#He's got a lot of groveling to do. At the same time I get why he did what he did. He started out with good intentions.

[wwerasliin-sideblog]

Jimmy continuing to show a little growth and maturity this week, in some aspects —

"We Are The Ones." - Roman. "Yea, but we're not though." - Jimmy. — Jimmy is starting to see things for what they truly are, he's seeing the here and now, reality, not living on past laid, power and accolades (as Roman mentions), he's being realistic about their situation, where they're at, right now. In this moment.

He sees they need help, he sees it for what it is, as it is. He's not got unrealistic expectations - he's had the opportunity to see it more *clearly*, from afar, being stuck at home, giving him some time and some clarity.

He's had time, time away; from being sucked into the epicenter of it, from the chaos mulling all around, at every turn, and every corner... It's given him the space and time to think, contemplate, reflect, learn and grow. He knows better now, he's more level-headed. At least, he seems to be for now.

He's got another thing coming though, if he thinks that Jey is going to drop everything and come running to them, just cause they ask nicely. Especially after what they BOTH did to him, hurting him and tormenting him, manipulating him and using him, playing with him, with his life like that; everything they put him through.. But, I will say, I'm glad to see Jimmy humble himself enough to acknowledge that they need help.

And I get that Jimmy has his own issues with Jey, but most of all, it comes from a place of hurt. He's only ever wanted to protect Jey, at least that's how it started out, but it slowly festered into something more nefarious, bitter and ugly..

But right now, there's a bigger problem to deal with. They may just have to put aside their issues, just for a moment to deal with this ridiculous monstrosity in front of them. They will surely have to circle back to and deal their own issues once they've dealt with this, this hideous and convoluted excuse they call the new Bloodline. Or, prove me wrong and sort fix yourselves first, before you try and sort fix something outside of yourselves.

There's a lot of healing to be had.

[iwaasfairy]

┌─ “ ! „ HEARTBEAT

tw. pseudocest, noncon, possessiveness, grooming?, age gap, blood, murder, a lot of trauma bonding

wordcount. 6k

a/n. thank yoUUUU rhi for betaing you are my favorite as alwaysssss I love you soooo much ♡♡

okkotsu yuuta x fem!reader

Blood is splattered on the ground of the dirty alley, and there’s another heavy thump when his kick once again lands on the kid’s skull and he moans in pain. He calls him a kid in his head because he’s got that shit-faced little attitude, and now an ugly gap where his front teeth used to sit, but he should be old enough to know better. As a couple passes by the narrow street, he shields things from view a little, before using the long edge of his sheathed sword to push the dumb, bloody face to the side. Because his eyes are starting to look like two overripe tomatoes from the impact, he couches down before the sandy brunet.

“You know what this is about?” Yuuta’s voice is hoarse. He hadn’t really noticed it before, but it’s been a busy week cleaning up your messes. Don’t get him wrong, he doesn’t mind. If anything, it makes him feel sort of useful. You’re good and kind and don’t get into trouble on purpose — which is why he’s here late at night making sure things get handled. Niisan’s got it, after all. He doesn’t bother to clear his voice. “Hey.”

“Take my cash,” the young man below him now whistles through the missing teeth, teary eyes darting around as he pats his hand all over himself to look for a wallet.

Yuuta scoffs. “I don’t want your money. If I did, you think I’d waste my time beating your face in like you had it coming?” The anxious, almost nervous lilt to his own voice doesn’t escape him. If you could see him now, you’d probably say that he was enjoying this too much - and while he is, the idea of this getting back to you doesn’t escape his mind. It won’t though, logically speaking. The kid probably wouldn’t be able to see straight for a couple hours, and you will never find out. “I want to know why you’re hanging around Rika’s kid sister.”

“Kid? W- I don’t know any Rika!” He yelps when he tries to lift his head and gets the handle of the weapon hit hard onto the bridge of his nose again, adding more blood to the mess that’s running all over the bottom of his face. Yuuta really can’t see it, lifting his top lip in slight disgust. Handsome, where? Just as much as this boy isn’t really a kid anymore, neither are you. But you’re younger, and deserving of protection — is it really so bad he wants to imagine you as his baby sister for a bit longer before you start trying to escape from under his wings?

Not that you’re going to go anywhere.

“I don’t know a Rika,” the blond whines again now, hiding his face into his hands to drool and hiccup against the cold floor.

“Orimoto Rika, has a kid sister.” Yuuta bites back, patience running really thin.

“O-I- I kn- oh, we’re in the same uni prep class!” He gets up to close his eyes and focus all his attention on not just kicking against his skull until the answers fall out. He knows that, how else would he even know to ask? The head damage takes it a few seconds to make the guy continue, sniffling. “We’re friends- or- my friend knew her. I liked her so we hung out a few times.” Yuuta’s hand is cold around the worn handle.

He takes a slow breath, watches the cloud of air as he lets it out. The promise ring glints in the light of the street, and it’s all familiarity and instinct that makes him brush his thumb over it. “Were you serious with her? Or did you tell her whatever so you could fuck her? Hm? Did you fuck my little sister?” The brunet snivels and whines under him when his foot lands back right before his face, demanding attention.

“I won’t talk to her anymore, I swear! I swear I w-won’t even - it’ll be like I never existed. Please.” The pitiful whining he’s doing, groveling like a dog below him - sort of reminds him of a younger him. Someone who didn’t have a purpose yet, and was scared of everything for it. The heavy weight of the ring clings to his hand when he lifts it to unsheath the katana, seeming to wrap a comforting palm around his own. If he could, he'd tangle fingers with her.

“P-please, let me go home! I didn’t do- I wouldn’t touch your s-sister, I didn’t know.”

“I hate guys who aren’t serious with her.” He clicks his tongue, and has to spit out the nasty taste that this entire situation leaves on his tongue. The weight of the sword is barely an inconvenience when both hands wrap around the handle properly. He’s doing this for Rika and him. Always. “She deserves so much better.” A mean flash of possession crosses his thoughts - how no one except him will ever be good enough. But he pushes it back, because that has nothing to do with why he’s doing this. Nothing.

+

“Yuuta~” Her voice haunts when he closes his eyes.

He’s in the sandpit of the Children’s hospital, rocking back and forth softly on the edge of it as he waits. The sun makes the sand nice and toasty, it warms his feet when he plants them down. “Yuuta!” It’s instinctive, when he looks up at the familiar voice. Rika’s hair travels in a perfect arc behind her when she runs to make it catch the light like a halo. Pretty blue dress making the shine of her hair even brighter, cheeks rosy, and her eyes glittering diamonds when they find his and she crashes down next to him. Her scraped knee is proof that it’s too hard, but he can’t help but smile when her cheek touches his arm on the landing.

Something hits the floor with a loud thump.

Yuuta turns over his shoulder to watch. There’s a smaller child that’s chin down on the earth behind them two, thick crocodile tears threatening to spill when Rika gasps. “Rika neechan~ Wait.” You pout, straightening up quicker than you should to reach your hands out to her. The girl hurries over to dust your cheeks off and drag you along behind her. It’s such a nice day out, Yuuta’s sweater is just thick enough to make his entire body warm. He stares at your face a little too long, before glancing between you two.

You’re still rounder than she is, but it’s undeniably eerie. “Your sister?” He asks softly, and Rika grins wide. She gently maneuvers you by the hand to sit next to her, then pulls you into a hug.

Her lips are pretty pink when she licks them. “This is Yuuta. Say ‘hi Yuuta’.” You parrot your sister obediently, as she waves your hand around at him. “Me and Yuuta are going to get married. So you should be very nice to him, okay?” Her sweet cheeks are the exact same as yours, long lashes and big, knowing eyes that always have him staring. You just look absentmindedly at the grass when Rika holds you into her side, but nod.

He smiles softly when your big eyes find his again. And Rika giggles. “And she’s gonna be your sister one day, so you gotta protect her well. We’re gonna be one happy family, promise?” She extends her arm to hold out a pinky finger at him. “That’s what I want.”

+

His fingers are pressing indents into your arm. It’s unusual. Yuuta’s always gentle, he’s soft and cares, but today his hand is screwed almost protectively tight around your upper arm, and you can’t say that you hate the feeling. Maybe childishly, you want him to squeeze even harder - so you’ll have no reason to get out.

You don’t come here a lot. Not since the accident tore open the painful scarred memory of it, but even before then, it wasn’t exactly your favorite place. It’s at Yuuta’s gentle prompting that you even managed to dress, and now walk however slowly between the low stone walls. The rain taps impatiently on the umbrella above, as the older boy casts you a careful glance. Then slowly bends to sit on his ankles, and grabs your hand ever so softly, meeting your eyes. His hands, though big enough to dwarf yours now, are almost velvety when they clasp around yours. It feels like he’s exponentially grown, while you’ve stayed pretty much the same.

Partly the illness. Mostly the age.

“Think you can go on?” he softly asks, kind eyes sympathetically regarding you. Like he’s making a judgment call about whether to turn back after all - debating the long walk back to the hospital. “I’ll be right here with you.”

“You’ve already gone before, haven’t you?” Your voice sounds a bit accusatory, a bit pouty too. Can’t be helped. Yuuta could be a living saint and you’d still find it hard. He clearly doesn’t take it to heart, because he smiles. His one hand then moves up to ruffle your hair.

“It’s still hard for me too, though,” his lips quirk up in an almost smile, but you can tell he doesn’t mean it. It’s sort of comforting to know that even someone like him feels it. Of course he would. Your neesan was family, but Yuuta probably knew her better than you ever could. He was beside her when she got out the two times, and was waiting when she had to get re-admitted. He was there when she got hit— there’s a comforting brush of your cheek when he stands back up and the umbrella gets so much higher. Yuuta blinks. “Come. I think you can do it.”

Your chubby cheeks flood with warmth, as you take his fingers into your hands with a nod. “Okay.”

It’s like this that you wind up at the headstone, stepping through dredged earth that’s been walked on too much. It seems to cling to the bottoms of your shoes with intent - you squeeze Yuuta nii’s hand tighter at the sight of the family grave. It now holds three of your kin in a warm embrace under the several bouquets of wilting flowers, and however morbidly, you think that maybe you’ll be joining soon. You’re young, but it’s not lost on you when the nurses send each other pitying looks.

“Is this where neesan’s buried?” Your voice sounds pinched and small, and sort of pathetic. You imagine Yuuta nii cried when he came to the funeral, but he wouldn’t have whined. You’re whining. You don’t want Yuuta to get fed up with you. Not when he’s the last semblance of ‘family’ you have left. After a while of staring blankly at the stone, he nods, and turns over his shoulder to smile at you again, pulling you a little closer to him. Your arms loop around his waist, staring down at the pretty whites that shake under the rain. “Is this where I’ll be buried when I die?”

He freezes. You feel bad about the double take he does when his spine goes more straight, rigid limbs dropping by his side as a deep, uncomfortable breath makes its way out. Your hands wring together instead.

However long it takes for him to unlock his limbs is however long you breathe through your tears as they well up stubbornly along your lash line, before your head is pulled to his ribs into an embrace. He swallows back emotion himself. “That’s not- I’m not going to let anything happen to you. I promise. I promise.”

“I’m sick-”

“No.” His eyes glint with something silvery when he takes your face between both hands and lets your childishness wash over him, clenching his jaw. “What happened to Rika was an accident- I- I couldn’t do anything then. But nothing’s going to happen to you as long as I’m here. I need- you to believe me.”

You don’t flinch when he uses your cheek to turn your face his way, but the urge still sits. His eyes study your face too intently, like he’s looking for something he can’t quite find. “I promised that I’d be a niichan that protects you.”

Rain splatters into a million glistening flecks as it meets the headstone.

“Okay,” you say.

It isn’t lost on you that his jaw is set too tight as he drags you back by the hand towards his bike, fist clenched around the umbrella. He breathes a tiny, ‘Later, Rika’ before turning on his heel. You don’t manage the same. Your voice gets stuck in your throat, even when he helps you up onto the bike rack in the back, pulling your face into his chest too tight- squeezes you to mold against him. He smells nice for a teen boy. The kiss he leaves on your crown is gentle, and leaves a soft warmth on your skin — You doubt it is really meant for you.

+

The door pushes open as you’re putting clips into your bangs, tongue trapped between your teeth. You cast Yuuta a glance through the mirror when he lingers at the door, and try to smile. “I’m almost ready.” You’re no longer too keen on fighting, the longer the silent treatment drags on. After a while of watching you with his arms crossed over his chest — he walks over to your bed to plop himself down and lets himself fall backward.

