#i actually finished a draft of something!

[mrsshabana]

𝐄𝐱-𝐁𝐨𝐲𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝!𝐆𝐲𝐮𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐨 𝐱 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫

꒦꒷‧₊ Content Gyutaroxfemale!reader, 18+ MDNI, modern au, Gyutaro is your ex, smut, vaginal sex ꒦꒷‧₊ Note 1.5k words. I've had this idea in my drafts for a super long time so I decided to go ahead and finish it! I hope you all enjoy it and thanks for reading ♡

Gyutaro missed you so goddamn much. The first and only girl he ever fell in love with.

At first, he was angry, but now he's just depressed. Everything reminds him of you. And he feels so incredibly lonely.

You broke up with Gyutaro over a month ago.

Your relationship lasted about 4 months until you just couldn't take it anymore. He was a decent enough boyfriend at first but as time passed it became more and more toxic.

He was controlling and extremely jealous. Getting angry anytime you'd try to hang out with your friends. Especially other men. He never trusted you even though you'd never dare cheat on him, and you never gave him a reason to believe you would.

He'd go through your phone without your permission and get into fights with you anytime you went out with your friends. You loved Gyutaro but it was exhausting dealing with this on a regular basis.

His insecurities got to be too much and he never stopped trying to control you no matter how many times you tried talking to him about it. So you eventually broke it off. Breaking Gyutaro's heart in the process.

Now that he had some time to process the breakup, he realizes what an asshole he's been. His biggest regret is taking you for granted.

You were so good to him, so sweet too. No girl has ever looked at him the way you did. Like he wasn't some ugly freak, or someone to be pitied. No, you made him feel normal. More than normal actually. He genuinely felt loved and attractive even.

Not to mention the sex was good too. God, it was phenomenal. Gyutaro told you he'd delete the videos and photos he had, but he lied. He still watches them on a daily basis. He can't bring himself to get rid of them. He's still so madly in love with you.

The thought of you lying beneath anyone else but him makes him furious. No other man should be able to touch you like he did. Maybe it's selfish, but you're his girl. You always will be in his mind. And he just hopes that you'll give him a second chance because living without you by his side is unbearable.

"Hey... r u free tomorrow?" he nervously texts you for the first time since you've broken up.

You sigh and roll your eyes when he texts you. A part of you misses Gyutaro, but you don't miss how controlling he was. However, you are willing to hear him out so you respond a few minutes later. "Yeah, why?"

"I was thinking maybe we could hang out or something? If u want to."

"Ok, that's fine."

"Cool! There's this new place I wanted to try, I'll send u the address. Meet me around 6."

And just like that Gyutaro successfully asked you out on a date! Well, in his mind it's a date to win you back. But in your mind, it's just a meetup to get closure about your relationship.

When you meet up with Gyutaro at the restaurant, you're suddenly overcome with emotions that you didn't expect yourself to feel. A longing for the man you once loved. You thought you were over him but maybe you were wrong.

"Hey Y/N!" He smiles, masking his inner sadness as he stands and gives you a hug.

A surprised sound leaves your lips when he embraces you. Feeling his arms wrapped around you again feels so familiar. So comforting that you can't help but long for it.

But you know you must resist. Remembering all of the turmoil and emotional pain he's put you through, you know you can't go back to that.

So, after a few seconds you pull away from the hug and give him a cordial smile, "It's good to see you again. How have you been?" You ask as Gyutaro pulls your seat out. How strange... he never did that when you were dating.

"I've been alright," he laughs nervously, obviously lying, "How about you? You look great."

"Thanks," you chuckle, "I've been good. Just focusing on work mostly..."

There's an awkward silence after the chit-chat ends and the waiter takes your orders. Neither of you know what to say. Gyutaro is sweating buckets right now, going through hundreds of scenarios in his head. Wracking his brain for the best things to say so he can win you back. But he can't decide so he just blurts it out.

"Listen Y/N, I want you back," he states with a shaky voice. And as you open your mouth to sternly decline, he quickly cuts you off before you can do so, "I know I was a dick. And I'm so sorry, for everything. I didn't treat you right at all, I realize that now... and I understand if it's too late. I know I'm an idiot for not treating you right the first time. But now that I've been living without you my life feels so empty. You were the best thing that ever happened to me and I fucked it up! I fucked up real bad," he tears up, "Every day just feels so fucking cold without you. There's no one else to blame but myself, I know that... but I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I didn't at least try to get you back."

