#fighting for better rights better conditions better laws: to love and be loved

[cloudgremlin]

Truly the point of existence in this world is to love and be loved in all its shapes and forms

[joelslastofus]

[SUMMARY: Joel is secretly in love with Tommy’s girlfriend and comforts her while his brother is in jail.]

God, Joel didn’t know what the hell you saw in his brother or more so how the hell Tommy could get a woman like yourself.

Angst fluff protective Joel

Note: story inspired by @dancingtotuyo High Infidelity Series!

Eleven o’clock at night and here you were standing in front of Joel’s front door. Calling his cell with tears in your eyes hoping he would still be awake when thankfully the sound of his voice appeared on the other end.

“Hello”

“Joel? It’s me-“

“What’s wrong? Everything alright?”

“I um- I’m at your front door. I know it’s late but-“ before you could finish your sentence Joel quickly unlocked the door with a look of concern although he already knew why you were there.

“I’m sorry” you hung up your phone as you tried to explain what was going on.

“Tommy got arrested again and they’re not letting him go and-“

“Why didn’t cha call me? It’s late, I woulda gone to get you” he led you inside as you shook your head.

“I know Sarah’s asleep and he didn’t want me to tell you but I didn’t know what else to do” you sighed as you brushed your hands through your hair.

“The hell he do now?” Joel was growing tired of seeing how upset his brother was constantly making you. Every month there was something new that got him in trouble with the law yet he never seemed to learn a lesson.

“He got into a fight and used a knife and-“ you covered your face hiding your tears.

“The guys in the hospital but in critical condition and he’s just out of control-“ you began to hyperventilate.

“Alright, alright take a deep breath. Here take a seat” he grabbed a chair beside him quickly placing it next to you. Wiping your tears away you sat down as Joel sat in front of you leaning forward.

“Hey, look at me” unexpectedly Joel grabbed your hand, his deeps eyes giving you some kind of sense of peace.

“He’s gonna come out like he always does and everything’s gonna be fine, ya hear me? And the second he’s out, I’m gonna beat his ass” Joel tried to get you to laugh, a half a smile appearing on your lips.

“There she is” he whispered, a twinkle in his eyes as he looked into yours.

God, Joel didn’t know what the hell you saw in his brother or more so how the hell Tommy could get a woman like yourself. You seemed to be the complete opposite of him, while he was the trouble making hothead, you were shy, sweet and just trying to get him on the right path.

“I’m gonna call the sitter and you just sit tight, we’ll get goin’ in a few”

“But Tommy didn’t want you to know, he’s gonna get upset with me”

“Listen sugar,” Joel still held your hand in his.

“What Tommy says don’t go when his woman is out alone late at night tryin’ to fix things for him. Don’t worry, I’ll take the heat” he winked at you before getting up and calling Sarah’s babysitter.

The ride to the station had you on edge, reality not exactly feeling like reality in that moment. Tommy knew you were twelve weeks pregnant, yet it didn’t feel like he was taking it seriously. A wave of nausea hitting you making you quickly roll down the window causing Joel to look over at you.

“You alright?”

“Yes” you took a deep breath, you were far from alright.

Once arriving you sat down at a table while Joel stood behind you when Tommy was led into the room. The first sight of Joel and you knew Tommy was pissed, you didn’t even have a chance to defend yourself.

“Tommy-“

“God dammit, I ask you not to do one fucking thing-“

“Tommy she was worried” Joel quickly defended you.

“Besides, you expected her to travel all this way at this time alone? You should know better than that, brother” Tommy looked at you, a glimpse of remorse as he noticed just how upset you were.

“Tommy, this needs to stop” you whispered.

“Look, the guy came at me first-“

“You promised me there would be no more of this” you tried not to cry as Joel silently watched.

“Well I’ll be out of here soon and things will be better-��

“You’re not going anywhere, Miller” a cop walked in through the door with a paper in his hand.

“The man you stabbed just died, you’re looking at a manslaughter charge” you gasped placing your hands on your lips.

“Oh god” you stood up feeling queasy all over again, cold sweats rushing through your body.

“It was self defense!” Tommy yelled angrily as you felt your world spinning.

“God dammit, Tommy” you unexpectedly yelled slamming your hand on the table.

“The hell was I suppose to do?! Be a sucker?!” Tommy yelled back making you almost throw yourself at him until Joel caught you with an arm around your waist pulling you back.

“You selfish prick!” You screamed.

“Oh I’m selfish?! Am I really? Or is it you?!”

Once again angrily you threw a paper at him as Joel pulled you back again. The nerve of him to say all these things knowing the chaos he has caused.

“Go wait in the car” he whispered as Tommy continued to yell angrily.

“Go” Joel repeated before you finally walked out the door crying.

“The hell is wrong with you?” Joel snapped at him once you left.

“Oh please Joel, don’t give me this crap now”

“You got this woman constantly worried about you, tryin’ to help you!” Joel was angry and his brother could see it.

“Yeah well she don’t have to” Tommy shrugged stubbornly.

“She damn well shouldn’t, you sure as hell don’t deserve it” Joel spoke low before walking out leaving Tommy to think over his actions…or at least hoping he would.

Silently getting in the car Joel reached over placing his hand on your thigh. He didn’t have the words but he knew that look, you were fed up. Joel had seen his brother push away many women but with you it was different.

There was silence for some time, you leaned your head on the window as Joel took a deep breath.

“Im sorry my brother can be such an ass sometimes” as he spoke another wave of nausea hitting you, this time worse than before.

“Joel stop the car” you covered your lips with your hand quickly opening the door the second he stopped and ran to the grass.

“Shit” Joel whispered before rushing out beside you. Leaning forward you felt Joel grab your hair out of your face as you struggled to let anything out.

“You alright?” You slowly stood up straight and nodded, wiping your lips with a paper you had.

“Been a rough night” Joel continued, figuring that’s what made you sick before you shook your head.

“Joel….” You sighed figuring you should tell him the truth.

“I’m pregnant” you whispered without looking his way. He stood still for a moment looking at you in disbelief. Joel didn’t understand why in that moment he felt as if he had been punched in the gut.

“Does he know?” He asked low. You quietly nodded.

“God dammit Tommy” Joel whispered looking away, the fact that his brother knew you were pregnant and still let himself get into more trouble pissed him off.

“So he knew this and he asked you to travel here alone this late” Joel shook his head.

“We should get back, incase Sarah wakes up wondering where you are” you walked to the passenger seat not realizing Joel was behind you as you climbed in making sure you could get in safely until you sat down and noticed him beside you.

“I’m ok, Joel. Really” you smiled before he nodded and closed the door. Tommy wasn’t a bad man, but there were many differences in the two. Tommy had his ways of being a gentleman when you least expected it but for Joel, it was an automatic thing without thinking, even more so now knowing you were pregnant. You could already feel the difference in his actions around you the second he found out that you were pregnant. You wished Tommy had been this way with you.

“How far long are you?” Joel asked with his eyes on the road.

“I’m about to be thirteen weeks” your voice cracked making Joel look over at you to find you with tears looking down at your lap.

“Hey, it’s gonna be alright. You ain’t alone in this, you’re family” you appreciated Joels words but the truth hurt too much to ignore.

“Tommy..Tommy didn’t want this…..that’s why I’m the selfish one like he said in there” you wiped away a tear.

“I’m selfish because I want to keep the baby”

Joel frowned looking ahead as his hand tightened on the steering wheel. If his brother was in his face right now it would be Tommy’s face that would be dealing with his tightened fist. Tommy was so lost in his ways he had no idea how lucky he was to have a woman like yourself, how lucky he was to have you as a mother to his child. Tommy took you for granted and this only pissed off Joel. You looked over and noticed him lost in thought, his jaw clenched, you wondered what he was thinking.

“Seems like he’s the selfish one, ain’t he” he uttered low as you looked straight ahead.

“I have an appointment tomorrow-“ Joel quickly looked at you.

“You got someone who could go with you?”

“It was suppose to be Tommy, but of course-“

“I’ll go with ya”

“Joel no, you don’t have to. You have your own life and-“

“Give me a time and I’ll figure it out” you sighed knowing Joel wouldn’t give up, must’ve been a Miller thing.

“It’s at ten in the morning”

“Alright, I’ll pick you up at 9:30 and we go”

You had to admit, having company for this was definitely something you needed, you were now less anxious about the whole thing.

You hadn’t properly slept in days and you could feel your eyes growing heavy, before you knew it you had drifted off to sleep as Joel continued to drive.

“How ya feelin’?” He suddenly asked before looking over and realizing you had fallen asleep. Although he was supposed to drive you home the thought of you alone this upset didn’t sit well with him.

Once arriving to his house Joel carefully carried you out of the car, your head laying against his neck as he carefully made his way in.

“Mr.Miller” the sitter stood up rushing to help him with the door as he came in.

“You go on home, I got it from here. Thank you for coming on such short notice” Joel gave her a nod before walking towards his bedroom.

Gently he lay you down on his bed, your shoes slowly taken off before he slid your legs under the blanket. For just a moment you seemed so peaceful, a soft moan coming from you as you turned your head the opposite way.

“Tommy?” You whispered half asleep.

“Tommy, come to bed” you reached out for his hand as Joel took hold of it and very carefully lay down on the edge of the bed. Moving closer to Joel you lay your hand on his chest and took a deep breath as he delicately placed his hand over yours.

“I love you, Tommy”

Joel swallowed hard, his hand gently brushing hair out of your face as he leaned in and pressed his lips to your forehead…for just a moment Joel felt like you were his..

[ashleymilesphil]

A JOURNEY OF SURVIVAL: MY LIFE AS LGBTIQ REFUGEE IN EAST AFRICA🌈

Hello, my name is AshleymilesPhil, 21years old and I’m a queer refugee originally from Uganda. This is my story, but it’s also the story of hundreds of LGBTIQ refugees who have been persecuted, abandoned, and left fighting for their lives simply because of who we are.

Growing up in Uganda, being queer was not just dangerous—it was life-threatening. Uganda’s laws and society are brutally unforgiving to anyone who dares to live openly as LGBTIQ. In constant fear of violence, I had to flee, leaving behind my home, my life, and everything I knew.

My journey first took me to Kakuma refugee camp in Kenya, a place I hoped would offer refuge. But the reality in Kakuma was anything but safe. LGBTIQ refugees there are regularly targeted for physical violence, harassment, and discrimination. We were left vulnerable, isolated, and without support. The camp, rather than being a sanctuary, became a place of daily survival.

Eventually, I found myself in Gorom camp in South Sudan, hoping for something better, but the challenges only deepened. South Sudan’s laws are even more hostile toward the LGBTIQ community. Starvation, lack of medical care, and persecution are daily realities here. Many of us in the camp are living with HIV/AIDS and can’t access proper medication. The physical and emotional toll is overwhelming, but we continue to fight for our right to live, love, and simply exist.

Our lives in these camps are on the line every single day. We are not just struggling with a lack of food, water, and healthcare; we are fighting for our very existence against systems that dehumanize us.

We need help and support .The world needs to know what we are going through. My fellow LGBTIQ refugees and I are in desperate need of support to survive these unimaginable conditions. We are asking for your kindness, your solidarity, and if possible, your support. Even a small contribution can make a difference in our fight for survival.

Consider donating to our Gofundme fundraiser

Thank you for reading, sharing, and supporting us in our time of need. Your compassion can bring hope where it’s needed most.

Your support can save lives, provide food for the starving, and offer crucial medical care for those living with HIV/AIDS. We need the world to stand with us against the persecution and injustice we face every day.

AshleymilesPhil 🏳️‍⚧️🌈

[highfantasy-soul]

Posting this because I need to hear it today:

Our memories are so short.

When my mom was born, women weren't allowed to open their own bank accounts. I wouldn't have been allowed to live with my best friend (probably would have never even met since we first crossed paths in college - being roomed together) because I'm white (for the purposes of the state) and she's black. Laws that made gay sex illegal weren't officially invalidated until 2003.

We've fought against worse odds before. We kept fighting for love, peace, and rights for everyone and it DID make a difference. At no point did we 'complete' that task and now is not the time to give up.

Slavery abolitionists were a massive minority but they still fought and coordinated and the political window DID shift - maybe not as much as it should have, but baby steps are better than no steps. We don't look back at that time and say 'sure, slavery was made illegal, but then Jim Crow and the prison state came into being, so nothing they did mattered'. Nor did they brush off their hands and say 'well, we tried fellas, but Jim Crow just got passed, so nothing we do matters.' They kept working - they didn't even have to roll up their sleeves because they'd never pushed them down.

Change doesn't happen by casting a single ballot in a single election. Change takes time. It takes continuous effort - it takes the ability to face failure after failure, terrible compromise after terrible compromise, to step forward. There will be no 'glorious' reckoning where a perfect candidate is put in office and suddenly all their beliefs are enshrined in law and the whole of the US changes it's ways.

Should we have to fight this hard for basic rights and dignity for everyone? No. But this fight isn't new. We're just new to it (unless you're thousands of years old). Honestly, in times like this, it helps me to look back at history to see how far we HAVE come (and get some ideas on how to resist from our forebears who fought in even worse conditions).

Doomerism only serves fascism and those who would oppress us. They'd love it if we just laid down and stopped fighting - we'd be doing them a favor. So don't help them out!

I 100% understand and support the right to grieve what's been going on right now, but while we feel all this - please please please don't forget to look up and look back to all the people who fought for a better world before you were born - then look forward to how those in the future will see your efforts today. They won't say 'well there were steps back, so that means nothing they did mattered' - they'll say 'look at how hard they fought for US even when so many pushed back against them'.

Your ancestors are behind you. Future generations before you. No matter how dark it feels (and is), our community is so much bigger today than it has ever been. We are all here, still fighting. You are not alone.

[felixora]

Anders discource

I forgot to post this here as well, lol

This kinda turned into a small essay…. Which is to be expected, it is Anders’ discourse after all.

This text is a personal view of the DA discourse, that is often summarized in fandom circles as “Was Anders right?”.

So let's start with this question: which is better, a peaceful or violent revolution? The answer is: both, depending on the severity of the situation.

I'm sorry to break your sweet dreams about “peace and love”, and “only peaceful revolution are justified” — but that's just delusional.

While I do believe that peaceful revolutions are the best outcome for both sides of conflict, more often than not they are impossible specifically due to unwillingness of the oppressors to seek true compromise. Because where the marginalized might achieve something slightly better for themselves, the oppressors lose the most important thing for them — they lose control.

And then the only thing that's left is a violent revolution. Or, well, death.

