and y'all know she joined the pta because she's spiteful hahaha. REMINDER: if you want to imagine yourself in oc gojo girlfriend's character descriptions instead, please do!

"satoru, you have to take megumi and tsumiki shopping for school supplies and clothes after your morning jujutsu practice today." you called out to him while brushing your hair, "i can't go with you because i'm showing the first years around today... and then we need to take them to register for school tomorrow morning."

satoru stepped out of the steamy shower, a towel wrapped around his waist, eucalyptus body wash aroma filling the air. he made his way to your side to peck a kiss on your cheek. his wet hair dripping all over you, bright blue eyes gazing at you in adoration.

"sure thing sweetheart, but don't get mad at me if i choose something for the kids that you don't particularly like."

you held his cheek in the palm of your hand, glaring at him, "just make sure the kids' clothes match and don't waste their money. the kids don't need designer clothing."

satoru gave you a smirk and squeezed your shoulders as if he was saying ‘fine…’

“i gotta go. don't get into any trouble, okay?”

"me? trouble? never heard of it." satoru winked at you.

you glared at him as he grinned, kissing him quickly on the cheek before you attempted to leave his room.

"(y/n)?" satoru called out to you.

you turned around to see what your boyfriend wanted. "what is it, satoru?" you groaned, "i'm gonna be late."

"you gotta give me a proper goodbye kiss. none of that soft bullshit."

you reluctantly walked back over to him and giggled. "you are too much, satoru gojo."

how could you say no to a freshly showered satoru gojo enticing you with a kiss?

satoru pulled you into his lap as you straddled his waist. "now i'm definitely going to be late." you laughed.

the white haired sorcerer whispered in your ear, "just one kiss and i'll let you go."

later that day: satoru's pov

satoru, tsumiki and megumi walked around a local shopping mall in tokyo. there was a specific clothing boutique in ginza that you liked to buy clothes for the kids at.

the two fushiguros trailed behind their guardian. megumi sure missed your presence today. why did gojo-sensei have to take them back-to-school shopping instead of you? megumi always felt more comfortable whenever you were around, he always felt so small around gojo-sensei. your comforting presence always made him feel better.

tsumiki tugged at satoru's uniform, "sensei, how come (y/n) isn't coming shopping with us?"

"she's busy showing the first years around the school today," satoru smiled, "—so your cool and totally awesome sensei is going to take you guys shopping instead."

the trio entered the familiar children's boutique as an employee recognized satoru and waved. "good morning, satoru! no (y/n) today?"

"not today. she’s busy with student body president duties this year," satoru flashed a smile at the employee. he turned to his partner-in-crime, “—tsumiki, let's start with you first.”

satoru started browsing through the girl’s clothing for tsumiki. during his scan, he spotted a pink tutu. he thought that it was adorable, and tsumiki had to have it. he thought to himself, 'i'll probably get a lecture for this one, but it's too cute to pass up'.

tsumiki ended up choosing pink and neutral colored clothing. she was such a girly girl, and you had so much fun dressing her up and taking her to her dance and cheer lessons.

once satoru finished picking out some new pieces for tsumiki, he started to look at clothes for megumi. picking out clothes for boys was much easier since he knew nothing about girls' clothes. he rarely bought you clothes for that reason, especially since he knew that you were so picky.

satoru chuckled to himself when he thought of the time where he tried to buy you lingerie as a joke and almost got a high pressured water cannon shot to his face. luckily, he had his infinity on or you would've drowned him in the yokohama bay.

the white-haired guardian picked up two pairs of jeans in navy blue and black. he added shirts that megumi could layer, and new shoes into the shopping cart. he noticed that megumi was growing out of his clothes and shoes now. that kid was going to have a growth spurt soon. megumi brought over a couple of pieces of clothing he wanted and placed it in the cart innocently. satoru peered over at him.

"did you get everything you wanted, megumi?"

the child avoided eye contact with satoru, "yeah, i did."

he turned over to the older fushiguro. "—and what about you, tsumiki?"

she shot a bright smile at satoru, "yup!"

“alright, let’s head to the stationary shop.”

satoru and the children went towards the cashier to check out. he swiped his black credit card to pay for the clothes.

"sensei, that's not the bank card!" tsumiki gasped, wondering why satoru didn't use the card that was intended for tsumiki and megumi’s use.

satoru chuckled, "you're right, kiddo. this is from me and (y/n). consider it a back-to-school gift."

tsumiki's eyes sparkled, "whoa, thank you gojo-sensei!"

