#will attempt a short break for a train video and then try to get back in the mood

[dark-elf-writes]

The shift between “I could write entire worlds into existence” and “I have never heard a single word in my life” happens very suddenly and always around 2-3 pm

[jiihu]

I have a fic request, its quite dark tho, so if you dont want to write it its fine. Where the oc and yeji have a power Imballance of one being a famous music producer and the other is a leader of an idol group struggling to get good music for their next comeback

Thank you

𝐏𝐔𝐓 𝐌𝐄 𝐈𝐍 𝐀 𝐌𝐎𝐕𝐈𝐄 — 𝐡𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐞𝐣𝐢

﹅ summary — after years of training, you've finally debuted in a group, but your first comeback didn't receive the attention you'd hoped for. producer hwang yeji offers you the opportunity of a lifetime.

﹅ content — power imbalance, toxic, idol!reader

﹅ word count — 4.3k

﹅ a/n — the whole time i was writing this i couldn't stop thinking of that scene in the fearless mv where that person was like "nugu? nugu?"

you sat in the corner of your practice room, gripping the tablet in your hands as your four other members huddled around you to watch the choreography. it was a critical moment for you and your group, as you were only a day away from your comeback performance. the pressure was high, and everyone knew that every single move had to be perfect and precise.

as the music started, you closed your eyes and tried to focus on the beat. the choreography was complicated, and you had been practicing for months to get it right. but something was still off. the timing was a little off, and some of the moves didn't flow as smoothly as you thought they should.

you opened your eyes and looked at your members. they were all staring at you, waiting for your feedback. you took a deep breath and attempted to voice your concerns.

"okay, let's try that again. yujin, your timing is off on the second chorus. hyerin, your footwork needs to be a little sharper. and jia, you need to extend your arm a little more on the bridge."

your members nodded in understanding and got back into position. you started the music again, and this time, everything was seemingly perfect. the moves flowed together seamlessly, and the timing was on point.

as the music ended, your members collapsed onto the floor, exhausted but clearly satisfied with their work today. a huge contrast to how you were feeling.

you blew out a puff of air, walking backward to sit in a chair with your head in your hands. as the leader, you felt pressured to make everything perfect, from the dance to the lyrics. it was your job.

"y/n? are you okay?" you heard your member, rei, ask with concern. you looked up at her and forced a smile.

"yeah, i'm fine. just a little tired."

but you knew that wasn't the truth. you were stressed out and worried that your group wouldn't be able to pull off the comeback performance. it was your responsibility to make sure that everything was perfect, and you felt like you were falling short.

as you sat there, lost in thought, your members gathered around you. they sat in silence for a moment, unsure of what to say. then, jia spoke up.

"y/n, we know how much pressure you're under. but we're a team, and we'll get through this together. you don't have to carry all the burden yourself."

you looked at her, feeling grateful for her words. your members had always been there for you, supporting you through thick and thin. and you knew that they were right. you didn't have to do this alone.

"thanks, guys," you said, feeling a weight lifted off your shoulders. "let's take a break for now and come back to this later. we'll get it right."

the five of you sat in chairs backstage, the room silent as your members stared at the floor. you had a wardrobe malfunction on stage where your mic had detached from your pocket, slipping from your grasp and under yujin’s feet. even though she regained her balance shortly after, you couldn't help but feel that the damage had already been done.

your leg bounced nervously as you looked through your group's mentions on twitter. while you scrolled through the tweets, your heart sank. fans were already talking about the incident, and some had even uploaded videos of it happening. you could feel your heart racing as you read comments about how unprofessional it was and how it ruined the entire performance.

your members sat quietly beside you, their eyes occasionally flickering towards you, reflecting the same disappointment and worry. you knew that they were all thinking about the same thing—about how this would affect your group's image and reputation. it was a critical moment, and this mistake could cost you everything.

suddenly, the door to the backstage area burst open, and your manager rushed in, her face tense. "are you guys okay?" she asked, looking at each of you in turn. "i’m glad you didn’t hurt yourself out there, that was a close call."

you nodded, feeling a little relieved that at least she didn't seem too upset about the wardrobe malfunction.

"but we have to do damage control," your manager continued, her voice low. "we need to release a statement addressing the issue and assure fans that yujin’s okay."

your members nodded, and you all sat in silence once again, lost in thought as your manager left the room. you knew that this was just the beginning, and there was a lot of work to be done to make things right since your group were still considered rookies.

as you sat there, your leg still bouncing nervously, you felt a pit in your stomach. you knew that no matter what you said, there would be people who wouldn't understand or accept your apology. but you also knew that you owed it to your fans, who had supported you all since debut, to address the situation and let them know that you were okay.

after a few moments of silence, you spoke up. "i think we should do it now, before it gets out of hand," you said, your voice barely above a whisper. your members looked at you, and then at each other, before nodding in agreement.

over the next few hours, you worked with your team to draft a statement that addressed the situation, apologized for any harm caused, and reassured your fans that yujin was okay. you all poured your hearts into the statement, wanting to make sure that it conveyed the sincerity of your apologies.

once the statement was finalized, your manager took a deep breath and hit "send" on the post. it was immediately met with a flurry of reactions—positive, negative, and everything in between.

your fans were confused as to why you were apologizing in the first place, while non-fans didn't seem to accept the apology. you read comments about how your careless mistake jeopardized your group's success, and about how you could’ve harmed yujin. you couldn't help but feel discouraged, but you also knew that you had to keep going. you couldn't let the negativity overwhelm you.

so you took a deep breath, put on a brave face for the sake of your group, and turned to your manager. "how are we gonna come back from this? i mean," you gestured to the tablet propped on the table, "this isn't going to look good for our group's image. especially after the debut we had."

your manager sighed, tapping her fingers on the arm of her chair as she tried to come up with a solution. all of a sudden, she jumped from her chair, grabbing her bag from the floor. "i know just the person who has experience with this sort of thing. y/n, follow me."

"y/ln y/n, this is hwang yeji, the best producer the industry's seen in years." yeji held out her hand, which you quickly took into your grasp. although yeji wasn't an idol, you still felt starstruck.

you sat in awe as yeji began to speak, feeling intimidated by her presence. "don’t worry. you’re not the first one something like this has happened to," she explained. "one mistake can ruin an entire group if it's not handled correctly. fortunately for you, i promise it's not the end of your career."

yeji proceeded to lay out a detailed strategy that involved a combination of online and offline initiatives. she suggested hosting fan meetings, doing more social media interaction, and even creating a charity project to show your group's commitment to giving back to the community. yeji had a reputation for saving rookie groups from controversy, and you trusted her expertise.

"also, we could try testing out a different style for your next single. something that not only draws more international attention but something that also makes people proud to see how far you guys have come." you slowly nodded your head, your mind still not grasping the fact that you'd finally met someone who you'd looked up to for years. "is that okay with you? if not, we could try something else."

"no! it's fine. i'm sorry, my mind is just everywhere right now." yeji smiled, her hand coming up to caress your thigh.

"don't worry about it. i understand that this is pretty difficult to handle. i'll get you, and your group through this. i swear."

yeji stood up, looking over to your manager who was furiously typing on her laptop, her eyebrows furrowed. "you don't mind if i take y/n to the studio, right?" she waved her hand in a dismissive gesture, before going back to typing. "great! come with me. i'll show you a few different styles, and you can pick out which ones you like best. not today, of course, so don't feel rushed."

as you followed yeji out of the room, you couldn't help but feel a little uncomfortable thinking back to her touch. it seemed a bit too forward, but you brushed it off, thinking that maybe it was just her personality.

yeji led you down a hallway illuminated with bright led lights, her hand resting on your back to guide as you walked. once again, you tried to ignore it, focusing on the different doors you passed by. finally, you arrived at a door that read "studio 5".

yeji pushed open the door, revealing a large room filled with equipment and musical instruments. "welcome to my studio," she said, gesturing for you to enter. "take a seat, and i'll play you some of my recent work."

you sat down on the couch, feeling a bit nervous as yeji disappeared behind a frosted glass door. a few moments later, music began to play, and you were struck by the unique sound. it was unlike anything you had ever heard before, and you found yourself nodding along to the beat. you knew that if you decided to use it for your group, it'd at least get points for being unique.

as the music continued to play, you found yourself feeling entranced by the sound. you barely even noticed when yeji came back out from behind the curtain, sitting down next to you on the couch.

"i'm glad you like it," yeji said, a smile on her face. "i think it could really work for your group."

you nodded in agreement, still lost in the music. yeji's hand came to rest on your knee, causing you to jump slightly.

"you're tense," she said, her hand rubbing circles on your knee. "relax, i'm just trying to help you."

you tried to ignore the uncomfortable feeling in your stomach as yeji's hand moved higher up your leg. you didn't want to be rude or offend her, but you couldn't shake the feeling that something was off.

"i think I'm going to go now," you said, standing up from the couch. "thank you for showing me the studio and the music, but i should let everyone else know what's going on."

yeji's smile faltered for just a moment before she stood up as well. "of course, i understand. i'll email you the sample so the others can hear it. let me know if you need anything else."

you quickly made your way out of the studio, feeling a sense of relief as you stepped out into the hallway. you couldn't help but feel like something was off about yeji's behavior, but you didn’t want to jump to conclusions just yet.

you stepped inside of the conference room, your eyes scanning around to see if your manager had made it back yet. "so? don't leave us hanging, what happened?" yujin spoke up, bringing you out of your almost dazed-like state.

"oh! uh, yeji has a song for us." your members leaned in expectantly, almost hanging on to your every word. "it sounds really good! she's gonna email it to us, and you guys can hear it. i think this'll definitely have an impact, a good one, on our career."

the girls erupted into cheers, pulling each other into a group hug, despite their happiness, you couldn't help but feel uneasy. you shook your head, laughing to yourself. yeji isn't a bad person. you were just overreacting.

you sighed, twirling your pencil around in your fingers. you were sitting in yeji's studio, annotating lyrics while you waited on her to show up. your members had already listened to the song that she sent, and everyone agreed that it was a good kind of different.

as you were lost in thought, the door to the studio opened, and yeji walked in. you smiled at her, but something about her demeanor seemed off. her eyes were fixed on you, and she was already standing much too close for comfort.

"hey, y/n," yeji said, her sounding slightly irritated. "i'm sorry to keep you waiting."

"it's alright," you replied, trying to shake off the strange feeling in your gut. "i was just working on some lyrics."

yeji walked over to you and stood behind the couch, her hand resting on your shoulder. "let me see what you've got so far," she said, leaning in close to your side.

you hesitated for a moment, before handing her your notebook. as she flipped through the pages, her hand lingered on your shoulder, and you felt a shiver run down your spine.

"these lyrics are great," yeji said, her voice dripping with approval. "but i think we can make them even better. why don't we work on them together?"

she leaned in closer, and you could smell the faint scent of her perfume. it was intoxicating, and you found yourself getting lost in her gaze.

"sure," you said, your voice barely above a whisper.

yeji took a seat next to you on the couch, her body close enough to yours that you could feel her body heat. as you worked on the lyrics together, she would occasionally reach out and brush against your arm or your thigh. at first, you didn't think anything of it, but as time went on, her touches became more frequent and lingering.

you started to feel slightly uncomfortable, but you didn't know how to bring it up to her. yeji was your mentor, and you didn't want to offend her or ruin your working relationship. you didn't want to lose this opportunity. for your group's sake.

as you finished up the lyrics, yeji stood up and walked over to the recording booth. "let's give these new lyrics a try," she said, motioning for you to follow her.

you got up and followed yeji into the booth, taking your place at the microphone. you watched as yeji set up the recording equipment, adjusting the levels and checking the sound quality.

as you began to sing, you felt yeji's eyes on you, and it made you feel self-conscious. you tried to ignore her gaze, focusing on the lyrics and the melody, but every so often, you would catch her gaze lingering on you.

when you finished recording, yeji came over to you, standing close enough that you could feel her breath on your neck. "you have such a beautiful voice," she said, her hand coming up to brush a strand of hair from your face.

you smiled nervously, feeling more uncomfortable by the second. "thank you," you mumbled, feeling suffocated by her presence.

yeji leaned in closer, her lips hovering just inches from yours. "you know, y/n, i've always thought you were special," she said, her voice barely above a whisper.

your heart raced as you tried to think of a response. yeji was your mentor, but her behavior was making you feel uneasy. you felt like a deer in headlights.

suddenly, yeji's hand was on your waist, pulling you closer to her. "you wanna see how special you are?" she whispered before gently pressing her lips to yours.

you were frozen for a moment, unsure of what to do, before pushing her away. "yeji, stop," you said tried to say assertively, but it came out almost like a question.

she looked at you, her expression changing from desire to confusion. "what's wrong? don't you want this?" she questioned, her hand still on your waist.

you shook your head, taking a step back. "yeji, this isn't right. you're my producer, and i could get in a lot of trouble for this."

yeji pouted, taking another step towards you. she tapped on her microphone, holding it out for you to grab. you hesitantly took it, your eyes tracing over her name engrained on the side of it. "you want to be successful right?" you nodded your head, meeting yeji's gaze.

"you don't want the career that your groupmates have worked so hard for to go to waste, do you?" you shook your head, your eye contact with yeji faltering with the intensity of her look.

yeji's words sent a chill down your spine. she was right. you didn't want to jeopardize your group's career, but at the same time, you couldn't ignore the feeling of discomfort that had settled in your stomach.

"i just… i'm not sure about this," you muttered, your grip on the microphone tightening.

yeji stepped closer to you, her hand reaching out to cup your cheek. "you're so talented, y/n. i know we can create something amazing together, both in the studio and out of it."

her words made your heart race, but you couldn't tell if it was in a good way or not. you knew what she was implying, yet you weren't sure if you were making the right decision.

yeji leaned in closer, her breath hot against your ear. "trust me, y/n. i'll take good care of you."

the way she said it sent shivers down your spine, and you found yourself leaning into her touch. she was so confident, so sure of herself. and deep down, you knew you wanted to be a part of whatever she had in mind.

you let out a shaky breath, nodding your head in agreement. "okay, yeji. i trust you."

a smile spread across yeji's face, and she leaned in to press her lips against yours. it was a soft, gentle kiss at first, but soon it deepened, and you found yourself responding eagerly. "you'll do great. i promise."

"y/n!" you turned to the direction you hear your name being called, waving at a group of people with signs with your group's name on it. one person emerged from the crowd with a microphone, a cameraman following closely behind them.

"i heard you guys have a song coming out soon. any words on that?" the interviewer held their mic towards you, eagerly waiting on your response.

for the first time, you found yourself being confident when speaking about your upcoming release.

"hi! it's so great to see all of our fans out here today," you said, gesturing to the crowd behind them. "and i'm so excited to talk about our upcoming song, which will be releasing next month. it's really something special, and i think it's something that our fans have never heard before."

the interviewer leaned in, looking intrigued. "can you tell us a little more about the song? what makes it so unique?"

"well, first of all, we had an amazing team working on this song, including some really talented producers like hwang yeji. she brought such a fresh perspective to the project and really pushed us to try new things. and i think the result is a song that blends together elements of different genres in a way that's really unique and exciting." you beamed, praying that your words didn't reflect how nervous you truly were on the inside.

"wow! hwang yeji produced the song? i'm sure you guys were in good hands!" you chuckled nervously, your eyes darting away from the camera. was that an innuendo, or were you reading too into it?

the interviewer laughed, seemingly oblivious to your internal turmoil. "definitely sounds like a song to look out for! thank you so much for taking the time to chat with us today, y/n. we can't wait to hear you guys’ new song!"

you nodded, awkwardly smiling back at them as you ducked your head to step into the car. you looked down at your lap, toying with the ends of your shirt. you did this for your group. so why do you still feel guilty?

"y/n? is everything alright?" you looked up to meet the eyes of hyerin.

"yeah! everything is fine. i'm just nervous about the reaction our song might get. that's all."

hyerin nodded understandingly, "i know it can be nerve-wracking, but i have a feeling our fans will love it. and if they don't, it's okay. we'll keep making music and improving with each release."

you nodded, grateful for hyerin's reassuring words. as the car pulled up to the building, you gathered your things and stepped out. yeji was waiting for you in the lobby, her eyes lighting up when she saw you.

"y/n! how was the interview? i'm sure you did great," she said, her smile warm and genuine.

you smiled back, feeling a wave of relief wash over you. maybe yeji wouldn't bring it up this time. "it went well, thank you. how about you? how's everything going with the music video?"

yeji's expression turned serious, and you couldn't help but feel a twinge of unease. "actually, there's been a bit of a setback. the director had to pull out due to personal reasons, and we're trying our hardest to find a replacement."

"that's unfortunate. do you need any help with finding a new director?"

yeji's eyes lit up, "actually, that would be amazing. do you have any recommendations?"

you thought for a moment, trying to think of anyone who made have director experience. to be honest, you’d probably be the least helpful person in finding a director, but your nervousness around yeji led to you offering help. “i can ask my manager, if you’d like? she should know what to."

as you spoke, you couldn't help but notice the way yeji was looking at you. it was almost as if she were a predator looking at prey, but you brushed it off, telling yourself that you were just being paranoid. again. "i'll let you know as soon as i hear back from her," you added, trying to steer the conversation away from yeji's intense gaze.

"thank you so much, y/n," yeji said, her voice soft and low. "you know, you've been such a huge help to us lately. i really appreciate it."

you felt yourself become flustered, suddenly feeling uncomfortable under yeji's scrutiny. "oh! thanks but it's nothing, really. i'm just glad to be able to do this for the group."

"by the way," she motioned for you to follow her, "i have another song i feel fits your group. for the future, of course. if you're willing to hear it?"

you hesitated for a moment, unsure if you wanted to be alone with yeji again. but you didn't want to seem rude or ungrateful, so you nodded and followed her into a nearby empty practice room.

as yeji set up the song on the speakers, you couldn't help but feel nervous. you weren't sure if yeji genuinely wanted you to hear the song, or if she had ulterior motives.

the song started to play, and you found yourself surprised by how good it was. the melody was catchy, the lyrics were meaningful, and the production was top-notch. you couldn't help but feel yourself get lost in the beat.

"this is amazing, yeji," you said, genuinely impressed. "i could definitely see us performing this."

yeji grinned, her eyes lighting up. "thank you! i'm so glad you like it. i've been working on it for a while now, and i really wanted to get your opinion on it."

you felt a sense of relief wash over you after hearing yeji’s words. she did just want genuine feedback. maybe it was just a one-time thing. "it sounds great! i have no doubt the girls will like it too. when should we start recording?"

yeji's smile faltered slightly, and you wondered if you had said something wrong. "actually, that's why i wanted to talk to you," she said, her voice taking on a more serious tone. "i was hoping you could help me with the finishing touches."

you raised an eyebrow, unsure of what she meant. "what do you mean?"

yeji hesitated for a moment as if trying to find the right words. "well, i was thinking…you have such a good ear for music, and you're so talented. i was hoping you could help me with producing some elements for the song."

your heart skipped a beat. this was not what you were expecting. you had no experience in producing music, and you didn't want to get in over your head.

