#i mostly got all wound up about this because i have already had to deal with this for years with classic wow players

[goblin-enjoyer]

oh by the corpses I just seen someone on twitter point to when they added first added hats as when tf2s artstyle died. Calling tf2s artstyle beforehand "restrained 50s cold war art direction" as if it wasn't silly day one. "people rightfully shit on cod for breaking its art style but tf2 has been a mess for longer that nobody questions it" as if the game didn't have cartoony gore effects, funny voice lines and general golden comic era stupidity from as soon as it released. Im sorry but that idea of tf2 died 2 years in, even sooner if you actually look at any of the meet the team videos. and at the end of their little "thing was actually much better back in the day" speal they had the gall to go tell people to play tf2 classic. I'm sorry to people who play "classic" versions of games but why is it that whenever a bad take with someone saying that "oh the tone has been RUINED from its original light" or whatever, it's always a git who hasn't played the main game in over 10 years and stopped 2 years in. Like mate, you barely played the game! This period of time you talk about is less than a third of the games lifespan, less than even "the golden years" that the game was like in its prime. Why is the complaint with the yeti taunt glitch that a yeti is in the game as a taunt and not that the glitch exists? ugh, i need a drink. sorry for bringing twitter discourse filth here, just needed to quickly vent a little steam out me.

[hoe4sports]

If you were to go

Alessia Russo x Reader

-A part of the “a version of you” series.

A/N: This is a super short one, I’m still trying to get my writers block away. Feels like we are one step closer to figuring out this maze of doubt.

Warning: None

Summary: A fear strikes Alessia, and she instantly feels a need to sort it out, even though she most likely will never have to deal with the situation.

-

Shortly after moving to England, all the way from Norway; you got back in contact with an old friend of yours. Your old friend was Frida, who happened to play for the same club as Alessia. After your move, you and Frida had grown close. She brought you to her football matches, and you would meet her down on the field afterwards. It was pure routine. Eventually, Alessia get pregnant by a Norwegian donor. She had read tons of articles about children being estranged from their culture, so she brought you in to help Leonora learn Norwegian. The little project was a success. It was so successful that you and Alessia ended up falling in love, before moving in together.

The relationship between the three of you had been closely monitored by Alessia. She wanted her daughter to know, and own her story. For Lionora’s life, that meant knowing that you weren’t her real mother. She wasn’t bothered by it, being like most children; their normal was what they were used to.

Alessia had left for camp, and she didn’t want to bring Lionora. Lionora was older now. That included faster and sneaky which meant that she needed supervision at all times. Her conclusion was that she wanted Lionora to stay behind in England with you when she went to play Spain. Time had practically flown by, you loving every chance to have some special one on one time with Lionora.

“Når kommer mommy hjem?" Lionora asked squirming around on her chair by the kitchen table. “Hun kommer i kveld, bunnies or piggies?» you asked, the little girl barely sitting still. “Braids!” she squealed back. Her reaction made you giggle. This was your special routine every day. When she had breakfast, you would carefully do her hair for the day. Her favourite was always the braids even though it was the hardest to do considering sitting still wasn’t her favourite activity.

Her hands were eating the dry cereal she had insisted on for breakfast, happily munching away on the dry bits. She’s become a big girl. At least that’s what she thinks, but to you: she’s still that tiny doll-like baby you met 3 and a half years ago.

You practically raised her as your own. You would talk Norwegian to her, make Norwegian food, braid her hair, place bandaids on her wounds, bring her to football practice and pick her up from nursery. She even knew your parents back in Norway, occasionally FaceTiming with them in Norwegian. Alessia had tried to learn Norwegian, but couldn’t advance further than the basics mostly because of her obstructed time. She didn’t feel bad about it, whatsoever. She loved that the pair of you had your own culture to share between you, it mended your souls together in a way that Alessia couldn’t grasp.

You knew everything that there was to know about Lionora. She loves blueberries, but cherries are yuck. She loves jumping on the trampoline, but hates the swing . She loves bananas, but she’s allergic to it unless it’s baked or cooked into something. She loves Norway and England. She loves to go see your parents, and she loves when they call her Nora. She think it’s her Norwegian name. She is already a kitty girl, but she’s scared of your bother’s parrots. You think it’s strange, how you can love someone like your own without being there from day one. How your parents has submerged her into your family by giving her Christmas presents, birthday presents, sending easter eggs from Norway and how they like to spoil her because they insist on her being the first grandchild.

Subconsciously, you might say that you were meant to be a family. You and Alessia share the blonde hair and the blonde eye colour with Lionora, but you and Lionora has an extra Nordic touch. One thing you had in common; was your love for slow mornings like these. You carefully braided her hair back, bringing strands of her long hair together without tugging on it too much. Alessia also loved slow mornings; she would usually sit across from Leonora drinking her coffee while eating breakfast admiring the love that filled the room whenever you braided her daughter’s hair. Whenever she couldn’t be here, she was always trying to FaceTime you before training and pre-match walks.

“Huh, mommy, FaceTime!» Lionora squealed when your calm morning was interrupted by Alessia’s need to see her girls. You held her hair in place, while putting the phone towards the flowerpot so she could see Lionora without her having to hold it.

“Hi mommy! I miss you so much” Lionora said while waving her little hand at the screen.

“I miss you too, love. How did you sleep?” Alessia asked taking a sip of her coffee.

“I dreamed about a cat! Can I please please please have a cat? A black little cat called midnatt” Lionora insisted while gesturing with her hands.

“A cat? Why? And what does midnatt even mean?” Alessia wondered, amazed with how much Norwegian her daughter had learned without Alessia needing to know a single word.

“Mommy, duuuh, you know why! Bestemor and Bestefar in Norway has an black cat» Leonora said while leaning her elbows on the table supporting her head. “and midnatt means midnight, right y/n?” She asked, turning to look at you for confirmation. You nodded while trying to grasp her braid before it had the chance of undoing itself.

“Let’s talk about it when I get home, alright?” Alessia suggested with Leonora seemed to happily set on. “That’s not a no!” She sung out before giggling to herself.

“How many days until mommy gets home?” Alessia asked looking at her daughter’s happy face on the screen. The longing for her home was rapidly growing, and every camp brought along a new level of guilt for missing out on important events and milestones.

“Uhh, this many days!” Lionora screams out holding up her hands with no fingers to the camera.

“Yes, mommy is coming home tonight” Alessia exclaimed while relaxing knowing her family was waiting for her. Lionora had her mouth filled with cereal leaving a comfortable silence in the room until the moment was ruined by Lionora’s mind.

“Mommy, what’s gonna happen if you go sleep forever?”

Alessia’s mouth dropped with her eyes wide in shock of what her daughter had just managed to spit out.

“Sweetheart, what do you mean?” Alessia hummed while looking at the screen.

“If you were to go sleep forever like Hannah’s mom, where am I gonna stay?” Leonora said still busy munching away, while her hand was busy drawing up a cat with her crayon.

“Because when Hannah’s mom slept forever, she couldn’t stay with her dad, she had to go to a new family” Lionora said her hands busy drawing out a wonky looking sun.

Alessia bit her lip conflicted whenever to tell the truth or offer a quick lie. The truth was complicated, and she hadn’t really discussed it with you. You just assumed that you would be the caretaker, but she wasn’t yours legally. Alessia was all for honestly and transparency, allowing her daughter to own her own story. Your fingers were busy braiding Leonora’s hair, trying your best to not interfere with the private moment between mother and daughter. In fact, you had a strong desire to sink into the ground because this was not a comfortable conversation to have over the phone.

“That’s not going to happen, you silly monkey, but if it were to happen, you would go stay with grandma and grandpa” Alessia said, carefully awaiting her little mini’s reaction.

Lionora looked up at the screen with a confused look in her face, her brows furrowed. She scrunched her nose before tapping her chin.

She pointed her crayon towards Alessia, before putting in her mouth to chew on it. Then it hit her like a train. If mommy was to die, she would go live with her grandparents across the country. That meant never seeing mamma or Bestemor or bestefar or midnatt. Her Lip started wobbling slowly.

“But, But, why not stay with mamma?” Lionora spoke out, barely even whispering while her eyes became more glasslike by the second. Her gaze shifted towards the drawing while her hand stilled.

Alessia felt her heart pang at her daughter’s reaction to stay with her grandparents. She had never thought about what were to happen if she would pass, only assuming that you would be the one the take her daughter. But, in a legal sense, her daughter would be passed to her parents without your involvement or your consent. The thought struck a fear in Alessia, feeling a sudden urge to so whatever it would take in order to have you as her next of kin. But poor Alessia, was for once at a loss for words.

Anger started building up in the 4 year old who crossed her arms before looking up on the screen again. Her face went from sad to angry.

“Grandma and Grandpa dosent even understand Norwegian! Mamma speaks English AND Norwegian!” she pouted while waiving her arms before recrossing her arms across her chest as you secured the last elastic around her last braid.

Alessia looked at the furious little girl on the screen while scratching her neck in distress. Her heart broke when she saw Lionora push her chair out before stomping out of the frame into the hallway and eventually into her room.

“Ah, shit, I’m sorry about that. I didn’t mean to upset her or to give you more work” Alessia muttered out, looking out of the window. The feeling of defeat weighing heavy on her shoulders.

You picked up the phone before settling in by the couch.

“Don’t worry, love. She’ll understood when she gets older, she’s just being a toddler” you comforted looking at the blonde across the screen. “Toddlers have big feelings and they tend to get dramatic.”

“Yea, sure… Well, gotta go, see you two later” Alessia emerged, eager to get out of the conversation. You smiled at her only to be returned a firm smile back before sharing your goodbyes. As the call ended, you put your phone down before preparing yourself to lighten up Lionora’s mood.

-

Alessia arrived later that evening feeling rather defeated. Her game had gotten paused for 15 minutes due to a technical error leaving the game to be delayed. This eventually lead to them rushing through the airport, only to find out that their flight was cancelled due to a technical problem.

In the desperacy of the moment, she purchased a ridiculously expensive first class ticket, leaving the girls behind in an attempt to be home by bedtime. The last thing Alessia wanted was to was to upset her little girl even further; but that ended up being unavoidable. Lionora had fallen asleep in your arms on the couch just a few hours before Alessia walked into your home.

“Hi love, I missed you! How was your flight?” you said while dropping the book you were reading to give her a hug. Your smile eventually faded when Alessia dropped her backpack and her bag in the middle of the room.

“I just had the most horrible 24 hours” she whispered, tears in her eyes.

You wrapped her into a warm embrace, holding her tight while rubbing her back softly.

“I know, I’m really sorry that I couldn’t do anything about it” you whispered into her neck, tucking her hair backwards.

Alessia’s body relaxed into yours as her arms found your waistline.

“You couldn’t have done anything different if you tried, i just wish I could’ve done something about it sooner” she huffed, rubbing her thigh softly.

Her sigh laid thick in the air, really underlining the frustration of the situation.

“As long as you are not able to foresee the future or take a class in aircraft engineering then I think this is something that can occur every now and then” you chuckled trying to lighten her spirit unsuccessfully.

“Well, I made lasagna; care to join me for a meal?” You offered, instantly seeing Alessia’s head shoot up. Her gaze met yours before a soft smile spread across her lips.

“You always know just what I need, darlin’”

The pair of you moved to the kitchen, enjoying her family recipe while you asked her all about her adventure for this round of international break. Stories of how Leah had annoyed everyone with her newfound passion for country music, and how Mary had tried breakdancing in the hotel lobby after being inspired during the Olympics left you sitting in awe of the fantastic bond the girls shared. After her stories, the conversation came to a comfortable end while the pair of you were both busy enjoying the Italian meal.

“I never asked you, how do you feel about what she said?” Alessia asked, her fork shoving pieces of salad around on her plate.

“About what who said?” You questioned, waiting to meet her gaze unsuccessfully.

“Lionora, you know, about what would happen with her if I pass?” she mumbled, almost scared for you reaction even though she knew within her that you would take her in a heartbeat.

“I think that she’s a very curious little girl, and they tend to ask hard questions. The same kind of little girls also tends to have big big feelings that they need help to cope with” you shrugged, not really sure Alessia was heading with the situation.

“I talked to mom about it, while waiting on the flight. She gave me some good insight that I haven’t considered before” Alessia said, now playing with the zipper of her top.

“Oh, really? What did she say?” you tried to encourage her, even though you finally knew where this conversation was going. It wasn’t a secret that you had thought about it before, that it would be nice and all, but you didn’t want to push Alessia too hard.

“She said that even though they would always welcome Lionora, and you-“

You reached for Alessia’s hand, giving it a gentle squeeze causing her to meet your gaze instantly feeling more relaxed.

“-That the best thing for Lionora would be to stay with you. You know everything about her, and if god forbid something happens; she’ll need normalcy, routine and comfort in knowing what her days look like.” Alessia continued, now more confident in her voice with her gaze striking your every few seconds.

“That makes sense, yes” you smiled as you nodded softly, popping a cherrytomato into your mouth.

“Would you consider adopting her? You don’t have to answer it now, I know that it’s a big commitment and all, but you know her better than any-“

Alessia started to ramble, one of her many ways to cope with sensitive subjects was to avoid any kind of silence meaning that the only thing that could shut her up, was for you to stop her before she would spiral down into the lane of negativity.

“Yes, I’d definitely adopt her” you said, a part of you wanting to jump with joy over having her share her most important role with you.

“Wait, really? Honestly?” Alessia said, surprise lingering in her face.

“Yes, she’s like my own daughter. I care more about her than myself. I would love to make it official” you confirmed, reaching to wipe some sauce off of her face with a grin hiding in your face.

“You are amazing, I love you so much. She’s gonna be ecstatic when we share the news with her.” Alessia said, tears filling her eyes once again as your fingers intertwined and her gaze was filled with tears of gratitude.

[inkdrinkerworld]

Dealer!remus and autistic!reader’s relationship starts off so rocky guys let me tell you!!! Angst to fluff

Remus doesn’t fully get that he can’t just say things- like he’s got to be deliberate and conscious of the words he uses and his tone.

He’s never had to do that before so it’s weird and it’s hard to learn and he slips up sometimes.

One of your biggest arguments happens when he’s frustrated and you’re just trying to help.

You’d seen him so sullen and moody on James’ story so you decided to do for him, what you do for yourself.

You baked.

But then you realized you’re not at the stage where you know his absolute favourite type of cookie so you go a little all out.

You bake chocolate chip biscoff cookies. Chocolate chip toffee cookies, regular chocolate chip and brown butter chocolate chip.

You set them in a cute box and you text Remus that you’re coming to see him. You’re thinking everything’s going to go well, you’re gonna drop the cookies off for him, maybe he’s going to tell you what’s bugging him- maybe not; either way he won’t be alone.

Except you get there and immediately you feel like you’re inconveniencing him.

Try as you might not to take it personally, it’s really hard because he seems particularly peeved at you.

“Why are you here?” His tone is sharp and jagged and it winds you a little.

“I brought you cookies to cheer you up. Saw that you weren’t yourself on James’ story,” you keep your tone even, light- a practiced thing from your days of dealing with people that didn’t quite get you.

“Why would that cheer me up?” At this point everything’s going downhill fast and you try to salvage what little is left of your deflated cheeriness and open up the box to display the array of cookies.

Remus at the same time waves his hand and the box goes pitching across his living room floor and he explodes.

You can’t remember the last time someone had yelled at you like that and honestly, it hurt more coming from Remus who was so normally relaxed and chilled.

You don’t even tell him goodbye, you just clean up all the mess while he’s cursing and yelling and then leave.

What’s twists the bloodied blade in the wound is that he doesn’t even try to stop you or reach out to you for three days.

By which point you’ve already gone mostly nonverbal and you’re in no mood to entertain or fake a personality for the sake of your friends when you do see them.

Remus stops at your house after you ignore three invitations to his place.

“Dove, I know you’re at home. Can you open the door please?” His voice is muffled through the hard wood of the door and you have half a kind to leave it shut- he’d been mean, he’d said things that were very hurtful now that you’ve actually processed what he’s said fully.

You don’t know if you can stand to see him. Then he knocks again, “I want to look at you when I apologise, sweet girl. Please open the door.” And the wholesale remorse in his tone shakes your core and you cave.

