#but he also had curse memories of a wife that's no longer with him (who may or may not have existed in the EF?)

[skyrigel]

“The Great War Part-3”

Part 1 || Part 2 || Benjicot masterlist

Pairing: Benjicot “Davos” blackwood x Bracken!reader

~ When mist of past finally clears up and you are faced with an ineffable truth of life, you reach for your darling husband's hand, surviving the great war [ wc : 4.7k]

๑⁠˙⁠❥⁠ 18 + nsfw, p in v ( rough ), missionary position, breeding kink, blood kink, size kink, fingering, c- word used in sexual context, orgasm denial, first time, love confessions, jealousy, confused feelings, poetic subtexts, bad writing?! Proofread

I might write an epilogue someday but this is it, thankyou everyone for reading and following along, also this is for @ihateitheretaylor for our three years of surviving the great war by reaching for each other, love you to the moon and saturn.

Benji's whole face glittered under the weirwood tree, his hand inevitably touching his heart as he saw you.

Your maiden cloak adored in golden and silver embroidery, house's sigil glistening, a red stallion in golden fields, like the strands of your future husband's hair that were blazing against the sun.

His grin absolutely splited his whole face, lines stretching wide as he gazed at you walking towards him with your brother.

“ Who comes ? ” His smile true to his words,

“ Who comes before the gods ? ”

Aeron paused for a moment before he looked at you, his arms brushing your shoulder as he nodded, a tight smile but a smile indeed.

“ Y/n of House Bracken, comes here to wed. A woman trueborn and noble, she comes to beg the blessings of gods. Who comes to claim her ? ”

Benji raised his chin, instantly looking back at you like he couldn't get enough and for a fact—he really couldn't

“ Me, Benjicot Davos blackwood of House blackwood, lord of Raventree halls, I claim her.” He winked at you, “ Who gives her ? ”

Aeron took your hand, his smile genuine when he glanced back at you.

“ Aeron Bracken of House Bracken, Brother of lady y/n, son of Lord Amos Bracken.” He turned to you, blinking back the watery haze, you gulped down the lump in your throat.

“ Lady y/n, Do you take this man ? ”

Your face grew warm, and there were many realisations in life, some slow and crashing as waves, some quick and bold as lightning, when you looked back at the man who was going to be your husband, the man you remembered from a long time ago, a distant memory and sometimes as though it was taken from yet another lifetime— his youthful face, bright eyes, chortling laughter that echoed through your soul. So many years gone in punishing him for something he never did, cursing him as you sleep talked.

So when you saw him, it struck you soft as a breeze, hard as a blow; you would love him so much, perhaps you already love him or perhaps there was still time but it will eventually come your way, and you will love him so deeply, so, so much that the oceans would be jealous, you will love him so blazely that the sun would burn in agony, so luminous that the stars would be envious.

That's the way you would love him, and it wouldn't be faith that will tie your hearts and bind your souls today, it will be a choice, his and yours to not be parted, not even death could do so. You smiled, no longer fighting your blush and letting it crimson your cheeks.

“ I take this man.” You said for the all the gods to know, him, who stands here with his goofy smile, too big for his face, him, who calls you darling while you roll your eyes, he's is the one, you would have him.

Benji reached for your hand, joining your souls together through the tips of his fingers, Aeron backed away as you and Benji kneeled against the old gods, head leaned together.

“ I vow to protect you, to honour and love you, to respect and support you, my darling wife.” no yet, He had chosen you already, a very long time ago.

His thumb smeared across your knuckles, voice dripping with sincerest affection.

“ I vow to stand with you, in life and death and what follows after, to be with you in bad nights and good days.”

Your heart was beating too fast, grasping this moment to be forever your reality, it scared you how you had no control, you chose him because there was nothing else you could do—there was going to be no you without him.

A day ago you hated how much he tormented you, hated how much he ached your heart with his sweet honey like words.

And now you hate him how truly alive he could make you feel, like he has set your soul on fire, his laugh booming across the bloodshed while you're reaching for his hand.

“ I will always love you, my lady. In days when I would forget life, breath and myself— i would remember you like an oath.”

Benji pressed his forehead against yours, taking half your misery—half your pain.

“ From this day...” You said along with him, smile tugging at the corner of your lips,

“ till forever falls apart.” Benji smiled, side glancing Aeron and his glea only rippled more.

“ Can I kiss my bride ? ” He asked you, soft as a whisper and you blinked, hands sweaty in his, entwined for lifetimes to come.

“ You may.” You said, closing your eyes and even then you could feel his giddiness that rushed into you, the press of his lips against yours, it wasn't feral, it wasn't bloody, it was as sweet and as gentle, like the poets would say.

Perhaps it was Aeron's throat that cleared itself so loudly that blinked open your eyes, feeling your knees ache in the tendons.

“ You look so beautiful darling.” Benji winked, helping you get up—his tongue caught between his teeths— removing the husk from your gown.

And just like that, he was your man now.

~~~

The wedding was small but the feast that followed was wild, everyone was drunk and happy, it was truly a blackwood and Bracken wedding, one should have seen the smirk that passed between Bracken's when blackwood's pretty girls started serving wine, pouring up to brims with their sweet sly smiles and curvy beautiful bodies.

And ofcourse it wasn't missed how prideful blackwood's were being with their extraordinary arrangements, nose red and tongue loose with alcohol.

“ Bout' time laddie, bout' time—” One of the blackwood knight's chortled, patting his company with enough force to make his food come back on surface, “—should've seen his face...saw him in between bloody battle and oh lordie— should've seen the little Rat, squeezing between,” He made little vague gestures from his greasy hands, “ like a cunty little —”

“ Oh shut up, will you ! ” the said little rat of his tales snapped back at him, his Bracken mates laughing while he fumed with a red face.

“ Amusing, isn't it ? ” Benji leaned to your ear, making you shiver when his mouth grazed your ear shall, “ My heart, my shine, my darling beloved wife.”

“ Very amusing...” You said, turning to him and his beautiful face, pink on his tips, hair sticking to his forehead and a grin only fools in love had, but their on the corner of his mouth sticked a crumb, you shouldn't, really, but then you saw how Raventree hall's ladies saw him, their lusty gazes and seductive smiles, even now, they would bloom like a flower if his drunk sloppy gaze merely sprinkled by, like many realisations that followed today, this was also one of them, the one that wanted to tear away those prying eyes and keep him all to yourself, to burn those heart that desired for him, to ruin those dreams that they staged, he was yours, your husband, your lord, and you were his, his wife, his lady, and when the great war comes, it will be his hand that you will reach for, only his.

“ Here—” You blushed, “ let me.” You smeared away the crumb with the soles of your fingers, smiling a small, you don't remember watching the sun rise in the long time but if anything, it would be the way Benji smiled in that moment, forever mesmerizing.

As if on cue, your golden moment was ruined when Martha came over, she was daughter of lord in court, it was evident with the silk on her body, and her sweet calculated smile, something only courts knew.

“ It is so gracious to meet you, Lady y/n Bracken—”

“ It's lady Blackwood.” Your fork penetrated deeper into meat, “ Now.” you added with a smile, Martha nodded, her jaw hardening.

“ Ofcourse, Lady blackwood.” she tilted her head, fiddling with the chain on her neck, Benji was watching your sloppily, leaning on your shoulder and despite he was quite heavy, you weren't going to tell him that.

“ Congratulations, It is really credible what you did...to tie the two house together, a duty not anyone could do.” She bit her lower lip, shifting her sharp eyes to Benji who was putting more crumbs on his mouth, looking back at you with his chin raised.

You knew where she was getting at, duty and honour, to rub it on your face that this marriage is loveless, that it's just a duty that would end with two or three babes and forever isolation in chambers, but she didn't knew what you did, she didn't know the love that was swirling, had been, for the longest time, since one of these feasts with slurred laughters and nonsensical conservations where you saw each other.

“ Ben...” You pouted, ignoring her forced flashing of teeths, doing away the crumbs on his mouth while he fancied leaning in to kiss your tips, “ I am tired...can we—”

“ Darlin’ me too, shall we ? ”

It took a lot of nerves to not to burst in laughter the way Benji hurriedly got up, almost knocking his elbow in Aeron's face who sighed, but also smiled when he saw you watching your beloved husband.

You wondered where the wine was gone when he hooked your elbows together, all the while Martha hissed under her breath, haughty faced.

“ I wasn't expecting that...” You huffed, glancing at Benji, he was buzzing in excitement, practically floating mid air.

“ I...Martha was actually my first.” He shaked his head, rubbing the bridge of his nose, all colours drained out of your face, your knuckles clenched to bloodless flesh.

“ You know what I mean ? ” He asked, staggering behind you while you increased your pace, blinking back rapidly.

“ Ofcourse I do.” You snapped, not bothering to keep low in the dark of the tower, footsteps echoing through the night.

“ Okay, right...I wanted you to know—”

“ That you slept with another woman ? ” you turned around to him, his body knocked against you and in some other time, it wouldn't matter much, a forehead bump but he was drunk, you were angry, and times were changing, as both of your bodies tumbled down, he caught you by the waist, shifting you on top of him, a loud thud and soft ‘oof’ and a whimpered groan that was your own.

“ Are you okay, darling wife ? ” You pushed back the hair that crept out of your braid before you looked at him, propped on his elbows rested back, you shifted aside, letting your body fall next to him on the hard cold floor.

“ Yeah...you ? ”

Instead of answering you, Benji snorted first and then an absolute wave enveloped him, he was crackling with laughter, chest shaking as he glanced at you, turning away to clutch at his chest.

“ What's so funny ? ” You raised your brow, he shaked his head, taking the gods name in vain.

“ Oh Darling...” He flipped to your side, face to face as his eyes crinkled, watering at the sides, face flushed with rosiness and devil taking over his mouth. Soft and warm and pink.

“ You,” He whispered to you, taking your chin between your fingers and raising it towards him, “ are all the more breathtaking when you're jealous.” and here it was, the word, the feeling that roared like a monster on loose to destroy anyone who as so looked at Benji, a very feral twisting of heart.

“ No.” You lied, He shaked his head, leaning in, breath sweet and warm, you knew what that mouth was capable of, to kiss him was confetti bursting in your mind.

“ Liar.” He declared, gazing into your eyes and an ineffable pull broke lose, your lashes fluttered and the next moment he was kissing you and you were kissing him back.

The feral beast inside you said, devour him, make him yours, let him forget all the ones that came and gone, let it be you, only you.

You never knew how something could be more precious than air, a stiffled whine escaped your throat as he pulled away, catching a breath, grin dancing around his mouth, teasing you to catch — you weren't the one to turn down mockery, grabbing the side of his face and pulling him to you.

“ Oh my love...” He hummed inside your mouth, battling you for domination, tongue swiping across your lower lip.

He slided his hand in under your thigh, pulling you to his lap, he was dazed and drunk but in that moment, nothing could be sober more, when he picked you up from the floor without breaking a sweat and only sticking his tongue out when you watched him wide eyed.

“ I hate you.” You said, the feeling that clenched inside you was same as that unsettling tug in your navel when you spent your nights dreaming about him, when you touched his bloodied face, when you tasted his blood on your finger tips, it left it's mark, your thighs weak at the sensation that pulled inside your spine.

“ I can drop you.” He swayed your body in his arms, taking the stairs one at a time.

“ You won't.”

He smiled, “ No, I won't.”

Your face grew warm when two servants giggled softly, opening the door of his chambers or now—yours too.

It felt natural to be in his arms and to kiss him, like you had known him and this intimacy from ages ago and it baffled you how you had lived so far without starving to death without him.

“ Are you comfortable or is it just because we are married ? ” He asked, face illuminated by the moonish glow.

“ I..does it matter ? ”

“ Yes darling, it does...I want you to be happy, to be safe with me...I want you to know that we want this together.”

“ I want this.” You told him, not blinking as Benji's smile reached his eyes.

“ I love you.” He kissed your nose tip, pulling back expectantly but you only stared back, your heart heavy in your ribs.

You do, you know it, or well you will, it's going to happen and no matter what, it won't change, but deep inside, you didn't know how to form it in words, to say it and not feel sorry, to say it and erase back the years you gaslighted yourself into hating him.

“ I...” You breathed, and he understood, knew you like he was half your soul, his smile was small but he showed no sadness.

“ You don't have to say it back darling.”

And how could you not say it, the way you knew how much your heart would bleed from his love, flowing down your chambers to dripping through your veins, how much you love him, he was summer to your bleaking heart.

“ If I don't say it back, would you still love me ? ”

“ Darling.” He sat down gently in front of you, stroking your cheek as his gaze dropped to your lips, pulling it back to worship your eyes.

“ If you don't say it back then I will say it again, then we'll be even.” and the smile that tugged on both of your faces was worth every great war.

“ You are my first.” you told him shyly, hoping he understood or you were about to die out of shame.

But Benji just about died, his eyes flickered and raked you in, he had bowed, biting his lower lip while nodding.

“ Okay..okay..right.” He smiled, “ Fuck, I will be gentle baby.” His mouth twitched in a grin.

“ you must've had lot's of experiences.” you laughed, it came little bitter but Benji shaked his head, taking your hands and guiding them to his face, he looked cute, face cupped by your hands, your wedding band shinning.

“ I've slept with women but I never made love to them, it's my first time too.”

“oh.”

You lowered your gaze, Benji's touch was like fire, a wild feral flame erupting around you and you craved him, craved to get burnt by him, He softly raised your chin, and his eyes raised in a question.

“ I am not tired...if you're not.” You added quickly, feeling your nerves snap, were you too desperate, would it be bad if you were ?

Because this was your first time and so was his, making love, yes, to make love with your bloody feral husband, to touch him, to feel him, to have him, to keep him.

The way Benji's brow knitted together had you gasping for breath, you would take his refusal if it were that but you waited for so long, that the possibility of tommorow doesn't amuse you, to wait seemed torment.

“ Is that dress too heavy Darling wife ? ” and damn, you could die like that.

~~~

Those treacherous fingers weaved through the back of your dress, knots opening and with each moment he was closer.

You watched his reflection, he would occasionally glance, his blush breezing on his face as he wouldduck down to place a sloppy kiss wherever he liked, but when he looked up with that blazing look in his eyes, you knew it was done, you gave him a tilt of your head, face mere inches apart.

“ I want you....”

And so it goes, his heavy lidded eyes drank you in, his fingers moving your dress down until it fell down in a puddle of pastry around your ankles.

Benji grabbed your waist, he was going senseless in his brain, he couldn't think anything, his brain was short circuiting at all the things he would do to you.

Your back pressed against the soft silks as he climbed over you, his guard discarded somewhere, his chest bare and gleaming.

You breathed but Benji was breathless, mouth agape at your beauty, slowly his hands roamed around your shoulder, kissing every inch and praying to old gods and new because he didn't deserve you, you were all pretty things, bright and shine and him ?

Blood, chaos and thunder.

“ Oh my...oh darling—” His hands trembled, the need to mark you down like a blood stain and the urge to protect you like a dog.

To carve your pretty body and to bruise you blue and claim you all, it was confusing. And romantic. And very much turning him on.

“ Fuck ! ” He growled, your nipples were hard under his thumb and the pleading look you had in your eyes, he wanted to tease you, to make you beg on your knees and get it what you wanted but he was just a man, wild or lunatic, just a man who loved his wife so much, how could he refuse you anything even if it were the moon, he would steal a dragon and fly so high to give you what you wanted, to make true every wish, every dream you had, to fulfil you completely.

All breath was knocked out of you when Benji lowered his mouth, licking the skin of your breast and looking up for approval.

You whimpered at the sensation that practically had you shivering, your knees weakened as his tongue teased your hardened bud, wet and drooling mouth, placing hot kisses.

“ Please, please...Ben—” you tugged at his hair, he was sucking at plump flesh, his other hand rubbing your thigh, heating your whole body up.

“ What ? ” He said, strangled and needy despite trying to be the one to be incharge.

“ Ben... Please—” you heaved, pulling him to you but he pulled away, looking into you eyes and you saw how bloody bastard he could be sometimes when he wanted to be.

“ Darling...” You pouted, and he was just a man, gone before the words even made it out, his fingers teasing your entrance before he placed a kiss on your heart and took your tits in his mouth, humming like a starved man.

Heaven was an utopia concept that Septa talked about, but really, Septa never had made love because this is what it truly felt like, in his arms, in his bed.

Your moans filled the night as his teeth digged in your flesh, Benji was trying his best, the way he tried to stop kneading your breast too fast but ended up fisting it roughly between his palm, softening the pain with the sweet nothings he whispered.

“ How pretty...how soft..mmmm.” He nuzzled closer, you liked him that way, his hands rough, his words soft.

Your hands inevitably reached down between your legs and you just about felt the slickyness before he grabbed your wrist, pulling it back with a devilish grin.

“ Darling, no.” He kissed your finger tips and smiled, poking his tongue out to lick away the white thick juice that calloused your tip.

Whatever he did was enough to untie the knot in your stomach, your pit lurched like sea waves and wanted to crash the shore so badly that you would die begging him.

“Oh darling, how feral you are ? ” He teased, pinning your wrists above your head, his whole body pressing you down, placing a hard kiss on your mouth, squeezing your lips and sucking them dry.

All the while his knee socket digged between your thighs and like you were born to do it, you started moving along as the pressure built up, sparks flying.

“ c'mon, c'mon...do you want a kiss ? ” His jaw slackened as you grew your pace, hips buckling at the intensity and he was kind of very impressed, enough to smile down at your blue and purple bruising bod, releasing your torment.

His fingers only waited a moment before he was knuckles deep, your breath hitched and moans ribbed apart your throat.

“ Benji, oh lord..ah..mm” you hoped he heard the ‘ I love you's ’ you were chanting for him.

“ You're so wet for me...so wet baby.” His mouth dropped to kiss a mole on your tummy, all the while penetrate his finger deeper and then one became two, immediately having your back arch, hips buckling as two turned to three, digging inside you, huffing when he angled them in a way that had you closing your eyes and lose yourself to him.

“So tight for me darling.” You opened your eyes to find his lips on your ear shell, whispering it down to you and his fist inside you, just basking in your warm tight cunt.

“ Benji... darling...” Your face crumbled as tears rolled down, and a greater woman wouldn't beg but you would do anything to have him take you, anything.

You looked just in time as Benji climbed on top of you, his arm on top your head that propped him up so he didn't crush you down.

His fingers glided back from your folds before something thicker than his finger touched your clit.

“Oh.... dear lord.” your chest raised at the heavy intake of air, but He was massive and hard for you, his shaft angry at the unattention.

“Just the tip darling.” He pecked your swollen lips, a droplet of blood sat atop, curtsy by him that he gladly tasted, “sweet.”

You remembered thinking Benji wasn't a liar but in that fucking moment, he was the biggest liar to ever lie, his length pushing down and getting lost in your folds.

You glanced between you and him and shuddered at the thought of being split open by his cock, half his length shining and struggling to wrap inside you.

“ Fuck—” He cursed, “ Your tight pussy I-isn't letting em' in.”

Your thighs ached as he pried them apart for more access, his face red and breaking sweat. He managed to go ball-deep inside you, proud tugging at the corners of his mouth.

“ Benji...” You whimpered, face blotchy with tears that spilled while he kept telling you, it was just the tip and if anything, saying darling wife after every word.

The feeling of freefall, that comes after flying high and higher and not bothering friction and gravitation that pulls, it was just like that, when Ben looked into your eyes before his first thrust inside you, you were flying in the sky with him.

One thrust — and you were falling, your body wasn't your own and it was shearing, it was gleaful, it was infinite.

Your insides clenched as he pushed more, then more and each time his nerves popped harder on his neck, his eyes clenched closer to heaven but he would open them again, using his free hand that wasn't opening your legs to wipe away the tears that streamed down your face, relishing in your soft moaning that screamed his name.

Four thrust down and his restraints broke the chains, he was no longer in control, pounding inside you and all he could do was keep telling you how good you were.

He was bloody, the way he grabbed your arse cheeks to slam his entire length in, spiralling your whole world, bruising you blue.

“ Darling, so good...so good for me.” just when he pulled out only to thrust back in your swollen cunt again, balls deep in your sweet cunt and liar said just the tip.

“ Just like that...mmm..yeah.” just when you thought you were about to split open, with stars in your eyes.

“ Baby love...I love you...I love you.” and his feral took a peak when he leaned to pin your shoulders down, you were fighting for realease but he kept telling you not yet, not now.

