#I'm gonna abuse the hell out of this option for now

[cookinguptales]

I CAN BOOP ON DESKTOP NOW????

[neverendingford]

.

[orcasoul]

Not My Man

Summary: Joel is accused of abusing you, and, oh hell no! You're having none of that!

Warnings: Swearing, injury, implied domestic abuse, use of Y/N.

Word Count: 4,132

"Ow, shit! That really stings." You wince and pull your head back as Joel lightly dabs a alcohol soaked cloth over your cheek. His hand slides behind your head pulling you back in, keeping you in place. "Quit squirming and it'll be done quicker," he tells you firmly yet softly, his big chestnut eyes fixed intently on the task at hand. You grudgingly obey, - keeping still despite the the burn of the alcohol seeping into the raw cut across your cheek - holding an ice pack over your eye on the opposite side. You just know it'll be black by tomorrow.

"How's the head? Feeling dizzy or sick at all?" It's the millionth time Joel has asked you this, and every time you have to reassure him. "I'm okay, Joel. Really," you stressed, but you can see the guilt and anger simmering within him flicker to the surface every time you try to make light of it all. "I shouldn't have let you go off alone. Fucking hell... if I'd been just a few seconds later you'd be-" Joel closes his eyes and breathes in deeply, both to calm his nerves and to avoid having to finish that sentence. Just the thought of losing you makes Joel want to rip his hair out in vexation.

"It's my fault," you try to reason, cupping Joels' scruffy cheek and forcing his eyes to meet yours. "I should have been paying closer attention. Don't you dare go blaming yourself." "You're never leaving my sight again," Joel declared, his voice low and determined. "Joel-" "I mean it Y/N! From now on when we're outside these walls I'm gonna be on your ass like your shadow!" You sigh, knowing there's no getting to through to Joel when he gets like this. So, you silently concede with a nod, mostly for his peace of mind.

After applying some antiseptic cream and a large plaster, Joel leans in to press a featherlight kiss over the sensitive gash and rests his forehead against yours, closing his eyes. "I could have lost you today, sweetheart." The ache in his voice stirred a deep ache in your chest in return. You place your hands over his own, which are now cradling your face. "But you didn't, and that's all that matters." It crushes your heart to see Joel so torn up over something no one could have seen coming, over something he couldn't have known.

But, here he is again; blaming himself for circumstances beyond his control. All you can do is comfort him and try to make him focus on the here and now and not on the "what could have been". Easier said that done, though when your mind keeps replaying that dreadful encounter. You could kick yourself for letting your guard down.

You and Joel had started to take Ellie out to prepare her for patrol duty, now that she'd turned 18. A small town about 5 miles west of Jackson seemed like the best option, given that the place mostly remained infected free at this time of year. Most of the wooden houses had collapsed in on themselves over the past two decades. Only brick buildings had survived the ravages of time and the elements, and even some of them looked to be on their last legs. Once it appeared the three of you were alone you'd proposed you split up to inspect the last few unchecked buildings, just to get it over with ASAP. The sooner you were all done, the sooner you could all get home and stop freezing your asses off out here.

Joel, of course, objected immediately but you brushed off his concern, insisting it was safe enough. Famous last words! While Joel and Ellie searched an old bank building, you'd turned you attention to a restaurant next door. You entered slowly, gun raised in front of you, head turning in every direction, ears pricked for any indication of company. The crunch of broken glass underfoot was deafening in the eerie silence.

As the moments wore on, you began to feel less tense, there being no signs of raiders or loners passing through, and if there were any infected in here, surely they'd have heard the scraping of glass as you'd entered. A thorough scan of the dining and kitchen area revealed no danger, luling you into a false sense of security. You absentmindedly lower your gun as you make your way to back room, which you assumed was an office. All you could think about was the hot bath awaiting you later on as you opened the door and walked through.

It all happened so fast after that. A ear splitting scream echoed through the room and before you could even turn to face it, you are tackled from behind, both yourself and the rotting corpse on your back tumbling over a desk and landing with a hard thud on the floor. The impact of your head hitting the ground sent the room spinning around you, but even through the haze, your body reacted instinctively, pushing the furious creature away from you by it's shoulders. It's putrid breath and brown teeth almost made you gag as you fought desperately to keep it's searching fungal tentacles away from your face.

You let out the loudest scream you possibly could, hoping Joel and Ellie would hear. Your gun had gotten lost during the skirmish so all you had to rely on right now was your own strength, which was waning by the second. Just when you felt like you couldn't hold out any longer a gunshot split the air and the infected fell to the side of you in a heap. Through the ringing in your ears you could hear Joel's frantic voice calling your name, his hands grabbing and pulling at you, checking you over for bites. "Holy shit! Is she alright? Is she bit?" Ellie asked breathlessly from over Joel's shoulder. "No, no... she's not bit. She's fine," Joel sighed in relief.

The fog in your head cleared, bringing you back to yourself and that's when you noticed how much your body hurt. A dull ache settled in your ribs where you'd landed, your head felt like it would explode at any moment and your cheek and opposite eye socket throbbed continuously. A warm, tickling sensation ghosted along your cheek. When you pulled your fingers away they were red and sticky. You can't even remember hitting your face on anything in all the commotion. "Joel..." you whimper, body trembling from fear and adrenaline. Before you could say another word, Joel pulled you into his arms, holding you against his chest in a crushing bear hug, a chorus of "You're safe, sweetheart" and "I've got you" repeating over and over.

You're snapped from the memory by Joel's weary sigh. "It's my job to protect you and I nearly failed... again." You're heart sank on his last word, knowing exactly what he meant by "again". Pulling back, you gently cup Joel's face in both hands, staring compassionately into his tormented eyes.

"Don't do that, honey. Please. It was my fault." you asserted, shaking your head. "I suggested we split up, I let my guard down. That's on me." Joel released a small, humourless laugh, clearly not about to relinquish any of the blame and it guts you; to see what your carelessness has caused. "But do you know what's all on you?" you ask, your tone softening. Joel shot you a quizzical look. You wave a hand over the front of your body, Joel's gaze following your gesture.

"Me... here, alive and well. You saved my life today. If it wasn't for you I'd be dead... or worse," you shudder at the thought. "So, you see, you didn't almost fail. You saved me and I love you for it." Joel exhaled long and slow, a small smile lifting the corner of his mouth. Joel lifted his hand to caress the back of your head and pulled you towards his face. His soft lips pressed against yours in a deep, lingering kiss. "I love you too, sweetheart, so damn much!"

The next morning as you, Joel and Ellie made your way towards the mess hall for breakfast, you can't help but notice the stares from passers-by. You were right about the black eye; the deep purple hue had bloomed overnight, the swelling causing your eyelid to slightly droop and a few bruises decorated your jaw. Even the area surrounding the bandage on your cheek was flushed red. You must be quite the spectacle right now. After collecting your food, the three of you joined Tommy and Maria at their table, as you do every morning, but this morning something felt... off.

A few times you could have sworn you'd heard yours and Joel's names mentioned in hushed tones, heads turning away from you quickly as you glance around. Joel and Tommy, being so deep in conversation, remained oblivious to the odd atmosphere, and Ellie was too busy shovelling food in her mouth - like it was her last ever meal - to pay attention to her surroundings. Maria, however picked up on your unease, also noticing the excessive looks and whispers in the hall. She looked to you, eyebrows raised in silent question, to which, you could only shrug in response.

Once you had finished your meal, you got up to take your tray to the used area, setting it down on the pile. Just as you turned to walk away you hear your name being called by Millie - one of the serving ladies. With her short, dumpy stature and short grey hair, she gave off the classic warm granny vibe. She's also a renowned gossip around town. "Are you okay, dear?" she asked in a breathy whisper. "Um... yeah?" You weren't really sure what she meant at first. When you noticed her concerned eyes darting all over your face you suddenly remember how ghastly you look. "Oh this..." you wave at your face, casually. "I got jumped by an infected yesterday. Knocked my face pretty bad but I'll be fine."

Millie didn't answer for a few seconds, her eyes flicking to your table, then back to you. "Are you sure?" she finally spoke, even quieter than before. "Of course." you tilt your head, wondering why she's acting so weird. "It's just..." Millie bit her bottom lip, nervously. "If you need someone to-" "Millie? Can you help me out in her for a minute?" came a shout from the kitchen. "I've got to go. You take care," she smiled sympathetically before rushing off into the kitchen, leaving you bewildered. "What the hell was that?" you muttered under your breath before returning to your seat.

Later that afternoon you were alone in the house when you heard a knock on the door. Maria stood on the other side, and one look at her face told you this isn't a social call. "Hi, can I speak to you?" she asked. "Sure, come in." You opened the door fully and stood aside, allowing her in. "Is everything okay?" you asked sitting on the settee opposite her. "Maybe I should be asking you that." "What?" Maria cleared her throat and shifted, uncomfortably. "Is... everything okay... between you and Joel?" "What do you mean? Why would there be something wrong?" you queried, taken aback at such an abrupt question.

"Look, if you don't feel safe enough to talk about it-" "Talk about what? What exactly are you insinuating?" You don't like how this sounds one little bit, but you want to hear her say it before you possibly jump to conclusions. Maria sat forward, looking you dead in the eye. "Y/N... did Joel do this to you?" There it is; what you were hoping she wasn't going to say. "Of course he fucking didn't!" You sprang to your feet, fists clenched at your sides. "You know what happened. I reported it yesterday when we got back!" "I know but-" "How could you even think Joel would do such a thing!" Maria raised her hands in a show of surrender.

"I'm sorry. It's just I heard he might have been... hurting you and as a member of the council I had to investigate. I'm also your friend," she continued, "and I just had be be sure." You can feel the blood in your veins boiling as the seconds tick by. "Who the hell has been spreading bullshit like that?!" "There have been rumours going around-" "Rumours!" you scoff. "And you believed them?" Maria stood up slowly, counteracting your indignation with calmness. "I'm not saying I believe them-" "It's obvious you do or why would you be here?"

"I just needed to know. We both know that Joel can be volitile-" "Oh trust me, I know how Joel can be. I travelled across the country with him, remember. I know what he's capable of and I also know what he would NEVER do! He'd never hurt anyone he loves. Your head is now throbbing from the anger bubbling under your skin, but you just can't stop yourself. "He's never laid a finger on me or Ellie and I won't have anyone spreading vicious lies like that!' "He's killed innocent people before. How can you be sure one day he won't-" That's fucking it, the last straw!

"Do you trust Tommy?! Do you fear what he might do one day?" you throw back at her, sarcastically. "Because Tommy killed innocent people too, or have you conveniently forgotten that?" Maria's demeanour hardened slightly at your judgement of her husband. Good. Now she knows how it feels. "Tommy was just following Joel's lead." "Oh don't give me that bullshit!" you snapped in frustration. "He's a grown ass man capable of making his own decisions, and he chose to do that. You can't keep making excuses for him, but still hold it against Joel." Maria remained silent, seeming to realise the truth of your words. You inhale a calming breath before continuing.

"Maria, you've got to let go of this constant animosity you feel for Joel. Yes, he's made some wrong choices in the past, but he's not that man anymore... just like Tommy isn't. And wether you like it or not he's your family now. If not for Joel's sake, do it for Tommy's. Joel means the world to him and you know it." After a few tense seconds Maria nodded slowly, looking slightly abashed. "I'm sorry. Really, I am. As a council member it's my job to keep the peace in Jackson, so I had to ask..." she steps closer to you, taking your hand in hers.

"As your friend, I believe you. I can see how much you love Joel. No one would be so fiercely protective over someone who hurt them." Your shoulders sag as the tension drains away. "Thank you." "You also make a fair point," Maria says. "It's true I've never been Joels biggest fan, and maybe I have been a bit harsh on him," she rubbed the back of her neck, awkwardly. "I'm sorry. I'll try to... make things right with him, I promise." You squeeze her hand back. "That's all I ask."

"So, we'll see you tomorrow for breakfast?" The sincerity and hope in her voice, softened you up a bit. "Sure, see you then," you smiled at her. Maria began to walk towards the door but stopped when you called her name. "If you hear anymore gossip-" "I'll be sure to set the record straight," She interjected. "Thank you." When the door closed and you were alone once again, you slumped back down into the settee, leaning your head over the back, bringing your hands to your face in exasperation.

The weak winter sun began to dip behind the mountains, casting looming shadows in the streets of Jackson. Joel was due home from maintenance duty any minute, so you put the kettle on to make him a cup of coffee before you head out together for dinner at the mess hall. Worry had been plaguing you all afternoon. You just hope word of these rumours hasn't reached joel's ears. As Joel entered the house - tired but otherwise in good spirits - you felt your worry settle, knowing he's none the wiser or he would have, rightfully, been a murderous mood.

The last thing you want is for Joel to have to deal with hearsay from sad busybodies with nothing better to do with their lives. If you can discreetly nip this in the bud without Joel having to know, that would be for the best. Joel sauntered into the living room after kicking his boots off, sitting down with a groan. Even though his back ached and knees creaked, he relished in the deep satisfaction that came at the end of a hard day's work. He never though he'd have the opportunity to live a normal ( well, as close to normal as you can get) life again.

Instead of smuggling and scraping to get by on a day to day basis, he now has the chance to do something honest and meaningful, and he'll never take that for granted again. "Hey honey," you greeted joel as you sat next to him, handing him his favourite tawny owl mug. "Thanks, darlin'," he smiled and kissed your forehead. You watched as he closed his eyes, savouring the rich flavour of coffee as he swallowed. "You look tired," your voice was a gentle whisper as you ran your fingers through the curls at the nape of his neck, knowing how it soothes him. "I'm okay," he said, stifling a yawn.

