#Ikigai Fic

[starheartconstellations]

IKIGAI

Chapter 9 - Curse Upon a Cradle

Monsters aren't just made as they live and breathe. Some are doomed before the cradle.

🌟 Ko-fi / Linktree 🌟

[veronicaphoenix]

IKIGAI (or A REASON FOR BEING) — CHAPTER ONE

"She noticed there was something different about the boy's face. The almond shape of his eyes was accentuated, and Lia had never seen anyone with slightly Japanese features before. Although at the time she was a six-year-old girl who barely knew how to put a name to the most basic emotions, from that first time she saw Noah Sebastian she was taken with his features."

Warnings: This part of the story contains mentions of domestic abuse and substance intake, alcohol issues, child neglect and such, + sexual innuendos and events (if you squint).

Chapter tags: childhood, meeting for the first time, found family, Japanese folklore and mythology, mentions of parents' neglect towards children. Word count: 3.900 | Cross posted on AO3. | Series masterpost. ✧.*

Also, English is not my mother-tongue, so please bear with me and let me know if there's anything that needs fixing! :)

CHAPTER 1

Lia is 6. Noah is 7.

As a boy, when he lived with his grandparents in the United States and his grandmother walked him to school every morning, Noah spent hours enraptured in the Japanese stories and legends about honor, family, love and money that his grandma gladly shared with him as she enjoyed the afternoon breeze on the porch, with little Noah sitting cross-legged on the floor watching her wide-eyed and listening to her with more attention than he had paid at school.

At no time during those afternoons spent in the company of the only family he had left, with the birdsong in the background and the sound of wind chimes enveloping them in a blanket of comfort and peace, accompanied by the smell of grass and the scent of the flowers his grandmother so lovingly tended, did Noah think there was more to those legends than the magic those and myths carry, and that he himself would be caught up in the plots of those tales.

In a house plunged in darkness and shrouded in the stench of tobacco and damp, one November night Lia Parker was born, with big brown eyes and a desolate cry. The tears she shed during her first minutes of life could have filled empty lakes. The arms of a father who could have also cried when his daughter came into the world never came to hold her.

Sometimes, at night, she would cry for her mother's attention. She would hold her in her arms for a while, but when she got tired she would put Lia back in the crib and disappear, leaving Lia unsatisfied, her eyes still teary and her lip trembling.

Throughout her infancy, she lacked her mother's hugs, kisses and smiles. Instead, Lia spent her best moments in corners of the house, with toys and crayons that hadn't been meant for her, entertaining herself in a world that was not exactly real. Later, men began to arrive. Lia was still too young to understand who they were or what they were doing there. What she did know was that none of them were her father, and every day and every night that she saw them come in and out of the house, she looked at them with the longing of a child who has never known the love of a father but longs for it with all her innocent soul.

Lia began to understand what was happening at the age of six. She began to understand that something was not right at home, and that her life was not like that of other children. It was at that age when, one ordinary Saturday morning, Lia met Noah.

Lia was sitting cross-legged on the sidewalk in front of her house. She was bored, and the only thing that seemed to keep her a little busy was pulling weeds that managed to grow through the cracks in the pavement. She had grown tired of painting on the asphalt with the chalk her mother had bought her last week, after remembering that Lia's birthday had been last month. That day, she was wearing pants that were too small for her and a white T-shirt with dirty spots here and there. Her long hair was falling over her face. And she had a bruise on her elbow from the fall in the garden three days ago, when she had been chasing a brown rabbit. There was a nice breeze and it wasn't too hot. It was the perfect day for a picnic, although that was something Lia's mother would never do. She hated spending time outside. The bugs, the plants, the humidity... She hated all of those things. She didn't even have plants in the house. She said they were a nuisance, another responsibility she didn't have time for. For that reason, the garden at the back of the house was nothing more than a neglected patch of ground that had been taken over by mosquitoes, dragonflies, and a few moles. For Lia it was an adventure paradise. Sometimes she would spend hours counting the different types of flowers there. Other times she would try to catch the moles that lived under her house, and sometimes she would just sit on the porch steps, look around and draw and color in her notebooks. The house where Lia lived wasn't small, but it was too big for her and her mother. Despite how neglected it was and the dust that was gathering in the corners and especially in the rooms that no one entered, Lia took advantage of the situation and turned her home into a maze of possibilities and nooks and crannies where she could find something new to entertain herself with or learn from every day. It could be said that Lia grew up practically alone in those walls, because if her mother's negligence had come to be known by an outsider, Lia would have surely been taken away from that place in no time. However, it's not that easy to know what's going on behind closed doors... 

Noah was the first person to cross that house's doors and find out. Unfortunately, Noah was just another kid like her, a year older, innocent and ignorant, and he had no power whatsoever in his hands to change the world, even though he was about to change someone's life.

The Saturday morning that Noah found Lia, Lia's mother was not at home. She hadn't even slept there, and Lia was already more than used to nights alone in the house, where dinners were reduced to the apples that weren't rotten in the kitchen and the odd bag of chips in one of the cupboards by the dashboard. Lia's room faced the back, and when the weather was nice she slept with the window open so that the sound of crickets would drift into the room and keep her company.

Noah was riding his bike that morning with two other friends, schoolmates and neighbors. Of the three, Noah was the quietest, but also the most curious and the most determined. So he hung back when he saw the girl sitting on the sidewalk, crestfallen and hiding her face behind a curtain of brown hair. He slowed down, put his feet on the ground and watched her. She did not seem to notice him. She was engrossed in pulling weeds, as if there was nothing more interesting to do that day. 

There was something strange about her. Noah couldn't see it, but he could definitely feel it, otherwise he wouldn't have stood a few feet away from her and wouldn't have been watching her for a whole minute without saying anything.

Noah had seen girls before, of course. He was always surrounded by boys and girls and when he wasn't at home with his grandparents he was at Nick's or Mike's or at some birthday party, but he had never seen one alone, in the middle of the street, and with no adult in sight. 

A butterfly fluttered around Lia and landed in her hair. Lia must have noticed it, because she raised her head and tried to find the suspect, only succeeding in getting the butterfly to take flight again and fly away from her, doing a dance in the air that seemed to mean 'see you soon'. 

"Hi," greeted Noah, still self-absorbed. Lia noticed his presence and landed her big brown eyes on the boy in the middle of the street. Noah was sure he had never seen anyone with eyes like those before. She looked surprised, as if she wasn't used to seeing people passing by, and suddenly, she smiled, showing her milk teeth. "I'm Noah". 

"Nowah?" She tried to repeat it very slowly. She had never heard that name before. She dropped the last grass clippings she had plucked from the ground and rubbed her palm on her pants. 

"Noah," he repeated, a little louder this time. "What's your name?"

"Lia." She said her name with her chin up and her smile even bigger, happy to be able to tell someone who she was, to let them know she existed. 

"I like it." 

"I like it too," Lia replied, shaking her shoulders. She noticed that there was something different about the boy's face. The almond shape of his eyes was accentuated, and Lia had never seen anyone with slightly Japanese features before. Although at the time she was a six-year-old girl who barely knew how to put a name to the most basic emotions, from that first time she saw Noah Sebastian she was taken with his features. 

"Your parents let you be out here alone, on the street?"

Noah's question didn't surprise her. Lia responded by telling him that she didn't have a father, and that her mother didn't mind her being there. At that point, she knew that her mom was a weird mother. She did things that other parents didn't. Then she frowned and cocked her head a little bit to the side, examining Noah and the bike he was riding. 

"Do your parents let you be out on the street with your bike? It's dangerous, isn't it?"

Noah wanted to tell her that he didn't have a father, either, and that he barely saw his mom, but decided to refrain from doing so. 

"I'm not alone," Noah replied. "Nick's mother is walking Rudolph," he pointed to a woman approaching from a distance, holding a German shepherd on a frayed black leash. "Besides, we're just walking around the block. Nick and I live three blocks up the street." He waved his arm again and pointed down the street behind him. Lia had only crossed that street a few times, when she'd had to accompany her mother to routine doctor's appointments when they couldn't afford the bus fare. 