He looks at you with pleading eyes, full of desperation. Like this is his one and only chance at happiness. The regret he feels was evident in how his voice quivered and his eyes filled with tears. There's no doubt in your mind that his words are genuine. But do you really believe he'll keep his word and change? Do you want to take that chance when you've already experienced a toxic relationship with him once?

"Gyutaro..." you say as you look down at the table, avoiding looking into his eyes because the longer you stare into them the closer you come to tears, "I-I don't know what to say."

This is a lot of pressure he's putting on you. But honestly, you should have expected it. You feel stupid for not thinking of this as a possibility when he texted you.

Gyutaro takes a deep breath, "It's alright. Sorry I did all that... you probably think it was pretty pathetic. I didn't mean to make things weird... we can just forget I said anything," he looks defeated as he slumps back in his chair.

"No, it wasn't pathetic at all. I actually really appreciate what you said," you say as you reach out and take his hand, "It means a lot to me that you owned up to your mistakes and apologized. I know it's not easy to do."

His eyes widen as he feels your soft touch, a glimmer of hope in his eyes as you continue to speak.

"I'd love to have you as my boyfriend again, Gyutaro."

"R-Really?!" his face lights up, full of joy just like the first time you agreed to be his girlfriend.

Standing from his seat, he rushes to your side and hugs you tightly before you even get the chance to get out of your chair. Almost knocking you over in the process. He's just so damn excited, he can't help himself.

"I promise I won't make you regret this, Y/N!"

The rest of the evening goes well enough, that after dinner you find yourself in Gyutaro's apartment. Being pounded from behind as he holds you in a spooning position on his bed.

Throughout the whole date at the restaurant, the sexual tension between the two of you was palpable. He's obviously missed fucking you, but you missed it too. You hadn't had sex at all since you had broken up, though you thought about it often. Images of Gyutaro would flash through your head every time you'd touch yourself.

You'd curse yourself for thinking of him, getting annoyed that the memories of you two being intimate wouldn't stop. But you couldn't help but think of him. No one has ever made you feel the way Gyutaro did.

He may have been an asshole at times, but he was amazing in the bedroom. He craved you day and night, and would worship you like a queen. It felt good being so desired by the man you were in love with. Not to mention the toe-curling, bed-wetting orgasms he'd give you too.

Now you lay here in his bed, practically screaming his name as he plunges into you. Fucking you just how he's learned you like it.

"Fuck, that's it baby," he groans as he pushes you onto your stomach, pulling your hips up and holding them tightly as he thrusts into you again, "God, you fit like a glove. So perfect for me... it must be meant to be, huh? Don't worry babe, I won't let this pussy go unfilled ever again."

He whispers into your ear as he feels you tighten around him.

As you feel your climax approaching, you realize no one could ever make you feel like Gyutaro makes you feel. With every touch he graces upon your body, you're given another reason why you were meant to be his.

[madockisser]

One of Holly Blacks annotations from “The Darkest Part of the Forest” regarding Jude (my baby I’ll take any crumbs i can get 🙏) and the contrast between the main character (Hazel) who is also a human knight in a half faerie half human place!! trying to avoid the darkest part of the forest spoilers below- i only mention obvious plot points

Jude’s idea of knighthood being contrasted by a knight with a more common/just sense of honor because of madocs teachings is kinda funny.

also of course, her overall life experiences. Jude’s less afraid of committing atrocities (did she tho) bc her whole life she’s been surrounded by ppl who were committing atrocities either around her or TO her. she’s almost numb to it, like how oaks eyes were dull as he was kicking ass in tsh.

hazels (the main character in the darkest part of the forest) view of knighthood is so much different than Jude’s bc her idea of it is based on fairytale stories rather than real life experience. (as much experience as jude anyway, hazel didn’t exactly grow up living w the fae in their world)

hazel grows more and more into the idea of being used to violence as she actually experiences similar sufferings at the hands of the fae- like Jude. (Hazel was strung up to a tree by a group of redcaps who were draining her of her blood for food, and she kept stumbling upon bodies and faeries that wanted to hurt her and her brother)

which leads Hazel to finish off the main issue at the end of the darkest part of the forest. Because as she is put on the spot more and more by the fae, she leans more and more into violence, but retains her ability to be a ��chivalrous” knight like she was taught.

(Both hazel and jude just want to protect their siblings. it’s what drives them.)

even though jude wanted to put honor first, she kept getting herself into impossible situations. either fight with honor or die. jude can be chivalrous but is forced to be cruel, because everyone around her wants to hurt her.

