#that's not what i intended and also a bit ooc but you know. it's fun!

[bird-likes-to-fandom]

have a traditional steph and grace that took me a couple hours

[madamechrissy]

Fractured Desires

ꕥ Pairings: Suguru Geto x Satoru Gojo x Fem Reader (Mostly Satoru Gojo x Reader)- It's a mess tbh lol- This chap also has Choso x reader (past)

ꕥ Warnings-MDNI-explicit sexual content, threesomes/ foursomes/ complicated shit, infidelity. Abusive gaslighting Suguru. Yandere Gojo behavior. In this chapter- Rough sex, obsessed behavior, heavy angst, most of this chap is angst, a fucked up, messy chapter. Cunnilingus (past relationship with choso)

CW: Attempted SA against MC at the end- HEAVY CHAP ooc for Suguru (He's awful)

ꕥ Word Count this chap- 12k

ꕥ Summary- You meet Suguru Geto at your work, he is charming, gorgeous, and has a poly lifestyle. You jump in, and you all share women and have way too much fun. But then it's starting to get serious between you, official even. He can't wait to have you meet his best friend. But... Satoru Gojo hates you. The minute you meet. He gives you no reason, but he's nasty to you, no matter what you try. Suguru finally has enough of Satoru being so mean and brings up the idea - 'let's have you two fuck this frustration out'

Satoru hates you because deep down wants to make you his. He doesn't understand how Suguru could ever want anyone but you. Though it's a bad idea, he agrees to share you with Suguru for a chance at you and... The moment he touches you... Rules are bent and broken, Suguru develops feelings for another girl, and Satoru gets further obsessed with you. Nothing is as it seemed. Will everyone get hurt?

Chapter 4 - Masterlist

Chapter 5

Suguru’s fists clench and unclench as you watch in horror, as Satoru says the one thing you know will push Suguru over the edge.

“You what!?” Suguru demands, snatching Satoru up by throat then, and Satoru smirks even as Suguru’s fist smashes into his pretty face.

“Suguru, stop!” You shout, running up then, trying to yank your huge ex boyfriend off your- what was Satoru!?- your… yeah. Satoru.

“It’s fine, baby, let him have his fun.” Satoru’s words are so easy going, as if his nose wasn’t dripping blood. Suguru scowls back at you over a shoulder, as you’re trying to pry stupidly strong muscles off Satoru’s body.

“Suguru, I came here. He didn’t drag me. It’s on me, be mad at me.” He scowls even deeper, as Satoru is grinning, like he’s fucking won.

“You let him cum in you?” He demands, and you feel ashamed, but only for a moment.

“You cum in Shoko?” Satoru asks, laughing when Suguru turns his attention down to him. “That’s all this is, you’re so mad I fucked her back in college. Can you get the fuck over it?”

“You knew how I felt.” He punches Satoru again, and you start to realize how far beyond you this was.

“So ya had to hit on her when I told you I saw her… ow fuck… at the damn bar huh?” Satoru flips his position now, holding Suguru in a headlock, and you blink in confusion at the words.

“You said she was hot as fuck, that meant I couldn’t hit on her?” Suguru’s words are strangled, Satoru is choking the ever living shit out of him, as you watch in a mix of horror and confusion.

“Who?” You ask, and Satoru’s bright blue eyes drink you in, as Suguru struggles in his hold.

“I saw you first.” He says, then suddenly he’s flipped back over, and Suguru’s over him, and Satoru’s the one in the head lock, struggling, pale skin turning red from how tight Suguru squeezed.

“You saw her, so the fuck what!?”

“When… When did you see me?” You ask softly, Suguru eases up for a moment, chocolate eyes not daring to look at you. Satoru coughs up a bit, now a droplet of blood is dripping down his lips.

“I told him I saw you working, and how gorgeous you were.” Your heart stops then, at his words. How!? How could Satoru have seen you and… “I was too…” He coughs again. “Scared to hit on you. So I told Suguru.”

“I just went to see her, I didn’t intend to have a connection. You act as if you had some fucking claim.” Suguru grunts out, and Satoru smirks over at him, as you try to process both of their words, as the masculinity raised way too high in this damn room, both of them still furious.

“You did it to get me back. You know I never talk about women, when have I fucking ever!?” Your heart is thudding in your chest so hard you think it will just pound right out of it, your throat tightening.

Satoru saw you first?

Suguru came on to you to get to him!?

Were you some fucking game to him?

“You’re so dramatic. I just wanted to see her too. Then I… clearly fucking fell for her.” Suguru says, but Satoru laughs, earning another punch, the sound of his fist connecting is sickening to your ears.

“Nah, you haven’t. You’d have never needed anyone.”

“So monogamy is the only form of love?”

“Didn’t say that, but your shit isn’t even poly, Sugu. It’s just one sided cheating.” Suguru scowls down at Gojo’s honest words, and you tense, expecting another hit, only for him to laugh then, grinning down at Satoru.

“You came in her, huh?” Suguru says, making you flush, wanting to get sucked in a goddamn hole. You hadn’t wanted Sugu to cum in you, and that was awful, wasn’t it? But Satoru?

Yeah you craved it.

“Sure did, Sugu. Her pussy milked it for all too.” Suguru’s red to the tips of his ears, as he holds Satoru down, pinning him to the grown, thighs straddling him. Satoru’s smirk dies soon though.

“That’s nice. But guess who took her virginity?”

The room is silent, like it’s taking a breath, and your heart constricts in your chest, as Satoru’s face drops, as his eyes look at you then, darker blue than you’d ever seen, pupils so dilated, his lips in a stern line. You feel mortified, that Suguru would share this, that Satoru looked so hurt, fuck he’d seen you first!?

“You. What. Now.” Satoru says quietly, and Suguru grins, leaning up, yanking out the pony tail that’s half out of his hair.

“Sure did. She’d not been with a man. She’s twenty four you know, so of course I showed her. You know, her first time? It was really good for her, don’t worry. Took my time with every-”

Satoru punches him so hard Suguru falls right off him, and then Satoru is the one straddling his best friend’s lap, as you continue to watch this fucking train wreck. God you couldn’t look away, as much as you wanted to, not when they were fighinng because of you, not when you could feel Satoru’s pure rage, not when Suguru shared something so personal.

“No way she was a virgin. You’re saying this to-”

“She was. Weren’t you, Princess?” You earn both of their eyes on you, and you gulp, as you feel a mix of embarrassment and disgust at the display.

“I was a virgin.” You murmur softly, and as Suguru chuckles, Satoru rages, punching him so hard you hear a sickening crack. “Satoru, I didn’t… I just wasn’t experienced. Please, stop… both of you. I’m not worth it.”

Your quiet words pause them for a moment, as Suguru takes your form in, slowly, all you’re wearing is Satoru’s shirt, you notice then. Messy, wavy hair with no makeup, Suguru hadn’t even seen you like this. You hadn’t felt comfortable enough not to have on some waterproof mascara, something. You wore lingerie for him. But now? You just look so…

“You took her virginity to get at me? What kind of sick fuck have you become, Suguru? What the fuck!” Satoru’s furious words bring you back to focus, as he punches Suguru right in the ribs, only for Suguru to take the top position again.

“Took her- ah- virginity because she’s hot. Idiot.” Your heart shatters, more than it had before. Suguru never had a fucking feeling for you, did he?

You were an idiot.

“I’ll fucking kill you.” Satoru’s terse statement sends shivers down your spine, and you rush over to them, kneeling and touching Satoru’s arm, bringing his feral blue gaze to yours.

“Satoru, please. Enough.” You whisper, and you seem to break through to him, as he looks back down at Suguru. Both of them are bloody and bruising, panting and out of breath. “Suguru, I’m sorry I came here. It’s on me, though.”

“No, he manipulated you. I know what he does.”

“I never manipulated her, or Shoko, fuck she was just drunk and so was I. We didn’t even like it! Why can’t you let it go!?” His voice is so emotional it crushes you, as you clearly see you were always just a pawn in a game, for Suguru. It makes your skin crawl, as you remember him taking your virginity.

“Are you sure you’re ready, Princess?” He’d asked, so sweet and caring, and you nervously nod, clinging to his shoulders, eyes shooting up to his.

“I can’t do this if you don’t feel something back, Sugu. I’m so sorry if that’s corny, but I am… this is my first time.” Suguru pauses, his lips parting, then he nods, brushing your hair back gently.

“I’ll make it perfect, I promise. How couldn’t I feel something? You’re so beautiful, so sweet. I’ll make it so special.” He cooes at you, and you melt under him, under his handsome face and his gorgeous, lidded eyes. You gasp as his tip slides between your folds, something you’d never felt.

“Suguru…” You whisper, his lips capture yours then, so passionate like nothing you’d ever had, and all those worries are whisked away as he plays with you, as he touches you, as he kisses you. You’re wetter and wetter under his expert touch, as he takes you over.

“I’ll make it perfect.” He says again, then he’s sliding into you, making you gasp.

He did all that, and he didn’t ever care, fuck he did this to upset Satoru Gojo? You were nothing to him. Nothing.

You barely register that tears are pouring down your cheeks until they both are paused, looking at you now, Suguru looks actually resigned for just a moment, and Satoru looks infuriated. His gaze was psychotic, as if he’s on the cusp of doing something insane. All while you’re sobbing in front of them, unwillingly, unsure how to turn the tears off.

“You didn’t feel anything did you? You lied.” You sob out, looking right at Suguru, and Satoru finally lets him up, turning around, running his hands through his silken white hair, as Suguru sits up, holding his stomach, shaking his head.

“I did feel things. I didn’t lie.”

“Feel what, anger at Satoru? I get you didn’t know me, but my virginity was important to me. I really thought you-”

“If it was so important why so quick?” You gasp then, and back away, only for Suguru to clench his jaw, closing his eyes. “I shouldn’t have said that. I just mean, if you waited so long, why-”

“You really made me feel pretty, special. I thought… the way you treated me I thought you felt something.” You speak through tears, and shudder as Satoru punches his own wall, loudly then, not looking back at you.

“I did, Princess. I’m just angry.” Suguru sits up, cupping your face, but you tense, disgusted at the touch suddenly. “I fucked you because I wanted to. Not because of Satoru. I swear, why wouldn’t I? You’re gorgeous.”

“That was it, just my looks! You made it seem…”

“I mean I feel more now. It was too soon. I swear I felt something.” He holds your cheeks, and you shiver, you feel waves of nausea roll over you as you think of how manipulated you had been, as everything you ever thought comes crashing down. You hear Satoru sobbing and it crushes you.

“You did this all as a game. You think I didn’t have feelings, that it wasn’t special to me?” You swipe your tears away, choking on your sobs. “I kept it for something special, and you made me think it was.”

“It was. It was. I swear. You’re letting Satoru-”

“Just go, please. Just go. I can’t take anymore!” You stand up then, sobbing so hard you can barely control it, as the world shatters on you. Even after his cheating with Shoko, you hadn’t believed he started this all as a manipulation.

“Princess-”

“My virginity wasn’t a game! Or revenge!” You shove at him, smacking his hands away as he tries to grab at your shoulders. “It meant something. I can’t just get it back. You took that from me.”

Suguru has the grace to look resigned, his eyes shooting down to his own feet, his brows together, fists that are red clenching at his sides. “I do feel things for you, it wasn’t just pretending.”

“You took it under false pretenses.”

“I… I feel things. I swear I do. I’ll forgive all of this.” He takes your shoulders again, but you jerk away, shaking your head. Suguru glares now. “You think Satoru is honest, loyal? You’re in for disappointment.”

“I just wanted something real. I should have known, it was all too perfect, your words, everything. Like some performance but with my actual life.” You’re shaking from how hard you’re sobbing, Satoru’s hand is gripping the ledge of the fireplace, he won’t even look back, won’t say anything.

“It wasn’t a game. You’re falling for it, for him.” You scowl at his words then, as you look at Satotu’s well muscled back, at how tense he is.

“You should go see Shoko.”

Suguru glares, mouth thinning. “It was just play, she didn’t even feel like…”

“Oh so that’s it! She turned you down. So you’re left with me?”

“No! Fuck you’re frustrating.” He grips you bruisingly then, shoving you against a wall, and Satoru’s on you in a moment, shoving him off, glaring.

“Get out, Sugu. You’re not thinking clearly.” Satoru says, standing in front of you, Suguru’s eyes narrow.

“I’d never hurt a woman. I just…”

“Go. Just go, please.” You whisper, hands on Satoru’s back, and Suguru laughs darkly, giving you chills.

“You had no feelings if you could so easily go be with my best friend. Maybe you’re the one full of-”

“Go home.” Satoru says, cutting him off, and Suguru finally stomps out, slamming the door, soon you hear the rev of his sports car, and you’re shaking against him, clinging to his strong back, tears hot and sticky on his sweaty skin.

It’s silent for a moment, until Satoru turns to you, looking down at your face, and his eyes are furious, an insane blue you haven’t even seen, swollen in places from Suguru’s brutal fists. They’re so bright you have to blink rapidly, as his full lips part, and he’s shaking, his hands on the wall on either side of you.

“He took your virginity!?” You tense, looking down, feeling so fucking confused you can’t even process how you truly feel. You just nod. “It should have been me.”

“I… Satoru, I hadn't met you yet.” You whisper, blinking through a fresh set of tears, as he’s huffing over you. “Why didn’t you say… hi?”

He laughs, without humor, not meeting his beautiful eyes. “Why? Because you were so beautiful I couldn’t think. And yeah, I fuck pretty women. But you’re so goddamn gorgeous I was reduced to being some high school idiot. How could those loser men even get a drink from you!?”

His words eat you alive, your hands slide up his bare chest, his beautiful body, and you watch his abdomen contract from the touch. You struggle to form the correct words, licking your lower lip, sighing. “Satoru, I wish you did.”

It’s silent, as if the entire living room takes a breath it's been holding. You look at his bleeding lip, at his bruising and swollen cheek, and you hate it, you hate that you caused it. You gingerly touch his cheek, making him hiss. “You wish I met you first?”

“Satoru, if you had… I’d have been on my knees.” He gasps, at your stupidly vulnerable words, and you expect him to make fun of them, tease you, but he just stares at you, grip tightening on your waist.

“I’d have been on my knees.” He whispers, then he’s shoving up his shirt you wore, groaning as he slides two fingers in you, stretching you so much you cry out in pain at it. “I should have been the first.”

“Satoru…”

“It should have been me. The first. Me.” He grunts, then suddenly he’s picked you up, and your legs wrap around his hips, he’s kissing you, his blood tasting like iron on your lips,desperately, and your arms wrap around his neck, crying with him. “How were you a virgin!?”

“I never… I wanted it to be special.” You’re sobbing again, and he’s crying too, pretty tears glistening down perfect cheeks.

“I didn’t know, but now!? I’m so fucking…” He growls then, and he’s shoving his cock out of his sweats, blue eyes locked on yours furiously, then his cock is all the way inside you, and you scream out in pain at the stretch. “It should have been me.”

“Satoru… ah fuck, it hurts!” He scowls down at you, sliding out, you hiss a bit, but then he’s deep inside again, all eight plus inches snug in your cunt, hitting your cervix, and damn if you’re not soaking to accommodate.

“It should have been me.” He repeats again, and then he’s cupping your face with one hand, lips hovering, and you gasp for a breath, so full you can’t take it. “I saw you first.”

“Satoru…”

He’s fucking into you now, and your head falls back in pleasure, slamming into the wall, he won’t stop his relentless thrusts, as they bring you higher and higher, until you can’t function. You’re clinging to him tightly, as he kisses you over and over, blood all over your mouth. It should bother you but you don’t even care, you crave more and more of his hard cock, of his brutal, messy kisses.

“I’ll fuck you so good you’ll forget it.” He says, desperate now, and you just whine out, eyes fluttering shut, as he fucks you brutally againt the wall, your cunt is so wet it’s sloppy, you hear it echoing in the room along with the thudding of your back, brusingly against the wall. “Should’ve been… me. Say it.”

“You, you Satoru.” You whimper the words, and he’s groaning, pressing his bloody lips on yours and shoving his cock into your cervix, you’re screaming as an orgasm hits so hard it wrecks you. You can’t even think, your sore little cunt pounded by a furious Satoru Gojo, you can’t form a word, your brain is stupid, stupid.

Satoru’s gripping you so tightly with those big hands, his desperate breaths hot on you, and you’re twitching as you cum, as he’s groaning, white eyelashes fluttering shut at how good you feel. “Say it again. Say it, fucking brat. I need… it…”

“Should have been you.” You say again, then he’s gripping you so tight you can’t breathe, shoving his thick cock deep and brutal, until you’re cumming again. He bites your delicate throat, groaning out against it, and you can do nothing but soak his cock, boneless in his grasp.

“Me, me, me. Mine. Mine. Mine.” He’s whispering like it’s some fucking mantra, as he chases his own release, pumping you so full, white hot ropes of cum burning hot in your little hole. You’re twitching, pulsing around his cock, as it throbs inside of you. “Oh my fucking god. Fuck.”

“F-fuck, Toru I- ah!” You’re cumming just from that hot load, and he captures your lips in his, hungry, feral and desperate. And you fall into him.

You fall for him.

You’re sore, aching, throbbing… you’ve never done this much fucking in the short few months you’ve been sexually active, and fuck if you’ve ever done it so many times in a twenty four hour span. Satoru is pushing inside of you, oversenstiive as you swipe the tears from his pretty face, as his labored breaths are hot against your lips, and your eyes lock.

Should it have been him?

Had some choice been taken away from both of you?

Gojo’s POV

Your gentle fingers brush his tears away, as he’s still nestled inside your tiny little hole, the one he knows he didn’t prep, but you took it anyway, you sucked him right in. He sees the lines between your brows of pain, physical and mental, as his own head throbs with the force of Suguru’s hits. Your beautiful eyes glisten with a fresh set of tears, as streaks run red down your face.

Satoru’s heart is thudding in his chest, with rage, with anguish, with the need and desire for you, for every bit of you. He holds you in his arms still, hands firm on those thighs, feeling your muscles tensing, your legs twitching with aftershocks, he presses his fingers in, gripping even tighter, as your eyes lock.

Satoru should have been your first.

Not just because he wants to claim you, and of course he fucking does, he wants you more than anyone has ever wanted someone. He knows it, this all consuming need, that drives him insane, but now he wishes he was for a different reason. For the anguish in your voice when you learned Suguru hadn’t been in love, or at the very least had feelings.

He heard it in your sobs, as he took something so special from you, something he’d never shared with Satoru. Satoru wouldn’t have been able to handle it. He knew Suguru was still getting back at him, but this was a step too far, and he doesn’t know how to justify his best friend, not when he’s hurt you so much.

Why couldn’t Satoru have just spoken to you!?

“S-Satoru… I’m really- mnh- sore. Can I…” You whimper a bit, and he realizes how badly you must hurt, you’re small down there and he’s fucked the shit out of you, several times in twenty four hours.

But he can’t control himself, he could fuck into you again, he’s already got blood pumping to his cock, as he looks at your gorgeous face, the one that haunts his every dream. Haunts his every waking moment, staring at such perfection and having wished it could be his. And now, here you were, taking him so good, little nails clinging to his bare neck.

“Can’t handle good dick huh?” He says gruffly, he wants to just say how he’s sorry that he’s hurt you, but he still is a goddamn idiot, and terrified of the overwhelming feelings.

You sigh, rolling your eyes. “You clearly know I’m inexperienced now. So no, I can’t handle this much, especially… no prep.” You’re flushed, all over your face, your throat, as you speak, and he sighs.

“I’m sorry, I wasn’t really thinking just then.” He eases out, as you blink in surprise at him, and he helps you down on wobbly legs. “Did I hurt you?”

“Um, a bit but it’s okay. Just more… sore than anything. I still really liked it, I promise.” You reassure him, does he deserve this though? Does he deserve anything about you?

Satoru gently caresses your hair out of the way, tucking it behind your ears, brushing his hands down your face softly. “I was furious. I didn’t know.”

Your eyelashes swoop low over your eyes, casting shadows down your face, and he watches you nervously bite that lower lip. You are trying to slow your breathing, your shaky hands gently holding his wrists. “I guess he was hurt by what you said and wanted to hurt you, too. This is all my fault-”

“No the fuck it’s not.” He speaks through gritted teeth, shoving you against that wall, the one his friend had, but you don’t seem afraid of Satoru, no you look up at him with pure desire. And something more. Something he shouldn’t hope for. “I’m fucking sorry he did that.”

Your tears flow again, and you swipe at them with the back of your hand, narrow shoulders heaving with the labor of holding in your sobs. “It wasn’t your fault, either.”

“Wasn’t it!? Wasn’t it? It’s all because-”

“No! You don’t give him excuses! So what if something happened, it doesn’t give him a right to do all of this. You give him such leeway and tear yourself down.” You’re shoving at him, and your words hit him slowly, as he realizes what he has been excusing, allowing. He gulps, looking down.

“He was right, I have never been a loyal boyfriend.” You watch him with your chest heaving, now your little nose is all red, as you rub it again, before burying your face against his chest.

“I don’t care how you were. And we’re not dating obviously, but I appreciate you being honest about it.”

“You’re too fucking good for me. You know you’re too good for both of us, right?” You shake your head, and he holds you closer, wincing at his sore ribs. Suguru may have cracked one.

“If you were… would you be loyal?”

“Yes.” He says without hesitation. “If you were mine I would never look at anyone ever again. I already have trouble seeing anyone but you.” His vulnerable words make you gasp, as you look up at him longingly. “Hate you so much, it takes so much effort you know.”

You giggle then, and he just glares, but inwardly he loves that laugh, he loves your cute little smile, the way your nose scrunches, the way your eyes crinkle just a bit at the corners. Fuck, it lights up your beautiful face, and he should tell you that, but he can’t… he is so afraid… he hates himself. He hates you. He hates what you’re making him feel.

After so long of feeling nothing, you make him feel despair, anger, longing, desire, at times joy, and most importantly…

Love.

Is that what this gnawing, clawing feeling in his chest its? Love?

He felt it when he first saw you, surrounded by a sea of men and women, who seemed to hit on you equally. Fuck you’d been wearing this little pink crop top that hugged your breasts perfectly, a black choker to break up the endless pink, and a pink skirt with ribbons down the front. Your body was ridiculously hot, and you flaunted it too.

It’s why he never thought you insecure.

You were a mix of girly and goth, both two types of women he didn’t go for. You were a short little brat. You were young, and not just age wise, you were bright and cheery, giggly and bubbly. It had disgusted him, how happy you were, Satoru typically had a list of arm candy women on xanax and zoloft, stuck with old husbands and needing his dick, that’s what he was used to.

Not you.

Had he not noticed the times you’d frowned, looked lost, sighed, your shoulders slumping? Had he just thought you flirtatious, perhaps a bimbo if he’s honest, that was the vibes you gave. But you’re deep, intelligent, thoughtful, he constantly sees how much you care, how much you are thinking, how you analyze him.

How hard you tried when he was awful to you.

When he said the worst things. The most untrue things. All because he couldn’t handle seeing Suguru with you. All because he wanted you, decked out in pink everything, on his arm, giggling. It had eaten him alive. But now, here you are, and you’re in his shirt, and your face is bare, and you’re vulnerable, you’re wide open, clear as crystal glass.

Could Satoru open up? He’s so afraid to disappoint you.

“Satoru, please let me clean this up. And get some ice for this.” You murmur softly, fingers hovering over his face. He nods a bit, he’d usually argue with you or make some… comment, but he wants you to take care of him.

Fuck.

“All right, Nurse.” He teases, and you smile just a bit, corners of those lush lips pulling up, brightening his life. “I have a first aid kit in the bathroom.”

Satoru guides you to the bathroom, and grabs the first aid kit out of his cabinet, and hands it to you. You start taking out gauze, neosporin, antiseptic… you seem to know what you’re doing, he notices, as you look at him, and he sits on the edge of the bathtub so you can actually reach his face.

You take a washcloth first, rinsing it with cold water, then you gently dab his face with the cool towel, and he watches you, the way your eyes never leave his face, the way your hands are so tender and soft, as he inhales your scent, as you stand in between his spread thighs. His fingers itch to hold you, his mouth aches to tell you how much you mean to him.

Even if you don’t even know him yet, do you?

The tension is palpable in the bathroom as you both pretend like you’re not both thinking about what just happened. How Satoru had claimed you so thoroughly, how you gave in so easily, even though he didn’t prep you, even though he hurt you, even though he shouldn’t have. And you’re not even upset, it was as if you wanted it, the way you came so hard around him.

Was it still trickling out of your tight little cunt, he wonders, looking at your chest now, hidden under his shirt, but he watches nipples perk up when he gently rests two hands on the jut of your hips. He doesn’t do anything else, as you’re cleaning the cut above his eyebrow, but that touch alone sends shockwaves through both of you. You’re biting that lower lip, suppressing a cry.

You’re focused on taking care of him.

You bend over, hands shaking a bit as you pull out the neosporin and the band aids. Satoru watches your every move, as you dab the antiseptic on his cuts, the way your eyebrows furrowed in concentration, the way your lips press into a thin line. Your sweet breath rushes over his face, you fill his every sense, as you take care of him, in a way he’s not sure he deserves.

Satoru Gojo feels something inside him, something tightening in his throat, something warm spreading through his chest as you work on him. It’s like you’re not just fixing his face, but fixing him, with each careful dab of a cotton ball, with each breath you take. Neither of you even speak, you don’t have to, you speak so beautifully with each touch, each movement.

Could you fix him? Was he too fucked for this?

Even now, all he can think about is sliding back inside that tight cunt, but first he’d finger his own cum out of you, he’d lavish the taste of both of you up on his tongue, softly, sweetly, until you’re begging for him again. Fuck Satoru hadn’t even been gentle with you, he’d gone easy here and there, but he’d not made love to you, not like you deserve.

If he did he’d be completely ruined, he’s already so far gone now, all he can think about is claiming you, making you his in every way. He’d put babies in that flat tummy, fill it up round with him, he’d tell you to stop working, he’d keep you home and take care of you, and lick that cunt every goddamn day if you let him. He’d pump you so full of cum you couldn’t leave.

His thoughts consume him, and you wince, making him realize he’s pressing his fingers harshly into your hipbones, he eases up just a bit, blinking and looking up at you, still meticulously caring for his face. Now you move to his chest, with your cool, soft hands, brushing little bits of antiseptic here and there.

When you’re done, he swallows, his throat dry, and he has nothing snarky to say, he has nothing mean to say, to pretend with you. No, he’s too enthralled in you, in everything about you, his heart is hurting so goddamn much, his cock is already hard under his sweats, he’s consumed by you.

It’s all you.

“Thank you.” He manages to say, and the surprise on your pretty face says it all, your lips parted, your eyebrows high with shock.

He says nothing further, either, he just slides his hands off your hips now, to run down the soft stomach he wants to fill, feeling it tremble under his touch, before those hands land on your thighs, brushing little circles. Satoru hadn’t been very gentle with you, had he? Not in any way, but you respond the same, whether he’s choking that pretty throat, or he’s brushing a delicate touch.

You want him, clear as day.

Now you ease a bit, exhaling, and you start kissing every bruise you see on his chest, feather light touches of perfect lips setting his skin on fire, and he’s helpless to it, all he can do is sigh in pleasure, gripping your waist tightly. You’re not doing it sexually, you’re being sweet, caring, considerate, as if you want to erase the hurt, and fuck if you don’t actually do that.

Satoru would take any pain for you.

Your POV

Satoru thanked you. He thanked you, with no other comments, with nothing sexual, no he thanked you softly, his big blue eyes so vulnerable then that they broke you, broke your fucking heart. The tension you feel as you’re between his long legs, as his huge hands take over your waist, as you feel his cool breath against your cheek, as you kiss his skin…

It’s insane, what’s left unspoken, fuck only two words have been said as you’ve worked over him, cleaning him up the best you can. Two words that make everything hazy, the husky tone they’d been spoken with. Fuck if it doesn’t take over everything that you are, fuck if you don’t love standing over him, feeling him so vulnerable, so raw and real with you for once.

Your heart aches.

Your pulse flutters.

Your pussy throbs.

All for Satoru Gojo.

You swallow now, heart racing, and you kiss his forehead sweetly, something you had ached to do, hands gently holding his broad shoulders. Fuck if you didn’t wanna make it all better, if you didn’t wanna fill this void he so clearly has, to make him feel so much more than pain. Could you?

“You’re welcome, Toru.” You whisper, your voice barely above a breath, and he reaches up to cup your cheek, his thumb brushing over your lower lip softly. The gesture is gentle, a stark contrast to the harshness of his earlier actions, and it sends a tremble down your spine.

His bright blue gaze locks onto yours as you brush his snowy white hair back, and it’s like he’s searching, pleading for something unspoken. Fuck, you want to give him anything when he looks at you like that, when his usually tense, sculped features get soft for just this moment. He looks youthful, not that Satoru didn’t look stupidly young, but it was this… softness to him.

You want to be the one to make him feel whole, to fill the gaping hole in his chest that he tries so hard to hide, but fuck if you don’t want him to fill that hole in you now, the chasm that has grown deeper. But do you know each other? Are you just going to get burned again, like you had with Suguru?

The difference is, he’s real, he’s so real with you. He’s not pretending, he’s not whispering sweet words in your ear, if anything you feel him actively holding back. You both just stare at each other, it should be awkward, right this silence? But it’s not at all, you both don’t need to speak.

You lean in, your lips brushing his, tentatively at first, then with more pressure, as if you’re trying to memorize the feel of him, the taste of him, afraid of how long it would even happen. These kisses that consume you, the ones that left blood on your mouth earlier, and you hadn’t cared, no you wanted more. You could not get enough of his kisses, especially these softer, newer ones.

Satoru’s hand slides around the back of your neck, pulling you closer, deepening the kiss. It’s messy, needy, full of desperation and longing, and you can feel it, the heat of his desire, the way his tongue sweeps into your mouth like he’s trying to claim every part of you. And you want to be claimed, you want to be his, you wish so badly he had been your first in every way.

You wish he’d just said hello to you.

You wish you met the real Satoru Gojo, and not this dark, guarded version of him, not the mean version of before, but you would take him like this, fuck you’d take him mean, if it meant you could feel this forever. This consuming need to be claimed fully by him, you throw any sense of feminism out the fucking window for him.

He fills your void, the deep one that Suguru had caused, through his careless actions, the ones that clearly also hurt Satoru. It’s clear as day that the virginity comment had made him insane, as he’d roughly taken you on that wall, and damn if you weren’t still in pain, but you could go again, you would let him destroy you, if only that meant he’d touch you.

Look at you.

Hold you.

Kiss you like he is now. The kiss is broken only by the sound of your own moan, a soft little whine of pleasure that slips out as his hand slides down your body, cupping your bruised ass, reminding you of how he’d taken you so fiercely against the wall. It’s like a brand, a mark that says you’re his, and it makes you want him all over again, despite lingering pain.

“I’m sorry for hurting you.” He whispers, leaning back and staring up at you, and you can feel his regret.

