#not sure how i feel about this chapter

[theinternetisaweboflies]

Gates to Heck Chapter Five

Teru had been trudging along the raised bunds of the rice paddy for what felt like at least a half a kilometer, but the fields that stretched out ahead of him seemed infinite. The only light came from the stars overhead, which were shining brightly without the city’s light pollution. He must have teleported all the way to Furikake Village, the agricultural municipality north of Seasoning City, near the border of Flavor Prefecture. 

“Good evening, Kaijin,” the voice came from directly behind him, “or should I say Hanazawa-kun?”

Teru whipped around to see a man standing a couple of bunds down, his feet dry, and his smile ominous.

“Your aura was too depleted to track until now. I only felt it for a moment, but I would know it anywhere. Do you really not recognize me?”

Teru laughed because he really hadn't until then. Final Dog had been the last target in his anti-terrorist speedrun, and by the night he confronted them, he was running on nothing but fumes and canned coffee. There had been too many auras swirling together into a rat king of raw energy for Teru to recognize one he hadn’t encountered since he was ten years old. 

"Well, to be entirely fair, my head was in a bucket for most of our introduction,” said Teru.

Teru hadn't learned how to waterboard someone from Saturday morning anime. He had learned it the hard way, in his own cramped apartment bathroom, while a man who called himself Shiro-san asked Teru if he knew any other espers. 

Shiro-san didn't believe him when he said no.

Shiro-san hadn’t been part of the Fab Five or even the Seventh Division’s upper echelon. He was just some unscarred member of middle-management that Teru had never seen again. 

“You bailed before the Seventh Division went down, huh?” asked Teru. “Did you get fired, or did you just feel like they couldn’t help you reach your full potential as a sadistic asshole?”

“I could see the writing on the wall,” said Shiro-san. 

“Pretty sure that was blood,” said Teru, inspecting his chipped nail polish. 

“The Seventh Division’s leadership was too weak,” said Shiro-san. “Ishiguro couldn't even put a brat like you in timeout.”

Teru didn’t think he could talk his way out of this one. He wasn’t Reigen. He just needed to keep Shiro-san talking long enough to come up with a plan. There was no way he had enough energy for another teleport. He was pretty sure if he tried to put up a barrier right now it would be about as strong as a Pringle. 

Teru had been in better shape when he was ten years old, and he’d still lost that fight. 

Shiro-san had used Teru’s own T-shirt and bath bucket to waterboard him. He hung Teru by his ankles with telekinesis, pulled the collar of his Sailor Moon T-shirt down (or up, from Teru’s point of view) until it covered his nose, and doused his face with water. 

It went up his nose. Teru let out a reflexive gasp and let in even more water. It felt like he’d inhaled hydrochloric acid instead. Everything between his nasal cavity and his lungs was searing with a pain unlike he had ever experienced. 

The third time Shiro-san pulled back the T-shirt for an interrogation break, Teru had bitten down as hard as he could. Shiro-san had been using his hands, because his powers were occupied with the restraints, and he wasn’t a skilled enough esper to multitask. Teru tasted blood before he had to unclench and hack it up, along with what felt like a liter of water. 

Shiro-san released him. Teru lashed out with an uncoordinated blast of energy and bugged the fuck out of there, booking it to his closest bolthole. He didn’t go back to his apartment for over a month.

“I seem to recall giving you some trouble too,” said Teru.  

Shiro-san flipped him off, and Teru saw the stump of an index finger that he had bitten in half four years ago. 

He hadn’t been able to eat raw carrots for years after that. Thank god for broccoli or Teru would probably have scurvy by now. 

Teru laughed airily. “Final Dog’s leadership doesn’t seem to be much of an improvement.”

Shiro-san did not laugh. He clicked his tongue in a way that suggested he had been involved in Final Dog’s leadership. “Well, you know what they say: Third time’s the charm.”

“So that’s when I’ll stop you for good?” 

Now he laughed. “What makes you think you’ll live that long?”

So much for keeping him talking. 

“I would have killed you already,” said Shiro-san, “but I think you deserve to suffer a little bit first.”

“Is this like a kink of yours?”