"i don't know, yeji," you said, trying to keep your voice calm. "i don't have any experience in producing. i don't want to ruin it or anything."

yeji's expression softened, and she stepped closer to you. "don't be so hard on yourself, y/n. you're an amazing producer. don't let the hate get to you. and besides, i'll be there every step of the way to help you."

you wanted to say no. you wanted to run out of the room and never look back. you never wanted to have to put yourself in such a vulnerable position again. but something about yeji's gaze, something about the way she was looking at you, made it impossible to refuse.

"okay," you said, your voice barely above a whisper. "i'll help you."

yeji's smile was blinding, and she pulled you into a tight hug. "thank you so much, y/n. you have no idea how much this means to me." you wrapped your arms around yeji, shivering as she buried her nose into your neck.

"let me show you. show you how much this means to me."

you felt your breath hitch, pulling back to look at yeji. she looked at you with an expectant face, waiting on your next move. you never, ever, wanted to see the comments you saw during your first comeback.

"okay. show me."

[hananoami]

[ Directional Orbit ] Light - Stage 100 clear VOD

Here is my clear video for Xavier's Directional Orbit: Light - stage 100! I cleared this stage on Monday, 04/15. In this video it features both the first and second fight. For this trial it requires 2 teams: Team 01's Protofield Stellactrum requires 5 Amber + 1 Ruby; Team 02's Protofield Stellactrum requires 5 Emerald + 1 Pearl.

To recap on my experience on this fight... Looking back on my clear run with Team 01 my game play is a bit messy. I could have done better about grouping them up for shared damage, but it was fine seeing how I had 30s let on the timer by the end of the fight. Leveling up the lunar memories during previous stages really helped a lot. Other than that, this part of the stage was really straight forward. One 2-minute round against three wanderers with 3-HP bars + 2-protofield shields to break.

Now unlike the first round my run with Team 02 was hella sus. I mean just LOOK at my health bar when I cleared AHHaha ; w ; I thought my skills using the claymore got better after doing rafayel's directional orbit: fire - stage 90... but I need to remember that I am not a tank and can't take all those hits umu This is what happens when you're greedy for dps, trying to get those perfect dodges in. I'll need to work on them in the Training Center or smth bc I hate losing out on dps from being stun locked by taking unnecessary damage. Lesson learned from all that? There's always room for improvements. If I were to be honest I didn't think I was going to clear this run, assuming I was going to take more unnecessary damage and dying before I can finish off the boss. This was not my first run, but my second attempt that resulted in a clear. The first time I was using his Luminescence Blade. Using that weapon was fine, but it didn't give me as much damage output as I would have liked since I fell short of clearing by half its last HP bar. So I pulled out of the stage and switched to using the claymore. I know I sound like a broken record because I've said it before, but I'll say it again-- in claymores we trust to get the job done!

Additional Screenshots

Team A team set-up and stat attributes

Weapon: Luminescence Blade Companion: Xavier's Lightseeker ♡ Affinity Bonus: 81 When you take a fatal blow, Xavier teleports to you, blocks a hit, and counter attacks. Enemies will be knocked back. [ HP 3200 || DEF 80 || ATK 160 ?* ] ?* ɴ���ᴛᴇ: ɪ ғᴏʀɢᴏᴛ ᴛᴏ ʀᴇᴄᴏʀᴅ 81 ᴀғғɪɴɪᴛʏ ʙᴏɴᴜs sᴛᴀᴛs, ᴛʜᴇsᴇ ᴀʀᴇ ғʀᴏᴍ 82 Pair Bonus [SN] - Starting Effect: increases team DMG by 5%. - Duo Rank 1: boosts Ardent Oath charge by 10%. - Duo Rank 2: reduces squad DMG taken by 5%. - Duo Rank 3: increases squad DMG by 5%.

Lv.60 4☆ Shining Traces (amber/solar)

Lv.60 4☆ Shining Light (amber/solar)

Lv.70 5☆ Tender Night (amber/lunar)

Lv.70 5☆ Heartstrings Symphony (amber/lunar)

Lv.70 5☆ Unique Aftertaste (ruby/lunar)

Lv.60 5☆ Fragment of Time (amber/lunar)

Team B team set-up and stat attributes

Weapon: Claymore Companion: Xavier's Lightseeker ♡ Affinity Bonus: 81 When you take a fatal blow, Xavier teleports to you, blocks a hit, and counter attacks. Enemies will be knocked back. [ HP 3200 || DEF 80 || ATK 160 ?* ] ?* ɴᴏᴛᴇ: ɪ ғᴏʀɢᴏᴛ ᴛᴏ ʀᴇᴄᴏʀᴅ 81 ᴀғғɪɴɪᴛʏ ʙᴏɴᴜs sᴛᴀᴛs, ᴛʜᴇsᴇ ᴀʀᴇ ғʀᴏᴍ 82 Pair Bonus [LT] - Starting Effect: increases team DMG by 8%, and reduces team DMG taken by 8%. When fighting together with Lightseeker, your Active Skill DMG is increased by 25%.

Lv.80/awakened 5☆ Lightseeking Shadowrend (emerald/solar)

Lv.80/awakened 5☆ Lightseeking Obsession (emerald/solar)

Lv.60 5☆ Romantic Afternoon (emerald/lunar)

Lv.60 5☆ Fluffy Trap (emerald/lunar)

Lv.60 4☆ A Captured Moment (emerald/lunar)

Lv.60 4☆ Warm Wishes (pearl/lunar)

[starksvinyls]

Title: Distraction Rating: Explicit Pairing: Peter Parker/Tony Stark Tags/Warnings: Sexual Age Play, Age Play, Cock Warming, Subspace, Semi-Public Sex Summary: Peter is bored during a meeting. Notes: for @ageplay-may and the Spice prompt for day 6: “cock warming” AO3 Link

Peter squirmed, not used to having to sit still for so long when he was feeling little. Daddy reached over and placed his large hand on Peter’s thigh in an attempt to still him, but Peter was bored. Director Fury was droning on and on about the last mission they had all gone on, as if they all hadn’t been there and knew exactly what went down. Steve and Natasha were no doubt already forming new training programs for them all based on their field stats, but Peter didn’t care. He was supposed to have Daddy all to himself today! 

Tony subtly muted their mics on the video feed and spoke lowly as to not alert the others that he was talking to someone. “Baby, I know you want to go play, but this is important. Pay attention, okay?” 

Peter pouted, but nodded. 

He had already been deep in his little headspace when Fury called the last minute meeting. Rather than try to rip Peter out of it, Tony had hoped that it would be a short meeting and Peter could behave himself long enough to get through it. But it was looking like that wasn’t going to happen with every passing minute. He needed a way to keep Peter occupied and quiet…

Without breaking eye contact with the holoscreen in front of him, Tony reached over and tugged on Peter’s arm, directing the boy to his knees between Tony’s spread legs when he was sure no one else was really paying attention to their corner of the video call. Peter knew to be quiet, and obediently opened his mouth as Daddy pulled his cock from his joggers. He was still soft, but that wasn’t a problem, this wasn’t about getting off, this was about keeping his baby occupied. 

Peter pulled the soft cock into his mouth and then rested his head against Daddy’s thigh, happily using his Daddy like a pacifier. It was the quickest way to have Peter feeling floaty and calm. He heard someone on the screen ask where he was, but he drifted away before he could hear Daddy’s response. Every so often, he could hear Daddy speak, the timbre of his voice wavering, making him sound like he was underwater. 

—

“Hey, baby, c’mon, come back to me.” Daddy murmured. 

There was a finger gently brushing over the soft skin of his cheek, and Peter nuzzled further into Daddy’s thigh. He was warm and floaty and he didn’t want to open his eyes. He suckled on the head of Daddy’s cock, earning him a soft chuckle. Peter’s eyes fluttered open, but the light didn’t hurt. Daddy must have had Friday turn the lights down for him.  Releasing Daddy’s cock, Peter sat back on his haunches and blinked sleepily up at Daddy. 

“Meeting’s over, baby. Ready to go back upstairs and play?”

He was! But first, “Daddy, can I have a snack?” 

Daddy chuckled again, helping Peter stand up when it was evident sitting on the floor so long had caused his legs to go all pins and needles.  

[yurisorcerer]

As Shuumatsu Train enters its final stretch, we kick off one of the series' denser episodes to date with our heroines arriving, at last, at their destination of Ikebukuro.

They find Youka in short order, but things aren't simple enough that just reuniting the separated friends is enough. It's clear that Youka doesn't remember them---we don't yet know why, but Reimi openly speculates that the 'wibble-wobble surgery' of the same type Zenjirou is subjected to might be to blame---and their attempts to remind her who they are fail. Her reactions are confused and interlaced with her 7G powers, and any time the girls try to break through to her, it clearly destabilizes her already fragile mental state, causing the environment around her to temporarily devolve into an acid trip of digital video flickering and colorburst effects. The girls are chased away by Pontarou's personal guards, the masked Ikebukuro police force.

Retreating to the train, they recieve a phone call---via a phone fashioned from bitter melon, of course, because why not?---from Makoto and Zenjirou. Their conversation here basically confirms what we already knew; if they can nab the 7G button and just turn the network back off, the whole world will snap back to normalcy. (Allegedly, at least.) They're not alone, though, as an unexpected ally turns up in the form of Mito and her zombie horde from a few episodes back. Her zombies, as it turns out, can sense what is probably the presence of the 7G button.

Call me stupid, but the show calls attention to a few parallels I hadn't noticed up to this point. For one, Shizuru and Pontarou are, in a very broad sense, a bit similar, in that both are actively trying to avoid accountability for their actions. (They're also very different in a number of ways, which I expect the show to draw attention to in its finale.) Also, the zombies, with their longing for the old world back when times were simpler---and indeed their distraction by simple pleasures like cheap ecchi---are supposed to be, you know, all of us, the people watching the show. I honestly think that this sort of straightforward lock-and-key symbolism doesn't really suit Shuumatsu Train particularly well. (Also, hey, what are you trying to say about your audience, here?) But then again, it took me 10 1/2 episodes to connect two dots with a line, so who am I to talk?

In any case, the episode ends with two things. One; a shockingly well animated and choreographed fight sequence between Pochi (as in, Youka's odd butler / handler. We still don't know what his deal is). And two; Akira and Mito slamming the 7G button to turn it off. Surprise! It doesn't actually work, and in the episode's closing moments, we get the latest in a long line of incredible what-the-fuck moments from Shuumatsu Train, when our heroines' final obstacle comes rolling out of a high-rise on a track being constructed as it goes by long, gooey arms made of some kind of yellow substance; a second train, with Youka and Pontarou on it, headed off to parts unknown.

Shuumatsu Train has hardly been a perfect anime, but I've immensely enjoyed the ride just for how utterly bizarre it's been. It's hard to say what the finale will look like, but I'm interested to find out, and in the end, being compellingly weird from start to finish is all I really wanted out of this show to begin with.

[pokeglitchden]

[A video is uploaded dated 4/20/23 8:15 PM

ID: A man is filming himself, slightly off center to the camera. He has dark hair and wears a lab coat and thick glasses. He is clearly sitting next to a hospital bed. The patient is hard to see next to him, but he is hooked to a number of medical machines and monitors. An oxygen mask is over his face to keep him breathing. His complexion is completely ashen. He speaks in a very low, hushed voice. His voice breaks a bit as he does. He's struggling to keep himself together.

Simon- It's currently about 8pm now. I've been at the hospital with �aver for about six hours now. At least three of them were spent still trying to get him into a stabilized condition. He's there now, resting. Recovery is... well we will know more as the anti-audiotoxin takes effect.

ID- He glances over at the bed for a long moment and the camera auto adjusts for a moment to the back. There are two others in the room with him who appear to be speaking quietly to one another. It adjusts back after a moment.

Simon- I know Professor Zzazz has already made a brief post about this, but I wanted to follow up here for a few reasons. First, I want evidence of what is happening here. If something should happen to one of us, to me or to Zzazz or someone else, I want there to be proof we were here. And also there are a few things I want to follow up on.

ID- He takes a breath. This is clearly difficult to do.

Simon- �aver was found in this state in the middle of his weekly mapping route. He was flown back by Eebee, having suffered an obvious attack from a 'Female Symbol' pokemon. His hearing protection was clearly targeted and destroyed, allowing him to fall prey to the Pokemon's audiotoxin. One of his Pokemon, the one he'd set out on, Flutter, is still missing.

ID- He pauses again, as if to clear his throat. He looks away from the camera.

Simon- From what we can tell it is unlikely this was an attack made at random. These pokemon are hunters, but they don't target small prey often, and they definitely don't often aim specifically for the head when attacking. Further, �aver is experienced in traversing Glitch City. It's unlikely that he would wander into the territory of this pokemon on his own. It appears, therefore, that this was a premeditated attack, one done with purpose, particularly aimed at preventing �aver from returning.

ID- Simon pauses again, and sits back, as if contemplating whether he should say the next thing on his mind. A ripple like static plays over his lab coat. It is difficult to tell if this is the camera quality, or if it is physically happening to him.

Simon- I'm going to now attempt some wild conjecture. So please bear with me. Statistically, since the injury �aver received was caused by a pokemon only found in Glitch City, and since the pokemon was clearly trained, it follows that it is most likely that someone from Glitch City trained the Female Symbol that attacked �aver.

ID- He brings the camera a bit closer and lowers his voice.

Simon- But frankly. I don't believe what is statistically likely here is necessarily the truth. I do not think a Glitch City resident is responsible for this. I believe it was done by an outsider. Someone from one of the regions. It is too much of a coincidence that this happened just as the path to Glitch City is becoming more conspicuous, just as �aver himself was put on Hoenn television. And �aver ended up the victim, with the pokemon he revealed to the world.

Simon- Now, this goes further. Since the pokemon used to carry out this deed was clearly well trained. I have worked with this type of pokemon before. It was nearly impossible to control for any length of time, so clearly this pokemon has been trained for years. But it would have been impossible for a trainer from the outside to catch one before only a few short months ago. Impossible, except for the one Female Symbol that I know was in Kanto. The one that I trained with myself at Silph.

Simon- Now, I am not sure what all this means, but when all other options have been proven false, one arrives at the truth no matter how unlikely. I will discover the meaning of this. It will take time. But I will succeed.

ID- There is some talking from offscreen. Simon nods before looking back at the camera.

Simon- That is all the time I can afford to spend recording right now. I will update as soon as anything else relevant comes to light]

[The recording ends here]

[avisionins]

What to do when struck on a topic of WBCS

Introduction:

A topic or sub-topic is often stuck in the mind of any candidate preparing for competitive exams like the WBCS. It could be a tricky concept in history or a confusing formula in math. But the most important issue is that this could break your smooth study flow. On the other hand, it is the best WBCS coaching institute in Kolkata, Avision Institute, trains students with effective strategies to eliminate such obstacles and keep moving.

The ultimate guide to how to deal with when you're stuck on a WBCS topic is this. 

1. De-stress by reviewing the basics

At times it happens just because the base isn't strong. Even in case of getting stuck, reviewing the basics of that topic is helpful. Relieving older notes and beginner level resources prove useful in this case. Students in Avision Institute are always advised to frequently review the basics, which is a part of the study plan presented by top WBCS coaching in Kolkata.

2. Break the Topic Down

Large problems can be overwhelming if contemplated as a single unit. If you feel that you can't cope with it, then split the subject matter into little sections. Systematically go through each little part and attempt to grasp one aspect at any given time. Most of the time, breaking massive subjects into minute parts makes it easier to get a comprehensive understanding of the whole concept in the long run.

3. Seek input

Another biggest advantage of joining a coaching institute is that the faculty is expert, and you can get hold of them immediately. If you feel that there is some problem or issue related to a particular topic, then you can seek their help at once. To ensure that no student remains puzzled for too long at Avision Institute, doubt-clearing sessions are incorporated as a part of the curriculum by the coaching institutes. The sooner you seek help the sooner the little confusions do not become big obstacles.

4. Participate in Group Discussions

Another method is reading or studying alone. This, at times, increases the feelings of being stuck. Group discussion or study sessions with peers are good to be done to understand the topic from a different perspective. Someone else may well express the concept in a manner that makes more sense to you. Group learning can be a mighty tool when overcoming obstacles. Avision Institute fosters students' learning with each other in a team environment and, because of that, makes it stand out as one among the best WBCS coaching in Kolkata.

5. Additional Resources

If those textbooks or notes aren't working, try supplementing your learning with other study materials. Sometimes you hear a different explanation or approach in online videos, tutorials, and articles that just clicks with you. Most of the time, supplementing your learning with these resources provides that ultimate "aha! moment when you cannot seem to get your head around something.

6. Take a Short Break

Sometimes you hit a mental block, and if you push too long, you will get burned out. That is all you need to come back to it with a fresh perspective. Sometimes getting out of there for a few minutes, taking a walk, doing some breathing exercises, even if it's a power nap, you come back, and in most cases, everything will fall into place when you start back over the topic with a relaxed mindset.

7. Try Teaching the Topic

One of the most effective ways to secure that grasp would be teaching it to someone else-whether that person is a friend, a family member, or talking out loud to yourself. Taking time away from writing down how it works and instead speaking out the topic in one's own words can even identify those gaps in knowledge and solidify what he or she does know. This also helps break up complex ideas into simpler terminology and aids in understandability.

8. Consistency in Practice

The topic will be more problem-solving or numerical if it is. Regular practice attempts at mock tests can act as a weapon over challenges. Though you are stuck at this moment, practice consistently can make you master it in time. Avision Institute has various forms of mock tests and practice materials to guarantee students get well geared for all the aspects of WBCS.

9. Panic Not—It Is a Phase

One gets stuck, and it is part of the game in learning, especially in preparation for competitive exams such as WBCS. Instead of panicking, tell yourself that everyone gets stuck. The way out of it, though, is to remain unbroken and make use of tools and strategies that are there. Success at the WBCS exam is certainly not getting stuck but knowing how to get out of being stuck.

Conclusion

When you are preparing for the WBCS exam, then facing several difficult topics, that makes you believe that you are not able to cross any hurdle. But if you have some systematic approach with proper material, then you can somehow overcome those barriers. If you revisit your base and try to seek help from an expert, then being honest with your efforts, then you can push through anything. The best WBCS coaching in India, such as Avision Institute, would provide not only academic preparation but also support and strategies to face difficult topics with confidence. All in all, patience with dedication will certainly follow success.

[kithpendragon]

Because of all this, I've learned to approach tasks in such a way that I could walk away from them at as many moments as possible and not have a project all unpacked and waiting for me - not to finish, but to clean it all up - when I came back (inevitably) hours or days later.

Video games are brilliant training for this! I don't end up playing games that have sparse saving, but I've been able to cultivate a mentality of "I can hard power this down at any moment and only lose like a half hour of progress". Frequent save points are your friend in gaming and real life!

