#probably long at first and later she cuts it short

[bemusedlybespectacled]

what's happening with James Somerton right now: a probably-incomplete primer

TW: suicide, including suicide as a threat and a manipulation tactic.

The short version:

James Somerton is a former Youtube essayist who focused entirely on queer history, queer media criticism, and queer issues in general. He is also a flagrant grifter who has made tens of thousands of dollars via fraud, both directly (lying about his finances to beg for money and getting donations for films he never even started making) and indirectly (stealing whole essays and articles and books, reading them out loud verbatim for his videos without indicating they were anything other than his own work, and then using the prestige he gained from using their work to get Patrons and sponsorships).

The story as told James and James apologists was that James attempted to apologize twice, was hounded mercilessly on the internet for weeks, and then, driven to the end of his rope, he posted a suicide note on Twitter, was MIA for several days, and from then on has been avoiding the internet.

The actual story, as revealed yesterday, was that James used two sockpuppet accounts to defend himself and parrot his talking points (again, while publicly claiming to be trying to take responsibility for his actions), using one to try to rebrand the con under a different name and another to deliberately stoke the panic caused by his suicide note. He was not only aware of the pain and anxiety he was causing people, but he encouraged it on one alt while hornyposting about his favorite movies on the other.

He is an unrepentant con artist who successfully used a suicide threat to prevent further interference with future cons. The only reason he was caught is because he is apparently incapable of going more than a couple of weeks without trying to get back in the internet spotlight, allowing people to tie his alts back to him. He lies for fun and profit and he should not be taken seriously, ever.

The long version:

In December 2023, Youtube essayist Hbomberguy (Harry Brewis) put out a four-hour-long video about plagiarism on the internet, and devoted two hours to addressing as much of JS's plagiarism as he could. I strongly recommend watching the entire thing, as the first two hours build on the concepts that he uses later in the video.

He also blew the whistle on James' fraud surrounding Telos, a studio James founded using thousands of dollars of IndieGoGo money that never actually produced any films despite him definitely working on them! Any day now they'll be released! Don't you worry!

A day later, Todd in the Shadows, a guy whose entire thing is music reviews, posted his own video debunking multiple outright lies that James had told about history, especially queer history. A few more days later, The Ace Couple, who run a podcast about asexuality, released an episode detailing how they'd lost $1.5k donating to Telos.

I have put the videos, Twitter threads, Patreon posts, and Reddit posts by other people discussing different aspects of James' fraud under the cut.

Every other time James was caught plagiarizing, prior to Harry's video, he would lie about it. Either he'd have some excuse (easily proven to be a lie) or he'd retreat to his favorite deflection: "I'm just being harassed because I'm gay."

This last lie was one he'd use not only to deflect accusations of plagiarism, but all criticism in general, no matter how trivial. Every time, the critic or someone associated with them would somehow dox him, or harass him, or send him death threats, or threaten to falsely accuse him of sexual assault.

This happened to The Ace Couple (who'd tried to correct him on something extremely acephobic in one of his videos), Jessie Gender (who'd tried to correct him when he claimed that there were no queer content creators on Nebula, given that she and a bunch of other queer creators were definitely on that platform), and the person who first blew the whistle on him stealing from Tinker Belles and Evil Queens by Sean Griffin (who was accused of being behind death threats he'd received, and hounded so harshly they had to leave Twitter).

It is important to note that every time James faced potentially damaging criticism, or even just a threat to his ego, suddenly he would claim to be harassed by people connected to the critic, including threats to his life. There has never been any proof of any threats being directed at him, nor evidence that, if the threats were real, that they are actually from people connected to the critic.

In the original video by Hbomberguy, Harry makes a compelling argument that James brought on a friend of his, Nick, as a co-writer specifically as a shield against accusations of plagiarism. "How dare you accuse me of plagiarism! Nick would NEVER do that!" This is even more apparent given subsequent developments which I will get into.

When evidence started dropping about different aspects of his fraud (not only Harry's video, but Todd in the Shadows' video debunking his misinfo, The Ace Couple's podcast about their experience donating to his fraudulent film studio, and Dan Olson's tweet thread about James' obvious lies about his finances), he went into hiding for two weeks, and then put out the first of two apologies. He then deleted that one and put out another one a few weeks later. And then he immediately deleted that one.

While his first apology was rambling, vague, and dramatic (lots of sniffing/crying), and his second was more measured, thought-out, and totally batshit (lots of hilariously and bizarrely implausible excuses for why he'd done what he'd done), they had roughly the same points:

Not ALL of his stuff was plagiarized! Actually, a lot of it wasn't! No specifics as to what, though!

Most of the stuff that was plagiarized was just a failure to properly cite sources, as he had no idea that putting someone's name in your end credits or video description (without specifying what parts are attributable to that person or disclosing that you are using their words verbatim) is not sufficient credit,

Also, he totally had permission, in some cases, to use their work verbatim prior to publishing the video (this is not true, and is disproven both in Harry's video and his own screenshots);

He definitely didn't commit fraud with Telos and would soon have a good explanation for where the money went! (he did not)

He was going to keep the videos up so that he could either donate the funds from any monetization to the fund Harry had set up for his victims or to "help Nick's portfolio" by showcasing his work;

He lost his best friend (i.e. Nick) over these allegations, who absolutely definitely wasn't a scapegoat, except Nick was also responsible for a lot of the stuff James was being criticized for;

He was going to keep the videos up so he could either donate the advertising proceeds to Harry's fund for his victims (first apology) or to "help Nick's portfolio" by showcasing the work he'd done; and

As a result of this entire ordeal, he had attempted either self-harm or suicide (he merely alluded to "doing something stupid").

Again, his response was to 1) downplay the severity of his actions or flat out ignore allegations against him, 2) come up with ridiculous excuses for his behavior, 3) throw Nick under the bus, and 4) claim to be in mortal danger. As far as I am aware, he has never taken any concrete action to make amends to any person, not even donating money to charity.

This was coupled with some kind of attempt to profit: monetizing his apology videos, closing and then reopening his Patreon right before the monthly charge cycle happened (totally to let people unfollow him, not at all as a grab for that money), creating a new Patreon under a different name, and changing his Twitter and Youtube handles to distance himself from the controversy while gathering new followers.

At one point (I forget if this was on Twitter or Instagram), he also said that someone had broken into his apartment due to the notoriety he'd received from Harry's video. I believe that was after his first apology, when people started to point out that he'd just changed the name of his Twitter and Youtube channel and had restarted a new Patreon under a pseudonym. (BTW, the pseudonym he used for his new Patreon was "The Gay Raconteur"; this will be important later).

It had what I think was the desired effect: any attempt at pointing out that he was rebranding his grift now came across as weirdly fixated on minor things he was doing, which certainly wasn't worth putting him in physical danger. (Again, he has never provided any proof of this happening, nor provided any evidence that these people allegedly threatening him were, in fact, in some way inspired by Hbomb).

So along comes March 5, 2024, and James posts a suicide note on his Twitter, saying that he is going to set up his videos to automatically publish (for Nick's portfolio), provide in some way for the ad revenue to go to a suicide prevention nonprofit, and then kill himself.

The immediate response from the internet was compassion and totally chilling any further criticism, since you might be callously criticizing a dead person. Harry and Kat worked for a couple of days to get a wellness check for him while a substantial section of the internet called them murderers.

On March 6, a day after the note was published, Nick tweeted that that he had cause to believe James was fine. Kat confirmed that James was safe on March 11. Due to the drama of the "suicide attempt," however, the chill on criticizing James stayed in place for months.

And then yesterday Lady Emily, one of the cowriters for Sarah Z., drops two more bombs:

James has not one but two alt accounts that he was using to rebrand and start over.

The first one was created between his first and second apologies, and originally was for "The Gay Raconteur" until he changed it to "Will"/"thatgayyouknow" and, later, "The Achillean Boy."

The second one was much older, under the pseudonym "Mikey JB," and used stolen pictures from Grindr instead of his own face. However, it is pretty obvious that it is, in fact, a sockpuppet account and not just some other person who happens to like James, as detailed below.

Both accounts, both between apologies and after his "suicide," talked about how criticism of James was unfair because the plagiarized stuff was "like a decade old" and repeating the same excuses that James had also made.

The "Mikey JB" account not only supported James, but actively threw Nick under the bus, saying that a criticized part of a video "reeks of his co-writer."

On March 6, the day after James' main Twitter posted the suicide note, The Achillean Boy account was hornyposting about Ryan Phillipe. James didn't even take a day or two off of Twitter. If he had been completely off Twitter for a couple of days, that could have been an indication that he really had hurt himself and was unable to access his phone, or at the very least unaware of the panic. But he wasn't. He was aware of it and did nothing. Actually, no! Worse than nothing!

On the same day (March 6), the Mikey JB account was actively contradicting Nick saying he was okay (they "haven't spoken in months" so there's no way Nick could know if he was alive) and saying that "people like you" i.e. his critics, "drove him to it." Not only did he ignore the panic he'd intentionally created, he actively drove it.

He saw people going emotionally through the wringer over the idea that they might have somehow caused his death, and intentionally made them keep thinking it. He say people calling his critics "murderers" for "driving him to his death," and he joined in.

Why am I explaining all of this? I want to make a couple of things extremely clear, and the context is necessary to my ultimate points, namely:

James Somerton didn't merely "credit people improperly;" he conned his followers out of more money than some people make in a year with the Telos con, while raking in thousands more per month on Patreon and buying expensive equipment, while claiming to be near insolvency and in desperate need of money.

James Somerton has never taken full responsibility for his actions or attempted to make amends. He has only ever tried to dodge responsibility, particularly by throwing Nick under the bus.

Every time he has ever been criticized, for any reason, he has lied about threats to his life to gain sympathy and quell criticism. This is a standard part of his MO. He has done this over and over and over again. At this point, I think if he says the sky is blue, someone should go out and check first before doing anything.

"But BB, what if he really is getting harassed/threatened or really is suicidal?"

So, okay: people who are attempting to manipulate you may use legitimate problems as a tool. It doesn't need to be fake to be effective - in fact, it might be more effective if it it's true. An abusive ex who says "if you leave me, I'll kill myself" and genuinely means it and actually attempts it (and possibly even succeeds!) is a lot harder to leave than someone who says the same thing but is clearly just bluffing, because the threat is real.

My rule of thumb in these cases is to treat the threat like it's real, without caving to the intended manipulation. Whether your ex is lying or telling the truth when they say, "I'll kill myself if you leave me," the appropriate response in both cases is to immediately call a mental health service or supportive family member. If it's fake, it's inconvenient for them; if it's real, you reacted appropriately. Your response needs to be the same regardless.

You don't get back together with them because it's a real threat (presumably you wouldn't do that if you knew it was fake and they were never in any danger), and you don't tell them that they're a piece of shit who should be dead (HOPEFULLY you wouldn't do that if you knew for a fact that they were telling the truth).

In this case, I am extremely confident in saying that he was coldbloodedly lying the entire time and was never once threatened, and certainly not to the degree he claimed to be. But even if he wasn't, that does not and should not change anyone's behavior in terms of holding him accountable.

And I mean actually holding him accountable: making sure he doesn't try to start a new con on new people, continuing to point out that he hasn't paid anyone back for his previous con (so long as it's still true), that sort of thing. It doesn't mean people should tell him he should go die for real or, I don't know, try to get him fired if he gets a job at Tim Horton's or Target or something else that's not fraud. That would be wrong regardless of whether he's actually in danger or not. The point is to avoid being cruel without negotiating with terrorists.

Video sources and links under the cut:

Links:

It's like Breaking Bad, but backwards: a brief history of how Somerton successfully screwed himself Dan Olson's Twitter thread about the financial fraud My Year With James: Todd's post explaining the backstory of his video (Patreon-locked) DJSO#: Dan Olson's breakdown of James' second apology (Patreon-locked) Lady Emily's Twitter threads revealing James' alt accounts, part 1 and part 2

[bakubunny]

a/n: i’ve written daddy!shota plenty of times, but i’ve never written about how it might have happened. so here’s a hc dump? there’s a lil smutty drabble at the end.

if this isn’t your kind of thing, pls just scroll and ignore.

tw: f!reader, daddy kink (obv), ddlg, mentioned age play, d/s dynamics, pet names: baby, babygirl, sweetheart, good girl

totally blindsided the first time someone whined out a shaky “daddy” underneath him in his early twenties. almost busted instantly. he knew daddy kinks were a thing, but that was something people joked about, wasn’t it?… at least that’s what he knew. he also knew he needed to hear it again, but shoved the thought away as the life of an underground hero took hold.

kayama was the one who called him out on it jokingly when she snickered and threw out an offhand, “okay, daddy,” in response to his being demanding and she earned a nasty glare. she proceeded to do that for the next week, and every time, shota had half a mind to shove her face into any surface he could find and fuck the attitude out of her. but he never did.

got absolutely shitfaced with some friends and drunkenly confided in kamaya as uncomfortable as it was. he wanted answers, wanted to know that he wasn’t some disgusting perv, and if anyone could understand, it would be her. while much more crass than he liked on the matter, she still had compassion.

thanks to kayama, shota soon finds places on the internet where real people are involved in “ddlg,” and a comfort settles in his chest knowing that what’s in his head actually exists.

there’s something that makes his body run hot seeing real people in innocent, frilly clothes, printed, childish panties, maybe an oversized pacifier between their lips, snuggling with the cutest plushies he’s ever seen…. he’s not sure what to make of that, and it takes time for him to figure it out.

by the time you meet shota a few years later, he’s figured out most of his likes and dislikes, he thinks. he’s considered or been in a d/s dynamic once or twice, but most of his “daddy kink” experience falls into “something i like to hear in the bedroom.”

he’s pretty perceptive and picked up that you might be that kind of person long before it came up. it’s in the small things - the way you get flustered with certain nicknames or a particular tone of voice, how much you enjoy it when he’s forceful or takes control, the way he can almost watch your brain short circuit with certain phrases, with how he insists on taking care of you, etc.

he’s probably not gonna tell you until you bring it up or it happens naturally; yeah, he wants it, but until you push him, he’s not the type to demand what he wants out of sex (or in general) in a romantic relationship because that takes work… and because most sex doesn’t involve romantic relationships for him.

when it does come out, there’s plenty of discussion. he’s open with you for the most part because he doesn’t see a reason not to be. no matter how hesitant you might be, he’s unfazed by anything you bring up; he’s been around the internet enough that he’s at least seen the whole spectrum - everything from “daddy is a nickname” to 24/7 dynamics heavy on age play.

the first time you let it slip and call him daddy is probably in bed. he’s just fucking you that good. your head is spinning and fuzzy at the same time. your voice is muffled by pillows or maybe you’re tucked into the crook of his neck, biting into his sweatshirt. it’s soft, hardly intelligible; in fact, you were desperately hoping he hadn’t heard you at all.

but shota’s hearing is sharp, and he knows that what just left your mouth sure as shit was not “baby.”

so he leans in, his lips grazing your ear. “what’s that, sweetheart?”

“huh? n-nothin, jus’ feels go-” you’re cut off as your jaw drops and you moan.

shota angles his hips slightly, pounding harder into the spot that had you trembling and seeing white moments ago.

“c’mon babygirl, what did you call me?”

you whine. heat rushes to your cheeks. “no, sho st-stop, please,” you plead softly.

“if you wanna fucking cum, you’re gonna repeat what you said,” he growls. “you hear me?”

another hesitant whimper as you clench around his thick cock. shota grunts from the sensation and concedes, opting for a bit of encouragement.

his tone is soft and low. “i need it. let daddy hear you, baby.”

a shudder runs over your skin, your voice more akin to a broken sob. “fuck daddy, fuc-nngh, please don’t stop.”

shota’s heavy groan hits your skin as he pants, and you keen in response.

