#the more I try and expand my horizons the more I get hurt

[chaoticwriting]

Part 1

Gotham New Rogue 2

It's been a few weeks since Danny started to become the Trickster. To be honest, it is working very well. His core is expanding fast as ectoplasm is regenerating faster than ever before. He is also slowly developing new abilities and gaining more control and powers to his already established abilities.

For instance, Danny used to struggle making clones, but now he can easily create dozens of them with just a thought. He can also change his clothes to whatever he imagines using ectoplasm now. His ice power is also stronger and easier to control. His superhuman body is developing and slowly getting stronger and faster.

Overall, Danny will say that make a smart decision to become a rogue especially since no one has caught him yet. Danny is currently laying on top of a building watching the sun slowly set in the horizon. His stomach suddenly grumbles and he decides to hit the shack before he gets to "work" tonight.

Jumping off the roof, Danny lands and walks to the nearest Batburger while still wearing his rogue suit. He has a totally funny idea today and it involves him being seen in public. Entering the Batburger is like entering a library for some reason. As soon as he enters, everyone goes deathly quiet.

Danny slowly walks towards the cashier and orders his food.

Danny: 5 sets of set C please.

Cashier: Ermm, that will be 60 bucks.

Danny: Here.

After paying for the food, Danny gets his food and sits at one of the tables alone. It's only after he is through his 3rd set that reality is set in for the people. They begin to move and contrary to Danny's expectations, approach him to ask for pictures. Danny allows them some pictures and unknowingly raises his status as Gotham's friendliest rogue.

Suddenly, a white man that screams rich guy, a woman with blonde hair and a black guy wearing Signal's merch approach him. Danny has learned a lot of things from his 14 years of life and 2 years of half life and Danny knows when a rich guy approaches you, it's never good (Sam doesn't have the rich vibe).

Rich guy: Hello Trickster! May we have a meal with you?

Danny: Sure.

Rich guy: Ah, how rude of me. My name is Timothy Jackson Drake-Wayne. These two are my friends, Stephanie Brown and Duke Thomas. You can call me Tim by the way.

Danny: Sure, Tim.

They sit opposite him with their meals and try to make small talks with him while eating. The trio realize that Danny seems to respond a lot better when Steph or Duke is the one to ask the question.

Steph: So, Trickster. Why don't you like my friend here?

Duke: Way to go in being subtle, Steph. Why not ask who is he really next?

Steph: Hey, I can't help it you know. He seems so snarky whenever Tim asks questions. I wanna know if Tim pissed him off or something.

Danny: He is rich, right?

Duke: Err, yes?

Steph: Let's say he is. Why does that matter?

Danny: I hate rich people. And government. But who doesn't hate the government?

Duke: So, eat the rich?

Danny: Yes.

Steph: Cool cool. We are also here just so we could leech him off anyway. We're not really friends.

Tim: Ow, you hurt me by saying that. What happened to our vow of eternal friendships?

Steph: I cross my fingers.

Duke: I lie.

Danny: Hahahaha. You're like my friends.

Tim: You have friends?

Danny: Of course I have friends. And unlike you I don't need money to have friends.

Tim: Sorry sorry. Are your friends also rouges?

Danny: Wouldn't you like to know? Last I need is Batman investigating my friends. I'm sure Batman is part of you rich people group chat or something.

Steph and Duke: *Snickers*

Tim: *Glares at the two* Why would you think Batman is in contact with the rich people?

Danny: Isn't it obvious? Batman has all these high tech gadgets and is always there fast whenever a Wayne is kidnapped. I would even say Batman is being sponsored by the Wayne.

Danny: I also don't like most heroes in general. They are just the government lapdog doing whatever the government wants.

Tim, Steph and Duke frowned at that statement. From the way Danny speaks, it is clear that he has some history against the government. Him being here also means he is at least confident enough to run away if any of the bats are here. Is it just blind confidence or a truly competent ability will remain to be seen.

Tim is just about to refute him when Danny suddenly stands up. All of them tensed up and ready for battle when Danny turns towards one side of the window, waves and disappears right in front of them. They are very confused and when they turn towards the direction Danny was just looking at, they see Batman and Black Bat right on the rooftop across the building.

Batman and Tim nod to each other and they all return to the caves.

-Batcave-

Tim: So you all hear the conversation right?

Dick: Except at the end where the sound becomes blurred for a moment, we hear everything.

Tim: Good. So what are your thoughts on this?

Damian: It is pretty self explanatory Drake. He has a personal hatred towards the government and that extends to all bodies of government or people he thought is connected to the government.

Tim: But why though? Is the hatred towards the government something as simple because he is a criminal? Or is there something else towards it?

Bruce: There is nothing to find about him currently with our limited resources about him. Return to the manor for today and take some rest. We will investigate it later.

All of them return to the manor and rest for the night.

-2 weeks later-

The Trickster is standing in front of an unconscious and tied up Batman. He is giggling loudly that evolves into full blown laughter.

He takes off Batman's belt and starts to pull out stuff one after another. Soon, he found the item that he needed.

Trickster: Hahahahahahaha. I have finally got it. The strongest weapon in the world!

The batfam that is watching the live broadcast shiver as they watch Trickster holds out the black object high in the sky.

Part 3

[amazingwriter101]

🎀Random Astrology Notes🎀

Hiii! It's been so long since the last time I posted (I was so busy at uni) I hope everyone is doing fine! 💙 Here's my random astro notes/observation 💋

🎀 Venus in Aquarius are likely attracted to someone who is intellectually stimulating, unconventional, and values independence. This placement desires a partner who embraces uniqueness, is open-minded, and engages in deep, thoughtful conversations. So someone who respects personal freedom and enjoys exploring new ideas will appeal to this placement.

🎀 Someone with Juno in Sagittarius seeks a lifelong/long-term partner who is adventurous, optimistic, and growth-oriented. Someone who shares a passion for travel, learning, and expanding horizons would be ideal. They value truth, honesty, freedom,and a relationship filled with excitement and exploration.

🎀 People with Water Rising + Earth Sun (especially Scorpio Risings) can leave a strong first impression. They will most likely come across as someone who is intense, ambitious, and confident with a hint of rebelliousness. Their aura feels like a combination of mystery, authority, charisma, and boldness.

🎀 Moon in Virgo is probably the perfectionist of the zodiac who can't relax until everything is labeled, organized, and sanitized. Your idea of emotional security? A perfectly curated to-do list and color-coded spreadsheets for feelings and activities. One of the best people to give constructive criticism (unless you're very sensitive, believe me their words can hurt even tho most of the time they don't mean to hurt you.) They see emotions are just puzzles waiting to be solved.

🎀 Leo Moon + Scorpio Rising = walking contradiction. Their duality is wild. Enigmatic, mysterious, private mask with the scorpio rising while the leo moon screams for applause, admiration and center of attention. it's like "Hey, notice me but don't make it obvious." "look but don't touch." such a power play.

🎀 Venus in Pisces is the hopeless romantic that probably see red flags as a beautiful shade of crimson and admire it. Stop saying you can fix someone, you can't! Please stop falling for potentials and trying to save individuals who doesn't even want to be saved. Forget the "Love is sacrifice", you're not their therapist, and martyrdom isn't sexy.

🎀 Venus in Leo folks love to make an entrance—they’re like DIVA of relationships. They expect their partners to shower them with attention, affection, and maybe a red carpet once in a while. If they’re not getting enough adoration, they might just start singing “Single Ladies” to themselves.

🎀 Moon in Aquarius person feels more at home in a group chat about physics than on a cozy night in with a romantic partner. They’re super into ideas, innovation, and making a difference—but don't ask them to express their feelings too much. You might get a "let's analyze this emotionally" instead of a hug. Might not work with someone who wants a lovey-dovey affectionate relationship.

🎀 Saturn in Taurus is the person who buys the most reliable, sturdy chair at the furniture store... and then waits 20 years to get a new one because "it’s perfectly fine." They have an unshakable commitment to stability and material comfort, but they might be a little too attached to their "favorite" blanket—don’t even think about touching it.

🎀 Venus Conjunct Mars in natal chart is like the romantic-comedy genre. The chemistry is palpable, and there’s a lot of flirtation, passion, and energy flying around. They’re the kind of person who can turn a quick coffee date into a whirlwind romance—and probably end up with matching tattoos by the end of the week.

🎀 Venus in Aquarius is the quirky, "I’m not like other people" type of lover. They’re attracted to what’s unique, eccentric, or revolutionary. Their idea of a perfect date might involve a debate about the future of technology or attending an avant-garde art exhibit. Forget the traditional romantic gestures—they’d rather build a robot together.

🎀 Venus in Taurus is the ultimate “Netflix and chill” person—literally. If you know the tiktoker that lives the fancy life, eating steak, travelling and enjoying? That's a good definition of Taurus and their ideal life. They value comfort, stability, and all the luxuries of life, especially good food and soft blankets. They’ll adore you with cuddles, gifts, and the finest chocolate—because who wouldn’t want to spoil their lover with cozy indulgences? But if you try to rush them, you might find yourself in a battle of wills. They prefer slow, steady love that’s built to last… with a side of gourmet snacks.

🎀 Venus in Cancer is a cuddly, emotional romantic 🦀 who wants to build a cozy home with their partner—and maybe a family of cats while they’re at it. They’re deeply sentimental and love making their loved ones feel cared for with homemade meals and personalized gestures. If you can make them feel safe, you’ll have their heart forever. Just don’t mess with their emotional boundaries, because they’re like a fortress when it comes to protecting their feelings.

🎀 Venus in Aries is like the spark that lights the fire of romance. They fall fast and love fiercely, but their attention span can be as short as a Snapchat story. The thrill of the chase is their thing—so, if you're playing hard to get, you're already ahead of the game. Once they're in a relationship, expect passionate moments, spontaneous adventures, and lots of energy.

🎀 Mars in Taurus is like the bulldozer of the zodiac—slow and steady, but extremely determined. They have an impressive amount of stamina and will stick with a task until it’s done right. Unlike the fiery Aries, Taurus likes to take their time and get things done with quality. Want them to rush? Good luck! They’ll just give you the side-eye and continue on at their own pace. But if you need someone reliable who’s not going to give up, this is your person.

🎀 Mars in Virgo is like a military general with a perfectly organized schedule. These folks are action-oriented, but they’re not impulsive—they want to make sure that every detail is sorted before they go charging ahead. They’re fantastic at problem-solving, and they approach challenges with a calm, methodical attitude. They’re not about drama—they’re about efficiency. But be warned: they might become slightly perfectionistic and a little too focused on the fine print, which could slow things down.

[retrospacejelly]

A Western Romance

Pairing: Ex-outlaw!Miguel O’Hara x Fem!Reader

Summary: Lost and in need of a place to stay, the ex-outlaw needs a place to sleep. Good thing he wandered into your yard.

Warnings: Angst, Fluff, Guns, Mentions of the devil’s tango, typical cowboy things, language

Part: 1/?

Part: 1, 2, 2 1/2, 3

Not proofread

A/N: Personally, there should be more Western Miguel content. I love Cowboys! I had this idea brewing for a while, and character ai helped push the plot! (Thank you Monstera for letting me expand on the plot!)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Crickets chirped as the sun set over the horizon. Despite the warm weather of July, a nice breeze blew through the small town of Nueva Falls. On the outskirts of the tiny town, a small house sat just over the hills, hidden from society.

Y/N hummed a tune as she took her now-dry linens off the worn line. A weaved basket sat at her boot-covered feet, holding sheets, blankets, and whatever else was washed that morning. 

As she reached for the last sheet, a twig snapped in front of her. Pausing both her movements and her humming, she listened for any other noises. It could always be a rodent or a coyote. She mentally groaned. Ever since one of the panels to the fence around the chicken coop broke, coyotes had been raiding (or at least attempting to raid) the coop. 

She brandished her pistol that had sat snug between her hip and skirt, slowly moving from behind the sheet. Best not to provoke it. For now. 

Y/N squints at the now darkened horizon, not noticing an immediate threat. Before she could turn around, a hand slipped around her middle and another over her mouth.

“Don’t make a sound, Dama.”

The voice grunts out. His breathing is uneven, and despite his strength, sounds weak. Y/N nods frantically, pistol still clutched tightly in her hand. He slowly releases her, turning her around to face him. 

Now getting a better view of the man, Y/N’s jaw almost dropped. Why he had to be over 6’5! His tan skin shined with what little moonlight was above, his piercing gaze watching her every move. She did the same. 

Lowering her gaze, she noticed his disheveled state. His clothes were wrinkled and darkened from dust and grime, his peppered hair messy and sticking to the nape of his neck. He didn’t seem to have a weapon of any kind, not that he’d need one with his burly build.

“Are you hurt?” she asked, trying to scan for any noticeable injuries. Seemingly taken aback by her question, there’s a beat of silence before he lets out a deep chuckle. Lord.

“Are people in this town always this kind and trustin’ of strangers?” He replies, his eyes falling onto her gun. “Well, ‘Cept maybe you.”. 

Y/N can’t help but smirk, a surge of confidence taking over. “Well, I’m not like most people in this town. That shoulda’ been made obvious to ya’ when you wandered on my property. Now. Are you hurt? And what are you doin’ on my property?” She prods again.

He shakes his head. “No, no. I ain’t hurt. Just tired and hungry. What’s a lil’ thing like you doin’ out here by lonesome anyhow? Don’t you know wild animals roam ‘round at night?”

She huffs, annoyed. “You don’t do too well answerin’ questions, now do ya? Why. Are. You. On. My. Property?” 

He throws his hands up in mock defense, shrugging off her comment. “I’ve been wanderin’ through the desert for the past two days after my horse broke its leg. Long story short, I was robbed by bandits while I was camped out, and all I have on me are the clothes on my back, Senora.” He moves closer, boldly reaching up to caress her cheek,

“Please, I just need a place to stay and a meal to eat. Your abode was the first inklin’ of settlement I’ve seen these past two days.” He looks into her eyes, his voice now a whisper. “Please.”

She hums skeptically, taking a step back. “Why not stay at an inn in town? They got brothels to keep a horn dog such as yourself company.” Y/N snarks back, slipping her pistol back into her waistband. 

He chuckles again. “You suggestin’ I partake in those kinds of…sinful pleasures? Now that’s just hurtful, Princessa.”

“What unmarried man doesn’t?” Y/N snaps, crossing her arms. She taps her foot against the ground, waiting for another comeback. Once again he chuckles, shaking his head. Some conversation they were having. 

“And how would you know if I’m a married man or not, hun?” 

“Well, I don’t see no ring on your finger. And with the way you were touchin’ me earlier, what else am I to assume, hun?” 

He grins. “Who says I’m flirtin'? Maybe I’m just a friendly guy.” A beat of silence. “A bit too friendly, don’t you think?”. He shrugs again, “Is there such a thing as bein’ too friendly?” he inquires.

She nods, “‘Course there is.” He takes a step forward again, his posture relaxed. He takes a lock of hair into his hand, twirling it. “If I’m bein' too friendly, then tell me ta scram.”

Y/N smiles, “‘Corrdin’ to you I’m too kind.”. Noticing her playful jest, he smiles too. “Yeah, a real ray of sunshine you are.” He teases, dropping her lock of hair. “Mn, and you a ball o’ fire.” 

“You seem awfully friendly for a gal who brandished her gun towards me.” He says, leaning in ever so slightly. Y/N places a hand on her pistol. “Yeah, and this gal still has her gun. Don’t go tryin’ nothin’ now”.

He lowers his voice. “Trust me sweet thing. I’d never do nothin’ of the sort…less you want me to?”. She leans in, just an inch away from his face, only to swiftly pull away. “How many nights you plan on stayin’ cowboy?”.

His eyes widen at her trick, but he quickly regains his composure. “Just a night, Darlin.”

She nods. “Mn, alright. I won’t charge ya…money that is.” 

He smirks. “What are ya lookin’ for in exchange then…?”

“Help on my ranch.” Y/N shuffles past him and picks up her basket. She pulls the sheet from the line and plops it in the basket. “One of the panels that fence my chicken coop done broke on me, and I haven’t had time to fix it. Damn coyotes keep trying to snag a snack.” She huffs, setting the basket on her hip. “Sound like a deal?” 

He ponders over her offer, looking up at the moon. He looks back down at her. “You’re askin’ a total stranger to work on your ranch for a night?” 

She refrains from rolling her eyes. “I’m also lettin’ a total stranger into my house. I think rationality has flown out the window. Besides, you were the one to come onto my property askin’ for a bed and a meal.”

He rests his hands on his hips. “You’re an interestin’ one, I’ll give ya that. Can’t tell if you’re too trustin’ or jus’ know how to talk a man inta’ doin’ favors for ya’.”

She shrugs, “The motel’s open all night, you choose.”

He lets out a sigh, not wanting to go into the busy town. Surely someone would recognize him there. He’s surprised she hasn’t already. “Alright, Senora. Ya got yourself a deal. I’ll fix up yer fence if it means a roof over my head and a pretty lil’ thing to keep me company.”

Y/N chuckles, a light blush dusting her cheeks. “Alright, c’mon and follow me.” She says, walking towards her back porch. She hears his heavy footsteps trailing behind her.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[laviefantasie]

Video 4

| series masterlist |

The sun is setting over the jujutsu high compound, casting warm hues across the courtyard. Inside one of the quieter rooms, Y/N is setting up a small easel, your canvas ready for the first stroke. Brushes, tubes of paint, and a small ceramic bowl of water are neatly arranged beside you. Suguru is already there, sleeves rolled up, looking as if he’s about to become the next world renowned artist. His hair is a little more disheveled than usual, but the slight smirk on his face tells you he is comfortable.

“Alright, the camera is on and focused and I’m setting up my canvas for real this time. You sure you want to join me, Suguru? You’re not really the type to sit still for long”

Suguru chuckles softly, picking up a brush and dipping it into a warm shade of blue.

“It’s called expanding my horizons, Y/N. Plus, I thought you could use a little company”

You nod, smiling as you adjust your canvas, although a teasing twink appears in your bright E/C eyes.

“If we’re doing this, though, don’t turn it into a competition” you remind him, “No ‘who can paint better’ nonsense”

Suguru gives you a lazy, amused grim, clearly enjoying the thought of teasing you while painting.

“No promises” he smirks “But I’ll try my best to make something that doesn’t end in chaos”

Both of you dip your brushes into your chosen colors and start painting. But just as the two of you start getting into the flow of it—Suguru’s brush strokes deliberate and calm, yours more spontaneous and bright—a loud crash interrupts the settled peace.

The door flies open and Gojo Satoru enters with an exaggerated flourish, sunglasses on, and a pout plastered on his face.

“Hey, hey! What is this? You two started a painting party without me!” He whines, “I thought we were friends, Y/N!”

Suguru raises an eyebrow as Satoru dramatically collapses on the floor, looking up to the ceiling with a hand over his heart.

“Did you just… fall in through the door for dramatic effect?” Suguru asks.

Satoru grins widely, “I’m just adding some flair, Suguru. How else do you think I should enter? Also, where’s my invite? I thought we were the three musketeers”

You stifled a laugh, trying to focus on your work, but the camera didn’t forget to capture the small smile tugging at your lips.

“Sorry not sorry, Satoru” you say, “Didn’t think you were the type to sit still and paint. I figured you’d be too busy doing something… important, like annoying people or emptying another dessert shop”

Satoru sats up immediately, and dramatically, throwing his arms out as if wounded.

“Ouch! Is that how you see me? That hurts. I’m offended! I’m a man of taste and class, I’d totally be amazing at painting”

Suguru shakes his head with an amused smile, muttering knowingly to himself as he mixes some paint.

“You wouldn’t last five minutes without making a mess”

Satoru ignores him, “You know, I’m actually artistic. I’m like… a modern-day Picasso. Or Van Gogh—except I have my ears intact”

You turn to glance a him, skepticism on your face.

“Sure. And you’ve definitely read all kinds of art history books, right?”

Satoru winks at her playfully, “Well, I don’t read, but I’m sure I could paint circles around both of you”

Suguru rolls his eyes but, apparently done with Satoru’s antics, offers him a brush.