“I’m sorry,” the noiret sighs at nothing in particular, as you put on a necklace and after debating for a second, some perfume. The noise makes Yuuta look, studying you when you turn. It’s easy to forget sometimes that Yuuta didn’t have to stay with you, and he sure as hell didn’t have to give up a lot of his youth to take care of you like he does. Like your other family refuses to do when all the cards are on the table. He catches your stare. “You know I love you. I… worry when you’re not right here where I can see you. We stick together.”

“I know.” Your smile only barely makes your lips move, but you do mean it. You just wish realizations like this didn’t always have to come at the cost of fighting. “For what it’s worth, I’ll probably always forgive you.” You try to laugh, and brush your hair out of your eyes a final time before grabbing your bag. “I’m only going to be out for a few hours, max.”

Yuuta frowns when he sits up. His dark hair is brushed out of his face, damp and soft from the shower. “You’re still going?”

You blank. “Yeah, Himari and Shota are waiting for me. We’re going to see a movie.” He only has to let his eyes travel over your body and clothing once, for you to read what he’s thinking. You yank the edge of your skirt a bit lower, and pull your shoulders up. “What, what?! I can’t go out looking like this? It’s basically the same length as my uniform, what’s wrong with that?!”

“I didn’t say anything,” he breathes back, empty eyes regarding you with a static sort of- indifference, you guess.

“You don’t have to, niichan! God!” You turn to walk out the room, but Yuuta grabs your wrist when you pass by the bed. Sat down like he is, eyes tracing you like a lion- Yuuta no longer looks like the boy that used to draw stars on the ceiling of your hospital room for your amusement. Your cheeks heat when he basically glares straight at you for your attitude, and mulls the answer around in his mouth. Your anger subsides as you take a breath. This is the guy who makes you fresh apple juice in the morning, and calls you up between shifts. Because he cares. He just cares.

“Can I please go, Yuuta nii?”

After a few seconds, he clicks his tongue, staring at the edge of your skirt before tugging at it too, barely hiding a frown you can see dig between his brows. “You know I don’t like that Shota kid?”

Your lips jut out. “Yeah…” It’s getting awfully close to time to leave. You take a step back just to get his hands away from you. It’s distracting, and this is your brother you’re dealing with. “But he’s really nice. He started high school already but he used to be in my class the last three years, so… so you don’t have to worry. He knows I can’t do everything because I’m sick and he says—”

“Yeah, I’m sure he says everything you want to hear… You’re smarter than this. You don’t actually believe that.”

“He’s my friend.” A friend that makes your heart beat a bit faster when he smiles at you, but what’s it to him? “He doesn’t lie.”

Yuuta grimaces when you stare him down. “Don’t tell me about teenage boys, I used to be one.” He bristles before sitting up straighter, and though he’s technically below you, you still feel his energy tower as those big, dark eyes stay on your face. “Are you really ‘going to see a movie’? Or are you just going to sit in a boy’s room all night while I’m worried sick-”

You’re about ready to walk out, but his fingers are still looped around your wrist. “We are going to the movies! Himari and I! Just because a boy is there- ugh! Niichan, don’t make it weird!” The heat burns higher on your cheeks when you ball your fists, ignoring the pressure behind your eyes. This is so embarrassing. “I want to go.”

It’s quiet for much too long, making goosebumps appear all over your exposed skin. Then he breathes. “Come here.” His voice has more of an edge than it used to. You used to like the way your name fell from his lips. You’re not so sure you do anymore. Instead of storming out and forgetting all about him, you stare back at the sharpness in his eyes. When he pats his lap with familiarity, you jerk a brow. But you sit. His breath brushes along your neck too softly where he’s seated. It tickles on the way down.

It almost feels like… like he could wrap his hands around your neck and squeeze until you stopped struggling.

Yuuta nii wouldn’t do that. He wouldn’t.

Fingers come to your necklace, undoing it, and it drops into your lap on the pretty, blue skirt. It’s suddenly much too cold in the room, and you resist the urge to wrap your arms around yourself. It’s fine. You’re fine. Yuuta is family.

Still the untouched skin of your neck feels too exposed.

If he notices your rigid posture, he doesn’t bother fixing it. Just reaches, then pushes your head forward. The childishly familiar pink, bedazzled heart he holds up instead glints, swaying from where you left it on your side table for the night. “You get back at 9,” his lower voice sounds, “or else I’m driving out to wherever you are and dragging you back to my car.” When you don’t say anything in response, he brushes away your hair from your shoulders.

“Yuuta nii,” you start, clamming up when he drapes the dainty thing around your throat and does the closure for you. “I wasn’t going to wear that one tonight.” You don’t always want to wear whatever Rika left behind until infinity.

“I think you will,” he breathes back, and kisses your exposed shoulder. It’s less sweet, more something to punctuate his statement. If he wasn’t so familiar and soft, you’d immediately fight against the way his strong arms wind around your waist to anchor you in his lap. “Just wear it.” His hands stay against your skin, long after he’s finished. Too long, and after seconds of sitting in the tense silence, you jerk up off his lap to grab your discarded bag from the floor. The other necklace drops to the carpet somewhere, but you don’t care.

“Fine,” you bring out tightly, before giving him a last look. Your bottom lip trembles a slight bit, so you suck it into your mouth to make it stop. And tears sting at the corners despite yourself. “Later, then.”

“Tell Himari that niichan says hello. It’s been so long since she’s been here.” He gets up from your bed too, and you resist the urge to rush out the room before him when he steps around you. You can’t fight the feeling that somehow… you were just caught in your lie. Your phone beeps in your bag, as Yuuta nii disappears around the corner. Shota, probably.

+

Blood. The door creaks, swings against the wind.

Dead.

You hope he’s dead. Blood pools at the center of the showers, sinks down the drain too slowly. It sticks to the pretty porcelain tiles of the old school locker room before the water gurgles it down.

They’re dead.

You don’t have to question it before it’s confirmed. Before the heavy, silver cleaver is lodged into the side of the already ruined skull. All of them. All of the boys of the soccer team seem to be present, though you don’t want to try and count. Counting makes it real. This shouldn’t be. The heavy thump makes way for a gross squelch when he yanks the metal out, and keeps the body down with his foot.

The spatters on his face are still wet. You can’t help the way your voice comes out when you breathe in deep and try to keep the tears from spilling over. The cleaver’s red and sticky and so is his hand, up to his forearm, his forehead from wiping his hair away. All of it, ruined.

“Y-yuuta nii?”

The metal door of the locker slams closed with the wind and hits you in the back, sending you skittering forward a few steps before you force the air out of your lungs with a stuttered pant.

With a soft smile, he turns over his shoulder. “Shhh.” The blood’s crusted under his nails when he presses a finger to his lips, then waves you closer. “Help niichan out?” His eyes glint over, before his smile goes a little wider, and he whips the blood off the weapon onto the ground. “S’ your fault I had to do this after all. We can clean up together. Hm?”

Your breathing is so shallow that you can feel your heartbeat in between your ears. You aren’t sure why you nod. The guilt tastes bitter on the way down.

+

Rika was dead on impact. She didn’t have a chance, even after she fought so vehemently against what took your mom. You know that. Even if she didn’t get struck by misfortune then, she might’ve not lived past her teens.

Yuuta doesn’t seem to know. He also doesn't seem to consider the same for you either— letting you toy with the edge of his shirt where you’re curled into him in your too-small bed. The hospital wants you back for another check-up.

It’s true that you’ve already outlived your sister, but that doesn’t mean it’ll last forever. Yuuta nii doesn’t want to hear it. As he brushes your hair with his fingers, you scratch the arm where the IV’s always get attached with an absent minded pout. Until Yuuta notices, pouting down at you. “Are you still feeling dizzy? I can make you some green tea if you’ll let go of me for a few minutes. Lots of honey like you like.” You quickly shake your head.

To him this is final, the worst you’ll ever get, and in reality that’s probably not the case. You don’t tell him though. His deep eyes stay on you a little too long. “What’s wrong?”

Sometimes you wake up and can’t open your eyes past a blurry sliver, your head tight enough to make your skull feel like it’s caving in. Times where you have to clasp your stomach painfully tight to hold yourself together — stumbling in tears into Yuuta’s room. Like you’ll disintegrate in his arms unless you lock him around yourself. This isn’t as bad, but you still feel bad.

Feverish and cold all at once, achy where your stomach goes up and down. You can’t mention the possibility of having to go back into urgent care without aniiki spiraling, so you keep your mouth shut. “I don’t like green tea,” you guiltily admit instead, and stare up at him when he holds a few knuckles to your head, studying you.

His expression scrutinizes you a little tighter, before he pets over your crown. He presses a soft kiss onto your lips. It’s Rika that loved it, you want to say, but for some reason you can’t make the words come out. He sighs, slightly put out, but then nods. “If you’re feeling better later, maybe you can help Yuuta nii with the curry. Okay?”

“Mhm,” you smile up at him, and you can see how the muscles in his jaw unclench.

His soft hands cup your face intently, staring down at you too intently. It starts sweet, until the feeling of his breath dust over your face and you watch as he flicks his eyes all over you. “You look so much like her. I can tell now that you’re getting older though,” his thumb smoothes over your soft cheek. “We should see if there’s something in Rika’s stuff you can still wear.”

“Won’t be able to fit it anymore, niichan.” Your voice comes out apologetic, though you don’t know why.

“Hm. You might be right.” His look goes more distant before he pulls you closer. Legs tangled, arms loosely looped around you. “You’re still smaller than me though. Luckily.” He takes a deep breath, before nuzzling his nose into your crown to breathe long and deep. His warm hands trail over yours before squeezing. “I love you, you know that? Always will.”

You stare at the wall of mementos past Yuuta’s shoulder. Suffocatingly cram packed. Her pictures. Her music poster. Her pre-teen bottle of perfume you wear only on special occasions. Your hands stop toying with the edge of his shirt to brush instead along his forearm until you meet something that isn’t skin. Yuuta’s quiet, but his breathing is slightly pinched— you don’t mean to.

You glance between you two to the plastic your finger hooks onto. The bracelet she made in the hospital care ward for Yuuta that he still wears despite the fact that the color has long peeled off of the cheap beads. “You loved neesan, right?” Your lashes almost brush when you look back at him, watch him trap his tongue between his teeth for a moment as pink sits on his cheeks. His hand wraps around yours to tangle fingers.

“I… did.”

He swallows. “She made the hospital seem a little less lonely.” The mementos seem to stare at you from across the room as he speaks, and the uncomfortable feeling in your stomach refuses to fade. If anything, it gets more painful. Tighter. “We’re going to be together forever though. And I,” he squeezes your hand, voice fading to barely a whisper, “I love you. Love you so much.”

There's a cold slid over your fingers when he moves. You allow him to slip off the band, gently, and almost as if he wants to give it to you without you noticing, his fingers slide the cursed thing onto your hand instead. His smile is gentle, makes those dark eyes look a little less pressing. “When you’re cleared from going back to the hospital, we can find me a matching one. We still have to get married, right?”

The room feels cold.

“... Okay.”

+

“Let’s kiss?”

It’s too late to be early when the shared bed gets crowded over on your side. “St- I’m going to sleep, Yuuta nii. Stop.” You don’t open your eyes to the touch, definitely not to the gentle brush of his fingers over your lips when he gets too close. Always too close- it’s suffocating. “I don’t wanna talk about it anymore.”

“Don’t be like that.” He sounds happy. He always sounds like that when it has to do with you, and it doesn’t take long for your eyes to flutter open when the thumb instead pushes into your mouth. “If we get married, this will be normal. Don’t pull back.” He pushes onto your tongue to make you hold it in your mouth all heavy and tasting of him, then leans in to push his forehead to yours. Deep, possessive eyes pinning you in place.

“You don’t want to?” It almost sounds mocking. You know you brought this on yourself. You asked to go home early, you asked to invite friends. Maybe this is payback the way big brothers give it. There’s tears that spring up anyway when his other hand slips under your shirt and he squeezes your soft belly. As the spit he wipes on your lips gets kissed away by an impatient sigh. “I’ve wanted to for such a long time. You wouldn’t ask me to wait more.”

“Yuuta nii. We’re siblings, aren’t we?” The ring glitters. Your hand is clenched into the front of his shirt as warm hands grab down your body— hands you love. Hands you trusted.

“Of course we are. That’s why I’m doing this, silly girl.” Hands that push your underwear down your round hips despite you fighting to keep them up. He giggles when you burn with embarrassment, before pressing kisses to your temple. “I love you. I love you, I love you. Who better to kiss you than big brother?” You shake your head, try to push- he doesn’t budge. Just keeps your body in place under his with his weight.

