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miss-cincaide · 1 month ago

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Explain Yourself, Woman

Summary: It’s time to set up the Halloween decorations, and you’re excited about it. You’ve even agreed to let Yuji’s odd cousin, who’s just exited prison, help out. You could never phantom that Ryoumen Sukuna had no clue what Halloween was or why you’d put cobwebs in the ceiling.

Pairing: Fem! reader x Yuji Itadori; Fem! Reader x (ex-con) Sukuna Kinktober prompt 9: Non-con WC: 4.6K Warnings: 18+ Minors DNI! Non-con/dub-con, quickie, unprotected P in V, fingering, cursing, alcohol,

“I promise and swear on my life he will behave, please so pretty pretty, please? I am ready to do whatever!!”

You couldn’t see much of the pink-haired boy, except the back of his head with the newly trimmed black undercut and even fluffier pink hair, as he sat on his hands and knees in front of you, head pressed to his hands, forehead to the pavement in the most pitiful and submissive dogeza you had seen in your entire life. His whole body was in the middle of the street, with your shopping bags on either side of him, effectively blocking anyone from walking by you two in your residential area.

A cyclist passed by, repeatedly pinging his bell to get Yuji to move from the middle of the street. When Yuji didn’t, the cyclist drove out onto the main road at the last minute, flipping both of you off as he passed you by.

You felt your face flush slightly underneath your hands. The embarrassment of your best friend’s dogeza in the middle of a public street only amplified your overall embarrassment associated with that idiot. Your only salvation was that Yuji remembered his cousin when you were almost home and not in the middle of the packed shopping district.

Then, you were sure you would have died of embarrassment.

“Please?-” his voice grew louder, his tone more desperate, and if he could bury himself beneath the pavement to you, he most certainly would have.

You hated the emotion that stirred in the pit of your stomach. The gnawing, burning feeling that hated seeing Yuji beg for anything, especially in front of you. The side that wanted to give him whatever so he could return to his usual bright and bubbly self. “Well ye– I don’t know, Yuji” You caught yourself at the last minute before you could promise the world to your best friend and lover. “He’s.. you know, kinda scary.”

“I swear and promise Sukuna’ll be on his best behaviour,” he reassured you in a heartbeat.”You’re the only one, YN, who isn’t completely terrified of him or judges him for his mistakes. C’mon, this is his first Halloween out, and he is entirely alone? Pretty please with a cherry on top?”

Being alone on Halloween wasn’t a big deal unless you were an Itadori, which is worse than missing Christmas and Birthday combined. It was the celebration, the day to be with your friends and come up with mischief. The one day a year, you all were just goofy, carefree friends before life caught up to you.

The guilt tripping worked.

Groaning, you dropped your hands away from your face with a whiny “fiiine,” followed by a more serious, “You owe me big time, bud.”

“You’re the best!” Yuji scrambled to his feet in seconds, and bags gathered back into his hands. A beat of awkwardness was between you, an almost embarrassed silence which Yuji instantly broke with, “Last one to your door is the rotten egg making bento for tomorrow?”

You laughed, the tension disappearing. “ I want those awesome onigiri you make with the soft-boiled egg in the middle!” You declared only for Yuji to remind you that you hadn’t won yet.

But you may have. Your house was four blocks away, but yesterday, you found a lovely shortcut through a newly torn-down house that was just an empty, debris-filled lot, effectively cutting your getting home time in half. Even if Yuji were faster, he’d not anticipate you to take off down another route. So you’d win by taking him by surprise! So, You felt like you had this in your pocket as both of you got ready to sprint, just waiting for him to start you guys off.

“Also, Sukuna-will-be-here-tomorrow-to-help-set-everything-up!” And then Yuji took off running as if hell hounds were after him as you stood stunned, processing his words.

“Hey! That’s not what we agreed on!” You called after him, beginning to jog at a much slower pace, all forgotten about the shortcut, egg-filled onigiri or anything besides the fact that Sukuna would be on your doorstep tomorrow.

“Cheater!” You yelled after him into the empty street. Earning yourself a stink eye from the nosy neighbourhood watch lady, who was peeking up at you over the hedge of her fence. You gave her a wave before your jog turned into a slow walk after Yuji. He better not think you would make tonight's dinner and tomorrow's lunch after the stunt he pulled.

You mercilessly roped Yuji into making dinner that night, bento for the following day, and breakfast. He promised to do the week's shopping for you and be at your place the following morning.

However, at 10:30, there was still no sign of Yuji, who had promised breakfast or shopping. But there was a roar of a motorbike that disturbed your otherwise calm suburban neighbourhood area. The motorbike drew nearer and nearer, tearing you from your monotone ranting about Yuji to no one but yourself and the cobwebs you hung up. You stood atop a ladder in the hallway, slinging the fake tangly web from the room's corners to the hallway lamp in thick white ropes to which you’d tie giant spiders and tiny ghosts.

Another roar from the bike, as if announcing his arrival, before it stopped and grew silent outside your house- a relatively flat brick building three stories in height that held four apartment units on each floor. Something told you that noisy horror, the owner, was there for you.

Carefully, you climbed down the ladder. Your feet made contact with your hallway floor just as heavy pounding sounded on your front door. A pause, a literal half minute before the pounding repeated with such violence, you wondered how the entire thing didn’t fly off its hinges and hit you in the face.

“I’m coming”, You called as the door shook and the person on the other side kicked it. A second later, you unlocked it, coming face to face with Yuji’s lookalike. The resemblance was uncanny- the same pink hair with the black undercut, the same face shape and build and even similar clothes. Hell, you swore he smelled the same way Yuji did. The glaring difference, however, was the blank tattoos that littered the man’s face and neck and snaked under his casual clothes. “Y-yuji?”

“ Gahh, You think I’m that brat?”

Not Yuji, you concluded, as the man brushed past you into your apartment without even being welcomed in. You glared slightly as he didn’t kick his shoes off but rather strolled right in over your rugs and towards the living room, where he flopped down on the couch beside the boxes of Halloween decorations, one arm over the backseat. At the same time, the second one rested in his lap, tapping away as if expecting to be served.

“Get me a drink”

Your eye twitched in annoyance at the order as you headed into the kitchen and returned a moment later with a pitcher of water and a glass, which you slammed into the table in front of your unwelcome guest. “Serve yourself, or wait until Yuji shows up. I am not your servant.”

Sukuna raised an eyebrow before he threw his head back and laughed. An unkind sound that made the hairs stand on the back of your neck. Rather than show your fear, you moved towards the bags of decorations you and Yuji had gotten the day prior and pulled out another bag of thick white cobwebs with tiny plastic spiders. You ripped the bag open, sending stapes that held the plastic bag together with the paper tag everywhere, with one landing into Sukuna’s lap.

He stopped laughing, and you thought the ex-con was going to kill. “Yuji was right; you have guts. I respect that, woman.” You guessed ‘woman’ was a step above ‘brat’, but you weren’t wholly confident and were not about to ask him either.

Out of the corner of your eyes, you saw him reach over and pour himself a glass from the pitcher before downing the entire thing in one go. There wasn’t a ‘thank you’ in sight as he placed the glass back on the table. Then he reached over to the bag of trick-or-treat candy prepared for the Trick-or-Treating neighbouring kids forgotten on the table and pulled out a Snickers bar. Without asking, he tore the wrapping open, broke off a piece and ate it. He made a face, but to your surprise, he did not comment on the treat. “What’re you doing, woman?”

You looked up from untangling the last spider before stretching out the cobwebs. “Decorating”, You answered flatly, going over to the ladder and climbing the wobbly thing towards the ceiling. You didn’t look at Sukuna as you perched on the top step's edge and put the cobwebs' first edge on the pre-prepared hook. You shifted, too lazy to climb down and move the step to reach the next hook until you practically balanced on your tip-toes, your entire body and the ladder shaking from the effort. When you missed the last hook for the third time, you huffed in annoyance and climbed down.

“Give it here” You didn’t realise Sukuna had come up to the stairs until he was beside you. He took the remaining web from your hands and climbed confidently onto the ladder before he saddled the top stair, one leg on either side.* A second later, he angled his body and effectively walked the ladder between the cobwebs and remaining hooks, leaving you gaping like an idiot. Then, once the cobweb was hung, he beckoned with his hand. When you didn’t move, he glared at you with narrowed eyes. “Next one, woman.”

The order snapped you out of your daze, and you rushed back to the living room to open the next bag of decorations. “Those go in the corner-” you pointed where you meant, only to receive a glare and a tsk in response as he already began hanging it up, not caring or even listening to the end of your sentence. You remained quiet after that, just passing him decoration after decoration, which he set up from the hallway to the living room, to the kitchen and the bedrooms before finally walking the stairs towards the bathroom, where he quickly took down your giraffe-themed shower curtain to replace it with a more theme-appropriate glow in the dark one with bloody handprints on.

You quickly realised two things: Sukuna had a knack for decorating, finding ways to turn your spooky vision even more spooky than you imagined it, and second, he didn’t say much as he worked. He motioned with one hand for the next decoration and the other for the tool. It was then your job to figure out what he wanted unless you wanted to face his glare. Still, over the coming hour, you felt yourself inevitably relax. He had a sharp and rude mouth on and a mean look, but as Yuji said, he wasn’t inherently causing trouble either and not what you expected from someone who had spent his youth locked up behind bars for heinous crimes. Most certainly, you didn’t expect a violent ex-con to be in your apartment, hanging up paper cut-outs of pumpkins and ghosts.

“Let’s take a break”, you offered from the doorway, raising a bottle of beer in silent offer for a drink.

The sneer on Sukuna’s face made you almost drop the drink.

You yelped loudly as he jumped from the ladder in one fleeting move before ripping the cold one out of your hands. “ Damn greedy woman, made me drink water when you had this” his scolding sounded more like a certain death if you ever served him water instead of beer. He downed the bottle in one go, then grabbed the second beer you had gotten for yourself before heading back to your couch, leaving you standing with just an empty bottle.

“Seriously?!” you hissed to yourself, going to the kitchen and retrieving another before going where he was. You sat on the armchair opposite, your eyes on your phone as you typed out yet another message to Yuji, asking where he was.

“So explain yourself, woman,” you looked up as Sukuna addressed you, then tilted your head to the side in slight confusion. He motioned towards the decoration, but when you still didn’t reply, he spoke with a sneer, “Why make it look like you haven’t cleaned in centuries?”

“Because it’s gonna be a Halloween party,” You said it like it was the most obvious thing in the world,” Like our entire floor is going to be like a huge party, with different themes between each apartment.”

When he didn’t give you any reaction, you changed the apps on your phone and opened up the pictures from the last Halloween before reaching it over and showing him. “So you see, the first apartments have a scary corridor, then in the third, there’s a huge nightclub, and here we’ll set up a drinks table and refreshments, and it’s gonna be sorta like a calm place to relax and chat–Hey!” You yelled out as Sukuna’s ice-cold hand wrapped around your wrist and tugged you into the couch beside himself with a single yank. His other arm was still wrapped around the back of the sofa; you could feel it against your neck as you hit your new seat. He didn’t heed you before bringing your phone closer to his face, flickering through the pictures.

“So booze and bloody-murder screaming?” you nodded with a grin as he began to understand what you were getting at “ and slutty women?”

You grimaced a little at the last description, but admittedly, you couldn’t deny the accusation. Most people who attended this four-apartment party were local unit guys and girls whose definition of modesty was non-existent. Admittedly, you weren’t much better after a few drinks. “Well…” you cut yourself off as Sukuna reached into one of the Halloween shopping bags that was half empty; the only thing remaining in that bag was a seductive cat costume that Yuji had practically drooled over when you tried it on the day prior.

The sight of it made Sukuna burst out laughing. “ A giant pussy? How fitting.” He taunted as you reached for the costume with a bright blush.

“Give it back!” you whined as Sukuna kept it just out of reach, one hand waving it above your head in a taunting display while the hand that had rested on the couch gripped your shoulder, preventing you from standing or launching after it. “Hey, it’s not fair!”

Sukuna’s sadistic grin said, ‘Nothing’s fair’ as he waved the costume again in your face, then yanked it back at the last minute; “You want it back? Then you will tell me everything about this little party of yours, woman.”

“Then ask like a normal person!” You cried and made another launch for the costume. You paused mid-way through as you heard the front door bust open, followed by the ruffling of plastic bags and pounding of feet.

“Y/N, I'm so sorry I overslept, but I'm here now and-” Yujis cut himself, gasping for air, chopping out apologies in between breathing.

You glanced over at him.

“ I’m still pissy with you.” You said simply before crossing your arms over your chest and leaning back against the couch. You tried to look disappointed or stern or at least annoyed at Yuji.

Your boyfriend hung his head while slowly raising one of the heavier bags. “Brunch? And a mimosa to go with it?” The puppy dog eyes and the quivering lip won you over almost as much as the promised breakfast-turned-lunch and a drink to sweeten the deal. Your lips pulled up into a huge grin.

“Get in the kitchen” Your tone was teasing, and Yuji responded with a salute, moving to pick up the bags again.

“Pfff, as if that brat knows how to cook anything,” Sukuna spoke up, momentarily pausing from flickering through the party pictures on your phone.

You spun your head around to face Sukuna, a scowl on your lips. “As if you could do any better”, you huffed and saw his eyes narrow in a murderous warning glare. After being exposed to them all morning, it didn’t scare you as much anymore. So you just raised your chin, the challenge present.

“Tsk, insolent woman, I’ll show you.” Sukuna pushed himself off the couch, throwing the costume back at you, and followed Yuji to the kitchen. A moment later, you heard Yuji’s loud voice, ‘Thanks, cousin,’ before he flew out of there as if hell’s fire was under his feet.