On the other side of that coin, I find myself putting off some tasks for months or sometimes years because I don't know how to break them down into save points and I don't know how long they might take front-to-back. Then I set aside a whole weekend for the project only to get it done in an hour or two. Of course, the next time I have that thing to do it takes much longer than I think it will. Sometimes that still means an hour or two, and other times it takes a week of attacking it whenever I am able. Sometimes this is because I got overconfident, sometimes reality is just inconveniently detailed.

I also might invest 50-100 hours in study before I attempt something, no matter how simple it turns out to be, because I can study in short bursts and that's almost as good as getting my hands dirty, right? (I mean, it often works for me but I certainly wouldn't recommend it generally.)

If I need to schedule something, I try to collect those types of things and put them all in one day and back to back. Of course, I can only do that once I have a clue how long it's likely to take. Failing this, I just try to get things scheduled as early in the day as possible so I know the rest of the day is fair game.

Finally, I have a wonderful and supportive partner who has taken on all the calendar work and knows rules like "If it's not on the calendar, it doesn't matter how often you tell me about it: I will not be aware of the upcoming event except in the most abstract sense". I would be significantly less functional without you @kaypendragon , so thank you for all the years you've been keeping me on task!

Also, and unrelated: Why does every social media platform start showing me ADHD content within a couple weeks? I do NOT go looking for this stuff! 🤔

I see a lot of people joking about the adhd thing of "I have a appointment/phone call at 3pm, guess I won't do anything all day!"

But no one seems to make the connection that it's a time blindness thing. One of the symptoms of ADHD is not having a good and accurate sense of time. And not doing stuff prior to an event with a hard deadline is an obvious coping mechanism for that.

Can I go to the store? It's 10am and the appointment is at 3pm. How long does going to the store take? An hour? Three hours? Five hours? I DON'T KNOW!

I get anxious trying to do things before appointments because I'm aware that I don't know how long those things take, and that if I think I do, I may be very wrong. Too often I've been like "hey I can walk to the corner store and grab a drink, that'll take like 15 minutes!" and then an hour later I get back and whoops my rice has burnt.

Plus there's also the fact that ADHD people know that motivation and focus is a two-edged sword.

Like, let's say you decide to play a video game. You've got time, you can pause/save whenever, so this should be a perfect fit to make good use of your waiting-time. So you start playing and WHOOPS you get really focused for some reason today (because people with ADHD do not get to pick when their brain decides to focus) and the next time you look at the clock it's 2:49 and you haven't showered or dressed and the appointment is 30 minutes away. Fuck. (you could have set an alarm, but now you're asking people with the forgetting-things-and-time-ignoring condition to remember it set alarms)

And with motivation, it can be almost worse. Instead of playing a game, you so something useful or creative. You clean your room or fix your plumbing or write a story or draw a picture. And suddenly it's great. Your brain is firing on all cylinders. You've got all the motivation you can ask for, and you are FLYING. the ideas are brilliant, your hands are nimble, you're getting stuff done you've been putting off for weeks or months. And then the alarm goes off. Time to go to your appointment. Fuck.

You drive there, your brain still full of ideas and plans. But by the time you get back, the motivation is gone. You may still have the ideas but you don't have the drive to write them down. You can't force yourself to do it. Your sink is still in pieces. Your room is half-cleaned, and you have to shove all the sorted clothes into one big bin just so you have somewhere to sleep. You've left things half finished again, in a cycle that has been repeating your whole fucking life. It seems sometimes that nothing ever gets finished.

So next time you don't even start. There's not time. You've been burnt too many times. Why add another half-completed project to your pile of shame?

My point is that people seem to be going "lol I can't do anything all day if I have an appointment at 3pm" like this is a quirky "oh I'm so scatterbrained!" weirdness they alone have, and not a major complication of a disabling mental illness.

(and that's not even getting into the secondary effects. If you know that having an appointment ruins your whole damn day, you're going to avoid them. Even when it's things like "going to that party" or "meeting your friends for a drink/game" or "going to a movie with that cute girl from your math class". Things you should enjoy. Things that'd help you be social. Things that make you feel human.)

[hannahwatcheshorror]

V/H/S (2012)

V/H/S is a collection of found footage/POV film horror segments. They vary in length, style, and intensity but are all said to be part of one VHS cassette found in a creepy house. An interesting concept and addition to the horror genre as it brings a collection of shorts into one full movie for the viewer. The acting leaves quite a bit to be desired but this is the first movie in the series so it is an important first step!

(TW: White people using the N word)

⭐⭐⭐

So this movie is framed around a group of shady and shitty dudes who break into a house just to find a VHS tape that will apparently make them more money than they are getting by assaulting random women on camera. There is a found footage horror in segments on the tape and it seems to pick off the group members one by one as they watch it with us, serving as the pacing for the movie. The first VHS clip has another group of equally scummy guys who bring drunk ladies back to their motel room to film a surprise porno, but the surprise was on them when one of the girls was a vampire/changeling monster! Whoops!

Second clip features the worst couple in history on the worst road trip in history before the wife decides in the messiest way (in history) to become a lesbian (seriously, just break things off with your beau, it ain’t that hard). The third short features dumb kids taking a trip to the woods and the main girl has a plan to kill a supernatural murderer but she uses her friends as bait? She’s a stupid idiot though because she already knew this psycho killer could be in two places at once and butcher people but she just brought more people to feed it and was somehow surprised it was still strong? Grow up and ask for help next time. (Oh wait.)

The fourth video is the most blank white piece of paper boyfriend having no reaction to his girlfriend being straight up haunted by a ghost child. He even says that it was the wind once when we see a full bodied apparition of a toddler SLAM her door shut… Gaslight. Then when she takes a quarter sized flap of skin off her arm to dig around in there, he tells her to wait a week until he is there to examine her, not to go to a different doctor or anything. Gatekeep! Next thing you know he will want to be a Girlboss. But seriously, this dude is a bad doctor if he doesn’t recommend his own girlfriend get medical help soon! Yeah, turns out he is working with whatever entity is in her apartment. It gives off mad alien vibes when the boyfriend comes in and cuts a baby out of her back? Then he speaks to something that doesn’t speak in any tongue on earth and we find out the fucker has a bunch (at least two) of these human female birthing vessels for whatever those entities are. I am unsure why the aliens felt the need to terrify the girlfriend considering she was already with child, just seems like a bad idea for the thing inside her.

The Fifth and final segment is a haunted house on Halloween night, four friends think they are going to a party but really they are going to their doom. They nearly escape too except they decide to run back and try and save a girl that the fanatics are attempting to expel a demon from. Clearly she doesn’t take kindly to them saving her when she gives them a free ride on the train while the boys were still in their car...

[themainframes]

PROJECT ANDROMEDA DOSSIER

THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION WAS COMPILED BY THE HACKER KNOWN AS THE WHISPERER AND A VERIFIED WHISTLEBLOWER.

S.H.I.E.L.D. OUTPOSTS

Six outposts around the United States carried classified information relating to Project ANDROMEDA, including a code that could only be compiled from entering the system of each individual base. Within six days of the last week, four outposts were destroyed by the Winter Soldier and Black Widow of Earth-199999 and Earth-616 respectfully. Surveillance shows the pairs also breaking into the last two on 30 December 2025 and 5 January 2026.

Footage on the sixth outpost - Helicarrier Thesus - showed footage of some kind of reality glitch that resulted in S.H.I.E.L.D. agents seemingly being erased from reality. Despite the red of the energy burst, Wanda Maximoff is not believed to be a suspect.

SEQUENCE UNLOCKED FROM OUTPOSTS: 4-9-5-7-2-4, Section 3

This code enters you into the Project Andromeda mainframe

PROJECT ANDROMEDA:

Using Infinity Stone based reality warping, S.H.I.E.L.D. has created the town of Pleasant Hill, CT, a highly sophisticated prison center for criminals that present the highest threats. They were either captured on the streets or transferred from other facilities and rehabilitated before completing a short stay at the Pleasant Hill Inn for monitoring. Afterwards, they are released to the town to acclimate into “normal” life.

Those entering Pleasant Hill with clearance are given reality blockers, chips made by Dr. Erik Selvig that affix to the back of the neck. It can be unhooked by applying pressure to the top left and bottom right corners. This opens neurological pathways and keeps the mind from succumbing to the reality warp.

The town database controls the town and is located in room 8-1 of the hospital. The database is <file not yet decoded> and can be powered down by <file not yet decoded> . A back-up system has not yet been solidified.

It is worth noting that Pleasant Hill was attempted once in the past on Earth-616 by S.H.I.E.L.D. under the alias Project KOBIK. Project ANDROMEDA is the second attempt to rectify what was done poorly in the past.

PLEASANT HILL, CT - BASIC STATS

TOWN MOTTO: “Come back for a stay!” LOCATION: 41.6032° N, 73.0877° W

POPULATION: 184

60 inmates/residents

56 ground operatives

40 civilan staffers

19 special agents (see below)

GOAL: Everybody finds out what’s so great about them in Pleasant Hill. Then, someday, they can leave and go do nice stuff out in society.

PLEASANT HILL, CT - TRAINING VIDEO TRANSCRIPT

AUDIO: Hello, I’m S.H.I.E.L.D. Special Coordinator Sharon Carter, and I’d like to welcome you to Pleasant Hill: the future of super villain incarceration. How many times have you heard the same story? Guy in costume gets caught, sent off to jail. But then -- one week later -- he breaks out again! It’s madness! We’ve tried Rafts… We’ve tried Vaults… We’ve tried Negative Zones. Nothing seems to stop the revolving door. But now, we at S.H.I.EL.D. have come up with a solution that’s humane, efficient and best of all, cost effective. Using our patented ANDROMEDA program we can turn any enemy of the state into a peaceful member of society in seconds.

VISUAL: At this point, we see a criminal known as Segei Kravinoff, aka “Kraven the Hunter”  restrained.

AUDIO: Kravinoff has undergone physiological changes that put him at the top of the food chain. He is better, stronger, faster and more cunning than any human, coupled with his skills, Kraven truly is a dangerous and deadly adversary. He’s caused thousands in damages and killed hundreds both purposefully or as accidental casualties. Currently, a power dampener field negates his powers, but we all know how that usually works out, right? Except this time, we’re going to try something different. Watch what happens when we take Kraven and turn him into...

VISUAL: The screen briefly becomes red. When it refocuses Kravinoff is gone and replaced with a mild mannered man in glasses and scrubs.

AUDIO: Alban Lewis! Alban’s just moved to Pleasant Hill to open up the very first pet grooming shop. I’ll have to take my little guy over soon.

VISUAL: Kravinoff/Lewis is clearly disoriented but not upset as he waves hello before being escorted out.

AUDIO: Now, as an Agent stationed in Pleasant Hill, you’ll be charged with a number of duties such as surveillance, ongoing treatment and yes, security. But I’m pleased to report we haven’t needed much of anything in that department to date! However, a word of caution, stay out of the top floor of the hospital. It’s there that --

TRANSMISSION LOST.

PLEASANT HILL, CT - TRAINING VIDEO TRANSCRIPT

HERE you will find the up to date town registry based on the last census. This is S.H.I.E.L.D.’s inmate list.

PLEASANT HILL, CT - ADMINISTRATION

The highest level of Pleasant Hill officials, they retain their own faces when inside the town and are not required to live on the premises.

NAME: Maria Hill TITLE: Program Director AFFILIATION: S.H.I.E.L.D. PERSONA: N/A

NAME: Sharon Carter / Agent 13 TITLE: Communications Liasion AFFILIATION: S.H.I.E.L.D. PERSONA: Leah Overton

PLEASANT HILL, CT - SCIENCE DIVISION

The Science Division work off-site but do enter Pleasant Hill to check in on the town database. They are not given new faces.

NAME: Dr. Erik Selvig TITLE: Scientific Development Director AFFILIATION: S.H.I.E.L.D. / Independent PERSONA: Dr. Hans Sutherland

NAME: Dr. Kavita Rao TITLE: Head of Research AFFILIATION: S.H.I.E.L.D. PERSONA: Dr. Mathilda Singh

PLEASANT HILL, CT - ONSITE SPECIALISTS

Onsite specialists outrank embedded agents and S.H.I.E.L.D. staffers. They are allowed to retain their own faces and are required to be present in Pleasant Hill daily with most leaving the town at night.

NAME: Alisandre Morales TITLE: Head of Intake Processing AFFILIATION: S.H.I.E.L.D. PERSONA: Natalia Granger

NAME: Jake Oh TITLE: Head of Security AFFILIATION: S.H.I.E.L.D. PERSONA: Tate Yang

NAME: Dr. Randall Jessup TITLE: Head of Onsite Scientific Research AFFILIATION: S.H.I.E.L.D. PERSONA: Dr. Daniel Torres

NAME: Dr. Valerie Cooper TITLE: Onsite Psychologist AFFILIATION: SA to President's National Security Adviser PERSONA: Dr. Flora Bond

PLEASANT HILL, CT - REINFORCEMENTS

Selected for their abilities, the telepathic reinforcements individually alternate the town to handle any glitches or border disruptions. They are not given face changes.

NAME: Olivia Hook TITLE: Telepathic Intervention & Protection AFFILIATION: S.H.I.E.L.D. PERSONA: Clara Rot

PLEASANT HILL, CT - EMBEDDED AGENTS

Embedded agents must primarily reside in Pleasant Hill and are allowed to leave for one day a week. They outrank S.H.I.E.L.D. staffers but have Pleasant Hill appearance changes.

NAME: Jenna Carlisle TITLE: Runs Town Inn AFFILIATION: S.H.I.E.L.D. PERSONA: Florence Young

NAME: Nicole Orr TITLE: Town Management AFFILIATION: S.H.I.E.L.D. PERSONA: Dina Scott

NAME: Scott Adsit TITLE: Border Patrol AFFILIATION: S.H.I.E.L.D. PERSONA: Robert Bridgers

[hintofelation99]

The Justice League Hangs out with Duke

Bruce: Duke, it's time we had the talk.

Duke: Uh... nope. No thank you. I'm not getting the sex talk from Batman.

Bruce: What? No! The Robin talk.

Duke: But, I'm- I'm the Signal now? Isn't it a bit late for a Robin talk?

Bruce: Son, it's never too late, not for this.

Duke: Um. Ok.

Bruce: When Dick, Jason, and Tim first started as Robins they created a tradition. A tradition that continued with Stephanie, Damian, and now you.

Duke: And that tradition is?

Bruce: Taking down the Justice League. By being annoying and slightly terrifying.

Duke: OHHHHHH. Is that why no one from the Justice League talks to me?

Bruce: Yes, yes it is. But don't worry. I made an arrangement that will allow you time alone with league members to continue the tradition. You have a week to prepare.

——————

Duke: Cass, what do I do?

Cass raises an eyebrow at Duke.

Duke: For the Robin tradition thing. I have to take down the entire Justice League in a night using creative, outlandish, and original methods. But it's already been done by Dick, Jason, Tim, Damian, and Steph. So what do I do? How can I be better than all of them.

Cass smirks: Take them down too.

Duke looking at Cass like she's crazy: What?

Cass: Take. Them. Down.

Duke: Holy shit, you are terrifying.

Cass just smiles and leaves.

-> One Week Later <-

Wonder Woman, Superman, Flash, Aquaman, Green Lantern, Black Canary, Martian Manhunter, Dick, Jason, Tim, Damian, and Steph gather in the Watchtower.

Duke: Hey guys, Batman just wanted to go through some training exercises with everyone. He'll be a little late. Harley and Ivy escaped Arkham and are trying to grow penis shaped shrubs in all the public parks. But, don't worry he asked me to go ahead and start with out him.

Green Lantern: Why are you leading this meeting?

Duke: Batman is running late and he wants me to practice leading meetings.

Green Lantern, glaring suspiciously at Duke: Are you about to do that stupid Robin tradition where you torture all of us?

Duke: What Robin tradition? Also, I'm not even a Robin? I'm the Signal.

Green Lantern continues to glare at him.

Superman: Calm down Green Lantern, the Robins never do this in front of each other.

Every League member seems to relax at this.

Duke acting confused: Uhhh, yeah. Ok, we have a few housekeeping things to do according to the list Batman left. So, I'll have everyone pair up for sparring while I handle these individually.

------

Everyone is in the training room working out or sparring. Duke approaches Tim.

Duke: Hey Tim, Bruce wanted you to look in to that Bludhaven case. Is that ok with you?

Tim: Yeah, why wouldn't it be?

Duke: Oh, I just thought it might be difficult considering what Dick did.

Tim: ...What did he do?

Duke: Wait, you haven't noticed? Oh no, I'm sorry I shouldn't have said anything.

Tim: Duke. Tell me what he did.

Duke: Well, Jason said that he replaced all your coffee with decaf.

Tim: THAT BASTARD. No wonder I've been feeling so tired! I'm going to kill him!

Duke: Wait, just stop! I heard that he hid all of it in Green Lantern's room.

Tim: Wait, why there?

Duke: Something about you being afraid of him.

Tim: WHAT?! I'm not afraid of the Green Nightlight! I'm gonna find that coffee then make Dick pay.

Duke: Oh, well cool, good luck!

------

Green Lantern: Um, what are you doing in my room?

Tim: Where is it?

Green Lantern: Where's what?

Tim: You know what I want. Give up now or face the consequences.

Green Lantern: WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?

Tim: Fine. Consequences.

------

Steph, sparring with Duke: So, what's it like being the first meta bat?

Duke: Not too bad, but I could do with out the whole 'predict the future' thing.

Steph, laughing: What? You can not see the future.

Duke: I bet you $50 I can

Steph: Your on.

Duke, makes everything around him light up and uses a weird voice: In the next thirty minutes Green Lantern will flee the Watchtower in fear. Soon after Dick will be attacked by Tim.

Steph, snorts in obvious disbelief.

Steph: That was so fake-

Green Lantern runs out of the tower looking terrified.

Steph: No way.

Tim tackles Dick and they start fighting like three year old's on the floor.

Steph, handing Duke $50: Holy shit Magic Man.

Duke makes things light up and does the voice again: Oh my god.

Steph, looking excited: What?!

Duke: The- the sushi. The sushi you brought today, it's made from-

Duke pretends to choke back a sob.

Duke: It's made from the fish who was the maid of honor at Aquaman's wedding.

Steph: HOLY SHIT.

------

Steph and Aquaman sit beside each other for lunch, she pulls out her sushi and looks at Aquaman sadly.

Steph: I am so, so sorry for your loss. But just know that her sacrifice is not in vain.

Aquaman, looks confused for a second then sees the sushi: NOPE. Not this again! I'm leaving.

Steph: Wait! I'm sorry!

Aquaman leaves as Steph tries to chase him down.

------

Jason is laughing and filming as Dick and Tim fight.

Duke, whistles: Man, imagine if that video went on YouTube.

Jason, looking confused: What?

Duke: I'm just saying if the video of Red Robin and Nightwing fighting like kids ever got on YouTube, it'd go viral. Oh and they would be so pissed!

Jason, laughs: Too bad B would kill me if I uploaded this.

