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#when he KNEW her because he KNEW they were related and he KNEW who her dad was and HE'S her uncle william SHE'S wendy carter you KNOW me yo
afterglowsainz · 2 days
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i'mgonnagetyouback | max verstappen
summary: after you and max broke up you released an album about it and when you go on tour, you didn't expected max to be there front row after being dragged by his new girlfriend's daughter
warnings: none
word count: 877
a/n: this is kinda told in max's pov (?, also heavily inspired on taylor's eras tour and i slightly changed the lyrics of the song to relate it a bit more to max
the tortured athletes department series
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the lights were out in the stadium but there was barely any darkness. the lights of flashes from phones and twinkling colored light bracelets illuminated the allegiance stadium in las vegas, every person there waiting for the one and only y/n y/l/n.
if you would’ve told max months ago that he was gonna be at her ex-girlfriend’s sold out concert the same weekend he was racing in vegas, he would’ve laughed in your face. but here he was, waiting with the other 69,000 people for her to show up on stage and sing all her hit songs, including the ones that she wrote about him after their breakup.
he had to remind himself that the only reason he was doing this was because of his new girlfriend's daughter, who begged them for weeks to take her to y/n’s concert or she would simply die. she was y/n’s biggest fan because, of course, karma had to do that to max. so there he was, in the vip section of the stadium without y/n’s knowledge, next to his new girlfriend and her daughter.
the lights on the bracelets turned off and the stadium went a bit darker than before, announcing the start of the show. when a huge clock on the stage came up and it reached the number zero, y/n came out singing the first song of the concert and the crowd went wild. max was immediately mesmerized by her. she hadn’t changed much since they broke up, that much he noticed, and she was as beautiful as ever.
he had to control himself not to sing along to her songs to not give his girlfriend a bad impression, even though her daughter was singing all her songs by heart. he just nodded and move along with the rhythm, avoiding the gaze of his girlfriend who was very well aware of her boyfriends history with the singer on stage.
y/n was singing her most famous songs and a few that were more lowkey, and when they reached the acoustic set of the concert, she was carrying a wide smile while playing a few keys on the piano. max smiled at the sight of her.
“hello, vegas!” she shouted at the microphone, making the whole stadium scream. “welcome to the acoustic set.” she smiled. “i’ve been meaning to sing different surprise songs every night, some that i haven’t played in a while, some others brand new. this one particularly is from my new album, i hope you enjoy it.”
max stopped breathing for a second. it was very well known with the public that y/n’s new album was about their breakup and she hadn’t sung any of those songs until tonight. he didn’t know what to do with himself or how to behave, so he simply crossed his arms and stood a bit further into the vip section. in the location he was he had a perfect view of her, but she hadn’t seen him all night.
soon enough y/n start singing one of the songs from the new album that max new for a fact was about him. he hadn’t listen to the whole album because he just didn’t want to relieve the breakup. in his defense he did try to give it a listen, but it was just to overwhelming for him so he had to stop listening mid-album, but this one he knew.
Lilac short skirt / The one that fits me like skin
max submerged himself in the lyrics and y/n’s incredibly familiar voice. only now she wasn’t singing just for him, but for thousands of people.
Whether I'm gonna be your wife or / Gonna smash up your car, I / Haven't decided yet / But I'm gonna get you back
a rebel smile appeared on his face, incapable of hiding how much she meant to him, how much he had missed her. seeing her there, singing her heart out on stage for a crowd of people who were crazy about her, god, how could he lost her?
I can feel it comin', hummin' in the way you move / Push the reset button, we're becoming something new / Say you got somebody, I'll say, "I got someone too" / Even if it's handcuffed, I'm leaving here with you
the smile on her face while singing the song she wrote made his smile even greater. he didn’t know the song fully like his girlfriend’s daughter, but he knew; he lived it, just as much as she did. in that moment in time, he felt connected to her in a level that no one in the stadium was.
I hear the whispers in your eyes / I'll make you wanna think twice / You'll find that you were never not mine / I'm gonna get you back
when the song finished, the multitude exploited in praise and y/n’s smile grew on her face. max completely forgot about everyone else and joined the crowd, screaming for her and applauding. y/n stood up from the piano and did a small bow before leaving the stage for her next set of songs.
it was as clear as day for max and it struck him like lightning. he was gonna get her back.
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So High School (Spencer Reid x Reader)
a/n: It’s me, hi, so I’m kind of back, although I’ve decided to expand my horizons and also write for Doctor Spencer Reid from Criminal Minds; either way, I hope you like this little writing🤭💕
This one shot is inspired by So High School by Taylor Swift from The Tortured Poets Department, which is my current obsession, so if you are swifties, I hope you guys catch the references 🫶🏼
This is season 2 Spencer, cause I just really dig the shy-sweet vibe
This is not proofread, as it’s 2 am, but I couldn't stop
y/n – your name
Warnings: Friends to lovers (kindish), mentions of alcohol
Word count: 2,409
My Masterlist
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Working at the BAU wasn’t easy, but every now, and then you’d have days when all you had pending was paperwork, and you’d catch a break. Like right now, sure, you still had a couple of reports to get through, but overall the mood seemed relaxed, even if you’d been working nonstop for the last 24 hours.
You were typing your reports and sporadically, you’d catch a glance of Spencer Reid’s concentrated face, whose desk was in front of you. Sure, you were work friends, but deep down you knew you had a small crush on the twenty-five-year-old Doctor. Your thoughts were starting to fly away, thinking about Spencer's hair, framing his delicate features, his big eyes, which seemed to move frantically over the computer screen, the way he bit the inside of his cheek when he was invested into his work, and the way his brows were crunching, making small wrinkles in his forehead; when suddenly, your train of thought was interrupted.
“You know what we should do? We should play kiss, marry, kill” Penelope suggested way too loudly coming into the bullpen with a huge grin and walking frantically to your desk.
“What are you even saying?” exclaimed Emily, standing from her chair and approaching your desk
“We still have to finish our reports” said Spencer, who seemed to be glued ho his computer, taping frenetically
“Did I just hear kiss, marry, kill?” Morgan approached your desk and one by one, the gang was coming all together
“Okay, first round, y/n, kiss, marry, kill with Gideon, Hotch and Rossi?” Penelope asked a little too excited for the question
“Come on, I’m not answering that” you said chuckling at the thought of even giving a response
“Comeeeeeee ooooooon” this time Morgan insisted and the absurdity of the question made you laugh so hard, Spencer looked up from his computer
“Fine, kiss Rossi, marry Hotch and kill Gideon, because he has way too much dad energy to kiss or marry him” you said, and your friends burst out laughing
“We are way too sleep-deprived to be here” Emily said chuckling, “Also, I’m starving”
“I have a frozen pizza at home I just can’t wait to devour” you said and suddenly your friend's eyes seemed to sparkle
“Now that I know that, I’m totally going home with you” Penelope said clinging to your arm
“I’m tagging along as well” Emily added clinging into your other arm
“They say three is a multitude, so I’m coming, just to keep you guys in check” Morgan exclaimed, and you couldn’t wait for Spencer to add himself into your plans, but unfortunately, the young doctor was back into his working frenezzy.
“Como on Spence, we are going home” you said hoping he’d tag along to your improvised plan, even if you were almost certain he’d say no, considering he didn’t really talk to you other than work related business; and rarely info dumped on you, which made you a little sad, considering his info dumps were one of the things that you most liked about him.
“Excuse me?” Spencer said crunching his eyebrows and staring over his screen monitor into your eyes
“We… we are all coming to my house to eat pizza, I was… I was wondering if you’d like to come” you stuttered and felt your cheeks become red. Anytime, you’d try to talk to Spencer about anything other than work, words would trip out of your mouth incomprehensibly, your cheeks would flush in a bright shade of red, and you were pretty sure anyone with a brain knew about your crush, specially considering you’d act like a high schooler in love around him.
“Come on man, we can even trow some poker to sweetener the deal for you” Morgan added
“Also, y/n told me that she has the new Grand Theft Auto, so we could play for a while” Penelope tried convincing Spencer appealing to his love for video games, and if it wasn’t obvious before, well, it was obvious now that you were eager to have the boy-genius at your place
“Alright, let me just grab my bag” Spencer said calmly, almost… oblivious to the fact that your friends were playing smooth wingman and wing-woman
“Penny and I are driving together, and Derek is taking his bike, so Reid, you can drive with y/n” Emily said and for a second, you couldn't believe how shamelessly uncool your friends were being about the whole situation
“If it’s alright with you, I’d appreciate riding with you” Spencer told you a little… flustered? No way, you were the one fangirling over him, maybe he was just getting secondhand embarrassment for the whole situation and your friend’s pathetic attempts to get you together.
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The ride home was quite nice, Spencer seemed to loosen up when he got the chance to share statistics on pizza consuming habits in the U.S. and somehow, he managed to incorporate the history of pizza:
“So, a precursor of pizza was probably the focaccia, a flatbread known to the Romans as panis focacius, to which toppings were then added. Modern pizza evolved from similar flatbread dishes in Naples, Italy, between the 16th and mid-18th century” Spencer kept explaining, while you took the chance to steal a couple of glances, even if it was a driving hazard “I’m sorry, I’m sure you are bored with my nonstop chatter” the young Doctor added shyly
“No way, I really enjoy your facts and stories” you said, and a shy smile formed into his lips, so you took a leap of faith, hoping with all your heart he wouldn't be uncomfortable with what you were about to say “I love the way your mind works, I find it amazing how you can just know so much, you know?”
“Thank you, it is called an eidetic memory, most people think it’s weird” Spencer said looking down to his hands, that were lying over his lap.
OH MY GO, WAS DOCTOR SPENCER REID BLUSHING? You were trying your best to hide your excitement, and luckily you were saved by the bell, as without realizing it, you were already parking in front of your apartment building
“So this is me, home sweet home” you said turning off the engine of your car and Spencer gave you a side smile that made your stomach flutter
“Thanks for the drive, and you know, for having me” he said, and you were high on his words; everything about him seemed to fascinate you, but before your mind could go wild, Morgan tapped your car window to let you know he was there, and after a couple of minutes, Penelope and Emily were outside as well
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“I’ll put the pizza in the oven, so maybe we can play a round of poker while we wait?” you suggested as your friends took a seat at the table, and you handed them a beer each.
“That’s what I’m talking about” Morgan said, already shuffling the deck of cards. The game was fun, although Spencer won each and every round. The night was everything you could ask for, Spencer seemed comfortable at your apartment, and he even got around to joking and laughing out loud.
“Truth or dare?” Morgan said spinning his empty beer bottle with mischief in his eyes, and laughs started bursting, until it landed on Emily
“Truth” she said glancing at Morgan with amusement
“Have you even come into work tipsy?” Morgan asked
“Alright, yeah, once when we were working with the Newport Police” she replied calmly “Now, have anything stronger?” Emily asked, lifting her beer bottle
“As a matter of fact, I do” you said standing from your chair and bringing different alcohol bottles, you had a wide selection of whiskey, wine, rum, tequila, and vodka
“What are you? A bartender?” Penelope asked, surprised by the alcohol selection.
“I tried, I even got a book, but between life and work I never got around to reading it” you added pouring your friends a couple of drinks.
Emily spun the bottle, and it landed on Spencer, who gulped a little too loudly, and you couldn’t keep your eyes from his Adam’s apple “Truth or dare, boy-genius?” she asked taking you off from your thought
“I… mm… truth?” he said almost too afraid of what your friends could think about asking him
“Alright, what do you think about y/n?” Emily asked bluntly, and you could see Spencer’s cheeks turning red. Sure, you loved your friends, but their mingling was getting way too obvious for your mental health
“I… I think she’s great, I mean, of course she is incredibly smart, she’s sweet, funny, and she has a special way to always makes you feel heard and taking into consideration. It is undeniably that she’s pretty, I mean, and… yeah that's what I think” Spencer said staring into your eyes, and you couldn't believe it, you literally were wonderstruck.
Did he like you? Did he just admit you were pretty? You were literally on cloud nine when you realized Spencer had spun the bottle, and this time it was facing you
“What’s… What’s your favorite movie?” Spencer asked shyly, and all eyes turned to him
“Come on man, that was your shot” Morgan said leaning into Spencer
“That changes, but right now I’d say American Pie” you said trying not to sound too embarrassed. Secrets were spilled, confessions were made, and shots were taken, until Penelope spun the bottle and once more, it landed on Spencer
“Truth or dare, lover-boy?” Penelope asked a little too excited, which once more made Spencer a little nervous, considering the situation, and of course, the fact that he pretty much just admitted having a crush on you
“Dare?” Spencer said, almost asking
“Uuuh I got a great one, read y/n’s bartender book, and then prepare us some fire ass drinks” she said almost euphoric
“Oh, okay, sure, I can do that” Spencer said released a breath he didn't realize he was holding “y/n, would you mind lending me the book? So I can read it, please?” he asked shyly, and you knew this was your chance to make a move
“Of course, although I’m not sure where it is, so… maybe you can help me find it?” you asked hoping he caught the subtext
“Yes, yes I can help you look” he said, and a little grin formed into his lips
“What about playing the Grand Theft Auto whille they go lok for the book?” Morgan asked smootly, giving you just what you needed, a chance to slip to the side with Spencer
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You were now in your room, with the guy that made your stomach flutter, and once again, you coultn shake away the feeling of being a sixteen year old girl approaching her crush for the first time. Okay, so until now you knew there was a chance he actually liked you, so for the first time, you tried to flirt smootly
“So, the book must me somewhere on this wall” you told Spencer pointing at the wall-tall-bookshelf that adorned your room
“That is an impressive collection” Reid said admiring your books
“Thank you, I like… reading, and of course, books” you mumbled and between the nerves of having him in your room, and the fact that he was aproaching you, starring directly at your eyes, your braing wasn’t braining it. This defenetly wasn’t considered smooth, or flirty
“Truth or dare?” Spencer said coming closer to you
“Truth” you responded almost instantly
“Why is American Pie your favorite movie?” he asked, and the question genualy threw you off
“I know most people think it’s a really stupid movie, but even in those crazy scenarios, the guys get to laugh, and learn about life, sure, it’s twisted, and watching to too your can defenetly cause issues, but I think it’s a great piece of cinematography”
“That’s impressive, altough I can’t judge, as I’ve never got arroud to watch it” Spencer said, moving a little, and turning back to your book collection
“Truth or dare, Doctor Reid?” you asked playfully
“Truth” he said chuckling, and once again, you confirmed his little laughs sent a dopamine charge into your brain that was almost adictive
“What’s your favorite thing from my collection?” you asked, moving your hand motioning your bookshelf
“While you have an impressive Aristotle collection, which I’m a big fan of, right now my favorite thing in this room is not exactly a thing, but a person” he said once again leaning into you, “Truth or dare, miss y/n?” he asked coming even closer to your face
“Truth” you asked playing it safe, as he had suddenly turned into Doctor Smooth Reid, and seeing him take charge, was a side of him, one that you were totally enjoying
“What are you thinking about right now?” he said, leaning a little closer to you
“Actually, all I can think about right now is kissing you” you admited, bitting you lower lip, but not giving him time to answer, you asked “Truth or dare?”