Yuji made a bee-line straight for the couch, plopping down beside you. His arm reaches out and wraps around your shoulders, Coxing you away from studying your costume. “Hey,” his tone was playful, loving, as his other hand brushed some flyaway hairs off your face.

“Hey yourself”, you returned the favour, brushing your hand through his hair, feeling the lingering waxy-sticky texture on your fingertips. “Should I be worried? You know, about my kitchen and your cousin?”

“ Neah” Yuji brushed the tip of his nose against yours, his lips up in a slight smirk. “Thanks for getting me out of kitchen duty, by the way.”

You couldn’t help but laugh, shoving him playfully away seconds before he could kiss you. “I didn’t ‘get you out of anything’, Sukuna volunteered.”

“Sure he did” Yuji tried to close the distance again, only to have his lips meet the plastic packaging of your costume. “Baby~”

“ Nope, still pissy with you. So no kisses for now,” your tone of voice dropped to a whisper, “I don’t wanna snuggle with your cousin here.”

“You care what he thinks?” Yuji sounded doubtful, and you merely rolled your eyes.

“No, I care about keeping decent appearances. And I doubt I’d be able to stop now, with just a kiss” You give Yuji a wink, seeing his face flush a crimson red, then duck out of the way as he dived towards you to get that kiss and a little more. “Now, c’mon, the faster we get started, the faster we’re done with party-prep.”

Yuji whined, a pout on his face the entire time you kept setting up the last of the so-called calm corner, which would be your apartment for the upcoming party. He hadn’t stopped pouting by the time Sukuna was done with brunch, and the three of you sat down, something the older cousin remarked on.

“The fuck’s gotten his panties in a twist?” Sukuna asked as Yuji looked like a dark cloud loomed over him, poking at his breakfast sausage with half-hearted enthusiasm.

“Just leave him be.” You replied sharply, tense at the fact that Yuji had to be so bloody and childish and make a huge deal that you set some no-kissing boundaries in the presence of guests in your home.

But you figured he would cheer up once the last of the party prep was finished, and you two got some alone in your bedroom. Even if Sukuna was going to crash on your couch- because you would be damned three times over before you let the ex-con land back in prison for drunk driving or crashing on his roaring horror on the way home. No, you would pretend it was just You and Yuji and forget all about the ex-con on your couch, separated only by a heavy oak door. And you’d make it up to your sulking boyfriend with a ton of kisses, you were certain of it.

When it was finally bedtime, Yuji surprised you by showering, changing into his usual t-shirt and boxers combo and jumping into bed. However instead of laying on his back, legs spread waiting for you to crawl to him, he rolled over to his side, away from you, so he faced the bedroom door instead of you. You frowned but made an attempt to crawled closer in your silky, half sheer nightgown and specially picked skimpy panties, no bra, a sultry pouty look on your face.

“Baby”, You purred, reaching out a hand to trace down his bicep. Yuji shook your touch off. You reeled back, hurt and confused by his reaction. “Yuji?”

“You didn’t wanna kiss me,” Yuji stated.

You gaped and sat down in the middle of your bed; your jaw dropped as you gathered your thoughts and the unmistakable implications of his words. Then your expression darkened. “Are you seriously punishing me for not wanting to kiss you in front of your cousin?”

Yuji shrugged in response.

You sat in bed for a moment, the sting of rejection hurting worse than you expected. Here, you were prepared to make it up to him for no kisses all afternoon, and he acted like he didn’t care. He just sulked in bed like an immature child.

Fine then. You got off the bed and waited a second to see if he would change his mind and pull you back into it. But Yuji didn’t move, so you threw on your silky bathrobe over yourself, tying it firmly into place. “You wanna sulk? Then sulk. I’m going downstairs to get some cooking prep done for tomorrow. You know where to find me if you want to get some!” You stomped to the door, paused and gave him another chance to stop this childish charade of pushing you away because of something so small.

But Yuji didn’t move, and you stepped out of your bedroom door and slammed the door behind you.

You cursed when you remembered Sukuna was sleeping on the couch. But you didn’t hear him stir and walked briskly in the darkness to the kitchen. You didn’t want to wake Sukuna by turning on the light- the last thing you wanted to do was deal with his condescending glare and bossy ‘woman this- woman that’. No, you went straight to the sink to pour yourself a cup of water, your body practically shaking with rage.

A rage that only increased as you heard footsteps walk after you into the kitchen. They stopped quickly from you, and you didn’t turn around to face him. Nothing happened, and there was silence and darkness around you. Your frustration mounted, and you brought the glass to your lips, gulping down the water and then choking on it.

A hand tapped your back a few times until the water got out of your lungs and then lingered there. “ Thanks, baby, you changed your mind for a little late-night fun? We should go upstairs- ah!”

You gasped as he pushed you up against the sink. Two hands firmly gripping your waist, hard cock pressed against the curve of your ass. His chest against your back, applying just the right amount of weight to have you bent slightly forward, gripping the sink.

“Y-yuji baby-” You gasped, grinding back against him. “W-We can’t! Y-your cousin is here; he’ll hear!”

The only response you get is a shift of clothing, feel your bathrobe get hiked up, and his hard dick slide right over the barely there panties. “Mphfmm” Your hand flies up to your mouth, your teeth biting into your fingers to keep yourself from moaning.

Fuck Yuji’s never been this rushed. Never straight to the act, bend you over the nearest surface and fuck you like a street whore,kinda-guy. It’s always slow and sensual to make love. Fingering, eating out, lube. Sex with Yuji is always a several-hour slow ordeal.

This was hot and hard; the hands-on your waist kept you bent, your arm against the sink the only way you braced yourself against the motion of his hips. But goddamn, that angle made your knees weak, the way his cock slid between your slick puffy folds, the tip bullying against your clit with every thrust.

“Mmmneah Y-Yuji, he’ll hear– ahhh god, I’m close” You bite your hand hard to silence the scream as he pushes his cock inside you. The hand dropped away from your waist and grabbed your leg, throwing it up on the counter.

“Oh fuck!” You moan, even as both hands land on your mouth. But the new angle, the speed, the slap of his balls against your ass and his bullying cock leaves you weak. The moans slip through your fingers as you cum all over him, your body shaking like a leaf.

“Ahh, oh god, mmm” you’re moaning and cooing. He kept thrusting, each movement growing more rapid, and you’re fucking crying at how good it feels. Intense and so fucking hot. You’re not bothering to hide your moans or gasps anymore, taking every single thrust until you think that final extra hard one, followed by hot spurs of cum filling your pussy and overflowing out, making a mess between your legs.

“Fucking hell, Yuji”, You rasped out, your hand gripping the counter as he pulled out of you. You just sat there for a moment, high on the rush and the pleasure. A painful slap on your ass startles you out of your thoughts, and you yelp, partially in pain and partially in surprise. That’s not something Yuji did; the feeling of wrongness set over you. But your mind doesn’t let you focus on that- instead, it reminds you of Sukuna sleeping on the couch a few paces away and the horrible never-fading embarrassment if he were to wake up, go to the kitchen and find you in the very porno-like position, with a leg thrown up on the counter and hot cum flowing right out of your newly fucked pussy.

You hurriedly threw your leg back down and re-tied the bathrobe over yourself. You took another clunk of the half-abandoned glass of water, then set it in the sink before you tiptoed out of the kitchen. On your way out, you threw a glance at Sukuna but saw him fast asleep on the couch, soft snores escaping him, arm over his ears, facing the back of the sofa. You release a breath you didn’t know you were holding and head to your bathroom.

You did a quick cleanup, just enough to remove the worst mess between your legs. Then, you headed back to your bedroom.

You saw that Yuji was up. His hands fidgeted nervously in his lap, and his gaze was firmly planted on his hands. He didn’t say anything as you stepped towards your side of the bed and slid under the warm covers of your bed. You laid on your side, yet even before you settled down, he was on you, his hands wrapped around your side, his face buried into the crook of your neck.

“I’m so sorry, baby”, Yuji mumbled.. “It was stupid of me to push you away. I just. I didn’t expect you to get along so well with Sukuna, but I got. I'm a little jealous.” He rubbed your side slowly until the tension finally left your body, and you breathed a sigh of relief.

“You’re forgiven, " you mumbled, pressing your body closer against his. “No, no baby, I was a total ass; let me make it up to you, show you how sorry I am” Yuji pressed a kiss to your shoulder, his fingers making their way between your legs. “Ohh baby, damn, you’re so sticky already, so wet, my little minx.. Oh hey, is that cum inside you?”

His words make your blood run cold; your heart drops to your feet as you realise whose dick you had inside you moments earlier.

Author note: Did I skip days a little bit? Yes I did, but I really wanted to know what you guys would think about this more story-based smut. That's the type of fics I'd wanna publish in the future, question is, is it the type of content you'd wanna read?

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All fics are unique works by © miss-cincaide 2024. Do not copy/repost/translate or spread my work(s) without my explicit permission. If you see any of my work(s) reworked/reposted/copied anywhere, please inform me!

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heartpascal · 2 years ago

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lock it when you leave

▹ — joel miller x platonic!f!reader + tommy miller x platonic!f!reader

▹ — summary: part three of if the door wasn’t shut — tensions rise in jackson, leaving you scrambling to find your place.

▹ — a/n: guys i’m not all that happy with this part!!! it feels kinda … filler-y. but we are getting somewhere!!! i have ideas for part 4 :’) let me know what you guys think!! (if you guys wanna be tagged in future parts let me know)

▹ — warnings: angst, guns, fire, murder, there’s a baby in this one, blood, arguments, infected + raiders, father figure miller bros

▹ — tags: @auggiesolovey @just-kaylaa @evyiione @pedropascalsrealgf @faceache111 @livvy256 @dizzyforyou @hiphopdancer101universe @aphrcdites @axionn @o-sacra-virgo-laudes-tibi @coolchick333 @hufflepuffriver @kobenio @dorothleah @moonygremlin @tomorrowseverything @martinsmomo @teenagetragediesforeveryone @dksjskx @inkiqayo @fariylixie0915 @jbcalway @ipadkidsworld @coldwcter @rhyanna6012 @gimalo135 @kimpineeeeeeee @jerseygirllll @dreamerglassesgirl @g0bble @firsttimewriter92 @coldheartedmar @cheneyq @dilfsaremyfavourite @sakurarukas @brilliantopposite187 @ilovemydinoboi @chiogarza @lockleywife @famoussuitcasepiebagel-blog @doctorliamsr @dustyroper28 @daffodil0darling @marchstrilogy @cappucinolia @xxhospital-for-soulsxx @ithoughtthiswastwitterbutfr @slut4timotheechalamet

masterlist | PART ONE | PART TWO

howl’s song association!

∘₊✧───── ───── ───── ─────✧₊∘

Four months ago, when the wound was still fresh, you never would’ve thought that you’d be here. Stood comfortably in the Miller’s home, stirring food over the stove as Tommy and Maria fussed over the newborn of the household in their living room.

In fact, you would’ve bet against this exact scenario, certain that you’d never let yourself get close to another Miller ever again. It was the only logical thing for you to do — after all, that wound had been angry and sore, the blood still wet.

You wouldn’t say it had healed, not even close, really. It still throbbed, white hot to the touch, especially when you thought of Joel and Ellie, but you were managing. Coping. It helped, having Tommy and Maria around, far more than you had ever expected. They were kind, softened from years of sanctuary, and you hated to admit it, but you cared about them.

The feeling had snuck up on you, which was ridiculous, considering that was exactly how it had happened before. Though, perhaps you had been less apprehensive the first time around, considering the way you flinched away from their care in the beginning. You should’ve expected it, should’ve fought against it with everything in you, but you couldn’t bring yourself to do it.

This was the reminder of just how human you were. Despite all the pain, the suffering and anger and scars against your skin, you craved connection. You wanted people to care about you, wanted your life to have meaning, even though it seemed to only end in your own heartbreak.

You just hoped this would be different.

A childish thing, to hope, in a world like this one, but that’s what you were, right? You were allowed to be childish, to let that hope build back up until it was inevitably knocked down, reduced to rubble. People seemed to appear from the strangest of places, coming to help you scavenge through the debris for something to rebuild the foundations with.

That’s what Tommy and Maria had been to you — fitting, really, considering what Tommy had done in the time before cordyceps. They had spent time with you, helping you build up that hope for something better, something kinder.

You hated to do it, hated to lean back into relationships, but you trusted the two of them more than you were willing to admit to anyone — even to yourself. With their own child now in the world, you just hoped that you wouldn’t get in the way.

Maria’s drawn out sigh shook you from such thoughts, and you raised an eyebrow at her where she stood beside you, her back resting against the kitchen counter. “What’s up with you?” You ask her, turning your gaze from her slight smirk back to the food, where you started to fish on to plates. It was a good job she’d caught your attention — much longer and the three of you would’ve been eating charred scraps.

“Oh, nothing.” She responded, and looked sharply to you when you scoffed a slight laugh. “What?” She asked, grinning.

“That was the biggest sigh I’ve ever heard, and I’ve known Joel for about as long as I can remember.” You told her, almost absentmindedly, not thinking too much on the joking comment until after you’d already spoken it.

Maria’s smile got small, and she took over the garnishing part of dishing out dinner, the part that you still didn’t understand. Why put it on there if it didn’t need to be? And when Tommy was definitely going to pick it off?

“Don’t judge me,” Maria told you, saying your name in what was almost a scolding voice, “Tommy’s just putting the baby to bed, he’ll be in in one sec.” She said, after you had moved to pick up his plate, too. You raised a hand, grabbing her plate and leaving her to bring the cutlery, rolling your eyes when she scolded you.

“Calm down, Maria, it’s only been a week. Let me help.” You said to her, when she continued to lecture you on just how capable she was, despite the way she held onto the walls and doorframes with one hand as she walked, the other holding onto her now slightly flatter stomach.