“I don’t want to waste time with your government watchdog sniffing around for me,” said Shiro-san. “So the question is: How to hurt you as much as possible in the least amount of time?” 

Teru could already feel his heart rate ramp up at the simple implication that there might be something worse than waterboarding. He tried to mitigate the panic by taking deep breaths. While he still could. 

“I think it would only be fair if you lost at least a finger,” said Shiro-san. “but I know from experience that adrenaline numbs the pain, and you won’t be alive long enough for it to wear off.”

“Are you still hung up on that?” asked Teru. “Sorry. I thought you were jealous of the Scars.”

Shiro-san snapped his fingers, or what was left of them. “I’ve got it! I’ll tell you a story.”

“Why don’t we ta- Huh?”

Teru couldn’t believe it. Shiro-san was actually going to do a villain monologue. Probably about his tragic backstory.

“I’m going to tell you a story about a little boy and a big organization.” 

Shiro san gestured when he talked, but it was always with his right hand, like he was trying to draw attention to the missing finger. It was a cheap intimidation tactic that probably worked better on someone who hadn’t bitten it off. 

“The organization was looking for psychics. This was before they had to keep a low profile, so they could recruit publicly. They put up flyers and went door to door, inviting people to join their noble cause. They didn’t find many psychics that way, but even normies could prove useful with a little… help. One day, they knocked on the door of a very nice couple with a very naughty son.”

The panic had gone, or at least it had gone somewhere far away. Everything seemed very far away, even Shiro-san, who was still talking. 

“The couple didn’t care much about the organization’s agenda, but they were interested in its psychic training program. The couple ended up changing their minds, but by then the little boy had caught the organization’s attention.”

Sometimes Teru wondered how Claw found out about him, but he had always assumed it was his fault. After all, Shigeo slipped under their radar by barely using his powers. It was Teru’s dependence on his powers for everything from skipping rope to making friends that had attracted the attention of the terrorists who targeted him for most of his formative years. That was what he got for showing off.  

It made sense. 

So did Shiro-san’s story.

Shiro-san clapped his hands. “Okay! Looks like that did the trick. Goodbye, Hanazawa-kun.”

Teru’s feet were pulled out from under him. He tried to catch himself, but his arms were pinned tightly to his side by psychic restraints that he was still too weak to break. 

He couldn’t go through this again. It was still the most painful thing he had ever experienced, his second-most recurring nightmare after choking out Shigeo. Teru still couldn’t shower for more than fifteen minutes without having to do some serious breathing exercises afterwards, which would have torpedoed his haircare routine if it weren’t for leave-in conditioner.

Teru had attempted to replicate Shiro-san’s torture technique when he helped Shigeo storm Claw’s Seventh Division to save Outoto-kun.

An eye for an eye. That was what Teru told himself, but he hadn’t been able to go through with it. He ended up dunking Terada’s head in a bucket a couple of times, never for more than a few seconds, and never with a cloth over his face. Terada had been able to hold his breath. It was still torture, but it wasn’t waterboarding.

It was, however, a much faster way to kill someone if that was the desired result. 

It was also easier to keep your hands clear if they happened to be a biter.

Shiro-san lowered Teru face first into the dirty water of the rice paddy. Teru tried to turn his head, but no matter how much he craned his neck, the water still covered his mouth. This time there were no questions. There was no reprieve. The water was less than ten centimeters deep, and Teru was going to drown in  it.

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

Soup solves everything.

[rotthepoet]

Invisible String Theory (Anon!Slytherin Boy x Reader)

Chapter 4

warnings; NSFW, Stalking behavior, violence and self-inflicted injury(punching a wall), dumbification for like three sentences, some boys beef, reader has a panic attack, like kinda cliffhanger?

ﾟ+*:ꔫ:*﹤

To Whom It May Concern,

Please leave me alone. 

Regards.

The folded letter sits on the mantle of the Slytherin common room fireplace. It taunts me. The soft, orange flicker casts long shadows over the room. Like a kid expecting Saint Nick, I wait. Patiently. Even as my eyes drift shut, exhaustion claiming my body, I prevail. Just a glimpse. Just a moment of eye contact. To know, to see, to end. A yawn racks through my body, and I stretch my arms above my head, my back popping.

Pinned.

