#she's free and now it's springtime

[agir1ukn0w]

no one's talking about this, but the fact that season 2 of severance kicked off in the depth of winter and ended right at the beginning of spring has me shaking in my boots

[strawberrymochin]

Springtime Fushiguros♪

Context-: exploring the memories of childhood of fushiguros, marking the spring time of you and satoru gojo.

Moving in :- After you agree to raise the fushiguro kids along with gojo satoru, it's time to move in together.

You wipe the crumbs of the chocolate chip cookie Tsumiki munched from her lips.

'can I have one more?' she pleaded with doe eyes. 'yes ofcourse sweetie. Here, have as many as you want.' Handling the pack of cookies to little Tsumiki, who was happy to munch on some more.

Megumi kept watching the scenary outside from the car window. Tsumiki offered him some cookies before but he refused and simply shook his head.

Gojo was driving the car, very soon you guys will reach to your shared apartment. After gojo asked you for a favour and you agreed, it took about a week to find an apartment which was empty and close to the Tokyo Jujutsu High.

Till then the kids were at your place. You got to know a little about them and observe them closely. You four could have lived at your place but your apartment was on the very outskirts of Tokyo and the kids need to go to school, which was far away from yours. So you guys decided to find another one.

It wasn't perfect but can accommodate the four of you easily. It's cozy and comfy and once you guys move in you can make it even more lively.

'Megumi, you want something else? I've got some cakes too. And even candies and juice.' Megumi shook his head in a 'no' without even bothering to turn around. Something you understood very well on the first week of living with the fushiguro kids is that, Megumi is the opposite of Tsumiki. She opened up to you on the very first day, but he didn't. It was very clear that he disliked your presence.

Megumi is a reserved boy and as far as you've noticed nothing excites him. It's not his fault though, the kid must have gone through so much in such a tender age.

'Give me some of those candies.' satoru drawled while driving the car, peeking at you from the back mirror. You sighed giving him a handful of candies.

Megumi refused to sit with him in the front seat, so satoru had no other option stuffing the rest of the boxes in there. Sure the kid doesn't likes him too.

'then you want something else? We can stop by some shops to get whatever you like?' you propose, trying to get his attention but his sole response was 'no'. You give up at this point.

The car haulted as you looked outside of the window. You guys reached your new apartment. Your lips curled in a small smile. Taking in Tsumiki's hand you get out of the car. Gojo gets Megumi out.

'From now onwards we will be living here! gojo announced excitingly, 'Like it kids?'

'Yes!' Tsumiki chirped in her cheerful voice, while the glum faced Megumi remained silent, surely annoyed at gojo. He frees his hand from gojo's and comes near to stand beside Tsumiki.

You chuckle at gojo's offended face. 'Kk, gojo sensei will be bringing the stuff up while we go and take a look at our new home.' you announce, when gojo interrupts, 'what? You guys won't be helping me?'

'well, no.'

'why? How am I supposed to take all of these stuff up alone? I don't have four hands like—'

You take both the kids and walk ahead leaving a complaing gojo behind. Megumi, all silent till now, looked back at gojo. A smug smile plastered on his face, took gojo by surprise and amusement.

You felt Megumi's grip on your fingers tighten, as you guided both the fushiguro kids inside of the elevator to the fifth floor of the apartment.

Gojo watched you guys disappear, as a chuckle surpasses his lips, a fuzzy feeling rushed through him. This is the first time he saw Megumi smile.

'Seems I made the right decision.' he thought to himself, walking up to the trunk of his car, unloading the luggage.

Extras-:

'are the kids fast asleep?' gojo asks unpacking another suitcase, while you enter the room.

'yeah, the day must have been rough for you.' He stopped whatever he was doing, darting a look unfamiliar to you.

'Shall I make the night rough for you, love?'

[louloulemons-posts]

Dark Waters

Knight!Eddie X Princess!Elf!Reader

Word Count : 1.8k

(creds to owners)

Warnings : not proofread, cursing, sirens, drowning, knives, swords, death of minor characters, eddie is called Edward, use of Y/N

~ / / / * \ \ \

“You know we’re not supposed to be this far outside the castles walls!” Robin exclaimed, hurrying after you. “Robin come on! I just want to explore, I can’t stand all of the talk of my brother coronation, my mother just talks about marrying me off now!”

“Well would marriage be such a bad thing?”

You paused in your tracks to look at your friend, she nodded, “Pretend I didn’t say that.”

With a chuckle and a shake of your head, you continued through down the path. Removing the hood of your cloak from your head, sighed as the sun warmed your face.

Robin linked her arm with yours, walking side by side, no worries about would may see you, you were outside the city now.

The emerald leaves of the woods shone under the daylight, “Maybe we should head back?” Robin said.

“Me and my father always walked this path when I was small, come on Robin we’ll be quick.”

Beams of sun shone through the branches, illuminating the multi coloured flowers, small animals ran across the path, faeries flew past with their tingling bell sound.

The forest was alive with springtime. Your own gown seemed to be brighter in colour, the periwinkle of yours and royal blue of robins.

Your hair was also more alive, the small braids throughout, shining with pretty gems, similarly to your sharp pointed ears showing who you really were.

“Did you hear that?” Robin asked suddenly.

“Hear what?” She paused for a moment, turning her head to listen for the mysterious sound.

“That!” The shorter haired girl exclaimed.

“Robin, I really can’t hear anything,” you really did try to hear whatever it was, but soon enough Robin was dragging you down the winding path.

“Robs wait! she was moving at an ungodly pace, something you’d never seen from her, almost like magic. It wasn’t unusual sure, but this was a different kind of magic.

Pulling your arm from her grip, you grabbed Robins shoulders forcing her to meet your gaze. “What can you hear?”

“Singing!”

“Singing?”

“Yes it’s the most beautiful sound I’ve ever heard.” Robin continued to push against your hold, walking towards whatever singing she heard.

Letting her go you followed behind, trying to figure out what was going on. Out of the corner of your eye you spotted someone else. No, many other people.

The were all walking in the same direction as your and Robin. “Robin, we have to go,” you tugged at her sleeve, trying to drag her back, she was now stepping off of the path.

“I need to find out whose voice that is, it’s beautiful.” Your head flooded with thoughts, what was it? Who was it?

Then you saw it, the waters edge. “Sirens,” you whispered. You could see their tails glistening as they swam closer, hands with webbed fingers, arriving at the waterside.

“Robin come away,” you pulled at her arm, but the girl yanked away from your grip, making you stumble.

A red haired woman emerged from the water, pushing herself up on the bank.

“Hello,” she purred.

“H-Hi,” Robin smiled.

“What’s your name?”

“Robin.”

“Come with me Robin.”

Her webbed fingers came out of the water, hand reaching towards Robins. Your friend took it softly, letting the woman pull her closer to the waters edge.

Pushing yourself up, you reached out for Robin, “No!” you screamed as Robin was pulled into the water. Jumping in after her you kicked at the beast, grabbing onto Robin.

The siren hissed at you, bearing her teeth. Pushing Robin up towards the surface, you began to swim up after her, but a hand gripped onto your ankle.

Hearing a calling sound, more and more sirens swam towards you, some holding onto men and women and those inbetween.

With panic you kicked at the siren with fire red hair, hoping to get free, but as more and more air left your lungs your kicks got weaker.

Slowly feeling yourself go limp, you felt more webbed hands grab hold of you, pulling you down into the depths.

Your eyes fell closed as the remaining breath left you.

~ / / / * \ \ \ ~

“Help! Someone please help me!” Robin called out to anyone who was near. Hooves came towards her, two faces she recognised from passing days.

“Thank goodness.”

“Miss Robin, what’s happened?” The man with shorter hair asked, taking in the woman’s panicked appearance. Dress and hair soaked from water.

“The princess … there were sirens … she saved me … but they … they …” the man with longer hair climbed from the horse.

“Breathe, what happened?” he asked.

“They pulled her down,” Robin sobbed, covering her face. “Steve wait here with Miss Robin.”

The man removed his heavy layer of armour with ease and speed, throwing himself into the water. The murky depths were hard to see through, but the commotion was unmissable.

Swimming towards the group of sirens, he spotted you, seeing them drag you towards their cave, he knew once you reached that point you were gone.

Pushing himself through the water, his curls came loose from how they’d been sat at the base of his neck. Swimming deeper and deeper, he heard a screech of warning from a siren.

“A knight!” One screamed. Drawing his sword, he slashed at a beast, drawing blood. Once that occurred, the sirens let you go, swarming the knight.

Your body fell down, close to the floor of the water. Swinging for the sirens, he cut many of them, ending the lives of others.

They grabbed him, but as he cut the neck of one final siren, one screamed,”Retreat!”

They grabbed the body of those who had passed and swam towards the cave. The knight felt his lungs burn, as he swam deeper for you.

Pulling your body, he went towards the light, the surface. On the bank, Steve’s arm was around Robin, rubbing her side to keep her warm. “Have you got her?!” The woman cried.

“Yes,” the knight coughed, water leaving his lungs, as he gasped a breath. Pulling you on the bank, he panicked as he noticed the lack of movement in your chest.

“No!” Robin sobbed, pulling towards you, but the knight shouted, “Keep her back!” Steve grabbed her waist holding her in place, trying to comfort her.

Pulling the outer layer of your dress off, he was met with a corset, “Shit!” he sighed, pulling a knife from the holster on his leg.

Slicing the ribbons from the corset, he yanked it off your chest, staring to press his hand in a rhythm against it.

He held your nose, blowing into your mouth, “Come on, wake up!” He spoke through gritted teeth. “One! Two! Three!” He kept pressing against your chest.

~ / / / * \ \ \ ~

“One! Two! Three! Come on!” A voice spoke. Feeling air come back to you, you coughed loudly, water coming up. Gasping, you held your hand to your chest, hearing a laugh of joy.

“Oh thank god.” Robin. That was Robin.

“Robs?”

“I’m here,” the girl sat next to you, wrapping you in a hug. “Oh thank goodness.”

“Thank you so much,” Robin said to the knight. Looking up at the man, you couldn’t be more thankful. “You saved me.”

“I did what anyone would your Highness.”

Letting Robin help you to your feet, you couldn’t even be embarrassed at the lack of garments. The knight walked to his horse, pulling a cloak off and wrapping it around your shoulders.

“What’s your name sir.”

“Edward.”

“Thank you Edward, you saved my life. I must repay you.”

“I need nothing your Highness, just allow me and my colleague to help you and your friend home safely.”

“Thank you.” Letting the knight help you onto his horse, he climbed up behind, Robin and the other man doing the same thing. You may your way back into the town and up to the castle.

He made sure to keep his hands in a respectful position, keeping you steady on the horse.

“Open the gates for the Princess, the man behind your called. The gates opened, men and women ran towards you, including your mother.

“Darling!” she called.

“Mother,” you smiled. The man, Edward, jumped off the horse, holding out his hand to help you down. “What happened?” your mother asked.

“Sirens in the lake, one grabbed me, but this kind Knight, Edward,” you smiled at the curly haired man, “He saved me mother.”

“Is this true?” she asked Robin and Edward, “Yes your majesty,” they both said.

“Thank you, you saved my girl.” She squeezed your hand, “Come let’s get you all clean and dry.”

Your mother led you all into the castle, “Thank you your Majesty, but we must be heading to the Knights quarters to clean up,” The other man said.

“Yes of course, what is your name sir?” Your mother asked. “Steve,” he spoke softly.

“I owe you my thanks also, Steve. Me and my husband shall call for you both, do not be alarmed, it shall be as a reward.”

“There’s no need-“ Edward started, but your mother held her hand up. “Sir, you saved my daughter, I cannot thank you enough, she is .. she is the light of my life.”

“Of course your majesty, my heart is to you and this kingdom, including your daughter.”

Your cheeks flushed at his words, his eyes met yours. “Mother, may I speak to Edward alone?”

“You may, I shall wait in your bedchambers, be quick my darling,” she squeezed your cheek and ushered Robin away. Steve bowed and may his way to his own space.

“Your highness?” Edward asked.

“I just wanted to thank you again Sir. You saved me.”

“It was nothing, it is my job.”

“I cannot thank you enough for it.”

“No thanks is needed.”

“It is, please meet with my mother and father.”

“I shall your highne-“ you cut him off.

“Y/N, my name is Y/N, no your highness needed.”

“That is not proper your highness i mustn’t.”

