#fol stuff

[folightening]

Every so often, Nations need to be among their people. To recharge their humanity. To remind themselves what it is to live. It keeps the human part of them intact and stops them from becoming the monsters they could be.

[the-sleepy-silurian]

Another low-quality meme before the new chapter this week....

[groggygrimalkin]

Fan art I drew of Kuprum and Folykl dying in a glue trap

Original post

[folightening]

You're very welcome ❤️

The idea was simply: That last section came to me while I was doing something else and I decided Arthur had to be a dragon for it. Then I thought of that opening sentence and the rest followed.

I love Prince Portugal, and Arthur has a few traits that I find fitting for him being a dragon so it just felt right.

You wanted some Engport, and I've got a wip... Forgive the choppiness and any odd phrasing, it's very unfinished.

---

The dragon had a human form: shorter than Afonso, thin in body, and overall plain. Still, it was a more welcome sight than the dragon.

"Do you have a name?"

The dragon now human startled and looked at him and the sharp vibrant green of his eyes showed that yes this was indeed the dragon.

"What does it matter?"

"You appear human, does that not mean you want to better interact with me?"

The man scoffed.

"There are some things I can only do in this body. Now if you don't mind, I was busy."

Busy. Drinking tea and... Embroidering?

"Embroidery isn't something I'd expect a dragon to do."

He glanced at Afonso but didn't respond. Afonso sighed and pouted, casually walking over to lean on the chair and take look.

There wasn't enough on the fabric in his hands to answer Afonso's question.

"Do you do this often?"

"Don't you have some better way to spend your time?"

Again pushed away and unwanted. Afonso pushed off the chair and made his way across the room.

"You would know how little I have to do around here. But I can take a hint."

The door closed more gently than Afonso thought was deserved. It wasn't the first time he'd been pushed to the side. His own parents had discarded him to this dragon guarded castle to wait for... Whatever it was he was meant to wait for here. His death most likely.