A shrill shriek escapes me when a strong grip pins my wrists together above my head, and as soon as the scream leaves my lips, I’m released. Panic surges through my body, goosebumps plaguing my skin with a cold shiver, I stand suddenly and whip around to find–

Theodore.

It’s just Theo.

He has a sheepish look on his face, and he moves around the couch to gently lead me back to sitting, settling in beside me. He watches me lean back against the overstuffed cushions, releasing a deep sigh of relief.

“I’m sorry, I thought it was going to be funny.”

“No, no, it was. I’m just on edge,” I assured him, and shut my eyes, just for a moment.

Nott rests a hand on my knee, a friendly gesture, as he starts to rub small, comforting circles on the skin. “It isn’t helpful to stay up and wait for… It. Let’s get you in bed,” He whispers, and I shake my head.

“Just a bit longer, it’s the principle of the matter,” I explain, sighing and opening my eyes again. My eyes lazily scan the common room, abnormally empty, which makes me wonder about the time. Theodore sighs beside me and clicks his tongue. He shakes his head at me and suddenly, his arms wrap underneath my knees and around my back, and I yelp as I’m lifted off the couch. I wrap my arms around Theodore for the safety of my life, kicking my legs in protest.

“Let’s get you to bed–”

“Am I interupting?”

Nott and I’s head both snap towards the sound of a new voice, and a tall body stands in the shadows. Theo’s grip tightens on me, and I can’t help but squeak as his fingers dig into the soft skin of my thighs. The figure steps forward, his hands in his pockets, built like an athlete with wide, strong shoulders. Silver light passes through the Black Lake into our windows, casting an otherworldly glow across his face, and onyx eyes meet mine. 

“Riddle, you scared me,” I let out a shaky breath, slowly dropping my leg to the floor despite Theodore’s best effort to hold onto me. Speaking of which, he looks particularly upset. Maybe he doesn’t like being scared as much as he likes to scare people. “Anyone else planning on jumping out tonight? So far, I have two-for-two,” I try to laugh, but it falls silent as I notice the electric glare between the two. Another spat, I assumed, nothing surprising despite their tight-knit friendship. 

“You aren’t writing back to him, right?” Mattheo asks me, glancing at the envelope on the mantelpiece. Sheepishly, I look away and rub my goosebump covered arm. “It isn’t really writing back to him if I’m asking him to leave me alone–” “Asking?” “Telling. Telling him to leave me alone.”

Theodore scoffs and his hand finds the small of my back. “Let’s go, it’s too late for this,” He suggests, but with the way he gently leads me away from Riddle leaves no room for argument. I cast a glance over my shoulder and mouth a good night, not wanting to further upset whatever Theodore is brooding over. 

“You shouldn’t talk to him anymore,” Theodore mutters, leading me to my dorm room.

“What?” I ask, brows furrowing at his comment, “Look, whatever petty little fight you two are having will blow over,” 

“Not this time,”

“You say that every time, Theo!” I groan in exasperation, “You can’t just tell me who to hang out with just because you’re mad at them!”

Nott grunts in frustration and drops his arm from my back, stopping in his tracks. “Fine. Since, you want to be stupid-”

“Stupid?”

“Did I stutter?” He snaps, and my stomach churns suddenly at his tone, “Since you want to be so stupid, you can figure this all out on your own. No, actually. Go to Riddle. See how far that gets you.” He practically snarls at me, his once welcoming eyes now an angry rapid waiting to drown me beneath its waters. His gaze is suffocating. Angry.

“Fine,” I snap right back at him, but my voice is more confident than I feel, “He’ll be more helpful than you!” 

A sickening crack. That’s all I heard as Nott slams his fist against the stone wall, and a gasp leaves my lips in pure shock. Loose rock crumbles to the floor, skidding across the dungeon floor.

Theodore grips his first, his chest heaving with labored breaths, and blood drips from his balled fist to the floor. Before I can say anything, he turns on his heel and stalks away, leaving me alone outside my door.

Anxiety and anger seep into my stomach, and my brows knit with frustration. I push open my door, scanning my room, and my stomach drops when I find a bouquet of fresh red roses laying atop a heart shaped box of what could only be chocolates. I turn on my heel, but Theo’s name gets caught on my lips as I try to call for him, and suddenly, I feel very, very unwell.