“It’s okay, Satoru. I’m okay.” You murmur, standing closer now. “I’m fine, really, you’re much more hurt than me.”

“I don’t want to hurt you.” He blinks back emotion with snowy white lashes, and you shake your head, caressing his shoulders, hating how they’re bruising before your eyes.

“You didn’t. Promise. I’d go again.” He smirks finally, the serious moment dissipated for a moment.

“So slutty always for me, aren’t you?” His words send a pang of desire, resonating in every way through your sore body. You nod, shyly, and he huffs a bit, his chest heaving. “She needs a break, I really have been wrecking her.”

“Cocky little shit.” He chuckles, then gasps, holding his stomach, and you frown at that, concerned.

“Hospital maybe?”

“Nah fuck that. I have pain killers from back in the day getting some root canal thing, can you grab ‘em? Under the sink.” You bend back down, rummaging through prescriptions now.

“Root canal? Your teeth are so pretty.”

“I have a sweet tooth. Bad. Must be why I love tasting that pussy.” You’re blushing hard core, thighs shaking as you stay squatted down, and you peek over the cabinet at him, and his charming smirk.

“You’re too much. Swear.”

“I know baby that’s why it hurt you so bad.”

“Toru! Tell me what I’m looking for.”

“Should say percocet.” You find the bottle still relatively full, and pull it out, pouring one into your hand and handing it to him. He holds his hand out more. “Stingy nurse, gimme two.”

“Oh fine. Let me get some water.” You run to the kitchen, noticing the disarray of the clean house after Satoru’s fight, but you shake it off, running the fancy silver faucet and filling a glass for him. You come back and hand him it, but he just hands you the pills back. “What?”

“Give 'em to me, nurse.” You roll your eyes, shaking your head then. “What, let a hurt man enjoy a fantasy.”

“Oh fine, open up.” He opens his mouth, that tongue that does insane things to your body and psyche sticking out, and you pop a pill on there, white and oblong. “Close and drink.”

He does exactly as you order, while one of his hands grips your bruising ass tightly, making you feel a mix of desire and pain. Desire and pain, it was all you can think to describe what you’re feeling lately, what you feel for Satoru Gojo. In the brief moments where he’s like this, opening to you, you feel so much hope, but it’s also terrifying and new.

What is this between you both?

It can’t be fucking normal.

It’s tilted the entire world on its axis, as if you don’t have the same gravity anymore, it’s all being pulled towards him, like he’s this black hole and you’re just matter circling around it. Fuck if you don’t want to just get sucked into it, to let yourself dissappear in it.

“Next one.” You manage to say, and he opens again, you place it on his tongue, and then you hold the cool glass for him, condensation cool on your palm, as his full lips sit on the rim of the glass. “Only you can make drinking water hot.”

You just said that huh?

He chuckles at that, holding his ribs then, and his endless blue eyes stare up at you, fuck you’re so close, you can feel the energy humming through you both. He carefully kisses your lips, sighing against your mouth, one of his hands still over yours on the glass.

“Can you stay all day? I’ll make it up to this pussy for being mean.” He teases, and for once it’s so genuine, it’s like he’s truly asking you to stay, and fuck you want to, you want to never leave. You brush his hair back, your nails raking gently across his scalp, and he moans, eyes fluttering shut.

“I wish I could. Work, ugh. Tonight is a big night because of the holiday tomorrow, too, so I will make good money.” He frowns a bit.

“You like being a bartender?”

“I went to school for creative writing. So.”

“Ooh… the shit degree.”

You giggle at that, nodding. “It is not one that’s gonna do me any good. It’s pretty on my wall I guess. I am doing this in the hopes one day I have a book that hits it big, but I don’t have much time with working.”

“I didn’t know you wrote.” He says softly, and you nervously bite your lip, studying him carefully.

“It’s not like we ever got to know each other. Um… aside from physically now.” You murmur, feeling yourself heat up as he studies you. “Satoru, this sounds stupid but, wanna go on like… a date?”

He blinks then, and you feel you’ve gone too far, you’ve overstepped surely, you don’t even know if he-

“You asking me out, short stuff?” He pulls you against him, wincing at the pain on his chest, but he doesn’t let you pull back. You nod, tentatively. “Couldn’t wait for me to ask, huh?”

“I just think we owe it to ourselves to get to know each other. I mean clearly you know my body-”

“Perfect body.”

“Toru…” You’re melting, at those words from him, you struggle to remember what you were even thinking. “Thank you. But, like let’s go on one. If you want… if you just want it to be sex, I get it. But I think maybe we should try? Go ahead and laugh.”

“I’m not laughing, that shit hurts right now.” It’s your turn to laugh, earning a glare from him. “Okay, a date. When and where?”

“Can we go to a movie? Out to eat? Normal date things.”

“Boring.”

“What!”

“Mmm, I’ll plan it. And I’ll pick you up, can’t have you embarrass me in that terrible beetle of yours.” You glare back now, and he’s smirking so charming you can’t even stay mad at him. “Be nice to me and I’ll buy you a car.”

“What!? Crazy talk. Stop that. I make good money, not Satoru Gojo money but good enough.”

“Mmhmm. So get your little ass ready to leave, before I pay you triple what you make to let me fuck you all day.”

Fuck.

***

Satoru’s words linger in your mind that night, as you start your shift at the nightclub you work at, with your best friend Choso. Choso and you had been friends for a couple years now, both having the same shifts, he always protected you from rowdy drunk men, and you protected him from some of the thirsty girls.

Choso was gorgeous, tall, he had tattoos and piercings and dressed goth, a contrast to your bright pink, a clash of aesthetics. Women went crazy over him, and why not, he was beautiful. He was also quiet, smart and sweet. He'd even been the only man you'd had any experience with until now.

Six months ago

“Choso… um are you sure? You don't want me to do anything back?” You both closed the bar that night, and Choso shocked you, asking if he could eat you out. Out of nowhere. As a friend!?

“You look like you could use some relief, Barbie.” That was his nickname for you, the first time he met you he said it, and it stuck. “I’d be lying if I didn't say I'd love to give it to you. I can just finger you if you're uncomfy?” He's holding you, whispering in your ear, as he's gently caressing your pussy over your pink lace panties. You're soaking them under his touch.

“I've never really… I'm a virgin, Choso.” He pulls back, black brows raised, his lazy amethyst eyes drinking you in.

“A virgin? You…”

“I've been with a couple girls but we didn't go that far. Um. I've not done anything but kiss men.” He exhaled, blinking a bit and you gasp when he presses his lips on yours, he tastes so sweet, his lips pressure perfection. You grind your hips up eagerly.

“I was just going to please you, little Barbie, I wasn't going that far. I wouldn't do that, not in a relationship myself.” You exhale, running a hand around the back of his neck. Choso had his hair done up in pigtailed buns and fuck if he wasn't stupidly cute with them.

“I don't wanna ever ruin our friendship. You're so important to me.” He truly was, you all took care of each other, he was your Wednesday Addams to your Bianca Barclay. You'd held him as he cried over his breakup of someone he loved. He held you as you got rejected by your crush. You all watched movies and played video games. You love him to pieces.

“It won't, ever. Just let me take care of you, okay?” You nod eagerly, as you all stand in the break room of the eerily quiet bar, and then Choso is on his knees, looking up at you with those puppy dog eyes, asking for permission. 

“Yes, please. Um… tell me if I shaved good?” He laughs a bit, you can tell he's as nervous as you. Choso has only been with two girls from what he's said. He slides your panties down your thighs, exhaling as he sees you, and you go to close your thighs, so embarrassed, but he holds them firm, shaking his head.

“You're so beautiful down there. I promise.” You blink back emotion, then gasp when he kisses you there. “You missed a little.”

He spreads your lips open, looking inside, as your thighs are on his shoulders and you're now sitting on one of the chairs. You giggle. “Did I now?”

“Need me to shave you, barbie? What's a bestie for? Oh wait… this.” He flicks his tongue up your slit, and you cry out, back arching at how good it feels. “Getting the homie off.”

“Choso! Ah… oh my… Choso…” His tongue ring hits your exposed clit, and you're soaking his face at the sensation, as the ball of it flicks up and down the underside of your clit.

He's moaning as he sweetly drinks you up, as his tongue lavishes you up, his thick finger teasing your entrance, until it sinks in, and your wetness pours down his endless amount of black rings. He's doing things that you've never felt, and you're too wet. Too…

“Choso I'm sorry, I never get this… it's too messy.” He chuckles at that, looking up at you with that sexy face. Fuck he's your best friend what are you doing!?

“It's hot, I promise. I like how wet you are.” He murmurs and you're flushed, looking away for a moment.

“Promise you're eating me out as a friend?” He smirks, nodding, kissing you for a moment, and you taste yourself on him. “Can't lose you.”

“You won't. You're my best friend. And fuck if your pussy isn't the yummiest thing I've tasted. Can I continue Barbie?” He's smirking, his soft, quiet voice soothing as his finger slides back in, making you throb around it.

“Yes, please.” You cry out as he works a finger, hitting the little spot that you've not found yet, you see stars as his tongue ring is flicking your clit, and you're yanking his pigtails now, screaming out as he lazily pushes you over the edge.

He drinks you up, as a best friend of course, and you're grinding on his face, as a best friend.

“Ch-Choso! Best friend-ah- ever!”

Present day 

So you may have sucked his dick as a friend (well, well before you met Suguru of course) and he may have ate you out again, as a friend. Maybe a few times. But both of you never took it too far, and somehow you did stay friends, though of course things were a little different. You all never touched again after Suguru, you both had no problem just being friends again.

It was one of the things that made you think you could be poly with Suguru, being able to have fun but not have feelings exactly. But Suguru clearly had feelings for Shoko, and now you had feelings for Satoru, and all in a span of a couple days, you've been with two men at once, and you've had your heart crushed. But then… also there is blooming feelings for toxic, insane Satoru Gojo now.

Fuck.

When you met Suguru Geto, Choso hated him on sight, and you really weren't sure why. When Suguru asked you out, and you told him, as you always did, he's your best friend, he was tense. He'd been out smoking a cigarette as you'd both talked that night, and now his words make sense.

“Something not real about him, Barbie. And I want you to date, to be happy, I mean I'll miss tasting you-”

“Choso!”

He flicked his cigarette with black nails, smirking. “It'd never work with us Barbie. You're too pink.”

“And you're too emo. Gerard way of the modern era.”

“Just be careful. I can't place what it is. But if he hurts you, I'll kick his ass. Yeah?”

“Love you, Cho.” You kiss his cheek, and he hugs you with one arm.

“Love you, Barbie.”

“Promise he's a good guy. He makes me feel so beautiful and special.”

“Well good, you should. You are.” He taps your nose and pouts a bit.

“What is it?”

“Nothing. Just worried about you, Barbie. He seems experienced and you're not. You're younger too. Just take care of yourself with him.”

“That sounds so eerie to say, Cho.” He flicks his cigarette out, sighing and looking down at you.

“I hope I'm wrong.”

He wasn't wrong. Fuck he was so right, but he didn't even know one tenth of what was actually happening. Now he pinches your waist just a bit, giving you a soft smile before flipping a bottle in talented hands, to the oohs and ahhs of the ladies at the bar currently.

“How are you, Barbie? Everything okay?” He shouts over the loud music, blaring so loud it vibrates your body. You sigh, nodding. He frowns. “You’re lying.”

“I’ll talk about it later. Promise.” You put a hand on his strong shoulder, and he sighs too, nodding.

“You better.”

The shift is busy as fuck, brutal, as endless amount of drunk people come up and your wrist hurts from shaking drinks. You’re making bank though, many people are tipping, and certain men always tip well, chit chatting with you. You carry on as if everything is fine, brushing sweat from your brow and then luckily one of the girls who also works comes in.

“Take a break, love.” She says, and you smile gratefully. You step back to the break room, sliding exhausted into the chair there. Choso is in there before you know it, shutting the door behind him and sitting next to you.

“Hey Cho.” He smiles a bit, dark eyes taking in your exhaustion.

“Hey Barbie. Miss you. How's the boyfriend?”

“Ugh. That.” Choso blinks long black lashes at that, tilting his head curiously at you. “We’re done.”

“What? That’s so fast since you just said shit was perfect … you just said you loved this guy?”

You bury your face in your hands, grimacing. “He was so fake, like everything about him was some lie. Some game.”

“The poly stuff got confusing?”

“Shit, you could say that. So… okay we all played, I played with a guy too.” You’re blushing, and Choso smirks a little at you.

“Your body count is two now?”

“Oh gosh. Yeah.”

“You’re growing!”

“Hush.” You shove at him, giggling a bit at his wiggling brows. “Okay so he also brought a girl, but she’s his like high school/college love!?”

“What, why bring her then? That’s messy.”

“Yeah. And at about four am I heard them fucking.” Choso grimaces at that. “He was saying she was ‘the most perfect’ and he was supposed to be in bed with me.”

“Holy fuck, are you serious?”

“Mmhmm. So… well Cho, I fucked his best friend.”

Choso bursts into a throaty laughter, hand on his forehead as he studies you curiously. “What? My little Barbie is that savage?’

“Sure the fuck am. But I didn’t do it to get him back, it was… I don’t know, I really felt something with him. But, he’s kinda a psycho.”

“Is this the mean one? The asshole?” You nod, and he rolls his eyes, sinking his long body into the chair now. “You have shit taste, Barbie.”

“Hey, I sucked your cock you know. So.”

“Shit taste.”

You break out into laughter, and fuck it feels good, to talk to someone, after having been trapped in such an insane situation for the past forty-eight hours. Fuck your whole life has flipped upside down. Choso takes your hand then, brushing his rough thumbs gently on your knuckles, showing his support.

“What are you gonna do? Tell me you’re done with Suguru.”

“I’m done. You were right about-” The door opens then, and Suguru Geto walks in with the girl taking over for you. Choso stands, the chair screeching on the old wooden floorboards as he does, standing right in front of you.

“What the fuck are you doing here?” Choso’s protecting you from Suguru’s view, and you tense as you hear Suguru’s voice, hearing the girl skirting away. She couldn't know you all broke up.

“You fucking her too?” Choso walks up to Suguru then, yanking him by his fancy shirt, big and broad as he stands next to him, damn near bigger than Suguru. You stand up now too, earning Suguru’s dark gaze, his smirk.

“I’ve never had sex with her, but if I were lucky enough to, I wouldn't cheat on her, wouldn’t down her. Who the fuck do you think you are?” Choso speaks through gritted teeth now, and Suguru frowns at that.

“I came to talk, I’m sorry. You’re clearly in love, huh?”

“I swear to God-”

“Cho, it’s okay. I’ll talk to him.” You come to put a gentle little hand on Choso’s strong back, he turns to you and softens instantly, shaking his head though.

“No. Can’t let you alone. Don’t trust him.” Suguru holds up his hands.

“Just came to talk. She’ll be all yours in a few minutes.” Choso lets him go, then looks back to you, his full lips tense in a thin line.

“I’m right here if you need me, Barbie.” He pats your head and you hug him, smiling gratefully, before he shoulder checks Suguru, shutting the door behind him quietly, despite his clear anger.

Now you’re left with him, with Suguru Geto.

His face is a little swollen in places, and there’s a cut on his lip, but relatively he escaped the fight okay. He puts his hands in his pockets, looking down at you then, and his expression is unreadable. You feel uncomfortable with his gaze, with being alone, but you don’t show it, you stand tall, shoulders back, chin notched up.

“What is it, Suguru?” You ask softly, and he takes a couple steps to you, until your feet are almost touching.

“I came to talk some sense into you. I know you’re hurt, but you’ve now hurt me as well, and I just want to fix this.”

“There’s nothing to fix.”

“So are you aware your best friend loves you?” You roll your eyes, you hear this a lot, no one can seem to understand the bond you both have.

“We are best friends.”

“Never did anything?”

“We did before I met you. Nothing since. Unlike you, I abided by all of your stupid rules you never followed.” Suguru glares now, and he’s even closer, until you can feel his breath on your skin. What once excited you now turns you off.

“Satoru is always going for what I want, this is no different. Do you really think he wants you?” Suguru’s intent is clear, and it hits its mark, you feel it like a punch to the gut, like the air is sucked out of you.

“What… does that mean?” You manage to ask, and he smirks then, caressing your cheek and filling you with nausea.

“Look at where you work, what you drive, where you live. Do you think that is acceptable to someone like Satoru? The Gojo clan is the richest family in Tokyo.” His words hit hard, but you just shove them down, you don’t even know Gojo yet, and you have to give him that chance.

“You’re just upset, and want to hurt me more.” You murmur, and he chuckles, but it doesn’t reach those exhausted eyes. “Go home, get some sleep. Have you slept?”

“No, I haven’t, I can’t get my mind off you.” He’s leaning in too close now, so you stop him with hands to his chest, he looks down at them with a raised brow.

“You should have sucked it up and cuddled. Wouldn’t be here, would we, if you could keep your word.”

“You’re a lot more unforgiving than I thought.”

“Am I, Suguru? I let the first time with Shoko go, the ignoring me part, the clearly lusting after her part. I let the night with Satoru go. It wasn’t until you directly ruined every rule you ever made that I finally left. I’d say I’m pretty forgiving.” His brows go lower over his eyes, as his fists clench at his sides.

“Should I not have stared at or enjoyed Shoko?”

“I didn’t say that-”

“You’re so narcissistic.” You snort in laughter at that.

“Me!? Me!” You can’t control the laughter, as you see he’s dead serious, projecting himself onto you as if that could work. “That’s rich, Suguru. Me, narcissistic, that’s such projection.”

“You so badly want to be the prettiest.” You shake your head, as his words try to stab at you, but you choke it down, stepping closer to him now.

“Not at all, but in a relationship you are supposed to feel that way, you are supposed to feel the most desired. It doesn’t mean other women aren’t beautiful, and I had no problem with the other girls and you. So you can say that all you want, but it’s false and you know it. Now, can you let me get to work?”

You go to push past him then, and he’s gripping your waist tightly, making you wince as his fingers dig in, and he’s looming over you, mouth on your ear. “Ah, was it the fact that I was too easy with you, too sweet? Did you need to be treated more like a slut like Satoru does?”

“Suguru, don’t… don’t please.” You whisper, and he chuckles, wrapping one arm around your waist and pinning your back on him.

“You’ll see Satoru isn’t loyal, that he doesn’t even care for you like that. You’re just a game to him.”

“Like I was to you!?” You bite out, scowling back up at him. Suguru’s hand grips your breast, as he pins your arms down with that arm.

“I did have feelings for you, even if it didn’t start that way.”

“You finally admit it. Let me go.”

“I admit it started that way, but then I did truly have feelings. And look how quickly you drop it all for Satoru? And I bet you’re fucking your friend. And I’d still want you, even so.”

“I’m not! And I don’t want you to want me. I want you to go.” You struggle in his hold now, and he’s nipping at your ear, tickling it in the worst way, as you keep wriggling until he’s moaning softly, making you freeze.

“When Satoru’s bored of you, when he finds someone prettier, skinnier, taller, richer than you…” You freeze completely, feeling tears start to gather in your eyes now, as he tries to hurt you, as he knows where. “He’ll leave so quickly. And then I won’t take you back, you’ll be too damaged then.”

Now you’re sobbing, as he hits every insecurity you have, as you feel the room enclosing on you, and he lets you go, but you don’t move, you can’t move. Stuck by all the memories, of your parents leaving you so young, of being a loner in school, finally getting popular but never being wealthy in a rich city, never really fitting in. Of finally feeling loved by the man behind you.

The man who wrecks it all.

He exhales, as he realizes what he’s done, and his hands slide down your body slowly. “I love your body, I love your face, I don’t care what you make. Just three days ago he told you you’re not up to caliber. What’s changed? Nothing, you’re still not, and you won’t ever be.”

You continue sobbing softly, as he cooes at you, as Suguru Geto thrives off making you feel small, pathetic, and it works.

Were you good enough for Gojo?

Were you good enough for anyone?

“Oh Princess, even though you’ve been a little whore, I’ll gladly take you back, I know it’s just because I hurt you.” He slinks around you, and you’re immobilized by your pain. He smirks at the tears in your eyes. “I wonder if his cum is still slipping out, bet you liked it, didn’t you?”

“Suguru… I’m sorry for that, but- ah!” He’s slid his hand up your skirt then, roughly yanking your panties to the side, and you panic then, trying to back away, only for him to pull you in a tight grip, slipping a thick finger inside you. “Don’t!”

“Ah, you’re always wet, aren’t you? A slut hmm? Maybe I should fuck his cum out of you, put my own in there.” You wriggle frantically then, as the thoughts of him doing this hit you, no he isn’t like that is he?

No way.

“Please stop. I know you’re mad, but stop. Or I’ll tell Satoru.” Suguru scowls then, letting you go, wiping your essence off on your own skirt then.

“Tell him what? Hmm?”

“That you’re touching me when I said no. Leave, now, go get sleep and try to be… less of a piece of shit.” You tremble everywhere as you speak, shoving at him, then Choso walks back in, and Suguru’s mood changes, his eyes change, his lips… then you realize it.

He plays people.

To hide himself.

“Ah, guess our talk is over, Princess.” He brushes your hair back, making you smack at his hand, and then he turns to face a furious Choso, though he didn’t know what happened, he was right here, and Suguru just looks at you. “You’ve got like three guys after you, huh?”

“I don’t fucking like you.” Choso says, plain as day, and you smile a bit at that, tremulously.

“I can tell. Bye Princess. See you soon.” At that Suguru saunters out, and you nearly collapse, if not for Choso grabbing you.

“What happened? Please tell me. I’ll kill him if he-”

“Could you just hug me?” You whisper, and he gulps, nodding, wrapping you in his warm embrace, as you start to break out in tears.

What just fucking happened?

What had he…

“Please tell me, please. I’ll protect you.” Choso murmurs, and you hear the emotion in his voice. “You’ll always be my best friend, no matter what. Let me take care of you.”

“Oh, Cho… I… I…” You can’t speak, you can’t function, as he pats your back, and you don’t know if you can tell your best friend, you don’t know if you can tell anyone, you don’t even know if you’re good enough.

Did you deserve that?

“Barbie… please talk. Let me take you home?”

“Um… yes. Please.” Choso leaves for a moment, to gather both of your things and tell the boss, and your mind is blank, your heart is shattered, you can’t even compute what Suguru had just done. How he’d touched you. The cruel things he had said to you.

The horrible way they make you feel.

Your phone buzzes on the table, and with shaky hands you pick it up. You see it’s Satoru, and you exhale, at least it was not Suguru, but how could you tell him, would you even tell him, should you? Crush his hopes about his best friend, who had just touched you when you’d said not to.

Toru: Everything okay tonight? Miss telling you I hate you.

You manage a watery smile at that.

You: Bad night. I’m heading home early. I’ll talk tomorrow.

Toru: Do you need to come here?

You: No. I’m okay.

Toru: Fuck will you tell me you get home safe? So that I know I can tell you I hate you tomorrow?

Does Satoru care? You think so.

You: Yes, I will.

You set the phone down, and soon Choso is taking you home, quiet, giving you space, and you’re looking out the window, your hand hanging out gently, feeling the air pour between your fingers. You knew Suguru was just angry, but him touching you like that made you feel disgusting, and you can’t wait to wash it off.

How could you ever be with Satoru?

How, if that is his best friend? 

Would he leave you alone?

“Barbie… you can tell me anything you know.” Choso says, and you lean close to him, head on his shoulder for a moment.

“Thank you, Cho. Can I rest a minute?” He nods, and you do just that, for just a moment you shut your eyes, as the car zips through the street, as the wind blows through.

Could you tell him?

Could you tell anyone?

Suguru’s words won’t stop ringing in your head.

How would any of this be okay?

This was a rough one!!!! <3

Chapter 6

Ao3:

https://archiveofourown.org/works/58179796/chapters/148138651

[bestiesenpai]

sukuna bridgerton au

If you get mad at me for this then you’re no fun, he’s a little ooc in this but im world building! I intend to write more! Mini blurbs/fics and build a whole universe! Gosh! Tried to be accurate to regency era stuff but also took liberty with some things 6k words

part two — part three -- part four

Femme reader, you’re a proper young miss aint ya kekw

You are perfect. The Queen's diamond of the season and someone everyone knew by name. There is nothing you have not been prepared for, no social setting that you are unable to make your own. Since you were born your parents had instilled every rule in society onto you, every skill a young lady should have and even some men have as well, to cover every possible avenue.

Perfect indeed, with not only needlework and the pianoforte, but you spoke more than one language and were delightfully decent at drawing. Learning the harp and more advanced bookkeeping skills were on your current roster, the governess keeping not only you but your siblings busy before the beginning of all the balls and suitors calling for your attention.

“(Y/N), there are a great deal of callers outside waiting for your attention.” Your mother debriefed you at the start of the day, after having the maids dress you to her exact specifications. “You remember what I taught you, yes?”

“Yes. Be courteous and make sure to smile, but not too much or they might get the wrong idea. I shouldn’t appear to know too much about one subject, lest they get discouraged from speaking.”

“Perfect.” Snapping her fingers happily, your mother put a hand on your shoulder and sighed, smoothing down the sleeve of your dress. “I am so proud of the person you’ve become, (Y/N). I hope you know that.”

“I do, mother.” Hugging her tightly, you steeled your nerves. She had done the best possible for you your whole life to ensure you would be ready for the society you live in and to hopefully elevate your station in life, one that could afford you even more comfort than you had now.

“Bring the first one in.” Your father announced, ushering the two of you to come to a stand as the doors were opened and the first gentleman of the day came in, a modest but endearing bouquet of flowers in his hands. Making sure to curtsy immediately, you welcomed him in and brought him to the sofas where a proper conversation could be had.

And that went on for ages, one after the other, until you feared your voice would go hoarse from all the talking and fake laughter you had to do. It wasn’t that the men that came to see you were bad in any way, just that you hoped for a bit more excitement upon entering the season. There had yet to be anyone that swept you off your feet, made you wish they stayed just a bit longer and looked at you a bit more.

“Mother, may we stop for today?” You were unable to hold your posture anymore and your back bent considerably, allowing you to relax and look out the window at the sun slowly fading from afternoon to early evening.

“We may. Send the rest away, let them schedule for another time.” Motioning to a footman, your mother conceded to your wishes. “It’s about time for dinner, is it not?”

“Mr. Downey, that old man called upon you?” The next day, a chorus of giggles could be heard in the park from you and your friends. You were recounting all the visitors you had, not sparing a single detail.

“Yes!” You laughed, unable to contain yourself as you strode arm in arm with them around the park lake. “But Father wouldn’t let him step a single toe into the parlor, told him to go down to the alleys he’s usually found in!”

“Oh dear!” Another round of shouts and laughs left the group, boisterous as ever as you all were excited for the upcoming ball at the end of the week being held by the Queen herself. Her royal advisor had seen to it that you were personally handed an invitation at the modiste this morning, letting everyone see the fanfare and the adoration the Queen so had for you.

“(Y/N), you really are Her Majesty’s favorite diamond!” Someone exclaimed, squeezing your hand tightly. “I can’t remember the last time she did something like this!”

“I wonder what it could all mean.” Another girl wonders aloud, making you all come to a stop and think. “I bet there’s some aristocrat in town she wants to impress!”

“Could you imagine!” You jump up slightly, your mind beginning to race. “And me as Her Majesty’s precious diamond at the center…” A flurry of giggles left the group and you began to walk again, chattering excitedly about the future.

The time for the ball came and you were dressed in the finest silks and jewels the modiste had to offer, and a dainty necklace laid on your neck adorned with small diamonds of its own. Butterflies arose in your stomach on the carriage ride over and by the time you arrived you worried about fainting upon standing.

“Stay close.” Your mother tells you, keeping your arm in the crook of hers as you enter the party behind your father, your other siblings behind you as well. Entering the main ballroom, you try not to openly gawk at the grandiosity of it all; there was a large orchestra in the middle of the room, peacocks milling about the garden just outside the open doors and too many servants to count carrying hors d'oeuvres that looked absolutely divine.

“A drink, miss?” One of them approached with a tray of cocktails which you swiftly accepted, eager to fit in with the other patrons. Taking a sip, you were nearly knocked back from the strong bite of alcohol and almost let your composure slip.

“(Y/N).” Your mother squeezed you in warning, never letting the smile slip from her face as her tone conveyed high stress. “Do not mess this up.” And those were her final words to you before you were ushered further into the room.

Quickly righting yourself, you followed your mothers steps in introducing you to everyone and making sure to show you off to eligible bachelors and their families of high titles. Your heart pounded upon meeting earls and marquess’, forcing yourself to not appear too awestruck of a title; appearing perfectly pleased at the information and not showing favor one way or another.

“Time to greet Her Majesty.” Your mother whispered, subtly gesturing to the entourage entering the room and causing quite a stir amongst your fellow partygoers. As she took her seat, you couldn’t help but notice the two empty chairs seated behind the queen and how she looked miffed that one was not being filled upon her arrival.

Milling about so as not to appear too eager, roughly five minutes passed before you made your way over to the queen. The drink you’d been nursing was finally empty and you could feel the burning effects of the alcohol take place, making your face burn and palms sweaty beneath your gloves.

“Your Majesty.” Speaking for the both of you, your mother led you into a curtsy. Standing straight, you let your eyes wander to the chairs, wondering who could be missing from such an event.

“My diamond.” Her Majesty reached out her hand which you instantly took, softly kissing the skin and giving another curtsy.

“Your Majesty.” You responded in kind, giving her a somewhat nervous smile. “This is a beautiful party.” Looking around, you finally let your true feelings show for a moment as you properly soaked it all in. “I am amazed at how you manage to throw such exquisite soirees each season.”

“Oh how you flatter me!” A light chuckle left Her Majesty’s lips and she allowed you to look around a bit more before speaking again. “Tell me, have any suitors caught your eye?”

“Well…” Looking back at your mother, you let out a breathless chuckle. “None have truly captured me, Your Majesty. Some interest me and others vex me, but no one has yet to steal my heart.”

“That is very pleasing.” She grinned, knowing something you did not. “Very pleasing indeed.” Waving over one of her attendants, she whispered something into their ear and off they went as if they had never been there at all. “Take to the floor, my dear, I shall call upon you soon again.”

“Yes, thank you, Your Majesty.” Curtsying again, you and your mother left to go enjoy the party. It wasn’t clear what the Queen had in mind but every time you looked over your shoulder you found her eyes on you and that made you nervous enough to get another drink and not care about the taste.

“Mother, I must use the restroom.” Hardly finished with the glass, you felt an upset in your stomach that couldn’t be ignored. Waiting just enough time for her to excuse you from the group you’d been speaking with, you rushed out of the room and down the hall, thankfully guided by servants to the nearest restroom.

Relieving yourself rather quickly, you were in no hurry to return to the party. This was the first time you were in the palace and your curiosity couldn’t help but get the better of you. Looking over your shoulder a few times, you walked as casually as possible down the hall in the opposite direction. Marveling at the grandeur, you hardly took note of where you were going until a loud thud brought you out of your thoughts. Looking around, you realized you were quite far from the party, the sounds of the orchestra a distant buzz.