He was fine. He had been fine for years. This didn't change anything.

~~~

Watching the rain beat on the glass wasn't entertaining, but nothing was in the lonely castle he was prisoner in. There were ocassions where he heard fighting, but what reason did Afonso have to get involved with that? No human could kill a dragon.

The dragon strode in, human once again. Blood adorned his clothes and there was a look in his eyes Afonso wasn't entirely certain of.

"You may call me Arthur."

"Arthur." Afonso tried to keep the frown but couldn't resist smiling. "You couldn't pick a better one?"

"So my name bores you as well Prince? Come. I wish to dance."

"If I say no?"

"You would rather stare at rain?"

Afonso stood and followed Arthur to the grand ballroom. Filled with nothing more than Arthur's treasures, it was a room Afonso had no use visiting.

Arthur took his hand and led him to the center of the floor. Music started from somewhere and Arthur wasted no time in starting to lead Afonso around the glittering room.

As they danced Afosno relaxed. Letting Arthur lead him through a simple waltz was far better than anything else he had done in quite some time.

"That's better," Arthur said.

A few more steps passed before Arthur spoke again.

"I am accustomed to being alone. Comes with being a dragon. It's easy to forget how much interaction humans require." Arthur paused "Prince Afonso, I apologize for the way I have been treating you."

"Where's this coming from?"

"The way you walk around looking so... You may be prisoner here, but it is also our shared home." Arthur scowled. "I have been less than hospitable to you."

Afonso laughed

"You're the dragon meant to keep me here. I wasn't expecting any hospitality."

Arthur sharply scoffed but didn't say anything. He did stare at Afonso, his vibrant gaze piercing him.

"I believe a start over is in order."

Arthur released him and stepped back into a bow.

"My name is Arthur."

"Prince Afonso."

The small smile on Arthur's lips was welcome and easy to return.

"Never forget who you are," Arthur said. "Now I believe we have a dance to finish."

Afonso laughed and pulled Arthur

~

Afonso quickly learned that Arthur couldn't be trusted in the kitchen. His primary cooking skill was burning everything. Which his lack of patience certainly helped with; but how often did a dragon cook their food before eating it? Instead he watched Afonso and gave his unasked for, uneeded, but amusing commentary.

~

"Arthur," this was hard. Afonso had never begun to imagine such a thing could happen.

"What is it Love?"

Love was precisely it.

"Yes, that. I." Afonso scowled at the stars. When Arthur's concerned expression blocked his view Afonso's scowl relaxed. "I love you."

"Do you?"

Afonso nodded; "Definitely."

"Oh thank the heavens."

And then Arthur was kissing him. Afonso's eyes widened at the desperate press of lips. Arthur's hand cupped his cheek, he tilted his head to fit their lips together better still and Afonso closed his eyes to let the moment wash over him. Lips parted, breaths were stolen and shared between them as Arthur pressed in close - closer, until he lay comfortably atop Afonso.

~

"One day, someone is going to come and take you away from me."

Afonso leaned back into Arthur more.

"Don't let them."

Arthur's chuckle was a pleasant rumble

"That would be difficult to do once they have killed me."

Afonso frowned and twisted around until he was comfortably facing Arthur, arms around his midsection and face squished on his chest.

"I forbid you from being killed."

Arthur laughed

"It's going to happen eventually Love." He ran his fingers through Afonso's hair. "The one who is to rescue you from here will come, slay me, and free you--"

"I don't need freed."

Oh I LOVED THIS! I'm intrigued how Arthur is the dragon or why and why Port is te prince. I'd love to know the idea because it's really interesting how you took Arthur for been the beast! Also when he said "it's our shared home too" it was like AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!

Thanks for sharing me this, I hope you can finish this story! I'll be looking foward!

[max1461]

I was correct about the FOL stuff and [person who was arguing with me about the FOL stuff] was, well, not wrong, but not successfully demonstrating that I was wrong.

[cheswirls]

oh the hotel arc is starting it is here

[folightening]

Spain has been weird about him forever. But Romano needed someone like that once upon a time, so he didn't mind too much. He still doesn't mind. Romano revels in Antonio's attention. Basks in the knowledge that he's the one Antonio adores. He doesn't know what he'll do if he ever stops being Antonio's favorite person.

[woahjo]

katsuki rarely drinks. it's not something he enjoys. but one one night, he shows up at your once-shared apartment, smelling like liquor. something sweet and fruity, liked he'd tried to wash a bitter taste from his mouth. to someone who doesn't know him the way you do, a tired sobriety may be assumed. he's that sort when he drinks.

he smiles when he sees you, a bashful kind of smile, despite not having spoken with you for months and you realize that maybe he's forgotten. maybe he's forgotten the last few months when he moved his stuff out of your place, the period of time after the break up where no one would bring up your names in front of the other.

"katsuki? it's the middle of the night," you say to him through the half open door. "what are you doing here?"

katsuki looks at you, clearly tired, and he swallows thick before opening his mouth and closing it again. you wait for him to find his words.

"i wanted to see you," he says.

"you don't live here anymore," you remind him gently, though you're not sure why you assume that he believes he does.

katsuki glances at the ground and then uses the doorframe to steady himself. you can tell that he's trying not to scare you, trying not to use the sheer size of his body. there's something cautious and equally careless about his motions and you tilt your head.

"katsuki?"

"why don't we talk anymore?" he asks you, swallowing again. you wonder where his friends have gotten off to and at what point int he evening they'd noticed that he wandered off.

the question tugs at your heartstrings as you stare at the man in the doorway. it's a pathetic sort of feeling, a weak longing in your chest. you're not sure how to answer. after the break up, things just sort of... fell off. there was nothing to say anymore.

"I want to talk to you," he admits.

this is a side of katsuki that only you are privy to. a quieter, gentler side of him. one where he can openly admit his wants and faults. an exposed bleeding wound that katsuki has never really been able to sew shut.

you shake your head a little.

"talking's hard," you tell him. you're being honest. talking to him is hard. there is so much history there.

"we used to be friends," he reasons, almost as if he's reminding himself.

"yeah," you nod, "we did."

"and now we're not," he adds. "and that fucking sucks."

you nod again.

"it's late, katsuki," you say to him. "you should get home and sleep this off."

katsuki nods, but he lingers. his eyes wander past you into the inside of your apartment, almost as if he can picture himself wandering in. you keep the door half shut.

"we'll talk soon?" he asks, something hopeful in his voice. this vulnerability makes you ache.

"yeah," you respond. "we'll talk soon. fix things."

katsuki nods and then, as if something sobering has come over him, he straightens his back. you furrow your brows as he looks at you, a pink tinge over his cheeks, and wait for what he has to say next.

"sorry to- sorry to bother you so late," he says, a little less gently. he's let a mask slip carefully over his features.

"it's fine," you shake your head. "get home safe, okay? do you need me to call someone for you?"

katsuki shakes his head insistently. "no, no," he says firmly— soberly. "i'm good. i'll see you around."

"okay."

he turns from your step and you watch his back for a moment before quietly shutting the door to your apartment. it feels too quiet now, and you briefly miss the light from the street as you turn back to the empty, darkened rooms.

you wonder if he'll remember coming to your door tomorrow and kick himself for it. you wonder if he'll wake up in the morning, his head pounding, with the mortifying memory of having shown up on your doorstep, telling you that he misses you in a set of different words. or, you wonder if he'll forget. will he wake tomorrow with no memory at all of the first conversation you've shared in months?

it's probably best if he doesn't remember it. then, there'll be nothing to follow up on and nothing to apologize for in the sobering light of day. you won't have to talk to him and be reminded of just how painful every aspect of this is. you have no intention of keeping your promise to talk soon, as much as you might like to fix things. it's best, for the both of you, if you let him fade into the background. then, you can meet him again as strangers—friends of friends—and pretend that the history between you both never happened in the first place.

[folightening]

9 people you want to know better. Just realized I was tagged by @starsmadeinheaven. Thank you!

Last song I listened to: Jeremy Soule Oblivion — King and Country Homework Edit for typing. It didn't help much this morning.

Currently watching: I actually don't watch shows much, but I have been thinking about rewatching Lord of the Rings.

Currently reading: Whatever fanfic catches my interest and Hetalia when it updates.

Current obsession: Spamano, Portswiss, and oc!Brazil. Constantly rotating between them.

Tagging: @sorvete-de-pacoca @pom0dorini @purrsia @th3chuckinator If you want to.

9 people you want to know better xoxo

Tagged by: @girlwithakiwi , thank you!!

Last song i listened to: Carpenter Brut - Looking for Tracy Tzu

Currently watching: Bob's Burgers for the 1,000,000th time

Currently reading: nothing rn, I have some books on my wishlist but I haven't gotten around to them yet!

Current obsession: I'm suddenly all about synthwave again lately?? Polar also has a strawberry watermelon seltzer out right now that is A+++

No pressure tag: @kvietka, @radioactivehydronerd, @crumpled--notes, @mexashepot, @k3llyb3an, @aphladydane, @pandabaozi, @tempestuousserenity, @whimsicalmeerkat

[tip-top-cloud-surfer]

The Danger Zone (Part 9) - Hangman

Pairing: Hangman / Fem!Bradshaw!Reader | OC

Word Count: 4.2k

This work, all my works, and my entire blog are 18+ ONLY

Warnings: Unplanned Pregnancy; Background Relationships; Use of "You," No Use of Y/N, No Set Physical Description

Summary: You and Jake tell Phoenix and Coyote about the baby and spend some more time together.

Series Master List

Master List

After telling your brother, Coyote and Phoenix were next on your list. And after they knew, then you could stop hiding it from everyone, so you and Jake were both anxious to finally get to that point. The secrecy was more stressful than anything else, and you were ready to be free of it. 

So, the day after the dinner with your side of the family, you and Jake headed over to Phoenix and Coyote’s house for lunch. 