"How are you feeling? Any pain?" Joel gently brushed your hair behind your ear, examining your your face. "I'm fine. The swelling's actually starting to go down now." Joel smiled, relieved. He still blames himself for what happened but any indication that you're recovering is music to his ears. "MOTHER FUCKING ASSHOLES!" You both jumped half a mile in the air as Ellie barged through the front door, slamming it so hard behind her the whole thing rattled. "Whoa, whoa, easy. What happened?!"

Joel rushed over to Ellie, his shoulders tensing and fists balling. You've seen that posture many times on the journey here. A posture that screams "I will kill anyone who hurt you". "Stupid people running their fucking mouths. That's what fucking happened!" Ellie seethed as she ripped her jacket off and flung it on the floor. Oh god, Ellie. Please don't! "What the hell ya goin' on about?" Joel drawled, his Texan accent thickening as it always does when he's upset. "Oh you didn't hear? Well, you would have soon enough. People have been going around saying you gave Y/N those bruises."

"What the fuck?!" Joel roared, the muscles in his shoulders and arms visibly straining as anger flooded his body. Joel looked back to you, a mixture of disbelief and fury contorting his features. You dash over to him, resting a hand on his arm in support. "Joel, please ca-" "What the hell is wrong with people!" he continued to rant looking between you and Ellie. He felt sick to his stomach that anyone would even entertain the idea the he would hurt you. "I'll fucking kill whoever said that," he mumbled in an ominously dangerous tone as he began pacing back and forth. "I'll rip their goddamn tongues out for them. I'll make sure-"

"Joel!" Reaching out, you grab both of his shoulders, forcing him to stop and snap out of this manic descent he had slipped into. When his eyes landed on yours, the darkness swirling within them, melted away, replaced with a devastation that almost made you cry. Joel brought his hands to cup your face. "Darlin', you know I'd never do that." "You don't have to tell me that, honey." Joel brushed a thumb over your cheek, sighing and shaking his head. "Did you know?" You nod, pressing your lips together in a thin line. "Yeah. I was hoping to put an end to it without you having to know."

"What do you mean?" Joel asked, his brow furrowing. "Maria came by earlier..." Joels face slid into a cold stare. "Of course she did," he huffed with disdain. "Oh don't worry, honey. I had a few choice words for her. I told her, well, practically screamed at her that you'd never do such a thing. And if she hears anymore talk, to shut it down." "Even when the world goes to shit, people still love a gossip," Joel spat the last word out like it was a bad taste on his tongue. "So, did she believe any of it?" he asked, his expression hardening once more.

"I think at first she did." Joel rolled his eyes. "But after I corrected her," - you emphasized the word corrected - "She believed me." Joel huffed with scepticism. "Joel, I don't want you to worry about this okay. I'll take care of it." "We both will!" Ellie, who'd been watching the whole exchange in silent anger, piped up. "We're not gonna let them drag your name through the mud. I'll make them fucking eat it first!" You couldn't help but chuckle at Ellie's choice of words.

"Ellie, as much as I would love to see that... and help you, we can't just go around roughing people up. There's rules here for a reason, unfortunately," you muttered the last part under your breath. "So... what? We just sit back and let them slander Joel!" Ellie threw her hands in the air in irritation. "Absolutely not!" you retorted, determination settling into your voice." We show them just how wrong they are." Joel placed his hands on his hips, a typical stance for him when he's stressed. "And how exactly do we do that?" he asked, sounding defeated.

"By presenting a united front. We make them see how strong and happy we are, all of us..." You look to Ellie, then back to Joel. "We show them there's nothing to hide or be ashamed of, and then they'll have nothing to yap about." Taking Joel's hand, you give it a reassuring squeeze. "And if I hear just one more person bad mouthing you, I'll make sure they regret it." Joel's face softend into a grateful smile. He's not convinced he's worth such loyalty and devotion, but he can't deny the warmth spreading through his chest at the thought of his girls so eager to defend him. It's an odd feeling for him, as he's used to being the protector. He could secretly get used to this.

"It'll be okay. I promise," you say, not letting go of Joel's hand. "We've got your back, old man." Ellie slapped Joel on the back, drawing a chuckle from him. "Not that old, you little shit," he replied in mock offense. "Now... let's go," You moved to grab your coat and boots. "The mess hall is open and I'm starving."

On the way to dinner, you found yourself paying close attention to everyone you passed, noticing a few side eye glances and disapproving looks. And every time, you pulled Joel's arm further around your shoulder and nestled closer into his side, a silent sign to the doubters that you feel no fear or discomfort in his embrace, as you would expect from an abused victim. Dinner wasn't as bad as you were expecting. Maybe Maria's influence with the townsfolk is to thank for that.

However a few inevitable glimpses were thrown in your direction. A middle aged couple made the mistake of allowing their eyes to linger on you for too long as they passed your table and you just couldn't let that slide. "Something you want to say to us?" you narrowed your eyes at them, daring them to open their mouths. Joel's arm snaked it's way around your waist, his jaw ticking as he too, stared them down. The woman's colour left her puffy face, while her husband forced a placating smile.

"Um... uh no, no." You smiled smugly at the alarm the old man was trying and failing to keep from his voice. "Good. keep it that way," Joel growled. The nervous couple looked at one another and hurried on by. Ellie smirked, "Fuck yeah, man! That's how it's done." "Damn right," you agreed, triumphantly. You could feel Joel's whole body relax around you and you gave him a "we've got this" look.

It may take longer than you'd like for all this nonsense to die down, but no matter how long it takes, you'll prove Joel's innocence, one way or another. You remember a saying from "Before"; "it's not all men", and if it's the last thing you do, you're going to make damn sure everyone knows it's certainly not your man!

[brucewaynehater101]

I'm seeing a lot of asks about this and I want to give my two cents: I'm cool with Bruce being a bad father, but only if DC admits that he is a bad father.

You can't have him doing downright abusive shit only to never address it. The only character that consistently criticizes Bruce parenting is painted as entitled and vindictive. I genuinely think the reason why we can't have a decent Red Hood arc is because if you want Jason to make sense you're gonna have to admit Bruce is a fucked up father or rewrite canon.

Same reason for Tim "never aging", not so much physically but emotionally. Because to have the character establish itself like Nightwing did you would need to address at some point all the bullshit he went through. Even with Dick. Like sometimes it looks like they want to recognize how being raised by Batman fucked him up by they end up settling for "oh it's the pressure". Like that's the most DC will say "Batman puts his kids under a lot of pressure buuuuuut it's justified because they're fighting evil :)".

Not just the kids, I think Batman himself would be so much more interesting if DC was willing to let him confront these things. As a redemption arc or as a fatal flaw that keeps his family at arms length. But they want to have their cake (have Batman be edgy and give the Robins Character Development™ through good old child abuse) and eat it (have Batman be Dad of the year). And that's what doesn't work.

Batfam fandom is great because you have people making content for Good Father Bruce, Bad Dad Bruce (he's trying and it's a bit funny/tragic), Awful Father Bruce (with no intention of changing. Every option is way more interesting than DC's directionless mess. Like, we don't even need them to make Bruce Good™ we just want them to pick a side and stick to it.

Thank you. My gods that sums it up perfectly.

Like, I've got no problem consuming Good Dad Bruce content... if it's not the comics. The animated stuff is usually fine, and fanwork is also great. There's a ton to like about it.

Hell, I'm even chill if Bruce makes mistakes and errors and fucks up with his kids. That's realistic, as long as they address that he did, in fact, do that shit. They need to talk about how his actions have hurt his kids and his relationships with them. He can try to do better, or he can stay distant with his kids because of it (low to no contact). It's truly not that difficult to chat about.

Now, media that addresses all of the horrid stuff he's done and considers realistic reactions/solutions to it? Fantastic. I love that so much. It's so cathartic watching him get his ass handed to him.

It's not necessary, though. I'm chill with good dad Bruce.

Despite that, outright ignoring what he does or brushing it under the rug? That's horrific. That reads like a sickening cycle of abuse, and I can't stand it. It's the exact same shit an abuser pulls by harming their victim (psychologically, mentally, physically, etc.), apologizing (ish), finding a way to pin the blame back on the victim, and then love bombing. Like, my gods. Bruce will beat the shit out of Jason and say it's Jason's fault for killing someone... "I wouldn't harm you/take a machine to permanetly fuck up your brain if you didn't do that. It's not my fault that I decided to hurt you. It's your fault that I did."

I just fucking can't.

I think Tim, with his little statement of "I don't expect you to apologize" after Bruce caused him to have a nervous breakdown post 16th birthday, that's a close approximation to admitting that Bruce is a piece of shit that does tendencies like an abuser. No matter what someone's intentions are, they should still apologize if they've cause unjustified/unintentional harm. Only assholes who don't regret their actions or people who feel their actions are justified won't apologize. There's times when apologizing isn't necessary or desired. That's fine. I won't apologize if Comic!Bruce and I are in a room, and I "accidentally" set him on fire.

Yet, Bruce is out here fucking up his kids. At the very LEAST, they deserve a fucking apology. Maybe a restraining order.

I ranted a bit. My bad. Anyways, have DC acknowledge the shitty actions Bruce does or don't have him do them. It's simple.

[cosmopolitan-thedrink]

I'd Run Away And Hide With You

Older Sam x Daddy Issues fem!reader

Warnings and tags:

SFW, tooth rotting fluff, dads best friend, neglectful dad, pure comfort, angst if you squint, age gap, reader has a crush, first person, no use of y/n, emotionally abusive ex boyfriend (past)

AN: aaaa my first time posting one of my bigger fics, i've been working on it for like two weeks lol. questions and comments are always appreciated

Word count: 3136

Waking up gasping for air and sweating like a damn pig isn’t exactly my favorite way to start the day, but recently it seems like that’s my only option. Except, this time it’s not day, it’s still dark outside my window and a bit cold in my room. Turning to the clock on my bedside table, I see it’s 1:28am. I only fell asleep an hour ago. Surely getting up and walking around a bit will help me clear my head, right? Cause that always works. 

I swing my legs over the side of the bed and shakily stand up. This nightmare had been worse than usual, but had ended abruptly. Maybe my brain was waking me up before it got too bad? But since when did my brain care about me? Who cares, I'm awake now. 

I trudge slowly to the kitchen to get some water and sit on the counter, trying to get my mind to be tired again, because that’ll solve all my problems. Going back to bed after having a nightmare, sounds smart to me. I'm just about to give up and go back to my room when I hear some shuffling and a lighter click from the living room. Oh right, Sam had stayed over because my dad was too drunk to drive him home and he didn’t have another ride. Since when the hell did he smoke? Or maybe he’s just lighting the house on fire. That'd be fun. 

I sigh to myself, debating on if I want to go make small talk like a normal person or awkwardly scurry past him up to my room and raise questions in the morning. Fuck it, he’s an interesting guy and I’ve been meaning to catch up with him.

I slowly walk up to the living room, he’s smoking a cigarette on the couch, the dim lighting of the tv and moonlight from the window illuminating his features perfectly and I can’t help but think how silly it is. Sam, the guy I've known all my life, the guy who I like more than my own dad sometimes, is sitting and smoking in my living room at 1am, and I'm here in the corner gushing over him. 

I knock quietly on the wall to get his attention, his head perks up and he greets me with a smile. The same smile he gives me whenever I do something funny or he’s proud of me. The one that makes his eyes squint and his cheeks jud out slightly. If I’m being honest, it makes my heart flutter. My dad never smiles at me like that, only at the beer bottle. 

“Hey kiddo, what’re you doing up this late?”

His voice is slightly hoarse and more gravely than usual. Maybe from the smoke?  Or maybe just because it’s late. I don’t care, he’s pretty. 

“I’m not a kiddo, I’m 19 years old”

I respond, crossing my arms and leaning against the wall.

“If you must know, I had a nightmare and wanted to walk around a bit to clear my head”

Sam nods sadly, taking another puff from his cigarette

“I’m gonna call you kiddo until you’re 85” he says with a cocky grin and I roll my eyes with a giggle.

“You get nightmares often?”

“Almost every night. Tonight’s was just worse than usual”

He looks at me apologetically 

“I'm sorry sweetheart. Do you want to talk about it?” He asks hesitantly and I huff a laugh and shake my head 

“Not in a million years, I'm fine.”

He scoffs and rolls his eyes.

“Worth a shot”

I uncross my arms and shake out my shoulders

“Mind if I sit with you?”

“Course not, cmere love”  He responds with that same smile that makes me feel so much and pats the couch next to him. 

I try to push the feeling down and plop down next to him. Even though we’re a reasonable distance away, I can still feel his warmth and smell his cologne and the cigarette smoke. I'd never say it out loud, especially not to him, but the combination of the two makes my head spin and my heart claw at my ribcage. After a while, he breaks the comfortable silence. 

“Seriously kid, what’s going on with you?”

“I said-“

“I know what you said darling, but I'm saying that’s bullshit. Something’s wrong, people don’t have nightmares every night because they’re “fine”. I’m not stupid. What's wrong?”

Those names. Sweetheart, love, darling. It’s almost too much. I feel myself start to break open and crack. I sigh and pull my knees to my chest. 

“You’re not gonna let it go until I talk about my feelings, are you?”

“Nope. now start talking” he puts out his cigarette and places his hand on my knee, rubbing small circles with his thumb. My breath hitches and heart aches. I look away.

