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awearywritersworld · 6 months

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there can be no covenants between men and lions

ryomen sukuna x reader summary: sukuna would rather contemplate your murder than come to terms with his feelings for you, but you call him out on his bullshit. w/c: 3k tags/warnings: enemies to lovers. angst to fluff. aged up!yuuji. heavy kissing. features yuuji x reader and he is, of course, best boy. cursing. sukuna decides he wants to kill you (so obviously there are mentions of murder and such) but cant even stand the sight of you upset, what a goof. i'd once again like to think sukuna's not too ooc in this but im still more than likely delusional. not canon compliant. fem!reader. no use of y/n. no manga spoilers. a/n: i was so touched by all of the love that part one received, i wanted to try my hand at part two. i hope i've done it justice! just as part one references homer's the odyssey, this references homer's the illiad because sukuna is very hot and well read. achilles, the protagonist of the novel, is discussed. i'm definitely open to writing a part three, because this one is much heavier on the angst and i miss soft sukuna from part one. series masterlist // masterlist

you and yuuji rarely argue, but when you do, it's often over his aversion toward seriousness, even when a situation calls for it. though you really should have kept your mouth shut, because in this moment, you'd give anything to see his typical carefree expression.

his eyes are regarding you intently, taking in your flustered appearance with knitted brows.

"yuuji..." you trail off, wracking your brain for an explanation of your current predicament.

despite the fact he regained control of his body only moments ago, one of his hands is curled around the back of your neck, while the other is resting on your hip.

"baby, what happened?" he presses, the tone of his voice entirely unreadable.

"s-sukuna," is all you can manage to choke out.

his eyes darken immediately, his jaw tensing in a way that intimidates you. "he hurt you."

you really can't tell if it's a question or a statement, and your response comes a little too quickly. "no! that's not... no."

the next few seconds tick by in a slow sort of agony, heat creeping up your cheeks.

he notices for the first time that his head is eerily quiet. no snide remarks, no scathing commentary. just his own thoughts as he pieces together the situation.

his gaze drops to the angry, red marks littering your neck and you watch in helpless horror as understanding passes his features.

"oh."

the word hangs in the air as you await his reaction, fully anticipating disgust and betrayal. you're positive it's only a matter of time before he throws you out of the apartment and tells you to never come back.

what you don't expect, however, is the way his shoulders relax as the tension leaves his face.

he straightens himself, arms falling to his sides, but he doesn't put any distance between your bodies.

"how long have you...?" he's not quite sure how to phrase the question.

"a few months. this was the first time anything... um... happened. we usually just talk."

he tilts his head to the side, so you clarify. "after you've fallen asleep."

mulling over the information, he hums in response, looking thoughtful for a few more seconds. then, his usual demeanor is back and he grabs your hand. "wanna get dinner? i'm starving!"

he tugs you a few feet toward the door before you come to your senses. "woah, woah. wait a second, yu."

when he looks back at you expectantly, you find that his face holds not one hint of bitterness or judgement. "aren't you angry?"

you're amazed to find that he's the one looking sheepish.

"how could i be? it's not exactly easy to be with me when i have a thousand year old curse rattling around in my body, but you stay anyway," he expresses, making your heart soften. "i just want you to be safe, so i'll take whatever relationship the two of have now over him being a threat to you."

as your hands reach up to cradle his face and your eyes sparkle with adoration, you briefly wonder how you ever found such a sweet man. he places a quick kiss to your lips, the smile on his face easy going as ever. "sooooo, i'm thinking takoyaki or maybe udon—"

"we can get whatever you want," you glance at the spatters of blood across his chest left there from the mission, no doubt from sukuna's careless slaughter. "as long as you go wash up first."

"right!" he agrees quickly, bounding off to the bathroom.

you stand alone in the middle of your living room, left with the ghost of both yuuji and sukuna's lips against yours and a sense of bewildered excitement.

back in his prison, however, sukuna is furious with himself. he should have let you die that day he kept you from being run over. better yet, he should have killed you with his own hands before the brat won back control of his body.

he is a terrible being that delights in carnage, a fact that's well known even centuries later. so why, when he could have done anything in the world, did he go to you? you even asked that same question before you—

he rejects the memory of you pressing your lips to his disdainfully.

your foolishness and your naivete are revolting. your softness and your pliancy are nauseating.

he shouldn't have been anywhere near you, if not to rip your obnoxious heart from your chest like he'd always planned. it was a situation he'd dreamt about and now it's slipped through his fingers, even though those same fingers had graced your fragile little neck.

you were nothing more than a clueless mouse in the jaws of a snake, and though the pains of hunger have been tearing at its stomach for years now, the serpent let itself starve.

sukuna retreats to his domain, fingers prodding at his temples irritably. he allows himself to wallow for a few hours, shutting out both you and the brat.

then, steeling his resolve, he begins to watch and wait like the predator he knows himself to be.

lulled into a false sense of security regarding your safety, it's clear that yuuji has let his guard down. just barely so, but enough that sukuna can see a few weaknesses in his chains. ironic seeing that, now more than ever, the king of curses wants you dead.

it goes without saying that he promptly ceases his nightly interactions with you. it's beneath him, wasting his time with a human. he knows that now.

but while he may not speak to you, he cannot refrain from stealing glances as the days stretch on. you're usually reading, completely oblivious to his watchful eye. he convinces himself it's simply to keep tabs on you, as he's deemed you his foremost enemy.

he's not sure how much time has passed when you begin calling out for him in hushed whispers after yuuji falls asleep, the hurt and confusion in your voice plain to him. it's irksome, and evidently, you're incapable of taking a hint.

his silence becomes more painful with each turn of the moon. you're a bit mortified to find that you genuinely miss him, so you just want answers. did he finally realize that you're nothing special, not worth bothering with?

eventually, growing restless, you all but beg him. "sukuna, please. talk to me. what happened? what'd i do wrong?" his chest tightens with what he believes is vexation. "you can't just make me like you and then disappear. you can't kiss me like that and then—"

"you insolent, maddening little creature!" his eye flies open just in time to see you gasp, your body jerking away from him. "shut up already! can't you see i want nothing to do with you? don't you tire of being pathetic?"

you don't dignify him with a response, swallowing thickly and turning away from him.

finally, he thinks, some fucking quiet. though if he's gotten what he wanted, why does his chest still ache?

he stares at the back of your form until the sun rises.

sukuna is no simpleton. he can be patient when he is sure of a reward, but he's thrilled that the perfect opportunity arises just two days after your encounter.

yuuji is exhausted. gojo kept him out all last night, despite the grueling mission he had today, and when he all but stumbles through your apartment door, the moon is already high in the sky.

you never mention the change in your relationship with sukuna to yuuji. even though he was so understanding, you still feel a touch awkward discussing it further. and maybe in the back of your mind, you're holding out hope that it might go back to the way it was.

sukuna watches through yuuji's eyes when you greet him, your expression half concern and half 'i told you so'. nights out with gojo usually lead to this very situation.

he showers while you finish cooking dinner and once you both eat, he helps you clean up despite his exhaustion. after whispering his thanks and pressing a kiss to your temple, he retires to bed.

you promise you'll join him soon, but sukuna knows it probably isn't true. following his outburst, you've taken to staying in the living room until you're ready to sleep.

yuuji's out before his head hits the pillow and nearly two hours later, you're still not in bed. sukuna's eager, but waits until he's sure the brat's deep in his slumber before he tries to take over. it's relatively easy, and he pushes down yuuji's unconscious mind as far as he can before rising to his feet.

this is finally it. he stretches his limbs lazily, a dangerous smirk settling on his lips. the floor creaks with each step he takes, but he pays no mind to stealth. you're no match for him.

tonight, you'll be his first victim of many and the thought of making up for his past misjudgement has him giddy with excitement.

but the sight that greets him upon exiting the bedroom— you curled into yourself on the couch, your shoulders shaking with quiet sobs— it stops him in his tracks.

he wants to move, more than anything, so what the fuck is wrong with him? is the brat taking over already?

and why is that uncomfortable sensation making it's home in the center of his chest once more?

when you notice his presence, your face shifts to him and reveals your wide, teary eyes. it's clear you're surprised by his appearance, but you quickly bury your face in your knees.

you just want him to leave you alone. you hate him for what he said, for what he did. he forced his way into your life, made you care about him, and then he just vanished. he's cruel and you feel like an idiot because you should have known that from the beginning. or maybe you did and he just made you forget.

"go away. i.. i don't want to see you."

he's disbelieving, for a brief moment, that here you are giving him orders while he stands in the doorway with the intention of taking your life.

he moves toward you, invading your space in a way that is meant to be intimidating, but when you look up at him, every emotion ranging from sadness to rejection to indignation is etched into your features. though the terror he hoped to inspire is noticeably absent.

"i said go away!" you swiftly stand up, your hands meeting squarely with his chest as you push him with every ounce of power you have.

you may as well have shoved a brick wall, as he doesn't move even a fraction of an inch. he seizes one of your wrists anyway.

"what is it you think you're doing, exactly?" he spits.

"let go of me!" you beat against his chest with the hand he left free until his fingers wrap around that wrist too.

"enough."

he's certain there isn't a being that has attacked him (if he can even call that an attack) and lived to speak of it, not once in an entire millennia.

so just end the insolent brat and be done with it, he urges himself.

but he can't and he doesn't understand why, so he just stares down at you.

"what the fuck do you want?" you mean for it to come out forcefully and full of spite, but your voice cracks before you can finish.

an excellent question, indeed. what does he want?

he doesn't answer you and it's so goddamn frustrating that you begin to cry again, rambling to fill the discomforting silence. "you've already told me i'm pitiful and annoying. it's clear you think my company is insufferable, that i'm undesirable—"

that ache in his chest is unbearable now. it claws at his ribcage and shreds the flesh of his heart. it makes his stomach twist uncomfortably and rings shrilly in his ears. he can't even hear you anymore, but he can still see the tears sliding down your cheeks and the way you gasp between words.

the truth of the matter crashes down on him and the devastating weight of it is so crushing it squeezes the air from his lungs.

that feeling in his chest isn't annoyance or repugnance. its anguish— the kind that rattles his bones and leaves him sick with regret.

it's because you're in pain, and worse yet, he is the cause of it.

sukuna pushes you back against the wall before you can comprehend what's happening. his hands find either side of your face and you're alarmed to find that he looks... frightened.

"what are you doing to me?" he pleads for an explanation, because he sure as hell doesn't have one.

how can one little human hold such power over him? it's unnatural. it defies all logic and reason.

you stare at him, open mouthed. his face is so close that his breath fans across your skin and it makes you feel dizzy.

"what are you talking about?" you finally ask.

"you should be dead right now," he frets, despair seeping into every word. "it should be easy."

it dawns on you that you should probably feel afraid, but you just don't. his touch is firm, but careful. and there's no malice to be found behind his eyes. "you're not making any sense."

he thinks back on the time you've spent together, trying to figure out how the hell he ended up here— him at your mercy, rather than you at his. he remembers the first time he made you laugh and considers that it may have been the beginning of his unraveling. for the following two weeks, you both discussed homer at length as you made your way through his poetry.

"there can be no covenants between men and lions. wolves and lambs can never be of one mind, but hate each other through and through." you blink at him, recognizing at once that he's quoting the illiad. his voice is low and unsteady in a way that suggests desperation. it makes you shiver. "therefore there can be no understanding between you and me, nor may there be any covenants between us, till one or other shall fall."

your eyes narrow as you begin to understand his his internal struggle, though you're unsure if he's attempting to reason with you or with himself.

