#hush up dani

[jamiethebeeart]

Lineart by @ovytia-art which was such a blast to color - I love the entire vibe of all of them hanging out together so much @green-with-envy-phandom-event

#greenwithenvy2024 #danny phantom #i picked it for Dani originally but i really do love seeing all of them interact together it makes me really happy to see #fun fact the flats (including background) took almost 4 hours. + i had to spread that up over a few days due to eye problems slowing me dow #but it was so so worth it. no one else will really understand but working on it gave me the same kind of goofy fun stress free feeling as #when me and my friends hang out at our dennys. i have a newfound fondness for nasty burger. #anyway do NOT look too closely at the car background because i /know/ they're messed up perspective just. hush. #i designed some nasty burger logos for this based on the canon sign! it was very fun!!!! and i reused them for another piece #dp jbee

[httpspedri26]

Bad Idea right? ~ PABLO GAVI

SMUT

Pablo gavi x reader

Send requests!

Y/n felt weird coming back to Barcelona, especially since she wasn’t here to see gavi anymore, but since she still had friends in Barcelona she decided to visit them.

This brought her to a club with her friends, finding herself seated at the bar, a tad dizzy, her phone discreetly buzzing in her purse.

Y/n’s eyebrows furrowed her eyebrows seeing the caller ID—Pablo., she threw her phone away as her friend Dani approached.

“Hey! You okay?” Dani asked, placing an order for another round.

Nodding and offering a forced smile, Y/n replied, “Yeah, I’ll join the other girls soon.”

As Dani left, Y/n’s phone buzzed again, this time with messages from Pablo:

Come over please.

I need you.

Returning to her friends, “Hey, I’m not feeling great. I’ll head out.” Y/n yelled over the loud music, her friends bombarded her with questions, displaying a mix of curiosity and concern, but Y/n’s mind was elsewhere. Ignoring their queries, she couldn’t shake off the notification revealing Pablo’s new address.

Pablo’s message lingered in her thoughts as she gulped, throwing her phone back into her purse.

“I’ll grab a taxi; don’t worry,” she reassured her friends before speed walking outside to the exit.

Y/n stood outside Gavi's front door, debating whether she should knock or not, knowing being here was a bad idea.

“Fuck it, it’s fine” she whispered to herself.

As y/n knocks on the door she can hear loud footsteps running towards the door, which reveals a messy hair gavi with a smirk on his face

“Hey”

✿

Y/n Moaned as she threw her head back “f- fuck Pablo, I missed you”

Y/N closed her eyes, Overwhelmed by Gavi’s kiss, the way he stretched her out, and the lingering sensitivity from the edging session, an unexpected yet inevitable orgasm crashed over her.

Bowing off the bed with a sharp cry, there was no time to recover as Gavi intensified, driving her into a cascade of orgasms. Gavi urged, “Scream for me, yeah?. Let it all out,” pressing his thumb against her needy, swollen clit. The climax repeated until exhaustion set in, and she collapsed against the bed, her body sore from relentless orgasms.

As she lay limp, Gavi slowed, groaning as he reached his own climax. “Fuck, I missed you,” he whispered, smoothing her hair back and sealing the moment with a lingering kiss. “You did so well.”

Gavi fell asleep on top of Y/N, their bodies intertwined in the aftermath. The room was filled with a hushed stillness, only broken by the soft sounds of their breathing.

As Y/N lay there, catching her breath, her phone started to vibrate with a message. Gently extracting herself from Gavi's embrace, she reached for her phone. The screen lit up, revealing a message from Dani.

"Hey Y/N, haven't heard from you in a while. Everything okay?"

Y/N's gaze shifted from the message to Gavi, still peacefully asleep. She hesitated, contemplating how to respond without waking him.

I just had a long night. Gonna catch some sleep now. We’ll catch up soon, promise.

She pressed send and gently placed the phone back on the nightstand.

Turning her attention back to Gavi before drifting off to sleep.

The next morning, Y/N stirred from her slumber as gentle kisses traced along her neck. Slowly opening her eyes, she was met with Gavi’s warm gaze and a tender smile.

“Buenos días, linda,” Gavi murmured, continuing to pepper her face with soft kisses. “ I really missed you y/n/n”

Y/N couldn’t help but smile back. “Morning,” she replied, reaching up to brush back gavi’s hair.

Gavi paused, looking thoughtful. “I was planning to make breakfast for you, but my kitchen is empty. Do you want to go out and get breakfast? I still have some of your clothes in the closet you can wear”

Y/N grinned, liking the idea. “Sure, I’d love to” she replied giving him one last kiss before standing up.

After breakfast with gavi, he drove y/n to her hotel and as soon as she got to her room, her phone started ringing with a phone call from her friend Dani

“Y/n what the actual fuck, back with Gavi seriously?” Her friend screamed over the phone, y/n rolled her eyes as she chuckled

“Dani we’re not back together, we were just catching up, can’t two people reconnect? I only see him as a friend”

“You don’t even believe it yourself y/n”

#football imagine #football x reader #pablogavi x reader #pablogavi blurb #pablo gavi one shot #pablo gavi blurb #pablo gavi imagine #pablogavi #pablo gavi #pablo gavi x reader #gavi one shot #gavi smut #gavi x reader #gavi imagine #pablo gavi angst #gavi #pablo gavi smut

[moneypriestess]

After a lot of consideration and many different souls asking for justice, danny decided to arrest and have a public trial for the one and only lex Luthor.

The Justice League was more than happy to allow Danny's knights to arrest the billionaire and even asked to sit in on the trial, now danny was happy to oblige.

The only downside being that just like mortals, ghosts can have state appointed lawyers and lex luthors lawyer was a ghost who had never lost a trial and never planned on losing one, even if it was in favour of a man like luthor.

The trial went on and on for months until one day, as danny sat atop his thrown with a migrane that felt like his skull was being blown off, he felt the familiar ting! Inside his core and sat up just as his sister/daughter/clone walked into the courtroom with a slushee in one hand and a nasty burger in the other.

Everyone stopped to see the new arrival and dani thought this was the perfect moment, she gasped believably enough and pointed at lex luthor "he's bald!"

"He's bald, and he's torturing people who have hair!"

I know this makes no sense, but hush, it's funny.

#dc x dp #crossover #danny phantom #crack #batfam #dc x dp crossover #danny fenton #dp x dc #dp #dpxdc #dani phantom

[reareaotaku]

Yandere! Daenerys Targaryen Headcanons

I've never watched Game of Thrones [GOT] so I'm sorry if this is OOC, but just know I tried my best. [I know a little bit about her from Tiktok Edits]

From the moment she saw you, she was enchanted and had to have you

She'll approach you bold and confident, hoping to catch not only your eye but maybe your hand as well

She doesn't care where you're from, even if you're a White Walker, she will take you and engrave you into the House of Targaryen

^ Her brother will see it as a betrayal, but she's quick to hush him up, saying he knows nothing of love

Loves when you call her Dany/Dannie, it makes her feel warm and special inside

Will braid your hair, telling you it's part of a tradition, whenever you win a tournament and battle, under the guise that it's easier for her to braid it

Would love if you braid her hair after winning a fight

It makes her feel closer to you and you're sharing a special moment

She hums to you while she braids it

Mostly lullabies

She turns you around when she's done braiding and looks at your face. She'll slowly caress your cheek, before putting some baby hairs behind your ear

^ She looks at you like you're the only person in the world

And to her, you are

Will take you riding on her dragons

At first you were scared, but she's quick to console you and tell you it'll be fine

God, she loves when you squeeze her tightly in fear of falling

Every rejection you send her way just makes her more determined

She's protective over you. If anyone dares threaten you, she will kill them. How dare they try and threaten the love of her life? They were asking for death

She would do anything for you, all you have to do is ask. You want a specific food? Well, she'll travel across the world to get it for you

Sometimes she doesn't think about her actions in full and can end up accidentally hurting you

In those moments, she becomes frustrated at herself for hurting you. She becomes angry and will profusely apologize

Speaking of anger, whenever she does become angry, especially when it's because she hurt you, someone always gets hurt. She has to hurt someone else to replace the feeling of guilt and shame from hurting you. She doesn't care who, just anyone besides you. Maybe even someone you dislike?

#daenerys targaryen x reader #daenerys targeryan #yandere daenerys targaryen #yandere daenerys targaryen x reader #got #game of thrones #game of thrones x reader #got x reader #yandere x reader #yandere #yandere imagines #dragons #mother of dragons

[modanisgf]

5. I WISH

wc: 1.1k

danielle wished what she had experienced that morning was a dream, but she knew it wasn’t. the past couple of days already didn’t feel real, so this did nothing to ease her anxiety.

dani picked up her school bag, putting it on her back as she unlocked the front door to leave. the loud noises of the city being nothing but background sound to her as she put her earbuds in.

“HEY, THIS IS RADIO STATION W S K E E. WE'RE TAKING CALLS ON THE WISHLINE; MAKING ALL YOUR WACKY WISHES COME TRUE."

danielle scrolled through her phone as she walked, texting y/n quickly that she was on her way. she smiled once she saw her response, something along the lines of y/n being excited to see her.

dani shut her phone off as she reached a crosswalk, not noticing the eyes fixated on her as she walked down the road. moments later dani felt a weird tingling sensation, something she hadn't felt before. she felt hyper aware of her surroundings now, holding her breath when she heard a loud bang behind her.

danielle quickly ran to hide, trying to get her footsteps to be as quiet as possible. she hid behind a trash bin in an alley, not even taking the time to consider how this only put her in more danger. all she could do was hope that whatever was alarming her like this wouldn't walk down the alley.

the same feeling danielle had gotten minutes earlier came back, her heart sinking when she heard loud footsteps going her direction. a voice danielle didn't recognize perked up, the girl listening further to see that the person was using a voice changer making their pitch lower.

"are you sure you saw her go down here?" the original voice dani heard spoke, letting her know that wasn't one but two people that might be after her.

"i'm sure." a second voice said firmly.

"why are we even after this girl again? how do we know that she has our--" the third voice quickly got shushed by their companions, danielle was listening carefully now noticing the trios tone lowering.

in a hushed tone now they spoke again, "we know that she has it because there was reports of unusual activity in her house. people are saying her abilities enhanced over night.”

“and how do you know that? what if they’re just bullshitting and we’re bothering some poor girl?”

the one who dani assumed to be the leader paused, before letting out a sigh.

“i don’t care who it is. she took the damn spider obviously so she’s gonna learn what happens when someone steals from us. and you know how boss is gonna get if we don’t find who has that spider.”

‘oh.’

that was all danielle needed to know that she was their target, she was either about to pull out some undiscovered fighting skills or it was over for her. danielle wasn’t even sure what they meant, why would she want their radioactive spider? it was their fault they didn’t watch after it with more care, i mean who lets an experiment like that loose?

danielle zoned back into the trio in front of hers conversation, noticing that they were now arguing loudly. a loud ding from her phone alarmed her immediately, cursing under her breath at whoever texted her. taking her phone out, the text made her realize just how much time she had wasted here.

“shit.” she mumbled, the shouting coming to a close soon after the ding.

“we know you’re here.”

the footsteps only got louder, danielle’s senses enhanced again making her realize they were there to inform her of danger. the feeling made her uneasy, knowing that these people wanted nothing but to harm her.

shortly the trash bin slammed against the ground, the three standing in front of danielle now ready to swing. dani dodged the first attack from the leader quickly, moving the trash bin back as a shield as she backed up.

she used her webs to hold the bin in its place as she caught her breath, not noticing the shock in her enemies faces.

“the spider already bit her.”

the leader seemed extremely angry at this, as he jumped over the bin protecting danielle lunging at her again. dani blocked the attack stunning him as she used her webs to block his vision.

danielle got up quickly, grabbing her school bag she lost while fighting and ran away never turning back.

finally reaching school, danielle ran through the opened doors as someone else was walking in. making her way to hide in the bathrooms.

she unlocked her phone seeing the surplus of notifications from y/n, quickly replying to her texts.

danielle laughed at how you texted her on every app, choosing to disregard it was probably you who gave her away.

danielle received a call from hanni, picking up ready to be scolded.

“dani?!” hanni said, panicked.

“hello?” dani says.

“where the hell have you been? it’s like when you got bit you haven’t responded to any of us in an hour!” hanni whisper shouts, the girl obviously being in class.

“an hour?” danielle says, heart dropping when she saw the time.

first period was already done, she knew she would never hear the end of it from y/n.

“yes an hour! anyways i have to get back to class, you better tell us later what happened because i have a bad feeling.” hanni says, hanging up without saying anything more.

danielle sighed, taking a moment to calm down after the last hour being absolute hell. once she felt somewhat safe, she left her hiding spot and headed to the hallways.

the bell rang for lunch, danielle grimacing when she saw her little cousin walk up to her.

“dani!” liz says, waving to her.

“where have you been? auntie’s been texting me all morning asking if i’ve seen you.” liz asks.

“um, i got caught in traffic.” danielle says.

“don’t you walk?” liz questions.

“the cars blocked the cross walk.” dani says.

liz rolls her eyes, “i don’t think that’s even legal, but whatever. have you heard from your girlfriend?”

danielle hated the way liz never called y/n by her name, it was always her girlfriend.

“yeah, we’re going to go eat lunch together with our friends.” danielle responds.

“can i come pleasee? rei and wonyoung both left me alone today.” liz whines.

“sure.. just don’t embarrass me.” danielle says, opening the cafeteria door for the both of them.

the two make their way over to the tables that the group combined to make room for everyone, liz noticing the glare y/n gave her.

“welcome to school dani!” hyein teases, making danielle roll her eyes.

“this is liz,” dani starts, “her friends aren’t here today so she needs somewhere to sit.”

the group nods, the two taking a seat liz sitting next to her cousin.

"so did you guys see the new txt comeback?"

TAGS 🏷️ (OPEN): @jayjj7 @haerinsloverr @mxl633 @hrjunluvs @kissablening @mah4u @idkwhatim-doinghere101 @xen248 @dexthzone @kaypanaq @multiliker @addorations

a/n: if it looks like i didnt tag u istg it says i did in the draft 😭😭 also this was literally cut short goodbye.. i probably should've mentioned way earlier that a good bit of this series will be written, imo its just so much easier to convey the story

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#newjeans #newjeans danielle #newjeans fanfic #newjeans x reader #newjeans fluff #newjeans smau #newjeans hyein #newjeans haerin #newjeans minji #newjeans hanni #danielle marsh x reader #danielle x reader #mo jihye x reader #mo jihye #kpop smau #kpop x reader #kpop imagines #kpop scenarios #kpop gg #lesserafim #lesserafim yunjin #lesserafim chaewon #Spotify

[shrekgogurt]

HAPPY WIPSDAY ASSHOLES THIS TOO COULD BE YOUR BRAIN ON

repeatedly listening to the bridge of

Waiting Room by Phoebe Bridgers

“You’re my favorite person.”

Baz lets out a little puff of air that could be a laugh if he wasn’t so tired. His head lolls back and forth in tiny motions against the wall, shaking no with the saddest whisper of a smile.

“Don’t say that.”

I knock my knee against his again. Like he’s a door and this repeated motion might open him up.

“Why not?”

He reopens his eyes but stares at the ceiling instead of me. It makes me freeze in place, afraid I’ll spook the honesty away. His voice comes out smaller than his rapidly disappearing smile.