“Fine. If you’re so confident, you can join us” he relents, “But I’m warning you, we’re professionals here”

The three of them get to work, and immediately, Satoru begins to disrupt everything. You are trying to focus on a landscape with some subtle blending, while Suguru’s painting a more intricate figure. Meanwhile, Satoru is working on his own ‘masterpiece’, which mostly involves scribbling random, chaotic shapes with his brush, his colors clashing wildly with everyone else’s.

Satoru holds up his canvas proudly, “Look, I’m totally channeling my inner abstract genius! It’s a representation of freedom, of rebellion! What do you think?”

You stares at the chaotic mess in front of you, the blue and red clashing violently. You snort, holding back a laugh.

“You’re an actual disaster. It looks like a toddler dipped a paintbrush in a jar of chaos and went wild”

“It’s art” he states, grinning widely.

Suguru chuckles, setting his brush down for a second as he glances over.

“It’s definitely something. Not sure if it’s art, though”

Satoru sticks his tongue out at him before turning back to you, his expression suddenly shifting to something more playful. He walks over to your easel, leaning casually over your shoulder, his face close enough that you can feel the heat of his body.

“But, you know, you’re missing one thing in your painting, Y/N”

You raise an eyebrow, not sure whether you should be annoyed or entertained.

“Oh? And what’s that?”

Satoru leans in just a little closer, his voice lowering to a teasing tone.

“A little bit of me. A masterpiece can’t be complete without a dash of perfection”

You roll your eyes, but your cheeks turn a light pink against your better judgement. You can never tell if he’s being serious or just trying to get under your skin.

You grab a paintbrush, quickly flicking a spot of green paint onto Satoru’s shirt.

“There. Now it’s perfect” you smirk.

Satoru stares at the green stain, his mouth falling open in mock horror.

“You’ve ruined me. Ruined my shirt. My image. I’m a tragic artist now”

Suguru laughs from his corner of the room, shaking his head at the two of you.

“You both are insufferable. Seriously, how do you guys even manage to get anything done together?” Suguru asks.

You let out a laugh, “It’s called balance, Suguru. I paint, and Satoru provides chaos”

Satoru dramatically flops onto the floor again, spreading his arms out as if he’s defeated.

“You know, this could’ve been a perfect group activity if it weren’t for you two conspiring against my genius”

Suguru raises a brow, amused, “You are a genius—just not in the way you think you are”

After a few more hours of chaotic painting, in which a lot of paint ended up in both Satoru’s and your clothes, the three of you step back and admire each of your works.

Satoru’s piece now has a mix of random scribbles and strange shapes, while Suguru’s work is meticulously detailed, with deep serene colored forming a landscape. Yours is a bright piece, a playful interpretation of the sky, with clouds hues of purple and pink—vibrant and dreamy.

You stare at the painting for a few minutes before turning to look at yourself… covered in paint. You frown.

“Well… this was a disaster” a smile tugs at your lips, “Although, I kinda fun one”

Satoru grins, throwing a playful wink your way.

“What can I say? I bring the fun wherever I go” he brags.

Suguru shakes his head but smiles quiestly, glancing at both of them with something akin to fondness in his eyes.

“Somehow we made it out. It was fun, though I kinda wished Shoko had been here” he sighs, “Would’ve helped me deal with you two”

You send him an offended look while Satoru simply grins widely. Suddenly, Satoru pulls out his phone, snapping a picture of the three pieces.

“Perfect!” He smiles, “This is going straight into my ‘masterpieces’ collection”

“It’s not masterpieces if it’s just an album of your selfies” you remind him, amused.

“Masterpieces, Y/N, masterpieces”

Holding back a laugh, you move to grab the videocamera recording the whole process, closing it so the screen goes black.

The recording ending.

taglist: @gumiiiiezzzz @reagan707

[tuliptic]

Horizon: I’m In My Big Dream

Henlo working adults here, this is a reading for y’all. There was an anon who asked me if I’d be making a career reading so here it is! Not sure about how this connects with those who are still in school/college, but y’all can still try it out.

And yes, we're back with Ateez now hehet OvO

Close your eyes, meditate on this topic and ask yourself the question: How am I supposed to manoeuvre around this adulthood that builds on the basis of status and career? Breathe in and out, make sure your mind and heart is calm. Then, open your eyes to see which pile talks to you the most/draws you in the most. Once you’ve found your pile, scroll down to the respective parts to see what are the messages for you.

Pile 1    -     Pile 2

Pile 3    -     Pile 4

Disclaimer: This is solely for my entertainment purposes. Take only whatever that you feel like it. If it doesn’t resonate, it’s okay to just drop it. That aside, I do not consent to my work or here to be used by third parties on this platform or other websites.

Decks used: Luna Cat Tarot Deck (Major Arcana), Linestrider Tarot Deck, Flower Petals Oracle Deck, Sweet Dreams Oracle Deck, Starcodes Astro Oracle Deck, self made lyrics deck.

Pile 1:

One card to represent you: The Tower

Weirdly, I don’t see you being that catalyst of change. Which could only mean that there’s some huge changes that are happening in your world. It may be people around you, people close to you, or you yourself. Those changes are very visible and impactful to the point you’d be able to feel it even if it’s just happening to acquaintances. Imagine how heavy it could be if you’re in the centre of the impact. This change may be happening in your workplace or any place that has authority in play, where there’s this high possibility of lacking balance, especially power balance.

1. What am I hoping to achieve? - Eight of Wands rx, Page of Wands

From the cards, I see that you want to achieve a steady and comfortable career life without rushing yourself. You probably have something else by the side, or you tend to have a lot of activities once your working hours are over. To you, work is just… Work. You’re not letting it get in the way of the little happiness in your life. It feels like quite a few people have commented on how you live, saying that you’re not expanding or focusing on your career, which probably made you wonder if you have a career goal or not. Although you may be inclined to start a side hustle that fulfils your interests. Say for example, you enjoy doing art and mayhaps want to accept commissions.You’ve been having those thoughts in your head and heart, wondering if you’re supposed to take that first step out.

2. What’s stopping me from achieving it? - Ten of Swords

There are a lot of past hurts that I’m seeing here, which you may be using as an excuse to limit your thoughts, to limit your options. The past hurt is not healed, and to some, it’s still far from being healed. You thought you have moved on from it but everytime you see hints of it, or bits and pieces of it, you remember those times that you’ve gone through that pain and you break again, in another sense. To some, you may even be having physical pain or discomfort in your bodies. A weak constitution, perhaps, stopping you from taking the opportunities offered to you, or making you question your capability in completing a particular task. You realise a lot of things are more than just the surface, and the underlying conditions that you have just keeps holding you down.

3. What do I have in me to counter those hindrances? - Two of Swords rx

I would say that you have a very personal skill/talent that not many have: you have the ability to see the truth. Quite a few of you are capable of immediately finding out the root cause of a problem. Some of you may choose to work around the problem, but for most of you, I see that you have the tendency to attack the problem and the ones who created the problem. There’s a certain… Anger? Resentment? Towards things that are unfair and unjust. With that, you won’t be able to hold those in you and eventually lashing them out to the people causing the problem. This may have displeased a lot of people in the past, and you’ll continue to think that you’re on the right path. Your uniqueness is lovely, but also, maybe… See the next paragraph.

4. How do I counter those hindrances? - Ten of Cups

Maybe be kinder to yourself, to build a family where you can select who the family members are. There is quite a lot of pain and anger in you, and most of all, you guys don’t really have a place to rest. This is the time for you to rest with your family, your loved ones. There is help around you, and what you need to do is to find them out and use them well. You’ll realise that the emotional connection you created with the people around you is your greatest asset. They’ll not only be able to help you through the lows and the hindrances, I’m also seeing that some of them will be clearing the path so that you can walk through them without difficulty. It took quite some time for the cards to fall out so there may be some stagnation, something else that's stopping you from this. Take your time to dissect what you're going through.

5. What should I focus on for now? - The Hermit

I’d say that you should tune into yourself. Take some time off and rest, meditate even. The fatigue is running on you. Make time for self-maintenance before your body and mind decides the time for you. There’s a lot of self-healing and introspection that you need to do. You can discuss this with your friends and family, or the people around you. However, you need to remember that the final call is in your hands, you need to make your own decision on what you want, how you want to achieve. It’s difficult when you’re standing in between the crossroads. Nobody said that you should pick only one path to walk, so just have faith and run towards where you want. Expand your choices, try as many things as you want.

6. What other suggestions for my possible career path? - Five of Swords

What I’m seeing here is conflict resolving, so probably a very specific job in HR or customer services? Customer service cuz that’s where most of the conflict rises, and you probably know how to look at things from both parties, or even from a third party point of view, and provide the necessary help and solutions to the problem at hand. HR cuz of the conflict between the employees and employer. For some reason, I do not think of you as the spokesperson of the company, but for the employees, where you phrase your words and make the top management agree with the point you’re trying to make. These career paths probably never crossed your mind but you can have a look at them and see if they can help you in your career growth, as stepping out of your comfort zone from time to time is also important, as it helps you to see the different sceneries, reminding you that you can go further.

Overall energy: The Empress; King of Cups rx

You guys (gender neutral) probably have a more emotional side to you, which is pretty fitting to be in fields that focus more on interpersonal relationships and interactions. Some of you are probably doing something similar at the moment, but not all recognise this skill of yours. There are a lot of themes of exploration here, so it’s best that you take your time and try, explore and expand your choices and views, welcome the limitless magic into your life and see how your life changes in wondrous and unexpected ways. You’re not alone. Your friends and families, your guides, and sometimes even strangers will be supportive of you. Take care.

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Pile 2:

One card to represent you: Judgement

Most of you feel like the angel blowing the trumpet, being the bearer of the message; being the one who’s siding with the judge who passes on the final judgement. However, there are also some of you who are the ones being judged; being under the eyes of many and not knowing how you should react. This pile gives me the feeling that you do know what you want/need to do, but it doesn’t stop that fear and anxiety you have when you are under the eyes and judgement of others. However, you guys have a community or a friend group behind you, supporting and fighting for you as you walk on the path you choose.

1. What am I hoping to achieve? - The Sun

Recognition is one of your main drives in terms of career. You don’t really mind people fronting a project or being the main speaker, but you mind a lot when your efforts are not acknowledged and you were not given the proper credit. In your point of view (and honestly speaking, most people’s POV), a group project is made up of many people with different tasks, and it irks you a whole lot when someone tries to take credit for everything, including your efforts. You want yourself to be seen, to be noticed, to be recognised for your skills and work. In a sense, you want to build your own brand, you want to be known for what you’re good at, and if possible, you’d probably want to join some team that is efficient and aligns with your career objective in achieving the best. Incompetency stresses you out a whole lot. It’s difficult but it’s not impossible, and eventually you’ll be able to find the abundance that your career can offer you.

2. What’s stopping me from achieving it? - Five of Swords

You’ve probably been disappointed for quite a long time repeatedly, making it difficult for you to have that faith again to do things with that fervour you used to have. Right now, there’s a high chance that the feeling of defeat you’ve been feeling is dragging you down, where you’re just doing enough to pass by the days. This can be due to the lack of boundaries that you have not set properly, or you couldn’t really stop anyone from overstepping your boundaries. You probably have been known to avoid conflict for the sake of harmony, which kinda lets people take advantage of this.

3. What do I have in me to counter those hindrances? - Ten of Pentacles; The Empress

Ten of Pentacles to me usually refers to family, but what I’m picking up from here is work colleagues and weirdly, a King of Pentacles energy as well. There’s something here that I can’t really put into words, as it’s like a combination of masculine and feminine energies here. It’s like these energies form you into an all-rounder, allowing you to connect to people easier. You can have a hard/tough exterior, yet still soft and gentle in the heart, able to understand the inner clashes of other people easier. Maybe this is why you tend to get involved in conflicts, as you’re very susceptible to the energies of others.

4. How do I counter those hindrances? - Temperance

I’m getting a feeling that you’ve probably heard this from a lot of people, where they tell you to take a step back and regain your balance, to not put too much energy on others and to focus on yourself instead. This is exactly what you should be doing to regain your sense of self back. Meditation is something you can try, but most of all, you need to give yourself ample time to return to your optimum state. You’ll probably think that hanging out with your friends or doing things that you like is something that can help you regain balance, but it’s more than that. You need to be at peace with yourself, to listen to what your heart wants to tell you, to analyse what your head is telling you. Dreams may have some meaning and messages, so do pay attention to them. If you’ve decided to try out meditation, you can try communicating with your higher self. You may get some inspiration and guidance from it.

5. What should I focus on for now? - Nine of Pentacles rx

Discipline is one of the main keywords, which gives me the vibe that you should be very aware of where you use your finances and energy, to not let anyone out there drain your energy. You may have an ideal self that you wanna be, but some of you are pretty content with where you are right now. Either way, you need to remember that you are still you, no matter what you’ve done, what you’re changing into. You’ll need to recognise your own strength and your skills, to not take them for granted. It’s time where you take some time-off to do some self assessment to see where you are standing in the path of life, to see where you want to go and which step to take.

6. What other suggestions for my possible career path? - Four of Swords rx

For some reason I’m seeing counselling which kinda makes me laugh as you’re probably in need of therapy currently. I guess it’s that thing where you understand the importance of therapy when you go through them, and you in turn would want to help those who need that help. But yeah, counselling or therapist, or anything that helps with relieving stress and helping others to sleep. ASMR? Yeah those. Jobs that can help yourself and others to let go of the tension in their shoulders, to be able to breathe again. They come in different forms, but that’s the ultimate goal.

Overall energy: The Star, Page of Swords

Overall speaking, I think this pile is called to remember who you wanted to be. There’s a lot of tension here, but know that hope has always been with you. The Star has been lighting your way as much as it can, letting you receive the messages that the Universe wants you to know, and in turn, asking you to be that messenger to spread the good news to those who are in need. I believe that there’s a calling in you, telling you that you’re not fulfilling your purpose yet. You need to remember that you’re the co-creator of your life and destiny, and you’re supposed to write the story of your life, you’re supposed to determine what’s your purpose here.

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Pile 3:

One card to represent you: Justice rx

There’s a lot of things going on in this pile, where there’s a side of them that wants to hold control or be in charge of some projects, yet there’s another side of them that knows they have no power over them as they can’t even do justice to themselves. This pile probably tends to self-sabotage themselves more than other people, and may have faced unjust situations lately. Also, there may be a certain past that has been catching up with you. Remembering a situation that happened a decade ago? Someone who’s no longer in your life kept popping up in your head recently? Yeah that.

1. What am I hoping to achieve? - Ace of Pentacles rx

Financial stability or a favourable financial situation is the first thing that came to my mind. You’re probably in a not-so-okay state in terms of finances, which is why this card popped up in reverse. To you, being in a decent financial situation is like a new beginning, where you can do the things you’ve wanted to do without worrying about the potential financial difficulty or backlash. This would probably be one of your main goals, and is something that is considered a huge personal achievement, almost like a dream. It’s best to not daydream about it too much but to take action.

2. What’s stopping me from achieving it? - Nine of Wands rx, The High Priestess rx

You’ve been stretched out, constantly pushing yourself to achieve whatever temporary goals you’ve set. There’s also some self limiting thoughts, and some of you may be neurodivergents, which makes you not quite capable of being not-stretched-out.  You have not been kind or gentle to yourself, and have been ignoring the gentle voices in you that’s asking you to rest. You probably have lost connection with your intuition and/or your inner voice, focusing too much on the external world. It’s time for you to work with your dreams and your spirit’s energy to reach your highest good. Stay still, breathe, listen. There’s always some messages out there, in the wind, in the flipping of pages, and in you. Be gentle and kind to yourself, you deserve them more than anybody.

3. What do I have in me to counter those hindrances? - Nine of Pentacles

You have the skills and abilities in you, and I’m also seeing some connection and network you’ve built up throughout the years. This card talks about self development, providing for yourself, and that’s one of your main strengths. You have them in you to achieve the independence that you’ve wanted. Sometimes, you also need to invest in yourself, so that you can level up yourself and to also enjoy the fruits of success. Self-control is also something this card talks about, so it’s time for you to put a knot on impulsive spendings. Show appreciation to the little things, the little success, and happiness shall follow.

4. How do I counter those hindrances? :- Seven of Cups, The Fool rx

One thing I’m picking up from this is that it’s time to wake up. Stop living in your fantasy and start taking charge of your life. Unlike The Fool, who goes on a new journey with the heart and mind of a child, you’re going through this second journey of exploration and growth with the heart and mind of an adult, and with it comes more responsibilities. Dreaming about success is fine, but actions speak better than thoughts and empty words. Spend some time to listen to your heart, break free from the illusions that your brain is painting, and to embark on this new journey. You’ll meet similar sceneries and similar people, but you have to remember that they are no longer the same.

5. What should I focus on for now? - Nine of Swords

First and immediate thing I’m picking up is that you need to rest, that you’re in a burnout right now. You may disagree with this, but you probably have been experiencing an extended period of burnout, to the point you see it as something daily and natural. No, it’s not natural. You can’t expect yourself to achieve something because others did as you’re built differently, and you need to adjust to your needs accordingly. You’re suggested to reconnect with your inner child. Find something that you used to enjoy doing, and maybe find a friend to do them together. You need to understand and accept that you’re built differently with different needs, and then figure out how to work around it.

6. What other suggestions for my possible career path? - The Chariot rx, The Hierophant

Hmmmmmmm. What I’m picking up here is that you’re not suitable to work on something that has a tight deadline, or sudden projects. Some may require a fast paced project with clear directions given, but most who are picking this pile are not comfortable in a fast paced environment, hence The Chariot in reverse. You would prefer to work out your schedule based on the requirements given and go through them meticulously. First thought was freelancer but at the same time, you’re someone who needs stability and a fixed job. Being in a project team would be good for you, but not as the project leader. At least, not yet. By being in a project team, you’ll continue to gain experience little by little from various roles, and you’ll be comfortable with your tasks as time passes because you’ll get used to it. But in short, just do what you want and run ahead. Trust and believe in yourself that you’ll be able to work things out.

Overall energy: Death, The World rx

There’s a heavy message on change and rebirth, and your cycle is far from complete. It’s like… There’s a lot more to go, and a lot more challenges that are waiting in front of you. To some, this may feel like a very difficult period to go through, but you’ll realise that you’re receiving powerful messages from your guides right now, and you know that you’re on the right path. It’s like you’re covered in scars from all the battles you’ve fought. But look at it in a different light, think of those scars as battle medals, cuz you’ve fought through and came out winning. Everything you’ve done, you’ve fought for, has made you who you are right now. And this will continue, where you’ll continue to change and learn and grow. Abundance will land on those who work for it, so stay strong and keep going!

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Pile 4:

One Two cards to represent you: The World, Justice rx

You’re probably arriving at your goal, achieving what you’ve wanted to achieve. However, you’ve been working yourself to the brim and may have outdid yourself in the process. You’ll need to regain your balance and do justice to yourself. Take some time to rest as you’re completing this cycle, lean in to what is easy and comfortable and use that comfort to renew, grow, and expand. Gently expand your world through compatible people, collaborative skills, and through doing what you love. The World is a lovely card to get in any reading, but you also need to be aware that this marks an end of whatever you’re doing. Take this chance to ease yourself as you prepare for a new journey ahead.

1. What am I hoping to achieve? - Wheel of Fortune rx

I feel that you’re looking to gain control over your career and your life. You probably have lived a life that… Doesn’t give you any chances to make decisions on your own, and you probably hated it a lot. Now that you have the time and chance, you’d wanna take things into your own hands and feel how it is like to make your own choices and to live the way you want to live. You don’t mind falling, failing, or even climbing up from that pit. To you, it’s a chance for you to grow and to see how far you can go without having people to pave a beautiful path for you. There are so many people out there that you wanna connect with, and it’s great to activate that part of you. Just remember to remain true to your intentions, and you can’t go wrong.