The rule of “turning the other cheek” does nothing but perpetuates further violence, when you're dealing with an oppressive regime. Because while the marginalized side often considers the middle ground with their oppressors (just for the sake of “making things better than before, while not risking the full annihilation by a stronger force”) the oppressors have only one in mind: “We want you fully gone, because you oppose our rule. You are a danger to us”.

The thing that I learned in past 10 years is that — ”Pacifism is a privilege”. And those who are oppressed don't have said privilege. They either fight or they die. Sometimes slowly (for ex. by assimilation), sometimes rapidly (in a massacre).

The thing that genuinely baffles me in the whole Anders' discourse, is the fact, that people forget or ignore that he for years tried to do the peaceful revolution. The Mage Underground was a way to get the mages from the dangerous environment, without engaging in the direct confrontation with the Templars. The manifestos on why mages should be free and letters to the Divine herself regarding the same issues that Circles pose — all of these are methods of peaceful resistance. 

Now, remind me again, did these actions have any effect on how Templars or the Chantry treated mages? Maybe they revaluated their stances, did a thorough investigation of the possible mistreatment of their charges?

Oh, yeah — IT DID NOTHING.

No, not even that — the things started to get worse and worse, actually. 

Any time the Grand Cleric “calmed things down” — the status quo remained. They didn't try to investigate the concerning situation in the Kirkwall Circle or any sort of rumours of abuses by the Templars. No, the Chantry for the most part closed their eyes to these rumours, and when the number of rebellious mages went up, the only thing they considered — was to organise a crusade (an Exalted March) against the Kirkwall. Nevermind, that most of the mages from the Circle and as fugitives were a faithful Andrastians, despite the conditions they were put through by the Chantry.

But of course, “the Chantry is just a religious organisation, it shouldn’t be targeted in such situations”...

So, back to the Templars — they didn't get their wish of cutting down all the mages under their care right there and then. But they sure as hell were allowed to continue to physically and psychologically torture, push mages to their breaking point, and commit any abuses they felt like doing to their charges.

In all of this, the Chantry poses as an enabler and the cause of the laws against mages in the first place. Not to mention that Chantry was responsible for the creation of the Templar Order, and they are subservient to the Divine.

By the 3rd act of the game we have a conformation, almost right away, that Meredith send a letter to the Divine requesting a Right of Annulment.

It's not anymore a question of “if the Divine will approve of this” — she might have said no, it's true. But our characters don't know that. They see the situation, where every peaceful attempt to reach a resolution was met with silence or threats of violence. With all due respect — only a fool hopes for the better and does nothing in such a situation.

This becomes a question of “when will it happen”.

When the oppressors say “I will murder you” you don't go “How about we talk”.

When you propose a dialogue and the opposing side says "No" over and over again, while continuing to tighten up the leash around your neck, the only right action is to fight back. If you fight — at least you have a chance of surviving. Otherwise, — it's death. Slow or quick, depends on the choice of the oppressors.

Another important thing, is that revolution doesn't happen on the shoulders of one person. It needs people. And those people need to believe that the idea has at least some chance to come true, they need to be inspired.

Inspiration not always comes through well-put speeches preaching kindness and unity.

It also can come through acts of violence, if said violence is turned against the oppressors. It shows, that they CAN BE BEATEN.

And Anders’ actions inspired people.

Anders tried his voice, he tried to reach the society in general with his arguments. That didn't work.

He tried to bring change with the Mage Underground, to recruit his friends (Hawke and the party) to join his active efforts of fundamentally changing things — that didn’t work as well. (while the friend group acts uninterested and uninvested in Anders’ righteous cause, Hawke might constantly and only suggest diplomatic solutions, which at the time were already useless and only maintained the status quo)

So the next closest thing is an act of violence against the Chantry — to show all those mages, who are still doubtful, who are scared, who think there is no hope — you can fight back and make it hurt.

What was called “compromise” from the Grand Cleric was maintaining the status quo, where mages in the Circle were still suffering the abuses, while the Templars simply weren't allowed to make them all Tranquil. 

How the fck is that a compromise?

If you didn’t get it already — I am a big supporter of action, when it comes to revolutions and fight against oppression. 

While acting is always a wild card (you have no idea, what reaction you might get from your oppressors, if you'll receive any support from “external forces”, if the luck will be on your side) — it always brings change. 

On the contrary, inaction — leaves your fate in the hands of the oppressor. They might be merciful, they might be cruel — what happens to you and your people in such situation depends solely on their wimps. In many cases — the status quo remains, nothing changes.

The Chantry personnel was part of the problem. For years, they did nothing to investigate possible misuse of power within the Circle, that obviously perpetuated further and further rise of temper among mages. 

They stayed silent on the issues of Ferelden refugees, leaving them to fend for themselves in the slums (while obviously holding significant part of the influence in the city). 

They obviously took part in less than peaceful instalment and fight against neighbouring religions (see Mother Petrice and the Qun). 

And, returning to the topic of mages, they perpetuated as part of their official teachings demonisation of mages as a whole, purposely ostracizing them from society and creating an impossible conditions to fight against. Their word was the law. And even if the mage had a compelling argument for their case — without even a bit of approval from the Chantry, they wouldn't have a chance of bending the society to their side.

So, the Chantry is just as guilty.

Another thing that needs to be considered in this topic are the casualties among civilians as a result of Anders’ violent protest. Because in the aftermath of the explosion there was 100% injured or dead among civilians. One might argue that they are just as gullible, turning a blind eye to the obvious misdeeds by the Templars and apathetic response by the Chantry (all it takes for evil to fester, is for good man to stay silent, after all) — but that still doesn't make their deaths rightful or expendable. 

Anders had to make a choice — either them, or the mages. 

They are the collateral damage of this conflict. One, that could have been prevented, if the oppressive side agreed to at least a compromise with the oppressed. But they didn’t.

And as a result, Anders had to take actions to unsure at least some fighting chance for his people, for the mages. The sad thing for me, personally, is that he will be the one to live with the burden of this choice, and not the personnel of the Chantry or the Templars, as they didn’t consider themselves guilty. 

The other side of this story could have ended with Anders staying silent, Meredith putting into motion the Right of Annulment and then the Chantry sweeping what happened under the rug (which had a high chance of turning the story to the path, where revolution among mages happened decades later or even didn’t happen at all). 

And that would have been the consequences of his choice as well, though a much worse option if we're considering that Anders made it the purpose of his life to bring change to the system and protect his fellow mages.

Another thing that is often brought in discussion is that Anders should have chose the Gallows as his target. In this scenario, there would have still been casualties among the civilians (consider the debris falling from the sky), as well as guaranteed deaths among the mages and tranquil (all were located in the Gallows). Anders wanted to give them a fighting chance, not kill them right away.

So selecting the Chantry as his target to shift the general power balance in the conflict and send a message to both the institution and mages across Thedas — is absolutely logical.

Other thing that makes no sense — is the lack of mages who actively sided with Anders' actions while remaining on the defence against Templars (not that weird shit about creating 2nd Tevinter in the Hinterlands)

Because that's how it went with revolution in my country. We have some people who regret the revolution (even now), we have those who are apathetic to it, and we have those who believe in it wholeheartedly.

People died for their beliefs in this revolution, and both them and those who advocated for a more proactive approach and survived were idolised by numerous people afterwards. 

Some rightfully so, some less. But it still happened. 

They are considered heroes, EVEN THOUGH we also had an invasion of part of our country from our neighbour as a result of this revolution. And in latter years, we are now defending ourselves from a full-scale invasion from the same oppressive force that was largely responsible for the reasons we had a revolution all those years ago.

The majority of people in my country would still, without a doubt tell you, that the revolution and the subsequent violent fight for our future was the right course of action. Even now, knowing how things turned out for us.

Because it brought change. It gave us hope that we can be that force of change.

So when the DA tells us, that there were barely any mages, or relatives of mages who were taken from their families, who considered Anders' actions justified and idolised him into this heroic persona — I call bullshit on that. 

That's simply not how things turn out in these sorts of situations.

Many held grudges not only against Templars, but the Chantry as a whole. Many spend their lives in hiding or locked away from their loved ones. The voices of many were never heard, no matter who they appealed to — and then comes this mage, who dealt an irreparable blow against the authority of the Chantry, who challenged their rule and told everyone “the time for compromise has passed, it is time to fight”.

Are you telling me people won't idolise that?  Span a ton of rumours and legends around his figure? 

I highly doubt that.

I have genuine criticism of Anders as a character — his racist towards elves views are hard to miss. The occasional misogyny (if we're taking Awakening into consideration as well) is also present. All of that can be explained by the upbringing in the Circle and under the Chantry, but it is NOT an excuse, and these are genuine flaws of his personality.

That being said, you don't have to be a perfect victim for your suffering to be acknowledged, related to and your fight against oppression to be supported.

“Oppression” is not an achievement, that you unlock only after reaching certain standards. 

It simply exists.And not only you can fight it, but you must.

[sharper-than-a-serpents-tooth]

Supposing lp Jennette had not been accepted by Claude she would have ended up at worst sentenced to death for being a traitor's daughter and at best an outcast because she's a bastard child. If Claude or the Imperial wizards reveal that Jennette is a product of black magic, she'd be branded as a monster forever and even if Claude decides to spare her life, the church might request her execution or take the law into their own hands with regards to Jennette.

She can forget about her marriage with Ijekiel. Her engagement to Ijekiel hinges on the condition that the Emperor will welcome her as the second princess into the Imperial family and without his father's pressure on him Ijekiel won't indulge her crush on him anymore. Without Ijekiel's protection the noble girls will feel free to pull Jennette to pieces. Her isolated life behind the walls of the Alpheus residence barred her from making friends that would support her.

Would someone as greedy and self-serving as Roger let her remain in his house after her failure? He has no reason to, except to protect what little is left of his reputation after pulling a stunt like that in front of the assembled aristocracy. He might try to send her away to distant relatives she has never met or to the countryside until the excitement in the capital died down. Jennette might have been allowed to stay but her budget would have been cut short and she would have to live a little better than a servant. She has no life skills except for doing embroidery, cooking and cleaning. Jennette was literally raised to be someone's trad wife, but now no one will want to marry her. Whoever inherited the Judith fortune would have wanted her gone too. Officially she didn't exist for 15 years and now she has appeared out of thin air and has a right to a portion of the money and the need to request it. There is the possibility that Rosalia's husband or any other relative would send an assassin after her or blame her for a crime which would make it impossible for her to inherit. They could trick her somehow into relinquishing her right to the Judith fortune that should have been evenly split between Rosalia and Penelope.

Had Jennette protested against Rogers plan or messed it up, she would have lost everything. LP Athy on the other hand never had Claude's love. Whether Jennette had appeared or not, Claude would have continued to answer Athy's attempts at affection with cruelity. In Jennette's mind she did nothing wrong. "There was nothing she could have done for her half-sister."

Evading the Imperial wizards, shutting down those who question her paternity and accuse her of bastardy, getting harrassed by men every time she steps outside, enduring the bullying of jealous noble girls, dealing with the repercussions of her unconscious black magic use without being able to ask someone for help, keeping Claude from murdering people in cold blood. LP Jennette's life might have been a fight for survival just like Athy's.

[gatitties]

Hi 👋😊.

I just had this a idea for almost a whole  year and it about a young teen female Reader who have a father figure or mother figure from the pirate they like the most but~~ I want them to be the older version from the future like when they are at the age of 40 or 60 . ( Strawhat pirates & white beard pirates & kid pirates) 

And if you don't write about the whitebeard pirate's it okay .instead of it I would like it to be the heart pirates 😊♡.

Edited!\ take your time okay, love your writing by the way👋😊♡

─Strawhats, Heart Pirates, Kid pirates & Whitebeard Pirates x teen!fem!reader (Platonic)

─Summary: some headcannons with your mother/father figure and the rest of the crew

─Warnings: the characters are older, like in those 40/60 year old drawings (reference)

Well yes I write for whitebeard and as a bonus you will have all four crews, ty!! ;)

─ You're like the baby of the crew, no matter how strong or smart you are, for them it's like a duty to keep you safe even though you don't need it.

─ Luffy, Chopper and Usopp are your best allies when you get bored and want to play or play a joke on others, although they are not so young for their usual games they can always make a small exception for you.

─ As for family roles… Sanji was like a father to you, he was the most attentive to everything, he controlled that you had a balanced diet, that you hydrated, and he made sure that nothing and nobody could bother you or harm you, physically or mentally.

─ This cook already has an age and a past that makes him want to protect every possible child, and despite the fact that you were not a child, in his eyes it still seemed that you were 5 years old and not 13.

─ You called him 'dad' once by accident and he cried after you left the room.

─ Sometimes he just walks into your room to tell you something random "did you know that swordfish can swim up to 100 km/h? They are great hunters" and leaves without saying anything else, he doesn't even wait for you to answer, "Close the door!" of course he never closes the door after that.

─ You spend a lot of time in the kitchen and he teaches you to make your favorite dishes.

─ Despite being forty years old, the fights with Zoro won't stop, and he always puts you in the middle to give him support, "yellow looks much better" "green is better, it doesn't look like piss" "Of course not, honey, what do you think about this? Yellow is better isn't it?" "I guess?" "Ha! see, my little girl is always right marimo"

─ Franky and Brook are like the uncles who spoil you.

─ Now… if you're looking for who won to be your mother figure, the award went to Nami, despite not being as young as before and having lived more adventures, she will never stop being like a scared cat and tends to separate you from danger when she sees it.

─ She earned most of your affection pretty quickly.

─ Typical mother who makes you save as much as possible, she'll lend you her old clothes if still in good condition, "this shirt suits you better than it did when I was your age, you'll be a beautiful girl when you grow up!"

─ Although she doesn't mind pampering you a bit if she wants, it's practically difficult for her to deny you something if you really want it, overall, she can always put others in debt to get more money.

─ Lots of relaxing baths with her and Robin, you like to gossip about everything you see when you stay on an island for a while.

— Many moments of shopping together, it doesn't matter if you like it or not, she will simply drag you down because she needs the opinion of someone younger to stay "in fashion".

— She'll also teach you everything she knows about cartography and navigation.

— Father figure Law lives under stress, his night schedules are still as shattered as when he was young and now he has a teenager under his wing to care for.

─ He is very strict with everything, he wants you to maintain a healthy life so you will have many restrictions, ranging from not spending much time inside the submarine to correcting your posture when you're sitting wrong. "You look like a shrimp sitting like this, correct your posture or you'll have back pain" "You look like an emo in your forties and nobody says anything to you" "…"

─ He's worried because teenagers are so carefree and stupid sometimes, he'll have Bepo supervise when he can't.

