#I will also give a tw for each chapter that mentions his character in the future | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

lucozadehulahoop · 2 years ago

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Star-crossed. Lo'ak x fem!human!reader

This was originally posted on my side blog @thankeywa. It's a brand new blog and tumblr thinks it's a bot so it's not giving it visibility. Please go give it some love, I want all my avatar!related stuff to be on there.

PART 2 HERE PART 3 HERE PART 4 HERE

I know that literally nobody asked for this, but I've noticed a disturbing lack of Lo'ak fics out there, so I've decided to give my input. I've had a story in mind for a while now, and I needed to get it out there. It will be a reader insert to make it more accessible, but it's somewhat based around an original f!character, so I apologize for that in advance if it gets too specific.

WARNINGS: Lo'ak is 20 years old in this and so is the reader, I do not write about minor characters. There will be eventual mature themes in this so MINORS DO NOT INTERACT WITH THIS WORK.

For everyone else, if you like my writing, please let me know if you want to be on the tag list for future installments and SEND ME REQUESTS (head canons, imagines, sfw/nsfw, ecc.) ! I love that shit.

words: around 1.200

summary: reader is a human left behind on pandora, she grew up with the remaining humans who'd been aloud to stay on the planet after the war and has been friends with the Sully clan her entire life. She and Lo'ak were best friends until he began to pull away from her in their teen years for seemingly no reason. This story is about them reconnecting on the day of her twentieth birthday, and dealing with the feelings they have for each other and the obstacles that come with them being from two different worlds.

TW for this chapter: angst, smoking (don't do it, ever), brief mentions of alcohol, brief mention of war and death, brief mention of child birth, reader can breathe on pandora.

Y/n looked at the 'birthday cake' made out of cookie rations that Norm and Max had made for her. No matter how many years would pass, her dads always knew how to get creative.

"I'm twenty years old, you guys don't have to keep throwing me a birthday party." She reprimanded them softly, though her heart was filled with joy. Y/n was so thankful to have people in her life who cared enough to make her day special every single year.

"Considering you spent most of your early existence tied to test tubes to stay alive, we're merely celebrating the scientific marvel your continued survival has been." Norm joked, raising a beer, and y/n shoved him, before blowing out the single candle that had been meticulously re-used each year. It was a wonder how there was any wax still left on it.

"What did the birthday girl wish for?" Max asked, reaching for a dried-up cookie and cringing slightly at the taste as he chewed on it slowly. "The whole point of a birthday wish is to keep it to myself... or it won't come true. Honestly, I question your two's knowledge of Earth's traditions." y/n shook her head, before taking a celebratory sip of alcohol.

Norm and Max left eventually, back to the main base. They were more than capable of piloting a helicopter those days, and y/n was all grown up. More than capable of living by herself. What once had been an avatar lab, smack dab in the middle of the forests of Pandora, had been converted into her home. Pandora's rapidly repopulating fauna had surprisingly left her residence alone, well... mostly. There were still some creatures who couldn't help but keep themselves away. And by creatures, she meant Spider. Y/n was also friends with actual people like Neteyam, Kiri, Tuk, and... Lo'ak. Truth be told, she didn't know whether or not she and Lo'ak were even friends anymore. They'd been thick as thieves for as long as she could remember, always getting him out of trouble and fixing him up after a scuffle with his siblings. But then, around her sixteenth birthday, he'd started pulling away, and y/n had never understood why. They'd had a big fight about it, bottom line, he hadn't wanted to be around her anymore and y/n had to accept it.

"Open up! It's fucking freezing out here!" Came Spider's loud voice followed by an incessant banging on the door that immediately pulled y/n out of her reverie. "Alright, alright..." she laughed a little as she went to let them all inside. The Sullys were always insisting on spending birthdays together, even though some of them were now getting too big to even fit inside her 'home'. Neteyam had to walk around with his back bent forward, and Kiri knocked over quite a few things before they made it to y/n's main living space, which was more or less Na've-proof. "Happy birthday!" Tuk hugged her and y/n struggled not to feel crushed by the embrace. Even the littlest Sully was now nearly as tall as her.

Y/n let them all inside, already giving them dirty looks at the sight of gifts. "I told you guys not to..."

She stayed on the doorstep a little longer, gazing out into the night, desperately hoping one last uninvited guest would turn up. She felt Neteyam's hand on her shoulder. "He's not coming. I tried to talk to him but he was being a skxawng as usual..." Y/n blushed, not really wanting Neteyam to know she was pining for his younger brother. "Oh, right! I was—just checking you were all here..." she closed the door and they both went back to join the others.

___

"Alright come on, your mom is going to kill me if you get back late and I don't have enough space in here for all of you. Spider would have to sleep outside." Y/n teased, trying to let Tuk understand it was time to go. "Hey!" Spider protested at her lighthearted jab, but knew it was time for them to get going. Nobody wanted to get on Neytiri's bad side. Y/n hugged them all goodbye and thanked them for the presents: Tuk had made her a lovely drawing, and the others had collectively made her a rather beautiful necklace, which she immediately wore. Y/n waited on her doorstep till she could no longer hear the sounds of her friends chatting, and then proceeded to do two incredibly dangerous things: she sat outside of the protection of her bunker, all alone in the cold Pandora night air, and lit up a cigarette.

She'd discovered a terrifyingly endless supply of cigarette cartoons back at the base almost a year prior, and as soon as she'd tried her first one, she'd gotten addicted. Y/n hadn't told Norm or Max, of course, as it would have broken their hearts, especially because of how fragile she was. Y/n's mother had gone into labor in the aftermath of the battle for Pandora between the Na'vi and the Sky people. The soldier had lost her life giving birth, but her baby had survived, taking her first breath in the inhospitable Pandora air. Norm was convinced Eywa herself had kept her alive, had given her the ability to take in the air that hadn't previously failed to kill any other human. Sure, it had come at the price of being particularly fragile her entire life. And how was y/n repaying that gift? By cutting her miraculous existence short more and more each day. Thankfully, it was a while since she'd been used as a test rat, or had check ups of any sort. As far as the Sullys were concerned... they were way better off not even knowing what she was doing to herself.

A sudden rustling in the trees instantly made y/n alert and she didn't waste any time getting back inside. She showered, and shamefully hid her smokes somewhere her dads or the Sullys wouldn't look. When she had nothing else left to do, y/n forced herself to crawl into bed, placing a hand over her necklace. Her wish to see Lo'ak hadn't come true in the end, and while not surprising, it still hurt like hell.

"A pack of viperwolves? Seriously, Lo'ak?" Y/n groaned in frustration as she cleared her table for her best friend to lie on.

"I thought I could take them." He hissed as she doused him with disinfectant. "Yeah, well, you know human medical treatment hurts like a bitch, so it's either my way, or you're going to have to fess up to your parents about what you did." Y/n tried to sound cold, but she'd always been too soft on him.

When they were younger, and Lo'ak still hadn't grown to be double her size, they would often fall asleep together in her bed. "You don't have to keep doing this shit to prove something, you know?" She whispered to him one night, turning over to look at him and gently touch his face. "Your parents love you. And so do Neteyam, Kiri, Tuk and Spider. Lo'ak, I— we— don't want to lose you."

Y/n was almost asleep when a loud 'thud' coming from outside woke her. Something was moving on her roof, or rather, someone... Y/n didn't show whether she was dreaming or not as she looked out the window and locked eyes with Lo'ak, because the second she did, he seemed to slide off the top of her bucker, falling down into the grass below with a loud groan.

He'd probably just woken up half of the animals on Pandora.

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whumpback-wail · 11 months ago

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07 - Decrescendo

Trial by Fire (Wriothesley x Reader)

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IMPORTANT NOTICE: Reminder that this fanfic contains dark and mature themes. The TW/CW are in the masterlist and are constantly updated as I add each chapter. Please reread the warnings, proceed only after you reread the warnings. If you don't like/can't handle the topics mentioned in the TW/CW, please DO NOT read. This work is 100000% fictional and any similarities to real life people and events are purely coincidental, and none of the characters (especially the villains) are real. Again, please DO NOT read if you are not certain you can handle these topics or are in a bad place mentally. Minors are strictly forbidden. I only create content, and I am not responsible for your personal content preference and moderation. If you think you will not like this story, please just scroll away. You have been warned.

Wriothesley didn’t know how long he sat there watching her sleep, silent tears long since dried out. He couldn’t imagine the trauma that (y/n) must have gone through. She’s really strong, although he wished she didn’t need to be.

A knock sounded at the door, and Neuvilette stepped inside.Wriothesley turned his head around and nodded in greeting, not caring about how he looked with puffy red eyes and tear stains on his face.

“How is she?” The Iudex placed a comforting hand on his friend’s shoulders.

Wriothesley scoffed, rubbing his nose, “Terrible. We both are.”

Neuvilette nodded, understanding.

“Dougier spilled once we brought in Chlorinde.” At the mention of Dougier’s name, Wriothesley bristled, hands clenching on his thigh.

“She hasn’t even touched him. Wriothesley, we found Arderne’s location.”

“Where?” Wriothesley was on his feet in an instant.

Neuvilette hesitated.

“I… I only came here to tell you that, since you deserve to know the update, but in your current condition, I’m afraid you have to sit this one out.”

Wriothesley couldn’t believe he was hearing this. “What? Why?”

“I am doing this for your sake, Wriothesley. I know that look in your eyes right before you pounced on Dougier. You were going to kill him right there.”

Wriothesley grumbled. As much as he hated it, Neuvilette was right.

“I mean he’ll be dead once he gets sent back to Meropide.” The raven haired Duke sat back down, feeling defeated. He also knew he was acting rashly when he straight up decked Dougier, but that was as if his body moved on its own. That yet again proved Neuvilette’s point. Well fuck.

“But until then, we will have to follow Fontaine’s laws. You know that better than anyone.”

Sighing, he could only quietly agree with the Iudex. He kept his eyes on (y/n)’s sleeping form as Neuvilette excused himself and left.

Part of him was frustrated, he wanted to do something, anything, to help with the case, especially at such a vital moment. But he also knew he probably wouldn’t be able to hold back once he got his hands on Arderne. If he were alone, he would risk it and he wouldn’t care about serving another sentence in Meropide. But he has (y/n) now, and he didn’t want to leave her behind

Rubbing his nose, he got up to splash some water onto his face. He has to stay strong for her, for them.

Once all traces of tears were gone, he came back to her side, leaving a kiss on her forehead, a silent promise that he would still love and cherish her through thick and thin.

“I’ll be back, my love. I won’t be long.”

Wriothesley needed to clear his head, and he knew exactly what to do. He exited (y/n)’s room and thanked the two men guarding his fiancee, he took a mental note to give Navia a hefty reward to distribute among her men later. They have been a great and reliable help.

Going back down to Meropide, he went straight towards the pankration ring arena, where there are always some boxing targets for him to use. It has been quite a while since he last came here to let off some steam.

After a quick warm up, he let his mind go blank and proceeded to strike the targets. Each punch he threw using a hundred percent of his power, putting in as much body weight into it as possible to make the blows harder. Wriothesley was in a world of his own, head empty and mind solely focused on the target before him, not caring about the eyes of inmates who watched their Duke exercise.

• • •

“So… I heard that it shouldn’t be too painful?” Wriothesley rubbed (y/n)’s shoulders comfortingly. They are at the abortion center of the hospital, awaiting the doctor to prescribe (y/n) the medicine that she would have to take.

“Nope, since the pregnancy is under 5 weeks, we can do it by medication.”

(y/n) swallowed, and gave Wriothesley’s hand a little squeeze. “Will it… Will it hurt the foetus?” As much as she hated Dougier, the experiments, and everything she was forced to go through, the foetus growing inside her, no matter the source, is still innocent.

The doctor smiled and shook her head. “This pill was specially developed in Monstadt by the famous alchemist Albedo, and his assistant, Sucrose, who had used her anemo vision to enhance it even further. It will be completely painless for the foetus and the mother. Besides, the foetus has not developed to the stage where it can feel pain.”

(y/n) nodded, feeling more reassured.

“So now all (y/n) has to do is just take the pills twice a day for 3 days and it should be all good?”

“Yes, it should remove everything from inside her womb. She might feel a bit drowsy as a side effect, but it will not be painful.”

“I will. Thank you so much, doctor.”

• • •

“According to the judgement of the Oratrice Mecanique D’analyse Cardinale, Dougier and Arderne, you are deemed… Guilty.” Neuvilette’s voice seemed to echo through the Opera Epiclese, reverberating through the (y/n)’s chest.

It’s over.

“You have been sentenced to 60 years in the Fortress of Meropide, and you will have to fulfil your duties there, under the command of the Duke of Meropide, Wriothesley.

(y/n)’s eyes darted to Wriothesley, who stood under the balcony of the defendant, where she sat. She didn’t need to see his expression to know how satisfied he looked, it was reflected on the faces of Arderne and Dougier, the two main perpetrators of the facility. They stood on the balcony opposite her’s and their faces were pale as ghosts.

“B-but…” Arderne reasoned, wincing pitifully as his small movement jostled his broken leg, still wrapped in a cast. “But Iudex, surely we will be granted protection once we are back in Meropide-”

“I hate to break it to you,” Wriothesley stepped forward slowly, eyes flashing with a sadistic glint, “But the Fortress of Meropide is not under Fontaine’s Jurisdiction.” He has waited a long time for this.

Neuvilette nodded, repressing the urge to smile, “The Duke is right. The Fortress of Meropide has its own laws and systems, and anyone who has to serve a sentence there is not under the protection of Fontaine’s laws. I suggest you be on your best behaviour while you’re there serving… for the rest of your lives, it may seem.”

A giggle sounded from the back of the room. Furina, from her own balcony as the Archon, clapped her hands. “Bravo! Bravo! What a lovely finale to perhaps the most intense trial in the history of Fontaine! You two certainly broke the record for longest sentence ever given by the Oratrice. So in a way, congratulations!”

Neuvilette knocked his cane on the floor three times, “Lady Furina, if I may conclude the trial-”

“Oh let me do it!” Furina cleared her throat, and with an intonation almost perfectly mimicking Neuvilette, she said “And with that, this trial has concluded. Guards, take them away!”

It felt like a huge weight has lifted off (y/n’s) chest. She felt all the intense feelings she had just moments earlier melt away into misty grey numbness.

It’s over. Everything that happened could just be a bad memory now.

She took a shaky breath and looked downwards to seek her fiance, but he was nowhere to be seen.

“Looking for someone?” His voice appeared from behind her, as hands snaked around her waist.

“Wriothesley,” (y/n) turned around and hugged him, letting him catch her full weight as her legs turned to jello and gave up. “It’s over. It’s really over huh?”

Wriothesley kissed her cheeks, damp with tears, “Yeah, sorry you had to revisit old wounds, I know you want to forget everything, and keep the things that happened to you to as few people as possible. I hope not opening the trial to the public helped.”

(y/n) shook her head, “honestly, not really. But it was necessary, I know.”

During the trial, (y/n) had to be escorted out of the room a few times as she was starting to hyperventilate. Her therapist was there, always right by her side. It was unfortunate that Wriothesley had to stand below her balcony, joining the rest of the witnesses to this case. She would have felt better to have him right beside her.

She sniffed, wiping the remnants of her tears from her face. “Can… Can we go home now?”

Smiling, Wriothesley swept her off her feet and into his arms in a princess carry. “I thought you’d never ask.”

Walking out of the Opera Epiclese, (y/n) held onto Wriothesley tightly, burying her face into his neck. “So…”

“So…?”

“So what now?”

Wriothesley hummed, and (y/n) could feel the vibrations from his chest, “I suppose you have another therapy session tomorrow, so I’ll take you back to the hospital. But hey, at least now that you’re discharged, you don’t have to sleep there anymore.”

(y/n) smiled, “Yeah, I’ll be sleeping in our home, with you.”

“And we’ll do our absolute best to make things go back to normal, well… As normal as it gets anyway.”

She looked up at her fiance, who has been by her side through the worst of times, and still stayed despite how she had pushed him away in fear. She felt another feeling replace the numbness in her heart. Love.

Lifting her hand, she caressed Wriothesley’s cheek, and gently turned his head to face her. His footsteps faltered and his eyes closed automatically the moment he felt her press her lips against his.

Once they broke apart, (y/n)’s world was filled by the brilliance of the grin that stretched across Wriothesley’s face, “Well that was our first kiss after a very long while.”

Embarrassed, (y/n) buried her face into his neck again. Her ears tinged red, giving away the flush that had bloomed across her cheeks. “I just felt like doing that.”

Wriothesley chuckled, and continued walking, but this time he changed directions and went to the side of the road. He sat (y/n) down on short the stone walls that fenced the clean brick roads, and picked a rainbow tulip nearby.

“(y/n), love, I know I’ve done this before, and you’ve already said yes, but I think I need to do this again.” He got on knee, and fished inside his jacket pocket, taking out a ring that matched the one on his finger.

“(y/n), we have been through a lot these past months. The road was rough and the skies were dark. But even so, we pulled through together. You were so strong having overcome everything, and I couldn’t be more proud of you. You voiced out your concerns at your lowest point, and I wanted to reassure you again to make sure you never have such thoughts ever again. I love you so much, and I never wish to be parted from you from this day on. (y/n full name), Will you marry me?”

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{{(＞＜)} ☆ ～('▽^人)

Well that de-escalated quickly, I honestly was stuck and didn't know what to write after the previous chapter because I wrote the entire fic only for chapter 5 and 6, it was pure self indulgence that somehow blew up here on Tumblr. After that usually the ‘scenario I play in my head to fall asleep’ ends and I’m already asleep. So I think the next chapter would be the epilogue, to wrap everything up neatly (and emotionally). I will also post the originally planned plot of Trial by Fire after that, because I think you guys deserve to know it (frankly I think it’s much better than this blurb, and much longer).

Though I think this chapter could be better, heck this fic could be better in general. If it were more detailed and longer with better descriptions and scenes to show (y/n)’s recovery from the incident. Something more show than tell. But since the beginning, I did tell myself I will keep it short, since writing does take a lot of time and energy, and with the amount of work I have as an illustrator, it looks almost impossible. So perhaps my next work would be one-shots or just 3 chapters max. It definitely won’t be as long (but will be as angsty with hurt/comfort heheheheheh)

Now I’m a little curious. How do you fall asleep? Do you think of all sorts of scenarios or keep your mind blank? Or just scroll on your phone until you fall asleep? For me, it’s usually angst and hurt/comfort scenarios with my favourite characters. Some could be self-inserted, others not really. Not sure why that works best for me, but if it works, it works.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy this story so far! If anyone wants to rewrite this to your own version, you can contact me, and please credit this fic when you publish yours. I’d love to read what you come up with!

Last but not least, thank you so much for reading! I hope you all stay safe and healthy, and I hope you have a wonderful year this 2024! Cheers!

Taglist: @almosteggs @quuela @tempest1art @yamanaka13-blog @arseneumbra @kimmeaahh @cottonfluffs @randomidk-123 @applejayee @keigo-hawks-takami-simp @mechanicalbeat1 @aribae14 @bforbiblio @supernerdycookietrashblrr @furblrwurblr @chifuyus-kitty @bunnibabe @the-real-fandom-person @idawnghoul @kitsunechan707

#wriothesley x reader #genshin impact x reader #wriothesley angst #wriothesley x reader angst #whump #whump writing #whump series #whump fanfic #whump fanfiction #genshin impact whump #genshin impact wriothesley #whump community #genshin character x reader #anime whump

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nanaminokanojo · 4 months ago

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BAD NEWS (part 69)

-just when you thought you were over your humongous crush on your older brother’s best friend, geto suguru, you couldn’t have been more dead wrong, except satoru doesn’t like suguru for you because he knows his kind all too well: a huge ass playboy who breaks hearts like he changes socks. but you think, MAYBE you’ll be the exception…maybe not.