2. What’s stopping me from achieving it? - Knight of Cups

I hate to say this but I’d say your home/house/family have been pulling you back. Your family probably has been doing what they think is best for you without considering your wishes. It’s like… Forcefully spoon feeding you things that you don’t like, or maybe even things that you’re allergic to, which in turn, ruin your health or may have tampered with how you view things. Part of you may think that suffering is beautiful, and may have romanticised pain cuz that’s what you’ve felt growing up. It's as though saying that the pain you're experiencing right now is something well-deserved. Now that you’re your own person, you’ll need to find a way to pull yourself out of those uhhh… excess sentimentality. 

3. What do I have in me to counter those hindrances? - Ace of Cups rx

Yes, we’re talking about that excess sentimentality here too. You have to keep everything in check, to not let that cup of yours overflow. For those who have no idea how the Ace of Cups look like, go ahead and google an image of it. Generally, it is a card talking about an overflow of love, affection and happiness. However, this card in reverse talks about the opposite, how these emotions have turned from positive to negative, and how it has taken control over your life. You have it in you to recognise this pattern, to know that this is not helping you, and you’re ready to wake up from this. The process of awakening. That’s what you’ve gone through, or going through. 

4. How do I counter those hindrances? - King of Pentacles

King of Pentacles is practically the last card of the minor arcana, and to me, it embodies a wisdom that is very different from The Hermit or other cards that talk about wisdom. The King here talks about earthly wisdom, something that is learnt from age, failure, success and growth. You’ve learnt through so many things in life, and it built you to who you are right now. It feels like career and materialistic items give you the reassurance and stability you need, and you use your skills to attain those. You may feel scared as you try stepping out of your comfort zone (aka stop letting others to shelter you and start to voice out for yourself), but pay attention to your heart and mind, do not allow fear to distract you.

5. What should I focus on for now? - Eight of Pentacles

Focus on honing your skills. Find one or two that you like most, or you think that would help you in the long run, and focus on them. Work hard and improve, get better day by day. Do not wait until you’re good, only then you market your skills. Market them now and grow better along the way. There’s no better time to start other than now, because you know that once you start, you have no way out and you can only grit through it. Listen to your life, listen to your heart. They know what you want to do and you’ll be surprised at how much you’re capable of doing.

6. What other suggestions for my possible career path? - Three of Cups

First thought that came into my mind is PR. You’re more suited to be involved in fields that require interpersonal relationship skills, such as PR, corporate communication, emcee, being on a writer’s column, even doing interviews, etc. You tend to have a way with words (puns, maybe?), and you may be known for how your words light up someone’s day. You want to be the Sun, without knowing that you already shine. There’s a lot of themes about sunshine here, where you can be the light at the end of the tunnel. Cultivate this skill and you will be able to see a huge difference in how you view and handle your current relationships. From there, you’ll be able to bring it to the corporate world and put it to use.

Overall energy: Judgement, Two of Pentacles rx

There’s a heavy judgemental energy you have towards yourself, and there’s also a lack of balance. It’s as though you’re trying to find your own purpose and what you’re meant to achieve, career wise and personal life wise. There’s a lot of pent up frustration (and a little bit of anger) here, but you need to be kind to yourself. It’s alright to not be able to do things on your own, as you’re meant to achieve great things along with people. Remember, you are stronger when you’re not alone. Collaborating on projects doesn’t make you less important, as we all play our own role in everything. There’s this personal experience that I want to share as I type this out. I used to be in charge of doing the introduction and conclusion of group projects, and this made me wonder if I’m just terrible at providing pivotal points and arguments. My teammates told me that I play a huge part in it as they find doing the introduction is the most difficult part for them, and it’s important to have a good start to build up the inquisitive side of the reader. So yeah! You may see it as something small, but small things build up big success. Good luck, and get on your way to see the new you in the future.

[leonrot]

— Wrong Place, Wrong Time

Summary: You never thought you'd meet the masked vigilante who protects the streets of New York and you certainly never thought you'd almost die from getting run over by weird rhinoceros.

Word Count: 2.2k

Pairing: Spider-Man!Leon Kennedy x Female!Reader

Tags: descriptions of injuries, hurt/comfort, alternate universe (spider-man)

A/N: this is inspired by this leon bot on c.ai and after rewatching the amazing spiderman i couldn't not write something about it. this is proofread by me yet again so apologies for any mistakes that i missed. also,, i don't believe there's anything suggesting the reader for this is female but i put marked as such anyways because if i write more about spiderman!leon i will end up using female terms and such. speaking of which if you want more spiderman!leon let me know, marvel is another one of my big interests so id love to expand on this idea more!!

Sitting at a table in the diner you and Leon frequent you slump down in your chair, huffing in annoyance as Leon’s voicemail greeting hits your ear.

Hi, this is Leon Kennedy, I can’t come to the phone right now so please leave a message after the beep.

This is the third time you’ve tried calling him this past hour alone, your roommate supposed to have been meeting you at the diner you both frequent multiple times each week. You’re used to him being late, but you’ve been waiting for over an hour and by now he would have usually texted or called to explain why he’s running late.

Wrapping your hand around the glass of water sitting before you, you bring the rim of the glass to your lips, taking a sip as you gaze out the diner’s front windows.

Despite nighttime being on the horizon the streets of Queens are as busy as the rest of New York is, people constantly in a hurry to be somewhere. The inside of the diner is peaceful, the sounds of the conversing patrons a quiet murmur alongside the gentle hum of various machines back in the kitchen.

A barely started book lays before you, Leon’s tardiness having drawn your attention from the pages. It’s common that you join him at the diner to read while he catches up on work. You find comfort in being in his presence, even if his attention is focused on editing some of the numerous photos he’s taken recently.

As your mind drifts and you lose focus of your surroundings you don’t realize the mood around you shifting rapidly.

“Holy shit!” A guy sitting a table away from you yells, startling you out of your thoughts.

You glance his way confused, but a loud bang and the sudden surge of shouting has your head snapping back towards the diner’s front windows.

The people outside are running, the fear on their face as clear as day. The table you’re sitting at starts shaking, the ground underneath your feet vibrating in time with the rhythmic BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! that is steadily getting closer and closer. It sets everyone into an explosive panic, people trying to gather their things before darting out of the diner.

You’re quick to shove your book into the bag that hangs off the back of your chair, the force of you standing up nearly knocking the aforementioned piece of furniture over. You squeeze past people as you rush to exit the building, heart racing at everyone else’s fear. Skidding to a halt on the sidewalk outside your gaze is drawn to the left, looking down the street.

Cars are swerving all over the road, desperate to get away from something. Something big.

A huge man in a metal rhinoceros shaped suit comes barreling down the road, everything around him shaking with each heavy step he takes. There’s something — more like someone — hanging onto his back, a flash of red and blue bright against dark gray metal. You immediately recognize the colors belonging to New York’s very own masked vigilante, Spider-Man.

You’re frozen in place, wide eyes watching the scene unfold before you. Spider-Man leaps off the back of the man (if he can still even be called that), shooting web after web towards the rampaging villain. It does very little to slow him down and you realize a moment too soon that the swerving monstrosity of a man is heading straight your way.

Your bag dropping to the concrete sidewalk is the only movement you’re able to make, fear rendering you paralyzed. As he gets closer and closer you can’t help but think that this will be the end of you, death by rhino shaped man.

Luckily for you, Spider-Man is incredibly good at his job.

Lean arms wrap around your waist and lift you off the ground, swinging you away from the quickly approaching danger. The Rhino barrels past, his metal clad shoulder connecting with Spider-Man’s back as he gains momentum with his web swing, sending the two of you flying down the street.

You don’t know if it’s fast reflexes or pure luck that has your red and blue hero curling around your body before the two of you connect with the asphalt road, his back taking the brunt of the fall. The air is ripped from your lungs at the impact, your head swimming with dizziness as you’re quickly yanked to your feet.

“Are you okay? Are you hurt?” Spider-Man franticly asks you, his head lowering as he tries to meet your gaze.

Your muscles are screaming at you from the impact, you’re short of breath and you’re sure you have at least one or two scrapes from the rough road but you’re alive. You glance up at his mask’s white scleras and nod.

You see a slight shift in the fabric of his mask, as if he’s opening his mouth to start speaking up but a thundering roar cuts him off. The Rhino is pulling himself out of the rubble of the diner, his sights quickly settling on the two of you.

“Stay out of the way!” Spider-Man yells to you as he runs straight towards the villain.

The fight picks up once more, Spider-Man getting thrown and tossed around but getting up immediately each time. You’re so enraptured by the fight you don’t even notice the cops arrive until a hand is wrapping around your bicep and pulling you away from the destruction.

“You need to get out of here!” The cop barks at you. “Now!”

“So I can’t get a ride?” You grumble, watching the officer run to join the others in the fight.

As you quickly leave the scene you can’t help but spare a glance over your shoulder, watching Spider-Man swing around from building to building evading dodges like he knows they’re coming. Turning away you pick up the pace, thankful that you only live a handful of blocks away from the now destroyed cafe.

After roughly an hour of walking - although it feels longer due to the dull pain throbbing all over your body - you make it home. You barely remember to close the door before you’re dropping onto the couch, letting sleep pull you under.

You shoot up from where you lay sprawled out on the couch, the sound of the front door slamming shut startling you awake. Disoriented you whip your head around, eyes not yet focused.

“Oh my god, are you okay!?” Leon’s voice is right next to you, his knees hitting the wood floor of the  living room with a dull thud.

As your vision sharpens you’re finally able to take in Leon’s appearance. Your eyes widen in surprise and concern at his poor state.

“Are you okay? Jesus Leon, what happened to you?”

His left eye is a mottled mess of dark blues and purples, the black eye stark against his skin. The bruising trails down his cheek and jaw, stopping near his split bottom lip, spots of blood still fresh around the wound.

“You first. Do you need anything? Water? Advil?” He’s standing with a pained wince, limping in the direction of the kitchen.

“Leon! Slow down!” You snap, throwing your legs over the edge of the couch as you get up after him, biting back your own groan of pain.

He’s grabbing a cup out of the cabinet when you make it into the kitchen, filling it up with shaky hands. When you reach his side you grab the cup out of his hand and set it down onto the counter. You grab onto his arm to get his attention. When he finally looks at you his eyes are shiny, wet with unshed tears.

“I’m sorry.”

Your heart breaks at the sadness in his voice.

“If I had been there on time you wouldn’t have been alone in that shit show, probably wouldn’t even be hurt right now.”

Despite the protesting of your muscles you’re quick to pull him into a hug which is immediately reciprocated. His arms wrap around your waist drawing you in tight to his chest. He drops his head to your shoulder, warmth seeping into the fabric of your t-shirt as he sucks in a harsh breath.

“I’m alright, Leon. A little banged up and bruised, but alive. You being late is not the reason I got hurt, it was simply wrong place wrong time.”

Your hand rubs up and down his back in a gesture of comfort, hoping the contact helps ease his misplaced guilt. Your hands trail up his back and over his shoulders, each hand settling on one of his biceps as you pull away.

“Now tell me what happened to you.”

With a sniffle he blinks away stray tears as he meets your eyes. A lapse of silence fills the room before he speaks.

“I was on my way to you. Got caught up in the fight before it reached the diner.”

His words still hold a trace of guilt in them, but you chalk it up to him still feeling like he’s responsible for the state you’re in.

You give him a small smile, hoping to ease the heavy emotions residing in the room with as you say, “Guess you were also in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

It works when Leon rolls his eyes, a smile of his own tugging at his lips. “Guess so.”

Pulling away from him you grab the cup still sitting on the counter and hand it to Leon. Bending down you unearth a med-kit that’s kept underneath the sink. You’ve always found it a little odd how Leon insists on keeping fully stocked first aid kits all over the house — one in the kitchen, one in each bathroom and in each of your rooms — but you’re glad for it in this moment as you open it and pull out the advil.

You open the bottle and pass him two of the pills before grabbing your own cup of water and two pills for yourself.

“As someone who has watched half a season of Grey’s Anatomy, I think we should take these and get some sleep.” Your light-hearted words help ease the tension even more.

After taking the pain relievers you and Leon trudge to your respective rooms to get ready for the night. Cutting your nighttime routine short in favor of getting into bed faster, you make quick but careful work of changing out of your clothes and brushing your teeth. A brush is running through your hair as a knock echoes through the small bathroom you’re standing in.

“Can I ask you a favor?”

Leon’s leaning against the doorway of the bathroom when you finally look up at him.

“Maybe. What’s up?”

He shuffles a bit where he stands and he averts his gaze before he speaks.

“Can I sleep in your room tonight?”

You can’t help the way your eyes widen a fraction at his request.

It was about a year ago when you found an online ad of someone looking for a roommate. You were hesitant to agree, Leon was of course a stranger at the time, but you were in desperate need of a new place to live so you sent him a message pretty quickly to see if he was still searching for a roommate.

He had warned you the first night after you moved in that he had frequent nightmares. As the two of you got closer and closer overtime you went from waking him up with a gentle shake to his shoulder to crawling into bed with him, holding him close to help him fall back asleep after waking up in fear.

He’s never been the one to seek you out in regards to his nightmares however, and his request leads you to believe he anticipates having one tonight. Sadness squeezes at your heart.

“Of course you can.”

Still not looking at you he nods in acknowledgement before turning and leaving your room, you assume to go finish up getting ready to sleep.

He comes back into your room right as your crawling into bed. No longer wearing the hoodie he was in when he came home you can see even more bruises on his arms. You wouldn’t be surprised if the bruises extend across his torso, leading you to wonder just how caught up he was in the destruction caused by Rhino.

He’s hovering by the doorway as if he’s unsure he’s even allowed in your room despite having your permission. You throw back the comforter, uncovering the spot meant for him.

“C’mon Lee, it’s cold.”

It’s not really that cold in your room but the excuse helps nonetheless.

The mattress dips as he gets into your bed. Reaching up you flip off your bedside lamp, plunging the room in almost total darkness. The world seems to slow down as the two of you find safety in each others presence.

“Goodnight.” You murmur with a soft yawn, squirming around a little bit to find a comfortable way to lay with your aching muscles.

You can’t help but momentarily roll over onto your back as you get no reply from Leon. When your eyes adjust to darkness of your room you see him curled up tightly under the blanket, fast asleep. You smile to yourself as you roll back over and let sleep encompass you as quickly as it did Leon.

[redbuddi]

Do NOT Read "Lady Crystal is a Man"

People who know me know that I'm a little bit of a webtoon addict. I'm basically always reading a million different fantasy romances, even as someone who is not personally interested in romance in real life. Because of this, I am well aware of the more problematic elements of a lot of webtoons, to the point where it's easier to list webtoons that aren't problematic than to name ones that are. It's unfortunate, but it's a common aspect of webtoon consumption that most people get used to. (Note: When I say webtoons, I am talking about the genre of phone-optimized romance webcomics as a whole, not just things from the WEBTOON app. The series in question is on Tapas.)

Because of that, I will admit it is partially on me for assuming this comic was going to be more progressive than it actually was. People new to webtoons may be fooled, but I should have known better. On top of that, I am well aware that female-oriented romance stories can sometimes be a little toxic, and while this is a problem that needs to be worked on, I also know about what can happen when something meant for teenage girls is criticized. Even when the criticism is in good faith, it can start a trend of bashing anything teenage girls like and shaming them for wanting to explore media that is anything but flawless. I don't want to add to that.

But this series isn't just a little problematic. It doesn't just have some questionable elements or common plot failings. This is a series that has the potential to seriously hurt anyone who is trans, gnc, or gender questioning, and could give anyone who isn't any of those things the wrong idea about what is and isn't appropriate when it comes to trans/gnc/gender questioning individuals.

If you would like the td;dr, then in a nutshell this comic portrays material that could make an individual feel shame, discomfort, or even body dysmorphia. And on top of that the protagonist is cruelly gaslit and manipulated in ways that the series presents as if it were just light teasing, and that is all only in the 19 chapters that I was able to stomach before dropping the series entirely.

If you would like a more detailed description of this series' flaws, then I will continue below the cut.

cw: transphobia, body dysmorphia, gaslighting

Lady Crystal is a Man follows the story of a man raised as a woman attempting to escape a forced marriage by going to the mysterious and dangerous duke Illian, unaware that Illian is secretly a woman. The story is essentially a combination of two tropes, the Crossdressing Romance trope, where the main character and/or their love interest is secretly not the gender they present themselves as, a trope which has been around for as long as female-oriented comics has existed, and something a little more specific to webtoons (to my knowlege,) the Contract Marriage trope, wherin the protagonist escapes a bad situation by entering a temporary marriage with someone else, only for true romance to bloom between them. I have read many webtoons about Contractual Marriages, but not very many about crossdressing. As a nonbinary person, I tend to be uncomfortable with the highly traditional way many webtoons portray gender roles, and so I try to steer clear of series that tackle gender directly, but that is not to say no webtoon as ever handled it well. In particular one of my favorite webtoons, Alien Idol, tackles gender in an extremely understanding and informative fashion, even taking the time to acknowledge places where it's knowledge is lacking, which I've never seen a comic do so honestly before. Most webtoons are not like this, unfortunately, but that is only to my knowledge, and recently I've been wanting to expand my horizons a little bit. How can I be sure so many comics handle it poorly if I don't even read them for myself, after all? That is what convinced me to check out Lady Crystal is a Man.

In the first few chapters I was hooked. The series has extremely good artwork, and it first appeared to me that they might be trying to do a metaphor for t4t couples. Crystal is constantly coached on how to act and behave as a woman, because if he lives as a man he will be killed by his cruel and uncaring family. He takes a drug to halt his growth, and this drug is actively harming him, he is literally being torn up from the inside having to live as something he is not. He envies masculine traits he observes in others, and dreams of running away to live with the people who truly love him, cutting his hair short, and living as himself. It's because of this that I made the mistake of buying multiple chapters in advance instead of just waiting for them to unlock, and that's why I read so far into this series when normally I would have dropped it the moment it started to go downhill. Anyway, Crystal meets duke Illian, and already a connection is established by the narrative in how the two have had to live in fear of being who they really are. And at this point I was ready for them to start relating to each other and forming a bond.

This does not happen. Not really, anyway.

Illian tricks Crystal into thinking that the marriage paperwork went through extremely fast, and that they are now husband and wife. This is a red flag, but in the same chapter Illian reveals that she's just teasing Crystal as payback for trying to trick her, and that she will fully support Crystal's escape to be with her family as soon as the snow clears up. But then she doesn't. Even when Crystal admits the truth to her, and the snow clears up, Illian maintains the facade that they are married and that Crystal will have to keep staying with them until the annulment paperwork can go through. This happens because Crystal, under the impression that they are really married and that he has tricked Illian into falling in love with him only to have her heart broken, decides to take responsibility for his actions instead of running away like he originally planned. And Illian, hearing this, continues to lie to Crystal about their being married. This establishes a pattern that will continue from here: Crystal will show genuine care and consideration for others, and will be rewarded for it by being continuously manipulated by the people around him.

It's at this point that Illian finds out that Crystal is not a cis male. Not because Crystal told her, mind you, but because Crystal faints due to side effects from the drug he is taking, and Illian, who has taken the same drug, recognizes them. At first this is fine to me. I like that Illian does not get angry or upset, or even wants to confront Crystal on this, and at first I thought it was because Illian respected Crystal's boundaries and would only acknowledge it if Crystal decided to tell her. She even continues to refer to Crystal with female pronouns, even when she deduces that Crystal might be living as a woman just to not be killed in the battle for succession. But then, Illian decides to "make sure" that Crystal isn't cis. And while we aren't directly shown, it is heavily implied that Illian looked under Crystal's nightgown to see his genitals.

There had been one or two red flags up to this point. In particular, focus on the size of Crystal's hands. This was off putting to me, as this is something that could hurt people. Even people who aren't transfeminine could be hurt by this, the fact that having bigger hands than what is considered "normal" for a woman and how this is treated like a clue to Crystal's gender identity is something that would hurt anyone who identifies as a woman but doesn't fit what is considered a normal body standard. Focus on hands is even something that can be a big dogwhistle for TERFs, although I don't suspect the author is a TERF since I'm fairly certain this is a Korean comic, and I don't know what the discourse on gender in Korea is like.