─ You have many arguments with him for small things, but don't worry, if he punishes you Shachi and Penguin are the uncles who get you out of trouble.

─ This duet with you by their side only means one thing to Law and it's headache.

─ Whenever you're in a bad mood, the crew jokes that Law has infected you with his continual sulking disease, and that now you are like father and daughter.

─ Law is a proud dad inside of him, he won't show that he is proud of you out loud, but in his mind he has you as someone smarter than half the crew.

─ He will teach you everything he knows about medicine, unless you don't like it or are too squeamish about operating or dissecting, however you are required to learn everything about basic first aid.

─ Ikkaku is the only woman on the whole ship so she was the mother figure who helped you not go crazy among so many men and an adorable bear.

─ You're always welcome in the kitchen to help or observe, but mostly to gossip, sometimes Bepo joins.

─ She has small details with you, like buying some matching pendants or bracelets, she also likes to comb your hair with different styles, definitely your personal hairdresser.

─ Unlike Law, Ikkaku will always let you know that she's proud of you for any little thing, like if you've only managed to take down a few guys on your own without help and will yell in mid-battle "Well done, that's my girl!"

─ God bless you with this crew because you will not have a day off, just because they have aged doesn't mean that they are not as chaotic as before.

─ Although they will respect you, you are not in this crew for nothing, and also, all these guys are afraid of an angry teenager with little hours of sleep. "Dude, shut the fuck up if you don't want me to insert this knife as a new piercing in your forehead" "Yo… ok, chill kiddo"

─ The closest thing to a mother figure that you found was Heat, because he was the one who acted the most like a mother hen with you, apparently he was the most concerned about your physical integrity because he was at that age of wanting children and you were the closest to that.

─ It's not like he was depriving you of potentially lethal weapons for a teenager, but he was more afraid of what people would do with someone young like you.

─ Because being in this crew most of the time means fighting and going to clubs, so yeah, he always had an eye on you just in case some nasty person tried something weird with you.

─ Wire always took care to relax Heat when you'd rather just walk around the village than be in a bar because you weren't much of a fan of drinking alcohol at your age. "What if she gets kidnapped? She can be there all alone being scared" "She literally dismembered a guy last time we fought, she'll be fine."

─ Wire is the cool uncle who lets you do whatever you want as long as your worried mom doesn't find out.

─ And if we talk about a father figure… Killer, Killer acted like a responsible father most of the time, not as worried as Heat but always watching over you and above all that you didn't let yourself be influenced by some of Kid's stupidity.

─ Because Kid was like your demon on your shoulder, despite already being of an age, this man wouldn't stop being impulsive and you're an easy-to-influence teenager, so you and Kid have a sibling relationship.

─ Killer just watches the two of you while he looks disapprovingly, you can't even see his face and you already know that he is disappointed with your decisions. "You guys broke what? oh okay." a lot of passive-aggressiveness whenever he scolds you.

─ But he will always scold Kid more because he is of legal age and should be responsible, he definitely doesn't leave you alone with him because the last time you ended up drunk.

─ And despite not being of many words, he's like the presence you need by your side at certain times, someone you can turn to if something bothers you and that you know that he will be there for you.

─ Overprotective squad in general.

─ Everyone sees Whitebeard as a father, however in your eyes he is like your grandfather, because Marco had earned the position of father figure.

─ This man wanted to establish a life a few years ago, start a family etc, then one day you just arrived and he decided to take you under his wing, literally.

─ He is the least worried if you compare him with the men of the other crews, he knows that he has many people who protect you by his side, so he is calm in that aspect.

─ He will still scold you for your bad habits. "Eat slower you'll choke if you keep eating like a turkey" "Don't you have a nest to make or something? I know how to eat, I'm not Ace" "Hey!"

─ Ace may have matured a lot more but he'll still be a bad influence on you, so Marco always asks Izo to keep an eye on both of you, because the last time he left you two alone you ended up in the stomach of a sea king.

─ His chest will swell with pride if you call him 'dad' in front of people.

─ He's the kind of dad who tells all the shits that have happened to you and he embarrasses you in front of the crew just because he wanted to tell a funny anecdote about you, although he later apologizes to you if he really upset you.

─ As for a mother figure, this crew is short of such things, but the closest thing was Izo, because without a doubt, within this crew full of testosterone, he was much more elegant and careful than the others.

─ And more than anything because you could steal his makeup to use it, although you didn't know how to apply many of the things he had, he helped you with that. "Honey you're spreading the makeup wrong" "Can you teach me Izo?"

─ He taught you a lot about self defense in case someone bothers you more than necessary, like using guns, you should know how to protect yourself just in case.

─ Proud mom watching you kick ass.

[bonefall]

Super interested in how you plan to write Leopardfoot! I feel like both fanon and canon tend to make her into a sweet mom(tm) who’s super sad that Tigerstar is evil, very similar to how Goldenflower is usually treated. What’s her thoughts on Pinestar and him leaving? How did she influence Tigerstar? What are her political beliefs?

Society has progressed past the need for sad moms who stare tearily at their evil sons and boohoo about all the murder. It's MOTHER AGENCY TIME

BB!Leopardfoot was FEROCIOUS. Her father was the indominable Adderfang, and he taught her about the importance of honor and glory. When Tigerpaw was given to Thistleclaw as an apprentice, she was proud of it. It felt perfect to her-- that her father's apprentice was now her son's mentor.

For his brief rule, she supported Sunstar completely. It helped that he came after the disastrous and embarassing exit of Pinestar, which ruined the legacy that she wanted him to give her son. Pinestar was a damn coward and a codebreaker... and she assured Tigerkit that he was more HER son than his.

She even gives him a life, for Legacy, in defiance of StarClan

She was friends with Bluemoon for a time, but after ascending to StarClan, she learned about the Forget-me-nots.

This changed her opinion of her. Leopardfoot supports Thistle Law, STRONGLY so.

She supported THISTLECLAW when he tried to forcefully void the Queen’s Rights. If Bluemoon hadn't broken the code, then what did she have to hide?

She backed off when Thrushpelt leapt to her defense though, "She didn't reveal it because she doesn't love me are you happy now??"

Leopardfoot: *awkwardly turns away feeling like an asshole now, tea SPILLED, her friend's dirty laundry EXPOSED, thought she was crusading for the law but she just dug up drama*

Towards the end of Pinestar’s reign, he was getting exhausted. He wanted peace. Leopardfoot wanted kittens around that time, and figured that there was no better cat than the son of Oakstar, architect of the infamous Crusade Era.

If Pinestar had no children, a glorious bloodline would have died out. She wanted it for her kits. Pinestar agreed on the condition that he would be their Mi, which she happily accepted.

So when Pinestar left, she jumped into the nursery to take over and had to explain to her kits where their Mi went.

She drove it home to them that he abandoned everything, because his weakness took over. They would never be like him, she promised.

Mistkit died very young. Nightpaw made it to apprenticeship before she also succumbed. Tigerclaw remembers very well how hard it was to lose his sisters.

Leopardfoot herself was taken shortly before TPB, in Spottedleaf's Plague. Her death causes Tigerclaw to have a bit of a moment.

After the trial in Bluestar's Flowers, Leopardfoot leaves StarClan along with a bunch of other Thistle Law supporters, including Thistleclaw himself. She joins the BOTTE at the end of OotS, fighting to the end with her son.

She misses him a lot, and remains in the Dark Forest to the current arc. She chose her path; and has the dignity to walk it.

She does miss StarClan sometimes though, and will tell you stories about it if you ask.

In terms of demon friends, she's somewhere in the clique between the harsher and softer spirits.

She dislikes Morningstar, Cloudberry, and Ryewhisker on the softer end, and has come to resent Thistleclaw and Finchflight on the other, but likes Darkstripe, Leopardstar, and Silverhawk.

Gets along with a range of "mid" level demons.

In particular I imagine she hangs out with Darkstripe a lot. Taste test buddy, he asks her to try his experimental recipes because she's honest but not mean. One of the few Thistle Law supporting cats he hangs out with after the double-death of Tigerstar.

He calls her Lefty. Her official nickname is "Left" but he calls her Lefty.

(Clanmew: her name is Saorpwyyar. Others call her Saopr. He calls her Sapyy.)

Her mom and dad Swiftbreeze and Adderfang are here too, following Thistleclaw like she did, but she's been minimizing her contact with her dad. She feels like she is owed an apology somehow but also doesn't have the emotional intelligence to know that it's what she wants.

She just knows that she feels really bitter talking to him, and that's unpleasant.

She used to be VITRIOLIC with Pinestar, who is also here, even going after him physically when he chose to join in with the Dark Forest trainees. But now... honestly so much shit has happened, she just doesn't like seeing him. She wishes he wasn't here.

I write her being very dignified. She doesn't like to admit publically she was ever wrong and speaks with confidence, quietly backing off and not wanting to speak about her mistakes. She loves her children and her family, but explores the world in a very "self-centric" way, trusting her feelings and personal judgement over anything logical.

A reactionary sort of person, if that makes sense.

Her Land Mar has to develop over time because she is an ex-StarClan migrant (damned souls get theirs instantly after judgement), but it's called the Fence Cliff. It's a picket fence that blocks off a sheer drop, making a sharp turn down the cliff face and acting as a walkway. Follow the fence down the slope, and you can access the Dark Forest's town biome.

[palepinklilies]

the injury of finally knowing you

Note: Initially posted on ao3 but with a different title (this is my draft title btw); Trying my hand at posting my pieces here! I hope u guys read my stuff nd like em ^__^

Summary: Marriage is a vow… for better or for worse, for richer or poor, in sickness and in health… What’s to happen when vows are… wiped… erased… Or The one where Gojo Satoru fails to remember his darling wife at the right time.

wc: 10.2k

Chapter 1: Of lines and intersections (ch.2)

The last memory you have of him as he is, is a sore topic. Frankly, you blamed —is still blaming — yourself for the accident that befallen the sole person you love the most. Your husband, Satoru Gojo got into a terrible car crash that put him into a coma for half a year now, barely showing signs of regaining consciousness. 

The night prior might be considered as your worse fight in the eight years that you’ve been together with Satoru. He always used to say that fights shouldn’t be slept in through the night, but not all things we want go as planned; because that night, you both had said words that couldn’t be taken back. Specifically, Satoru opened Pandora’s box and used it against you.

The cause of the fight wasn’t anything too destructive. Yet, it created a deep-seated wound between your relationship. It’s as simple as the talk of kids. 

It’s not a sensitive topic in yours and Satoru’s marriage because you’ve already had a long conversation around wanting and having children of your own. For a while, both of you were on the same page: ‘no kids until we’ve established what we want to happen with our careers.’

Somehow, somewhere along the line, he wanted it differently. For quite some time, he’s been hinting making a family with you. It could be as simple as pulling you by the baby section in a department store, or showing you funny — adorable and cute — baby videos from the internet. At first it was endearing and warm to see him think about children so lovingly, especially with the prospect of one being half him and half you. But unlike him, you’ve yet to reach the dream younger you had always reached for. 

Maybe it’s his leverage of having been brought up as a trust fund baby — someone with a golden spoon. While you had to work your way — with grit and passion, just to reach where you are now. 

He’s Satoru Gojo, a genius business scion turned mogul. He’s already well respected, recognized and established for his prowess in handling many corporations and conglomerates under his family’s control. 

Well you on the other hand… You’re still in law school. Against his insistence, you refused to use his money to attend law school after your pre-law undergrad. Which is why you had to apply for work to be able to afford it. One of the reasons for this is your pride. As foolish as it was, pride was your drive, not only because you didn’t want to succeed behind the shadow of his surname and money but also because you wanted to prove to his family that you’re worthy of being his wife. 

Okay, but who is Satoru Gojo if not persuasive? Eventually he convinced you to accept his offer, albeit with your condition that the fees will be split in half and that it’s the only thing he will finance in your pursuit of a career as a lawyer. So when he threw those god-forsaken words of insult, it hit all your insecurities and broke you.

“I don’t understand why we can’t! I try to give you everything I can and yet this simple thing, you refuse to give to me!” His voice booms across the living room. Hearing those words only made you more heated. 

“It’s not as simple Satoru! We… agreed. We agreed that we will establish our careers before we try for kids. Why are you turning back on that now?!” The pitch of your voice is starting to match his’ and the conversation was just escalating and getting more heated. The air feels heavy and your brain has triggered fight or fight and right now, fight seems to be the default choice. 

“You wouldn’t understand me because you’re already at the peak of yours! — because your career is only moving up and forward. But what about me? What about my dreams?” Exasperated, you just sit down the couch, your head in your hands. Tears are also brimming your eyes and your chest feels tight and heavy. 

Striking the iron while it’s hot, he resigns, “You know what, maybe my mom was right. I shouldn’t have married a selfish, poor girl like you.” 

As if time stops for you; your voice gets stuck in your throat and the tears threatening to spill, had spilled. You didn’t know what or how to respond to that. Is that what he really thought of you? 

For a few seconds, silence had finally taken over. The air felt suffocating. Leaving is the only thought you have above everything that’s been speedrunning your mind.

You wordlessly get up and brushed past him, only then does he see you tear-streaked face and your bloodshot eyes. 

Feeling braised, he immediately realized the gravity of what he said. He quickly catches up with you as you scramble to pack a small overnight bag. 

Everything feels heavy — feels tight, and all you can focus on is getting essentials: 2 pairs of undies and whatever clothing within your reach and your essential cosmetic products. Satoru watches you in chaos. 

Before you enter the bathroom for your toothbrush, he wraps his arms around your torso, as if to restrain you. His head hung low atop your shoulder and you feel his ragged breathing. “Don’t leave. Please. I didn’t mean any of it. You can slap me, punch me or kick me but don’t leave, please.” A sob chokes him as he says the last word. 

You’re also sobbing at this point, snot faced and all, barely able to say a word without hiccuping in between. It’s starting to physically hurt being skin to skin with him right now, so you break free from him. “Th-that doesn’t make it hurt any less. I… I just need time for myself.” You say as you step inside the bathroom. He just stands there silently crying, like you. 

Before you cross the threshold to your shared penthouse he speaks, “I love you. Be safe.” More tears escape your eyes. He sounded so soft and defeated, and you know it’s nothing but sincere. Without looking back, you wordlessly shut the door until you hear the ping of the lock. 

You stood in front of the door for what seems like a lifetime, crying and contemplating if you should actually leave knowing that once you do, something in your marriage will shift. Against all odds, you swallow the block in your throat and start walking away from your home, from your love, from your husband. 