CHARACTERS: drummer!geto suguru x you/afab reader | gojo satoru | various jjk characters

MASTERLIST | CHAPTER INDEX

<<prev part 69 next>>

A/N: Prose after the 4th panel.

"No, Kiku! Come back!"

You sighed, watching Choso's cat jump off the bed, darting into the hallway and out of sight. "Well, there he goes." You rolled on your stomach, eyeing your host with a pout. "You scared him."

Sukuna chuckled, his deep voice rumbling in the room from where he sat on the floor at the foot of the bed. He threw his head back on the mattress to look at you, one hand reaching up to lightly poke you on the cheek with his index finger. "Did you come here for me or for that bratty cat?"

"I braved the rain for you with the perk of seeing Kiku," you quipped, snickering when he pinched your cheek, rolling his eyes.

He clicked his tongue. "That's a stretch considering how Geto suddenly has a huge-ass umbrella and walks you to the door." Sukuna returned his train of vision to the flat screen where the movie you were watching was all but forgotten. "You seem to be getting along fine now."

"I guess." And before you knew it, you were saying, "Suguru is confusing me these days. He's just this huge puzzle I'm trying to piece together even before I left."

Sukuna vaulted himself up, sitting on the bed just beside your head while hitting pause on the remote. He looked down at you, his playful mood replaced with that of concern. "Do you wanna talk about it?"

"I do. I just don't know what to say," you readily responded, also surprising yourself when you thought of all the things you felt you couldn't say to Suguru. And then, lost in your thoughts – not of Suguru but of Sukuna – you said, "I know I said I find this – us – weird, but it's so much easier being with you."

It felt different with Sukuna. It was comfortable, as natural as breathing. You can just say or do whatever you wanted without the fear of being judged or rejected. After all, you've known Sukuna, along with Yuji and Choso, all your life. So, when he says he has seen you in your diapers, he meant that quite literally. You all grew up right across the street from each other with your family moving in when Choso was three and Sukuna was just born. The brothers were pretty much Satoru's very first friends and eventually yours as well, until Suguru came into the picture during the beginning of primary school.

Of course, you liked Yuji the best out of them since you were the same age. You'll always have a special place for the youngest of the three boys even with Megumi around, but you're realizing that, when it came to speaking your mind, it was Sukuna whom you sought for. He's surprisingly a great listener, and for someone whom you've known to have a penchant for delinquency, he gave very sound advice, acting like a proper older sibling when the situation required it. Sometimes, even better than Choso who had a tendency to panic. Just like Suguru, he's been there through almost every phase of your life, and he was one of the staunch believers in your talent on the field, always there during your games.

"Baby, don't give me false hope."

"I'm not." You shrugged, chuckling as you absently ran your fingers over the tattoos on his arm, tracing the artfully iterated characters of his brothers' names on the side of his right wrist. He may act like a bully to both of them, but he's a big lump of melted marshmallows on the inside. "It's just..."

What if you gave what's going on with Sukuna a chance? Perhaps you weren't appreciating his presence enough as you ought to, too preoccupied with Suguru. The lack of clarity where your relationship with Suguru was ironically plain to see. In contrast, with Sukuna, perhaps…

"Just what?"

"Kuna..."

"Yeah?"

In very abrupt movements, you bolted up, sitting lotus and orienting yourself towards him. He was startled, you noticed, but you were much too distracted by your current course of contemplation to address it no matter how funny he looked, blinking in confusion.

"Why do you like me?"

Sukuna arched a brow at you. "Damn, baby. You're full of surprises today."

You know he meant to tease you, but there was no distracting you at the moment. "Well?"

"Let's see..." He stroked his chin, pretending to puzzle over the matter, but then, he looked at you seriously. "I couldn't think of one reason why I shouldn't, that's for sure. And though I can think of a million reasons why I am attracted to you off the top of my head, they will all seem shallow."

"But?"

"But I care about you, not because of those fragmented details about you, but the whole package." A tinge of pink touched his cheeks, a hand making it to the back of his neck as he averted his gaze to your hand on his arm. "For some reason, I just realized I do like you more than just being childhood friends. Perhaps I realized what I was missing when you went away or the teasing caught up to me, but when you came back, it felt different.

And I've known you for so long, but I've never once found a reason not to love anything and everything about you, and...and – I'm rambling now." He snickered, glancing at you with uncertainty dancing in his garnet-flecked eyes. "I just thought, why not, you know? I-I hope I'm making sense."

Who would have known, you thought, not realizing that you were holding your breath and biting your lower lip at the same time as you fought a smile. To say that his words were unexpected was an understatement, and for the first time, it got you fully acknowledging how he affects you outside of how you viewed him as an older brother of sorts without the denial and frustration of trying to wrap your head around the notion that he sees you as a woman.

"Hey, don't look at me like that. You're teasing me, baby girl." He feigned annoyance, even rolling his eyes at you but eventually melting into laughter with you.

Again, comfortable and easy. "Not the intention, but I appreciate that. Really. I never knew..."

"Now you do."

A stretch of silence followed his words, but it wasn't awkward at all, just relaxed and pleasant. Like those times you would all lie down on the grass after racing to that tree on top of the hill behind their house, catching your breath, no words, just the occasional chuckles at your own silliness. It felt nice.

The two of you didn't say a thing for a few more moments until you decided to speak and say, "So...where's my surprise?" You looked around you, pretending to look for it.

Sukuna flashed you a rueful smile. "Today didn't work out quite the way I had it planned."

"It's okay. I was just kidding."

"Although..." He adjusted his position, coming closer towards you, his movements cautious. "I would say it's for the best."

"Why is that?"

Suddenly, he turned serious, meeting your gaze squarely. "I've been wanting to try something for a while now."

"Try w-what...?"

It was your turn to be thrown off balance when Sukuna lifted a hand to your cheek, his touch tentative like that time in his car as he came even closer, invading your space. His fingers were cold against your skin which grew warmer the longer he lingered. His probing gaze followed the movement of his hand to your chin, and it seemed he was holding his breath when he let out a quiet sigh as he looked at you as if he was seeing color for the first time.

Sukuna's tongue briefly darted between his slightly parted lips before saying, "I seriously wanna kiss you right now." His eyes shifted from your lips to your eyes as he sought permission. "May I?" He swallowed hard, gaze heated as they returned to where he had set his goal.

You just stared at him in a daze, not really knowing how you would respond to his request. And just when you were about to move away and put an end to it, your thoughts went back to the notion of giving it a try, see how you feel about it.

"Or we can forget I ever asked."

"No, I –" You shook your head, feeling your mouth go dry as you groped for words to say, the right ones. And then you whispered, "Go ahead."

He was absolutely taken aback, but made no move to be any farther from you. "You sure?" he asked, taking on a gentler tone. "You don't have to –"

"I want to." You were surprised at yourself for saying that with more conviction despite how your heart wanted to jump out of your chest that it's all you could hear in your head. The consequences of allowing it made themselves known one after the other in your mind, flashing like a montage; a warning came along with it, a tiny voice in your head saying you're about to cross the vague line between friendship and beyond that. However, you didn't want to take your words back, mostly out of curiosity.

"O...kay?"

You nodded slowly, and before you could make sense of what he was saying, he came closer, his lips tenderly pressing onto your cheek as he pulled you closer. Sukuna rested his forehead against yours, his eyes drooping with a bewitched look. His mouth stretched into that lopsided grin as he murmured, "Wanted this to be more special..."

His thumb brushes your skin lightly, and he hesitates for a moment, as if savoring the space between you, the anticipation hanging thick in the air, killing you with how you've pretty much stopped breathing. And when you least expected it, thinking he has yet more to say, his lips touched yours, light as butterfly wings. He pulled away a smidge only to kiss you again, slowly yet with gradually increasing pressure that prompted you to move with him, little by little, baby steps like he told you.

And you did just that, moving on your own accord, hand reaching up to mirror the way he held you. Your mind went hazy with every detail of how he kissed making itself known to you. His lips sought yours without the force you were expecting from his evident eagerness, and yet it quietly implied his insistence to have you. His hot tongue mildly brushed at the seam of your lips, tiny licks that convinced you to open up just a bit at a time until eventually, you let him in, wanting to know what lies beyond.

You responded in kind, opening your mouth and matching his tenderness with your own, feeling his warmth seep into you. His other hand finds its way to the small of your back, pulling you closer, deepening your connection. Sukuna let out a deep groan once he found your tongue, making you acutely aware of every sensation he elicited from you - how his soft and warm lips moved with hunger that sent shivers down your spine, distracting you from how he was slowly pushing you into the plush mattress, his taut body moving above your pliant form.

“Kuna…” you breathed out when he momentarily cut the kiss to catch his breath.

“Want me to stop?” he asked, but at odds with his words, he took your lips back against his; breath mingling with yours, creating a rhythm that feels both foreign and familiar.

“N-no,” you whined, so out of it as you wound your arms around his neck to have him closer. You can feel his heartbeat through the light press of his chest against yours, a steady counterpoint to the racing of your own while his fingers trace a slow, soothing pattern on your waist, a gentle anchor that keeps you grounded in his dizzying ministrations.

The kiss deepens gradually, growing in intensity as your confidence builds. His lips move with a practiced ease, exploring the contours of your mouth with a mixture of curiosity and assurance, making you lose yourself in the warmth and the quiet strength of his arms around you.

And then clarity set in.

A kiss is a kiss, you've expected the chemical reaction that comes with it. It wasn't your first, it's definitely not going to be your last. What you weren't expecting was the visceral effect Sukuna's kisses had on you. He had a certain pull to him that kept you wanting more and more, but then, he himself pulled away.

Just as well. The thought of craving his touch scared you in the sense that you didn't want your attraction towards him to solely be based on that. Sukuna is a good person, and you didn't want to short change him, considering everything he said.

"This isn't so bad," he spoke against your lips, continuing his words earlier, you surmised.

You honestly didn't know what to say when he was still close enough for the tip of his nose to glide over your flushed cheek. Sukuna's a good kisser, that much you figured out in your addled state, not even realizing that you were the one holding him in place, your fingers tingling with the feel of his undercut.

Having caught yourself, you let your hand fall on his shoulder as you nodded and met his eyes with your own. A smile drew itself across your lips. "No, not at all," you couldn't help but agree as you regained your composure, finally finding it in you to be playful with him. Again, easily done without lingering awkwardness. "Who would have known?"

Sukuna arched a brow at you in question, chuckling, but not quite sure what you meant. "What?"

You tried to fight your laughter, biting your lower lip but all in vain. Who would have known, indeed? He's always been someone you held dear like you would Satoru and yet your reaction to him would suggest otherwise. Your cheeks were still flushed, you could feel the heat even on your ears.

He shrugged, feigning annoyance as he lay down beside you, propping himself up by his elbow. "I kiss you and you laugh? You really know how to hurt a man."

"Not the intention. I just..." You took his free hand in yours despite it being larger, giving it a squeeze. "Did you ever think we would be like this? Be honest."

"I'd be lying if I say I didn't." He flipped your hand, raising it to the side of his face and holding it there. "I might've thought of it a few times before." He tilted his head to the side, smirking at you. "What about you? Weren't you running around with your girlfriends in high school spying on us during band practice?"

It was your turn to roll your eyes. "Dragged along is more like it. You should've seen me gag when they fawned over you lot."

"Really? You're not gagging now."

You averted your gaze, suddenly feeling shy. "I'm not."

"So, what does that mean, hmm?" He redirected your line of sight on him, taking you by your chin to turn your gaze towards him. "Am I at least a good kisser?"

You merely shrugged, fighting a smile as you moved to get up much to his confusion. "Mine to know."

"Oh, come on!"

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PHOTOS/IMAGES/GIF/FANART/ANY MEDIA CREDITS GO TO THE RESPECTIVE OWNERS.

#geto x you #geto x reader #geto x y/n #geto suguru #geto #geto smau #geto smut #geto fluff #jujutsu kaisen #jjk #jujutsu kaisen x you #jujutsu kaisen x reader #jujutsu kaisen smau #jujutsu kaisen smut #jjk x you #jjk x reader #jjk smau #jjk smut #sukuna

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thankeywa · 2 years ago

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Star-crossed. Lo'ak x f!human!reader pt.1

WARNINGS: Lo'ak is 20 years old in this and so is the reader, I do not write about minor characters. There will be eventual mature themes in this so MINORS DO NOT INTERACT WITH THIS WORK.

words: around 1.200

TW for this chapter: angst, smoking (don't do it, ever), brief mentions of alcohol, brief mention of war and death, brief mention of child birth, reader can breathe on pandora.

Y/n looked at the 'birthday cake' made out of cookie rations that Norm and Max had made for her. No matter how many years would pass, her dads always knew how to get creative.

Y/n let them all inside, already giving them dirty looks at the sight of gifts. "I told you guys not to..."

___

"A pack of viperwolves? Seriously, Lo'ak?" Y/n groaned in frustration as she cleared her table for her best friend to lie on.

He'd probably just woken up half of the animals on Pandora.

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sanctum-of-ramshackle · 2 years ago

Text

“You got a name?” “Deadeye…”

[TWST AU]: In this timeline, there’s an MC/Yuu who is from the Valorant universe.

[Synopsis]: Agent!MC/Yuu is part of the Valorant Protocol and for some twisted reason, they get stuck in a world where magic actually exists.

[Gender Neutral MC/Yuu]

[TW]: Guns, near death experiences, only one death, and the use of Google Translate (because I never took French classes; I’m sorry in advanced for inaccurate translations).

[(A/N)]: I mentioned before that I already fell into the Valorant rabbit hole. I have also been listening to Odd Banker - Orch Compression on loop and it’s the same music used for the Chamber trailer. It fits his character so well!

[(A/N #2)]: For the alias I used in this AU came from a concept art before Chamber was announced and he originally was supposed to be Deadeye. Also I need to clarify their age is between 16-18 (Yes, that young for an agent).

youtube

MC/Yuu Fabron, a.k.a. Agent Deadeye, is another agent for the Valorant Protocol and is related to Chamber as they’re siblings. MC/Yuu is in their early-to-late teen years, and already they want to follow their brother’s footsteps as an agent and weapon designer.

Although the Fabron duo are great assets to the Protocol.

It was a tragedy for Agent Deadeye.

They were taken out during a mission gone wrong, but thanks to Sage, they are slowly recovering. Though there’s a problem: they’re in a comatose state.

It seems the young agent is out of commission until time would tell.

…

Now MC/Yuu Fabron, in their subconscious mind, fell somewhere and somehow got trapped into a weird world where magic actually exists.

The first time MC/Yuu came to Twisted Wonderland was when they almost shot Grim after being released from the confines of a coffin they were trapped inside.

Next, they shot at Crowley, nearly missing him by passing his ear.

Then after, both Crowley and Grim start running away from MC/Yuu.

Agent!MC/Yuu: *Chasing after the headmaster and Grim* I’m going to kill you for deceiving me! I know you Omega agents trapped me in a simulation to break me for intel!

Crowley: What are they talking about?!

Grim: How should I know?!!

When the two got to the ceremony, Crowley barely lock the doors but a card flies through the crack and incomes MC/Yuu teleporting inside the Mirror Chamber.

Everyone was surprised by the furious young agent.

Once they revealed themselves holding their Headhunter out, shit may go down.

Crowley: No no! Don’t shoot!

Agent!MC/Yuu: *Points their gun at Crowley* Give me a good reason why I shouldn’t. Ten seconds. Dix…Neuf…Huit…Sept…

Rook: Attendez un moment!

Agent!MC/Yuu: Huh? Tu parles français?

Rook: Oui. Please put your weapon down.

Agent!MC/Yuu: Why? I cannot trust anything here as it seems the enemies took me hostage and attempts to break me for sensitive information.

Rook: Enemies?

Agent!MC/Yuu: …You’re not the agents from the Omega Earth?

Rook: Omega Earth? What is this place you’re asking?

Agent!MC/Yuu: *Realization hits them hard* Oh, my god…

After the shenanigans calmed down and the ceremony continued smoothly, MC/Yuu was taken to Crowley’s office.

Inside of the room, the agent explains they’re part of a protocol with other agents like them and their goal is to prevent the Omega Earth and its doubles from stealing a material called Radianite.

Then it’s Crowley’s turn to explain they’re in Twisted Wonderland and they’re in Night Raven College, an All Boy’s school for magical academics.

Now that everything clears up, it seems Agent Deadeye has another mission: surviving back to school.

Also imagine these:

Rook and Deadeye are speaking French to each other!

Azul and Deadeye speaking Business to each other!

Vil/Cater and Deadeye speaking Good Taste/Insane Drip to each other!

[Chapter 3]

[The trio got anemones after signing contracts with the Octavinelle Dorm Leader.]

Agent!MC/Yuu: *Polishing their Headhunter*

Ace, Deuce, and Grim: MC/Yuu!!!

Agent!MC/Yuu: Merde! What happened to you three?

Deuce: We got dragged into a contract just to pass the exam.

Ace: Then these things popped out of nowhere.

Grim: Nyah! This is annoying! MC/Yuu, help us!

Agent!MC/Yuu: I refuse to help you, imbéciles. You brought this upon yourselves without knowing how business works and not studying beforehand. Even I passed without “magical knowledge.”

Grim: I sold our dorm too!

Agent!MC/Yuu: YOU WHAT?!!! How could you do such…*Groans in frustration* Keep it together, MC/Yuu. Remember what Vincent taught you. *Clears their throat* Where is this dealer who you signed contracts with?

Ace: The Octavinelle Dorm.

Deuce: We’re really sorry, MC/Yuu. We’ll pay for your Pain au chocolat as apologies.

Agent!MC/Yuu: Pour l'amour de...Fine, I’ll deal with that slimy businessman.

[Octavinelle Dorm]

[Monstro Lounge]

Agent!MC/Yuu: *Summons their card out and throws it to the room*

[It zips across the main dining hall through the crack of the double doors of the office. It was good as the Tweels didn’t notice.]

[Azul’s office]

Agent!MC/Yuu: *Teleports inside in front of Azul* Bonjour~

[(A/N): Don’t mind the gifs. I only used them to help visualize what actions MC/Yuu does.]

Azul: *Startled by their presence* Huh?!

Agent!MC/Yuu: Are you perhaps Azul Ashengrotto?

Azul: *Keeping his composure* I am. Who you may be?

Agent!MC/Yuu: Deadeye. *Taps their forearm, activating their markings to summon their sniper rifle* *Points it at Azul*

Azul: What the-?!! *Freaks out and falls back on his chair*

Agent!MC/Yuu: Say hello to Tour de Force 2.0. I need those contracts you scammed with the idiots from earlier.

Azul: *Freaking out* P-Put the gun down!

Agent!MC/Yuu: Don’t worry. I don’t waste my bullets on opportunists like you. Well, depending if you cross me.

Azul: What is it that you want?

Agent!MC/Yuu: I told you earlier: the contracts. Now that I have your attention, let’s talk about actual business.

[SPOILER: They actually got their idiot trio out of the contracts, which upsets Azul and still leads him to Overblot.]

[Pomefiore]

Vil: Your ink work and sense of fashion clash together.

Agent!MC/Yuu: Well I have good taste in everything~ Also these “tattoos” have functionalities that help me.

Vil: Is that so?

Agent!MC/Yuu: *Summons their Headhunter*

Vil: *Steps away*

Agent!MC/Yuu: Do not panic. The safety is on.

Vil: You need to be more careful pulling your weapons out.

Agent!MC/Yuu: Do not worry, my friend. I’m responsible of my possessions. Also, have you seen my Tour de Force 2.0?

[A bullet shattered a window and zips passed the two. In instinct, MC/Yuu got defensive and releases the safety off their Headhunter.]

Agent!MC/Yuu: Vil, get down now! Révèle-toi!

Rook: *Peeks through the broken window* Bonjour, Mon Trickster!

Agent!MC/Yuu: Rook? Put my sniper rifle down, now! That is not a toy you mess with! Do you know how much work I put into my beauty? Nobody touches my stuff!

