#but still. I've always more or less felt like I was failing at everything but before I had at least latin

[malachia-il-bibliotecario]

I just wish I wasn't completely fucking useless yk

[lovverletters]

ILLUSION˚₊·—̳͟͞͞♡

❝IN WHICH ㅡ Your husband seems to have change for the better. Although is it really him? Or somebody else masquerading as your husband ❞

A/N : Unofficial comeback hihi !! I made this in 3 hours please don't judge my word vomit

T/W : bad relationship, mentioned of murder, not edited, yandere theme, twist at the end

«────── « ⋅ʚ💌ɞ⋅ » ──────»

[name] sighed for ninth time of the day, everything is going horribly for them.

Early this morning, they had accidentally burnt the breakfast they were cooking for you and their husband, Mauve. He did not take kindly to it and yelled at them before leaving for his work.

It only worsen as they had forgotten their lunch and had to work on an empty stomach while their less than pleasant boss chewed them up for their failing performances.

Then, their car broke down and had to be towed away while they went home on a cab with the world most unpleasant driver ever.

It felt as if the world was against them. Pinning them against the corner like a bully demanding for their lunch money.

Now, they sat at the dinner table staring at the food that's slowly growing colder as they waited for Mauve to come home. As the clock struck 10 and their husband was still not home, [name] sighed once more before cleaning up the table.

Despite their very best effort to avoid addressing the glaring issue of their crumbling marriage, [name] couldn't ignore it anymore.

Mauve and them hardly resembled a married couple, they don't spend time with each other due to clashing schedule and even if they were free, they'd much rather be alone than with each other. The two of them would bicker and argue over unnecessary stuff, don't even mention being physically intimate with each other. They're practically practicing abstinence.

[name] has been the only party making effort to keep the relationship going but Mauve was not doing the same.

It is clear as day that the spark and love they have had simply dried up.

" I should just divorce him at this point .. " [name] muttered before falling into a deep slumber.

«────── « ⋅ʚ💌ɞ⋅ » ──────»

The next morning, they awoke to a delicious aroma coming from the kitchen. [name] sat up in surprise at the smell and walking to the source of the wonderful aroma.

To their surprise for the second time, they sees Mauve flipping pancakes in his suit and ties. Upon hearing their approaching footsteps, Mauve turned over and greetes them with a smile.

" Good morning honeybun, I made pancakes for breakfast. Come take a seat " He plated the freshly made pancakes and placing it on the table.

Huh? Honeybun? Where did that come from?

[name] were puzzled at Mauve's odd behaviour. He glanced at them worriedly when he realised they had not yet taken a seat and had been standing at the doorway with a gaping mouth.

" What's wrong honeybun? Why are you standing there like you've seen a ghost " Mauve placed a gentle hand on their shoulder.

" Whㅡ what's the special occasion, Mauve? " they dumbly said.

" Hm? Don't I always makes us breakfast everyday? " He said, albeit a bit confused.

[name] blinked. Once. Twice.

" No? I'd always do the cooking " They replied with an equally confused face.

Mauve went silent before rubbing the back of his neck nervously with a sheepish smile.

" Ah, I don't? I was just messing with you honeybun~ "

They squinted their eyes at their ' husband ', feeling suspicious of his change of behaviour. Just yesterday he was yelling at them for burning his toast and today he's done a complete 180.

" You don't usually call me petnames either. What is up with you today? " They sat down on the chair and begun cutting up the pancakes.

Mauve closed his mouth once again and stayed silent, [name] could almost hear the cogwheels in his brain turning to form a response. After a while, he finally spoke with a deep sigh.

" Look. [name], baby. I've realised all these years I've been a dick to you and not treating your right " His voice quivered.

" Yesterday, I had an epiphany of sort and I don't want to lose someone as amazing as you, [name]. Will you give me a second chance in loving you? " He held their hand in a gentle grasp, his eyes reflecting his sincerity.

[name] was at a loss for word. They genuinely didn't expect to hear that from their husband. They were ashamed of the tiny flame that sparked within them at his words.

They were conflicted, however after contemplating for some time in their head. They finally made up their mind. [name] placed their own hand atop of Mauve's and gave him a gentle smile.

" I honestly don't know what happened to you yesterday but .. I'm willing to give us a second try to make it work " They said softly.

A grin broke out on Mauve's faceㅡ something they had not seen in years. He then pull them into an embrace and littered kisses all over their faces.

" Thank you, baby. Thank you so much " He happiky hummed onto their skin.

[name] couldn't help but grew flustered at his onslaught of affection. They were not used to it but it wasn't unwelcomed. They slowly reciprocated Mauve's hug and buried their face onto his shoulder.

Finally, something's going right for them.

«────── « ⋅ʚ💌ɞ⋅ » ──────»

He almost felt bad for fooling [name] on thinking that their pathetic excuse of a husband could ever change.

For someone as successful as Mauve was, he is incredibly stupid for neglecting the most amazing spouse a person could ever wish for. Honestly, he felt his blood boils seeing [name]'s astonished reaction to him performing simple husbandry dutiesㅡ it shows that the bastard never treats his spouse right.

It disgust him greatly to be Mauve's döppleganger, to share the same likeness as him. But without it, he wouldn't be able to intervene and replaces him.

Nonetheless, he'd already removed Mauve's out of the picture. If there's one thing he doesn't regret is watching the light slowly dimmed from Mauve's eyes as he kills him.

Now, he shall fulfill his position as [name]'s husband, 'Mauve'.

THE END˚₊·—̳͟͞͞♡

[sanemistar]

──★ ˙ ̟YUE IS TYPING... 🐚 !!

Ahem, excuse me for a moment-

Not sure if it's still open but I've noticed your post for requests so if it is then can i request for sanemi x fem!reader where they are childhood friends and eventually have feelings for each other as they grow older? Hope you like this concept tho, I figured your fav might be sanemi judging from the theme of this cute blog hehe so feel free to go wild with this one!

and yes, I'm a sucker for childhood to lovers trope, it's just muah (˶ > ₃ < ˶)♡

──★ ˙ ̟THANK YOU IN ADVANCE 🎀 !!

⋅˚₊‧ ᡣ𐭩 more than a friend — sanemi shinazugawa

ᡣ𐭩 pairing: sanemi x kakushi fem!reader ᡣ𐭩 genre: fluff with a bit of angst, childhood friends to lovers ᡣ𐭩 wc: 1.5k ᡣ𐭩 warnings: none ᡣ𐭩 a/n: hehe yes as u can see i love sanemi a normal amount :3 and i'm also a big fan of the childhood friends to lovers trope !! i had lots of fun writing this so i hope you enjoy reading <33

you and sanemi had been childhood friends for as long as you could remember. sharing everything together and always being there for one another during your hardships, the two of you cherished one another as you grew up side by side. both of you seeing the other become more and more mature. you couldn't be more grateful for having him by your side, and he felt the same way too. your bond was unbreakable. you knew everything about one another basically, or so you thought.

one thing both of you failed to realize was that as the two of you grew older, you developed romantic feelings for each other. yet none of you was brave enough to take a step further and confess their feelings for the other in fear of rejection and ultimately losing the precious friendship you had.

after mustering enough courage to finally confess your feelings to sanemi, luck wasn’t on your side and unfortunately, he had to leave in order to join the demon slayer corps. the concept of him leaving was so new to you, you two were never separated, and as much as it hurt you to see him go without letting him know how you felt about him, you had to put your desire and selfishness aside. so you decided not to say anything and support him nonetheless. you sent him off with an aching heart, as if he took a part of you with him.

at first, things were going a bit smoothly. the two of you were exchanging letters back and forth frequently. he would tell you about his day, and about the annoying people he met, you heard from him quite a lot and you were so happy. until it was time he became the wind pillar. then all of a sudden due to him going on more long missions, sanemi started sending less letters and responded to your letters much later until he eventually stopped altogether. you knew he'd be busier now that he's a hashira, but you couldn't help but feel sad that your only means of connecting with him was no longer there.

sad and frustrated to be left behind by your childhood friend, you decided to join the demon slayer corps as well but you weren't strong enough to fight on the front line, so instead you trained to become a kakushi, a support that provides first aid for demon slayers. you wrote sanemi a letter telling him about it, but you never received anything back from him.

fast forward to a few years later, and on one day, you received orders to immediately provide first aids to a lot of low-ranking demon slayers and some hashiras, who had a fierce battle against an upper moon demon. although the battle ended in victory of the demon slayers, they were badly injured as a result since the demon they fought against was quite strong and tough to deal with.

you hurriedly reached the location where the injured demon slayers were and your heart clenched painfully seeing sanemi lying down on the harsh ground first thing upon your arrival, seemingly unconscious, with lots of injuries all over his body. you quickly ran over to him, heart was racing at an unusual speed and fear washed all over you.

you had tightly held his slightly cold body into your hands before lying him down again gently and treating his injuries, praying that you arrived on time to save him. amidst your treatment you heard a faint groan coming from your side and you instantly turned your head in sanemi's direction as he slowly opened his eyes, regaining his consciousness. your eyes met his for the first time in years, and you couldn't help the tears contained in your eyes from overflowing and let yourself cry.

"thank God i made it on time and you're okay now.. if anything had happened to you, i wouldn't have forgiven myself for the rest of my life." sanemi's body flinched slightly as a reaction to hearing your soft cracked voice, despite him still being half-conscious and you wearing a mask that covered most of your face. he simply could never mistaken your voice for anyone else, he instantly knew that it was you behind the mask, the one who saved him was none other than you, his precious childhood friend and crush.

he slowly got up and tightly wrapped your delicate body in his arms, your arms moved on their own to hug him back as a response. you familiarized yourself with his scent that you'd been longingly yearning for all these years he was away.

"am i dreamin'? how the heck are you here, y/n?" sanemi's hoarse voice echoed against your ear, it was only then when you realized that sanemi had grown up and he wasn't the young boy in your memories, but a grown man.

"i already sent you a letter when i became a kakushi but you never replied. i couldn't handle being left behind all alone, i wanted to be by your side and to support you. i missed you, nemi." you responded as you tightened your hold around him, pulling him closer to you.

he broke the embrace and extended his arms, removing the mask off of your face before he softly touched your cheek with his bandaged hand. taking his time engraving your lovely face into his mind, his touch felt electric, sending goosebumps down your spine.

"look, i'm sorry, y/n. for everything. shit.. leavin' ya was the hardest decision i had to make. there were times when i couldn't bear it, and all i've ever wanted was to run back to you. but i knew you would blame yourself if i did.." hearing sanemi expressing himself properly with words was definitely a first for you, you knew how hard it was for him to clearly tell you how he felt. he momentarily stopped before adding.

"there was never a time when i wasn't thinkin’ about you, even when i was on long ass missions, all i could think about was you. you're more than just a friend to me, what i’m trying to say is… i love you, y/n. i should've told ya sooner, but i was afraid of losin' yo-" your body moved on its own and before you realized it your soft rosy lips were already on top of sanemi's, taking both of you by surprise.

he cupped your cheeks in his big hands, deepening the kiss. you felt his fingertips gently caress your skin as you slowly let yourself melt in the sensation, feeling butterflies all over your stomach. you just couldn't be any happier to be having your first kiss with sanemi. to describe the kiss, it was long, passionate and even though you could still taste blood on your lips due, it was still addictive to the point where your head felt dizzy, you couldn't get enough of it. you wished time would just freeze at that moment forever, as if there was no one else in the world but you and him.

desperate for air, both of you had to break the long kiss. your noses brushing against one another.

“someone’s desperate, huh?” you felt yourself blushing madly, you were sure you looked as red as a tomato. he grinned at your amusing expression and you slapped his arm lightly.

"and what if i am? do you know how much i wanted to do this? i've been feeling the same way about you this whole time, i love you too, nemi." you shyly confessed, your hot breath fanned against his face and then it was his turn to blush.

just when sanemi was about to go in for another kiss, he heard a bunch of male voices coming from behind him.

"wait isn't that y/n?" one kakushi said. "woah she's super pretty." another one said. it was at this moment when you realized that you were still on the battlefield, surrounded by other kakushis and demon slayers who were all staring at you in admiration. you felt very embarrassed remembering your daring action earlier and the red tint of blush made its way back onto your face.

immediately feeling jealous upon hearing these other males praising you, sanemi hurriedly covered your face again, which you were very grateful for because it hid your flustered look from everyone else, before giving them a deathly glare and yelling at them.

"you guys got a death wish or what? the fuck are you starin' at?" they instantly felt threatened and ran away in a flash. you felt bad for the poor guys.

"relax, nemi. i'm not leaving you for anyone else." you reassured him and a flustered look was all over his face hearing your words.

"tch, as if there's anyone here who's better for you than me." it wasn't your first time seeing sanemi jealous and protective of you, but this time felt different because you were in a relationship. he grabbed your hand and dragged the two of you far away from prying eyes and headed to his estate.

you and sanemi stayed together at his estate all night that night and promised each other to never be apart again until your very last breath.

[baldursgate3tempobsessed]

Hihi! I went on anon cause my main blog is strictly sfw, but I promise I'm an adult(29). Anyways, I had this idea of Ascended Astarion teasing Tav/Reader in front of a mirror. He can't see himself, but loves the way Tav/Reader shudders under his touch and them getting more and more embarrassed because all they can see is themselves getting riled up by seemingly nothing, but when they look down, ofc they see his hands working magic across their body.

Lol ty for the clarification and ask! I've been needing some nsfw practice!

Ascended Astarion nsfw under the cut, 18 + warnings. Like this is not implied smut. It is smut, graphic. Possessive, obsessive, manipulative, bad vampire man who loves you. As much as he's capable of. Morally gray human Tav from the start to here. It's only downhill from here baby, m/f angle. But if that doesnt fufill the dream let me know and I can make a gender neutral/ gender nonspecfic no prob! And probably less intense too because this is angsty~~~

Like I went ham, this is a whole ass fic now💀

You frowned at yourself in the bedroom mirror, adjusting your hair for the umpteenth time. It still didn't look right, despite what felt like hours of practice that you'd put into the intricate style.

You sighed as let one of your braids fall down, dissatisfied with what you saw. You didn't exactly look the part of an all-powerful vampire's consort, or at least not with the company you've recently been keeping. But it turned out a significant part of taking over Baldur's Gate was trenched in politics, meetings, balls, social events created for the sole purpose of mind games.