"thank you, sensei." megumi added to show his appreciation too, however he still avoided eye contact.

satoru smiled and ruffled megumi's hair, "you're both very welcome. make sure to give (y/n) a big ol’ hug when you see her tonight too, okay?"

the two fushiguros nodded obediently at him. of course they would give you a hug when they got home to show their appreciation. they loved you with all their hearts. you were the mother figure in their lives that they didn’t know they needed.

providing for tsumiki and megumi with your own money was something you and satoru talked about when you decided to take in the kids as your own. the plan was to set aside their financial aid money so that they would be set once they turned 18. since you and satoru came from wealthy clans, it was the least you two could do for them.

"next, we need to buy school supplies..." satoru announced as he held the shopping bags full of clothes in one hand and his shopping list that you wrote for him this morning in another, "—then we can go back to jujutsu high and have some dinner."

satoru felt his phone vibrating in his pocket. sure enough, it was you.

"hi babe." satoru greeted you over the phone with a smile.

"how's shopping with the kids?" you asked.

"i know you're going to yell at me when i get home, so i might as well tell you now—i bought tsumiki a tutu."

"satoru gojo... a tutu?!"

satoru corrected you, "excuse me, but it's 'sweetheart' or ‘babe’, to you."

"satoru..." you grumbled.

he corrected you again, "babe—"

satoru chuckled at your stubbornness, using his last name whenever you were trying to be serious with him did not scare him as much as it used to. he could tell when you were truly upset with him and when you weren’t—and this was not one of those times.

"fine then. babe, a tutu? really?" you asked in disbelief. you pinched your nose bridge in annoyance.

"it was too cute, i couldn't resist." satoru argued, "—plus, i used my own card. so don't chastise me."

you changed the subject, "is megumi doing okay without me?"

"he's just being himself... quiet." satoru cocked his head to the side to see what megumi was up to, "sounds like you're showing favorites, sweetheart. how come you never ask about tsumiki?"

"because i know that tsumiki already loves you, it's megumi i'm worried about. he's so shy around you." you explained, "—and i don't have favorites. i love them both equally."

satoru flirted with you, "what about me? am i not your favorite? do you even love me?"

"i definitely love them more than you." you teased him, "are you coming home soon?"

satoru ignored your comment about loving the kids more than him. he would make it his mission to make sure you loved him more than anything in this world.

"we'll be home soon. the kids are picking out their school supplies."

"principal yaga said that we're having a dinner to celebrate the new students. so make sure you’re back on time, please.”

satoru rolled his blue eyes so far back in his head he hoped they would get stuck. that meant that he'd have to see principal gakuganji, and he was definitely towards the bottom of his list of favorite people at jujutsu high.

“okay, babe. whatever you say.” satoru sighed.

you giggled over the receiver, “i love you, satoru gojo.”

“i love you too, sweetheart.”

satoru clamped his flip phone shut and placed it back into his front pocket. he called out to the kids, “what do you say we get some ice cream before we head back to jujutsu high? (y/n) says it's okay if we're a little late.”

the next morning

your alarm rang while satoru groaned in your chest, face buried against your sternum as you cradled his head with your arms.

"five more minutes..." satoru mumbled breathlessly into your chest.

you tried to sit up, satoru refusing to let go of you with his strong arms. you grabbed your pillow and hit him upside the head with it. you got a lucky strike, no infinity.

"wake up! we told principal kinomoto that we'd be early."

satoru took the pillow you threw at him and tossed it on the ground. he grabbed you by your waist to pull your body on top of his. you squealed as you tried to get out of his grasp.

you held his face in the palm of your hands. "wake up, babe."

satoru continued to groan. you peeled his arms off of you and stepped out of the bed. he watched you make your way into the bathroom. you were wearing one of his white uniform button ups and his briefs. your messy hair cascaded down your back. you were a sight to behold in the morning. satoru felt like he was hiding a national treasure in his room whenever you were with him.

satoru reached his arms under his pillow, stretching his long body. he called out to you, "did i ever mention that you look great in my clothes?"

you rolled your eyes at him before shooting back a half-grin. god, he loved that crooked smile of yours. he gave you a scoff in return. you ran the water so you could wash your face and brush your teeth.

after you and satoru spent the early morning sneaking kisses on each other and getting ready together, you both walked over to tsumiki and megumi's room to get them ready for the day. you took care of megumi as satoru took care of tsumiki. while you were buttoning up megumi's shirt, you watched as satoru brushed and tied tsumiki's hair into two perfect pigtails.

the 7 year old reached for her jar of butterfly clips and handed them to satoru. he picked out two pink ones to clip into her hair, making sure her bangs were out of her face.

you patted megumi's shoulders, smiling at the younger fushiguro, "there we go, megumi. you look so handsome in your new shirt."

megumi blushed, looking down at his tan-colored button-up. "gojo-sensei chose it for me."