Regardless, even with my growing suspicions, this was a massive shock. Crystal was unconscious at the time, unable to consent. This is unambiguously a massive violation, but the comic portrayed it as just a silly, over-the-top bit of shenanigans by our female lead. I know for a fact that this wouldn't have happened if the genders were swapped, in every webtoon I've read people who try to look under women's skirts are treated as disgusting perverts. But because Crystal is a man, suddenly it's cute and funny when his privacy is undermined. And this is the turning point where the series goes from a seemingly flawed but earnest attempt at a trans metaphor to a showcase of the most disgusting abuse I have ever seen in a story, all written as though it were just silly antics by people who are ultimately in the right.

Soon Illian and the doctor she had look at Crystal begin internally referring to him with masculine pronouns, all without asking if it's what Crystal wants to be seen as. As the doctor mulls over Crystal's potential circumstances, she thinks "Few people pretend to be the other gender, even fewer do so against their will," the series acknowledging the existence of trans people, but only as "petenders." And again, this is before they even know for sure if Crystal is doing this against his will. All the while, Crystal is portrayed in more and more infantalizing ways. He plays with snow like a child. He doesn't understand basic social cues, or even that people might be lying when they speak to him. He accepts everything Illian tells him without checking, even when he knew going into this that he would need to be careful. Illian secretly alters Crystal's communication devices so that she can see everything that Crystal says when he sends out messages to his friends in the east, who are waiting to take him in, unaware that he has been manipulated into staying against his wishes. Illian is drawn in by the way Crystal wears his heart on his sleeve, and doesn't want to let him go, even though she knows that Crystal has a home somewhere else. Crystal is prevented from escaping, and isn't even giving the courtesy of knowing that he is a prisoner.

There is another character in the comic, a cook who is portrayed as being large and strong, completely unfeminine despite being female. For one thing she's a show of hypocrisy, a cis female is a female, without question even if they don't fit eurocentric standards of femininity, but a trans female has to pass these standards with flying colors, and even then they don't really count. But there is another thing about this character. She is regularly referred to as a "monster" for her immense strength, size, and endurance. She owns it, seeming to be perfectly content with it, but not all real people who look like this would enjoy being called that. I feel that this is another acknowledgement of the other, that yes there are cis people who also don't perfectly fit their expected appearances, but they're not normal. They are exceptions. Monsters.

And then came the chapter that made me drop this series for good, completely overwriting my buyers remorse with disgust. Illian has to leave for a mission, and had instructed the Doctor to take away the drug that Crystal is using to maintain a feminine body. The doctor confronts Crystal, telling him that she "knows" he's a man, and blackmails him, threatening to tell Illian if Crystal doesn't hand over the drug. In exchange, the doctor gives Crystal a magic ring that she says will make other people perceive him as female. This is already bad for a few reasons, namely that even during this confrontation, the doctor never asks Crystal if he truly identifies as a woman or not. If Crystal did identify as a woman, then the ring would be a terrible trade. A person who wants to look at themselves as feminine does not do so in the hopes that other people will see them the same way. While the perception of others is certainly a concern, the main consideration is if the person sees themselves as feminine. A ring that only allows other people to see them as feminine would certainly be useful for people who don't want to be misgendered or seen in a way they don't want to be seen, but it wouldn't be an adequate replacement if it wouldn't help the wearer get a body that makes them comfortable. At best it would just be a supplement to something else.

But worst of all, it's all a lie. The ring doesn't actually work. It's all a trick to get Crystal to give up the drug. Yes the drug is harmful to Crystal, and Crystal himself doesn't want to take it, but as far as the Doctor knows Crystal could be trying to appear feminine for his own reasons. But without even consulting him, Illian and the doctor assume they know what's best for Crystal and trick him into giving up what could very well be the thing making him happy and comfortable in his own skin. Imagine how horrific things would be for Crystal if that was the case. Seeing his body change in ways he does not want, entirely against his will, and since the ring doesn't actually work his transformation would be fully visible to everyone around him. But instead of asking what if he wants this, Illian and the doctors decide to play the odds, and this is written as though they're being helpful by doing this. To add insult to injury, the doctor internally criticizes Crystal for accepting the trade without questioning it, seemingly forgetting that Crystal was essentially forced into it.

For obvious reasons, this was the point where I had had enough. This was abuse, plain and simple. Yes characters are not real people, and there is a place for stories that tackle things like abuse and manipulation, but this series never acknowledges the horror of what it's characters are doing, treating these things as though they're just cute and quirky romcom gags, maybe not normal but ultimately harmless. Meanwhile in the real world, these things are deeply harmful and hurtful to the readers of this series, especially those who, like the characters of the story, are forced to live in identities that are not themselves.

It's pretty common for webtoons to tackle things like this without really knowing what they're doing, and usually I'm able to shrug it off and keep reading, even if still criticizing it, as long as it seems the writers have the best of intentions. Making mistakes is how we learn, after all, and a lot of webtoons are written by young adults living in conservative societies who just need the chance to see other people's experiences. But there is a point where I draw the line, and that is when there is no perceivable compassion whatsoever for the types of people they are portraying. As I mentioned, the comic clearly shows an understanding that there are people who do not live as the gender that they are assigned at birth. But it does not see them as people. Even beyond the "pretend" line, gender is portrayed as concrete, inescapable, with terrible consequences for trying to change it. It portrays transfeminine people as clueless, weak, and unable to decide for themselves what's good for them, and illustrates anyone who doesn't fit typical standards of appearance as a strange and terrifying other that shouldn't be considered on the same level as everyone else. In general webtoons already have a massive issue with beauty standards, (don't even get me started on the way fat people are usually written,) but this is a whole other level of cruelty. While this comic was probably not specifically made to harm people, it takes careful steps to put people it doesn't like "in their place." It wants you to feel bad about yourself. This comic and comics like it should never be supported, not just for political reasons, but because, like it's characters, this comic is trying to enforce ideals that it feels for best for you, regardless of if it's what you actually want. And no one deserves to be hurt like that.

So if you see this comic or a comic like it, I encourage you to turn away. If they won't portray us as human, then we don't have any obligation to give them our support.

[redtsundere-writes]

Jinx | Sukuna Ryomen

mma fighter!sukuna ryomen x femalecoach!reader

Part 6. In My Hands.

Beginning. ← Previous | Next →

Sypnosis: Sukuna is a world champion with anger issues. It's believed by many that he is untrainable. Yeah, you can't train him, but you can dominate him. Contents: Fighting. Sukuna being Sukuna. female reader being dom. Jinx AU (the BL, not the character from lol) Warnings: Mentions and sexual harassment. Angst. Humiliation. Cursed words. Word Count: 3551 words. A/N: Hello peeps! This is a kind reminder that you need to fix your posture.

I still remember the terrible day when I met Naoya Zenin. Six years ago, my first coach told me that I had to expand my horizons if I wanted to reach my full potential, so he sent me to the top jiu jitsu gym in the country. This was before Team Black Gym even existed. The Zen’in dojo was a beautiful temple on the outskirts of traditional Kyoto. There were several satisfying zen gardens, tall bamboo stalks and small ponds with beautiful koi swimming around. I felt dirty stepping into such a pure and sacred place. 

I shyly walked into the dojo. I had taken off my shoes to step on the tatami, so I wouldn’t get it dirty. The place was packed with fighters training the same move at the same time on the count of an old man who was analyzing each one of them. The walls were decorated with display weapons, scrolls with calligraphy, flags, and symbols of martial arts. The sensei started a break as soon as his eyes landed on me. 

“Welcome, you must be the student Geto sent,” he said while his eyes analyzed my physique unabashedly. 

At that time I didn't have much muscle, and it was obvious that I was a beginner compared to them. Two years have barely passed since I started training jiu jitsu seriously to get into the UFC. I was sure he thought I was just a scrawny, innocent girl as well. 

“Thank you for letting me into your dojo. I promise I will do my best,” I said, bowing politely.

“You are not part of this dojo yet,” he corrected me. “I’ll test you to know if you really belong here,”  he explained serenely. 

My hands nervously tightened the strap of the gym bag across my body. I was used to facing off in national competitions, but this was different. I would have to fight someone from the Zen’in family, a professional who had probably practiced mixed martial arts since birth. Someone who was light years ahead of me in experience.

The sensei called out a blond boy with black tips, taller and more muscular than me. A very attractive boy, but that didn't matter now. Was I supposed to face a man? I had only faced women before, could I really beat him? In that case, I had to show off so I wouldn’t disappoint Geto. 

“Meet my son, Naoya. If you beat him, you can stay,” Naobito explained without further ado before he went to sit on a small cushion that was on a step at the back. 

“Nervous?” Naoya asked me as we stretched out in front of each other to start the fight. 

“I have never faced a man before,” I confessed. 

“Don't worry, I won't be so rough. Just for you,” he said with a smile. 

“Naoya, such behavior is unacceptable!” Naobito exclaimed in annoyance. 

“I'm sorry, I just can't hurt such a pretty girl,” Naoya smiled warmly without taking his eyes off me. 

I think it was the first time I felt my heart fluttering for a boy. That only made me even more nervous. Not only am I facing a boy for the first time, it would be the first time I would be facing a boy I like. So far he has only been kind and warm towards me. I wish he had stayed that way. 

“Please, give me your best. Make me try my hardest,” I asked him nicely. 

“I like your attitude,” He complimented me. My cheeks couldn't help blushing at that. 

After Naobito announced the start of the fight, Naoya went straight for my ribs with a kick. He was extremely agile and fast. I could barely dodge it on time. I knew this wouldn't be just like any other fight, this was the fight. All my confidence vanished with each jab that made my feet instinctively recoil. I was fast, but not fast enough to dodge every punch. 

I was a floor fighter by instinct, so my best strategy was to take him down. I contorted my body to try to apply a headlock, but he wouldn't let me. He was like a worm slipping through my fingers. As soon as he maneuvered to grab my wrists tightly, I knew I had made a big mistake. Naoya was also a floor fighter. Luck really wasn't on my side this time. 

We were two contortionists fighting for control of the situation. Time was a blurry concept, my limbs were screaming for a rest and my mind was arguing with my body that we had to resist if we wanted a place among the Zen’in. I would do everything in my power not to lose this fight. 

I elbowed him in his exposed cheek in a window of opportunity. I took the chance to pin him against the floor, his arms were against his chest and he was kneeing me in the back. I thought I had won the fight, but I didn't consider my opponent's amazing flexibility. He wrapped his right leg around my abdomen and cornered me against his other leg, knocking me to the ground with the strength of his legs in an instant.

“Shit,” I gasped trying to regain control. 

Naoya, having both arms free, was tearing me apart with jabs coming right and left. He had me cornered against his body like a dangerous boa as he was beating me relentlessly. I could only cover my face so he wouldn't knock me out. I was trapped, there was nothing I could do. I hit his back three times to announce that I was giving up. Naoya stopped and pulled himself away from me completely. 

“Good fight,” he said with his voice cracking, tired as I was. 

Naoya offered me his hand to help me up. I snorted and took it kindly, I had to behave like a good loser. I think that was the moment I started to like him. Even though he was sweaty and slightly beaten, he still looked like a damn angel. His smile was intact, his hair was unruly tousled and his green eyes looked at me tenderly. 

“She got Zen’in on her, I like her,” Naoya said to his father after I thanked him for letting me fight him. 

“Yes, it's just what Geto promised me,” Naobito mentioned while scanning me, still. “I've seen enough, you start tomorrow,” he warned me before announcing to the others that the class would continue soon. “I did it!”, I thought excitedly with a big proud smile on my face. 

“Congratulations and welcome,” Naoya shook my hand again in celebration. “Do you by any chance like Chinese food?,” he asked me out of the blue. I looked at him curiously while he smiled at me. 

That damn fake and hypocritical smile glittered in Team Black's small meeting room. Sukuna and the rest of his team were analyzing Naoya's fights to plan a strategy for the big fight. I had dedicated myself to watch each of his fights closely since I escaped from Zen’in Gym, just to see how someone else would beat the smirk off his face, but all those hours were finally coming in handy. 

“We can see that he is a good floor fighter with high stamina,” Gojo explained as he looked at the textual analysis of his fights in the last three years.

12 wins with 4 losses, a great streak without a doubt. Long and defined arms, strong legs and a beastly stamina. Half of his fights have ended quickly because he has cornered them against his body and the others have been by judges decision. He was still a superb fighter and has only improved since I met him. 

“We should go to the floor. Give him some of his own medicine,” Gojo said without taking his eyes off the documents. 

“I disagree,” I said while watching the fight on the screen. Gojo looked at me as if I just kicked his dog.

“I agree with Gojo. Sukuna was able to beat Toji Fushiguro in the last fight, he has improved a lot in floor fighting thanks to you,” Nanami commented. 

“I'm not saying it because I don't believe that Sukuna can beat a floor fighter, he can, but we can't take it to the floor in this fight,” I explained. “Naoya has two types of opponents: weak and strong. He acts very differently depending on which one he fights. Last month’s visit wasn't just to annoy us, it was to see up close what he's going to face soon,” I argued. 

“And which type am I?” Sukuna asked me, raising his eyebrow with curiosity. 

“Strong,” I stated. “He has only faced opponents that he has declared as strong 3 times. Yuta Okkotsu, Toge Inumaki and Aoi Todo when he got the stupid idea to fight for the heavyweight belt.”

I had seen those three fights live on television. The satisfaction of watching him suffer in the cage was better than any orgasm I've ever had. I had been watching him from afar all this time, I knew him better than he knew himself. I knew exactly what I was talking about.

“The weak are the opponents he knows he can beat easily, that's why he goes to ground quickly. With the strong ones, he usually takes his time because he knows he has no chance of beating them and only relies on his incredible endurance,” I explained. 

“What exactly is your plan?” Gojo asked me, not convinced by my idea. 

“We have to tire him out. Keep boxing and avoid the floor. Get him out of his comfort zone,” I explained. 

“I don't think that's the best option,” the white-haired man answered. 

“She knows him better than all of us. We’ll stick with her plan,” Sukuna said determinedly. 

“Is he defending me?” I thought to my surprise. I didn't think he would do something like that. I assumed he would be on Gojo's side being his lifelong coach, but I think he noticed that this fight mattered more to me than to him. Sure, he wants to keep his belt, but I want to break his pride. He was fighting for honor, I was fighting for revenge. 

“I agree with her. Sukuna is a great boxer, and now he knows how to escape from the floor. He can tire him that way for the last rounds,” Yuuji commented. 

“Well, I think that settles it,” Nanami sighed looking at Gojo. 

We left the meeting room. Nanami and Gojo went back to the office, while Sukuna, Yuuji and I were going back to training. I already had a foolproof training plan in mind to get my champion in his best possible shape. I would do anything to see Naoya suffer live. 

“Thank you for defending me back there. I assure you that you won't regret it,” I promised Sukuna. 

“I didn't defend you, I just made a good decision,” Sukuna said without paying me much attention.

“Call it whatever. Thank you,” I smiled at him anyway.

He looked at me like he always did, cold and serious. Every day I felt that I was getting closer to him. We may not have been the best of friends, but Sukuna knew he could trust me completely. I was really proud to have progressed that way with him. 

“Let's train!” I exclaimed excitedly. 

“I'm sorry to interrupt you,” someone said behind Sukuna. It was the physiotherapist, Shoko. “It's time for your session,” she reminded us.

“That's right,” Sukuna checked the time on his phone. “You can go now. See you tomorrow,” he said goodbye before following Shoko to her office. 

Sometimes I was surprised how often Sukuna needed so many sessions with the physiotherapist. It was at least one every week. When I was fighting, I didn't need more than one session a month. Well, that was until I messed up my neck, in which case, I went three times a week. As soon as they entered the medical room, I turned to Yuuji. 

“Something wrong with him?” I asked curiously. 

“What are you talking about?” He asked me, confused. 

“Is Sukuna physically well? Why does he need so many sessions with the physio?” I clarified. 

“Don't worry about him. He's fine,” he said with a small blush running down his cheeks. 

“You're a bad liar, tell me what's wrong,” I asked him.

“Well, it's just he has… “sessions” with the physiotherapist. Do you know what I mean?” he asked. Yuuji said the word “sessions” with a wink. 

Is Sukuna fucking the physiotherapist? That made perfect sense. I knew there was a reason why she was the only woman in the gym before I arrived. I just couldn't see her being his type. Shoko was very pretty, but it seemed like she didn't put much effort into her appearance. She always wore the same clothes, plus she smoked a ton, so always reeked of cigarettes. 

“I would never have guessed it,” I commented. 

“Neither do I. It's hard to tell with him, though. He's never had a girlfriend or even dated,” Yuuji commented. 

“That damn personality is the problem,” I thought. Sukuna was a ridiculously attractive man. While I was researching workouts that I could implement into his training, it occurred to me to look up his name on the internet. The first thing that popped out at me was the cover he appeared on for Men’s Health magazine. He looked amazing in the skin-tight bathing suit they had put him in as he was getting out of a pool. The drips sliding down his abs, the tattoos decorating his sculpted body and his piercing gaze. My mouth dropped to the floor in shock. 

“But I guess he's got the girls going crazy,” I mumbled in envy. 

“Yeah, he was the school’s bad boy. They all wanted to date him,” Yuuji explained. 

I could imagine him arriving at high school on a motorcycle like a rebel, leather jacket and dark glasses. Posing like a real unattainable hunk out of a chick lit movie. The girls surrounding him as he walked through the halls, not paying attention to any of them. 

“But he was once a horny teenager, he must have liked someone,” I commented. 

“I don't remember any girls at our school that he liked, but he would blush every time Megan Fox was on screen when we watched Transformers. I'm sure it made him feel that way,” Yuuji said, trying not to laugh at the memory. 

“I don't blame him. Megan Fox made all of us feel a type of way.”

We both started laughing and then said goodbye. The drive home was quicker than I thought it would be. I started mentalizing everything I needed to do when I got to my apartment. Doing my laundry, planning this week's workout, prepping my lunches, doing the dishes… So my mind was entertained until I got to my building. 

I walked up the stairs slowly, tired from today's workout, until I reached the fifth floor. I walked through the halls to the rhythm of the song playing in my headphones. I was almost there. I was so happy to finally rest for a while, until I saw an obstacle in front of the door.

Naoya was standing in front of my apartment dressed in a suit and a small bouquet of my favorite flowers. “What the fuck is he doing here? How does he know I live here?” I wondered as I stopped in my tracks to remove my headphones. He quickly noticed my presence and smiled at me like the cynical fucker he is. 

“You're finally here, I still haven't learned your work schedule,” he said while scratching the back of his neck. 

“Have you been following me again?” I asked, upset as I approached him. 

“I just want to make sure you're okay, that's all,” he answered. “Look, I even brought you your favorite flowers.” 

Our fingers brushed as I took the bouquet. That simple touch made me remember moments that I wanted to bury in the graveyard of my memories. When we were a happy, loving, healthy couple, before he became an obsessed maniac. I threw the bouquet roughly at his feet in total rejection and slapped him across the face. 

“I don't want anything from you. Get the fuck out of here before I punch you for real,” I ordered him. 

“Why are you playing hard to get and cold?” He asked as if he really didn't know why. 

“Because when I was easy, you almost raped me!” I exclaimed without shame that someone else heard our argument, if this could be called one. Talking to Naoya was like talking to a wall. 

“It doesn't count as rape, you were my girlfriend,” he spat.

“You drugged me, asshole!” 

“Whatever, I already apologized for that a long time ago,” he said, downplaying the issue. 

“I don't care about your apology, why can't you understand that? It's one syllable, no, no, no! Shall I tell you in Spanish? ‘No!’” I shouted in annoyance. 

“I will do my best to make you forgive me and get back with me,” Naoya said as he came closer to me. I walked away at his pace. 

“And I will do everything I can to get you to stop bothering me,” I answered. 

