#and i love that you have come around to the horror

[lurkingshan]

Shan's Favorite Dramas of 2024

The year is wrapping up and I have forced myself to narrow down to a list of 15 (I tried 10 but the choices were too hard!) of my favorite 2024 dramas across genres and countries of origin. This is not every drama I liked this year (that list would be incredibly long), but these are the ones that inspired the most brain rot and really stuck with me.

At 25:00 in Akasaka (Japan, Gaga)

The mood and tone of this drama was just perfect, and I loved the way it explored the blurred lines and confusion that can result when the real and fake aspects of a professional relationship get all mixed up. Hayama was a great character and I loved his arc, in particular.

Cherry Magic (Thailand, Viu)

I still can't believe how much I loved this adaptation. A fantastic example of taking a work from another culture and translating it to a new context while not only retaining the core narrative, but even enhancing it. This show gave us what the Japanese version didn't--the resolution to the physical intimacy arc at the core of the premise--and retained all the charm of the original while adding new humor. And delivered one of the best romances of the year while it was at it!

Don't Care for an Old Man's Underwear (Japan, fansub)

Oppan, my beloved. Easily the best family drama of the year, loaded with excellent messages while (mostly) avoiding feeling like an after-school special. Makoto's journey to update his thinking with Daichi's help, and the mutual friendship that developed between them, is one of my favorite relationships of the year. I loved every character's story; there is something for everyone to connect with in this show.

Fangs of Fortune (China, iQIYI)

This drama was just so much FUN. A gorgeous feast for the eyes, a wealth of fascinating characters and relationship dynamics, and a fast-moving plot that you don't need to try too hard to understand. It was a great binge and Li Lun was easily my favorite villain of the year.

Gyeongseong Creature (South Korea, Netflix)

A gorgeous period piece set during one of the darkest chapters of Korean history, this one took me by surprise (I am usually not a horror girlie). The writing for this show had surprising depth and I loved its themes around family and loyalty and survival under fascism.

Knock Knock Boys (Thailand, Gaga)

My boys! I loved this show about a group of four queer men living together in a shared house, getting into mischief and supporting each other through school and work and relationship struggles. The show is funny and breezy but also manages to tackle some serious issues with grace while delivering two strong romances and my favorite coming out narrative of the year.

Let Free the Curse of Taekwondo (South Korea, iQIYI)

Winner for best QL of the year, and a romance that will be sticking with me for a long time. Dohoe is one of the most honest and unflinching depictions of a an adult psyche shaped by childhood abuse that I have ever seen on my screen. It was healing to see him treated with such compassion and to see him and Juyoung find their way to a happy life together. An absolute must watch for all you angst with a happy ending fans.

Love for Love’s Sake (South Korea, iQIYI)

It's so hard to get a high concept premise like this right, but this drama did an amazing job with it. It's one of those shows where you can go back over everything that happened in retrospect and it all adds up, and I loved that the ending lent itself to so many different interpretations. One of the best watch experiences of the year.

Love in the Big City (South Korea, Viki)

Go Young, my beloved. This drama adaptation of the internationally successful novel exceeded my wildest expectations, and I am still a little stunned that we got the privilege of seeing it. It is, bar none, the most authentically queer show on this list, and a beautiful depiction of all the significant relationships in one young man's life. I will be rewatching it many times and keeping it close to my heart.

Love is Like a Poison (Japan, fansub)

A masterful blend of comedy, action, and romance, this drama about a lawyer with delusions of grandeur and the scam artist who decides to become his partner was a constant delight and gave us my favorite battle couple of the year.

Marahuyo Project (Philippines, YouTube)

I can't tell you the joy and relief I felt to get another high quality queer drama from the Philippines this year. And this one had such a great cast of characters, anchored by one of my favorite protagonists of the year in King. It's funny, it's romantic, it's touching, and as always for a JP Haboc production, it has an amazing soundtrack.

She Loves to Cook and She Loves to Eat (Japan, fansub)

My girls! I'm still amazed by how much this drama gave us in its second season by expanding the world of the show beyond our two main characters to include so many other women whose stories were just as fascinating. This is the season where Nomoto and Kasuga really came into themselves and started building the life they want to have together, and it was a real joy to watch.

Tender Light (China, YouKu)

The way this show had me in a chokehold while it was airing! Visually stunning, incredibly well-constructed, and featuring one of the best performances of the year from Zhang Xin Cheng, it's an exhilarating mystery and a very touching story of the unusual bond between a student and the older woman who fascinates and terrifies him.

The Midnight Romance in Hagwon (South Korea, Viki)

You know a drama is good when it has you deeply invested in a random topic you never thought you were interested in. In this case, that's the intense debate on pedagogical methods between the public schools and hagwons in Korea. Alongside delivering a great romance, this drama was passionate about teaching and it sucked me right in to the Korean literature lessons at the heart of the story.

Unknown (Taiwan)

No other drama inspired more brain rot in me this year than this story of a family rocked by changing feelings as the chosen siblings grow up. The loyalty and love and complex desire between Wei Qian and Wei Yuan is the heart of this story, and the drama did an incredible job of taking us along for the journey as things shifted and changed between them. I still think about them all the time.

Bonus: Favorite Classic Dramas Watched for the First Time in 2024

I am always catching up on an endless backlog of dramas alongside my live watches. Here are the best gems I finally watched this year.

Lost (South Korea, Viki)

I loved this deeply melancholy drama about two lost souls who connect unexpectedly. I finally pulled it up from my to be watched list because it shares director Hur Jin Ho with Love in the Big City (he did part 2 with Go Young's mom) and it sure feels like it! The characters are deep and complicated, the relationships are complex and carefully built, and it is hands down the best encapsulation of a failed marriage between two good people who truly loved each other that I have ever seen. It's heavy and not for everyone--mining the depths of human despair is kind of its thing--but if you like this sort of story it's world class.

Mouse (South Korea, Viki)

I was recently in the market for a good mystery thriller, so I finally watched this apparently very divisive 2021 drama--and if there's a divide I am firmly on the HELL YEAH side of the line. This drama had an interesting concept (that I will not describe bc holy shit spoilers, you should go in knowing nothing) that it unwound with remarkable patience and precision over 20 episodes. Its themes were strong and consistent, the lead characters were super compelling, the plotting and pacing and editing were unbelievably tight, the performances were incredible, and it made a lot of provocative points and ended well, feeling coherent and complete. It sustained my full interest and attention without any stumbles for ~25 incredible hours.

Mr. Sunshine (South Korea, Netflix)

Another one that's been on my watch list forever and finally got its moment when I was in the mood for a historical where ladies got to wield weapons alongside the men. And unsurprisingly, I loved it. Writer Kim Eun Sook is known for her big, glossy, epic dramas, and her style made a good pairing with a story about a rebel faction during the Japanese occupation of Korea. I really loved all the main characters in this show, and was moved by the complicated exploration of their loyalty (or lack thereof) to their homeland. This drama also has a very strong class analysis baked into its themes, which I very much appreciated. It was a traumatic watch, but in a way that felt right given the setting and the choices characters made.

The Miracle of Teddy Bear (Thailand, YouTube)

I watched this one on a mission and it was worth every moment. Nut is one of my favorite protagonists in any queer drama, and I thought the show made great use of its fantasy concept to explore some very real human experiences with depth and compassion. This show feels like an especially important counterpoint to the Thal BL bubble, and I recommend it highly for anyone who enjoys those dramas.

When I Fly Towards You (China, Netflix)

And we end on a light and sweet note, with my favorite coming of age romance that I watched all year. This drama was just lovely, and it will be a go-to rewatch for me for years to come. There’s something so comforting about a story where you start with the happy ending before jumping to the beginning, and just get to sit back and see how they get there. I loved all the characters in this and marveled at how it was never boring despite being decidedly low angst.

[ladykailitha]

The Au Pair Boy Part 10

Just a reminder no posting next week, as I have to recover from the holidays and all the fics I wrote.

Eddie throws a homecoming party and friends get hella pushy, so both Steve and Eddie push back

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Pt 7 Part 8 Part 9

~

The next night Eddie threw a coming home party and invited all the people Steve had hired, the D&D boys (Mike and Dustin), and even let Steve bring Robin as his plus one.

As Steve walked in with Robin, he instantly spotted three men he didn’t know. The broad-chested black man was talking to Charles in one corner of the room, while the other two, a heavy set man and a short, curly haired man was talking to Dustin. And judging from how animated they were getting, Steve was gonna bet they were talking about D&D.

He had even had a chance to look for their host, when Eddie came bounding up to them with a big grin on his face.

“Stevie!” he greeted warmly. “You made it! Everyone else is here at the ball, Cinderella. Come, come meet my friends.”

Eddie grabbed Steve’s hand and dragged him over to the two talking with Dustin first. “This is Bri-guy and Gare-bear!”

Steve laughed and shook their hands. “I’m the nanny.”

Eddie bumped their shoulders together. “He’s much more than that, he’s an amazing cook and the girls love him.”

“I’m Brian and this Gareth,” Brian said shaking his head. “And we know all about you. This idiot wouldn’t stop talking about the an–”

Eddie slapped his hand over Brian’s mouth and grinned brightly at Steve. “I think that’s about enough of these two, don’cha think?”

Robin got a twinkle of mischief in her eye. “Not at all. I haven’t introduced myself. I’m Robin, the best friend and platonic soulmate of Steve. We’ve been friends for ages. How long have you known Eddie?”

Gareth grinned at her, sensing a partner in crime. “Oh ages. We all went to high school together. I’m not the original drummer and Bri isn’t the original bassist, but we’re the lightning in the bottle that made Corroded Coffin what it is today.”

Eddie dropped his hand from Brian’s mouth to put his hands on his hips. “How dare!”

Brian and Gareth cackled. And suddenly they were joined but whom Steve assumed was the final member of Corroded Coffin, Jeff Lawrence.

“Are we all picking on Eddie?” he asked gleefully.

“No!” Eddie and Steve cried at the same time the other three cried, “Yes!”

Jeff snapped his fingers. “Ooh! I like her! Jeff, the better guitarist of Corroded Coffin and its lead singer.”

Eddie pushed Jeff. “Oh get out. Only for the last album when we were trying something different. It was not something the fans liked. Asshole.”

“I’ve got to tease you, man,” Jeff huffed with a grin. “It’s so easy!”

“This is Jeffy,” Eddie groused, folding his arms like a scolded toddler. “Meet Steve and Robin.”

“Nice to put a name to the faces,” Jeff said with a charming grin. “Eddie talked all about Steve so Robin’s name came up a lot.”

Steve blushed, but Robin grinned.

“Glad to hear I made it to the dispatch notes,” she said, then turned to Eddie. “I’ve got to say, I really love this house. It looks like it stepped out of pages of a gothic horror film. It’s awesome!”

Eddie took a bow. “Why thank you, my lady!” He looked around his house proudly. “That was the look I was going for. I can’t stand all this sterile white, grey, and beige bullshit that is in vogue right now. Give me color and character!”

“Have you seen what Steve’s done to his room yet?” Robin asked cheerfully, knowing full well what she was insinuating.

Eddie flushed a bright pink, shoving his hair in face to hide the blush and Steve stared at her in wide-eye, slack-jawed shock.

“Robin!” he hissed, flapping his hands at her in embarrassment and dismay.

She grinned at him unrepentantly, folding her arms over her chest and sitting back to see what Eddie would say.

“I–I um...” he coughed. “I haven’t had the opportunity to see how Steve spruced up the place, no.”

“Robin,” Steve said low and deep in warning. “Eddie hasn’t had a reason to see my rooms yet as he’s only been home for thirty-six hours.”

Robin just batted her eyelashes at him innocently. “I would have thought he would have wanted to see what you did to the rooms he’s letting you use in his house.”

The other three members of the band were falling over each other, just cackling over this exchange. Steve was red from the tips of his ears all the way down the dip in his collar. Eddie’s mind tried to follow the thought of how much further the blush went. He didn’t have to think about it long as Steve grabbed Robin and hauled her off elsewhere.

He turned to his friends. “Oh shut it. Assholes.”

“Dude,” Jeff said breathlessly clutching his sides, “like that was the most pathetic thing I’ve ever witnessed and that includes the time Gareth tried to hit on the supermodel that last Grammy’s.”

“Hey!” Gareth huffed. “I got a date out of that, I’ll have you know!”

Brian put his arm around Gareth’s shoulder. “After I told her that you weren’t as big an ass as that interaction displayed. She was going to lose your number, man.”

Gareth folded his arms and pouted. “I hate you both.”

“But seriously, Ed,” Jeff said turning his attention back to Eddie who had been trying to slip away from them before they noticed he was gone.

He failed.

“It’s obvious he has the hots for you,” Jeff continued, “so why aren’t you tapping that ass? You wouldn’t shut up about him the whole time we were on tour. It was actually kinda annoying.”

“For real,” Brian agreed. “And please I don’t want to hear how you’re not ready to get out there again after Ethan left, or how you’re paying him to look after you girls because I’ve seen him with them and holy shit they adore him.”

Eddie buried his head in his hands. “Guys, I haven’t been home for forty-eight hours yet. Can you not try and hook me up with my daughters’ nanny for fuck sake?” He peered around Jeff, making sure Steve was out of earshot. “I don’t really know him yet. Yes, we talked a lot about everything during the tour but I haven’t had to live with him under my roof yet. I could hate the way he takes three showers a day or whatever.”

Jeff and Brian shared an exasperated look as Brian threw his hands in the air. “What does that have to do with anything?”

Eddie crossed his arms over his chest and took a step back on one leg. “That maybe if me and Ethan had lived together before we got married, maybe the marriage wouldn’t have blown up like it did.”

It was a small and simple “Oh,” from Jeff, but it encapsulated all the feelings of the three other members of Corroded Coffin.

“Shit,” Gareth hissed, running his fingers through his hair. “I’m sorry. We shouldn’t have pushed but we just wanted you to be happy. And you light up around Steve in a way I haven’t seen you do in years.”

“What would you know?” Eddie spat bitterly. He looked around at all of them. “What would any of you know? You scattered like kids around a broken window the second the band broke up. And where were you when Ethan left? Or when Wayne broke his leg? I appreciated the tour, it really helped me prioritize things. But you don’t get to come into my house and act like you’ve been there the whole fucking time when you haven’t.”

Eddie stormed off, leaving the three of them there with shocked expressions.

“Shit,” Jeff said, hissing out a pained breath. “He’s right. Fuck. He’s right. We should have flown out the second he told us about Ethan. But we kept putting it off until the deal about the tour came around and then suddenly we were interested in his life only when it benefited us.”

Gareth ran his hands down his face and rolled his eyes skyward. “Fuck. What kind of friends have we been? Like we’re all rich enough that hopping on a plane wouldn’t have even dented our fortunes at all. We should have been for the messy divorce and been helping take care of the girls. But what were we even doing that couldn’t have been put on hold?”