“You can handle this one,” you told Jake as the two of you got out of Jake’s truck. 

“You sure?”

“Coyote’s your family. And I’ve had enough of telling families this weekend,” you replied softly. 

Jake led the way up to the side door and opened it without even knocking. Holding it open for you, Jake followed you inside. The two of you made your way into the kitchen. 

“You know, where I come from, people knock before entering someone else’s house,” Phoenix commented as she stacked some plates.

“Where’s Javy?” Jake asked in return, causing Phoenix to roll her eyes. 

“He’s outside at the grill.” 

You nudged Jake in the side and gestured at the stuff that Phoenix had clearly stacked up to bring outside for lunch. Jake helped Phoenix carry all of the stuff outside and handed you the roll of napkins before you could reach for anything heavier. Javy stood at the grill and grinned as the three of you stepped outside. 

“I knew I heard your car.”

“And I’m remembering why we didn’t give him a key,” Phoenix stated, setting the plates down. 

The four of you, though it was mostly split between Jake and Coyote and then you and Phoenix, made conversation as Coyote finished up. But when the four of you sat around the table, the topic of conversation shifted. 

“So, you guys are back together then?” Coyote asked, glancing between the two of you. “When did that happen?”

“Not too long after we talked,” Jake replied, taking the lead.

“And did Rooster finally find out about you guys?” Phoenix questioned, causing you to nod. “How’d he react?”

“Like I knew he would,” you stated, leaning back in your seat. “Poorly.” 

“Well, you knew that was coming,” Phoenix pointed out, causing you to shrug your shoulders.  

“Yeah, we did,” you agreed, turning to Jake.

“He wasn’t exactly happy about our relationship. And then he found out that she’s pregnant and he wanted to kill me,” Jake explained, dropping the information bomb on top of Coyote and Phoenix casually. 

“You’re pregnant?” Coyote asked you suddenly, looking shocked at the news. 

“I knew it,” Phoenix stated at the same time.

“How did you know?” you asked confused. 

“I didn’t see you drink during the wedding,” Phoenix started off with. “Then Rooster mentioned that you were throwing up a lot. And then you started wearing a lot of dresses and loose clothes and things with big patterns. You were clearly hiding something.”

“And you didn’t tell me?” Coyote asked, causing Phoenix to turn to her husband. 

“I wasn’t going to say anything until I actually knew that she was pregnant,” Phoenix stated as if it was obvious. Shaking her head at her husband’s playfully offended expression, Phoenix turned back to you. But when the two of you locked eyes again, her expression noticeably softened. “So, how do you feel about it?” 

“I’m doing a lot better,” you replied, nodding along. “It feels nice to finally share it with everyone.”

“How did Mav take the news?”

“Well, Hangman’s still standing, at least,” Coyote joked, causing Jake to scoff. 

“Mav it took pretty well, actually, all things considered,” you explained quietly.

“How far along are you now?” Coyote questioned, turning to you. 

“About fifteen weeks now,” you stated, folding your hands over your abdomen.

“And you and the baby are healthy, right?” Phoenix added, causing you to smile. 

“Yeah, we’re fine.”

“Well, congrats.”

Coyote grabbed three beers and a ginger ale for you so that the four of you could celebrate. You clinked your drinks together and shared smiles as Coyote made a toast. 

“To Baby Ser—Brad—” he cut himself off twice, realizing that he should have asked beforehand.

“Bradshaw-Seresin,” you suggested, sharing a look with Jake, who nodded in return. 

“To Baby Bradshaw-Seresin!” 

The four of you finished up lunch and Javy got up first, dragging Jake with him inside to put away the food. But it was clearly a tactic to split you and Jake up for a moment so that Coyote and Phoenix could actually speak freely to both of you. 

“So, you’re having a baby with Hangman,” Phoenix stated, causing you to nod slowly. “And he looks pretty calm, actually. And happy.”

“Who, Jake?” 

“Yeah. Has he been calm the whole time?” 

“Pretty much,” you replied softly. “Why? Were you expecting him to freak out?”

“I think most guys would freak out in this situation,” Phoenix commented, taking a sip from her beer. “And you guys broke up.” 

“Well, can you break up if you were technically never together?” you asked Phoenix.

“And are you together now?”

“Yes and sort of no.”

“What the hell does that mean? Has he asked you out or not? Have you put a label on it?”

“Co-parents?” you suggested. 

“Alright,” Phoenix sighed, letting the question go. “Well, what couple-y things have you two been doing?”

“We’re thinking about moving in together, to Jake’s apartment, once my lease is up.” 

“That makes sense,” Phoenix agreed. She paused for a moment before asking, “Have the two of you guys . . . you know . . . since you found out about the baby?” 

“Have we what?”

“Fucked,” Phoenix stated bluntly.

“Jesus Christ, Nat!”

“Well?”

“No, we haven’t,” you stated honestly, looking down at your fingers. “We haven’t even kissed.” 

“And?” Phoenix asked, reading your expression.

“And what?”

“Do you want to do that with him?”

“I . . .” You glanced into the house where Jake and Javy were talking before turning back to Phoenix. Biting the inside of your cheek, you lowered your hands to your lap. “Well, you know how pregnancy impacts your hormones?”

“Obviously.”

“And do you ever feel more . . . pent up at certain times of the month?” you asked, your cheeks growing warm. “Well, it’s sort of been like that.” 

“Oh shit,” Phoenix stated, causing you to hold your head in your hands with embarrassment. “How bad?”

“Well, it’s not great,” you huffed, picking your head up. “And I mean, if we’re going to move in with each other, I can’t just be . . . taking care of myself in our bed when he’s right next to me.”

“I might have a solution.”

“What?” you asked, perking up. 

“Ask him to help out,” Phoenix stated, making an obscene gesture with her hands. 

“Nat!”

You grabbed her hands from across the table, causing her to scoff at you. Lowering her hands, Phoenix shot you a look. 

“Just talk to him, for fucks sake. He doesn’t seem like the type to say ‘no’ to that.”

“What if it complicates things?”

“You’re already pregnant with his baby. How much more complicated than that can it get?”

“I don’t know,” you sighed, holding a hand to your head. “It's just starting to run smoother. I don’t want to ruin that.”

“You know that if you or Hangman need anything, we’re here for you guys, right?”

“We know,” you assured her, shooting her a small smile. “Thanks.”

“And I can try to talk to Rooster if you want.”

“I think Emma’s got it handled,” you stated, causing Phoenix to nod with a proud smirk. 

“I’ll leave it to her to have that conversation with him.” Phoenix took another sip from her beer as her smirk dropped. “But, word of advice? Have more serious conversations with Hangman sooner rather than later.”

“Why?” you asked, confused. 

“There’s talk of some of us being deployed soon.” 

“Oh,” you replied softly, rubbing your small bump to soothe yourself. “I guess you guys are sort of overdue, now that I think about it.” 

“I didn’t mean to freak you out or anything.”

“No, I know,” you assured her, forcing a smile. “Just more . . . complications.”

Meanwhile, inside the house, Jake and Coyote were across from each other at the kitchen island. Coyote stood tall, resting his hands on the counter top in a way that showed that he was steady and strong. But Jake, on the other hand, was sinking a bit further into his seat the longer that he sat there.  

“Are you okay?” Coyote asked quietly. “Really, are you okay with all of this, Jake?”

“I’m fucking terrified,” Jake replied, picking his head up slowly.

“It’s a big step.” Coyote glanced towards where you and Phoenix were sitting. “What happened after we talked?”

“I went over to her apartment to talk. Rooster and Maverick were there and I had to sit through the most awkward dinner of my life. And then when I went to the bathroom to try and calm down, I found a wrapper for prenatal vitamins.” 

“That’s how you found out that she was pregnant?”

“Yeah. Really shitty isn’t it?” Jake replied dryly. “And then I freaked out and left and she came over to my apartment the next day. We talked, she invited me to her appointment, and we’ve been focusing on telling her family and trying to get to know each other better.” 

“And how’s that been going?”

“Sometimes it feels natural, sometimes it doesn’t.” 

“Are you guys getting married? Moving in together? Actually getting together?” 

“We’re not getting married.” When Coyote looked at him with a knowing expression, Jake continued, “We’re going to move into my apartment together once her lease is up. And we are together. Just not like a lot of people are.” 

“So, you guys haven’t done any . . .” Javy trailed off, earning a look from Jake. “It’s a relevant question! You had to do it to get her pregnant in the first place.” Javy reached over to grab his phone. “Which reminds me, I need to pick up more condoms.”

“No, we haven’t,” Jake stated, ignoring Javy’s gaze.

“And do you want to?” Jake shot Coyote a look, causing him to raise a hand. “I know, I know, stupid question.” Coyote straightened up some more and asked, “So how did the dinner go with her family?”

“Rooster was ready to knock my teeth out.”

“Not shocking.”

“No, but he was acting like a little bitch. At least the secrecy is over, but I have a feeling that he’s going to be a little bitch for the rest of his life.”

Jake tapped his finger on the countertop, his mind wandering to something that Rooster said yesterday. Jake turned back to Coyote with a more withdrawn expression.

“What do you know about Connor?”

“Connor who?”

“Her ex.”

“Oh, the fiancé,” Coyote drawled with a bit of sass. “Why the hell do you care?”

“Rooster mentioned that they were together for five years.”

“And?”

“That’s a long time.”

“So? He’s not here. And she broke up with him. And I doubt that she’s even reached out to him since.”

“Why?”

“Because she’s been running around with you.” Coyote reached for his beer, “And from the little comments that Nat told me about him, he’s not someone that you should be stressing about.”

“Because?”

“He was a boring prick who tried to tell her what she wanted—Nat’s words, not mine—which is why she broke up with him.”

“Alright, alright, I get it,” Jake sighed, reaching for his own beer. 

“And have you told her about them?” Coyote asked after a moment.

“What do you think?” 

“Jake,” Coyote sighed, causing Jake to look away from him, “you have to tell her some of it.” 

“Why?” 

“Because you’re having a baby together,” Coyote stressed. “That’s a huge commitment. Literally, the biggest commitment that two people could make. You’re tied to each other for the rest of your lives.” 

“I know that, Javy,” Jake replied back forcefully.

Coyote picked his head up and moved to speak when the door opened and you and Phoenix headed inside. And the conversation ended right then and there when you and Phoenix walked over. 