“G-get off of me, Yuuta! Stop being so weird!” You cry, pushing until he grabs your wrist and forces it down beside your head. He’s still smiling though, like he doesn’t have a care in the world. Like you’re still a child acting out. It’s that which makes you squirm more, and the glare digs into your forehead when he gets on top of you. “Stop~ I don’t want to kiss.”

Instead he laces his fingers with your ring hand, as the other patiently flutters down to rub over your pussy. You don’t want to. You don’t. Yuuta just smiles when he tilts his head to regard you, and squeezes your fingers a little tighter. “Rika-chan asked me to take care of you. Don’t get so mad.”

+

It’s getting cooler and cooler and cooler the longer he stands. Pressed in the corner of the sterile, greenish blue atmosphere with white sheets draped over your body. He takes a long, deep breath until the nurse finishes up with the checks, taking freshly drawn blood away in a vial. “You’re the guardian?”

The red stands out against your complexion as your restless sleep drifts deeper— he shifts in his seat to lace his hands together. “Her big brother, yes.”

She doesn’t bother to pretend to care when tapping her clipboard, gives a distracted smile. “The doctor will be here within the next hour, okay? Please wait here until then.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Yuuta’s quick not to let the smile quirk up onto his mouth when she’s already walking out before he finishes. As soon as the door falls into lock he gets up from the uncomfortable chair to kneel by your bedside and grasp your hand.

Soft. Small.

He hates to admit that he could spend hours here by your side; but the truth is the truth. He could, and he has. And he will, until it is no longer necessary.

Yuuta kisses your hand with a gentle smile, feeling your heartbeat thump under his lips. You mumble, he swears he can hear his name. “I’m here. Niichan’s here.” He smiles a little more when the soft fingers wrap back around his hand and he watches your expression relax even in your sleep. He can’t help it, the soft thumping against his cheek makes his entire body warm.

You’re so alive, and so close- every cell in his body yearns to be beside you. He kisses the area between your thumb and pointer in an attempt to soothe the feeling of biting down entirely. Instead he clasps your hand with two of his before standing up. “You would have loved Rika.” His mouth tingles. “She would’ve hated you- but you would have loved her. I think she would have been a bit jealous though.”

He dips to press a soft kiss onto your lips, humming softly when your warm breath dusts over his cheeks. “You’re so cute.” A few years ago, you would’ve had visitors waiting for you. “I know you were looking forward to graduation, but I’m still here for you.” He places his hands on both sides of your face to hover over you instead of pulling back, can’t keep himself from it.

“You don’t want to leave your niichan, right?” It’s not your fault that everyone else wants you to move on. He’ll take you just as you are. He has to force himself to pull back before he kisses you again, so you don’t wake just yet. You will. And you’ll cry into his chest about missing your precious graduation, and about being stuck here again, just when you were getting better. He never much wanted you in uni anyway.

From his space sat on the edge of your bed, he can easily see how the blanket squirms. How the motion curls and wiggles until he easily pulls the sheet down your chest, then your stomach.

Two beady eyes stare up at him as he brings his face a little closer. The fly head is still clinging to your stomach, hasn’t moved from where he left it. By now it’s become an accessory every few months. It’s not strong enough to kill you— just barely enough to keep you believing you’re still sick, and that’s all he really needs. You need his care, need him. He resists the urge to pick the thing up at least until he can take you back home.

Instead he nudges it up a little higher, so he can place his palm onto your belly to stroke gentle circles in its place, feeling the heat through the gown. He can feel your heart bounce all the way down your body, it’s so cute. When the little fodder curse crawls onto your chest, lids shooting open as you gasp. “Yuuta nii-” Your eyes are lined red, and as soon as they find him you start bawling.

More than happy to let him hike you up from the bed and into his arms, where you bury your face into his neck. Your hiccups are so cute. It’s easy to kiss them quiet when you don’t have enough breath to ask him to stop. He’s sure this time he could slip his tongue into your mouth and you wouldn’t say a thing.

All Rights Reserved © IWAASFAIRY 2024. Works are exclusive to this Tumblr.

[judysxnd]

If you're taking requests for Lando, and are comfortable writing angst. I'm in one of those moods where I need gut-wrenching neglected girlfriend being called clingy and then him grovelling for forgiveness. You don't have to write it, I just really have been in an angsty mood.

Sparkle anon

As usual I don't like what I did, but I have been starting this like a thousand times and never finished it and this time I did. So I'll go with the flow. I hope you'll like it !

I took so much time to write this that your mood probably changed like a thousand times 😭 I'm sorry 😔

———————————————————————

These past few days have been hard for you. Lando has been away for the past three weeks because it was a triple header and you couldn't come with him because of work. You always thought that being famous too would help you have clear weekends to come to the races, but apparently not. You had ads to film, shoots for magazines to do, interviews to prepare and do too, and it was getting overwhelming.

And Lando being in a different time zone definitely didn't help. You barely could texts, or one would respond hours later, the phone calls only last a few minutes (when you can actually call each other) and it wasn't enough for you these days. Your anxiety was getting the best of you, resulting in a few panic attacks daily.

Usually Lando helps a lot, but he had enough stuff on his plate too. He was in a tough battle with Max for the championship, and from what you've seen and what he had told you a bit, he was struggling with the car this week-end. You tried to make it work as much as you could. But you just couldn't do it anymore. You were back at Monaco after working hard until Saturday afternoon, actually coming home at Lando's place around 9pm, crying yourself to sleep, not even eating.

You knew Lando would be back for a few days from Vegas for a couple of days before flying to Qatar. But you definitely didn't expect to wake up at almost 5pm the next day by noises in the kitchen. First of all, how did you sleep that much? You were tired but damn, that's like 18hours of sleep ! And second of all, who was in the kitchen?

You slowly walked, carefully listening to the noises. After leaning a bit, you saw Lando searching the fridge for something to eat.

"Oh my god" you said relieved it was him. "you scared me so much!" you said walking to him, hugging him from behind.

"I scared you- in my own place?"

"yeah as you were in a different country" you leaned onto the counter next to him. "how did it go?" you asked about the race. Yes you didn't watch it as you slept half a day. You were going to watch it as you woke up, before Lando gets back, but well, you definitely didn't have time for that apparently.

"not good" Lando said barely looking at you

"oh" he walked out of the kitchen "but where did you finish?"

"You didn't watch the race?" he asked, going to the living room to eat at the table

"Well, I wanted to, but as you can see I.. overslept" he stared at you, as he was judging you "and you came back before I could watch it, so might as well tell me directly" you sat in front of him

"Well I lost the championship and finished P6, behind Max at the race. Happy?"

"Why are you so mad at me? It's not my fault, I'm just trying to know what happened to support you"

"support me? You weren't even there for that"

"ugh, excuse me? Sorry for having a career of my own, which I might give up with everything happening at the same time"

"like you can't take at least one day to come watch the race"

"that's the only thing you got from what I just said?" you stood up "what the hell Lando? What happened for you to treat me like that? I've been working my ass off, trying to contain my panic attacks all alone because you also have a career and can't be by my side 24/7, you barely even answer my text, you don't call me, you don't even ask me how I am doing!" He just stared at you, not saying anything. "you know what? I think I was better alone" you said, leaving the room, heading to his bedroom to gather your stuff.

"Wait- where are you going?" he said following you, like he suddenly cared.

"I'm going to my parents for a while. I haven't seen them in 2 months between my work and the races. And you're leaving like in two days anyway so, might as well try to have a good time with people that actually care about me" And before he could say anything, you were out of his sight, driving to the nearest airport to fly to your parents (trying to avoid to cry and have many panic attacks on your way).

You knew Lando wouldn't fly to you for the next two weeks with the races getting all of his time. But he did harass you with texts, tried to call you, which you ignored. He also sent you flowers, many flowers, gifts with little cards, apologising and asking for you to answer his texts and calls. You did feel guilty, even if you made it clear that he neglected you, you felt bad for keeping it to yourself that long and just lashing onto him like that.

You watched the last two races of the year, a knot in your stomach. You felt like you made it worse by acting like that and ignoring him. Hell he could have an accident and not make it back and that would be the last thing you said to him? That is a very bad scenario but still. And at the same time, your pride was telling you to keep ignoring him, that you were right and that he was the one to come back to you (which he was actually trying to do).

Until the next Monday after the last race, when you heard a knock to your bedroom. Innocently thinking it was your mom, you told "her" to come in, only to be faced by Lando holding flowers in his hand. You were laying in bed, in your pyjamas at 3pm, scrolling on your phone.

"Lando? What are you doing here?" You said, sitting up.

"You didn't give me other choices" you nodded, admitting that it was true. "I'm sorry for being a bad boyfriend" he said, taking a step closer to you

"keep going" you said, crossing your arms

"I shouldn't have neglected you like that even if I get too busy at work. I know you always take time for me even though you're working too and I should do the same thing" he sat down at the edge of your bed

"hm hm" you nodded

"I know you didn't read my texts nor listened to my voice messages or voicemails, but I've been apologising for a thousand times and, I've been begging you not to breakup with me" you couldn't help but laugh

"I've listened to them" you admitted

"w-were they good?" you tilted your head "you know I'm not good for that type of stuff"

"You're getting there"

"So what are you saying? Are we good?" you leaned a bit closer to him

"No we're not good Lando. It's not a bunch of texts, calls and gifts that are going to make me forget what happened. Hell I told you I wanted to abandon my entire career and you didn't even react" he was about to say something but you cut him off "and I know it's been very tough for you too for the races, that's why I gave you the benefit of doubt when you were away, but- you were sitting in front of me Lando-"

"I know, I know" he sat right in front of you, holding your hands "we've been dating for a year and- honestly I don't know what happened. When I came back from São Paulo you were there for me, and thank god you were, but I think it's just, it went to my head and I was under so much pressure" you wanted to cut him off but he didn't let you "and I'm not making up excuses for what I did. I just don't want to lose you. I'm so sorry, I'll do anything for you not to leave me, just please, don't go. It won't happen again, I promise" you sighed

"I wasn't going to leave you Lando" you had a little smile. You could see it in his eyes. He was scared he really messed up to the point you were actually going to leave him for good. Maybe stepping away for a few weeks made him think, like for you.

"Really?" He seemed genuinely surprised

"Yes, but I needed some time, like you did too"

"yes. I'm so sorry. I love you so much. I won't do it again"

"You better not" you both laughed a little. "I love you too"

"Not as much as I do" and he immediately leaned in to kiss you. "Now I need to give those flowers to your mother because she helped me to get to talk to you" you gasped as he stood up

"of course she did" you laughed "and to think those flowers were for me? I'm offended" you joked

"Didn't you get enough with everything I sent you?" you tilted your head "too soon?" you both laughed

"yeah, too soon" he left the room. You got up and followed him down the stairs.

[peaches-and-creamm]

LOVE LANGUAGES!

a/n: thanks 🎥 nonnie for requesting sm! means a lot! hope i do ur requests justice 🙂‍↕️

also i read throu this once and saw how much i did acts of service/gift giving LOL

and nonnie if you're seeing this i'll most likely do the other request you asked for!

featuring: Megumi, Nanami, Toji, Yuta, Toge, Yuji, Satoru, Suguru

warnings: breeding kink in suguru's, fem!reader in suguru's and gn!reader everywhere else!

MEGUMI'S love language would be 🥁🥁

quality time with a sprinkle of words of affirmation!

✎ it's no secret Megumi prefers the idea of "together alone", aka just sitting in the same room each of you doing different tasks or even just scrolling on your phones. (you don't even have to be near each other, honestly-)

✎ one of his favorite activities to do with you is when it's later at night and you're sitting nearby him while he just rambles on about random facts he finds interesting.

✎ the fact you'll just sit there, smiling at him like an idiot while you hold him close to you as you listen to every word he says- even asking him questions about whatever it is he's talking about makes him feel all fuzzy.

✎ at this point you know every little thing that's going on in his book he sometimes likes to read outloud to you, saying his theories or random things that happen to contradict themselves in whatever it is he's reading currently.

✎ a lot of the time he'll awkwardly just clear his throat and apologize for rambling, but each and every time you compliment him by saying you love his voice as he speaks about anything he's passionate about he thinks he falls harder for you(if that was even possible-)

NANAMI'S love language would be🥁🥁

acts of service/gift giving!

✎ Kento really appreciates coming home from a long day and being surprised by the fact the kitchen was clean when he was supposed to be the one doing it- or the smell of something cooking in the kitchen flooding his nose the second he opens the front door just, he just. he really likes it, ok?