"lookin' good there, kiddo." satoru smiled at him and then turned to you, "doesn't tsumiki look great too, sweetheart?"

you smiled back at satoru and tsumiki, "of course she does. she's my little girly girl."

tsumiki twirled around in her new pink dress. she was so darn cute. satoru bent down to tighten the straps on her shoes. he pat her head as she hugged his leg. the kids were so tiny compared to satoru. you really did look like little family when you were out in public together.

after getting ready, tsumiki and satoru led the way to the dining hall while you and megumi trailed behind them. the four of you grabbed breakfast before heading out into the city.

at the elementary school

you could hear the whispers about you and satoru through your spirit birds. the other mothers were asking each other if you and satoru were actually tsumiki and megumi's real parents, how old you two were, and many other unsolicited questions and thoughts.

you had all the registration paperwork for megumi and tsumiki in your backpack as you sat down at a pavilion table to fill out the remaining papers with satoru.

"babe—" you turned to satoru who was watching tsumiki and megumi play on the playground, "should i put you down as the primary emergency contact?"

satoru had a red lollipop in his mouth that he got from the front desk, his sunglasses were resting on his nose bridge. he took the lollipop out of his mouth to reply to you, "sure, sweetheart. but why not put yourself down?"

"well—" you bit your lip in hesitation, "i was thinking that since you can teleport, you could get here faster if anything happened to the kids." you rested your chin on your hand and leaned into him. he put his arm around you, pulling you closer.

"makes sense to me."

you and satoru watched the kids in adoration as tsumiki already made new friends on the playground. she was prancing around the field while megumi was hanging on the monkey bars.

two women approached you, startling you and satoru out of your focused adoration for the kids.

"excuse me. are you those children's mother?" the woman pointed at tsumiki and megumi. "—the one with the brown hair and the blue hair."

"we're their guardians." you introduced you and satoru, "i'm (y/n) and this is my boyfriend, satoru."

the second mother playfully hit the first mother on the shoulder, "see? i told you that they're too young to be their parents. she barely looks like she's in high school."

"why do you ask?" satoru asked defensively, furrowing his eyebrows.

you put your hand on satoru's arm, a motion to tell him to fall back and that you'd handle this. he always came to your defense when it came to you or the kids… but he knew that you were on a different level of overprotective when it came to tsumiki and megumi. satoru just sat back and continued to watch the show.

"well, this school is a very prestigious school for children. we know almost everyone and all the families who attend here... and we've never seen you two around or those two kids." the second mother sneered at the both of you.

the first mother feigned shock, "they don't have a mother or father... that's so sad."

you glared at the two women, "just because we aren't their biological parents doesn't mean that they aren't being properly cared for. satoru and i have given them everything they need and they are in a loving environment."

you weren’t sure how loving an environment like the tokyo jujutsu high dorms actually was… but you and satoru made it clear to tsumiki and megumi that you both loved and cared for them, and that if they ever needed or wanted anything, it was theirs. the world was their oyster with you and satoru by their sides.

"well then. that's good to hear." the first mother started to turn her back towards you, "it was a pleasure meeting you, miss (y/n)?"

"(l/n)." you corrected her. just because she was older than you didn't mean that she could call you by your first name.

"we hope to see you around at school events." the second mother interrupted, "we volunteer at the school quite a bit. parents... or shall i say... guardians that volunteer help their kids gain recognition within the school. i'm sure we'll see you around if you don't want your kids to fall behind."

the two women started to walk away, snickering between themselves. satoru waved them off and patted your thigh to try to calm you down.

"just ignore them, sweetheart. they’re just old women whose husbands don’t actually love them." he tried to comfort you, grabbing your hand to kiss your knuckles. “—and i love you, so you’ll never be like them.”

you motioned one of your spirit birds to fly forward, following the two women. satoru sighed in defeat, he knew you weren't going to just ignore them. he started to grin though, this was one of things that made you so attractive in his eyes. it was that fire in you. you never stepped down from a fight.

