#its giving when he tells u to come over vs after

[yunogf]

so like

[circeyoru]

Hello you beautiful and amazeing writer!! I'm here to make a request that is more on the funny side (btw, I love ur stories. Unwanted soul being one of my favorites, lol)

That cursed cat Alastor is EVERYWERE!! And u know what? I give in... Could you write something funny where yan!Alastor is jelous of the cat? Like, he would be like:

"Me or the cat!?" And reader, with no hesetation, "The cat *takes cursed cat Alastor and leaves*". Then someome comes in "Damm, they didn't even think about it" (please tell me someome gets the reference😭)

That cat can have my fricking soul, I love it so much and it makes me laugh so bad udgdihdudhe. ANYWAYS!! Hope u have a good day/night!!! Heudhsudhjdgdhs

Go to MASTERLIST for the works. This ask is for {Unwanted Souls}.

Hi hi! Thanks for your love!! I agree that cursed cat Alastor is everywhere. More request and ask on him in my inbox!!

Okay, here is short part on Cursed Cat Alastor VS Yandere!Alastor. For easy distinction, I'm calling the cat Bambi.

Alastor's eyes twitched as he glared at the lookalike in your arms; that was his place when he came to you after working so hard for the little interest project you sent him to. The creature, Bambi as you named it, narrowed its eyes as it felt Alastor's death glare towards it, its smile widened as it felt the jealous aura radiating off of the demon.

"Darling, can't we have a meal without that inferno creature in your arms?" Alastor tried to ignore the thing and his ever-growing jealousy. Meal time was a time when you weren't absorbed into your artistic worlds, now your attention was on that damn cat! That looked like him! Smiles and all!

"Then where do I put it?" You continued to eat, ignoring how Bambi clawed some of the smaller pieces of meat to eat from your plate.

"Out the window." Alastor passed more meat onto your plate when he saw Bambi taking yours and you didn't react to it. "And on the streets of Hell where it belongs."

You chuckled, eating up the slice that Alastor passed to you first, "That's too mean, Alastor. I won't have the heart to do it because it looks and acts so much like you!"

Alastor's radio glitched and scratched, his eye twitching, "Me or the cat!?"

"The cat." You spoke and picked it up, ignoring Alastor's shock look and left the dining room.

Vaggie shifted to the side, as did Charlie, to let you passby. They looked over to Alastor, who was still sitting there, shocked and frozen. Angel poked his head in, taunting, "Woah, harsh. Your 'darling' didn't even hesitate."

Angel was immediately thrown somewhere by Alastor's tendril, making Vaggie rush to check up on him. Charlie came over and comforted him, "You know, we're having a fun movie night later, maybe you can—"

"Ha ha ha! Never will I watch those noise picture box!" Alastor declined quickly slapping off the hand she was going to put on his shoulder. "If you'll excuse me."

"Where you going?" You questioned as you re-entered the dining room.

Alastor double-checked to see if he was mistaken. His lips moved before his mind fully processed it, "Where's the cat?"

You took your plate and utensils, then went over to Alastor's side, nudging him to sit back down with your elbow before placing it down next to his. He pulled out the chair and pushed it in while you sat, then he too sat down. His eyes staring at the empty spot that would always have that creature and his ears listening to your honey words. "I left Bambi with Husk to take care while we have our meal. What? Now you want Bambi back?"

Alastor's mood brightened, "Of course not, My Love!" He took your hand and kissed it, "Let me cherish you without any distractions."

You giggled, using your free hand to pick up a piece of meat and feed it to Alastor, who ate it happily. "Right..."

"Oh, now it's even more delicious!" Alastor's eyes drooped as he smiled at you, "You should do this more often, Love."

BONUS:

Husk stares at the cat on his bar table; it growled at him with its fur all bristled like a porcupine. Husk inched away slowly to create distance from the creature that you gave him to take care in your absence. Angel came in, laughing out, "Oh! So you were the one! Ha! AHHHHH!!!!!"

Bambi pounced at Angel, biting at him with every opportunity given. Husk yelped and immediately came to help, "Uh, good cursed kitten?"

Angel screamed, "GET THIS THING OFF ME!"

Back in the dining room, you hummed as you cut another piece of meat and feed it to Alastor. He grinned darkly at the screams he heard, "My Dear, you're quite cruel."

You smirked back, "Well, Angel was being a loudmouth."

[thatdeadaquarius]

Okay so-- i was reading some sagau posts and came across this one where the reader was an army vet and my brain just Did Its Thing--

So now I'm here to inflict this on to you--

Would guns be considered as catalysts. And would they only do Phys Damage.

Me reading this ask:

😶 😐 🤨 🧐 🧐 😰 🥲 😭😭😭 💀

STOP YOU'VE INFLICTED ME WITH PSYCHOLOGICAL DMG FROM THIS ASK 😭

(Also srry took so long to respond, when i didnt realize how short this was/was just sitting over here 😓)

^ For the sake of gun imagery being a lot/maybe staff might hate me for it,

we'll put this gay shit instead (i almost mispelled to "gay shot" lmao)

☆

Sun: Army Veteran Reader, Gender neutral Reader (you/they/them)

Orbit: SHORT Headcanons

Stars: everybody bc i think itd be funny

Comets & Meteors: Content Warnings: gun stuff, mild violence, mild cursing & Trigger Warnings: Gun fun everywhere

THIS ASK HAS ME GIGGLING TO MYSELF LIKE A MANIAC

You're out here having a whole gun they let you take for off-base

And u ofc have a license so u can conceal carry

(idk how non-american gun laws work, but tbh ours are so fucked idk how they work here either, just that an army guy i knew once could have his gun when he got back home)

And ofc ur just paranoid enough (more like it just makes u feel safe)

That when u get yoinked into a portal to a silly little brightly colored gacha game fantasy world, the gun comes with 💀

Id like to add in my silly little "ur in a video game, so video game rules" AU version of genshin so:

The only other gun (ish) wielder (Mika) has unlimited bolts

Sooo I'd think your gun would be the same jfc lol

NO BC YOUD SCARE THE ACTUAL SHIT OUT OF EVERYONE IN UR VICINITY IN A BATTLE

BC GUNSHOTS ARE A DIFFERENT TYPE OF LOUD

When u first stumble into abyss monsters/hostile creatures of the realm, u nearly scare off a Lawlachurl bc every shot's like thunder to these bitches😭

So not only the monsters but the vision holders think u fucking summoned lightning

OMG THE BULLETS ARE SO FAST THEYD PROBABLY NOT SEE IT

ESP BC DISTRACTED BY GUNSHOT LOUDNESS

SO U AIM THIS LITTLE BLACK CROSSBOW (???) AND THINGS JUST DIE (OR GET RIDDLED WITH HOLES) WITH NO CLEAR ARROW STICKING OUT

STOPP- you're becoming a witchy god or smth to all of Teyvat bc it just looks like hella high level magic atp to them LMAOOO

Rumors of you get out of hand and say u just point or snap ur fingers and things get wounded/just die on the spot 💀

Oh another difference between Teyvatians seeing ur gun vs. crossbow (what they know)

Is that guns are wayyyy more destructive

Like an arrow would get shot but it'd bounce off of things like rock or wood or metal, maybe dent a little depending on how close

But a bullet goes thru that shit so easy, and leaves a whole little explosion behind, once again depending on range

(I once saw a Mythbusters episode? of them proving bullets would definitely go thru car doors, like movies lied to u, this is why drive-bys acc work like for gangs)

Lmao, the image of you in like full armor with a Teyvat made automatic gun after showing it to blacksmiths

Makes u just more convincing as a god, esp bc military training

(Ppl like Gorou and Kokomi begging for military tactics/training ur world has done)

...

....Ok.

I'll address it.

But only so u dont think im stupid later.

Yes, the Fatui have guns.

No, this not the same as having a glock LMAO

End of story.

(Also, urs runs on bullets, whereas the Fatui rely on magic/delusions to power theirs, plus they dont seem as fast or destructive as urs, more "explosions aimed at you" than real bullets)

Which,,, u leave the managing of ppl copying ur gun to ppl like the Qixing or smth, but make sure to give them advice on good gun laws if teyvat accidentally revolutionizes bc of ur advanced gun that anybody can wield (non-vision users)

Thats the best ive got abt that

Oh, also enjoy being praised as a War god now.

:)

☆

... dammit i had smth i was gonna tell u guys-

Uh what tf was it, it was important

OH

Next post is the Eldritch God Oneshot! Look out for it :) !!

☆

Safe Travels Kid,

💀♒️

♡the beloveds♡

@karmawonders / @0rah-s / @randomnatics / @glxssynarvi / @nexylaza / @genshin-impacts-me / @wholesomey-artist / @thedevioussmirk / @the-dumber-scaramouche / @chocogi / @fallen-starr / @areaderofbooks

If you wanna join a taglist, DM me what for! "Pspspsss, please tag me for [All SAGAU posts, Only SAGAU Language AUs, diff fandom, etc.]!"

(If you ever wanna drop, just DM me! "No more taglists/[specifically this AU/fandom] please!")

[obsidianpen]

ello ello ello!

been re-reading ng for so many times that im going insaine HAHAHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

-so! my nerdy side decided to write some things for now ?also I noticed the lack of comments on most posts? I would reallllly like for nerdy side of tumbler to join me on this journey :)

drum roles please may I present:

overanalysing everything in ng till I die or it ends (hopefully the former happens first cuz I cant imagin it ending)

spoilers and all that but I mean does anyone have chapters left? good for em ig lol

NUMBER 1: Harry's sudden ability to sense magic

we are first introduced to it when V blinds harry, after showing him the stars and the sky (im pretty sure V is a astrophile at this point) and harry feels Narcissa’s magic ‘’…felt…indigo, It was a subtle shift, a gentle one. apprehensive and…concerned. ‘’

and so it begins! harry is able to sesnse no only magic from there but recognize emotions through it as well. And his newfound ability is something omnipresent that helps both us-the reader- and harry himself to understand more.

let the quastions begin:

1-when did this magic lens come to be?

At first I though it was becuse of the new eyes V gives him and was something intended, but NO! story tells us that the blindness was a temporary result of the red eyes. basied on Narcissa’s comment on harry’s eyes. ‘’…they were just like your mother’s ’’ his eyes were indeed red, even while he was blind. (we also saw it from Vs eyes)

however…did his eyes transform to red the secend he was blinded? or did this happen -inbetwen/the same time- as one of the gifts ? As Narcissa’s first reaction to harry opening his eyes seemed like an over reaction to me if his eyes weren’t bloodied, and only difference was a red iris instead of a green one?

but but but ! while it came to be the same time as the whole blind era, that dosent seem to be the only factor here since its quite obvious that Lord Voldemort himself doesn’t have that power… 2- so if its somehow related to the eyes, why tf doesnt Voldemort have that power??? while I can bring hundreds of references, its crystal clear that V can’t sesnse shit like harry does, like how he can’t find him when has closed his eyes + under the invisibility cloak and many other times which im to lazy to go and find rn lol.

but honestly why tf dosen’t V have it? its quite the mystery!

while it removed the need for glasses and gave harry perfect vision, there hasn’t been anything mentioned bout a super vision? no being able to see extra details ? nought nil nada nothing?? and most ppl have perfect vision TR included???

‘’do you have any idea the intricare nature of what I did to blind you, and what I had to do to impart on you superior sight? Your corrected vision is a gift ‘’

why would tom riddle go through a very complex ritual just to have…like 0.5 point more vision? with nothing additional ? no extra sensing magic free on the house? thats kinda odd…

thats all for now? please tell me what you think and pen my lord dont you answer with that side eye emoji XD

side note worth mentioning here: so we know V couldn't change his eyes, even with harry’s soul. And we all know what he promised harry in case he tapped into their connection without permission…GIVING HARRY HIS EYES BACK WHICH HE CAN’T!!!…ehem so something somthing something? EHEM assassination? or elixir overdose? leads to something something which makes V tap into that to save harry? so many possibilities AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

ps: this did not help me calm down, I really need a calming drought with extra rosemary rn

Also tumbler fucked all my italica and bolds but ehhhhh idk imagin them on your own XD

Love u as always obi pen <3

👀

okay but instead of answering anything, I will add a point to consider: Harry sees/perceives/feels magic better with his eyes closed

[friedbaekhyunandeggso]

found you - ch. 3

pairing: gojo satoru x female oc (ara natsuna) [p.s. y'all kno i try to keep her features ambiguous asf but i think i mentioned her having long/waist-length hair at some point :') maybe i should just give her features but i kinda like leaving it open-ended]

tropes: psycho! rival! athlete! yandere! gojo x introvert! booksmart! rbf! oc

warnings: 18+ only babes, stalking/possessive themes, pet names [kitten, baby, princess, pretty], manhandling, mentions of depression, smoking (w33d, cigarette), profanity, dub/non-consented sex, begging, fingering, orgasm denial, brat taming (kinda), rough sex, creampie (pls don’t b silly & cover ur willy), coercion, alcohol/drinking, peer pressure, jjk manga reference (no major spoilers, jus some of the same phrasing-lmk if u spot it lolol), groping, somnophilia (a bit)

word count/plot: [18.4k!] ara catches gojo's attention when news breaks that she is the top academically ranked student in their grade. he is ranked second. he tries to befriend her but she ignores him. despite her obvious disinterest, his obsession begins...

a/n: Sooo i’m not joking about all the warnings so pls b thorough w reading them. I really don’t want anyone to feel misled bc i do take my time to type everything out bc this stuff is dark & not a happy jolly love story. I feel like a part of why I even write this story is bc i want to explore the characterization of someone extremely entitled and completely helpless to their impulses vs someone who is relatively sheltered & always in fight or flight mode-its all p twisted but can u tell i wasn’t in a good place when i first started this LMAO. anyway, jus b warneddd

ch. 1 , ch. 2 [ part 1 | part 2 ] , chapter 3 , ch. 4

They fucked. They fucked a lot. Whether it be at night after his basketball practice or mid-day in school. In study rooms, the locker room, empty classrooms-wherever they could find.

Some days he wanted her extra early, he’d have her first thing in the morning or right after she changed into uniform. Or-when he’s feeling extra desperate-he’d have her in his car in the parking lot, right after driving them to school. He liked seeing her all flush-faced and flustered while zooming out of his car those mornings.

He never seemed to get enough. 

And she couldn’t take it. Her veil was slipping away with each encounter with him. She cried a lot when he wasn’t around and grew incredibly frustrated whenever he was around. Her patience was running incredibly thin—despite knowing her options were limited, she never stopped fantasizing of ways to end their ‘relationship’ on the daily.

The cops left their school a week ago. It seemed they gathered all the information they needed. And seeing how lax Gojo was, she knew without a doubt that he’d gotten off without a scratch. She didn’t even think anyone suspected him.

How could they? When she was the only one that’d seen it all—The only one who knew the reason.

Noel hadn’t come back to school—rumor had it that he’d transferred schools. Rumor also had it that it was Nanami’s doing because-apparently-Noel stole jewelry from Nanami’s house the night of the party. 

She couldn’t help but doubt that rumor. Noel was well off, he didn’t need someone else’s mothers jewelry. But she supposed transferring to another school district couldn’t be helped, especially not after having a label like ‘robber’ stuck to you at a school full of rich kids. It didn’t help that he robbed his own team captain at that; it was something his reputation couldn’t come back from-at this school, anyway.

She wished she could directly ask him what happened that night but she doubted she’d get the chance now.

Eitherway, she knew something was more than suspicious about that situation. And it made her more than just irritable when she thought of Gojo going on with his daily life while other people had to face the repercussions of his actions.

Suddenly the sound of a car honking drew her from her thoughts.

She immediately glanced over to see a matte black Mercedes G-Wagon pulling up beside her. The passenger window rolled down to reveal an unruly, platinum haired boy with the most lethal smirk on his lips.

He lowered his sunglasses, “You forgot about me already?”

She’d gotten so lost in her thoughts she must’ve accidentally walked right past his car. She swallowed-hesitating for only a moment before slipping into his car.

The second she shut the car door, she tried not to be tense. She knew what was coming and he did exactly that.

His hand slid around her nape, his crystalline eyes affectionate as he leaned over to capture her lips in a lingering kiss. He always greeted her like he missed her—as if he hadn’t been in her bed an hour ago.

Since he slept over most nights he'd wanted to leave some of his clothes at hers. She immediately refused-using the excuse that if her Dad found his clothes in her room she was bound to get in trouble.

In reality, she needed the hour he took to go home and change in the morning for herself. He was always around-it felt suffocating sometimes. Suffocating enough that she almost liked school.

Except for when he texted her ‘i wanna see you’ in the middle of class. That text filled her with dread every time.

Aside from school, that ‘morning hour’ and his basketball practice-they were almost always together. Like now, he always picked her up the same time her bus usually came to pick her up. He also parked a block away from her house-her orders, because she had a thing about discretion.

He broke the kiss, his fingers playing with her hair, “What’s got you in a daze, kitten?”

She inadvertently tensed, “Nothing.”

He assessed her before his gaze grew warm, “Always so serious.” he mused.

He ruffled her hair and she pushed his hand away. He leaned back in his seat before driving in that one-handed fashion that he always did.

Her eyes narrowed when she noticed him take an unfamiliar route. She watched him pull into one of the nearby gated communities.

She didn’t build up the courage to ask about their whereabouts until he stopped in front of a house that couldn’t have been worth less than two million. The architecture of the house was rather modern, with a lot of glass wall panels and a marble driveway.

“This isn’t school.” the words came out more curt than she intended.

“Correct. We’re picking Suguru up.”

Her eyes widened and before she could speak the back door of the car opened and Geto slipped inside. He was dressed in uniform. His hair tied back in his typical man bun, she’d never seen him without it.

Geto patted Gojo on the shoulder in greeting before settling into the backseat. “Yo.”

Geto caught her gaze and merely nodded, his expression unreadable.

“Yooo,” Gojo greeted-rather enthusiastically-before pulling out of the driveway. “Busted your car, didn’t ya?”

“Shut the hell up. I get it back tomorrow.”

Gojo smirked, “Damn-tomorrow? Kinda liked it when you rely on me.”

“Yeah well I’d rather hang myself before getting on a smelly bus.”

Ara flushed.

Geto continued, “Did you do the calc homework?”

“Yeah, you want it?”

“Do you remember what you got for the last question?”

They continued to converse until Gojo parked in the school parking lot.

Gojo checked his watch, “We still got fifteen minutes left till homeroom.”

“Great, I had to print out something from the library anyway.”

Geto stepped out of the car only to pop his head back in a second before he shut the door, “Yo, make sure to send me the calc homework.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Gojo said, slipping his phone out his pocket to do just that.

Geto’s eyes seemed to catch Ara’s for a moment, “Bye, Natsuna.”

She blinked, “Bye.”

Geto shut the car door before walking off in the direction of school. The familiar sound of a text being sent was audible, “There.” Gojo muttered.

“You told him.” Ara spoke, rather outright.

He raised a pale brow, “What?”

“He knows.. about us.”

Gojo blinked.

She held his gaze, trying not to look as unnerved as she felt, “I thought we agreed on keeping us a secret.”

“He’s my best friend.”

“And?” her irritation got the best of her. “What if he tells someone?”

“He’s not like that. Besides, you told Millie too-didn’t you?”

“No.”

“She knows we fucked.”

She flushed, “Yeah, and that’s it. I didn’t tell her we’re together.”

A subtle grin tugged at the corner of his lip, “Love when you say it.”

His hand went to the headrest of her seat-leaning towards her, “You could tell her. You can tell anybody you wan-“

“I prefer to keep things private,” she bit out, “You know this. How come I always have to listen to you but you never listen to me?”

The second the question left her lips, she froze. She felt it—the invisible line she’d crossed. She felt herself treading into dangerous territory.

His voice was oddly calm, “I do listen to you.”

It was true, sometimes he did but- “Only when you want to.” The words tumbled out of her, a whispery quality to her voice.

Suddenly his hand was at her nape, forcing her to look up at him. “Because you still hide things from me, Ara. I want you to tell me everything. I’m willing to tell you anything because I’m willing to give you everything. You just need to tell me what’s on your mind.”

She grabbed his wrist, her mind boggled. She shoved his hand away from her neck, “What are you talking about?”

“I’m willing to wait, Ara. I told you that I’m gonna be your everything and I meant it.”

His gaze was determined as he spoke, “I want you to open up to me because you want to-because you love me.”

She froze-holding his gaze for a moment before speaking a bit shakily, “You couldn’t handle it if I told you what’s on my mind.”

“Is that what you think?”

“It’s what I know.”

“Tell me,” he insisted, “Tell me one thing.”

She didn’t have enough energy to hold back- “I want space.”

She couldn’t look him in the eye once she said the words-simply staring straight out his blacked out windows. She tried not to tremble as the silence hung like weight between.

“I don’t believe in space.” His voice was cold.

She shivered, fighting the urge within her to just clamp up and be silent as she stuttered out, “I-I told you.. you couldn’t handle it.”

She nearly yelled when he grabbed a fistful of her hair, turning her to face him.

His eyes were ablaze with such anger it was nearly palpable, “Is there another boy?”

Her eyes widened before narrowing, “What?! No-!“ she twisted her head away from his hold, shoving his arm back.

His arm barely budged but he complied anyway, releasing her.

“Then why the hell do you want space?”

“Because we’re always together! I-I barely have time to myself. Y-your always there.”

“You had enough time to yourself. All those years before I found you was enough.” His tone was frigid, unrelenting.

She wanted to cry-she couldn’t do this anymore. “Y-you see,” she choked out, “I can’t speak my mind.”

His hand found her nape again, forcing her to face him—forcing her near as tears spilled down her face.

“No,” his tone was calm, yet the icy undercurrent within his words could not be denied, “You only want space because you’re afraid of falling for me. You think the more you get away from me you can convince yourself you don’t need me and I won’t have any of that.”

His voice turned lethal-completely deadpan, “I’m never letting you go.”

The words felt all too heavy-all too weighted-all too much. She hated this feeling; the feeling of having found another cage. This was exactly what she didn’t want.

Another situation that she didn’t know how to get rid of.

She shoved herself out of his grasp, looking away before he could see more tears spilling out of her eyes or how she was biting down on her lip hard to control her sob. She didn’t want to cry in front of him.

She didn’t think when she stepped out of his car and ran towards school. All she wanted to do was get away from him.

She didn’t respond to him all day-and the terror of it all didn’t hit her until she was home, in the middle of doing her nightly skin care routine.

Fuck.

She froze, lowering her hand as she stared at her terrified expression in the mirror-the memory of how angry he looked when she muted him resurfacing.