"you quote achilles, and rightfully so i suppose, given your common qualities— exasperating pride and a penchant for meaningless violence." he looks relieved, like your seeming agreement eases his mind. it's short lived. "but you forget his passion."

his gaze shifts away from you, his hands withdrawing from your face.

"his passion?" he repeats as if it's the most incredulous thing he's ever heard.

"by the end of the story, is he not acquainted with regret, sympathy, and respect? he doesn't remain blind to the error of his ways forever."

"only a foolish human could make such fanciful deductions," he chides through gritted teeth, still refusing to meet your eye.

you actually laugh at him. "perhaps you shouldn't call upon achilles to make your point after all. at least he grows out of his utterly childish view of the world."

"how dare you?" he demands, his features growing wild as one hand finds your throat (his touch not nearly harsh enough to cause you any discomfort), the other colliding with the wall beside your head. his display doesn't fool you though. "you witless, wretched brat! you're nothing more than a blip in a universe you cannot even begin to understand. you sicken me."

you throw achilles' words in his face just as easily as he did to you. "hateful to me as the gates of hades is that man who hides one thing in his heart and speaks another."

his gaze hardens, and for a split second, you think you may have been mistaken in your fearlessness, but then his fingers thread themselves through your hair and he pulls your lips to his.

it's rough and commanding, and he tells himself it's only to get you to shut up. to wipe that expression of smug pity from your face.

it's not because, despite the fact you know how awful he is, you're convinced there's something salvageable in him too. nor is it because you tyrannize his every passing thought. and it's certainly not because the feeling of you pressed against him brings him more satisfaction than ripping the hearts from the chests of a hundred men.

ultimately, his denial is overshadowed by his desire. your touch is nothing short of needy as you tug at his shirt, an attempt to bring him even closer, and god does he hope that means you feel just as desperate as he does. he deserves at least a little consolation.

as his hands roam every valley and curve of your body, he deems it unfair that a being whose very existence spells hell on earth should be so taken with such a devastatingly divine creature.

"i've wanted you so terribly," he mumbles against your mouth before he can stop himself.

"then fuck you for making us both wait," you breath out.

his fingers dig into the flesh of your hips in response and his lips shift to your neck. "watch that pretty little mouth of yours, brat."

he nips at the spot just below your ear hard enough that it makes you gasp, doubtless a punishment for your impudence. you recover quickly though, wasting no time with your flippant reply. "or what? you'll go back to plotting my murder?"

he pulls away from you abruptly, sighing deeply and pinching the bridge of his nose. "you truly have zero sense of self preservation, don't you?"

"guess so," you shrug, smiling at him bashfully. "can we watch a movie? i'll even let you pick."

you ask as if it's the most normal request in the world. as if he isn't a thousand year old curse that would be off turning the city to ash were he not here with you instead.

he rolls his eyes, scoffing at the ridiculousness of it all. "fine."

#m!writes #sukuna #sukuna x reader #sukuna imagines #sukuna angst #ryomen sukuna #ryomen sukuna x reader #ryomen sukuna imagines #ryomen sukuna angst #jujutsu kaisen #jujutsu kaisen x reader #jujutsu kaisen imagines #jujutsu kaisen angst #jjk #jjk x reader #jjk imagines #jjk angst

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turtleybeachin · 10 months

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Okay I have finally thought of an ask! Not sure if you remember me or not but that's okay. It kinda has to do with the summoning through pacts. I was wondering if you could write something along the lines of an MC who is usually calm, but a MC having a panic attack or is just scared and accidentally summons a brother? I'd like to request all of the brothers or even the dateables but I don't want to ask that much. Do whoever you want with this ask if you do it at all! ❤️❤️

Hi I totally remember you and never forgot this but got way too in my own head about it. I think I crawled back out now. Thanks for being patient with me. ♥ So first of all, I love the concept of accidentally summoning someone to you. Sure, the actual summoning spell is great, but the idea of panic-summoning and maybe not even fully intentionally? Amazing. I started writing how they'd comfort you but got too in my head trying to do everyone (and not feel like i was rehashing Burnout), so I have a few that are spawning future updates to Burnout (for the new side characters), and then some one-offs I'll share as I finish them as well. But! Here are some thoughts I had on alternative summonings when upset.

Characters: Everyone! :) and a GN!MC (reader) Rating: G Word Count: ~2.3k Tagging: references to MC struggling mentally/emotionally, some fluffy affection, mostly a think piece on unintended summoning. Spoiler warnings for OG game, most notably for end of season 2, a bit of season 3, and vaguely part of season 4. Nothing too big, but there nonetheless.

Lucifer's Ring of Light is a perfect fidget piece. Spinning it around your finger, rubbing your thumb along the band, pressing on the edges of the stones to let the dull pinch ground you. It's always there on your finger, always present, always twinkling in the corner of your eye as a reminder you aren't alone. It is not his any longer, but that doesn't mean he isn't still aware of it, that a little piece of him isn't still present in a little piece of its inherent magic. And when you're spinning it and digging it into your palm and distressed, he feels an echo of that pain. It pulls him to you. Perhaps, in your own way, you're admitting you need his presence, his strength, his help, and he is not about to start abandoning his loved ones now.

With Mammon's keychain of that chocolate lizard, your thumb knew all the grooves, the smooth spots and the rough ones, the little spot where paint was chipped away that you knew you shouldn't pick at but it just happened anyway, your nail catching on the rough edge. You fidget with it when anxious because you know Mammon used to fidget with it just the same, and isn't that comforting, to know that even a powerful ancient fallen angel would run his thumb along the very same ridges you do? It's almost like you can still feel the warmth of his touch there. And you can't really think your First Man ain't gonna know you as well as he knows himself, can you? That he doesn't know when you need him, when you're tuggin' on the pact like that?

Leviathan's script he gave you? You've memorized it by now. In times when everything is spiraling, you remember your favorite lines, the ones that remind you to stay strong. You recite them to yourself between shaking breaths. Because when you can't be strong and cool and calm yourself, sometimes it helps to put yourselves in the shoes of Henry, the shoes of the Romantic Lead, the shoes of the characters written to always have a happy ending. It is, you realize, the same way Levi puts himself in the shoes of the Lord of Shadows, wrapping the cool-clever-badass-strong cloak around him as an armor. There's no Lord of Shadows without his Henry, and there's no you without him. And just like how in book six, the Lord of Shadows gets accidentally bound to Henry with a spell and is able to feel when Henry's in need and the Lord of Shadows leaves his lair without knowing where he's really going just knowing that he's needed and he ends up following this magical instinctive pull to find Henry and get to him just in time to save him from his enemies who were-- ...well, let's just say that Levi won't leave you to fight your mind alone for long.

Satan wasn't wrong that cats are perfect for calming the emotional storm inside you. They're good little listeners, and their company is a great distraction from the voices in your head. Watching the little fuzzballs roll around, or nap in a sunbeam, or prowl through the grass, it distracts you from all the frustration and anxiety and worries. Whether it's watching neighborhood cats, or visiting a cafe, or popping into a shelter, you've taken to Satan's favorite hack for handling your wayward emotions. On the really bad days, it's nice to know you can vent and cry to them and they won't judge you or tell anyone your secrets. But did you forget, MC, the stories about cats that traverse the realms? They won't ever tell anyone, but they might wander from you to their favorite place in the Devildom and they might headbutt a certain blond demon's shin and chirp for him to follow them. They are, after all, very good listeners. And so is he.

With Asmodeus, you look at the photos of him on your phone, at your selfies together and how big you smiled beside him. You blink away burning tears to focus on how he looks not at the camera but at you, his body angled not to show his best side (which is every side of course) but to press always closer to you, and how no matter where you two were or what was happening your smiles were always so bright and genuine with him. When everything feels like too much and not worth it and you feel trapped and cornered by situations beyond your control, you find yourself clutching your phone and swiping through hundreds of pictures of laughter and kisses and hugs and twirls and snuggles and you whisper a promise that one day, soon, we'll be together again. Sooner than you expect, of course, because did you really think that he wouldn't feel your burning need for him across realms, hon?

Beelzebub just has to be comfort food, our precious glutton. When life without your demons is getting you down, it's the salty snacks, the sweet treats, the tubs of ice cream with the chunks of something extra to dig for like buried treasure. And whenever you indulge, you can't help but think of your gentle giant and what he'd have to say about everything. He'd be happy you're eating, of course, and then what would he think of your human world snacks? Which makes you think of your favorite Devildom snacks, and that just hits you with a fresh wave of homesickness. But somewhere out there, a realm away, one particular Avatar just gets this feeling, you know? Like the way he knows when Belphie is craving quetzalcoatl brains, or is napping in the garden. Just that instinct. And his instinct is telling him you need your favorite cupcakes. Surely Lucifer will understand how vital it is he takes these three dozen cupcakes to the human world right now. And if he doesn't, well, that argument with his brother can wait until after your craving is satisfied.

Belphegor of course is our star-gazing boy, and while you like the idea of looking into the sky to seek out any possible shared stars to look at with him, you can't always see the stars at night everywhere, and the human realm has day and night cycles that hide them for at least half the day anyhow. For Belphie, you have a pillow from him (that he either gifted or didn't complain about your stealing) that you keep with you -- not for sleeping, but for comfort. A pillow to smother your tears on the rough nights, a pillow to pummel on your frustrated days. A pillow you curl around and snuggle for a memory of contact now distant. And when you drift off in those fitful sleeps of exhaustion, you wander in your dreams to another dream unknowingly. He's with you when you rest, and the moment he can get away from Lucifer's watchful gaze, he'll be there to tug the pillow out of your arms to crawl into your embrace himself.

With Diavolo, well, he knows things. Usually it's because of Barbatos, or Lucifer, or his familiars, but you? MC, you're so much more precious than the 'usual'. If asked by anyone who doesn't know him well enough to call him out, he'd say the charm he placed on you was simply for matters of Devildom security-- after all, you know possibly too much, and that could make you a target to the wrong people! (Barbatos politely does not point out that it's because he misses you so much and wants to see what you're doing.) It's not that he wants to intrude on your life or anything, it's important you have the chance to be as wonderfully human as you are, but he just worries. Are you alright? Are you comfortable? You'd mentioned once the extravagance of the brothers' lifestyle, do you have enough income? The charm is just a minor thing, a little thing, just to make sure you're well. And when you aren't? Well, paperwork and meetings will wait.

With Barbatos, he's just such a badass god-like time lord, we don't even need a pact to be connected to him. You had brought up the idea of a pact once, and he had just given you that dangerous smirk and demurred that it wasn't so much a pact you desired, surely, as his company and his attention, both of which were already yours. It seemed like such a smooth line at the time, but you didn't realize the extent of it. How you're a bright twinkling point on every timeline for him, how you are the center of every universe he knows, how he orients himself in any reality by looking to you. So when something is wrong, when you're falling apart or in danger, it's like the spiderweb crackling of a timeline splitting. Like an itch at the back of his throat, an ache behind his eyes. The choices are to let you suffer alone, or to teleport himself to your side and help you through. Do you even have to wonder which option he chooses?