"that blue haired child looks like he's going to be trouble. look at him! he looks like a delinquent." "we need to make sure that our children don't get involved with them. we don't even know what their guardians do for a living." "how are they even paying for tuition?" "i doubt those two can even afford to pay for the tuition here. they’re just teenagers!"

you grit your teeth, jaw clenched in anger, lips pursed. satoru could feel your cursed energy waver. he nudged you one last time, "babe, come on. let’s just go back to filling out paperwork."

"you heard what they said about our kids."

you slammed your pen against the table. you got up and walked towards the two women. satoru signed and folded his arms to watch the remainder of the show. he wished he had popcorn for this. he was ready to hold you back if needed, but he actually liked seeing you get feisty like this. he knew you could hold your own against anyone, including him.

"excuse me!" you called out to the two women, "hey! you two!"

the two mothers turned around, looking back at you, appalled at your approach.

"say one more thing about megumi and tsumiki!" you pointed at them with your index finger. "let's see what happens!"

"don't you know where our families come from? ever heard of the (l/n) clan or the gojo clan? the audactiy of you two to question how we can afford to pay for tuition. their tuition was paid fully in cash. you can ask the cashier over there." you pointed towards the cashier's window.

the first mother stammered, she was shocked that you confronted them, "well, i—"

"just because i'm young doesn't mean that i can't be a good mother to megumi and tsumiki." you snapped at them, "those two 'delinquents' mean the world to me. i can provide them whatever they need or want in order for them to live a happy life. maybe you two should focus on your own children instead of mine."

"that's enough out of you!" the second mother snapped back at you, "who do you think you are? who taught you how to be so disrespectful towards your elders?"

"—can i ask what's going on here?" a man with gray hair and grey eyes approached the three of you, interrupting the cat fight. satoru jumped in his seat and started to whistle, pretending not to have been listening on the sidelines.

"oh! principal kinomoto!" the first woman ran to his side, "this rude child was just causing a scene!"

principal kinomoto recognized you, "(y/n) (l/n)?"

"hi principal kinomoto!" you waved.

the two mothers looked at you in shock. they were surprised that you and the principal were already acquainted, wondering how you knew him.

"what's all the commotion about?" the principal asked again.

"well, these two had some stuff to say about my kids." you reported back to the grey haired principal, pointing at the two women.

"i see… is this true?" the principal turned to the two, "you know we don't tolerate this type of behavior. the (l/n) clan donates heavily to all the schools in tokyo. let's not jeopardize their generous contributions to our school due to some unwarranted comments."

the two women's jaw dropped. they were speechless. they absolutely knew about the (l/n) clan. they just didn’t think you were from that (l/n) clan.

"(y/n), we have much to catch up on. i saw that you and satoru are enrolling two children here."

"what's up, principal!" satoru called out. satoru made his way to you and the principal. he put his arm around your waist and shook hands with principal kinomoto.

he introduced satoru again to the two women, "mrs. fujiwara, mrs. yoshida. this is satoru gojo. the gojo clan also donate tremendously to this school as well. as a matter of fact, they're the ones that paid for the new library last fall."

"you two may leave now, i have to speak with the principal." you said to the two women, "you should go find your children."

mrs. fujiwara and mrs. yoshida quickly turned around and called for their children from the playground. it looked like they wouldn't be bothering you or your kids any time soon.

"ignore those two. they’re known for their gossip. let's sit down and catch up." principal kinomoto ushered you and satoru back to the table you were sitting at. "(y/n), how is touya? i haven't seen him in so long!"

"he's great. he's working on becoming the head of the household."

"—and are you at jujutsu high with satoru?"

satoru ruffled your hair, "yep, she is! we're third years now. gonna graduate soon!"

"so tell me about these kids you're enrolling." the principal peered over at the playground.

"would you like to meet them?" you asked with a smile. “they’re just the best kids.”

satoru called out to the two fushiguros, "hey! megumi! tsumiki! can you guys come here real quick?"

megumi jumped down from the monkey bars, tsumiki slid down from the metal slide she was on. they both ran towards you and satoru. tsumiki jumped into satoru's arms while megumi attached himself to your side.

"principal kinomoto, meet megumi and tsumiki fushiguro." you introduced the two fushiguros to their future principal with a cheeky smile, "—they're mine and satoru's kids."