“Dare” Spencer said, with his eyes lingering from your eyes, to your lips and viceversa
“I dare you to kiss me” you said, and as you finished yout sentence, his hand was cupping your cheeck, his other hand was placed on your waste, and his lips were softly crashing into yours. The kiss was soft, and sweet, with a couple of bites in between. One kiss, then another one, and swiftly, Spencer made you turn, placing your back towards your bookshelf and getting closer to you, just like you, he longed for this moment, for your kiss, for your touch. You were enjoyoing yourselves way too much, when you heard a knock on your door, which made the two of you burst out laughing
“We should go back to them” Spencer said, placing a las kiss into your lips
“Maybe next Saturday you can come over, I mean, you can’t go though life without the rite of passage of watching American Pie” you said chuckling, hoping with all your flustered heard he’s say yes
“That would me wonderful, I can’t keep living like this, without watching American Pie, I mean” he said lacing his fingers with yours, and opening the door for you, so the two of you could go back to your friends, who were also laughing from the living room, as they were sure their mission of getting you together had been succesful.
I really hope you liked it, let me know if you want part 2, as I'm pondering the idea of the American Pie date.
Kay, love you, bye 🩷
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itsabouttimex2 · 2 days
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LSO AU sounds really interesting! Are we allowed to ask questions about AUs or does it count as a request?
Hi, thank you for asking! Questions are always allowed, even when requests are closed! I’ll elaborate on Let’s Start Over a little bit!
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After his own journey ends and MK has his own story penned and published, peace settles across Megapolis and the world in general.
He’s even got himself a new title- “Monkie Knight”, after years of working for the king.
MK still steps in to ward off greater threats and more serious demons, but mostly steps back and attends to the noodle shop with Pigsy, who’s just about ready to pass the keys to his son and maybe take up a more casual lifestyle of teaching instead of serving. Maybe a YouTube channel where he teaches basic skills and recipes to viewers. Tang comes in to both expand on the history of what Pigsy is cooking and to taste test the end result. As expected, he adores the food each time.
Things are okay.
There’s trauma and bitterness that MK needs to work through, but… things are alright. With time, they’ll get better.
And then you come around to the shop one day to visit, right as the Ruyi Jingu Bang comes toppling down from where it’s been set- and you catch it.
So starts your journey.
Our golden-hearted hero is a little soured now, having been thrust into dangerous fights again and again. He’s somewhat resentful to certain individuals-
Mei, for not fighting beside him more often, in spite of her combat prowess and draconic powers. He gets a little twitchy when she’s around, thinking of all the fun she had off on her motorcycle, all the live-streams she giggled and joked her way through. MK doesn’t hate her. Not in a million years. Never. But damn if there’s not some bitterness. He’ll still ask her to ‘babysit’ you when he needs to go off and fight.
Though he still cares about Sandy as a friend, MK has shifted his perspective to disliking the river demon’s pacifistic outlook, viewing it as naive and somewhat selfish. He still goes over to paint and have tea, but things are somewhat strained between the two. It’s easy for someone like Sandy, a side-liner, to say “I’m not fighting anymore!” but MK never had that chance. Given that he was in his mid-teens during the start of his journey in this AU, the hero finds it messed up that he had to fight, but an honest to goodness ex-soldier chose not to. Again, no hatred. Things are just a little tense.
Macaque is pretty far down on his shitlist, actually. MK has taken some time to think on the simian’s actions and kinda wishes he had just let Wukong pummel him to death. Most of these feelings relate to their first meeting, but him assaulting Tang and attacking Mei certainly haven’t helped. Or his unnecessary destruction of the Dragon Palace of the East Sea. Or his refusal to apologize. Yeah, this guy doesn’t get to come anywhere near you. MK will act civil because he does believe in redemption and second chances, but dear lord is it hard.
(And he massively regrets the “you aren’t a bad guy” speech he gave to Macaque. Looking back on it, MK thinks he was naively seeing goodness where it didn’t exist.)
And of course, Sun Wukong, for… a lot of things. He talks rather bitterly of his mentor, viewing the Great Sage as irresponsible and rather immature. He wishes there had been more effort and care in the monkey’s teaching, and less “you can handle this”. There’s still some genuine respect and gratitude for the simian, but MK majorly fixates on being ‘different’ in his own mentorship. Problem is…
He’s choosing to be different instead of better.
Wukong had genuine and honest belief in MK, enough to let him handle trouble on his own. The Great Sage didn’t step in not out of laziness, but because he knew that the kid could handle things on his own. Sure, he was way too secretive and hands-off, but his intentions were only ever to help MK grow.
So when he decides to be entirely opposite to Wukong, our newly titled ‘Knight’ becomes a massive roadblock for you. Instead of cutting you loose with confidence, MK is stifling and protective. He’ll fight for you, cook for you, tend to your wounds, etc. Wukong tried to let MK grow without any form of safety net, but MK refuses to allow any growth without complete safety, which is rare.
Instead of being a mentor who’s trying to build you into the best you that you can be, he’s trying to be a father.
And honestly? Sometimes, he’s so good at the act that you wish it were real.
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babyangelsky · 2 days
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Color Moments in Two Worlds Episode 7
I don't know what the hell happened to the subs this week but the colors were coloring and the plot was plotting and that is all that matters!
Last week we got to see the love story between Tai and his Kram and as I suspected, current Kram has now acquired all those memories, as well as the knowledge of what happened to his parents in this world.
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It's all too much, so he takes his painting of Tai with him and appears to be fully prepared to go with Phupha to Bangkok, but I don't fool that easily. Because as he's in his depressed earth tones, he's flanked by his warmth.
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And once he unfurls the painting and reads the writing on the back, he gets his head on straight, the last of his uncertainty fades away, and he finally realizes his feelings!
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He runs back to his true love Tai and after a beautiful mutual confession, they snuggle on their warm and cool couch.
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After sleeping attached to Tai like a baby koala all night, the next morning Kram is back in his warm yellow.
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And Tai is back in his cool blue.
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Unfortunately, this moment of domestic bliss is interrupted by a wounded Wayu who tells them that Phupha has been kidnapped. But once again, I can't be fooled! Because even though Phupha and his also kidnapped dad were in dire straits, Phupha was bathed in Tai's blue and Kram's yellow so I knew rescue was coming.
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We finally learn that Phupha's aunt is the one who's been out to get him this whole time. She knows that he is not his father Adisak's biological son and believes that she, as Adisak's sister, deserves to be her brother's successor instead.
As Phupha and his dad are waiting for rescue, Phupha asks how long his dad has known that they aren't related. Adisak tells him that Phupha's mother wrote him a confession letter before she took her own life when Phupha was seven years old.
His mother was in a relationship with Wiroj, Phupha's biological father. Wiroj, a closeted gay man, couldn't return her affections despite her best efforts to please him and match his white. He tells her that he's in love with Adisak, which ends the relationship.
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But when Wiroj gathers the courage to finally go and confess to Adisak, he finds Phupha's mother has entered into a relationship with him. Together in matching blue, they tell Wiroj that they're expecting a child.
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*pauses to cry on the floor for a little bit because Wiroj never got to tell Adisak that he loved him and Adisak loved and raised the child of the man who loved him as his own everything is fine I'm fine*
@respectthepetty Sadly, Jao and Wayu still haven't made out. They also didn't match this week but we kinda forgive them because Jao is still letting go of his feelings for Tai and Wayu had a brush with death. BUT THEY BETTER MAKE OUT NEXT WEEK! YOU HEAR ME, SHOW?!
On the plus side, the lighting is making it look like Kram is in his yellow and Tai's blue.
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Tai rescues Phupha as I knew he would and he keeps his promise to return to Kram as I knew he would. He asks Kram to do the ash exchange with him and even though he tells Kram to take his time and think about his answer, we all know what that answer is going to be.
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Because Kram is in Tai's blue and the stitching on his lapel, the patch on his sleeve, and his necklace all match Tai's red!
Despite whatever madness comes our way next, COLOR CODED MATCHING BOYS IN LOVE GET HAPPY ENDINGS!
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Ok regarding that “can i make Yves do my homework if I give him my childhood pictures” ask, exactly how much access does Yves have to our lives? Does he have images or videos from when we were still a baby or would they be new information to him?
A bunch of my baby pictures and videos are lost because my dad lost the computer that had them but we recently found my aunt’s old camera filled with our childhood pictures, it was a pleasant surprise for us but would it be for Yves too?
It absolutely is. If Yves was there with you while your aunt showed you the photo gallery of her old camera, Yves would momentarily lose a bit of inhibition and let his pupils dilate to a maddening degree before instantly constricting it back to appear normal. It's a rare, super deluxe edition photos of you, there isn't anything else like it out there as they're most likely not uploaded to the internet or a cloud based service, where he could easily hack.
Him coming across media from your childhood or at least during those early days where people still go to and get their photos developed, is like winning the lottery for him. Because, although he tries to collect everything relating to your existence, there is only so much he can do in a day. He rather prioritizes the present and the future, as the past is the past; neither you nor him can change it, he can only understand or connect it to your current behaviours or thought patterns.
He does have some information about you as a baby or a child, but that is if they're "readily available" to him. (I.e., it can be found in predictable places like in your childhood home.), that is why, Yves would try to build a good relationship with people you grew up with, to extract information.
Despite being reclusive as he is, Yves would never fail to attend every and any family gathering he is invited to or expected to come. Encouraging that drunk uncle to drink more if he knew he has something to say about you, bribing your relatives with gifts and career opportunities, perhaps even drugging that really difficult and combative cousin to make them more bearable to interrogate.
As soon as he knew your aunt could be another goldmine of your data, he would get to work. Wasting no time building a rapport with her, it's a piece of cake given how obsessive and manipulative his nature is.
Inevitably, your aunt will come to love him and see Yves as family. By extension, her relationship with you will skyrocket too, she will invite you to her place much more often even though she might not be the most sociable person in the first place. Yves will find a way to make her bend to his whims.
The majority of their conversations would be about you, only sometimes Yves would talk about something else if it meant he could keep the drive to spill more about your lore going. His sharp ears and mind will pick up on clues as to where he might find more pictures or writings about you. He would then break into your aunt's home to give it a thorough shakedown and leave without a trace. Yves would repeat this process until he's positive that she has nothing left to offer. That camera is getting fucking stolen and replaced with a duplicate.
It didn't matter if your aunt was a minimalist or a severe hoarder, he would go through all her things just to try and find pieces of your puzzle. He would wade through cobwebs, dust piles, rat droppings and mould if he had to, Yves isn't scared to get dirty to obtain what he wants, "squeamish" isn't in his vocabulary.
When she is robbed of all your essence, Yves would become distant. Not hostile towards her, just cold and indifferent. He would still maintain some sort of relationship with her though, in case she becomes useful again later. As of now, he either puts his entire focus on your current peripheral and direct life, or start to hunt other members down- from his snooping, he had learned of other people who may have valuable input about your childhood.
All of this is happening in the background. You wouldn't suspect a thing, there wasn't a dip in his attention for you. In fact, he may have gotten a lot more smothering, as Yves would be shaking at the thought of testing out his new theories and hypothesis that were birthed from his new knowledge.
He just loves you so much that he couldn't help himself but to get greedy. Yves wants all of you; past, present and future. And any version of you that could have been.
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wolfs-archive · 10 hours
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"Woah, now I know why you don't drink with us!!!!"
Summary: Y/N has a secret crush on Felix. Little did she know he too liked her. All the boys are Y/n's friend as they go to the same college and live under the same roof. The other boys did know of Felix's crush but are clueless about Y/N. Little did the blooming couple know that an anesthesia would be the one bringing them together.
Pairing: NonIdol!Felix X Female!Y/N
Genre: slightly suggestive, fluff maybe, mentions of alcohol, high Y/N
Note: Y/N is sedated, The Felix or his other roommates mentioned here are no where related to the idol Stray Kids and are just a fictional character. Minors DNI please!!!
"Initially we give less dosage of anesthesia to patients who come for the wisdom teeth removal, since Y/N's so sensitive, we had to give her higher dose. So she would be high for some time, and would come to her senses after 8 hours. Meanwhile, if she faces any issues you can tell her to take the prescribed tablets. Also she is advised not to have any spicy or hard food for a week. Only liquid food for an entire day and soft food for the rest of the week." said the Dentist. "Thank you Doctor", Han said as he helped Y/N get up and made her go out . "Y/N, I'll get the medicines and you stay here" he babied her. "Who are you? I do what I want to." Y/N retorted. "Y/n ah, I know you are a brat, but I'll let this pass once, only just because you are under sedation" a triggered Han said as he left her on the chair to get medicines. On his way to the pharmacy, he met Hyunjin. "Han ah, where is Y/N? Chan asked me to tag along in case you needed help". "Bro, I have made her sit on the chair, can you please take a look at her. She is spewing nonsense. Such a menace she is." Han replied. After the medicines were bought, Hyunjin and Han helped Y/N walk on her way to their car. Hyunjin sat in the driver's seat and a staggered Y/N went to occupy the passenger seat. Not even 5 minutes later, she was transferred to the back seat and was made to sit with Han with all the fuss she created. "Chan, we are on the way back and .... Y/N!!! stop pulling my specs" Han yelled and after a heated argument Han relied to Chan about Y/N's diet and the dentist's advise.
Y/N is usually a bubbling extroverted girl. A beautiful girl who is one year younger than I.N. A person with both beauty and brains, had a lot of people courting her, but her eyes laid only on one of her roommate, Lee Felix Yongbok. Being a bratty roommate with others and making fun of everyone with all possibilities, she has always had a soft spot for Felix and has never made fun of him. The others had never doubted this because, she had treated him like how all would treat him. But be it arriving on time for a class, or making any meal, or saving a book she had all done it ready for him. Often the members would have late night outs and parties and she being the only girl was literally treated like a younger sibling and was never allowed for any late night parties. Whenever it would be, just "Saturday Nights" at their dorm, she would always insist on having orange juice or sparkling water rather than alcohol. The members though knew it, that it was because of her lower tolerance level and that she would be difficult to handle, didn't force her. On the other hand, she didn't want to because, she knew she would pour her heart out if she drank and didn't want to miss the friendship she cherished. So, it was only when she was with he girls that she drank. That was how much she loved him.
