#leave. lose. lost. such powerful words for one person to handle.

[elderwisp]

◁ || ▷

[ light rattling ]

Frances: The hell?

Frances: Christ. Atlas. Atlas! Wake up!

Atlas: Hmm? Oh! Hello you. 

Frances: Found you.

Atlas: Good job but you never really needed me to tell you that. 

Frances: Are you sober? 

Atlas: Definitely coming down, that’s for sure. 

Atlas: [ rustling ]

Frances: You decent?

Atlas: [ snorts ] Sure. What? Did you want some? Should have told me sooner since I’m empty. 

Frances: You promised me this would stop. That was our deal.

Atlas: Promises are such a big commitment for something with such little return. I need something consistent, something I know. 

Frances: Did he really mess you up that badly?

Atlas: Don’t.

Frances: Because everything changed when he came into our lives.

Atlas: Stop.

Frances: You can’t even acknowledge him because you know it’s true.

Atlas: Stop it.

Frances: ROWAN! His name was Rowan and he ruined everything!

Atlas: Ruined everything?! Hah… Hahaha! No, no you’re wrong-

Frances: You’re so delusional you can’t even see it. Of course you can't, how could you?

Atlas: Get out. 

Frances: I am trying to help you!

Atlas: I said get out-

She grabs him by the shoulders

Frances: Were we not enough? Was I never enough? I’ve been here the entire time! All he ever did was leave you! I... I shouldn’t have said that. 

Atlas: [ voice breaks ] oh god…

Frances: Hey. No, no. I’m sorry. 

Atlas: [ whispers ] He didn’t ruin me, he only set me free. 

Frances: This is the price of freedom?

Atlas: No, this is the price of a heartbreak. This part is my fault. 

Frances: You can’t keep blaming yourself. 

Atlas: What makes you think I was in the right?

Frances: Because you’re my brother. I know you.

Atlas: [ small huff ] And you should know you can’t change a thing. 

Frances: I can. You’re going to get better. You have to. 

Atlas: How naive do you have to be to believe it’s a choice? I-

Frances: Are you ready to lose it all?

Atlas: … Say what you came here to say, Frances.

Frances: I don’t want this to be the rest of our lives. This has to be the last time. It needs to. [ pauses ] It needs to be or else I’m done. 

?: [ hurried knocking ]

Frances: You expecting someone?

Atlas: Trouble.

Frances: What?

?: [ banging ] I know you’re in there Atlas! Open the fucking door!

Frances: What did you do?

Atlas: You should… Stay here. Don’t come out until I say so.

[asidian]

Niko is such an intriguing character to me.

She's fun and funny, earnest and optimistic and kind. She seems to have a sort of innocence about her; her optimism veers into naivete, and those iconic rose-colored glasses tint her world view maybe a little too much. 

But at her heart, I feel like Niko's story is perhaps one of the most relatable in the show.

She isn't a psychic. She isn't a shapeshifter. She has no special powers at all. She's not dead already. She hasn't spent thirty-five years learning about all the strangest things the world has to offer.

She's just a girl, struggling with a very real, very universal, very down-to-earth problem.

Every person alive will lose someone.

Every person alive will learn to grapple with grief.

Every person alive will take a look around them at some point, at friends and family, and realize how quickly they might be lost.

Every person alive has had cause to worry about their own death, and how the future might bring it.

We see Niko come to terms with all of this, and her major emotional character arc centers largely on this processing of grief and her fear of her own mortality.

When we meet her, she's a shut-in. She isn't talking to anyone about anything, and especially not about her father. She can't even stand to read her mother's letters or write one in return.

We see her fear of death manifest during the Case of the Devlin House, when she opts to sit out entirely; it's fear, too, that urges her into action, when she sets out to assist her friends.

In the Case of the Lighthouse Leapers, she realizes for the first time that she can make an impact in keeping the people she cares for safe. It's Niko that darts in just in time to keep Crystal from walking off the cliff and into a sea monster's waiting maw.

As she becomes more confident, she also becomes more willing to directly face her own grief. She reads her mother's letters, and then, in time, manages to send one in return.

In the final episode, she notes that she's ready to call her mother; she's processed her feelings enough to be willing to put them into words, to speak about this unspeakable thing that's been living there inside her.

She's managed, too, to come to terms with her fear of death. She is brave not because of a lack of fear, but in spite of her fear. She's afraid when the boys are kidnapped, but she goes with Crystal to save them anyway.

This fearful girl, lost in grief, who couldn't leave her room at the start of the series, steps in front of one of her friends and takes the death that's meant for her – and in that moment, her character arc is complete. She's overcome the fear of her own mortality at last, in the most impactful way possible.

Seeing Niko struggle with her grief, and come to terms with her own mortality, is the sort of emotional narrative arc that you don't usually see on screen. It's beautifully handled, and Dead Boy Detectives is stronger because of that.

[remlionheart]

⟡˙⋆ MDNI ⋆˙⟡

Teacher's Pet

♡༊·˚ the second installment in my euphoria x jjk drabbles. this takes place where megumi's left off, but it's still a standalone fic so it's not necessary to read both parts if u don't want to ♡ tw for drug use and slight coercion. gojo x shy fem!reader. 𐙚 praise kink girlies who have ever dreamt of an authority figure having their way with you - hi, hello, welcome, enjoy your stay 𐙚 your former teacher's house was a place where anything and everything happened. a place people came to let go of their responsibilities and lose themselves for the night. there was only one rule: no one was allowed to step foot in his bedroom... shout out to the loml @bratbby333 for literally being gojo. 3.9k words. porn with a plot. lemme know whatcha think, luv u ♡༊·˚

°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･

Satoru Gojo had never been the most morally sound, neither in his personal or professional life. There were many things he was willing to turn a convenient blind eye to, secrets he was willing to keep in order to protect himself and those he deemed valuable enough. In a world predominantly made up of black and white, he was the condemning shade of silver that connected the two. Always towing the line but never really committing to either side.

With the amount of wealth and status he possessed, there was hardly anything he couldn't have - not a person or a drug or material object that was off limits to him. The entire world had always bent to his will, and he intended on keeping it that way.

His footsteps were heavy as he maneuvered through the crowd of sorcerers that were scattered about his living room.

Every weekend was the same, a hazy blend of laughter and smoke and blue lights. Girls snorting coke off of his marble countertops and couples fucking in the pool, not caring at all who saw. It was the place that people wandered to when they needed to let go of their inhibitions for the night and succumb to their own vices. "Gojo's house of debauchery" as Megumi would so endearingly name it.

He tilted back the rest of his drink while he made his way upstairs, pleased with the way bodies parted for him without him having to say a word. He was imperious, subconsciously operating with an effortlessly powerful presence anywhere he went, but especially within the domain of his lofty penthouse.

He came to an abrupt pause, noticing the door of his bedroom was cracked open. There were hardly any rules when it came to his Saturday night depravities, but the one thing that everyone knew was to not step foot into his room.

His jaw clenched, grabbing onto the door handle with every intention of having to drag someone out when the tension in his shoulders suddenly settled. A small smirk crept across his face as he closed the door behind him, his annoyance completely overruled by a new sense of perverse curiosity as he noted the way his sheets hugged the side of your hip.

"You lost sweetheart?"

Your eyes snapped open when you heard the click of the lock, your mind was racing trying to piece together where you were. You'd taken at least 4 shots too many before you'd stumbled upstairs.

The last thing you remembered was searching for a bathroom, barely being able to push your way through the crowd when Nobara noticed you. "You don't look too good," she had shouted over the music, "here, follow me." She'd forced you to drink some water while you peed and then guided you to the connecting bedroom. "You need to lay down for a little bit, 'kay?" It was the last thing you had heard before your head hit the pillow and your surroundings finally stopped spinning. You'd assumed that she'd taken you to one of his many guestrooms, but no, in her own drunken haze, she'd managed to leave you in his bed.

"Gojo-sensei," you immediately grimaced at your own formality, scrambling to correct yourself while you rolled over to face him. "I - mean, Gojo." Satoru? No, definitely not. You shook your head at the thought. "I'm sorry, let me just grab my stuff and -"

His smirk only grew at your hesitation though, a slight laugh leaving his lips as he waved a dismissive hand and took a seat on the edge of the bed next to you. "You're already here. Stay."

Your body froze when you met his stare, the low glow from the red light above his headboard emphasizing the sharpness of his face. You were surprised he even recognized you considering you hadn't seen him since graduation. Out of all of his former first-years who would so frequently pass out after overindulging, you had never been one of them.

Never, until now.

His eyes drifted along your silhouette, noting the curves that had replaced your once slender frame. The maturity that had stolen your timid teenage smile. You’d always piqued his interest, but you were now piquing something much more sinister inside him as he continued to look you up and down.

"This is new for you, hm?" He asked, looping a slender finger under his blindfold before pulling it down. "I mean, you were always a good girl, right?" Your heart stuttered in your chest when your stare caught his fully. An impossible shade of cerulean gazing back at you through thick lashes. "A bit shy from what I remember."

You shrugged, thankful for the way the lighting was covering up the heat that had migrated to your cheeks. You were better off than you were 2 hours ago but you still weren't as coherent as you should be, especially for this situation. "I was a kid back then." You finally managed.

"Seems like you're still one seeing as you couldn't handle a few shots without needing to lay down." His tone was more amused than it was scolding. "Look, it’s all about balance. If you're drinking or taking more downers than you're used to, you need an upper to counter it."

It almost felt like you were back in his classroom listening to one of his lectures, only the lesson he was about to teach you was definitely not Jujutsu High approved. He leaned over, grabbing a black Versace box from his nightstand. "If you're ever bordering on the verge of blacking out, the quickest way to regain your composure is this."

You watched him pull out a bag of white powder along with a dainty, almost doll-sized spoon, scooping out a bump before holding it to the left side of his nose while another finger covered the right. His pupils bloomed as he inhaled, letting the drug enter into his system with ease. "Come here." He instructed. 

You leaned toward him, it was almost muscle memory the way your mind and body both followed his directions with such blind obedience. A slight grin pulled at the corner of his lips as he brought another spoonful up to your face, his free hand closing one side of your nose for you. “Take a deep breath f’me.” He gave you a low nod as you complied without a second thought. “There you go, just like that.” 

Your jaw tightened, an odd sense of clarity washing over you when you looked back at him this time. The coke had managed to reel you back in, neutralizing at least some of the alcohol in your system as your body buzzed from the stimulants. Reality suddenly had a stronghold over you, reminding you that you weren’t just in your former teacher’s bed, but you were in it with him while he spoonfed you drugs.  

“Better?” he asked, cocking his head at you with the same smirk.

All you could do was nod, gradually coming to terms with the fact that you were powerless to the two opposing substances that were now working within you. Your heart rate was slowed by the alcohol but accelerated by the coke, neither one of them necessarily overpowering the other. They were instead coming in waves, almost taking turns as they flooded your thoughts and calmed your nerves. Gojo-sensei was always right, but you never imagined this would be something you’d learn from him. 

“A lot better.” You admitted, watching him set the box on the nightstand, wondering if the way he left the bag inside of it open was intentional or not. 

“Good.” He pulled at his tie, loosening it around his neck as he stripped out of his black blazer leaving him in just a white button up. “What were you doing here tonight anyway?”

Your mouth opened and then closed as you met his stare again. There was no subtle way to admit that you were still recovering from your latest breakup. That you’d come out tonight in a sad attempt to maybe, accidentally run into him.

“Oh, god,” he groaned, reading like you a fucking book. “Please don’t tell me you came here to get Takuma's attention.”

Your pupils dilated for an assortment of reasons, embarrassment churning in your stomach as you shook your head in denial. “What? No, I just wanted to get out for a few and -"

“Bullshit.” Despite the sharp edge in his tone, he was still wearing the same coy smile, his leg lightly grazing yours as he positioned himself closer to you. “You always had a thing for him. I remember the way you used to follow him around the hall like a lost puppy.” 

“That was years ago.” You countered, trying to process the fact that he’d watched you that carefully. 

“But you did, didn’t you?” His hand reached up, his slender fingers gently tangling into your hair, his voice dropping down to a pointed whisper. "I even heard you wanted him to be your first."

Your heart was racing, but it suddenly had nothing to do with the coke. Gojo-sensei had never been the most professional teacher. He was always joking with his students. Always getting into gossip that had absolutely nothing to do with him, but you never thought that his interest in his student's personal affairs extended to you considering you hardly ever had anything noteworthy going on. You sat in the back of the class. You barely spoke to anyone. You were a wallflower from hell. The fact that he remembered your crush on Ino was astonishing. The fact that he knew you wanted Ino to be your first was insanity.

His hand was still attentively drifting across the back of your neck, light fingertips gliding across your skin while his eyes roamed along your lips. You were forgetting how to breathe between the way he was looking at you and the sudden realizations that you were quickly having to come to terms with.

"You didn't actually let him take your virginity, did you?" His tone was dripping with taunting curiosity.

"He -" you faltered as his palm met the small of your back, the oxygen all but gone from the room. "He was my...first and...." You nearly choked on your own honesty, your face matching the deep red lights decorating his wall. "...only."

Satoru's body stilled, an incredulous look taking over his face before a vicious laugh erupted from him. "You're joking. So, have you ever cum then? Like, even just by yourself?”

"Of course I have." Your response was immediate. Almost too defensive to be true. "Plenty of times." You tacked on, which only made it worse.

You froze as his grip found its way around your waist, his fingertips lightly digging into your skin. "Show me then." he challenged.

Your heart felt like it was going to explode. His touch equal parts tantalizing and intimidating the closer he got to you, his hand cradled your jawline, his thumb tracing over your bottom lip. "Show me how you make yourself cum when no one's around."

Your breathing came to a complete stop when he closed the already small gap between you, his hand gliding down your neck as his tongue parted your lips. His body was warm and inviting, pressing against yours with ease. "Let me see it," he continued, slipping the straps of your tank-top down your shoulders.

You were stuck somewhere between the desperate desire to pull him closer and a nagging sense of insecurity that you couldn't shake no matter how hard you tried. You weren't stupid, you knew that he was much more experienced than you. He'd probably been with plenty of beautiful women who had given him more of a show than you felt capable of giving.

He pulled away slightly, picking up on your apprehension as his eyes met yours again. "You wanna be here, right?"

You nodded back at him, an aching feeling building between your legs at how dominant yet unexpectedly gentle he was being with you. "I do, I just -" You felt your jaw clench, the coke mixing with your self-doubt causing your body to tighten up even though it was the last thing you wanted it to do. "My head is just kind of everywhere right now." You admitted sheepishly.

"Here," He shot you a small smile before leaning over to reach back into his nightstand while you stared at the ceiling, trying to relax into the softness of his bed. "Open." he said, hovering over you again.

His stare was locked firmly with yours as you lolled your tongue out for him obediently, swallowing down the yellow circular pill he'd given you. "Good girl." He praised, tracing over the side of your face with his finger. "We'll take things slow, yeah?"

You didn't know what you'd just taken. Truthfully, you didn't even care with the way he was talking to you. His voice was like silk when he leaned back into you, carefully wedging himself between your legs as he kissed you again. His movements were fluid but thoughtful. His fingers grazing along your skin softly, leaving little goosebumps in their wake.

He may have been with more people than you had, but you were gradually starting to realize that it was more of a positive than it was a negative. He was able to read you so easily, he knew exactly where and how to touch you.

You let out a faint whimper as his palm met the inside of your thigh, slipping up your skirt and moving your panties to the side. "Keep your eyes on me, okay?"

The way your bottom lip lodged between your teeth while you looked back at him with a doe-like expression made it all the harder to restrain himself, but he somehow managed to keep his resolve.

His long digits spread you apart before his middle finger slid between your folds and began drawing light but firm circles against you. He could see your timidness slowly dissipating, the Valium he had slipped you clearing doing its job as you arched your back from him and let out another whine.

You were overwhelmingly comfortable, your body completely melting under his touch. He was running uppp and downnn your clit with just the right amount of pressure, creating a heavenly amount of slick for the both of you.

"That’s it. Gettin' so wet for me." He breathed, his lips just barely ghosting yours. "Do you have any idea how perfect you look right now?"

The moan you let out was beyond your control, your vision was blurred by silver hair and blue eyes and how unbelievably good it all felt. "Gojo-sensei," you panted, your body writhing beneath him as he slid in a thick finger inside of you this time. "F - fuck."

Satoru groaned, plunging even deeper into you. He never knew how badly he needed to hear you moan out his formal name until you suddenly couldn't stop doing it. Your hips were bucking up towards him, your lips urgently crashing into his as more dazed out noises poured out of you.

"Keep going." He instructed, reeling in the way your eyes widened as he added another finger. "You're doin' so good."

You were grabbing onto the collar of his shirt, your walls clenching around him. He was hitting spots that you'd never been able to reach before. Spots that Ino had apparently neglected too. You felt yourself slipping. Your mind was racing. Your body grinding against him desperately and your voice breaking with each word you tried to get out.

"Go-jo... I'm - gon-na..." But you didn't have to say it for him to know. He slammed into you, nodding at you in encouragement as fire flickered through his steel eyes.

"Let it out." There was a fierceness to his tone that he couldn't mask anymore, his composure was crumbling right along with yours. "C’mon, let me fucking feel it.”

Watching you come undone like this was such a sharp contrast from the shy schoolgirl he once knew that used to skip class just to avoid group projects. You squirmed under him, mewling out his name like it was the only word you knew as an orgasm finally raked through your body, stealing away every last bit of hesitancy you once had.

You were staring back at him like he'd told you to, never breaking eye contact no matter how hard it was for you to keep still. Your irises bloomed with pleasure, a noise you didn't know you were capable of making escaping you as you drenched his hand.

"Good fucking girl."

He pulled out of you, bringing his fingers up to your mouth. Your lips parted without him having to say anything, sucking them clean as you continued to look back at him with the same innocent expression. He was afraid he was going to no choice but to get you pregnant if you kept this up.