She’d felt incredibly depressed after their argument, going class to class like a zombie until all her emotions became numb. She was incredibly zoned out, fatigued. She hadn’t checked her phone once all day.

The second she got home, she fell back into her old routine of napping after school. She felt refreshed after waking up and was able to do her homework with perfect concentration-not one stray thought clouding her mind.

She didn’t realize what she was disassociating from until now.

She quickly wiped her hands and retrieved her phone to check the time. 10:29 pm.

She blinked. That was way past his practice time. He would normally be at her place by now. What is going on?

Her heart raced. Too say she was worried wouldn't nearly cover how fidgety she was feeling. He never did this before.

She swallowed, wandering out her room to glance out the window. She was nearly certain it had something to do with their argument-it had to, right?

Her stomach rolled at the thought of him being angry. She stared at his several texts with growing horror.

9:59 am - satoru bby🫶❣️🍰: hi

10:45 am - satoru bby🫶❣️🍰: araa let’s talk

11:37 am - satoru bby🫶❣️🍰: i wanna see you

11:39 am - satoru bby🫶❣️🍰: talk to me ara

1:24 pm - satoru bby🫶❣️🍰: u fr ignoring me?

1:45 pm - satoru bby🫶❣️🍰: u can’t ignore me forever yk

Her horror grew a thousand fold. She never ignored his texts-especially not after the ‘muting’ incident. But this-she’d ignored his ‘i wanna see you’ text, the first time she'd done such a thing. She was sure-most terrifyingly sure-there was no way she was getting out of this unscathed.

He was sure to be fuming.

She held her phone to her chest, dropping to her knees in the middle of her room. Questioning everything.

I shouldn’t have argued with him. Oh my god.. God, why didn’t I check my phone? Why?! Fuck, fuck, fuck !

She raked a hand through her hair. There was no way she was going to get an ounce of sleep tonight. She was terrified of what he would do.

Her eyes widened. I should text back. Maybe that’ll calm him.

She fumbled for her phone only to freeze when she saw a new notification appear. It was him.

satoru bby🫶❣️🍰: come outside

Her heart stopped. What should I do?

Her mind scrambled for the safest option. Her fingers hesitated before flying across the keyboard.

ara: i just saw ur texts sorry

Before she could send out her next reply, three typing dots appeared from his end and he responded a millisecond later.

satoru bby🫶❣️🍰: just come outside .

She froze. She couldn’t help but think he was mad-definitely mad. He never texted like that.

Oh no..

Her anxiety spiked. She knew she had to go.. Her eyes squeezed shut, chest tightening.

satoru bby🫶❣️🍰: i won’t repeat myself ara

Her fingers flew across the keyboard.

ara: im coming

She stared at her text with dread and.. frustration. Frustration because she couldn't believe he could command her like this-invoking her forced compliance. Dread because.. she had no clue what he would do.

She hugged herself tight as she slowly approached his car, which was parked at its usual spot down the block. He knew to avoid the cameras around her house.

Her heart pounded rapidly in her chest as she knocked on the G-wagon passenger door before stepping inside.

He was facing out his window before she knocked. He immediately glanced over-tapping off the burnt edge of his joint.

His radiant eyes scanned her impassively before puffing out smoke slowly. The smoke silently curling in the air between them.

“Close the door.” he muttered.

She blinked, immediately glancing towards the passenger door to see that her hand was still on the handle. She hadn’t fully closed it.

She refrained from audibly swallowing before closing the door. She flinched when the car door locked.

She glanced over his way to see him swiftly adjust the gear to ‘drive’-mode and get the car on the road. The speed of the action made her throat tighten.

Her intertwined hands fidgeted in her lap uneasily. She contemplated apologizing for not responding to his texts-but she couldn’t find it in herself too. She almost didn’t want to remind him. Even if he was angry, he seemed somewhat calm right now.

She couldn’t ever be sure with him.

She didn’t want to break the silence. Her mind going a mile per minute before finally spurting out, “Where are we going?”

Ever since their ice cream hangout, he always wanted to take her to places at night but she always refused. The paranoia of her Dad finding out always overwhelmed her.

“To a party.” he responded, airily.

Her head whipped around to face him. She stared in shock as he indifferently took another hit from the joint.

“W-what?” she questioned, blankly. Her voice low.

“We’re going to a party.”

She stared at him. He couldn’t be serious… Entering a party with him-everyone would know what that meant, everyone would see them.

“I-“ she scrambled for words, “I can’t go.”

“Yes, you can.” his voice completely assured.

“No, I can’t, Satoru,” she fought to keep her voice even. “My Dad might check on me a-and we can’t show up to an event together-“

“Fuck your Dad and fuck being private.”

She stared at him in astonishment. His eyes were ablaze as he threw his burnt out joint out the window.

“Sick of that shit. I want everyone to know you’re mine.”

She felt herself growing sick. Is this supposed to be her punishment? No. no. no.. She couldn’t allow this, word would spread like wildfire and if her Dad were to somehow find out.. It was a huge risk-one that she wasn’t willing to take.

It didn’t help that something about the briskness of his words made her impulsively tap into her anger.

Her tone came out firm-with a tinge of desperation, “What do you have to prove to people?”

A wicked smirk slipped across his lips, “I don’t give a fuck about people. But you do-don’t you? You think your Pops is gonna find out. You know the attention you're gonna get bein’ mine and you hate it.”

He continued, “I don’t give a shit about either excuse anymore. Anything happens, they’ll have to come through me first.”

“Excuse?” she repeated in contempt-filled shock before sputtering out, “Y-you don’t understand-“

“What? That your Dad’s old school? He doesn’t allow you to date? Who cares-If he hears some shit just tell him it’s a rumor.”

Suddenly anger overrode her fear. Her words came out sharp, “Do you think I would be like this if it were that easy?”

“Then tell me why its not.”

She froze, her partly open lips gradually closing. She’d nearly told him-her answer just on the tip of her tongue-but it felt wrong. Telling someone her family issues would be a first, and-on top of that-confiding in him of all people? She’d rather die.

Her voice was low as she spoke through gritted teeth-attempting to keep her emotions at bay, “Just-take me home.” she choked out, shakily.

He glanced over at her. She felt his gaze on her and quickly faced the window. Her jaw locked as she swallowed, hard.

She squeezed her eyes shut as a heavy silence followed. She felt the tension build into a knot in her stomach.

She hesitantly glanced his way to see his expression was completely cold-to glacial levels. Not one emotion on his face.

She felt herself go breathless but decided to push her luck anyway. She needed to go home.

“P-please, Satoru.” she whispered.

His hand on the wheel tightened, “You’re coming with me. That’s final.”

She felt her heartbeat go faster. The finality in his tone was suffocating. She hated how helpless she felt; she felt the weight of it in every point of her body. Unease swirled underneath her skin, making her tremble slightly.

She couldn’t go to this party. She had to try. She needed to think of something.

“Satoru..”

“Hm?”

She fought to keep her voice even, “I’m dressed in pjs, I-I can’t go like this.”

“Doesn’t matter. It’s Shoko’s party, I’ll tell her to let you borrow somethin’ “

She gnawed on her bottom lip, facing the window again as she racked her mind for something. It was hard to think through the turmoil of emotions swirling within her.

Her desperation got the best of her as she spoke, her voice cracking, “Please, don’t do this. Just take me home-I-I want to be home.”

He sucked his teeth, his ill-tempered expression faltering a second to reveal something more worn out. He looked almost exhausted.

“Why’d you have to whine today of all days? I don’t have the patience today.”

Her stomach twisted at how he spoke. He made it sound as if he were complaining about a pet being disobedient. Her nails dug into her palms as her hands clenched into fists.

“Aren’t you supposed to be my peace or some shit.” he muttered.

She chose not to dwell on his words, instead she inhaled a much needed breath before speaking quietly, “I’m sorry to bother you.. I promise I’ll stop once you take me home.”

A short, dry laugh left him, “Nah.”

His fingers tapped the steering wheel before he glanced her way, “I can think of a few other ways you could put me at ease.”

Her eyes widened when he pulled the car over to the side of the road. Her stomach swirled with dread. He wouldn’t—

He stepped out of the car and easily made it to her side. He opened the passenger side door, his tall frame nearly blocking the entirety of the entrance.

She stared at him in horror. His blue crystal-like eyes seemed to glimmer in the dark. A faint, nearly imperceptible smile grew on his lips as he looked at her.

She was still for a millisecond before attempting to zip past him through the narrow space underneath his arm-but he caught her easily. Almost as if he anticipated it.

She was yanked to his side, “Relax, kitten.”

Her limbs flung out, trying to connect with anything as she twisted in his grasp. Sounds of frustration leaving her lips as she yelled, “Let go-! Let go of-!”

He swung open the back door as she struggled in his hold. He tossed her in the backseat, her back flat against the seats. She didn’t get a second to process because Gojo was suddenly above her-the wide ceiling of the car providing him ample room.

She opened her mouth to scream but froze when a smug grin split across his lips, “Go ahead, be as loud as you want.”

He tilted his head slightly, “No one’s around to hear you.”

Her heart sank when she realized he was right. Whatever road they were on was rather deserted. She hadn’t seen anyone drive past them for the past ten minutes.

His lips brushed over hers, “No one but me.”

She shoved him off, a short cry leaving her lips as she twisted fiercely underneath him—attempting to turn her body and grasp the nearest car door handle.

His large hand found the meeting place of her neck and shoulder-and shoved her down. She yelled out.

“Where do you think you’re goin’ Ara.”

She stared up at him-momentarily frozen. His pale face was directly over hers, too close-everything too visible. The faint flush over his high cheekbones, the subdued spark in his dilated eyes, the hard-set of his jaw.

Strands of his white hair tickled her forehead as his hand came up to the side of her face. His thumb gliding over her bottom lip-playing with it almost. “You can’t escape me.” he reminded her, softly.

Tears filled her eyes and her arms moved before she could process it. She scrambled, she didn’t even know what she was doing. She wasn’t sure if she was shoving him or hitting him-all she knew was that she had to get away from him.

It took him an entirety of two seconds to pin both of her hands above her head with just one of his own. A sob left her lips as she writhed. She threw her head back in frustration.

His other hand slid down her ribs, over her stomach—pushing her arched body back down against the seats.

“Fuck, you’re testing me today.”

He pushed her legs aside with his free hand before easily tugging her sweats off. 

After removing them, he spread her bare legs and hooked them over his own. Despite being clothed himself, his erection made itself evident through the tent at his groin. The tip of the tent poking right against her panties, right over where it wanted to be.

She gasped, her hands pushing against his hold on her wrists as she struggled.

“N-no! Gojo-stop! Please-I don’t want to-!”

He began to thumb her clit over her panties, giving her a completely different reason to writhe underneath him.

“You think you get the choice?” he hissed, “You think I forgot how you ignored me all day, hm? I needed you, kitten. You ignored me.”

She let out a choked moan when he squeezed her clit slightly, “You can’t ignore me now, hm?” he taunted.

She felt his cock twitch against her cunt. He was already so hard, she couldn’t help but feel terrified.

“S-satoru, plea-nngh!” she moaned shakily, betraying herself. His fingers knew his way around her too well. He knew where to touch her-to make her whimper-to make her moan.

His thumb moved expertly along her puffy clit, pressing at the point where it throbbed the most to make her squeal.

Her shoulders shook as she twisted under him, her arms sore from how much she thrashed in his hold. His grip on her wrists never loosened.

She immediately turned her face aside when he lowered his face above hers. A strangled moan leaving her lips when her clit grew slightly hard under his ministrations–making her all the more sensitive to his touch at its tense bud. She was close, and he knew it too.

A low gasp left her lips when his touch disappeared, leaving her clit throbbing with need–aching for more. She’d been seconds away from her peak.

She felt her hips rise, nearly chasing his touch before freezing. Her frustration surprised her–her eyes going wide in shock.

No… no!

“You wanted more, didn’t you, kitten?” he spoke huskily against her temple before taunting, “Beg for it.”

She gasped when she felt his long fingers touch her pussy lips, spreading her wetness along her folds. She hated that she enjoyed his touch–she hated that she knew he was prepping her.

She turned her head to face him, the hatred clear in her eyes before she spit in his face.

“Never.”

A growl ripped from his throat and the next thing she knew she was screaming. His index and middle finger fucking her so hard, her hips bucked with each thrust.

“I’m gonna fuck you so hard, Ara,” he promised darkly in her ear, “I’m gonna fuck the disobedience right outta you.”

She screamed once more when his fingers felt like they slammed too deep. The lewd sounds of her wetness felt too loud each time his fingers fully submerged themselves in her.

“I-I hate you.” she sobbed, her head shaking back and forth as she tried to tame her moans.

“Your pussy doesn’t.”

She hated that he was right. With each ferocious thrust of his fingers, drops of her wetness flew in the air-leaving wet spots on his pants, his shirt. It was embarrassing–and completely lewd. She squeezed her thighs, aching to close her legs but his body was planted firmly between them–keeping her legs wide open, her pussy completely vulnerable to his advances.

She sobbed, her back arching as she felt herself get as wet as he liked. Her pussy sloshing with juices, her insides a complete sopping mess. It hadn’t taken long due to his teasing earlier.

She knew he liked when he got her like this, so he could completely submerge his huge cock into her straight away despite how narrow she was inside. It made her realize-with daunting clarity-how rough he was planning on being.

He groaned before removing his fingers from her cunt and slipping them into his mouth. A jolt of electricity zipping up her spine as she watched him deftly suck his fingers clean. He loved her taste.

“Fuck,” he muttered, a bit breathless.

He reached down to unzip himself, his luminous eyes never leaving hers as he did so. Her legs trembled.

He didn’t miss the subtle action-his gaze dropping to her shaky legs. His hand slid down her inner thigh, making her trembling worse.

“You scared?” he murmured, quietly-before grabbing her by the hip to pull her sopping cunt directly against his groin. She felt his length press against her through his jeans, he was so stiff she couldn’t help but shiver.

He moved her trembling legs over his shoulders, “You should be.”

She felt tears slip down her face as she tried to contain her sob. She lifted her hips-her cunt inadvertently rubbing his clothed cock as she tried to push at his grip on her wrists-frustration consuming her. She hated how weak the action felt against the strength of his grip.

He chuckled darkly.

“Please, stop..” her voice shook, but she knew her pleas would be futile.

He began to unzip himself once-more. Her body jolted when she felt his hot, bare cock press against her pussy lips. Her wetness making it all too easy for him to glide his thick, veiny length through her folds.

He pulled back slightly, wrapping his hand around his cock to press its tip into her clit—making her squeal. He began to rub his cockhead against her clit in painstakingly slow circles.

His breath hitched as he watched her stir underneath him. She attempted to lift her hips away from him but he was adamant, keeping his cock right at the bud of her pleasure—knowing how it would make her feel.

“I’m gonna make you wish you were good to me.”

Her eyes shot open at the coarseness of his voice, meeting his dominating gaze a second before he showed her the truth behind his words.

She screamed.

He’d buried himself into her to the hilt-in one brutally swift motion. His cock was so huge she felt like she could feel it throbbing at every point in her body. The sound of the action was so lewd, she couldn’t help but gape in embarrassment.

But he didn’t stop–he didn’t give her a second to adjust. Instead he made her mind go completely stupid when he fucked at her at the cruelest pace she’d ever felt. It felt like the cruelest pace known to mankind. She didn’t think her mouth ever closed.

The sound of his cock slamming into her was instantly repeated–it was never ending. Despite being so wet, the fit was still too tight–she was able to feel each bump, ridge and curve of his cock. Especially its head when it hit far too deep within her then it should've. Her body shook forcefully with each thrust.

Her legs on his shoulders gave him the perfect angle to drench his cock to brim in her juices—allowing him to thrust into her as mercilessly as he wanted. His pace was brutal-punishing.

She managed to finally gasp out words through her moans, “Oh my god-ngh!-I-I can’t! I can’t–Gojo, please.”

Her back arched as he didn’t stop-desperate mewls and cries leaving her lips. He clutched the side of her face-his nose grazing hers as he pressed his cock deep into her, making her hips rise as she groaned. She felt so filled.

His thumb wiped away a tear as he continued to thrust into her-a bit slower than before so he could revel in the feel of her slippery cunt. He didn’t know how she managed to be so soft and tight at the same time.

“Love seeing you cry on my cock like this,” he muttered raggedly, “Gets me so hard, kitten-so hard. I don’t wanna stop. I can’t stop.”

He groaned as he slowed down-as if it were taking him everything to do so. “I don’t wanna cum just yet.” he gritted out hoarsely.

He finally went still inside her. He released her hands to slip off his shirt and her eyes widened.

My hands are free.

It was a split second decision-one that was made without a single regard for how badly her body ached or how stiff her arms felt. She moved, using her legs on his shoulder to kick him back and twist her body towards the door.

She clutched the door handle and shoved it open, only to yell when she felt hands grip her waist and yank her back inside.

She screamed, struggling and kicking in his grip, “Let go—let go of me! Let go! Let g-“

Suddenly she was held up and plunged down on his cock in his lap. Her wetness completely enveloping him, instantly transforming her scream into a choked moan. Her body shook as her cunt was forced to accommodate him. The sensation all too much-tipping her to the edge of her sanity.

Her eyes squeezed shut as her cunt spasmed around his stiff cock. She jerked in his hold, nails scratching wildly at his arm around her, "N-no, nngghh," she choked out, moaning as her cunt squeezed him so tight, "Please-please—" she whisper-cried.

Despite all her struggle, he didn’t budge—he was completely immovable. He easily reached over and slammed the car door shut. The 'click' sound of the doors locking seemed to echo.

The second the door locked, his hand slipped around her neck and shoved her small back completely against his muscular chest. His other hand gripped her hip, keeping her rooted in spot as he shoved the full length of his cock into her. The head of his cock reaching a spot too deep.

“AHh-!”

“Enough.” he said the word without a drop of emotion.

Her whole body twitched, uneven gasps leaving her lips as his fingers tightened around her throat. Her back arched against him, his hand on her hip kept her cunt glued to him.

He stared at her parted lips, “When are you gonna learn, Ara..”

She whimpered when she felt his cock throb within her. She dropped her head-forcing herself to breathe.

His hand at her neck slid to her jaw, forcing her head back against his shoulder.

His lips brushed her throat, “I’m never letting you go.”

His cock didn’t stop moving after that. He fucked her. His actions embodying his words as his cock pistoned in and out of her ruthlessly.

His hold on her left her utterly useless to anything but his means. She could feel too much of him at this position. Her body trembling with each rough press of his cock.

Her throat was sore from how much cried-screamed-moaned. From pain or pleasure, she didn’t know anymore. All she knew was that she was completely consumed by him. There was nothing else but him.

He was everywhere. Beside her, near her, in her. 

Nowhere to escape. Just him. Only him.

His breaths were short, hot and desperate beside her ear. He bit at her neck and jaw needily. His hand on her neck now under her shirt, squeezing her tits with all his strength. His cock pounded into her harder.

She bucked forward, crying out. His arm over her tits kept her close to his firm body. With how hard he was fucking her, he had to hold her-to keep her from flying all over the place.

The pleasure building within her couldn’t be helped. Her skin felt hot and sweaty—at the cusp of something she couldn’t come back from. Every nerve within her body felt attuned to the brutal pace of his cock.

She flimsily grabbed the wrist of his hand at her tits, “Satoru, pl-nnghh-st-Satoru!” she yelled, wishing she could tell him to stop but the only thing that left her mouth was an earth shattering moan.

She jerked forward. Her pussy spasming hard around his cock. She felt like she’d entered another dimension—especially since his pace didn’t slow down. His cock drawing out her pleasure to the max.

His arms wound themselves tight around her smaller frame, keeping her close against him as her entire body jerked and trembled with her orgasm. Her back arched against him-his arms only tightening around her to pull her close again. She threw her head back and he buried his face into her neck.

She couldn’t stop moaning-screaming-she couldn’t tell anymore. All she knew her throat felt entirely too scratchy from all the noises she’d made during their fucking and now, her high.

Her pussy clamped around him. Her walls squeezing him so deliciously tight he swore he saw a glimpse of heaven. He groaned into her neck. The groan was so deep, so animalistic she felt it emanating through his chest against her back.

He leaned forward, burying his cock impossibly deeper as he came. She was too weak to even gasp at the feeling of his thick, warm cum spurting within her-completely coating her cunt walls. She merely twitched at the feeling of his stiff cock throbbing in her overly sensitive cunt. Streaks of his cum slipped out of her-down her inner thighs. There was simply no more room inside her.

Then finally, they both went still. Nothing but their breathlessness filling the silence.

She released his hair, she hadn’t realized she grabbed it mid orgasm. Her tits felt sore from how hard he’d squeezed her through his high.

She shivered when she felt his cock twitch within her-the aftermath of his peak. She felt so weak, so utterly used. She closed her eyes, not wanting to think anymore.

He was always so good at that-not making her think.

His arms loosened around her. His hands found the curves of her waist and pulled her upright with him. Even that subtle action made her body ache with soreness.

Suddenly he bit at her neck, nipping at her skin possessively while palming her tits under her shirt. She writhed weakly against him, his half-erect cock within her making her go still.

Her eyes shot open, she couldn’t let him get hard again.

His hands suddenly slipped underneath her knees, spreading her thighs apart. Her cheeks grew warm when she felt his gaze on her lower regions over her shoulder.

She swallowed when she saw all the marks and bruises from his hands on her earlier. He always grabbed her so hard. He always did whatever he wanted with her.

He shifted underneath her, his hips slowly pulling his cock out of her. When his cock finally slipped out, a lewd sound filled the car. She watched in horror as streams of his hot cum poured out of her cunt-it felt endless, it didn’t stop pouring out. It didn’t help that his cock was completely erect and shiny from her juices.

“Look at how wet you’ve made my cock, kitten,” his voice was husky against her temple, “You came so hard you were screaming-you screamed my name.”

Her eyes widened when she saw his cock twitch. She instinctively drew her legs together.

He harshly drew her legs apart, “You think anyone else could make you feel like that?”

She trembled when his hold around her thighs tightened. She knew he was bound to leave new marks at the skin there.

He pressed his nose to her temple, “Hm?”

She shivered, simply turning her face aside. She couldn’t find it in herself to speak.

“Answer me.” he whispered in her ear.

She squeezed her eyes shut, merely shaking her head.

“That’s right,” he muttered, “No one but me.”

His hand squeezed her inner thigh, making her jolt, “You’re mine, Ara. Mine.”

He watched a tear unconsciously make its way down her cheek, “I took your first and I’ll keep takin’ you forever.”

She flinched when she felt him deftly lick her cheekbone, catching her tear with his tongue-tasting her.