“ Benny please...” You cried, but you can take that, you were being so good, such a nice doll to him.

“ I love you...oh my darling, love you so much...let me fill you with my babes..” He moaned out. “ Darling—” he croaked, thrusting harder inside you, the bed shook with his pounding, his face another blissful sight but even through the daze, he wouldn't stop gawking at you, watching you moan on his cock, all your sweet nothings just for him.

“ please... darling, let me see you carry our baby...”

And you had no say before your insides were filled with his juices, warmness spreading inside and out and everything melted in a slow daze and perhaps that's chaos.

The way you came on his cock, silvery misty substance mixing with his own and he dropped his face next to you, sniffing your sweet sweaty hair and placing a soft kiss.

“ That was...” He trailed, shifting his weight next to you and you felt breath rushing in your chest, “....so good baby.”

“ hmmm...” You closed your eyes letting the moment sink, when his arm came and wrapped around your waist then spooning your whole body.

“ My sweet love.” He said, out of nowhere and time passed, your naked bodies tangled in each other, drifting in a peaceful sleep.

~~~

It was one of those dreams, his face dripping with blood, yours or his, you didn't know but the urge to touch him was forevermore.

But then the reality struck you and with more convincing you opened your eyes to moonlight lighting his whole face.

His nose was nuzzled in the crook of your neck and his innocence brighter in the sky full of stars.

His sweet warm mouth drooling over your chest, a bead of his drool cooling your skin.

And the urge was sudden, like lightening when you smiled at your beloved husband.

“ Benji...” you whispered and he didn't move, sleeping and snoring softly.

“ Ben....” you tried again, ofcourse there was tommorow awaiting, but your heart said speak now.

“ huh.” He sleepily hummed, smearing his cheek on your warm body, smiling dopily like it was a very sweet dream.

You smiled, forever remembering the memory when you reached for his hand, entwinng your fingers together.

“ I love you.” You said, “ I love you so much darling.”

And just like that, you survived the great war.

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[satorulovebot]

so scarlet it was, maroon | chapter two

✧₊⁺ pairing — satoru gojou x journalist!reader

✧₊⁺ chapter summary — satoru comes home to his angry wife and he said some questionable stuff the night before. satoru meets suguru at a bar in shinjuku and they discuss what they should do with their nosy little journalist and they manage to come up with a plan on how they should deal with her, and it doesn't include the most moral of ways.

✧₊⁺ word count — 4.6k

✧₊⁺ warnings — nsfw (minors dni), alcohol use, drug mentions, manipulation, mentions of sex (not with reader)

✧₊⁺ notes — well hello to all my new readers this was very unexpected for me. i started this blog with max 4 readers interacting with my work (i love you btw) and now i have 1k interactions on my ssiwm masterlist which is crazy and anxiety inducing (i’m a wuss if you couldn’t tell). but thank you to my cursed seas babies who voted for the f1 gojo series and i thank them because they brought me here and i wouldn’t have kept writing without them and thank you for the lovely comments on the first chapter also short chapter because life longer chapter soon i promise :)

♪ on the floor — jennifer lopez ft. pitbull

series masterlist // pinterest moodboard // general masterlist

previous chap. tokyo, japan | next chap. (coming coon)

The world around Satoru was hazy when he opened his eyes, barely able to make out the details of the ceiling above him. His head throbbed and pulsed in time with his heartbeat. He let out a groan before rolling over on the couch in a desperate attempt to block out the morning sunlight.

Where was he? Oh, right. His apartment. The couch. Again.

He remembered stumbling into the house at some obscure hour of the night, unaware of how he swayed as he tried to navigate the hallway of his home. Memories of the previous night came rushing back and all of a sudden, a conversation came to him—a memory of the curious face that sat across from him in the dimly lit bar, asking him questions he would usually brush off with a smirk. What was it he had said about her last night? Something about a cute, nosy journalist being at the bar. He could only hope he didn't say that out loud.

“Oh, look who finally decided to wake up." Hana stood above him, her arms crossed, glaring down at him, “How nice of you to finally come home.”

Gojou grunted, pushing himself up, though he instantly regretted it as a wave of nausea hit him. “Morning to you too,” he mumbled, rubbing a hand over his face. “Can you keep it down? It feels like I’ve been hit by a damn truck.”

“Maybe that’s because you came home drunk out of your mind, yet again,” Hana snapped. “And stumbling around the house at two in the morning, shouting nonsense about some ‘nosy journalist’? Really, Satoru?”

He blinked slowly, trying to make sense of her words. Oh right, maybe he had gone on a bit too much about that girl at the bar last night, hadn’t he? What was her name? No, she never gave it to him, had she? Or had he just forgotten?

“I wasn’t shouting. And… she was just doing her job, asking questions. It wasn’t anything"

“Just doing her job? Is that what you call it now? Going to bars and flirting with journalists instead of coming home to your wife?”

He groaned, slumping back against the couch. “Hana, I wasn’t flirting with her,” he muttered, pinching the bridge of his nose. “She’s just a journalist. You know how it is.”

“Oh, I know how it is. I know exactly how it is. You spend every other night at some bar, ‘meeting’ people, and coming home like this.” She gestured at him, sprawled out on the couch, his shirt rumpled and hair a mess, the smell of last night’s whiskey still clinging to him. “And I’m supposed to just sit here and take it? Pretend this is normal?”

“Can we not do this right now?” he muttered. “It’s too early for a lecture.”

“A lecture? If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you actually enjoy making a mess of everything. And let me guess, you were just at the bar for a ‘break’ from everything, right?”

“Yes, actually,” he shot back, finally sitting up. "I needed a break, Hana. Do you know what it’s like? Everyone expects me to be this… perfect person, and I'm not. And then I come home, and it’s more of the same.”

“So you’re the victim here? I’m sorry, but did I ask for this life of constant rumors and watching my husband stumble in drunk, muttering about some cute journalist?”

Did he really say that last night? He couldn’t remember, but if Hana said so… maybe he did.

“That’s not—Hana, it wasn’t like that. She was just… She’s just doing research on me for some project. You’re blowing this out of proportion.”

“Oh, of course. Just research. Because there’s nothing strange about you going off with some girl who’s practically a stranger and giving her everything she wants to know about your life while leaving me in the dark.”

He looked at her, genuinely surprised by her comment. “Hana,” he started slowly, “I don’t ‘leave you in the dark.’”

“Really? Then tell me, what about all the rumors, Satoru? The ones I have to read about in the papers? The ones I have to brush off every time someone asks if our marriage is ‘really okay.’ Do you have any idea what it’s like having to deal with that?”

Do you think I like having my life dissected by the media, or dealing with every fucking rumor about me? I didn’t ask for this.”

“No,” she shot back, “but you made it worse. Do you ever think about how your actions make me look? Every time you’re out drinking, showing up in those trashy tabloids with someone else, it’s me they look at, like I’m the one who can’t control her husband.”

“So what do you want from me, Hana? An apology? Fine. I’m sorry. I’m sorry I went out. I’m sorry I had a drink. I’m sorry I talked to some journalists. But I can’t pretend to be something I’m not.”

“You can’t pretend? Satoru, you’ve been pretending for years. You’re not fooling anyone but yourself.”

He stared at her, a sinking feeling settling in his chest. “Hana…”

“I can’t keep doing this, Satoru,” she said softly, her voice breaking just a little. “I can’t keep watching you spiral like this, hurting yourself, hurting me. I didn’t marry you so you could destroy yourself.”

Hana let out a shaky breath, running a hand through her hair. “You’re not the only one with limits, Satoru. And I think I’m reaching mine.”

Without another word, Hana turned and walked away, her footsteps echoing down the hallway.

“Great job, Satoru,” he muttered to himself, dragging a hand through his hair.

He let his gaze fall around the room, landing on a few framed pictures scattered on the shelves. One photo caught his eye—a photo of his and Hana's engagement party. The two of them had looked so happy, so in love, but that was before he let the fame and pressure eat away at him and his marriage.

“God,” he muttered under his breath. He needed to get out before the walls began to close in on him. The last thing he wanted was to sit around in the empty house alone with his thoughts. Grabbing his jacket from the arm of the couch, he stood up, ignoring the fresh wave of nausea hitting him. With a quick glance down the hallway where Hana had disappeared, he slipped out the front door.

Satoru found Suguru in their usual spot—seated in the corner of a booth in a low-lit bar tucked away in Shinjuku. He was nursing a whiskey and a cigarette between two fingers, rolling the glass, and watching the ice melt. Satoru slid in across from him and ordered himself a whiskey.

“You look like hell,” Suguru said, his mouth twitching into a faint smile as he raised an eyebrow. “Long night?”

Satoru snorted. “You could say that.”

“Ah, the usual, then,” he replied, not even looking up. “Guessing it ended with a headache and Hana kicking you out onto the couch?”

Satoru grimaced, taking the glass of whiskey the server put down in front of him. “Something like that.” He took a long sip, letting the burn trail down his throat. “Or maybe I just wanted a break from the domestic life.”

“Right. Is that why you look like you’ve gone ten rounds with a wall and lost? What happened?”

“Same shit as always,” Satoru muttered, running a hand through his hair. “She’s pissed I was out last night. Probably more pissed that I came home talking about some journalist.”

“A journalist, huh? She’s probably wondering if she should be jealous.”

“Yeah, well, I didn’t exactly help by calling her ‘cute’ and ‘nosy’ in the same sentence. Not my best moment.”

“You’re an idiot, you know that?”

"Tell me something I don't know." Satoru leaned back, looking up at the ceiling. "This girl… she's doing this project or something on me and TJR. She was in the press booth at the race yesterday and happened to be at the same bar as me after. Seemed a little too interested in getting into my head."

"Maybe she just wants a good story for her project. Or," He leaned forward, crossing his arms on the table, "maybe she's looking for more than that. Journalists are like that, especially extra nosy ones. They'll dig until there's nothing left, then still find a way to bring things up."

"She wouldn't be the first," Satoru scoffed.

“What exactly did she ask you about? Anything too close for comfort?”

Satoru swirled the whiskey in his glass, thinking. "To be honest, Suguru, I can't even remember half of what she said because I was too busy staring at her tits."

"Fucking Christ, Satoru. The hell?"

"What? She's got nice tits," he shrugged. "But in all seriousness, I think she was just asking the basics at first… and I might have opened my mouth a little too much."

"Sounds like she's already done her homework. If she's that determined, she's not going to stop at surface-level questions. Do you think she knows about all of it?"

Satoru knew what he was referring to.

“I don’t know, maybe. But if she is, she’s damn good at hiding it.”

“Then maybe you should start doing the same,” Suguru said quietly. Keep her close. See what she knows.”

“You’re saying I should let her in? What the hell do you think she’s going to do if she gets any closer?”

"You don’t have to let her in. Just make her think you are. Play the game, Satoru. You can be charming when you want to be. Distract her, keep her off your trail. If she’s nosy, then give her a story that’ll satisfy her and keep her from digging deeper. You’ve got the upper hand here; use it.”

Satoru thought over Suguru's suggestion, the gears in his mind turning. It wasn’t a terrible idea. It was probably his best option. If he was going to stay ahead, he’d have to play it better than her.

“Alright,” Satoru said, setting his glass down. “I’ll get close. Make her think I’m letting her in, give her just enough to chew on. And if she does know more than she’s letting on, maybe I can find a way to turn it against her.”

“Now you’re thinking like a true strategist. Just remember, don’t let her get under your skin. Journalist's loyalty is to their story, not to their subject."

Suguru's smirk widened, raising his glass in a mock toast. Satoru clinked his glass against his before downing the rest of the whiskey.

You had decided to get a closer look at the in's and out's of how Tokyo Jujutsu Racing worked. And for that, you needed to go to TJR's headquarters. You somehow managed to get your professor to get you inside the place, although it wasn't easy and he said your payment was a good project. The place was sleek and modern, with open spaces and luxury design elements. It was a playground for the rich as much as it was a workplace.

Earlier, you had been asking the staff about Gojou Satoru's training and habits, hoping to get some good information from them. They were surprisingly open to answering your questions, and you got some more information for your project, which was overall great.

Your media pass, which had thankfully been upgraded, hung around your neck as you waited for your tour guide to take you around the place. You decided to roam around for a bit while you waited and that led you down a hallway with team posters and trophies lining the walls.

You were so lost in your observations that you didn’t even realize someone had come up behind you. “Enjoying the view?”

Startled, you turned to find none other than Gojou Satoru leaning casually against the wall. He was dressed in his team's uniform, the red and black accentuating his tall figure, with dark shades covering his eyes.

He was probably high.

“Didn’t think of you as the observant type."

You composed yourself before speaking, “I'm a journalist. I like to know what I’m getting myself into.”

“And you think you’ll figure that out by staring at the walls?”

“Could be. I think they tell you a lot.” You shrugged. "Like how serious the team is about their image. Or how much they care about their past wins and not their current ones. That kind of thing."

“Oh? And what do you make of me, then?”

“Still deciding. I'd like to think you're more than a drunken idiot."

"I see you still remember that, unfortunately."

“That’s what a good journalist does. They remember."

He pushed himself off the wall, straightening up to his full height. “Well, since you’re here to observe, why don’t I give you something more to write about?”

Before you could respond, he turned on his heel and motioned for you to follow him. You hurried to keep up, glancing around as he led you through the winding corridors. Eventually, you entered a room with a massive window overlooking the racetrack.

Gojou leaned against the railing, gesturing to the track below. "So, this is where the magic happens. The place where we come to win."

You nodded, taking in the view. “It’s impressive, I’ll give you that. But it takes more than just a fast car to win, doesn’t it?”

"Oh, absolutely. It takes balls of steel, the reflexes of a god, and just the right amount of craziness. All of those, fortunately, I happen to possess.”

“Modesty isn’t your strong suit, is it?”

“Not when you’re the best."

"Right. The best has an attitude I see."

A silence hung in the hair for a few moments as you studied him.

“So, are you planning to spend the rest of your time here psychoanalyzing me?”

“Depends. Are you planning to keep giving me things to analyze?”

“Touche. Guess we’ll see, won’t we?”

At that moment, a team member entered the room, interrupting the moment. "Gojou, they’re ready for you on the track."

Stay here,” he said. “You’ll want a good view of this.”

With that, he turned and walked out, leaving you alone in the observation room. You watched as he made his way down to the track, confident as ever with not a care in the world either.

Cocky Bastard.

You stood in the observation deck for a little before you saw Gojou

You stayed in the observation room, your eyes fixed on the scene below. You saw Gojou greet a few team members, exchange words with his pit crew, and slip into the driver’s seat of his car. 

Gojou maneuvered effortlessly, weaving through turns and accelerating with insane amounts of speed. You couldn’t deny, he was talented and he had clearly worked his ass off to get here as his talent isn’t something that can be taught.

After about forty-five minutes of observing Gojou racing, he brought the car to a halt and hopped out of the driver's seat. You watched him walk into the garage and disappear out of sight, presumably going to speak to his crew.

You couldn’t deny it—there was something magnetic about him.

Your pen scratched against your notepad as you scribbled down every single detail possible.

“Enjoy the show?” he asked, his tall frame standing in the doorway.

“Eh,” you shrugged.

“The hell is that supposed to mean?”

“It means it was okay you ass. It gave me something for my project but nothing really noteworthy.”

“You’re lucky you know that? Not many people get to see me in action.”

You raised an eyebrow, “Okay? I’m not like many people if you couldn’t tell.”

“Clearly,” he scoffed.

“Do you know you’ve racked up more racked up more fines and close calls than any other driver in the league this season?”

“Look, sweetheart,” he said, voice low, “everyone out there knows I can handle the shit I do out there. Besides…” He trailed off. “People love a driver who’s a bit dangerous. Keeps things exciting.”

You met his eyes, holding his gaze without blinking. “You think the world loves you, huh? Interesting. Because from what I’ve read, people seem split between calling you a genius and calling you a liability.”

“Hm. Is that so? Do you believe that?” he replied.

“Yes, and you would know that if you let me interview you properly.”

“Okay how about this,” he glances down at his watch. “We can meet up in the parking garage here in about an hour and you can ask me anything you want for thirty minutes.”

Wait What?

“Uh… Okay, I think I can make it,” you mumbled.

“Great! See you in an hour sweets.”

The roar of an engine echoed through the underground parking lot, the sharp screeching of tires signaling the arrival of the Gojou. You leaned against the concrete pillar, your arms crossed and your foot tapping impatiently. He was late.

You’d waited over an hour, hoping he’d attend the interview he promised you.

When his sleek black Porsche 911 came into view with his window rolled down, you got even more pissed off than you already were

“Glad you could make it,” you called out, voice tinged with sarcasm.

He stretched, not even acknowledging your tone. “What can I say? Traffic was a nightmare.”

“Sure,” you replied dryly, your patience wearing thin. “We were supposed to meet an hour ago. Some of us value punctuality.”

He pulled off his sunglasses, revealing those piercing blue eyes that could disarm almost anyone. “Relax, sweetheart. I’m here now, aren’t I?”

You opened your mouth to retort, but before you could get another word out, he walked right past you, pulling his phone from his pocket. “Give me a sec,” he waved his hand over his shoulder. “Gotta take care of something.”

“Wait—” you started, but he was already striding off, leaving you standing there, seething.

The seconds ticked by, turning into minutes. Your annoyance morphed into frustration. After waiting a bit longer, you decided enough was enough. If he thought he could blow you off, he was in for a rude awakening.

Determined, you followed the direction he’d gone. The echo of your footsteps bounced off the concrete walls as you weaved through the garage and into the back corridors of the venue.

“Mr. Gojou!” you called out. “This isn’t funny. Where the hell are you?”

You rounded a corner and stopped in your tracks. The faint sound of laughter—his unmistakable laugh—came from behind a partially open supply closet door a few feet ahead. You narrowed your eyes, creeping closer.

At first, you thought maybe he was on the phone. But as you drew nearer, it became painfully clear that this wasn’t a casual conversation.

“Mmm, you’re so bad,” a woman’s voice purred, followed by the unmistakable rustle of fabric.

Your stomach sank. No. He wouldn’t. Not right Now.

Would he?

Against your better judgment, you stepped closer, your movements quieter now. Peeking through the crack in the door, you instantly regretted it.

There he was, pressed against the back wall of the closet, shirt unbuttoned, and his hair disheveled. His hands were tangled in the hair of a woman whose face you couldn’t see, her body pinned against his as they made out with a fervor that bordered on obscene.

Was this seriously how he’d chosen to spend the time he owed you for your interview? The audacity was almost impressive.

You cleared your throat loudly, and the sound echoed like a gunshot in the confined space.

The woman gasped, pulling away from him in shock. Gojou, however, turned his head lazily toward you, his expression unreadable. For a split second, there was something in his eyes—a flicker of annoyance, maybe even embarrassment—but it was quickly replaced by his usual, smirk.

“Well, if it isn’t my favorite journalist.”

You folded your arms tightly across your chest, glaring at him. “Seriously?”

The woman, clearly flustered, muttered something about leaving and quickly ducked out of the room, her heels clicking against the floor as she disappeared down the hallway.

He sighed, buttoning up his shirt. “What?” he said. “You’ve never seen two consenting adults have a little fun before?”

“Fun?” you snapped. “We had an interview. You made me wait for over an hour before you showed up and then you go and do this?”

He shrugged, unbothered. “You’re the one who followed me. Maybe I would’ve shown up if you’d just stayed put. Plus, I had actually agreed to meet her here before I promised you the interview.”

“You make no fucking sense, do you know that?”

He grinned, running a hand through his hair, which only made it look messier. “I get that a lot.”

“Do you even care how this looks? You’re already under a microscope with all your scandals, and now this?”

“Why do you care so much? You writing a piece on my love life now, too?”

“No, but the media sure as hell is. What does your wife think of this? Of your reputation?”

“Reputation’s overrated,” he said, brushing past you as he headed for the door. “People are gonna think what they want, no matter what I do.”

You turned to watch him leave, your fists clenching at your sides. “Maybe if you gave them less to work with, they’d think better of you,” you called after him.

He paused in the doorway, glancing back over his shoulder. “You don’t get it, do you?” he said, his voice low and tired. “This is who I am. Take it or leave it.”

And with that, he was gone, leaving you alone in the empty hallway, your heart pounding and your mind racing.

The sound of footsteps reverberated through the corridor as you leaned against the cold, concrete wall, still processing what had just happened. You were about to leave and write off this night as yet another chapter in the disaster that was Gojou Satoru.

But then, you heard his footsteps return.

“You still here?” he called out, voice echoing through the silence.

You didn’t move. “Should I be?”

He walked towards you, his gait relaxed, almost predatory. “Depends.” He stopped a few feet away, eyes fixed on yours. “You want a story for your project or what?”

You frowned, arms still crossed. “I’ve already seen more than enough tonight.”

 “Come by my garage tomorrow. I’ve got something to show you. Something you can use.”