“that’s it. that’s my good girl, shit.” he presses soft, warm kisses into your skin. “say it again.”

if you’d like to join my tag list, let me know. ♡

gremlins: @arlerts-angel @dcsiremc @darkstarlight82 @bookcluberror @neon-gothicc @zazter-den @breadandbutter33 @i-literally-cant-with-this @rinalouu @stvrfir3 @r4td0lll @emmab3mma @aria-chikage @mhadabiandhawks4eva @yazminetrahan @doumadono @dreamcastgirl99 @maddietries @jazzafayesworld @karebear5118 @unofficialmuilover @cherriluvs35 @erensslut @ruu-https @hana-yuri @keiva1000 @katsul0vr @trickster-kat @ayeohoh-blog @dinomeow @flamgosstuff @mistressreaper @angelltheninth @anonymously-ominous @amberexe2 @hisconsistency @nanamisbigassschlong @223princess @honeeslust @naughtygobbo @acenanxious @blumoonwisteria @chaos-gem @levizonlywife @nuttyunknowndetective

[shijiujun]

A Summary: The Spirealm | 致命游戏 (Kaleidoscope of Death 死亡万花筒 Live Action) & Why You Should (Eventually) Watch It

Talk about the most short-lived drama release ever, not even totalling two hours if I recall. Creating this summary as I've seen a handful of confused friends, so here it goes!

It's going to be a long review because I sped through all 78 episodes and only properly watched the first two doors, but I got you. You'll get both the brief book rundown and the drama parts!

If you just wanna see the bromance (LOVE) parts please skip to section 4!!!!

1. Overview

Title: The Spirealm (kinda awful I'm sorry it's a mouthful) or 致命游戏 which means fatal game

Adapted From: Danmei (BL) Kaleidoscope of Death by Xi Zixu

Novel Prints: There are GORGEOUS Thai, Vietnamese, Simplified and Traditional Chinese versions printed, AND Singapore publisher Rosmei has signed the license for the ENGLISH version, probably going on sale this year (preview is here). You can still access fan translations by Taida on I think wordpress and someone else on Tumblr sorry bad memory (they did half and half each) if you'd like to read it for context. It is one of my FAVE danmeis EVER and I am a die-hard OG book fan, check out my full danmei review here.

Total Episodes: 78 (20 minutes each with the exception of last episode which 10 minutes, with several BTS not that I think we will get to see all of them yet)

Where to Watch (LOL): Erm considering that iQIYI China AND International took the episodes down, there is no legal way to watch this, BUT thanks to some cnetz with super fast and great wifi, we managed to get ripped HD versions without subs. iQIYI is very hard on copyright though, they've taken down several subbed and unsubbed versions already on YouTube, but you should type the titles of show into Twitter and the top tags will tell you where to access the raws and very little subbed episodes, that may also be taken down at any point. I have the Chinese raws but as it's hosted on a cloud, I had to pay to access it.

Main Characters: Lin Qiushi & Ruan Nanzhu/Ruan Baijie (in the novel) and Ling Jiushi & Ruan Nanzhu/Ruan Baijie (in the drama)

Produced By: iQIYI so for SURE they won't film it fully BL even if the original is, but I've seen enough bromance cuts

Main Actors: Xia Zhiguang (Ruan Nanzhu/Ruan Baijie) + Huang Junjie (Ling Jiushi)

2. Summary

Book (drama follows closely if not removing the supernatural premises): Lin Qiushi, a designer, opens the door to his home one day from inside and sees 12 iron doors outside. Confused, he opens one of them and arrives at a snow covered village in the mid of winter, and meets Ruan Baijie, who's a pretty, unusually tall and whiny/timid woman. They realise that they're in a horrifying door game, and they'll have to find a door and a key to get out, while battling a long-haired, human-eating deity. They, along with a few others, have to survive day after day until they get out, and on the first night, two people have died in gory ways. Ruan Baijie and Lin Qiushi partner each other, and despite seemingly timid and crying all the time, she saves Lin Qiushi a few times mysteriously, and Lin Qiushi finds himself trusting in Ruan Baijie.

They get through the door together and when they leave successfully, Lin Qiushi realizes that the people who died in the door will die in real life by some freak accident too - car accidents, forced suicides, a robbery gone wrong, a lift trapped in the air and going ablaze, and more. That night, Lin Qiushi wakes up to see a super handsome and tall Ruan Nanzhu at his bedside and this man feels familiar to him, but he can't put a finger on it. All he can think of when Ruan Nanzhu says his name is Ruan Baijie (ahem he would later find out who it is of course). Ruan Nanzhu takes him to his mansion in the suburbs where he meets a group of other people just like them, who're forced to go through the doors for survival. Ruan Nanzhu then invites him to join Obsidian, his organization.

Through various doors, Lin Qiushi grows and supports a super intelligent and powerful Ruan Nanzhu, falls in love with him, gets through many many scary doors with him and some of their other team members, makes friends, loses them to the cruelty of the doors as they ponder over what the door means, and what being alive/dying means.

And at the end of it, at the end of of it all, when they're all good and living their life, Lin Qiushi also finds out what Ruan Nanzhu's secret is, and the lengths to which Ruan Nanzhu went to, just to be with him.

Drama: Ling Jiushi is a VR game designer who gets pulled into a game, and he meets Ruan Baijie (in his male form) right off the bat (SO NOT CROSSDRESSING I AM SAD). All the parts are actually the same as the novel, albeit with the game setting and Ling Jiushi and Ruan Nanzhu's identity adjustments to suit the game premise. Most of the other doors and their lines are the same, just that the ending is a bit more confusing than it could be. There's a big bad as well and they actually show the opposing organizations when in the novel, these other organizations aside from Obsidian didn't even actually have a face or goal to them.

3. Characters

^ Them in the book (based on manhua that never got to go live LOL) (RNZ/RBJ left, LQS right)

^ Them in the show (LJS left, RNZ right)

Ruan Nanzhu/Ruan Baijie: MY HANDSOME CROSSDRESSING INTELLIGENT ALOOF BUT WHINY (WHEN IT COMES TO LIN QIUSHI) SASSY BOSS!!!! He's super mysterious and super thick-skinned too, and all he wants is Lin Qiushi's attention the moment he meets him. He's intrigued by Lin Qiushi's calm and his brains and the way he handles things, and has a lot of trust for him right from the get-go. This is also shown in the drama itself. As the leader of Obsidian, he cares a lot for his team members and his friends even if he doesn't show it most of the time, and the last thing he wants to do is lose Lin Qiushi, and he would do ANYTHING for Lin Qiushi, ANYTHING!!! Just look at him whining:

Ling Jiushi (Lin Qiushi): In the novel he's super calm, has quite a lot of brains, a little bit of a blur in the beginning but he's super smart as well. Worries a lot for Ruan Nanzhu and is also a loyal friend to some of his only friends, and feels a lot when he loses them. Falls gradually in love with Ruan Nanzhu in the novel, like they just belong together. In this drama, Ling Jiushi holds that same trust for Ruan Nanzhu, but in demeanour he seems a bit more like a klutz and and not as cool as he was in the novel, but I guess it's acceptable. Literally like the only thing he loves more than RNZ (maybe) is his cat Chestnut LOL and RNZ is NOT really happy about that but Chestnut LOVES RNZ

Yixie and Qianli: CUTEST TWINS ;-; WHO TREAT RNZ and LQS as their big brothers LOOK AT THEM BOWING AND RNZ/LJS like parents LMAO

A handful of other characters who will keep turning up and get your hearts ;-;

4. ALL FAVE BROMANCE MOMENTS + TROPES

THEY TOUCH EACH OTHER A LOT LIKE HOLDING HANDS AND TOUCHING FACES, PIGGY BACKING?!?! DID I MENTION FACE TOUCHING

WHUMP WHUMP WHUMP WHUMP THEY HELP EACH OTHER WHEN HURT OR GET HURT FOR EACH OTHER

AND WHEN THEY WAKE UP IN BED THE OTHER IS AT THEIR BEDSIDE

AND DID I MENTION HE FEEDS HIM IN MORE WAYS THAN ONE

AND THAT THEY DATED UNDER THE FIREWORKS LIKE THE NOVEL DOES NOT EVEN HAVE THIS SHIT

AND THE KABEDONS

AND FINALLY RUAN NANZHU RIZZ OMG

5. Settings

They REALLY OUTDID THEMSELVES. THIS JUST FROM DOORS 1-6:

THEY LOOK EXACTLY LIKE THE NOVEL DESCRIBED!!!!

6. Overall Thoughts

PROS: This was NOT a cheap production, I'm telling you, they followed the cases very well and there're a lot of super recognisable lines, if not ALL of them, even if they changed the cases a little. I think they did it because in the novel originally, the author DOES leave a lot of details hanging like someone dies and you know he had a background and there are some shady things happening but the author NEVER actually goes into detail. So the drama did their best to cover these loopholes, even if it felt a little awkward at times. Money went into settings and attires and every damn thing, this looks EXPENSIVE. And if you've ever imagined each door and the bosses inside in your head, you might have felt chills go down your spine because damn did they really colour the book's settings for me (despite its differences). DID I MENTION that Xia Zhiguang really got the damn memo and he was a passable Ruan Nanzhu/Ruan Baijie who knew how to turn on his BL eyes. PLUS they really did some of the character deaths really well - they're technically some of the biggest parts of this story so ;-; (not two main of course)

CONS (maybe): They did away with the supernatural/horror premise and replaced it with a GAME premise, which means that there's a scientific element to it and the try to explain away stuff with the game, including the ending. I don't 100% get the ending, but the feel/vibe is about the same. Might not be for hardcore reader fans tho! They skipped out on a couple of doors, some of which were my faves, but it's fine, it's long enough LOL. They give away/explain some of the clues and surprises super early which means you don't get that added boom at the back as well. Despite that, I have to say they tried to round up the loopholes from the book as much as they could and give it an explanation while tying elements/conspiracies across doors (probably also to save cast fees LOL). And as always it's not a solid ending, it's an open confusing one, and even more confusing than the book itself because THERE IS NO CERTAIN HAPPILY EVER AFTER WITH HUBBY for it (there is in the book tho, they live together happily every after). Secondl,y, I'd say HJJ's acting is a bit stiff and OOC compared to the novel, but Xia Zhiguang really made up for it.

-------

HOPE THIS HELPS YOU GUYS!!! But I guess if you need subs it's going to be a long LONGGGG ride, considering that iQIYI doesn't seem to be going to be able to put it up anytime soon CRIES.

[asapeveryday]

The Last Time Pt2

Paring: Paige Bueckers x Reader

Warnings: Mentions of sex/hooking up, casual culture, unnecessary miscommunication 😇

Summary: Months later,you attempt to distance yourself from Paige in hopes of calming down the intense feelings you harbour. Paige is uneasy from the intimacy of your relationship.

A/n: sorry guys this one is all plot…and the next one too I think. But dw it’ll be worth it in the end. Feel free to point out any mistakes !

Minors DNI under the cut!!

It was a mutual understanding you two had. Paige didn’t mean for you two to keep meeting for this long, but the unintentional intimacy the two of you shared with every linkup was enough to keep her craving.

Paige Bueckers can’t be tied down, especially with an NCAA championship on the line. Ball first and girls second. For you, you prioritized school above all else. The one day you went out to have fun, Paige set her eyes on you and it’s been history since then. First casual hookups in party bedrooms, then in her car on the way back from practice. Aggressive after a bad game or slow and sensual after a good one. You even visited her dorm when nobody else was home, and she had slept over at yours. it’s all fun.

Until Paige noticed you stopped texting first.

Paige Bueckers, who receives constant comments from thousands of people on the daily begging her to look their way, was constantly asking you to fuck??

“Nah…I’m not chasing.” She says, trying to convince herself more than her teammates.

Azzi scoffs. “This is actually embarrassing.”

“Lemme see!” KK attempts to grab Paige’s phone from Azzi, who swats her hand away. Paige rubs her forehead, exasperated.

“Holy shit!” KK practically screams. “No way this girls puss is so good she got you texting like that.”

Paige says nothing, but grabs her phone back and scrolls through her texts with you. Was it really that bad?

Her eyes graze over texts from the past 5 months. Every time it’s Paige asking to meet up.

“Yo, wyd?”

“Practice sucked. U busy?”

“Did u see our game? I feel like celebrating.”

“I’m picking u up in 5”

“Come over tmr?”

And you respond every time with some variation of yes or maybe.

That seems pretty bad.

Paige thinks back to the last time you guys met up. Despite your lack of initiative and your dry responses, you always showed up for her wet and ready, usually showered and shaved if it wasn’t short notice. You genuinely seemed interested in her life and she had become slightly infatuated with yours, especially since she only ever talked to you face to face. Plus, Paige knew for a fact you enjoyed every night you spent with her, she made sure of it.

It was a vicious cycle that she was stuck in. She’d meet up with you to fuck, then you’d entrance her with a fun outing, or a deep question. She’d have the night of her life, then throughout the week Paige would convince herself it was all casual. That she could stop whenever she wanted.

Paige told her teammates you guys were hooking up. She did not mention the late night talks and restaurant runs. Mostly because she never did that with the other girls, so KK and Azzi would probably get the wrong impression. Plus, she’s supposed to be focusing on basketball, not you.

“She prob has a roster or something.” KK shrugs. “Doesn’t seem like you’re the first priority to her if she ain’t texting first. You got yourself a playaaaaa!”

“Hold on though.” Azzi interrupts. “She responds to every booty call?” Paige nods. “Okay, so that’s not much of a player move on her part.”

“Maybe it’s not that deep.” KK says. “She wants a fun night with you, but not enough to text you. That’s it.”

“That, or she thinks you suck but doesn’t know how to say no.”Azzi says, smirking.

“It’s all casual anyways. No biggie.” Paige grumbles.

The truth is she’s not content with the fact that she’s not satisfying you enough to make you text her, especially since her roster is basically bare with the exception of you. When did that even happen? She shakes off the realization that she hasn’t had sex with anyone but you since you two met.

She wondered if you’d even had a night where you laid in bed and thought, ‘damn I wish Paige were here to fuck me silly.’ Because she would’ve been lying if she were to say she never thought of you. The proof was on her phone. She wasn’t gonna stand for this.

-

The actual truth was that you had those nights too often. The first time you hooked up with Paige was magic to you, she was a stranger who you wanted to know back to front. Something about the way she smiled like she knew everything she needed to about you.

And that freaked you out. Like, a lot.

You wanted to be casual, you really did. You hoped being casual meant you could be pleasured while detached and focused on your own goals, but it was easier said than done. The next dozen times you met up with her you hoped your fantasies would be flattened, but with every night in bed, or party escaped, or car seat reclined you only wanted her more. You couldn’t help but ask questions about her life. A life that was so different from yours. She didn’t seem to mind either. She wanted to hear you talk about where you hope to be after all your work pays off. She wanted to hear your dreams. You wondered if she did this with every casual hookup?

You decided to stop texting her, in hopes that she’d forget about you and move on to someone else, but every week without fail she’d texted you herself and then the cycle continued. You’d waited out your late night urges, and she would continuously seek you out. When you told your friends about it they weren’t much help.

“I wouldn’t text her.” One said. “You’re just gonna get more attached. This is Paige Bueckers we’re talking about. From what I heard, she just wants a good fuck. If that’s not enough for you I think you should find some nice girl who maybe isn’t a D1 athlete or something.”

“Maybe you should tell her you don’t want to see her anymore. She’s focused on her future. What happened to you being focused on yours?” Another said.

Your best friend was the only one who was remotely helpful. “I wouldn’t listen to them, they’re so obsessed with academics they forget how it feels to like someone like you do.” She smiles. “But if you’re not planning on telling Paige about how you feel, then I don’t think it’s good for you to keep meeting with her every time she asks you to.”

You thought about it. At first, Paige had made it clear she wasn’t into a relationship, and you feverishly agreed in hopes of focusing on yourself. Despite that, you sometimes felt her stare was a little too longing. The way she would happily be vulnerable with you didn’t seem very casual.

It didn’t matter about that though, because you also knew Paige wanted to be sought after. It was a miracle that she was still texting you, even though you hadn’t texted first in months. Soon enough her ego would get a bit too bruised, and she would end it herself. Maybe that was what you needed.

Then one day she did what you predicted. Laying in your dorm spread eagle, totally fucked out. You had just finished and it was late, but unlike Paige’s usual routine of staying in bed with you for a while, body squeezed comfortably into yours, fingers brushing through your hair, she immediately started to put her clothes back on. You turn to look at her with a questioning look on your face, and her face turned into an uncomfortable expression.