“Fuck!” The vulgarity of the word along with its suddenness nearly knocked you to the ground. Grabbing at your necklace, you shuddered at the next few words that came out; this wasn’t proper for a lady to hear at all. Locating the source from an open doorway, you intended on closing it until you caught a glimpse of what was inside.

A completely naked woman was being pinned to a bookshelf by a man with his pants around his thighs, the violent motion of his hips leaving nothing to the imagination. She looked to be in pain, wincing and whining every so often as the man just kept going. He took so little notice of her, in fact, that her head hit the shelves a few times and although she cried out he didn’t falter.

“Fuck!” He yelled again, grabbing the woman's hair and forcing her head to the side. He did finally slow down and straighten up a bit, finally allowing you to see his pink hair. “Fucking whore.” And just like that, the relative slowness was gone and back was this man's brutality. Forcing the woman to walk over to the desk a bit closer to you, you quickly ducked out of the way before you saw something you shouldn’t. It was quiet for a moment and there was a shuffling sound before the door was ripped open further and you couldn't help the shout you let out.

“Who the fuck- oh. Oh?” The man was clearly ready for a fight but upon seeing you, his face changed into a sly smile. He at least had the decency to dress himself, though you kept your eyes trained onto his face and occasionally the ceiling to preserve your modesty. “Well, aren’t you a ravishing creature…come to join the fun?”

“Absolutely not!” Leaping back at his proposition, your face curled in disgust. He laughed loudly, fully taking in your appearance.

“No of course not, why would you? You are a lady, so prim and proper.” He stretched the word out, almost mocking you with the connotation. “You belong at the party, Miss, so run along before someone catches us alone and we’ll be forced to marry.” Raising his hand in goodbye, the man left you, laughter still on his lips as he slammed the door closed.

All but running back to the party, you avoided your mother in favor of going out to the garden with a few friends that were thankfully in attendance; a chance to marvel at the peacocks and performers outside would give you a chance to catch your breath and forget about what you’d just seen.

“Miss (Y/N), the Queen calls for you.” A servant notified you just as the air turned a bit too chilly for your liking. Bidding your friends farewell, you made your way inside. The polite smile on your face dropped immediately at seeing just why the queen summoned you.

“Ah, my diamond.” Her affectionate tone forced the smile right back on your face but your eyes stayed glued to the person behind her. There, dressed in the finest fabrics and with his cravat intricately tied, was the man you’d seen earlier. As he stood at the Queen’s motion, you noticed the freshly pressed pants and shiny boots he had on and the dazzling watch dangling from a chain.

“This is my nephew, you might have heard of him. The Crown Prince, Ryomen Sukuna.” As she spoke, the Queen's voice grew louder, drawing the attention of everyone within earshot and even those that didn’t hear. “I’ve invited him here personally just to meet you.” A small smirk adorned her face as she took in the crowd before her and the stir her words caused. And it grew even bigger upon seeing your face, the horrored expression mistaken for overjoy.

“Pleased to make your acquaintance, Miss (Y/N).” Sukuna made a show of bowing deeply to you.

“Come, sit down and chat for a while, won’t you?” Her request was truly a demand and you knew better than to hesitate or question it, so you nodded and did as you were told.

Taking a seat, you kept your body rigid and faced straight ahead, not even giving so much as a glimpse to your side where you could tell the Crown Prince was watching you. You knew it wasn’t proper and that people - your mother especially - were watching to see how you two got on, but you couldn’t bear to turn and have a conversation with the man you’d just seen in such an uncouth position.

“It truly is a pleasure to make your acquaintance.” Sukuna said, a light chuckle on his lips. “Never thought the beauty I saw earlier would end up being the diamond of the season.”

“I believe you’re mistaken! We did not see each other earlier, Your Highness. This is the first time we are meeting.” Turning your head swiftly, you forced a smile onto your face instead of the scowl you wanted to show him.

“Yes, my mistake! Must have been another fair maiden that caught my eye.” Sukuna chuckled, settling into his chair just a bit more. He let a pause hang between you before he spoke again. “Tell me, diamond, do you wish to marry this season?”

“Of course I do.” You nodded, allowing yourself to relax a little as well. “It’s all I’ve been thinking about since I made my debut.”

“And what are you looking for in a husband?”

“I want one that is kind, that is loyal to me and whom I can get along with no matter what. And if he likes the arts such as I do, that would be even better.” An answer that you had rehearsed many times with your mother, the words came out of your mouth smoothly.

“Interesting.” Sukuna nodded, folding his hands over each other. “Now, tell me how you really feel.”

“I-I just did.” Quirking a brow at him, you were unsure why Sukuna required more from you on the matter.

“I can tell those aren’t your real words. Tell me how you truly feel.” His face was neutral but not serious or uncomfortable; he seemed to genuinely want an answer from you.

“I…” It took a while but eventually the thoughts you’d suppressed in favor of your mothers came to the surface and you looked down at your gloved hands. “I want someone I can be myself with, someone I won’t need to put on a mask for. And a husband that can value my privacy and give me my own space.” There was more you wanted to say but you stopped yourself; no use in rambling to the man when you could save it for your diary later.

“That’s good to hear, actually.” His response surprised you and had you turning more towards him.

“Really?” There was a tinge of hope growing inside you, one that said maybe the man from earlier wasn’t who he truly was.

“Yes. I’ll need a wife that can leave me the hell alone.” And with that, the tinge died out and your face fell.

“Wh-what?”

“Yes, as you will undoubtedly hear about later I enjoy some rather…unconventional pastimes and leisurely activities and if we are to be wed I’ll take great joy in the fact that you won’t interfere with that.”

“But I-”

“Oh don’t worry, Miss (Y/N), I will give you all the babies you desire if you so wish, but just know my heart will never belong to just one woman. It’s not the way royalty does it, I’m sure you can understand.” Giving you a tight lipped and condescending smile, Sukuna stood from his chair and excused himself, mentioning something about getting the two of you a drink.

“So, what do you think of my nephew?” The Queen asked when he was out of earshot, turning slightly in her chair to look at you.

“He- he is a good conversationalist.” You forced the words out, hoping that the Queen wouldn’t be able to pick up on how your eyes were growing misty despite your best efforts to blink the tears away. “I quite enjoyed some of the ideas he’s shared with me.”

“Wonderful, darling.” There was a tension in the air, like she knew what had happened between the two of you. But she chose not to say anything, instead turning back around as the orchestra played the next song. “Sukuna.” She caught him as he came back, two glasses in hand.

“Yes?” His eyes flicked to you for a moment.

“Dance with Miss (Y/N), will you? I want her to enjoy the party.” The tension in the air was back and Sukuna nodded and swiftly put the glasses down. Standing before you, he offered you his hand.

“Right this way.”

“Of course.” Inhaling sharply, you forced your feelings down and took his hand, letting him lead you to the dance floor. As the song began to start up, you could feel the eyes on you, watching your every move with the Prince and the chemistry you had when dancing.

“I didn’t mean to upset you.” Sukuna said quietly, his hands resting on your upper back a moment before taking a few steps. “I simply want you to know the truth if you accept the proposal.”

You didn’t respond to him, letting the words soak in. In the moment it had seemed almost cruel that he had spoken to you like that, said those things and dismissed your feelings, hopes and dreams, but thinking about it gave you another perspective. You knew many men in town that had affairs and secret lovers that would never admit it but here was a man that was willing to be honest with you. A man that had no obligation to spare your feelings or protect them.

“Why did you even agree to come then, if that is how you truly feel about marriage?” You finally spoke, looking into his eyes.

“You know as well as I do that we have a responsibility to do this, to get married and play these silly societal games. When my aunt called me I had no choice but to come, you can’t exactly say no to the woman. And I figured why not meet her precious diamond and see what she had to offer, see if I could build the life the world expects of me with her.”

“And what is your verdict?” Sukuna spun you around as you asked and your head laid briefly on his shoulder, catching the scent of his perfume before you were twirled away again.

“I think you’d make a lovely bride, Miss (Y/N). There may be some hardships but I believe we could learn to be happy with each other and our arrangements.” Spinning you a few more times, Sukuna gently helped you to a stop. “I ask you to be aware of what the Queen will ask you soon, what I will be asking you soon. You can always say no.”

“Thank you, Your Highness.” As the dance ended, you curtseyed and excused yourself. Slinking away to the refreshments table, you had nary a chance to sip some lemonade before a few more men approached, asking to write in your dance card.

As the night wore on, you danced with many more suitors and eligible young men about town, some that had already called on you and others that were waiting their turn. Some of them were dukes and earls and even a marquess came to you, but none held as high a title as Sukuna did. And with your parents eyes on you, you knew that was what mattered the most.

Going through everyone in your mind, there wasn’t a doubt that some would definitely be better matches for you than Sukuna in the realms of compatibility and chemistry but none would be as wise a choice as he was. Marrying a crown prince of all people would solidify your station in life forever; you and your family would want for nothing and you’d never have to worry about needing to follow the latest trends in fashion because you would be the one setting them.

“His Highness Prince Sukuna surely took a liking to you tonight.” Your mother was alight on the carriage ride home, fanning herself ardently. “Why, I do believe the Queen intends on you to be married before the season is over!”

“From a baroness to a princess, how marvelous that would be!” Unable to stop his excitement either, your father chimed in. It seemed they had already accepted the Prince's proposal on your behalf even though it hadn’t come yet. You didn’t have the heart to tell them that he wasn’t really a good fit for you, that you worried you’d never be truly happy in the marriage and you’d always feel less than when it came to how he felt about you.

“Delightful indeed.” Was what you said instead, allowing your parents to revel in this moment and trying to convince yourself that it couldn’t be that bad to marry a prince, especially if it meant that one day you’d be a queen.

May 14

Diary, I fear that I won’t be able to back out of this arrangement even if I say no to it like Sukuna said I could. If I say no, I know I will have many other suitors knocking at my door but none as prestigious as he is and I can’t bear to possibly face the disappointment of my family if I deny them this great opportunity.

I know I wouldn’t be the first or the last to enter into a marriage like this but I had truly hoped that I could have escaped that fate and found real love, true love! It’s rare but a girl can dream, especially one named as the Queens diamond. You’d think I’d have more time to decide on who to marry!

I suppose I have no choice but to say yes to this, don’t I? Sukuna said he would give me my privacy, so I can at least continue to write here without fear of being judged. I just wonder what the life of a princess will entail and how many new rules will I be forced to learn?

Here's hoping that we can at least grow to have a liking for each other over time, but I know better than to wait around for love.

XX

It was a few days after the ball before you heard word from either Sukuna or the Queen. You knew it was coming but the anxiety of waiting had you pouring too much energy into the other men that called you.

“A visitor for Miss (Y/N) has arrived.” It was announced one afternoon, immediately kicking your heart into overdrive. It was a good thing you had felt the need to dress a little nicer today as your visitor presented himself, none other than the prince.

“Your Highness!” Your mother exclaimed, overjoyed and forcing your siblings to stand as well and greet him. They all bowed or curtseyed, some too young to understand exactly who they were greeting.

“Good day to you all.” Sukuna gave a small bow in return, eyeing up your family before turning to you. “Miss (Y/N), I was hoping we might promenade today around the park? The weather is quite lovely and there are a fair amount of swans out there I’m told.” His offer surprised you, you were sure he was going to ask for your hand right then and there.

“That would be lovely.” You nodded, looking back at your mother who would no doubt chaperone this outing. “Allow me to grab my purse and a shawl.” Excusing yourself, it took no less than five minutes for you to be ready and heading out the house with Sukuna by your side, your entire family not but five feet behind you.

“I’m surprised you called upon me today.” You said upon reaching the park, waving to a few friends who were also on dates. “I was certain that the next time I saw you there would be a ring put upon my finger.”

“Young Miss, please have more faith in me. I thought it only right to court you as the others have, to see if we are truly to be a good match or not.” Sukuna put a hand over his heart in jest.

“Was that your idea or the Queens?”

“I’ll be honest it was her idea, but I have no problem going along with it. It’s only right that we get to know each other a bit more before we are wed.”

“You talk so certainly that I’ll say yes! Who said I wanted to marry you?” His arrogance was starting to annoy you, and the fact that he couldn’t even feign that he was the one interested in learning more about you irritated you to no end.

“Please, would you even think of saying no?” Sukuna quirked a brow at you as you came to a stop to admire a pair of swans. “I am the best match you have to make, one that would elevate your status so highly it would make your head spin. And beside…” He trailed off, looking around at the people in the park. “This sorry lot you associate with aren’t exactly highbrow to begin with.”

“That’s enough!” You shouted, taking a step back from him. A few curious looks were sent your way and you could see your mother start to approach from the corner of your eye before your father stopped her. “Do not dare speak of my friends in such a manner. What would you know of being highbrow anyway, what with the pastimes you partake in!”

“Miss (Y/N), I did not mean to upset you.” Sukuna spoke a little louder for the inquiring minds around you. “Please accept my apology.” And he bowed his head deeply in a show of submission.

“Do not mock me.” You hissed, crossing your arms and turning back to the lake. “I can’t believe I thought you could be a real gentleman.”

“Oh, but I can be.” Resuming his previous position, Sukuna squared his shoulders.

“Only when others are watching though, right?” You began walking again, letting Sukuna fall into step beside you. As a relative quiet fell over you two, you looked at everyone else walking about, seemingly so happy with their matches. A pang of jealousy hit you upon seeing a group of your girl friends out with their matches, laughing happily and getting to enjoy a true love match instead of whatever you were stuck in now.

There was little conversation between the two of you, but to the outside world it looked as if you were just taking a quiet stroll and letting the sounds of nature surround you. Anyone looking in would think that you’re content just being in each other's presence and don’t need words to communicate.

“Let’s stop at a cafe, I’m parched.” You announced, suddenly spotting the building across the street.

“Yes, let's.” Sukuna agreed immediately, following your lead. Opening the door for you and your family, Sukuna made a show of buying everyone something, even your father. With your family scattered about the shop, you and Sukuna took a seat by the window, a place where everyone could walk by and see you together.

“How do you like your parfait?” He asked, sipping on the plain coffee he got himself. Your mother insisted he get a croissant as well and he pulled a piece off and ate it.

“It’s delicious.” With fresh in season fruit throughout, it was a sweet treat you didn’t know you’d been craving. “Thank you.”

“Tell me what it is you like to do for fun.” Leaning back in his chair, Sukuna peered over his glass at you. You felt the urge to correct him on his posture but held back, knowing he would probably just laugh at you.

“I’ve recently taken up the harp and I quite enjoy it, it can be such a calming instrument. I also enjoy the pianoforte, though recently I’ve taken up reading a new book.”

“Reading is quite boring, is it not?” Sukuna smirked at you, enjoying how you fought to keep your expression neutral. “I can’t remember the last time I read.”

“I’m surprised you can read at all.” You rolled your eyes, finding small gratification in how he laughed.

“Me too!” Taking a hearty bite out of his pastry, Sukuna grinned at you, showing the sharp edge of his canines. “I think I’ll like having you as a wife.”

“You shouldn’t be so confident in my acceptance of your proposal, Your Highness.” With a warning tilt to your voice, you took a sip of tea. “I can very well say no to your whole courtship right now and be done with it.”

“But you and I both know you won’t. You wouldn't want to risk the ire of the Queen or your family. And neither would I, Miss (Y/N). I’m tired of being hounded to find a wife and you are the easiest decision ever made for me.”

“You could at least pretend you’re interested in me.” He had a point, you knew little people that went against what the Queen wanted and weren’t shunned for it. There were a great deal of pros outweighing the cons in marrying Sukuna from an economical point of view, but could you find it in you to put your heart aside?

“Trust me, I am plenty interested in you.” His gaze fell downwards and your face immediately started to burn.

“Don’t make me throw my tea on you.” You glared sharply at Sukuna, your tone daring him to continue and for his sake he didn’t and his eyes returned to yours.

“My apologies, Miss. Just admiring a beauty before me.” That statement made a passing few girls giggle and swoon to themselves and you could hardly hold back another eye roll.

Your outing was done shortly after your trip to the cafe with your youngest siblings complaining they were tired. The Prince escorted you home, bowing to you once more and waiting until you were inside before turning and leaving.

“Tell me what that outburst was at the park.” Your mother descended on you the second she got, following you up the stairs to your bedroom.

“The Prince isn’t as fine and dandy as you think he is, he called the ton a bunch of idiots.” You didn’t bother keeping your voice down as you walked, just the thought of what he’d said upset you all over again.

“Why, he is a Prince! Of course we will be simple to him, he is used to so much more!” She argued, throwing her arms up in exasperation. “He meant no harm, I’m sure.”

“Mother.” Turning to face her before opening your door, you sighed upon making eye contact. “I wish I could tell you even half of the things I learned about him…the Prince is not the man you think he is.” You repeated your previous statement; your lip caught between your teeth as you debated telling her more. “I don’t know if I can marry him.” The words made your mother gasp in horror and push a hand over your mouth.

“(Y/N), please tell me you don’t mean it. Please tell me you are just playing a sick joke.” She couldn’t bear to hear you say otherwise. You stared at each other, both of you pleading for different things. The heartbreak in her eyes was evident and she took a step back and composed herself. “V-very well, if that is how you feel I will not force you.”

“Mother…” Your voice trailed off at how downtrodden she looked, it nearly brought you to tears.

“No, please do not say any more. I-I need time to come to terms with this.” Smoothing down her dress, she looked over her shoulder to see if anyone was eavesdropping. The silence allowed for the noises of others in the house to be heard; two brothers fighting over chess, a sister playing the piano. “I will be in the sun room should you need me.”

She left without consequence, calling for a maid to bring her some lavender tea. Finally entering your room, your body pushed the door closed and you sank onto the floor, letting your head fall into your hands. This wasn’t what you wanted to happen in the slightest and now just the prospect of rejecting his proposal was putting immense guilt onto you. Seeing your mother so hurt, imagining the looks on your siblings faces and what your father could possibly say were all too much for you.

May 18

I fear I have made a grave error. It wasn’t my intention to hurt my mother but just the idea of me not marrying a prince was enough to make her beside herself with grief, she was hardly able to look at me during dinner. And I know she’s told father because he was the same way!

Am I really taking away my family’s happiness this much? Am I being selfish by refusing? I think I’m learning now that a marriage, especially this one, is not just between two people. There’s so many others that it affects!

I think I’ll reconsider my rejection - after all, not many can say they were named the diamond and married a crown prince their first season out. I know Sukuna will give me my space if I request and not question me on things…is this potential life worth giving up my hopes of love?

I truly hope it is.

XX

At breakfast the next morning you informed your parents of the change of heart and the sullen mood that was looming over them was washed away in an instance.

“I knew you would come to your senses, girl.” Patting you gently on the shoulder, your father smiled big. “It’s easy to get swept up in nerves during this whole thing but I’m glad you’ve thought about how this marriage will be good for you - for all of us.”

Your siblings were thankfully none the wiser to what had transpired and they begged to be informed. Ignoring them, your mother reached for your hand across the table and squeezed it.

“We must go to the modiste later.”

“What for?” You sent her a curious look, you’d just been there the other day for a fitting!

“For your wedding dress.”

[iiotic]

HELLO, idk if I already sent a request here but if not, may bi request Lyney and any other character if you wish x gn reader who returns to them bloodied and bruised, the "I didn't have anywhere else to go" trope if you will. If not feel free to ignore.

"I DIDN'T HAVE ANYWHERE ELSE TO GO"

summary: how'd neuvillette, lyney react to their crush returning injured saying that they didn't have anywhere else to go.

tw: angst, lowercase intended, ooc neuvillette and lyney?? blood and injures ig?? not proff read, tell me if i missed anything, gn reader | wc: 1.1k

thank you so so so much for the request!! really liked the idea and I had fun making it. also I thought it would be fun if they were on the crushing stage, they obviously harbour feelings for eachother but like didn't tell yet. I made lyneys part significantly longer yet neuvillettes part is slightly shorter then I expected. hope it wasn't too bad <3 (I don't rlly like how it turned out help)

── ꒰neuvillette. ｡˚ ꒱

you struggled to keep your eyes open as you walked slowly in the direction of the chiefs justice house, it certainly didn't help that you barely remembered where he lived. you were at his house maybe once, and you didn't want to feel pushy so it didn't really bother you. however now you realized that maybe you should pay more mind to where he is located.

you sniffed, as tears flew on your cheeks, mixing with the rain after the trial. unfortunately or fortunately for you no one was on the streets this late at night meaning that no one will be able to help you, yet will be able to see how embarrassingly you walk.

after many turns and stumbles you made it to neuvillettes door, you leaned against the door frame, knocking weakly. the door opened surprisingly fast.

"dear? oh!" he gasped, grabbing your arm to keep you from falling.

"I didn't have anywhere else to go, i'm sorry." you whispered, he felt.. flattered? he was glad that you trust him yet he never imagined that he'd found out like that. seeing you hurt was not something he enjoyed.

"dont apologize." he murmured, before leading you to his couch, closing the door behind him. you saw him search for his first aid kick in the kitchen cabinet before coming back to you.

"what happened? how did it happen?" he asked as he gently pulled your sleeve up, eyeing your injuries.

"i just wanted to get some groceries, but before I knew it someone jumped on me, I don't know who I didn't see their face, pheraps it was the fatui but I doubt that what would they need from me? or pheraps it was some locals after a bit too much alcochol or-" you said hurriedly, before neuvillette hushed you telling you to calm down and so you did.

the room was silent, only the lamp in the corner of the couch turned on, it was comforting. maybe you'd enjoy it if you weren't in so much pain.

"im surprised that you know how to bandage people.. did someone taught you?" you asked him quietly, impressed by his skill.

"oh.. sigewinne taught me after i visited her in the fortress of meropide. although I didn't have anyone to test my skills on I believe that I know what Im doing." he looked at you, smiling slightly.

after some minutes the job was finished but neuvillette didn't let you go home, offering you a place in his bedroom as he, himself would sleep on the couch. you declined at first but gave in after you realized that the chief justice cares for you, flustered. before saying you goodnights neuvillette reasurred you that the person who hurt you would be punished.

in the morning the local newspaper was telling everyone to be careful and be cautious as someone is jumping people in fontaine..

── ꒰lyney. ｡˚ ꒱

the night was cold as you stumbled on your feet, struggling find your favourite magician. he just finished another of his magic shows that you were invited, however after you got ready and left your house you got cornered. you were left with bruises and small cuts all over your body, you lips and nose all covered in your blood and red eyes from crying when everything happened, it hurt so badly.

you sniffed as you remembered how lyney told you to be more careful at night, seemingly worried about you. telling you that there's some anonymous people cornering others and.. oh you were at his door. you weakly knocked.. no reply, you were shivering in cold as you didn't even realize it started raining. you decided to use the doorbell. soon after you heard footsteps from the inside, a crack from the door opening.

"oh my! what--how?" you heard his voice nervously struggle wit finding the right words. before you know it you were pulled inside with one of lyneys hand on your hip and on your shoulder. he pushed you gently onto the couch, looking at you horrified. you opened your mouth to speak but you nothing came out, your favourite magician already left in hurry to get his aid kick.

your eyes felt so unbelievably heavy, you almost couldn't keep them open but maybe just maybe you could close them for a wh-.

"hey, hey." you felt your chin being lifted. "i know you've lost a lot of blood just please, please try your best to not close your okay? okay." he said in a hurry. slowly and gently picking up your arm to bandage it.

"im sorry.." you managed to whisper quietly, weekly. "i just didnt have anywhere else to go.. i dont want to be a bother."

his expression softened as he heard you voice crack at the end of the sentence. "a bother? never." he said softly, looking at your weak self.

you don't know how much time has passed, seconds, minutes, hours. you were left all bandaged up, your nose no longer bleeding as well as your mouth. you were grateful for everything that he did for you, everything that he had to go through for you. you were so embarrassed, you didn't want to bother him you knew that he was tired after his magic show.

you found yourself too weak to go to your own house so lyney decided to let you sleep in his bedroom, in his bed and his softly whispering words of comfort to you before he turned off the lights and left the room.

"you'd never be a bother to me, and im glad that you decided to seek me and my help. i won't lie, i was slightly worried after you didn't show up at my magic show tonight, you usually always are there. and yet I have never thought of checking on you, it was my fault that you have such injuries, pheraps if i showed up you'd atleast have smaller injuries and id know who hurt you. but don't worry, I will find them and they won't see the sun ever again."

© 2024 iiotic. — do not steal, translate or repost any of my content onto any other platform

[poppurini]

꒰ written by m ┊ HE’S OLD AND A LOSER! ෆ lilia fem!younger!reader, modern au, age gap, you loove teasing poor old lilia for being his age, up to u how old u want him to be but ME PERSONALLY ???? in his 40s <3

꒰ notes from m ┊ awkward / loser / tall / big lilia BECAUSE I CAN, lowercase intended, “it’s ooc” “the timeline doesn’t match” IDGAFFF you’ve been warned 💥💥 absolutely GROSS writing bcos this is stoopid ramble … don’t expect anything

lilia who fumbles with his new phone and frowns at how complicated it is to navigate through everything. what’s wrong with plain old buttons with clear directions on them? they’re easier to press and doesn’t disappear from the phone itself! he’s sitting by himself, so, so focused on figuring out the phone before you laughed softly at how cute he looked. him? a former general? cute? he shrugs, not minding the compliment one bit since it was from his darling love.

you’d settle yourself onto his lap comfortably and take his phone into your hands, showing him how easy it is to navigate through them and that he was just old!

“see? easy! and you could do so much more with it too!”

“i can do many things with it, yes. but i don’t really need it. and also back in my day, phones were just to—”

a soft chuckle escaped the older man when you cut him off with a whine and a wave of your hand, snuggling into him and setting up his phone for him. he doesn’t really get what you’re tapping so much for, but his eyes brightened when he saw a nice picture of the two of you being displayed on the screen. now, he was intrigued.

“if you change this to anything else i’ll hate you.”

you were talking about his lock screen and he was perfectly fine with the picture you chose; it was endearing.

“but what if I want to change it to a different picture of my pretty girl?”

his arms snaked around your waist and pulled you close against him. his voice playful and the corner of his lips tugged up into a small smile.

lilia who can’t seem to keep up with your energetic self as you dragged him around malls or amusement parks. he shakes his head and tells you he can’t go on rollercoaster rides because they’re far too extreme for his poor heart! but that man eventually caves and allows you to excitedly pull him in line. you know he workouts and eats healthy; he’ll be fine! he had a great build for someone his age.

he’d definitely be the kind of bf who gently nags you about how you shouldn’t have so much sweet stuff in a day. you’re on your second cotton candy and he’s NOT gonna let you have any more!! but feel free to sneak away and secretly purchase one (with his card) yourself when he’s busy talking about the cons of consuming cotton candy or sugary drinks

if you get upset at him please don’t be :( he’s really just looking out for your health and he knows you’re supposed to have fun in an amusement park but you’ll come back tomorrow right ?? so just save it for then! how about a nice dinner for now? with actual nutritious foods

lilia who gets all flustered when you shamelessly swoon at his attractiveness. from the visible veins that run up his hands to the sheer size difference between the two of you, you love every single thing about him! you’re not even shy at expressing how needy you are for him, clinging onto him every second of the day and intertwining your fingers so sweetly before playing with his large hands.

yes, yes … he knows he’s attractive and has had his fair share of lovers before but he hasn’t met an individual as enthusiastic as yourself. no seriously, was it his age that makes him feel like he’s unable to keep up with you? because he’s had girls swoon over him before when he was in his prime and he’d always always always!! know what to say just to get them even more head over heels for him but maybe his age is catching up to him…and youngsters like yourself with such enthusiasm and energy just makes him dizzy (affectionately)

ORRRRRRRRR

ok hear me out … MAYBEEEE loser lilia doesn’t think he’s THAT attractive even when he was in his prime. he wasn’t that good at talking to girls and all the girls loved confident, smug men, don’t they? but he wasn’t sooo desperate for a lover either so he was kinda just chilling and doing his own thing … until he got himself a bubbly girl like yourself who isn’t shy to admit just how in love you are with him

you’d notice all shades of red bursting across his cheeks. his hand coming up in an attempt to hide how flustered he looked but him moving his hand MADE HIS VEINS EVEN MORE VISIBLE !! so you’re obvi going crazy over it while snuggling into him all giggles and shit … making him even more flustered ugh he’s faking coughs clearing his throat and looking away

[lady-pug]

Written Between the Lines

Chapter II - We Shall Find Our Answers

Summary: You and your family return to King’s Landing after several years, and you are dreading having to face your uncle again. While you cannot change the past, maybe the lines on his palm can show some insight into your future. And maybe, just maybe, the future might be bright for the two of you.

Pairing: Aemond Targaryen x Reader

Word count: 5,5k

Warnings: canon-typical incest (uncle-niece)

Notes: Pssst. Hey, you. I’m back. And I bring thee the continuation of this story, which I had a lot of fun writing. I intend on writing more for this little universe, so if you've liked this story so far, please consider staying tuned for more parts to come!

Just for clarification, I don’t understand much about the rules and laws of monarchy, but since this is my story and I’m already saying ‘screw canon’, we’re also gonna say ‘fuck tradition’ (and if any of the characters, especially Aemond, seem a bit ooc I deeply apologize, I’m just trying very hard to Bob-The-Builder the events of the show)

Also, I have purposefully left the question of the reader’s father somewhat ambiguous so there can be more leeway for the reader’s appearance to be undescribed.

Thank you so so much for reading and I hope you have enjoyed this story! <3

Next chapter | Previous chapter | Masterlist | Read on AO3

It had been several years since you had last stepped foot in King’s Landing. Not since the death of your aunt and father. Or fathers. Which meant you hadn’t seen Aemond since that fateful night in Driftmark. You’d been by his side in an instant once Luke had shaken you awake wailing like a babe that he had done something terrible. You had held his hand as the maester tended to his wound, much to his mother’s grief. She had even tried pushing you away from her son, but his hand held tightly around yours prevented you from going too far. He had wanted, no, needed the comfort of your presence. But that all changed when Jace explained what had transpired, what he had called your younger brothers and, by extension, yourself. You had dropped his hand as if it burned, feeling more betrayed than ever, not missing the way your hurt was reflected in his own eyes. Well, eye. He had tried to talk to you after everyone had been excused but you fled from him, not wanting to face him just yet. Perhaps never again, you had thought at the time.

Now a grown woman, you returned to King’s Landing once more, summoned by the court for a hearing in which Ser Vaemond Velaryon intended to question Lucerys legitimacy as heir to Driftmark (which he was in for a surprise as your mother did not intend to pass Driftmark down to Luke, but to Jacaerys instead, as previously discussed and agreed with your grandparents, Lord Corlys and Princess Rhaenys, while she would name you, her firstborn,   as heir to the Iron Throne after her). So it’s no surprise you were not looking forward to this visit at all. 