Similar to Y/N, Felix liked her but didn't open up his heart to her for the fear of loosing her friendship. He kept it to his heart, until one day, where they had a game of truth or dare during their "Saturday Nights" and he confessed to have feelings for a particular girl. Upon closely watching his previous movements, the group concluded that it definitely was Y/N. When he asked how, each of them had their own answers for confirmation. Seungmin said, "I saw you waiting for her after class, to walk along with her to our dorm, even thoug you didn't have class that day". " One night when I went to drink water, I saw you tucking up her bedsheet " Hyunjin replied. "I saw you having her as your wallpaper on your phone" replied Changbin. He also added, "I didn't mean to peak at your phone, remember; when I had asked for your phone to text the professor. It was that time I realised it". "Not to mention, we share the same room and one day I saw you texting her, you slept with your phone. When I tried to keep the phone on the table beside, I saw a notification with Y/N's name along with a light blue heart." replied the youngest. "Don't you think I know the way steal glances of her during our combined sessions?" asked the eldest. "I knew it the moment you told me weeks ago about how you wanted pasta for dinner just because Y/N had a bad day at college. You have never done it for anyone else" said Lee Know. "Remember the one day I borrowed your book for reference? Do you not remember what you had written in it? The entire book had Y/N's name on it just like how a psychopath writes a person's name" said Han "You have been too obvious with it around us. Y/N must be either dumb or must be really clueless about it" he retorted.
Back in the car, when Han cut the call, Y/N "Bro, where is my love? I wanna meet him" she said. An astonished Han, asked who it was for which she replied that he knew him. Hyunjin in the driver's seat replied "I guess Felix is screwed!!!" Meanwhile, "You Quokka like human, where is my love? I want to meet him. Kiss him... Please bring him here." Han knew it wasn't easy and not right either to bring words out from her, so he decided, "Y/N let's play this game 10 questions. I'll ask you 10 questions and you have to answer them honestly. By the time you are done, I'll bring you your love. Deal? " he asked. "Deal" she challenged.
Even after 10 questions, he was not able to find out who it was and had arrived to their dorm. Han and Hyunjin had tricked Y/N into make her believe that they were at her "Love's" home and that she had to go in to see him. As soon as she entered, she started yelling "Lee Felix Yongbok!!!! where are you?". Hearing her voice, Felix came out to see what was going on.... "Come here!!!!" she ordered as she sat on their sofa, pointing her hands, implying him to sit near her. "What is it Y/N?" asked Felix as he sat near her. A wild Y/N, grabbed Felix's shirt by the collar, just leaving a gap of 2 inches between them. She could feel his breath pace take off and her cheeks now tinted with red. With a raspy voice, she said "Do you know how much I love you? Those freckles and the cute smile is definitely the death of me. In the future, if I get married, I want it only with you and our kids will have beautiful freckles just like you" she confessed. Everyone were too stunned to speak at the confession. Meanwhile Hyunjin, "Han, we were so clueless, the entire ride she was talking about.... was it Felix????" Han replied "Now with what she confessed, I think, no conclude that it was definitely Felix." "You know why every time you call me to have drinks I deny? It is because, if I drink, I would pour my heart out. I don't know what is in your mind and if you don't like it, I would crumble into pieces. i wouldn't be even able to face you" she said. Her hands now across his neck as she pulls him in for a deep kiss. Breaking out from the kiss, Felix says" Who said I don't like you? I've always loved you, and will love you. " as he tucked the small fringe of hair behind her ears. " Woah, now I know why you don't drink with us. It's okay." he says, as he carried her to her bedroom.
Idk if y'all want Part 2. But if you want, please feel free to ask it in the comment section.
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t0ast-ghost · 2 days
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S3 episode 2 (The Enterprise Incident) yeah. I bet they have a lot of those.
Starting off:
- with McCoy narrating
- “I can find no reason for the captain’s behaviour.” Kirk is on his period, that’s why.
- *enters neutral zone* *immediate Romulan ship*
- Spock outright disagreeing with Kirk! Spock and McCoy on the same side! Oh, Kirk dismissed McCoy. He knew he couldn’t take both of them.
- violated your territory? Girl what were you doing in the neutral zone?
- I can’t tell if Kirk is being controlled in this episode or just being a dick
- Spock is trying to save your ass Kirk! Spock cares about his boyfriend and he’s worried cause he’s been more irrational than usual
- “I’ll kill you!” Damn poor Spock
- The Romulans are being kind of reasonable
- “If you stop looking upon star fleet as the whole universe.” Right it’s star fleet. Not Kirk and McCoy or anything. Noo..
- “I don’t make house calls.” “Doctor, it’s Captain Kirk.” WHO DID YOU THINK IT WAS? Like who would request McCoy’s services on the Romulan ship other than Spock and Kirk.
- She wants Spock so bad.
- This guys got the bluest of pants
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- “This man is not fully competent.” “No, not now.” McCoy really wanted to laugh
- McCoy getting angry at Spock and the commander stepping in like, ‘back off from my man’
- That face clutch
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- “I instinctively used the Vulcan death grip.” McCoy looks at him like, ‘the fucking what?!’
- “The captain is dead.” Big moment and whatnot but Kirk’s dead face is…
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- “My neck feels like it’s been twisted off.” Kirk’s neck, his back- etc.
- “Bones I want you to prepare to surgery.” Kirk touches McCoy’s shoulder so tenderly. Like that’s just not normal.
- WHAT THE FUCK
- I love how happy Scotty is, “You look like the devil himself, as long as you’re alive.”
- “What the devil is Spock doing?” McCoy says ‘what the devil’ when he is worried about someone or confused quite a bit
- I still do not know why they went into the neutral zone tbh
- So Spock will drink with HER but not with McCoy. Wow.
- “A place?” “With me.” Commander back up he is taken
- It’s interesting to see how everyone really wants Spock to ‘embrace his humanity’ because they can relate to it better. Vulcans can seem like the most distant and the least able to connect with anyone because of their claim to logical and unemotional ways, but they still desire peace and helped to create the federation. I think that Spock rejects a lot of his human side because that’s what those around him in his childhood defined him as. And so he finds pride in being a Vulcan when working in star fleet, and anytime someone tries to force upon him the idea of being human he continues to reject it. With McCoy and Kirk it’s almost come to a playful rejection because he cares about them a lot and knows they appreciate his Vulcan side, but it’s got to still hurt that anytime he connects with them they think it’s his more human side. Obviously he’s not just split down the middle, he doesn’t just act wildly like one or the other because it’s a mix, but to him it really seems to be like a one or the other kind of situation (which is fair because that’s what he’s been taught) so he mostly chooses to connect with his ‘Vulcan half’ because that’s the one that’s so often pushed away by others. All that to say, he hasn’t been able to find a balance within himself and it’s not his fault because that’s difficult to do especially with a lot of outside forces pushing him to be one way or the other. And I think about this a lot.
- OMG THEY’RE MAKING OUT. WHY DID THE CAMERA ZOOM IN ON THAT
- Kirk is not a good spy. He is good at beating the shit out of people though
- HE TOOK THE WHOLE FUCKING PART?!?
- “What are you that could do this?” “First officer of the Enterprise [that bitch (positive)].” She slaps him and then he says, “What is your present form of execution.” HE IS THAT BITCH (🎵i-t-g-i-r-l you know I am that girl🎶)
- “You will not die alone.” Spock would find this mortifying. He does not wish for Kirk to join him in death. He would do anything to prevent it. But I could imagine that in their last moments, they would share a look to try and help each other and know it would be futile but share it anyway. (Edit: Think I was supposed to edit this but I’m too tired)
- Spock’s eyes are enchanting
- “Captain… please go. Somehow they [pointed ears] do not look aesthetically agreeable on humans.” I love each of the crews reaction to this comment but especially Sulu, Chekov, and Uhura’s reactions
Spock is so tired, let him rest.
Masterpost
Episode written by D. C. Fontana
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rottenpumpkin13 · 12 hours
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How would Sephiroth feel if Cloud was related to him?
Assuming this is an AU scenario where Hojo is Cloud's biological father. He found Claudia "attractive enough to birth a hero," but it never went anywhere because Cloud was a weak, sickly baby.
Sephiroth found out about Cloud's parentage when he came across a file on him in Hojo's archives.
Sephiroth can't leave Cloud alone now. He has a brother.
He's always lurking now when the troopers have their training sessions with Angeal, or looking just a bit too long whenever they happen to be on the same assignment.
He's always watching, letting the curiosity slowly consume him. He wants to know what Cloud's life was like growing up in the mountains, far away from Hojo and Shinra, with a mother who loves him. He's envious, wondering if his own life would've been any different if Hojo rejected him at birth. Cloud wasn't subjected to the same things he was, and Sephiroth is both grateful and bitter.
As envious as he is, he's also enraged. How dare Hojo rob him of his brother? His own family? They were supposed to grow up together, to be by each other's side through everything. They were This isn't fair. And now here Cloud is, working for Shinra too. Yet they're still apart.
So he makes the impulse decision to corner Cloud one morning and show him everything that he found. Imagine his shock when Cloud reveals he knew Professor Hojo was his biological father, but his mother warned him of how he was, making Cloud never want anything to do with him.
Sephiroth asks him if he's aware that Hojo is his biological father.
To say Cloud is shocked is putting it lightly. He's floored, but not because Sephiroth is Hojo's son, but because he's related to Sephiroth.
After a long talk where they both get to know each other better and establish that they're brothers no matter what, Cloud insists that Sephiroth come back to Nibelheim and meet Claudia.
Lucky for them, there's a certain mission to Nibelheim that makes for a perfect opportunity.
While Cloud is usually prone to motion-sickness, be barely feels it on the ride to Nibelheim. He's too busy talking and laughing with Sephiroth to notice the bumps and turns on the road that would usually make his stomach churn.
Zack is happy for both of them—Cloud, for having a brother, and Sephiroth for having any family at all. They've been inseparable since finding out they're related, with Sephiroth going as far as inviting Cloud to stay over at his place and giving Cloud expressed permission to stay in his apartment.
Claudia and Sephiroth meet as soon as they arrive. Sephiroth grows to like her immediately. She's warm, nurturing, and quick to treat Sephiroth with the care he was denied as a child.
He asks Claudia if there's any chance that she knew his mother, Jenova. Claudia mentions how she remembers seeing a woman that matched her description around the village a few times years ago.
Now that Sephiroth knows he wasn't crazy when he found Nibelheim familiar, he needs to know more.
She explains how Hojo and the entirety of Shinra's research team stayed at the old Shinra Mansion right outside the village. She directs him there if he wants to find more information.
Sephiroth neglects sleep that evening in favor of exploring the Shinra mansion in search of clues. Cloud insists on coming with him, but Sephiroth is adamant that he stay and prepare for their mission the next day.
Sephiroth heads for the Shinra mansion, where he finds the library.
In the end, not even Cloud can stop the inevitable. No matter how much he screams and begs and tries to reason with his justifiably enraged brother.
But brotherhood matters little when you're the holy son, the chosen one set to inherit the planet alongside your loving mother.
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nunalastor · 2 days
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Hi! More Snow White + Tangled AU content, this time from Lucifer's point of view.
Lucifer knew that he was moving away from everyone, first heaven, then sins, his own kingdom, even his wife. He was so happy when Charlie was born, he thought he could have his family, that things could get better. He only had hope again for a week. They were in hell, they shouldn't have expected anything better.
At first he was panicking, thinking that somehow his daughter would still be in the palace. Then there was anger, who would dare to do something like that? Who would be so stupid? He wanted to go out and burn everything until he found his baby, but Lilith convinced him that it would be best to wait, perhaps those responsible would want money in exchange and could deal with them accordingly.
Days passed and there was no news from his daughter. Lilith told him that she went to a sinner's radio station, she told him that he would give notice if he knew anything. Then Lilith began to go to the Overlords meetings, she said that they would be attentive if any of the souls in their charge knew anything. After Lilith went to the meetings with the Sins again, she said that if it was someone from the other circles of hell they would let them know.
He did not feel able to leave the palace, not only because the depression hit him hard again, but also because he was afraid that the moment he set foot outside the palace it would be when he would receive a call, letter or anything that would be said to him where to find his daughter.
Lilith warned him when someone found a clue, when it turned out to be a lie, like once they were about to find her but were too late. Without realizing it, 20 years passed, Lilith told him that a sinner brought television to hell, that perhaps with that they could have better results, he gave Lilith some of the many photos that he took of Charlie in the week she was with them, in addition to some paintings he made. Lilith told him that the meeting was a success and the news would spread throughout all the circles of hell.
The years continued to pass, and one day Lilith simply told him that she was leaving, that she could no longer be there with him, she told him to get over the loss, that she would try somewhere else. He was left alone, without news from the outside, without the courage to call the sins himself to find out if they knew anything about his daughter.
It's been 7 years since Lilith left, almost 100 since he lost his daughter. He doesn't know how much longer he can wait. He turns on the television hoping that what he sees relates to his Charlie...and sure enough, there was a Charlie on the television, talking about the Hazbin Hotel, a neutral and safe zone for low-income sinners. He recognizes her immediately, there is no way she is not his daughter.
When he goes to see her, to look for her, he introduces himself and she...has no idea who he is, she doesn't know what he's talking about. It's fair, her kidnapper must have filled her head with lies, the kidnapper who appears behind her, whom she looks at with adoration and calls him dad. He can't help it, he attacks him, or at least he tries to. His daughter expels him from the hotel, tells him to come back when he is able to remain calm and that only then can they talk. He waits outside for a day to calm down (or to meet the kidnapper and kill him, whichever comes first).
When his daughter realizes that he is outside, she tells him to come in and takes him to a private room to talk, there he meets the kidnapper and a fallen angel, is heaven involved with the kidnapping?
They try to talk, it's mostly shouts and accusations from him, the fallen angel is on the defensive, ready to attack him if he approaches his daughter or the kidnapper, who are very calm, although confused. Lucifer talks about how he has been looking for his daughter, the princess of hell, the kidnapper tells lies, how he found Charlie in a basket outside his door, and that in all this time he never knew that a princess existed. His daughter agrees with him, she has never heard anything about it, the fallen angel agrees that it is the first time she knows something about a princess.
Lucifer knows that can't be true, they must be manipulating his daughter, so he promises HIS daughter that he will return with proof...but he has nothing. He goes to Zestial, the only Overlord he remembers...and tells him he didn't know anything about it. He goes to that television station to talk to...Cox? Box?, he is even more confused than Zestial. He gathers courage and goes to see the Sins...and none of them knew anything, they didn't even know that he had a daughter.
He returns home, for the only evidence he has, everything he treasured about Charlie in that brief time together, besides the photos and paintings. He goes to his wife's office to look for the photos he gave her when she said she would go on television...and they were destroyed, in the trash, some remains of paintings on the fireplace.
His wife lied to him.
👀
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wystericwoes · 1 day
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Doomed pt. 5
Warnings: Cursing, fighting and descriptions of gore + violence.
(Sorry this took so long)
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Sukuna watched intensely through the window, a fist under his chin and robes loosely adjourned.
He stared As you picked a flower up and took it from the vine, sliding it into your loose hanging sleeve. Looking around making sure no one saw as a child would after stealing candy. 