“I was the closest,” Jeff huffed. “I was in New York. Hell, I could driven down. But little shit just kept cropping up. Miranda’s health scare. Then she got pregnant and lost the baby. Which were important at the time, but Eddie needed me.”

“I don’t have any excuse,” Gareth said, shaking his head. “Because yeah, I was on the otherside of the world, but Eddie would have flown around the world a dozen times for me, but I couldn’t fly half way.”

Brian’s lip quivered. “My mom got cancer around the time, but I don’t think she would have begrudged me flying out to see Eddie. But I didn’t even give it a second thought.”

Jeff looked around the room for Eddie and spotted him standing next to Steve. Robin wandered off, leaving Steve sitting on a table, ankles crossed, swinging them back and forth, drink in hand as he listened to some story Eddie was telling him.

Jeff continued to watch as Eddie must have said something funny, because Steve threw head back and laughed.

“I think I see the silver lining to our neglect, boys,” he murmured, pointing out the tableau before them.

The other two men turned and looked. Steve was nodding vigorously, big smile on his face as he told his own story to Eddie.

“Because if we had been here to help Eddie around the house,” Jeff continued, “then he wouldn’t have gotten so desperate to hire a male nanny. Yeah, we fucked up. We pushed too hard. But damn boys, look at what grew in that barren wasteland, anyway.”

“So it’s settled,” Brian said, “we’re all staying in Indy to help Eddie and Steve get together, right?”

Gareth nodded. “Damn straight we are. Plus those kids Steve found to play D&D, I’d stick around just to see their style.”

“Looks like Operation: Refriend Eddie is a go, boys,” Jeff said excitedly, putting his arms around both of his friends. “And maybe we’ll get a wedding out of this, too.”

~

Steve had given Robin a good talking to. Like maybe don’t proposition his boss on his behalf before the sheets had even had time to warm up, yeah?

It took some proper talking to her to before she relented and apologized. Then stomped off to find some real booze. Steve knew she was going to raid Eddie’s liquor cabinet, but considering most of it was already out, he didn’t figure Eddie would mind too much.

Then a glass of whiskey was being dangled in front of him. He looked up to see Eddie smiling down at him. Steve took the glass with a murmur of thanks.

“Here’s to interfering best friends!” Steve said raising his glass to Eddie’s.

Eddie clinked their glasses together with wary smile. “I just wish they had been around more before they started interfering in my business. They weren’t around to pick up the pieces, so they don’t get to decide when to change puzzles.”

“Here’s to that.” Steve took a drink. “Robin is just trying to make sure I’m happy and she knows how much I love this place.” He shook his head. “I’m content with being the Au Pair Boy. I don’t need anything else.”

“You are much more than that,” Eddie said fiercely. “My girls love you. You’re special, don’t sell yourself short.”

“I promise.” Steve looked up at him through his eyelashes. “I love those little girls too.”

“Don’t look now,” Eddie said with a grin, “but I think our friends are spying on us.”

Steve took a drink of his whiskey and looked up through his eyelashes and sure enough the Corroded Coffin boys and Robin were all looking over at them, trying to look they weren’t.

“Quick, laugh!” Eddie said and Steve burst out laughing genuinely. “Oh, that was perfect. Good job.”

“Learning the art of actually laughing when you’re supposed to be fake laughing,” Steve said warmly, “is a skill taught to the children of socialites like my mother from birth.”

“I wish they gave you a crash course when you become famous,” Eddie said with a weary smile, “because holy shit it’s like being dumped in a shark tank!”

Steve winced in sympathy. “Yeah, they should teach classes and stuff.”

“Annoying best friends aside,” Eddie murmured. “I’m really glad you’re here.”

Steve looked up into his eyes and smiled fondly. “I am too.”

~

Tag List: CLOSED

1- @itsall-taken @redfreckledwolf @zerokrox-blog @tartarusknight @gregre369

2- ​@a-little-unsteddie @chaosgremlinmunson @cryptid-system @maya-custodios-dionach @goodolefashionedloverboi

3- @val-from-lawrence @carlyv @wonderland-girl143-blog @irregular-child @bookbinderbitch

4- @bookworm0690 @forgottenkanji @ollieolive @yikes-a-bee @awkwardgravity1

5- @dragonmama76 @ellietheasexylibrarian @thedragonsaunt @useless-nb-bisexual @disrespectedgoatman

6- @counting-dollars-counting-stars @tinyplanet95 @ravenfrog @swimmingbirdrunningrock @lingeringmirth

7- @gutterflower77 @a-lovely-craziness @just-a-tiny-void @w1ll0wtr33 @beelze-the-bubkiss

8- @sadisticaltarts @xxfiction-is-my-realityxx @dolphincliffs @steddie-as-they-go @steddieislife

9- @kultiras @morallyundefined @themoonagainstmers @fearieshadow @blondie1006

10- @thesecondfate @wheneverfeasible @depressed-freak13 @genderless-spoon @yesdangerpls

[mohammedaldeeb]

A Humanitarian Appeal from the Depths of Suffering🥹:

The War on Gaza, Our Losses, and the Struggles We Endure

In these difficult and painful times😔, I find it hard to find words that truly express the depth of the suffering I, 💔😓

along with my family, am going through. I am writing this message from a place of desperation and need, as a doctor working in a hospital in Gaza. Life here has become a constant battle for survival, and each day brings new challenges that test our will to continue😭.

We were once living a peaceful and stable life🙂, building our hopes and dreams😥, working towards a future for ourselves and our loved ones🥺.

However, the recent war on Gaza has turned our world upside down😢. I have lost my job💔,

and with it, my only source of income, due to the destruction of the facilities where I worked😭.

The physical destruction around us has been devastating😓, and many projects I was involved in to support the families of patients have come to a halt😢. The economic losses are staggering, and the road to recovery seems almost impossible😥.

The war on Gaza has not only taken our peace of mind but has also brought with it an unbearable level of suffering😓.

The cost of living has skyrocketed,

and we are struggling to meet even the most basic needs of daily life😣.

The situation has become unbearable, and it feels like we’re trapped in a vicious cycle of poverty, fear, and despair.

How can a family survive when they cannot even afford food, let alone the necessities of life?😭😥💔

As a doctor, I stand at the frontline, trying to save lives amidst the wreckage of war😢.

I treat the injured, manage critical cases, and do my best to bring comfort to those who need it most. 🥹

However, at the same time, I face personal struggles that are just as overwhelming😢. The hospital is in dire need of medical supplies and personnel, and we are doing all we can to save lives with limited resources. But the pain of seeing my own family suffering while I try to help others is a constant burden.

How can I help those in need when I cannot even provide for my loved ones?😣😣

Today, as I face this immense struggle😔,

I turn to you, dear reader, with a plea for help🙏🏻😥.

This is not just a request for personal assistance🙏🏻🥹, but a desperate call for hope and a chance to rebuild my life and support my family.

I need your help to share my story😓, so that it reaches as many people as possible.

Your support, through donations and sharing this story, will allow me to help my family escape the horrors of war and start a new life abroad, where we can live in safety and dignity🙏🏻🥹❤️.

I need the resources to travel abroad to continue my education l😔and provide a future for my family🙏🏻😓. Pursuing my studies and advancing my career in medicine is my way of ensuring that I can make a lasting difference, both for myself and for the people of Gaza. But I cannot do this alone.

The funds I am seeking will help me cover travel expenses, medical costs for my family, and the basic needs that we are struggling to meet each day😥.

The financial burden is overwhelming😭,

and without your support, I fear that my dreams, and the future of my family, will slip further out of reach😥😭💔.

Every donation, no matter how small, will make a difference.

Every act of kindness, every person who shares this message, will help light the way for us in this dark time🙏🏻😢.

I humbly ask you to help me spread this story. Share this story with your friends, family, and networks. Let it reach those who have the means and the will to help🥹🥺❤️.

Together, we can make a difference. Your kindness, your generosity, and your willingness to stand by us will mean the world💝🥹🙏🏻.

In these dark times, solidarity is the light that can guide us😔💔. Your support is not just an act of charity; it is an act of humanity❤️❤️.

You are not only helping an individual, but you are also supporting a family in dire need of hope and a better future😃❤️.

I will forever be grateful for any assistance you can provide, whether it’s a financial contribution, sharing this story, or offering a kind word of encouragement.

Your help will give us the strength to continue, and it will remind us that in the midst of all this suffering, there is still hope, there is still kindness, and there are still people who care😃❤️.

Thank you, from the bottom of my heart❤️❤️, for your time, your attention, and your compassion.

Together, we can create a future where we can live with dignity, rebuild what has been lost😔, and give our children the hope they deserve💝🥹🙏🏻.

Solidarity is Hope, and Helping is Life💚❤️💛����🇵🇸 .

[pillowspace]

Hihi!! Could I have some ISAT fic recs? Hurt/comfort is my fav but anything good is good~ Thank you!

I've read 200 ISAT fics, I'm gonna really have to think on which ones to put

Okay, here's your recs from my 200 fic scroll in no particular order <3 There's so many fics I like that I didn't put here, but I had to be picky about it so I didn't just put down everything I had

---

victim of your own creation by dysphoriahighschool

Siffrin has craved blood for as long as they can remember. After so many years of wandering, he's come to Vaugarde in hope of finding answers, just as the King's Curse begins freezing the country in time. He's quickly losing hope, but when they come across a small group determined to save Vaugarde from the King, Siffrin decides to join them. They can't get the answers they want if the country gets frozen in time, after all. They'd never traveled with other people before. Siffrin doesn't expect to grow attached to any of them, but as time goes on, the thought of leaving them hurts more and more. Worse yet, they refuse to even entertain the thought of one of them discovering what he is and what he's done. They just know that if they find out, they'll hate them.

Words: 192,175 | Chapters: 32/?

---

Stagger on Backwards by entryn17

[Ha… Ah?]

The fist opens. Hand turns. Fingers twirl. Again. And Again. You watch with mounting horror as your hand moves on its own, the actions becoming more frantic, more jittery, your chest starts to heave, stomach muscles spasming.

(Loop–)

[Stardust–]

They’re in your body. They’re in your body.

⯍

Or, after experiencing hundreds of grueling loops, Siffrin suddenly wakes up 3 months before they even started, on a bed in an infirmary, bandages wrapped tightly around their newly missing eye. Loop is there with them, too.

Words: 15,213 | Chapters: 3/?

---

UNCANNY ALL ALONG by entryn17

You can… you can still fix this. If you can just muster up enough want, you, both of you can come back from this.

“You can’t come back from anything! Hundreds of days spent in stasis, in your own personal handcrafted hell, an ice cold inferno – you think you’re the same person you were before you laid down on that meadow?”

✧

Or, trauma changes you, often in ways that leave you unrecognizable to even yourself. Now freshly out of the loops and rough around the edges, Siffrin with the help of their friends has to navigate not being the person they remember.

Words: 33,629 | Chapters: 8/?

---

Even in my fantasy, I can't commit to believing by Loafabun

You’re not sure what to think of Loop.

So far, you’ve come to two rather obvious conclusions during your time around them.

1) They’re… a star.

2) You don’t think they like you that much.

Words: 18,275 | Chapters: 3/3

---

Human After All by dunkalfredo

Isabeau, freshly recovered from burnout after rushing through graduate school, stumbles across an ad for a lab position at the research institute where his idol, Dr. Odile Yamamoto, conducts her work. Willing to risk another bout of burnout to potentially work with the Dr. Yamamoto, he applies for the position and gets the job. However, in the process of applying, it quickly becomes clear that something sinister is happening at this institute. He decides to go forward and accept the offer—only to find himself in way over his head in a conspiracy far bigger than himself.

(Or: Modern AU/Sci-fi. Isabeau goes back into the world of science after swearing it off only to end up in the Vaugarde equivalent of Area 51 and finds Siffrin, a shapeshifter of unknown origins, trapped deep underground in a padded cell. Unfortunately, he falls in love. Is their romance doomed? Could Siffrin ever escape? What is Siffrin, anyway? And, importantly—how does Odile factor into all of this?)

Words: 33,697 | Chapters: 3/8

---

The Funeral of Siffrin No Last Name by Kamary (SERIES of fics about ghost Siffrin)

"Ha, like, cut your ashes in equal parts like a pizza?"

(In a timeline that can not and will not take place, Siffrin dies. Unlike other times, he stays dead. Sort of.)

Words: 18,969 | Works: 3

---

Inutile by blueshine

Mirabelle doesn't know what to do. Not with her life, not with her faith, not with her own memory. Why does it feel like she's always forgetting something important?

Mirabelle is the Housemaiden. Isabeau is the Fighter. Odile is the Researcher. Bonnie is the Kid. And that's everyone!

It's raining in Dormont. If clouds cover the stars, are they still there?

Separate Sifloops-

Words: 173,378 | Chapters: 23/34

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What became of you? by goldviola (Note: this one can get dark. I'm including it because I like it, but only read it if you're in that kind of mood)

After the world returned to normal, and everyone was safe and together once again, Isabeau noticed Siffrin's state. He knows they endured far beyond what he could ever hope to understand.

So a vague, earnest wish, mostly symbolic, was made, folded into a star shaped leaf gifted by a little girl.

I wish I could truly understand Siffrin, and always be there to help and love him.

Isabeau had no way of knowing The Universe would listen.

—

Or: Isabeau gets stuck in his own time loop, and does everything in his power to change it.

Words: 27,746 | Chapters: 1/1

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Of Stars and Longing by Raaj

Months after saving Vaugarde together, Isabeau spots Siffrin lingering outside the window of his clothing shop. Naturally, he's excited! The Universe granted his wish!

...It still feels a little bad he had to wish for it, though. And something seems off with Siffrin.

Words: 4,979 | Chapters: 2/2

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The love persists through it all. (The love persists through time.) by Pixxyofice

You are standing in front of a building. Nothing else is around- just a building. The building has a sign above a single door in big letters: TIME LOOP SURVIVORS SUPPORT GROUP. Hanging from that sign is a smaller sign reading Multidimensional!

... What the....

[...]

You let go of the door and look up as it clicks shut behind you.

You see

your family.

---

siffrin meets up with versions of his family who have suffered like he did. is this a blessing or a curse?

Words: 12,015 | Chapters: 1/?

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Follow the stars back home by Loafabun (note: I haven't actually finished this fic, but I'd like to!)

There's an island north of Vaugarde. You were never able to remember its name. So why now? Why after all this time?

It's so close. You can see it now.

You want to go home.

Inspired by a post on Tumblr by @/auncyen!

Words: 77,781 | Chapters: 16/16

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Thank you, kind wizard. For making me a frog. by Spinning_Planet_of_Love

With Siffrin's timelooping journey at an end, he walks away with a LOT of new information and trauma to process. Moving forward is a difficult feat, even with his family by his side.