[Chapter 6]

[S.T.Y.X.]

Agent!MC/Yuu: Oh, you want to play? Let’s play~ *Summons their Headhunter out and shoots at a Charon dead*

Epel: What the fuck?! You killed somebody!

Agent!MC/Yuu: It’s not my first time. Did you forget I’m an agent? Qualified to shoot?

Epel: NOT HERE!

Agent!MC/Yuu: Merde…Lets just get the boys, and I’ll face the one for kidnapping Grim.

Epel: What are ya gonna do?

Agent!MC/Yuu: Envoi de mes salutations à sa famille. *Reloads with more ammunition*

Rook: *Gasps* Mon Trickster!

I like to think that after everything Deadeye has gone through, they’re able to return to their home world.

Which is actually waking up from their comatose state.

Agent!MC/Yuu: Ow, my chest…Guys? Vincent?

You can imagine a sophisticated grown-ass man crying with relief after being notified that his little sibling woke up from recovery.

Chamber: MC/Yuu…You’re okay…

Agent!MC/Yuu: I’m alive. It’s just…I had the weirdest dream during my slumber.

As the young agent still has days to recover, they decided to return back to France for the time being.

It felt relaxing for them to stroll through the famous city of Love with many people filling the streets.

Then out of nowhere, someone bumps into them by accident.

???: Oh! I’m truly sorry for bumping into you.

Agent!MC/Yuu: No worries. Paris is a huge city-

They see a familiar face with bangs.

Agent!MC/Yuu: Rook?

✨[Reblogs helps creators and creates for more content]💫

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gotham25052 · 4 days ago

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Dark Waters

Part 3

Summary (part 3):

The Joker uses unconventional methods to get acquainted with Annie and launches a devastating attack on one of the essential aspects of life in Gotham, causing a crisis that will have lasting consequences for the city's stability and Dent's political career.

Notes: I'll be posting new chapters each week. The story diverges from the movie during the ballroom scene in part 1.

Special note for part 3: There is one event in the story this week that I've posted in whole on ao3 but did not include here (link in the text to go to the story on ao3). The portion depicts torture. If that is something that is not triggering for you, please follow the link to ao3 to read that part. I felt it was important to include in the story and gives insight into the characters.

(There is also a scene in the last portion of part 3 where I cleaned up the language slightly. If you'd like the original version, feel free to continue reading on ao3.)

I wanted to share an additional note just in relation to violence being part of the relationship at all. This scene of the story was written this way because I asked myself the question of what Annie's character would do after drinking the coffee in part 2. She likes to have absolute control over herself, so I felt she would have a strong reaction, completely shut down, and refuse to interact with the Joker. Then I asked what the Joker would do when confronted with that. This scene answered that question for me, and also provided a sort of forced moment of intimacy for the two characters. The Joker in my imagination for this story has a great capacity for cruelty and a great capacity for tenderness as well. Hope you can enjoy, whether you decide to skip or not!

TW: Brief mention of blood, brief cursing/crude sexual language, mention of underage marriage in character's past, some violence

Summary (all parts):

"'I've been here a long time, playing with your hair. You must have been thinking about something… important,' he said, his voice sounding strangely familiar.

He leaned in closer, his scarf falling down and exposing his scarred lips. He spoke as if he was telling her a secret that was only between the two of them. 'You know, people will think we're lovers, here on the rocks, watching the water.'"

As the social fabric of Gotham begins to fray and the Joker's intrusion into her life escalates, Anna struggles to maintain control. But is she threatened by the Joker or by something within herself?

Contents: Part 1 Part 2

Dark Waters, Part 3

Annie had been on alert for weeks now, terrified that the Joker would return. She wished she had somewhere else to go, to hide out in - but she knew no one here, and she realized that if he wanted to find her, he likely would. It seemed like he held the strings that controlled life in Gotham now, and he was orchestrating a mass puppet show where he decided what would happen next.

She knew going to the police was not an option. The officer's skepticism about her story and his threats about Arkham had taken away that possibility. As afraid as she was of the Joker, even dying in freedom was more appealing to her than living in Arkham. She had spent enough of her life in other people's prisons.

Whatever drug she had been given in the coffee wore off completely within a day and didn't seem to have any lingering effects. However, the feeling of loosing herself and having no control had disturbed her to her core. She found herself checking and re-checking her cups, her meals, her plates to make sure nothing unexpected was there. She consoled herself by changing the lock on her door and hoping that he would forget about her. She was utterly confused by his focus on her. She was nobody. It made no sense, but then again, nothing he did seemed to follow a logical path.

She was standing in the kitchen in the morning hours, trying to pull herself together for another day of work. She had not been able to sleep, jolting at every small sound in fear.

Then, she heard it, the click of the lock. The door didn't open, though. She heard muffled conversation and an unmistakable voice. He was back. She dropped to the floor, closing her eyes and drawing her legs to her chest, curling herself into a tight ball. She couldn't handle this again.

"Hello there!" he chimed lightly as he finally opened the door. His voice changed, becoming accusatory. "You changed the locks. But don't worry, I always bring an expert with me." He grinned, motioning theatrically with his purple-clad arms to one of the men behind him.

"Where are you?" He walked directly to the kitchen as if he could sense her there. He saw her curled up on the floor and said with exaggerated concern, "Oh, this won't do."

He motioned to his men to leave the apartment. She heard the retreating steps and the slamming door.

He dropped down to sit cross legged in front of her, the almost childlike pose in surreal contrast to his long jacket and menacing appearance.

"Let's talk it over, just you and me. Was it the coffee..? I thought you might enjoy that," he said, removing his gloves. He turned to grab a small trashcan from under the sink, keeping it in easy reach. He reached over and tried unsuccessfully to pull her clenched eyelids open.

"I want to talk to you."

She stayed motionless, clutching her knees to her chest, without replying or looking at him.

"You know, you brought this on yourself. I just want to talk."

[omitted portion, see notes above, click on this link to ao3 to read, go to chapter 3]

He reached down and gently lifted her to a standing position near the sink. She stood stunned, her fingers burning but her body relaxing in relief that the immediate threat seemed to be over. He guided her hands to the sink and gently washed each wound. She looked at him in wide-eyed fear, though she was so shaken by what had happened, she had to lean on him for support.

He acted as if he was impressed as he dried her hands and waited for the bleeding to slow.

"Don't be embarrassed," he said consolingly. "I break most of these so-called gangsters much quicker."

"So where are you from?" he asked with false familiarity. The scene was so absurd, with this bizarre figure dabbing at her fingertips. She doubled over in a sudden fit of laughter, the sound ringing oddly off the walls and uncontrollably bursting from her mouth. It was as if her body had already exhausted her capacity for crying and needed to find another outlet for her emotions. She struggled with all her might to regain control and was finally able to catch her breath.

He looked curiously at her, continuing with the towel, and repeated, "Where are you from?" in the same sing-song voice.

She took a deep breath. "I'm from upstate. I was raised in the Church."

He looked at her quizzically as some of the pieces began to fall into place for him. He had heard of the Church, a notoriously closed community of radical Christians in a remote, rural part of the state. A few men in his crew were members who had escaped from the group. From them he knew that that the cult group stockpiled weapons, intimidating the local government and causing them to turn a blind eye to their infringements of the law. From what he knew, they kept women in tightly controlled traditional roles, and it was extremely rare for them to escape from the group.

The complexity of his thoughts about her past belied the simplicity of his questions.

"Did Jesus save you?" he asked.

"No… I left," she said airily, looking into the distance blankly.

"Do you have any ice?" he said, and she looked at him confused, disturbed from her train of thought.

"No."

He wondered at the lack of creature comforts in this young woman's life - it seemed like she didn't have the simplest things. He reached into the freezer and found frozen vegetables, which he wrapped quickly with the towel and applied to the wounds, continuing to hold her hands so that the bag would stay positioned squarely on her fingertips.

"That's like a cult, right? So was there lots of sex stuff?" he asked nonchalantly.

"No, there was no sex stuff. Not until marriage," she said, the word marriage catching in her throat.

"Oh. When did you… marry?"

"When I was sixteen."

"Oh…" He raised his eyebrows.

He could see that she was in a fragile state. He adjusted the direction of his questions. "What did you do there, in this 'Church'?"

She searched her mind for something from her past she could share. "Well, when I was a child, we were taught to memorize Bible verses. All the time. Some of us memorized whole books of the Bible. You know, when you memorize something…" She trailed off, suddenly aware that she was speaking freely with the man who had so recently inflicted unbearable pain on her. She should be more cautious.

He had been studying her hands but in a moment, rolled his eyes back toward her face. He tightened his grip. "Do tell," he said, the sternness of his expression in stark contrast to the lighthearted words.

She tried to regain her train of thought. "When you memorize something, it's not just words on the page anymore. It's not something you are reading. The meaning, it becomes deeper. It… becomes a part of you." She stared forward, focusing on nothing.

"But, I left that behind." she said, and her mind turned to the financial burden of the legal fees that still suffocated her.

He looked at her, waiting for her to continue.

"A group of us wanted to leave, but the local government - they are afraid of the Church. And some of the men, they have allies there in important positions. They created a legal battle, and it was difficult for me to get the divorce. I lost everything. Now I… it's hard for me to even keep this apartment."

"Do you like Gotham?" he asked.

She looked up, startled by the question, and thought for a moment. "Yes, I like Gotham. It's the only place… where I can disappear." She stumbled on the words and realized that the one chief freedom of her life was also now lost, as she cast a sidelong glance toward him. She was no longer anonymous, allowed to hide in the masses of Gotham's parade of poor and rich, sane and insane. Now he had singled her out, for who knows what reason.

He continued to hold the ice on her fingertips. He was supporting her hands so carefully, it was hard for her to believe that he was the reason for her pain.

He didn't push her to speak further but sat a long time with her, silently. She slowly began to relax and leaned back on the cabinet doors.

"Kitten, do you have any food in this little apartment?" he asked out of nowhere.

"Yes, I have some food - I just went to the store yesterday." She was confused, was he hungry?

"Ok, good. They may decide to close the stores for a while." With that enigmatic statement he rose, balancing her hands and the frozen bag on her lap so she could continue holding it there.

"They will heal quickly, just give them some air and keep them clean," he said simply, motioning to her hands. "Now I have some other business to attend to - bye for now."

She continued to lean back against the cabinets, too overwhelmed to think of any kind of reply.

He hummed as he left, locking the door after him. Did he have a key to her door? The thought drifted through her mind as she leaned her head back, exhausted. Her fatigue took over now that he was gone, and she soon found herself sleeping where she was, propped up by the kitchen cabinets.

Whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them. (Matthew 13:12)

The first shoppers to walk into the supermarkets that morning didn't notice the playing card peeking through the clear plastic wrap on the loaf of bread. They didn't see the corner of the ace of diamonds sticking out of the cereal box, or the three of hearts sealed inside the bag of carrots. They were busy, goal-oriented, getting their shopping done before work. But by the time one of the early morning shoppers had discovered the soggy queen of clubs inside the yogurt they opened that evening, it was already all the news stations were talking about.

Playing cards had shown up randomly, a few in all the main grocery stores in Gotham. But now the news was coming in that cards had been found in a few places far from the city - in other regions, in other states - all the way to the opposite side of the country. Government officials still hadn't made any definitive statements, delayed as usual by the slowness of bureaucracy. But experts were already telling people not to eat the food.

The radio broadcast came that evening, interrupting the usual easy listening music on the station that many of the stores played on their loudspeakers. But for those who didn't hear it, the local and national news quickly picked it up, playing it again and again as their analysts tried to interpret it. It was unmistakably the Joker's voice - by now, residents of Gotham were familiar with his drawling tone.

"Good evening! Were you surprised to find my cards in the grocery stores today? Don't worry, everything you bought is safe to eat, despite what they are telling you. But the problem will be tomorrow. You see, when they restock tonight, the food won't be marked with cards. There will be something worse in it, something invisible.

"Some of the food in the next shipment has been poisoned - you won't taste it or smell it, but it will take effect quickly. So I recommend a diet for a while. Let's find out what happens when Gotham is hungry. And how will the new mayor handle this? Will he rescue you?"

After the broadcast, finally, the authorities began to take action. They had to simply close the stores. There was no way, until they developed some kind of testing, to tell which food was safe and which had been tampered with. The federal government led the investigation effort and started to trace the playing cards back to major distribution centers, but the spread of the cards didn't follow the same logic as a simple outbreak of foodborne illness. The distribution was random, since the Joker had infiltrated some factories and not others.

The authorities reeled at the depth of the problem - not only were they not able to certify that any food was safe, even though it was likely the vast majority was - they also couldn't simply produce more food the next day. Factories had been compromised by the Joker. There were workers out there who had cooperated with him to add the playing cards and perhaps some type of poison. The workforce could not be trusted. The massive machinery of food production all over the country halted until a way forward could be found.

With all the major stores closed, a lucrative illicit market for food immediately sprang up all over Gotham. Where the food came from was anyone's guess, but those who had money were still eating. Those who didn't, or didn't have anything stocked away, were not.

As is often the case, the part of the city hardest hit was the part that was most ill-equipped to handle the shortage, Lower Gotham. The area was more tightly packed with people, and many residents already lived a hand to mouth existence. Rescue supplies like that used for emergency operations after natural disasters came to Gotham, but that allotted to Lower Gotham quickly disappeared, stolen by organized crime rings as well as individuals who were simply desperate. After the majority of the first shipment was taken, the food deliveries to Lower Gotham slowed to a trickle. Many people left for Upper Gotham or even departed from the city altogether.

The police who should have been overseeing the food distribution were busy elsewhere, looking for the Joker. Mayor Dent directed all of the manpower and financial resources of the city toward finding him. Checkpoints appeared on all the major thoroughfares. Murmurs began to circulate, especially in Lower Gotham, about Dent's handling of the crisis and why he was letting citizens starve while he pursued his fixation on the Joker.

People like Annie, with no connections and no resources, suffered the most. When she learned the stores were closing, she began to ration. She had experienced hunger before, and began the first week with few concerns about it. What mostly bothered her was that her employer, Gotham Culinary, immediately went on hiatus. Without food to serve and all events cancelled, there was no business to be had. She had no money coming in now, and she certainly couldn't afford to pursue the high priced food being sold on street corners at skyrocketing prices.

In the second week, she began to worry. She was seeing more and more desperate people on her walks in the city, and she decided she should not leave her apartment until the crisis ended. By the third week, she was out of provisions.

The situation had grown so dire in cities across the country that the federal government had abandoned its pursuit of answers and the compromised workers, and instead simply focused on reopening the factories, regardless of the danger. They didn't have the resources to test every article of food in the country for every possible type of contamination. It was finally accepted that it would probably never be known for certain whether the Joker actually poisoned any of the food supply, or whether the whole ordeal was simply another one of his tricks.

They found the machinery of production, after it had ground to a halt, difficult to bring back to life again. Not enough workers came back after the hiatus, and the intricate network of travel for goods had been so disrupted that delays and problems plagued the efforts to reopen. Still, hope began to spread in some areas where stores would briefly open their doors. The goods would be bought up immediately, forcing them to close again.

Annie's region of Lower Gotham would be one of the last to see this relief, and by the fourth week, all of her thoughts centered around food. She couldn't sleep well, but instead had taken to simply sitting in the middle of the open floor and laying down to doze for short naps anytime she felt drowsiness set in.

She watched the blackbirds fly past her window, she watched the sun set, she waited for the long hours to pass.

Annie had developed a frequent habit of running her tongue along the inside of her teeth. It was as if her mouth needed something to do since it had no food to chew, and the iron sweet taste was irresistible. It had been two weeks since she ran out of food.

She was sitting on the floor of the studio apartment when she heard the door open and knew it must be the Joker. Her eyes darted around the room as he entered with two of his men, and she struggled to compose herself. She stood and tried to back away into the kitchen.

"I thought I would stop by," he said smoothly, looking carefully around the room. "I'm sorry I've been… delayed. This Dent, he's really trying to find me. He doesn't realize it's his own people he needs to be worried about."

He walked toward her. The men accompanying him looked uneasy, as if her hunger was contagious. They seemed to think that if they came too far into the room, they would catch her disease. The Joker strode toward her until he was uncomfortably close as usual, seemingly unbothered by the clear evidence of starvation surrounding them.

"What do you want?" she asked in a raspy voice. Despite her strongest efforts, she couldn't control the habitual movement of her tongue.

After studying her face closely, he turned to his men. "Can't you see she's hungry? Go get her something to eat!" He motioned them away to complete their assignment. He took her hand gently and led her back to the spot on the floor where she had been, guiding her down to a sitting position again.

"Where will they find food?" she asked.

"Anything is possible if you have enough money. Don't you know that, kitten?" he said, a broad smile breaking out over his painted face.

His mood seemed to change, becoming more agitated. He began pacing around the room. "The mayor hasn't been taking very good care of Lower Gotham, now has he? He's even worse than I thought he would be. I should let everyone know what he's been up to." Her mind had trouble focusing, and she couldn't grasp much of what he was saying.

He took the sandwich from the men when they returned, glaring at them. "This wasn't the best option, but we'll make it work."

He settled himself down cross-legged on the floor in front of her, breaking the sandwich into sections with his gloved hands, giving her the first portion. She barely looked at it before taking it to her lips. Her tongue rolled the food from side to side in her mouth. Each bite was a perfection of flavor. She felt that she could taste every ingredient, sharply and distinctly. She had finished the piece in no time.

She looked up to find his eyes lingering on her, as if he had been watching attentively. She barely gave it a second thought.

"More," she mumbled. "I'd like more," she asked more clearly. He handed her another section. She gobbled it up as if it was nothing.

"More!" she commanded loudly. He looked at her, amused.

"No."

She lunged at the section he still had in his hand, but he was too fast and had it out of her reach immediately. She couldn't fight for it, she was too weak. Tears came to her eyes and she fell onto his knee, sobbing. He leaned over and drew the hair away from the side of her face. "It will make you sick," he said quietly in her ear. "You have to slow down." He moved to get up. "Just… rest for now."

He left the apartment, giving orders to his men on his way. "Wait four hours, then stock the kitchen, bring everything from the van up here."

The first few days were tough, but now Annie was regaining her strength. The Joker had been right about not overdoing the food at first - the first few small meals she had made her extremely sick as her body got used to eating again. It had all taken a physical toll, but what had bothered her the most was how foggy her thinking had become when she was without food. But now, she welcomed the return of her mental faculties. Everything seemed fresher, newer, now that she could concentrate and move freely again.

One of her chief sources of entertainment in the isolated apartment was exploring the odd hodgepodge of food that the Joker's men had brought to her. There were the cheapest canned items they seemed to have gotten from a surplus discount store, next to jars of olives and caviar that must have cost hundreds. She had no idea how they had gathered such a strange collection.

Despite her enjoyment of the food and her thankfulness to simply have enough to eat, the Joker still loomed like a dark shadow over her life. Every day she remembered what had happened the last time she saw him. She was ashamed that she fell on his knee so easily, groveling in front of him for food. It was as if she had no control of herself when real hunger took hold. She was glad he left so quickly - she didn't like the idea of him seeing her when she was so… compromised.

Without her job to occupy her time, her days took on a surreal quality. She would leave the apartment in the morning to walk in the city, enjoying the fresh air. The atmosphere of desperation was gone and had been replaced by a quiet solitude on the streets. Food was trickling into Lower Gotham again, and stores would periodically open.

This day was like any other. She had just returned from a walk and was ready to unlock her door when she heard a click and felt cold metal on the back of her neck. She realized she wasn't alone.

"Unlock the door," a voice commanded. It wasn't the Joker's familiar tone. Her breathing became panicked. The Joker's threatening and erratic presence had almost become part of her daily reality. This situation was completely different, completely unexpected.