He wondered what you were going to do with it. Put in your hair? A vase? His mind wondered. Why act as if it’s a deceitful act that one could get in trouble for when you could do whatever you wanted? 
“Lord Sukuna?”
Uraume approached him from behind, head lowered. His gaze was unwavering as he continued to stare at you. 
He grunted in response. 
“The councilmans here to see you.”
“Tell him I'm busy.”
“It's important.”
“He can wait.”
She gulped. Hating that she had to be the news bearer.
“He… demands an audience.”
He tightened his fist. 
“I'm afraid word got out. And now all your allies are beginning to talk. Not attending this meeting would only make things worse.”
“Tch.”
He turned around to face her, her head remained bowed.
“Where is he?”
That night dinner was quieter than usual. 
He didn't eat, you hardly saw him eat anymore. He simply watched atop pillows, one fist under his jaw as you indulged. You were no longer intimidated by him when he was like this, pissed. 
“What happened?”
You asked. 
“Nothing.”
“Don’t do that with me Sukuna.”
You said as you lifted a bite of food to your mouth. 
He scoffed and turned his head away pouting like a kid. 
“Something political?”
He was never able to lie to you. 
"Snotty pissboys who call themselves leaders who I have to upkeep diplomatic relations with."
His jaw ticked and fists tightened, the air growing thicker with tension. You decided not to press any further.
“Are you going to be okay or would like some help?”
He looked back at you, you had slid down your robe revealing your shoulder. 
He grinned. 
“I always want your help.”
Before Ryomen Sukuna was what he is today, he was a man. 
A man who had made a mistake, falling in love. 
He was a few things actually. 
A man, a sorcerer, a killer, and a ruler. 
But you held him back from his true potential. There were certain lines he would not cross as he progressed his reign of terror. 
He maintained an air of ruthlessness and a reputation of brutality. It's how he amassed power, no one threatened to cross his merciless path. Rumors of him killing a handmaid for bringing him his tea late, or killing a high-ranking nobleman with a hairpin because his footman offended him. These tales were what kept him on his throne.
But as long as you lived, he would never be able to cross the threshold of true power. Because you gave him morals, and morals were limitations. 
As of right now he was simply a king among men, a powerful sorcerer. 
He desired to be a god, but that simply wasn't possible.
For what god cares for a human?
That human was what he lived for, and what he worked for. 
Uraume and Sukunas inner circle despised you. They watched as the man who was on the rise to godhood was stumped by a non-sorcerer of no exceptional lineage or wealth. But they knew that you held more power over them than any of them combined- Killing you was not an option. You were untouchable, and an unmovable obstacle.
Even with your kindness you were a hindrance to them. They saw what you truly were. 
An inconvenience, A weakness. 
They had to stand by as he gawked at you and adorned you with jewels and silks, hand fed you grapes like a servant. Like he couldn’t snap your throat in an instant. 
Disgusting. 
And all the sex? fucking annoying. 
He would have a warlord waiting in the conference room as you were shamelessly copulating in the springs. 
People started to talk. About the ruthless leader Ryomen Sukuna and his only concubine. 
The one that he spoiled, the one that he daunted around and let speak freely at his side during important meetings and gatherings. 
Concubine. You could never forget that's what you are to most people, and you didn't. But it doesn't matter, because at the end of the day, you're the one who he’ll kill for. You knew that everyone either hated you or loved you, was either jealous or resentful. 
Now usually, fellow people in power wouldn’t care about any usual whore. But you seemed to linger. Always be by his side and be the only one he had- and while the servants of his residence didn’t dare to say anything in fear of his retaliation, his allies and their servants had no such obligation. And once they left his grand estate, people talked.
You walked with an air of power, after a while you stopped caring about all the talk and rumors- because that's all it was. Talk. At the end of the day, they would treat you kindly with a warm smile as you walked by. 
To a few who liked you, they admired you as the olive branch and as the light in his life. the one who stepped in with a moral objection before he killed or punished someone who likely didn't deserve his wrathful hand.
A sweet love story, and the last shred of his humanity. But to most, a mistake. To his inner Jujutsu circle, a hindrance. 
Some nights you could touch him in all the right ways to get him to open up, you were on top, you left the hickeys. 
Your face was buried in his neck, he never made any noise. Just moved. Maybe a grunt. You felt his hips rut against you as you traced the outline of his hard cock through his thin white robes. 
Times like this at his most vulnerable was when you pried.
“Sukuna?”
He hummed against your head. 
You placed your chin on his chest and looked up at him. 
“Why don’t you marry me?”
His breath hitched slightly. But his face remained unmoving.
“You know I'd say yes.”
You pouted into him 
“You’re cute.” He growled. 
“I'm sexy. Not cute. And would be excellent as a spouse.”
You pressed yourself against him, slouching down as if in defeat.
“You are. We’re already together though, is this not enough?”
You sighed and turned around, facing upwards next to him. 
“I just want it to be official. I'm tired of hiding behind doors. You're the strongest right? So why do you worry?”
He could lie and say politics. But he always found himself physically unable to.
“I've never been married before.”
“Neither have I, that's why we should do it together!” You whined as you nuzzled into his neck and threw an arm across his broad chest. One of his stronger ones wrapping around your back.
He chuckled into you. The truth was, a lot of reasons. He didn't want you to have the pressure that came as the married person to a powerful lord such as Sukuna when you were so young, and he also didn't want people to know about you. If he becomes married you become more of a target. Rather than your existence outside his home being whispers of a side piece, the ring on his finger would be an immediate show of “I have a weakness.”
 You could get kidnapped, enslaved, assaulted, killed- 
His fists tightened. 
But also rather selfishly, he couldn't bare the thought of accepting himself as a romantic. A wedding ceremony and honeymoon is all too intimate for one such as himself, he's supposed to be revered and invoke terror. 
You placed a soft hand across his own, easing the tension. 
“I just want everyone to know you’re mine.”
“That I'm yours? What about you?”
“They already know who I belong to”. You said with a sly smile, moving down your kimono donning several hickeys and bites. 
You moved so you were sitting on his lap, he sat up and looked up at you with half-lidded eyes. 
“I want you to do what it takes to become the strongest so we can get married and you won't worry.”
You placed your hands on his chest and rubbed circles across his toned muscles. 
He wasn't just scared of the enemy though; he was scared of losing himself. If he had no restraints, if he was away from his chain of reason and humanity- he couldn't hide the monster you suppressed. and the thought of him losing himself to madness didn't scare him- rather it stressed him out. The uncertainty of it all, the darkness he had been able to hide behind your shining light.
You laid down on him again and his arms instinctively found solace around you.
“Do you know what it would take for me to do this?” 
“I do.” 
“I’d be gone more. I might change.” 
“Life is short, don’t waste it all on me.” 
“It’s not a waste if it’s with you.”
You hummed in contentment as you nuzzled into his neck and closed your eyes. 
"I know you'll never hurt me."
He exhaled a long sigh unfurrowing his brows. You were his humanity, so as long as he had you, it would be fine. 
Right?
To gain power he needed to fight, which meant longer trips. But with your blessing he persisted, even if time away from you was torture. 
“Protect them with your life or I'll ruin yours.”
Was the threat he gave to everyone as he left you alone. 
He hated it. Absolutely fucking despised it Whether he was gone for two days or two months. 
And he quickly learned how to take that rage and loneliness and warp it into his new growing obsession- power.
A name had begun to spring around Japan, as the man who never lost. 
Rumors sprung of a monster terrorizing the region in which he reigned, and the ones outside of it.
Each time he came back to you he had to remind himself who he was, with your saccharine kisses, delicate touches, and careless whispers. Such a stark contrast to the pure filth and violence he was subjugating himself to. 
But each time he left you, a piece of him stayed behind. 
You never cared for the details of what he was doing, ignorance was bliss after all. 
Until he came home with blood on his hands. 
“Sukuna…”
You had gone in to kiss him, and you brought his hand up to your face. But that was when you noticed it. 
“It’s not mine, don’t worry.” he said reassuringly, as if that was somehow better. 
You stuffed it down. He’s a good man who loves you- he would never hurt you. 
It was like a raging fire inching closer to you, but so long as you couldn't feel it, you could keep looking away.
You were looking around for him, trying to find his company as you carried your feet across the estate. 
“Sukunaa!” You sang. 
He came out from a corridor and closed it behind him. 
“I was just thinking about…!”
Scarlet was scattered across his body as if he had been painted like a fine canvas.
You froze. A surge of fresh anxiety hit your veins as your eyes wandered down to the bottom of the door, what was behind it?
“Y/n”
He grabbed you by the waist and pulled you into him- his eyes were dead. 
This was not your Sukuna. 
You tried pushing him away, but he didn't let up. Instead his grip tightened. 
“Did you know that your handmaid liked you? They were going to confess to you.”
He whispered. 
“Stop…”
“To think that i’ve let myself fall from such grace that everyone has forgotten who you belong too.”
“Sukuna…”
You were not unfamiliar with bouts of jealousy. Of rough nights of fucking and hands on your neck. But in his eyes, there was always love, always sensual and caring underneath those layers of grit and abrasion. Extensive and precise control over his actions so as to not truly irreparably damage you. An air of caution and attention to detail to see if you were okay.
His grip was bruising, nails piercing the skin as rivulets of blood graced your skin. 
He feverishly kissed you, shoving his tongue past your teeth in an aggressive movement. 
You whimpered into him trying to leave, but each time you resisted he squeezed harder. He clogged your airways with his persistence and left you in shock. Pain began to violently spread where his grip was held.
He eventually pulled away as you stayed breathless and panting. 
“Sukuna you're scaring m-”
“Don’t go in there. I can’t help you if you do.”
He cut you off as he released you and signaled for the nearest servant for them to clean the mess. Then he walked away. 
Your eyes flickered to the cracked door behind him, terror coursing through your veins as you wondered what was inside.
The bruise on your hip blossomed shades of yellow and purple sharing an eerie resemblance to the blue lotuses in the garden.
You sat as hot tears glazed your face as the nurse dabbed your wound clean.
Small crescent-shaped abrasions graced across your hues of painted skin, artistic in a way.
The maid cleaning your wounds said nothing as you cried. too scared of what would happen if she dared utter a word.
She wrapped your wound in a cotton bandage, and instructed you to rest. 
You leaned back admiring the hardwood walls and paintings, tears eventually ceasing as you lay alone, and cried alone.
The next few months it only got worse. He would be gone for even longer periods, and he limited your access to the outside world. At first, you could go with an escort, but now only him. And he was never there.
You started to write letters. To him, while he was gone, but you never gave them to him. Writing helped you clear your head.
But who you were writing to wasn't the man who was alive today, it was the one who you knew before you sent him off to become the strongest. 
Sukuna, 
I hope this letter finds you well. Because I, selfishly, am not. I am scared. I am irrefutably alone. Things are dimming and becoming gray, I find myself terrified in your presence, and terribly lonesome in your absence. I am in purgatory. Unable to move, or breathe, I can't even find the words to…
You sniffled as you dipped the pen back into its ink holder and slid into a cold bed. 
You spent that night sobbing. At first quietly, but then you could no longer hold back the choked sobs that echoed through your shared bedroom. 
You had to make a decision. 
And so, you hid the final letter and packed your things.
And left within the dead of night. 
A monstrous roar echoed through the decorated walls.
He violently worked his way through the entire estate, ripping doors and dropping ceramics. 
“What did I say?!”
His voice almost echoed, filling the halls and invoking terror. 
Anyone unfortunate enough to be met in his path was either yelled at, mauled, or both. 
A trail of corpses and pools of crimson met his feet as he stormed through the halls. 
“I gave everyone ONE job. And none of you know where they went?!”
Uraume ran up behind him and hovered a hand over his shoulder.
“Lord Sukuna! Perhaps this is a good thing.”
He turned around to face her, and with his silence, she continued. 
“Now we can focus on your reign! You can inst-”
She was knocked to the ground. 
“Mind your place.”
She put a hand over her face as blood gushed from her nose, 
“I'll deal with you later.”
His words were toxic, malicious and deep, 
“L-Lord sukuna!”
A lady wearing nurses' robes bowed on the ground. 
“I may have information!" her voice shook.
“Well? Tell me!” He shouted
She got up and shuffled over to your room. Sukuna following close behind. 
She slid the door open and the sight shocked him. 
Your clothes were strewn across the floor, as well as papers, ink, and personal belongings. 
You must've left distressed.
Without hesitation she went over to the corner where your writing station was, and popped open a loose floorboard, revealing dozens of letters. All were addressed to Sukuna. 
She handed them over to him as she bowed her head to the ground. 
He grabbed them and began rampantly flipping through as his face fell. He sat down on the shared bed, and he hung onto every word, every affirmation, and every syllable. 
He brought his head up, a fury in his eyes. 
“Pack my things.” 
The nurse nodded and scurried away. 
He had a death induced grip on the papers, crinkling and tearing under his hold. 
He set off at night, alone. 
“I will find you even if I must sacrifice each living soul and cast myself to hell.” 
He made a vow to himself. 
He stormed through each village and town slaughtering every person he saw after he asked his question. 
No one knew what he was talking about, even after he killed their families. Some people would lie, but he could tell- resulting in their death as well. 
His newfound senses and strength had allowed him to know the general direction in which you went, but not specifically where you were.
He pillaged through Japan on a vicious spree of mass genocide. Bodies strewn out like constellations across what was once green grass. 
Men, women, children, babies. All were just sacks of useless weak flesh that stood in the way. 
He would cross the occasional Jujutsu sorcerer, but he didn’t even care. 
They all bleed the same. 
He had worked his way through the night, until it was sunrise. And he didn’t sleep, he continued his rampage. 
Throughout the next two days, an utter massacre as one of the most tragic events befell Japan. The countryside's peaceful silence was marked with grotesque screams, crop fields and farms now watered by blood. Corpses stacked into mounds of death. 
Until he finally reached his destination. It had been days, but he knew he was there. 
He could smell you. 
A small clearing in the forest, with a small village no larger a population than 40 people. 
He had warped into a beast, not quite physically yet, but the toll of murder to this degree puts a mark on one’s soul. 
A specific hut with smoke arising from it similar to your cooking, the door creaked open. 
You were sipping on tea, and talking with a member of the family that had offered you shelter, tending to the food- when the door creaked open. 
The shaded figure bore dead soulless eyes, blood of varying stages of exposure, sharp teeth, and a cruel face. 
“I found you.” 
Your eyes shot open, and your heart began to beat faster as he approached. 
“Excuse me! Sir? You ca-“ 
The sentence was interrupted and followed by a brief momentary silence, carried out by his body collapsing, missing a head. 
Some of the blood splattered on your cheek. 
“S..sukuna….” 
You squeaked out with bloodshot eyes. 
You backed yourself against the wall as he drew closer. 
“Stop it please…” 
He loomed over you, casting a deep shadow until he got down on his knees to be closer to you. 