"kiddos, say hi to principal kinomoto." satoru said, "he's a good friend of ours."

principal kinomoto reached his hand out for a handshake, "nice to meet you two."

you and satoru watched as tsumiki and megumi nervously shook hands with their principal and said hi. they were so cute in the way they interacted with him.

after getting acquainted, you shoo'd them off, “you two can go back and play now.”

they quickly smiled and waved, running back to play on the playground with their new friends. once megumi was back on the monkey bars, you turned to the principal, "principal kinomoto, i do have some concerns."

"what's on your mind, (y/n)?"

"i'm not worried about tsumiki fitting in, but i am worried about megumi." you sighed, hoping that megumi would be okay in school without you.

satoru added, "—megumi might cause a little trouble for you, principal."

the grey haired principal laughed, "is he a troublemaker like you, satoru?"

"you have no idea." you scoffed.

"the kid's a zen'nin with the ten shadows technique." satoru mentioned.

principal kinomoto looked at you and satoru, "you don't say?" he adverted his attention to megumi on the playground, "what shikigami has he tamed have so far?"

"just the demon dogs. he's starting to see nue and gamma though. so don't be surprised if you see two puppies named shiro and kuro on school grounds." satoru chuckled.

principal kinomoto was actually a grade one jujutsu sorcerer and was in the same class as touya. after graduation, he left to work as a non-sorcerer because he didn't like the mental toll being a jujutsu sorcerer put on him. he ended up going into education because he loved kids. if he couldn't save children from curses, he would save them another way, through education. him and his wife, mrs. akita, ran the school that you were enrolling megumi and tsumiki at. it was satoru's idea to register the kids here knowing the ties they had with the jujutsu society.

“don't worry. tsumiki and megumi will be taken care of here.”

"thanks so much, principal." you let out a relieved sigh, "that's one less thing to worry about."

"being a parent is hard," the principal laughed, pointing at you and satoru, "—but you two... when did that become a thing?"

"she fell in love with me at first sight." satoru interjected with a cocky smirk.

"—absolutely not." you threw an ice shard at his infinity, "i can't get rid of him... it's been almost two years now? satoru broke my domain expansion from the outside when i was sparring with touya. that's how we first met." (read 'love at first fight' here)

principal kinomoto teased you both, "—so it was love at first sight?"

"more like first fight. satoru didn't even like me at first." you told the principal. he was enthralled with your love story.

satoru rolled his eyes, "—that's not true!"

"i'm actually surprised that your brother didn't kill satoru when he found out you two were dating." principal kinomoto shrugged.

"god, touya and satoru love each other. they're bestfriends now. sometimes i think touya loves satoru more than me."

"well, give your brother my regards," principal kinomoto got up from his seat, "i have to get back to the office. i'm sure i have plenty of parents waiting to meet with me."

"take care." you waved.

"yeah, take care. we'll send the check for the monthly donation this week." satoru called out to the principal. you and satoru were now in charge of the clans’ donations to the school since you'd be visiting the school often.

principal kinomoto waved and brushed you two off, "don't worry about it. take your time with the donations. akita and i are happy to have megumi and tsumiki starting at the school."

you and satoru watched as the principal walked away from the pavilion table. you both sighed in relief. you didn’t think that being ‘parents’ at such a young age was in the cards for you and satoru... but he just had to bring home two adorable children for you to raise.

"that was hot." satoru giggled. the corner of his eyes started to wrinkle as he tried holding back his boisterous laugh.

"what was hot?" you asked.

"the way you stood up to those two moms." satoru said, "i love when you get feisty."

you leered at him, a cheshire grin spreading across your face, "—oh you love when i get feisty?"

"—but not with me!" satoru quickly said with his palms up in defense.

you rolled your eyes at him and finished filling out megumi and tsumiki's registration paperwork while the sly sorcerer snuck tender kisses on your cheek.

you scribbled your signature on the last line. after a moment, you turned to satoru, “should i join the parent-teacher association?”

EXTRA:

“(y/n), can i get the 64 pack of crayons with the sharpener in the back?” megumi asked in hopes that you'd say yes. he had always wanted the 64 pack of crayons.

satoru looked at the younger fushiguro, “you only need 12 crayons to color. who do you think you are? picasso?”

you glared at satoru and turned to megumi, “yes, you can have the 64 pack, megumi. get one for tsumiki too. and your gojo-sensei will pay for it."