You ended up in a decent inn away from the heart of the city. Checking-in in a hotel was an initial thought, but with what happened hours prior, you couldn’t bear to spend more than you have to. It’s not pride — well maybe it is, however no one has the right to scorn you for choosing not to touch any amount in the shared bank accounts Satoru arranged after marriage. 

Regardless, the salary you get as a part-time para-legal in a small law firm was enough to guarantee you the luxury of being away from anyone at the moment. You’re guaranteed the luxury of solitude, quiet and contemplation. 

The life’s mundanity became an afterthought…ergo commitments left at work and in law school. You’d cross the bridge when you get there: you’d face the consequences of going AWOL once you’re mentally and emotionally fit to be back.

Three days passed and you still haven’t gone back to his penthouse. You also shut off your phone, disconnecting from everyone and anyone who can contact you. At one point during day 2, you felt homesick. You almost went back, keyword being almost.

The quiet and solitude gave you the opportunity to rest, sleep and tune everything out. You wouldn’t know how to face your husband anyway. Everything still hurts to the point that it feels numb. But then a thought crossed your mind: home. It was a fleeting thought, a snap decision if you will, but that same hour you packed up and waited for check-out time. You were going home. 

An hour after check-out and you’re on a train back to your shared penthouse, which at this moment, is a gamble. Satoru’s spontaneous yet predictable (for you, that is). There’s a 50-50 chance that he’s home waiting for you while there’s also a chance that he’s at the office. There’s no moment for you to ponder on it, you just act.

Arriving, the only soul you’re able to meet are the trusted cleaners who comes and goes on schedule. You honestly forgot about their schedule, which is on a Friday. They meet you with curt greetings and smiles, which you return. You just hope that none of them have been talked by your husband into tipping your arrival at the unit.

Packing a small hand-carry luggage was quicker than you expected it to be. You take in a deep breath and think of ways how you can leave (without suspicion). Which is a difficult feat considering that one: leaving directly and walking out without a word would rouse so much suspicion. The word of the mouth isn’t so reliable and you wouldn’t want to leave and these people would make the false assumptions and tell on you; two: Satoru had probably gave the cleaners an order to inform him of your arrival and when you’d leave the penthouse. 

Of both options, one thing is for certain, Gojo Satoru will follow you and will scour the whole of Japan just to find you. 

You decide on a quick shower before leaving, which only took less than 15 minutes. You’re trying to minimize the time when Gojo could potentially come home if someone had snitched of your presence in the penthouse. Surprisingly, your exit went smoothly, even in the building’s concierge. 

On the far side of the city, in the heart of the central business district, Gojo Satoru gets notified of your arrival in your apartment building. Quickly he tells his assistant to cancel today’s remaining meetings as he rushed towards the elevators. You came home. You came back. Satoru knows that this might be the last time he’ll see you. He knows he’s hurt you deeply. He knows the gravity of his words when he used the biggest insecurity you have in this marriage, hell, since the start of your relationship even.

On the monitor pad of his Jaguar, he had dialed your number 5 times in a row, only to be sent to voicemail. In all honesty, he’s praying to every god up there that you’re napping or doing other things that keeps you preoccupied enough to neglect your cellphone. 

And right now as he’s currently speeding beyond the city’s limits, he’s left you yet another voicemail: “[name], hey, I’m still on my way back. I’m sorry for everything I said. I know I shouldn’t say it through voicemail but I want you to know that I am. I’m really sorry and I can’t ever justify the things I said. Wait for me at home, please. I love y-”

He wasn’t able to finish the last words when he felt a large collision against the left side of his vehicle. At that moment, time stood still for Satoru Gojo. One moment he was speeding forward with one goal in mind and in a split second he’s receiving a blunt force that made the car skid across the lightly trafficked road. 

Nothing in his field of vision registered in his brain, it was all a blurry haze. Soon after the car skids to a halt, the last thing he sees is your contact name on the monitor pad before losing consciousness.

On the flip side, you’re seeing blurry hazes of Tokyo fading into greens as you’re seated on a train ride back to Sendai, your home — first home. Exhaustion is clearly seeping out from your skin albeit the lack of physical activity and work. Your mind is so muddled and fogged and it’s not helping that your brain is rejecting any other emotion aside from hurt. 

Clarity and peace of mind is what you’re expecting from this short trip back home. In the back of your mind, a part of you is excited to return to your parents’ house, where you grew up and learned how to love and be loved. 

After the train ride, the first thing you do is visit the cemetery. It’s been a year since you last visited and paid your respects. You brushed off a few dried leaves from the grave, and poured water over. “Hi mama, dad. Sorry it took me so long to see you again.” You couldn’t modulate your voice louder than a whisper with the tears that had started to streak down your cheeks. And there at your parents’ grave did you pour all the tears that you thought you had cried. 

All the feelings of hurt, anger, pain, betrayal and most of all guilt came crashing down on you as sob your eyes out. It was only then that you felt you were safe to be vulnerable. Even without their physical presence, your mother and father had always been a source of comfort. 

You kept whispering ‘sorry’s and you don’t even comprehend to whom and for what are you asking for forgiveness and reconciliation. Everything still feels heavy and all you want yo do is curl up and cry yourself dry. “Daddy I-i m-miss y-you… So m-much.” How you wished for your dad to be there. To be there and give you a tight hug and kisses on top of your head. 

Catching your breath, you tried to calm down so you can vent to the empty air. Sniffling you start speaking softly, “Uh… I-i had a terrible argument with Toru daddy.” Verbalizing it only made you tear up again and a lump rise to your throat. Maybe this was what you needed: to be able to freely speak your mind without any external opinion that wouldn’t even help console your feelings.

“And it’s because I… it’s because I don’t want a baby yet…” your eyes shut tight and tears fell with it. “But I do want to be a mom so much… so so much especially if he’s going to be the dad… but I want to be a lawyer to the same extent.”

What stage of grief are you in right now? They say that going through the five stages of grief is non-linear. You could be in the first one: anger, then after a few hours you could have skipped to the third: bargaining. Some would even switch from one stage back to the other. Perhaps you’re in a limbo stage of feeling everything all at once? Is that even possible? 

After crying in silence for what felt like an eternity, you stand up and dust your palms from the jeans you’re wearing. “M’sorry for not getting you guys flowers and forgetting to light some incense… I’ll see you at home…” You give a light touch to your parents’ names engraved on the stone.

The last time you’ve been to the house where you grew up in was the day of your father’s funeral. Entering the threshold once again after many years gave you a feeling of nostalgia. 

You take in the dusty surrounding. All furnitures have been covered by drawsheets and the living room carpet had been rolled off to the side. Everything was almost the way that it was as you’ve last seen it. 

“Mom, dad I’m home.” Only silence greets you, it leaves a bitter taste on your tongue that no one is there to greet you a “welcome home.” But still, you feel better being here. In a sense you know that your dad’s presence is here with you and that’s enough.

You decided to sleep in your parents’ room for the night so you left the luggage by the door and looked for cleaning supplies to tidy and clean the room up. In retrospect, you should’ve brought spare bed sheets and pillowcases, but you decided to simply run them in a nearby laundromat. 

In the living room, you decided to look through photo albums for entertainment.

You’ve lived your life with your dad being the only parent you’ve ever known. Your mom died with the complications of giving birth to you with a weak heart. And your dad tried his best to immortalize your mom through pictures that they took during the whole pregnancy. Here you find the photo album you made of the first year you started college, the same year you met Satoru. 

Coincidentally, snapshots of your relationship weren’t really put here on purpose — well for the first half of it at least. 

Before you left for university your dad gave you one of his film cameras and told you to make and keep memories of college because it’s one to give the most notable memories of your lifetime. You think he was exaggerating then, but it made sense as you grew older.

Flipping the page, you see the first picture you took with Satoru and his group of friends. It was your first year as a university student, taking up literature, and he was in his second year. The only reason your paths had crossed that year was because you wanted to meet new people and make friends… so you attended a party without fully knowing how city kids define parties.

Initially, you attended the freshmen mixer within university grounds and it was fun! You met a sophomore guy who was one of the student council organizers for the networking event. His name was Suguru Geto. He had an aura that was enough for you to trust him… just a little bit though. Throughout the mixer event, you barely interacted with people your age. In your mind, you know it’s because of the fact that you were from the country side… who knows who or what city kids want as a friend right? 

Admittedly, you did enjoy the mixer even if you were just seated at the corner. This went unnoticed to the senior members of the student council, hence, Geto approached you with a light taps on your shoulder. He simply gives a curt smile upon your surprised expression. “Hey, you doin’ good here? I’ve noticed you haven’t been going around talking to people.”

Embarrassing. You then reason out that no one wants to approach you or if you initiate, they usually cut conversations after finding out that you’re new in the metropolitan. “It’s fine though, I’m actually enjoying even if it doesn’t look like it. I just wish I can meet one potential friend.”

Now, Geto isn’t one to take pity in people. He’s got a quite awful attitude underneath his cool and calm demeanor. But somehow, he thinks you need a springboard. It’s out of his character to take strays in, but he does. 

“Every year, after the freshman mixer, my friends and I throw a welcome party for students returning for the semester and for those new as well. If you’re interested, you can come. Just approach me after so I can write the address down.” He quickly bids you goodbye after that. You couldn’t even say a curt ‘thanks’ for his offer. Contemplating if you should go to that party is what plagues your mind as you decided to walk around in case you stumble upon someone who would appreciate talking to you.

So you did approach Geto for the address once the mixer finished… and you ended up in a… house… packed with young adults chugging alcohol, smoking and grinding against each other. You have half a mind to turn back and just enjoy the rest of the night in your small apartment, but you also wanted to experience the liberties of being a college student, namely the drinking and getting wasted privileges.

The loud bass reverberates against the floorboards and the walls of the entryway as you enter. Here you realize that you’re underdressed for the occasion. While other ladies wore micro-mini skirts, tube tops, little black dresses, and what nots, you were still wearing a university-dress code-appropriate outfit from the mixer earlier. You didn’t bother changing your cream skirt that goes just half an inch above your knees, a simple black halter top and a knitted cardigan over it. 

Though you feel awkward and misplaced, you figure that you could find where they get drinks. You suspect that they’re in the kitchen, so off you go. Surprisingly, Geto is there too with a number of people laughing and bickering with each other once you stood by the kitchen entryway. He immediately took notice of you. 

“Hey! Freshie girl you actually came! For one second I thought you wouldn’t.” All eyes went on you the moment he acknowledged your presence. It was agitating to be under their gazes, scrutinizing you, and perhaps the raven-haired boy took notice.

He motions for you to come closer to the kitchen island, “C’mon, what type of drink do you prefer? We have beers, cocktail punches… or are you a hard liquor type of girl?” His eyebrows raise, waiting for your response. “I’ll take the beer, please.” He takes a green bottle from one of the red ice boxes and pops the cap open for you. “Here you go, one bottle.” 

You’ve only drank occasionally. Like during family festivities or birthdays, and those were limited to sips of cheap champagne and traditional sake. “I’ve told you my name but I haven’t caught yours, how do you want us to call you?” he asks before you took a swig of the bottle. You apologize and tell him your name, “Hey guys! This freshie girl right here is  [name]! Be nice to her.” A series of ‘hey’s and curt waves were thrown your way and you slightly bowed your head slightly as encouragement of their greetings. “Well, this is a big party! I hope you meet the potential friends you were expecting from this afternoon.” After that you were left alone as one of the ladies in the group notified everyone of a ‘beer pong’ at the back area of the house, and they left.

The condensation of the beer bottle had transferred to your palm so you looked for paper towels and after that you went ahead back to the crowd and started walking around like a lost puppy. You expected something like this and it felt surreal to experience your first college party. Could be better but not bad for a first time right? 

Surprisingly, the beer was palatable at least, but you start to think that maybe the offer of the cocktail punch could’ve been better. You passed by Geto’s group in hopes of being free from the cramped living room and he sends a small wave and a curt smile your way. You can’t help but silently herald him for being so polite, when his friends (in your assumption) are snobbish. 

Beside Geto Suguru was his best friend, Gojo Satoru, and the raven-haired’s greetings to you didn’t come unnoticed to him. Suguru wasn’t the type to be that friendly, so naturally, it piqued his interest. 

“Who’s that? Didn’t know you were into prude freshmen now?” He scoffs. The raven-haired tossed the ping pong ball, landing inside the far right cup, “I’m not. The girl looks like a lost puppy, felt bad for her that’s all.” Satoru just hums and takes his turn to toss the ball, he misses, and Geto knows it’s on purpose so he just scoffs. “Well, I’ll take a walk around then.”

In a less dense corner of the backyard, you tried angling the film camera so that you’d be in frame. You find that taking pictures of yourself like this is more difficult than if you’d use your phone. But maybe that’s the point of it all. You can hear your father say at the back of your mind. 

“Phone cameras are becoming obsolete now huh?” You look to your side to see who’s come to intrude your bubble and what stands before you must be the prettiest person you’ve seen in your lifetime. Recovering from your surprise, you put the camera down. “Umm, I don’t think so?” He chuckles, “I’m messing with you. I’m Gojo Satoru by the way.” He offers you a hand and you shook it, also telling him your name.��

He offers to snap a picture of you, which you don’t accept because you feel shy. You discover that this man doesn’t take ‘no’ for an answer when he lightly grabs your wrist and takes the camera from your grasp. He starts pointing the camera at you, and you stand there in confusion, “well c’mon, strike a pose?”

And you do strike an awkward pose. Maybe this weird but beautiful guy can be your first friend? Or maybe he’s just looking for someone to hook-up with? That’s a common thing at parties… right?

Soon enough after Satoru had broken the ice between you and him, you find yourself back with Geto and his group, where you discover that he and Satoru are best friends. You may be naïve and new to these things but you weren’t stupid. The people in their circle definitely didn’t want you there. As you spent each passing minute in their presence, you piece that together as most of them choose to ignore you apart from the two men who took you under their wing. 

It feels overwhelming having to do too much socializing for one day so you try to bid them goodbyes. Since no one acknowledged, you start to walk away, but someone grabs a hold of your arm. 

“Leaving so soon? You haven’t even used the whole film roll.” He takes it upon himself to open your small shoulder bag and took the camera and raised it up, “Hey guys! say ‘cheese’!” He says as he wraps his arm around your shoulders and you look up the camera with a contorted smile with flushed cheeks. “Well then, see you around campus.”

Expectations always differ from reality because it wasn’t part of yours to keep stumbling across the silver-haired man. You could be in the classics section of the library and he’d coincidentally be there too, or by the university quad where you’d often write your essays and prose, and other unsuspecting places where you’d least expect him to be. At one point you suspected it was intentional but he just brushed it off that you were simply being so observant. 