“You belong to me.”

He held her hand as she stepped out of the car. She silently followed him. She didn’t register anything about their surroundings-simply letting him lead her where he wanted.

She thought she faintly heard the sound of a phone ringing and going to voicemail. He grumbled in annoyance.

Suddenly a door swung open before them. Music blasting through the doors.

She glanced up to see Shoko standing at the door, “Hi snowman.”

“I was calling you.”

Shoko glanced over at her, “This her?”

Ara couldn’t help but sense the smirk in his voice, “Yeah.”

Ara glanced around-finally noticing her surroundings. She was on a vast, wrap-around stone porch. Empty alcohol bottles and burnt out joints were scattered all over the otherwise sparkling ground.

Suddenly Shoko was grabbing her hand, “I don’t know why you’re tellin’ me to dress her up when I can barely dress myself but I’ll have fun with this.”

Ara was dragged through the double doors and led inside the mansion. Ara didn’t the chance to admire the color changing chandelier in the lobby because she was getting pulled up the steps-or rather, dragged. Shoko walked pretty fast.

People were everywhere. She didn’t make eye contact with anyone. She didn’t want to see people from school.

People laughed boisterously-calling out to each other. Wearing shiny outfits. Drinks and joints in hand. They looked so happy, care-free. She felt so out of place.

A few people spoke to Shoko but she simply said a few words and shoo-ed them away. Ara was too zoned out to care.

Suddenly Shoko pushed open a door and led them both inside. It was a bedroom, decorated sparsely but lavishly. Each decoration piece looked as if it were taken from a museum or art studio.

It was quite obviously a girls room, due to the subtle feminine touches within the room despite the color scheme of the room being cream and sage.

“Alright, so…”

Ara stopped scanning the room to meet Shoko’s blank stare. The other girl looked curious but unamused at the same time. They’d seen each other before-in classes and such-but this had to be the most they’ve ever interacted.

Ara knew she was rather close to Gojo and Geto. Rumor also had it that her and Nanami were dating.

“I don’t know if I have clothes your taste or whatever but can you take your shirt off so I can see what I’m working with?”

Ara blinked, “Uh..”

She couldn’t blame the other girl for asking. She was wearing an oversized tee and loose fitting sweats.

Shoko sighed, walking over, “It’s just us girls-“

She easily slipped off Ara’s shirt and froze, “Holy shit.”

Ara grabbed her shirt and pressed it close to her chest-trembling slightly.

Shoko blinked several times before running a hand through her shoulder length hair, “Oh-wow, you and Satoru had a time, didn’t you..”

Shoko shook her head, “I don’t know what girls see in him.”

Ara was too tired to speak-to agree with her and say she saw nothing in him. All words simply felt too useless.

Shoko went to the closet and returned with a garment on a hanger and heels. She handed it to her.

“Put this on. I’ll try to see what we can do about the..” She gestured towards her chest before waving towards the attached bathroom, “I think my Mom might have some extra foundation shades…” she mumbled to herself.

Ara didn’t understand what she meant and was-frankly-too tired to care. Ara walked into the bathroom. She barely looked at the clothes before stripping and putting them on. The heels were strappy kitten heels that wasn't too bad but the dress... the dress fit a little too well.

She glanced in the mirror and stared in shock as she realized the dress was a sleeveless, bodycon minidress that ended mid-thigh. There were also a few patterned, cut-outs shapes that ran down the sides.

Her eyes widened when she saw what made Shoko curse earlier. Her neck was covered in marks-including her collarbones and cleavage. There were even a few bruises strewn along her exposed thighs.

She uncomfortably pulled the dress lower-only to freeze when she saw that it made her tits spill out a bit more at the top.

What the hell is this?

Ara felt naked. She’d never worn anything like this. She felt exposed.

A knock at the bathroom door made her jolt, “Did you put it on?”

Ara glanced down at herself before stuttering out, “Y-yeah.”

Shoko entered, her eyes widening as she gave her a once-over, “Pft. My moms real funny if she thought I’d look like that in that dress.”

Ara’s brows furrowed-unsure of what to make of the comment. Just as she was about to ask for something else to wear, Shoko gently took her hand.

“You have bruises on your wrists too?” she asked, while examining them, “Christ.”

Ara quickly pulled her hand away, trembling slightly, “Do you have something else I can wear.”

Shoko nodded, “Sure, is there anything you want instead of a dress maybe? A crop top? Skirt?”

Ara froze, hesitating. It was stupid.. she knew she was being stupid. Maybe it was because how genuine Shoko appeared when she asked or the calm sincerity in her tone but something about her asking about what she wanted.. It felt like the first time someone actually cared about her opinion-cared about what she wanted.

She choked slightly on her words, “C-can you get me home?”

Shoko blinked, “You want to go home?”

She nodded, “I-“ her voice cracked. What she wanted to say was ‘I can’t do this party. I never wanted to come to this party.’ but instead she started crying. She full on fell to her knees and started to cry-she couldn’t help herself.

“Oh my god,” Shoko gasped, going on her knees as well. “Shit, are you okay?”

Ara couldn’t speak-simply too consumed by sorrow to go on. Her shoulders shook as she continued to cry. She didn’t know how long she cried for but by the time she calmed down Shoko was gone and the bathroom door was closed.

Ara stood up slowly-grasping the counter to steady her wobbly legs.

Suddenly the bathroom door swung opened and Gojo entered. Shoko stood behind him, a concerned expression on her face.

“Ara-“ his words were cut short the second his eyes landed on her. His eyes were wide as he stared at her. His mouth still partly open as if in disbelief. Color swiftly rose to his cheeks.

Shoko shook her head, “Can you get over yourself and help her out already? I think you boned her enough.”

A smirk split across his lips, “It’s never enough.”

“Gross.” Shoko muttered as Gojo sauntered up to her. He ran his hands down her trembling arms. She couldn’t look away from him.

“You look stunning, kitten.” he murmured, giving her another once-over up close.

Stunning didn’t cover it. She looked sexy as hell. She was guaranteed to give every male an erection with one glance… and something about that fact filled him with an uncanny amount of satisfaction.

He cupped her face in his hands, wiping away the tears at the corner of her eyes with his thumb. She was frozen.

He glanced over his shoulder at Shoko, “You gonna watch?”

She narrowed her eyes, “Hell yeah I am. God knows what you'll do in here if I don't."

His smirk reappeared, “You have no faith in me.”

“No one should.” Shoko bit back.

He merely slid his hand into Ara’s. “Let’s go.”

She gripped his hand tight. Her free hand latching onto his arm just as he moved to head out the door with her.

“W-wait, please,” she stuttered out. Panic suddenly rising through her numbness, “I can’t-I can’t—“ do this party. I want to go home.

He looked down to face her, “What's wrong, kitten?” he asked softly.

There was something humorous about that question-especially coming from him. In another life, she might've laughed. Instead her throat tightened up the second they locked eyes.

She casted a quick, side glance Shoko’s way. Shoko seemed to be watching them curiously.

She swallowed hard before glancing up at Gojo, “I..I can’t wear this dress.” her voice ending as a whisper.

There was a moment of silence as he looked at her. His gaze dropped to her feet before raking up her body ever so slowly. She felt as if he were committing everything he saw before him to memory.

When his eyes met hers, he exhaled through his nose-in faint amusement.

"Modest now, are we?" he teased.

The words would've hit her like a bullet once-making her hand itch to slap him-but now it had the impact value of a rock skipping water.

He released her hand to slip his hoodie off in one movement. He tugged it over her, "Happy?"

She stared down at the floor, nodding.

He slid his hand through hers. “Let’s go.”

Ara couldn't meet Shoko’s eyes as he led her out the bathroom. She knew the other girl only meant to help by calling him but she couldn’t help but feel betrayed.

“Wait.” Shoko spoke.

Gojo paused, glancing back towards her. He watched her crossed arms fall before she walked up to Ara. She reached around Ara's nape, pulling out the rest of her hair that'd gotten tucked underneath the hoodie.

Gojo saluted Shoko airily, “I’ll buy you a replacement for the dress.”

Shoko’s eyes widened, “What-“ she shook her head, “I don’t even wanna know.”

She was led through the crowd with Gojo ahead of her. She didn’t have to look up to know people were parting for them. Mainly, him.

Familiar voices of their classmates greeted him as he passed. He never let go of her hand, simply winking or dabbing up whoever he recognized as he walked through. She felt so many eyes on her, she wanted to puke.

She was wearing a hoodie so she knew it wasn’t her insane outfit. It was most definitely the man she was interlocking hands with. She hated how much attention the simple action of hand holding could garner simply because it was him.

The music was so loud, it was almost obnoxious. The smell of weed was everywhere, she felt like she’d inhaled enough second hand smoke to start feeling traces of being high herself. This was truly the last place she wanted to be.

Finally Gojo stopped walking, arriving at the center of the living room where all his friends were gathered.

He sat down on the couch next to Geto, easily tugging Ara down on his lap.

She gasped slightly, grasping Gojo’s shoulder to steady herself. She felt so uncomfortable.

Geto eyed her, his dark eyes going to her hand on Gojo’s shoulder. She immediately dropped her hand.

“I’m back.” he said with a small smile, “Hope I didn’t miss anything too interesting.”

“No,” Geto responded, “We just skipped your turn.”

“He wanted to play for you but that’s fuckin’ cheating. But—who the hell is that?”

She glanced up to see that it was Toji asking the question. The second they made eye contact his eyes widened in recognition.

“My girl,” Gojo responded with a growing smirk before tugging her close to press a light kiss on her cheek. “She can introduce herself.”

She swallowed, meeting Gojo’s gaze uneasily before facing the others seated around them. She recognized them one by one. Geto. Toji. Nanami. Haibara. And-it seemed-Shoko had just joined them as well.

She cleared her throat, “I’m Ara Natsuna.”

“I remember you,” Toji stated, “You were at Nanami’s party that time.”

Nanami grumbled, “Can we not talk about that.”

Toji chuckled, “My bad.”

Haibara’s voice piped up-rather animated, “At least you’re not grounded anymore!”

“I wasn’t grounded.” Nanami retorted flatly.

“Well your Mom basically put you on house arrest so you kinda were.” Haibara responded lightly.

Nanami looked slightly agitated as he slouched back in his seat, “Fuck those cops. They didn’t leave me alone for weeks.”

Shoko stood behind the loveseat Nanami occupied. She leaned against it, “Didn’t they stop questioning you last week?”

“Yeah, finally.”

Ara tensed slightly in Gojo’s lap. She’d completely forgotten Nanami must’ve gotten the brute end of questioning regarding the investigation for Arman and Jaemin's deaths-considering they died in his house.

She glanced at Gojo. His impassive expression turned into something more amused when he caught her gaze. She shivered when he ran a hand down her back.

He glanced at Nanami, “Need my help?”

She could only assume that meant contacting his Dad. His offer only reaffirmed her theory of his father's influence still persisting in law enforcement despite being retired.

“Nah, my lawyers got it.” Nanami muttered, looking rather worn. It seemed the investigation had taken a toll on him.

Ara didn’t miss how Shoko’s hand subtly dropped to Nanami’s shoulder from her perch behind him. She squeezed his shoulder reassuringly before raising her hand to hold her cigarette as she lit it.

“Is no one shocked that Gojo settled down.” Shoko asked.

“Yeah, what’d you do to him, miss smarts.” Toji asked, “You the reason why he hasn’t been hangin’ out as much?” 

Gojo chuckled, “That’s bul-“

Haibara snapped his fingers, realizing belatedly, “Oh yeah! I haven’t seen you out the past few weekends-“ his eyes widened, “Woa, that’s unheard of.”

Shoko blew out a puff of smoke, “That’s what I’m saying.”

Suddenly she was being pulled further up Gojo’s lap. His hand on her waist slipped over her lower stomach, pressing her body close to his.

He kissed her neck, “Obviously I had better things to do.”

Ara’s face heated up just as the group broke out in ruckus—Haibara whistled. Nanami rolled his eyes. Shoko threw a red Solo cup at him-causing Geto to laugh.

Nanami looked unamused, “Fuck you.”

Toji was grinning as he shook his head, “This guy thinks he’s different.”

Gojo chuckled as he caught the cup after it bounced off him. He glanced within the cup to check its contents. It was filled a little less than half-way, it was a miracle the drink didn’t spill on him.

“Your drink is still in here.” he exclaimed with an astonished smirk.

“That's the point.” Shoko replied. His smirk widened before he set the drink down on the table before them.

He met Shoko’s narrowed eyes, “I’m obviously joking. I haven’t been out cuz I don’t wanna go without this one-“ he shook Ara slightly in his grasp, “Wouldn’t want her partying without me so.. gotta play fair.” he shrugged.

Ara’s brows furrowed. Am I supposed to appreciate that?

“What a gentleman.” Toji muttered before taking a swig of beer. She couldn’t tell if he was being sarcastic or not.

Shoko blinked before meeting Ara’s gaze, “I hope this means you're coming out to more parties then?”

She felt Gojo’s nose nudge her temple, suggestively, “Hmm?” 

As if I had a choice in coming here.

Ara hesitated-shifting awkwardly in Gojo’s lap, “Um.. I don’t really like partying that much.”

Shoko tilted her head, “Why?”

Ara wasn’t really sure how to respond, “Well, Nanami’s party was my first so..”

“That was your first party?” Haibara questioned, nearly jumping out of his seat.

Toji shook his head, “I knew it.”

Nanami ran a hand over his face before grumbling, “I’d hate partying after that too.”

Ara nodded in response to Haibara’s question.

“But aren’t you a senior?” Haibara pressed, eyes wide in shock.

She nodded.

Haibara stared, his eyes flitting between her and Gojo. Gojo was resting his head on her shoulder, arms wrapped loosely around her.

Haibara blinked, “How did you find her?”

A devious grin split across Gojo’s lips. She felt his arms tighten around her slightly, “I got lucky.” he replied.

Haibara continued to stare at them in disbelief.

Shoko absentmindedly played with the ends of her short, blunt cut hair as she blew out another puff of smoke, “Okay well, to be fair the party was fun before all the.. bullshit, but I guess I can’t really blame you.”

Ara merely nodded. They had no idea what occurred in her house the same night after that party.

“But also-“ Shoko continued, “Not all parties are like that. I promise.”

“I’d kill myself if they were.” Nanami muttered.

Toji chuckled under his breath.

“Did you drink anything yet?” Shoko asked her.

Ara shook her head, “No.”

Shoko raised a brow-her eyes snapping to Gojo, “What kind of boyfriend are you? You didn’t get your girl a drink?”

Gojo raised his head from her shoulder, “I didn’t even get myself one,” he straightened slightly, as if preparing to stand up.

He looked down at her on his lap, “Do you want a drink?”

Shoko waved her hand, “Just stay put. I’ll get her one, you’d probably get her something lame like beer anyway.”

Haibara frowned, “Beer’s lame?”

Nanami responded flatly, “Don’t listen to her.”

Just as Shoko turned to leave Gojo yelled after her, “Get me one too!”

Shoko didn’t turn around as she flipped him off.

Toji picked up his deck of cards from the table, “Can we play now? I got money riding on this.”

Nanami chuckled as he looked at his own cards spread neatly in his hand, “You’re gonna lose, Fushiguro.”

Toji grinned, “Let’s see.”

Gojo reached over to pick up his deck, “Oh shit, nobody told me we had money on this.”

“Winner gets 2K, last person playing the winner pays.” Geto responded.

Ara’s gaze immediately latched onto him. She couldn’t help but take note of how he hadn’t said one word during the group's conversation until now.

He sat hunched over, legs spread on the couch next to Gojo. He wore a simple loose gray tee with black loose-fitted sweats. This had to be the first time she’d seen him in casual clothing-and she couldn’t help but notice that his shoulders looked impeccably broad under his shirt.

She’d never taken him to be the quiet type but she supposed she didn’t truly know him. She couldn’t help but wonder if he knew something..

Gojo grinned subtly, “Let me guess, Fushiguro started the bet.” 

“Who else.” Geto replied airily.

She looked down at the cards in front of her as Gojo spread them all in one hand.

“You’re on my team,” he murmured, his cool breath trailing down her neck, “Do you know how to play?”

She shook her head.

He began to explain the rules but in truth she zoned out halfway. Geto suddenly elbowed Gojo, cutting him off mid-explanation.

“Your turn.”

“Jus watch.” Gojo murmured to her before straightening slightly to put a card down on the table. 

Suddenly Toji’s hand shot out, “Wait, does your girl want to play?”

“Shut the hell up, scammer, she’s on my team,” Gojo quipped.

She heard Geto faintly snort beside them.

Toji’s darkly handsome grin returned, “Don’t worry I wouldn’t scam your girl. You got that covered.”

The boys continued to banter as they played the card game. Gojo checked in on her here and there but otherwise no one paid her too much mind-which she greatly appreciated. It was nice to zone out to the pounding music and people watch for a while.

“Shit-I’m out.” Gojo tossed his deck of cards down.

Nanami was smiling, “That’s what you get.”

Toji squinted, “Did you even try?”

Just as Gojo shrugged, some guy approached him. Another athlete that she didn’t know the name of. Gojo and Haibara enthusiastically engaged in small talk with him before the guy offered to smoke them up.

Gojo suddenly turned to the rest of them, “Yo, I'm goin out to smoke.”

“I wanna smoke.” Haibara pitched in.

Toji waved his hand dismissively towards Haibara, “Just go. You don’t even play right anyway.”

Haibara sucked his teeth before whining. “I suck at cards, okay? I’m better at chess.”

“Who the fuck plays chess.” Toji replied.

“You’re next.” Nanami spoke to Toji-rather focused.

Haibara tossed his deck of cards on the table with a sigh before standing up.

Gojo faced her in his lap, “You wanna smoke, kitten?”

She met his gaze before shaking her head. She wondered for a second if he would force her.

His light blue eyes softened before he kissed her cheekbone—lightly squeezing her in his arms as he did so.

“ ‘Kay, I’ll be back in a bit.” he said before lifting her off his lap and standing up. He gave her one last wink before walking further into the party with Haibara and the athlete guy flanking his side.

She shifted slightly, occupying less than half of the space Gojo took up on the couch. She usually would feel relieved that Gojo left her alone but-for some reason-she felt more awkward. More aware.

She glanced over at Geto beside her. It was his turn to play and he seemed to be deciding which card to put down. It was taking him longer than she expected.

She pointed at a card in his stack, “That one.”

His brow raised slightly before he picked out that card and put it down, “Thought you didn’t know how to play.” his tone was calm.

It seemed he’d been eavesdropping on her and Gojo’s conversation.

“Satoru explained the rules to me.”

He seemed to pause before replying, “Oh. It didn’t seem like you were paying attention.”

Her brows furrowed slightly. Is that passive aggressiveness in his tone? Or is he simply pointing out the fact? She couldn’t tell.

He was right to assume because she hadn’t been but it wasn’t hard for her to pick up the rules of the game after watching a couple rounds.

She opened and closed her mouth a few times before saying, “I-I wasn’t.” She wasn’t too sure why she admitted that but-for some reason-she didn’t want the conversation to end just yet.

The hard-line of his mouth twitched imperceptibly, “Oh.”

She swallowed uneasily. She watched him play his next move silently. Her eyes flickered upto Toji and Nanami who were locked in on a conversation about the game.

Her gaze returned to Geto as she blurted, “Did Satoru tell you anything.. a-about me?”

She was terrified to say the least. Terrified to confide in him but if he knew anything-something-maybe he could help her—

He blinked before finally looking her straight in the eye, “Like what?”

She stared at him-slightly petrified. She couldn’t gauge him. Does he know or does he not know? She couldn’t tell. She couldn’t risk making an assumption either. Who knew if he was an enabler. He was Gojo’s best friend after all—What if he found Gojo’s behavior acceptable? 

The thought made a shiver run down her spine. She sank back on the couch, scooting away from him slightly.

“N-nothing.” she responded faintly.

She wasn’t looking at him, so she was completely oblivious to the way Geto stared at her. 

He set down a card before stating, “You’re his girl, of course he talks about you.”

She perked up slightly-not expecting him to respond. Her voice felt hollow to her ears, “Did he.. did he tell you how we started?”

“Like start dating?” he asked.

She nodded.

Before he could respond, Toji elbowed him. “You’re out.”

Geto stared at the cards laid out on the table. He muttered a low curse before setting his deck of cards down.

“It’s all you, Nanami.”

Toji grinned wickedly while Nanami shook his head-looking mildly amused.

Just as Geto turned back to face her, his gaze went to something beside her. Suddenly hands were at her waist and she was getting seated on a familiar lap. Gojo was back.

He was showering her face with kisses. His lips smelled of weed with a tinge of something sweet. She placed her hands on his shoulders, lightly moving him back.

“Satoru.” she chided.

His arms around her tugged her knees between his legs as he pulled her further up his thigh, “Missed my baby.”

She went still when she suddenly felt his hard-on against her leg. Oh no.

He kept touching her. His hand on her back kept her close to him, while his other hand crept up her bare thigh. Her breath hitched, stopping his hand just as he found the end of her mini dress. Her dress kept riding up-uncomfortably so.

She quickly crossed her legs, her gaze flitting up to his-uneasily. “S-satoru.”

He smiled-showing off his perfect teeth and lethally attractive boyish charm. His hand slid up her thigh, squeezing her hip over her dress.

She closed her eyes when he pressed his forehead to hers. She bit her lower lip, turning away slightly. She could still feel his erection pressing into her leg-it seemed even stiffer now.

“Sorry kitten,” he murmured roughly against her temple, “You’re just so soft..”

His hand slid down her hip to her thigh, caressing her bare skin. She felt his fingers slip under her dress and immediately put her hand over his. She didn’t meet his eyes when she smoothly intertwined their fingers together. Please, not here..

He chuckled slightly, squeezing her hand in his before whining, “Let me touch you..”

He began to press light kisses along her jaw and neck. He was being so needy.

She tried not to squirm, only to go still when he began to tug her sweater off.

She quickly hugged herself, “What are you doing?”

“Aren’t you hot?” he asked just as quietly as her-matching her energy-but the subtle curl to his lips betrayed him.

In truth she was. She started feeling hot five minutes into wearing the hoodie but anything was better than her incredibly revealing dress.

Her gaze flitted over to Geto, he was looking at them now. Not just him but Toji and Nanami as well. Geto quickly looked away.

She felt her face heat up with self awareness.

She trembled slightly when she met Gojo’s gaze. His azure eyes twinkled as he tilted his head-silky strands of his platinum hair falling over his forehead as he did so. She swallowed when she realized.. he wasn’t asking. He wanted this-all of this.