"I said, open the door, bitch." The man hit the back of her head with the heel of his other hand, jarring her head forward. She quickly complied, and took the moment of entry into the apartment as a chance to turn around to see her attacker, holding her hands in the air in surrender.

The man entered after her, keeping the gun trained on her. She was surprised to see how ordinary he appeared. Brown hair, normal button down shirt. Nothing distinguished him from men she met every day walking on the street.

"I didn't tell you to turn around, but that's fine. I wanted to take a look at you. This is the Joker's favorite bitch." The man walked around her, closer now, as if he was appraising her to set a price.

"Wow, I didn't expect this. There's not much here. Nothing in the chest, she looks like a little boy. Maybe there's something sweet down below, though." He came closer and motioned toward her body with the gun.

"Is it sweet for him there? I don't know, doesn't look that good to me." He stood back again, moving his gaze to her face. "You know, maybe it's those eyes, those are something. Does he like having those angel eyes look at him? Maybe that's it. But I don't think that would do it for me."

She stood completely frozen, shocked by the crudeness of his words.

"I wonder why he comes here…" He stopped his circuit and stood in front of her. "You know he has every whore in Gotham on his payroll, right? He knows all the best ones. When he's done with them, some of them are crying. Those girls are used to it, they don't usually cry."

The man smiled, and she sensed danger. "Sometimes, on a good day, he gives them some extra cash, and then it's our turn, we get to have a go too. I wonder if he'll do that with you? Maybe I'll get to have a taste?" He suddenly put an arm behind her waist and pulled her closer. She felt sick, understanding the direction he was taking them. "There must be some reason he comes here, maybe I should find out…"

Suddenly she felt another presence in the room and spied the scraggly hair and white makeup over the man's shoulder. The Joker came closer, softly stepping up behind him. He looked at her, putting his finger to his lips silently. She drew her eyes away and back to the man that held her to avoid giving away his position. In another second, two gloved hands and a knife appeared at the man's throat. His arm fell from her waist. One of the Joker's goons followed and quickly took his gun.

The Joker let go of his hold on the man and moved in front of him. "Now what have you been telling the little kitten here, Benjamin," he said slowly, malevolently, drawing out the syllables of his name. "Talking about me and the ladies of the night here in Gotham? I do have my favorites, don't I. But I don't usually leave them crying, not too often…" He seemed lost in thought, staring into the distance.

His tone changed and he focused his eyes back on the man in front of him. "Well, let's see, now we have a problem." The Joker pulled the man's collar tight, so that he was struggling for breath. "You know where she lives, and I like to come on my visits sometimes…. I think we'll have to make an example of you. I don't want to have this problem again. Smith, come here."

The man who entered with the Joker came closer. "Why don't you call Don, tell him I've got something for him." He let go of the man's collar and patted him on the back as he sputtered. "Tell him I've got a surprise for him and his men, a very nice surprise." He enunciated the words forcefully, almost hissing. The man who had accosted her stood still, his eyes wide. "Ok, bye bye." The Joker slipped the knife back into his pocket and the two men left, Smith with a gun to the back of her attacker.

"This is such a fortunate occasion, kitten." The Joker turned around, lifting his arms in a theatrical flourish as if nothing had happened. "I was in the neighborhood and decided I need to stay here tonight. That naughty mayor has sent out too many extra patrols." She remained where she stood, shaken and unsure of what to do.

"Oh, are you still worried? I'm sorry about that, but now you don't have anything to be afraid of. You see, when you run an organization, sometimes you have to make an example out of someone. Now that he volunteered, I don't think we'll see anyone coming over here to bother you. I'll make sure that they all know how Ben-ja-min turns out." She stood still, unable to answer.

"I see, do you feel sorry for dear Benjamin? You want me to let him go? Ok." He paused, his face becoming cold, expressionless. "He'll tell his buddies about you, the worst of them, and someone else will come to you and try to outdo what he did today. Or maybe he'll just come back with a few friends and…" What he left unsaid chilled her more than his words had. "So do you want me to be… merciful? Hmm?"

She swallowed hard, coming to terms with her position and how real the danger was. "No," she said.

"Ok, that's good. It's settled." His more lighthearted demeanor seemed to have returned. He put his hand on her shoulder and brought his face in close. "Men are horrible, aren't they?" he said with exaggerated sympathy. She could only give him a sideways glance.

He turned and stretched his arms upward as if he was an average person arriving home from work, ready to call it a day. "So you do whatever you do. I'm tired, it's been a long day." He took off his purple coat, balling it up in his hands as if he would use it as a pillow. "I'll sleep here on the floor, so you can have your bed." She looked at him warily, making it clear from her expression that she would not be getting into her bed. She was not willing to appear so vulnerable around him.

"All right, then I'll take the bed," he said, promptly dropping the jacket to the floor and lying down on the mattress. He got up again slowly as if he had forgotten something and went to the coat, taking his knife from the pocket and placing it by the pillow. He didn't retract the blade and left it there, glistening next to him. He laid down again, facing her across the room.

She was unsure of what to do. She simply collapsed down to the floor, sitting where she had been standing. She was facing him, naturally wanting to be aware of any danger that might develop. He seemed frustrated by her vigilance and returned her look with an unblinking stare that unnerved her. She decided the best course of action was to turn around and face the other way, even though it meant she couldn't keep an eye on his activities.

He had a natural tendency to deceive, but she was somewhat convinced that he simply wanted to sleep. Despite his makeup and seemingly unending store of energy, he did walk in a stilted way today, like he had been in some kind of fight. With the danger she faced earlier, his particular brand of fear in her mind also seemed…familiar. She went ahead and laid down on the floor on her side, staring at the opposite wall. Of course she couldn't sleep.

She stayed where she was for a long time, until the quiet assured her he must be sleeping. She got up slowly, inching her way to a sitting position in the silence and carefully lifting her head to look around the room. With the rolling blackouts, it was completely dark except for the moonlight, which tonight was brightly streaming in through the open window. The air was hot and still.

The glint of his knife to the side of the pillow drew her gaze. Her eyes were fixed on it, realizing that she could stop this reign of terror, all his crimes, with one act. If she just picked up the knife and did the right thing - he was a killer, a lion stalking every institution in the city, and it would never end if he was left to roam. His men would certainly respond eventually, but her life was of so little value to her now, it barely seemed worth clinging to.

Other than a hopeless struggle to keep body and soul together in this city, all she seemed left with was her fear of this man. Her eyes involuntarily travelled from the glinting knife up to his face, with the makeup strewn over it haphazardly. She risked a closer look, edging nearer to the bed. Every line and blotch seemed like a work of art, every shadow perfectly aligned. The white paint gave him an unearthly glow in the dim room. She looked at his patterned shirt - he was like a sleeping jaguar, the luster of its coat shining every time it breathed. He was perfection - perfection fueled by chaos, but nonetheless she felt it would somehow be an unspeakable sin to kill this beautiful animal in the moonlight. Her tension eased as she realized she couldn't do it. She couldn't harm him.

She looked at his sleeping face for some time, her eyes studying the intricate patterns so arbitrarily interlaced on his skin. She finally began to pull back, turning around, ready to crawl back to her corner of the room and perhaps even sleep for a short time.

At her first movement, she was shocked to see his eyes snap open.

"Well hello, kitten." His voice was gruff, heavy.

She froze in fear, their faces inches away from one another. A smile curved around the edges of his lips. He sat up slightly and picked up the knife, holding the shining blade there between them. She held her breath.

"Yes, it is beautiful, isn't it," he said quietly. He retracted the blade and slipped it into his pocket.

"Good night," he said, reclining again on his side and closing his eyes. She began to move away as subtly as she could.

"Since you bothered to come over here to see me, why don't you just stay?" he said suddenly, not bothering to open his eyes. The way he said the words made it clear to her that she shouldn't try to move. She sat perfectly rigid and still on the floor. Hours seemed to pass, and exhaustion finally caught up with her. She slowly let her body lean against the side of the mattress, and finally her head fell back against him. She gave up, feeling his chest rise and fall with slow, regular breaths as she fell asleep.

Additional notes: This is fanfic, so of course I don't own any characters from The Dark Knight (Joker, Batman, etc.). The main female character is original.

#heath ledger!joker #joker fanfiction #Heath Ledger Joker #joker x oc #joker/original female character #The Dark Knight #ledger!joker #joker #the joker #dc joker #heath joker #the dark knight joker #dark knight #ledger joker #fanfic #joker x original character #ledger joker x oc #the joker x oc #joker fanfic

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maul-of-shame · 20 days ago

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[Update: "Gilded Choices: The Reaping of Stars"/ Hunger Games AU! Elrondriel]

Hey everyone! Just finishing the final edits and polishing for tonight's chapter drop, and it'll finally be ready to go live!

I’m so excited for you to dive in, especially as this one has a mix of warmth and cheeky moments—and maybe a little sweetness before… well, things take a darker turn.

A note about what’s ahead: this is the last chapter where things will feel “okay”, and even a bit playful. It’s a reprieve of sorts before the real descent begins.

After this chapter, we’re entering a phase I’ve been calling “the games”, where things will get intense, gritty, and anything but light.

I want to be upfront about the content shift that’s coming because it’s a big one. Starting next chapter, you’ll see themes that may be unsettling for some readers, so here’s a comprehensive heads-up on what’s to come:

Content Warnings (for upcoming chapters):

Psychological Distress: Characters will face severe mental strain, including anxiety, paranoia, and manipulation.

Physical Violence: Scenes will include physical altercations, injuries, and brutal confrontations.

Physical Mutilations: Not going into details here, the title is enough.

Emotional Trauma: Characters will grapple with loss, betrayal, and despair as bonds are tested and broken, leaving lasting scars.

Intense Brutality: Expect scenes where stakes are high and things get unforgiving. This includes depictions of survival at all costs, where mercy is in short supply.

Gore and Graphic Detail: Some scenes will be graphic, with explicit descriptions of injuries and the harsher realities of battle, survival, and all that comes with it.

And probably more, I cannot mention them "exactly" without spoiling the story but I'll put up tw before each chapter.

I’ve poured a LOT into this chapter, and it’s gone through drastic changes. Originally, it was much more angsty, but with recent life stuff, I couldn’t push myself to go there. I ended up rewriting about half of it in one night (last night lmao) to give us this little pocket of comfort before the storm rolls in.

So I hope you can savor this bit of reprieve—it’s the last one for a while.

I've been pushing this release for a hot minute because I know that what follows will be violent, and basically what's expected since it follows the Hunger Games settings but it didn't make it easy, ngl.

Thank you for reading along and for trusting me with these characters and their journey, especially as we head into some murky waters!!💫🖤 Please take care of yourselves while reading, and feel free to reach out or take breaks if it gets too heavy.

If you're new here, hi! I made a TROP/Hunger Games Elrondriel fic! You can read the first 6 chapters here!

Also yes, I know it's like only 6 Chapters and already +111k words XDDD

#elrondriel #galadriel #elrond x galadriel #galadriel x elrond #the rings of power #gilded choices: the reaping of stars #elrondriel fic

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thevegandarkelf · 2 months ago

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Finding Myself, Finding You: Chapter Twenty

Masterlist

AO3 link

Let me know if you want to be added to the taglist <3 (18+ only, MDNI)

Story is 18+ for mature content/themes, minors do not interact please

TW/CWs for this story--implied/referenced past rape, canonical violence, non-canonical violence, blood, gore, referenced past suicide, swearing, surgery, excessive drinking, nightmares, panic attacks, mention of scars, vomiting, amputation, medical procedures, non-con medical procedures, referenced past medical torture, referenced past drugging, attempted sexual assault, panic attacks, mental health struggles, referenced sibling death, referenced parent death, PTSD

Each chapter will have its own TW/CWs listed

This story, Lydia Vector, her family & bestie (c) me, TheVeganDarkElf

TWD & its characters (c) AMC & Robert Kirkman, the writer of the comic series

Legolas & Lord of the Rings (c) J.R.R. Tolkien, Sleeping Beauty (c) Disney

TW/CWs for this chapter--swearing, discussion of deceased parent, discussion of deceased sibling, grief

Word count: 3.2k

“Fuck, it’s cold up here,” I said, rubbing my hands up and down my arms in an effort to keep myself warm. I’ll admit, I had made a poor decision by only wearing a sports bra and skort when I knew I was going to be up in the watchtower overnight, but if there was the potential for me to be taken out at any moment, I at least wanted to look cute when it happened.

My hangover from all the drinking the night before had mostly subsided, though there were still some lingering effects. I couldn’t eat or drink anything too quickly without feeling queasy, and my body was still a little sore. My eyes were also still a little photosensitive, so I appreciated the darkness of night a bit extra.

Daryl fell asleep in bed with me, his arm still wrapped around me and my blanket draped over our legs. My head never left his shoulder, and when I awoke, his head was resting on mine, his hair hanging down and tickling my forehead. I wanted to stay in that blissful moment forever, the sound of his soft snoring the only thing that echoed through the room. I didn’t move, as I dared not stir him from his slumber. He did eventually wake though, and I closed my eyes, every ounce of mental fortitude I had being used to keep a big, stupid grin from forming on my face to give the illusion that I was still asleep.

He slipped his arm out from behind me slowly, using his body leaning against me to keep me upright. He got up and picked me up for just a moment before laying me down in bed, gathering my hair and laying it behind me. He pulled my blanket over me and knelt beside the bed. As much as I wanted to see, I didn’t open my eyes. Whatever he was going to do or say, I wanted him to think I was asleep for it. Daryl brought a hand up and started petting my head, his fingers brushing my scalp as he did. That was only for a moment, though, before he leaned over and kissed me on the forehead.

It was a quick, small peck, which I was somewhat grateful for, as anything longer might’ve broken my mental fortitude. He uttered a soft “night sunshine” before leaving the room, leaving the door open. I was biting my tongue to stop myself from flipping over and screaming into my pillow. My body felt weak, both from the hangover and from this new step in physical affection. I was sure that even if I wanted to flip myself over to scream into my pillow or get up and go downstairs to give Daryl a giant hug, I wouldn’t be able to move.

I fell back asleep after some time and spent a lot of the day in bed, tossing and turning to find the most comfortable position for my aching muscles and pounding head. I climbed out of bed sometime in the middle of the afternoon and forced myself to take a shower. The rest of the afternoon and evening was spent between me doing some writing in my bed and on the couch with Daryl, who was still insistent on borderline babying me in my mildly hungover state, until it was time for Daryl’s overnight watch shift.

When we arrived at the watchtower, I found out he was taking over for Glenn, who gave me a subtle smile as he walked past me. I lightly shoulder-checked him and gave him a look in return, both of which meant “don’t you dare say a word to Maggie about this.”

“Here, ya can wear this,” Daryl said. He slipped his crossbow off and set it on the ground, removing his leather jacket. He was only wearing a light tank top underneath.

“You sure? Won’t you get cold? It’s chilly up here,” I said, “I can run home and get a jacket. I don’t want you to be cold.”

“Nah, I’ll be fine,” he insisted, holding his jacket out to me, “sure it’ll look better on ya anyway.” I blushed a little at the compliment and took his jacket in my hands. I set my notebook down briefly to slip it on, almost immediately warming up as the worn leather cocooned my frigid skin. It smelled like pine and tobacco, more scents that were quintessentially Daryl. He stared at me as I zipped it up. "Told ya.”

“Hey Daryl? How far of a target do you think you can hit with that thing?” I asked as he picked his bow back up.

“Dunno. Pretty far if I had to guess,” he replied, propping the bow up onto his shoulder and peering through the scope, pretending as if he was preparing to shoot.

“You sound rather confident in that,” I taunted, “do you wanna test that theory?”

He stared out the window to the field outside the walls, seemingly debating whether or not entertaining me was worth wasting an arrow. “‘Bout that one out there?” Daryl said, gesturing to a walker far off in the distance. I leaned out the window a little to look in the direction of the wretched creature. The moonlight peeking through the clouds illuminated them slightly, making them just visible enough to see. Daryl quickly brought a hand to my shoulder as if on instinct, even though I was nowhere near close to falling out the window, and pulled me back in from the window frame.

“I don’t know,” I teased in a sing-song voice, “that’s a pretty far one.”

The sickly-looking thing lumbered around in the open field in search of its next meal, and I wondered if it could see us as it started in our direction, still far enough away that it wasn’t anything to be worried about. Ultimately, Daryl decided it was worth my entertainment. He raised his crossbow to his shoulder, and I admired him for a moment before darting my eyes to the walker as he shot. He hit the thing right in the head, and it went crashing to the ground, not even so much as twitching. I was amazed.

"Ok Legolas, look at you,” I said, sounding very impressed.

He cocked his eyebrow at me. “What?"

"I called you Legolas,” I iterated, “like the elven archer from Lord of the Rings. You ever seen those?”

He shook his head. “Nah. Never got into that fantasy shit."

"Hey now, some of us are into that "fantasy shit." He's my favorite character. Kind of reminds me of you a bit. He's gentle, wise, loyal, and very protective of the people and kingdom he cares about,” I explained, a hint of a giggle under my breath, “but he can be a bit of a show-off and is real quick to get into it with people he doesn't like."

“Psh,” he scoffed, “I ain’t no show-off.”

“Oh please. You’re telling me that shot wasn’t you showing off, even a little?” I teased.

He ignored my question. “What other kinda fantasy shit ya into?”

“Well, when I was a kid, my favorite movie was Sleeping Beauty. You know that one?” He shook his head. “So there’s this girl, her name’s Aurora, and she’s a princess. There’s three good fairies who each give her a gift on the day of her birth. The first two give her beauty and a beautiful singing voice because of course the protag has to be stunning and have the voice of an angel. That’s a Disney movie for ya.” I tapped my thumbs on my notebook. "Anyway, before the third one can gift her, our antagonist Maleficent shows up, and she curses Aurora to die on her 16th birthday by pricking her finger on a spinning wheel. So the third fairy doesn’t get rid of the curse, but she makes it less bad to where she’ll only fall into a deep sleep instead of dying. And the only thing that’ll break the curse and wake the princess is “true love’s kiss.” And of course it has the happy ending of Maleficent being killed and Aurora getting her true love’s kiss, and then she marries the prince and it’s all happily ever after and whatnot.”

“It’s still cute I guess, but it’s such a typical story with a damsel in distress who is only rescued once she’s found her true love, which is just so overdone in my opinion. There’s a song from the movie that I still enjoy though. That’s what I’m always singing in the shower,” I said.

“Ya’s hummin’ it when ya were drunk too,” Daryl said, amusement in his scruffy voice, “all the way ’til ya fell asleep.”

“Of course I was. My brothers used to tease me for how often I watched that movie and sang that song.” A smile emerged on my face as I thought of an idea. "I actually have some pictures of them.” I flipped open to the back of my notebook. I quickly slipped the notes out—the one from Eli and the couple that Daryl left for me—into my pocket. "Do you wanna see?” He nodded, stepping closer as he did so until we were right next to each other, hips nearly touching. Even when there was a small distance between us, I could still feel the same electricity that danced across my skin every time we came in contact. I slipped the photos out and set my notebook on the ground beside me.

I rifled through them, putting them in the order I wanted to present them. “This one is Preston and I. I’m probably like 24 in this picture. It was a few months before he died, when he came to visit me at school.” The picture was a selfie I had taken and printed out. Preston was making a goofy face, and I was sticking my tongue out and smiling, flashing a peace sign. "It was the only picture I took when he was home. If I had known…what would happen later, I would’ve taken a lot more.”

“Ya look real happy,” Daryl acknowledged.

“I was. I was in med school, at my dream school, my big brother was home visiting, I was living with my best friend…things were good.” I flipped over to the next one. “This one is Jay, Eli, and I. Jay’s the one on the left, Eli’s on the right.” This one depicted my twin brothers and I standing posed together, me in the middle, arms wrapped around each other. “I think I’m 28 here. They came to visit, I think for my birthday. I’m not totally sure. They’d visit as much as they could whenever they were home. We were all really close.” Tears started forming in my eyes and threatened to break free, but I didn’t let them.