“What’s the catch?”

“No catch.” 

“Fine. Tomorrow. But this better not be another waste of my time.”

“You won’t regret it.”

The smell of motor oil and metal hung in the air the moment you stepped inside the dimly lit garage. The concrete floor was stained with years of grease with tool scattered across the workbench. The garage was big, to say the least, there were rows of high-performance cars lining the walls, their glossy bodies gleaming under the garage's fluorescent lights. It was a bit of a mess inside the garage, as there were different car parts strewn across the garage.

Gojou stood beside it, sleeves rolled up, grease smudged on his forearms. The sight was so out of place.

“Didn’t think you’d actually show up,” he drawled, tossing a wrench onto a nearby workbench with a clatter.

“Neither did I,” you shot back, arms crossed. “So, what’s the big secret? Planning on showing me how you avoid drug tests?”

“Always so sharp. No, this...” He gestured to the car. “This is one of my hobbies.”

You walked closer, eyeing the vintage vehicle with skepticism. “You? Fixing cars? Sounds like a PR stunt.”

He wiped his hands on a rag, smirking. “You think everything I do is a stunt?”

“You haven’t given me a reason to think otherwise.”

“Careful, sweetheart. I might start thinking you’re obsessed with me.”

You rolled your eyes. “Get over yourself. I’m here for my project, not for you.”

He leaned casually against the car, arms crossed over his chest. “Sure. Whatever helps you sleep at night.

“So, what’s the deal with this thing?”

“It was my dad’s. He used to take me to the track in this.”

“And you think this will make a good addition to my project? What, ‘Gojou Satoru: The Man Behind the Wheel’?”

People love a good redemption arc. Makes me more... relatable.”

You snorted. “You? Relatable? That’s a stretch.”

He pushed off the car, stepping closer again, his eyes never leaving yours. “Maybe you just haven’t gotten to know me well enough.”

 “Or maybe I’ve seen enough to know exactly who you are.”

His smile faltered, just for a second. “You think you’ve got me all figured out, huh?”

“I think you’re a mess hiding behind a pretty face and a fast car.”

“You might be the first person who’s ever said that to my face.”

“Good. Someone needed to.”

…

“You know, I could help you relax a bit. Take the edge off.”

You rolled your eyes so hard it almost hurt. “Seriously? That’s your move? Pathetic.”

He grinned, unbothered by the insult. “Can’t blame me for trying.”

“Actually, I can. And I will.” You turned away, refusing to give him the satisfaction of a reaction.

“Cold as ever,” he muttered, almost to himself. “I like it.”

“Good for you.” You grabbed your bag, ready to leave. “Thanks for the... insight. I’ll be sure to include ‘Gojou Satoru: Amateur Mechanic’ in my report.”

“You really don’t give a shit, do you?”

You paused at the door, glancing back over your shoulder. “Not about you.”

You barely made it five steps outside the garage before his voice called after you. "Running away already? Thought you were supposed to be fearless."

You stopped, the night air cool against your skin. Turning slowly, you saw him leaning against the garage doorframe.

“I’m not running, Gojou. I’m just done wasting my time.”

"You say that, but here you are. You could've written this off as another scandal of mine or another fall from grace. But you’re still digging. Makes me wonder why."

“Because you’re a story people want. A cautionary tale. People love watching someone like you crash and burn.”

“And here I thought you saw me as more than just some headline.”

“You’re not that special.”

“You keep telling yourself that, sweetheart.”

“What’s your deal, Gojou? Really,” you asked, voice softer now. “Is this all a game to you?”

“Everyone’s playing a game. I just play it better.”

“And what happens when you lose?”

He stepped closer, so close you could feel the heat radiating off him. “I don’t lose.”

“Everyone loses eventually. Even you.”

“Well then,” he said. “We will see.”

He turned, walking back toward the garage, hands stuffed in his pockets. “You coming or not?”

You frowned. “What?”

He glanced over his shoulder. “I’ve got something else to show you. Unless you’re too scared.”

You hesitated, every instinct telling you to walk away. But damn it, you couldn’t. There was something here, something you needed to understand and against your better judgment, you followed him back inside.

Gojou walked over to the workbench, picking up a small, silver object. He held it out to you.

“What’s this?” you asked, eyeing it warily.

He shrugged. “Figure it out. You’re the journalist.”

“Why are you giving this to me?”

“Maybe I’ll let you know the truth. Or maybe I just like fucking with you.” He grinned, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “Guess you’ll have to find out.”

Before you could respond, he walked away, disappearing deeper into the garage. You stood there, the key clutched in your hand. This wasn’t over—not by a long shot. Gojou Satoru was a puzzle, a mess of contradictions and lies. And you were going to unravel him, piece by piece.

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[animehideout]

LOVE IS THE MOST TWISTED CURSE OF THEM ALL

Part 9

Gojo Satoru x Fem! Reader

Part 10 here ✨🆕

Check out part 8 here if you missed it.

A/n: I'm back with another long chapter, grab a snack and a warm blanket and your headphones 🎧 . This story is ticking closer to its ending, i hope you enjoy this part as well 💖.

Your feedback is highly appreciated ✨🫶🏻.

Music suggestion ♪:

Dove Cameron - Boyfriend & The Weeknd - House Of Balloons.

W.c: 5.2k+ not proofread

Fuming with anger, his chest tightening. You and Nanami hadn’t notice him but he couldn’t take it anymore, he couldn’t bear to linger in your and Nanami’s presence a moment longer or he might not be able to control his shit. Hurriedly, he made his way through the dimly lit hallway to the bathroom, his steps heavy with frustration.

Once inside the bathroom, Gojo leaned over the sink, aggressively splashing cold water on his face attempting to repress the rising tide of his emotions. As the water flown on his face and chest, closing his eyes for the cold sensation to take him, your smile whenever you talked to your students, your laugh whenever Yuuji cracked a joke, the sparkle in your eyes whenever you explained new techniques and moves to your class, the hair strands falling on your face while you slept peacefully. But alongside those beautiful memories lingered the image of you and Nanami a few moments ago, your face inches away from each other as if you were gonna kiss, the way Nanami treated you with gentleness, with love and respect as if he’s your husband and not Gojo. A pang of envy ate him up from the inside. Also remembering how you and Nanami were so casually discussing how he had to kill his only bestfriend, it was too much to handle in only one night.

Clenching his fists, with a sudden burst of emotions, he slammed his hand against the wall, inches away from the mirror. The sharp sting of pain momentarily distracted him from his thoughts.

Alone, looking at his reflection in the mirror, struggling to make sense of the conflicting emotions that swirled within him.

“No it can’t be! I’m not jealous! I hate her…”

Longing, jealousy, deep-seated sense of inadequacy and emptiness. Being the strongest comes with a high cost; being lonely.

With a deep breath, after composing himself in the bathroom, Satoru splashed his face once more with water before turning to leave. As he exited, his mind still racing, he bumped into someone,

“Gojo? What a surprise!”

“Mei Mei?”

She stood before him with a sly, her eyes gleaming with mischief as she scanned his face. Trying her best to catch his attention with the lingerie she was wearing, seductively touching her neck.

“Couldn’t sleep Gojo?”

“Nah, just used the bathroom and now going back to my room”

“Why the rush? Fancy the change of scenery? I’m sure you’re sick of seeing Y/n beside you for the whole night?”

“Nah I’m good-” he replied coldly,

 he knew what she’s attempting to do, he’s aware of her feelings towards him but he clearly rejected them a long time ago but she doesn’t seem to get it, especially that it’s his fault to give her a chance to get close to him just to annoy Y/n. And now he regrets it.

But she was persistent, not planning to let go of him. As he walked pass her, she grabbed his arm and spoke,

“Come on Gojo, I thought we’re on the same team! Maybe I can distract you from what’s on your mind right now.. or Y/n is allowed to have fun with Nanami and you’re not ? let’s talk privately in my room, maybe I can help? We’re friends after all, aren’t we?” she smirked.

The thought of Y/n and Nanami together made his blood boil again, completely blinded by anger.

“Okay then, lead the way” he relented,

He knows that probably Nanami and his wife are not like what they seem, but his narcissism told him that he needs to take revenge. If his wife spends time with another man, he’ll spend time with another woman. Even though he’s the one who started this cycle in the first place. He knows its wrong, he can’t even stand Mei Mei, but for his own pride, he had to do it, even though you wouldn’t even see him with her but at least in front of himself. He wasn’t planning to do anything with Mei Mei, he was just there.

“Come in, so do you wanna drink something?”

“I’m good”

“Why do you keep pushing me away, I’m trying to help you know” she said taking off the part of the lingerie that was covering her shoulders. Now completely exposed, only in her laced silky lingerie as she took a seat on her bed.

Gojo sighed, knowing her intentions and the game she was playing. He was feeling extremely uncomfortable.

“You said you wanted to talk.. Go ahead”

“I see you’re rushing! Don’t tell me you already miss sleeping beside your wife, or let me guess! She’s not even there cuz she’s having a date with Nanami?”

“Mei Mei shut up” he said calmly.

“Why? Did it trigger you? Don’t tell me you caught feelings while she’s completely ignoring you for another man… I guess your plan to offend her didn’t work Gojo but rather made her happy to find Nanami”

“I SAID SHUT THE FUCK UP” he yelled,

“NO I’M NOT GONNA SHUT UP, I’M NOT GONNA GIVE UP AND LET YOU FALL IN LOVE WITH HER”

“Do you hear yourself? What love are you talking about?”

“I know you have feeling s for Y/n Gojo! But as long as I’m in your life, I wouldn’t allow it to happen..” she paused crawling closer to him as he sat on the bed egde “You deserve someone like me Gojo, why can’t you give me a chance? Divorce with her!! Why would you wait for her curse to break, you know she’s useless either way”

“I won’t divorce her. I won’t give you a chance Mei Mei”

“You sure about that? Look at me, I have everything she doesn’t. You can do whatever you want with me, I offer you my body for tonight and for every night Gojo”

“NO! can’t you see that I don’t want you Mei Mei.. I’m not interested in touching you”

“I was the one who helped you Gojo to offend her and make her life a living hell, is this how you thank me by rejecting me?”

“I paid you for it, you’ve got the money what do you want more?”

“YOU! I LOVE YOU GOJO SATORU” she yelled, her hands reaching his private part to touch it but he slapped them away.

Without saying anything he walked towards the door to leave her room. He walked outside, but she followed him,

“Not so fast, you can’t just leave me like that-” she exclaimed desperately.

She grabbed his face and attempted to kiss him but before he could push her away, a voice spoke behind him,

“Satoru?” you said, your eyes widening.

You caught them in a very wrong time, Mei Mei was basically half naked, only in her laced lingerie that exposed her chest and barely covered her thighs and Gojo shirtless while their faces were close to each other and in front of her room. You couldn’t help but think that both of them half naked, did something very intimate; sex.

“Cheater” you mumbled and started walking away,

“Y/n wait” said Nanami, but you were already gone.

Gojo heart sank at your sight, your expressions a mixture of shock and betrayal. He watched helplessly as you turned away, your footsteps echoing in the silence that followed. It’s true he wanted revenge from the very beginning; he’s the one who asked for Mei Mei’s help. If he got caught in this situation at the beginning of your marriage he would be happiest but now? It made him more frustrated. He wanted to immediately run behind you, but he stopped himself. Why would he if both of you hate each other? You were with Nanami as well,  but he knew it wasn’t the same case. Mei Mei told you a lot of false information about her and Gojo being together and hooking up so seeing them both half naked could only mean one thing to you, that he fucked her and cheated on you.

“Fuck” he muttered under his breath.

Mei Mei smirked, seeing you like that made her happy and satisfied. Gojo rounded on her, his eyes narrowing with anger.

“You’re pathetic Mei Mei…. You’re living a false fantasy in your head and I pity you” he spat

“Aren’t you the same with Y/n? Living in your daydream about being with her while she’s out there with your colleague?” she spoke offensively.

His hands clenched into fists, his chest heavy with pent-up emotions. He was completely lost, he couldn’t understand why he felt his way, why it bothered him so much that he got caught. You were going to divorce anyway right? The realization of the consequences of his own actions hit him like a ton of bricks, but he can’t blame Mei Mei, the only one to blame is himself, he knew Mei Mei’s intentions from the beginning but he followed along, driven by his narcissism and ego, and now he’s silently paying for it.

“I don’t love you Mei Mei get that through your head, you took your money, now leave me alone-”

“You’ll regret that Gojo, you’ll regret breaking my heart”

“If there’s something to regret, is regretting involving you in the first place” he said through gritted teeth and then left.

“Don’t follow her Gojo, she clearly doesn’t wanna talk to you and she needs time now” said Nanami as Gojo walked past him.

“This will be my last warning Nanamin, stay away from my wife!” he threatened pointing his index finger at him.

“You dare to call her wife after cheating on her, your arrogance will end you someday Gojo Satoru”

“I. Didn’t. Cheat. On. Her”

“That’s not what it looks like…but you fucked up real bad”

“Mind your business” spat Satoru then left the his room.

….

You hesitated to knock on the door but you did eventually. Ain’t no way you’re spending the night with Gojo, you felt disgusted, and your heart was aching so much. Why would it hurt like this? Why would it affect you so much? You felt your inside organs sinking, as if someone got your heart in their hands and started squeezing it tightly making it bleed. Even though you were with Nanami, but both of you were respectful and didn’t cross the boundaries and most of all, fully dressed. Always eminding yourself that you’re a married woman and even if you don’t respect Gojo you still respect yourself and the others around you.  

“Y/n – sensei? Is everything okay?” said Maki as she opened the door.

Summoning your courage, you mustered the strength to voice your request,

“Could..could I spend the night here?” you asked.

“Of course sensei, come in please!”

Despite her sharp personality, Maki was always sweet and understanding towards you. She respects you a lot and over time both of you developed a good friendship even though she’s you’re student. She as well can’t stand Mei Mei and Satoru, so she knows well your struggle.

“Are you alright?” she asked worriedly,

“Mhm” you nodded

“You know if you wanna talk about it, I’m all ears!”

“You’re so sweet Maki! But I’m fine don’t worry I just don’t wanna spend the night with Satoru, you already know, haha the whole school knows that our marriage is fake so it’s kinda hard for both of us to share the room” you said trying to hide the truth that you actually caught your husband half naked with another woman.

“Is it Mei Mei? I know she always causes problems”

“Nah it has nothing to do with her” you reassured “Go back to sleep Maki, you have a long day tomorrow”

Maki moved a bit, giving you some space to lay there.

“Make yourself comfortable”  she smiled, giving you an extra blanket.

Anytime you closed your eyes, the sight of both of them creeped up in your mind, your eyes getting wet , you didn’t notice until that one single drop of tear fell on the pillow.

“No it can’t be…I hate him so much” you thought to yourself, trying to ease the heaviness you felt in your heart.

Finally, the sun rose. Announcing a new day. While Maki was asleep at night, you had a full conversation with yourself, giving yourself “the talk”. Convincing yourself that once you divorce him, things will get better and maybe you’ll meet the love of your life when you’re finally free from your curse and from him.

You headed to the common room with Maki to have breakfast, being with her while chatting about random things made your start of the day a lot better, you knew you’d find him there but you weren’t sure how to face him or repress that uncontrollable sting you felt. But your approach was to pretend, pretend as if you didn’t care, as if what happened yesterday was just a bad dream. You took a seat next to Nanami and Megumi and started munching on your food. Completely ignoring Gojo’s sad eyes that were looking your way and Mei Mei’s smirk that was directed to you. You actd as if both of them weren’t there. You enjoyed your breakfast, chitchatting with Nanami, he was as equally confused as Gojo. Didn’t you get pissed yesterday, how did you control your emotions in one night, how strong could you be. But Nanami was happy that you were doing alright, a cheater is definitely not worthy of your tears. Gojo tightened his grip around his cup, excusing himself from the table, barely finishing his food.

You spent your day teaching as usual, but having extra fun and laughing extra hard. To others it seemed real but inside it was nothing but a pretend. Laughing to not give a chance to your sorrow to take over you. Laughing and being a social butterfly, joking around with your students just to hide how empty you were feeling from the inside. The void inside of you got more bigger, and it requires more efforts to conceal it. You’ve got this, you’ve been dealing with emptiness and disappointment since a very young age, but as you got older you learned how to hide it but let it break you when you’re completely alone.

You watched as your students were gathered in the school field, chatting and having fun, a smile tugged on the corners of your mouth, having friends and enjoying your teenage years is something you never experienced but it made you happy to see others enjoy it; cousins and siblings, sharing inside jokes and discussing events that happened at school , gossiping about teachers while you sat in a corner, forced by your parents to sit with them, just so you don’t lose your social skills of being at home for your whole life. Funny how they were scared that you might lose your social skills while you already lost yourself.

And now it’s repeating itself, you’re watching your students laugh together and enjoy their time. But it’s never too late to have. You walked towards them, yes, you’ll join them and act as if you were a student, for once you wanted to experience that.

“Hey guys, watcha doing?” you said with a smile.

“Oh Sensei! We were just having fun” exclaimed Yuuji excitedly,

“Oh , mind if I join?” you asked

“You’re always welcome in the friend group sensei” said Nobara

You sat with them, joining in the fun, carrying the conversation with them. Maybe you had nothing positive out of this new life, out of this marriage but at least now you have friends; Nanami, Maki, Yujii and the other students. Funny how these young students are way mature and respectful than Gojo and Mei Mei. Proof that power isn’t everything if you can’t be a decent human being.

As you were laughing at one of Panda’s jokes, you were taken aback from a deep voice that filled the space and got you al mute instantly.

“You brats are so loud, wonder how Y/N is bearing you”

You kept looking for the voice, when Yuji slapped his face.

“Eeh apologies sensei, he likes to intervene in the most unexpected times”

“Huh?” you looked at Yuuji and you saw a mouth popping up on his cheek.

“What is that?” you asked again

“That? Tch I’m Ryomen Sukuna the king of curses”

It was the first time you see him, or only his mouth. You knew Yuuji was the vessel but you didn’t know that he could show up like that. Suddenly, tattoos started appearing on Yuuji’s face.

“Oh this can’t be any good” muttered Megumi.

You looked in disbelief, the jujutsu world is full of surprises. Scary but interesting.

“Now kids excuse us, I need to talk with Y/N alone” said Sukuna making you furrow your brows.

All of them stood their ground, ready to exorcise him if he ever touched you. You heart warmed at how they were considerate and protective over you but it made you feel weak. A teacher is the one supposed to protect the studenst and not opposite.

“I won’t let you hurt Y/n-sensei” said Megumi

“That’s okay guys! I’ll be fine” you smiled towards them “Go back to your classes, I’ll join you later”

Well you weren’t sure if you’ll join them later or not, given that Ryomen Sukuna is standing in front of you and he could snap you in half before even trying to take your last breath. But you wanted to face a real danger, you’ve never seen a curse and you had the honor to see the king of curses.

Sukuna looked at you with his red eyes and a playful smirk drawn on his face.

“So you’re the rumored to surpass me?” he started

“E-excuse me?” you said in confusion, how would you surpass the king of curses.

“Oh yeah I remember, they’re hiding a lot of things from you, a lot of information from you….but I’m not one to spoil the fun but rather run with the flow if I like it of course…so imma just say, I can’t wait for you curse to break.”

“What are you talking about? What info? And why would you wait for my curse to break?”

“To finally have the legendary duel that everyone is waiting for, including your husband”

You froze in place, as fear crept into your bones like a chill.

“There must be a mistake, what duel? I’m not even a sorcerer”

“You will be! You don’t know your potential yet, surprised that that brat Gojo Satoru hasn’t told you, he likes to spoil everything”

“So is this an indirect way to say that you can’t wait to kill me?”

“Something like that yeah”

“oh wow wonderful” you chuckled nervously, as your hands started sweating.

What a way to finish your day, by getting threatened by the king of curses himself.

As you were talking, Mei Mei interrupted you. You rolled your eyes, being threatened by Sukuna is way better than seeing her face. But you had to act cool.

“Oh look who’s here” she begun “The famous Ryomen Sukuna”

“Isn’t she scared that he might kill her?” you thought to yourself.

“I’m having a private conversation so get out of here” he spat ruthlessly

“Oh don’t worry, I have no intention in fighting you Sukuna just wanted to check up on my friend”

“Talking as if you stand a chance against me in a fight, so don’t make me say it again, piss off NOW”

“Alright, but I see that Y/n is having fun, surrounding yourself by men! Married to Gojo, hooking up with Nanami and now hitting on Ryomen Sukuna… not only a gold and power digger but also a curse digger…. Now I see why Gojo chose me- because you’re a slut”

You couldn’t take it anymore, so you slapped her as hard as you could, you hand connected with her cheek in a sharp crack. The force of the slap sent a shockwave through Mei Mei’s body, her head snapping to the side with the impact. For a moment, time seemed to stand still as she registered the sting of pain radiating from her cheek, a burning sensation that pulsed with each rapid heartbeat. As she found your eyes, she was met with a fury gaze that burned holes through her. She’s been provoking you and pushing you to the brink for days now, and you finally snapped.

Sukuna watched with amusement, you didn’t disappoint even though you’ve got 0 cursed energy. He knew you were different from the day you succeeded in landing a punch on the famous Gojo Satoru, he’s formidable enemy. But know he’s no longer interested in Gojo, his new target is you.

Mei Mei took a step closer to you but Sukuna stood in front of you,