Mirabelle suggests that, perhaps, keeping a journal to organize these thoughts and communicate his feelings to the others may help, so he decides to give it a try.

-

Contains spoilers for ALL content in ISAT, including achievements and quests dialogue, and eventually the epilogue too.

Words: 74,662 | Chapters: 18/?

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Bleeding in Monochrome by JustSalPals

You're the first one to notice.

(After the events of the game, red stayed in this world of black and white.)

Words: 3,061 | Chapters: 1/1

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And if I were not myself, would this be easier? by rabbit_soup

Siffrin and his party's journey to Bambouche, and how he needs to learn to deal with what happened to him during the loops. Between nightmares, regaining his humanity, and his new-found PTSD, Siffrin is sure he's being a burden to his family. They, however, think otherwise.

Hopefully they'll make it to Bambouche in one piece.

Or

Siffrin is traumatized and his friends love him a whole lot.

Words: 63,086 | Chapters: 13/?

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Natural Satellite by dirtbagtrashcat

After a hundred miserable loops, Siffrin makes a wish. Isabeau gets caught in the crossfire.

(…yes, it’s another Isa Loops AU. but hear me out! rock might beat scissors, but there’s no stone in the cosmos that can resist the gravitational pull of a star.)

Words: 55,043 | Chapters: 14/14

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Bloom by Level99Eevee

After breaking free of the loops, Siffrin is more than ready to move on and enjoy life again. They’re with their family—their friends—for another journey, one without the King’s Curse nipping at their heels, and everyone will be together for the foreseeable future. So Siffrin is fine. Great, even! The others don’t need to know that the aftermath of their experience in Dormont still hangs heavy as a noose around their neck.

They just need to get over it.

-

Or: Siffrin has trauma, learning to open up is a process, and the others realize the loops left deeper scars than previously thought.

Words: 41,445 | Chapters: 7/7

To Cut You Open With a Knife and Find Your Sacred Heart by Hexea_Art

They didn't know how they remembered but they both knew that there are legends about these fae doppelgangers, that they wish for nothing more than to steal the heart of the person whose face they stole, for power, for acceptance, to trick more people, to lessen how uncanny they could be.

Either way, it's a death wish to be around someone who shares the same face.

So of course Siffrin and Loop decided to travel together.

(Aka an ISAT changeling AU)

Words: 73,358 | Chapters: 19/21

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raconte-moi qu’on puisse crier tout bas by bibliomaniac

After everything, Loop is struggling to find their place in the world. Siffrin is struggling to adjust to life outside the loops. Isabeau is struggling to balance his love for Siffrin with his need to keep them safe, alongside his own worries about Changing. Politely, things could be better!

But when Loop joins the party on their journey, things tilt even more drastically off course. They'll all need to reconcile their past with their present growing feelings and with the future they're beginning to want. Maybe they'll even do it, too.

It will just blinding suck along the way.

Words: 100,632 | Chapters: 17/?

---

ghostlight by Kittenixie

ghostlight - a single lamp placed on stage to keep the theatre from being in total darkness after everyone’s gone.

After trying and failing to kill Siffrin to take his place, Loop tries to disappear. Siffrin makes them stay. They figure things out together.

Staying with Siffrin's party in Dormont's House of Change, Loop starts down the long, winding path towards recovery, carefully trying to navigate the complicated knot of trauma and grief that the loops have left behind.

Words: 86,075 | Chapters: 24/24

Sequel is back to one | Words: 71,525 | Chapters: 14/?

[eliza-and-her-monsters]

the tortured poets department

Info Post

Moodboards

Part I

Prev Post < - > Next Post

TW: This chapter contains physical violence, bullying towards neurodivergent/autistic people, vi being a biiiit of a dick, and jinx just being a chaotic mess (we love her)

WC: 4.5k

Part III

bad blood

“Can you read mine?” I blurted out once I returned to the full table where Jinx was scanning through her cards once more. My hands and cheeks were probably as red as rubies as I took my seat, and hoped to actually stay in it for a while this time.

“I can, but just so you know I am simply a messenger and if the cards need to call you out then they will.” She explained with a clearly targeted scowl towards Ellie.

“You’re into this kind of thing?” Vi wondered with a soft nudge of my foot underneath the table as she was already lounging back against the couch.

“A little, yeah.” I shrugged simply before turning back towards Jinx with a small flush on my cheeks. “Go ahead, I’m ready to be called out.”

“Excellent.” Jinx grinned in a way that I could only describe as maniacal as she whipped out a lighter and a bundle of what looked like dried grass squeezed together with twine.

“Ummm, aren’t you not supposed to have an open flame in here?” Ellie chirped almost anxiously from her spot.

“Geez, you guys really are so tense. Why don’t you take a breath?” An unfamiliar voice chimed in from across the table immediately causing Ellie’s head to pop up in the direction of the girl that had spoke. Dina, I believed is what her name was tossed back her long black hair over her shoulder. “Jinx has only blown up a couple of things anyways.”

“That is an absolutely wild thing to say.” Ellie enunciated in what could almost be read as horror. “You understand how that’s an absolutely wild thing to say right?”

“Relax, you’re not supposed to have a lot of things in here. Firearms, explosives, the weed Vi has stashed in her bag and what she’s definitely going to smoke later.” Jinx drawled on as she expertly blew out the flame sparked on the bunched up grass before letting the smoke envelop the tarot deck with ease.

“What the hell, dude! Be a little bit quieter whenever you say that!” Vi voiced with a mild groan.

“You can shuffle, in any way you want.” Jinx responded without a care in the world as she passed the deck off towards me.

“Okay… cool.” I spoke, retrieving my frostbitten and clearly shaking hands from my pockets.

“Mills, you look like you’re freezing, do you want this?” Ellie questioned with a gentle nudge as she was already reaching for the edges of her flannel to pull it off.

“It’s all good, it was my fault anyways. I’ve got it.” Vi chimed in with a clear of her throat as she shrugged the leather jacket from her shoulders. I could’ve gasped at the large muscles on display, the tattoos stretching from her back and down her arms, one of which just slightly concealed by a layer of bandages wrapped around her forearm which nearly had me thinking the worst at first had it not been for the other injuries sprinkled around her body. One atop her bicep by her shoulders and one just off to the side of her chest. Suddenly the underground fighting ring made sense.

“God, you are such a fucking whore. Can you not distract her while I’m trying to give her a reading?” Jinx groaned in annoyance as she gave her a subtle shove even though it looked as if Vi could overpower her pretty easily.

“I don’t think I’ve ever been so insecure in my life actually.” Ellie mumbled to herself with a bit of a grimace. “God, I really need to hit the gym.”

“Hockey players usually work out together a few times a week if you wanna come.” Vi directed towards Ellie with a knowing smirk just before I could feel the leather jacket being draped over my shoulders. It was so warm I nearly felt every bit of the cold from outside melting away, her distinctive masculine scent still lingering now even more so. “You can come too, doll.”

The heat in my cheeks remained as I slid my arms through the oversized jacket that could’ve nearly swallowed me. “Maybe.” I answered with a tiny shrug as I shuffled the cards around in my hand, every attempt to look cool probably muddled by how flustered I seemed to be with every little comment she made. “Here.” I cleared my throat as I handed the cards back to the curious Jinx.

“Alright… here we go.” She practically smirked as she pulled three cards from the deck and spread them out in front of me before flipping the first one over with a flourish. Immediately my heart seemed to twist in my chest at the art piece scrawled across: Death. “Nice, I don’t see that one often!” Jinx seemed much too cheerful at the sight as she reached across the table to give me a pat on the back.

“Ummm… wh-what does that mean?” I stammered with widened eyes.

“Relax new girl, Death doesn’t always mean actual death, usually it just means… like, losing a certain part of your life. Or even killing off a part of yourself. It’s a sign something in your life needs to be let go of, something that isn’t serving you anymore. Now… next up we have-” she began with a flip of the next one, “The Lovers. Questionable at best.”

“I thought the lovers was a good card.” Ellie spoke in confusion from next to me.

“You would think, the true card of love is oftentimes seen as Two of Cups though. The Lovers itself represents… choices, you could say. Choices, temptations, with the addition of the death card it could also indicate sacrifice?” She shrugged as if delivering the most casual piece of news ever before flipping over the last card. “Seven of Cups, you’re a daydreamer, aren’t you?” She questioned with probably the first genuine smile I had seen her crack since we’d been here.

“Being a writer, yeah, kind of comes with the territory.” I said with a nervous smile of my own.

“Keep it up, because you could find purpose in those daydreams.“ It seemed so simple compared to the other two cards, so much so I nearly felt myself hyperfixating on that one card alone even as she slid everything back into place. “Sweet, that was an intense one, but definitely juicy.”

“That’s one way to put it, I guess.” I stated with the same heat creeping back up into my cheeks almost annoyingly.

~

I didn’t feel super talkative throughout the rest of the night besides a quick rush to the bathroom to deliver the news of the kiss to Ellie. It was still hard to gauge her reaction. I almost wondered if she’d be happier if it was someone else, anyone else besides the fighting hockey player who had fucked my sister a solid few times. And maybe she had a point. Ellie was a quiet sort of protective though. She never stopped me from doing anything, she would give her thoughts in private declarations, and was always there if things went south. I guess maybe that’s why it was hard to know how she felt.

Luckily for her own overactive imagination though, she was a lightweight. Two beers in and it became as easy as ever for her to drag herself into her own room and knock out. I wish it could’ve been the same for me, or I drank more either way because the moment I curled up in bed sleep became impossible.

My thoughts were completely consumed by her. Her unruly and spiky pink hair she probably stained every surface with dying. The scent of her cologne that I wished lingered just a little bit longer. The feel of her warm hands on my body with her husky voice and muscular frame.

No, sleep wasn’t anywhere near in my future.

~

It was past 8 whenever Ellie finally woke up to find me hunched over my laptop in the living room and surrounded with various pieces of ripped paper and my journal plopped face down on the coffee table. “Woah, you’re up early.” She spoke through a yawn as she rubbed at her eyes.

“I never went to sleep.” I answered without looking up from my laptop, fingers flying across the keys.

“Christ.” Ellie cursed under her breath as she smacked her open palm against her face. “Millie, you should’ve came and got me if you were having trouble sleeping.” She groaned, shuffling forward in her mothman slippers to plop down next to me. “Babe, hands off of the keyboard for a second.” She ordered, gentle but stern hands wrapping around my wrists to pry them from the keys.

“No wait, not yet! They’re about to have their meet cute! Their- Their inciting incident.” I protested as Ellie snatched the laptop from my grasp, eyes briefly scanning over the lit up screen.

“Are you- Are you writing a love story?” She wondered in almost shock. “I thought you were working on a tragedy.”

“All love stories are inherently tragedies.” I spoke, twirling a pen I had stolen from the coffee table in between my fingers as the sudden thought sprung up into my head. “To love is to- is to-” I groaned a bit at the blurry end of the sentence somewhere in my mind, quickly flipping to an empty page of my journal to scribble down the words. “To love is be vulnerable. No, no, that’s not it.” I huffed as I roughly marked out the words. “To love is to accept loss- but love isn’t always accepting though.”

“You know love isn’t supposed to feel like that.” Ellie sighed a bit, gentle fingers carefully tucking the stray strands of hair out of my face as they had escaped from the loose ponytail a while ago.

I blew out another hefty sigh as I hunched forward to bury my head in my arms. “I’m sorry you have to deal with my mania.”

“You’re not making me deal with anything… I’m your best friend. It’s part of it.” She spoke with a shake of her head, gentle but strong arms coming upwards to tug me away from the mess of the coffee table. “C’mon, you need to get some sleep. I’ll be your pillow.”

“You just woke up, and I thought you had practice.” I protested even though I never wanted to say no to her offer of cuddles. Maybe it was inappropriate and I was a bit too obsessed with cuddles. It felt like since I was a kid it had always been hard to fall asleep without a body next to me. I couldn’t count the times I had snuck off to Caitlyn’s room in the middle of the night and crawled underneath the blankets with her. It was just the security of being next to someone. Sometimes an illusion. But I think I was okay with illusions for now.

“Not until later, and it’s only for a few hours before club rush.” Ellie answered just before stretching her longer legs across the length of the couch giving me few choices but to snuggle into her chest. “I wouldn’t mind a little bit more shut eye though, I just wanted to check on you.”

“Wake me up before you leave?” My voice sounded half muffled burrowed in her black shirt.

“Not a chance.” She denied, lounging her head against the arm rest of the couch to use as a makeshift pillow. “You can wake up on your own time and then if we’re still practicing you can meet me at the rink to watch.” She said hopefully causing a little grin to stretch on my lips.

“Sheesh, no wonder people think we’re dating. You’re a stage 5 clinger.” I teased with a giggle.

“Okay, who is the one currently clung to me like a damn koala right now? Sorry I forgot.”

“Dipshit.” I gave her shoulder a playful shove just before curling back up to her chest, it was hard not to get tired with her cuddles. She was soft, the quiet thump of her heartbeat always echoed in my ears, she kept her breathing steady, a calm rise and fall that she timed with the soothing circles she always rubbed on my back. And she smelled exactly like the way I imagined skipping through a wildflower field would. “I love you.” I murmured in a sleepy voice, my heavy eyes finally drawing to a close.

“I love you too, squirt.” I could faintly hear her voice just before I felt myself doze off.

~

Whenever I woke up again Ellie was already long gone, a blanket draped over top of me and a large squishmallow shoved underneath my head to act as a pillow. The apartment felt weird being empty, a few boxes that had yet to be unpacked scattered around the area and I had to fight the urge to start trying to unpack some more. Then I would probably never leave.

The lack of sleep still weighed heavily on my brain but at least I didn’t feel like I was going to keel over anymore. I threw myself in the shower for a hot second hoping it would wake me up, and thankfully it sort of did. I decided on a simple band hoodie and a pair of leggings after shooting a text to Caitlyn and asking what the dress code for club rush was. Luckily there really wasn’t one.

I rubbed at the sleep in my eyes before going to place my glasses back on my face before an alternate thought crossed my mind. I usually didn’t wear my contacts, they were difficult to get in and occasionally weren’t sensory friendly but… maybe it could be time for a change. So with a heavy breath I plopped the little pieces of plastic into my eyes, a string of blinks and a few watery tears following.

I speed braided a strand of my hair before tossing it up into a low ponytail. Then sending Ellie a quick text for a coffee order while packing my things up for a semi busy day, headphones, medicine, notebooks, laptop etc…

Ellie Sunshine ☀️: the rink actually has a sick coffee bar you have to check out 🤭

Ellie Sunshine ☀️: also abby is out for blood today- if i die just know i want to be planted into a tree. willow specifically.

Millie Moon 🌙: i’ll avenge you bby g

Ellie Sunshine ☀️: AVENGE ME MILLIE!! AVENGE ME!!