I switched to the next one. "This one is me and my best friend Kathryn. We were neighbors growing up, and with her being an only child and me being the only girl in my family, we bonded immediately. Got accepted to the same school for med school and grad school, lived together. She was everything to me. When everything went to shit, she was across the country visiting extended family. So if she’s alive, she’s on the west coast somewhere. I think this picture is from right before she left. Looks like a night out or something.” The photo showed Kathryn on my back, her long blonde hair swinging in my face, both of us laughing about something I wish I could remember. We were both all dolled up in cute outfits and full faces of makeup, as we usually did when we would go out on the town.

“Tell me about her,” Daryl said. He took the stack of photos from my hand and studied the one of Kathryn and I. I wondered what was going through his head. "Don’t think ya talked about ‘er too much.”

“Kathryn was such a good person. She was kind, funny, smart, just the friendliest person ever. A golden retriever type if you will. She studied engineering, so she was like really, really smart. And she could pull literally any man she wanted,” I explained, chuckling at a memory that was coming back to me, “we’d go out to bars and whatnot, and she immediately captured the attention of everyone in the room when she walked in. I’d have guys coming up to me asking how to get with her. I played bodyguard a lot. She would try to pass some off onto me, but they wanted the golden retriever, not the black cat.”

A gentle breeze came through, sweeping my hair into my face, and before I could react, Daryl was already moving it out of my face and tucking it behind my ear. “More of a black cat guy m’self,” he said. The obvious flirting had my stomach doing backflips.

I loved it when he moved my hair out of my face, but I especially loved it when he tucked it behind my ear. He would always go a little slower, just a little bit, as he ran his fingers around my ear and secured my hair in place. My stomach would drop like I was on an amusement park ride, and my knees would nearly give out on me. I reveled in every second of it.

“She would’ve adored you too,” I said, watching him run his fingers over the picture, my side specifically, “she would’ve loved how happy you make me.” He still had that stoic look on his face. I wished I could read minds, so I would know exactly what he was thinking. He flipped to the next picture.

“That one was supposed to just be a photo of my parents, but Eli jumped in at the last second to photo-bomb. He looks like he’s 24 or 25, so I’m probably like 21 or so,” I told him. My parents were sat on the patio furniture we had in the backyard, snuggled next to each other and looking into each other’s eyes. Eli was in the background, wrapped in a blanket and flashing a peace sign as he was jumping into frame.

“Ain’t that the blanket ya got at home?” Daryl asked.

“Yeah, it is,” I said, laughter dancing in my voice as the memories came flooding in, “sometimes, when we were all in high school, Preston's girlfriend would sneak in in the middle of the night. And because I’m the best sister ever, I never snitched. Well, the three of them shared a room. Preston wouldn’t let them sleep in the living room because he was afraid our parents would get suspicious, so whenever she came over, Jay and Eli would come trudging into my room. That’s how I would know she was there. I'd toss them the same blankets every time to use while they slept on the floor. That one was Eli's. It smelled like his cologne for a while, but the scent faded some time ago. I couldn't find Jay's. I'm hoping that means he got out and took it with him."

"Would your brothers have liked me?" he asked. I almost laughed at the question, how silly it was that he thought there was any possibility my family wouldn’t have liked him.

"Oh, they would've adored you. My mom and dad too. Jay would be coming to me saying he'd found his new best friend. He was really into hunting, fishing, camping, all that jazz.”

“Ya don’t really talk ‘bout Jay much. Or your dad.”

“Yeah, I umm…I don’t know where Jay is, whether or not he’s alive. He was supposed to be with Eli, but there was no sign of him. And my dad…well, as far as I know, he’s up there,” I said, pointing up to the sky, “he got launched on a mission only a couple of weeks before everything started. I don’t know how much they know about what’s gone on down on Earth, if they’re able to land on their own.” I blinked back tears that were rapidly forming. “I think Jay either headed to Maryland looking for me or Florida looking for our dad. I know what happened to Eli. I’ve been able to grieve him. Not knowing whether or not Jay or my dad are alive…that almost feels worse.”

The tears were forming so quickly that I didn’t bother to stop them anymore. I focused my energy on keeping my voice steady so as not to draw attention to my sadness. “That’s actually why I was so desperate to find Alexandria. I hoped that maybe if Jay went looking for me, he might’ve heard about it and tried to get here too. I’ve started making peace with the fact that they’re likely both dead. I can only hope that their deaths weren’t painful.”

I lifted my glasses onto my head and rubbed my eyes with my fists. I certainly didn’t plan on getting that emotional, but I missed Jay and my dad so much, I couldn’t help it. Daryl took notice, of course. He took notice of everything. He reached into his pocket and pulled something out, holding it out to me.

“Here. Maybe don’t put it in your eyes though,” he said. He was holding out a bandana, the same one I’d seen him use many times when he was working on his bike. I took the soft cloth and wiped my cheeks off with it. It smelled like engine oil and sweat. It smelled like Daryl.

“Thank you,” I said, handing it back to him. He put it back in his pocket and looked back at me. His eyes were darting across my face, a pensive look on his. "Why are you looking at me like that? Do I have something on my face?” I touched my cheeks and felt what I guessed was grease on one of them. "Oh shit.” I tried to use the back of my hand to wipe it away, but Daryl stopped me, tenderly grabbing my arm and moving it out of the way.

“Nah, I got it,” Daryl said, lifting his hand to my face and wiping at the grease with his thumb. His work-worn hand had the gentlest touch against my skin. I was blushing under his touch, but I don't think he could see with how dark it was. He could probably feel it, though. And I couldn’t prevent myself from smiling like an idiot.

“Your face's real soft.” I lifted my gaze to meet his. His eyes were piercing, like they were staring right into my soul. There was a hint of a smile on his lips. I don’t know if his efforts to clean my face were working, but I didn’t care. I could stay in that moment forever. And I think he was enjoying it too.

"Thanks.” I was finding it hard to pull my gaze away from his. I was diving deep into those stunning blue pools, and I was never going to find my way out. The pacing of his thumb on my cheek slowed a little, and my skin was getting hotter.

“Damn, I got ya blushin’,” he teased. His acknowledgment of my blushing only caused me to blush more. I scrunched my nose at him playfully.

“Shut up.”

Taglist: @raddydaddydude

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adversary-to-inamorato · 10 months ago

Note

I LOOVE your IGBP AU tbh! :) your story was super cool, I'm so excited for the next chapter, and i love also the way your write it! I'm so into it, i was shocked when SMG4 came back in the loop!!!

Some questions :

--> will SMG4 get out of this loop?

-->How will you portray SMG34, I'm curious abt this haha, since it can be interesting to see how it is put

-->Will each "loop" be the same or be different?

-->To the Previous question, does SMG4 will somehow loose memory, or a character? Temporary or permanently?

-->How many chapters do you think this story will have? (you can skip this question I'm just curious lmao)

-->Does any characters will know abt the loop?

-->Tv hardware? Will be shown, interact with the others? Hmmm

I'm SOOO sorry for all these questions, I'm sooo curious abt your AU, LIKE İ LOVE IT, I LOVE YOUR STORY❤️

Omg omg you're my first ask hgsngsnhn I cannot keep this cool and mysterious persona (that I already heavily failed) anymore RAGHHH iM SO GLAD YOU THINK SO HERES A LIST OF RESPONSES

- Yes he will, this will be angst with a happy ending! I will add more tags and tw and cw the more I add on (I'm not evil I swear)

- How I portray them is based on their current canon personality from what I have observed so far from MAR10 Day till latest episode. BUT with a dash of psychological elements that they (unwillingly) have to face during the whole shenanigans.

(help me these two are stuck in my brain matter it's almost parasitism- but it's actually comensalism)

- the loop will be the same, but it's up to the characters to change or alter how they go through it. E.g: Same place where it all starts, but different endings when they change their actions such as SMG4 didn't make any of those Toad Legs models, the whole meme reaction thing. This is because he is aware of the mistakes he had done and trying to fix it while he still can.

- It's more of a brain-fog kind of thing. (Temporary) Memory loss is quite common with people with depression/developing depression. There will be serious topics in this fic that might be triggering so I would have to warn y'all beforehand because working on this actually made my friends worry about my mental state AHAHAHA

- I'm glad you asked! IM WORKING ON THE INBETWEEN(s) RIGHT NOW AND ALREADY HAD THE MIDDLE AND ENDING DONE. I already posted the introduction. So far 6 chapters and there may or may not be more. I've been working on this since November and it's driving me as crazy as the guy.

Oh, did I ever mention that? Hehe, forget it.

- Unfortunately, no. Mario would probably have a glimpse of what's going on but not entirely. It is about his recolours after all-- I mean guardians.

- n̵̨̛͉͚͎̯̘̮̭͓͇̪͎̘̥̖̱͖͆̽̓̇͜o̴̧̧̡̫͙̥͔̞̼̝̪̝̜͇̜͓͈͍̎̌̇̔̊͂̃̆͑̑̀͑̐́͝ͅ ̴͚̜̹̪̊̉̌̑̎͋̌̕c̷̞̘̬̟̓͂̀̚o̴̡̰̜̜̮̮̘̺̲̰̅̌͂͐́̋̋̕͝m̴̨̡̧͓̱̼̫̝̞̝͎̮̘̜̬̣͙̼͉̣͛̉̈́m̵̡̛̰͎͙̟͙̮̲̪̗͓̰̹̰̪̦͍͕͑̈́̃͂̀̈́̇̾̚ȩ̶̢̡͎̟̻̙̭̰̞̰͎̤̬͔̣͖̗̜̽͋́̆͒͂̑͗̌͛͆͂̽͘͝ͅn̷̩͇̙̳̫̬͓̓̃̾̆͂͋̃͌͆̚̚͜͝t̴͒��͍͙͍̪̩̥̫̥͍̳̽̑̽̑̀̋̔̈̎̈́̎͊̾̆̑͆̂͂

That wraps it up! AND NO PROBLEM I HAD SO MUCH FUN ANSWERING THEM! and it helps me reflect on what other kinds of stories I should do with these two goobers ( or three! I really love Mario 💓) I hope I can get the next chapter up as soon as possible, if my work doesn't give me overtime again- ugh. I'm glad you love my work! It means that the ungodly time I spent drawing (still unpublished) and writing (also unpublished) wasn't a dud!

Thank you so much for expressing your interest and curiosity, anon! You made my morning a bit less bitter and a bit more better. (Incorrect grammar but this is nsrs). I hope I could deliver up to your expectations!

I hope.

(Might do a fan-fanfiction take on the BR AU a certain artist made though, I do like the concept. But I need permission probably lol so I'll work on that.)

Thank you so much! You really made me feel worth something :DDD

#smg4 #supermarioglitchy4 #smg4 mario #smg4 smg3 #smg34 #smg34 fanfic #time loop au #I Can't Ever Be Perfect #did i ever mention how these two managed to fill up my entire photo gallery in under few months #im so ill for them its driving me insane as the guy im writing about in this #i am considering of dropping more art but guh i am insanely insecure about it

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thatonelesbianfander · 10 months ago

Text

The Ghost and the Reaper Chapter 7

Fandom// Sanders Sides

TW// Death mention, Suicide mention, Crying, Shouting, Swearing

Word count// 2884

Description// Janus is one of the many grim reapers whose job it is to reap the souls of the dead and help them ascend to the afterlife. After one assignment, the spirit they reaped, a 23-year-old nonbinary person named Remus, refused to ascend. Now, Janus is stuck with them following it around wherever they go.

Characters// Remus Sanders, Roman Sanders, C!Thomas Sanders

Pairings// Slight Karrot Kings mention

AUs// Found/chosen family Creativitwins & C!Thomas, human!sides, they/them Remus, it/they Janus, he/she Roman

Author’s note// This chapter is also less tense and more fluffy compared to the last few chapters. Enjoy!

Masterpost // Previous // Next

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Remus backed up a little, shocked at they saw their sibling looking directly at them.

”Y-You can see m-” Remus started before being cut off by their sibling clinging onto them, sobbing. Tears filled Remus’s eye as they hugged their sibling back.

”I’m sorry! I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean all those horrible things I said to you! I…” Roman sobbed, holding his sibling tightly.

”It’s okay, Roman… I’m alright…” Remus said, comforting their sibling.

”It’s not okay, though! I shouldn’t have said all those horrible things to you… You deserve so much better than me…” Roman replied, hiding his face in Remus’s chest.

”Ro…” Remus said. Roman held Remus close, afraid to let go. Remus hugged Roman back, the two not daring to move.

”I missed you so much…” Roman said. Remus smiled at their sibling.

”I love you, Roman,” Remus said.

”I love you too…” Roman replied. The two stayed in each other’s arms for a little while longer before Roman broke away. The two stood up, smiling at each other.

”We got to get you home! Pa would love to see you again!” Roman said.

”I…” Remus started before being dragged away by Roman. Remus looked around the graveyard, seeing Janus staring at them, a sad expression on its face. Remus awkwardly smiled back at them, giving them a thumbs up before running off with Roman. The two ran through the neighborhood, crossing the street and arriving at Thomas’s house. The two burst through the door, Roman closing it behind them.

”Pa! Come downstairs! I’ve got something to show you!” Roman said, calling up to his father.

”Alright, just give me a moment!” Thomas shouted back. Remus nervously stood next to Roman, still holding his hand.

”I’m nervous, Ro… What if Pa doesn’t take it that well…” Remus said.

”Don’t worry, Rem. It’ll be okay,” Roman replied.

”What’s up, Ro-” Thomas said, walking down the stairs before coming to a stop at the bottom.

”Hey, Pa…” Remus said, smiling nervously.

”Remus…” Thomas said, putting a hand to his mouth as tears filled his eyes. Thomas walked over to Remus, putting a hand to their face and holding their cheek.

”Is that really you…” Thomas asked, tears streaming down his face. Remus nodded, smiling at their father. Thomas wrapped his arms around Remus, pulling them into a hug as he sobbed into their shoulder.

”Oh my god, my baby!” Thomas cried. Remus smiled, hugging Thomas back as he cried. The two stood in each other’s arms for a while, Roman sitting on the couch as the two hugged each other.

”You’re back…” Thomas said.

”I never really left…” Remus replied, smiling. Thomas smiled back, letting go of Remus.

”You need to tell us about what you were doing these past few months!” Thomas said, walking over to the couch with Remus. Remus walked over to their chair, sitting down.

”Well, after I died, I was reaped by this grim reaper named Janus so I just decided to follow them around. We had a bunch of adventures together going around their district and visiting the people who died. Oh! Once there was this one guy Janus was reaping and he thought that Janus was Jesus Christ! That was hilarious! We also visited Junior’s after it was abandoned and played some arcade games together during one of Janus’s off days!” Remus said.

”Wow! You were busy it seems,” Thomas replied.

”Kind of, yeah, but I also made sure to make time to visit you two as well,” Remus said, smiling. Thomas smiled back.

”So, you’ve been listening to One Rat Band?” Remus asked.

”How did you know?” Thomas replied, smiling.

”I heard you listening to it when I visited you and Roman during your Mulan movie night. You know, that night with the big storm?” Remus said.

”You were with us during movie night?” Roman asked.

”Hell yeah! You really think I would miss out on movie night just because I died? No chance!” Remus responded.

”Well, it sounds like you were having a really good time in the afterlife,” Thomas said.

”Yeah, it was pretty nice,” Remus replied, smiling. Thomas smiled back.

”Okay, well, I have to go to the store. We’re out of bread, and I was about to go to the store to get some more so I can make dinner,” Thomas said, standing up, “Are you two going to be okay staying here on your own?”

”Yeah, we’ll be fine!” Remus replied.

”Alright, I’ll be right back. Love you two,” Thomas said, turning around and heading to the door.

”Love you too, Pa!” Remus said. Thomas opened the door, stepping outside and closing the door behind him.

The twins went upstairs to Roman’s room, Roman going over and sitting on his bed.

”I couldn’t really tell you this before, but I love how you decorated your room, Roman!” Remus said, looking around.

”Thanks…” Roman replied, looking down. Remus looked at their sibling, frowning.

”Ro… Is everything alright?” Remus asked.

”Yeah, everything’s fine, I just…” Roman started. He sighed, looking down at the ground.

”I just wish I never said all those horrible things to you in the first place. If I just kept my mouth shut that day, maybe you would still be alive…” Roman said, looking down. Remus frowned.

”Ro… You know I don’t care about what you said anymore, right?” Remus said.

”You don’t?” Roman asked.

”No, I don’t. I don’t care that you called me annoying or a freak, or said that you hate me, or said that you wished you weren’t my sibling. All I care about is if you are safe and happy,” Remus said, walking over to Roman and sitting down next to her.

”But, all those horrible things I said to you! I told you that you were useless, that you were a waste of air, that I wished you weren’t in my life. I said all these horrible things to you and it lead to your death! I-” Roman said.

”Hey, we both said nasty things to each other that day,” Remus cut Roman off, Roman looking at Remus, “But that day is in the past. What matters now is how we move on from that stuff and heal. So, let me ask you this… Are you safe?”

”Yes?” Roman replied.

”And are you happy?” Remus asked. Roman smiled at them, hugging them tightly.

”I am now,” Roman said. Remus smiled, hugging their sibling back. The two pulled away from each other, sitting next to each other.

”You know… Yesterday, when you were about to kill yourself, I was terrified… I didn’t want you to end up like me… I sobbed after getting back to Janus’s apartment after I got Pa to save you… I saw how you spiraled after my death, and it was the most terrifying thing ever…” Remus said. Roman frowned, looking at their sibling.

”Remus… I…” Roman said.

”Roman… Can you promise me one thing?” Remus asked.

”Anything,” Roman replied.

”If we ever have to be separated again, and you end up losing me… Promise me you’ll stay strong for me and move on… I’m not saying you have to forget me… but at least don’t destroy yourself for me, okay?” Remus asked. Roman smiled, nodding.

”Anything for you,” Roman said, Remus smiling at her. Remus laid their head on Roman’s shoulder, closing their eyes.

”Thank you,” Remus said. Roman smiled.

”Now, you have to tell me more about these adventures!” Roman said, Remus sitting up.

”Oh, okay! Well…” Remus started, Roman smiling at them as Remus talked. The two continued to talk together, enjoying being in each other’s company again after being apart for so long. Roman smiled at Remus as he listened to Remus talk. The two laid back on Roman’s bed, laughing and talking before Thomas interrupted them.

”Kids! I’m home! I’m going to start dinner, I’ll call you two when it’s ready, okay?” Thomas shouted up to them.

”Okay, Pa!” Roman shouted back down. Roman turned back to Remus.

”Continue,” Roman said. Remus smiled at her, starting to talk again.

The two talked for what seemed like hours until they were interrupted by Thomas calling them from downstairs again.

”Roman! Remus! Dinner!” Thomas shouted up to them.

”Be there in a minute, Pa!” Roman shouted back. Roman stood up, turning to Remus.

”You coming?” Roman asked.

”Yeah, I can’t eat, but I’ll be glad to just hang out with you and Pa. You go ahead of me and tell Pa I’ll be down in a minute,” Remus replied.

”Alright,” Roman said, leaving the room and running downstairs. Remus pulled out their phone, texting Janus.

”Hey, Jan! I’m gonna stay at my family’s house for the night! I’ll see you tomorrow though! Have a good night!” Remus texted. They put their phone down on Roman’s nightstand, running downstairs to the dining room where their father and sibling sat around the table.

”Oh, Remus! You’re here! Come on, sit!” Thomas said, patting the seat next to him. Remus smiled, sitting down next to Thomas.

”So, what are you having?” Remus asked.

”Oh, I just made us some sandwiches, it’s nothing really special…” Thomas said, taking a bite of his food.

”Cool! Now, Pa. I saw you had a new date! Wanna tell me about that?” Remus asked. Thomas chuckled, looking over to Remus.