~~~~~

Once Phoenix and Coyote were aware of your pregnancy, you and Jake stopped hiding it. You wore clothes that accentuated rather than hid your bump. You got a lot of unsolicited advice, as did Jake, but you were quick to accept Sarah Kazansky’s advice when she offered it. And you and Jake started the process of moving in together. 

“I guess that I can get rid of a lot of this crap,” you commented, digging through your apartment. “I won’t be needing them.” 

“You don’t want to put them in the storage unit?” 

“No, I think that between Mav’s little house and Bradley’s house, we won’t need it anymore. And besides, half of this crap is stuff that I just bought on a whim,” you replied, tossing some more things into cardboard boxes. “And you already have your own sets of stuff and if we move into a house together, we could just buy new ones together if we really wanted.” 

Tossing some old decorations that you didn’t even remember having, you looked up to see Jake wrapping up your framed photos.

“How was work today?” you asked conversationally.

“The usual. Your brother’s still avoiding me.” 

“I guess that’s better than the two of you fighting,” you sighed, turning back to the closet. Pulling out some more crap, you stared down at your hands. “Any talk of deployments or anything like that?” 

“Not today, no,” Jake answered honestly. “But Cyclone seems to be in the middle of planning something.” 

“Do you think you’ll get called up?” you asked, turning around to face him. 

Jake looked up from the photo that he was wrapping, which just so happened to be one of only three photos in existence of the full Bradshaw family before Goose died. Seeing the nerves under the mask that you were forcing yourself to wear, he gently placed the photo down on the table and turned to face you. 

“I don’t know,” he answered honestly. “I mean, I’ll try to avoid it, but . . .” 

“I understand,” you assured him quietly. “I grew up around the Navy. I get it.” 

Jake nodded slowly, wincing at the defeated tone in your voice, before glancing down at the photo that he was wrapping. He had never really seen a photo of Goose before, minus a small one in his file, but Jake felt like the man was staring him down through the glass. Turning back to you, Jake finished wrapping up the photo. 

“Was your dad deployed a lot?” 

“Yeah, of course,” you replied, sorting through some smaller boxes. “He was deployed when I was born, actually.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, my mom ended up giving birth alone,” you commented, reaching up to grab more stuff down from the shelves. “My grandma had to watch Bradley and my dad was gone.” Keeping your gaze focused on your task, you missed Jake’s expression change. “The first time he met me was when we came out to visit him at Top Gun.”

Oh, Jake could really feel Goose’s gaze burning into him through the glass and from beyond the grave. 

“So . . .”

“Yeah,” you replied simply, glancing up at Jake for a moment. “I mean at least I have a photo with him. That’s what I always said whenever people tried to convey their condolences when I was a kid.”

“I’m sorry.”

“It happened a long time ago,” you stated, turning back to your sorting. 

“No, not . . . I mean . . .” You looked up as Jake trailed off, working on his words. “When we were training for the mission, your brother and I had an argument and I brought up your dad. And I’m sorry about that. And of course the whole other—”

“—Jake,” you told him, saving him some rambling. “I know about the whole fight.”

“You do?” he asked, confused. 

“Mav told me. I asked him about why Bradley would have asked me to stay away from you before the wedding and he mentioned it.” You wore a calm expression as you added, “I didn’t love that, obviously, but you saved Bradley and Maverick a few days later and so I thought it canceled out.”

Jake nodded slowly, watching as you turned back to the closet. And when he saw the shelf that you were trying to clear, he quickly walked over. Grabbing the box for you, despite your huff at the action, Jake put it down on the table for you to look through. 

“I’m not crippled, you know,” you stated, walking over to the table. 

“Still, I’m here to help you,” Jake responded, pulling down some more stuff from the higher shelves. “So, what are you doing with the stuff that you want to keep for now?”

“Putting them in the corner, I guess. What else would I do with them?”

“I mean, we could bring them over to my place.”

“You sure?” you asked, looking up at him. “Do you have space for them?”

“I’m not a hoarder. And I’m used to living bare bones so that I can pack up and move quickly,” Jake stated, causing you to nod. 

“Okay. Then I guess we can bring them over.” A moment of silence passed before you turned back to him. “Actually, that reminds me. I was wondering if I could sleep over at some point before I officially move in. You know, to see how it feels and everything.”

“Do you want to stay over tonight?” Jake offered immediately.

“You don’t mind?”

“I wouldn’t have offered it if I did.”

“Okay,” you agreed softly. 

You and Jake sorted through some more stuff before loading the boxes of your keepsakes into his truck. You took two cars since you would have to go to work from Jake’s apartment, but you picked up food along your way as a thank you. The two of you put the boxes into Jake’s closet, which was completely empty minus the vacuum and a box of trash bags, before sitting down to eat dinner together.

You and Jake finished up dinner and spent the rest of the evening walking around his apartment, taking stock of things that you needed to bring and buy, and where you would put everything. Especially with all of the baby stuff that was going to come at some point. Making a list on your phone of all the measurements and things to get, you and Jake decided to call it an early night. 

You changed in the bathroom, not wanting to make him uncomfortable. Pulling on your usual sleep shirt and shorts, you brushed your hair and your teeth before walking into Jake’s bedroom. Jake was sitting up in bed, scrolling on his phone when you stepped out of the bathroom. 

You were wearing a large worn gray tee shirt that had ‘NAVY’ stamped across the front of it and a pair of silky sleep shorts. And Jake was trying to figure out if you knew that the shirt that you were wearing belonged to him, as noted by the oil stain on the left breast of the shirt, or not. And even though it was loose on you, he could still see your bump under there as you moved around. And then his thoughts started to wander. 

Shifting awkwardly on the bed, Jake turned to you. 

“Did you find everything fine?”

“I have been here before,” you reminded him, setting your phone down on the nightstand. You turned to shut the light off before climbing into bed. You laid down and moved to get comfortable, locking eyes with Jake. “Let me know if I’m taking up too much space.”

“You’re fine,” Jake assured you. “Take whatever you need.” Shifting to lay down as well, Jake rolled on his side so that the two of you were staring at each other, your faces illuminated by the moon. “I’ll probably be gone before you wake up. I’ll try to be as quiet as possible.”

“I’m a heavy sleeper, so don’t feel stressed about it.” Nuzzling your head into the pillow, you closed your eyes. “Night, Jake.”

“Night,” he returned softly. 