While you had kept in contact with Helaena through exchanged ravens, you hadn’t once written to Aemond, nor had he done so to you. You were dreading the moment you had to see him again, as you didn’t know how he would react to seeing you after the way you left things off in the past. In reality… you missed him. You missed having someone to talk to, someone who truly cared about what you had to say, who shared similar interests to you and enjoyed the diverging ones all the same. You missed your study partner, as Jace’s high valyrian was incredibly subpar, leaving him far behind you in his studies. You simply missed having him. 

The first moment you had laid eyes on him had been, unsurprisingly, in the courtyard. You’d been following after your brothers as they explored what had changed and what hadn’t around the Keep, trying to ensure they didn’t get into any trouble, when you noticed a small crowd forming around two men engaged in a heated training match. One was none other than Ser Criston Cole, who hadn’t aged a single day but looked like the stick up his ass had slipped even further in, and the other… 

You couldn’t help but stare, oblivious to anything else around you. He had grown quite a lot in the years you’d been apart. He was taller, his shoulders pulled back and his head held high, no longer the timid, self-conscious boy you’d once known. Where Ser Criston was strong Aemond was fast, his tall frame and lithe shape allowing for a more fast paced combat, his movements sharp yet swift and even somewhat… graceful. 

“You should clean up, right there.” you snapped out of your reverie, brought back to focus by your brother Jace, who motioned to the corner of his own mouth with a smirk hanging from his lips “You’re drooling.”

Feeling a warm flush on your cheeks you swiped the back of your hand across your mouth, finding nothing there, as Jace chuckled at your naivety and moved to join the crowd along with Luke.

Little cunt.

You followed after your brothers just as Aemond had his sword pointed right at Ser Criston’s neck. You couldn’t quite hear what they were saying, only catching the tail end of their conversation.

“Have you come to train?” he had been saying, his eye trained on Luke, some underlying darkness swirling in it, before his gaze finally met you and something shifted in it almost imperceptibly “Little niece.” 

The way he said it, the use of the once mocking title, left you reeling. The tone he used made it so you couldn’t quite tell if he had been sneering at you or in awe at your presence, if he was jesting or quite serious, mocking or sincere.

But your musings were interrupted by the gates opening, Ser Vaemond walking in as if he owned the place. Or like he was owed something from this place. It seemed your dreaded reunion with your uncle would have to wait.

As much as you hated being back in King’s Landing you couldn’t deny this place did manage to keep you entertained. The hearing had gone as well as one could expect, with Ser Vaemond hurling one insult after another at both you, your brothers and your mother and ultimately losing his head for it. All was well with your family, Jace’s claim to Driftmark and his status as future Lord of the Tides and your own as heir to the Iron Throne after your mother had been reaffirmed by the King himself, backed by your grandmother. 

During the whole hearing you couldn’t help but glance at Aemond from the corner of your eye every once in a while. He had a self-satisfied smirk plastered on his face all throughout Vaemond’s speech, the bastard, but once your mother mentioned her desire to establish you as her heir to the Throne something changed. His gaze met yours and his face softened, the smugness disappearing all together from his features. 

It was the last you saw of him, having taken off to the courtyard to relish in the diminishing sun as it lowered in the sky by sitting under the weirwood tree. Jace and Luke were enjoying a stroll around the Keep with their respective betrotheds, occasionally passing by your peripheral vision.

“I thought I’d find you here.” a voice cut through the air, souring your mood.

“Have you come to question my legitimacy as well, uncle?” you asked Aemond, who stood in front of you with his hands behind his back, before nodding in your brother’s direction as they skirted the edge of the courtyard “Be careful not to speak too loudly, we wouldn’t want you to lose yet another eye, now, would we?”

The smallest twitch of his eye was the only indication that he was bothered by what you said. You knew it was low, and you did feel a twinge of guilt about it, but the hurt you’d been cultivating for him since that night was festering in your heart.

“Always the jester, little niece.” he smirked, taking a seat next to you, keeping you on his good eye’s side.

“Only for you.” 

You both fell silent, the air around charged with years of tension built between the two of you.

“I haven’t heard from you in ages.” he spoke softly, facing forward.

“You didn’t write.” you jabbed.

“You didn’t either.” 

He had you there. 

“Helaena’s told me of your travels.” he tried again “You’ve visited quite a lot of places.”

“I wanted to see the realm.” you explained, feeling some of the tension dissipating as he extended an opportunity for you opened up “To learn the ways of the people we are to rule.”

He only hummed in response.

“And what about you?” you turned to him, noticing how his body seemed to instinctively turn towards you as well “How have you been faring?”

“Oh, you know.” he shrugged, nonchalantly “I have been busy, studying, training with a sword, as you’ve very well seen,” the smirk that formed on his face was enough to bring heat to your cheeks “and trying to stop Aegon from drowning in his cups every night.”

A giggle escaped from your lips, which in turn prompted a small grin from him. This moment, right here with him, felt like before; it felt freeing. The full weight of how much you had missed him hit you like a Vhagar-sized carriage. 

A moment of silence passed before he turned somber again.

“My mother has deemed it time for me to find a wife.” he spoke slowly, his words making something twist painfully in your chest “She’s been trying to find matches for me in some of the noble houses. But none of the ladies in court will even look at me.”

He cast his gaze down and away from you, his stoic demeanor cracking for a moment and giving way to a forlorn expression. It seemed… awfully familiar to you.

“I frighten them. Not just them, the maids too.” his voice was soft, resignation dripping from his words, the prideful man you saw earlier in the yard taking a step back to allow the shy and insecure boy you once knew to make a reappearance “I think your lines have lied to you. No lady would ever want a one-eyed husband.”

“Aemond-”

“I told you once before, I don’t appreciate your pity, niece.” his tone hardened, but it lacked venom, meaning he wasn’t angry with you, rather upset at himself.

You could only wonder how much the events of that night had changed him, for better and worse. He might argue that he had claimed a dragon, the biggest in the world, so that made things even but you could only imagine the kind of pain, both physical and emotional, he had gone through since then.

“For what is worth” you started, raising a hand to his face very slowly, giving him more than enough time to halt your movements. He flinched at first but eventually relaxed, allowing you to lay your hand on his cheek, your thumb rubbing softly against the end of his scar “I am truly sorry for what happened that night. You didn’t deserve any of it.”  

His hand raised, grasping your wrist and running his own thumb on the skin at the edge of your sleeve.

“What I said that night,” he closed his eye for a moment then looked at you again “it was unbefitting. I never meant to hurt you.” he paused, inhaling deeply before exhaling slowly, as if he was letting go of a lifetime of weight he’d been carrying “No more than I believe Lucerys meant to hurt me as badly as he did.”

It was an olive branch, you realized. Given how he now carried himself it was the closest thing to an apology you’d get. While he might not simply ever forgive your brother, he was willing to try and put it behind him, to let go of the pain, for you. And for that you’d forever be grateful to him. He tilted his head to the side, letting his lips linger on your palm for just a moment, before pulling your hand away from his face and carefully placing it on your lap again, both of you facing forward once more.

The silence that fell was not an uncomfortable one. It reminisced of the days you’d sit together in this same spot and wait for the servants to come fetch you when it was time for supper. But every nice moment had to be broken at some point.

“My grandsire and mother believe Aegon should be named my father’s heir.” he spoke after a moment, your head quickly snapping to look at him.

“What?”

“They believe that, as his firstborn son, he would have a better claim to the throne.” he glanced at you “That most lords would support him if it came to it.”

You were baffled by this revelation, even though you shouldn’t really be all that surprised. Otto Hightower was a cunt who would do anything in his power to have his own blood sit on the Iron Throne. As much as your mother resented her former friend you’d come to the conclusion that Otto had been the one responsible to sway Alicent against her. It shouldn’t come as a surprise he would be plotting against her. That’s why the man was smug about today’s hearing, and why his face promptly fell once Rhaenys made her support of Jacaerys, and by extension your mother, known. But…

“Why are you telling me this?” you questioned, confused as to why Aemond, the dutiful son, would tell on his family like that.

An amused grin, almost resembling a smirk, took over his features, his eye turned away from you.

“New information has come to light regarding the line of succession.”

Your heart clenched, a smile of your own appearing on your face. He recognized you as heir to the Throne, as a future queen. 

His smile, however, slowly slipped from his face, leaving a sad look in its wake.

“What troubles you, uncle?” you asked.

“I just-” he sighed, almost exasperated “I just do not understand how they could possibly believe Aegon of all people fit to be king. He, who disappears every fortnight for the Street of Silk, who’s barely ever sober during the day. He, who has his way with the servants while his own wife exists silently, he who, dare I say, barely understands a word of high valyrian and the importance of our family to the realm.”

His rant left him slightly breathless, as if he had been suppressing those feelings for a very long time. And although he had not dared say it, you heard the hidden meaning behind his words. If he, now a grown man, was anything like he was as a boy, he was much more suited to be king than his brother was. He was probably well studied in both history and philosophy, he knew his way quite well around a sword, as you’d seen, and he’d kept up with his lessons in high valyrian, like you had. He would make for a fine king, if it weren’t for your mother and, eventually, you.

And then it hit you.

Otto Hightower would do anything in his power to have his own blood sit on the Iron Throne.

“Give me your hand.” you spoke firmly. 

Aemond looked at you quizzically, taking too slow to comply so you forcefully grabbed his hand in yours, his palm facing upwards.

“Not this again.” he said, bemused.

As you ran your finger delicately over his palm, you took your time noticing the way calluses adorned the skin, once soft under your touch, probably from years of dragon riding and intense sword training. 

“Your line of life is still quite long, good.” you heard his scoff, although it sounded quite like a barely contained laugh “It means the Stranger will not come for you for quite a while still.”

His eye was trained on you as traced another line on his hand.

“And your line of heart still tilts upwards, so you will marry a woman who loves you dearly.”

You spoke with so much conviction, squeezing his hand, your eyes finally glancing up, locked firmly onto his own as you said it. 

“She’ll love and cherish you for everything that you are, unwaveringly and unapologetically. You’ll be hers as much as she’ll be yours.”

His eyes shone with barely contained hope, before you averted your gaze back to his palm.  

“And here,” you pointed to a small line near the bottom of his palm “is the line of the king. It appears only on the hands of those who are destined to rule over the realm.”

His smile wavered, but didn’t falter.

“You are jesting again, niece.” 

“I am not.” you shook your head, determined “The lines have never lied before, remember?” you mentioned, and he couldn’t argue with that, as the prediction you’d spoke of last time you found yourselves in this exact situation came true barely a few weeks afterwards “You will be king, Aemond.” 

You stood up quickly, barely brushing the skirts of your dress as you did.

“I’ll make sure of it.”

You took off before he could question you, rushing out of the courtyard in search of your mother. You had a matter most important you needed to discuss with her, one you’d already brought up with her many moons ago, but which at the time felt more like a distant childish dream.

Aemond hadn’t spoken to you again until it was time for supper. He had caught a quick glimpse of you sometime after you left the courtyard, speaking in hushed whispers with your mother while Daemon looked thoroughly vexed. But before he could approach you and inquire about your sudden departure earlier, both you and your mother took off to one of your chambers, he assumed, leaving his uncle to stare murderously at him. While Aemond wasn’t frightened by Daemon, he would even go as far as to say he admired the man, something about the way he was staring at him deeply unsettled him, so he decided to leave and wait for a better opportunity to speak to you, alone.

Now, during what surely was to be one awkward meal, he could see you from the other side of the table where you sat next to Baela. You looked positively radiant, smiling with your step-sisters and occasionally jesting with your brothers. From time to time you’d catch his eye, your smile turning mirthful, as if you knew something he didn’t. More than once throughout the night he caught you and Rhaenyra sharing a small, quick nod to one another, and Daemon rolling his eyes whenever he also noticed it.

After King Viserys congratulated Jacaerys and Lucerys on their betrothals, Jace leaned over Baela and whispered something to you. While he looked sullen, Baela had a small understanding smile as you tried to sooth him. His face softened as you grasped his hands, trying to reassure him of something, Baela supporting you quietly. The overjoyed smile that took over your features as Jace nodded lit something in Aemond’s chest, his heart skipping a beat.

At a certain point, after the King’s speech and Rhaenyra and Alicent’s toasts, Aegon got up and leaned over to “whisper” something to Baela, catching the attention of all those around her. Aemond couldn’t hear what his brother said all the way from his side of the table, but whatever it was Jacaerys looked like he was about to drive a dagger through him. But you and your sharp words were quicker.

“At least he can stay sober long enough to get it up.” you spoke, your voice loud enough for the entire room to hear “Can Helaena say the same about you, uncle?”

Several reactions could be heard around the table. Helaena herself snorted into the wine she had been sipping, Daemon laughed loudly from his place at Rhaenyra’s side and even a small, tired chuckle could be heard leaving the King’s mouth. Aemond couldn’t help but smirk as his brother all but crumbled back in his seat, a frown unveiling his embarrassment. 

Jace took his time toasting both his uncles but there was something… different in the way he addressed each of them. Whereas Aegon’s name was said with mocking admiration and contempt, Jace’s tone as he said Aemond’s name was laced with quiet resignation. And the tiny grin he directed at Aemond took him by surprise.

Helaena, a little bit tipsy at this hour, also took the opportunity to congratulate Rhaena and Baela in their betrothals, also taking a jab at Aegon’s already wounded pride. While he felt his chest fill with pride for his sister, Aemond couldn’t help but notice the moment you shared with your mother once again, the questioning look on her face and the determined nod you gave as answer to whatever question you found in the depth of her eyes.

“Speaking of marriage,” Rhaenyra started as she stood up and turned to face the seats of his father, mother and grandsire “my only daughter is now of marrying age as well.”

Aemond felt something twist painfully in his chest at the thought, turning his eye to glance at you and was surprised to find you already looking at him, the corners of your lips turned up in a soft grin.

“I would like to make a proposition.” your mother continued, turning to look at him, bringing his attention back to her. He felt his heartbeat increase as she stared at him for a moment longer, some heat climbing to his cheeks, before she turned to address his family once again, her eyes locked onto Alicent “I would like to propose we wed her to your second son, Prince Aemond.”

He barely registered anything else over the thunderous flow of blood against his eardrums, reflecting on the speed at which his traitorous heart was beating in his chest. He glanced back at you, watching as you smiled warmly at him. Something in him just felt right. He felt as if everything was falling into place within his life.

Aemond had never let himself want. He realized quite early in his life that he would only ever be the second son, and considering how much his father favored Rhaenyra over any other of his other children, he didn’t really matter much in comparison to his siblings. So he had learned never to wish for anything for himself, he had never dared hope that good things would come to him. And now here you were, the only one who has ever truly cared for him, offering something he never allowed himself to dream of.  

“And” Rhaenyra continued, drawing his attention back to her. There was more? What else could she possibly offer that could be worth more than that? He allowed himself a quick glimpse at Daemon, who once again looked bothered by what she was about to say “once I have come to pass and it is time for her to take over as Queen of the Seven Kingdoms, he would be crowned king alongside with her. He would be not a prince, nor king consort, but a true king. They would rule as equals, and eventually their children would sit in the Iron Throne after them.”

What?

As soon as the words were out of her mouth his mind simply ceased to work. They were thinking of… what? His head quickly snapped to look at his family, wanting to gauge their reactions as well and assess if they were just as confused as he felt.

His father was positively delighted at the prospect of uniting his fractured family once more. His mother, on the other hand, looked irked at Rhaenyra for having sprung this proposition in front of Viserys, as he’d obviously agree, and she wasn’t looking forward to having a possible bastard as her son’s wife (even if she knew he once cared deeply for you). And his grandsire… he looked conflicted. Otto Hightower wasn’t an easy man to read, but he had been so caught by surprise that he was wearing all his emotions on his sleeve. While he, like Alicent, seemed bothered by the timing of this proposal, he also looked… intrigued?

“We were thinking of passing Dragonstone down to Aegon and keeping both Aemond and my daughter here in King’s Landing so they can learn with me and the council the ways of ruling, so they are well prepared when it comes their time to rule.” 

“And what of Lucerys?” Alicent questioned warily.

“He would live in Driftmark with Jace, learning the ways of salt and sea, in hopes of one day becoming my, and later his sister’s, Master of Ships.” Rhaenyra completed.

Silence ruled over the room for a moment, nobody daring to utter a word. Not even the servants, watching from the corners, made a single sound.

“And who was the one” Viserys spoke slowly, getting more tired as the night progressed “behind such a wonderful idea?” 

“I-” your mother started, but Daemon quickly cut her off.

“The girl did.” he nodded his head towards you, a smug smile growing on his lips at the prospect of possibly throwing you under the carriage. 

Aemond’s head snapped towards you, your smile never wavering. So that’s what you had been speaking to Rhaenyra all day. After your talk in the courtyard, you’d gone off to find your mother, to express your wishes not only to marry Aemond, but to also make him king. Just like the lines on his palm told you. But… why?

“And just what” Otto questioned, as if reading his grandson’s mind “has led the princess to decide to break hundreds of centuries of tradition and wish to share the Throne?”

Rhaenyra turned back to you, sending a silent question in your direction yet again. You shook your head and stood up, as if deciding to face the judgment of the Hightowers all by yourself.

“While my family has resided in Dragonstone for the past few years, my lord,” you started, an eloquence that indicated you’d been preparing, and maybe even rehearsing, this speech in your mind for a while “I have taken to flying around the realm on dragonback, visiting all of the Seven Kingdoms. I’d wished to see for myself and understand the people I’d one day rule over. However, being away from King’s Landing for so long also means I am not versed in the matters of court. Prince Aemond, on the other hand,” oh, how sweet your voice sounded when you said his name accompanied by his title “has lived his entire life here in the Red Keep. He’s been in these halls, around the lords and ladies of court, for quite a while and knows how such matters are supposed to work. I believe our knowledge combined will give us the strength, as a unity, required to rule over the realm together and establish a peaceful and prosperous reign.”

A sigh escaped your lips as you paused, your expression souring.

“And” you chuckled mirthlessly, your previously warm smile falling to a resigned one “I am a woman. The lords of the noble houses of Westeros may support my mother’s claim as they have sworn an oath to his grace, the King, but many of them are already of advanced age and may soon come to perish, some have already died even. While most of these houses are righteous and their sons and grandsons will likely honor their ancestors' wishes and support me as my mothers heir, there is no telling what will happen. They might not take kindly to yet another woman ruling over the realm, and especially one they didn’t technically agree on. So as much as I loathe to admit it, having a man by my side, supporting me as an equal, would strengthen my claim and prevent anyone from questioning me as queen.”

It made sense, all of it. Change as impactful as this tends to happen over time, not all at once, and it was known the men of the realm would not so easily accept a woman on the Iron Throne, something Aemond knew his grandsire was counting on to bring Aegon to power eventually, so it was a smart move to have a husband at your side. Your arguing was solid, and Otto Hightower seemed to agree as he reclined back on his seat, somewhat impressed.

Alicent, however, looked like she still wasn’t satisfied with your answer.

“And why would you wish to marry my son?” she questioned, her tone stern.

Your smile faltered briefly, betraying your confusion.

“Why, your grace, I believe I have already explained-”

“No,” she cut you off “you’ve explained why this union would be beneficial for you as a representative of the Crown. I want to know why you wish to marry him. You could have any man in the realm, hells, there have been rumors that Cregan Stark himself has requested an audience in Dragonstone, possibly to request a courtship for your hand.” That was before anyone knew Rhaenyra planned on making you her heir and it was believed you’d inherit nothing at all, Aemond caught himself thinking “So why do you want to marry Aemond?”

That had him leaning forward in his seat. He knew, logically, this marriage stemmed from convenience. He knew he, and you as well, were mere pawns in your family’s schemes. But he couldn’t help but wonder if there was something more behind your proposal. Even if it was just a political move, he would have accepted in a heartbeat but he dared to wish, no, hope that you actually wanted this, that you wanted him.

“I…” you fumbled for a moment, averting your gaze before steeling yourself, eyes locking with his mother’s once more “My uncle and I were close once, many years ago. We used to share a connection that has since been lost to time.” 

You took a deep breath, as if preparing to reveal your deepest secrets to the whole family.

“I would like for us to get to know one another once more and go back to the way things were. Maybe even strengthen our bond.” you then turned to him, your eyes soft and warm and with the slightest of glimmer to them, as if you were willing yourself not to shed any tears “And I believe, with time, I could learn to love him dearly. I would love and cherish him for everything that he is, unwaveringly and unapologetically.” your lips trembled almost imperceptibly, so much so that had he not been paying close attention to you he’d have missed it “I’d be his as much as he’d be mine.”

Aemond felt his breath hitch, his heart hammering in his chest once more. He didn’t know what to think. This, right here, seemed so unreal. Deep down he knew this might just be the solution to everyone’s problems, it could be the very thing that mended the divide that had been growing inside of House Targaryen, but… could it be possible? Would his family agree?

“I believe this to be an amazing occasion.” the King spoke, looking happier than he’d been in a long while, before turning to his wife “Wouldn’t you agree?”

Alicent in turn looked to her father for answers and Aemond waited with bated breath for his response. Otto’s word was law in her eyes, Aemond  knew, so he was the one who had final say in the matter. His answer came as a tiny nod and in that moment, as Aemond barely registered his mother’s next words, he had never been more grateful for his grandsire.  

“I am inclined to agree that this will be a most blessed union.” Alicent said, her smile, always cold when it came to you, warming considerably.

“It’s settled then. Looks like we’ll have a wedding even sooner than expected.” Viserys then tapped his cane on the ground “Let us have some music.” 

As the musicians started playing an animated melody, Aemond felt lighter than he had in years. He could hardly care for everyone around him, not even noticing anyone’s reaction to the news other than your own. With his eye focused solely on you he could see the relief settling in at his mother’s words as you beamed at him, more radiant than ever.

“Aemond, dear, why don’t you take your betrothed for a dance?” 

He was out of his seat before Alicent could even finish her sentence, crossing the space between you in wide strides and extending a hand to you. You accepted gracefully. As you positioned yourselves to dance, you smiled bashfully at him, looking down at your feet, slightly embarrassed.

“I hope you can find it in you to forgive me for bringing this up all of a sudden, uncle.” you explained, looking back at him “I didn’t want to waste another moment and risk losing my chance.” 

It was his turn to smile, not a smirk or a smug grin, a genuine smile. 

“There is nothing to forgive, little niece.” the way he said the moniker this time, once used to mock you, was so filled with only affection and care that it almost brought tears to your eyes once again.

You danced for a few moments in silence, simply enjoying each other’s company. Then you leaned closer to him, as if wanting to share something privy to his ears alone.

“I told you once before, Aemond.” your smile turned into the tiniest of smirks “The lines don’t lie.” 

His heart clenched at the memory, which seemed so distant yet so fresh in his mind. He tightened his grip around you, bringing your body even closer to his own, wanting to feel you close to him, genuinely happy for the first time in a long time.

“Indeed,” he whispered softly back to you, leaning his head against your own “I guess they truly don’t.”

And then everyone is happy, Rhaenyra and her family don’t leave for Dragonstone before dawn, meaning she’s there when Viserys goes to sleep forever, meaning she’s crowned Queen of the Seven Kingdoms, meaning the Greens don’t usurp the Throne, meaning the Dance never happened, meaning no one dies and everyone lives happily ever after, hurray!

(About Daemon's behavior, he’s not mad at reader or Rhaenyra, nor does he dislike reader in any way. He’s just resentful Rhaenyra hasn’t thought nor has she offered to what she does to Aemond in this story. And as we know, when these Targaryen boys are frustrated, they tend to lash out. Hope this clarifies some things!)

Tag List:

@callsignwidow

[aeruia]

⌕. WIND BREAKER

⟳. MISCONSTRUE

they think you’re too good for them and also think you’re doing this to boost your ego and make fun of them.

character/s : nirei akihiko & sakura haruka (seperated :3)

warning/s : tiny bit of angst , use of she/her pronouns , lowercase intended , ooc.. 😓

word count : 400-500

note : I didn't forget y’alls reqs i swear im just a slow worker /j also meaning of the title is just a synonym of misunderstand and thinks its cool hehe

꒰ the request 𖦹 masterlist 𖦹 wbk masterlist ꒱

sakura haruka — 431 words

it appears that sakura isn’t the type of man to be affectionate towards someone and you’re aware of it seeing he’s having a hard time expressing his feelings. still with you being forward with your feelings there’s still doubt in his mind. he wasn’t used to people showing affection at him because all of his life people never accepted him.

you’re very pretty he will admit that, he can even scream that for the whole world to hear. you’ve been courting him for months and he realizes that you don’t have any plans on backing out. are you waiting for his answer before you play with his feelings? or you’re waiting for the perfect opportunity to make fun of him?

he couldn’t take it anymore as he started to avoid you. going the opposite direction whenever he sees you coming towards him. that goes on for weeks whenever you tried talking to him he’s already leaving.

you decided it was best if you stopped bothering him thinking that you’re being too pushy or forcing yourself at him as much as it hurts you — you didn't wanna see him avoid you without telling you the reason.

sakura misses you — he won’t admit it. no. as he was walking to get to his apartment, your friend noticing him as he was stopped by her.

“ you’re sakura, yes? ” she said straight forward as he nodded. “ i am.. what happened to [name]? ” he asked also straight forward which your friend finds it odd since every time you talk about him saying how shy he is.

“ she’s not doing great. she has been focusing too much on her studies and even sometimes forget to eat. she said she’s alright but we all know she isn’t. i know what happened to the both of you, she’s serious about you. ” she explain, sakura’s heart dropped when he heard your friend said " she’s serious about you. "

he thanked your friend as the first thing he did was go to your apartment to check on you. when the door opened you were stunned when he quickly hugged you. “ your friend told me everything, i thought you were doing it to make fun of me.. ”

you laughed at what he said as you explained that everything you showed him is genuine and that you will never make fun of someone’s feelings. sakura feels his heart softened at what you said to him.

a few weeks after, you and sakura are all good again as he often comes to your apartment to study with you or cuddle while you play with his hair.

nirei akihiro — 525 words

nirei wasn’t used to how straightforward and bold you are about your feelings on him. also doesn't get why you’re so proud that you’re courting him? he doesn’t get it because he can’t fight properly or even defend himself so why are you proud of him?

every time his lips will come out of your mouth he feels himself get flustered while you hug him. of course, that doesn’t last long as he found himself thinking that perhaps you’re doing this for him to answer you then when you two became together you will make fun of him and say that it was all just a bet you made your friends.

nirei also thinks that you’re gorgeous and thinks that you’re way out of his league so he thinks that you’re just toying with him as a result of him avoiding you — afraid that for the times you two are together you will leave him.

result of him staying away from you — you didn't notice it thinking that he was just busy when you don’t see him the whole day. weeks pass by and you never still never saw him if you did he’s walking or running whenever you try to approach him.

“ nirei!- oh ” you greeted the blonde hair but you can’t see the familiar blonde boy which made you frown, leaving to talk with your friend.

your friend advises you to stop which you didn't want to but you did it anyway as you drowned yourself on your works and chores.

nirei was walking down the streets as he spotted you in the cafe you're working at having the urge to come up to you as he stopped himself from that, a sigh escaping his lips before walking away when someone stopped him.

“ go back and greet her. ” nirei tilted his head to the side as he blinked. “ she’s waiting for you, if you ever think she’s doing all of this to make fun or play with you she isn’t. ” the one who stopped him says as he remained quiet. “ she told me that you had been avoiding her so she choose to ignoring you too yet she still wanted to spend most of her free time with you. ” nirei was stunned as he didn’t realized your friend had walked away.

after minutes of contemplating he decided to go back and greet you her eyes lit up when she saw the familiar blonde as she stopped whatever she was doing and ran up to hug him. “ nirei! i miss you so much! ” you cried burying your face in his chest — startled by the sudden action before wrapping his hands around you.

the two of you talked for a bit as nirei apologized for staying away from you and that he was just scared and you understand it so you brushed it off saying it was okay.

even if you said it was okay he still felt bad so he took you on a date after your shift as he watched you drag him to your favorite place. smiling because of how stupid he is from thinking that you would make fun of him.

date posted : 072124

[deathstrokewilson]

OOC: Hi all, Roleplayer behind JJ and Slade here. (mentally insert Zuko meme if you so choose)

I'm feeling a bit calmer now. I was quite hurt by that anon from last night.

To explain my reaction, for anyone who is confused, I am a person. I'm sitting here on my computer or phone to have fun and write stories with others, the same as everyone else here. This is my first time trying to RP on Tumblr, and for some of you it may be your first time trying to RP at all. To which I say, I'm so glad you are! Genuinely, roleplay is a great way to make friends and to explore all sorts of stories and themes safely and supportively.

Additionally, this is my first time writing Slade. I never expected so many people to enjoy my writing, and listen, I love that he's so generally terrible, and that I seem to write him well enough that you want to rally against him, that you love to hate him, that you send love to the Dick who's agreed to be Slade's Renegade. It's sweet. It's intense. But it's supposed to be fun.

Whoever did send that anon may have just been caught up in the intensity of having Slade seem like such a big threat, and wanted to try and ding his ego, or something to that effect. I don't know their intent. But as a person writing for both my enjoyment and yours, it was like a punch to the face. It was incredibly hurtful, since firstly, I don't think I've written him that way, and secondly, that just… isn't something you send. It's a serious thing to say or imply, it can be easily twisted out of context, and shouldn't be slung around. I would also like to state that I have checked in several times with people who are either directly part of the story or were emotionally affected by it to make sure they were all right to continue. I know it's an intense character, an intense storyline. I genuinely don't want people feeling uncomfortable or scared. I want people to enjoy what I make, like any creative, in a safe and healthy way. And I also want to be happy and comfortable.

So there's that.

As such, I want to offer something to you all- a poll. I am asking you all to consider the options carefully and genuinely, and vote honestly. Please, please be honest. Because I won't be dealing with that sort of thing again. A large part of roleplay is considering both the characters and the people behind them, and how your writing can affect them. I never expected Slade to be more than a brief thing, and thanks to everyone's interactions that grew and changed. I did appreciate it, and at least up until that anon, it was fun. I would like it to be fun again. This is also to either subdue or confirm my anxiety, so I'm sorry if this seems dramatic, but it will help me. So, let's vote.

1. I continue to roleplay as Slade, the storyline that has been started continues. I request if you are not comfortable with him and this choice wins, you unfollow for your own comfort.

2. I set Slade on the high shelf for an undetermined amount of time. The storyline is cut off, blogs that were more personally involved return to more normal posting if they so choose. Until more people can learn to separate the fiction from the person behind, no more big bad villain to hate. I will only RP JJ, or other non-villainous characters.

3. I stop roleplaying here on Tumblr entirely. If for whatever reason you think I shouldn't be roleplaying here at all, and this vote wins, I'll stop. No more Slade, no more JJ, no more of my ideas. I'll also request that if you don't want me around you at all, you DM @littlefaefeather with the blogs you want me to block or unfollow.