✎ He knows he isn't able to be there for you a lot of the time (missions, teaching, ect.) so if you ever come home and he's somehow there before you you best believe there's some sort of little trinket on the table waiting for you.

✎ He's not one for pda all that much but you bet your ENTIRE ass that if he sees you after a long day he doesn't care where you two are because he is about to just hide in your arms while you rub at his back.

✎ And god forbid if he ever returns home and sees how excited you get to show him some random trinket you saw in the store- handing it to him and claiming it reminded you of him. He's literally teared up before over this- (don't call him out though he'll deny it-)

✎ Has an ENTIRE shelf just dedicated to random shit that you've gotten him, and if anyone even looked at it wrong he'd almost get offended (once again, don't call him out-)

TOJI'S love language would be 🥁🥁

acts of service and gift giving! (home made gifts bc bro BROKE!)

✎ ok so we know the dude's kinda a jackass but he does NOT skip out on just randomly giving you just absolutely HIDEOUS homemade gifts.

✎ like? how does he even MAKE them so ugly ?? isn't he good with his hands....??

✎ anywayyy, he'd probably kill anyone(like, actually kill them-) if they ever tried insulting the fact you gave him an ugly stuffed animal that you said reminded you of him

✎ like "why does a grown ass man have a stuffed animal of an ugly monkey...?" then boom, they just got punched in the face

✎ do NOT interrupt this dude when it comes to anything you need. he may be pretty 'cold hearted' but he strikes me as the kinda guy to just stand in front of you if you even slightly squinted from the sun.

✎ he'd get a fucking plank of wood if there was a puddle so you don't ruin those new shoes you've been so excited to get.

✎ so tldr; he'd grovel for you for SURE- and if anyone questions if he loves you they're going home with a black eye 🥰

YUTA'S love language would be 🥁🥁

words of affirmation/physical touch!

✎ ok let's be completely honest here- the dude's just everything starved. So when the two of you started dating (with A LOT of long months of convincing Rika to not obliterate your entire bloodline-),

✎ he was basically just all over you- though it did take a while for him to actually realize it was OK to want to touch you, that you actually liked it, that you weren't just pretending to enjoy it to spare his feelings or something.

✎ as much as he loves going out on dates with you (he'd spend all the money in the world just to see how your eyes sparkle whenever he buys you a new dessert you've been wanting to try-)

✎ his ideal thing would just be the two of you- his head on your chest listening to your steady heartbeat as you caressed his hair- your nails scratching at his scalp every now and then.

✎ and there's been MANY times he's just started crying into your chest while you hold him- just because you remind him how much you love him, how proud of him you were- you would go on and on for hours if it's what he needed to hear.

TOGE'S love language would be 🥁🥁

words of affirmation!

✎ he just needs to know it's okay that he can't talk to you- that it's okay that at night when the two of you are alone holding each other close that it's enough that he's just there with you.

✎ toge loves whenever you compliment him- especially when it's about the marks on his face/tongue.

✎ the way you'll pull down the zipper of his uniform just to plant a kiss against each of his cheeks makes him melt.

✎ compliment him on literally everything please! he loves it so much and it means so much to him- like way more than you could imagine

✎ sometimes(ok, basically nightly-) he'll just be laying in bed, flushed face in his hands while he repeats the compliment you'd given him that particularly made him want to just get on one knee and propose on the spot

✎ I stg this guy is just a big baby- hold him and tell him it's ok and that's all he needs to make his day better tenfold.

YUJI'S love language would be 🥁🥁

physical touch!

✎ I feel like it's so obvious that if you spot him from the corner of your eye you better believe he's about to full sprint to you in excitement and squeeze the ever loving SHIT out of you

✎ he's a spinner for sure- picks you up, spins you around just to hear how you giggle before complaining about how he's making you dizzy

✎ there's rarely a moment where he doesn't just want to squeeze the hell out of your cheeks, and he just fuckn LOVES to squeeze both his and your cheeks together while he tightly hugs you.

✎ if you're in bed together his face is always buried in your shoulder, laying gentle kisses against your skin.

✎ if he isn't being gentle and loving with his kisses he just grabs you by your cheeks and just SMOTHERS your face with kisses.

✎ also he thinks it's really funny to steal some lipstick from either you or nobara just to run up to you and put a FAT kiss against your forehead- leaving a hard to get off mark lasting for hours

✎ he insists on using the waterproof ones because he thinks it's funny to see you walking around with a mark on your forehead because of him-

SATORU'S love language would be 🥁🥁

gift giving(as if that wasn't obvious enough- rich lil asshole)

✎ he does NOT care where you are, what you're doing- NADA

✎ he's runnin' up to you just to shove a shopping bag in your face and proudly putting his hands on his hips while he waits for you to open it.

✎ a few times you were too busy to open one of his gifts and he literally just opened it right in front of you and went "LOOK! LOOK, IT'S THAT BRACELET YOU WANTED- LOOKKK!" like a toddler trying to get his mom's attention.

✎ it always ends in a giggle and a "you need to stop buying these things, you're enough of a gift as is."

✎ he'll pretend to listen but at this point you know better than to believe he'll genuinely stop giving you random shit that reminded him of you.

✎ like what do you mean this ugly shirt that was WAYY too expensive that's also too big reminded him of you??

✎ what do you MEAN you had a mental breakdown because the shirt is a light color and you spilled wine on it and there was a stain that didn't want to come out-

✎ so tldr; DON'T LOOK AT SOMETHING IN THE WINDOW OF A SHOP. HE WILL BUY THE FUCKING STORE-

SUGURU'S love language would be 🥁🥁

words of affirmation/gift giving receiving-

✎ he's on his hands and knees for you- NOPE- don't care if he's supposed to be the leader of this wacky ass cult- you're the only person who's aloud to even remotely give him any sort of order to do somethin'

✎ he likes to give you gifts also, but barely to the extent of Satoru- he prefers handmade gifts over anything store bought. But that's just because he's used to everyone buying him whatever he wishes.

✎ so it's a really nice change of pace whenever you bring him a new origami animal you've been trying to master.

✎ he even has a little table by where he sits up on the little stage, your little art projects resting on them as "beautiful decorations done by my lover."

✎ ^ that's what he says anytime someone asks them about it. he'll happily ramble about how excited you were to gift him each one.

✎ he's addicted to praise, it's actually kinda crazy at this point-

✎ you made a breakfast a small child could've made? he's kissing the ground you walk on for blessing him with a meal in the morning-

✎ plus- if you ever do anything for the girls just know he's about to give you an amazing gift- that gift being his cock while he overly praises your motherly actions.

✎ maybe he'll make you an actual mother just to see how much your loving actions change..

M.LIST!

[cardcaptorsakura96]

Taxes, Taxes, Taxes-Chapter 1

Summary: What if superheroes had to pay a property damage tax every time they had a fight in the city?

Kara is seated at a cubicle in her Supergirl costume staring at a typical pencil pusher hurriedly typing in the numbers. She looked around and saw Clark sitting in another cubicle behind her. He turned around and wave. 

“Let me know if you need any help!” 

Kara winced, hurriedly turned back around, and slouched in her chair. She looked back at the desk and saw the paper that brought her here. She was being charged $10,000 in property damage to the city while as Supergirl. Clark got the same paper, but he only has to pay $5. Her eyes started glowing red in rage while she gripped the chair. She closed her eyes and took several deep breaths.

 “I hate being jealous, but it isn’t fair! I was supposed to be his defender, not the other way around. I even had military training before coming to Earth, but Clark makes everything here seem so effortless. It just makes me feel….irrelevant.”

It was a sobering thought that had been haunting Kara each day. If she couldn’t serve her purpose, what was she going to do? She was nearly drowning in her sorrows and self-hatred when she felt the office lady’s hand on her arm. She looked up at the lady and saw she had a cheerful disposition. Kara forced the smile back into her eyes and lips. 

“I am sorry that I drifted off there….um Connie. Isn’t that your name?”

“Oh, you remember my name!”

Connie’s smile looked so genuine. Kara would have found it cute if this pencil pusher wasn’t about to clear her out of cash. She forced her smile even brighter hoping to charm the pants off this lady to lower the cost down.

“Yes. I try to be good with names as I can. Were you able to find anything that can bring the cost of the bill down?”

Connie’s smile grew dimmer. 

“Shit!”

“Well, we can’t lower the cost…”

“Even though this is my first time?” said Kara with a pout on her face. 

She wasn’t above groveling. She didn’t have this type of money, and she will be damned if she had to beg Clark for help.

“I know this seems very steep, but when villains and superheroes fight in the city, it causes a lot of property damage. The tax was created to help discourage these types of situations.”

“Even when we are saving the city?”

“If there was no way to get the villain out of the city, there would be little to no charge.”

“Which is what happened in my case.”

Connie’s face fell a little and started twisting her hands.

“Well, not exactly. While fighting Livewire, you took out several buildings before taking her down.”

“Yes, I remember.”

“Property could have been saved if you had utilized the fire hydrant and open pool in the area to stop Livewire due to her water vulnerability instead of using brute force.”

Kara slid further in her seat and sighed.

“I could have been more careful, but I was just in a hurry to prove I could do things faster than Clark.”

Kara looked back and saw that Clark had finished his payment and left. She looked back to Connie solemnly and asked, “What can I do now? Is there some type of payment plan I can do since I don’t have that type of money on me?”

Connie smiled a bit and said, “There are tons of options. We have a variety of payment plans, or we have different volunteer opportunities that you can choose to work off the payment.”

Connie passed her the book of all their volunteer opportunities and perused it for a minute. She was bored until one entry caught her attention and brought a smirk to her face. 

“I choose this one.”

Kara watched Connie’s face changed at her choice from a smile to a frown instantly. 

“Umm, are you sure you want to do this type of work.”

Kara smiled, and said, “Why wouldn’t I want to bring smiles to sick kids in a Children’s Hospital?”

“But…um… it is run by Lena…”

“Luthor. Oh, I am aware. I believe in judging people for their merit and not by association.”

“Okay, if you’re sure.”

“Oh, I am sure.”

“Me working for the sister of Clark’s greatest enemy. This will so get under his skin.”

Kara laughed wickedly as Connie eyes her warily while signing her up for the volunteer gig. 

[systemadministratorclu]

I don't even know what's going on here, but this has been living in my head so I'm making it the internet's (you all's) problem: Atlantis as that one song from Wicked.

This song:

Scene 1: The Museum Lobby/Outside the Museum (implied to be the Smithsonian)

HARCOURT: Milo, why couldn't you have stayed calm and taken "no"? Instead of flying off the handle!

BOARD MEMBER 1: I hope you're happy BOARD MEMBER 2: I hope you're happy now BOARD MEMBER 3: I hope you're happy how you've hurt your cause forever BOARD MEMBER 4: I hope you think you're clever

MILO: I hope you're happy I hope you're happy, too I hope you're proud how you would grovel in submission To feed your own ambitions MILO, HARCOURT (WITH BOARD MEMBERS): So though I can't imagine how I hope you're happy right now

HARCOURT: Milo, listen to me, you've got a lot of potential You can still make some big discovery! What you've worked and waited for You can have all you ever wanted (MILO: I know) MILO: But I don't want it No, I can't want it anymore

MILO: Something has changed within me Something is not the same I'm through with playing by the rules of someone else's game Too late for second-guessing Too late to go back to sleep It's time to trust my instincts Close my eyes and leap

It's time to try defying gravity I think I'll try defying gravity And you can't pull me down

HARCOURT: Can't we make you understand You're having delusions of grandeur?

MILO: I'm through accepting limits 'Cause someone says they're so Some things I cannot change But 'til I try, I'll never know Too long I've been afraid of Losing love I guess I've lost (gestures to the museum, HARCOURT and the BOARD MEMBERS) Well, if that's love, it comes at much too high a cost

MILO: (getting into a car, which will take him to Whitmore, he hangs out th window waving as the car pulls away) I'd sooner buy defying gravity Kiss me goodbye, I'm defying gravity And you can't pull me down!

Scene 2: The Pool After the Swim, ROURKE trying to talk MILO into joining him to take the Crystal

ROURKE: Milo, come with me Think of what we could do, together

Unlimited Together, we're unlimited Together we'll be the greatest team there's ever been Milo, dreams the way we planned 'em MILO: If we work in tandem MILO AND ROURKE: There's no fight we cannot win

Just you and I, defying gravity With you and I defying gravity ROURKE: They'll never bring us down

ROURKE: Well, are you coming?