“She giving you a tough time?” Tommy asked, having settled the baby, and hearing Maria’s rants.

“Isn’t she always?” The two of you shared an amused look when Maria immediately jumped on the defence, only relenting with a roll of her eyes when Tommy leant down to press a kiss to the top of her head.

“Hey, don’t forget who just got you all your new clay, kid!” Maria told you, as Tommy left to grab his own plate from the kitchen, and grinned when your shoulders sagged in defeat. “How’re the mugs coming?”

You shrugged idly, scraping food onto your fork.

“You talked my ear off about those damn mugs, and now you’re quiet?” Tommy questioned as he dropped down with a huff on the couch, stretching back slightly.

“That was just to annoy you.” You told him, fighting a grin when he sat up with something close to an incredulous expression on his face. You wouldn’t lie, though, it warmed your chest slightly that Maria was asking about such things when you knew how exhausted she was. Painfully, you realised that she reminded you more and more of Tess. “They’re… good. Kinda. Improving.” You said to Maria after a brief pause, before shoving your food into your mouth.

“Well, we could do with some more. Only got the two, and you’ll need one. Plus some for guests.” Maria said between bites of food, ignoring the look Tommy shot at her for the guests comment. You weren’t stupid — you knew that she was talking about Joel and Ellie. They didn’t really have other guests, after all. Any other socialising was done in town, even town-related meetings, usually going down early in the morning in the hall.

“I’ll see what I can do.” You responded, feeling something shiver down your spine bitterly as you thought of Joel and Ellie coming here.

Usually, you pretended they didn’t. You liked to think that Tommy and Maria’s house was untouchable, impervious to anyone who wasn’t you, them, or their new baby. You saw the remnants of their other guests, of course, like when you’d come in the morning, and there would be four plates in the sink. Or when Ellie’s coat still rested on the coat hooks. But the couple’s presence felt comforting, and you weren’t willing to give it up. Not right now, at least.

You refused to let Joel take anything else away from you. He didn’t have the right — he never did. It wasn’t like he was your father! Joel had made that much clear from the start, back when it had just been you, him and Tess.

∘₊✧───── ───── ───── ─────✧₊∘

“She doesn’t have anyone, Joel, what else was I meant to do?” Tess asked, her words biting as she yelled them toward her partner.

“The last thing we need is a kid to take care of. Send her to FEDRA.” Joel responded, his voice loud, but not quite a shout. He was trying to be the voice of reason here, not the asshole. Looking after some child they didn’t ask for, it could only end badly.

What if somebody came looking for you? Somebody with a vengeance? What if you turned out to be some asshole kid who killed them both? What if they couldn’t get the rations to feed you? What if—

“What? So she can get shot in the street in a few years? Joel, she should get a choice.” Tess bargained, unsure herself as to why she felt the need to defend you so much.

She knew Joel was right — knew that it wasn’t practical or realistic to keep you in their shitty apartment, but some part of her just knew. You needed the two of them, and in the middle of the apocalypse, was it really too difficult to do one good thing? Tess wasn’t saying it to be a hero — but god knows that too many kids had died already. She wasn’t trying to give Joel somebody else to look after, she was just trying to help.

Tess wanted to be able to look you in the face, and tell you that this was your chance. They didn’t turn up often in the apocalypse, and she wanted to urge you to take it. Was that too much to offer? Just an opportunity to live a bit longer, to survive in a world that strived for your death?

“Tess…” Joel sighed heavily, turning his head to look where you were sat back against their couch cushions, knees drawn to your chest as you ducked your head, clearly pretending that you hadn’t been listening the whole time. “Okay, fine. Let the kid stay.”

Tess nodded at him, the two of them moving apart as she headed towards where you were sat, something heavy and daunting resting on her shoulders as she looked at you, foolishly hoping she wouldn’t live to regret this.

∘₊✧───── ───── ───── ─────✧₊∘

Things were getting tense in Jackson.

You knew that things had been growing restless for a while, but it had gotten worse, somehow beginning to feel tangible in the very air you breathed.

Two separate raiding attacks had come in the past three weeks, which was definitely cause for concern. The first hadn’t gotten far enough to reach you where you had slept in your shop, and it was only the morning after as the dead were buried that you found out it happened.

The second was not so easy — waking you up in the middle of the night, which was an easy task, considering how light your sleep had become at the reminder that the walls around Jackson weren’t impenetrable. You woke up to the sounds of yelling, the roaring of flames, which sounded far too close to comfort. It was only when you rushed outside of your shop, clay carving tool clutched in your hand, that you knew for certain it was raiders.

They’d gotten deep into the town, which was a shock to the system, making it feel like cold water was running down your back. People were running on the street, gunfire sounding from further out, by the wall. The raiders seemed to be multiplying, but you knew they couldn’t be more than a party of twenty. No way would any of the guards miss a group bigger than that, right?

“Get back inside!” One of them yelled towards you, a rifle sitting stiffly in his hand, and a helmet resting on his head. He didn’t have a very commanding voice. You stayed where you were, frozen.

He approached, fingers tightening on his gun, and you could’ve sworn that your heart was beating so fast in might explode. The blood was rushing in your ears, and you felt sick for a moment, before the cold wash of reality came over you, in the form of the raider yelling so harshly in your face that you could smell his breath.

You blinked harshly at him, and swallowed down the bile in your throat as he moved to raise his gun toward your head. It felt like something had snapped in you, and you were launching yourself at him in less than a second, reminiscent of a barely-there memory back before Ellie was around.

Your clay tool hadn’t been very sharp, so it had taken force to push it into his neck when he fell down under your sudden weight. You tried not to think about the pressure you’d forced on it as you shoved his head down into the pavement when he tried to lift it in some form of defence, likely trying to smack his helmet into your face. His hands reached up, pushing you away with a burst of strength — what you hoped was the final burst of adrenaline.

Loose stones on the ground scraped up against your arm, drawing the tiniest bits of blood as you skidded across the floor where he had shoved you. When he turned his gaze to you, you bared your teeth, snatching his gun and holding it firmly away from you when he reached for it, pulling the trigger.

Glass shattered behind you, and you tugged the gun until it came away from his grasp, and he reached up, pulling the tool from where it stuck out of his neck.

The gun was firmly in your hands, aimed at him, before he could even raise the tool towards you, the sudden rush of blood from his body only rendering him weaker.

Your name had been called a second later, and you scrambled away from the raider as gunshots slowly faded out, leaving behind scared shouts and the blaze of the still-burning fire. You looked up to see Tommy, rushing towards you and tugging you up from the ground the moment he reached you.

“Shit,” He muttered, holding your arms tightly as he let his gun hang limply at his side. “Are you okay? You hurt?”

You shook your head, still grasping onto the stolen gun, and watched him sigh in something close to relief, before he turned his gaze to the shattered front of your shop.

“Come on.” Tommy urged then, nodding his head and only releasing you when you made to follow him, and he grasped onto his own gun as you began the trek to his and Maria’s home.

When you got there, Tommy shoved you inside and quickly shut the door behind him, taking the gun from your hands and resting it against the wall by the coatrack. He did the same with his own gun, a moment later.

“Maria!” You called, your voice scratchy as it left your throat. The baby was crying, you could hear it the moment you stepped inside, and you moved straight into the kitchen, finding Maria stood there, holding onto the baby and shushing, as she paced back and forth.

“Oh, thank god, you’re both okay.” She sighed out, approaching her husband and pressing a hard kiss to his lips. The worry lines on her forehead were visible, showing how stressed and anxious she truly was. “You hurt?” She asked the two of you, raising her voice to be heard over the crying baby she rocked in her arms.

“No, we’re alright.” Tommy answered, his words sounding close to relief despite the way his muscles remained tight, tense.

“Shit, Tommy,” Maria swore, looking at a gash that was trickling blood down his arm. “We gotta get you patched up. Would you mind?” She directed the last question to you, lifting her arms slightly to show off the crying baby held in them.

“Uh— sure.” You agreed, anxiously, because despite the fact it had been a few weeks since the baby was born, you had continued to keep your distance. You followed Maria into the living room, where she sat you down on the couch and placed him in your arms, as you tried to mirror the shape of her own.

He was loud, and heavier than you had expected, but you let him rest heavily in your left arm, with your right just resting gently against his side, finger running over the pyjamas he was dressed in.

“You two gonna be alright?” Tommy asked, nodding when you did, and following Maria to the upstairs bathroom, where their personal first aid kit was kept.

You rocked your arms the slightest bit, trying not to release the sigh of relief when the baby finally began to settle down, the loud sounds fading and leaving behind a tense silence over Jackson. When all the loud noises faded, you were left with a slight ring to your ears, likely from where that raider had fired his gun right beside them, aimed at your shop.

You couldn’t imagine how Maria had felt — she was a protector, and it must’ve killed her to stay behind with the baby whilst her husband left to help out the town. She was still recovering from giving birth, the event taking its toll, especially in the apocalypse, where the painkillers she’d had during her first birth weren’t available. Medical professionals were hard to come by, with only two residing in Jackson, neither specialising in things such as pregnancy or labour.

Luckily, they knew more than enough about it to give Maria the best chance at survival she could get. You don’t know how Tommy might’ve reacted if she hadn’t gotten through the birth. You didn’t want to think about it.

“Tommy? Maria?” A voice yelled, the front door banging open and causing the baby to begin his wailing once again. “Shit, sorry—” Ellie cut herself off as she entered the room, shock evident on her face when she saw you sat in there.

“They’re upstairs.” You answered stiffly, referring to her earlier yells, and you began rocking the baby boy once again, trying to settle his cries. You ran a gentle finger down his forehead, to the tip of his nose, shooting Ellie a nasty look when she just continued to stare at you.

“Joel went to find you.” She said, after a few moments, lowering her voice as you finally got the baby to begin settling, your arms tense as you tried to keep him as still as possible. You looked up at that, eyebrows creasing as you regarded her, saw the way her fingers fiddled together, pulling at the zip of her jacket.

“Why?” You questioned, confused for a moment. After all, Joel hadn’t cared much about leaving you behind when the two do them left Jackson, so why would he care about your whereabouts while you were here? “I can take care of myself.” You said, when she didn’t respond to your question, and you felt your jaw tighten when Ellie just rolled her eyes.

“Joel did what he did to take care of you. Why can’t you see that?” Ellie asked, voice hardening as she looked at you, lounged against the couch, holding Joel’s nephew in your arms, whilst he was on there searching for you.

You sat up slightly, a deep crease forming between your brows at the fire in Ellie’s words. It made somerhing uncomfortable stir in your chest, tightening and getting hotter as you looked at her expression.

“I didn’t ask him to do that. I wanted to come with you both. He took that from me, Ellie, he left me behind.” You said, feeling like you were turning in circles, beginning to feel dizzy and not getting anywhere. You strained to keep your arms somewhat relaxed, to keep your hands still where they wanted to clench into fists.

Her next words were quieter, and you struggled to hear them over the ringing still in your ears, drowning out the blazing world around you. She spoke again, her eyebrows furrowing to match your own, “You’re being unfair, you said you didn’t want to carry on!”

“I said I wanted to go home!” You said, voice raising for a moment, before you quietened your tone, only for the sake of the baby you held, who had already been disturbed enough tonight. “And in case you didn’t notice, Ellie, that was impossible. I lost everyone, don’t you get that?”

She shook her head, her cheeks going red as she grit her teeth, “Of course I fucking get that! You’re not the only one who lost people.”

“That’s not what I said!” You responded, feeling increasingly heated the longer the conversation went on, “But that trip cost me everything. So yeah, maybe I didn’t want to carry on. But I would’ve. I would’ve followed you two anywhere.”

“You got to stay here, in this actual fucking town, with actual fucking people and food and— and water!”

“People who are strangers! I was stuck here, in a town with things I don’t understand, people I don’t recognise, and the only ones I trusted left me here.” You spat back at her, wishing she could just understand what it had been like — didn’t she know how it felt to have your choice taken away from you? Why should they get to decide things for you? What happened to that control that Joel and Tess knew you valued so much?

Ellie opened her mouth to respond, but was cut off by the sound of footsteps in the hallway, and you swallowed down the anger that felt lodged in your throat, focusing on the baby who was fussing in your arms, saving his hands in the air until he caught onto one of your fingers, and held it tightly.

“Sh— There you are.” Joel’s voice came from the doorway, a heavy sigh forcing itself from his chest, and he entered the living room, his face crumpled in something like fear and relief. He opened and closed his mouth more than once, like he wanted to say something, before he finally settled on, “Tommy okay?”

“Maria’s patching him up.” You said flatly, turning your head away from where he stood beside Ellie, and keeping your gaze on the baby and where he was slowly beginning to dig his blunt nails into the skin of your finger.

Joel stared at you, his chest feeling close to hollow, and he could just remember the fear that had swallowed him whole when he saw the raider lay dead outside of the shop, the shop windows shattered against the ground. He had shoved the door open faster than he could think, his boots crunching against shattered glass loudly as he rushed to the door in the back, his heart pounding so hard he thought he might have a heart attack as his eyes scanned the ground.

When he had finally gotten the door open, a breath had left him as he realised you weren’t here, and he felt the pressure that had been pushing against his spine loosen the slightest bit, and he hurried to make his way back to Rancher Street, hoping with everything he had that you were at Tommy’s.

And now, here you were, as safe as you could possibly be, but Joel still didn’t feel relieved.

He felt dread, all consuming, and it reminded him painfully of that time, all those many months ago. Had it been a year?

∘₊✧───── ───── ───── ─────✧₊∘

Joel’s hand had been frozen, finger hovering over the trigger of his pistol, and he felt the air in his lungs struggling to get out. It was suffocating, making his body ache as he stared at you, where you held your breath, pressed as tightly to the wall as you could get.