“You’ve got blood on your face.” 
He brought a stained thumb to your cheek and wiped the blood from your soft skin. 
“Let’s go home. I’ll discipline you later.” 
He tried pulling you up by your wrist but you resisted. 
“I’m not going!” 
He picked you up with a fluid movement and threw you over his shoulder. You kicked, but it was for nothing. You had no effect on him. 
He started walking out of the house as you saw the remains of the one who once offered you headless at your captors feet. 
Tears began to form in your eyes as you saw the form get smaller and smaller. 
You really did try and resist, you did. You pushed and shoved and clawed, but he ignored you as if you weren’t even there. 
“Why are you doing this...?” 
Your voice was weak.
He stayed quiet. Simply looking forward as he walked. 
“I don’t like who you are anymore... I don’t feel safe.” 
He stopped. 
“Who’s idea was it for me to travel and get stronger?” 
You jumped
“I didn’t know that it meant this!” 
“Oh please. What did you think I was doing? Dancing? How else does one become powerful? You aren’t that stupid are you?” 
He was right. You knew he was a killer, you had just denied it to yourself to live in your happy bubble. Tears continued to stream down your face. 
You eventually fell limp and tired from the energy and exhaust, giving up for now. 
He set you down at a tree as he began collecting firewood.
“Stay.” 
Sukuna stayed close as he gathered sticks and logs nearby. 
You shivered as night fell. Leaning against a lonesome tree and hugging yourself tightly, trying to choke back your sobs. Your situation dawning on you cruelly like a whip.
Hearing the sounds of footsteps approaching you, you turned around to see Sukuna shirtless as he held his robe over you. 
“Take it.” 
With a shaky hand you held onto it, and he helped drape it over you. 
He put the final sticks in the pile, and you watched as he created a fire from his own hand, you were much too tired to even question how he could do that. And lit the log.
He made himself comfortable in the grass as his eyes met yours. You flinched upon the contact. 
“I thought you died.” 
He said in a gravelly voice. One that resonates through your entire body. 
“I- I’m sorry…” 
He tilted his head to the side. 
“You’re not allowed outside again after this understand?” 
You furrowed your brows and frowned, looking away.
You didn’t understand how he was remaining so casual, talking to you as if he didn’t just kidnap you and murder people.
You buried yourself in the familiar scent of his clothes. They were musty, but it was all you had. 
Comforting yourself with him from him. 
“Answer me.” 
“Okay…” 
“Okay what?” 
“I understand.” 
“Now go to sleep.” 
“I can’t when you’re watching me.”
You wiped your eyes and sniffled, trying not to think about the situation. 
“I don’t care.” 
You desperately tried to sleep. To close your eyes and forget the day. But then you would feel the monstrous breathing behind you. 
You swear he's a little taller than the last time you saw him. 
Eventually as the night passed, the crackle of the fire lulled you into something close enough to sleep. When your breaths were slowed, he inched closer to you, laying down behind you. 
The blaze of the dying fire dwindled and failed to distract you from your own thoughts. You slowly turned to face the beast behind you to see him asleep, audibly letting out a breath you didn't know you were holding. 
The warmth he emitted was solace. And his peaceful face hid the killer within. 
Maybe you could lie to yourself long enough to make this work, maybe you could pretend it was all okay. 
You clenched your eyes and shook the thought away. 
It’ll all be better in the morning. 
His eyelids fluttered open, rays of light peeking behind the blinds to reveal your sleeping form breathing rhythmically in short paces. 
He knew he shouldn’t be indulging in this. 
But something about the attention filled a hole in him he never thought he needed filled.
He was always enough for himself. 
It was only temporary he thought, as he sat up and eased out of bed. 
Walking to the bathroom to brush his teeth and shower, as quietly as he could. 
This really wasn’t like him. But he had just gotten so used to your unfamiliarity, to your sporadic actions and intangible remarks. 
Even after over a month of living together, he still hadn’t aired out the mystery of you. He decided for the first time to just let it be for a while, let it sit- because things were too good the way they were right now. 
One of you would start cooking or making tea and coffee, then twenty minutes later like clockwork the other would begrudgingly dredge in the kitchen with tired eyes and messy hair, sitting in a chair and accepting whatever plate of food or beverage was slid their way. 
This morning, he was feeling particularly lazy and decided to order food. Something he knew you would have no objection to, considering the last time he cooked you called it “the nastiest tasting excuse for shit food” you had ever tasted. 
Truth was it wasn’t terrible. And your attempts at cooking weren’t much better. But it felt nice practicing together.
He pulled out his phone and began putting in the food as he plopped himself down on the couch. kicking his feet up on the coffee table. 
He could hear your disinclined footsteps from the other side of the big yet humble house make its way over to you. 
“For someone so rich I really wish you had a guest bedroom. You snore.” 
“That’s a pretty interesting way of thanking me for letting you live here for free.” 
You drank a glass of water and made your way over to the couch, sitting down next to him before abruptly collapsing and falling your head into his lap. 
“I can't live in my apartment remember?” 
“What are you feeling for breakfast, sugary or savory?” 
“Sugary.” 
You rolled over to be facing upwards, staring at the bleak and perfectly eggshell white ceiling. 
“A person after my own heart.” 
He finished sending in the order as he set his phone down and also kicked his head up. 
“Why is your house so boring? It wouldn’t kill you to paint it pink or something.” 
“Pink? Really?” 
“Sorry, blue.” 
You looked over at his upwards facing chin, admiring his features until he looked down at you, causing you to avert your gaze. 
“It’s rude to stare.” 
You simply huffed and sat upright. 
“You’re insufferable.” 
“You love it.” 
“I’m gonna go take a shower.” 
You stood up and scampered away avoiding his remark as he shouted at you. 
“Don’t slip and fall!” 
You really shouldn’t be getting used to it. But this routine was so comfortable to you now. And for both of you, served a purpose outside yourselves. A selfishly selfless act. 
For you, the safety and regiment you so desperately needed to ground yourself after all the change and trauma you had witnessed in the last month. Being with Gojo was a slow addiction. you tell yourself you can quit anytime, but realize too late that you can’t live without it. 
For him, the wild and crazy circumstances of the whole thing made it too delicious to quit. The sheer absurdity of it all for him- you being an exception. It was a stronger but fleeting high. 
You had been making impeccable progress, as far as he was concerned. Which was good, because there was so much banking on your success. So much more than you knew. 
You dreamt about him again. All these memories keep resurfacing that you never had. You suddenly developed an interest in ancient Japan and Jujutsu society, taking in any history about it that you could. 
Physically, you still had a long way to go before you reached your full potential, but you were trying. 
You hadn’t been on a mission in several weeks, learning only the basics such as how to wield a weapon and concentrating cursed energy at will. But seemingly everyday it gets a little easier.
You let the hot water roll over your body, an act almost cleansing in the physical and spiritual sense. The steam awakens your senses, and you rest easy knowing when you get out food will be waiting for you in the kitchen. That all things are as they should be for the time being. 
The weather is slowly getting colder, as fall creeps its way over summer. Leading you to wear warmer clothing, a long sleeve and pants. You step out into the kitchen drying the remnants of water in your hair using your mostly damp towel, the smell of food hitting your nose. 
“This is the real reason why I stick around Satoru.” 
“Really? Nothing else?”
You didn't even entertain him as you ripped open the bags filled with stacks of delectable goodness. 
Adjacent to you he got two plates out and utensils, the both of you began setting your plates. 
“Oh and also, you have a mission tomorrow.”
You halted your movements abruptly, slowly turning your head to his unbothered disposition. 
“And you just thought to tell me?”
Venom laced your words.
“I didn't want you to be mad at me! you get scary.”
You took a deep breath and spoke behind gritted teeth. 
“Okay. Care to tell me more?”  
Aggressively shoving food on your plate, he stepped a couple paces farther from you.
“There's been reports of a higher ranked curse going around, weird stuff keeps happening, people dying, mutilation, blah blah. You’ll be accompanied by a pro this time rather than just babysitting.”
“Alright. And will my life be in danger? Are you hiding the details from me again, so I have no idea what I'm walking into?”
“Nope! Not this time.”
  He walked away with his plate of food and sat on the couch. 
“Are there any other details you'd like to disclose before I find out the truth?”
“Not particularly.”
He said before a big bite.
You very annoyingly sat down as far away from him as possible. 
“I better not find out you're lying to me.”
“Just watch a pro at work, that’s all you gotta do.” 
“Do I at least get a weapon?” 
The first thing you notice about Nanami is his deliberate ability to make any situation feel more or less stressful. 
His face bore little to no reactions, his posture stiff and correct, his voice commanding. 
He made a lasting impression. 
The second thing you noticed was that he was also handsome. Not pretty like Gojo or cute like Yuuji, but handsome. 
You trudged through the tunnel of a dark sewer. You had to remain strong. As difficult as it had been to accept over the last weeks, this was going to be your life now. 
You honestly didn’t know what to expect. 
“You’ve been misinformed I assume.” 
He broke the silence. 
“Probably. I have a terrible teacher.” 
“Sounds in character for him. What all do you know of the situation?” 
“Basically nothing.” 
You felt that feeling again, of being in the dark. Quite literally and metaphorically. 
“Itadori and I have done most of the leg work already, the hunt for this transfigurer and tracking its location.” 
“Transfigurer?” 
“I suppose I should prepare your for what you are about to see. If at all it becomes stressful I understand if you want to leave.” 
He took your affirming nod and silence as a means to continue his explanation. 
“This curse can alter one’s physical shape into anything it desires. It’s a truly grotesque and disgusting power. Which is why I take urgency to exorcise it.” 
“By ones physical shape do you mean…?” 
“Humans.” 
You felt a tightness well in your throat. 
“You’re new to this, and if I’m being frank this assignment was not the best to be one of your first. But I suppose this is a good way to throw you into the field and begin developing your tolerance.” 
Tolerance? You wondered what he meant. 
As honest as he was, you knew he was hiding information from you. 
“Nanami, I have a question.” 
He continued in silence, your sign to continue. 
“Is Satoru hiding something from me?” 
He pushed his glasses up and came to a stop. 
“It’s not my place to say.” 
That made your stomach drop. 
“I will tell you this, no single functional mind could comprehend that man’s intentions.” 
He continued walking. A shared silence as you felt torn between not wanting to pry, and desperately needing to know more. 
“Whenever we find what we’re looking for, I want you to stay a consistent 20 paces behind me at all time. If you get in the way it could compromise your safety as well as mine.” 
You simply nodded. Far too on edge to properly respond. 
You weren’t going to question his authority, especially when his confidence made you feel at ease. Usually being commanded on what to would have made you livid, but now you could do nothing but listen. It was mostly silence. 
You just kept trudging the seemingly endless tunnel on edge until something happened.
“H-e…lp m…e…” 
A distorted and raspy voice was heard beyond in the darkness.
You froze. Immediately following Nanami’s rule and slowly easing yourself several feet behind him. 
And you’re glad you did, when what you saw made you feel dizzy. 
A creature with four legs and deep purple skin, eyes on opposite side of its head an no neck. 
Without any hesitation or time to process, Nanami sliced across its chest and with a single blow, killed it. It’s body falling limp at his feet as he continued walking. 
You attempted to remain calm. Seeing as how he was, you were scared of what he may think if you freaked out, you couldn’t imagine burdening him during a serious moment and messing things up. 
“Those are what I was talking about, transfigured bodies.” 
“That was once a…” 
You walked by it, footing unsteady, giving one last fleeting glance at the cadaver. 
“Now you see why we need to eliminate this curse.” 
Sudden emotion over took you as you continued walking, remembering its eyes. Human eyes. 
You shook your head. Choosing to not care in the moment. 
That cycle repeated. A monster crosses your path, Nanami slashes it, and you continue down the endless paths of dim tunnels. 
You weren’t exactly a master at this or anything relating, but it didn’t take a genius to notice your comrades growing irritation. 
“Are you okay?” You muttered
“I only wish this curse would show itself. Even if these are disfigured and beyond help, killing humans leaves a bad taste in my mouth.” 
“Oh Good Good!” 
A different voice approached from the darkness; a sudden gut-wrenching feeling overcame.
“I was really worried someone strong would show up. But you two should be easy to experiment on!” 
Nanami seemed unbothered. Pushing his glasses upwards. They stood in an uneasy silence for a moment. Just a moment.
And before you knew it a series of blows were exchanged faster than your eyes could keep up with. You didn’t even see who attacked first.
All you could do was try and stay out of his way. 
The curse suddenly slid back several feet. Wide eyed. 
“Was that some kind of cursed technique? I should’ve blocked it.” 
“What do you mean some kind? I don’t appreciate questions that are left to interpretation” 
“Oh good, seems you don’t mind talking!” 
“That depends on who I’m talking to.” 
“Guess I’m special then huh?” 
This curse oozed a certain arrogance which reminded you eerily of Gojo. 
You stopped breathing when he pointed to you.
“And who’s that then?” 
Nanami stepped further in front of you to block his view. You were honestly shocked he could see you; you were so far back in the darkness that you could barely even tell what was going on. 
“That doesn’t concern you.”
“Emotional support? I guess your job does get pretty tricky huh? Humans can’t handle much.” 
“They're my colleague.” 
He tapped his foot on the ground, seemingly thinking something. 
“Hey what do you think came first? The body, or the soul?” 
You both had a confused look. 
“Y’know like chicken and the egg? Is the soul inside the body, or is the body outside the soul?”
“The former.” 
He was tense. You didn’t like the air around you; the whole situation was awkward. You had been looking at curses as non-human things to ease the guilt and trauma, but to know that they could talk and be coherent, sent you someplace dark. 
“Wrong. The soul always exists before the body.” 
Nanami looked like he could care less. 
“It’s the source of my power. I transform the shape of my soul; it’s not healing or shapeshifting like many believe.” 
Out of nowhere a creature summoned at his hand.
“I make humans small and store them, it’s pretty hard Y’know?” 
You watched as Nanami checked his watch and muttered something under his breath.
“An ordinary person dies after being transfigured. I wonder what will happen to you jujutsu sorcerers…” 
So much had happened you struggled to make sense of any of it. You no longer knew how much time had passed. You would have guessed fifteen minutes- but knew it was probably longer. 
They were ruthless. The punches, the kicks, the blocking and dodging. You felt too appalled to do anything and too interested to look away. 
Somehow this felt familiar to you. Watching it all was like replaying a movie you had seen when you were a young child. Details blurred and specifics unknown, but a certain naturalness came with it once you saw it again. 
“I'm now officially working overtime.” 
Nanami eased his tie, and a sudden shift was felt in the air. 
“So, you have a way to get stronger from fighting past a certain time huh? You’re not half bad.” 
He sported a sickening smile through the entire ordeal. One that made your insides curl.
You watched as the ground beneath Nanami shifted beneath him and lifting him up, another deformed body had been conjured and was serving as an impromptu ledge. He crouched and wiped his thumb across a crying face. 