“You must, I order it,” you smiled at him, making the corner of his mouth rise. “Well Miss Y/N, please stay away from the lake without a proper escort.”

“Of course, may I call upon you on my next stroll then?”

“Yes your high- Y/N,” he bowed his head.

“Well I must go, and you must be freezing yourself Edward.”

“Eddie.”

“I’m sorry?”

“Edward makes me feel old, so Eddie.”

“Eddie,” you smiled, “Well I shall be seeing you soon I’m sure.”

“I’ll look forward to it,” he bowed. Walking towards him, you stood on your toes, pressing a soft kiss to his cheek. “Good day Eddie.”

“Good day Y/N.” He smiled as he watched you go, disappearing down the hall, his cloak still wrapped around you.

~ / / / * \ \ \ ~

Thank you so much for reading!

Please leave any requests 🤍

[sprnklersplashes]

athena's recovery post-god games (ao3)

buy me a coffee

“Let him go… please.”

The words fall from her lips in a feeble croak. With greyness edging her vision, Athena forces her eyes to remain open, to bore into those of her father. She cannot remember being this close to him. She doesn’t ever remember seeing herself reflected in his eyes.

“Let him go.”

Time ticks by, seconds or hours or centuries. Athena trembles, biting her tongue against the pain screaming in her limbs. Everything in her wants to give in, but she can’t, not until she knows he will be saved. Even if it means it’s the last thing she ever knows. 

Eventually, the God King nods. Athena parts her lips, intending to thank him.

Then everything goes black, and she falls. 

Consciousness comes slowly, a trickle of water down a mountain. Her world is blanketed in grey, her eyes stubbornly refuse to open, but she can feel the rustle of sheets beneath her body, hear the flurry of footsteps and voices. There’s no telling where they are; the same voice will creep towards her and retreat half a second later.

Athena tries to move, to follow the voice and get her bearings, but her limbs feel too heavy and before she can try again, nausea rolls over her. A sharp sting pierces her temple, and a pained cry escapes her. 

A hand rests on her chest.

“Athena… Athena can you hear me?”

“Let her sleep.” The hand pulls away and brushes her hair from her face. The touch feels oddly careful, but she can’t bring herself to think about it. “Trust me, she needs it.”

“It’s been hours,” a gruff voice says to her right. “How much longer do we have to wait?”

The question stirs something in her. Someone is waiting for… for… she can’t place it. A name, a face, a smile flashing beneath a blue sky. The memory is hazy, its pieces breaking apart and floating away. No, no, focus Athena. Someone is waiting for… she needs to tell….

Her thoughts melt away like springtime snow, and she slips into nothingness again.

Everything hurts. No, hurts is too light a word for it. Her body is being pulled apart, molten heat spilling from the gaps. 

Athena twists on the bed, fabric scratches against her bare legs like nettles. She bucks and kicks it in a frenzied attempt to get it off.

Water splashes nearby, a cold towel pressed to her forehead. It cools her skin for a whisper of a fraction of a moment, then it burns away. Beside her, a soothing voice whispers,

“Hey, baby.” The voice is smooth, more gentle than anything Athena has felt before. Tender fingers brush against her temple. “Just breathe, it will be all right.” 

“Make it stop,” she pleads. She doesn’t sound like a goddess, not of wisdom or of war or anything. She sounds like a scared, weak little girl and the shame in her soul touches the pain in her bones and it’s excruciating. Her body curls inwards, her nails dig into the fabric beneath her as if she can claw her way through it. If it meant this pain would cease, she would claw her way through Olympus. 

“Please,” she chokes. “M-make it stop.”

“It’ll pass, Athena.” A hand comes around hers and pulls it from the mattress. Her trembling fingers curl around it. If she’d been more coherent, she may have shown restraint or eased her grip. As she is, she holds on with every ounce of strength she has. Her visitor doesn’t mind, just strokes her hair with their free hand and refreshes the cloth on her brow. 

“It will be all right,” she tells her once more. Then darkness returns and swallows her whole. 

Dull buzzing drags Athena from her sleep. It takes seconds for the pain to follow; sharp aches in her temples and jaw, writhing around her limbs like snakes. Her breathes are fragile and shallow, but when she tries to do more she’s greeted by a stab in her ribs. Her hand jerks of its own accord but falls back to the bed, too heavy to move any further. 

“There-she moved.” The bed sags under someone’s weight. There is slightly more familiarity to the voice now, a roughness and depth that brings old memories to the surface. Ares. “Athena? You there?”

“You need to be patient, dear,” another voice says, softer this time, delicate. Aphrodite.

“I’m tired of being patient,” Ares snaps. Athena whimpers, both at the voice and at the pain shooting around her. There’s a small pause, a tension in the air, then someone squeezes her hand. “It’s been days.”

“No-one’s survived what she has before.”

What did she survive? Fragments come to her, frayed and blurred at the edges. Olympus. Her father. Something she needed to ask him, someone needing help-

Odysseus.

His name strikes her like an arrow. In one heaving motion, she pushes herself upwards, pain exploding around her joints. She cracks open her eyes to greet the burning brightness before her. Someone gasps across from her, and various silhouettes rush against the light. Her name may have been said, but it’s impossible to hear over the ringing.

“O….” Iron cuts across her tongue and she coughs. “Odysseus-”

Her heavy eyes slide shut against her will, and her head slams into the pillow.

When Athena next opens her eyes, she is much more aware. White stabs through her vision, throwing her off-balance for possibly the first time. Regardless, she grits her teeth and waits until it passes, and soon enough it recedes to reveal the polished marble floors of her chambers. Steadily, she pushes herself upwards, her arms trembling as she does. Sweat-soaked sheets twist around her and extra pillows have been added. She scratches the blue coverlet and lets her surroundings settle. It feels strange. Over the last few months, she has spent more time pacing in this room than actually sleeping, or staring out the window and letting her mistakes wash over her. This might be the longest she has spent in this bed. 

As she’s getting her bearings door pops open and Ares steps in. He looks oddly naked; his helmet discarded, his usual plated armour replaced by a simple blue tunic and breastplate. Athena can’t remember the last time she saw him like this, nor can she recognise the way his mouth falls open upon seeing her. His eyes almost bulge out of his head and Athena finds her usual witty comebacks have deserted her.

“You’re awake.” She shrugs. 

“It appears so.” Her voice is hoarse and rusty and she coughs to clear it. 

Ares is by her side in seconds, eyes roaming around her body as if looking for a sign of something going wrong. He offers her some water and holds his breath while she sips. 

“How are you feeling?”

“Like shit,” she confesses. She presses her fingers to her temple. The ache might have faded somewhat, but it remains buried deep in there. “How long have I been out?”

“A few days.” He huffs a laugh then, a sound that feels too soft for her brother. He lowers himself onto the mattress and Athena tries not to squirm beneath his gaze. “For while there… we weren’t sure if you’d make it.”

Athena just nods. Now that the worst is over, she can remember everything. She can still feel her father’s lightning bolt bearing down on her, and how small she felt against it. Over the years, she has felt many things towards him before; she has been in awe of his power, basked in his praises. She can’t remember ever feeling afraid of him the way she had then.

Ares hand covers hers. There’s a shared silence between them, and Athena wonders if he feels the weight that she does. 

She will worry about that later. Right now, she has one mission.

“Ares,” she begins. “Odysseus, is he-”

“Hermes just got back,” he answers. “Gave him a new wind-bag courtesy of a very pissed-off Aelous who wants to have a word with you once you’re on your feet. Your hero has one more chance, Athena.” A shadow passes over his face. “For your sake, I hope he doesn’t blow it.”

“He’s out.” She gasps, a ten-year-old weight suddenly lifting from her shoulders. “He’s going home.”

As the tears come, Athena looks back on everything that led her here; all the things she could have done differently, every moment she shared with him that she swore didn’t mean anything. She weeps because while she can’t fix the past, there is finally an ending in sight, where Odysseus makes it home and maybe they can salvage something. All four of them can do it, once Odysseus is back with his family.

“Telemachus,” she whispers. She throws back the covers and swings her legs around, just barely catching Ares’ jaw drop.

“What the f-Athena!”

Even before she’s standing, she realises something is wrong. The whole room lurches and she goes with it, her fall broken by Ares’ arm around her midriff. Violent pains explode across her skull, as if someone is stabbing daggers right into her brain. As her vision turns grey, the last vestiges of strength leaves her body and she falls limp against the bed, kept awake only by spite and the thought of Telemachus waiting for her in Ithaca.

Vaguely, she can feel herself settled against the headboard, propped up by the array of pillows. Her chest is on fire, but she gulps and gasps until she finds a rhythm. In, out, in, out, when did this become so fucking hard?

Slowly, the cloud in her eyes recedes and the room comes back into focus. An unusual and all-encompassing helplessness falls over her and her once-grand chambers feel smaller than they ever have.

Beside her, Ares shakes his head. 

“How many heart attacks are you planning on giving me?” he asks. Athena shakes her head, grimacing slightly.

“I can’t stay here,” she says. “Ares, I-I need to get to Ithaca.”

“Athena you can’t even stand,” he tells her. “I wouldn’t trust you to get to that door by yourself, nevermind anywhere else.”

“But Telemachus needs me,” she insists. “They both do. I meant what I said, Ares. It’ll be a bloodbath down there. Those suitors are not going to go quietly and Telemachus-” She shudders. An image comes to her, Telemachus with his double-edged spear, determination gleaming in his eyes. So much courage and yet, such a breakable body. “I need to be there for him.”

“You won’t do either of them any good if you die before getting down there.”

“Well I can’t just do nothing!” she pleads. Ares blinks, softness falling over him that Athena rarely sees. He sighs.

“You trust these mortals, don’t you?”

“Of course I do.”

“And you think they’re strong?” Athena almost laughs.

“They’re the strongest people I’ve ever known,” she says. Ares nods, his eyes heavy.

“Then you have to trust they can handle this on their own. Just for now.” He squeezes her hand. “Sorry sis, this one’s out of your control.”

“Did you just tell Athena she can’t control something?” A voice asks from the door. Hera leans against the frame, green silk draped around her frame. “Baby, once you’re better, you should beat him for that.”

“I intend to.”

Hera laughs then, bursting from her like sunshine, and steps into the room. To her surprise, Athena feels a little better now that she’s here. Not completely, she won’t feel okay until Odysseus is home and they’re all safe, but she feels marginally less alone. 

After settling in the chair beside her bed, Hera shares a quick look with Ares. Athena attempts to jump in, but the mindscape slams into her instead. 

As Ares stands, Athena wills herself not to panic. This is temporary. It has to be. Being without her Quick Thought is like being without a limb.

“I should go tell the others you’re awake,” Ares says. “Aphrodite’s been climbing the walls these past few days. “ He scratches behind his ear. “She feels bad. About what she said.”

“So should you.” It slips out before she can stop herself, but she doesn’t regret it. Ares looks at the floor, his lips pressed into a thin line. 

“The kid can handle himself,” he says. A pause, and then, “He’s tougher than he looks.”

Pride glows in Athena’s chest, and she allows a small smile as he leaves. Then he is gone, and she is painfully aware that it is just the two of them. The silence echoes around them, and she fights the urge to pull her knees to her chest. 

“Hera…” she asks slowly. The words feel strange, too vulnerable and open for her liking, but they will eat her alive if she doesn’t ask. “My father. Has he…”

“He’s barely spoken a word since it happened,” she tells her. “He won’t see anyone. He’s angry, I can tell that much. I wish I could tell you more than that.”

Athena nods. Another memory comes to her, the first time Odysseus showed her Telemachus. She hadn’t fully grasped the way his face glowed, the tenderness with which he held the boy, but she’d assumed a mortal thing. She thought she understood why he fought so valiantly to return to Telemachus. Now she isn’t so sure. 

All of her worst moments come back to her. Every time she was too harsh on Odysseus, every hug and handshake she left hanging. How much of those were her father?

“Hey, baby, it’s okay.” Hera runs a hand through her hair, only to slip out halfway down her neck. Athena frowns, and when she follows Hera’s hand, she finds charred edges stopping just before her collarbone. The mane of red curls she’s known all her life is gone.

She looks over at Hera, her heart in her throat. Uncertainty hangs in the air, the room tilts. Hera just sighs.

“You didn’t get away unscathed.”

Hera hands her a gilded hand-held mirror. Athena tries to gage her face; somewhere between apprehensive and apologetic. She tells herself she doesn’t care, her looks have never mattered to her but-

She gasps.