Simeon may have a complicated relationship with his blessing and his celestial light, with his place and his purpose, but one thing has never felt complicated: you. Every baked good he ever made for you was made with pure love, and every gift he bestowed -- from a little sheep plush sewn by hand to earrings made from his own feathers -- had all of his hopes and wishes and prayers for you inside them. Maybe that's why squeezing the soft little plush fills you with such warmth and comfort, and why the brush of the feather against your neck feels like a kiss. When you're struggling and upset, the gifts from Simeon make you feel grounded just a little more. And perhaps it's a prayer answered for him, too, that he just has a feeling when it's time to go visit you.

Solomon has been watching out for you longer than you know. It started in the little ways, simple defensive spells and barriers to protect you, reminding demons who looked a little too closely at you who precisely he was and what he could do. It graduated to teaching you to defend yourself, and gifting you various magical trinkets and charms to help focus and direct your growing magics. You still don't really know all the ways that he keeps an eye on you. But he does. Nothing is more important than you. When one of his spells alerts him that you're upset or in distress, well. He just so happened to be in the neighborhood, MC, and what a lucky coincidence that is!

Luke is such a literal perfect little angel baby. One who gave you his blessing, to protect you even when he can't. Everyone teases him for being so young, but he knows that you are the one human he wants to guide and shelter and protect. And sure, when he gave his blessing, it was under the assumption you might need protection from demons or fae, from magic and shadow. But that doesn't mean his blessing doesn't also guide and protect you in times of need that aren't external, MC. When you're at your lowest and feeling completely alone, he feels the pull, feels your pain, and what sort of guardian angel would he be if he left you alone?

Mephistopheles you don't have a pact with (yet?), but imagine your magic ripping open a portal to him without your conscious intent when you're feeling small and lonely and just so badly miss him and want him with you. Maybe you think of him because of the kindness he has shown himself capable of; maybe you think of him because you know he's the least likely person to tell the brothers or anyone else about you having a meltdown. And he's startled and confused when this portal opens before him, the magic somewhat familiar but certainly not demonic, and he warily steps through half-expecting some idiotic prank of one of the brothers only to find you curled up and small and fragile and all of his complaints and questions can wait. After all, clearly you can't even manage your own magic right now, so someone has to keep you from causing trouble.

With Thirteen, it's the little conversation crystal that she gifted you during The Three Worlds' Fair. Perhaps you turned it into a pendant, or perhaps it's just always in your bag or pocket, kept close as a charm for good luck and reminder of the fact you aren't alone. You don't think it would actually work across realms but still hold it tightly and whisper your frustrations or fears or doubts into it just to get things off your chest. But between your magic and hers, it does still connect, and she does hear your outbursts. And at first she just lets it happen, quietly charmed and amused you would use her gift as a secret diary. But when you're really struggling? Well. Reapers are meant to move between realms, you know. There's nowhere she won't go for you.

And Raphael is not an angel to be summoned on the whim of some human. But he is incredibly observant (even if he sometimes doesn't 'read a room' well). He is the one who reads between your lines more than you expected, more than you intended, more perhaps than you want. He sees the tension you hold, the dark circles under your eyes, the way your smiles are just a little slow and empty; he hears the silences where he expects to hear laughter or humming or conversation. And he nearly ignores it, because it's not his business, and you have plenty of other devoted fans already flocking to you, but then he realizes that in those moments you don't. In your pain, you are alone, and that is the most jarring observation of them all. So perhaps it is up to him to correct this cosmic error, and be the one to support the human who supports everyone else.

I hope you still enjoy, even if it's not exactly what you had in mind! ♥ and when i get around to the other little things this spawned, i'll tag you if you'd like.

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dragonheart2497 · 11 months

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"but if i reblog too much people can't see my posts!" i have just the thing for you

2- personal tags

You can have different tags you use on your blog to help people navigate! for example, i use "dh rb art" when I reblog art and "dh rb" for most other reblogs- that's so that people can filter my reblogs out of their feeds if they dont wanna see that, and only want my original posts to show up.

On the other hand, my art is tagged "dh2497" so they can easily search my account for it!

If you open a person's blog and click the search button, a list of Featured Tags will show up. By default this is just the blogger's most used tags, but you can customize what shows up on yours in your blog settings

You can follow entire hashtags too! if you wanna see hermitcraft fanart without following every hermitcraft artist, follow the tag :D

3- Filtering

Tumblr actually hides things you don't wanna see, very nicely!

In your account settings, you can filter specific tags, and even specific words that show up in the post.

sometimes different bloggers warning tag differently (i do [trigger] tw or [content] cw) so you can try to input every variant, but if its something you really want to avoid just put it in the post content as well. Blocklists aren't really a tumblr thing, so if you wanna avoid an entire community you can block their tag as well

NEVER. CENSOR. YOUR WARNINGS. PLEASE. On twitter or tiktok or wherever, you may have to do that or else the algorithm suppresses it- THERES NO ALGORITHM HERE!!! if someone reblogs your post, it will show up for others, don't worry!!! you're just bypassing filters placed for people's safety, if you censor words.

Also! don't worry too much if a word you wanna filter is commonly used in unrelated contexts- tumblr doesn't remove it entirely, but rather adds a 'spoiler' so that you have to click on it to view it. So just in case it is what you want to avoid, you have time to prepare to see it.

4- effective tagging

[read more in detail here] Only the first 5 tags will show up for people who follow the hashtag. That makes them the most important! Then, the first 20 tags will make the post show up when searching that tag. The rest of them do not give your post any visibility.

I see a lot of people reblogging art with fanart tags- that can be useful for searching back the tag in the reblogger's blog specifically, but doesn't actually give the OP more visibility in that tag.

You'll learn what tags to use by checking the content you come across! most communities are "[word]blr", and most fanart goes "#[character/show] fanart". tumblr tags can have spaces!

Lastly, a few notes

you will only have 1 PRIMARY blog. this will appear when you like a post, comment on a post, or follow a blog. your sideblogs will not link back to your primary blog, but you cannot do those interactions as those sideblogs.

artists love receiving compliments when you reblog!! commenting does NOT boost the post. most people put their compliments in the TAGS of their reblog, so that it doesn't become a long post/thread, and if people reblog the reblog of your reblog you won't keep gettings notifications about it. The artist will still see and very much appreciate it

read up on tumblr etiquette, do not treat this place like twitter or you'll be disliked lol. there are some 'big blogs' but follower counts aren't public, popularity isn't a contest here. make friends, or just block/ignore people you don't get along with. no one cares about your petty arguments

if you noticed the lil cat in my screenshots, that's from a very useful browser extension called XKit!! it enables 1-click queue reblogs (automatically adding your tags), mass-post editing, and lots of other great tweaks vanilla tumblr doesn't have! and the cat is a silly cute thing you can enable in it as well

#hermitblr #trafficblr #empiresblr #hermittwt #traffictwt #how to use tumblr #how to tag on tumblr #tumblr help #i didnt mean for this to be a whole tutorial thing but if it helps one person it's worth the hour i spent on this

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my-corneroftheworld · 2 years

Text

Child without love

Summary: Namor finds a marine biologist with the powers to control water and deep knowledge of the sea and is intrigued.

Word count: 1,1k

Tags: Smut in later chapters (no minors allowed), "water-bender" reader x Namor after the events from Wakanda forever, possessive Namor, mutant reader, talk of climate change, asphyxiation, the deep sea being a bit scary, war, violence, harsh language, Wakanda forever spoilers, the usage of y/n, afab reader

Ps. if you read the preview before you can start reading after the divider. I barely made any changes other than grammar-related and wording. If you want more chapters I would greatly appreciate some constructive criticism in the comments

Masterlist

Chapter 1

I couldn’t bring myself to look him in the eyes. "You can't just go behind my back like that! There are set rules and hierarchies that keep our organization running smoothly!" Adeoye yelled while he was walking frantically back and forth. He never could handle stress well. " You're little outburst may have cost us our one shot to get the right people's attention!"

I want to say I'm sorry and that it was rude and petty of me. But I couldn't because I did what I thought was right. They have ignored our every attempt to better their policies and today's presentation only opened my eyes to how blissfully ignorant they allowed themselves to be. He stopped his pacing and rubbed his eyes under his big ill-fitting glasses.

"Do you have anything to say for yourself?" he asked abrasively. I knew that he wasn't really angry at me. He was frustrated with everything. The board director's nonchalant attitude, the over-looming doom of the deadline we've got in 2 months and my little outburst were certainly not making things better.

"No" I answered.

"Well if that's the case then you give me no choice other than to suspend you for 2 weeks" he sighed. I wasn't surprised. Cussing out the board due to their lack of ethical consideration whilst ignoring every warning I and others have worked tirelessly on proving wasn't really considered to be professional. " I understand," I say solemnly and start picking up my notes. 5 years of studying and 3 years of diligent work have come to this, being pushed aside so that rich people can profit off of dangerous means at the cost of the health of our seas. And having no power to change anything

I drove home in silence, with nothing but the wind from the window creek as my companion. I think I'll have to practice today to let off some steam. After arriving and leaving my notes by the kitchen counter, I changed into my swimsuit and went down to the beach. Moving here was mainly so I could get to work within 15 minutes but having the sea outside my back door has definitely changed my life. I never liked using my powers in front of others. Mutants aren't really welcome unless they're wearing suits and have fancy names. So there aren't many moments where I can use them to their fullest extent. When I do I feel at home. I feel free of everything. My worries and concerns are washed away.

Once I reach the water I breathe in and allow myself to feel its pull. Imitating the waves with my hands till it starts to imitate me, following my every command. I slowly start walking in allowing myself to be surrounded then I dive keeping the water from reaching my face and requiring no movements though I still haven’t passed 5 minutes at a time. Maybe I’ll make it at 6 today. I decide to explore a little further than usual, seeing what I can find on the sea floor and cleaning up small things that shouldn’t be there.

It was then I noticed it. The entity that has been watching me from afar. It barely moved and I couldn’t really make out its shape. But I knew it was looking at me and it stayed completely still. I was scared. My bubble was slowly shrinking so I began to slowly make my way back to shore. As soon as I did the shadow got closer and closer which made me anxious to reach land. I finally burst into the sea, gasping for air. I lay down on the beach, trying to catch my breath then a voice called out.

“Who are you?”

______________________________________________________________

I quickly turned around and faced what seemed to be a man. Out of panic, I summoned water at my side and launched it at him with full force. He then began to levitate and dodge my advance with.. wings attached to his feet? Shocked I ceased fire and looked at him again. He was otherworldly. His dark eyes stared at me with a hint of confusion and irritation. His hair was a dark brown and wet from the swim, framing his face ever so slightly. The sunset made his warm terra-cotta skin glow along with his pearls and gold accessories. He was beautifully serene, like straight out of a dream. If I didn't know any better I would’ve thought that he was a god. As I scanned his body so did he with mine before stopping at my eyes demanding an answer to his question.

“Who are you?” He asked again urgently, stepping closer to my frame. I tried to move back as a response.

“I- I’m y/n l/n.”

“That is not what I meant. I mean where are you from? Are there more of you?”

“I’m from here. I’m not sure what you mean by more of me” I answered hesitantly. Why is he asking all these questions? I mean from the looks of he’s most definitely some kind of mutant. He’s a bit too good of a swimmer to think otherwise. Not to mention the literal full-functioning wings at his feet.

“More who can manipulate water.” he clearifies.

“No.. I mean none that I know of” I say and start rising slowly from the ground. “Who are you?.. Are you perhaps like me?” I have never met another mutant before. Let alone someone connected to water. Hope starts swelling up. Maybe..just maybe I am not alone.