“Yeah, um. I don’t think I’m gonna see you for a while.” She says sheepishly.

You sit up. “Oh.” Unsure of what to say, not wanting this to end but also not wanting to cling onto her.

“I mean you’re like, great. I just think, well.” She seems like she doesn’t exactly know what to say.

“I gotta focus on Basketball now, so this’ll be the last time.” Paige shifts on her feet.

You want to roll your eyes at the basketball excuse, but you know this is partially your fault. Paige is a confident person, and you challenged her by never showing too much interest. You just decide to give a tired smile and wish her luck in the upcoming tournaments.

“Thanks.” Her posture visibly shrinks, but she says nothing else and leaves.

As you hear your door close you feel a sinking feeling in your stomach. With the exception of your constant attempts to detach from her, confrontation free, you knew you couldn’t be happy.

You learned about her life as an athlete, the struggles of being a female basketball player, the ups and downs of media attention, all the fun she has on away tournaments with her teammates who are practically family.

At the same time she had intently listened to your ambitions, how hard you worked to get where you are and the next steps you have planned out to be as successful as possible in your field. That’s something you two had in common, ambition. You both mutually understood that being driven and working hard was an unbeatable formula to getting what you want, you both had cracked that code. The late night fast food runs were pretty good too.

Groaning into your pillow, you realized you made a mistake by trying to be detached. It shouldn’t have mattered what anyone said. You like Paige, a lot. Even if she doesn’t want commitment, you know for a fact she likes you too. Your life doesn’t have to be on pause just so you can focus on your career.

Letting out a big breath you didn’t know you were holding, you decided to do the one thing you tried so hard to avoid.

Chase after her.

[sorcerersseestars]

LIMERENCE (part I)

Gojo Satoru x gn!reader

"I can't stop loving you, no matter how hard I try."

summary: Your long-time friend stirs feelings inside you that you never realized existed. Of course they bubble up in your chest while he’s in the midst of ignoring you and discovering his own possible romance. Your mutual friend thinks she has it all figured out—or does she?

pairing: gojo satoru x gn! reader

fandom: jujutsu kaisen

genre: hanahaki sickness au, angst, hurt/comfort

warnings: mentions of feeling sick, being stonewalled kinda, usage of the word (Y/N) bc Gojo is too fed up for nicknames (in reality idk what else to use 😶), Gojo being an ass (common theme in my fics oops)

word count: 3.6k

a/n: This is the first part to my hanahaki au! I’ve had this in my drafts for the longest time, but never committed to writing it all out until now. This first bit is kinda slow and maybe confusing BUT hopefully I’ll be able to clear it up next chapter. Not proof read very thoroughly; will probably regret later 🫥

part ii

“DON’T YOU THINK you could be a bit nicer to me?” You try, clasping your hands together as you look up at him with an odd smile—a cross between apologetic and playful. You’re joking, or at least half joking. It’s too difficult to be serious with Gojo; his habit of masking emotion with jest must be rubbing off on you.

Only one corner of his mouth raises. “Good one, (Y/N)-chan. As if I didn’t use to pay your bills.”

He doesn’t look at you when he speaks, and he walks away from you without a single glance. You frown and lightly jog a few steps to catch up to him.

“Ah, and I’m forever thankful for that!” You say, cringing at how overly peppy your tone is. “But that’s not exactly what I meant.”

“Hmm,” Is all he says. His hands are in his pockets, but he doesn’t carry himself with as much ease as usual—his posture is closed off, angular and tense.

“What I meant was–” You prompt your own answer, as he doesn’t make any move to. “We haven’t seen each other in a while. I know you’ve been really busy lately, so I don’t blame you, but I think we should go out and do something. Could help relieve some work stress too, don’t you think so?”

“Maybe,” He says, the word short yet effective in its delivery. The word was sharp in his mouth, clear annoyance shaping his tongue enough for the word to have a bite to it.

You wince. He never used to be like this. Gojo has been in a state of perpetual mirth—and one could argue levity—for the entirety of your friendship, never taking anything seriously and always looking for opportunities to poke fun at you to half-jokingly glorify himself. His expression has always been infectiously positive—never molded into anything hard or serious.

But, lately, everything you thought you knew about Gojo Satoru has faded away into your memories. He never seeks out your presence anymore, which is polar opposite from your high school days, when he would follow you around and pester you until you’d hang out with him. You actually used to get annoyed at this behavior, but you’re sorely missing it now.

You feel like you know nothing about him these days, only hearing tidbits here and there from your mutual friend Shoko. It stings to know that he obviously talks to her, and quite often at that, seeing she always has new details to spill every other day.

It doesn’t make sense to you: him and Shoko were never particularly close, definitely not nearly as close as you and Gojo were. In fact, she thought of him as particularly annoying in high school, and often swore to you that she would cut all contact with him once they graduated.

Back then, you had rolled your eyes at her antics, never believing that anybody could cut Gojo out of their life, seeing as he simply wouldn’t let them. But how else could you describe what he seems to be doing to you?

You bite your lip nervously. “Satoru? Is there something wrong?”

“Not particularly,” He says with a forced smile that’s screaming for you to shut up. You pretend like it’s not the most disingenuous smile you’ve ever seen smeared on his face.

“Are you sure?” You probe. “I mean…what’s been going on with you these days? We haven’t seen each other in forever, and you don’t seem yourself.”

“Are you sure?”

His lips are quirked up, as they perpetually are, but it’s different this time. It’s mocking. A mocking smirk that’s telling you to face reality. Do you really know him anymore?

You pause in your steps, studying his expression. You can’t see his eyes, but you wish you could. He’s hard to read with that blindfold concealing those powerful eyes of his, but it never used to be a problem. It hurts that you’re now struggling to gauge him when your emotions used to feel like one.

Evidently, you can’t answer his question. Not that he seems to care.

“I’ve really got to get going. Students to teach, curses to kill, all that,” He announces, tone low and apathetic. Bored. “See ya.”

Your breath flutters in your throat as you try to bid him goodbye. You choke on your words and only end up tentatively raising a hand. Before you can wave, his form disappears. A gust of wind greets you in lieu of a proper goodbye.

You stay where you are for a few shocked moments, not even registering the hot tears that leak from the eyes he avoided.

You wander aimlessly around campus for a while, the whole interaction replaying in your head several times over. His “Are you sure?” needles its way into your brain even when you push it away, the words hitting where it hurts every time.

Your feet find themselves taking you to an empty break room – ah, this is the one that has your favorite flavor of tea. You turn the kettle on, then eagerly dig through the tea stash. You file through the individual packets quickly and thoroughly, but to no avail. It’s gone.

With a sigh, you grab a random tea bag and throw it into your mug. Frustrated, you roughly begin pouring the now-boiled water into the mug, but it doesn’t seem that was a good idea. Your hand slips for just a split second, but a sizable splash of boiling water still manages to singe your non-dominant hand. A stream of expletives leaves your mouth, and you instantly cradle your hand to your heart.

More tears appear. At least you have an excuse this time—it fucking hurts.

You trudge to the clinic, feeling quite silly, but also seeking some much-needed relief. And you’re not exactly imagining painkillers or an ice pack—no, there’s something else. Someone else.

You hesitantly knock on the door. You feel stupid, but you really have to see her.

You crack a smile at the creak of the door. Your friend and co-worker Shoko strides out with an air of confidence you wish you held.

“What happened?” She asks calmly, eyes lazily taking in your form.

“Spilled some water from the kettle,” You say lamely. “It hurts.”

That doesn’t really constitute a visit to one of the only reverse-cursed technique users in the school, and you know it. So does she.

“Mmhm,” She raises her eyebrows. “Well, come on in.”

You shuffle in a little sheepishly, not able to meet Shoko’s eyes. Now that you’re here, you start to feel unsure about your own motive—do you really want to discuss this? Won’t it just be embarrassing more than anything else?

You stall a little in your steps as the negative thoughts invade your head. You’re startled to attention by a poke to your side—when you look up, Shoko’s playful smirk fills your vision.

“Come on over to the sink and we’ll put that under some cool running water,” She says, gesturing to your reddened arm.

You cock your head, looking between her and the sink skeptically, “No ice?”

She shakes her head, sticking her tongue out at you a bit, “Nope! Running water for burns.”

You hold up your hands in defeat, smiling, “Whatever Doctor Shoko says.”

“And I do,” She says cheekily. “So get under that water!”

“Aye-aye,” You say with a salute.

She groans, “Ugh. You guys are so annoyingly similar. Hang on a sec, I gotta grab something.”

She turns away before she can see the way your expression drops. The smile is stolen from your face, leaving behind saddened eyes and a slight frown. There’s only one possible person she could be talking about.

You sigh and turn on the faucet—your disheartened sigh morphs into one of great relief as the cold water soothes your burn.

“That better?” Shoko asks upon her return.

You nod, a small smile coming back, “Yeah, thanks Shoko.”

“Is there something else wrong?” She asks, then shakes her head. “No, scratch that. What’s actually wrong?”

You take a deep breath. How are you going to broach this subject? You wait several moments, pondering your exact next words.

“Do you think Gojo is okay?” You finally ask your long-time friend, words coming out almost cautiously.

She eyes you funnily, “Why are you asking me? As if he doesn’t chase you around the school to blab on about himself.”

You smile, but it’s tainted by bitterness.

“Shoko…Gojo hasn’t talked to me for two months,” You admit quietly. “I don’t know what’s going on.”

She stops.

“What?”

You hate hearing the confusion in her voice. You hate the pity that soon fills her eyes.

“He seriously hasn’t,” You affirm, sighing. “I don’t know what I did, or if I did anything, or…or what. I just, I don’t know what’s going on.”

“Have you tried talking to him about it?”

You sigh. “Of course I have, but he didn’t seem to take my concerns seriously. Or consider them at all. It just seemed like he wanted me to shut up and leave him alone.”

Shoko looks at you curiously, lips quirking as if she has something to say, but no words come out. Is she holding something back?

You take a deep breath, willing the horrible emotion that squeezes your throat away. You look out the window to distract yourself, watching the branches of a sakura sapling swaying in the wind. It looks alone and lost, battered by the relentless wind.

“What’s he been like recently with you?” You finally ask, your gaze still on the tree.

“Normal,” Shoko says. “Annoying as ever. Noisy as ever.”

A cluster of pink petals is ripped from a branch, swirling hopelessly to the ground. When they settle on the ground, you look back to your friend.

“He’s really the same?” You ask weakly.

“Unfortunately,” She says wryly. “Besides, why do you care? We’ve both been trying to get him off our backs since waaay long ago. Sounds like a blessing in disguise.”

“Ah, that’s true,” You admit with a weak chuckle, trying to ignore the way your heart throbs painfully. “But he’s also our friend.”

“Since when? More like a thorn in my side. Maybe he finally got the message,” Shoko smirks. “You should give me instructions for that. I’d have a lot better quality of life, you know.”

You know she’s just joking around with you, but she’s truly just rubbing salt in your wound. Not very ethical for a doctor, even if unintentional.

“Yeah,” You laugh, but it’s an empty sound. “Well, I guess I’ll get going then. Hopefully your next patient gives you an easier time.”

Shoko jokes, “Yeah, this has been my toughest job all week. You fiend.”

Your head is filled with so many questions, all of them growing louder as you walk away from your friend. Your friend who you thought would sympathize with you, but only ended up making you feel worse in the end is acting suspicious. It’s not like you’ve ever wanted to actually cut ties with Gojo, even when he used to pull pranks on you in high school. You craved for a strong friendship with him throughout all his shenanigans.

Why is Shoko acting like you hate Gojo, and what isn’t she telling you?

Before you reach the door, you decide you need to know. You stop abruptly in your tracks.

“Ieiri, you’re not telling me something,” You say softly, not looking back. “Why?”

Shoko sighs, pinching the bridge of her nose, “You don’t miss anything, do you?”

You say nothing. The door in front of you is tempting—it’s your way out of knowing the truth. Do you really want to know?

You wait tensely for a few seconds, the silence causing nerves to bubble up in your stomach. But when Shoko begins to speak, they go don’t go away.

“He hasn’t really been acting strange around me, but he’s constantly on his phone. Like always. Whenever he comes to chat, he immediately tunes me out and starts texting or loudly takes a call,” She snorts, huffing out an exasperated sigh. “I thought he was just bored and trying to make me feel disrespected as a sort of cruel joke, but I think it’s something else. I think…I think Gojo is interested in someone.”

Your head whips around, disbelief clear in your features. Interested in someone?

“Maybe that’s why he’s been acting weird. I always thought he was crazy for you, so it didn’t cross my mind until now.”

“Crazy for me?” You immediately echo back, voice hollow and confused.

Shoko shakes her head at you, “C’mon, you can’t be that oblivious. He always followed you around like a lost puppy in high school. He never said anything to me about it, but I really thought he would confess any day for years.”

“He did that to everyone…” You shake your head. “You say yourself he bugged you so much.”

She rolls her eyes. “Trust me, it was different.”

Your heart pounds in your chest. Your vision becomes foggy at the edges, reality fizzling out.

“Why didn’t you want to tell me?” You ask. “It’s not like that matters.”

You try to appear uncaring, yet it was a fight to get those words out.

“You’re a sensitive person. ‘Didn’t know how you’d react since Gojo always seemed to chase after your attention, exclusively. But it’s not like it was the other way around—should have known it wasn’t a big deal. It’s not. Guess he’s just growing up.”

“Yeah,” You agree faintly, voice devoid of emotion. Reality is slipping through your numb fingers, the information turning your world into a nightmare. You should have opened the door and ran when you had the chance.

“It’s not,” You say with a saccharine smile, one so sickly sweet that Shoko gets chills. That’s not your usual smile—not one that Shoko has ever seen you wear. “Of course it’s not.”

When you turn on your heel and rush out of her infirmary, Shoko reaches out a hand and her lips part to call after you. It’s uncharacteristic for her—the cold doctor is rarely sentimental or emotionally affected, but she saw something ghastly in that smile of yours.

The slam of the door answers her call. The truth, now imparted, comes to bite her in the ass.

It’s been a few days. You’ve been moping around the school, around your students—trying to cope with the information that you don’t even know is true. You see him across campus sometimes; he’s so easily spotted with his translucent hair and tall frame. Every time, he’s facing away from you, and your eyes fall on the back of his head. Your chest always tightens and you end up turning away, too.

You have ignored the feelings stirring in your chest, not willing to admit something that clearly isn’t reciprocated. It has been working, you suppose, since you haven’t cracked under the mental weight of possibly being in lo—

No, you can’t even think that.

Everything has been as okay as it can. It’s not until you attempt to visit Shoko again to try sort out your feelings, however, that things take a turn for the worse.

Your hand is raised as you prepare to knock on the infirmary door, but you hesitate once you hear muffled voices.

“I don’t know…I didn’t expect it at all.”

That’s Gojo’s voice. That low but self-assured tone is undeniably his.

“Expect what?” Shoko asks, sounding bored.

His reply is so soft that it passes by as just a hiss of air, so quiet that you physically startle at Shoko’s loud reaction.

“No! What? I can’t believe that!” She shouts, laughter quickly following her exclamation.

You shouldn’t be listening—you hadn’t planned to eavesdrop on your two best friends, but for some reason your ear seeks out the wall, as if magnetized.

The next three words uttered still your heart.

“Utahime kissed me,” Gojo admits quietly.

You feel like you can’t breathe. Utahime, who has always despised Gojo even beyond Shoko’s extent. Utahime, who once cried into your chest after Gojo was harsh with her at an exchange event. Utahime, who always persisted that you and Gojo were into each other during high school.

Shoko’s unbelieving chuckle cuts through your thoughts.

Shoko laughs, “Oh, yeah, okay, as if I’d ever believe that.”

There’s silence. Your heart drops at the lack of response—no teasing refute, no playful faux playboy attitude.

Shoko absorbs his unusual silence, finally interpreting his words for what they are.

She gasps loudly, spluttering, “Oh my God, you’re being serious. What?! There’s no way…”

Gojo’s voice is even and deep. “I didn’t lie. She just did it out of nowhere. I didn’t even know how to react, to be honest.”

“So you just stood there?” Shoko snorts, trying to keep up her usual sarcastic persona. “God, you’re insufferable all the way around.”