It was exhausting, or at least it was for you. But Astarion seemed to take to it like a duck to water. This life suited him, one of power games and subterfuge, and more often than not, murder. Not that you minded. You were just happy that he was having fun. That he was finally free after all of those years of torment. Even if he was using that freedom for… less than savory ends.

But despite his goals, you had sworn to him that you would never stray. And you intended on making good on that promise.

You just wished that he didn't insist on you being there for all of his "business". You hadn't realized how literal he had been about the whole sitting in his lap plan. It had taken a half-hour conversation to even convince him that no, you would not be doing so in the nude. He still hadn't given up on convincing you off that plan, but you highly doubted that it would help with your current level of heightened insecurity.

Maybe you were worrying for no reason. It wasn't Astarion who made you feel out of place. Well… it was, but not because of anything he did. Just… who he had become. He was so different now, so much colder to everything and everyone but you. More calculating, less forgiving, and just perfect for working with the most dangerous individuals in the mortal plane.

You seemed to be the only living thing he could relax around anymore, the only person who could soften him. It was strange really. You used to remember his softer side, before the ritual. The way his heart would hurt for children and animals alike, despite his failed attempts to hide it. His soft spot for Karlach, those who were brave and brazen, always willing to do the right thing despite the risks. The kind smile he used to have, reserved for beautiful things like the sunrise, the sunset.

Gone, all of it. It was a fact that you didn't like to think about. What you both gave up, things could have been; there was no point to it anyway. It was over. You gave Astarion the choice, this is what came of that. So here you were, obsessing over your appearance in preparation for a meeting with a high-ranking devil.

How things had changed.

You had no idea if you would ever find a way to match up with the company he kept around these days. Maybe it was your own fault for surrounding yourself with otherworldly creatures, but it was hard not to feel inadequate.

It didn't help that whenever you even slightly alluded to that insecurity, Astarion was more than ready to remind you of your… "options".

"You can join us whenever you'd like my treasure," Astarion would say with a creeping grin, "Just one bite, and we can be sure you'll be mine forever. Would that be so bad?"

It was a tempting offer, one that you kept insisting on refusing. You loved Astarion more than anything. But… you wanted that love to stay your choice. An obligation you maintained of your own free will. It's not that you didn't trust him… but to be a spawn had too many implications for you to handle.

"What has you pouting sweet thing?"

You startled when hands suddenly settled on your hip, gripping through the thin fabric of your nightdress. You looked back, relaxing the slightest bit to see Astarion smiling down at you, amused at the fact he'd managed to sneak up on you through the mirror.

"You said you weren't going to do that anymore," You whined as you leaned back into him, your eyes turning back to the mirror. You could see the fabric of your slip indented under his hands, ghost-like without his actual image reflecting back.

"I lied," Astarion said simply, leaning down to breathe you in from the crook of your neck, "Now what are you thinking about pet? I can tell something's on your mind."

You bit your lip, debating for a moment if you should tell him or not. But it's not like he would let it drop, and he was way too good at being able to tell when you were lying. Might as well come clean.

You sighed, "I don't…I don't know if I'm cut out for this."

You expected him to huff at you, maybe even laugh. But instead, the grip he had on you tightened, hard enough to make you gasp. You could feel his fangs scraping against your delicate skin, scratching hard enough to cause pinpricks of blood to bead out.

"And why would you ever think a thing like that?" Astarion asked, his voice harsh and low, "Where else would you be if not by my side hm? Please, enlighten me."

You gulped, your heart rate starting to pick up. You hadn't meant it like that, "That's not what I meant-"

"Then what else could it have meant?" Astarion shot back, his hands digging into you, surely ready to leave finger-shaped bruises. Suddenly he was using that same grip to drag you backward to the bed, effortlessly settling you between his spread legs.

All while managing to still be right in sight of the mirror. You could feel your cheeks redden as his hands started to wander, unceremoniously tugging down the straps of your nightdress to reveal your chest. That was another thing about life after the ritual that had been a surprise, just how different Astarion's sex drive was. It's not like he was a prude before, far from it, but now he was insatiable. Always ready and willing to touch you whenever the urge struck him. Often enough for you to eventually come to the thrilling, if not slightly disturbed realization, that��� he was training you. Training your body to always want his touch.

And tonight was no different. You could already feel yourself getting wet, and he had barely done anything yet. But then suddenly he was pinching your nipple harshly, hissing in your ear, "I expect an answer when I ask you a question darling."

You bit back a moan, trying to remember what you were even arguing about as he started to play with your breasts, "I-I didn't mean it like that. I just… I don't want to embarrass you."

It was humiliating to admit but it was true. Not many people of Astarion's caliber insisted on a singular lover. There were so many people after him now, people with more power, more beauty, and grace. You didn't match up. You couldn't.

"Nonsense," Astarion dismissed, his hands wandering down to tear off more of your clothing, "Look at you. You were made for this life. Made for me. You're gorgeous."

The compliments mixed with the harsh feeling of his hands ripping your nightdress in two was quite the experience. You could feel his own hardness pressing into your backside, twitching as he threw your ruined clothing to the side.

Then he was gripping your chin, forcing your head back up to stare into the mirror in front of you, "I said look."

You obeyed, eyes widening at what you saw. It was so strange to see yourself like this, fully exposed with your legs spread apart, flushed and panting. It nearly gave the illusion that your very image was what was causing the wetness between your legs, instead of the invisible man toying with you.

You swallowed, your throat dry as Astarion's hands wandered lower, a feather-light touch tracing up and down your slit, "You are everything. The sole reason that I'm the man I am today. There is nowhere else you should be than right here."

"But-" You gasped, your words interrupted by a sharp slap to your inner thigh. You could see your skin start to redden in the mirror, a perfect imprint left in it's wake.

"Darling, are you questioning my judgment? What on earth made you think that was a good idea?"

You frantically shook your head, moaning when his fingers delved deeper, playing with your slick folds, "I-I'm not. I didn't- I'm sorry."

You whined as he roughly pinched your clit, his other hand moving upward to do the same to your heaving chest.

He was starting to grind his hardness against you, a tease of more to come as he murmured in your ear, "There's my good girl. Was that so hard?"

You shook your head, gasping as he finally dipped his long fingers into your cunt. You were already so sensitive, humiliatingly close in a matter of minutes.

"So gorgeous," Astarion sighed, staring straight ahead to the sole image of you, whimpering as he finger-fucked your pussy, "So needy. Can you see how wet you are pet?"

You could, you were leaking around his fingers, that needy, intense feeling getting more and more intense by the moment. It was so embarrassing seeing yourself like this, enough so that you snapped your eyes shut.

A bad idea. Astarion tutted at you, landing another sudden and hard slap to your thigh, "None of that. I told you to look. Or else."

You snapped your eyes back open, watching yourself whimper and gasp as you were played with, the harsh movement of his hand jostling your breasts. You weren't going to last much longer, not with the image of you being taken apart, the feeling of him inside you, the mean edge to your love's words.

"You're such a silly little thing, aren't you?" Astarion growled, fucking you harder and faster. You were so close, but you weren't stupid enough to come without permission. Not after what he did the last time, "Doubting me. Do you really think I don't know what's best for you? What's best for us?"

"No," You whimpered, your hips arching backward to rub harder into his erection, "You're right, I-I'm yours. C-Can I come now? Please?"

"Beg me and maybe I'll think about it," Astarion meanly laughed, relishing in the gush of slick his harshness coaxed from between your legs, "Beg and apologize. Apologize for doubting us. For doubting me."

You could barely get the words out through your own gasps, tears prickling in the corner of your eyes, "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. I-I didn't mean it!"

"Good girl," Astarion huskily laughed, using a clever thumb to rub over your swollen clit, "Now tell me you love me."

"I love you," You said easily, meaning every word, "I love you more than anything.

"Tell me you'll never leave me. Ever."

There was something else behind that promise. An obvious implication that your fucked-out brain was too distracted to see.

"Never," You promised, reaching back for you him. You curled your fingers into his hair. pulling his head down to press his mouth against your throat. An open invitation, "I'll always be with you."

Astarion groaned against your skin, his fangs so close to piercing, "Precious pet, how could I ever want anything else? Come darling, you've earned it."

Then he was biting you, the brief flash of pain the perfect trigger for you to fall over the edge. You came with an embarrassingly high-pitched whine, slumping back into Astarion as he drank from your throat.

You looked as much of a mess as you felt, the stickiness between your thighs glistening in the light. You watched yourself, whimpering as Astarion slipped his fingers out. Just to tap them against your lips, forcing them into your mouth to suck on.

You moaned around them, light-headed as Astarion popped off of your throat. You sighed as he licked at the wound, enjoying the brief moment of rest. You weren't naive enough to think that you were done yet. Not when Astarion was still hard, his cock pulsing against you.

"See?" Astarion huskily laughed, licking the blood off of his lips while he played with your tongue, "You're perfect. Perfect and mine."

[cece693]

Numb (Tony Stark x Gender Neutral! Reader)

Something that I had saved and forgot all about.

Summary: You didn't understand Tony's decision; he'd left you with a gaping hold in your heart. It was easy to feel anger and resentment, but was it really a surprise how things ended?

tags: slight comfort, post-endgame, Tony's dead, reader handles the loss, mourning, last words/message

You stood there, numb, as Tony's heart drifted farther down the lake, a small, fading dot on the horizon. The weight of what you had done pressed down on you, and without a word to anyone, you turned away, heading home. As you stepped into the house and climbed the stairs to your bedroom, everything appeared the same—yet it all felt different. The one piece that truly made this a home was now gone forever.

When Tony sacrificed himself, it was easy to be consumed by anger. How dare he leave you like this, sobbing and begging for him to return, all for the sake of Earth? After everything, after all the times they had wronged him, it was you—the one person who never turned their back on him—who was left behind. That anger still simmered beneath the surface, but now it had dulled into a numbness that spread through your entire being.

Pepper, Happy, and Rhodey had all tried to comfort you, offering words meant to soothe the unbearable loss. But their attempts only made it worse. They didn’t understand—they couldn’t. What they had lost was different from yours. Tony was your husband and he'd failed your wedding vows. Through sickness and health—the battle with Thanos had no place there.

All you wanted was to be alone, to sit with the emptiness that had taken root inside you, to feel it in its entirety without anyone trying to take it away. That emptiness, as hollow and painful as it was, felt like the last piece of Tony you had left.

Looking around, your vision blurred with unshed tears, taking in the sight of the room. It was a mess, but that was typical when living with Tony. The wardrobe door was flung open, shirts haphazardly hanging half in, half out. His favorite jacket was draped over a chair, and a pair of mismatched socks lay abandoned on the floor. It was like he had just stepped out for a moment, like he would walk back in any second with that roguish grin, asking if you’d seen his watch or where he left his keys.

Your eyes moved to the messy bed, and you couldn't help but collapse onto it. Bringing Tony's pillow to your nose, you inhaled deeply—taking in his familiar cologne and the faint scent of oil and metal that clung to everything he touched. As you lay there, your mind replaying happy memories, something caught your attention.

Hesitantly, you reached out and picked it up, your fingers trembling as you recognized the Stark tech design. With a deep breath, you activated it. A hologram flickered to life, and there he was—Tony, looking at you with that familiar blend of warmth and determination that only he could pull off.

"Hey, love." his voice was soft, almost soothing, but there was an undercurrent of sadness. "If you're seeing this, it means I'm gone. And I know you're angry, probably cursing my name right now. Believe me, I didn’t want to leave you. God, I wanted to stay more than anything."

He paused, as if searching for the right words. "But…you know me. I couldn’t live with myself if I didn’t try to save everyone. It’s who I am—who I've always been. I know that’s not an excuse, and it doesn’t make it hurt any less. But I need you to understand that I didn’t choose them over you. I chose all of us. I couldn't bear the thought of a world where you weren't safe."

Tony’s image flickered slightly, and you could see the pain in his eyes. "I hate that I hurt you. But you…you're stronger than you know. And I need you to keep going, to live your life, even without me in it. Because, in a way, I’m still here. I’m always with you."

He took a shaky breath, and his voice softened. "I love you. I’ve loved you from the moment I laid eyes on you, and I will love you until the end of time. Forever, remember? That’s what we promised. And I’m keeping that promise, even now."

As the hologram continued, you could hear the faint background noise—a gentle clinking of dishes, the hum of a movie soundtrack. Your heart ached as you recognized the scene: it was the last day you spent together. The day you cooked dinner side by side, the laughter you shared, and the quiet intimacy of watching a movie on the couch.

Now everything made sense. Tony’s extra affection, his words of love, and the lingering touches—they were all part of his farewell. It was as if he had known he wouldn’t have another chance to show you how much you meant to him. The realization hit you like a wave. How long had Tony known his fate? How long had he been preparing to say goodbye, knowing he had to make every moment count?

As the hologram began to flicker and lose its stability, Tony’s image took on a more solemn, resigned expression. His voice softened even further, as if he were speaking directly to your heart.

“I have to go now. But remember this—no matter where I am, my love for you will never fade. It’s with you always, even in the darkest moments. If there's an afterlife, I'll be waiting for you.” The hologram shimmered one last time, and with a final, loving glance, Tony’s image faded into the darkness. Clutching the device to your chest, the tears that you have been holding back finally spilled over.

[dean-winchester-is-a-warrior]

When What We Had Was Everything Pt. 2

This is a three part fic series and will complete three of my @jacklesversebingo card spaces. This first part will fill the "You won't take care of yourself, so I will." square. Pt. 2 will fill the But We Lost It square. Pt. 3 will fill the They're Out of Time square. ❤️

Summary: When Y/N really needs him, Jensen steps up, leaving all their past in the past. Can Y/N possibly do the same?

Pairing: Jensen x Reader (Y/N)

Warnings: Nothing major. Funeral. Brief mentions of grief and loss. Some light making out.

Word Count: 3, 935

A/N: This second part was a long time coming. I'm so sorry. I've just struggled with the muses on this one. I hope I can get part 3 (final part) out to you much sooner. I've given the reader's father the name, "Steven" just because it felt unnatural to not name him, and calling him something like, YFN felt strange given the setting.

Enjoy!

Jensen Ackles Master List || Main Master List || Tag Lists

Everything with Jensen had been like a whirlwind. Surreal and beautiful, and seemingly built to crumble. 