“No I am not like you. As for who I am it is not for you to know.” He says bluntly. And just like that my sliver of hope is gone. “Then what do you want?” I ask while noticing he’s pointed ears adorned with what seemed to be jade earrings.

“That is yet to be decided.” He begins circling me around slowly. “There are threats that are making it hard for me to perform my duties and your power, though meager, may develop into what I need to avoid any more...complications.”

Duties? Complications? What the hell is he talking about? He studied my face, assessing it possibly looking for a way to find out what I was thinking. Does he work for the government? Is that it? I’ve heard of mutant agents who were forced to do sketchy shit that higher-ups didn't want to be associated with.

“Sorry, I’m not interested. Though I am grateful for the consideration to recruit me, I have my own “duties” to attend to.” After voicing my intentions I decided it was best to leave. As soon as I turned around I heard him say. “I’m afraid I cannot take no as an answer” and before I could react, everything went dark and my last thought was how warm he felt in his arms as he took me back to the sea.

#kukulcan #ku'kulkhan mcu x reader #namor x reader #mcu namor

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bella-rose29 · 8 months

Text

Idiot ~ Anthony Lockwood x f!reader

Requested by anon:

Hii I want to request Anthony Lockwood×fem!reader, with childhood bestfriends to rivals to lovers with the miscommunication trope, but also a happy ending with both of them being together. So the plot could be like, they were childhood best friends but then when Anthony's family died he later wanted to start the business, but she thought that he was out of his mind because she was scared about him being in danger, but he thought she just didn't think he can handle it so they got into an argument and she left. After that, they started hating each, later she joined Fittes as an agent, so he was even more angry. So they became rivals in the ghost hunting business. Then they got put on a mission later, and idk she gets injured and his like "who did this to you," but they're still enemies, even though the whole time there is sexual tension between them. This request is super chaotic, so just make your own plot with these elements, I guess. I'm not good at describing plots, I will be happy with whatever you write, but please let them have a happy ending and be together. Also, could you try to make this as long as you can because there aren't as many Lockwood fics as there should be.

I might have changed some bits a lil bit and probably spent way too long talking about their childhood, but hopefully this lives up to your expectations anon! (Please let me know if it doesn't though)

Word count: 9.5k exactly (holy shit this is insane i had way too much fun with this)

Warnings: swearing, violence, fighting, descriptions of injury, mentions and descriptions of Lockwood's family dying/being dead, major spoilers for the books (and the show), some stuff probably doesn't make sense (like at all), i might also have misremembered and made up some things but we'll go with it, Lockwood is actually kind of a dick for some of this oops, he gets better i promise, hospitals, mentions of being on morphine (for the pain), references to Lockwood being depressed, they're idiots in love.

Tag list: @anathemaloren, @augustisintheair, @avdiobliss, @dangelnleif, @el-de-phi, @karensirkobabes, @mitskiswift99, @mrsklockwood, @mrsyixingunicorn10, @ran23sblog, @superpositvecloudshipper, @t2sh0, @taygrls, @tournesol77, @wandamaximoffbae, @wordsarelife

As always, let me know here if you'd like to be added or removed from the tag list!

It was nearly 3am and Y/n L/n had had enough.

She was exhausted, weary, worn out, and pretty much any other synonym for the word 'tired', and she just wanted to go to bed, but Anthony Lockwood had other ideas.

"Give it here, come on!"

Y/n groaned, then half-heartedly chucked the bits of paper at her best friend from where she was lying on the floor of his living room. Jessica laughed, despite also losing to the 5 year old boy at Monopoly, and shook her head at his greedy smile as he counted the money. How he had ever managed to get the two of them to agree to play with him, Y/n didn't know, especially since she'd not really been paying attention when the rules were explained. But then she saw how happy he was at the idea of playing with the two girls, and Y/n knew she could never make her best friend sad.

She did really want to go to bed though.

Jessica Lockwood appeared to notice Y/n's droopy eyes, and quietly spoke to her brother, stifling a laugh at his pout when she told him they should probably stop.

"But we aren't done yet!"

"I know, Anthony, but you've definitely got the most money, I'm sure of it. You're going to win no matter what, so I think we should let Y/n/n go to sleep, yeah?"

"Oh..." he'd noticed his friend's demeanour now, and felt immediately bad for making her stay awake. "Alright then. Y/n/n?"

"Mmm?"

"You ready to go to bed? 'Cause Jess says I won, so I reckon we can go up now."

"Mkay," she murmured, too sleepy to answer in proper words. Going up to bed was a haze, and she only really woke up when she stubbed her toe at the bottom of the stairs (Anthony hadn't told her that was there, despite saying he'd guide her). She was sure she brushed her teeth, Jessica would have checked, and they were all already in their pyjamas, but the only other thing she remembered before dropping off completely was seeing Anthony's face on the pillow next to her, already snoring lightly.

~~~

Y/n couldn't remember most of Anthony's sixth birthday now, what with all the memories that came in between, but she did remember his joy at receiving her present.

He'd spent the majority of the morning since Y/n and her family went next door gloating about how he was finally six, and now he was old enough to do so much more than Y/n (who was still five). She'd rolled her eyes, laughing when he did victory dances all around the house, and laughing even harder when he fell over while doing one of the previously mentioned dances.

They'd run away and hidden in his room in the attic after collecting plates of cake, and Y/n made sure to pick up her carefully wrapped present on the way up. He'd noticed immediately that she was carrying it, of course, he was far too observant to miss it, and had demanded that she let him open it right then and there. Initially she'd refused, feeling shy and worried that he wouldn't like it, but he'd given her one of his secret smiles, one of the ones reserved specifically for her, and said "Please?" so sweetly she caved.

He placed the cake to the side, then spent a good minute unwrapping the gift, being oh so gentle with the paper in fear of breaking it. When he saw the item inside, his smile burst out, bright and blinding, and Y/n felt her own smile form on her face, pleased at his reaction.

"Do you like it?" Nerves were still coursing through her, but they left her body when he raised his head and met her eyes.

"I love it, Y/n/n," he whispered, lifting the picture frame all the way out of the wrapping. She'd convinced her parents to print the photo off, and then spent hours making a frame that would fit it perfectly, complete with lolly sticks and stickers, trying to make the best gift for the best friend she'd ever had.

The photo was the two of them the previous Christmas, bundled up in ridiculous festive jumpers and sat in front of the Lockwood family tree in the hallway, presents surrounding them. Their parents had insisted on a photo before they ruined the area with rubbish everywhere, and the two of them could barely contain their excitement. There was a slight blur to them, a testament to their energy, but their smiles were so wide and they were hugging so tightly Y/n knew it was the perfect photo to give him.

"Where did you even get this? I thought your mum hid the camera?"

Y/n giggled at his comically wide eyes. "I just asked her, silly. I did have to do some chores but I didn't mind, it was worth it."

She barely had time to move her plate of cake out of the way (she hadn't eaten any in the last few minutes, far too focused on Anthony's reaction) when he surged forward, bringing his arms around her in a crushing hug.

"Thank you," he said, although it was muffled since his head was pressed into her shoulder.

"Anything for you, Ant, anytime."

They stayed there for a while, just hugging on his bed and revelling in each others' presence, both knowing that Y/n had meant her words.

~~~

When Anthony had to fight his parents' ghosts, Y/n had cried.

He was crying too, since he'd seen them die less than a day ago and now he had to keep them dead, but seeing her best friend in so much pain had made Y/n cry harder.

Anthony was trying to push back the tears so that he could see, so that he could fight, and Y/n hated that he was doing this on his own.

She had been kept in her room by her parents, the adults being too scared for their daughter's safety to let her go and help Anthony, and she was watching him through her bedroom window. Despite the tears streaming down her face and the sobs racking her body, she could tell he was crying (or trying not to) because of the way he was hunched into himself, as if by making himself smaller he could make everything stop. His body was shaking too, heaving with silent cries as he fought off the two ghosts in front of him. Why they were in his back garden, Y/n wasn't sure, since they'd died on the road in an explosion a few minutes drive away, but she was only six, and didn't understand much anyway.

She wasn't sure how long she sat there, perched on the window seat with her gaze fixed on the boy next door, but she knew that it was far past her bedtime when he finally stopped them, and she woke up with her face stuck to the window, tear stains on her cheeks.

Realising it was light again, Y/n hurried to get dressed, tearing down the stairs and into the house next to them, knocking rapidly on the front door. It swung open a few moments later, revealing Jessica, who smiled sadly at the small girl in front of her and waved Y/n in.

"He's in his room," she said quietly, voice raw from crying.

Y/n nearly tripped countless times climbing the many stairs, and by the time she'd made it to the attic she was out of breath. Pushing his door open, and going up the last few steps (seriously, why were there so many steps?) she froze at the top when she saw him curled up under his bedsheets, shaking with near-silent cries.

"Anthony?"

She heard him sniff, the sound gross and snotty, and then he turned his body around to face her, and Y/n felt her heart break in her chest.

He clearly hadn't slept all night, eyes red from crying and lack of sleep, and he was struggling to keep back the fresh tears that threatened to break through.

"Oh, Ant."

Y/n rushed to the bed, climbing to sit next to him and pulling his head into her lap, brushing her fingers through his hair.

They sat like that for hours, long after Jessica brought up some toast for the two of them, and even when Y/n's back hurt from the headboard and her legs were numb from having his weight on them, she didn't stop stroking his hair, soothing him silently.

When he finally sat up, wiping his eyes and blowing his nose (Y/n made a mental note to put her clothes in the wash as soon as she got back home), she pulled him back in for a hug, both of them sat up this time.

"Thank you, Y/n/n."

She remembered the last time they'd done this, hugged on his bed while he thanked her, but this time it wasn't happy.

"Anything, Ant. Anytime."

~~~

"Ant, don't be stupid!" Y/n giggled, watching him climb the tree.

"I'm gonna get you an apple," he shouted, smiling down at her. "You're gonna love it, I promise!"

He'd just been reaching out for one, bright red and shining, when they'd heard a crash from inside his house, followed by a scream. They'd frozen where they stood, Y/n on the ground and Anthony in the tree, and then suddenly they snapped into action, scrambling to get inside and find Jessica.

They tore up the stairs (somehow Anthony had caught up to her, despite having been up the tree), and he pushed open her bedroom door just in time to see the ghost.

"NO!"

He moved before Y/n did, grabbing a spare rapier from the dresser and moving to fight, hoping to save his sister.

Y/n moved, but backwards, taking a step back out onto the landing, her hand on her mouth.

"Anthony."

He had pushed the ghost back, and was picking up a net.

"Anthony."

He had thrown the net over the broken pot, wrapping it up securely.

"Anthony," she said, eyes fixed on the bed.

"What?" His eyes were wide with terror as he turned to look at her, evidently scared that she was in danger, but when he followed her finger that pointed to the bed, he choked.

"No," he croaked hoarsely, and Y/n felt terrible for making him realise. "Jessica? Jessica please wake up. Jessica. Jessica, this isn't funny. Jessica, please. Jessica."

He kept on like that, repeating her name and asking her to wake up, but Y/n knew that she wouldn't. She moved again then, over to where he stood, rapier hanging limply in his hand. It had only been three years ago he'd lost his parents, why did he have to lose someone else that he loved? Pulling him into her, she let him sob into her shoulder (difficult, given his growth spurt).

Y/n knew at that point that she wouldn't ever leave him.

~~~

"You what?!"

"I'm starting training," Anthony replied, not looking up from where he stood at the kitchen counter, buttering toast.