Your eyes had closed, and he could see the muscles in your face twitch as you tried not to flinch away. One wrong move, wrong breath, wrong sound, and you’d be dead in a second — or worse, and Joel didn’t want to think about worse.

Tess was on the floor below, the three of you slowly making your way up, clearing the building as you went, aiming to get to the fifth floor, where the supplies were meant to be. Joel knew she wouldn’t be coming up any time soon, with the way the clicking echoed all throughout the room, likely travelling down the staircase.

It was right by your face — you could feel the breath against your cheek as it gargled and clicked, looking for you, getting so close that the shards of fungus that cracked its skull into pieces were almost brushing against your hair.

He didn’t know what to do — if he aimed wrong, he could hit you, or miss entirely, and just alert it to both yours and his own presence. He could try to kill it with the axe that rested against the nearby cabinet, one that he recognised from glass boxes labelled in case of fire, in the time before.

There was a glass bottle beside his foot, and with the slowest movements he could muster, Joel crouched low to the floor, gripping it in tense fingers, and threw it as far away from you as he could get it. He held his breath as it shattered, and the clicker let out a screech in your face, whirling away just as you had to exhale the breath you’d been holding. It hobbled away, unsteady on its feet, and you picked up the axe as you moved away from the wall.

Joel ushered you out of the room, back into the stairway, and grit his teeth as the clicker turned back at the sound of your hurried footsteps. He just about had time to slam the metal door shut, putting the deadbolt at the top back up into the concrete ceiling.

You breathed a sigh of relief, cradling your shaking hand to your chest, while the other gripped onto the axe tightly, ready to swing at a moments notice.

“Skip that floor?” You asked him, in a slightly joking way, and he nodded, face set in a dangerous expression as he glared at the door that shook slightly with the Infected clawing at it from the other side. With shaky legs, you climbed up to the next floor, waiting by the door as Tess poked her head up, hurrying up the steps to the floor you had just been on.

“Everything okay?” She asked, hands out towards Joel as if he was a feral animal, and he hadn’t quite realised just how thunderous his expression had become.

He nodded to the door, hearing the muffled bangs and scraped coming from the other side, the screech of fungal outrage. Tess placed a hand on his shoulder, nodding understandingly at him.

As they ascended the stairs to meet you where you waited for them, Joel could only grit his teeth as dread built tightly into his chest, squeezing his lungs and heart as he looked at your trembling fingers. You were fine, he knew, that Infected hadn’t even managed to touch you, but Joel couldn’t help the way that dread and fear began piling upon him, weighing his chest down so much that it became hard to inhale another breath.

You held the axe up, the thing slightly too heavy for you to carry it comfortably, but you managed, gripping tightly as you waited for Tess to open the door.

Joel exhaled through his nose, swallowing down the heavy feeling that was trying to crawl up his throat, and he swore you wouldn’t get that close to danger again. He didn’t want to lose you.

∘₊✧───── ───── ───── ─────✧₊∘

The council meeting hadn’t gone well — you could see it on Maria’s face, the moment she stepped through the door to your shop. The tense air in Jackson had only gotten worse, feeling thicker every time you walked past the old jewellery shop down the street, now reduced to charred remains.

“What happened?” You asked, slightly reluctantly. Clearly, this wasn’t going to be a fun conversation. Part of you was worried about what she was going to answer with, too. Could they disband the town?

“Well, nobody’s got answers for how twenty-four guys got past our lookouts. And conveniently, whoever was on lookout when they got past, seems to have been rubbed off of the rota.” Maria grumbled, looking just as miserable as she felt. You felt bad for her — she should’ve been at home, feeling happy about the new member of her family, not having to deal with a town crisis.

You didn’t say anything for a moment, letting Maria press her hands against the wooden table in your shop, and watching as she leant her chin against her chest, a deep sigh leaving her.

“They agreed on fixing up the wall yet?” You asked, feeling bad about doing so when Maria’s shoulders immediately dropped some more.

“No,” She muttered, frustration inking at the corners of her words, “Said somethin’ about conserving resources.”

“But… Jackson’s exposed with that massive hole in the wall.” You replied, eyebrows furrowed in your confusion.

“I know,” Maria replied, your name falling from her lips in a slightly disheartened tone. “That’s the trouble with politics. People lose their common sense. We got another meeting tomorrow, I’m gonna convince them, don’t worry. Got a patrol in two hours, though. You alright with Tommy cooking?”

You nodded at her, frowning when she sighed again, exhausted down to her very bones. With slight hesitation, you followed along behind her as she made her way back to her house to see her son and husband before patrol.

When you arrived, Tommy was holding the baby to his chest, shaking his head as he spoke to the kid in a baby voice. You suppressed a snicker.

Maria cooed, reaching out for the baby, and grinning tiredly when he was finally placed in her arms. With a sympathetic expression, Tommy pressed a kiss to the top of her head, before you caught his eye, nodding your head toward the kitchen.

“Everythin’ alright, kiddo?” Tommy questioned, eyebrows furrowed in concern as you paced the length of his kitchen, before stopping and turning to him, looking nervous.

“I’ve been thinkin’,” You started, your expression just about stopping Tommy from making a stupid joke, “I wanna start going on patrols.”

He stopped suddenly, his whole body going still, and you looked at him with nervous eyes. It wasn’t that you were nervous about going — though you were, a little bit — it was that you were nervous he would say no.

Despite everything that had happened with Joel and Ellie, the slight meltdown back at that cabin before Jackson, it wasn’t about being out there. It wasn’t the Infected that lingered behind corners that scared you, and it wasn’t raiders that made fear settle in your bones, it was Joel and Ellie.

They had been all that you had — everybody else had been lost to the world, and you had longed for a time before all that loss, for the home you had with Joel and Tess, where danger lingered, sure, but not in the same way. They could avoid danger back at Boston QZ, could hide out in their apartment and settle with doing shitty FEDRA-issued jobs for a while if things got too hot.

Out in the world, there was no sense of control, no sense of safety, no matter where you went. You didn’t want to watch Joel and Ellie die like you had with Tess. Didn’t want to close your eyes and still see it, see flames climbing up the building that held one of the only people you cared for. You weren’t sure you could’ve handled losing anybody else, but Joel had forced that upon you, in the end.

By removing you from the outside world, placing you behind walls once again, he had just made your very worst fears come true. You had lost them.

So when you asked to go on patrols, you didn’t feel very scared. After all, you knew the world as well as anybody else, maybe even better than some of the people in Jackson. You knew how to shoot, how to stay quiet, how to spot things that often went unnoticed.

Before losing Tess, you had been good. Despite a few slip-ups here and there, you had been allowed on their rare smuggling trips for a reason. You’d known how to shoot a gun before you had known how to read, and it came naturally to you.

“Absolutely not.” Tommy answered, after a moment, his expression hardening and turning to stone, and you frowned at him.

“‘M only asking you because I was hoping to take on some of Maria’s patrols. She’s exhausted, she needs sleep, and she’s got a meeting tomorrow. She doesn’t need to be goin’ on some patrol right now.” You responded, feeling the usual fondness that came with speaking to him fall away, leaving your voice cold, as your expression went flat at his refusal.

He stayed silent for a few moments, gritting his teeth in a way that was far too reminiscent of his older brother, and he sighed. “No, we’ll find somebody else. You’re just a kid.”

“I’m better than half of the guys you usually take out.” You argued, still trying to keep your voice down, to prevent Maria from coming in and halting any conversation on the topic. “I can handle myself, Tommy.”

“Can you?”

“Yes! Who do you think handled that raider?” You countered immediately, feeling the heat of your anger push against your chest.

“That was different.” Tommy tried, holding his hands out toward you, getting increasingly frustrated as you stepped away from him.

“How was it different?” You snapped, “It wasn’t different. Stop trying to protect me, I’m not some dumb kid, Tommy. You are just as bad as Joel.”

Your words struck hard, and Tommy’s face hardened immediately after you spoke, his frustration growing into something closer to anger.

“Why, because I’m trying to keep you safe? Just like Joel did? It’s not a crime to want you to be okay! You gotta stop treatin’ us like we’re doin’ something wrong for protecting you!” Tommy argued back, and your expression fell when he grouped himself in with Joel.

“That— That was different.” You said, repeating his words back to him, and feeling something nervous press against your neck, your hands wringing together as you stood in front of the Miller, who suddenly resembled his older brother too much.

Maria entered the kitchen then, holding the baby tightly to her chest, and frowning as she looked at where you and Tommy stood at opposite sides of the room.

“What’s going on?” She asked, almost hesitantly.

“Nothin’,” Tommy answered, still looking at you with hard eyes, nothing changing on his expression. You grit your teeth together, feeling frustration cling to the back of your throat. “Right?”

You scoffed, and made your way past him, going straight to the front door and pulling it open roughly. Your eyebrows were furrowed as you stepped out, ignoring Tommy calling your name as you slammed the door shut behind you.

When you hurried away, shoes scuffing against the pathways of Jackson, you ignored how you saw Joel sat on his porch, and just hoped he’d mind his own business.

Two hours later, when there was a knock at your shop door, your eyebrows had furrowed immediately.

You weren’t sure who could be visiting you — Maria should’ve been on patrol already, and Tommy should’ve been back at home, looking after his son. You didn’t get any other visitors, at least, ones that were welcome.

When you opened the door, you saw Joel standing there, looking nervous. Your expression immediately flattened, eyebrows creasing further, and he stopped you before you could even open your mouth. “Wait,” Joel almost pleaded, and seemed close to relieved when you grit your teeth, staying quiet. “Maria asked me to bring this over, said somethin’ about Tommy covering a patrol.”

He held out a box, looking far too nervous for such a simple request, though you could understand. With your eyebrows relaxing slightly, you reached forward and plucked the box from his waiting hands, tilting it to the side to look through the transparent sides of the box at its contents.

When you noticed Joel still stood, unmoving, your eyebrows began to crease once again. “Well, thanks for bringing this over.” You said stiffly, hating how part of you wanted to let go of all of your anger, to pretend nothing ever happened, to just hug him.

You reminded yourself that he did this, that you were allowed to be angry. You had every right to be. You were allowed to scream and cry and shout, to hold on to that anger, to that feeling of being left behind.

It felt like a betrayal to yourself, to still want to be around him, and it hurt even more that he still made you feel safe.

“No problem.” He said, hesitantly, like he wanted to say something else, to continue, to broach the subject of the elephant in the room, but he held himself back. You weren’t sure what was worse, what you preferred more. Him acting like a stranger, or him acting too familiar.

You were so conflicted, over everything. You felt fractured into hundreds of tiny pieces, each individually feeling something different, shouting for their own way. Parts of you wanted to cry and let him comfort you, whilst others screamed for you to yell at him some more, for you to beg and plead for him to feel that hollowness that you had felt when he’d left you. Part of you wanted answers, wanted an explanation that would be enough, that would justify it, but you knew Joel didn’t have one.

For him, he knew it had been the right decision. He felt some peace of mind, knowing you would be safe within the walls, at his brother’s side. But it still pained him, the way you had fractured away from him, and he had let you slip through his fingers. It left a kind of emptiness in him, knowing that you believed he had abandoned you. You believed he had failed you. Joel was scared that you might be right.

“Well,” He cleared his throat, shoving his now empty hands deep into his pockets, and he nodded at you, the action paining him. “I’ll, uh, head off, then.”

You nodded, watching him step back and turn to go before you closed the shop door, missing the way he turned back to say something, only to be faced with a closed door. He heard the lock turn.

∘₊✧───── ───── ───── ─────✧₊∘

It had taken three days for Tommy to crack.

He didn’t like the silence between the two of you, it made his neck feel itchy, his heart race uncomfortably. He worried about you, more than he had even realised himself.

So when you looked at him, eyebrows raised expectantly, he couldn’t help but relent. You were stubborn, even now, and you really did remind him of Joel with that expression on your face. Tommy wondered if you knew just how many mannerisms you’d picked up from his older brother, but thought better than to mention it.

“Okay, fine.” He gritted, his gaze steely even as he watched your face light up in victory, “But—”

“But?” You echoed, incredulously.

“But you’re only going on a patrol if one of us is on it, too.” Tommy continued, suppressing the urge to roll his eyes at your interruption. When he saw your annoyance, he fixed his statement slightly, “At least to start with. We’ll get you some trainin’, on the horses and guns, then we’ll see where we are.”

You smiled, and as much as Tommy hated to let you get your way in this, he was just glad to see you smiling at him again. “Thanks, Tommy.” You said, letting him reach over and pay your shoulder.

“Yeah, yeah, whatever.” He grumbled.

“Hey, I made you something.” You told him suddenly, face seemingly lighting up further as you thought of whatever it was. Tommy raised his eyebrows suspiciously, tapping his fingers against the wooden table in the middle of your shop. “I know how much you loved hearing about them, so.”

You held up a box, filled with five mugs, some slightly misshapen, but holding the vague shape of a regular old mug. The handles were difficult, he recalled you telling him, and he could see it reflected in your work, the handles wonky, or curved into a strange shape. He smiled nonetheless, unable to help the laugh that escaped him.

“Well, I never.” He said, amused, and picked up one of the mugs, with a sloppily painted bear on the front. “You figured out the glaze, then?”

“Kinda. Thought it was gonna be blue.” You replied, pointing at the mug with an orangey brown owl painted on. “But I like it.”

“Me too, kiddo, me too. Say, Maria’s gonna be thrilled.” Tommy grinned, putting the mug he was holding back into the box before taking it off of your hands, rolling his eyes when you cautioned him.

“Well, let me know, yeah?” You asked, despite knowing that she was going to love them no matter what they looked like, simply because you made them. You had noticed that about her. You could probably hand her a chunk of clay, which barely resembled anything other than what it was, and she’d thank you for it.