“You dare to lay a finger on her and I’ll chop you into pieces” he threatened, his red eyes glowing .

“I know you won’t, you have a pact with Yuji and you can’t break it”

“Who said I can’t? know your place fool, I’m the king of curses”

“Ahh” she laughed in disbelief.

“Are you thick in the head or what? I SAID PISS OFF BITCH”

Mei Mei left both of you alone, walking away like a loser she is. You looked at Sukuna, he was threatening you a few minutes ago and now defending you?

“Why’d you do that? Defend me? I thought you wanted to kill me?”

“Because you’re reserved for me, no one can harm my future opponent, gotta keep you safe fpr now so I can enjoy fighting you later” he smirked.

You glared at him,

“So I’m supposed to thank you?”

“Nah you’re supposed to find out why your curse didn’t break yet, aren’t you curious?”

You were indeed curious but you had nothing you could do except waiting, you married Satoru and that’s the ultimate thing you could do. After making your vows that bond was automatically created, you knew breaking the curse takes time, but it took longer than you expected, but what can you do except waiting? So you avoided it and just let this invisible bond do its thing. Now after meeting Sukuna you were questioning if you truly wanted to become a sorcerer, since you’ll probably get killed by him.

“I’m not” you simply said and left.

“We’ll meet again Y/n, so better count your days” he teased, his devilish laughed echoeing in your ears.

…..

“Sensei are you alright?” asked Maki

“Yeah I’m fine, just had a small talk with Sukuna” you reassured them

“SENSEI” yelled Yuuji as he ran towards you.

“Yuuji-kun?”

“I’m sorry Sensei I couldn’t stop him from swapping…I’m sorry if he scared you” explained Yuuji with an apologetic expression, as he engulfed you in a hug.

“Aw, you’re the sweetest Yuuji! But no need to worry about me, I’m really fine” you smiledwidely, patting his head.

“I’m glad you’re okay!”

“Now go on to your dorms, it’s getting late”

….

You closed your room’s door, taking a heavy breath as you started changing into your pyjamas,

“And I thought my life wouldn’t get any worse”

Settling on your bed, you didn’t want to spend the night with Satoru but you had no option. You can’t spend the rest of your life in Maki’s room. As you were trying to calm yourself down from the storm that raged inside you, your stomach twisting, expecting Gojo to show up at any given moment, you grabbed your book, flipping the pages. You couldn’t concentrate or keep your focus on anything, your thoughts scrambled, too many threats, too many problems and it was already a success that you didn’t lose your shit yet. Trying your best to stay composed and to not go completely crazy on anyone who tries to talk to you.

As your eyes focused on the page in front you, words not making any sense, the door creaked open, shattering your desperate attempt of having a peaceful night. Your heart leaped into your throat, you knew he’ll join you eventually, but forseeing it didn’t make you any prepared. A wave of panic washed over you, feeling as if you were going to puke from how anxious you were. You averted your gaze back to your book, avoiding him even though you felt his eyes boring into you. You didn’t know the reason behind his intense looks and you weren’t ready to find out as well. Your jaw clenched tight as you tried to keep your emotions in check, your silence already spoke volumes.

He grabbed a t-shirt and one of his sweatpants from his wardrobe and started changing, you weren’t phased by him changing in front of you, you were actually ignoring his existence. He knew you were done with him when you didn’t yell at him for changing in front of you, for not even being bothered by his appearance. You were boiling inside, but you kept a poker face. And it broke him into pieces, it have made him loads better if you screamed and yelled at him, if you voiced your anger like you usually do, but your silence scared him for the very first time and he thought it was the end.

He joined you in bed. By his body language you could tell he was preparing to say something. He cleared his throat, hesitant to say anything, but he had to keep that cool and confident image.

“Hey about last night, just so you know I didn’t cheat on you- it’s not like what it seemed, we di-”

“I don’t wanna hear anything, I don’t wanna even hear your voice Satoru” you said coldly

“I’m not dying to express myself but I don’t like it when someone msiun-”

“THEN SHUT UP” you snapped out of frustration

“W-what?”

“Idon’t wanna hear any more lies Satoru, you can fuck her as much as you want you, it’s not phasing me at all”

“Then why did it bother you like that to the point that ran away-”

“Because I’m disgusted of you” you said through gritted teeth throwing away your book on the floor

He didn’t say anything, but looked at you with wide eyes as you threw a tantrum.

“Why’d you insist that I’m a cheater huh? Because I’m not! She pushed herself on me! It was just a wrong timing”

“I.Don’t.Care!” you said as you left the bed

“Yeah clearly, you don’t care about anyone except yourself” now he started attacking you,

“WHAT?”

He took a step closer to you, his hand grabbing your wrist forcefully, pulling you towards him,

“I said you only care about yourself! You see what you want to see, you understand what you want to understand, you don’t even try to connect with people on a deeper level because you’re empty and you hate it, because you know once they get to know you they’ll find nothing from the inside”

He did strike a sensitive nerve, and hit a sensitive spot in you, using your trauma against you is a terrible thing to do, such a cowardice. It’s like voicing his own trauma but using it to insult you.

“You don’t have any right to say this, you don’t even know me!”

“And you don’t have any right to call me a cheater, you don’t even know me!”

“All I know is that you’re broken, alone and desperate…hiding behind power but the night exposes you, you nightmares humble you-”

“If you say any other word, you’ll regret it Y/N”

“Yeah threaten me all you like, I’m going to die anyway” you said the last sentence as a whisper but he heard it.

It pissed him off, how you caught all vulnerable, he hated to admit how his nightmares scared him, how they haunted him for years but you simply used them against him. He took a step closer to you,

“I pity you Y/n, you dare to speak nonsense because your entire life is nonsense itself.. Yeah that must be hard for you, being ignored by your parents and family, of course you’d grow up to become a disappointment, a failure. You failed your family and now you’re failing everyone around you in Jujutsu high..” he spoke,

His words like daggers that were thrown directly at your chest, you wanted to fight him back but deep down you knew every word he said was true. Your family didn’t even call to check up on you since the day you got married, as if you were a burden and finally got rid of it. They didn’t even believe that your curse would break, they had a bit of hope that Gojo would do something but definitely not you. 

You stared at him, with a smile that hid your sadness , you grabbed your jacket, and left. Closing the door behind you. He didn’t mean any word he said, he was just driven by jealousy, and you saying that him and Mei Mei didn’t bother you drove him crazy, making him think that you don’t have any feelings towards him and that you want Nanami instead.

*Timeskip to the morning*

As the morning light filtered through the big window, casting a warm glow over the breakfast table, Gojo took his seat, ignoring Mei Mei who was trying hard to get his attention. As the minutes ticked by, your absence became increasingly conspicuous, concerned whispers filled the room.

“Where’s your wife?” asked principal Yaga

Satoru’s brow furrowed in confusion,

“I thought she was here…maybe she’s in the bathroom or something” he replied, shoving food inside his mouth.

“I was in the bathroom, and she wasn’t there” said Maki

A sense of panic rippled through the group, Nanami quickly stood up from his chair and started searching in the whole school, but you were nowhere to be found. Followed by your students, principal Yaga and now Gojo whose heart started pounding as he looked for you everywhere. Only Mei Mei calmly sitting still, enjoying her food.

Once again gathered in the common room, after their failed attempt to find you, they called you multiple times but failed to reach you.

“Did something happened between you two?” asked Principal Yaga, his voice cutting through the chaos.

Satoru swallowed hard, the weight of his guilt settling heavily upon his shoulders,

“We-we had an argument last night….” He admitted “she left the room and I thought she was just going to the balcony or something…I didn’t realize she had left”

“SHE WAS YOUR FUCKING RESPONSIBILTY SATORU!!” yelled Yaga sensei

“Sensei I truly didn’t know!”

“You know that there’s a murderer on the loose that’s targeting her and you didn’t care ..”

“Wait what?” asked the students in union since they didn’t know about Toji’s plan to murder you.

“Instead of protecting her what the fuck where you doing?” asker principal Yaga once again

“He was with me!” said Mei Mei taking the last bite of her toast “Gojo was with me” she repeated

“If you dare to throw any other lie Mei Mei I swear to God I’ll kill you” threatened Gojo walking towards her but Nanami stopped him.

“Don’t blame others for your own mistakes Gojo “ she said offensively

As they were fighting, trying to have a plan on how to find you, Gojo received a text on his phone, that got his eyes widen in fear,

[Gojo Satoru, I wanted to inform you that your wife is with me, I don’t think you care that much , but so you can save yourself and energy from the hassle of searching that the higher ups would put you through – Toji Fushiguro]

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[jymwahuwu]

I've been thinking about mara struck Jing Yuan...he'll be more aggressive and protective. Honestly, you can see his mara struck from miles away ever since he started being more clingy and possessive than usual. But when the mara finally strikes, it's like all hell breaks loose and Jing Yuan just straight up kidnaps you from Luofu. Yes they might have facilities to help people who are getting mara struck, but if it means he needs to be separated from his wife then he rather runs away while bringing you along with him.

He won't hesitate anymore to fuck you anytime he wants. He's no longer the patient, sweet and vanilla man he used to be. He's now a desperate man who only wants the attention of his wifey, and he also won't hesitate to breed you until you are full of his baby seeds <3. Jing Yuan would also dirty talk you more often, saying nasty things about how much he wants to touch and see your whole body everyday, how much he loves seeing his cum leaking from your pussy everyday.

The type of man who will drink all of his wife's breast milk, no matter how much you begged him to stop since it's supposed for your baby.

But on the other hand, imagine Jing Yuan already maa struck, but sane enough to not let anyone notice and still be a general. Yet when it's just the two of you, he'll become a mean bastard who gropes you everywhere. The amount of times the two of you having sex outside is getting out of hand, him saying the warmth of your pussy is the only thing that can help him calm his mara and even saying he wants to fucks his babies into you right in the middle of the day.

How could you put this into my head? 😩💞I have always been worried about Jing Yuan getting mara in the future. Blade said that everyone has a different way of experiencing mara. Let’s explore the two ways you mentioned🤔

CW: yandere, non-con, kidnapping, angst, forced pregnancy, lactation

It is indeed possible that Jing Yuan can maintain his sanity and continue to do his job as a general. He needs something to hold his mara down, and that's you <3! Before this the General was just waiting for you to visit him at work and bring some comfort food, but now you have to stay by his side all the time. He undresses you and gropes you, rubbing his cock against your folds. You're often sitting uncomfortably in wet panties that you can't change.

As for another possibility, Jing Yuan has always been responsible for Xianzhou. He maintains an upbeat and relaxed demeanor, but that's just a disguise - those friends and enemies are now gone from his side. Occasionally, Jing Yuan misses those good times. Under normal circumstances, they can be suppressed, but these emotions and memories are strengthened in mara's state. Those images frequently appeared in his mind...

gathering with old friends, laughing and playing, companions lost on the battlefield, young self, him who never thought of being a general…

And you - the scene of leaving him repeatedly appeared in his dreams, and in blurred illusions. Different stories, but the same thing is that you show a vague - disappearing look, smile, wave to him, then turn around and slowly walk away. Sometimes, you even have new friend and lover around you. He stretched out his hand, but it was like fishing for the moon in the water, unable to touch your figure.

The general woke up with a start, touched his side, and hugged you into his arms. Those golden eyes like lions did not close all night.

After the curse of longevity really happened, the Ten-Lords Commission arranged for people to take him away, but when they arrived, the general had already taken you away from Luofu. He retained his remaining sanity and left instructions to Fuxuan and Yanqing, passing on the responsibility of managing Luofu to them.

So of course!! He acts possessive in this situation!

Jing Yuan bought a new property on a planet, not as big a mansion as the General's Mansion, but luxurious enough for living. He needs to be alone with you and live a peaceful life, and some strange voices in his ears keep urging him to possess and penetrate you. Be prepared to be pushed onto the bed, on the table, or even caressed in the bathtub. You watched in panic as he took your phone away. "Wait …!! it's not what you think…" Jing Yuan usually lifts you up with his strong arms, pulls your legs apart and thrusts, allowing you to fully receive the seeds .

No. He doesn’t believe you’re out just to buy ingredients <3 Why is your message asking friends for advice?

Jing Yuan is still good at sweet talk. He noticed your twitch under his compliment. He never fails to praise and adore your body and cuteness. Watching you squirt on the bed, you stick out your tongue unconsciously. There is no doubt about your pregnancy.

The day your buds leaked milk, Jing Yuan had been lying on your body, sucking and teasing your areola, which tasted sweet, creamy, and warm. You sobbed, pushing his white hair with your hands and explaining that it was for the baby. The tip of his tongue licks away the drop of white milk from your areola, responds with some vague sounds, and uses his thumb to rub and circle to stimulate.

He knows what he's doing.

He had never been so awake.

If the long life has been about losing, then he has something precious to keep as well.

So that his humanity will not be destroyed.

[sailorluna15]

Like Him by Tyler The Creator, but it's Azula and her family.

Azula being Lola Young's part of "Do I look like him?"

From Ursa's point of view, it's her seeing not only Ozai but herself in Azula. She sees how Ozai has infected Azula just like he infected her. She sees how she went from smiling like her, laughing like her, crying like her, dancing like her, singing like her, and even reading the same fairytale books she used to read as a child to imitating her father and abandoning everything that she loves and that's natural to please him.

Ozai sees himself in his daughter. He sees himself as a child in her. A calm, socially awkward child who struggles to make connections with others. A child who spends much time alone, drawing, painting, and playing make-believe. However, he also sees Ursa. When he sees Azula come home with two girls he doesn't know and look happier than she's looked in her entire life, it makes him envious. Seeing her sing, draw, and dance for her mother, cousin, brother, and friends makes him sneer. She doesn't need to do those things. Those things will do nothing but make her weak. He will make her strong. She doesn't need anyone but him. One by one, he chips away at her. Rubs poison on her gums and whispers curses into her ears. He exposes her to radiation and tells her symptoms are normal. He destroys her because she's more useful to him that way. She's more useful when she looks like Ozai than when she looks like Ursa.

Zuko stares at his sleeping child, and a memory flashes through his mind. He and Azula leaning on each other, sleeping soundly. He never thought in a million years that his daughter would come out looking like his sister. When Izumi smiles, laughs, gives attitude, dances, and shows repeatedly that she's quick as a whip, it reminds him of his sister. He wonders what life would be like if Ozai had been different. If Mom had been different. If Cousin hadn't died. If Uncle had taken her with him. If she had gone with them. If she'd had been more like a sister and less like an enemy. Even now, as their toxic relationship has turned into a weirdly close one, she refuses to come home. To return to her keeper. He tried bringing her to his chambers the first time she returned to the palace. She refused. He asks why, but she refuses to answer. He wants to push further, but she looks like she might break if he does, so he doesn't. He tries to get her to stay longer, as his daughter loves her newfound family member, but Azula pushes to go home. She pushes to go back home to the countryside with her wife. He lets her go and only sees her when his turtle duck dances to a concert of hers playing on the TV. Every time his turtle duck sees her Titi singing on stage, she asks when she's coming back to see her lovebug.

Mai gets a little jealous when she sees her old friend interacting with her new friends. She sees the little girl she became best friends with when she sees her with them. How she laughs, jokes, dances, and spends time with them reminds her of how they all used to be before Ozai. Fuck him. Why did Azula have to change? Why couldn't she stay the way she was. Funny, witty, protective, and kind in her own little way. Mai sees 'Zula in Azula. She wants to be friends with 'Zula again, but she doesn't know if they can ever return to that. She still harbors resentment and hate for the things Azula has done, but she still loves 'Zula. She always knew 'Zula was still in there somewhere, just hiding to keep safe. Azula's here because it's unsafe for 'Zula to be out. Azula protects 'Zula. Azula hurts others to protect 'Zula. Mai and Azula are cordial now. They laugh together about old times and about new things too, but Mai can tell it's not the same. Azula is always a bit guarded around all of them. She's protecting 'Zula. Mai guesses 'Zula doesn't feel safe around her anymore. It hurts Mai a little to know that Azula is the only version of 'Zula she'll ever see anymore.

Ty Lee is a little like Mai. She sees 'Zula, but she sees Azula more. She's happy Azula has changed, glad that 'Zula's. However, she can't help but wonder why she and Mai weren't enough. Why couldn't Azula change for them? She knows it isn't that simple. Azula was protecting herself the best way she knew how, but it still hurt to see her treat people she'd known since she was 16 better than people she'd known since she was 6. What's so special about them? Her new friends act protective whenever she and Mai are around. As if Azula needs their protection. As if they hurt Azula. She knows they fucked up with Azula, but Azula hurt them way more than they hurt her. They all agreed to let everything go. They both have apologized to each other and have shown growth, but things will never be the same. Azula won't even let Ty behind her. If she thinks Ty is behind her, she immediately turns around or maneuvers herself to where Ty Lee is in her line of sight. Ty Lee guesses it's only fair. Whenever Azula lights something on fire, Ty Lee creates a healthy distance and gets nervous. They're cool, but there are some things you can never forget.

This was supposed to be a little short but it got long. LEMME KNOW IF YALL WANT MORE.

[things-arent-what-they-seem66]

What about an AU where it’s not Adam and Eve but Adam and Lucifer.

Lilith and Adam are created from the dust as equals as usual to make love to each other, but Adam instead falls in love with Lucifer after Lilith being a little shit to him.

Out of spite for being denied control of Adam and losing him to an angel, Lilith leaves the garden. Angels, not accepting how Adam might not want to lie with women, make him a new wife, Eve. But he doesn’t want her either, just down for his little angel. And makes it clear one night.

That shatters Eve’s world and makes her incredibly devastated as she thinks she failed in serving her husband and making him happy with her that he doesn’t want her. She gets away from him for a while and begins searching for a cure.

Only to stumble to Lilith of all people, who had returned to the garden after hearing about the new bride she could trick easier.

She leads her to the Tree of Knowledge, and says all she has to do is to bite from the apple and get Adam to do so too -But she can’t tell him what it is, that way it wouldn’t work- if she wants them to be truly happy like the angels told them they would be.

In desperation and cause she had no idea what lying was, Eve accepts, takes two apples from the tree, brings them to where she and Adam sleep, and gets Adam to eat it by saying it’s a regular fruit. Which causes sin to enter the world.

After noticing it, the angels were simply going to throw the two to Earth and Lilith to Hell, but how Lilith screamed about Adam loving Lucifer and that was why he denied to lie with women caused a problem.

Adam and Lucifer both denied it violently, but how Lucifer tried too hard to get the angels to let Adam and Eve stay, how much time they spent before and how close they were physically for most only fueled their suspicions.

So, they decided to look into their memories and see that they were clearly in love. In one they admit it, in one they kiss intimately and in one Lucifer is literally making love to Adam.

And that makes them furious.

They rip Lucifer from his status as an angel, and make him Adam’s new wife instead by giving him both a woman’s and a man’s parts, they do the same to Adam, and also put a baby fever curse on the pair so they would have no escape in populating the Earth where they are sent afterwards. Eve is sent too, but she goes to a completely different place all alone and lives a life of isolation.

Either Lucifer is mostly forced to submit and be the one pregnant because of the curse and how the angels wanted to humiliate him for being with a human, or Adam is because the angels officialy took his title as the first man away and “downgraded him into the level of woman he was too good for”.

I like them both a lot so I’ll just make two versions.

Wow, got a little longer than I thought there..

Whaddya think?

Wow that's sad and amazing. I like both ideas but you know me lol

Adam being "downgraded" when really it makes him happy to have kids with his love.

[dyns33]

True love kiss

Dream of the endless x female reader 

Careful, spoilers if you didn’t read the comics. 

The Kindly Ones didn't really live up to their name. There was really nothing nice about them, although their function did not require them to show kindness, but to bring justice and punishment after a serious crime had been committed.

Normally, Morpheus and his entire kingdom should have been wiped out after the murder of his son. Infanticide could not be tolerated.

But the Kindly Ones listened to Caliope's complaint. They listened to the story of the young Delight, now Delirium, who had lost her mind long ago, while remaining the wisest of them all.

Although the crime was proven, Orpheus had requested that his father release him from his condition, so that his aunt could be able to take him to his wife. They couldn't not punish him, but they could accept mitigating circumstances.

A choice was therefore made.