I let out a giggle at her text messages before slipping my phone back into my pocket and shoving my AirPods into my ears before I could go and retrieve my bike. I always felt a level of anxiety whenever I walked outside alone and I wasn’t sure why. Maybe it was the general sense that things were well and truthfully changing. I was trying to be independent though. It’s not as if Ellie and I had every single class together, there were bound to be some days we’d leave at different times. I needed to get used to it.

The indoor hockey rink was a tall and intimidating structure. Designed to look like a ship it looked more like a dystopian hell than anything. Grey and cold and the dreary weather of Oxford didn’t help either.

Practice was already in full swing working on scoring or a scrimmage or… I wasn’t entirely sure. Sports were never really my thing, nevertheless though I never turned down the chance to go to a game with Caitlyn. Call it the gay in me, I guess. That little aspect suddenly made her relationship with Vi make more sense. She was a beast on the ice, a ruthless animal who wasn’t afraid to get too rough. Not rough in the way that her teammate Abby Anderson seemed to get though. Ellie was right. She did seem to be out for blood with the way she zipped around the ice and treated her stick like it was an extension of her arm.

I gnawed on my bottom lip as I scanned the rink for Ellie’s figure while digging out my notebook. I was so glad she had finally gotten a chance to play. Playing all through high school only to have most of her time overtook by the army afterwards, she was almost afraid she was too out of practice to get back into it. She was great though, better than any typical freshman, I swore she nearly cried whenever she finally got her jersey. Proud to have her name on something for once.

A little smile stretched on my lips at the sight of her whipping around the ice with ease, a slight glimpse of unkept pink hair took my attention though as she skated in towards the puck from the opposite side. The name: Violence written in place of a last name on the back of her jersey. “Ugh, I can’t believe they let her do that.” I heard a scoff from behind me, flinching just the slightest bit before I could around to face the sound. Jinx stood on the row behind me, blue braids spun up into two thick space buns secured at the bottom of her head. “Violence. It’s so cheesy.” She hopped down into the same row as me, plopping down in the seat next to mine before lounging back on her elbows. “So- come here often?” She teased with a waggle of her eyebrows causing me to let out a little laugh.

“Uhhh… no, actually, Ellie wanted me to meet her at practice though so- I’m here.” I said with a tiny shrug while twirling my pencil around my fingers.

“What’re you working on?” Jinx wondered next with a quick change of subject as she gave my notebook a little nudge.

“Oh uhhh… just this like- song thing, I guess you could call it. I started it last night I just, you know, had this chorus in my head.” I answered with a bit of heat creeping up into my cheeks. “Y-You can read it if you want.” I wondered cautiously, always expecting the worst, but I swore I could’ve seen Jinx’s eyes light up in that moment.

“Oh! Word?!” She exclaimed with a grin before snatching the notebook from my hands without hesitation. “I’d love to!” She grinned before letting her eyes scan over the page. All the while I fidgeted with the ends of my sleeves hoping my one paragraphed unedited chorus wasn’t too bad. “Woah- you are quite down bad over somebody if I must say. I mean, it’s good! It’s definitely good… but- definitely down bad.”

My cheeks felt as rosy as ever and not just because of the cold as I shook my head, but not in denial. “I’m- I don’t know what’s going on with me. I-I haven’t felt this way since-“

“Ellie?” Jinx predicted with ease causing my eyes to widen in surprise.

“Wha- wh-why would you think that? I mean, don’t you have a close friend that everybody thinks you’re dating?”

Jinx only snickered with a smirk as she gave me a quick nudge, “Nope.” She said almost proudly with a loud pop. “I get why you guys aren’t together though, dating your mental hospital roomie can get complicated. I mean, I’m not saying that dating Vi wouldn’t be complicated either but-”

“Wait, how did you? I- I never told you any of that.”

“Doggy, was yesterday not a clue? I stay eavesdropping, I’m in everybody else’s business but my own. Especially my sister’s.” Jinx explained without a hint of shame, and I almost had to respect it.

“I- I don’t know how I feel about you watching me make out with your sister.” I spoke with my eyebrows furrowing together in response, but all I got from Jinx was a loud gasp as she gave me a little swat.

“Oh my God, new girl! I didn’t listen in to that point! Holy shit!” She practically squealed but all it made me do was cringe in anxiety. “Well, whatever it is you’re into, you might wanna figure it out. You’re not the only one who’s got a little crush.” Jinx hummed as she gave me a little nudge and gestured off towards one of the other sides of the rink where the same girl from last night was stood. Black hair tied up in a low ponytail this time, arms crossed as she peered into the rink with a look of fierce concentration.

“Well, I want Ellie to be happy so- if Ellie likes her then… I would be okay with it.” I voiced, though trying to hide the general crushing weight that crept into my chest just at the mere mention. The same ache Ellie had told me about last night. “Besides, she doesn’t like me like that- she made it really clear.”

“Did she? Because I know we’re not exactly experts at reading human emotions.”

“Well, I’m an expert at reading Ellie at least.” I shrugged with a little sigh.

A commotion knocked us both from our conversation though, a little breath hitching in my throat the moment I saw Abby’s gloved hands on Ellie again. “Stop!” I yelped out in anxiety, briefly remembering the memory of her telling me about the plethora of injuries she had received from the explosion that had changed everything, a TBI staring right at me in glowing red lights.

Their helmets went rolling down the ice as I watched the two girls hit the floor, “Fucks sake, Abby!” Ellie groaned in pain as her bare cheekbone touched the ice. Thankfully she was strong and knew how to fight back as she swung her off of her, hand flying to her cheek with a hiss of pain.

“Anderson! I told you save for the violence for the other team! That’s the second time you’ve targeted Williams in two days-“ The intimidating coach finally exclaimed from her observational spot in the wings, though part of her seemed to be willing to let it play out.

“Well maybe she should stay out of my fucking shot!” Abby exclaimed, a declaration that had me widening my eyes at her bravery that she’d speak to someone like Sevika in that way. Sevika who already looked as if she was about to blow. The Andersons were much like the Kirammans though, in the sense a lot of the faculty needed to be careful.

“I’m on fucking defense, Abby! What do you expect me to do?! A-Are you gonna do this during actual games too?!” Ellie shouted as she removed her hand to reveal the angry red splotch underneath her eye where she had been rammed into the ice.

“That was a foul, I saw it.” Vi spoke up as she flew over towards where the two girls stood just off of the ice. “She swiped her so she’d purposefully fall on her face.”

Coach Sevika held up a hand as if to tell her it’d be taken care of. “Everyone, take 5, Anderson, Williams, work out your issues and don’t come back until you do. Williams, do you need a medic?”

“I’m fine, I can take care of it.” Ellie huffed as she pushed herself off of the ice with a wince.

“Then why did you get us benched?!” Abby bellowed as she trailed close behind her to give her a firm shove.

“Hey! Stop, leave her alone!” I repeated probably helplessly for the second time, taking off down the stairs and after where the two were arguing.

For a moment I nearly saw Ellie’s past flash in her usually gentle green eyes. The US Army solider who had had to defend herself from much worse and was always prepared for the worst. I didn’t wanna know what would’ve happened if I hadn’t reached her whenever I did. Nearly tripping over my own two feet as I cautiously crept up next to her. She had taught me a long time ago how to approach her whenever a PTSD trigger hit. I never really got the chance to before Abby was lashing out again, darting her angered expression towards me to the point where I nearly flinched.

“Ellie why don’t you tell your fucking schizo of a girlfriend to stay out of it!”

Ellie’s eyes darkened in a way I hadn’t seen before, the way I imagined they would have on the battlefield as she whipped around to face her with an intensity that had almost gotten her her first shot against her. “What did you just fucking call her?!”

“Ellie, Ellie please- don’t.”

“What the hell is your problem, Anderson?” Vi had finally caught up to the two and I was thanking my lucky stars that she hadn’t heard what had come out of Abby’s mouth.

I gulped an anxious lump down my throat as I slid a hand into Ellie’s gloved one, attempting to pull her off towards the locker rooms but her feet were grounded in place. “I’m really fucking sorry about what happened to your dad, Abby, okay?” She finally spoke up earning me a confused expression from Vi that I could only meet with a shrug. “It was disgusting, inexcusable and it never should’ve happened and trust me whenever I say those soliders never should’ve gotten away with it and I swear to you if I would’ve had any say in it then they wouldn’t have. But respectfully if you have any shit you need to take out on me then do it off of the ice, and if you say one more word like that about Millie you’re going to see that US Army side of me real fucking fast.”

My eyes widened in shock, almost feeling like my feet were glued to the floor as I watched her whirl around and head towards the direction I had been trying to pull her in. “What did you fucking say about Millie?” Venom seemed to drip from Vi’s lips as she turned towards Abby with a fierce glare.

“Uh-oh-” I could hear Jinx’s subtle commentary causing me to curse underneath my breath.

“Man, it isn’t important, I was just pissed.” Abby tried to brush off, but Vi wasn’t having it.

“Clearly it was if you felt the need to bring her into this so tell me, what did you fucking say to her?!” Vi growled just before slamming her body into the protective glass wrapping around the rink.

“Vi- s-stop, please!” I stammered, reaching out to latch onto her broad shoulders as I tried to pry her off. She was so much bigger though, pure muscle seeming to be made out of steel as she refused to move.

“Millie, go check on Ellie, okay? I’ll handle this.” She ordered, body towering over mine even as she peered over her shoulder to face me.

“Violet please-“

“I wasn’t asking!” The words probably came out much harsher then expected causing me to wince once more. She commanded authority, and still I wondered if she was simply trying to protect me or what. But I wouldn’t challenge her after that.

“O-Okay.” I stammered, an ache settling behind my eyes as I turned on my heel to venture back into the locker room.

“Ugh, you are such a dick, do you know that?” I heard Jinx’s voice carry down the hallway, meanwhile I gulped down a heavy lump in my throat as I quickened my pace to take off in Ellie’s direction.

A/N: Two hot girls fighting for your honor- wow, living the dream 🩵

As always please let me know your thoughts! I am really am trying to slow down but it’s hard to whenever I love what I’m writing so much 🤭🥹

[yanderefarm]

yandere prisoner x final boy reader

cw; gore, suggestive, implied violence towards reader, violence, knives, prison

here is his story.... name still undecided but!!! its him.

the forest branches are long and winding, like hands reaching out to grab and their twigs like claws scratching at your skin as you run through them. you hear the sound of manic laughter coming from too close behind you, the sound echoing like thunder pounding in your ears. your legs are going to give out soon. closer. you see a flash of green. closer. your foot hits a tree root and your body crashes through the stinging branches leaving a thousand scratches on your skin. you try to tuck into yourself as you hit the concrete but it's too much, everything hurts and you can't bring your legs to move anymore. closer. you see those grey eyes filled with vitriol. flash of red. flash of blue. red. blue. red. blue. a ringing like a siren is getting closer, louder. the weight of his body sinks onto your chest. that long slimy tongue drags up against your cheek.

your eyes shoot open and you're miles away from that cabin again. your cat has made itself comfortable on your chest and is licking your nose trying to wake you up while your alarm clock rings through the room. you feel bad as you shove your cat off your chest but you just can't breathe. finally able to take a deep breath you sit up. its not unusual for you to have nightmares about that night but ever since his release was announced it's been more and more frequent, a constant reminder of what you have to do. and today is the day of release.

outside of the prison is dozens of news reporters, people trying to get your opinion on this by shoving microphones in your face. you're unfortunately used to it and you just push them out of your face. the only thing that matters is that you get him today. the heavy metal gates open for you, they allow you into the belly of the beast again. you can't help but shake as you're led into the prison by guards who know what horror awaits you.

in the room you've met him a dozen times he sits with a small pile of belongings. his lips pull into a wide smile as soon as those grey eyes land on you. you can see his sharp canines and then his absurdly long tongue lick his lips like a hungry wolf. he thinks he's gotten his precious little bunny rabbit but you won't let yourself become another meal for this voracious predator.

you two have a short meaningless conversation before you're ready to leave with him. honestly it feels like everything is on autopilot as you guide him back out of the prison towards your car. he stops to talk to the reporters, to imply he's going to spend the night with you but your eyes glaze over to his taunts. you know he's thinking about all the letters he sent you over the years, you know he's dreaming about the torture he's going to inflict as soon as you two are alone. he won't get the chance.

he continues to make vaguely threatening perverse comments to you as you two enter the car. apparently he didn't expect his bunny rabbit to fight back. the needle sinks into his shoulder and within minutes he's passed out.

when he wakes up? he's in an all too familiar looking cabin. he's tied with the strongest chains you could find to the ground.

"do you remember this place...?" you ask when you notice him looking around.

"this isn't where we met." he says it confidently and he's not wrong.

"the one we met in was demolished. all of them were supposed to be. i managed to buy this one before they could destroy it."

"you're sooo romantic~"

you slam a familiar looking knife into the table. "do you know why this one is significant?"

"mmmm lemme guess... was someone you loved in here? or maybe you were supposed to stay in this one?"

".... you gutted my boyfriend and my best friend and you mutilated them so badly the coroner couldn't tell where one began and the other ended."

"oopsie~"

you let him get the better of you and you slap him hard across the cheek. he moans at the pain as a red and handprint starts to form.

"i remember how they felt... i remember the warmth. i remember that little roommate of yours was still alive while i fucked her guts."

he was provoking you to hit him again, the same way he provoked you in the prison. but now... you had the power. you walked away from him to grab the knife from the table.

"you liked that didn't you? you like being a disgusting monster, right?" you ran the knife down his chest and he shuddered. "then you'll like it if i show you how it feels to be used as a toy right?"

he didn't need to speak, you could see his tongue running against his lips. some of his drool even dripped down his now exposed chest. he wasn't going to enjoy this for long but you would.

[rotten-pomegranate]

What about some light non-con drabble with yandere Shalnark?

Hear me out. He is just cruel in his own way.