He steps inside with a box and three tulips. “I figured I’d have had to do it face to face for it to really mean anything and because I realized I was an absolute prick to you when you just came over to help.”

You don’t even hum. Usually, when he was nice Remus- as you’ve differentiated in your head - you’d be able to look him in the eyes every couple of words, but right now you just look over his shoulder.

“I shouldn’t have yelled or sworn at you like that. It wasn’t cool and I never want to speak to you like that- ever. I was an idiot and I just want to make up for it.”

There’s about a minute where Remus thinks he’s just fucked every single bit of progress you’ve both made with each other and then you let out a big breath.

“You can’t say things that you don’t mean just because you’re upset. What you said really hurt my feelings and I don’t like feeling the way you made me feel when you were that angry. If we continue to be friends you can’t do that because it makes it hard for me to trust you and find what you’re saying believable.”

Your voice is hoarse and crackly from lack of use and Remus feels even worse. “I’ll do better, I swear. It wasn’t my intention to hurt you- it’ll never be, but I am sorry that I did.”

You nod once, succinct and definitive. Remus holds out the box to you, showing a puzzle you’d been eyeing for a while.

“Can we build it together?” He asks softly, an ebb of vulnerability given away as you catch his eyes.

“Okay, but we have to do corners first, then work our way in.” Remus nods, his other hand holding the flowers for you. The tulips are a pristine white.

“The lady at the shop said they’re good for conveying apologies.”

You smile a little, “These ones are also for condolences.” Remus shakes his head,

“Not this time,” he watches you put them in a vase of water. “Also, ‘if we continue to be friends’, thought we were a little closer than friends, sweet girl?”

He relishes in the way you bite your lip to hide your grin as you take the puzzle box from him and set it up on your coffee table.

“Well I wasn’t sure if you wanted to acknowledge it or not.”

Remus says very seriously as he sits opposite you at the coffee table, ducking down so he can catch your eyes as you take out the numbered bags. “I’m always acknowledging it, we’re more than friends dove. When everything’s not so fucked, I’ll take you out and do it with pink and red lilies.”

[fueledbysano]

WHY'D YOU LET ME LET YOU GO? Satoru G.

They say that time takes away the pain, but you're still the same. After the divorce with Satoru, you were summoned to Jujutsu High to help him with a case, but it soon becomes clear that the pain from the breakup is still very much alive. As the two of you work together, you can't help but wonder if time really does heal all wounds, or if some wounds are just too deep to ever truly heal.

♱ pairing: Satoru Gojo x afab!reader

♱ content: hurt-comfort/no comfort (that really depends on you ;)), angst, toxic relationship, MATURE. unprotected sex, baby trapping. jjk S1.

♱ a/n: ksugurwho, thank you for visiting my haunted mansion. take this jewelry box that you so courageously searched in my basement. until next time and have a twisted halloween. 🖤

♱ wc: 3k

5k event masterlist

You have mostly been keeping yourself busy since the divorce from Satoru, working hard as a sorcerer outside the school, determined to show your ex-husband that his opinion of you didn’t matter. You were in the middle of examining a curse under a private employer, when you unexpectedly received a message from the authorities of Jujutsu High.

Shoko said she “needs your second opinion”. This of course gave you a sense of pride, and the fact that she mentioned your ex referred you by name was a big deal. So as you entered the school to consult a case, you weren’t surprised to see Gojo waiting for you.

“Thank you for coming.” He calmly spoke and bowed alongside Shoko and Ijichi. You bow in response before listening to them go over the incident involving a student while walking towards the morgue. “The kid is only a first year student, [ Y / N ]. But this had never happened before… he’s a vessel.” Shoko explained.

“A vessel? Like… he turned into a curse?” You wondered.

“Sort of… he ate one of Sukuna’s fingers which gave him that ability.” She replied.

“The king of curses?!” You exclaimed, almost stopping your tracks.

Satoru found himself surprisingly drawn to your voice as you made your way through the hallways to the morgue. Even though your marriage had ended, he had missed your mere presence in his life, despite all of the pain and heartache you caused each other.

“Exactly. A unique case, right?” Shoko nodded as she led everyone into the morgue. You watch Shoko uncover the boy’s body, a huge tear in his chest that devoid him of color.

“What was his name?” Your voice is slightly muffled by a face mask as you put on a pair of gloves.

“Itadori Yuuji.” Satoru answered flatly while he sat in a corner with Ijichi.

“Your student?” You asked as politely as you can, out of respect for the kid.

“Did you even listen to a word Shoko said earlier?” He spoke as he sat on a manspread, avoiding your gaze.

“Tch…” You snarled softly, ready to bite back until Shoko stopped you with her arm. “Hey, hey, this isn’t going to be a problem, remember?” She softly reminded. You knew that you are way more professional than your ex, and you were determined to prove yourself not just because the Gojo Satoru had referred you, but because you knew that you are more than capable of handling the case with your ability.

You took a second to look at the kid, offering a moment of silence and wishing him peace— something that you always did before examining deceased sorcerers. Until you noticed the tear on his chest start to close up, as if it was healing itself. You were convinced that this kid was already dead, so you were too shocked to process what was happening, nor to tell anyone in the room.

“We are about to start, are you just gonna sit there and watch?” Shoko was looking at the two men talking as Yuuji casually got up like he was waking up from a nap, which left you more baffled.

Ijichi was terrified, but Satoru was smiling to himself, seeming relieved.

“I’m kinda disappointed, I was looking forward to working with [ Y / N ].” Shoko frowned.

“This is kinda embarrassing. Who are you?” Yuuji looked at you two.

“Yuuji. Welcome back.” Satoru enthusiastically walked up to him.

“Sup, good to be back!” You watched in a mix of emotions as the two hi-fived. The scene reminded you too much of a particular spiky-haired child you used to sort of mother a while back… While you were still newly dating, Satoru took Megumi and Tsumiki in after the death of their father and raised them as if they were his own, alongside you.

With a bittersweet smile, you couldn’t help but picture Megumi now. He must be around Yuji’s age, maybe even his classmate. After all, he was just only learning the basics of his cursed technique by the time you dropped the Gojo last name.

Satoru excused himself with Shoko while you were left to clothe Yuji and give him an examination. You picked up the pace, eager to see Megumi and Tsumiki again. Yuji thanked you with a kind smile for giving him a check-up, before turning to Ijichi.

Discarding your medical gear and coat, you hurried outside the morgue to catch up on Satoru and Shoko.

“Satoru…” you followed Gojo through the hallways, feeling a sense of longing for the children you looked after together. You love them like their own, and the fact that you hadn't been able to see them since the divorce was painful. Satoru didn't know, but you occasionally sent messages to Megumi when you could.

“I want to see the two.” Shoko tensed a little and diverted her attention to something else, distancing herself, knowing that this is something between you and Satoru.

“Hmm… I'm not sure.” Satoru hesitated, knowing full well that he was being petty by not just giving her a straight answer. He knew that he was hurting you by not letting you see the kids, but he couldn't help but feel some resentment towards you for the way you didn't check on them after your marriage, unbeknownst to him.

You were hurt by his response. You knew that both you and Satoru had both made mistakes in your marriage, but you couldn't help but feel like you had lost more than just your husband. You lost the home you made with him and the Fushiguro siblings, and the fact that you're not sure if you can see them was like a knife in your heart. But you refused to let it show. You knew that he was just doing it to rile you up, but you can play this game with him like you did for years.

“I have the right to see them too, Satoru. We took them in together.” It was a long shot, but reminding him of the past was a bad idea. “I told you, you're not their legal guardian.” He flatly spoke. “Because you never fuckin let me be!” Satoru remained silent.

He had always been protective of the two, and [ Y / N ]. He didn't push through with the legal matters of it, because if anything untimely and unfortunate happened, Satoru did not want her to make tough calls, or have the children orphaned once more if anything happens to her. It was something he believed was in his hands, something he had to do alone.

This issue of responsibility and trust was something that had driven you apart since during your marriage, and it was a source of ongoing tension until now.

Nonetheless, you felt the right to see Megumi and Tsumiki again.

“Fine. You can see them after I return Yuuji.” Satoru finally answered.

“Return Yuuji?” You ask, puzzled.

“He remains 'dead' while I train him before the exchange event.” He explained.

“Are you nuts?! You're gonna hide the kid away while his friends think he's dead then you bring him back like potluck?!”

“Exactly. Megumi is going to be shocked.” Satoru smirked.

You scoffed in disbelief, “He's Megumi's buddy?! You're gonna do that to him?!”

“You're overreacting! So what? As if you know what he is like now! Don't tell me how to parent him.” As they began to bicker, you and Satoru found yourselves slipping back into your old patterns. You continue to bicker and argue with him, just as you had in the past.

This gave Shoko time to light a cigarette and look over the balcony, finishing the stick while you continued to bicker nearby. She couldn't even make out what you are arguing about by this point.

“I mean, who even does that?! That's just so fucked up. What if I pull that shit on you with Suguru, huh?” You felt a sense of frustration building inside you, and the pettiness reaching a new level… you knew it was a moment of weakness, a low blow, and you knew it immediately after you said it.

But you just couldn't shake the feeling that you had been backed into a corner, and that Satoru was determined to be the one in control of the situation.

Shoko's expression grew as you mentioned Suguru's name, and she knew that you struck a nerve. As they stood there in awkward silence, Shoko got in between the two of you.

“That's enough.” Shoko stepped between you as she saw the anger in his eyes and knew that it was about to boil over. She could see that the two of you were being petty towards each other, and that it wasn't helping the situation

"Let's not let our emotions get the best of us," Shoko said, her voice firm but calm. “You two need to focus on the case at hand. You can discuss this later.” She pointed out.

As Satoru eagerly welcomed the students from Kyoto, Megumi and Nobara stood off to the side. They were both visibly shaken by Yuuji's sudden return, contrary to what their sensei expected. “You got something to say?” Nobara asks, still baffled.

“Everyone, come with me. We have a guest I’d like you to meet.” Satoru turned to his students with a smile.

He walked into the office with them, and Megumi in particular was surprised, not expecting to see you today. As he walked up to you, you got up and gave him a warm hug. You wished that you should have been there for them the way you wanted it to be,and you were just so lighthearted to see him again. Despite the tension, Megumi couldn't help but smile softly, accepting the gesture.

“[ Y / N ]-sama, when did you arrive?” He asked after bowing.

“I was actually here a couple of days ago to help with Yuji.” You explained.

“You didn’t tell...”

“Well, someone said keep it a secret.” You mumbled, fixing up Megumi’s uniform.

“I can hear you.” Satoru replied, and you rolled your eyes.

“You hear someone talking, Megumi?” You said and pulled him aside. “Come on, let’s get some drinks.”

While the seniors talked to each other, the students sat on a separate table having drinks. Nobara couldn't help but notice the tense atmosphere in the room, and she knew that there was a lot of tension between their sensei and the woman he introduced. “Is it just me but there’s a lot of tension between Gojo-sensei and [ Y / N ]-sama?”

“They used to be married.” Megumi casually spoke while drinking from his cup.

“What?!” Yuuji and Nobara exclaimed, bringing themselves closer to the boy. “So, she’s like, your step-mom?” Yuuji asks. “I don’t call her that.” Fushiguro visibly regrets revealing this information to the two too soon.

“They must’ve married young then.” Nobara wondered.

“That’s why they kept bickering at the morgue…” Yuuji recalled.

“Why did they break up?”

“Dunno. Can’t remember.” Megumi truthfully answered.

“Fushiguro shall have them back together again… this means one thing— parent trap!” Yuuji spoke dramatically.

“Right… If they reconcile, sensei is going to be in a good mood all the time.” Nobara agreed. Megumi had his face in his palms just by listening to the two’s bizarre ideas. “Here’s our plan...— they’re leaving.” He cut off Yuuji.

“What a shame.” Nobara shrugged and opened another can of cola.

Meanwhile, Satoru was already approaching you and asked if you could talk in his office, away from any prying ears.

“Why do you hate me so much?” Satoru dropped the question. Your eyes filled with pain as he asked you that. You had thought about this question so many times, and had always struggled to find the right words to answer it. You knew that you didn't hate him, you were just hurt and bitter, and you wished he had tried harder on being your husband while still serving the jujutsu world.

But she also knew that he had his own resentments, his own burden to carry, and she couldn't blame him for that. She just wished that he had been there for her in the way that she had always been there for him. And as they stood there, looking at each other, they both felt the weight of all that had happened between them.

“You hate me!” Satoru couldn't deny it, he had acted like he didn't need you in his life, but he realized that he did. You meant more to him than he let on, and he hated himself for making himself believe otherwise, leading him to be resentful towards you.

You only wanted to be there for Satoru when everything fell apart. When Suguru fell into the darkness, Shoko became distant, and he carried all collateral damage, you thought it could make you stronger. But it only drove you further apart. It is clear that it wasn't enough. Satoru was struggling to deal with his own pain, and it was spilling out into your relationship in the worst ways possible. You tried to be strong for him, to hold things together, but it was clear that it was only making things worse.

“It shouldn't be like this… Satoru. Everyone should be in there right now, poking fun at your students or something…” You pointed at the door.

“Everyone? You know who is "everyone" to me, [ Y / N ]?” Satoru asks, mirroring your words.

“Everyone is… my smartest and sweetest friend who I never see anymore, my best friend and other half who I should have given more time to, and my ex-wife who I probably should have ended up with and raised the kids with.” He painfully spoke, enumerating each of them. “There's so much going on in all of our lives right now… but all of us hanging out at Shoko's, being young and stupid… we weren't meant to do that forever.”

“I’m sorry, maybe I shouldn’t have come here to see you.” You shed a tear, turning to the door. But before you could make another move, Satoru pulled you into a hug, feeling the weight of all of his pain and everything he had been holding back since seeing you again. It was so heavy that you both fell on your knees, still holding each other and tears welling your eyes.

His firm grasp caught you off guard but you embraced it, not wanting to let go. You felt the weight of all that you had been through together, all over again, but you still did not want to let go. Like instinct, Satoru leaned in for a kiss, returning it with a passion that you didn't know was still there.

He was able to grab your thighs and lift you with ease. You kicked off your shoes and pulled off your coat, while your ex-husband opened his uniform, teasing you to his cut abs.

Satoru didn't take his eyes off of your full tits, the cleavage peeking from your low neckline, and your thighs firm in his palms. He's still in love with your body all these years, filling out all in the right places. His dick throbs just thinking about the new things he could do to you.

His eyes flicker down to yours. “Do you think about this? Having me fuck you again? No one else does it like I do.”

“All the time,” You admit, recalling all the lonely nights you missed his touch. Now you're experiencing it and it doesn't feel real at all. You feel like I've crossed another dimension, one where your body is actually worthy of having his against it once again.

He pulls himself away and lays you on your back with a grunt. You suck in a breath as he hovers over you and then hear his pants being discarded. placing his hand on your waist, he brings his face down next to yours and his hips suddenly thrust in a gradual rhythm, your walls accommodating his length in a reunion. It had been way too long…

“I never stopped thinking what it would feel like to grab your hips and fuck you like a doll.” He growls. He leans back and grips harder, his nails leaving marks. You feel them desperately dig into your flesh as he thrusts forward while I push you hips back to meet him. “Fuck, [ Y / N ]. Yes,” He groans. “You're gonna make me come hard in your pussy if you keep doing that."

Holy. Shit.

His voice is nothing but orgasmic. Deep, guttural, and fucking sexy. You keep doing your movements, arching your back back and meeting his thrust for thrust.

His groans got louder and you breathe raggedly as you clutch your hand to the edge, feeling him reach an area inside you that is triggering your body in ways you've never felt before.

“I feel you getting tighter, honey,” He whispered, addressing you by the pet name he called you when you were briefly married. “Can you feel my cock getting harder for you? Fuck, you're so damn wet.”

The guttural sound of his voice brings you to a dangerous high. You curse beneath your breath and then bite into your bottom lip, feeling that same feeling you had when his tongue played tricks with your pussy for the first time. You were building up second by second, on the verge of climax.