“Oh yeah?” He challenged me. “Why don't we bet on it? Since we want different things.”

“I'd rather make a deal with the devil than with you,” I snorted. 

“If Sukuna wins, I'll stop bothering you forever and admit that I wanted to rape you,” he offered without hesitation. “Is he really so confident that he would win?” I was intrigued. 

“What if you win?” 

“You'll have to leave Team Black and join the Zen’in Clan again.” Well that was less bad than I thought, knowing his twisted mind. 

“Why do you want me to join the Zen’in Clan?” I was confused. 

“I know I can't force you to fall in love with me again, for God's sake I'm not a monster.” Cynical bastard. “So I thought that if we spend a lot of time together, as we used to do, you will want to come back to my arms,” he explained. 

“You're crazy,” I said. 

“It's a great deal,” he said. I just shook my head to ignore his proposal, waiting for him to just walk away before entering my apartment. “Or don't you have faith in Sukuna?” I hate to admit that felt like a slap across the face. 

“Sukuna is going to kick your ass,” I barked.

“Then let's bet if you're so sure,” Naoya offered me his hand to agree to enter the bet. 

“You better hold up your end of it,” I said as I accepted his handshake. 

“May the best man win,” he said before squeezing my hand to place a kiss on my knuckles. I pulled it away from him and wiped it on my sweatshirt. He picked up the bouquet from the floor and handed it to me. I reluctantly took it so he would get the hell out of here. 

“Go away,” I ordered. Naoya smiled at me and left the way he came. I followed him with my eyes until he was out of my sight. As he was about to take the stairs, he turned around. 

“Remember that luck is always on my side, beautiful,” he said with a wink. 

I used not to believe any of that before. I was sure that luck didn't exist and that the only thing that existed was unique opportunities. Believing in luck is for weaklings like Naoya who don't trust their body and abilities. That's what I thought until I met Sukuna. 

“Luck may not be on my side, but it is on Sukuna's,” I said, imitating his cynical smile. Naoya reciprocated and walked out of my sight. 

Quickly, I entered my apartment and closed the door behind me. I dropped my gym bag by the entrance to go to the window. “No way was I going to keep this,” I thought. I opened the kitchen window and threw out the bouquet of flowers as far as I could like a football. I slammed the window shut and leaned against it to take a deep breath. 

My pulse was racing. I felt anxiety invading my chest and my memories were rushing through my mind. I removed the scrunchie that held my hair in a ponytail to run my fingers through it in an attempt to calm myself. 

I sat down at my small dining room table and pulled out my notebook to begin planning this week's training. I pushed out the tip of the pen with a “click”. I tried to write the first day's name and it wouldn't release ink. I scratched the entire sheet, but the ink just wouldn't come out. 

“Fucking hell! I exclaimed in annoyance as I threw the pen across the apartment. 

Tears filled with anger and frustration began to roll down my cheeks. I pulled my hair as I cried over the notebook. I was sick of living in fear, of Naoya always knowing where I was, of him not understanding that I didn't want to go back to him. These false memories bombarding my mind every time I saw him made me mad. I had to end this. I had to finish him off no matter what. Yes, he would fight against Sukuna, but I must pull some strings behind the scenes to ensure our victory. 

Next →

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[justmeinadaze]

Head Filled With Demons Part 4 (Steddie X You)

A/N: I am very aware that that picture of Jamie Campbell Bower is from Mortal Instruments or whatever but that picture is how I imagine Henry in my head in human form lol

Warnings: Demon Steddie X Human Fem Reader, ANGST, there are two murders in here, Chrissys is touched on again and Reader claims her second victim. She does see the demons in their full demon form and Steve does have to protect her (what he does to the person is vaguely touched on and blood is mentioned), in a vision she does see how the mayor is corrupt and he mentioned being blackmailed, Henry is Henry, purposely saying things verbally to hurt all three of them. Feelings of grief are brought up with the loss of her father and the boys tell her more about one of their other summoners that didn't end well.

SMUT, more details on the boys and how their relationship started, Reader takes over more here with them than vice versa. FLUFF, they love her <3 and she loves them.

Word Count: 7087

The three of you hit the ground with exceptional force as you wince in pain. 

“Fuck. Y/N? Honey are you ok?”, Steve asks as he crawls over to you and helps you to your feet. 

“Yeah, I’m fine.”

“She’s fine, Steven. Get off her back.”, Henry mocks as he jumps down from a nearby tree. You quickly help Eddie to his feet who in turn promptly moves you behind him. “A little bird told me once you two always enjoyed these woods. Funny how you can recreate a memory but it’s never quite exact is it?”

“Geez, are you just going muse all day or get to the fucking point?”

“Oh, Edward. Someone’s lost a lot of his patience over the years.”, Henry tsks. “To be fair, you’re lucky I even brought you two because my offer is for the lady.”

“Whatever your up to trust me, she’s not interested.”

“Trust you.”, he cackles. “That’s hilarious. After everything I’ve witnessed, I’m surprised she hasn’t killed people faster just to get rid of you two.”

“What are you talking about?”, you ask confidently as you try to hide how afraid you really are. Something about this particular demon didn’t feel right and you just wanted to get away from him as soon as possible.

He gestures with his head down a path, motioning for you to follow. 

“Y/N, no.”

“Don’t worry, Steven. You guys can come to but don’t interrupt.” Shoving his hands in his pockets, he begins his slow stroll as you follow. “As I’m sure you picked up from them, I am a prince. Besides the fact that I was going to marry Chrissy, they aren’t very fond of me because my people and their people used to fight constantly.”

“That war?”

“Yes, very good. I see they are opening up to you somewhat.”, Henry grins. “Mine and my princess’s father, the kings, believed they were superior beings. Fucking ridiculous. Even more ridiculous was the thought that me marrying Chris would somehow resolve that.”

Eddie growls behind you before you hear Steve whisper something to him. 

“Stop that.” The demon beside you pauses as he turns to look at you as you continue. “Stop trying to hurt him. The princess has nothing to do with why you’re here.”

A wicked grin stretches along as his face as he turns to the boys. 

“I see why you like her. Fine, fair enough. After she died, everything in our realm fell apart and became an all-out battle of who is better. Pathetic. I immediately left to expand my horizons and met someone with…let’s just say similar interests.” Henry winks as he continues walking. “Like these two, I get to kill people.”

He chuckles again. “Never mind. I guess not exactly like them. I don’t live in relative exile and I can come and go as I please. I also get to kill the person with my own hands.” You cringe as his eyes roll back in pleasure at the thought. 

“So what do you need me for?”

“Ah, very perceptive, little one.”

“Don’t. Call. Me. That.”

When the demon turns to face you again, he doesn’t even try to hide the red anger in his eyes. 

“You control that tone with me. I am royalty and I am above you.”

“Maybe in your realm but not here.”, you scowl into his glowing eyes. 

Both your protectors rush forward, but Henry raises his hand, lifting them off the ground slightly and restraining them out of the way. 

“I saw you in your pathetic store the day you found their stone. You slinked back home to your poor sick father, painting on this happy face for everyone you passed especially him so he wouldn’t know how broken you were. You like to pretend that being a good person in the long run will make you happy but I assure you, Y/N, it won’t. I’ve seen you with them, Edward and Steven. I’ve seen you change after your first killing and after fucking them. I heard you in that school say you wanted to help them.”

He takes a step closer to you till his face is just above yours. “Being a good person, does nothing but get you hurt and used. Chrissy was a good little girl and look what happened. Her father basically sold her to mine to end a petty squabble they started and then she died! I’m asking you to do this killing for me because I think it will really help you see the world for what it is while helping you get your next victim in the process.”

“No thanks. I’ll pass.”

That evil grin blinds you again as he waves his hand and tosses your demons to the ground. 

“You know, I thought you might say that but Y/N, unlike them, I’ve never lied to you.”

“Neither have they.”

Henry’s lips pout out sarcastically as he nods. “Hm. Hey, does this house look familiar to you?”

When you gazed where he was pointing, you noticed the home from your second night with Eddie and Steve. Here it wasn’t run down but looked more put together. 

“Ah, yeah, they’ve shown you an illusion of it before.” He opened the door and you followed him. Everything was completely different within it from the last time. The furniture was neatly where it belonged and the frames on the walls actually had photos within them. Your fingers grazed pictures of the boys in their human form but you imagined wherever these pictures really resided it had their regular demon appearance within. 

“Y/N, WAIT!”

Henry’s eyes never left you as he flicked his hand in the air and the front door slammed shut. There were images of them with that boy Dustin they had shown you making funny faces into the frame. Next to that was a picture of Eddie with an older man pulling him in for a hug, the demon himself with a wide smile you had never seen on him before. Beside that a photo of Steve and a young lady he had never mentioned making serious looking faces as they point their swords towards the lens.

“I don’t understand.”

“This is the house they stay in. Well, not THE house but… I don’t know why they didn’t show it to you this way. Then again, the way I hear it, they both have a tendency to fuck it up from time to time.”

“How would you know that?”

“Would you like to see?”

“But they said—”

“Now that was true. They can’t show you what it’s like where they’ve been but I’m much stronger than they could ever be.”

You glance towards the door where both demons were trying to get in. 

“Okay.”

Henry beamed as he snapped his fingers and you felt your body being thrust backwards into their memory. Looking around you realized the home was in complete disarray again. Everything was flipped over or shattered and you swore you could feel the heavy energy in the air. Steve’s loud voice caught your attention down the hall and you quickly got up to go find him. He was pacing in his bedroom, fuming while Eddie leaned against the wall with his arms folded as he watched. 

“Don’t do that! Don’t fucking stand there and look at me like I’m fucking crazy!”

“I don’t know how else you want me to look, Steven, and to be fair you are acting crazy.”

“Well, what does it fucking matter, right?” He reaches behind him and throws a glass object against the floor. Snapping his fingers, it reappears and he throws it again. “I could burn this place to the ground and it will still come back like new.” The demon repeats his actions instead choosing to throw the object towards his friend. 

Eddie growled low in his throat as he glared across the way. 

“Don’t do that again.”

“Or what?” Steve threw grabbed the item again and hurled it towards him. 

In the blink of an eye, he was on him, tossing him to the ground as Eddie held him down. “You’re not the only one struggling, Steven! You think this is easy for me?! I fucking hate it here but it’s all we have! At least… at least we got to stop running. At least here we’re both safe. You’re safe.” The demon released his wrists but Steve didn’t move them as Eddie tenderly touched his face.

“Please…I need you to stay with me, ok? I can’t lose you. I already lost everything else.” 

Steve’s hand wrapped around his neck as he tugged his lips to his. Eddie abruptly pulled back but only for a moment as his eyes looked over his friend’s face before he leaned down to kiss him with much more passion. 

A loud bang brings you back to reality as the door falls in and both red eyed demons come barreling through. 

“I can see their memories just as clearly as I can see yours. I can see everything they do and everything they don’t.”

“I-I don’t care about this. They didn’t have to be honest about this house. It’s theirs…its…”

Henry sighs aggressively as he pinches the bridge of his nose. “You two really found a winner here. I wonder what her father would say if he ever met you two.”

“He did.”

“What?”, the evil demon gasped. “Oh wow. Well, I’m glad he got to but I’m sorry for the circumstance. It’s never fun to have someone you love meet new people the day before they die.”

“It’s not like they would have known.”

“Of course, they would have. It’s happened to people who have summoned them multiple times.” Your eyes widened as you and Henry turn to look at the boys who are now calmer but still reflecting an emotion of fear.  “You mean you didn’t tell her?”

Eddie moves first, placing himself in front of you and reaching for your hands. “Y/N, listen to me—”

“Is that true? Did you know?”

“It-it’s more complicated than that.”

“Answer me.”

“Yes.”, Steve responded for him as your gaze shifted to the floor. “That part is true. Y/N, we knew how much you loved him. We didn’t want to hurt you. I meant what I said. If there’s something we could have done to save him, I promise you we would have.”

When your eyes met theirs again, they knew that if yours could glow they would be. The anger that radiated from you was intense as you pulled your hands from the demon’s grasp before turning to Henry. 

“Who are you supposed to kill?”

He flicks his fingers and an image appears between them. “A mayoral candidate named Larry Kline. I’m assuming you’ve heard of him?”

“Yeah, I know who he is. Do you have a timetable like they do?”

“No but you do so I wouldn’t dilly dally.”

You aggressively grab the photo from his hand. “Send me back.”

“As you wish. I’ll check in on you again in a few days. Who knows, maybe we can become a pretty badass team.”

As you scowl at him, he snaps his fingers and you’re suddenly back in your store. 

###########

As you walk the streets of Hawkins, Eddie and Steve continue to try and speak but you ignore them as if they aren’t even there. 

“Y/N, please, just hear us out.”

“Henry isn’t someone you can trust. You have no idea what he was like back home.”

“This isn’t smart, honey. Killing someone with so many eyes on them could get you arrested or worse.”

When you finally make it to town hall, you slow down to take in your surroundings. The front door looked like it would be easy to access since people including tour groups were coming and going. There was a level of security but not much. Larry Kline was one of those cocky types who would absolutely believe no one had the audacity to even try and kill him. 

“Y/N, please…”, Eddie begged. He reached out to touch your arm with his fingers and you promptly elbowed him in the chest. 

“Don’t touch me.”, you hissed. 

“You have every reason to be upset—”

“Upset! I—“, you cut yourself off as you moved away from the people near you to a secluded area behind the buildings. “I’m furious. I trusted you. What more are you hiding from me?”

“What would it have done, Y/N? You couldn’t save him.”

“I could have tried, Steve. I could have gotten to him to a hospital or—”

“That wouldn’t have worked. If they can see us, they are too far gone… that just means its their time. So what would you rather we have done? Tell you so you can spend your last 24hrs with him panicking or making him dinner, talking with your new friends, and reminiscing about the past?” Eddie sighed trying to control his temper. “We used to tell them…the people that summoned us. It NEVER ended well.”

“Miss?” You abruptly turned around coming face to face with a handsome gentleman in a black suit. “I’m sorry but you can’t be back here.”

“Oh, um, I apologize. I just needed a moment.”

“Is…is everything alright?”

“Yeah, I’m ok. I just lost my father recently and—”

“I’m so sorry. I know how that goes. Part of the reason I got this job protecting Mr. Kline. It got me out of my house and it always has me on my toes.” The man pushes up on his tiptoes as he chuckles making you smile. “Yeah, bad joke. I get tongue tied around beautiful woman. I’m Noah.”

“Y/N.” When you reach out to shake his hand, you hear loud, angry growling behind you. 

“Would it be too forward if I ask you out for a drink tomorrow night?”

“No, not at all.”

“Cool. Uh, yeah. This is my number. Call me later and we’ll set up a time.”, he grins as he hands you his business card. “I should, um, get back to work. Oh! Yeah, um, you have to…”

“I’ll leave. I swear.”

His smile grows as he stumbles over his feet before catching his balance and jogging away from you. 

“What a fucking idiot.”, Eddie fumes.

“’Noah Strong.’”, you read from the card he gave you. “Definitely fits the name.”

“Are you fucking him or killing him?”

“Depends, Steven. Is there something I should know?”

“You know what, honey. We’ll let you figure that out this time. Isn’t that how you humans do it? Just fuck someone and move on? No specifics, no details…just in an out.”

“Hm, you two not giving me all the information. Sounds about right.”

****

Their eyes continue to stare through you as you sit on the couch trying to watch tv.

“Can you two stop looking at me?”

“Can you listen to us?”, Eddie begs. 

“There’s nothing you need to say. I’m going to kill the mayor, maybe Noah and get you both out of my life.”

They were positive if you were actually looking their way, you’d be able to see how much your words cut through them like a knife. They had both been to war, stabbed, hit, and almost killed numerous times but nothing had ever hurt them as bad as the thought of you not wanting them around. 

Without notifying you, Steve snapped his fingers and your living room disappeared as an old 1800s style home appeared in front of your eyes. 

“Marcus, please. Let me take you to the doctor.” A young lady begged a boy who was playing with a toddler in the corner. 

“Elizabeth, why? I’m fine. There’s nothing wrong with me!”, the man laughs as he gestures towards the demons behind her. “Guys, tell my sister to relax.”’

The girl turns to them with tears in her eyes. “Make him go.”

“We can’t do that and even if we could… we told you…it won’t help.”, Eddie sighs.

The images blurred until you found yourself in the middle of a town that was now on fire. 

Elizabeth cackled as buildings around her collapsed. “Lizzy, what did you do?”, Steve asked under his breath, eyes wide as he looked around.

“Does it matter, Stevie, baby? I got three and then some. It doesn’t fucking matter. Without Marcus here what’s the point?”

They watched as someone came up behind her and knocked her out as they began to disappear back to the exile they called home.

You aggressively shot up as the images disappeared from your mind, glaring at them as you rose and headed for your bedroom. 

“That was just the first time that happened. We learned pretty fucking quickly that human minds are fucking fragile especially when it comes to death. After we told her why Marcus could see us, she begged him to go to a doctor, thinking he was sick or something along those lines. The next day, he had a sudden aneurysm. The day after she snapped and set her village on fire.”

“It got worse as time went on and we didn’t want to be responsible for any unneeded deaths. We aren’t Henry.”, Eddie scowled.

“I think you just hate him because he was going to marry your princess.”

“I’m glad you think so little of me.”, he sneered. 

“I could say the exact fucking same! Did you really think I’d be like those other people? That I’d go fucking crazy and hurt more people than I had to?”

“You almost did.” Your own voice suddenly echoes through your brain. 

“My world is gone. Why should I help all these fucking assholes especially the assholes in this stupid, greedy fucking town! Fuck them! Let them suffer.”

“Yeah, Steve. That’s grief. Everyone fucking feels it. I’m…I’m still feeling it but now twice as much because… fuck it, it doesn’t matter.”

“Yes, it does. Say it.”, Eddie urges. 

“Leave me alone. I’m going to bed.” 

Unlike previous nights, tonight they didn’t lay beside you. You heard the whoosh of them disappear and for the first time in almost two weeks, you were all alone. The silence killed you as you cried yourself to sleep.

#############

“Thank you for meeting me. You look extremely beautiful.”

“Aw, thank you.”, you grin as you spin 360 so you can display your dress. 

“What’s with the suit jacket and jeans? Couldn’t bother putting on the entire outfit properly?”, Steve snickered as both demons trailed behind you guys as you enter the bar. 

“Let me grab us something here. I’ll be right back.”

“Please don’t tell me you’re actually into this guy.”, Eddie whines. 

“What do you care? You’ll be gone soon anyway.”, you murmur under your breath as you pretend to look out the window. 

“Oh, little girl is so sassy tonight, Steven.”

Noah comes back with some beverages and you both continue to talk about trivial things that usually come along with a first date. To add a thorn in your side, your demons placed themselves on either side of him, glaring and grimacing as he spoke. 

“So do you enjoy protecting the mayor? I imagine it’s a little scary.”

“I mean it’s alright. He can be a bit of an asshole but hey he pays me.” When he laughs at his own joke something in Steve’s eyes glimmers angrily through them. It wasn’t jealousy. They had been displaying that emotion through most of the evening. Something about what Noah said bothered him. 

“Does it pay well? I mean, not as much as the secret service I’m sure but…”

“Um, yeah, its pretty lucrative. It helps me get my nice apartment and meet pretty girls who hide behind buildings talking to themselves.”

“Oh, you heard that?”, you smile to yourself. “My, uh, my father just passed away so sometimes…I talk out loud to him. He always wanted to see the inside of town hall.”

“I’m sorry about your father.”

You shrug as you twirl the straw in your drink between your fingers. “Sometimes…I wish I had known he was going to go…there are some things I would have said…” As you looked up to meet his eyes, you ended up staring into two others who looked back at you with sympathy and shame. “Doesn’t matter.”, you softly smile in his direction. 

“I can give you tour of town hall if you’d like. Like the in-depth cut tour. We just have to go back to my apartment to get my access badge.”

“Y/N, do not go anywhere with this man.”, Eddie commanded in one of his more serious tones. 