“I will do. You’re comin’ for dinner later, right?” He questioned, gripping onto the box tighter with one hand, so he could free up his other one to place his hand on the door.

“Think I’ll just eat at the hall, tonight. You guys should come, too. Maria does far too much cooking.” You suggested, shrugging his shoulders when he looked offended, as if he should cook more. “Please, do not even go in the kitchen. The baby’s too young to be subjected to the smell of your cooking.” You joked, laughing when he huffed, exiting the house while yelling about not letting you come around anymore.

You shook your head, grabbing a chunk of clay you had cut off from the slab earlier, and dumping it on the wheel.

These people would be the death of you, you were sure, as your chest warmed from the interaction.

PART FOUR

#joel miller x reader #joel miller angst #joel miller imagine #joel miller one shot #joel miller x you #tlou one shot #pedro pascal angst #tlou imagines #tommy miller x reader #tommy miller x you #joel miller father figure #joel miller fic #joel miller imagines #pedro pascal one shot #pedro pascal imagines #tlou imagine #tommy miller angst #tommy miller fluff #heartpascal writes

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jesswritesthat · 2 months ago

Text

Shinsō Hitoshi: Friends?

Fandom: BNHA // MHA — [ Masterlist ]

Summary: ~1.2k, fluff

• U.A. had a rumour that Shinsō was only ever late to (L/n)s’ side once, but he hasn’t let anything touch them since. But just how true is it?

Warnings: Potential spoilers

>>>>——————————>

It was a renowned fact that you were perfectly capable of defending yourself in dangerous situations - as well as dishing out your own dangerous attacks.

In this instance, it made sense that yourself and Shinsō were often paired together since he joined Class 2A as you seemed to compliment one another on the field and during training drills.

Hero course third years naturally had the respect and attention of a majority of their juniors, especially since you were all involved in the war. It became useful for when you assisted in their training lessons though and due to Shinsōs’ connection with Sensei Aizawa, he was requested - and you by proxy if it was a team focused protocol.

The set of five students you were both up against were the cleverest so far, you’d noted that when you’d knocked out two of them only to realise they’d sacrificed themselves as bait so the remaining three -two as Hitoshi wrapped the aerial student up- went all out on a combo attack directed at you.

Now you could take this hit, and then use the debris as a cover to counterattack. However, you never had the chance when you saw a familiar cloth bind your attackers’ limb and derail his trajectory into the dusty floor whilst the other received a swift counterattack on your behalf and it was all over.

“Thanks Hitoshi.” The two of you shared a fist bump to celebrate the victory.

“The tactics you used allowed you to survive the longest against Shinsō and (L/n) at 2 minutes, however exposing yourself to danger should only be a last resort…”

As Aizawa finished his teachings and set the assignment of improving their times for the following weeks session, a few students began their idle chatter regarding the exercise. How they’d seen similar behaviour on various accounts.

On occasions when you were in danger, they’d seen Shinsō use his binding cloth to pull you out of the way or neutralise the attackers. They’d seen him put himself between you and an onslaught or push you out of the way. In every circumstance that he was in your radius, and you on the rare chance were in firing range, he’d protect you over himself at any cost.

That’s what heroes do though right? And Shinsō Hitoshi had a greater determination to prove that than most.

This was… different somehow. You were different.

You were certainly friends as you were seen together fairly commonly, but Shinsō was closer to Izuku and Denki, whilst you associated more with Mina and Kirishima. Maybe they were reading too much into this?

———

It was only when the young group were brainstorming strategies did the topic arise in depth.

“I heard from seniors that Shinsō was late once, and he hasn’t let (L/n) get touched since.” One of the group claimed proudly.

“Late? Like to school?”

“No idiot. Apparently (L/n) was up against a villain last year and put themselves between civilians so I found the footage.” The student quickly fished for her phone, playing the video to her peers.

It displayed you taking a nasty blow when acting as a shield, strong enough to draw blood. Shinsō just managed to catch you in his arms before you hit the floor unconscious - a deadly rage sparking in his violet eyes when taking in your condition and looking back to the villain.

“Biggest mistake of your life.”

“Hah! The mistake was—“

It was over instantly, Brainwash took ahold and the rest was wrapped up undeniably quickly. Then the video ended leaving the students gawking.

“Ouch.” One of them winced. “I’ve never seen Shinsō look so angry. That villain was tied up unconscious quicker than anyone could blink.”

“Yep. (L/n) has never taken major hits with him around since.”

“We could use that to our advantage right?”

“Exactly…”

———

The following week you were called upon once more to evaluate their (hopeful) improvements to their previous strategies. Although it was Present Mic supervising this time so it was far more deafening in comparison.

When facing the top scorers from last week, both yourself and Shinsō noticed the adjustments in their tactics but hadn’t quite deciphered their endgame. It was when they staged an attack for you and minimised Shinsōs’ movements to a point that prevented him from getting to you in time did it come to fruition.

You could dodge though, except when one of their quirks went haywire and lead to an explosion large enough to decimate the rocky terrain into a crumbling landslide.

Naturally you’d used your quirk to get the other student to safety which limited your escape time, but with Shinsō and the others out of harms way you were a little reassured. At least until a desperate cloth bound your abdomen - immediately pulling you from an array of thrashing boulders.

You went crashing into a solid chest, toned fishnetted arms enveloping you as effortlessly as breathing. You felt the racing of his heart, the raggedness of his breath, and the warm sigh of relief when he’d pulled his mask down with one hand.

“Hitoshi?”

“Are you alright?” His tone was slightly lower, angling himself slightly so it was spoken near your ear rather than to anyone else.

“Yes but, why are you always saving me?”

His eyes widened for a moment, pulling back slightly in brief surprise like you’d unravelled a personal secret.

“(L/n)! Shinsō! I’m so sorry I dunno what happened - my quirk just— I didn’t mean for it to—“ The panicked first year came bounding over the rocks frantically issuing apologies which Shinsō was admittedly grateful for.

“What matters is that you’re okay, and so are your friends - uh mostly.” You managed a brief glance at the trio who’d cornered your comrade, all of them groaning and rubbing their heads whilst the perpetrator simply shrugged.

“They prevented me from my objective. I had no choice but to incapacitate them.”

“Alright alright, shows over! You may’ve beat your time but the risk wasn’t worth it. I’m sure Aizawa would agree.” Mic chastised, adjusting his glasses to send a daring glance their way.

“Yes Sensei.” The group bowed in apology, the rest of the class both concerned and amused with the whole ordeal.

“You can all help clean up, you can practice quirk management, and you two can let go of each other now y’know.” Mic pointed at each of his targets, raising a bemused brow when landing on the two of you.

Immediately you’d stepped apart, awkwardly locking gazes and snapping back to Present Mic rather guiltily. Though you soon had a moment to yourselves once clean up began and Mic lectured them on quirk control.

“Hitoshi, you know I can handle myself right?”

“I know. But seeing you get hurt once was bad enough, and knowing I hadn’t arrived in time to save the one person I—“ He shoved his hands in his pockets, deadpan gaze remaining on your figure prior to flicking to the ground. “It doesn’t matter. You know how it is.”

“I do. I’d be upset if I couldn’t save you too.”

A meaningful look was exchanged, one that communicated more than words possibly could, and you pretended you hadn’t seen the heavy scarlet dusting the skin of Hitoshi as he pulled his scarf up.

“Since today has been smashing, shall we have an early dinner at the dorms? Maybe watch a movie too?”

“That was terrible.”

“But you appreciate it~”

“I tolerate it.”

The pair of you left together, you laughing as you spoke with Hitoshis’ admiring gaze never leaving you.

In the midst of clearing the collateral damage, the first year class watched on in awe.

“Huh. Maybe they’re more than just friends.”

“Maybe? Hah yeah right!” Present Mic only laughed, oblivious to the entire glass snapping to him in utter astonishment.

<——————————<<<<

[ Masterlist ]

#bnha fluff #bnha imagine #bnha scenarios #bnha x reader #bnha shinso hitoshi #hitoshi shinsou #shinsou x reader #hitoshi shinso x reader #mha shinsou #mha imagines #mha x reader #bnha imagines #anime x reader #anime imagine

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sabrinasopposite · 2 months ago

Text

✧˖° chaos;

red kryp!clark kent x scarlet witch!reader - imagine

summary: Influenced by the red kryptonite, Clark Kent is on the verge of not only losing control but also his loved ones. The only person who could save him was also the one who had to face the consequences.

It's a moment of chaos where Clark is on the brink of attacking his friends—if not for Y/N stepping in. angst - anger - happy ending :)

ps: the reader has the abilities of the scarlet witch.

☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:* ☆・.:*・°☆.。.:・°☆.。.:*・°

Clark stared at his friends with red-tinted eyes, which sometimes glowed when his alter ego took control, affecting not only his mind but also his emotions. People often associate colors with feelings, and one thing Chloe and Pete knew for sure was that Clark's reddish anger was simmering just beneath the surface.

They had rarely seen him so mad. One time, when Chloe was hurt by a guy, Clark was so furious that he stared at the guy for just a few seconds, and the guy ran away in fear. It’s hard to imagine anger on Clark’s typically golden face—you’d think this was someone who didn’t experience anger at all, given his heart of gold. Yet, even the people closest to him could sometimes glimpse the darker emotions within.

"Clark, listen—you need to take the ring off," Chloe urged, her voice shaky as she hid behind Pete, who stood protectively in front of her. They both backed away slowly from Clark, who smirked and approached them, each step he took radiating more danger.

"Oh, that? I don’t think I will," Clark replied with a smug grin, until his madness wiped the smile from his face. His eyes flared with heat vision, and a fiery beam shot up at the ceiling, causing it to collapse. Chloe and Pete quickly moved, trying to escape the disaster, but a force field surrounded them.

Y/N appeared in front of her friends, her hands raised, glowing with a reddish energy sphere as she grunted with effort. She tossed the falling debris aside, then turned to Chloe and Pete.

"Y/N!! He’s—," Pete started.

"I know, Pete. You need to go, now!" she interrupted, placing a reassuring hand on their shoulders. They nodded and hurried away.

Clark's smirk returned as he addressed her. "Well, well, who do we have here? Mrs. 'I wanna save the world'? You better back off, because that title belongs to me." He chuckled darkly.

Y/N turned her head to face Clark, letting out a sigh. "I know this isn’t the real you, Clark."

"Oh, but it is. You just can’t handle the fact that I have more power than you," he taunted.

"That’s never been a concern of mine. The only thing that concerns me is that you were ready to kill your own friends!" Y/N shouted, her voice filled with anger and pain. She knew Clark was under the influence of the red kryptonite, but the sight of him almost killing their friends had shaken her deeply.

"It wasn’t that bad," Clark scoffed, tilting his head as Y/N slowly formed a reddish energy sphere in her hand. She stood bravely before him, but deep down, fear gnawed at her. She loved him, and she knew that, somewhere beneath this twisted exterior, he loved her too. She couldn’t bring herself to fight or hurt him—not when it was Clark.

"So, it wouldn’t matter if it were your parents?" she asked, trying to reach him.

"They aren’t my parents, Y/N," he spat out, his voice dripping with venom. The words shocked her. Her eyes widened, and pain surged through her heart. He would never say that. Never.

Clark had always been grateful for Martha and Jonathan, for the life they had given him—a life he might never have had otherwise.

"Take off that ring. Now," Y/N shouted, her voice trembling with a mix of desperation and anger. But Clark just laughed.

"Then you’ll have to kill me to do that," he replied, his laughter echoing through the room.

Y/N’s eyes hardened with resolve, but before she could react, she felt a crushing blow to her back. She flew across the room, slamming into the wall as Clark laughed behind her. He had used his super speed.

"Oh, wait! You can’t even do that—you're weaker," Clark taunted, his words a cruel reminder of the imbalance between them. Y/N gasped for air as Clark approached, but something inside her snapped. She raised both hands and unleashed twin blasts of reddish energy at him, sending him collapsing to the ground. She might not be as strong as Clark, but they both knew that her energy field was somehow his weakness.

Determined, she walked toward him, launching larger blasts of energy. Clark, now on his knees, struggled to resist, shielding himself with one arm. Through the blinding light, all he could see were her glowing, red eyes. She remained silent, and for a fleeting moment, something in Clark felt fear. But that fear only fueled his rage.

With a sudden burst of speed, he dodged her energy attacks and appeared beside her, landing a powerful punch to her head. The force sent Y/N flying out of the room and crashing into the next one.

Y/N groaned, pushing herself up from the debris. Her vision blurred for a moment, but she forced herself to focus, adrenaline rushing through her veins. Clark was already speeding toward her again, his eyes glowing with the heat vision he was preparing to unleash.

Y/N reacted quickly, throwing up a force field that absorbed the fiery blast, sending shockwaves rippling through the air. Clark skidded to a halt, his expression darkening as he realized she wasn’t going down so easily.

"You can't win this, Y/N," he growled. „Well i’m not here to win, I am here to wake u up Clark," she snapped back, her hands glowing with energy.

In an instant, Clark lunged at her with superhuman speed, but Y/N was ready. She spun on her heel, raising a hand, and sent a wave of energy that rippled through the air. The blast hit Clark square in the chest, hurling him into a nearby wall with a deafening crash. The room shook from the impact, but Clark recovered almost instantly, leaping back onto his feet.

Y/N didn't give him time to counter. She flew forward, propelling herself through the air with the force of her energy blasts, and launched a barrage of glowing orbs at him. Each one struck with a concussive force, but Clark dodged and weaved between them with his superspeed, closing the distance in the blink of an eye.

He grabbed her by the wrist, twisting her arm and slamming her into the ground. Y/N gasped in pain, but she quickly retaliated, sending a pulse of energy through his grip, causing him to release her. She flipped back to her feet, her breathing ragged but her determination unwavering.