Regardless, this is probably why jude wasn’t cut out for knighthood. she’s a ruler and doesn’t follow such limitations. she knows what cards she’s dealt but instead of sticking it out w the hand she has, she fights for better ones. i wonder if that’s what madoc saw in her when he denied her knighthood.

because jude grew up around the fae, powerless and bullied, having to shrink herself and her talents to avoid the wrath of the fae, she always fights for more and more, because she doesn’t want to be viewed as something lesser bc she’s human.

but similarly, Hazel, fights for freedom from the fae (she made a bargain unfortunately) even as she’s under their little spell. hazels not some sheep, she actually mentions how bravery is a quality that the fae admire, which is probably part of the reason why- despite the fact that she outright hunts them (the fae that hurt humans)- they don’t come for her.

they fear sir hazel for many reasons, including that.

i wonder how different things would’ve been for jude if dain had simply taken the throne. if she had never been his spy. would she become a knight like she wanted? or realize that she didn’t want to be under madocs wing for the rest of her life, even if she grew up longing and training for knighthood.

Jude’s naturally ambitious and a fighter, it’s part of the reason as to why cardan fell in love w her. I’m not sure she would’ve liked the life madoc handed her. IF he handed it to her.

Jude and Hazel have such different lives but are both humans with affinities for swordplay and a strong love for their siblings and i love them. guys go read the darkest part of the forest PLS i need more ppl to talk abt it with

lazy draft post bc I’ve been soo busy but meme pack coming soon trust 🤞

[oensible]

Defenseman Luca Cagnoni had just stepped off the plane in San Jose after a pair of games in Tucson when he saw that he had received a text message from Jimmy Schuldt, the Barracuda captain who had just finished a short stint with the Sharks. “Go light it up,” Schuldt wrote. That was how Cagnoni, one of the AHL’s top offensive defensemen this season, found out he was going to the NHL for the first time, as the Sharks recalled their prolific 2023 fourth-round draft pick and returned Schuldt to the Barracuda after he played four games. “My heart was beating all last night, and it was actually kind of hard to sleep,” Cagnoni said Tuesday. “Just super happy to be up here.” In his first practice with the Sharks, the 5-foot-9. 180-pound Cagnoni on Tuesday was paired with 6-foot-7, 226-pound Vincent Desharnais. He also skated on the Sharks’ top power-play unit with forwards Macklin Celebrini, Will Smith, Tyler Toffoli, and Alexander Wennberg. “He can move, that’s for sure. He’s a little water bug out there,” said Desharnais of Cagnoni, who reminded him of his former Providence teammate, Buffalo Sabres defenseman Jacon Bryson, who is 5-foot-9 and 177 pounds. “Short, but really fast. Can make some really nice plays. That’s kind of what we just talked about. Let me do the heavy lifting, and then just make sure that your boots are moving and you make some nice plays. I’ll take care of the physicality.” ... Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky said Cagnoni, who has always been a heady player and a terrific skater, took a huge step forward from one year to the next with his assertiveness, confidence, maturity, fitness, and strength. “He’s done a total 180 from just a couple years ago from being drafted and in his first training camp,” Warsofsky said. “He’s almost a different player in a sense. So he’s put a lot of work in, and he’s earned this opportunity. “It’s one of the biggest transformations I’ve seen that I can think of and recall,” Warsofsky added later. “I just remember he was such a deer in the headlights, and now his personality’s come out.” Cagnoni, who didn’t turn 20 until December, could have been returned by the Sharks to the Portland Winterhawks of the WHL but was told early into the Barracuda’s season that he would be staying in San Jose and not returning to junior. “It was a huge summer for me,” said Cagnoni, adding that in the two months after development camp, “I just put in a lot of time and came back a different player. On ice wasn’t really a problem, but just maturing off the ice, came back, and then the opportunity was kind of there, and I just took it.” ... While Shakir Mukhamadullin and Timothy Liljegren have offensive parts to their games, neither put up the kind of numbers in the AHL that Cagnoni has. Jake Walman was the Sharks’ top offensive defenseman this season but was traded to the Edmonton Oilers on March 6 for a conditional 2026 first-round draft pick. In five games without Walman, the Sharks have only three combined assists from their defensemen. Learning how to defend in the NHL will no doubt take time for Cagnoni. But the Sharks want him to play to his strengths. “His tool set is something that we don’t have a lot of, in the sense of being a puck-moving defenseman, running a power play, bringing some offense to our group,” Warsofsky said. “So I think that’s the biggest thing, is something that we don’t really have a lot of.” —via Curtis Pashelka (emphasis mine)

[gravitywonagain]

Inquiring Minds

holy shit, i finished a thing. well, a draft of a thing, but still counts!

based on this post about wwx being just dead enough be susceptible to the compulsion of inquiry

--

It was, in retrospect, the stupidest possible way to be found out. Wei Wuxian will readily admit that. Unfortunately, the level of stupidity was not a determining factor for the level of reality — as was the case for so much of Wei Wuxian’s life.