“What if you'd just give me a baby of our own…” You pant as he continues clutching your hip. His mouth falls to the bend of your neck, his lips caressing the sensitive skin there, and you can't take it. “Tempting.” He smirked and his hips stuttered, his tip releasing beads of precum.

“Please…Satoru…” It spills from your lips again and again as he meets you thrust for thrust, you let go, body vulnerable and sensitive to his touch.

He starts to pound after pound, skin clapping together as he lets out a deep, hoarse groan and his dick starts to throb inside your pussy.

You knew what was coming, and so with all your strength, you lifted your legs to his waist and locked himself inside of you.

“Shit… [ Y / N ]... Nng-need to pull out…” His voice was more desperate than you've ever heard it— raw and vulnerable, as if he's needed to cum like this in ages. You couldn't fight your smile when you saw that desperate look on his face and his dick throbbing.

You couldn't imagine how much cum he's spilled, but it seemed like he hadn't had a good fuck like this in a long time.

“Holy fuck…” He panted out with a smirk, slightly shaken by the possible parental consequences of what you just did, but also turned on by the fact that he was able to claim you again…

[thesummerstorms]

IDK how I would want to introduce Annabeth exactly in my Annabeth Wayne AU. Like I have multiple ideas rotating through my brain at any given time.

They're all predicated on the idea that she didn't come back to Gotham intending to reunite with her family. She actually believes that she can't, as Dionysus made her swear an oath on the Styx her very first week at Camp, promising she wouldn't reveal the demigods to mortal heroes like the Justice League.

Instead, she's there trying to make peace with her past and get her head on straight after Tartarus tore open old wounds. But of course, somehow she ends up unwillingly reintroduced to the Bats and having to work out her abandonment issues/grief/resentment. Scenarios include but are not limited to:

Tim Investigates!!!

Returns to Gotham very shortly after Blood of Olympus, Will sends a brief message to Bernard Dowd, son of Apollo.

Bernard generally sucks at healing compared to his siblings, but any medic is better than none when dealing with things like the aftermath of Tartarus.

Bernard introduces her (truthfully!) to Tim as his 'acquaintance from summer camp' who he's keeping an eye on because she's had a bad time recently and a mutual friend asked him to look out for her. And she still looks bad (lost weight, limp, obviously sleep deprived) so Tim honestly doesn't question that part so much as wonder what exactly happened to her.

Bernard asks him to leave it alone, and Tim tries only because he's trying to prove that he can for his boyfriend who he loves very much.

But something about Annabeth's face is very familiar. (Headcanon she actually has a strong resemblance to the Kane side of the family, more so even than Bruce. Tims brain is putting together the resemblance to the manor portrait and possibly Batwoman, but he doesn't recognize that yet.)

Plus Annabeth gets spooked when she meets him and realizes who Bernard's boyfriend is. (She has more info than Tim does, obviously, even though it mostly comes from celebrity magazines stolen by Cabin 11 and Gotham news articles devoured while on quests). Her reaction intensifies Tim's curiosity, but it's too late to back out of the acquaintance without raising further suspicion.

Anyway, Tim FAILS at not investigating. Obviously. Not quite sure how it unravels from there, just that there's almost nothing on Anna Wayne in any records aside from Gotham's amber alerts because of the Mist.

Murder Scene on the Boat

This one is less thought out. It takes place in an AU where Bernard has already accidentally outed himself to Tim as a demigod.

Tim got very badly injured one day, made it home in a concussed daze, and Bernard freaked out badly enough to risk using the few Apollo-healing powers he does have.

Tim doesn't entirely GET the limited explanation he got from Bernard about that, but he's also hiding it from the rest of the BatFam because he doesn't want Bruce sticking his nose in it and possibly making things worse.

In this context, someone at Camp has called to let Bernard know that Annabeth is possibly headed for Gotham and that she's both mentally & physically in bad shape, but there's not actually much to be done because she hasn't made contact with him.

That is until Bernard goes into the deck of Tim's boat early one morning and finds Annabeth (possibly lead by Apollo's raven) bleeding out on the deck.

He screams for Tim until Tim wakes up and comes running with his staff in hand, but again Bernard is a mediocre healer at best and they have no nectar, so Tim has to call in for medical assistance.

Possibly Dick Grayson is near enough to respond for some reason (idk why, that part isn't important) and upon seeing the little sister he already thought was dead actively bleeding to death while Tim's supposedly human boyfriend is shaking and literally glowing trying to keep her alive, he promptly loses his shit.

They do get her medical care in time, obviously, Dick keeps it together enough to help with that, but as soon as she's out of immediate danger he full on blue screens.

Bio Sibling Meeting

Damian Wayne can see through the Mist not *entirely* but more easily than most mortals due to the Lazarus Pit. (Both growing up around it and having been revived in it.) He has largely kept this to himself.

That is until some sort of extra dangerous monster (that has in fact been tracking Annabeth, not that he knows that) realizes he can see them and takes an interest. He doesn't smell like a demigod, but he also doesn't smell entirely human (Lazarus Pit) so the monster mistakes him as a possiblly lower-effort snack.

Damian attempts to defend, but given that his sword isn't celestial bronze, it goes poorly.

Annabeth, who has been hiding nearby with her invisibility cap, trying to buy enough time for some ambrosia to kick in, is forced back into the fight and defends him. Possibly she gives him some sort of spare weapon (because after Tartarus she doesn't carry just one blade).

They do manage to fight it off, and Damian demands answers. Annabeth clearly recognizes him, not just Robin, but him, and it's freaking him out.

She dons her cap and runs again rather than give those answers and Damian isn't able to stop her for whatever reason.

However, she's been purely in the Mythic world for long enough she isn't thinking about DNA, and Damian is able to pull a blood sample after calling Nightwing (again, because I love to torture him in these scenarios and also he's the only one on good terms with the whole family who knows her) for back up

Nightwing gets nervous when Damian describes the girl (and her eyes in particular). Bruce is off world, so he's the only one present to have a melt down when the DNA profile comes back.

There is a version where somehow Damian has had visions of parts of Annabeth's quests (because Talia knew what Annabeth was and did some DNA manipulation? Because Hestia needed a Hail Mary to fix this family? IDK) so he actually recognizes her at least that much, but doesn't know her name or why he's seen her.

He's been mentally calling her Arsinoe and assumed she was the one to use some magic to forge the connection. He knows about Tartarus, but doesn't have any context to correctly interpret it.

None of that leads him to connect her to his missing older half-sister who Talia spoke about twice and who Bruce never spoke of at all- until he sees Grayson's reaction.

It stirs up some old fear and jealousy, yes- but he also recognizes she saved him and wants to know what the hell is going on. He begins investigating.

Unlucky

Annabeth's inherited shit luck from both parts of her family, so it's not even a monster attack that outs her. She gets caught by accident in a rogue attack and gets hit because she turned back to protect a civilian rather than rely on her own training to try and get clear.

Scarecrow and Fear Toxin could actually be so fun for this specific scenario, but idk, haven't thought out a lot of specifics.

Nightwing is in Gotham currently. (Because I want to torture Dick Grayson specifically.)

(Because the idea of the scared older brother who finds the sibling he lost only when he's actively losing them again is too much fun.)

Because it's either him, Bruce, or Jason, and I figure Jason is estranged and I'm not gonna get the outwardly emotional response I want from Bruce.

So Nightwing is the one to get her and the civilian she was trying to protect extracted from the scene. And in this case he's *not* actually sure why she seems so familiar at first because there's a lot going on and in his mind Anna Wayne most likely died tragically at the age of 7 because Gotham wouldn't be kind to a runaway child that young.

It isn't until he's going through her bag, trying to find something to ID her with or some sort of med alert ID or medication (because she's having a really bad reaction) that he accidentally finds a few identifying artifacts.

Specifically, he Jason's copy of The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe, which Jason had been reading to Anna when he died, and went missing from the manor when she did.

Which prompts Dick to look through a small bag which is mostly filled with drachma- but also contains an elephant shaped charm from the bracelet he had given her on the last birthday he ever celebrated with her.

Batman *is* in Gotham for this one, purely so he can hear the way Nightwing's voice breaks when he says suddenly "Bruce-"

(and all the others startle because Nightwing never breaks the rule about names in the field)

"Bruce, it's Anna. It's Anna."

(If it was Scarecrow toxin that got her, Batman thinks Nightwing must be hallucinating, too. Right up until Oracle pulls the feeds to see what's going on with Nightwing and the girl and starts swearing.)

[cloudzoro]

Hi! Love your work, you are incredibly talented! I especially liked the Shuggy piece, I think I’ve read it like 5 times lol. If you’re still taking requests, I think Jinbe with 11 and/or 39 would be pretty cool. Thanks so much for the fun reads!

Hiii!!!! I'm so so so glad that you enjoy my work.vmy shuggy x reader is also a fave of mine so I'm happy to see others enjoy it ♡. Also thanks for the jinbe request! my man doesn't receive enough love! I'm a bit in my feelings so I went with prompt 39 🤧

39 - comfort sex

cw: fem!reader, mention of jinbe having 2 cocks, size kink, husband jinbe because jinbe is so husband core, unprotected sex,

Husband Duties | Jinbe ♡

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you're feeling down after a fight so your husband helps you feel better

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Married life has always suited Jinbe. He thrives when he has someone to take care of. He's reading when you, his beloved wife, swing open the door and lay down on the bed next to him.

“I'm so tired”, you whine, pushing your face into the pillows. Jinbe puts his book down, turning to give you all his attention. You're exhausted from the most recent fight. You're mostly injury-free, but all your muscles are sore.

“Do you need anything, my love?” he asks, hand trailing over your back. You nod, tucking yourself against him. The fight was particularly rough; you fucked up severely, almost getting yourself killed and causing Jinbe to leave his post to save you. You're usually a solid fighter; your husband or one of your crew having to rescue you is a rare occurrence. Your pride is wounded, and you're wallowing in insecurity.

“My back hurts a little,” you say. Jinbe doesn't need you to elaborate. He helps you to undress and adjusts the way that he's sitting so that he can press his hands into your shoulders. He works hard to distress you. Your husband's strong hands drain your body of all the stress it's harbouring until there's nothing less but raw emotions. Tears fall silently down your cheeks as you release all the pent-up frustration. Despite your cries being silent, Jinbe notices immediately.

“What's wrong, my Dear?” he asks, turning you over. “What can I do to make it better?” Your heart clenches at your husband's concern for you, but there's a much more distracting ache in your body you'd rather deal with first. Despite your distress, massages were often used as foreplay for the two of you, and you can't help the way your mind has wandered.

“It's just all my stress depleting, which means you did a good job with your massage. There is something you can do for me though”

“And what's that?” he asks, already having an inkling about what you're going to say next.

“That massage got me all worked up. I want you to touch me.”

When you first started dating, your straightforwardness had flustered Jinbe, but now it just makes him hard. Your mouth is dirtier than his, and he's obsessed with it. He nods, returning to his massage. He moves his hands down to your thighs, rubbing at the skin there. He's so close to your pussy that it makes you squirm. He chuckles at your movement, causing you to groan. “please don't tease me; I'm so wet.”

Jinbe can't say no to his little wife. He moves his massage between your legs, rubbing at your clit. He pushes a finger into your soaked hole, and you moan out at the feeling. Your husband is huge. He has to work you up to his cock. It's been a few years since you married, yet you still struggle to take him. He adds another finger, curling and scissoring them inside you. You need him so badly. He eagerly fingers you open. He whispers praises as your pussy pulses around his thick fingers.

You cum on his fingers, legs clamping shut around his hand. He works you through it, keeping his fingers moving as his gaze remains locked on your face. You can feel the love in his gaze as your chest heaves in exhaustion. Your orgasm does little to quell your weary mind, and in desperate need of further distraction, you claw at his arms.

“Please, Jinbe, I need your cock”, You say. He nods, fully undressing himself to match you. You feel your mouth watering at the site of his cocks. Being a shark fishman, he has two. Though you've only been able to successfully take both twice in your relationship, one of those times being on your wedding night. He knows you wouldn't be able to take both right now, so he settles on flipping you onto your hands and knees and lining up one of his cocks with your hole. He slowly pushes in, working himself inside you with shallow thrusts. He gently covers your mouth with his hand to stop your moans from waking up the rest of the crew.

Jinbe finally bottoms out and pauses inside you, relishing in how you feel around him, also giving you time to adjust. He drapes himself over, and you whimper at the realisation of how big he really is. Your husband is so sweet to you that it's easy to forget he's a former warlord of the sea. It isn't until he's got you trapped beneath him that you remember how powerful he is. While scary to others, it makes you feel safe and secure to know you have him lingering around you at all times.

“ What happened earlier wasn't your fault, sweetheart. You don't have to be so worked up over it,” he says as he starts to move his hips. Of course, he saw through your white lie. Jinbe is both patient and observant; nothing gets past him. “You're so strong.” His voice is as sure as ever as he squashes your worries with each heavy thrust. He reaches around you to press against your lower stomach. “can you feel me in there?” he asks. The sensation of him pressing against his own cock through your tummy is weird, but it feels so good. You're all but screaming into Jinbe's hand when a well-angled thrust sends you head-first into your orgasm. It crashes over you in waves, making your whole body tremble. Jinbe can't keep himself together anymore and cums too, filling you up with his seed.

“Thank you”, you whine as he rolls off of you and grabs tissues from the bedside table to clean you up.

“Do you feel better now?” he asks, laying down beside you and pulling you on top of him to rest. You nod, too exhausted to give him a response. All fucked out and cuddled up in your husband's arms, you fall asleep in minutes. Jinbe smiles, knowing he'll be there to chase away all the nasty thoughts clouding your beautiful mind.

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tag list: @bloodfixnd @sexysapphicshopowner @beachaddict48 @lem-hhn

thank you so much for reading! comments and reblogs are appreciated ♡♡♡♡

[stellocchia]

I absolutely adore the fanon Nightmare Gang found family stuff but... If one of these suckers gets sick they're gonna struggle.

Like, okay, I don't think Nightmare can reasonably get sick. It would make no sense for any virus, bacteria, or parasite to have evolved to survive and thrive in a goop that literally only he posses. He's fine.

But he's also gonna be completely useless when it comes to looking after his team. He would fall for the good old paranoia-inducing mistake of googling the symptoms and finding only death-sentences. And then he's just gonna be miserable and mope until his boys are better.

Killer meanwhile, would logically get sick, but also he would definitely hide it. Like, he was still conditioned by Chara to be a killing machine, no way my guy would just share such a big vulnerability. The others would only find out once he's already in really bad shape and most of the time they wouldn't find out at all.

On the other hand, while I imagine he'd be adept at setting broken bones and the general basic field medicine (again, because of his past he probably had to learn the basics to survive and remain functional), his solution to deal with any actual illness would be "just ignore it until it goes away".

I'm pretty sure Horror is technically already dead, so I don't know if he can get sick... Though I'd say probably? I mean, his body doesn't seem all too different from that of other monsters. Regardless, when sick I say he'd go in full survival mode, build a nest somewhere and be completely unapproachable unless you want your hand chewed off.

On the other hand, being the only one with a living brother and with both of them living in really harsh conditions, he probably has had to handle sickness rather often. Of course, with the lack of resources back in his universe, he mostly had to go for the basics, so his solution is a warm broth and some wet pieces of cloth. At most hot water to disinfect wounds. He's still at least doing something.

Cross is basically like Killer. He doesn't want to appear weak (with a father like his I highly doubt weakness was allowed) so he hides any minor sickness. Though I do think he'd tell, like, Horror if things are getting really bad. If anything, ao he doesn't become a burden for the others during missions.

And, again, much like Killer, I think he definitely would know field medicine. He was trained as a Royal Guard after all, they must have taught him things like that. But actual sickness? Yeah, they probably had medics that handled it when it got too severe. He doesn't know jack shit. His solution is just going to Horror and hoping he's got it handled.

Dust would straight up gaslight himself into thinking he's not sick and that's just his body punishing him for his sins. He literally would not believe it's anything else until someone (again, most likely Horror) pointed it out to him.

And the worst part is that, once he knows, there's no fucking way he'd let anyone treat him for it. That self-loathing fucker would rather suffer through it in some pointless attempt at receiving some form of redemption. He's cooked. Horror would need to tie him to the bed just to force him to get some rest.