"Takuma ever make you cum like that?" he asked, releasing himself from you so you could speak.

You bit back a smile as you shook your head. "No," you conceded, helping him lift your tank-top above your head. "Not like that."

"I didn't think so." He smirked, unbuttoning his own shirt while you slid out of your skirt, both of your outfits being tossed to the floor.

You felt your center throb watching him strip out of his boxers. An overwhelming sense of neediness flooded over you as you took in the intimidating masterpiece that was Gojo-sensei's body. You'd be lying if you said you hadn't imagined what it looked like a time or two when you were in his class. It was hard not to with the way girls fawned over him, but you'd managed to keep your infatuation to yourself up until now.

Seeing him stroke himself as he lined up with your entrance was prettier than any daydream you could've ever conjured up.

"Need you to focus on your breathing.” he said, rubbing his tip between your folds to wet himself with your slick. The temptation to absolutely destroy you was plaguing his mind, but he knew he needed to ease you into it. The only person you'd been with was Ino for god's sake, you deserved to be fucked properly.

You followed his lead and inhaled slowly, thankful for whatever magical relaxation pill you’d taken you as he prodded into you. It didn't take long to realize why he'd told you to breathe, his tip alone was stretching you out more than you were used to. You found yourself grabbing onto his forearm, your nails digging into his skin as a hazy whimper filled the space between you.

"It's alright, you can handle it." Your walls were smothering him, so impossibly snug and tight that he struggled to keep his eyes from rolling into the back of his head. "Just like that. Juuust like that."

He pressed into you carefully, harnessing all the restraint he could possibly manage while you tried but failed to hold back your whines. "God, you feel fuckin' good." He groaned. "Takin' me so well."

You were still clutching onto him, your mouth dropping open the further he went. You'd never felt this full before - this entirely enamored by someone being inside of you. You thought that you knew what you liked up until this point, but he was drawing noises and feelings out of you that you didn't even know existed.

Gojo's urge to break you was getting harder to ignore. You were so pouty and delicate and naively trusting of him. He'd been trying to keep a steady pace, watching you intently to make sure you were still comfortable, but the moment the words "deeper" and "please" left your mouth, he felt something inside him snap.

His hand laced around your throat, his thumb and index finger pressing firmly into the sides of your neck. The smirk he shot you was lethal. "Deeper? You sure that's what you want?"

It was your one and only chance to back out, but you couldn't. There was a coiling tension in your abdomen. A depraved craving coming from your core. It wasn't just that you wanted more, it was that you needed more. You could barely get out another, "please." before he was suddenly plunging into you.

His rhythm was merciless, his grip tightening around your airways turning your moans into strained gasps.

He leaned in, his hair brushing against your forehead as he watched your eyebrows knit together, your eyes locked with his once more.

"You've always been so fuckin' cute, y'know that?" His hips met yours with another damning thrust. "So good at doing what you're told."

The red lights blurred together, a mixture of stars and sedatives clouding your vision as the aching feeling between your thighs amplified. Your cunt felt like it was pulsating, that burning build suddenly breaking away from just your stomach and spreading throughout your entire body.

"Oh, fuck." He grunted. "There it is. Keep goin’.”

Your walls spasmed, drool spilling down your chin while you wriggled under his grasp. Your pelvis tilted up feverishly to meet his as you took every inch of him. You were teetering on the verge of passing out. Nearly crying from how overwhelmed your senses were when another orgasm ripped through you.

His grip loosened on you, his movements becoming more frenzied. The fucked-out look on your face coupled with the pouty, suppressed cries you let out when he removed his hand from your throat was enough to drive him over the edge too.

His lips caught yours with feral urgency, his hand tangling into your hair as a lewd warmth filled you, spilling out onto his sheets. “I want you over here again next weekend," he said in between breaths. “Got it?"

You nodded back at him, your mind humming from overstimulation as he slowly pulled out.

He took a moment before getting to his feet, admiring the mess that he'd made of you. "C'mere." He smirked, helping reposition you up to the front of the bed.

He placed a pillow under your head and brought the blanket up over your shoulders. There was no way you were making it home tonight.

He lazily slipped his pants back on, only bothering to button up half of his shirt as he ran a hand through his hair and reached for the Versace box on his nightstand. He divvied out another bump and held the spoon to his nose, inhaling sharply before turning off the light for you and venturing out of the room to see how many people were still up and about.

The music had died down for the most part, the once packed hallway now mostly empty. He rounded the corner, just about to head downstairs when he came to an abrupt pause.

"Ino." he called out, noticing the brunette wandering out of one of his guestrooms. "Didn't realize you were here."

"Oh, yeah." He shrugged, tilting back the rest of his beer. "Was just lookin' for someone, Nobara said that -" he stopped himself before he could finish his thought, shaking his head. "Y'know what, it doesn't matter. She's too needy to deal with anyway."

Gojo's eyebrow raised, an arrogant smirk cutting across his face as he played along, offering him faux words of shallow comfort. "Ah, yeah. Bet she's pretty whiney too, huh?"

"Right." Ino snorted, completely oblivious to the condescending trap he'd just walked into.

"Probably says you're not deep enough." Gojo pressed, earning another clueless drunken laugh from him. "Always so pouty."

"Exactly. Like she's never satisfied."

"Girls," he mused, adjusting the collar of his shirt from where you'd grabbed onto earlier while you were soaking him. "Sounds like she needs someone to teach her a lesson..."

°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･

[horangare]

Heyy!!! Just saw that your requests are open... Can I please request a fic?

Something like slow burn (nsfw) arranged marriage with Dino...

(You don't have to do it if you're not comfortable ♡)

Btw, love your fics a lot!! 💖❤️💕✨💞

for the good of the kingdom (and the good of my heart)

pairing : prince!dino x princess!reader

content : angst, fluff, smut (more towards the end, mdni), modern-ish royalty au (sorry but i cannot keep up with that old formal talk), slowburn

in which : where there is a winner, there is always a loser. your country losing the great war was the worst thing that could’ve happened, at least that’s what you thought before you learned you were going to have to marry the prince of the one nation that still kept its alliance with yours.

warnings : dino is totally in love but y/n is totally stubborn, y/n has some personal issues, itzy is mentioned to work for your family, arguments and misunderstandings, fingering, oral (m receiving), handjobs, unprotected sex (be safe), doggy style, creampies, praise, dirty talk, declarations of love during sex, a poor description of a wedding (probably, idk)

wc : 12.3K words

note : aaah omg my first request i’m so excited 😆 also i’m so happy you enjoy my fics, that means so much to me 🥹🩷 (also, i’m sorry this took me a lil minute, this is my time writing slowburn 😭😭)

“I am not marrying him!”

Ever since you were little, the Kingdom of Sokoto has always been the best. The most prosperous, the most powerful, the most influential, all of it. At the mere mention of the name “Sokoto,” people trembled. Hell, just being in the presence of someone from your family or even your court would have the most refined commoner on edge. Needless to say, you were important, and you knew it.

If only it wasn’t for that damned war.

To be fair, the Kingdom of Sokoto hadn’t risen to the top by being kind and loving. Many of the past rulers had been cold and self-serving, but never to the extent that the current ruling family, your family, had been. That was exactly what caused problems back then, and it was exactly what caused problems now.

This had all started in the Kingdom of Hisia, when your father broke a decade long alliance with their people. In his words, Hisia was an “acceptable loss,” because as a kingdom they were too soft-hearted to do anything about it. The only problem about Hisia’s people (other than being too soft-hearted) is that they were notorious gossips. When the common folk got word of this news, they told anyone and everyone who would listen. And soon, almost every kingdom in the nation knew what had happened. From Ilorus to Umbris to Kano, everyone was scrambling to break their alliances with Sokoto. Well, almost everyone.

Of course, the problem didn’t stop with your allies just leaving. No no, leaving wasn’t enough. Sokoto had reigned far too powerful for far too long. Too many things had gone overlooked. Too many injustices unpunished. Apparently, they all had their own personal grievances against the kingdom that had just been waiting to be brought to light. So how exactly did they decide to let you know that? Declaring a war, obviously.

And of course your parents were too stubborn to back down. Sokoto had never lost, never ran away from any sort of threat, never surrendered. After all, there was never a problem this kingdom couldn’t handle, with or without support from the other kingdoms. There wasn’t any need for them anyway. Your army was the most feared and well trained in all the land.

Your army alone, however, hadn’t been enough. Not in the first year of the war. Not in the second. Not in the third. When your father realized that he couldn’t continue on like this, sending the few remaining poor young men of your country to fight a losing battle, watching the rest of his people suffer, he knew had to do the one thing nobody in your family had ever done: he had to surrender.

And now that it had ended, things couldn’t be worse. Sokoto had drastically fallen in status, going from the most revered kingdom to the most despised. Oh, and the gossip never stopped, not even after things had been settled. You heard what they said about your family, every rumor, every exaggeration. You couldn’t stand them.

The only thing that remained the same after the war was your family’s relationship with the Kingdom of Kasmira. The only ones who hadn’t abandoned or betrayed you, even after the initial shock with the Hisians, even after the other kingdoms had broken their alliances, and even after the war. Nobody knew why the Kasmiran royal family still bothered to keep connections with you, but you think you were getting a few ideas.

“[Y/n], I know this is sudden,” Your father said, his arms crossed over his chest. “But given the state of the kingdom, your mother and I have both agreed that a marriage between you and Prince Dino is a good thing for the kingdom.”

“What about what I’ve agreed on, Father?” You argued. “Really…as if losing that war wasn’t enough of an embarrassment.”

Your mother stood up and took a step towards you, pointing a finger in your face. “We do not speak of the war, young lady.” When you backed away, she sighed, and placed her hands on both your shoulders. “Don’t worry. You will have plenty of time to get to know him. Prince Dino is a nice boy. I’m sure the two of you will do good things for both of the Kingdoms.”

You couldn’t help but roll your eyes, but for now you chose to bite your tongue. There was a lot you could say, a lot you wanted to say, but it wouldn’t do you any good to argue with your parents when the decision had already been made for you.

So you were getting married. Lucky you.

The day you got the news of your sudden engagement, you went back to your room and didn’t come out for the rest of the day. Really, who did your parents think they were, making such decisions on your behalf? And then saying that you’ll “grow to like it,” was just the icing on the cake. Who were they to speak for you? Who were they to decide who you would marry? God, you hated this family.

Come sunrise the next day, you lied in bed silently and stared at the ceiling. When you were bored of the ceiling, you stared at the wall. And when you were birds if the wall, you stared at the window. No, not out of the window, at the window. There was nothing to look at, anyway.

“Good morning, [Y/n],” The voice of your lady in waiting, Ryujin, drew your attention to the one place in your room you hadn’t looked at yet; the door. “Wow, you look awful.”

You smiled a little and shook your head. Ryujin had always spoken in a way that was a little bit…less than formal than she should have, but it was only really ever around you. Not that you cared. Ryujin and you had a close bond, and she felt more like family to you than the actual people you were related to, so you could find yourself putting up with the way she talked.

“You wouldn’t believe what my parents are making me do this time, Ryujin.” You started, letting out a heavy sigh. “You know Prince Dino? From Kasmira?”

Ryujin stepped closer, tilting her head to the side. “I know of him. Why?”

“They’re making the two of us get married.”

Ryujin gasped, her mouth hanging open. “Really? And they didn’t even tell you until now?”

“No! Can you believe it!” You huffed. “Honestly, why do I even bother with them? They seriously make me sick.”

Ryujin frowned, reaching under the blanket to grab your hand and pull you into an upright sitting position. Suddenly, her face lit up, as if she was remembering something. “Hey, you know what? Someone is actually here to see you, they’re waiting in the garden now.”

Now it was your turn to frown. “Who? Tell them that I’m busy.”

“Busy staring at the ceiling and the wall?”

“And the window.”

Ryujin shook her head, grabbing onto you again but this time to pull you out of bed, much to your displeasure. “Do you really want to stay in bed all day, [Y/n]?”

“I don’t see why I can’t.” You crossed your arms over your chest. At this, Ryujin scoffed. You were definitely your family’s daughter, even as much as you wished you weren’t.

“Oh come now, Your Highness, you could use some sun and fresh air. If you don’t get any now, you might wither away and die.”

“Is that an option?”

With a short laugh, Ryujin dragged you to your wardrobe, picking out what to put you in for today. “Oh [Y/n], you’re unbelievable.”

“I’m serious though.”

Once Ryujin had made you “look presentable” (her words) she led you to the gardens, arm in arm, where she had said this mysterious someone was waiting for you.

“Ryujin, are you sure there was actually someone here and you weren’t just drunk? Again?” You asked, looking around the gardens for any sign of life other than you and your friend.

“Of course I wasn’t drunk! I’m sure he was here…” She mumbled, looking around with you. “Oh! There he is!” She pointed to the left, and you turned your head in the direction she was pointing in.

Standing in a more secluded part of the garden was a tall blonde man with a slightly lost look on his foot. He looked to be your age and was clothed in robes of soft yellow, the royal Kasmiran colors. Wait a minute…this man wasn’t a stranger, this was—

“Oh my god, Prince Dino…” You mumbled. Ryujin lowered her finger, alternating her gaze between you and him in disbelief.

“What? He’s the prince? [Y/n], I swear I didn’t know…he didn’t tell me.” Ryujin stammered, letting you drag her away towards the entrance and back to the castle. “Where are we going? He came here for you and he’s expecting you to be here.”

“Then he’ll be disappointed to know that I won’t be able to see him today. Or any other day.” You told her. The nerve of him, to show up here and telling your lady in waiting that he wanted to see you without even letting himself be known.

“Princess?” He called out from where he was standing, and you gripped Ryujin’s arm tighter. He just had to notice you, didn’t he?

If only Ryujin didn’t know how to deal with your stubbornness so well. You would’ve much preferred rotting in your room as you stared at the ceiling. Or maybe the window.

You turned around with a sigh, shamefully making your way closer to Dino while Ryujin trailed behind, having let go of your arm when you bruised it with that grip of yours. “Hello, Your Highness.” You greeted him formally, which seemed to confuse him.

“Your highness?” He asked with a laugh. “Princess, please. There’s no need to act like that. Not since we’re supposed to be getting married, after all.”

Oh please.

“I’m sorry, your highness. But considering the fact that we are meant to be married, I think this is exactly how we should be speaking to each other.”

“[Y/n], maybe Prince Dino has a point. And anyway you don’t really talk like that all the time—” Ryujin tried to reason with you, but you elbowed her in the side before she could continue. Clearing your throat, you looked back at the prince.

“So, what exactly are you doing here?” You asked him. Despite your formality, Dino seemed amused at your question. He took a few steps closer before stopping, realizing that you were backing away from him.

“Sorry.” He smiled. “My parents told me it would be a good idea to come here and get to know you since…well y’know.” He laughed, hoping you would too, but when he saw you looking more serious than ever, he stopped and looked away.

“So you’re only here because your parents told you to come?”

No response.

“Wow,” You scoffed in reply. You leaned closer to Ryujin, bringing your mouth to her ear. “I can’t believe my parents are this desperate.”

Forcing a smile, Ryujin leaned in closer to you. “Come on, he’s really trying here. Give him a chance. He’s basically your husband, after all.”

“He is not my husband!” You hissed, which caused Ryujin to stifle her laughter behind her hand.

“Yeah yeah, maybe not for now~” She teased, turning to bow for Dino before excusing herself back to the castle. And leaving you here. With him.

“The two of you seem close,” He said.

“Oh my, how on earth did you figure that out?” Dino’s lips formed a faint pout at your sarcasm.

“[Y/n], I’m sorry. I know that this is all very sudden, and I can tell you don’t like me very much,” He sighed. “But I just want to at least get along with you. I’ll really do anything.”

Smiling, you leaned in a bit closer to him. “Really? Anything?” When he nodded, you beckoned him closer with your finger. “Get lost, pretty boy.” Like Ryujin had done just moments ago, you bowed to him before turning away as you quickly retreated to the castle, but Dino followed you anyway with a grin on his face.

“You think I’m pretty?”

You turned your head to glare at him.

“It wasn’t a compliment.”

For the rest of the week, Dino continued to come over every day and seek you out, while you continued to avoid him at every turn. It would have been easier if he wasn’t so insistent, going as far as to ask Ryujin or other castle workers for your whereabouts. Dammit, why couldn’t he just let you avoid him? It’s not like the two of you were actually meant to be together. This was all just a convenient little ploy by your parents to repair their royal status. It wasn’t real, and you wished he would stop treating it like it was.

You really couldn’t believe the lengths he went to with some of these attempts to get closer to you either. The bouquets of white roses in the most intricate porcelain vases? The hand-written letters—front and back? The jewelry carved from only the finest of gemstones? All very sweet sentiments, yes, but to say you were uninterested would be an understatement.

On Friday, much to your embarrassment, Ryujin found you hiding from him underneath one of the tables in the kitchen. When she realized it was you, she shook her head and sighed.

“[Y/n], this is just sad.”

You shushed her, trying to squeeze yourself farther into the corner underneath the table. “Be quiet. He could be listening.”

“You have got to stop running from that boy. I mean really, what’s the big deal. He’s actually really nice.”

“The big deal is that I don’t need him following me around like a stray dog.” You scoffed. “Seriously, why couldn’t we just be a normal family of shunned royalty?”

“You don’t mean that.” She said. “And besides, it’s only a matter of time before he finds you. He’s really not giving up either, [Y/n].”

Realizing she was right, you crawled out from under the table, muttering a few curses under your breath. “Believe me, I know. He won’t stop sending me gifts.” Ryujin smiled when you said that.

“Wow, isn’t he charming.” Ryujin chuckled. “And speaking of him, he told me to tell you to meet him in the gardens again today.”

“Why is he always telling you all this stuff and not me?”