Scene 3: The Bridge as the crew prepares to leave with the Crystal

MILO: (addressing the whole crew)I hope you're happy Now that you're choosing this (ROURKE: you, too) MILO: (still addressing the crew, ignoring ROURKE) I hope it brings you bliss I really hope you get it And you don't live to regret it I hope you're happy in the end I hope you're happy my friends

Scene 4: MILO preparing to follow ROURKE and return the Crystal

MILO: So if you care to find me Look to the western sky As someone told me lately "Everyone deserves the chance to fly" MILO: (getting on Atlantean flying machine) And if I'm flying solo At least I'm flying free To those who ground me Take a message back from me

MILO: (taking off in his fish vehicle, seeming to not notice others joining him. Scene transfers to dormant volcano where fighting eventually breaks out) Tell them how I am defying gravity I'm flying high, defying gravity ROURKE: (boarding the balloon as it starts to ascend) And soon, I'll match them in renown And nobody in all the world No power that there is or was Is ever gonna bring me down

MILO: (fighting with ROURKE) I hope you're happy (CREW AND ATLANTEANS: Look at him! He's wicked, get him!) ROURKE: (preparing to end MILO) Bring me down! (CREW AND ATLANTEANS: (as MILO slashes ROURKE with the shard) No one mourns the wicked! So we've got to bring him) ROURKE: (as he starts to crystallize) Oh! (CREW AND ATLANTEANS: (as ROURKE dies) Down!)

-----------‐--------

Yeah, don't ask. I have thought way too much about other versions of this even, including one centered on my AU Rourke that includes him defecting and joining the good side starting in Scene 2, with Rourke taking over Milo's lines and Helga taking over Rourke's for the rest of the song.

If you read this whole thing you are amazing. I'm afraid I have no reward for you because I honestly did not expect anyone to read all this. nonsense. So thank you, thank you, thank you!

[asherlockstudy]

Thank you so much for the reply! :) When you mentioned the moment where Rhett said 'that's his new motto 'I'm not contributing'', I remembered how it sounded like when a couple are at odds about something and they can't help making jabs in public at opportune moments, and people around them are just left feeling awkward ^^; I also think you are right and you are onto something serious about Link and GMM… And I have to say that it's true, then Rhett/crew really dug their own graves on that one, because if Link wants to quit, it's not just because the show doesn't fulfill him artistically, it's also because it doesn't fulfill him emotionally, since he is always the butt of the joke, the loser, and so on. A lot of it falls on to him and his personal issues/communication, but some of it also falls on to the fact that Rhett enables it (to make himself look better by comparison) and on to the crew, because they don't have proper boundaries with them. Sometimes I bulk at the subtle yet palpable ostracization of Link during some episodes, and how he basically feels like he either has to disproportionately apologize to a grovelling degree, or double down and behaves even worse. So it's not that farfetched to think that he might want to remove himself at some point. In recent years, they've also created a lot of other channels, and ventures, so I think besides expanding their business these are also seeds they planted that could maybe one day grow to replace GMM, or to make it possible that they could at least slow down their involvement with it. But I truly believe that if Link was honestly having a good time and felt he was in an environment where people truly respected and appreciated him (which I don't really get from the crew) he'd weather the mundane and the boredom. If he expressed any thoughts of eventually dipping out, Rhett would probably be terrified, not just because of the financial implications, but because I think he is insecure without Link, despite being a bit complicit imo in painting Link as the lesser one, and egging the crew on. But even without their regular presence on GMM, they would continue to do well, given how many pies they have their fingers in, but that's not the same for Stevie, so maybe that's why she is taking it more personally, and at this point R&L are like guest stars in the main show, other people write, plan, and develop the episodes, they are just presenters, so as a producer maybe she feels extra responsible. I also agree with you that it sounds like Link wants to get on an RV and see the world, haha! I could totally picture him do that, and maybe he will do something similar after their youngest kid goes to university... Despite their fame and life in LA, I think they both lived relatively sheltered lives until they exploded on YT, not to mention that they got married and had kids very young, so they had to be responsible early on, and so I could see Link wanting to travel, meet new people, party, and just relive his youth (which is probably an expected midlife compulsion as well). Sometimes I think Link is disappointed by Rhett exactly because he used to idolize him so much, but then Rhett backed down from something pivotal (and I'm right there with you on what that was during the tandem jump era...) and it hurt Link. Rhett is also probably hurt, because Link doesn't always think things through, and doesn't understand that not everyone jumps without thinking and calculating, and he probably feels misunderstood as well. It's the case when two people love each other but ultimately want two different things, so either someone concedes but feels miserable, or he doesn't concede so they have to go on separately. I saw some scenes of this year's GME, and that moment on the couch made me think that Link in his heart of hearts hasn't given up hope, but something tells me that Rhett has decided to let the momentum of the last few years pass them and fizz out and is happy to only revisit it in fiction, like their scripted content...

100% to all of that

I am still owing that GME post... You know, when I rant I don't like GME... I mean it hehe. So I will have to push myself a little to examine some data......... more thoroughly before commenting on that part.

A tiny little moment in the latest EB caught my attention. During their irrelevant answer to a random EB question submission, Link said something like: "We have a mantra here, it's a new mantra but it's good. It's 'Don't talk about it'". You bet I found this curious, it could be the mantra smoothening their recent fights. Like, let's not talk about it because it always makes us fight, let's pretend the problem does not exist. IDK

On the other hand, about the GMM atmosphere, I got the impression (and that's over a very little number of the most recent GMM episodes) that Link seems to try to regain his place in the show. He does not try to sabotage himself that hard and Rhett and the crew both seemed more okay in the last episodes. Perhaps they got the cue from the comments that are lately siding with him and Link felt supported? Time will tell because I noticed that only in very few episodes yet.

[artful-aries]

Genshin Headcanons: How They Apologize (Itto, Albedo, Jean)

​​

​​Itto:

​​Depending on what you fought about, at first, he would be too proud to apologize

​​The One and Oni Arataki Itto, being wrong? Fat chance

​​Yet as you give him the cold shoulder, he grows increasingly pouty. Why aren’t you talking to him and giving him kisses? Don’t you love him anymore? He begins to grow almost insecure the longer you draw out the punishment

​​It doesn’t take long of being ignored till his resolve is crumbling to dust. Depending on how mad you are, Itto might be extra and even get down on his knees as he apologizes to you

​​“(Y/N), my babe, my doll, my honey, my numero two, please don’t be mad at me anymore! I won’t do it again, Oni’s honor! Just please, please stop ignoring me babe. I miss being in your arms, and kissing you.”

​​If you don’t have the patience to ignore him for a while, or his groveling for your affection isn’t enough, you can always talk to Shinobu

​​Within the hour, she will have him whipped into shape with a written apology that he will read out in front of you

​​It would be a nice apology that addresses the issue nicely thanks to Shinobu’s advice. It’s just hard to ignore the giant whelp that Itto seems to have on the back of his head after spending an hour under Shinobu’s strict gaze

​​He will be super grateful that you’ve forgiven him, vowing to never make the same mistake again

​​Itto does surprisingly well about not repeating past offenses, the problem is that he seems to always come up with new ones

​​

​​Albedo:

​​Arguments with him are rare and mostly one sided. It’s not that he doesn’t care, it’s just that he’s usually confused about why you are mad

​​It takes him a while to get around to apologizing to you

​​Albedo not only wants to make sure you have had plenty of time to cool off, but he also wants to make sure that he prepares an articulate apology for you

​​Given that he tries to plan out his apology, it comes out as a bit stiff and script like, but the small furrow of his brows and the concern in his eyes shows that he really does care about your feelings

​​He’s more than happy to talk about your feelings; why you got mad, where things went wrong, and how to not make the same mistakes in the future

Albedo will handle the situation in a very mature way, and make sure that you don’t confuse his stoicism for lack of feeling. He cares very much about what you think, he just has a hard time showing it

​​He’s very keen on making sure there is healthy communication between you two. Albedo isn’t dumb, he knows he can be a bit cold and aloof externally, and communication is the tool he uses to try and combat potential misunderstandings

​​When you have forgiven him, he will give you a tender kiss to your forehead, a wordless promise that he will try to do better for you in the future.

​​

​​Jean:

​​She usually feels a lot of guilt before the argument is even over

​​When it’s possible, she will find a way to interrupt your ranting to apologize, and ask you to calmly talk about the issue with her

​​If you storm out before she gets to apologize, she’s actually very internally distraught, barely able to concentrate on her work with the Knights

​​As soon as the opportunity arises, she’s giving you a bouquet of dandelions to apologize

​​Jean will explain that she knows what upset you and why, and that she feels terrible about it

​​She doesn’t want you to think that just because she’s busy that she doesn’t think about the best way to resolve problems with you

​​Her job is super stressful and she isn’t perfect, but she appreciates your understanding

​​With her apology, you almost completely forget what you were even mad about to begin with; her apology is just that sincere and heartfelt. How could you stay mad at her?

​​Even after she’s forgiven, she will still feel a little awkward and guilty about the argument until you give her a kiss for reassurance; whether it’s on her forehead, cheek, lips, or hands, you’ll have her blushing like a schoolgirl and forgetting what she was torn up about

[clairedaring]

zhou xiang my dear boi, my love, my pookie... sighs... i think one of the reasons why zhou xiang was such a compelling characters is because of his earnestness and down-to-earth personality that distinguish himself from other 188 novels' mcs.

i remember reading a post about how zhou xiang is beautiful but the kind of beauty that makes one wants to protect but at the same time ravage ╮⁠(⁠.⁠ ⁠❛⁠ ⁠ᴗ⁠ ⁠❛⁠.⁠)⁠╭ and i honestly kind of agree. when other 188 mcs get hurt i just get mad and kinda want to stop reading whereas while reading pbd, i was overtaken by a kind of sadistic mindset, wanting to watch zhou xiang persevere and grovel in pain facing all his misfortunes.

different from all the 188 mcs, even when zhou xiang ends up in dubious consent sex with ming xiu he doesn't really fight back or at least throw a verbal insult at ming xiu. zhou xiang just resigns and in those times i just wanna give him the biggest hug. zhou xiang is just going through it and whereas 188 mcs often bit back especially when scum mls do the chasing, zhou xiang doesn't do that, he politely rejects ming xiu and just calmly tell ming xiu that they're over and to let him go.

tbh one might even say zhou xiang is kind of a doormat because yes at the beginning of the novel, he often lets people step on him (re: wang yu dong) but i kinda like that a lot in him. but it's not like zhou xiang doesn't have the ability to fight back, it's rather because he has such a soft heart and he's weak to see others in pain so he is just the type to take on the pain for others (⁠っ⁠˘̩⁠╭⁠╮⁠˘̩⁠)⁠っ

i've always felt like there's kind of a well of sadness behind zhou xiang's eyes as i was reading the novel so when we got news of poom phuripan as joe, i knew he was the perfect actor to play zhou xiang. if there's ANYONE with the terribly sad eyes, it's him.

[survivalove]

Kinda random, but what made me really start shipping Kataang was how determined Aang was to get Katara's necklace back from Zuko, especially when we know how important said necklace is for her both as part of her family and part of her culture. And the thing is, Aang is always doing nice things for Katara without expecting any reward, like offering to fly her to the North Pole and refusing to train under sexist Pakku. Things that made me go from "this is a cute ship with good development" to "this is my OTP."💙🧡

So true, anon that’s a great scene!! Hmm I don’t know what made me ship it cuz I was 5 when I watched it for the first time so I really didn’t care about ships. But as I got older I started watching the show for Katara and she kept touching him and asking him how she looked dhdjfj it was beyond obvious TO ME (bass amplified).

That and every time she cried over him. It just felt really intense I’d be like why are you crying queen 😫😫😫 she’s so extra I can’t.

But I think a singular scene that really made me ship them was in The Serpent’s Pass when he said she made him believe in hope and she cried. When I think about it, Aang’s opinion seems to mean a lot to Katara and I think he notices that and makes sure to praise her so she won’t doubt herself. I liked seeing the fmc be praised and loved by the boy she liked without having to grovel and look pathetic, you know?

That reminds me of a meta I read the other day about how Sokka (yes I have to mention sokka or katara when I talk about the other 🤪) doesn’t really take compliments and I think Katara is also like that in a less extreme way.

Like when she tried to discredit herself when she revived him with the spirit water and Aang was like hello you literally saved my life??? dhdjdj I don’t care what delusional fanon shippers have to say, Aang compliments and appreciates Katara more than anyone, and that’s my fave part of their dynamic.

Anyways yes I agree with you. Aang always does what Katara wants simply because he wants to and she wants to. They don’t really force the other to agree with them either, even tho they both clearly care a lot for each other’s opinions. I think the show does a great job of setting the foundation for their romantic relationship this way through all these platonic moments.