His hands went to her hoodie, never breaking eye contact as he helped her out of it. Once the sweater was off, he smiled slightly.

He tucked her hair behind her ear, gently pushing the rest of its length behind her shoulders to reveal her ample, hickey covered cleavage.

She felt eyes on her. She didn’t have to look to know it—it made her heart rate pick up and skin crawl with nerves.

She didn’t want to focus on it-on the attention she was receiving. She knew it would overwhelm her so she kept her eyes glued to Gojo. To his easygoing smile. His familiar ruffled icy hair. His imposing stature that always seemed to be at her side.

He kissed her gently, his arm tugging her closer possessively.

“You look so good, kitten,” he whispered in her ear, “I’m goin’ crazy.”

She didn’t have a choice but to believe his words. Especially with his throbbing erection pressing into her thigh. She didn’t know how he had any stamina left.

“Wish we were in the car.” he muttered.

She tensed-flashbacks flooding her mind. She’d been completely bent to his will—used for his desire, just to get her here. She felt her chest tighten-nearly breaking her out of the numbness.

Suddenly, someone nearby cleared their throat obnoxiously loud. They both glanced up.

Shoko stood with a hand on her hip, a drink and cigarette in her other hand.

She shook the drink, “I got your drink.”

She glanced over at the others, “What’s with you guys?”

Nanami seemed to be staring-very concentratedly-at a random spot on the ground. Geto was flushed.

Toji stammered out, “Erm-we’re playing cards.”

“If playing cards means staring at them making out then, sure.” Shoko rolled her eyes.

Toji sucked his teeth, “Do ya fuckin’ blame me?”

Satoru quipped, “I do. Why were you staring, Fushiguro?”

Toji smirked, “Do you really want me to answer that?”

A devious grin broke across Gojo’s lips, “Answer carefully.”

Shoko sighed, “You guys are so boring. I’m surprised Ara’s ears haven’t melted off from all your bullshit.”

She turned to face Ara, “You’re bored aren’t you? You can chill with me-“

Gojo immediately complained, “Hey-“

Shoko took Ara’s arm and pulled her up to stand beside her, “Shut it, Satoru. She’s not just your eye candy, she deserves to have some fun.”

Ara stared at Shoko, wondering how she talked to Gojo as carelessly as she did. They seemed closer than she expected.

Suddenly a low sigh left Gojo’s lips, he reached out to take Ara’s hand, “I know, I know,” His thumb began to rub comforting circles on the back of her palm, “I jus like her attention that’s all.”

His subtle, boyish grin returned, “Don’t get too wild without me.”

Shoko tugged Ara away from him, “She’ll get as wild as she wants.”

Shoko took her hand then, leading her through the crowd of people. She was kind enough to slow down when she noticed Ara was struggling a bit with her heels. Kitten heels or not, she wasn't used to it

Suddenly Shoko pulled her into an elevator and Ara was too shocked to even gape.

Shoko handed her the drink, “Drink up. I got you a margarita cuz you don’t seem like the hard liquor type.”

“Thanks.” Ara whispered before clearing her throat.

Shoko bent over to take off her heels, “My bad for taking so long, I won’t lie, I completely forgot.”

“That’s fine.” She took a sip from the sugar coated rim of the glass and froze. That’s delicious.

Just as she downed the rest of the drink, Shoko asked, “Are you feeling better now? I know you wanted to go home earlier.”

Ara blinked, a bit shocked that she remembered, “Y-yeah..”

Shoko smiled slightly as she stood upright, the straps of her heels hooked over one finger, “That’s good cuz we’re about to have more fun upstairs.”

Suddenly the doors to the elevator opened and they were in the biggest bedroom Ara had ever seen. The decoration screamed opulence. Everything looked so put together that it felt like she’d walked into an Architectural Digest video.

“Hey! Over here.” Shoko’s voice called out.

Ara turned to see Shoko further into the room, standing before a set of double doors. Faint laughter seemed to come from within.

Shoko waved her over, “C’mon, c’mon.”

Ara hurried over and entered inside. This time she couldn’t help but audibly gasp.

“What.. is this?” she asked while glancing around.

“Oh, I forgot you’ve never been here before. This is my moms closet.”

Closet?! The room was a dozen times the size of her bedroom. The walls had glass panels that showcased the clothes within. Drawers and shelves were also built into the walls. There was an upstairs portion as well-clothes, purses and shoes neatly displayed all over.

In the center-below the mini chandelier-was a carpeted area with cushions and bean bags. A handful of girls were seated, chatting and laughing about.

“Hi guys.” Shoko rushed over, tossing her heels aside as did so. “I brought us a friend.”

“Shoko!” “Where the fuck have you been?” “Finally!” A few of the girls yelled out. One of them jumped on her-which resulted in Shoko and the girl falling onto a cushion. They burst out in laughter.

Suddenly the volume of the music was lowered and Ara belatedly realized that there was a rather huge, flat screen TV mounted to the wall. It currently displayed the lyrics to a song by Ice Spice and Nicki Minaj.

“New friend?” One of the girls piped up.

Ara glanced over to see a familiar student that she couldn’t remember the name of. She might’ve been on the girls track team.

“Oh my god! You’re the girl who was with Gojo.” Another girl added.

Before she could even get the chance to feel anxious about being in a room full of complete strangers, she was dragged to the center cushion and plopped between all the girls.

She was bombarded with questions.

“Are you and Gojo dating or just hooking up?”

“Wait, aren’t you the girl who said you’d never date him?”

“Since when did you guys start dating?”

“Did Gojo buy you that dress?”

Ara downed the rest of her margarita.

“GUYS!” Shoko’s voice suddenly rang out, “Can y’all shut the fuck up for a sec. Let’s drink first.”

Laughter and chatter ensued as Shoko handed out drinks from an ornate serving cart that was placed nearby. Just as Ara was relieved that the attention was off of her, Shoko’s eyes suddenly zoned in on her.

“Wait, wasn’t that margarita your first drink of the night?”

Sounds of shock suddenly erupted in the room.

“What the fuck?” “No way.” “Girlll—“

Suddenly a red-haired girl grabbed the bottle of alcohol from the cart and stood over her. She held the bottle over Ara’s mouth.

“You need to catch up to us.” she demanded.

Ara’s eyes widened. “Um-I-“

The next thing she knew all the girls were chanting. “Chug!” “Chug!” “Chug!”

Ara glanced over to see Shoko was part of the chanting as well.

She didn’t know what came over her. Maybe it was because the day had been so stressful or maybe it was because she just felt so numb. Maybe it was because the margarita tasted good earlier so she thought this drink might taste the same. Whatever it was, in that particular moment she decided—that she just didn’t care anymore.

She opened her mouth and let the girl pour. She didn’t know how much she drank-and didn’t care to know either-but she didn’t pull away until she felt like she couldn’t take it anymore.

The girls' voices and laughter felt louder than usual. They sounded so bright and happy.. it was contagious. She couldn’t help but laugh along when they all hooted and hollered after her, as if she’d done something wonderful.

“Holy shit, I was not expecting that. Don’t fucking die on us later though.” Shoko chuckled.

“Just puke on Gojo.” one of the girls suggested.

Laughter broke out within the room.

“Speaking of Gojo,” Shoko slipped into the space on the cushion across her, “I did have questions about you two-like since when did you guys even talk? No offense or anything, I jus never seen you two out together before.”

Ara shifted in her seat, wanting to avoid the question, “Erm.. I’m not really too sure..” she drifted off.

“Oh come on,” one of the girls complained. “You have to remember when he first talked to you.”

“I do,“ Ara responded, a bit agitated before muttering, “But it doesn’t really count because I ignored him-for a while.”

The girl’s eyebrows skyrocketed, “You ignored him?”

Shoko snorted, “That’s hilarious. How’d he take that?”

“He didn't take it.” Ara mumbled.

Shoko laughed, a bit drunkenly, “Go figure.”

Ara looked at her in confusion, “Has he done that before?”

Shoko blinked, “What-you mean date? No, that’s the thing. He’s never dated anyone. His bitchass once told me he didn’t believe in monogamy so I’m just as surprised to see him dating as you are.”

Ara’s brows furrowed.

Another girl then piped up, “So when did y’all first hook up?”

Ara hesitated-her mouth opening and closing multiple times before unconsciously whispering, “..Nanami’s party..”

The memory of that night flashed to the forefront of her mind, making her wince. That night felt so long ago.. it’d been the start of a beginning she never asked for, all of it happening against her will.

“Forreal?!” Shoko questioned in shock.

One girl whistled. Another elbowed her playfully, “How was it?”

Another girl quipped, “She’s dating him-obviously, it was good as fuck.”

Ara shifted uncomfortably in her seat. It was belatedly starting to hit her that she wasn’t required to answer any of these girls questions-besides the further they pried, the more she would have to withhold. Her and Gojo’s ‘relationship’ wasn’t close to whatever fantasy they thought it was.

Shoko seemed a bit zoned out, “Wow.. he must be really serious about you.”

Ara’s eyes flickered to her, “What do you mean?”

Shoko blinked. “He doesn’t really keep quiet about who he’s been with, but he kept you to himself for a while.”

Ara shook her head, “No-actually I was the one who wanted to keep us private.”

Shoko’s eyes widened, “Really?"

"Why?” someone else asked.

“Because…” she swallowed, before deciding on a half-lie, “I knew everyone would be nosy.”

Shoko laughed, “You’re not wrong. Sorry.”

“Can you blame us.” the girl seated next to Shoko whined.

One of the girls hugged her arm, her voice slurred. “Sorry, Ara. Forgive me?”

Ara finally recognized her. It was Leah Falcone. The girl was also a senior and she was popularly known for her incredible vocal skill. Her mother was also an established opera singer so she assumed that good vocals ran in the family genes.

Ara remembered once asking her for directions to a classroom freshman year and she’d responded with ‘why are you asking me?’

Shoko took another puff from her cigarette, “Alright, no more Gojo talk.” she turned to face the TV, “Who put the music down?”

Once the music was back up, it didn’t take them long to get more drunk. They went from refilling their red solo cups to drinking from champagne flutes, then drinking from a bottle of passed around vodka. Ara had no idea where all of it was appearing from but she'd take it. She felt good—good as shit.

A pillow hit her in the face.

Ara glanced over to see Leah pouting at her, “You’re not paying attention to the fashion show!”

Suddenly Shoko stood up on her cushion, throwing a pillow smack center in Leah’s face, “No one’s paying attention, dumbass!”

Leah tripped on the heels that were obviously too big for her and landed on the carpet-her beret falling off in the process.

She huffed, tossing her Dior bag in the air before crying.

Suddenly the redhead threw a pillow at Shoko, “Look what you did, you made Leah cry.”

“She always cries when she’s drunk,” the blonde-Mina-interjected.

Shoko picked up two pillows-throwing them rather ferociously in the redhead’s direction, “Think fast!”

Then before Ara knew it, she was wrapped up in the most intense pillow fight of all time. She ran cushion to cushion, throwing the fuzzy pillows with the most strength she could muster—nearly peeing herself with laughter when Leah wailed every time she got hit by a pillow.

Mina ducked behind Ara, “Help me!!”

Ara’s eyes widened as Shoko jumped onto the cushion before her, pillow in hand, “Don’t protect that hoe-“

Shoko swung the pillow in Mina’s direction and Ara blocked it with her own pillow.

“Yes, get her! Get her.” Mina hollered from behind her.

Ara flung the pillow-defending Mina like her life depended on it. She somehow managed to smack the pillow with enough force to make Shoko fly backwards onto the cushion-making Ara and Mina crack up.

Ara didn’t know why everything was so hilarious but she truly couldn’t stop laughing. The girls just kept giving her an excuse to—is this what having friends is like?

“Oh fuck you guys. It’s on.” Just as Shoko attempted to stand up, she toppled over again. This time the sound of cloth ripping resounding in the air.

Ara’s eyes widened while Meena gaped. The second the girls made eye contact they doubled over in laughter.

I’ve never seen her laugh like that.

Gojo stood with his arms crossed, leaning against the wall. She looked beautiful-so carefree-so lively. Her laugh was the prettiest thing he’d ever heard.

He didn’t believe his eyes when he saw her at first-merely coming to check on her since the card game finally ended. He never thought he’d find her… like this.

She was smiling.

Her eyes twinkled as she laughed, carelessly offering her radiant smile to Mina as she did so. The sight of it made his chest tighten with need.

She looked… happy. And she never looked like that with him.

A dark lick of jealousy coursed through his veins as he watched her. She let Mina clutch onto her so easily as they fell back on the cushion in a fit of giggles-not a hint of reluctance on her face.

His cool blue eyes slid over to Mina, to her left hand on Ara’s back—to her right hand clutching Ara’s arm. His jaw tightened. Mina was nice enough but what had she done to earn her touch? What had she done to elicit her pretty smile? Did she really deserve it?

He watched Ara turn to look at Shoko getting lifted off the cushion by Nanami. Despite Shoko playfully kicking her feet around he managed to keep the rip on her dress hidden by wrapping an arm around her torso. He easily held her up, whispering things softly in her ear as he carried her further into the closet.

Suddenly Mina was getting tugged away from her as well. Daniel gently pulled at Mina’s arm to get her attention, only for her to jump into his hold the second he got it. Daniel had entered the closet shortly after he had-probably coming to check on what’s his like himself.

Now it was his turn.

He slowly approached her-reveling in her unawareness as she sat quietly on the cushion by herself. She seemed zoned out.

He stopped right beside her, standing at the edge of the cushion. She was merely an arms length away, all he had to do was reach out and he could quell that thrumming need in his fingers to touch her but she was just so pretty up close-so unaware, so inviting-he wanted to revel in it a moment longer.

Suddenly she glanced up, her eyes widening before she stood up, “Satoru!”

She lay her hand on his abdomen. Heat gathered in his skin underneath her palm.

That’s new. She never touched him first.

His eyes glimmered, “Hey.”

He saw her eyes flicker before tilting her head. She smiled, “Hey.”

His eyes widened, his gaze stuck on her lips. It shouldn’t have affected him as much as it did but it couldn’t be helped. He stared—rendered frozen.

She’s smiling.. at me.

She looked up at him, her smiling widening ever so slightly as she shook her head. Her hand slid up his chest before going on her tiptoes to kiss him.

The kiss was light, a simple peck but he didn’t let it go. She never kissed him first. He didn’t realize how badly he needed her to until now.

The second she drew her face back his hand found her nape, forcefully keeping her lips glued to his. Her lips tasted of champagne-maybe vodka-he didn’t like alcohol too much but her lips made it so sweet.

Maybe the drinks were making her soft on him but he chose to ignore that. He needed to believe that she wanted him because he needed her—he always needed her. She kissed him-him-and that was all that mattered. 

He kissed her with such intensity she fell back on the cushion. He stayed atop her, his greedy lips never letting hers go. She gasped-the pretty sound going straight to his cock. He should’ve been satisfied after the car-he should’ve.

But he was never satisfied when it came to her. He always wanted more, more, more—

“Satoru-“ she breathed out, grabbing him by the shoulders to push him back.

He searched her face-repositioning himself so that he was further over her body, “Mmm?”

She jutted her chin in the direction of the door.

He glanced over to see Toji standing in the doorway-staring at them. The rest of the room had been cleared out, all the girls nowhere to be seen except for the redhead-Arden-laying passed out on the fur rug.

Gojo spoke first, “Enjoying the show?”

“Maybe,” Toji grinned, “Was gonna ask if you wanted to go for a drive.”

Before he could decline, Ara straightened slightly-peeking her head out from underneath him, “A drive?”

Toji answered, “Yeah, racing.”

Gojo saw her eyes widen with interest. “You wanna go?” he asked.

She hesitated for a second-her hand on his shoulder sliding down to his tricep gently. She looked up at him, “Can we?”

He nuzzled his face into her neck, effortlessly scooping her up as he stood. Her scent engulfed his senses as she twisted in his arms. She was giggling.

Christ, he wanted to mess her up again bad. She was already too much to bear-but like this, he didn’t think his stamina would ever end.

He smiled down at her, “Of course, kitten.”

I only remembered bits and pieces after that.

Gojo tugged at her hand in his, “Kitten, let me carry you.” he whined.

She continued to clip clop in her heels on the driveway. The others in the group heading to their cars as well.

She walked-a bit wobbly-into Gojo as he tugged her, “No, no,” she chided quietly, her other hand latching onto his forearm to regain her balance.

She looked up at him. His platinum hair and pale face stood out so starkly against the pitch black sky. The stars glimmered and the pounding music sounded faint to her ears.

“I wanna walk to the car.” she insisted with a pout.

He stared down at her, his intricate blue eyes churning with something heavy as he looked her up and down. His eyes lingering a little longer than necessary in some places.

His hand slid around her jaw, tilting her face up as he kissed her cheekbone. She stumbled slightly, leaning against him.

His hand in hers gripped her firmly, his eyes dropping to her feet, “You want me to take them off?”

She glanced down at her heels, “No-no, I’m fine. I promise.”

“You promise?”

“I promise.”

She stared out the car window, gasping as Gojo pulled the car to a stop.

“It’s so big.” she exclaimed, in reference to the vast empty parking lot.

He’d parked his car near the others. All the cars were parked in one big row, side by side.

“Of course, baby,” he reached over and unbuckled her seat belt, “I’ll have to take you to our racetrack some time. It’s bigger.”

Her eyes widened in astonishment, “Racetrack?”

A sly smile bloomed across his lips, “Yeah, racetrack.”

She sat between Gojo’s long outstretched legs-laughing as he tickled her. He was relentless, one hand gripping her hip while the other tickled her wherever he pleased. There was a wide grin on his lips as she writhed against him.

She couldn’t reign in her giggles, “Toru, stop-“ she whined.

He paused, eyes widening, “Toru?”

“Yo, can ya’ll stop playing around and pay attention.” Toji butted in.

Gojo glanced up from his slouched position. He was leaning against the front of his G-wagon, with Ara resting against him. Her small frame fit all too perfectly against his chest-like a little puzzle piece.

He raised his chin off her head, “Did you decide who’s goin’ first or what?”

Toji stepped away from the little circle of boys to address him, “Yeah, you and me are up first. Then it’s Geto and Haibara, and so on.”

A guy she didn’t recognize piped up, “We don’t got a flag girl.”

“Where’s Shoko?” Geto asked.

“Probably with Nanami.” Haibara answered with a frown, “I couldn’t find both of them before we dipped.”

Toji grinned subtly, tilting his head towards their direction, “Coulda been the same ish for these two if I hadn’t got em’ in time.”

Gojo merely smirked, “I know you wanted to watch.”

Suddenly a flat voice arose, “Can’t she just be flag girl?”

Ara’s eyes widened when she saw who the voice belonged to. He was extremely pale and tall, with dark brown hair that was tied up in two short spiky ponytails. He also had a thick black horizontal line tattoo across his nose and cheeks. She’d never seen anything like it.

She belatedly realized that the ‘she’ he was talking about was her. She was the only girl here.

“Oh yeah!” Gojo poked her in the stomach before hunching over to look at her, “You wanna be flag girl, kitten?”

She looked up at him, “What’s a flag girl?”

His signature smirk returned before he kissed her on the cheek, “All you have to do is wave a flag and look pretty.”

Ara held up the makeshift flag-which was a silk, bubblegum pink Gucci scarf that Toji had lying about it in his car. No one else questioned how the hell he had it but she’d bet her life and kids that it was a woman’s work. (Apparently the actual ‘flag’ they had was kept in Nanami’s car)

Toji sat in a silver, latest model Volkswagen Arteon while Gojo sat in his matte black, Mercedes Benz G-Wagon. One car was obviously bigger in height than the other.

Ara stood ahead of both cars, gesturing with her hands for them to pull up to the line they’d marked on the ground with chalk. Once the cars crept up to the starting line, she waved the scarf in the air.

“Are you ready?!” she hollered.

A couple of the boys standing on the sideline whistled. Toji revved up his engine.

She swung the scarf once more, “Get set..” a subtle smile rested on her lips, anticipation swirling in her gut.

Gojo lowered his windows, a grin on his face as he blew her a kiss.

She waved the scarf in the air, “GO!”

The cars zoomed past her, the gust of wind that followed made her hair ripple in their wake.

She stared at the two cars zooming off around the lot. They were driving side by side—from what she could tell, no one seemed to be going faster than the other just yet. The speed of it all scared her, in a thrilling kind of way.

The cars zipped past her once more. The sound of their high powered engines echoing.

“So loud,” she murmured to herself while readjusting her crossed arms. The gust of wind that followed from their speedy turns was a bit unnerving.

“Gets even louder when Satoru has his McLaren.” A low voice spoke from beside her.

She glanced over to see Geto, leaning against the railing beside her. She didn’t remember seeing him there earlier.

She glanced past him to see the ponytail guy and Haibara standing by the starting line-closely watching the race with their phones out. They were timing each car. Apparently Gojo and Toji had two more rounds around the lot before the winner was declared.

“I bet,” she responded, before looking at him, “Did you drive it?”

He nodded, “Couple times. It runs really smooth.”

She sighed, “It looks smooth.”

“Do you have your license?” he asked.

She shook her head, “No.”

“You should.” he suggested, “Get Satoru to teach you.”

“You think he’d let me practice in his McLaren?”

He smiled a bit, “Probably.”

That hadn’t been the answer she was expecting. She laughed slightly, “No way.”

“He would,” he spoke evenly, “He’d buy you a car if you asked.”

He swooped her up in his arms, twirling her in the air before holding her against his chest.

He nuzzled his nose against hers, “I won, kitten, I won.”

She held onto his shoulders, laughing lightly, “I know, I know.”

His arm underneath her ass squeezed her closer. He looked up at her, “Where’s my kiss?”

She smiled a bit, “You don’t deserve it.” she teased.

His blue eyes blazed with delight, “You don’t think so?” he whined.

She shook her head, her smile widening ever so slightly. Something about his sparkling blue eyes on her made her belly churn with butterflies.

He raised a white brow, “Just one?”

She shook her head again.

He leaned closer, his chin grazing her breasts, “Pleaseee,” he pouted.

She held onto his neck, “Only one.” she emphasized.

A grin lit his features as he nodded-eagerly, “One.”

She cupped the sides of his smooth face, lowering herself to press a short kiss to his lips. Her nerves thrumming wildly underneath her skin wherever they touched.

“Alright, show off. You only won by a second.” Toji grumbled from somewhere in the distance.

She pulled away, staring, as the corner of his lip curled upward handsomely. His blue eyes glittered, with mischief and want and something.. indescribable, but it was tangible in his touch.

He was just so striking—it made her heart ache.