She’d met him randomly in a parking garage when she was visiting friends in L.A. She’d accidentally locked herself out of her car, and he’d used his Dean Winchester skills to break into it for her.

Their attraction had been immediate and raging. They’d gone for drinks one night, gone to dinner the next, and then gone to bed before dessert. Sleeping with guys on a second date wasn’t usual for Y/N. In fact, before that, she’d never slept with anyone she wasn’t already in a relationship with. 

But Jensen had barely kissed her, simply moving his hard, gentle hands slowly down her hips and pulling her flush against him, before every rational thought she had immediately flew out of her head. He’d charmed her completely and she fell hard and fast.

It was unlike anything Y/N had ever experienced before. So, deep down, she’d had a very hard time trusting it. It scared her. He scared her. 

She loved him almost immediately and that didn’t feel real. Love at first sight was stupid and impossible. She loved him so easily that subconsciously she was always sure he was hiding things from her. It wasn't  possible that this good, beautiful, generous, talented guy was so completely into her; things like that didn't happen to boring girls in small towns. So she kept waiting for the other shoe to drop with him.

Josie said she sabotaged herself, but Y/N preferred to think of it as protecting herself. If she let herself think about a life with him, a life of passion, love, contentment, quiet luxury and maybe even a family, her heart would shatter when he finally woke up and walked away.

So she'd fought hard to keep her emotional distance from him. She was desperate to keep control of the situation.

That night, after seeing Jensen for the first time in almost six months, Y/N spent the night tossing and turning, running everything over in her mind. By the time the sun rose and she gave up on trying for more sleep, she came to the realization that trying to protect herself had failed miserably. Her heart had shattered anyway when things ended and he walked away. 

It was shattered still.

Having gotten even less sleep than the night before, Y/N rolled out of bed with a groan, and tried to put all of those memories and heartaches aside. There was a lot to do, and the day was going to be hard enough.

Putting feelings aside became impossible, however as she walked into the kitchen and saw Jensen sitting alone at the table, staring into a cup of coffee.

He looked up as she walked in, the surprise in his expression receding into a smile as he nodded towards the coffee pot on the counter. 

“I just made some. Hope you don't mind.”

Y/N smiled awkwardly and walked over to pour herself a cup. “No, of course not. Thank you. Today demands a lot of coffee and it demands it immediately.”

She blew on the steaming liquid as she sat down at the table, and then took a sip. She swallowed it quickly, however, burning her mouth and throat a little, as Jensen reached out to cover her empty hand with his. 

“How did you sleep?”

Y/N shook her head and pulled her hand away under the pretense of tucking her hair behind her ear.

“Not great, you know, but…” She ended with a shrug and Jensen nodded. 

“Yeah.”

She was quiet for a moment, and then smiled ruefully. “I feel like…I’m the oldest, so I'm supposed to know what to do for everything. I mean, I was fifteen when mom died, but Jo and David were just kids. They don't remember any of the details of what happened at her funeral.”

Jensen frowned. “Y/N, what do you mean, THEY were kids. You were a kid too.”

Y/N shrugged. “Sure, I guess. But they were barely double digits. I'm the one who should remember best, the way things went on the day. So, I keep thinking I should warn them about what to expect. But the truth is most of that day is a blur.”

Jensen leaned towards her across the table, catching  her gaze. “David and Josie are both grown adults, I'm sure they'll be okay. As okay as can be expected, anyway.”

Y/N nodded. “Yeah, I suppose, just…old habits, I guess.” She hummed softly. “You know one of the only things I remember really clearly about the day of mom's funeral?”

Jensen gave a gentle shake of his head. “What?”

“I remember being in the bathroom at the church, in one of the stalls, and I overheard two of my aunties talking. They didn't know I was in there, but I heard my Auntie Sheila crying and talking to my Auntie Debbie, saying, ‘How on earth is he supposed to take care of those kids all by himself?’ They both agreed that for a man who worked as much as he did, and traveled so much for his job, it was going to be impossible.”

Y/N chewed on her lip and stared down at her coffee. “I remember that conversation terrifying me. I had visions of being sent away to some boarding school or shuttled off to some relative in the countryside.”

She smiled sheepishly. “My Dad would never have done that, I realize now. And I probably just read too much C.S. Lewis as a kid. But it scared me enough that I determined then and there that Dad wouldn't raise us by himself. I was raised already, so I could step in and help raise Joey and Davie.”

Jensen shook his head. “I'm so sorry, sweetheart.”

Y/N waved dismissively. “No, it was fine. My Dad changed a lot of his work around so he could be here to take care of us. He was still our parent, and would sometimes have to remind me of that. He'd get after me to get a social life.”

She chuckled. “I think that was one of the reasons he adored you so much. You were the first guy I ever dated that I wasn't also mothering in some way. He used to tell me I needed to find a guy that wanted a partner, not a mother.”

Y/N stopped short as she realized what she was saying. Jensen was just so easy to talk to, she'd let her words fly away from her. She forgot that “past them” wasn't something they were supposed to be talking about.

She took another scalding sip of coffee and stood up. 

“Anyway, sorry for yammering. I should go get ready. And you might wanna steal a shower before the whole house is awake and all the hot water runs out.” She said with an attempt at a laugh.

Jensen looked like he was going to say something, so she quickly set her half full mug in the sink and took off as fast as her feet could carry her.

***

Jensen shifted slightly on the hard wooden pew, and breathed in the church smells around him, lemon furniture wax, old paper, and dust. It was a beautiful space with large stained glass windows and a lot of stone work and moldings.

He didn't know many of the people there. Y/N and her siblings were somewhere in the back rooms, likely going over where they'd be sitting and what was going to happen during the service.

He'd received a few odd looks from people who seemed to recognize him and then quickly dismiss the possibility that it was him. Thankfully no one had approached him.

As he sat waiting for the service to begin something caught his eye and he turned to see Y/N, half hidden behind a side door, and frantically waving him over.

Puzzled, he stood and scooched past the people at the end of the pew, walking quickly over to Y/N. Her eyes were frantic and panicked as she shut the door behind them. 

“I can't do it.” She said without preamble. “He says he can't, but I can't either! I can't! I don't know what to say!”

Jensen was desperately trying to decipher her words, but was hopelessly confused as she continued.

“I should have known he wouldn't. He said he wanted to; he literally told me I had to let him do it. I mean, he's kind of a writer, so of course I let him, but I should have known it would be too much. I mean, when he couldn't get it together enough to pick up Aunt Sheila at the airport yesterday, what fucking chance was there that he was gonna be able to write and deliver a eulogy!”

Jensen was starting to piece things together, and he felt his heart clench over Y/N's obvious fear and panic. He took her cheeks in his hands and tried to calm her.

“It's okay, baby. It's okay.” The endearment slipped out easily, just as it had when he'd first seen her the day before. “You're talking about David? He was supposed to deliver the eulogy.”

Y/N closed her eyes and nodded; the way she leaned into him a little made him wanna scoop her up and take her away from everything. But obviously, he couldn't do that, so he just confirmed his assumption.

“And now, he can't do it?”

She nodded again. “Can't do it, didn't write it.” She croaked out. “I have a packed church full of people, waiting to honor my father and I have absolutely nothing to say about him.”

Jensen took hold of her hands and squeezed them. “Of course you have things to say, sweetheart. Just say what comes into your heart.”

Y/N laughed without humor. “You should know better than anyone that I don't know how to do that.”

He felt his heart squeeze at the reminder of what happened the last time they'd had a discussion about what was in her heart. He saw the trepidation come back into her expression, just like earlier that morning, when the subject of their past popped up.

He shook his head, dislodging memories of hurt and disappointment. “You don't have to delve too deep. Just give a sweet anecdote or two, and talk about how much he was loved.”

Y/N’s eyes lit up. “You do it.”

Jensen shook his head. “What? No, I can't.”

But Y/N was nodding. “Sure you can. You speak on a stage for a living. You're good at telling sweet little anecdotes. Please, please, Jensen. I know it's too much. I know. But I l…I-” 

She cut herself off and let her forehead drop to his chest. “Please.” She whispered.

Jensen knew he was setting himself up for more pain later, but he couldn't stop himself from gathering her close and squeezing her tight against him. Her soft, warm, body felt so right and natural fitted along his that he let himself ignore the warning bells going off in his mind.

“Okay, baby.” He said softly, whispering against her sweet smelling hair before kissing the crown of her head. “Okay, I'll do it. You should come up and stand with me though so it looks less weird that some random stranger is speaking.”

Y/N nodded. “Thank you.”

Jensen didn't return to his spot in the crowd. Instead he sat beside Y/N in the front of church, holding her hand tightly since she refused to let go.

Soon enough, the minister announced there would be a slight change in the service and a “friend of the family” was going to speak instead of David. 

David slouched in the pew beside Y/N and as they passed him to walk up on the dais, Jensen clamped a consoling hand on the young guy's shoulder. He knew the kid would be feeling like shit and there was no reason for it. Grief stole a lot of things from you sometimes, even your words. 

They walked behind the lectern and Jensen cleared his throat as he spoke into the slightly echoey microphone. Y/N clung to his right hand and pressed tight to his side as he spoke.

“Good afternoon everyone. On behalf of the family, I'd like to say how gratifying it is to see so many people here to mourn with us, but more importantly, celebrate with us as we honor Steven's life.”

He cleared his throat again and smiled. “Steven was a big guy who left a very big impression on the people he met. He was warm and welcoming in a way that you don't always see much these days.”

Jensen paused and then smiled. “Not long after I met him for the first time, I happened to mention that I was a big Stevie Ray Vaughan fan - just as part of an idle conversation, you know. But the next time I saw him, he had this vintage Austin Chronicle magazine with him on the cover, and he just gave it to me. It wasn't my birthday, or Christmas.”

Jensen shrugged. “He said he just happened to come across it in an old bookstore and thought of me.” He shook his head remembering how touched he'd been. “It was just the way he was.”

He let that sentiment dangle in the air for a moment before continuing. “Steven loved his family and friends without conditions and without limits. He had such strength of spirit, the kind of soul deep goodness that drew in all of us who are here today. He was a very easy guy to love and someone we always wanted on our side. Which he always was.”

Jensen cleared his throat. “So, once again, we want to thank you all for being here with us. And the family, and Steven's children especially, want to tell you how much it means to them. Thank you.” He finished.

He walked off the dais with Y/N following close and he could almost feel the way her muscles relaxed as they sat down. 

“Thank you.” She whispered quietly and Jensen squeezed her hand, ignoring his instinct to bring it to his lips.

***

Y/N breathed in the fresh, cool evening air, and sat down on the wide porch swing that looked out across her childhood backyard. Memories tumbled over themselves in her mind, all happy, but bearing the sharp taste of bittersweet nostalgia. 

She sighed and closed her eyes, letting a semblance of peace settle over her, as the stressful, painful day subsided somewhat now that the vast majority of guests had returned home. 

The back door opened and she looked over her shoulder and smiled.

Not all guests, she thought, as Jensen smiled back and quietly closed the door behind him. He leaned against it and thumbed towards the kitchen on the other side. 

“You know, you got enough casseroles in there to wait out the apocalypse.”

Y/N laughed softly and nodded. “Yeah, we'll have to split them between the three of us.” She shook her head. “I think most people have forgotten that none of us actually live here anymore.”

A thought occurred to her and her brow wrinkled. “Come to think of it, at some point, Josie, Davie and I are all gonna have to get together and figure out everything we need to sell this place.” 

She looked around her and felt a painful tug on her heart at the idea of leaving her home for real, for good. 

“God, I don't even know how to start with something like that.” Her mind began to swirl with worries and questions she needed to answer. But they stopped when Jensen took two steps over to the porch swing and picked up her hand. He gave it a squeeze as he sat beside her.

“But it's not something you have to worry about today, right? Or next week? Or even next month?”

Y/N started to argue but then realized he was right. That was tomorrow's worry.

Jensen nodded, happy as she relaxed against the back of the swing. He settled himself beside her and began to rock the swing slowly, pushing them back and forth with his feet planted on the old wooden porch.

Y/N felt the final knots in her stomach begin to ease as she listened to the fireflies start to buzz through the trees. She couldn't stop her head from dropping onto Jensen's shoulder, or the extended sigh that escaped her slightly parted lips.

Quiet reigned for a few minutes and Y/N allowed herself to bask in the peace for a while. Finally she broke the silence though, as she shifted slightly so she could look at Jensen.

“You know, I can't possibly repay you for everything you've done the last couple days.”

Jensen shook his head. “Well, it's a good thing repayment isn't necessary.”

Y/N smiled shyly. “Seriously, though, I wouldn't have made it through this without you.”

Jensen scoffed lightly and waved a dismissive hand. “Course you would’ve.”

She hummed softly. “Hmm, maybe, but certainly not in one piece.”

Jensen's smile turned rueful. “Well, you're very welcome, sweetheart.”

It was quiet for a moment more, but the air was more charged this time, something warm and inviting springing to life between them. 

Jensen cleared his throat and sat up a little, breaking their intense stare. “I think it's time I, I head out.”

Y/N felt her heart plummet. “I thought your flight was tomorrow.”

Jensen nodded. “Yeah, it is. But it's a pretty early one, and you know, it's an international flight; gotta get there so far ahead of time. So, I'm just gonna drive into Kingston tonight, get a room, and head out to the airport first thing.”

Y/N nodded calmly, but her heart was pumping loudly. “Or…or you can save yourself the hotel expense and just stay here one more night. I mean, you can head out from here early enough to make your flight. It just…you know, just makes more sense.”

Jensen shook his head. “No, that’s…” He cleared his throat and pulled away completely. “I don’t wanna put you all out for another night.”

He stood up to go, and Y/N panicked, jumping up after him and grabbing his hand. “You won’t be. I don’t…Jensen, I don’t want you to go.”

She watched the muscle jump in his jaw and felt her belly clench. She took a step closer so that she pressed against him and raised her hand to run gently over his close-cropped, silky beard. “Please don’t go.”

She raised up on tiptoe to press her mouth against his ever so briefly, but his lips were so soft and warm that she had to go back again, pressing tighter against the velvety pillows, and flicking her tongue out to taste them. 

Jensen groaned slightly and brought his hands up to cup her jaw, tilting his head to the right and deepening the kiss.