It all happened because one of the two dozen Jin disciples who bothered to show up to the war got a little drunk and a lot prideful and ended up starting a fight he couldn’t finish. Or, that was the going theory, anyway. The Jin leadership — such as it was — wanted an investigation done. As if they had nothing better to do. As if there weren’t reasons to be conserving spiritual power and not wasting it playing Inquiry for a guy who had decided to pick a fight — hopefully, hopefully it was a fight — with a Nie disciple who, granted, did not have the startling musculature of some of her shixiongs, but was still a fucking Nie disciple! 

This guy was not worth their time. This guy was not worth Lan Zhan’s time. Or his attention, or his spiritual power, or the stress it would put on his guqin strings— okay, maybe Wei Wuxian should have taken a moment to purge some of his resentment before walking into the tent. 

But he didn’t. This is important. 

Because then Lan Zhan began to play. 

And there was this strange… tugging sensation in the pit of Wei Wuxian’s gut, right where his golden core was supposed to be, pulling him toward Lan Zhan, or toward the empty space in front of Lan Zhan. 

Wei Wuxian shouldn’t have ignored it. He gets that now. He does. But he always wanted to be near Lan Zhan, and his body had been doing all kinds of weird shit since he’d had his core cut out, and who was to say this wasn’t just another weird side effect. 

Well. It was. A weird side effect. After a fashion. 

But that’s not the point! 

He should have noticed then. He should have left then. But he didn’t. 

The melody changed and the tugging sensation stopped. Which was great! 

Until something else started. It felt like a kind of drunkenness, light and hazy in his head, loose around his tongue. Three or four bowls in. 

He shook himself to dislodge it, but the motion only drew a sharp glare from Jiang Cheng. 

The tent was full of spectators. At least two representatives from each major clan were present, plus several “close friends” of the victim -- like four of the fifteen total Jin disciples -- who probably just wanted something else to do outside of eat, sleep, and fight. Wei Wuxian couldn’t blame them, exactly, war was remarkably boring most of the time, but it was getting awfully stuffy in there. 

Lan Zhan changed the melody again, something almost lexical about it. Wei Wuxian could almost hear the question being asked, even before Zewu Jun’s voice chimed in, translating for anyone who didn’t know the qin language — which was pretty much everyone else in the tent besides the Twin Jades — “What is your name?” 

Wei Wuxian caught his own response between his lips, pressing them together tightly, as the guqin sounded three distinct notes which Zewu Jun reported as Jin Zixin. 

So, good. It was the right guy. That was great. Nothing weird at all. 

He should have left then. He didn’t. 

Lan Zhan played again, and again Wei Wuxian thought he understood the phrase, the question, even before Zewu Jun said for the tent, “How did you die?”

Wei Wuxian felt the answer fly to the tip of his tongue and bit his teeth around it, through it. His cheek bled with the force of keeping quiet. 

It was weird. So weird. But maybe, Wei Wuxian justified to himself, maybe it was just an effect of holding a secret inside for so long and having someone actually ask the question out loud. Maybe, it was just the same automatic reaction of answering with your name when someone asked for it. Maybe he was just too fucking tired, and the resentment under his skin just wanted something to laugh at, something to entertain itself with. Like the five of ten Jins standing in the back of the tent. War was boring, okay?

The notes from Lan Zhan’s guqin hung in the air, resonant and waiting. The moment seemed to stretch out too long. It dragged and Wei Wuxian gradually felt the words stop fighting him to escape. 

But the Jin ghost didn’t answer either. 

When Lan Zhan played the same phrase over — “How did you die?” echoed on Zewu Jun’s tongue — the compulsion was much stronger. This time it was like Wei Wuxian could feel Lan Zhan’s spiritual power pouring through him; the strongest of wines, several jars of it. 

He couldn’t fight it. 

His mouth opened. 

I fell. I fell. I fell. 

“I fell.”

All eyes in the tent turned to him. 

Jiang Cheng’s elbow caught him in the ribs. He didn’t even bother to glare. He said, “Not you, Idiot.” 

The qin sounded and everybody looked back to Lan Zhan and Zewu Jun, waiting to hear the Jin disciple’s answer. 

Zewu Jun hesitated for the barest of moments, stuttering into the start of his translation before finding the confidence of his voice once more, recounting whatever it was that the ghost had strummed out. 