"Do you and Nick live together?" Lia was interested. She could imagine how much fun it must be to have friends or siblings and live with them. 

"No, we're neighbors".

"So we're neighbors too?" She asked, the smile creeping back onto her lips. There was a tiny dimple on her right cheek.

Noah found himself smiling in return. 

"I guess. Do you have a bike?"

Lia shook her head.  

An approaching car honked and Noah stepped aside, moving in penguin strides so he could drag the bike with him. He took the opportunity to move a little closer to Lia, who pushed her hair out of her face with one hand. Her cheeks were red from the sun. 

"If you had a bike you could come ride with me, Nick and Mike. Sometimes we go to the lake, Nick's parents let Rudolph loose, and we pedal really fast until Rudolph catches up." 

"My mom doesn't have money to buy me a bike. And we don't have a dog either."

"Do you have roller skates?"

She shook her head again. 

"My mom says only rich people have those things."

Noah frowned. 

"I'm not rich, but I have some I don't use anymore. I could give them to you." 

"I don't know how to skate." 

"You can learn." 

"Why do you want to give me your skates? Is your name really Noah? My mother says we shouldn't talk to strangers, and we shouldn't tell lies."

One of the few sensible things she'd ever said to her daughter. 

"My grandmother says that too," Noah replied. "But you're not a stranger. You're a child, like me."

Lia moved her shoulders up and down. He seemed to have a point. 

"My mother won't teach me to skate."

"I can teach you. Can you ride a bike?"

Another 'no'.

"Do you want me to teach you?"

Before Lia answered, Noah had swung a leg over the trunk of the bike and was steering it by the handlebars to Lia. She stood up, running her hands down her pants to wipe them off. 

"Here you go".

Lia looked at Noah uncertainly, somewhat fearfully, but then he smiled at her and said he would hold the bike while she pedaled. 

He tried to remember how his grandfather had held the bike while he taught him to pedal, a year before. While it was effortless for him to hold the bike when he was on it, with Lia's weight and from the side it wasn't so easy. 

When Lia lifted her feet off the ground, the bike wobbled, and Noah pursed his lips, frowning at the strength and amount of focus it took to keep the bike upright. Lia's hair was streaming down her face and her knuckles were white from the grip on the handlebars. At that moment, the safety of her tiny body depended on Noah, the boy who had taken a shine to her uniqueness and who'd been kinder than her own mother had ever been to her. 

A few yards away from them, down the opposite street, Nick's mother was approaching, holding Rudolph back to keep him from running off in the direction Nick and Mike had gone, ahead of Noah, who always stayed behind prying or enraptured in the sounds coming from places he couldn't see. She didn't want to raise her voice, so the woman hurried to catch up with Noah and the girl he was with and find out what was going on. 

Noah waited until Lia had her feet on the pedals. The girl was wearing worn white Adidas sneakers, with a hole in the toe of the left shoe, and colorful socks. He instructed her to pedal. As soon as she did, a car came around the corner at the other end of the road, startling her. She let go of the handlebars and stood up straight. The movement of her body induced a flow of weight that Noah was unable to handle, and in less than three seconds, both Lia and he were on the ground, Nick's mother rushing over with Rudolph running beside her, and the bike lying on the road. 

Noah pulled himself to his feet. He had fallen on his butt and barely hurt himself. Nick's mother grabbed him by the shoulders to examine him with wide eyes. He could only look at Lia, who was sitting on the floor and staring at her knee, where the fabric of her jeans had torn and a little blood was leaking out.

"Honey, did you hurt yourself?" Nick's mother was quick to ask before Noah could react. 

The car had passed by, and now the ones approaching were Nick and Mike, pedaling as if their lives depended on it. Rudolph had also approached Lia and sniffed her. 

Despite the stinging that was coming alive in her knee, Lia could only think about Noah's bike, and whether it was her fault in case it was broken. Her lower lip trembled, but she made an effort to keep herself in check, as she had so often done at home when her mother had reproached her for crying too easily, and she pushed her hair out of her face to shake her head and give the grown woman a look of redress. 

"You're bleeding," Noah stated. 

"Honey, are your parents home?"

Lia shook her head. Again. 

She saw the woman look in the direction of her house with a frown, uncertainty crossing her face. She was thinking about something. 

"Is there someone we can call?"

When Lia shook her head one more time, the woman gave a sigh and helped her to her feet. 

"What happened?" Nick, who had just caught up with them and slowed down, asked. Next to him, Mike did the same. They both looked at Lia with the same curiosity with which Noah had looked at her the first time. "Who are you?"

"My name is Lia. I'm six years old," she answered. "I'm sorry," she said next, turning to Noah. 

He was about to answer when Nick's mother decided that Lia should walk with them until they were back home, where she could tend to her wound and disinfect it, and then take her back to her house and, if it wasn't too much, wait for her parents to arrive to explain what had happened. As usual, she wondered the same thing Noah had asked her: how a girl of her age was alone in the street, without adult supervision. 

"It will heal by itself," Lia muttered, touching her wound. "I fell in the garden the other day. Look," she showed her the wound on her elbow.  

Nick's mother felt a tugging feeling inside her. 

"When there's a wound, you have to tend it, honey. Make sure it doesn't get infected".

Without further ado, she touched Lia's back and urged her to join them. Behind them, Noah picked up his bike, all in one piece, and they all started moving back to their street. Rudolph stuck close to Lia and spent part of the journey raising his head to her and looking at the girl with something which appeared to be a smile. The dog managed to relieve some of the burning sensation she felt in her knee. He even made her laugh softly a couple of times. Nick and Mike asked her questions from their bikes, some slightly uncomfortable questions, and Noah remained behind the group, pushing his bike silently and not taking his eyes off Lia's back. There was a stain there that looked like an airplane. 

Lia never set foot in Nick's house, at least not that day. She would do so later, when she was a little older and Nick invited her to his birthday party, where she would see him play the drums for the first time, a hobby his father had been fond of since he was very young. 

Lia was taken care of at Noah's house, a place that was undoubtedly in better condition than hers and much nicer. The first thing that struck her about the place was the number of different plants and flowers that filled the front garden. Lia literally ran up to one of those plants and knelt down, placing a small hand just below the flower's petals as she looked at it with her eyes wide open and her mouth agape. Rudolph had pulled Nick's mother to run after her and stopped beside the girl, looking at her curiously. Lia looked at the flowers as if they were a treasure. 

"It's a marigold!"

"How do you know?" Noah asked, dropping the bike on the other side of the garden and crossing the stone path to stand next to her.

"I really like flowers." 

"So does my grandma."

No doubt Noah's grandmother loved flowers; she had spent much of her life studying and caring for them in her own garden. 

Lia first saw Noah's grandmother just two minutes after she became enraptured caressing the petals of the marigold flower. The woman was an older, short lady with long white hair pulled back in a bun. She was dressed in a long summer dress covered by an apron when she opened the door and welcomed her into her home. She had the same eyes as Noah, though the almond shape was even more pronounced. 

Lia couldn't hide the smile that crossed her face. 

From the first moment, sixty-five-year-old Hana proved her gentle demeanour and was delighted to have a guest in her home. She welcomed Lia without prejudice, although Noah knew his grandmother well enough to recognize some of the typical adult expressions, and he knew early on that his grandma felt uneasy and worried about the little girl. Hana had asked her a few questions, had asked about her parents, about her mother, and all she got were disinterested answers, some even elusive, and she didn't like the way Lia looked either: wild hair, small and worn clothes, the torn sneakers, and whatever it was that was hiding in that girl's big brown eyes. 

As she cleaned and disinfected her knee wound, Hana told Lia about flowers and how many of them she had in the garden. She told her that once she returned home and told her mother what happened, she could ask for permission and go back there and help her tend the flowers if she felt like it. They only lived three blocks away. 