Y/N wanted to cry with joy as she wrapped her arms around his neck, breathing deeply through her nose and inhaling the intoxicating scent of Jensen’s cologne and the scent that seemed to linger in his skin all the time, something uniquely him, and devastatingly carnal.

Far too quickly Jensen let out a soft growl and pulled away abruptly. “Y/N.” He said breathlessly. “This isn’t a good idea. I can’t do this.”

Y/N shook her head and tried to pull him back, fists bunched in his black dress shirt. “No, Jensen, you don’t understand. I’m so sorry for the way things ended. I never should have let you leave. I should have let you in more. I shouldn’t have let what we had fade away like it did.”

Jensen was shaking his head. “Y/N, you don’t owe me any apologies. Really-”

“Yes, I do!” Y/N interrupted. “I should have trusted you more, trusted what we had. I…”

Jensen leaned forward and kissed her forehead. “Y/N, you’re only feeling this way because of what’s happened the last couple of days. I came to help out and you’re grateful. Your gratitude and your grief are clouding your judgement.”

“No.” Y/N said adamantly. “That’s not what’s happening. I’ve felt this way for a long time, I just haven’t had the courage to tell you.”

She saw Jensen waver for a moment and Y/N pressed her advantage, pulling his lips down to hers once again and pushing her fingers into his soft hair, easing it back at his temples. Jensen lost the battle again, this time with a much deeper groan of capitulation. He walked her backwards to press her against one of the wide pillars holding up the porch roof.

He panted faintly as his lips scorched a trail down the side of her neck. He unzipped her black dress on the side just far enough to slip his callused fingers inside, grazing the soft, delicate skin on the side of her breast. Y/N bit into her lip to keep from crying out and buried her face in his chest.

But once again Jensen pulled back, gentler this time, less abrupt. His fingers slid from her skin to zip her dress back up and he placed a final kiss to her temple before he stepped away, lifting a hand as Y/N tried to close the distance between them again.

“Y/N listen to me. You have no idea how much I want to believe you, that these feelings are just coming out of this complicated moment. But, not even six months ago, when I asked you to come live with me, the mere idea of going to the next level of our relationship made you break up with me.”

Y/N shook her head. “No, it wasn’t like that.”

But Jensen just kept talking. “Then you lost your dad and you reached out because a part of you knew I’d be here, that you could count on me. And I’m really glad you did, and I’m very glad I could help even a little.” He smiled gently. “But I’m not going to take advantage of your vulnerability and gratitude like this.”

Y/N opened her mouth to contradict him, but he just shook his head. “You can’t possibly know your feelings right now, sweetheart. They’re gonna be all jumbled up with everything else, including the goddamn raging fire that crops up between us every time we get close.”

His green eyes burned with heat and made Y/N ache with a passion she knew wasn’t going to be resolved. He was determined, and she knew that look of stubbornness all too well.

“I gotta go.” He said quietly and turned to go back in the house, but then turned back as he reached for the porch door. “Three months. Give yourself three months. To get a little distance, put things into perspective a bit. If in three months you still feel the same…well? You have my number. I’ll watch for you.”

He took three big strides back to where she stood and wrapped her up in his arms once again. He held her briefly, but very tightly before he kissed the top of her head.

“Take care, sweetheart.” He said quietly before walking briskly back through the doors.

Y/N’s eyes swam with tears, but her voice was resolute. “See you in three months.”

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[procyonloser]

(Lilith/Adam/Lucifer)

Sera had come to him with her concerns, which was the first sign that things were very different than the reality Lucifer thought he lived in. Sera had been the one to throw him from Heaven, to send thousands of arrows through his body, the scars he'd never fully recovered from.

"She's in Heaven. I've heard word that she's made a deal with Adam." Sera told him, fingers crossed in front of her. "I do not wish to see her poisoning my people, I don't want to lose anyone else."

Him.

Lucifer took the information and sat on it, debating with himself as to what to do. He loved Lilith, their divorce hadn't changed that. He had no right to interfere in her life anymore, and he knew she could hold her own against Adam. But, why? Why him? She'd never cared for him before, and for her to vanish not long after the exterminations began...

Lucifer feared she was being blackmailed. He was certain Adam would want nothing more than to kill Lucifer and Charlie, yet they were all protected by their agreement presented by Adam. Why would he do something like that, unless he was getting something in return?

Lucifer needed to see for himself, he needed to see if Lilith was alright.

If she hated him for it... at least she'd still be thinking about him.

Sera gave him passage into heaven, secretly. She knew where Lilith was staying, though it sounded as though she had an informant - not that Adam had told her as much. Sera warned him not to speak of this agreement between them, and Lucifer was happy not to. The less time he spent near her, the better.

There were private beaches in Heaven, no tourists as far as the eye could see, stretching even further. Lilith had always liked the sea, the water. They'd met by a little pond in Eden.

Lucifer walked through a heaven made portal, ocean air hitting his nose, and immediately his heart jumped in his chest.

Adam was in front of Lilith, on his knees in the sand with his back turned to Lucifer, his face between her thighs. Lilith was bare as the day she was created with the exception of a pair of sunglasses that kept her unreadable as she looked down upon Adam. Lucifer froze, stomach turning, and pain piercing through him. His love was getting eaten out by another man - her first husband.

Had he failed her that badly? Had he failed as a husband, a father, and an angel?

But, something quickly caught his attention. Adam's hands were bound behind his naked back, and it looked as though he had a blindfold- no, that was the top of Lilith's bathing suit tied around his face, presumably acting as a blindfold. That wasn't what he'd expect if Adam was blackmailing Lilith, though it wasn't impossible... Still, Lucifer would assume if he was forcing Lilith to do this, she'd simply kill him the he got on his knees.

Then Lilith looked up slowly, blond hair falling across her cheek. He couldn't see her eyes, but Lucifer knew she saw him. A smile slowly curled across plump lips as she saw him.

"That's enough, darling. I think you've earned your reward." Lilith said in a melodic tone, calm but sweet.

Adam made a noise, before he pulled back, and Lilith stood up - revealing the wrappings around her hips in a dark purple silk, all coming towards the front where... Oh, Lucifer flushed. An intricately made dildo projected off of her, one that Adam had evidently been sucking on. A string of saliva briefly connected the tip of the dildo to Adam's lips after he pulled back. Lilith hummed softly to him, as she reached down as caressed his face.

"Such a good boy, isn't this much better?" Lilith asked Adam, and Lucifer felt an electric shock of realization run through him.

They'd always had quite a good sex life, and Lucifer was eager to please, but he'd never been exactly overly submissive. He wanted to be of service, he didn't want to be used. Lilith, had a streak of wanting to be in charge, of everything. He loved her for it, but quite frankly, he'd tried bottoming for her a few times, getting pegged, and it did nothing for him. Adam, however...

"Lilith, please..." Adam's voice broke, in need and desperate for attention. "I want to see you, can you-"

"Not yet," Lilith said effortlessly. "Be a good boy and turn around for me, and raise your hips up for me. I want you to focus on the feeling alone. Nothing else."

Lucifer said nothing, he simply watched as Adam turned, and bent down in such a way it almost seemed as though he was bowing to Lucifer. Lilith ran long finger nails down Adam's back, and the first man shivered under her touch.

"I need it, Lily, please." Adam begged, looking entirely different than the boisterous man Lucifer remembered.

With little warning, Lilith pushed into him, and Adam sobbed on a moan, back arching until the sensation.

"Isn't this better, Adam? This taste of what truth freedom can be for you? Away from the responsibilities forced upon you by Heaven?" Lilith asked him, rolling her hips as Lucifer watched. "You would be so much happier in hell, with me. I could treat you the way you need to be treated."

"Fuck," Adam got out, voice shaking as he was roughly fucked into. "I can't-"

Lilith leaned over his back, grabbing hold of his hair and pulling his head backwards. "You could. You could have all of this and more - you miss him, don't you? You miss Lucifer."

Adam let a whine escape his lips, mouth falling open. "I..."

"If he could see you now, do you know what he'd be thinking?" Lilith half purred, not stopping her thrusts into the man. Lucifer watched with a dry mouth, not knowing what she was about to say, because he himself didn't know what he was thinking anymore.

"How much he'd enjoy having two wives."

[things-arent-what-they-seem66]

(After Halloween)

*Adam woke this morning on cloud nine, Lucifer told him he loved him, Lucifer made love to him, and they had so much fun at the Halloween party, Adam practically melted when he felt a hand run itself through his hair and gently scratch his scalp*

Lucifer: How did you sleep last night?

Adam: It was the best sleep I had in a while, I always loved you and you gave me everything I wanted and more.

Lucifer: You deserve it, tonight I am taking you to Ozzie’s.

Adam: What is Ozzie’s?

Lucifer: A really nice club in the Lust Ring and afterwards we are going to go to the best resort where I am going to make passionate love to you.

*Adam felt giddy in a way he never felt before, he never really had a relationship and had a relationship where he got to go on dates, the less said about his marriage to Lilith the better, it was nice being married to Eve, but they had to spend most of their time having children and starting humanity, Lucifer was also Adam’s soulmate, they got dressed and went downstairs, Lucifer started to make pancakes for everyone, Adam sitting close to Lucifer while Lucifer let Adam sample a little bit of everything he was making, Alastor watched in disgust as Adam and Lucifer were being curtesy, his plot to use Lilith to keep Lucifer from Adam failed, Charlie and Vaggie walked down*

Charlie: Are you excited for Thanksgiving?

Adam: You celebrate Thanksgiving in Hell, that is mainly an America thing.

Lucifer: Well we have Sinners from all around the world and they bring their traditions with them, you will see some people celebrating Dia De Los Muertos today. Also it is an excuse to have a big feast.

Adam: Well unlike Halloween, we celebrate Thanksgiving in Heaven because we must talk about what we are thankful for.

Vaggie: It is nice that they at least allow us Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Charlie: What are you two doing today?

Lucifer: I am taking Adam on his first date.

Charlie: That sounds fun.

*Adam felt Angel Dust hug him*

Angel Dust: I knew you would get your short king.

Adam: I am so happy, Luci is talking me to Ozzie’s.

Angel Dust: Lucky, I am taking you shopping so you can be gorgeous tonight.

*after they had breakfast, Angel Dust and Cherri Bomb took Adam to the mall for shopping*

Adam: so what kind of place is Ozzie's?

Angel: It's classy mixed with sex. So classy sex. The entertainment I hear is amazing that place is always booked.

Cherri: Perk of dating a King I guess, you can get in anywhere you want.

They were looking through all the clothes and Adam left the makeup picking to Angel and Cherri, he didn't have the first clue on what would look good or even how to do it for himself.

It would probably look like a toddler drew on his face with a Sharpe.

Adam: I've never been on a date before.

Angel: Never? But you were married.

Adam: Yeah but it wasn't, hi nice to meet you let's get to know each other. It was here's your wife go fuck like rabbits and make babies.

Angel: Never thought about it like that.

Cherri: What about a dress?

Adam blushed: I'm still a man you know.

Angel: You're one curvaceous babe my good dude, show off what big daddy G gave you.

[itsdafavone]

❝𝐌𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧' 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐤?❞

cw: kinda fluff - light cussing, mention of fighting.

tropes: friends-to-lovers (kinda enemies), grumpy x grumpiest.

pairing: best friend!katsuki bakugou x f!reader.

if there was something that for the surprise of both of us never made any truly mad, that was probably how neither of us could've won. Each other, of course.

me, and him that have always "allowed" me to follow him around; we never won from a fight against one another. Always truly infuriating but we never thought about it that deep since our friendship was way more important than this shit, even if none of us would admit it out loud. But here am I, I've stopped to take a brief moment and think about it all, since Mina called me out:

"girl y'know that ain't normal for such talented person such as yourself..."

she took a pause, trying go figure if that was what she was going to say, frustrated because couldn't find her "right" words, kept going

"and your, uh, friend?" giggled "it's not possible that none of you are able to win."

it's frustrating how kats' spends more time in my mind than I would find enjoyable... not that I would find enjoyable thinking of him; but lord it could be way less.

so it all started to descend in ruins in our first spar in a while. I wasn't feeling really good, but denying something to him, mainly when it comes to a fight, it's something that you'll never forget. Why? the spoiled brat will make sure you never forget how weak, self aware and fearful you were; afraid of losing to a god like him, even if he was completely convinced it was obvious you wouldn't. He is a complete fool, a natural.

but how I was delighted to fight with this fool every time. All of our fights were so deep highlighted by not holding back ever. A dance only we could pull up, our momentary show that makes everything worth it, even losing. Letting go all of the social cues, obligations and images of ourselves; only pure and raw anger.

until we are too tired to keep going, to sick of using one another to it's own sake, quirks denying their activation and lungs burning like hell.

a good visit to recovery girl (who couldn't stand our bullshit anymore), a bath in an almost shared dorm; and a nap. Him not insisting, but sleeping in the ground, me in his oh so sweet scented sheets. An ether aroma that never failed into embracing me to sleep, never.

"wake up." he would throw a pillow at me, even if his voice was almost tender when he commanded. I would look annoyed at him taking my deep breath, too sore from the day before to discuss, just like him.

"what time is it?" monotone voice, almost closed eyes, he would smirk. Shit, he made me late on purpose, and I fell for it again.

"shit kats', I fucking hate you!" got up and went all fast to my dorm, luckily the door aside.

"but I love you..." he murmured, before I could get out the door. What the fuck?

I turned to look to him, in total disbelief, a hint of hope in the corner of my eyes, for sure. He fixed his uniform belt.

"Tyler the creator." looked deeply at me, felt like it was through my soul and back. "IFHY." how well I knew him, he was trying act nonchalant.

"sure" even for that tiny brief moment that the stars aligned and time has peaked its final form, stopped and stood completely between us; I've still left for my dorm, looking desperately for my uniform.

the classroom had a weird taste as the day follow its steps, I wasn't in the mood for conversations and my friends respected my boundaries. Just feeling nostalgic for things that wasn't that much time ago, and for others that were way to long.

and feeling melt under his gaze.

all classes finally had their ending, stretching myself close to the door after finishing cleaning, taking my shoe's and being stopped mid-going-away.

"wanna go buy groceries?" he was legit serious, like, drop dead serious. Even if it was out of nowhere; I said a weirdly uneventful: "yeah, why not?".

walking there was awkward, a constant feeling that there's something being unsaid. I didn't dare looking his way, too afraid I would spill what I've been thinking, and how it have been almost all of the time about him. He wasn't particularly comfortable either, not from the way he was constantly itching the nape of his neck.