For the many months that you’ve spent time with him, you enjoyed his presence and completely, laughed at his jokes — saw him as Satoru and not Gojo Satoru, the scion of a multi-billion business empire. 

But you knew to keep things platonic. At the back of your mind, you were certain that he’d never see you more than a friend he met in university. You were almost certain that the moment he gets his degree, you’d never cross paths and all will be part of your college memories. But really, not all expectations become the reality. 

A huge chunk of the student body knew that Gojo was a notorious playboy. This is a false accusation and merely an assumption. Yes, he did like to sleep around but not as much as they say. If anything, Geto’s more of the playboy between them, who’s engaging in different set-ups with different girls almost every week! And he wasn’t able to shield you from the potential bad (false) things you’d hear around. But you weren’t just a notch in his belt. 

He was able to show you a side of him only people he’s extremely close to can see and experience. You caught his interest in that party and never left his mind since. It feels foolish to orchestrate every single time you think you come across him in campus “coincidentally,” but he succeeded.

He used his charms — more like pulled off some strings, to get your schedule and he had everything memorized just so he can get a chance to meet you. Suguru had even called him a stalker for it and maybe he almost became one until you simply expected him to be where you are. Eventually, he got you — even if it took so much work and convincing for you to believe the sincerity of his feelings. 

You’ve always considered him as a friend. A friend who you have feelings for, more like. Your subconscious would always tell you that if he did make a move on you, he’d leave you hanging and bruised. It was a simple push and pull: Satoru would make moves that seem to blur the lines of friendship and you would try your best to keep it platonic and not read into it. You’d always think he’d break your heart eventually, be it as a friend or be it as a lover.

So when you woke up in his bed naked after a long night of drinking and partying, you knew for sure that was the end so you left without a goodbye. Not a single bit of what memories you can recall from the night before were laced with regret. 

When he rested his forehead against yours and kissed you with his soft lips, you didn’t pull away. You wanted to, but you didn’t. When he started touching — caressing you under your dress, you didn’t want him to stop. When he whispered sweet nothings as he plowed through your sopping gummy walls, you didn’t ask him to stop. How could you, when at that very moment it felt as if you’re the only people on this earth.

The boundaries you tried to keep for the past months of your friendship had been crossed the moment you let him kiss and undress you. It was a night of passion you couldn’t forget and regret. With a heavy heart, you walked away and left half your heart with him but with pride and dignity intact. You can’t ever be just one of his conquests if you’re the first to leave.

When Satoru woke up to an empty bed that morning, he was confused. It agitated him to see you nowhere in his suite and it didn’t help that you blocked him from everywhere he could reach you. 

For the following days after that he’d leave class five minutes early so that he can catch you as you leave yours; Or, he’d try to catch you in the places on campus that you’d frequent during your vacant hours but to no avail, no one could ever catch a person who’s avoiding you like the plague. But still he was relentless.

Everyday he’d try to find you in the vast campus of the university. He tried to think how you would so he can anticipate where you’d probably go — was a hit or miss situation. But he was able to catch you in a back staircase made to be an emergency exit in the same building as most of your classes. 

The thought was like an epiphany for him; he was staring at the narrow line of floor to ceiling windows by the back of the buildings when it occurred to him that you initially stayed there in your first days of university. 

Even if he’s the captain of the basketball team, he was quick to leave practice saying some shitty excuse of an emergency, to which his best-friend just rolled his eyes at. He knew exactly why. But he didn’t pry nor try to tell on him. And so Gojo Satoru ran across the campus and skipped steps until he reached the 4th floor landing of the staircase. 

You were mindlessly listening to a posted lecture on your student portal. You’ve been having sleepless nights trying to finish all the writing and literary analyses that was required of you. Eyes drooping and almost falling asleep, you were startled by another person’s presence within the landing. 

It was the single person on campus who you’ve been trying to avoid for the past weeks. It’s the only person who’s taking up a huge space in your mind when you aren’t distracted by your courseworks or classes.

Catching his breath, “y’know- this is a clear breach of building safety codes-” pants “you’re an illegal obstruction to this exit [name].” He stands before you all sweaty and still in his jersey and you couldn’t speak, dumbfounded as you figure out how he managed figure out your hiding place. You were almost successful in avoiding him completely but he just had to chase and look for you. 

“W-what are you doing here??” He drops his duffel bag at the base of the next flight of stairs and sits beside you. “Why have you been avoiding me? You even had me blocked everywhere!” Always the straightforward one, he’d always speak his mind.

This was a confrontation you have been dreading to face — the reason why you had to change where you’d frequent these past weeks. Coming to terms with sleeping with a friend is one thing but having to unpack sleeping with a friend, letting him be your first when you know you have feelings for him is a whole other different conundrum. 

You quickly closed your laptop and fumbled with placing your notebook inside your bag. But before you could even take a leave, he grabbed your laptop and hugged it against his side — one that was away from you. “Give it back Gojo-san.” You can see him frown and pout at what you said. 

So it’s just Gojo now? Not Satoru? How cold. How cruel. You’re such a heartless woman. How could you have it in you to immediately leave seeing him? Did you hate him that much? Why were you being so indifferent when you used to smile and speak with him warmly? 

“No, not when I know you’d leave once I do. Not when you haven’t answered my question.” 

You bit your bottom lip, why is he making this so difficult? You still try to reach for your laptop so you can leave but he just keeps it out of your reach, until you just give up.

“Why does it matter? Can’t I simply be busy with my own life?” You say as calm as you could while avoiding his gaze. 

“Of course you can. I just want to understand why. Didn’t… did… anything from that night mean anything to you?”

And there it is. You hoped to avoid this, truly. But since it fell on your lap out of nowhere, might as well face it right? “Did it mean anything to you?” The way you returned the question took him aback. Your voice was suddenly laced with indifference and he couldn’t place where that should go. 

“Of course. I wouldn’t have initiated that if I didn’t want it to happen.” He tried to hold your hand but you refused his advances. “How can I trust your words Gojo?” 

He’s reeling. He knows where this is going. At this moment he admits that he approached things out of order. He wasn’t able to shield you from the rumors surrounding him and his “dating” history. He shouldn’t have given in to his emotions and took advantage of your drunken vulnerability. “Is that what you think of me? Is that how you see me?” are the only things that come out his mouth. You can’t help but feel guilty when he said that.

It’s true. You believed that there’s some truth to what people say about him and, that, along with your naïveté is enough to make you an easy target for him. You let out a deep sigh. 

“It doesn’t matter. Let’s forget things happened alright? We’re still friends anyway.” Lies. You knew damn well you can’t stay friends with him anymore. 

“No. I don’t want us to be friends anymore.” And there it is. A man of his caliber that has an equally large ego wouldn’t take it lightly — the way you left that morning without him having to put a word in. 

But it takes you by surprise when he goes down a step and squats in front of you so you’d meet eye to eye. “I want you to tell me how you really feel. I want you to tell me why you think I saw you just as a body count.”

“You’re so frustrating Goj-” “Satoru. Call me by my name.” That shut you up. Everything is confusing and frustrating and all you want to do is leave his overbearing presence and cry your frustrations out of his sight.

“Why are you doing this? I’ve already slept with you! Isn’t it like rule number 1 to forget and move on to the next!” He could feel your exasperation the moment you finally looked at him with teary eyes and he only gently stares right back at you with his blue ones. 

“If this is just an ego trip because I left without a word then you can just tell people whatever you want that’s in your favor.” By now tears have started to fall and yet your eye contact remains. He gently thumbs the tears away, “Fuck. You’re killing me sweets. It’s not like that… I’m sorry… don’t cry.” 

It’s weird. It’s unusual. It’s confusing. It’s making your heart beat rapidly and makes your chest feel like it’s going to burst. And the next words that come out his mouth was just the catalyst for your emotions. 

“Listen, to me you’re not just a body count. I wouldn’t go out my way to memorize your schedule down to the last second. If you were just someone I wanted to fuck, I’d have done that at the party.” 

His thumbs caresses the apples of your cheeks and a warm smile grazes his lips, “I did all that because I like you. I took interest in you, for you… I’m sorry for doing things out of order. You have to tell me now if everything I did matters so I know when to back-off.”

The proximity of your faces and the way he holds you like you’re fragile glass makes your heart beat faster than it is. You take off all your inhibitions, all the weight holding you down and connect both your foreheads. It’s a risk but you’ll take it. “I… I like you so much Gojo Satoru.” It doesn’t take him much effort to mesh your lips together in a soft, chaste kiss. 

After a few seconds he breaks away and you completely feel his lips turning into a smirk against yours, “So, the status between us now is girlfriend and boyfriend huh?” 

The memory is fond, as if it happened yesterday and not years ago. From there your relationship wasn’t always sunshines and rainbows but you made it work. You both held on to each other. Love is also sacrifice as much as it’s to be received. You realize that you’d go through all of that again as long as you get to stay with the only man you’ll ever love intensely.

With a newfound sense of rationality, you realize that whatever happens, you’d come back to Satoru. You need to talk things with him in a more peaceful and stable environment. You realize that the only way to fix this is to hit the train the first thing tomorrow morning and go home to your husband.

Tokyo mornings will always be hectic as the crowd bustles to arrive at their offices, schools or whatever they had to do that day. Even if you took the earliest shinkansen that you could catch, the Tokyo crowd will always be there. 

As you ping the elevators down to the lobby, your palms started to sweat and your heart, hammering against your rib cage. But upon entering your shared penthouse, it’s unnervingly quiet and still. “I’m home.” — no answer. 

Leaving the luggage by the door, you immediately patter into your home gym. Considering it’s as early as 9 AM, your husband is probably preoccupied with his workout. With an expectant smile on your face, you walk inside to see no one, not a single trace of movement. Not a single trace of Satoru. 

If you were nervous on the elevator ride up, you’re feeling something similar yet different in your gut. Rushing back to your bags, you rummaged for your phone. Cursing out loud that you left it off for days, you quickly turn it on.

Moments later and your phone is flooded with many missed calls, messages and voicemails from Satoru. 

Lover ♡ 78 missed calls

Lover ♡: baby, I’m off to work. I love you. Call me when you see this. (Tuesday 7:12 AM)

Lover ♡: ugh this meeting is such a bore. I’m so packed with board meetings this week sweets. Hope to see you at home. Miss you. Love u <3 (Wednesday 9:43 AM)

What you weren’t prepared for was 5 missed calls from his father’s secretary with messages requesting you to call back urgently, and Suguru Geto leaving 13 missed calls and a message that made your hands tremble and the phone to fall onto the marble floors.

Geto Suguru: [name], i don’t know where you are but please call me as soon as you see this. Satoru’s been rushed to the hospital. (Friday 12:34 PM)

Your knees follow as well, hitting the hard floors as you silently weep alone. You were in shock. How? What? Why? were the only things running your mind. “It’s not… true?” you try to make yourself believe as you run up to the second floor of the suite, to your bedroom. Your cheeky husband’s just running a prank on you and even got Suguru and his dad’s assistant on board. 

“Toru? Baby?” You say as you see the bed still pristinely made, just as the cleaners would’ve left it last Friday. “Satoru, this is a very bad joke. Come out, I’m not mad I promise.” Tears keep streaming down your cheeks as you make yourself believe in denial. Sooner, you’d call his best friend to ask where he is.

Suguru didn’t need to ring the doorbell for you to open the door for him. He’d already asked you to text him the passcode. It was kinda foresight on his part that you’d be a crying, confused mess so he took the initiative. 

And just as expected, he arrives to see you hiccuping and sobbing alone on the living room floor. He approaches you slowly, “Hey, [name]. I’m here.” 

In his head, he thinks that this situation is royally fucked up. You’re an absolute mess and he’s also a mess. Everyone’s a fucking mess with Satoru lying almost lifeless in a hospital bed and with you who’s yet to find out the state your husband is in.

Quickly wiping you tears and composing yourself, you try your best to greet Suguru, albeit in between sobs. “O-oh, G-geto-san! I-uh didn’t notice you e-enter.” Seeing your state, he decides that you’d need a primer for the events that happened in your absence.

“Have you eaten? I can whip up a quick breakfast for you.” He says as he places his hands on your shoulders and ushers you towards the breakfast counter. 

“I’m fine… I-I’m n-not really h-hungry,” you try to steady your breath and words. The man before you is unrelenting though, he’s already rummaging through the fridge and has had water boiling in the kettle.

“Y’know, I’m usually never this enthusiastic about breakfast but I’m starving!” He turns around with eggs and a few tomatoes in his hands, “would you be a peach and make us warm tea? I already started the kettle.” His warm grin and presence grounds you for a moment and wordlessly follow his request. The raven-haired man huffs a breath of relief seeing you open some of the drawers for tea bags and sweeteners. 

A few moments later, as he tosses the eggs around the pan, you speak again. “Geto-san… Satoru… is he– um, he’s just working on weekends again isn’t he?” Your voice starts to shake as you steep both teas.

Perhaps there’s really no way he can tell his friend, his best friend’s wife, that her husband’s currently comatose for rushing home to catch her. The finishes off the eggs with a dash of salt and turned off the range.

“There’s no soft way I can break this to you [name]…” Only then did you have the courage to look into his eyes. “Satoru’s currently in a coma. He got into a terrible car accident.”

He’s gauging your reaction. He’s purposely omitted the fact that his best friend ran multiple red lights and sped beyond limits because he caught word of you coming home. It would break you, and blame your self as the reason he’s in a vegetative state. “No… N-no you’re kidding… this is just some silly prank he got you in.” You chuckle without a trace of humor. 

The man in front of you wordlessly plates the eggs and stale bread. “C’mon, eat up. I’ll take you to him.”

Suguru was patient enough to help you clean up yourself as he helped you to the bathroom and even got you a fresh set of clothes on the bed. But the gravity of the truth only weighs on you as you sit in the passenger seat and the familiar city streets and the hospital comes into view.

While the elevator lifts you up, your palms start to sweat; as if mirroring the events this morning but with more melancholy than ever. The sterile scent of the hospital is making your stomach sick and all you want to do is throw up.

You never liked being inside the hospital. It serves as a reminder of sadness, grief and death. And right now as Suguru leads you toward the VIP ward, your hands start to tremble and your pace starts to slow down.

Before the raven-haired man opens the door, you quickly grab his wrist, “Geto-san, I-I can’t. I’ll come back when he’s better.” You turn to leave and he is quick to grab your arms to stop you. 