From the side of the couch, still standing, Noah watched as his grandmother tended to Lia and as the girl nodded her head vehemently, elated and not at all bothered by the intrusion of the alcohol on her torn skin. Noah thought she was a very strong girl. He got hurt months before and had burst into tears as his grandmother applied an alcohol-soaked gauze pad to the wound. 

With Lia's cleaned and a band-aid over it to protect it, Hana stood up and asked the children if they were hungry. They both nodded. When they were left alone, Lia looked around, impressed by the cleanliness of the place and the amount of interesting and strange things in every corner. She was about to get up and start browsing, but then Noah asked if she wanted to see his room, and Lia gave in to following him upstairs.

"Where are your parents?" She asked suddenly, before reaching the first floor. Although she had been engrossed in the house, the part of her that missed her own mother prompted her to ask Noah about his own, and about his father, too, of course.

"I don't know my father," Noah replied without bothering to turn around and look at her. He continued walking toward his room at the end of the hall. 

Lia held her breath for a couple of seconds. She had thought she was the only person in the world who didn't know her father, but then there was Noah. How strange and... wonderful, at the same time. She didn't feel that lonely anymore. She could share her ache with him and he could share it with her, if he needed to. They would learn to manage that complicated pain in their hearts together. 

"And my mom... I haven't seen her in a while. Maybe she's with your mom."

The suggestion made Lia shake her head. 

"No. My mother doesn't like other moms," Lia replied, entering Noah's room. "She's always with men."

Downstairs, Hana thought about how curious it was that a girl like Lia had caught her grandson's attention, although, come to think of it, maybe it wasn't so strange. Noah was a curious, determined and daring child, sometimes even fearless, which worried his grandparents too much, and Lia was unlike anything he had known so far. Despite the concern for the child, Hana decided to focus on preparing Noah and Lia something to eat, at least this way she would make sure Lia ate something, because she was very thin, and then she would walk her home, with Noah's company, of course. 

However, Hana, loaded with knowledge about her home-country's culture -a Japan that to this day was far from what it'd been during her childhood-, couldn't help but return to all those legends and myths she had heard about from her elder relatives when, that same afternoon, Noah, returning home after putting the bicycle in the garage, approached her to show her the red thread he had found tangled in the bike's pedal. 

The string had come loose from one of Lia's socks, and now he was holding it in his hand.

[konohamaru-sensei]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY @akamikazae !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This is a very very short little thing because I'm so busy with other drawing stuff this october ( i know i know this i my fault) and then i could also just NOT decide which AU to write for (i went back and forth through all of them ARG) so this is MY NArt AU and Akami would be about 48-49 here. Snek meetup. Anyway Im glad we are friends !!!! hope you have and had a great dayy happy birthday

The boy just about reached the top of her hip bone, the hair pushed back behind a shiny new headband he had undoubtedly just gotten. He blinked curiously at her, as if he was taking her reaction in, moment by moment, as if he was trying to savour it. Akami’s stomach turned a little, this weird sinking feeling that always announced the big hole in her soul when there was anything relating to her father.

“I’m Mitsuki”, the boy told Akami what she already knew. “You must be….Akami?” he was friendly enough to state it as a question, though he clearly already knew who she was. She wondered when his father had told him or whoever else came before him about her existence or if MItsuki just found her on her own. 

She stretched her shoulders a little. “I am Akami, yes,” she confirmed and almost added a honorific to that just to push the boy to be a little more respectful to her. She stopped herself though. He was not at fault for the complicated past she had with their creator.

“We have the same father,” Mitsuki stated and smiled a little. “That makes you like my older sister, right?”

Her stomach turned again. The big hole that had opened up was opening even wider, letting her stumble and fall through it like she was walking on a tightrope. Though she had had years since she had learned that her father was trying to clone himself in some underground lab or other, she somehow felt completely unequipped to deal with this: the real product of those experiments.

To say she had a troubled past with her own father was probably an understatement and not minding what he was doing was probably the healthiest choice she had made after the war. This kid in front of her was nothing but another branch that connected her to him, something she’d better not invite into her life. A lot of time and healing had gone on and Sasuke was better, Anko was better and Akami was better too.

But he was just a kid. When one thought about it logically, then one could think that clones are not separate, own humans, since their DNA wasn’t unique. But Akami didn’t believe that. This boy in front of her eyes wasn’t her father and if he grew up around people that cherished and loved him he’d also never become her father. DNA be damned.

Mitsuki wasn’t responsible for the sins of the person that created him, he had come up to her with his head held high and a smile, maybe searching for a family he didn’t know he had before. What people were there with him where he lived? Were there any? Sasuke had told her that Karin and Suigetsu had stuck around and that their kid was there too, but did that mean he was happy?

There was this part of her that wanted to take him away and keep him, raise him, just like she’d done with Sasuke, just to make sure he was going to turn out alright. But that hadn’t worked with Sasuke either and now she was much older and tired more easily. Shinobi business never meant a painless life growing into old age.

Mitsuki’s eyes watched her, waiting for a reply and it reminded her of one of her snakes. He was just a child. His child. But a child nonetheless.

The choice seemed impossible to make and yet it was surprisingly easy.

Akami put her hands onto her legs and leaned down to eye level the boy. “That's right,” she said, “I am your big sister.” She laughed a little and turned one strand of her hair that had greyed a little under her finger: “Though I am more like your aunt, when you consider my age.”

“Ahh,” the boy said, his eyes lit up so brightly that it took her aback, “Akami-nee. I’m so glad.” He definitely sounded like he meant it.

It was like light in his eyes and the smile on his face closed the open hole in her stomach. He was just a kid, his DNA didn’t define him. Why would it? It hadn’t defined her either.

“Did you just get promoted to Genin?” she asked in a friendly tone and tapped the headband that was still shiny and scratchless. 

She thought about hers, laying at the top of her sideboard in her apartment. She retained it from when she was very young, but it looked incredibly worn down. “You can have a new one,” she’d been told, last time she wore it. But she was older now and retired from shinobi business so for the very few official events that she wore it the old one did just fine.

“That’s right!” he said and tapped it too. “I was accepted as a Genin even though father is not highly regarded. It was lucky.”

“Congratulations.” Akami smiled at him. 

Her response brought something like pride in his eyes. “I wasn’t originally going to school, but father asked the hokage to accept me and then I was! I was suddenly around a lot of people, it was very interesting.”

Akami tried to picture her father, however he looked like now, walz right into the Hokage office and asking for his little experiment child to get an education. The image in front of her mind's eye almost made her laugh. “I know I tried to murder your best friend and take over his body, but can you still pay for my child’s education?”

“Lord Seventh is kind,” Akami replied. “Of course you were accepted.” Naruto would never hold his parentage over a kid like this. That just wasn’t the kind of person he was.

Mitsuki nodded. “I was happy also because my brother didn’t get this education, but I got the opportunity.”

She shook herself a little: “Brother?” How many of them were there? Was it another identical clone?

“Log,” Mitsuki reported. “He is about 18 years of age, I think. Supposed to be, I think.”

Akami did quick maths in her head. About Konohmarus age, she wondered to herself. That meant that either her father had experimented with clones already before the war (which might as well be possible), or that he had found a way to accelerate the ageing process. “Is there another?”, she asked next. “Brother of ours I mean…”

The boy shook his head: “Just Log and me and Akami-nee.”

Noted. “Well, that is two more siblings than I ever though I’d have. So thank you.” She ruffled the boy's hair. “And you guys are doing good?” She tried to keep the question casual, but couldn’t completely cloak the underlying worry. Mitsuki for his part didn’t look neglected and if he had a big brother around they could protect each other but still….

“I have nothing to complain about.” He said, which only half satisfied Akami.

“No experiments?” She asked.

He shrugged. “Nothing but the initial way we were born.” The way he phrased it sounded as if his birth was no different than any other birth, she wondered if he knew that his was absolutely not normal at all.