Clark's eyes burned with fury as he charged again, his fists aiming straight for her. Y/N dodged and ducked under his blows, using her agility to avoid his attacks while striking back with her energy-infused punches. One hit landed squarely on his jaw, staggering him for a split second. But Clark recovered faster than she could react, grabbing her by the throat and lifting her off the ground.

"You’re getting on my last nerve, Y/L/N" he hissed, tightening his grip.

Y/N struggled, feeling the strength draining from her as Clark's power overwhelmed her. Desperately, she raised a hand, summoning all the energy she could muster. A blinding red sphere formed in her palm, and with a roar of defiance, she slammed it into Clark's chest. The force of the blast sent him flying across the room, crashing through several walls.

Panting heavily, Y/N stumbled backward, her vision flickering with exhaustion. She knew this fight was taking everything she had, but she couldn't give up. Not now.

But Clark wasn’t done. He emerged from the rubble, more furious than ever. In the blink of an eye, he sped toward her again, this time grabbing a shard of sharp metal debris from the broken walls. Before Y/N could react, Clark drove the shard into her side.

A sharp, searing pain ripped through her body as she collapsed to the ground, gasping in agony. Blood seeped from the wound, and she clutched at it, trying to hold herself together. Clark stood over her, breathing heavily, his face twisted in anger and madness.

"It’s over," he said coldly.

Y/N’s vision blurred as the pain overwhelmed her senses, but deep inside, she still had one last move. Summoning the last of her strength, she reached deep within herself, tapping into her reality-warping power. Her hands glowed faintly, and through her pain, she whispered, „surprise."

In an instant, the world around them shimmered, and suddenly, Clark staggered, his eyes wide in shock. Glowing green rocks appeared on the floor in front of him—green kryptonite. The one thing that could weaken him.

Clark fell to his knees, clutching his chest as the kryptonite drained his strength. He gasped, his body shaking with pain as he tried to crawl away, but the damage had already been done.

Y/N, still lying on the ground, her breath shallow, watched him with pain-filled eyes. "You may be stronger, Clark," she whispered, "but I know how to stop you."

Clark's strength continued to fade, the kryptonite draining the last of his power, leaving him utterly helpless. Y/N watched him, his once invincible figure now writhing in undeniable pain. Her heart clenched at the sight.

Despite the stabbing pain in her side, she forced herself to move, each breath agonizing as she crawled closer. Every inch felt like a mile, but she couldn’t leave him like this. Clark’s voice, faint and broken, reached her ears. At first, she thought it might be her imagination, or perhaps the delirium of her own nearing unconsciousness. But no… it was real.

“Help me, Y/N...” His voice was weak, almost a whisper, pleading.

Her trembling hand reached out, barely brushing against his. With the last of her strength, she summoned her power, the reddish glow returning faintly to her fingertips.

With a flick of her hand, she willed the red kryptonite to shatter. The world around them rippled, and the dark haze that clouded Clark’s mind vanished as her energy absorbed the malevolent force. The room began to return to its normal state, the reality she had warped fading away. But with each passing moment, Y/N could feel the toll it took on her body. Her power was draining her faster than she could recover.

She collapsed forward, her weakened body falling onto Clark’s chest. Her breathing was shallow, her strength nearly gone, but she had done it. The red kryptonite was destroyed, and Clark was free.

Both of them lay there, broken and battered. The chaos around them had subsided, but the silence that filled the room carried the weight of everything they had just survived. Y/N closed her eyes, her hand still resting on Clark’s, feeling the faint rise and fall of his chest beneath her.

He was safe, and for now, that was all that mattered. Clark’s body lay still as Y/N collapsed on his chest, her breath faint against his skin.

The haze of the red kryptonite had lifted, and with it, the fog of madness that had clouded his mind. Slowly, his strength began to return, the kryptonite on the floor no longer affecting him as Y/N's energy dissipated it. He blinked, his vision clearing, and reality crashed down on him like a tidal wave.

The first thing he saw was Y/N lying against him, pale and barely conscious, blood seeping from the wound he had inflicted. His heart sank, a cold wave of guilt tightening around his chest. His mind raced back to the moment he had stabbed her, driven by the red kryptonite, and the horror of what he'd almost done to his friends—what he had done to Y/N.

"No..." His voice trembled as he gently cradled Y/N in his arms. "Y/N...? Hey please.."

Footsteps echoed in the distance, and Clark heard the voices of his friends rushing toward the destroyed room. Chloe and Pete burst in first, their eyes wide with shock as they took in the devastation around them. Chloe’s gaze landed on Y/N in Clark’s arms, and she immediately ran over, her face pale.

“Oh my God… Y/N!” Chloe dropped to her knees beside them, her hands hovering, not knowing what to do. Pete stood frozen, his eyes filled with both fear and disbelief.

“What happened?!” Pete finally managed to ask, his voice shaking.

Clark couldn’t meet their eyes. “I… I hurt her,” he whispered, his voice breaking. “I hurt all of you.”

Before he could say more, Jonathan and Martha rushed in behind them, their faces etched with panic. Martha’s eyes instantly found Clark, her son—bruised, exhausted—and the girl in his arms. “Clark…?”

Jonathan hurried forward, kneeling beside Y/N. "We need to get her to the hospital. Now."

Without hesitation, Jonathan gently took Y/N from Clark’s arms, and Pete and Chloe helped guide them through the wreckage toward the exit.

Y/N spoke with an exhausted voice, that sounded like a whisper to Jonathan. ,,Jonathan...is Clark alright..?'' He glanced at her and saw how her eyes closed and her face soften.

Clark stood frozen for a moment, watching as his father carried her out, her limp body barely moving. The guilt clawed at him with every breath.

Hours passed in a blur of white lights and distant murmurs. Clark sat in the waiting room, his head in his hands, Martha sitting beside him, her hand resting gently on his back. He hadn’t spoken much since they arrived. The weight of what had happened bore down on him, making it hard to breathe.

He couldn’t stop replaying the events over and over in his head—the madness, the rage, and how close he came to losing control completely.

Jonathan entered the waiting room, his face grim but relieved. “She’s stable,” he said quietly. “The doctors are treating her wound. She’s going to need time to heal, but she’ll be okay.”

Clark let out a shaky breath, a mixture of relief and shame washing over him. "I could have killed her, Dad," he whispered, his voice barely audible.

Jonathan exchanged a glance with Martha before sitting down in front of Clark. "Son, what happened?"

Clark raised his eyes, guilt written in every line of his face. “I wasn’t myself. The red kryptonite—it took control. I couldn’t stop it... I—" His voice broke. "I stabbed her. I almost killed her. I… I would’ve hurt Chloe and Pete, too.”

Martha moved closer, wrapping her arms around him. "Clark, that wasn’t you. The red kryptonite twists your mind. You’re not in control when it takes over.“ "But I let it happen!" Clark snapped, his fists clenching. "I let it change me, and I didn’t fight it. I hurt Y/N. I almost lost her because of me."

Jonathan sighed deeply. “I understand why you feel that way, Clark. But blaming yourself won’t change what happened. What matters now is making sure this never happens again.”

Clark looked up at his father, his eyes filled with remorse. “How do I live with this? How do I face her, knowing I did this?”

Jonathan placed a firm hand on his shoulder. “You face it by being there for her. By making amends and doing everything you can to help her heal. And you remember that she saved you, even after everything that happened. That means she still believes in you.”

Martha gently stroked Clark’s hair, her voice soft but steady. "You’ve always had such a good heart, Clark. That’s who you are. Not the person you became under that ring. Y/N knows that. We know that."

Tears welled up in Clark’s eyes, but he quickly wiped them away, trying to hold himself together. He nodded slowly, though the guilt still weighed heavily on him. “I don’t know how to fix this.”

Jonathan looked at him with a calm but serious expression. “You start by being the person she knows you are. The person we all know you are.”

Clark sat in silence, his mind racing. He knew his parents were right, but the wound inside him was deep. He hadn’t just hurt Y/N physically—he had nearly betrayed everything he stood for, everything he believed in. Yet, as his father had said, Y/N had saved him. Even after all the pain he caused, she had used the last of her strength to free him from the red kryptonite’s hold.

Taking a deep breath, Clark stood up. “I need to see her.”

Jonathan and Martha exchanged a glance but nodded, understanding.

Clark walked slowly into Y/N’s hospital room, the soft beep of monitors filling the quiet space. She lay on the bed, still pale but breathing steadily. He hesitated by the door, afraid to come closer, afraid of the shame that came with seeing her like this—because of him.

But as he stepped closer, Y/N stirred, her eyes fluttering open. She saw him and managed a faint smile, despite the pain. “Clark…”

He moved to her side, kneeling beside the bed, his eyes full of guilt. "I’m so sorry, Y/N. I—"

Y/N reached out weakly and placed her hand over his. "Clark… I know. I know it wasn’t you. It’s okay."

Clark shook his head, tears stinging his eyes. "No, it’s not okay. I could’ve lost you. I almost did… and I’ll never forgive myself for that."

Her fingers squeezed his hand gently. “But you didn’t. I’m still here. And so are you. You won't get rid of me that easily”

Clark lowered his head, his chest tightening. “I’ll never let anything like that happen again. I promise you.”

Y/N smiled, a tired but genuine expression, as she squeezed his hand again. “I believe you…and I have an idea what you can do for me’’

Clark smiled with small tears in his eyes ,,whatever you wish, please tell me’’

,,you own me a dance’’ Y/N smiles weakly.

,,the dance from prom?’’ Clark chuckled.

,,yeah that dance’’ She leans closer to her pillow and smiles.

,,i would love to dance with you’’ He takes her hand and kiss it softly.

☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:* ☆・.:*・°☆.。.:・°☆.。.:*・°

LMAOOO that was intense and kind of staffed with action? if you made it till the end than damn thats crazy! next chapter of ,,emails I can't send'' will be out soon :)

xxx naomi

#smallville clark kent x reader #smallville x reader #tom welling #smallville #clark kent #clark kent x reader #clark kent Smallville x reader #clark kent smallville #scarlet witch!reader #fanfic #angst #dccomics #dc #dccomicfanfics #fanfiction #clark kent fics #smallville fics #smallvilleclark #scarlet witch

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dewdropdinosaur · 7 months ago

Text

But Momma, I Love Her

ALASTOR x READER Summary: After the battle, Alastor finds himself wounded while Y/N seeks to help him out. But no one is invincible. Warnings: ANGST. [Oh the way I giggled evilly when writing this.] Rating-PG Requested by @anon-of-the-void See Masterlist for Request Status and Fics

In the aftermath of the colossal clash between Heaven and Hell, the once bustling streets of the infernal realm lay in ruin. The once proud Hazbin Hotel now laid a bare pile of brick and mortar on the dusty ground. Among the debris and chaos, Alastor, perched in his towering abode, shining red lights flickered with green – an ominous beacon amidst the devastation. His once immaculate suit was torn, and his charismatic grin was replaced by a grimace of pain.

Alastor's radio tower echoed with static as he clumsily attempted to patch up his wounds. His fight with Adam had gone…worse than expected. But his stitching efforts were in vain, for every stitch only seemed to unravel further, his crimson essence staining the makeshift bandages. His momma had taught him to stitch better than this, but even now, he seemed to fail her teachings.

As frustration threatened to consume him, a familiar voice broke through the static. "Alastor, what in Lucifer's name have you gotten yourself into now?" Y/N's exasperated tone cut through the air, their footsteps echoing up the stairs of the tower. Storming into his tower, Y/N rushed to Alastor’s side. Like him, their clothes were marred and hair matted but otherwise no worse for wear.

Alastor turned to face his best friend, a mixture of relief and pain in his face. His grin, while returning to save face, was tight.

"Ah, Y/N, fancy seeing you here. Just a minor setback, nothing to worry about," he said, attempting to downplay the severity of his injuries.

Y/N's expression softened as they approached, taking in the extent of Alastor's wounds. "Minor setback? You look like you've been through a meat grinder, Al," they chided, shaking their head in disbelief. "Honestly, sometimes I wonder if you have a death wish."

Alastor chuckled weakly, wincing as Y/N gently began to assess his injuries.

"Carelessness is not a trait I would readily associate with myself, my dear friend," he replied, though the pain in his voice betrayed his bravado.

“So it ain’t carelessness when my best friend decides to fight a freaking angelic being? Let alone the first man? What were you thinking, Al?”

“He got lucky, he lacked discipline, any sort of control. The man was sloppy!”

Grabbing the supplies off the desk and plucking the needle out of Alastor’s hand, Y/N set to work; their touch firm yet gentle as they began to stitch up Alastor's torn flesh. Despite the discomfort, Alastor found solace in their presence, the familiarity of their touch grounding him amidst the chaos. Alastor winced as the needle pierced his flesh, the pain a sharp reminder of his recent brush with mortality. Yet, a tension lingered in the air, unspoken words weighing heavily on both their minds.

"You still need to be more careful, Alastor," Y/N admonished, their voice tinged with concern. "You can't keep throwing yourself into fights you won’t win."

Alastor's gaze flickered upwards, meeting Y/N's eyes, a flicker of vulnerability shining in his own. "But sometimes, the battle chooses me, not the other way around. Ha ha." he replied, his voice laced with false humor.

Y/N huffed out a sigh, gaze hardening with a mixture of frustration and affection etched across their features. "That's not an excuse, Al. You're not invincible, despite what you may think," they said, their tone gentle yet firm.

Silence hung between them, the weight of unspoken words lingering in the air. And then, in a moment of uncharacteristic vulnerability, Alastor spoke, his voice barely above a whisper.

Alastor's brows furrowed, a flicker of defiance in his gaze. "And what would you have me do, Y/N? Sit idly by while angelic chaos reigns and threatens everything I have worked for?" he retorted, his tone sharp with frustration.