Imagine how he fucks his beloved until exhaustion. And after all, as if nothing had happened, he falls asleep hugging her like a teddy bear🫢🫢

Yandere shalnark x virgin reader

Yes, I see this, the kind of yandere I see him as matches this so well, this kinda got away from me, thank you sm for your patience

Tags: @shalscumbunny

Warnings: Noncon, light Noncon but still some struggling, reader is being pinned down, forced kissing, hickeys, groping, afab, he lays on her and she’s getting crushed

/|\^._.^/|\ /|\^._.^/|\ /|\^._.^/|\ /|\^._.^/|\ /|\^._.^/|\ /|\^._.^/|\

It starts like normal, him groping and touching you , his hands are always on you when he’s around normally, but as soon as he gets back from troupe business he’s all over you a little more then normal

He’s gone as far as groping you under your shirt but never this far, he has your pants off, discarded somewhere in the room, his face is in your neck while one of his hands hold both your arms above your head while his free one gropes whatever he can reach, you could feel his hot breath every time he came up m from the assault in your neck

Before you know it he’s grinding his clothed cock against you, it’s already hard, there was nothing you could do, no begging our promising to give up something else he could take just as easily as he was gonna have what he wanted

His hand goes to the waistband of your underwear while still pinning you with the other one and quickly gets to work pulling your underwear down just enough to have easy access to your most precious bits, parts of you you’ve done your best to keep him away from

“Aww, it’s just as cute as I imagined, I can’t believe I waited so long” his eyes are wide and bright but there’s no remorse or sympathy behind them, only lust and want

Lust and want that could match the fear and sadness he’s most definitely choosing to ignore in yours

“Your not very wet” he has a little frown on his face when he brings his mouth down and give an experimental lick, your arms now pinned down to your stomach

You jump and try to wriggle your bottom half away from him only to have his free hand pin down you hip without pausing his assault

The way he was eating you out was clearly not to provide pleasure rather to get you wet enough for him, a fact you where almost grateful for

When his head comes up his smile is back, “that should be good” he makes brief eye contact with you while he’s coming back up

He takes of his boxers and to your horror he pushes them in your mouth “just incase you wanna scream” his smile is mocking

You couldn’t bring yourself to look down, you didn’t wanna see what would soon be in you

“This is probably gonna hurt so just try and relax” he pauses, thinking for a moment “or don’t haha” his laugh so light as if he wasn’t about to do something irreversible to you, you feel him line himself up, his tip kissing your entrance before he starts pushing, his grip tightening around your wrist when he finally gets the head past your tight muscle

It hurt, bad, you could feel yourself breaking, and the small trail of something wet going down your thigh could only be blood

He thrusts his hips again, you felt to full, stretched to wide and he was unnaturally deep

Your body begged to let sound out, but the cloth in your mouth only allowed for your cries of pain to come out distorted and muffled

“See, It’s not to bad” not to bad, he says that as if he wasn’t holding your down and forcing himself on you, as if your couldn’t feel yourself breaking just for him to pleasure himself with your body

He doesn’t start slow, he starts with one big thrust and then a steady flow of them, pain, that’s all you can feel, you suppose it would be different with someone you love, with someone who prepares you for it and takes it slow, but as of now you couldn’t imagine how anyone would want this

“I shouldn’t have waited this long” he’s breathless already, the pain was dulling but not enough to be comfortable, you were still tense

His pace was forcing pained sounds out of you, sounds that couldn’t be mistaken as pleasure

“Just a bit longer” he says in between breaths, just a bit longer before he’ll let you get up, before most of the pain will be gone, your sure there will be a lasting ache, no matter how long you wait

“Hmm, I’m almost there” his fae goes down to your neck, sucking leaving more purple marks to stake his claim on you

“A-ahh” his grip on you tightens and an uncomfortable warmth fills you, this was truly the worst thing he could do to you

He stays in the same position with the exception of letting his weight crush you, ignoring the way your breath gets lighter

“That was good, I have some ideas on what we could do next” his face is still in your neck but you could feel his smile, “oh right, I forgot” his hand goes up to pull his boxers out of your mouth “ew haha, you got them all wet” he tosses them to the other side of the room with the rest of your cloths

“Let’s go get a bath” he finally lets your hands go but your not free from his grasp, as soon as you can move them you feel his arms going around you, presumably to bring you to the bathroom to wash, wash all his filth off you

“I hope I wasn’t to rough, I don’t wanna hurt you to bad”

To late

[pinkyplushiemaker]

New 2025 Commission Information

Commission Information and Terms of Service

Information on Artist.

I started my plush work in 2013. I have worked hard on developing my style and process over the years. I create my embroidery and patterns from scratch, so everything I make is one of a kind. I do not sell my patterns because they are not normal and only I can understand how they come together. I live in West Virginia, USA. I can ship all over the country and internationally. I live in a dog, bird, and reptile friendly home. I love anime/manga, superhero movies/tv/comics, horror movies, animals, art, and making plushies.

My Plush Work

I work with minky fabric since it’s the highest quality I can use to make my work the best quality possible. I can also use faux furs, long pile minky, mochi fabric, fleece, and cotton if needed (or requested). I use upholstery thread when sewing my plush together. The thread is incredibly strong and the chances of pieces coming apart are very low. If they do come apart (very uncommon), just message me and I will fix and reinforce the piece.

My work is considered ���art”, not factory produced for the general public. This means that they are unique and special, but it also means they are not really meant to be handled roughly, crushed, and/or given to very small children. They are pretty durable since they are plush, but any material can wear over time when they are over “loved” (lol). Taking them on adventures, and carrying them around is totally welcomed, just please go easy on the tug and pull <3

Ordering a Plush

Please feel free to reach out to me through Twitter (X), Tumblr, Instagram, or Facebook. I do my best to answer as soon as possible, but you are welcome to message again in case I have not replied after a few days. (I can get busy with the Plush Business, my full-time job, and taking care of my pets.)

Let me know what you are looking to have made. (I can make humans, animals, creatures, cars, robots etc.) Let me know what size and style you are thinking of and if there is a certain time you would like to have it made by. (It normally takes about 2-4 weeks, it depends on if I need to order anything specific.) Please provide images if possible (if you want something unique and only have a description, I can do a rough concept of the character for you, or if you would like to commission me to do art of the character, please feel free to request it). Once I have this information, I will give you a price quote. The quote will only be for the plush, this will not include the shipping or taxes. If you agree to the price, I will request an email from you and will send an invoice. It will list all the details for the transaction, including shipping and tax. The invoice is through PayPal Goods and Services, so we are both protected.

Once the payment is made, you are added to the queue. Before I start on the plush, I will create a concept for it. In this stage (and only in this stage) you are welcome to make any updates to the design. (For example: preferring a different color, wanting the eyes to be bigger, not wanting a certain part included etc.) I will do my best to get as close to the concept as possible. It will never be exact, but I do normally get really close. After the concept is finished, I will share fabric colors to ensure they are right.

Once everything is approved, I will create the pattern and embroidery files. Next, I will embroider the fabric and cut out the pattern. Finally, I will sew the plush together and share the final plush in our communication. I will need you to share the preferred name and address for the shipment. Once this information is provided, I will pack up the plush and send it out. I will provide the tracking when it is on its way.

Shipping the Plush

My standard shipping is first-class and using a waterproof bubble mailer envelope. This keeps the shipping as low as possible. ($7 within the US, $25 International)

For 2025, I am offering priority and over-night shipping (overnight only available in US). I am also offering the option to ship within a box instead of a bubble mailer. These options will be much higher prices and can be discussed while setting up the commission.

Please note, once I ship a plush and provide a tracking number. It is out of my hands.

Canceling a Commission

You have 1 week after ordering to cancel a commission. If I ordered materials for the project, it will be deducted from the total.

If a plush is not correct (and it is due to my mistake), I can grant a full refund. Unless I am able to fix the issue. The mistake would be due to me not using the correct color fabric, missing an important detail from the concept etc. Just not liking a plush or deciding you don’t want to pay for a plush once it is made are not valid reasons. I have various examples of my work and before commissioning me, please review my pages to make sure you like my style and quality.

Final Note

I am more than happy to work with someone to make a plush they can afford and love. Since all of my plush are custom and I make all the patterns and embroidery, I can make adjustments easily. For example, I can make the plush smaller and contain less details. I will be happy to explain what parts are causing the higher price and we can work out other options. I believe PayPal has options to make multiple payments too, so I can still get full payment and you wont need to pay in full right away.

Thank you for reading!! I hope I can bring your favorite characters to life 😊

[jspenft]

Home alone on Satoru's birthday.

I know I'm coming back after what, one? Two years? I don't know anymore. But I just had a fic idea and fuck, need someone to write it asap.

(English isn't my first language, and didn't proofread, pls be lenient)

It's a 𝙎𝙖𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙪 𝙂𝙤𝙟𝙤 𝙭 𝙛𝙚𝙢!𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙚𝙧, and I'm sorry but Suguru is mean in it (don't blame me okay it just happened in my head😭).

Okay so basically, you're in a distance relationship with Satoru, or like he's away for missions (or business trip if NoCurses!au).

He's been away for so long, it's been weeks, you text, call, sure, but it's not enough, you miss each other so fucking bad. He sends you texts of the lines of: "I put your perfume on my pillow but nothing compares to you :( Need your arms around me sweetheart" "Miss you🩵" "Love you so much", and you needed him as bad.

Plus his birthday was approaching so fast, and you came up with a fucking great idea (not to be presumptuous, but you're pretty proud of yourself).

The idea: buy a plane ticket and surprise him.

Simple right?

You thought...

Days goes by and you plan everything: buy the plane ticket✅ book a room in the hotel he's staying (even though it's just to gain access to the hotel corridors and knock on Satoru's door)✅ making his favorite pastries✅ hell you even planned to wear those clothes he loves you to wear✅ everything was going to your plan.

You knew he specifically asked (ordered) to have the day off on his birthday, so the field was clear for you.

You both had planned a facetime that day (even though he would've liked to stay on call all day, you convinced him to move the call to late afternoon. Your excuse was lame, but he thankfully believed it.). But what he didn't know, is that when you'll call him, you'll be in front of his hotel room at that time. You giggle already imagining his reaction.

A few days before, just to be sure, you texted Suguru asking him to subtly encourage Satoru not to leave his hotel room at the time you'll be there. He agreed.

The day comes and you're so excited.

You're ready to go, check everything.

But shock is written all over your face as you inspect your wallet:

𝙒𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙙𝙞𝙙 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙥𝙡𝙖𝙣𝙚 𝙩𝙞𝙘𝙠𝙚𝙩 𝙜𝙤??

You are surprised at first, thinking that you must have put it somewhere else. But the more time you spend running around the house, the more horror replaces the initial shock on your face.

You really try to remember, but no, you really put it in your wallet! So how did it disappear!??

Time passes and the house is in distraught, you turned everything upside down, but still nothing.

Last resort: buy another ticket.

You run and scroll through the airline's website on your computer and: the flight is sold out...

𝙎𝙊𝙇𝘿.𝙊𝙐𝙏.

You start crying, why do these kinds of things only happens to you?

In the end, you decide to go to the airport anyway, because who knows? Maybe there will be a last minute cancellation and you'll have a free seat? spoiler alert: no.

You're crying, trying to hide your sobs from people.

For fuck sakes this isn't home alone! So why did this happens to you? All you wanted was making your boyfriend happy on his birthday, was that too much to ask for?

You spend the rest of the day sobbing in your bed. You may be overdoing it a bit, thinking that it wouldn't be a big deal for others, but you can't help but feel bad. Seeing something you've been preparing for so long slip through your fingers so easily, and that because of a poor plane ticket: it frustrates you to the highest degree. You miss Satoru so much.

You have no other choices than accept your fate. You already wished him an happy birthday at midnight, and all that's left is to wait for the facetime you had planned for late afternoon. You're already practicing fake smiles and hiding your swollen eyes.

Imagining yourself with him almost makes you shed a tear. Facetime is good, but nothing compares to being in each other's embrace.

You're suddenly brought out of your reverie by a message notification. Message from Satoru to be precise, you know it cause you have a specific ringtone for him.

You open his text, and begin to start rubbing your eyes, not believing what you're reading.

𝙏𝙤𝙧𝙪🍡🩵. 𝟰:𝟮𝟮𝙥𝙢 :

"𝘚𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘵𝘴!! 𝘠𝘰𝘶'𝘭𝘭 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘨𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥! 𝘚𝘶𝘨𝘶𝘳𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘮𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘺 𝘣𝘪𝘳𝘵𝘩𝘥𝘢𝘺!!!! 𝘊𝘢𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘵?😁 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘰𝘵 𝘮𝘺 𝘣𝘪𝘳𝘵𝘩𝘥𝘢𝘺, 𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘭𝘭💅🏻💅🏻💅🏻 𝘐 𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘪𝘳𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘴𝘬 𝘮𝘦 𝘪𝘧 𝘪'𝘭𝘭 𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘺! 𝘈𝘯𝘺𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘸𝘦'𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘪𝘵'𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘰 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨!🥳 𝘞𝘦'𝘭𝘭 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘬𝘢𝘺? 𝘓𝘶𝘷 𝘶𝘶𝘶🥰"

...

...𝘿𝙞𝙙 𝙎𝙪𝙜𝙪𝙧𝙪 𝙂𝙚𝙩𝙤... 𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙡𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙩𝙞𝙘𝙠𝙚𝙩??

You can imagine anything from there.

But I can think of the reader so shocked that she doesn't answer Satoru's call, or the following ones. She ends up picking up, but is very evasive in her answers. Ofc he asks her what's wrong, and so she explains to him.

Everything.

How she planned everything down to the last millimeter, how Suguru was in confidence, but he decided to stab her in the back by stealing her surprise. (Because yes, maybe the missing ticket is a coincidence, but the idea of ​​surprising Satoru, that, Suguru stole it from her).

Now imagine Satoru not believing you? Telling you his best friend wouldn't do that. "Why are are you lying?".

You'll sob, maybe even Shoko will hear the news and call you. You'll ask her "What? You don't believe me either?" but she believes you.

I don't know why Sugu would do that tho. Maybe he felt like the new girlfriend was stealing his best friend?

Just dreamed abt this fic, hope you like the idea.

[passionatelyxlust]

This was already starting to become too much for Lust to bare, but that did not matter when he wasn't the one who lived through the torment. He pondered how a meeting between himself and Azriel's parents will play out if the opportunity arose where they came face-to-face with the demon Prince who proved isn't the abomination those religious fanatics thought he was. Well, if they expected a witch to become a monster, then Lust will be the only one showing them what a real monster looked like. A true Prince of Hell who did not tolerate such travesties against anybody he cared about. Perhaps, slicing them to pieces with his dagger would have sufficed, including the priest who performed the exorcism never hurting the cause, but Lust wouldn't rid the world of their hateful kind unless given the word. Families were complicated and despite what the Delacroix's did, he cannot blame Azriel for still loving them in some way. "Everyone, no matter how pure and kind-hearted one claims they are, are still capable of evil when the conditions are right. You don't expect that kind of thing from family, Az, but that kind of violence is always enacted by your own loved ones from my understanding of humans." Lust dragged his attention away from the male and glanced around him in wonderment, almost as if the scene could not decide where the memory wanted or needed to land in order to play the next horror show he knew was coming. Flashes of various images floated in and out, however unlike the previous memories, the fact it was as if someone turned the knob of the sound's volume practically to mute spelled a clear message that Az blocked out the sounds of his own screams. Lust knew hearing any of it or the begging would have broken him right then and there, more than he already was in the moment. He was still angry, still accepting to spill blood if needed when his eyes found Az's parents tying him to the bed with binds that were far too tight, but his melancholy for Azriel replaced the hate briefly. "I will never understand how anybody can place a child who they once claimed to care for more than anything under physical torture based on their beliefs that they can change what they think is wrong with you." Lust reached out a hand and brushed his fingers against Azriel's before it completely encapsulated the witch's, silently conveying that Az did not deserve the treatment nor did he himself believe his Prince was a demon in witch's clothing. "Your parents do not deserve any thought you have ever spared on them and they don't deserve any tears you've shed." Picture after picture flickered, representing the priest spitting nonsense, Az's mother and father physically holding down a young boy and ignoring his pleading, Lust imagining the feeling of those ropes clinging tighter and tighter as if they were wrapped around his own wrists. "I'm sorry, Az, I just-...I can't imagine..."