I stopped, because my body suddenly told me to. Not that it was right, but it felt right and necessary. He made the same, turning to face me.

"what?" he was feeling the nitroglycerin escaping from his palms, his body telling him to fight but not to talk.

"there's something you want to tell me?" he did a micro reaction, his eyes briefly grow bigger and went back to usual as fast. "there's something you need to tell but feel like you can't?".

he laughed not too hard, more in disbelief than anything.

"you're a pain in the ass huh?" unbelievable how you could predict, what himself couldn't say out loud.

"yeah, with the ones that deserves it!" you both giggled, feeling the tension in the air fade away.

he leaned towards you, just enough so he could see all of you. Not only outside but inside too, your eyes telling him exactly what he needed; the weird reassurance of your presence.

"you're makin' me sick." he told you calmly, brows furrowed in concentration.

"makin' you sick?" you said half smiling, almost teasingly. Until it snapped. You knew katsuki, he wouldn't say that in a appropriate way. Your face giving away the fact you've already got everything figured out.

he gave you that shit-eating grin, turning his back and keeping his steps not so steady so you could easily catch up.

he made you sick to your guts too.

✸notes: that was actually so fun to write, even if it's short 😭

[imaginarylungfish]

my thoughts on the end of mha

i've had a few weeks to process the ending of mha now. when i first heard there were only 5 chapters left, i was shocked. i thought when hori said he had more story to tell, we were gonna get like 10 more chapters or something. so yeah, i felt like i got some whiplash there.

but after i had some time to recover from my shock, i got sad. this manga has brightened many a sunday for me. sure, i understand the criticism of the final war arc, but i can't say i was ever bored. i always wanted to know what was happening next.

and while i was sad the villains didn't live/we didn't see a rehab arc for them nor did we see much emotional processing by certain characters after the war, i understand this manga couldn't go on forever to adequately tackle all those stories. that's what fics are for, i guess.

izuku's ending

a really big thing i liked about the ending was izuku becoming quirkless again. that's what i wanted. i have some gripes with the execution, though. it was weird that izuku didn't show any emotion about losing ofa except in the battle. i still think that was a bit of a fumble on hori's part. you're telling me the kid who cries about everything wouldn't cry about losing something that let him live his dream? just seemed ooc.

but anyway, izuku ending as a quirkless hero was exactly what i wanted. that's exactly the way to conclude his whole arc. however, unless you fill in the blanks with headcanons, the impact of that arc is a bit lost on the reader. do we see izuku's acceptance of his inherent worthiness of being a hero (due to his unwavering spirit rather than the need for a quirk)? we don't. do we see society's acceptance of quirkless people as inherently equal to people with quirks? we don't. we must fill in the blanks ourselves. and i just don't think that type of fill-in-the-blank should happen. we should get that from the mangaka.

i also found it weird that izuku became a teacher at ua and then a quirkless hero. i understand there was some fun shock value/bait-and-switch to this little plot point (which i have to admit was amusing). but it kind of just didn't make narrative sense to me once i had my little laugh. like, pick one, hori. does izuku lose his quirk and become a ua teacher or does he lose his quirk and become a quirkless hero? having both muddies the waters.

we knew mha was going to end in a hopeful way. that's what this manga was about. it was all about trying and pushing past limits to succeed, despite the odds. i knew it wasn't going to end with izuku being depressed or anything. he was going to be happy in the end, whether he ended up as a quirkless teacher or quirkless hero because that's just who he is--he doesn't give up. so, i wish that was more of the focus of the last chapters since izuku is the protag after all. but i got the big thing i wanted (which is more than some others can say), so i can't complain too much.

katsuki's ending

i'm actually really satisfied with kastuki's ending (and his whole character arc, honestly). katsuki's whole thing was that he felt inferior to izuku his entire life because of izuku's innate heroism. so, katsuki bullied izuku to make himself feel better since katsuki always felt like he needed to be the best. but slowly, we see katsuki's worldview change as he enters ua high, fails the provisional licensing exam, and sees izuku's continued mastery of his quirks.

throughout the manga, katsuki has to grow up and mature. he has to realize that while he was born with something that makes him a great hero (his quirk), that's not all that it takes to be a great hero. and in fact, izuku has the other part (empathy and determination).

katsuki learns how to be more of a team player and less self-centered. he balances out his need to win and be the best with including others in his thought processes. enough so that he sacrifices himself for izuku, apologies to izuku, and gives izuku the final push in the war.

katsuki shows emotional growth and maturity throughout the manga which i think culminates not only in the final chapter but also in his reaction to hearing the news that izuku lost ofa. his show of emotion is big for him since we know this is not something he normally does. (i still can't believe we saw katsuki of all people cry after the war, but not izuku. ugh, i'll forever be salty about that.)

it's made clear in the final chapters through his words and actions that katsuki cares about izuku. he not only verbally expresses to izuku that he is sad they can't compete anymore, but he also checks in with izuku about how much of ofa he still has, and ultimately, works to get izuku's dream back. if that ain't redemption, i don't know what is.

so with one of the last panels of the manga being katsuki reaching out his hand to izuku (!!!), calling him deku to reinforce izuku's heroism? what a great conclusion. i am satisfied. thanks, hori.

(plus, there were no canon ships which i'm happy about. that's something that i'm glad hori left up to interpretation. now, we can all go read fics with our favorite ships without too much retconning. i think we all won in that regard.)

shoto's ending

i love shoto, so i will always want more of him. but i think that's exactly why i'm fine with his ending. i don't see it like an ending. it's a start for him. he finally gets to be himself, to be shoto. sure, he still probably has a long way to go in terms of getting over his family trauma, but throughout the manga, i think we get to see his growth in that regard which culminates with his battle with dabi and subsequent aftermath.

his story was always tied to his family's story, which made him a complex character. and while i can't say i loved everything that hori did with the todoroki family, i do like what he did for shoto individually.

i will always love shoto's thoughts during his fight with dabi. i think it exemplified his character growth. he was such an angry, cold teen when he entered ua. but he learned how to make friends, accept his trauma, and become his own person. throughout the manga, he learns how to interact with others in the way he wants. despite his treatment as a child (ie. abuse), he decides to reconnect with his mom and work with endeavor. but the main thing is that he chooses it. he gets to dictate what he does now. that's huge for him.

i particularly loved the scene where shoto says he just wants to talk with dabi/touya during their fight. it reminded me of a little kid who just wants to get to know his big brother. but also it showed the maturity shoto gained throughout the story. instead of avoiding things like he originally did at the beginning of the manga, he wants to face them head-on. he has learned talking with others and gaining new perspectives is helpful and that arguments, even though unpleasant, can be productive.

and like i said before, i have some gripe with how some pieces of the todoroki family arc ended. however, i was satisfied with shoto's ending. i loved the "favorite food convo" callback. touya's response was hopeful yet heartbreaking at the same time.

i do wish izuku and shoto talked after the war because i just think izuku would want to know how shoto's doing instead of whatever the fuck this was:

but again, overall i am satisfied.

ok i'm going to stop writing now. i already wrote more than i thought i would (and even added panels). i do have thoughts on ochaco's ending and other random things, but i think that's a post for a another day. i did the main three and that's good enough for now.

overall, i was satisfied with the ending of mha, especially after looking back on it with all pieces put together. the story impacted me in more ways than one and i look forward to re-reading and learning more in the future!

[littlemetalbiter]

I've been pretty firm in this belief from the start, and I maintain that, at least through childhood (even into early preteenhood more or less), Roger did have a very positive and even loving relationship with his dad.

They loved each other so much, once. Roger has always been eager for knowledge and new experiences, and Waternoose was only too happy to pass on what he knew to his boy... with the idea, probably, that he would ultimately build Roger up to be prepared and worthy of taking over the company, when that time came.

But there was clearly some point at which he effectively gave up on Roger, so to speak. Roger wasn't a 'proper' monster as he grew out of childhood, as far as his dad was concerned, or at least not a proper Waternoose. He had lost interest in the idea of being a scarer or the business of scaring like his dad, for one thing. (Which, as we all know, would have been nothing short of taboo at the time with his father being such a renowned and revered and famous scarer + laugh power not yet discovered.)

But Waternoose compensated. With Roger seemingly out of the picture for good, he would set his sights of choosing a monster who was worthy and ultimately trusted for the role where he felt that Roger had failed to prove himself to be. He latched onto Sulley and regarded him as if he was his son. It filled a void. Someone he was both very fond of and proud of who he felt he would gladly trust to take over and run things when the time came that Waternoose would retire. Of course he wished it could have been his own son. But, for the good of the company, it was more worth it to ensure that Monsters Inc. had a strong future ahead.

I think Waternoose always prioritized the company over everything else, even his own family, to varying degrees. And maybe he expected Wendy and Roger to understand (or at least overlook) this, being a part of his family and having love for him, and to accept it. And while we have nothing to go off of to know how Wendy might have felt about that, I reckon that Roger didn't totally appreciate Wendy and he being beneath business in his father's eyes. And he probably wasn't exactly shy about it.

Because he didn't want to try or pretend to be something he knew he never would be just to appease his father and 'earn back' the love that they once had. So, he wasn't going to.

When the news about Waternoose's crimes and his cruel intentions and consequent imprisonment went live, that only nailed the lid on the coffin for Roger; that things could never be like they once were. The love that they shared could not be regained. And, if he was honest, that night Roger had begun to question if he really even wanted the love of someone like his father. Least of all his very father in particular who, once, Roger would happily trust and support with little question, even if they had differing views on Roger's future. (Among other things.)

And, maybe, if Waternoose couldn't earn Roger's favor after what he'd done, that would drive him to lash out. Perhaps he sowed the first seeds of doubt in Roger, assuring him that it would all be over for him if was out that he was a Waternoose, too. Likely predicting how Roger's fears and insecurities and his being prone to fits of intense anxiety, et all would run with it.

I can imagine that he still didn't want the chance out there that someone like Roger might one day take over the company. So he tried to make Roger think that he couldn't really trust himself to, with, among other things, all the lying and hiding he was now doing.

I think Waternoose genuinely loved and cared about his son. But I think he hated Roger's rejection of the path he had hoped to lay out for him more. Add that to the fact that, rather than wanting to help and support his father like Waternoose may have hoped for merely because they were family, Roger condemned, and refused forgiveness to, him instead.

And I think, for Waternoose, maybe that was the final nail in his coffin. Maybe Roger had a sense that they would never truly make peace with each other on any foreseeable level. Maybe, after what had happened, he would always suspect his father of plotting something or harboring ulterior motives. And maybe that made him so quickly jump to aggressively accusing Waternoose of sabotaging the company (perhaps in partial interest of sabotaging Roger's chances of having a future with Monsters Inc.)

[bellysoupset]

Vince was not feeling well.

Which was saying something considering he hadn't been feeling well since November last year.

The talk with Wendy had helped, a lot, the knot that had permanently tied in his throat. Knowing they weren't over had him nearly dizzy with relief, even if he was very aware that it wouldn't be easy to have a relationship when they were 4 hours apart.

But there was more. There were his friends still... With whom he hadn't spoken. Well, everyone safe for Leo, who had texted him over Christmas break and hadn't stopped.

"I don't want you unhappy," had been Leo's simplistic answer when Vince met up with him that morning and asked why he was being so cool about the entire situation. Jonah hadn't spoken with him in a while and Vin wasn't sure if he was being ignored or if it was just Jon's regular sullen silences.

He was absolutely certain that Luke was ignoring him and that was more than partially to blame for the queasy sensation that spread all over his body.

"It seems like you're the only one," Vince scoffed, pushing the french fry around with viciousness and glaring at it. He couldn't fathom eating it, with how unsettled his stomach felt.

Leo let out a sigh, "that's not true, Vin." He was sitting back against Fredo's leather seats, finishing off his own burger, "Luke's a wreck, you two should really talk."

"Nothing to talk about," Vince grumbled, trying not to meet Leo's eyes and failing miserably when the blonde glared at him.

"Vince."

"He's just making everything worse," Vince groaned, wincing as his stomach cramped painfully, "it's hard enough leaving and it's hard enough that I'm gonna be four hours apart from my girlfriend and Luke- Luke's fucking everything up."

Leo raised his eyebrows, judgement rolling off of him and Vince ducked his head, muffling a burp against his fist. There was a burning in his chest that nothing could soothe.

"Vince."

"Stop looking at me like that."

"You say you wanna go, but I've never seen you look more miserable," Leo pointed out, his voice gentle, but firm, "look at me, Vin."

He did and immediately grimaced. There was nothing but support and concern in Leo's face, which Vince quickly found that he did not want. He much rather be yelled at, as he was sure Jonah or Bell would have.

"I'm okay."

"Bullshit," Leo sighed, rubbing his face, "don't lie to my face, okay? You're miserable."

Vince shrugged, "I will be okay... I got a job in Doverport."

Leo's eyebrows jumped up, "uhm... Congrats?" he said, unsure given the tone of the conversation, "what is it?"

"History teacher at the local public school," Vince picked at his nails, "I start in a week."

"That's great Vin! You've always wanted to teach..." Leo's voice trailed off and he let out a heavy sigh, "and you're not happy."

"What do you mean? Of course I a-"

"It wasn't a question," Leo twirled the coke in his cup with the metal straw, poking at the ice chips, "why are you moving if you don't want to?"

"I do want to," Vince sighed, giving up all pretense at trying to eat and his upbeat attitude, "I miss my parents, Leo. Which I know- Well, it's not something either of you guys is very familiar with, but I don't just love my family, okay? I like them. I genuinely enjoy spending time with them... And my parents are getting old and Sophia is leaving at the end of the year and I'll see her even less and Liv... I feel like I missed every single milestone? She's six, I- I came to college when I she had just learned to say my name..."

It was terrifying, to know he would be missing out on important memories with the ones he loved regardless of each town he picked.

"No, I get it," Leo nodded, then when Vin raised an eyebrow he rolled his eyes, "okay, fine, I don't get it. Not for a second, this is completely out of my reality... But I saw Jon with Angie this Christmas and how heartbroken he was over them not being closer. I saw Luke with his dad and how Kit doesn't even know him... And I know I spent my whole childhood wishing I had something like that," he shrugged, "so yeah, I don't get it, but I do."