"wha—hey!" satoru called out as you, megumi, and tsumiki walked away from him to head to the next aisle.

© 2023 ASDFGHJKLMALS — ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. PLEASE DO NOT COPY, TRANSLATE, OR REPOST MY WORK.

DIVIDERS PROVIDED BY @/ANLIAN-AISHANG

[caamboys]

Pick A Card

how does your crush feel about you?

Pile one 💙🩷

Pile two 💚

Pile three 🩷

Pile One 💙

eight of pentacles, seven of cups, ace of cups, the empress, three of pentacles, two of cups, queen of pentacles, king of pentacles, four of swords

Alright! Pile one your person took me for a ride lol!! This is not someone whose easy to understand so I get why you'd come to a tarot reading. Starting off their feelings for you are the eight of pentacles, seven of cups, and ace of cups! You guys had a lot of cup energy so I definitely can see they have/hold emotion for you. This isn't someone who holds no emotional regard to you. If this is someone who doesn't know you this may not be your pile. What I see with this person though is them being very deceptive. I see them putting on a mask when you come around. Although they feel you two would make a beautiful union, and have a healthy collaboration in love, I see them pretending otherwise. Regardless they're viewing you in this 'Empress' energy, they definitely see you as a suitable partner. I can't help but wonder if they're feeling insecure regarding your financial status or their own financial/material status. Some of you might be in a better place in life when it comes to financial/material circumstances. If that's not the case I see them feeling insecure about what they have to offer you. They view you very highly in this Empress energy and I think they want to approach you as such. I think if they overcome this blockage they could deal with their emotional immaturity and stop pretending they don't have feelings for you. They'd be more than happy to enter a partnership with you pile one! trust your intuition when dealing with them, if you feel like they're putting up a front of being detached from you it's just a poor response to their own feelings. I believe this person likes you back and wants to approach with a steadfast confidence in themselves and what they have to offer BUT until they get that I don't see them coming in.

pile two

The hierophant, Page of Swords, Nine of cups, Page of cups, King of Swords, The sun, The lovers 💚, & The artist

Right off the bat I'm getting you two engaging in a formal setting. This may be a workplace or school crush, or somewhere with rules regulation and structure. They view you as a very responsible, hardworking, productive individual. I think they've had an opportunity to gain insight on the type of person you are, they may have seen you show an act of kindness to someone, or offer something to somebody else. Whatever insight they gained about you has them veryyy emotionally fulfilled by you 😭 With the lovers card and the artist I already see them wanting a partnership with you! I see them daydreaming or consciously thinking about a relationship with you. I dont think they're fine settling with the thought and I actually think this person is taking on a more confident approach to you. I don't see them outright admitting their feelings but I definitely see them shining light on their feelings for you. They might make a sly joke or flirtatious remark that lets you know they're attracted to you. I feel like this pile has a reciprocal crush! They would like to create something new with you! 💚

Pile three🩷

Three of swords, Nine of Wands, Seven of Wands, Two of Wands, Three of Pentacles, Knight of pentacles, Ace of swords, Nine of cups,

The lovers🩷

Omg ur pile had me so worried !! Then it all fell into place 🤭 I think they definitely can see themselves in connection and union with you, but I can't help but feel like they're emotionally wounded by you! Did you hurt them by any chance? I think they feel competitive and defensive with people surrounding you. I feel like in the past, they have contemplated negatively about attention you receive, and whether or not they could find true fulfilment & love with you. Pile three I think your person is jealous 😭😭 or something you did hurt their feelings/ pride. I can feel something bothering their heart space. They'll be deciding whether or not to pursue you, & I see them tapping into this Knight of Pentacles energy and suddenly being ambitious towards a connection with you. They're going to decide to step into their power and pursue you relentlessly. Although I see them overthinking it before they make a move. Once they do though, they release all their doubts!! They don't give a fuck about the competition, exes any other suitors around you. I think once they've completely decided on pursuing you they're going after an EXCLUSIVE union with you. I see them being very defensive about your loyalty to them. I do get a bit of defensiveness around their heart and worry around being backstabbed. They may have misunderstood something about you, or felt like you weren't really interested in them (possibly you were interested in others) but I think something is going to make them come back around to the thought of being with you, and I'm seeing them choose to take the risk and offer some sort of emotion. Don't put up a mask around this person, maybe even show a bit of emotional vulnerability. I see this person needing to trust you to get true emotional fulfillment.