Y/N's hands paused mid-stitch, their expression a mixture of hurt and exasperation. "That's not what I'm saying, Alastor, and you know it,"

“Then what are you saying dear? That I am weak, a fool? When you speak your rancid insults do annunciate, it’s the polite thing to do..”

They replied, their voice barely above a whisper. "I just... I can't bear the thought of losing you."

The admission hung heavy in the air, the weight of unspoken emotions finally coming to the surface. Alastor's façade faltered, his crimson eyes softening as he met Y/N's gaze. "Y/N, I..." he began, the words catching in his throat as he struggled to find the right words. He had messed up.

Before he could continue, Y/N shook their head, a tear slipping down their cheek. "Forget it, Alastor. I shouldn't have said anything," they whispered, their voice thick with emotion.

As the last stitch was set in place, a silence washed over the radio tower, a brief respite from the chaos of the world below. Standing up slowly, Y/N moved to take their leave. Suddenly, Alastor grabbed their wrist, forcing them to stay in place.

"Perhaps I'm not as invincible as I'd like to believe," he admitted, his gaze falling to the floor. "But in a world as chaotic as ours, sometimes protecting the person you…cherish… that’s the only way to survive."

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mumblelard · 2 years ago

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finn came over after work yesterday. we sat at the kitchen table for three hours drinking mexico city mules and assorted howdy dews and talking about rare spices, hidden nests, the thermodynamics of steam, streptococcal manifestations, and other imaginary constructs. it was a nice afternoon

#planet of the grapes #saturdays #bookshelves #i was making fun of clarice and ruth snogging in the windowsill and sarah the quiet new girl went full teen mom while i wasnt looking #devil's tongue #dictionary of newfoundland english #mushrooms #ch ch ch changes #crow calls #pyres #rituals #anthology of american folk music #associative debris #finn stayed long enough that she almost crossed paths with my evening company #i don't think it would have been a problem but it's never happened before

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tapakah0 · 1 year ago

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About red and Casey. "A child by the first 2 - 3 months of life begins to distinguish red" - his mother often wore red, so he has a warm association. When the debris fell on them, Casey didn't cry, because he still saw the red color… I guess that's what saved him. Baby Casey doesn't have the best memory(

Turtles are still around 20-24 years old, forgive them, they are not yet the most responsible... But they will soon for sure ;-;

And not best uncles yet... One day, one day... pt. 7 | pt. 9

#life of violence era #L.O.V.E #rottmnt #rise of the teenage mutant ninja turtles #rise of the turtles #rise of the tmnt #future leo #future mikey #bad future au #future donnie #future raph #future april #future cassandra #casey jr #I've bought ipad!!! I can now draw 24/7!!!#I'm still getting used to it #It's so strange and lines are shaking haha #One day ~ One day

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musedeluce · 28 days ago

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Emergency Procedure: Medic + Hunter

Zayne x Reader -Protecting the medical personnel is priority number one in a combat zone, and you are very good at your job.

Tags/Warnings: Hurt/Comfort, Slight Angst, Injuries, Triage, Medical emergencies, Combat, Hospitalization

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The various sounds of human pain echoed throughout the area. It had one been a pristine, modern park and city center, but debris now littered the ground, rumble and shattered glass strewn around, bodies of the wounded and dead scattered. The response had been quick, the Unicorns squad deployed to neutralized the wanderer attack and medical teams embarking soon after, waiting to enter the area until given the all clear.

Every hunter squad had an assigned area, as did each team of medics. For medics, it generally was the same area the hospital they worked at served. For hunters, it was based on which station throughout the city you were assigned. Then, each hunter was further assigned a specific person or persons on the medical squad to protect. Because Akso Hospital and the Hunter’s Association Headquarters were in the same area of Linkon, Unicorns and Akso’s triage team were assigned together and partnered up. Partnered hunters were usually assigned medics who were also partnered up. Thus, hunter partners could still work together and medical personal wouldn’t work alone even if their Hunter couldn’t work. When the medical teams were cleared to enter, procedure dictated that any capable hunters accompanied their assigned medic to protect and help them, due to the unpredictable nature of metaflux and any lingering danger. Hunters who were able were also expected to cover for hunters who could not. To Zayne’s deep relief, and honestly, some happiness, you were his assigned protector in these situations. Your partner, Xavier, had been assigned to Dr. Greyson.

Quickly, Zanye moved from casualty to casualty, assessing their condition and, essentially deciding between life and death for some. Triage is, perhaps, the most difficult situation any medical professional might have to go through. You must assess the patient’s condition, determine if they can actually be saved, and move on if they cannot. If they can be saved, those with the worst injuries are treated and evacuated first. The goal, of course, is to save as many people as possible with the limited resources available.

“Zayne, there’s a person over there.” You gesture towards a pile of rubble that had once been a building. “There’s small meta – fluctuations, but that’s normal for the aftermath of a protofield event like this. It should be safe, but be careful.” Zayne patiently waited for your assessment, thinking to himself just how useful the energy detection part of your evol was. A small, keening cry sounded from the direction you indicated and the both of you started off, moving quickly and efficiently. The source of the cry was easy to identify. A teenage boy lay trapped under the rubble, buried halfway with blood pooling under his body. Scanning the debris, you relayed information to Zayne. “We could pull him out, in theory because he’s not impaled or stuck on anything according to the scan. But the rubble isn’t stable and his vitals are erratic...” Carefully, Zayne positions himself to pull the boy out, and while he did so, you positioned yourself in a way that if the rubble toppled, you could drag Zayne out of the way, as well as help him with the patient.

“On three.” Zayne put his hand on the ground, an ice crystal materializing under the slab pinning the boy in place, growing towards it to push it off him.. “One.” You both braced yourselves. “Two.” You both began to focus especially on your breathing. “Three!” Applying all your strength, you were able to lift the slab just enough for Zayne to pull the boy out from under the pile of rubble. Unfortunately, the slab falling back into place dislodged large pieces of rubble from the top of the pile, crashing down and dislodging other pieces of rubble. Adrenaline pumping, driven by pure instinct, you dragged Zayne and the boy out of the way. An intense, crushing pain bloomed through your leg as pieces of debris pinned you to the ground instead.

The cry of pain you let out sent panic searing through Zayne’s blood. Actual anguish gnawed at him, swirling with a pang of guilt. Logically, he knew this wasn’t anyone’s fault. Logically, he knew you had been doing your job, and he had been doing his. Oh, but he longed for you to be safe and sound. He finished treating the boy, and called for backup before making his way to you, the very definition of grace under pressure.

“Hello, Doctor.” you smile as he kneels by your side, playful in an effort to diffuse the tension. After a brief pause as he examines you, you ask the main question on your mind at the moment. “How’s the boy? Will he survive?” Luckily, you had managed to get clear of the main debris pile before your leg got pinned under one piece of rubble. Using his evol, ice protected your leg from further damage and held it in place as more ice shifted the debris. “Zayne?”

“He’s alive. I’ve given him the best treatment possible and have called for assistance to pick him, and you, up.”

“And you?”Zayne’s ability to deal with a crisis was something comforting, and you felt happy to be his partner, but he had been at risk too.

“My condition is acceptable for the circumstances. I’m physically fine and able to continue my work.” Zayne pauses, and looks you in the eye again, a subtle smile gracing his face. “Thanks to your quick thinking.” A bright, genuine smile lights up your face.

“I’ll always do my best to keep you safe, Zayne.”

“Your leg won’t be permanently injured, and your protocore syndrome isn’t showing any abnormal symptoms” He finishes bandaging your leg, having set it in an emergency splint. “Our backup should be here soon. I’m going to go check on my other patient, but I’ll return to you.” As he speaks, he slips a small piece of candy into your hand. Right then, your backup arrived and you were evacuated, along with the injured teenager, to Akso Hospital. It wasn’t until most of the chaos died down that you and Zayne crossed paths again.

A soft knock at your hospital room door alerts you to someone’s, you assume Zayne’s, arrival. “Come in.” Gratified to see you were correct, a small smile spreads across your face as Zayne walks in. Despite being on his feet, doing triage and emergency surgeries, he looks almost the same as always. But exhaustion dogs his every step, his eyes narrow as tiredness bears down upon him. “Sit down.” Zayne doesn’t argue, instead sitting in the armchair by your hospital bed, almost melting into it, leaning back and covering his face with the crook of one elbow and resting his other arm on the armrest. You reach out and take his hand, and neither of you move for a while.

“How do you feel?” Zayne is the first to speak.

“Tired, but my injury feels better than before. As for my heart, I’ve been taking my meds diligently and haven’t felt anything since you checked at the site.” Dutifully you report to him, knowing that this information is what would reassure him the most.

“What I wouldn’t give for you to be healthy and safe...” Zayne murmurs, almost to himself. His hand tightens around yours. “Life is better with you here… Please… do your best to stay.”

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A/N: Hopefully I'll improve as I continue to write for these characters. Originally this was going to be all 4 of them together but the length would have been a lot I think, for a single post lol. Still also getting a handle on tagging and stuff, so please let me know if there's anything I can improve.

#love and deepspace #zayne love and deepspace #zayne x reader #lads zayne #l&ds zayne #lnds zayne #love and deepspace zayne #reader insert #fanfic #hurt/comfort #injury

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ltwilliammowett · 30 days ago

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Flotsam and Jetsam

Flotsam and jetsam are terms that describe two types of marine debris associated with vessels. The word flotsam derives from the French word floter, to float. Jetsam is a shortened word for jettison.

Shipwreck on the Norwegian Coast, by Johan Christian Clausen Dahl 1832 . It shows how Wreckers collecting the lost property of a wreck (x)

Flotsam is defined as debris in the water that was not deliberately thrown overboard, often as a result from a shipwreck or accident. Jetsam describes debris that was deliberately thrown overboard by a crew of a ship in distress, most often to lighten the ship's load. In the same vein, lagan is the heavier items aboard ship allowed to sink to the bottom, but marked with a buoy or float for later salvage by the owner or in his name.

Under maritime law the distinction is important. Flotsam may be claimed by the original owner, whereas jetsam may be claimed as property of whoever discovers it. If the jetsam is valuable, the discoverer may collect proceeds received though the sale of the salvaged objects.

#naval history #flotsam and jetsam #age of sail #naval slang

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punkpandapatrixk · 7 months ago

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Full Pink Moon in Scorpio ♦︎ Moon Magick Pick A Card

Hey, was your Full Pink Moon in Scorpio great on the 24th/25th of April? It took me a couple of days to realise there was an active shedding and releasing of A FUCKTON of black magick and karmic debris from the collective of people tuned into this PAC. That shedding and releasing was by Divine Mandate, so that’s good to know hahah

After the Full Moon, have you been feeling lighter now? Brighter in the mind? Clearer about your purpose, maybe? More motivated to take the next step? Kinda ironic because Scorpio is the darkest sign of all. But hey, seeds need to break in the dark for them to grow into plants, trees, fruits and flowers, right?

This Full Pink Moon in Scorpio is really associated with rebirth, plant magick and wishing for a victorious blooming of our desires. Scorpio is also a sign associated with the underworld, death and ancestors. Did you know people born with significant Scorpio influences in their birth chart were often born shortly after some death had occurred within the family/bloodline?

Since the Full Pink Moon has passed, have you been feeling the call of your ancestors? You’ve got a huge family of great and wise ancestors you’ve never even met in this incarnation watching over your spiritual development. Each of them loves you and honour all the spiritual work you’ve done in this incarnation. The ripples of your lightwork go beyond what you can comprehend at this moment.

Listen carefully with your pretty heart~ Your ancestors and Spirit Guides are currently very active in guiding you towards your most exciting chapter yet! Stomp forward confidently, babes~!

[Moon PAC Masterlist] [Patreon] [Paid Readings]

☆♪°・. ☆♪°・. ☆♪°・. ☆♪°・. ☆♪°・. ☆♪°・.

Pile 1 – Let’s Go Far Away! Far From All the Dra-mama-mama~

s h e d d i n g – Queen of Pentacles Rx

You are not taking anybody else’s karma as yours anymore. You’re done. Fucking done with spiritually taking care of everybody who isn’t even aware of their bullshit karmic load. And on top of that, you’ve been known that these fuckers ain’t ever gonna be grateful anyway. So, why should you bother? You learnt the hard way, didn’t you? Now you’ve truly become a spiritual boss bitch. You ain’t vibing with Love and Light anymore—not like that, at least. You understand now that the whole ‘love and light’ consciousness has been weaponised to neutralise the power of those who can defeat EVIL consciousness.

Now, you understand people are fully responsible for their own healing; for how they react to what’s happening around them and for their own choices. Even their points of view are theirs. You’re not participating in anybody else’s drama anymore. No amount of empathy will ever make you stupid again. That was your decision quite a long time ago and now that resolve has become SOLIDIFIED. Welcome back, spiritual gangster. You’re YOU again~ Now, we watch you quantum jump into your greatest abundance Reality yet!

t r a n s f o r m i n g – 9 of Pentacles Rx

I feel like you’ve been in isolation of sort for quite a while, right? Or at least, there’s a clear indication that you’ve not been in communication with too many people. Your ancestors gave you that push to be alone and to clear your aenergetic field from a lifetime’s worth of bullshit you’d absorbed from other people. During this time, you were shielded from further psychological attacks from your environment. But at the same time, you were also being given clear guidance about your next steps.

Your visions and daydreams are not random, so this Full Pink Moon is giving you more reasons to believe all of your gut feelings about your place in the world—about what you’re put on Earth to pursue and manifest. When you’re excited, make sure you share your good news with ONLY those you feel are vibrationally safe to share with. People you know won’t have any business being envious of your progress. Otherwise, keep moving on in silence, dear ghost~ You’re about to become reborn into real riches!

g l o w u p, BITCH – 6 of Wands Rx

The whole aenergy of this Pile is abundance and material riches. I’m being told, you’re building a massive Empire that’s based on real spirituality. An empire that will serve a great number of people and how that contributes to not only your material security but also to the prosperity of all involved with your projects/spiritual work in the future. With that said, your success is needed by the world! You’d better believe there’s no force on Earth strong enough to mess this up.