“I kissed her back,” He breathes out, voice almost weak.

Another long moment of silence ensues. You hold your breath, terrified that your panicked pants will alert them of your presence.

Shoko recovers quickly this time.

“Still insufferable,” She sighs, and you can imagine her shaking her head. “So what now? You like her or something? This is so random.”

“I…I don’t know,” He admits quietly. “I never thought she’d do that, it took me by surprise. I…I think I liked it?”

Your heart shatters. You clutch a hand to your mouth, gagging yourself, forcing back the pained gasp that’s threatening to leave your lips.

“Oh, is that so?” Shoko says drily, but the usual edge to her voice is absent. You can only imagine her expression: contorted with pity and pain, desperately trying to maintain her poker face.

“Yeah,” Gojo reaffirms. “It was nice.”

There’s silence for a few seconds as Shoko takes it all in. Then, “Is she who you’ve always been calling and texting when I’m talking to you? You’re an ass for that, by the way.”

Gojo exhales out a sardonic sniff, “You’re spot on.”

Why are you still listening? You should leave. You shouldn’t be hearing this. Pain blooms in your chest, as if thorns became lodged between your ribs.

“What about (Y/N)?”

You freeze, eyes bulging out of your head.

Gojo sighs, sounding annoyed, “What do you mean?”

“I’m not dumb, Satoru. There was something going on during high school and frankly in the past few years as well. Are you going to deny it?”

He scoffs, “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Shoko. It was never like that.”

You feel like you’re going to be sick. You shouldn’t—there’s no possible way you’re actually in love with Gojo Satoru, is there?

Fuck. The thought you’ve been trying to avoid all this time has finally firmly inserted itself into your head.

You take off swiftly and immediately, and your footfalls are as light as you can possibly manage. If either of them knew you were here, you wouldn’t be able to handle the shame.

Gojo and Shoko are none the wiser to the immoral action that took place just beyond the door—so when Shoko is ready to clock out and opens the door, the presence of a school ID on the ground is nearly missed. She feels something strange crunch underneath her foot and steps away and glances at the foreign object.

You left in such a hurry that your ID flopped out of your pocket. It lays on the ground, your smiling face staring up at Shoko, who looks on in horror. She immediately knows that you heard everything. She quickly steps back onto your ID, concealing your identity with her foot.

With all the sight of his six eyes, Gojo somehow completely missed Shoko’s strategic maneuvers to erase traces of your presence. He whistles nonchalantly, not having a care in the world, apparently.

In contrast, Shoko’s mind is racing. Her eyes roam around the courtyard, searching for your form. She feels rooted to the spot—will she reveal you if she steps away? She almost forgets that she’s not alone.

“You looking for someone?” Gojo asks.

Shoko stiffens, but forces herself to relax and appear nonchalant. “Ah, I was just wondering if…if (Y/N) would still be around.”

Gojo frowns. “Hm. Not sure. Don’t they usually go home right after they get off?”

“Lately, they’ve been staying back to do paperwork,” She sighs. “Masamichi has really giving them too many missions…How come you don’t know that?”

“Haven’t had the chance to catch up, I guess,” Gojo says evasively, then quickly changes the subject. “Besides, aren’t you the same way? You coming or not? I’ve got better things to do.”

He waves his cell phone around playfully, a smirk widening across his features.

Shoko rolls her eyes, “Go ahead. I’m just going to wait here a bit and see if I can text them and get them over here.”

She hesitates for a second before adding, “Actually, why don’t you wait a sec? We haven’t all seen each other in a bit.”

Gojo immediately stiffens. He scratches the back of his head and says, “Ah, I’m actually sort of on a time crunch. Maybe next time.”

What a lie. Shoko thinks, eyes narrowing subconsciously. What is he up to?

As he trails off into the distance, the gears in Shoko’s head continue to turn. He always, always teleports home after work finishes. So why is he slowly walking around campus, head turning this way and that way as if searching?

And you! Why were you there? Why were you so affected? What is going on in your head—or rather, your heart?

Something strange is going on with her two friends and Shoko is determined to find out what.

PART II

credit 🩷:

@kiyaedits - baby pink dividers, @sweetxmelody - cherry blossom divider

*note: taglist open!! comment to be tagged in part 2 :)

[fuyukohasnocreativity]

-twins-

featured character ☆ itoshi rin (rin is over 18, so is reader.) 

tag(s): fluff! ☆

*PERHAPS OUT OF CHARACTER, I APOLOGIZE.  

______________________________________________________________

just imagining rin as a father 🥹

______________________________________________________________

        Rin was in standing front of the two twins, Ritsu and Aya, whom were sitting together on their highchair and had just finished eating. The two probably played with their food, since their faces and small hands were covered in sweet mashed potato. You were in the kitchen, preparing to cut some fruits for your two beloved toddlers. Now, perhaps Rin was feeling a little jealous since Aya and Ritsu both said "Mama" first. Somehow, Aya started saying "Mama" first but sooner than later, Ritsu also started saying "Mama". Rin tried his best not to show it, but deep down, even you knew he was a little envious. Although you had tried to get the twins to say "Dada" they were far too stubborn and would often just speak gibberish.  

        "Mama!" Aya called out randomly. "Yes, baby?" you reply "Mamaaaa!" Aya screamed. Whilst Aya was screaming and laughing, Rin happened to get Ritsu's attention. "Say 'dada'" "Ma...ma" Ritsu proceeded to utter out. Rin sighed, then smiled. "No, say 'dada'." "Mama!" the two of them giggled. Ritsu was sticking out his two tiny hands in front of Rin, surely it was a sign of something. Rin's right hand approached towards Ritsu, and he happily held onto Rin's index finger tightly, with two of his small hands and smiled. Out of the blue, he started bursting into tears and wailed "Mamaaaaa!!" Rin tried his best to calm him down by grabbing a turquoise bunny and waving it towards Ritsu, he smiled again. Sure, it stopped his tears for a few minutes, until Aya started to whine and kick and cry, and of course, was soon joined by Ritsu once more. Rin was panicking, he had no idea how to calm them down and he knows the two of them absolutely hate pacifiers. After their hearing troubled wails, you quickly rushed to the dining table. The moment the twins saw you, they just stopped their tears in an instant. The expression on Rin's face was just in shock, it was a little funny.

        You head back to the kitchen when the twins calmed down and gave them both a bowl with berries in it. Aya kept squashing the blueberries with her fingers, (perhaps she doesn't like them very much), and Ritsu just stared at her, laughing. Suddenly, Aya slowly looked up. She kept staring at Rin and finally uttered out a word. "Da...Da!" you looked at Rin with a smile, "She finally said it!" you exclaim and at the same time, clapping your hands together. A smile creeped up on Rin's face. "You said it!" At last, when the two of them finished their bowl of berries and after Aya squashing all of the blueberries, they were both tired and almost dozed off. You and Rin carried your adorable toddlers to their bed so they could sleep. Ritsu, who was still a little more awake than his sister, said one word; "Da." 

        As soon as the two of you tucked them in, they were sleeping soundly. You hugged Rin tightly for a long period of time, and gave him a peck on the cheeks. "I love you, Rin." "I love you too." You and him both quickly fell asleep afterwards. 

______________________________________________________________

omg, just imagining this had me giggling so much. anyways, i hope you enjoyed this short drabble.

-fuyuko

©fuyukohasnocreativity do not copy, repost, or translate. likes and reblogs are accepted and appreciated!

[yan-batgirl]

Hii!❤️🖤

This is my first request ever, and sorry if it's not really something you feel like writing, but I really live your writing style and I think that you write the boys the best! (And this thoughts been eating away at my brain for a bit)

So what if the bat's take in a little reader who seems super innocent and she (it doesn't have to be a she if ya don't want) has Deadpool's healing abilities. Like she just casually gets a limb cut off in a fight trying to protect one of the boys and she acts like nothing really is wrong- or she gets shot in the head and sits up a minute later and straight up laughs seeing everyone's sheer panic because she has the same mindset as a gremlin wanting to thrive in the chaos. Do ya think the boys will let her go on missions with them due to her not being able to die? Or will they try (and probably fail) to lock her away in the manor for her own good?

Warnings: Yandere, manipulation, a little bit of blood, accidentally hurting someone, using powers for the wrong people

Spoilers for my original Batgirl story!

After your father was banished and your mother imprisoned, you were now under the roof of the League of Assassins, living with Lady Shiva. Throughout your life, you've been treated like an outcast by basically everyone at that exact area she had to spend your childhood at.

During those times, something felt strange about you.

Whenever one of the assassins came back injured, you curiously stepped forward them and placed your hand onto their wound. The next second, it was gone. The wound.

The next thing happening is you being in the medical bay, in the room full of injured assassins.

One of them told you to touch an injured assassin with a damaged leg. You were hesitant, but you were forced to step forward and place your hand onto the leg. The next second, it was healed.

You were then tested to see what kind of symptoms you have, and the results turned out that you have the ability to heal any kind of injury once you touch it.

Every time when an injured assassin comes back from a job, Shiva would make you stop what you are doing and quickly place your hand on that bloody part of their body, disgusting or not.

However, there are some side effects to your special abilities.

Each time you heal a person, your energy will decrease rapidly, which means you can't heal more and more people.

Eventually, you grew of being used like this. So, you decided to run away.

It was basically a risk of your life, but you eventually made it out of the city of 'Eth Alth'eban and tried to find yourself a new home.

As soon as you landed in Gotham City, you were basically trying to hide yourself from the world. You tried hiding yourself in various abandoned buildings, alleyways, etc.

Until you found a tall figure looming over your crouched form.

"Are you alright?"

The deep voice asks as he reaches out to you, which makes you jolt away and hide behind some trash bags.

However, the figure pulled your small frame out of your hiding spot and held you like an injured kitten.

"It seems that you've been out here for quite a long time. Come on, let me bring you home."

He tells you before he walks off with you, shaking in his arms as he makes a call.