“Fine. I was going out with this guy and he started to get kinda controlling. Getting annoyed at everything I do, not letting me hangout with other people without asking to come along, or just inviting himself anyway. And he would be mean sometimes. Like one time I showed him something I wrote after he begged to see it and called it ‘the cringiest thing he’s ever read’. I was really proud of it. He had just moved and his mom had literally just gotten arrested and sent to rehab. She had been two years sober, so he blamed everything on being ‘stressed’. And not to mention the damn jokes. If that’s what you want to call them. I just couldn’t take it anymore so I broke it off with him and now I just feel like shit. better shit, but still shit”

He’s silent for a while and I think I’ve said too much, that he’ll think it’s weird and I’m selfish, that I should've just sucked it up and dealt with it.

“Oh sweetheart…”

His voice seems far too soft and gentle to be his. I look up at him, only now realizing that my eyes are watering against my will.

“What do you mean by jokes? What’d he say?"

I shake my head and look away again

“Lots of weird sex jokes, about me specifically”

He frowns sternly

“Is it something I should be concerned about?”

“Kind of.. He never actually did anything um, physical that I didn’t want him to but he definitely made it clear just how upset he was that he wasn’t getting any action” 

I say in a small, scared voice that doesn’t sound like mine. I guess I didn’t realize how big a deal it was until I said it out loud.

“Oh baby…”

Is all he says. He slowly wraps his arm around my shoulder and tugs me closer to him. I let out a breath I didn’t realise I was holding and cling to him like it’s the last thing I’ll do and yell at my eyes to stop fucking watering for God’s sake. I didn't realize how bad I needed a hug. His hug. A father-like hug. He runs his fingers through my messy hair and places a soft kiss on my temple. 

The nicknames, the hug, the gentle tone of his voice, the damn kiss, it’s just too much for my daddy issues to handle. The cracks widen and I shatter. A pitiful, choked sob escapes my mouth, then another, and another and before I can stop myself, I’m bawling my damn eyes out and everything is happening too fast and he’s wrapping me in a tight hug and his arms feel like the softest blanket in the fucking world. He holds me close and coos at me with the most calming voice I've ever heard. 

���Shh sweetheart, you’re ok. You’re alright. Listen to me, you’re gonna be okay”

His words pierce right through me 

“How? He was struggling and he needed me and I left”

I choke out, barely coherent due to the sobs and hysterical breathing 

“Sunshine, he is not your responsibility, you were struggling too and he didn’t do anything either.”

He pulls back and holds my face in his hands, stroking my cheek softly with his thumb

“It is not your fault he was a shitty boyfriend.”

He says sternly yet gently and I desperately hold onto his arms, not wanting him to let go. I'm sure I look downright pathetic with my messy hair, puffy face, pitiful whimpering and hyperventilating but I don't care, all I care about is him. He's here and he’s holding me and he’s so damn warm. 

“Do you understand me, darling?”

The wave of emotion begins to settle, but the storm is far from over. I nod ever so slightly and he smiles softly, moving one hand to the back of my head to stroke my hair 

“Good. Good girl. I need you to breathe with me, think you do that?”

I nod shakily, pushing down the way the praise makes me feel, I can freak out about it later. 

I inhale deeply through my nose, interrupted by hiccups, and exhale slowly through my mouth. He smiles at me, the gentle, warm smile that makes my heart flutter. 

“Good, good” he coos, still stroking my cheek with his thumb.  “Another one”

I breathe again, my heartrate getting steadier and calmer by the second. 

Before I can stop myself, I slowly lean down to lay my head on his chest, wrapping my arms around his torso and curling my legs beneath me so I'm laying on his lap like a little kid. He doesn’t hesitate to wrap his arms around me, cradling me close to his heart- like a father should do. 

“Sleepy now, huh?” he asks with a soft chuckle, his hand resting perfectly on my back. I just nod tiredly, my breath slowly getting soft and calm again. 

“You can sleep sweetheart, I’ll be right here, yeah?”

"My dad’ll get mad-“ I mumble, my brain already turning to mush from exhaustion

“He’ll think-“

“I'll take care of it, don’t worry that pretty little head of yours, ok?” 

I nod with a yawn, far too tired to argue. He pulls a blanket over me, trapping me with that body heat and smell I love so much. He kisses the top of my head and whispers

“Sweet dreams princess”

As I slowly fade back into consciousness, the first thing I notice is the sound of arguing. I can't quite make out the words yet but I can tell the voices. Sam and my dad. I can panic about that later, right now, there’s strong arms wrapped around me and I smell something familiar and I'm so fucking warm. I feel like I'm melting into a puddle that’ll stain the carpet but I don't care, soap exists for a reason.

The events of last night come rushing back to me. The nightmare, the talk with Sam, crying in his arms and falling asleep on his lap. Huh, so that’s why I can smell cigarette smoke and hear a steady heartbeat. I had told him literally everything. Everything that I had tried so hard to bury. 

I’m shaken back from my thoughts by my dad’s voice 

“What the fuck is going on, Sam?! You’re literally cuddling with my daughter! What, are you sleeping with her too?”

I flinch involuntarily and hear Sam’s heart rate pick up. Of course that’s the first thing that my dad would think of. He sees someone being nice to me and immediately assumes I'm a whore. 

“It’s not like that and you know it. She had a nightmare and went to walk around. We started talking and she had a fucking breakdown. She was sobbing so hard I thought she was going to faint. She looked like she was going to faint.”

My dad is silent and I recall the dizziness and fog in my head last night. 

“But do you care? Or even notice? No, all you care about is the fucking bottle. If you won’t take care of her, if you don’t love her, I will.”

He spits out with anger in his voice and my heart sinks to my feet. He’s not wrong, Dad does seem to like a bottle of Tito’s more than me most days. 

I’ve never heard them fight like this before. They've argued over stupid stuff before. Sports, being late, who gets the pretty girl, but never like this. Hearts racing, pure anger in their voices, mean words they can’t take back. 

“You’re a real selfish prick, you know that? You think you know her better than me?”

My dad yells, his voice dripping with venom. Sam’s voice deepens

“Listen, we can argue or tear each other apart or whatever later. But right now, she needs this sleep.”

His arms tighten around me almost possessively, like he's shielding me from him, and starts to rub soft circles on my back

“I mean, Have you even looked at her? She’s fucking exhausted! The bags under her eyes are practically purple. I wouldn’t be surprised if this is the first good sleep she’s had in a while” 

I recognize the grumble and scoff in my dads voice as he talks

“Fine, whatever, you win. But the second she’s awake, you come find me and we talk.”

It’s the voice that says ‘I know I'm not gonna win this fight so I’m gonna raise you a living hell’. This should be fun. I flinch slightly against my will and Sam immediately tugs me closer. 

“Looking forward to it” 

I can practically hear the cocky grin on his face. My dad’s stomping footsteps slowly fade from the room and the back door slams. 

I let out a breath I didn't realize I was holding and he places a soft kiss on the top of my head. 

“You’re alright sunshine, don’t listen to him”

Wait, does he know I'm awake? I flutter my eyes slowly open and squint at the bright lights. Sam’s smile that makes my heart ache is the first thing I see. He runs a hand through my hair and coos at me 

“Hey kiddo, good morning”

I groan tiredly and bury my face in his chest. He chuckles and holds my back with his strong arms. 

“How’d you sleep?”

He asks casually, like he didn’t just get into a fight with his best friend, my dad. 

I mumble nothing in particular and hold onto him a bit tighter. 

“You were out cold. Slept like a damn rock”

He says with a soft chuckle as I pull my head up to look at him to see the glint in his eyes and the smile that makes things feel ok. 

“What time is it?”

My voice is sore and hoarse from crying so I clear my throat. 

“Just past 11am”

I nod and yawn. 

“How long have you been awake?” I ask hesitantly, hoping he got some sleep.

“I woke up around 9” I nod 

“So you just sat there for two hours while I slept?

“I sure as hell wasn’t gonna wake you up, you looked so cute and peaceful.” I smile warmly and bury my face again, a massive wave of gratitude and adoration flooding over me. 

“Thank you” I whisper 

“Anytime sweetheart.”

“So, my dad’s mad, huh?” I ask quietly after a few beats of silence 

“Did you hear that?” he asks apologetically and I nod. He sighs and kisses my head again. 

“He's mad, but he’ll get over it. I mean, someone’s gotta take care of his little girl if he won’t” my heart flutters and claws against my chest and I nod again, leaning my head back on his chest. He tugs me closer to him and rubs my back. 

“You’re gonna be ok sweetheart, we’ll figure this out, all of it. I promise” he whispers and I shutter softly 

“We fucking better” I mutter. 

“We will” he chuckles

“Oh, and by the way, you talk in your sleep” my cheeks go red and I bury my face back in his chest. 

“Oh god, did I say anything weird?”

“Nothing bad, it was mostly incoherent mumbling, but you did say something about a ‘pretty guy named Sam’. I wonder who you were talking about”

A wave of embarrassment crashes over me and I can feel how warm my cheeks are. 

“Oh my god…” I mumble. 

“Aww, is someone embarrassed?” he asks in a teasing voice. 

“Shut the fuck up” I say, still mumbling

“No, I don’t think I will” he says in that damn cocky tone. I swear, it’s like he’s trying to make me explode or something. He chuckles and rubs my back a bit

“Look at me sweetheart” I shake my head against his chest. 

“Absolutely not” he gently grabs my chin and pulls it up, making me look at him. My cheeks are an impossible shade of pink and I'm pouting.

“There we go, hi there, pretty girl” He coos

“Are you trying to kill me?” I say, my voice a bit whinier than I intended. 

“What, I can't look at pretty girls anymore?” 

“Not this one” I grumble

”So you admit you’re pretty?” he asks smugly

“That’s not what I meant-“

“Too late pretty girl, no take backs” 

“Oh my god” I mumble and let my face fall back in his chest, feeling the heat from my cheeks spread to my neck. He chuckles and we lay in comfortable silence until I yawn again. 

“Still sleepy?” he asks gently. I debate lying but he’s right. I’m fucking exhausted. I’ve gotten a taste of good sleep and I'm not going back now. I nod lazily against him and I can hear the smile in his voice. 

“You can go back to sleep sweetheart, I don’t have anywhere to be today” my heart pretty much melts and I mumble something to myself 

“But my dad-“ 

“I told you not to worry about it sweetheart, so don’t worry about it. You definitely need more good sleep. ” he says sternly but gently. He puts his hand on my head and gently runs his hands through my hair and over my back. I’m too fucking tired to argue so I shift so I'm more comfortable and snuggle closer to him. He tugs the blanket back over us and holds me somehow tighter.

“That’s a good girl” he coos

I hum comfortably and look up at him, silently freaking out about that damn sentence. I’ll lose my shit later.

“Thank you Sammy, for all of this.” 

“Of course, my love.” He places a gentle kiss on my forehead and rubs my back in the perfect spot that makes my eyes flutter closed and sends a shiver through my whole body as I drift back into a comfortable sleep, one without nightmares.

[shayrose5494]

Valentino Must Die

So I have Hazbin Hotel brainrot and hate Valentino with a fiery passion. So I decided to compile a list of who I'd like to see be the one to off him when his time comes and how I think it would go down. This list is essentially from least exciting (but no less satisfying) to most exciting:

6. Husk

Now Husk is so low on this list because let's be honest, he's one of the most predictable ones to do it. It's been established by Vivziepop that apparently his and Angel's relationship will be a slow burn, but it's been hinted HuskerDust is endgame, so it would make sense for Husk to be the one to take Val out.

I imagine that one day, Angel returns to the hotel seriously hurt because of Val. This would be the tipping point for Husk. So he tracks down Val. Now this part could go one of two ways visually:

Scenario 1: We see Husk track down Val, and after a bit of a confrontation (and veiled threat on Husk's end), the screen cuts to black. Cut back to the Hotel, where Angel is finding out Husk went after Val. Angel, despite being in pain, has to go find Husk. But before he can leave, a bloodied Husk returns. He tells Angel he never has to worry about Val hurting him again and that he'll keep him safe. Insert HuskerDust first kiss.

Scenario 2: Husk still tracks down Val, but Angel arrives before the fight really begins. Val tries to hurt (or even kill) Angel. This send Husk into a rage and for the first time we get to see Husk's full demon appearance. The fight ensues and Husk comes out on top. Insert HuskerDust first kiss (I kinda sort ship it lol)

5. Angel

Angel is the one that has the most motivation to kill Val, which is why he's also so low on this list. Like Husk, this is quite predictable.

I imagine something along the lines of Husk's Scenario 2. But instead of Husk going full demon (maybe because he's lost his overlord status he can't go full demon anymore) he still fights as is. Unfortunately, this gives Val the upperhand.

So when it seems Val is going to win this fight, and possibly kill Husk, Angel shoots Val. We know Angel has the guns to do it. But he's always been too afraid of Val to follow through. But seeing Husk, someone he loves, facing Val's wrath, this would be the motivation Angel needs. (We know Angel is protective about those he cares about, like he was with Charlie when she came to the studio). Angel kills Val and HuskerDust kiss. (I'm trying to manifest it into existence ok).

4. Charlie

Now, I don't actually think Charlie would kill Val. However, I'm not gonna rule it out or be mad about it if it happens.

After all, we all saw how she went full demon after Sir Pentious' death. I wouldn't put it past Charlie to go full demon on Val after learning the extent of his abuse towards Angel (she nearly did in the studio). She's already lost one friend, she's not about to loose another. But we all know, that if Charlie got into a fight with Val, there would be no option of sparing him. And not even Angel would be able to talk her out of it this time.

3. Cherri

I feel like Cherri's motivation would be similar to Charlie's. She also lost Sir Pentious and there is no way in hell (pun 10000% intended) she's going to loose Angel to moth boy.

I'd love nothing more than to see her shove one of her bombs down his throat then walk away as he explodes in the background like in an action movie.

2. Niffty

Nothing would bring me more joy than watching Niffty pull an Adam2.0 with Val. And since we know that she enjoys killing bugs, watching her kill the giant pest would be so satisfying.