I do intend to take this day as an RP-lite day for my own sake, but if there's anything you really want to RP or include Slade or JJ or my Robin blog in, you can still @ them for it, I'll be checking in every so often. Thanks for reading all this. 🧡💛💚💙💜

[appendectomy]

currently on house md season 7. i like how the writers are not shying away from the fundamentally dysfuctional nature of the house/cuddy relationship, like cuddy having a kid and house being unwilling and incapable of being a consistent, healthy father figure. and cuddy being house's boss which means he is inevitably going to lie and undermine and disrespect her because that is how he has navigated his job for years. and cuddy saying she doesn't want house to change but ultimately still clinging to the hope that he will. but he won't, not in the ways she needs. but part of me does wish the approach wasnt soooo expositionally heavy handed. i wasn't a massive fan of 7x01 because of this, it was so much talking and stating the obvious at points. i mean their cute moments were cute but it felt slow and a bit stale... like obviously there comes a time where you have to make your point solid and just say what you've been building up to in a story but idk part of me is attached to a little bit of ambiguity.

i like that house and cuddy are #doomed but part of what makes narrative dooming so compelling to me is that you sprinkle in hope there. you leave a little bit of optimism for the audience to hold on to so they still root for the relationship. maybe its because I already know they break up, or maybe its just because of what is said in 7x01, but they feel kind of boringly doomed. it feels like every plot point to do with their relationship rn is just conflict after conflict after conflict, they barely have anything that actually makes me think they're a good couple. they have great chemistry, but its even said in canon that they have nothing in common. its like third wheeling a couple who keep arguing like damn i'm getting tired watching u guys whining! break up already all you do is fight! so I cant get fully invested and hope for them. it just makes me pity cuddy more than anything. which is a little compelling, the idea of characters clinging on to a relationship that's been dead from the start, but not as compelling as a more ambiguous route would be i think. if the writers gave us more reasons to root for them together i think it would be more fun to watch, instead of just rushing into conflict.

also im having a little bit of a hard time reconciling with what feels OOC for house vs what is intended to show that house has changed because of this relationship. not a massive issue for me, but still something i'm thinking about. there are moments that make me raise my eyebrow a little.

also likeee not enough wilson in these first few eps. where is my girlfriend where is he!!!!

[xyilous]

Everyone Needs Rest Sometimes

————————————

a friend and someone on here asked, i am (nervously) delivering

comfort fic but this time it’s Optimus getting the care he deserves 💞💞 written as my oc, but no names will be mentioned so it feels more like a self insert thing. Also intended to be read as either platonic or romantic, but my lean towards the latter based on people’s boundaries !! Written with tfp Optimus in mind, uses his holoform (cough cough heres my design cough)

cw for mental health stuff, anxiety, paranoia // might be slightly ooc but shhh

also there’s a bath scene (get your head out of the gutter!!/lh,j)

————————————

It’s been relatively quiet as of late, no new decepticon sightings or M.E.C.H. mischief popping up on the scanner. The peace was welcomed by most of team prime, the kids taking advantage of having free time with their robotic companions while the adults could be at a little ease knowing the youngsters aren’t in immediate danger. Considering there was a bit of a surge of enemy activity, the crew relished in being able to wind down from an intense week. Even Ratchet stepped away from his enhanced computer and projects to watch Raf and Jack go head to head in some (slightly too graphic) fighting game. You just finished prepping different popcorns and gathering a couple large bottles of various sodas, carrying everything including cups and napkins with the help of Arcee.

The only one missing out was Optimus. The old war warn autobot felt uneasy, cautious. While the team did just bust the decepticon’s most recent plan, he can’t help but worry himself by wandering what new scheme they’re coming up with. Seeing everyone having fun and conversing with each other was more than welcomed, the fear of that joy being ripped away from them made anxiety seep into his tired frame. He replaced Ratchet’s usual spot near the ground bridge switch, hitting multiple keys as he typed in the coordinates to yet another location to patrol. This is the third time today alone that he was preparing to drive off and watch for any possible leads, that’s the way it’s been since the updates died down. There wasn’t even enough time between attacks for them to plan something big and yet you could see that it was making him paranoid. Poor thing desperately needed a break, and yet he continues to push through, even though it’s clearly taking a huge toll on his spark. It was sad to witness, you could see how his eyebrows were tilted up in concern, how his steady servos hurriedly danced along the keyboard, it was beyond apparent the Optimus is running himself to the breaking point.

Slinking away from the others, you jogged to where he was standing and leaned against the rails, flagging him down just as the ground bridge started opening. Confusion was written all over his face as he turned towards your much smaller self, wondering why you weren’t mingling with the others. Before Optimus could even get a word out, you opened your mouth.

“You’re not going.” The Prime’s confusion increased at your order, not necessarily out of anger or annoyance, just surprise that you said it so plainly. However you stood your ground and sent him a look that showed you were more than serious. Standing face to face with a 30 foot cybernetic alien would’ve sent anyone else running with their tail between their legs, apparently not you though.

“Excuse me?” Turning to fully face you, Optimus rested his large servos on the railings of the platform, surrounding you like a cage. With a clear view of his front side, you can see just all the scratches and scuffs from recent battles, clearly unchecked by the base’s lone medic. Paint was chipping in areas, mud caked into others, apparently he’s been so caught up in protecting everyone that he didn’t even take his well-being into consideration.

“You’re not going. When’s the last time you recharged? O-Or even had energon?? Have you even seen yourself lately???” With every word that came out of your mouth, you sounded more and more upset, that concern you felt for the bot being beyond apparent in your tone. Optimus’ face drifted from confusion as he thought for a moment, before stating that your worries have been noted. That’s it? Yep. That was indeed it. Silently he turned back toward the still glowing ground bridge, completely brushing off your mini speech.

“No get your ass back here!! Don’t walk away from me!” Charging down the stairs while doing your best to not trip and stumble, you made your way infront of the walkway that led to whatever location he punched in, immediately doing your best to block his path. It didn’t do much, even with your hands sassily propped onto your hips, but it was enough to make his alt mode stop infront of you. By now Ratchet has picked up on your little spiel, alerting the others before inching his way to where he can hear. Not necessarily out of concern for a full argument starting, the old medic just hasn’t seen many tell the high and mighty Optimus Prime off.

It was rather tense, you clearly weren’t going to move from your spot and Optimus was just about as stubborn. After a long pause he folded outward and became upright again, wondering if he should just step around you. You are very small compared to him, he can do it, but he knows both you and Ratchet will chew him out later.

“I must go, if they are planning something it must be stopped before it comes to fruition.” That’s his first reason, usually the first one he says since it’s often times enough to get his teammates to side with his reasoning.

“It’ll be there later, you know that. Besides, they just tried to build some weird giant laser, big Earth threatening plans like that need time. You’ll be alright for a day.” And there’s your counter argument. Although you’ve not been with the autobots for years, you’ve been there long enough to have already thought of ways to get through whatever excuse he tosses at you. At the very least he has good motives.

“I don’t know how cybertronians work, but i do know that any living thing needs a break. That includes you, Optimus. Come on, I know what’ll make you feel better.” It helped convince him a little, but he’s still apprehensive. Ratchet finally buts in, just to confirm what you said, and then goes quiet again. The Prime’s face softened as you rested your hand on his knee, by now he’s kneeled down to be more level with you. Your attitude was harsh, yes, but you still showed that it was because you cared for the mech.

“I’m still a prime. You know this, I have a duty to fulfill.” And there’s the prime excuse. It was often a backup if his original reasoning wasn’t enough, but now isn’t the time for it to be tossed out. His worsening exhaustion is evident in his features and movements, the large digits that attempted to console you felt sluggish, drained. Guilt echoed out of his vocal cords due to the exchange, he felt terrible for making you and his team worry over him. A glance around the room revealed the distressed looks in his teammate’s eyes and optics. They knew just as well as he did that he was being overly cautious and in turn hurting himself, but they weren’t sure of when to intervene.

“Then for a few hours be Optimus. Nothing more.” An ex-vent heaved itself from his chest before he drew back.

“Just a few hours. I will grant you that and then I will patrol. For real this time.” As the words left his mouth you immediately sprung up, somewhat taken back that you got him to reluctantly agree. Ratchet, still hovering behind you, looked beyond bewildered at the fact that you were able to convince him, even when he, a millennia old medic and friend, failed to do so. A few hours isn’t a lot of time so you had to get to work immediately in order to take advantage of the situation. One problem though, a rather large one at that. The art of taking care of massive metal aliens was one far too foreign to your fleshy self, however humans are a different story.

“…Would you mind using your holoform in the meantime…? You don’t have to of course!! It’s just uhh, a bit hard to reach that high.” Rest in peace to your cocky attitude, it was a good run. A small nod and flash of light later, his much smaller and meatier form revealed itself. Technically a very high definition hologram, he still had the sensory inputs that you needed to soothe him the best you knew how. If anything, the softer form would allow you to do better than if it remained stiff. Optimus still towered over you, by the looks of it his intimidating height transferred to his holoform, as well as features to show how tired he is. Scars decorated his exposed bits of skin, a few adorned his face but from what you can see numerous ones were etched into the calloused skin of his hands. His eyes drooped and the bags underneath were beyond visible, the combination of his tired expression and slouched shoulders felt like a crude impersonation of the strong leader you’ve grown to know. It must’ve been obvious that you felt pity towards him since Optimus averted his eyes from your view, almost like an animal preparing for a scolding after doing something it was specifically told not to do.

“Come on, I’ll take care of you.” Your hand took his and you led him down the hall, straight to a bathroom that you did a slight renovation to in attempts to make it more homey. It wasn’t anything spectacular, but the underneath the sink you stored numerous bath salts, some used to help with sore muscles and some infused with lavender to help soothe anyone that could possibly need it. The door swung open effortlessly as the two of you walked into the smaller than ideal room, there was enough space for the both of you to move and exist without knocking into eachother, but it was still a snug fit. With a twist of the faucet knobs cool water flowed out before gradually starting to heat up, while the water slowly filled the tub Optimus found himself lost on what to do besides stand there with his arms stiff at his sides. He wasn’t dirty, you weren’t either, so why did you start a bath,,?

“Here, while this fills up I’m gonna dig out a couple things to help you relax, god knows you need it. Go ahead and get undressed, I promise I won’t look.” Your grin was evident on your voice as you spoke, trying to ease the tension by making joking a bit before hiding behind the now open cabinet doors to dig out the previously mentioned bath salts.

“Is this not an… intimate? thing for humans?” His words were a bit hesitant, unsure if that was the correct term to use. Optimus was always curious about Earth culture and routinely asked you questions about stuff he finds, whether it be online or something he saw a family or friend group do while on patrol, but this time it seems like he was figuring out things on his own.

“To some people, sure. Depends on who you ask in all honesty, for me I don’t mind it. If it makes you feel any better I’ll step out and wait until you’re settled if you want-“

“It’s alright. I’ll let you know when to look.” Turning your head back towards the inside of the cabinet you resumed your hunt for your bath add ins as the sound of rustling clothes filled the room. By the time you finally got a glimpse of the lavender flowers and the word ‘epsom salt’ slapped onto a bag, you could hear rippling water settle before Optimus let you know you’re not at risk of getting flashed.

Crawling on your knees towards the tub, you showed him your miracle workers you salvaged from under the sink, explaining that the salt helps muscles stop aching and that the lavender scent can help people take off the edge, even helps some sleep better. You sprinkled a generous amount of each into the water, getting a glimpse of even more scars that riddled the old Prime’s body. Some were raised, others with lines across them that show just how the skin mended itself together, all caused by a countless amount of battles, some of which were won, some of which were lost. They even speckled his knees and the bits of his legs that weren’t covered by the warm water. He was tense, unsure of what to do. Optimus isn’t used to relaxing like this, the vulnerability of it all made him feel exposed and like danger is lingering around, even with the ‘aromatherapy’ as you called it. His fists were clenched against his own will, he must be ready at all times to protect his team, he has to do anything he can to prevent another loss. Pressure and paranoia gnawed at him, the echoing thoughts in his head didn’t help in the slightest. He shouldn’t be doing this, it’s selfish to stop when everyone could be in danger, he needs to go-

“If something happens the others can handle it. You need to take care of yourself just like the others.” At your words the racing thoughts halted, immediately pausing to let him take in what you said and to wonder how you knew what he was thinking. Your hand rubbed soft circles into his shoulder as you spoke, gently trying to bring him out of his unfavorable headspace. He looked at you for reassurance, eyes wide and nearly timid, you could see his adam’s apple bob as he swallowed rather harshly. Millions of years of wars and battles, and yet one of the coldest things he’s faced is his own anxiety. Nothing to fall back on, nobody he can turn to in hopes of reeling him back from his sea of what ifs. As a prime he felt like he had to hold his head high all the time and did not have the right to step back and let himself rest. You adjusted yourself a bit to try and sit at a better angle, but the second you raised a bit his tattered hand flew out and grabbed onto your shirt like you were going to disappear. The poor thing looked terrified as his knuckles turned white from his death grip, he needed your reassurance and was scared of you being ripped from his grasp like others from his past. Your hand rested against the back of his own, still desperately clinging to your now wet top.

“I’m not leaving, you’re okay, I promise. You know I don’t break promises.” You grazed your thumb against his hand, reassuring him that you just needed to adjust before your knee snapped in two. It took him a bit to give you any response, the only reply being a small nod before his grip loosening slowly before dropping to the edge of the bathtub, followed by the rest of his body.

“Let me wash your hair, hun. You can still hold onto me if you need to, yeah?” Grabbing a cup you had set off to the side specifically for baths, you started the water up again before getting Optimus to tip his head back. It still felt beyond foreign to him, but he couldn’t deny the warm water dancing across his scalp could put him to sleep. When you put shampoo in his hair and began to massage it into the follicles, you could watch as his eyes got heavier, his sleepiness trying to creep up on him. It was tempting to let him doze off, but with the size difference it wouldn’t be a good idea if he started slipping underwater. A light prod to his face was enough to wake him up enough to rinse and finish up with conditioner and a final spritz of water. You stood to grab a couple towels, one for his body and one for the soggy mess of hair on top of his head. The bath alone made his posture a bit less rigid, hopefully that lavender actually did it’s job. While he dried off, you jogged put the door and further down the hallway to a room with spare clothes, grabbing a mostly new t shirt and some pajama bottoms, praying that they were the right size. It felt a little strange to be grabbing a cozy outfit for someone who was tall enough to make some houses look small and someone who happened to be made out of metal, but at least you got him to take it easy-ish. Could be worse.

Upon your return you realized he was probably frozen, your evidence being the goosebumps that littered his crossed arms.

“Sorry for freezing you to death, here’s these. I’ll wait out by the door while you get dressed and when you’re done i’ll blow dry your hair, alright?” With a nod Optimus gratefully took the pajamas as you stepped out into your aforementioned position. In a sense it felt like you were keeping guard of the old man mech, the thought triggers your curiosity and you can’t help but wonder if he’s had someone take care of him like this. If his reactions have told you anything, it’s that he’s not allowed himself to be treated in such a way. Perhaps it’s a matter of not wanting pity, or maybe it’s as simple as he feels like he’s too mature to accept such treatment. It’s a shame really, the one that needs it the most is usually too selfless to allow it. A couple minutes later the door creaked open, revealing a damp, but slightly more relaxed Optimus. You stepped back into the cramped room and instructed him to sit on the toilet seat as you dug out the blow drier and plugged it into the wall outlet. He watched every movement you made with curiosity filled eyes, he always had a fascination with human objects, the way people have invented items for basically everything was so interesting to him, especially considering how primitive Earth’s creations can be.

“What is that in your hands?” He asked you, using his hands to point at the blow dryer in your hands. He’s not seen one before, and the way it resembled a gun made him a little nervous over it, especially considering flesh will suffer much more with a bullet than if he was his usual metal self.

“Oh this? It blows out hot air to help dry your hair. It’s not as scary as it looks, I promise.” As you spoke you used your freehand to lead him to sit down and got to work, flipping the switch that caused the simple device to do what you said. The sudden sound startled him a little at first but with reassurance he calmed enough to let you do your thing, his eyes closing while he absorbed the peace around him. Optimus was still apprehensive to letting you tend to him, but the longer time passed the more he felt his walls chipping away, reluctantly letting his guard down to you. Partway you grabbed a plain comb to send through the synthetic hairs that rested atop his head, the sensation was yet another new one considering his holoform was mainly used as a disguise, not a tool for self care (or in this case care from a trusted individual). It was a nice change of touch, if that made sense. The sensation was a lot more enjoyable compared to battling or trying to track down energon to refuel the already exhausted team. Unfortunately, due to his short hair the moment didn’t last near as long as he wanted or deserved, but at the very least he wasn’t damp anymore. Between the heat from the blow drier and what’s left of the steam from the bath, he felt so cozy and weightless, almost as if the water washed the weight from his tender shoulders. With a click, the air stopped blowing on his scalp and a gentle tap on his shoulder made his eyes open up again.

“Come on, I’m making you watch a movie. Don’t worry, I picked an animated one so it’s nothing too intense.” Despite your order, your tone stayed soft and gentle as you spoke, making sure not to jolt him from his little moment of peace. As you put your tools away Optimus stood and ran a hand through his hair, taking in just how soft it became from something as simple as wind. Being made of metal most of the time didn’t allow him to have such moments, to a human this would be such a normal everyday thing but for him it was a welcomed break. Being able to be over all softer and vulnerable after being alert for Primus knows how long, it was soothing after the first anxieties fizzled away. You took his hand and led him back to the main area of the base, dragging him up the steps and to the slightly worn down couch. A small tv, fit with the kid’s gaming console and various movie and game cases scattered about. By the looks of it, the team has already escorted their human companions home while Ratchet lingered in the background, typing away at his computer as per usual. It was abnormally quiet considering the hubbub that filled the room earlier, but the lack of music blasting or prepubescent voices squeaking their way into everyone’s ears (or audials) wasn’t unwelcome. You led Optimus to sit down before you crouched in front of the tv, popping in your choice of entertainment. Most have already been watched so you made sure to avoid anything overly angsty or gut wrenching, from what you know the prime doesn’t sit down and watch these, hopefully you can get him into something besides recon. Everything was up and ready to go as you made you’re self comfortable next to a rather stiff holoform. His hands were awkwardly tapping against his thighs as his back was straightened, clearly unsure of what to do or even where to look. Has he ever taken the time to actually wind down…?

“You’re stiff as a board, here, get comfy.” A little maneuvering later you managed to get him to lay down with his head in your lap, though the lower part of his legs ended up dangling over the arm rest due to his sheer height. His body was still fairly rigid but, it’s an improvement at the very least. A blanket rested on the back of the couch, it was a thin but fuzzy one that June brought over in case the you or the kids got cold, it’s coming in handy right about now. You draped it over his body and your legs the best you could, it was a bit difficult considering the size difference between you two, but you managed the best you could. After a couple button presses and a huff from Ratchet due to you asking him to turn off the light, the movie began.

The screen displayed whimsical colors as exciting music erupted from the speakers, immediately capturing the prime’s attention. You could see vibrant hues dance along his cheeks and nearly child like wonder swirl in his eyes, the way he processed every sentence and action was endearing, especially considering you’re doing something as small as watching a movie. You could practically see the cogs turning in his head as he clung to every word and movement of the characters, the sight of such a strong bot finally getting a more than well deserved break was heartwarming.

Part way through the movie your hand drifted into his hair, immediately raking your fingers through his soft locks. There was the slightest, almost undetectable, tensing in his body before he eased into the touch, even trying to cuddle closer to the best of his abilities. You could feel how he sunk into you even more as he watched the screen, eventually letting a yawn slip from his mouth. He fought to stay awake though, hellbent on seeing how the main character beats the antagonist and resolves the main issue at hand. Optimus was much more exhausted than he let on, even he didn’t realize just how tired he was. By now he’s twisted to lay on his side and his upper body was layered on top of your abdomen, arm wrapped somewhat around your hip with his head laying on your stomach. Eventually his eyelids grew too heavy and drifted closed, his fleshy frame softened ever so slightly as sleep overcame the poor mech. Your hand still danced around his hair, mindlessly playing with the strands as a similar fatigue settled its way deep into your bones. The ending of the movie will remain unknown (to Optimus at the very least) as you both dozed off, getting some well deserved rest.

——��—————————

sorry this took me ages!!! between surgery, mental health stuff, and being exhausted every day it’s been in the works for a lot longer than i intended!!!!

[anti-katsuki-lounge]

yk, it kind of annoys me when people rag on shinso for "coasting through life with his quirk". like, there are plenty of other valid criticisms of his character in canon (though admittedly i love his fanon characterization a lot bc of my own biases) but that one always gets under my skin. because that's,,, something basically every canon character does? if you have a quirk, youre going to use it, and the metric for which people use to identify a character as "relying on their quirk too much" seem inconsistent at best. even our very own main character midoriya starts relying on his quirk for everything basically as soon as he can use it without hurting himself, and we stop getting those fun moments where he gets to show his intelligence and creativity nearly as often as theyre replaced with "who can punch harder" contests.

also people who claim shinso did no physical training before the entrance exam, or before aizawa picked him up. because as far as im aware,,, thats never stated in canon? i think people are assuming that if he did any physical training, he would've automatically gotten into the hero course, but that's just not true. even if he trained as hard as he physically could, its gonna be basically impossible for a 15 year old who doesnt have a quirk that gives them an advantage to win against enough robots to pass... which is the literal point of the test. and before anyone brings up hagakure or ojiro, ojiro has an extra limb which canonically helps with his destructive power (he uses his tail to destroy things his punches/kicks couldnt multiple times) and professional martial arts training that shinso clearly doesnt have based on how he flailed during his fight with midoriya, and hagakure is invisible so she can easily sneak up on the robots and take the time to find their weaknesses without being attacked. clear advantages.

and even if he did absolutely no combat training, that could easily be a result of the whole quirk-centric society brainwashing everyone that their quirk makes them who they are. that they have to rely on it, and use it as their guide on who/what to become. so the fact that people are so quick to chalk it up to stupidity and arrogance, when it could easily be just a teenager who isnt immune to propaganda being bitter (and admittedly cruel, like i said not a fan of his canon characterization) when he tries to do something good with his "evil" quirk and it doesnt work, or hell any number of hundreds of other explanations, annoys me a bit. (i realize this is probably coming off as more of an angry rant than im intending, but im not actually that upset about it, im just trying to communicate my thoughts clearly.) ultimately, i dont think we have enough info on shinso's character to decide things like that, you know? and i dont think its productive to just decide that one interpretation of the very limited information we have on his thoughts and actions is the canon one, and then bash/praise him for that interpretation.

i think that's also why tagging things as OOC isnt really done anymore unless its egregious, because there are so many interpretations of characters that are close enough to canon that that version of them can be argued, and a lot of times the person who holds that interpretation is truly convinced that version in their heads is canon, to the point that anyone saying it isnt is automatically deemed an idiot who can't read. so its easy to say "people should tag more things as OOC", but it takes a lot to be aware that how you read a character may not be what is actually displayed in the text or what the author intended, and a lot of people only think about how they read the story due to their own biases or creativeness or pet peeves, not the literal reading of the text. its especially hard in manga, when drawings of facial expressions can sometimes be argued to display a number of emotions, thoughts, etc.

and that one post where someone said that shinso would die immediately if he had to fight someone with a weapon, when he wasnt trained, and they were genetically physically immune to his quirk?? like, yeah, obviously??? so would anyone! these hypotheticals are meaningless, because you could easily say "well, what is hagakure had to fight someone with a gun who had heat vision on day one, she'd probably die" or any other random character and scenario. it means nothing, especially since shinso was actively training to get into a school where he would be trained to both use his quirk and what to do when he cant use it. just saying "well he wasnt good at fighting before he got in" is a terrible argument. i agree with a lot of the rest of the post, but that one part baffled and irritated me.

I think Hitoshi’s biggest flaw is that the world building around him sucks. Had he been shown to train and still failed and had we actually been showed that he’s been bullied, his anger would’ve been justified or at least understandable/sympathetic. Instead we have… nothing, which makes him seem like he’s throwing a temper tantrum and/or comes off as entitled. On paper, he’s not a bad character whatsoever, and the same goes for Shota. The main issue with both characters comes from how they’re executed and how they mesh with the world they’re in.

[lowkeyclueless5137]

And ANOTHER P5 x Twst au :3

Oh god this is gonna be a trainwreck :v

But what else is new in here? :'3

Anyhow, I got like... Months ago an ask about another possible p5 x twst au and, of course, this derailed into shaping a whole thing.

Yet it wasn't enough for moi. It had a lot of holes in the plot and if you know me, you know that I gotta fill those up until I'm satisfied. :3c

So here we are✨

We are gonna reflect the whole time-line: top to bottom, explain every lore bit to the best of my pea brain's capacity and see what crawls out :v

How are we gonna do it? Well it's gonna be simple: we will go plot time-line wise and when things that do need explanation will pop out, they will be explained underneath the paragraph in smol text. If the marked section consists of a spoiler, it will be marked AND colored, which means it will be explained later, in a smol text, post the spoiler paragraphs.

Explanations will consist of:

plot irelevant information

games cannon points

the ooc lore that ties in the 2 games

time-line clearance :'3

I'm also gonna refer to the P5 protag as Ren Amamya, so yep. -3-

Fair warning: there will be spoilers for the whole P5 vanilla version along with Twst's latest story chapter. Since we are going cannon time-line wise, you can either go and read it until you don't want to be spoiled or you can simply read it after you saw your spoilers in the cannon games. :3

Now onto the fuckery! :D

We start off with how it all began :v

Ren's school had a letter exchange program, as a way to teach English to kids in a much more engaging and fun way. And what is a more fun way to learn a language than kids making a pen pal? He was in middle school at that time, pretty excited for this thing. They were given a few options as well.

Except that poor lil Ren didn't know how to write a school address from the options given. Instead, because of his excitement, he only wrote 'pen pal :3' in the bracket meant to have the address to send it to.

What Ren was unaware, was that, despite giving it in person to the mailman, the letter got lost among the hundreds of other letters meant to be sorted and sent.

It does get sent anyway.

And the answer is quite over everyone's heads.

You see, a few days later, Riddle was asked to pick up the mail by his mother. He would usually read the address, not expecting for anything to be addressed to anyone but his mother.

Watch his utter surprise when he sees a letter intended for 'pen pal :3'. Riddle was shook, but knowing that all the letters for his mom have her name on it and a fancy adress, the kid's brain makes the connection that HE is the one whom the letter was meant for.

So he hides it and keeps it to himself, until late at night. He uses a small light spell as he excitedly opens the letter. His mother always banned him from seeing her letters, so he believes this is also a very private moment.

And the contents were as follows:

'Hello! My name is Ren. I'm 7 years old. I live in Japan. I lika red and cads! What is your feivoriite color? Do u like cads? I'm exxcitd to be friends! -Ren'

Yes, it was short and yes, the errors were there amongst the sloppy writing, but it was authentic. The doodles did help Riddle understand that Ren liked cats actually. He even drew himself too! Even if it was a stick man with a lot of black for hair. And he even said he wanted to be friends! His very first friend!

Of course, being the very first friend, Riddle was over the moon. He didn't know how to even redact his letter. His mama always wrote hers, again, alone, without Riddle being allowed to see, thus the redhead believes that, again, it's a very personal activity.

And he got a letter. It would be rude to not respond to it!

So next morning, at individual study session, when Riddle is left alone, he pulls out Ren's letter. And uses it as an example. He puts Ren's address at the 'from' as he puts his full adress too, thus completing the destinations rubric completely. He quietly puts it in the mail needed to be picked up by the mailman and then off he was to continue his studies.

A few days later, Ren receives a letter with very nice writing. His parents think for a hot minute that their kid got a letter from a fancy school or smth. But no, it was from Ren's new pen-pal. The boy was so excited that he ran off the stairs and almost smushed on the ground. He left any breakfast he had on the table and almost spilled over a glass of water in his excitement.

Riddle's letter was far more difficult in terms of quality and English, yet Ren did make a big Boi effort to understand it. For the sake of pen-palling!

'Hello, Ren! I am Riddle Rosehearts. I am, as well, 7 years old (my birthday is in August) and I live in the Queendom of Roses. I am very happy that we will be pen-pals from now on! My favourite color is also red. And I do like cats, although I am not very sure what my favourite animal could be. I do want to ask: how is it in Japan? I never heard of such place. Is it nice? I would love to hear more from you and I'm very excited to be friends through the mail. -Riddle'

It took a lot to deschipher the letter itself, which only added more to the time for making another response.

Meanwhile, poor Riddle thought he made a bad impression for not adding doodles. He didn't really have time for such things. Yet, after a week, he gets a letter for him, from Ren and he's absolutely happy when he sees the response. Ren even made an effort to say that his pen-pal has very pretty hand-writing. As such, Riddle gets an idea of how Japan might look like, or at least Ren's little hometown. The redhead tried to research about Japan, but found nothing, thus assuming it was a local name for some country close to the land of the dragon. Meanwhile, Ren said promptly that his pen-pal is from the Queendom of roses, but everyone assumed he was referring to UK. No one questioned it, assuming that it was a thing in between the 2.

-they also believed such thing because in cannon of twst, time is reffered as our normal time

-in here, the time is the same for both worlds. Japan time is sage island time, so there's a small decalation of hour.

This letter routine continued. Ren was a fast learner, thus he had a quick evolution in his English, which gained praise at school. Meanwhile, Riddle was finding a warm and fuzzy spot whenever a new letter would come for him. Both found to grow very close to each other, like a brother you would tell all your Woes to. The letters came from simple things, to much longer ones, about one's week, personal problems or even funny side-stories.

Since Riddle was helping Ren with his studies, the latter found it fit to teach his pen-pal Japanese. This also shifted the contents of the letters, containing small notes in Japanese. Just how Ren's English looked sloppy at first, Riddle's Japanese was the same.

The letters also came more thick at one point. Ren would send small things, trinkets and candy, while Riddle sent in trinkets and pressed flowers. When the small objects were exchanged, Riddle unfortunately already was busted long ago for sneaking out to play with Trey and Che'nya. So imagine that Ren sending him such small trinkets, there was bound to be some sort of reassurance.

And while strawberry tarts were great, Riddle found Mochi to be his comfort food. It was small and was eaten easily. In his mind it was similar to a tart: comes in a big variety and it was given to him by someone he holds dear in his heart. Along with the fact that his first ever taste of one was always the strawberry flavour.

-he told Ren in a letter that he liked strawberries, so the latter made an effort to choose strawberry sweets.

Meanwhile, Ren was very happy with his own lil trinkets and things. He made a small glossary of all the pressed flowers as well, although at first he thought the 'sweet rose' was candy and ate it. Imagine his surprise when he discovered in the next letter that it wasn't supposed to be eaten. But it still tasted nice. :'3

-Riddle sent another 'sweet rose' for Ren's glossary after that, as to have the entire collection

This becomes a routine, that is followed all the way to high-school. Ren started first high-school and had to explain to Riddle how the Japanese sistem worked. Nonetheless, Riddle was expected to start his first year while Ren was around the middle-end of his. So there was that.