So, anyway, this is my propaganda to say let's get at least one Sans who is mentally healthy enough and knowledgeable enough to keep these guys from dying in here.

My vote is for Lust Sans. Just because I love him.

Though someone like Color could also unlock some very fun dynamics. And he may actually get Killer to stop hiding his symptoms like an idiot. And perhaps Cross too. Literally, those guys would lie about getting bit in a zombie apocalypse

[twst-drabbles]

Azul and Jamil 1

Summary: Jamil wants to make a feast for no other reason other than he wants to spoil you, though he claims he simply feels like cooking. Azul joins in to help and bother him. Then, you accidentally cut your palm catching a knife.

(This one was fun. Loved writing the banter between Azul and Jamil.)

“You are not renovating my home, Azul,” you cut in, pointing your knife in his direction as his smile faltered, “I like it just the way it is. And stop trying to goad Jamil into this.”

“I’m nothing more than a humble assistant that’s not looking for trouble,” said Jamil, fully knowing what he’s saying is bullshit, “Besides, we’re not ‘friends’ as you like to say.”

When you put the knife down and continued to chop at the vegetables, only then did Azul put a hand over his heart, as though truly wounded. His tears were almost convincing, had you not known him for a while. And while you were all supposed to be cooking a feast.

“Do you really take me for someone so shallow? That I would go so far as to butter you up just to further my dream of opening a beautiful lounge complete with all the amenities that we have right here?”

By the end of that first half of his ramble, Azul finished washing the dirt off the vegetables. At least you don’t have to kick him out of the kitchen. Jamil’s tail started to rise behind Azul’s back, but a light tap of the blunt end of your knife got him to put it down. Jamil huffed but continued kneading the dough.

“Think of the money we could make! Think of all the things we can purchase and put into our rooms! And, most of all, think of what we could give to our precious caretaker here. Surely the concern I’ve been showing has to mean something to you.”

Honestly, it’s kind of endearing how hard he’s trying, mostly because it’s clear just how not used to making friends Azul is. A part of you wants to throw him a bone, but the bigger part of you knows that won’t go over well with Azul. Not in the sense that he won’t appreciate it, but that he won’t learn the social skills he needs.

The skills used to pull someone into giving a deal are not the same as the ones used to make a friend.

“It does mean something,” Oh? You turned your head towards Jamil as he paused in his kneading, “it means you’re irritating. Helpful, but irritating.”

“Oh I wouldn’t go so far as to say I’m ‘irritating,’ as you say,” And Azul took that in stride, “more, ‘annoying.’ And isn’t annoying your peers a part of friendship? Especially when they’re not being truthful about their pure intentions. ‘A feast because you felt like it?’ Surely it isn’t because you wanted to spoil the caretaker.”

Jamil hissed under his breath and you couldn’t help but laugh. “No. Not at all. This is all just a simple whim.”

Right, right. So says this tender naga.

You turn back to continue chopping. And just as you were getting back into the rhythm while the two besides you had their little back and forth, the knife’s handle, wet with all the moisture from the vegetables, slipped from your grasp. And, like any human with instincts built in their body, your hand reached out before you would think to just let it fall to the ground.

You grabbed the blade. It sliced deeply into your hand and all you could do was gasp and hiss through your teeth.

“Ow…” blood didn’t gush so much as it flowed down like a horribly leaking faucet, “Oh no. Oh that’s pretty bad.”

Okay, no worries. Just put pressure on the wound with something.

“Uh, does anyone have a clean towel–” You looked up only to find Jamil completely blocking your view. His eyes were wide, lip a tighter line than it already was. Jamil’s tail, once behind him, was now brushing against your legs.

He didn’t say anything, only gently guided you to sit down with his flour covered hands. They were shaking.

“Azul,” he turned, almost sounding angry from his growing impatience, “the first aid kit is in the closet, by the door.”

“A-ah,” Azul, when you could finally see him, was frozen before Jamil’s words jolted back into being. Eyes once sparkling in their confidence now dimmed in a fog of confusion and fear, “the closet. It’s in the closet. I’ll… I’ll get it.”

His small voice didn’t suit the rush in his step.

“Just,” Jamil couldn’t grab your hands, not when they were dirty, but helped you press more firmly against the wound, “keep pressing.”

“I know, I know,” you did as said, “hey, can you get me my phone? I got to call Crowley so he can take me to a doctor.”

Why did you have to grab that knife? Now the feast’s going to be put off.

[kiko---random-stuff-probably]

I realized I never ranted about all the aus ideas I have with the bishops as the one who waits, beside from a few sketches I did for Leshy and Tulip in Narinder's and the Lamb's place.

Time to fix this I guess!

Seeds of chaos au

Honestly, I can totally see Leshy in Narinder's place, and easily point out a reason for the whole betrayal thing: he doesn't fit. While the others represent the four knights of the apocalypse, he is just chaos. Something that you can't control and is not supposed to be there. I can imagine him starting to mess with the natural order in an attempt to get on his siblings level, only to get trapped in his own domain, the chains hooked into his eye sockets. His vessel would be the yellow cat. There was no specific prophecy against cats, but the bishops did try to prevent anyone from entering Darkwood. And failed because they suck.

Gluttonous god au

Heket would also go down a really similar path: in an attempt to gain more power, maybe even moved from, you named it, gluttony, she ends up losing control of her abilities, causing famines anywhere she goes. And her siblings just lock her away, in her already dying domain to prevent her from doing any more damage (you can obviously play around with this by assuming they were looking for some kind of remedy, and that is what they told Heket, but it still is a dick move). In this au you don't get the bishops relics because she was pretty hungry during the confrontation pre imprisonment, and she still is. Her vessel would be a wolf with a red hood named Wetiko. There was a prophecy against wolves and they did get hunted down, Wetiko is not the last one and she arrives inside Anura mostly with the objective to let herself die of hunger rather than getting sacrificed to the other bishops.

Dawn of the blue crown au

For this au, Narinder did start messing around with the resurrection thing, but Shamura received early on a prophecy about how a sheep would had killed every single one of the bishops. Due to this, Narinder stops his researches and all of them agree to focus on dealing with this problem, aside from Kallamar who has a wife that, would you look at that, is a sheep. He calls bullshit with all the prophecy thing, a fight breaks out, yadda yadda, gets defeaned in the fight and in returns he gives every single one of his siblings a really cool disease that will deteriorate Leshy's sight, Heket's voice, Narinder's mobility and Shamura's memory. His vessel is Aurora, aka his sheep wife, that gaisn the peculiar ability to posses people when she dies, becoming basically a parasite. This is the only au where the trapped bishop has no idea that someone is trying to free them due to the fact that Aurora decided to free her hubby on her own.

Violet web au

This au is surely the most different from canon. It all starts with the deafeat of Shamura before they get to kill all the last gods. Their siblings have some golden skull necklaces and are not wounded in any way just really annoyed that their sibling got imprisoned forever and left in a dark cell to slowly go crazy due to isolation and untreated brain injuries (the other gods left them their crown to prevent anyonr else from getting the title of war). For the vessel i am unsure if doing a random goat (who is not the goat in my pawn of death au) or another character.

Any suggestion or answer are welcome :D

[monsterunderthesheets]

TABLE FOR ONE... OR THREE

a litte Vash x Fem! reader fic I made while I was in the middle of waiting tables as work. got a little baby fever for Vash so please treat this fic with care.

!!TW!! mentions of Pregnancy!

Soft drops of rain and a barely noticeable background music were the only ones accompanying you as you continue to polish highball glasses and coffee mugs. It was an awfully bleak and uneventful week at the Café yet it was not a problem for you in the slightest. In fact, it was a godsent chance for you to be left with your own thoughts and enjoy the peaceful solitude of it all. What’s even better is that you’d only have an hour left till you flip the sign closed. These past few days, the rain hasn’t stopped since the day before. According to the recent broadcast, this weather will continue till about next week which to you was all the better for a news because with it, means less customers to deal with, in turn, less work on your plate.  Just the thought of a relaxing week made you heave a small sight of contentment and unconsciously pulled your shawl better up your shoulders.

The door to the café chimes open, indicating a customer had arrived. Your shoulders slumped a bit but you quickly set them square again and wore your best smile. ‘I guess one more customer won’t hurt.’ You inwardly thought.

“good evening! How may I help-“

For a moment, you felt your hearth leap to your throat and your fingers ran cold.

Just standing by the door way, stood a tall man clad in red, with a mop of golden locks atop his head. You know that face all too well. The face that you promised yourself you'd smack when you see it.

" uh..." the man hesitated, already sensing your white-hot rage from across the room "t-table for one please?"

It took only but a few wide strides to get to him, not wasting time and threw the first hand you were able to followed by another one and then another with quick succession. None of which ever connected to their target, of course, you knew how good he was with dodging any forms of danger. The thought just flew over your head at that moment. You did promise to hit him but you never said you'd be confident enough to land a single one on him. All you could do was scream, - partly because of humiliation and the other in great loathing-

 "the FUCKING AUDACITY you have to show up here again with that stupid smile on your face you FUCKING bastard!"

 Vash cough both of your wrists mostly to keep you from doing more harm to yourself than it would on him. Still not satisfied, you resort to kick his shins but that too, was swiftly avoided. (God knows how he managed to) Eventually, Vash had to restrain you by incasing you in an embrace. "I missed you too, Mayfly." he sighed.

"shut the fuck up and let me go, you asshole" you hissed and a bit out of breath. You hate to admit it but you missed his scent, the faint smell of a rainy musky undertone with a hint of... Iron?

Vash notices and pulled you back to check on you but before he could comment on it, you shoved him off of you and fixed your shawl back on your small form. You used to love how quick he was to notice the smallest discomforts you might have but right now, all you ever felt was hate. You knew what you were signing up for but you couldn't just forgive him for what he did to you a few months ago; disappearing on you in that state without even leaving a simple goodbye note. That particular day still hurt like a fresh bullet wound to you.

"what are you doing back here?"

"I happen to be close by so I thought I'd pay a visit." he sheepishly laughed, completely ignoring the fact you were so close to breaking his bones. You scoffed at his pathetic excuse and waved him off.

"well then, hi, and goodbye." you turned to return to the bar counter to start hanging up the closed sign. "Now get out of my sight before I plant some bullets in your head." you warned.

"Hey now, come on Mayfly-look, I'm sorry, okay? But I really need a -ACK! "  Vash hissed in pain, and you immediately stopped in your tracks. You turned back to look at him and hurriedly yanked his red jacket. On his side were two fresh wounds, one a clean shot through the side and the other a deep graze. You also found another wound, possibly made by a sharp object, on his chest. You spew a string of curses under your breath as you dragged Vash into the back in a panicked pace while Vash let out is own string of “ow's” in the process. He knew you were such a worry wart so he made another pathetic attempt to lighten up the mood; “Please handle me with care, doc.-" "shut up Stamped!" you hissed. You know you do hate him but it's not at all in your nature to wish death upon others. Especially not to Vash. He obliged after you snapped at him, but with the way you behaved, Vash wondered what the new change of demeanor was all about. Maybe it was because he left you all of a sudden when he promised you he'd stay? In his defense, he genuinely did. But with a bounty on his head and a reputation for hunters constantly nipping at his ankles, he can't risk getting you involved. But the way you’re acting right now is too different, like you changed so much in over just a few months. You seemed snappier than usual, maybe a bit hotter headed than normal. And this kind of worried him a bit. Has his absence really did that much damage to you?

 You both spent the entire time in awkward silence but Vash decided to speak up after getting patched up. Specifically addressing the slight change of personality as of late. But you were too eager to not talk about it and tried to literally avoid the subject by abruptly getting up from your seat. Big mistake. The sudden motion caused you to be light-headed and lost your balance, luckily, Vash had always been quick on his feet and caught you before you hit yourself on something.

Your pride still getting the better of you, you shoved him away, not wanting to be touched by him any more than he already had. This caused your shawl to get caught on his mechanical arm, yanking it off from your shoulders. Vash froze in place. Realizing the turn of events, you couldn’t do much else other than avoiding eye contact.

You held your belly in a pathetic attempt to hide the little bump you’re carrying.

"how... How old is it?" Vash squeaked; eyes glued on your belly.

"... A couple of months." you answered reluctantly. He was too silent after that. You didn't know what was going on in his head. Not when you can't see his face. Slowly, you raised your gaze to meet his but as you did, all you saw was... Pain? You weren't sure anymore but you could have sworn you saw it, just a tiny glimpse and it was gone, replaced by a congratulatory smile that was obviously forced out. Something Vash had been so bad at doing since forever that the sight of it made your chest ache.

"My God, congrats Y/N! Your husband sure is a lucky guy!“ Vash stepped back, his hand finding it's way to the nape of his neck. His voice broke on the last word, a sure tell-tale sign that he was fighting back tears. But he was adamant to bury his heart in hopes that he wouldn't seem upset and an asshole for being bitter about an occasion where people are supposed to celebrate and welcome a new life. He forced out a laugh and added "Have... have you decided on a name ye-OW?!" you interrupted him with a boot finally connecting to his shin, causing him to double down

"god dammit Vash, were you really that drunk that night? IT'S YOURS, YOU STUPID PLANT!"

Your face was flushed red with annoyance, tears threatening to roll down from your face. After all, it was the truth. It was why you were seething with hate when he left you. As a plant he told you that there was no way he could reproduce with a human; That it would take an impossible miracle for a plant and a human to conceive a child.

It wouldn't have been a problem for you when he left, but when you found out you were with child, you felt betrayed. That you were taken advantage of and used. That was why you made a promise to yourself to forget about the man that you thought had loved you and commit to you with no strings attached. That you would raise this child without mentioning a single word about the bastard that left you. But Vash is here. He is in front of you, and within the deepest depths of your core, you have the smallest hoped that he would stay this time. You wouldn’t force him if he doesn’t want the baby…  it would hurt you, sure, but he’s the humanoid typhoon, he should always be on the run. What other choice do you have?

For what felt like forever, Vash had barely spoken a word since you broke the news to him. You were dying to know what was in his mind, spare yourself the agony of forever wondering what he was thinking.

“then…” it was barely a whisper but you managed to catch on it and looked up to him.

“then… can I?” he continued, hand slowly raising to touch your belly. You hesitated, but eventually dropped the arm you were using to block your belly. Vash took this as granting him permission and slowly knelt before you; eye-level with the baby inside. His touch was feather-like, as if he’d break you and the child if held both of you the wrong way. His palms were warm and you swore, if you held your breath long enough, you could catch his hand trembling very faintly. He took a deep breath and placed his forehead gently on your belly.

Just before you could ask what he was doing, you felt a faint flow of a peculiar sensation within you. It wasn’t anything you had felt before but it wasn’t anything akin to pain either. Just calm…or at peace? Definitely something you cannot describe in words. Then you witnessed something you’ve never seen happen to Vash even for as long as you’ve known him and his true being.

Before you, Vash’s skin was etched with a soft blue glow of what looked like the same markings that plants would have. From his forehead to his cheeks and jaw, down to his chin and neck. Soon, the same markings are present on your stomach even strangely so, you can see a silhouette of a child floating inside your womb, as if you became a transparent vessel for the child you carry. It too adorned the same markings as him. The whole site was beyond beautiful -ethereal even- that it could possibly haunt your dreams or even for the rest of your waking days. Yet despite the barrage of overwhelming emotions, all you could think about is how you felt nothing but relief and gratefulness.

Seeing the baby’s response  to its father’s greeting Vash choked down the forming lump in his throat, tears welling in the corners of his eyes, his smile a mix of fear and hope. Vash’s voice managed to croak out only but a few words:

“hey there, little guy.”    

-END-

[kustas]

I'd love to hear your hashtag wha critical thoughts about recent developments if you feel like sharing them :)

I'll preface this with saying that for this answer I will not be making a distinction between my personal tastes and what is "objectively worst". The TLDR is I have felt like WHA's been dipping in quality since book 8 approximately.