"Alfred, bring everyone back at the manor. We finally found her."

~~~~~

I'm sorry if this was too short!

[cranberryjuice-posts]

Hi!!! So i bet you probably won’t see this but i love your clarisse fanfics sososososo much!! their so addicting! i was thinksing if you could do clarisse la rue x (Aphrodite child) reader where the reader is super insecure about her battle scared or scared in general, a random boy makes a comment about the scares reader has and clarisse you know protects the reader after clarisse finds out about her insecurity’s and she’s like “uhm ma’am you are beautiful” and starts kissing her scared while telling her how beautiful she is! (inspired song match into water would be amazing if there could be involving kissing and it being romantic!)

AHHH I LOVE THIS SMM

———

I still think you’re beautiful

Pairings - Clarisse La Rue x Aphrodite! Fem! Reader

An - this is actually my first request so I was really excited to write this 😭😭

You stood infront of the floor length mirror inside the pink Aphrodite cabin. Your siblings already gone— you however stayed back studying your outfit which was a simple pair of shorts and a black bikini top which suited your figure.

Silena walked over and fixed the knot in the back of your top. “You look beautiful” she insisted but you just shrugged. You touched the scar that ran across your torso, it started from your left shoulder to above your bellybutton with a matching scar across your lower gut which was a result from a hellhound a few years back when you first arrived to camp.

“Yeah.. beautiful” You mumbled earning you a light hit on your shoulder. Normally you covered up your body not wanting to show the scar but silena had convinced you to wear a breathing suit to the camps lake celebration of Dionysus 20th summer.

There was a loud banging at the door which brought you back to earth. Silena opened the door where you overheard clarisse complaining about how long it was taking. You sighed and grabbed a flannel throwing it on before walking to the door with your towel in hand.

“Stop complaining I’m here” You chuckled, clarisse paused when she saw you. Silena gave you a look, in response you just rolled your eyes. “You ok?” You chuckled. Slightly moving your arms to hide the scars but clarisse just nodded moving forward and grabbing your waist.

“Peachy..” she softly spoke and kissed you, her hand rubbed against your scar making you flinch back slightly. You knew clarisse loved you and knew about the scars but you refused to tell her about how you really felt about them

——

Down at the lake you decided on scopingout the scenery mainly since you were still sitting on the shore, since it was later at night there was a large bond-fire, campers were swimming and your siblings were all either flirting around or sneaking off with some camper.

You laughed as you saw silena in the water with Charlie - her yelling in a joking tone while he splashed her. Clarisse however was wrestling with her siblings just enjoying herself.

You let out a deep breath and stood up taking off the flannel and shorts to match the other campers.. you tapped you thigh as a confidence boost before walking up to clarisse.

She shoved her brother down and panted. “Talk more shit Common” Clarisse threatened, she felt a tap on her arm and turned around. She grinned when she saw you - pulling you into a kiss clarisse mumbled. “Hey there~”

“Hey~” You laughed, pulling back you looked up at her appreciating her attempt to calm your nerves. Looking down you saw clarisses brother Hunched over, She noticed you looking and shook her head. “Don’t worry about it” cutting you off clarisse grabbed your waist and led you towards another area of the lake.

———

“I’ll be back ok” you smiled at clarisse gripping her arm while she was talking to some friends. She nodded and bent down kissing your cheek.

You walked towards a table that had some food, grabbing a few things you over heard a kid behind you.

“Aren’t Aphrodite kids supposed to be beautiful”

You turned around to say something but quickly realized you were out matched as the guy in-front of you was taller, stronger, and how close he was to you it was safer to stay quiet. “Aw cat got your tongue” he sneered. You just glared up at him, trying to back up you ran into the table.

The kid just scoffed. “I bet your moms fucking disgusted by you.. I mean with a scar like that” he leaned forward and hit the scar. “Im suprised she claimed you, it’s actually ironic the goddess of love and beauty has a daughter with such a fucked up body”

He watched as you shoved past him quickly leaving. He laughed and continued to throw taunting insults but you didn’t care you just grabbed your clothes and shoes before running back to your cabin..

——

An hour passed, by now it was 10pm and you were still alone in your cabin- sitting on your bed trying to stop crying. You heard the cabin door open.. quickly you wiped your eyes before looking up and seeing clarisse.

“Hey” she gave you a smile and walked over to you, sitting down beside you she kissed your cheek and grabbed you face softly. “What happened.. I heard from some of your siblings that you had left suddenly after talking to some guy”

“Nothing” You shook your head.. clarisse knew something was up. “It wasnt nothing or you wouldn’t be in here crying” she scoffed.

You pushed her hands away from your face and stood up walking to the center of the cabin to avoid her.. clarisse stood up aswell following you not liking how your back faced her. “So are you gonna tell me” she asked. You kept quiet however.. “y/n” she grabbed your arm getting slightly frustrated and tried to turn you around.

“Can you not” You pulled Your arm away, crossing your arms over your body especially you waist. She took a few minutes examining your body language before sighing figuring out what happened.

“Somebody say something to you? Who” she stepped forward.

“Lise do—“

“No if someone fucked with you you need to tell me- what did they say? Was it something about your mom, your body—“

You sighed as clarisse continued. “Just stop!” You finally yelled making the girl step back.. it took a few seconds for clarisse to realize. “Was it about your scar?” She softly asked her anger still resonate in her voice.. your silence told her all she needed. “It was Jordan who Said something— I knew I should of beat his ass the first time I heard him talking shit” she turned to leave the cabin but you grabbed her.

Clarisse turned around angry, her complexion softening however once she saw your face.. your free hand covered your face with the only sound being tears.. instantly clarisse hugged you and started to whisper sweet nothings to you.

——

Soon you two laid on your bed, clarisse tucked s stray strand of hair behind your ear and kissed you softly. “Babe..”

“Hm” you responded.

“What did he say to you” at first you didn’t respond and clarisse sighed. “Please, I won’t do anything but please just tell me what he said”

It took a few minutes before you talked.. “he said i was hideous.. that the scar was disgusting and how my mother should of never claimed me because I don’t actually show traits of beauty”

…

“Clarisse what are you doing” you asked as the girl moved over you onto the floor before making you sit up. Confused you just watched as she lifted your shirt off.. clarisse reached out and touched your scars making you sigh. “Lise their an eyesore why are you touching them”

“You know..” Clarisse started. “In battle my father Ares has gotten numerous scars.. he shows them off with pride” she continued to trace your body and scars with a certian care. “Scars show you went through something tough…. You survived and now your here with a symbol of resilience”

Something that shocked you though was when she leaned forward kissing it.. you blushed watching as she trailed your torso in kisses.. “I’ll always think your beautiful, your my bestfriend.. you have no idea what I would do if I lost you and someone like fucking Jordan who hasn’t even be claimed yet doesn’t get to say shit to you understand” you gave a half laugh but nodded “I’m serious y/n.. you were attacked by a hellhound, you killed it and you have these scars as a sign that you beat a monster like that… don’t be ashamed of them” her tone was almost like she was pleading.

Clarisse kissed your neck then your jaw then your lips finally before adding a final kiss on your forehead. She didn’t care what anyone said.. clarisse loved you and that was more then enough.

——

The following day Jordan was put in the infirmary, aswell as you learning clarisse lost desert privileges for a few months

[asdfghjklmals]

THE HONORED ONE✩༶‧˚

GENRE + T/W: sfw, angst. hurt and comfort. mentions of blood and injury. WORD COUNT: 4.1k words. TAGS: satoru gojo x fem!oc. high school lovers.

SYNOPSIS: oc gojo girlfriend thought that satoru gojo's infinity was impenetrable... oc gojo girlfriend tries her best to heal satoru after a grueling fight, but will her best be enough? AUTHOR'S NOTE: this fic follows 'fated to love you' click here to read. i cut toji and satoru's fight scenes pretty short beause i really don't do well writing fight scenes. would it really be a mals angst without ending on a somewhat good note? literally oc gojo girlfriend's au is me inputting her into the actual jjk manga where i can. 😂 REMINDER: if you want to imagine yourself in oc gojo girlfriend's character descriptions instead, please do!

tokyo jujutsu high school: oc gojo girlfriend's pov

“have you heard from idiot #1 and idiot #2?” shoko asked as you twiddled with your pencil. you were spending the afternoon studying with your bestfriend while satoru and suguru were on a mission.

you frowned, realizing that you actually haven't heard from satoru since he left. all he sent you was a good morning text saying that he made coffee for you in the dining hall before he left for his mission.

“no… yaga-sensei sent them off on a really important mission regarding the star plasma vessel for master tengen, but that’s all i know about it.”

“the last i heard from satoru was that they were going to okinawa to kill time. why don’t we try calling them?” shoko suggested.

you smiled back at her, "it’s okay, i’ll call satoru later. i try not to bug him while he’s on missions."

deep down, you really just wanted to know if he was okay. suguru had mentioned to you earlier this morning that satoru hadn’t slept yet. he had kept his infinity on ever since they left and it hasn’t been turned off. he was probably exhausted.

okinawa aquarium: satoru's pov

“are you going to get a souvenir for (y/n)? you know she loves aquariums.” suguru reminded satoru as they watched riko gaze at the large tank full of exotic fish.

“i already did. it was the first thing i did when i got here.” satoru smiled softly. it was the one thing he was actually looking forward to doing during this mission instead of babysitting a middle schooler.

“what did you get her?” suguru asked curiously.

satoru smiled cheekily, “i got her a small glass full of sand and seashells from the gift shop.”

suguru started to laugh at the mention of the bottle of sand, “you’re not going to put a love note in there again are you?”

“for the millionth time, it wasn’t a love note!” satoru defended himself. (read ‘souvenirs’ here)

"hey! bangs!" riko called out to suguru, "can we go to the reptile exhibit?!"

suguru closed his eyes and sighed heavily, "i wish she wouldn't call me that."

satoru patted suguru on the back and laughed. he was glad that suguru was here with him on this mission.

later that night: oc gojo girlfriend's pov

after a long day of studying, you laid in satoru’s bed. whenever he was gone for an overnight mission, you would sleep in his dorm room.

it totally wasn’t because you missed him immensely when he’s gone, but because you looked forward to how he would always greet you in the morning by plopping down on top of you and hugging you so tightly to the point you couldn't breathe. and not to mention, he never failed to pepper kisses on your forehead in the mornings. it was a very wholesome way to be woken up.

‘i wonder what he’s doing right now’, you thought to yourself. hesitating to press the call button on your flip phone. you laid there, flipping your phone shut, opening it back up, and flipping it shut again.

“i’ll just call him to say goodnight…” you mumbled, dialing satoru’s phone number. he answered immediately after the first ring.

“are you okay?” you heard him ask you. he sounded worried but tired, you could hear it in his voice.

“wow, not even a ‘hi sweetheart’ to your girlfriend? i should be asking you that mr. no-sleep-and-infinity-always-on.”

satoru sighed, “suguru told you, huh? he’s such a snitch.”

"he's not a snitch." you muttered, "he cares about you, just like i do. why don’t you get some sleep, babe?"

“i have to stay up to protect everyone, sweetheart.”

you bit back, “someone else can be on star plasma vessel protection duty while you sleep.”

satoru laughed at your statement, “who’s gonna protect me when i’m the strongest?”

“i will.” you said confidently, “—or suguru will. he promised me he would take care of you for me.”

“oh, my sweet little girlfriend is going to come all the way to okinawa to protect me?” he teased.

you grumbled, and rolled over onto your stomach. “you know i would if you wanted me to…”

satoru was quiet for a moment. you could hear his breathing through the receiver before he let out another loud sigh. “it’s late, sweetheart. you should get some sleep. we’ll be back tomorrow at 3pm.”

“promise me you’ll rest when you come home?”

“yes, i promise. maybe i’ll nap in your room.” satoru said.

you giggled because you knew he would end up sleeping in your room. that was a given after every mission. it was a hot shower first, then cuddles later. that was satoru's post mission routine.

“goodnight, satoru. i love you.”

“i love you too, (y/n).”

the next day: tokyo jujutsu high 3pm

you felt satoru’s presence enter the jujutsu high barrier. you sighed in relief. there was no way you couldn't detect his cursed energy because it was so strong, and his residuals felt like they were a part of you. you could sense that guy anywhere.

you called out to shoko, “shoko! i’m going to head out to the gates to see satoru and suguru.”

“okay, i’ll catch up with you guys later!” she waved as you left the classroom.

you walked slowly, appreciating the warm spring air and the smell of fresh cut grass. while you were on the way to the courtyard, you heard loud demolition sounds almost as if a building was being torn to pieces. heavy gusts of wind started to pick up, quickly.

you sensed a very familiar cursed energy, it was satoru’s cursed technique lapse: blue… but it was maximum output. you jumped up onto the roofs of the jujutsu high buildings, dashing towards the courtyard's front gates.

‘what the hell is happening? why is he using maximum output here?’, you thought as you sprinted and jumped from building to building. you had a horizontal view of the school, debris was floating in the air. as you were running, you saw suguru running the opposite way towards master tengen’s location. he was with two girls. ‘was that the star plasma vessel?’

“(y/n)!” suguru called out to you, “don’t get any closer to satoru! the opponent he’s facing is dangerous! he doesn’t have any cursed energy! he has a heavenly pact! you won’t be able to sense him!”

“—but i can help satoru!” you yelled back.

“trust me, satoru wouldn’t want you to get hurt. just stay hidden.”

you pursed your lips in hesitation. you wanted to help satoru, but you knew suguru wouldn’t have warned you if he didn’t think the situation was dangerous. and you would probably get in satoru’s way… you were always satoru’s achilles’ heel.

satoru gojo fought at his very best when he was alone. he could go all out and not have to worry about anyone getting caught in his techniques or in his domain expansion. any other sorcerer next to him would be a hindrance to him, even you.

“fine, i’ll stay hidden.” you called out to him, “—hurry and get to master tengen.”

you watched as suguru nodded back at you. he and the two girls started running again. you picked up the pace to get closer to where satoru was, until you saw a swarm of fly heads circling around the center of the courtyard. ‘where did those fly heads come from…?’

you stopped running. it was at that moment where your heart dropped. you couldn’t sense satoru’s cursed energy anymore.

you didn’t know whether or not the threat was still present or if satoru was masking his cursed energy using some sort of barrier technique.

there was no way something happened to him... right?

he was untouchable with infinity… right?

he was the strongest… right?

you jumped down onto the cobblestone pathway and hid behind one of the buildings several meters away. a man with dark hair in a black shirt, white pants, and a scar on his face started walking towards suguru's location.

you looked over to where the fly heads were. you quickly put your hands over your mouth to stop from screaming out satoru's name.

satoru’s body was sprawled on the concrete, blood and debris pooled around him. you summoned a protective barrier of water around satoru and sent a large pressured tidal wave towards all the fly heads, exorcising all of them at once.

“satoru!!!” you screamed, “—satoru, oh my god…”

you ran to his side, throwing ice shards at the remaining fly heads crawling all over his body. he had stab wounds on his head, his neck, multiple gashes on his right thigh, and a large slash through his chest all the way down to and through his abdomen.

a small ripple of cursed energy from his hand danced across his pool of blood. was that the last of satoru’s cursed energy? how could this happen to the untouchable satoru gojo? never in your life would you believe satoru could be defeated like this. there was just no way. he was the strongest.

"babe, please wake up!" you screamed as you shakily lifted his lifeless body onto your lap. you had to get it together if you wanted to heal him your with reversed cursed energy… and you had to do it fast. you focused all of your reversed cursed energy onto his largest wound, his chest. water left your hand to surround his wound, but it didn’t heal him at all. you wished your reversed cursed technique was more refined at this moment. you had been working so hard with shoko to master this healing technique of yours...

“damn it!” you screamed in frustration, tears streaming down your face. your vision was blurred by all the tears. you were so distraught that you couldn’t even focus. were you really so weak that you couldn’t even focus to heal the person you loved most?

you tried it again. water surrounded his wound, but stayed stagnant. you started to break down. catching your sobbing breaths, you hiccuped as you held satoru’s body in your arms. his blood drenched your uniform, but you didn’t care. you were about to lose the love of your life and you couldn't do anything about it. you cradled his head, moving his stray hairs out of his face. if this was the last time he would be in your arms, then so be it.

“please, just let me heal him…” you cried to yourself, begging to all the gods you could, with a small sliver of hope that you could maintain control of your cursed energy for even just a second to heal him.

as you held him, you noticed that satoru’s wounds were starting to slowly heal… but it wasn’t from your reversed cursed technique.

you closed your eyes, thanking all gods above for whatever it was that was healing him.

“satoru… please come back to me. you promised you wouldn’t leave me here alone… you promised to protect me.” you sobbed as you held him closer to you. your tears drenching his cheek.

“wow, (y/n) (l/n) crying over silly ol’ me?” a weak and quiet voice said in awe, “—i never thought i’d live to see the day.”

you wiped your tears with your sleeve. you couldn’t believe what you were seeing… or hearing. satoru gave you a meek smile.

“how are you even talking to me right now?” you scoffed as you continued to cry. “you are literally dead in my arms.”

satoru groaned, “reversed cursed technique, babe.”

“but i thought you didn’t know how to do that yet…”

you held him tighter. refusing to let go of him in fear that he’d disappear from your arms. this must be your imagination. you probably went insane after satoru died. and now you were starting to see and hear things.

as much as satoru would have loved to stay in your embrace forever, he sat up and pushed your arms away from him, “that’s another conversation for later. i have to take care of something.”

you snapped out of it and panicked when he tried to leave your side, “no! don’t go! i don't want to lose you again…” you clung onto his arm, shaking your head to wake you up from this nightmare. you knew he was going to go back and try to dispose of the man who did this to him. the man you saw earlier.