“Because it’s cruel.”

sorry that lacked hinge

thanks for the tags @artsyunderstudy @cutestkilla @nightimedreamersworld @emeryhall @larkral @prettygoododds @forabeatofadrum

now tagging @alexalexinii @bookish-bogwitch @brilla-brilla-estrellita @confused-bi-queer @dani-vc @excalisbury @facewithoutheart @fatalfangirl @hushed-chorus @iamamythologicalcreature @ileadacharmedlife @j-nipper-95 @letraspal @messofthejess @mooncello @onepintobean @palimpsessed @raenestee @rimeswithpurple @theearlgreymage @theimpossibledemon @thewholelemon @youarenevertooold @you-remind-me-of-the-babe

#ikabikam #perhaps too spoilery #but I want to shout about it

[daenerystargaryen06]

Melisandre was robed all in scarlet satin and blood velvet, her eyes as red as the great ruby that glistened at her throat as if it too were afire. "In ancient books of Asshai it is written that there will come a day after a long summer when the stars bleed and the cold breath of darkness falls heavy on the world. In this dread hour a warrior shall draw from the fire a burning sword. And that sword shall be Lightbringer, the Red Sword of Heroes, and he who clasps it shall be Azor Ahai come again, and the darkness shall flee before him." -A Clash of Kings - Davos I

"Jhogo spied it first. "There," he said in a hushed voice. Dany looked and saw it, low in the east. The first star was a comet, burning red. Bloodred; fire red; the dragon's tail. She could not have asked for a stronger sign." -A Game of Thrones - Daenerys X

"The Dothraki named the comet shierak qiya, the Bleeding Star. The old men muttered that it omened ill, but Daenerys Targaryen had seen it first on the night she had burned Khal Drogo, the night her dragons had awakened. It is the herald of my coming, she told herself as she gazed up into the night sky with wonder in her heart. The gods have sent it to show me the way." -A Clash of Kings - Daenerys I

The first sign of Azor Ahai being Daenerys is she is the first to see the bleeding comet. When she goes to sacrifice Mirri Maz Duur in Drogo's funeral pyre, she sees the comet arrive. She takes it as a sign to not only progress in lighting Drogo's pyre and beginning the ritual of hatching her dragon eggs, but also as an omen that the gods are showing her the way. This leads her to the Red Waste, to where she eventually comes across Vaes Tolorro, wherein she is discovered by Xaro Xhoan Daxos, Pyat Pree, and Quaithe. They then lead her to Qarth. This was the only 'safe' place Dany and her small khalasar could go after her hatching of her dragons. The comet bled for her, and showed her the way to a place of relative safety for her and her people. It aided in her decisiveness to light Drogo's pyre, burn Mirri Maz Duur, and begin the ritual for hatching her dragons into the world.

"Burnt," said Salladhor Saan, "and be glad of that, my friend. Do you know the tale of the forging of Lightbringer? I shall tell it to you. It was a time when darkness lay heavy on the world. To oppose it, the hero must have a hero's blade, oh, like none that had ever been. And so for thirty days and thirty nights Azor Ahai labored sleepless in the temple, forging a blade in the sacred fires. Heat and hammer and fold, heat and hammer and fold, oh, yes, until the sword was done. Yet when he plunged it into water to temper the steel it burst asunder. -A Clash of Kings - Davos I

"Cradling the egg with both hands, she carried it to the fire and pushed it down amongst the burning coals. The black scales seemed to glow as they drank the heat. Flames licked against the stone with small red tongues. Dany placed the other two eggs beside the black one in the fire. As she stepped back from the brazier, the breath trembled in her throat [...] She watched until the coals had turned to ashes. Drifting sparks floated up and out of the smokehole. Heat shimmered in waves around the dragon's eggs. And that was all.." A Game of Thrones - Daenerys VI

When Azor Ahai began to forge his sword, Lightbringer, he worked upon the blade and forged it in the sacred fires. But when it was plunged into water, the steel had "burst asunder". Daenerys carries her dragon eggs and pushes them down into burning coals, and they drink the heat, but do not hatch. Both Azor Ahai and Daenerys placed something in fire, but it did not go as they wished.

"Being a hero, it was not for him to shrug and go in search of excellent grapes such as these, so again he began. The second time it took him fifty days and fifty nights, and this sword seemed even finer than the first. Azor Ahai captured a lion, to temper the blade by plunging it through the beast's red heart, but once more the steel shattered and split. Great was his woe and great was his sorrow then, for he knew what he must do." -A Clash of Kings - Davos I

"The brazier was cold again by the time Khal Drogo returned. Cohollo was leading a packhorse behind him, with the carcass of a great white lion slung across its back. Above, the stars were coming out. The khal laughed as he swung down off his stallion and showed her the scars on his leg where the hrakkar had raked him through his leggings. "I shall make you a cloak of its skin, moon of my life," he swore." -A Game of Thrones - Daenerys VI

Both Azor Ahai and Daenerys both have a lion parallel. When Azor Ahai slays a lion in his attempt at forging Lightbringer, it fails. When Daenerys pushes her eggs into the burning coals and has a small wish for them to hatch, it fails, and Drogo returns to gift her the white lion he had slain.

Both Daenerys and Azor Ahai fail in some sort of way. Azor Ahai fails to forge Lightbringer in his seeking to do so, and Daenerys fails to hatch her dragon eggs despite hoping they might. That is, until the deaths of their two lovers:

"A hundred days and a hundred nights he labored on the third blade, and as it glowed white-hot in the sacred fires, he summoned his wife. 'Nissa Nissa,' he said to her, for that was her name, 'bare your breast, and know that I love you best of all that is in this world.' She did this thing, why I cannot say, and Azor Ahai thrust the smoking sword through her living heart." -A Clash of Kings - Davos I

"And when the bleak dawn broke over an empty horizon, Dany knew that he was truly lost to her. “When the sun rises in the west and sets in the east,” she said sadly. “When the seas go dry and mountains blow in the wind like leaves. When my womb quickens again, and I bear a living child. Then you will return, my sun-and-stars, and not before.” Never, the darkness cried, never never never. Inside the tent Dany found a cushion, soft silk stuffed with feathers. She clutched it to her breasts as she walked back out to Drogo, to her sun-and-stars. If I look back I am lost. It hurt even to walk, and she wanted to sleep, to sleep and not to dream. She knelt, kissed Drogo on the lips, and pressed the cushion down across his face." -A Game of Thrones - Daenerys IX

Azor Ahai had killed Nissa Nissa purposely, Daenerys on the other hand, had killed Drogo out of mercy. Despite this, the deaths of their two lovers aided into their successions. Lightbringer was finally completed by Azor Ahai. And Daenerys' dragon eggs finally hatched from Drogo's funeral pyre.

When Drogo is left in a vegetative state and Rhaego forcefully killed from Dany's womb- her dragon eggs feel full of life, and not just stone:

"When she woke the third time, a shaft of golden sunlight was pouring through the smoke hole of the tent, and her arms were wrapped around a dragon's egg. It was the pale one, its scales the color of butter cream, veined with whorls of gold and bronze, and Dany could feel the heat of it. Beneath her bedsilks, a fine sheen of perspiration covered her bare skin. Dragondew, she thought. Her fingers trailed lightly across the surface of the shell, tracing the wisps of gold, and deep in the stone she felt something twist and stretch in response. It did not frighten her. All her fear was gone, burned away." -A Game of Thrones - Daenerys IX

Ser Jorah and Mirri Maz Duur entered a few moments later, and found Dany standing over the other dragon's eggs, the two still in their chest. It seemed to her that they felt as hot as the one she had slept with, which was passing strange. "Ser Jorah, come here," she said. She took his hand and placed it on the black egg with the scarlet swirls. "What do you feel?" -A Game of Thrones - Daenerys IX

When Azor Ahai kills Nissa Nissa and forges Lightbringer, it "leaves a crack across the face of the moon". Daenerys hears a tale from Doreah of moon being an egg, and cracking when it wanders too close to the sun, thus producing dragons; and that one day, it will happen again.

"It is said that her cry of anguish and ecstasy left a crack across the face of the moon, but her blood and her soul and her strength and her courage all went into the steel. Such is the tale of the forging of Lightbringer, the Red Sword of Heroes." -A Clash of Kings - Davos I

"He told me the moon was an egg, Khaleesi," the Lysene girl said. "Once there were two moons in the sky, but one wandered too close to the sun and cracked from the heat. A thousand thousand dragons poured forth, and drank the fire of the sun. That is why dragons breathe flame. One day the other moon will kiss the sun too, and then it will crack and the dragons will return." -A Game of Thrones - Daenerys III

Daenerys is the moon, as given by her moon related imagery in her chapters. Drogo is the 'sun', as given by his sun related imagery. When she lights Drogo's pyre, she walks into the flames; this is the moon "wandering too close to the sun". When she does, her dragon eggs begin to finally hatch, and crack loudly. Drogon's egg being the last to hatch, and the crack being referred to as so loud it sounded as though the breaking of the world. Daenerys is part of the sacrifice of hatching her dragon eggs in this ritual, the last central piece needed for her dragons to hatch.

After Azor Ahai forges Lightbringer, it was never cold to the touch, but warm:

"The Jade Compendium. The pages that told of Azor Ahai. Lightbringer was his sword. Tempered with his wife's blood if Votar can be believed. Thereafter Lightbringer was never cold to the touch, but warm as Nissa Nissa had been warm. In battle the blade burned fiery hot..." -A Dance with Dragons - Jon III

Daenerys' dragons are hot to the touch, and are considered 'fire made flesh':

"When she had her handmaids char the horsemeat black, the dragons ripped at it eagerly, their heads striking like snakes. So long as the meat was seared, they gulped down several times their own weight every day, and at last began to grow larger and stronger. Dany marveled at the smoothness of their scales, and the heat that poured off them, so palpable that on cold nights their whole bodies seemed to steam." -A Clash of Kings - Daenerys I

This occurs when Azor Ahai fights against a monster using Lightbringer:

"In battle the blade burned fiery hot. Once Azor Ahai fought a monster. When he thrust the sword through the belly of the beast, its blood began to boil. Smoke and steam poured from its mouth, its eyes melted and dribbled down its cheeks, and its body burst into flame." -A Dance with Dragons - Jon III

When Daenerys kills Kraznys Mo Nakloz, this occurs:

"A lance of swirling dark flame took Kraznys full in the face. His eyes melted and ran down his cheeks, and the oil in his hair and beard burst so fiercely into fire that for an instant the slaver wore a burning crown twice as tall as his head. The sudden stench of charred meat overwhelmed even his perfume, and his wail seemed to drown all other sound." -A Storm of Swords - Daenerys III

The coming again of Azor Ahai indicates that a few certain things must occur for the person to fulfill the role:

"He is not dead. Stannis is the Lord's chosen, destined to lead the fight against the dark. I have seen it in the flames, read of it in ancient prophecy. When the red star bleeds and the darkness gathers, Azor Ahai shall be born again amidst smoke and salt to wake dragons out of stone. Dragonstone is the place of smoke and salt." -A Dance with Dragons - Jon X

Daenerys fulfills these points. Not only was she born at Dragonstone, a place of 'smoke and salt', but you can also say she was "reborn" when she hatches her dragons from Drogo's pyre. This fulfills the 'born amidst salt and smoke" as Daenerys sacrifices herself to hatch her dragons from the pyre and is "reborn" along with her dragons. Smoke from the fire, salt from her sweat:

"Another step, and Dany could feel the heat of the sand on the soles of her feet, even through her sandals. Sweat ran down her thighs and between her breasts and in rivulets over her cheeks, where tears had once run. Ser Jorah was shouting behind her, but he did not matter anymore, only the fire mattered. The flames were so beautiful, the loveliest things she had ever seen, each one a sorcerer robed in yellow and orange and scarlet, swirling long smoky cloaks. She saw crimson firelions and great yellow serpents and unicorns made of pale blue flame; she saw fish and foxes and monsters, wolves and bright birds and flowering trees, each more beautiful than the last. She saw a horse, a great grey stallion limned in smoke, its flowing mane a nimbus of blue flame. Yes, my love, my sun-and-stars, yes, mount now, ride now." -A Game of Thrones - Daenerys X

Daenerys also wakes dragons from stone. When she first receives her dragon eggs, they are told to be merely stone. Not alive. Considered only as pretty 'rocks'.

"Dragon's eggs, from the Shadow Lands beyond Asshai," said Magister Illyrio. "The eons have turned them to stone, yet still they burn bright with beauty." -A Game of Thrones - Daenerys II

"Stone, she told herself. They are only stone, even Illyrio said so, the dragons are all dead. She put her palm against the black egg, fingers spread gently across the curve of the shell. The stone was warm. Almost hot. "The sun," Dany whispered. "The sun warmed them as they rode." -A Game of Thrones - Daenerys III

Yet in my previous points, after the death of Drogo and Rhaego, the eggs begin to feel alive. And after Daenerys sacrifices Mirri Maz Duur and herself in the ritual to hatch the eggs, the dragons finally hatch.

We could also say that both the forging of Lightbringer and the dragons hatching involved blood magic.

Lightbringer was only successfully finished when Azor Ahai plunged the blade into the heart of his Nissa Nissa, and her "blood and her soul and her strength and her courage all went into the steel". It is also said that the blade was tempered with Nissa Nissa's blood.

Daenerys' dragon eggs hatching involved blood magic from Mirri Maz Duur, and a ritual sacrifice.

There is speculation/statement that Azor Ahai is not just one person, but I believe that Daenerys is the main focal point for being Azor Ahai reborn, and her dragons Lightbringer.

"It may be that I am mistaken in you, Jon Snow. We both know the things that are said of bastards. You may lack your father's honor, or your brother's skill in arms. But you are the weapon the Lord has given me. I have found you here, as you found the cache of dragonglass beneath the Fist, and I mean to make use of you. Even Azor Ahai did not win his war alone. I killed a thousand wildlings, took another thousand captive, and scattered the rest, but we both know they will return. Melisandre has seen that in her fires. This Tormund Thunderfist is likely re-forming them even now, and planning some new assault. And the more we bleed each other, the weaker we shall all be when the real enemy falls upon us." -A Storm of Swords - Jon XI

"There must be one more," he said, though whether he was speaking to her or the woman in the bed she could not say. "The dragon has three heads." He went to the window seat, picked up a harp, and ran his fingers lightly over its silvery strings. Sweet sadness filled the room as man and wife and babe faded like the morning mist, only the music lingering behind to speed her on her way." A Clash of Kings - Daenerys IV

". . . three heads has the dragon . . . the ghost chorus yammered inside her skull with never a lip moving, never a breath stirring the still blue air. . . . mother of dragons . . . child of storm . . . The whispers became a swirling song. . . . three fires must you light . . . one for life and one for death and one to love . . . Her own heart was beating in unison to the one that floated before her, blue and corrupt . . . three mounts must you ride . . . one to bed and one to dread and one to love . . . The voices were growing louder, she realized, and it seemed her heart was slowing, and even her breath. . . . three treasons will you know . . . once for blood and once for gold and once for love . . ." -A Clash of Kings - Daenerys IV

"The dragon has three heads. There are two men in the world who I can trust, if I can find them. I will not be alone then. We will be three against the world, like Aegon and his sisters." -A Storm of Swords - Daenerys VI

Daenerys is the main focal point and leader as Azor Ahai. She will be the one to lead the war against the Others/WW, with the possibility of two others working beside her with her three dragons. She and Drogon are the center point for the AA/Lightbringer roles, only they won't be working alone, and it will be a conjoined effort.

It is likely that Daenerys will be the one (possibly joined by Jon or the other main central characters of ASOIAF) to unite the people together and lead them against the cold and the dark. She has the main criteria of being the one to do so. Powerful armies, the right family name, being viewed as the last true living heir to the IT, and her three dragons. She has the most potential to influence the other people into following her and working together to defeat the Others when the time comes.

Her victory over the Others alongside those that aid her will bring a summer that will never end. This is the coming conclusion to the 'Song of Ice and Fire'. Daenerys is the fire, the Others being the ice.

#daenerys defence squad #daenerys stormborn #daenerys targaryen #daenerys targeryan #daenerys appreciation #mother of dragons #pro daenerys targaryen #breaker of chains #khaleesi #team daenerys #asoiaf #a song of ice and fire #azor ahai #light bringer #drogon #asoiaf daenerys #jon snow mention #meta #long reads #long post #speculation #daenerys is azor ahai

[thiniceofeternalyouth]

MISLEADIN' ME SERIES: CHAPTER TEN

MY BEST FRIEND

⊳ Gojo Satoru x f!reader

series masterlist

Genre: angst, fluff, sci-fi, cosmology.

Words count: ~12k

⊲ previous

You'd been in the hot water so long that all the skin on your fingers had shriveled to look like old one, and even afterward you still felt haunted by that cold - your body shuddered every now and then.

Even though you'd asked Frank for a bunch of hygiene supplies, you'd only used shampoo and body wash because when you looked at your body and saw a bunch of small sores, you involuntarily swallowed, putting the scrub jar away.

Refusing to look at yourself in the mirror, you quickly pulled on clean clothes and grumbled grudgingly - you wanted something more substantial than a plain T-shirt. You opened the door ajar. "Frank," you shouted into the emptiness of the big house. "Where's your sweater?"

The rattle of tableware could be heard from downstairs. "What sweater?" he echoed your shout.

"Ya know, the white one that still survived the Paleozoic," your head was already fully out from behind the door, and you froze waiting for an answer.

An imposing figure appeared on the stairs. "Be quiet," the man hushed you. "Ya'll wake the kids."

"I'm sorry," you whispered in a panic. "So where am I supposed to find a sweater?"

"It's got more holes in it than threads," Frank said clearly angered by your choice of clothing.

You shrugged naively. "It's warm, though."

"I'll look for it," he patted you on the head. The hand was so heavy that you almost hit the floor. "Ya go on downstairs. I made some food."