Vince nodded, forcefully swallowing against the knot in his throat, "yeah..." he swallowed again, feeling clammy and ill, "it just sucks, because it feels like I'm letting everyone down and-"

"You're not," Leo reached over the table, grabbing Vin's wrist, "look, it's not you leaving, it's how you did it. At least with Wendy it is."

"You don't know Wendy," Vince scoffed, wiping the sweat collecting over his lip, "she's- She's heartbroken and furious and it's my fault."

"I do know Wendy," Leo rolled his eyes, "she's petty as fuck and she's loyal and she's independent and you asked her to give up her life and move with you after you spent two months lying to her face and leading her on."

Vince's eyes widened and he shook his head, "I didn't lie, I just- What was there to tell if I hadn't made up my mind? Nothing."

"She's your girlfriend, of course you could've said something," Leo glared at him, "you think I'd be happy if Jonah just up and decided something after months of thinking it, when he never shared the plans with me? When I wasn't a part of the conversation?"

As if the realization suddenly hit him, Vince mouthed around nothing, confused, "I didn't... I didn't think of that."

Leo let out a little snort, before starting to drink his coke. He waited, patiently, as Vince came to terms with the new realization.

It took him a minute to put it into words, but he did it, crumpling forward and shielding his face with his hands, saying in a muffled voice, "I fucked up."

"You fucked up," Leo agreed, trying not to sound too harsh, "but she still took you back, so I'm gonna guess you didn't fuck up that badly."

"God knows why she did," Vince grumbled, removing a hand from his face and staring at the table, looking like he wanted to say something and failing.

Leo's winced in sympathy, "look, we love you, Vin. All of us. That's not gonna change, okay? They'll get over it."

"Yeah," his friend nodded, not looking like he believed it, "you should come visit..." he didn't raise his eyes from the table, "I'm really going to miss you, kid."

Leo's valiant smile and upbeat attitude wavered a little and he only nodded, not quite managing to fake it, "yeah, I'll miss you too..."

"I think we should get going, I still have to hit the road..." Vince cringed just at the thought. His father had let him borrow the car, so he could retrieve all the boxes from Wendy's apartment and the trunk and backseat were already loaded up.

He still had to swing by his girlfriend's apartment to get some stuff and to say goodbye... And his stomach was burning just thinking of it.

Everything felt horrible, from getting up to hugging Leo goodbye, to driving away and the prospect of the four hours long drive before him... And saying goodbye to Wendy...

Vince was so caught up in his own angst, that he completely missed the car parked next to Wendy's pink one. He had started to sweat back in the restaurant, clammy perspiration over saying goodbye to Leo, but that by now he knew was more than just that.

He felt downright woozy during the elevator ride, the small lunch he had been able to force down starting to flip in his stomach. Vince leaned against Wendy's red front door, resting his forehead on it and took a measured breath.

He just had to fake it for half an hour more. Just enough to kiss her goodbye and try not to start crying over it and then...

"And you think it's the meds?" Wendy's voice travelled through the door and Vince groaned, as he quickly realized she had company, Bella's voice answering.

"I hope it's just the meds... I'm scared, Wendy - Fuck that, I'm overwhelmed..."

"Of course you are, it's a lot to handle on your own, Bells..."

Vince turned the doorknob, deciding to make his presence known sooner rather than later. He was already in both women's shit list, the last thing he wanted was to be accused of eavesdropping on them.

As soon as he opened the door, the talking died down and both girls turned to face him. Bella was leaning against the dining table, while Wendy was on the opposite side, putting the decor back on top of the table after they had lunch.

He could still smell it in the air, raspberry pie and something else.

"Oh hey, you're back early!" Wendy's voice went up a note, all awkward in a way that wasn't like her at all. She glanced nervously at Bella, who had crossed her arms defensively and raised her eyebrows.

"Hi," Bell said coolly and Vin all but flinched at her tone.

He loved this girl like a sister and it was a slap to the face to be treated like that.

"Hi," Vince gripped the doorknob, "I'm on my way out," which was the wrong thing to say, because Bell let out an incredulous, bitter scoff, while Wendy promptly dropped the vase she was holding down on the table, looking spooked.

"Already? I thought you were only leaving tonight..." She looked all heartbroken, "I thought we'd have more time-"

"Don't let the door hit you on your way out," Bella said and Vince reeled at her tone, while Wendy's mouth hung open, her heart shaped face turning pink.

"That's fucking enough, Bell," she glared at the ginger, "you can be civilized or you can leave."

A horrible warmth spread all over Vince and he breathed in deeply through his nose. The floor seemed to be swimming, nausea clinging to the back of his throat.

"I'm not gonna coddle him just because-"

"This isn't about Vince and you know it, you're letting your feelings get in the way-"

"Yeah, damn right I am!" Bella exclaimed, her voice a note louder and Vince groaned, as it made his head pound.

He was going to be sick.

His mouth filled with saliva and he gulped down nervously, trying to think through the horrible fog. He could bolt for the bathroom, but that would get them questioning him, besides... He really didn't want to impose on Wendy, she was already being too understanding-

"Helloooo? I'm talking with you, jackass," Bella's voice cut through the haze and Vince struggled to focus on her. She had moved closer, while Wendy was hot on her heels, looking flustered and pissed off.

"You really should go now, Bella-"

"Fuck no, I won't, not until he looks at me-"

"Move," Vince groaned, squeezing his eyes shut and darting a hand forward. It touched Bell's wrist and he squeezed it as well, "Bella, get out of the way-"

"What the fuck do you think you're doing!?" Bella's voice suddenly was much louder, "let go off me-" the implication of her words was more nauseating than anything and Vince's stomach surged up in his throat... And he didn't have it in him to even fight it.

He bent in half, shoving Bella back to avoid getting her combat boots covered in sick and then lost his lunch on Wendy's foyer. All over his boots.

Vince swayed on the spot, a cramp hitting him fiercely and he would've crumpled down to his knees, wasn't it for Bella grabbing him suddenly.

"Vince?! Vin, what the fuck!?" Bella exclaimed right next to his ear, her voice strained by the effort of keeping him collapsing. He was far too big for her, if his knees fully gave in, he'd pull them both down, "what's wrong? Are you sick? Are you hurt?!"

All that anger gone in the flick of a wrist.

Vince let out a groan, squeezing his stomach. Everything felt horrible, his head felt completely disconnected from his body, his belly was sour and far from empty, churning up a storm and he was freezing...

"Aw honey," Wendy's voice, a balm to his nerves, made Vince open his eyes. A towel had already been draped over the puddle of sick and his girlfriend had wrapped her arm around his opposite side, helping Bella hold him up, "you're not well, I can feel the fever from here..."

"I'm g-" His throat constricted and Vince gulped down against the knot in there, "gon'besick..."

"Yeah, help us," Bella gasped, sounding worried and frustrated as they tried to move him to the bathroom. Without his help, not even in a pair they could do much.

Vince nodded, shivering violently and leaning on them, using all his force to move. He collapsed down on the bathroom floor, taking Bella with him since she was the one further inside.

There wasn't much time to think as he pushed the toilet lid up and tried, vaguely, not to cause a bigger mess. His stomach cramped again, squeezing, and Vince white knuckled the porcelain, heaving.

A hand cupped his forehead, supporting his heavy head and Vince leaned into the soft touch with a sob. His thoughts were a jumbled mess, flip flopping between the horrible sensation of his body and the confusion and hurt over the previous interaction.

"I'm-ssssorry..." Vince slurred, sounding and feeling drunk, trying to get rid of the line of thick spit dangling from his bottom lip.

"Shut up," Bella said quietly, dabbing his lip with a wad of toilet paper, "jesus, you're soaked..."

"Here," Wendy, crouching down next to them, planting a humid washcloth to the back of his neck. Vince let his eyes slip closed, immediately regretting it as in the darkness he could feel the room twirling around him-

"Arms up," Bella, grabbing his elbow, "c'mon, big guy, help me here."

"Whataare... What are you doing...?" Vince forced his eyes open and realized he was no longer slumped over the toilet, but propped against the cold wall of the bathroom. Wendy was standing near the sink, re-wetting the washcloth.

"You're boiling," Bell explained, all soft, "we need to get your temperature down."

He really didn't feel like he could trust her, not after all the yelling, not after she had been ignoring him... Besides, it was freezing.

"No, 'mnot..."

"Yes, you are, Vin," Bella pushed his damp hair back, looking terribly concerned, "this is going to help, okay?"

"Uhm-" he couldn't help but lean on her touch, letting his eyes close. Sure, he was hurt over Bell's words and she was pissed at him, but it was still Bella...

"Honey," Wendy, patting his cheek, "Vin, open your eyes... Vin..."

He tried to force them open, ready to cry over not being able to just fucking sleep. Being awake just meant feeling like he was about to spew the food he had eaten back in 8th grade, he'd much rather sleep-

"Vince," Wendy shook him a little harder and Vince opened his eyes. He was shirtless now, which was more than a little concerning. He didn't remember taking his shirt off.

Bella was perched on the bathtub, watching over them, and Wendy was crouched in front of him, cupping his face.

Vince's head swam as he tried to focus on his girlfriend. Wendy's eyes were the size of platters, all worried.

"Hi..."

"Hey," she forced a smile, stroking his cheek, "how are you feeling?"

"Like crap," Vince groaned and couldn't help a small smile as he heard Bella snort.

"Yeah?" Wendy rolled her eyes, "when did you start feeling sick, honey?"

"Uhm..." Vince winced as another cramp hit him and he curled up, sucking in the air. It took a second to breath through the hot, sharp pain and as soon as the iron grip in his inside eased, a new wave of nausea hit him. He was sweating, gulping nervously as his mouth watered and his tongue felt too big for his mouth, "don't feel good..."

"I know, sweetheart," Wendy smoothed his hair back, "I just need to know for how long this has been going on. Were you sick this morning?"

She sounded so... Calm. So gentle. Somewhere in the recess of his mind Vince knew this wasn't a good thing, that this was Wen using her doctor voice. The last thing he wanted was to be an even bigger bother-

Tears stung his eyes and Vince curled up even more, turning his head away from Wendy... His eyes paused on Bella and she looked horribly guilty. Twice as concerned. None of the calm that Wendy sported, panic was written all over her face.

"I'm so sorry," she said before Vince could say anything and a sob bubbled up, making his whole frame shake. Vince ducked his head, he didn't want to cry, but the fever was frying at his nerves and before he head any control over it, big fat tears started to run down his cheeks.

"Hey, hey..." Wendy whispered, moving up and wrapping her arms around him, pulling Vince into a tight hug, "hey, I got you. You're okay-"

"I'm sorry," he mumbled into her hair, words sticking together, shaking them both, "I'm sorry, I don't- I'm making a mess, I've made a mess-"

"No, no, we're fine," Wendy squeezed him, kissing the side of his head, "we're working through it, right? We're okay- You're okay-"

"No, I'm not, I don't- I hate this. Everything is wrong and I feel wrong, and-" Vince sobbed, his words jumbling together in one continuous stream that made no sense even to his own ears and suddenly there was another pair of arms wrapped around him, squeezing him even tighter than Wendy was.

"B-Bell...?"

"I'm here- You-you're okay," she mumbled, voice muffled since Bella's cheek was squished to his shoulder, "we're okay, alright? We're gonna be okay."

"But- but you hate..." Vince whimpered and Bella pulled back, all but replacing Wendy in cupping his face, forcing their eyes to meet.

"No, I'm furious at you, I don't hate you," she glared at him, "not for a second, Vin."

This was all very touching, but Vince's stomach apparently hadn't gotten the memo he was having a moment, because suddenly he was gagging.

Bella jumped out of the way and both women pushed him forward to lean over the bowl, just in time for the rest of his stomach lining to make a reappearance. He coughed and coughed, but there wasn't much more to bring up and Vince was left panting and sobbing, curled up over the toilet bowl.

He felt Bella's fingers moving through his sweaty hair, Wendy squeezing his arm as she got up from the ground, "stay with him, I'm gonna settle the room. Clearly he's not stopping any time soon."

Vince groaned, he didn't need Bell to sit with him, he didn't need a nanny... Bella flicked at his ear.

"No one said anything about you needing a nanny," she scoffed, before continuing to comb his hair, "you seem hellbent on throwing up on me."

Vince let out a surprised chuckle, eyes closed as he breathed through the nausea that was starting back up, "it's the least you deserve after yelling at me like that."

Bella snorted, running her hand up and down his naked back, "god, I'm gonna fucking miss you."

[lavender-romancer]

What Does He Have That I Don't?

Imelda Reyes x Reader Sebastian Sallow x Reader

Imelda didn't understand the feelings going on in her own head, but she understood even less why you would be in love with someone who was so terrible for you.

*°*°•.˜”*°•.˜”*°•.˜”*°••°*”˜.•°*”˜.•°*”˜.•°*”°*

Whether it was flying, or herbology or exploring Hogwarts, you and Imelda had always been together. Learning new spells with one another and talking about the latest gossip going around the school- usually including Gareth Weasley’s explosive potions. Everything felt so… correct. You were usually only with one another, slept in the same dorm, had classes and free time together. It made sense that you spent weekends together and just about every other bit of time.

You became closer and closer, Imelda opened up to you about the pressures of her family and how she never felt she could fail at anything because of how disappointed they would be. She had never talked to anyone about it before but she wanted to tell you everything.

This had never happened before, sure Imelda had had friends but nothing like this. It felt different. When she thought back on it, she might have felt a similar way towards Nerida but it still wasn’t the same as this. She wanted to stroke your hair, have you fall asleep on her, kiss you and- Imelda stopped her train of thought and opened her eyes wide. She ran to the nearest bathroom and leant over the basin, gripping the sides so hard she thought she might break it. She wanted to… kiss you? This couldn't be right. Maybe she didn't get enough sleep or something. She did not want to kiss her friend. From that moment, Imelda made herself believe that.

You continued to get close with one another and trust each other even more. With Imelda making things up like; you have something in your hair, let me get it out or I've started to learn palm reading, can I try it on you? Just so she could feel your warmth, imagine that you looked at her the same way you looked at him.

As soon as he came into your life you were transfixed, all you could talk about was him and how brilliant he was. Imelda just had to hold her tongue because if she told you how much she despised Sallow you would only push her away.