”Well, his name’s Nico. He’s a music writer and he actually wrote some of the songs for One Rat Band,” Thomas replied.

”That’s really cool!” Remus said.

”Yeah! I met him today since he came over for a little this morning. He’s really nice!” Roman said.

”I can’t believe you got to meet one of the creators of One Rat Band!” Remus said, Thomas smiling.

”Yeah, it’s cool,” Thomas replied. The three smiled together, talking as Roman and Thomas finished their dinners.

”And then Janus socked him in the face!” Remus said.

”Woah!” Roman replied.

”I wish I was there with you. I would have socked that guy in the face with them!” Thomas said, standing up. Remus giggled.

”Pa! We all know you’re not a fighter!” Remus said.

”Still, I would have!” Thomas said, grabbing Roman’s plate off the table with his. Thomas carried the plates to the kitchen, putting them into the sink and going back to the table. Thomas sat back down at the table, Remus grabbing his hand and holding it. Thomas smiled at them.

”Hey, buddy,” Thomas said.

”Hi, Pa!” Remus replied, smiling.

”You know. I’m really glad you’re back. It’s nice to see you again, even if it’s like this,” Thomas said.

”I’m glad I’m back as well,” Remus replied.

”Well, what do you two want to do now?” Thomas asked.

”Ooo! Can we have a family movie night? There’s a new movie that I really wanted to see and I think Remus would like it too!” Roman suggested.

”Ooo! Yes!” Remus said, standing up.

”Alright, then. I’ll clean up the dishes, you two get the movie ready,” Thomas said, standing up and walking to the kitchen. Remus started to float, looking over at Roman.

”Race ya!” Remus said, floating over to the living room.

”Oh, you motherfucker-” Roman started, chasing after Remus as Remus laughed. Remus picked up the remote, floating above Roman so he couldn’t grab it.

”You motherfucking cheater! Give me the remote!” Roman said, jumping up and trying to grab the remote.

”Never!” Remus said, laughing. Roman grabbed Remus’s legs, pulling them down and grabbing the remote from their hands.

”Hey! That’s not fair!” Remus said, laughing.

”Too bad, so sad,” Roman said, smiling. Remus tackled Roman, the two laughing together as they fought for the remote.

”Okay, you two, break it up,” Thomas said, grabbing the remote from the two. Thomas sat on the couch, Roman sitting next to him and Remus sitting on their chair. Thomas turned on the TV, giving the remote to Roman who put the movie on.

The three sat in the living room together, watching the movie.

”Ugh, Valentino’s such a fucking bastard. Reminds me of Janus’s stupid manager,” Remus said.

”I’m guessing you don’t like him that much?” Roman asked.

”Nope, they’re both fucking assholes,” Remus said, rolling their eye.

”Hey, at least the side character’s are likable?” Roman said.

”Yeah, I guess,” Remus said, shrugging.

”I honestly thought this movie would be better than it is… All the trailers looked really good,” Roman said, leaning back on the couch.

”I mean, the movie’s fine, but it could be better,” Remus said.

”Yeah, I agree,” Thomas replied. Remus thought for a little, Thomas and Roman continuing to watch the movie.

”Hey, Pa, Ro?” Remus said, getting the two’s attention.

”What’s up, Remus?” Thomas asked, pausing the movie.

”I was just wondering… If Janus lets me… Could I move back in with you guys?” Remus asked.

”Of course, Remus! Why would you think you couldn’t?” Thomas replied.

”I mean… It’s kind of a big hassle for you… I mean, I kind of guessed you just got used to having to care for one person… I didn’t want to overload you with another…” Remus replied.

”Remus, buddy… You wouldn’t be overloading me… Besides, this is your home too. You grew up here. You’re welcome to come and go as you please, alright?” Thomas said. Remus smiled, looking at their father.

”Thanks, Pa,” Remus said.

”Come here, buddy,” Thomas said, reaching his arms out to Remus. Remus floated over to Thomas, laying down in his arms as Thomas held him. Roman unpaused the movie, the three watching the movie together. Roman leaned his head on Thomas’s shoulder, Thomas putting his arm around Roman’s shoulder. Thomas held his two kids close as the three continued to watch the movie.

”Ha! Yes! Valentino died!” Remus said, pointing at the TV while smiling.

”Good! I hated him so much!” Roman replied.

”I mean, his actor was kind of hot, though,” Thomas said.

”Pa!” Remus said, pushing Thomas back as Thomas laughed.

”I’m joking! I’m joking!” Thomas said, laughing. Remus hugged Thomas, Thomas hugging Remus back.

”Ooo! I like the new main character this movie’s following for the second half!” Roman said.

”Hopefully he’s not a giant bastard like Valentino,” Remus said.

”You really didn’t like Valentino, huh?” Thomas asked.

”He was so annoying! Like, can it! No one wants to hear about your failed love life!” Remus said, Thomas laughing. Roman yawned a little, leaning his head on Thomas’s shoulder again.

”You good, buddy?” Thomas asked.

”Yeah… just a little tired,” Roman replied.

”I would bet… Today was a long day for you,” Thomas said.

”It was a long day for all of us,” Remus said.

”Tell me about it,” Roman replied.

”Alright, you fall asleep for a little while. I’ll pause the movie,” Thomas said, grabbing the remote and turning off the TV. Roman leaned his head on Thomas’s shoulder, closing his eyes and falling asleep as Thomas held him close. Remus sat with Thomas, zoning out.

”Remus, buddy,” Thomas said, tapping Remus’s shoulder. Remus jumped a little, looking over to Thomas.

”What’s up, Pa?” Remus asked.

”Are you okay? You seem tense…” Thomas asked.

”I’m fine… I’m just thinking about something Janus said…” Remus replied.

”What did Janus say?” Thomas asked, concerned.

”Well, earlier today, they had a meeting with their manager. During this meeting, their manager said that the Antichrist was on the rise and if one more timeline break happened, all hell would break lose… I’m scared that I fucked up and that me being here is letting the Antichrist rise… Or worse that it will turn out that I’m the Antichrist all along… I don’t want to be evil, Pa…” Remus said, tears starting to form in their eye.

”Buddy… You’re not going to be evil… I know you’ve had this fear for a while, and I just want you to know everything’s going to be fine. You know why?” Thomas replied.

”Why?” Remus asked, wiping the tears from their eye.

”Because I’m with you… I’m not going anywhere. As long as you exist on this Earth, I will always be with you. I promise,” Thomas said, brushing Remus’s hair from their face. Remus smiled, hugging Thomas.

”Thanks, Pa,” Remus said. Thomas hugged Remus back.

”Now, you get some rest as well. You’ve had a long day,” Thomas said. Remus smiled, laying their head down on Thomas’s shoulder and falling asleep. Thomas put the recliner on the couch back, laying down with his kids as he fell asleep. They finally had each other again, and that’s all they needed for right now.

Masterpost // Previous // Next

#thatonelesbianfander #sanders sides #thomas sanders #thatsthat24 #tss #sasi #sanders sides au #sanders sides fanfiction #remus sanders #roman sanders #c!thomas sanders #c!thomas #the ghost and the reaper au #tw death mention #tw suicide mention #tw crying #tw shouting #tw swearing

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tea-moon-ster · 2 years ago

Text

Alex gets traded to the Lions

I know that this has about 0% chance of happening, but I couldn’t stop picturing Alex and Finn playing together, and Alex and Kasey playing together, so here we go. Also, in Vaincre’s last chapter Kasey made it clear that he was playing his last season, but here he decided to give it one more year just to make the story work. So, this is set the year after Vaincre, when Logan is (hopefully) back to the Lions after one year in New York.

Any kind of feedback is welcome! I haven’t published fics in years so it would be very, very appreciated :)

TW: mild, short panic attack. Vaincre spoilers.

this universe and characters belong to the wonderful @lumosinlove . read it on ao3 here.

The key finally unlocked the door, letting Alex step into his building and out of New York’s freezing February weather. He kicked his shoes free of snow and climbed the two floors of slippery stairs, letting a small sigh of relief as the warmth of his apartment penetrated him. Today’s practice had wrecked him. He needed something warm to wear, and he was starving.

He quickly made his way to the bedroom and got into some comfy sweats and an old Rangers hoodie, that had been Kasey’s, but still smelled a bit like Nat’s coconut conditioner from her last visit a few weeks before. A small pang hit his chest as he tried to catch the last bit of that too-sweet, rare and yet so familiar scent. He, Bliz and Natalie had been long distancing for almost two years now, and if at the beginning he’d thought that the hardest part would be over in the newest stage of their relationship, he’d been wrong. It was getting harder and harder to leave or let go at the end of long weekends spent together, or after the holidays.

He opted for a can of tomato soup to heat on the stove -honestly, he was too tired for anything that required one more preparation step. He checked his phone for new messages as he waited for his five-star dinner to be ready, and was surprised to find not one, not two, but three voicemails. He tapped to listen to them and put the phone on speaker while he took spoon and plate out. Maybe some crackers.

You have three new messages. Number one. Beep. Yo, Hazard, it’s Will. Listen, I’m taking Percy out to drink something tonight, same ol’ place. Alex scoffed, shaking the head to himself. He’d pass. His whole body ached, it was thirty degrees outside, and he really just wanted to sulk into his bed and sleep for a few years. He really needs to get over that date, man. So, yeah, great it you feel like coming. Maybe someone else will be there, dunno. Cap, Tweedy, Kota maybe? Lemme know. Beep.

He loved the energy of his tight-knitted team, and how close they’d got on his two years back on the Rags, but he was drained. Sure, it wasn’t the same without Logan, who’d been given back to the Lions after the one-year contract, but he couldn’t be sad to help himself for that. He’d almost felt the sigh of relief Finn had let out miles away, and Leo, and Logan, and Sirius and all his team. Jesus, Kota, too. The poor man. Even though he’d been more than accepted in Gryffindor, the icy tension of the first weeks there had been tough, and Alex could tell he was glad to be back to the Rags.

Now, Alex was able to feel Finn’s happiness through their calls, and he was so glad, because his brother deserved a period of emotional stability after everything he’d been through with Logan. He was glad. But there was always a bittersweet feeling there, seeing the throuple together again while he was missing his two. But Bliz and Nat felt it, too. He knew it. And Kase had mentioned it in their last call: it was his last season, then he’d retire. And then they could join him in New York, and if not move there, at least they’d be able to see each other more often. Alex had been happy to hear the news, because he knew the pain Bliz had went through, was still going through. It would be hard, but he was glad. He’d be there for him.

Number two. Beep.

Alexander, hi, it’s Robert. His agent. I have some, ah, news regarding your contract. It’s pretty urgent, so yeah, call me asap. Beep. Alex took a chair from under the table and let himself fall on it, staring blankly at the fridge. Christ, if he was being sent down to Florida again…or California, Texas, anywhere south, far away. He couldn’t, he wouldn’t. He had finally found some stability back to the Rags, close to his parents, not too far from his brother, from Kase and Nat, he couldn’t…

Number three. Beep.

Hadn’t he been playing well? It couldn’t be that. He’d given all he had in the last few months, and years. But was it enough? Was he enough? He could feel himself starting to spiral and hyperventilate without being able to do anything about it. Fog began to appear at the corners of his eyes.

Alex, it’s still Roger. Sorry for calling again, but I don’t want you to get the news from the media. Alex squeezed his eyes shut, biting his lip and praying. So, uh…your contract was about to expire anyways. Please, please, don’t rip me away from my life. And your coach was looking for a new staring center, with one of your boys out of the league for that back injury. So, a new arrangement was made. Alex stopped breathing, letting his head fall between his shoulders. He suddenly felt very aware of his loneliness. He’d give anything to have someone in the room with him, for a hand on his shoulder.

With the Lions. Gryffindor’s Lions. And coach Weasley did your name, so Leblanc is coming to New York and you’re going to Gryffindor. He was dead set on it. Guess there’s someone waiting for you in that locker room, yeah? You start in three days. I…I hope it’s good news. Call me asap. Bye.

Beep.

Holy shit.

Holy fucking shit.

Was that true? Had he been imagining it? Was he so tired to turn into delusional?

The fog in the room wasn’t disappearing, and he could smell something burned. He slowly turned to the stove and saw the soup boiling and sending splashes out of the pot, a dense smoke raising. He blinked, taking his time to realize that the smoke was, in fact, his dinner. “Holy shit!”

Next thing he knew, the fire alarm was triggered, and the fire sprinkler made rain fall into his kitchen as a shrill sound begun its loop. “Holy fucking shit!”

He shook his head out of the shock and quickly turned the fire off, passing a hand though his now wet hair. Lions. Gryffindor Lions. He went to turn the alarm off, not realising he’d been holding his breath. He let out a sudden sob, from all the emotions he had felt in mere seconds: tiredness, fear, anxiety, surprise, disbelief. Oh, fuck. He knew that happiness and relief were next, but his heart was racing impossibly fast now. Leblanc is coming to New York and you’re going to Gryffindor. The adrenaline made his head spin.

He opened the window to let the smoke and the smell of burned soup out, feeling the cold air’s bite. But he needed that. He brough a hand to his mouth and reached for his phone, only half aware he was lucky it was still functioning even if soaked. He tapped again on the last message, listening carefully to be sure that he’d got every word right. He had to be sure. But Robert’s voice was clear: you start in three days.

“Holy fucking shit”, he mouthed again. He was going to Gryffindor. He would play with Finn, a dream they’d had since they were toddlers, and he’d play with Bliz, again, for his last season. He would build a statue for Arthur Weasley.

Guess there’s someone waiting for you in that locker room, yeah?

With unsteady hands, he selected ‘last calls’ on his phone, and clicked on Natalie’s contact. He knew Kasey barely checked his phone, and he needed them now. As expected, one of his favourite faces appeared after a ring. Nat’s surprised and pleased smile made him shiver. She had her screen time glasses on, and her hair was in a messy braid, and Alex loved her. “Hi, baby! So nice to see your pretty face, really can’t get enough of...”

She stopped abruptly, noticing the situation on the other side of the screen. Her expression turned into concern, and she went a bit blurry with movement as she sat up straighter on the couch. “Alex, what is it baby? You okay?”

Alex felt suddenly very aware of the state of himself and his kitchen. Smoke was still floating next to the burned pot, the fire sprinkler was on, wetting the floor, the table, him, and he looked a right mess. He could see himself paler than usual, his hair matted to his forehead and his eyes red.

He heard some noise from behind Natalie’s back, before Kasey appeared in the frame. The corner of his mouth, curled up in a half smile, quickly left place to a knot of concerned eyebrows, as he leaned on the back of the couch with his forearms, a hand light on Nat’s shoulder. “Alex?”

The redhead blinked. They were studying him attentively, and he opened and closed his mouth a few times, waiting for sounds to come out.

“Alex” Bliz repeated. “What’s wrong? Are you hurt? Did something happen?”

“Talk to us, baby.”

“Is it raining?”

“That’s his kitchen, sweetie.”

“Oh. Wait, is there a fire?”

“Yeah, I mean no, almost, yeah. Wait, lemme just” he jogged to the hallway with the phone in his hand, and quickly found the fire sprinkler control panel, and turned it off. Then he went sit in the living room. Nice, warm, and dry. Two pairs of insisting and worried eyes were on him. “I...” He cleared his throat. “I, uh, I got a call. From Robert.” He saw realisation hit Kase hard, and Nat bit her lip.

Kasey took in a deep breath, eyes going unfocused for just a second. “Wait. I, I gotta sit down for this.” His voice was suddenly small, feeble, eyes on the floor. He made his way next to Natalie, sitting down with a small, trembling breath. He blinked, his eyes already burning. Nat readjusted to circle his shoulders with an arm and brought their foreheads together. Bliz’ voice came in a whisper. “Where?”

Alex looked at Kasey’s sad, resigned expression, eyes unable to fix on the screen. How many times had they been pulled apart? In the moments they needed each other the most, nevertheless. But they’d always found each other, their bond becoming stronger each time. Kasey was scared, and Nat too, but Alex could already see the determination burn in her eyes. He knew she was thinking fuck the distance, wherever you end up going, I’ll come to you.

And they were waiting for him to drop the destination, but all he could master was a whispered “I love you two so much.” He let out a watery laugh as hysterical tears from the tension began to fall.

Kasey, in the meantime, had taken it for the worst of news, and now his eyes were closed, and he rested his temple on Nat’s shoulder, who looked at the screen bewildered. “Alex, baby, now you’re scaring us. Just tell us, please?”

Alex took a deep breath, trying to get a grip. Jesus, what a roller coaster of emotions. He’d never been more relieved in his life, and at the same time his heart was still drumming loudly in his ears. “I... baby, don’t cry. I…we’ll need a bigger bed.” He didn’t know why, but it was the first thing that had come to mind. Natalie blinked, Bliz opened one eye. He nodded, continuing, “Yeah. I can do with the one at the apartment just fine when it’s just for the weekend, but if I'm going to stay for good, we’ll need a bigger bed so I don’t end on the floor. So, I’m coming in two days and we’re going to Ikea, and we’ll find another bed.” His voice had faltered at the end, the realisation of finally being able to see them every morning without a screen between them hitting him. He sniffed. “I’m staying for good.”

He watched two pairs of huge, watery eyes stare at him. Nat brought a hand to her mouth, while Bliz hadn’t moved. It looked like he wasn’t even breathing. Then a high-pitched squeal filled the two rooms, and Kasey had to cover his ears as Nat kept screaming.

“No way! No freaking way!”

Alex started laughing, passing a hand through his matted hair, his eyes still burning from the tears. He watched Natalie’s big smile, with teeth and all, the one she only showed when she was high on happiness. And he watched Bliz, staring back at him with tears falling silently and his lower lip trembling like he was a kid. He looked so hesitant, so cautious. And Alex couldn’t blame him; they’d been apart for so long that it was hard to picture them together. It seemed too good to be true, and Alex knew that Kasey was thinking of something he could have missed, anything that could go wrong and send one of them across the country.

“Kase” Alex murmured, “I’m staying for good.” He looked for his eyes, but the other man just closed them as other silent tears began to fall. That was Kasey: silent tears, silent pain, silent love and kindness. Kasey wasn’t a difficult person to read, if one knew where to look. And Alex had always known, and he had seen how loud Kasey could be in his emotions.

“Yeah?” he asked, a rasped whisper against Nat’s shoulder, now hugging him and bouncing on the couch.

“Oh, baby, yes. I’m coming. I’m a Lion now.”

“Wait, but how? So out of the blue?” asked Natalie. Alex shrugged.

“Rob only said that the Rags needed a new center, so Leblanc is coming here, and your coach made my name, so...yeah.” He let out a nervous laugh. “I don’t know either, but let’s not question it. I need to move my things before the universe changes its mind.”

Natalie was nodding while scrolling Kasey’s phone, eyes wide. “Fuck, it’s all over Twitter” she mumbled.

Reality seemed to hit Kasey like a truck, and he brought a hand to his mouth, letting himself fall on the couch. “Holy shit. Holy shit, Alex, you-you’re coming.”

“Yeah.” His cheeks were starting to hurt for smiling too much.

“Here to Gryffindor. Lions. You- holy fuck.”

“How articulate” the other laughed, earning a scoff from the goalie, that was staring at the ceiling.

“You’re one to talk.”

Natalie framed herself better. “Baby, it means that you’re gonna-”

“Yes” Alex exclaimed, too high on adrenaline and happiness. Kasey let out a sob, other tears beginning to fall. But those were good tears, and for Alex it was enough. “Kase.”

“Alex.” Had they been together, they would have hugged and hold hands tight, foreheads pressed together and closed eyes. And soon, they’d be able to. Natalie leaned on Kasey, unable to contain her giggling. He hugged her, kissing her hard on the forehead, and then on the lips.

“I could leave right now” Alex realised.