As well as her now-shortened hair, there’s a thick, jagged scar splitting her face, startlingly white and outlined with a dull red. It runs across her cheeks and down to her mouth, pulling the right side of her lips down slightly. Her left eye is now white, in contrast to the deep azure of her right. A thin red line runs through the iris, turning it vaguely pink when she turns her head. 

With a heavy heart, she understands now the cloudiness in her vision isn’t temporary. There’s a reason she feels so off-kilter. 

Slowly, she reaches up to touch it. Immediately, she jerks her hand away, as if she touched a hot stove. The pain builds and pulses; lightning crackles between the skin and muscle. It’s not ust in her face either. She pulls up her sleeve and finds hundreds of the same lines criss-crossing her arms. She can feel them too. There isn’t an inch of her that isn’t scarred now. 

Zeus did this to her. Over a game.

“I’m sorry, baby.” Hera’s hand rests on her forearm, smooth as porcelain. Athena shakes her head and forces down the sob in her throat.

“It’s fine.” It comes out in a strained whisper, her strength caught in her throat. “I’ll re-learn everything.” When the tear slips out, it leaks into an open cut and hisses. “Never something for nothing, right?”

She didn’t think this would be easy. She knew her father would take some convincing, but she thought he would listen. She thought that after years of proving herself, of lapping up his praise and never asking for anything, he would help her. 

“You let this happen for a handful of mortals,” Hera says. Unlike Zeus, her tone isn’t mocking, or condescending. She’s merely observant. “They must mean a lot to you.”

“They do.” Hera hums.

“Your father thinks they’ve ruined you.”

Athena has to laugh, even as her scar stings. Zeus doesn’t know it, but he has given them the greatest compliment he ever could. 

“They have,” she says. She doesn’t know if Hera, or indeed anyone else, understands, but she doesn’t need them to. For the first time in centuries, she understands herself, and this scar is a small price to pay for that. 

[peachdues]

VIOLENT DELIGHTS — TEASER

Tengen’s Tell Me to Stop

A/N: because the more shitty anons bitch about my teasers, the more I’m gonna post because I don’t give a fuck.

Tengen’s installment of my Tell Me to Stop series. A true enemies-to-lovers fic. Read the spicy teaser here.

CW: blood • description of whipping • some angst • Tengen is confused by his own actions here

Ty always to my biggest enabler @marenalee . This fic is dedicated to you bby.

Tengen paled as he watched the villagers wrench the hood off the person struggling against their restraints.

Rough hands shoved Y/N to her knees, hair mussed, eyes wild and murderous as she glowered at her captors. Rope had been tied around her mouth, forcing her teeth to part around its coarse fibers. If he squinted, he could see the way the rope had rubbed the corners of her mouth bloody and raw.

The assassin thrashed against the hold of her captors as they secured thick, iron shackles around her wrists, each one connected to a separate piece of scaffolding that forced her into an awkward, half-star position on her knees. A sour-faced man stepped out from the shadows behind the stage to glare down at her, his puffy, fish-like lips twisted into a disgusted sneer as he spoke. An audience had gathered at the base of the stage, and Tengen felt his gut twist at the excited buzz which rose over them.

Whatever was to come, it was nothing good.

His suspicions were confirmed when he watched the Magistrate turn his head and bark at one of the grim-faced men standing off to the side of the podium. A moment later, and a grubby hand pressed something long and coiled into the Judge’s outstretched and waiting palm.

Tengen recognized what it was at precisely the same moment as the assassin — his nemesis — though he was certain the dread filling his gut was but a fraction of that which filled hers.

In all the months of tormenting her — of even trying to kill her — Tengen had never seen Y/N look afraid. Surprised, sure, but never frightened.

Yet, as the long, cruel tail of the whip unfurled in the Magistrate’s hands, curling down to the wooden slats of the podium, he saw the fear enter her widened eyes — deep and primal.

She was terrified.

(…)

—

The crack of the whip was capped by an ear piercing scream that made Tengen’s blood curdle.

Spring had always been his favorite season; winter was drab and monotonous and summer was too damn hot to appreciate anything, but spring — spring was resplendent with color and life and all things vibrant and exciting.

This village had been awash in springtime’s splendor. The cherry blossoms had bloomed, coating the sloped roofs of houses and restaurants in a soft blanket of pink and white. The streets had been lined with attractive stalls, offering an assortment of food and jewelry and hand sewn silk garments in every hue imaginable, guaranteed to allow even the pickiest shopper to find something suited to their tastes.

But now, all the sounds and smells and sights and warmth had fallen away; now, all the pastels and greens and effervescence of spring had melted into something dull and gray and muted.

Tengen could only see red.

Red was the color of her blood as it dripped from end of the curled, thin length of rope and soaked into the wooden planks of the post.

Red was the color of her flesh, hanging in torn, bloodied ribbons as each lash flayed her open more and more.

Red was the color of Tengen’s fury, hot and vitriolic, saturating everything in his line of vision until the once reverent sights of the village around him faded to amorphous, crimson blurs as he moved.

Red was the color staining his hands as he threw the whip to the side, having wrenched it free from the magistrate’s cruel hands before he’d thought the better of it; and red was the color that now sprout from the magistrate’s nose as he crashed against the blood-soaked slats of the whipping post, bubbling over his swollen lips as he sputtered at the formidable man standing above him.

“If you would like to avoid taking her place, then I suggest you disperse this crowd,” Tengen said coldly. “And do not try and interfere.”

He held the stammering Magistrate’s petrified stare for a moment longer before he turned his attention to his target. Cautiously, the Sound Pillar approached the half-conscious assassin where she’d been partially stripped and chained to the wooden whipping post. Tengen fought to keep the bile in his throat from rising at the way the wooden slats under his feet squished, so heavily saturated with blood from both his enemy and the poor souls which had been subjected to the brutality of the whip before her.

Her head hung limply between her shoulders, bent toward the floor of the post, and her body slumped against the stage. Her arms, however, remained awkwardly stretched out before her thanks to the iron manacles nailed into the post’s scaffolding. Grimly, the Sound Pillar noted that the gallows were to ensure the penalized would be held up and open even well after their body succumbed to the pain of their lashings; a crude display of utter helplessness and submission to the whip.

He said her name, once, and though she moaned faintly under the pull of her restraints as they stretched the ruined skin of her back, she did not stir.

The full horror of her suffering slammed into him as Tengen ran his eyes over her swaying, whimpering form once more. Before he could think the better of it, before his brain could scream at him to stop, to leave her to a fate that was none of his business, the Sound Pillar unsheathed one of the great blades he kept strapped to his back. With a single, mighty stroke, he cleaved the iron chains of her bonds clean in half, and one by one, her arms fell limply to her side.

No longer held up by her forced prostration, Y/N began to fall forward face-first but Tengen caught her before she could make contact with the floor of the blood-soaked stage beneath her. Mindful of her wounds, he laid her limp form over his shoulder and hauled her up, his arms winding around her legs to keep her locked in place. Her arms dangled over his back. As he began to walk, he realized that the tips of her fingers just barely grazed the middle of his spine.

Small; she was so small in his arms. So helpless.

The crowd of townsfolk who had gathered to watch her flogging parted silently for the Sound Pillar as he descended the stairs of the whipping post, unconscious assassin draped over his shoulder, and departed the village without a word.

[thebutterflyeater]

Insecurity

Obanai x Chubby! Wife! Reader

A/N: I literally could not find the fucking author that made the fic inspired by this, but I’m writing this to be self indulgent. If anyone finds this fic for me, share with the class and this will be taken down and I will forever be grateful. I’ve been looking back for it for over an hour and just decided to write something like it from memory because I’m dying. I may write a part 2 with the hot spring if I just somehow dreamt this up and it didn’t fade into the shadows like I think it did. 

—-

The late summer air was absolutely miserable and there was no way to escape it. Your husband kept himself busy a majority of the day with the new recruits, beating the poor slayers senseless day in and day out. He would come home tired and it would leave you in charge of the meal preparations for the night. By no means were you the best cook and you had just as much to do as he did training wise. The only difference was that you trained under the status of a Tsuguko while your husband trained others as a Hashira 

You were leaving the training for the day, making your way back to the Serpent Hashira’s estate to cook dinner for him and his recruits that he was stuck training for the next couple of days. The plan was to sneak past him to get into the house and at least freshen up before he has the chance to see you or anyone else. You already felt like an embarrassment to him. Thick thighs clung uncomfortably to the fabric of your pants making everything feel chafed and your curves filled out your uniform, unlike the other slayers that he got to see. 

To say the least, being around all of these attractively built people was humbling. It was true that you had just as much ability as the rest of them, but you could help but compare body types at the end of the day. Would your husband prefer to come home to someone that looked more like Kanroji? She was muscular, but slim in a captivating way with her pretty long hair and friendly eyes, a total catch. You felt frumpy in comparison, disgusting. You crept around the fence line and towards the back entrance of the house, hoping to escape the gaze of your husband. The sweltering air nearly made it hard to breathe this time of year. The recruits training out in front of the house would certainly agree. 

Just before you had the chance to slide the back door open, a voice broke the silence, “Going somewhere?” Dread and nausea immediately filled your senses as you turned and came face to face with Obanai. His uniform fit him perfectly, bordering a little baggy. His face and hair were dripping with sweat much like yours, but he was much more attractive with it. “Oh, Obanai. I was just headed in to start cooking.” Your hands fiddled with the edge of your uniform top. You hated how your stomach made the uniform look a little snug. 

He glanced around before gently unraveling his bandages from his mouth. No one was stupid enough to wander around the back of  a Hashira’s house anyways, especially not his. “Just one kiss before you go.” Obanai stepped closer, clammy hand moving to settle against your equally sweaty cheek. You leaned back, “Obi, please. I’m gross right now. I still need a shower.” His free hand moved to rest against your hip and he tilted his head to the side. “I’m sweating too. Just one before I go back.” He leaned back in and you leaned away. His patience was certainly being tested. 

“Dear, is there a problem?” You anxiously glanced away. He efficiently had you up against the back door of the house on the porch. It was too embarrassing. 

His hand drifted up your side and you swatted it away. “Don’t.” After a long moment of silence, you worked up the nerve to speak again, “Wouldn’t you prefer someone… thinner?” Obanai’s eyes widened considerably in his shock before taking your hand, pressing it against his lips. “Dear, you’re the only one I want.” Another kiss was pressed to the fold of your elbow. “You’re like a springtime goddess.” Then another kiss was pressed to your shoulder. His strong hands moved to hold you in place to keep from squirming. “No one is comparable to your beauty.” Finally, he took his time in pressing his lips against yours. Slowly at first, he led the kiss in a soft manner as if conveying his love and affection for you. You relented. He always knew just what to say to make you feel like the most beautiful woman in the world

His hands moved to rest under the fabric of your top to rest against your waist. He loved holding you in his hands, hot and gross from training or not. He loved you in all of your forms. You pulled back to look at him, “Fine, fine. I guess I’ll believe you. You’d better get back out there before the recruits start asking questions. I’m gonna go in and start cooking for them. Should I just make a stew?” His scars pulled slightly as he gave you one of his small smiles, “Whatever you think is best. I’ll meet you at the hot spring in a while. It should be empty after training is over.” You grinned like a bashful teenager at the idea of being alone in the hot spring with your husband. “I’ll certainly be waiting. I’ll head in and start up the stew and rice.” 

You both shared one more kiss before turning to head into the house. Maybe being a little different wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. It didn’t make you any less beautiful. Obanai certainly didn’t seem to think so. Maybe you should listen to him more often. 

[aziraphales-library]

hellooo,

before i get into this i just wanted to thoroughly thank you guys for the help i’ve gotten from you in the past, one time quite recently! i really really appreciate it! you are true angels on earth and deserve the world 🌎🩵

now i just had a thought and i thought i’d ask, are there any fics out there where crowley and aziraphale potentially have a run in with any of the 4 horsemen throughout history? (i feel like i maybe read one or two like this back in the day, i think they were perhaps death and pestilence in those works) i’m not necessarily looking for those specific fics, they’re probably in my bookmarks somewhere. but i just was rewatching episode 2 where war comes in and it said about how she’s been killing time “for so long” and i thought that might be interesting to see a & c coming across them sometimes and how they interact with each other. i’ll take future fics, but i think i’m more looking for past/historical settings

thank youuuu! and feel free to take your time, i’m in no rush.

love you, byeeeeee

Hiiii! Here are some fics where Aziraphale and/or Crowley meet one or more of the four horsemen through the ages. Mind the tags on some of these!..