Duke: Yeah, I guess so. And you can't upload it here because then Superman would get in trouble.

Jason: Why would the boy scout get in trouble?

Duke: Cause he always uses his YouTube account on the Justice League computer. So it'd look like he uploaded it and B would find out that Superman watches cat videos while he's on monitor duty.

Jason, smirking: Huh, so you're saying if I upload this on the League computer I'd piss off Bruce, Tim, and Dick and get Supes in trouble?

Duke, acting innocent: Huh, I guess so.

-> A Few Minutes Later <-

A call from Bruce comes up on the main computer.

Superman: Hey Batman, what can I do for you?

Bruce: You, Red Hood, cave now.

Jason: What? Why me?

Bruce: Because I saw that little home video you uploaded of your brothers.

Jason: What, that wasn't me!

Bruce: I could hear you laughing while you filmed.

Jason: Dammit.

Jason and Clark leave for the cave pouting like kids.

------

Duke: Hey, Black Canary?

Black Canary: Yes Duke?

Duke: I'm sorry to do this on such short notice, but I'm very worried about Dick and Tim.

Black Canary: Why?

Duke: Well, Tim keeps claiming that Dick is out to get him. Something about Dick messing with his coffee? And Dick feels like he's just being attacked for no reason and is worried about Tim's health. Is there anyway you could intervene?

Black Canary, looking sighing and looking exhausted: Usually I have three days of preparation before dealing with bats.

Duke: I know it's just-

Duke gestures to Tim and Dick rolling on the floor fighting.

Duke: They really need help.

Black Canary: Alright, I'll see what I can do.

Black Canary attempts to intervene only to get pulled into the fight. Now the three of them are tangled in a huge, confusing fight, that's filled with yelling and hair pulling.

------

Duke: Damian! Quick!

Damian: What is it Thomas.

Duke: I think somethings wrong with Dick and Tim and maybe even Black Canary. They're all fighting and won't stop! Can you help me contain them so that we can figure out what's going on?

Damian: Fine. I shall help.

Duke: Ok, just try to herd them into this containment cell.

Damian joins the fight managing to get everyone, including himself, into the containment cell. As Damian is trying to leave Duke closes the cell. Damian angrily yells and bangs on the sound proof walls.

Duke: What? Sorry, can't hear you! My hand slipped!

------

Wonder Woman: Very well done Signal.

Duke, acting innocent: Hm?

Wonder Woman: You tricked Red Robin into scaring Green Lantern away, then into fighting Nightwing. Once that fight broke out you tricked Red Hood into uploading a video to the internet using the Superman's credentials. By uploading that video he caused both himself and Superman to face Batman's wrath. You also used the fight to trick Stephanie into annoying Aquaman to the point of leaving. Then you involved Black Canary in the fight, which was her downfall. And, as a final touch, you managed to get Robin into the fight and trapped all in a containment cell. You successfully eliminated 9 foes with one trick.

Duke: You mean 11.

Wonder Woman: What?

Duke: 11. You see, I didn't trick Red Robin, I tricked Nightwing. I had a week to prepare. In that week I convinced Dick that Tim needed to cut back on the caffeine and that Dick should help by switching all of Tim's coffee with decaf. I also convinced him to hide that coffee in the watchtower, in Green Lantern's room. So that was all true.

Wonder Woman: But, that still does not make 11?

Duke: It does. Because This morning I moved the coffee. I replaced the Flashes decaf with Tim's ultra caffeinated coffee. You see Tim has it specially manufactured to increase the caffeine levels. And, while Flash doesn't usually drink his coffee in the morning, he's always running late and forgets, he does drink coffee during training breaks. Which is now. So in about five minutes we will have an incredibly caffeinated speedster in the Watchtower. And since you're the only one around right now with a chance of catching him, that's your problem.

Right as Duke finishes Flash runs by, majorly hyped up on caffeine.

Duke: Checkmate.

------

Martian Manhunter: It appears that I am the last remaining League member.

Duke: Yeah, I don't really understand this tradition but apparently every Robin ends it by picking a favorite league member.

Martian Manhunter: Out of all the League members, why have you chosen me?

Duke: Your smart and have a lot of cool powers. Also, I dunno, I hear you sometimes feel like an outsider with the league. Cause, the whole martian thing. And I know it's not the same but, sometimes I feel like an outsider with the bats, being the only meta and all.

Martian Manhunter: You have chosen me so that we may bond over our lack of connections?

Duke: Uhhhh, yeah?

Martian Manhunter: Hm. Very well, I assume that this is your “Robin Weakness”. Apparently every Robin has one.

---------------------------------------------------

<- Previous |

[whatisthiswritingthing]

Get Over Yourself - Lindsey Horan x Reader

Prompt: The Great Horan x reader? Where she and R aren’t a thing, but there are some feelings there. R always flirts with her and asks her out a lot, but Lindsey always rejects her. Eventually, R stops doing it bc she doesn’t want to continue being hurt and disappointed by the rejection. So, when R gets shipped with another teammate (you decide) by the fans, R has to flirt with them as PR stunt. Lindsey gets jealous and realizes that she wants to be the only one R flirts with. Cue an angsty fight between the two until she finally tells R how she feels and they make up.

“Hey Linds, do you believe in love at first sight?” Y/N smirked, slowly walking past Lindsey, pausing, waiting for the midfielder to acknowledge her. Once Lindsey looked up, cocking her head to the side, she continued, “or do you need me to walk by again?” Y/N winked, giving a slow, dramatic strut past.

Several players rolled their eyes, some boo’ing, while others squirted Y/N with water. Lindsey just rolled her eyes, fighting a smirk, “come on, let’s pass,” she reached a handout for Y/N to help tug her up.

Y/N grasped the offered hand, tugging Lindsey to a standing position. Lindsey, not expecting Y/N to actually pull her up, pushed herself up at the same time, crashing her body into Y/N’s.

“If you wanted to feel me up, you just had to ask,” Y/N smirked, hands on either of Lindsey’s hips to help steady her.

“You gotta buy me dinner first for that,” Lindsey gave Y/N a gentle shove to the chest before jogging away, tapping a ball with her.

“Yea?” Y/N hesitated, biting her lip, watching the blonde to see if she was serious or not. The friends had such a flirtatious relationship, the lines between friends and more had been blurred, were blurred. Hands would wander, hugs lingered, eyes always finding each other in crowded rooms. Y/N was the first person Lindsey would seek out when she needed to talk about something, needed comfort, or just needed to hear Y/N’s voice.

Anyone watching the two women could easily interpret the interactions would assume the friends were a couple. But they weren’t. The concept of a romantic relationship had never been discussed. Y/N had been working to feel out if it was more than harmless flirting for Lindsey, like it was for herself. But their friendship had been like this for so long, Y/N didn’t know how Lindsey felt.

Y/N knew how she felt, how she couldn’t help be drawn to Lindsey, and would be more than willing maintain the friendship as long as it meant she still got to be with the midfielder. Worried if Lindsey knew the true intention behind Y/N’s flirting it would push her away.

Y/N was brought out of her musings when Lindsey flipped a ball into her stomach.

“We playing or not you weirdo?” Lindsey smirked.

“Oh yea,” Y/N kicked the ball back, still only half paying attention. Her thoughts still on her feelings for the blonde, distracted by Lindsey implying she might want to go for dinner with Y/N, “so you, me, dinner. Then you can feel me up as much as you want,” the soccer player smirked, but her eyes critically watching the midfielder.

Lindsey scoffed, rolling her eyes, “What, like a date?” thinking it was a joke, laughed, juggling the ball a few times before passing it back, “like I would ever date you,” she continued to laugh alone.

Y/N felt her entire body heat up. Lindsey thought it was a joke. A joke they would ever date. That she was a joke, the concept of them as a joke, “hey, I was just trying to give you free access to touch all this,” she awkwardly motioned the length of her body, “your loss, “she tried to play it off, hoping her voice sounded more nonchalant than it really felt.

Thankfully, Y/N was saved from having to hear what Lindsey would say or do by practicing beginning.

For the next two hours, it was Y/N could do to avoid Lindsey. Switching lines for drills, have to re-tie her cleats several times, even requesting more work with the defenders to avoid all the midfielders. Everyone gave Y/N strange looks when she darted away at the water break and Lindsey reached out to touch a bruise forming on Y/N’s leg.

Somehow, Y/N managed to avoid the team for the next two days. Arriving just on time to meetings, meals, and practices. Leaving as soon as she could. She spent two days putting in extra workouts, extra training, or just wandering the mall. Anything that would keep her put of the hotel and away from the team. She was only trying to avoid the blonde, but she knew it was near impossible to avoid one person in the close group of women.

“Y/L/N!” one of the media coordinators called her as she tried to rush out of another meeting on the third day, “you and Mewis are up for media, let’s go.”

“Fuck” Y/N mumbled, slowly turning around to follow the media person.

“Don’t sound so excited!” Kristie slung an arm across Y/N’s shoulders, “we’re both hot, funny, and supposedly really good at soccer. We are a triple threat!” she tugged Y/N to a stop to jump on her back for a piggy back ride, “we get stuck, just flex these guns,” Kristie teasingly squeezed Y/N’s arms, “and they’ll all be so distracted we can just run away.”

That drew a genuine laugh from the soccer player, she tightened her hold under the blondes’ legs and carried her into the media room.

The media team all laughed as the pair walked in, Kristie having wrapped her legs around Y/N’s waist and around her shoulders., holding so tightly Y/N didn’t need to hold her. Looking similar to koala on a branch.

“USWNT presents ‘Koala or Kristie’. Where we show you a picture and you decide if it’s a koala or a Kristie,” Y/N announced to the media staff as she turned so Kristie could let go and drop right into the chair. When Kristie didn’t let go right away, Y/N reached behind her and began tickling the blonde until her grip let go and she fell into the chair.

The staff all laughed at the pairs antics, “you guys are already live,” one called while the two finished settling into the chairs, handing a phone over so they could read the questions being sent in.

Y/N smirked while she scrolled through the comments, letting Kristie introduce them and officially start their session.

“Alright Y/N/N,” Kristie leaned into Y/N’s side to attempt to read the phone and choose a question, “start off with a good one.”

“I have one of my own before I get to the fan ones,” Y/N giggled, grinning at the blonde while she tugged the phone away, “do you think you have the right koala-fications?”

Kristie stared at Y/N before glancing to the media staff behind the camera, “I think I’m busy today guys, I am available when I can do this with anyone else.”

Y/N maintained a serious expression, “that answers that, Kristie Mewis does not have the right koala-fications,” she began scrolling through the phone looking for a real fan question while Kristie turned and mock gasped at Y/N, “if I could play any other sport professionally, I would be a basketball player,” she continued on, ignoring Kristie staring at her.

Y/N deliberately focused on the phone, waiting for Kristie to say anything, her serious expression slipping and a smirk cracking through.

Kristie shook her head, “no way you could be a basketball player, you’re way too short,” she held a hand up next to her, drastically exaggerating Y/N’s height.

“But I’ve got mad hops, and big feet!” Y/N put her hands under her knee and lifted her leg, so her foot was in view of the camera.

“That just means you have big feet, not that it will make you a good basketball player,” Kristie laughed, pushing Y/N’s foot away from her.

“My mom said I’ll grow into them, there’s still a chance,” Y/N shrugged her shoulders. She knew she wouldn’t get any taller, but it was fun working Kristie up.

“You’re 28, you’re not growing into your feet at this point,” Kristie rolled her eyes, shaking her head, “read a question!”

Much of their live session went that way, very few questions being answered. The friends easily distracted, telling stories or just bantering, forgetting the camera was there entirely.

By the end of the say, the video had been picked apart, screenshots were made, and new a secret couple was formed.

Y/N had gone back to avoiding the team, her thoughts even more jumbled now that everyone assumed she was with Kristie. She didn’t have feelings for Kristie, she loved her like a friend and loved their easy going dynamic, but it would never be anything more that. And she knew Kristie felt the same.

“You’re avoiding me,” Lindsey said as greeting when Y/N walked into her room the next day.

“Fuck!” Y/N stepped back into the closed door, her body crashing against it, “what the fuck Lindsey?” she stomped further into the room.

“You’re avoiding me,” Lindsey repeated, sitting in a chair in the corning, watching Y/N move around the room.

“I’m not avoiding you,” Y/N continued to rummage around the room, mindlessly moving things around in order to look busy, “how’d you get into my room?”

“Kicked your rookie out, convinced the poor kid medical needed to redo their testing,” she answered quickly, “you’re avoiding me,” she said it a third time.

“I’m not avoiding you,” Y/N began to refold her suitcase to keep her hands busy and continue to avoid looking at the blonde critically staring at her, “but just to clarify, if I was, you thought the solution was to corner me in my room?”

“Is this because of practice the other day?” Lindsey pushed out of the chair and closed the distance between them, “because I know I’ve felt you up for less than dinner before,” she chuckled softly, stepping close, pressing her body against y/N’s placing a handout to land low on Y/N’s hip.

Y/N abruptly dropped the shirt she was folding and took two large steps away from Lindsey, “Fuck Lindsey, it’s not always about you. I’m not avoiding you. I haven’t hung out with anyone else,” she snapped, her jaw clenching while she stared hard at Lindsey.

Lindsey stared wide eyed at the sudden outburst before gathering herself, snapping back, “yet, Kristie gets to hang all over you.”

“You hang all over me all the time Lindsey, it’s the same thing. Besides, it was for the live thing we did,” Y/N didn’t know what she was so angry all of a sudden. She was avoiding Lindsey and Lindsey was just calling her out on the immature behaviour. Y/N really didn’t understand why she was upset, Lindsey had a right to confront her avoidance. Y/N was the one that had decided to pull away when it seemed Lindsey didn’t see their friendship as anything more. But what Y/N really didn’t understand, was why Lindsey was so upset about Kristie being on her.  

Lindsey knew why she was upset. She had spent the last two days always just missing Y/N and had replayed all their interactions before Y/N seemingly disappeared. The only thing she could come up with when she joked about them going out and shooting down Y/N’s dinner invite. Then she watched the live session Y/N did with Kristie, a few other players planning on throwing in their own obscure questions. The feeling she got in her chest watching Y/N carry Kristie in was a feeling she couldn’t place; she’d never felt it before.

Jealously was what Alex said.

Longing was what Kelley said.

Infatuation was what Rose said.

Gross was what Sam said, thinking it was directed at her sister.

Realization was what Sonnett said.

She sat silent the entire time, that feeling growing throughout. She ruminated on what her friends. None of the words fit, yet, they all fit. That was the problem, they all fit. She was realizing her feelings for Y/N. She was infatuated with how effortlessly funny she was. Longed to be the one Y/N was making smile the way she was making Kristie smile. And she jealous Kristie got to be the one Y/N was with while she had been avoided for two days.

So, Lindsey knew why she was upset. She was frustrated at herself because she wanted to tell Y/N how she felt but she couldn’t get the words out. Could only make a joke that didn’t end up being a great joke because now Y/N was upset too.

“Get over yourself Lindsey. You don’t get a say in who hangs on me and who doesn’t,” Y/N said, her voice had started firm, but sounded defeated by the end. She looked down before shuffling back to the bed to resume folding her clothes.

“But what if I did?” Lindsey rushed out, crinkling her face at how that sounded, implying Y/N was something someone controlled, “fuck, that came out wrong! I meant, I want hang all over you and you to hang all over me. And dinner, so I can feel you up. And I don’t want you avoiding me anymore.”

Y/N’s hands paused while she folder her shirt, before continuing, her eyes never leaving the shirt, “Lindsey, you don’t get to come in here pissed at me because you got jealous, then expect things to be alright.”

“I don’t want that or expect that! Yes, I got so jealous when I saw you and Kristie together and I didn’t even understand what it meant. But then I figured it out, I wanted all our banter and jokes about being together to be real. I don’t want to call you at the end of bad day, because I won’t have to because you’ll be in the bed next to me,” Lindsey saw Y/N’s hands stop moving and the shirt slip back on top of the suit case, Y/N’s arms dropping to her side, but she still wouldn’t look up.  

Lindsey took a tentative step closer, not wanting to spook the girl away like she had initially.

“I want it all to be real. I want everything we had a couple days ago again, but I want it to be real and more. I want this gross longing feeling to stop because I have you again,” taking a risk, she gently held Y/N’s hand and giving it a squeeze.

Y/N squeezed back before letting go, “Linds, just because you got jealous doesn’t me this is what you want. You like the idea of me, you don’t like me. And we can try and go back to how it was before, but my feelings are real, Lindsey, I know how I feel about you.”

“My feelings are real too!” Lindsey gripped Y/N’s hand again, tight, “this isn’t just me being jealous, watching you with Kristie was just what I needed to realize that I was just too scared to admit how I felt about you. I know how I feel about you,” she finished with conviction, reaching for other hand and squeezed both tight.

“Ok,” Y/N nodded, seeing the sincerity on Lindsey’s face.

“Ok?”

Lindsey was confused, she poured her heart out and she gets is ok?

“I don’t know your feelings Linds, but I trust you, and if you say they are real, then they’re real,” she smiled.

“So, can I take you for dinner?” Lindsey asked, still shy even though she knew the answer would be yes.

“And you can feel me up all you want after.”

[amjustagirl]

CHAPTER 2 - FALLEN

Fic Summary:

The sky Oikawa Tooru’s heart seeks is a world away from the earth yours is buried in. You are a fool to trust him with your heart anyway.

Where Oikawa Tooru tries to recapture your heart. 

Chapter 1 // Chapter 2 // Chapter 3

Pairing: Oikawa Tooru x fem! reader

Genre / Wordcount : Angst (7k words), cameo from MSBY 4

Warnings: One non-explicit bedroom scene.

Masterlist link here!

Tag list link here!

You catch sight of Oikawa Tooru as you bustle through the hospital’s sliding doors, your usual cup of coffee in your hand that you buy on the way to work. He’s seated in the waiting area next to a middle aged man you guess must be his manager, from the way he jumps to his feet immediately to act as a human shield as you call out breathlessly - 

“T - Oikawa? What are you doing here?” 

Tooru’s head swivels around to meet your gaze, and you’re shocked by the lifelessness in his eyes until you glance at the bandages wrapped around his swollen knee. 

Oh. 

You try not to stare, but you do so anyway. The sight of your ex-boyfriend makes you feel as if you’re seeing a ghost, a specter from some past life. You last saw him when he was twenty one, young and proud, wax wings fully spread, a speck in the skies. What a difference five years makes. His shoulders are still broad, and the tilt of his jaw is still proud, but the light in his eyes has faded to darkness, and the pallor of his skin suggests far too much time spent away from the sun. 

Icarus, Icarus. Your hubris has led you to such heights, but look how far you’ve fallen. 

It’s surprising there’s no news of his injury, considering he’s one third of Japan’s trifecta of setters in the volleyball scene’s monster generation. With the Olympics rapidly approaching with just over a year to go, an injury must be devastating, especially to Oikawa Tooru, with dreams of Olympic greatness and victory on his native shores. 