One of WHA's strong points is its ongoing theme of accessibility, via its premise of how magic is purposefully restricted from people, and via its characters, mostly the kids, who showcase various life issues and allow the story to talk about how to solve them. Disability is an important one and was at the center of book 8, which is one of my favorites. You get to see Tartah and Coco work together for a goal (=making their friend a better mobility aid), and by doing so they brainstorm the why and then how which allows for complex notions to be carried out and explained to the reader. Cute story with touching implications that flows well. This quote in particular sums up so well what WHA is "about"

After this we transition rather brutally to the latest ongoing arc of the Silver Eve. This arc has been ongoing for years now, and three volumes, making it the longest so far, I'll come back to that, putting a star on it [*]. It delves further into aspects of accessibility the series had talked about before - access to magic, access to healthcare, and poverty. This is where this blog's namesake gets relevant. Custas is a kid who was already poor, who got badly wounded ending up disabled, and who because of that was stuck in a situation with no good endings: he can't make money in his state and needs money to get out of his state. On top of this gets added magic, and comes back the question at the center of WHA: Is it wrong to restrict the use of magic, and how?

After the arc is kickstarted by Custas getting his share of spilled beans of magical secrets revealed, enter immediatly strong players via ch.48's introduction of the Wise Ones and the king himself. The political aspect of how the world works was not mentioned before. Great chapter, interesting stuff all around, personally answered much of my questions. Immediatly after this chapter the focus in 49 fully switches to the Knights and their job, and the rest of the chapter is dedicated to a story of a sexual assault survivor and how she made it. It's a surprising topic to see pop up and it's handled with the respect it deserves. Chapter 50 goes back to Coco and her troubles. This concludes book 9 and...it makes for a Lot of stuff to deal with. Put a Second star on that. [**]

Addressing those stars before we move on:

[*] This arc is taking forever. WHA's arcs in earlier volumes only took a few chapters. This arc has taken three books thus far and I doubt we have reach its climax yet. I personally don't like it and it raises an issue the series did not have before: Will the payoff be worth it? Where it is worrying for the future of the series is that manga serialized regularly tend to up the stakes progressively until the end and it might...not work out.

[**] Too many things at once unresolved. This has already had consequences with the progressive vanishing of something WHA was once excellent at: sneakily introducing elements that get used a few arcs later in important ways. The manga has been, for a while now, accumulating unfinished plot threads via not answering the questions it opens and instead adding more and more characters. Jumping from a group of characters to another was not an issue beforehand because unlike this arc's, chapters took place at different times and/or in totally different places. The Silver Eve is both set in time AND place, making it hard to follow because all sideplot happen at once.

Book 10 continues to accumulate ongoing unresolved plots with: the royal family being shady, Agott's struggles irt. her mother, Dagda running around confused and tracked by the Knights, Custas and Ininia jumping Tartah and Coco, and Galga's accident + relationship.

Book 11 does the same adding Agott's crush on Coco, the actual festival, Jujy's inner troubles...Funnily enough, this page is a good summary of the ongoing mess.

Instead of solving all of this stuff we instead get stakes ramped up to 100 with the introduction of what I can only describe as a kaiju attack. As much as I love the horror and drama element, given what was already going on, this does NOT strike me as a good decision.

Now, we go back to the three latest chapters. These follow the same subplot: Custas' faction change and Coco's attempts to save him. This subplot has, to me, a whole lot of issues. Way earlier on in the story, even before Dagda's ambush, I had issues with how Custas was portrayed in relation to his anger, being drawn weirdly spooky for...a frustrated poor kid? Others have also pointed out it wasn't great to have one of your only dark skinned characters be a slum kid. Obviously given my handle on here, I am still a huge fan of the character. After chapter 45 (included), I already found it a bit tasteless to have so much horrors piled on him. WHA is a rather unsubtle series at time which I really, really dislike. Sure, makes it hard to miss the point, but when you're dealing with sensitive topics it can fall into touchy territory fast...

In the latest chapters, Coco appears to save Custas, the "how" part of her plan still being a mystery. Meanwhile, a timelooped and very confused Dagda looks for him, accompanied by Lulucy, who knows them both and is unaware of their ties with forbidden magic. She ends up telling him to abandon the faction he sided with by literally ripping off the brim of his hat with her magic. Meanwhile, Lulucy starts attacking him on sight. I have so, so so many issues with all of this.

Coco's story is about knowing the system in place sucks. Custas' story is about being screwed over by the same system. The story explicitly points those two out as mirrors: Custas is what would have happened to Coco without the right support. Coco's unique POV on the pointed hat witches shows us many prior times they are not the good guys. Hell, Custas himself talks about how the pointed hat's magical gatekeeping prevented him from living a better life.

To me, the point was supposed to be: the system in place doesn't work, which results in people in need not getting help. We loop back to the accessibility I started off mentioning. Yes, before the current system, bad things happened - but the current system is still allowing other bad things to happen now. So...why is Coco pushing Custas to join the pointed hats and abandon the faction he sided with? If a character who was upholding the status quo was doing so it would make sense (like Beldaruit) but Coco as a main character exists partially to point out why the pointed hats are not good. She demonstrates it to the reader via what happens to her AND knows it as a character. It comes off as inconsistent and frankly makes little sense.

Speaking of inconsistencies...why does Lulucy not recognize Custas, a child she's known for a while? Why does the young prince, introduced as a suspicious character on behalf of his family's unknown goals, become a helpful selfless little guy? Why are the Knights, originally introduced as an antagonistic faction because they are a milita enforcing the status quo, suddenly portrayed as fighting for good as a bunch of remarkable individuals?

Ah yes, the cops. I'm going to address something really fast about them. It makes me frankly uncomfortable the author chose their faction to evoke the two very sensitive topics of sexual assault and homophobia. I think the way those topics themselves were handled without greater context was surprisingly good, and it's touching in the first place to see an author who not only cares, but uses her series, destined partially for younger readers, to explain why she cares. However, Witch Hat is a very black and white series: the bad guys are bad and ugly and you should dislike them, the good guys are good and you should like them. There are some exceptions but who have been losing steam as of late. While originally introduced as a group of individuals who act in problematic ways for their day job, the Knights have slowly lost that bad guy flavor to become a fun band of colleagues/friends. They are law enforcers who enforce unjust laws, but it seems that the author's not on board with people hating them because this is the second time she gave a Knight a tragic backstory that makes them more sympathetic to the reader. First of: I do not see what's to redeem about them if the story's about changing an unjust system, so I don't get the necessity to make them nicer. Secondly: at least in my country (which has legal gay marriage and notably less sexist than Japan) law enforcement is renowned to not help sexual assault victims or gay people. The Knights Moralis are fantasy cops and cops, in real life, tend to abandon people who need their help regarding those two issues - if not worsen them, and count a majority of sexists/homophobes among their ranks. Making your unsubtly cop stand-in faction have both characters with those issues comes off as at least a poor decision if not bad taste.

(big words from the guys introduced in the story by arresting a bunch of children who were on a rescue mission for a misunderstanding they would not have cared about. Die idgaf)

Some more surface level things:

The art. The first books of WHA are noticeably more complex in their style featuring more reaslistic proportions for the characters. Latest arc has seen art lose some of the decorative "classic" flair in the linework and characters looking simpler and stylized to look way...Younger? In a way I do not like. Yes, it's expected for manga series to see their style evolve. I also want to make this clear: I consider the pace imposed on manga artists to be inhumane and if Shirahama had decided to draw her manga as stick figures to work less I'd be down for it.

The dialog. While WHA is very in your face (you may call it preachy) the dialog in the latest chapters especially Coco's feels off. A 12yo wouldn't give off speeches about the world in the heat of battle. When it's a calm scene between two characters discussing a deep thing, sure. When it's an epic public adult figure (see: Dean), sure. I'd prefer having the kids talk like kids.

Goddamn the story has become less nuanced and subtle over the time. Scenes like Qifrey getting confronted by Tartah post mindwiping his grandpa owned. The story's current "morally grey" moments just don't do it for me anymore. No, I don't want the witch politicians of the faction you established as a mistake beforehand to continue. I don't care if the fantasy cops are offended by a grieving husband pointing out they suck. I kinda wish he'd thrown hands actually

So...yeah, that's about it. While WHA's plot beats has always been impossible for me to predict, I don't know if I can trust where the story is going anymore. The fans eating it up confuse me and I might even get hate for posting this. Truth is, while some aspects have always been more or less present in the series since the start, I've felt like the really good bits that balanced it out have been going extinct. I don't know why and it's none of my business to. Some friends have pointed out we might be reaching a point where the author ran out of pre-written story and is now improvising. What's a bit concerning to me is I've also noticed she's way less active on social media, where she used to post regular bonus material for the series, this has stopped and I hope it's not because she lost her interest for the series or way worst, is overworked. Given the conditions for mangaka it wouldn't be impossible and like previously stated, I am of the opinion that no comic book series is worth putting their author's life, health and free time down. It's more important than me disliking the comic.

And regarding Custas - him joining the atelier to study with Qifrey would not be a good ending, no matter what the fandom says. It won't be cute found family. Custas has a family who's unique member wouldn't be able to follow him as a witch. That ending would separate a very traumatized child from the only adult he has in his life that gives him unconditional love and support. Custas needs to not be seen as a criminal so the rest of his life won't be over, and also a whole bunch of cash.

I'm not excited for the anime.

[calbeloved]

Spiderbit week!! prompt for "blood" and also very inspired by the supernatural au that WSD thought of!! I've never written these guys before so apologies if i got their personalities very wrong shshshsh @anonymous-dentist

Neither of them speak, though Roier has his eyebrows furrowed and he pauses from time to time, like he's about to say something.

Maybe it's because Pepito is already asleep, Cellbit muses to himself, only half aware of what's happening. Roier pours the bottle of… alcohol, maybe? right onto his wound, and it immediately foams, a now pink-red liquid dripping down his chest. It falls on the floor in drops. Cellbit somehow can't bring himself to care or comment, even with the knowledge that Roier hates mopping his floors. He seems awfully passive-aggressive tonight.

…It should hurt more, he thinks. It should sting and make him hiss, he should be holding in a scream. It should hurt. It doesn't. Cellbit doesn't feel anything, just… numbness.

(It hurt her. Why- why did he allow that to happen? She got hurt and it's all his fault and he doesn't feel anything and he's the one that should be feeling it.)

“I'm sorry,” he says, a barely hearable whisper. He doesn't know who he's saying that to, in the end. “I… I didn't mean to bother you.” I didn't mean to wake you up. I didn't mean to make you take care of me. I didn't mean to make myself attached. I didn't mean to. I didn't.

Roier only tsks, rolling his eyes. He picks up some gauze and presses it right beneath the wound to soak up the falling blood. He does it rougher than necessary. Harder than he normally does. “You're not bothering me, asshole, just making me-” He pauses, throwing the gauze into the sink and looking away for a moment. “Worried. And mad. Mostly mad.”

Cellbit would normally snort in response, but he doesn't now. He can't quite bring himself to. Instead, he stares at Roier’s fingers. They tap on the sink anxiously, leaving bloody fingerprints that turn into small puddles mere seconds later. He doesn't seem to notice it, so Cellbit doesn't comment.

“You make me mad,” Roier concludes. “Because you are an idiot and keep throwing yourself into situations you can't… bring yourself out of.”

He takes another gauze and a needle into the other hand, returning his gaze to Cellbit. His chin is pointed up, but his eyes- They pierce him, and the black smudged eyeliner only makes it more unsettling. Well. It would, if Cellbit cared about that. He doesn't. But- the eyeliner was smudged already when he first knocked on the door. There had been no time to ask, if Cellbit even would want to.

(He had been crying. Why? Cellbit wants to know, but Roier is everything he doesn't understand. There's just something he's missing, as always.)

“And you make me worried.” Roier murmurs, voice low yet almost like a growl. His hands tighten on the objects he's holding, knuckles turning white. “You make me worried. And you might die and you're a stupid idiot and I hate you for that.” His voice cracks.

There's a pause.

“Yeah.” Cellbit responds. He knows Roier doesn't like apologies. “I know.”

“You could have died. Tonight.” His voice is shaky, and his eyes shine. He's beautiful. He's about to cry. “God, you're so stupid.”

Cellbit swallows and feels his throat close up. He reaches forward, placing a gentle hand on Roier’s cheek. It's covered in blood. Cellbit thinks he feels sick, but Roier either doesn't notice or doesnt care. He has to… Gods. He can't see Roier cry. That'd just break him, he thinks. He can't deal with that now.

“I'm…” No, he can't say that. Not to Roier. “It won't happen again. We just- we had a fight and I… I fucked up. It won't happen again.”

Roier nods without a word. He swallows and moves away from the touch, his expression changing into something more controlled.

His hand comes up close to the wound, needle itching close before it stops. “Want anything to bite on?”

Roier knows a lot of things, both small and big, about Cellbit. Information that a lot of people would like to get their hands on. But he doesn't know everything. He doesn't know how it was for Cellbit back then. He doesn't know and he doesn't ask. Maybe that's why Cellbit keeps coming back.

“No.”

Roier hums and doesn't ask and there's that.

“You had a fight, you said.” Roier eventually says when they're near the end of stitching. Cellbit doesn't really know what the fuzzy-numbness he feels every time… something like this happens is, but by this point, it's gone. “Is Bagi- How's she holding up, then?”

Cellbit thinks back to his sister, eyes furious and a snarl on her face. He thinks back to how she screamed, how much blood she lost. He should have helped her, but-

He grits his teeth, fingers pressing hard into his own leg.

That damned demon barged in like-

God, he can't think about this. He doesn't want to.

Tina took her away with a cold gaze and a snarl of “Leave” and there was nothing he could have done. He tried, before. It always ended the same. And he was bleeding out, he was hurt- (It shouldn't have mattered, it shouldn't have made a difference, she was hurt worse, he should have tried harder-)

So. He can't even be sure. Tina took care of her, surely. (But in what way?) She wouldn't allow Bagi to die, they both know that.

“She's fine.” Cellbit says, realizing he was silent for too long. He uncurls his fingers and tries to breathe. “Staying at the motel tonight. We, um. Decided to stay away from each other for a little while.”

That's not true. They haven't decided anything, but he knows how Tina is.

“Ah.” Roier breathes out. He probably knows he's being lied to, but that's their thing. They don't ask questions. Cellbit cringes anyway. “So you're… you'll be staying?”

Roier’s hand on his chest - the one that's not stitching the wound, that is - flexes, fingers starting to drum. Anxious.

There's a pause.

I didn't mean to get myself attached. I didn't mean to get you attached, either.

“If… if you'll have me,” he murmurs, quiet and only a bit uncertain.

(Gods, he can practically hear Bagi taunting him right now. When did his face get so hot? This is- embarrassing, he can't belive in himself.)

Instead of calling Cellbit out, Roier bites his lip, eyes darting down. There's- something that maybe could be called a grin, if only he could see Roier's face better. They don't speak, but then-

“Of course, man.” Roier smiles eventually, looking up at him. There's something in his eyes that hasn't been there before.

“Of course,” Cellbit repeats, a small smile appearing on his face as well, despite everything.

They fall into comfortable silence after that, but it's… different from before. The tension is mostly gone and… Roier seems almost satisfied. Or something similar, anyhow. Because despite how good he is at reading people, Roier is… like an enigma he can never quite understand. There's just something about him, something Cellbit isn't getting.

(Maybe that's why he keeps coming back.)

Roier finishes the stitches and after pouring some more of that disinfectant, starts bandaging the injury. It's only then that Cellbit realises he's been staring at Roier the entire time. But- it's weird. It doesn't feel like he's going to throw up from stress because he had to keep watching, just to make sure Roier wouldn't hurt him. No. Roier would never do that. It's more like…

(“What is up with you today?” Bagi asks, eyes squinted. Her laptop has its screen turned off already, research long forgotten. She's been staring at him suspiciously for the last 10 minutes. “Why do you look like that?”

“What?” He rolls his eyes, giving her an unamused look. He looks fine, he knows this, because he checked himself before they left the motel. He's meeting up with Roier today, so obviously- Pause. That sounds… He's meeting up with an important and respected informat today, so obviously he has to look at least a bit put together. There's nothing unusual about that. “You're being weird, stop staring at me and do your research.”

Bagi clearly isn't convinced, creeping her face closer. Cellbit keeps up the gaze and- there it is, she sighs in disappointment, eyes darting down to his meal instead. But she doesn't steal the plate away, like he expected her to.