Ryujin looked at you incredulously. “Because you avoid him like the damn plague.”

Oh, right. She did have a point. Whatever, it’s not like you were going to go. You had managed to avoid him all week, and absolutely nothing would convince you to go.

Ryujin seemed to sense this, and she smirked. “He made you a picnic.”

“I’m so happy you actually came,” Dino smiled at you. You sat across from him, holding the bowl of strawberries he had set out before him on the blanket. You looked up at him, pulling the strawberry you had been eating away from your mouth so you could respond to him.

“I just came because Ryujin told me about the picnic.” You curtly responded, bringing the strawberry back to your mouth. You thought he would’ve stopped smiling when you said that, but his smile only grew wider.

“So that’s all it takes then.” He mumbled. “Is that why you didn’t care for the gifts I sent before?”

You looked him up and down, sneering. “No, it was because I just didn’t care for them. It’s not wise to spend your money so carelessly on things that don’t matter.”

Dino leaned back, bracing himself up with his hands. “Trying to please my future wife doesn’t matter?”

You stiffened, gripping the bowl tighter in your hands. “Stop saying things like that.” You warned, yet he still seemed unphased as he watched you devour the rest of the strawberries. When the bowl had been emptied, you stared down into it with a frown and began to regret your greed for the little red fruit, because now you were all out.

Dino picked up the bowl once you had tossed it aside. “Should I ask someone to get you some more? I didn’t realize you would eat the entire bowl.”

“No.” You dismissively waved your hand, pushing away the thoughts of the strawberries, even though the offer of more was tempting. You hadn’t had strawberries since before the war. They didn’t grow in Sokoto, which is a fact that devastated you when you found out, and you always relied on a fresh monthly shipment of them from the Hisians and now…well…you’ve just gone a long time without strawberries. “No, It’s fine.”

Dino, however, was as insistent as ever. He picked up the bowl and started walking back to the castle. “I’ll ask Ryujin for more strawberries. Don’t disappear on me, okay?”

You spared him a single glance before looking elsewhere. “No promises.”

Dino laughed to himself, the words almost escaping his ears as he marched back to the castle with a little extra speed. He knew you wouldn’t leave—at least he hoped he knew. He wanted to trust himself, to trust you, but you were unpredictable. Thankfully, a little unpredictability was hardly an issue for him.

Though honestly, if you wanted to leave at any time, you definitely would. But with the promise of your favorite fruit, the urge to leave was just a bit short of overwhelming at the moment. Shifting yourself to lie on your stomach, you started to take notice of all the different things that Dino had packed with him on this picnic. All of your favorites…even the things you hadn’t gotten to taste in years. How could he know about any of this? You grumbled at the thought of Ryujin or any of the chefs selling you out.

You also took notice of the white rose sticking out of the basket. While they were the official flower of Kasmira, you were sure he must’ve had a secret stash of these somewhere because to be honest, you were getting tired of seeing them. But this one looked especially delicate, you couldn’t help but reach forward and take it in your hands, twirling it around and even holding it to your nose to take in the faint scent.

The sound of Dino’s footsteps on the gravel path had you looking over your shoulder, noticing he came back with an even bigger bowl of strawberries than he had left with. His classic smile returned to his face when he saw that your eyes had widened.

“I hope you don’t mind, but Ryujin insisted on giving you a bigger bowl. Said that you’d have no problem finishing the entire thing.” Him saying that had you coming back to your senses. Ryujin was just asking to be put out of a job going and telling those things to Dino.

You turned away, gazing down at the bowl when Dino set it in front of you. He sat himself down next to you, choosing to stay silent as he watched you set the rose to the side and pull the bowl closer to you.

“How did you know I liked all this stuff?” You asked quietly. Dino let out some sort of confused dound, and you sighed. “The food, I mean. Like…the strawberries. I haven’t had them in ages.”

Dino nodded, having understood what you meant. “When I told Ryujin I wanted to do this for you, she told me about all of the foods you always eat.” He laughed. “Really, I didn’t realize that you could be so choosy with your food. Do you know how hard it is to get fresh strawberries at this time if the year?”

“Oh fuck off.” Dino gasped, his mouth falling open at your sudden vulgarity. You were surprised too, covering your mouth with one of your hands once the words you had said sunk in. “I didn’t mean to say that.”

“I didn’t know the Princess of Sokoto had such a filthy mouth,” He mumbled. For a brief moment, you were actually wondering if he was serious, but the smirk that slowly appeared on his face gave him away. Unable to fight the urges telling you not to, you hit him in the arm, biting back grin when he winced. “I didn’t know you hit so hard, either.”

“There’s a lot you don’t know about me, Your Highness.” You stared at the strawberry in your hand, taking one bite before placing it back in the bowl. “I shouldn’t eat any more. The chefs will be preparing dinner soon.”

“Leaving so soon?” He asked, and you nodded. “Alright then, should I escort you back?” He extended one of his hands towards you, and you stared at it for a moment, but still ended up declining. You didn’t miss the glint of disappointment in his eyes, either.

“We should do this again sometime.” You noted. “And I’m not saying that because I want to be around you, but because I enjoyed the food.”

Ah, there it was again, that classic bright smile.

“Also, you smile too much. I don’t like it.”

You had been right about the strawberries. They did end up spoiling your appetite. You stared down at your plate, many of the contents on your plate going uneaten before you excused yourself to your room, Ryujin trailing behind as usual.

“[Y/n], what’s the matter? Was something wrong at dinner?” She asked, following you around as you threw yourself into bed. “Is it so bad you’re not even going to bother to change out of your outfit from today? Seriously, it’s going to get all wrinkled, and that’s just extra work for Yeji to do later.”

“I ate too many strawberries.” You stated. “Though I’m sure you know about that, right?”

Ryujin looked away, shrugging and shaking her head. “I’m not sure that I do, actually,” She mumbled, pairing it with an awkward laugh when she noticed you glaring at her. “Anyway, how was your little date with Prince Dino?”

“Ryujin, it was not a date. And even if it was, it would’ve been a pretty shitty date considering he left me in the middle of it.”

“Ah, c’mon, he came back! And he came bearing gifts!” She tried to reason with you, which you found both pointless and confusing.

You rolled your eyes, burying your head under the blankets, despite Ryujin’s protests that you would mess up your hair and get more wrinkles in your clothes. It wasn’t really a date, was it? Is that what dates were? Just being around another person, having them close by, talking (or not talking) to each other about whatever crossed your mind? That was a date? No way, you knew what a date was and whatever you and Dino had going on definitely wasn’t that. People went on dates when they loved each other, when there was romance budding and underlying tension. Yeah, that definitely wasn’t a date.

“Are you seriously not going to change out of that?” Ryujin asked, trying to pull down the blankets, but you were, unsurprisingly, stronger. With a sigh, she backed away. “Fine, but if Yeji asks me why your outfits are so wrinkled, I’m telling her.” You lowered the blanket just low enough to see her march out of the room and slam your door shut.

Normally, you would’ve fallen asleep after just a few minutes with your eyes closed. However, your stomach still felt funny and you tossed and turned every few minutes. We’re those strawberries really fresh? Would Dino serve you rotten strawberries? No, of course not…they were too red to be out of season. Not only that, but there was little chance Dino would do anything like that to you. He was too nice. The reason your parents ever think you two were some sort of match made and heaven was beyond you.

You couldn’t sleep yet. Not like this. Not with the ache in your stomach and the thoughts racing around in your head. Sighing, you gathered the little strength you had left to roll yourself out of bed, wandering through the halls and corridors until you needed up outside, at the front of the castle. A deep breath, followed by a slow exhale, and your head fell back towards the sky. The night sky was clear and vast and full of stars, and you felt your lips curl into a smile.

The stars understood you. When everyone else had abandoned you, abandoned your family, you sought comfort in the starry night sky. The stars never turned you away. The stars never betrayed you. The stars never forced you to do anything you couldn’t decide on. When you died, you hoped you became a star. They would surely accept you with open arms, like a real family.

You were so caught up in your thoughts, you hadn’t even noticed someone approaching you. A tall, blonde, someone.

“So you like the stars?” Dino asked, and you jumped a little. He took a step back, feeling bad for having startled you. “Sorry, [Y/n]. It’s just me.”

You furrowed your eyebrows and stared at him, but turned your attention quickly back to the sky. “What are you doing out here?”

“I could ask you that too.” He said, following your gaze and looking up. “It’s late for a princess to be alone outside at night.”

“My stomach hurts.” You told him. “From the strawberries. A walk always helps.”

“That was hours ago.” He said. “That’s weird. They were definitely fresh. Are you sure it was the strawberries?”

“What else could it have been?” You asked, your tone a bit harsher than you intended. You sighed, deciding to change the subject. “What about you? Why are you out here? I thought you went back home.”

“It’s not like I live far.” He had a point…kind of. Kasmira was your closest neighbor, only being about a few hundred miles to the east. You were seriously wondering how he managed to get here every day and still have so much time to spend entertaining the hope of getting to coax you out of your room to spend time with him. “Aww, are you worried about me?”

“Don’t go talking like that.” You told him. “Unless you want me to hit you again.”

Dino chuckled, breaking his eyes away from the sky to look at you. “You never answered my question from earlier.”

“Which one? I’m not keeping count.”

“Do you like the stars?”

You managed to look away from the stars to allow your eyes to meet Dino’s, even if only for a second. “Yeah. I always have.”

He stepped closer. “Why?”

“Because…” You hesitated. Why were you hesitating? “I just do.”

You froze, feeling something wet and warm sliding down your cheek. Dino gasped, coming even closer to see you clearly.

“You just ‘do?’ Is that really all there is to it?”

“Why do you keep asking me so many questions?” When you came out here, you had been hoping for a moment of peace and quiet. A chance to vent your frustrations to the sky, like you had done since you could talk. This was your one chance for a little bit of solitude, and you hadn’t wanted anyone intruding on it.

“I was thinking about what you said before,” He said. “When you told me there was a lot I didn’t know about you. You were right, I don’t know a lot about you.”

Okay, great. Now you were starting to feel bad about getting so upset. You sighed, lowering your head and looking at the ground. “I’ve always liked the stars. I just…find comfort in them.”

Dino wondered if you were going to say more, but you kept your lips pursed, and he figured there was more to it that you weren’t saying. That was fine, he wouldn’t push an answer out of you if you weren’t ready, he was just grateful you had confided in him. This was progress, even if it was only a small step forward.

The two of you continued to stand there in silence, looking everywhere but at each other. There was a strange feeling in the air, and it made you uncomfortable. Was this tension? Could Dino feel it too?

“Um, I should probably get back to bed.” You said, noticing Dino nod out of the corner of your eye. Like before, he extended his hand to you, and once again you declined. “Good night, Your Highness.”

“Good night, [Y/n].”

The next morning, you did something you hadn’t done in a long time.

You shocked Ryujin.

“What are you doing awake already?” She questioned. “Is it opposite day? Am I still dreaming?”

“Oh you’re so funny, Ryujin.” You said, sliding past her and out of the door.

“Where are you going? And how are you already dressed? You did my job for me…am I getting fired?”

You laughed. “Relax. I’m just going to the orchard.” Ryujin narrowed her eyes at how casual you seemed, not even trying to hide her skepticism.

“The orchard? For what? We have plenty of apples here. Too many, if I’m being honest. Where are you really going?”

“Ryujin, really, what reason do you have not to trust me?”

“I have several. An entire list, actually.” She said. “Seems like I’ll be making an addition to it today.

“Ryujin, I’m giving you a day off, don’t you get it?” You asked her. “Now I suggest you take it before I make you do your job.”

Her demeanor changed in an instant.

“You are most gracious, Your Highness.” She bowed to you and then ran off to who knows where, probably the maids quarters, no doubt. Whatever, that was her business. Just like your trip to the orchard with Prince Dino was yours.

Since the picnic, he had stopped with the other gifts—well, he still sent you the flowers—and had started planning on bringing you out, starting with Kasmira’s renowned apple orchard. Kasmiran apples were spoken about in every corner of every kingdom, known for their distinctive flavor and sweetness. You’d be lying if you said you never wanted to try one for yourself, and now you would finally get the chance.

He was waiting for you with a carriage, which he offered to help you into.

You raised one of your eyebrows. “What, you think I need your help to sit down?” When he pouted, you gave him a light shove. “I’m only kidding. But really, I’ve got it.”

“That was a joke?” He asked, climbing in and sitting across from you. “I’m shocked. I didn’t know you even had a sense of humor.”

“Excuse me?”

“Ah, no, I didn’t mean it like that. You’re just normally so…serious. If you hadn’t told me, I wouldn’t have known you were kidding.”

You tilted your head back, resting it on the solid interior of the carriage. “The only person I ever joke with is Ryujin.” You explained to him. “She gets me. It’s easy to laugh with her.”

“You laugh too?” He just couldn’t stop. “I’ll believe it when I hear it.” He teased.

You glared at him, opening your mouth to say something, but decided against it. Instead, you turned your head to look out of the window, watching the landscape as it came into view and faded out of sight with the movement with the carriage.

“Will we be there soon?” You asked, wanting nothing more than to get to Kasmira as fast as possible to get your hands on one (or five) of those apples you had heard so much about.

“Yeah…” Dino nodded, then stopped and shook his head. “No, it’ll be about fifty minutes.”

Great, fifty minutes until you got to taste the rumored honey and heaven apples. Fifty minutes left riding inside this tiny little compartment with too little space keeping you and Dino apart. Just great.

To your surprise, the ride had been faster than you expected. It might’ve had something to do to the nap you took on the way, but that was neither here nor there. Dino placed a hand on your shoulder, softly shaking you awake.

“Hm?” You hummed, the clutches of sleep still gripping your brain. You blinked yourself awake, gasping when you saw the field of trees from the carriage window. “We’re here!”

Dino opened the door, sliding out of the seat and holding the door open for you. You practically jumped out, an awestruck smile on your face as you stared up at the trees littered with the soft pink apples.

Dino smiled softly at your enthusiasm, watching as you stood up as tall as you could and plucked an apple off a branch, happily bringing it to your mouth to take a bite.

Oh god, the rumors did no justice to describe the taste of these apples. You had never tasted anything as fresh and crisp in your entire life. Giving Dino a quick glance, you continued to bite into the apple over and over again until he pulled it away from you, laughing.

“So, what do you think?”

You covered your mouth with one hand, trying to chew and swallow what was in your mouth, before nodding with a smile. “They’re amazing! I’ve never tasted anything so good in my life!” You took the apple back from Dino’s hands, taking the last few bites before you had finished it off.

“Then let’s get you a few more, hmm?” He said, pressing a hand against the small of your back while he reached up to grab a few more apples and drop them into the basket he had brought with him in his other hand. You froze, your skin burning at the feeling of his hands on your body.

“Um…Prince Dino?” You mumbled, catching his attention. You had never called him by anything other than “Your Highness” since the two of you first met, and he was definitely shocked to hear you say those words.

“Yes, [Y/n]?” He said, looking down at you but never moving his hand from your back.

“Your—your hand…” Dino looked down at his hand was, immediately pulling it away from where it had been, and in an instant you felt the warmth that had been there fade away.

“Oh, I’m so sorry [Y/n], I didn’t even realize.” He apologized. Without another word, he leaned down to pick up the basket and handed it to you. “Here you go, [Y/n]. Should I come with you to—”

“No!” You shouted, though you hadn’t meant to raise your voice. “No, no. There’s no need. I’ll go back on my own.”

Dino wanted to say something, but you had already turned your back to him, rushing back to the carriage and telling the driver to bring you back to Sokoto before he could. Glancing out of the window, you noticed him standing under the tree, watching you get farther and farther away, his arms limp at his sides.

You brought a hand to your chest, feeling your heart beat twice as fast than it should have been. This shouldn’t have been happening. This was exactly the reason you didn’t want him touching you, the reason you had refused to touch him, because you knew that if it happened, you wouldn’t be able to control how it would affect you. Even though it had been such a harmless, domestic, innocent touch, if it could get this much of a reaction out of you, maybe you should get stricter on the “no touching” rule.

This is not at all how you thought today would turn out.

The next day things had gone back to the way they had been in the beginning; with you holed up in your room, avoiding Dino. And it was like that for the next day, and the day after that, and the day after that. Ryujin had tried to get you outside, or at the very least to the dinner table, but her persistence couldn’t stand a chance against your stubbornness. Once a week had passed since the apple incident, Ryujin couldn’t take it any more.

“Enough is enough [Y/n]. You haven’t left your room in a week. Dino won’t stop hounding me with questions about where you are every day, and I can’t take it anymore!” She huffed. “You need to get up and go see him so I don’t have to.”

“Ryujin, I can’t.” You said with a heavy sigh. “It’s just…complicated.”

“How complicated could things really be?”

More complicated than you would’ve liked. “I just can’t see him right now.”

“Well that’s too bad, because I told him you would.” Ryujin shrugged. “He’ll be here later, so we have to make you look…like you again, now.”

“Ryujin, I’m tired of you trying to play matchmaker. Are my parents paying you to do this to me?” You asked, your tone nothing short of accusatory.

“I’m doing this because you don’t need to be locked up in this room all day. Not only that, but I can tell how much you and Dino like spending time with each other.”

The rebuttal in your mind died in your throat at the last sentence Ryujin had said. The time you had spend with Dino recently hadn’t been all bad…but what did she know?

“Now get up. Unless you want Dino to come over and see you like…that.” She gestured to your overall disheveled appearance, a grimace on her face.

“Oh yeah, like you’re not a sight for sore eyes.” You hissed, then broke out into laughter along with Ryujin a second later. “Fine, whatever, I’m getting up.”

The next hour consisted of a long, soapy bubble bath, followed by Ryujin washing and doing your hair, and finally her picking out the finest outfit for you to wear just in time for Dino’s arrival in his favorite rendezvous point: the Sokoto castle gardens.