Oilslick Feathers by sylveondreams (G)

After an unexpected encounter with Pollution, Crowley finds himself with wings soaked in oil and panic building in his chest.

How To Arrange A Meeting by Winds_of_Inspiration10 (T)

Aziraphale has come to Egypt to set forth the next step in the Great Plan - arrange a meeting between Joseph and the Pharaoh. That might be a bit difficult when Crawly informs him that the former has fallen from Potiphar's favor and is now in prison. How will these hereditary enemies get out of this one?

The Great Mortality by The_Jade_Goblin (T)

It's 1347 and the Black Death is stalking the better half of Europe, and Aziraphale is ready to be swept up in his despair. Waves of human populace are being wiped out in the blink of an eye, cities left empty and villages lie barren. There's no end in sight, no stopping this Biblical Plague from destroy humanity. But Crowley isn't willing to give up just yet. Or Aziraphale and Crowley are determined to do SOMETHING, ANYTHING, to help during the Black Plague, even if God Herself can't be bothered. And Aziraphale learns a little more about his demon companion at the same time.

Behold A White Horse by Aubergion (M)

And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer. —  Revelation 6:1–2, King James Version The white horse has had many riders in the last six thousand years.

The Feathered Serpent by WaneMoose (T)

1521- Aziraphale has been working as an interpreter for the Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés in his mission to bring Mexico under the heel of Spanish colonialism and the Roman Catholic Church. When they arrive in the wondrous city of Tenochtitlán, the angel is shocked to discover that Cortés and his invading army have been invited to stay. Even more disconcerting is that invitation was the suggestion of a demon posing as the Aztec high priest for the god Quetzalcóatl, the winged serpent. Naively believing peaceful coexistence is a possibility, Aziraphale and Crowley bear witness to the Toxcatl massacre and the Fall of Tenochtitlán.

The Angel of Dunkirk by imnotokaywiththerunning (M)

Springtime 1940: Hitler's army has started its march across Europe and Aziraphale is worried. Another war so soon after the last was almost unbearable. He and Crowley have decided to stay well out of it, but a visit from the Archangel Gabriel sends Aziraphale headfirst into a war he never wanted to see.

- Mod D

[fantasydreaamer]

Cuddling Time: A Sugar Apple Fairy Tale Fic

Summary: Challe and Anne are blisfully married and live alongside their friend Mithril Lid Pod. Challe loves cuddling with Anne, but when he isn't able to cuddle as much as he wants because of Anne's sugar crafting, he carries out his master plan.

Notes: This is my first fan fic ever, I love ChalleAnne and I wanted to make a very cute married fluffy fic of them. I got inspired by this beautiful fanart of them. I also posted it on ao3 here.

I dedicate this fic to my bestie @adribelladonna. You're the best 😊.

⋆༺❀༻⋆⋆༺❀༻⋆⋆༺❀༻⋆⋆༺❀༻⋆⋆༺❀༻⋆⋆༺❀༻⋆⋆༺❀༻⋆⋆༺❀༻⋆

Anne opened her eyes, her head rested on her husband’s chest. His scent of fresh vegetation surrounded her, making her feel safe and content, but she slipped free from his embrace.

“Wife, five more minutes,” Challe murmured, his eyes were still closed.

Anne sat on the bed and stretched her arms. “Well, I’m going to finish the sugar confection for Jenny’s newborn baby. She’s the cutest baby I’ve ever seen.” Anne smiled when she remembered her round cheeks and warm honey eyes. “The confection will bring her good fortune and a healthy life, I know it.”

Challe sat on the bed. “The confection is already finished.”

Anne looked back at him. “It’s not, because I’m going to add primrose flowers to it, they represent new beginnings and youth. She was born in springtime so they’re the perfect addition.”

“How do you know that?” he asked.

“Mithril Lid Pod told me. He knows a lot of things, doesn't he?” Anne answered.

He smiled softly. “Why don’t you come back to bed for a few minutes? You have all day to finish it, and she won’t come until late evening.”

“I know, but I’m also going to make breakfast and clean the house. Please sleep a little more.” Anne set her feet on the floor, but suddenly Challe wounded his arms around her waist and pulled her to the bed. He then pressed his upper body against her back, successfully trapping her under him.

“Challe! What are you doing?! She tried to move but it was useless. “I have a sugar sculpture to finish!" Then Anne blushed a deep red. "Challe, this is embarrassing.” Fortunately, no one was seeing them, or Anne would combust from embarrassment.

“Just five more minutes.” He rested his head on the most comfortable pillow for him, which was Anne. He wasn’t very heavy, nor he was crushing her, but it still was impossible for her to get away. His head laid on her back while he hugged her from the waist. “Fluffy,” he mumbled with contentment, then he fell asleep on top of his wife.

“Challe, let me go.” Anne tried to free herself from him, but it was useless, his arms were like iron bands. “Challe!” She moved her body harder this time, but it was hopeless. Anne is a woman and a petite one after all, it's impossible for her to escape unless Challe wanted it, even asleep he hugged her with a strong grip. “Great,” she murmured. She finally gave up and accepted her fate, to be used as a pillow for his clingy husband.

She rested her head on her arms and reasoned that a few more minute in bed weren't so bad. Besides, the sculpture only needed some last touches to be finished.

Anne always likes to finish her work with anticipation and to wake up early to prepare breakfast and tidy the house with Mithril Lid Pod. She realized that being under her husband's weight was very comforting, his weight felt like a heavy blanket that confined her in a safe space. A smile appeared on her lips as she closed her eyes, all anxieties vanished from her mind. She fell asleep.

⋆༺❀༻⋆⋆༺❀༻⋆⋆༺❀༻⋆⋆༺❀༻⋆⋆༺❀༻⋆⋆༺❀༻⋆⋆༺❀༻⋆⋆༺❀༻⋆

Challe woke up a little later and chuckled with mischief. His plan worked perfectly, now he had Anne all to himself for a little longer. This was Challe’s special strategy that he sometimes liked to use in the mornings when he wanted more cuddling time with his wife, especially when she woke up earlier than usual.

He removed his weight from Anne and stared at her sleeping face, once he verified that she was not waking up anytime soon, he gently took hold of her and positioned her body so that her head rested on his chest.

Challe looked at her beautiful sleeping face and stroked her cheek with the back of his hand, he closed his eyes and softly pressed his lips against hers. “I love you so much,” he murmured. He embraced her tightly and caressed her soft hair, Challe fell asleep to the sweet scent of silver sugar.

After about an hour Challe woke up, but his eyes were still closed, he was relishing having Anne in his arms for the last few minutes. He knew that he had to wake her up so she could start with her work, yet he was a little reluctant to do so.

Then the wooden door of the bedroom creaked, Challe opened his eyes. Mithril Lid Pod stood in the entrance.

“It’s you,” Challe said in a low voice, so he didn't wake Anne. “Go away.”

“You’re still cuddling with Anne, huh?” Mithril asked.

“How do you know? Did you spy on us again?” Challe arched his eyebrow and stared at the fairy with suspicion.

“Me? N-no, no, no. Of course not!" Mithril laughed. "I knew you were still cuddling. But isn’t it a little late? Anne still wants to add details to the sculpture.”

“I know, I'm going to wake her up.”

Mithril looked at Anne sleeping soundly in Challe’s arms, they looked adorable. A sparkle appeared on his eyes, then he jumped to bed. “I have an idea.”

⋆༺❀༻⋆⋆༺❀༻⋆⋆༺❀༻⋆⋆༺❀༻⋆⋆༺❀༻⋆⋆༺❀༻⋆⋆༺❀༻⋆༺❀༻⋆

Anne woke up to the sound of birds chirping, her eyelids felt heavy. Confused she rubbed her eyes, the strong light coming from the window blinded her. Anne looked up at Challe, he had a playful smirk, and his eyes shone with mirth. “Challe? What happened?” she asked.

Anne was cuddled snuggly in his arms because his plan succeeded, Challe was beyond satisfied. “Slept soundly, wife?”

“Huh?” She remembered how he trapped her under his body and how she slept in that position, her cheeks turned red.

“You even have a bit of drool.” He wiped it from her chin with the back of his hand.

Anne looked at the window; strong light poured from the white laced curtains. “It can’t be!” Anne quickly sat on bed. “Challe, we slept for two more hours! You said only five more minutes!” When she looked at his satisfied smirk, Anne realized that this didn't happened by accident. “This was all your plan, wasn’t it?” Anne asked.

“Busted,” he declared and kissed her forehead.

“I’m so late! I need to prepare breakfast, clean the house, and finish the last details of the sculpture! This is not good.” Anne threw the blankets and duvet aside. She rushed to the closet that was on the other side of the bedroom.

“Calm down,” Challe said a gentle voice. “Everything’s going to be all right. Mithril Lid Pod already made breakfast.”

Anne stopped rummaging through her clothes to look at her husband. “He did?”

“Yes.”

Suddenly Mithril Lid Pod opened the door and entered the bedroom, then he jumped to the wooden side table beside their bed. He had a small broom on his hand and a bandana on his head. “The magnificent and generous Mithril Lid Pod made breakfast and cleaned the whole house! It was too much for me, but I had to do it for the sake of you lovebirds!” He laughed. “Anne had lately woken up too early, leaving poor Challe Fen Challe lonely and miserable in bed, so when I saw him applying his special cuddling strategy, I had to help!” He puffed up his chest with great pride.

Challe that was previously smirking with satisfaction, frowned. “Who are you calling miserable and lonely? You’re asking for a good smack.” Challe glared at him with contempt. “And you did spy on us, Mithril Lid Pod.”

“Well, I admit that I took a little peek.” Mithril chuckled nervously. “Besides, I helped.” He gave his cutest smile. 

Irritation flickered across Challe’s obsidian eyes. “Now you definitely deserve a good smack.” His anger was palpable.

Mithril trembled in fear, but he deserved it. He spied on them again, after being warned by Challe not to several times.

“Challe, Mithril Lid Pod helped a lot. Please don’t smack him,” Anne said.

“Fine, I won’t.” Challe answered, not wanting to refuse anything to his wife. For now, Challe thought.

“But is this the way to thank me, Challe Fen Challe? After what I did for you? You owe me one,” Mithril said.

Challe felt annoyed to owe a favor to the small fairy, but he had a point. He was glad for the extra cuddling time with her wife, and now thanks to him, Anne wouldn’t be stressed all morning.

“Mithril Lid Pod, thank you so much for your help.” Anne smiled at the little fairy and walked towards him. “I’ll prepare you a beautiful sugar candy as a thank you gift for your hard work. Would you like that?”

“Of course!” The small fairy dropped his little broom and jumped to Anne’s shoulder. “I would love a sugar sculpture of a small, gorgeous fire fairy! She will be my muse. Maybe this will help me meet the perfect fairy for me, I would love a feisty one.” His eyes sparkled.

“My reward for the favor is that I won’t smack you, all right?” Challe said with his arms crossed.

Mithril sighed. “I’m not surprised by your words Challe Fen Challe, but I’m a little disappointed that you won't thank the magnificence that I am, either way I’ll have a majestic sugar sculpture of my muse as a reward.” He grinned and jumped to the floor. “Breakfast will get cold, so you lovebirds better hurry up. But if you prefer more lovey dovey married time, I won’t bother you again.” He chuckled as he left the room.

Anne blushed and looked at the floor in embarrassment.

Challe got up from the bed and walked towards his wife. “We better go back to bed if you’re not in a hurry.” He grasped her waist and guided her towards the bed.

“Wait, this is not happening again.” Anne ran to the closet. “I really need to get ready!”

Challe chuckled.

After all, one of his favorite pastimes is teasing his wife, but that comes second place to cuddling with her, of course.

[areyoudreaminof]

Did you all really think I wouldn't make a playlist for @jassaweek? Of course I did. I've had this in the pipe for months! It's Day 6:Lovers!

A match made in cursed human heaven. The challenge they bring to one another brings out the best in them. Vassa clocking Jurian's game immediately, Jurian rallying a human army forthe cursed queen. I love their fire and passion and I can't wait for their story.

Listen here and take a deep dive under the cut!

Initiation-The Weeknd

Don't mind, all my writings on the wall I thought I passed my peak, and I'm experiencing fall And all I wanna do is leave 'cause I've been zoning for a week And I ain't left this little room, tryna concentrate to breathe

Love Lies-Khalid & Normani

Tell me where your love lies Waste the day and spend the night Underneath the sunrise Show me where your love lie I've been so into your mystery Is it because of our history?