“Hey, I know this is harder for you, more than anyone else, I’m the only one who understands that. But please, for Satoru,” he says with a squeeze to your arms. With tears brimming, you nod, and he let’s one hand go to slide the door open. 

When Suguru thought that this was a royally fucked up situation, he never meant it to snowball into this royally fucked up situation.

The moment after he slid the door open and you entered the room, he’s met by Satoru’s mother. And upon seeing your presence behind him, the woman immediately reached for you to slap you square in the face “You have some gall to show up here!! You witch!! How dare you! How dare you come see my son when you’re the reason he’s here.” 

It all happened so fast that Suguru couldn’t stop the older woman from her rage and protect you from her misplaced anger. But still, he comes between you and Mrs. Gojo, “Auntie, please… not in front of Satoru… not like this… please.”

By that, the older woman’s cold, hatred-filled gaze had befallen Geto. “And you! I’m disappointed! You’re his best friend, how could you bring the very woman that’s the cause of my son’s suffering!”

“I apologize for not informing you beforehand, but she’s his wife. I’m certain that Satoru would want his wife to be here if he were awake.” 

Trying to make yourself smaller, you just stood there shaking and silently crying, not registering how the confrontation is going down. What did she mean that it’s all your fault? You were the cause of all this? What did you do.

You tried to peek a glance out of Suguru’s broad shoulders, only managing to see the foot end of Satoru’s bed and hearing the beeping of various monitors. 

Satoru’s in a coma. Your husband, your lover, is in a partial deathbed because of… you. Bile and guilt rises up, so you did what any coward would’ve done: you ran out.

Hearing the door slide open, Geto quickly turns to look at you only to see you take off. He immediately calls your name and runs off to follow you, his pace increasing as he tries to catch you, and he does.

Before you were able to enter the elevator, a hand grabs your arm which you try to shrug off. “Geto-s-san let go.” The man doesn’t, he wraps you in his arms instead; and there you cry even harder.

Geto feels… sad for you. He couldn’t ever imagine the pain you’re in at this moment as you keep saying ‘I’m sorry’s over and over again, in between your sobs. The best he could do was offer you a hug and pats on your back as you cried hard.

Suguru was kind enough to lead you to the hospital’s roof top garden to take a seat. He just let you cry all your tears, only offering pats on your back and a shoulder to cry on. Sooner the sobs and hiccups die down. Geto stood to get something to drink from the vending machine. 

It seems mundane to sit in silence with the cold lemon beverage in your hand. Except, nothing about this is normal. This is a hospital, your husband is here, unconscious and barely living, and it’s supposedly all your fault. 

By now, no more tears are left to be cried, you’re just staring blankly as if a void has materialized in front of you. “Geto-san, what did she mean by that?”

The man swallows dryly, thinking of ways to ease the information to you. “Hmm… you mean Satoru’s mom?” He tries to play the nonchalant one but your lack of any reaction nor reply tells him that he should just lay everything out in the open.

“Investigations during the day of the crash points to you and him having a conflict… The police said that the circumstantial evidences lead them to believe that he was driving beyond city speed limits distracted.” There’s no reaction from you so he continues.

“The footage on the black box of his car showed that he was talking to someone in haste… That he was trying to call someone repeatedly… It all pointed to you when the call registry log they had retrieved showed 28 missed calls to your number.”

Your nails start to fidget along the rim of the unopened can. So it’s like that. Have you not shut off your phone then you wouldn’t be here in this shithole. Have you just stopped being selfish and texted him of your plans and whereabouts then none of these things would have happened. 

A hand on your shoulder is enough to snap you out from your thought. Turning to Geto, you give him a sad smile, “I’m sorry… I know I’ve been saying that for the past hour… but she’s right…”

The canned drink is taken from you and Geto opens it. “You don’t have to believe that. None of this is your fault. Hell, you weren’t even the one driving that goddamn truck. It was all… just… bad timing.” Geto tries consoling you. It’s true. It’s called an accident for a reason. No one wanted it to happen in the first place. He gets up and you just look at the hand he’s offering. 

“So come, let’s go see Satoru,” he says with a gentle smile. The way you looked down at the drink and sipped on it is so melancholic. Shaking your head, “His mom is probably still there… I should just head home… and come another day…”

The older man just clicks his tongue. “Y’know that shouldn’t stop you from seeing him? You’re literally his wife. Plus, I have a feeling she left the hospital already. When have my hunches ever been wrong?” You resign with a sigh, stood up, and threw away the half empty can. 

Actually, as Geto got you a drink, he already texted Satoru’s father of what had happened. He hoped that it would be enough to take wife off the hospital premises so that you could see your husband.

To yours and Geto’s dismay, Mrs. Gojo didn’t leave just yet. However, she wasn’t alone. Her husband is also in the room when they got there. Seemingly, this quelled the older woman’s anger that she held for you. “Auntie, sir” Geto says and you join him as he offers them a bow. 

You don’t look any of them in the eye. Well, it’s rather difficult and you do have shame. After all, this was mostly your doing that their son is in that state. What shocked you is Seishiro Gojo approaching you; who gave you a brief hug.

“Welcome home [name]. It’s a relief to see you back.” The older man’s voice is stern yet there’s softness underneath. He is the first to welcome you back ever since you stormed out of your home earlier this week, and gosh did it feel so comforting. 

Among all the members of the Gojo clan, apart from Satoru, he treated you the nicest. You’d even say that he welcomed you as a daughter and not just an outsider to the family, even though that only happened after Satoru fought neck and neck with his whole family the day he proposed to you. 

You didn’t know what to say to him so you expressed your gratitude and kept your head low once again. This earned a snide remark from his wife, “Tsk, there’s no point in this farce Shiro.”

“Enough of that nonsense, she is family as much as anyone else in the Gojo family, and we are not doing this in front of Satoru.” It ends at that. Though you know for a fact that Mrs. Gojo will never let it go, ever. Because that’s just the type of woman she is.

After all the not-so-pleasant pleasantries, you finally got to see Satoru as a whole. It pains you to see him hooked to multiple tubes that’s probably there to help him stay alive. He looks paler than he usually is. There’s multiple minor cuts on his cheek, his brows and his chin. His forehead covered by gauze, which you’re assuming he’s suffered a fatal blow to his head. 

The sight made you tear up again. Slowly, you walk towards his bed and with shaky hands, you reach for him. His hand feels warm and you think that’s a good sign. “Hi Satoru, I’m home,” you whisper and a single tear streaks down your cheek.

It takes you a long moment to absorb the feeling of being near him again. At the end of the day, he’s your person as much as you’re his’. 

“I’m home… so…” Your eyelids shut close as you try to anchor yourself in this reality. “Wake up baby… please…” you whisper desperately, clutching his free hand. 

Geto suggested that you stay here for the night as Satoru’s watcher, to which Mr. Gojo had agreed with. His mom was adamant and quick to leave a snide remark but couldn’t really go against the final word of her husband. 

Soon the older couple left. Geto stayed for a while to answer some of your questions and got you take out before going back to the penthouse to get you an exchange of clothes.

As you sat on a stool beside your husband’s sleeping form, you couldn’t help but remember the last time you saw him. He asked, no… he pleaded for you to stay. That’s what probably hurts you the most; he practically begged you to release your anger and pain by hurt him physically so you don’t need to leave. You’d never do it, but now you regret leaving. Fuck. Sleeping in the guest bedroom would’ve given you the solitude you sought that night!

“Satoru… I’m sorry. I’m so… so… sorry I left.” The tears didn’t come as you tried to hold it in. You don’t deserve to cry, not with your husband’s current status. 

Geto returns with a gym bag full of your clothes. He’s met by your hunched sleeping form, hand still clutching Satoru’s. He leaves a note on the bedside table and drapes a thin blanket on your shoulders. He hopes that you can ride the wave and see it through. You’re strong, he’s sure.

Days passed. Weeks passed. 

Unable to commit to a full time at the law firm, you turned in your resignation letter and hoped they can understand the situation you are in. Law school semester continued and you try to juggle it along with looking after Satoru.

It’s been a month since the accident and you’re barely functioning outside the hospital. Partly, the reason for resigning was because you wanted to lessen the time you spent away from Satoru. He can wake up at any moment and you need to be there when he does.

Anyone who knows of your situation would tell you that it’s difficult to balance classes and taking care of your sick husband. It is. But you’d endure this for another year if it means that there is always a chance for him to wake up.

Besides, you plan on finishing this last semester so you can focus more on him. It’s almost mid-sem so it’s just a few more weeks before it’s over. 

Everyday you talk to Satoru about your day. Sometimes you narrate a case that was assigned as a reading material and tell him the process on how you dissect it clause by clause, paragraph by paragraph. It’s futile though. He’s unresponsive. But people always say they can hear us speak to them. It’s never too wrong to try.

Geto drops by weekly to check on both of you. He had suggested you write down your day on a notebook so that when he wakes up, he’d still get filled in on the things he’d missed. His mother often comes as well. You know because flowers are constantly changed and replenished. Albeit, you don’t see her as often. You think she comes in the day when you’re in class.

Some nights are just harder than the others, you’d often wake up by your phone’s alarm, nose dived into your books and laptop after you passed out from studying all night or breaking down as you try to get your readings done.

Day to day life since you came back has been on auto-pilot mode. It’s a cycle of rinse and repeat. You wake up, check on Satoru, attend class, go back, check on Satoru again, study… it just circles back. So it is not a surprise that you passed out on the way to one of the lecture hall your class was held in. 

White popcorn ceilings were the first to register in your line of vision as you opened your eyes. You assume that you’re in the university’s infirmary. You lay there for a few more minutes before the cream curtains are slightly drawn.

“Oh you’re awake! I’m Nurse Minato, you’ve been brought here after you passed out in the hallway… do you remember that?” You simply nod.

She does some physical tests on you to see if you’re still coherent and asks you some questions on your lifestyle, which you all answered truthfully and concisely… except for your monthly cycle.

“Alright, how about your cycle? Notice anything unusual?” She asks, eyes planted on the clipboard and scribbling down things. You remain silent, forehead scrunched down. Things were too hectic for you that you never really noticed if you had it the past 2 and a half months. 

“Um… I’ve been too stressed out lately so I haven’t really noticed. Do you have my bag? I have a tracking app.” The nurse pulls out a caddy from under your bed and hands you your bookbag. 

Opening the app quickly, you see that your cycle prediction show that your period’s been delayed for around 73 days. Now it’s not always accurate, but 73 days is extreme.

“Uh… it says here that I’ve been delayed for 73 days.” With that she stops scribbling and slowly looks up to meet your eyes. She says nothing and gets up to grab something from the cabinet fixtures within the room. 

“Are you sexually active?”

Then it dawns on you. It is highly possible. The last time you had sex with your husband was when he returned from an overseas business trip to France. That was 2 weeks prior to your heated argument. 

“Not at the moment… but I…had last contact with my husband a few months back.” She simply hums and hands you a pregnancy test. “Restroom is at the back. Come back when you’re done okay?”

You stare at the box as if it’s done you wrong. The possibility of pregnancy is actually high considering that night, Satoru asked you to hit it raw until you agreed. You laugh humorlessly. What great timing! The one time you have sex without the condom and he’s able to plant one in you?

Setting a timer, you follow the box instructions and collect your pee sample. Each passing second was agitating and had you shifting your weight from one foot to another, arms hugging your torso. What then if it reads two pink lines? 

The timer blares and echoes in the confined space of the restroom. The irony of it all is that the baby you and Satoru had argued awfully about will be here in a few months. Fuck.

[aliceinborderlandsquidgame]

Yandere Chishiya x Reader - Your best option -

Summary: coming from a rich conservative family you did your best to complete your dream and study...just for a men to ruin it.

Notes: conservative family - mysogyny - manipulation - toxic behaviour - toxic family - physical abuse - emotional abuse -

You could never say you lived a bad life, in the economic aspect at least. Your father was a CEO, he worked hours to bring millons of money into your home. Your mother, a quiet woman, dedicated to her husband and kids, she used to be your favorite person when you were young, then your older brother, your second favorite person who used to play with you a lot during your lonely afternoons.

Your older brother, was a promising lawyer. Studying abroad, being top of his class with the best scores and a secure post in a law firm once he returns to Japan (thanks to your father).

And you, you were the doll, the princess, expected to marry a rich man and be just like your mother. Lower your head when your husband screams at you, doing the house chores and of course having his kids.

But that was not your dream, your dream since you were a teen was to study to become a Doctor. Of course your father was against it from the start, you had to beg him for months till he accepted under one condition.

You accepted it and started to work, your weeks were a blurry of books, mental maps, coffe and snacks.

"But you will have to get the best scores, just like your brother, or you will have to leave"

You did get high scores but not the highest so you promised to do better next semester, begging for a second chance, even if you were tired like hell.

He came to you during one practice to help you. He was kind, a bit cold and insensitive, but smart. He helped you during your semester and quickly became your best friend.

It was then, when you met him Chishiya.

He was the professors assistance and just by looking at him you could tell he was going to be a successful doctor.

But he stopped helping you when your finals came. You were not angry at him by this, you knew he was as busy as you. Saddly your scores (still high but not enought for your father) dropped.

Your father took you out from college the next day. His face with no emotions other than shame, but you knew deep down he was happy about all of this.

You cried a lot for the next weeks, your mother comforted you for awhile but never went against your father. Your brother called you but offered not a lot of support and even told you "dad just wants the best for you". You ended the call right there.

One monday your mother called you, gave you a beautiful dress and called a professional makeup artist to prepare you for dinner. You knew what all of this was about and just went with it.

Your last attempt to change your fathers plans for you had ended in him slapping you and calling you a disgrace, so your spirit and will to fight was done.

When you went down to the dinner table you never expected to see who your soon to be husband was.

Chishiya never liked rumors, well more like he never cared about them. Then one day the rumor of a famous CEOs daughter was coming to the school went into his ears.

He saw you first, saw how much work you put in your career, how much you seemed to really love the subjects and how compassionate you were with the patients during practices.

Half of him hated you for it, how you were able to connect with people with no problem, he struggled a lot with it. The other half however felt....enchanted in a twisted way. You were so cheerfull and positive. Alwyas open to learn from your mistakes.

When you told Chishiya how you had got a crush on another student he went wild. Of course he kept his usual self, the one where you never tought he was thinking why not him?, when you told him that, his composture never flattered when you would tell him how much you liked this guy and how you got the gut feeling that he liked you back. You never saw how jealous he truly was.