A nurse materialises to usher Oikawa away for surgery before he can respond to the pity in your gaze. You look around. He’s alone, save for his manager. No one deserves to be wake up alone after surgery, so you call after him - 

“I’ll check in on you after you’re done! Gambatte!”

He responds with a thumbs up and a weak smile. 

You flip through his medical files once you get the chance. 

Oikawa Tooru, twenty six. Pro-volleyball player for EJP Raijin previously, currently playing in the Argentinian league. Narrowly missed out on making the cut for the previous Olympics, but went on to represent Japan in the last three World Cups, alternating with Miya Atsumu and Kageyama Tobio. Obviously hoping for another shot at the Olympics, but that’s looking bleak from what you’re gleaning from his medical records. 

His right knee has always bothered him, even during his high school days. Now, a decade later, it looks like he’s managed to tear his tendon to shreds. 

Volleyball is a cruel, demanding mistress, especially for one not born a genius. 

The surgery to repair a torn knee ligament is delicate work, requiring an experienced surgeon, and the road to recovery requires extensive physiotherapy. It’s no wonder he’s resorted to the modern Tokyo hospital you work in rather than returning to his native Sendai to recuperate. The downside of doing so though, is that he’d have to recover alone. 

You wrinkle your nose. He may be your ex-boyfriend, but he doesn’t deserve that. 

The sun is setting when you finally find the time to slip into his room. 

As expected, he’s still asleep. The anesthetic will take some time to wear off. From the looks of the surgeon’s notes, the surgery was a success - though you know from the nature and extent of the injury that his road to recovery will be long and winding.   

So you seat yourself in the visitor’s chair with a hot cup of tea and an onigiri to stave off your hunger at not finding time for a break any earlier. You had an awful day at work today, two of your patients puked on you, another tried to fight you when you drew his blood, and the senior registrar in the ward assigned you a mountain of paperwork that you only just managed to complete, so you give in to sleep yourself as exhaustion settles into your bones.

“Princess?”  

You snap awake at the familiar nickname, ignoring the flush working its way up the back of your neck as you leap to his bedside to check his vitals, only relaxing when you’re satisfied everything’s fine. 

“You’re just waking up after a surgery, Oikawa”. When his forehead crinkles in confusion at the sound of his surname, you correct yourself. “I mean - Tooru”. The corners of his cracked lips tilt up in satisfaction. 

“Will you stay with me?” Tooru murmurs, eyelids beginning to droop again. 

You smile fondly despite yourself. “Do you want me to?” you ask. 

He manages to pout even as he’s falling back asleep. “I asked, didn’t I?” 

You smooth his hair from his forehead, slotting your hand into his. “Fine, fine. Go to bed, sleeping beauty”. 

He huffs an amused breath from his nose before he closes his eyes, contented. Trust Tooru to be shameless enough to cling on to his ex-girlfriend without a shred of awkwardness. You end up staying in his room for hours, watching him sleep.

The heart that you’ve locked away behind bars of bone and steel twitches, just once. 

You frown when the nurse catches your sleeve. “A patient’s looking for you” she says, just as you’re about to go off on a short break. 

“Who?” you reply, wondering whether it’s Sato-san who vomited this morning, or Imai-san whose blood pressure niggles at your mind. You do not expect the nurse to flush pink as she replies - “Oikawa-san”, describing the sweet young man with lovely brown eyes and such a charming voice. 

You slip back into his room when your shift ends. You expect to see a shadow of a man with broken wings, and you do catch a fleeting glimpse of Tooru staring wistfully out of the window, face tilted towards the sun before he turns to you with a wide smile and a pleased - “you came!”  

This is the Oikawa Tooru you are accustomed to dealing with. “Stop flirting with the nurses”, you tell him briskly, bustling over to look at his files. “They have jobs to do, don’t use them to carry messages to me.”

“But I’m boredddd.”

“I’m sure you have volleyball videos to watch.”

“I watched them all day today. ‘Sides, I watched all the matches on today already, twice – and I have plenty of time to watch them a third time. I have plenty of time to catch up with you, I haven’t seen you in so long!”

Five years since you broke up to be exact, but you sidestep that fact neatly, pouring over his medical file instead. His doctors’ notes indicate his recovery is promising. He brightens up when you tell him so, playfully complaining that hospital food is shit in a thinly veiled attempt to steal your food, a habit he’s clearly not outgrown. But you’re not all that hungry anyway, so you split your pork bun in half and hand it to him, dropping into the visitor’s chair. 

“So how’re you feeling?” 

“Like shit. My knee hurts so muchhhh.” 

You shrug, careless. “That’s pretty expected, to be honest.”

“Hmph. I thought they’d have taught you some bedside manners in medical school”, he snipes, though the effect is rather lost when his cheeks are comically round and full of food. 

You laugh, the stress from your day lifting from your shoulders.  

“I seem to forget them when it’s you.”

“So mean”, he pouts, hiding the familiar gleam in his eye that appears whenever he’s trying to analyse his opponents, take them apart. “As punishment, tell me about yourself. What have you been up to these days?” 

You decide to treat him like any old friend, giving him the condensed run down of your professional life,  how you’ve graduated from medical school (with top marks I bet, he interjects), how you chose to stay in Tokyo instead of returning to Sendai (your parents must miss you he says, and you brush him off with an airy they have other children, they’ll survive), how you chose to work in this hospital because you’re considering a specialisation in Orthopedic surgery (because of your grandma, I bet, he says, and you choose not to correct that, using your silence as a lie).  

He in turn tells you about the highlights of his career, how he’s spent a year at EJP Raijin before he was headhunted to the Argentinian league, how he spent four years overseas save for summers back in Japan to train with the national team, how he’s hopeful, even now, of recovering and fighting for his spot on the Olympic roster next year. 

You already knew all of that from news alerts on your phone you never forced yourself to delete, diverting him instead with a question about life in Argentina, nodding as he reminisces about his apartment in San Juan where he gets to watch the sun set over the Andes mountains, the kitchen that he stuffed full of Japanese groceries like daishi and mirin and sake and miso in his first year there just so he has a tangible reminder of home. 

You stop yourself from wondering whether he thinks about the little home he shared with you with such fondness. That time has passed. 

His voice wavers as he spins you stories about his teammates - Matteo, whose family owns a vineyard and taught him to appreciate wine like a proper Argentinian, Miguel, who makes the best empanadas and gets roaring drunk every time they win a match, Gabriel, who takes him to his family’s home in the mountains every other weekend because his grandmother is convinced that a single young man without family in the city will starve if he’s left to his own devices. 

It seems his wings were durable enough for him to soar across the oceans, his grit and determination the foundation of the new life he’s built, whole continents away. 

“It’s funny how the world works”, you remark off hand. “I never expected to see you again.”

His eyes gleam again. “The universe seems to work in funny ways.” 

You start spending breaks in his room, scarfing down your lunch and dinner while he talks your ear off about the horrible sitcoms or ridiculous game shows he’s watched today. You catch him watching a video of Kageyama’s serves and you’re amused when he practically hisses when you comment idly that his kouhai has certainly improved since his high school days. 

You ignore his spluttered protests that service records aren’t everything and besides, his own spike serves have definitely won Japan a game or two last year until, with the air of a boy king, he commands you to sit next to him on the hospital bed so he can pull up a compilation of his serves and his best moments. 

Years might have passed, but you’re still hopeless at refusing him. Besides, isn’t it better that you distract him from the sorry state of his knee? So you do as he says, ignoring the faint flutter of your traitorous heart as he leans into your side. 

“See? I told you my spike serves are amazing?”

“Yes, yes. I already knew that. I watched so many of your practices in university, remember?”

He looks at you strangely. “Did you?” he asks, leaning his head on his hand, eyes boring into yours. 

You think of evenings spent sitting on the bleachers, homework in your lap as you watch as the boy you love builds the strength in his wax wings in preparation for his eventual flight. “Yes”, you admit, sheets rustling as you shift away from him, avoiding his perplexed frown. “You were probably too focused on practice to notice.”

You already know you shouldn’t spend so much time in his room, but you’ve spent most of your life doing what you should instead of what you want to so just this once, you ignore rational thought in favour of sentiment.

After all, he’ll be discharged from hospital in a week, then you’ll never see him again. 

Tooru promptly proves you wrong the day before he’s scheduled to be discharged. 

“I need someone to help me move into my apartment.”

“Hire a mover”, you tell him. You don’t even look up from your notes. 

“Already did”, he chirps, undaunted by your apparent disinterest. “But it’d be nice to have a friend who I know will be nice enough to help poor old crippled me put my stuff away.” Then he grins cheekily, “plus I checked with that pretty nurse – Yuna-san was it? Anyway, she told me you’re off tomorrow, so you might as well spend the day with me.”

There goes your excuse to wriggle out of having to spend your rare day off with your ex. 

“I have a mountain of sleep debt to pay off”, you protest, but faced with wide brown eyes and an embarrassing wobble of his lip, you comply. Still, you manage to get the promise of a free dinner out of him, so you suppose it’ll do.

Tooru doesn’t have much to unpack, a couple of cardboard boxes of clothes and books, probably because most of his belongings are still in Argentina. He laughs and raises his hands in an attempt to placate you when you lift an eyebrow, first at the lack of kitchen equipment in his furnished apartment, second at the weights and volleyball he tries to smuggle in behind your back. 

“You’re not supposed to exercise for at least a month or two”, you cluck your tongue, sighing with disapproval at the furtive look he casts at the volleyball sitting at the corner of his living room.

“I can set while sitting on a stool! Don’t scold me, my heart can’t bear it”. He throws a hand across his face, brow creased dramatically. 

Icarus, Icarus. You’ve already fallen once. Will you seek out the sun again? 

A string of familiarity loops into a knot over your heart. If you close your eyes and count to ten, you can imagine that you’re eighteen again, chiding the boy you love for practicing too hard. But you’re twenty six now, a full fledged adult who should know better than to dabble in sentiment again (especially when it comes to brown eyed boys who only dream of the sun), so you slash through the threads connecting you to him with a flash of your teeth, bury your beating heart deeper into the dungeon you’ve built years ago of white bone and solid steel.  

“Do what you want, but your neighbours will hate you if you keep thumping that damn ball against the wall.” You say, simply, dismissively. 

“No one could ever hate me”, he declares with bravado. “I’ll charm them all with my charm and good looks.”

“Ridiculous”, you huff, dumping the last of his clothing into the cupboard. “Where’s the dinner you promised? I want ramen and gyoza at least.”

“So demanding”, he lilts. “I’ll order in. Tonkatsu ramen with char siu, bamboo shoots, extra spring onions with gyoza on the side?” 

Your heart struggles against its shackles. He still remembers your order.  

“Yes”, you finally say. “You got that right.”

He grins at you cheekily, as if to say of course. 

After you gulp down your ramen, devour your gyozas, you pack up, ready to leave. You have an early shift tomorrow, and you’re already dreaming about your soft bed whilst dreading the cup of coffee you’ll have to down tomorrow morning just to stay awake. 

He catches your wrist, presses the spare key to the apartment into your hand.  “Come back. I want to see you again”, he says, an order and not a plea. 

You are about to make up an excuse, tell him anything but the truth that you suspect it’s bad for your heart to keep seeing him again. 

“Please” - he adds with a tint of fragility to his voice. 

“I’ll be back when I can”, you finally say. 

“Tomorrow?” he looks up at you with hopeful eyes. 

“We’ll see”, you pry your hand loose from his grasp, slip out the front door. 

You stay away for two days, citing your work schedule as an excuse until he wears you down with a barrage of cutesy line stickers aimed at driving home how lonely he is and how much he misses your presence. You’re being dramatic as usual, you text him dryly, but you turn up anyway at his apartment on a Friday night, letting yourself in with an armful of reports and a bucket of oden. 

“How’re you doing? Are you listening to your physiotherapist? Eating properly? Sleeping well?”

“You sound like my mother”, he grouses, rolling his wheelchair to the dining table. 

You flick at his forehead, he slumps back in his wheelchair.  “Stop bullying the cripple’, he wheezes through his chortle. 

“You deserve it”, you retort. “Don’t run away from the question. How’re you feeling?”

“It still hurts”, he admits with a mock sniff. “It should stop hurting by nowwww.”

You push your glasses up the bridge of your nose. “That’s to be expected. Your sinews just got stitched together two weeks ago. Not sure why you’d expect any less.”

“Bah, rude. At least you didn’t say I told you so”, he grumbles, spooning oden into his mouth. “That would be insufferable.”

“Well, maybe you’ll listen to me now that I’m actually a doctor”, you inform him pertly, batting away memories of a teenage boy with hazel eyes shouting indignantly at you after practice in the Seijoh gym.

Tooru snorts. “I can’t believe my eighteen year old self was dumb enough to open my future self up to a jab like that”, he complains, chewing on a cabbage roll grumpily. 

“We’re all dumb at eighteen”, you remark. “You’re no exception.” 

“You were dumb enough to date me”, he teases with a mocking smile.  

Your spoon slips from your hand momentarily. It’s the first time he’s alluded to your past relationship. 

“I was, wasn’t I”, you say lightly, before turning the conversation to Tooru’s physiotherapy sessions. 

You have no wish to delve back into the past, but you’re willing to be his friend since he seems to need one for now.  

Tooru’s knee recovers enough for him to shift from his wheelchair to crutches, which he points at you playfully, mimicking a gun every time you pop by for a visit. He seems to plan his physiotherapy session around your schedule, just so he can wheedle you into paying him yet another visit when your shift at the hospital end, bribing you with a cup of coffee with a hint of chocolate from the café across the street that you’ve never found the time to visit. 

“Thank you, kind sir”, you say, accepting the coffee with a laugh. 

“You’re welcome, my lady”, he answers with a smirk, motioning you to follow him for yet another evening to be spent in his home sitting across him, red ink smeared on your hands as you mark up the reports in your lap. 

His façade that he’s coping with his injury just fine slips every so often. You catch him more often than not watching compilation videos of Kageyama and Atsumu at the World Cup this year with a strained expression on his face, or resting his chin on the windowsill whilst staring wistfully at the birds in the sky. 

He does not confide about his worries to you. You’re not sure you want him to. 

But you can’t explain to yourself the impulse to purchase a bird feeder for his balcony, nor the glow-in-the-dark poster of the constellations that you cart into his bedroom until your heart has to scramble for equilibrium when he thanks you, his smile soft. 

“In exchange for all the coffee you’ve bought me”, you reply, turning away to hide all evidence of your heart’s betrayal, the diffusion of blood in your cheeks.  

A month passes. Then another. 

The crutches get kept in the storeroom. A limp remains, but the degree which his knee can bend increases by the day. His mood improves even further, and you constantly find yourself swerving to avoid his affectionate gazes, his attempts at flirtation. 

“You’re looking so pretty today!” he lilts, fitting his arm snugly into the crook of your elbow as you walk down the neon lit streets of Tokyo. He insisted on this outing, and in the custom of your rekindled friendship, managed to convince you to accompany him on your off day so he can get crepes from Harajuku notwithstanding the fact that it takes forty five minutes on the train and his knee still acts up from time to time.  

“It’s my first time downtown in a month”, you tell him. “Of course I’m going to dress up.” You don’t tell him you spent far too long in front of your closet, tossing outfits on your bed until you found one that complements you just right. 

He buys you trinkets, hair accessories that you’ll never wear, tries to win you ridiculous stuffed toys from the claw machine. 

“You’re wasting money”, you scold, wiping the whipped cream from his mouth. 

“It’s not a waste if it’s for you”, he tells you, with startling sincerity that you still doubt.

He doesn’t mean it, you tell yourself. It’s just Tooru being Tooru. 

You refuse to admit what’s staring you in the face until you have to duck your head to avoid his attempt at pressing his lips to your cheek. 

“Goodnight, Tooru”, you manage to say before you bolt off into the night. You check to make sure your heart is still under lock and key. 

It is, but it beats resentfully. Tooru, it beats against its bars with frightening intensity. Tooru. Tooru.  

You ignore it. You know what’s best for it.

You stay away from him for a fortnight, requesting for a change in your schedule without updating him, taking the other exit from the hospital so you don’t have to see him. You stay away until he manages to wear you down yet again, texting you the most ridiculous conspiracy theories about your absence from his life – you must be abducted by aliens, he texts you once, or your mother forced you to marry some stranger, I can break you out if you just say the word. 

He has a guest, you hear another voice, deeper, filled with gravel and intensity, so different from Tooru’s lighter lilt. You do not mean to eavesdrop, but you don’t want to interrupt Tooru when he has a rare guest over, and there’s nowhere else for you wait save for the dusty front step, so you settle yourself in, pen poised to continue your work. 

“What did the doctor say? When are you coming back for practice?” 

“I’m doing good! The physiotherapist thinks I can try light exercise next week. If all goes well, I’ll be back to practice in a month.”

“Sounds promising.”

“I had a good medical team. And I’m actually resting properly!”

“Shittykawa. Stop sounding so proud about doing what’s necessary for your recovery.”

“Iwa-channnn, stop being mean to meeee!”

Ah, Iwaizumi, of course. You haven’t seen him in years, but you remember him from school, a stoic boy with a good heart. You wonder if he’s changed. 

“Are you planning on heading back to Argentina?”

Tooru answers without hesitation. “Of course”, he says airily. “As long as they take me back.”

Your foolish heart shudders with disappointment. Of course. If you run your fingers down his spine, you’ll probably find blooms of wax attached to his very bone. 

You are about to stand up and leave when Tooru speaks up again. 

“But I’m going to enjoy my time in Japan while I’m back. Did I tell you I reconnected with my ex? She’s great, it feels like I never left.”

The firestorm of blood in your ears nearly drowns out Iwaizumi’s growled ‘piece of shit’ (he truly hasn’t changed after all), the clatter of glassware as Tooru protests that he’s not playing with your heart, he truly cares about you, his sullen silence when Iwaizumi demands what’s going to happen when he leaves Japan for Argentina, when he inevitably leaves you behind (yet again).   

Of course. 

You know his heart longs for the sky. There is no space for you. 

You barely have time to react when the door swings open, Iwaizumi on the verge of storming out. You plaster a smile to your face that does not fool him, but you hang on to it nonetheless, cracks appearing only when he gives you a wide eyed look of sympathy that only pours oil onto the flaming war between your brain and your heart. 

“It’s fine”, you say, and though he clearly does not believe you, he bows and leaves anyway. 

Tooru stares at you, mouth open, stumbling over himself with apologies and demands for you to tell him what you’ve overheard, but you motion for him to just stop with your hand, wave aside his protest that he means what he said, he truly likes you.  

Your heart screeches in delight, but your mind is firmly in the driver’s seat. 

“Let’s just pretend I never heard you say that, and we can continue just as before.”

“As friends?” he says, twisting his lips as if the words taste sour in his mouth. He clutches at your shoulders.

“I want more. I want you.”

Your heart thrums in agreement, but you recall assembling the remains of your heart back into your chest whilst kneeling on the cold bathroom floor half a decade ago. The span of five years should have molded you to view your shared past with pragmatism, but your heart seems to have forgotten its lesson. You shake your head.