Your ancestors, in fact, have been setting you up for this success for literally aeons. Even from the aethers they’re still very much actively making this happen. It’s a family project, babe~ You’ve got important codes stored in your DNA—you bloodline is special. One way or another this will continue to get revealed to you through various means your ancestors can think of ;P Your physical beauty, physical prosperity, physical safety and everything is quantum jumping into a much higher octave of Reality.

You’ve set up the foundation well. You’ve sacrificed a lot with so little guidance. Congrats again, welcome Home to 5D Consciosuness~!

full moon self-care🔻🌒🌓🌔🌕🌖🌗🌘

Access full reading + cards on Patreon🌸

☆♪°・. ☆♪°・. ☆♪°・. ☆♪°・. ☆♪°・. ☆♪°・.

Pile 2 – Hello? Ordering From Future Express~

s h e d d i n g – Page of Pentacles

You’ve been in the process of learning (or preparing) for a big change in your Life. This Full Pink Moon, if anything, is just indicating that you’re ready to mingle in the higher level of whatever you’re graduating from. Rather than becoming a student, you’re becoming an actual employee, worker, or expert at this thing you’ve been studying/preparing for. You have a lot of knowledge that’s ready to be shared by those who can benefit from your work. So, congrats~!

Of all the Piles, I sense your journey thus far has been pretty much lighthearted. It isn’t to say some traumatic things haven’t happened, but no matter your age, you’re such a wise optimist. You’re the type that can always say, ‘Oh well, I did learn and gain valuable lessons from it.’ You have an awareness of your surrounding and the events that visit your everyday Life, so you’re not often bothered to the degree some of the other Piles are XD

t r a n s f o r m i n g – Knight of Cups Rx

I sense that many of you reading this have been in the active process of manifesting a new kind of Reality. You’ve daydreamed and fantasised a lot—too much, sometimes LOL But I’m getting that your heart is literally constantly pulled in that direction because you’re literally that close to manifesting this Reality. Of course, when we say ‘close’, some of you may wonder how that’s even possible because you don’t feel like you’ve done a lot.

But I’m being told that your manifestation is heavily ‘water based’, meaning it is highly based on the emotions produced during your daydreaming~ As long as you maintain the feeling, the optimism, the feel-good vibes from those daydreams, you’re GUARANTEED to get every single thing you’ve envisioned for yourself. I betcha you have significant Water sign placements or planets in Water Houses in your natal chart :D

g l o w u p, BITCH – 5 of Cups

I know that recently you feel like you’ve lost something important. Although you’re positive and optimistic, it’s only natural that people can still dwell in the negative emotions caused by the shock of any kind of loss. You can take your time. But also know that this Full Pink Moon is promising you a way to rebuild or rediscover in another form what you’ve lost. What’s been lost or broken will be renewed and you will be a lot happier.

By this, the general message is that you have so much good fortune and success in the future. It’s almost like, your daydreams have been ordered from the future express and delivered to your doorstep as feel-good thought-forms. For now, they may be only thought-forms, but you’re being directed to the right place, so don’t lose sight of those visions, OK? For the most part, I think most of you already know this—you just needed some kind of a validation ^o^v

full moon self-care🔻🌒🌓🌔🌕🌖🌗🌘

Access full reading + cards on Patreon🌸

☆♪°・. ☆♪°・. ☆♪°・. ☆♪°・. ☆♪°・. ☆♪°・.

Pile 3 – Calm in the World, Lucky Girl~

s h e d d i n g – 7 of Swords

Ooohhh my lucky guuurl~ You’re the lucky Pile, but actually, you’ve worked really hard to increase your luck quotient in this world! Of all the Piles, you’ve transmuted a lot of karmic bullshit in your bloodline—things like toxic mindsets which were passed down by your elders. I think you’ve worked the hardest to transform yourself whilst carrying generational bullshit which you vowed would stop with you, because you wouldn’t want these mindsets or ways of living to be passed down to the next generations.

And in your case, I get that you’re not just thinking about your own bloodline; you’re also thinking about stopping these toxic ways of living and being for all people belonging to your generation and the next. You’re thinking global—you’re thinking cosmic. This Pile is definitely for those of you who identify as being a witch or a mystic or something similar in nature. You are now shedding ugliness. All the ugliness in the ways you were brought up.

t r a n s f o r m i n g – 9 of Cups

No matter when you come across this reading, within just a couple months your abundance level is going to visibly get better. This sense of abundance is going to be real—not just a mindset thing—it’s going to be physical. You’ve been working so hard for so long on the mental and spiritual level, and in many cases, you might’ve felt like your spiritual work hasn’t produced anything tangible at all. And this could’ve often dimmed your light and made you cry, because it felt like your struggles were never going to end.

You were going in circles, but babe, you were always spiralling up out of that hell that was created for you. I think you just didn’t realise that. The path was never straight; it was a spiral in which you were spiralling and meeting old wounds and healing them, but the whole time, you were spiralling UP! Okay? The exit is close. Dang, many of you tuning into this are already out! The real physical abundance is following along tightly. Look forward to this year’s Lion’s Gate, Wise Ones~! You’ll be surprised! <3

g l o w u p, BITCH – 10 of Wands

In the deck I’m using, 10 of Wands depicts an array of soldiers who’ve just finished warring. They’re back home now, exhausted, traumatised, needing a lot of care and ease after a long battle, and are probably still in a war mindset after being in it for quite some time, right? But the important thing is that they’re home; that the war is OVER. It is OVER. It’s peacetime now. You’ve just got to celebrate all you’ve done for your country (yourself) and relish in a good bowl of soup to soothe your aching heart.

Recuperation and relaxation are crucial for you right now. You need all the TLC you could give to yourself, so in that sense, if there’s somebody who could be of some assistance to you, don’t hesitate to ask for help so your Life can be a little easier. For the time being, you need to be taken care of. Sooner than later, you will be jumping into a different kind of an exciting bandwagon straight to your Destiny~ Then, you can help others~!

full moon self-care🔻🌒🌓🌔🌕🌖🌗🌘

Access full reading + cards on Patreon🌸

☆♪°・. ☆♪°・. ☆♪°・. ☆♪°・. ☆♪°・. ☆♪°・.

[Moon PAC Masterlist] [Patreon] [Paid Readings]

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canmom · 1 year ago

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Animation Night 173: Takashi Nakamura

Hi everyone! It's that time of the week again~

The day that puppets bite their gloves off.

Tonight on Animation Night we'll be taking a look at the works of Takashi Nakamura (中村たかし).

Nakamura is a director who flies under the radar a bit over here, but for those who know him, he's a unique director - one who we've actually encountered a couple of times before, actually! He directed one of my favourite shorts in Robot Carnival [Animation Night 158] Chicken Man and Red Neck, in which the machinery of a city comes alive to have a violently strange Bosch-like party led by a strange red-robed robot, witnessed only by one salaryman on a moped...

...and if you remember when we looked into the three adaptations of Project Itoh's novels [Animation Night 127], he co-directed Harmony with Michael Arias, a powerfully understated film about a high tech biopower future and people who reject its utopia through a suicide pact. We also saw him in the Japan Animator Expo, with the charming Bubu & Bubulina...

But let's give a fuller story...

As an animator, Nakamura entered the industry very young, signing on as a colourist and inbetweener at Tatsunoko in 1974 - at which point he was only 16, an aspiring mangaka newly arrived in Tokyo. Working in Tatsunoko's distinctive 'industry within an industry', he was introduced to Hirokazu Ishino's 'Anidō' association, in which he was introduced to not just many important animators but also had the chance to see animation from around the world, from Norm McLaren to Japanese independent animators like Kenzō Masaoka. The two films that got him most excited were Takahata's Horus, Prince of the Sun [AN41] and Disney's Fantasia [AN15], both of which contained incredible flexes of effects animation.

(Incidentally, it makes me happy that a lot of the films Watzky mentions showing at Anidō showed up on here! Following in the footsteps of giants and all that.)

Once Nakamura got the animation bug he put aside his manga aspirations and became a key animator, going freelance a couple years later. In 1979 he saw Galaxy Express 999, and got to witness the insane 'liquid fire' effects of Kanada, and he instantly became a devotee - soon enough getting a chance to work with Kanada directly.

And by the early 80s Nakamura was definitely making a name, already working in animation direction and solo-animating entire episodes of Gold Lightan for Tatsunoko. The next couple of years he'd end up working on Nausicaa, Macross DYRL and the with Rintaro [AN53, 134] on Genma Taisen. By now he was specialising hard in effects (not unlike Anno!), and his work had become terrifyingly elaborate, look at this building collapsing into every single element or the clothes coming to the life under the power of a psychic. His work also inspired another incredibly significant animator to enter the industry - Kōji Morimoto, future cofounder of Studio 4°C - and they ended up working together on Genma Taisen.

Meanwhile on Nausicaa, Morimoto handled some of its most memorable scenes like the opening sequence where Nausicaa is pursued by the giant Ohmu. Once again you see his fascination with effects and debris, like the shot where the Ohmu explodes out of the forest, sending stalks flying in every directions. In Macross DYRL he animated the scenes of the gravity flipping sideways and a street's worth of stuff tumbling down all at once, elaborating on a scene by Itano from the TV show.

In short, if there's lots of bits of stuff flying around in a mid-80s movie, there's a good chance that Nakamura was involved somehow.

Such a focus made him a perfect fit for the 'realist school' developing in the late 80s - whyat you might loosely call the Otomo circle. You see his work on both Manie-Manie/Neo Tokyo and Robot Carnival, and naturally enough he ended up part of the team for Akira. Given what he'd already accomplished, could he somehow step it up another notch? You bet.

Going by sakugabooru comments, Nakamura's role in Akira was mainly related to two things: explosions, and animation direction. Considering how iconic the explosions in Akira are, and how challenging it was to animate Otomo's very solid and 3D designs... the success of the film depended a lot on Nakamura's insane drawing skills. Further, he was a kind of 'teacher' to the rest of the staff, such as Morimoto. But this was apparently the 'limit' for Nakamura, and after Akira he turned from creating animation for others.

And this point marks a major stylistic turn in Nakamura's work. Starting with the World Masterpiece Theatre adaptation of Peter Pan, on which he worked as character designer, he adopted a highly stripped-down, simplified style. With all the Akira goodwill, he was able to pull in many of the new stars of the 'realist' school, from Okiura to Ohira. But his work became a lot less flashy, focusing more on a Disney-like approach where it's about creating a consistent sense of life rather than individual flashy sequences.

The Hakkenden [AN 122] was one of his first chances to experiment with the new style as a director, with Episode 4 really kicking off the series' trend of completely redesigning the characters according to the sensibilities of each director. He also worked on the kinda obscure but gorgeous realist-school film Junkers Come Here [AN 118] as his own film debut, Catnapped!, progressed.

So Catnapped! This is a weird movie. Many people see a Disney influence in its style, and it definitely broke the 90s trend with a younger target audience - but Disney could never make a movie filled with as much imaginative strange shit as this one. Watzky points out how much Otomo influence there is in the direction - dense environments and elaborate multiplane shots, in contrast to simple character designs which afford a lot of movement. These designs allow great animators like Okiura [AN139] (who animated most of the finale) to really go to town. There's a great para in Watzky's article on the different directions taken by the 'realist' animators.

Catnapped is a pretty short film at less that 80 minutes, a revel of visual imagination; Nakamura's next film A Tree of Palme is just as distinctive but in a different direction. It's another take on the Pinocchio story [c.f. AN138], but a very 'dark, metaphysical' one, with its biggest inspirations apparently being French - Moebius and René Laloux [AN71, 93], with Mutsuo Koseki coming up with art direction capable of comparing to Laloux. The three year megaproject pulled in animator legends from across the board - Inoue, Ohashi, Ando, Masuo, Matsutake, Umetsu! (Count how many directed part of Robot Carnival).

The character designs of Palme look simple in stills, but once you see them in motion, they're anything but - incredibly volumetric and full of life and movement.

In the 2000s and 2010s, Nakamura ended up working with Colorido and 4C a lot (naturally enough given the connection with Morimoto!), increasingly making effective use of CG in his projects. This led up to The Portrait Studio (写真館 Shashinkan) (c.f. AniObsessive) in 2015 - an almost solo short film, with Nakamura writing, storyboarding, designing characters and doing all the key animation, which is a kind of slice through Japanese history through the lens of a photographer who just wants to figure out a way to get his client to smile.

Much like Palme, The Portrait Studio combines simple character designs (in a stylised picture-book look) with very precise, realist animation on 2s and 1s to lend them a sense of density and 'existence'. Moreover, unlike most anime, it uses the raw pencils as finished lines instead of redrawing them clean on a computer. The style might call to mind Otomo's Cannon Fodder, and in fact the two films share a colour designer. 3D is integrated with an unusual degree of skill and subtlety. It makes for a fascinating combination, a very memorable and impactful film for all its apparent simplicity.

So, that's our focus for tonight! We'll be watching Catnapped!, A Tree of Palme and The Portrait Studio, and getting to find out what the deal is with Nakamura - one of the Very Important Guys in the history of anime, influential on so many of my faves... but all too often overlooked by people who aren't like, huge animation nerds.

If that sounds fun, come join me at twitch.tv/canmom - going live in just a minute! I've been wanting to do Nakamura for ages, and today I finally found energy for a writeup. See you there~

#animation night #takashi nakamura #catnapped #a tree of palme #anime

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