"We won't destroy your kingdom, Master of Dreams. Not right away anyway. But you've spent your entire existence hurting others, behaving selfishly, refusing to see what you are. We are wondering if you really deserve to stay, or if a replacement wouldn't be better. So here is our verdict. Like those who enter your realm, you will fall asleep, and only someone who loves you, and who has always loved you, feeling no bitterness towards you, can ward off this fate. The longer it takes, the more your power will decline, and your sister will have to come and put an end to all this, before the dreams become only a vague memory. We have spoken."

Dream didn't have time to answer that it would probably be faster to destroy him now, because he couldn't see who could have loved him without ever resenting him. He fell asleep, and the Kindly Ones let the dreams take care of their unconscious creator.

It had not been specified what form of love it was, so the other Endless came to see their brother, and each of them spoke to him, took his hand, and kissed him on the cheek, but without result.

They had all had, during their long existence, a quarrel with Morpheus, and although they all loved him, their relationship was not perfect.

It was exactly the same with his former lovers. Most of them didn't even agree to come, or only to have the pleasure of seeing him fragile and vulnerable.

The others secretly hoped to wake him up, thereby regaining his love, their place by his side, and a chance to rule the dream realm.

"Good thing that freaky woman didn't make it. She kissed the boss for almost five minutes, yuck ! I felt like pulling her hair to pull her away."

"The noble fairy queen Titania is not a freaky woman, Matthew."

"I thought she was married ?"

"She is, Mervyn. Fairies don't care about that sort of thing. There's some repairs to be done in the north wing, please. Matthew and I will find something else."

"Quick, Luce. I can try to fix it, but if the boss doesn't wake up soon, it won't help."

All dreams and nightmares had also tried, at Lucienne's request and because they didn't want to die with their creator, but none of them seemed to love him enough to lift the curse.

After several days, there were only two options left.

"Option one, we must seek out a mortal. We have asked all other beings that exist and know of Lord Morpheus."

"And the second option ?" Matthew asked, tilting his head.

"... We accept that we are going to disappear."

"I'm going to the Waking world. Although I'm not sure who to look for."

Dream had never been very close to the dreamers, let alone mortal dreamers. He didn't really hold them in his heart, considering that humans were terribly selfish and cruel. It hadn't really improved since his confinement.

Yet he had some friends on Earth. In any case people with whom he discussed, like Constantine, Mad Hetty, Rose or Hob.

They were all shocked to learn what was happening to the master of stories, and they agreed to try to help, but again, it didn't yield any results.

All hope seemed lost.

"So it's over ? There's nothing to be done ? Everyone tried and nothing worked ?"

"No, Robert Gadling, nothing worked."

"Damn. Not even with Y/N ? Damn."

"... Who is Y/N ?"

The librarian had vaguely heard of Y/N. A friend of Hob, a strange young girl, with whom Lord Morpheus often argued. When he spoke of her, it was to repeat how annoying she could be.

"They adore each other." Hob said with a big smile. "They're dumb and shy. Once they're in the same room, they can't stop yelling at each other to hide their feelings. I thought it was funny at first. Now it's kind of boring."

"Even if you were right about the feelings they might have for each other, I don't think that's what we're looking for. The person has to love them, have always loved them, with no resentment."

"I don't think they've ever really argued over anything. Anything real I mean. Y/N asks me about him all the time, pretending not to care about the answer, but she freaks out if I say he's not well. She criticizes him, but always finds good excuses for him despite everything. She is convinced that he will never be able to fall in love with someone like her, but she remains hopeful. In any case, she dreams of being with him. We could try."

It wouldn't cost anything to try, so Matthew went to visit Y/N to explain the situation.

At first, as Hob had said, she was very attentive and obviously ready to follow him to help Dream. Then the raven explained to her what she should do, and she seemed more hesitant.

"... I don't understand what you want from me."

"Well, we don't really know. Being there, for sure, telling him you love him, or showing him. A kiss, maybe. That works well in storytelling."

"... I have to tell Morpheus I love him and kiss him ? Why would I do that ?"

"To help him ? If it works, that'll be great."

"No, it won't be 'great'." replied the young woman, grimacing. "He'll laugh at me. Or he'll pity me, not knowing how to tell me he doesn't feel the same way. We won't be able to stay friends. I'll be ashamed !"

"I don't think the boss will laugh."

"Sorry, I don't think so either. He'll be nice, he'll try not to hurt me."

"Or will he tell you that he loves you too ?"

"You are funny, little raven." Y/N sighed, stroking his head. "What if it doesn't work?"

"So we are lost."

It didn't make her happy, but Y/N ended up entering the Dreaming with Matthew, accompanying him to Morpheus's bedside, who still hadn't moved.

There was a lot of hesitation. A long discussion with Lucienne, Merv and Matthew. Insults towards Hob, for having talked too much. The fear of being humiliated. The certainty that it wouldn't work, because even though Y/N vaguely admitted to being in love, that didn't mean that she had never been mad at Morpheus. There was also the possibility that it wouldn't work because he didn't love her back.

But Y/N really loved the master of dreams, so she approached him, ready to try anything to make him wake up.

The kiss was quick. Almost shy. She backed away to a corner of the room, not knowing if she wanted to see the outcome, or what outcome she would have wanted to see.

Then there was a movement.

"Glad you're back with us, boss."

"Thank you Matthew. What happened ?"

"Well..." Lucienne began.

"Nothing. Nothing happened, we are all happy with this happy ending, and I would like to go home, now."

Dream watched Y/N for a long time, probably wondering what she was doing here, but he nodded before waving his hand to send her back to her house as she had requested.

Like his subjects, part of him wanted to respect her request for silence.

 Something had happened and she didn't want to talk about it. But Morpheus was curious by nature. He didn't like not knowing, especially if it concerned him and his kingdom.

Several times he tried to understand, by asking specific questions, but the librarian was far too intelligent to be fooled, Mervyn pretended not to understand, the two brothers went to hide in their house.

Only Matthew seemed ready to give in, torn between his loyalty to his creator, and his gratitude to Y/N.

It was a human who offered him the answer. A human who always offered the answers.

"I'm really very happy to see you again, my friend. You're early."

"I'm also glad to be back, Hob Gadling. I deserved my punishment, but the world needs me. I'm a necessity."

"So how did things turn out in the end ? Y/N wouldn't tell me."

"It is complicated."

"Everything is always complicated with you, my friend. I don't understand why. She loves you. The kiss proves it, showing that she never held a grudge. And maybe it shows that you love her too. Yes, she's mortal, but she could become like me. It's really not that complex."

"She's right, you're too talkative." sighed the  raven. "I should have agreed to go and poke your head when she asked me... Boss ? Where's the boss ?!"

"Sleeping Beauty is probably on his way to find his princess."

"Alright, that's it, I'm going to prick your head, you asked for it."

Meanwhile, Y/N was trying not to jump as Morpheus appeared in her bathroom. Fortunately, she was already in her pajamas, but she hesitated to throw her comb in his face.

"I troubled you." whispered the master of dreams with a strange look. "Forgive me."

"I guess endless beings don't really have the concept of doors, privacy, and showers. Do you shower ? No, you have to have magical skin and hair that's always clean."

"Technically, we don't have bodies or hair."

"What can I do for you ?" she asked hesitantly, hoping he wasn't there to talk about what had happened, definitely not ready to have her heart broken.

"Hob explained to me that you saved me."

"Hmm."

"By kissing me."

"Hmm."

"Because you are in love with me."

"Hmm hmm."

"You are very troubled now." he said again, still with that look. He seemed scared, which wasn't normal. A child who thought he had done something stupid, and that he was going to be punished by being abandoned on the side of the road.

During their short trip to the Dreaming, Matthew had spoken a bit about his master's love life. He had heard rumors, and he had seen certain disasters. Dream was really bad when it came to relationships. All kinds of relationships, with his family, with his subjects, with those who wanted to be his friends, and with his lovers.

He was always saying or doing something that upset them, hurt them, and make them leave.

The proof was that they had all tried to wake him up, and that none of them had succeeded, because they had all at least once felt some resentment towards him.

All except Y/N.

There were times when he could be a real pain, but she never really blamed him, forgiving him right away, because he wasn't human, he didn't understand everything, and especially because she couldn't resist his big eyes and desperate pout, when he was unable to apologize, while not wanting to lose her.

That was what was happening now. Although she wasn't sure yet why he had come, Morpheus was afraid to act like the idiot he could be, and scare away the only person who had shown unfailing affection for him.

"I'm probably confused because you are here to tell me that you are grateful, but that you prefer that we remain friends. I would have understood that without you having to come see me."

"I'm not here for that."

"Hmm."

"I still find it hard to believe that you ever hated me, even a little bit. And I can't guarantee that you'll never have reason to hate me. The Kindly Ones cast this spell on me to a good reason. But if you... If I..."

Y/N silenced him by pressing her lips against his, before pulling away just as quickly, waiting for cries of anger.

Instead, Morpheus looked shocked for a brief moment, before throwing himself on her to kiss her again and again, much better at it than speaking.

Maybe that wasn't what the Kindly Ones had planned, certain that no one could truly love Dream of the Endless, dooming him to die and be replaced.

Or they were giving him one chance, one last chance, and if he didn't stop behaving like a selfish fool, hurting and losing Y/N, then he would be alone on top of his mountain, and he would call his older sister to put an end to his stupidity.

But for the moment everything was fine, the Dreaming was here, its inhabitants were safe, and Morpheus continued to kiss Y/N, full of love, fear and gratitude.

[petals2fish]

How Did It End?

jilytober shuffle song fest day #11 with song "How Did It End" by Taylor Swift. READ ON A03 Yes, this one killed me to write, thanks for asking. I was also devastated that I couldn't fit "my beloved ghost, and me, sitting in a tree, D-Y-I-N-G" into this fic, but rest assured I will find a way to use it before the end of this jilytober

"We hereby conduct this post-mortem," Erica Sanders said, her voice steady as she snapped on her gloves. She cast a quick, sidelong glance at her partner, Frank Longbottom, who stood stiffly beside her. His face had drained of all color, as pale as the lifeless bodies that lay on the ground.

Frank had known the victims in life. Now, those same faces lay frozen in death, and he couldn’t seem to reconcile the sight. His hands were clenched at his sides, knuckles white from the tension that coursed through him like a taut wire ready to snap. "Right," he murmured, his voice barely audible, as if speaking any louder might shatter what little resolve he had left.

Erica hesitated for a moment, her practiced professionalism wavering as she noticed the pain etched across her partner's face. Her eyes softened with concern, a rare crack in her otherwise composed demeanor. "I can call someone else if you'd rather," she whispered, leaning closer, her voice low and comforting. It was an offer of escape, one she rarely made, but Frank's distress was palpable. She had seen him like this only once before—back when they had discovered the massacre at the McKinnon estate. The memory of bodies strewn across the room in grim silence, blood painting the walls, still haunted her. "You don’t have to stay."

Frank shook his head, almost imperceptibly at first, as if he wasn’t entirely sure of his answer. But then he stiffened, resolve hardening despite the overwhelming grief that threatened to consume him. The weight of the moment pressed down on his shoulders, and his breath hitched as he tried to steady himself. His eyes, clouded with sorrow, flickered over the bodies. "He was a reckless kid," Frank muttered, his voice breaking as emotion surged to the surface. "And she... she was my wife’s friend . I can’t believe this. It seemed–they were basically just kids. Damn it!” The final words came out as a strangled curse, his frustration too great to contain any longer.

Without warning, his frustration boiled over. Frank lashed out, kicking a nearby pram with enough force to send it skidding across the hall, the clang echoing in the space. The outburst left him panting, but it did little to ease the turmoil inside him.

Erica’s frown deepened, her heart aching for him in a way that surpassed the professional detachment she was supposed to maintain. “Frank, they were your friends. You shouldn’t have to do this,” she said gently, the words an echo of the sympathy she rarely voiced.

For a long moment, Frank said nothing. He stood there, staring down at the bodies as though willing them to wake up, to tell him this was all some terrible mistake. But the silence stretched on, heavy and absolute. He swallowed hard, his head bowing under the weight of grief. "Confirm it, Erica," he said, his voice raw, barely above a whisper. "Just... confirm their deaths."

Kneeling beside the male body, Erica’s gloved fingers hovered over his cold neck, hesitating for just a moment before making contact. The chill of his skin seeped through the latex. In that brief touch, she felt it—an abrupt severing of life, a vibrant force reduced to something distant and hollow. It was as if the magic that had once radiated from him had been snuffed out, leaving only a ghost of what had once been.

Irreversible.

Erica Sanders had worked as an investigator and mortician for the Ministry of Magic for six years—long enough to become accustomed to the unnerving quiet of the dead, but never long enough to grow numb to the tragedy of it. Since her days at Hogwarts, where she’d studied with some of these very people, she had seen more bodies than she could count, most victims of the Unforgivable Curses. The faces of the fallen blurred together in her mind, a haunting gallery of lives destroyed by the relentless darkness festering in their world. It was a darkness that seemed to grow with every year, every life lost to it.

"James Potter," she breathed out, the name catching in her throat as if saying it aloud made it more real. Her heart clenched, a deep ache spreading through her chest as she watched Frank's shoulders tremble with grief. His back was turned to her, but she could feel the weight of his sorrow, heavy in the air between them. Erica blinked rapidly, forcing herself to stay composed. She had to remain professional, even now. Especially now. For Frank.

"Dead," she confirmed softly, her voice barely more than a whisper, though the word seemed to echo through the room, final and unforgiving.

James's head rested close to his wife’s, their hair mingling in a tragic twist—his dark, wild locks intertwined with Lily’s fiery red. It was as if, even in death, they could not be separated. Erica’s gaze shifted to Lily, her breath catching in her throat as she took in the deep gash on Lily’s forehead, where she had struck her head when she fell. Blood had dried along the wound, a stark contrast to her pale skin. 

Erica’s hand trembled as she reached out to check for a pulse on Lily’s still form, though she knew in her heart what she would find—or wouldn’t find. Her fingers brushed against the delicate skin of Lily’s wrist, and a profound sense of loss washed over her. There was nothing. No heartbeat. No magic. Just silence.

"Lily Potter," she whispered, the words thick with sorrow. As they left her lips, she saw Frank's resolve crumble entirely. He buried his face in his hands, his grief now a physical thing, raw and uncontainable. His shoulders shook with silent sobs, and Erica wished desperately that there was something she could say to ease his pain, but no words could undo the horror of what they had found.

"Dead," she repeated, though this time the word felt heavier, as if it carried with it the weight of their entire world crashing down.

Erica remained kneeling, her hands still resting on the bodies of the Potters.

“They were good people,” Frank said, his voice rough with sorrow, breaking the silence as Erica gently brushed Lily’s hair from her blood-streaked face. “James... he was always so full of life. He'd crack jokes even when everything was falling apart. He had this way of making you believe that everything would be okay, no matter how bad it got. And Lily... she had the biggest heart. She loved so deeply, cared so much... she didn’t deserve this.”

Erica stood, moving toward Frank to offer comfort, wishing Alice were there. She knew Frank's wife had been close to the Potters, and had known them well. Erica remembered the Longbottoms had a son the same age as the baby cradled feet away in the arms of a giant man named Hagrid. Perhaps the families had shared playdates.

Frank’s gaze lingered on James and Lily’s lifeless bodies. “They fought so hard... did everything they could to protect everyone. And now... their son, Harry...” Frank’s voice cracked, a fresh wave of anguish overwhelming him. “He’s just a baby. His parents are gone... and he’s all alone.” Frank turned away, fists clenched, fury mingling with his sorrow. "How could this happen? How could they be careless enough not to have their wands ready? James could’ve held his own in a duel. And Lily... she could’ve Apparated with the baby." His voice wavered, eyes burning with a mix of anger and heartbreak. “They gave everything. And now... now...” His shoulders sagged under the weight of the loss. "They were the best of us... and now they’re gone."

Erica felt the depth of Frank's grief. She understood the pain of losing people you loved. But as she stood in the Potter household, surrounded by the aftermath of yet another senseless tragedy, it wasn’t the two lifeless bodies in front of her that unsettled her the most.

No, it was the third body—the one hidden away upstairs, the one Frank had warned her to examine last. The name on everyone’s mind, yet too cautious to speak aloud.

"Should we call the Minister of Magic?" Erica asked softly, her voice barely breaking the oppressive silence as she glanced at Frank.

Frank’s jaw tightened, his gaze hard and resolute. "We tell no one," he replied, his tone firm, almost chilling. "Not until you’ve confirmed it’s him."

A wave of nausea rose in Erica’s stomach. Facing death was one thing—but the possibility that it was his body, that he might be dead, brought an entirely different fear. It could mean this nightmare was finally over... or, far worse, that it had only just begun.

Suddenly, the oppressive silence of the room was broken by the soft pop of Apparition. Erica turned toward the doorway just as her friend, Alannah, appeared. The color drained from Alannah’s face the moment she saw the two lifeless twenty-one-year-olds sprawled on the floor. Her breath caught in her throat as recognition hit her like a blow.

Her enchanted quill, hovering beside her, scratched noiselessly on parchment, capturing every detail of the scene. But for once, Alannah, the relentless reporter, had no questions. Her mouth remained firmly shut, the weight of what she saw rendering her speechless.

"Oh... it’s the Potters," she whispered, her wide blue eyes flickering with shock. "I went to school with them. They were only three years behind me."

“Alannah,” Erica said, her tone sharp with exasperation. “Who told you to come here?”

“Old Bathilda’s been talking up the whole town,” Alannah replied, regaining some composure. "Rumors are spreading like wildfire. They’re saying the Minister of Magic and the head of the Auror department are on their way."

Erica’s stomach twisted. "Oh no," she muttered, paling. "We haven’t even finished the initial investigation."

Alannah gave a small, apologetic shrug. "Sorry, Erica. News like this travels fast... Such a shame about the Potters, though."

Frank, who had been silently grieving, clenched his fists tighter, his voice thick with emotion as he spoke. “He never let down his guard normally,” he said, his eyes locked on James’s lifeless form. “I can’t believe they didn’t have their wands. What on earth could have convinced them that they were safe?”

“Was he after them?” Erica asked Frank, who often knew more than the average Auror. 

Frank shook his head, either unwilling to answer or not knowing the truth of what happened. The Potter’s had been young, so to be on the radar of such a dark wizard had to mean something. Frank leaned against the wall and looked like he was going to throw up, with one hand clenched on his abdomen. 

Alannah shifted uneasily, her trembling voice breaking the tension as she asked the question that had been hanging over them all. “Is it true? What people are saying about... Voldemort?”

Frank shifted uncomfortably near Erica, his gaze fixated on the staircase, where faint signs of a struggle told a story only he could fully piece together. He had been one of the first on the scene and had witnessed everything—the path Lily Potter had taken as she raced toward the nursery in a desperate attempt to save her son. The weight of that memory clung to him like a shadow, and Erica could sense how heavily it sat on his mind.

“I’d best be goin,” came the deep, sorrow-filled voice of the Hogwarts gamekeeper, Rubeus Hagrid. He stood near them, cradling the infant in his massive arms. “Sirius Black gave me his motorbike t’ get the child t’ where he needs t’ be safe.”

Erica hadn’t known Hagrid well, but the sight of him now—broken with grief, holding Harry Potter as if he were his own flesh and blood—stirred something in her. Silent tears streaked down his face and molded into his beard. The only sound that pierced the oppressive quiet of the room was the soft, muffled cries of the baby, pressed against Hagrid’s chest, oblivious to the tragedy that had destroyed his family.

“Thanks, Hagrid,” Frank said, his voice thick but steady as he waved a hand at the giant man. “Give my best to Dumbledore.”

Erica, Frank, and Alannah stood in silence, watching as Hagrid carefully carried the child through the debris. Half the house had been obliterated—walls reduced to rubble, furniture shattered, a battlefield even though it seemed Voldemort had been the only one casting spells. Frank had found Lily and James’s wands upstairs in their bedroom when he first arrived. That meant whatever had happened to them was either the result of wandless magic or the deadly work of the man no one wanted to think about.

"Longbottom?" Alannah’s voice trembled as she broke the silence, her question barely above a whisper. She needed an answer—needed to make sense of the horror unfolding around them, just as they all did.

Frank exhaled, the sound hollow in the suffocating stillness of the room. His gaze never wavered from the staircase, as though he already knew what awaited them at the top. "We don’t know yet," he replied, his voice heavy with the weight of uncertainty. "But Erica… she’ll find out soon enough."

Dread crept into Erica’s bones like an unshakable fog, thick and relentless. Whatever waited upstairs would change everything—confirm or deny a fate too terrifying to utter. If the body up there was really his—the Dark Lord himself—then this nightmare could finally be over. But if it wasn’t...