There's a pause. Ever so slowly, she raises her head and on her shocked face begins to grow a grin.

…uh oh. What is she-

“Are you wearing fucking perfume?”

He stops chewing. Meets her gaze. Tries to ignore the absolute horror growing as he realises his face is getting hot. He's blushing. What-

“...no,” he tries, but his voice comes out practically like a squeak. He curses himself for it.

“You are! Oh my Gods, are you serious?” Bagi cackles, suddenly gleeful. “Why are you-”

He watches the realisation paint on her face. Her mouth opens, but no words come out of it.

“...You're wearing perfume.” She says slowly, a smirk beginning to make itself known again. “For the meeting with that guy today?”

Cellbit silently starts chewing again, looking away. He takes a sip of his lemonade (which was supposed to be a coffee, but of course, he can't have anything nice in life) and sighs. “Let's- let's just eat and leave. We are-” He shoots her a look, which at least makes her look a bit bashful. “-not talking about this.”

Bagi leans back in her seat, eyes squinted once again. Considering. Was he too harsh on this? There's a growing ache in his stomach, because- Gods, he doesn't want to fuck up with her again. How can he- how can he fix this?

“Okay, maybe I am wearing perfume for the hot guy, but- Hey, no, listen to-! That's just good manners! There's nothing weird about that!”

“Oh my Gods, I have to tell Felps. Does Felps know? Doesn't matter, I'll tell him anyway.” Bagi grins, not bothered at all that she was interrupting him. She looks very eager to eat quickly and get out of here, suddenly.

He sips on his lemonade instead, jaw tensing and untensing. Ugh. Gods.

“You so have a crush, that is crazy.” She continues, eyes wide. “I can't believe this, what?”

She laughs again and doesn't stop, even when Cellbit gives her his remaining fries and salad.

A crush. How stupid is that?)

It's more like adoration. He's enjoying watching Roier work. Gods. Gods, that is- He is not dealing with that tonight.

Roier grins at him, obvious to his thoughts. “All done! Come on.”

On shaky legs, Cellbit stands up to follow Roier out of the door. When Roier's back is turned, he reaches his hand out to touch the bandage gently, looking down at it. It's… good. Suspiciously good, even, he'd say. But. This is Roier. He's like that, Cellbit found. Full of surprises.

The house is dark. Obviously, because it's night and Pepito and Jaiden are sleeping-

“Oh.” Cellbit murmurs, a small wince on his face. “I hope I didn't wake Jaiden up.” He likes Jaiden. It just wouldn't do to make her angry, and he knows she likes her sleep.

Roier full on stops in the middle of his tracks. His shoulders come up, but his back is to Cellbit, he can't see his expression, can't understand-

“Jaiden's gone.”

…what?

Cellbit pauses as well, but for a different reason. Oh. He isn't… He isn't good at dealing with this. Oh Gods.

But then Roier suddenly turns around, a smile on his face. It doesn't look quite right. “Er, I mean-! Not like that!” He laughs and it sounds just like the one that Cellbit hears a lot while interrogating people. But never before from Roier. He's anxious. Why? Covering something up, surely, but…

“Huh.” He just says, smartly.

“Erm. Yeah! You know, just- For a little while! We're just taking a break from each other, you know?” Roier stutters awkwardly, that smile still wide on his face. It brightens suddenly. “You know, like you and Bagi! A… bit. But we didn't fight or anything, just-!” There's another pause, but this time Roier is watching his expression closely. His face sours slightly at whatever he finds. “...you know.”

Cellbit has no idea, despite how many ‘you-know's Roier just uttered. “Um. Yeah.”

“Yeah,” Roier nods, seemingly relieved. He stands still for a moment longer before reaching out to flick off the bathroom light, making the hallway fall into complete darkness. (Are there no windows here? No, that doesn't seem right. He's sure there were some the last time he was here.)

“Um. Anyway, now that you're here-” Roier grasps his hand tightly and begins leading him deeper into the house. “You know how you're like, an even bigger nerd than me?”

“I'm not a-”

“So, I was thinking- You could even help me with Pepito a bit! You know, he's such a little geek, I don't know who he got it from…” Roier doesn't even stop talking as they get to a hallway with many doors. Bedrooms, Cellbit thinks. He doesn't lower his voice either. Cellbit winces in sympathy for the kid. He hopes they haven't woken him up. “He just reads and reads! Ugh, I swear, I need to start taking more of those books away, his eyesight is already so bad!”

Bad eyesight doesn't come from just reading, Cellbit wants to interrupt. He wants to say a lot of things, actually. But… It is Roier's house. He's a guest. If Roier is so eager to change the subject and then rant about his child, then who's Cellbit to stop him, really?

The door to the- bedroom, it's a bedroom, is opened and Roier pulls him inside, closing it right behind them.

“And, he's still a little stupid, but I'm sure you-” Roier suddenly stops talking, yet again. He looks into Cellbit’s eyes, an alarmed look on his face. “You… like kids, right? I mean, you must like kids, but even if you didn't- You'd… you'd like Pepito! Because, I mean-”

“Um. I guess I do?” Cellbit interrupts, only because Roier looks like he's about to kneel over from over explaining himself.

A beat.

“Cool! I mean, no, that's good… Yes, I'm just…” He laughs and pulls away from Cellbit, walking deeper into the room alone. He stops in the middle of it, eyes locked on the bed. A large one. “...I'm- I'm sorry, I must be acting like a terrible host right now. Oh. I'm just…”

He makes some vague motions with his hands and smiles.

Cellbit winces internally. It's… just a bit awkward.

“No, it's… it's fine. Seriously, you're good. You're… good.” Oh Gods. What does he say to that? “I'm, um. Just. Thank you for taking care of me. That's already enough. You don't need to explain yourself, seriously. It's… fine.”

Roier stares at him. Stares some more. His hand comes up to his chest, almost as if he was… scratching at something underneath his shirt. But it's dark and Cellbit isn't really sure what expression he has and-

“Oh.” Roier breathes out. There's something. Something he's missing, again. “Ah… Alright.”

He's… muttering something to himself, Cellbit’s pretty sure. But… Then Roier clears his throat and puts his hand down, tense. Almost like he didn't realise it moved. He looks at the closet and back at Cellbit, in thought.

“You'll be fine in your clothes for tonight, right?”

“Um, yeah.” He's only in his pants anyway. His shirt was way too soaked with blood (hers, but by his fault) and even if it wasn't, Roier already took care of it. As in… shredding it with his hands. He's probably not getting that back. “We can work something out tomorrow. It's okay.”

Roier nods and sits down on the bed.

Cellbit stares. He is… pretty sure Jaiden has her own room. And Roier mentioned she's gone, so why… why is he here?

And he immediately curses himself for thinking like that. Maybe Jaiden isn't comfortable with people sleeping in her room, especially when she doesn't know about it. Roier would surely know that.

So he walks closer to the bed and lays down, slowly.

The bed is big. Big enough for- three people maybe, if he had to guess. So it isn't like it's awkward, but…

He doesn't really know what to do. Sharing a bed isn't something he does, it's just not. It'd be different if they were sharing heat while in the wild or something like that, but- That's not the case.

He feels Roier lay down next to him. When he looks at him out of the corner of the eye, he's smiling. A hand on his face, gently touching his own cheek. Inspecting. And then he turns on his side, towards Cellbit. Who very pointedly tries to pretend he wasn't staring.

He swallows.

“Goodnight.” Cellbit mutters quietly and turns as well, laying on his stomach. His hand automatically goes to rest under the pillow, reaching for a knife or a gun. It finds neither.

…Fuck, he left his weapons in his backpack. Which is in the entrance of the house.

“Goodnight,” Roier whispers back, a smile audible in his voice.

No, he can't go for it now. What would Roier think? And besides… he has a kid. Surely, this place is warded against everything, to hell and back. It's fine. And just for one night.

It's fine.

(Later, when Cellbit will wake up, he'll realize he forgot many things. Like his nightly prayer to Felps and cleaning his knife. Writing down in his notebook what exactly happened on the hunt. Cursing Tina in his thoughts.

But with the chaos of Pepito waking them both up early and immediately wanting to play, what he won't remember is that Roier never washed his face after Cellbit touched it with his bloody hands. He won't notice it either.

Maybe that's for the best.)

[alittlebitofloveliness]

Tim and Sylvia Friendship Headcanons

-They both met at Buck’s when they were ten years old, Tim having just started dealing and Sylvia flirting with the old drunks at the bar so she could pickpocket them. Tim noticed how much money she was getting and tried to shake her down for it but when he flipped open his switch she just laughed at him and pulled out one of her own. They’ve been best friends ever since, even though it took ages for Tim to admit it

-Sylvia is the only person who can call him ‘Timmy’ without getting slugged and it’s mostly because she wore him down.

-Sylvia is a con artist extraordinaire and Tim’s a gang leader and somehow they know everything and nothing about each other at the same time

-Almost everyone in Tulsa thinks they’re an item/have hooked up at least once but their relationship has only ever been 100% platonic. Even if Tim wasn’t gay and Sylvia was capable of love they both just couldn’t ever look at each other that way

-Tim thought HE had a good poker face but his is nothing compared to Sylvia’s. The only thoughts or feelings people can read from Sylvia are the ones she wants them to 

-They both have a radar for when Curly and/or Angela are about to get into trouble even though Sylvia is better at dealing with problems AFTER they arise whereas Tim is all about stopping them from happening in the first place

-Sylvia will occasionally disappear for a few days or a week and Tim never asks where she’s gone, but once she was gone for nearly two months and when she showed back up (twenty pounds lighter and with a newly stitched stab wound) he almost cried- he didn’t, but he did hug her and she actually let him

-Sylvia has been locked up almost as many times as Tim has, and they have a joking competition where they keep track. Whoever has the most tally marks each new years owes the other a pack of cigarettes. Tim had the title for three years in a row before Sylvia beat him and he was genuinely kind of upset about it (mostly because she kept making smart remarks about him becoming a ‘model citizen’ and he has a reputation to keep)

-Curly got the idea to play chicken with Ponyboy from Sylvia because he overheard her make an offhand comment about she and her cousins used to do it

-Sylvia originally went on a date with Dallas Winston because she knew it would piss of Tim, and then kept going out with him because of curiosity (y’know that meme that’s like ‘i wanna study you in a lab but also share fries with you’- that’s how Sylvia views Dally)

-Tim also warned Dally he had no idea what he was getting into when he asked Sylvia out but he obviously didn’t listen 

-we all know Dally & Sylvia we’re a toxic ass couple, and I think a huge contributing factor is that Sylvia played dumb but she was actually way smarter than Dally ever gave her credit for so every time he thought he had her figured out, she’d do something or say something that would shake up how he saw her and it made him feel stupid (which we all know he hated) but also made him more desperate to figure her out 

-Sylvia thinks the Curtis brothers are strange and avoids them as much as possible because they’re genuinely upstanding guys and she’s not used to people who aren’t just out for themselves

-Sylvia lives in six inch stilettos and they make her the same height as Tim (Sylvia is already tall for a girl) and it annoys him to no end

-Sylvia and Steve absolutely loathe each other but because they’re both friends with Angela they try to be civil when she’s around. Tim finds Sylvia’s ire at the guy endlessly funny

-Sylvia was the first person to find out about Tim being gay. He was terrified but she just rolled her eyes and told him to hide his magazines better 

-Tim is the only person who knows anything about Sylvia’s parents that isn’t rumour based speculation, and he will take those secrets to his grave

-Sylvia was originally HORRIFIED when she realised Tim had a thing for Darry Curtis because she does NOT trust that guy he is too nice to not be hiding some dark secret. It’s the only time Tim didn’t at least take her advice into consideration (and Sylvia was eventually forced to grudgingly admit she was wrong about this one)

-Sylvia is a better marksman than Tim, but Tim is more patient than Sylvia, so when they go hunting Tim bags more animals, but when they’re target shooting Sylvia always has a better score

[gg-pedro]

can you hear the music (ch. 4) - joel miller x reader

masterlist

summary: everyone in jackson is trying to distract themselves from something. you teach ellie piano and find yourself trying to help more than one miller settle into their new world.

chapter 4: joel asks for a blessing. in the end, you aren't sure if he gets it.

warnings: post outbreak!joel, jackson!era, joel x reader, AFAB!reader, platonic!ellie x reader, protective!joel, implied age gap, brief smut (p in v), mentions of blood, non-gratuitous descriptions of a wound, alcohol consumption, gun violence, rampage!joel, angst, and more angst.

words: 3.5k

a/n: sorry in advance! alternate title: waiting room.

-

Joel apologized to you second.

You woke up to Joel draping a throw blanket around you and the sound of mugs being set on the coffee table. When you opened your eyes to see him sitting on the edge of the couch next to you, you worried.

He looked ill. The pallor of his face clashed with the peaceful resolve that was mixed into his expression. When you sat up, he took your hands into his, and his eyes were pleading with you to stay.

“I’m sorry for makin’ so much trouble for you. Last night… that wasn’t right. I didn’t want you to have to– y’know, have to deal with shit that should be mine.”

You shook your head. “It’s–”

He cut you off. “Don’t say anything yet. I’m gonna tell you a few things first.”

Joel had woken up before the sun that morning with you curled up on his chest and a 50 pound weight on his shoulders. He slipped off the couch, trying his hardest not to disturb you, and walked by the light of the moon back to his and Ellie’s place.

She was asleep in her bedroom, a comic book spread open on her chest and her blanket twisted up near her feet. He straightened out her duvet over her and pressed a kiss to her forehead.

In his bedroom, he dug the framed photograph of him and Sarah from his pack. He apologized to her first. He held the picture in both hands, stared at it for a long time, and asked for her forgiveness. And for a blessing– he told her about you, the girl that he was seeing and wanted to be with, for however long time would allow. 

And maybe a sign, too. Just to know that she was still there.

Now, dipping his head down as he gripped your hands in his, he would apologize to you.

Joel told you a lot of things. Some of it vague, some of it not. Mostly about how he couldn’t save his daughter. You were feeling lots of different things. Mostly, you just felt sorry for him. Entirely winded by the pain he experienced. It was like that old adage– you get to know someone so well that you end up on the other side of them. 

At the end of it, still gripping your hands, he looked into your eyes again. “I know you’re gonna see me differently now. That’s fine, I’ve done things I’m not proud of. Real, real bad things. And if you don’t wanna do this anymore, that’s fine too. Or if–”

“Joel,” you said quietly. “There’s not a single skeleton in your closet that would make me feel any differently about you. Because the you that I know?” 

You brought your hands up to cradle his face. “You've got a heart of gold, baby. And if I can say that now, after all this– I know it isn’t going anywhere.” You brushed tears away from the hollows of his cheeks. “Neither am I.”

Joel just nodded. He didn’t say anything, not even if he believed you, but you already knew he did. For the first time, he held you in his arms and it didn’t feel like he was waiting for you to crumble into dust. 

Tommy was third. It wasn’t much of an apology, though. The whole recanting of the situation in the bar the night before brought Tommy to tears from how much he was laughing. 

“Wasn’t expecting that this would be so amusing to you,” Joel grumbled.

Tommy, wiping his eyes, said, “You swing and you miss sometimes, brother. But fuck, I ain’t ever lettin’ you live this down.”

That made Joel laugh too, which made everything less heavy. As collateral for Tommy not mentioning any of this to Maria, he made Joel promise to take his night patrols for the next two weeks. That was the deal, and that was good enough for him.

He had a memory come to mind of him sitting in church once, staring at a vaulted wooden ceiling and wondering how many confessions it would take to wash his hands clean of sin. It was a lifetime’s worth, even back then. Now, though, he was starting to think it would take a whole lot less.

-

Joel and Tommy’s deal was a just punishment. He could stand the lack of sleep, the chill that the early spring’s night air carried. But it meant he couldn’t spend every night of the week with you. 

The two of you were in his bed this time, fresh out of a warm shower. Joel tried to convince you that it was practical, saving the commune on hot water, but you realized that was a farce the second you undressed and his hands started roaming.