“No” the other two replied at once, mildly alarmed voice. Then Nat continued, “You’re not driving right now.” She was right, as usual. Alex still felt pretty shocked, and his poor kitchen, wet and fuming, mirrored the absolute chaos of his mind. Also, there were things to do before leaving. He had to say goodbye to the Rangers -they’d surely organise a farewell dinner before letting him go. He’d miss the team, but at the same time he couldn’t bring himself to be too sad about the switch. God, he was going to play with his boyfriend and his…

“Oh, fuck, Finn. I gotta call Finn.”

“Yeah, he’s been texting me” Kasey noted, scrolling his phone to find multiple texts. “Tell Nat to hang up, I have to talk to him. Come on. My turn. Plz. Pretty plz.” He snorted, but he was smiling. “Berry, he’s gonna be so happy.”

“I know” Alex replied, voice breaking.

Kasey snorted, shaking his head. “Leo also texted. Please let him hear from Alex. He’s like a kangaroo on drugs.” They all laughed.

“Well, okay, that’s my cue” Alex chuckled, passing a hand on his face. “God, this is surreal.”

“I’m so happy, sweet thing” Nat said. “Now call that kangaroo of yours and if you wanna call us again later, we’ll be awake. If not, we’ll facetime soon?”

“We’ll kiss soon, hot stuff” Alex grinned, earning a smitten smile from a blushing Natalie.

Kasey nodded, apparently recovered enough. He had a forearm over his eyes, head still dropped behind on the sofa. “Okay, so. You’ll need to empty the apartment, to transfer all your stuff here, sign off the rent…” He huffed. “Lotsa work.”

Alex dismissed him with a hand, shaking his head. “Won’t take long. Maybe Finn will come here and help me. Short family reunion.” He took a deep breath. “You’re wrong if you think that I’m not gonna leave the second I can.” Kasey sent him a soft smile, as Natalie passed a soft hand on his cheek, drying the tears.

They hung up quickly after that. Alex really needed to hear from Finn, and he promised Kase and Nat to call them soon. He tapped on Finn’s contact and, as expected, half a ring passed before he heard some shuffling and a hush. Alex smiled, a grip already tightening his throat.

“Hiya, teammate.”

“You-you bastard” was the broken answer. He could hear Finn sobbing, and before he knew, he joined in with a sniff and new tears.

“Guess we made it, eh Fish?”

“Alex.”

“I know. I’m-I’m so happy, man, I mean.” He paused, looking for the right words to convey the fireworks exploding in his head. He didn’t think he could, but he knew that Finn was seeing the very same bright colours in his mind. “I- Rob called, and I was so scared, and then he said- and I couldn’t believe…”

“Together, Alex. We’re gonna play together, I can’t believe it, oh God. Leo had to triple check before filling me in, didn’t believe it either, nobody did…” he heard a deep breath from the other line, interrupting the fast talking, and he could picture Finn closing his eyes, his mouth curved downwards. “Alex, our dream.”

Alex let out a watery laugh as he shook his head. He remembered the hushed conversation in his childhood bed, lights out and bed shared with a small, clingy Finn, who always ended up in his room after curfew. Two kids looking at the stars attached on the ceiling, stretching their arms to reach them, fighting to keep their eyes open. Alex’s grin softened.

We’ll play together, an’ be famous, an’ win the cup. So many, very lotsa cups.

Yeah, Fishy.

Promise?

I promise.

“Well, I promised, didn’t I?”

That seemed to throw Finn into another fist of loud sobs, and he heard a soft laughter coming from his line. Leo, whispering sweet nothings and kissing him. Oh, sugar, it’s okay.

He heard some ruffling on the other end of the line, someone telling Finn to put him on speaker. Then Logan’s voice. “You just couldn’t bear not to be on the same team, eh old man?”

“Couldn’t phantom the idea, no” he laughed. How strange was it for a team transfer to feel like coming home? And how goddamn wonderful? “Good thing all those practice hours on passes didn’t go to waste.”

“Good thing.”

“But how?” Finn’s voice returned, insisting.

He let out a huff. “Apparently coach Weasley knew that there was some trade going on and he had a say in it, so he made my name. Robert said he was pretty damn set on it.”

“Oh god” Finn laughed. “What a great man. Imma built him a statue.”

Next, he heard Leo’s voice. “Alex, that’s so great. So, how are you feeling?”

“It’s just- so surreal. I can’t believe it.”

And Alex really couldn’t. No more takeout dinners alone on the couch, no more dates on Face Time, or coming home to an empty apartment. He felt a lump in his throat, and could already see the mornings together, and the practices together, and the meals together. Living alone was hard for many things, but the one that had always hit Alex too hard was eating alone almost every day. He looked at the abandoned, fuming mess on the stove that had once been his dinner. Your era has come to an end, canned tomato soup. Oh yes, he was going to make pancakes on Sundays for his lovers, and learn a few tricks from Leo to surprise them. The possibilities were countless, and his smile stretched at the thought of always having his favourite people near, for him to love.

He felt like arriving at the end of the run, crossing the final line, and finally letting himself relax after tensed months.

His mind was going ten times faster than his body. He could feel the race inside of him, the restlessness that, he knew, was going to keep him awake for a few hours at least albeit the tiredness he’d felt before the voicemails.

After half an hour on the phone with Finn, Alex called Kasey again, knowing that he neither was going to fall asleep anytime soon. His phone only ringed once before a giddy face smiled back at him.

“Hey, Lion.”

God, how rare it was to see Kasey like that. And how good it felt to be the reason of his excitement. “Hey yourself, fellow Lion. Figured you wouldn’t go to sleep for a while.”

Kasey smiled. “There’s no way I’m getting any sleep tonight.” He looked over the phone for a second. “And Nat, neither, I guess. She already made a Pinterest folder with all the new ideas for the bedroom.” He was smiling so hard, his tone affectionate. Alex loved that they shared the identical smitten smile. “She’s taking the measurements for adding new drawers, or something. You triggered her with the word Ikea.”

“Yeah, I knew what I was getting us into.” They let a comfortable smile stretch for a few minutes, simply enjoying each other’s company and the news. “God, Kase. I-I’m scared I’m gonna wake up and find out it was just a crazy dream.”

Kasey’s grin softened. “It’s all real, babe. Now come on, I’ll make good company while you make yourself some dinner. And I’ll supervise so you don’t burn it again.”

“I was just very shocked, alright.”

The next few days in Alex’s life were a blur. Luckily, it all had happened during a long weekend, so Finn had been able to join him in the city to spend some time together and help him pack his things. They’d had dinner with their parents, that were ecstatic to see their boys playing on the same team, and he’d received the official welcome call from captain Black- no, it was Lupin now. The Ranger organised one last dinner together, Will and Percy especially emotional about slowly losing the group to the Lions. Alex had just smiled. He found he couldn’t help it, lately.

Gryffindor was waiting for him: Nat and Kasey had rearranged the room to get some space for his things, and they were waiting for him to go find a new bed. Kasey had half-joked that they’d need a space bigger than their apartment, but they’d see in the future. They had time. The idea made Alex’s heart jump. A team’s dinner at the Dumais’ was being organised to welcome him, and in the locker room, a stall already styled his name, next to a big 28.

A new chapter of his life was about to begin, and Alex new that it would be one of the most memorable ones.

#lumosinlove #sweater weather lumosinlove #vaincre lumosinlove #alex o'hara #o'darwin #kasey winter #natalie darcy #o'knutzy #finn o'hara #angst with a happy ending #lou's writing

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nanaminokanojo · 1 year ago

Text

THAWING ICE QUEEN (part 12)

–one night of fooling around with the annoying campus king gojo satoru (he thinks so), turns into...well, something else more long term

CHARACTERS: gojo satoru x you | geto suguru | jjk characters

MASTERLIST | CHAPTER INDEX

<<prev part 12 next>>

NOTE: This has narration in prose.

~*~

Gojo Satoru was one persistent man, you gotta give him that. When he said your wish is his command, he delivered, so you don't really have any excuses to further refuse him. He took your opinion on the contract seriously, passed it by you without fail and exceeded expectations. You had the choice to stop whatever madness the two of you were cooking up, so you had that as a buffer to see how things go.

It's a very different situation for the both of you. Neither of you had been in bed with the same person twice. You thought that was convenient, spares you from that awkward phase of having to deal with the messy things that come along with commitment. But regardless of how much you and Satoru reiterate on the point of having no strings attached, it was still a form of commitment. You didn't know yet whether you liked the nature of that bond regardless if it was limited to the physical aspect.

But it was convenient. You could admit at least that. If it's just sex, then you wouldn't have to go through the motions of meeting people, getting to know them enough to say they're not psychos and establishing that mutual agreement of never seeing each other again. Satoru was familiar ground for once, and you more or less knew what to expect from him with the security of a written agreement adding to your supposed security.

Now it was a game of waiting to see who is gonna crack first, but that's a problem for future you. It's arrogant to think that there are no consequences to what you are about to involve yourself in because there will be, and you knew neither of you are stupid as to deny that. Accepting that fact is the first step. You'll deal with the mess later.

Or maybe you two were really stupid to be considering it at all. Either way, you didn't really care about the intricacies of it as much as you were annoyed over the fact that Satoru was taking away what you wanted to be a peaceful afternoon. Tolerance sure wasn't his strongest suit as expected of a rich brat who didn't know how it feels to be denied and done have the slightest understanding of the word no.

"You're gonna make me neighbors think I got into a tangle with loan sharks, Gojo," you said the moment you opened the door for him, unable to help it but ogle him. He was clad in gray sweats, a black shirt that fit him so damn well, his platinum hair mussed under a white, Balenciaga baseball cap.

He looked at you from under his cap, those gloriously blue eyes twinkling as he broke into a grin. "Well, you do owe me kisses, sweetheart."

Rolling your eyes, you cocked your head to the side, inviting him in, prompting his next comment: "I see how you're related to Sukuna when you move like that."

You chuckled. "I know how you think he was raised by brigands." You looked over your shoulder with a smirk. "You can opt out of our arrangement now."

Satoru caught up to you, blocking your way to the living room. He bent down to your height, booping you on the nose with his index finger. "Is that a roundabout way of saying you want out? You haven't even signed yet." He waved the file he was holding in front of you. "Ammended and reviewed as you've requested."

You took it, pushing past him and plopping down on the couch. You patted the space next to you as you opened the file, startled when he jumped right onto the spot, also making you bounce on the plush seat.

You momentarily glared at him but he just scooted closer, pointing at the sheaf of papers. "The things you wanted added are highlighted in yellow."

You quietly read the things he indicated, rifling through pages with your eyes. All the while, you could feel Satoru's blue orbs on you, his fingers toying with the tips of your hair. From your periphery, you could see him breaking into a soft smile, so different from his cocky, mischief-filled cheshire grins. Your planned glance turned into a sidelong stare as you whipped your head to actually look at him.

To your dismay, his expression was replaced by surprise, making that smile disappear as if it hadn't even been there in the first place.

"What?"

You shook your head, thinking you probably just imagined it. "Where do I sign?"

You made quick work of that after Satoru indicated where you were to sign, handing him the pen and also watching him do the same.

"And that's a done deal!" he declared, slapping the pen on the coffee table before twisting on his waist to look at you. "Congratulations, I'm exclusively yours."

"Thanks for saying my line for me." You shrugged, feeling the awkwardness of the situation now that your "giggle fits" about the whole contract, as Satoru had termed it, had died down. "So..."

"May I kiss you now?" he interrupted your thoughts, invading your space as he leaned forward, his eyes shifting slowly from your eyes and your lips.

You didn't fail to notice how he emphasized on asking for your permission this time instead of asking whether he was capable of it. "If you're always gonna choose your words like this..." You knocked his cap off his head with one hand while the other glided up from his shoulder to his nape. You pulled him closer, your lips just millimeters from his. "...instead of being such a tactless bastard all the time, I might actually enjoy this more."

He looked at you with hooded eyes. He wasn't one to be distracted from his goals. "So, may I, sweet cheeks?"

"Yes, you mmph –"

Satoru's plush lips were on yours in a split second, pressing gently yet the fact that he was holding back was evident in the way he gripped onto your waist as if he was trying to tether himself to you. He moved his lips against yours in languid motions as if he was testing the waters. You let him although you wondered at that knowing how hungry and all-consuming his kisses can be from experience.

You didn't dislike it, even the way he would pull away in the smallest fractions to nip at your lips before he would give them tiny kitten licks. It was enticing watching him take his time, making you reciprocate in the same small actions but mostly letting him have at it. Satoru's large hands moved from where he was keeping you steady on your arms up to the sides of your neck, his thumb brushing against your jawline.

Just then, he wrenched his eyes from intently paying attention to your lips to meet yours, blinking slowly and absently licking his lips. Satoru looked at you as if he couldn't believe you were in front of him, again breaking into that genuine smile.

"You're so pretty, sweet cheeks," he mumbled, looking absolutely out of it.

You were tempted to snort at his compliment but at the same time, you couldn't, unable to extricate yourself from the moment. This was a new side to him you're seeing for the first time. "That's one kiss today, Gojo."

At that, the spell seemed to have broken as he placed his forehead on your shoulder, chuckling. "You're keeping count?" He blindly fished for something in his pocket before taking your hand in his and pressing something onto your palm.

Before you could look and ask what it was, his lips were on yours again, less experimental this time. He licked at the seam of your mouth, pushing his tongue into it and seeking yours. You gasped when he finally found it, groaning when you responded in kind. Your ears were ringing, your head filled with nothing but the way he tasted in your mouth and the way he was possessively holding you against his taut form while his fingers drew circles on the small of your back.

And just as you were getting used to him and what he was doing to you, he pulled away, your lips parting with a wet sound. You swallowed hard, startled by the sudden loss of contact, and quite frankly, pissed off as well.

He wrapped your fingers on the thing he put in your hand, realizing it was some sort of card. As if he read your mind, he said, "Your key to my private place in the city. I'll text you the address."

With one last peck to your lips which were slightly parted from being flustered, he stood up, putting on his cap. And then he turned to look at you. "Sorry, sweetheart. I have class in half an hour with Yaga." He grinned. "Don't look so disappointed now. I'll make it up to you tomorrow."

You scoffed, also standing up as you regained composure. "Who says I am?" You shook your head, catching sight of the contract on the table. "Take those with you. I don't need Yuki or Iori finding those here."

Satoru laughed, taking your hand and twining his fingers with yours before raising it to his lips and winking at you. "See you tomorrow."

~*~

TAGS LIST: @arxliana @neeneee @charlie-xo @aelynaneedsalottathing @arizzu @cloudxp

PHOTO/IMAGE/GIF/FANART CREDITS TO THE RESPECTIVE OWNERS.

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orlafilmblog · 1 year ago

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Film Project Research – Film Diary #2

She Said dir. Maria Schrader

TW: Mentions of sexual assault and harassment

(Carey Mulligan btw <3)

This film follows the story of the two reporters Jodi Kantor (Zoe Kazan) and Megan Twohey (Carey Mulligan) that uncovered Harvey Weinstein’s history of sexual assault and harassment and started the #MeToo movement. The story in this film is far bigger than the one I am going to try and tell, however there are elements that I can definitely learn from.

The most impactful moments in the film are when survivors are telling their stories, and also when a real audio recording of an interaction between Harvey Weinstein and actor Ambra Battilana Gutierrez is used. In each of these sequences, none of the assault is shown or even heard. The shots are simply of the location the assaults took place in, along with some specifics parts of the set such as a half-eaten meal on a hotel table, or a bathrobe left on a bed (Weinstein infamously met a lot of assistants and actors in just his bathrobe before assaulting them). I found this to be an incredibly effective way of telling these stories visually without unnecessary triggering and demeaning content. A few shots were static and a few had a slow push-in. I felt the push-in worked best as it gave a sense of being slowly trapped as the frame got tighter.

In the current draft of Katie’s script, the main character Phoebe explains what has happened to her to her friend Jo. I think using a similar technique as in She Said could be effective in helping Phoebe tell her story without doubt that it did happen. By showing audiences the location, they are able to understand Phoebe’s point of view and feel that she is telling the truth. I would also want to see the actor playing Phoebe during this monologue as I feel it will be a very emotional and important performance. Ideally I can blend the two. Of course, Katie’s script may change but those are my thoughts for now!

On another note, I would highly encourage anyone who is not aware of how deep Harvey Weinstein’s rot reached to watch this film, or at least research it. I would recommend reading Chapter 10 of the book Women vs Hollywood: The Rise and Fall of Women in Film by Helen O’Hara (one of my favourite books and happy to lend to anyone wanting to read it)! To successfully change the industry into a more positive and accessible place, people need to first understand the past and current problems to prevent them from repeating.

Burden of Proof dir. Ivar Aase

TW: Mention of rape

youtube

A one-take short film about a woman confronting her abusive ex-boyfriend. We see the events take place from an aerial shot looking down at a bridge where the pair meet. She gives him his clothes back and he tries to coerce her into taking him back. She accuses him of rape and asks him to apologise. There is a small twist at the end which I won’t spoil for anyone that wants to watch!

The main learning from this is from the way the man denies what he has done in a very smooth non-chalant way until he becomes angry. He appears charming and likable until he isn’t. The character of Harry is in a somewhat similar situation that he has to try and talk himself out of. The body language of the two characters is interesting as it shifts as the film progresses. This is something I will need to consider in my work with the actors.

He’s The One dir. Jessie Kahnweiler

TW: Rape

In this short film, the main character Jess falls head over heels for a man. When they go to sleep, she notices a tattoo on his shoulder and realises that he is the man that raped her ten years before. In the morning she calls her best friend and struggles with her feelings towards him and the situation.

I am not sure how I feel about this film to be honest. It is an interesting idea but I don’t love the way it was executed. There is a flashback to the rape, which I think is filmed well and to be honest I am unsure how the filmmaker could have communicated what had happened without showing it as the audience needed to see it was the same man. It is unclear if the man recognises Jess and knows what he has done. There are some key lines of dialogue in the conversation Jess has with her friend that I thought were good, however I felt the jokey tone continuing to the end of the film didn’t quite work for me.

Why Didn’t You? – Podcast by Terri White

TW: Rape

I believe that listening to people with lived experience of sexual assault is an important part of my research. This podcast only began a few weeks ago and it is a platform for survivors to share their story. The title “Why Didn’t You” stems from the common questions survivors are faced with: why didn’t you run, why didn’t you report it at the time, why didn’t you break up with him, why didn’t you wear less revealing clothes etc. Listening to women’s stories has allowed me to think more about the psychological affects of sexual assault and means I am able to treat this story correctly.

#Youtube #Spotify #film project

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lildevyl · 2 years ago

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FebuWhump Day 5: “That’s gonna scar”/Secrets Revealed

DSMP Superhero AU Tommy Innit’s Secret Clinic

Summary: After coming home from his “Date” with Alien, Tommy finds both his roommates passed out from injuries in their apartment.

TW: Mentions of Blood, Injuries, Characters Injured, Medical Supplies

The relationship between Alien (Purpled) and Tommy is strictly PLATONIC! Will have more of the background and plan "fleshed" out in future chapters!

Leapfrog and Alien are names inspired by Tommy's Ultra Important Keychain by SeriouslyCalamitous

(The Bench Trio’s Apartment)

Tommy came home later than he planned on, from his “date” with Alien. Tommy shook his head and smiled at the thought. The two of them weren’t really "dating." Unfortunately for them, when Tommy reconnected with Alien and the two of them were just hanging out after Tommy got off of work. Alien took Tommy home and that was right when a reporter spotted the two of them giving each other a hug. The rest was history! Everyone thought the two of them were dating and the way the “Rumor Mill” worked in L’Manburg. You could be telling the fucking truth with Alethia's Kiss and people still wouldn’t believe you!