Your stomach didn't rumble at the mention of food. Instead, it felt like a sticky, thick mass in your chest that you wanted to spit out. "Okay," you said swallowing hard.

When you went down to the kitchen, something delicious was waiting for you - a plate of creamy pasta and chicken, and a bowl of fresh vegetables next to it. As you sat down in front of the food, you felt incredibly stuffy. You put the blame for the overheated air on the stove, which still hadn't cooled down.

All you did was wrap spaghetti around your fork and unroll it, and if you were younger, you would have gotten a thousand reprimands for playing with meal. For the first time in your life, you could barely eat.

After the void, it was like this. Even in the same silence, there was room for background noise - all the ringing, beeping, rustling. You wanted to tell everyone what you'd found or to lock yourself in your room and never come out - at least not until the thoughts in your head was quieter.

You threw your fork into the plate disappointedly, and it clattered with such a clang that you involuntarily squeezed your eyes shut. The insistent rumbling sound was impossible to push away, and it only tightened the nauseous knot in your throat more. "... here?" someone's voice, like spokes, began to unravel the tangle of ringing thoughts. You jumped up before someone's hand was on your shoulder. 

Dany stood in front of you - all skinny and frightened. "Ya here?" she asked quietly, barely moving her lips. Her glistening gaze darted around haphazardly, scrutinizing your face as if trying to search for the truth. "It's really ya, isn't it?"

"Hey, bun," you said smiling involuntarily, and with all your remaining strength, you pulled the girl against you. Her gaunt figure responded easily to your actions - she collapsed helplessly in your embrace. "It's me."

Under her weight, your legs began to give way and shake. Holding Danielle by the waist, you pulled her to a chair and sat down beside her. She sat glaring at the table, but you noticed that she occasionally glanced at your plate. "Ya hungry?"

Danielle nodded uncertainly. "Just a little."

You rose from your seat. "Then wait a minute...," you were cut off at half a word by the squeak of a plate against the countertop. You stared in utter amazement at Dany who was already shoving a second forkful of pasta into her mouth. "Have ya not been fed here at all?" you blurted out dumbfounded, looking at her sudden appetite. "Uh, no, wait a minute...," you scratched your forehead thoughtfully, putting the mosaic together in your head. "What are ya even doing here?"

"Couldn't be in that house anymore," Danielle's voice was already weak, but her mouthful of food made it almost impossible to make out the words at all.

"Something wrong?" you alarmed.

You don't think you've ever seen that shade of red on her face before, though you've seen her embarrassed or flustered more than once. "Are ya kidding me?" she snapped angrily, throwing her fork on the table - the force she exerted caused it to fly off into the far corner of the kitchen. "Ya just disappeared!"

"Dany, but I'm back..." you started softly and reached out to her trying to wrap your arms around her shoulders.

Danielle straightened up sharply and pulled away avoiding your touch. "This isn't about ya right now!" she shouted. "I couldn't even breathe properly in that house, I-I broke up with Megumi because of it, I thought...," she sobbed and went silent for a second trying to quiet the growing pain in her throat. "I thought this would happen to me at some point too, I'd just disappear even though someone would wait for me," the girl mechanically began to shake her head from side to side as if denying everything that could happen to her.

You were taken aback by this outburst of emotion, and you blinked your eyes in confusion and tried to touch her again. "It's okay," you said quietly, wiping away a tear that had appeared on Dany's cheek. "Maybe it wasn't like that yesterday, but it's fine now. What did ya...," you fell silent for a second, rubbing your temple as if that might take away the approaching headache. "Ahem, what did ya say about Megumi? Did ya two really break up?"

"I didn't want the same fate for him," Danielle mumbled taking your hand away from her face - this time her movement was neither angry nor wary. Quite the opposite, she squeezed your palm in hers. "So... It'll be easier for both if us."

"Dany, if ya just don't like him anymore, that's one thing," you said smirking slightly.

"It's not like that!" she blurted out indignantly, and if her eagerness had been a fraction stronger, there was a chance your palm in her hand would have crunched. "I already explained that!"

"I don't doubt ya had noble goals in mind," you said nodding meaningfully. "But don't ya think it should be up to the two of ya to decide?" exhaling noisily through her nose, Dany frowned. "It's not like I even asked about it, though," you pointed out reasonably. "He agreed to break up with ya?"

Danielle faltered. "I, uh... I just confronted him with the accomplished fact."

"So mature of ya," you patted her hand condescendingly while smiling broadly - and even though Dany couldn't see it, she could clearly sense it in your voice.

"Everything's a joke to ya, isn't it?" she hissed, jumping up from her seat. "Though what was I even counting on?" she asked, grinning bitterly. "I doubt ya'll ever understand me. Ya and the topic of relationships are... well, ya know. Incompatible," she waved her hand disappointedly leaving your dialog behind and headed for the second floor.

You would have called out to her if it hadn't been for a impudent misunderstanding between you two. What upset her so much? What did you say wrong?

In this blind journey, the feelings of one person never reached the feelings of the other. All the words got lost and dissolved - you were silent. You were silent and watched her disappear into the darkness of the second floor.

"Ahem," Frank coughed pointedly, coming down the stairs just after Danielle left. "Here ya go," he said, holding out his old sweater to you.

You frantically pulled the sweater over you, catching your breath. Once your head was through the collar, you exhaled disappointedly. "Ya heard everything, didn't ya?"

"Not on purpose," Frank replied idly, picking up his fork from the floor. "Young lady, is this how I taught ya to act around food?" he said, turning his attention to the plate in which the disheveled spaghetti rested.

"I'm sorry," you pressed your lips together guiltily. "I didn't feel like I can eat anything, and Dany... Well, she just didn't finish it."

"Ya need to go to the doc. We’re leaving," Frank sternly retorted.

"Frank, it's late and-"

"I said we’re leaving!" he bellowed, slamming his fist down on the table - the tabletop was clearly not ready for such a thing. There was a pitiful cracking sound. You bit your tongue and your eyes widened for a moment - if you'd ever seen Frank like that, it was so long ago that you couldn't even remember.

"Frank, I'm fine," you said, choosing your words carefully. "I'll go see him tomorrow morning, 'kay?"

"Why in the morning?" he said warily, pushing back a chair and gesturing for you to sit down - the sweep of his hand somehow looked like an invitation to an execution.

After hesitating, you walked over and sat down - as instructed. "There's something I need to do. I don't think I can eat or even just sit still until I do."

"What exactly?"

"I really need to see the higher-ups," trepidation turned your voice into a squeak and you coughed, embarrassed at what you heard.

"Why?" Frank tapped his fingers harshly on the damaged tabletop.

You faltered, staring at your lap. "I want to see if there's someone else among them," you said so quietly that Frank could only understand your words when he read your lips.

"What?" he interrogated incredulously. "Ya really think there could have been some trash among them?"

"Yeah, I think so," you replied firmly. "Though no, I'm not sure. Not all the way through. It's just that I think so. God," you buried your face tiredly in the palm of your hand. "That's exactly why I want to check."

Frank was dumbfounded, for nothing like this had ever happened before in his memory, nor in the stories of his father and grandfather. "No, ya can't do that," he objected. "Think about it," noticing your skeptical expression, Frank switched to a conspiratorial whisper. "Ya can't just barge in and test them like that. What if the demon isn't among them? What if one of them die in the process? There'll be tons of witnesses that ya did it, and ya have to realize what'll happen. And even if ya do find a demon among them, what then? At best, ya'll have to fight it, and look at ya!" he said indignantly, grabbing your skinny hand. "And if ya're unlucky, ya'll just scare the bugger away. No, ya can't do that," he shook his head. "We have to be smarter, more cunning. Fish them out one at a time and check them out. If one doesn't make it and still dies, there'll be no witnesses.  I'll give ya an alibi. Ya were at my place tending the roses," he squeezed your palm gently. "Yeah, tending roses," the man nodded confidently. "To check on everyone, ya need to recover, though, so we're going to the dock. No arguments."

"I guess ya're right," you mumbled guiltily, then bit the inside of your cheeks for a moment - all out of frustration. "I'm just... I'm just in a hurry."

Frank ruffled your hair, smiling cordially. "What did I teach ya? It's just like eating, isn't it? If ya hurry, ya'll get indigestion," he said, standing up and putting the plate of pasta in the sink. "Besides...," he began tautly after a brief pause; the sound of the plate clattering against metal sent shivers down your spine. Since when did that sound become so creepy? "Food is supposed to be enjoyed."

You glimpsed the man, his face shrouded in shadows for a moment. "Frank," you began mundanely. "Ya said we goingto the doc? Ya going with me?

The shadows immediately dispersed as if by obedience to a lighted lantern. "Sure!" he exclaimed resolutely. "I must see to it myself."

"It's not like I'm a kindergartener," you whined.

Frank hummed skeptically and protractedly. "Maybe not, but to me ya're still a little pain in the ass."

You continued to whine. "I'll get there myself!" 

"No bickering," Frank ordered confidently but gently, raising his palm in the air - you were immediately silenced.

"Fine," you frowned, pouting your lips. "But can we still go in the morning? I'm too tired right now," you muttered, getting up from your chair, but only to get to the couch and flop down on it. "Can't we at least watch something?" you hissed angrily, waving your hand toward the TV. "Some stupid show, movie or series, whatever. I just really miss TV."

Frank sat down next to you. "Certainly we can," he said, turning on the TV.

Pictures appeared on the screen. Bright juicy images that made your eyes water, but you were glad of that because the color purple hadn't given you anything but a migraine in a long time. Frank switched channels until you saw something that looked interesting and watchable.

You settled down and stretched out on the couch to your full height, throwing your legs unceremoniously over Frank's lap. All your attention was on what was happening on the screen, so you didn't even notice how Frank smiled at first, and then, noticing the calluses and sores on your feet, swallowed worriedly. "Aren't ya expecting anyone?" you suddenly blurted out your question, shifting your gaze to the door.

Frank, taken aback, shook his head. "No," he drawled hesitantly. "I'm not expecting anyone. What's the matter?"

You glared at the door for a few more moments. "No, nothing," you muttered quietly, returning your attention to the television. "How long ago did Dany and Megumi break up?" you asked, gently poking the man's stomach with your foot.

He immediately exhaled sharply and irritably as if he'd been waiting for you to ask that question. "As soon as she moved here!" he spat out, clapping his hands. "This boy comes here almost every week to talk to her, and she doesn't even leave the room. She can't even tell me what's troubling her! Her wording is so vague... I just want to grab her by the shoulders and shake her until she comes to her senses!" he slapped your leg with heat, and you hissed involuntarily. "Sorry!"

"It's okay," you said, though it felt like an electric shock was still shooting through your leg. "I'll try to talk to her, though ya heard it yourself... Maybe Kyle should be the one to ask. He's good at, well, uh, how to put it..."

"Support people?" finished the man for you.

"Yeah," you nodded. "Sorta."

"Yeah, he came by already, tried to," he waved his hand irritably. "It's like she can't hear anyone."

"We have to get her out of this state," you declared, fidgeting restlessly. "I don't want her to do anything stupid."

Frank squinted suspiciously, looking at you. "What kinda stupid thing is that?" you looked at him meaningfully, pursing your lips. "No," he said with a huff. "She wouldn't dare."

"She's a teenager," you remarked, sitting up and tucking your legs under you. "Teenagers have a rough time of it. First and most often unrequited love, adjustment, successful or not-so-successful socialization, misunderstanding from parents who devalue their problems-"

"Ya'll have to excuse me, but most of the time teenagers don't have real problems," Frank said, but noticing your nostrils starting to flare, added: "I said most of the time. Not always."

"Everyone judges the depth of a puddle based on their own height," you subdued the man with a look. "And they haven't grown up yet. They may brush it off or laugh about it in a dozen years, but right now it's a real problem for them," you burrowed deeper into the collar of your sweater as if hiding. "And it's all just about ordinary life. Now imagine what life is like for Dany in our world."     

"So maybe we should let her go?" suggested Frank quietly.

"That's for her to decide. And anyway, she has no mother or father left, where are we gonna let her go?" you objected. "I'll still try to talk to her again after a while. No, I'll at least try to get her out of the room first, and then I'll see how it goes."

Frank glanced over his shoulder, straight for the stairs. Nothing was heard - no fuss, no footsteps. "All right," he said. "But after what ya said, it makes me wanna take the door off its hinges in her room now."

"Ya're supposed to be improving her condition, not making it worse," you muttered unhappily.

Frank, to signify his defenselessness, threw up his hands. "I said what I wanted to do, not that I was really gonna do it."

Without answering anything, you were running through your head thinking that you wouldn't have taken the door off its hinges. You would have just installed cameras. At Frank's questioning look, you slapped yourself on the forehead for allowing such an idea. Frank hummed longingly as if your entire chain of reasoning was right there in plain sight and he'd followed it. "We're not gonna do anything like that!" you protested, jumping up on the spot.

"Honey, ya okay?" the man asked worriedly, grabbing your shoulder and bringing you back to your original position.

"Yeah, yeah," you nonchalantly waved it off, leaning back on the back of the couch. "Look, but guys... I mean, Kyle, Rachel, and Issu, they... they went on without me, right?"

"Sure," Frank confirmed, squeezing your shoulder. "They're responsible persons," you felt light. No doubt you'd felt it before, whether it was your lean body or your home surroundings, but this was a different feeling. Not lightness. Relief. Frank noticed the wrinkles in your forehead finally relax. "What is it?"

"Frank, I found a settlement."

The man, startled by what he heard, gave an amazed gasp. You felt a large hand scoop you up, and all you had time to do before you were pinned to his chest was squeak. "Oh," Frank chuckled nervously. "The darkest hour is nearest the dawn, yeah?"

Frank stroked your hair and seemed to be saying how good you were - the lack of oxygen in his arms made you dizzy, and you couldn't tell if he was saying it or if you were just imagining it. It felt good, though. "Uh-huh," you muffled out.

When the man finally loosened his grip a little, you were able to take a few full breaths and come to your senses. Your gaze automatically drifted to the front door again. "The fuck is this," you cursed, getting up from your seat. In one motion, you were at the door and opened it with a jerk. No one.

You ran out onto the porch, looking around - no one was lurking behind any bush or tree. You rushed out to the backyard. Still in your right mind and sneaking carefully between the beds so as not to damage anything, you hung over the low wooden fence and looked down - the path that led to your house was indeed someone running. Someone small and thin, probably a child. The last thing you saw before the child finally ran down the hill and disappeared behind the other house was something glinting on his hand.

"Who's there?" shouted Frank, standing at the beginning of the beds.

You looked once more at the house behind which the unknown guest had hidden. There was nothing to be seen. "I have no clue," you said, still keeping your eyes on that house and hoping someone would show up. "It looks like it was a kid."

Frank, resting his arms at his sides, snorted. "What kinda kid walks this late?" waiting a little while for you to level with him, he strode beside you back into the house. "Okay, ya stay here and I'll go and go around to everyone," he said, stepping over the threshold - only to grab his jacket. "Maybe one of the adults didn't look out. It's no case for a child to be out alone so late. Even in Hopetown," Frank kissed you on the top of the head and left you alone with the show on TV.

***

The series was interesting. You didn't even notice the morning had come when you were watching people who had survived a plane crash trying to survive on an island far away from civilization. Frank, who had returned in the middle of the night, had fallen asleep on the couch where you were sitting, muttering quietly to himself that no one had lost anyone.

The man slept so soundly that he was not disturbed by the birds whose beautiful singing in the morning seemed annoying, nor by the sound of the alarm clock on his phone, which pissed you off more. "Frank, turn it off," you muttered, but he didn't respond. You kicked him defiantly in the thigh, and only then did he perk up, jabbed something randomly at the phone screen, and his head fell back against the pillow. "Frank, the geese won't feed themselves," you said, climbing up and sitting down on the back of the couch. "Get up, ya sloth!" planting your feet on his back, you attempted to shove him off the couch. The man's body wouldn't budge, and the alarm clock rang again.

You were distracted from the action by a thin voice. "Y/N-ie?" there was Tris on the far step, clutching a tattered stuffed cat. Frank jumped up on the spot, and you tightened your lips skeptically - a tank shot wouldn't have woken him up, but a child's voice brought him to his senses.

"Ya woke her," you hissed, jumping off the couch. You walked over to Tris and squatted down in front of her. "Hey," as soon as you reached for her, she immediately pulled away and almost tripped on the step. "What's wrong?" you worried, frowning your eyebrows.

"You're ugly," the girl stared at you with frightened eyes and clutched the toy harder to her chest. "Don't touch me."