“you’re not going to lose me.” satoru reassured you. “—i’m the strongest, remember?”

tears streamed down your cheek as you sobbed. it was satoru’s turn to comfort you now. he held your frantically shaking body, using his thumb to brush away tears from your cheek.

“i’ll come back to you.” satoru said confidently, “(y/n), i promise that i’m going to be the strongest jujutsu sorcerer. i told you that i was going to protect you. i love you, you know that?”

you tried to catch your breath through your sobbing, “y-you pinky promise?”

“i pinky promise.” satoru said as he intertwined your pinkies before pressing a kiss on your quivering lips. “i have to go. can't have the man who made my baby cry roam free, can i now?”

he teleported off before he could hear you weakly say, “i love you, satoru…”

satoru gojo vs. toji fushiguro round 2

enlightenment. the action or state of attaining knowledge or insight.

satoru. a masculine japanese name meaning ‘to know’ or ‘to understand’. if you write satoru’s name in a different way, it could mean ‘to be spiritually awakened’.

and in that moment, on the verge of death, satoru gojo had finally understood the core of cursed energy.

he felt the positive cursed energy from his reversed cursed technique flow into limitless.

cursed technique reversal: red.

it was the first time that satoru had successfully unleashed red. and it was right into the man who spiritually awakened him, toji fushiguro.

“heh, what a monster.” toji muttered as he got up from the rubbish and debris around him after being hit by satoru's cursed technique.

‘sorry, amanai…’ satoru thought to himself, ‘i’m not angry about your death anymore, nor do i feel any resentment towards anyone. right now, everything just feels right.’

“throughout heaven and earth, i alone am the honored one.”

satoru swiftly dodged all of toji’s attempted attacks with the inverted spear of heaven as the sorcerer killer kept his strikes coming.

toji was from the zen'nin clan. growing up, he was taught about the gojo clan's techniques such as limitless, blue, and red. but the cursed technique that satoru was about to attempt for the first time, was only known to a select few people of the gojo clan. (read ‘meet the gojos’ here)

motion and reversal. positive and negative. born by combining both infinities of blue and red. a powerful, imaginary mass that rushes forward, obliterating all matter in it's path… one of the strongest techniques in the gojo clan.

hollow purple.

"so, any last words?" satoru asked the sorcerer killer as he bled from his torso. an entire chunk of his body and arm was gone from the hit from hollow purple.

"nope... in two or three years, my kid will be sold off to the zen'nin clan. do what you will with that information." toji told the white haired sorcerer as he fell to the ground.

inside the star plasma vessel association hideout

"you're late, suguru." satoru called out to his bestfriend without any emotion in his voice. his tone was flat. it was like he was lifeless, yet he was still alive.

"satoru?! what happened to you?" suguru asked, surprised to see satoru standing in front of him with riko’s dead body in his arms.

satoru ignored him, noticing that suguru was healed up. he sensed yours and shoko’s residuals. "looks like you saw (y/n) and shoko."

"yeah, they fixed me up." suguru started to say, he saw riko's hand fall from her deceased body. "actually... it doesn't matter if i'm fine. i—"

satoru interrupted him, "it's not your fault, suguru. i'm the one that messed up and let my guard down."

suguru took a moment to read the room before he waved towards satoru, "let's get out of here."

"suguru... do you... want to… kill them all...?" satoru asked his bestfriend coldly, referring to all the people applauding the death of the star plasma vessel, "—the me right now probably wouldn't even feel a thing if we killed them."

suguru knew that nothing good would happen if he were to kill all of these people who had different ideals than him and satoru. he shut his eyes and sighed, "forget it. it's pointless and pointless killing is futile. plus, what would (y/n) think of you?"

satoru stayed quiet for a moment before scoffing. "pointless, huh? does there need to be a reason to kill these people?"

"of course. it's important to have a reason. especially as jujutsu sorcerers. jujutsu sorcerers exists to protect non-jujutsu sorcerers."

suguru geto was and always will be satoru gojo's moral compass. adding onto his morality, an image of you appeared in satoru's newly enlightened mind.

'what would (y/n) think of me if she could see me right now?' satoru thought to himself. he had to be better than this, he knew he was better than this. you always saw the good in satoru, he couldn't disappoint you today, not now, not tomorrow, not ever.

"okay then, let's go home." satoru motioned. he paused after a thought, “actually, you head back with amanai first. there’s something i need to do.”

suguru took riko’s body from him as he watched satoru teleport off.

before returning to jujutsu high, satoru gojo went to dispose of the inverted spear of heaven. he didn't give a damn about the history of this tool and where it came from. there was no way a cursed tool that could nullify his cursed technique was going to stay on this earth. there was no way he was going to take his chances of dying again. and there was no way he was going to let that cursed tool exist given the possibility of losing you.

later that night

after a very long and hot shower, satoru laid in your bed, absentmindedly staring at the popcorn ceiling above. his fingers subconsciously rubbing soft circles into your lower back. it was a habit of his that he picked up ever since he started sleeping in your dorm room.

you couldn’t help but think about how you weren’t able to help satoru earlier today when he was bleeding out in your arms. were you really that weak and not in control of your own powers? you hated yourself for not being able to get your cursed energy under control. you couldn’t even save the one person you loved most in this god forsaken world. you couldn’t imagine your life without satoru and you almost lost him... and you couldn’t do a damn thing.

you felt satoru’s arm dive under your torso, pulling you closer to him. you closed your eyes and pursed your lips, afraid you might start crying in front of him. you didn’t have the heart to face him.

“what’s on your mind?” he asked, peppering soft kisses on your temple.

you scoffed in disbelief, “i should be asking you that. you’re the one that almost died. what happened to you, satoru? who that hell was that man?”

“i got caught slipping,” satoru sighed, “remember that tool that went missing when we went to visit your family?”

you remembered the uproar it caused when you went back with satoru to visit your clan. the inverted spear of heaven was stolen from your clan’s collection of cursed objects that day. that tool came from the last known water cursed technique user from your clan and the six eyes user from the gojo clan 400 years ago. (read ‘fated to love you’ here)

it hurt you to ask, “did that man use that tool on you…?”

“yeah. it broke through infinity.”

tears started to form in your eyes. guilt filling every ounce of your body. a cursed tool from your clan’s collection that the gojo clan entrusted to your clan ended up being the reason why satoru almost died.

“it’s funny, don’t you think?” satoru started to say, “a six eyes gojo ancestor gave that cursed tool to the love of their life, a (l/n) water cursed technique user to keep safe so that no one could ever use it against the gojo clan... and the tool almost killed me. my ancestor would be rolling in her grave right now.”

you wiped your tears with the sleeve of your pajama shirt, “it’s not funny, satoru. i don’t care what the legend has to say. i’m not losing you. not in this lifetime.”

satoru wished things could go back to normal... before this whole mess with the star plasma vessel, before the inverted spear of heaven was stolen. today was life changing for satoru, as he was sure it was for you too. he unlocked a side of him that he didn’t know existed. after tapping into the core of cursed energy, everything inside him changed. he felt a new high that he thought would never go away. would he be able to live his life freely with these new abilities?

“well, i’m still here kicking and breathing. someone has to be the strongest and live to protect the weak.” he said sarcastically, trying to lighten the mood. “—but really though, what’re you thinking about?”

“i’m thinking about how i almost lost the love of my life.” frowning at the nightmare you experienced today. "and this life for us was just getting started..."

you thought back to yours and satoru's visit to your clan's estate. the memory of you and him confirming your feelings for one another at the lily pad pagoda. you wanted to be with him in this lifetime, and all the lifetimes after that. satoru was end game for you.

he grinned, whispering in your ear, “damn, this guy named satoru gojo must be lucky to have a girlfriend like you.”

“satoruuu—” you whined, hitting his chest softly with your tiny fist, “i was so scared seeing you like that. and i couldn’t even get my shit together to heal you.” tears started to form on your dark eyelashes again, the guilt was still eating you up inside.

satoru cupped your cheek with his hand, wiping your tears away with his thumb just like he did earlier today. the palm of his hand on your cheek was a perfect fit. it was like he was made just for you, to hold and to love for the rest of your life.

“it’s okay, babe. you did everything you could.” he whispered.

“and it wasn’t enough, satoru! i couldn’t even protect you like i promised...” you cried as more tears streamed down your cheek. satoru's thumb wiping away the tears again.

“it's not your job to protect me.” satoru said sternly.

“then what is my job?”

“just to sit here and look pretty for me.” satoru joked as you glared at him through damp tears.

before you could interject with another whine, he hushed you by putting his index finger on your lips, “—your job, babe, is to love this guy named satoru gojo for the rest of your life.”

“now that… i think i can do.” you hiccuped, “—don’t ever scare me like that again, satoru gojo.”

there was a silence between the two of you after you said that. satoru knew he probably couldn’t promise you that something like this wouldn’t happen again, but he knew that he could promise you that he would do everything in his power to protect you for the rest of your lives. it was the very same promise he gave to you, your brother, and the both of your grandparents.

two eyes as blue as the ocean yearned for you to tell him the three words he’s been waiting to hear all day. he stared into your eyes as you gently stroked his cheek with your hand.

“i love you, satoru gojo. so much.” you leaned into him, kissing him with a little more need than usual. satoru tilted his head back, admiring the view of the beautiful you before he leaned back down press a kiss on your forehead.

“i love you too, (y/n). it’s an honor to be loved by you...”

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

DIVIDERS PROVIDED BY @/ANLIAN-AISHANG

[theunreliablewriter]

Clumsy Defender

Pairing: Wednesday Addams x Fem!Reader, Brief Fem!Reader x Friend!Enid

Warnings: Blood, Mentions of fighting

Fluff / Very Mild, Short-lived Angst

Word Count: 1.6k

Request: Wednesday x reckless reader fluff pls? Maybe the reader is always getting into fights and Wednesday always finds the reader with a broken arm or bloody nose?? - @cheesecaketwilight

Author’s Note: I’m sorry this departed from your request in terms of the Reader being a frequent fighter. Otherwise, I hope you like it! And side note, maybe Wednesday will be out of character to some, but I stand by the idea she would be a total softy for her girlfriend, at least in private. :)

You could feel numerous sets of eyes on you as you rushed through the quad, trying your best to conceal your bloodied, already swelling hand.

Normally, your fellow Nevermore students spared no more than a glance at your injured self because you were known for always stumbling down — occasionally, up — stairs, falling off of railings, tripping over nothing more than air, and so on.

But, since these injuries followed the sounds of yelling, shoving, and swings of fists being thrown, everyone’s attention was either on you or the infamously arrogant guy laying upon the ground, now several yards behind you.

You weren’t running because you were afraid of getting in trouble with Principal Weems. You were running because you had to get yourself cleaned up and bandaged as quickly as possible because there were barely a couple minutes left of your girlfriend’s class.

You couldn’t let her see you like this, at least not while in such horrific state. Despite loving nearly all things gore, whenever your accident-prone self got so much as a paper cut, she would panic, even though the panicking was not obvious to anyone but you.

“Enid!” You called at before the door to could entirely open.

The colorful blonde shot up immediately from her desk, knocking over a bottle of brightly colored nail polish. “What’s up, (Y/N)?” Enid asked excitedly, obviously not caring about the mess you had just caused. You knew if your girlfriend was there, she would have said something along the lines of her half of the room already looking as though a rainbow had thrown up all over it, so she probably won’t even notice.

“I need your help! Quickly!” You held up your dominate hand, letting her see the fresh blood stream down your wrist, over many already dried trails.

Enid’s eyes were the size of saucers, as she attempted to stutter out, “Wh- what did- How did you-“

“Please, Enid!” You had no choice but to interrupt her. Since you weren’t in the typical spot where you would meet your girlfriend everyday after her class at this time, you knew she would be on her way to look for you here.

“Okay! Okay! It’s all going to be fine!” She tried to assure you. She clasped her hands together, telling you she wasn’t done. “But first, you need to take a deep, soothing breath, (Y/N). Breath in…breath out…breath-“

The glare on your face was one you were certain, in the back of your mind, was one you would have to apologize for later. You especially knew you were going to have to, when you yelled, “Damn it, Enid! Actually help me with this!”

She complied with your rudely voiced order and raced into the bathroom. As you listened to her rummage for whatever supplies she could find, you placed yourself on your girlfriend’s bed. Her black comforter wouldn’t show any blood stains, and even if it did, you knew she wouldn’t mind…as long as she could convince herself it wasn’t your blood.

The overly kind girl sprinted to you and began to help you clean the two deep lacerations that extended from the back of your hand to the begin of your forearm.

“I’m sorry I snapped,” you said to her. “I just want to get this taken care of before…”

Your apology came to a halt at the sound of a heavy, platform boot stepping onto the old wooden floor.

Those dark eyes you found the brightest warmth in instantly gaped to your hand, before shooting up to bore directly into yours.

“What. Happened. Now.” Wednesday said. Her words were a question; they were a demand.

Enid had gone as still as a statue. You were sure she wasn’t even breathing.

And she literally sighed in relief, when Wednesday told her, “I shall handle this myself.”

Enid offered you a genuine smile, telling you she accepted your apology. “I hope you feel better soon, (Y/N)! I’ll see you both later!” She, then, skipped passed your girlfriend, who hadn’t moved an inch or even blinked, and exited the dorm.

You broke the silence with a beg of, “Please don’t be mad.”

If you looked as pathetic as you sounded, it was no shock — to you, at least — that Wednesday’s ridged shoulders slouched, even if was by barely an inch.

“I am not mad you, (Y/N),” she replied, making her way across the room to place herself closely beside you.

She went to work cleaning your hand and wrist. Her cold, skillful hands somehow managed to keep the pain of it at a level barely above an occasional sting.

“But you always seem like it whenever this happens,” you said to her.

“Because it happens constantly, (Y/N). If it isn’t a concussion, it’s a sprained ankle. If it isn’t a gash, it’s a bruise. And now, there’s this. You have successfully taken your talent to wound yourself to astounding new heights.”

“But this time, I was-“

“I do not care what you were doing,” Wednesday interjected, her gaze as hard as stone. “Whatever it was, you were unbelievably reckless for putting yourself in a situation that has left you with such severe injuries.” With the pain of her words, you couldn’t bear another moment of looking her in the eye, despite it being your only hope of figuring out what she was genuinely feeling behind her mask.

For the remaining duration of her bandaging you up better than any doctor could, you stared at your lap.

The taut silence was nearly deafening and only ended when Wednesday announced she was finished with a clipped, “There.”

“I’m sorry,” you practically whispered. “I get it. I know how frequently I injury myself must be annoying, but-“

You felt a hand ever so gently grasp your chin, making you look at her. Those eyes met yours again, telling you everything her monotone voice didn’t, as she assured, “It is not annoying. You are not annoying. That is not the issue.”

“Then why do you always get so frustrated?”

From the prolonged pause, you knew she was debating her next sentence. “You know the answer.”

“I don’t think I do.”

You waited patiently as you watched her perfectly chiseled jaw flex repeatedly from the numerous times she clenched and unclenched it, as though she was trying to force the words out of her throat. “Because I care about you, (Y/N),” Wednesday confessed. She finally released your chin just to place her hand against your cheek. You couldn’t help but lean into the touch, while she continued, “So much, I believed it to be sickeningly obvious to everyone at this school.”

The beating of your heart accelerated, and your stomach filled up with butterflies — feelings only she could provoke inside of you. “And I care about you…which is why I couldn’t let that asshole get away with what he was saying.”

Her head titled, and her brows lowered. “What?”

“Edgar — the vampire, who thinks he’s all that because of his stupid first name. He was making comments about you, calling you a freak, and such. And, well…I got fed up with it, to say the least, and telling him off wasn’t enough.”

“So, this is from a fight?”

“I now know to not aim for the mouth when you’re fighting a vampire and they’re in the process of yelling,” you laughed.

The corners of Wednesday’s mouth perked up, before they dropped to ask, “Why would you fight over something so ridiculous? You know I could not care less what people think of me, let alone someone as pathetic as Edgar.”

“I know you don’t, but you’re my girlfriend and, as I said, I care about you. Don’t act like you wouldn’t retaliate if you overheard people talking badly about me.”

“I would end them,” she said in such a deadpan way, it made you chuckle.

“So, see? Even if you’re the better defender, it doesn’t mean I’m not one as well. I’m just a clumsy defender, I guess.”

Wednesday sighed, glancing down at your bandages. “Yes, you are,” she agreed, while placing her other hand on the opposite side of your face. Her thumbs gently caressed your skin, before she added, “But, you are my clumsy defender, even if the consistent concern about your well-being is going to lead to me an early grave.”

You absolutely beamed, just as you did each and every time your girlfriend announced her claim of you. Only could your grin be shoved away by Wednesday leaning in to close the remaining few inches between you.

The second your lips met hers, you melted against her. Feeling her unnaturally stiff body relax as well only made you want her closer.

Abruptly, you pulled away, causing disappointment to flash across Wednesday’s face. It gave you hope that your request would not be rejected. “Will you cud- lay with me?”

She only stared at you for the longest time, making you smile yet again because you knew she was, at minimum, considering it. “Fine, since you corrected yourself in time to use the least repulsive way to ask.”

How quickly she would always move to lay down was proof enough she did not hate cuddling as much as she implied. How her arms seemed to instinctively wrap around you the moment your head laid on her chest made you believe that maybe, she didn’t hate it all.

Following the gentlest of kisses to you head, Wednesday insisted, “Additionally, I also must hear every last detail of you giving that imbecile precisely what he deserves. Other than for my own enjoyment, I must ensure I handle him a different, unexpected way.”