I imagine that Angel would finally tell Val, he's done, contract be damned. So Val shows up to the hotel. A fight between Val and the gang ensues. Val, like Adam, starts monologuing, until a knife pops through his chest.

Bonus points if Niffty does it because a tiny moth came flying through the lobby, so her thinking it's the same principle as with mother roaches and their children, kills Val to send a message to the moths lol.

Finally, last but never least, and my personal favorite because it's so out of left field:

Alastor

Now, hear me out, this one's a bit strange, but let me explain:

Imagine the Husk/Angel scenario where Husk goes after Val, but Val gets the upper hand. Husk is seriously injured (not killed mind you, just injured). While Alastor doesn't consider Husk a friend, he does own Husk's soul. And if you think anyone but Alastor can hurt Husk and get away with it, you'd be sorely mistaken.

Alastor would rip Val limb from limb (and we love that for Val). Plus this would reinforce the rivalry between Alastor and Vox, especially of Vox and Val are still in their dating phase of their on/off relationship. This could even bump Vox up to a serious antagonist for the hotel.

I know that some of these were a bit far-fetched, but I love twists and turns like that in movies and TV. Going in one direction for so long before taking an unexpected turn. If anyone else has any other ideas let me know. I want to hear all of the fun ways we could kill Val. In the meantime:

Piggy kisses for your troubles.

[ebonysplendor]

Perfect Love Review 💖

TL;DR: Yeah, Milo is toxic and all, but growing up is realizing that, maybe I'M the problem. Maturing is realizing that it's not even a damn maybe; we're deadass the problem this time.

Game Link: https://c4game.itch.io/perfectlove

Notable Features: Sadistic MC, Gender options, LI turned Yandere, (8) Endings Tracker, Self-Insert Spiciness: 0/5 -- As far as I know, there's no spicy scenes, but I was so shook after my first playthrough, I just ran to make a review. That said though, this game is by no means wholesome LI MC Red Flags: 7/5 -- Sadistic, vindictive, manipulative, drugged someone, accessory to crimes, conspiracy to crimes, gaslighter, blackmailed someone, emotionally/mentally abusive, just..a lot of shit (and you thought Castiel was toxic)

Wanna know more? Well, let's get into it!

Fair warning, there may be way more grammar errors than normal because when I tell you that I played the first ending and ran to make a review, I mean that quite literally. That being exposed, just bear with me because this had very little proof reading because I was way too excited to tell you all about this game (without spoiling too much, of course) lol

What's up! Welcome back to another review!

Two things to start this off:

1. I know I already posted another review today, but I couldn't not write a review about this game and tell as many people that would listen to play it as soon as they could! 2. No, my friends, that was not a typo. It's not the LI we need to be concerned about; it's the MC. Yes, we're the problem this time around, and holy shit, please allow me to tell you about it! Or at least some of it, because I don't want to spoil too much.

As angry as this game made me, and as open and as wide as my mouth was during pretty much the entirety of this game, this has been the best damn visual novel I have come across to date! Yes, you read that correctly, and I will double down on it without hesitation; this is the best visual novel that I have ran across! Bitch, I would've paid money for this visual novel it was so good, and y'all know that I'm a cheap bitch! This was a $12.00 game (no, I still ain't over that! lol)! I would've gladly dropped that amount of money on this!

And I really hope I'm not exaggerating or overhyping it either, because I don't know which visual novels you guys have or haven't played, so let me clarify: For me, this is 1000/10 the best visual novel that I have read up to date. The pacing, the art style, the story its damn self, the fact that we're the problem this time around! Like, ugh, I could go on and on and on and on and on some more about this masterpiece of a game. I'm dead serious. I really believe that I could do an improvised one hour powerpoint presentation with absolutely zero prep time on how much of a chokehold this game has me in and STILL need an extra 30 minutes to an hour to really get my damned point across. It is that real for me. It is that serious.

All right, all right, all right, I'm gonna stop myself here because if I keep gushing, the intro is going to get way too long. That being said, it is officially time for me to write the synopsis. More than ever, I really mean this when I say, I'm going to tell you as much as possible without spoiling the game itself, and gods damn it, is it going to be difficult because, holy shit, the stuff that goes down?! I really want to tell you about it but fuck, if I do, then you might not play it yourself, and I can tell you right now, you have got to play this for yourself, and I highly recommend this game! Y'all are seriously missing out if you don't!

Okay, okay, I'm shutting up, because the intro's for real, for real getting too long and really redundant. Like, we get it, you love the game, start summarizing the damn thing! No worries, I hear y'all, and that's exactly what I'm about to do. Just a heads up, you're gonna need to buckle up for this one. Like, no, deadass. Buckle the hell up. I don't know what the hell kind of ride I'm about to take you guys on, but it's a damned wild one.

All right. Enough intro, enough talking. Let's finally get into it.

So, boom, and gods damn it, I mean, BOOM.

The game starts off with a little introducty-duction about how fucked up we are as a person. I'm not kidding about that. Basically, you know how we play these "dark romance" visual novels because the idea of someone being so unhealthily obsessed with you to the point of literally driving them bat shit crazy is something that just excites us for whatever reason? Yeah, we're like that in this game, except, we're literally delusional. Not the "quirky", cringey "aha, I'm so crazy~!", not delulu, like full on, needs to be admitted into the psychiatric floor of the hospital, delusional.

Anyways, we aspire to experience and permanently have that specific type of psycho crazy love, and damn it, we're going to have it, even if we have to go past just manifesting it and instead creating it ourselves, and I mean that quite literally. Let me explain.

See, at this point, there have been many failed attempts at getting this form of toxic love that we're after. At first, (or at least it's implied that) we tried to find it naturally, but it wasn't working out because, quite simply, it was never enough. I mean, sure, they cared about us, and sure, they would fight for us. Hell, they would easily do things for us if we asked, but they would always fall short because they wouldn't be willing to do anything and everything for us, let alone without us just being straight up about it and asking them to do so, and that, my friends, did not and will not fly.

Because we were tired of the constant failures and the constant disappointment, we decided to get on our boss shit and solve our problem instead of complaining about it. How do we solve it? By simply creating the love that we're after, and the first -- and most critical -- part of creating that love, is to find the right type of person. Someone who was a loner and an outcast. Someone that people ignored without so much as a second glance. Someone who allowed people to walk all over them and treat them any kind of way because they had no sense of self-worth. Someone desperate for affection, touch-starved even. Someone like...that new kid who recently transferred.

Milo Change. The perfect sap.

So, for totally non-selfish reasons, we play hero, and we step in to save the day. The bully -- his name's Ryan, by the by -- pretty much hightails it out of there once we intervene, and we're left with our suitor, and a suitor he'd better damn be because we didn't save his ass for nothing.

Milo gets off the ground, and he stumbles into us because he had gotten beat down pretty bad. True to expected nature, he apologizes, and starts rambling on about his friends for a little. He basically explains that, even though he knows that the people that he hangs around are really shitty, being new and not being used to the area makes him anxious to the point where he prefers their company over having no one and being alone. How coincidentally in perfect character he is...this is the one. Time to turn on the rizz.

When he asked why we jumped to his defense, we hit him with the ultimate "I was worried about you". This man's heart immediately gets to fluttering, and he's just making this too easy. It gets to a point where we make this "arrangement", so to speak. In exchange for giving him pointers on how to start standing up for himself, he has to date us. Of course, he jumps on this offer, because aside from him being the very type of spineless dweeb guy we're looking for, we knew that he had a serious crush on us. We know this because we had noticed that in passing and in the classes that we had together that he was always sneaking glances at us, so why not exploit that shoot our shot?

Anyways, we flawlessly sink the shot, and we get our date established. When we meet up, we decide to go to the batting cages, but it throws Milo off because they aren't the kind of batting cages that he was thinking of. Actually, quite frankly, it isn't really a batting cage but instead this really creepy room that has bats and is filled with mannequins.

Naturally, Milo starts asking questions, because now he's pretty uncomfortable with this whole thing, and it only gets worse when he sees us haul off and take a pretty ruthless swing at one of the dummies with a bat. At this point, Milo is holding one of the bats in his hands, and he's like "Nah, nah, I'm not into violence. Like, this is wild", but we reassure him that this isn't so much a reflection of character but a perfectly healthy way to get his anger out. He's still a little hesitant so we start planting thoughts giving him things to consider, and we're just like:

"Dude, are you not angry about the way that your so called 'friends' treated you? Did you actually like that they would use and abuse you when all you did was try to be nice? You did nothing wrong, and yet, they found it amusing to see you in pain. Do you really think you deserved to be treated like that...?" In short, we're just like "Getting your ass beat for the sake of friendship? Couldn't be me".

Milo stops for a second and really considered our words. After he really thought about it, he realized that he was and still is pissed about everything, and he goes in.

Like, really goes in to the point that the bat shattered and his hands started bleeding.

This scares the crap out of him because he didn't realize how much anger he had been holding in, but we find his performance desirable, not to mention severely attractive. Insert the Kronk meme because, my bois, it's all coming together.

We see the potential in Milo, and we're more than happy to help him reach that potential that we know he's capable of achieving. That being said, while he's trying to process what's going on, we just reassured him that we weren't scared of him and that it probably felt really good to finally get all that anger out. The tragic part is that Milo innocently agreed that it did.

We smile about the fact that he unknowingly took the bait, and we keep reeling him in. We tell Milo that we're really happy that he was able to get that anger out, because we understood that the world could be and is super cruel. While we're on the topic of the world being a really messed up place, we just idly bring up the concern of something happening to us and whether Milo'd protect us or not. Milo is once again thrown off because, yeah, the world is cruel, but why would we even picture a scenario like that? So, we explain that it's not necessarily that we wanted to think about it, but that because there's so much violence going on in the world, it was natural to think about.

That being said, we double down and tell him that he may have to protect us one day and fight back. We already know how Milo feels about violence, so we tell him to think of it more as self-defense and not so much as an excuse to be violent towards others for the sake of being violent. It was protection, really, for both himself and the people that he loves and "Milo...you'll protect me...right?"

And, once again, very innocently, he promises us that he will.

With that declaration, he became stronger. He upgraded from mannequins to glasses, plates, and whatever else in ramshackled houses to cars in abandoned lots. He even did classes that taught him how to fight, whether for self-defense, to protect others, or to simply hurt someone. He had become a bit more brash, and the "friends" that he had before started to back off because he was so different, but that was okay; that was what was best for him, and even more importantly, that was what we wanted.

Milo clung onto us. He knew that he was the only one that we could trust because our sweet Milo deserved the world, but the world didn't deserve him. He knew this because we told him exactly that, and why would we ever lie to him? We wouldn't, and because of that, Milo believes that we're the only one that he can trust -- as it should be.

Milo was slowly, but surely, starting to learn, but despite this improvement and despite this change...

...It still wasn't enough. Just the same as before.

Nah, nah, nah, I'm not telling you anymore, because it was hard enough withholding some of the details here. Know this though: this isn't even the halfway point let alone the thick of it, and this is one route out of eight that I just described to you. Yes, it gets damned wild, way beyond this.

FRICKIN FINALLY. I was about to explode trying to get to this part!

Guys, if it was not obvious, you guys have got to play this game! Like, I usually be like "Oh, if you want, and you have the time and feel like it, play this game" but nah, nah, nah, nah, NAH. This is not optional. You will seriously be missing out if you do not play this visual novel. Now admittedly, I got pissed at the MC because, shit, like, there's an option for self-insert, but I was so far detached from this character because this bitch is -- and Markiplier said it best -- fucking psycho crazy bonkers! Like, I saw certain stuff coming, but it's like, when it happened, it would be 10x worse than I thought it'd be.

Like, you honestly have no idea. The lil' synopsis I gave you at the top isn't even really a synopsis; more accurately, it's a teaser, because what I told you didn't even scratch the surface of what is going on. Guys, gals, gays, theys, all of y'all...please...I beg...play this damn game. Like holy shit, I cannot push this game enough. Like, yeah, sure, just to provide criticism or whatever, certain things or scenes are worded really "Ooh, I'm edgy and fucked up", and (unless I just read it weird) I think there were a few coding errors for nicknames and some super minor grammar errors, but like honestly, it doesn't even matter. I honestly couldn't give a damn because shit, the game is damned good! Like, there honestly isn't anything significant to complain about or critique. The dev? C4Games? They are out here, and they are setting the bar damned high.

Like, oh my gods, the fucking concept had me tripping out! Like, the whole "sadistic MC" or "The MC is crazy, too" trope isn't unheard of but, as far as I know, the execution itself is original, and I'm super geeked about it! A sadistic and twisted MC who is literally corrupting and molding an innocent guy to be the yandere that she craves. Like...what the hell? Ahhh!! I love it! Like, I literally cannot hold in the amount of gushing that I'm doing, and you can tell when I'm gushing because every other sentence will be "like, like, and like, like, like, and oh my gods, holy shit, like, like, like". Like lmao, I am gushing. I am ruined.

At this point, I feel that no other game will top this game. If I was making a tier list of the visual novels I have been reviewing, this is by far, no debate, an S Tier, God Tier, "whatever your highest tier would be" game. This visual novel is good, and I cannot wait to play the other seven routes, and guess what? The best part of all of this is that it's released! This is the entire game, and you can bet your ass that I'm going to be playing every route MUTLIPLE times!

Okay, I feel like the review and this overall post is long enough, and I want to stop myself from rambling and gushing anymore than I already have. That being said, that is officially all from me, and everyone's homework-- actually, nah. Everyone's project -- and it's going to be worth 100% of your grade -- is to play this damned game. EXPIDITIOUSLY. This is a requirement. This is an order.