"But... but why?"

"Because," he shrugged. When he didn't expand on it, Y/n sighed.

She was worried about him.

He'd been vacant, hollow, since Jessica's death, and although he tried to smile and make everybody think that he was doing just fine, Y/n knew her best friend better than that. She saw the bags under his eyes, the lack of joy and mischief that used to reside in his gaze.

"Because what, Anthony?"

"Look, I'll be fine. This guy called Nigel is gonna train me, and then I'll be an agent, and I can keep you safe."

"I can keep myself safe, idiot," Y/n huffed indignantly, crossing her arms and leaning back in her chair.

"I know, I just want to be extra sure that you'll be okay. And everyone else."

"We're nine, Anthony. You went to a funeral a week ago and already you're talking to agents?"

"Yes. I'd like it if you came with me, obviously, but if you don't that's fine too. I'm doing this anyway, with or without you."

That hurt.

They always did everything together, so why was he talking like this?

"Fine. I'll talk to my parents. You need protecting too, dummy."

She'd broached the subject that night at dinner, expecting them to say no.

"Are you sure you want to do this, darling?"

"Yep," she said, stabbing some peas with her fork.

Her parents shared a look.

"Alright. Just promise us you'll be careful, and you'll pay attention in your training, yeah?"

Surprise made Y/n jolt, sending peas skidding across the table. "I can go?"

"Yes, but you have to promise us-"

"I promise!" Her parents chuckled, shaking their heads in a way that reminded Y/n of Monopoly and a late night.

~~~

Training was horrible.

Everybody was mean to her, just because she couldn't run as fast as the others, or move as quickly with a rapier.

"Look at her, she's gonna die within minutes!"

"Nah, she'll never make it that long. On the plus side, if she's in our group we only have to run faster than her!"

"Won't be too difficult!"

Y/n scowled at the whispers, making her way over to Anthony. She huffed, plopping down on the bench next to him and glaring at the girls.

"What's up with you?"

"They're being mean about me. Saying I'll be useless in the field."

"Aw, Y/n/n, they're stupid if they think that. You'll be amazing, I'm sure." He nudged her shoulder with his, smile working its way onto his face. Y/n couldn't help but smile back; his was too infectious. "You'll prove them wrong, I'm sure of it."

After that day, Y/n worked ten times as hard on the practical elements, a new intensity coming into her training with the other agents. She sparred against Anthony when they got home, blunt rapiers clashing in her back garden while her parents cooked dinner.

Within a month, she could beat pretty much everyone she trained with, the only exception being Anthony. He'd shown a skill with the rapier from the very beginning, and his long body made him graceful in a fight. She'd nearly beaten him a few times, but then he'd had a fire light in his eyes and he'd push her back, focus deadly as he forgot everything but the fight. She grew scared in those moments, and had stopped trying to beat him, afraid that he'd forget who she was and hurt her.

~~~

When they were fourteen, Y/n broke her promise and walked out on Anthony Lockwood.

He'd started a business, his own goddamn agency, in his own goddamn house, and he'd wanted her to work with him. She barely recognised the boy that stood in front of her the day he asked her; he was a shell of the best friend she used to have. He was vacant still, and she just wanted Anthony Lockwood back.

"Please? It'll be so much better if we're working together! You can come and live here, and your parents are still next door so you're not too far away, and we'll go on cases together, and it'll be great!"

Y/n had shaken her head, fear creeping up her spine. He'd grown a death wish recently, and although he vehemently denied it, she'd seen how he didn't seem to care about his personal safety when on cases led by the trainers.

"Anthony, you can't do this, please. You're gonna get hurt," she pleaded, hoping he'd come to his senses. If he wasn't so broken, she'd say yes, gladly, and work with him as they had always planned they would. But he was broken, and this job could destroy him.

"What, do you think I can't do it?" His brow furrowed in confusion, and Y/n could practically feel his guard start to go up.

He'd never done that with her before.

"It's not that, I just don't want you getting hurt. You're my best friend, Ant, and I don't wanna lose you."

"You won't lose me," he'd raised his voice slightly, pushing off of the kitchen counter as he got defensive. "You've seen me," he swept an arm out, referencing the training missions. "I'm the best agent they've got, and we both know it. I won't get hurt. I'm too good for that."

Y/n scoffed. "Do you hear yourself, Anthony? Do you realise how arrogant you sound? Because that's gonna get you killed." She'd raised her voice too, to match his, and she jabbed a finger into his chest.

"Arrogant? You think I'm arrogant? I thought we were 'best friends'?"

"Why did you say it like that?"

"What?"

"'Best friends', like we're not. You did little finger quotes like it was sarcastic."

"You always do this! Make something out of nothing!"

"What?" Her eyes narrowed. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"You tell me! You're the one saying I'm gonna get killed when I'm the most skilled agent we know! Why can't you just trust me?!"

"Because you will, Anthony! You will get yourself killed, and I can't let that happen! You can't start a company, just join Fittes, or Rotwell!"

"Fittes? Rotwell? I'd rather eat my own foot than join one of them! You just think I'm not capable of any of this, don't you? You think, that because my family is dead, I can't do this, because I should be grieving instead. Well I have grieved, and if you don't want to stay, then you can leave. I don't want you here if you're gonna keep being like this. Come back when you've sorted your attitude out." He turned his back, busying himself with making a cup of tea.

Y/n stared at him, mouth open in shock and tears threatening to fall.

"Prick. You're the one that needs to sort your attitude, not me."

She left then, grabbing her bag from the chair and scribbling a 'fuck you, Lockwood' onto the paper cloth on the table.

~~~

A year later, Y/n was working a job, and was actually somewhat happy.

She'd joined Fittes after her argument with Lockwood (she stubbornly refused to call him 'Anthony' until he'd apologised to her), and had been put in Quill Kipps' team. He was nice enough, arrogant and conceited at times, but Y/n put that down to his failing Senses and the stress of being team leader, since he was alright the rest of the time. He was more like an overworked teacher on a school trip with a bunch of primary school kids, and the bags under his eyes really added to the image.

It was a minor threat, Type One ghost that was giving an old lady the creeps, but they'd been waylaid on their way back to Fittes by a group of ghosts in the park, and two figures struggling to fight them all. There had to have been around twenty to thirty ghosts (all Type Ones, but they were angry), and when Kipps wondered aloud who would be so daft as to take them on, Y/n sighed, knowing exactly who would do it.

The Fittes team had jumped in, using the remainder of their flares and energy to help, and Y/n found the source, securing it quickly and efficiently. Mass graves were never fun, and this one wasn't much better. Spreading the silver net over the area, Y/n stood, careful not to jostle it.

"We don't need Fittes coming in, thanks, we were perfectly fine on our own."

"Sure," Kipps snorted. "Because being completely surrounded by ghosts and nearly dying is being perfectly fine. Give it a rest, Tony. Go back to your house and leave the agent work to the professionals, yeah?" Y/n rolled her eyes as she got closer, but she couldn't help but agree with what her leader was saying.

Anthony Lockwood looked terrible.

She had no idea who the other boy was (although he did look vaguely familiar), but he at least didn't look like he was on death's door.

"Y/n?"

She raised her eyebrows (she still couldn't figure out how to raise just the one, despite practicing for hours).

"Lockwood."

He flinched, almost imperceptibly, but she knew him too well to miss it. Nobody else noticed.

"Why are you... Are you working for Fittes?"

"Yes." He wasn't getting more out of her, not until he apologised. Kipps was looking between the two of them, as was the other boy with Lockwood, both clearly confused.

"How do you know each other?" Kipps asked.

"We were-"

"We were neighbours. Didn't talk much outside of that." Her tone was bland, and her face nonchalant, and she turned to leave. "Has somebody called DEPRAC?" Ned nodded, waving the radio in his hand.

"Said they'd be two minutes. Should be here in a minute."

"Perfect. Can we get that tea now, Kipps?"

He hesitated, obviously still unsure about what was going on. "Sure. We'll drop the other Source off first though, yeah?"

They left, and although Y/n could feel Lockwood's stare on her back, she didn't turn around.

~~~

It was a month later that Y/n saw Lockwood again, and it was almost the same situation. Her team had been patrolling the streets, making sure the area was secure, when they'd seen magnesium flares going off. They'd rushed in, and Y/n had scoffed when she caught sight of the long black coat and flashy moves.

"Outta the way, Tony!"

The Fittes team had made quick work of the Type Two, bagging the Source and claiming the reward. Y/n felt a little bad about the money, but at the same time Lockwood needed to learn how to get control over the situations he put himself in if he wanted to keep the reward. He seemed to take on the cases that were ridiculously out of his reach, and if Y/n was speaking to him she'd guess that he was trying to prove a point.

She and her team were warming up in a cafe afterwards, one of the late night ones that opened specifically for agents, when Lockwood and his coworker walked in. The pair breezed past, and when the other boy had smiled apologetically at them and given Y/n a little wave, she remembered who he was.

"George! Wait, it is George, isn't it?"

"Uh, yeah," he scratched the back of his head, and adjusted his glasses on his face. "I wasn't sure you remembered me, to be honest."

"I knew I'd seen you before, it just took me a bit to remember where from. Also it was dark the last two times we saw each other, so that won't have helped. Anyway, how are you?"

They chatted for a while, George shifting the piles of paper he had in his arms.

"Do you need to put those down?" she asked after he readjusted them for what seemed like the millionth time.

"I should probably get over to Lockwood, actually. I'm pretty sure he's burning holes in my jumper right now."

"Oh, he's glaring at me, don't worry."

"Why would he be glaring at you? You're lovely," he questioned, confused. "I thought you were just neighbours anyway?"

"Yeah. We had an argument a while back. He was a knob."

"Oh. Yeah, I can see that he would be." George nodded in understanding. "I should definitely go and join him though. We've got all this to get through," he held up the papers slightly, and Y/n smiled up at him.

"Well good luck, George. See you soon?"

"Probably the next time you save us. Lockwood has a death wish apparently. Doesn't let me research for long enough," he complained, shaking his head as he turned and left. Y/n had been right. Lockwood was being reckless, and he'd get himself, and quite possibly George, killed.

She and her team were just finishing up, with Kipps paying the bill and her other teammates standing with him at the till, when Lockwood came over. Y/n had stepped outside, breathing in the cold night air, and when she heard the door she instinctively turned to look, expecting her coworkers.

"Oh. It's you."

"C'mon. Don't be like that, Y/n."

She snorted. "You know you're proving me right, right? You keep throwing yourself into situations you can't win in, and you're going to get yourself killed."

"I'm not proving you right," he started, frown forming on his face. He'd had another growth spurt, she realised. He'd stepped closer to her, out of the way of the cafe door so that other agents could enter, and now he towered over her.

"Yes, you are. Stop being a dick, Lockwood, and realise that you're going to get yourself seriously hurt someday."

"Since when was I Lockwood to you?"

"You know when."

"True. Lovely message, by the way. Great parting gift."

"Yeah, well you were being an asshole, and it felt fitting to write 'fuck you'."

He muttered something under his breath, too quiet for her to hear.

"Excuse me?"

"I said, 'Yeah, I bet you'd like to'," he repeated, louder this time, meeting her eyes with a smug smile on his face.

"Grow up, Lockwood."

"That's not a denial."

Y/n turned to him, looking him dead in the eyes. "Yes it is." She tried to sound threatening, but that was difficult when he was nearly a whole head taller than her. She was saved by her team coming out of the cafe, and she shoved her hands in her pockets, hunching her shoulders against the chill.