He beamed up at her-speaking in sing-song, “One kiss for the winner.”

Ara swung aside in her seat, her hands clutching the car handle and dashboard.

“Oh my—“ she gasped out as Gojo swerved to the left to cut ahead of ponytail guy-Choso’s-car.

Geto gripped the edge of the passenger and driver seat, hovering in between, “Goddammit Satoru.”

Choso’s car honked several times.

Gojo glanced over, a shameless smile on his lips, “Oops.”

The three of them shared a look before laughing airily.

It was the final race for the last two winners-Gojo and Choso. Instead of completing the last race at the parking lot, they chose to see who drove to Nanami’s house and back the fastest. The group had split into both cars.

Ara glanced out the window, her hair flipping in the wind due to Gojo’s speed. She looked at Choso’s car behind them to see Toji flipping her off through the passenger window.

She drew her head back in, smiling faintly, “They’re flipping us off.” 

A smirk split across Gojo’s lips as he kept his eyes glued to the road. His speed picked up.

Ara stood through the sunroof, arms outstretched. Geto held onto her legs to secure her.

She tilted her head back, letting the wind and speed make her hair whip in the air. Her eyes fluttered closed-reveling in the feel of the cool air running across her skin.

She swore she felt the music vibrate within her body as it pounded throughout the car. Of course, it had to be ‘F**ckin' Problems’ by A$AP Rocky playing.

The whoosh of the air speeding past her ears made her feel more present than ever before. She wanted to feel like this forever..

She felt someone lightly tap her cheek. Her eyes fluttered open.

Gojo was before her, a subtle smile on his lips, “Hi, princess.”

She blinked a couple times before realizing she was in the passenger seat of his car. He stood beside her-partly leaning on the open car door, one hand over the roof and the other caressing her cheek.

His blue eyes scanned her face, “How are ya feelin’?”

She reached out and touched his chin-his face-checking if he was real.

“Where am I?” she asked hoarsely.

“Sonic,” he spoke through her fingers, “You want anything?”

Her hand slipped down. She didn’t have enough strength to keep it up.

Her eyes dropped sleepily, “Did you win?”

His eyes widened slightly before smirking, “The race? Of course I did, baby.”

“Good boy.” she mumbled.

He tilted his head, smirk widening, “Yeah?”

She nodded, her eyes half-open.

He licked his lips.

She closed her eyes, his hand stroking her hair all too relaxing. She heard a faint voice somewhere in the distance.

“She okay?” Haibara.

“She’s fine.” Geto’s voice-it was clearer-closer.

“Choso’s asking if yall want anything?”

“Yeah, get me a milkshake.” Gojo-his voice crisp-very near.

“What flavor?”

“Cheesecake.”

She slurped the milkshake silently-zoning out while staring at the bonfire before her. There were voices, many voices but she couldn’t seem to focus on any of them.

Through her peripheral vision she noticed bags of Sonic getting handed around. Empty cups, burnt out joint ends and cigarettes littered the patio floor. Familiar voices talked excitedly—a person jumped into the swimming pool. Laughter followed.

“Can somebody get him?” Shoko. “He’s too drunk.”

“Why don’t you get him?” Toji. “Or did Nanami make it hard for you to walk?”

More laughter. “Shut the hell up.”

“Oh, you finished it?”

She glanced up to see Gojo looking down at her. She was sitting snug against him, in the crook of his arm. Her legs over his lap.

He squeezed her forearm before leaning over to kiss her forehead.

“Shoulda got two.” he murmured.

He cupped her chin, tilting her head up as he bent low to press his lips to hers. His tongue pushed past her lips, sweeping her mouth as he deepened the kiss.

He hummed appreciatively before pulling away. He swiped away a dot of whip cream at the corner of her lip with the tip of his tongue.

His eyes lingered on her lips as he smiled subtly, “Yummy.”

“Look what I found.”

The laughter and noises of approval that followed made her curious enough to glance away from the fire.

Toji held up several nerf guns with a devious grin.

Shoko shot up from her seat, “Did you go into my brother's room, dumbass?”

Her heels echoed against the mahogany wood floor. The moment she spotted Haibara she raised her nerf gun.

He yelped before running to hide behind the couch. Just as he hid, Choso entered the living room.

“Any of y’all see Toji?”

Ara opened her mouth to respond, only to freeze when the sound of an ‘empty’ dart cartridge echoed. She glanced over to see Haibara holding up his nerf gun.

She glared and his eyes widened, “Shit.”

She ran around the couch—attempting to chase him.

He screeched, circling around the couch hastily, “Choso! Choso! Back me up!”

Just as she pointed the nerf gun at his butt, she felt a dart hit her in the cheek. She quickly turned her head to see the culprit—Choso. 

Before she could even react, Choso was suddenly getting sprayed with a shit-ton of bullets. Gojo entered the living room—with Geto right at his heels.

“Do you know who the hell you just hit, hmm?” Gojo taunted—a wide grin on his lips as he emptied his clip on Choso while chasing after him.

The boys laughed when they cornered him. The second Gojo’s darts ran out, Geto took over—showering Choso with a second round of bullets.

Choso held his arms out before him, blocking as much of the entourage of darts as he could.

Once Geto emptied his clip, Gojo smiled, “That’s the second L you took today.” 

Choso shook his head, grinning faintly, “Oh fuck off. If I had back up your ass woulda been on the floor.”

As the boys bickered, Ara’s attention quickly redirected itself to Haibara’s crawling figure-clearly attempting to slip away.

She smiled a bit when she realized he hadn’t noticed her looking just yet. She silently followed him, balancing her weight on the front of her heels to keep her footsteps quiet.

Haibara’s head turned back amidst crawl-spotting her. His innocent eyes instantly blew wide but before he could get up, she planted her heel right on his ass and shoved him back down.

“Dammit!” he hollered—making her laugh.

She aimed her nerf gun at the back of his head—unleashing all of her bullets on him. She didn’t notice the other boys cracking up.

Toji walked in two seconds before her clip emptied, “Damn,” he paused, “Can I be next?”

Gojo shot him with a dart-coincidentally starting a whole new round.

Ara stared at herself in the elevator mirrors, she couldn’t recognize herself.

Gojo was laughing in the reflection beside her. His hand went over his stomach as he bent over in laughter.

“I-“ he could barely get his words out, “I can’t believe you did that.”

Geto merely shook his head, smiling subtly as he restocked the darts in his nerf gun.

Gojo threw his arm around her shoulders when he straightened, a humorous smile on his glossy lips, “Haibara said you're more of a menace than me.”

Ara looked down at her feet-noticing a bit of dirt on heels as she muttered, “That’s impossible.”

Geto snorted.

She stared up at the sky-her eyes darting from star to star before settling on the moon. It looked so big-so close-she swore she could see its craters from here.

A breeze passed, making strands of her hair slip over her face. The hammock swayed.

His fingertips grazed her cheek, tucking her loose hair behind her ear.

She faced him-only to find him already looking at her.

His hand settled on her throat, thumb grazing her jaw.

The music and voices of the others on the rooftop grew more and more faint the longer she stared into his eyes. They were so blue-multiple shades of it too-all within one pair of eyes.

There was something about them.. that made him look more extraterrestrial than the moon. As if he didn’t belong here.

“Satoru,” her voice inadvertently came out as a whisper.

A light smile tugged at his lips, “Yeah?”

“What.. happened to you?”

He raised a pale brow, “What do you mean?”

She chewed at her bottom lip-speaking slowly in attempt to word her thoughts accurately. It was taking a lot more effort than usual.

“What.. made you.. the way you are?”

He froze-something seemed to flash over his eyes before his jaw locked.

He slowly scanned her face before responding after a moment, “The way I am?”

She nodded, words flowing freely from her tongue, “You’re not normal, you know.” her tone indifferent.

She saw his eyes widen ever so slightly and felt a vivid zip of fear when his fingers around her neck twitched.

“Is that right?”

He pressed his face into her cheek. His fingers tightening around her throat when she tried to turn away.

“Maybe you’re right..” His words made her shiver. She closed her eyes-breathing shakily.

Suddenly he was laughing-full on chuckling beside her ear, “You’re so right.”

He released her neck to twirl a strand of her hair around his finger. He exhaled, “There isn’t a line I wouldn’t cross for you.”

She kept her eyes closed, her heartbeat still raging in her ears, “I w-would never ask you to.”

“You don’t have to ask.”

She felt gravity disappear from underneath her feet. Her eyes fluttered open. The sky was still dark, scattered with twinkling stars. She was in Gojo’s arms.

He looked down at her, “Hi, pretty.”

Her brows furrowed as she blinked sleepily.

“We’re home,” he muttered.

Her eyes flew open, “Your home?”

He paused-appearing to consider her question, “Can we go to my home?”

“No-no-“ panic swirled in her gut despite her drunkenness, “My home, only my home.” she mumbled off.

“Okay, okay,” he shook his head, “Knew you’d say that.”

She grabbed onto something when she felt herself lose balance. She focused to see that she was sitting on the edge of her bed, her hand gripping Gojo’s shoulder.

He was bent on the floor before her, his hands on her leg-unstrapping her heels.

He looked up at her, his turquoise eyes scanning her features, “You’re good, kitten. I got you.” His hand snaked up her thigh to squeeze her hip reassuringly.

Her fingers inadvertently dug into his shoulder, “I’m-I’m good?” she stuttered out, lost.

He nodded, his gaze gentle, “Yeah, baby, you’re good.”

She glanced down at herself, at the expanse of skin she was showing due to her mini dress. The dress barely covered her cunt while sitting. Her eyes widened when she saw the bruises starting to darken along her thighs—she remembered-flashbacks of his hands gripping her body roughly passed through her mind. He’d fucked her so hard-so ruthlessly-in the car before the party. All of it occurring against her will.

She bit her lower lip, trying not to sob, “I’m-I’m not good.” she whispered.

Suddenly his hand was at her face, cupping her cheek, “Yes, you are, sweets. You're such a good girl. The best girl.”

Two large hands were at her tits, squeezing heartily. A soft moan left her lips, her eyes fluttering closed.

Her hands slipped over his as she whined, “Toru..”

“I know, I know,” he groaned lowly into her ear, nuzzling her cheekbone as he caressed her tits more gently this time.

She glanced ahead to see her reflection in the full-length mirror. She was completely naked, her mini-dress a bundle at her feet. He towered behind her, nearly encapsulating her within his lean frame. His firm chest against her back.

He was fully clothed. It was hard to see him completely due to the dim lighting of her closet but she could make out the smooth planes of his features-his sharp jaw, his sculpted cheekbones—the veins running down his arms, his hands as he kneaded her tits.

His crystalline eyes met hers in the mirror, his breath hot as it trailed down her skin with each exhale. Goosebumps rose all over her body.

His hands at her chest tugged her closer-possessively, “You’re so beautiful, Ara..”

She stirred slightly, her eyes opening to see him propped on his elbow on the bed beside her. She felt his hand at her waist, thumb gently stroking her side boob.

Strands of his white hair tickled her forehead as he leaned closer, “Don’t sleep,” he whispered.

He pressed a probing kiss to her lips, “Not yet.”

He kissed her again, this time a little longer. His hand slid down her side, slipping out from underneath her nightgown. He took her hand, guiding her to touch the bulge at his boxers.

His breath hitched the second she made contact. He released her hand for a moment, shifting slightly before taking her hand again. He wrapped her hand around his cock-she swore she felt his cock twitch.

His hand tightened over hers, wanting her to apply pressure but she was only half-awake. He groaned lowly, slowly pumping his cock through her hand.

“Help me.” he spoke raggedly against her temple.

The bed shook and she glanced down to see her nightgown bunched up at her neck. She was laying on her side-a leaky, pink cockhead sliding between her thighs.

Gojo gripped her hip hard—short, desperate grunts leaving him with each harsh press of his hips against her ass. He had a steady pace going.

She was too weak-too sleepy-to move. Merely wriggling her hips when his cockhead glided past her folds. She moaned weakly.

“Sa..toru..” The feeling of his thick, veiny cock sliding between her thighs all too unfamiliar.

His fingers dug into her hip, lifting his head up from her neck to whisper-hoarsely, “I’m close, kitten, m’close.”

Her eyes fluttered open the second she felt a ray of light hit her eyelids. She shifted slightly to check if the curtains had been left open only to stop mid-movement.

Holy shit.

Everything hurt-bad. Her throat felt dry. Her body ached with soreness. And her head-why does it hurt so bad?

She fell back onto the bed, a low moan on the cusp on her lips-only to cut herself off when she noticed who she was lying beside.

She immediately looked over to see Gojo sleeping soundlessly. His eyes were closed, his long light lashes covering his under eyes. His pale face was a mask of relaxation, not an ounce of stress on his features. His white hair was a fluffy mess-facing every which way. His arm was outstretched, she’d been using it as a pillow.

She glanced down to see that he was shirtless. She didn’t want to check under the blanket to see if he was less clothed than that. 

She stared at him-letting the bits and pieces of memories from last night come back to her. A rollercoaster of emotions building up within her silently.

She’d let herself loosen up around him. She’d let herself have fun—and it’d been the most fun she’d had in eons. The thought was sickening. Absolutely sick. 

How could she have fun with him of all people?

After what he did to her in the car-after everything-she’d been nice to him. Her drunk self had been nice to him. Overly nice, in her opinion—she’d been all over him.

She wanted to puke. Why did I drink?

She shot up out of the bed, her hand going over her stomach as she breathed heavily. 

She felt the bed shift beside her and froze. She didn’t have to look to know he just sat up in bed.

She flinched when he stroked her back, “You okay, kitten?” his voice was deep-slightly raspy from sleep, “Gotta vomit?”

He took one look at her face and immediately scrambled to grab the bucket he’d set on the floor last night. The second he placed the bucket before her, everything from last night poured out of her.

She held the bucket like her life depended on it-despite Gojo having a hand on it as well. Her stomach lurched as she heaved multiple times. His hands slipped around her hair, holding it back as she bent over the bucket once more.

She heaved one last time and nothing came out. Her stomach was finally empty. She pushed at the bucket slightly–signaling she was done.

“You done?” he asked anyway, voice gentle.

She nodded, too weak to do anything else.

He cautiously moved the bucket away from her and handed her a roll of paper towels that was somehow on her nightstand. She couldn’t help but notice how prepared he seemed.

She wiped her face, watching silently as he grabbed the bucket and headed towards the bathroom without complaint. The second he disappeared from view a storm of emotions brewed within her.

Her hands trembled as she started to cry. Her body wracked with the force of her sobs. She covered her face with her hands, attempting to quiet herself but she couldn’t stop. Tears kept flowing down her face.

“Ara, Ara,” his voice felt distant to her ears, “Kitten..”

She felt hands come to her sides, enveloping her gently. She didn’t have the strength to push him away, instead she sagged against him—letting herself use him this once-just this once.

If he was surprised he didn’t show it.

She hated the inexplicable sense of comfort she felt in his presence. She wished it didn’t exist but it was there—he was always there.

She was a hypocrite-she knew she was but she was tired. oh, so tired. She wished there was someone else—someone else she could rely on. Someone who didn’t use her. But there was no one. No one but him.

Why did it have to be like this?

His fingers sifted through her hair gently, merely letting her sob in silence. Her body felt so frail against him like this, her small hands trembling as she held onto him. He drew her closer.

He didn’t bother asking why, he knew she’d never answer. She never answered in the past.

He knew she cried on her own time. Her puffy under eyes always gave it away-but she liked to pretend she was fine near him. He indulged her.

He wanted her to come to him on her own. He'd wait.

But this-he peered down at her-this was progress. She never let herself cry in front of him before. The few times he caught her, she immediately wiped her tears and gathered herself.

But this, this was different. She was clutching him so tight, sobbing so weakly—she needed him. She needed him to comfort her.

And he’d give her just that. He'd give her anything she asked.

All she needed to do was one thing… just one.

She needed to accept she was his.

The last thing she felt was his lips pressing her forehead when she went limp—succumbing to the emptiness of sleep.

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[pupkou]

Hi! I’ve seen a lot of posts on tiktok recently about people being annoyed with other people’s grammar and shaming them for it, which I think is rude— even if the person is monolingual and their first language is English. Everyone struggles with different things, so here’s a compassionate and respectful guide to common grammar and word mistakes.

Let me know if you'd like me to explain any others!

Contains: YOUR/YOU'RE, ARE/OUR, THERE/THEIR/THEY'RE, THAN/THEN, TO/TOO/TWO, A/AN, BALL/BAWL, PHASE/FAZE, DEFINITELY/DEFIANTLY, SHOULD OF/SHOULD HAVE, WERE/WHERE, LOOSE/LOSE, ALLOWED/ALOUD, BARLEY/BARELY

YOUR vs. YOU’RE

Tip: The word ‘your’ shows belonging.

Example: Your mom went to the grocery store to get some grapes.

Tip: The word ‘you’re’ is a contraction, meaning it’s two words put together, and it means ‘you are.’ Only use ‘you’re’ if it would make sense to say ‘you are’ instead of ‘you’re’ in the sentence.

Example: You’re really nice!

ARE vs. OUR

Tip: ‘Are’ tells you what a noun is or what it’s like.

Example: This is my family! We are Puerto Rican.

Tip: ‘Our’ tells you about something that belongs to many people.

Example: In our home, we eat a lot of arroz con gandules.

THERE vs. THEIR vs. THEY’RE

Tip: 'There' tells you where something is located.

Example: The chip aisle is over there.

Tip: 'Their' tells you who something belongs to, and can be used to refer to something that belongs to a group of people or to one person who uses they/them pronouns.

Example: That is their house.

Tip: 'They're' is a contraction, meaning it's two words put together, and it means 'they are.' Only use ‘they're’ if it would make sense to say ‘they are’ instead of ‘they're’ in the sentence. Again, it can be used to refer to a group of people or to one person who uses they/them pronouns.

Example: They're not coming to the party today, something came up at work.

THAN vs. THEN

Tip: 'Than' is used to compare and contrast things.

Example: This pair of pants is more expensive than that one.

Tip: 'Then' is used to show time passing or to demonstrate a cause and effect.

Example: First I went to the store, and then I walked home with my groceries. OR If she does that again, then I'm not going to talk to her anymore.

TO vs. TOO vs. TWO

Tip: 'To' can be used in many ways, usually for the purpose of explaining where something or someone is going, but it can also be used with verbs like 'have' and 'want.'

Example: I am going to the store. OR I am giving a present to her for her birthday. OR I have to work today. OR I want to bake a cake.

Tip: 'Too' is used to mean 'also' or to express intensity.

Example: Alex: "I want a strawberry, please." Beth: "Me, too!" OR Small people matter, too. OR We wanted to go to the movies after school, but we were too hungry.

Tip: 'Two' is the second positive whole number.

Example: I have two cousins that are girls.

A vs. AN

Tip: The difference between these two depends on whether the word following it begins in a vowel-- A, E, I, O, or U. You say 'an' when the word DOES start in a vowel, and 'a' when it doesn't. Y doesn't fit in this one, because it doesn't sound right to, for example, say "I saw an yak yesterday."

Example: I saw a brown down chasing its tail the other day!

I picked an orange and an apple off of a tree while I was holding an ice cream hold and an umbrella! My hands were so full and I dropped it all when I saw an egret flying too close to me.

BALL vs. BAWL

Tip: 'Ball' is used to refer to things like basketballs, baseballs, and soccer balls.

Example: I kicked the ball across the field.

Tip: 'Bawl' means to cry very intensely.

Example: I bawled all day after finding out they discontinued my favorite taquitos. OR I'm bawling so hard because I'm so sad. OR I want to bawl. Today has been so hard.

PHASE vs. FAZE

Tip: 'Phase' refers to a step in a process where things change.

Example: I had a really big art phase in middle school, but I'm not as into it now.

Tip: 'Faze' means to bother.'

Example: He got in my face, but it didn't faze me. OR I remain totally unfazed by his antics.

DEFINITELY vs. DEFIANTLY

Tip: 'Definitely' refers to something that is certain.

Example: I am definitely not going to go to that restaurant again after I found a live bug in my pasta!

Tip: 'Defiantly' means to do something in a way that shows you are defiant or acting with defiance.

Example: Although my wife told our daughter not to do it, she smiled in our faces as she defiantly did exactly that!

SHOULD OF vs. SHOULD HAVE

Tip: 'Should of' is incorrect and should not be used. 'Should have' is correct. It can be shortened to the contraction 'should've.'

Example: I should have gone to the museum on Thursday, they were giving out free posters!

WERE vs. WHERE

Tip: 'Were' is used to describe how a noun (person, place, thing, or idea) was in the past.

Example: We wanted to go to the movies after school, but we were too hungry.

Tip: 'Where' is used to describe a noun's (person, place, thing, or idea) location.

Example: Alex: "Where is your backpack?" Beth: "I'm not sure where it is."

LOOSE vs. LOSE

Tip: 'Loose' is the opposite of tight.

Example: This shirt is too loose on me, it doesn't fit right. OR That screw is loose, you might want to tighten it.

Tip: 'Lose' is when you no longer have something you once were in possession of or when you do not win something.

Example: I don't want to lose my backpack again because they're very expensive. OR I always lose my soccer games.

ALLOWED vs. ALOUD

Tip: 'Allowed' is used to explain what someone is permitted to do.

Example: I'm no longer allowed to drive in the state of New York because I got a speeding ticket and never paid it.

Tip: 'Aloud' is used to describe sound that is hearable.

Example: He read aloud, "A told B and B told C, "I'll meet you at the top of the coconut tree!"

BARLEY vs. BARELY

Tip: 'Barley' is an edible grass plant that is used for cereal grain.

Example: This cereal has wheat, barley, and corn in it.

Tip: 'Barely' is used to described to something that almost didn't do another whatever it was seeking to do.

Example: He passed his classes, but just barely.