How could she tell you about the feelings she was having when she didn't even understand them herself? How could she tell you that the feelings she had for you were the same Sebastian had for you? Imelda was outwardly headstrong but her anxiety got the better of her in many situations, the whole of her friendship with you had felt like a huge experiment into how deep her imposter syndrome went. She never felt good enough to be your friend, or that she deserved your friendship. Now it was exacerbated to breaking point. Imelda knew she would be better for you than him, she knew that she could give you so much more, care about you more and never make you cry. But alas, you would still collapse onto your bed with a satisfied sigh and talk nonstop about how Sebastian had smiled at you in potions class.

Every night Sallow would knock on the dorm room you and Imelda shared to say goodnight or take you off gallivanting round the school or the Highlands. It usually gave Imelda time to wallow, she had never been this bad of a loser in all of her time in quidditch. She couldn't stand the fact that you looked at Sallow the way you did. The two of them seemed ridiculously in love and Imelda dreamed of you looking at her like that. She knew it was wrong and her family would never accept it. But she couldn't hold it in.

What was happening? Why was she feeling this way about her friend? Having to turn away when you were changing your clothes because it suddenly felt like an invasion of privacy or, when they would talk about crushes Imelda would always have to lie and choose some random boy. Was this normal, or just another thing that would make people despise her? She respected you too much to ruin your life by revealing this dark secret no matter how much it was slowly killing her from the inside out.

Regardless of knowing Sallow was a fucking idiot who would never prioritise you, Imelda knew she would put her all into caring for you. She already did but not in the same way Sallow could. A jealousy bubbled inside her that constantly threatened to jump out at anyone who dared question her. She had taken to spending more time alone because hearing you talk for the umpteenth time about the same boy made her chest hurt by this point. You told Imelda about how he had made you cry, that he had cast the cruciatus curse on you for a fucking book or something. Imelda wanted to kill him right there and then, but you explained it away and went back to fawning over him. How could you not see that he only cared about his own interests?

Some days Imelda felt like challenging Sebastian to a duel or something of that nature. He didn't deserve you- not that Imelda thought she deserved you either- and could never treat you with the amount of care you deserved. You deserved the world, all the riches in existence and the softest hands to care and look after you. After all the hardships and loss in your life you didn't need anyone else hurting you.

Today was an evening like many others when Sallow knocked at the dormitory door and Imelda wrapped a robe around herself before returning to her bed. You jumped up excitedly and opened the door, but something happened that made Imelda have to catch her breath. They kissed. A short and brief kiss, but a kiss all the same almost like they were used to doing it by now and we're just saying goodnight in the shroud of familiarity. Imelda turned onto her side, facing away from your bed and did anything she could to get that image out of her head. Over and over it played, a cruel reminder that people like her would never have the chance to prove they were just as devoted and loving.

After that moment, Imelda stayed so far away from you that a lot of people were noticing it. Even Ominis had asked Imelda if there was an issue because you had been upset. But Imelda brushed it off saying that she was focussing on her studies. It had been months by now. Months of excusing herself from situations where you were, going to bed early so that you didn't have time to debrief at the end of the day. Imelda couldn't see you without wanting to cry, that fucker Sallow was your boyfriend. The two of them were bonafide lovers and it made Imelda hate herself more every day.

Imelda felt like she was floating through life with nothing to keep her grounded. Nothing to root her to reality as her heart continued to break, she had begun silently crying herself to sleep. Nothing could fix this because you didn't want her, you only wanted him. Maybe one day Imelda would be able to tell you the truth but she had begun to realise that you had probably begun to hate her. Their friendship was barely intact and it was Imelda who had been pulling away the whole time, you probably felt abandoned.

This hurt had to happen, for the both of you. Without it Imelda couldn't leave you, she missed you so intensely it hurt but when she left Hogwarts she wouldn't have to worry. In a few months she could switch dorms, forget any of it ever happened and if that meant you would be stuck with Sallow, that was how it was meant to be. The story that Imelda had inside herself was never to be told, she would never love freely. Maybe it was dramatic but every time she looked at you it felt wrong, it felt like this was meant to be. If you only felt the same.

[a-nick]

Persona 5: The Final Heist

Hey, first post! This little story is just something I've had cooked up - its not my best work, but I figured its a strong start for my tumblr blog. Without further ado, here's Final Heist. A sort of reunion "what if" scenario for the thieves final heist... (stick around if you enjoy Shadow Joker plotlines, hehe).

Chapter 1

REN AMAMIYA - MORGANA

Another day, another failed job interview. Ren Amamiya was used to the rejection by now, but that didn't mean he was ever any less disappointed. He lazily laid on his bed, body sprawled out and face planted in a pillow.

"Another failed interview?" His not-cat companion purred from across the room.

Ren didn't make an effort to remove his face from his pillow. The only thing he offered Morgana was a muffled, "yes."

"Then I'm not sure this will make your day any better." Morgana padded over to Ren. There was something in his mouth that he dropped on the foot of the bed.

Ren lifted his head to see what it was, even more disappointment panged in his chest when he realized what it was. An eviction notice. "I thought I had more time?"

Morgana lept onto the bed, moving over to Ren's side. "It's because your criminal record, I think." He moved in closer to Ren, lying by the boy's side. "I'm sorry, Ren." The fated criminal record. Unfortunately, despite being free of Shido's false accusations, he wasn't free from it. That would be thanks to his time spent as the leader of the Phantom Thieves, but Ren was still glad it wasn't affecting the others.

Ren sighed, he flipped his legs to hang them over the bed, cupping his hands over his face. Feelings of dread and aimlessness pooled into him. All he wanted to do was live a normal life, but life always delt him different cards. He always figured out a way, but these days it had begun to feel hopeless.

"I don't know what to do," Ren croaked out. "I feel like I've tried everything, Morgana."

Morgana felt his own sorrow seeing Ren in such a state. It hurt to see his partner in crime feeling so hopeless. But what hurt even more was that Morgana knew he could do nothing. He just continued to stay at the teen's side, letting him caress him for stress relief.

"Are you gonna go live with your parents?" The feline asked.

"No," Ren fell onto his back, now staring at the ceiling. "It'll just bring them trouble. Having a "delinquent" around I mean, everyone in town is just going to look down on them again."

"Ren..." was all Morgana managed to say. The two sat in a still silence. Ren mulling over ideas in contemplation. Morgan just being by his side. But that was when an idea hit Morgana... "Why not go back to Tokyo for a bit? With Sojiro, rents free! It'll be easier to look for a job, too."

Ren slowly looked at Morgana, a sense of hope twinkling in his eyes. "You may be onto something... But I don't want to be a burden to him either." "C'mon, Ren, it's Sojiro we're talking about! You've done so much for him, I'm sure he wouldn't mind."

"Hmm..." Ren went into a thinking position. His legs were crossed and he scratched his chin. "I guess I can try shooting him a text."

--- Ren was honestly surprised that Sojiro said yes. But the more he thought about it, he really shouldn't have been. All Sojiro had ever been to him was kind. He did have to admit though, he felt a little nervous. It'd been a full year since he'd really seen the other thieves. Not since the EMMA incident.

He was going to originally surprise the other thieves with his arrival, but ended up sending a heads up text on the train ride to Tokyo. Just before he entered LeBlanc, he checked for any replies. Zero. Not a single thief messaged him back. He felt a pang of disappointment, but he shoved it away with the assumption they were just all busy.

Two bags in tow, Ren gave a polite knock to the closed doors of LeBlanc. In the next few heartbeats, the door swung open and Ren got to hear those familiar bells jingle once more. At the door stood Sojiro, "'bout time you showed up."

"Not looking any younger, I see." Ren joked as he stepped in.

"And you're still the same old trouble maker." Sojiro gave a jovial laugh. The two hugged, Sojiro finishing it off by saying, "glad to have you back."

After fully pulling his luggage in, Ren's brow raised at a lack of orange head. "No Futaba?" He asked, curiously tilting his head at the older man.

"Probably asleep, school's been busy for her," Sojiro answered casuaully. It was a relief for Ren to hear she was doing well in school. But he'd be lying to himself if he wasn't bummed that she wasn't around to greet him.

Sojiro passed by Ren and headed for the door. But not before dropping a key in Ren's hand. "You know the drill, lock up once you're done."

Ren nodded, "got it." Sojiro turned to leave, but Ren stopped him. "And Sojiro? Thanks."

"Anytime," and he was gone.

Ren sighed, his slapstick smile from before falling right off his face. He slunk into a nearby booth, sliding all the way down onto his bag. One last ditch attempt to look for replies, Ren lifted his phone. Zilch. Not a single thief replied. Ren sat back up, turning over the key that Sojiro handed him in his hand. "I'm gonna take a walk," he told Morgana, who'd just stepped out of Ren's bag.

"Alone? At this hour?"

Ren heaved himself out of the booth, "don't worry, I'll be fine."

The feline just nods, hoping to give off the impression that he intented on staying. But once Ren left the store he quickly padded after, slinking through the gap before the door fully shut. Morgana was worried for Ren. He just wanted to do was keep an eye on him, make sure he didn't do anything rash.

--- Ren's walk outside was more like a sleep walking daze. Lost in his thoughts, he drifted in and out of the subway. In the end, he somehow made it all the way to Shubuya. Despite the time of the night, the city streets were as busy as always.

Morgana was having a hard time keeping track of Ren. It was like he was following the empty husk of a confused zombie. He has to manage to be discreet as well, making the task all the more difficult. But he managed, he watched from afar as he watched Ren stare off into the distance.

Ren, meanwhile, was taking in the city streets. While taking a large inhale, he closed his eyes. But then... A strange feeling washed over him. But strange in a familiar way. Distortion waved around him as he felt the world wobble.

Upon reopening his eyes, the world was merely a distorted version of what it once was. The sky was blood-red, the streets hazy as faceless shadows roamed about. Ren lifted his now gloved hand to confirm his suspicions. His eyes narrowed, "the Metaverse."

RYUJI SAKAMOTO - ANN TAKAMAKI

You know that feeling where you for some reason just feel... Awkward? Like, you can't figure out why, but you just feel weird. Well that's exactly how Ryuji Sakamoto was feeling as he drowned himself in couch cushions. "Ryuji!" His roommate, Ann, threw a throw pillow directly at his face. "What's up with you now?"

Ryuji made no effort to avoid the blow, letting the pillow hit him square in the face. He only really slumped further into the couch. "It's this whole school thing, man. I'm not sure how much longer I can keep it up."

Ryuji was currently a collage student, one learning the arts of physical education. It was his aim to be one that kids could actually look up to. A teacher that kids could trust. A far cry from the teacher experiences that Ryuji himself faced. But the motivation to learn was... Lackluster, to say the least. Part of him still wished he could have gotten a track scholarship, but those dreams died with his crushed leg.

"I get it," Ann chimed back, slumping into the couch with Ryuji. "Especially with my whole part time model gig, I'm failing so hard."

"Where's Makoto when you need her," Ryuji only continued to whine.

"Probably being the top of her class or something."

“Man, go figure.”

The two blonds were now practically fully sunken into the couch. Ryuji having annoyances of college, Ann the same. Across on the counter both their phones buzzed, but neither noticed. They were too busy regretting their life choices.

The sunk so far into the couch, that it had disappeared below them. Hang on, they were now sitting on hard ground? Ryuji opened his eyes, now seeing a costumed Ann next to him. “Ryuji…” Ann gasped, “you’re wearing your Skull attire!”

Ryuji gawked back at her, “and you’re in your Panther attire?” The building they were in was now empty. Blood red light poured into the room from the window. They both stood up to peak out the window. Sure enough they were in… “The Metaverse,” they both said in unison.

MAKOTO NIJIMA

A young woman opens her apartment door with reluctance. After a long day at school, feelings of drowsiness overtook Makoto Nijima. She reentered the same apartment she’d been living in for the past year or so. She was also currently in the process of balancing her phone on her shoulder, in deep discussion with her sister. "How were classes today?” Sae asked.

“They were fine,” Makoto replied. Sae could hear the exhaustion seeping from her voice.

When she finally stepped inside she could feel a buzz against her shoulder. But she was too busy to really notice it. She just kept the conversation with Sae going as Sae asked, “how’re things between you and everyone else?”

Makoto wasn't sure how to reply. She'd had some contact with the others, mostly Haru, but no one had really hung out since last Summer. "They're fine," Makoto lied.

"Glad to hear it. While, I gotta go, goodnight Makoto.”

“Goodnight, sis.”

Makoto sighed as she plopped into the couch. She felt a bit guilty as she neglected her relationship with the others. But she'd have to tackle those feelings tomorrow, she was far too tired to think right now.

But suddenly, a familiar feeling of distortion washed over her. She was no longer sitting but standing. She opened her eyes, a window present in front of her. Her reflection bounced off it, revealing to Makoto what she was wearing. “The Metaverse,” she whispered to herself.

YUSUKE KITAGAWA – HARU OKUMURA

Yusuke had just waved Haru goodbye, she had invited him on a nice tea date. She didn’t often invite the other thieves, so he had wondered why she invited him. But unaware to him, it was because Haru pitied him and his current food situation. Yusuke was always starving due to… Well, due to the fact that he spent all his money on art supplies. He took the term “starving artist” a little too literally.

But once the two split ways for the night, they closed their eyes. Distortion took them over, “The Metaverse,” they both gasped to themselves.

FUTABA SAKURA – SUMIRE YOSHIZAWA

Futaba layed in bed, a content smile on her face. A third-year in highschool meant she was almost done. The fact that she'd gotten this far surpirsed her, she even managed to make some friends. The person she mostly hung out with though was Sumire, a fellow third-year and honorary Phantom Thief. The two grew close while at school together, Futaba would even go as far as saying Sumire was her best friend.

Of course, there were times where there relationship could feel strained. Mostly due to Sumire's gymnastics, the red head often had to take weeks off of school for competitions. But they always got over their slumps. Sumire had finally and truly earned her status as honor student, so Futaba was only really proud to call Sumire her friend.

Speaking of Sumire, the young red head was standing just outside the Sakura residants. She'd walked Futaba home and was preparing herself to leave. Not before sending Futaba a final "goodnight!" text though. To which Futaba replied "gn!" in return.

Both girls gently closed their eyes, Futaba in slumber and Sumire in joy. But that was when it happened, feelings of distortion and dizziness. Upon opening their eyes, the two realized… “The Metaverse,” they both said.