Back to my fave scene in the Serpent’s Pass, I especially like how that scene shows Aang letting go of one of his beliefs for Katara which is linked to bigger moment of him refusing to let go of her to master the avatar state in the Guru, and eventually finding a whole new way to end the war while still staying true to himself. I don’t wanna say Aang and Katara getting together is integral to his arc or her arc, but I do think they link it in this way on purpose, and it’s why a lot of people that claim “Aang never changed” often don’t ship Kataang and the same for people that hate Katara and call her annoying then say they didn’t understand the ship. Like clearly my guy.

Anyway, to sum up this ramble 🤭 this is why I love the Serpent’s Pass scene and think it’s very underrated among kataang fans. I’m curious to know what kataang scene made oomfs ship too? I loved this ask and thank you for sharing that with me anon xx

[ke1ng3hirn]

𝐆𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐏𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐲 ♥︎

Service top Denji x (afab) Power bottom reader

MDNI! NSFW BELOW CUT!

Character: (aged up) Denji

Scenario: he’s been waiting all week, so pent up he’ll even beg…

Stuff involved: slight petplay, you for reader, begging, penetration

*･゜ﾟ･*:.｡..｡.:*･'*'･*:.｡. .｡.:*･゜ﾟ･*

It was hard, being Denji, in more ways than one. Turns out having a fucking gorgeous partner meant his already high libido was spiking almost constantly. It wasn’t his fault though, that your cunt was always so warm, so perfect, and your body was absolutely delectable, and it most definitely was not Denji’s fault that whenever you even looked at him it made his cock jump a little, most definitely lot.

But that’s why it was so hard being Denji. Normally you were more than willing to bend over, part your panties, and ride him until he felt like nothing but a fucked out ‘good puppy’, you were always so kind to him, so rewarding, but also strict. You had got a call from Aki, complaining to how your perfect little puppy was feral and needed to be trained, so you had prevented him from fucking you until he learnt to behave.

It had been almost 2 months since Denji had fucked you and god did it hurt. No matter how much he tried to bribe you with gifts and puppy dog eyes, Aki was on speed dial and he refused to do what the stubborn “pineapple” said. But Denji was desperate.

That was why one day when you came home from work late, you opened the door to Denji on his knees, nothing but a grovelling mess, begging for just a little release, and who were you to resist the sight before you?

Denji ecstatically dragged you to your bedroom, waiting patiently for you to command him. Giggling, you started undressing, leaving all but your panties and bra, and gesturing for Denji to do the same. The resulting “good boy” that was given to him send shivers down his spine, and made his cock throb.

“Kneel” you said, and Denji instantly knew what to do, crawling all hands and knees until his face was right by your damp pussy, and he immediately began licking and sucking all your favourite spots as soon as you tugged the plain underwear off, your small moans spurring him on. You felt yourself getting close, and then gently tugged Denji away, giving a sweet kiss to the pouting face of the boy beneath you, before gesturing to the bed with a list filled smirk. At your silent command, Denji leapt onto the bed, spreading himself out just like a toy ready to be used, so you did. As you rode Denji, the bouncing breasts in his face and warm, perfect heat he had missed for way too long, made him into a nonsensical, whining mess, blubbering at how perfect it was, how much he missed this, that he’d always be your good puppy just please please please don’t stop. Your highs kept drawing closer with every thrust, until you both came in unison, your fucked out puppy going limp as he fell asleep immediately with a satisfied and blissful smile.

A/N: two things, firstly this is my first time writing smut so constructive criticism is much appreciated, and also sorry if there are errors/weird formatting shit I did this all on mobile, thanks!

[lucy4242564]

.cowboy like me.

Chapter 9.

My castle crumbled over night, I brought a knife to a gun fight

~And I know I make the same mistakes everytime Bridges burn, I never learn At least I did one thing right~

“Why? Why do you want to do this?” His voice cracked and he cursed himself.

Lilah’s face softened when she heard the break in his words. All she wanted to do now was lay back down with him and pretend nothing happened.

She knew he’d been holding things back. It was never her intention to make him uncomfortable though, so she never pushed it. That didn’t change the things she noticed about him; the scars along his back, how she’d wake several nights to find him missing from bed, when he’d shut down after she did simple things for him, and even in the way he’d only ever take praise of it was when they were having sex.

“Oh Jesus fucking Christ.” Brittany moaned as her and Lilah walked through the doors of the dive bar. Lilah looked over in confusion. Things seemed fine to her. “That guy Paul’s talking to at the bar is his brother Dean. He’s a fucking douchebag, I didn’t even know he was in town.”

 

Lilah surveyed the man in question.

 

Paul stood considerably taller than his brother, but was much skinnier. Not to mention younger. The man, Dean, looked to be in his late forties and had shoulder length greying hair.

 

“Hey honeypot,” The new face said to Brittany as she walked up.

 

Lilah noticed how quick Paul pulled his girlfriend in, an arm wrapping around her waist.

 

“Hey hey.” Brittany sounded uncomfortable but remained polite. It didn’t make any sense, but that pissed Lilah off.

 

How dare he make her feel that way.

 

“Broughtch’a little friend.” The older man nodded toward Lilah. He didn’t make Lilah uncomfortable, he just made her anger flare again by the way he looked at her. Brittany was smiling awkwardly between the two, like she wanted to say something but knew better. “What’y’all doin’ out tonight? Thought ladies night was only durin’ the week.” Dean said with a smokers laugh.

 

Lilah rolled her eyes at his question, prompting a new voice to join in.

 

“That’sa feisty one.” The new man said, nodding his head towards Lilah with a laugh. “Don’t roll’ya eyes like that, they gone get stuck back there.”

 

“Fuck me.” She heard Paul groan as she started to speak.

 

“I’m sorry, who the fuck are you?” Lilah snapped. She was about five minutes from losing her shit just by the vibes from the men in front of them.

 

The man she addressed straightened up, while Lilah could vaguely hear Brittany asking Paul what was wrong. She knew the man scanning her, almost like he was measuring her up. With his build, he had nothing to worry about when it came to her. Not that she was going to grovel at his feet, but she was aware she probably got herself in deep shit.

 

The pair made eye contact briefly. There was something familiar in his eyes that had her momentarily perplexed. Then he opened his mouth again. “Y’got a lot of balls for a bitch that don’t even know who she’s talkin’ to.”

 

Before responding, her eyes darted around, hanging on the hope Daryl might be there to call her a dumbass and drag her out.

 

Might as well not half-ass my first ass whooping. “And I don’t need to know who I’m talking to, to know the only bitch is the one inserting themselves in someone else’s conversation.”

 

With a bolt, the man advanced towards her but not before she could move out the way causing him to lose his footing.

 

“I’m really about to get my ass kicked for my friends girlfriend.” Paul moaned out, moving Lilah closer to a wall, positioning himself in front of her.

 

By the time the man got back on his feet, Paul’s arms were up, both blocking the older man’s attempts and Lilah trying to get from behind him.

 

“Move yer ass boy.” The man said, tossing Paul out the way like a beach ball. “Ya wanna act like Billy-Badass and put’yerself in a man’s position, I’ll treat’ya like one baby girl.” He grabbed Lilah by the shoulders throwing her to the floor.

 

Adjusting to her new position, she saw Dean get up from the bar stool along with another man and make their way over, but not before Lilah’s new friend was pulling her off the ground he’d just thrown her on. She could smell smoke on his breath when he shook her.

 

The words he was about to say were lost when by instinct, Lilah kneed him in the groin and shoving an elbow in his chest to get away. In a state of shock she froze.

 

Her heart wanted to ask if he was okay.

 

Her head wanted her to take off.

 

Her feet stayed planted for a second too long when her head won.

 

When she went to run, she felt a hand on her wrist spinning her back around.

 

“Merle!” Her favorite voice finally rang out. A little too late.

 

Lilah dropped to the floor, not by her own accord, but due to an excruciating pain by her left jaw.

  

  

It had taken more than a few people to get the men separated after that. Lilah was no help as she was all but drug away by Paul. Brittany was crying against the wall when Lilah saw her. Arms were wrapped around her with constant questions of if she was okay.

 

She couldn’t even answer.

 

Her mind was going everywhere.

 

From being brutally socked in the face, to her boyfriend tackling her assailant, then being drug away, her best friend weeping, and now a huge scene being caused in front of her.

 

She was emotionless.

 

Lilah tried listening to the argument between the two men across the room but she couldn’t focus on what they were saying.

 

When Daryl walked over with a bloody lip, face full of anger, Lilah wanted to reach out and talk to him. Instead she followed hazily as he tugged her behind him.

 

She could distantly hear Brittany tell him that she may have a concussion, but it was weird that it sounded so far away when she was still in front of her. The vague awareness of where they were going when she was shoved into the truck sat in the back of her mind, while trying to really hear what Daryl was saying to her was at the forefront.

 

Lilah knew Daryl explained something to the nurse when they got there. She just didn’t know what it was.

 

She didn’t care.

 

Sleep sounded nice.

 

Sleeping with Daryl sounded better.

 

He was talking to a new nurse that came into the room though. Then he’d probably come lay down with her.

 

So she closed her eyes and rested.

 

Then she was throwing up.

 

Why was she throwing up?

 

There were nurses around her now, holding her.

 

Daryl wasn’t there anymore. She wondered where he went and hoped he was okay.

 

It was just a busted lip, but maybe it was worse.

 

She called out for him.

 

She was then met with questions about her name from one of the nurses instead.

 

Lilah asked where Daryl was, but their answers weren’t registering.

 

She cried his name louder that time.

 

She was scared.

 

The nurse who had asked her about her name told her if she calmed down he could come back in.

 

Lilah obliged. She just didn’t understand what that nurse meant by calming down. She was fine.

 

“Daryl.” She mused.

 

“Hey L.” He looked worried.

 

“You left me.” Lilah pouted.

 

“Darlin’”

 

“Why’d you leave? I was scared.”

 

Lilah heard the nurses talking to Daryl, but couldn’t make out what they were saying.

 

“Can they give you some medicine darlin’?”

 

“Okay. Just don’t go away again.”

 

She wasn’t sure if he responded. Sleep took her again.

 

 

Lilah got black out drunk for her twenty-first birthday. She had an entire trip to New Orleans planned with a group of her friends and they spent nearly 12 hours straight, drinking. Lilah woke up in a hotel bathtub with a frying pan.

 

Somehow, when she woke up in the emergency room, her head hurt more.

 

Her eyes straining against the fluorescent lights, Lilah was slow to open them, blinking and rubbing her lids. Letting out a low groan she looked over — groggy, disoriented, and sore. She began taking in her surroundings. Daryl sat in a cold looking plastic chair across the room from her. She could tell he’d just woken up by the way he was opening and shutting his eyes. For a moment, she wondered if she was dreaming.

 

“Hey,” Daryl’s eyes widened ever so slightly when he noticed Lilah awake in front of him. “Hey, I’m gonna get the doc.”

 

Lilah wanted to protest but he’d been up and out of the door before she could.

 

It took her a second to realize her current situation and what led her there. She brought her hand up to trace the aching area on her face. Wincing at the pain, Lilah’s heart began racing.

 

The sound of a door opening and seeing Daryl come through the door had her dropping the hand she held up. A doctor and a set of nurses followed behind him.“Good morning sunshine.” The doctor, a man, greeted her. “You look to be in much better shape now than you were a couple hours ago.”

 

Lilah smiled at him meekly. How long had she been there?

 

“I’m Dr. Washington, do you remember your name?” He asked her, sitting down in a rolling stool and sliding in front of her.

 

“Lilah Star Cabot.” She replied.

 

“Can you tell me your boyfriend over there’s name?”

 

“Daryl.”

 

“What about my name?” The doctor took out a silver pen from his coat, then flashed a light at the end. He motioned for Lilah to open her eyes wide so he could look at them.

 

“Dr. Washington.”

 

Finishing a quick exam on her her slid back. “Nice.” He held his hand out to one of the nurses, who then placed a clipboard in the empty space. “Well Ms. Cabot, you have had a very rough night.”

 

 

If Lilah had to describe the following days, she’d say they were grey.

 

After being told she had suffered a minor concussion and doing a quick scan to make sure she was for sure okay, they sent her home. She was supposed to take it easy for a few days, but it had been six at this point.

 

Six entire days of solitude.

 

Daryl wasn’t answering his phone and when she went to his house he wasn’t there. Brittany had a pre-planned vacation with Paul, so it really was just her. Under other circumstances Lilah wouldn’t have minded so much; she enjoyed her alone time. Being ignored, no— being avoided by Daryl was agonizing.