Shit.

ﾟ+*:ꔫ:*﹤

I sat next to Mattheo at breakfast out of spite. Maybe it’s petty, but as Mattheo rests his elbow comically against my shoulder, Theodore glares at us from across the table. Draco continues talking at Theodore, unaware of his complete lack of focus on the subject at hand. I make eye contact with him for a moment, just a moment, and it sends a cold chill down my spine.

My eye drifts down to Theo's wrapped fist and wrist, his fingers tapping rapidly on the wood of the table. His stormy eyes never leave me even as I turn my gaze away, Parkinson catching my attention with a call of my name. 

“You got mail,” Pansy hummed, passing out each morning parcel. My anxiety creeps back up my neck, and I swear I feel Theodore still staring at me as I carefully tear open a crisp envelope. My hands shake as I slowly pull the nauseatingly familiar paper out, now stained with a deep crimson, and I hold my breath as I open it.

~

To Whom It May Concern, My Darling Future Husband,

Please leave me alone. I’m so sorry for being an insufferable brat recently. I really miss you, and I love you.

Regards. Yours, even if I need my attitude fixed.

I want that written word for word in your next response, or I promise you won’t like what I do to you. This is your last warning.

Yours.

P.s. You aren’t thinking about taking this to the headmaster, are you? It wouldn’t work out for you, love. Don’t be stupid. I hate when you don’t use that clever little brain of yours. Although, I wonder what you would look like fucked dumb.

~

A sob catches in my throat and fear courses through my body. The letter itself reeks, metalic, copper. I curl over in place, feeling my heartbeat quicken exponentially as I wrap my arms around my own stomach. A wave of nausea washes over me like a tsunami, and tears fall from my eyes as they squeeze shut. 

The outside world drowns away, any commotion muffled into a distant buzz as my ears start to ring. I’m hyper aware of the hand placed on my back, and beyond the buzz I can almost make out the voices of the friends surrounding me. 

Hey.

My brain feels fuzzy, and it flickers from one worst case scenario to the other. Pins prick at my skin painfully, making tears fall harder from my eyes.

Hey. 

I try to steady my breathing, but I can’t help but gasp for air.

Hey.

Hey, Hey, Hey, Look at me, Look at me.

I don’t look though, I can’t look. My body feels too light as my thoughts drift away, and the last thing I feel is strong arms catching me as I fall over. 

[johnslittlespoon]

Tough And Sweet (Like You And Me)

Ch. 9/? – 'I Don't Want You To Go Away'

[WC: 122K | Gale Cleven/John Egan, College AU, The Bikeriders AU, Age Gap, Emotional Slowburn, Hurt/Comfort, Porn With Plot, Set in 2005]

College student John Egan ends up in an old pub on the other side of his small town, where he has a chance encounter with biker and mechanic Gale Cleven. Unconventional circumstances be damned, John is a lovesick fool.

[AO3 LINK]

[ink-the-artist]

“Social media has made this generation so narcissistic and self centered everyone’s always posting selfies and posting about everything they do during the day” shut up. The human desire to show you exist and you were here is innate and we’ve been doing it since the days we were leaving hand prints on cave walls

[tomaturtles]

IT'S KAWOSHIN DAY!!! As well as the last day of Kawoshin Week :') It's been such a blast, gonna miss it when it's over

Kawoshin Week Day 7: Cuddling/domestic fluff! + Sleepover and Spinoffs (again)! Based on the Campus Apocalypse sleepover chapter ☺️

[lienwyn]

Happy birthday, @a-very-fond-farewell! I figured you would enjoy seeing Mr. Abyss in a silly apron ;)

And Ga On be like: "DON'T MIND IF I DO"

... possibly connected to Who Holds the Devil, I guess, since Yo Han is cooking? The future we're all longing for, or something. Especially Ga On since he finally gets to bury his nose against Yo Han's neck like he's always wanted. That boy.