You opened your mouth, but closed it again. "She's not ugly," said Frank, scooping Tris up in his arms. "She just hasn't been eating enough. Now do ya see what happens to people who don't eat enough?" he questioned instructively, walking over to the fridge.

You should have spent more time with her. She rarely saw you, and this time you came home looking like that. You knew exactly why she'd acted the way she did, but you couldn't help the pang of annoyance.

You walked over to her, sitting meekly on Frank's arm and examining the contents of the refrigerator with him, and immediately intercepted the little girl - she immediately started kicking and squealing. "Let go! I don't wanna!"

You pulled her against you, ignoring the childish but precise blows of small fists against your body. "It's me, it's just me," you babbled, never losing your grip, though you cringed every time a fist hit your bulging spine. "That's me. Bun, look at me," just hearing the nickname startled Tris. She frowned at you, and though she still didn't trust you, she stopped whipping you.

"You used to come more often," tears could be heard in her voice. "Why did you stop coming? Y-you don't love me anymore?"

"What?" you blurted out in confusion. "No, no, of course not. I just got worked up. I'm sorry," you said, pulling her tighter against you.

If her tears had been silent before, now she burst into sobs. "S-so you love work more?"

"No, no, don't say that. I love you equally," came the clank of a plate and Frank turned around and looked at you so fiercely that you immediately realized your mistake. "That's not what I meant to say! Of course I love ya more. It's just... I need to make some money," you said quietly, shielding Tris from any other more detailed explanations as to why you were doing this.

Frank rustled the kitchen utensils harder, drawing attention to himself. "Honey," he addressed Tris, though you both raised your heads. "What do ya want for breakfast?"

Tris sniffed weakly through her reddened nose. "Omelet with cheese," she said quietly, and snuggled into your neck again.

Frank's phone rang again - you snorted irritably, thinking it was another alarm clock, but to your surprise, he tapped the screen and put the phone to his ear. Who's calling him this early? "Yes," he said into the receiver. "Yeah, she's here," he answered monosyllabically, giving you a glimpse. "Yeah, I got it," he dropped the call and stared dumbly at the screen for a few more seconds. Coughing, Frank slowly walked over to you. "Higher-ups are calling."

For some reason now, thinking about last night's strange guest made your insides boil - just like the water in a kettle, only this one had an automatic shutoff, but your insides continued to seethe. "What the hell?" you whispered angrily, looking up at the puzzled Frank.

As you walked along the tired road, ignoring the streetlights that had been there for a hundred years, you kept thinking about that child. Had they really fallen so low as to ask the child to watch you and, more importantly, what had the higher-ups offered them? Or did they take advantage of the little man's unselfishness?

The snow had melted and the masonry was still covered with fallen autumn leaves. Had it occurred to any of them to pick up a broom and clean up the mess? Out of frustration, you tried to kick one such leaf - it mockingly flew aside, and you almost fell. "Careful," Frank said, grabbing you under the arm.

Despite your condition, you tried to keep your posture as straight and your head as high as possible, even though it made you uncomfortable. As soon as you were distracted for a second, your body folded in on itself and your head fell back. "Did ya tell them?" you asked, realizing the absurdity of your question.

"No."

"I had to ask."

"I know," Frank said understandingly.

No matter how much you walked, it was as if the wide wooden doors were never coming closer. "Was it a good idea to leave Tris and Mike with Danielle?"

"I'm not sure," the man shook his head sadly. "But I couldn't send ya alone, either. And Danielle... Maybe she'll be distracted for at least an hour, who knows."

"Or maybe she needs some peace and quiet right now and we've only made things worse," you put forward a disappointing suggestion.

Frank's face turned stern, which foreshadowed the grumbling. "That's it, enough. We can't keep up everywhere and always do everything right."

"Is this about your cheese omelet?" you giggled.

Frank immediately exploded. "I did everything right!" he thundered. "Why didn't she like it?"

You bit your lip, trying to suppress a sly smile. "Tris told me that Gojo's was better," though Frank's face was covered by a thick mustache and beard, you could see that his face was turning red, and the increasing wheezing could be picked up even by a hearing impaired person. "Don't be so jealous," you encouraged him, shoving him lightly with your shoulder.

"Let your man cook for her now, then," he muttered unhappily.

You didn't blush, you didn't flinch or swallow your tongue - it all sounded like one big joke to you. "He's not my man," you dismissed.

The door seemed closer and closer. It was only three lanterns away. "For how long?" snorted Frank. "He even took Shaya's-"

"That's it, I'm going," you cut him off halfway through.

The man froze in place, and you stopped abruptly with him, for Frank still held you under his arm. "What does that mean? I'm coming with ya."

"No," you objected softly. "Just in case, I need ya out of the area of potential danger."

Frank jerked you to stand in front of him - he stared into your eyes, trying to find your plans in them. "I told ya not to do anything rash."

You squeezed his hand gently. "I won't. Just being reassuring."

He squeezed your palm in response. "Fine, but I'm gonna stand here. One more thing - if ya're not back in ten minutes, I'm coming after ya."

You giggled, childishly and shyly nodding. "Okay."

Without looking back, you made it the rest of the distance to the door much faster than you'd expected, and what surprised you even more was that it was closed. You leaned your forehead against the wooden surface - of course you would have liked to kick the door with your foot to secure your long-held opinion of yourself, but you could do nothing more than push. The door gave way with great difficulty, shuffling and scratching the floor - not for a moment did you feel as if you were moving a mountain, for you had done your best, and it had hardly moved an inch or two.

You pushed again, and the door gave way as easily as if it weighed nothing - it flew off with a bang, causing you to slam face down on the floor. "Eh...," you mumbled. There was no blood - but the sharp sensation in the bridge of your nose made you start to sniffle. You raised your head - five pairs of eyes were staring at you. All of them. "Howdy," you muttered, rising to your feet and shaking yourself off. "Couldn't ya open it?" you asked grudgingly, pointing behind you. "It's heavy."

Christian glanced at you from head to toe, slowly stroking his chin. Only Nathaniel greeted you with a nod of his head. Old Ellie sat next to him. You could see through the magnifying lenses of her glasses that her eyes were slipping shut. A couple, a man and a woman, who didn't even glance in your direction, but only continued to talk quietly about something, occupied the remaining two chairs on Christian's left hand. "Ooh," you drawled contentedly. "Even the married ones are here. Ravona, Yoichi, hey," you waved at them, and the woman finally graced you with a glance. You chuckled quietly as she raised her eyebrows haughtily and went back to cooing with her husband. "What can I do for ya?" you turned to Christian obligingly.

"A cockroach, indeed," Christian said absently, and he was no longer looking at you, but through you. "You came back last night."

"Yes-"

"It wasn't a question," Christian said, flailing his palm lightly in the air. "You should have come here right away," you bit your cheeks and lowered your head sharply, all because you felt a growing anger – like the anger a child feels when a parent scolds him for something as trivial as that. "You're aware of that, too, so you're not being as cheeky as you usually are."

"Yeah I just wanted to take a bath and rest for a while," you blurted out, splashing your hands dramatically at the injustice. "What's wrong with that?"

Christian barely audibly clucked his tongue. "People could have gotten hurt 'cause of your cravings," he stated, rising from his seat and carefully picking up the clerical shears from the stand with his fingers. "You know the terms under which we agreed to maintain neutrality, so if you'd be so kind...," he stepped close to you - so close that you could smell his breath mixed with the scent of minty mouthwash. "Hold still."

Christian raised one arm, the loose shiny fabric falling away, exposing his forearm. "What are you doing?" bellowed Nathaniel alarmed. "That's not protocol!"

"Silence!" Christian hissed loudly, throwing his scissor hand into the air. Nathaniel stopped abruptly and put his hand to his mouth - you could see from the corner of your eye that he was trying to separate his stitched lips with his fingers.

Something under your eye prickled. When you touched the pad of your finger to the sore spot and looked at it, you noticed blood, and then you turned your gaze to Christian, eyebrow raised disapprovingly. "I apologize," he said courteously, lowering the hand that was clutching the shears and bringing it to his bare forearm. "I was careless. It won't happen again. Now...," he ran the edge of the scissors across his skin without thinking, leaving a long deep cut that immediately began to bleed.

For everyone here, it started to flow. For you, it started to ooze. Breathing steadily, you tore your gaze away from the scarlet liquid and stared into Christian's eyes. No surprise, there was a condescending, barely perceptible smile on his face as usual. Saliva began to pool in your mouth, but you didn't dare swallow, not to let on that all you felt was dread hunger.

Dread hunger was always something unpleasant, even painful and unbearable, but you were in nothing but excruciating pain - as if every bone in your body were being broken in three places and all your nerves were being slowly pulled out from under your skin. For a second, you wished the man standing in front of you would turn into a mirror - just to make sure you were all right. In fact, Christian did reflect your condition because if anything had happened to you, his haughty smile would have turned into a nasty one.

Nathaniel rose from his seat again, drawing attention to himself. Christian reluctantly turned around, hardly taking his eyes off you. "That's enough. She's fine," Nathaniel said sharply, and you took advantage of the confusion to finally swallow the thick saliva that had accumulated.

"Well," Christian sighed, and after waiting for the wound on his forearm to heal, walked to his chair. "I won't keep you any longer," he said carelessly over his shoulder.

You couldn't even roll your eyes, and with the last shred of pride you could muster, you turned and walked away from the place. Your throat felt like it was churning, and it seemed to you that as soon as you opened your mouth, either vomit or blood would pour out.

You were beginning to forget your own language, so when you saw Frank on the horizon, you couldn't swear properly - even your thoughts were a mess of letters and sounds instead of the usual words. Your legs began to shake. The last thing you saw before you bent in half was Frank running toward you. "Honey," he whispered, picking you up by the waist. "Does it hurt too much?" he worried, trying to look into your face, but you didn't rise it. You didn't even hear him. "Let's get ya to the doc," the man said softly, scooping you up in his arms.

[May 30, 2020; 09:43 am; hunters' hq]

Your vision was so blurred that even the silhouettes were a mishmash of faded colors. You couldn't feel your own limbs, and you shook your head sluggishly as someone's hands tried to shove something into your mouth - the tip of your tongue picked out several small, smooth capsules, and then your mouth was filled with water; you coughed - someone instantly pressed their palm against your lips, forcing you to swallow it all.

Finally, the mess in your eyes began to blur - you saw a doc's coat disappear through the doorway, like a snow-white dove that had flown away. "Hey," the face leaning over you was nothing, though you caught a glimpse of green. "Sunshine, ya okay?"

Rolled onto your side, you squeezed your eyes shut a few times, and when you opened them, you saw Kyle in front of you. You wanted to jump up and pounce on him, but he hugged you faster. "Kyle!" you exclaimed in relief. "God, it's so good to see ya again!"

"Hey," he reached out softly, burrowing into the top of your head.

You squirmed impatiently. "Kyle, that was awful!" you complained. "I had to lie on the bare floor, my lower back hurts like hell, no hot water or food, no toothpaste, I'm ninety percent sand, my knees hurt, and my ears are still buzzing like there's a train coming!"

A chuckle escaped Kyle's lips - he was relieved at the sound of your confused babbling as confirmation that you were indeed back. "Easy," he grinned, laying you back down on the couch. "Ya still have a high fever, so don't jump up."

You snorted. "How many people do ya even know who died of high temperature?"

"Read about the Inquisition, that's fucked up," he joked, pulling the blanket over you and tucking the edges under your squirming legs.

You hesitated a little and watched the procession, your lips tightening uneasily and you pulled yourself to a sitting position again. "Look, Kyle... Out there in the void-"

He looked at you despondently. "Don't even start," he retorted grimly.

"We need to get back there as soon as possible-"

"Enough!" he bellowed angrily. "Ya just got back, and all ya doing now is complaining, snapping at me, and also claiming ya need to go back! Have ya even considered how I feel, no?" his voice broke on the last words, and it happened as suddenly as it did easily - as if someone had accidentally snapped a thin dry branch in two. "Don't ya dare," he panted, shaking his head tiredly.

"Kyle," you began softly. "I told ya I'm really happy to see ya-"

"It's a bare fucking minimum!" his broken voice turned to a shout, and as he gave you his disappointed stare, you discerned in the fluorescent light the redness of his eyes.

As you struggled to swallow the threads of resentment and injustice, you thought about the fact that maybe you deserved this kind of bias on his part, but that didn't give Kyle the right to interrupt you. "I just wanted to tell ya that I found a settlement, that's all," you muttered, playing with the edge of the blanket with your fingers.

"Oh, shit," Kyle marveled, and now without the veil of anger in his eyes, he sat down gently on the bed and wrapped his arms around you again. "I'm sorry," he mumbled guiltily. "I... I was just really worried, ya know."

"Screaming wasn't necessary," you mumbled grumpily into his shirt. "That's why I have to go back there, or show ya, so ya can at least start without me."

"I know, I know," Kyle said understandingly, stroking your head because he now shared your excitement with you. "But in order to show it, ya need to recover. Ya can't go into the void yet. Even if ya don't get broken in half, if Doc finds out about it, he-"

"Will cut off my legs," you finished for him doomfully. "I'm aware of that."

Kyle hummed thoughtfully. "Ya know what we should do? Why don't ya take a couple weeks off for now, and then ya can show me, where the settlement is" you grimaced irritably at the time he'd given you. "And I'll show Rach and Issu, and we'll start without ya. And when ya finally recovered, ya'll join us. Deal?"

"And what will ya do for those two weeks?" you sourly inquired.

"For now, we'll run like we ran, since raids can't be interrupted. I think we won't even run, but walk," he grinned. "Saving our strength. Maybe we'll come across another settlement," you didn't answer, only sighed disappointedly and longingly. "Stop sulking," Kyle gently tugged at your ear, and feeling you shudder, chuckled. "Lemme get my laptop and we will watch something, 'kay?"

"Okay," you replied, watching him get up from the couch. "Bring me a snack, too."

Kyle opened his mouth, and when he realized the words weren't coming out, he closed it back up. He glanced toward one of the bollards where something was lying on it. "Ya know...," he began carefully, afraid to see even a hint of tears in your eyes. "There are some problems with that."

You followed the direction of his gaze, and when you saw several bags of glucose for the IV, you despaired. "No," you exhaled bitterly. "No, no, no!" you banged your fists stubbornly on the bunk. "Don't do this to me, please. I'm gonna die, I'm gonna wither and die."

"Don't be dramatic," Kyle laughed, looking at your stricken face. "Doc said it's only for a couple days. Keep your cool, and I'll be right back," he said as he walked out the door, but stopped immediately. It was as if he was staring somewhere in the emptiness of the hallway, not blinking or averting his gaze. You gingerly threw back the blanket, and swung your legs over as quietly as you could, a pleasant chill traveling down your feet as they touched the floor. "Hey," you jerked back when Kyle spoke again. "What ya doing here?"

Megumi appeared in the doorway. "I... I'm sorry, I just heard you were back," he glimpsed at you. "I just... I wanted to talk, uh… About Dany, but I guess I choose wrong timing. Um... Are you feeling okay?"

"As you can see," you chirped, smiling, but all Megumi saw was a couple hundred bones held together by a thin layer of skin. "It's all good. So what's the deal with Dany-"

"I'll go," Megumi mumbled awkwardly, and turned on his heels and scurried away. You gave Kyle a puzzled look, and he returned you the same one, shrugging his shoulders.

[May 30, 2020; 4:53 pm; hunters' hq]

[04:51pm] Oldman: Ward seven on the left. She's not feeling well rn, so go easy on her

Gojo kept staring at the message, stroking the small scratch on his phone's screen - a scratch that had formed just recently, the moment he'd first read it. Standing in front of the door to the infirmary, he consciously made a fist and only unclenched it when the pain of his nails digging into his skin made it clear that he was awake.

Gojo finally entered the corridor of the infirmary and took a step. Then another step, and another, and another, and another, and another, each one faster than the last, and his mind was racing with the thought of not running. Why was he walking so fast? The ward was already so close, and he was afraid he wouldn't have time to quiet that excited yet aching feeling in his chest, lest he look like an immature teenager who couldn't control his feelings. 

He stopped in the doorway. He didn't just stop, he froze. How tired are you if you didn't even look at him? And if you didn't hear him at all, what happened to you?

You were sitting on the bed, staring at the phone - his ribs were stabbing. So you had a chance to send him a message, but you didn't.

Gojo tapped on the doorjamb to get your attention, and when you finally looked at him, he wanted to laugh. Your eyes did look three times as big against your gaunt face, but he didn't see you as just a skeleton covered in skin. Gojo thought only that you reminded him so much of a lemur. "You just got back," he grinned, looking at your clothes - a shapeless, holey sweater and pants that were three times your size, whether they were men's or whether you'd gotten so skinny that all your previous clothes hung on you like a sack. "And you've already had a clothes fight with some beggar?" 