Putting both hands on his shoulders she directly looked at him: “Listen, Mitsuki, if anything - anything- ever comes up, you come straight to me. You pack your brother too if you want, but find me and I’ll take care of you.”

Mitsuki blinked so she grabbed his shoulders a little tighter to show that she meant it: “Promise me.”

He hesitated for a moment. Then he looked up. “Promise.”

[lilac-melody]

If someone wants to DM me or something giving me pointers on how to write a homoerotic swordfight fic that would be fantastic actually 🥹

[ikigaizine]

No, you're not coming down with a case of deja vu: Mod Tyy (@ss_tyytyy on Twitter), our resident Cupid, is firing her arrow once again with another Valentine's Day KiriKami fic! This year, Eijirou is surprising Denki with the BEST Valentine's Day EVER.

Read more under the cut.

[sunnyseungup]

Lee Know fic recs | pt3

Stray kids | Lee Know 

Pt1 | Pt2

masterlist

[ updated 230726 ]

2:23AM { idiots in love; f } 1,4k @svngiem

lino is down bad for best friend—you.

Had to make sure you’d catch it { f } 2,1k @catiuskaa

no one expected jeongin to be the first to marry in the group, but furthermore, no one expected minho to be the one to ask you first, and certainly not like that.

Piece by piece { f2l, college; a, f } 6,2k @godslino

minho, on a drunken whim, asks you out on a date.

Who’s needy now? { s } 0,6k @shu-porang-porang

Ikigai { a, s, f } 12,1k @straykeedz

Random bf texts @0x1lovebot

Slow mode { s } 2k @gimmeurtmi

Only When It Comes To You { mafia; s } 3,7k @dreamescapeswriting

Owner!Minho giving you the princess treatment { s } @theysaidhush

bets and situations [ rivals2l, street racing; s ] @skzdarlings

Wave After Wave [ f, a, s ] @leviackermanscleaningbuddy

No one says 'no' to a God. That's what you've always been taught. But maybe, no one's just ever really had the chance.

or

A retelling of Poseidon and Amphitrite, if it were a little bit more modern and a lot more geared toward those of us who are total sluts for enemies to lovers. This one's for you, babe.

everything for your golden touch. [ s ] 2,1k @tasteracha

you didn't know how to tell minho you wanted him to pin your wrists down and ruin you.

Let’s Meet In The Next Lifetime [ college, soulmates; f ] 2,8k @dreamescapeswriting

LOVE CURSE [ s2l; f, a ] 6k @edenalieth

Being a god of love wasn’t always easy. When you got assigned to Minho to be bonded to your soulmate, he thought his mission would be done in a blink of an eye. Little did he know that his biggest ally would be his greatest enemy: love.

For You, I Would [ marriage pact, bsf/roomates2l; f ] 2,9k @skzonthebrain

Random boyfriend texts with Minho @thefantasyden

Flirting with bsf+rommate!LeeKnow @lixiespick

Note: please let me know if the links are not working ! I’ll try to fix them as soon as possible ^^

[midnight-pluto]

MY MODEL: PG.21 — walmart sponsor

MY MODEL: jing yuan x gn!reader

SYNOPSIS: seems like the Xianzhou has hired a freelance photographer to help with their new magazine. however, this model seems to have fallen head over heels for a certain photographer — what exactly is their story?

my model master list || prev. || next

EDITORS NOTES: aiming for this fic to be finished by october, it’s been ongoing for far too long

TAGLIST: @zyphyrr @ohmyfinggod @not-creativequill @klemen-time @nekobluecute @theautisticduck @aixaingela @kokocae @imma-too-many-fandoms @ceylestia @lunavixia @queencybow @arraxthatsonjah @kiiyoooo @immahuman @ksnu @redstappen @kamikokii @rain-and-a-nice-nap @havingnonamesucks @forsh4dow @boomie-123 @ukiyo-ikigai @mjiro @whatamoodhoney @xiaossocksniffer @sxftiebee @poemzcheng @yawnzbf @organeatter @keirennyx @velovicy @superdark-soul @r4yyyyy @fakeblondies @astolary @red-ninja15 @aloveablechaos @crow-bath @unicornprincessmagicfairy @insightedly @rifran @squigglewigglewoo @starryeyedkoko @kiraisastay @eccedentesiast-sapphic [ if you want to be added, send me an ask or feel free to comment! ]

[tawus]

I also wanted to give a shout-out to many good Gojo x Y/N fanfics so I’ll be giving you a list of them that are 10/10 *Gorden Ramsey chef’s kiss* In my opinion, I hope that my recommendation will satisfy your needs for new Gojo x Y/N fanfics to read. [I WILL PUT AN 18+, IF IT HAS SMUT OR EVEN MENTIONS TAG OF SMUT, EVEN IF IT’S ONLY ONE SINGLE SEX SCENE!]

ALSO! Please be aware that most of the fan-fics that I am recommending to you will have smut and (some mature adult theme) they all will at least have tags so you will at least be aware of what kind of content you’ll be getting yourself into. (Yes I am aware of your adult age, yes I am aware that you are responsible for the stuff that you see on your own accord and that you can take care of yourself, I just want to play things safe as I do not wish to accidentally trigger you in any way, just in case.)

akatsukinorequiem on Ao3

Six feet Under (18+)

(By the time that I am writing this the series is almost complete.)

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fanficbrainrots on Ao3 & Tumblr

A Siren’s Sound

Through A Mother’s Eyes (TAME) (18+)

Cursed Love (18+)

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

iloveboobs123 on Ao3

The Etterach and The Relived (series)

Cursed Contracts  (18+)

(Status is completed; Pairings are Gojo/Y/N, Shoko/Y/N, and Geto/Y/N)

Skirts (18+)

A side story for Cursed Contracts

5 Conserts And 1 Death (18+)

(Almost done, nearly complete; And has more than 1 pairing other than Gojo; Toji/Y/N, Sukuna/Y/N, Geto/Y/N etc, etc,)

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

Kirita (jeralee) on Ao3

Entropy (18+)

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nezuscribe on Ao3 & Tumblr

His Kiss, The Riot (18+)

(one-shot)

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

quirklessidiot on Ao3 & Tumblr

Minazuki (18+)

(Series has been fully completed on Tumblr, Author has an Ao3, unfortunately the author is no longer on Tumblr as they’ve lost motivation to write.) 🙁

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Petrichorium on Ao3 & Tumblr

The King is But a Man (series)

The King is But a Man Drabbles

Flower Crowns

Empty Beds

Shortcake Crumbs

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

saintobio on Ao3 & Tumblr

Sincerely Not (18+)

(Series has been fully completed, on Tumblr, Author also has an Ao3, Has a Season 2 called Sincerely Yours, but was unfortunately taken down due to the too much toxic community that Saint had. 🙁)

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

septembersummer on Ao3 & Tumblr

Moonlight (18+)

(The series is still on-going)

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

ToonyTwilight on Ao3

Love, Death, and Circuits 

(chefs kiss~<3*)

What A Wonderful World 

:D

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

tomodachi on Ao3 + Quotev

Ukiyo-Ikigai-Mamoritai: The Gojos' Marriage Series

Ukiyo (18+)

(Series has been completed)

Ikigai 

(Series is still on-going)

Assumptions 

(one-shot)

You and Me (18+)

(I know you’ve read this one but I still wanna recommend it. 😀)

Being Kept

Good god, just LOOK at this wealth of fics!! 🤯 I'll be reading them all, thank youuu!

Also a shoutout to my personal babes within this list:

Kirita (jeralee) - she was very glad to be recommended in your list 💗 Her tumblr is @imjeralee

And my forever babes September and Saint, whose tumblrs you've already mentioned 🥰

Incredible works all around ❤️❤️❤️

[hiei-is-my-love-language]

THEY'RE HERE. Since the moment I commissioned this from @27-orange-lily I literally haven't been able to breathe from the excitement of it all. Yeah, I'm obsessed with my little fic bbs, what can you do??