[bittasol]

clarazz are so strong if i was (vaguely in love with and) slightly possessive of my best friend and the whole world was obsessed with him (like i was) id crash out 😭

[kinokoshoujoart]

the coolest kids in forgotten valley!!☆

(…it seems there may have been a stretch of time where rock and lumina were the only kids in forgotten valley…🥲)

poseref

[devastatedloyallute]

Reunion :3 💗 Read my Guitarspear fic "Bigger Than The Whole Sky" on AO3!

@shinynewboots so tumblr shows you 😂

[lunarharp]

being attached to that moment qifrey held a baby one time and my ideas for the future :)

[shunin-gumis]

Designs of Happiness - Track A21

L4mps Main Story Translation

Title: As a Human Representative

Characters: Daniel, Nagi, Netaro

Summary: Daniel finds Nagi collapsed in the lounge area. Although Nagi did not reveal the reason for it, he had discovered Netaro’s true identity… 

Thank you aca @463ce6, myun @/myuntachis Niri @/Niri_riri and jes @/arcanecrayonn for helping me with proofing!

Location: Hakodate - Hotel Lounge

Daniel: Phew… This is pure bliss~ Saunas really are the best… 

Daniel: Huh?

Nagi: …… 

Daniel: Nagi, what’re you all sprawled out on the ground for? 

Nagi: …… 

Daniel: I get that it was too hot for you, but you're just gonna end up catching a cold if you do that right after a bath.

Nagi: …… 

Daniel: You could at least— Wait, is he knocked out!? 

Daniel: Nagi, you okay!? Get a hold of yourself! 

Nagi: Ugh… Buchi-san… 

Daniel: Good, at least you’re conscious. Did you get dizzy? 

*Netaro pops out from behind Nagi*

Netaro: I believe this is a minor case of anemia. 

Daniel: Woah– Damn, you scared me. Didn’t know you were here too. 

Netaro: Mhm.

Daniel: At least help him out instead of just sitting on your ass with popsicles in both hands!

Netaro: Nyam nyam. 

Daniel: Nagi, think you can stand?

Netaro: Can you~?

Nagi: …Oh, yeah. 

Daniel: What’s wrong? Was it really just anemia? 

Nagi: …… 

~~~(flashback)

Netaro: Hm… So be it. I was inclined to hold back for a while longer, but now that it’s come to this—

Netaro: You’ll have to suffice.

Nagi: *fearful breathing*

Nagi: (I feel like I’ve been struck with sleep paralysis— )

Netaro: You’re unable to move, aren’t you~ It seems the heat from the sauna has caused me to glitch, you see. 

Netaro: I cannot even mimic the human form at this moment… 

Nagi: (M-Mimic…?)

Netaro: Would you like to see my true form? I’m right beside you. 

Nagi: !?

Netaro: Those retinae of yours cannot retain my image, so I’m Invisible Netaro now.

Netaro: In accordance with Article 1156 of the Interstellar Constitution established by my planet, any local lifeform that learns of my true form is applicable to receive necessary information and given the opportunity to make a choice.

Netaro: At the same time, exceptional measures are to be taken in the event of the endangerment of an official investigator, such as myself.

Nagi: (????)

Netaro: I, Netaro Yowa, am an extraterrestrial lifeform from the planet “Proxima Centauri b,” designated as such by you earthlings. I have arrived here for the sake of a certain mission.

Netaro: As this mission is top secret, you will not be made aware of the details, even if you choose to follow Article 1156.

Netaro: My main goal is to conduct an investigation on the primary lifeform on this planet, the human race, at a military-level secret operation. However, in the event of an emergency, my life is to be prioritized over that of the local lifeform. 

Nagi: (W-Which means…?)

Netaro: In order to maintain my continued activities on this planet, as well as my mimicry of the human form, I need to intake a specific amount of adaptive factors within a fixed timeframe.

Netaro: I would like you to act as my prospective donor. 

Nagi: (I don’t get what he’s saying…)

Netaro: This is all you need to understand—

*Netaro reveals a contract*

Netaro’s Proposed Contract

The following agreement is made and entered into by and between Netaro Yowa (hereafter referred to as “Recipient”) and Nagi Hachinoya (hereafter referred to as “Donor”):

The Donor is to provide the Recipient with a specified amount of his body whenever it is requested of him. a) The frequency and volume may vary, as long as it does not lead to the Donor’s loss of life.

The Donor must not reveal any confidential information about the Recipient to any other lifeform (including AI).

The Donor must cooperate with the Recipient to ensure that no confidential information is revealed to any other lifeform (including AI).

In the event that the Donor breaches any terms of this Agreement, the Interstellar Court will act as the court of instance with exclusive jurisdiction over the matter. The Recipient has the right to restrain the Donor until a resolution is reached.

Netaro: I’m certain those back on my planet will have no complaints in this case. 

Nagi: (This is getting more and more confusing… What does he even mean by “a specified amount of his body”...)

Netaro: As long as it is something produced by your body, anything is fine. I quite prefer blood, myself.

Nagi: !!

Netaro: To put it simply, if you refuse to act as my donor and protect my secret, you will die. 

Nagi: !?

Netaro: Local lifeform Nagi: You have two choices.

Netaro: To agree to this contract, or to be eaten whole by me; which do you prefer?

Nagi: …!

Netaro: Will you cry? Are you tearing up~? I enjoy tears almost as much as I do blood~

Nagi: …… 

Nagi: Will it hurt…?

Netaro: I could indeed compound a drug that could numb your sense of pain, but that will have to be for next time!

Nagi: I won’t… die, right…?

Netaro: You just read the Agreement, did you not!? I wouldn’t want to destroy a precious dispenser of adaptive factor!

Netaro: Though, I’m not entirely confident, as I’m far too hungry at the moment. 

Nagi: …… 

Nagi: Okay. I’ll do it. 

Netaro: Yaaayyyy~!

Nagi: Even if I did die, it’s not like it would affect anybody. 

Nagi: You might be an alien, but I don’t think it’s very nice to leave someone alone when they’re suffering… 

Nagi: I don’t want you to have a bad impression of earthlings… 

Netaro: Good. You are prepared, yes? 

Nagi: Huh, wait– Right now? Here!? Hold on–

Nagi: A-Ahhhhhhhhhhh………