“There’s no way you truly want me. I don’t think you’ve only ever had space in your heart for anything but your goals.” 

Your response emerges more bitter than you intend. 

“That’s not true”, he weakly protests. “I care about you.”

Not enough, you refrain from telling him. “Let’s remain friends”, you do say, and he opens his mouth to object again, but at the hard look you give him, he slumps back with a defeated nod.

He tries to respect your decision, never complaining when you keep a careful arm’s length distance from him, though you can feel his heated gaze on you whenever he thinks you won’t notice, hear his quiet sighs whenever you shy away from any accidental touch. He droops when you turn down his invite for lunch with his family when they come down for a visit, citing work even though he knows you’re off for the day. 

Still, it’s manageable and he says he needs you, so you return for visits, at least twice weekly, offering encouraging smiles and friendly words when he returns first to light exercise, then to rehabilitative practice a month later, just as he predicted. 

He carves out time for dinners with you, taking care to ask about your day, preferring to spin you stories about the pigeons and doves and crows crowding his balcony rather than talking about volleyball or his practice. He insists on escorting you to his apartment after work when you allow him to, offering you his arm with a soft smile that disarms you, dissolves any resistance. 

It’s an uneasy equilibrium, but it’ll suffice. 

The careful balance you’ve maintained in the space between you and Tooru is shattered when you find you’re not the only one who’s decided to pay him a surprise visit on a Friday night. 

“Tooru, ya didn’t say ya got yerself a pretty girl during yer break”, a man with bleach blonde hair wolf whistles appreciatively when you step into the apartment. 

“I’m just a friend”, you reply confusedly before Tooru’s shout “Shove off, Miya” confirms that one Miya Atsumu has decided to invade Tooru’s apartment. Well, him and what seems like half the MSBY team, with Hinata Shoyo, Bokuto Koutaro and Sakusa Kiyoomi squashed uncomfortably on Tooru’s tiny sofa, long legs stretched across the living room. 

It turns out the MSBY team just finished a game in Tokyo, and Hinata dragged his teammates to visit Tooru in a wholesome bid to cheer him up. You try to excuse yourself after exchanging nods with Sakusa (he hasn’t changed much from his university days) when Miya Atsumu blocks your retreat with a drawled invite for Izakaya and the promise of karaoke after. 

Tooru mouths playfully at you don’t leave me alone with these clowns (you’re tempted to point out that he’s very much one himself), and before you can even blink, you find yourself dragged along to the nearest Izakaya, impressed by the amount of food each man polishes off - skewers of chicken hearts and cartilage, bowls of potato salad and rice with braised pork belly, listening to stories of their exploits on the national team together, stumbling into the karaoke bar tipsy from the beers that Miya Atsumu pressed into your hand, head heavy enough to allow him to wind an arm around your waist. 

“She’s too old for you, ‘Tsumu-kun”, Tooru trills, inserting himself in between you and Atsumu, mouth taut with aggravation. 

“I’m not old, just a year older”, you roll your eyes, as the blonde setter backs away, lips turned up in amusement. Tooru is not placated, muttering how the younger setter is a douche and a sleeze bag as he drapes his jacket over you like a blanket. You nestle against his side, head on his shoulder as his arm rests protectively around you. 

Atsumu watches this with raised eyebrows, whistling slowly, opening his mouth to remark that he’s never seen Oikawa so smitten before when Hinata interrupts with a chirped  “‘Tsum-Tsum, join me!”, handing him a microphone while bouncing on the balls of his feet. 

Karaoke is the most fun you’ve had in ages. Hinata and Bokuto and Atsumu sing all their favourite anime theme songs with gusto - Atsumu even gets misty eyed when he croons Sparkle by Radwimps, reddening when everyone teases him for being a romantic sap, Bokuto shaking his hips to Western pop hits, Hinata showing off his Spanish skills. Sakusa refuses to even touch the microphone but you suppose it’s a win that he’s even in the karaoke booth with all of you. 

Tooru slaps away Atsumu’s attempts at handing you any further alcohol, forcing you to down cups of water until you are no longer glassy eyed, but still tipsy enough to agree to sing ridiculous K-On songs with Hintata and Bokuto, not stopping even when Tooru whips out his phone to video the entire performance with an indulgent smile. 

“Delete it!” you squeal, losing your balance when you try swiping the phone out of his hands, tripping into his lap instead.  

“In your dreams, princess”, Tooru chuckles, his arms snaking around you like a vise. 

“Anndd that’s our cue to call it a night”, Atsumu quips, herding Hinata and Bokuto out onto the street, Sakusa heaving an audible sigh of relief. “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do, kids!” he calls over his shoulder, throwing you a wink. 

“I’m technically his senpai, cheeky brat”, Tooru mutters, the irritation in his voice washing away as you giggle. “C’mon, it’s too late for you to get home and my place is nearer to the hospital so you might as well stay over tonight. You can take the bed, I’ll take the sofa.”

You shake your head, arguing that you couldn’t possibly turn an invalid like him out of his bed but he huffs at the insinuation that he’s anything but well, his knee almost whole again. You give in after he convinces you that it’d be more inconvenient for him to escort you all the way to your own home rather than put you up for the night, and you allow him to loop his arm around yours and lead you back to his apartment. 

It’s not the first time you’ve been in his apartment this late, not by a long shot, but it is the first time you’re over with the intention of staying over. The t-shirt you borrow from Tooru hangs off your frame, the scent of the fabric softener Tooru uses is familiar. You would’ve preferred being tipsier to dull your senses, but alcohol would only impair your logic, allow your heart to prevail, so you try to quell the thrumming of your blood in your veins by curling up on a seat by the window with a cup of tea when Tooru emerges from his shower. 

“Ready for bed?” he asks, towelling off his hair, frowning when you shake your head. “It’s late, you have work tomorrow, even if it’s the afternoon shift.”

“It’s fine”, you say without turning your head to face him. “Go to bed, I’ll take the couch.”

“I’m insulted, princess. What kind of a man d’you think I am to make his guest sleep on the couch? ”

It’s less dangerous to ignore him, so you pay him no mind, choosing instead to lean your chin in your hand and look up towards the night sky. It soothes you, the moon an old friend, reminding of five years’ worth of quiet nights spent in your own flat, filtering your younger self into adulthood. 

“What’re you looking at?” He takes a step forward, kneels down next to you. 

“The moon and the stars”, you say dreamily. “They’re pretty tonight.”

A myriad of weather conditions must coincide to allow the stars to even be visible in the polluted Tokyo night sky, but tonight of all nights fate intervenes, the stars align. The sky is cloudless, the full moon hangs heavy, the stars shimmer and dance.  

“Are they?” Tooru whispers. “I haven’t noticed.”

You finally turn to look at him. “Why’re you staring at me?” 

The unconscious echo of your past - a boy and a girl, falling in love under the same night sky makes his mouth twist wistfully, eyes faded gold.

“Because you are my sun, my moon and my stars. I love you better than anything in the sky.”

Your mouth falls open, your heart suddenly roaring, pounding against its restraints. 

“You can’t mean that”, you whisper. “Don’t say it if you don’t mean it.”

“I do”, he says, with heartbreaking sincerity. “And I always will.”

Nostalgia, aided by the lingering alcohol in your veins opens the gate to your foolish heart. You want to pretend that you are eighteen again, without a care in the world, indulging in the warmth of his hand on the small of your back, the caress of his breath on your cheek. Your lips beckon his, swallowing the catch of his breath when your hands slide under his shirt. 

“Are you sure about this?” His eyes are hungry, almost ravenous, but his hands still hover at the hem of your top. 

“Yes”, you murmur, pressing open mouthed kisses to the column of his neck. “Please, Tooru - please.” 

He carries you into the bedroom, undresses you with shaking hands, chanting your name with reverence, almost a prayer. His eyes darken with desperation and need, unwilling to allow himself any release until you fall apart boneless, caged in his arms.  

“Stay with me”, he murmurs, after you’ve both cleaned up a second time, tugging you into bed. 

It’s laughable. Five years on, Oikawa Tooru still has the power to make your mind lose all reason (however temporarily). With a single heated look, he commands your heart to break willingly in his hands. How could you not have learnt your lesson? The conversation between him and Iwaizumi merely confirms what you’ve known all this while.

(The sky his heart seeks is a world away from the earth yours is buried in)

Even now, you can see the glimmer of golden wax feathers budding along his spine, gleaming under the pale moonlight. 

You lie under the covers until his breath evens out, then you stumble out of bed. You force your heart to relinquish the keys to its freedom, handing it back to logic and rationality, pulling on your clothing, folding your borrowed clothing aside.  

Tooru mumbles your name, his hand outstretched towards you. “Come back”, he says in his sleep, fragility tinting the edges of his words. 

Your fingers miss the doorknob by an inch. You dash your foolish hopes against the darkness of the room, put on your resolve like armour, leave your spare key on the kitchen counter. 

Without looking back, you slip out into the night. 

​

[cherri-cherri]

Pairings - Yuuji Itadori x Reader x Ryomen Sukuna

Synopsis - Ever since Yuuji moved away to Tokyo, you've been noticing some odd changes from him, it's almost as if...he was becoming another person all together.

Theme - Monster by Imagine Dragons

A/N - An idea hit me in the head while I was working and I wanted to try this out so badly with both Yuuji and Sukuna! A concept of 'What if the vessel wasn't just the vessel?'. The vessel would eventually merged with the being to become something new altogether, and I thought...yes. why the heck not. This is gonna be a long one, So let's hop right it! Because I really like this idea, theres a good chance this is going to be either split up into parts or I'm gonna keep visiting this every now and then.

Warning - The characters in this story will be aged up due to NSFW content here. Dirty NSFW scenes sprinkled in, Gore Warning, Abuse, Etc.

-------------------

He didnt want this...

All he wanted was to keep those he cared about safe. Lying to you at the time seemed like a good idea, especially since you weren't tied into the mystical world he was now tied to, and he didn't want you too. But now, perhaps he should've told you everything.

About the finger, about the school, and...

About Sukuna.

You couldn't exactly remember why you originally said yes to the pink haired boy when he asked you to join his occult club activities that night. Maybe it was because of the fact you have nothing really better to do, or maybe because traveling through a forest of possible gruesome death seemed the most attractive thing to you at the time, yet you an Yuuji grew close together that night. Truth be told, walking through those woods during the dead of night was actually creepier than you thought but he was there by your side to comfort you the entire time, holding your hand while cracking a few jokes every now and then to calm your nerves.

"You're not scared? You seem so..well calm?" You asked, looking up at Yuuji with furrowed brows as he just smiled down at you. "Nah, not really. It's just darker and a few trees are around. Not really anything scary, right?" He said, rubbing the back of his neck while chuckling.

Maybe it was because of the warmth of his hands wrapped around your own or how comforting the presence he gave off was to you but it was probably then that your feelings for Yuuji began to grow.

"What you're going to Tokyo?" You questioned, watching Yuuji prepared a few boxes to pack his things. "Yeah, transferring schools. I'm, um .. I'm recieving a sports scholarship at a school there." Placing a few more of things away was when he finally turned to see you, clearly upset over just now being told this. Sure, you should've been happy to see your best friend be able to leave to accomplish more out of his life but it was the thought of him leaving you here that hurt the most. When he saw your face and the conflicted look on it, Yuuji stepped over towards you before wrapping his arms around your waist and pulling you in your embrace.

"I'm sorry, Y/N. I just—" before he could finish his sentence, you stood up on your toes and wrapped your arms around his neck and simply smiled to him. "You don't have to say a thing, Yuuji, I'm happy for you. Just promise me that you'll stay safe out there for me, 'kay?"

Your words alone reminded him why he had to leave, why he had to go and leave you here. It was to keep you safe, safe from curses and safe from the curse lying dormant inside of him now. "R-right...Thank you, Y/N"

The school days were quiet once when Yuuji transferred schools. Sadly enough, the occult club had to disband after he left due to them not having enough members with Iguchi still hospitalized. Now it just seemed..boring without him there but he still seemed to have brighten your day with the photos he would send you every day of the bright city lights and bustling streets. His little messages and calls always well timed to reassure you that just because you aren't blocks away from each other anymore doesn't mean you won't still be friends.

So far, you've became pretty happy with Yuuji and how he's able to come so far in Tokyo. He speaks greatly about his sensei and his new classmates known as Fushiguro and Kugasaki, who from the sound of it, are a bit of a handle but great friends who still treat him well. Every week when he had his day off, he would spend time on video call to talk to you and even show you cool things that he either found around the city or around the school's campus.

Tonight however..he was late. Sure, it didn't bother you really if he was punctual or on time since this was Yuuji we were talking about here but there was a tad bit of worry lingering in your head. Soon enough, as soon as that ugly feeling of worry and doubt began to surface, Yuuji's icon appeared on the screen on the laptop as it began to ring to which you quickly opened.

"Yuuji, hey— oh my god, your face." You said right away, gasping a little at the cuts and bruises littered not only on his face but from the looks of it, his arms and shoulders too. Has he been fighting? "What? Oh, oh! These! Yeah, Fushiguro and Gojou-Sensei kinda roughen me up a little today during training but it's no sweat, really! Barely feel a thing," Yuuji tried to give you a reassuring smile while patting his right shoulder only to wince a little in pain from the impact of the pat.

"First the weird scars on your face, now bruises? Dude, I get that this is a sports thing but don't you think it's a little extreme?"

Hearing the worry in your voice, Yuuji rubbed the back of his neck with his left hand nervously as he tried to think of a way to reassure you until a deep voice came from that same hand, chuckling softly.

"What's this? A woman talking to the brat...? How amusing." Sukuna.

Hearing the voice, Yuuji instantly flinched and lowered his arms out of the camera's view. Panic shot through his body as you stared at the screen with a raised brow. "Oh, is someone there with you now? Didn't know you had a roommate."

Oh good, you didn't see him. It wasn't as if he was afraid of you meeting Sukuna, he was afraid of telling you the truth about everything. About how he was now a vessel for ancient being, how he was studying cursed energy and jujutsu, how he died yet came back to life..dumping so much on you with the chance that you might never speak to him again out of fear, out of disgust. That you stop being his friend, and that he would never..he would never—

"Yuuji?" Tapping the screen a little on your laptop as it shook the camera, he soon stared back at you and laughed nervously. "O-oh right, he's only here for a little bit of time, so I figured what's really the point in telling you"

"Really now? Could've swore I was here to stay with you forever. You could at least introduce me to your friend here." Sukuna felt a great amusement watching Yuuji squirm just to keep you in the dark. Yuuji quickly began stammering on his words, throwing you off as he made a quick excuse to leave the call early. Before you could even say a single word, he clicked ended the facetime before sighing to himself and leaning back against his chair.

"...What is the point in keeping me hidden? We are practically one now, me as you and you as me, Brat." Sukuna said, his mouth now appearing on the left side of his cheek with the eyelid opening to stare up at the boy. "Are you scared of me paying your little toy a visit? Young and no doubt a virgin, I could have some fun with her—" Yuuji quickly slapped a hand against the mouth in attempt to hush the curse only for Sukuna to migrate to the hand.

"I won't let that happen, Sukuna." Yuuji said, frowning as he heard the curse chuckle. He didn't like the sound of how he described his bond to the soul sleeping inside of him, how they were one in the same. Shaking his head, the boy tried to reassure himself that he was nothing like Sukuna and simply went to turn off the lights and sleep on it. The last thing he heard before slumber took him were the ominous words of Sukuna,

"You'll see I was right soon enough, brat..."

A week later, Yuuji came back home to visit you. It was one of the days where the school allowed their students a break from their studies and classes and so he wanted to spend it with you as a surprise. And indeed you were surprised. When you had rushed downstairs, you did so wearing only a red sleeved t-shirt that the pink haired male might have left behind with a pair of gray shorts, and so when you opened the door to see the cheery face of your best friend well...it may have left you a bit flustered.

"Hey, Y/—" you quickly shut the door in his face, collapsing on your knees as you felt your cheeks beginning to burn. 'Why of all days, Itadori?!' You thought to yourself as she slowly stood back up and cracked the door open to see Yuuji's baffled face. He looked like a puppy..a sad puppy who was just kicked off his owner's bed and it broke you. Before long, he was now in your house and sitting in the living room couch while you were in the kitchen preparing tea. Your father was currently away on business while god knows what your mother was..it was just the two of you.

And it was awkward.

As you prepared tea on the kettle, Yuuji couldn't help but look at the shirt you were wearing as a small pink blush was lightly spreading on his cheeks. In a way, it filled him with a strange feeling seeing you walking around in something of his, seeing you wearing his shirt made him..prideful. didn't help with how short your shorts were either, it was practically hugging onto your as—

"So, it's just you? Dude, you should've told me you were coming! I would've been more prepared..I barely have any snacks or anything here right now." You grumbled, snapping his attention away to listen to what you were saying. "Hey, no worries, Y/N. Honestly, I'm just hungry for something else..." that last part through him off as he covered his mouth. That wasn't his voice. No, it was but that wasn't him speaking.

As he turned his head to the side to the balcony door, there the boy saw it in his reflection. The eye of Sukuna staring right back at him, causing him to quickly cover the eye.

"Huh? Alright, well what are you hungry for? Theres probably some ramen around here someone or we could just go out to a place to eat if you want.." you questioned, back turned away from him as you began to take the now whistling kettle off the stove. No, he couldn't deal with this now, not while you were only feet away from him. Yet the more he watched you in the reflection, the more he saw your curves in those pretty little shorts or your braless breasts bounce with ease under his stolen shirt...

Shaking his head, Yuuji soon stood up from the couch and placed on his jacket. "I'm sorry, N/N, But I have to go��"

"Wait what but–"

"Sorry, u-um, Gojou-Sensei said something came up and I have to go back! I'm sorry but I'll make it up to you— I promise!" Before you could even protest, he was already out of the door and gone. As he left, you could've swore you saw an eye on his cheek where one of his scars were but that was impossible, right?

-----------------------

He honestly had no idea where he was going to run off to but the boy knew that if Sukuna had a chance to take over and you were in front of him, would've hurt you or worse. Seeing your disappointed face yet again almost shattered his heart completely and when Yuuji finally came to a halt, he found himself beside a small stream and sighed. This was all for the best. It was to keep you safe, or so he kept telling himself.

"Damn, to think you would actually run away when she was begging for you to take her there. What a wimp.." Sukuka said, mouth manifesting on Yuuji's neck as his eye looks up at frowning boy. "Its not often you get an open invitation from a woman. If I was in control, I would've taken her then and there and ram my co‐" Yuuji quickly slapped a hand over the mouth as a faint blush appeared on his cheeks, him now thinking back to you and how pretty you looked wearing his shirt. "S-shut up. Don't go saying such gross crap."