Fuck, you were so nervous.

Dino arrived with a single white rose in his hand and a smile, thrilled to be able to see you again. Ryujin bowed and wandered off, leaving with. Alone. Again.

“For you.” He said, handing the rose to you. You looked down at it before you gingerly took it from him and thanked him with a fleeting smile.

“Thank you.”

Awkward silence. The worst type of silence. This is exactly why you wanted to avoid him, to prevent all of these unnecessary feelings.

“I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable that day…at the orchard.” He said. “And my apology was so shitty, I—”

“Dino, stop. Don’t apologize. It’s…It’s okay. I shouldn’t have run off on you like that. It was rude of me.”

Dino stepped closer, noticing the way your body tensed up when he did. “[Y/n], what’s going on?”

“I…I don’t want you to touch me.” You whispered. The grip you had on the rose was starting to hurt your hand. Dino gave you a curious and worried look.

“Why?”

“…Because when you touched me at the orchard, I couldn’t stop thinking about it. I don’t think I’ve ever felt that way before in my life.”

You expected many different reactions from Dino. You expected him to back away, to call you strange or disgusting. You expected him to go running back to Kasmira as fast has his feet would carry him, to start avoiding you like you had been avoiding him. You even expected him to ask to call off the marriage agreement and find someone better, or nicer, or prettier.

You never expected him to pull you close, cursing under his breath and pulling your face up to look at him.

“Really, baby?” He asked, his voice suddenly soft, a direct contract to the way his eyes darkened. “Is that why you’ve been so adamant on not letting me touch you?”

A tentative nod of your head had Dino chuckling. “Now it all makes sense. Don’t worry baby, I’ll make you feel a thousand times better…only if you want to, though.”

“Yes, please,” your words came out hushed and breathy and shaky, allowing Dino to guide you you backwards onto the grass and gently push you backwards while he hovered above you.

Dino slid his hands down your body, seemingly pleased at the way you shivered when his fingers traced over your underwear, pushing up the button of your dress to see how drenched they were.

“Oh, baby,” Dino sucked in a sharp breath, pulling them to the side and biting his lip once he had seen how wet you actually were. “Is this all because of me?”

You nodded, covering your mouth to keep any noise from escaping. “Couldn’t stop thinking about you.” You mumbled from behind your hand, making sure your voice was loud enough for him to hear you clearly.

He ran two of his fingers up and down your slit before pushing one of them inside of you, pressing the pad of his thumb against your clit, all the while you squirmed beneath him, working hard to trap the moans that threatened to spill out of your lips.

“Baby, don’t be so nervous,” he said, adding a second finger inside of you and curling them just enough so that you finally let your hands fall away from your mouth and let your moans out. “That’s it, keep moaning like that for me. Fuck, you sound so pretty.”

“Dino…f-fuck. Don’t stop…” You ground your hips up into his hand, your mind growing foggy with pleasure as Dino increased the speed of his fingers. You were embarrassed at how easily his fingers slid in and out of you from how wet you continued to get.

Dino lowered his head, bringing his lips to your neck, kissing and sucking at any exposed skin he could find. He thrived at the way your moans grew louder and more urgent, switching the position of his fingers, opting for a scissoring motion and pressing his lips together to keep in a moan of his own. “Your thighs are starting to shake, love. Gonna cum for me?”

You nodded weakly, arching your back when you felt Dino add a third finger inside of you. Your skin felt hot and sticky and sweaty all over, and the only thing you could say when you felt your orgasm hit you like an earthquake was “Dino, Dino, Dino,” over and over again.

“That’s my girl,” Dino mumbled, fingering you through your high, pulling them out of you once you wrapped a hand around his wrist. You watched with wide eyes as he brought them to his lips, sucking them clean and moaning at the taste of you. “You taste so sweet, baby.”

“Don’t say thatttttt.” You whined, pushing him down onto the grass while you sat yourself upright. Wasting no time, you immediately brought one of your hands to his crotch, palming over the bulge that had been growing inside of his pants. “Ooh, what’s this? Is this all because of me?” You mimicked the words he had said to you earlier, grinning when he nodded and pushed his hips up into your hand.

“Baby, come on, you’re really gonna tease me right now?” Dino asked, unable to stop his hips from moving. As much as you wanted to tease him, there would be plenty of opportunities to do that another time. Right now, you wanted so badly to taste him, to feel him in your mouth and hear him moan for you like you had done for him.

You tugged down his pants and underwear, just enough so that his cock could spring free, and you drooled at the sight, noticing the bead of pre cum that had collected at his tip, and now it was time for Dino to be the embarrassed one.

“So…big.” You mumbled, wrapping your hand around him and giving him a few slow pumps, squeezing him once to see what his reaction would be. A hoarse groan served as your answer. “Can I…use my mouth on you?”

“Of course you can baby,” Dino nodded all too eagerly, watching with rapt attention as you brought your lips closer and closer to his cock. You have his tip a few kitten licks, the slightly salty taste spreading onto your taste buds. To be honest, you really didn’t know how to do this, the request coming from a carnal place inside of you. You were stalking for time so you could recall the words in a book you once read that had a scene similar to this moment in it. Once you had the faintest idea of how to proceed, you wrapped your lips firmly around his cock, feeling him rest his hands on the top of your head for stability.

Feeling you swirl your tongue around him, flicking your tongue across the slit as your head bobbed up and down had Dino absolutely reeling beneath you. He gripped your hair, shoving it all the way down to the base as he thrust his hips up into your mouth, gagging as a few tears starting to form in your eyes. “S-Sorry baby, shit, I can’t help myself…you’re s-so good with this cute little mouth of y-yours, fuck. Gonna fuckin’ cum already.”

You hummed in acknowledgment, letting Dino continue to fuck your mouth. He had pulled you back slightly when he registered your gagging, allowing you to wrap your hands around what didn’t fit in your mouth. You stroked him as fast as he tugged your head up and down, feeling your saliva trickle down your lips, chin, and all the way down Dino’s cock. When his hips stilled, you thought for a slight second that something was wrong, but the next second you felt his cum shoot into your mouth and down your throat, and he released his grip on your hair as he laid back and panted.

Recalling the words in the book once again, you swallowed—unfortunately you had done so a bit too fast, and you coughed and patted your chest to keep yourself from choking. The last thing you wanted to do right now was die in front of Dino after you had just sucked him off after he had just fingered you. Dino helped you by patting your back. Once your breathing had gone back to normal, he smiled at you, and you returned the gesture.

“Wow, you were right,” You mumbled. “I do feel a thousand times better.”

“Does this mean we can ban the no touching rule?”

You narrowed your eyes at him with a grin, giving him a pinch on his thigh. Dino hissed in pain, scrambling to pull up his underwear and pants. “Consider that a yes.”

The next few weeks were nothing short of amazing. There was a minuscule, growing spark between you and Dino now, and it resided inside of your heart, and you felt no desire to let it die out or even to extinguish it.

Dino took you on several dates, yes, dates, in this time frame, always with an added personal touch. He brought you to a local Kasmiran bakery and then let you ride his thigh on the carriage ride home. He took you to a winery in Vaelia then ate you out behind the building. He asked you to tag along while he went sightseeing in Sokoto and had you cockwarm him in the carriage the whole time. With each of these, the spark in your heart continued to grow. 

At this rate, it was only a jagged of time before it grew to become a fire.

You were up early again this morning, having thought of the most wonderful idea in bed the night before. Today, you were going to Kasmira all on your own to surprise Dino. Sure, yes, you had been to Kasmira before, but never had you been to the castle. You would even bring him some tarts made from the tangerines you had picked in the Sokotoan tangerine fields on Tuesday with Dino before he asked you to sit on his face. That was a good day.

Ryujin couldn’t be happier for you, though at some times during this new stage in the relationship between you and Dino she felt like she couldn’t keep up with the new you. Though recently, you had been giving her more days to herself as you insisted on doing all the work for yourself.

You were getting ready to go, opening the door of your room, shocked to see Chaeryeong already standing there, seemingly spacing out again with a round golden container in her hands.

“Um…Chaeryeong?” You mumbled, waving a hand in front of her face. That seemed enough to snap her out of it, and she focused her gaze on you with a smile.

“Ah, sorry Your Highness! Here are the tarts, freshly baked just for you. Lia was going to deliver them, but then she remembered she had something to do with Ryujin at the last minute.”

You took the container from her and smiled. “Thank you. Oh, and tell the cooks I said thank you as well.” Chaeryeong nodded, bowing to you before excusing herself. You shut your door behind you, making your way out of the castle and to a carriage as fast as you could. When the driver asked where to, you happily chirped out “Kasmira, please,” and asked him to get you there as quick as he could. For all fifty minutes, you couldn’t sit still for longer than a few seconds. You just couldn’t wait to see Dino again, to hold him close and feed him your tarts. He’d probably ask if you made them, and even though you hadn’t, he’d still say they were the best things he’d ever tasted second to you. Then you’d get flustered, hit him, and let him bury himself between your thighs for as long as he wanted.

Long story short, you really wanted to see Dino. Really badly.

Upon your arrival to the Kasmiran castle, you rushed out of the carriage and into the castle, asking around until you found out that Dino was in the Kasmiran royal gardens. Thanking them, you hurried your way there, smiling when you took notice of his signature blonde hair. You were just about to call his name when he laughed, leaning his head back, and you saw a woman sitting beside him, looking at him with a smile on her face.

You felt your mouth go dry as it fell open in disbelief.

Princess Miyoung, the Princess of Hisia, was here in Kasmira. She was sitting next to Dino. Laughing with him. Touching his arm. You let out a shaky breath, a tightening feeling growing in your chest. What was she doing here? Why was she with him? What had she said to make him laugh like that? Fuck, you couldn’t take this. You had to get out of here. You turned around, having your third shock of the day to see Dino’s parents standing in the hallway behind you.

“Oh! Princess [Y/n],” His mother said, obviously surprised to see you standing there. “I wasn’t aware you were here. Is there something you need, honey?”

You shook your head, squeezing your eyes shut with your head to the ground. There was no way you were making a scene, not in front of Dino’s parents. “N-No, uh…I just came to drop off these…tarts. For Dino.” You mumbled, pushing the container into the hands of the King.

“Well, what a lovely sentiment! We’ll be sure to give these to him then dear. I’m sure he’ll be happy to—”

“[Y/n]?” Dino’s smooth voice filled your ears and you squeezed your eyes shut tighter. You didn’t turn to face him, you couldn’t, not if when you opened them you would see Miyoung standing there beside him, her presence alone enough to taunt you. “[Y/n], what wrong?”

“I have to go.” You said, scurrying out of the castle and back to the carriage. Dino chased after you, managing to catch up just before the carriage could start moving.

“What’s the matter? You just got here and now you’re leaving? Stay.” He reached through the open window to hold your hand, but you pulled it away and glared at him.

“Why? You shouldn’t need me when you have Miyoung here to entertain you in my place.” You retorted. Dino’s face fell, and you could only beat yourself up mentally for letting yourself get roped in by him. Of course he didn’t care about you. There was no way he could ever feel the same way about you as you did about him. You were fooling yourself for even thinking that for a second, Dino’s feelings were the same as yours.

“[Y/n], it isn’t like that, please just let me explain—”

You brought your hand up, placing it in front of his face to signal him to stop talking. “Don’t bother, Your Highness.”

For the second time, Dino watched you disappear from him, to let you slip through his hands like grains of sand, and stand to the side powerless as you faded away.

This cycle seemed impossible to break.

For the umpteenth time, here you were, locked away in your room, refusing to see Dino no matter how many times he had begged. You cried every day, drowning your sorrows in bottles upon bottles of wine, dragging yourself to the window to sob to the stars once night had come. You kept the door lock, adamant on not letting anyone see you in such a state. Unfortunately, Ryujin had picked the lock of your bedroom door with a handmade lock pick she got from Yeji because you “needed to eat” so you wouldn’t die before the wedding.

To hell with that wedding, and to hell with the groom.

You sat up in bed, your hands still gripping the nearly empty wine bottle and your cheeks still stained with last nights tears. You brought the bottle to your lips, finishing it off and tossing it aside into the bed. With heavy feet, you dragged yourself to the vanity in the corner of the room, sitting down to take in your reflection.

What have I become, you asked yourself. Who am I? Sighing, you smoothed out the wrinkles in your clothes and tried to make your hair look less unkempt. You wished Yuna was here, she was the hair expert. Ryujin always preferred to keep it simple whenever she did your hair, but she had admitted to you that she learned everything she knew from the younger girl.

A knock at the door had you rolling your eyes.

“Go away, Ryujin. I don’t want breakfast.”

The door opened slightly, and you turned around with a scowl on your face. But then your face changed—softened. Ryujin wasn’t at the door.

“Sorry, I’m not Ryujin.” Dino mumbled, cautiously entering your room before shutting it behind him. “Can we…talk? I haven’t seen you in weeks, [Y/n]. I’m really worried.”

His tone of voice was so gentle and sincere you almost forgot why you were mad at him. Almost. The reason why came flooding back to your brain instantly, and you turned away from him.

“I have nothing to say to you.” You said to him, crossing your arms over your chest.

“[Y/n], please don’t be like that. You left before I had the chance to explain back at the castle.”

“Explain what?” You stood up, whipping around to face him. “Explain what you were doing with the Princess of Hisia? You know what they did to us.” Your last sentence came out quieter—sadder.

“Who is ‘us’?”

“Me! My family! The rest of Sokoto! That is who ‘us’ is, Dino!”

“Why are you grouping yourself with them?” As hard as Dino tried to understand you, in this moment he just…couldn’t. “The war wasn’t your fault, and there was nothing you could’ve done to change what had already happened.”

“That doesn’t change the fact that Hisia stabbed us in the back. And there you were, with the Princess of the first nation that decided to betray us.” You pointed your finger at him. “You’re a traitor.”

“I’m sorry that I have friends, [Y/n], and you don’t. But when your kingdom decides to stay out of unnecessary political affairs that you aren’t a part of, you get keep your allies. I’m sorry if that’s something you or your parents don’t realize because you’re so insistent on being cold and unfeeling, but that’s not what we do in Kasmira.”

Everything he said hurt more because not one part of it was false. But you couldn’t back down now. You had to do something to regain control over the argument.

Even if it meant sending him away.

“Get out.”

Dino raked his hands through his hair, and you could tell that his patience with you was running thin. “No, [Y/n]. I’m not leaving you while you’re like this.”

You glared at him. “I said get out! I don’t ever want to see you again! Go marry somebody else!”

As soon as the words came out of your mouth, the look on Dino’s face was enough to make you regret saying them. You had never seen him go from looking so shocked and heartbroken before, not even the slightest bit. But now…now you had. At it was all because of you.

“Why would I want to marry someone else?”

Silence. Long, heavy, painful silence. Neither one of you looked away from the other or spoke, until finally, after what felt like forever, you found an answer.

“Because I know someone out there is a better match for you than I am.”

“What? [Y/n], what are you talking about? That’s not what I want at all.”

“You…you don’t mean that.” You couldn’t even look at him right now, not if you wanted to believe what you were saying no matter how untrue it was.

“I do, [Y/n]. I mean it. I’ve wanted to marry you since the first time I saw you. Even if you kept running from me. Even if you pushed me away. Even if I could only see you on your time.” Nothing could prepare you for the words he said next. “Because I love you, [Y/n].”

You stiffened, finally finding the strength to raise your head to look at him “What did you say?”

“I said I love you.” He repeated. “Should I say it again, baby?”

“N-No, you can’t…” You whimpered, leaning into Dino’s chest as you felt tears brimming at your waterline. “Please take it back…”

“Take it back? No, why would I ever do that? I really mean it. I’d never say I love you and not mean it, [Y/n].”

“Why do you love me? What is there to love, Dino?”

Dino frowned, wrapping his arms around you and hugging you tightly.

“You have the most beautiful smile I’ve ever seen. Every time you laugh, I laugh, because it’s so infectious. You’re such a good friend to Ryujin. When you eat something you like, you can’t stop until you’ve finished it all. You don’t make the best jokes ever, but you’re learning.” He said, laughing a little once he had finished. “And those are just my favorite things about you.”

You wrapped your arms around Dino, running your hands up and down his back, forcing yourself to believe that yes, this was reality. He was here, he was real, and he loved you. “I’m sorry.” You mumbled, the sound of your voice quiet.

“What was that?”

“I said I’m sorry.” You pulled back slightly so that he could hear your voice clearly. “I shouldn’t have ignored you, or run from you, or any of it. I…” Deep breath, you could do it. “I love you too.”

“Is all that true, baby?” You nodded, and Dino immediately pulled you back to his chest, hugging you even tighter. “You don’t know how long I’ve been waiting to hear you say that.”

“You mean it?” You asked, wanting to make sure that he was serious. “Not just ‘cause we’re supposed to get married, right?”

His laughter was music to your ears. “Of course not, baby. I love you either way.”

You smiled, tilting your head up so Dino could wipe away your stray tears.

Dino nodded, pulling you back again so he could look you in the eyes. “Yeah, I love you, baby.” His eyes flickered down to your lips before coming back to your eyes. “Can I kiss you?”

A nod of your head is all it takes before he’s pressing his lips to yours. You had never been kissed by anyone before, but the way Dino kissed you was enough to make you glad that this was the first kiss you had ever gotten. The kiss was slow and tender, and you unconsciously chased his lips when he attempted to pull away, wrapping your arms around his neck to keep him in place. Dino smiled against your lips, the two of you only pulling away once the need for air went from mild to severe.

“Again?” You asked, and Dino immediately pulled you in again. The kiss was different this time, it was faster and sloppier, the initial tenderness of the first being replaced by a newfound desperation now that you two knew that what you were feeling was the same. Dino loved you, and you loved Dino.