Side note, I'm back on my sims kick, and I'm half tempted to make a family of the Milos I unlock because apparently -- pay attention! This is about to be a "pro, not really pro, but super helpful" tip! -- Milo's appearance and personality changes based on how you choose to mold him. Interesting, right? So, considering that there's 8 endings, I'm thinking there's 8 Milos, so...that's a full household in the Sims. Lol I might do it. I think I am.

Lol all right, enough rambling, I'm outta here for realsies! I hope everyone enjoys whatever time zone they're in, and, in case it wasn't clear or you missed it, play this damned game!

Anywho! Huge reminder! Drink water, don’t be dumb, play this game, and hope to see you around~!

Perfect Love

[lokiina]

I wasn't gonna do it. But I'm gonna do it.

I'm gonna kjhdkfjghdkfjg

If you don't want character spoilers I'm slapping this under a readmore but I need to cry a lil about Gale.

So many people just think he's annoying or Solas 2.0 and that's kdghdfkjgh

if it's not coherent I apologize I need to word vomit.

!! also some mental health related TWs ahead as a warning !!

THIS MAN IS SO DEEPLY DEPRESSED. His self worth is so low and it's so heart wrenching to listen to and the writing is incredible.

(A lot of the characters in this game deal directly with like Gods and the abusive relationships they have with them but this is for Gale specifically. Everyone's got their own mess that's it's own thing. )

Holy fucking shit. I don't know if you get some of the dialog options I have gotten if you don't actively romance him but omfg. Man openly admitted to being suicidal so you talking him out of blowing himself up while everyone else including the last love his life is saying "kill yourself" is such a big big deal. Even if the end result is being framed as help. It's not. It's more manipulation and down right fucking EVIL.

His relationship with Mystra is messed up, the power imbalance is fuckin wild and if anyone out of this is expecting a goddess to be the victim when she was clearly a manipulator is unreal. Their situation he was just trying desperately to prove his worth to her and her essentially stringing him along until he wasn't of any use anymore. He wanted Mystra to see him as equal to her, and nothing he ever did was enough for her. Cuz she did not care about him. If it was a proper relationship and she actually loved him back he wouldn't have had to try to continuously prove himself.

He was taken advantage of through his relationship and his entire self worth has been shattered. Now he's not entirely without fault through some of it and acknowledges where he screwed up himself.

When you offer to find another way for him that doesn't end up in him exploding, you kick a lil spark back into him and as someone who's fuckin struggled with self worth and depression. I feel for him so hard. Sometimes it does take another person simply acknowledging your worth to be that lil spark. It doesn't even have to be in a romantic sense.

This man is high key autistic coded. Everything about the way he loves so purely, misses cues on certain things and misunderstands and needs direct clarification on stuff. Ask him about his special interest, magic. The gloom drops in these moments. It's fuckin precious as hell to see him light up.

The writing in this game is fucking phenomenal and I just. I have a lot of deep feels on this whole thing. Every character has so many lil layers to them and I wanna just smooch the whole dev team.

Anyway. He's my fav character out of this chaotic game and I just. I will protect this silly wizard with my life. He deserves good things. Fuck his haters.

I wanna go get some comfy fluffy art of him and my boy.

[justice-flonne]

Twitter and the death of Media Literacy

As the original post now has reblogs turned off before this post came out of the queue, looks like I have to make my own

Lemme tackle picture number 2 first. Number one, what the HELL do you mean "normal mentally ill [woman]"?? There's no such thing. There's not even such a thing as normal non-mentally ill. Everyone is different and has different reactions and symptoms. and number two: where the fuck do you get off calling the author a sex pest for the "crime" of exploring her options in brothels (well, i guess maybe it is a crime, i forget how japan's laws are, but still. i better not hear you demanding more rights for sex workers while indirectly demeaning their jobs, ya nitwit)? Being gay (or even just non-conforming, and that's not even just about gender) in Japan, while not as bad as say, the Middle East, is not exactly a walk in the park. She probably at the time of writing didn't have many options, and everybody explores their sexuality in different ways. It's really messed up that you're calling the author a sex pest for describing her life, especially since she did nothing wrong (as in, her encounters were all consensual. again, don't fully know the laws regarding brothels there. i think it's a "we'll pretend we didn't see that" scenario)

This also kinda ties into the downright dangerous idea that an lgbt+ person, lesbians especially, can only be an innocent pure being. that kind of thinking can and HAS gotten people into horrible abuse scenarios

As for the "incest"... whoo boy, this is gonna be long:

Now, I have actually read this manga, and I can cite the pages with the supposed "incest" mentioned in the first pic. I'd elaborate, but I'm admittedly quite bad at that, so I'll let the comic speak for itself:

(forgive me if there's any errors in the alt text. it's late 😭)

As you can see, the author does not LITERALLY want to fuck her mother. She has childhood issues from not enough affection (elaborated elsewhere in the book, but I'm tired. read it yourself. i got these pages from a definitely legal website, so can you), and wants to be held and coddled. She even straight up says what she feels is abnormal and yearns for a woman NOT RELATED TO HER to do things with. She KNOWS what she feels is strange and wants to (and eventually DOES) grow from this. I could post more images, but i'm probably pushing my luck as is

Point is, you "adults" really, REALLY need to learn that depiction is not the same as endorsement. Not everything is as cut and dry as the Marquis de Sade. This is, as the damn title says, the author's experience with loneliness as a result of growing up with an emotionally distant mother in a society that is markedly different than America

please, PLEASE, learn to think critically, and i mean "critical" in a "english class analysis" kind of way (for lack of a better term), not a "this thing you like is bad and it offends me" "critical." It's alright to be uncomfortable with things and even to not like things, hell I myself am a HUGE hater, but please, don't throw a tantrum because a real person wasn't a smol bean like you hoped

holy shit i need to go to bed

[ask-codeearasure]

STOP STEALING OTHER PEOPLE'S WORKS YOU COWARDS (and other disorganized ramblings)

Yeah, I'm starting this off aggressively, big whoop.

Hi.

The point is right there in the title. Yeah, I'm looking you in the eyes and telling you right the hell now, I want you, yes you, the one with the massive galaxy brain who thinks that you can make a better Dreamtale or Underswap, or whatever the fuck, to listen to me. Walk with me to this pier please. This fandom has a harassment problem, everyone and their grandmother's crusty white little dog knows that, but there is also a massive theft problem as well and half the time I see it's born out of hatred for creators dubbed "bad" for whatever reason. (I am not debating whether these reasons are justified or not, I know it varies on a case-by-case basis)

"But Ouija, why shouldn't I harrass that person and just credit the AU to the fandom?"

Because it's a genuinely shitty thing to do. It's literal theft. Unless the creator blatantly says their creation belongs to someone else now, what you're doing is theft and there is no good defense for that. Yes, even if the creator is an asshole. Yes, even if the creator isn't active in the fandom anymore. Plus, if you sell the impression that it is OKAY in this fandom to take things that aren't yours, things you DID NOT CREATE, you are going to teach others that that behavior is perfectly acceptable, and along the way, discourage other creators from sharing their work. You will actively participate in what makes this fandom look so monstrous to outside audiences. Congratulations, you have become the asshat you didn't have the awareness or foresight to think you would become. I hope you have enough sense to not want that outcome.

Stop that. Do something else, you have plenty of options here. Creating your own shit is the one I highly recommend.

Sometimes the best things are written out of spite and instead of pouring your energy into harassing some random middleschooler for drawing Rose Quartz just a little too thin for your liking -- fuck you by the way -- do better.

Let me give you an example.

I hate the fandom's spin-offs of Dreamtale and there are very few exceptions to this statement.

I said it.

I fucking hate them. Not gonna specify which ones, just know I absolutely despise most of them. I find that next to none of them have any real passion or love put into them, no effort or respect to the source material whatsoever. The vast majority of them were created to specifically target Joku, and there was no genuine drive in that project outside of that one thing, which is malicious intent. Congratulations, you have submitted yourself to uhealthily parasocial behavior. This is unfortunately a theme I see in quite a few fandom remakes of other AUs as well. You don't like the creator, therefore, you assume you can do "better" despite knowing jack shit about what they actually created. (I am not defending Joku by the way. I'm saying this behavior reflects badly on whoever does it and has done it within the past eight years.)

They're boring, and if not boring, absolutely horrific. A lot of the time, they're used to romanticize shit like incest, abuse, and other inherently harmful things that should NEVER be presented in a favorable light. This is NOT me saying it's a bad thing to want to make your own versions of AUs and put your own spins on them, that is not what I am saying at all, and I literally did the same fucking thing several times over. Just bear with me here, I am begging you.

I made my own variation of Dreamtale using a few concepts I liked and ran in the complete opposite directions of both the original version -- which is actually fascinating when I learned about it thanks to Sarco -- and the fandom's trashy as hell boring as shit versions of it that makes watching paint dry seem like a more entertaining spectacle. I did this not out of hate for Joku, someone I don't fucking know (nor should I personally care about), but out of fascination for the Dreamtales I did see and picked and chose what ideas I liked, then added a lot more ideas from other inspirations. This is not a new concept, just about everyone does this.

What I am saying is that instead of talking shit with no supporting evidence and doing your best to humiliate someone you don't like on the internet (which in this fandom are people you don't even FUCKING KNOW, nor have 90% of you been present for the actual issues in action, if there were any), apply that energy to your own projects. That is arguably the more productive and enjoyable thing to do.

Hell, Palworld was made to spite Nintendo for being boring pieces of corporate shit, and that piece of work turned out to be pretty fucking good. (Note that spite in this context is used as a creative drive, not malice)

American McGee's Alice was made using the concept of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland out of literal LOVE for the original story.

Ever After High was made out of the ORIGINAL FAIRY TALE STORIES that Disney twisted into being more kid friendly to various successful extents.

A lot of the AUs Sarco and I tore apart and rebuilt take small aspects from the originals and tweak them just enough that it makes a wave of difference, and we later expanded them to have MASSIVE differences. This isn't to flex or put others down. I am just sick and tired of seeing a bunch of people online (mostly people who left this fandom) saying "there's nothing good in the fandom anymore" and it makes me want to grab my giant ass Edgar Allen Poe collection and beat them over the head with it. ...Figuratively, I stress that part. I don't wanna go to jail. I'm frustrated, I know that's obvious. What I really want to do is encourage more creativity than the constant rehashing of the same shit repeatedly, and perhaps make it abundantly clear that shitty behavior is not something that should drive ANY community. I mean I'm not the boss of you, by all means create whatever you want, it would just be nice to see more variety than I do today, y'know? Give me more weird shit like Gastale and GZtale did, something that makes it stand out and has room for so much more character exploration and fascinating concepts. Hell, I would LOVE to see more OCs too! There should always be room for more of those. But perhaps you're already doing all that, and I just haven't seen it yet. I'm still re-learning how to navigate this fandom and all it has to offer, after several years of inactivity as a mere observer, and now as a creator.

If you want me to expand on all of this and also help with giving you all some concepts and even an example just ask. I'll happily type a mountain for you to help you all with expanding your creativity. -- Ouija

[happyk44]

actually annabeth joining luke's army as a double agent for chb but percy doesn't know this so he just thinks alright and grabs grover and hooks it over there bc annabeth does what she wants and he knows there's no convincing her otherwise bc she's a stubborn ass and also ares fucking sucks so as far as percy's concerned the gods can suck it based on that alone

grover is just ??? bc he does NOT want to be over here and percy's just like "look, we can't convince annabeth to not be part of monster army, so the only option is to be part of it ourselves" and annabeth walks in on them trying to join (or rather percy trying to join for both of them and grover looking on the verge of tears) and she's just ??? bc what the fuck percy why are you two here

whole time percy is going on a rant about ares and how he sucks and how he's pretty sure the god has abused clarisse ("maybe we should get clarisse to sign up with us") because no one believes that he wants to join luke's army and they just thinkk he wants to spy on them so he's trying to show that he thinks gods (well at least one god) is a total ass and can get obliterated and percy will be happy to do that bc he did it once before, he can totally do it again! and if they get clarisse she can deliver the final blow as an FU

someone asks why grover's there and percy is like "um. he's my best friend? he has to come with me? what, you think I'm gonna fucking fight my best friend? are you stupid?"

meanwhile grover is having the worst panic attack of his life. like why is this how he discovers percy has no morals. couldn't it be something smaller like putting french fries in a strawberry milkshake?

and annabeth is resisting the urge to start screaming and now she's gotta vouch for percy and her vouch for percy is basically "if it came to saving me and grover or a bus full of people about to plunge into the atlantic, percy would save us, no hesitation" and everyone's like "jesus christ, the hell is wrong with this kid" because like maybe they're on the side of a cannibalistic titan but they're not fucking evil

ofc once they're let into the group, annabeth drags them both to the side and wrings percy a new one for fucking up her double agent plans and they're both whisper-arguing bc it's not his fault he didn't know she didn't really shack up with the enemy, but like fuck off percy, you didn't have to follow me here! why the hell would you choose to come here, were you going to try and kidnap me and bring me back to camp by force??

and percy is just like "yes that is 100% what i was going to do, i was definitely not joining with the intent to be by your side and blow up olympus because i'd rather destroy the world than fight my friend" and grover turns to annabeth and is just "he's fucking lying" "yeah i know"

anyway grover is released as a double agent for the monster army (but actually for CHB) bc the idea is that he can help them get more demigods to their side as a searcher being sent out to grab kids and he's mentally banging his head bc NOW he has to figure out how to get unclaimed demigods safely to camp without making it look like he took them there on purpose and if it looks like he defected back to CHB, they'll probably kill annabeth and maim or imprison percy and good gods, percy i hate you so much rn

percy? idk. it's past summer so he just goes home and luke is like "bro you can't just fucking leave" "um no offense luke but if you try to stop me from going home to my mom who i love more than life itself i will legit eat you" and then he goes home

come december, grover is calling percy up like "hey i found these fucking powerful ass kids, plz help me get them to camp without making it look like i got them there on purpose" and so they gotta loop annabeth in who's just mentally banging her head and cursing percy out over this whole thing as she strategizes a way to get the army there but have them fuck up so badly it would look super suspicious if grover just shoved them over

so first she yells at percy then she makes grover call thalia up so she can help him and it'll be okay 'cause she's in the same area as him so it won't look suspicious, it'll just seem like camp sent her in with him, like they do sometimes when there's dangerous monsters that a satyr might not be able to handle by themselves.

and then she makes percy go with them as support for grover's "nefarious" deeds since thalia's there. and it's a whole fucking thing, and mentally she's just like "oh thank fuck" when artemis and the hunters show up.

they retreat back to wherever the monster army was at this time (not the boat, but like idk. atlas' post? were they all chilling there or was it just luke and some ppl being assholes and everyone else was still on the boat, i can't remember) and curse their loss of two powerful and clueless demigods, only for percy to call annabeth up a couple hours later like "hey, remember those kids from a couple hours ago with the manticore and the hunters and everything"

"percy it was two hours ago, ofc i remember it, my memory isn't as shit as yours" "right right, you're elephant" "oh my- why are you calling me!!" "oh yeah. uh. well. they're kinda in my house" "what??" "yeah they're sitting right across from me. my mom's giving them some hot chocolate."