I Wish I Was the Moon-Neko Case

Last night I dreamt I'd forgotten my name 'Cause I had sold my soul But I woke just the same I'm so lonely I wish I was the moon tonight God blessed me, I'm a free man With no place free to go

Hallucinations -dvsn I live with hallucinations (Fall asleep and dream of you, you) They're just hallucinations (Late at night I scream for you, you) I'll just hallucinate (Waiting on a déjà-vu)

Snooze-SZA

I'll touch that fire for you I do that three, four times again, I testify for you I told that lie, I'd kill that bitch I do what all of them around you scared to do, I'm not Long as you juggin' out here for me, I got it Mobbin', schemin', lootin', hide your bodies Long as you dreamin' 'bout me, ain't no problem I don't got nobody, just with you right now Tell the truth, I look better under you

Here I Dreamt I Was an Architect- The Deceberists

And I am nothing of a builder But here I dreamt I was an architect And I built this balustrade To keep you home, to keep you safe From the outside world But the angles and the corners Even though my work is unparalleled They never seemed to meet This structure fell about our feet And we were free to go

Her-Majid Jordan

I got her in the palm of my hand She knows I love her I got her, thought I lost her again, ooh

I'm glad we made it this far Sometimes you just don't know So many days spent apart but now I'm finally yours (So won't you)

the birds-Elbow

The birds are the keepers of our secret As they saw us where we lay In the deepest grass of springtime In a reckless guilty haze

And they wove a sweet indifference And it settled on our skin Till the eyes that I remembered For the last time drew me in

Did they sing a million blessings As they watched us slowly part? Do they keep those final kisses In their tiny racing hearts?

10,000 Feet-Foals

Ooh, when I fall through the air, flew too close to the sun With my wings all bound and twisted into one When I fall like a diamond, I'm coal again Drip through the sky into the infrared When I fall like a leaf from an autumn tree Dancing at 10,000 feet, come and catch me When I fall through the fire, into the void again Ooh, I'll burn all the liars, burn all the liars

Samson-Regina Spektor

Samson came to my bed Told me that my hair was red Told me I was beautiful And came into my bed Oh, I cut his hair myself one night A pair of dull scissors in the yellow light And he told me that I'd done alright And kissed me 'til the morning light, the morning light And he kissed me 'til the morning light

triassic love song-Paris Paloma

What a lovely hiding place that you have made to delay our parting! What a world outside to keep each other safe from! That's all that I want, darling That's all that I want, darling

Pink + White-Frank Ocean

If you could die and come back to life Up for air from the swimming pool You'd kneel down to the dry land Kiss the earth that birthed you Gave you tools just to stay alive And make it out when the sun is ruined

Two Weeks-Grizzly Bear Think of all the ways Momentary phase Just like yesterday I told you I would stay

Every time you try Quarter half a mile Just like yesterday I told you I would stay 

First Day of My Life-Bright Eyes

This is the first day of my life Swear I was born right in the doorway I went out in the rain, suddenly everything changed They're spreading blankets on the beach Yours is the first face that I saw I think I was blind before I met you Now I don't know where I am, I don't know where I've been But I know where I want to go

Love in the Sky-The Weeknd

There's no need to hide Don't overreact You said you've been to the sky We'll go beyond that You've been here before, girl Remember these sheets This world's not for us It's not what it seems

We'll find our love in the sky

[forest-hashira]

Noble Blood - Chapter Four

hello again friends! sorry the wait between chapters was so much longer than the last two. life has been..... messy, to put it lightly. but the chapter is finished now and i'm posting it before i overthink it too much. i hope you enjoy!

fic masterlist here | read on ao3 here | wc: 2.4k | cw: gender neutral reader, gojo being a drama queen, a little bit of yaga slander (by gojo), that's pretty much it.

Not much changed after the new year’s festival. Satoru went back to his training sessions with Yaga while you and the rest of your friends attended school and filled your free time however you saw fit. 

Winter quickly turned to spring, and before you knew it, the sakura trees were in full bloom, the soft pink-white petals dancing on the breeze and covering the streets, the delicate perfume from the blossoms filling the air and making everything seem brighter.

All of those things also reminded you of the sakura tree that grew outside of Satoru’s bedroom, and it made you miss him even more than you already did. But springtime had a habit of bringing hope and with it, and you allowed yourself to imagine things would get better soon, and you would be able to spend your days with Satoru as you used to. 

It felt almost too good to be true when you stepped out of your house one morning to see Satoru and Shoko waiting for you outside.

“Thank god you’re here,” Shoko said. “He’s been driving me nuts while we were waiting. Says he has big news, or something, but that’s all I can get out of him.”

“Because we don’t have everybody here yet!” Satoru said, sticking his tongue out at Shoko before turning back to you and smiling brightly. “C’mon, we have a couple more stops to make.”

Unwilling to question how or why your friend was able to come down from the estate and spend time with all of you again, you nodded, following eagerly after him as he headed off down the road, presumably to pick up Utahime, then to see the Nanami siblings. 

“Do you have any idea what he’s on about?” Shoko asked, leaning in a bit closer to you as the two of you followed the boy. 

The only thing you could think of was that Satoru had finally decided to tell the rest of your friends that he had Kenji, regardless of what his parents wanted; he’d bonded with Kenji nearly three months before, and you were the only person outside the Gojo clan – besides Yaga – that knew Satoru had his dragon.

“None at all,” you told her, offering an apologetic smile. 

She sighed, rolled her eyes. “I bet it’s not even anything important, he’s just tired of being cooped up at home and he wants us all to pay attention to him again.”

You said nothing in response, knowing that she was going to be absolutely floored when she found out about Kenji, though stifling your laughter over her words was hard.

“Are you guys talking about me back there?” Satoru asked, glancing over his shoulder at you and grinning. “I am the most interesting person you know, after all.”

“We’re talking about how annoying you are,” Shoko said, and her words were made even funnier by her completely deadpan delivery. Satoru scowled at her, sticking his tongue out for the second time that morning, and this time Shoko returned the gesture. All you could do was laugh at them.

It wasn’t long before the three of you reached Utahime’s house, and Shoko volunteered to be the one to knock on the door; Utahime and Satoru were friends, yes, but if she only saw him and didn’t know that anyone else was with him yet, the odds that she would shut the door in his face were high.

Utahime looked past Shoko with narrowed eyes at Satoru, though her expression relaxed when she saw you standing there with him, and after a moment she stepped outside to join the rest of you.

“What’s the ‘big news’ you have?” she asked your white haired friend suspiciously. 

“I can’t tell you yet!” he declared with a grin. “We have to go get Nanamin first.” It was still exceedingly funny to you that Satoru still insisted on calling Kento by a diminutive of his last name, rather than by his first name like the rest of you did. Kento didn’t find it all that amusing, but he never complained about it, either.

And so, off the four of you went, Satoru leading the way while the rest of you followed after him. As you all filed into the bakery, you were greeted warmly by Kento’s father, Ginger perched on his shoulder for the time being.

“Hello, Nanami-san!” Satoru chirped, offering the older man a slight bow in greeting. 

“Is Kento here?” Utahime asked curiously. 

His father nodded. “Yes, I believe he’s upstairs. Kokoro is resting right now though, I’m afraid. She had a bit of a fever last night and didn’t sleep very well.”

You and Utahime frowned at that and offered your condolences, while Shoko gave a slight nod; her parents, as the healers of the settlement, always seemed to get busier when the seasons changed.

“I’ll tell him you’re here,” your friend’s father said, before turning and stepping out of the bakery and up to his home on the second floor.

As the four of you waited for him, your gaze drifted to the cookies on the display trays; now that spring was well underway, some of the seasonal flavors had come back, and you were happy to see them. There were the plain shortbread cookies, as always, but there were others now, too: petal-pink cookies cut carefully in the shapes of the flowers that flavored them filled one tray, while another tray was lined with circle-shaped cookies you knew to be flavored with the same green tea your mother drank in the mornings. You must have been staring harder than you realized, because next thing you knew, Satoru was poking your cheek to get your attention.

“Hungry?” he asked, somewhat teasingly.

You rolled your eyes at his question. “They’re pretty,” you said after a moment. “I like seeing them every year.”

Satoru said nothing, just gave a small hum in response, but he looked up at Kento’s father with a smile once the man returned to the counter, his son trailing behind him. “Nanami-san, I’d like to buy some cookies before we all head out.”

You blinked at him in surprise, not having expected him to indulge you in such a way. He requested five of the sakura cookies and five of the matcha cookies – one of each flavor for each member of your group – and after tilting his head slightly towards his shoulder, as if he were listening to something, he also asked for one regular shortbread cookie.

Once the treats were paid for and wrapped up, Satoru accepted them and led everyone back outside, insisting he had something important to tell everyone.

“I bet it’s not even actually important,” Kento grumbled, though he did easily accept his share of the cookies as they were passed to him. He took a bite out of the matcha one, chewing it carefully and swallowing it before adding, “He just wants to feel important.”

If only you knew, you thought, but you said nothing; you doubted your white haired friend would forgive you anytime soon if you stole his thunder.

The group stopped once everyone reached the large, gnarled maple tree that stood about halfway between the bakery and the schoolhouse. Without any words being exchanged, Satoru sat with his back to the trunk, the rest of you sitting in a half circle in front of him.

“Will you please drop the theatrics now and just tell us already?” Utahime asked, somehow still scowling as she chewed on her cookie. 

Letting out a sigh that was very decidedly theatric, the boy relented. “Fine, fine, I suppose I’ve kept you all in suspense long enough.” He cleared his throat, sat up a bit straighter and, with a grin, announced, “I have a dragon.”

Before anyone even had time to call his bluff, Satoru pulled the plain shortbread cookie from the paper packaging, held it up closer to his shoulder, and said, “You can come out now, Kenji.”

Kenji, who apparently had a flare for the dramatic as much as Satoru did, poked his head out of the collar of the boy’s light jacket, then made a beeline for the cookie, climbing onto Satoru’s shoulder and taking the cookie into his mouth once it was within reach. 

“You’re welcome,” your friend pointedly told his dragon, when he got no sort of thanks for the treat. Kenji made a suspiciously mocking sound in response, though he never tore his attention away from the cookie he was nibbling on.

Throughout the whole exchange, your friends stared at Satoru and Kenji, eyes wide and jaws slack, as if unable to believe what they were seeing. Knowing you had probably looked very similar when you first saw Kenji, you had to stifle a giggle.

Shoko, who was sitting closest to you, noticed your muffled laughter, and she turned towards you, still wide-eyed. “You knew?” she asked incredulously. “You knew he had his dragon and you didn’t tell us?”

“He would’ve thrown a huge fit if I told you before he did!” you defended.

“My parents wanted Kenji kept a secret at first,” Satoru added, coming to your defense as well.

“But they still knew before the rest of us did!” Utahime cut in. “How is that fair?”

You didn’t have an answer for that, so you turned to Satoru, hoping your white haired menace of a friend had an answer that would satisfy everyone.

“Because they’re Satoru’s best friend,” Shoko said, before the boy could answer for himself. It was clear in the way she emphasized “best friend” that she meant something else, and though you weren’t sure what, you found your feelings were a bit hurt by…whatever the implication was; the confusion and hurt you felt doubled as you watched Shoko, Kento, and Utahime all exchange a knowing glance. You turned to Satoru then, assuming he would be just as confused as you were, but he’d got a bit red in the face, and was very pointedly not looking at you, instead focusing on Kenji as the dragon practically mauled the cookie he’d been given.

“What’s important is that I’m telling you guys now,” Satoru insisted, still failing to meet your eyes, though his gaze did flash in your direction for a brief moment. “Besides,” he added, “he’s not even that exciting yet. All he does is steal my food and pretend he doesn’t understand what I’m saying to him during training.”

Apparently taking great offense at the snowy haired boy’s words, Kenji turned to face Satoru, making a series of displeased noises that were clearly some sort of complaint. 

“You know it’s true— ow!”

At first you were shocked as you watched Kenji bite Satoru on the hand, but you relaxed when you realized he hadn’t actually broken the skin, and you laughed at how smug the little dragon looked, clinging to your friend’s arm and holding the cookie in his mouth as Satoru attempted to shake him off in retaliation for the bite. 