Wei Wuxian didn’t hear a word he said. He was, instead, pierced on two sides. 

On one: Jiang Cheng muttered to himself, “Wait,” and then his eyes went wide as he looked back at Wei Wuxian. 

On the other: Lan Zhan’s fingers froze above the strings of his guqin and he turned to stare over his shoulder at Wei Wuxian with something like horrified understanding dawning within his gaze. 

Wei Wuxian finally realized he should fucking leave. Immediately. 

He wanted to run. He knew better. Knew what that would look like. 

Instead, he was going to simply walk out of this tent as he had walked out of so many already during this campaign. Gravel crunched under his heel as he turned. 

But his brother knew him too well. Jiang Cheng’s hand clamped tight around Wei Wuxian’s bicep, his grip unyielding. With his golden core, Wei Wuxian might have been able to break it. But the real bitch of it was that it was his golden core that was holding him in place. 

Jiang Cheng tensed as if readying for a fight, but Wei Wuxian already knew how that fight would end. So he let himself be restrained. 

He turned back to face the Inquiry. 

Lan Zhan was still staring at him when Zewu Jun finished speaking. He was still so stuck in place that his brother had to prompt him into finishing the ritual. Which he did, with all the grace and skill expected of him. He really was just so beautiful to watch. 

All the while, Wei Wuxian listened to the music and bit through his tongue to keep it silent. The questions continued to drag at him -- “Do you know who killed you?” Wen Chao. “Do you have any last requests?” To leave this fucking tent. -- though the pressure to answer eased significantly as the Jin ghost became less stubborn about it. Wei Wuxian settled for reciting the answers to them in his head until they no longer felt pressed against the thin seam of his mouth. 

It took approximately sixteen-hundred years. 

All seven Jin disciples supporting the war effort left the tent after the ghost had recounted his final moments. The attempted sexual assault was not unexpected, judging by their faces, but still disappointing to hear about. Clearly not the entertainment they were hoping for. Luckily for Wei Wuxian, they were apparently too wrapped up in their Jin nonsense to realize new entertainment was fidgeting in the corner and trying not to sever the tip of his tongue completely. 

The Nie, represented by Nie Mingjue and Nie Huaisang, left shortly after the ritual concluded. If Nie Mingjue had to tug his brother away, Wei Wuxian was too busy keeping his mouth shut to comment on it. 

And then there were just the four of them. Plus the corpse. But they were like six months into a war, so the corpse didn’t actually seem to bother any of them. It hadn’t even started to smell yet. It was still pretty intact, too, and now that it was verifiably a criminal, Wei Wuxian wondered idly if the Jin would let him use it in their next battle. Probably not. 

His idle wondering ceased abruptly as his brother’s fingers bit deeper into the meat of his arm. 

“Wei Wuxian,” he said, all of his surely filial worry for his gege boiling over into a spitting, incandescent fury. He never had to say he loved his brother, Wei Wuxian could always tell. It was the teeth gnashing that gave him away. “What the fuck do you mean you fell?” 

Right. 

Wei Wuxian played it as cool as he could with a definitely-not-bleeding tongue. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Jiang Cheng.” He shrugged, but his arm didn’t move very far. 

“You answered Inquiry,” said Lan Zhan. Succinct as ever. 

“No!” Wei Wuxian said, maybe a little too loud, but not at all childishly. 

Zewu Jun narrowed his eyes and pulled out his xiao. Wei Wuxian tried not to flinch about it, he did. But Zewu Jun only played a short, non-Inquiry melody, and a shimmering, blue barrier manifested around the interior of the tent. 

“No,” Wei Wuxian said again, this time at a totally normal volume. “I was just… messing around. You know how I do that, Lan Zhan. Always a rule breaker.” He grinned, desperately trying to play it all off. Realizing faster and faster how very badly this was going for him. 

Lan Zhan surprised him, then, saying, “Not when it matters.” 

“What?”

“Wei Ying doesn’t break rules when they matter.” 

Wei Wuxian didn’t know where the fuck that was coming from. But he couldn’t say he hated it. 

Except that he did, because it was going to be a problem for this whole I’m just a silly rascal defense he was setting up. 

Jiang Cheng still hadn’t let go of his arm. His fingernails were starting to split the fabric of his sleeve. And worse, his eyebrows were scrunched together in the way they do when he’s thinking through all the angles of a problem. 

Zewu Jun still had his xiao in hand, and he was looking at Wei Wuxian like he was deciding whether to perform an exorcism or an execution. 