"how the hell?"

"i have no clue. they also have no clue. they just, uh, didn't feel safe at camp, bc grover was being weird about trying to save them. which, um, yeah, makes sense. and they don't like thalia because her spear scares them 'cause they don't like lightning. and also the girl said the hunters keep trying to convince her to join them which is freaking her out, so they didn't want to stay at camp. and then suddenly they were in my house."

"..."

"what do i do?"

this time annabeth bangs her head physically on the closest wall. and somewhere in the fine forests of new york, grover is banging his head on the nearest tree, both of them unified in their feelings of "for fucks sake percy i hate you so much rn"

[starry1avender]

Why I Don't Like the Idea of An Eclipse Redemption In SAMS Canon (Opinion)

Spoilers for today's SAMS episode "Eclipse has a PURPOSE in VRCHAT"!

"If I'm so 'lonely', what should I do then?! It's not like anyone's gonna accept me back" god I fucking hope not-

(Rant about why I don't want an Eclipse redemption under cut)

(Please note that of course, you don't have to agree with me at all or take it too seriously. Everyone has different standards when it comes to who they can and cannot forgive, and who they believe deserves a second chance. It's perfectly fine to feel bad or pity him as well. Hell, I do at times. At the end of the day, I'm just some goofy ahh teen ranting about why I think a character from a FNAF roleplay shouldn't be vindicated, so really everyone loses-)

I'm just going to say it now: As much as I like Eclipse as a character and as much as I enjoyed seeing this side of him, I really hope that they aren't trying to set up a redemption arc for him or to have him be spared and just let him get away with everything. I really don't. I don't care if he feels lonely or even a bit of remorse for his actions, he doesn't deserve redemption or a second chance or any sort of mercy by any of the cast. It'd just be...Kinda yikes. Doesn't help that I'm sick of the whole "It doesn't matter what you did or who you've hurt!1!1!1!11! As long as you're willing to change you can be vindicated!!!1!1!1!!11!" Trope a lot of media pushes out, which is a whole other can of worms I won't open today.

First of all, the obvious atrocities. He's literally abused and tortured the main cast, changed the ENTIRE UNIVERSE'S MEMORIES, sent Sun and Moon to life-threatening dimensions to try and break them mentally, killed people directly and indirectly (Bloodmoon), and October speaks for itself. Eclipse has severely fucked up so many lives on so many levels and that should not go unpunished. Furthermore, the fact that he does all of these things ON-SCREEN and that it’s portrayed in a (naturally) negative light does not help my pathos as a viewer when the idea of a redemption appears. Eclipse is an abuser, manipulator, and overall war criminal who deserves nothing less than death, even if he genuinely wants to change or has any regrets, it’s too little too late.

Eclipse has also had CHANCES to change. Sun and Moon have repeatedly given him the option to make a deal with them. Mainly in the beginning, They gave opportunities to just stop and come to a mutual agreement. Every single time, he rejected out of anger and pettiness. He’s had a choice this entire time. He’s not like Moon, who was heavily under the influence of his programming (the Kill Code) or Lunar who didn’t know any better due to being under Eclipse’s command. Eclipse has had a conscious decision in every action and knew damn well exactly what he was doing. It’s been almost 500 videos of this and only NOW, When he’s already caused so much pain and suffering, is he finally having second thoughts. Once again, too little too late. That sentence pretty much sums up my entire thoughts. His arc just needs to be done and over so we can move on to the next thing.

In conclusion, Eclipse has done too many horrendous things to the cast despite several opportunities to stop to make him redeemable in my eyes. He’s gone too far too many times, and once again: Too little too late.  In my opinion, the ample way to end off his arc is to kill him for good. Be it through his own means or others, I’m not too picky. Just please for the love of fuck-

[nowoyas]

Koi no Yokan 13: get your brain back (nishinoya yuu/reader)

First - Prev - Next - M.list - Ao3

A/N: due to yesterday's URL change, inter-chapter links are not currently working. I am in the process of fixing these, but have literally ninety-four fic posts to fix that with, most of which are linked in multiple places. the links on this post and in the new masterlist will work, but I would recommend reading on ao3 in the meantime until this note disappears.

Summary: You are brought home from the hospital to the Nishinoya household.

Warnings: blanket series warnings, mentions of/implied child abuse and neglect (non-explicit)

Words: 4500+

Noya to [name] at 23:49

Noya: [image attached. Image description: Soba as a kitten, curled up in the center of a futon. Her body forms a perfectly circular shape.]

Noya: hope everything's okay at the hospital.

Noya: here's soba stealing my futon when she was a kitten. hope she brings a little luck so you can sleep half as good as she does

Noya: might be difficult though, she's a good sleeper

~

Noya to [name] at 00:01

Noya: usually i'm a good sleeper too [message not sent]

~

Noya to [name] at 6:48

Noya: [image attached. Image description: Soba laying on her back in the traditional maneki-neko pose, stomach exposed with one paw up and the other curled against her chest. Her stomach is composed primarily of extreme fluff.]

Noya: a good luck soba to encourage your swift recovery

~

[name] to Noya at 7:03

[name]: :)

~

Noya to [name] at 7:10²⁷

Noya: [name]-san WHAT are you doing looking at your phone

Noya: the doctors said no screens! >:(

[name]: only if it asorsens my sympotoims

[name]: soba could NEVER do that tom e

[name]: sorry for yops im reading your texts and then reponsding without looking so im not using up m screntime

Noya: you're supposed to be RESTING!!!

[name]: was

[name]: yop ten worst ways to wake up

[name]: number one; forgetting to tunr off your wakeup alarm so yup get up at like six thirty in the fucking am with the worst heaxache youve had in your life and your phone screaming in your ear

[name]: tried fo r abit to get back to sleep but mostly ive just been trying to recover from the fucking wakeup alarm

Noya: oh my god

Noya: can you take phone calls? I don't wanna make your head worse

[name]: one sec

~

Noya's in the gym, but practice isn't for another twenty minutes, technically, and he's not sure anyone will blame him for having his phone this morning, let alone when he answers on the first ring. At worst, he gets a raised eyebrow from Chikara, but when he speaks in a soft, worried tone, it's immediately brushed off.

"Hey, how are you feeling?"

Your voice comes through a moment later. It's strained, and he's almost certain you've been crying, but he elects not to comment. "I'm alright, but I died."

He laughs softly, scurrying outside of the gym so he has room to pace. "You're doing better, then."

"Mm. Head still hurts like hell, but I haven't had any like… major events to justify keeping me here. They'll probably let me out on time."

"That's great! Other than the alarm incident, did you sleep okay?"

"Yeah, actually." You pause. For some reason, he holds his breath. "I guess Soba helped. Thanks."

"Of course. Listen, though, Okaa-san's not budging on you staying with us, at least until you're able to return to school and stuff. She wants to know what you want for dinner tonight."

Another pause. "Karaage. Is she… I mean… is she cool?"

He nods, forgetting for a moment that you can't see him. "She is. She raised me, you know."

A soft laugh comes through, barely picking up. "She must be really cool then."

"She's got a few options for you for how we're handling everything, but I think she's gonna talk to you more about those when we pick you up from the hospital. For now, you just focus on trying to rest, alright?"

There's a voice in the background—no one he recognizes, not that he would—that he can't quite make out, just as Ryu's head pokes out of the gym to grab him.

"Practice is starting," Ryu says in a low voice. Noya nods, gestures to the phone and holds up a single finger. That's all it takes to get a nod of understanding in reply.

He waits patiently until you're done talking to the stranger—your voice pitches into a whine, all I know, I'm sorry, just let me say goodbye first, a bit muffled with a shuffling sound that makes him think you're covering the speaker with one hand.

Another shuffle, and you return to him. "Okay, sorry—"

"I have to go," the two of you say in unison.

You huff. "Are you just trying to make me feel better for leaving?"

"No. Practice is starting. Ryu just came to get me."

"…right. That was a nurse on my end. They're yelling at me for getting out of bed when I'm still unsteady. Is it just your mom coming to pick me up later?"

"I'm gonna head out early to come with her."

"Senpai…"

"Lecture me when you're not getting lectured by nurses for slipping out of bed," he replies, cheeky.

"…fine. Make sure to tell me about practice later, okay? And tell Yachi-san and Shimizu-senpai I'm sorry I'm not there to help out, but I'll be back soon. And tell Hinata I died. And—"

He cuts you off with a laugh. "I'll tell them all that. You go rest."

When the both of you hang up, he takes the time to send another picture of Soba—this one asleep, covering her face with her paws—and runs inside, tucking his phone away to join practice.

~

Noya and his mom arrive to pick you up at hour 24 on the dot, and you have never been more excited to see a soul in your life. You're checked out, brought back to Noya's. His mom doesn't say much to you on the drive back, and you regret to admit that you don't really remember much of meeting her yesterday.

Noya is the one who fills the silence for the most part—he tells you all about how practice today went, the blow-by-blow of their little scrimmages, how he started working on the thing he was telling you about yesterday.

You blink at him blankly. "I, uh… sorry, but I gotta ask. I remember almost nothing from yesterday…"

"Oh! I'll show you a video when we get back—I mean, if your head can handle a few minutes with a screen," he adds, glancing nervously at the sharp look his mom is giving him in the rear-view.

One of many restrictions: you're not allowed screens. Or reading. Or thinking. Or fun. Also, no exercise, no texting (not even without looking at the screen, your nurse had chided after you'd tried to respond to your bonus morning Soba), and basically anything involving any amount of focus. They'd had the audacity to follow that up with oh, but you'll make things worse if you rest completely without doing anything at all, so you can still do things!. In other words: 

if something hurts, don't do it

do not take painkillers for the hurt

everything hurts

doing nothing will make things worse and cause recovery to take longer

Or, in still other words: you expect to experience a complete mental breakdown by the end of the day.

You meet Noya's mom's eyes in the rear-view again. You don't remember what you said to her yesterday, but you do recognize her as the lady who runs your butcher shop of choice. You might need to start getting your meat somewhere else.

"Um," you say, voice coming out weaker than you'd like. "Thank you for all this, ma'am. I'm sorry for the trouble."

She waves one hand dismissively as she pulls into your neighborhood. "Don't even mention it, sweetheart. We'll talk more once we're inside."

"But…"

A single firm look shuts you up.

How Noya got to be the way he is with a mom like that, you'll never understand.

"Oh, that reminds me," Noya blurts suddenly. "You don't remember what happened, right?"

You shake your head. "I mostly remember stuff after it… I think? It's all kinda soup right now."

"Shouyo was trying to sync up with Suga-san. He, uh, he managed to hit a spike, but it was a little out."

"A little."

"Just a bit."

"It's kind of impressive. I mean, I knew you guys—or I guess everyone else, you being a libero and all—hit hard, but Hinata's got an arm on him to concuss me like that."

The car slows to a stop as Noya laughs. He seems to be making an effort to be quieter than normal—you appreciate the thought. "Right? Poor Yachi-san's gonna be shaking like a leaf while you're out, though."

"I'm counting on Shimizu-senpai to keep her from getting her head taken off," you reply with a solemn nod, moving to get out of the car.

Noya stops you with a firm hand. "Wait here. I got you."

"I can walk, you know—"

"If the way you got out of the hospital was any sign, not well," he says. He zips out of the car, circles around so fast that anyone else probably would have tripped. You sigh, smiling, as he opens your door for you. "C'mon, let me help you."

"Fine, fine. You're ridiculous, you know that?"

Still, you let him guide you inside, an arm supporting you at the waist. You won't lie—you are really dizzy still. He brings you into the living room, taking slow, careful steps as you pass the kitchen by. Someone's inside, cooking something, based on the sizzle from within, but Noya takes you right on past to sit across from his mom, who's still pretty staunchly silent as she watches this take place.

Out of the context of the butcher shop, she makes you deeply nervous, itching for her approval.

You blurt the first thing that comes to mind.

"I really like your shop. It's always very clean."

She cracks a smile. "Thank you, [surname]-chan. I'm glad to know that one of my regulars thinks highly of the shop."