"You alright, Y/n?" Kipps asked, concern for his colleague appearing on his face.

"Yeah, fine. Let's go."

~~~

Those meetings kept happening, and it was beginning to frustrate Y/n.

Lockwood had started being more flirty, as if he actually enjoyed getting on her nerves, and the past year had been exhausting.

It was the same every time.

Y/n's Fittes team would be patrolling, or coming back from a job, or heading to a job, when they'd see two figures, or their flares, or hear their shouts, fighting an incessant number of ghosts. The group would jump in, joining the fight, and somehow Y/n and Lockwood ended up next to each other. She was certain he engineered it that way specifically so that he could irritate her with his comments, and that just irritated her even more. What he said was always the same thing, too.

"Do you come here often?"

"We have to stop meeting like this."

"What are you doing after this?"

When she told him to shut up and focus on the job, he'd ignore her, or answer with something just as bad.

"Make me."

"I'll stop talking if you join me later."

Both of those were said with smug smirks and winks, and Y/n went home to her crappy flat close to the Fittes building (she couldn't stand being near him after the argument) every night wondering what the hell had happened to her old best friend.

The last case had been particularly annoying.

The same routine had occurred, but this time there were three of them.

Y/n was surprised to see the girl, but as soon as she saw her fighting she decided that she liked her. She was feisty, and from what Y/n could tell, didn't take any of Lockwood's shit. She looked like the sort of person Y/n would be friends with, or at least get along with, like with George (they had limited contact outside of saving them).

But then the Fittes team had helped, and Lockwood hadn't come near Y/n.

She was glad in some ways, it meant she didn't have his incessant flirting in her ear, and she was glad, until she looked to see where he'd gone.

He was side by side with the girl, and they fought together like they'd been doing it their whole lives. For some reason it annoyed Y/n, despite the fact she'd sworn to block out any feelings for Lockwood other than annoyance and hate, and she grumbled the rest of the night. Kipps picked up on it, and questioned her.

"What's up with you? Surely you'd be happy that Tony left you alone?"

"Yeah, I am. It's something else, don't worry."

"Alright... well, don't let it get to you too much, yeah? We need you focusing on missions, you're too good at what you do."

Y/n nodded, flushing slightly at the compliment.

They made it to the cafe just as Lockwood and Co did, and Y/n bristled at seeing the three of them laughing together.

Well, at seeing Lockwood and the girl laughing together.

George she was just happy to see, he was always nice to her back when he worked at Fittes, and when they passed each other in the Archives or finished jobs together, and she didn't think she could ever be mad at him.

Lockwood and his new colleague, however, she could justify.

"Oh, hi!"

Ugh, she was nice. That made disliking her even harder.

"Hi," Y/n forced a smile, hoping it didn't look too fake.

"I'm Lucy," she said, coming closer to Y/n as the two of them trailed behind the others.

"Y/n. How long you been working with him then?"

"Uh, about a week? Do you... do you not like Lockwood or something?"

"What makes you say that?"

"You just... said 'him' like you wanted to rip his head off."

"Oh. Well, that's one thing I wanna do to him."

Apparently Lockwood tuned in to their conversation at that specific moment, because he turned around, smirk already in place.

"What are the other things you want to do to me, Y/n? I'd love to find out later. My place or yours?"

Y/n scoffed, pushing past him to join her teammates. Behind her she heard a thump, followed by a small "Ow!" Assuming that Lucy had hit him, Y/n smiled, and started liking the girl again. Maybe she wasn't as bad as she originally thought.

~~~

It had been nearly two years since Y/n had first met Lucy, and her second impression of the girl had stuck.

They'd saved Lockwood and Co far too many times since the girls had first met, but Y/n didn't mind. She enjoyed seeing Lucy and George (and Lockwood, but she wouldn't tell anyone that), and if getting involved and having to suffer Lockwood's chatter meant that the three of them lived another day, Y/n would gladly take that sacrifice.

Y/n and Lucy met up regularly in the down time that they both shared, either at Y/n's flat, or in a cafe or shop somewhere. Sometimes George came along, having snuck out under the pretence that he was researching at the Archives, and the three of them had lengthy chats about pretty much anything. Lockwood came up in conversation a lot, of course, given he was something they all had in common, but Y/n always steered away from the subject.

Tonight, however, she wasn't getting let off the hook.

"Why do you always do that?" Lucy asked, stuffing a chip in her mouth. They were sat on the floor of Y/n's tiny kitchen, take away boxes of food in front of them.

"Do what?"

"Whenever Lockwood gets mentioned you start talking about other things. Why do you do that?"

Y/n shrugged, eating some of her own food. "'Cause he's a knob and I don't want to think about him more than I have to?"

"He's always flirting with you though, and you always flirt back."

"Thanks for the observation, George. And I do not flirt back!"

"Oh you totally do, like earlier, right, he was saying something about how your uniform really compliments your complexion or something, and you look really good in it, and you said, wait, George, you take over, I need a drink," Lucy spoke.

"You said 'thanks, I look better without it', and winked at him. I had to physically push him out of the way of a ghost because he was stood staring at you like an idiot."

"He always looks like an idiot," Y/n mumbled, cheeks going red.

"George is right, he's actually gonna end up hurting himself if you two don't get on with it soon."

"He's at risk of death anyway! And get on with what?"

"Snogging," Lucy said, at the same time George said "Making out."

Y/n stared at her friends, hand pausing halfway to her mouth, chip in between her fingers. "What?!"

"Seriously, there's so much tension I could slice it with my rapier. Just stick your tongue in his mouth already."

"Lucy!"

The girl just shrugged. "We are seventeen, you know that right? I know people who've shagged at seventeen. I'm honestly surprised the two of you haven't yet, which is why you need to get on with it."

"That would be... no, that's too weird."

"Why is it weird? He's your old neighbour, you had an argument about something petty probably, and now he's flirting with you 'cause he's realised how hot you are. If he doesn't kiss you I will, just so I can say I kissed the hottest girl I know."

"Aw, thanks Luce. I'd rather kiss you than him, to be honest."

"The bar is low. He's punching."

"Definitely. You alright George?"

"I don't understand girls," he replied, having been quiet the last few minutes while Y/n and Lucy went back and forth. "What did you argue about, anyway? Because you've held a grudge against him for at least three years now and I have never known why."

"Was it petty?"

"No, Lucy, it wasn't petty." Y/n sighed, taking a break from eating. "He... We were fourteen, just finished all of our training, and he told me he wanted to start his agency."

"That is kinda petty though."

"Lemme finish. I don't know how much he's told you about his family," she paused, looking at the other two.

"Not much, but we know they're all dead."

"Yeah, and he showed us Jessica's room."

Y/n raised her eyebrows. He'd kept that room stubbornly locked since she'd died.

"Right. Well, a week after her funeral, he told me he wanted to start training to be an agent. We were nine, and he was definitely not okay at all. Anyway, we did it, and then like I said, when we'd finished, he told me he wanted to start an agency in his house and he wanted me to join him. He was still not himself, and I was just worried that he was going to end up killing himself. Hell, he'd almost hurt me a few times in training. We were the top two in our academy, so we ended up fighting together a lot. But he'd get... intense. Focused. But not in a good way. It was like... he saw anyone he was up against as a ghost, and he wanted revenge for what had happened with his family. We argued about the agency. I told him something about how if he did it he'd just end up hurt, because I knew him and I knew that he wouldn't think he had anything to live for. He took that to mean that I thought he was incapable, and he told me to leave and that I could come back when I'd fixed my attitude."

The three of them sat in silence for a few minutes, Y/n staring at her take away box in her lap, George and Lucy absorbing everything she'd told them.

"Fuck," Lucy finally said, breaking the quiet.

"Yeah."

"Wait, so you weren't just neighbours?" George asked. "You must have been closer than that if you knew him so well."

"Best friends. We're the same age, and our parents had lived next to each other since before we were born. Just made sense really that we were friends."

"Does he know? That you were worried about him?" Lucy questioned.

"Probably not. Should have guessed it though, given how close we were. I mean, he's seen me ugly cry at funerals, and they weren't even my relatives, they were his."

"Maybe you should talk to him? I know, I know, he needs to apologise for being a knob, but you were fourteen. I mean, it's three years on and he's still the mental age of a five year old, but talking might help?"

"Anyway, Lockwood's hopeless when it comes to women. Completely clueless," George added.

"How would you know?" Y/n frowned, not liking the way her heart clenched at the idea of Lockwood talking to other girls.

"Because he hasn't done anything about you, and you're probably the most amazing girl that's ever going to get a chance with in his life. Maybe he's intimidated by you."

"He's not getting a chance. Not like that. Don't look at me like that, Luce. If I don't kiss him that means I'm kissing you."

"Oh, alright then. I'm fine if you don't wanna make up with him," she replied, cheeky smile appearing on her face.