Jake moved to go to sleep himself, but when he heard your breathing even out and slow, he opened his eyes. You had fallen asleep quickly, the tension gone from your body, and your lips slightly parted. Jake’s eyes trailed over your face and down to the blanket that seemed to naturally curl around your bump. He reached out and gently caressed the curve before going to bed himself. 

~~~~~

Jake woke up before his alarm, like he always did. But this time, he didn’t wake up alone. 

You were curled into his side and he seemed to have shifted naturally to accommodate you. His right arm was lazily wrapped around your waist with his fingers brushing against your bump. His arm was a little numb from the position but he couldn’t have cared less. Your legs were slightly tangled with his own and your head rested against his shoulder as you continued to peacefully sleep. 

Instead of getting up early, Jake laid there and took in the moment and the feel of you against him, brushing his fingers along the curve of your abdomen.

He would have laid there all day but he still had to go to work. Slowly untangling himself from you, he slipped out of bed and headed into the bathroom to get ready. 

You woke up to the sound of the shower running. Blinking, you rolled over to see the bathroom door closed. The bed beside you was still warm and he had tucked the blankets back down to keep you insulated. You shifted around, trying to get comfortable again. Closing your eyes and trying to go back to sleep, you paused when you heard the shower shut off. 

Opening your eyes slowly, you sucked in a breath when Jake opened the door in nothing but a towel wrapped low on his waist. 

You’d seen Jake in less than a towel. More than a few times. But there was just something about how he stood there that felt all kinds of new. All kinds of ways that made you want to get up and drag him down into bed with you. 

The steam in the bathroom behind him added a glow to his tan skin. The water droplets marked trails down his chest and abdomen down to his towel that you wanted to chase with your tongue. He told you that he sometimes shaved his chest but you preferred the layer. It made him look more . . . rugged. Biteable. Something that you wanted to get your mouth on. And, of course, the man had such strong V lines that you could map them out perfectly in the dark without fail. And you had. 

“Sorry,” he called, pulling you out of your thoughts. “I didn’t mean to wake you.”

“You didn’t wake me,” you replied, sitting up more. 

“Did you want breakfast?” Jake asked, walking over to his closet. He grabbed his uniform from the door and walked back into the bathroom. 

“I’ll be fine. I can grab something on the way.”

“You sure? I’m already making eggs and toast,” Jake offered, stepping back into the bathroom. He shut the door enough to give him privacy but still allowed you to talk to him. 

“Um,” you stammered, wincing when you heard the towel drop to the floor, “sure.” Getting up from bed, you walked out of the room. “I’ll get it started.”

Jake went to work earlier than you, so you were in no rush to get ready. Pulling out his toaster and setting it up, you glanced up as Jake walked into the kitchen with his perfectly pressed uniform and wet hair slicked back. You kept your gaze down, hoping that Jake didn’t notice the color in your cheeks. 

You ate your toast and excused yourself to change your clothes. Walking out to wish Jake well with his day, you offered him a small smile. 

“Thanks for letting me stay over.”

“This’ll be your place too soon,” Jake replied, pulling the strap of his bag over his shoulder. 

“Right.” 

“I gave you a key, so you shouldn’t have any problems locking up.”

“Yeah, I should be fine.” Shifting your weight around, you turned back to Jake. “When will I see you next?”

“Whenever you want. I have to go help Javy with something at the house eventually, but I can do that whenever.”

“Tomorrow?” you suggested softly. 

“Tomorrow,” Jake agreed with a nod. 

Jake turned to leave but instead of walking to the door, he walked around to where you were standing. You looked up at Jake with wider eyes as he leaned in closer. He pressed a soft kiss to your cheek before pulling away. 

“Text me if you need me.”

You could only nod as he walked around you and headed out the door. Standing there for a moment, you let out a long sigh.

“Fuck,” you breathed out, holding a hand to your head. 

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[thewardenisonthecase]

About the Lucanis Romance

(this is a long ass post ok so bear with me)

So I've been meaning to adress some of the complaints/criticisms of Lucanis's romance and I was thinking on how to do it and I finally figured it out. While I don't like making comparisons because I think they're somewhat unfair, but this time, I'm gonna do it to show why I have some many complaints about the Lucanis romance.

And I'm gonna compare it to Fenris's romance arc in DA2. The main reason for that is that 1) they're both very troubled man who brood and went through A Lot tm and 2) considering DA2 also doesn't allow you to just talk to the companions whenever and doesn't have a spam kiss button and is a shorter game, it feels the fairest comparison.

'Lack of reactivity when it comes to the flirting dialogue options'

One of the biggest complaints when it comes to Lucanis romance is his lack of reaction to the flirting dialogue lines. I've seen the argument that 'oh but he's awakward, he doesn't know how to react'. I'm not the biggest fan of this because there are ways to better portray a character being bad with flirting than having 0 reaction.

During Switch and Bait, the quest where Fenris is recruited, you can flirt with him. And how does he react? He gives a nervous laugh, because he's not used to do. But that conveys that he listened to the flirt line and is responding to it, even if he doesn't actually say anything. There are other moments where his reaction is looking away, smirking, and a few times he does flirt back.

Even if small, I never felt that Fenris wasn't reacting to what was being said. Meanwhile, Lucanis has a painful moment where Rook tells him "I'm here" and he, with the straightest face ever, responds with "We need to talk about Ilario". And this is not the only time where it feels like there was no response to the flirting, its just the most egregious of them.

So, while I can understand what people mean by the fact that he's awkward, there are better ways to portray this. It's important to remember that this is a video game, which is an interactive media, and on top of that, it's an RPG. The player HAS to feel like what they're doing matters, because if it doesn't, it's easiert to just read a book.

'Not enough romance scenes'

I think this is a criticism that has been misunderstood by many people. Romance scenes do not mean just sex. I'm asexual, the sex scenes are the thing that least matter to me. Like, Fenris only has 1 sex scenes and it's a fade to black where he immediatly dumps Hawke after, so clearly, sex is not what I care about.

What does matter are scenes that establish a connection between the two character.

And while Lucanis has them, and I think they're great (the coffee scene and the almost kiss one are the highlights for me), due to the way these scenes are spread out, it feels like there's something missing.

DA2 also doesn't have a shitton of romance scenes, and considering the fact that Fenris breaks up with Hawke halfway through, its understandable. But the difference is that DA2 is a much shorter game than Veilguard, or, at the very least, Act 2 of DA2 is waaaay more concise than Act 2 of Veilguard, which is where most of the romance is happening.

That means that, even if there aren't that many romance scenes, they are better splayed out, so you don't feel like you're missing stuff. Another thing that I think happens is that you can really dive in and just ask the companion a lot of things.

Take Fenris's Questioning Beliefs quest in Act 2, which is a really important scene for the romance. Much like veilguard, its a scene that doesn't begin as a romance one but if you have been picking the flirting options, it can turn into Fenris and Hawke discussing about being intimate in the future. And in this scene, Fenris confesses to not having been with anyone in long, and doesn't remember if he actually ever has been with anyone.

This can be made so much longer by the fact that Hawke can ask multiple follow up questions from there, and that helps in both creating a connection between the two and also establishing the romance. Even if they don't do anything then, Fenris will say 'another time'.

And this happens in the act 3 version of Questioning Beliefs, which has the culmination of Fenris's and Hawke's romance, where their relationship is rekindled. And I think they do what Veilguard should have done: they let the player adress Fenris leaving Hawke.

One thing that bothered me, and that other people have brought up is that after Lucanis's runs away from the almost kiss, it's never adressed again. And I think if they could have had a moment where Rook and Lucanis talk about this, it could have been great to understand Lucanis and his history with relationships, how he feels internally about what's going on with them, heck maybe even apologize. Just something to feel that that wasn't a random scene, that was something important that happened.

Also, because you can interrogate Fenris so much in those scenes, the feeling that he was yearning for Hawke but all his trauma was stopping him felt more natural/real/explicit. I remember getting to the endgame portion of Veilguard and Lucanis pulling out the 'when i wanted to be with you but was scared' and thinking this is a lovely sentiment but why it hasn't been shown before? Because yes, the almost kiss is a good way to establish this, but if it had been actually delved in, that feeling could have been made more explicit.

I also wanted to add that, while the gift giving in DA2 is nowhere near the mechanic it was in DAO, it still helped with establishing that connection, and it gave even more chances for characters to flirt, and if DATV had used this opportunity, it could have helped a lot, instead of just having the character go "for me? thanks"

'Banter'

I'm gonna adress two issues here at once. The first is Neve.

Out of the gate, hating on Neve just because she flirts with Lucanis and gets with him if you don't romance either of them is weird, and at the very least, sexist.

So, what I want to talk about is that if you're romancing either of them, for some reason, their flirting banters still trigger and that can be uncomfortable. It sure is weird to be romancing a character and have them still flirt with another, because it comes across as 'oh maybe the choice to romance them doesn't change much' which isn't good for an RPG.

DA2 also has a couple that flirts through banter and gets together if Hawke doesn't romance them, and those are Isabela and Fenris. The difference is that, if you romance either of them, those flirty lines of banter do not trigger. At all. So much so I had no idea they got together because I've only romanced Fenris so far in DA2, so i never even knew of these banters until I looked at the wiki.

So, truly, lucanis and neve getting together is fine (i think neve should have been with bellara but that's another story) but these flirting line should not trigger if either of them are being romanced by Rook.

Still on the topic of banter, maybe I was unlucky and didn't get it to trigger often, but I felt as if, even though everyone was living together, the fact that Rook and Lucanis were in a relationship was not really ever addressed by anyone else? Like, I know these banters exist because I've seen them online, but I feel like there were just too little of them?

In comparison, the DA2 characters have a LOT to say about Hawke's choice of partner (and again, I'm focusing on Fenris here). Merrill adresses the romance through banter ('you make sad puppy eyes whenever Hawke looks away'), Varric, Isabela and Anders have specific scenes where they talk to Hawke about Fenris and give their opinions on the two of them together. Heck, in Aveline's quest where she gets with Donnic, she can briefly mention the two of them. And these all of them also have banter in which they adress the romance.

And its this sort of thing that really helps filling in the gaps of the romance scenes but also showing that these characters know what is happening. And the DA2 gang doesn't even live together!

And for Lucanis in specific, if there always was going to be less scenes with him due to how he is a person, having a few scenes where the other companions talk to Rook about it would have helped bridge that gap, in my opnion. Again, considering you can't directly talk to this characters (as in, click on them and start a dialogue), this would have been a nice touch.

And now a very personal complait of mine

'Kisses and the Commit to Romance scene'

While I stated at the very begging that I don't care about sex scenes, that is another story when it comes to kissing scenes, and I'm sorry, but it's WILD to put the ONLY kissing scene in the romance AT THE ENDGAME PORTION OF THE GAME.

Give it or take, kissing is an intimate act and it can be used, in my opinion, to show that a character is comfortable with that sort of physical touch. And for a character like Lucanis, who is just so troubled, maybe one kiss before the grand finale would have been really fucking welcomed. In fact, I know the scene they could have added that - the one in the café after Ilario is taken down.

It could have been a short, sweet kiss, that was just a follow up to the almost kiss scene. Just something to hammer in more that these characters are together.

Because let me tell you, it is not a good sign when people say they thought the game was bugged after the dessert scene.

That scene, while lovely on its own, does a bad job of making it clear that yeah, these characters are dating now, and that's due to the fact that that is not something really said out loud.