Thats why he went to you, why he started to bestfriend you. He needed to see if he would hate you more or like you. And ended liking you. You saw pass his calculated self, you treated him as another human, not "the school genious" or something like that. You two truly connected. And you opened up to him, about your fears, doubts. You never got a friend besides Chishiya during your school time. You were never sure why, maybe thanks to your fathers reputation and how no one wanted to mess with his daughter and ruin their future or their own family.

But with Chishiya it was enought.

When your test scores went out he had a meet with your father, just as he as planned. Where he sold himself as the best suitor for you, having his school background to respalde him and the professors recomendations for high respected hospitals.

Chishiya could not see you with someone else, he was sure of it, he wanted to be with you, you get both of you a nice home where no one would be a bother.

Thats why he decided to take the matters on his own hands. You had told him your fathers plans for you if your scores went down just a bit, and he saw an oportunity. He managed to get a hold on your fathers phone and made himself a candidate for you. He then abandoned you in the hardest part of the school year.

"You are good, I will tell you that. But I have men with more money than your own family owns, so...what can you give my daughter that these men cant?"

Chishiya was relaxed, he expected this to come.

"I know your daughter from college, and I know what she thinks about it"

Your father did not show emotion towards Chishiya when he said he knew what you tought about his plans for you.

Chishiya took a sip from his coffee, keeping eye contact.

"And I know she wont like this, i believe she may have already show how much she dislikes it, and I dont want to enter into personal matters but, I believe picking me may help you keep your relationship with her in a relative good way".

"And what could you know about my relationship with her?" Your father asked siping his own coffee.

"I was his friend during her time in the school. She told me a bit"

"And you believe because you used to be her friend, that puts you above everyone else?"

"I believe she and I have a solid floor of a relationship and she would be gratefull towards her father if he pics someone she already knows as her husband". Your father was going to give him a sharp reply but Chishiya kept talking.

"And I think the same as you" Chishiya took some cold water to prepare for his next words.

"When I saw her I tought how she should not be there but in a good house, making dinner, playing with the kids and waiting for her husband. I respect women wishes to work and advance in society but she, she seems just like a perfect housewife. And I saw her interacting with kids, i believe she could give you such good grandchildren that would make you proud. She may not see it now, but getting her a good suitable partner is the best for her".

Your father eyed Chishiya, considering all his words. He tought of your tricky relationship with him. How much you hated him for what he wanted for you, so...maybe this Man, this Chishiya with a promising future, plus being someone you already knew could be the safest option to save what little love you could have for him.

The dinner went uncomfortable to say at least. Chishiya bowed at yourself and your mother who loved him since minute 0. Your father just accepted him as his best option.

"Next week, you will recive a call, be ready" standing up for father left Chishiya there. Not a single goodbye or signal of approval.

You could not speak during all of it. Chishiya wore a smoking with his hair pulled back. He looked so handsome but, how? And why? How did he end here and why?

When your mother went to the kitchen and your father to take a business call was when you asked.

"Chishiya, I need answers right now, what are you doing here?"

Chishiya took your hand in his, his tumb caressing yours. He drunk your beauty, how your skin looked, so soft and inviting, the dress hugged you in all the good ways. And your eyes, they looked at him with such a lovely confusion.

You felt heartbroken, you trusted Chishiya, you tought you could tell him everything. God you even told him how you planned to scape the city.

"Im here, as your future husband. I talked with your father the past week and we agreed this was the best of you, im the best for you".

"I told you, I told you I did not want this" you replied to him, tears falling down your face.

"Shh" he took your face in between his hands. "You did not want this because you did not know it was gonna be me. But now you do. We will have such a beautiful family, god I cant wait to see you all round up with my kids. You will be such a good wife and mom".

"Dear look, your daughter its crying over happiness" your mother called over your father, her delusional mind making all seem perfect.

Tears continue to fall but Chishiya kissed them, loving their taste and wondering how the rest of you would taste when he had the chance to devour you.

In that moment your mother returned with a big smile on her face.

Your father returned but say nothing. He just took his seat back.

"So Chishiya, what do you think about kids?, I alwyas wanted little (y/n) running around" you mother asked him, not caring about you anymore or how twisted and disgusting this all was.

"Well, I believe (y/n) and I can raise and give you the best grandchildren, I also know a few pediatric who....

But you no longer listened. Your mind clouded and shouted down. That night you lost your freedoom thanks to Chishiyas obsesion.

[thus-spoke-lo]

Law would make such a cute big brother. 🥺 He'd be so protective, keeping you either stuck in his quarters or by his side 24/7. You complain, but you know he's a notorious pirate right? People want your head by association. If a bounty hunter were to capture you they'd basically have Law caught too. Your safest right next to him.

It's even better if you're sickly- maybe a chronic illness? He has even more reason to keep you near. He's stoic and mean, but when you're hurting he takes good care of you. He would tsk when you ask if you can skip this injection, toussling your hair and murmuring that it'll just be a little pinch and afterwards you can lie down and he'll bring you a treat. If you're a good girl that is.

You're so pretty, he has to share a bed with you. If you were left on your own who knows who could sneak into your bed? Would you be able to fight back? Of course not. It doesn't stop you from asking though. Why can't you go out of an errand alone? It's frustrating don't you know, Law? 😔

On days you seem more restless than usual he quietly drugs your food, faux worry gracing his features as you stumble around. He's a doctor, let him take you to the infirmary to get checked out. You're so dizzy, the sub feels like it's spinning. Maybe you throw up.

He holds your hair back as you vomit, not saying a word but mentally scrolling through his plan again. Once he has your face wiped clean he's laying you in the recovery position. You're about to fall unconscious soon. Even though it hurts his heart, you're so cute when you're sick. You're so reliant on your big brother. You need him to survive.

As you fall under he sets up the monitors and machines suspiciously already prepped for a situation like this. Sticky elctrotrodes on your chest, a clip on your finger, an oxygen mask strapped to your face. Imagine if you'd become this sick while outside without him. 😔 His fingers trail through your hair, admiring your chest as it rises and falls as you sleep.

He hasn't decided how long he'll keep you under yet, your questions about going out alone had upset him. Maybe when his heart heals from the pain of hearing you ask for a moment away from him he'll let you curl up into his arms again on your own free will.

Oh boy, anon. I don't know how you managed to crawl inside my head and find my love for these types of scenarios but like... be careful on your way out so you don't trip over some weirder things.

Law needs you to be reliant on him, needs you clinging to him, vulnerable and desperate for his attention and his care. Don't you understand how dangerous it is for you, especially in your weakened condition? He's the only one who knows how to treat your sicknesses, both real and fabricated--how could you ever want to be without him? He'll claw and gnash his teeth at your last shreds of independence until you learn, until you learn that you need him more than anything, your devoted big brother who only wants what's best for you--and what's best for you is to be in his loving arms.

[dalishious]

Let's discuss one of the most divisive characters in the Dragon Age fandom; specifically, the single action that makes him so divisive.

Full transcript below:

Anders is a very divisive character. Most people either love him or hate him. Personally, I lean towards loving him, as I think he is very interesting and has a lot of qualities in a character I find appealing. I also think he is overall a good person. That is not to say he is without faults, just that I believe his merits outweigh said faults.

The most divisive part of his character boils down to one specific action he takes at the end of Act 3 of Dragon Age II; the Chantry explosion. There is a large part of the fandom that believes this action entirely defines him, choosing to ignore the rest of his part in the whole game. But anyone actually paying attention to his character beyond this single event, and the setting in general, would know that Anders blowing up the Chantry does not exist in a vacuum. There is a reason the quest is called “The Last Straw”; it is the last effort of a desperate man in the face of oppression.

Anders spends the entirety of the game up to “The Last Straw” working to help mages and protest the Chantry’s abuse peacefully. He works with the Mage Underground to help people escape from the Gallows. He writes his manifestos demanding an end to the oppression of his people. He tries speaking with the Grand Cleric. And not one bit of it makes any monumental change, because no one in power will listen. Despite all efforts, he still witnesses the mass increase in the use of the Rite of Tranquility, on mages who have passed their Harrowing even; this is supposed to be against Chantry law, but no one has stopped it from happening. He witnesses raids on the families of mages, and the formation of what is called “Templar Death Squads” harassing Lowtown inhabitants who sympathize with the mages. None of this is secret. The citizens of Kirkwall are well aware of these abuses, and many of them are vocally against it. But the Chantry doesn’t care about that. They only care about maintaining the status quo of control and domination. This is fully demonstrated by the Divine sending Leliana to warn Elthina that the Chantry is considering an Exalted March on Kirkwall, because in Leliana’s words, they fear the threat of a mage uprising is the biggest danger to Thedas since the Qunari invasion. Elthina even somewhat defends this, saying that even if it will harm innocents, the Divine’s first duty is to “protect the faith”.

Anders tried peaceful measures to protest the Circle’s abuses. Orsino tried peaceful measures to protest the Circle’s abuses, too. But these peaceful protests are met with worsening conditions, not the betterment. At the beginning of Act 3, as in before Anders even gets his magical bomb ready, Knight-Commander Meredith has already gone above Elthina’s head to request the Right of Annulment directly from Val Royeaux. It is established in Dragon Age Origins that a letter is all it takes to grant permission to slaughter every single mage in the Circle, when Greagoir writes to Denerim for the same request. Another example of no actual investigation prior to granting this Right is from the Magehunter shield item description in Dragon Age Inquisition, which states that it wasn’t until after the Right was conducted and all the mages were slaughtered, that the Seekers of Truth discovered the Annulment was used to cover up the mass murder of mages that had already occurred before permission was granted.

Backed into a corner, Anders lashes out in the only way he can think to force change. The fact that Meredith had already sent for the Right of Annulment means in all likeliness, Anders saved lives by acting when he did. This allowed the mages the opportunity to fight back and for some to escape.

Is Anders a murderer? Yes. But so is every single character in the Kirkwall party. Even Sebastian has killed people in his quest for revenge against those who murdered his family—how does that separate him from Anders doing the same against those who are torturing, mutilating and killing his people? The Chantry is not innocent. Elthina is not innocent. She is a perpetrator at worst and enabler at best of systemic oppression. It is within her power to oppose Meredith—as Grand Cleric, she is in fact the only person with any power to do so in Kirkwall—but she chooses not to. The only action she takes is to silence Orsino’s right to speak publicly. It makes perfect sense to me for Anders to target her.

Why did Anders choose to target Elthina by blowing up the Chantry itself, though? The out-of-universe reason I believe, is simply that the developers wanted to trigger a gut-punch reaction to Americans with the imagery of an exploding building. BioWare is very centrist, and has a strong history of making “both sides are wrong” arguments out of oppressors versus the oppressed. The goal of making Anders do this is to turn off the player’s brain enough to place doubt in the mages and think Templar Order might be right even a little, despite all evidence to the contrary. The in-universe reason is just that between the two targets, the Chantry and the Gallows, attacking the Chantry had less collateral damages to mages in Anders’s view, I suppose? But it’s hard for me to put reason behind this when it’s so overshadowed by outside influence that feels less organically part of the plot and more shoved in for the sake of pushing their centrist agenda. What really drives home for me that it’s an agenda is the fact that post-Dragon Age II, they keep adding more to what happened. First they increase the death toll way beyond anything actually suggested in the game, then in Trespasser they even write a codex entry saying the explosion changed the shape of the Kirkwall harbour, somehow. I can’t help but find it at least a little amusing, and look forward to hearing how actually, the explosion unleashed another Blight upon the Free Marches next.

If you want to call Anders a terrorist, fine. I don’t give a shit, because I can think of so many real life people who have been called terrorists by the government for standing up against colonial enforced inequality, to the point where I question the very meaning of the word. But I ask you go do it somewhere else, because I’m kind of tired of the fandom debate over The Chantry explosion controversy. I’ve said my piece, and I’m confident about my opinion. More confident than BioWare is able to sway me otherwise, that’s for damn sure.

[psychobind]

COOL HERO STUFF

Relevent Translations from the LOV cards mostly regarding Noel and Bokhohn

NOEL

Age: Two years older than Rocbouquet

Height: 6'2"

Weight: 110 kg

Maximum Speed: Exhibits his greatest speed, 30 m/s

Blood Relative: Rocbouquet's older brother

Crony: Sagzaar

Sworn Enemy: The Desert Guards

Subject of Absorption:All people who are masters in their fields/trades

Role: Supporting everybody

Fatal Technique: Moon Shade

Favorite Technique: Counter

Special Skill: Shaking hands with the opponent

Hobby: Astronomical observation

Past Objective: To contribute new knowledge to the human race

Current Goal: To acquire all the knowledge in the universe

Searching for: A dimension transfer device

A word to the Emperor: "I am not a frog."

Favorite Spot: Ueno (the town he was named after)

"You're a kind of hero, aren't you?"

I've never thought of myself as a hero. I simply spend my days on the battlefield.

"That's exactly what makes you a hero. Isn't it something that ordinary people couldn't do?"

If that's the condition for being a hero, then perhaps I am.

"Don't you feel there's something similar between the way the Emperor's power is passed down through generations and us?"

"Oh, brother, what kind of joke is that? There's no way they could resemble us. Impossible." Rocbouquet winked.

"Even in a crisis for the Seven Heroes, you remain carefree. I suppose I should see it as a chance to absorb the Emperor's power myself."

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

BOKHOHN

Past Goal: Entering politics

Hobby: Games he can win

Profession: Lawyer

Objective: To leave his mark in history

Absorption Target: Puppet master

Current Goal: Life under his control

Role: Strategist

Preferred Vehicle: Land Battleship

A word to the Emperor: "Fool, you're too soft!"

Future Strategy: Surprise attacks

Special Move: Waterfowl Sword

Favorite Thing: Marionette

"Why must I follow the commands of someone like you?"

Here comes yet another hopeless savior, it seems.

"You're just a young upstart. All you need to do is follow the strategy I've devised. Act on your own, and you're bound to fail."

"Next, let's pit the Emperor against Rocbouquet," Bokhohn mused to himself in a room within the land battleship.

"If Rocbouquet defeats the Emperor, all the better. And if Rocbouquet is defeated… well, I can't wait to see Noel's reaction. I almost want the Emperor to put up a good fight, heh heh heh."

Meanwhile, the Emperor was initiating an infiltration mission into the land battleship.

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

Heroes do some chattings

Noel's Card

"A new secret technique that surpasses the Law of Assimilation?" Wagnas asked, intrigued.

"Yes. It doesn't just assimilate the body but also absorbs abilities and knowledge,"

Wagnas' eyes lit up, "That's incredible. Perhaps we should call it... the Law of Absorption."

Noel gave a thoughtful pause, then added, "However, there's a significant risk involved."

Wagnas' Card

"There's a possibility that one might be influenced by the personality and experiences of those they absorb," Noel said quietly.