Erica steeled herself, her stomach knotting as she took a step forward, carefully stepping over the bodies of James and Lily Potter. Her gaze locked on the staircase, stretching ahead of her like a shadowed path to a terrible revelation. She could almost hear it in her mind—Lily Potter’s frantic footsteps pounding up those very stairs, her only thought to reach the nursery. Even as death closed in, she hadn’t run to save herself. 

She had run to save her son.

The scene played in Erica’s mind as she ascended, her footfalls silent against the wooden steps. Lily had been found upstairs, her body still warm, the faintest whisper of breath left in her lungs as if she had held on—held on long enough to ensure her baby was safe. Erica could almost feel the woman’s lingering presence, the fierce love that had kept her alive, even for a few precious seconds more.

As Erica reached the top of the staircase and crossed the threshold into the nursery, the sight before her was chilling. Furniture had been hastily piled against the door, a last-ditch effort to block the inevitable. Lily Potter had no wand. Neither had her husband. They had faced the end unarmed but defiant, driven by something far stronger than magic—an unyielding determination to protect their son.

And now, just beyond the scattered toys and the overturned crib, lay the figure that filled Erica with a dread deeper than she had ever known. It was the body she had been avoiding, the one she feared to examine—the one that could change everything.

Please be dead. 

Her breath hitched as she took a hesitant step forward, the weight of what she was about to confirm pressing down on her like an invisible hand. Behind her, she heard Frank, who had likely come to back her up in case the man was not dead. The room, once a place of warmth and love, now felt suffocating, each breath harder than the last. Her heartbeat quickened, pounding in her ears as her gaze finally settled on the body lying crumpled on the floor.

One sharp gasp escaped her lips, and her knees almost gave way. Her hand shot out, gripping the wall for support as recognition hit her like a wave of ice. She knew that face, that grotesque visage—had seen it once before, years ago, when she was just a girl because of her stupid pureblood brother. It was unmistakable, etched into her memory like a nightmare that refused to fade. The slits for a nose, the unnaturally pale, almost waxen skin, and those long, bony fingers—fingers that once held unimaginable power, now limp and lifeless.

It was him.

The dark wizard who had terrorized the world, whose name was still spoken only in whispers. And now, here he was, lying in a heap on the nursery floor, as still as the dead. She stared at his form, waiting—hoping—for any sign of life, any subtle twitch of movement that would confirm her worst fears. But there was nothing. No rise or fall of his chest. No flicker of those terrible eyes. He was dead.

She hoped.

Her legs trembled as she moved closer, the chill of the room intensifying as she approached his body. She knelt beside him, her fingers shaking as she reached out, stopping just short of his skin. The air around him felt wrong, almost heavy with the residue of dark magic, and Erica hesitated, afraid to make contact.

Could it really be over? 

Her mind raced as she knelt there, staring at the fallen Dark Lord. Erica’s fingers hovered just above his cold, pale skin. One touch would tell her the truth. One touch could confirm whether this was truly the end, or if something far darker was waiting to be unleashed.

She closed her eyes for a moment, steadying her breath. Then, summoning all the courage she had, she pressed her hand to Voldemort’s chest. His skin was ice beneath her touch, and she felt no pulse, no heartbeat. Nothing. He was as dead as any other body she had examined in her years at the Ministry. She pulled her hand away slowly, her heart still racing, the weight of what she had just done sinking in. 

“Is it really over?” Frank whispered behind her, disbelief in his voice.

Erica stood in silence, her chest rising and falling in shallow breaths as she cast one final, lingering glance at the lifeless form of the Dark Lord. His twisted figure lay crumpled at her feet, the menace that had once filled the air now dissipating into an eerie stillness. She forced herself to tear her gaze away and turned toward the door where Frank stood. Her limbs felt heavy, as if weighed down by the enormity of what had just transpired.

Faint cries echoed from the room behind her, the fragile wails of a baby who should not have been left alive. The sound tugged at her heart, but before she could process it, the distant roar of a motorbike filled the air, growing louder and louder until it drowned out the infant's cries completely. Erica paused, her senses reeling, and turned back to the nursery. Her breath caught in her throat.

Through the massive, jagged hole in the nursery wall, she glimpsed a figure—Hagrid, unmistakably—soaring into the night on an enormous, enchanted motorbike. His massive arms cradled the tiny form of the baby in question, the one who had somehow survived. A baby who should have been dead, but instead, was being carried off into the sky.

Erica's mind raced, unable to comprehend what her eyes were telling her. No one could survive the killing curse— no one —and certainly not a mere infant. Yet, there he was, the child untouched by death’s hand. She stumbled backward, her legs giving way as disbelief surged through her body. Her fingers grasped the doorframe, seeking something solid to hold onto, anything to ground her in the reality that felt increasingly surreal.

The truth hit her all at once, a wave of shock that chilled her to the core: Harry Potter . The name echoed in her mind, but now it carried new weight, a new meaning. The boy who had survived the Dark Lord’s wrath. The boy who had lived when he should have perished.

Erica’s heart pounded in her chest as she stared out into the night, the motorbike disappearing into the distance. The world had changed in an instant, and nothing would ever be the same again. Harry Potter—the boy who lived—had defied the impossible.

“How did he do it?” She whispered to herself, more than to Frank, “How did it end?” 

[rjthirsty]

To Protect My Love

Gilbert/Dahlia (OC) Dahlia/Roderic

Words: 4.7k

Tags: Spoilers! Gilbert Main Route Spoilers! No Smut. Spoilers right off the bat.

Gilbert waited impatiently in his room, confined to his bed once again, drudging up unpleasant memories of his childhood. He had always been a sickly child, and grew into a sickly adult, his life expectancy cut shorter and shorter the more he pushed his body past what it was reliably capable of. Something he was okay with happening. It was his goal, after all, to remove the ruling class, to cleanse this world of the corrupt which came from having power.

But then she asked him to live.

Dahlia, the little rabbit that had captured his attention years before, a traveling book salesman - a friend from his childhood - had told him stories of a good-natured young girl, who grew into a virtuous young woman. And he had grown interested in what sort of world she could create if she had been in his place instead of him. What would have happened if she stayed pure and continued to love people rather than turn to violence and bloodshed like he had?

He was still writing that story. He was still watching her and seeing if she could truly change the world with her good heart. Somewhere along the way, he fell in love, despite knowing he had weeks left to live. And surprisingly, somewhere along the way she also fell in love. Now Gilbert was watching her with Dahlia at his side.

He whisked her away to Obsidian, and gave her the opportunity to put her bid for peace into practice. Along with that plan, she begged him to live. He wouldn’t know if she could make the world a better place without seeing it himself, she had said. So he did what he had been refusing - he went through with an experimental surgery to help his imperfect heart. Walter, his physician, wasn’t even certain if the surgery would be a success, but he was sitting in bed now, recovering, and it seemed his life might just continue on a little longer.

Was it a blessing, or a curse, he wondered.

Gilbert truly loved the little rabbit.

He hadn’t expected things to turn out this way. There was a plan in place since he was a young boy, one he put into motion himself. He had once heard about a noblewoman replacing her sick child with a boy who looked the same as him, and he thought it was a brilliant idea in order to keep his mother and older brother, Albert, from being sad about his passing. So he had found a boy who looked nearly identical to him, and trained him to be so much like him that no one could tell. That was the day he started wearing the eyepatch, to cover one of the few inconsistencies the two of them had.

It worked so well that at this moment he was out there handling matters the Supreme Emperor of Obsidian would be handling. Matters Gilbert would normally be handling if he was not recovering from life saving surgery.

Dahlia knew– of course she would know. She saw through most people, and it seems she saw through Roderic even without knowing the secret he had under his eyepatch. Since then, Gilbert had revealed his heterochromatic eye to her, but like his illness, only Walter and Roderic had known about this defect of his before she was included. Yet she had known from the moment Roderic had portrayed himself as Gilbert that it wasn’t really Gilbert, and that was fascinating to him.

It did, however, bring with it some additional complications. Mainly that she was now his wife in name, titling herself as the Empress of Obsidian, and because she knew that Roderic was an imposter posing as the Emperor, she tended to portray a cold and distant relationship between the two of them– between public Gilbert, and his wife, Dahlia. It was a problem. They couldn’t act like strangers - as much as he loathed to consider that another man would put hands on his lover, Roderic was an extension of him, and appearances should be kept.

What would happen if someone tried to step in while he was confined to his room? Roderic would kill without hesitation, that was certain. But to think anyone would consider him weak enough that someone could claim his little rabbit made his bloodlust malleable. It would flare unintentionally when his thoughts wandered, and according to Walter, it was one of the reasons his healing was taking time.

Just like the two of them were taking their time answering his summons, Gilbert thought to himself. He’d have to add this to the punishment he was already concocting for Dahlia. She hadn’t yet taken part in what she was going to be punished for later, but she would. His wishes were absolute - she knew that, and she accepted it.

Roderic was the first to enter Gilbert’s room. It was a strange feeling to see yourself across the room, but if Gilbert had to put a name to the feeling, it would probably border on delight. Roderic was impeccable in his faux persona, and Gilbert was sure he would easily fool anyone– anyone but Dahlia and Chevalier, it seemed. But that was to be expected. He was sure Roderic would easily pass in front of any of the other Rhodolite princes, and anyone in his own kingdom would accept him as well.

There was a moment that Gilbert wanted to be mischievous, to have Roderic take up his spot in bed and he could hide behind one of the many bookshelves throughout his room. He wanted to see how long it would take Dahlia to realize they’d changed places. Teasing his little rabbit was one of his favorite pastimes. But the moment passed as soon as Roderic kneeled before him, supplicating himself.

“...You called, my lord.” Roderic spoke in his own manner, not the way that Gilbert had taught him in order to replicate himself. He fell into this habit every time they exchanged words, even when wearing Gilbert’s clothes and looking the part.

“We’re waiting on our wife.”

The way Gilbert had said ‘our wife’ planted an uncomfortable seed in the back of Roderic’s mind. He was aware he was not Gilbert, despite currently portraying himself as the man. He was merely a stand in, a copy, there to keep up appearances until Gilbert could once again resume his reign as Emperor. And if Gilbert passed away, he was to continue to keep up appearances - but he knew he would never be a match for the man himself.

Roderic nodded and rose from his kneel. “We’re hearing reports of issues near the southern border. The open trade treaty has spurred several nobles into–”

“We’ll deal with the filth later. Something else is more pressing.” Gilbert interrupted. “Roderic, how do you feel about Dahlia?”

Gilbert’s dark red eye was steady on Roderic, and Roderic could feel the malice emanating off of Gilbert. He had been in the presence of Gilbert’s bloodlust more times than he could count, and knew by now how to manage against it. Though he couldn’t repeat the same paralyzing aura, Gilbert had trained him with it so he wouldn’t falter even against Gilbert himself.

“...The little rabbit is extremely taken with you.”

“Roderic, that is not what I asked.” Gilbert’s displeasure was clear on his face - he wasn’t even wearing his signature smile.

“I…” Roderic was slow with his words as he searched inside himself for his own answer to this question. How did he feel about Dahlia? He hadn’t explored his own feelings into the matter because it didn’t matter how he felt. If she was Gil’s wife, he would treat her with the respect and care she deserved. Anyone precious to Gilbert was precious to him. “I think she is unique.”

“Unique?” Gilbert pressed.

“...Yes. She is unlike anyone I’ve ever met. And she has a way of seeing right to the heart of someone. I experienced it in Rhodolite– she knew almost immediately that I wasn’t you.”

“You admire her.” Gilbert gave a facial shrug as he turned the thought over. “That could work.”

A knock at the door had both men turning their attention to it as Dahlia announced herself and entered. No one bothered Gilbert in his room. Roderic or Walter were the only two who were allowed entrance - and now Dahlia, but the other two didn’t knock politely. Despite Gil’s request for Dahlia to also come and go as she pleased - she was his lover after all - she continued to announce her presence.

The oozing animosity in the air dissipated immediately. Gilbert really was a different man when it came to her. Roderic stole a glance at Gilbert, who seemed to perk up as soon as Dahlia came into the room. It reminded him of the child Gil used to be before everything he loved was taken from him. Roderic had lived through that as well, having already been at Gilbert’s side for several years by that point.

Dahlia’s eyes moved from Gilbert in bed to Gilbert standing by the bed - the two men looked identical. It was surprising each time she saw them together, knowing that they weren’t related at all yet they could pass for twins. Of course, that was the point of it all - she knew that now. She had been filled in on Roderic’s role in Gil’s life not long after finding out about his illness, a secret she shared with only three others - Walter, Roderic, and Gilbert.

Standing Gilbert glanced at Gilbert in bed and Dahlia knew instantly that the real man she loved was not toying with her today, and was taking his rest seriously. She smiled and moved across the room to greet Gilbert, taking a seat on the side of the large bed and pressing a gentle kiss to his cheek.

“Aww, that’s it? You haven’t seen me all day, and all I get is a peck on the cheek?” Gilbert tilted his head in a manner that made him look boyishly charming, his smile devious and unbelievably handsome.

Dahlia knew this game by now, and she gladly played along. She had a feeling he did it for her, gently pushing her to be more receptive to the constant affection he lavished her with, and requesting more from her without demanding it.

“It’s good to see you, Gil. I missed you.” She placed a hand on his cheek, her body temperature much higher than his. His cheek wasn’t as cold as it had been before the surgery, and while she didn’t understand everything dealing with the medical procedure, she knew his warmth meant he was alive and he had a future with her.

“Is that all the love you have for me?” Gilbert leaned into Dahlia’s hand, his one red eye never breaking from her gaze.

She glanced down at his lips, pulled into a smile so gentle that it made her heart ache. Slowly, she leaned in and brushed her lips against his, delicately ghosting a kiss. When she pulled back to look at him again, she stopped only inches away, just enough to be able to see eye to eye with him.

“No more than that.” She whispered, aware that Roderic was standing within arm’s reach of the both of them.

While Gilbert didn’t seem to mind an audience, Dahlia wasn’t used to displaying physical intimacy with anyone else who could see her. It had been a shock with the way Gil had hugged and hung on her the day after he brought her to Obsidian, unconcerned about who might witness their closeness. They weren’t even lovers at the time. They weren’t anything at that point. Yet he treated her like they had been long time friends, and more than that on occasion.

Gilbert slowly blinked, and the warmth that radiated from him disappeared. He continued to smile, but the smile had changed from being genuine to his practiced, unreadable mask. The way he straightened away from leaning into Dahlia’s touch was more felt by her than seen, and yet she understood the distance he was putting between them. She watched him, studying his face for an answer and unable to come up with one, knowing something had changed drastically in the last few seconds. It wasn’t like him to pull away from her, even when she set her boundaries. He respected her wishes– more than that, he seemed to do everything in his power to make them a reality, and never had she been punished for wanting to keep their intimacy between the two of them.

“Gil?” Dahlia asked as she brushed her thumb against his cheek.

Gilbert took her hand from his face and brought it towards his mouth where he sunk his teeth into her flesh, biting her roughly. Dahlia hissed through her teeth at the sudden pain, but just after she sucked in the breath, it floated back out of her in a soft sigh as Gilbert caressed the spot he had bit with his tongue, easing the pain into pleasure.

Biting was a sign of affection from Gilbert - or at least that’s what he claimed. He also claimed that he didn’t bite anyone besides Dahlia, and knowing how much he detested lies, Dahlia had to assume it was the truth. Still, it was another thing that she was getting used to, never having been the type to enjoy being hurt - but something about being the only one made it special and she was finding the love bites easier to deal with each time he set his teeth on her and marked her.

“Little rabbit, do you love me?” Gilbert questioned as he released Dahlia’s hand.

“Of course.” Dahlia blinked in confusion. “Why the sudden question? Have I given you the impression otherwise?”

“No,” Gilbert chuckled, his voice softening a little. “I’m aware of how your heart beats only for me. However…” The bed-ridden emperor looked past Dahlia to his mirrored image. “Roderic, you ask her the same.”

Dahlia and Roderic both went wide-eyed. Roderic shook his head and took a step back. “I can’t do that.”

Dahlia spun to look at Roderic, finding his face twisted in as much confusion as she was feeling. It was a look so unwholly like Gilbert that it made the entire situation seem even more unreal to her with Roderic dressed in Gilbert’s usual wear and being completely unlike the man she loved.

“You will.” Gilbert commanded in an even tone.

With eyebrows furrowed, she studied Gil, trying to understand what the point of this was. Suddenly, her heart lurched and her stomach dropped, the confusion gave way to fear so powerful that she instantly broke into a cold sweat. “Are you…” She whispered hoarsely, the words refusing to form in her tight and dry throat.

Gilbert met Dahlia’s gaze and continued to smile without answering. He knew it was a terrible thing to do. He understood where her thoughts went - that she believed his health wasn’t improving. He was honestly doing better than he ever had in his life, but letting her sit on the misconception that he wasn’t long for this world would make this easier for all of them.

Roderic looked between the two of them staring at each other. It was clear that Dahlia thought the worst was about to take place, and while Roderic wasn’t sure what was going through Gil’s head, the fact that he wasn’t answering meant he didn’t want to change Dahlia’s mind on that. 

His own head was a chaotic mess of conflicting thoughts. He trusted Gilbert more than he trusted himself, and if it was an order, there was a reason for it. He wanted to fulfill any command given to him by Gil, but this felt like crossing a line he shouldn’t be allowed to cross.

Recomposing himself, Roderic looked to Gilbert for one last confirmation. “...Like you?”

Gilbert broke eye contact with Dahlia and gave a nod. “Just so.”

Roderic fell into character, or it would be better to say that he grew into character. Gilbert was a man that could command a room with his presence alone, and Roderic had to mimic that. Despite not actually taking on any size, his aura swelled and filled the space.

Dahlia could feel the pressure from both Gilbert and Roderic being in the same room, portraying the same person. She turned to watch, and while there wasn’t anything she could pinpoint as being different, Roderic looked more like Gilbert than when she had entered the room. His visible eye was the same blood red. His smile was placid and unreadable, just like Gil’s. Holding his cane and wearing his clothes, there was nothing visually that gave him away.

“Little rabbit, do you love me?” Gilbert’s words came from Roderic, but in Gilbert’s voice, in Gilbert’s manner of speech, and even his conversational mannerisms with the tilt to his head and the way he looked at her.

She had seen him do this multiple times by now, but never asking something like that. That was something only Gil asked her - that only Gilbert said to her. It felt wrong to hear it knowing it wasn’t him. But somewhere in her reasonable mind it was telling her that this was right. It sounded just like him, and it looked like him, who would it be if not her lover? Her head and heart were at odds, refusing to agree on what this meant.

“Gilbert…” Dahlia muttered and looked back at the man sitting next to her in bed.

“Uh oh, you should answer him. I hear the emperor of Obsidian isn’t a patient man.” Gilbert said, speaking as if he wasn’t the emperor, and as if Roderic really was him.

Dahlia shook her head, her eyes dropping to the floor. “I don’t want to…”

“Do you see the problem, Roderic?” Gil turned his attention to the faux emperor.

“We’re not a convincing couple.” Roderic responded, keeping up his Gilbert portrayal.

“The Empress doesn’t hold love in her heart for you. There will be messes to be cleaned up.”

“Her safety will be at risk.”

“The filth will look for weakness to exploit.”

“Dahlia?” The two had been speaking to each other in the same voice, in the same manner, and if Dahlia hadn’t been sitting between Gilbert in the bed and Roderic standing a few feet away, she wouldn’t have known who was saying what. But now her name came from the man on his feet, the one who looked and sounded just like Gil but wasn’t him, and it came in such a gentle tone that she knew he was much too human to be her lover.

Dahlia lifted her gaze and set it on Roderic. “What are we supposed to do about it?”

Gilbert leaned into Dahlia, his warm words gusting against her ear and neck. “Make it believable.”

She shivered at his words, her eyes kept on Roderic. Gilbert detested lies. She wasn’t sure she could manage to make something believable while knowing it was a lie. She felt in her heart that it belonged to one man, and that man was not replaceable, no matter what he believed. It was difficult to mimic that closeness with someone who was practically a stranger to her - with Roderic. They weren’t even friends. They barely knew each other. The number of times they’ve spoken could be counted on one hand, and now she was being asked to pretend he meant something to her? It wasn’t possible.