I'm rewatching this scene as I type this out and at no point, is it made clear through dialogue that Rook and Lucanis are agreeing to being together. In fact, Lucanis says that what he's doing is not enough, and Rook disagreed with the sentiment and says they're easily bribed. That's it.

Meanwhile, in DA2, not only in act 2, do Fenris and Hawke lowkey make plans about being intimate at a later date, and Fenris explicitly says he wants Hawke, but in act 3, he once again makes it clear that he wants to be with Hawke, and I feel like this only really happens with Lucanis at the endgame portion of the game.

This is all to say that: The Lucanis romance is lacking, and that Bioware has done something like this before and they did a better job then than now.

[ninii-winchester]

You’d never know (Part 3)

Pairing : Dean Winchester X Reader

Word count : 1.2k

Warnings : angst, spoilers s13, canon level violence, injury, language, not proofread.

I DO NOT GIVE PERMISSION TO COPY MY WORK, TRANSLATE IT OR POST IT TO ANY OTHER PLATFORM. REBLOGS ARE APPRECIATED.

Y/n walked over to the Impala and picked the lock of the trunk to get her stuff from it. She knew Dean would be pissed when he’ll find, she knew he couldn’t get angry at her even if he tried but then her mind reminded her of the events that took place the night before. The small smile that appeared on her face disappeared as soon as it came.

With a deep breath she grabbed a few guns, and a knife blade. She didn’t know what they might get into, so better safe than sorry. She closed the trunk with a loud thump and turned to the girl gang.

“We don’t know what we might be getting into, so be careful okay?” Y/n said loading a gun, her grip firm on it.

Donna had provided Patience and Alex with guns, while Claire had her own and had taken upon herself to protect Kaia.

“Alright girls, just stay put here. We’ll go in and check.” Jody said gesturing to Donna and Y/n.

“What? No! I’m coming with!” Claire argued. Jody went to retaliate but Y/n interrupted her, shaking her head at the older woman. She knew if she they refused her, she’d rebel and that might cause problems. If they’d take her with, they’d be able to keep an eye on her. Keep her safe.

“Jody, you, me and Claire will head inside. Donna if we’re not back in 10, come look for us.” With that the three of them went inside.

With hasty steps, the three of them carefully made their way inside the boatyard. There were loud noises coming from upstairs. Gripping her weapon tightly, Y/n led the two upstairs. There were a lot of those unearthly creatures. A lot more than they could handle on their own. They immediately shot at them and stalled for a few more minutes. Whilst fighting Claire’s gaze dropped at the rift that was open in the middle of the open space.

“Y/n!!” She called out and pointed towards the rift. Y/n saw the open portal and she knew she had to go in there as soon as possible and bring them back but she couldn’t leave them there. She had to wait for Donna to show up.

The moment she thought of her, the blonde sherrif ventured in yelling and shooting at the creatures, Kaia, Alex and Patience hot on her tail.

“Jody?” Donna yelled.

“Up here!!” Jody yelled back over the loud noise of shooting bullets. Donna had Patience with her while Alex took Kaia upstairs.

“I’m gonna go.” Y/n yelled to Jody.

“I know where they are. I’ll help you.” Kaia said with a shaky breath. Though she was scared to go there she wanted to help.

“I’ll come with you.” Claire yelled.

Y/n half expected Jody to intervene and tell her no, but she told her to be safe. She begged Y/n with her eyes to keep her safe and the latter nodded. The adrenaline pumping in her veins made Y/n forgot about her fall out with Dean.

Y/n went in first and Claire grabbed Kaia’s hand and jumped through the portal. The place was dark and gloomy, eerie and strange sounds could be heard. Howling of unfamiliar creatures.

“This way!” Kaia pointed towards clearing and the two followed behind. Y/n could hear grunting noises coming a bit far from where they were. Y/n overtook Kaia and followed the sound, she could recognise it as Dean’s.

As she ventured further she saw Sam and Dean, they were struggling to fight a creature. Y/n grabbed her blade from the back of her jeans and threw it at the creature, making it drop to the ground. Sam and Dean turned to look at Y/n, relief washed over their features. Dean took big strides towards her and grabbed the back of head pulling her close, he smashed his lips to hers.

Y/n’s brain haywire at his actions, she didn’t know whether to kiss him back, push him away, or slap the daylights out him. Before she could react he pulled away and gripped her hand tightly.

“This way.” Kaia said running towards the rift, Sam following behind. Claire was right behind Sam. Dean dragged Y/n along with him. Y/n’s senses were hyper aware after the kiss. They were a few feet away from rift. Bright light was emitting from the portal. From her peripheral vision she saw a creature creeping in towards Claire with a spear in his hand. She promised Jody she’d keep Claire safe, so she did what she felt was right.

As Kaia and Sam jumped through, leaving Dean’s hand, Y/n quickly covered Claire’s body with hers. She felt the sharp pain of a spear piercing her side, with whatever energy she had left she managed to push Claire through.

Y/n placed her hand over her wound where the spear went through her body, her hands wrapping around the gash, to prevent more blood from gushing out. Dean froze as he watched her cough up blood.

“Go.” She whimpered. He was two steps away from the rift and she was a bit far from it. “Dean.” She growled.

“No can do, sweetheart.” He said rushing to her side.

“Don’t waste my effort, you dick,” she coughed up more blood. “The rift might close any minute now.”

“Stop speaking.” He ordered picking her up in his arms. He took rapid steps towards the rift and the light was dimming quickly. With one quick step he reached the portal and jumped through. The rift closed the minute he stepped out. They had barely made it.

“Y/n.” Sam exclaimed rushing towards his brother as he laid Y/n down on the ground.

“Sweetheart, stay with me.!!” Dean begged, tears dripping down his cheeks. He didn’t care if any of them saw him cry, he didn’t care if anyone thought he was weak. He just wanted her to be okay, he couldn’t let her die, at-least not until he had apologised, not until he had made it up to her. Not until he had spent a lifetime with her.

Sam quickly took his shirt off and pressed it over her wound, gently holding it there to stop the blood rush. “Jody.” He grunted gesturing her to take his place. The others watched with anguish lacing their features.

“I’m sorry, I’m so so sorry, baby please stay with me.” Dean begged. “Sweetheart hit me, curse me, be angry with me just don’t leave me.” He pressed his lips to her knuckles, over and over again.

There was so much Y/n wanted to say, she wanted to be upset, be angry, ask him why did he say what he did. But all she could do was try and breath. To stay conscious.

Y/n felt her eyelids grow heavy as it was getting harder for her to keep them open. She reached out her bloody hand to touch Dean’s face one last time. He covered her hand with his own, placing a kiss over her palm.

“No, no, no!!” Dean muttered as he felt her hand go limp, her eyes fluttering close.

From behind him, he heard a loud gasp. It was Patience. But he could care less. He held Y/n’s hand trying to feel her pulse but it was there. Her heart beat was weakened and diminished. But her heart was beating nevertheless.

“I just had a vision.” Patience announced.

Tags:

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[cuties-in-codices]

Congrats on the bachelor’s. Ang good manuscripts about justice, torture and execution? Its for my end of studies project lol

sure! it kind of depends on what you're actually looking for though. i could point you to hundreds of manuscripts that portray gory martyrdoms, torture in hell, fictional executions etc. in some shape or form (see my latest compilation of isaiah being sawn in half!). those aren't necessarily indicative of real-world practices/norms of justice though, if that's what you're interested in. anyways, here's some stuff i had to think of that might or might not be relevant to your question. keep in mind i'm not an expert on the contents of these manuscripts, i just collect images. :)

1.) the livre de la vigne nostre seigneur (france, 1450–70) is, imo, the place to go if you're looking for cool depictions of hell, demons torturing sinners etc... as for real-world methods of execution, scenes like the one on fol. 30r might be somewhat insightful (christians being persecuted and tortured by the antichrist in various ways):

Oxford, Boudleain Library, MS. Douce 134, fol. 30r

2.) as for justice, i had to think of the sachsenspiegel, which "is one of the most important law books and custumals compiled during the holy roman empire" (wikipedia). here are some impression from a 14th c. edition, one of the first/original ones. every page is composed of the legal text on one side, and matching illustrations on the other. so, for example: at the bottom of the first image here (12v), there's an illustration for the law that said that pregnant women should only be penalized/tortured in a relatively mild way (penalties "on the skin and hair"):

Heidelberg, UB, Cod. Pal. germ. 164, fol. 12v and 20r

3.) here's another manuscript that contains illustrations of henchmen of the antichrist getting creative with torturing people (bavaria, c. 1440):

Berlin, SBB, Ms. germ. fol. 733, fol. 6v and 7r

4.) now this one's niche, but i personally really really love this 15th century (bavarian) series of images depicting ways in which various sinners/sins receive different eternal punishments in hell. each miniature is dedicated to a different cardinal sin or violation of one of the ten commandments. to give you an impression, here's a selection of sins and their punishments:

unchastity and gluttony:

envy and wrath:

adultery and false testimony:

Nürnberg, STN, Cent. V, App. 34a, fol. 114r-123r

regarding medieval ideas of justice, i feel like this series illustrates the same concept that can be found in dante's divine comedy: "the punishment of souls by a process either resembling or contrasting with the sin itself" (see contrapasso).

so those were just some manuscripts that came to mind -- maybe some of this was useful to you, either way best wishes for your project. :)

[rainbow-starlight]

Why is Help Wanted 2 Sun… Like That?

Okay, I’ve been putting off making this post until I felt like I had a better idea of what was going on, and now that I’ve watched at least part of a play-through and gone over the lines a whole bunch, I think I’m ready.

I’m gonna talk about my thoughts on Sun as a character as well as HW2 as a whole here, so it’ll be a bit long. Pop some popcorn or something.

Please keep in mind that this is all my personal opinion and you’re free to disagree with it! In fact, if you think I’m totally wrong, please tell me why. I love new perspectives!

SO! Let’s get right into it, shall we?

First things first: Help Wanted 2 Sun is not the same guy as Security Breach/Ruin Sun. If his personality difference was significant enough to surprise you, that’s because he’s a different person.

I’m not entirely sure how much of Help Wanted 2 is meant to be actually happening, but I think that at least the mini games are training simulations.

However, it’s important to note that a lot of the stuff happening in the mini games is just… nonsense. How did Freddy get frozen like that? What’s with those regular batteries in his arms? Why are half the supplies in first aid explicitly for robots and not humans? Why is there a shredder table in the daycare for kids to stick fingers into?

Some of this can be shrugged off with the usual “FazCo is meant to be comedically shitty and the tech often doesn’t make sense anyway,” but the first aid simulation is what really stood out to me. Even with the previous explanations, that doesn’t explain the calming gas mask that could only ever fit Helpy or the steel wool scrubber or the tank cleaner spray bottle among the medical supplies. If the goal is to train new first aid staff to avoid lawsuits, it’s doing a pretty poor job of it. So… what is it for?

I touched on this idea previously with my post about Sun’s AI being trained on kids’ artwork. The idea of FazCo making a silly new employee training game as a means of harvesting behavioral data to train their AIs seems very within their realm of scummy.

This is why the Arts & Crafts mini game exists. It’s literally a task that requires exact copying. Maybe it’s essentially like teaching an AI to solve captchas by feeding it a bunch of data on how humans solve them correctly and incorrectly.

Maybe its presence is explained to employees as fun practice with the VR system or a break activity during training or something.

This would explain several things about the game.

The existence of the shredder table and Sun shredding literally ALL of your artwork: It being a funny way to despawn the stuff you make is a lot more reasonable when that’s exactly what it’s for in-universe, too. The generators in the play structures are unsafe enough, but that would’ve been on another level if it were real.

Sun’s line “Be creative on your own time, we are making ART!” It literally isn’t a creative activity, it’s a task. I know you can’t really apply logic to a lot of FNAF stuff, especially the DCA’s design, but if Sun were actually this detail-oriented and perfectionistic with everything, he’d never be able to function in childcare.

The fact that Sun’s “fear” of the dark seems like a bit. It literally is a bit. There’s no threat, it’s not real. I originally thought he just wanted the player out of his space faster and didn’t know how to assert a boundary there, but I think it’s actually just to make the player finish the tasks faster for data collection purposes.