This was heartbreak at its finest, Lust could feel something within himself shatter the moment his eyes found the spot where Azriel's arm was now missing, taken from him just as his younger brother had been. The younger Azriel awoke once again, changing the scenery with it, before Lust's attention fell upon a brunette young woman that he swore he knew tending to the injured male. it wasn't until the witch beside him confirmed the identity did it really click for the demon prince. Of course. Isabel's training as the coven healer, why was not Lust surprised? "That's my sister for you." Lust finally released the other's hand and fully turned toward him, nodding in total understanding. Glancing over Azriel with a clarity like he was seeing the real him for the first time. Beautifully tragic, beautiful in every way, needing to grant him every scrap of happiness that he was so deprived of. "I understand now the protectiveness you and your siblings have for each other. Losing them is losing Asa all over again. It reminds me of me and Gluttony." God, how he missed his brother, a yearning pang he knew the other would sense through the bond, but Lust knew this wasn't about himself. "I promise, you will never be alone the way you were back then."

Azriel came to terms with his past years ago. Did it hurt any less when he thought about it all? About Asa perishing, or how his parents tossed him to the side just because they didn't understand what he was... not really, and he remembered it all. It stung less over the years, and the witch finally understood that they wouldn't want him no matter what he did. The only people who wanted him for him were his siblings and now Lust, a literal Prince of Hell. It was a thought that he knew also ran through the Prince's mind that maybe his father had placed some sort of manifest destiny onto Azriel's shoulders with the slander of 'demon' thrown at him. It was ironic. The witch crossed over to stand beside the Prince as everything dawned on the demon. Az's gaze flicked to Lust at the sudden intense emotions that seemed to move between their bond like it was his own before his eyes moved back to the scenery before them. "If humanity wasn't capable of the worst evils conceivable, we wouldn't be able to be swayed by the devil. I just... never expected it to be them that would show me how bad humanity could get," Azriel muttered in agreement quietly as the scenery flickered around them like an old television trying to find a station. His memories were solid, always clear– an eidetic memory except for when he was under duress with pain so intense that it could cause holes in his memory, and the exorcism moments were a majority of them. The memory was quiet for once; after all these years, the witch was still unable to bear the sound of his pleadings and screams as the priest rattled on and on. His own father picked him up, aided by his mother, and tied each limb to the four posters of his bed before it began; the sobs of his mother were visible, but no sound met his ears. "This went on for a whole week," Azriel spat out, feeling the tinges of anger that brimmed under the surface at the thought of his torture– no use in candy-coating what it was. "No food, no water, hardly any sleep when the Priest wasn't prattling Latin at me while I begged. I knew I wasn't a demon, but towards the end of it... I began to think that I was, or at least someone deserving of such treatment. I prayed to God to release me, to step in and help me, but no one came. I lost my family and my faith in one fell swoop." Azriel couldn't put into words the turmoil of his emotions the memories elicited, couldn't label them, but it was a perk of letting someone into his head. He didn't have to. The memories began to grow hazy as he sifted through the memories that led them through the exorcism. Popping around to various pictures of him alone, him with the priest tossing holy water onto him in an attempt to expel the demon in his blood, to his parents holding his limbs down on one of the occasions he tried to pull himself free in a rage. "The ropes were tied too tight, and with how much I pulled against them... I'm lucky I didn't lose more than my arm."

It was later in the week of Hell he'd endured when the memories resurfaced with clarity once more as the younger version gained consciousness, his bleary eyes wandering over to his arm that he couldn't feel much anymore– held at an awkward angle and tinged blue... almost black on the tips of his fingers. He shed a single tear before blacking out again. The scenery changed, gaining clarity like his earlier memories, showing a place he'd grown to know intimately, especially with his work as an enforcer. The younger version of himself lay under crisp white sheets, bandages covering his rope burns and the amputated nub where his arm formerly was. "I don't know how I was taken from my home. Knowing the coven, they were always watching and intervened before they could lose an asset. All I know is that I woke up in the coven's clinic with no arm, learning that I'm a witch, and then foisted into the Foxwood's arms," Az muttered, pointing to the young witch fussing over his prone form. A witch that both he and Lust knew well, a younger Isabel around his age at the time. "She was the only one before Kai and Gianna that didn't treat me as an outsider... I didn't make it easy for her, either. For any of them."

[shy2-29]

Two Of You | (new year’s special) l.hs

pairing: lee heeseung x reader(s) 🤔

wc: 1:5k

synopsis: you usually get off work around 9:00pm, but that isn’t the case today. Heeseung is constantly worrying about you at home, and he keeps telling himself your phone died because you’re not texting or answering him back, and that you’re probably catching up with an old friend. Finally, you come back from work, extra clingy. But is it really you?

authors note: never written any horror so I hope you guys like this 😣

warning: not proof read, tension, identity fraud, swearing, lying, panic, horror, potential kidnapping and I guess that’s it 🤷‍♀️

He keeps telling himself that your phone probably died and you’re catching up with an old friend or something and you probably forgot. Although it was unlike you, that’s what he kept trying to convince himself of. Suddenly, he hears the doorbell ring. It’s you, it must be you.

You arrive home a bit later than expected, finding Heeseung already waiting for you at the door. As soon as you see him, you call out his name and embrace him in a tight hug. "I'm really sorry I'm late," you say, a hint of apology in your voice.

"I had some catching up to do with an old friend at work. Hope you weren't too worried." Heeseung's face relaxes as he feels your arms surrounding him, the worry fading as he realizes the reason behind your tardiness.

Heeseung hugs you tighter, inhaling the scent of your hair and savoring the feeling of having you in his arms once again. In response to you, he finally mutters a soft, "I'm glad you're safe."

His voice is both a sigh of relief and a gentle whisper against your hair. He hesitates, then adds quietly, "Just.. Please, next time, let me know if you'll be late. You kind of worried me."

You pull back from the hug and see the slight relief wash over Heeseung's face. With a smile, you promise to keep him updated next time. "I swear I'll let you know," you assure him. "My phone died, so I guess I'll have to carry a portable charger from now on," you add with a chuckle, watching as a faint smile forms on his lips.

In that moment, an intense urge washes over you to shower him with a kiss, even though the timing feels a bit awkward. Heeseung seems taken aback, but then a smile appears, warming the space between you.

Heeseung feels a pleasant shiver run down his spine as you pull back from the hug, his arms still encircling your waist. The relief on his face is apparent as you promise to keep him updated in the future. He chuckles slightly at your excuse about your phone dying, his lips turning up in a small smile.

Suddenly, he registers the intense look in your eyes, seeing the desire to kiss him despite the moment feeling a bit out of place. As he processes the situation, a hint of surprise flickers on his face, but it quickly softens as he grins in response.

You look into Heeseung's eyes, your voice filled with tenderness and affection. "I love you," you whisper, the words hanging in the air with an underlying intensity. Your gaze bores into his, a mixture of emotions flickering across your face.

There's a hint of obsessiveness in your tone, as if the depth of your love has crossed the line into an almost unhealthy territory.

Heeseung's heart skips a beat at your words, his name falling off your lips in a whisper laced with love and affection. A rush of emotion floods through him, his eyes locked on yours as you hold his gaze.

There's an undeniable tenderness in your tone, but there's something else beneath it, a hint of possessiveness and possibly even obsession that catches him off guard. He notices the shift in your demeanor, the way your eyes hold onto his with an intensity that borders on unhealthy.

Heeseung takes a moment to collect his thoughts, feeling the weight of your words and the undercurrent of possessiveness that's seeping through.

After a moment, he gently breaks the silence, his voice filled with concern and a hint of curiosity. "Y/N, do you remember that time my sister slept over?"

Your smile widens as you take his hand in yours, gently brushing your thumb over his knuckles. "Of course I do," you assure him, your voice holding a hint of playful banter.

But there's a subtle flicker of unease in Heeseung's eyes, realizing that something doesn't quite add up. He doesn’t have a sister, and the real y/n would already know that. The realization causes a pang of confusion and suspicion to grow inside him.

Heeseung observes your widening smile, his heart starting to race. Your hand wraps over his, your thumb softly rubbing over his knuckles, and he forces a small smile to return your gesture.

But as your affirmation rings through the air, an uneasy feeling settles in his gut. He casts a confused glance at you, his mind already churning with thoughts. "But..." He trails off, his voice tinged with doubt. "I don't have a sister."

Your smile falters momentarily, your eyes narrowing slightly. A flicker of surprise and realization passes through your gaze as you register Heeseung's words.

You attempt to hide your unease, shrugging nonchalantly as if it's just a silly mistake. "Oh, really?" you reply, your tone laced with a hint of feigned ignorance. "Maybe I was thinking of something else."

He can sense the subtle shift in your demeanor, your smile faltering momentarily before you quickly mask it with nonchalance. Heeseung's suspicion grows as you shrug off the error, noticing the hint of feigned ignorance in your tone.

But a part of him still wants to give you the benefit of the doubt. "Are you sure?" he probes gently, his voice gentle but carrying a hint of underlying worry. "You seemed pretty certain just now."

Heeseung reaches into his pocket to retrieve his phone, feeling the familiar buzz against his fingertips. He glances at the screen, about to answer the call, when the harsh command cuts through the room.

"Don't answer that."

Heeseung’s heart stops, the command catching him off guard.

Your commanding tone sends a shiver down his spine, and the seriousness in your eyes catches him off guard. He holds his phone, his hand momentarily frozen as he listens to your unexpected command. "Why not?" he asks, his voice laced with surprise and a hint of caution.

"Don't you fucking dare answer that phone call, Lee Heeseung," you repeat, the command tinged with a hint of possessiveness and darkness. It's a different side of you that Heeseung hasn't witnessed until now.

Heeseung's eyes widen slightly at the forceful tone and the possessiveness evident in your words. A shiver runs down his spine, and there's a hint of fear mixed with confusion in his voice as he responds.

"But I..." He trails off, unsure of what to say. He glances at his phone, the screen still lit up with an awaiting call.

Heeseung fishes his phone out of his pocket, glancing at the caller ID. To his surprise, the name "y/n" shines back at him. But it doesn't make sense—you're standing right in front of him, so how could it be possible?

He feels like his heart stop as a sense of unease wash over him as he looks up at you, his eyes searching your face for an explanation.

"I told you not to take out your phone, Heeseung,” you snap, your tone growing colder and more impatient. There's a sense of possessiveness in your voice that surprises even yourself, like a primal instinct you can't control.

Heeseung can sense the shift in your demeanor—the way your tone grows sharp and your words become more demanding—and it sends another shiver down his spine. "I don't understand," he responds quietly, the confusion now laced with a bit of fear.

The tension in the air thickens as Heeseung struggles to make sense of the situation. The possessiveness in your voice is becoming increasingly apparent, and he can feel the shift in your personality.

He swallows hard, his heart beating faster as he speaks, "Why are you acting like this?" he asks, his voice laced with a mixture of confusion and fear.

The realization dawns on Heeseung like a bucket of cold water; you're not the real y/n, yet how could this be possible?

The confusion and fear swirling in his mind suddenly click into place, making everything he's experienced so far fall into place. His eyes widen as he takes a small step back, his voice shaky as he tries to form words. "Who the fuck are you…?"

Heeseung's head jerks towards the front door at the sound of your familiar voice, followed by the words "Heeseung, I'm home."

The contrast between the two voices, yours and the real y/n's, causes his heart to race even faster, his mind trying to process the two versions of you. He takes another step back, his eyes darting back and forth between the two of you, torn between fear and disbelief.

“What the hell…?"

WHY THIS LWK KINDA GOOD THOUGH 🙏🙏🙏

[frostybearpaws]

currently losing my mind,

I’ve been catching up with all the Star Wars stuff that’s come out over the past couple of years and also rewatching some older stuff,

and you know what you have two hyperfixations you will inevitably mix the two ideas together because why the hell not? It’s fun and it makes my brain juice flow instead of stagnating into pools of gross black oil

and I know I’ve also made some posts about this particular cross over in the past, but I have no idea where they are right now and I’m not going to go digging for them

Star Wars x Arcane

First up:

Sevika: I’ve got two ideas and I’m not sure which one I like more.

the first one Sevika is a mandalorian woman who is currently working as a bounty hunter to make ends meet. She’s ruthless but follows her own honor code when it comes to taking jobs. She was formerly a member of death watch but split and went her own path and their ideologies concentrated. She never removes her helmet and tends to get emotionally aggressive when someone tries to pry into her life before being a bounty hunter. (This is a coping mechanism bc she does not like to think about what happened).

the second one is Sevika is a clone like Emerie Karr from Bad Batch, so not only is she struggling with the horrors of war and the complicated emotions that come with being genetically identical to several million people, treated like an object, and devoid of right, she’s also suffering from the accelerated growth rate that causes her to age twice as fast. At the current point of her life she is traveling the universe doing odd jobs and trying to keep a low profile so she doesn’t get taken up by the empire. After all to the imperial’s she is still their property and they will do with her as they see fit. (Not if she has anything to say about it)

next up:

Silco & Vander: start as a packaged deal, they are both ex-inquisitors who fled and went into hiding. It wasn’t so much for noble reasons as it was they began to fear where their paths were going to lead them. They started a new life together and things were going well until their started to have differing opinions on what they needed to be doing which lead to Vander’s betrayal.

Silco: a Nautolan with a blueish gray skin tone. As his eyes are black the scares part of his face lead to the eye clouding over and impairing his vision. In the current day she travels around with Sevika completing jobs with her. They have a very very complicated relationship. (Bonus: they fought over him taking Jinx in the same way a couple would fight over someone impulsively taking home a stray animal)

Vander: a Shistavanen which if you don’t know look like fricken werewolves, he would end up looking something like this:

side note: yes Silco and Vander were in love and that was part of the reason for them leaving. Now imagine a squid fucking a werewolf

I’ve decided to make Powder/Jinx a Twi’Lek which means that Vi is also a Twi’Lek. They are respectively blue and pink. Jinx has some white dappling along her lekku. Vi doesn’t have any such thing but she does maintain her arcane tattoo along her back.

one thing about Twi’Leks is that they are highly sexualized and often enslaved. Jinx and Vi went about fighting against this stereotype in two completely different ways. Vi fights against it, actually building up muscle and training herself to fight.