-Twst follows the European/American school model, thus it has some decalation with the Japanese school model.

Riddle also expressed his considering of taking on for the dormleader position once he got his acceptance letter. Ren, tho, said that it wouldn't be good to paint a target on his back so early. That maybe, first, he should gain a good reputation and trust of the others so he could be recommended rather than simply taking it by force. It would look far better in this case scenario, which would be easier to gain respect out of others once he does get the position. He makes some good points, which gives Riddle a much rounded idea of how he could raise as a much more respected Dormhead.

Trey inevitably thinks that maybe he managed to talk sum sense into the redhead, whom initially was dead set on taking that position. So for now, he got a bit of credit for this. :'3

Although, for Ren's end of the year, things get a bit messy. Like in the cannon of P5, he gets charged with assault for pushing off the man that tried to force himself on a woman. In his urgent letter, he stated that the man's name, which Riddle takes a note of for future reference.

Still, the redhead was worried sick for his friend. He did change his letters accordingly, in April this whole Tokyo probation would start, so Riddle still didn't finish his first year by then. Ren told him that for the time of the formalities of moving and getting enrolled into the new school, he won't be able to write, so Riddle could let off a worry if he didn't receive the usual letter.

-Ren had to pack things and move to Tokyo, thus, still waiting for the new address, he couldn't have Riddle write accidentally the same address and send the letter to the wrong place.

The night before Ren's first day of school, Riddle wakes up in a theater room. He was chained with ribbons by all limbs and a guy that was painfully similar to Jade, introduced himself as his brand new attendant. This Jade was strikingly different from the real one, mainly by the white hair in an undercut and the more punk appearance, which wasn't fit st all with the theatre's elegant presentation. Unfortunately, the master of this room was not availabile now, as he is tending to the other wildcard.

Despite that, Riddle feels like someone else is watching him. Like there are 3 persons in this theatre and one of them was the redhead himself.

Still... It was wierd af :'3

Imagine being in Ren's shoes. You have your brand new school day after a freaky prison dream. You are in your uniform, meet a kinda nice guy and together you head to the school, only to be found in front of a castle.

To add salt to the wound, they hear a scream from inside and rush in to see 2 guards dragging out a small, struggling guy. Ren recognised him as Riddle and the latter tried to free himself when the guards stopped to 'interrogate' Ryuji and Ren.

-the 2 exchanged photos with themselves at one point, after all they've been mailing to each other since 7.

Guess it's now getting Dormeo-ed and waking up in a dungeon cell. Riddle was freaking out since he was just heading out to PE, while Ryuji and Ren were just getting to school when they found themselves in this freaky place.

The redhead mentions how his magic didn't work out in here, to which the other to swipe it under the rug, in favor of finding a way out and trying to survive this crazy shit. :'3

Cue Kamoshida coming. Riddle is absolutely baffled that this is a PE teach. Like sure, Vargas had an obsession with muscles, but the man had sum decency, ya know?

The situation was overkill for Ren tho. Like this is the first time he meets his pen-pal, his brother in arms if you will, and he is now gonna get killed by his new PE teach who is in just a speedo with a wierd cape.

The first one on the line of execution was supposed to be Ryuji, but Riddle charged in and pushed a guard aside, which got him to be deemed as the first one on the chopping board.

Cue Ren's very epic awakening. Everyone is simply losing their shit atm. :3c

But that, clearly that had to be magic. Using that as a distraction, when the guards turned into your run-of-the-mill Jack-o-lanterns, Riddle spared 0 time in grabbing a sword and cutting one of those lil shits's heads. Ryuji stole the keys and together they closed off Kamoshida in the cell, trying to run away.

Cue realising that they are lost. :'3

So, instead of jumping on the other side of the river, they decided to look some more in here, try to find a sturdier bridge, because it was unclear if their adrenaline was yet to wear off.

They, unfortunately, stumble across a few cells with students that Ryuji recognises. The blonde explains to the 2 that these people are actual students at their school and he wanted to free them. Unfortunately, the keys didn't work and so they had to ditch them. Ren is very collected about this shit, preffering to not act rash in a situation where their very lives are on the line.

Riddle tho? Riddle sees it as unfair. And he's absolutely enraged. He insists to bargain with Kamoshida for the captive students, but, upon returning to the cell, they find no Kamoshida and that the whole door was blown away by smth. And not just anything, but something very powerful, as it left quite horrifying trails and marks. This gets Ryuji on board to finally ditch everyone else for now and try to get out before they get killed.

But, they have a run-in with a red-armoured guard, tasked with taking care of this 'intruders'. By how everything was shaped around, Ren looked drained from his transformation and Ryuji had a small halebard found on the ground to fend himself with. Everything was absolutely wrong and someone had to fix it before their heads get rolling. And Riddle deemed himself as more than fit for the job. He was well versed in the art of magic and his senses simply told him to protect his friends, to protect the people he holds so dear.

Cue epic af awakening.

With this new power, the redhead demands for Ryuji and Ren to run away while he deals with the guard. Because it didn't turn in any shadow, Riddle used that to knock off the guy from the horse and take the animal to ride and catch up with Ren and Ryuji.

Cue meeting Morgana, just as the 2 freed the cat-thing. Morgana introduces himself as a very skilled Phanthom-thief and as such, he sees some potential in the now 2 masked guys. So now they took it by steps towards the exit.

-the horse was also a shadow, so it had to dissappear, plus Morgana insisted to be discret.

Ryuji is lowkey all like: what's with the people burning alive and getting sick outfits????

The cat gives us drugs! (yes, I love that joke for sum reason) :D

Morgana also shows a demonstration of how personas work. Arsene was mainly using curse attacks and physical ones, while Judgement queen was had mainly fire and a tiny bit of bless, thus keeping the distance.

While escaping, the 3 return to Tokyo, which is bad, since Riddle was supposed to be at NRC. Everyone was, rightfully, freaking out about it. Thankfully the new badass outfits didn't come over as well. :'3

Riddle does look around and uses magic to change his uniform into something akin to a more normal school uniform. Cue Ren and Ryuji freaking out since that was actual magic and Riddle was not making shit up in his letters. Ryuji brings up that this is how the redhead dyed his hair so vibrant, to which Riddle replies that no, his hair is natural.

-In P5(not royal) universe, there are no wild hair colors. The dark blue is meant to represent a colder black. By Japan's standards, some would believe that a bright red hair could be either a delinquent or a J-pop idol. :'3

So Riddle does use magic again, to make his hair black, although still it retained a tint of red to it. It was absolutely sick for Ren and Ryuji, while Riddle was more concerned with getting himself back to NRC.

They re-meet Kamoshida and Ryuji with Riddle are immediately ready to square tf up. By sum miracle, the redhead understood perfectly Japanese, as if he was an avid speaker, which wasn't the case at all. No one brings it up, Ren and Ryuji assuming it was sum fancy magic shit.

-Cannon P5 has the group understand Morgana as a cat, so it can be expected that a more human language could be altered to be universally understood.

Riddle has to wait outside, which means the latter gets to explore around a bit. They exchanged phone numbers already and Ren with Ryuji asked the redhead to get them smth to eat post classes. Already they were through more than half of the school period, so it didn't take too long. Along with this, the 2 didn't want to catch the empty school shop, so Riddle was their errand boy for the day. :'3

On the way around, Riddle meets a nice tall guy who tells him where a cheap store is. That was a blessing for his already almost broke buget. :'D

The tall guy goes with Riddle to the store and with the extra given coins, Riddle decided to give them to the guy as a sort of thank-you, so he could complete his price for his food take.

Riddle has made a new friend: Yusuke! :D

Unfortunately both of them forgot to exchange phone numbers and only realised this when they parted ways already.

Ren and Ryuji are very happy with the food and together, the 3 discuss about what are they supposed to do. Ren offers for Riddle to sleep with him, but Sojiro might not allow it and Ryuji didn't have any space in his small place. They decide to sneak the redhead in when the latter shows them an invisibility spell he knows.

For the night, Ren and Riddle discuss a bit. The redhead admits that he was a few seconds, at best a minute or 2 before Ren and Ryuji came. Riddle also mentions about his freaky dream with the blue room, to which Ren is all like 'damn, me too'.

The 2 draw a few lines:

both are wildcards, whatever the hell is that

Igor is the master of both rooms

the theatre is not like the prison :'D

Ren got the short stick with the attendants/wardens

So they go to sleep.

And surprise, surprise, Ren is back in the Velvet room. With this opportunity, he asks Igor what is up with his friend and why is he also deemed as a wild-card. Igor says that he was chosen for another motive, but it has nothing to do with Ren's rehabilitation.

On the reverse side, Riddle asks about Ren's velvet room. Again, Igor wasn't here, but Jade says to not question his master's wishes, for they all have a purpose in 'delivering the perfect story' along with shaping Riddle in the 'worthy protagonist' he has to be.

When waking up and everything, Ren makes sure to spare half of his curry for his buddy, while Sojiro wasn't looking. As such, re-meeting with Ryuji, the 3 re-trace their steps post classes. Riddle was again sent through the city for things, meeting again with Yusuke and the 2 hanging out for a bit. This time they did exchange numbers. Yay! :D

They discover the metanav, the freaky app on all 3's phones. Riddle theories that since he came first, he has to also leave first, as to separate the 2 and thus return to their respective worlds.

-it was realised that since magic was common in Riddle's place, the latter was from a different dimension altogether.

This time, they re-meet Morgana, get more things explained and Ryuji promptly has an awakening post facing Kamoshida yet again. Really Riddle was getting impatient and wanted to behead for real the guy. Unfortunately Morgana said that if you kill Kamoshida in here, he has a mental shudown irl and actually dies.

This time, when they return to the real world, Riddle is back in twisted wonderland, while Ren and Ryuji are back in Tokyo. Their phones could still message/call one another, which only was used for them to confirm that indeed, they have to leave separately in order for everyone to go to their respective worlds.

Riddle had to call in sick for yesterday and today, which was plausible. He had a single room due to the Heartslabyul first years not being unable to divide evenly by 4. Trey was the first one to tell Riddle that he was really worried for him, while Cater managed to get him the lost lesson notes, from Jade.

-in cannon twst, the Heartslabyul dorm rooms for the 1st years are split 4 by 4. Riddle is still in his first year as of now.

Now, the redhead stood amongst first years at the one with an absolute perfect score at everything, including attendance, so it was pretty understandable that I'd he was sick he wouldn't come, as such no one really bothered to bring it up.

Still, despite all that, Riddle couldn't help but feel that someone was watching him. He tried to swat it off as being just over dramatic, but the feeling did not dissappear, whatever Riddle would try to force himself to believe.

Meanwhile, Ren makes a Gc, which is titled 'The Bois'. In here, Ryuji makes a list of people he saw in the palace and whom they should interrogate for future reference. They know that Kamoshida is abusing the students, as such they should be careful at how they could address the situation.

Riddle still was doing his best to help Ren and Ryuji with their investigations, via suggesting approach ideas or reminding them of rules and regulations that could be used as a shield for their actions.

Now there is a new routine, which also means that Ren, Ryuji and Riddle sync together when entering into the palace for investigations. Morgana came up with the code-name idea, so everyone was based off a motif from their own costumes, except Joker and Mona. So you have Skull and Rose, with their nice visual themes and then there's Joker and Mona. :'D

It's also time they discover what a wildcard could actually do. Both Riddle and Ren were spooked when their own negociations went a wierd way and gained new personas. Even weirder was the following velvet room trip, where the concept of persona fusions was presented. Ren told his buddy that he had to witness the gulittone execution, while the redhead said that he saw nothing, but heard a chainsaw for some goddamn reason.

Even so, you have Ann joining the group and expulsion hanging over Ren and Ryuji's necks. Now they did have a deadline and it was something that gained the loudest 'what' possible from Riddle.

The redhead tells the 2 that maybe they could avoid expulsion. They had to plead their case, because it wasn't legal to simply expel a kid with no backing motive and a proper investigation. And if there's a proper investigation, then Kamoshida could be shown as the absolute disgusting being that he is.

As such, their dead-line is given a bit more of a stretch, so that everyone could breath a bit in relief. Clearly they were forcing Kamoshida's hand and no doubt that he could find more 'plausible' accusations to give them. But that takes time. And they need that time for sure.

Cue these lil shits making a heist. :v

Ren was deemed as the main leader, while Riddle had to take over in certain situations. It was basically these 2 switching around. Riddle was a no-mercy fighting guy, while Ren was thinking more and stacking power.

Ann also had the brilliant shock of red to black that is Riddle's concealing charm. She brought up that, nonetheless, the guy was adorable and she definitely wanted to take him through the mall sometimes because there were so many pretty outfits he could rock. Riddle did not share the same excitement unfortunately. :'3

Ren and Ryuji realise that their buddy here has that cute charm that makes girls actually approach him.

Back in twst, not a lot of people noticed Riddle's absences. He wasn't that present post classes anyway, even so Cater did bring up that the redhead is pretty absent from the dorm post classes and/or clubs. The dormleader doesn't give it much thought, saying that perhaps he made a buddy and is hanging around. Trey seems to be pretty happy with this more outgoing change after all.

Meanwhile, our lil buddy here is getting traumatized by the horny castle. :'D

Kamoshida is horrible and Panther was more than happy to beat the shit out of him. Mona tried to be reasonable, but Ren said that if they leave the guy alive, then they could still beat him up to a pulp. >:3

Post that and the successful change of heart, the group wanted to celebrate. Ann made the great suggestion to go to this fancy buffet with the pawned money and treat themselves to their heart's content.

Riddle really didn't know how to prepare for such buffet. So he dressed up in smth nice and called it a day. Everyone had the same idea it seems, except Morgana, who is a cat.

Ann had a sweet tooth. And unfortunately she noticed that Riddle also had a sweet tooth, so the 2 indulged in the cakes and sweets, while Ren, Ryuji and Morgana went ham on the meat and other savory foods.

Then it came time to name their group. Upon a vote, it was decided to be named simple: 'The Phanthom Thieves of hearts'. Riddle brings up that it maybe they should lay down low for now, since clearly police would look into it. And Ren was on probation, so any bad light can be a fatal move.

Later on, Riddle hears from Yusuke, who tells him of this art exposition. And him having extra tickets, he was thinking of bringing his friend to see the art of his master, Madarame. The latter couldn't possibly decline the offer, so he gracefully accepted to come by in the weekend.

But before that, Morgana said 'let's go into the mementos' and we get introduced to the Monabus. :'D

The freaky part is when they encounter a stalker, whom, after defeat, accuses Madarame of exploiting them. It brings out a very wierd situation. Riddle offered to properly face the man in an interrogation, for he cannot actually be identified in this place, while the others listen in.

Indeed, the guy accuses again Madarame, saying how he wishes for nothing that he put effort in to be taken from him. Unfortunately, that got out of hand when his ex decided to break-up, thus the stalking. But now, seeing actual reason and realising how horrible his behaviour was, the guy begs of our groups to try and use their miraculous ways to save the children under Madarame's 'care', so they couldn't be exploited anymore.

Post that, Riddle mentions how he has a ticket to the art exposition, courtesy of Yusuke, his friend. There is also this wierd alcoholic reporter, who tries to get a scoop on Madarame, having all kinds of rumors on him. Coincidentally, Yusuke saw Ann and deemed her as the perfect model for his next art piece.

So there are 2 different plans of action:

The exposition one, where Riddle is gathering info about the paintings displayed, along with how Madarame himself acts around. Frankly, the old man was quite humble and kind, addressing to Riddle as Yusuke's friend and being happy about more youth attending a traditional art exposition.

Meanwhile, Ann is refusing far and beyond to pose nude for Yusuke, once the true intention of the painting is. In between us, Ren was pretty down to be a nude model. :'D

Still, our group finds the Madarame palace and BOI is that thing FANCY. All gold, abstract building and whoever decided to put pots on the roof. :'3

-In the P5 game, you can steal art pieces on the roof, who coincidentally look like pots

Riddle had a very familiar, yet foul feeling about this place, but he mostly kept it to himself, in favor of how to deal with this place. The pupil paintings were almost the last straw, but still, Yusuke was loyal to hell and back to Madarame. Simply telling him that this guy is bad won't do anything but to sour their already complicated relationship with the guy.

Still, they couldn't proceed further because of the peacock feather doors. So Ann FINALLY accepts the modeling gig, but with a catch: she took all the closet on her. :'3

Meanwhile, Riddle and Mona were meant to sneak in and open the door itself. Using an invisibility charm, the 2 had to both open the door and have Madarame see it open as well. Morgana wanted to lock pick it, but Riddle said 'nah' and straight up opened it with magic.

Unfortunately, neither was fast enough to catch that hefty thing and so it slammed on the shabby floor, which was heard through all the house. So the 2 knew that now either Madarame reaches them first or Yusuke and Ann.

-Yusuke assumed something bad happened or something got broken and thus wanted to assure for the well-being of his master

In a panic, Riddle and Morgana go and hide in the dark room itself, leaving wide open the door. Yusuke and Ann come first and out of instinct, Ann switches on the light.

Poor Yusuke is in an absolute shock. Hearing the footsteps of someone also coming, Riddle uses his magic to turn off the light along with turning Ann and Yusuke invisible. Yusuke wanted to yell, say smth, but Ann shushed him, just as Madarame entered the room. Yusuke saw first hand how the man actually acted around, quite arrogant, yet panicky that maybe someone actually stole a copy of the Sayuri.

Now that he was invisible, Yusuke also saw Riddle and Morgana, which was far more confusing since, for him, it was wierd that Madarame didn't even notice their presence altogether. Fleeing the place, the group came with the metaverse escape, once Morgana accidentally knocked off a painting and Madarame was convinced someone was truly there.

Cue Yusuke freaking out. He was in this metaverse place. In here, all the charms Riddle initially made were lifted, so cue the briliant shock of red hair again. :'D

Rose decided to got directly to the point: this is how Madarame views this whole art business and himself. As a museum of himself, where his vanity knows no limit.

The 2 had to re-meet with Joker and Skull. Yusuke has just a bad time overall and Riddle could only offer to step back and protect Yusuke, while the others fight shadows upfront.

Yet Yusuke also awakens to a persona! Yay! Now we can kick that grandpa's ass! :D

After the whole escape, Yusuke is very down. Ren tried to comfort him, but ultimately Riddle got to send the message across: just because someone raised you, doesn't necessarily mean that you are allowed to excuse every mistake of theirs. You can admit that the person in question is bad, even if they had you since you were a baby.

-Since Ren talked sense in Riddle prior, the redhead is aware already of his own mother's wrongs and thus, is the best to talk with Yusuke about this

Yusuke is now determined to change Madarame's heart and have him answer for his deeds against all those innocent pupils he exploited.

But, Madarame's wary af and thus asked police to make an investigation of the place. The investigation proves to be futile, as no one could find any evidence, besides the lock being thrown on the floor. Still, they were drawing a few suspects, one of which is Yusuke. This puts on fire the group since if Yusuke is accused of breaking in, it's over.

Yet, Riddle gets his summer holiday now. He had to make sure his mother was out in town while he 'studied' in order to sneak out via metaverse. Even so, it hardly changed the routine, since Yusuke also had very lil time to slip up.

By the middle of June they manage to find the treasure, send in the calling card and have the heist. Yusuke gets even more traumatised by Madarame's greed and the group find out about a black mask roaming around.

The confession, of course, is followed by a lot of uproar from the public. Yusuke now was living the ✨broke✨ life and Ren, Ryuji and Riddle are roped in with Mishima onto investigating the maid service, discovering that Kawakami works it as a side-job.

We also see the fireworks! :D

But, later, Riddle notices smth wierd. They were followed, quite indiscretly, by a girl. Ren explained that she was the student council president and it could only mean bad things for them.

Riddle, being done and over with that feeling of being followed, confronts Makoto upfront about stalking them. Like damn, can't a guy have sum privacy and hang around in peace?!

Makoto confronts them back with them being THE Phanthom thieves. Of course, this puts the group in a tight situation as Makoto wants them to prove their ways by changing the heart of a mafioso boss. They need a name tho, so using the journalist Ren meet previously, they deduce the name of Junya Kaneshiro. Their problem was the need to see Kaneshiro in person and deduce the nature of the palace in question.

Riddle tho, stopped her, saying that he is the guy on the terrain and that Makoto shouldn't get involved with those guys directly. Makoto tho, dismisses him, which almost gets them caught off in trouble with Kaneshiro, but thankfully magic is a godbless in here and Riddle doesn't hesitate to use it in order to confuse the people around and thus avoided an insanely close bullet.

Still, in order to fully escape, they used the metaverse escape, getting yeeted in the fricking bank. Since Kaneshiro knows them now, they gained access oh so much before the 'bank owner' demands cash for their damage done in the club. And a quite exaggerated sum, which could put poor Makoto in a life long debt.

Cue awakening! Heck yeah! We have a motorcycle now! :D

Makoto has many shocks today. Magic, metaverse, personas, the very close escape from ruining situation... Really a lot. Even so, Ren reasons that there is a possibility that the cameras could've caught their faces. It would take a bit more to get the footage and identify them, but when that happens, no doubt that Kaneshiro would want a hefty payment to keep shut.

Still, with sum effort and a very nicely set calling card, the group pull it off. Kaneshiro drops for them sum info about the black mask, but it's not really helping them in this situation.

Cue summer holiday like pros and Riddle starting his 2nd year at NRC. This was marked as special, since last year he was named Dormhead, by the previous one, whom now is in his 4th year. Ren quietly congratulated his buddy, who insisted to be kept on the low.

Still, what Riddle didn't expect was the mountain of tasks that would get dropped on his shoulders. He had to oversee a bunch of things and along that, by sum unspoken rule, he was put in charge of confirming that every Dormhead would come to the entrance ceremony. So he wrote nicely a few notes for the Dormheads, handing them personally to themselves, vices or students who can safely take it to them.

All, well except Idia. Riddle brought this problem to Ren. Like how he could even get that guy out to attend the ceremony. It's not something hard. He could still bring his tablet and speak through it. He wasn't unreasonable. But attendance will be mandatory and to top it off, Ortho, the deemed younger brother of Idia, really wished for him to attend the ceremony. It's not like he was sick or anything. Ortho confirmed that his brother can attend the ceremony with no problems. So it's more of a 'get yo ass out and stay in a corner for 30 minutes' kind of thing.

The rest of the group suggest their own things, but it all boils down to 1 idea: go in person and confront the guy.

Despite Riddle expecting to have a shy guy that maybe needs a bit of a nice word of encouragement to get the things going, Idia was snarky. This guy wanted nothing to do with the 'Resident rule perfectionist' as he put it into words. And that, in turn, railed up Riddle too, which turned into a back and forth with only the closed door preventing Idia from getting his ass whooped into attending.

-being so absent during April and the end of the year, people didn't get to see Riddle as more than just a guy that follows rules to a T

So Riddle, upon Ren's guidance, guilttrips Idia into confirming his attendance for the sake of his brother, who was really looking forward to it. It was a success! :D

Except it wasn't, because Idia didn't show up, despite Ortho saying that he saw his brother in the ceremonial robes, leaving before him even, just how the dormleaders were required to. Add salt on the wound, this wierd magicless peep stumbles in, a cat-raccoon puts on fire the whole goddamn room.

And Azul is his partner in catching that cat. This night couldn't possibly get worse, could it? At least, being used to thief shenanigans, it is far easier to outpace Grim and catch the lil monster, not before collaring him first. It would've been easier if Azul didn't almost blast him off with a missed spell. :'3

Post all this, luckily Ren and him meet up to hang out. In the metaverse to blow off some steam, ofc. Riddle does mention about Yuu, but when Ren suggests to take Yuu himself over to this world, where they belong, Riddle responds that there is a chance that this stranger was brought by the dark mirror. Something was up with this Yuu and he isn't going to risk it until he has evidence that they could be truly sent back safely without them being brought back by accident again.

-Yuu mentioned their home when the mirror asked for them to be sent back, as such it was clear it was a place from Ren's world.

This gets reinforced when Riddle wakes up in the velvet room. He was never summoned there for anything than at first 2 times. He had to ask for different procedures that Ren discovered when he was summoned. So there's that.

But the velvet room this time was more eerie. Far darker around and the bindings were tighter, even hurting when the redhead tried to move. He called for Jade, but he didn't respond, nor was to be seen.

All Riddle knew was that someone had their hands on his seat back, tilting a bit as a way to gain his attention. The person in question spoke very quiet and softly about how this game is rigged and that Riddle should, under no circumstances, mingle in with the magicless human. The redhead is allowed to ask 1 question before their time runs out. And Riddle, naturally, asks who the hell is this person behind him.

The response is: Someone he should've meet much earlier.

Of course, the redhead shared this encounter with Ren. Something definitely was up. He wanted to bring it up with Igor, but Riddle insisted that this stays in between them. Who knows what velvet room shenanigans are truly going on?

First proper day of NRC school and Ren just calls in to check on his buddy, only to be hit with the 'these dumbasses charred a statue, broke an insanely expensive chandelier and almost avoided explosion by trespassing in an abandoned and, possibly, Hazzardous mine'. When Ace allegedly stole a tart, it was the last straw and Riddle collared him. He didn't explicitly kick him out, but the guy left the dorm puffing and huffing so he didn't stop him.

-the way Riddle phrased his nagging made Ace believe that he was kicked out

Ren just suggests that tomorrow he should talk with Ace and Deuce. And just make it clear that he expects the 2 learned their lesson and won't do that absolutely dangerous shit again.

It goes actually well! :D

Ren is also invited to the tea party. The others were a bit busy, hence Ren finally got to visit Riddle's world. There was fun and nice food, so he wasn't complaining. U-Ub

Ren also gets to see firsthand how it truly is in a place where everyone uses magic. The roses were turned red by a flick of a wrist, the dishes were flying off their table on their own, even Trey's Unique magic was amazing for Ren.

Ren also meets Yuu, the magicless hooman in question, along with Grim. Since Morgana also was there, Ren jokingly said that they are kinda the same. Yuu notes how, from Trey's Intel, they didn't expect Riddle to actually have other friends, outside the school. Well Che'nya was an exception, but still! It turns out Yuu was also from Japan, them casually mentioning how in their world, at least, there were those wierd mental shutdowns and sum rumors about Phanthom Thieves. It was very freaky and Yuu was actually glad they weren't there atm.

-Ren lied and said he was a magicless student studying around, coming from the Queendom of Roses as well.

Post that, Ren was pretty glad that Riddle called off the idea of bringing Yuu back home via the metaverse. So far, their idea of the thieves wasn't all pink and sugary, so there was a fair chance they would rat them out.

Post the party, Riddle and Ren talk as the redhead is 'getting back to school' the latter. Riddle does mention about the other Dormheads and how they kinda are in terms of personality. Not the most happy bunch, but NRC was notorious for stuck-up brats after all.

Discussing those matters, Leona's name gets dropped. And what you'd guess, the metanav picks it up. It halts the 2's convo as they realise that 'oh shit, the metaverse is not Tokyo exclusive'.

So until they reach the mirror chamber, they try different things. It does pick up 'coliseum', 'envy' and 'sloth', getting the 2 to come face to face with a more antique place, where gladiator fights were the main attraction. Still, they didn't venture too much. They had to talk with the rest of PTs about this palace.

It comes to a comune accord that this palace was something that needs to be dealt with. At least before inter-dorm magishift season starts. Azul was in charge of organisation so they had to take a leap of faith and get somehow a clue about what Leona might pose a threat to. His palace was cold and straightforward. Shockingly very easy to go through.

Their problem tho, comes with Medjed, back in Tokyo, taking upon a 'duel' with the PTs. For that, Alibaba, a misterious hacker, requested to have a heart change. So Leona's palace had to wait a bit more.

Everyone honestly was thinking that the desert tomb was mocking them with the endless heat, only to have back irl the autumn coldness. Still, they manage to change Futaba's heart, or more like she helps in changing her own heart. This does cause a collapse episode in the real world, something which Riddle can freely use some simple healing magic spells. Still, Sojiro, unaware, called in Takemi to check.

With Medjed dealt with, Riddle is informed of the string of accidents on the school grounds. Yuu, Grim and Adeuce were looking into it, so the redhead assigned Cater to also look a bit in this mess. Clearly, he knew Leona had something to do with this. His palace was straight out outing this thing, but Riddle had to play it right and not raise suspicions.

So he devises a plan to stop the sabotaging, all the while the rest of the thieves group go and steal the treasure. Riddle promised that he will confront Leona face to face, as such they won't need a calling card and make their presence also known in here.

-since Yuu knew about the Phanthom thieves in their world, a calling card would immediately raise suspicions.

Cue busting Leona at the magishift grounds, just as, in the metaverse, Ren was leading the heist.

Except that what wasn't taken in account, was Leona overblotting. This shook up the whole plan and not only did Riddle have to deal with an overBlot, the rest of the thieves got out with the treasure, only for the thing to crumble apart right in their hands.

Instantly, the metanav confirmed that the palace still was standing, so it was clear that now everyone meet in front of it, seeing the now abandoned ruins of the once prestigious looking coliseum. No more shadow readings, treasures or anything that would do with distorted desires. It was like a shell of it's former corrupted glory.

Riddle says that in the real world, Lilia came in between him and Leona and berated him so bad he actually overBlotted. Something like this was absolutely unexpected. And so far Leona was still preparing to play in the exhibition match. He had to return and arrange the Heartslabyul team, so the others decided to come too and keep an eye on the matches.

Magishift was, clearly, something that hyped up the whole group. It was also Futaba's first time outside, at a grand event such as this.

Still, Leona was acting like normal. He was sent to the infirmary to rest after this thing, while Yuu was sent there post getting bonked with the Disk.

For a few days, Riddle kept a close eye on Leona. The palace was in a state of decaying and the guy himself looked like nothing changed. No change of heart was made, but some sort of inner change was done by Leona himself. Something that compromised the whole palace.

After that, there is the Halloween event, where Riddle invited his Tokyo buddies at the open gates event. Magicam monsters like magicam monsters. Still getting a kick outta them. :v

The actual noteworthy thing is post that, when the endless Halloween night starts. In the land of the afterlife, Riddle could feel his personas brimming inside. It felt awfully like some sort of metaverse, but it wasn't his metaverse, more like some sort of extension.

And since WHEN did Lilia need glasses?! They were that hot pink, bedazzled with prints on their rims along with a colorful chain full of beads. Really standing out against his Halloween attire. Still, he said that it was his idea, as to cheer up Malleus for the inevitable end of this big school party. Pepaw, dunno if u have health insurance, but I'm sure af that Riddle doesn't give a damn about it. :'3

Following that, in Tokyo, people didn't really believe that much in the power of heart change. The thieves needed some big target to hit, but that could also be compromising. It does get into a heated argument, with Morgana ditching the group in a rage fit. Everyone is just all over the place. They decide to target Okumura and run into a spaceship palace! :D

Meanwhile, Ren and Riddle decide to solo investigate the mementos of twisted wonderland. They didn't really have a clue how to get to rotten souls, but Riddle suggested to try out students names. This mementos was an extension of the usual mementos, accessed through a cracked mirror and resembling an upside-down tower.