~~~(end flashback)

Location: Hakodate - Hotel Lounge

Daniel: …Nagi, you listening? 

Nagi: *gasp* Oh, sorry… 

Daniel: You sure it’s just anemia? 

Nagi: Yeah. I’m okay now. 

Daniel: Alright, then sit down over there. You want a popsicle? 

Nagi: Oh, but I already had one so… 

Daniel: Then I’ll give you my share. What flavor do you want? 

Nagi: Thank you… Then, I’d like pineapple. 

Daniel: Got it. Netaro over there is just stuffing himself on these though, geez. 

Netaro: Nyam nyam.

Nagi: …… 

Daniel: Here. 

Nagi: Thank you.

Nagi: …… 

Nagi: (This is orange…)

Netaro: Delicious, is it not? Gii.

Nagi: Urk… Yeah, it is… 

Netaro: Shall I share some of my grape-flavored one with you? 

Nagi: …!

*Nagi bumps into Daniel*

Daniel: Woah there, what’s wrong? You just sprang out of your seat like some grasshopper. 

Nagi: It’s… nothing. Sorry. 

Netaro: Even though it’s so delicious… 

Nagi: …… 

Notes:

Proxima Centauri b is an exoplanet orbiting within the habitable zone of the red dwarf star Proxima Centauri, which is the closest star to the Sun and part of the larger triple star system Alpha Centauri.

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Masterlist

[fictionadventurer]

The worst part about reading in a genre where you have low expectations (in this case, Christian historical fiction) is that when a book impresses you, you have no idea if it's actually good or if you're just overly impressed because it was a fraction of a degree better than the usual garbage.

[taegularities]

🤍🫂🌹

[colgatebluemintygel]

WE ARE SOO BACK

[aroaessidhe]

2024 reads / storygraph

The Sword of Kaigen

standalone fantasy set in a rural mountain village at the edge of an empire that still holds traditional values, with families of powerful water/ice magic warriors

follows a powerful young heir who begins to question his beliefs about the empire when a new boy comes to his village from the city

and his mother, a housewife who has tried to forget her youth as a warrior and vigilante in the city since she moved back home to a loveless marriage

when there’s a violent attack on their village that they’re unprepared for, everything changes, and she has to embrace her old skills to protect her family and people