Meet Airi, recent testing facility escapee and brand new psychic. She's sweet and kindhearted, and at first Hiei thinks her sensitivity a weakness. After becoming the reluctant object of her affection, however, he realizes how incredible it feels to be unquestioningly accepted by someone who adores him.

My goal was to tell Hiei’s story through the lens of him falling in love, but oh boy, did things get way more complicated than that. There’s war, a whole coven of OCs, desperate sacrifices, unexpected relationships, and an original ultra-villain the gang has to face at the very end.

General themes: soft/sad boi Hiei, trauma and the road to self-acceptance, magic, unhinged naughtiness, and Yukina becoming an all-around badass.

Truly hope you feel inclined to give it a whirl!! ♥️🥀

[koishua]

koishua's miscellaneous wip list!

say boo and pressure me into finishing these numbers <3

listed: 24/80 proper wips. had to sift through 250 drafts and veto most of them bc honestly we all know they weren't going to see the light of day!! have a suzu icon representing me rn <3 gonna be giving the other wips to the mooties who sent in for the ask game i created ages ago

№1 ) love till the sun sets | heeseung est. 15k

№2 ) from under the magnolia tree | beomgyu est. 10k — on february fourteenth, exactly five years ago, he’d gifted you a small magnolia tree he’d named after you. he’d said that he would love you for as long as the sapling you’d planted together would live. he’d even said that he would watch as it grew bigger and older with both of you taking care of it. he'd said that it would be the most beautiful thing in town. you'd believed him.

№3 ) we were beautiful | sunghoon est. 5k — you were fifteen when you’d first fallen in love with your childhood friend, seventeen when you’d called him your boyfriend, and eighteen when you lost him to life. broken apart by circumstances and necessity, everything you’d built up with him had fallen apart overnight. by the time the dawn of your nineteenth birthday had arrived, you’d no longer have the name park sunghoon present in your everyday life, only contained dearly in your memories and a journal, his name scribbled mindlessly on each and every corner of the aged pages.

№4 ) dear cupid | jake est. 15k — desperate to have his feelings of two years reciprocated, he finds a leather-bound book falling by his feet in the old campus library containing a guide on how to summon the very real and very quirky god of love and desire, cupid. in his next life, jake would come to write a book on why you should read holy contracts thoroughly before signing your name off in blood.

№5 ) man up | heeseung short fic

№6 ) ikigai | niki est 10k — lonely and trying to cope with the deeply settled rage at the world, reader stumbles upon a peculiar boy in the middle of a bridge and falls into a conversation with him where she utters eight damning words. the world consequently stops spinning and the univers halts as it is. time comes to a stand still and the only two ppl able to move happen to be her and the boy beside her. cue the next seven days of adventures in the dark streets, lit only by the streetlamps in the outskirts of tokyo.

№7 ) pocket locket | m. jaehyun short fic

№8 ) foreign exchange student!beomgyu drabble

№9 ) death is for those who stay | heeseung short fic

№10 ) the world and all her pearls | ??

№11 ) do yourself a flavour | ?? — ice cream parlour, r2l

№12 ) i blinked and suddenly i had a valentine | ??

№13 ) enha dates gone awry (in the best ways!)

№14 ) take you out | sunghoon assassin au short fic

№15 ) a conversation between the lost and unloved | yeonjun est 3k

№16 ) mothers and fathers | yeonjun est 5k — a conversation about hungry mothers and forgetful fathers with yeonjun, an unlikely friend from a country you've never been to.

№17 ) signs that enha are dating

№18 ) "why did you give me wings and want me to fall?" | ?? — hunger games-esque!au

№19 ) notes unread | sunghoon — letters you'd written for each other, unsent and unread.

№20 ) enha and your cute little secrets

№21 ) everything sucks, just kidding! | yeonjun short fic

№22 ) do not touch | jay est 5k — bnha!au, living with a quirk damning you to eternal loneliness, not being able to touch or be touched in fear of the other's demise, jay loves you from afar. he loves you without a single touch.

№23 ) i could drown myself in someone like you | gaon short fic

№24 ) dude, go to therapy | beomgyu text fic — your number neighbor just so happens to be choi beomgyu, your old nemesis from high school. it's too late when you find out about it, though, because you'd already dumped all of your emotional baggage on him. worst of all, he seemed to be concerned and not at all like the beomgyu of the past.

[starheartconstellations]

IKIGAI

Chapter 8 - Waves of Grief

Growing more and more numb and apathetic to all that surrounds her, Alexia decides to pay a visit to the room in Wesker's manor that houses a few belongings from Rockfort, but is not prepared for what she finds...

🌟 Ko-fi / Linktree 🌟

[veronicaphoenix]

IKIGAI (or A REASON FOR BEING) — CHAPTER ELEVEN

“The one who falls in love with you is gonna be very lucky,” she assured him. “It’s a shame it’s not going to be me. I’m taking our promise to the grave.”

Chapter tags: best friends, graduation, referenced alcohol intake, sexual innuendos, angst, slight comfort amidst the drama. | Word count: 4.151 |Cross posted on AO3. | Series masterpost. ✧.*

CHAPTER 11

Lia is 18. Noah is 19.

Lia looked down at the white stilettos adorning her feet. She bit her lip and after too much thought, she shook her head and let the fabric of the dress fall.

“No, I can’t wear this. I’ll be more comfortable with my boots,” she declared, her voice showing a hint of nervousness.

“Lia, my dear,” said Hana with a raised brow. She was standing behind Lia, her reflection also there in the mirror but slightly shorter than Lia’s. “You cannot wear your old boots to your prom.” 

“Of course I can,” she replied, lifting her head to make eye contact with the old lady through the reflection in the mirror. “No one will notice. The dress is long enough to cover them.”

Not really. There was a slit on the side that revealed most of her leg. Whoever would put their eyes on her would instantly notice her black boots.

“That’s not the point, sweetie,” Hana gently argued, slumping her shoulders and looking sweetly at Lia. 

She knew Lia was nervous and feeling shy. It was the first time she was getting dressed formally. It had taken her weeks of going to different shops and finding a dress that she liked and that she felt comfortable in. The one that she finally chose had been taken to the tailors to fit her frame, and now that she was wearing it in her bedroom, standing in front of the mirror, Lia became self-conscious as it showcased the curves of her breasts in the delicate V-neck. The dress was plain but beautiful, and the thin straps accentuated the elegance of the gown. Lia hadn’t wanted to overdo herself too much; she was excited at the fact that she graduated, but not that much about the party. She was happy about not having to attend any more classes and deal with high school bullshit. She would start a course on graphic design after summer, something that had her quite excited, and she would keep on selling her own stuff online. 

“I don’t even know how to walk on those,” she said, a bit sad as she wobbled slightly trying to find her balance. She shot Hana a look of uncertainty.

“You learn, Lia. Why don’t you take a walk along the hallway?” Hana suggested, encouraging her.

“That’s going to be useless,” Lia complained, but she did take a few steps around the room, circling her queen-sized bed. “At the end of the night my feet are going to be dead.”

“You’ll have to get used to it. What would you wear on your wedding day, then? Or in…?

Lia turned to face Hana with her brows raised.

"I'm not getting married," she declared, her tone unintentionally sharp. Hana seemed taken aback by the unexpected response, and Lia quickly softened her expression. "Or at least I don't want to think about that now."

“Alright. It makes sense,” Hana replied, choosing not to press the matter further.

“I’ll give them a try, though,” Lia conceded. “I’ll just ask Noah to keep my boots in the car in case I need to change.”

“That’s a good idea. Now come on, the boys are waiting downstairs.”

“Great,” Lia couldn’t help but roll her eyes. “As if this wasn’t embarrassing enough…”

“They’re eager to see you.”

Maybe, but the idea of being the center of attention didn’t appeal much to her, especially if she was dressed like that.