You didn’t fight it when Dino started to guide you backwards, your body hitting the bed with a bounce. Dino slipped his hands under your thighs, flipping up the bottom of your silk nightgown and pulling down your underwear and tossing it onto the floor. He cupped your cunt with one hand, the palm of his hand pressed flat against your clit.

“Dino, please…”

“Please what, baby? Don’t you want me to play with this cute little pussy like always?” He asked, feeling the way your arousal stuck to his hand as he circles your entrance with one of his fingers. You shook your head, holding onto his wrist with your hand.

“Just want you to fuck me.”

Dino groaned, resting his hands on your hips and pushing your nightgown up even further. “Yeah? You sure, baby?”

You nodded, your skin flushed with heat. “Mhm, want your cock, Dino.”

God, just when he thought you couldn’t get any more beautiful, and that he couldn’t get any harder, you just continued to surprise him.

“Who am I to deny the Princess?” He smirked, making quick work of removing his clothes. While he was doing that, you pulled off your nightgown and threw it and your bra aside, both of them landing somewhere on the floor with the rest of your clothes. Dino laid you back down on the bed, climbing on top of you while he ran his hands all over your body, grinning at the way you moaned and trembled when he teased your nipples.

“Dino, please,” You whined, and he chuckled softly.

“Okay, okay, sorry. I just can’t help myself,” He mumbled, reaching down to pump his cock a few times before lining it up at your entrance. “Ready, baby?”

“Yeah,” you nodded. “Ready.”

Dino eased into your cunt slowly, giving you the chance to adjust to him, all the while he swallowed your whimpers and whines by kissing you. When he had pushed himself all the way inside, he tore his lips away from yours to bite down on your shoulder, resisting the urge to start moving his hips already. The two of you stayed like that for a little while before you  told him it was alright to start moving.

“So perfect, so pretty,” Dino mumbled, holding one of his hands holding onto your hip while the other had both of your wrists pinned above your head. He thrusted into you slowly, pulling himself out almost all the way before slamming back inside of you. “I can’t believe I get to have you like this, baby, fuck.”

“M-me too.” You shuddered, your body slowly traveling further up the bed each time he thrusted into you. “Love it, love you, love your cock, shit…”

“Love you too baby, so much,” He whispered, speeding up the speed of his thrusts, a quiet grunt coming out of his mouth when he felt your walls clenching around him. “Fuck…gonna cum for me already baby? Hm?”

Your response was lost in a series of strangled noises of pleasure as you felt your orgasm creeping up on you. Dino pulled the hand pinning your wrists away and brought it down to the point where your bodies were connected, rubbing your clit in quick circles. You cried out, rolling your hips against him, your eyes rolling back into your head as you came undone beneath him.

“That’s it baby, I’ve got you,” He groaned, speeding up even more as he continued to thrust through your high. Once you had caught your breath, his hips jerked forward one last time before you felt his hit cum filling you up. You tried to pull him closer, figuring that he was done, but Dino flipped you over and ran the head of his cock along your slit, making you whine from the overstimulation.

“Just one more, baby. I cant get enough of this sweet little pussy,” He pushed in without warning, and you screamed, shocked at yourself for just how loud you were being.

“Ngh, Dino, c-can’t take it,” You whined, your head falling down onto the pillows and your mouth hanging open as you surrendered yourself to the pleasure.

“Shh, I know you can take it baby,” Dino whispered, pulling you up so your back was flush against his chest, bringing his head to the crook of your neck, taking a long deep inhale and sighing with content. “You smell so fucking good.”

You can feel his pounding in his chest against your back, your head falling backwards as you felt your second orgasm approaching. “G-Gonna cum again…” Dino couldn’t even brace himself before your walls clamped down against his cock, whispering curses against your skin, and felt his own release envelop him for the second time today too.

You fell forward onto the bed, your eyes closed as you steadied your breathing once again. Dino collapsed beside you, draping an arm over your waist and pulling you close. You turned your head over your shoulder to look at him and smiled.

“That was amazing.”

“Not as amazing as you, baby,” He murmured, stroking your hair with his hand. “I love you.”

“I love you more.”

“I love you most.”

You gripped Ryujin’s shoulders, much to her pain, because she was trying desperately to pry them away.

“[Y/n], your nails are digging into my skin,” She groaned, and only then did you pull your hands away.

“Sorry, Ryujin.” You ran your down the front of your dress, taking deep breaths to steady your nerves. “I just don’t know if I’m ready for this.”

“Of course you are,” Yeji shook her head with a smile on her face. “You look beautiful, [Y/n]. You just go out there, walk down the aisle, and tell Dino those two words that will join you forever.”

“Cum inside?” Ryujin asked, earning her a smack from Lia.

“No, I do.” Lia sighed, then turned to look at you. “I’m so glad you chose us to be your bridesmaids.”

“Yeah!” Yuna agreed, then shuffled around Chaeryeong and Yeji so she was next to you. “By the way, when you throw the bouquet, is there any chance you can sum it towards me?”

“She won’t see us, Yuna. There’s no way she’ll know who she’s throwing at.” Chaeryeong said with a quiet sigh. “I’m really so happy for you, [Y/n]. Dino is the perfect match for you.”

Yeah, if you heard her say that a few months ago, you would not have believed her. You might have even questioned why she would say such a thing. But after everything you and Dino have been through, you could finally agree.

Your father approached you and the girls, a smile on his face as he looked at you. “Oh honey, you look so beautiful. I never thought this day would come.” This was the first time you had seen your dad smile in years.

“What a gorgeous bride. Oh dear, I’m so happy for you,” Your mother cried, holding your head in your hands and pressing a kiss to your forehead. You couldn’t help but smile seeing your parents so happy, and all because of you.

“Thank you Mother, thank you Father.”

Yuna gasped, and everyone turned to look at her. “It’s starting!”

Your father looked at you, nodding. “Alright honey. Are you ready?”

You let out the breath you had been keeping in for a while. “Ready as I’ll ever be.” He pulled your veil over your head, intertwining his arm with yours. The two of you walked down the aisle, and you could hear the gasps and murmurs of everyone in the audience as you walked past them, all eyes on you in that present moment, especially Dino’s

Once you felt your father’s arm leave yours, you turned yourself to the right, faintly making out Dino’s face behind your veil. He reached forward, flipping the veil behind your head, his eyes softening when he got a look at your face.

“You look so gorgeous,” he whispered, and you smiled even brighter.

“And you look so handsome,” you whispered back, Dino trying to bite back the smile that continued to grow on his face.

The ceremony was beautiful, a bit longer than you had thought it would be, but it was fine with you, because Dino looked really good in that tuxedo.

“Prince Dino, do you take Princess [Y/n] to be your lawfully wedded wife? To have and to hold, in sickness and in health, for to love and to cherish; from this day forward?”

Dino’s hands gripped yours tighter as he nodded, staring deeply into your eyes. “I do.”

“And do you, Princess [Y/n], take Dino to be your lawfully wedded husband, in good times and bad, in joy as well as sorry, till death do you part?”

You nodded, looking back at Dino with just as much love in your eyes as he was doing with you. “I do.”

“Then by the power vested in me, I nor pronounce you, husband and wife. You may now kiss the bride.”

The crowd before you all cheered as Dino cupped your head in his hands and pulled you forward for a kiss. This kiss felt different from the way he had kissed you before, again. This one was passionate, loving, now the two of you were complete. It was perfect.

Later on, after much cake a little drinking, and watching Lia and Yuna fight over the bouquet after you threw it between both of them, you and Dino were still waltzing on the dance floor in the middle of the rest of the guests, holding each other impossibly close, that longing love-struck look still in both of your eyes.

“I can’t believe I get to call you my wife, now,” Dino mumbled, spinning you around. You hummed, pressing a quick kiss to his lips. “My perfect, pretty, sweet wife.”

“Oh stop it,” You laughed. “Sweet is a bit of a stretch, isn’t it?”

“Not at all, baby. I think you’re very sweet.” He said, then pulled you closer. “In more ways than one. Speaking of which, I can’t wait to have you all to myself tonight.”

“Again?” You asked, but you still anticipated what he would have in store for you. “You’re insatiable.”

“Well now that you’re all mine, how am I supposed to help myself?”

You just smiled and shook your head. He should be so lucky that he loved you. But then again, maybe he didn’t need to be. Not when you loved him back just as much. Forever and always, till death do you part.

[sassypantsjaxon]

Fuck it. UA instructors as...things the staff from my college have done, I guess?

Because it's been three and a half years since I graduated and I miss that place every single day

Principal Nezu

Principal Nezu has everybody's names, faces, and quirks memorized before the first day of school. This is never acknowledged.

(Recovery Girl also learns everybody pretty much right away, but she interacts with them a bit more directly than Nezu, so it doesn't seem quite as weird)

Somehow Nezu manages to both be so chill and yet have no chill.

Nezu once texted Mic to ask if he was available for a call about some program at school and when Mic didn't answer within 15 minutes because he was DRIVING Nezu just called him anyway and was like "is this a bad time? I can call you back :)" Like, no,no, We're both here now, let's have this conversation now. Go ahead

One time Nezu pulled the Big Three out of their classes and brought them into his office to sit them down like he was about to have a Big Serious Conversation, and then he just says "Do you think...it would be possible for you to visit the first year hero classes...and tell them about your experiences? :)" Mirio and Nejire are both going "yeah, sure", while thinking why did we have to get pulled out of class like this was something really important? Amajiki is hyperventilating.

Power loader

Power Loader is like some kind of cryptid.

He just shows up when things need to be fixed, fixes them, and then disappears again. He never says a word. Don't question it, just be grateful and let him stay in his hiding place

Random knowledge. Whenever the rest of the staff has some random question that no one else can answer. Ask Power Loader. He knows. He always know. Don't question that either, he's just one of those kind of people

Power loader and All Might are the only two teachers who were asked to come to UA instead of having to apply

13

Actually 13 falls somewhere inbetween applying and being asked to join the staff, because she kind of created her own job.

She just had a meeting with Nezu one day to be like "Your students need an Unforeseen Simulation Joint! Here's what that means and why you need it" And Nezu went "... :) You're hired!"

All Might

Toughest person anybody knows. Can not handle spicy food.

Everybody loves him. Anybody who doesn't isn't cut out for hero school. This is not bragging, it just happens to be true.

All Might once listed one of his credentials as BAMF. (Izuku absolutely lost it that day)

While discussing I Island with Izuku, All Might very casually stated "My ex husband lives there" as if that isn't an Absolute Bombshell to drop You can't just Say That and NOT ELABORATE WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU HAVE AN EXHUSBAND!?!!???? (Izuku lost it even more that day)

Present Mic

Mic has a bad habit of talking a little too fast. Nobody's ever 100% sure what he said.

Also he swears. Like. A lot. Like, he would get in trouble as a student for swearing.

There is a drawer on Mic's desk that's labeled 'Present Mic's Top Secret Hiding Place' and anybody who notices it is just like ??? because it's clearly labeled and Not a Secret. But Mic is very scatter brained and will lose anything as soon as it leaves his eyesight. Having a specific place to put things help with that.

EraserMic

Married. But they don't really talk about it, and they don't act married in front of the students, so a lot of them don't realize it

It's actually surprising because they have pictures of them and their kids on their desks. All you have to do is go to the teacher's office. It's not a secret. It's right there.

There's a class for the second years on like, heroism and personal lives or something. Eraser and Mic get to teach part of that unit because they have experience being married heroes.

One year when Aizawa says that he's married to Mic one of the students asks him why

That same year, when Aizawa reveals that there is one teacher he will never be friends with (like, even more than all the other teachers), just because they have nothing in common other than working at UA, and the same student asks him if it's Mic

People assume Mic gets special treatment as Aizawa's husband. This is not true. If anything, he's more likely to get the short end of the stick and be asked to cover for Aizawa.

Eraser Head

Aizawa forgot that there was supposed to be a chaperone for the remedial licensing training and said he would probably be the one doing it. He was not. He sent Mic. Thus proving the previous statement true.

Bad at interpersonal relationships

Has a bad habit of mumbling. Students are never 100% sure what he said

At some point, the people around him start referring to doing anything overly rational as 'pulling an Aizawa'. Yeah. ...yeah...

[jajatoc]

about the character list: do you have any thoughts on Lara Ravel? [:

Thank you so much for asking!!!! I love Lara to death I'll gladly reflect on her character if you'll have me!!!

favorite thing about them- The anwer to this one is very silly. We share the same name. It was the first time a character I cared a lot about in a videogame had the same name as me! Because of its Russian origins I truly do not see it used often.. Aside from this, Lara Ravel is a very gorgeous character and I really like her in both Classic and 2. She changed a lot between iterations, I believe, and most of the changes are determined by her childhood friendship with Burakh, Filin and Rubin.

She constantly has nerve wracking anxiety and is painfully cautious, taking well measured risks at best. She values herself, but lives in a haze, in an empty house too big for her, so she tries to fill it with people as much as she can. Of course in 2 this point is exaggerated (positively), while in Classic her house is still very rich and bright (i love all the textures and patterns in the Shelter by the way. So beautiful), but she still hangs off in a secluded side room where all the colors seem duller, almost as if she ultimately needs to distance herself from others.

She has a sharp mind, sullied by deep, world ending grief. She lost her father in a spring a thousand years ago, and then, inexplicably, winter set in over her life.

Suddenly a chance to finally prove her kindness to the world presents itself in the form of a plague. She sets her shelter up to help people, until her fear sets in again, and she closes her doors. In the end her father's killer shows up, and she somehow sheds any fear she had grown into like a well worn coat. She walks in a determined fog to her gallows or her instant death, intending only to enact revenge over somebody else while completely disregarding her own still living existence. Death had always more value to her anyways, a bigger weight than life ever had. I'm always struck by Yulia's description of her in Classic, of how she already sees a walking corpse in every person, ready to lose them before she even has a chance to know them. This is deep rooted trauma over the death of her last living family member, and in a patho 2 perspective, over the loss of her childhood friends.

Despite it all, she isn't a loner, she is a rich woman (grown almost miserly in her modesty in 2) that spends her time among other eminent women of the city. She has a circle of acquaintances that trust her so much so that she is able to raise someone's reputation by merely speaking a good word about them. She definetely has power, but she is a Humble.

I love her stronger personality in 2, even if prone to wavering. She had been a sister to three boys once, growing alongside them, and this side of her never left even as they grew apart. Even if it's a rare thing to witness now, her good natured irony and sarcasm is the healthiest side of her personality. I love how her nickname is "gravel" and "proud trout" in the original russian text,,,

least favorite thing about them- *sounds of car tires screeching to a halt* I could never dislike anything about my wife. But. I hate how in two you can try to matchmake Lara with Rubin or fight with her about Nara. It makes my stomach turn. Leave them alone.

The single other thing I dislike.. is her treatment about the mental crisis over Block. I hate how people get to handle her rage and treat her like she is going crazy. (Mostly in classic. I actually love that you can find her goodbye letter in 2 if you fail to stop her.. it's a horrible sacrifice but it gives her a terrifying sense of agency. She really needed help and support and you weren't there. God) She has suffered so much!!

favorite line- I'm sure I also had a screenshot of it once somewhere but I'm in love with the sewing box item touch description in 2: Gravel once knitted a sweater for me. I asked her why it was blue. She told me that blue is the color of morons, and never made me another.

Like there she is!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

brOTP/OTP/nOTP- Of course, the Apple Baskets are endgame without question. Those people. Have surely something going on that I would love to see resolved. In a very gender non conforming way. I love strong platonic relationships, but they can genuinely do whatever they want. I need them to not die and stick toghether and continue whatever weird boygirls dynamics they had. Please. Also I need Lara to interact with Yulia perhaps. Perhaps

random headcanon- I always pictured Lara as a kid wearing her dad's reconditioned military garments... a jacket cut to her length with shortened sleeves, the shoulders falling too large on hers.... his old caps of course... sigh........

song i associate with them- I thought a lot about the Apple Basket gang (I even started writing a fic which I miserably abandoned..) mostly associating them to Adrianne Lenker music, but the songs I think most fit them (especially Lara) are Night Scented Stock and Army Dreamers (back to back specifically) by Kate Bush.... physically painful music......

favorite picture of them- The bonfire gang. They brought Tema a tiny mattress to rest with them. I'm sick as fuck. ALSO the very early Lara concept art!! While I'm in love with her intricately textured classic hd design (aside from the hair.. in my head it is frizzy and tightly curly like in her portrait) the concept art where her striking dark eyes and hair contrast so well with the white dress and scarf are truly gorgeous! It reminds me of the way older Catholic women would cover their hair to go to pray in church.. it's like a reverse mourning attire, in white.

Thank you so much again for asking and sorry for taking an ungodly amount of time 😭😭

[jumpywhumpywriter]

The Monster in the Black Room part 8

Warnings: emaciated hero, starvation/past torture, mentions of forced killing

He was playing a risky game, after all. And as with all gambles, you could either win some or lose some.

"I'd like to... ask some questions, if you're willing to answer them?" He left a question-mark inflection of tone at the end, leaving it open for Hero to jump in and speak.

Hero nodded slowly, and even from a distance Villain could hear the breath rattling in her lungs with every ragged inhale, wheezing as it left her again.

"Ask, and you shall receive what you search for from me. I will grant you my knowledge to the best of my abilities -- but be warned, some of the answers might not be what you want to hear," she rasped. "Do you still wish to ask?"

Villain hesitated. Did he want to know what his father was really capable of? It would be so much easier to stay ignorant and oblivious, to forget Hero was down here and go back to his relatively normal life.

But the easy path was not always the right one.

"Yes," he replied, "I need to know the truth."

"As you wish. Ask me anything -- I owe you for bringing decent food."

Villain swallowed hard, his mouth impossibly dry as he forced the words out, tongue heavy like lead. "...How did Supervillain catch you? You said previously he captured you and imprisoned you here -- but how'd he do it? And why?"