“I’ve mastered transfiguring souls without killing them. Try not to feel too bad.” 
“I don’t let personal feelings affect my work.” 
It all suddenly hit you. He changes the shape of people into grotesque… things. And all the while they stay fully conscious and feeling. 
“You’re such a terrible liar! About this and your ‘colleague’.” 
A strong sense of justice took over you. 
“So, you just transform people into whatever you want? Just because you look like a freak doesn’t mean everyone else does too!” 
A sudden sense of Deja Vu came over you, remembering when your fear left your body in place of anger when you were fighting that special grade curse. You were no longer yourself, just your emotions. 
Nanami looked back at you shocked, and judging by the curses face, he was as well. 
“Well I’ll be damned. The cheer section has some voice. What rank are you? I hardly defected any cursed energy from you before. I thought you weren’t even a sorcerer!” 
“I don’t have a rank.” 
Nanami sighed. Clearly annoyed at the fighting and provoking. 
“You should get one soon so we can have a proper fight. I’m really looking forward to seeing what would happen to that deformed soul of yours once I get a hold of it.” 
You went to open your mouth.
“That’s enough.” 
Nanami butted in before you two could insult each other again. 
“And what about you my blonde-haired friend? What’s your rank.” 
“Grade 1.” 
“So, you’re strong huh? Perfect for experimentation. Both of you make a fine pair. First, I just have to get rid of the bodyguard!” 
Suddenly, the hand of the curse slammed against Nanami's stomach, flat-palmed. They stood still for a brief moment. 
It felt like time stopped. 
Did he kill him? Was something going to happen? What would happen if Nanami died? You can’t fight this guy by yourself! 
Panic started to set in, and you had to fight every natural instinct telling you to run away. 
“Looks like your soul is being subconsciously protected by cursed energy. But that’s no worry, another 2-3 times you’ll no longer be human!” 
As much as you hated this helpless feeling, you were learning a lot. 
Learning how weak and ignorant you were, and how strong you could be. Nanami was inspiring, unlike Gojo who flaunted strength and barely delivered, Nanami showed and didn’t boast. He simply acted, strength just coming to him, and it suited him well. 
“Y’know you’re getting kind of boring.” 
He looked back to you. 
You felt a breeze hit your face, followed by a hand on your shoulder. 
He was behind you. 
“You’re much more interesting.” 
Nanami gritted his teeth and ran back to you quickly, with a face that could only be described as something between concern and fear. He aimed a critical hit, but his blade was met with nothing, causing him to stumble forward but gracefully compose himself.
The curse was far behind him.
Your knees buckled. You didn’t even see him move, he was well over thirty feet away and he suddenly appeared behind you- you felt your throat tighten and your lungs fail to collect air as the shock subsided.
Your heart started racing, your hands clenched, and face flushed. 
“Well I’ll be damned! Nothing happened when I touched you either!” 
Suddenly, Nanami lunged at the curse, swinging his weapon to which the curse dodged. 
He shouted at you. 
“Hey! Are you aware of your unique soul?” 
You figured it was best to not engage at all. Swallowing a nervous lump in your throat. 
“Your fight is with me, leave them alone.” 
“Why bring them along then? It doesn’t have anything to do with the fact that their soul is in a different shape, does it?” 
“A different shape?” 
You muttered out. 
“Yeah! I’ve never seen anything like it. You two are sure an unforgettable pair. I really wonder what would happen if my cursed technique worked on you.” 
“Y/n.” 
Nanami's voice cleared the space of your spiraling thoughts. 
“Leave.” 
You hesitated for a second, before turning around and letting your feet carry out as fast as you could, back where you came in from. You heard fighting and struggling behind you as you disappeared into the dark, not daring to turn around. 
When you reached the entrance, you nearly vomited.
You held your stomach and doubled over, supporting yourself on some near railing, the events finally settling in. 
Everything seemed to be delayed in these slowly turning familiar terrifying circumstances. 
You were panting and shaking- trying desperately to compose yourself. 
“Y/n?” 
You slowly turned your head up trying not to hurl as the images and phrases repeated in your head. 
It was Yuuji, accompanied by a black-haired teen you hadn’t seen before. 
“Are you okay?” 
He looked so concerned.  
“Y-yeah. Just…” 
You felt bile build up in your throat, moving a hand over your mouth and the other to hold up your pointer finger in a ‘one second’ motion. 
The boys looked at each other awkwardly. 
“Just... adapting.” 
“I get it. It was hard for me too, in the beginning.” 
A still silence sat for a moment. 
“Wanna come with us? we could sit down somewhere and maybe get you a drink or something?” 
You slowly nodded your head yes. 
The darker-haired boy didn’t seem to talk at all as you and a Yuuji conversed, maybe he was just shy. You didn't care enough at the moment to ask questions though.
The three of you sat on concrete steps overlooking a river, holding sodas. 
“They were people once. And when I finally found that out, I just couldn’t hold back this feeling of dread.” 
“Yeah. I felt the same way.” 
“How do you do it? Keep it together? You both lived normal lives then suddenly had to throw it all away for monsters and magic.” 
“You don’t have a choice. These things, they’re true evil. They’re not people, and they only exist to kill. And I guess, knowing that they exist and that I can do something about it is better than not doing anything at all.” 
You sat on that. This was a chance for you to better the world, to make a change.
“I guess I never thought about it like that.” 
“And Y’know, you don’t get any awards or medals or credit or anything. No ordinary person will ever know what you do for them, but you have a community to share that with. It’s not like Spider-Man where he goes home every day and has to pretend everything is normal. You have friends who are like you!"
“Did you just compare Jujutsu society to Spider-man?” 
“It works doesn’t it!” He flashed you a smile that made you feel better.
It does.
“I just don’t think I’m ready. Ready to fight… monsters or anything.” 
“Not many people are. I guess I’m an exception because I want to help people more than anything. You just got to find that motivation!” 
What motivates you? 
You wanted to help people. But not as passionately as Yuuji did. You weren’t angry enough to take it out on curses like Gojo suggested, and you weren’t calculated like Nanami where you could treat this like a day-to-day job. 
So why even do this? Self-defense? 
Your head perked up. 
“Answers.” 
Yuuji turned his head over at you in confusion. 
“Huh?” 
“I want answers.” Your fist tightened. 
“I have to go, thank you.” 
Yuuji and the other boy stared at you as you walked off. 
You stormed inside the home after unlocking the front door. 
You took off your shoes and walked past Gojo on the couch. You didn’t utter a single word to him. 
“So, how’d it go?” 
“Tell me the truth.” 
“I asked you a question first.” 
He joked, but quickly his smile dropped as he saw the seething expression on your face. 
“I want answers, Satoru. No more half truths or bullshit.”  
With a blank expression he stood up, walking over to you. 
“What do you want to know?” 
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greenconvor · 24 hours
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So it’s really been bothering me that Hunter’s reaction to Omega turning herself over to the Empire was almost nonexistent. Like, sure I get it could have just been writer’s choice to focus on the overall plot, but the same writers have gone out of their way to show how passionate Hunter is about keeping Omega safe and how much it effected him when she was captured at the end of season two. SO, I got an idea:
What if Omega surrendering during the invasion was always the plan?
Okay, hear me out. Omega has been very vocal about her desire to go back to Tantiss even before they’d actually escaped. Leaving the other prisoners behind never even crossed her mind. On the other hand, Crosshair has done everything he can to ignore anything remotely related to Tantiss except Omega. Hence why he won’t address the real reason behind his hand tremor.
Now consider: Omega is wracked with guilt/determination, finding it more difficult each day (especially as she sees the extent of Crosshair’s trauma) to sit back and do nothing while there are still so many clones stuck in that awful prison undergoing who knows what torture. So she goes to Hunter, resolved to do Something. Except, there’s nothing they can do until they get the base’s coordinates. Which Hunter and Wrecker already know is nearly impossible since they’ve been trying since Omega was kidnapped in s2.
THEN it becomes apparent that Crosshair isn’t telling them everything. They try to talk to him repeatedly, but nothing is working. He’s locked up tight. So someone (probably Omega) comes up with a plan.
If Omega, the only person Crosshair feels has never abandoned him as well as the one he’s the most protective of now, is taken back to Tantiss then Crosshair will have to reveal what he knows in order to rescue her.
It’s kinda mean and manipulative and very dangerous, but it’s the only feasible plan they’ve got. And as Omega says to Crosshair before she turns herself over: they need to focus on the bigger mission and they, as individuals, are only a small part of it. Omega clearly knows this and as bad as she may feel for forcing Crosshair to return, she knows they HAVE to save the imprisoned clones. It’s a matter of life and death.
And because Omega is Hunter’s weak spot (he will literally do anything for her since she’s basically his child— which makes his sudden lack of reaction even weirder) he agrees.
So Hunter approaches Cid, convincing her to tip off her Imperial informant either out of guilt or monetary incentive. Cid’s info leads CX-2 to Phee who leads him to Pabu. Then all they have to do is get Omega in a position where she seems to have no choice but surrender. It’s not hard to predict, the Empire’s done all this before.
THIS is why neither Hunter or Wrecker are losing it like everyone thought they would. It’s why they’re not blaming Crosshair or running themselves ragged or burning down the galaxy to find her. It’s why Omega is so calm even though she’s back to square one in Hemlock’s ‘care’. It’s why Crosshair seems to be the one most effected by her loss. The others knew what was going to happen; they were prepared. They trust Omega implicitly, knowing that she can keep herself safe until Crosshair leads them to Tantiss. In return, Omega trusts that they will find her. She trusts that Crosshair won’t leave her behind.
I know this is highly unlikely to become canon, but I think it would make all their seemingly uncharacteristic behavior actually very in character without the vague explanation: Writer’s Choice. Either way, that’s my headcanon and I’m sticking to it!
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matchandelure · 20 days
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i fear that the undercover top secret government assassins are growing on me (cp9)
#I HAD ZERO THOUGHTS ABOUT THEM AT FIRST#IN FACT I WAS DEVASTATED THAT THE WATER 7 QUARTET WERE ACTUALLY CP9#BUT THEN??????? I READ CP9'S INDEPENDENT REPORT AND. I!?!??!?@?!?#the thoughts are endless ive been having one piece dreams every night for the past few days and they have all been cp9 related the brainrot#is so bad. i am sodgjkadhg#i love one piece there are so many characters with each new arc i get to i get some new characters to obsess over i love it i feel so alive#ive been fighting tooth and nail avoiding spoilers for the latest episode BUT GOD IM SO SO TEMPTED TO. TAKE A PEEK#anyways last night i was once again doing a wiki deep dive and i found some silly things on cp9's pages#JABRA AND LUCCI ARE THE SAME HEIGHT!!!!! THIS IS SO FUCKING FUNNY#CAN YOU IMAGINE?!?!?! the kid you've had beef with since he was 13 (maybe even earlier since lucci alreayd knew him when he was 6) who you#used to have a whole head over is now at eye level with you i would actually be so embarrased#KAKU IS FROM EAST BLUE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THIS IS OS IMPORTANT ACTUALLY!! THE MOST IMPORATNT FACT EVER!!!!!!!!!!!#so he knows the strawhats are...also from the east blue right?!? right??????! and ik the wg steals these kids early on to train them so i#doubt he has lingering attachments to his home sea but i still think this so both so so sad and so important :'((#also not getting over how oda's depiction of tiny kaku has him holding a toy boat BC ARE YOU KIDDING ME!!?! ARE YOU K IDDING ME#kalifa and jabra's favourite dishes are both lamb based!!!!!!!!! silly because her animal motif is a sheep haha#BUT ALSO considering how her father was also cp9 and she's probably been conditioned since birth to also follow his footsteps and how jabra#holds seniority in the current lineup id like to think that these two have known each other a very long time and there were influences#the most dysfunctional fcked up family ever. cp9#blueno and jabra are both from the north blue!!!!!!!!!!!!! and that one falshbakc we see that the two of them plus 6year old lucci trained#together but also it would be so fcked up if the two actually knew of each other before being roped into the governemnt#idk how the wg works do they just??? routinely scout around and pick up a bunch of kids ata time???? were jabra and blueno taken together??#also wondering if ... kalifa jabra and kumadori knew each other the longest as fellow agents or soemthing#i feel like im entertaining a gazillion thoughts all at once its so hard ot balance but we know both kalifa nad kumadori have#parents in the governemnt/assassin profession that also influenced them right#idk maybe one thing they can bond over#cp9 to me is just a fucked up family of some sort. they are not found family they are like some weird forged family where they were all#forced together and somehow made it work and they all love lucci and care for his wellbeing enough to raise all that money to get him to a#doctor and they cared about each other enough to get off enies lobby together without leaving anyone behind and they went cafe hopping and#shopping and bowling together and they all care for each other in their own way
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nny11writes · 2 years
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i dunno, i feel like there's one thing with saying that adora hurt catram and another with saying that it's all her fault and she's an abuser too and i feel like that person's posts have always veered towards the latter category
you dont have to reply to this ask but thats the impression ive gotten from that blogger, excusing other characters while somehow shifting everything onto adora
I can see where you see that, but I’ll be honest I don’t interpret their posts that way. 
I like the tag line “Adora needs to own her shit” because that is a part of her character growth that we don’t talk about. Adora, just like Catra, does some awful shitty things during the show. Like, on screen explicitly bad behavior that often gets swept under the rug due to Adora’s usually good intentions.
I interpret the posts less as everything is Adora’s fault and she’s an abuser, and more as Adora has fucked up and been able to side step a lot of things she needs to unlearn. Some of these things can be abusive, especially if she never works on it.
But the posts also aren’t there to be well rounded extoling the bad and the good. They are laser focused on the bad behaviors and why they’re bad with a dash of here’s some reasons this happened which usually boils down to Shadow Weaver’s abuse of Adora, Adora’s maladaptive coping mechanisms, or ego. All of which are things that negatively impact Adora’s reactions and behaviors.
Just like any meta analysis, I don’t think it’s all true nor do I agree with everything presented. But I also think that the goal was to explore hurtful things that Adora does, so it’s going to focus more on that slant that anything else. In a hilarious twist one of the biggest things I really disagree with was an interpretation involving Glimmer, but there was plenty in there that I went “huh, that is a way to interpret the show”.
One of the things that is difficult with metas specifically is that they are often presented as a be all end all because that’s what makes a strong point. The point that Adora does often guilt trip Catra or that she does behave more physically violently at times towards her has to be broken down and explored, and stopping that to reassure (even more than was done in those posts) that Adora is a good person is reductive to the point of the analysis.
I don’t know if that makes sense, and this is probably just something we won’t see completely eye to eye on. But yeah, for me the posts don’t feel like they’re saying “Adora is an abuser who does everything wrong to hurt Catra on purpose” so much they read to me as “Adora is a victim of abuse who is struggling to learn new ways to live, who doesn’t (in the show) get to fully confront the ways she hurt someone due to growing up in such an unsafe and cruel manner. So let’s talk about the hurtful things she does that are heavily influenced by abusive behavior and tactics, the same way we’ve dived into Catra’s side of this coin.”