She took one last look at herself in the mirror. The dress was beautiful, it hugged her delicate curves, and it was light. She was wearing makeup enough to prove that she had tried, and her hair was falling on her back and chest with little curls at the ends. Hana had helped her to get ready, taking advantage of the feelings that rose whenever she was with Lia. She never had a granddaughter, and Lia, despite not sharing the same blood, was the closest that she would ever have to one.

Seated comfortable on the living room sofa, the guys waited for her. Jolly, Noah and Nicholas had been the ones to decide to go with her to the prom. Jesse and Matt had previous appointments and couldn’t make it, and Folio had gone on a fishing trip with his dad. Not that Lia minded too much. It had been Jolly’s idea to follow her to the party. She would have preferred to go alone, endure the silly dance and annoying speeches on her own, but he had insisted otherwise, and had successfully persuaded Noah and Nicholas to tag along.

Jolly was casually indulging in a bag of chips while Nicholas remained engrossed in his phone. Between them, Noah exuded an air of nonchalance, lounging in an apathetic posture — slouched, legs wide, arms resting on his thighs, and hands dangling. It was one of the only times he had worn a formal shirt, and he felt uncomfortable. His gaze wandered aimlessly around the room, but his thoughts were singularly focused. A subtle tic in one of his legs persisted until Lia appeared at the top of the stairs, at which point it miraculously ceased.

His eyes went to her, and he swore his heartbeat stopped for a second or two. Next to him, Jolly whistled after leaving the bag of chips on the table between the tv and the sofa, and then he stood up. Nicholas followed, and Noah had to be patted on the shoulder by one of his friends to react and do the same.

Lia rolled her eyes at Jolly’s whistle, but the warmth that spread across her cheeks betrayed her attempt to appear unfazed. She avoided looking at the boys as she made her way downstairs in delicate steps, followed by Hana, who was making sure the soft fabric of Lia’s gown trailing behind was not getting stuck anywhere. As Lia reached the ground floor and finally lifted her head, her eyes met Noah's. There was something in the way he looked at her that sent a pleasant shiver down her spine, making her heartbeat quicken.

He was looking so… handsome. His hair was tied in a small bun at the back of his head and he struggled to straighten the black button-up shirt he was wearing. He licked his lips, and she would never know how much it cost him to smile at her through the knot in his stomach.

“That’s a very nice dress,” Nicholas told her.

The room fell into an awkward stillness until Hana intervened, ushering them towards the door before they risked being late. Lia couldn't help but voice her concern.

"Guys, I know you have better plans than coming with me. If you want to stay and…”

“I thought we were done discussing this,” Jolly chimed in. “I even bought a tie and I feel proud of myself.”

Lia snorted at his comment and shook her head, her hair swaying around her bare shoulders.

Jolly and Nicholas made their way out towards the car, and Noah came to stand beside her.

“You okay?” He asked.

“Yeah, it’s just a bit difficult to walk with these on,” she confessed gesturing to her heels.

“I bet…” he muttered, a hint of amusement in his voice. “You look beautiful, though.”

A big smile crept into her face as a surge of warmth spread through her at his words.

“Thank you.”

He extended his arm to her, and she gladly took it.

The girls Lia was talking to in the middle of the gym’s dancefloor weren’t her friends, not really. But she had managed to become acquainted with them in her last years in high school and had a good relationship with them. She knew she would probably never see them again after that night. Most of them were going to college and she wasn’t.

They had been discussing their future plans and studies when one of them noticed Jolly entering the gym and striding confidently straight to the corner were Noah and Nicholas were standing, looking slightly out of place, obviously, holding their glasses with cheap ponche in their inked hands. The girls didn’t know the guys. They had never talked to them, but they knew how close Lia was to those guys, specially the tall one, who had been giving her rides to school every morning for the last few months.

Amidst the chatter, one of the girls casually said:

“It’s actually so hot to see tattooed guys in formal clothing”.

Lia's ears perked up, sensing the topic might be heading in an interesting direction. In a matter of seconds, she realized they were referring to Noah, Jolly, and Nicholas. An involuntary blush crept up her cheeks, and she stole a quick glance at the trio, praying that they weren’t looking in their direction.

Noah was.

“You’re definitely not the only one thinking that,” Clara pointed out, aiming her painted eyes at Lia. “You’re blushing, Lia.”

She huffed, attempting to play it off.

“They’re my friends,” she replied, taking a sip of her Fanta. “I don’t want to think about them that way.”

“Oh, come on.” The teasing had just started, and Neha probed: “You’re telling me you’ve never thought about Noah as something more than your best friend? I don’t believe that crap.” 

Lia felt a twist inside at the directness of the question. Maybe, just maybe, she had entertained such thoughts, but admitting it out loud was a line she wasn't ready to cross. Determined to deflect the conversation, she replied, "No, I haven’t. Believe whatever you want."

Feeling a sudden need for space, Lia excused herself and made her way out of the gym, the hum of the music fading as she walked to the nearest restroom. Alone with her thoughts, she took a deep breath, glancing at herself in the mirror. Her reflection revealed a mix of excitement and uncertainty that she didn’t really like. She splashed some water on her face, hoping the cool sensation would clear her mind.

As she stepped outside and rejoined the party and the twinkling lights, the rhythmic beats of the music and the chatter of excited voices, Lia felt a presence approaching her, and she didn’t understand why she was disapointed when she heard a a voice she didn’t recognize calling her name.

Lia found herself face to face with a boy from her class. His name, if she recalled correctly, was Matt, someone she'd exchanged mere pleasantries with during group projects but never really engaged in a substantial conversation.

"Hey," he greeted, a nervous smile playing on his lips. “I’m glad to see you here. You look lovely.”

“Thanks,” she replied, her gaze shifting to take in his appearance.

He wasn’t so bad, either. His navy-blue suit clung elegantly to his long frame, and his tousled hair, expertly styled with a touch of cream, added a dash of sophistication. The passage of time had not been lost on any of them; they, including the rest of classmates, had all undergone a transformation from awkward teenagers to young adults in the last couple of years, some evolving more rapidly than others.

“I never thought I would see you in a dress,” he confessed, his eyes subtly scanning her up and down.

Caught off guard by the remark, she felt a flush creeping into her cheeks, though not as pronounced as when she had shown herself to the boys back at home.

“Shit. Sorry. I didn’t mean it like that,” Matt hastily clarified. “It’s just that… I saw you there and…”

“It’s ok. No problem, really.”

“Um, would you like to dance, maybe?”

She took a moment to assess the situation, considering the unspoken tension with Noah and the boys watching from the sidelines. Nevertheless, a desire to break away from the familiar prompted her to respond with a grin.

"Why not?" she replied, allowing a playful tone to lace her words. "Lead the way, Matt."

The dance floor beckoned, bathed in the soft glow of the changing-color lights. Matt guided Lia into the open space, the music providing the backdrop to their momentum. As they began to move to the rhythm, Lia stole a glance over her shoulder, locking eyes with Noah and her friends.

In that moment, amidst the dance and the pulsating beat of the music and as she twirled under Matt’s arm, Lia found herself caught between the known and the unknown, her heart dancing to a melody that echoed the unexplored depths of her feelings, that traced back to a promise made in the shore of the lake where she used to spend her afternoons as a teenager.

Meanwhile, Noah and the guys engaged in a conversation, their voices a low hum beneath the lively ambiance of the prom. Jolly, his mouth occupied with a sandwich, glanced at Noah and noticed a serious expression etched on his face.

“Why the long face, man?” Jolly inquired casually, his attention momentarily diverted as he reached for another sandwich from a tray.

“That moron is looking at her like he wants to eat her up,” he added, nonchalantly observing the dynamics unfolding on the dance floor, the way Matt’s hand was positioned on Lia’s lower back.

“Maybe that’s exactly what he wants,” Nick chimed in, his tone carrying a hint of mischief.

Turning his face to him, Noah shot him a killer look.

“Whoa,” Nick muttered, taking a step back at Noah’s sudden intensity.