"You know you feel the same. I can see that she affects you even now judging by the sight of your pants. You wanted to stuff her with your seed just as much as I did." Sukuna said, the mouth now on his hand. Much to Yuuji's surprise, his dark brown eyes quickly shot down to his pants and just as Sukuna said, there was a raging boner standing up at attention. Swallowing his guilt, he tried to cover it only for his pinky finger to slowly graze the fabric and giving his cock a small jolt. The boy hissed a little and quickly placed his hands to his side.

"I-i..I just.." "No need to be embarrassed. That girl isn't anything typically special but just seeing her, seeing her ass in such revealing clothing. Women of this era must be extremely dirty~" Sukuna chuckled "and hearing your thoughts, you certainly surprised me, Brat..." the more Sukuna spoke, the more Yuuji thought back to you. Seeing your breasts and ass was truthfully hot, even if you weren't exactly his type, he still found you beautiful. Slowly without him even noticing, his hand slowly motioned for his cock once more and in the silence of the forest, Yuuji Itadori thought only of you during his time in pleasure.

-----------------------

It wasn't until later on into the night that Yuuji had finally texted you back, saying he would back tomorrow to make things up with you. Sure, it did cheer you up that he would be back but the way he was acting lately made you feel like something was wrong. If you ever asked, he would change the subject or just smile at you awkwardly as if admitting to hiding something but you won't force him tell you what was wrong. When He was ready, he would tell you for sure and you'll wait for however long he wanted.

"N/N, Everything alright?" Yuuji asked, gaining your attention as you snapped back to the present and out of your thoughts. Looking around, you found yourself staring ahead at a bag of popcorn and the large bright ights of a ferris wheel constantly in motion. That's right, the local fairgrounds, Yuuji had wanted to go one more time before he returned back to Tokyo and since you always liked the food here, you of course said yes. "O-oh, yeah! I'm fine. Just looking ahead at the wheel. Remember last time we were here some kid ended up puking on Sasaki from a cart above us?"

"Haha! Yeah, she smelled of salty tuna for weeks afterwards and it left a stain on her uniform" He laughed, staring at the wheel as he thought about the memory. As you stared at him and watch his smile, it had then reassured you that this was still your best friend and you smiled back. For a moment, the two of you were having a blast at the small fair, playing some of the games set up by the booths (and being turned away after Yuuji broke a few with his strength..) it felt like old times all over again. "Wanna play another game or play at bumper carts? We still have some time to kill before you gotta go back?" You asked, carrying some of the plushie prizes the two of you (mainly Yuuji) earned, you looked over to your side and saw a cotton candy display before your attention turns back to Yuuji, The two of you decided just for a moment to sit down at a small metal bench to rest your feet for a moment

Seeing the display, an idea popped up in his head and the words of Gojou appeared in his mind. 'You want advice on how to swoon a girl? Well take small hints when she gives them to you, if her eyes are lingering on something then that's probably a sign she wants it—'. Seeing as how you kept looking up at the cotton candy, he thought this might have been his chance and sat down his own plushies. Without saying a word, Yuuji got up and walked over to the stand, leaving you there by the table alone with your horde of plush creatures.

Seeing you seating there at the bench by yourself, a group of punks who looked to be close to your age strolled up to you, two of them taking a seat on each side of you while the third one was standing right behind you. "Fine evening, isn't it, love. What's a sweet little thing like you doing here by yourself, you looking for some fun?" The purple haired male said on your left side, lowering his shades as he stared noticeably at your chest. "Actually, I'm here with a friend and this seat is for him so if you could jus—" "oh a 'friend'? But I don't see this friend now, so maybe you could tag along with us back to our place and we'll show you a fun time." The punk behind you said, his hands now pressed firmly on both of your shoulders as he leaned in a bit closer to you, causing you to flinch at his touch. "I, um.."

"N/N?"

Turning your head back to in front of you, you saw Yuuji there holding a blue and pink cotton candy stick and face emotionles. "N/N, huh? That's a cute name. This your friend, N/N?" The purple haired punk said, chuckling while rising from his seat "....." Yuuji remained silent for a bit as he stared off at the hands touching you, gripping onto your shoulder and clearly making you uncomfortable. He was typically known for being a calm guy but see this angered him beyond words.

'You see what they're doing to your woman, brat? You're just going to let it happen..?' Yuuji heard the inner words of Sukuna in his head, his eyes dart away from you to the guy standing in front of him, smirking as he touch the cotton candy from the pink haired boy's hand and taking a large bite of the webby treat. "This doesnt have to get rough, all you need to do is walk away and we'll show N/N-chan here a good time she'll never forget." He said, licking his tongue over his lips.

As Yuuji's lips parted, he heard a groan coming from you as you squirmed in the other guys hold with the second punk was now leaning into your neck. Seeing your frown of discomfort, they way they were touching what was rightful his , All he needed to hear were those small words from Sukuna.

'They're touching your woman, they're hurting her. Finish.. them.. off.'

Yuuji stood there for a moment, remaining silent as he lowered his hand, a shadow now cast over his face. Opening one of your eyes as you squirm in the punk's hold, you saw something that made your heart almost stop beating altogether. That smile on his face, that malevolent smile and empty eyes as he held onto the purple haired Male's now broken arm.

The next thing was a blur. The screams of your harassers echoed around you and you heard a wet sound looping over and over again as well as hard thuds. Opening your eyes, you saw it. Two of the thugs bloodied and bruised as their limbs were bent in ways you couldn't imagine, one of them dangling up above you on a tree branch while the other one was limp inside of the cotton candy stand. Looking around for the third one, you saw him behind held against one of the food stands while Yuuji was there gripping his hand over the punk's neck. You couldn't exactly show him any mercy and yet Yuuji was clearly taking things too far, even when the guy tried to beg for mercy and claw his way out of your friend's hold, all Yuuji did was stand there with a grin you've never seen before. It wasnt one of his innocent smiles or mischievous grins, no, it was one of pure sadism. "P-please stop, I'm sorry..I'm sorry.." "you didn't stop when she wanted you too, So why should I?" Yuuji tilted his head to the side a little, chuckling a little as his grip tightened and the man gasped out for air "you'll pay for what you did. You'll all fucking pay..."

The air in your chest almost stopped filling your lungs completely as you watch this. That wasn't the Yuuji you knew, he would've never went this far just to prove a point! Slowly taking a step forward and then another and then slowly speeding up, you reached out and held onto the arm Yuuji was holding the punk up with. "Yuuji, stop it! You'll kill him if you keep this up!" You yelled only to feel a blow strike your face and send you tumbling back a few feet, causing you to scream out in pain. "Stay out of this." Was all he said until freezing and slowly turning back to see what he had done.

Crimson was spilling from your nose onto your shirt and it was gushing out by the bucket to which you quickly covered as you stared up at Yuuji with teary eyes. Regret instantly overwhelmed him as he dropped the thug and slowly reached over to you, his senses coming back to him. "N/N?" He questioned, almost checking to see if you were alright but you backed away as he stepped over to you. What has he done..? Why did he..? He watched you slowly back away with each step, fear in your bright (E/C) eyes and it broke him. "Hey, w-what's wrong? I was only trying to protect them from you, you don't have to be scared."

As people began to crowd in, brought in by the noise of fighting and your scream, Yuuji hand ghosted over the skin of yourself shoulder and you flinched. You flinched at his touch..So many feelings began to overwhelm him that he didn't notice the look of horror in your eyes as you watched what thought were scars slowly twitch and open up, revealing bright red eyes staring directly at you.

"They were going to hurt you," 'She's scared of you now after all you've done' "I saved you! They won't touch you like that again!" 'She sees you for what you are, brat.' "I just wanted to keep you safe!" With each yell, Yuuji watched as you grew more and more scared, the people around all of you terrified as they watched and some even grabbing whatever they could that could be a weapon. Gripping his head as he felt an intense pain through his skull, it was then he noticed..how small you looked as he towered over you. When did you get so small? He thought to himself, bending down to grab you when he saw his arm.

His nails were a dark purple shade, sharper and three black markings were on his wrist. Turning his head a little to one of the booth's and staring into the window was when the truth hit Yuuji hard. His body was different and taller now for some reason and Sukuna's markings were slowly appearing over his face. He was..slipping?

"Y-yuuji, what the hell is happening to you.." he heard you whisper yet before he could respond, there was the sharp pain of something blunt hitting his shoulder. Looking to his feet, he saw a medium sized rock and there another and another. The people were launching what they could at him, yelling at him to leave the girl alone and to leave. Yelling for his death, calling him a monster, calling him a curse. He stared at you for a moment, seeing how now tears leaking from your eyes and Yuuji stepped away before fleeing.

"Yuuji, wait!!" He heard your frantic yell from behind him but it didn't slow him down as he kept running further into the distance and leaving you behind. Your yells becoming drowned out by the mad laughter of Sukuna echoing in his mind.

-----------------------

No, he didn't want this at all. The day was meant to go differently, it was meant to be just the two of you having fun together and end with the ferris wheel and him finally telling you that he...

Thunder crackled outside of the decrepit shrine the boy had taken shelter in, rain pouring outside by the gallons. As he watched the raindrops in silence, Yuuji saw how the scenery slowly began to shift around him as the sky became more malevolent and the cold concrete he was sitting on now a pool of crimson water with piles on top of piles of bones surrounded him. The memories of the fairground echoed in his mind over and over again on loop of him hitting you and your look of fear haunting him, causing his eyes to water.

"Aw, are you going to cry, brat..?"

Yuuji remained silent as he waited for Sukuna to appear at any moment, yet he never came, only his voice lingered around him. "This is all of your fault.." Yuuji whispered, staring off into the rain. "My fault? I don't understand. If I recall, you were to one who eat my finger. You were the one who signed up for being my vessel, everything that has been done was all you..I merely watched from here."

"Bullshit! You made me hurt her..you made me like this!" Yuuji screamed out, flashes of who he did to those thugs showing through his mind, "You made me hurt them!"

"...No, that was all you. You can blame me all you want but I felt what you felt, saw what you saw and you loved every second of that fight. Whipping those who displease you in place, kicking the asses of the men who touched what was yours. Gotta say, made me tear up watching everything unfold" Hear the curse's chuckle echo around in the shrine, Yuuji quickly stood up and yelled out for Sukuna to show himself, only for him to collapse on his knees when feeling an sharp pain in his torso.

"No need to show myself, I'm already with you as close as I can."

Gritting his teeth in pain it was then that Yuuji saw his reflection staring back at him in the water, grinning ear to ear with malice in those sharp fangs.

"You see , Brat, becoming my vessel didn't just mean I was trapped inside of you..no no..You would slowly become me. Your small soul means shit compared to mine and it will be swallowed whole by me. I just needed us to be bound for some time and you would be mine..."

As the reflection spoke to him, Yuuji screamed out in pain as he felt his bones inside of him crack and twist as if they were rearranging themselves. His stomach felt as if it was being cut open entirely as the flesh began to slowly pull apart while tearing open the yellow hoodie in the process, the meat of his torso was forced open as a tongue lulled out and licked his abs like they were lips. The sides of his waist felt as if someone was taking a pair of axes and were merely swinging it down as flesh began to bubble through and bones formed one by one until two new pair of arms were fully shaped. Taking a deep breath, Yuuji slowly chuckled as one of his hands reached up to his head and gripped it and the others wrapped around his waist.

"N-no..no..i.."

"You should be honoured, Yuuji. You get the privilege of becoming one with me, my power is now yours and yours mine." His lips, against his will, began to speak the words of Sukuna as they formed into a forced grin. "N-no..I haven't told her yet. I haven't told N/N that I love—"

"Yuuji?"

Once when he blinked, Yuuji found himself no longer in the shrine but sitting inside of his desk in his old desk with you standing beside him. Seeing you before him, safe and smiling at him, the boy quickly stood up and wrapped his arms around you which took you for surprise in the process but you simply allowed him to let it all out when you hugged him back. "Well hello to you too, welcome back to earth, how was your trip to space..?" You said, chuckling before feeling something wet on your shoulders. His tears.

"Y/N..I..I'm sorry. I'm so sorry for everything, I should've told you everything. I should'nt have hit you. I just wanted to protect you because...because...I love you!" His words surprised you but you simply smile. "I love you too, Yuuji."

Staring back down at the reflection before him of the boy hugging onto you tightly as he weeped, dark brown eyes shift to that of a bright velvet shade. Sukuna chuckled while stretching out his newly formed body. How good it felt to be back in control, to have actual flesh again and to see this brand new world all to himself. Sure, his power was not what it used to be but he would regain all of his fingers soon enough. As his domain faded away and he found himself back in the decrepit old shrine, he smirked to himself while debating his next order of business.

"Y/N L/N...Maybe I should do this body a favor and seize you for my own."

-----------------------

He wouldn't answer any of your calls or texts. No one has heard or seen of him but now there was a witch hunt for your best friend. As you laid in your dimly lit bedroom with bandages over your nose, you stared down at your phone anxiously awaiting something from Yuuji.

Ring~~~

Ring~~~

Hearing the sound of your phone vibrating, you quickly shot up from the covers an grabbed the phone, unlocking it right away and placing it to your ear.

"Hello?" There was nothing but silence on the other end, the soft howling of the wind being the other thing you could really make out. "Hello..?"

"N/N.." your heart practically stopped for a moment but you felt almost a wave of relief hearing his voice on the other line. "Oh thank god, Yuuji..Are you ok—" "N/N, open the window." Was all he said before then line went dead and you were left sitting there baffled. Did he make it back to your house? Slowly crawling out of the bed and slipping on your bedroom slippers, you walked over towards the window and moved the blinds down only a little to peep outside. Standing there in your backyard, shirtless and with his hands in his pockets was Yuuji, seemingly back to normal and everything. There were not increased height, no weird markings, he looked fine and apart of you wondered if it was just the force of his punch that made you see him change. No..because everyone else saw his appearance too.

Taking a deep breath, you lifted up the blinds and unlatched the window. The second that it was free and opened up, Yuuji had jumped above onto the roof and crawled inside to your room. "Y-yuuji, you have a lot of explaining to do— Whoa, whoa!" You took a step back cautiously but he soon grabbed ahold of your wrist and pulled you close to his chest, wrapping his arms around your waist and resting his head in the crook of your neck. "I know I do, but first I just want to say I'm sorry to you, Y/N. I never meant to hurt you.." he said, whispering in a soft tone as his hold on you tighten a bit.

"I'm leaving here after tonight but I just had to see you to tell you that I..I love you. I love you, Y/N" Taken back by his words, you felt yourself being pushed onto your bed and watched as the boy loomed over you before crawling onto the mattress.

He loved you. Those words practically made your heart skipped over so many times that you were positive that you had stopped breathing. "Let me come with you, Yuuji." You said, reaching up to his face and caressing his cheeks, "I don't know what's happening but you can trust me. I won't let you go through this alone and I'll always be here with you."

He didn't say much after that. All he did was lower his head a little until your lips were merely inches away from each other before he pressed them together. The sensation you felt was one like fireworks. Those butterflies in your stomach exploding and multiplying over and over again as you felt his tongue licking your bottom lip but you pulled away before he could fully explore your mouth.

"Always..? So you will always stay with me, N/N?" He whispered, head dipping down to your neck as he left a trail of kisses down your warm skin until he kissed the base of your throat. "Yeah..I will." "Do you swear..?" His hands began to grip your hips, running the tips of his fingers against your clothed thighs while he began to press his own hips to your own.

"I-I swear.." you said, staring up at Yuuji with a small smile. He stared at you for a moment, smiling down at you before sitting up, his large hand covering the upper half of his face.

"That's all I need to make you mine." Sliding his hand upwards was when you saw it. Those spare eyes once again on Yuuji's cheeks, staring at you as if it you were nothing but glass. That sincere smile that calmed your soul became a mischievous grin, showing the sharpened fangs he now had. You watched as those pitch blackp markings began to spread over his skin and yet the moment you sat up, two fully grown arms pinned you down onto the mattress. "Almost as naive as the brat himself but I suppose there is some charm to the naivete of a woman. Makes it easier to influence, to change.." 'Yuuji' said, dipping his head down to your ear before biting down on the lobe of it. You gasped out, squirming in his hold.

"Let me go, Yuuji! I don't know what's going on but I want to help! Just let me help you!" You yelled out to him but soon silenced yourself as you noticed the scenery of your bedroom changing. All of your furniture began to disappear one by one as a red hue began to spread around the two of you

In the blink of an eye, you were taken to Sukuna's innate domain. The water that replaced the softness of your bed now causing your back to soaked and your hair now spread out and floating in the depths. "Yell all you want but that brat can't hear you anymore. Gone forever in a dream that will never come true, but I promise I will keep you company in his stead. By the time I am done with you, will forget all about him. All you'll want is me, all you'll ever need is me. The name Ryomen Sukuna will burned into your soul and you'll learn to worship me, N/N..."

With a single swing, the soft yet wet cotton fabric of your shirt and shorts was torn off of you with ease and revealed your now exposed flesh to the cold. Sukuna stared down at them, his tongue licked over his long and sharp fangs as his eyes motioned down to your folds. His hand traveled down your thighs before his finger swiped against the outer circle of your lips yet he looked displeased from what he felt. "Dry as a drought but that's fine. I'll be fucking you regardless" he said, his index finger slowly pushing inside of your virgin cunt causing you to gasp out for air and arch your back. "You tighten just now, dirty whore...Did you often fantasise Yuuji stuffing his cock inside of you...?" he whispered into your ear intimately, he kissed the bottom of your ear and moved onto your neck, sucking until he found the soft spot that made you inhale deeply. 

Sukuna sucked on your neck while constantly kept inserting his finger in you, pumping in and out, eventually adding a second digit. He curled his fingers and caused you let out a faint moan as his finger crept closer to your sweet spot over and over. It was too much, you thought as he bit down onto your soft skin, and you were feeling so good from it so far and it made you ashamed. this demon, this thing was in your best friend's body and now he was using it to currently assault your body but the feeling of it all was too good. You had to keep your eyes shut for looking up at Sukuna tugged at your heart as all you saw was Yuuji.

"Oh you are loving this..." parting from your neck,he looked pleased seeing the angry red hickey left behind.

"I-im not...I'm not..." A moan escaped your lips, feeling something wet replace his fingers. Lifting your head, you saw a mouth on the palm of his hand and its tongue gently licking the nub of your clit almost like a lollipop. "Feels good, doesn't it, N/N..?" His tone was nothing less than mocking, the mouth taking ahold of one of your lips with its teeth causing you to scream out. "I said, it feels good doesnt it? Speak when your master is speaking to you. "

"Y-yes! It feels amazing!" You tasted so sweet on his tongue, circling your clit, lapping at your clenching entrance, kissing your folds. "A-Ah~" You whimper when he folds your legs to your chest, He takes another nip at your clit, as he listened to your hushed whines. Your moans were music to his ears, yet what he wanted from you was his name. The thought of his former vessel's love screaming his name turned him on, the thought of keeping you only fueling the flames. It was harder and harder for him to contain hisself when you're drowning in the pleasure of his mouth licking and sucking at your sloppy pussy.