“What if we don’t?” Dahlia turned her eyes on Gilbert. This wasn’t fair of him to ask of her. He knew how she felt.

“You could choose to keep yourself confined to my room.” Gilbert barely moved far enough away that they could see each other, needing less space due to using only one eye. “You won’t be moving about the castle without one of us escorting you.”

“I thought you said the castle was safe.” Dahlia muttered.

“As long as I’m alive, you will be protected.” His words were absolute. He had no doubt that he could manage any situation that came their way, but… “Protected doesn’t mean safe.”

That’s where the problem was for Gilbert. His reach was not without limit. There would be people who would attempt to use Dahlia just to get to him. There already had been attempts to hurt her and he hadn’t even met her at that point. He had been watching out for her for a long time, and now that they were closer than ever before, more people would turn their malice on her.

The thunk of Roderic’s cane echoed eerily through the quiet room as he moved closer. “I’ll make it easy on you. Call it a gift.”

Roderic sat on the bed, thigh to thigh with Dahlia, giving her no room to herself. He set the cane against the edge of the high mattress and scooped Dahlia up into his arms and pulled her onto his lap. Gilbert watched as Dahlia’s eyes flew wide at being suddenly repositioned, and he let out an amused laugh. Dahlia sat stiffly on Roderic’s lap, who wrapped his arms around her waist and leaned his chin against her shoulder, cuddling against her the same way Gilbert often would.

“I won’t hurt you, little rabbit.” Roderic murmured sweetly to her.

Dahlia’s heart thumped roughly into a quick pace, her lover’s voice sounding sweeter than it ever had. Her eyes, however, were trained on her real lover, and his voice was not coming from next to her ear, not from the man who was holding her so tenderly. He was so warm , too. Gilbert had always been cold as ice, but Roderic was alive and warm and with the way he was draped about her it made it extremely noticeable.

“I know.” Dahlia had no doubts about that, even if he wasn’t acting as Gil. She would trust Roderic with her life if it ever came down to it, because she knew how much he cared about Gilbert– HE knew how much she cared about Gilbert, too. The day she had found him posing as Gil and learned who he was, they had cried together over their shared worry for Gilbert’s health. They had connected in a way that two people didn’t often connect.

Thinking of that time, and the position she was in now, tears started to well up in her eyes. If Gilbert wasn’t getting better - if his life was only extended for a few months, hopefully years… That’s still something to be thankful for. She would have to make those years the best years of his life, and keep encouraging him to keep living so she could only make them better and better.

Absently, Dahlia brought her hand up to her shoulder that Roderic was leaning on, her fingers sliding into his dark locks of hair, letting the strands glide between them. His hair was more coarse than Gil’s.

She quickly wiped at her eyes to prevent the tears from falling, then took a deep, calming breath and focused on her posture and body language. ‘Make it believable,’ Gilbert had said. She knew she could do this because Gilbert had asked it of her, and he wouldn’t make requests she couldn’t fulfill. Dahlia leaned into Roderic, forcing herself to relax in his lap. It was a strange thing to her, trying so hard to make it seem like she wasn’t thinking about every little detail and action so she would look as natural with Roderic as she did with Gil.

Roderic’s arms around her waist squeezed lightly, and she felt him press against her. The urge to jump off him was overwhelming, but Dahlia managed to keep her innate reflex tightly under wraps, only tensing slightly in response. “You won’t be biting me, will you?”

“Is that a request?” Roderic sounded amused. Dahlia could feel the way his muscles tensed as he shifted.

“No!” Instead of jerking away from him, she grabbed a fistful of his hair that she had been playing with, holding him in place.

Roderic’s eye went wide as Dahlia tugged his hair, snatching it up to keep him from moving in position to bite her. He wasn’t planning on going through with it, he was just going to toy with her a little. He hadn’t expected her to be so rough in refusing him, and he had to wonder if she was like this with Gilbert - perhaps there were things about Gilbert that even he didn’t know. Did she always talk to him like this? He had never heard it before.

“Dahlia can be bold and demanding when she is set on something.” Gil answered with a laugh, reading the surprise on Roderic’s face.

“The little rabbit has teeth, I should have expected that if she has managed to survive you for so long.”

“You two don’t have to talk about me like I’m not here.” Dahlia huffed, slowly letting Roderic go and rubbing her fingers against his scalp to ease any sort of pain she might have caused. “I just don’t want you biting me… Please?” The last word came out pleadingly.

Roderic felt a twinge of guilt. Gilbert was relentless in his teasing of Dahlia, but clearly he had crossed a line in replicating that. He wanted to make this easier on her by being as close as possible to the real thing, and here he was pushing her limits already. He turned to look at Gil for guidance on whose request he should be listening to.

“That’s a reasonable request.” Gil answered.

“Thank you.” Dahlia sighed with relief. “How long will we have to be like this? I think I can be convincing, but only if there’s an end in sight.”

Roderic remained silent. He was also curious to know how long the charade would go on. As far as he knew, Gilbert was getting better and it wouldn’t be long before he was himself again. While it was important in the interim to keep up appearances, he’d like to offer Dahlia some hope where Gil had decided to let her misunderstand the situation and snuff out that small hope.

“Who can say?” Gilbert kept it ambiguous. Roderic tilted his head at Gil, trying to figure out what it was that was going through the other man’s head. Dahlia all but sunk in Roderic’s lap.

“It won’t be long.” Roderic reassured her. He felt Gil staring at him, giving him a cold look that said he had disappointed the beast. The hairs on the back of his neck responded to the sudden discontent, but he kept his composure and pretended he didn’t notice the emperor’s disapproval.

“Then we’re done for today?” Dahlia pushed herself out of Roderic’s lap before either man could answer. “I have an idea of what needs to be done.”

She rounded back towards the bed and sat next to Gilbert again. It wasn’t lost on anyone the way her hand clung to his sleeve, or the way she leaned into him. The whole ordeal had certainly caused a chaotic tempest of emotions inside her, and yet she continued to look only vaguely distressed. She was learning to better school herself around others.

“For today,” Gilbert agreed.

He wrapped his arm around Dahlia and pulled her against his chest, leaning his head down to rest his cheek on the top of her head while her ear was pressed against his heart. The wound wasn’t yet healed, not surprising with the size of the incision needed for his surgery, but even the pain that came from him squeezing her against his chest was minor compared to the pain he had been living with his entire life. And he would suffer through it and more for the woman in his arms.

Dahlia had put on a brave front and worked through her own reluctance to perform what he had asked of her. He could feel her emotions trembling even though her body wasn’t. The rapid beating heart of a rabbit caught in the arms of a beast just endeared her more to him; he knew who it was that truly conquered who in their relationship. Perhaps he could forego the punishment he had planned, this time.

[the-pale-chancellor]

So, we finished Curse of Strahd

After about 9 months we did it. I'd say even on accident, because one session before we were too stubborn to comply and obey Strahd and started a fight. We didn't expect to finish it all in one session, but here we are and...I'm just so grateful to our amazing Master, who's sadly not on Tumblr, for what story he's given us. And generally for what way we have walked from the very first session, unsure and quiet, till the very end, emotional and beautiful as it is. /breathes in/ So, you probably want to know what happened to our characters? And even if you don't, I'll still tell you this hehe. Saer'llith, my silly little boy, who's no longer just a phylactery for a Lich, who's no longer bearing the Dyrr surname, is learning to live a new life. Without memories of his past self, without an ability to walk under the sun because he has no soul left, but with a person who loves him unconditionally, who made it through along with him - with Escher Belasco. They both are now looking after the Orphanage and the children, inculding Victor (whenever he's not doing something dangerous with his magic again) and trying to learn what it's like - to live freely. Maxine has reached the end but her time was ticking - a deal with Zhudun and one death later broke her own soul into pieces, therefore the only thing left was to finally lay to rest in peace in a tomb, along with her wife - Erin, so they together become nothingness. Their draconic "son", Mark, became a stone guardian statue, protecting their eternal sleep. They've finally reunited. Sharlotka has found who she was seeking for - one of the hags of these lands, who was forever bound to her lover - a vampire named Gulthias, who is just now a tree, free to grow under the sunlight and give wine apples that are able to sate vampires' hunger for blood (and thus becoming a way out for Escher). But she has broken her own morals and her own self - a grave domain cleric who had to raise a person from the dead, who buried her friends along the way and who now walks a path different from her own god. She still has a lot of work to do in Barovia. Deva, or Virgo now partially has her fate in the hands of the deity, but that doesn't mean that her story has ended. Even under such control she's free to roam wherever she wants to and to finally forget about the constant dungeons she's been all her life in. Barovia has let her out even if most of her new friends stayed in there - and she'll use every possibility of that. And the character who's been the least with us - Isil [ee-s-ee-l'] - has wandered back to where she first appeared - to the Amber Temple to find the knowledge, the truth she's been seeking. Our Master said that she'll have her own little story later and we're so waiting for this. The player's other chacracter - Gabriel - has also died but she's forever our favourite for the silly songs and just for who she was. Well...I think, that's it? I still can't really believe that we've finished it all. Of course, months later we'll start something new but for now - this fandom will have a storng grip on us all for times to come. And I'm just glad that this fandom exists. And for all the coincidences that has happened along the way, for who we've met and for who we've become. Thank you, @qusok, @vadimtea and @she-who-must-not-be-woken. I'm grateful to play with you all. And just know that I love you :)

[ivecomeforsouls]

Chapter 12 - Two Black Boxes

The first thing he felt was pain. A ball of pressure in his chest that made it hard to breath, and sharp, jabs of pain piercing through his skull. Gradually, he began to register the loud, booming voices around him.

"He will make good on his promise now! I will not be responsible for her, godaughter or not." A man's angry voice was the next thing he was able to process. "I don't care what happened to that bunny freak, the wedding will commence as planned!

Not everything they planned went well," another man's voice calmly argued. "And we need to compensate on our part."

"Tarin is dead because that foolish old man was so happy about this wedding. He deserves to have his part go as planned." A woman's voice made itself known as Legend slowly got up.

"Well, look who's finally up."

"It's about time."

"Good Evening."

"...what?" Legend looked around at the three, unfamiliar people standing around the bed he was lying in. Confused, and a little disoriented, he stood up. "Who are you?"

"We," the taller of the two men spoke up. "Are Tarin's closest friends. Bad news, both Tarin and that rabbit boy are dead. We have no idea how the kid died, or where his bidy is, but it doesn't matter because we've also got some good news."

Ravio is dead. Legend's mind raced, and he realized that that's where the pain I'm his chest was comming from. Grief does that. He would know.

The man continued without pause. "The good news is, that you will be married at sunset tomorrow."

"Ravio is dead? Wait..."

Oh, shut up you ungrateful little cockroach!" The shorter man stepped forward as Legend sank back down onto the bed. "No friend of anyone's should mean more to you than your wife. Especially one who's gather died for your cursed union!"

The shorter man's face was now less than in inch away from his own as he quieted down to a whisper. "You stole her away from my son. A good man who deserved everything she had to offer and more. Do you have the words to even try to justify yourself?"

Legend opened and closed his moth a few times. Ravio is dead. He remembered that, but what happened to Tarin?

"That's what I thought." He heard from behind him as he attempted to escape through the front door, but the women stopped him, pinning his arms to the wall.

"A person's wedding is the most important day of you life. Seeing as it will happen with or without your bunny friend, he doesn't matter. Only your further wife and her wedding does. You be sure to remember that for tomorrow."

----------

He sat facing Ravio's memorial. A rock with his name chisled into it. Legend refused to move from his spot on the ground. He was entirely alone once the villagers all escaped to their houses to prepare for the rain, but it wasn't long before a soft, gentle hand found his own.

"I'm sorry, Marin. I know he's gone and he's never comming back," Legend's words were rushed, but hesitant. "But I can't seem to convince myself that this shouldn't matter. She's right. It doesn't matter." He leaned back back and looked up at the clouds as thunder flashed across the sky, but his tears came before the rain did.

"With or without Ravio there I'm still gonna marry you, but after all that," Legend held her hand to his lips. "the feeling I have can't be described as grief anymore. It's like...like when you eat something nasty, but it's so spicy that you can't taste it anyway. Exept it's not a burning sensation, just pain."

"Link,"Marin sat quietly for a minute. "You are far too focused on the wedding. I know my father's friends are pressing hard for it to happen quickly, but that doesn't mean that Ravio is no longer worth anything. If something makes you cry, it matters."

Legend held Marin's hands up to his lips for a moment, his tears mixing with the falling rain on her hand. They huddled together for a few hours, Legend processing the whole situation. Properly, this time. When he had thought long enough, he spoke again.

"Will I go back?" Legend looked at Ravio's memorial. "Will I wake up and find that this was just another dream? It has to be. Oh, but then I'd lose you." He looked at Marin, then his eyes went up to the clouds. "This is how it always happens. Surely it's a dream. I cannot exist just to suffer like this!"

"I...have no response for that," Marin rung out her hair a skirt. "But one day, we'll find the right words, and they will be simple.

----------

Marin and Legend had been traveling for several weeks before Marin decided to show him. They'd left the village the following morning at Marin's suggestion, skipping out on the planned wedding, and set out for Nayru's cabin. They now sat by a fire, as they each mourned in their own way.

"Link." Maring came to sit with him. "When I came back with help, we found these two, tiny, black boxes in the spot where Ravio should have been."

Legend looked at them for a long time before he reached out to take them, and held them for a minute or so, before opening one. Inside, there was a ring. This silver ring had three, tiny, familiar flowers carved from diamond on it, he middle one being slightly larger than the other two.

...

Slowly, it dawned on him. Before he arrived at Nauru's cabin the first time, Ravio had been exited about two, ordinary rings.

He looked into the second box. A silver ring with a string of hibiscus flowers engraved all the way around, diamond replacing everything that had been carved out so that it was completely smooth.

Legend stood up. Marin followed suit curiously, still not knowing what was inside the box.

So Legend decided to do it again, properly this time, and knelt.

It happened almost the same as the first time. But through tears instead of laughter, silence insdeat of joyfull shouts. As he did so, he began to plan out how Ravio and Tarin would still be a part of their wedding.

----------

Previous | Next

[wolfdrawer]

OK, have something for Torbek and Twig!! Allow me to ramble and then after all this, time for some drawings!!

Side note: There is still magic in this au, however i made it so it's very selective so yes, Twig is still a brownie, however she's not warlock. I would say more, the classes are not specific. So it's more soft magic system.

Torbek:

•Once a mayor of a town, racked with so much paranoia of the hobgoblins appearing and ruining his reputation, he goes off the deep end, taxing his citizens to the point of bankruptcy, fueling his own needs of drinking away the paranoia, and desperately finding out who he can trust. He went off the deep end, drinking and blacking out, becoming more and more paranoid to the point of accusing innocents of betrayal and sabotage, locking them away and violently (not torture more mad yelling and ramblings) hassling them to why they are betraying this town. One day, the towns people had enough and rioted, breaking into the mayor's office, stealing back their wealth and rescuing their family and friends. Backed into a corner, the mayor fled out of his window, grabbing his booze and going anywhere but his home. A shell of his former self, with only alcohol to comfort him and the hazy memories of where he came from.

•In this, he did have a wife but he scared her so badly, can't stand seeing him in such distress and violence, that she had to leave him and run away, leaving behind only the scarf she made for him. Yes, her name is Clementine and she is a moth lady because of a theory I have for Torbek's life in the regular Witchlight.

•He has no weapons per se and in this, he doesn't have witchlight powers or blood curses so his only defense is his feral growing nails and his alcohol bottles.

•He wears messy typical mayor clothing that is stained and ripped in too many ways. Typical hobo look but more put together. He's just traveling around being a menace...in the nicest way possible.

Twig:

•Bar maid that wishes for more in life while working long hours at the (Tavern Name pending). With her pet pig, they save their money to get out of the town they live in.

•Twig is her same chipper war crime self, but more restricted because she doesn't have many options. I would have to look up Brownie powers and other fae magic to fully explain.

•Pigtunia is no longer a familiar but she is a pet that is loyal and kind of follows Twig around when ready.

•Her weapons of choice are a work in progress because I want her to have some kind of hard hitting weapon, looking up blunt weapons now because Twig with a gun is hilarious, but also Twig just hitting people like their baseballs is also really funny...she can get one gun, as a treat and it'll be brutal.

•Her outfit when the boys first meet her is typical bar maid outfit, like you'd see in a tavern, not those kinds though. Her outfit change when she officially joins the crew, is a red cowboy hat that she sews mushroom spots into, because I want that motif, and the woman cowboy outfit, hard to explain again but the colors are from her dress in Witchlight.

And that's all for now!! Next up is drawings and I want to put in so much detail but at the same time, I don't know how much will actually be described...Please enjoy!!

[icharchivist]

So this whole event is all about grief?

Always Has Been.

jk jk, i think this event is about many things, one of which being grief. but take my own analysis of it with caution, as it is mostly how i felt it, and huh, i'm someone who's very deeply sensitive about grief. Everything is about grief when it's all you know yaknow?

But, yeah, i think it's one major element of this event. I think the King put it best near the end: grief is something every mortal go through, and all they can hope out of it is letting it get you to be closer with others people. Staying stuck in the past is only going to hurt the longer you stay there, in denial, holding to something that's long gone.

We're talking about Rebirth and Destruction, and i think one key element is that... when you get destroyed people will mourn you, if you are willed to life again, people have grieved for you.

It's grief that pushes Raziel to try to find any alternative to bring Lucifer back, grief who makes her think killing the singularity is worth it if it can keep the Phoenix alive. Without knowing the Phoenix was manipulating her, it was her selfish wish of holding on to Lucifer, someone who was long gone, that risked going against what she thought was Phoenix's wishes, and after MC's life.

It's also grief that pushes Sandalphon to stop her, for he has been coping with his own grief for years. Just like the Diviners, he mourns. Lucifer was all his life once. He had to learn to let him go in order to experience more to life. Yet still he yearns for him, but he can't let it move him on a path he doesn't want to walk. It's because he is honoring Lucifer's wishes that he restrains himself from his selfish desire, but also the life he found in this world worth loving.

And it's also grief that pushes Magus to look for any way to bring Astaroth back. She clung to his remains in the Pandemonium trying to bring him back to life, she took his identity for a while as well, she clung to his remains even while dying at the bottom of the skies. And still she thought of going with the Phoenix's plan if only it meant she could find a way to bring Astaroth back.

It's grief that motivated all of Abramelin's arc. It's grieving the loss of his wife and his child that made him make a pact with Phoenix against God. He didn't even care for the cause. He just was grieving. Phoenix manipulated Farhana into accepting death so Abramelin would be driven by grief. And in succumbing to this anger that followed her death, Abramelin was stuck in an eternity of torment. He kept forgetting her, and dooming himself for forgetting his precious family. All he had was Fenie coming back once in a while telling him to hang on on life, but all he wanted was death.

In a sense Abramelin is stuck in the anger phase of grief. He only has rage keeping him forward. Rage against the Phoenix that gave him this cursed life, rage for the God who killed his wife, rage for all of those who can't give him peace. Something also i think is important on that reading is that his memory loss means he can never actually process what he's done, how he coped. Every day he forgets what are the reasons he still keeps going. He's a man walking longing for death, forgetting the people he once loved, and therefore unable to properly process the grief he lived and instead dooming himself for forgetting what was important to him, leading him once again to want to end his life.

Fenie meanwhile was grieving both of her parents, and she turned it into a flame of hope in the darkness. She clung to the promise Phoenix made her and her mother. But everything was shortlived in the end.

Farhana knew the power of grief and let the Phoenix use her for it. And as Sabrina, the past came crashing down and while learning about Abramelin fucked her up, it's losing Fenie that eventually broke her and had her accept her past. Where Abramelin lost his mind, Sabrina found hers eventually. But it still was taken away.