| Masterlist | Request Information |

[rylie-m]

redemption

Summary: In which Y/N Thomas is left to raise her and Rafe Cameron’s baby after he refuses to take responsibility for it. He shows up after two years, ready to redeem himself, but is it too late?

Chapter 2:

After dropping Crew off at daycare, you start to walk towards the cafe that you agreed to meet Rafe at. You had fully thought you’d gotten rid of Rafe for good after his visit in the hospital when Crew was born, but he looked mature now and you were sure he thought that he was much more mature now than ever.

 Of course, Crew knows exactly who Rafe is, he’s seen pictures of him and he knows that he has a dad. He knows his Aunt Sarah, Uncle John B, and Aunt Wheezie very well. You figured that Ward and Rose knew who Crew was, and you had told Sarah to tell them about Crew if they asked, but she said that they had yet to ask. That’s why you were so unsure to bring Crew to meet Rafe this time around, depending on what Rafe had to say, you were willing to let them meet. You knew Crew, you knew his personality, and he would either love, or be terrified of Rafe the first time meeting him. 

With you being a single mom from the beginning, Crew was rarely around older men. Your father and John B were probably the only older men he interacted with, and they had both been around since the beginning. Crew knew a few of your friends' boyfriends, but you didn’t really bring Crew around men very often, there just weren’t many opportunities to. 

As you turned the corner, you saw heard Rafe’s big GMC truck pull into the parking lot, and decided that you’d wait for him so that you could walk in together. After a minute or so, Rafe sees you and starts walking to you. He looks really good. You internally groan at yourself because that was the first thing you thought of. 

He smiles at you and puts his hands in his pockets, “Hey, thank you for meeting me.” He says, feigning confidence. You smile tightly, “Hey, Rafe.” He goes to open the door and holds it open for you, walking in after you. After you both order- with Rafe paying for both of you- you find a table and sit in awkward silence across from each other. 

He takes a shaky breath before starting, “Listen, I wanted to apologize for everything-” You cut him off before he can go any further, “Don’t. I don’t need an apology. You sent money- even after I sent it back. You did what you said you were going to do, there’s no reason to apologize for it.” You say, matter of factly. He visibly deflates and exhales a long breath. “There’s no excuse for what I did though-” You cut him off again, shaking your head, “Rafe, you were 20, that’s an excuse in itself. I didn’t expect you to stay.” He furrows his brows and looks away, then in a quiet voice asks, “What’s he like?” You smile to yourself and start to talk about Crew. It’s obvious to Rafe that he is your whole world. 

After a while of catching up, talking about Crew, and making plans for dinner with him while Rafe is still in town, Rafe has to leave to go to a conference. Rafe stands awkwardly, and holds his arms out shyly. You smile lightly and give him a short hug. He still smells just like he did back then, clean, expensive, coastal. 

3 days later, you’re making dinner while Crew plays with his blocks on the kitchen floor when the doorbell rings. You take a deep breath, preparing for Crew to meet his father for the second time, and the first time that really counts. You smile at Crew and fix his hair, “Do you wanna help momma answer the door?” He nods quickly and jumps up from the floor. 

You look out the window that Crew’s face isn’t smushed against to see Rafe pacing, holding flowers and a suspiciously big box. He turns around and sees Crew’s face squished against the glass, and they make eye contact. You open the door, and Rafe pulls away from his son's curious blue eyes. 

“Hi.” He whispers.

“Hey, come in.” You say, pulling away from the door to let him in.

Crew is now hidden behind your legs, eyeing Rafe curiously. With his little brows furrowed and the slight pout on his face, he looks just like you, Rafe thinks. 

“Crew, honey, this is Rafe Cameron.” You say, picking him up. “He’s gonna be eating dinner with us.” He talks softly, leaning in slightly to talk to Crew, “Hey buddy,” He smiles, trying to soften himself, though it clearly doesn’t work because Crew’s brows scoop deeper towards the center of his face and he immediately ducks his face into your neck. Suddenly, the flowers in Rafes hands feel like they’re going to explode and the box of trains that he got Crew feel more equal to a 600 pound weight. 

You smile, reassuringly at Rafe, who is very clearly trying to connect, “He gets like this, especially around guys. Just give him some time and he’ll come around.” He nods and you show him into the living room, “Sorry he likes to spread his toys out everywhere,” Then you remember the box in his hand, “What is that?” He sets it down, taking it out of the bag, “Trains.” He says, trying not to sound nervous. Crew perks up slightly at that and looks at the bag, examining it. “And flowers, for you.” He states, holding them out, and Crew goes right back to where he was. 

You set Crew down and he immediately finds the fabric of your dress to hold in his hands while you take the flowers, “Thank you. I’m going to go find a vase, and dinner’s almost ready. Do you want a drink or anything?” He sits uncomfortably in the light blue armchair with a knitted yellow blanket with tiny sailboats on the hem, and shakes his head. You nod and lean down to face Crew, “Momma’s gonna be right in the kitchen, okay? Then I’ll be right back.” As Rafe observes you, he remembers vividly that it was the same comforting voice that nursed him back to health in his old room in Chapel Hill, when he woke up with food poisoning while being violently hungover. 

You disappear behind a set of opened double doors, while Crew and Rafe stay frozen in place. Crew looks at Rafe, watching him, while Rafe tries not to make any sudden movements. Rafe moves his hand to the box of trains, slowly and speaks gently, “I heard you liked planes, and trains. I tried to look for a bunch of planes, but couldn’t find them. So, I hope you can settle for trains.” He turns the front of the box towards Crew, showing him the pictures of the collection of plastic toy trains. Crew eyes Rafe, then points to the box, “Trains?” He says, in a tiny voice, his R being replaced with a slight W. Rafes eyes light up and he nods, “Trains.” You walk in, unknowingly ruining Rafe’s only chance that Crew would give him so far, as Crew immediately finds your dress to hold again. You sit on the cream couch and Crew scrambles to sit next to you, on the cushion furthest from Rafe. The whole night goes by just like that. Making awkward conversation about work and family with Rafe over spaghetti and Crew staying as far away from Rafe as humanly possible, even when you tried to encourage him to play with the trains Rafe got him. Unbeknownst to you and Rafe, Crew woke up this morning and now had more of an interest in sailboats. 

After an awkward 2 hours of Rafe trying to interact with Crew, and Crew having none of it. The little boy went down for his nap. That’s the first excuse you give to Rafe, explaining why the little boy wanted nothing to do with his dad. The next excuse is probably more likely, and unfortunately, news you’ll have to break to Rafe. 

“He’s sweet, but he hates me.” Rafe says, disappointed. Still sitting in the chair you left him in before Crew fell asleep. You wonder if it’s with himself or with you for not trying to create more contact from Crew to Rafe. You sit on the chair next to him, “Rafe, I think there’s something you need to know if you plan on sticking around.”

hi everyone, sorry this took soooo long, i've been really busy :( but i hope you like this!

[cozy-cinnamon-roll]

We Interrupt This Broadcast...

(Another two-part-er! Stay tuned for part 2 very shortly!)

Fandom: Hazbin Hotel

Pairing: Ler!Rosie, Ler!OC, Lee!Alastor (strictly platonic)

Content/Trigger Warnings: tickling, very brief blood mention, medical themes (non-graphic & painless). One comically graphic description of cannibalism (first paragraph). Also, this is set right after Alastor gets his ass handed to him by Adam, so you can expect a lil angst sprinkled in there (don't worry, he gets better).

If there are any trigger warnings you'd like me to add in the future (and/or to this fic), PLEASE let me know! I am always happy to oblige. 💕

This is a ticklefic! If that's not your cup of tea, kindly move along.

Ok... I'm gonna be honest folks, I have no idea if this fic is even coherent. This ain't my Best Work™ - this is literally the coping mechanism I've been relying on to put myself to sleep every night this week because HOLY SHIT my life is stressful at the moment. 😅

But anyway, I've decided I'm just gonna go ahead and post it, because 1) the world needs more lee!alastor, and 2) I'm not here to do my Best Work™, I'm here to write cute self-indulgent little stories about Alastor getting tickled to bits by his platonic wife. I'm here to decompress my hypervigilant ass at the end of long days by imagining my favorite endearingly creepy characters get wrecked by my other favorite endearingly creepy characters.

In summary, I'm here to have a good time, and I certainly did with this fic. So I hope you do too!

Featuring my new oc! (Rosie and Al still take center stage though, don't worry lol)

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

It's a little-known fact that cannibals make terrific doctors. When you spend every meal tearing the human body apart with your face, you end up with a pretty comprehensive intuition for demonic anatomy.

So Alastor supposed he should consider himself lucky to have Rosie and her loyal posse so close at hand after his battle with Adam.

He was certainly relieved when Rosie had stumbled upon him, barely conscious from blood loss on the floor of his wrecked radio tower - and especially a few hours later when, having been rushed back to Cannibal Town, he was whisked into a warm, familiar parlor and deposited on a comfy couch.

Within minutes Rosie had summoned a woman in a white coat who swooped in, produced a bottle of a strange, foul-smelling gel from her medicine bag, soaked a rag with it, and pressed it firmly against Alastor's wound. The searing pain evaporated almost on contact.

"What is that?" Alastor breathes, visibly relaxing against the arm of the couch he's propped against.

"Anesthetic." She begins preparing a needle and thread.

"Didn't know such a thing existed down here."

"Of course! We're demons, not barbarians," Rosie scoffs, watching from the sidelines.

Cannibals, as a rule, rarely last long enough to need a doctor, but Rosie is no ordinary cannibal. And Dr. Trudy Sawblade - a young surgical resident in life, and Rosie's personal physician in death - is the best of the best. While she hadn't quite completed her medical training before her untimely death, in Rosie's service she's gained more than enough experience to make up for her education cut short.

"That salve is derived from a distant cousin of the poison dart frog. Evidently most of the frogs are assholes, because hell has an downright enormous population of them." Trudy's voice is measured and matter-of-fact, with a soft lilt that is both soothing and vaguely unsettling. "Haven't been discovered on earth yet. Which is good, because one whiff of this would end a mortal life in a matter of seconds."

"Lucky you, you're already dead," Rosie chimes in cheerfully.

"Lucky me," Alastor murmurs, without conviction.

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

Truthfully, with the pain from his chest wound numbed, the weight of his recent defeat presses even more heavily on Alastor's heart. Someone - probably one of the cannibals who helped transport him from the rubble pile to Rosie's parlor - must have grabbed the broken microphone as they carried him out, because the fractured pieces are sitting on the side table at the other end of the couch. Under normal circumstances the awareness that someone had touched his staff without permission would spark a flash of rage from the Radio Demon, but now he can only stare dismally at what remains of his cane - aware that it's no longer capable of accomplishing much anyway.

It takes only a few minutes for Trudy to stitch Alastor back up and wrap his chest in a stretchy gauze. Meanwhile, Rosie quickly mends the worst of the tears in his clothes - if only to avoid having to watch her friend stare down the couch at his broken staff, with an uncharacteristic half-smile that damn near breaks her heart.

"Alright, sir, that should do it for now. It's a nasty gash, for sure, but the salve should keep it from getting infected."

"Thank you, my dear." He gives an appreciative nod to the surgeon, and Rosie too, as his fellow overlord hands him back his clothes.

"Can't have you going around with a big hole in your chest, can we?" Rosie steps back and scrutinizes her own patch job as he slowly dresses himself again. "It ain't perfect... especially for a classy fellow like you. But I'm sorry to report that I saw my tailor at a Sunday brunch just last week. Inconvenient, but I gotta admit, he made a wonderful casserole."

For the briefest of moments, this aside manages to tweak Alastor's smile into something vaguely genuine. "I'm sure he did."

"One more thing, Mr. Alastor, sir," Trudy jumps in as the radio demon pulls on his coat. "So sorry, I almost forgot. The angel also threw you against a wall, correct?"

At the recollection, Alastor's smile stiffens into something more closely resembling a grimace. His antlers rise between his ears. "Does it matter?"

"You may be at risk for internal injuries." If Trudy is at all fazed by inviting the most powerful overlord in hell's annoyance, it doesn't show. "I really ought to check, just to be safe."

Alastor looks away. As loathe as he is to even acknowledge his own fragility, he truly isn't sure of the extent of his own injuries - given that he's not used to receiving them in the first place. And he'd be damned (well, damned twice) if Adam had ruptured something vital, spelling the radio demon's second death a few hours after the fact.

He grits his teeth. "I suppose it wouldn't hurt."

"Lovely. If you could just lie back, sir..." As he obliges, she kneels beside the couch. "I'm just going to feel for any swelling..." Her hands hover over him-

"Er, wait." Alastor abruptly sits up.

"It's alright, I won't touch your wound!" Trudy soothes. "I'll just be feeling down here..." She gestures to his midsection (which elicits a sharp flinch).

"No, I-" He hesitates. "I'm... not sure this is necessary."

"Oh, Alastor, stop worryin'!" Rosie reassures him with a friendly pat on the shoulder. "Trudy is quite picky about her meals. She'd never go for venison."

"That's... not what..."

Alastor pauses, and evidently decides against trying to explain what he meant. He reluctantly lies back against the cushions again.

"I'm going to place my hands under your shirt, sir. If you feel any pain, please alert me."

"Very well."

As Trudy lifts his shirt, he looks like he is going to say something more - but whatever it is dies on his tongue the moment her hands make contact with his stomach. He brings one knee up sharply.

"Tender there, sir?"

"No! No, your hands are cold." His words have gone uncharacteristically stiff.

Trudy methodically probes one side of his belly, then the other (which in turn causes his other knee to pop up). This time when Trudy asks if he's in pain, he merely shakes his head.

The surgeon furrows her brow, concentrating. Human-animal hybrids like Alastor already take a bit of poking around just to get a sense for each unique configuration of organs. It doesn't help that the man is bracing for every touch...

"Are you sure this doesn't hurt, sir?" she murmurs tentatively. "You're very tense."

"Yes." The word comes out like a hiss. She glances at the radio demon's face. He's wearing his typical showman's smile, but his eyes are fixed on the ceiling with a weird, wide, unwavering stare.

Finally the surgeon sits back. "Well, I don't feel anything concerning. But to be honest, sir, I can't feel much of anything." She turns apologetically to her employer. "His stomach is all clenched up..."

But Rosie is simply standing there pressing a huge grin into her glove. She's known Alastor for decades. She can read his expressions like a magazine.

"Alastor, darling," Rosie drawls casually. "Are you ticklish?"

From the radio demon's reaction, you'd think she'd asked if he was an Exorcist. He scrambles to sit up. "No! Why would-"

"You're ticklish. That's..." She catches herself just before the word precious.

"...What?!" There's an edge of defensiveness to his voice that Rosie very rarely hears from him.

"Why are you embarrassed?"

"I'm not emb- That's not- what-" Oh, she's giving him that look. "I'm just- I wasn't-"

As he speaks, Alastor's voice suddenly goes thin. His gaze turns inward. "I'm stuttering. I don't stutter! I've never stuttered!" He clutches his coat closer around himself. "I am the RADIO DEMON, for heaven's sake, I don't sta-AHH! Haha-!"

Evidently a scribble to the ribs is a very effective way to interrupt a panicking demon. Rosie runs her fingers from his hip up his side to his arm and back a couple times for good measure.

The amount of startled laughter she is able to draw from just this surprise touch delights her - the poor man is so ridiculously sensitive that a five-second one-handed tickle leaves him fully breathless.

"Okay! Okay, okahay! Keheh- Rosie!"

"Sorry dear, couldn't resist." She holds her hands up, still beaming like a stadium light. "I'll stop torturing you."

Alastor clears his throat. "You're not torturing me, dearest." He straightens his bowtie, clearly attempting to salvage his dignity. "You know what I always say, laughter is a powerful sign of-"

He cuts off with a sharp inhale and defensive flinch as Rosie perches on the edge of the sofa beside Trudy. She grins.

"You're right. That's certainly your specialty, isn't it?"

Alastor forces a nervous chuckle. "Never fully dressed without a smile, you know."

"Well don't worry, darling. I understand." She pats his knee. "Just because you've got the scariest evil cackle in hell doesn't mean you appreciate having it tickled out of you."

Rosie had expected this assurance to put him at ease, but if anything, he seems more troubled.

"Why would I mind a little, ah..." Tickling. Tick-ling. He can't bring himself to articulate two syllables. Is this all he's left with without his staff? "...Er, a little bit of levity? Can't let things get too serious, can we?" With another quick cough, the radio demon finally manages to get his voice to fall back into his familiar breezy cadence. He turns to Trudy. "Now, are we... quite finished with that examination?"

"Nothing seems amiss, from what I can feel." Trudy takes a step back. "Which is not much, but I think I've already made you uncomfortable enough..."

"Nonsense! I'm perfectly at ease!" He lies back again and smooths his coat. "Please, finish your little checkup. I insist."

Trudy regards him curiously for a moment. "Right." Her hands hover over his belly again. "But if you want me to stop, sir, just say the word-"

"I assure you that w-won't be necessahary..."

Trudy watches him seize up before her fingers even make contact. This time she presses a little deeper into his belly, trying to feel around his defensiveness.

"You are punching holes in my couch," Rosie remarks dryly, watching the poor demon's claws bury themselves in the cushions.

"I kn... ohow, I'm just-" He squeezes his eyes shut as Trudy hits a particularly bad spot. And then another. And another... hell, his torso one big bad spot.

"What do you think, Trudy?"

The young doctor just shakes her head.

"Alastor. Darling. You have GOT to relax."

"I am!" Alastor's composure is dangling by the thinnest of threads.

"Maybe it would help," Trudy says, with infinite caution, "to just go ahead and laugh, sir."

A beat. And then Rosie bursts into laughter.

"Giving new meaning to the 'deer in the headlights' expression, my friend." She scoots closer. "I thought you just said you don't mind a little 'levity'..."

"I don't!"

"In that case. Carry on, Trudy - Auntie Rosie is gonna help our patient out a bit while you work."

Too late, Alastor realizes what his fellow overlord has in mind. "Wait, wait! Ros-"

A delicate set of nails find the region just under his ribs - and it's all downhill from there.