He wanted you to be his. Grabbing you by the back of your thighs, he lifted you up and pressed you against the tile wall. He sucked and bit the slick skin of your neck and shoulders in a way that made your senses fuzzy with desire. You wrapped your legs around him, whining and needy until he gave you what you really wanted.

He fucked you then and there, bodies tangled together between light and water. You could moan and beg as loud as you needed to on his right side. Still, he’d complain, telling you to use his good ear to cry out his name. Wanna hear how much you want me, pretty girl.

As you laid in his bed afterwards, him tracing circles up and down your arm, he startled suddenly.

“Time is it?”

You strained to read the time on the alarm clock. “Half past midnight.”

“Damnnit, I’m late,” he hissed. 

You watched as he got up, pulling on a pair of jeans and a white tee shirt. “Can I come?”

He gave you a pointed look, one that clearly said over my dead body. “No.”

“Joel,” you began, sitting up in bed. “I’m getting tired of this– living the same day over and over again. Besides the kids, you’re the only thing that I look forward to anymore.”

Buttoning a flannel up almost all the way, he shook his head. “Good. Means you’re safe. Better bored than dead or infected,” he said. “Going out there ain’t gonna fix anything for you.”

“You think I can’t handle myself,” you said. “I’ve gotten this far. I got here alone.”

Joel sat on the bed next to you and took your hand into his. “I know, baby. But I can’t. Can’t risk you,” he said quietly. “Stay here tonight. Stay with Ellie. I’ll be back by dawn.”

That was the end of that conversation. But you kept asking, and asking, and apparently you passed his ‘show-me-how-you-hold-a-gun’ test, so he relented. He relented, and he shouldn’t have.

You took the same mare that you did on the previous trip, arms wrapped tightly around Joel’s middle and the cool metal of his shotgun pressing against your chest at the same time. There were three other pairs out there with the two of you, covering the east, west, and south while you and Joel took the north edges. 

It was the dead of night outside those walls, and winter had melted away even further since the last time you’d seen it. Still, the exposure left you shivering, and the wind still howled in the trees like it was coming from the bitter north. 

“This ain’t all for fun. You keep your eyes open. infected, hunters, camps, anything you see. That means tracks, smoke from fires, noises– anything. You got that gun ready, too?”

You reached into the holster on your side that he’d lended you, fingers gliding over cool metal. “Mhm. Ready to shoot off some heads,” you joked.

He huffed. “Yeah. Hilarious.”

He led you northward and you wondered how he did this so often. You weren’t sure if he was actually fearless to a degree or if he just had a constant sense of duty inside of him that he felt the need to fulfill. You get so used to putting your life on the line for others that eventually, you feel useless when you aren't. You just assumed it kept him going in a way you couldn’t understand.

“I wanna show you something,” he said after a long lapse of silence. “You gonna be awake for it?”

He must’ve been able to tell with the way you had your face slumped against his back that you were trying hard to fend off sleep. “Tell me what it is first?”

“That ruins the surprise, baby doll,” he said, and you could hear the smile in his voice. 

He let you doze off for a while, but the uneven motion from the horse walking up an incline roused you again. Your eyes quickly adjusted to the blue dawn and sitting there in the foreground, like you were seeing a mirage, was a white farmhouse. 

It could’ve been sitting on three acres of cleared land. A few hundred yards away from you was a barn and a silo to go along with it. Dead moss and other foliage had twisted its way up around its sides, creeping into broken windows and cracks in the wooden planks that made up the facade. The roof sagged inwards and the door seemed to have vanished from the hinges. It was beautiful anyway. 

“Me and Tommy found this place a while back. We were thinking of how nice we could fix it up. In another life, maybe,” he said musingly. “You like it?”

You rested your chin on his shoulder and rubbed his arm with a gloved hand. “I love it. Feels like I’ve dreamt about a place like this.”

“Me too,” he agreed. “Just needs a big ol’ fence around the whole thing.”

You laughed and leaned over to kiss the shell of his ear. “I think that’d ruin it, Joel.”

He scoffed at you. “No. Can’t live here if it’s all out in the fuckin’ open.”

“I thought this was a hypothetical. And it doesn’t even have a door– I think it needs more than just a fence.”

“Well no shit. In my hypothetical, it’s all fixed up.” He waved a hand out in front of him. “New paint, big shutters on those windows. Slate roof. Maybe a blue door. Then I’d put up a fence. That make you happy?”

“In my hypothetical, there’d be no need for a fence. No infected, no hunters, no raiders. Just us. Dream bigger, Miller.”

“Fair enough,” he conceded. “But if I’m bein’ honest, there’s no hypothetical where I would wanna live in the middle-of-fuckin’-nowhere Wyoming.”

Still with your head on his shoulder, you watched the sunlight crest through the valley and light up the peak of the farmhouse in a warm glow. You dreamt of what could have been. What life would be like with Joel in the big white house of your dreams. In another life.

But if you were being honest, you wouldn’t have gotten to meet him in this one if the world hadn’t fallen apart. 

“Yeah, alright. You win,” you replied quietly. 

“I’m never wrong, hon.”

“Mhm. Whatever helps you sleep at night.”

-

You headed back south from the farmhouse, traveling across a slight ridge that overlooked an open field. About a mile out, you could see Jackson’s walls in the morning light. A sudden gasp from you made Joel pull at the reins and stop the horse in its tracks. 

“Oh, look,” you said, throwing a leg over to the other side and sliding off to get a closer look. “Wild poppies. I thought it’d be too early for flowers.” You crouched next to them and felt the warm soil beneath your fingertips. 

“Flowers? Get back over here. I’m serious, you’re already too far,” Joel called, staring at you from two yards away. 

“Oh, fuck off. Let me enjoy myself before we have to go back,” you yelled back behind you.

You were grateful for your life in Jackson. Beyond content there. It made you restless, too. As if it was some utopia that shouldn’t exist because the world had fallen apart. You had a home, you had your people, you got to show kids music, for fuck’s sake. 

You didn’t know what was missing. Maybe it was just the mourning of the life you could’ve had that never really went away. There was more, though. There was something. 

Joel slid off the horse after you, jogging to catch up. “I said I ain’t kiddin’, get back from the fuckin’ led–”

Joel barely had his hand on your shoulder when the distinct crack of a shotgun being fired rang out through the still forest. He grabbed you as quickly as he could, trying to cover your body with his, but he wasn’t fast enough. A strangled sob still wrenched itself from deep inside of you.

Joel paled. No. No. No. No. No. Baby. Baby. No. Please. Please, baby. Please.

Your knees buckled, and you would’ve sank to the ground if not for Joel’s hands around your waist, pulling you up against gravity. You pressed your hand against your upper arm, hot and sticky. When you pulled away, blood was left smeared across your palm and dripping between your fingers.

Dizzy and still reeling, you fought against his grasp and dropped to your knees. Joel went with you, grabbing your arm to assess the damage. You cried out, trying to pull it back from him, but he ignored your protests.

“You’re okay. You’re gonna be okay, sweetheart, you’re okay.” He repeated it over and over again, probably trying to convince himself more than you. “It just grazed you, baby. I know, I know, it hurts, you gotta let me, though–”

He stripped off your coat and pulled your sleeve up. A remarkable chunk was missing from your arm, replaced by a red massacre of blood and flesh. Joel tore off a strip of his flannel and tied it tight around the wound as a makeshift tourniquet. 

Just then, hurried footsteps approached the two of you. A lone man with his hands raised up in the air and a rifle strapped to his back. Joel drew his pistol, getting up to stand between you and the hunter.

“I’m so sorry,” he began, breathless. “I thought– I thought I saw a deer. I have medical supplies at my camp, I could treat that–”

The man was cut off by being promptly shot in the foot. He screamed in response, the sound full of shock and confusion, before crumbling to the ground. 

“You thought. You fuckin’ thought? Oh, I bet you did. You fucked up. You really, really fucked up.” 

Joel grabbed the man by his hair and smashed his fist into his face, over and over again, until even the poppies a few feet away had crimson blood spattered on them.

And you, you couldn’t even hear the man’s sobbing and pleading. You were hearing symphonies ringing through the woods. You were so sure you heard music, flowing and crescendoing with every throb of pain that shot through your arm. You wanted to shut your eyes and lean into it completely. 

Still, you knew you were yelling. Trying to, anyway. Screaming at Joel to stop. It was a mistake. That man hadn’t meant to shoot anyone. 

Joel, with his field of vision entirely red, watched the man look at clear blue sky and utter his last words to God–

Joel. Joel. Joel, Stop it, fucking don't, please, don’t–

And Joel, like the executioner he had been molded into, put a bullet straight through the other man’s skull. 

The music pounding in your ears faded, vision dipping into cloudy darkness, and the last thing you felt was Joel’s arms catching you before your body hit the ground. 

-

Your consciousness was spotty the entire ride back to the city. You knew you were in Joel’s one free arm, tucked in close to his chest, while he controlled the reins of the horse with the other. 

“It ain’t so bad… you’re gonna make it. Can y’hear me, baby? Talk to me, please.”

You mumbled something into his skin and groaned. The adrenaline coursing through your body was making you shiver, and every slight movement sent waves of pain through your arm.

“I love you. I love you. I love you.” He repeated, grip tightening around you. 

You heard him yelling to the guards at the front gates before your senses dulled to static black.

-

Oh, you wished you would’ve stayed unconscious.

In the clinic, there were multiple people pinning you down. Someone forced whiskey down your throat as they debrided the wound. You choked on it initially, but as they sewed the hole in your arm shut, you were screaming for more. 

The bullet should’ve gone right through you– it was centimeters away from it. You were told that it should have. You almost wished it did. But the hunter was a poor shot, and now both of you were suffering for it.

After passing out from drinking more than half a bottle of bootleg whiskey, you woke again when it was dark outside with a hangover and a dull throbbing in your arm. 

Ellie was there. 

She perked up a little when she saw that you were aware. “Oh, hey. Let me go g–”

“–don’t get Joel. Please.”

“Oh,” she said again. “He didn’t shoot you, right? He’s telling everyone that he didn’t, but–”

You pinched the bridge of your nose and cut her off. “No, no, he didn’t– fuck… where is he?”

“At the house. Maria made him. I wanted to stay. Make sure you didn’t die or some shit while everyone was gone,” she said.

You sat up more fully from the cot you’d been sleeping on. Half of it had pools of dry blood on it, overlapping. “Mmh. Thanks, Ellie.”

“Don’t mention it.” 

You stared down at your hands clasped in your lap. You swallowed. “Did they say when I could go home?”

“Dunno. I think Joel said he was ‘gonna be the one to decide’,” She told you, imitating his low southern drawl. “You wanna play cards? This weird kid at school taught me how to play Euchre.”

You agreed, of course. You and Ellie sat together on the bed, both trying to ignore the way it was splotched with red. Halfway through the second round of her kicking your ass, you popped open the decanter at your bedside and choked down the rest of the alcohol.

-

You sat awake long after Ellie had left. She beat you five times in a row until you played Go Fish and finally won a round. Tommy came to walk her back home, informing you that you should stay there for the night. He didn’t mention Joel.

You were drunk, definitely. Half your bloodstream was probably alcohol. But it made you woozy and it blurred the pain, so who were you to complain.

Joel came to you a quarter after midnight. He just stood at the door, staring at you as you stared back. 

“You shot him,” you stated.

A long pause. “He shot you.”

“You didn’t have to, Joel. I didn’t want you to.”

You could see him biting the inside of his cheek. He looked like a complete mess, not having slept in at least a day.

You sucked in a breath. “It was my fault and you know it.”

He didn’t reply. He approached you, picking up the empty bottle of whiskey before setting it down again. He sat down on the edge of the bed and let his head drop into his hands.

“I did what I thought I had to do. All I could do. Someone hurt you, and I– baby, listen to me.”

I ain’t gonna let nothin’ happen to you. D’you understand that? Nothin’. I’m gonna take care of you. Keep you safe. Keep you happy.

“I know it scared you. I’m so, so sorry. Nothin’ was your fault. Don’t think you got any blood on your hands,” he said. “It was my choice. You gotta understand… I couldn’t just let someone hurt you and walk away clean.”

I will. You just gotta let me.

You thought of the big white farmhouse. Out in the middle of nowhere with nobody trying to burn it down or hurt it. You thought of a different life. One with him. One where he’d never have to think about the trigger of a gun ever again. 

You pushed it away. You’d ruin the memory if you ever touched it again. 

Tears pooling in your eyes, he pulled you into his arms and held you. He rocked you back and forth, pressed so close to his chest that it was difficult to breathe.

“I know, baby doll, I know. It’s for the better. It’s for the better.”

You shook your head and gripped him tightly. “I’m scared. It hurts, Joel.”

He shushed you and ran his hand up and down your back. “I know. It’s gonna be alright. I’m gonna take good care of you. I just– I couldn’t let it happen again. Not to you.”

Maybe it was for the better. He kept you safe. He had shown that he’d go to any length for you. Not that you had doubts about that before. 

But he didn’t kill that man for you. He did it for himself.

-

[invisiblegarters]

(Absolutely not) Micro BL and GL Reviews

I spent the last couple of weeks being ill in bed with very little energy. Not great, but also it meant that my limited ability to get up and move around much gave me endless time to catch up on a bunch of shows that I'd let fall by the wayside (or never even started in the first place), and now I have thoughts to share!

Joy? Joy! Welcome to yet another set of my talks about shows that is supposed to be small but never actually is.

Completed

Wandee Goodday: This wound up being way sweeter than I expected from the promo material, but I'm not complaining. I genuinely love shows where most of the people are just trying to get alone while being decent, and that was certainly the vibe here. I was happy with the sex positivity and the introduction of Kao being ace, although I will admit that I felt like it was a little too "let me educate you" about that bit at certain points. That said, it's a topic that maybe needs that kind of thing in this context? I also really really loved that Dr. Dee and Yak got it together and spent a bunch of episodes just being adorable and dealing with struggles that had nothing to do with their relationship. It's so refreshing to see adults being in an adult relationship and actually acting like it. There were several times when the show could have just manufactured drama for drama's sake and chose not to and I really respect and love that. It was also fun to see Title appear in a role that wasn't to cause problems. And Char and Yei were fucking adorable my god. 8/10

We Are: Way better than I expected, if I'm honest. It got a little draggy for me at the end, but Pond and Phuwin always give solid chemistry and I finally got to see what everyone likes so much about Winny and Satang paired together. I never watched MSP and I never will because it's just a little too young for me, but Toey and Q were fucking cute so I get it now, guys. I especially adored Toey - Satang plays endearing brat very well. I also really liked Tan and Fang - their teasing dynamic worked for me. Also Boom is so pretty my goodness. I do think that it was trying to juggle too many couples but as I already said it dragged a little for me at the end so I think they could have done it with better pacing. It seems to me that New has a thing for dramas driven by internal conflicts, and that was We Are all over. The plot advanced as the characters did, which I can understand might be frustrating but I find that if I'm in the right mood I eat it right up. Especially ones like this, with mostly sweet people just living their lives and trying to do right by themselves and each other. Cute, earnest, a really good friend group. It probably won't be something that I revisit much or that sticks in my mind for a long time, but I had a good time. Giving it a 7/10, mostly for the pacing stuff I already mentioned. It kinda lost me towards the end.