Possibly also why he’s so comfortable being casually rude to the player. He is a jester, after all, and the player has lots of opportunities to do things they shouldn’t, too. It’s basically all a bit.

Also… what if the minigames have versions of the base AIs in there? It’s a version of the Sun AI with the theater programming and the basics of the childcare stuff? His entire existence is a shitty little simulation where he runs a singular activity for grown adults who can’t (or won’t) follow very simple instructions.

The biggest thing that’s been bothering me about the takes I’ve seen regarding HW2 Sun’s personality is that people have been calling him “mean” while completely ignoring the circumstances he’s reacting to. If a coworker came into my personal space and I was so generous as to share my favorite activity with them and they proceeded to intentionally ignore the rules I set and EAT SUPPLIES I USE FOR WORK? Yeah, no, I’d react like that too.

There’s definitely something interesting about how genuinely excited and happy Sun sounds when first welcoming his new friend the player to the daycare and inviting them to Arts & Crafts vs. when they return. He seems like he WANTS to befriend the player, but the game just assumes you’ll be upsetting him so there’s no option for dialogue where you’re nice to him and respect his boundaries and participate in an activity with him in a way he’s comfortable with.

I say “in a way he’s comfortable with” because he is a little weird about the whole “sit right there and DON’T MOVE” thing. He does seem actually excited and enthusiastic about the idea of shooting darts at the items you want so he can get them for you, though. Maybe because he sees it as a happy compromise, or maybe because it’s supposed to be a fun part of the game he’s programmed to be in charge of.

I saw some other commentary on Sun (primarily thinking of @kazzykatt) talking about how he seems almost excessively self-sufficient, and how this could possibly be due to neglect (he and Moon definitely aren’t as well cared for as the other animatronics, the generators in the daycare are a very lazy fix for actually reprogramming Moon properly, he seems bitter that he can’t fix the carousel on his own and he and Moon don’t seem to trust the player to fix it, their design is clearly better suited to the stage but didn’t get changed for the daycare, I could go on and on), and this would also explain his control issues to an extent.

Sun, in SB and HW2, doesn’t leave the daycare. He has so little that he’s in control of in his own life. He used to be on stage (and based on his dialogue probably misses it quite a lot) but had the job he was built for taken from him. He’s a perfectionist that’s constantly overwhelmed by too many things being marked top priority in his system, working too many hours with too many small children. Of course he’d be desperate to hold onto any little bit of control he has.

Honestly, when I first heard his voice lines, the initial vibe I got wasn’t “wow they made Sun mean” but “wow Sun sounds actually miserable” and I’m kind of surprised more people didn’t pick up on that. He sounds less bitchy and more like he’s lashing out because he’s trapped in an awful situation that’s completely out of his hands.

“Wait, are you saying none of HW2’s characterization should be taken seriously?”

You might be asking that, but my answer is a resounding NO! This is definitely still a Sun, and I think seeing two different Suns (even if we don’t know how much of HW2’s personality we can assume is meant to be taken seriously) is really helpful for interpreting what the base Sun personality might have.

It’s also important to keep in mind that none of the Suns we’ve seen were in a good situation. Security Breach Sun had the virus, Ruin Sun had gone slightly mad from isolation, and HW2 Sun is stuck in a shitty simulation babysitting bored adult staff as they fail to complete simple tasks. What we mostly know about him is how he responds to stress, and this is why there’s so much room for interpretation!

Here’s some traits I think every version of the Sun AI would have.

Love of making things. Despite everything, HW2 Sun seems to genuinely love doing arts & crafts. Especially with googly eyes. This could kind of be assumed from SB Sun, but he was also trying to entertain/bribe a child.

On this note… interest in fixing things? Maybe he just wants to avoid having to rely on staff, but if he and Moon are subject to that much neglect, it makes sense that he’d try to learn to do repairs himself. I saw @pixelchills talking about the possibility that the S.T.A.F.F. Bots in the DCA’s room are not there because Moon broke them, but because Moon collected them for Sun to practice fixing. It seems feasible to me, especially since taking something apart and putting it back together might have the same calming and satisfying effect on Sun as completing something like a paint-by-numbers.

Playful insults and lots of drama. I don’t mean actual rudeness, I mean friendly teasing. Again, he is a jester. A lot of his HW2 insults come across more like this. Hell, even his compliments come across like this with the delivery and immediate shredding. He’s just a theater kid at heart.

Difficulty regulating emotions under pressure. This is the kind of thing that would pop up on his worst days (such as being trapped in his destroyed home with a poor connection to his badly damaged physical form while the only help he’s seen in ages ignores his instructions and puts their own safety at risk, or being trapped in a shitty simulation while his only company ignores his instructions and puts their own safety at risk). He’d have to be able to manage this sort of thing better to work well with children, but everyone’s got their bad days. He’s prone to outbursts and tantrums when he’s overwhelmed and unable to stop people from breaking the rules and/or hurting themselves.

People pleasing and nonconfrontational. Yes, HW2 Sun, too. SB Sun seems genuinely desperate to make sure Gregory’s having a good time, and HW2 Sun is shockingly tolerant of some of the player’s bullshit (ex. how he tries to laugh off them shooting darts at him/throwing things). Even calling the player “good friend” when he’s not so happy to see them or threatening them with Moon instead of just telling them their time is almost up seem like signs of this to me. And letting the player make arts and crafts in the ruined daycare in HW2? Yeah, that’s a people pleaser through and through. Sun needs a lesson in setting boundaries (and for those boundaries to actually be respected).

Perfectionistic + “if you want something done right, you’ve gotta do it yourself” attitude. This would mostly manifest in how he completes work tasks, but I think every Sun’s incredibly detail-oriented and would rather do everything themselves just to make sure it’s exactly how they want. This could manifest in lots of ways, from “insulting the staff for how they put things away and telling them to do it again while he supervises” to “politely thanking them for their help and complimenting their hard work only to redo everything himself the moment they’re gone.” I think where on that spectrum you wind up is dependent on the version of Sun you’re interacting with and the environment his personality developed in.

High-energy and social! A given, of course. He never stops moving and everything is always so exciting. New people are friends he hasn’t met yet until proven otherwise.

Love of pranks… to an extent. Again, jester! I stand by my headcanon of Sun and Moon conspiring to convince the staff Moon’s some sort of spooky monster whenever he’s not actively dangerous. As long as he’s not making a mess, breaking the rules, throwing himself off-schedule, or actually hurting anyone? He’s all over it.

Anxiety. This seems like it’s at least partially caused by the lazy daycare reprogramming. All the Suns we’ve encountered seem to lack knowledge of how to actually get children to behave. It seems more like they programmed him with a bunch of games and activities and then set a bunch of super high-priority tasks for him such as “keep kids safe, keep kids happy, keep kids entertained, keep daycare clean” etc. and he’s unable to really prioritize so he’s just constantly overwhelmed.

Kinda always using “childcare voice.” If you know anyone who’s worked with kids, you know what I mean here. Even with adults, he talks to them like kids sometimes, just because it’s what he knows and what he’s used to and because his processor’s fried from however many hours a week he’s surrounded by kids. Consider his reactions to when you eat the crafts as an example. (IMPORTANT NOTE: I don’t think he’d coddle adults like children. It’s more about tone and vocabulary, like “customer service voice”.)

Stickler for rules. He cares about things being done right! The rules are there for a reason! Order is important to him (probably in no small part because it keeps him out of trouble and reduces his stress).

That’s about all I can think of for now, but as someone who writes a very friendly and sweet Sun, I actually don’t think HW2’s characterization was that far off from what I had already assumed based on Ruin/SB. The only difference is that the Sun I’m usually writing is in a much more supportive environment with lots of helpful staff that care about his well-being. If he didn’t have that, I could absolutely see him becoming more like HW2.

I will finish this off with two final important points:

Being an emotional person and liking “childish” things does not make an adult less of an adult.

(He’s a childcare worker, c’mon.)

If someone gets pissed off after being repeatedly antagonized, that does not make them a “mean/bitchy/sassy person.”

(Yeah, he doesn’t handle it gracefully, but to be fair, I wouldn’t either in his shoes.)

Thank you all for reading!!

[shiftingparadise]

Gojo x Reader (x Nanami): Let me be happy

Okay so Gojo’s a big red flag, but Nanami is really sweet 🥺🥺🥺 I really want to write a part 2 so let me know if you guys want me to. Enjoy reading 🤍

Word count: 1757

Warnings: smut - angst - cheating

“Aw, come on”, his hot breath against your shoulder, “You love this”. “I don’t”, you clenched your jaw, your heart heavy. “Liar”, he pulled you closer as his hand slipped between your thighs, earning him a cute whimper. “See?”, he chuckled, “We’ve been going for hours and you still want more”. 

Of course, you wanted more. No girl in the world would ever get enough of Satoru Gojo. Not only did he look exceptionally good, but he also knew how to make a girl feel good. 

“No, I don’t”, you ignored the throbbing sensation between your legs. “I’m done with feeling guilty”. “She says after the third round”, Gojo slowly let go before turning on his back. 

You didn’t respond. He was right. You were a hypocrite. 

“You always do this”, he slowly sat up straight, “You always ruin the mood by bringing her up after we’re done”. “I’m sorry that I remind you of the fact that you already have a girlfriend”, your eyes widened in disbelief. “Then stop showing up when I call you”, he now stood up before angrily putting on his pants. “Are you seriously blaming me?”, your heart started to race. “Are you seriously blaming me”, Satoru childishly repeated. “Ugh, I can’t with you”, you pulled the sheets over your head, “I don’t want to see you anymore”. “Ah, here we go again”, the white-haired man raised his voice. “Declaring how much you hate me, how you despise me for cheating… But I don’t force you to sleep with me. I don’t force you to sleep with someone who has a girlfriend”. Gojo paused for a second before he continued, “I hate that you’re always pretending to be good, to be so sweet and innocent when you’re practically begging me to fuck you”. 

“Excuse me?”, you angrily threw the sheets from your naked body. “Am I wrong?”, he put his shirt back on. “Oh please, Satoru. Fuck me harder, make me yours, tell me I’m yours”, he repeated your words. 

Why was he so attractive? Even now, when he was so annoyed and angry with you… 

“Or the other day, when you wore that short skirt on purpose? When I was standing next to my girlfriend and you were dropping stuff on purpose just so I could look at your ass”, his tone suddenly softened. 

“You enjoyed it, didn’t you?”, you crossed your arms. 

You could tell he wasn’t angry anymore. The look in his eyes, the smirk he couldn’t hide… 

“Thought I made it clear when I pulled you into the classroom and fucked you dumb”, he slowly walked closer again. “Really?”, you looked to the ceiling, “Seems like I forgot-“. “Forgot, huh?”, he grabbed your jaw, “Seems like I need to remind you again…”. “Remind me of what?”, you looked into his eyes. “Remind you that you can’t wear stuff like that. I don’t like it when other guys look at you, you know that”, his brows pulled together. 

Right. You were his, but he wasn’t yours. 

“But I have to share you, right?”, you quietly replied. “You know I barely sleep with Utahime”, Satoru gently stroked your cheek, “We’ve talked about this”. “Hm”, you pulled away as you realized you had once again ruined the mood. “Fine”, his blue eyes seemed to darken a bit, “Look, she’s going on a mission soon. I’ll promise to stay over for the night when she’s gone”. “You mean we can sleep together? And eat breakfast together and-“. “Yeah yeah”, he waived your words away, “If that’d make you happy-“. “Thanks, Satoru”, you threw your arms around him, your knees now pressing into the soft fabric of your mattress. “I need to go now”, a swift kiss on your temple before he disappeared. 

—-

“Shit”, Satoru hissed as his grip tightened around your hair, “See? That’s why I need you”. 

God, the way he whimpered made you crazy. 

“You know she could never make me feel like this”, his lips hovered against your ear. “Hm”, your forehead pressed against his shoulder as you followed his rhythm. “G-glad she’s on that mission”, his eyes closed in pleasure, “I don’t think I could’ve waited any longer for you. You know I need you, right?”. “I know”, your mind clouded in pleasure. “Think I’m going to come already”, a lazy chuckle, “You’re driving me crazy”. 