"If you absorb a killer, you might start to find pleasure in murder."

Wagnas laughed. "That's exactly what I want. Without that level of resolve, how could we possibly save the world? It doesn't matter what happens to us as long as the world is saved."

Subier's Card

"Subier, will you continue to fight by my side? As Noel said, there's danger ahead," Wagnas' smile had faded.

"No need to ask," Subier replied with a hearty laugh. "I don't fully understand Noel's complicated talk, but I trust you. That's all that matters, right?"

The three exchanged smiles and (something I couldnt translate properly...)

Dantarg's Card

"I can become stronger, right? That's exactly what I want," Dantarg's reply was straightforward.

"You might end up absorbing more than just strength-- things like kindness, or even love," Noel teased.

"Hmph. I'll just be selective about who I absorb. I'll go after those who live purely for battle, the crazed and monstrous types. Just like me." Dantarg's hearty laughter echoed around them.

Rocbouquet's Card

"Am I a burden? Onii-sama!" Her eyes filled with tears.

"Noel is only concerned for your safety. He doesn't think of you as a burden at all," Wagnas tried to console her, but it only made things worse.

"Even Lord Wagnas is leaving me out. It's terrible, so terrible! After everything we've been through together…"

Noel knew well enough that once she reached this point, there was no stopping her. "Wagnas, please include her as well," he pleaded.

Bokhohn's Card

"Why didn't you call on me?"

Wagnas and Noel exchanged glances.

"Well… we thought matters like this wouldn't interest you," Noel replied, only to be interrupted by Bokhohn.

"Your selection was clearly a mistake. There's a lack of strategy here. Dantarg and Subier are just brute strength, and the need for Rocbouquet is... questionable. This group requires a mind like mine. Surely, you understand that, Wagnas?"

Kzinssie's Card

"Don't leave me behind!" Kzinssie pleaded.

"Tch, pathetic worm," Dantarg scoffed, spitting dismissively.

"You're of no use to us," Bokhohn ignored him.

"Stop it, don't come near me," Rocbouquet shuddered in disgust.

"You don't need to come," Subier said firmly.

"You've done enough," Wagnas' gentle voice held a hint of rejection.

"Please, give me a chance too," Kzinssie clung desperately to Noel.

[relatableblorbopoll]

Round 1 of preliminaries, group 5

The first two places get a place on the bracket

Little reminder: there will be 2 more rounds of preliminaries, the losing blorbos of this poll still have 2 chances of getting in the official bracket

Propaganda under the cut

Melissa Chase (Milo Murphy’s Law)

"Her self worth is entirely based on her grade point average and getting straight As. She can’t remember anything, ever (specific examples include forgetting her maths book regularly, her student pass for the subway, and how many days are in February). However, she CAN remember the blood type of every president. She is terrible at throwing She gets visually upset when she realises that a plan was changed last minute, and that an academic event she expected to do well in was combined with a sporting event, giving no time to prepare for the new event She freaks OUT when she thinks she’s going to disappoint her headteacher- she doesn’t seem to expect to be given any actual punishment, just that the headteacher will be disappointed and think that she’s irresponsible She has a whole conspiracy room in her house dedicated to researching her best friend’s medical condition- Murphy’s Law being an interest that she is clearly very passionate about and interested in. she does all of that and still can’t remember her maths book. relatable queen her ambition in life is to be a “journalist, and queen of the universe” "

Candace Flynn (Phineas and Ferb)

"A ball of stress and anxiety. She's always angry because nobody listens to her, cares about her feelings, or believes her about anything, which tbh is like the quintessential teenage girl experience. Secretly just wants her parents to recognise and appreciate her."

V-Flower (Vocaloid)

"they believe that people only care about them when they are in pain"

Ciaphas Cain (Warhammer 40k)

"Don't let the sharp jawline and the mutton-chops fool you: Ciaphas Cain has no idea what he's fucking doing and would very much like to not be here right now. He is a high-ranking Commissar, essentially a walking morale boost for Imperial Guard soldiers and one of the only symbols of hope in the grimdark Warhammer 40k universe. He also has no idea how he got the job or how to get the hell out. Commissar Cain spends all his time accidentally doing magnificent bastard things while trying to run away from danger and dying inside. Over the course of his books, he's named Hero of the Imperium, has a hot mommy inquisitor fall in love with him, and saves hundreds of planets per panic attack he has. His cowardice and impostor syndrome are second only to my own, and that's why he's just like me fr."

Percy Jackson (Percy Jackson series)

"he's got big no thoughts head empty energy! he loves his friends and girlfriends SO much (more most YA characters, i think; he would have no qualms about sacrificing the world to save the people he loves, which goes against the typical hero). he is almost always ready to fight a bitch. he has adhd and accidentally says things he shouldnt all the time (but this has made him good at problem-solving, bc he creates a LOT of problems for himself)"

MK (Lego Monkie Kid)

"Oooooh boy where do I begin. MK the Monkie Kid is the protagonist of the story but he has *so many issues*. He wants to be a good person but has a whole lot of impostor syndrome and is convinced he will only hurt people the more he tries to save them. He is convinced that every major villain in the show is his fault, even as far as misremembering/changing up some events to put blame onto himself He also has an absent mentor figure that was supposed to help him but guess what he had to figure out all his powers on his own so abandonment issues go brrrr. He has so much anger toward his mentor Wukong but he just *bottles it all up* (common theme) Also he is so trans and adhd coded. First, MK is a nickname. We don’t know his real name, but it is v much implied he used to go by something else. He and his friends also puts a lot of emphasis on manly stuff like ‘I’m a big boy!’/‘he’s a Monkie *Man*!!!’/‘im the smartie boy, the plan man!’ He also has trouble focusing and listening to other people, is sometimes blunt and he is VERY interested in Sun Wukong and the journey to the west (Chinese classical novel that the show is based on) and just in general always needs constant reassurance and support from his friends. He is often compartmentalizing his feelings and internalizes a lot of fear and blame is also suppressing a part of himself that scares him. (Which, same) He loves his friends so much and tries so hard to keep them all safe, even hiding his own problems and worries from them as an attempt to protect them. He wants to go back to season 1, back when each episode was a villain-of-the-week kinda story, with no world-destroying threats. But nope, he saw the horrors, and he can never go back to the bubbly Monkie Kid from the beginning. Also he is terrified of spiders :>"

[somber-sapphic]

hi somber can I plesse request Alex Danvers from Supergirl getting sick after fighting an alien that causes cold/flu sickness as a side effect in the hours afterwards. possibly featuring worried sister Kara looking after Alex back to the lab before we go collect her? prompts could be “You really don’t look good…” and “You look like death warmed over.” 🌈🌺

Fevered Love

〖Notes: Look, I'll be honest, I don't like this one. I've rewritten it probably five times over the last few weeks and I just couldn't get it right. I'm really sorry I couldn't do it justice, I'll do better in the future.〗

〖Summary: Kara calls you in a panic, insistent that Alex is dying.〗

〖Word Count: 1.2k〗

〖Pairing: Sick Alex x Reader〗

☾Masterlists☽

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

It wasn’t often that you got a frantic phone call from your sister-in-law begging you to hop on a plane and come home because (In Kara’s words) “I think Alex is dying”. That had been enough to jolt you out of your sleepy 4 am haze and push her for more information while tugging on socks while racing to pack everything up.

You hadn’t managed to get much more out of her, just that there had been a fight with an unknown alien and that Alex had gotten herself hit and that was about it. Kara had said that she couldn’t remember anything else important. Unfortunately, it was the ‘unimportant’ things that you really needed to know. Such as Alex’s temperature, her diagnosis, and if they had given her any medication.

It had taken you ten minutes to convince the woman who could literally fly faster than the speed of sound to come to get you, her arguing that she couldn’t leave Alex alone for all of the thirty seconds it would take for her to get you from England. You had finally convinced her that the brunette could be alone while she was sleeping and encouraged Kara to fly to you and bring you home.

Now, there you were, fighting with a clingy, feverish Alex while also trying to convince Kara that your fiancée would be fine. The blonde was incredibly distraught, while Alex seemed more interested in playing with your necklace. They had definitely given her something strong because she was totally and completely out of it.

“She’s been acting like this for hours! She fell asleep on the floor and then tried to make quesadillas, Y/n, I don’t know what to do!” the alien said, wringing her hands in distress. Her bright blue eyes were full of intense panic but at this point, you were more or less just exhausted. You were trying to gauge Alex’s condition, but it was difficult to do with Kara’s nonstop chattering and the woman’s utter disinterest in cooperating.

“Kara!” You finally snapped, shutting her up. She looked at you wide-eyed, her jaw hanging open in shock. Your fiancée stilled, both of them startled by your harsh tone. It wasn’t often that you were anything but soft-spoken and neither woman could actually recall a time that you had raised your voice.

“Kara,” You breathed, taking a moment to compose yourself before you continued. “I know you’re worried, but Alex will be fine. She’s loopy from medication, not dying. Now will you please stop yelling? It's four in the morning and you’re giving me a headache.”

“Mhm. Tried to tell’er.” Alex put in, already sounding a bit more coherent. Good, that would make her a bit easier to understand. You’d seen the woman with a high fever once and she had done some strange stuff. You’d found her wandering the apartment building wearing a tutu which you really had no idea how she got her hands on. It hadn’t been a fun 24 hours.

“Y-you sure?” Kara asked, sounding meek. The worry for her sister was endearing but also sort of annoying. Maybe you’d be able to deal with it in the morning, but for now, you just needed some quiet to tend to your fiancée.

“Yeah, I’m sure. Go home, get some rest. Tell Lena I said hi. I’ve got her, okay?” You walked over and squeezed the blonde’s shoulder, leading her slowly toward the door. Kara glanced back at Alex one last time and gave a small wave, which the brunette returned although with admittedly less gusto.

“Take care of her.” You smiled warmly at the reporter and nodded.

“Of course, Kar. I’ll call you in the morning. Go sleep.” She reluctantly left, tugging on the edge of her shirt as she walked down the hall. You hated making her leave when she was so anxious, but you needed to deal with Alex on your own, she would only make it worse with her hovering.

The woman pulled you out of your thoughts with a harsh coughing fit and drew you back to her side, biting your lip as you tried to figure out what to do.

“Aw Lex, you really don’t look good…” You sighed, taking a seat beside her on the couch. She whined tiredly and put her head on your shoulder, curling up against your side. She had barely said two words since you’d gotten home, and it didn’t seem like she was interested in saying anything for the time being.

“Do you remember what Hamilton gave you?” You murmured, content to just let her sleep for a while. You were exhausted from the conference and had suddenly remembered that you’d need to call your boss and somehow explain how you’d gotten from England to America in only a few hours in the middle of the night.

“I dunno, somethin’ strong. Said I’d be better ‘n a few days. M’sorry about Kara, she gets worried.” The brunette yawned, wrapping shaky hands around your bicep. You didn’t really understand how she could be trembling so hard while pressed so close to you, but you assumed it had to do with the fever.

“Shh, don’t worry her. How about we both get some sleep? You really do look like death warmed over.” You were teasing her a bit now, feeling more confident that you could actually take care of her. She was making sense now, which was a good sign. The way that her nose was running onto your collarbone and the wheezy sound of her breathing wasn’t particularly reassuring, but at least she wasn’t talking nonsense.

“Thanks for coming home. You didn’t have to do that.” The brunette sighed, letting out a deep chesty cough which she muffled into your shoulder. If this was contagious you would undoubtedly be getting it. You’d call Dr. Hamilton in the morning and get all of the information.

“Even if Kara didn’t tell me you were dying, I would’ve come home. I love you, Alexandra Danvers. Alien virus or not.” You heard her laugh quietly and leaned closer to her, trying to pretend that you were only doing it for her. If you were being honest, you really needed the hug.

The conference was so overwhelming, and you felt incompetent compared to everyone else there. A sick fiancée wasn’t precisely what you were hoping for to get you out of it, but at least you were home. Plus, Alex clearly needed you. Of course, this was about her needing you. Not the other way around.

“I love you too Y/n Y/l/n. You’re bein’ sappy, you okay?” The brunette prodded, putting you before herself, as always. You sighed heavily and kissed her warm forehead, leaving your nose pressed against her hairline. She smelled like vanilla and fresh cotton.

“Let’s worry about me later. For now, it’s bedtime. Sick girls need to rest.” Your lips quirked up when she kicked you and you both settled back into the couch, neither of you having the energy to get up and go to bed. Who needed a bed when there was another person to cuddle? Alex was more comfortable than any pillow could ever be.

You could tell by the way that she was breathing that it wouldn’t be an easy few days, but for the time being, all you could do was be there for her. Maybe she’d have more information in the morning. 

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[rarepears]

For the Shen Jiu is forced into an arranged marriage with a arabian prince AU: What if the young arabian king doesn't had an harem and the only "harem" being in the palace is the young king's late father's harem?

What if the women of this harem raised the young king ever since he was a baby 'cause his bio mother died at birth and the young king see them as his mothers to the point that After his father's passing he permit them to still living in the palace ?

And what if those women play important, and sometimes secret, roles into helping their son with the kingdom's affairs and are sharp and very smart but also motherly and nice which give Shen Jiu a bunch of lovely but also cunning and intelligent mothers in laws?

I'm all for the dad's harem raising the Arabian prince, but no, he would not see them all as his mothers and allow them to live in the palace AFTER his father passes away.

Like, have you not seen a group of friends hang out?? There's always some sort of drama breaking out that can turn real ugly real fast. And these people voluntarily CHOOSE to hang out together. Meanwhile these are women who are trapped together looking to more resources (more attention from the king, better clothes/materials, be the top dog of the harem, etc.) means that there's even more at stake. There's a reason why Chinese history books remember so many terribly ugly harem fights.

Besides nothing says these women can't keep trying to have their OWN biological son (with the king) and then depose this current crown prince. :)

This Arabic Prince is going to see a lot of fake smiles and know that these women are trying to act all motherly to win favor from the king and also invest in the future - that when he becomes king, he will remember them fondly and treat them well. It's all conditional love.

Plus mother-in-law drama. That's always a thing. These women are going to be fearful that Shen Jiu will become too powerful and take away their rights/privileges/material goods. They would want to nip the potential threat in the bud.

This is not a dynamic or setting where a bunch of ladies are just going to welcome Shen Jiu into the fold, be motherly, and all that good stuff. Not without coming up with some manipulative tactic where it's important that they win Shen Jiu over in their war against the other harem members... In which case, Shen Jiu is yet another pawn in someone else's war.

Harems never end well.

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