But Lan Zhan… Lan Zhan hadn’t moved from his seat on the mat. He had turned his body so that he was facing Wei Wuxian, giving him his full attention, and was looking up at him with… pain in his eyes. Shining, wet pain. 

“You died?” he asked. “Are you dead?”

“I don’t…” Wei Wuxian trailed off. He couldn’t find the words. 

He didn’t know. Which was, possibly, not the best sign. 

“I can’t be dead,” he said, looking over at Zewu Jun, Jiang Cheng, then back to Lan Zhan. “Can I?”

Zewu Jun, still wary, said, “You responded to the compulsion in Inquiry. Inquiry is a song that speaks to and compels answers from the dead. It does not generally work on the living.” 

“Well--” Wei Wuxian started, defensive and scared. But again, he didn’t really know where to go with that. 

“Where were you, Wei Wuxian?” Jiang Cheng asked him. “Why didn’t you meet me at the bottom of the hill?” 

Lan Zhan and Zewu Jun shared a look. They didn’t seem to know what Jiang Cheng was talking about. But Wei Wuxian really, really, didn’t want to get into that whole mess. If anyone was going to see right through him and his flimsy tale about suddenly remembering the location of Baoshan Sanren’s mountain, it would be Lan Zhan. Actually, Zewu Jun would probably figure it out, too. And then maybe even Jiang Cheng. Now that he wasn’t all broken and desperate and gullible. 

Fuck. With the way Jiang Cheng was looking at Wei Wuxian, the way his hand released some of the pressure around his arm, he might already have. 

Wei Wuxian laughed, hoping it came off more smoothly than it felt in his chest. “Ah, Jiang Cheng.” He brought his own hand up to lay over his brother’s. “What if I told you--”

“No,” Jiang Cheng cut him off. “No more bullshit. Where were you?”

The mirth, false as it was, drained out of Wei Wuxian as he saw the pain building behind his brother’s eyes. 

There was movement in his periphery and then Lan Zhan was standing on his other side. His fingers wrapped around Wei Wuxian’s other arm with a much gentler grip than Jiang Cheng’s. Something imploring about the touch. Like he was seeking confirmation to a theory, or maybe proving to himself that Wei Wuxian was actually there. 

“I…” Wei Wuxian trailed off. 

Zewu Jun’s gaze was hard as steel, but aimed, it seemed, at Lan Zhan’s hand, rather than at Wei Wuxian in general. 

“There was a rumor,” he said in slow, even words, “that Wen Chao had thrown you into the Burial Mounds.” He waited a moment after he finished speaking, as if trying to reconcile the words himself, before he looked up to meet Wei Wuxian’s eyes. 

Of course, Wei Wuxian didn’t want to meet Zewu Jun’s eyes. He didn’t want to meet any of their eyes. He wanted very much to be out of this tent and away from knowing gazes altogether. 

Unfortunately, he hadn’t quite figured out how to teleport using resentful energy yet. So in the tent he remained. 

He looked down at his feet. His boots were crusted with dirt and blood and other bodily fluids. War really was super gross, in addition to being largely boring. 

“That’s ridiculous,” he said, still looking down. “Everyone knows that nothing leaves the Burial Mounds.” 

Lan Zhan’s hand tightened around Wei Wuxian’s arm. Jiang Cheng’s loosened, but didn’t let go. 

“Yeah,” said Jiang Cheng, like an accusation, “it would be impossible.” 

Wei Wuxian still didn’t look up from his feet which meant that he missed whatever silent conversation happened between Jiang Cheng and Lan Zhan that had both of them tightening their grips on his arms just before fingers were pressed to the pulse points of his wrists. He struggled, flailing as much as he could, but against Lan Zhan’s golden core and his own, he stood no chance. He could barely budge them. 

He screamed but the sound only reverberated inside the tent. 

The only thing he could think to do was to call up the dead. The dead man still lying in front of them. The Jin. Rapist. Criminal. He could use that wicked corpse to fight off the people holding him down, taking his secrets. Smoke curled out of his sleeves and he--

He stopped himself. 

It was over anyway. 

Even if they couldn’t read his spiritual energy, or lack thereof, his fighting them was confirmation enough. 

He went limp in their grasp. His knees buckled. 

It really was the stupidest possible way to be found out. 

“Where is it?” asked Jiang Cheng. But it was clear from his voice that he already knew the answer. 

Lan Zhan was silent. 

Zewu Jun looked to his brother for an answer, not understanding what they had just discovered. 

“His golden core,” said Lan Zhan. “It’s gone.” 