"And the prices are really good. And you're always really nice, but it doesn't feel forced. I'm sorry that sometimes I buy too much and the meat goes bad. I always feel really guilty when that happens, like I'm insulting the animal it came from and the person I bought it from, not to mention—"

She stifles a laugh. "Honey, it's okay. I'm sorry if I'm making you nervous. To be honest, I've been thinking about your situation since I got the call yesterday, and I'm still not sure what the right thing to do is."

The words your situation send your heart straight into the deepest pits of your stomach. "Oh."

Noya's sat firmly beside you, a small comfort as your anxiety begins to spike. His mom locks eyes with him, jerking her chin toward the kitchen. "Yuu, honey, go help Mei in the kitchen."

"But, Okaa-san—"

"Go help Mei," she repeats.

You have half a mind to run out after him, half a mind to grab his sleeve and beg, Noya-senpai, don't leave me alone with her!, but you know it wouldn't do a thing. Instead, you stare at your lap, willing your bottom lip not to quiver.

"Yuu told me a little bit about your situation," she goes on to say.

That fucking phrase again.

"He didn't tell me much, and he's made clear that you don't want anyone to worry about you, or any sort of special treatment, but I want to make clear: I'm not here to upend your life or force anything on you, but you're safe here. Will you tell me what's going on at home?"

You bite your lip to remind yourself not to cry out the gate. "I'd rather not."

"That's okay. I understand that I'm more or less a stranger to you. I don't need details from you, or a life story. But—look at me—"

You look up at her, teary-eyed.

"—I need to know that if, when you're recovered enough to be left alone, I let you go home, you're going to be safe."

"O-of course!" you say, too quickly even though you're not lying. "I'm going—I'm going to be safe. Even if Otoo-san wanted to—to hurt me, he's never home to do it."

"Do you have everything you need?"

"Yes. He—he gave me a debit card to use and there's always money in the account. I mean, it hasn't declined or anything so far. And I know how to cook and grocery shop. And now that I'm managing for the volleyball club, I've gotten really good at meal prepping. Oh—can I go home sometime tonight or tomorrow? I have curry that I should freeze."

She looks at you with sad eyes. "I can't let you go by yourself, but I can come with you, or you can go with Yuu tonight. Since you'll be staying here for a few nights, we can take the chance to pick up some necessities for you, too."

"Okay. Thank you."

"We'll go after dinner."

"Okay."

"And, listen, [surname]-chan. You are always welcome here, okay? Even if it's perfectly safe at your house, even if you just want to come and play with the cat, you're welcome here."

"Okay."

She watches you another moment. When she leaves the room, she ruffles your hair.

It takes you approximately three seconds after that to break.

~

You've never been so glad to see Noya. He practically runs to your side once he's released, immediately pulling you into a warm hug. You cry into his shoulder, wind your arms around him.

"Sorry. I tried to slip back out here just in case, but Mei literally held me back. She scruffed me like a cat when I tried to leave the kitchen. You would've laughed."

You let out a wet laugh. "Wish I saw it."

"I really am sorry. I know she can be intense, but I swear it's just because she cares."

"She wasn't—she wasn't intense or anything," you admit. "Just—you've got a good mom. She really is cool."

"She is! She's great. What did she do?"

You bury your face in his shoulder in the hopes that it'll muffle your voice a bit. "Just—just motherly stuff, I guess. Asked if I'm safe. If I've got everything I need."

"You are safe at home, right?"

"Yes! I dunno why everyone thinks that—that—"

He strokes your hair as you sniffle, gives you the moment to collect yourself.

"I'm safe," you finish lamely. "I am. I don't like it when people care about me. I dunno what to do with that."

"You're gonna have to get used to that one, unfortunately. The team's worried about you, too, you know? They wouldn't start practice until I gave them the full report."

"Oh great, worry. That's even worse than caring."

"If it bothers you, you're just gonna have to work really hard at resting and accepting the help you're being given so you can get better quicker."

"Okay." You sniffle. "I'll do that."

He holds you closer, holds you until you've calmed down. Stays by your side until dinner's ready, until you're ready to face his family.

~

Mei is weird compared to everyone else at the table. The whole family has showed for this dinner you've intruded on—Satsuki smiles at you when she gets home, whispers an apology when her shouted I'm home! makes you wince. Another sister—the stalker sister, Kaede, if you remember correctly—emerges from a room deeper in the house when called, paint smudged on her cheeks and hands somehow perfectly immaculate. She's lower-key than Satsuki or Noya is, but when you're all sat around the table, she launches right into some debate with Satsuki that their grandfather immediately joins in on, lively and at a lowered volume out of respect for you.

You eat in silence. You'd like to pretend that you're paying attention to whatever heated debate is going on, but it's a little hard to follow past the dull throbbing in your skull. You think maybe the crying made your headache worse.

While the others get lost in some lively conversation or another—Noya going quiet occasionally to check in with you—the sister third just sits there, like you, except you have the excuse of being an active concussion case to justify your silence. She watches you with a nervous look in her eye that doesn't seem to fade whenever you glance back at her.

You can't remember which sister Noya said gets the anxiety attacks—if he said it—but you'd be willing to bet it was Mei.

The one Soba saved.

She won't stop staring at you. On a better day, you might have more tact, but, well, the concussion, so the next time you catch her eye, you stare right back. "Why are you staring at me?"

She jolts, shoulders collapsing in on her. "Sorry. I just… you're Yuu's friend?"

"Uh, yeah." That should be obvious, but you should also be nicer.

"I'm not really, uh, I'm not great at talking to people. But he was saying we'd probably get along, and I was trying to figure out why, but you don't really talk much, so it's hard to get a read on you? But I'm not really great with strangers or anything, and… I mean… d-do you like volleyball? You're a manager in Yuu's club, right?"

A nod. "Yeah. I'm finally kind of at the point where I understand what's going on, and it's fun to watch, but I can't say I'm really good at managing or anything."

"What?" Noya interrupts. "No, you're amazing. What are you talking about?"

You raise an eyebrow. "How have you completely missed the part where I am the single least useful manager? Shimizu-senpai's amazing, Yachi-san's doing all these cool, professional-looking posters and stuff, and I show up. Which I now do not even do, on account of getting hit in the head by a stray ball like it's my first time in the gym."

"I don't wanna hear it from the only reason I passed my final exams."

"Excuse me? I didn't take the exams for you. You did that—and all the studying—yourself. So did Tanaka-senpai, before you bring him up."

"And Shouyo and Kageyama?"

"They took their own exams, too. All of you guys passed because you put in the work."

"You made like, a hundred practice exams. You sent them home after they got their grades back with detailed study schedules. Weren't you, like, adjusting their practice exams to focus on testing the things they got wrong the previous day or something, too?"

"That's nothing. That's literally just like, stuff they probably could have done online if they'd thought about it."

"But they didn't. You did. You don't get to put Yachi-san up on a pedestal just to say you're doing nothing when you factually are—"

You bat at his shoulder playfully. "I literally have a concussion, you're not allowed to argue with me until I'm better."

"Fine, I'll restart this argument the second you're back at school, then," he teases.

You hate him. (You don't.)

You return your attention to Mei. "Sorry, someone likes to fight me."

"When have I ever—"

You reach out blindly, covering his mouth with your hand and smiling at Mei. "But yeah, I don't dislike volleyball, for sure. It's good to get out of the house, and all that. What about you? What do you do?"

Her face brightens a little. "Oh, I'm actually in university! I'm taking a course to become a librarian. It's probably not all that interesting, though, so…"

You lean forward a little, smile encouragingly. When you release Noya's mouth, he has the good sense not to continue the argument. "No, tell me about it. That sounds really cool!"

Bingo. She relaxes into the conversation, starts telling you all about the stuff she's learning, how much more librarians do beyond putting books on the shelf and scanning your library cards. She has a lot to say on the subject, and you don't really follow a lot of it, but you nod encouragingly and try your best. It's not even anything complicated, she's just a little hard to understand through the pounding in your head and the fatigue settling firmly over your body.

When dinner's over, your attempts to help clean are met with no less than six stern looks. You reach for your phone thoughtlessly, which only makes your head pound harder within seconds of checking your notifications.

Right. No screens.

Fine then. You wander into the living room, where Soba greets you with a soft mrrp?.

"Hi, baby," you coo, coming to sit nearby. She's picky about when she likes to be pet, so you don't reach for her, no matter how much you want to. Instead, you sit back and watch her, pushing a cat toy her way as a peace offering. Her eyes lock on, pupils widening as she focuses on the toy.

You have her attention.

By the time Noya finds you, both you and Soba are thoroughly engrossed in her quest to fucking murder this cat toy, and you've only got one new scratch to show for it. For a moment, you can almost ignore the pounding in your head, but then you hear a dish clatter in the kitchen and for just a moment you swear to god it's a gunshot that's perfectly hit you in the forehead.

He crouches beside you, gently takes the toy to distract Soba. "Kaa-san says you wanted to run back by your place to grab some stuff and freeze your curry."

"Y-yeah," you grit out with a nod.

"I was gonna ask if you wanted to go now, but, well…" He nods to you. "You kinda look like your head's about to split open."

"'M fine," you grumble. "Let's go."

"You are actively tearing up."

"What? No I'm not—" Your hand flies to your cheek, and dammit, he's right. "…fine."

"It's okay. Kaa-san's gonna be home with you tomorrow while I'm at school, and she can take you then."

Your lip juts into a pout. "I haven't even done anything today."

"I know, I know. You got Mei to like you, though. That's something!"

"Didn't feel like I was doin' anything."

"C'mon. You can take my room, and I can get you some pajamas from Satsuki or Mei, or you can just borrow some of my clothes. But you should get some rest."

You groan as he helps you to your feet. "Please don't make me make any decisions right now."

"My clothes it is, then. Great! I was hoping you'd say that!"

He guides you down the hall and up the stairs to his bedroom.

"Where're you gonna sleep if I'm stealin' your bedroom?" you mumble.

"We already moved my futon out. This way, you're in the quietest part of the house."

"Really. Your bedroom is the quietest part of the house?" Somehow, you don't believe that for a second.

"Well, when I'm not in it, it is," he grins.

"And you completely dodged the question."

"Well, they've decided that in order to take you in until you're better, someone had to go, so… I'm so sorry, [name]-san. Remember me fondly."

You snort. "They are not kicking you out."

"They're not. My futon's getting laid out near the door so if you need something you can yell."

"Please at least sleep on the couch downstairs or something."

"Absolutely not. When I hit a thousand, I want to already be a man worth marrying you! That means being there when you're hurt!"

You huff. You don't have the energy to fight it, at any rate. "Sure, sure. You know you don't have to do much to be worth me?"

"I'm going to choose to believe you mean that you already think I'm amazing and cool and not that you're trying to put yourself down."

"Believe what you want," you sigh.

Inside his bedroom is surprisingly clean. The Nishinoya family seems to have done plenty of planning for this, so you'd be surprised if there hadn't been a crazed cleanup session to deep-clean his bedroom once they decided that was where you'd be sleeping. Some posters on the wall, one spot where a poster conspicuously used to be, based on the tack still marking the corners of a perfect rectangle in between two others. It's basically exactly what you'd expect if you deep-cleaned a teenage boy's bedroom. Noya leaves your side to rummage his drawers, returning a moment later with clothes for you.

"You're good to get changed by yourself, right? Not too dizzy or anything? I can grab Satsuki—no, bad idea—I can grab Mei if you need some help."

You shake your head. "I'll be okay. The dizzy's way better than it was this morning, 'sjust painful."

"I'll wait outside, then."

You wait for him to close the door behind him before you get changed, stumble a little in the process because you were totally downplaying how dizzy you were, but eventually get yourself into the provided t-shirt and basketball shorts. When Noya returns, he stops short in the doorway, staring at you rather openly as you tug a bit at the shirt.

You raise an eyebrow at him. His cheeks are scarlet as he stares you down.

"Are you sure I'm the one with the concussion?" you ask when you're fed up with the quiet. "You seem to be rebooting."

"Marry me," he blurts again. "I mean—sorry, bad timing probably, but—nevermind—"

"Nine hundred and—huh." You bite your lip thoughtfully, racking your brain, but the focus only makes your head pound worse. "Did you propose at all yesterday? I can't really remember."

"Oh, yeah, nine hundred and twenty times or so. I've just got twenty more to go!"

"Uh-huh. What's the actual count?"

"…nine hundred and forty to go," he admits. "Once with the morning greeting, and I got a couple out when you agreed to help me with the jump set."

"Nine thirty-nine, then," you say as he moves to lay out the futon. As he does, you watch his arms flex appreciatively. Maybe it's the concussion, but you can't quite seem to pull your eyes away. "You know. As thanks for helping me out with everything, and all that."

"Not just because I'm nice to look at?" he pouts.

"Keep dreaming, Casanova."

You allow yourself one last impulse for the night, stopping him on the way out the door. "Hey, Senpai?"

He turns just in time for you to crash into him in a hug. "Wh—"

"Thank you. Seriously. For… for not letting stuff get out with the guys. And taking care of me. And… and everything."

Noya huffs softly, arms wrapping around you in turn. "I got you. You just rest."

You don't need him to tell you twice.

Footnotes

27. Fun fact: I wrote this section by texting myself on discord each of the Reader's individual replies with my glasses off. If a particular exchange seemed too clean, I added one or two to balance it out, keeping in mind this girl is typing with the kind of headache that demands answers from the gods themselves. I like to think I did a decent job of it.

Tags: @deeplightgarden @idonthaveanameideayet @dusstory @kazunish

[randomperson99sworld]

Ruffled Feathers 🪶

~ Part 18 ~

Summary: Julia Morgan, Bobby's niece, has always been a royal thorn in Dean Winchesters ass since the day they met 1 year ago at Bobby's memorial. She wants to be a hunter, he thinks she's a dumb kid playing dress up. Will she always be seen as an unwanted load in Dean's eyes or will he see something more?