“Ok.”

“Yeah? Cool!”

“Honey, seriously. Tell him no.”, Steve pleads.

Noah takes your hand and leads you to his car. 

****

“Do something Steven!”, Eddie hisses as Noah guides you up his stairs. 

“I can’t. She’s not technically in danger.”

“Are you fucking kidding me!?”

“So this is my place.”, Noah grins as he widens his arms. 

“It’s nice.” You try to sound enthused but your demons heated whispers were distracting you. 

“Say you have to go to the bathroom. “, Steve commands, huffing when you hesitate. “Now, Y/N!”

“Hey, um, Noah may I use your bathroom?”

“Yeah, of course, it’s down the hall.”

As soon as you close the door, they appear behind you and Eddie snaps his fingers. Visions of Noah with the Mayor at Hawkins dump fill your mind.

“I hate how easy this has become.”

“Should it, sir?”, Noah asks. 

“Look, I told the girl blackmailing me is a bad idea. She insisted so…”, he shrugs as he sighs. “They always insist. They think I’m going to leave my wife and fall for them.”

“Don’t all women, sir?”, he chuckles.

“I like you, kid. Quick, pull that lever and I’ll buy you a round.”, he pats his back as he heads towards his car. 

Noah yanks the lever on a machine that begins crunching, disposing, and erasing Mayor Kline’s infidelity.

“Jesus Christ!”

“Shhhh… you need to leave now.”

“But I can kill him and get his pass for the mayor’s office—”

Steve’s hands grip your cheeks as he pushes you back against the wall. “Y/N, no. He is too strong for you. His job is literally to take bullets for someone. I’m not asking anymore. LEAVE!”

“What are you going to do about it? Why do you care so much? As soon as I do this and what Henry wants, I’ll save the world. Just like everyone else you’ve done this with.”

“This isn’t the same as the others.”

“Why?!”

“BECAUSE WE LOVE YOU!” His thumbs caress your skin as his eyes look longingly into yours. “Because we love you. We…we weren’t lying about that.” You shifted your gaze towards Eddie who nodded in agreement. 

“Y/N? Everything alright in there?”, Noah asked as he knocked on the door. 

Heavily sighing, you opened the door and pushed past him towards the living room. “Actually, I’m not feeling so well. I’m going to head home.”

Without any kind of warning, he roughly grabbed your upper arm. “You were fine a moment ago.”

“Yeah, well, must be the alcohol. I don’t really drink like that anymore. I’ll call you, ok?”

You tried to pull out of his grasp but he just gripped you tighter as a slow smooth chuckle left his lips. “All you women are the same. Just a fucking tease. What about me, huh? After everything I’ve done for you tonight?!”

“Let me go, Noah.”

“No. I think you’re just fine and you want it just as bad as I do.”

Pulling your arm back as far as you could you smacked him and he shouted in surprise as he dropped you to the ground. As quick as you could, you tried to get to your feet but he was faster, holding you down as you tried to fight him. 

A strong tug on his collar startled him as he was thrown to the wall behind him. 

“Who the fuck are you?”

“Hey there. I’m Steven but my friends call me Steve. I’m in charge of keeping that beautiful young lady safe.”

“I-I-I wasn’t going to do anything. I swear.”

The demon clicks his tongue as he shakes his head. “See, that’s not true, is it? Because if it were, you wouldn’t be able to see me.”

Slowly you stood up, backing into Eddie who turned you to face him. “I want you to keep your eyes on me, ok?” As soon as you nodded, the energy in the room changed as you heard loud growls and Noah’s screams. Your head started to turn but his big palms held you in place. “No, princess. Don’t look. Just keep looking at me.”

After what feels like eternity, everything quiets down and the demon releases his hold allowing you to see the destruction behind you. The furniture was all over the place and ripped to shreds. Blood smeared the floor as Noah laid near Steve’s feet with wide eyes. The demon’s back was to you but you could see his shoulders rise and fall as he panted. 

His bat that you had seen numerous times in visions and on the stone itself appeared in his hand as he extended it towards you. 

“Finish him, Y/N. Get your kill.”

His head was turned away from you but is voice was incredibly deep. 

“Steve…” His only response was to push the handle towards you again and this time you took it from him. Standing over Noah, you raised the bat in the air and closed your eyes as you swung down. 

###########

As you walked home, you allowed the night air to calm your racing mind as you palmed Noah’s ID badge in your hand. It took a lot longer due to you taking the backstreets so you weren’t seen but when the front door shut, you finally felt like you were able to take a breath. 

Silently, you removed your clothes and tossed them in the waste bin before Eddie snapped his fingers, setting the fabric ablaze. 

“I’ve never let anyone touch my weapon before let alone use it.” Steve turned on the shower and guided you under the hot water. “I’d be lying if I didn’t say it turned me on.”, he chuckles but stops when he notices you turn towards the wall. 

Closing the curtain on them, you cleaned your body as they listened to you cry.

“Sweetheart, you did really well tonight. One more and it will all be over.”

Once you were clean, you stepped out and allowed them to attach a towel around your body. Both their heads shot up, as Steve snapped his fingers and you were suddenly wearing your pjs. 

A sinister laugh in your living room caught you attention and you pushed past your protectors to see Henry sitting on your couch.

“That was amazing.”, he claps as his tone drips with condescension. “And very clever, Y/N. Now you can utilize that idiot’s badge to do the task I gave you.”

 “No.”

Henry’s laugh tapers off as his eye’s scowl up at you. “I’m sorry?”

“No. I’m declining your offer.” You throw the badge on his lap as he snickers again before standing. 

“I’m not someone you say no to. Chrissy learned that the hard way.” 

When he snapped his fingers, the three of you were thrust backwards, crashing into another memory. 

“Chris?”, Eddie starts to step forward but Steve hastily grabs his arm as you guys watch Chrissy start to gather some of her things. 

“Going somewhere?”

“Shit. Geez, Henry, you scared me.”, she nervously giggled.

“I scared you? I feel like I should be the one who’s scared. Where are you going, my love?”

She cringes at his term of endearment. “I’m, uh, getting things ready for after the wedding.”

The demon laughs in his throat as he reaches out to gently touch her cheek. “It’s so cute…how you think I don’t know…”

“Know?”

“Mhmm. About you and Edward. You two could have been happy here. I don’t care. It’s not like I wouldn’t be fucking other demons either.” Chrissy growls at him utilizing the opportunity to pull the knife Eddie gave her just in case. 

“Just let me go, Henry. Please.”

“Now what I do care about is you thinking you could disappear just like that. What would people say about their new king if they found out his queen ran off with a fucking peasant.”

“Y-you and I both know you don’t even want to be king.”

“Eh, you’re not wrong.” Henry charges forward, turning Chrissy’s wrist and stabs her with the knife in her hand. “Win-win for me, I guess. Plus, I get the added benefit of watching them torture the man you love for all eternity.”

Her eyes widen as she falls to the floor. 

As the vision of Henry circles around the room hiding her bags, Eddie kneels by her side, reaching out to comfort her in any way but his fingers fall through the image.

“Chris! Come on! We need to go now, babe.”

Henry disappears as past Eddie enters the room.

As the images vanish, both your demons growl angrily.

“All of this is your fault?”, Steve snarls, his voice that deep demon tone.

“To be fair, I didn’t actually want to kill her. That was just an added bonus.”, he chuckles. With red, glowing eyes, Eddie ran forward but Henry lifted them both in the air with a quick hand motion. “If you have to be angry with someone, it should be her father who thought our marriage would in any way end the hatred our people have for each other. I told my father no multiple times but then I got curious. I followed her around, watching her hide her relationship with you. She really was happy with you, Edward.”

“Why did you agree to it then?” His head swiftly turned to you at your question. “Once you found out they were together why didn’t you leave her alone?”

“It’s in his nature. Demons like him cause pain everywhere they go for no reason.”, Steve shouted as he and Eddie continued to try to wiggle out of his hold. 

“Because creatures like you and her need to understand that we are above you! I thought maybe I could show her that, teach her, so we could dominate the realm together. But I knew that night she was weak… I want to save you from that, Y/N. You’re different. DON’T let them make you weak.”

When he turned to face you again, his face was met with the nails of Steve’s bat and both your demons suddenly dropped to the floor. 

“You don’t have to worry about that. I’m a lot stronger than you three think.”

Henry growled, raising his hand to toss you against the wall. Half of his mask was gone but you tried to keep your composure as he came up to you till his nose was against yours. 

“Rethink my offer, Y/N. There are worse things than death and I can do them all.”

He snapped his fingers and just like that he was gone again.

Dropping the weapon, you ran to their side. Eddie was still on his knees, his face in the carpet as he covered his head with his hands. 

“Ed. Talk to me, man.”, Steve pleaded as he reached out to touch his back. 

“NO! No one touch me!”, he roared as you both fell back. 

“Edward…” You reached out to try and run your fingers through his hair but his hand shot out gripping your wrist. You wince at the feel of his demon skin against yours. “I’m…I’m not afraid of you, Edward. I’m so sorry.”

Steve snapped his fingers and all of the sudden you guys were back in the home near the forest. It was dark and falling apart again, seemingly abandoned once more. 

“Why can’t you make it look like he did?”

“Because…Henry showed you how it actually looks but this is how we see it. Some bullshit tiny house that’s bland as hell and constantly falling apart because we are constantly tearing it up. Like he said…it looks different in a memory.”

Like a lion on the hunt, Eddie bolted towards the bedroom on all fours and crashed into something hard.

“Stay here.”, Steve instructed as he headed that way. “Edward, calm down. Y/N is here—”

You gasped as a dark blur tackled the demon and he disappeared from the hallway into the adjacent room. Running to make sure he was ok, your eyes widened as you saw a winged creature with horns holding Steve against the wall with his claws around his neck.

The bat didn’t come with you so you reached for an object on the dresser and threw it his way. Eddie’s brown curls bounced as he turned to look at you. You still saw parts of the metalhead within him but he had completely changed. Unable to control his appearance, he was now showing you who he really was. As he charged towards you, another winged creature slid in front of you. 

“Steven?”

They wrestled each other crashing into everything in the house. You panicked unsure of what to do until your back bumped into Eddie’s guitar hanging on the wall. Yanking it down, you slung it over your shoulder and began to play the only song you had managed to learn from a friend back in school. 

“And I'm gonna keep on lovin' you 'Cause it's the only thing I wanna do I don't wanna sleep I just wanna keep on lovin' you.”

They both fell apart onto their backs as the calm flowed through them. 

“You did good out there.”, Steve grinned as he handed Eddie a beer. 

“Thank you. I almost died but that’s half the fun, right?”

“Huh, no.”, he laughed. “We’re not all tough, meathead types. We don’t live for an ‘honorable death’. Some of us just do what we have to do.”

“Yeah, I can understand that.”

“You know, you didn’t have to take your father’s place…”

“I know…”, the demon looks down at his drink. “But if it wasn’t me then it would have to be my uncle and he’s the only family I have left.”

Steve nodded before patting his new friend’s shoulder. “Well, I got your back.”

“And I meant every word I said When I said that I love you I meant that I love you forever.”

Steve is curled up on Eddie’s bare chest as his fingers play with his hair. 

“Ugh.”

“Yeah…someone found our stone. It’s about time.”, Eddie sighs as they both crawl out of bed and shuffle towards the front door. “Oh wow. This one is gorgeous.”

Steve glances out the window and sees you in an elevator staring into their gem. “She is. Is it just me or does she seem sad?”

“Most of them do. Now all we have to do is wait.” The demon reaches for him, pulling him into a hug. “Everything is going to be ok, sweetheart, alright? We do this and then it’s just you and me again.”

Steve nods as he brings his lips to his.

When you stop playing, you hope it was enough to bring them back to you. 

“Steve. Eddie. Are you two ok?”

They had calmed down enough that their appearances were back as their brown eyes starred at the ceiling. Abruptly, Steve rolled on top of him and passionately kissed him as his palms cupped his face.  

“I’m sorry. I’m…I’m sorry…I didn’t hurt you…did I?”, Eddie asked between kisses, breathing a heavy sigh of relief as the demon shook his head. 

You tapped their shoulder and after turning to look at you, you gestured around the room. It had changed before your eyes but they were too busy with each other to notice. There was sunshine streaming in from the window and everything was now clean in its proper place.

“How…we didn’t…”

“You said it’s memory, right? What were you thinking about right now?”

They glanced at each other before turning back to you. “How we want to make love to you but not in the destruction.”

“You deserve better than that.”, Eddie agreed as he softly smiled. “Y/N, we are so sorry about your dad. We wanted to say something but—”

Your lips cut him off as you crashed them to his own. Steve lifted you like you weighed nothing and placed you down the bed as both demons ran their mouths along your neck. You moaned as they worked together to remove your clothing and slide their fingers between your legs; Eddie thrusting two fingers inside you as the other demon rubbed circles into your clit. 

Their mouths were like heaven as they slid down your body to suck on each breast and flick their tongues along your nipples. While Eddie’s lips trailed back upward, Steve’s went lower, kissing your skin along the way before wrapping his lips around your clit. 

“Fuck.”, you whimpered as your fingers tangled in his hair. 

“We know you’re strong, Y/N.” You glanced at the demon above you in confusion. “You said you stronger then the three of us thought you were. We know you are. It’s one of the many reasons we love you.”

Pumping his fingers faster inside of you, your eyes rolled shut as you came, Steve drinking in every bit of you he could and kissing his way back up your side. 

Pushing Eddie onto his back you straddle his waist as you kiss his lips and his palms reach up to roam your body, startling him when your hands grab his wrists and pin them back. 

“Let me take care of you.” 

His eyes scanned your face finally nodding as his palms slide further up to grip the headboard. Both of you moan as you guide his cock into your entrance, taking him slow at first as you feel every inch gradually push through. 

Eddie’s jaw went slack as you began to ride him, your forehead leaning gently on his. 

“Fuck, princess. Jus-just like that. God, you feel so fucking good.”

Coyly, you smile as your hand wraps around his throat. “No, Edward. Don’t say his name…say mine.”

His eyes opened to meet yours as you ground your hips harder against him. The sound that left his lips wasn’t a growl of anger but almost a purr of pleasure. 

“Your pussy feels amazing, Y/N. The way your warm, dripping cunt tightens around me and takes my cock is like a fucking drug, baby.” As he speaks you bounce on him faster as your nails run down his chest. “That’s it, Y/N. Fucking take what’s yours. We…we belong to you.”

Your body shakes as you cum making him grunt at the feeling underneath you. As you collapse on top of him, his arms wrap around you as you whisper in his ear. “I love you, Edward.”

Eddie takes over, thrusting his hips hard into yours as he chases his own climax. 

“I love you to, Y/N. Fuck.”

With a couple more rough pumps, he pants as his release warms your insides. You two tenderly kiss for moment before detaching so you can crawl onto Steve’s lap whose cock had gotten unbearably hard after watching you both. 

“You’re so beautiful, Y/N.” As your legs wrap around his waist, he lifts you in his arms and places you flat against the mattress. His hands tightly grip your sides as he slides his cock into your core. “Fuck me. He’s right, honey. We’re yours. I love you, baby.”

“Mmm…I-I love you to, Steven.” Rolling your hips to meet his, you moaned loudly as your palms gripped his wrists. “Y-your safe with me.” 

His motions slowed and you took the opportunity to guide him into a sitting position as you circled your arms around his neck, taking over as you grind on his length. Steve’s hair falls back away from his face as you crane his neck so you can see him. 

“Look at me, Steven.” His honey-colored eyes meet yours and you promptly shake your head. “I said look at me, STEVEN.” A heavy mewl left his beautiful lips before he blinked and you were now staring at his red orbs. “I can protect you to. I-I can take care of you—mmm—of both of you.”

Your forehead falls on his as you cling to him, moving your hips hard till he feels you shuddering against him as you cum. Steve soon follows, guiding your motions till you feel him fill you up.

As your head hits the pillow, the room darkens and you find yourself back in your bedroom with them on either side of you, hands running along your skin.

“Is there anything else you’ve hidden from me?”

“No.”, Eddie answers with no hesitation. 

“Now that you know the truth, is there anything you can do to clear your name and go home.”

“No one would believe us. Come back home after so long and blame a prince… Plus, there’s no point.”, Steve sighs as he gestures towards the stone. “Can’t go home anyway.”

“Where did you say you found it again?”

Both their heads turn to stare at you. “No.”

“I just want to help.”

“No.”, Eddie repeats. “You can’t help us.”

“Maybe, I can talk to the person that put you in there. Find out if there’s a way to set you free.”

“We’ve tried that already, Y/N. Trust me.”, Steve lightly huffed. “She can’t be reasoned with or trusted.”

“I still want to try.” The metal headed demon growled and you sat up as you glared at him. “I’m not letting go that easy. You two may have given up but I haven’t!” You crawl over them and reach for a long shirt but as you head for the living room, they both appear in front of you. 

“We haven’t given up, honey. We’ve just played this game before. We know how it ends.”

“Well, Steve, maybe the game changed! Have you ever dealt with Henry before here in this realm? Has anyone ever wielded your weapons? H-have you ever fallen in love with any of the other people who summoned you?!” The tears began to flow before you could stop them. “I know I can do this. I know I can help you.”

Eddie stepped forward, reaching out with his thumb to dry your eyes. 

“Please…”, you beg. “I can’t lose you two.”

#############

@tlclick73 @iaminlovewithdilfs @tiannamortis @steeldaisies

@goodhappyfriday @paleidiot @fireeyes-on-teller-dixon-grimes

@strangerthings64 @howlingcon @hellfire—cult

[harmlessghosty]

Okay...hear me out domestic life with mhin☺️🐦‍⬛🐦‍⬛

Domestic life with Mhin is relatively quiet and peaceful. There’s not much outside of what’s expected from a typical couple…sort of. Well, if you exclude all of the bloodstains in their clothes and the messy footprints on the floor every time they come home. They need time to unwind when they come through the door—at least half an hour of changing clothes and bathing, or a wet cloth to the face. Even better if you offer to do it for them, though they’ll fight tooth and nail to do it themself. Still, they want you to help, even if they shy away and try to snatch the wipe from your hand.

If you have a meal ready, they roll their eyes and cross their arms before grabbing a plate. “You didn’t have to do this, you know,” they say, but they’re clearly grateful no matter what the meal is. It could be slop for all they care; it’s the thought that counts, really. In fact, they know how hard it can be to speak appreciation and love, so they adore every single action you make to help them feel better. Life is hard. Life is really hard. They get it. Even the smallest of gestures make them fight a blush or a smile.

While they’re home with you, they’re glued to your side almost all of the time. If you’re cooking, they’re sitting on the counter reading, polishing their dagger at the table, or helping chop vegetables. They purposely brush against your waist when they cross your path, but they pretend it’s not happening. In fact, they scoff. “You’re always in my way. This kitchen isn’t big enough for two people,” when it could be the size of a whole apartment and they’ll still be touching your shoulder.

When you’re bathing, they constantly want to check up on you because they just never know what might happen. They’re concerned you’ll slip or fall asleep in the tub and drown. You’re always so tired, you moron, so make sure you’re quick, all right? If you’re down for it or you’re particularly achy or wounded, they’ll insist on bathing you themself. “You’re clearly incapable of doing it yourself. Am I supposed to let you hurt yourself worse?” They’re very cautious of hurting you more, and they’re upset that they can’t wash your arms, but the least they can do is run their hands along the rest of your body. It’s nice to give of themself, though they feel like it’s not enough, and maybe they’re being a little too gentle if you look a bit bruised. They really don’t care for seeing marks like that on you.

Grocery shopping is nice together too—though between the two of you, it’s hard to scrounge enough cash to get too much at a time. You’re lucky they get contracted through Leander often because you’re not really able to do much with whatever skills you have. Survival doesn’t exactly make the big bucks. Because Mhin makes most of the income, they control the meal plan, but that doesn’t mean they do it with an iron fist. They often walk through the market with you and point out things you may not have tried before, explaining the ingredients in fairly…rude ways. “You’ve never heard of roasted hellhog? Where did you say you grew up again? That’s insane. We’re buying it. No, I’m not arguing, I’m just saying you need to expand your horizons. I’m surprised you’ve survived this long on such a bland diet.”