Abramelin accepted death for his child to live. He had accepted death a long time ago and now at leas he knew he was dying for the people he loved, rather than just dying because he couldn't stand it anymore. Sabrina and Fenie will have to move forward from that.

And the Diviners mourn him because he was a companion for hundred of years. The Diviners are people who keep fighting to keep their purpose alive, because it's the only way for them to be alive. Yet being alive comes with the fact that you will experience loss. Abramelin was a constant in their lives, without being one of theirs. They spent the event with the fear of dying, only to mourn once the person they tried to kill all those hundred years ended up finally kicking the bucket -- because you can't help but create bonds, for to live is to love.

Everyone else in that event were dealing with a type of grief, of mourning, they coped in any way they thought possible. They have Eternity to remember, some are doomed to forget, yet you live on with the pain of people you lost.

Every single one of the people focused on in term of grief were immortals, or in Sabrina's case, a reincarnation. They're people who have all the time in the world behind them, and accumulated loss they still have to process into that day.

Which bring me to Ceodric, ultimately the secondary antagonist of the story. Ceodric grieved his mother. We know the Phoenix came to find him while he was still crying her on her death bed. We also know that no matter the reasons Phoenix gave him, whatever the reasons Ceodric fought for, what he hoped in the end was to have the tear of the Phoenix to bring her back. Everything he did, was out of grief. And grief makes you vulnerable. Phoenix took advantage of that, the way she took advantage of Farhana and Abramelin in the past. She never intended for Ceodric to have a happy ending, neither would Farhana and Abramelin once they met again. Phoenix doesn't care about love expect in the way it can help her manipulate others.

Ceodric was consumed by his grief so much he couldn't take it. He tried to find any reason outside of his control to justify the death, because just accepting it as a tragedy wouldn't just work.

Phoenix meanwhile is a creature who cannot comprehend grief. She says she doesn't understand love, she says that for her a thousand years mean nothing, so the reincarnation cycle of a few thousand years means nothing to her either. She's a creature who is so used to living and dying and living again that dying doesn't mean a thing to her.

Honestly i would wonder if it's why the Phoenix seeks the Omnipotent so much. The Omnipotent is Rebirth and Destruction, and the only thing that can kill immortal people. She clung to a piece of him for all that time. I think maybe, it's the only way to actually test her own existence, because life means nothing to her, as it always restarts either way.

but Phoenix uses people. She does so the whole event. She uses the fear the Diviners have to die to infiltrate them and create conflict. She uses the fact Raziel cares for her and is grieving for Lucifer to use her. She tries to use the fact Magus wants Astaroth back to manipulate her, to no aim. She manipulated Farhana into accepting death to manipulate Abramelin later. She manipulated Fenie in accepting her deal despite knowing Fenie will barely survive with her parents. And she manipulated Ceodric who wanted his mother back. And while Ceodric was manipulated because of the love he had for his mother, it's a mother grieving her child who ended up striking him down.

Ceodric was a piece of shit and the way he just accepted how to hurt Sabrina fucking sucked and everything. But i don't want to give in completely to the hatred because ultimately he's just one more person who's grief was used against him by the Phoenix. It's just that every single other players of this mascarade had either purer motives or a stronger heart to move ahead. Ceodric is the cautionary tale of mismanaged grief turning you into a weapon. None of the stories about grief would have hit the same if not for the one person who couldn't stand grieving.

I would also mention that some of the supporting cast also, are interesting choices on that matter. Ladiva is defined by her grieving her parents so much she wants to give the world the love her parents gave her tenthfold. She is so loving because she misses her parents dearly and will do anything so that people don't feel the pain that she's carrying. That's something she also expresses in No Rain No Rainbow, which was among the events being pictured during MC's power surge. Cagliostro, also, has a lot to do with grieving. She grieves her older sister who took care of her when she was so sick everyone else had abandonned her. The sister she loved so much she took inspiration from when she created the appearance she now lives by. And so she brings her own collection of bodies into the battle in order to help MC carry the power of the Omnipotents: representations of the person Cagliostro is missing the most. Not to mention Shalem, even if the event didn't focus on her as much, who is someone defined by how she's grieving people she doesn't even remember.

(Anon who wants Seofon to be a big brother to dead siblings, this is your cue to start crying).

and it's not to count the metaphorical aspect of grief, such as grieving a life you couldn't have had. I would argue MC is grieving their father, in that sense, and isn't abandoning hope to see them again. Because like... this is someone who abandoned them decades ago to go to a mystical land. Abandon mixes together with grief when thinking about why the people you love couldn't have stayed with you. in No Rain No Rainbow, Ladiva actually compares MC missing their father to how she's missing her parents, but how she cannot comprehend our Father's decisions because her parents loved her so much she can't process a parent willing to do that. And to her who misses her parents, she can't fathom how MC must be processing this specific type of grief.

I think grief is the natural thing that comes up if you're talking about the very core of what makes the Skyrealm: it's a place of mortality, one where we die, one where we grief. One where we have to move on, in some way. The primal beasts we meet all get closer to the humanity of the skyrealm as they discover people they care about, and that they care about enough that it would hurt to lose them.

in 000, when Belial spites that loving skydwellers is a pointless thing to do because they'll die one day and everyone else will forget your name, it's ultimately a call of refusing to experience grief in some way or another, made even more tangible by the fact we know Belial grieved Lucilius for so many thousand of years. He exprienced loss and he can't experience it again, and the skyrealm which is a place where loss have to be accepted to move on is something he doesn't want to partake in.

So, yes, actually, i do think this event is a lot about grief. but also it's about hope. It's about moving forward. Raising from one's ashes, literally. It's accepting death, but it's also challenging it. It's living on.

but what i believe is that with Ceodric, there's this type of cautionary tale about denial, about trying to find any explanation, any scapegoat, to refuse to acknowledge your own pain.

There's also some commentary with Ceodric about radicalization, for instance. His belief on power falls a lot into the mindset a lot of fascist fall into when figuring out what they have to consider as scapegoat even if they have to be hypocritical about it, and the way it's usually by preying on vulnerable people that people fall into this type of cult.

There's still commentary about the primals about free will, and about their lack of with the Diviners as well. Whenever they can continue forward or not.

There's obviously a discussion about Power, which, while driven by an unreliable Ceodric, raises questions for Seofon in particular, because while Ceodric is an hypocrite, the fact people who hold powers are the one deciding of the fate of the world is something Seofon has to consider both as the leader of the most powerful crew in the sky, and as someone who currently has a parasite at the back of his head who is waiting for the time he can take over and use the very same power Seofon is wielding to protect the skies in order to do God knows what. Just because Ceodric is wrong on his reasoning doesn't mean there isn't some forshadowing there, is all i mean.

And of course in Granblue's fashion, it's still about love. It's about companionship. It's about how you need everyone to work together to achieve a power that is just the same as Godhood. The dragons taking on the Phoenix individually knocked them out, but working together with the Skyrealms meant they could actually even the odds. Always something our cosmical besties have to learn.

And honestly i think it's a perfect way to celebrate the 10th anni. They talked about how the 10th year will be a marking point for Granblue because many things are ending and many others will be begining. I think the tease about the Moon, about reaching Estalucia, are all about that. We're closing the book on the stories that we followed for 10 years, we're reaching an end there -- but there are now new things to explore. We'll move on, but we're looking back on what we have had so far with fondness.

We're human so we grieve, and so we move on.

but what do i know. I'm just obsessed with grief as it is. maybe i'm just projecting a lot on everything.

So yeah that's kinda my take for now on the event, all fresh from it. Maybe it'll change when i spend more time thinking about it and when my brain will be less fried from a long day.

But what can i say. love me some story about grief.

have a nice day and thank you for reading

[fang-and-feather]

Shower of Love

Ikemen Vampire: Leonardo/MC - Family fic

Prompt: Rainy Days

For the spring showers spring flowers event hosted by @aquagirl1978 and @violettduchess and for Leonardo's birthday (I finished this in time, but posting kept giving me trouble)

AO3 Link / IkeVamp Masterlist / General Masterlist

The remains of a family picnic in a sheltered part of the garden, soft rain falling around your little piece of paradise. His wife was already asleep, head resting on his lap, the baby also fast asleep in her arms.

Usually Leonardo would have taken them both inside. A lazy afternoon in bed was usually too appealing to pass up, especially on a rainy day. But today he found himself watching over them for a little longer.

In all his years, he had never imagined such a happy moment. Not with him in it. For him, happiness and love were for other people, his cursed existence above this kind of normalcy.

Then she had come into his life and slowly changed his world. Changed him, into someone who lived for those idyllic moments. Lived for her and now the family they were starting. She had given his life purpose, brought such brightness to it that now he feared going back into the darkness of the lonely days.

And he wouldn’t. Leonardo always told himself.

She was bright like the sun to him, but also like the spring rain. Fleeting, but made everything around grow and bloom into something beautiful that remained even after her shower of love was gone.

For him, these blooms came in the form of memories he would always cherish, their presence bittersweet, but bright enough to keep him in the light. He was sure that would be enough. Her love would be with him for all eternity.

He caressed her hair, smiling tenderly, when he heard a tiny whimper and shifted his gaze to meet a pair of eyes the same color as his. The girl’s big, bright, curious eyes, besides the color, reminded him of her mother instead.

“Awake already, bambina?” He whispered, carefully picking her up from his wife’s arms, then kissing her forehead. The little girl’s attention quickly shifted from him to the rain and she reached out and started making noise as if talking to it. “You’re as energetic as your mamma, aren’t you?” Leonardo laughed in a low tone. “But you can’t go there today, so be a good girl, okay?” He started to gently rub the baby’s back, which seemed to calm her down a little.

“I think she just likes the rain.” His wife chuckled, reaching up to touch his hand. “Soft rain like this just makes you want to go outside.”

“Did she wake you, cara mia?”

“No. I was half awake.” She sat up by his side, leaning into him, and touched her other hand to her daughter’s, who tried to close her tiny hand around her mother’s. “Should we go inside already?”

Leonardo thought for only a moment, watching the rain fall.

“Just a little longer. We hardly have moments just for us in this place.” He leaned in and kissed her. “At least until she goes back to sleep.”

And his touch and warmth really seemed to be lulling the girl back to sleep.

“Okay.” This time, she was the one to kiss him. “Happy birthday, Leonardo. I love you.”

“And I love you, amore mio.” He whispered to her. “I love both of you. Always.”

IkeVamp Masterlist / General Masterlist

[postguiltypleasures]

My Peak TV Journey *What We Do in the Shadows*

I took notes while watching season five of What We Do in the Shadows hoping I’d be able to post something in a timely manner. By most people’s standards I haven’t, but by my own, maybe? I liked this season better than the fourth. I can’t honestly say if it’s because it was better, or I was just in a better place. In someways the seasons were interesting reflections in each other. Partially because of this, I think the series should wrap up next season. 

One of my complaints about last season is that I got bored with the child version of Colin Robinson before the plot wrapped up. I missed adult Colin’s effect in the group and just wasn’t in the mood for a season long “the more things change, the more they stay the same” plot. While Colin was restored to his adult self with all the group dynamics that come with it (and no memory of the past year) there was the possibility of another “more things change, the more they stay the same” plot with Guillermo’s uneasy transition to being a vampire. But this time the act of restoring the status quo by making Guillermo a human again, has the potential to really change everything. Who is Guillermo if he no longer wants to be a vampire? How does he fit in with the group? Or does he reject it entirely. 

Appropriately while Guillermo’s attempt to transition from human to vampire is stagnant, things between him and Nandor become more overtly romantic than in previous seasons. But this is with the added tension because Guillermo going to another vampire to be turned was the biggest betrayal he could do to Nandor. The climax where Nandor finds out after pretty much everyone else, and understands exactly why this transition hasn’t gone well the how to complete it has a sensitivity that is unexpected. And the fact that he can tell Guillermo ultimately doesn’t want to directly take human life, is tender. 

The season saw more of Guillermo’s family than previous seasons, which made the reversion to his human state make more sense emotionally.  In his semi human/semi vampire state he sought help from Laszlo who proceeded to perform freaky experiments on him. They did not shed light on his condition, but they included some very freaky animal hybrids, (who I hope we see more of next season) and an opportunity for Laszlo to use Guillermo’s sweat as a vampire sun screen. Unrelated to Laszlo’s experiments, there was a scene where a shocked Guillermo trips booby traps that Colin Robinson set up through the house while Wagner’s “Ride of the Valkyries” plays in the background. It was ridiculous. It made me happy. 

Speaking of Laszlo, is it just me or was his screen time reduced this season? If so why? Was it to give Matt Berry a break for personal reasons? Was it a concerted decision to prevent the series form becoming The Laszlo Cravensworth Show? At the very, least he does not currently appear to be driving plot. In the previous two seasons he was aiding Colin Robinson in his respective end of life and beginning of life phases. Here he was helping Guillermo with his stalled transition. It could be a sign of Lazslo’s character being the friendliest of the bunch, but I doubt it.  None of these characters are exactly humane. 

Following up Laszlo’s lack of driving plot, it’s worth noting how little he had to do with his lady wife Nadja this season. The plot in which they interacted the most involved him struggling to make a good impression on her new human friends from Little Antipaxos, where she enjoyed getting to know contemporary people from her homeland. He eventually, inadvertently convinces them that he is the the incarnation of a legendary, piggish figure. But their general lack of conflict and interaction also made a kind of sense for Nadja’s plot. In previous seasons she regularly railed against a cursed hat Laszlo had and refused to get rid of. Last season wrapped up the cursed hat story, and so this season had Nadja thinking she was hexed in her pre-vampire life. While curses definitely exist in the WWDITS world, the show starts the storyline explicitly saying that the events that led her to think she was cursed were really the result of how much inebriated blood she drank while running a club last season. The attempts to reverse the curse led her to Little Antipaxos,  teaching about citizenship in a community college, and getting scammed by a “magic woman” who really wanted her preferred Dunkin’ Donuts to serve her again. I enjoyed all of this. 

I am glad that Colin Robinson is an adult again. I loved his short reunion with his energy vampire girlfriend Evie while running for political office. I also enjoyed seeing him as a waiter and how upset he got when the too interesting. 

Finally, Kristen Schall’s Guide was bumped up to a regular character this season. I think she had a similar amount of screen time this season as last, but she did drive more plot. Notably, she gave Nadja the “clues” to “prove” that she was really cursed. This turned out to be a punishment for the ways in which Nadja ignored her as a potential female friend. As much as I like Nadja, I am one hundred percent Team The Guide in this conflict. The dynamics of the characters can be described as cliques within cliques. Nadja and Laszlo’s marriage is a clique. Laszlow’s, Nadja and Nandor are a clique as the classical vampires who have been living together. Guillermo is in a clique with the classical vampires against Colon as he can feed off of all of them and they hate him for that, etc. having the Guide, who’s always known they were detached from the world, but now recognizes them as her only option for long term companionship, is exactly the kind of situation for which this show exists.

[roman-catholic-mass-readings]

17th February >> Mass Readings (GB)

Monday, Sixth Week in Ordinary Time  or The Seven Holy Founders of the Servite Order. 

Monday, Sixth Week in Ordinary Time 

(Liturgical Colour: Green. Year: C(I))

First Reading Genesis 4:1-15, 25 ‘Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him.’

Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, saying, ‘I have gotten a man with the help of the LORD.’ And again, she bore his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, and Cain a worker of the ground. In the course of time Cain brought to the LORD an offering of the fruit of the ground, and Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions. And the LORD had regard for Abel and his offering, but for Cain and his offering he had no regard. So Cain was very angry, and his face fell. The LORD said to Cain, ‘Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is contrary to you, but you must rule over it.’ Cain spoke to Abel his brother. And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him. Then the LORD said to Cain, ‘Where is Abel your brother?’ He said, ‘I do not know; am I my brother’s keeper?’ And the LORD said, ‘What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood is crying to me from the ground. And now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. When you work the ground, it shall no longer yield to you its strength. You shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth.’ Cain said to the LORD, ‘My punishment is greater than I can bear. Behold, you have driven me today away from the ground, and from your face I shall be hidden. I shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me.’ Then the LORD said to him, ‘Not so! If anyone kills Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold.’ And the LORD put a mark on Cain, lest any who found him should attack him. And Adam knew his wife again, and she bore a son and called his name Seth, for she said, ‘God has appointed for me another offspring instead of Abel, for Cain killed him.’

The Word of the Lord

R/ Thanks be to God.

Responsorial Psalm Psalm 50(49):1, 8. 16b-17. 20-21. ℟14a

R/ Give your praise as a sacrifice to God.

The God of gods, the LORD, has spoken and summoned the earth, from the rising of the sun to its setting. I do not rebuke you for your sacrifices; your offerings are always before me.

R/ Give your praise as a sacrifice to God.

‘How can you recite my commandments, and take my covenant on your lips, you who despise correction, and cast my words behind you.’

R/ Give your praise as a sacrifice to God.

‘You who sit and malign your own brother, and slander your own mother’s son? You do this, and should I keep silence? Do you think that I am like you? I accuse you, lay the charge before you.’

R/ Give your praise as a sacrifice to God.

Gospel Acclamation John 14:6

Alleluia, alleluia. I am the way, and the truth, and the life, says the Lord. No one comes to the Father except through me. Alleluia.

Gospel Mark 8:11-13 ‘Why does this generation seek a sign?’

At that time: The Pharisees came and began to argue with Jesus, seeking from him a sign from heaven to test him. And he sighed deeply in his spirit and said, ‘Why does this generation seek a sign? Truly, I say to you, no sign will be given to this generation.’ And he left them, got into the boat again, and went to the other side.

The Gospel of the Lord

R/ Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

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

The Seven Holy Founders of the Servite Order 

(Liturgical Colour: White. Year: C(I))

(Readings for the memorial)

(There is a choice today between the readings for the ferial day (Monday) and those for the memorial. The ferial readings are recommended unless pastoral reasons suggest otherwise)

First Reading Romans 8:26-30 ‘For those who love God all things work together for good.’

Brothers and Sisters: The Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.

The Word of the Lord

R/ Thanks be to God.

Responsorial Psalm Psalm 34(33):2-3. 4-5. 6-7. 8-9. 10-11. ℟2a

R/ I will bless the LORD at all times.

I will bless the LORD at all times, praise of him is always in my mouth. In the LORD my soul shall make its boast; the humble shall hear and be glad.

R/ I will bless the LORD at all times.

Glorify the LORD with me; together let us praise his name. I sought the LORD, and he answered me; from all my terrors he set me free.

R/ I will bless the LORD at all times.

Look towards him and be radiant; let your faces not be abashed. This lowly one called; the LORD heard, and rescued him from all his distress.

R/ I will bless the LORD at all times.

The angel of the LORD is encamped around those who fear him, to rescue them. Taste and see that the LORD is good. Blessed the man who seeks refuge in him.

R/ I will bless the LORD at all times.

Fear the LORD, you his holy ones. They lack nothing, those who fear him. The rich suffer want and go hungry, but those who seek the LORD lack no blessing.

R/ I will bless the LORD at all times.

Gospel Acclamation Matthew 5:3

Alleluia, alleluia! How happy are the poor in spirit: theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Alleluia!

Gospel Matthew 19:27-29 ‘You who have followed me will receive a hundredfold.’

At that time: Peter said to Jesus, ‘See, we have left everything and followed you. What, then, will we have?’ Jesus said to them, ‘Truly, I say to you, in the new world, when the Son of Man will sit on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And everyone who has left houses, or brothers or sisters, or father or mother, or children or lands for my name’s sake, will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life.’

The Gospel of the Lord

R/ Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.