Jinx on the other hand leans into the sexualized aspect but uses it as a lure to draw people in. She effectly masks how dangerous she actually is.

Jinx is force sensitive while Vi is not. After their falling out Silco finds her and takes her on, eventually taking her on as an apprentice.

[leeny-leens]

Knives Out (Wounds In) | BCJ x Reader

Pairing: bsf!Barty Crouch Jr x bsf! Reader

Summary: You accidentally stab Barty and he...asks for more?

Warnings: BLOOD, STABBING, INJURIES, Barty has issues,I've never dressed a thigh wound before, description of injury being taken care off, Barty likes pain (and blood), proceed with caution okay I'm sleep deprived

Content: Barty and the Reader are a little unhinged, Barty is having a crisis, Barty being called doll (courtesy of @vun3r4b13xwrites for this brain rot), not proofread or edited, Barty makes like one really dark joke abt dying but it's not too dark

WC: 3.83k

AN: this was inspired by a post of @unconventional-lawnchair and honestly idek what happened, it somehow spiraled into being something much longer and ??? than anticipated so have this. Also tagging @esotericloser BCS ya said ya want it <3

Being friends with Barty meant that there wasn't much that could actually traumatize you anymore when it came to gory horror. Oh no, you’re bound lose that ability quite quickly in his company, with the way he walked around looking like a splasher horror victim half of the time. He barley ever had an explanation for it either, always shrugging and mumbling something incoherent about where the blood on him came from.

So really, you'd say you're pretty desensitized when it came to blood and injuries, especially when it came to Barty being bloodied and injured.

Nothing however, could have prepared you for the sight of your very own dagger piercing his thigh, blood spilling and splashing on the ground and wall.

It's your worst nightmare come true; a loved one injured and bloodied because of you and your stupidity, though Barty would go on a tangent, chiding you for the self deprecating notion of that thought.

The boy in question, you just noticed, stood by the open door, his face pulled into a blend between amusement and a grimace of pain as he stared between the dagger and your frozen form on your bed.

“Damn doll, when I said your stare could throw daggers at me I didn't think you'd take it seriously,” he said, painfully failing to conceal the wince in his voice as he joked.

The sound of his voice was apparently all your brain needed to reboot itself and jumpstart again. Immediately, you hurled yourself up from the bed, standing by his side in a few quick strides as you crouched down to examine the injury on his thigh.

“Merlin I’m sorry Bee, I was doing that stupid Charms assignment and- and you just came in and I panicked and oh my god are you gonna die?” there was seemingly no stopping you the moment you began to speak, the words stumbling out in no rhyme or rhythm as you tried to remember what little you’d learned about first aid.

In your panic, there wasn't much you remembered aside for needing to stop the bleeding somehow and making sure to keep his leg raised high, or was it keep it low to prevent bleeding? You couldn't recall it, your mind too riddled with guilt and terror at the vast amount of blood staining the carpet.

“You can't die on me,” you whimpered, tears barley held at bay “They're gonna expell me if they find out I killed you-”

The sudden realization of who your best friend was hit you harder than any hex you've sustained in your lifetime before you stared up at him with terror blown eyes “Oh my god your father is sending me to Azkaban for killing his only heir.”

This was evidently the straw that broke the camels back, Barty finally doubled over from laughter, his barking voice probably resonating through the entirety of the dormitory. His laughter quickly turned into pressed coughs as he tried to straighten back up again, mild gasps of pain escaping him in-between. Quickly, you're on your feet again, gently yet firmly guiding him to your bed and hissing at him to not put any weight on his injured leg.

To his credit, he let you push him around like a pliant ragdoll, following your instructions and keeping his pretty mouth shut aside for a few pained noises here there. His eyes flickered between you and the dagger, regarding the latter with a glimmer of fascination and you could tell it took everything in him to not poke at the metal protruding from his flesh.

“Relax doll,” he said in an attempt to reassure you “’M not gonna die yeah? Tis but a scratch.” As if trying to convince you, he tapped the dagger lightly, smiling at you with that wide expression, his lips pulled apart so much it brought his dimple out. “See? I've survived worse,” he added, and to your utter dismay, it did help calm you down.

“Right, it's probably worse than it looks like” you muttered, taking a few deep breaths to compose yourself before finally gathering your thoughts to help him. “Okay, stay right there and don't move okay?” you threw him a warning glare before disappearing into the bathroom, occasionally glancing over your shoulder to make sure he was following your instructions. You knew staying still was hard for Barty, his natural inclination to always be in motion was one of the biggest hurdles he faced in his day to day life. He couldn't sit still for longer than a few minutes, not without bouncing his leg or tapping his fingers against the nearest surface or hell, rocking back and forth. Don't get him started on people telling him to be still, that somehow made it much harder to comply than if he tried to do it on his own.

He was however, trying his best to stay still, probably to not worry you more than he already had, and you appreciated his cooperation immensely.

Returning back to his side, you knelt down at the bedside and set down a plain white box and opened it, revealing various bandages, potions and vials along side bandaids and scissors of different types and sizes.

Barty decided to stay silent, watching your movements with an attentive, hawk-like gaze and arched his eyebrows in surprise as you grabbed the biggest pair of scissors, only to bring it to the hem of his pant leg, quickly cutting through the dark fabric.

“You know,” he said amused, watching you cut apart his pants “This is not how I imagined you undressing me would go, could've taken me out to dinner first at least.”

“You're so lucky you already have a stab wound,” you replied dryly, moving the fabric away to reveal the pale skin of thigh and barley held back your grimace at the sight of the dagger lodged into it. “Otherwise that comment would've gotten you one.” you grabbed a whole bunch of gauzes and disinfectant, slowly trying to assess how bad the wound was in order to decide your next course of action.

This was the part you'd feared the most, the one where you pulled the dagger out.

As if he’d read your mind, Barty reached out to take your hand into his, bringing it to his lips so he could press a kiss on your knuckles. “It's gonna be okay doll,” he murmured softly “I trust you, you're bloody brilliant and you don't have to be scared of this.”

It was comical really, how he'd gotten hurt because of you and yet was the one to offer you comfort and reassurance. Had this been anyone else, you would've scoffed and thrashed against the gesture, but this was Barty, your Barty, who'd watched you overcome every obstacle in your life for the last six years, your Barty who knew you like the back of his hand and studied you like you were the biggest mystery in the universe to be unraveled. You could only nod in agreement, squeezing his hand tightly as you steadied your breath to pull out the dagger.

You vaguely remembered how Madam Pomfrey would talk up injured students to distract them from procedures, and you decided that if the matron of the hospital wing did it, it couldn't be that stupid of an idea to try out.

“Why did you come into my room?”

you asked suddenly, and he leaned back into the nest of pillows you had propped against your headboard.

He shrugged, a lopsided grin on his face. “No reason, just wanted to see my favourite person,” despite all the years with him as your best friend, the response still managed to draw out an over exaggerated eyeroll from you, one that did nothing to mask the smile that tugged at the corners of your lips.

You questioned him some more, asking about his day and what he was going to do, and because this was your Barty, you knew he wouldn't pass up an opportunity to talk your ear off, the dagger in his thigh quickly forgotten. Fortunately for you, that meant you could pull it out with one smooth movement, granting Barty barley any time to register the pain before you began to press a mountain of gauzes against the wound. The white fabric quickly became a soaked, scarlet mess and you could hear his breath hitch at the sight, not the way it would've from pain, but rather from something akin to speechlessness. He watched you press against the wound, switching out gauze after gauze whenever it became unusable after soaking up too much blood, and he was sure the blood rushing to his head at the sight of your fingers gleaming with the red liquid of him was significantly more fatale than the stab wound to his thigh. There was just something so primitively alluring about the sight, your face contorted into a grimace of worry and concentration as you applied moderate yet firm pressure against his thigh, not minding how dirty your hands became in the process. It didn't help that it was him sullying your pretty hands, and he swore his soul left his body when you moved a stray strand of hair out of your face, cursing when you felt the blood smear on your cheek.

He wanted nothing more but to lean forward and wipe it off, perhaps clean it up with his own mouth just to see how he tasted on you, but he remained rigidly seated like a statue, his mind a battle field of desire and rationality.

You were none the wiser to his predicament, taking his sudden silence as a side effect of pain or shock. You took to murmuring encouragement and random things about your own day, partially to fill the silence and partially to make sure the boy was still rooted into reality instead of floating into the realm of dark memories, just on the off chance that the sight of his own blood and the feeling of pain brought them forward. You told him about the stupid Charms project you’d taken up for extra credit, letting a dagger float around in a coordinated pattern, and how you'd been sitting at it for hours on end before he barged into your room, startling you into sending the dagger straight at him. He made the occasional grunt of agreement or let out a snort at a particularly funny joke you cracked, and after a few minutes that felt like an eternity, the bleeding finally seemed to stop enough for you to be able to actually inspect the wound.

It looked worse than it actually is, not too deep and not too long, and your entire body slumped in relief at the realization. For a moment, you rested your head in your hands, muttering thanks to whatever might hear you. “Thank everything you're not gonna die,” you said once you looked at Barty again, whose attention had been on you the entire time. “What a pity,” he replied almost too plainly, yet the grin on his face betrayed the self deprecating statement. “Here I was looking forward to bringing joy into my father's life for once,” you rolled your eyes so hard you worried they might actually fall out, and you could only lean forward to hit his shoulder with a warning scoff. “Don't be mean to my best friend,” you chided “That's my job, I can't afford to lose it in this economy.”

“So true, the prices are ridiculously high these days,” he mused, eyes glimmering as he watched you disinfect the wound and bandage it up.

“Exactly! I mean come on, 5 galleons for a pack of chocolates frogs? Do they think all of us are made of trust funds and old money?” Barty is unable to hold in his snort at your statement, reminiscing how you haven't let it go ever since your last trip to Hogsmeade nearly a month ago. If anyone knew how to hold a grudge, it was his doll for sure.

Absentmindedly, your fingers traced slow circles around the red, angry skin of the gash, careful to not press or touch anything that might elicit unnecessary pain. Barty’s entire body went stiff at the soft touch, so gentle and soothing, like he was made of porcelain and too fragile, the lightest press of your thumb against his thigh a breaking hazard. It was a stark contrast to how he was usually treated, but he’d come to accept it from you. While he hated being seen as vulnerable and weak- because he was everything but that-, he found himself relishing your touch and care, for it stemmed not from pity or underestimation but genuine care and love. And oh how he soaked up every ounce of affection you gave him, starved of it for his whole life but finding you there to give it to him like a steady stream flowing from the creek of your heart.

You took his stiffness as a sign of discomfort and swiftly withdrew your hand to stop the ministrations, almost missing the imperceptible whine of dissatisfaction that barely escaped the boy’s lips. When you stared at him with a puzzled look on your face, he greeted you with one of his own, cleverly covering for his mindless slip-up.

When it seemed like he hadn’t actually made any sound, you were content to get back to treating the wound, your fingers brushing over the tools in the first aid kit.

After realising the wound wasn't life threatening, your mind had cleared up significantly, rendering you able to think and remember what you needed to do to properly take care of the gash. You grabbed a bottle of blue disinfectant alongside more of the gauze, dousing the latter in the blue solution before pressing it against the injury.

The lack of warning, coupled with the sudden action, had Barty hissing and bucking in pain, even if the momentary sting left an aftertaste of pleasure in its wake.

You glanced up at him, your expression one of sheepish apology, before dapping the gauze carefully on the cut.

“’M so sorry, just a bit more yeah doll?” you murmured, your other hand coming up to rub along his knee. Barty wasn't sure what knocked out the breathe out of his lungs; the endearment or the touch or perhaps the sincerity and care that he could feel seeping into his cold and hollow bones with every second he spent in your presence. If getting stabbed by you meant he could have you this close, this warm and soft and attentive all for him? Merlin, he'd let you stab him over and over again, like he was your personal pin cushion.

He tried to keep the noise to a minimum, alongside the flinching in fear of losing your touch. The last thing he wanted was for you to let go of him, as selfish as that sounded. He quite liked having your full attention on him, like nothing else in the world mattered as much as he did.

Selfish and self-centred? Maybe.

Did he give a fuck? Not in the slightest.

A tap against his knee brought him out of his reveries, and his eyes met yours in a questioning manner. “Whadya say, darlin’?” he asked, trying his best to sound casual “Too busy enjoying your hands on me.”

His comment drew an amused chuckle from you, much too used to his flirtations. You never quite knew whether he meant it or not, all those playful jabs and nudges that toyed the line between friendship and something more, yet neither of you made a move to explore that territory, too afraid to lose what you had.

“I said I’m putting some of that scarring ointment on the wound,” you said, repeating the statement that had been lost on him. You’d already grabbed the small tub with the greenish paste. When you uncapped it, dipping your finger into it to apply it to his wound, you were surprised by his sudden recoiling, as if the mere notion of applying the ointment would sear his skin down to his bones.

“Bee?” You asked, surprised to see him flinch away from you.

He was mortified at his own reaction, not having had enough time to control his movements. He didn’t quite know how he could explain this to you, why he flinched away when you’ve been nothing but a perfect caretaker, inspecting and treating his injury.

Just as he began to sputter out a messy apology and an explanation, realisation dawned on you. You weren’t stupid, just like Barty knew you better than anyone else, you had the privilege of knowing him like no one else had. You’d watched him get into fights more often than you could count. You’d talked to him plenty about it of course, unable to just stand by as he destroyed himself, body and soul, over and over again. What had bothered you the most was him never properly taking care of his injuries, opting to let them fester and scar until his entire body was littered with gashes and cuts of various sizes. Over time, you’d come to understand that he didn’t necessarily enjoy the act of fighting itself, but rather how alive he felt with each punch, with each crack and broken bone. The scars were a testament to his existence, proof that he hadn’t been complete worn numb by life and its hardships. He liked the reminders, liked to look at them and trace along their edges whenever he felt himself slip away into the darkest corners of his mind, and you’d figured that this gash was no exception.

“You want it to scar,” you said, not a question but rather a fact. You watched as colour rushed into his pale face, mouth falling open and closing in a comical fashion. He could muster up nothing more than a nod, knowing that trying to talk his way out of this wasn’t an option.

Softly, you traced along the edge of the gash, your eyes never once leaving his. “Why?” There wasn’t an ounce of judgment in your voice as you posed the question, just pure curiosity and the need to understand him.

Silence blanketed the room as you patiently waited for him to answer your question. His eyebrows furrowed in that typical Barty manner, the one that made the silver piercings in his eyebrows more visible, catching the lights around him. When he spoke up, his voice was quiet, almost too quiet, as if afraid that speaking any louder might shatter both you and him.