#again I can totally see where you feel that way#there was one or two that I felt were beyond mean spirited in their interpretation but the interpretations themselves never went beyond the#*the line of things Adora does/can do#Adora's abuse was (in many ways) more subtle than Catra's was#and I'm not surprised at all to see a lot of the moments I am uncomfortable with fandom general interpretation on tend to be moments where#Adora is mirroring how she was treated#or that she is behaving in a way that used to keep her safe (and she thought kept Catra safe too) but are outdated#Adora's biggest stumbling blocks in the show are related the the way she can keep discordant thoughts in her head#that's how she flips sometimes very suddenly between ''this is all my fault'' and ''this is somebody else's fault it can't be mine!''#Good/nice/kind/caring people can and do fuck up#sometimes spectacularly in awful manipulative ways#but I also know I'm speaking as someone who experienced a relationship with that#where a genuinely good and kind person was abusive towards me#he didn't really want or mean to be but that doesn't mean he wasn't#it was easier to roll over and agree with his version of reality than fight back and sometimes I believed his version over what I knew#the intent in abuse does not always mean ''I wish to cause you to suffer'' but if it's persistent and pervasive it really doesn't matter#And I do see Adora doing a lot of that#being surprised when people don't like her trying to control them and then Adora spinning it defensively in her favor#it makes sense that she would and all it really means is that she is hurting someone because she wants something#and usually what she wants is to have solved the problem and now everyone is happy and no one is mad at her#idk#again not everything in the posts was 100% on point in my opinion#but it was very refreshing to see someone talk about a big part of who Adora is that is easily glazed over#sorry I tried to be short but I am incapable#hopefully this isn't just a shit show of me talking over you I really just mean to explain where I'm coming from and what I interpreted#but my god I don't know if I hit that mark or not
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violetrainbow412-blog · 5 months
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A fair payment [W. W.]
Willy Wonka x fem!reader
word count: 1.5k
People who might be interested: @strugglingwriterwattpad @cattail5 [Timothée masterlist]
some minor Wonka spoilers I guess! If you like it, tell me in the comments, that will make me happy :)
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“Can you mend it?” Willy asked, carefully holding his emerald green jacket that had the sleeve seam torn.
The boy had arrived a couple of weeks ago to turn the world of everyone present in the laundry upside down and, honestly, you were already beginning to enjoy his presence. You looked in the background at the blackboard that Noodle used at night to give him lessons in the hope that he would learn to read because, according to the girl's words, because of that he was almost eaten by a tiger. But in the man's words, what was important was the almost part. 
However, tonight he had asked you especially to go to his room, because he had a problem that he thought only you could solve.
“I think so, I just have to pass the needle a couple of times” you smiled.
Since your arrival Mrs. Scrubbit had used your sewing skills for her own benefit, because after all you had ended up in that mess trying to save a little to be able to buy the necessary materials to make a pretty dress that would be worth enough to advance in the business. Although, obviously, that had not been possible.
"Thank you! I'm afraid that's my only jacket."
“It will be ready in no time. I’ll just go to my room and come back, okay?” you said kindly, placing the garment in the boy's lap and earning a sweet smile from the aforementioned.
Just as Willy had his little briefcase for his chocolates, you had your own, full of threads, needles, and buttons, which you just had to grab from the floor to get everything you needed. When you arrived back you settled at the little table and he remained attentive to your every movement, pulling out a chair so he could observe what you were about to do.
“There was a boy on the ship who helped me with these things,” he began to tell you, keeping his curious nose on your shoulder “But I never thought about learning. You know, for when I had to be alone”
“Well, it's lucky you ended up here. We are a curious collection of workers,” you murmured ironically, referring to all the people gathered there against their will by the work of fate "What did you do on the ship?"
"Cook. Mostly sweet things, but I also know a couple of useful non-chocolate-related recipes. I was the chef,” he said, and you laughed at the exaggerated way he pronounced the last bit.
Willy began to tell you about some of the adventures he had had on the high seas and you listened attentively as the tip of the needle went in and out to join the fabric. It only took a few minutes to get his clothes looking like new, taking the liberty of repairing other places that also needed it.
“Put it on,” you asked, trying not to look at him too much when he did so or pay attention to the way the jacket fit him perfectly.
"It is perfect! You can't even tell it was torn, huh?” he said with emotion, feeling with his hands as much as he could. “How much do I owe you?”
“Oh, it's nothing.”
“I insist,” the man murmured. His curly hair bounced across his cheeks as he sat next to you and he lifted his small briefcase off the floor, opening it to reveal all the little bottles of ingredients. “Your talent for mine. It's a fair exchange."
You had to admit that the chocolates you had eaten were a complete delicacy, but a part of you didn't want to get used to that luxury or you knew that when Willy was gone you would miss his sweetness. In the literal and figurative sense.
Locked in that laundry it was impossible to meet many people your age and Noodle was your greatest company, as if he were a little sister to you. But now that he was there, there was a certain happiness in chatting with him, much more now that his ingenious mind had devised a way to get you out of there even if it was just for a few hours to see the light of day and get coins from the sale of the chocolates to free you of the enormous debt to Mrs. Scrubbit.
“What flavor do you want to try today? Do you want me to add some unicorn skin glitter? Rays of sunlight from a twilight on the seashore? Tears of an African crocodile?”
“Just give me something you think I need,” you replied softly.
Willy thought about it for a moment, because it wasn't the kind of answer he would have expected. What was he supposed to give you that night? A little hope? Happiness? Nostalgia? It was difficult to decide.
Through his bright eyes you watched him reflect and just a second later his hands began to work. You noticed there was a hint of mischief in his smile as he poured milk, chocolate, and the contents of a couple of jars into the processor, glancing at you from the corner of his eye from time to time.
“What are you going to do when we get out of here?” he asked suddenly, not neglecting the tasks.
“Working in a sewing workshop, I guess.”
“Why don't you open your own fashion house?” Willy suggested carefreely, as if it were a very easy thing to do, “You are a great dressmaker.”
“And you are a great dreamer”
“It's my best quality,” he exclaimed, almost offended. You waited a moment before answering.
“I just don't think it's that simple. It requires effort, time, and a lot of money…”
“We will have everything,” he interrupted you, with that optimism that characterized him. Suddenly he stopped what he was doing and one of his hands traveled to take yours. “When I open my factory, we will all be able to fulfill our dreams. And you are going to have a fashion house, I promise you.”
“You make a lot of promises,” you responded, blushing.
“And he planned to fulfill them all. I always do it"
Maybe there was something about the softness of his grip on your hand or perhaps the sparkle in his eyes that made you look away out of sheer nervousness. He seemed to be good and innocent, to the point that he probably didn't even realize how close he was to you or how inappropriate the position would be if Noodle ever walked in.
A tap interrupted your moment and then he abruptly pulled away, excited to show you the product he had just made. It was a pretty circular candy that was bright pink and seemed to be emanating smoke from the inside.
"What's that?"
“You'll have to try it to find out,” he murmured, as he extended the treat in your direction.
You had to admit that you were somewhat curious to discover what the man was offering you, so you took it between your fingers carefully, and even under his watchful gaze you took a bite.
At first it tasted like ordinary chocolate, but then it took on a strange tone, which made you feel a certain warmth in your chest that spread to your cheeks. It was a most pleasant feeling, like bubbly joy combined with the embarrassment of a hug.
You thought for a moment about what flavor that could be, without any success, until after a few seconds you realized that it wasn’t a flavor in itself, but a feeling, an experience... Was it love that Willy had given you?
“How does it taste?”
“Yummy,” you responded, covering your mouth so he wouldn’t see the wet chocolate on your tongue, but also to hide your smile “Delicious, actually. What does it contain?”
“A special and secret ingredient”
"Oh, come on! Aren’t you going to tell me?”
“I just want to know if I got it right,” he murmured and you frowned slightly, not understanding him “About what you asked for. Did I give you something you needed?”
You had to bite your lip to keep from smiling again, your cheeks feeling hot from the simple fact that he was looking at you. You thought that this could even be a love potion that you had consumed without thinking about it, just because he was the one who was offering it to you.
“We could say yes”
“We're even, then,” he exclaimed as he waved the sleeve of his jacket and you nodded in amusement, eating the rest of the chocolate he had made for you.
A yawn leaving your lips made you aware of how exhausted you were and although you didn't love the idea, you knew it was time to leave.
“It's late, I should go to sleep before we wake anyone up.”
“Yes, yes, of course,” Willy said quickly, getting up from his seat to accompany you to the exit. “I'll see you tomorrow.”
“Rest,” you said kindly, and, gathering courage, you leaned forward a little to say goodbye with a hug that he gladly returned.
As you walked down the hall to your shabby, damp room, you thought that it probably wouldn't have even taken a love potion to fall for the charms of the pleasant chocolatier. You just needed one of his smiles.
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reasonsforhope · 8 months
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Story from the Washington Post here, non-paywall version here.
Washington Post stop blocking linksharing and shit challenge.
"The young woman was catatonic, stuck at the nurses’ station — unmoving, unblinking and unknowing of where or who she was.
Her name was April Burrell.
Before she became a patient, April had been an outgoing, straight-A student majoring in accounting at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore. But after a traumatic event when she was 21, April suddenly developed psychosis and became lost in a constant state of visual and auditory hallucinations. The former high school valedictorian could no longer communicate, bathe or take care of herself.
April was diagnosed with a severe form of schizophrenia, an often devastating mental illness that affects approximately 1 percent of the global population and can drastically impair how patients behave and perceive reality.
“She was the first person I ever saw as a patient,” said Sander Markx, director of precision psychiatry at Columbia University, who was still a medical student in 2000 when he first encountered April. “She is, to this day, the sickest patient I’ve ever seen.” ...
It would be nearly two decades before their paths crossed again. But in 2018, another chance encounter led to several medical discoveries...
Markx and his colleagues discovered that although April’s illness was clinically indistinguishable from schizophrenia, she also had lupus, an underlying and treatable autoimmune condition that was attacking her brain.
After months of targeted treatments [for lupus] — and more than two decades trapped in her mind — April woke up.
The awakening of April — and the successful treatment of other people with similar conditions — now stand to transform care for some of psychiatry’s sickest patients, many of whom are languishing in mental institutions.
Researchers working with the New York state mental health-care system have identified about 200 patients with autoimmune diseases, some institutionalized for years, who may be helped by the discovery.
And scientists around the world, including Germany and Britain, are conducting similar research, finding that underlying autoimmune and inflammatory processes may be more common in patients with a variety of psychiatric syndromes than previously believed.
Although the current research probably will help only a small subset of patients, the impact of the work is already beginning to reshape the practice of psychiatry and the way many cases of mental illness are diagnosed and treated.
“These are the forgotten souls,” said Markx. “We’re not just improving the lives of these people, but we’re bringing them back from a place that I didn’t think they could come back from.” ...
Waking up after two decades
The medical team set to work counteracting April’s rampaging immune system and started April on an intensive immunotherapy treatment for neuropsychiatric lupus...
The regimen is grueling, requiring a month-long break between each of the six rounds to allow the immune system to recover. But April started showing signs of improvement almost immediately...
A joyful reunion
“I’ve always wanted my sister to get back to who she was,” Guy Burrell said.
In 2020, April was deemed mentally competent to discharge herself from the psychiatric hospital where she had lived for nearly two decades, and she moved to a rehabilitation center...
Because of visiting restrictions related to covid, the family’s face-to-face reunion with April was delayed until last year. April’s brother, sister-in-law and their kids were finally able to visit her at a rehabilitation center, and the occasion was tearful and joyous.
“When she came in there, you would’ve thought she was a brand-new person,” Guy Burrell said. “She knew all of us, remembered different stuff from back when she was a child.” ...
The family felt as if they’d witnessed a miracle.
“She was hugging me, she was holding my hand,” Guy Burrell said. “You might as well have thrown a parade because we were so happy, because we hadn’t seen her like that in, like, forever.”
“It was like she came home,” Markx said. “We never thought that was possible.”
...After April’s unexpected recovery, the medical team put out an alert to the hospital system to identify any patients with antibody markers for autoimmune disease. A few months later, Anca Askanase, a rheumatologist and director of the Columbia Lupus Center,who had been on April’s treatment team, approached Markx. “I think we found our girl,” she said.
Bringing back Devine
When Devine Cruz was 9, she began to hear voices. At first, the voices fought with one another. But as she grew older, the voices would talk about her, [and over the years, things got worse].
For more than a decade, the young woman moved in and out of hospitals for treatment. Her symptoms included visual and auditory hallucinations, as well as delusions that prevented her from living a normal life.
Devine was eventually diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder, which can result in symptoms of both schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. She also was diagnosed with intellectual disability.
She was on a laundry list of drugs — two antipsychotic medications, lithium, clonazepam, Ativan and benztropine — that came with a litany of side effects but didn’t resolve all her symptoms...
She also had lupus, which she had been diagnosed with when she was about 14, although doctors had never made a connection between the disease and her mental health...
Last August, the medical team prescribed monthly immunosuppressive infusions of corticosteroids and chemotherapy drugs, a regime similar to what April had been given a few years prior. By October, there were already dramatic signs of improvement.
“She was like ‘Yeah, I gotta go,’” Markx said. “‘Like, I’ve been missing out.’”
After several treatments, Devine began developing awareness that the voices in her head were different from real voices, a sign that she was reconnecting with reality. She finished her sixth and final round of infusions in January.
In March, she was well enough to meet with a reporter. “I feel like I’m already better,” Devine said during a conversation in Markx’s office at the New York State Psychiatric Institute, where she was treated. “I feel myself being a person that I was supposed to be my whole entire life.” ...
Her recovery is remarkable for several reasons, her doctors said. The voices and visions have stopped. And she no longer meets the diagnostic criteria for either schizoaffective disorder or intellectual disability, Markx said...
Today, Devine lives with her mother and is leading a more active and engaged life. She helps her mother cook, goes to the grocery store and navigates public transportation to keep her appointments. She is even babysitting her siblings’ young children — listening to music, taking them to the park or watching “Frozen 2” — responsibilities her family never would have entrusted her with before her recovery.
Expanding the search for more patients
While it is likely that only a subset of people diagnosed with schizophrenia and psychotic disorders have an underlying autoimmune condition, Markx and other doctors believe there are probably many more patients whose psychiatric conditions are caused or exacerbated by autoimmune issues...
The cases of April and Devine also helped inspire the development of the SNF Center for Precision Psychiatry and Mental Health at Columbia, which was named for the Stavros Niarchos Foundation, which awarded it a $75 million grant in April. The goal of the center is to develop new treatments based on specific genetic and autoimmune causes of psychiatric illness, said Joseph Gogos, co-director of the SNF Center.