They left the topic alone after that, moving on to other subjects, but Y/n couldn't help but think about the boy with a death wish.

~~~

It was only a week after her evening with George and Lucy that Y/n had to help save Lockwood again (it was so ridiculous she was almost entirely convinced he came unprepared just so that he could see her).

"Miss me, darling?"

"In your dreams, Lockwood," she shouted back at him, dodging a Type Two. She gritted her teeth as she hit the ground, jagged rocks digging in and pain shooting through her side. Rolling, she stood again, panicking for a moment when she realised she'd dropped her rapier.

"Here you go, darling," Lockwood said, appearing out of nowhere with her rapier. "Do I get a reward for returning your belongings?"

"Yeah, you do, actually," she replied, getting close enough to him she could feel his breath on her face. "You get to not be stabbed by me. Duck." He did, almost immediately, and Y/n threw a flare at the Spectre behind him. Lockwood popped back up, somehow still smiling despite the utter carnage surrounding them.

"If I got hurt, would you visit me in hospital?"

"Yeah, to finish you off."

He laughed, and Y/n turned away so he couldn't see the blush rising on her face at the sound. As she did so, she caught a glimpse of something that definitely wasn't dead rummaging around where she had thought the Source for the cluster was.

Relic men.

"Lockwood?"

"Yes, my love?"

"Relic men, over by the Source. What are we gonna do about them?" She hadn't taken her eyes off of the two figures that were crouched by the oak tree, afraid that if she moved her gaze they would run off. When Lockwood only cursed, she panicked, wondering what was wrong. Normally by now he would have charged in to the fight, all guns blazing. Why wasn't he doing that now? Had he suddenly realised that she was right? Because this was really terrible timing if he had. "Lockwood?" Her voice had gone up in pitch, fear making it quiver. Relic men were nasty, and a lot harder to deal with than ghosts. Ghosts she'd been trained for.

"We're surrounded by them. They're blocking all reasonable exits."

"Shit. Okay. What about unreasonable exits?"

"What?"

"You said they're blocking all reasonable exits, yeah? So what about the unreasonable ones? Could we get out anywhere else?"

"Uh... there's a gap in the fence over there," he pointed. "But that would mean letting them have the Source. It's too powerful, we can't let that happen."

"Ugh, okay, hang on. Go and tell the others, just in case they haven't noticed."

"What about you?"

"I'm keeping an eye on these two, make sure they don't get away. I'll try and get closer, but there's a lot of Type Ones in the way."

"You'll be okay?"

"If I die you can take me on a date."

"That's... what? That doesn't make sense."

"Take it or leave it, Lockwood. Get a move on."

He left, casting a last look over his shoulder at her before disappearing into the night to find the others. Y/n felt unease creep up her spine, and she gripped her rapier tighter, her other hand hovering over the remaining flares in her belt. The relic men were still digging, and a few of the ghosts had noticed the disturbance now, moving over. Y/n frowned, a thought occurring to her.

Relic men waited until the ghosts were gone.

So what were they doing here, now? Why endanger themselves? Before she could think on it further, she felt the air shift behind her and ducked to the left just as a fist appeared in the space her head was in mere seconds ago.

Shit.

She pulled herself back up, readjusting her grip on the rapier and taking a quick glance over to the tree. Seeing the two relic men still there, Y/n whipped back around, ducking again just in time to miss the next punch. The man pulled out a knife, the edges jagged, and a wicked grin came over his face. Y/n gulped, then parried his attacks. He was relentless, swinging and then swinging again immediately after, never letting up on her. It was all she could do to keep her arm upright and strong enough to block him, and the ache in her side from hitting the ground earlier was turning into a throb that wracked her body with pain. The relic man noticed the weakness, and his grin grew wider, broken teeth showing. He became even more frantic in his attacks, and Y/n felt herself stumbling backwards over the grass. The floor was uneven, and she tripped, crashing onto her back. She got her rapier up in time to hold off the relic man's knife that had carved a path through the air to cut through her head, but he was stronger than her, and his blade was edging closer to her face. He was only using the one hand, and Y/n realised a split-second too late that his other hand was reaching for his belt, where a second knife was strapped. Her eyes widened in recognition briefly right before he plunged the blade into her side, and she let out a scream.

The pain was all-consuming, and it took everything in her to keep her rapier up, the shockwaves coursing through her body. She took a hazy note of the fact that he hadn't pulled it out yet, which was good, but her vision was blurry, which was not so good. At least if the knife was still inside her body then she wasn't losing too much blood. Her grip weakened, and she saw the other knife jolt towards her face before it disappeared, the man being flung backwards into the bushes in a flash of light. Lucy appeared, hair wild and filled with leaves, her own rapier in hand. She crouched down, pressing a hand to Y/n's cheek and checking if she was okay.

"Threw a flare at him, should knock him out for a while. LOCKWOOD! HURRY UP! Sorry, I told him to get his ass over here just now, but he's stuck with some ghosts, and they're-"

"Lucy?"

"Yeah?" Her voice was hopeful, glad that her friend was conscious enough to speak.

"Please stop talking."

"Y/N!"

She winced at the shout, and Lucy moved over to make room for Lockwood. Y/n rolled her eyes at the cuts on his face, and the gash on his arm. "You can't help yourself, can you? Gotta throw yourself into danger headfirst."

"Shut up. Can you sit?"

"Did you just tell me to shut up? Anthony Lockwood, do not tell me to shut up when I could be dying."

"Y/n, please, don't do this. Can you sit?" His voice was insistent, desperation seeping into his expression, and his glare was convincing enough that she tried to sit up. The pain in her side was too much though, and she ended up half-slumped against a tree. "Who did this? Y/n? Who did this to you?" His tone was lower now, with something dangerous in the background.

"Lucy hit him with a flare. He's over there somewhere." She waved in the general direction she'd seen him disappear in. "Anthony, where are you going?" He froze, looking down at her from where he now stood. The full moon was behind him, and he looked otherworldly in the silver light.

"Lucy will stay with you, okay? Just hang on. I'll be back in a minute. Don't die on me now, Y/n/n." He softened a little at the last part, trying to convey a million emotions in a few words.

"Wait, I'm staying here?"

"Yes, Lucy." And with that he left, stalking in the direction Y/n had pointed him in.

"You alright?"

"Brilliant, thanks Luce," Y/n replied, and then she promptly passed out.

~~~

A soft beeping woke Y/n up, and the harsh light above her and the sterile smell in the air immediately told her that she was in a hospital.

That didn't explain the warmth in her left hand though.

Blinking as she adjusted to the bright light, she turned her head to the left, and had she not been drugged up on painkillers she would have reacted much more quickly and jerked away.

But she was drugged up on painkillers, so instead she just stared at the boy asleep in the chair next to her bed.

Anthony looked peaceful when he slept, he always had, but he didn't look particularly comfortable right now. His right hand was holding her left, and he'd managed to pull one of his long legs up onto the chair, bracing his forehead on his knee while his left arm dangled off the side of the armrest. Yeah, he couldn't be comfortable like that. She squeezed his hand lightly, but he didn't wake. A nurse came in, and upon seeing Y/n awake, smiled.

"Your boyfriend must love you a lot. He hasn't left your side since you came in. Rode in the ambulance with you too, which he wasn't meant to. Paramedics said he was very insistent and needed treating anyway, so they let him. He's been really worried about you." Y/n was on too much morphine to fully comprehend what was going on, and her brain had stopped working properly at the word 'boyfriend' anyway.

"Oh," was all she said, and the nurse smiled, going through her checkups. Y/n drifted in and out of consciousness for half an hour before Anthony woke up.

He blinked a few times, just as she had, stretching like a cat, long limbs going everywhere but never removing his hand from hers. His grip only tightened, and when he saw her watching him with a small smile on her face, he returned it.

"You're awake."

"No, I'm dead," she deadpanned. "Obviously I'm awake, idiot. If I died I'd have to go on a date with you."

He frowned. "Would that really be so bad?"

"Yeah. You should be going on a date with me, not the other way around."

He laughed lightly, more an amused exhale than anything else. "You are so drugged up right now."