The 2 stumble upon the shadow of none other than Azul. It was surprising, since Riddle knew how greedy and perfectionist this guy was. He expected a more grandiose thing out of him, not a simple shadow.

Still, using the fact that they could easily change his heart and that also there was no trigger for overBlot rn, they do defeat the shadow. It was more as an experiment, to see if a change of heart actually works in twst or it is something else.

Azul had absolutely 0 change in his behaviour. Still he's scheemy and still he has that honey-sweet Demandour, appearing to be friendly and rope u in a deal.

In fact, a lot more people got roped in a deal. Ren wanted to say that they did worse, but Riddle reassured that this was absolutely no surprise: exams were coming up. With Azul as a dormleader now, along with his 'reliability' in the previous year, it was no surprise that the clients would come in more numbers.

So while the whole Octavinelle plot is going on, the PTs are managing the Okumura palace. They have Mona back, along with a new addition: Noir, or by her real name: Haru.

There are 2 things that result in this whole Aftermath: Azul Overblots and Mr Okumura dies live on press. This is pivotal, as the Tokyo public believes that the Phanthom thieves are criminals, while on the twst plan, Azul still is hunting for contracts, although he seemed to lower the actual conditions, to the point is outright too generous. It was a sign of desperation.

Haru needs sum time off to think. With the sudden public death, the voting was postponed at a later date, to firstly let this scandal die down and re-make the whole voting options. It proved as a good time for other prime-minister candidates to make PR moves and capitalise on the death of Okumura for the sympathy of the masses. The ballouts would be hosted in March now, Japan waltzing in the new year with a lack of a prime-minister.

So Haru spends the small winter vacation with Riddle, at NRC. It was away from all this Tokyo Chaos. The others still checked up on her, to make sure she was, at least, able to cope well with the situation. There was a nice atmosphere in the Heartslabyul gardens, nice tea and along those, Haru seemed to enjoy the company of the local small critters and flamingoes.

Of course, due to this, it was no surprise that a certain Floyd Leech would bust the calm, mostly since 'Goldfishie stood over!' and he wants to play with someone else. Esp since Azul and Jade always were with him during the winter break so it was boring. Last year's break was enough for Floyd apparently. :'3

Although Haru found it entertaining the said chase and the chaos Floyd brought, what she didn't quite appreciate was when Yuu and Grim crashed into Octavinelle in the middle of the night and Haru joined, not expecting to be put through a training camp. Still, there was nice food and Kalim seemed very kind at first glance.

Then evening rolled up and Kalim wasn't so nice anymore. Just how Yuu and Grim said, this guy had worse moodswings than Floyd himself. So they split up to investigate: Haru and Jade separate Kalim from the others, while the rest keep Jamil occupied.

On the Kalim side, things were going smoothly once Jade used his unique magic on the latter, now the whole thing boiling down to asking the right questions. Haru was perplexed that Kalim's willpower to keep his promise was so strong, but this is also what outed the whole thing as well if you count in Kalim's connections. It was ironic, really.

Meanwhile, Jamil takes note that Riddle is very precise in the board game, which made him quite the fearsome competition. The redhead doesn't ignore the given compliment, saying that is very simple to advance if you know the rules and don't loiter around thinking of the points, rather consider the penalties. Yuu also notes that the redhead had quite the longer hair, this time being braided around pretty nicely. Riddle says that he didn't really take in account his hair situation at all.

-Haru braided it for him as a sort of relaxing activity for both.

Regrouping back in the guest room, a plan is devised and put in action the very next day. Jamil is exposed and this guy has a breakdown and overblots.

Cue getting yeeted across Scarabia. It came as an absolute surprise, which, to Riddle and Haru's further horror, they discovered that, indeed, Jamil had a palace all along. Who would've suspected such humble guy to turn out like this?!

Haru has now rights to commit extreme violence in the real world. Haru is very happy. :3

Poor lil Kalim... He's devastated, but nothing much could be done about it. Haru has her lil pep-talk with him, which turns out on a nice note, with Kalim declaring that he will do his very best to improve, for the sake of Jamil and everyone else.

Jamil also got a pep-talk, but no one really has an idea if something stuck with the guy or if he's just playing along for the sake of getting out of it faster.

Following that and an oasis hangout, Haru decides that she should come back. She stood for 4, maximum 5 days and deemed that all of this small adventure helped her rewind a bit and clear out her head.

Post her leave, Riddle still had the rest of the holiday to spend with the freshly returned Adeuce. Still, Floyd didn't leave him alone at all. He did inquire to know if he didn't get bored of him post the Scarabia incident. They were put to hang out for days together, so how come Floyd didn't get bored?

-in cannon twst, Yuu called Adeuce before breaking out with the carpet, as such the 2 rushed in here as fast as they could.

The latter responds that he knows Riddle's getting more risks taken and that the redhead is mingling with forces he should fear. It wasn't a nagging, because for the end, Floyd says that he's curious of what would come out of all this and expects Riddle to continue this type of shenanigans.

Riddle wanted to ask what in the world is the latter on, but decided to leave it at that and mind his own business. He went to the velvet room, where the other Jade was patiently waiting for him and any questions he may have. The latter has only 1 question: does this Jade have a twin? The attendant hesitates before giving no response, Riddle taking it as a confirmation.

It verified Riddle's theory that this Jade has a connection with the actual Leech twin in real life.

Despite everything, Jade says that, unfortunately, he cannot disclose information regarding the other attendants or about his own position, which further vexes Riddle. Clearly he knew of the twin wardens from Ren's velvet room. And Riddle now knew that in this theatre are supposed to be another pair of twins. But it was only 1. This had to be some sort of parallel. Things so far seemed way too separated, yet they had to be connected. Riddle has never seen Igor, while Ren always was welcomed by the said misterious man. Riddle had 1 attendant, posing as the one and only, while Ren had 2, split into an equal duty.

With those aside... It takes a bit of time, before our group is blackmailed by Aketchi into clearing Sae's palace. It put this whole thing on fire for everyone. And if for Riddle it wasn't enough, for him, this year, Crowley gave him the duty of overseeing the organisation for the culture festival. Mountains of papers and a lot of places, with little time to even rewind for himself a bit.

Aketchi gets also aquitanted with Riddle, being quite taken aback by the fact that 2 wildcards are in the group. Sure, fancy pants... Sure... -3-

But, with all of those Woes and troubles, Ren suggests that the group should also take a break, in the form of the culture festival. An open gates event where they could take 1 break, preferably to clear their heads before the big heist day and to enjoy themselves. Riddle actually looked very forward to it. He liked when his Tokyo friends would visit him. So he marked down the date and he did everything in his power to clear it. Making sure everything was to a T, so that no unexpected worries appear on the last second.

It adds far more on his plate than Riddle would like to admit. But he had to push it through. He had to make sure everything went swimmingly. It all depended on him, the 3rd party that wouldn't be affected by Sae's change of heart. The palace was investigated in record time and add to it that Ren even offered to help the redhead with sum paperwork, so he could speed up the whole process.

What was a thing Riddle overlooked, was literally the other Heartslabyul students. He overlooked that some might mess up something. And when they did, it resulted in a quick lashing out, a collar taken down seconds after realisation settled in and a profund apology for the scare. Those signs also showed in the palace. The reason they advanced so quick was because Riddle adapted an approach of 'wanna negotiate or taste my gun'.

This problem was brought forth with Trey. Him being the vice, the others decided that he is the best person to snap Riddle out of it. Cater even offered to take some of Trey's duties off his shoulders so he could take some of Riddle's in turn and at least clear up some time. Adeuce were gone, an unbirthday party was planned literally 2 days before the VDC. Time was on fast forward and it seemed Riddle had a hard time keeping in the pace.

-Ace and Deuce were at the VDC camp.

Trey tho, swats off the others, saying that it's simply just a more hectic period. A lot of things need to have Riddle's presence or signature, so it's not far fetched to say that even if they wanted to help, there's very little they could do. Cater tho, insists that even that little help they could offer is better than no help, but Trey shuts down the idea, saying that he'll take care of it, the same way he did on Riddle's first year: have a talk with him.

And that goes as well as one would expect: down in the goddamn gutter.

To start off, Trey postponed the deemed talk, until before the unbirthday party. At This point Riddle was piling even more stress, after a morning call where his mother finally got to nag him about staying at school for the winter and also forgetting to give her the weekly report yesterday. It already put on the down mood for the day and that only added up when his dorm students reported that apparently one of the flamingoes escaped, a hedgehog had a bellyache and the roses will take a few extra hours to be re-painted because some first years accidentally turned them green and got lost in between the leaves.

Add to that the poor sleep schedule and the overall tiredness. He intended at first to stay in the lounge and finish some urgent papers he'll have to send over to the light music club, regarding their performance duration, when he fell asleep.

Trey woke him up a few hours later and told him about his slip, which made Riddle to spiral in a panic, asking why in the fresh hell didn't he wake him up earlier?! He had to send those papers today, because those are meant to confirm the presence of certain club performances and allow for the schedule of the festival to be posted. Those were PIVOTAL for the organisation. And he slept on them! Now he couldn't attend the unbirthday party, so he'll just postpone it post VDC.

Cue Trey telling him that already everything was set and they couldn't possibly postpone it, when only the redhead was missing from there. He tries to tell the latter that he should take a break, but Riddle panics, saying that he took a break just now and he destroyed all of his plans. He won't have enough time, he'll have to work even on the VDC day, thus he couldn't take his friends out through the festival. It was all a mess. His only free day was forfeit because he fell asleep. Everything just came in, crashing and burning.

Cue a breakdown and an overBlot. Surprisingly, a quite weak one, since already Riddle was still tired and it was easier to knock him out.

So while the redhead actually does sleep in the real life, Riddle wakes up in the velvet room, again being dark and eerie. This time tho, the bindings were a bit more loose and his hands were smudged with ink. He knew that behind him was, again, that misterious someone. Fortunately, Riddle had a theory and a name for the one behind him.

So he calls out for Floyd to come forth. The latter does listen and presents himself as Jade's twin and Riddle's initial attendant. He was quite different, with longer hair and an attire fit for an actor on stage more than anything. Floyd explains that he waited for this moment. For things to crumble down and allow him a moment longer in here. Jade was very limited in this situation and he adds that Azul's initial plan of sneaking in was busted by that pesky shrimp.

Riddle doesn't really understand what's truly going on, but draws one conclusion: the velvet room twins and the irl Leech twins are one and the same. And Floyd here says that he's supposed to be Riddle's true attendant. Then what's Jade's role? And what does Azul have to do with this whole ordeal?!

Floyd doesn't explain, saying that time ran out and that someone is waking up Riddle in the reality, thus their time is cut short. Nonetheless, if he has any questions or truly wants to see what was truly hidden from him, then he reccomends Riddle would seek him out in any world he deems fit.

When the redhead really wakes up, Trey was holding him, while Cater and Che'nya were also in sight, both ferreting around like headless chickens. Riddle asks what happened, to which he's told that he overBlotted. Now he's lost even more time with his 'temper tantrum' and the inevitable knockout session he had. It immediately ends with Riddle crying, saying that he cannot handle it anymore, that he wants to simply stop time to do everything.

Trey doesn't know what to say, but he tells the redhead that he needs to take a break and recover, weather he wants or not. It doesn't reassure at all the redhead, so Cater steps in, saying that he will talk with the club representatives that have performances planned and have them come here and pick up the papers, as to cut some shortcuts at least.

This reassures a bit Riddle and he only demands now for a bit of privacy.

And he uses that privacy to go to Ren. Now, the latter was a bit taken aback by the sudden visit, but indulges in and welcomes the latter with an awkward hug. He doesn't ask what happened, he just waits for the latter to explain. Riddle does tell in between sobs what happened. Due to stress and using so much magic to patch up for his shortcomings, he overBlotted. He really just wanted a nice lil hangout day before they pull the big heist, but everything was compromised.

Ren, as a gud friend, does 2 things: 1. Comfort his buddy and offer to come with him and help him out. 2. Plan Crow man's funeral in advance and prepare a bat for Clover.

-Ren is aware Trey is a vice and therefore could've taken some of the duties and papers with no problem from Riddle's intel.

Riddle feels like he's asking too much from the latter, but Ren admits that the redhead did so much for him and the rest of the Phanthom thieves, by covering their traces, prolonging their deadlines and helping out with anything possible. He feels it's only fair that he will be here, with a hug and a helping hand when in need.

What Riddle does add is that something is wrong with the velvet room. At least his velvet room, for apparently he has a wrong attendant and both he and the actual attendant are real life people. There's also a 3rd person roped in this and it's none other than Azul, whom at first Ren and Riddle had under a close eye due to odd behavior.

Ren admits that it's wierd, but for now, he says that it would be better to take a deep breath and focus on the now. Not on the what they should do next. So he calls in the rest of the group, filling them up ONLY about the overBlot news. Clearly Aketchi had to catch up with the whole magic shit, but Riddle made it clear that overBlot is an external factor and cannot mean that a person necessarily has a palace.

Aketchi suggests that they still have a week or so until their deemed heist day. They said a week, because Sae is out of town, as of now, and on the first day she returns to Tokyo, she'll get the calling card. So, from his perspective, all the previous overBlot cases share a similarity: they were triggered by something. So he asks for Riddle to re-trace his steps of the day, because something doesn't add up.

So the redhead does that. He starts with the usual, but reaches the end, adding that it was just like any other day lately, until he snapped. Ann does ask if by chance he got upset over something, maybe a discussion, a mistake, something that would usually be brushed off easily. Riddle admits that he didn't think much about it, but now that he recalls, he had in the morning a call with his mother, which did make him upset for the rest of the day. It totally flew by him since just so many upsetting things happened lately that he didn't even realise that the call was actually the one who started the string.

Now Ren knows that his buddy's home situation is rather a delicate problem, so when Aketchi proposes to feed Mrs Rosehearts's name to the metanav, Ren intervenes and tells that they will all take action if Riddle deems it fit. This is something very personal and as such, the latter gets to call the shots.

Riddle decides that he has to finally address the flags he kept ignoring. He knew from a long time that something was wrong with his mother. Ren did help him see that. So he hopes to clear everything up one way or another. And if this is the fastest option, so be it.

Still, it came as a heavy hit for Riddle when the metanav confirmed that, indeed, Mrs Rosehearts had a palace. Unfortunately, his hunch was right and Riddle didn't miss a beat on the other words needed for the navigation process.

The group is meet with porcelain towers, over which are engraved different words/scripts, flailing with their colorful velvety flags. They seemed to represent things like 'honesty', 'loyalty', 'kindness', 'wisdom' and the middle one, the tallest, being 'obedience'. The treasure itself was visible from afar, sitting in the place of the top flag of the obedience tower. The towers were way too apart to grapple hook from one another and neither did they have walk-ways or anything interconnecting them at first glance, protected by gigantic spiky walls. Still, they didn't stay much and returned immediately back.

Ren asks again what shall be the call. Riddle stays a bit to think about it, before he demands that the rest of the team take no action regarding this one. Their most pressing issue is the casino heist right now. So everyone leaves it on a heavy note.

Ren tho, wants to have a heart-to-heart with the redhead, asking on why he doesn't want to change his mother's heart. Riddle explains that his mother is a well-respected doctor. It's clear that if her heart gets changed, not only his own living conditions will be revealed to the world, but no doubt suspicious medical records or less than innocent acts could also come to light. He says he fears for the consequences.

Ren tho, begs to different and says that maybe Riddle isn't afraid of the consequences of his mother, rather he fears what he'll discover inside. He offers to assist Riddle in exploring the place itself, promising that they will not change the woman's heart at all.

Riddle tho, admits that if they are going to do this mission together, he wants someone else to tag along too.

As such, one could see the next day the redhead going to Octavinelle. It was a surprise to see him asking for Floyd's presence, not that the latter wouldn't give it in a heartbeat. Floyd was very eager to find out what does goldfishie need so bad out of him. Riddle himself brings up that he wants Floyd to live up to his attendant duty and assist him in a palace.

And while the latter firstly brings up how Jade or Azul would've said a flat no, he wasn't them. And he was still absolved of his position until further action is taken. Clearly he points out what Riddle would even benefit from his presence in there. The redhead does admit that he has little to benefit, but he doesn't doubt that, as an attendant, Floyd would bring on the table something no other persona user could.

Floyd's response still stays yes, although he almost hesitated when he heard a big condition was to not tell anyone about it. Nor Azul or Jade. Still, the answer was yes and that's what truly mattered for Riddle.

Watch Ren's surprise to finally meeting another attendant that wasn't a smol child set on beating him up. We'll... Scrap that, Floyd was tall af compared to the twin wardens. So in his mind, he concluded that if u are tall, you get a shortie attendant, but if u are short, you get a tall attendant. Ah yes... The math is mathing.

Still, Floyd was the same old loose cannon. He had a glossary of personas, able to summon only the ones that Riddle discovered up until now. You could say he was a pelicular flavour of wild card.

Still, first 2 times it was more of sneaking around, seeing the place itself. It was disturbing at best how much everything was in order, nothing amiss, not even a beat or step of a shadow.

A noticeable thing was that Ren also had to drag off the twin wardens to see places they demand to see. So Riddle found it fit to tag along with Floyd as to entertain the guy for a bit and give Riddle peace with the whole 'goldfishie' teasing. One pelicular thing was that Floyd didn't recognise Justine and Caroline, but the 2 knew Floyd as 'Tragedy' and were aware that Floyd had a twin.

Then, you have VDC day. The day that, despite Riddle's initial pesimism, it went well at first. Only some early morning work before the meeting hour. The rest of PTs arrived at the established hour, and St first it was sunshine and rainbows. Going around stalls, talking with each other and having a great time together.

Although, Riddle did passively mention that NRC's VDC representatives are led by Vil Schonenheit, a famous actor and model. The name rings a bell for Makoto, who remembers that while they went in mementos without Joker or Rose, they encountered a shadow of someone named Vil Schonenheit.

-Joker and Rose were investigating the Mrs Rosehearts palace at that time, so the others were allowed to venture through the weaker levels of mementos.

This puts a question mark for Riddle, since Vil didn't overBlot, nor anyone said that he had any change in behaviour. Even the VDC started like normally. Thankfully Riddle managed to smuggle in the rest of the group in order for them to see the performances. Ofc, a vote went to NRC.

Yet RSA still won. Goddamnit Rook. :'3

Everything seemed way too fine. Still they had time until Sae turns back, so the rest of the day was spent goofing around a bit.

At night tho, the 2 wildcards and the attendant are wrapping up their exploration progress. The palace was so in order that it was shockingly easy to reach the treasure, while still seeing every nook and cranny of it. Indeed, as Riddle predicted, faulty medical records, decease notes, organs files, important documents and other medical illegalities were represented towards the bottoms of the towers, where one would find the underground tunnels meant to connect the towers one by one.

Except that in the obedience tower it was someone meant to be kept there: Mrs Rosehearts's cognitive Riddle. A puppet made out of porcelain, just like the towers, representing that just like this palace, Riddle was a product of work in his mother's eyes. The only things truly noticeable were the cracks through which roses would grow out and the strings that were attached to the ceiling, moving via a complicated mechanism over how it was dictated. Some were broken and thus the puppet was left discarded, in a corner of the room, hoped to never be noticed again.

Riddle knew well enough that Crowley had to inform his mother about the overBlot. Clearly she didn't outright tell him, but in her mind, already the redhead was a failure, a defective puppet. The puppet himself seemed to perk at the newcomers and as such he wanted to challenge them, for they aren't allowed to go further.

Rose demanded that this will be a battle in between him and... Well... Himself. So Joker and Floyd will stay on the sidelines as the 2 engaged in battle. Despite the puppet's best efforts, Rose still won and held the cognitive Riddle at rapier's point. He hesitated, which made the puppet mad and demand on why is he spared, why is Rose so weak that he cannot finish a given job.

Rose responds that, fortunately, he learned his wrongs and whatever his mother sees in him as 'obedient' and 'loyal', was truly something that died long ago. Because of this, now the cognitive Riddle is discarded and not wanted anymore. Because he disobeyed. And now is not worth to try and fix anything. The damage already was done and for once, it was a necessary evil.

So he cuts the puppet's head off, making it to shatter in a pile of shards and wilted flowers, who disappeared slowly. Joker does ask if they should go forward, but Riddle says that it's enough. That they won't return here at all. He got what he wanted and there's no more reason to go forward.

Floyd does ask why he is so prompt on not changing his mother's heart. The reply is simple: despite everything, Riddle still loves his mother. And if he makes the change of heart, he'll basically condamn her to jail, to a humiliating punishment. And he he only wants her to at least live in peace. It is no doubt that her actions will catch up with her at one point, but Riddle would rather first cut all the necessary strings in the real life before the punishment will befall her.

And even if he loves her, this was truly a more cruel punishment than simply changing her heart.

So this palace is left alone, to exist on its own and wait until it will destroy itself.

Except that shit cannot be easy at all, because the very next day, Riddle had a club meeting when they get busted by Charons. Despite putting his best fight with magic, the redhead is put down anyway, not after scorching a good chunk of the sports field. :'3

Oh, the other overBlot victims are here, which for some reason has Vil. Riddle asks what happened with Vil, to which the latter responds that he overBlotted, as a consequence of his actions. Not much detail it is given, nor Riddle pushes for more.

-At the end of chapter 5, everyone agreed to keep the overBlot a secret, as Malleus fixed the stage as well.

We are seeing Idia again! Not really the best place to meet your high-school aquitance, but anyway. :'D

Ortho was very happy for the fact that the others are here and they can play video-games together and hang out. Idia explains that they are here only for a few tests, so it won't take long until they'll be back to NRC like nothing happened.

Despite expectations, Idia allows for the others to have their phones, but they didn't have any signal, nor Internet access. Any photo/recording attempt was shut down immediately, rendering these things as absolutely useless.

What was not useless tho, was the metanav. Riddle discovered that since the thing worked with no problem. Neither his messages with the PTs were affected. He could still send them like normal. So it was no surprise that the others were shook at the news that their 2nd wildcard was in the magic FBI rn. :'D

Still, Riddle managed to look over the palaces history. Leona and Jamil still holded their decaying palaces, while Azul and Vil had no more mementos locations, nor a palace.

So with a wild thought, Riddle puts in Idia's name. The guy was pretty apathetic and despite his shy Demandour, he was snarky and mean when provoked. Add to that his high position in STIX.

It's not a hit.

So Riddle puts instead Ortho's name, not expecting much from a robot.

It's a fucking hit. And not just any simple one, but am entire palace.

Of course, Riddle has a hard time guessing what Ortho's distortions would really be. He guessed right that the latter has the entire world as part of his cognition. But what was surprising was that it was distorted as a torture room. He never expected for the kind robot boy who is so happy and cheerful every day to see the world as a horrible place meant for suffering.

Of course, Riddle had a few hours to himself as the results are rounding up post the VR tests. Those were literally the only tests done. As such, Riddle took the liberty to wonder through that palace.

He finds the ruins. A former shell of what it was supposed to be, depicted as a grueling place, where many lost their lives and lie there as decaying corpses. There wasn't any putrid smell, rather it was smelling like Sea-breeze.

This was a sign of overBlot, but something didn't add up at all.

Cue going back to the real world, just as alarms were blaring. This put Riddle on the spot as he firstly found the emergency door and opened it via magic. He did summon his magic pen insanely easy, so changing in his dorm uniform, Riddle got out on the main hall.

Which had him immediately bump into Idia. And not just any bump, the 2 barreled into each other. Of course, Riddle was ready to pin the latter to the ground and almost stab his staff into him, but then he noticed that Idia didn't wear his STIX attire, rather something more similar to his usual school uniform, with a few differences: the hoodie was fully opened and on the left leg it was a holster for a silver revolver. Idia also noticed the redhead holding his phone with the metanav still opened.

Pretty much is that spiderman pointing meme.

Idia insists that he has no time to waste, but Riddle says that he needs to come with him and find the others. Something is going on in the tartarus and currently, the 2 had vastly different priorities.

But, those get put aside when hacked Charons find them and are ready to blast these 2 off. Riddle wanted to use magic, but Idia is more faster in pulling out the gun itself. The redhead expected for Idia to shoot in the Charons, which wasn't that much of a smart move.

Watch his utter horror when Idia puts the said gun to his own temple and shoots with 0 hesitation. Instead of blood, it is heard a glass shattering sound as there is a boom of light and blue flames, before Riddle could clearly see a persona, in real life, which Idia used to put the Charons in their place.

It goes more like:

Idia: look... I know it's wierd, but you'll 100% forget it, so just roll with it for no- Riddle: YOU HAVE A PERSONA?! Idia: Yeah yeah... Detai-... wait... HOW TF DO YOU KNOW ABOUT PERSONAS?!

Screaming 101 with these 2 doofuses. :'3

Still, Riddle insists that they have to find the others, but Idia refutals that it's no doubt futile. Still, while they argue, the others find them, including the group led by the French he-man. Yay! Everyone's in here! :'3

So they bust in the main command room, dragging Idia by the scruff to also follow. Naturally, the whole situation is presented and so everyone has to split up. Idia additionally went with Azul and Riddle.

Upon entering the Tartarus, Riddle immediately was turned into his thief attire, sign that he stepped into a cognitive world. He's so fricking confused and Idia is also losing his shit about it.

Azul's all like: you 2 are done screaming or I'm gonna miss my appointment at 17 too?

The latter clears it up for the 2: they are both wildcards, but they hail from different sources of will. Riddle's persona was manifested because of his rebellion spirit awakened, while Idia hailed from the lineage of death itself, his will manifested as the embrace of inevitable end. As for Azul himself, he's simply an attendant of a 3rd wildcard.

Clearly, Idia and Riddle lose their shit at this new information, but Azul says that mayhaps they should mind their current business, prevent the gate of the underworld from being yanked open and allowing Ortho to crawl out. Riddle, naturally, is very confused, to which Idia explains that the Shroud's curse is a sign of godhood. Except that this godhood is limited by the mortality itself and the sacred duty of guarding the underworld. Ortho was lost long ago to the tartarus, thus his godhood coming in full swing and hence by the real Ortho breaking out without anymore mortality chaining him down, it brings out only calamity. As such, Idia had no other choice but to accept his status as a wildcard and give his own godhood in order to seal his younger brother away. This was the backstory behind Idia building Robo-Ortho, as a way to cope with everything.

Azul, unlike Floyd, doesn't summon any persona, nor shows how his attendant self looks like. He keeps it 'humble' and insists to not give it too much thought about it.

Cue going down and finally facing the true Ortho. The other 2 teams already did do their damage, so it was time for the last 3. Idia had to summon his best persona he had: Hades, which paired with the thunder spear, was enough to knock off Ortho back into the underworld.

Except that he also dragged the robot body and Grim down, which Idia couldn't allow. So you guessed it, the leap of faith. :3

Vil saves them tho. Idia managed to grab Grim, initially saying that he confused him for Ortho. The reason he did that was because grim coughed out Ortho's memory card, which is what Idia felt as his brother.

But old man Vil! Old man Vil! :D

Returning back to NRC, Malleus does one thing right and returns Vil's youth. Lilia was also there, mostly to supervise Malleus, yet he still gave a greeting to Azul, who responded as well before he was bodyslammed by the twins.

For Riddle tho, in a few days, he had to help with the casino heist. Immediately that one goes in the gutter as they are forced to split up and Joker is caught by the police.

But despite that, Riddle still made a slip for 2 days, staying overnight and helping Sojiro with the cafe, while he and Sae got back Ren, via a switcheroo. Get bamboozled, Aketchi. :3

-Post Futaba's palace, Sojiro was made aware of the phanthom thief business along with Riddle's presence and the magic :'3

So the group's new target? Shido! Riddle recognises the name as the name of the man Ren said he got him on probation in the first place, so clearly this makes things personal now.

Usually, the leadership decisions were taken in between Riddle and Ren, but since now it was personal, Ren had full leadership role now.

So they don't waste time. March was just around the corner and so they didn't have much time until the ballout counts will commence. So there was little one could do in this situation. They had a tight deadline and they had to cater to it.

Despite initial expectations, Idia returns after a week, with the brand new Ortho. It seems like, finally, Idia chained Ortho's godhood and real self in the robot body, thus returning his 'mortality' and allowing him to roam the world freely. With that, Idia also offered to repay Riddle for his immense help. And as a fellow wildcard, Idia accepted to join in the Shido operation.

Everyone else in the PTs are losing their shit when they see just how Idia summons his personas. No badass outfit and straight up giving people heart attacks. :'D

Idia and Futaba are now friends tho. :D

Despite expectations, when hanging out in Tokyo, Idia was pretty used to Japanese culture and used a charm to hide his flaming hair and blue lips. When asked about it, Idia admits that it's not his first time in Japan. Although he initially was on Tatsumi Port Island when he was around 8 to 9. That was the time when he sealed originally his brother. And forfeit his godhood for the greater good.

He explains that gods are chained down by the mortality or the cognitive nihilism as a way to prevent them from bringing calamity. The real world would crumble apart along the cognitive world if a god were to fully roam around the normal people, for it couldn't stand an imense power without reprecausions.

Still, the Shido palace has us facing Aketchi again and finally seeing his true look and his real persona: Loki. There's little to do against the cannon so I guess we say bye-bye to the sketchy detective. :v

For the calling card, Idia aided Futaba in hacking on with the video and everything. He wasn't a tech genius for nothing, so finally meeting his match in programming is smth that gets both Idia and Futaba really fired up. Plus they both like animes and can bond over the burden of social anxiety.

So the day of the big heist comes. Shadow Shido is not smth to play around with and everyone realises it when the shadow sees Joker as the deemed leader, so he separates him from the others and takes him on a 1 vs 1.

Joker ofc wins and they have to make a run for it. They think Skull bit the dust, but nah, he's alive! So all is well. :D

Except that once Shido does confess, nothing really changed in the public's opinion. They still wanted Shido to be prime-minister, but with the guy dipping out, clearly it was chaos in the political world.

Meanwhile, back in NRC, Lilia announces his sudden retirement. With things getting so messy back in Tokyo, Riddle didn't pay so much mind to it. Idia did do his part and filled him up on the necessary points, including the bigass farewell party.

So that's going to gutter when Malleus goes delulu and overblots, trapping everyone in their dream worlds. Unfortunately, for Riddle, he finds himself in the Velvet room. Except that Jade wasn't here, but Floyd. The latter admits that he summoned Riddle here as to avoid him falling victim to Malleus's unique magic and get wrapped in a fantasy.

Riddle does ask what is he supposed to do now. He needs to reach Ren somehow, he needs to fight the overBlot and get it over with, but he's bound to this damn chair and Floyd cannot do anything about it.

The latter admits to it, but also adds that these bindings were set for him by a fake god, who wanted ultimate control. And it all dials back to the first wildcard who defied fate: Idia.