Hero's face grew distant, lost in a memory, expression pained and haunted.

"I wasn't the most moral out of the city's heroes -- I was far more willing to step into the gray area to win a fight. Several notorious villains died by my hand when I took things too far, and the citizens eventually named me 'killer'. But I was too powerful to be arrested or stopped, so everyone just... stayed out of my way. Let me do what I did best: defeating bad guys by any means."

She winced. "I was dangerous, and people knew it. Including... including Supervillain. Your father. But instead of avoiding me like most would, he decided to pick a fight with me. I got cocky, and didn't realize he had weapons I'd never seen before, capable of nullifying my powers from a distance and rendering me as vulnerable as any normal human would be. That was the day I realized my grave mistake, realized just how heavily I relied on my powers in battle. I wasn't used to fighting without them. So Supervillain had the upper hand. And miraculously, he was the first criminal to ever defeat me."

Hero closed her eyes at the memory. "He won, and I expected him to kill me while I was down like any sane person would -- not give me a chance to recover and retaliate -- but apparently he had other plans for me. Thought he could use the 'killer' part of me for his own twisted ways. I was knocked out, and woke up here -- in the dark. Alone. Knowing that no one would cone looking for me, not with how deadly I was. The people of the city probably celebrated my unexpected capture, to be honest."

She visibly shuddered. "From there Supervillain turned me into his own personal executioner -- a threat to wave around to any who dared defy him, that he would send them down to me to die if they didn't do exactly what he wanted. If they failed him. And I've been stuck here ever since, forced to kill anyone he sends my way."

Her lip curled into a weak snarl. "At first I fought back, but it quickly became clear that Supervillain knew what he was doing when handling me, and there would be no escaping him. He was thorough in caging me and my powers. Eventually I learned to accept my role as killer. Better than push back and be violently punished. I am in constant pain, but it is nothing compared to what I endured when Supervillain was first 'training' me. Resistance is pointless. He will always win.”

Villain was horrified. He had no words. Left utterly speechless.

Of course, there was a chance Hero could be lying in an attempt to gain sympathy from him, but... the evidence of endless abuse was sitting right in front of him in the form of a mangled body covered in a lifetime of scars, a hollow shell of what was once a person.

The person that had been tortured and plunged into darkness, never to see daylight again.

And as Hero began telling the specific detailed story of her capture… he kind of wished she hadn't.

⏪️ Back Next ⏩️

Masterlist

@scoundrelwithboba @lumpofsand @isikedmyself878 @iamheretohurt @fleur-a-whump

@ay5ksal @otterfrost @sausages-things @togzy

@whump-till-ya-jump @cravesunconditionallove @whumpwritinglover222 @written-in-the-stars135 @neverthelass

@starz8nk @writing-with-olive

[scriptofdevilswan]

‘ And I hold you every night 

   And that’s a feeling I want to get used to 

         But there’s no man as terrified 

                As a man who stands to lose you’ 

“ Don’t you leave me again.” 

“ I can’t lose you.” The words echoed in his head. John B knew the heartache of broken promise. He lived through his father who went missing, who was alive reentered his life, and then died at the hands of finding gold, a sacrifice he made for me, for Sarah in that cave. The same sacrifice Ward Cameron made to redeem himself in his daughter’s eyes. Was all the pain forgiven? Yes and no. For John B he ached to see the pain in Sarah’s eyes, and truth be told Ward did the same action John B was terrified in the moment of finishing. John B was going to step in front of that bullet, to save Sarah, and a part of him knew Sarah would scold him for it. We sacrifice, we spent days thinking treasure is the right move, to provide, to make a living. Ward helped us in the end, and Sarah was alive; so yeah For John B it felt like water was under the bridge. 

The only family we had left, heartache devastated and all, we both experienced trauma. Guns pointed at heads, the battle wounds of our own family putting us in harms way. And we were alive, Sarah had become my whole world, the person I woke up to, the pearson I smiled to myself over. Each morning, I felt her head rested either on my chest or her hair was scrolled out over my arm that was hanging under her head. And I’d smile watch her wistfully sleep, peaceful, We’re home. A place John found happiness and content with. After all the close calls, all the times he nearly lost himself, his friends and Sarah, he believed he signed off from the G game. That morning, just hours ago we were okay, we agreed one last mission. 

Was I curious? Of course the blue crowd? The next attempt at gold? To save our home? To build a house for just Sarah and I? The power of devotion of love, a protective instinct was more powerful than ever. Just hours ago, Sarah told me we’re pregnant. I felt shock, The waves of fear because my mother left me at a young age, and my dad was far from steller half the time. He cared more about treasure, the next big win than being there for me. I learned that when he forced me into lying to people I loved, he was willing to risk death. But John B his real gold was Sarah and I knew she was scared, so was I. I was felt terrified when the words left my lips that night, Resting my hand upon her stomach with more importance than any other time I held her in my arms. 

And that’s where he stood, motivated for the win, the gold once more because he wanted desperately to provide for his family. To not be his dad. He was going to be a good dad, and Sarah was going to be a spectacular mother, her caring nature, her caring touch, I knew we both wanted to survive this ship, one last trip to Morocco, for JJ, who had been done dirty, this trip gave us a chance to redeem, a chance to forgive, earn trust. And although I wanted to punch Rafe myself; John B reminded himself he wasn’t a fighter, not anymore. Any urge he had was swept under the rug the second he looked at Sarah and saw that small smile of hers, every move he made was for her. 

Sacrifices, why was it every person had to risk it all for me? For Sarah? It all happened at once, in fast motion. The waves, the storm crashing in, the boat wasn’t able to handle it. John B held tightly to that wheel attempting to maneuver the boat forward; to survive the storm. One second he was holding on for dear life and the next he was knocked down to his knees, he felt a wave of pain on his leg from the impact, but he didn’t care. “ John B” her voice of an angel creeped up, and he was prepared to stand; on his feel unsteady now. 

“ Sarah!” I yelled through the open waves, She was so far on the end of the boat to reach, I tried to move my body towards her, and I swore I felt numb the second I saw it. She fell into a barrial, she fell, an ache in my body formed and I was pushing my body to jump down, but the waves, the storm surrounding us ran deep. Enough and at once Sarah; the woman I loved, my wife disappeared from sight overboard. I vaguely heard the commotions under the cabin, JJ; and I was so angry at him for calling me a bad dad, when all I wanted was to believe in him, the friend he’s always been. But how how do you stay angry when you just witnessed your best friend jump willingly overboard after your wife? My child? John b swore he couldn’t breath, the agonizing pain in his chest, “ Sa” He tried to speak but no words came out. His eyes were blurry from the wetness the tears that dared to fall. He barely heard Kiara come on board to the area I was, hand on the wheel of the boat. “ what happened? John B? “ Sacrifice is a funny thing, our bodies more without a muscle memory of knowing why. 

I couldn’t speak, I was speechless, eyes watered up, the shock in my body now as all I could do was reach for Kie and pull her close to my chest. The ocean blues lifting and falling, All I saw was the life preserve, No sign Of Sarah, No Sign of JJ, and I felt like I had no air within me. All the times, the promises, I can’t lose you, I wanted to scream, I wanted jump ship, but I had Sarah’s voice echoing in my head now. “ Don’t make stupid decisions John B, think of us.” And I was, but it wasn’t one aching heart, but two. 

Devastated, loss at sea.. I was nothing but numbness, as the shouts the worried consumed around me.

[sonicasura]

Not sure if the Kaiju number 8 world is escapism for the characters, or me. Probably both. Somehow I always bring KNACK around to sad/weird.

Lucas looks up to Reno, who is older than him but has similar traits. Lucas is too young to join the Defense Force, but in the meantime, he's likely to hang out more and more in that universe and hear the stories. Reno is kind of like an older brother, which is a role Knack can occupy only sometimes.

Once Reno impresses on Lucas how dangerous Kaiju are and why Kafka's secret is so important to keep, poor Kafka feels teamed on when he gets two earfuls about being reckless instead of one.

Knack gets chewed out, too, because Lucas wants to keep him safe. Though Knack may at some point tell him to 'zip it!' When priorities change.

The safety of his friends and family is more important than Knack's own protection. In that respect, him and Kafka's tendencies align.

He burns through Sunstone energy like fire through gasoline, however, those times he gets involved in battle. Kaiju are *nothing* like humans and goblins. I wonder how he might mess with Kaiju sensors, if at all.

Kafka's fatherly tendencies have interesting effects on the KNACK boys. Lucas finally feels listened-to and valued by an adult, and after the boys figure out how Knack's portals work, Lucas feels less and less inclined to return home every visit. Especially after getting into arguments with the Doctor. I think Kafka recognizes this as a problem, but I'm not sure how he approaches it.

The weirder part might be Knack's temperament. Knack's been alive for less than a few years, and I headcanon that this is his only go around with the whole existing thing. So Knack has always been as he is. Kafka has only been half-kaiju for less than a year, but is in his thirties, as we know.

Knack asks Kafka how he handles being different, mistreated for his looks even though he's human. Knack probably made an assumption that Kafka has had his kaiju powers for longer than he really did. Lucas points out that Knack seemingly implied that Knack is human when he isn't. And Knack shuts down after that, only giving one-word answers or silence for the rest of the talk. That's why it's kinda weird and I'm not sure how to explain Knack's feelings. He likes how he is and the way he looks, so he's not ashamed of himself in that way. But he called himself human for some reason.

This just makes me think back to Knack 1 where the Doctor says that Charlotte was his better half alongside Lucas genuinely being an orphan(lost his mother and no father in the picture). He genuinely cares for the two but sometimes his interests get the better of him. I think that's why Knack alongside Lucas have been exploring on their own while Doctor and Charlotte were at the Monk Temple in Knack 2.

A massive argument which makes the older man realize both his assistants need time to grow as their own individuals while he needs to reflect on himself. They do separate on better terms though when Lucas' group ends up seeking the Doctor for help in Knack 2. Both our younger heroes definitely flourished during their personal journey.

It also makes senses why Lucas ends up losing it later on in Knack 2, he doesn't want to be pushed to the wayside and ignored again especially for his blocky brother figure. An irrational fear as Knack would never dare replace Lucas something reaffirmed once the two are stranded on that island together.

Reno and Kafka sorta just speed up the process of the eventual separation. Both give the younger boys that needed reassurance but also validation. Kafka and Knack cope with not being human alongside learning about themselves better. Lucas gets to really show off his ideas but actually feels seen due to Reno than just our favorite himbo. Both people allow our boys to truly grow into their own individuals.

You can say exploring the world of Kaiju No. 8 is like finally being able to leave the nest in my opinion.

[bbobpul]

the last thing i wanted (is the first thing you do) — stsg

NOTE. my first ever jjk au!!!!!!! REBLOG! REBLOG! REBLOG!

PAIRING. satoru gojo x suguru geto

GENRE. angst, hurt/no comfort

SYNOPSIS. a person like satoru harbors no regrets, that was until he met a person like suguru.

WARNINGS. none

W/C. 1.3k

masterlist

Satoru, in the depths of his soul, harbors no regrets. From the second he took his initial breath as humanity's finest sorcerer, an immense feeling of pride flowed through him, leaving absolutely no room for guilt. He handles life with the weight of incredible power and the absence of regret, balancing the line between having everything and having nothing to lose.

Satoru sees the world as a vast tapestry embedded with fibers of triumph and loss. His intimate understanding of life's complexities rests not on the absence of obstacles, but on his unwavering embrace of them. Because he knows that remorse is merely a whisper in the wind, easily scattered by the stubbornness of a heart that pulses with purpose, the very essence of his being echoes with the harmonious music of living without the veil of shame.

That was until he met Suguru. He uncovered a void within himself that he had not known existed at the time. Suddenly, the concept of having everything became less clear than it had previously appeared. Satoru grew to understand the delicate intricacies of fear—the fear of losing something valuable—with each passing moment spent with Suguru.

Suguru became a vibrant thread in the monochrome patchwork of his life, bringing value to the hues of who he was. Their experiences together, laughter, and even moments of silence of understanding offered an analogy that went beyond the apparent contradiction of having it all. Satoru found himself navigating unfamiliar emotions, discovering that vulnerability was not synonymous with weakness but rather a tribute to the profound connections that may change one's fundamental being.

As the vibrations of his growing fear resonated in the haze, Satoru decided to carry on, confident that the might of both of them could withstand any kind of obstacle. After all, he was Satoru Gojo, and Suguru Geto was far more than a friend; he was a foundation in a world where weakness and power coexisted, and the dreaded feeling of abandonment was overpowered by the unwavering strength of their bond.

"Penny for your thoughts," Suguru's voice slipped in from behind, a soft interruption in the quiet ambiance. Sunlight streamed through the leaves of the tall tree hovering over the both of them.

Satoru's laughter, rich and warm, filled the air. "I'd pay you a million to know what's been going on in your mind these days."

"Funny how I should be the one telling you that, Satoru."

"Just some stuff. How to enhance my skills and all," Satoru replied, a thoughtful expression playing on his features. His words hung in the air, playing with the dust caught in the sunlight.

The conversation lingered in a brief silence, allowing the weight of unspoken thoughts to settle. A gentle breeze rustled the leaves beneath them, like the earth sighing in relief, creating a soft melody that accompanied the subtle tension of their exchange.

"You've lost weight, Suguru. Been indulging in too much Somen?" Satoru asked playfully, his eyes scanning his best friend with a discerning gaze. The school bore witness to the shared history etched in the lines of their faces, with vintage photographs adorning the walls and memories echoing in every corner.

Suguru, on the other hand, simply observed him. The sunlight accentuated the vibrancy of his blue eyes, turning them into a deeper shade. His normally white hair appeared softer in the natural light, free from the usual hold of styling wax. The subtle play of light and shadow seemed to come alive in the place, expressing the complexities of their thoughts without the need for words.

Perhaps it's the cascade of tragedies that unfolded in the past year, or maybe it's the weight of loss they've shouldered despite their youth. It could be the haunting number of bodies they had to burn that eclipsed Satoru's understanding of what was poised to unfold between them. The school, charged with an unspoken heaviness, seemed to hold echoes of sorrow and resilience, intertwining the threads of their shared experiences into a tapestry of unforeseen challenges.

"How have you been, Satoru?" Suguru broke the silence with the sudden question.

"Fine," Satoru replied, though the simplicity of the answer carried an unspoken weight that hung in the air.

"Will you be fine alone?"

"Huh?" Satoru's confusion was evident in his response.

Instead of clarifying, Suguru released a dry laugh. "Nothing."

Satoru, despite the facade of casual conversation, felt a certain gravity in the air that tugged at the edges of his consciousness.

"I have been thinking," Suguru began, his voice carrying a subdued intensity, "of a lot of things." The words hung in the air, poignant, unspoken thoughts and the echoes of a shared history that had weathered storms together.

The depths of Suguru’s silence and his rhetorical question were a dust storm that Satoru paid no attention to until they stood, feet apart from each other, where Satoru’s one and only fear came to life. The unspoken weight of Suguru's contemplations now materialized, hanging in the air like a dense fog, shrouding the space between them.

The words Suguru spoke carried a weight that only Satoru's heart could comprehend from a distance. "This is the life I've chosen. All I can do now is give it all I've got. This is what I was made for. Don't ruin it for me... like what you always do."

In response, Satoru's determination to challenge those words was evident. "I'll ruin it all over for you." There was a sense of defiance in his retort, a refusal to accept Suguru's chosen path without a fight. The exchange encapsulated the tension and complexity of their relationship, a clash of wills that hinted at a deeper, unspoken history between them.

The conversation between Suguru and Satoru unfolded with poignant intensity. Suguru, expressing a long-suppressed desire, explained, "You need to understand that this is the first thing that I wanted. Maybe the only reason why I haven’t done this is because of you, Satoru. Always having to compromise for you. Always having to break into your mind to have you understand everything. Your problems are always my problem. It was never easy with you, Satoru. And I figured that leaving you is the easiest thing to do."

Satoru, grappling with the weight of Suguru's words, countered with an emotional, "And the last thing I wanted is the first thing you do."

Suguru's response, delivered with a touch of resignation, reflected the complexity of life. "Well, life won't always agree with you, Satoru. If it was you in my shoes, you would do it without any hesitation because you could."

"What you want is impossible," Satoru asserted.

"You say it's impossible when you yourself could do it," Suguru countered, feeling the weight of Satoru's silence. "You have always been the righteous one, Satoru. Everything you do and will do is justifiable because you are the strongest. But are you the strongest because you're Satoru Gojo or are you Satoru Gojo because you're the strongest?"

Everything after that, to Satoru's mind, became a blur. The questioning of his identity and strength stirred a tumultuous whirlwind of thoughts, leaving him grappling with a reality he had perhaps never truly considered.

Satoru, in the depths of his soul, harbors no regrets.

Until he met Suguru, who altered his life forever. Satoru now regrets not following him, failing to realize the profound significance of Suguru's quietness in spite of his own noise. The load of accountability falls entirely on his shoulders, and he feels that he only has to blame himself, not Suguru. Despite his regrets, Satoru is willing to let Suguru reacquaint him with the nuances of life, which he had no opportunity to learn. Whatever happens, he's willing to let Suguru rain on his parade since he's learned to embrace the curse that he was taught to abhor. He's grown to accept the fear he used to keep buried, realizing it was just a fear with no real meaning prior to it ever striking.

Now, Satoru finds himself back to square one. He fears nothing because, in losing Suguru, he believes he has nothing left to lose.

[the-bar-sinister]

Deicide (58285 words) by VickytheSnake, thesavagesabretooth Chapters: 15/?

Summary: In the aftermath of the raid on Onigashima everything changes. The path to the One Piece is a course that can only be charted by those who agree to join together as friends and fight without taking the easy way out.

catch up here.

-

It could have gone worse. 