Markx said he has begun care and treatment on about 40 patients since the SNF Center opened. The SNF Center is working with the New York State Office of Mental Health, which oversees one of the largest public mental health systems in America, to conduct whole genome sequencing and autoimmunity screening on inpatients at long-term facilities.
For “the most disabled, the sickest of the sick, even if we can help just a small fraction of them, by doing these detailed analyses, that’s worth something,” said Thomas Smith, chief medical officer for the New York State Office of Mental Health. “You’re helping save someone’s life, get them out of the hospital, have them live in the community, go home.”
Discussions are underway to extend the search to the 20,000 outpatients in the New York state system as well. Serious psychiatric disorders, like schizophrenia, are more likely to be undertreated in underprivileged groups. And autoimmune disorders like lupus disproportionately affect women and people of color with more severity.
Changing psychiatric care
How many people ultimately will be helped by the research remains a subject of debate in the scientific community. But the research has spurred excitement about the potential to better understand what is going on in the brain during serious mental illness...
Emerging research has implicated inflammation and immunological dysfunction as potential players in a variety of neuropsychiatric conditions, including schizophrenia, depression and autism.
“It opens new treatment possibilities to patients that used to be treated very differently,” said Ludger Tebartz van Elst, a professor of psychiatry and psychotherapy at University Medical Clinic Freiburg in Germany.
In one study, published last year in Molecular Psychiatry, Tebartz van Elst and his colleagues identified 91 psychiatric patients with suspected autoimmune diseases, and reported that immunotherapies benefited the majority of them.
Belinda Lennox, head of the psychiatry department at the University of Oxford, is enrolling patients in clinical trials to test the effectiveness of immunotherapy for autoimmune psychosis patients.
As a result of the research, screenings for immunological markers in psychotic patients are already routine in Germany, where psychiatrists regularly collect samples from cerebrospinal fluid.
Markx is also doing similar screening with his patients. He believes highly sensitive and inexpensive blood tests to detect different antibodies should become part of the standard screening protocol for psychosis.
Also on the horizon: more targeted immunotherapy rather than current “sledgehammer approaches” that suppress the immune system on a broad level, said George Yancopoulos, the co-founder and president of the pharmaceutical company Regeneron.
“I think we’re at the dawn of a new era. This is just the beginning,” said Yancopoulos."
-via The Washington Post, June 1, 2023
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yuwuta · 3 months
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RODEO STATION, 2 — MEGUMI FUSHIGURO
A collection of you and Megumi through the years, through Gojo’s eyes. 
content, warnings: childhood friends to lovers, canon-adjacent, satoru adopts megumi and tsumiki, reader has a cursed technique sort of delved into here
word count: 2.2k
part ii: you and megumi are ten, tsumiki is eleven, gojo is twenty-ish?, about six or seven months after gojo meets all of you, and adopts megumi and tsumiki. you can read part one here
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The moment that Satoru met him, he knew that Megumi was a little troublemaker and there was little he could do to stop that. Satoru didn’t mind for the most part, and he couldn’t blame the kid either—honestly, he was more surprised that Megumi didn’t routinely get himself into more trouble, but he supposes he has you and Tsumiki to thank for that. 
He’d naively believed that you and Tsumiki both played the role of anchoring maternal figure for Megumi, but it only takes a few weeks for Satoru to learn that it’s Tsumiki that serves as the anchor for you two. Satoru then earnestly wonders if you were bullying Megumi with the way you’re able to keep him under your thumb, but when Megumi adamantly refutes this with the nastiest, most offended scowl Satoru’s ever seen on a kid before, he backs off and reasons that this is just how your relationship with Megumi works.
And, as it turns out, Megumi is the only one doing any sort of bullying. He’s ten and Satoru has been to more parent-teacher conferences than any other parent has ever possibly attended in their lifetime. He didn’t even know that it was possible for kid his age to get kicked out of school, especially at this point in the year. There’s only three months left until summer vacation, so Satoru enlists Ieiri’s help in enrolling Megumi into public school to finish out fifth grade. She also reassures him that this separation from you and Tsumiki is temporary, and that you would all be able to attend middle school together again in the fall. 
The major problem then becomes that you all get dismissed at different times. You and Tsumiki used to end your days at the same time, but Tsumiki starts staying late to take piano lessons. However, this is remedied by the mother of a friend of Tsumiki’s, who drives her home afterwards; an older woman that Satoru becomes eternally grateful for. Even so, you’re dismissed thirty minutes before Megumi, and some shuffling has to be done to align your commutes. Satoru knows that the three of you took yourselves to and from school before he came into the picture, and that most kids your age are more than capable getting home on their own, but after you told him that some old man from the Kamo clan came to talk to you after school one day, he can’t help but to worry. 
Satoru isn’t your guardian, not in the way that he is for Megumi and Tsumiki, but that doesn’t mean that he doesn’t feel responsible for you—morally, financially, emotionally, and more importantly, for his own safety because he knows he’d have both Divine Dogs biting at his ankles if something curse-related happened to you and he didn’t do anything to stop it. 
You were currently under the care of your elderly great aunt who hadn’t a shred of cursed energy from what Satoru could tell. He had Principal Yaga do a background check, and found no other sorcerers in your immediate family, nor any traceable Kamo relatives, and more importantly, you didn’t possess any sort of Blood Manipulation technique. Satoru’s seen what you can do so far to control water, has even seen you give the Divine Dogs trouble in a gentle sparring match—you’re impressive, even at your young age, so he can understand why a powerful clan might see the potential in you, but the Kamo clan isn’t historically welcoming of outsiders. If you’re not related to them, he can’t fathom why any member would physically approach you. 
The old man never revealed his name to you, but Satoru’s certain it’s either a clan elder, or the current head himself; neither of which bring him any comfort. In the spirit of their traditional ways, he doubts anyone would actually try to harm you out in the open, but Satoru still wants to keep you on close watch for a little while. He thinks he’s the best man for the job. He’s quickly proven otherwise. 
He exorcises curses with a bit of hastiness and little tact in order to be there when you get dismissed from school. Ieiri says it’s creepy to follow you from a distance, but Satoru is just doing what he can to protect you. If somebody else is following you, he wants to see who they are. They’ll never approach or reveal themselves if he hovers next to you, and if you half the pride that Megumi has, you’d run him out of town if he ticked you off by playing overprotective big brother—so, instead, he positions himself far enough away to observe you, and close enough to defend if need be. 
He never needs to. 
For as wild and boisterous as you are with Megumi and Tsumiki, you follow a simple, quiet after school routine. You walk with Tsumiki and her friends to the west gate to drop them off at piano practice, then cross the street to buy a snack—this differs, but you always get a carton of strawberry milk—and then walk to the train station. It’s a ten minute walk from your school to the station, and a fifteen minute walk from Megumi’s school to the station, which is why Satoru doesn’t quite know how the kid manages to keep you waiting for only seven minutes on average when he already gets out of school thirty minutes after you. 
Once he gets over the initial shock, he can’t help but to be amused. He knows that when Megumi first changed schools, he started meeting you on the train, two stops later—at the one closer to his new school. But in the last week, Megumi has walked himself seventeen blocks east, at what Satoru guesses must be an inhuman pace, just to meet you at the station closest to you. 
When two weeks have passed since the unknown Kamo elder has contacted you, and no other incidents have occurred, Satoru resigns his position as perimeter watchdog. He has a bunch of missions to catch up on anyway, and he figures that you and Megumi are safe in each other’s care for now. 
A few weeks later, after catching up on his assignments, Satoru decides to check back in. He knows he doesn’t have to, but something in his stomach is telling him to. Maybe it has to do with the fact that the curse he fought earlier today had some kind of toxic blood that has him thinking the worst could happen to you, or getting a call that Megumi had been cutting some of his classes, or that he’s tired and delusional and worried and scared, or maybe it’s just his blooming maternal instincts telling him something is wrong, but he rushes to spy on your commute home. 
He’s late. Megumi isn’t with you, and you’re already on the train when he makes it to the station and he can sense two sources of cursed energy trailing way too close behind you just as the train doors shut. His mind is racing irrationally—is this an unusual move by the Kamo clan, or perhaps someone else? Word had certainly gotten around that he’d picked up Toji Fushiguro’s kid, plus another kid with immense cursed potential, and Satoru himself and the Gojo clan have more than enough enemies. Whatever it may be, he doesn’t take his chances, using his newly honed short-range teleportation skills to make it to the next station before the train can. 
He’s panting, thinking about every worst possible scenario at once, wondering how to best deal with whoever or whatever was targeting you, especially in such a crowded place, wondering if you’re safe, if Megumi was safe—why wasn’t he with you? Has someone already gotten to him, too? Was Tsumiki even at piano practice? Oh god, if he hasn’t already been kidnapped, Megumi is totally going to kill him if something happens to you. 
Satoru rushes onto the train as soon as the door opens, eyes wildly scanning for you through the crowd, ready to strike when he finally finds you—seated towards the back of the car, reading the book that Tsumiki had loaned to you, quietly, and both the black and white Divine Dogs sitting on either side of you. 
And Satoru has to laugh at himself. If he’d stopped for even a moment (or if he’d gotten more than two hours worth of sleep in the past three weeks trying to make up all his assignments), he’d have recognized Megumi’s residuals, would have recognized the energy of the dogs, and would have pieced together that there wasn’t a single threatening aura in the vicinity. 
Oopsies. 
“Gojo?” you call to him, not too loud as to not to disturb everyone else’s commute. “How come you’re here?” 
Satoru shuffles through the crowd and holds onto the overhead rail once he’s next to you. The white dog moves to settle underneath your short legs, blinking at him with disinterest. “Got off a little early today, thought I’d surprise you brats, that’s all,” he says, then motions to the dogs next to you, “Where’s Megumi?” 
You blink at him. Satoru knows you probably don’t believe him, but you spare him the embarrassment when you don’t push it further. “He had to make up a credit today, so he’s getting on at the next stop. Do you want a sandwich? They only had ones with peppers today, so Megumi won’t eat it, but Mr. Teuchi gave me two, anyway.” 
“What, is he allergic or something?” Satoru questions, accepting your offer, and the seat next to you when he starts to unwrap the sandwich. 
“No, he’s just picky,” you tell him, closing your book to unwrap yours, too. You’re quiet, taking your first two bites, before you turn to him again, “How did you know Megumi was missing?”
Satoru chokes. It gains him a few concerned stares, and even a pointed ear from the black dog, before he regains his composure. “Um... he tells me usually he follows you home from the other stop, that’s why.” 
“Then why didn’t you try to surprise us at the other stop?”
Satoru pauses again. Since when did ten year olds get so lippy and observant? “I did, but I was late. So I sort of,” Satoru leans down, crinkling the empty sandwich wrapper in his right hand and uses his left to beckon you towards him to whisper, “Teleported here.” He pulls back, prideful, and crosses his legs, “Pretty cool, right?” 
“So, why didn’t you just teleport to the first station when you realized you were going to be late?” You question, mocking his whispering tone when you repeat the word. 
“Hey, you think doing that kind of stuff comes automatically? I can’t just pop up anyplace at any time,” Satoru groans, a bit overdramatically, “Not yet, anyway. I’ll be able to do that soon.” 
You hum, kicking your legs happily as you take another bite out of your snack. “I think I get it. Megumi says it’s hard spreading out and controlling your cursed energy over long distances, but he’s been practicing hard. He can send the dogs way far away from him now.” 
“I see,” Satoru turns his chin down, eyeing the Divine Dogs with a gentle smile. He almost says that it’s easier to send shikigami on their own, especially those like Megumi’s, and particularly when you anchor them to another source of cursed energy such as yourself, but you look way too proud of Megumi for him to burst your bubble. He also declines to say that Megumi probably doesn’t send the dogs to you on days like this just for the sake of practicing. 
A crush isn’t quite exactly the motivation Satoru pictured when he told Megumi he’d have to work hard and get strong, but whatever works, works. 
Ten minutes later, the train comes to a steady halt. Megumi is the first new passenger on board, and unlike Satoru, he doesn’t need to turn his head wildly, every which way to find you. You’re like a beacon to Megumi, he easily finds the both of you in the last seats in the car, and steadily makes his way to you. 
Megumi greets you before he greets Satoru, taking the seat across and facing you before he turns to the taller man with a much less receptive frown, “What are you doing here?” 
“I believe the word you’re looking for is hello, Megumi,” Satoru teases, reaching across to ruffle his already unruly hair. Megumi grumbles, batting his offending hand away.
“Gojo ate your sandwich,” you chirp. 
“What?” Satoru yells, incredulous, “I did not. You gave it to me—tell him!” 
You have much more fun watching Satoru scramble than defending his honor. It’s only when Satoru gives his best pout that you admit to Megumi that you offered up his sandwich, consoling him with the fact that it included his least favorite ingredient and making it up by pulling out two cartons of strawberry milk for him. Megumi accepts them both with quiet thanks, cheeks growing pink to match the cartons, and you smiling widely when he takes his first sip. 
Satoru had a hunch those were for Megumi. So, this isn’t one-sided. Good for you kids. 
It’s another twenty-six minutes before it’s time for you all to get off the train. The Gojo-Fushiguro residence and your great aunt’s house are in opposite directions, but are both just a short five minute journey from the station exit. One you can certainly make on your own, and still, Megumi insists that you let the dogs walk with you and that he’ll release them once you’re home. 
“It’s good practice,” Megumi mumbles, shooing you on your way uphill, “I want to know how long I can keep them out, too.” 
You have that same look on your face that you had earlier, like you don’t quite believe Megumi, but just as with earlier, you don’t say anything, sparing Megumi and Satoru a formal goodbye and a wave before heading home. Satoru and Megumi turn to walk back to their own house, he can’t help but to smile every time Megumi turns his head to look back at your silhouette. 
Satoru decides that you’re not Megumi’s anchor, you’re the lighthouse that guides him to shore, a light that he follows with faith and reason; a safe haven that Megumi seeks to protect. Satoru can admire that, but he wonders what happened that could make the most unruly kid he knows pledge his allegiance like that. Megumi would have refused Satoru’s aid if he hadn’t agreed to let you stay in his life, and although he’d chalked it up to puppy love before, Satoru’s beginning to wonder if there’s anything he, or anyone, even could do to separate the two of you. 
Likely not, he concludes, when two weeks later, your class goes on a field trip and Megumi is the one who comes home exhausted and crashes onto the couch immediately. When Satoru asks, all he gets is a tired grunt; but shortly after Megumi falls asleep, he can feel a few extra shadows at his feet, and a glimpse of the white dog before she completely vanishes into the darkness. 
Satoru chuckles, leaning down to ruffle Megumi’s hair before heading to the kitchen to make a snack for Tsumiki. If this is the rate that Megumi trains to keep his loved ones protected, then Satoru has no worries about him getting strong enough to keep up with him.
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