[petrichorium]

very important question for my dear pluvi,

which of your faves like to bite vs who loves being bitten? 🎤 and if they do the biting, where do they like to bite you the most? >.> heheh

Omg,,,,,, i tried to sort them but nah it doesn’t work like that lmfaoooo i have a few who refuse to bite me and a few who r more bitey but they all like being bitten i fear. Kuroo is perhaps the one im Least Bitey with tho, i think its mostly love nips between us. Ik u didn’t ask but I tend to go for arms and hands LMFAOOOOOO and necks ofc. I get hella cuteness aggression and end up Biting I fear. Also have been known to bite the base of ring fingers Very Hard pre-marriage to give them a little wedding ring shadow but we don’t have to talk abt that 🫣

Capitano and Tomura r the ones who refuse to bite me bc they both r dead terrified of hurting me i fear, but i think the instinct is there. Esp w Capitano (bc until i am proven otherwise he is a dragon hybrid to me) it’s an active effort to not claim me but i think if he ever drew blood from me he would lock himself in a room for weeks and refuse to let himself anywhere near me so. The biting urge must be suppressed even if i do tell him it’s okay 😭😭😭

Shanks and Gagamaru r def equal opportunity biter/bitees (tho leaning a bit toward preferring I bite them). And theres a double standard wrt intensity w them JFNCKSNF like they r both very gentle w me but want me to just go at them pfft i think Gagamaru is a bit of a stomach biter….. little nips at my navel or love handles. Shanks goes for my legs and Will try to get marks as low as possible and then pout when I wear a longer skirt the following day. These two r def known to goad me into biting them I think, w gagamaru often giving up on any subtlety and just unabashedly begging for it and shanks playing stupid ass mind games which I sometimes play into or sometimes just tell him to ask properly…… and we cannot forget shanks’ favorite joke he loves sauntering into the galley in the morning and loudly saying “wow plu might bite off my other arm!” (Or similar) w marks very visible beneath is way too unbuttoned shirt I hate him so much he should die

And then Jing Yuan and Leona r the ones who give as good as they take 🙂‍↕️🙂‍↕️ Leona’s a bit more variable—I hc him as having a cycle and being largely uninterested in sex outside of his rut (tho when I initiate he doesn’t tend to deny me) so it’s kinda. Nothing and then So Much All At Once I’ll disappear for a week and come out of our suite looking like a chew toy 🫠 v much a boobs man tho so even outside of his rut he’s known to chomp a tiddy and earn himself a swat over the head…….. as for jing yuan I fear he’s a menace of the highest caliber. Like I’m pretty sure he bit me during our first kiss he is Not playing around. Definitely the bitiest of all my men, and definitely the only one that is truly comparable to me pfft sometimes gets a bit competitive abt it even and will literally give exactly what he gets. He’ll bite anywhere he can manage for sure but honestly I think I Always have a mark or two on my neck that I’m always trying to cover up w my shirt collar or makeup…….. was even more prone to toeing the line when we were in our nebulous “fucking and seeing each other but not exactly official” phase bc my flightiness and borderline commitment issues were driving him up the wall. Sometimes even after we’re married he’ll remember and bite down a bit harder 😭😭😭 unhinged behavior. I wonder if he does it just to make me pull his hair harder……..

[millersdjarin]

Some Invisible String

Chapter V: One Single Thread of Gold

Pairing: Joel Miller x F!Reader (afab)

Rating: E (18+ only!)

Summary: Ten years after Reader left Joel for reasons he still doesn’t know, they find themselves together again in a town called Jackson. Joel has questions he’s too afraid to ask; and Reader dreads having to give the answers.

Chapter length: 4.2k

Warnings/Tags: injury recovery, light angst, SMUT, crying during sex (but in a happy way), happy ending, unprotected p in v

Chapter Four (Previous) | Series Masterlist | Fic Masterlist

notes: final chapter! thank u for reading, i hope you enjoy ❤️

ps since tlou has new fans from the show (YAY!), just a heads up that this is post TLOU part 1 and following the details of game canon vs tv show canon, so spores for example. so, spoilers ahead for the story ❤️

“See? Told you she wouldn’t believe us.” 

“I do,” I find myself saying, blinking at Ellie and Joel in their kitchen like each of them has just grown a second head. “I do believe you. I just…holy shit. You can breathe in spores, and everything?” 

“Yup.” 

I stare at Ellie with wide-eyes. Her sleeve is rolled up, revealing her bite. I never thought I’d see a healed bite from an infected. “Jesus,” I breathe out. I reach down for her arm, then ask, “Can I?” 

Ellie nods and lifts it up to meet me, letting her forearm sit in my hand. I run my finger over the scar, feeling its raised bumps and wrinkles, completely dumfounded by the fact that this is an actual infected bite but it’s not red and angry, threatening to turn its victim at any minute; it’s been there for a year and a half. It’s healed, just as if it was from a dog, or something. Except it is absolutely, without question, the kind of bite that should’ve rendered her a clicker by now. 

“Well, I’ll be damned,” I let her arm go. “I assume you don’t tell anyone about this?” 

Rolling her sleeve back down, Ellie shakes her head. “No. We agreed it’s safer that way. Only a few people know.” 

Something warm spreads in my chest. “I’m honoured to be one of them,” I give her a smile, hoping it comes across as genuine as I mean it to. “My lips are sealed. It’s pretty amazing, though, right? Did you get bitten when you were with Joel?” 

“I…no. No, it was before that. We actually met because we…” 

Gently, Joel continues for her, “We were going to the Fireflies. They thought she was the key to finding a cure, but…it didn’t work out.” 

The vaguest hint of a frown works its way onto my face. I study Joel where he’s leaning against the kitchen counter, delicious arms folded over his chest, his jaw working away. I’ve never been able to describe what it is about him that I pick up on when he’s lying. All I know is that I know a lie from Joel when I hear one. 

He looks at me like he knows that. Like he’s saying Not now. 

“Damn,” I say to Ellie, then offer her a smile again, “you got a badass scar, though. Not that you can show anyone it, but still.” 

She laughs a little. “I guess so.” 

“So you came all the way from Boston to Wyoming together? How the hell did you manage that?” 

“A whole lotta luck,” Joel says with a wry smile. 

“And teamwork,” Ellie adds. 

I laugh. “I’m impressed.” 

“You survived on your own, too,” Ellie says. “That’s also pretty badass.” 

“It’s very badass,” I agree, but resist a shudder at the bad memories from the last decade that instantly pour into my mind. 

“We should get you sitting down,” Joel says, gesturing to my leg. It is starting to throb; we’ve been standing here talking about all this for a while. 

I nod and start hobbling to the living room. Joel puts his arm around me to help, and to be honest I probably don’t need it, but I will take any opportunity I can get to be close to him. Our kiss from this morning is still fresh on my skin like it only just ended. I can feel his lips, his breath, his hands; a perfect ghost of him all over me. 

“Ellie, why don’t you go get the horses ready, then we’ll head out for a ride? I just gotta talk to Tyler over here before we go.”

My heart leaps in my chest. 

Ellie raises an eyebrow. “Who the fuck is Tyler?” 

Joel gives me a smirk. 

“That’s what he used to call me,” I explain with a nostalgic smile, remembering the first time he called me it. “I’m from Tyler in Texas. When we first met, all we knew about each other was we were both from Texas.” 

“Aw, that’s cute,” Ellie laughs. She points her thumb towards the back door and says, “I’ll go get ready to ride. Do you wanna come with us?” 

“I should probably get some rest,” I reply. “But thanks.” 

Then, when Ellie is gone and out of earshot, I turn to Joel where he stands by the living room window. He’s got one thumb hooked over his belt, the light from the window shining around him, making him into a lovely silhouette. I’d ask him to come closer, to kiss me, to even just hold my hand, but I have a question first. 

“So,” I say, leaning back against the sofa, “why’d you lie back there? About the cure?” 

Heavily, he sighs. Steps over to me, sits down, rubs his hands over his face. 

Then, he tells me. 

“And…she doesn’t know,” I clarify after the whole story is out there in the open. Like a mist in the room, lingering, waiting for my reaction. 

“She doesn’t know.” 

I exhale. His hand is sitting on his knee now, his other running over his beard with his elbow propped on the arm of the couch. 

I’m not surprised he did that for Ellie. Rushing through an entire army of Fireflies to save her life. I’m not surprised in the slightest, and I also know why he kept it a secret. 

What I am, though, is so fucking in love with him that it hurts my chest; and this only makes it stronger. I reach out and take the hand on his leg, threading our fingers together. 

“Do you feel that you did the right thing?” I ask, looking at his side profile.

“There ain’t a doubt in my mind,” he answers without hesitation, then turns to look at me. “I’d do it a thousand times for her.” 

A smile tugs at my lips as my chest blooms with affection. I squeeze his hand, trying to come up with words that don’t just sound cheesy, that don’t sound like I’m making fun of him. “Who knew you were so soft?” I ask. Which, okay, is partially teasing. But not entirely.

He chuckles. The smile on his face is so precious to me, and I think I’ve seen it more in the past week I’ve been here than I ever did in our five years together back then. He just looks so light. Still weighed down by the weight of this world, of course, and not without his own grief or fears; but, God, he smiles like he means it. Like he’s not afraid to anymore. Like the fear of the smile ruining everything has lifted from him. 

Naturally, I can’t get enough of it. 

“I think you did,” he answers my question, sincere. 

“Hm, I think the Joel I fell for was a little rougher around the edges,” I smirk, fully teasing now as he turns his body towards me and leans over me, brushing his hand over my cheek. 

His eyes locked onto mine, he rasps, “I can still be rough around the edges. If you want me to be.” 

With my hand on the back of his neck, I lean in and kiss him. Because he’s so fucking handsome, he’s here, he’s Joel. 

There are still thoughts in my head that keep trying to push through; thoughts of doubt, of worry, of fear. I don’t know where this is going, where I’m going, or what I should assume about either of those things. 

But with his lips moving against mine, I force the thoughts away, because I’ve waited so long for this feeling and I’m not about to ruin it as soon as it’s started. 

“I gotta go,” he says against my lips, rueful. He lifts up his thumb and smoothes it over my bottom lip. “We’ll pick this up later?” He asks, hopefully flicking his eyes between both of mine. 

I nod, biting my lip. “Please.” 

-

When Joel gets back, he makes us dinner. 

The three of us sit around the dining table in the living room, a candle in the middle of the table, flickering along with the fireplace across the room. It’s been two decades since I had a home-cooked meal like this; sitting at a table, inside a house, safe and warm. With people I know and trust. 

Ellie and I talk about movies and music, teasing Joel for his taste in both. We talk until it’s late and Ellie is yawning while Joel tells her that maybe she should get some sleep. She protests, claiming she’s ‘not even tired’, to which Joel responds, “I’ve heard that before.”

But after a while, she gives in to the tiredness so obviously weighing at her, and stands up from the table. “Alright. I’ll see you guys in the morning. Thanks for dinner, Joel.” 

“Night, Ellie,” Joel says, watching her as she walks towards the living room. “Sleep well.”

“Night,” I say with a smile. Ellie gives us both a wave, lifting her arm up high without turning back, and then she’s up the stairs and gone. 

I look at Joel, and warmth settles in my chest. The light in here is warm, mostly coming from the dim lights in the living room now, along with the candlelight flickering over Joel’s face. It casts highlights and shadows and I want to reach out and touch them with my fingers, with my mouth. 

Reaching across to him, I run my fingertips over his knuckles, and he smiles, twisting his hand so he can take hold of mine and squeeze.

“You want some wine?” He asks into the comfortable quiet.

“Love some,” I reply. “Can’t remember the last time I had any. Decent stuff, at least.” 

He pours a deep, red wine into two glasses, and when he comes back to the table, he doesn’t sit back on his seat. Instead, he pulls away a chair and turns to me, perching on the edge of the table, his legs at the same level as my shoulders. Then he holds up his glass for me to tap mine against. 

I do. “What are we toasting to?” I ask, looking up at him from under my eyelashes, drinking in more than just the wine; his heat, his hard thighs so close to my face, the way he’s looking down at me like he’s seeing me for the first time. Like we’re not living in the end of the world. Like we’re just on a regular date at his house, drinking wine after sunset. 

“Think we got a lot to toast to,” he says after taking a sip. With his spare hand, he reaches out, and brushes some pieces of hair back from my face. “This, right here, for one.” 

Smiling, I lean into his touch, closing my eyes. My lips press into his palm before he lays it on my cheek. “Agreed.” 

His lips spread into a small, contented smile. I put my spare hand on his waist, then slide it around so it’s pressed against his back. We just drink our wine like that, sitting with a hand on each other, existing in one of the only quiet moments we’ve ever had together. It’s just us, right now. It could be that nothing else exists. Just us. Just him, leaning against the table, gazing down at me like I’m something precious he can’t take his eyes off of.

When I’ve finished the last of my wine, I put my glass down on the table, and make use of my newly freed hand to rub it up his thigh. He sighs, swallowing the last of his. 

“You wanna go to bed?” I ask, letting my voice run soft and sultry. 

“I’d love to,” he says, “just one thing first.” 

“Hm?” I hum, pressing my forehead into his thigh, right against the denim of his jeans. His hand slides back into my hair, gently playing with it. I can feel heat rising in my belly, a need to be closer to him just thrumming through my veins. 

“Don’t tell Ellie, but I’ve been working on a little somethin’ for her. The shed out back, Tommy and I have made it into her own space just for her. I thought she’d appreciate having a place to call her own.” 

I look up at him and smile. “She’ll love that.” 

Joel nods. He stares at me for a minute, pondering. “And…since we’re talkin’ about living arrangements…” 

Dread shoots through my stomach, piercing through any of that rising arousal that his touch had ignited. 

He doesn’t want me to stay. 

That has to be it, right? He’s been thinking about it, too, ever since I got here. I don’t blame him; how can he ever trust me again? How can we ever—

“I was wonderin’ if you wanted to move in.” 

Oh.

Well, that brought my racing thoughts to a shuddering halt. 

He seems to take my silence as apprehension, because suddenly he’s nervous, trying to explain himself, “Only if you want. I know it’s…I know a lot has changed, especially today, and I really was going to offer for you to live here before we…you know.” 

I swallow down the lump of emotion that has made itself at home in my throat. I’m just staring up at him, wide-eyed, probably looking like I’m on the edge of tears. 

He wants me to stay. 

Fucking fuck, he doesn’t just want me to stay in town; he wants me to stay with him. 

“You…” I stammer. “You want me to…” 

He holds up a hand like he’s trying to calm a situation, one that actually doesn’t need calming, but the look on my face probably suggests otherwise— “Now I know it’s sudden, and if you want to ask Maria for your own place, she’s already suggested some…or…unless you don’t want to stay here at all?” Doubt creeps into his features, a jolt of anxiety I so rarely see.

“No!” I manage to squeak out, tightening my grip on his jeans. It doesn’t seem to clear anything up for him; he just frowns. “I mean, no, I…I don’t want to leave,” I say, finding that I mean it. Why wouldn’t I mean it? Why the fuck would I ever want to leave this place? And now that I have Joel…

Fuck, I have Joel. 

There are no words. None that are good enough, big enough, to express the overwhelming feelings that are bubbling up inside me. 

Instead of talking, I stand up, lean into him, and kiss him. 

He makes a pleasantly surprised noise, his hand staying on the back of my head as he lets my lips press to his, my hand going to mirror his. I open my mouth, feel him sigh when he opens his too, moving our lips together slowly but passionately. Desperately. Because it’s the only way I can think to tell him how I really feel. 

Maybe in another life, I’d have said it’s too soon. That we’re rushing into things. 

But we live in a world where one of us could die any day. And after everything, after all this time, I don’t want to waste any more time. 

If he’ll have me—I’ll have him. 

“So is that a yes?” He pulls away for a second and gives a nervous little chuckle. His thumb strokes at my cheekbone, his eyes looking down into mine, glowing in the candlelight. 

I nod. “Yes, it’s a yes,” I say. The heat is back in my belly again, feeling his knee pressed up between my legs, his face so close to mine and breath blowing against my mouth. “Yes, it’s a fucking yes, Joel. God, I—” I kiss him again, because I can’t not. “I can’t believe this.” 

He laughs into my mouth and kisses me quiet, bringing up his other hand to cradle the other side of my head, his fingers tangling in my hair again like they did this morning. I sigh, unable to resist, and melt at his touch. At his mouth. At him. 

“Joel,” I say, breathless, “Joel, will you please take me to bed?” 

He laughs again, a breathy chuckle that brushes into my mouth before trailing down my neck along with his lips, pressing closed-mouthed kisses all along my jaw. “Can you make it up the stairs?” 

“For this, yes.” 

When he pulls back, he’s grinning, showing his teeth and the wrinkles around his mouth and eyes. I dive in and kiss at each line, each mark of his life, everything he’s been through, all his laughs and tears and shouts and smiles—

“Joel,” I find myself whimpering against the corner of his mouth. 

His hands, steady on my waist, squeeze me. “You alright?” 

Tears are stinging in my eyes and nose. I try to swallow them back, press my nose into his neck. “Take me to bed,” I beg again, this time in just a breathy whisper, “Please.” 

His hands are precious and gentle on the back of my head again, cradling me in his warm palms, his fingertips threaded into my hair. I’m sitting on the end of his bed and he’s bending down to kiss me, my head craning up to meet him as best I can. I’d strain to reach him forever if that’s what it took. If the only reprieve from the stretch was his hand on the back of my neck. It would be enough. 

He pulls away from my lips for a second and breathes against me. “Goddamn,” he curses. 

I stroke his forearms, running my fingers through the hairs there. “Yeah,” I breathe, “yeah.” 

“You know how long I’ve wanted this?” He asks. 

I didn’t used to. I thought he’d never want this. Want me. 

But now…

I nod, and pull him down further, wanting to be closer, closer, closer. “I think I do.” 

Carefully he backs me up along the bed, crawling on top of me as I shuffle up towards the pillows. I try to kiss him as we move but it ends up too clumsy and my leg kind of hurts as I’m crawling backwards, and he chuckles at my efforts, settling above me once I’m lying down. 

The backs of his fingers trace down my face. He gazes down at me, his eyes glittering in the warm, dim light of his bedroom. I want to dive in, devour him, let him devour me, feel him as close as possible because I’ve wanted it for so fucking long—

But he’s so soft above me, so comforting and familiar and new all at once, and I could just as easily just stare at him like this forever, the look in his eyes, gazing like I’m something he wants. Something he needs. 

“Do I have something on my face?” I tease, just a little shakily, not sure what else to say. “You’re staring.” 

He shakes his head once. “Sorry. Can’t help it.” 

I smile up at him, press my hand to his cheek. “Me, neither.” My other hand moves around to the back of his neck, and I dip it down below the collar of his shirt, feeling at the heat of his back, pushing it down as far as it’ll go. He stifles a moan, letting his eyes flutter closed. “Joel,” I whisper against him, pressing our foreheads together, “how many times do I have to ask you to fuck me?” 

His breath hitches, catching in his throat. “You technically haven’t asked me that at all yet, darlin’,” he replies after a beat. 

“Well, then, I’m asking you now,” I pull away to meet his eyes again. Lightly, I curl the hand that’s under his shirt, running my fingertips over the small of his back, digging them in just a little. “Please, Joel. Take me. I’m yours. I’m—”

He dives in before I can say anything else, opening his mouth against mine and kissing me with a new, fevered urgency. He holds himself up above me with his palms on either side of my head, and at the feeling of his tongue brushing against mine, my hips instinctively buck up to try and find some friction. 

Without moving his mouth from mine, he shifts his legs, gently using his knee to push mine apart and then settling it there between them. Slowly, as he kisses me so quickly and passionately that I only just register what he’s doing, he slides his knee up and presses it against my centre. 

It feels fucking incredible. I’m throbbing already, pulsing for him, desperate for more friction. Another instinct, to grind down against his thigh, pushing myself further against him as he kisses me like his life depends on it. 

One of his hands moves a little so his fingertips are brushing over my temple, pushing bits of hair away from my face. I let the hand on his cheek slide back into his hair, taking a handful of it and pulling, revelling in the choked moan he lets out against my mouth. The vibration of his voice is intoxicating, and I wonder, not for the first time, how it’d feel against the place that his knee is currently pushed against. 

My hand on his back scrapes again, digging my nails in probably a little too hard, but he doesn’t complain; his lips break away from mine with a loud smack, and I’m about to protest, about to pull him back in when they start to messily trail down my jaw in sloppy, open-mouthed kisses. I gasp, my mouth falling open. His mouth is so warm, so wet, I can hear him breathing through it with his nose right up at my ear, can feel the heat of his thigh where it’s pressed against me—

“Joel,” I gasp out as his mouth settles at the pulse point on my neck. He starts to suck, and I can feel just enough of his teeth that I know it’s going to make a mark, the suction pulling sparks of pleasure from my neck all down my body. 

He hums in approval as I put my other hand on his waist, above his shirt this time, but starting to ruck it up, pulling it from the waistband of his jeans. 

“Joel, please…” 

“Mm?” He trails his lips, open and hot, back up to the underside of my jaw, and waits there. “What do you need, darlin’?” 

“I need…” 

Pulling himself away from me, he takes a careful hold of my hands, withdrawing them from both under and over his shirt. He takes them, entwines our fingers, then presses them down against the pillow on either side of my head. “I’ll give you whatever you want,” he promises in a low, husky voice that I have literally dreamed of hearing say that for God knows how long—“just tell me what you need, darlin’, and I’ll do it.” 

My mouth suddenly dry, I swallow, gasping for air even without his lips on me. He licks his own, glancing down at my mouth, hungry. “I already told you,” I say, breathless and squeezing his hands, “I need you to fuck me.” 

One side of his lovely lips quirk up into a smile. He leans down, kisses me, this time soft and close-mouthed. Then he presses our foreheads together again, and his breath is hot and fast against my face. I want to lean up into him, kiss him again, feel the burn of his beard against my skin, let it mark me up. But before I can, he whispers, “I’ve wanted to hear you say that for too damn long.” 

Then his hands are leaving mine, and he leans back, pulling far enough away that I can feel the loss of his body heat. He sits against my thigh, one of his still pressed just not quite hard enough to my middle, and I’m just about to pull him back down again when he takes his hands and starts to unbutton my shirt. 

Oh, fuck. 

The way he does it so carefully, calloused fingers working expertly on each one, just slow enough that it drives me insane. He watches his fingers, hunger growing in his eyes, licking his lips with every inch of my skin that he exposes. 

Then, when all of the buttons are undone, he first meets my eyes for a quick moment with a grin, then takes hold of each side of my open shirt and flings them aside, revealing my bare stomach and bra. 

“Oh, darlin’,” he exhales, gazing at that part of me like it’s the most incredible thing he’s ever seen. All I can do is lie there, watching him watch me, feeling as his hands press against my navel, slowly sliding up my ribs, to the curve of my breasts, back down again. “You’re so beautiful.” 

Sudden, unexpected emotion bubbles up in my throat. 

I never thought any of this would happen. Hell, I thought I was going to die not two weeks ago. 

When I left Joel, I thought I’d never see him again. And I thought that, even if I did, he’d not want anything to do with me.

And yet here we are, and he’s not just here, he’s mine, touching me with such care and desire and lust and I, God, I can’t put into words how it feels to have him like this—

“Hey,” his soft voice breaks me from my tumbling thoughts. His eyes leave my torso, and I swear to God I feel the lack of their heat. He meets my gaze instead, a soft frown of concern creasing his forehead. “You alright?” 