O-Kiku had made her way to the palace with her new arm resting on the empty crimson scabbard by her side. She’d visited the throne room with her warm smile and bow to their new shogun, and asked to speak to the remaining scabbards and himself all together.

She owed it to them, her fellow blades of Wano, to give them a proper goodbye. Their surprise had been expected and just as difficult to handle as she feared. They’d appealed to her honor; to her duty as a scabbard, to the fact that Momo needed them all more than ever now that he was starting his rise to power. They’d appealed to her care for them as a friend.

But she reminded them. Careful words spoke of Oden’s adventures, and her own brother’s grand journey across the sea. They found themselves through their adventures, had they not? So what says she could not do the same.

Wano had great warriors within it— it had the scabbards and the shinobi, and all manner of strength within its high walls. It did not need O-Kiku of the Lingering Snow. When she’d shown them her brother's arm and declared her vow of honor upon it to live in a way that would bring joy to her lost sibling— they relented.

There were long goodbyes, there were tears, there was a private aside with Kin as he wished her luck on the sea. While she had asked, none had a sword for her to take, and none believed the masterwork blades of Wano should leave its shores for a good long while.

So O-Kiku would have to look elsewhere for one.

With a last bow, and a thanking for all they had done for her over the years…she stepped out of the chambers and started down the hall with her brother’s fingers lingering thoughtfully on her chin.

As she walked, another figure stepped out of a connecting corridor beside her, and fell into pace with her as she headed for the exit. Much smaller than O-Kiku, the woman wore a fox mask that covered her face, but she didn't need to see her face to recognize her.

“...It’s rather nice to see you.” O-Kiku said in a quiet voice, looking down sidelong at her with a smile. She continued towards the door, trusting the familiar face of ‘Komurasaki’...Hiyori…to follow her. 

"I was hoping we'd run into one another before it was time to leave," she admitted softly as they stepped outside the palace. "No surprise that it would be here I suppose."

“I was hoping too,” O-Kiku nodded slowly. “This one was sure that you were planning on leaving too. It’s no surprise– we both had last minute business, didn’t we?” 

"So we did." She nodded, carefully picking her way down the steps and into the street. "You were bolder than I."

“I had less threat of losing my chance if I faced them directly,” O-Kiku chuckled into her borrowed hand as she let the former princess lead the way. “They could say little to keep me there…I know it is not the same for you.” 

"No." She shook her masked head. "There is much to keep me here. I'm truly throwing everything away. My family, my honor, my duty. They'd seek to save me from such total self-destruction."

O-Kiku chuckled musically as she looked up at the Wano sky. 

“Sometimes you have to embrace a little destruction to find what jewel lies beneath. I’m not the same person I was when I met Oden, after all. And you aren’t the same woman who’s ‘died’.”

"No. Neither the woman nor the girl. I'd like to leave Hiyori buried here in Wano's soul. Some part of Komurasaki, I'll take with me."

“Some part of Komurasaki? Then that is what I’ll call you.” O-Kiku smiled at her warmly.

" I see you're taking something with you, too."

O-Kiku looked down at her gun belt and the hand that rested on it. “....I am. My brother’s dead, but I will carry his dreams with me as I go forward.” 

"As it should be," Komurasaki nodded. "I think he would want to be carried away with you."

O-Kiku flexed her fingers against the empty scabbard with a fond smile. 

“You understand, Komurasaki. I don’t think he’d ever want to be trapped here when he’s tasted the open sea. So I’ll be taking him with me…and you’ll be taking that name with you too.” She reached one hand out to delicately squeeze her shoulder. “...I’m glad for you…I really am.” 

In return, Komurasaki put a hand on O-Kiku's back. "Perhaps the sea winds will cross our paths out there."

“I do hope they do, Komurasaki.” Her fingers rested delicately and fondly against the other woman. 

"You're sailing with Kid, is that right?"

“I am sailing with Captain Kid…he so graciously took me in along with young Kurozumi Otama and her friend. Are you sailing with the Straw Hats or…?”

"With the Heart Pirates and Captain Law. We had an interesting conversation. The Straw Hats have taken on a different crew member."

“Captain Law… he should make a remarkable captain.” She nodded. Her other hand rested again on her empty scabbard. “The Straw Hats are taking along Yamato, are they not?” 

"Yes. A little bird told me. And I thought, perhaps it would be better for all of us not to take too much Wano on any one ship. Lest we sacrifice what it means to leave at all."

O-Kiku laughed quietly. 

“Much as I was hoping to reconnect,” she teased. “This one very much agrees with you. Too much of Wano, and it will feel like we’ve never left.” 

"We'll meet again, perhaps," Komurasaki mused. She seemed hardly to look at the shops or people as they passed– perhaps hoping to keep herself from becoming entangled in nostalgia, or regret. "Is there anything you're taking with you?"

“My brother’s gun, my brother’s arm….” O-Kiku mused as she looked off into the distance. “Some tea from the tea shop…and a sword. I am a swordswoman who’s lost her beloved sword. Nothing else save for the kimono in my pack, and my dreams.” 

Komurasaki's hand went to her hip, where she was wearing her own sword. A sword that O-Kiku recognized, and had long been gone from Wano.

"Lost your beloved sword. I am sorry for that. What will you do for replacement?"

“It was shattered , shortly before a friend stole my arm from me,” her fingers gently tightened against her shoulder.

“I’m not sure. I had asked the Scabbards if there were any I might be permitted to take. The swords of a fallen friend, perhaps…but I was denied. They think that swords such as yours have been out of Wano’s walls for too long and should not go.” 

Komurasaki was quiet for a moment. "They think similarly of us, sister-of-my-journey."

It was true that they did, O-Kiku knew that well. The expressions on their faces when she’d formally resigned had spoken to that. The walls of Wano would close once more very soon, and there were many who wished that little of its people and culture would slip outside until it was ready to rejoin the world.

But O-Kiku felt that restless stir inside her. The desire she knew was mirrored in the ‘sister of her journey’ beside her. Wano was too small for them…Wano held too many memories and too many faces they knew too well.

No matter the scorn, the loss of honor, they had to leave now or lose their chance.

“Wano is a closed country after all.”

"So it is," Komurasaki agreed. "But perhaps you can find a sword that shares your restless longing, and mine."

O-Kiku walked a little closer to her with a soft hum. 

“That's been my hope, Komurasaki.” Her voice dropped low, and quiet. “What better place to find spirits of restless longing than the graves of the heroes, perhaps? Perhaps one of them still dreams of something more than the shores of Wano…” 

"I was thinking the same," she nodded. "Perhaps we should light a candle and pray and see what spirits speak to you."

With a firm nod, O-Kiku rested a hand atop her head instead of the shoulder. 

“A plea for a companion, and a proper goodbye to Wano….this one would be overjoyed to have you with her for it.” 

She put her hand on her arm in return. "And so you shall."

-

Surrounded by the graves of heroes, O-Kiku prayed. She’d donned her mask, the fearsome and demonic visage complimenting Komurasaki’s vulpine smile as the two knelt in the snow with the fragile flame from the candle flickering between them.

The pleasant conversation between them had died the moment they arrived, as O-Kiku bathed in the reverence of the final resting place of so many warriors. Swords, as many as they had salvaged from the failed initial raid on Onigashima…and those that had never been touched…lay against gravestones in a sea of memory.

O-Kiku had respected them her whole life..these warriors who gave even their lives for their people and their honor. She only hoped that they would respect her in this final moment on Wano and her wish to see beyond it.

She prayed to them, whispered words of her respect and her offer to the spirits of the deceased.

“I will take you to the ends of the sea and beyond, I will wield your sword honorably even in my profession…I will give you a grand adventure befitting your sacrifice.”

The candle flame flickered between them, and for a moment it felt as hopeless as O-kiku expected the endeavor to be. Nothing more than a sweet goodbye to the warriors of Wano, and her old life.

She’d looked up to Komurasaki with a smile to tell her it was time to leave when she saw it— a flickering green-blue flame that danced among the graves like the fire of some strange yokai. 

Komurasaki's head turned toward the sight as well, and she gestured cautiously toward it, watching in curiosity and wonder. She remained silent– perhaps breathless.

O-Kiku stood, dusting the snow off her kimono before she wandered closer to the dancing flame in silence as it wove through the old graves towards a forgotten corner further from the central shrine. It came to rest above a sheathed sword standing tall over its master’s grave.

Its sheath was worn, but the painted design of snow drifting off bare branches was visible still. Its pale blue grip was capped in white iron, and a circular tsuba shaped like a snowflake’s branched fractals.

She bent down as the flame circled the sword and lifted it into both hands, her eyes lingering on the grave. ‘Ritsu the Frozen Demon’ it read, and O-Kiku remembered the legends of a deadly swordsman who’s blade was said to bite as cold as the heart of winter, leaving frostbite in its wake. He was a hero of early Wano who stood up for the poor in the northern districts before being driven to the mountains. A man with a sense of adventure, who’d earned his moniker both for the deadly skill with his sword— but for his often indifferent spirit against common norms and propriety.

She slowly unsheathed the blade , eyes trailing over the pristine edge– as sharp as the day it was driven into the dirt over its master’s body. There wasn’t a spot of rust or damage, the hamon standing out to her eyes in a strangely angular pattern that defied the usual wave. 

Komurasaki had stood, and shadowed behind her watching in a breathless awe as the moment lingered. O-Kiku could tell that as far as Komurasaki was concerned, there could be no doubt. They'd found what they'd come for. A sword that asked to be taken.

O-Kiku sheathed the blade cleanly, and used its cord to tie it to her hip before clapping her hands in prayer and bowing to the grave with a murmured thanks.

“This one will carry your blade with the bearing of a samurai and the soul of a pirate.” She murmured to him. “Thank you.”

The spirit flame flickered before settling down into the gravestone and vanishing, the weight of the sword resting heavy…contentedly…against her hip as she placed the old red scabbard of her prior life upon the grave in its stead.

“Goodbye, Wano.” she whispered with her fingers curled against the grip of her new blade…’Yuki-onna’. 

-

By the time the last fingers of the sunset faded away on Wano the night before the great celebration, Yamato found himself aboard the Thousand Sunny. Some of the crew were staying behind in the guesthouses until the morning, so that suspicion wasn't aroused, but Luffy at least had declared that he at least wouldn't spend another night on the island, and had been excitedly showing him around the ship.

Yamato didn’t have much to his name— most of it, the scraps he did own, had been tossed in the crew's quarters as he followed Luffy around with his hands behind his head and a big smile on his face.

It was an impressive ship. He’d never seen anything like it besides his old man’s ships, and even then he’d never been allowed on board.

Luffy pushed open another door in the belly of the ship and showed him to a large half-circle room, one side of which was dominated by beds and lockers. The other half was styled as a common area with a recessed sofa pit and a traditional fireplace.

"All the men sleep in the same room," Luffy said. "Is that going to be okay?"

Yamato rubbed the back of his neck with a lopsided grin. 

“We all shared the same bath, didn’t we? Doesn’t bother me if it don’t bother you! Hell...” He peeked around the room with a curious grin, especially at the strange little sofa pit and the fireplace. “The rare moments I wasn't sleepin’ alone in the elements I was sleeping in cramped crew or prisoner’s quarters.” 

Luffy clapped Yamato around the waist and grinned widely, his big, guileless smile.. "Great! I mean, not great about prisoners quaterst, but, you know. Anyway, we have a lot of fun!"

Yamato laughed, slipping his arm companionably over Luffy’s shoulders. 

“I bet you do. I mean. Look at this place, it ain’t like anything the old man ever had around…” He crept towards the pit of sofas, “and with a crew like yours every day’s gotta be….it’s gotta be amazing. Lively, right? That’s the word?” 

"I've heard Nami call it worse," Luffy laughed, following after him. The bouncy captain catapulted himself into the cushioned pit and motioned for Yamato to join him.

Yamato almost hesitated, but his excitement won out as he dropped himself down onto the plush cushions of the pit. “...so what’s this thing for? Gathering around and tellin’ stories?” 

"Yeah, basically!" Luffy grinned, flopping his feet on the table. "And drinking, and hanging around, and making out and stuff."

“Huh!” Yamato grinned as he settled his way into the cushions. 

“Yeah that all sounds like a lot of fu—” He blinked slowly, somewhere in his brain the last part of Luffy’s sentence finally clicked as he turned a slight pink and asked. “...makin’ out?” 

Luffy's bright smile took on an only very slightly embarrassed air to it, and he rubbed the back of his neck. "I guess that hasn't really come up yet, huh?"

What exactly hadn't come up yet was far from completely clear, and admittedly Yamato wasn’t exactly sure what it meant. It was something he’d heard before, talked about among some of the outsider Beast Pirates and the ladies of the evening who assisted Maria in her pleasure house.

It absolutely had something to do with sex.

“I just ain’t sure exactly what it means,” Yamato chuckled embarrassedly. “I mean! Oden would know! And I am Oden so obviously I do, but I kinda…forgot what that phrase means, I guess?” 

Luffy blinked at him slowly, and seemed to be taking stock. Yamato felt like he could see the gears in Luffy's head have difficulty turning the same way it felt like his own were.

"...making out?" he asked, hesitantly.

Yamato’s lips twitched into a wider smile as he shrugged his shoulders.

“Yeahhh…. not exactly a turn of phrase that Wano uses a lot, captain. But I heard some of the Beast Pirates saying it…” He trailed off before he leaned closer and asked “it’s a sex thing, right? I’m on the right track?” 

"Yeah, like, it's… you know the stuff you do before sex, usually. Like, kissing, and touching and sitting in each other's laps, and stuff," Luffy said, wiggling his toes in his sandals. He looked Yamato over curiously, seeming rather embarrassed, or self-conscious. "Is that… have you done any of that before now?"

“Ahhhh…” Yamato nodded, tucking his long hair over his ear with a slight flush of his face “I mean…I’ve had sex before. Me and Ace, back when we met; we got real close real fast. I’ve done all of that, just didn’t know the name.”

He grinned at Luffy, still flushed red. 

Luffy brightened considerably at that. "Oh! You and Ace! I thought you might have, which was why I was surprised," he nodded, seeming satisfied as his own flush faded and he relaxed into the cushions. "Yeah, it's called making out. All the stuff up to having sex. Well. I've heard Sanji call it 'heavy petting' before but that just makes me think of Carrot."

He babbled on, now with seemingly zero self-consciousness.

“Well sorry I surprised ya! No..I’ve had sex. Woulda had more but ah, things weren’t so great for me in that regard ‘cause of my training” he laughed brightly , leaning towards him with a big grin. Thankfully, with Luffy’s weirdly seriously stare dispersed into his usual cheerful babbling away Yamato was already feeling less flustered and put on edge

“heavy petting huh? Yeah, that just reminds me of the mink too honestly. ‘Garchu’, right?” 

"Garchu!" Luffy grinned. "Exactly! So, um, my crew and I do that stuff a lot. You don't have to or anything."

Yamato shifted in the cushions as he turned that over in his head. He’d gotten a little of that sense when he met Ace, the way he talked about sex seemed like, or at least close to, the same kind of casual intimacy that Luffy claimed happened on his crew.

He still remembered that firelit night by the sea when he and Ace had allowed the walls between them to crumble for a night— he’d missed it. The feeling of being that close with someone. He missed Ace too, but…

He redirected his thoughts.

In Wano things were complicated. Too many people still saw him as the ‘Oni Princess’ no matter how many times even his bastard father tried beating it into them to remember. The others, the ones who did respect who he was in his heart all worked for his mother in the pleasure house, making trips there awkward to say the least. All of that was in the little time he actually had for things like that between his training and his imprisonments.

Here…maybe they weren’t quite so complicated for once.

He grinned with his hands under his chin. “But d’ya think I could…? If you guys do that a lot…can I be a part of it?” 

"Of course!" Luffy declared blithely, leaning toward him with a wide grin. "If you want to, there's no way we'd leave you out. I sure wouldn't."

Luffy let his body fall, collapsing over Yamato's knees and looking up at him impishly.

Yamato looked down at him with a fang-filled smile, one of his sharp-nailed hands brushing through his hair as he tilted his head in a way he knew was a bit ‘doggish’.

“Is this how you welcome every new member of your crew?” 

Luffy's normally guileless smile turned from subtly impish to outright sly. He reached up and wrapped his lengthened arms around Yamato's shoulders.

"Yeah, kinda, honestly."

Yamato felt his face flush again, but he reached down and scooped Luffy closer with a smirk of his own. 

“Looks like I might have picked the right crew, then. There wasn’t anything about this in Oden’s journals, so I’m guessin’ it isn’t typical. But it does sound more fun.” 

Luffy pulled himself closer, and knelt himself upward on Yamato's knees, putting them face to face, grinning widely.

"I donno, I don't think Nami puts this stuff in her journal either."

Yamato let his arms wrap around his new captain’s waist, settling him firmly against his lap as he met his eyes. “...you know that’s a good point. I put my experience with Ace in mine though…I’ll probably put anything else there too. Even this.” 

Luffy's grin went sharp again. "That doesn't bother me at all."

-

[thelediz]

Sonic Underground Episode 20: When in Rome

I’m watching Sonic Underground in search of inspiration to finish a fic I’ve been writing forever. It’s a sad state of affairs. See the recap of the first three episodes here, if you're interested!

The plot (for want of a better word): The Oracle of Delphius sends the triplets to another world under the control of an evil Roman emperor. But this time, the Sonic Underground has to save the day without their powers! Can they find their inner strength to save this other world, and learn something about themselves while they’re at it?

Not gonna lie, I mostly picked the image above because it embodies my general feeling about this episode, unfortunately. Manic speaks to my soul.

So this episode does not open with Aleena’s voice over, and does remind us that as much as they complain, Sonia and Manic do kind of expect Sonic to handle everything in an emergency because they’re not only insisting he get them through a ‘forty-foot' thick door, but also run them away from the bad guys when they’re surrounded. This is all fine in the moment, but it does make me raise my eyebrow when they complain about him in other episodes.