Pairing: Dean x OC

Warnings: Age gap, language, sexual themes (used lightly), physical abuse (Not by Dean).

Word Count: 815

A/N: Are you guys liking the story so far? Keep in mind this is a slow burn 🔥 Stated as always, this story is cross posted on my Wattpad. Happy reading! ♥️

It was well past midnight, and the bunker was eerily quiet except for the soft sound of pages turning. Sam sat hunched over his laptop, eyes strained from hours of research. Across from him, Julia absentmindedly flipped through one of Bobby's old journals, but her focus wasn't on the page. She kept glancing at the door, waiting for Dean.

Sam noticed her fidgeting and sighed. "He'll be fine, Julia. You know Dean."

Julia gave a half-hearted smile, but her worry was clear. "I know, but he's been gone for hours. You don't just walk into somewhere like that and stroll out like it's no big deal."

Sam leaned back in his chair, stretching. "True, but if anyone can handle it, it's Dean."

Just then, the heavy sound of the bunker door creaked open. Julia shot up from her seat, her heart pounding. Dean stumbled in, exhausted, his clothes smeared with dirt and blood. He looked like he'd been through hell and back.

"Dean!" Julia gasped, rushing to him. Without thinking, she wrapped her arms around him, relief washing over her. "You're alive," she whispered against his chest, her voice betraying the worry she had been holding in.

Dean froze for a split second, startled by the sudden hug. He wasn't used to this kind of reaction, especially from her. But then, something in him softened, and he awkwardly wrapped his arms around her, patting her back. "Whoa, easy there, Jules. I'm still in one piece."

Julia pulled back slightly, her eyes scanning his face, taking in every scrape and bruise. "Barely," she muttered. "You look like crap."

Dean gave a tired smirk. "Good to see you, too."

She rolled her eyes, stepping back and folding her arms. "You seriously need to stop making a habit out of looking like death warmed over. It's not a good look."

Dean snorted, shrugging off his jacket. "Trust me, this is nothing."

Sam, who had been watching the exchange with a smirk, finally stood up. "So, what happened?"

Dean took a deep breath, feeling the weight of everything that had transpired. He glanced at the both of them, his eyes lingering on Julia, who still looked like she was trying to figure out if he was really okay.

"Well, I got what I went for," Dean said, his voice rough with exhaustion. "The Mark of Cain."

Sam's face fell, his eyes widening. "Wait—what?"

Dean lifted his sleeve, revealing the angry, glowing Mark branded into his skin. "Yeah. Turns out, the First Blade's useless without this bad boy. Cain said I needed it to kill Abaddon."

Julia's eyes locked on the Mark, her stomach sinking. "Dean... that thing looks... wrong."

Dean rubbed his arm, the throbbing pain a constant reminder of the price he was willing to pay. "Yeah, it feels wrong, too. But we don't have a choice. If we want to take down Abaddon, I need the Blade."

Sam shook his head, clearly troubled. "And where is the Blade?"

Dean sighed, running a hand through his hair. "That's the fun part. Cain tossed it into the deepest part of the ocean. Crowley's on the hunt for it now. But something tells me this isn't gonna be easy."

Julia furrowed her brow, worry flashing across her face. "You trust Crowley to find it?"

Dean scoffed. "Hell no. But we're running out of options."

The room fell silent for a moment as the gravity of the situation set in. Sam looked at Dean with a mix of concern and frustration. "So, you're just going to bear the Mark? And hope this doesn't backfire?"

Dean's eyes darkened, and he glanced at the glowing red Mark again. "I don't like it either, Sammy. But right now, it's the only shot we've got."

Julia stepped forward, her expression softening just a bit. "You're not doing this alone, Dean. We're all in this together."

Dean gave her a tired smile, a bit of that usual banter flickering back. "What, you think I need backup now? I'm fine, Jules. I always am."

Julia raised an eyebrow, folding her arms. "Sure, because showing up looking like you got hit by a truck screams 'fine'."

Dean chuckled, shaking his head. "You're impossible."

She smirked, but there was still a glint of worry in her eyes. "You wouldn't last two days without us."

Sam, clearly still uneasy about the Mark, gave a small nod. "We'll figure it out. Just... don't do anything reckless."

Dean gave a mock salute. "Reckless? Me? Never."

Despite the heaviness of the situation, the tension between them all seemed to ease, if only for a moment. But as Dean looked down at the Mark on his arm, the weight of what was coming pressed down on him again. He'd need more than just the Blade to stop Abaddon. He'd need all the help he could get—whether he wanted it or not.

[somedogs]

イキグサレ 「お注射ガール」 Translation Ikigusare - "Injection Girl" (Ochuusha Gaaru)

"Injection Girl" by Ikigusare, the horror-themed virtual idol group recently making the sweeps. Original lyrics, romaji transcription and my own translation.

Where to find the song:

NicoNicoDouga YouTube Bandcamp

!! Warnings !!

Medical violence, needles, poisoning, abusive love, general horror themes, suicide.

Usage:

Please don't repost or use my translation without permission and credit. I'm happy for this to be used for subs and videos, as long as I'm notified and credited.

If you use the romaji (for covers, reference, etc.), I would also appreciate credit, but it's optional.

Please enjoy.

Original (from Bandcamp)

あら目が覚めたの　まだボンヤリするでしょ 貴方のお茶に少し薬入れたの 寝てる間にイスに縛り付けたよ 何でこんなことするんだって言いたいの？ 私が何も知らないと思ってたの　ホントバカね

この注射器には毒が入っています 即死する毒なんて入手できないから 結構長い時間苦しむと思うけど 結局死ぬんだからどうでもいいでしょ 少しだけチクッとするよ　動くと余計痛いよ

なんちゃって全部嘘だよ　貴方は死なないよ 一時でも愛した人を　殺すわけ無いじゃない 大丈夫　全部嘘だよ　これは毒じゃないよ でもこれで少しは私の怒りが分かった？

これで貴方への復讐は終わり でもまだロープは解いてあげない 後は私の個人的なことだけど もうちょっとだけ付き合ってください 貴方に騙されちゃった　自分がもう許せない

この注射器には本当に毒が入ってる 今からこれを自分に打ちます のた打ち回って　もがき苦しんで 動かなくなるまで　どうか見ててね 貴方が裏切った女の最後見届けて

ほら見てよ　血反吐吐いたよ　手足痙攣するよ 喉を掻き毟って　もうそこら中血まみれ ほら見てよ　凄い顔でしょ　まるで地獄みたいでしょ でもなんか今の私　ちょっとだけセクシー

Romaji

ara me ga sameta no　mada bon'yari suru desho anata no ocha ni sukoshi kusuri deta no neteiru aida ni isu ni shibari tsuketa yo nande konna koto suru nda tte iitai no? watashi ga nani mo shiranai to omotteta no　honto baka ne

kono chuushaki ni wa doku ga haiteimasu sokushi suru doku nante nyuushu dekinai kara kekkou nagai jikan kurushimu to omou kedo kekkyoku shinu ndakara dou demo ii desho sukoshi dake chikutto suru yo　ugoku to yokei itai yo

nanchatte zenbu uso da yo　anata wa shinanai yo ittoki de mo aishita hito wo　korosu wake nai janai daijoubu　zenbu uso da yo　kore wa doku janai yo demo kore de sukoshi wa watashi no ikari ga wakatta?

kore de anata e no fukushuu wa owari demo mada roopu wa toite agenai ato wa watashi no kojinteki na koto dakedo mou chotto dake tsukiatte kudasai anata ni damasarechatta　jibun ga mou yurusenai

kono chuushaki ni wa hontou ni doku ga haiteru ima kara kore wo jibun ni uchimasu notauchi mawatte　mogaki kurushinde ugokanaku naru made　douka mitete ne anata ga uragitta onna no saigo todokete

hora mite yo　chihedo haita yo　teashi keiren suru yo nodo wo kakimushitte　mou sokorajuu chimamire hora mite yo 　sugoi kao desho　marude jigoku mitai desho demo nanka ima no watashi　chotto dake sekushii (x2)

Translation

Ah, you've woken up! Seems you're still out of it I spiked your tea with a bit of poison While you slept, I tied you to a chair You want to ask why I'd do such a thing? You thought I didn't know anything, just a real fool, huh?

I've filled this syringe here with poison I couldn't get hold of poison that kills quickly, so I think you'll suffer for a splendidly long time But you'll die in the end anyways, so it doesn't matter. Nothing but a quick prick - move and it'll hurt more!

🎜🎜🎜🎜🎜

Just kidding! That was all a lie, you're not gonna die! There's no reason to kill someone even if I only loved them for a time. It's okay, that was all a lie, this isn't poison! Still, just now, did you understand at least some of my anger?

With this, my revenge on you is over But I won't untie the ropes just yet. The rest is just a personal matter, but Please keep me company a little while longer. You managed to trick me; I can't let you do it ever again. I've filled this syringe here with poison for real This time, I'll inject myself with it. Rolling around in pain, writhing in agony, Until I stop moving. Please watch, okay? The final moments of the woman you betrayed - watch till the end.

🎜🎜🎜🎜🎜🎜🎜🎜

Hey, look here! I've thrown up blood! My limbs are convulsing! Scratching at my throat, there's already blood everywhere. Hey, look here! Such a terrible, amazing face, almost just like hell. But even now, when I'm like this, I'm just a bit sexy~ (x2)

[call-me-a-simp]

Heal My Wounds

Dresses, Suits and Cakes (part 30)

Rhea Ripley x Reader

Summary: You are in a toxic relationship with an abusive man but manage to run away. A tall, black haired woman picks you up from the streets just in time so your ex doesn't get you. But who is she and why does she seem so familiar to you? As you get to know each other you start to notice weird feelings you never had before whenever she's around.

Dominik and you went out again to eventually find the perfect dress, this time without any complications. In the meantime Rhea was out on her own, not to find a dress, but a suit.

She didn't want to wear a dress, as everyone would expect a bride to do. She wanted to break the standards and what could be better than wearing a suit to a wedding as a female.

But not just any suit, Rhea wanted a unique one. So she went to the tailor she trusted most and known for years and explained to him exactly what she was visioning.

After that she went to look at some black/purple and gothic-themed deco. After all it should fit her style and she already asked you, who didn't have a problem with having a black/purple-ish wedding. You actually really liked the idea.

And as that was done and she gathered some ideas she went to pick you up, hoping you and Dom would be done by now and you could go taste some cakes.

'hey, you done by now?' she texted Dom.

'ye almost I think, why?' he replied

'cause I wanna pick her up to taste some cakes'

'ooh damn I think we just found the perfect dress, hell Yeah she' s looking goood'

'DOMINIK! DON'T TEASE ME LIKE THAAT😭'

'😂😘'

Rhea huffed as she read the message and hopped into her car. But she had to chuckle a little, Dom knew exactly how to tease her when it came to her girlfriend.

She drove off and arrived at your and Dom's location about half an hour later. She found you, again, eating ice cream. "Hey baby" you say and hug her, kissing her cheek lightly.

"I see you got some ice cream there" Rhea smirks. You grin and shake your head "it s okay, take it" you chuckle. "I'm not gonna steal it from you! I just want a taste" she states and takes your ice.

"So" Rhea licks on the ice "where's the dress?" she asks and you take back your ice cream from her. "it's in my car" Dominik says. "why? I wanna see it" your girlfriend pouts a little.

"You said it yourself sweetie, you're not supposed to see it until the actual wedding" you tease her and blow her a kiss. Rhea huffs and takes your ice cream again. "Hey" you exclaim and Dom laughs.

"Come on now, if I can't see the dress I at least want to taste cakes!" Rhea says and starts making her way to where she parked her car. "Ooh can I come with you? I love cakes!" Dominik asks excitedly.

"No!" Rhea turns around "you were mean to me and mean boys don't get to taste cakes!" and she walks off again. Now was your time to laugh at him "come on Dom, you have my permission"

He lets out a happy squeal and runs to his car, before he enters he turns around shouting "Thank youu". You chuckle and wave it off, heading to Rhea's car.

You arrive at the bakery and get out. "Hey, I said you aren't allowed to come" she dares Dominik "Hey calm down babe, I told him it's okay. We all know it's a joke from your side anyway, isn't it?"

"Of course it is" Rhea breaks character "come here domi-boi" she holds her arm out for him and he happily accepts the little hug.

You enter the building and get taken to a table where they already put some cards with different cake options and stuff. "Here you go, you can take a look and then tell us what you would like to taste" the waitress says.

"Okay, thank you" you smile at her. You take a seat and start looking through the cards. "Do you want to go for a more chocolaty or fruity cake?" Dom asks.

"I don't know, they're both good in their own ways.." you and Rhea say simultaneously and chuckle. "Okay, more to taste, I don't mind" Dom grins. Rhea shakes her head smiling, that was so typical Dom!

You order some samples and taste them all, eventually deciding to go for a dark chocolate cake, with dark chocolate frosting and cherries inside. Dominik didn't get to do much except eating cake, but he didn't complain. Why should he? He's as happy as ever.

"Can you make it three layers, coated in black with a purple, kinda waistband and some edible flowers and.. And I want the judgement day logo on it cause I know it's important to my fiancée and.. And I want two brides on top!"

You go on and on, excited to get your dream wedding cake. But before you walk out Rhea wishes to speak to the bakers alone, telling them to give one of the brides, her, a suit.

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

Part 30. Is it normal to get tired of writing sometime and feeling like it's some kind of burden, like you have to do it because people expect you to?

Anyway, here's the taglist: @babybatlover @legit9thlunaticwarrior @thatonepansexual2000 @nox-fire