The snow had long since melted, washing away all the winter moping and despair, and the spring drops had long since played their inspiring choruses, but he was still here. "Hey," you said softly with such a joyful exhalation that Gojo bit his lip, not knowing why, either to suppress a silly smile or to muffle a painful whimper.

Your husky voice should have dispelled all his doubts about the illusory nature of what was happening, but he still couldn't believe you were back.

His unfamiliarly warm gaze made you catch up to the very chimera and grab for it, but even holding it with both hands, you still couldn't believe he stayed.

"Hey," he echoed you, keeping the quiet motifs of the chamber. "You look awful." 

His words were hardly encouraging, but to you they sounded like a compliment. You watched Gojo approach the bed and sit awkwardly on the footboard, tucking his legs under him. He looked exactly the same as the first day you met him, though a mysterious blue under his eyes peeked through. "And ya're still beautiful." 

He grinned affectionately. "Shut up," he mumbled shyly, moving closer to you.

You had no idea how much courage it took for him to press his forehead against yours, for he did it without hesitation, confidently. However, you, for your part, looked down like a coward. "I...," you began excitedly, swallowing. "Honestly, I didn't think ya'd stay," a nervous chuckle escaped your lips - you wanted to color your words with indifference, but it came out the other way around.

You felt Gojo's arms around your waist. He would have pressed you against him for all he was worth, but due to your condition, he had to sacrifice his desires. "I know I've given you reasons not to trust me. It won't happen again," he whispered into your neck, and you knew what he meant. He stayed yesterday, he'll stay tomorrow.

He'll stay with you.

Even though he couldn't hold you tighter, he selfishly tried to pull you closer, even though there was no more space between you. When he unintentionally pressed his knee against one of the sore spots on your leg, your whole body tensed involuntarily. Sensing this, Gojo raised his head and stared at you. "What is it?" 

You shook your head, tucking your leg deeper under you. "It's okay," you declared, but the words came out through clenched teeth.

"What have you got there?" he asked worriedly, gently grabbing your ankle. "Let me see."

"It's not a pretty sight out there," you said, stubbornly trying to remove his hand. "Don't."

Your attempts were unsuccessful - if you could handle one of his hands, you couldn't handle two. Gojo pulled your leg out and rested it on his knee. "I actually exorcise curses," he announced smugly, rolling up your pant leg. "Do you have any idea how nasty they can look? I got one once, in the shape of a wormy di-"

"I got it!" you exclaimed, waving your free hand. "I got it, don't go on," you buried your face in your hand in embarrassment, and Gojo laughed softly. 

Nudging your shin, he examined it. The usual calluses and a few sores - Gojo didn't feel anything nasty or repulsive. "Well," he drawled thoughtfully, looking around the ward. Gently placing your foot on the couch, he stood up and began rummaging through the drawers. 

Even as you heard the sounds of searching, you couldn't move your hand away from your face. "What ya doing?" you mumbled in frustration.

The sounds and rumbling intensified - some things seemed to be flying to the floor. "Looking for ointment...," he muttered under his nose. A drawer door slammed. "Oh, found it!" you tried to disconnect from everything that was going on, but his hands, that once again encircled your shin and brought it back to his knee, stubbornly prevented you from doing so. "Hold still," if you didn't have your hands right now, you'd be staring at the ceiling. If you were forced to look, you'd be gouging your eyes out. You could feel Gojo gently circling certain places on your leg as if inspecting, and only then a cool sensation that dulled the pain. If the gel was so cold, why did you feel so warm?

You sighed in relief when he finally put your leg back on the bed, and you were about to pull your hand away from your face, but when Gojo started on the second one, you pressed your palm back with such force that you nearly evened the bridge of your nose with your eyes. 

He'd never thought or suspected that such a thing existed - that he could touch a person so easily, and even when he touched the affected areas of they skin, he wouldn't be disgusted. On the contrary, Gojo wished you had at least two more of them on your feet. 

You heard a smack. "What the hell?"

"A mosquito," he mumbled, rubbing his sore cheek and shaking his head as if to ward off that stupid thought in the form of that imaginary mosquito. "Uh, well...," he said quietly, slowly running his fingers down your calves from bottom to top, admiring the result. "I think that's it," despite the finished work, his palms, as if enchanted, couldn't get away from you.

Soft touches that dulled or took away all the pain, from blisters to days in the cold, godforsaken wasteland. You never knew that touches could be that gentle, and they could be like that fictitious pill that cured every disease - from slight to severe, from physical to mental, but no one had warned you about the side effects. Breathing became difficult, your lungs ached. 

The more he touched you, the quieter the days he spent in your workroom in the clutches of loneliness and agonizing waiting seemed. He could feel all the cold that had accumulated in you on his skin. He desperately tried to banish it with his hands. Neither curses, nor demons, nor the forces of nature dared to touch you – just him and him alone.

When Gojo's hands were under your kneecaps, you shrieked and jerked up, a sharp pain hitting your forehead. "Fuck," you whimpered, rubbing the sore spot and leaning back against the pillow.   

"Everyone in your family chooses violence, don't they?" he mumbled, and you immediately reacted to the sound, opening your eyes to find him sitting in front of you, his head tilted back and holding the bridge of his nose.

"God, I'm sorry!" you squeaked, but you didn't even have time to jump out of your seat, for he immediately plopped down beside you, throwing one arm over you, pinning you to the bed. "No blood? Lemme see," you rolled over onto your side in a way you regretted. Gojo's face was only a few inches away, and there wasn't even a hint of blood, though there was something red on his face. His cheeks. This state of affairs didn't suit him, so bringing his hand up to your face, he pinched your nose through your mask. "Hey, what for?" you muttered, sniffling quietly at the growing ticklish feeling.

"Wanted to," he snickered, and with a soft movement, he brushed the unruly strands of hair away from your face. Something tinkled, and you grabbed his arm. "Did ya get a new watch?" you asked, looking at it almost up close, not even noticing how his face was half sunk into the pillow in embarrassment, and Gojo was watching you with only one eye. You saw it, and that was enough for him. 

Hearing him mutter something in agreement under his breath, you hummed thoughtfully, which made him even more nervous. "What's wrong?" he asked.

"No, it's nothing," you kept looking at his wristwatch, but with a furrowed brow. "I just have a feeling I've seen them somewhere before."  

He pulled his hand away and hid it under the blanket. "Well!" he exclaimed. "That's a popular one, you know." 

Gojo didn't dare to ask you if you liked it, foolish though it was, for fear of causing your suspicions. Nevertheless, he hoped you thought it beautiful, for in his mind you were destined to wear them. "Um...," you muttered, averting your gaze. "Is there anything else I should know about?"

"No," he answered quietly but firmly. "Really. I won't hide anything from you ever again," he leaned his forehead against yours, his hand stroking your lower back as if he knew that was where you were hurting.

"Then ya can ask your question again."

He furrowed his eyebrows in confusion, but when he realized what you meant, he smiled in a way that made him look ten years younger. Even though you'd never seen him as a teenager, you felt like that's what he looked like in that bygone and almost forgotten time. "Do you wanna be my best friend?"

"I wanna be your best friend."

[June 1, 2020; 05:28am; hunters' hq, training field]

When it dawned, you realized what you had done. The entire area of grass in front of you had been torn up, but even that didn't make you spare the surviving blades of grass, and you glanced anxiously at your phone again. After you'd seen Kyle off, you sat down to wait for Rachel to return, but it was past five in the morning, and she was still gone.

What kept her so long? Knowing her character, you hoped she was all right, and memories of her combativeness turned your hope into faith. After all, you'd always thought that the more enemies she had around her, the stronger she'd become, but there was a rotten worm inside you, twisting and turning, reminding you that Rachel's fiery temper might someday fail her.

Unconsciously, you reached out to touch the grass and realized that all that was left was bare ground. You snorted irritably and moved a little to the side - there was still plenty of grass to torture, but as you reached out, you realized you couldn't see anything else.

You jumped to your feet and tried to open your eyes, but they closed back up as if in protest, trying to avoid the sharp pain. You turned from side to side, but you couldn't feel any danger, except for someone else's presence.

You rubbed your clenched eyelids with the back of your hands and tried to blink. You could see the silhouette, but more importantly, you could see a lock of red hair. It seemed you'd been thinking about something else, and you'd been so slow to catch the violet flash that you hadn't had time to cover your eyes, and you'd paid for it.

Wiping the tears from your lower eyelids, you tried to see your sister again. She was hobbling, her uniform cut and torn in places, and there was a huge laceration on her side. "Rach!" you alarmed, running closer to her. "Hey, hey," you picked up her falling head on your chest by the chin.

"Adoptee," she said softly, smiling with bloodstained teeth. "Ya alive, aren't ya?" your appearance seemed to give her a little strength - she smacked her forehead into the top of your head. "Ya've noticed too? There are too many loners," she gritted angrily through her teeth. "Look!" she raised her head and stared at you; there were tears in her eyes. "Look at that!" she sobbed, trying to reach her red tail with her hand and extend it in your direction. Part of it wasn't even cut off - it was torn off, like a bunch of old strings. "Look what those scums did to my hair!" she nervously and frantically tried to smooth her ponytail, but when she felt that all the strands were different lengths, she burst into tears. She didn't even seem to notice that there was some flesh missing from her side. "I'm gonna fucking kill 'em," she squeaked in a muffled voice. "And ya!" she tried to shove you away resentfully. "It's all 'cause of ya," she forced herself to say, wiping away nonstop tears with her hand. "If ya hadn't disappeared, I wouldn't be distracted by thoughts of ya, and none of this would be happening!"

You scooped her up by the waist, trying to stay out of the wound. "I know. I'm sorry," you mumbled guiltily, pulling her closer to the house. "Let's just go to the doc, 'kay?"   

"Shove your apologies up your ass," she bellowed, but her body went limp in your arms - it felt heavy, but despite her words, she still seemed to rely on you. 

***

You'd hoped that Rachel's injury would distract the doc for a while so he wouldn't harp on the fact that you should have stayed in the ward the whole time, and it had worked. Now you stood in front of the fridge, staring at the contents, trying to figure out what you could do to placate the big sister. Your stomach rumbled as you perused the bacon, shrimps, yogurt, and chocolate dragees. When you stopped your gaze at the fresh berries, you almost burst into tears. Maybe it was for the best that you couldn't eat them now - Rachel loved them, too.

You caught a glimpse of a silhouette sitting down at the dinner table. "Hey."

You glanced over your shoulder and noted the dark hair sticking out in all directions. "Hey," you greeted Megumi cheerfully. "Can't sleep?"

"Just used to getting up early," he said, shrugging indifferently. "Y/N?" he turned to you after a brief silence.

"Yeah?" you hummed, pulling out a package of berries.

"I... Um, I overheard that you found a settlement," he began awkwardly. You closed the refrigerator door abruptly - Megumi shuddered. You stopped in front of the boy, staring straight into his eyes. "I-I just thought, since I happen to be able to enter the void as well, maybe...," he fidgeted in his chair, trying to look away from you, but the bonds of your gaze were so strong that even a hunting knife wouldn't do the trick. "Maybe I can help you-"

"No," you replied sharply and headed for the infirmary door.

There was a rustling sound behind you and the sudden creaking of a chair. "I just wanna help. By taking me, you can carry more supplies for the people there," when you turned around, he was staring at the floor, but his fists were clenched. "I passed the isolation easily. Doesn't that prove I'm worth something?"  

"It was an accident," you replied coldly.

"Whatever," he went on stubbornly. "Even so, but doesn't that mean I'm worthy?"

You grinned sarcastically, squinting your eyes. "Worthy of what? Getting kicked around in the cold wasteland? Such an honor."

"Saving people," he whispered and finally looked at you, and in his eyes lurked the answer.

"Megumi, what are ya talking about?" you worriedly said. "Ya're already saving them-"

A chuckle or a sob escaped his lips. "Really? How many people did I save while Sukuna was walking around in my body?"

The answer was voiced, but you remained adamant. "I got ya, but ya're still a teenager and there's still a lot ya can accomplish. Ya'll still have time to make things right. So... No. Sorry, but no," hoping that would be enough, you tried to walk away again - both from the boy and the conversation.

Megumi knew what he was doing was dirty, but he realized there was nothing else he could do. "Do you have the right to refuse?" Megumi's voice was firm. "You're supposed to train anyone who asks. You have an obligation," he was still drilling his gaze into your back. "Am I wrong? There are only four of you left," what a miracle - the firm voice suddenly trembled.

What a familiar song. What a familiar, annoying, ear-splitting song. Your nostrils must have flared at that tone. Or the truth that had just burned your ears. You turned around. Along with the boy, you saw his inner core. You stared at each other for a few more moments. Both of you stubborn as hell. "I should call him," you surrendered, reaching into your pocket.

"Don't," Megumi said almost pleadingly. "I wanna decide for myself this time."

"He's your guardian," you reminded him.

Megumi grinned bitterly. "His guardianship began and ended when he took me from the Zenin clan."

"Oh, really?" you inquired, arching an ironic eyebrow. "I take it food and clothes have been falling out of the sky for ya all this time?"

"You may be right," he nodded briefly. "But you can't say he loved me much."

"And ya?" you nodded defiantly toward the boy. "Did ya love him much?" Megumi looked at you perplexed as if you were speaking to him in a foreign language. He opened his mouth but didn't say a word, and with a shake of his head, he immediately closed it back up. "Okay, well...," you scrunched your forehead. "At six in the morning, I expect ya on the practice field. Ya'll run until you spit out your own lungs," your tone made Megumi shiver - as if the temperature in the room had plummeted. "And ya know what? Ya're already late," you barked before finally disappearing behind the infirmary doors.

Ryan and Axel had already run away from you, and they'd done it so fast that they'd probably already made it around the Earth and back to the starting point, while you and Megumi had barely run about seven miles. Even such a run was hard on your recovering body, but it seemed to be harder on the boy as you glared at him from time to time. Sweat was pouring from Megumi's flushed face, and he was forgetting how to breathe properly for such exertion. Something was crunching. Maybe it was the branches under your feet, or maybe it was your knees.

You always tried to find solace in those jogs through the forest, but not now, you were worried about Megumi. Did he take your words so seriously? He was clearly unwell. His legs had already buckled for the fifth time. "Hey," you called out to him quietly. "I've got a calf cramp, let's take a little break," you said, grabbing his shoulder with one hand and your side with the other, trying to catch your breath. He nodded silently, and you moved off the path a little, sitting down by the roots of one of the trees. "Thirsty?" you asked courteously, taking your backpack off your shoulders.

"Yeah," Megumi replied on an exhale. He'd been trying to hold back his own inhalations and exhalations the whole time, so that you wouldn't hear that he'd been crying inside for the last two miles, but he'd only trapped himself more - the lack of oxygen made his body protest harder, and his vision began to darken.

Megumi took the bottle from your hands and took a couple sips, trying not to be greedy. "Now, time for a little breathing exercise," you chirped, taking a seat across from him. "Come on, right with the noise. Inhale," you sucked in air so loudly and forcefully that you scared away a squirrel that had snuck up and was interested in you. When Megumi repeated after you, you exhaled just as much, expecting him to repeat after you.

After doing this a few more times, you noticed that Megumi was feeling better - though he was still glistening with sweat, the redness on his face was starting to fade. "There ya go," you said enthusiastically, sitting down next to him again. "Much better, wouldn't ya say?" you nudged his shoulder softly with yours.

Megumi twirled the water bottle in his hands thoughtfully. "I apologize for speaking to you like that," he said guiltily. "I just didn't know how else to affect you."

"It's fine," you replied indifferently, waving it away. "I just don't understand why ya'd wanna do that anyway."

"The cursed world gave me nothing," he lied, not even realizing he was lying. Sure, the cursed world had given him, and given him a lot, except that Megumi would probably give it all back for free. "And the desire to save people hasn't gone away, and most likely never will," he would no longer be able to plunge into the routine of ordinary life knowing the other side of it - dark and mysterious, as cruel as it is elusive to ordinary people.

These were the kind of people Megumi wanted to protect, wishing that they would never know what lurked behind that door without a doorknob.

"I just...," he began reservedly. "I just don't wanna feel helpless anymore, 'cause if I feel that way, how can I help others?" his restraint immediately broke along with his voice. "When Sukuna took over my body, I just wanted to die."

"I understand," you replied quietly, swallowing.