 

Lilah didn’t need to know the full extent of things to know that Daryl had been aggravated with her. She bit off more than she could chew and he had to clean everything up. He had every reason to be mad, that’s what was killing her. She’d caused her own heartache because she was too mouthy. Lilah couldn’t even use ignorance as an excuse because he’d warned her something like that would happen. She ignored his warnings deliberately.

 

She needed to apologize.

 

She needed to try and salvage her relationship.

 

 

It was the day after their weekly star gazing session and Lilah had spent it cleaning up around her boyfriends house. She was going to fix things when he got off work.

 

There was roast in the slow cooker, food in serving bowls, and plates on the table by the time 5 o’clock had rolled around. She went as far as making him a silly ‘I’m sorry’ card out of a piece of yellow note pad paper and Sharpie. It was ridiculous, but she needed to get her point across in more than one way.

 

Lilah laid on the bed where countless night had been spent in pleasure and conversation, waiting for the front door to open.

 

It never did and that shattered her heart.

 

Merle ruined everything or maybe that was just Daryl’s luck.

 

He didn’t know his brother was back in town, so imagine his surprise when he walked into the bar to meet up with his girlfriend to find Merle man-handling her.

 

That’s not to say Lilah was innocent. Daryl knew how dangerous her mouth was. It was her biggest downfall and his biggest headache. He’d expected something like that to happen with her eventually, he just never thought it would be his own brother on the opposite side.

 

Spending fifteen hours in a hospital was just the icing on top.

 

After his eventful weekend, he used the next days to talk to Merle. Well, to try and talk to Merle.

 

“Y’just don’t listen to me little brother.” Merle lectured. “That bitch has got ta go.”

 

“Don’t call’er that.”

 

A snide laugh filled the hotel room. “That pussy really gotchu chained don’t it?”

 

His older brother was taunting him now. He spent all week making off-handed remarks Daryl had let slide because despite everything, that was still his brother. At that moment though, exasperation hit him and he was ready to give up; At least for some time. “Shut the hell up Merle.” Daryl didn’t even have to energy to shout when he got up and headed to the door.

 

“Ya better off without’er!” He heard his brother call when the bright morning sun hit his eyes.

 

 

His chest tightened when he saw Lilah’s car parked outside of his house.

 

She was waiting for him.

 

Her absence when he walked through the door had him figuring she must of stayed the night. The thought of her being alone and waiting for him to come home had his throat tightening slightly. After Daryl observed the food left sitting on the counter next to a makeshift card, his suspicions were confirmed.

 

Daryl made his way into the bedroom to find Lilah cocooned within the blankets. He was so frustrated with her, but fuck, he missed her so much.

 

After a quick shower, Daryl slipped beside Lilah, pulling her into his chest and stirring her awake.

 

She didn’t remember when she ended up falling asleep. Sometime after 8 for sure, when she knew he wasn’t come home and her eyes were tired from crying. Despite the misery she felt when her heart ached while tears streamed down her face; Lilah slept so good after a sobbing session.

 

There was a soreness on the irritated skin surrounding her eyes when she was shifted awake. A familiar scent of body wash caught under her nose causing her to push up quickly.

 

“It’s just me.” Daryl revealed.

 

The beat of her heart fastened as tears filled her eyes. “Daryl,” Lilah stammered. “I’m so sorry. I wasn’t thinking anything through, I was just angry. Please just,” Words were pouring from her mouth like wine and she couldn’t stop them. “I’m sorry D. I’m so stupid and-“

 

“Lilah, darlin’” His fingers were wiping away tears that escaped down her cheeks.

 

Words wouldn’t form anymore so she let the salt water flow and buried her sobs into his chest.

 

She was in deep.

 

They laid like that for a dozen or so minutes. Her face pressed into his chest while his fingers swindled around in her hair. Even after her cries died, their positions remained. “I really am sorry Daryl,” Lilah’s voice was raw when she finally spoke. “Please don’t leave.”

 

“Ain’t goin’ no where.” He assured. She felt like he still had something to say, there was a weird emptiness in the air.

 

“What is it?” Lilah asked, lifting her head to look at him. Daryl said nothing, but let out a low groan, lifting his body so he could look at her. Her cheeks were red, eyes swollen as she readjusted herself. “Daryl.”

 

“I didn’t know he was in town L.”

 

Lilah wondered what he meant— who he meant. Her boyfriend looked so guilty, a piece his bottom lip gripped by his teeth.

 

The look of blind confusion etched across her face had Daryl exhaling with force. He brought his hand up and felt over the yellowed bruise that adorned her cheek; it was healing nicely. “My brother.” Her head tilted, but his calloused finger still brushed across her bruise. His face was contorted in a look she’d never seen on him before.

 

Was it fear?

 

“What’re you talking about?” Lilah asked.

 

At last, his eyes finally met hers and they were full of emotion. It took seconds between them darting from her cheek back to her eyes for realization to sink in. She could hear her heartbeat in her ears and she wanted to throw up.

 

Daryl remained in place, waiting for her to end the relationship he worked so hardly on. He wouldn’t blame her; it was a hammer that was waiting to fall. Things were going too good for him to actually last. The skeletons in his closet had been seeking a way out and Merle opened the door.

 

It was inevitable.

 

“I mean, I did call him a bitch.” Lilah pointed out. His eyes and the way they wore his emotions would be her death sentence. “You’re much better at first impressions for meeting the family.” The lighthearted joke was supposed to kick some of the heaviness in the room, but it just made Daryl more confused. His hand dropped and he rolled out of bed. “Where are you going?”

 

“For a walk. Need’a think.”

 

As he was buttoning his jeans, something flared inside of Lilah.

 

She spent a week living in not knowing the status of her relationship, a week crying, a week knowing she’d been the problem; A week thinking. He wasn’t answering her calls that entire time, nor had he been home anytime Lilah came by. As far she knew, he could’ve skipped town.

 

What had he been doing all week?

 

“I think the fuck not.” Lilah fumed.

 

Daryl stopped getting dressed, squinting his eyes, he looked at her. Almost as if he was weighing her words.

 

A brief silence hung in the air while they stared at each other.

 

“What is your problem Daryl?” Lilah’s anger broke through. “I know that you’re angry at me, and I get it. I understood so much that I gave you time; you didn’t answer my calls, you weren’t home when I came by, you had a week! Now that we’re addressing it you’re just going to fucking walk away?”

 

They had a few arguments before, but nothing heated enough to have both of them shooting daggers at each other in the form of looks. “Ya wanna know what my problem is? I’ll tell you what my problem is. Everywhere you go ya walk around like ya own the place or something! Actin’ like yer all high’n’mighty.” Daryl’s hand flew up while he gestured to her. “Yer just a spoiled, sheltered brat who ain’t ever had to worry bout nothin’.”

 

She left no room to think, “I’ve already told you I was sorry Daryl! My words took me too far, what the fuck else do you want me to do? This is me trying! I’m trying to work past it and talk to you and you’re just being a jackass!”

 

“Why? Why do you want to do this?” His voice cracked and he cursed himself.

 

Lilah’s face softened when she heard the break in his words. All she wanted to do now was lay back down with him and pretend nothing happened.

 

She knew he’d been holding things back. It was never her intention to make him uncomfortable though, so she never pushed it. That didn’t change the things she noticed about him; the scars along his back, how she’d wake several nights to find him missing from bed, when he’d shut down after she did simple things for him, and even in the way he’d only ever take praise if it was when they were having sex.

 

“Because you make me feel like a poem Daryl Dixon. I want to know about all of your scars, inside and out. I want you to trust me. I want, all of you.” Lilah tried to convey the depths of her emotions. “Now quit getting dressed and tell me where you’ve been all week.” She added the last part on softly and with a smile, the tension in the room needed to go.

 

Daryl stared at her as she spoke. Her words pierced his heart as if they were an arrow and she was the archer. He expected her to leave him when she found out who gave her a concussion. He’d already prepared himself for the loss. Spending the week talking to Merle was just a ploy to avoid it; to cling to the hope of her staying. He never anticipated for it to actually present itself to him. Here it was though. The girl he’d become entranced in, the one that made him feel different, wanted him in his entirety. He wondered if she’d regret it.

 

“Was with my brother,” Daryl began as he made his way back to the bed.

 

For her, he thought to himself, he could soften.

Chapter 10.

[cha-melodius]

Hello hello! If I'm not too late for the director's cut ask, would say something about false dichotomy please? I love that fic so much! You've got mail is such a classic and you've made that au so so charming, it brings me a lot of joy 🤍

I talked a bit about the OCs in False Dichotomy here, but I'll take this opportunity to talk about the changes I made from the movie! I'm putting these behind a cut because there are some pretty big spoilers for the fic itself.

@kiwiana-writes wrote a line in one of his director's cut replies about how, when adapting an existing storyline to an AU fanfic, story has to bend to fit character, and I think this fic is the perfect example of that principle. Although the setup of Henry as the heir to a corporate empire and Alex as the 'little guy' does fit at first blush, Henry isn't Joe and Alex isn't Kathleen. In fact, personality-wise, they're just about flopped. There are aspects of Kathleen that are so ridiculously Henry-esque, particularly her love of Pride and Prejudice and also her grief over a parent's death.

I'd like to add, before I get into some of the details, that while I made a bunch of fairly significant changes to better fit the characters, it was important to me to capture the spirit of You've Got Mail. That means not shying away from the small shop's closing, and also staying true to the joy of the finale moment (though this moment comes before the end of the fic). I've read a lot of YGM AUs where, upon the final reveal, the Kathleen-character is often justifiably angry and there's additional angst where the Joe-character has to do some groveling, and yes, it makes sense for those characters to do that, but IMO it kind of fails as an adaptation of the source material because you lose the emotional impact of the original. Which is not to say these stories aren't good or that they don't do what they want to, but to me, the trick to a good media AU is walking that tightrope between originality and honoring the source material. It's not an easy thing to do, IMO. ETA: Of course there are also the times where you like one part of the original media but hate the rest so you say fuck this and fix it, which is completely valid! That's one of the things fanfic is for! I'm also very aware that some people feel that way about YGM lol. But there are those of us who love it despite its flaws, and I wanted to write this fic for them too.

Some more discussion of specific changes I made behind the cut, for spoiler reasons.

Critically, Alex would absolutely not react the same way Kathleen did upon finding out Henry hadn't told him who he was. I strongly felt he needed to be the one to find out Henry's identity first to give him time to come to terms with it and realize that Henry wasn't the person he thought he was. Meanwhile, Henry was much more likely to be forgiving of the long 'deception'/withholding of information because he's been in love with Alex from the start. I also thought having Henry angst over being in love with two 'different' people would be more fun lol.

A big change I honestly always forget about is of course not having them being in relationships with other people. I suppose at the time this was a good excuse for why Joe and Kathleen never met up, but now it's not odd that you might have a long-term internet friendship with someone that never goes beyond online. But I also absolutely did NOT want to fuck with partners and the ending of relationships and all of that noise. No thanks.

I considered doing the 'journalist writes a story about Under the Rainbow' storyline using June as the journalist, but in the end decided it wouldn't really add anything. Instead I added the whole Okonjo shelter storyline, which gave me the excellent excuse to sow doubts in Alex about Henry's awfulness along with being a step forward in Alex's bisexual awakening/coming out storyline.

Finally, I obviously added quite a bit beyond where the movie ends. Romcom movies can get away with end scene on the big kiss, but I wanted to show not only their conversations about what had happened but also the happy ending for Under the Rainbow. It was important to me that it wasn't as simple as the shop closing, the end. I found it kind of funny about how mad some people were about UTR's closing and corporations winning, considering that in the end I freed UTR from the shackles of capitalism to be the best community center/library version of itself.

[dol--blathanna]

I try not to post too much TWN negativity on this blog, because I know plenty of people enjoy the show just fine, and I hate being an asshole and raining on other people’s parades. But, god, the way that the show treats Yennefer - or rather, mistreats her - just upsets me and pisses me off so much. 

The book already puts her through the wringer - too much at times, honestly - but the show just takes it to a whole new level. The amount of suffering they put her through that wasn’t present in the books is so frustrating to me. Like adding in random torture scenes that weren’t present (the hysterectomy scene, being tortured by Stregebor), losing her magic powers, constantly being captured in S2, not even having a particularly good court standing - like in S1 when Fringilla mocks her for not helping advance Aedirn at all, and Yennefer doesn’t even have a good comeback to that. It’s as if the show is just obsessed with giving her constant Ls and never really letting her come out on top. Sidenote: I am fine with angst, in fact I enjoy it, and I am fine with a character going through hardships and suffering. You can do a lot of great character, story and theme exploration with angst, and sometimes it’s necessary for a character to suffer to develop that. If I wasn’t fine with angst, I wouldn’t be a fan of the witcher lmao. But when I see a character who already goes through a shit ton of misery in the books get forced into even more suffering in the show that never happened....I start to have a problem.