“How is training going?” Shoko asked curiously, tilting her head slightly and slowly chewing a bite of her own cookie as she waited for an answer. “I’ve seen your teacher in town some, he seems prickly.”

“Yaga-sensei is sooooo boring,” Satoru sighed dramatically, apparently deciding to forgive Kenji for biting him, at least for the time being. “He makes me do the same exercises every day.”

“Do you and Kenji have those exercises learned yet?” asked Kento.

“No.”

“Then that’s why you keep having to do them.”

“But it’s so boring!”

“What’s his dragon like?” you cut in, realizing then that the one time you’d met Yaga, he had not had a dragon with him.

“You mean Panda?” Satoru asked, his brows furrowed slightly as if he were deep in thought.

“He doesn’t have a dragon?”

“Where did he even get a panda, anyways?” Utahime added, her features pinched together in confusion.

“No, he does have a dragon. The dragon’s name is Panda,” Satoru explained with a small smile on his face. “But I agree, it’s a stupid name for a dragon.”

“I’m assuming Panda is black and white?” you asked, trying to steer the conversation away from possibly dissolving into pointless bickering.

“Obviously,” Satoru replied, rolling his eyes. When he caught the way you were scowling at him, though, he straightened up a bit. “Yeah, Panda’s black and white. He does actually look a lot like a panda, it’s weird.”

“Can he fly?” This time Kento was the one to ask.

“I don’t think so? He doesn’t have any wings, at least, and I’ve never seen him fly.”

As the rest of your friends tossed questions at Satoru about his training, about Yaga, about Panda, just trying to get a feel for how much of his life had changed in the last couple of months, you were more than happy just to listen, but you looked down when you felt something on your leg.

Unnoticed by everyone else – including Satoru – Kenji had made his way across the space between where he and his rider sat, all the way over to you, who he had apparently deemed a better companion for the time being.

You watched with a smile as the dragon steadily made his way up your leg, and you offered him your hand to give him a more direct path to your shoulder. That seemed to be all the invitation he needed, and he quickly scampered up your arm, settling on your shoulder as he finished the last piece of the cookie he’d been given earlier. 

After the dragon settled down in his new spot, you made an effort to move as little as possible, not wanting to jostle or upset him at all. You still weren’t sure why Kenji had taken a liking to you specifically and nobody else – besides Satoru, of course – but you tried not to question it too much; he didn’t seem to want anything from you, nor did it seem like he wanted to cause you problems, so you were content to let him seek you out whenever he saw fit. You may not have met your own dragon yet, but having caught the attention of your friend’s solid color dragon made you feel special.

Deep down you also hoped maybe it was a sign that you would meet your own dragon soon, and that maybe you’d be lucky enough to bond with a rare, special dragon, like Kenji.

for those of you who made it this far, first of all i want to say thank you for sticking around for the chapter updates! second, i want to let everyone know i'm going to be taking a break from this fic for a bit. i'm not sure how long, so i'm not going to give a time frame, but i literally frustrated myself to tears at least half a dozen times while writing this chapter, so i need to take a step back for a bit, before i frustrate myself to the point of fully giving up on this fic. i love this au, i want to keep writing this fic, but right now i need a break. i hope you'll all still be around when i'm ready to come back to it 💜

taglist: @ghost-1-y @kentohours @whatthefucksatan @why-the-fuck-am-i-so-tired @mitsuristoleme @lu-dao-writes @peachdues @lik0 @deepestartisanhumanoidshark @here-for-the-tea-baby @staryukis @roselleviennesstuff if your url is crossed out, it's because tumblr wouldn't let me tag you. i apologize!

[boycock-boycunt-boyslut]

sakura blooms and my life with you

raiden ei x male reader warnings: physical contact (hand holding, several kisses for ei), reverse hurt/comfort, post-inazuma quest, reader has known ei for more than 500 years word count: 1120

request rules

𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟 𓆝

As springtime approaches, the sakura trees that litter around all of Narukami Island begin to bloom. They're plenty viewable in Inazuma City and the Grand Narukami Shrine. Going to those two places makes it inevitable to end up with a few petals landing atop your head and onto your clothes. The beauty of it is one of the great draws to all of Inazuma.

It is a sight that Ei has seen for all of her life. Most of it, at least. Losing the sight for 500 years has made seeing it again nostalgic. However this time, she feels different as they bloom. The last time she saw the sakura in bloom she had her sister with her: her sister, her friends, everyone.

Now, she stands within the walls of Tenshukaku. Ei holds out her hand as a petal drifts onto it.

Her eyes widen a fraction as another hand comes into her vision. One that she is familiar with.

She looks to you, and a gentle smile graces her features as both of your eyes meet.

"Hello, dear," you greet her, "are you enjoying the sakuras? They're quite beautiful this year."

Truly, that can be said for every year. You know that, Ei knows it.

Despite that, Ei nods her head, "yes. It's been a while since I've seen them after all."

She tightens the hold on your hand, bringing both down to her side. Having you by her side for this moment is tranquil. With nothing to ruin this moment but the passage of time.

This moment will soon end, the sakuras will soon come out of bloom and wilt. A moment like this is just that- a moment. Once it ends, it never comes back. Once it ends, Ei will have to move on.

Her fleeting smile drops.

She'd sigh if she wasn't inhabiting a puppet's body.

"Is something wrong, Ei?" you ask, squeezing Ei's hand to pull her attention back to you.

"It's…" she begins. Ei takes a step forward, and you follow. She holds out her free hand to catch another petal falling from the trees, "the sakuras are beautiful. This time of year is stunning, it has been for all the years I have been here. I've seen it many times and I will see it many more. The times I can see it though, they are fleeting moments. A blip in the grand existence."

Once again, Ei wishes to take a breath even though she doesn't need to.

"Moments like these are what I wish to make eternal. Something so beautiful that it cannot end. But, it does," a gentle breeze blows off the petal in her hand, "it will continue to do so. It makes me think of more things I cannot stop from ending. It makes me wonder how much longer I can be with… you, as well."

As Ei finishes, she looks to you once again. Someone she has known for much of her life. The only, outside of Yae, person from her past that continues to be with her. She has loved you, and she will continue to love you. Will you continue to love her, or will you leave her as well and go somewhere she cannot follow? The thought of it makes her stomach twist. At least that's something she can do.

You don't immediately respond to Ei. Instead, you reach over to touch her. Ei remembers the warmth of your hand as it makes contact with her cheek. Warmth that she had grown so familiar with so, so long ago. You brush away the hair from her face and lean closer. She closes her eyes out of habit, waiting for your lips to connect with hers.

They don't.

Instead, you give a soft kiss to her mole. As you pull back, you smile a bit.

Ei gives a small irritated expression, as if she's fallen for a trick from a certain kitsune.

"I believe you have been spending too much time with that Miko."

You let out a laugh at Ei's words. Perhaps you are feeling a bit mischievous. After all, it's one way to distract her from her thoughts. You still keep your hand to her hair.

As your short laughter stops, you begin to speak again.

"Sorry about that, kinda," her brow furrows more, making you let out a chuckle, "I… cannot promise you eternity, Ei. I cannot promise that we will be together to the end of time"

Ei's face twists. A slight look of hurt overtaking her features. You immediately try to resolve it, cupping her cheek with your hand.

"Even though I can't promise it, I still want to make memories with you. I want to be with you for as long as I can. I wish to see sights from lands you haven't seen in so long, to tell you about everything you've missed," a smile graces your face. A gentle one, one Ei has seen directed to her so many times, "I have been your boyfriend for more than 500 years. I'm not going to leave you now."

You kiss the tip of Ei's nose to punctuate your sentence. She doesn't close her eyes this time.

"Besides, these sakuras… we can pick some that have yet to bloom to make into sake next year, you know?"

"When we salt them, they won't bloom nor wither," Ei finishes your thought.

"It's not the eternity you wish for, but it's what I can give to you."

"If it's what you give to me, I will be eternally grateful for it."

Ei feels your other hand cup her cheek. You lean in closer, she closes her eyes this time.

She's missed the feeling of you on her lips. Your lips, either chapped or soft, are gentle with her. As she is to you.

You pull away just a second later, lowering your hand away from her face. Only to raise one and pick a petal off of Ei's head. She notices that there are also several others on yours as well. As expected in the sakura blooming season.

Ei opens her mouth, "then… I would like to pick some with you to preserve."

She sees a smile grace your face as you take her hand once again. By the end of this, no doubt you and Ei would have several sakuras to preserve. As well as several in your hair and clothing.

Boyfriend though… Ei thinks she'd like to be more than that. Perhaps something to discuss when you both can enjoy a sip of sakura sake.

For now, she'll laugh as you try to climb up one of the sakura trees to pick some blossoms for both of you to enjoy.

[hozierwords]

Hi again! Could you look for "Light"?

😊

hiiiii thanks for the request - I'm sorry it took so long, my laptop was broken -_-

I wasn’t sure what type of light you wanted, so I went with it in terms of a light source, but let me know if you want me to do it in the sense of weight or lighting a fire! I feel like I should’ve included sun/lamps/shining/bright and stuff, I might go back and edit mentions of those in at some point… (has since been edited to add these)

Let me know if you want me to do darkness too:)

Also SUNLIGHT DOESN'T LOOK LIKE A WORD ANYMORE

Light (in the sense of light source)

Unreleased songs

Greater Worth: “No one’s ever/Honey, been so kind to me/Let me adjust in this light”

Hozier

Take Me to Church: “If I'm a pagan of the good times/My lover's the sunlight”

Jackie and Wilson: “She blows out of nowhere, a roman candle of the wild"

Jackie and Wilson: “Me and my Isis growing black irises in the sunshine”

Someone New: “I wake at the first cringe of morning"

To Be Alone: “Honey, when you kill the lights and kiss my eyes”

Work Song: “In the low lamplight, I was free/Heaven and hell were words to me”

Arsonist's Lullabye: “Staring into open flame, something in it had a power”

Wasteland, Baby!

Nina Cried Power: “It's the light, and it's the obstacle that casts it”

Nina Cried Power: “It's the heat that drives the light”

Almost (Sweet Music): “Played from the bedside is "Stella by Starlight"”

No Plan: “Sit in and watch the sunlight fade/Honey, enjoy, it's gettin' late”

Nobody: “I once warmed my hands over a burnin' Maserati, woo”

As It Was: “And I knew its name/The drug, the dark, the light, the flame”

As It Was: “And the lights were as bright as my baby/But your love was unmoved”

As It Was: “And I knew its name/The drug, the dark, the light, the shame"

Would That I: “Where I'm set alight/And I blink in sight (Oh)/Of your blinding light (Oh)”

Would That I: “Light a fire bright”

Would That I: “Long as amber of ember glows”

Sunlight: “I would shun the light, share in evening's cool and quiet”

Sunlight: “Who would trade that hum of night/For sunlight, sunlight, sunlight?”

Sunlight: “On first and fierce affirming sight/Of sunlight, sunlight, sunlight?”

Sunlight: “I had been lost to you, sunlight/And flew like a moth to you, sunlight, oh, sunlight/Oh, your love is sunlight/Oh, your love is sunlight/Oh, but it is sunlight”

Sunlight: “A soul that’s born in cold and rain/Knows sunlight, sunlight, sunlight”

Sunlight: “As love and its decisive pain/Oh, my sunlight, sunlight, sunlight”

Sunlight: “All that was shown to me, sunlight/Was somethin' foreknown to me, sunlight/Oh, sunlight”

Sunlight: “Hold me, carry me slowly, my sunlight”

Sunlight: “Know that I would gladly be/The Icarus to your certainty/Oh, my sunlight, sunlight, sunlight”

Sunlight: “Death trap clad happily/With wax melted, I’d meet the sea/Under sunlight, sunlight, sunlight”

Sunlight: “Sunlight, sunlight/Sunlight, sunlight/Sunlight”

NFWMB: “Ain't it warming you, the world gone up in flames?”

NFWMB: “Ain't it the life of you, your lighting of the blaze?”