He smirked wistfully. "I'm sorry, but I doubt that. I remember everything. I was hurt. I was sick. And there was nothing I could do about it," he buried his face in his hands as if the past appeared from behind one of the trees, and it appeared in a most unpleasant guise.

"Let's do this," you said, slapping yourself on your legs. "I promise I'll train ya for a while, and in return, ya promise me to think less about all the bad things that have happened to ya. Deal?" you rubbed the top of his head affectionately.

"Deal," mumbled Megumi into his palms. "Only why 'for a while'? I can handle intense training too."

"You offered to help us," you pointed out. "Not to become a voidrunner."

"But-"

"Let's go home. Ya've had enough for today."

***

You'd already opened the door to the workroom, but you couldn't help but cast one last sympathetic glance at the boy. He was sluggishly shuffling his feet up the stairs, and his torso was as still as if it had been separated from his lower body - arms dangling tiredly along his body, his torso tilted, his head slumped against his chest. "Megumi," you called out to him, and Megumi stopped, though he didn't seem to find the energy to even turn in your direction. "I'll meet ya at the same place tomorrow morning at six," his head twitched, and you took it as a nod. You were about to leave him alone, but you remembered something. "Ya know, let's get together a little early, though," you shouted after him as he opened the door. "Come to my workroom at five, I need to take your measurements!" the door that slammed shut sharply only answered you.     

When you finally entered the workroom, you froze like a dumbfounded deer before lights. Gojo was standing across from you, equally motionless and looking at you questioningly. "Ya're back already?" you inquired softly, watching his hand with the towel frozen at the back of his head - it looked like he'd just gotten out of the shower. "I, uh...," you swallowed nervously. "I can explain everything." 

You flinched when he moved, so much so he had resembled a statue before. "Oh, come on," he smiled carelessly, stepping closer to you. You exhaled as Gojo walked past you. "I knew you were a thief, didn't I," his muffled voice came from the bathroom. Getting rid of the towel, he appeared before you again, but he didn't even glance in your direction. "So it was only a matter of time before you got to my students, too." 

You watched helplessly as he passed by you and moved farther and farther away, and the doubt that it wasn't just about the growing distance between you in the workroom clenched and sought to explode in your soul. "Aren't you angry?"

"Me?" asked Gojo carelessly over his shoulder in your direction. "Angry. I'm so angry," he laughed softly, and you sat down on the edge of the bed, carefully making your way around the room. "At myself."

You waited for him to pay attention to you, and when you caught his gaze, you patted the spot next to you. Gojo hesitantly approached, and you unconsciously reached out to him, so relieved when you realized the distance between you was gone. He gently picked up your palm and sat down next to you. "So...," he began, hesitating. "Megumi has both cursed and dark energy now? That's how a generation grows up," he grinned wistfully, his thumb stroking the back of your hand. "That's what I wanted, isn't it? I wanted to raise a generation of strong sorcerers. The kind that would be on par with me. No, even stronger. So strong that one day they could leave me behind." 

"Why do ya say that?" you asked half-heartedly. "Why would they leave ya behind?"

"Why else do you think everyone needs me?" Gojo swallowed, looking at your intertwined hands. You were just now realizing how elaborate his ideas about human relationships were in his head, and if they were only there that would be half the problem, but something told you that there was a quiet but all-consuming chaos going on in his soul as well. "I screwed up even here, though. I was so consumed with realizing my own goal that I didn't even notice... No, rather, I forgot that my students were just kids. I was ready to kill anyone who would take their youth away from them, and I ended up taking it from them myself. I guess I really am a shitty teacher, so... Maybe Megumi would be better off with you," he unconsciously released your hand from his.

"Satoru, stop it," you commanded softly. "Ya are not your power. Ya're just a human being, and I think everyone realizes that."

"Oh, really?" snapped Gojo sarcastically. "You wanna say that if I didn't have this power, you'd let me strut around your workroom like this and you would put up with all my scattered stuff? Don't be ridiculous."

"But I've never seen your power," you whispered hurt. You'd heard rumors and stories like the ballads they write about heroes, but you'd only seen it once. In his fight with Sukuna, you'd only caught glimpses of tiny, evaporating drops of his power. Did he think you were holding on to something so ephemeral?

To be honest, he didn't think about it. He couldn't think of any other reason why you'd accepted him and why you'd tolerated him. Staying true to his habits, he couldn't say the words of apology out loud, but he relied on the touches - with any luck, they would say it all for him. "Ya said Megumi would be better off with me," you said into the top of his white hair as his hands tentatively held your waist. "But ya're wrong. He'll be better off with us."

The word 'us' made Gojo think of you and the other hunters, and he didn't even dare to get in between in those thoughts, but when your hands closed around his back, it was like opening all those doors he'd never been able to open. Behind those doors was a bright light, so vivid it hurt his eyes. He had no choice but to stay on one side of the door and burn with his regrets and unfulfilled hopes in that desperate flame, or to step forward and let it burn to the ground, but  without him.

Gojo stepped through. Beyond that door was his future and it existed, it glowed, and it was right beside him.  

next ⊳

#gojo satoru x you #jujutsu kaisen #gojo x reader #gojou satoru x reader #jjk angst #gojo angst #gojo fluff #gojo satoru x reader #gojo x y/n #gojo x you #gojou x reader #gojo satoru #gojo jujutsu kaisen #gojou #gojou fluff #gojou satoru x y/n #gojou satoru x you #gojou x y/n #gojou x you #jjk gojo #jjk gojou #jujutsu gojo #satoru gojo

[thetarttfuldickhead]

Locker Room Conversations II

In which there’s hurt and comfort and a bunch of awkward silences, and the writer satisfies her need for Jamie to be called up for England and for Roy to maybe say something nice to him once in a while.  

“And I’ll se y’all after the break, yeah? Make sure you have some fun. And to Sam, Dani, Colin, Van Damme and Jamie – best of luck out there. Win or lose, I know you’ll make your countries and more importantly yourselves just as proud as we all already are of you.”

It’s a nice little speech, staying remarkably on tangent. Woops and applause follow, and that’s that for the last practice before a week of international break and world cup qualifiers.

“I’m so excited,” Dani exclaims, as if that wasn’t his natural state. “This is your first time too, right, Jamie?”

Jamie’s sprawled on the bench by his locker, too busy showing Cockburn something on his phone to bother getting changed. “Uh, yeah. Did the U-20 when I was nineteen, but nothing after that.”

“How come? I mean, you’re such a great player, you would think they would have called you up sooner!”

There’s a slight hush at that, starting hesitant and quickly edging closer to awkward. Dani’s smiles fades into faint bewilderment as his eyes wander from Jamie to the other players, none of which return his look.

The silence drags on for another moment, and then Roy turns from the board where he’s been writing down instructions (don’t forget cardio, don’t be an idiot, stick to your sleep schedule) for the players having a week off rather than going away to play for their countries.

“He wasn’t called up earlier because he was blacklisted for being a huge fucking prick.”

“… oh.” Dani doesn’t sound too surprised; more than anything he sounds downcast, as if reminded of an unfortunate fact he’d been happy to forget.

 Perhaps it’s that rather than Roy’s pronouncement that has Jamie sit up straight on the bench. “Yeah, I wonder what trusted old England player they got that from.” He’s clearly trying for casual, unbothered, and he’s not entirely succesful.  

Roy crosses his arms. Stares right back at Jamie without blinking. “Not going to fucking apologize for telling people who asked me that you were an absolute fucking nightmare to play with back when you fucking were.”

Jamie’s not good at hiding his emotions, and the full spectrum of them is there to be read on his face now: hurt warring with anger warring with resignation warring with embarrassment. He wants to bite back but struggles not to; knows that there’s truth to Roy’s once-assessment but still  wants to defend himself or press for an admission that it isn’t true anymore. His mouth open, closes; he doesn’t speak but his face speaks volumes.

The room is quiet. Ted looks from Jamie to Roy to Jamie and back to Roy again. When Roy remains silent, remains unmoving, he shakes his head:

“You’re really not gonna tell him how you’ve spent weeks calling up all those same people to make sure they know how great he is now, huh?”

An exhalation at that, travelling through the room as tensions ease and shoulders drop.

Roy turns his head slowly to fix Ted with his coldest glare. “No. I wasn’t.” 

Ted is unflinching. Too used to the Roy Kent Special Stare to be cowed by it now. “Well, you know, sometimes these things are better said out loud.”

Roy’s growl suggests that he absolutely does not fucking agree. He very pointedly does not meet Jaime’s eyes, studiously avoids seeing the grin slowly growing on the younger man’s face. 

There’s only a hint of triumph there; mostly there’s just pleasure tinged with shyness. “Thanks, Coach.”

“Don’t fucking mention it.” As Jamie opens his mouth, Roy quickly raises his hand. “I mean it. Don’t mention it.”

And he stalks towards the door – but then he relents, pausing right next to Jamie, not looking at him as he offers in a voice suggesting he’s about to rip someone’s head off: 

“I wouldn’t still be spending fucking hours of my free time every day training you if I didn’t think it was worth the fucking effort. Of course you should fucking play for England. They’d be idiots not to have you, and you’ll do fucking great.”

And he is gone.

The hush is easier this time, lighter.  

“It’s interesting,” Jan Maas ventures eventually. “Even when he’s paying you a compliment, it sounds like he’s insulting you.”

“Yeah, well, if he had to say it and sound like he meant it, the grumpy old bastard would probably turn to stone or something.”

Jamie’s smile is a thing far too stunned and far too soft for it to seem like he means what he’s saying either.

#jamie tartt #roy kent #dani rojas #ted lasso #roy's continual struggle with expressing anything but rage #the point is that he keeps trying though! #also do not fact check the football stuff #just roll with it #locker room conversations #ficlet #my stuff

[sylverstorms]

Daniela x Maiden ---- Hunted Ch.9

Ch.1 Ch.2 Ch.3 Ch.4 Ch.5 Ch.6 Ch.7 Ch.8

Warnings: Mildly spicy. Rated M just to be safe.

As is often the case with any change within the castle, whispers have begun circulating among the staff about Daniela and you. They were few, too quiet to catch and far-between at first, but after two weeks the voices’ hushed speculations have grown in certainty;

Daniela is acting differently because of you. More tolerable. More docile.    

Even to them, happy to avoid her at any given chance, a subtle shift in her demeanor has become apparent, like a tempestuous sea giving way to calmer waters. Of course, it could simply be the fact she has no interest in dragging unfortunate souls into her cruel little games anymore, now that you fully occupy her time outside of hunting with her sisters. 

Either way, something has indeed changed. But even if asked you cannot safely say what, if it is Daniela or your feelings towards her. 

A past version of you would have recoiled at the notion of finding comfort in a mutant. Current-you has fallen into a habit of joining her side all too easily, caressing her awake every evening, kissing her at midnight and lying in her rose-scented bed at dawn. 

Maybe it’s because she makes it so easy –two polar opposites in power balancing into something startlingly equal– with your arrangement. You give her what she wants, take what you need from her and you both have a nice time in the process. Too nice, perhaps. Dangerously so.

Enough for you to almost forget why you sought to leave in the first place.

You understand now what Alexia meant weeks back, when you asked her how she got so hooked on Cassandra in the initial stages of their relationship. It’s addicting to be given influence over a being much more powerful than you are, she said. The more dangerous, the more addicting. 

Perhaps the opposite is true for the sisters? Daniela could take whatever she wanted from you at any time, like she has done with other maids for decades. Yet her pale, slender fingers toy with your outfit or hair, rather than tug or drag or pull. She always asks, all long, batting eyelashes and slow smiles. Usually, it’s things like ‘can we reenact that scene from my book?’ and ‘Knight, will you come to bed with me?’

Tonight, one thing or another has got her going early on. You can tell because she comes to you while you’re rearranging decorations in the hallway, barely says “Hi~” and immediately leans in to kiss you, pressing herself against you in a particular,  incriminating way.

Her hands roam a little more than when she means for just one peck in greeting. “Can we go to the library?” she breathes against your lips. 

If your brain cells hadn’t long since lost the fight to your hormones, maybe you’d think twice about it. The two of you have discussed it’s not smart to initiate anything heavy before dinner, when the family is at its hungriest. Daniela herself has admitted she has more trouble controlling her thirst than the others. Yet against all reason you nod, following the redhead to her favorite chamber. 

The door shuts behind you, the space darker than the corridor with how low the fireplace is burning. Daniela sits back on the couch and pulls you over her, hands firm on your shoulders. Your first attempt to ask if she’s feeling okay is silenced by her mouth, locking over yours insistently. When your tongue slips over hers, she mewls and grips you tighter. Her fingers find yours and guide them up the valley of her breasts, to wrap around her throat. Urging you to squeeze. 

Except, you know what it does to her when you do. 

“Dani.” you whisper. With a little whine, she opens her eyes; stark, glowing amber. A darker quality in their depths that betrays the grip thirst has on her. Somehow, you’re cautious, rather than afraid. “Dinner is in one hour. Shouldn’t we wait?”

“I don’t want to wait.” Daniela complains softly. With a sultry smile bordering on feral, she arches into you. “I want it now.” She’s in a mood. She’s definitely in a mood and that automatically renders her less than fifty percent safe compared to her norm. 

Funny. A month ago you would have ran. 

“I’ll be good.” She promises, gaze locked with yours. To make her point, she allows her tensed muscles to relax, leaning fully back into the cushions, all the control surrendered to your hands.  

Can you really trust her in this state, though? You don’t know. You don’t know, but your hand is already unzipping her outfit and slipping over the black bodice beneath, so perfectly hugging her skin. Then moving lower, to the waistband of her pants and underwear. Lower still…

Daniela throws her head over the back of the couch, biting her lower lip. Her fangs dig into the skin there in a way that should be painful, but she doesn’t seem to care. “Yes…!” she encourages. 

You move into her and she moves with you, a little less controlled than what you’d previously established was a hundred percent safe. Her fingers grip your biceps when she usually doesn’t dare reach for you upon nearing her peak and you let her, even as her nails dig into your arm through the fabric of your shirt. 

Daniela shakes and shakes, coming down from her high with deep breaths. Gradually, her hold eases and her head rolls onto your shoulder. She doesn’t bother pulling the zipper of her clothes up, merely traces lazy circles on your arms, where she previously grasped. 

You draw back to look upon her, and find her irises a little clearer now, closer in color to her normal bi-tone green and blue. “Anything I can do for you in return?” she asks. 

“Well...” you begin. “I want a tour of the village.” You want all the possible escape routes from someone who knows the area, but you can’t exactly say that.  

Her full lips press together, contemplating. For a moment, you think she will ask you what for and you inwardly search for a good excuse.  

Daniela, however, doesn’t question you. 

“Okay.” she nods. “One hour after dinner.” A little smile. “Dress up nice for me.”

–

–

The temperature is merciful tonight. No biting frost snaps its jaws at you the moment you step out the massive front gates, your jacket enough to ward off any lingering chill. 

Stealing a glance at Daniela, you note that she, too, seems at ease, breathing deep and only pulling her hood over her head as an afterthought. Relief blooms in your gut like a winter flower. It gets to you –apparently more than you thought– when you see her all tensed up, miserable from the cold.

“All good?” you ask her.

The redhead, naturally, doesn’t respond with a simple yes or no. “Hmm…” Instead, a playful glint lights her eyes and she feigns a shiver, an obvious ruse to draw herself closer to you. With a small, mischievous smile, she leans into your arm, her fingers interlocking with yours. “Now we’re golden.”

The two of you begin your leisurely stroll towards the village, the path illuminated only by the soft glow of the moon and the scattered lanterns glimmering far in the distance. A few howls come from the heart of the forest, yet they don’t have the same bone-chilling effect on you they once did. 

“Bear the little doggies’ noises for a bit longer, Knight.” Daniela tells you. “All will be quiet when my sisters come out to hunt…” Her voice darkens at the end in pure satisfaction at the idea.

“Wait.” You tilt your head, peering at her profile past the hood. “Your sisters are going out tonight? And you don’t want to hunt with them?” 

From what you’ve gathered, this is a pretty big deal for them. Not for nourishment –they have finer things to drink and eat in the castle– but for the chase itself. It must appease their inner beasts. You’ve seen how irritable they get when they have to remain indoors for more than a few days.

And yet. Here she stands. 

“I’d rather be with you.” the apex predator says, so very simply. 

You feel something flicker in your chest, but choose to ignore it to be safe. Your mind refocuses on why you sought this outing in the first place and your next questions serve a purpose other than mere conversation. What is this way and that, how the village’s trading and resupplying works. 

In your head, you piece together everything she tells you –and everything she withholds– into a map of the general area. So there is an underground cave network, but it’s filled with more mutants. Still, if push comes to shove… anything is better than open spaces. 