Frantic, I nod. I need him to know that I’ve never been better. I have literally never, in my life, felt like this. I reach up for him, taking hold of his face and bringing it down to mine, not quite pressing our foreheads together. “Joel,” I whisper. He lifts one of his hands from my stomach, brushes the backs of his fingers down my face. “I’ve literally never been happier.” 

He smiles. A beautiful little tilt of his lips that has me feeling just as much heat between my thighs as I do with his touch—

Speaking of, I grind down on him again, and my eyes flutter closed at the sensation. I need more. I need more, but he’s still hovering over me, concerned, and I realise that he’s not just brushing his fingers over my cheeks to touch me, he’s brushing away tears. 

Tears. 

I’m fucking crying. We’re supposed to be having sex, and I’m fucking crying. 

Humiliated, I feel my cheeks flush bright red and immediately rush to wipe away the tears. “Sorry,” I croak out, finding more tears in my throat ready to fall, “God, I’m—I’m sorry, I’m fine, I promise…”

He keeps stroking my face. For a moment he watches me, and I can see in his eyes that he’s not judging me. He still looks a little bit worried, but as he looks between each of my eyes, he asks, soft, “Are you sure?”

And I nod in an instant. “I really am,” God, I can’t believe I’m crying. I’m still crying. “It’s just…” The weight of the last decade—fuck, the last two decades, who are we kidding—feels like it’s weighing me down and lifting all at once, suddenly washing over me in a wave that I can’t find my way up from and I don’t know if I want to.

Joel nods like he understands. Leaning down, he kisses away the newest tears on my cheeks. “It’s a lot,” he says, gentle. “I know. After everything.” The hand that isn’t on my cheek moves from my ribcage, instead taking a hold of my hand again, and putting it on the pillow by my head like before. “I’m here, darlin’. Alright? I’m not goin’ anywhere.” 

Feeling just a little pathetic, I sniff. “I’m alright,” I promise him. My hand finds purchase on the back of his neck, fingers tangling in his hair. 

He gazes down at me for another long moment, his free hand stroking at my hair. I close my eyes into the touch, focus on him, his breathing, his body over mine, protecting me. Keeping me there, because it’s the only place I want to be. 

“I just love you,” I find myself whispering with my eyes still closed. At the confession, a small shot of dread shoots through my stomach in an instant, and at first, I can’t quite bring myself to look at him. But as the silence stretches on, I have to. 

I open one eye first. A part of me expected him to get up and leave. 

But I don’t know why. Because instead, he’s just staring down at me, a new softness on his features that I don’t think I’ve ever seen before. His lips quirk into a small smile. His eyes are glistening, disbelieving. “I love you,” he breathes out. I feel the words on my skin, sinking into my bones. 

Relieved, I close my eyes again. Then I feel him kiss me, soft. 

“I love you,” he says again. “I always have. I always will.” 

Feeling a fresh wave of tears threaten to fall, I nod and press my nose into his cheek, grasping on to the back of his head like it’s a lifeline. It kind of is. “Can you please be inside me before I embarrass myself by crying again?” I whisper into his ear, not totally unaware of the fact that I sound even more like I’m crying now. Which, I’m not. I don’t want to cry anymore. I’ve cried enough. 

His chuckle is breathy and warm against the shell of my ear. “‘Course I can,” he gently nips at my earlobe, then in one smooth movement, he pushes his knee right up against my still very clothed pussy and I let out a cry. Pleasure shoots through me, and the tears subside to make way for a gasp that pulls out of my lips.

It all happens very quickly, and yet very slowly, after that.

One minute, we’re both still clothed and kissing slowly and softly. The next, I’m tugging off his shirt, he’s unhooking my bra, putting his head between my breasts and kissing the centre of my ribcage with an open mouth. I undo his belt clumsily, push his jeans down to his ankles. He kicks them off and climbs back on top of me as soon as he can, helping me out of my own jeans. It takes a bit of working around my bandage, a distant pain still throbbing away over it. 

He looks up at me and raises his eyebrows. “You tell me if this starts hurting,” he says, not a suggestion. 

I nod. “I will.” 

He wastes no time getting back to my lips, one of his hands travelling all-too slowly down my body towards my centre. I ruck my hips up into his touch, and soon his fingers are pressing against my bare skin, right above my clit where I need him. 

“Joel,” I say, “touch me. Please.” 

He obliges without a word, sliding the tips of his two fingers down through my folds and towards my entrance, gathering wetness. I hear the slick of it, feel it, and he takes it up to my clit before pressing there in earnest. 

“You tell me if it don’t feel good,” he murmurs against my lips. “Need this to be good for you.” 

Desperate, I nod, clutching his head with both of my hands as I press my hips up into his delicious touch, the circles he’s making around my clit.

His fingers are inside me, then, thumb pressing against the precious bundle of nerves that he seems intent on pushing on. 

“God, Joel, that’s just—that’s just right,” I gasp. 

He smiles against my mouth and keeps going, slowly pumping two fingers in and out of me, stretching them apart a few times to get me ready. The sheer anticipation of having his cock inside me is enough to have me pulsing, getting wetter and wetter by the minute.

He readies his cock, holding it against my entrance. Looking into my eyes, he smiles, and presses the tenderest of kisses to my lips. “I love you,” he whispers.

“I love you…” the words fade off into a breathless whisper as he slides inside me, past my folds and right to my core, so hot and warm and wide and, God, fuck, it was so worth the wait—

I cling to him, scratch my nails down his bare back. As he starts to thrust, slow but not hesitant, he attaches his mouth to my shoulder and sucks. With one hand stroking my hair, he brings the other back to my clit, working it in time with his thrusts. 

“Jesus…God, you feel so good…” he grunts against my neck. 

“Joel,” I plead, “please…harder, faster…I need you…” 

My words pull the loveliest of moans from his throat and it’s like he melts beneath them, beneath my breath and my hands, pushing himself further inside me so the head of his cock is reaching as high as it can go, gently pushing against my cervix. Before he starts going any faster, he pauses, panting in my ear, “Are you sure?” 

“Yes, Joel, I can take it…” 

“Your leg…” 

“I’ll tell you if it hurts. Joel, please…”

He lets out a shuddering breath. 

Then, he does just what I ask him to do.

It’s not painful. But it is a lot. 

His dick hits the highest point inside me he can get to, and it’s so sensitive, it feels like he’s fucking up into my belly button, thrusting so hard that it meets resistance at the top of each curve of him inside me—

His finger gets harder against my clit, too. And, fucking hell, if it wasn’t intense before, it’s fucking overwhelming now. 

Not-quite-painful pleasure sparks through from deep inside me to every inch of my body. 

“Darlin’,” he gasps, opening his mouth against my neck in pleasure, as his pants get more frantic and his thrusts more erratic. It feels so good, and I’m just pinned underneath him, my left knee pressed into his hip, the other leg still flat on the bed.

His thrusts are jolting me,  and there’s definitely pain coming from my wound, but it’s absolutely nothing compared to the feeling of him inside me, fucking me into the mattress as I feel the sweat on his skin—“Darlin’, you feel so good, wrapped around me like this…wanted you for so long, so fuckin’ long, thought about this so many times with my hand on me—” he keeps spilling words, filthy words, into the place where my neck meets my shoulder, and I lap it all up. His voice is like sweet, husky syrup to my ears and I hold him there with his words buzzing into my skin, letting them carry me away to a place where it’s just the two of us, just his cock sliding in and out, fucking me just like I always dreamed of it, his finger still rubbing earnest circles over my clit—

It comes over me suddenly, builds up unexpectedly. “Joel! Joel, I’m gonna…” 

He kisses the shell of my ear, all hot breath and wet spit, “Do it, baby, come on my cock…come for me, darlin’, I gotcha…” 

And I do. Pleasure rises and rises and rises and then drops, a strangled cry finding its way out of my throat before Joel presses his hand over my mouth to swallow the sound. He moans along with me, and when he lifts his head from my neck, the look on his face keeps me riding my orgasm for just that little bit longer. Totally relaxed in pleasure, his eyes fluttering as they struggle to stay open, his mouth hanging open with spit glistening on his lips. He comes, then, inside of me, and it spills down my thighs with each push back in and out. 

I stroke the back of his head as the aftershocks from my high milk his pleasure out for as long as they can. I can feel the release of his muscles, the last of his orgasm fading and leaving him flushed and hot and lovely inside me. 

I pant against his cheek. He breathes against mine, fast, taking deep breaths. He’s still inside me. I don’t want him to ever not be. 

So when he goes to pull out, I twist my leg at his hip so my foot presses into the base of his back, anchoring him there. “Stay,” I say, pleading, “please. Just for a minute.” 

Wordless, he nods, and leaves precious little kisses all across my face and neck. Peppers them down my chest as far as he can go with the way I’ve got him pinned in place. I could keep him here forever. Inside me, on top of me, all around me. His hair is wet with sweat, beads of it dripping down from the back of his neck and onto my breasts.

Jesus. 

“Joel,” I whisper. It feels like I’m only ever going to be able to say his name again. “That was…Jesus, Joel, that was good.” 

Breathy, he chuckles. “Better than good,” he says. Then he pulls away, and I feel the cold nip of the air start to tickle against my skin, the wetness between my thighs getting cooler. Goosebumps raise on my skin, and Joel notices. “Sorry, darlin’, I’m gonna have to pull out now. Get us cleaned up a bit and warm.” He sounds genuinely sorry, stroking my face as if in consolation. 

I sigh, but I know he’s right. Nodding, I give him one last, long kiss on his mouth. “Hurry back,” I say when he climbs off of me and heads into the bathroom. 

Hearing the gentle slosh of water, I close my eyes, and feel the cool sheets beneath my skin. There’s a mess between my thighs, dripping down onto the sheet. We should probably have put a towel down. But. 

I am about to tell Joel as much when he comes back in with a warm, wet washcloth, but then realise he’s brought a towel with him, too. Too little, too late.

“We made a bit of a mess,” I say, letting my head loll towards him on the pillow. He chuckles in the quiet dimness of the room, the low light flickering over his bare skin. 

“Nothin’ we can’t clear up,” he replies, settling between my legs again. Carefully, he wipes at my skin with the washcloth, clearing away my own wetness and his release. I sigh, enjoying the warmth, the way he rubs absently at my knee with his spare hand. He cleans himself up next, then tosses the washcloth across the room. 

“Scooch,” he says gently, pushing at my hip. “I’ll put a towel down.” 

“Joel, I think you’re about a half hour too late with that,” I smirk, but do as he asks so he can lay the towel over the mattress, spreading it as far as he can.

“We can clean the sheets properly in the morning,” he announces, the grabs the comforter from the floor—I don’t even remember when it got there—and carefully brings it up over my body. 

I sigh into the cool fabric and feel the mattress dip beneath Joel’s weight. He crawls into bed beside me, and soon his arms are pulling me against his chest. 

I settle with my head over his ribcage, my leg hooked over his as he lies on his back. The covers are pulled right up to my neck, and I take a moment to pull the corner over the top of Joel’s chest, only just avoiding my face. 

“Joel,” I say, quiet. 

“Hm?” He murmurs as his hand absently rubs circles into my shoulder. His eyes are closed, his other hand propped under his head. When I look up at him, he looks more relaxed than I’ve ever seen him, blissed-out and content. It’s such a beautiful sight that I debate resisting the tiredness in my body and just staying up to watch him like this. 

I lift my hand, take hold of his cheek. Turn him to face me, then lean in and kiss him. “I’ve always loved you,” I whisper against his mouth. “I need you to know that.” 

His eyes crack open to look into mine. “I always loved you, too,” he strokes at my bottom lip with his thumb. “Now, come on. Let’s get some sleep, alright? Been wantin’ to hold you to sleep for a long time.” 

Warmth blooms in my chest. I kiss him again, just once, and snuggle in closer before putting my head back where it was. 

And, just like the invisible string that seemed to tie us together all this time, I sit comfortably in this space, letting all the tangles and the knots in my mind unravel. What’s past is past, and we’re here now. 

After everything, after the good, the bad, letting this thing between us come back from the dead—

We’re here.

{❤️end❤️}

notes: ah i can't believe it's finished ❤️ thank you SO much for reading and enjoying this fic with me, all your responses have made me so happy and i'm just so glad it's brought some of you joy. i hope you enjoyed the final chapter! i'm considering maybe writing some one-shots set in this universe at some point, or some little drabbles, so keep an eye out for those :)

love u, take care of yourself! ❤️

ps: as always this is post-apocalyptic and a fanfiction but in real life don't forget to always practice safe sex babes!

taglist below

@rosymythologies @lover1307 @rh1nestonecowg1rl @pinkrose1422 @lavenderhhze @abbyhaslongshorts @trippoverrt @emilianamason

[blackbatcass]

im so happy u turned ur anons back on they rlly thought they were baiting you, huh?

anyways! im sooo excited for the cass rebirth fic skdfewkd but in the meantime i DO wanna get into some arrowfam. ollie, roy, mia and connor just interest me so muchh but i havent read muc except for fics and even though i was supposed to follow my super specific reading order i wanna take a break from nw and the batfam and read something else.

like you said ga can be very healing!

anyways do you have a read list for me that includes all of them? thankss!

p.s nightwing vs green arrow was a question dc posted on their insta and the answers really surprised me! any insight on this?

LOVE YAAA

hey! <3333 tyyy i hope it lives up to expectation. LITERALLY reading ollie is so healing its good for the soul.

so this is like a comprehensive list of ollie comics, and this is a guide to everyone in the arrowfam. they’re super helpful if you want a broad overview

for my own personal recs, i think it's nice to start with green arrow: year one or green arrow stranded, to get a feel for his origin & time on the island. the hard traveling heroes (green lantern/green arrow) stories are also essential reading in that they basically established the modern version of ollie's personality and they're soo much fun, just beware of snowbirds lol.

from there green arrow vol 2 (1988) is the big one! pretty much Thee green arrow run, especially if you want to get to know ollie better. it's a lot of solid street-level ga stories in seattle, dinah's there, eddie fyers is there, and connor's introduced towards the end! if you're specifically interested in connor #102-137 was his original green arrow run. though word of caution that anything written after mike grell is a bit questionable.

if you're more interested in the 'arrowfamily' as a whole then you're looking for green arrow vol 3 (2001). it's 75 issues and a lot of fun. this is where ollie comes back to life, mia is introduced, ollie legalizes gay marriage, etc. it's pretty much just ollie hanging out with connor and mia and having some more street-level star city shenanigans, and i am very fond of it. that being said when judd winick takes over there is some questionable shit (you might want to just skip the arc with joanna pierce) but overall it's a fun time. roy shows up occasionally, dinah comes and goes. it's probably the best run to read if you want to get to know the arrowfam as a whole.

do not read green arrow/black canary unless you're desperate. it's bad. it's hilariously bad. do not trust anyone who tells you it's good. it is pretty harmless so if you just want to skim through for mia funny moments go ahead but...yeah it's trash.

post-new 52 there is not a lot unfortunately. a lot of it's garbage. the jeff lemire run is probably the most salvageable? and the rebirth one (volume 6) isn't as nauseating so that's also an option. but obviously you can read & enjoy whatever you want, maybe new52 ollie is your favorite ollie. i would say to read through some of this if you're interested in emiko but i can't really recommend it per se.

and that brings us to the current ga ongoing! you've probably heard us bitch about it a lot on here, but tbh it's been less bad & more mediocre. mediocre comics are just really frustrating to read through in real time. i might give it a try though, it has some nice moments even though it's not great, and williamson is leaving the title next month! chris condon is set to take over and has said the first arc is about street-level crime in star city, influenced by grell and o'neill. so i am VERY excited, it has the possibility to be peak. i think condon's run (issue 18) could be a great place to hop on!

so those are my green arrow recs! if you're more interested in roy, he usually features more in titans titles than ga titles so i have a separate list in my comic recs tag for him.

i couldn't find the ig post you were talking about? i have no clue how a fight between dick and ollie would go if that's the question. power scaling is not my forte by any means. i'm not sure how ollie's archery and dick's hand to hand fighting would match up. so i don't have a lot of insight on that sorry!

[supermaks]

re: chirlies rejoicing that pgasly said c2 aren't friends, the chirlies are rejoicing bc, well a fair amount hate carlos for various reasons but it's a combination of (1) bc the ferrari civil war is ongoing (2) the way ferrari has pushed c2 content to paper over their own shortcomings (3) chirlies being accused of being fake tifosi bc they don't like carlos and they should support both drivers, (4) adding to the prev point, c2 fans will often point to how c2 are friends and like each other as to why they should both stay at ferrari and chirlies should stop hating on carlos (vs how the chirlies want carlos out after 2024)

imo, i think chirlies are just on edge bc charles' contract hasn't been renewed yet and carlos is allegedly pushing for a 2 yr deal. personally, i don't hate carlos, he's just kinda there but 2022 & 2023 has kinda shown the limits of the partnership bc they just want different things from the car so i think it's better for everyone to turn the page come the end of 2024 for c2

fascinating ok before i give u my understanding of what was said here and which wud prolly turn a 1950's lancia engineer to dust like the sentence 'chirlies are just on edge bc charles contract hasnt been renewed yet' alone has been radiating thru my skull like a concussion for like 20 mins

I'm starting to c that a lot of sharl fans are very threatened by carlos and his influence on the team and again, from what ur telling me, the fact that he wants different things from the car than sharl is a problem and so .. basically .. for sharl to win a championship, which as a fan thats what u wanna c happen, carlos needs to go. Like thats where the animosity comes from, right, that Carlos is an obstacle to sharl's success or whatvr. If that is it, in my opinion not only ur overestimating Carlos, ur underestimating sharl and by a gross amount, btw. IF bald man is telling the truth and the car is gonna be sharper, better suited to oversteer, ((faster)) and they're working on their strategy, and the pit wall and stuff and actually becoming a title contending team, dont u think this hierarchy of 1st and 2nd driver will be forced on carlos whether he likes it or not? Because its kind of inevitable, and it'll be up to him and his management to fit into that role, not the other way around. Sergio Perez and his dad earlier this year were floating prost and senna conversations. And we know what happened, and of course it happened. We know there was never a point where Max was slower than Checo, just like sharl has never been slower than Carlos. So if theres gonna be a car, in these current regulations, capable of winning the title, sharl will be the one who has better pace wid it. Because hes just faster, his setups are faster, he knows how to extract more from the same car. Carlos winning in Silverstone, Singapore, is literally him doing his job, scraping the success he can out of a messy, unfocused, somehow well positioned Ferrari team, wid the tools he's given at the time, just like any other ((self respecting)) driver wud btw. Bro if Carlos ever thought he cud be a 'first driver' is because Ferrari let him, and I refuse to blame him for that. Not even 'blame' like hes doing his fucking job hes a competitor. When teams are strong the roles drivers play become better defined and they either put up or shut up. I cant even envision a Ferrari where sharl has some type of dominant machinery to work wid and Carlos is still a threat in any way lmfao

'the way ferrari has pushed c2 content to paper over their own shortcomings' totally get that, like thats been their literal marketing strategy for years and personally I dont like it either I think its unserious especially for a brand like ferrari to appeal to ((mostly female)) new audiences just thru the like parasocial angle of hey do u wanna fuck our drivers cool heres them doing charades and almost kissing like ur literally one of the most established most recognizable brands in the world moving like HYBE. ok.

'chirlies being accused of being fake tifosi bc they don't like carlos and they should support both drivers' bro I find carlos whole dynamic wid ferrari and tifosi and like that whole establishment so interesting and kinda brutal when u think about how hes paired up wid il predestinato whose like suffering and unfairness in this world is literally part of his brand and puts him and his fans on the defensive against everybody else. Like Sainz fans just gotta learn to pick their battles bro. Carlos is doing a job at Ferrari, the other guy is fulfilling a prophecy lmfao.

'c2 fans will often point to how c2 are friends and like each other as to why they should both stay at ferrari and chirlies should stop hating on carlos' I .. are c2 fans all 12 years old idk what else to say about this. Its gullible and seems like those people dont know exactly what they're engaging wid but thats not their fault again its how the sports being marketed

In conclusion sharl definitely gonna re/sign and prolly for a fucking insane amount of money because like carlos is not even top 5 of shit Ferrari needs to address so they can win a championship and they know first order of business is to make sharl happy and keep him extremely employed. Its looking like sharl will get a 3+2 and tbh like I said before, its up to carlos and his management to try and make the best out of a situation where the car is moving away from his comfort zone. A bottas like contract wud be an insult to the Sainz family but idk if they got much of a choice and it'll be interesting to c what happens. Im also thinking like if carlos does leave who wud replace him and why wud they for sure be a better fit than he is

[annieqattheperipheral]

ok i got thoughts on leafs contract negotiations and they may be unpopular... or you're just not interested, which is actually v smart bc it only ever makes ur blood boil to get riled up over something u have 0% control over. Just not a smart way to live life

AM34 does not deserve to be the highest paid player in the league. puhleeeeez *rolling my eyes in natemac* this is a salary cap league and he barely comes in clutch in the playoffs. Like what nonsense world are we operating in rn dude

Bunts isn't going to get re-signed by Leafs and i think that's a good thing for him. He got more eyes on him here in Toronto after arizona and now needs to go build his own rep outside of here cuz rn he gots leafs stank on him practically a stigma. His style of play and willingness to defend his teammates is seen as a negative by the league when that's a prized trait on any other team. So yea time for him to fly the coop he needs to go off into the land and show the refs and league what a dedicated and devoted team player he is and stop fuckin picking on him (that playoffs 3-game suspension would've been 1-2 anywhere else; that was penalization for being a leaf. george parros career ended vs the leafs so we get pigeon-shit on at every turn)

Willy deserves to think he should be in the range of the salaries of am, mm, jt. Only gd fella who shows up for the playoffs and continuously improves and just had his best season and scored on par w AM. If he doesn't get it here its leafs own fault for having set their stars' salaries that high compared to other teams when u know you're operating under a salary cap (yes yes i know it's harder to attract & keep stars on Canadian teams). I want the best for willy and if he doesn't get it here then yes go get ur bag elsewhere styles. This unbothered king will not be affected and will give it his all wherever he is. But he is thru n thru Toronto style and loves it here and i hope we get to keep him bc i love him and want to keep him in my tiny Toronto condo

Mitchy is our best player. Anyone in any of the comments of any post/tweet/article on leafs contracts who says mm should be traded for the cap relief-- why would we trade the singular player who makes everyone else on the ice better omfg with u idiots i cannot anymore pls gtfo

JT is only now returning to form after that scary injury. 21-22 season was a wash for him returning from that and no one should've been saying shit about him. 22-23 he showed his worth. Truly beautiful stuff. Yes he's overpaid but yea we're stuck w that. Idk. Also he needs to step up on the team culture side of things and get his ducklings in a row; he may be too much of a disciplined parent to be in the loop w the core. Maybe this season connecting w knies in his basement will get him back down w his ppl [insert "how goes it fellow teens" skateboard meme]

There's a 50/50 chance of keeping ROR and my goodness that would be an enthralling coup. His entire short leafie stint he maintained an outsiders perspective and w his keen experienced eye observed shit. The leafies have a history of learning from and bonding deeply w these short-term elders dubas would bring in for playoffs... It would be incredibly useful for the core to become one w ROR and truly embrace his drive on the ice. (also ror u haven't kissed jt firmly on the lips yet after winning the cup together so like idk where u think ur going)

Schenn... All i can say is ty ty ty for coming in embracing this place like the home its always been for u and instilling such a sense of family and comraderie. Like wtf do u mean these dumdum idiots never before did team dinners during playoff away games until u came along????!??!???? They never heard of getting on the same page???? That kinda stuff translates right to the ice. Like i don't even play team sports anymore and i could tell u that. Pls stay. Pls let treliving & shanny understand how valuable u are to team culture. And you're the other half of Mo🥺🫶😭

I love Mo and he should never be let go ever and i fear the day will come when we are all old and graying when they will set him free on an ice drift a la Avs EJ and i will cry enough to shut the city down from flooding and the subway will go out of order.