Idia's attendant is Jade, the supposed macabre Comedy that Idia has to deal with. With Ortho falling into tartarus and thus being freed from his mortality, Idia had to forfeit his godhood. But that wasn't the entire story. Idia worked with Igor, the master of the velvet room. An entity that lives in between dream and reality. It was a loophole where gods could retreat and live peacefully, yet in solitude. Clearly, not a lot of deities liked the idea, so they either confined themselves by mortality, roaming among normal people or went into the cognitive world, seeking to have their control in there.

One such instance was a rogue entity that created the TV world. Azul was the interlude in between comedy and tragedy, as such he was the deemed attendant for that wild card: Lilia. Being such an old wildcard, Azul had time to shine as an attendant, as such, Igor deemed him to take over the twisted wonderland's velvet room. As powerful as Igor was, he knew that when it came Floyd's turn, there was going to be a tragedy. And it truly did when the fake God of control proposed a game, locking away Igor and denying Azul's soul from entering the velvet room. Jade was forcefully put to be an attendant, as such Floyd had access inside only when Riddle would start to crack from his expected evolution. As such, when tragedy truly struck Riddle, Floyd was able to freely go in and out of the velvet room, releasing his twin from his forced place as an attendant.

-Azul used the contracts to cover his soul with multiple ones as to try and by-pass the said ban condition

The magicless world was meant to have same fates as twisted wonderland. It was a reflection of fates and circumstances that was broken with Idia, maintained by Lilia and now it was Riddle's turn to either maintain the streak or do something else. And Floyd advises that he wants to see what Riddle truly thinks of this binds for now.

And Riddle, trying to break out of his seat, he manages to rip off the ribbons. They still left some nasty marks, but Riddle was free and he felt liberated. Still, he has to warn Ren about it, so he demands for Floyd to lead him up to Ren's velvet room.

The latter says that he currently cannot do this. Something is blocking him. The best he could do is reunite with his twin and Azul and get free from Malleus's dream spell before doing something more rash.

Meanwhile, with Idia and Ortho managing to find Silver and Co after promptly getting trauma dump by the war, Azul also manges to find the group, snapping Lilia out of it (via roundhouse slapping the Mcshit out of him).

-the dream version of Lilia was the general Lilia, henceforth he had to be shook awake from this.

We also finally see Azul's attendant look for the first time. He was more or so resembling some pirate mixed with mafia aesthetics if one wants to pinpoint. But maybe it's because of the frilly blouse. Unlike the twins's hetercromia, which allowed for 1 gold eye, he kept his blue eyes, them changing to gold whenever he summoned a persona or got extremely mad.

So we get to fight Malleus via different dream planes thanks to Silver's Unique magic! :D

Still, once Malleus was snapped out of it, there was one problem: back in the real world, Riddle still was in his thief attire, sign that something was wrong. Lilia admits that he never saw such thing, but Idia says it's akin to the dark hour, which wasn't supposed to happen. The dark hour was abolished, thus separating the cognitive and real planes for good.

Riddle concludes that he needs to go to Tokyo ASAP. But Grim ate Malleus's blot stone and went ravenous, into a gigantic beast.

So Idia and Lilia reassure that they could handle this. Riddle should go and hunt down that pesky god of control that made this mess of their worlds. And for their sake, to beat it up extra hard. >:3

Azul is the one that opens the velvet room prison door, telling Floyd to go as well and tell Igor that he did everything in his power to stop this. The latter doesn't want to go, but Jade and Azul insist that Floyd pulls to the end with his job as an attendant. This is what all of their siblings want.

Idia be all like 'wait you 3 are ACTUAL SIBLINGS?!' Sure... That's what's bothering u rn?

Nonetheless, thankfully Riddle comes into the prison at the time the fake Igor already left and Ren fused the twins into Lavenza. Now that's someone that Floyd recognised as 'his youngest sister'. Lavenza was also happy to be back, yet the threat of the false god hung over everyone's necks right now. Now free in Ren's world, it made the metaverse and the real world to crash into one another. Riddle confirms it by saying that in his world, already this is happening as well. Idia and Lilia are taking care of the overBlot Grim that is causing havoc.

So with finding all of PTs and roaming the new reality/palace of masses, we get to fight the false God.

Now, for the grand finale, imagine a double awakening. Both Arsene and judgement queen evolve into Satanel and Chernaborg respectively, ending with 2 bullets shot. One is through the false God's head, while the other goes through the chest, both killing it and making it to desintegrate as everything crumbles back to normal.

The Aftermath consists of Yuu coming back to their world as the false god originated from twisted wonderland thus by swapping places with Yuu, it allowed for them to defy fate and tip it in their favor of starting that ruin chain. Grim was merely created as a product of that magic exchanged as Idia explained later.

Speaking of Idia, he doesn't have many plans for his 4th year, but he said that Ortho kept insisting to visit around, so he guesses he'll comply to the wish and maybe travel in between his internship and work.

Lilia is still retiring, although he said he'll just go to his favorite town, Inaba, and live in there quietly. He promises he'll visit the Briar Valley from time to time tho. At least Malleus, Sebek and Silver get reassured that in the end it will be alright.

For our Octa trio, the 3 still have to finish their given lives in here before they will fully go back to the velvet room. Doesn't mean they won't stay over at their other siblings more often than not.

As for Riddle and Ren? Well, Ren was bailed out of juvi and will go back to his hometown. And Riddle is settling himself to move out on his own and simply cut ties with his mother for good. Now the 2 do visit each other, via the shells of the palaces that had their rulers ob irl. Those are pieces of metaverse that cannot dissappear and thus are their gateway in between the 2 worlds. Still sometimes the 2 also plan to visit Tokyo and see their friends too.

In the end, everyone was free!

And that's it! :D

It was fun to make a plot line where you don't only include a different take on the usual elements you keep using, but also add sprinkles of lore that tie in much more stories and hint at the other persona games.

Other than that, I'm pretty proud of how everything flowed out.

And a smol tag of @grandstrangerwhispers ! Thanks for permission to use your ask idea for this! Hope you enjoyed this extremely long trainwreck. :'3

Welp! Until next time! Buh bye!

[jasy0urs]

Asmodeus Imagine 💕💗

"Hypocritical"

A/N: hi again, it's been a while since I last posted, but anyway here's another one. This time, it's an Obey Me! post for Asmodeus. I'll be posting another one soon for Belphegor, but in a narrative style instead of something bulleted. Asmo may be slightly OOC in this depending on how you view his character. I hope you enjoy!

Slight angst || MC (You) is not a minor || Tw: parties, implied alcohol, implied cheating but not really

• You weren't that fond of parties. Like Belphie, you'd rather not get tired, and social interaction quickly sucks the life out of you.

• For some reason, during your stay throughout devildom, you've been particularly close with Asmo.

• He always seemed to make an appearance after classes, offering to walk you home despite Mammon's protests.

• You found out that you liked his energy. It's as if he's that one baddie best friend you never had back in the human world.

• By growing closer together, you also learned alot about one another. How he has an intellectual eye for the arts despite his nature, and how he's not afraid to help bring out the best in you, whether it'd be through regular makeovers or simply encouraging you to get out of your shell.

• You also happened to share the same taste in music as him — well, most of it. You could share to him the latest pop and rap hits from your world and he'd be dancing alongside you.

• Even though you have low self-esteem, Asmo was there to assure you of your worth.

• "What do you mean 'ugly'?" He asked, flabbergasted by your comment. "Darling, you clearly haven't taken a look at the mirror. You are simply adorable!"

• "Cute seems to be a nicer way of saying just average," you muttered, not intending for him to hear, yet he did so. When you looked up, you were surprised to find him with an angry expression.

• "Asmo?"

• "When I tell you you're beautiful, you're supposed to say 'I know!'" He scolded, not hesitating to grab your shoulders and pull you closer. You attempted to get away, but he managed to keep you in place. "Whatever angles you're convinced you look ugly in, I see them as beautiful." His voice was so soft when he said it that it made you feel guilty for having such low confidence in yourself.

• "I'll try to... see myself in a better light."

• You two often have heartfelt moments like these that, honestly, are sometimes suffocating. You were glad to have a friend as close to you as Asmo is, but you were afraid of the implications that brought.

• Was he viewing you in a romantic light, or just as a friend? If it was the latter, it was too close of a friend, you mused.

• Despite your mental debates, you accepted his invitation to go out to a club and party with his friends. You were quite curious about them. Plus, this could be the chance to possibly meet someone.

• He offered to put makeup on you. You accepted it. He secretly bought a dress for you, even! You were shocked and offered to pay him back, yet he was having none of it.

• "Once my eyes landed on this dress, I knew I had to get it for you! You would look absolutely sexy in it!"

• Cue panic at not meeting his expectations. Just smile through the pain, you guessed.

• The moment you two stepped foot into the club, you were swarmed by demons in all directions, most of them drunk. You watched helplessly as Asmo was dragged off to who knows where by his "friends", laughing all the way.

• You silently cursed him for leaving you behind, but you won't let that stop you from having fun.

• You decided to sit on a couch in the corner, away from most of the bodies that attempted to grind you. You didn't want to make a fool out of yourself, so you avoided the dance floor. You wanted to get a drink, though. Too bad your anxiety was preventing you.

• "So you're Asmo's human friend, huh?" A deep voice startled you out of your thoughts.

• You looked up to see a handsome face in a suit. He had crystal clear sunkissed skin and a friendly grin, though his eyes were a bit slanted, causing him to gain a sharp look.

• You flushed at the sight of him, not all that familiar being around beautiful figures. You nodded as a response, though.

• He slid into the couch with you, knees touching yours discretely. You blushed even further at the contact.

• He turned out to be nice. He was in a few classes with Asmo and, as a frequent club goer, has met him through the same means. Even though he spends most of his nights out partying, he still hasn't failed any of his classes. He simply enjoyed the night scene of Devildom more than most folk.

• He winked at you and you scoffed, a playful smile on your face. "You're better academically than Mammon."

• "Wait, really?" His jaw dropped. "I'm more responsible than one of the 7 princes?"

• You two laughed at each other's stories and interests. Overall, it was a really enjoyable experience, and you were mentally thanking Asmo for the invite.

• You didn't know when it happened, but the atmosphere started to turn flirty. You didn't mind. On the contrary, you welcomed the sudden shift, finally able to bust out the cheesy pick up lines you've made over the years. He easily laughed at all of the ones you threw at him, also replying in equally cheesy ones.

• Woah, when did your faces get this close?

• You were nervous and excited at the prospect of finally getting your first kiss. You weren't really a romantic, so a quick and lighthearted first kiss would have been perfect for you.

• When your lips touched, you felt relief. You had fun with him, he seemed interested in you, you tested out the waters, and it ended with a kiss. A nice way to end the evening, if someone was to ask you.

• The kiss turned heated and you were pulled into their lap. You were surprised, but after realizing that he wasn't touching you inappropriately anywhere else, you settled down and kissed him with equal fervor. Your hands wound up in his hair.

• Even though the kiss continued passionately, your energies started to die down, and you two were only kissing lazily. His arm was above your bottom with a thumb stroking your waist.

• It was nice to be kissed, you discovered.

• After a few more minutes of lazy intertwining of tongues, you felt glass shatter behind you and you were roughly pulled off his lap.

• At first you thought: 'Uh oh. He didn't tell me he had a lover.' Before you were turned around forcefully and was met by a furious Asmo. You blinked at him before smiling.

• "Oh, you found me."

• You were forcefully dragged out of the club, leaving behind a new and confused friend. You were stumbling at how fast he was walking. Since you were wearing heels, the speed wasn't that convenient.

• "Wait, Asmo, stop!" You panted, "What's wrong?"

• At that question, he finally stopped. His hand released yours. When you finally got your bearings, you noticed that you were already in front of the House of Lamentation. How fast were you two even walking— no, running?

• "'What's wrong'?" He repeated in a confounded voice. "Are you serious?"

• You were just as confused as he was.

• "Yeah, you suddenly dragged me outside and walked me all the way home. It's still early, right?" You looked around and noted that the night was still young given by the number of demons still milling about on the streets. "You're usually out 'til early morning."

• "You seriously don't know what's wrong?" He turned to look at you with an expression so hurt you didn't know where to begin. You decided to stay quiet.

• He mumbled your name as he fully turned to you. His arms wrapped around himself; he never looked so small until that moment.

• "You were... kissing another demon."

• Cue confusion.

• "Yes, I was? I thought... I thought the whole point was to meet new people."

• His eyes widened at that. You were right, after all. He did invite you out so you could finally get a taste of what Devildom was really like. Instead of you two getting closer that night, you had a taste of something else entirely. Something that he was hypocritical of envying.

• "You..." He started.

• "You could have gotten hurt, or worse!" Excuses, excuses. When will you stop this, Asmodeus?

• You huffed and crossed your arms over your chest.

• "He said he was your friend. He was nice! He even said that he didn't care I was a human. Besides, he told me that no demons were looking to eat me anymore, not with you around as a bodyguard. Anyway, we kissed because I thought I could. That's it."

• Of course Asmodeus knew that. That demon was nice. He was even willing to lend him notes without getting any favors in return. Because he was just that fucking nice. And yet, his stomach churned with acid as he relived the same scene again.

• You, his... his human, with someone else's tongue down your fucking throat as you were held on their lap. Almost lovingly. Like you two had a bout of love at first sight. What a fucking joke.

• He hated it.

• You were getting more concerned by the minute. He was motionless for so long.

• "Asmo—"

• "Am I not good enough for you?" He finally croaked out. His eyes found yours and you flinched at the storm behind them.

• "I've tried so hard to get an ounce of affection back from you, and I still haven't got it. But that... that demon gets to take it a step further? And you allowed it?"

• It clicked. "Wait—"

• "Guess we're more similar than I thought."

• "Asmo, listen. I was just... experimenting—"

• "But why with him? I'm already here. Why can't you see that?"

• "It's not like that! I thought you weren't interested at all. Besides, you're the Avatar of Lust. Hell, you could get anyone you want! So why are you so angry that I—"

• "Because I don't want anyone else!" He shouted. "It stopped being 'everyone else' for me, and it started just being 'you'."

• You were rendered speechless by the sudden confession. Suddenly, everything made sense. You were just too dense to see it.

• "Oh... Oh no, Asmo. I—"

• "I knew I should've worked harder. Was I just not appealing enough? I can change my routine and make a new one, if that would even make a fucking difference. Was my outfit too ugly?" He started spiralling real fast.

• You slapped both of your hands on his face, uncaring if he berates you afterwards for it.

• "Asmo, let me finish!"

• He sniffed as telltale signs of a few tears shined in his eyes. You sighed.

• "Asmo... I swear that kiss wasn't even serious. I thought you'd understand that."

• Was that really the truth? Did you mean it? His thoughts betrayed his own heart.

• 'Then why did you look like you were having the time of your life?' He thought, 'You two looked like a pair of star-crossed lovers in that moment.'

• His sin may be Lust, but he sure as hell would become Envy after watching that distasteful scene.

• You looked so... hungry. He just wished that hunger turned to him, for once.

• "... Asmo, you're not listening." You sighed in frustration at the circumstances you both found yourselves in. In front of your own home, no less.

• Without any other warning, his tears fell on their own. So much for him trying to keep them at bay just because he didn't want to humiliate himself in front of you nor to wake up with bloodshot eyes later.

• Taken aback, you frantically wiped his tears away, cooing and shushing him the entire time.

• It was the first time you've seen someone this beautiful crying.

• "Calm down, okay?" You assured him. "Do you want to go inside and talk in your room?"

• He didn't want to, but at the same time, he knew he needed to hear the whole truth, and to say his own, as well.

• He only nodded, and the both of you made your way inside. Luckily, you brought a jacket just in case it was cold out and/or you felt uncomfortable just being in a dress, so you covered him with it. He would never admit it, but being surrounded by your scent calmed him instantly.

• The two of you rushed to his room without talking to the brothers you've encountered. Thankfully, they didn't pry due to the glare you gave them.

• 'Scary,' Mammon thought as he shuddered, frozen in place after you gave him a death stare.

• Once in the comfort of his room, you sat him down on his bed while you sat next to him. For a while, only silence was exchanged.

• "... I didn't think I would ever get hurt by this," Asmo began. "Especially since this isn't the first time it happened."

• You were startled at this information. "Not your first time? You witnessed other people do this to you too?"

• He shrugged.

• "With them, I wasn't even hurt a bit. In fact, I might have even encouraged them? It's just, I didn't feel anything... Not until you."

• "Oh..."

• "And I may have even done the same thing myself with a few partners before. I would kiss, make out, whatever with other demons, and they wouldn't mind one bit. In turn, I didn't mind, either. Yet why is it, that when it comes to you, I can't handle it?"

• "... Because you're actually serious about me," You finally realized, rubbing a hand down your face as you sighed. Your heart hurts knowing you betrayed him.

• "I'm... so sorry."

• He smiled bitterly at your apology because he knew he didn't really deserve it, not when he's the biggest hypocrite at that moment.

• "And don't even say 'it's okay', because it's not, Asmo," You scolded him before he could even reply. "I was just dense to everything, I guess. I really thought I just amused you, like... your personal makeup doll or something."

• "What? I would never think of you like that–!"

• "I'll admit, I'm not the type to get crushed on easily, so I wouldn't know about someone's romantic intentions towards me unless they actually say it to my face. What happened earlier... I thought I was finally able to 'graduate' from that, I guess you could say? Like, I can finally do something romantic with someone nice, but at the same time, know that commitment isn't needed because I doubt we'd ever see each other again after tonight."

• Asmo was silent.

• "I didn't know that, in the process, I'd hurt someone precious to me, too."

• His ears perked at that. Him? Precious..?

• You made him feel like a priceless gem whenever you're both together. As if he's regained his purity. To think that you felt the same way...

• "I hate this," Asmo suddenly stated, standing up from the bed. "I hate this so much."

• To think that he would ever love someone else more than himself.

• You, afraid that you might have said something wrong, was about to stand up yourself and clarify things, before you were pushed by him to sit back down.

• He glares at you. You gulp.

• Despite his aggressiveness, the way he called out your name was soft as a feather.

• "Do you like me?" He asked point blank. You blinked.

• Then your face turned bright red.

• Did you? You didn't know yourself, but with the current tension and the scrutiny under his intense eyes, you were compelled to say yes.

• So, you did.

• Your lips were then captured by his in the sweetest kiss you've experienced.

• While your friend from earlier tasted like nothing at all, Asmo tasted like a bakery.

• Confectionary of all kinds danced on your tongue to the point of getting a toothache. His tongue swiped at the roof of your mouth, and you shivered at the sensation.

• You thought your first kiss was 'fine'? Well, this time it felt like you were getting a whole michelin star meal.

• You squeezed his shoulders. "Wait–" But he didn't.

• It was as if he wanted to replace the memories of your first kiss with the one he was giving you.

• "Gotta remove... his traces..." He mumbled, pushing you down on his bed and climbing on top of you. "He didn't deserve this... Truly, he didn't." He kept muttering to himself.

• You were at his mercy, notable by the way your drool mixed with his dripped down your chin and your body quivering under his.

• However, you pushed him away forcefully after losing all the air in your lungs, inhaling right after.

• He blinked, the haze of lust disappearing from his eyes and snapping him back to reality.

• Immediately, he fussed over you.

• "I'm so sorry, darling, I didn't know what came over me. I just— I tasted you for the first time and it felt like euphoria that I've never experienced before. Plus, the fact that you said you liked me, I simply couldn't resist!"

• As you panted on his bed and watched him frantically explain himself, you grinned lazily.

• "You're back, Asmo."

• He stopped what he was doing, uncharacteristically blushing.

• He smiled back.

• "I was always here, darling."

• Guess you were both just stupid with your feelings.

[meowzfordayz]

I'm going to be honest: this is the first time I've seen your blog ever, i have no idea what or who you write for so I'm really unbiased when I say that it's so fucking cruel that you get sent hate messages over fictional characters

No one should go through that, it's nothing but cruel and honestly it makes me mad to know that that anon did this to multiple people (it's wrong for them to do it to even one person but to do it to multiple and then acting like they didn't do it because they got scared is another level)

I was a kny writer maybe a year or so ago and while I didn't write nsfw I also got backlash a lot for "making the characters too ooc" about a post where I was stating my personal hcs which in turn caused me to delete my works and take a hiatus from writing up until a month ago (i still don't write kny however - maybe I will in the future but not after what's been going on, not now) so I can with confidence say that I'm very happy that you guys could fight back when I couldnt

To be honest the messages I received were nothing in comparison to what may (who has been one of my favorite writers ever in this app for a good while) posted and it makes me really mad that people do it for fun

This got unnecessarily long but I just wanted to share that while I know words don't mean much rn you're not in any way alone, and even though I can't do anything about hate messages you guys have my respect and full support for actually doing something about the anons <3

Anon, you had me in the first half, ngl- 😆😂 I lowkey thought your Ask was going in the direction of, "It's so fucking cruel that you're calling out this anon," or, "It's so fucking cruel that you're making a big deal out of this," lololol, so I'm very grateful this went in the other direction. 😭💘

More below❣️

Ah, the dreaded "in character vs ooc" issue. 😖 While ~severely ooc writing can take me out of a story a bit (especially when it's supposedly in canon universe), I've personally never commented on the matter (unless a writer explicitly requested feedback), bc at the end of the day: who effing cares?! 😵 (obvi ppl do care lmao, but that's besides my point)

I'm sorry to hear that the backlash was enough to push you away from writing. 😓 As a writer myself, I def don't take it for granted that I've always felt secure enough to continue writing, regardless of surrounding, ongoing ~politics — writing is a love, a privilege, a gift, and I hope you feel safe returning to KNY content ~someday. 💖

How "objectively mean" a msg is doesn't determine its effect on the intended target — your feelings, pain, and fear are valid. 🖤

I appreciate the time and thought you put into your Ask, and hope your week's going well! ☀️

[oof-ouch-yikes-stripes]

Yknow, if I’m on Tumblr, I may as well use it to shout my many thoughts into the void. Today’s topic is Nesting Instinct, my theoretical submission for Halbarry Week 2023 (if I finish it) and companion piece for Bluer Skies, which is topgun but like. Whatever!! TG characters don’t even show up in this one, just get referenced a couple of times. I do what I want, and what I want is to turn my favorite characters into birds.

For context, this is a Wing AU where those with wings are called avians. 98% of characters in NI will be avians. All avians have inherent magic since avians are inherently magical creatures, but one avian from each flock got extra magic powers that helped that flock escape human persecution a few hundred years ago, and that magic is passed down from one Protector to another.

Alright, let’s bullet point.

- Fun fact!! It’s hard to write two pieces in one world for different audiences!! How much do I worldbuild if Bluer Skies contains all of my worldbuilding but is also miles away from being finished!! Does it even matter if I don’t anticipate that much audience overlap!! Or maybe I should anticipate audience overlap and I shouldn’t spoil things too much? Decisions decisions. It is fun for my POV characters to learn the same things in different ways though. This is definitely the Less Crucial piece to read though.

- Because of The Way Things Are For Hal (he got born into Hell for Avians ((Project Angel)) and as such didn’t get a real name, watched his best friend get nearly killed by and escape from Satan for Avian ((Morningstar)) and had no idea what happened to him afterwards, and then lived as Morningstar’s replacement pet for the next ten years), he is decidedly written as according to these circumstances, which some will see as OOC. To that I say, this is an AU. There is not a Character to be In.

- My darling dearest Barry, on the other hand, got stuck as Protector of one of the last terrestrially migratory flocks, with his special super speed magic, and has to deal with the challenges of being practically in charge of keeping his flock on the move and safe from the many, many things that would do them harm. This is especially hard when the main anti-wild avian force is on the verge of war with the wild avians.

- Circumstances cause them to meet!! Wild!!

- Hal is a violet-green swallow. They’re incredibly aerial and acrobatic birds, which fits with his prowess in the air. Their wings are also green. I considered making him a green heron, since his power set kinda matched with heron’s tool usage, but decided flying was more important to Hal’s character.

- Barry is an Allen’s Hummingbird. I was always going to make him a hummingbird, it was just fortuitous that I stumbled across one that is the Allen’s and is also reddish orange. I’m hilarious, I know. Hummingbird since, while they’re not the fastest in stoop or horizontal flight, they’ve got mad BPM and can be made Faster with Fast Magic.

- Wally’s a white throated needletail and Iris is a treeswift. Swifts, treeswifts, and hummingbirds are all in the same order, which I thought was appropriate, since none of them are directly related but they’re a family anyways. It’s not confirmed, but allegedly needletails have the fastest horizontal flight speed, so shoutout to Kid Flash for that one.

- On the other hand, swifts and swallows are not that related, but had a bit of a convergent evolution moment, and I Do Intend on using that to influence the dynamic between Wally and Hal.

- In case it wan’t clear, each day will be a chapter, so it’s so cool of you guys to pick prompts that work really well with the story I wanted to tell. Also shoutout to all of the DC vs Vampires quotes! Barry and Hal had like five pages together before The Inevitable, and they were five very gay pages.

- It was also very cool of DC to make Hal a pilot, which means that he fit into my preexisting au where pilots are avians when I got into DC after I got into Top Gun. He’s even got a call sign, which is extra convenient since avians born in Project Angel only get their canon call sign as a name since they’re seen as tools and less than human and all that.

- The thing is. Barry is a Fundamentally Nice person. That’s why Earth 2’s Johnny Quick is the furthest thing from a direct parallel you can get; Barry is not allowed to ever be evil. This is very good for Highball, who has never received a kindness ever.

- On the other hand, Nesting Instinct Highball is a survivor and trauma-hardened, which gives him the ability to be Not A Nice Person. Barry needs somebody like that to balance out his Niceness, lest he be overrun by the many strong personalities in his flock. Highball is also skilled and adaptable, and there’s something about a person who will do anything you say without complaint, probably.

- Anyways I have many more Thoughts but I don’t want to spoil any of the good bits. Hopefully I’ll finish it in time for the Week, and hopefully you’ll then read it. Maybe then I’ll even finish Bluer Skies so that everything in Nesting Instinct will get put into context. Wouldn’t that just be wild?

[bourbon-ontherocks]

so, 305. I hate that there were so many lovable things about it. like the ducks around morgane’s house (bathroom, living room) keeping up with the theme--reminded me of those pictures books where you had to find the duckling hidden on every page! (speaking of; timothée il a un peu une tête d’Où est Charlie nan ? he’s got the stripes + glasses + hair) or the fact that morgane is randomly wearing floaties at the swimming pool 😂 (… maintenant que j’y pense, elle comptait peut-être les piquer pour chloé mdrr)

et les combines de serge. céline giving up on educating morgane on procedure, ptdr. l’employée de l’ehpad qui a un vague air de mylène farmer. [gros canard] still holds the title of HPI’s mr. worldwide. daphné being daphné. ("gilles..? 🤨 euh, oui. GILLES !") gilles STILL being way too good a friend (j’espère que sa psy lui dit), but also how close he was to morgane during the investigation, that was cute!

par contre, 2 trucs qui me hantent : 1) why does [gros canard] seem mesmerized by morgane’s neck while she goes on and on about the kid’s drawing?? 2) morgane’s lack of empathy at the pool. I didn’t expect her to joke about moms murdering each other right in front of the bereft husband 😧

Oh my gosh anon, I'm just so sad that this episode was so tainted and ruined for you 😭 It breaks my heart a little, and also it makes me dread for you, knowing what's coming ahead, but... one shitty plotline at a time, amirite?

Soooooo *cracks knuckles* let's get started 😈

"I hate that there were so many lovable things about it" -> literally me after watching the finale tbh 😂😭

I must say I didn't notice the ducks thingy but thank you for pointing it out, it really is reminiscent of those child books and was a very nice touch (the way this show can switch from absolutely shitty and unsubtle to actually brilliant and clever in the bat of an eye will never cease to baffle me) 😍 The duck jokes at the crime scene were excessively funny too, and the moment Bonnemain enters the game too with a joke that's not even funny?? Peak comedy! And Adam's reaction "Mais vous allez pas vous y mettre vous aussi ?!" -> 200% Artur vibes 😂

100% agreed that Timothée is a human waldo and was intended to be lol (also on en parle de Timothée qui offre le même polo à Théa ?? Who does that? 😂 It's like he asked for her to put it in the mopping supplies... And her general passive-aggressive animosity towards him was SO entertaining!)

And OMG I didn't even notice Morgane had floaties on at the swimming pool, this is hysterical 🤣 And re her lack of compassion, I must say Morgane's relationship with empathy has been a mystery for me since day one, sometimes we get to see her really sympathizing with the victims' families (the daughter in the pilot for instance, or the mall's widow in 201, or even the actual bledigirl), but also sometimes not ("ah bah ça tombe bien puisqu'elle est morte" with the victim's sister in 201), so this scene didn't strike me as particularly ooc, but her characterization regarding this specific personality trait is unclear. I'd say perhaps she tends to lose her compassionate skills when she gets excited about figuring out some stuff?

Serge's cancer kid scam was very fun to watch ("coucou c'est la maman du petit Eliott, bon bah il est mort" 😂), and also I wouldn't have noticed the ehpad employee's similarity with Mylène Farmer but now that you're pointing it out...

Somehow it warms my heart a bit to see you calling Adam [gros canard] this episode, I guess it shows you're on your way to forgive him? But maybe it's just my own wishful thinking lol! Anyway, yes, he also speaks Russian (and not to spoil, but Mehdi Nebbou is gonna keep on bragging in later eps 👅), and remember when I told you that your dream about escaping from Putin was foreshadowing? Well I was talking about this KGB bit haha 😆

No idea why he seems to stare at Morgane's neck in the hospital, perhaps he just can't look her in the eyes nor in the boobs (in his defense, she just talked to him about nipples) so he's stuck in between lol 😅 Or maybe Mehdi just forgot he was acting for a bit and was thinking about dinner or something idk... But there is indeed room for interpretation and I'll go with the most probable option which is that he's just mesmerized by her in general, especially in that episode where he's discovering that he can't stand seeing her with someone else (let's be real, everyone saw that coming but him 😂), so he's probably just staring at her while thinking "what the fuck is wrong with me?"

Daphné and Gilles were the heart and soul of this episode I swear!! I love Daphné's completely clueless but supportive ass, Gilles being so torn between friendships he's gonna break, the fact that he kept the charade going on for TWO MONTHS, the fact that apparently he talks about Morgane to his therapist 🤣, him trying to hide Morgane's presence from Adam at David's (he's the definition of the no-questions-asked friend who'll support you no matter what, we all need a Gilles in our lives 🥰) Daphné being ready to get any disabled but homophobic employee fired (worst idea ever to give her that workplace inclusion responsibility mais je l'a-dore), and also her blind anger towards Morgane, misunderstanding of the CENTURY 🤩🤩🤩

Also, did you notice that Gilles shaved, this ep? The man is such an Adam fangirl he's now cosplaying as him istg 🤣🤣🤣

[EDIT] OMG I JUST FIGURED OUT WHY YOU CALL HIM GROS CANARD ANON YOU ARE A GENIUS IN DISGUISE OK BYYYYYE