Within the next hour, you have walked a loose perimeter of the village. Only a small portion is left, between the forest and the Beneviento estate, but Daniela’s hold immediately steers you away from it the moment you make to walk forward. 

“There’s nothing that way.” she tells you, too quickly. “Only skeletons. Ruins.” 

“Very odd ruins…” you comment.

Strange outlines peek through the pitch-black, resembling pillars and old houses split open by dark trees as if the forest quite literally ate a portion of the land up. 

“A reminder, of sorts.” Daniela stops, letting go of your hand. Her fingers flex, open and closed, in a way that would have broken yours if they were still intertwined. “Of what happens when Miranda’s word isn’t heeded.”

“So, you say…” A heavy frown settles over your brow. “She did this?”

“They did it to themselves.” She’s sharp. Cutting. Daniela doesn’t get like this, unless… 

It’s personal. 

It’s hard for you to picture what may have occurred there, though. What those people were guilty of, to have Miranda make the forest swallow them alive. Is there any reason valid enough for this haunting image of raw punishment you’re seeing? Thorns, sprouting from the ground, impaling stone and bones alike... 

“Did they really?” 

She meets your gaze, her eyes holding a mixture of sorrow and defiance. “It’s hard for you to accept, isn’t it? That humans could be at fault? So, let me tell you a story.” She starts pacing, taking a breath. “It starts with a pair of wealthy merchants, descendants of fallen royalty, who came to this village about a hundred years ago. After witnessing the locals’ immunity to many fatal diseases, as well as their long lifespans, they naturally sought the same gifts for themselves.” 

A sense of unease settles in your stomach about what’s coming, but you don’t interrupt her.

“Miranda warned them that meant never leaving the village again. It meant complete acceptance of this land’s dark god and its future influence over their bodies. Just like the villagers before them, they accepted her terms.” Daniela explains. 

As if to say nobody has any right to complain about the state of things now. I don’t know if I agree with that logic…

“The merchants were held in high regard, as model citizens. Many followed their example. But they started wanting more than what they’d been given. And back then, a surefire way to obtain more was to sacrifice a strong, healthy son or daughter to the god's Herald in exchange. They had a child for that reason alone.” 

Oh, no...

“A daughter they groomed into perfection. Not allowed to go out in fear of falling, hurting herself, ruining her beauty in any way. Not allowed to speak out of turn, or to learn skills they didn’t deem useful, or to dream.” A fang catches the faint light underneath her sneer. “Always told her purpose in life, raised to be a sacrifice. Loveless. Livestock.”

“Daniela–”

“It wasn’t uncommon. The prettier the sacrifice, the bigger the gifts. But they didn’t even have a good excuse! Like, say, poverty or terminal illnesses. No –they had everything.” she hisses. “And even when they gave her up, they still weren’t satisfied.”

You want to shut your ears and not listen to anything more, you want to erase this information from your brain to get rid of the mental images.

But. It’s never that simple. 

“This whole damn section of the village conspired to force Miranda to grant them immortality like her own.” Daniela points over her shoulder. “Let’s just say, no villager ever thought to turn against her again.” 

‘See?’ The glacial look in her eyes tells you. ‘Your precious humanity can be worse than monsters.’  

“How can you… how can you say that after what she…” –did to you. You want to say, but the words never make it past your lips, rendered mute by the thought of experiments far from humane. 

You feel sick to your stomach from everything you just heard. Unsteady, you sit back onto the nearest surface, a pile of stones that once probably served as a fountain or statue.

“…I came out the other side with a family.” she states, approaching you. 

To think of the person who experimented on her as a liberator for giving her what she never had at the end of her torment is far too many layers of fucked up to even process. And yet it’s clearer now than ever before, that everything is in the eye of the beholder, even good and evil. A hero can be a villain at the same damn time. 

But you already know that, too well.

Monsters and saviors are too close for comfort in real life. Is that why you like your books best, where everything is clearly defined…? 

“Cass and Bela would get mad at me for saying this to their faces, so I don't, but… ignorance is bliss. That's one luxury I never had.” She takes a deep breath, still refusing to glance at the ruins behind her. “I knew if I came to this place, everything would be there, waiting. Staring me right in the face. All of it.”  

“I’m sorry.” you whisper, taking her gloved hands into your own when she stands close enough. “I’m so very sorry.”

“Don’t feel sorry for her.” she speaks as if it’s debatable how much of the sad girl in that tragic story she shared with you is left in her to begin with. “That’s a different life.” her voice holds none of the earlier weight now, back to its usual, light tone. “I only told you all this because you have that same look in your eyes sometimes. The one she had.”

Lifting your gaze to her, you frown. “What look?”

“Like you’re counting down days and hours and minutes to something terrible, your whole life.” she shocks you with. “Like you never had a family, either.”

She’s not entirely wrong. And she’s not completely right, either. How much can you say? How much can you bring yourself to speak out loud? It feels as though you’ll rip apart in two just trying to explain…

“I… had a family.” You were happy. You think that you were happy, so much bone-chilling terror ago you can’t even remember their faces in detail.  

“And what happened to them?”

“They...” Your temples begin to pound like a war drum. Your heart pushes ice through your veins. “They–” You see red everywhere, your home wrecked. You see yourself, screaming, running, paying for their mistakes, for their kindness and their sin. 

Daniela’s fingers curl into yours and tug, before your tremors can get any worse.  

“Seren.” The sound of your name falling from her lips grounds you, though barely. “Breathe. The past is in the past.”

With great difficulty, you breathe out; “...If only… that were true.”

For her and you both.

#daniela dimitrescu x reader #daniela dimitrescu x oc #bela dimitrescu #cassandra dimitrescu #alcina dimitrescu #resident evil village #re8 #fanfiction #creative writing #SylverStorms #In which angsty backstory is angsty #we love ourselves a hurt babytrescu in need of hugs and love

[knightsickness]

Calling the greens prudish for not liking incest is weird because the whole of westeros thinks that. They have just learned to put up with it cause the targaryens rule. Of course the people coming from outside of this little bubble think its weird in opposite to the targaryens who grow up learning its right, think of dany believing her whole life she would at some point marry viserys. Alicent says the targaryens have queer customs and id be totally willing to believe everyone talks in hushed tones about that away from the targaryens. And even then they still put up with it somewhat like they do not stop aegon and helaena marrying, if the greens were as prudish as black fans say wouldnt that be a priority.

the your family do have queer customs implied religious horror of incest is something i wish the show actually did with the greens and especially alicent. it’s normal to rhaenyra and daemon and her kids who the show is mainly from the perspective of but not to literally anybody else the faith puts up with it because the targs would wipe them out if they tried to oppose it but it’s still doctrinally considered an abomination. psychological horror aspect of alicent having to marry her own children together in line with the customs of the family, the suggestion from otto when aegon was 2 to marry him to rhae etc. the greens seem prudish bc the sympathetic viewpoint characters are completely submersed in the family incest mythology it’d be like if agot was entirely jaimecersei pov and ned was a frigid jealous unromantic asshole who didn’t understand anythinggg

#asoiaf #a song of ice and fire #house of the dragon #hotd #alicent hightower

[yeastinfectionvale]

Valentino walked into the paddock, Pecco hanging off his hip. The pair wore matching shirts, a visor for Vale and a baby bucket hat for his son.

He tapped tapped his paddock pass, his passport picture appearing on screen as he waited for Pecco to tap his. The poor baby struggled with his coordination, a content squeal leaving the child's mouth as he noticed his picture pop-up when he finally touched the pass to the reader. 

The pair moved through the barriers, Vale shielding Pecco’s face from the flash of camera’s as a mic his held to him. Pecco doesn’t really listen to the questions the journalist asks him, more interested in tugging on his dad’s earring. Vale jutts his head away, trying to focus on explaining his plan for the weekend, his professionalism floating away as wet chubby fingers capture metal and tug. Vale curses quickly as the journalist laughs, letting the pair walk towards the Honda motorhome. A few fans stop them on the way, pausing for pictures, a quick chat and a pinch on Pecco’s cheeks. Vale shift his son from his hip, cradling him as he walks up the stairs and inside. 

The cabin is cool with the AC already turned on, a bottle of water already set out on a side table. Valentino sets Pecco inside his bounce swing, feet barely touching the floor as he jumps. There was a knock at the door and in popped Mick Doohan, a smile on his face growing as he looked at the excited baby. He sat down on the floor with Valentino lying down in front of him, hands open flat so Pecco's could smack his own down on them. The pair spent a good hour discussing stategies for the race, the main targets and what Valentino was to avoid. Mick would pause ever so often so Pecco could bumble something to add to the conversation.

It was time for Vale to head down into the garage, he picked Pecco up, quickly changing his nappy before reapplying sunscreen on his arms and legs. The trio headed into the Honda garage, a few engineers moving from their stations to give both father and son a high-five. Dani stood in his racesuit, helmet in his hand. "Ah pequeño osito," he said kissing Pecco's forehead. Pecco reached out and held onto Dani's face with both hands. Dani took him from Vale so he could get ready, the pair walked around the front of the garage, a few riders popping in from their own garages to greet the little boy.

Dani handed Pecco over to his paddock nanny, putting his helmet on as the nanny secured a pair of earmuffs on the baby. Vale walked over to his son, covering his face in kisses before putting his own helmet on, getting into race-mode.

The race itself wasn't Valentino's best. He still wasn't used to the Honda bike and postpartum joint pain was another battle he was fighting. Doctors has said that after a couple months rest off the bike, his hips would stop aching. But he couldn't stay off a bike and after consulting with the MotoGP Doctors he started riding six weeks after giving birth. But not everything was terrible, halfway through Valentino has climbed his way from 8th to 3rd. He crossed the line on the last lap, finishing third on the Podium. He drove into parc ferme, ripping his helmet off as soon as he could.

Vale scanned the crowd, looking for his boy. His eyes locked on little Pecco who was trying to wrestle himself out of his nanny's arms. She set him down for a second, readjusting her top oblivious to Pecco gripping the fence, hands clenched with precision. Vale's heart lept into his throat as Pecco turned, one hand in the air as he turned to face his dad. The crowd hushed and cameras turned on the boy. Casey and Hayden leaned against their bikes, moving them out of the way.

Someone began to chant, the words "Orsetto", "Francesco" and "Pecco" thrown around as he took a careful step forward. Vale suppressed the urge to run up and scoop his baby into his arms. Instead crouching down with open arms. Pecco saw his dad waiting for him and toddled forward, letting go of the fence. He fell forwards and everyone readied themselves to hear a cry. But no sound came from the boy, instead he steadied himself upright, making his way closer to Valentino, falling right into his arms.

Vale sobbed as he held Pecco, kissing his forehead as he looked up into the camera. The crowd erupted into shouts of happiness as Hayden and Casey made their way to Vale, patting him on his back and giving Pecco a hug. But Vale didn't notice them, all his focus on his baby.

#professional yapper #baby boots and riding suits #motogp

[the-castle-of-dimitrescu]

Raine was so happy to see that Alcina had put some healthy weight back on, and attributes it to Wendy's fantastic cooking. All three girls were home with them, and the mood in the estate had gradually picked back up following the miscarriage.

Raine had actually pulled Dani aside and explained what had happened, and the poor girl had immediately broken into tears, her mood shifting, tiptoeing around Alcina for fear of setting her mother off into a spiral by saying the wrong thing or asking the wrong questions. But Alcina answered every question the newly turned 16 year-old had, saving the details of the D&C procedure for another time.

The two of them were now sitting on the patio, enjoying the calm of the sunset, perfectly content to sit together on the porch swing. Raine had Alcina wrapped up in her arms, a thin blanket wrapped around her wife's shoulders as they settled together beneath the last rays of sunlight.

Raine pressed soft kisses against Alcina's head and shoulders, earning pleased hums from the woman lounging in her arms.

"Keep that up and I'll have to take you inside, darling." Alcina purred as Raine pressed another kiss against the pulse in Alcina's neck, her arms wrapped loosely around her wife's waist, keeping her close to her chest.

"Oohhh, dirty talk love. Don't threaten me with a good time." Raine teased right back, her hands drawn back to rest on Alcina's hips, mindful of any lingering tenderness that remained in Alcina's body.

Alcina fell quiet then, her gaze focused on the vineyard, her arms wrapped around herself as she fell into her thoughts. Raine noticed the change in her wife's mood and pressed another kiss against the back of her head, slowly drawing her attention back to the present.

"Penny for your thoughts, love?"

"Just... Thinking of what they could have been like." Alcina replied, leaning heavier against Raine. "What they could have done. What they would have liked."

Raine hummed in response, her hands gently rubbing Alcina's arms, her chin resting on her shoulder.

"Tell me?" She questioned, pressing a peck against Alcina's cheek, earning a soft smile in response. She didn't mention the taste of salt on her lips from the tears that had dripped down Alcina's cheek.

"If they had been a boy, I think he would have taken after Cassandra... Sports and video games. I know Cassandra would have taught him how to play basketball and soccer, and some silly little dance to make after a successful goal or point."

Raine chuckled at the thought, an image of a little boy dancing with Cassandra after scoring a soccer goal flashing in her mind.

"What if they had been a girl? Think she would have taken after Bela?"

"God no." Alcina chuckled, grabbing Raine's arms and wrapping them around her waist. "She would have taken after me, of course."

"Oh really? Beauty, grace and a smart-ass mouth?" Raine teased, bumping Alcina's temple with her forehead, earning a laugh from the raven-haired woman in her arms.

"You're already catching on, draga." Alcina replied, turning her head to press their foreheads together, breathing in the smell of the flowers blooming in the distance.

She closed her eyes, a sigh leaving her lips as she snuggled closer to Raine.

"I wanted so badly to have them..."

"I know, darling... I know." Raine replied, pressing a kiss to Alcina's lips. "You know that it's not your fault, right? That I don't blame you or hold any anger against you."

"I know..." Alcina replied, her voice a whisper against Raine's lips. "I can't help but blame myself though."

"Hush now. None of that talk, Alcina." Raine replied, her gaze focused on Alcina's, bringing her left hand up to gently cup Alcina's cheek. "You're not to blame, my love."

"But what if-"

"No buts, darling. No 'what ifs', no 'should haves', none of that. You did everything right, did everything you could, did everything the doctor told you." Raine smiled, her eyes glittering in the sunset. "I know you did, I know you tried so hard for us, and I couldn't be prouder of you. Perhaps we were jumping the gun a bit, or perhaps it just wasn't the right time to try, but that doesn't mean we can't try again in the future when we're ready."

Raine pressed another kiss to Alcina's forehead before meeting her eyes once more, her thumb gingerly brushing over Alcina's bottom lip.

"For now, we have three beautiful daughters to spoil, and new business ventures to make. New memories to create." She smiled again, wider this time. "We can try for a baby again, there's nothing stopping us from doing so. For now, I'm more than happy to have you all to myself."

Alcina finally smiled, tears once more dripping down her cheeks as she pressed her forehead against Raine's once more, a wet chuckle leaving her lips.

"You sure know how to make a lady feel special, draga mea... Thank you..."

"Anything for you, my love. Anything to see you smile."

#alcina dimitrescu #cassandra dimitrescu #daniela dimitrescu #bela dimitrescu #short fic #alcina x original female character #my fic #alcina dimitrescu x original female character #soft wives #tw: mention of miscarriage #oc: raine williams #oc: wendy williams #oc: samuel williams #things that will happen in the fic

[drvirgus]

The Idol who cant Smile

Minji X Fem! Reader

Description: You are the oldest Member of New Jeans, but Fans Never saw you Smile once. Why don't you Smile? Who's the Person that can bring back a smile to your Face?

Chapter 8:

My eyes were fixed on the camera, scanning through the comments. Minji was right beside me, and we were sitting on her bed with our backs against the wall. Nobody was supposed to know that Minji and I had pushed our single beds together to make a double bed.

Minji rested her head on my shoulder. If she wasn't here, I honestly had no idea what I would be doing during this live session. I had started without her and had been staring at the camera for five minutes, not knowing what to do. So, I asked the Bunnies (fans) to send in some questions, as I was truly clueless.

However, that turned out to be a mistake. The flood of questions seemed endless. Even when Minji joined me and started reading the comments, all she could find were more questions. She looked at me with a puzzled expression. Of course, I explained the situation, which made her laugh. But her smile faded briefly when she noticed Yuna's message.

The comments and shippers went into a frenzy. I read through all the questions, and my eyebrows raised in surprise.

Are you dating Yuna? Do you like women? Minji looks jealous. Yuna and Y/n are flirting. Y/n is for the girls.