GORO AKECHI

‘The Metaverse’ were Goro Akechi’s first thoughts when he realized, well, he was in the Metaverse. This world had a strange habit of pulling him back in unceremoniously. But he’d get to the bottom of this. He always did.

SOPHIA

“How long will we stay in Tokyo?” the curious little red robot asked. Sophia’s voice rang from Ichinose’s phone. The heartfelt ai lived there after all. But Ichinose had started making efforts to move Sophia around. Everything was still only experimental, but the idea still excited Sophia. They were in Tokyo to run some experiments and get some supplies for the project.

“We’ll be here for a few days,” Ichinose answered, a pep in her voice.

“Can we visit the Phantom Thieves?” Sophia’s digital interface tilted its head. Sophia’s mannerisms sometimes mimicked that of a cat, probably influenced by Morgana.

“Of course, how can I say no to that cute little face of yours, anyways?” Ichinose was trying, but she leaned to the car seat she had placed Sophia in. She did so to boop the little robot’s digital nose.

Sophia sneezed, her nose twitching a bit after the fact. “Ichinoooseee,” Sophia whined, “I told you not to do that!” The two’s relationship was like that of mother and child. Technically speaking, that’s what they were anyway. Ichinose was Sophia’s inventor after all.

“You’re too cute. But okay, I’ll hold off. For now.” Ichinose returned to her normal sitting position, eyes actually on the road now. “Any thief you wanna see in particular?”

“All of them!” Sophia chirped back, “but I am really excited to see Renren again!” Renren, she’d started calling Ren that after she heard Ryuji say it.

“Oh, was he their suave leader?”

Sophia nodded, “yep!”

Sophia closed her big blue eyes, feelings of excitement washing over her. She just couldn’t wait to see the rest of the Phantom Thieves again! But that was when it happened. Feelings of distortion and waviness moved around here. She could feel herself grow a physical form. Ichinose now gone: Sophia opened her eyes, knowing exactly where she was, “The Metaverse.”

ZENKICHI HASAGAWA

“And you’re sure about this?” Zenkichi Hasagawa spoke into the phone, talking to his only daughter. He was now in Tokyo on police business, but he felt guilty leaving Akane behind. But Akane insisted it was fine. She’d grown so much, and he was so proud of her.

“It’s fine, dad. I’ll be staying at a friend’s house anyways. Plus, things are different now; you don’t need to walk on eggshells around me. I really am proud of my dad and his profession.”

“Akane…” Zenkichi sniffled. After everything with her mom, he was sure she’d never look him in the eye again. And he was also sure that he deserved it. But thanks to those pesky kids, they were able to smooth over their relationship. They were now closer than ever and Zenkichi couldn’t be happier. Speaking of those pesky kids…

“Are you gonna visit those guys that came to the house that one time?” His daughter asked.

“Those guys,” he chuckled at her calling them that. Little did she know that “those guys,” were her idols, the Phantom Thieves. But she was right, he’d definitely have to pay them all a visit. “You know what, I think I will,” he answered.

“Luuucky, you should tell them to come visit again soon!” Distantly, Zenkichi could hear the voice of another teen in the background. He assumed it must have been one of Akane’s school friends. “Well, that’s my cue. Gotta go, dad; good luck in Tokyo!” And she was gone.

Zenkichi could feel his chest swell with pride. He was truly proud of the young woman his daughter was becoming, he was honored to be her father. Letting the euphoria pour over him, Zenkichi closed his eyes for a split second.

That split second changed everything, though. Waves of distortion moved around him, the world wobbled, and he was having a hard time standing on his own two feet. He reopened his eyes to blood red skies, “The Metaverse.”

TOSHIRO KASUKABE – ERINA

“Then, hopefully someday we can—” mid-sentence, someone chucked a banana peel at Toshiro Kasukabe. He lifts it off his head, curiously examining it. A banana peel he thought, that’s a new one. By the time he looked back up and was ready to continue, everyone had already left. Oh well, he’d just have to return tomorrow and try again.

“For what it’s worth,” a voice called out, “I believe you.” Toshiro sporadically looked around to detect where the voice came from. Eventually, an older gentleman revealed himself. “I don’t think you’re some rotten politician, I believe you when you say you want to help this country.”

Toshiro eyed the gentlemen curiously, “thank you, I appreciate that.”

“I was once in your position once, people accusing me of things left and right. But I kept at it, and I think you should too.”

Toshiro gazed down at his singular gloved hand, “that’s the goal.”

The man planted a hand on Toshiro’s shoulder, gently smiling at him. “Glad to hear it,” the next thing Toshiro knew, the older gentleman disappeared into the night. Something felt familiar about the man to Toshiro, but he couldn’t quite put a finger on why. He shrugged; it was nice to get the support at least. People like that man is what encouraged Toshiro to keep trying. People like him and...

"We still on for dinner tomorrow?" Texted Eri Natsuhara. He smiled at his phone, sending her back a "yes, we are" text promptly.

As feelings of contentment overwhelmed him, he took a long inhale, closing his eyes and taking in the fresh nighttime air.

But then... an unfamiliar feeling of distortion washed over him. He cupped his hand over his mouth, suddenly feeling the urge to puke. Before he could even gather what was happening to him, he heard a voice.

“Toshiro?”

He opened his eyes, “Erina?”

[siriannatan]

Prep & Punk - Flower Husbands

AU by @vyeoh, it's really cool and stuff and all their art is really good

AO3

[Treebark thingy from this AU]

Jimmy would literally rather be anywhere but where he was now. In Scott's bedroom. Trying to focus on maths. With only him and Scott in the whole house. Completely unable to focus.

Why was Jimmy spending his weekend with Scott and not Grian and Joel? As much as studying wasn't a 'bad boy' thing,  almost failing most his classes was apparently even less so. So their math teacher assigned Jimmy a tutor - Scott apparently volunteered to spend his time trying to get some information into Jimmy's head. He had no idea why after their last rather messy break up and the whole Tango thing... jimmy tried really hard to think about geometry and not that. It wasn't all that hard. But quite frankly focusing on anything right now was a bit difficult.

In the past three months, he spend pretty much ignoring Scott's existence he forgot about a certain habit Scott had. He liked to wear skirts. Not a bad thing in the slightest. Jimmy was all for everyone wearing whatever they wanted. He, Grian and Joel had their leather jackets. Cleo, Scar and Bdoubs their weird old people shades, and Tango and his friends had their ties. Scott and Martyn had Pink. The capital 'P' is not a typo. Literally every Wednesday the two showed up in pink. And back when Jimmy was dating Scott he himself would wear something pink to fit Scott better. 

Grian and Joel still poked fun at him for that.

No. The skirt was neither nothing new or a problem in itself. The problem was how much of Scott's legs it exposed, making Jimmy's brain unable to think about anything but that. And suddenly realise he's missing Scott. But who could blame him? Scott was damn pretty and smart and... just Scott. And that maybe his marks were better when he'd sit around Scott and Martyn - very unhappy that Scott would explain everything to Jimmy at least three times - studying. Jimmy was no Grian or Joel, just hearing about a thing during the class was not nearly enough for him.

A sudden flick to his forehead had him looking up at Scott's face. It was no less distracting than the skirt. "Eyes up here Jim," he chuckled and Jimmy felt a weird pang. He never called him back when... "Have you heard a single word of what I just said?"

"Juliet's potion only made her look like she died?" Jimmy tried to scrabble together something they talked about in the past hour. He instantly knew he was wrong by the sigh Scott let out.

"We're at maths, Pythagorean theorem," he said but did not sound the slightest bit angry. Just a bit disappointed and maybe sad. "You didn't use to be that bad, Jim, no matter how short of a skirt I wore in the past. What happened?" he asked, pushing some hair off of Jimmy's face.

Jimmy just shrugged. He was not about to admit he didn't really study without Scott there. "I don't know," he shrugged instead and tried to focus on the pale pink, full of colourful side comments and sticky notes page of Scott's notebook. Scott's notes were always so clear and easy to understand. Jimmy sat through more than one session of Scott working on them and technically understood how it worked but was still beyond impressed. "I guess I was busy with other things..."

"I know I'm probably the least 'bad boy' person you know but you know you can always come and ask me if you don't understand something?" Scott sighed, leaning back and gently kicking Jimmy under the low table they were sitting on a fluffy carpet by. "I know you probably like Tango better... I can see when I've lost but... I don't want you to fail school. Not when I know you're smarter than that," he said, looking away from Jimmy, all slumped and sad and Jimmy felt mildly like a jerk.

He broke Scott's heart with a damn text. Managed to stay together with Tango for only like a month until they both realised they are too different. And then spend two more months avoiding Scott and admitting his own feelings. And throwing all the studying Scott practically dragged him through away... "No... Me and Tango... We weren't all that compatible... Not that way. He's cool to hang out with but most of the time I have no idea what he's talking about, it's damn hard to keep up with him..."

"Jim... please don't..." Scott protested and pounded the table. Glaring at Jimmy with teary eyes.

"I'm not," Jimmy stopped him and gently took his and in both of his. "I've spent three months being an idiot and I'm frankly done with that. I missed you. I missed carrying your bag. I missed you leaning on me when there are no free chairs or we're stuck in a line. I missed sitting silently while you study. I even missed Martyn's grumbling. But mostly I missed listening to you talk and just being around you... I missed you Scott," Jimmy really hoped he managed to express what he just realised. That his grouchy and angry phase was just him denying he was missing Scott playing with his hair and playing with Scott's hair. "I miss you so damn much..." he added, barely a whisper, not daring to look away from Scott for even a second.

"You promise... you promise it's all true and nothing but?" Scott sniffed, staring at his held by Jimmy's hands. 

"I do, Scott," Jimmy nodded. He was never so sure of anything he's ever said.

"So it'd be okay if I said we should have a break and maybe a nap?" Scott asked with a pout.

Jimmy had nothing against a break and a nap. Maybe ended up texting home he'd be staying over at Scott's and not at all telling Grian and Joel where he was the whole weekend. And maybe Scott wore Jimmy's leather jacket the whole Monday. And maybe there was a bright pink hairpin in Jimmy's hair.

[kooki914]

What are some ideas you have for how CH3 is gonna play out?

I'm really torn on how to answer this ask, because there's a microscopically thin line between "what I want" and "what I expect", and I've already wholly disappointed myself with my expectations for chapter 2 and I really want to avoid repeating that mistake. To put into perspective, I had literally 0 concrete expectations for chapter 2, and I was invigorated by the trailer like nothing else, and I STILL came out disappointed because the direction of the story was, on some guttural level, not what I had thought it'd be. I never verbalised those ideas, but they were there, and they ended up making me inconsolably hate chapter 2 for a very, VERY long time. And I am still salty. And I'm trying so, SO hard to keep my slate blank for future chapters to avoid those same emotional crashes.

My most honest expectations for chapter 3 are: a fun adventure, some bonding between the kids, and a few less loose threads. That's it.

If I'm being optimistic, I'd also say I expect some deeper exploration/commentary on Toriel's character, through the lens of someone who she literally raised their entire life. I WANT to know more about Toriel and Kris' family dynamic, past what we've seen in the first two chapters, and I want there to be some kind of acknowledgement that her actions, while well-meaning and caring towards Kris, still had negative side effects, especially on the enabling side of things. But, again, I'm phrasing that as optimistic, because if I say that I FULLY expect that and it doesn't happen, I'm going to implode all over again.

The things I WANT to happen in chapter 3 are a whole different ballpark, and like with every other post asking me about full chapter commentary I have to shoutout my Kingdomrune AU where it's literally everything I personally want out of Deltarune. (I know the blog is empty I'll expand on it soon.) The thing is, I really, REALLY want Asgore to be part of chapter 3's dark world, not just as a foil to Toriel but also as a missing piece to the general commentary I want the chapter to make about the Dreemurr household. His absence being both necessary, felt, and also devastating. His clinginess being a detriment to everyone's emotional energy, but that attitude of sticking his nose where it doesn't belong being what Kris NEEDS as a depressed kid with nearly 0 motivation for anything. Where Toriel is "live and let live", Asgore is "we can work on it together", and that's both what makes them a good team, but also incompatible in marriage. It's two opposing approaches to raising kids that come in handy in different contexts, while neither gets to fully shine because of the absence of the other - kind of like how the light world is dull without darkness, and the dark world is pointless without light. Like, there's so much to unpack there!!!! There's so much you can do with, not just Asgore in the dark world, but Kris' role as a leader being TESTED by their parents and their failed marriege AND ALSO possibly by Ralsei himself?

Kris opening a fountain as an attempted act of heroism, failing to garner any positive effects from that endeavour and ALSO hurting one of their most loyal friends in the process?? This chapter has the potential to be Kris' "darkest hour", a moment when they lose all connection and all will to go on, because they end up isolated from everyone. Their parents are physically present but emotionally absent (as always), Ralsei who once believed in them finds out about some Cruicial Choice Kris made and LEAVES them because of it (abandonment issues activated), and even if it's brief it still makes the world feel like it's ending for Kris because it reminds them so much of ever other time they've blamed themselves for people leaving (possibly tying into the December mystery?) How do they deal with this? DO they deal with this? Do they take after their parents and sweep it under the rug for the greater good, OR do they let themselves grieve and let go in order to push forward with vigor in their own heart not fueled by the relationships they've had and lost? (Ahem, thief of breath arc, ahem)

And, god, Susie as a foil to the entire situation, not just in her lack of investment the way Ralsei is invested, or even in the way KRIS is invested, but through her not really knowing the Dreemurr household situation AT ALL and metaphorically holding Kris' hand through a sort of confused comradery. Like "God Kris your family's really weird, but at least YOU came out the least deranged." Their friendship being strengthened because Susie chooses to protect them from themselves even in their darkest hour. Even when they essentially planned to hold her hostage in their house until they worked through their issues, Susie's able to see it as the cry for help it is because SHE would've done the same thing in their shoes. They get each other like no-one else (and hopefully their prior relationship of bully and bullied is addressed for the dual self-destruction cycle it was for both of them).

Basically, I want a sitcom episode gone horribly, terribly wrong. Just EVERYTHING up in flames. And nothing is fixed by the end, but a path to healing is clear.

What I expect is the story being something I can't predict and focusing on things I might not care about NEARLY as much, but will grow to somewhat appreciate with time. Hopefully.

And in conclusion I believe Ralsei should go feral.