“I want your mark on me,” from all the answers he could’ve given you, this one was the last one you’d expected, yet somehow the most perfect Barty answer of them all. His love had always been that way, all teeth and scratches, leaving marks in its wake as evidence that he had been there. In the same fashion, it made sense that he wanted love in the same manner; with marks left on him to prove that he was loved.

It was crazy, really, how much you understood him. It should’ve scared you, weirded you out at least, but no such sensations arised. There was only love and understanding cursing through your body for the boy you called your best friend.

Emboldened by his vulnerability, you found yourself leaning in closer, your lips ghosting over the edge of the gash before pressing them down in a gentle kiss. “It’s alright,” you mumbled “You can keep it Bee, ‘m not judging you.”

His breath hitched at the feeling of your lips pressed so closely to the wound, mind reeling at having you so close, so understanding and so incredibly loving despite him being so himself, a warning in and out of itself.

“Does that mean you’d be down to giving me another one?” He asked jokingly, trying his best to lighten the mood by even an ounce.

“Maybe,” you quipped back, pulling one of the bandaids out to put it over the wound. “If you ask nicely, I might,” you grinned up at him, enjoy in seeing him squirm for once. His eyes drifted to the dagger, mind running wild with anticipation.

“Please?”

“Is that the best you got, doll?”

“Bold statement for someone who just stabbed me,” he retorted “And took off my pants without asking!”

With a snort, you stood up, patting his thigh softly before putting the first and kit on the ground to sit beside him. “Well when you put it that way, I have no choice but to oblige, no?” You grabbed the dagger, twirling it in your hand before you ever so slowly lowered it down to graze the skin of his thigh.

He was completely still beneath your touch, his breath shallow as he waited for your next move. There was no hurry in your movements, the glinting tip of the dagger barely tracing across his flesh. “What do we say when we want something, doll?” You asked, amused by the extreme change in his behaviour. You’d never seen Barty so complacent and mellow in all your years together, much less because of you.

“Please,” he mumbled “Give me another one?” Subconsciously, he’d leaned in closer to you, hazel eyes almost completely swallowed up by the darkness of his pupils.

A small smile tugged on the corners of your mouth, and not wanting to tease him any further, you pressed the blade into his skin.

You watched as he bit his lips, trying to the best of his abilities to not wince in pain and spurred on by the heat of the moment, you closed the distance between the two of you, crashing your lips against his. The sounds of pain he let out were swallowed by your mouth, moving in frenzied hunger as you let the dagger blade dig deeper into his thigh.

In that moment, you realised two things.

One: You were in love with Barty Crouch Junior, your best friend since first year.

Two: You were incredibly and thoroughly fucked, for you would go to the ends of hell for this boy, the same way you knew without a doubt he would do the same.

And here, in the quiet of your dorm room, your mouth on his and the distinct, metallic smell of blood, you didn’t quite mind going to the ends of hell if it meant you could have Barty by your side.

[isalisewrites]

TERRIBLE, BUT GREAT - CHAPTER FORTY-NINE

SUMMARY:

“Harry Potter.”

The cold burrowed into his flesh, the scent of cloying death and molding earth clogged his senses.

“The Boy Who Lived.”

A strange sense of loss and disappointment rose within him. That brilliant, yet cruel boy could’ve been so much more if he’d not stepped down this bloodied path.

Terrible, but great. He pitied this creature.

“Come to die.”

Harry Potter faced the flash of green light with the bravery of a Gryffindor and the broken heart of a Hufflepuff.

—

When Death gives Harry a third option, one that can save everyone he ever cared about, he takes it unflinchingly. Even when that means doing the impossible: falling in love with the enemy, Tom Riddle.

—

FORTY-NINE EXCERPT:

It was quiet.

The table was empty save for a single teacup. Harry stood beside the table and stared into the cup, the drifting clouds and expansive bright blue sky reflective in its surface. A gentle breeze fluttered through his hair and the scent of grass wafted through his senses. He hooked a finger through the handle and brought the teacup to his lips, taking a sip.

The tea was bitter.

When Harry set the teacup down, it vanished. The table disappeared afterwards. Harry glanced around, yet there was nothing but endless fields of grass all around him, not a hint of anything else in the horizon. Despite its vastness, an odd sense of solitude washed over Harry. He wrapped his arms around his chest.

Harry wandered.

The longer he walked, the more the loneliness and despair grew inside his heart. Something was missing here. Surely, he wasn’t meant to wander forever, all alone, with no end in sight.

His soul ached with a strange loss.

“Voldemort!” cried Harry, stopping abruptly. “Where are you?”

The wind whistled gently, the blades of grass fluttered in its wake.

“Where did you go?” whispered Harry. “You’re supposed to be here in my dreams.”

He’d enjoyed their shared moments over tea. He’d enjoyed the man’s calm, yet frank wisdom. Dumbledore had often been vague and poetic in his wisdom; in contrast, within these dreams, Voldemort had been direct and clear. It’d been refreshing.

Harry could use a little wisdom today. 

What would Voldemort have to say about Death? About the dark magic Harry had used to save Tom? Would he be proud or disappointed? Voldemort had warned him about Death’s motives and now… well, he hadn’t been wrong about being wary. Whatever Death was, it was clear to Harry that the being had his own agenda, but he had no idea what it could be.

It didn’t matter, though.

If he had to relive that day all over again, Harry wouldn’t make a different choice. He would save Tom every time, no matter the cost.

“Voldemort, please,” whispered Harry, sinking into a crouch. “Please, come back.”

A breeze fluttered around him again, carrying with it an imperceptible echo. A hand rested on Harry’s head, weighted and tender.

“You really are a ridiculous, aggravating emotional child—as you always have been.”

Harry sucked in a breath.

“And that’s why I’ve grown rather fond of you.”

Tears burned in his eyes. Harry glanced up, but the hand didn’t move. His stomach fell. If Voldemort had been fragile, even a touch sickly, in their last dream, then he looked as if he were at Death’s door now.

“What’s wrong?” whispered Harry.

Voldemort inhaled and cast his gaze aside, looking out at the vibrant surroundings. Harry slowly stood up, taking in every terrifying detail. Voldemort had grown thinner and paler, his blackened veins stark against his snow white skin. His back was hunched slightly and wrinkles had formed deeper lines within his features. Harry realized with growing horror: the man truly looked over a hundred years old.

“Tom?”

Voldemort breathed out a low sigh and looked down at Harry with a saddened smile. “I haven’t been called Tom for a very long time.”

“Something’s wrong, isn’t it?”

“What you consider wrong, I do not.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” demanded Harry, panic rising in his heart. “You can’t do that to me. You’re supposed to be frank with me—you can’t pull a Dumbledore here.”

Voldemort snorted and, a moment later, he laughed. It was a genuine sound, deep and rich, though hoarse with age now. “You are right,” he said when his laughs turned into light chuckles. “I apologize. You’re right, Harry. Then… I will tell you the truth: this will be the last time you and I will ever speak together.”

[fadebolt]

Alright, this is a very interesting one I actually want to talk about. See, the thing with Rain World is that it had a rather unique development, where the developers never really planned it to fit into a specific genre. Usually, when a game is being made, picking a genre is one of the first steps, and it very rarely gets changed mid-way through the project. Often times, the genre is even used to help advertise the game, while it's in development (Riot's MMO immediately comes to mind, but we've had the exact same thing with their fighting game, roguelike and tactical shooter). But Rain World is one of those few cases, where not only was it not utilized for more publicity, it was even changed during development: from a simple Pac-Man type game, to the difficult but immersive adventure within the strange ecosystem that we all know and love. And even still, the game was never really designed with a genre in mind. It's simply an amalgamation of a bunch of neat ideas that the devs had. Still, the poll demands that we pinpoint a specific genre for our beloved Slugcat Game, and so, we shall!

First option is Survival, which I would give around a 6/10, in terms of accuracy. I know this may seem weird, since 'surviving in a hostile ecosystem' is the whole premise of the game, but here's the thing: survival is inherently a part of literally every video game where your character can die. Simply having to prevent that does not equate to the game being a survival game. Of course, Rain World goes a step further than a lot of other games - as food/eating is a core part of the game, while you also have to look around for items to use. But let's be honest, the combination of 'collect enough stuff, before reaching your save spot' + usable items + 'hostile creatures that want to kill you' + timers, will not result in a full-on survival game, even if these are elements you tend to see in them. It's more than halfway there, but you'll need a quite a bit more to fully get to that point.

Next up is Horror, which is... is a little tough to judge. It's probably a 5/10. The problem is that different parts of the game are scary to a different extent. And while the game does have a fair share of frightening elements, it never gets to the point where you can't show it to a 5 year old. Whether or not you find this to be a horror game will depend on how immersed you are, along with your phobias (good luck if spiders, bugs or water is in there). But I don't think it was intentionally designed to fit into the genre. It's just that being low on the food chain is a scary things, and the devs had to clearly communicate which creatures are dangerous/aggressive through sounds and visuals, since they couldn't be given team colors, or red health bars, like an enemy in an RTS.

Then there's Metroidvania, which is different for the base game and Downpour (I'd say it's like, 4/10 for base, and 5/10 for DP). This is a highly controversial one that has been discussed to death by many others, so I'm not really diving deep into this. Yes, the game does have many elements of the genre. Yes, the devs have likely been likely been inspired by it. But no, the game doesn't count as a matroidvania, as it is missing a lot of crucial elements - just like with the survival genre. That's all, moving on.

Rage game is a weird one, because... it's obviously not what Rain World, but I can totally see why some would call it that. For me, this is a 2/10. Yeah, I get that you do get one shot by everything, and that the game can feel horrendously unfair, and like the odds are completely stacked against you. And while Rain World is undoubtedly frustrating by design, I don't believe that a single player game being designed to be intentionally frustrating/difficult would put it anywhere even remotely close to this genre. The point of a rage game is simple - to mess with you. To continuously pull the rug from under your feet in ways that are both hilarious and incredibly annoying. Rain World, on the other hand, was meant to be the opposite of a power fantasy - a game where you feel like you're in the exact same spot as every other creature in the world. It sounds similar, but the point is that the game being annoying was not the goal, but instead the byproduct of it. And believe me, that's a very important distinction.

The next option was adventure, which was actually my personal pick here, and one that I'd put at around 8/10. I'm aware that this is a bit of an unpopular pick, and sure, you could point at a good number of the elements typically found within adventure games, that are missing here. My reasoning here is simple - just think about what you're working to accomplish, while you're playing this game: You explore and uncover different regions and areas. You collect lore pearls, and broadcasts and unlockables that are all hidden in weird spots. You do all sorts of different quests, and you have destinations you need to reach, as you're uncovering the storylines of all the different characters of all the different campaigns, each of which takes a couple hours to complete. Does this structure fit the adventure genre to a perfect extent? No, not quite. But it sure is closer to it, than to the survival games, where the point is that you settle down and try to last for as many days as possible. Though again, I also don't really have much experience with these genres, so maybe my views on them are a lil inaccurate. I'm not the kind of guy who is constantly trying out new games, after all (so I'm probably not the best person to talk about these things, but goddammit, I will talk about them, anyways).

Anyways, next up is.... a bunch of stuff are fully inaccurate 1/10s, like Fighting and Educational, which.... I don't think I need to give explanations for (the pvp Arena is really as close as the game ever gets to being a fighting game, but that's just a random extra add-on that the game was very clearly not designed around). I'm not sure what to make of the Simulation one, though. A bunch of people voted for that, and clearly, they have a vastly different view of the genre, than me. Cus when I think 'simulation', the games that come to mind are Stardew Valley, Sims, Second Life, and farming games, as well as city builders. Of course, Rain World has basically nothing in common with these games, so maybe those voters consider games like Outer Wilds and Subnautica to be 'simulation' games? I don't know, I'd love to get an explanation here, because I don't really get this. I'm almost certainly missing something xd

Then the next one is Strategy, which is a funny one, because Rain World is actually both difficult and complex, yet it doesn't fit into the genre whatsoever. Partially because you only control one character, within a 2D platforming environment, but also because you really don't need to understand the vast majority of the mechanics, and interactions of the game. But even if you would need to have a much deeper knowledge to succeed, it still wouldn't count as a strategy game, because of the whole 2D platformer thing, so yeah - it's a 1/10.

The second one that I would actually fully accept as an answer - and would also put at 8/10 - is Platformer. And I think this one is way more obvious, than the adventure thing. Sure, there are a couple areas that are a bit lighter on the platforming side of things, but I've also seen levels like that in Mario games, yet they still undoubtedly count as platformer games. Despite that, I still went with adventure, mostly due to how the game usually waters down the platforming elements, for the sake of the other things it's trying to do. The vast majority of rooms are incredibly simple to traverse, specifically because they weren't designed with the primary goal of offering interesting platforming - but to allow for fun and memorable and mostly fair interactions with other creatures. I feel like the 'adventure' element of RW is something that gets a lot more focus than the 'platforming' one. But both are very prevalent, that I cannot deny.

And the last one is puzzle, which would also get separate scores, thanks to Downpour (1/10 for basegame, 3/10 for DP, cus challenge mode + some of the new regions). Something I've heard others mention is how the platforming of this game can often feel a little puzzle-like, where you have to piece together how to get past a certain room or obstacle. They never really get as deep or complex as actual puzzles within actual puzzle games, but that element is still there, even if to a lesser extent. (And yeah, RW is obviously not a puzzle game, but I don't feel like I have to elaborate much on that)

So, there it is! These are my thoughts on how prevalent these genres are in Rain World - coming from a guy who had very little experience with most of them! My overall thoughts are that Rain World doesn't really fit into a single genre, but it instead takes and combines specific elements of multiple. With the primary ones being platformer, adventure and survival, while horror and metroidvania are sort of there, but to a lesser extent. I don't expect my opinions to be fully correct, or to fully make sense, especially if you're someone who has actually played games from some of these genres, that I don't know as much about. I just wanted to share my thoughts, and I hope I did a good job at explaining the reasonings behind my opinions. Cheers! ^^

Quick question, just asking for you guys’ opinions

What is Rain World? As in, what genre would you put it in? I’m curious as to what you guys think, since to me it seems to be the only one of it’s kind.

[snugglebunnies]

Despite how traumatizing it was, I admire the horror xD. And now I wanna do an animation thing on YouTube dedicated to FYE. However, I can't choose which song goes best?

As YOUR story, which do you think fits best?

Carnival of Carnage or The Laughing Track?

oh gosh, thank you! and i apologize deeply for any trauma my fanfictions bestow — though, i am glad you can appreciate it now, hehee.

and that sounds incredible! i'd be delighted to see it. out of those songs (though both would work great), i'd say 'the laughing track' fits best. really fits that... level of madness dimentio's reached, does it not? (either way, i'll be putting both of them on the FYE playlist i'm working on, if you don't mind--)