"Ah! Fuhuck!" Alastor chokes on a curse before he can catch himself. He twists sideways, collapses into muffled giggles, and briefly manages to pull himself together - just barely - with a few hyperventilated breaths. "Rosie, really! This isn't- please- ack! I can't-" There's that damn stutter again. He hadn't even stuttered when Adam slashed him.

And now, Great Alastor the Radio Demon, undone by some scribbles? And a medical exam?!

Meanwhile, Trudy can feel even less now than she could before, her patient's belly now quaking with silent, suppressed mirth. But she takes one look at Rosie's delighted expression... and continues probing anyway, curling a subtle little smirk of her own.

It seems Rosie has picked up on a slightly less tangible injury than anything Trudy can address. But fortunately, they've just stumbled upon a promising potential treatment.

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

Part 2 is already pretty much finished - my brain is just too mushy at this point to contend with Tumblr's shitty text interface any longer, and this feels like a good stopping point.

Lemme get a good night sleep and another dose of Prozac and I'll have the rest out shortly 😅

💜 - Cozy

[jeansplaytoy]

Complaining - Ony. 5

<<part four part six>>

arguing, sexual themes(?), language, drinking, smoking, etc.

sorry for the wait yalllll . proof reading later , short bcus a lot happens in the next chapter 🤲🏾

that same night, ony led you into a party. probably the last one you planned on going to for the week if somebody pissed you off tonight.

you smacked your lips. “ian even feel like coming to this dumbass party, ony. you always gotta make me do some shit.”

“stop complaining befo’ i make you stop.” he muttered in your ear. you rolled your eyes and looked away with a small smile.

as he went to the main living room, he dapped a few people up, spoke to a few people, before finally sitting down, sitting you down beside him.

“so yo ass finally got his mind straight about what he shoulda chose?” connie tilted his head, taking a drag of his blunt. ony scoffed. “man, you acting like i was actually finna be wit that girl for that long. we already done.” he smiled to himself.

“yeah, he knew better.” you shrugged, making ony roll his eyes at you. “ony go get me a drink.” you mumbled. ony smacked his lips playfully and stood up. “ight, hol up.” he mumbled, walking towards the kitchen

“so y’all back together?” sasha tilted her head with a grin.

“no.” was the first thing you said. and quick. “we just sorted things out now he think he got me.” you shrugged.

“y’all toxic as helllll. so y’all finally talked shit out and ain’t argue over every little thing?” mikasa raised an eyebrow. “surprising.”

you sighed loudly. “oh my-, y’all never enjoy things how they is y’all always gotta push it.” you rolled your eyes.

“it ain’t our fault we expected less outta you-“

before connie could finish egging the shit on, someone else appeared.

“y’all know where ony at?” onys ex girlfriend appeared out of nowhere. you raised an eyebrow and glanced back at the kitchen. “why?”

“because he was just texting me telling me he wasn’t bouda come to this party and ion believe it.”

all eyes went directly to you. big and bold.

“the fuck?” you squinted.

-

the quietness in the car on the way home was unbearable.

not to you, but to ony. you were being weird ever since you first showed up to the party, now you didn’t wanna say anything to him, and for what?

“if you ain’t wanna go to the damn party then you shoulda said that. ion know why you acting weird all of a sudden because i went to get a drink.” he said, unlocking the door to his house, since you sadly agreed to stay the night. what a coincidence.

“you a weird ass nigga, you know that? to sit here and lie in my damn face about a bitch you said you ain’t want but was texting her the whole ride to the party, ony you a damn joke.” you said, kicking your heels off and stomping upstairs.

“y/n… what is you talkin bout bruh?” ony frowned at you went in his room where you were. you took your dress off as ony leaned on the doorway. “everyday it’s something new witcho stupid ass.” you pointed at him.

he smacked his lips and groaned. “sum new wit’ me? you sittin here complaining and ion even know what the fuck i did.”

“and you still wanna sit here and lie in my face?” you squinted and tilted your head. rummaging through the personalized drawer he had for you and your clothes to find something to sleep in, you frowned, huffing.

“how would i lie in yo face and i ain’t even said nothin?”

before you should even get your shirt all the way on, you froze. “you told me you was done wit’ that bitch. you know what she told me? she told me you told her to go to that fuckin party. how the fuck you invited two different bitches to one party?”

ony stared at you for a second before opening him his mouth to say something, but you cut him off.

“ion wanna hear it. when i see that bitch, we talkin to her. together.”

[rea-grimm]

Proposal - Dragon Luffy

You had known Luffy for a long time and dated him for several years. You knew what he was and that even though he loved you like a straw man, you suspected that you would probably never get married.

Luffy didn't think much of such things and was happy with it the way you were. When you were there for him and he was there for you. He was content to have you by his side every day and what more could he ask for?

When you sometimes talked about it in front of him, he didn't see the point. He cocked his head to the side uncomprehendingly and had no idea where you were going with that. After all, he loved you and knew that you were there for him and that you wouldn't just leave him. Why should he deal with it more?

You confided all this to Nami and Robin one afternoon over the refreshing drinks Sanji prepared for you. You didn't want to talk about it much at first, but somehow it came up. Moreover, they both knew very well how much you and the captain liked each other and how much you wanted to get married.

You didn't want to talk about it much at first, because you didn't want to make a drama out of it, and especially after your story, Nami felt like telling Luffy what she thought. Luckily you managed to stop her and talk her out of it.

However, what you had no idea was that Robin and Nami weren't going to let it go. They too knew what their mule captain was like and they knew very well how to use him to get their way.

You thought they would keep it to themselves, but you were wrong. A few days later, you went out on the deck after dinner to watch the stars.

Little did you know, however, that as soon as you left, Nami along with Sanji and the others pounced on Luffy and made him understand. Although it seemed like an impossible task at first, the word impossible did not exist with this crew.

You leaned on the railing and watched the dark sky where the stars twinkled. There was such a calmness that a moment later was cut through by a roar. The door flew open and Luffy ran out with tears in his eyes. The dragon headed straight for you and hugged you.

““Y/N… *sob* that you *sob* will never leave me? he asked you through sobs and you saw noodles running from his nose.

"Of course not. How did you think of that?" you asked soothingly, stroking his back.

"Sanji *sob* and Nami said *sob* that if I don't marry you, you can leave *sob* or someone will steal you from me," he continued to sob.

On one hand, you were happy that others thought of you like that and wanted to help you, but on the other hand, you felt sorry for Luffy, because you thought it was perhaps too cruel. It was also what he needed.

"Luffy, no one is going to steal me from you and I'm not going to leave you, do you hear me?" and you tried to wipe the tears from his face. As he was thrown from it, many more red scales appeared on his face and body.

"Do you promise?" he asked you, sniffling before looking at you with his big eyes.

“I promise,” you said softly, kissing his forehead between the horns. With that, the dragon calmed down a bit but still didn't want to let you go. What if someone stole you from him?

Instead, he completely transformed into a dragon and wrapped himself around you like a snake, protecting you from all sides and resting his head in your lap. You stroked his scales and the short fur on his head that stretched from head to tail.

After that, it stopped being talked about and you thought it was forgotten. But that's just what you thought.

You were sailing along the Grand Line when after a long time you finally came across a new island that seemed to be uninhabited. Nowhere along the coast did you see a city or a human being.

You camped on the beach in a small cove, the others went to explore the island, catch something for dinner, for wood, while you and Chopper guarded the ship.

Sanji then prepared food from the catch for the evening barbecue, which turned out to be a giant feast. However, nothing less would be enough for Luffy.

While you were eating and having a good time, he put Liffy onion rings on his plate. He stuffed a few into his mouth when he noticed one particularly small one. He took it out and began to examine it, clawing at the bumps.

“Y/N,” he turned to you with a serious expression. “I don't want you to be stolen from me, or for you to leave...” he started and took your hands. But in the blink of an eye, he stuffed food into his mouth. “I love you *munch* and when I become the pirate king, I want you to be my queen *munch munch* every king has a queen right? *gulp* will you marry me?" and showed you an onion ring.

It was a strange proposal, nothing about it, but you could tell he meant it and it got you. You didn't even hope for anything like this.

“Of course I will,” you smiled at him.

“Yosh!” he rejoiced, a giant smile spreading across his face. He was about to put the ring on you when, like a bolt from the blue, Sanji rushed at you and kicked him to the ground.

“Who let you play with my food?!” he shouted angrily before turning to you with a warm smile. “Y/N-chwan, can I get you dessert?” he asked. However, you politely refused him and instead helped Luffy to his feet. The poor dragon didn't understand what it was.

In the next town, you bought the rings that you exchanged with Luffy. The dragon took great delight in them and nearly crushed you to death in his giant embrace.

Luffy wore the ring on his hand and admired how it shone beautifully in the sun and how it reminded him of you. After a little incident where he almost lost it in battle you had to sew it to his hat so that he would have his two greatest treasures nicely in one place.

Luffy Masterlist

[chamiryokuroi]

My thoughts on Tim Drake: Robin #10 heavy spoilers under the cut

First of all got to say it wasn’t a bad ending if we consider they had to wrap up this arc in such a short amount of time, gotta give it to Meghan she managed to figure out a way to answer as many questions as possible and give us a relatively good ending for a series that I feel was canceled with no reason.

You can definitely feel that the story was planned to be done in more issues, the building blocks are all there for an amazing arc and it is sad we had to condense it all in one issue.

Now into a more in depth analysis of the comic of my favorite parts.

The Labyrinth was such and interesting point I wish we could have seen more of, specially with the fact this is the cult if Dionysus.

I absolutely adore the fact that Bernard is fully aware of Tim’s identiry because we get such funny interactions like this where Pie honestly thinks Tim is cheating on Bernard with Robin, and that panel of Bernard laughing because of that is one of my favorites for sure, boy is having so much fun, as he should.

Now in a more serious tone, this two panels tells us so much of how Tim feels, how insecure he is of his own place, not only on his family, but in the world as a whole. That second panel specifically where we see Bernard having fun while Tim is just on the bg, knowing how hard it must be for Tim to wrap his head around his sexuality even now, a year after coming out and starting dating Bernard, this feels realistic, sometimes when you come out later in life it feels as if you do not fit exactly with the community, and it can be hard to find your place.

If I had a nickel for every time a creepy cult tried to recruit Tim into their ranks I would have two nickels, which isn’t a lot but it is weird that it keeps happening.

This is honestly another point that feels like it was meant to be explored for longer before the cancelation notice came. At least it gives us an explanation of why Kate was acting the way she was, it took me a while to get it but basically after Tim saved Bernard from the cult back in Urban Legends Kate went around hunting down those that managed to escape, one of them being the son of this man that appears to be the leader of the cult, the son then took his own life and Kate was taken into the labyrinth, were we know Tim was being pumped with some hallucinogen gas of some sort, depending on how long she was on the labyrinth before managing to escape that might explain her memory loss, again this is all theorizing with what we are given since there wasn’t much space for it to be explain as it should.

And now we go back to Bernard who is looking around for Tim, going to all the people that knew him as Robin, and then those words “Tim takes care of everyone… but sometimes he needs someone to take care of him” hits me straight on the feels, Bernard is such a supportive boyfriend, he is definitely what Tim needs, someone that is there for him, not only for Tim, but also Robin.

Also the fact that Bernard is making his own homemade bat-signal with his hands is just adorable to me. Boy could had probably drove to Bruce’s house, but he doesn’t need Bruce’s help right now, he needs Batman.

And of course Batman responds. Bruce why were you following Bernard? Anyways, yet another great speech from Bernard “I thought you might be a ghost. Or you weren’t real. But the truth is you look sort of normal. Like regular-people normal.” Leave it to Bernard to understand exactly what Batman is, just a normal man trying to help as best as he can.

And then he says Tim needs help, not Robin, Tim. This is just Bernard out right telling Bruce “I know, and I don’t care, because Tim is in problem and you got to find him”

And then we get the best thing, Bernard, and Tim’s friends and family, rushing in to save him, just as he was losing hope of managing to leave the labyrinth alive. Absolutely in love with Bernard’s long ass coat.

And then we get to my favorite page. The uncertainty if it is really him or another hallucination, the confirmation that it is him, it is Bernard, here to save Tim. The hug, the way Tim is holding Bernard’s face, the only thing that would had made this better would had been a kiss.

And then we get to the ending, not much to say here, I just love these two pages, Tim just finally realizing he doesn’t need to be anyone else, that he can be himself and that he is right where he belong, and that he can be happy with that. The best ending we could have hope for with what we were allowed to have.

There are obviously many questions left unanswered.

What was exactly the Cult of Dionysus? Where did it came from?

What’s going on with Bernard’s parents?

What’s up with Moriarty? Who was his boss? What was his deal with Robin/Tim??

I am sad TD:R ended the way it did, had it been given the time to develop I feel it would had gotten better. But I am glad we managed to get as much as we did, now we just have to wait and see what will DC do now with Tim, and if Bernard will stay relevant or will they brush him under the rug.

[mslanna]

Raphael reacting to waking up to his little mouse tending to his injuries?

(also on AO3) enby Tav without body configuration. comfort, wound tending, too soft for sanity

Hurt. Hope. His.

The last thing Raphael remembered was launching himself at his father as Mephistopheles held Tav between his fingers about to squeeze them in half. The red haze that descended over the cambion blurred everything afterwards.

Pain, he remembered. Shouts. Screams. The smell and taste of blood. And then –

Nothing

Pain remained. In the quiet darkness surrounding him, the pain was still there. But so was a gentle warmth and movements over his skin. Broken? Burning? Something moist touched the side of his face. When he tried to jerk away, pain flared up through his whole body, rendering the attempt futile.

"Ah, look who's coming to!" Haarlep's voice, shrill in the silence and cutting into his skin. "I knew it wouldn't be long once we got to the healing pool."

"Shoo." The sound was soft, gentle and lenient towards the incubus in a way Raphael would not have permitted. But it seemed to work. The ground under him – mattress? – moved and steps receded.

"They were jittery ever since you went down." More soft words falling down on him. Nice. Warm. Safe. Tav?

Raphael tried to pry open his eyes. It hurt. It didn't matter. He had to make certain –

A cool hand settled over his eyes.

"Not yet." There was a decided pause after the last word, as if he had missed a word. "Soon. Let me finish with your face first."

He relaxed. Tav. It had to be. Small hands, deft. Sure. And so gentle on his broken skin. It still hurt. But in a reassuring way. Raphael let them work. The rhythm was soothing, a gentle motion in the ocean of pain that rocked him. He must have dozed off.

A sweet dream piercing through the pain of small hands on his face and soft lips breathing a kiss over his. Raphael tried to reach and hold on but the pain the movement caused woke him. At least he was now able to open his eyes.

Tav knelt at his side. Alive. Whole. Not snapped in half by his father's hand. The relief flooding his system overrode all pain. Raphael reached for their face, and though his hand hung in tatters, Tav didn't flinch back. They accepted the bloody touch, cradled his broken hand and placed it back at his side. Raphael could not look away from the dark red smears on their cheek.

"You need rest." Tav's lips moved but the words reached him only much later. Raphael blinked, aware again of the pains covering his body. "Drink. And sleep."

Tav raised a carafe to his lips. Then she shook their head, amused about something Raphael did not understand. The water disappeared from sigh but that was alright. Tav moved to lay his head in their lap. The repositioning hurt, but it was worth it.

Soft eyes looked down on him. Warm. Safe. His? He tried to reach out again, but Tav wouldn't have it. "Be still," they murmured. "You need to heal. Please."

They looked away at the last word and for the first time, Raphael wondered how badly he was injured. His jaw worked and Tav's fingers alighted on it.

"Please."

Tav reached beside them an raised the carafe again. This time they placed it against his lips and unthinking, Raphael drank. Warm. Cool. Hurt. His? He swallowed the water and pain in one. It earned him a smile. He drank more. Each sip making its way into his stomach felt like pearls of ice and fire.

It probably looked very bad if even this sent his body into a painful healing frenzy.

Tav pushed a strand of his hair back behind his ear. No pain. Good. Welcome. More. He mumbled and water spilled down his throat. Tav shook their head, but not angrily. They put the carafe away and produce a wet cloth with which they carefully wiped down his throat.

Raphael felt his skin prick, move and mend. A short check on his extremities proved that most of them were broken and open in some way. Bandaged badly. Preliminary. Behind Tav's head, he saw the ceiling of the boudoir. Home. Good. Safe. He looked back at Tav who had cleaned out the cloth and worked slowly over his right shoulder.

"You relax now," they said gently. "Leave it to me."

He wanted to, he really did. But a part of his mind wondered where Haarlep had gone and when they'd return and what would happen then. His eyes wandered but didn't get far without turning his head. And the mere attempt hurt.

Cool fingers stroked the side of his neck. "None of that now," Tav murmured. "I promise everything will be well. Just let me work."

Another of those empty pauses reserved for a word that never came. Raphael closed his eyes and let his mind chase the shape of that emptiness. A vain pursuit as the gentle touch of warm water on his chest dragged his thoughts away from anything else. Tav's hands followed the water, caressing healing tissue.

Raphael felt the arms of sleep reach for him and soon they would drag him down into their dark embrace. He fought it. With one thought cropping up in his dazed mind whenever he was about to go under. One thing. Important. Now.

He stirred and once again; gentle hands stilled him.

"I will be here when you wake." A soft smile. Hope.

"Mine?" The word croaked from his lips and splintered.

Tav ran a hand through his hair. Then they placed their cool fingers over his lips again. "Yours."

It was barely a whisper. It was enough.