Ok phew glad to empty my brain of these idiots for a bit while we wait for news instead of speculation. ty for reading if u did💙 GLG😭

[sanchoyo]

Hello there friend...I'm silly tired and it's the middle of the night so this might not be coherent but I saw ur tags on that religion vs non post. Just wanted to say I know where ur coming from. I'm sorry that happened to u, that was a terribly presumptuous and unhelpful thing for them to do. I went thru something similar when my cat died, just to a lesser extent. I was told, in a well meaning comforting way, that she wouldn't suffer anymore, and my bitter grief stricken response was "she doesn't EXIST anymore. She's gone forever" bc I don't believe in the afterlife either.

OHHH sending u love for this <33 I was half awake and mad abt it but honestly its been like 2 months and im Fine with it now. (well maybe not FINE. still angry but it doesn't feel RAW anymore, like I can talk about it now) what's kind of funny is, I normally do like to talk about religion and the subject of an afterlife! it's something me and my sister have talked about a lot (not entirely sure what label she'd use now, but she used to be really into witchy stuff, so spiritual/religious topics would be fun to discuss between us, I am still spiritual in...weird ways...) it's just. there's a time and a place!! when he is dying and I am grieving is NOT the time or place!!!

It's so annoying when people around here assume I MUST be some flavor of christian because we're in the bible belt. like it doesn't even occur to them that I might not be. I have had people talk to me at previous jobs about how much jesus loves me and how he'll make things go well for me, and during those times I just kind of smiled and nodded along (I have to assume they want to tell me, specifically, these things because they see the Blue Hair and Pronouns vibes and feel...compelled...?? which like. lol???) like my mom took me being gay super well, much better than me telling her I wasn't a christian!! she CRIED over that!! and that didn't bother me so much because it's about me, right? and I don't care what happens to me after I die. it comes up a lot, where I am. people are fanatic about it, so I'm used to it.

but when it was about my precious dog, that really got me...the way those vets handled it was the only time I've been actively so annoyed and upset by it. the fact his pawprint came embedded in a little booklet thing that had a whole long ramble about how he's so happy and waiting for me to arrive REALLY upset me.

I totally get how 'she won't suffer anymore' could have set off the same thing, ugh, my heart goes out to you for that. funnily enough that was the only little phrase that DID bring me comfort. because my boy was suffering a lot his last few weeks, and not existing...put a stop to that pain. but it also put a stop to everything good, right? which sucks. like obviously I would have preferred him being ALIVE and not suffering, but that wasn't possible, so...that felt better than 'you'll see him again in heaven/he'll get to see jesus/rainbow road' stuff, in a way, for me. I just..knew it was his time and it would have been irresponsible and selfish for me to let him go slow and painfully.

it's just like...different things help different people. maybe the idea that dogs go to heaven helped the vets, as many animals as they likely put down, it makes it easier for them, I assume. and I'm glad if they had something like that to comfort them. I'm kind of jealous of it, honestly. I honestly want to give them a bit of grace for it, they were otherwise very kind and handled things well...

But they weren't the ones losing a best friend so they shouldn't have said it out loud. They can comfort themselves with that in their minds and keep things non-religious with clients. a very bitter and still-angry part of me wants to write the owner of that place a letter chewing them out for it. I won't but-- the idea of it makes me feel a little better lol. mentally being a karen and having a big dramatic fit in my brain only is very cathartic.

(I'm also open to the idea of reincarnation in some way, and I DO hope I can meet him again, somehow...it's just really really hard for me to imagine a christian 'heaven' scenario, lmao) I've been lucky enough to see him again in my dreams though, (those do still make me cry when I wake up and realize it wasn't real aaa ;_; ) and i'm lucky to have a lot of pictures and videos of him, as long as I'm alive he'll be alive in a sense, in my memories, and that's a lot of comfort. I can still speak fondly of him and see him in those ways, even if I'll never be able to really be with him again, never hold him again or play with him again. and I got 15 years with him, which I try to be grateful for. I tried my best to give him the best life I could. And I'll always have so many fond memories and so much love for him, and I'm sure the same goes for your kitty. <3

silly boy in his silly little hut ☝

[misqnon]

15, 17, 18!

hello cora!!

15. How do you come up with titles for your fics/chapters?

oh god this is like asking how i come up with titles for my playlists (absolute nonsense)

for fic titles, i usually like something simple and descriptive but with a bit of cleverness in there too. some examples: for my sanji backstory fic, "royal blue" its a double entendre on sanji being royalty and also the fact that he wears a lot of navy blue suits/blue is a thematic color for him lmao. "chartreuse is a shade of green" comes from the (weirdly common) misconception that chartreuse is a dark maroon color when actually it's a lime greenish - worked for the fic bc red is the color of blood and zoro is uh. lime green.

for chapters i either go for short and vaguely descriptive of what happens but also mysterious sounding. and then sometimes i just do references or song titles (every chapter of "with him?" is a song title...embarassing) (<- totally going to make a playlist for it later)

17. What’s something you’ve learned about while doing research for a fic?

i wish i kept a list as it happened bc i know im forgetting some crazy ones. i've learned about the intricate ingredient details (and history!) behind beef bourguignon and various types of risotto. i've learned how much blood the human body can lose and still live. ive learned about pueblo architecture and victorian vs gothic vs. etc. the definition of equinox vs solstice. intricacies of the word soothsayer. probably more

18. What’s one of your favorite lines you’ve written in a fic?

OH MAN THIS ONE'S HARD. IDK IF I KEEP TRACK...i know there are some but hell if i remember what they are 😭 i do have one i wrote recently that i shared in this ask, i'll share just the line im talking about again:

Sanji sees red. “You just don’t wanna admit your self-esteem issues are just as glaring as mine, you ‘honorable’ prick.”

the line itself is not that impressive but i really like the energy i created with their argument and the way it points out something i think will boil over eventually in canon...

and also some other fun random easter eggs ive thrown in: like the final chapter of "parallel" being called "vertex" bc the opposite of parallel lines are perpendicular lines, with the vertex being where they meet (hence the meeting of the two worlds in that fic) and things like sayer island from my current fic being named after,,,soothsayers (as mentioned earlier) BC. FORTUNE TELLING

ok done rambling now 👍thank u for giving me the opportunity to talk about writing i love it so much lmao

[fortunefool]

hi hello everyone!! im here w yu sera and her luck manip ability!! aka ur rabbit's foot & broken mirror in one! ik ik ... 2 in 1 .... what a steal ! formal descriptions / pages will b coming this weekend!!!

dc is avail. upon req if u prefer it over tumblr ims (which im ok with, btw!!) & like this if u wna put our beasts in some situations (if u want to plot) ! OH! and ty to evry1 who has alrdy reached out!! tw for mentions of : death, murder, drowning, sewer side.

ㅤㅤㅤ 𖹭 ㅤㅤㅤ statistics .

name : yu sera. (유세라)

birthday: 980922. (twenty5)

hometown: yongin, south korea.

education: master degree in nursing, second yr.

residence: yellow hall('s resident advisor)

ㅤㅤㅤ 𖹭 ㅤㅤㅤ biography & co .

you see, sera's life has been L after L after L, back to back

her mother? poor, modest, v excited to have a daughter. her f*ther? HWAKTHU. fluctuating between rich and poor, gambling his life away, alw fucking around, messing w the wrong people, scamming!

scammer on scammer hate crime ensues when a dubious low budget genie irl tells sera's dad "give me all the $$$ u have. but dw dw! i can grant u a wish... such as.... i'll give ur newborn daughter the power of Luck." and he leaves out the part that Luck is bad n good.

and what does her dad do? he listens!!! a born, living, lucky charm? sign him tf up!!!! he waits for sera to be born, tells her mom that he has to leave n he will take sera (so he doesnt have to share the lucky charm yknow), the mom tries to fight for the daughter but... ope... person w money vs person w no money.... yea... head low.

sooooo, she spends her childhood pretty happy. daddy's girl n all! w an ability that she believes to be some form of Good Luck Manip. she sees her dad as the best man in the world and he. loves. it. why? bc it makes her ability v powerful and he keeps on winning, buying expensive things, not being caught etc etc... just living the best life off of sera... but ofc. nothing lasts forever.

sera enters her teenage years and hell breaks loose. she accidentally learns that her mother didnt abandon them (as per her dad's fake sob story), she figures out that her dad is no Fair businessman and it alllll comes crumbling down.

so young and so shaken up with new, different emotions, she quickly learns that she can manifest bad luck as well. luckily(?) for her dad, she was still in denial so the bad luck wasnt strong enough to k*ll him off.... but it did take away all of his riches which cld count as murder in his books. long story short, he becomes a Monster, trashes her things, kicks her out, leaves her out in the street w nothing.

i'll try to make this part rlly brief bc i want her Trauma to be traumaing but i also dont want to get into graphic deets!! couch surfing at a friend. friend dies. parents hate her. sera starts searching for her mom, someone tells her that she's dead. ope... sera tries to end it all bc of that by drowning. randomly gets saved. ends up living w this cute ol lil lady, a retired nurse, who feels like a grandma figure for sera... baow. accidental bad luck manifestation makes them get into an accident, guess who survives thru survival luck and who doesnt. yea....

so ... you may be thinking ... now what. WELL. she hears abt sua ... abt the Patch (one that she cldnt afford/get her hands onto) so she decides well. im sick of being the bad guy (accidentally) all the time, im sick of spiraling, im sick of my ability fluctuating. let me become a nurse and help out! maybe i'll finally get to use my power for proper good this time....

soooooo she tries to cheer up during her uni years. she gets more control over her ability but theres still lots to learn! her emotions still affect her deeply but its no longer THAAAAAAAAT bad.

her goals? become a v v v good nurse. gain complete control over her ability and use it w her job. help ppl w her power. find her mom. and... devious smile..... find her dad to k*ll him w the bad luck.

ㅤㅤㅤ 𖹭 ㅤㅤㅤ ability .

luck manip!!! she can give u good luck or bad luck!!! her eyes turn green when it's good luck & black when it's bad luck! she can touch u, look at u, think of u, it works either way! ofc, she can do more w a touch than w a thought!

she can make you get the luck you need to find your keys or to win the lottery! she can make you spill ur coffee all over ur new clothes or get u vvv sick! anything goes! if it's a casual ez kind of luck (keys, coffee), then she'll need a few moments to regain her energy. if its smth more extreme (lottery, sickness), she needs a few days (even up to a week), to recover!!! the more complex it is, the more it drains her energy!

it's all within d laws of physics & limits of 'reality' ! so she cant get you to magically materialize ur lost keys back and she cant spill invisible coffee on u! ALSO!!! this ability only works in like... idk.... a 100-200 miles radius!

her Survival Luck is also present n exists and she can (and has alrdy) managed to survive a bunch of extreme situations (see above)! however, the Way that she survives it.... out of her control fr.... cld be a scratch, cld be 5 broken bones, not up to sera!

ㅤㅤㅤ 𖹭 ㅤㅤㅤ brief personality .

she's v chill and looooooves helping people!!! not super hyper BUT still a fun girl nonetheless! not boring by any means despite being v toned down and lowkey!

DESPITE the previous bullet point, she is extremely afraid of getting attached to people and LET ALOOOOONE love them so she tries to keep everyone at arms length. why? obv bc of her ability and her fear of not being able to control it properly... she doesnt want another friend + grandma incident.

has a tendency to become mellow / nostalgic and can be caught overthinking... which she tries to do while on that nullivi .... ofc! LDFDFGJJ

ㅤㅤㅤ 𖹭 ㅤㅤㅤ plots .

a few friends????? a few foes?????? a few younger ppl @ yellow hall she's helped out as a resident advisor??? someone who tries to get close to her but shes ADAMANT on not letting that happen?

ppl affected by her good luck..... what abt ppl affected by her bad luck.... ooo swearing up and down that she didnt mean it and it was accidental... cld be true or not. ppl accusing her of using her powers when she didnt? OOOO what abt using the bad luck on a person that she was told was a bad person but sera was only manipulated into thinking soooooooo ooooooouuuuu

someone who's known her ever since she was a teenager? watching her go thru the whole spiral of bad luck??? maybe theyre older and even told her abt sua!!!

what if there's someone who jus doesnt believe that she has an ability? or they do and they think its a stupid one? NLKFJGN idk...

i kinda want lots of angst for her.... i think it'd be fitting.... lets put sera and ur muse thru the pain machine tgt!

THANK YOU FOR READING / SKIMMIN THRU THISSSSSSSSSS SMUAAAAAAAAAAAAACH!!

[latineslytherin]

It is honestly so refreshing to read someone who actually knows their stuff in gaming development, Fandom, I squeeked in excitement when u mentioned crunch (not bc I like that it's a standard in so many dev cycles and you KNOW that). But yeah. I would love if the whole discussion would be more nuanced. I understand that it's a lot about feelings but it never works when you tell someone that they can't have something (I think a good example would be meat eater vs. Vegan and how THAT vegan person™️ approaches). I am so exited to read more of your block!

I also apologize for any typos or spelling/grammar errors. I rely heavily on my autocomplete to know what it's doing - I am not a native speaker.

I know a few people in the industry and have been a gamer and in fandom since 20+years. I was a volunteer QA for a few games that had early access to alpha. And now I do QA (among other things) for a software company so like - I understand on a basic level whats up in the gaming industry. And if there's something I don't know, I know people in the industry currently that have ranted and vented to me about that I can ask.

The gaming industry is just so much more stressful and red-tape/bureaucracy and answering to shareholders/investors - people have no idea how hard it is to fight for certain features and representation in non-indie game development. So much that when a game DOES have it - its like WOAH who are the game devs who risked their job to bring that up over and over to the point they allocated resources for it? I wanna support that game for them!

Like I'm remembering how Mass Effect Andromeda - how one game writer fought so Vetra - an ALIEN (Turian) character - to be bisexual. The writer then left the ME team at the end of it because she was burned out for fighting for just that little bit that only a small minority of players would even come across! (And also lead writer was an asshole from the Halo writing team). And that's from Bioware - owned by EA who finally gave us insane representation in Sims after I dunno -HOW MANY YEARS?! And if you know the history of how THAT came to be - is just amazing.

Like I get it, we should support indie devs - but not all indie devs are going to be able to give us the kind of game we want that bigger devs CAN and do give us. Because the rep isn't the focus for a lot of games - it's the story (especially in RPG) and the gameplay - and if they can - maybe if they have the man hours/ resources work in the rep. I think about how there was ONE guy who spent hours of extra and unpaid time to make sure the Iron Bull romance was playable for all races/gender in Dragon Age Inquisition because otherwise there just wasn't resources allocated to make that be a thing - and yet because he sacrificed his own time he did it.

Also like the Crunch thing - I understand. In my industry there is crunch - currently I'm in 50+ hour work week crunch time for the next 4 months (I don't get overtime, I'm salaried). But I commiserate with the gaming industry when it's crunch time because I get it and they have it so much worse. So hell yeah I'm gonna support them when I get something - however little.

Anyway yes…people are talking about the gaming industry without like truly understanding the nuance of what its like to work in the industry even a little.

(wow this got long and ranty, sorry about that. also you're good on spelling. I understood.)

[autocann1bal]

part two of playlist analysis!!

pt 1 <;-

lets get right back into it!!

moving in place - shauna dean cokeland hc that lockwood was pretty fucking reckless after jess dies-before george showed up and did. very dangerous things.

summertime sadness - lana del rey just before lucy left, at the door, lockwood trying to get her not to leave.

star shopping - lil peep (for more context, i have a slight obsession with the stars and the stars mean more than the world to me) SHES LOCKWOODS STARS SHES LOCKWOODS STARS SHES LOCKWOODS STARS WAILS SOBS SCREAMS SHOUTS ARFURFSDFJGK

scott pilgrim vs my gpa - mom jeans ...am i allowed ot say lockwoodcore again.

cherry wine - hozier GOT ANOTHER HOZIER SONG BOYS. its so soft. theyre sitting in bed at night after a particularly bad panic attack and lucy is stroking his hair as cherry wine plays. 

brian is the most beautiful - memo boy sleepy trance-ish vibe sort of thing dont ask idk it just. vibes

over population at the end of everything is less of a worry, haha ('a letter to you' from mother 3') - no love in the house of gold idk sad vibes you do with this what you want.

wasteland, baby - hozier OMOMWOMWOWOMOWOMOMWM beloved theyre so cute and in love shes brushing his hair as they get ready in the morning they are in love.

cdbaby <3 - chloe moriondo i had too. lockwood bumping ts the first night lucy is there and george is telling him to stfu bc hes to loud and its 10 pm.

el manana - gorillaz more lockwood being sad bc lucy is gone :(

november has come - gorillaz tbh this one should be in a george playlist i just feel like hed like this song

i really wanna stay at your house - rosa walton, hallie coggins locklyle reminds me so much of lucy and david (cyberpunk edgerunners) so they get the lucy/david song <3

luna moth - maya hawke lucy feels like shes ruined the group dynamic after she joined the company :(

tongues & teeth - the cranewives oh lordy lord lord i have many words to say and none of them will be coherent. EORROUFUFH this is such a lockwood song you dont understand hes so afraid of being close to people. hes horrible afraid of letting lucy in because hes afraid kipps is right and she'll leave. hes so afriad i love him dearly hes so me (im projecting) 

tv - billie eilish god lucy feels so useless and worthless. she ruined the teams dynamic as soon as she showed up. the repetition of 'maybe im the problem' at the end is her talking to herself in the shower

something in the orange - zach bryan god theyre so stupid and sad i love them i miss them dearly thats all u get thank u  genesis - grimes they are walking around at night. they should not be. genesis ensues. great - mccafferty uh oh mccafferty time be prepared (i do not support nick!!) god this song is so lockwood hes so insecure and sad. he thinks hes alone. PLOT TWIST lucy is outside his door also crying because she can hear his cries. throat - mccafferty mmm what if i just [hands lockwood (slight) substance abuse problems] kill me for this if youd like but i just. i think he. gasoline. - mccafferty song told from lucy's pov, why you ask? 'when your sister died/that changed everything' HRMST unforgiveable curse #3 - mccafferty 'im useless without her/i hope that i dissolve' LOCKWOOD YOU SILLY MOTHER FUCKER YOU ARE VALUED BY MORE PEOPLE THAN JUST LUCY FOR THE LOVE OF GOD cotton candy - mccafferty 'im so lovely/at making destructive decisions' the entirety of l&co ^ graveyard - mccafferty idk why just. lucy after the teams death vibes (the team being the team in her home town w norrie and thems. witchcraft - mccafferty ok ik the song. is not fluffy vibes but idk idk it just gives me fluffy locklyle cuddle vibes dont ask why because i am unable to answer. lights are on - tom rosenthal oh my god just imagine lucy walking past portland row after she left, staring into lockwoods window. hes there too. its to dark for her to see him but they make eyecontact before she briskly turns and walks in the other direction and lockwood just starts crying. cocaine jesus - rainbow kitten surprise same thing as lights are on maybe a slightly different font maybe its george who knows [shrug] sweet tooth - maya hawke bfs, even gfs if you will (yes im talking about a technically het couple, what about it?) mike walton - basement version - adjust the sails hrmrhrhff lockwood sitting in the basement pretending to be filing things WRONG hes crying :) romantic homicide - d4vd LITERALLY JUST THE FIRST LINE IS SO LOCKWOOD 'im scared/feels like you dont care' LOCKWOOD LOCKWOOD LOCKWOOD LOCKWOOD LOCKWOOD thats all u get ty call it fate, call it karma - the strokes 'can i waste your time here on the sidewalk?' KIPPS THAT YOU??? nah this song is lockwood watching kipps and lucy talk on the sidewalk and is just like ??????????WHAT bathtub - the front bottoms YOU WILL NOT tell me this isnt anthony lockwood. you cant. i will go more in depth of this anyone asks. i mean anyone a single person can be slightly interested and i will do it. car lights - james marriott oh how fittes at 50 ball of them. i will not elaborate jim bogart - the front bottoms 'i would sleep better on your floor than i would ever in my bed' alright lockwood PACK IT UP YOU PATHETIC SIMP stupid for you - waterparks this time its LUCY being a simp PLOT TWIST lockwood may be a pathetic man but lucy is a pathetic woman they are so cute together my little squishy scrungles dark beach - pastel ghost hes sleeping on her chest and shes calmly braiding his hair fight me theyre so cute i love them riptide - vance joy yea i added riptide what about it. theyre so in love i love them theyre so cute sobs hes so in love shes so in love theyre so <33333 kids - mgmt GUESS WHAT ITS ANOTHER SONG ABOUT THEM BEING CHILDREN IN A TERRIBLE WORKPLACE tire swing - kimya dawson cozy breakfast vibes. lucy is singing lockwood and george are whistling. george is also cooking because lockwood isnt trusted near an oven after the careless whisper incident the 30th - billie eilish yall. yall remember when lockwood got shot. yea that. no surprises - radiohead is this self explanatory. orbitron - duster guess whos having a breakdown? ITS LUCY THIS TIME MF MWAHAHHAHAH. she is breaking down in the shower. oopsie. part 3 coming shortly :)