Unreal Unearth: Unending

Nobody’s Soldier: “Benzos and gasoline/Coffee and blue light screens till the morning”

July: “But you arrived like sunlight in the gloom”

Hymn to Virgil: “You tell me the sun is shining in paradise”

Hymn to Virgil: “You stare at the faces smiling from somewhere warm/From somе place the sunlight won't come through”

Too Sweet: “You keep tellin' me to live right/To go to bed before the daylight/But then you wake up for the sunrise”

Too Sweet: “You know you're bright as the morning, as soft as the rain”

Wildflower and Barley: “Springtime in the country/Each time I'm shocked by the light”

Empire Now: “Sun comin' up on a dream come 'round”

Empire Now: “Sun comin' up on a world that's easy now”

Empire Now: “The future's so bright it's burnin'"

Through Me (The Flood): “At the long-term cliff edge of the world/Light and air find some new deepness there”

De Selby (Part 2): “Let all time slow, let all light go”

First Time: “Unknowin' either sight nor sound/Till reachin' up for sunlight just to be ripped out by the stem”

Anything But: “I wish I was the sunlight just sitting on The Mississippi”

Anything But: “I wanna be the shadow when my bright future's behind me”

See how it shines”

Abstract (Psychopomp): “I remember the view, streetlights in the dark blue”

Abstract (Psychopomp): “Your tear caught the light, the earth from a distance”

Unknown / Nth: “If there were scarlet flags, they washed out in the mind of mе/Where a blindin' light shone on you еvery night”

First Light: “One bright mornin' changes all things”

First Light: “Onе bright mornin' goes so easy”

First Light: “The sky set to burst, the gold and the rust”

First Light: “The colour erupts/You fillin' my cup, the sun comin' up”

First Light: “Like I lived my whole life/Before the first light”

Non Album Songs

Tell It To My Heart (MEDUZA): “Before a light goes out, come and tell me now if something's fadin'”

Blood Upon The Snow: “The winter sun rise, red on white”

Blood Upon The Snow: “No rain fall, no sunshine”

[overwhelmedfernfrond]

writing prompt: too many butterflies

(bonus points if you can integrate a complicated sibling relationship and/or flower symbolism)

I loveeee prompts like these! I hope you like the direction I took the prompt :)

Without further ado,

-

Theodora couldn’t picture Rainy’s smile. It had been that long since they’d last laid eyes on each other.

She could, however, remember her sister’s laugh, that chickadee giggle, and that feeling of solid rightness when they held hands, silently reassuring Theo: You’re doing this right, you’re protecting her.

But she couldn’t visualize her little sister’s gap-toothed, guileless, beaming face, her warm brown eyes, not like Theo’s. Six years had come and gone since they’d been separated. Six times the apple blossoms had bloomed in the springtime, and Theo had witnessed all of it. She watched them devotedly from the Temple until the sun set, knowing she had to appreciate the trees’ beauty for two, now.

All the while, Rainy had been imprisoned underground, kept away from the wind and the sky and safety. Theo was meant to keep her little sister safe. She had failed.

Something jabbed the inside of Theo’s stomach, erratic and flappy and cold as silk. Her nerves were twisting themselves into knots. Gulls and waves and twinkling stars warred inside her, a spiralling cloud of everything little Rainy must have missed in the past years. Mostly, Theodora felt as if a kaleidoscope of butterflies was trying to escape her insides, by literally eating their way out.

Theo pushed through lilac-coloured curtains and saw her sister, rescued by the Temple women. Now a mere eleven years old, the same age Theo had been when she’d failed to save her, Rainy was not smiling.

Theodora clutched a blooming apple blossom branch, her gift for Rainy. As she held the flowers stiffly out to her sister, Rainy’s gaze, somehow both sharp and dull, broken glass weathered by the sea, remained fixed on the thorns along its stem. She made no move to step forward, did not take the offering.

“Theo…” Rainy’s voice was fractured from disuse. Her eyes refracted the candlelight, hollow in a way they hadn’t been when Theo had last seen her. Her warm brown eyes had dulled to a cold cedar shade.

“Rainy, oh, baby…” Theodora cast aside the flowering branch, moving to cup her sister’s too-pale face in her hands. She blinked back tears, trying to keep it together, to stay strong for Rainy.

Rainy was no longer the artless toddler she’d been; her limbs had grown long and lanky like Theo’s, listless and bone-white from her years away from the sun. She stood like a clipped-winged bird, skittishly alert but anchored to the cold earth by something incomprehensible to Theo. The skin of her face was ashen, like wet paper, and as Theodora ran her thumb along Rainy’s undereye, they both cried.

The butterflies swarming in Theo’s stomach chose that tender moment to break free. The sharp stabbing pain of guilt incapacitated her, and she doubled over, sobbing.

“Rainy, baby, I’m sorry, I’m so sorry—”, she cried.

Rainy stared down at her older sister, confusion lighting her eyes.

“What? What did you do?”

Theo blinked at her. “... Don’t you remember? I failed you, you’ve been stuck down there all these years because I—”

Rainy interrupted her. “Theo, I’ll admit, I don’t remember much from… back then.” She winced, something sharp flashing in her gaze. “But what I do remember? Hearing them drag you away from me, four grown adults literally having to pry you off the door, I remember you screaming for me, offering to switch places with me, pounding on the wall. I know you tried, how couldn’t I?”

Stunned, Theodora took a slight step back. All she remembered from that day was a whirl of overwhelming guilt and shame that Rainy had been taken from her. She had never actually taken a moment to wonder what she realistically could have done to protect her sister more than she had. They’d been overpowered from the start, she realized in her contemplation.

She doesn’t blame me.

“Rainy, come outside with me,” she said suddenly. Theo drew her sister gently by the arm, and they stepped through the draping lilac silk of the tentroom. Finally outside, Theo’s gaze was fixed on Rainy’s shining eyes as she felt the warm sunlight and wind on her face, breathed in honeysuckle air, and saw swirls of bright butterflies, dancing free.

-

Hope you enjoyed!! :D

🦋🪻

Thanks for reading, and thanks for the ask! Thoughts?

[shares-a-vest]

@flufftober Spring Edition Day 5: Honey & Bees

wc: 468 | Rated: G | cw: None

Tags: Platonic Stobin, Robin Buckley, Cool Aunt Robin, Steddie Dads (Eddie not present), Implied Ronance, Backyard, Springtime Flowers

'Buzz, Buzz, Buzz'

Steve’s hearing isn’t what it used to be when he was seventeen, but he is fairly certain the buzzing sounds coming from Claudia Henderson’s backyard aren’t in his head.

He flicks wet hands into the sink and haphazardly dries them on a nearby damp dishcloth so he doesn’t drip water everywhere as he heads to the back door.

And sure enough, Robin is buzzing about, rocking baby Joanie in her arms as she walks through Claudia’s modest, blooming garden.

“What are you doing, Robs?” he chuckles to himself, stepping from the back deck as his best friend now swishes the pink-clad bundle about.

“Buzz, buzz, buzz…” Robin chimes, in her own world as she holds Joanie impossibly close.

Steve moves forward, the freshly cut (by him) grass pillowing his feet as he reaches his best friend, who stands cheek-to-squished-cheek with his beaming daughter. It appears as if Robin is directing Joanie’s gaze to the nearby bees – half a dozen or so moving between a perfectly pruned patch of pink peonies.

The child points at a bee and hums, eliciting an enthusiastic nod from Robin.

“Yeah, Joans, bees!” she beams, giving Joanie’s clothed tummy the softest tickle in praise, “Bees make honey and help the flowers grow. Buzz, buzz, buzz.”

Joanie tries to mimic the sound but only blows a raspberry – a noise that is so hearty that she tips her head back and almost loses her pink sunhat.

Steve smiles and bites the inside of his cheek, refraining from gushing over a sight he is glad to have caught on the flying trip back to Hawkins. He makes a mental note to thank Wayne Munson for convincing him and Eddie that they needed to get the hell out of their tiny, baby-proofed apartment for at least one Spring weekend.

“Don’t look at me like that,” Robin glares.

But the look doesn’t last too long as Joanie begins squirming about, alerted to the presence of somebody else who might dote on her as much as her beloved Aunt Robin.

Steve tips his head to the side, catching his daughter’s eye so she doesn’t lose her hat for good.

“But look at you two…” he teasingly grins, reaching to playfully flick the brim of Joanie’s sunhat and earning a giggling squeal.

“Well…” Robin begins, feigning a grumbling tone Steve can see straight through, “What do you expect? Nancy had to stay in Chicago for work. So lucky for me, I get this little squirt all to myself. Can’t a girl be selfish when it comes to the cutest, most chubby-cheeked niece on planet Earth?”

“Fine,” Steve laughs, “Carry on with your buzz-buzz-buzzing.”

He wiggles his fingers and takes a step back, leaving them to their quality (Nancy-free) time together.

But it doesn’t mean he can’t watch on from the window!

[mrsgiovanna]

Priceless Acquisitions (Yan!Don Giovanna x reader)

A slightly longer version of a drabble. Unhinged Don Giovanna, barely any interaction between Giorno and the reader

Warnings: kidnapping, obsessive behavior, implied minor character death, general yandere behaviors,

Prompt: She's so pure… the last pure thing in this dirty, filthy world

Word count: 2k

It all started when you had chosen to intervene that day. It was a day like any other, you rose early, took care of your meandering morning routine and had started making your way to work. Naples hadn't looked more beautiful in all her springtime glory, but the owner of a pair of emerald eyes begged to differ when his gaze had fallen on you. Giorno had watched you intently from his vantage point at the rooftop cafe he liked to frequent on mornings like those. He appreciated the birds-eye view, like a deity overlooking his pantheon, he watched the hustle and bustle and spotted you darting your way through the crowd when you had stopped abruptly, your gaze being caught by something he couldn't quite discern. He had set down the mocha latte he'd been nursing and concentrated at the scene unfolding below him.

You had seen your fair share of atrocities that had taken place under that beautiful Neapolitan sky, each had irked you more than the last, but when you had seen a child almost snatched by someone who looked like a tourist, your body moved to intervene before your mind could rationalize the action. It was a simple action, in a crowded place like that, any inkling that you had known the child would have spooked off the potential kidnapper. Blissfully unaware of the doom she was spared, the little girl had run off towards an older woman with outstretched arms, chants of Nonna in her tiny voice mingling with the noisy surroundings. You watched as they walked off, ensuring that she was safe before you had resumed your trip to work.

The irony of it all, the simple act of saving an innocent had sealed your own fate… transfixed by the events that unfolded below him, rooted to that spot, Giorno’s interest was piqued, for the first time in years he was moved by the actions of another. Dropping a hundred euro bill on the table the don had finally exited the establishment, the barista followed at a safe distance in order to flip the sign indicating that the place was now open to the public, having been closed on account of Giorno's presence. He hardly dwelled in public spaces, the few choice areas that he had chosen to frequent were under express instructions to remain closed off to the public while Giorno was there, of course, it was for his own safety, but I left him feeling isolated nonetheless… Although he was no stranger to this… his entire life had been one isolated existence after another, save for one bizarre week in 2001, however, even that was short-lived…

Still thinking about what had happened a few moments ago, he had sent a few instructions to his consigliere to take care of the stray vermin that had managed to escape his new regime undetected, and had trusted that his wishes would be carried out, of that he was certain. The thing that posed a challenge to him though, was you. Reminded of both himself and his savior and being a firm believer in the power of shaping one's own destiny, his renewed resolve revolved around getting to know you. Any other intel gathering mission would have been passed on to an underling, this time, however, he had taken on the task himself. After a few days of relentless searching and pouring over videos of you going about your day in his free time, he had felt confident that he had your routine pinned down to its finest details. He knew his interest had bordered on obsession, he saw it in the way Mista and Fugo had guarded themselves when the topic of you had come up in their conversations. But none of that mattered, he was too far in to back out, too invested to give up, too taken with you to go back to life before he encountered you…

His stage was set, with all the world's citizens serving as his marionettes, all that was left now was to insidiously insert himself into all the facets of your life… for one as charming as he, that was the easy part, or so he thought… what he wasn't banking on was your fighting spirit, that had resisted him at every turn. It was infuriating. He was so accustomed to getting his way in the years that he had been leading Passione, he was at a loss when his charming advances had all failed to make an impression. His failure had spurned him on and soon there was not a minute in your day that Giorno was not aware of… which had brought its own problems. For all intents and purposes, Giorna was a fair man… his methods may have left some room for questioning, however, there weren't many who could question his ideals… so when he had seen you ensconced in the arms of another, his moral dilemma wouldn't be one that had an easy answer.

It was the brightest summer morning and Giorno had gone to his favourite coffee spot, the one you would pass by on your morning walk before you had gone to work. It was seven-forty-five when Giorno had lifted his head from his phone and had laid eyes on you with them. His thoughts had become erratic, trying to conjure up reasons for your interaction to the nature of the relationship until that kiss had put all of those thoughts to rest.