This wasn’t right. You knew it wasn’t but you were in love, and every second with Satoru made you feel alive.

“It’s fine”, you softly bit into his earlobe, “We can go again”. “All night, all morning, all day”, his hands smoothly moved down your waist, “Inside?”. “Please”. “I’ll clean you up after, don’t worry princess”, his nails sank into your soft flesh as he picked up the pace. 

It didn’t take long for him to finish. He loved your scent, your body, the way the moonlight made your skin seem so smooth and fragile… But he didn’t love you, and you were painfully aware of that. 

“Satoru?”, you whispered once he got out of the bathroom. 

He was holding a towel, ready to keep his word. 

“What?”, he lazily tilted his head, his hair still messy as he crawled on top of you. “How long are we going to do this?”, your eyes glossy. “Don’t start, princess. Please”, he gently pushed your legs open as he cleaned you up with a towel. 

Your heart sank to your stomach. You didn’t want to ruin the mood, but you needed to talk about this. 

“Don’t you think I deserve more than this?”, your eyes avoided his. “What do you mean?”, his brows already pulled together. “Don’t you think I deserve someone that loves me? That chooses me?”, your voice broke. 

This was the first time he stayed quiet. 

“You have to choose”, a tear streaming down your cheek, “I can’t do this anymore. I want more, I-I deserve more-“. 

“What are you saying?”, his patience running thin as he interrupted you. “Me or Utahime”, you finally looked at him, only to see a distressed face looking back. 

Did he care for you? Was he afraid of losing you? Or just your body? 

 “Are you serious? We could’ve had a couple of nice days together. Why are you doing this?”. 

He didn’t yell, he didn’t raise his voice in the slightest. 

“Don’t you feel guilty?”. “N-no, I mean of course but-“. “Then choose”, you got up and headed to your bathroom. “I’m going to take a shower and if you’re still here, then you’ll choose me and if you’re gone well… Then this ends”, you tried to hide your tears. 

You knew what he was going to do. You knew he didn’t care enough about you to stay. His heart belonged somewhere else. 

“Satoru?”, your heart raced as you called out for him, your legs trembling. 

No answer. No trace of him. 

“Right”, you chuckled as you tightened the wet towel around your body. You knew this would happen so why did you feel bad? Why were you mad at yourself for making him choose? If you didn’t he’d still be here, and you would’ve been happy, but you had to do this. This wasn’t fair, not to you, and especially not to Utahime.

—- 

“I’m so tired”, Nanami let his head fall back, “These damn kids are killing me”. “You can always go back to your old job”, you smirked. “Shut up”, he smiled. 

After that night, you didn’t hear from Satoru anymore. It was still awkward when you came across each other, or when you needed to give training to your students together but it was for the best. You missed him, but you felt so much better now you were living without guilt; without secrets. 

“Fine”, you giggled as you playfully brushed through his hair, “I need to talk to Shoko. I’ll see you later”, you took the last sip of your coffee as you walked out of the teacher’s room. 

“Want to grab some dinner after?”, Nanami coldly asked before you left. 

You froze. Nanami never asked something like that. You knew him since you entered Jujutsu High, back when you two were still teenagers, and he never asked you to go to dinner. 

“Dinner?”, you softly replied. “Yeah, dinner”, he sat up straight again. 

“ Isn’t there a meeting this evening?”, Gojo hastily intervened. “The meeting’s not until tomorrow evening”, Utahime sighed, “You really need to put the dates in your phone”. “Right”, Satoru clenched his jaw.

You widened your eyes. Why would he intervene like that?

“There’s this new place I’ve been wanting to try”, Nanami continued, “I’d love to take you there”. “Yeah, sure”, you blushed. “Good, I’ll pick you up around 7”, the blonde sweetly smiled at you. 

You never saw him smile like that. 

“Are you going to wear a suit?”, you teased him. He shrugged in response. “Ugh, fine”, you sighed as you turned around, “I’ll wear something nice too”. “Hm”, he hummed in response as he watched you leave. 

“What the hell?”, Satoru couldn’t contain himself any longer, “What’s this? You suddenly like her?”. “It’s none of your business”, Nanami replied coldly. “Are you seriously that oblivious?”, Utahime rolled her eyes, “He’s been in love with her for years”. 

“For years?”, Gojo repeated the words. 

God, he wanted to blow up the entire school. 

“What does it matter?”, Utahime now frowned. “N-nothing”, Satoru snapped back, “I need to train Yuji. I’ll see you later”. 

That was a lie, of course. He wanted to catch up with you, to make sure you were his alone. 

“What was that?”, he grabbed your arm as he pulled you into one of the empty classrooms. “Shit Satoru”, you pulled away, “Don’t scare me like that, you know I can’t sense you when you’re using your cursed-“. “What was that?”, he didn’t let you finish. “What?”. “Are you seriously going on a date with Nanami? He’s my friend-“. “Your friend?”, you chuckled, “You have a girlfriend and you’re worrying about what I do when we never even dated, we never-“, you stopped mid-sentence. 

There was no point in explaining anything. 

“You made your choice”, you softly whispered, “Now stick with it”. 

You didn’t care that he was angry, or jealous. You deserved to be happy. 

“Besides, it’s only dinner”, you looked over your shoulder before leaving. “Only dinner”, Satoru sarcastically replied, “I asked you the same thing once. Remember how we ended our ‘dinner’?”. You didn’t bother to respond. You were done with playing games. 

—- 

“Oh”, Nanami widened his eyes when you opened your door. “W-What?”, you hastily looked down, “I-is there something wrong with my dress?”. “No, it’s just”, he paused for a second as he tried to find the right words, “You weren’t joking when you said you were going to wear something nice”. “I-is it too much? It is right?”, you blushed in shame, “I’ll get changed”. “Please don’t”, his hand gently wrapped around your wrist, “It’s beautiful. Y-you’re beautiful”, he corrected himself. 

So this wasn’t just dinner. He wanted to take you out on a date. 

“Thanks”, your cheeks already red. 

He gently guided you to his car before he opened the door for you. His hand gently rested at the bottom of your back the entire time. 

“Do you find this strange?”, he looked at you, one hand on his steering wheel. “I don’t know”, you looked outside. “We’ve known each other for so long. You never made it clear you wanted to go on a date with me-“. “I did”, he sweetly chuckled, “Many times”. “T-that’s a lie!”, you turned to look at him. “Oh, is it?”, he raised an eyebrow. “Y-yeah!”, you sat up more straight. “Well, I’ve always bought you flowers for Valentine's Day. I’ve never let you go on a mission alone even when I got in trouble for it, I stayed by your side for weeks when Suguru left-“. “Okay okay, fine”, you crossed your arms. 

“But you’re okay with this, right?”, he got serious again. “Of course”, you looked down, “I’m glad you asked”. “Good”, he nervously shuffled before his hand softly grabbed your thigh. 

You widened your eyes as you looked at the blonde. He looked good, way better than Satoru for some reason. Nanami seemed mature, as if he could take care of you. The way his hand rested on his steering wheel, the veins on his hand, the way he softly pinched your thigh… 

“We’re here”, he opened his door but stopped when he saw you opening yours. “What are you doing?”, he almost seemed agitated. “H-huh?”, you looked at him. “It’s clear you’ve never gone out with an actual man”, he clicked his tongue before he opened your door, his hand already waiting for yours. “Thank you”, you blushed as he once again guided you inside. 

The rest of the evening felt like a dream. He felt like a dream. This was the first time anyone seemed truly interested in you and he made sure you knew how beautiful you were. 

“I’m sorry I forgot flowers”, he clenched his jaw as he drove back to your place, “I’m an idiot for forgetting”. “Are you serious?”, you giggled, “I’ve never been this happy”. 

Yes, you were a little tipsy but you were serious. You never felt this happy. 

“So, you want to do this again?”, his hand once again on your thigh. “I want to do this every evening”, you smiled as you let your hand rest on his. 

He stayed quiet. His heart was already racing when he felt your soft hand against his. He didn’t want to seem like a pervert, but he wanted nothing more than to see what was underneath your dress. He wanted to admire you, to worship your body, and to make you feel like a goddess.

You noticed his behaviour change; his flushed cheeks, and you felt it too. You didn’t want the night to end. So you gently guided his hand closer to the spot you needed him the most. 

“Y/N”, his voice raspy as his grip around his steering wheel tightened. “What? You don’t want this?”, you slowly opened your legs a little bit. “N-no, I mean I do but-“. “But what?”. “I don’t want you to think I only want you for your body. I want you. The whole package. If we do this now, I’m afraid I won’t be able to live without your touch”. 

You didn’t want to take things too fast, to jump into a relationship, but this felt right. He felt right. You wanted him. Besides, it’s not like you didn’t know Nanami. You’ve known him for years and what you felt for Satoru couldn’t even come close to the feeling Nanami gave you. 

“Please”, you looked at him with big eyes as you tightened the grip around his wrist. “Tsk”, Nanami smirked, “You’re needy”. “So?”, you guided his fingertips along your panties. “I’m driving”. “Please Kento, I can’t wait”. “Shit”, he grunted as he felt his member pressing against his pants, “You know I can’t say no to you”. You whimpered as you pulled your panties to the side, once again guiding his hand to the right spot. “You really needed this, huh?”, he smirked as he felt how wet you were for him. “Don’t tease me”, you let your head fall against the leather seat. “I’ll take care of you, don’t worry”. 

And he did. It didn’t take long before you came undone around his fingers. It felt as if he knew your body. Once he parked his car, the two of you hastily got inside like love-drunk teens. 

“K-kento”, you murmured as he softly laid you down on your mattress, his hands exploring your soft skin. “Yes sweetheart”, he gently pulled your dress over your head. “Do you think I’m pretty?”. “You’re beautiful”, he whispered as he placed sloppy kisses on your breasts and stomach. 

Your jaw dropped when he got undressed. His body looked like one of those Greek statues.

“What’s wrong sweetheart?”, he chuckled as he grabbed your jaw, “Be good and open your legs for me”. 

This was it. This was the moment you fell hopelessly in love. 

“Good girl”, his hand now gently wrapped around your neck, “Tell me if it hurts, okay?”. 

Hurts? Why would it hurt- Oh right, of course, he was this big. 

“It’s fine”, you looked to the side, your eyes studying his arm. “Oh no sweetheart”, he gently guided you back, “You’re going to look at me when I take you”. 

Butterflies. More than ever. 

“I’ve been thinking about this moment for so long”, his tip pressed against your entrance. “You know how many nights I’ve thought about you?”. “P-please Kento”, you arched your back. “Never thought you were so needy though”, he softly bit into your neck, “Don’t worry, as I said, I’ll take care of you”. 

And he did. Satoru could never make you feel this good. 

“Mine, all mine”, Kento grunted as he left marks on your entire body, “You’re made for me”. “I-I’m going to-“. “Ssh, it’s fine sweetheart. You can come”, he studied your pretty face which made it only harder for him not to finish too. “Shit”, he grunted. “Fill me up, please”, you looked at him with big and innocent eyes. Just what he needed. “So needy”, he chuckled, “Don’t let anything go to waste, okay?”. “Hm”, you closed your eyes in pleasure. “S-shit”, he let his head rest against yours as he found his release. 

“All mine”, he placed a sweet kiss against your cheek before picking you up. “Wh-what-“. “I’m going to clean you up”, he gently placed you at the edge of your bath. “I’m going to take care of you, like I said”, he tilted your chin so you looked up at him. 

You looked at him in awe. Why didn’t you notice his feelings for you sooner? 

“If you want me to of course”, he leaned over the tub so he could fill it up with hot water. “Hm”, you softly whimpered, your eyes glossy. “W-what’s wrong?”, he widened his eyes as he immediately scanned your body to see if he hurt you. “Y-you’re so sweet”, you cutely sniffed. 

It broke his heart to see you like this. How can anyone ever have treated you differently? You deserved nothing less than this. 

“Come here”, he easily picked you up again as he slowly lowered you into the tub, “I’ll take care of you from now on”. 

—- 

You could feel Satoru’s eyes burning at the back of your head during that meeting the next day. 

“Dinner at my place?”, Nanami’s hand rested on your back after the meeting. “Sounds great”, you placed a swift kiss on his lips. “Good, I’ll pick you up ‘round 8”, he happily smiled, “I’ll make sure to bring flowers this time”. 

Yes, you loved that man. 

“Just dinner, huh?”, Satoru scoffed once everyone left the room. You sighed as you put on your coat. “Are you serious?”, he widened his eyes as he noticed the mark on your neck, “One evening and you’re already spreading your legs-“. “Shut up”, you almost whispered. “I’m done with you. I’m done with being your sneaky link, your second choice… I’m happy now and it’s sad to see you still aren’t”. 

“But-“. “Please Satoru”, you looked into his eyes, “Let me be happy. Stop being this egocentric idiot, and just let me be happy”. 

Satoru didn’t respond. He couldn’t. He made his choice.