[literary-illuminati]

2024 Book Review #24 – When the Angels Left the Old Country by Sacha Lamb

I tossed this on my TBR entirely sight-unseen at the start of the year, entirely on the basis that I was trying to expand my horizons a bit and it showed up on my public library’s ‘staff recs’ page with zero context whatsoever (also just an absolutely lovely title). This was, as it transpires, not a particularly good way to choose a book I’ll particularly enjoy – which is entirely on me, to be clear. It’s a well-executed and often charming story, and if it was a novella I would probably thoroughly enjoyed it. At 400 pages though, I’m just so incredibly and entirely not the target audience.

The story is a historical fantasy set during the tail end of the 19th century, principally about the angel and demon who call a minuscule shtetl in the Pale of Settlement (so small it doesn’t even have a name) home. Neither is a particularly impressive example of the type, and they have largely spent the previous centuries arguing over scripture with each other. After hearing that one of the girls of the schetl who had left for America might be in danger, they take it upon themselves to travel first to Hamburg and then to New York to rescue her. Along the way they make a friend, discover who they really are, and become trade union activists.

So this is shelved by both my library and Goodreads as YA, but it’s feels very much written for the young side of young adult – just generally very much read like a children’s story. A good one! But still – the narrative voice and the portrayal of the world felt like something more suited to 6th -7th graders than 16-17-year olds, I suppose? Though I might be projecting off my own childhood tastes here. There’s even a ten-page glossary of difficult or unusual vocabulary at the back. So all to say that really getting into a critique here based on my own preferences would just be a waste of time for everyone involved.

That said, this is actually one of the first YA books I’ve read that feels like it meets the whole stereotype of YA being written with Providing Good Representation as a key guiding principle throughout the process. Not in any didactic or lecturing way, but the three main characters are a nonbinary angel with a recurring beat of feeling awkward and uncomfortable whenever its dress/presentation/forged papers cause it to be treated as a man, a demon with obviously inhuman feet that make walking in shoes very painful and are a recurring inconvenience, and a teenage lesbian whose whole arc centres around figuring out why she felt so hurt and betrayed when her childhood BFF fell in love with a guy instead of emigrating to America with her and spending their lives together (also all but like 2 characters of any consequence in the entire book are Jewish, as just follows naturally from the whole premise). It all feels written with an eye towards taking prospective readers by the hand and assuring them that their feelings are normal and not something to agonize over. It’s all well-done and fairly graceful – and, like, such things are a large part of what children’s books are for – but was just amusing to finally see an example of the stereotype.

I actually did quite like the narrative voice and general style, though. It had very sort of storybook or folkloric sensibility to it, seemed exceptionally well written for reading out loud to someone before bed. Which fit very well with the very casual don’t-worry-about-it inclusion of the supernatural and its place in the world.

The book was honestly most interesting to me as a window into this whole rich cultural mythology of Ashkenazi emigrants leaving behind the Pale of Settlement and seeking new lives in New York/the USA. A mythology I am aware of but have only the most surface-level actual familiarity with (to whit ‘There are no cats in America’ and not much else). It’s always, I guess fun?, to read someone referencing and playing around with what are clearly stock characters and tropes but which are entirely new to you. The whole book at least felt very well-researched and absolutely drenched in little touches to ground in the specific place, time, and cultural milieu.

So yeah. Competent, well-executed book I really probably shouldn’t have bothered with.

[fatfables]

Camp Shawn: Part 4.1

The epic gainer novel continues!

1.

Camp Leader Gary opened his eyes and saw blood trickling down his forehead onto his nose. Wait, that’s not right, he thought. How can I see my own forehead? He closed his eyes again, and counted to five. He opened them again and looked at the blood dripping from the end of his nose. That’s better, that makes sense. I must have heard the blood on my forehead. He thought hard for a minute, trying to focus on what he just said. He closed his eyes again. I’ll get it right in a minute, he thought, and counted to ten. Before he opened his eyes he tasted the blood leaking over his top lip. Tasting, he thought, lips. That’s right. Damn he was drunk. Why had he gotten so drunk? He opened his eyes and once more smelled the blood dripping out of the deep cut on his forehead. Smelling blood? Can people smell blood? Sharks can. Damn his head hurt. Why did his head hurt? He closed his eyes again and restarted counting to ten. The blood tasted thick on his tongue. He opened his eyes a third time and saw no blood. All he saw was belly, the underside of a huge glutted out globe that burst brilliantly out over the top of a pair of hugely oversized baggy shorts. The fat had thin light brown hairs growing over it. The belly of a man of a very impressive size. The sight of the foot of fat overhanging his aching face soothed him. The edges of a black t-shirt were just visible beyond the horizon of the belly. The belly moved gently as it spoke. The voice was instantly recognisable, it both pleased and terrified him. “Hello Gary, What the fuck are you doing on the floor?” It said.

2.

Henry knew just how nervous Steve was, he felt it in his stomach. The twins guessed it was their own fault for lying to their father. They’d told him that they were on a break from Shawn due to the stress of being separated by the college admissions process. Although their break up had never been officially spoken of by any of the parties involved it was clear that it was a break up and not a break.

The twins had been eating their way out of their depression quite successfully for the previous few months so the news that they were to go back to camp and meet up with Shawn had sent them both into turmoil. Thankfully Henry had persuaded his Dad to allow them to start working at the camp a couple of weeks after it opened. This meant that they were able to spend the start of their summer vacation in Florida with a group of the YGS guys. That way they could at least try to forget about Shawn and whatever new horror and argument he had in store for them when they did show up in Indiana. For now they could lie in the sun getting drunk, expanding their globe like bellies on conch fritters and key lime pie.

3.

“Simon! Simon! Get down here and help me! The darn voice text has packed up again!”

Simon groaned as he rolled off his bed. Having a disabled parent was just the worst. He lay prostrate on the floor staring at a Fill Out Boy poster ironically placed on his bedroom wall while he tried to build up the energy to go downstairs and help his Dad.

“Simon! Simon! Can you hear me?”

“Yes Daaad, what do you waaaant?”

“I need you to come help book that camp. The darn voice text has packed in again!”

Simon lifted his head like a puppy that just heard the word ‘walkies’. Booking the camp was something that he actually wanted to do.

“Coming!” he shouted, as he bounced up onto his pudgy feet and sprang down the stairs as fast as his stubby legs would carry him.

“What’s the matter with it Dad? He asked in a much more helpful tone.

“The darn voice text that reads to me, it’s packed in again. I just wanted to check the info about that camp we agreed on.”

Simon looked into the whites of his father’s eyes as if he was just checking to be a hundred percent certain that he actually couldn’t see and snatched the laptop away from him.

“I’ll do it for you, no problem,” he said cheerily.

“We agreed on the one in Indiana right?” His Dad asked in spite of being certain that this was correct.

“Yeah, the weight management one.” Simon said with a smirk that his Dad had never seen.

“I’m very proud of you for agreeing to this, you know? It takes a big man to admit that he needs help. No pun intended.”

“No pun taken.”

“I’m being serious, Simon. Me and your Mom are so pleased that you’ve decided to put your health first. You know how worried she’s been about you since she read that article in the Enquirer about that new youth craze, you know those kids who want to be fat.”

“I’ve told you both. That’s ridiculous! How can you believe anything you read in that rag? It’s all hyperbole. I know I’m overweight but the idea that I’m into gaining is ludicrous!”

“I know that son, but your Mom needs convincing. You know what she’s like once she gets an idea in her head.”

“This is the one Dad.” He read part of the website blurb out loud;

“For the past twenty three years we have been helping young men with their body positivity and weight management issues. Thousands of young men from across America and overseas have come through our doors and left happier, healthier sizes. Our five point programme encourages eating habits that will last a lifetime. Our values are your values.”

Simon was very pleased that his Dad couldn’t see the photos of groups of happy smiling fat boys, some of them so plump that they looked like they were about to explode. One boy in particular had caught Simon’s eye. He was sitting on a makeshift throne wearing a crown, smiling like a loon whilst holding, in both hands, the biggest belly that Simon had ever seen. The boy looked like he was made of cake. Simon was certain that he must be the YouTuber known as ‘The King of Fat Camp’. It had to be? This was surely the right place? If he was wrong and it was a weight loss camp then he was in for the summer from hell.

He spent the next twenty minutes filling the required details into the online application while his Dad kept repeating how proud of him he was. He had to be right. This had to be the place. He was going to have the best summer ever. Having a disabled parent was just the best.

4.

Jake Joseph-Jackson was desperately trying and failing to hide his excitement as Shawn slowly climbed out of the taxi. He was bigger in real life than on the net. Jake smiled widely as he approached his old friend.

“Shawn, Dude! You’re looking magnificent!”

Jake went to shake Shawn’s huge soft hand but jokingly moved his own tubby hand away at the last moment and slapped Shawn’s bulging belly instead. It wobbled satisfyingly. It was Shawn’s turn to smile.

“You’re looking good yourself, man! How much bigger are you than last time we met?”

“You know that day when we finished camp I was actually 5 lbs heavier than you!?”

“That was a long time ago, man.”

“I can see that, dude”

“You look like you’re about 360 right?”

“All the way around!” Jake joked as he ran a fat finger around the circumference of his belly.

“And you, you’re 450 right?”

“That was last week, I’ve not updated my stats yet. 458”

“Oh wow! Way ahead of me!”

“Nothing changes my friend. Always growing!”

“And rightly so!”

“Talking of which, what’s a guy gotta do to get something to eat around here?”

Jake laughed out loud. “Come with me,” he said, “Staff dinner is just about to begin in the new restaurant.”

5.

Shawn was very impressed with the new surroundings. The restaurant was simple but elegant. It contained twelve large round tables each with twelve sturdy seats. There was a large buffet bar against the far wall for salads and entrees, beside the soda machines. The other side of them, next to the large open windows that overlooked the lake, lay four automated self-serve ice cream vendors. There were only three other counsellors in the restaurant eating at another table. Shawn recognised a couple of them but couldn’t remember their names. The kindly Jim, whom he remembered fondly, approached with a menu. It was his turn to serve his hungry colleagues.

Shawn perused the menu, taking more time over his selection than you would expect someone as hungry as him to do. The options were extensive and spread over five courses. This place was designed to treat the higher paying campers well. He settled on the beef wellington, coq au vin, and a double portion of sliders to start with. He then asked Jim to please fetch him a plate of everything from the salad and entree buffet, making up a BS excuse about an aching ankle in order to save him the twenty feet of walking required to fetch his own. He really liked Jim. Jake fetched them both a supersized cup of soda, only supersized cups were available, and they sat down to eat a meal at camp together for the first time in three years.

The beef wellington was made of thick juicy cuts that slid down Shawn’s throat with orgasmic ease. The chicken was succulent and cooked to perfection. Shawn ordered a second portion of both for himself and Jake. The tiny burgers looked ridiculous in comparison to the size of the boy eating them, like doll's food. At least there were twelve of them. He swallowed each one whole, but didn’t bother ordering any more. Instead he went for the game. The venison steak was bloody raw, five 8 oz strips of loin. He followed this with the turducken. The very idea of one dead bird stuffed inside another, stuffed inside another, stuffed inside him, was enough to make Shawn rock hard. Jake, already full, watched him as he devoured the feast of cruelty that was a whole chicken, inside a whole duck, inside a whole turkey. When this plate was presented to him, he’d taken off his 4XL shirt, in order to give himself more growing space. He placed his left hand on top of his domed belly so that he could feel his straining stomach stretching even further out as his right hand tore into the triple roast of decadence. The debonned birds were easy to eat quickly as Shawn could just grab at the meat with wanton abandon. Every morsel was edible and he relished every last morsel of it. He groaned with delight, as the physical evidence of the demise of the three birds, and all the other meat he had eaten, bloated his mountainous belly out. The pain in his undergut was strong enough to make his dick drip but he wasn’t about to stop now. If he had to be back at camp then he was certainly going to make the most of it. He undid the fly on his shorts in order to create the last bit of growing space and ordered Jake to fetch him ice cream. His fat friend willingly obliged. The whippy ice cream shot out of the pipes with a gaseous noise. Jake filled eight large bowls of it, passing them to Shawn one at a time, while he supplied the others with various sauces and toppings. Shawn didn’t even use a spoon, he just sucked the soft cool melted mixture of fattening sugars, milk, and cream straight down into his aching waiting gut. He was totally ballooned now and a spiking shot of lactose pain flew down the left hand side of his bloated abdomen to join the immense digestive pain in his undergut. Shawn wasn’t lactose intolerant but this had happened to him once before and he knew what it was, he had just eaten too much lactose. Full stop. Anyone who overeats to such a stupendous level would feel the same effects. This thought turned him on. He finished the final bowl and looked at Jake longingly. He had never considered this friend to be particularly attractive, but damn he needed him now.

“Hey Tiger, I could really do with some relief over here” he winked.

Jake didn’t hesitate. He dropped his fat ass to his knees and dived under the table where he proceeded to suck Shawn’s balls so hard that he came before he  could even move onto his dick. Well, this is what Jake thought had happened. In Shawn’s mind he was watching a fat chicken, a fat duck, and a fat turkey, along with a deer and a cow, fight for their lives as they drowned in a sea of melted ice cream inside his belly. Just as the animals, breathed their last and sunk out of sight below the creamy surface they melted away and all of the cream and animal fat drained out of the bottom of his stomach like an emptying tub and layered itself around the outer wall creating a new thick layer of fat that swelled his magnificent belly three feet further out than before. It was at this point that he shot his load straight into his friend’s curly hair. The three counsellors at the other table pretended not to notice.

6.

“I can’t believe that your parents are letting you go to that place.”

“Well, they er don’t really understand what it is,” Simon admitted.

He was sat in the school dining hall talking to his best friend, Mike. It was one week before the end of term and Simon had been spending extra time at lunch everyday since he had booked online with his Dad’s unwitting agreement. Simon was a good looking boy, short at only five feet six, with dark brown hair that swept over his forehead in an ironic emo manner. He had equally dark brown eyes that sunk into his chubby face under the weight of the ironic black shadow that he wore around them. Mike rolled his eyes at him, he couldn’t believe that Simon had been so sucked into the gaining scene that he would trick his parents so. Simon picked up on his friend's look of disapproval and fingered the inside of his ironic dog collar. The collar felt tight around his soft neck and was causing him to sweat. He looked away from Mike as he took another bite of his chilli dog.

“They’re gonna be so fucking pissed at you dude, when they find out.”

“How’ll they find out?”

“Are you joking? They think you’re going to a health and exercise camp. What the fuck do you think they’re gonna say when you come back fatter?”

Simon looked down at his protruding gut that was stretching out his ironic  extra large Greed Day t-shirt. He swallowed hard and wiped his chubby hand over his mouth.

“I don’t care,” was his simple answer. He took another huge bite of his meaty lunch and a big glob of chilli dropped down onto his shelf. He looked down at it and appeared to muse deeply for a few seconds before wiping it up with his fat forefinger and sucking it clean.

“But they’ll care!” Mike protested.

“Maybe I won’t gain that much?” Simon posited.

“Now you’re just lying to yourself dude, you’ve gained 50 lbs already this year! What do you seriously think’s going to happen to you at a camp where they purposefully supply you with unending food?”

Simon’s eyes widened and Mike couldn’t help but wonder why his friend had started to take such delight in weight gain. Was it yet another rebellious phase? Was he doing it to be popular or was it really just irony?

“With any luck I’ll gain a hundred pounds.” He beamed.

“And you don’t think your parents will notice that!?”

“My Dad’s fucking blind, dude!”

“But he ain’t stupid!”

“Ain’t he? He’s the one that’s paid for me to go to gainer camp! If he seriously wants me to lose weight then that’s a pretty fucking stupid thing to do!”

Mike sighed in frustration. He really didn’t understand what Simon saw in this whole gaining thing. Simon finished his chilli dog and announced that he was going back to get some pizza. He pushed his plush buttocks into the back of his chair and it scraped along the floor. As he stood up his round belly bulged out in front of him. He already looked like he’d drank an entire keg of beer. A thick layer of soft young belly fat was clearly visible hanging over his ironic studded leather belt. Ridiculous for a sixteen year old, thought Mike. As Simon waddled back towards the counter carrying his empty tray Mike stared at his fat padded ass that hung out above his sagging jeans, gripped tightly in ironic bright pink boxer shorts. His globular cheeks bounced as he went. What the hell will he look like after eight whole weeks of weight gain camp? He wondered.

Continue reading for free (and check out parts one to three!) at https://www.fatfables.com/

[nagichi-boop]

Do You Ever Wonder…? (Shadamy Oneshot — DC x Sonic)

(Read on AO3)

The dark and brooding Batman had resolved in his heart never to let anyone get close to him, let alone a romantic partner. He had long since convinced himself that it was a protection for those around him - love was too dangerous for someone like him. Wonder Woman is the complete antithesis of him - she was cheerful and full of compassion. She, in contract to Batman, couldn’t help but dream of a relationship with someone else.

The two of them - whose real names were Shadow and Amy - stood atop a roof as they patrolled the night, following a tip that someone was planning a robbery. With time to kill, Amy seeks to expand Shadow’s horizons and explore his relationship with love. Was he really as cold and distant as he seemed? Or did he have a deeper reason to be so withdrawn emotionally?

— x —

The two heroes stood atop the balcony to peer over Gotham, taking in the scenery while on patrol. In the streets beneath them, couples exited the theater, their arms linked while doting on one another. Amy stared at them longingly, the hopeless romantic in her envious of them. Amy face the ever stoic Shadow, his expression revealing nothing about his mood. Breaking the silence with a sigh, Amy turned to Shadow with an inquisitive expression.

“Do you ever wish you could have what they do?” she asked in a soft, almost somber tone. Shadow briefly glanced at her, noting how she slumped against the balcony wall. He then looked back down at the streets again.

“Not really,” he replied somewhat bluntly, causing the pink hedgehog to pout.

“You mean to tell me you have never thought about what it would be like to be in a relationship with someone?” Shadow once again looked at Amy, who was stood with her hand on her hip and her brows furrowed. Her disappointment in his answer confused him, but his expression remained unchanged.

“Relationships are dangerous for people in our position,” Shadow explained. He looked back down at the streets, but his expression softened ever so slightly – he was dividing his attention for her. “I’m a rich guy leading a double life, and that’s not mentioning all the emotional baggage behind me. And you…” His gazed flicked up to her. “You’re an immortal warrior princess. It would be foolish for either of us to date.”

Amy’s exaggerated annoyance became full-blown frustration. Her face creased as she scowled at Shadow. “Are you saying I’m not allowed to love because I’m a princess?” Picking up on the tone of voice, Shadow finally made full eye contact with her, his expression one of slight surprise. He hadn’t realised his comments would strike a nerve with her; he was just trying to be rational.

“Well…no,” he answered, now a little weary. “I apologise - I wasn’t trying to speak for you. I’m sure you’d be fully capable in choosing a suitable partner.” He paused for a moment, looking away as his expression darkened a little. “But for someone like me, it’s foolish to even entertain the thought of romance.”

Amy’s became less tense as worry crept onto her face. “What are you saying? Are you saying you’re not worthy of love?” As she spoke, the thought saddened her.

Shadow’s ears drooped slightly. “That’s not the primary reason, but I suppose it’s a part of it.” He sighed, a cloud emitting from his mouth into the cold air of the night. “More so than that, it’s dangerous for me to be emotionally involved with someone else. Both my identity as a billionaire and a vigilante poses a great risk to others. They could be used as leverage against me. I would never wish to put anyone in a position like that, so it’s better for me to keep my distance. I can’t afford to let anyone close to me get hurt again.”

The lost word lingered in Amy’s mind. It didn’t take a genius to figure out what Shadow as referring to. She took a step forward towards Shadow and gently held his hand in both of hers, cupping it tenderly as she gazed into his eyes. “Oh Shadow, what happened to your family wasn’t your fault. You shouldn’t have to shut yourself off just because you’re worried about what may happen.”