Apparently this is the third mission that’s failed recently. It leads to Sonic having a well-deserved vent session about how they’re not getting anywhere. Sonia, who is apparently the optimistic one this episode, suggests they go see the Oracle.

The omniscient oracle doesn’t know why they’re here though. I don’t actually mind the Oracle, mostly because I think he’s screwing around with everyone for funsies and/or fate, but you do have to roll your eyes at him.

The triplets rightfully ask him to, you know, help out. He offers to share some of his knowledge if they go help some people in another world. He does not tell them they have to do this without their medallions.

NOW. Here’s the thing about this episode. They leave their medallions behind, sure, but they also lose all their powers, including Sonic’s speed, which has never before and will never again be implied to have anything to do with his medallion. I make too much of this in my head. In universe, we just accept and move on.

Manic is in the new world for less than a minute before he runs afoul of this world’s Dingo and gets himself arrested. He does it for heroic reasons, but still.

Sonia also manages about the same amount of time (in her defence, she got dropped in the middle of the highly restricted palace), but this is also where we discover the triplets have lost their powers because Sonia can’t defend herself (Manic never can, remember, so his capture is less shocking).

Meanwhile, Sonic is on the outskirts of the city, and trips over himself when he tries to run. Because apparently his actual power is coordination, not speed. But the point is that he can’t get away when he’s approached and is asked for papers. So they’re all immediately captured.

The Song: Where there’s a will (there’s a way), which is just so ridiculously 90s, with the rap, and the funky ‘whoa’ and the bass, and the appropriate music video cuts and camera angles and yep. Yep, it’s… circa ’93, if I had to place it.

 And we meet this episode’s version of Sleet, who is some kind of Caligula or Roman Prince John or something, who knows what they’re actually going for. The point is he’s all for raising taxes and anti-music and who knows what else. The world building is not great this episode.

As punishment for playing music, Sonic is sent to serve as a gladiator who were the first celebrities, Manic is made a jester which was actually quite a high station and Sonia is made the emperor’s hand maiden which was a role only filled by minor nobles in medieval society and has always been a high serving role. This allows them to use all their personal skills to escape. Which are, in order, Sonic’s silver tongue (by teaching the guy threatening him how to pick up girls), Manic’s sleight of hand, and Sonia’s (irrational) political savvy.

Side note, Sonic, you have not shown any romantic or sexual interest in this entire series and you never will, do not pretend like you are good at picking up. You aren’t. Girls like you because you are sweet and comforting, guys become obsessed with you because you’re heroic and have a nice smile. It is NOTHING to do with you being slick.

Manic, on the other hand, really likes this world’s princess Lydia. This will not be a thing, it’s just a blink-and-you-miss it Manic-has-feelings reminder while we introduce this world’s real imperial family.

So while Sonic’s trying to teach the gladiator centaur-minotaur-thing swag, Sonia and Manic have been thrown to the lions. With spears. One could make too much of this. Sonia is not concerned, however, because she’s convinced that if the crowd that have come to watch her die a gory death via lions will see their rightful ruler, they will rebel. Because divine right or something. The world building is not great in this episode.

After some implication that his ability to pick any kind of lock is part of his medallion’s power (yes I make too much of this), Manic gets them out of the lion pit, they meet up with Sonic and the centaur-minotaur-thing, and they run to save Lydia’s father.

For some reason, Sonia’s divine right theory is proven correct. And the centaur-minotaur-thing is actually the Oracle of Delphius in disguise, and declares them announcing the emperor’s return as the right outcome. He returns their magic, and Sonia immediately uses it to get rid of emperor Sleet.

We end on a new prophecy: “You will rejoin Queen Aleena and become the Council of Four: destined to defeat Robotnik, if you are true to yourselves and your powers. And if your hearts never lose faith.” And an image of a multi-tiered… building... thing… that will supposedly be a sign of where they need to go.

I give the whole episode some serious side-eye, because this was clearly supposed to be An Important Episode, narratively (and it’s even the half-way point!), but it… mostly was a mess.

So appropriate to the Trashfire then!

Okay, so… I don’t like the idea of rewriting things to improve them, but I’ll give you a quick rundown of how I think the same story could have been told more effectively. The point was that the triplets aren’t the rightful rulers because they have magic medallions, it’s because they have inner abilities that make them good leaders. And granted, when you have three main characters, that is very difficult to SHOW in 20 minutes, let alone with 90 seconds spent on a musical number. But still. Let’s outline the things that actually make them good royalty:

Sonic (underneath his impatience and attitude) is heroic and kind

Sonia is politically and business savvy

Manic… has not actually shown any good leadership traits in the series so far, but he’s implied to be the most emotional, honest, and caring of the three.

So in theory, these should have been the things highlighted in this episode through an act of self-sacrifice by Sonic, some emotional connection with people by Manic, and some manipulation of Sleet by Sonia. Lydia could have been trapped in the dungeon with them, Manic could have sung her a song about not giving up hope. The centaur-thing could have been in the dungeon and Sonic could have told everyone to run while he fends off certain death alone. Sonia could have demanded to speak to Sleet and found some legal loophole that meant he never should have become emperor, or that Sleet had used underhanded means to dethrone the old one, or some actual and legitimate reason for the people to stop backing him.

As it was, it was just a weird sort of… ‘yeah, you’re going to get the throne back because you’re supposed to be the ruling class’ thing and it’s… it’s weird. Awkward and weird and…

Anyway. Anyway… we move on.

[fuckyeahdindjarin]

alright i’m trying this again because tumblr’s an ah

you reblogged a gifset a few days ago (that scene where joel asks for tommy’s gun because “maria took mine you know 😔” and it gave me a few ideas over joel and maria’a relationship.

it’s definitely a very complex one, they’re both very wary of one another and they have strong personalities so it’s an issue when they both want to impose what they think is right. but either way, they try, they’re civil towards each other for the sake of tommy.

also i feel like they’re both respectful just because they know how much the other means to tommy. maria has her reasons not to trust joel but she’s heard from countless stories that it’s always been joel and tommy against the world whether it was before the o it break or right after. and joel can’t deny how happy his brother looks with his wife.

so yeah, a lot of respect but it will never go over cordiality. but then they both have one very important thing in common which i feel like it would lead them to bond at some point: they both know the pain of losing your own child. of course everyone in the post-outbreak world has a sense of loss, everyone has lost somebody but it’s different. tommy and ellie can relate on some level because they’ve lost people too but even if tommy mourns for sarah, it’s always gonna be different than the way joel mourns for her. and it’s something maria can understand a little bit more. yes, she has never known sarah and has no connection to her apart from the stories she’s heard but she knows all too well the pain of a parent having their own child taken from them so violently.

so maybe joel’s depressed because sarah’s death anniversary (or whatever) is coming around and neither ellie or tommy can do anything. there’s nothing to say, nothing to do so they just…try to give him space (and knowing joel, he’s probably shutting himself off even more during that time). of course, he tries to power through, act all tough and drown his sorrows in alcohol. and tommy’s worried, he knows joel, he’s still traumatized from the events that followed sarah’s death and it ends up reaching maria. he shares his worries, tells her that joel acts tough and like he’s handling it even when he’s falling apart. he doesn’t say all that thinking maria would do something about it, it’s more a “this is really worrying me and i need to vent a little”

but maria finds joel one night. maybe they all had dinner together, joel stepped outside while tommy and ellie got out some board game and maria prepared some coffee for everyone. she goes to joel, just to give him the coffee but instead of leaving she stays, she’s unsure and it’s a little bit awkward because what is she supposed to say?

but still, she finds a way to introduce the topic. she talks about kevin and joel can see that pain he feels reflecting in her eyes. it’s a shock, something unexpected because it’s the first time since tess that he feels truly understood.

she isn’t just maria—his sister-in-law he pretty much tolerated—she’s a mother who lost her child just as violently as he lost his and she knows, she understands that suffering he can’t put words on because no words in any language ever are enough to describe it.

it’s pretty quiet, the kind of moment where two people are comforting one another just by being here. but it definitely changes things. they both soften, realizing that they’re not the walls they put up in order to survive and they can somehow rely on the other to understand the pain.

from that one night, it evolves. probably more quiet nights, some where they talk a little— maria mentions her fears as a new mother, joel shares how terrified he is that ellie ends up like sarah— and although they’re not best friends by the end of it, they still care immensely about one another. they’re family after all 🥹

Sweet anon, did you just - drop a heartachingly gentle and brilliant incisive look into Joel and Maria's relationship with no warning at all? Not even a peep of a warning??

This was so beautifully thought out and analysed. I am in awe and I have no notes - you captured that antagonism and complexity between those two so well. Thank you for sharing this, I haven't written much of Maria into Seams so far, and when I do, I can only hope I'll be able to capture the dynamics half as well as you did ❤️

[meatriarchived]

post 5+ hr power nap thoughts on the What If au :

after recovering in the hospital - weeks being under the care and eyes of the doctors and nurses, rightfully flabbergasted by the wounds throughout her body - maria never shows up on campus again. she's effectively dropped out on her lack of return without notice.

the rumors that go around, the stares at what scars she retains, the questions - she simply cannot handle dealing with it.

she nearly had a collapsed lung ( why she struggled to keep up with the others; once wrong move, another attack and it would've been her end ), multiple fractures and some bones broken. her body is littered by blade scars and gashes; most notably the one at her ribs that just missed her right lung, and the other the layers of skin that Thomas had cut from her when he was beginning to prepare her for food. the scarring on her arm and thigh from that is rather gruesome still, having not properly healed.

due to the conditions of the basement, the tools and knives used on them all, since one of them was so close internally, she had complications while admitted due to constant infections springing up ( the dirt and blood and contamination of even Thomas' sewing up her worse wounds caused her stay to go longer ).

if anyone else but her perished:

she stays holed up in her place for a long while. barely contacting anyone, besides ana's insistence on calling or swinging by as often as possible to check up on her ( if alive ).

the survivors' guilt sits in her gut heavy. she knows its her fault that they got into the mess they did, and then someone else paid for that? unforgivable.

she's scared to see the others. scared to see the remnants of their desperate fights with the family, of how their demeanor and personalities have probably changed; scared that she'd catch a glimpse of blame in their eyes for the loss they suffered ( she's still trying to wipe and scratch the blood off her hands, it won't go away no matter how raw she peels her skin- )

when they do finally meet up all together once again, maria's smile struggles to reflect in her eyes like before. attempts of laughter feel hollow, and she feels so strangely lost - like she isn't meant to be there in that moment.

eventually, once she knows that ana is secure and set up in a place on her own, that she can manage on her own, maria packs up her apartment late into the night, loads up her car, and disappears.

she leaves a note for ana this time; letting her know that shes fine, that she simply needs a change of environment. that she'll call when she's gotten settled - which she keeps her word to do ( to ensure ana doesn't feel compelled to rally the troops again. )

she could be found far away from texas, up in the pacific north west - in a small home, isolated and deep set just out of town surrounded by trees.

the grounds are surrounded by tall fence and wall, with a heavy, creaking gate that screeches when even the wind blows against it too hard.

she takes in two dogs - large breeds, protection bred deep in their genetics - who wander the property and home. bred to kill if needed.

the bit of woodland she lives in is gloomy and eerie; with thick heavy fogs that roll in daily, with rather consistent rain showers and overcast skies clouding the view of the sun. she remembers once wanting a little cottage somewhere out in the woods; somewhere bright and warm and full of color. ( deep in the back of her mind she feels she doesn't deserve such peace. )

she owns a shotgun and revolver, both kept loaded and hidden but in easy-to-find and get to places. ( she's had to point them at people before; people who tried coming through her gate. the dogs now handle those instances. )

she hasn't picked up a camera in years. and she left all but one of her albums at ana's.

the below reflects if the group have long since lost contact with one another; effectively, leaving maria on her own.

warning for mentions of m/ental health struggles.

its easy to lose track of time when half of it is spent staring blankly ahead. days pass maria by with little warning at times, and often does she lose track so badly that a month or two has passed and she cannot recall what happened in the previous weeks.

her sleep paralysis worsens, and she's plagued by shadowed creatures that loom over, embodiments of the horrors she faced, of the guilt she feels; taunting her as her body is incapable of moving, just like she had been all that time ago back on the butcher table in the basement.

the panic as she fights her own body to move, the flashes of recollections of sneers and laughter in her face by the family. when she gets over her bodys' temporary paralysis she is struggling to breath - lungs hitching tightly, unable to catch herself to ease into a sliver of normal rhythm again. and god, shes' exhausted. and just when she feels like she can finally take in a proper gulp of air - she's sobbing and fucking up all that progress again.

maria, over time, simply grows too numb and tired. she's become nothing like how she used to be, she doesn't feel that she could ever come close to that version of her again. and the guilt continues to eat away what little is still left of her.

[fantasy-fields-danger-zone]

UnderCult Goner kid Bitty

Name: Guide

Size: 4 - 6 inches tall(mini), 1 - 1'6 feet tall(fullsize)

Personality: Mysterious, soft-spoken, wise, enigmatic, calm, contemplative

Au: UnderTale

Likes: Reflecting on abstract or philosophical concepts, Guiding lost or uncertain followers, Symbols, runes, cryptic messages, Glowing objects or dimly lit spaces, Observing rather than directly interfering, Sharing fragmented but profound wisdom, Quiet contemplation with their followers, Stars, the void, celestial themes, Protecting sacred knowledge and truths, Subtle, ritualistic punishments for transgressors, Dream-like surreal spaces

Dislikes: Loud or aggressive followers, Direct or forceful leadership styles, Being rushed or pressured, Dogmatic or overly rigid beliefs, Careless handling of sacred or hidden knowledge, Followers who ignore subtle signs or messages, False prophets or deceptive cult leaders, Bright lights (they find them disorienting), Being seen as weak or fragile, Losing access to the knowledge they safeguard,

Compatibility: These bitties actually can see into the future, which is why they're a cult leader! They wish for others to know their knowledge! Too bad the future is ever changing and and not set in stone, and their cryptic way of talking doesn't help either-

They work best in quiet, reflective cults that focus on wisdom, knowledge, and understanding.

They bond with patient, curious, or philosophical followers, guiding them with cryptic yet meaningful wisdom.

They struggle in chaotic or militant cults, feeling out of place and overwhelmed.

They clash with aggressive or forceful leaders, preferring subtle influence over direct confrontation.

Guide is compatible with enigmatic or contemplative leaders, such as Partisan, appreciating their focus on knowledge.

Despite their reserved nature, they care deeply for their followers, offering comfort through gentle words.

They often counsel uncertain or lost cult members, providing cryptic but valuable guidance.

Their presence brings an air of mystery, making them respected and somewhat feared.

While not a combatant, Guide uses subtle punishments (isolation, cryptic warnings) to discipline followers.

They value insight over power, making them effective spiritual advisors.

In cults centered around forbidden or obscure knowledge, Guides thrive as a keeper of hidden truths.

Feeding habits: They gravitate toward fruits, subtle flavors, and visually delicate foods. They dislike overly rich or heavy meals.

They sometimes "forget" to eat, too caught up in their contemplative musings.

They may ritualistically fast when seeking deeper insight.

Additional info: Like all leader bitties they need at least 3-8 followers around to be happy, they need their followers!

No leader bitty is allowed to forcefully convert followers at the center! They can however punish for one trying to leave if they so choose,

Zone: Inside,

In Universe: They're seen as cryptic but useful bitties, and are common for bitty napping due to their future sight,

Difficulty: Basic

Sacred ideals:The pursuit of hidden or forbidden knowledge, The value of subtlety and patience, Guidance through symbols, riddles, and visions, The sanctity of secrets and mysteries,

Sacred items: Runes and cryptic symbols, Fragments of glass or crystal (representing fractured knowledge), Faintly glowing stones or relics, Veiled or obscured artifacts, Books or scrolls containing incomplete or partial truths,

Sacred concepts: The unknown and the forgotten, Secrets symbols and hidden meanings, The ethereal and the void, Silence and subtlety, Reflection and inner truth,

[indyflanery]

maegor the cruel — [fire and steel over words.]   how is my muses temper?   how do they handle having power and desiring vengeance?   do they offer mercy, or do they give no quarter?

the old king; jaehaerys — [time and prosperity.]     in their life so far, how has time, age and wisdom (or the lack thereof) helped or hindered them?  what lessons have they learned in their life thus far?  how do they feel about growing old, and the legacy they will leave behind?

aemond one-eye — [loss defining the person.]    what is a loss that people know them for; whether physical or otherwise?   how has this loss defined how they see themselves and how they live their life?   how has it influence the way they are perceived?

maegor the cruel — Indy's temper is terrible. He's prickly and things set him off at his young adult stage easier than they do when he's older. That being said, he's not one for desiring power, he's more interested in knowledge. So, he's more likely to offer some form of mercy unless it's a completely evil situation to deal with, like Nazis.

the old king; jaehaerys — So far, his knowledge base is higher than average for his age, mainly thanks to his father. Having an intensive regiment of study left him with the ability to more easily travel and interact with different cultures and taking lessons from the past to be able to apply to any current circumstances. He's learned a lot of lessons the hard way, becoming more in touch with the real world than he was before he decided to go see it. But Indy's not really thinking about growing old right now. He's more for living in the moment, but he's sure anything he leaves behind in terms of a legacy will be memorable that's for sure.

aemond one-eye — Every one knows that he lost his mom young and it profoundly shaped the way he views the world. Unfortunately, he will eventually be known as a bit cold and detached, a very matter of fact cynic who still holds a tiny bit of romantic sentiment deep down. He was already reckless to begin with before his mom died, but he becomes a lot more determined to live the best life possible and to not stand still. Unfortunately, without the emotional support from his dad, who varies himself in work, he becomes gradually more closed off. Especially when he loses more people, including a fiance and a barely married wife in separate incidents.