And then, of course, S2 committed the cardinal sin with that stupid ass Voleth Meir plotline. As if torturing her, having her be captured, making her lose her powers, wasn’t bad enough - they completely character assassinate her by making her almost sacrifice Ciri to a fucking demon. Something that is so bewilderingly OOC for Yennefer, something that never EVER happened in the books. When the show got bored with creating narrative suffering for her, they decided to take it to a meta level by character assassinating her in a really bizarre, stupid way. Because, why was this necessary? I know that they were concerned about the fact Yennefer doesn’t really show up much in Blood of Elves, I understand they wanted to create a plot line for her that got her more involved in the main plot. But - why this???!!! There were 101 different plot lines they could have given her that didn’t involve her trying to sacrifice Ciri to a fucking demon, in the process completely messing up her relationship with Geralt and Ciri!!

And this is the main reason I’m making this post - her relationship with Geralt and Ciri being messed up. I’ve seen a lot of articles recently about S3, all stating that Yennefer essentially has to grovel to Geralt, that he ignores her for potentially a full year, that at the beginning he doesn’t even let her enter the same abode as them - what the fuck!!! It upsets me so much. Because this was the biggest problem with the VM plotline - it completely upends Geralt and Yennefer’s dynamic. In the books, their relationship is way more equal - in fact, it honestly would be accurate to say that Yennefer is the more dominant one in the relationship, not Geralt. The show is now completely turning that on its head, and making Geralt the dominant one - but not personality wise, more in a moral highground type way. Because now, whatever stupid shit Geralt does, or has done in the past - e.g. tell Yennefer she’d be a terrible mother, which he never apologises for - none of that matters!! Because it will never be as bad as Yennefer trying to kill Ciri. Instead of a relationship where they both fuck up and both make mistakes, like in the books, in the show the emphasis will all be on Yennefer. Yennefer is the one fucking up, Yennefer is the one making absurdly stupid mistakes, Yennefer is the one who needs to apologise and grovel and beg for forgiveness. 

And this is what I mean by, the show is obsessed with giving her Ls. Not only do they make her suffer, they character assassinate her by forcing her character to do this cartoonishly evil thing, and then punish her for it!! They don’t just take away her powers, her court standing, they even strip her of her own relationships!!! And I ask again - why is this necessary?? Who decided that punishing her like this would be an extremely important plot line, an improvement, over the original source material? Like back when the show was first announced, I sure as shit wasn’t thinking “oh wow a netflix witcher show - I sure do hope they have a plot thread where Geralt refuses to talk to Yennefer, and doesn’t even let her into the same fucking house as him, because she tried to kill Ciri!!” who wanted this??? Who thought this was a good idea??? Honestly, it makes me feel as if someone on the writing team hates Yennefer and wants her to suffer, both in a narrative and meta level. And no, I’m not talking about that infamous Beau deMayo interview - something that caused a huge amount of online drama and should be taken with a big old pinch of salt, especially since the writer who made this claim was responsible for some pretty questionable decisions, namely the whole Treeskel thing. I’m not making a direct accusation here - it’s more a feeling. When I look at TWN, I cannot help but sense a level of contempt and spite towards the character of Yennefer. That doesn’t necessarily mean someone in the writing team genuinely has it out for her, but if that’s the impression that I get from the way they treat her in the show, then something has gone very wrong with the narrative decisions they made for her.

And this is why, not only can I not let myself be excited for S3, it’s why I’m genuinely feeling dread about it. Every time I read interviews about how Geralt and Yennefer have this really rocky start and he’s ignoring her or whatever, my stomach just sinks. And again - why was this decision made? Who thought this was a good idea? And yeah, the TWN team have already said they’re trying to fix the problem with their relationship caused in S2, but a) the way they are going about fixing it only serves to punish Yennefer’s character more and b) it should not have been something to fix in the first place. It’s also why I can’t bring myself to believe that S3 will suddenly be more faithful and better than S2, esp in regards to Yennefer (aside from the fact they’ve made this promise before and failed to deliver). Because the early plot points of a story are extremely important in setting the foundation of your later plot, especially in a series like the witcher. If your foundation is inherently flawed, it doesn’t matter how good your later seasons are; they are built on a faulty base, and will therefore lack a good structure. Case in point with Yennefer. Without going too much into book spoilers, let’s just say she has a really rough time of it post-Time of Contempt in the books. So in the show, either a) they will just put her through even more suffering and leave you thinking “wow did this entire show exist just to punish Yennefer?” or b) they will have to deviate away from the books. Neither of these options are particularly good. (this also is one of my problems with S2 as a whole - they were so desperate to put in all this insane blockbuster action and dramatic plot points, but sometimes in stories you need moments of calm to make later dramatic plot points more hard hitting. In the books, Blood of Elves was the moment of calm before Time of Contempt’s batshit, action packed drama. In the show, you never get that moment of calm. Why should I care about whatever happens in Thanedd if S2 had Ciri get possessed by a fucking demon and go on a killing spree? But anyway.)

And I think the reason why I’m particularly disappointed with the way that the show has treated Yennefer’s character so badly (aside from the numerous promises of “we’re a faithful book adaptation” being complete lies) is that Yennefer is a character who already receives a lot of unfair hate. Obviously there’s the annoying “Team Yen vs Team Triss” thing from the games, but even within the show there were a certain type of fans of a certain ship who hated a lot on Yennefer for daring to get in the way of their ship. Like, I’m so sick of seeing Yennefer getting hate for stupid, unfair reasons - and now even the show is treating her like shit??? Like, give me a break!! 

I’m just tired of it. And obviously, if you like TWN and you’re excited for S3, that’s fine. In fact, I’m honestly jealous, I wish I could feel the same. And who knows, maybe the show will improve its treatment of Yennefer, maybe they’ll finally give her some Ws. But that’s what I thought about S2, and was proven VERY wrong. Any confidence, trust or optimism I had left for the show was completely destroyed by the Voleth Meir plotline in S2, and the show will have to work very hard to rebuild that trust for me. And unfortunately, everything I’ve heard about S3 so far is only confirming that they’ll continue to treat her poorly.

[kraken-o-doyle]

My delulu brain gives you an assessment of the characters of Blades. Fair warning it's a lot 😂 Enjoy.

Nia, obviously her backstory is literally being snatched up and taught how to use her light from literal birth is controversial to say less. And after joining our party, she began seeing all the things wrong with what she was conditioned to believe - and dear god that would fuick up a person (depends on the matter). Even a year later Nia is struggling with the fact that she is still the shadow creature and I think losing MC made her stronger and less shy, but at the same time yours truly believes she cannot trust anyone - it was only revealed to MC that she is still struggling with the aftermath of Dreadlord dying and turns into this creature when she is in danger BY ACCIDENT OR SHEER DUMB LUCK.(PLOT DEMANDS IT) why is MC still covering for her?????

Imtura at first was literally denying the fact that MC was even alive and to be fair, she is the last person to be recruited into the team in book 1, but in my humble opinion it's evident that Imtura and MC(moi mc)relate more to one another than any other character. And her not making too many friends due to being a ✨princess✨is such BS but you know (I would be more than grateful to be in a princess' corner as a good friend) and as stated in book 1, we weren't told she was a princess because she's a captain of a ship and that way she could keep others' respect before they literally fall over themselves to please her. And when our little party didn't treat her any different before and after knowing who she was, she opened up...

Circling back to Imtura believing MC to be dead; if I was in her position and a friend that I saved the world with just 💨, I would too think they're gone since the other implications are that they are being tortured in a dungeon and bled dry by an empress' daughter. 😳

Mal, sigh, he is just wracked with guilt from losing MC, I kid you not I feel like he made some deals to try and find MC; only for someone like Tyril to find out and absolutely berate him (which is why Tyril in the newest chapter called him reckless). I'm sure there is gonna be more reckless behaviour that Mal had done through the year for both characters to use their first names. And got his stupid ass corrupted by shadow - whether or not he knows if he's infested and becoming a Thrall for the Ash Empire... we'll have to wait and see.

Tyril, from what we know so far tried from beginning to end to find MC (to be honest from what we were told Nia and Mal helped a lot until they stopped? why though - correct me if I am wrong.) even if you are romantically involved or just platonic friends, he literally sees you as an equal and is equally happy to see you back in the land of the living. Him grovelling and desperately trying to find answers on how to find MC shows what type of person he is, but I'm sure he is keeping some feelings or all of them back due to just being happy to have MC back in his life. (And doesn't want to burden MC with his problems)

Aerin better come back because whether or not I missed his jabs at the group and him only having eyes for MC(s phone, do you have some games). But genuinely what did he give the group (only heartache), because if you didn't catch him in book 1 he literally comes in one chapter - takes a stab at MC's celibacy - leaves the next. Where the hell did you crawl off to Aerin, did you go off to finish off someone?the king. Jesus, imagine. Or even worse he won't come back this book...

WILL WE GET KADE, LOOLA AND THREEP THIS BOOK BECAUSE ITS DIFFICULT WITHOUT THEM. I miss them a lot, also definitely not catching up with Kade like we should've; imagine if MC dies and the rest of the group (after saving the world and whatnot) comes back with her corpse with a note attached - sorry. 😐

I would scream if we have a therapy session with some certain characters - say certain someones we haven't seen in the WHOLE BOOK. Very disappointed in that department. Because from where I am sitting we NEED YEARS WORTH OF THERAPY.

[alitgblog]

ok I have thoughts about the current volume and I haven't posted every week like last season but I'm making one exception bc I don't feel the need to make multiple posts

so Ava I feel like is probably just gonna be exactly like Sienna? At least they gave her a little bit of backstory with your Casa boy so it makes sense I guess if you couple with OG boy again and then she has reason to pick Casa boy (although Sienna being bitter and stuck with your Casa boy is fine too), but I dislike she's extra antagonistic towards MC for very little reason other than OG boy but like... you'd think he'd tell her they were just friends and he's gonna pursue MC

like if he saw MC was back during the beach date, why would he pick Ava, who is into him? Like it makes more sense for him to pick a girl he sees as a friend and risk it for MC since he knows she's coming back. Otherwise, they need to have a conversation after stick or twist where he's like hey, I do owe it to her to try this out because i do feel a connection with her (think Lucas and Blake) and then have to grovel to get get MC back, meanwhile Casa boy is also around comforting her. Alternatively, as much as I like Jesse and Eisha getting along, OG boy could've picked Eisha and made it clear they're just friends and you'd get no aggression there. But Jesse is into Ava and she realizes when MC is around that he likes her so that's why she's always angry at MC. Maybe MC confronts her and Ava explains and this is a catalyst for Jesse revealing his feelings(but this does feel repetitive tbh since Sofia does basically the same thing).

anyway I also think Casa boy at least once during his confrontations with OG boy should've snuck in a "I would leave with you" thing like during casa. Idk let them fight more I love the attention it's what MC deserves

I have a whole separate post ready about Jesse but I'm kinda liking his route especially bc of the Ava/OG boy thing I mentioned above and I did fuck up a little going back and forth between Casa boys bc I have little attachment to Yash other than he's kinda taking the love triangle thing better than Ethan imo, but also I like a slowburn and a lot of this season in general just feels like they copied tempting fate, but I didn't like the Theo and Hari routes/buildup o this feels like a nice do over.

like this got me in distress I'm sorry Ethan I was kinda down for a loyal route this time but idkkkk (somebody pls post their loyal or casa boy route I wanna know if this parts any different lol)

sad to see isadora go but I kinda hope she and Hayden both realize they messed up in casa and try to make it work. like even if it doesn't in the longterm I just want isadora to be happy 🥺

and I don't know who the dates are. I don't want them to bring back old islanders from the other seasons (who would it even be???) and if it's two bombshells, then likely it's gotta be Tristan coming for his redemption arc (don't know if he can redeem himself tbh) or Leo (who somehow avoided being mentioned until Isadora got dumped). I could also see it being a friend date only where you get intel and then in that case maybe the game finally let's you confront Sofia and Tristan but the season already has a lot of that. OR they maximize their joint annoyingness and it's Tristan and Dean. I could also see it being two new bombshells and the blast from the past is actually an unnecessary VIP host like they kept doing in S9.

anyway this is love triangle and Jesse's thing is the most invested I've been in all season lol