I glanced at Minji briefly and then back at the camera. Suddenly, Minji's hand landed on my thigh, but I was determined not to show any reaction. I took a deep breath and replied, "Well, the only question I'll answer is that I'm not dating Yuna." As I said this, I felt Minji's hand inching higher up my leg.

My leg twitched involuntarily at her touch, and I cleared my throat. "Minji-ah, do you want to say something too?" I asked, moving away from her slightly. Her hand fell onto the mattress as she glanced at the camera, reading a few more comments.

Minji is jealous. Minji and Y/n are a couple. They are so cute together. Minji, you're an angel!!!

Minji grinned and said, "Saranghae, Bunnies," making a half heart with her hand. I understood and completed the heart with one hand. Her broad smile made me smile too.

The door suddenly opened, and I saw Danielle entering our room. Her eyes widened as she noticed our beds pushed together. "Why are your be-" she started to say, but Minji interrupted her by calling her name. Dani came over and sat beside me.

She handed Minji and me peeled carrots, and I accepted mine gratefully, starting to eat. Dani had positioned herself right between us. I didn't mind it at all this time, as Minji just couldn't keep her hands to herself. Thankfully, she paid attention to the cameras.

Dani started talking about random things, and Minji and I joined in. Mostly, I just listened. I noticed one of the comments that made me chuckle because it was spot on.

Y/n's lives always end up with everyone in her room. Who's next?

As if that comment triggered her instincts, Hanni walked into the room and flopped down on top of me. "Since when do you have a double bed?" she asked after a brief silence. Minji's and my eyes widened, and I nervously started laughing. However, Minji seemed to relax completely.

"You know... after that incident with the intruder... I honestly got a bit scared. That's why Unnie sleeps right next to me," Minji explained, pretending to be embarrassed. My breath caught as I glanced at Minji, but I maintained my normal expression.

Minji was a really good liar...

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

"Baby," I murmured softly. I felt her arms around me, and her legs were positioned between mine. I sighed once more, "Baby," I said again. This time, I received a soft hum in response. Taking a deep breath, I added, "Your phone is ringing," in a hushed tone. My eyes remained closed.

I heard Minji shaking her head, pressing her head further into her pillow while her chin still rested on top of mine. She made a disapproving sound, "That's not my phone," she whispered, clearly annoyed by the ringing. Irritated by the noise, I reluctantly opened my eyes.

To my shock, I quickly recoiled and scooted backward. My head bumped into Minji's face, causing her to cry out in pain. My eyes widened as I saw the four members standing there. Hyein held the phone, ready to capture the scene, while Danielle held the box from which the unmistakable tune of Mariah Carey's "All I Want for Christmas" played.

My eyes widened further as I quickly pulled the blanket over my body. Minji, beside me, clutched her nose in pain. Her eyes fluttered open, and she too realized the situation. She automatically pulled me closer, gripping the blanket tightly to cover us both.

Haerin's eyes widened, "Are you... naked?" she asked, and all eyes turned to me again. Danielle gasped, "Wait... Y/n just called Minji 'Baby'," she said, and Hyein clenched the blanket tightly. My eyes widened immediately.

I squeaked in alarm, "St-Stop, Hyein!" I almost shouted, causing Hyein to release the blanket. Her eyes widened further, "Are you... both really naked?" she asked once more. My entire face turned red because of this awkward situation.

"Could you... step outside for a moment?" Minji asked, and one by one, they all left our room with wide eyes. Almost immediately, I got up from the bed and put on fresh underwear. My face was still completely red. "You... didn't lock the room?" I asked as I glanced at Minji.

I noticed her still holding her nose. Worriedly, I knelt on the bed and gently removed her hand from her nose. I couldn't see anything really wrong with it. "I'm sorry... I just got scared," I apologized, feeling guilty. I was now wearing only my underwear and a long oversized T-shirt that I found on the floor.

I felt Minji's hands on my hips, and she pulled me back onto her lap. I squeaked in surprise. Minji sat up, and her eyes met mine. "Kiss it better... It hurts soooo much," she said, her voice almost whining. My face was still red from the earlier situation, but I did as Minji asked.

My hands cupped her face, and I placed my lips gently on her nose. I smiled slightly, "Better?" I asked, and I heard Minji humming in response. Her eyes remained closed, and a smile adorned her lips. Her arms wrapped around my waist.

"No," she replied, making me smile even more. I kissed her on the nose again, "And now?" I asked softly, my hand at the back of her neck. She slowly opened her eyes and looked straight into mine. My breath caught as I noticed that Minji was still naked. "You know... my lips hurt a little too," she said, a smile on her lips.

I chuckled. My heart rate increased as I pressed my lips to hers again. Minji immediately responded to the kiss. Her hands, as they often did, slipped under my shirt, which I was still wearing. Her breathing was calm, and her lips were as soft as always. I relaxed in her arms, nearly losing myself in the long, lingering kiss.

That was until someone knocked on the door. I snapped out of my trance, quickly stood up, and put on a pair of shorts I had worn during the previous live stream. I left the room immediately.

My eyes widened as I saw Hanni standing in front of me with her arms crossed. I bowed nervously and walked past her. She followed me into the kitchen. I tried to ignore the younger girl as I prepared a cup of coffee.

Hanni didn't say anything the entire time. She simply stared at me, giving me an intense look. I felt as if Haerin was watching me. I eventually took my coffee cup and poured in some milk along with two sweetener tablets. With my cup in hand, I made my way to the living room where the others were seated. Hanni followed me closely.

As casually as possible, I sat down next to Minji. Her hand rested on the backrest, and I initially tried to maintain some distance, but Minji was the one who scooted closer to me. That brought a smile to my face. I took a small sip of my coffee.

"So? What exactly is going on, and why wasn't I informed earlier?" Hanni asked. Her eyes narrowed as she scrutinized Minji and me. I swallowed hard, "It's... nothing special," I lied skillfully. However, I wasn't particularly good at lying, and I looked down into my cup before taking another sip.

Minji grinned in response, knowing I was trying to deceive. She seemed to enjoy making me nervous and shy in some way. I mean, with all that she did to me and... I cleared my throat and focused back on the conversation.

"Oh, really? Then why are you wearing Minji's clothes?" Hyein asked, raising an eyebrow. My eyes widened as I looked at the top I was wearing. I sighed slightly and looked at each of them. Danielle seemed confused by the seriousness of the situation, probably wondering why everyone was taking this so seriously and not reacting with happiness.

"Okay... Minji and I... So, uhhh, we might have started a relationship with each other," I confessed, visibly nervous. My heart rate quickened. I turned my head to Minji, "Say something too," I said, giving her a playful pat on the thigh. Minji simply laughed, "You're doing just fine," she replied.

Danielle was the first to squeal in delight and congratulate us. Hyein followed suit, while Haerin remained silent, continuing to observe us.

"No. Just no... How long has this been going on?" Hanni asked, her forehead furrowing in anger, which surprised me. I swallowed, "About... 2-3 months?" I answered, and Minji looked at me, "2 months and 28 days," she provided a precise number. My eyes widened in surprise, and my face turned completely red.

I placed my hand on her thigh as an apology. Minji, however, simply chuckled at the gesture, "It's okay. I know you forget even your own birthday," she said, clearly amused. This made me smile again. I then turned back to Hanni.

"Almost 3 months... you've been lying to us for so long? What are we to you? I thought we were a family! I thought..." Hanni said, visibly angry. She then turned her head to Dani and Hyein, "How can you not care? They've been lying to us... They've been hiding their relationship!" she added, pointing at Minji and me with her hand.

I swallowed. She seemed genuinely hurt. "Bro," Minji started, but Hanni shook her head, saying, "Don't call me 'Bro.' Apparently, all of this is just business... I'm not your 'Bro,'" Hanni replied, her voice much quieter now. She felt genuinely betrayed. I stood up from the couch, but Hanni still had a furrowed brow.

I looked at the younger girl. "We're a family, Hanni. I've seen it that way for a long time. I'm sorry we didn't tell you, or any of you. I was scared. I had to come to terms with the fact that Minji and I are now in a relationship. Keeping it a secret from you was hell... I really wanted to tell you. But if anyone notices, it's not just my and Minji's careers that will be over, but yours too," I explained as best I could.

Hanni hesitated visibly. She still had that angry expression on her face, but her arms were no longer crossed. "So... are you forgiving me? Minji's not at fault here, I asked her to keep it a secret," I said. My head tilted slightly, "Come on... are you that angry with your Unnie, Bro?" I asked, and now Hanni looked at me in shock.

That was the first time I called her 'Bro.' Hanni blinked a few times, "Ugh, that's cringy. Don't call me 'Bro'; it's better left as something between Minji and me," Hanni replied, which made me laugh a bit. "Well... how about using my name then? You can leave out the 'Unnie,'" I suggested, and now all of them were looking at me.

Hanni smiled again, saying, "Okay, Y/n," and extended her hand towards me. "Now, for the fruity details... Have you two really done it?" she asked after I took her hand and gave it a brief shake, as if we were making a deal. My eyes widened with embarrassment, and my heart raced. My face flushed with red.

"Oh yeah, I'd like to know that too," Danielle chimed in. She had a wide grin on her face, leaning her elbows on the coffee table as she sat on the floor once again.

#newjeans #newjeans minji #danielle #newjeans x reader #newjeans hyein #hanni pham #haerin #minji x reader #newjeans hanni

[altschmerzes]

Can’t wait for your two aces story. Any updates you want to/can share??

i'd LOVE to talk about the two aces fic at literally any point. it's so dear to my heart, i love it. at the moment i'm making good progress trekking through it and contemplating if i want to leave it as a oneshot or if i want to split it into chapters bc it's already close to 6k and i've just got a few scenes done and some drafting for some others! it's gonna be pretty long lmao, which is the story of my life. not gonna be HUGE like some of my fics end up being but it's gonna be long enough and have enough distinct beats that i'm thinking about splitting it.

we've got the initial presentation of the situation, jamie and dani getting used to living together and finding a new status quo in that bc of their injuries and how to help each other with the things they can't do (for example the initial moment where they decide to sleep in the same bed is related to dani's shoulder injury and the way he keeps rolling onto it in the night), exploration of their relationship getting deeper and getting into the big things they're afraid of that are holding them back from being physically/emotionally vulnerable with each other (they both have a Big Fear that's causing them trouble here), and then the realization that because of their healing progression they can go back to normal soon and deciding that like. actually we don't want this to go back to normal, we want to stay like this, we want to be each other's Person and have this relationship be A Relationship (nonromantic) intentionally. so there's some different beats, and might be worth splitting?

idk. sorry i'm just thinking out loud in answer to this ask now i hope this is interesting slkdfjs

here's a clip from it, too! it's from very early on, i've posted a few lines from it but it's a bit of a longer scene. dani's phone charger got stuck behind his bed and he can't reach it bc his shoulder is all messed up so jamie's going to get it while dani's making breakfast in the kitchen, this is before they're living together

Jamie has just managed to close his hand around the distant and illusive cord of the charger and is scooting back along the mattress in his awkward shuffle around the awkward bulk of his twice-braced leg when he hears a loud crash and a sharp curse from the kitchen. Instantly, before he’s even fully processed what he’s heard, his body goes rigid. His heart leaps into his throat and his shoulders and the back of his neck seize up so tight they ache immediately. Sudden, loud sounds in homes have never meant anything good for him. It’s only once the initial panic, the kind that says run, run, find somewhere to hide, be quiet and still and get as close as you can get to disappearing, has been hushed and dismissed and reminded that it’s an outdated and unnecessary instinct that another, different kind of panic takes over. Dani, Jamie thinks, and his heart lurches all over again. This is a new sort of fear, hot and trembling, like there’s a little bird in his chest beating its wings frantically, trying to get out. Oh fuck, Dani. Getting up off the bed is difficult and cumbersome but Jamie goes as quick as he can with the use of only one leg. He fumbles for his crutches and leans on them too heavily when he stands, but he doesn’t care that it hurts a bit. The ache of the way the padded tops dig uncomfortably under his arms and how the plastic of the handholds are an odd, wrong shape are far from Jamie’s mind as he hobbles towards the kitchen, going so quickly that he could probably win some kind of guys-on-crutches race if such a thing existed. “Dani,” he calls as he goes, and then, louder, “Dani, man, y’alright? What happened?” “Yes, Jamie, fine,” is the slightly delayed answer, delivered moments before Jamie rounds the corner and comes into sight of the kitchen. The first thing that Jamie notices is the floor. It’s made of a light, slate grey tile pattern that he thinks is neat, studded through with the odd yellow or silvery tile. The effect is cool and modern with a touch of brightness and fun, but at the moment the whole thing is rather ruined by the way there’s a scattering of broken class and blueberries disrupting the pattern. In the soft, warm glow of the overhead lights, the glass glitters and the blueberries shine like tokens to be collected in a video game. The round metal lid of what had once been some kind of jar glints innocently by the sink. (Dani had put in the new, gently toned lights recently, swapped the bulbs a few weeks before the season started. He’d done it after he noticed Jamie kept squinting and wincing under the harsher white light every time he was in Dani’s kitchen. He’d gone and replaced all of them, even though Jamie had insisted it was fine, it was dumb to change things in Dani’s house just because he had a weird problem about lights. Dani had looked at him like Jamie was the dumb one and shook his head and told him they are just lightbulbs, Jamie, and that had been the end of it.) And then, in the middle of it all, the glass and the blueberries and the tile floor and the lovely lights, there’s Dani. He’s standing by the counter, leaning back against it with his good arm, and there’s just enough time for Jamie to catch a glimpse of the intense frustration creasing his face before he looks up and over and it’s wiped away. All that’s left behind is a smile. It’s a good smile, it looks good, happy and friendly like Dani’s smiles do, but there’s something about it that makes Jamie feel uneasy. Well, no. Not uneasy. That word is too… That’s not right. It’s hard to imagine anything that Dani could do with his face that would make Jamie feel truly uneasy. Concerned, then. Concerned is the right word. “Sorry,” Dani says with an apologetic shrug of his left shoulder. “My hand slipped and I dropped the jar.”

#long post #gav gab #gav answers #fic: loneliness into loneliness #augh queerplatonic two aces fic my beloved- #once more fucking hilarious a bunch of people i don't know are liking and rb'ing a post i made abt it #clearly assuming i am referring to Fic About Two Asexual Characters #when this fic is about an allo character and an aroallo character lmaoooo

[daenerysamalthea]

DAENERYS MONTH 2022

DAY 7 : Prophecies

𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑹𝒆𝒅 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒕 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒅 𝑫𝒂𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒓𝒚𝒔 𝒊𝒔 𝒂𝒛𝒐𝒓 𝒂𝒉𝒂𝒊

jhogo spied it first. “There,” he said in a hushed voice. Dany looked and saw it, low in the east. The first star was a comet, burning red. Bloodred; fire red; the dragon’s tail. She could not have asked for a stronger sign.

-agot dany x

The Dothraki named the comet shierak qiya, the Bleeding Star. The old men muttered that it omened ill, but Daenerys Targaryen had seen it first on the night she had burned Khal Drogo, the night her dragons had awakened. It is the herald of my coming, she told herself as she gazed up into the night sky with wonder in her heart. The gods have sent it to show me the way.

-acok dany i

In the streets, they call it the Red Messenger. They say it comes as a herald before a king, to warn of fire and blood to follow.

-acok tyrion

You are he who must stand against the Other. The one whose coming was prophesied five thousand years ago. The red comet was your herald. You are the prince that was promised, and if you fail the world fails with you.

-asos davos

No one ever looked for a girl,” he said. “It was a prince that was promised, not a princess. Rhaegar, I thought... the smoke was from the fire that devoured Summerhall on the day of his birth, the salt from the tears shed for those who died. He shared my belief when he was young, but later he became persuaded that it was his own son who fulfilled the prophecy, for a comet had been seen above King’s Landing on the night Aegon was conceived, and Rhaegar was certain the bleeding star had to be a comet. What fools we were, who thought ourselves so wise! The error crept in from the translation. Dragons are neither male nor female, Barth saw the truth of that, but now one and now the other, as changeable as flame. The language misled us all for a thousand years. Daenerys is the one, born amidst salt and smoke. The dragons prove it.”

-affc samwell

Her coming is the fulfillment of an ancient prophecy. From smoke and salt was she born to make the world anew. She is Azor Ahai returned ... and her triumph over darkness will bring a summer that will never end ... death itself will bend its knee, and all those who die fighting in her cause shall be reborn

-adwd tyrion

#daenerys targaryen #asoiaf #asoiafedit #azor ahai #danymonth2022 #canondany #red comet #prophecy #mine