“Wen Zhuliu?” Zewu Jun asked. 

But Jiang Cheng made a sound that was somehow both a laugh and a sob. 

Wei Wuxian regained control of his arms. He sprawled himself out on the tent floor, exhausted from his struggle. He laughed, too. “After a fashion.” 

Jiang Cheng fell to the ground next to him, hands cradling the place where Wei Wuxian’s core now spun. “What the fuck?” he said, quietly, to no one in particular. Then, loudly, to Wei Wuxian in particular, “What the fuck!” 

His cheeks were wet. Jiang Cheng’s, his own. He looked over to confirm, and yeah, Lan Zhan’s too. Zewu Jun had nothing to cry over, except maybe confusion, but he was too cool for that, so he just stood in the middle of the tent, shocked, presumably, as his brother, another sect leader, and a demonic cultivator broke down around him. 

Wei Wuxian stared up at the tented canvas ceiling and cursed himself for not leaving the tent when he first noticed something wrong. 

“Jiang Cheng,” he started, but Jiang Cheng cut him off with a wet yell. 

“Why would you do that, you fucking idiot?! What the fuck were you even thinking?! How did you-- How--” 

He seemed to lose steam trying to figure out what happened on “Baoshen Sanren’s mountain” and potentially also why Baoshen Sanren’s voice sounded so familiar. 

Zewu Jun’s voice was remarkably calm for a man witnessing-- whatever he made of what he was currently witnessing. He said, “Wei Wuxian, I believe your Sect Leader would like to know how you lost your golden core.” 

Wei Wuxian laughed at that. Because yes and no. 

“No, Zewu Jun,” he said, still laughing. He tried to stop, but it was just too funny. “No,” he said again, slightly more sober, “he wants to know why and how he now has my golden core.” 

He didn’t really mean to say it. He felt drunk again, like he did when Lan Zhan was playing Inquiry. Ready to spill all his secrets at only the slightest provocation. Zewu Jun could probably ask him just about anything right now -- Lan Zhan and Jiang Cheng too, for that matter -- and he would answer it. It wasn’t exactly a safe mindset to be in. But he couldn’t really do anything about that now. 

At least there was some kind of privacy barrier over the tent. 

Zewu Jun stood. Speechless. 

Lan Zhan’s tears fell silently. 

Jiang Cheng glared, hands clutched tight against his lower dantian -- whether to hold something inside or to tear it out, Wei Wuxian wasn’t sure. 

Wei Wuxian felt light as a feather. Drunk and dizzy with it. A weight had been lifted, he supposed, but one he was never supposed to let go. His laughter died down to the occasional press of his lungs. Tears collected in his eyelashes until everything was blurry. 

Emptiness yawned inside him, but it was gentler somehow. As if the secret itself had been clawing away at his slowly healing wounds. 

“Fuck,” he said with a hiccup of a laugh. And again, quieter, “Fuck.”

He really should have left the fucking tent. 

Also, wait. Was he dead?! 

--

(7/18/24: now on ao3)

[necroticboop]

GARGOYLES : ↳ Types of Soulmates

[artuurle]

"I'm picking at my sweater Aware that some day I will die Just praying and hoping That I can leave something behind"

Alt without most the shading under the cut

this guy sucks lets kill him with hammers

[icewindandboringhorror]

Little bright colored outfit with a fun vest ~

(shoes from ebay like 10 years ago. everything else is thrifted)

[numberfiveisback]

Pfft y'all what if...

what if.

[lale-txt]

he's just like me

[hwashitape]

2024 highlight reel except I didn't draw/finish anything some months. my bad lol

[itsahotminuteinbetween]

late night no sleep

[durchdenspiegel]

02.03.2025

Halfway through the first draft of paper No. 1 so now I‘m in a bit of a writing slump. If I can actually write consistently I might hopefully not submit my paper 10 minutes after the deadline this time… 🫖

[tiralja]

Shinji has regrets

Shinji has regrets.

Ichigo hadn't known it, hadn't been there when he'd said it, but when the visored stepped up for the battle against Aizen he'd made sure to tell the soutaicho that they where not there for them.

"We are enemies of Aizen, and allies of Ichigo."

Allies of Ichigo. He had belived that. Truly had thought that.

But then Aizen had been beaten and Ichigo had lost his powers and they had been pardoned and finally allowed back home.

Why had he ever though it would be a good idea?

Why had any of them?

Every single visored had taken the hook and stepped right back into Seireitei to become parts of the machine that they all knew had already thrown them out once.