Shadow maintained eye contact with Amy, her words taking route in his mind. But he still wasn’t convinced. He shook his head a little, though made no move to distance himself from Amy. “Even so, the damage that might caused has made me unbearable. I am cold and selfish. I can’t imagine anyone wishing to be with me, besides perhaps to profit from my financial situation.”

Amy’s expression softened. Shadow was always so dark and brooding, which to most seemed to show a lack of care. But she saw right through him – he was scared. That was apparent now more than ever as he stood in front of her. “Maybe you can’t but I can.” She glanced away as her cheeks became tinted pink. “For example…me.” Shadow’s eyes widened in surprise, his mouth slightly agape. After taking a few seconds to process her confession, he frowned a little. “If this is a joke, I fail to see the humour in it.”

Squeezing his hand a little more, Amy met eyes with Shadow again, her expression more serious now, though her cheeks remained flushed. “I wouldn’t about something like this. I’ve liked you for a while now. You pretend to be cold, but I can tell you’re just afraid to let others in. You’re one of the sweetest people I know. Knowing that you’ve been purposefully denying yourself of love is absolutely heartbreaking to me.” Amy lowered her head, trying not to let her emotions overwhelm her. “Even if it’s not with me, I want you to let someone into your heart. You deserve to be loved.”

It was clear to Shadow that Amy cared deeply about him, and though he couldn’t quite understand it, he found it oddly endearing. He gently pried his hand out from Amy’s, and before she could worry about him distancing himself again, he used his hand to gently lift her head up from her chin.

“You really think I deserve to be loved?” Shadow asked in a soft, almost timid voice. Unlike Amy, he didn’t wear his emotion as openly, but even she could see how vulnerable he was being. To most, he was the same as he always was, but she noticed the subtly in his tone. She had never seen him act this emotionally open before. Despite her best efforts to manage her emotions, she felt her eyes welling with tears.

“I really do,” she replied shakily, her voice barely above a whisper. Shadow moved his hand to cup her face, his thumb gently brushing away her tears. The action was enough to cause Amy to break down. The sight tugged at Shadow’s heart, and despite his reservations, he pulled Amy towards himself and embraced her. Though initially started, Amy wrapped her arms around Shadow and sobbed into his chest. He couldn’t quite understand someone being this emotional on his behalf, but he somehow felt a warmth in his chest because of it. He had never let himself admit it, but he cared deeply about about Amy, too. He carefully stroked the back of her head and rested his chin atop it.

After a few minutes, Amy gradually calmed down and the tears stopped flowing. She backed away a little to create enough space for her to wipe her tears away. Composing herself a little, she looked up at Shadow, who met her gaze. His eyes inspected her face; the redness of her eyes, the sparkle in her emerald pupil, her now crimson cheeks. There was something remarkably beautiful about her right now.

“I’ve never had someone cry for me like that before,” Shadow admitted. It didn’t quite surprise Amy given how guarded Shadow was, but it still hurt to hear. To her surprise though, a charming smile appeared on his face. “Thank you, Amy. You’re a truly wonderful woman.”

Amy’s blushed intensified as the sudden compliment caught her off guard. Shadow had never been this delicate and expressive before, and it only made her more infatuated with him. Once she got past the initial shock, she furrowed her brows a little. “Wait a minute, was that a pun?”

Shadow smirked playfully. “Sonic isn’t the only one who can think of witty comebacks, you know.”

Amy pouted as if unapproving of the joke. Seeing her act like an embarrassed kid amused Shadow, and in an unexpected turn of events, he began laughing. Amy stared wide-eyed at him, struggling to contain her feelings when met with this side of Shadow. It was incredibly captivating        , and he possessed a charm that exceeded even her own initial expectations. She stared at him in wonder as he continued to laugh heartily, his cheeks flushed. Was he…?

He eventually composed himself and smiled down at Amy, who had an almost blank expression on her face. Swept away in the moment, he placed his thumb on Amy’s chin and leaned his face close to her’s.

“What’s wrong, Rose?” he teased in a calm, smooth voice. “It’s not like you to be at such a loss for words.”

Amy’s eyes briefly darted to his lips, which were closer to her than she would ever imagine them to be. She then softly looked into his eyes, mesmerised by the charm he possessed. His eyes were tender and the blush in his cheeks now rivalled her’s. “What…does this mean?” she whispered.

Leaning in a little closer, Shadow replied; “Is it not obvious yet?” She could hear the slight trepidation in his voice – he was just as anxious as her, even if perhaps he wouldn’t admit to such a thing. His hand still on Amy’s chin, he coaxed her face closer to his. She closed her eyes in anticipation, letting him take the lead.

A siren suddenly blared, causing the both of them to back away from one another suddenly. They stared at each other in bewilderment, both bright red in embarrassment. Shadow was the first to glance away, his hand moving to cover his mouth. His brows were furrowed, and it was painfully obvious to Amy that he was flustered by his own actions.

“W-We need to get going,” he stammered nervously, hopelessly unable to compose himself.

Amy quickly looked down at the streets, watching someone dressed in all black walk through a now forcibly opened door. She looked back at Shadow who was fumbling for his grappling hook. Not wishing to waste the opportunity, she ran up to Shadow, and tiptoeing to reach him, planted a kiss on his lips. Though brief, she wanted to reward his bravery.

“Alright, let’s do this,” Amy chirped with a renewed zeal. She quickly jumped off the roof and flew down to the streets to pursue the criminal. Shadow lifted a hand to his lips in disbelief, then after a few moments, he let out a chuckle and smirked to himself.

“She is one fierce woman,” he spoke in awe. Oddly, he found himself to be more energised and determined than ever. Deploying his grappling hook, he followed after Amy to chase after the criminal.

With someone as competent yet caring as her, perhaps he could afford to let her in – he could allow love into his life.

— x —

Thanks for reading! I hope this was at least palatable to read. I don’t really know much about DC, so I leaned more into the Sonic side of things. I wanted to write something because I don’t know if there was many Batman Shadow x Wonder Woman Amy fanfics out there. Maybe I’ll write more stuff as we get more context on the crossover, but for now I hope this is okay.

(This fic is based on this clip btw)

[tarot-by-e11e]

Hello!

Could I join the cocoon game?

Favourite song that inspires you to make scenarios in your head: Love Dive by IVE.

Favourite movie because you can never get over the plot: Knives Out.

Favourite fictional character with the best character development arc: Elle Woods.

Thank you!

W 🎠

(reminder: this is for entertainment purposes only) Hi W,

Thank you so much for participating in

my "COCOON" ask game.

I'll give a listen to that song and I watched Knives out and it's so fun!

Yesss Elle Woods is OG peak character development blueprint!!!

The cards I pulled for you are:

Page of Swords, World, Emperor

Based on the first card, you are called to let go of this hypervigilance to always know everything. I find it interesting that this card got pulled in your reading but the energy feels rather prominent.

It's giving "Look before you leap" gone extreme. You don't do anything and move forward unless you have thoroughly researched every pros, cons, and perspective in this specific endeavor.

It seems that being well-informed gives you so much comfort and security that it's giving the opposite energy of the Fool card in the tarot.

It seems that you are called to try to still move forward as you learn on the job. That you don't have to know everything in order to feel safe to move forward.

It's great that you aspire to be well-informed and prepared, but this tends to lead you to analysis paralysis. No matter how much you research, your progress only starts once you start taking action on your goals in life.

Dreams without actions remain as unfulfilled fantasies.

The second card calls for you to actually complete a task. It seems that you have a goal that you really want to achieve within a certain reasonable time frame. You are asked to let go of this analysis paralysis procrastinating cycle so that you can finally prove to yourself that you are more than capable of achieving your dreams into existence.

With this card, it means that you are called to pave your own path, even if it means separating from the crowd. If your dreams are deemed too big and realistic, you are simply in the wrong crowd. With that, you are encouraged to find like-minded communities that support you and/or are on the same path as you. As such you need to be aware of something crucial, you can take everyone with you as you achieve your dreams.

The reason is, that not everyone is capable of supporting someone they struggle to understand. Your dreams may not make sense to others but by no means, are you to give up on your dreams. They are YOUR DREAMS for a reason, not theirs. And your dreams are valid, even if other people don't get it. Okay?

Finally, the last card is encouraging you to expand your horizons beyond your current lifestyle/systems. As this card usually speaks about stability, discipline, or focus. What you are called to let go is this niched specialist approach in life, in order to open you to new possibilities that you have yet to discover.

This does not mean to abandon your systems, you are simply encouraged to explore potential side quests in your life. Instead of being a specialist way of living, you are suggested to explore and be a generalist and live life as you move through it.

Experiment, explore, and have fun with making mistakes. This was actually a rather unusual message to channel, but it strangely feels right.

Channeled song for you is:

7th random shuffle from my dice throw

Last Intuitive Message to end this reading:

I find channeling this song for you really interesting because this is a song suggested by your Inner Teenager. The neighborhood birds started chirping loudly as I typed that so I'm taking it as a sign of confirmation for you.

It's like your Inner Teenager is asking you to be brave and explore, even if it'll hurt because every life experience you overcome holds gifts of lessons for your personal growth.

True, it's scary to do something even know you're fully aware that you are likely gonna get burned, but it seems that your Inner Teenager is encouraging you to go through it, despite the pain because they really feel called to push you to learn things the hard way.

Now of course, as a disclaimer, don't do anything that would put your life in peril. This is more of (I can't believe I'm actually gonna type this), you are encouraged to F around and find out. I dunno why but it seems that your Inner Teenager has this rebellious streak and that causing me to worry for your safety.

So just, only do these experiments if you are with someone you can truly trust to have your back. Like, don't go to clubs/bars alone. Make sure you have friends who'd help you hold you hair up when you decide to drink more than you usually do.

So just be careful, okay? It's okay to have fun, so just do so with a friend.

You're not required to take everything to heart and just pick and choose which part of the reading resonates with you~

Thank you for taking the time to participate in my new ask game.

Feel free to head back into my ask inbox to send your feedback.

If you want an in-depth extended version of your reading, please head into my Paid Readings and purchase a reading with me.

Want to show me a bit of appreciation other than your feedback, I accept tips in my Buy-Me-A-Coffee link.

[starlightkun]

buzzer beater ❧ teaser [sungchan]

❧ word count: 1028 | full fic: 22.0k ❧ warnings: just cursing for the teaser, everything i know about hockey is from internet research for this fic i’m sorry for any inaccuracies i tried not to put in a lot of specifics lmao ❧ genre: fluff, gets quite suggestive (a heavy makeout scene/near sex scene) but no actual smut, college au, hockey captain sungchan, chronically ill reader (chronic migraines), halloween-themed at the beginning, sungchan’s not a frat boy but he’s like... a frat boy by association ❧ extra info: the ages/relative ages of the members in here are whatever i want them to be, don’t read into it too much. this is a very usamerican-centric take on a college au (greek life, collegiate sports, etc.) btw. also i call kunhang ‘hendery’ in here like it’s his government name for a one-line gag bc i think i’m hilarious (and i am <;3) the reader in this has chronic migraines, which i also have. when the reader’s migraines, experiences as a chronically ill person, and thoughts about being chronically ill are described, that is me writing directly from my own life. i am not a spokesperson for chronic migraines (lol) and am not generalizing the lives of all people with chronic migraines and chronic illness, as we are all different. but i am sending all my love to any readers out there living with a chronic illness, and here’s a reminder to go take your meds!! ❧ estimate release: saturday, october 14, 2023 2:00 p.m. eastern time

“Anyway, your turn,” you tapped his knee with your book before putting it back in your bag.

“For what?”

“To expand my horizons of you. All I know about you is that you’re the hockey captain, and a Bio major who took a gothic fiction class one time like three years ago. Show me you’re a multifaceted individual, too.”

“Uhm, that’s about it.”

“Oh come on, Sungchan.”

“No really, if I’m not on the ice, I’m in class; if I’m not in class, I’m with my team; and if I’m not with my team, I’m studying.”

“You’re here, right now,” you pointed out. “Last I checked I’m not on your hockey team, and we’re not studying. You have to do one thing that’s not for school or hockey. My thing was just watching Pacific Rim this one time, remember?”

“Alright…” he paused to think, fingers tapping along his thighs. “I used to play the piano.”

“Past tense, but I’ll accept it. When did you stop?”

“High school? Around when piano lessons and hockey practice started conflicting.”

“And you chose hockey?” You asked, hoping it didn’t sound judgmental. You really were just curious, trying to understand him.

“Actually, the choice was made for me.” He held his right hand out in front of you, and it was then that you saw his pinky finger was unnaturally crooked as he pointed to the digit. “I broke it in a game without even realizing it. Bruises and stiffness sometimes are normal so me and my parents didn’t know anything was up until weeks later when I was fucking up all the notes at my piano lessons because it still hurt. By the time I finally saw a doctor and got a splint on it, it set up wrong. All dexterity for piano out the window. Hockey on the other hand… guys have done a lot more with a lot less.”

You couldn’t help but curiously run a gentle fingertip over the crook in his pinky. “Does it hurt at all? Now?”

“Not really.” He went to bend and flex the fingers of his right hand, and you saw how the fifth finger didn’t curl up as much as the others. “It’s just a lot stiffer. Doesn’t bother me all that much.”

He brought his left hand up and wiggled the fingers on that hand. “Besides, I’m a lefty anyway.”

“So—apologies if this sounds like a stupid question to you, I don’t know anything about hockey—are there like, different hockey sticks for left-handed and right-handed players?”

Sungchan immediately broke into snickers, and you set down your mug to cross your arms over your chest indignantly.

“Hey, I didn’t laugh at you for not knowing what death of the author was—”

“I wasn’t making fun of you, I’m sorry,” he covered his mouth. “That was just… too cute. Uhm yes, there are lefty and righty sticks.”

You had to bite down your bottom lip to not smile at him calling you cute, and instead keep up your ruse of being offended. “I feel patronized.”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry.” There was still a hint of a giggle in his tone, and you felt your self-righteous façade slip away as he continued, “You should come to a game, then, if you really want to broaden your horizons. The season just started. First home game is this Thursday, actually. 7:00 p.m. and students get free admission with your student ID.”

“Thursday?”

“Fridays are for basketball, Saturdays are for football.”

“Oh. Right.”

“You don’t go to those games either, do you?”

“Oh no, did I make it obvious?” You asked sarcastically.

“A bit,” Sungchan jested back.

Outside the window visible past Sungchan, the rain had let up a few minutes ago, and you briefly glanced over at your laptop for the time. Shit, your next alarm was going to be going off soon. If you left now, you should be home at roughly the right time for your next dose.

Clicking your tongue, you started packing up your things, “Well, looks like the rain’s finally let up enough to allow me safe passage. That’s my cue.”

“Oh.” The hockey player with you looked over his shoulder at the newly sunny day outside before turning back to watch you put your things away.

“Are you heading out too?” You nodded to his empty cup.

“I’ve uh, got some homework to do.”

“Guess this is where we part ways then.”

“Um, you didn’t say if you were going. To the game.”

You tucked your chin to your chest to hide your smitten smile as you put your laptop in your bag. Typically just asking for the details would’ve been taken for a yes, but Sungchan wanted extra confirmation. This boy wasn’t good for your heart, truly.

Turning back to him, you gave him a firm and nearly business-like nod. “Yeah, I’ll be there.”

A bright grin lit up his features. “Okay! Great! Uhm, feel free to bring some friends, I know just sitting in the stands by yourself might be lonely.”

“I’ll see if I can drag somebody else out. It’ll be a tall order, though. Literature majors, you know, we prefer our Shakesperean poetry readings.”

“Oh, well—”

“I’m kidding,” you laughed and stood then, slinging your tote onto your shoulder. “Honestly, have you seen Chenle at a rager? Boy can drink twice his body weight I swear. He shouldn’t, but he can.”

Before you could reach for your cup and saucer to buss your place, the hockey captain spoke up, “I’ll take care of your mug, don’t worry.”

“Oh, thanks, Sungchan! I’ll see you Thursday then.”

“Bye…” Sungchan trailed off, watching the door long after it had closed behind you.

He didn’t actually have any homework to do, and scrolled on his phone for a few minutes to make sure you were out of the area before leaving himself. He grabbed his long-empty plastic cup and your mug. His went in the trash, and as he went to put yours up with the other dishes and trays, his eyes were caught by the iridescent glitters left behind on the rim by your lip gloss.

⤷ blog masterlist

[breannastewart]

what are some of your favorite stewie and sue moments?

oh man I have so many it’s hard to pick just some so this may accidentally turn into a master post of stuff, sorry not sorry in advance 😭

but obviously you gotta start from the jump on how much sue looked out for her, and jewell as well. how she texted every day to check in, jewell talking about her helping buy groceries. there’s this clip from an interview where stewie says sue kept telling her she doesn’t get out enough so she was trying to expand her food horizons and sue just sheepishly shrugged and whispered "I do" about it 😭

sometimes stewie looks out for her too, like when sue asked for her to scratch her back because she couldn't reach but of course stewie had to be a mega dweeb about it 😭

here's the full gifset for that

we all famously know sue credits stewie for fixing her shot in that all time performance of hers in game 5 of the 2018 semis, how it was her who noticed something was off and told her to use her legs more and the rest was history on that, just good looking out by stewie

random silly moment but when stewie got a cut on her neck during a game back in 2018 they had to stop play for the blood and stewie is just aggressively swiping at her neck and sue comes over like stop it let me do it 😭

when sue broke her nose thanks to stewie's elbow hitting her in the face, the rest of the game stewie was so noticeably rattled even the commentators started speculating about it and then there's this moment on the bench when sue comes back, stewie's clearly got the red teary eyes before she has to check in and sue's the one trying to comfort her but also get her focused back on the game even though she's the one with gauze stuck up her nose 😭

they also just would talk A BUNCH on the bench during games I have multiple clips from games over the years of them just being obnoxious as hell or blabbering away on the bench omdfgh

ANYWAY OTHER MOMENTS. when stewie hurt her achilles she mentions in probably one of my fave interviews that sue was one of the first people that texted her, she said she told her "I knew on your face something was wrong, usually you fall and you get right up" + after her surgery when she still wasn't mobile enough, she mentioned in another that sue and megan would come over and cook dinner for her. got massages for her, too. below is from one of my fave articles (more from that article when you scroll down as well) and like... this girl 😭 she was devastated 😭

but sue ended up out for that year as well and it ended up producing this cute little exchange though 💀

when she injured her OTHER achilles in 2021, sue mentioned stewie looked at her and mouthed 'uh oh' and she kinda knew then, and stewie later talked about how she wanted to keep playing but sue was the one who kinda brought her down like you need to think about the long term, not right now. and I just think all of that really shows the deep connection and trust there and stewie even talked about how they ended up understanding each other in ways others can't. here are some of the other screencaps from the article I mentioned above back in 2020:

stewie has talked a lot about how she believes she wouldn't be where she is without sue. making players cry is kind of unfortunately holly rowes thing but stewie's interview back in 2018 before the finals, talking about sue and how much she deserved another championship and how she's done everything for her is very sweet. and here's that again from an interview before the start of this season:

and that isn't one sided, sue's 2018 player's tribune piece before the finals lives in my head rent free, it's better than any poems ever, just

and in a poscast post bubble/championship she mentions how she hadn't said it to her face yet that she saved her career, and then in an interview in late 2021 she talked about it again that she was weighing her options of retire or go play somewhere else with a chance to win, and then they got stewie, and

here's the gifset I made for that

going to throw in some random social media things to break up the sweet and sentimental stuff because these two are hilarious idiots (there's still some sweet things too)

these are from stewie's snapchat back in 2017 😭

again they're weird and silly and thanks for giving the sue gays a heart attack with this one stewie

THERE'S THE SWEET DOSE

and then there's these... 😭

that's where I'll wrap it up maybe because this has gotten long enough and there's just so many more I'd be happy to share if you like, and I'll leave you with some random cute pictures as well