Alien’s solution to all of this? Fake Dating! The two of them would platonically date one another for a while. Alien admitted that he didn’t mind if L’Manburg thought they were dating. It's publicity, clout, a way to finally get some attention to be in the limelight. But it also gave Alien an excuse to actually be here in Eastside to help bring the Crime Rate down. The Hero Committee will finally have to take a look and admit that Eastside needs a Hero or two there. And this will be the perfect way to do so. Okay, it was way more complicated than that but after Alien explained his entire plan, Tommy decided to go along with it.

However, Tommy’s happy mood quickly plummeted when he stepped into his apartment. There lying on the floor bleeding out was Nuke and Ender. There on the floor passed out and bleeding out on the floor was Tubbo and Ranboo! Tubbo and Ranboo were the new Vigilantes Nuke and Ender?! What the fuck?

Okay, okay, okay! No need to panic here! Pull yourself together Tommy! This is what you were trained for. Tommy quickly got his breathing under control and grabbed the first aid kit from underneath the bathroom sink. Ignoring the fact that there were bandages already missing and that he would have to restock them later. Why didn’t they come to me? I could have healed them?! Another time, right now, he has to focus.

Grabbing disposable gloves and stripping his two best friends/brothers outfits off of them. Tommy quickly began to wipe the blood away with disinfectant wipes and started to clean the wounds. Trying to see what was the worst ones. Tubbo was the worst so far. A nasty gash along his arm and what looked like a stab wound on the side. But what confused and concerned Tommy was what appeared to be mild burn marks as well. Tubbo had explosion-like powers that made him fire resistant. How hot had it had to be for Tubbo to get burned? When everything was cleaned and disinfected, Tommy rubbed his hands together to warm them up and began the healing process. Orange light glowed from his hands and in Tommy’s mind, he could see the wounds stitching themselves back up. Tommy wouldn’t be able to heal Tubbo completely without passing out and he still had to have enough energy to heal Ranboo.

The gash and the stab wound have stopped bleeding and healed enough that Tommy would need to stitch and banaged them. The burns were completely healed but did leave a nasty scar. Tommy grabbed the needle and thread and began the process of stitching the stab wound and the gash up and put the healing salve on the gaze. Then he wrapped the wounds up.

Tommy then went over to Ranboo. Ranboo was a lot better than Tubbo. Cuts and bruises littered Ranboo’s arms and torso. Whoever did this did on purpose. Did they get in a fight with a gang? Oh please tell him it wasn’t a Hero! Tommy rubbed his hands together to warm them up and began the same healing process he did with Tubbo. Ranboo didn’t take that much to heal and from the looks of it, Ranboo only passed out due to overexertion of his teleporting powers.

Tommy quickly deposited the two on the couch and then went to grab their uniforms. He put them in the bathtub and when Tommy got up to wash his hands in the sink. That’s when he noticed the white hair dye gel on the sink slightly opened.

A low moan caught Tommy’s attention. Tommy came out of the bathroom with Tubbo and Ranboo began waking up and looking around. Tubbo then looked down and noticed the bandages around his torso and arm.

“If you’re looking for your outfits there in the bathtub soaking. It’s going to take a few washes to get the blood stains out.” Tommy said from the hallway. Both Tubbo and Ranboo jumped at that and turned to look at Tommy wide eyed.

“T-Tommy! It’s not what it looks like, Big Man!” Tubbo tried to play it off. “We - we were just cosplaying and someone mistook us for the real thing!”

“No, you weren’t,” Tommy said, noticing the way Ranboo flinched. “Were you ever going to tell me?”

“We were! Honestly, Tommy. It’s just that - it’s just that,” Tubbo tried to come up with some kind of excuse. “We didn’t know how to tell you! And when we were about to tell you that’s when you Alien became a thing and we weren’t sure on where he stood with Vigilantes!”

“You’re taking this a lot easier than we thought,” Ranboo noted. “Did you know?”

Did Tommy know? Did he actually already subconsciously know that his two roommate/best friends were Nuke and Ender?

Ender could teleport just like Ranboo could. Ender was an Enderman Hybrid. Ranboo was an Enderman Hybrid. Ender had white streaks in his black hair. Ranboo bought white dye hair gel a few months before Nuke and Ender made their debut. The same hair dye gel that he just saw on the bathroom sink. Ender was wearing the same suit jacket and suit pants that Tommy made Ranboo for his Senior Prom. The exact same shoes that Ranboo saved up for months as well. The goggles were when Ranboo dressed up as the Demon when they were twelve.

Nuke has explosion-like powers just like Tubbo did. Nuke wore the exact same jacket that Tommy made Tubbo when he went as the Warden when they were twelve. And later on reconverted it into a trench coat since Tubbo loved it so much. Nuke wears a mask similar to the one that Tubbo wore as the Warden. The goggles Tommy has seen Nuke wear are the exact same goggles that Tubbo wore every time he was doing some kind of crazy invention.

Tubbo and Ranboo were never around the exact same time as Nuke and Ender were out making appearances. Tommy always made sure to save clips, download the videos and even made sure to record and download the records whenever the two were on the news stations. Knowing that Tubbo and Ranboo were fans of them. Yeah, Tommy knew. Somehow, Tommy subconsciously always knew.

“I knew,” Tommy admitted seeing the shocked expressions. “Too many things were adding up between you two and Nuke and Ender. But I just didn’t know if I was right or not. So, I was waiting for you guys to either come clean and confirm my theory. Or to prove me wrong and I could go on knowing that I was overthinking things.”

“Tommy, we really did wanted to tell you,” Tubbo said. “It’s just that -”

“You didn’t know how because I’m currently dating a Hero and you're literally going to school that basically works with Heroes, Vigilantes and Villains?” Tommy supplied.

Tubbo nodded. It’s no secret that Esempi Tech School was the number one recruiting center for the Hero Committee. Several people have been applying to get an internship or apprenticeship with the Warden or Mumbo Jumbo. However, when the Esempi Tech School was founded both Xiamia Void and Mumbo made it perfectly clear that all Tech Students have the right to sell their projects to whomever they deem worthy of it. Whether it be a Vigilante, Villain or a Hero. The L’Manburg Hero Committee was surprised to hear that coming from a fellow Hero such as Xiamia that even the well known former Villain TinFoil had a lot of respect for.

“Alien, actually like Vigilantes. He used to be one before he got caught and it was either ten years in Pandora or become a Hero. He chose to be a Hero. But from what I heard, Leapfrog’s pretty neutral.” Tommy explained.

Tubbo nodded. “I’m guessing this is going to scar?” Gesturing to the bandages.

“Yeah, I couldn’t heal you fully with the stab wound and gash. But I was able to heal you enough to stop the bleeding and to stitch you up. I didn’t know at the time how bad Ranboo was, so I had to save enough energy to heal him if he needed it.”

“I understand.”

“So, no patrolling for at least a week, until that’s fully healed,” Tommy said. “And when I wake up tomorrow I want the full story on what happened.”

*****

Characters:

Nuke - Tubbo

Ender - Ranboo

Alien - Purpled

Leapfrog - Boomer

****

Tagging: @febuwhump, @a-humble-narcissus, @weirdmixofweirdness, @m4delin, @septic-dr-schneep, @ashedflower, @tracobuttons, @iamliteraltrash1, @luna-moonblood, @ghostsknewmynights

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yandere-monoma · 9 months ago

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in bed waiting for these painkillers to hit lmfao so WHOO KYM 4 COMMENTARY

I WAS SO NERVOUS ABOUT RELEASING THIS CHAPTER LOL. this update was so goddamn scary lmfao it is very rare that i actually give a shit about my audience's reaction but i was SO WORRIED about possibly backlash from this chapter because it is such a TOPIC. and not only is it a TOPIC but it is a TOPIC that i've only written about... just the once? i'm pretty sure kym is the first time i ever wrote about miscarriage yeah. so more on that later but everything about approaching this chapter was scaring the shit out of me at the time it's rly funny to look back on hahahfjgsdfg

SO!!!! fun fact, the miscarriage plot was entirely created via me and a friend and collaborator of mine (yall know her as yanderetodoroki, who is actively helping me with KYE!!). we were brainstorming and the following exchange happened:

(i'm the black, yanderetodoroki is the blue! tw for miscarriage/abortion/reproductive issue discussion)

and so that was the outline i was going into the chapter with!!! and once again, i literally adore taking a brainstorm session and actualizing it into prose and i'm super proud of how it came out nyehehe

ANYWAY, to the actual chapter!

i have so many thoughts on this conversation because it was probably one of the first kym scenes i wrote (i actually wrote and finished so many of the pesterlogs super early in the process cuz i fucking LOVE writing pesterlogs lmfao)

it's also one of my favorites because of the way it really showcases how in love the both of them are. there's no preamble or preparation or prose to explain how both of them are feeling. i've mentioned it before but such an interesting aspect of the pesterlog function in homestuck is the way it really only shows what characters are feeling but rarely sits there and spells it out for you. and a fun part about taking that format and putting it in fic form is the way that you're also robbed the ability to see the setting in which these conversations take place. it's fun to write conversations without showing the way they're hunched over their keyboards, biting their lips and fretting as they look for the words.

(it's also a fun stylistic difference between KYM and KYD. one of those accidentally-on-purpose things that's completely influenced by the difference in narration. jake as a narrator is far more willing to show the in-between moments in conversation. he'll share his reactions to the things he's reading; he'll share his thoughts as he's gathering his words... SOMETIMES.... but rose won't let you see shit)

anyway this convo was so fun because it's a sudden soft and intimate moment that really showcases that puppy love between the two of them, with dave being clearly infatuated with her and incredibly open in showing it, while rose is actually shy because of the topic and the vulnerability it's taking to have it. she actually allows dave to take the lead for once, and actually reaches out and, most importantly, tries to believe him. because i think sometimes she just sees their relationship as a game

because that's definitely an aspect of their relationship that they both don't outright acknowledge but absolutely understand. especially when they got together, it was all to play a part. dave and rose playing boyfriend and girlfriend, going through the motions of teen love because that's what everyone their age is doing. and there's something stable in playing that role. it's normal. they both want to be normal so badly and they're so willing to use each other to do that.

but it's not a game!!! it's not just a superficial relationship born out of impulse and convenience. they actually care dearly for each other and rose reaches out specifically to ask dave just how serious he is about this, because something serious and scary is happening to her that she can't tell him or anybody about and she wants so badly to know that there's someone out there she can depend on. and dave provides her with all that and more!!!

and aughghfhgg i love the thought of rose suddenly getting hit with the realization that dave has been thinking about this for so long. it's easy to watch him claim to want to save her but to have an actual plan for it (and it's a clumsy idealistic plan, but a plan nonetheless!) shocks her. it makes it so real that she can't quite handle it. he offers her a home while simultaneously offering to throw that home away for her if she asked him to and it's... AHH!!

also dave being open with how much he loves her, actually saying it out loud (sheepishly and absolutely flustered and expecting it to be thrown cruelly back in her face) and rose retorting like she always does, brushing it off, downplaying it and trying to tease him until she can finally reduce the moment to a biteable size juuuUUUUUUST enough to fight through the strilonde-isms... JUUUUST enough that she can perhaps actually honestly admit that she wants this too

AUGH

i forgot about this line LMFAO LAUGHED

my rendition of yanderetodoroki's sentiment here:

and this moment was still so fun because i think rose rarely gets to be wistful and soft like this and it's so rare for her to be introspective, too. and i just love this plotine and i'm so glad we ended up coming up with it and i'm so glad i doubled down on creating it because i think this connection rose has with motherhood (which is such a HUGE THEME in the lalonde storylines) and how sburb somehow doesn't manage to pry it away from her despite the change in role, how it still defines her and how she still becomes a 'failure', how that perceived failure is almost doubled because of the fact that she doesn't have someone to 'reflect' her trauma back at her. roxy and rose are two sides of the same coin, but in the killverse, 'beta' rose miscarriages while 'alpha' rose moves on to psychologically batter her son jake, knowing full well how badly he'd be affected from it and not even really having the.... '''excuse'''??? of simply creating a narrative parallel between herself and the former guardian that raised(???) her.

(which DAMN that's a thought i've never sat and thought about before, that alpha rose specifically knows that it's jake she's preparing for. ... gurgles blood)

Hell, even trying to consider it makes you realize you’ve never expected to even live long enough to get the opportunity.

ughhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh i LOVE rose introspecting and considering her life circumstances for the first time in like a decade UGH

SOB SOB SOB

rose's attempt at redemption was so bittersweet to write but also so fun because i knew everyone would yell at me because of it and so fun because everyone Does yell at me about it HAHA

it was also especially fun to drop different details hinting on what could have actually caused the miscarriage themselves. like, this moment is truly not about what specific incident caused it. it's the fact that her environment itself was just so cruel and harsh that there was no way in hell there was ever a chance. and the fact that her actively working towards her own recovery was, in itself, a leading factor as to why she miscarriaged (as one lovely commenter even pointed out, which was AWESOME, i love when you guys notice shit like that +_+)

she doesn't really say it here, but another aspect of what feels good is finally being able to think in a way that's more independent of bro. sure, she falls into that usual habit of thinking about his opinion before her own, but then she forms her own thought, and actually realizes she prefers it.

and that's such a first for her. and ugh i'm so PROUD OF HER I LOVE YOU MY BABY...

and then, of course, that moment is ruined.

and tbh the way it's ruined specifically cracks me up because the very first critique i ever got on my writing by a professional editor was that i have a tendency to only write happy scenes when i'm preparing to immediately ruin them directly after. and it's funny cuz like. damn RIGHT i do cuz that's the BEST LMFAO

rose refusing to play along with bro's game for, again, what's probably the first time in a decade. attempting to keep the role up without committing to the worst parts of it. immediately getting cruelly beat down for fighting it, a reminder of why she's been so firmly cemented into this character in the first place.

the drowning scene formed out of the following thoughts:

i was horny and-

i have a drowning during sex fetish and-

sometimes while writing a porn tragedy fic i go 'oh no my readers must be so bored cuz there hasn't been PORN in a while' which is a silly thought but it is a thought i can't help but have so anwayy

i definitely wanted a BIG scene to 'blame' the miscarriage on. it's not the actual cause, especially because of all the details that came before it, but i wanted a final nail in the coffin. i wanted something that said 'this is literally what she deals with every day, this is her LIFE, but this is also an escalation and a punishment and exactly what happens when she steps out of line'. it took me a while to pick what that would be exactly, because it wasn't enough to just write a rape scene when that's already been happening over and over and over again. and, personally, i can write noncon again and again and again and again, but i wanted this to stand out compared to the scenes before it.

the sheer amount of times i have to reread the first few acts just to remember details about the strider household lmfao. on one of my skims i noticed that the strider sink had a garbage disposal (shown in the scene where dave completely wrecks a smuppet and also one of bro's webcams, which, on a recent reread, just gave me SO many thoughts on how dave is characterized and how i wanna try and start characterizing him more in the future, because quite honestly??? this boy is fuckin VIOLENT in canon lmfao) which made me go 👀!!!!!

You block a blow to the head and scramble back, wrenching open the refrigerator so that the door can obstruct his path. In a second, it’s cleaved in half, wrenched off its hinges, being thrown at you, jesus christ–

STRIFES ARE SO FUN TO WRITE WHEN YOU LEAN INTO HOW RIDICULOUS THEY ARE grrrrr hate when homestuck is fun

and just in general i have such a deep love for writing combat scenes i love working with fight choreography i love writing action and i get to do it so RARELY U G H

fetish moment there is something so satisfying about breaking glass on someone's head ok

also there's something to be said about striders training themselves to not react to pain, especially when this reaction is largely influenced by adrenaline and dissociation and bro pretty much being a flesh puppet who is only barely connected to his nervous system at best HJDKFG

TINY BABY ROSE MOMENT I LOVE TINY BABY ROSE i love intrusive memories popping up at the worst time i love that everything and every moment in life is always connected with each other i love the way trauma heightens the power that the past has on you and i love bro wuving his lil baby baby daughtersisterbrotherboyson

Now that you’re not strifing, his full strength is back, lazily settling into place as he fondles you to his leisure.

fun line because i think that's just a detail about bro i'll always be fixated on, like you are fully just beating up a child for literally no reason, you are literally SO so SO strong and powerful and you're taking it out on a kid for WHY??????

btw i wish i could say there was a deep reason why bro decided to do anal in this scene but honestly it just felt right and it was fun to write

line i need to MONETIZE ONE DAY cuz i love it

MMKAY ONE OF MY FAVE PARTS EVER

the miscarriage scene

there wasn't much planning for this tbh!! it came super naturally and was written up in a goddamn jiffy. for anyone who is familiar with my original work (or even just my more experimental fics), yall will recognize that i just LOVE a meta reversal moment. i love when characters, not just identities but the idea of being a CHARACTER is referenced in a piece and used to further manipulate and destroy someone. i love when watching one character become forced to play out the role of another in a way that is seamless within the narrative itself, never really called out or explained, but it just happens and the audience is left with the result of that change.

and it's super fun here, in a piece like this where the characters get to take turns playing at being a narrator, not even realizing that this is a gift that can not only be robbed from them, but also weaponized and used against them. rose is forcibly ejected from her own story, no longer given the ability to make 'choices' (but who was making the choices? has she truly ever been making them if someone else has been the person to dictate them?) the narrator (who is the narrator?) mocks her and the audience, too, because this is a story that's aware of itself. the story knows its an angst fic, the story knows the reader read (OR SHOULD HAVE READ) the tags, the story knows that not only were there ample warnings of what's coming, but it knows how foreshadowing works, it knows how pacing works, it knows that despite the fact that everyone would know that rose is going to miscarry, people will hope that it won't end up exactly the way they think it will

(which in turn makes the comments that chapter received that much cuter, because people did admit to doing that very thing and it gave me a pretentious lil hehe high-five moment LMFAO)

and i just love this image of rose suddenly becoming trapped within the commands of the story, trying to beg in the only way she can by attempting to order it but having no narrative control to do so. i love the thought of this as a nightmare sequence, because the miscarriage is something she'll wake up to, so as she's asleep, her consciousness is trapped and her body is doing this awful thing in rejecting her child while she can't do anything about it.

did you know i just fucking love poetic structuring like this and i try and sneak it everywhere HAHA

i can't remember if i ever talked about this here but i'll TALK ABOUT THIS AGAIN but my conclusion after a great deal of classpect meta (especially based on me and my friend's fansession that we will never sit and create but i love so so so much) was the following:

so if we approach sburb as a story generator, princes as the character who gets BEAT to hell and back for the plot™ of it and everything they will unleash on others because of it and light players as the main characters™ with a whole lot of influence and understanding over the narrative, then the prince of light's role in the story is to have a narrative focused on their suffering and the suffering they will promptly dole out to others. thinking about dirk breaking the hearts of others and breaking himself into pieces in the process, and the way KYM is the set-up for something similar, rose destroying the light in herself, rose erasing herself, rose setting herself up for failure and taking that legacy she's meant for, the entire purpose of her 'character', and destroying that too.

but not yet :D no first we gotta be mean and bully and break her until she gets to that point HAHA

and the blood! dear god, the blood!!!!!! that line was so fun to write!!!!!!! so satisfying!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

the note on this update is so funny too HAHHJSDFG i'm unfortunately very strilonde-coded where i love pretending i don't feel emotions cuz i'm dumb and especially with my writing, for the most part, it's a very emotionless process. FORTUNATELY i've been doing this thing called therapy lately HAHAHFJGSDFG which is getting me more in touch with my feelings and blahblah which has done some INTERESTING things for my writing in that suddenly i get just so goddamn immersed to the point of it being AGONIZING and it is SO FUN. i was actually shocked how incredibly cathartic it was to write this chapter, like SUPER PAINFUL my chest hurt SO BAD this shit ACHED and i was NOT about to try and express all that in the a/n but that's how it FELT!!!!!! holy FUCK it was like something punched my soul it was great and i love love love writing so much and i love love love this piece so much and i miss kym so much DAMN

#verse: killswitch #fic: kill your masters #director's commentary #meta #rose strider #HOO

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