Maybe they thought Ichigo would fare better with his family? Away from all the powerful nonsense spirits dragged him into? Maybe they they really thought it wasn't a big deal? After all Ichigo already had many friends in soul society so it shouldn't really matter if they moved there and had their places back.

Maybe they were just so tired of having to hide away from the place and people they had spent centuries calling home? Blinded by the hope of getting it all back even in some small way.

The soutaitcho had asked him if they were now their allies and he had answered a resounding "No" and as soon as they were allowed back in not a sinle one of them stayed out of Soul Society. Stayed with Ichigo.

Allied with Ichigo his ass.

Once exiled twice shy was something they couldn't avoid noticing.

While every single one of them had returned to Soul Society to take their places as captains and liutenants not one of them could slot back into place as easy as they had hoped.

Gotei 13 is an eclectic bunch full of strong personalities and even stronger hierarchies and rules and after a hundred years spent away they grate on his every nerve.

While they had been in exile they had been banned from soul society, true, but they had also been kept away from the strict regulations and adherence to rules that gotei members seem to obey almost religiously, even if they had seemed to loosen up a little after Ichigo's first influential break into their fortress.

Ichigo had made many influential friends during his rampage and he and his friends had become a literal proof that not every rule has to be always followed to the letter.

But the rules were still there and after a hundred years without they feel like slowly tightening chains around them.

There is also so much to catch up on, so much they had missed, that time just seems to fly away as there is always something else to work on, something else to improve, some new shinigami to whip into shape (and they are all so new and so young in their few hundreds and so so weak and he remembres training a young brat just 15 years old who would have wiped the floor with every single one of them and he grates) places to fix and before he knows it it's been almost a year and he realizes he hasn't heard from Ichigo yet.

The realization is not a pleasant one.

Hirako Shinji is very old and as such his grip on time can be tenuous sometimes, especially when surrounded by other similiarly static people, but he did spend a century around humans so he knows that after a break this long he should have heard something!

True they were instructed to give Ichigo his space for a while, space to heal from his de-powering but it's been almost a year and that has to have been long enough, surely?

Ichigo is not like them. He might have been powerful but at his core his was still human, and one apparently used to rapid progress in things if the stories of him achieving a bankai in mere days were true (and knowing Urahara Kisuke, they most likely were).

In the end it is Mashiro of all people who pushes him to make a move.

"Aww~ I haven't had a break in months! This is so booring~ Wonder how berry-tan is doing right now? He must be so bored too, playing human!"

"Huh!?" Scowls Kensei. His returned captain position with its stressfull resposibilities hadn't been great on his hollow reduced temper. "He's not playing at being human, he is a human, and a damn young one at that. The kid is propably just enjoying his break being normal". Something about the notion doesn't sit well in Shinji and he can see it on the clenced fist that Kensei doesn't fully believe what he's saying either.

"Hee~ but berry-tan was always so fighty! And he got so strong too! No way could normal human life seem anything but boring after that", she sniffs and he knows, they all know she's right, at least partly. By the end there, Ichigo had become overwhelmingly powerful, more than any human or even shinigami could hope to be. That had been the point. The plan. To stick an overpowered godlike fifteen year old against another basically a god, have them fight till the end and get rid of Aizen.

If it also happened to destroy the other superpowered being in the process then, well, wasn't that just convenient.

He grates.

Ichigo was designed by his father, Urahara Kisuke and ironically Aizen Sousuke himself to become just strong enough to face him and win and if he burnt out in the process?

Well even if he's powerless at least he's still alive.

Assumedly. They haven't heard anything from him in months.

[potatobugz]

is anybody else, like, disappointed about cassandra's introduction in season 3? forgive me if im missing something but in s2 cassandra went by they/them and was written and implied to be nonbinary, only for them to retcon that in the next season.

like dont get me wrong its their character and they can write them however they choose but still... it kinda sucks :(

[starfacedstudio]

ID: A splash image featuring several colorful cyclops characters, each divided by geometric gutters - forming a tall diamond shape in the middle with two divides on each side for a total of seven frames. Each panel features a single character and is rendered in pseudo-monochromatic colors to represent each character as a different color within a rainbow. End ID.

big ol splash image time.... i made this back in march and boy did my blood and sweat and tears go into getting this thing done on a tight ass deadline!!!! a very emotional grind it took to get this thing done but im still very happy with it :)

[tempests-bards-and-birds]

modern au where zhongli has a nokia brick not because he doesn't understand how touchscreens work but purely because it's more square than most smartphones and he doesn't get side-eyed if it causes any damage when he *accidentally*drops it. because it's a nokia brick.