My Marvelous Dream is You: idolfactory's second GL and I think I wanted to like it more than I wound up liking it. The chemistry was good and I love the cast (even if I think my girl Silvy was way underutilized), but the plot was a little...not great. I'm still not entirely sure what it was going for, or why the shared dreams were important. I really liked Ae (Kim's mom). And Wan was my favorite. Girl was messy and brash but my kind of messy and brash if I'm honest, and I cheered aloud when she went off on Mawin's family. They were awful. Awful, too, was Mawin in the end. I get being hurt but I always get a little (a lot) irritated when people mess with someone's livelihood out of pettiness, so him fucking with Kim's business because she broke up with him (and yes, in a really shitty way but also lbr here he knew she wasn't into him in some ways he did that to himself) was never gonna do anything but piss me off. It does amuse me that Heng has now played 2 dudes in idolfactory GLs who very nearly marry one of our heroines when she really really doesn't want him and he's very aware, though. I find myself wondering if he's gonna go for the third in The Loyal Pin (I hope he does). 7/10

Love Sea: I loved this one. I knew I would. The premise had me from moment one, lol. And frankly, Fort and Peat deliver on chemistry so it was kind of a no brainer for me. I knew that Trongrak was gonna wind up being really messy the second love came into the picture, and I was absolutely right. I love how he was perfectly fine with Mahasamut holding him and defending him against his shitty dad and following him around and getting all jealous when he implies he's going out to fuck other people (and whether or not he'd have done it is up for debate - I think he would have forced himself to try and failed miserably because that's my favorite lol) and take care of his niece like family, etc...but the second the word "love" actually makes its way out of the dude's mouth he can't handle it. My only quibbles were Prin - why was she so awful for no reason, MAME? The dad - he was not an effective villain to me. I wish that he'd been a little more menacing but I guess it works that he just let Tongrak think that he'd done a lot of things that he hadn't, and I do like that he was basically squeezing money out of both Tongrak and his mom just by showing up on occasion and assuming that they wouldn't talk to each other (which they weren't, both trying too hard to protect their family from his sliminess). I also like that it was finding that out that made both of them snap out of it. And last but not least - what the FUCK, MAME. How dare you give me that lesbian side couple and make it SO COMPELLING and actually get me invested than then not actually offer a resolution because oops, we're on episode 10 now and it's time for the love issue between Tongrak and Mahasamut to rear its head? How very very DARE you. Genuinely this made me the angriest and dropped my personal enjoyment a lot. I haven't seen the special yet so maybe that gets addressed (it SHOULD I was INVESTED), but while I would probably have given it a 9 (I really liked it a lot okay) I am dropping it to a 8/10 for that. Tempted to drop it to a 7 because I am petty.

This Love Doesn't Have Long Beans: Another one I really liked! The chemistry between Sailub and Pon is absolutely scorching and while I have noticed that actors are getting a lot better about it in general, I always take notice when they are so entirely comfortable with not just the steamier scenes but the emotionally intimate ones as well. I love when I am watching a show and I can believe that the characters want each other and like each other, and not like a part of them isn't flinching at the very idea of it (unless that's the character, but just go with me when I say that there's just a very specific vibe you get when one (or both) of the actors isn't comfortable and I think it actually happens more with the sweet, couply stuff than it does the steamy stuff. But I digress). Chemistry like that can help me forgive quite a bit.

I liked how obnoxious Wan was in the beginning - I did not expect that and it was annoying but also kind of delightful. He grew on me despite my initial annoyance. Oab was a little different - he annoyed me right out of the gate by not calling Kao Suay and telling her about her dad. I get the respect thing, I do, but also what if he died and she was abroad, none the wiser? How would everyone have felt then? Keeping it from her was NUTS, and I don't even care that Kluer called her and told her for nefarious reasons. Someone had to. Oab's wishy washiness with her when she came back annoyed me too - a personal failing of mine has always been that I don't have time for that kind of waffling. I just wanted him to make a choice and stick with it (and was doubly annoyed as it became clearer and clearer what his choice was and he still couldn't just say it). Thank goodness he had Nubnueng there to gently prod him into finally doing the thing.

I wish Kluer's turn to villainy had been more evil, but I guess that wouldn't have made sense for this show, since no one really was, not even Enemy No. 1 Methas. Speaking of which, I wanted to like him and JJ more than I did in the end. I did like them, but I guess I just wanted more development there than I got in the end. They were cute though JJ was hands down my favorite character. I understood Methas so much. I also really enjoyed his relationship with Wan.

One thing that I thought was utterly hilarious was Oab's pettiness. As a petty person myself I can't help but find opening a new restaurant to steal all of your ex's customers because he wouldn't just apologize for, you know, deceiving you for most of your relationship and initially planning to sell your restaurant to the one man in the world you emphatically never wanted to own it absolutely hilarious. No notes Oab you keep rocking on. 8/10

Currently Watching

The Loyal Pin: Everything in this show is so damn pretty it's hard for me to think about much else. Especially Freen, and it seems like all the show wants to do is remind us of her beauty at every moment. Which, well. I am not complaining the woman makes my breath catch.

But this week I finally started paying a bit of attention to something more than oooh pretty, and I am genuinely wondering if this show isn't going to be all pretty dresses and gorgeous women falling in love and carving mangoes and if maybe there aren't some extremely serious things swimming in the waters.

Watching Anin wield her power this week hit me way way harder than all the ways that she'd been doing it before, and in a way that made me think a lot harder about how she'd done it before as well. I think it's because usually she sticks to manipulation to get what she wants - she's charming, she smiles, she talks people around - but last ep she dropped all pretense a couple of times, and we watched it cut more than once. Anin is a woman who knows exactly what she wants and she has the means to get it, she is spoiled and she will do whatever it takes. Other people have talked about it better, but I will say I am absolutely fascinated, and am genuinely curious to see if this is going to be addressed or if it's just the way it is. I also want to see if there's something that will butt up against Anin's frankly terrifying amount of power. Something she can't either manipulate or brute force her way through (although in the end I bet she manages to do one or the other anyway).

Also, kisses. Teach Pin more things Anin! She's a good student.

The Trainee: This show was not really on my radar at all, and I'm genuinely not sure why I decided to pick it up. Maybe because I was finishing up another GMMTV show and it was next in the youtube queue?

Whatever the reason, I'm so glad I did because I fucking LOVE this show. it's my favorite thing airing right now and that I never would have expected or believed.

It really is so good though. I think for me it's that it feels realistic - maybe in a way that can be uncomfortable for some but I love it. No one here is perfect, it's not just the mentors constantly schooling the kids because even though they are older, they are still growing too, and still have things to learn. Especially when it comes to Jane, who is my favorite character in the show I think and is hands down the best Off character I have personally seen. I am so iffy with Off normally that my adoration for Jane is confusing me, but he's so good. He's an adult and he handles most of his problems like an adult (which frankly I think is sometimes missing from these shows), but still has moments where he fumbles because he's still human. And I like that when he does fumble, he apologizes. I'm also really in to the whole deal that happens in the workplace where people think he's a certain way and judge him for it, but he's really just...dedicated. Strict, yes, but not entirely uncompromising. I dunno he's just a great character.

I also really like how this feels like an ensemble show with the romance not at the forefront. I don't always want that but this is so well done that I'm happy for it. I like that we have gotten to showcase each intern, their struggles and their achievements and just...growing up and learning to handle that scary point in life where you're really starting to enter the adult sphere, with all it's responsibilities, but still not ones that are entirely on your shoulders. If you do things the more traditional way, that is - I know a lot of us were in that world well before college. Still, it does resonate with me.

I am also enjoying the insight we're getting into the background of production. Such as how much work and effort goes into even the smallest change in filming even something that seems as simple and straightforward as an ad. Imagine how hard it would be to reshoot scenes from something like a TV show, especially considering the stuff like location, OT, cast and crew...I had already guessed a lot of it, but it's always nice to be proven correct. I like being right, what can I say? And the Ryan's awkwardly trying to draw people out without directly asking them how they are After Work Corner is very charming. I like that it gives insight into the business but also Ryan, who I do sometimes feel is the weakest of the interns. Which is insane because he's played by Gun Atthaphan, but there you go. I did like that he was brave enough to ask Jane about his feelings last ep, and I'm looking forward to seeing him more in his element (or at least what he's used to) next ep.

I really hope this show continues to impress.

1000 Stars - This is a rewatch for me as I roped a friend into watching for the first time. I warm up to this one more each time I watch it. The first time I was annoyed with Phupha's everything but I feel like I get him more and more as I go on. I also love a show that has heart (heh, this show has heart ror sure (and this is why we can't take me anywhere)) and this has a ton of it. It also amuses me whenever Phupha and Tian start doing their intense staring thing and there are other people around. I bet they're all just like "welp there they go again we've lost them, best go about our business" and leave them to it.

I also always forget Khaotung is in this one. Every time I watch I'm like "oh yeah" when he shows up. It's so funny to me.

Looking Forward To:

Peaceful Property (28 Aug) - Is it BL? Is it bromance? Who knows. Do I care? I...don't think so. Whatever the romance situation it looks like a ton of fun, and I am excited to see Tay back in glasses and to see this cast, especially doing comedy.

Kidnap (06 Sep) - This one also looks like fun. I love Ohm, Leng looks like he's doing a good job matching him, they seem to have good chemistry from the trailer. And pettily I'd watch this anyway because some of the shenanigans of certain fans have made me that annoyed. Good for me that it looks like something I'll like regardless, I guess.

Pluto (???) - GIMME GIMME GIMME GIMME. It has been 84 years I am DYING here. If it doesn't get released this year I might actually cry, but I am hoping that it will.

There are others I am looking forward to (honorable mentions if you will): My Golden Blood, The Heart Killers, ReVamp (still a stupid title), Friendshit Forever, Hide & Sis, Us - but all of these are either not filming yet or so early into their schedule that I'm not letting myself get too excited for them. And for The Heart Killers especially I don't want this to be an Only Friends situation where I got really hyped and then was inevitably kind of disappointed (at first - I shook it off and came back around eventually lol). I just wanna go in there and have a good time - I'm excited to see that entire cast do a romcom, I think it'll be fun, and that's about all I want to expect out of it. I'll get excited when we get an air date.

Also thinking of picking up 4Minutes since it's on Gaga now, apparently. And maybe trying to find My Stand In since it's over and I can inhale those deliciously toxic fumes all in one (or two) sitting(s). And maybe, just maybe, poke around for BL and GLs outside Thailand, lol. I feel like it's been all Thailand all year for me when I used to watch JBLs and KBLs too.

Any recs?

[mulders-too-large-shirt]

s2 episode 2 thoughts

woohoo! we are back for another s2 moment! each night i do my duolingo and then have mulder and scully time <3

so we open on a boat which is already awful. boats are lowkey horrific. and something grabs a man working on the sewage and pulls him under. what the hell! worst case scenario on MANY fronts

then we see our good friend mulder who is listening to audio recordings. and boy was this a scene, because he had sunflower seeds everywhere, cartons of takeout scattered, a million empty cans and cups, and a page of little doodles. all while he sits in the dark.

i figured perhaps this was the squalor of the single man apartment, but no! someone opens a door and light pours in, and tells him he has to leave and someone else will take over his case. and that poor man gets forced into his disgusting space. truly the king of not giving a fuck. please try and give one fuck for me mulder

skinner moves him to a murder case in new jersey and he's all "but why did skinner want MEEEEE"

anyway he goes into the sewers, which are thankfully now free of eugene tooms due to the hard work of that one escalator... everybody say thank you escalator... and he finds a body and says send that back to the FBI

mulder busts into skinner's office to yell at him while he was IN A MEETING oh mulder!!! i get ur mad but have some decorum! he's like WHY are you wasting my time! well mulder if you want to work your way back up the ladder i think screaming at ur boss is not a good place to start!

(we also see that skinner's first name is walter and that he has a picture of bill clinton on the wall which i know made sense at the time but in 2024 it's just really funny. there's old willy looking over business)

cutscene to mulder Pondering in the dark and look! enter our dear friend scully!

"is this seat taken?" she asks "no, but i should warn you i'm experiencing violent impulses" he replies. "well, i'm armed, so i'll take my chances" she answered, and i audibly said "AWWW" <3 how sweet

he says he wants to leave the bureau! but she is his only reason to want to stay! gasp! we are gonna have to unpack that later!

she's like but you have a body right...? can i see the body....? can i pls pls pls pls be involved in ur case?

girl's night: autopsy edition! this body was quite decomposed and it had me wondering how exactly they film these scenes, and while i was pondering the process of making a prop body, we hear a loud thunk of scully removing the dude's rib cage to which i nearly fainted but we were Fine it's okay

and i'm holding my breath trying to deal with seeing this dude's insides when we get a WORM JUMPSCARE crawling about in his corpse

back in new jersey we see more sanitation workers and another man getting pummeled by the sewer beast... have we considered giving these men a raise?

the man has a nasty wound and i wrote "i am not built for this" in my notes but mulder strolls into the doctor's office while he's being checked out to investigate... we see the wound that the sanitation guy thinks is a snake that got into the sewers... and i'm thinking that doesn't sound right but i don't know enough about sewers to dispute that information

scully calls and he has to hang up and he gets ANOTHER call and picks up like "scully not now >:(" BUT THE GAG IS... it isn't her... it's some guy saying he has a friend in the FBI....... um

scully has mulder come down to the lab to show off the worm she found and give the audience a nice PSA to not eat raw meat! thank you dr. scully! we then get some worm facts and she seems pleased

BUT MULDER IS MEAN and he accuses her of being responsible for the phone call and she looks so hurt! she says she wouldn't betray his confidence by talking about him wanting to leave! mulder i get that you're in your questioning era but literally one episode ago she picked up your mostly dead body from a jungle compound so?? let's be rational here???

the next scene involved blood coming out of sanitation man's mouth and mostly what i wrote at this point was a few variations of "AUGH" "i cannot look" and "cannot handle this"

at the sanitation plant they capture whatever this Thing is and oh my. well. all i can really think of are those fake mermaids. you know the barnum fake mermaid hoax? or is that too 19th century niche? well either way, it looks like that but Worse. and equipped with suckers. it's a gnarly beast to gaze upon and i wrote more "AUGH"s here

cutscene to scully on a computer reading worm facts. back when you used a big ol computer to research creatures. i miss the 90's (disclaimer: i was not alive for them at all)

mulder lets her see the creature (which they have put in a mental hospital?) and she is SO excited to see this sort of beast BUT she figured out it was connected to the first attack because someone slipped a magazine article with a hint under her door!!!! looks like there really is someone on the inside...

she also says "i'd consider it more than a professional loss if you decided to leave" WAHHHHHHH <- me crying like a baby at this line

mulder's sitting in skinner's office like a kid stuck in detention and skinner says they're gonna prosecute the worm monkey baby thing and i nearly cried at the mental image of putting that beast on trial. skinner was like "you want to put it in the zoo?" I fear that's far more reasonable.....????? like how is he gonna testify he's WORM MONKEY BABY THING

mulder is again very pissed off and tells skinner that they could have saved the second man (who died in the shower while i was looking away from his bleeding) because he had agents who could have handled it but he shut the x files down and skinner is like. i know. but i was just following orders... tea....

okay so i THOUGHT the worm monkey was baby sized but now they're taking him somewhere else and he is full man sized... but he breaks out of his restraints, we hear a gunshot, and he escapes into a toilet... NO, i yelled to the sanitation worker on my screen, THE WORM IS INSIDE (he couldn't hear me)

mulder's at the scene and gets another mysterious phone call telling him he CANNOT mess this case up because there needs to be undeniable proof the x files must come back... okay no pressure!

so the worm monkey is somewhere in the sewer plant and scully calls like "i think the little worm we found was a baby and it's looking for a place to lay its eggs so we CANNOT let it escape"

(mulder and another worker go into the sewers without any sort of worm monkey handling equipment, idk i was thinking a shotgun might be appropriate here. like what did they think they were gonna do? wrestle it?)

the other worker falls in so NATURALLY our hero mulder (who is still a hero even if he has been cranky af lately) jumps in after him

and mulder GUILLOTINES the worm monkey in what can only be described as an average fox w 🔥🔥

at the end we see scully and mulder once again meet on a public bench in the dark, where she shares that the genetic testing proved that this thing was actually a mixture of human and worm that came from radioactive waste at chernobyl??? so. that's fucked up. haven't they suffered enough.

(but i like that this is a monster made possible by humans and yet still very real, even if that seems... an unlikely story... still, for dana scully's sake i'm happy this is something that can be proved by Science)

((although i hate to know what the implications are for the chernobyl dogs in this universe...))

we end with a shot of worm monkey baby, who has been split in half, re-opening its eyes. now i do think sea worms can sometimes grow back so this isn't SHOCKING. but it is displeasing nonetheless.

overall, listen; mulder, you've had it rough. they've slashed your life's work and you doubt reality. but man. clean your desk up. be nice to scully. skinner is clearly on ur side. i need to shake his stupidly tall frame and knock some sense into him. that beautiful woman wants to tell you worm facts and you should be writing it all down intently.

(good angst though, love that she's the only reason he wants to stay. and love her little autopsy time <3)