"I'll take you as mine. You'd like that wouldn't you? Being the woman of the king of curses, waiting for me to return to fill you to the brim." sweat felt like it was pooling out of your body from the attention he was giving to on your clit. Your bucking hips were a clear sign that you were close and so, he pulled his hand away.

"You don't get to come yet. You're only allowed to when you're milking my cock."

The things he did to were things no man has ever done before. Scratches and cuts littered your flesh and bruises were on your sore ass and stomach. There a few times to where you had even blacked out from the amount of pleasure he had given you..

Now you found yourself with you riding his swollen cock as he stared up at you with satisfied eyes, grunting while large hands were pressed against your abused breasts as his hips pumped up into your leaking cunt. Your head felt like it was spinning as you screamed out, orgasm crashing hard as your cunt tightened around his shaft.

As you felt his throbbing cock inside of you, his hand grabbed ahold of your chin and your lips made contact. Sukuna only pulled away when he silently cursed, his seed releasing inside of you for what felt like the billionth time. Taking a deep breath, he stayed inside of your warm hole, not wanting a single drop to spill and kissed your cheek.

Fucking you only assured his choice of keeping you as he own. Sukuna was going to original kill you while taking Yuuji's appearance after taking you but holding you close like this as you soon became limp (no doubt exhausted), your warmth against his own and staring down at your cum stained face..it made something inside him feel strange.

A weakness no doubt, but one at the moment that could keep him entertained. Combing a loose strand of hair behind your ears, Sukuna chuckled.

"From this day forth, you will be my bride. Consider yourself lucky..."

[tohruhondaismydaughter]

Just had some headcanons about Machi pop into my head that I wanted to share with yall. So we know this poor girl struggles with "perfect"/neat things right? Well I was thinking about some healthy coping mechanisms she could develop to replace the whole 'breaking property/living in a dump' thing & here's what I got so far -

1. She always tries to wear odd socks (unless she's invited somewhere nice)

2. Ayame & Mine help her find cool asymmetrical stuff to wear, how to make clashing colours/patterns work for her & teach her how to sew up her old clothes in a more "punk rock" way (after Yuki & Kakeru explain some of her issues with perfection)

3. Tohru gently points out that she dosn't have to tie her laces the same way on both shoes if she dosn't want to

4. Haru & Rin (awkwardly on her part) teach her the power of acessorising (ie. wearing only one earing, putting on an uneven amount of bracelets/rings/necklaces, adding paper clips of different sizes & colours to your clothing & Machi later ends up adding stuff like buttons to her outfits/belongings as well which Haru & Rin are tottally surppotive of despite thier difference in style) & hair/makeup which (thanks to Yuki's advice) they make sure to keep slightly messy (Kimi laughed at it at first until Momiji made her feel bad after he told her that Machi had gone to the bathroon & wiped off all the make up & undid the hair style so Kimi bought her some limited edition Mogeta merch, after asking for Yuki's advice, in apolgey & started referring to Machi's new hair/makeup style as "punk chic" whenever anyone tried to mock Machi about her new look)

5. her & Momiji go on a crazy tie dying adventure (much to Hatori's grumbling & Mayu's amusement)

6. Kormaki gets her into collecting second hand fridge magnets which she then later uses in her work (my version of post-serise Machi is an artist) once the magnetism finally wears off

7. Kagura teaches her how to fix up old plushies (Machi likes creating Mogeta inspired characters) & gives Machi all her old cat ones to work on (Machi descides not to ask why Yuki's cousin was seemingly once obssesd with orange cats because she looks rather embrassed & a little sad when she hands over her collection)

8. Kyo reluctantly teaches her how to cook a few simple dishes (Tohru comes over as well & Yuki insists her food is better but Machi prefers Kyo's simple style of presentation so it's eventually descided that Kyo & her will do the cooking & Tohru & Yuki will deal with the cleaning which Yuki agrees to becuse cleaning is still difficult for Machi but Kyo says it's actually because no matter how much Tohru tried to train him rat boy knows he would never be able to do anything in the kitchen but burn water)

9. Kakeru teaches her the skills of 'excessive badge & sticker decorating' as well as giving eachother fake tattoos (Kisa congratulates Hiro on not saying anything rude to Yuki's girlfriend about her appreance after they first meet her)

10. Cuts her hair short (she delibretly makes it very choppy) once she enters university, where the rules are less strict about your apprence (at least it is if your at art college), & she also regulary wears diffrent coloured wigs (her favourites being a dark red one & a rainbow one) whenever she wants to temporarily change her appearance (beacuse she didn't want to commit to just one look, still wanted to have the ability to quickly "become invisable" again & she heard from Kimi that exsseive hair die-ing could permantly destroy her hair & scalp) it takes her until she's 30 to try out shaving all her hair off (she worried she'd look sick/crazy or not feminine enough) & everyone's really surppotive (though Kimi dose cry a bit, Rin & Haru aren't there when her hair is being shaved & Kyo is a slightly confused as he'd always thought women liked having longer hair then guys) especially Ritsu (who's growing out thier hair again) & they all throw her a big party (Haru & Rin are there for the party bit just not the hair removal bit because it brought up some bad memories) where Kakeru films it & posts it (with Machi's permission) & they give her cut off hair to a charity chosen by all thier followers (despite her disbelief Machi has manged to gain a small group of loyal fans from all her art stuff & her apprences on her loved ones social media), Kakeru also later uploads a video where they help Machi rainbow dye her buzz cut, (she later explores many diffrent types of buzz cut patterns such as flowers & geometric shapes but, at Kimi's insistence, gets them done by a professional)

11. She recycles & D.Y.I's like crazy (Momiji started singing Do Re Mi from The Sound Of Music after she told him that her new dress was actually made from curtains & Yuki cried when she gave him a little rat plushie made from felt, after he came clean to her about the curse)

12. She almost never wears an apron while working on her art because she likes getting messy

13. When her & Yuki go out to eat she loves things like fondoe (both the chocolate & cheese kind), eat N mess & is genreually just a fan of finger food & it becomes a tradition between her & Yuki (& later Mutsuki) to go on a stroll through the park after thier meal & (if it's autumn) look for piles of leaves to jump in (Machi & Yuki also like playing a game where they try to look for the weirdest looking leaf to give eachother & whoever wins gets to pick what they'll eat for dinner that evening & the looser has to cook it, Mutsuki is the "impartial" judge)

14. Machi is amazing at scrapbooking & collarge making (Tohru is more of a dream journal kind of girl)

15. When it's Summer her, Yuki & Mutsuki go down to the beach to see who can find the weirdest looking rocks (the less impressive ones often get used in Machi's art work, the coolest ones Mutsuki gets to keep & any that are too perfect get tossed back in the ocean & Mutsuki likes to score the splashes they make on how big/loud they are)

16. She loves helping Yuki out with gardening for lots of reasons (it's therapeutic & she loves seeing Yuki happy) but she can't deny it's also just fun getting muddy

17. Machi, thanks to Kakeru, devolpes a love of paint ball (but instead of using guns they just throw the paint at eachother like in 10 Things I Hate About You because apparently the gun pellets actually hurt) & will bring it up as an activity idea to her loved ones any chanse she gets

18. Decorates as much of her flat (& later her home with Yuki & Mutsuki) with Mogeta merchandise, random things she collects & her own art work as a big fuck you to her bitch "you have 0 personality/hobbies or talents" of a mother

19. Kisa (happily) & Hiro (reluctantly) introduce Machi to the magic of glitter

20. Machi & Rin eventually become proper friends due to bonding over being abounded by their asshole parents & one of the things they like to do together is work on thier seprete art peices while listening to music (Machi dosn't do any of her "aggressive" art, like plate smashing, around Rin though thanks to Yuki & Haru warnings)

21. When stuff gets to be too much & none of thier other coping strategies are working (like watching Mogeta stoned- which Kisa, Tohru & Momiji do not partake in) Machi & Haru bond by going to rage rooms together to destroy shit & scream (Haru obviously dosn't want Rin around for any of that though so Momiji, Tohru, Kagura or Hana will often take the opportunity to hang out with her, one time Yuki offered & it wasn't bad but it was definitely awkward as they had never really hung out without Haru before & Haru teases her for ages afterwards about her ending up liking Yuki once she actually spent some time with him which, like the precious tsundere she is, Rin will forever deny)

22. (I actually made a whole seprete post about this ages ago but now it seems to have vanished so in case other Machi fans are unable to find it l'll add it here) on the days that it's supposed to snow but dosn't Yuki takes her (& later Mutsuki) skating so she can enjoy scratching up the perfectly smooth ice (they would have gone on double dates with Tohru & Kyo if Tohru wasn't freaked out at the idea of having blades on her shoes & Kyo hadn't claimed to "not trust" ice, he's dislike comes from all the times Kagura had forced him to ice skate with her on the lake near Kazuma's place in the winter when they were kids, so they would instead go with Haru & Momiji - they had thought about going with Haru x Rin & Kakeru x Kormaki once but he proudly revealed that he'd been banned from thier local ice rink years ago for trying "perfectly safe" Olympic level stunts in he's attempt to recreate one of he's favriote episodes of Power Rangers, much to he's fiancee's anger, & Machi reminded Yuki that though Haru & Kakeru were fine with eachother Rin isn't reall able to stand Kakeru for longer than 5 minuites)

[football-writing]

Mason Mount - believe in me

Warning: contains mentions of mental health issues and depictions of a panic attack. Also is generally a bit of an angsty one so if you're not comfortable with reading any of that please skip this! And if you yourself are struggling with mental health, I'm always here for you! <3

*also panic attacks can differ from person to person so please take everything i've written with a grain of salt lmao

He was franctically looking for his car keys after the texts he had gotten from her.

"Mase can you come over?

i need u

please"

Double texting wasn't a rare occurence between the two of them, but the tone of texts made worry take over as he quickly texted her back that he'd be there soon.

And as soon as he found his keys, he was sprinting for his car and driving as fast as he legally could to get to her apartment, cursing as he couldn't find a parking spot quick enough for his liking. Then running up the stairs, taking two steps at a time to get to her as soon as possible.

Her door was open already, something she always did when she knew he was coming over, despite him scolding her for it everytime because he was scared someone was gonna break in and hurt her.

Those thoughts were on the back of his mind now as he rushed in, finding her sitting in front of her couch with her knees up to her chest, hugging them tight as her forehead was rested on top of them, shielding her face. Papers were spread around her, some crumbled up in balls, others thrown a few feet in front of her. The mess that was her apartment was a red flag for him, but it didn't shock him as much as the state she was in. Her breaths came out hard and fast as she barely could breath between her erratic sobs.

He stood frozen as he watched her. As quick as he got here, he had no idea what to do when he saw her like that. His chest tightened at seeing her like this, and he was ready to fight whichever bastard caused her to feel this way. Yet the rational side of him knew that that was of no use to her now. But what was? What was he supposed to do when his she was this upset? Sure he'd seen her upset before. But not like this.

He realised he couldn't just stand there either, and so took a few steps towards her. The sound of his footsteps alerted her of his presence, and she looked up through watery eyelashes. Her pale face stained with rundown mascara from her tears, her lips quivering as she silenced her sobs for a short moment to look at him. Yet as soon as she made eyecontact with him, and opened her mouth to try to explain what was going on, or apologise for the state she was in, a loud sob escaped, her breath stocking in her throat as tears flooded her eyes once again.

This time he didn't freeze, although his heart ached just as bad, if not worse. He took another couple of steps until he was right next to her, crouching down as his eyes remained focused on her form.

"Hey sweetheart. Shh, it's okay. Can I hug you, baby?" His tone was soft as he asked her, yet she shook her head vigorously and squeezed her eyes shut tightly at his question as her breathing instantly became more uneven, and he thought she was going to faint if her breathing came out any faster than it did now.

But how was he going to comfort her when she didn't want him to hold her?

It was then that he remembered one of his mates telling him about a panic attack he had, how he couldn't think straight, or breathe, barely utter out a coherent sentence as his mind had wandered to awful things, and although it had sounded rough to him at the time, seeing her like this made him fully recognise how terrifying it is. He wished he had asked his mate more about it, then, so he knew what to do. Although he had no idea how to start such a conversation with him. Nor with her, for that matter.

So he did what he thought would help her most. He picked up some of the papers spread out around her, neatly stacking them together as he emptied a space next to her. Enough so he could sit down there, his back against the couch just like hers. Soothing words spilled from his lips in an attempt to calm her down. He almost reached out a hand to touch her, rub her back soothingly, or stroke her hair to make sure it didn't get in her face. Yet he withheld his urge to do so, even if it was the most natural way for him to comfort her.

"Hey. You don't have to say anything, okay? It's gonna be okay, I'm here. Shh, it's okay, love. I'm not going anywhere."

His soothing words did nothing to ease her mind, her cries coming out more ragged than before. He had no idea how he could've possibly made it worse, and panicked as to what to say next. Instead, she started speaking, her words cut off by devestating sobs and hiccups and gasps as she tried to take in as much air as she could.

"I thought I had it under control but- but I don't and everyone hates me now. Everyone hates me! And there's too much and- I don't have time and everything is messed up and I don't know how to goddamn fix it - I can't fucking fix it. I don't know what to do- I can't do it, Mase. I can't do it." She repeated those last few words over and over like she was stuck in a bad mantra, her voice raw and loud and full of pain.

"Hey, babygirl. Shush, it's okay. No one hates you, alright. I wouldn't be here if I did, right?" He tried to reason with her, tried to swallow the lump in his throat and steady his voice, not wanting to let on how much it affected him. It would do her no good. "Just keep breathing, yeah. Deep breaths, babygirl, just like that." He said as he demonstrated how to do it. It took her a good few minutes to get her breathing under control again, but he was patient with her as he kept guiding her, words of encouragement filling the air every time her breathing threathened to become unsteady again.

After her breathing became steady, as steady as it could, her sobs still continued. Her eyes spilling tear after tear that ran down her cheeks only to be caught by the sleeves of her sweater that her chin rested upon.

"I'm such a failure. I can't even function properly and look at me! Look at the mess I made!" She cried out exasperated. "I'm so worthless Mase. You shouldn't even be here, I just bring you down. I'm no good Mason. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry."

"Y/N," He tone was commanding, forcing her to look up at him. He kept eye contact as he spoke. "If you cannot believe in yourself, believe in me. You are the most wonderful, funny, intelligent and allround beautiful person I know. You are not a failure. At all. Whatever this is, we can fix it, okay? I got you, and we'll figure it out together. I'm not going anywhere."

His words were reassuring enough for her to steady her breathing, which eased the tight feeling in his chest. She lifted her head too, instead opting to sit back against the couch completely, the back of her head resting on the seat.

"Can you-" a sob interrupted her softspoken words "distract me?" A whispered 'please' followed her question as she turned her face to look at him. Her eyes were puffy and red, as were her cheeks. She still looked incredibly upset, but her sobs were less loud, and she seemed to have calmed down considerably from the state she was in when he found her.

"Yeah. Of course." He smiled softly at her.

"Do you want me to tell you about my day?"

She nodded as she wiped her nose with the sleeve that was pulled over the back of her hand.

And so he told her all about what he had been up to. It felt weird talking about his day, after all it had been quite decent up until her text. Still, he tried to talk as animatedly as he could, knowing it would cheer her up. He told her about how his sister had texted him pictures of her daughter's birthday cake, or what was left of it as her daughter had eaten it. With her bare hands, that is. Her hands that she had also somehow rubbed over the entire dining table and parts of the couch.

The story got a small chuckle out of her, and after a few more sniffles she seemed to have stopped crying. Yet he told her about his training too, in hopes of hearing her beautiful laugh ring throug his ears once again. He told her about how him and some of his teammates had dared Ben to get in the washing machine, and locked him up for a bit too. How funny he looked through the little window of the machine, how one of his mates had nearly pissed himself laughing so hard, and how Thiago had come in with no clue what was going on, having the most confused look on his face as he saw Ben stuck in the washing machine. The others laughing even harder, some of them with tears in their eyes.

The story made a smile appear on her face, but it wasn't until he showed her the video on his phone that she actually let out a small laugh. She had scooted closer to him, resting her head on his shoulder to watch the video.

Somewhere along the whole ordeal he had resorted to pulling his knees up, rubbing his own shins in comfort instead of reaching out to her. It was instinctual, really, and he hadn't even noticed he was doing it, or still doing it, until she rested her hand atop of his, stopping his movement in the process.

"Sorry for scaring you. And saying no to the hug." She said sincerely after a few beats of silence, her voice still hoarse from crying, her fingers intertwining with his.

"Hey, no apologising for any of this, okay?" His voice was stern; he absolutely did not want her to feel guilty.

"Sorry." Although he couldn't see her face, and her voice still sounded strained, he knew she was smiling as she said it. Their usual teasing being back on meant she was okay. As much as she could be okay at this very moment.

"What did I just say, huh?" He joked as he put his arm around her, squeezing her tightly for a second before tracing soothing patterns on her upper arm with his indexfinger.

"You have these often?" His voice was more gentle than before, his tone serious again as he stilled his movements in anticipation of her answer.

"Yeah, sometimes. They come and go, really." She confessed.

"How come you never told me?"

"I don't know. Just never came up. S'not something you just blurt out." She shrugged as if it wasn't a big deal, and he was quiet for a few beats before replying.

"I wouldn't have judged you, you know that, right?"

She hummed in response.

"Just want to make sure I know what to do to help you. How to make it more bearable for you."

"This was alright." Her voice was small, but his heart still warmed at her words.

He continued his tracing patterns on her arm then, as he contemplated what to say next.

"You want to talk about why it happened?" He could feel her tense under him as the question spilled from his mouth, and he scrunched up his nose in frustration as he cursed himself. Did he have to ask that and make her upset again?

"Not really. If that's okay?"

"Of course, love. I'm sorry. We don't have to talk about anything alright. We can do whatever you want. I'll do whatever you want my dear."

"Can we sit on the couch instead, then? My butt hurts from sitting on the floor." He let out a loud laugh at her sudden boldness. He knew they'd have another talk about it soon, once she wasn't as overwhelmed with emotions, and he hoped it wouldn't be necessary, but he wanted to learn more. Why she was stressed, what he could do to help her, both in situations like these, but also to prevent her from feeling like this at all.

"Will you cuddle with me, Mase?" She had made herself comfortable on the couch and grabbed the remote to look for something to watch on the telly, presumably her comfort series. Her voice cracked as she asked the question, and Mason smiled at that.

"I'll get you a glass of water first, 'ight?"

"And my blanket, please. It's in the right cupboard over there." She pointed to the right place as she smiled innocently at him. He rolled his eyes playfully at her request, pretending it was a mighty challenging request, and she stuck out her tongue in response. He also pretended not to hear her muttering something about spoiled footballers.

Still, it put a smile on his face. Even if she was still upset, knowing she could joke around with him, and felt comfortable enough doing so, meant that she wasn't in that bad place anymore. At least for now. He didn't want to risk her getting another panic attack while he wasn't there to help her though, so he opted to stay with her for the rest of the day and not moan about her jokes of him being a stereotypical footballer like he usually would.

It's not like he minded it all too much, anyway.