“Man, what?” replied Jolly, raising an eyebrow as he opened his hand in a gesture of innocence. “You gotta stop being so overprotective. She’s eighteen. Let her live her life. She deserves it, don’t you think?”

“Yeah, I just don’t want any motherfucker to break her heart. That’s all,” he admitted, his gaze fixed again on Lia and how alluring and beautiful she looked.

He had slowly started to notice her changes in the last few years, and he couldn’t ignore the woman that she was becoming, not just in the physical sense but also when it came to her mindset. She was more strong-willed than she’d even been, more confident, and the most important, happier.

“Sure it is…” Jolly mumbled with a knowing smirk as he moved to gather more food.

It was him who, a while later, went to find Lia and took her back to the dancefloor given that Matt had lost interest in her after ten minutes in the dancefloor. Lia actually held a power in her eyes that allowed her to communicate things without the need to speak, and Matt got the clue that she wasn’t interested in anything more than this night’s dance, and that he shouldn’t push her further.

When Jolly reached to where she was standing and she accepted her hand to walk back to the dancefloor, he noticed she was unable to keep her balance.

“Are those shoes already making you hate patriarchy a bit more than usual?”

“Definitely,” she replied. “But it’s not that.”

“What is it, then?”

"The girls brought alcohol. They’re hiding it in one of the classrooms... And I might have had a couple of vodka shots," Lia confessed, a touch of guilt accompanying her admission. She scrunched her nose as she looked at him.

Jolly's expression shifted to a mix of surprise and mild disappointment. "Lia... Are you serious?" he asked.

"No. I mean, yes. But I’m okay," Lia reassured, her words slightly slurred as she fought off the dizziness induced by the impromptu shots. "Just feeling a bit dizzy. Can you keep holding me?"

In that moment, Jolly found himself torn between scolding her for the reckless choices and acknowledging her vulnerable state and the fact that she could be spotted by any of the teachers. Without a word, he tightened his grip on her.The distant hum of the prom music, the soft glow of the lights, and the clandestine undertones of a high school celebration merged into a tableau of contrasts, where carefree moments met with a subtle undercurrent of responsibility.

Noah kept looking from afar, feeling something strange. Surely it was the proud feeling of seeing his best friend graduating, increased by the fact that he didn’t. 

“Has something happened? He looks upset,” Lia asked Jolly after noticing Noah’s attitude. 

Jolly kept his hands on her, steadying her. His eyes had been scanning the room, praying that no adults had their eyes on her.

“No. I think he’s just bored,” he answered a few seconds after, guiding his gaze to Noah. Then, lowering his voice, he said, “but I’m starting to think he likes this girl and he’s not having the balls to tell her.”

Lia, who was still seeking stability on his embrace despite the fact that his grip was enough to keep her from tumbling to the sides, raised her chin to look him in the eye. He was nearly as tall as Noah. It was a good thing she was wearing heels today, after all.

“What girl? He hasn’t told me anything.”

Jolly didn’t say anything, but it was in those two seconds that he spent looking deep into her brown eyes that he knew that his two friends were in for a ride. Oh, oh. If he only knew what was yet to come…

“Jolly, what girl?” She insisted.

He just kept on staring at her.

“Okay. I’m going to ask him myself,” she determined, but the moment she slipped away from Jolly’s grasp, she stumbled, and Jolly had to rush to hold her by the arm.

“Alright, kitten. I think we need to get you home.”

“I will go say goodbye to the girls, then,” as she turned around, she felt something going up her stomach and throat and her head started spinning. The music and the movement around her weren’t helping. “Oh, my god.”

“Let’s go outside before you puke, Lia. Come on.”

He held her close to him and help her get to the boys. Her vision was getting blurrier with every step she took, and the moment she reached Nicholas and Noah, she didn’t see the furrowed brows of his best friend and how he shot a glance at Jolly, a question in his expression, before she collapsed in his arms.

“Lia, what the hell?”

“I’m drunk,” she admitted, wrapping her arms around Noah’s body.

“Shit,” Nicholas muttered.

“We need to get out of here before the teachers notice,” Noah declared, already making his way to the exit while carrying Lia’s body glued to his. She started to laugh, and the laugh followed them home. Her state got worse as the car ride started. She was suddenly adamant on playing some songs in the car at full volume and kept unbuckling her seatbelt and leaning forward to touch the radio buttons while Noah kept grabbing her waist and pulling her back. At some point, she removed her shoes and let her head fall on Noah’s lap, only to be put back up with the words “if you lay down you might puke.” She didn’t feel like puking anymore. Everything was suddenly vibrant and exciting!

By the time they made it home and they stumbled wearily through the front door, the soft glow of the porch light revealed Lia’s disheveled appearance. Her hair was messed up and she was a laughing mess, too, but despite the chaotic journey, a stroke of luck had spared Lia (and the boys) from puking in the backseat, leaving her in a state of inebriated merriment.

Barefoot and exposed to the frigid touch of the concrete driveway at those hours, Noah, hiding his exhausting in a playful smile, suggested giving her a piggy ride, and she quickly clambered onto his back.

“This is so much fun! Everything looks different from up here!”

Noah, with a bemused roll of his eyes, secured her in his grasp, hands firmly gripping her thighs. Together and following Jolly and Nicholas, they ventured into the interior of the house, the raucous laughter fading into the background as they navigated the threshold between the night's chaos and the domestic tranquility within their home.

“I’ll put her to bed,” Noah said to the boys with a confidence that masked a flicker of uncertainty within.

“She’ll be okay?” Nicholas asked from behind him, still a shadow in the doorway.

"Yeah," Noah responded, though the reassurance carried a subtle undercurrent of hope rather than certainty. With that, he squeezed his inebriated cargo’s left thigh to get a confirmation giggle from her before proceeding to climb up the stairs.

“Why don’t you give me piggy rides more often?” Lia asked, perched comfortably on Noah’s back.

“You just have to ask,” he answered her, navigating his way to her bedroom.

“Okay, I’ll pay you back by riding you later,” she quipped, and pressed her cheek against his shoulder, oblivious to the sudden tension that gripped her best friend.

Noah’s blood froze momentarily, and his gaze shifted to the living room below, where Nicholas and Jolly exchanged amused glances, having overheard Lia’s comment. The irony wasn’t lost of them as it was on her, given that she was already “riding” Noah on his back.

“She’s so gone,” Nicholas commented, shaking his head.

Noah let out a sigh and kept on moving up until he managed to get her to her room with the weight of her intoxicated comment lingering as they reached her room.

Once there, he gently deposited her on the bed, her smile still present amidst the haze of her inebriation. Noah, looking down at her, decided it was time for a change – a literal one.

"You're so taaaaaaall," she exclaimed as Noah’s figure bent over her. “When did you get so tall?”

“A couple of summers’ ago. Come on up,” he helped her sit up, the drawl of admiration for his height still floating in her big eyes.

He eyed her, considering the options to get her to change into her pj’s. She was obviously not wearing a bra under that dress, and the realization made him sigh, desperate.

Such a torture. 

Noah gently coaxed Lia to her feet, his fingers intertwining with hers as he guided her to a standing position. As they stood in the quiet intimacy of her room, he laid out his plan with a touch of considerate reassurance, "I'm going to unzip your dress, and then I'll turn around, okay? I'll go and get a t-shirt in the meanwhile. Will you be able to put it on yourself?"

"Yeah, I think so," Lia replied, a hint of stability returning to her voice even as her body swayed with the remnants of the night's revelry. "I keep my sleeping shirt on the second… or third… or fourth drawer, I think."

While Lia stepped out of the dress, Noah retrieved one of the t-shirts Lia used to sleep in, and walked back to her, and even though he tried to avoid intruding on her moment of vulnerability, his side eye discreetly caught a glimpse of her semi naked figure, her long hair falling on her bare back.

“There,” with his back to hers, he handed her the t-shirt. He remained a steadfast presence behind her, respecting her privacy with a careful averted gaze.

"My head is spinning," she confessed as she slid the clothing piece over her head and down her body.