Silence… both in his mind and his surroundings. As if a wave had come crashing over his psyche, his eyes had darkened. Why was he limiting himself to the ordinary methods of acquiring you when both you and he were the furthest things from ordinary? He turned his attention back to his phone and sent a few messages to enact his plan. In order for this to work, he would need to know your whereabouts with pinpoint accuracy… a small task he initiated immediately as he used his ability to morph the tracking dot into a ladybug and had it settle into your bag just before you and your partner could disappear around the corner.

Blissfully unaware that your fate had already been sealed, you and your love had walked through the streets of Naples, enjoying the warm summer sunshine.

"So, has that guy ever tried his luck with you again?"

"Which guy?"

"Y'know, the well dressed one, dripping with swag… I bet just one of his watches costs more than my salary for a year…"

"None of that matters, I haven't seen him in a few days… Maybe the police finally listened to me… I don't know, I'm just happy I can go about my day unhindered," you had mused before branching off towards your office block. The day had gone by uneventfully, however, you couldn’t shake off the feeling that you were being watched.

You were just about to end work when you received a phone call from your partner, asking you to meet them for dinner. It was a short distance from your office so you suggested meeting them there. The sun had just started to go down when you had stepped outside and the air was warm and balmy from the day. A gentle breeze carrying a fresh, earthy scent blew as you walked down the street. It caught your attention because the smell felt out of place for all the bustling activity around you. You had arrived at the restaurant and saw that your partner wasn’t there, which you didn't think much of as you were ushered into a seat by the maitre’d. He wasn’t the person you were accustomed to seeing at the door. He was extremely tall, and had the most interesting, yet unsettling eyes you had ever seen, crimson irises affixed in obsidian. All your instincts had told you to leave, but you had ignored your better judgment and continued to wait. Your eyes wandered around the establishment and you realized that you didn't recognise any of the staff that were currently on duty.

Probably new owners… you thought, paging through a drinks menu. Settling on a glass of water, you had ordered your drink, and waited patiently still taking in your surroundings. You were one of the few patrons in there, and felt a little uneasy each time you locked eyes with the maitre'd. Suddenly, you had become hyper aware of the sensation of your blood flowing through your veins, rushing in your ears.

Run

You willed yourself to stand but you had felt as if all the energy had been sapped from your body at once and then darkness.

A few moments had passed when Giorno had emerged from the back entrance, shedding his bloodied long coat and gloves, haphazardly tossing the items towards one of his men.

"Nero, is it done?"

The tall man looked in his Don's direction and nodded wordlessly.

"Good, remember, nobody learns about the events of today…"

"Dead men tell no tales, it's best you leave soon before rousing any suspicion,"

With a curt nod, Giorno had lifted you into his arms and gently carried you to the waiting car before speeding off to an unknown location. His hands ghosted over your face as if the mere action of touching you would cause you to vanish into a plume of smoke, but you were there, in the flesh, with all the obstacles that prevented him from being with you, eliminated.

He was a man who had rarely smiled but he could help himself as he mused thought about how flawlessly his plan had been executed. His consigliere had tentatively rolled down the partition to signal that they had arrived at the destination, and after passing through many layers of security Giorno had carefully placed you in your new bed. He gazed around the room with a barely-there smile, thankful that he had had the sense to incorporate some of your own belongings into the decor. Even though he retained a few knicknacks from your tiny apartment, easily acquired during your workday, his taste was evident in every detail of the room, from its high ceilings to the gilded details to the Egyptian cotton that you were now bundled in… nothing was too lavish. For too long he had been deprived and sought to make up for that time by unadulterated indulgence on the finer things in life. Your wardrobe had been filled with the most beautiful clothes and your bathroom stocked with the best care products. There was nothing that you could have wanted upon awakening. His position as don of Passione had also ensured that he had allies that possessed some of the strongest stand abilities known. His influence had spread and he built his network in tandem with a few other key players in Italy and Europe, and together, they had ruled from the shadows while maintaining a facade of reckless, privileged youth. He glanced at your form once more before leaving you to tend to the rest of his plans.

"Are… are you sure you want to go through with this Giovanna?" His Sicilian counterpart examined him with a hard stare, before tossing him a vial of ruby coloured liquid. Giorno turned it over in his hand a few times before setting it aside to pour them both a drink.

"Weren't you the one who suggested this? Didn't you take advantage of your crafty consiglieres' stand ability to acquire yourself a pretty little thing only a short while ago? Why do you look so concerned now?"

"I honestly didn't think you were crazy enough to do it… it was all fun and games until you took the bait and ruined my entertainment… although, annihilating that poor bastard was a step too far, even for you, no?" Giorno let out a mirthless laugh.

"Rich coming from someone they call 'The Reaper'," both men laughed before Giorno continued. "She's so pure… the last pure thing in this dirty, filthy world, I'll do anything to preserve that… anyway, salut,"

"What are we drinking to?"

Giorno thought for a moment, mulling over all godless things he'd done to get you under his control.

"To priceless acquisitions?"

His friend smiled and clinked his glass before reciprocating.

"May they always remain ours."

[theslasherslut]

Human Wally darling x married reader

AN: this one shot is inspired by @chronicbeans and their wonderful Human Illustrator Wally X Reader series and a few other writers of the sort I just don't remember their usernames... Had a huge writing block but thanks to their stuff it made me inspired to make this little thing. enjoy

TW: alcohol, cursing and domestic abuse (not caused by Wally)

You and your husband had moved to the small, quiet town a few months ago and had been married for a year and were looking forward to starting a new life together.

At first, it seemed like everything was going according to plan. Their neighbours welcomed them with open arms and y/n was quickly embraced into the small community. She was excited to be part of something new and to make friends with the people she lived near.

Unfortunately, the friendly façade soon began to crack. Y/n's neighbours noticed her wearing long sleeves and heavy makeup even though it was springtime. They were concerned and wondered why she was trying so hard to hide her true self.

Y/n's neighbours suspected that something was wrong in her marriage and that the lovely picture of a blissfully happy couple was far from the truth. They could see the sadness in her eyes and the toll that the marriage was taking on her, especially the residential artist.

She met him when she heard of the weekly book club meetings at Frank's bookstore. She had been coming to the weekly book club meetings at Frank's once a week for a few months now, and she never got tired of them. They were a refuge from her chaotic home life, a place where she could sit surrounded with shabby chic armchairs, the scent of books and chat the evening away over glasses of wine.

There was one constant in the group, a man whose name no one seemed to know, who was easily recognizable by his blue hair. He was always friendly, but y/n never thought much of him until one fateful evening at the end of summer.

The book club had just finished discussing a romantic novel and was already planning next month's choice when y/n noticed the blue haired man, who went by Wally, in a hushed conversation with Barnaby. She couldn't help but wonder what they were talking about, though she noticed Wally glance her way more than once.

Y/n was not paying attention to the conversation. But, when Frank asked her a question about the novel, Sally interrupted them with a pointed question. "Was y/n having an affair with Wally?" She was so shocked—was this something Sally, and now her husband, suspected?

"No." she said, her voice unsteady. "I am not having an affair with Wally. I can tell you, and Nick, that." She pulled in a deep breath, recalling from last nights events.

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"I saw you having googly eyes at that blue haired freak!!" Her heart raced as she tried her best to pull away, but her struggles only seemed to make Nick even more enraged.

"I fucking knew it! You've been around town sleeping with other men that aren't me!," Nick yelled, his voice full of rage. y/n was too scared to do or say anything - she just kept trying to escape. But before she could manage, Nick threw her to the ground, his belt now unbuckling. y/n lay frozen on the floor, fear gripping her body while she wondered what horrors would befall her.

"Let me remind you again who you're married to," he screeched, dragging her back to her feet. y/n could barely move, her body shaking as she begged him to stop. But no plea was enough to make Nick reconsider. He continued on his rampage, beating y/n until she was barely conscious. All the while, he repeated his hateful words, his broken promises and her shattering hopes echoing in her mind.

Eventually, Nick released her, setting her free from his cruel grip. y/n was too shocked and terrified to react as she limped away, her body having taken a severe beating. She was still in shock when the police arrived and took her away. Despite Nick's persistent threats, y/n was safe - but unfortunately, it had come at a high cost. Her body would never be the same, nor would she forget that night.

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"why won't you shut your fucking mouth you son of a bitch." Frank cust at Sally and smacked the back of her head. "If you weren't so fucking dense and not read the fucking paper, you would know that y/n was going through an abusive marriage and recently her husband is in jail for accusing her of sleeping with men such as Wally! Unless you're the reason why she went through that night I would shut your trap!"

The harsh words hit Sally like a ton of bricks. Of course, she had had no clue that Y/n was suffering such abuse. She was filled with horror.

"ok, I was in Hollywood before whole thing happened so tell me what the absolute fuck happened when I was gone, Frank I want to get it from y/n" Sally said looking towards y/n with details.

Frank had taken a step back, his face clouded with confusion. Sally had always been one to speak with authority and now it seemed like she was daring y/n to explain what had happened when she was away in Hollywood.

Y/n sighed softly, pushing back the tears that were threatening to escape her eyes. She looked at Sally, her eyes determined, but filled with sadness and exhaustion.

Y/n took a deep breath and started the story, which eventually caused Wally and Barnaby to come over to hear it as well.

" It all started a few months ago," she began, her voice trembling slightly as she told the story. "My husband was a good man, most of the time. But then, one night, something snapped in him. He came home late, in a fury, and began yelling at me. I had done nothing wrong, but that didn't seem to matter to him. He pushed me around the room, screaming and throwing objects. I was too scared to fight back, so I just curled up in a corner and cried.

Eventually he stopped, then the cycle continued for months getting worser with the passing days and one of our neighbors called the police. They came and arrested him, and he was taken away. I didn't hear from him for weeks, I couldn't stay in my house for fear that he would escape and beat me once again so I spent the night at Wally's and today I got a call from the police station saying he had been released on bail but he was not allowed back into our house. That was that - my husband was gone, and I was alone."

Y/n looked down, her tears spilling over as she continued her story.

"Everyone in the town seemed to know what had happened, but no one knew the full story of what happened last night. Wally and I eventually decided to tell them, so they could understand why my husband had to leave. We told them the truth - that my husband had been abusive - and that's when everyone really started to pay attention but my friends and neighbors never faltered in their support.

The town began to rally around me, ensuring that I never had to feel alone or scared again. Neighbors set up a night watch, and everyone made sure I was safe and taken care of. On Friday I have a trial with my husband to see if he's guilty or not for domestic abuse. That's the story, Sally,' Y/n said softly. "That's what happened when you were gone."

Sally listened intently to Y/n's story, her anger, disbelief, and sadness all too apparent on her face. She had been away on a business trip when all the events had unfolded and had had no idea what her best friend had been through. Gently, she reached out and took Y/n's hand in hers. "What can I do?" She asked.

Y/n smiled gratefully at her friend. "I just...I need you here for me. I need people to be on my side at the trial, not just me."

Sally nodded, tears glittering in her eyes. "I will do anything you need me to. I promise."

Y/n sniffled and gave her friend a hug. "Thank you," she whispered. "That means more than I can say."

The two friends continued to hug until Y/n felt calmer. Then they spoke of plans for the trial, with Sally promising to gather as many people as possible to support Y/n throughout.

A Hour before the meeting ended, Wally took y/n away from the group who is instead for talking about the next book to read, was talking about the trial.

" you wanted me?" You said curiously looking him with your e/c eyes.

"never mind it's not the time nor place, how about after the meeting we talk?" Wally said in his normal monotone voice.

When the meeting ended, y/n saw Wally heading out the door like he usually did. With a last minute impulse, she decided to follow him and see what kind of conversation he wanted to have.

Wally pov:

As time passed after to meeting y/n, Wally began to notice that he felt a little differently when he was around her. He began to seek out her perspective in the group; to glance at her when she shared an insight or opinion; to smile at her with a special kind of warmth. His affection for her was growing and he soon realized that it had blossomed into something far more powerful than friendship.

He wanted to have her but after knowing that she is technically married he was raised he was even more enraged that the fact that he was abusing such a wonderful kind goddess like herself.

"wally? Are you ok?" Y/n asked worry plastered on her face

"no need to worry, dearest. I was just lost and thought." Wally a genuine smile and y/n blushed at the nickname

Tag list: @rainingdandelion