"I know, you should have kept it lighter," Noah replied.

He turned around at the same time she did, and his fingers instinctively went to her, sweeping away loose strands of hair that had fallen on her face. The gentle gesture made Lia close her eyes momentarily and hum.

 “You want to go to the bathroom and wash your face, remove the make-up?”

“I’m too tired,” she complained, her pout revealing the weariness that clung to her.  

“That’s okay,” Noah reassured her with a comforting tone. “You can shower tomorrow morning and sort yourself out. Let’s get you to bed. I’ll come in a while and leave an ibuprofen and a glass of water by the bed for you to take when you wake up tomorrow.”

With a nod, she made herself comfortable under her bedsheets, bought recently in a shopping spree after she had sold a bunch of designs online in a row.

“Noah,” she called as he was patting the covers over her. A loose strand of hair had escaped from his bun and was hanging lose close to her face. She would have liked to tuck it behind his ear, but she had already hidden her hands under the sheets.

“Yeah?” His voice was a mere whisper in the night.

“The one who falls in love with you is gonna be very lucky,” she assured him. “It’s a shame it’s not going to be me. I’m taking our promise to the grave.”

With a smile, she turned to the side, pressed her face to her pillow, and closed her eyes.

[lilac-melody]

Hmm.

[feudalconnection]

Nomination - Anyara

CONGRATULATIONS, @anyara​!!! Your fanfiction “IKIGAI” has been nominated by one of your fans for the 2024 2nd Term Inuyasha Fandom Awards run by FeudalConnection!

Your work has been nominated in the following category:

Best Serial

Voting will take place between June 6th and June 20th, and the links to do so can be found on the feudalconnection Tumblr page.

If you would like to pull your work from consideration for an award, please let us know via the Tumblr page or feudalconnection@gmail.com.

Once again, congratulations for your beautiful contributions to this wonderful fandom, and thank you for all that you do!

NOMINATIONS ARE OPEN UNTIL THE END OF THE DAY MAY 15th! SUBMIT YOUR FIC/ARTWORK NOMINATIONS THROUGH OUR PAGE!

For the nomination rules and category definitions, please see our “Get Ready” announcement.

[wheatbus]

Epilogue 😭

Note: This is NOT the epilogue to my current ongoing fic Amphisbaena, this is for Ikigai, a fic I promised an epilogue for ages ago but never delivered on because writing fluff is very hard 👍

That being said, I hope you enjoy! I only cried like five times while writing it, and a further three writing the end notes 🥲

[crescent-dreams]

BAMF/Powerful Kagome

Kagome has so much potential, so it's always wonderful to see authors delve into her powers or showcase her tenacity and determination!

Almond by Sereia13/@sereia1313

Mature | Feudal Era Canon | Complete Summary: Sesshoumaru has made his intent clear, offering the miko a place in the west at his side--if she would only show up to accept the proposal.

Alpha by Uissuteffu/@uissuteffu

Explicit | Feudal Era Canon | Ongoing Summary: It's been twelve years since Kagome first fell through time... and a lot has changed. Her powers have reached unfathomable levels and she's been putting them to good use, living as a lone, traveling miko, slaying troublesome yōkai and healing her way across mid-sixteenth century Japan. Her latest mission began with curiousity, driven to travel the perimeter of a mountain, chasing rumors of a similar trouble that plagued all villages near the mountains base - dogs have been going missing for decades. The stories relayed led her up the mountain and to a discovery more horrifying than the rumors suggested. A discovery that would end her life as a human and attract the attention of a certain demon lord.

Claimed (fic has been orphaned)

Explicit | Feudal Era Canon | Complete Summary: Kagome was sold by Kikyo and it took her two years to return to her friends for the final battle with Naraku. Things have changed since she has been gone, but the most changed is Kagome herself. Can she find where she belongs when things are revealed?

Sanctuary by Sereia13/@sereia1313

Explicit | Feudal Era Canon | Complete Kagome wants to bring a little holiday cheer to one of her students, unaware that the reason for her silence in class is much darker than she--or the principal--could've anticipated.

The First Cut is the Deepest by Sage McMae/@sagemcmae

Mature | Feudal Era AU | Complete Summary: Daily, Sesshomaru waits for the mortal woman with the demon-forged blade. It is a curiosity, a fleeting fancy to distract him from the burdens of court. At least, that is what he tells himself.

Ikigai by Uissuteffu/@uissuteffu

Explicit | Modern Era Canon | Ongoing Summary: It's been ten years since the well stopped working, trapping Kagome in her own time. She spent the decade never giving up hope that the well might re-open, honing skills that would make her life in 16th century Japan much easier. Despite her fixation on the past, she never stops focusing on the present. She's now in her final semester of medical school and in desperate need of a break. She, along with her old high school friends and a few new ones, set off for a camping trip to celebrate the onset of summer. Along the way, Kagome senses yōki for the first time since the closing of the well. Following it will lead her on a journey more frightening and bizarre than anything she'd faced in the past.

Inferno by mynightshining/@mynightshining

Teen | Feudal Era Canon | Complete Summary: A town attacked, a raging inferno, Kagome has no choice but to save them both.

Little Red & The Silver Beast by Sage McMae/@sagemcmae

Mature | Feudal Era Canon | Complete Summary: A vigilante in a red fire rat robe is causing a stir in the Western Lands. When Sesshomaru tracks down the culprit, he discovers the archer isn’t a man, but a woman— more accurately, a miko.

Murky Magic by Sereia13/@sereia1313

Mature| Modern AU | Complete Summary: In which Sesshoumaru has a spell cast on him, with interesting results.

Order of the Sun by Harlecorn/@harlecorn

Explicit | Modern Era Canon | Complete Summary: An organization originally started to help people against rogue youkai and bandits has now become the only thing keeping youkai safe and hidden from the rest of humanity. Kagome is one of their top agents, having gone through hell to get to where she is. While on assignment, she runs into an old ally she hasn't seen in nearly five centuries.

The Perfect Mate by BelovedStranger (Dokuga)

Explicit | Feudal Era Canon | Complete Summary: Unwittingly, Kagome stumbles into the midst of a game of political intrigue, where the prize would mean mating the all powerful Lord of the West. A prize she did not desire, however, fate would have her victorious. Wounded, enemies converge while known friends are out of reach. She was forced to rely on Sesshomaru, who had his own hidden agendas where she was concerned. A fierce attraction holds sway between the two as they slowly revealed what fate had locked away, only to set free a power perhaps best left alone. Hindsight is not foresight and love could not concur all. Only through sacrifice could Sesshomaru save all he had come to hold dear.

Second Alliance by ImaniJoain (Ao3)

Explicit | Feudal Era Canon | Complete Summary: A new threat has breached the peace left in the wake of Naraku's defeat. This time, it will be Sesshomaru who must propose an alliance to defeat an enemy he has no experience with: a death that claims humans and demons alike. Only his half-brother's strange miko truly understands the danger, and she is the key to conquering it.

Reserve Untapped by SilverEyedHyuuga (Dokuga)

Explicit | Feudal Era Canon | Complete Summary: Years of battling Naraku have kindled Kagome's formerly feeble reiki into a considerable force. Now that the spider demon has been defeated, she has taken it upon herself to train and maintain her power. A certain daiyoukai cannot help but be intrigued by the blossoming of her gifts, and when their chance encounters begin to become not so coincidental anymore, he, against his better judgement and opinion of humans, begins to recognize her for the formidable priestess she has become. When Sesshoumaru joins forces with Kagome against a deadly new enemy--the powers of which they have never encountered before--he comes to respect her more and more as not just a mere miko, but as his equal.

Whirlwind by Sereia13/@sereia1313

Mature | Feudal Era Canon | Complete Summary: The destruction of the jewel leaves Kagome with more power than she knows what to do with, putting her in tune with the elements. But when a wayward breeze ends up being more than it seems, she finds herself asking for help from the unlikeliest of allies.

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