"Yep," she replied, popping the 'p'. His thumb was stroking across her hand, and Y/n wondered if he knew he was doing it.

~~~

"Ugh, do I have to live at yours? What's wrong with my house?"

"You live on the fifth floor and there aren't any lifts. You were also specifically told not to climb too many stairs."

"Yeah, but your house has almost as many stairs as my apartment building, so what's the difference?"

"The difference is that I can look after you here, because I live here. Don't touch that, it's still healing, and- ow!"

"Oh shit, sorry. It looks healed."

"Yeah, well you're not the only one that got stabbed, alright? Here, let me get the door."

Anthony sprung up the last step, fishing the keys out of his coat pocket and unlocking the door. Y/n followed behind, wincing when the movement up the stairs put pressure on her wound. She'd been in hospital for two weeks once she'd woken up, and had been told to stay at home until she was properly healed. Anthony had taken on the role of carer immediately, and the nurses had all mentioned (multiple times) what a good and loving boyfriend he was, looking after Y/n the way he was, despite his own injuries.

Neither of them had denied it.

Once inside 35 Portland Row, Y/n took a look around, and was surprised to see that it had barely changed in the last three years.

"Right. Tea? I think George has just put the kettle on."

"Anthony?"

"Yeah?" His smile was tentative, clearly not wanting to scare her off when she'd just started calling him by his first name again.

"Please don't make me sleep on the sofa. Because that looks like the same one your parents got when we were four and I remember how uncomfortable that one is." She pointed to the sofa in question, and he shook his head.

"No, you're not sleeping there. What sort of a boyfriend would I be if I let that happen?" he joked, and Y/n felt her heart flutter at the idea. "You can sleep in my bed, alright? It's only one flight of stairs, which will hurt, but it'll be good for you to get the exercise in, make sure you're healing properly."

Y/n frowned. "Where are you sleeping if I'm in your bed?" She half expected him to say that he'd be right next to her, but he smiled softly again.

"Sofa. No, don't look at me like that, I've slept in worse places."

"What worse places? Ant, you've got to look after yourself! God, you're gonna give me a heart attack one of these days."

She started making her way up the stairs, huffing from the effort. She was tired, despite having spent just over two weeks lying down, and it was already late in the evening.

"It doesn't matter, alright? Just... let's just get you to bed, okay?"

"You're sleeping in a bed, and that's that."

"You are so stubborn sometimes."

"So are you!" She made it to the half landing, and hobbled over to the door she remembered being Anthony's. "You still in here?" At his nod, she pushed the door open, going over to the bed and sitting on the edge. "Seriously, this bed is big enough for the both of us. I'm not letting you sleep on the sofa, Ant. It's super uncomfortable."

"Won't that be... I don't know. Won't that be weird?"

"Why would it be weird?"

"Because we haven't... we're not... you don't like me and I'm scared you're going to murder me in my sleep."

"You... what? Uh... okay. I'm not gonna murder you in your sleep, Ant. One, that's completely dishonourable. I would do it while you were awake so that you could look into the eyes of your killer. Two, I do like you, I just also need you to apologise. For what you said."

"You want me to apologise? I was just defending myself, because I was hurt by what you said. You made out like I wasn't capable and that stung, because you'd always been my biggest supporter."

"Oh for fuck's sake, Anthony. I wasn't saying that at all. I was worried about you because you weren't yourself after Jess died. You were... I don't know. You weren't you, and it freaked me out when you said you were starting an agency, because it's a crazy thing to do! You sort of became a shell of my best friend, and disappeared, and I was worried that you would die and I would lose you because you wouldn't care about living anymore. I know that you are perfectly capable of fighting, and you're one of the best swordsmen I've ever met, but you're an emotional wreck, Ant."

He was quiet for a bit, staring into space as he thought about her words. Y/n sighed, lying down on the covers and closing her eyes.

"I'm sorry." She felt the bed dip next to her as he sat down. "I'm sorry. I said some horrible things to you and you had every right to leave. I don't have an excuse for what I said, and if you want to leave tomorrow morning then I'll help you move into your flat again. But I just... I'm sorry, Y/n/n."

Y/n sighed again. "I don't want to go. I've missed it here," she admitted. "And yeah, you were an idiot and an arse, but you're my idiot, alright? You have a lot of grovelling to do as well." He nodded rapidly, and a secret smile spread on his face, one of the ones he showed her and nobody else.

"Your idiot?"

"Yes, Anthony. My idiot." They smiled at each other, soft and gentle. A thought occurred to Y/n, and her brow furrowed. "What happened after I passed out in the park? All I remember is you looking murderous and asking who stabbed me."

"Oh, right." Anthony looked away, blush creeping up his neck.

"What happened?"

"He's not coming after you again, if that helps. Or anyone. DEPRAC completely purified the area."

Y/n gaped at him. "You killed him?"

Anthony shrugged. "He hurt you, badly, and you could have been killed. If Lucy had been a second later..." He trailed off, eyes clouding over slightly.

"Ant?" Y/n pushed herself up into a sitting position, wincing at the stab of pain that shot through her in protest.

"Hmm?" he turned to look at her, and his eyes went wide when she slid an arm up around his neck.

"Lucy and George think that we need to make out."

"They, uh... they what?"

"They think that we need to make out."

He swallowed thickly, eyes flickering between hers, trying to figure out what was going on. When he spoke, it was in a hoarse whisper.

"What do you think?"

"I think we should listen to them. They're normally right about things. What about you?"

"Uh... okay?"

Y/n hesitated, suddenly unsure.

"Ant, do you want to? Because if you don't that's totally fine, I just assumed that you felt the same as me, and we were both fine with the hospital thinking that we're dating, and I genuinely really like you, and I probably love you-" she was cut off by his lips on hers, slightly chapped but still soft.

"I do want to, I'm just hopeless around girls, especially the ones I've loved since I was about ten." He'd barely pulled away, his nose brushing the side of hers, breath fanning over her lips.

"George was right about that too, then," she murmured, kissing him again. "He said you were hopeless with women."

"Thank god. I thought he knew I've been in love with you for years."

"Oh you're in love now, are you?"

"Started about seven years ago, but sure." He pushed forward again, bringing a hand up to cup her cheek as he kissed her softly and slowly.

"Is that why you flirted with me?"

Anthony flushed, nodding slightly. "In my defence I am completely hopeless with pretty girls, and I wanted to know if there was any chance of you sharing my feelings."

Y/n kissed him again, short and sweet. "I love you, Anthony Lockwood. Just look after yourself more, yeah?"

"I love you too," he replied. Y/n prodded him in the side.

"And?"

"And I'll look after myself more," he said, smiling. "Anything for you, anytime."

They kissed again, for longer this time, exploring each other and being mindful of their injuries, and Y/n thought she could happily spend eternity wrapped up in his arms

"You're definitely not sleeping on the sofa," she said when they paused for air a while later.

"If you say so," he smirked, wiggling his eyebrows. She smacked a hand against his chest, face going red at his implication.

"Not like that, idiot."

"Your idiot," he smiled, pure joy on his face as he pecked her lips.

"My idiot," she replied, mirroring his grin.

#anthony lockwood x reader #anthony lockwood #lockwood and co #lockwood netflix #lockwood & co #lockwood x reader #lockwood x you #anthony lockwood x you

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ofbreathandflame · 8 days

Text

I was gonna elaborate last night, but then fell asleep lolol

Something that I actually talked about in the past (and damn do I wish I had some of the old blog stuff lol), but I think the point I'm making is that Nuala and Cerridwen are really not tangible characters in the series.

Nuala and Cerridwen have been in the series for over five and a half books - and still, we don't know anything about them. The moments that we do have with them are all in service or in servitude. It isn't enough that they are spy-masters, they also just randomly choose to also pick up occupations as maids. Think about it like this - we've known Emerie for one (and a half) books and she has more personality than we've ever seen from Nuala and Cerridwen - and although I argue that Emerie is not treated well (in fandom spaces) and is victim of bad writing, she still is talked about as an actual character. Go look through the Nuala and Cerridwen tags, look at the way they are commonly drawn, how they are characterized, and what positions they are most commonly depicted (spoiler: its always in service).

And even within the story, they aren't considered fully-fledged members of the Inner Circle, they don't have conversations with other members, and even though Azriel is the leader I can't think of any conversations they've had together. When Rhys gives his little end-game speech, he doesn't stop and thank Nuala and Cerridwen for their loyalty through those fifty years. Rhys doesn't even seem to have anything more than a professional relationship with them. They are very much treated like employed maids who work for the Inner Circle.

"I'm so excited for Elain's friendship with N+C! They're gonna match Azriel with Elain!"

Yeah...okay. Even the Valkyries weren't that invested in Nesta's relationship with Cassian. I think there's a yearning to recreate a dynamic similar to the Valkyries, because its the first time we've seen a friendship group between women in this series. I also think there's this rush to claim the same for Elain and Nuala and Cerrdwen - yet its very elain-centric, and the they seem to just be reiterating a very handmaiden-esque dynamic. I also think its VERY weird that so much energy is put into how N+C "really brought out of her depression" yet they were imprisoned over fifty years UTM and yet we've never seen them be vulnerable about that experience. Why can't elain comfort them? Why isn't it both ways? Why doesn't the story or stans point out how they've gotten better? Its just like a lot to unpack. Like the optics of these women of color being these eager handmaidens and then having that dynamic pushed as friendship is kinda?????????????

#anti sjm #anti feyre #anti feysand #anti rhysand #anti sjm: nesta archeron #anti acosf #anti sjm: elain archeron #anti sjm: nuala and cerridwen

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olderthannetfic · 1 month

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https://www.tumblr.com/olderthannetfic/747721307928559616/re-747330342209404928-every-time-a-discussion?source=share

I wouldn't even make this purely about oversensitivity - I've seen fic writers refuse to tag, say, breakup because they think it would be a Good Experience (tm) for fans of the ship in question to read it (because they often think it's Problematic in some brain-wormed way), or they just think their writing is so good or so "socially important" that people who would normally avoid this commonly tagged trope should have to experience it anyway, "it's good for you" etc. and then melt down when people have the predictable reaction that something that seemed to be billed as a fluffy romance was anything but, and of course, these people's social statements are never as deep and sophisticated as they think they are. These people are weirdly, often very outspoken about the need for Content Warnings in basically any other context.

Obviously, I don't want to say that anything other than major archive warnings are a requirement to tag (and I mean, even those aren't required, you can use CNTW), or that you're required to indicate a breakup will happen if it's a big spoiler or something.... but this wasn't just that, it was deliberately false advertising the fic as something it wasn't bc they thought it would be morally edifying or something for people who dislike that trope to read it.

I like fanfiction and I'm not going to say it can never be effectively used to convey Important Ideas (tm) .... but I do think if you are going to take this attitude and especially if you're over the age of 15 or so, and especially if you're then going to have a meltdown and accuse people of "harassment" for disagreeing with you when the readers are predictably not happy, you need to consider that perhaps fanfiction is not the medium for you. Maybe write original fiction instead.

I don't know why it's so hard for some to understand that people tend to be more allowing for a story not being as happy or fluffy as they expected when the story isn't about characters they're already attached to, especially when they're in a space that's often about seeking out specific outcomes that the original work didn't give them. Like I'm sorry there's often a double standard between fanfic and original fic in this way, but it exists for a way.

But also, none of these fanfic writers I've seen do this (and this sounds niche I know but I've seen it several times in different fandom) ever actually have Takes that are remotely original or startling or groundbreaking, lol, such that it's worth misleading people because they "need to hear." It's always like.... cool, I saw this take for the first time on a Tumblr post in 2017/from someone in my women's studies class in 2010, and I thought it was a bad shallow take then and still do.

Interestingly, the people who genuinely have really interesting and unusual and thought-provoking takes that they use fanfic to express feel no need to tag it inaccurately, feel no desire to force it on people who don't want to read it. Wonder why.

Hah. I too have seen this silly behavior many times.

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shiny-kaibernyte · 2 months

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Ooo is it ok if u write a drayton x reader where reader is really reckless and always takes on challenges such as doing 7 star terra raids and goes off on different adventures, and he gets worried and protective and the rest of the bb elite 4 find it cute and funny

Hope this is what you asked for. I'm kinda bad at writing this stuff 😅

Tag along | Drayton x Reader

Pokémon Scarlett and Violet Indigo Disk DLC Spoilers ahead!

After one to many raids where you get hurt. Drayton decided to finally ask you to let him come with you. Though things didn't go exactly as he had hopped.

Warnings: Small argument, Fluff, protective Drayton

SPOILER WARNING: No spoiler warning. Unless you don't know character names

“Drayton, I'm not so sure about this…” Your voice cut through the silence of the BB League room. Drayton had asked you completely out of the blue to let him tag along on your next raid. Which happened to be a black crystal 7star. “You’ve never even done a raid before.”

Leaning against the table, he simply turns his head and smiles, his pearly fangs flashing at you for a moment before pleading his case. “So? I’m a fast learner, I have good Pokémon too, gave you a challenge, didn’t I? Plus, you make one hell of a teacher.”

“True I do.” A snarky smile crosses your face for a moment, the sound of Crispin snickering in the corner at the self-confidence. “But even if I could show you about raid battling. I'm going to a 7 star… these aren't exactly teaching material. Especially given what's inside the crystal.”

“What’s inside? A larger than average Scorbunny? If so Drayton really should go.” Lacey teased, prodigy Drayton’s face with a gleeful smile. His own face scowled slightly at the remark.

“Maybe it’s an angry Trapinch coming back to taunt him! That would make for a spicy dish!” Crispin added, spinning his pan around.

Drayton’s head snapped up, and he stared at his fiery friend. “We do not talk about the Trapinch man! My ass still has NOT recovered from it… neither had my ego.”

“Think more… giant psychic mouse thing with serious anger issues.” You admit holding back the laugh that just wanted to leave your lungs.

“Well, that wasn’t what I expected… But hey! That's never stopped me before. Don’t forget which one of us helped you with the legendary hunt.” Drayton pestered, still clutching onto any string he can, to convince you to let him come. Anything to give him that edge up on you, if the dragon egg eyes won’t work. Then good old fashion pleading will have to do - and he’s about 5 seconds from doing that.

“Drayton, I love you, but I can't bring myself to let you come with me on this one! If it was a 4 star then yeah totally. But this is huge! These sorts of raids, I can't bring someone so inexperienced into the palace. I wouldn’t even bring Kieran!” You argued, it was no surprise that your pleas fell upon stubborn ears.

“That’s exactly why I want to go with you! It pains me whenever you come back from one of your raid trips hurt… or bruised. And I can't help but think to myself that I could have done something to help you. Take the load off of you!” His voice cracked slightly, not out of sadness or hurt, but more out of the fact he couldn’t do something to protect you. Drayton knows you can handle yourself, you’ve proven that to him on many occasions. But at the end of the day, you are still his treasure, and he wants to protect you, needs to. “Just let me come along this once! If I cause you problems, I’ll never ask again, just please humour me.”

Before you could even give him a response, Lacey’s voice cut through the tension, it was soft-spoken but clear. “Come on, let him… let him.”

“SHHH. It’s getting good…” Crispin's equally soft voice cut after hers, somehow eating popcorn. Where did he get that, why are you asking? He’s the chef, not me.

“Can you four stop bickering. You are ruining my concentration.” Amary’s scolded, the sound of her pocket watch snapping closed followed her voice. “In case you 3 have forgotten, we have a meeting to get to with the director. You have 5 minutes, don’t be tardy.”

Amary’s left the room not long after. The 4 of you left dumbfounded in the room, it wasn't until Drayton’s voice chimed up again. “Okay, I was not the only one who had no idea she was in the room, right?”

“I think she spawned in?” Crispin answered with a question of his own.

“How long has she been here? I've been here all morning? Did she drink an invisibility potion… What does she know that we don’t?” Lacey’s brain scratched as well.

“I think it's like a Spinarak thing. If you stand still, they can’t see you.” Your fellow companions laugh at your remark, it's a dumb reason, but what isn’t. During the laughter, you take your chance to leave. Grabbing your bag and heading for the door, only for the sound of it shutting in your face to follow. Peering up, you notice Drayton’s somehow moved from the other side of the room to close the door. His face was one of worry. He couldn't keep eye contact with you, anytime he tried, he just looked back at the door then at you again; as if silently asking you to let him come with you. His face reminded you of the first time he admitted he loved you. That silent protective plea of his. Never spoken through words. With a deep sigh of defeat, you take a step back from the door and stretch your hand out towards it. “After you, dragon boy.”

“YES! I WIN!” Drayton proclaimed jumping up for a moment fist in the air victorious. Lacey elbowed him directly in the ribs moments later, Crispin crying of laughter on the floor trying desperately not to whack himself in the face with it. “Ow right, right. Thank you, love! NOW LET'S GO KICK SOME MOUSE BUTT!”

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damn-stark · 5 months

Text

Chapter 20 Intergalactic

Chapter 20 of Sugar

A/N- I know Uraume’s gender is not disclosed but they’re still mother, so, mother vs mother off this chapter

Warning- Swearing, ANGST!, fluff?, Violence, death, blood and gore, spoilers, SLOW BURN, heavy pining, Kenjaku being weird, long chapter, and we start switching to the manga now too!!

Pairing- Choso x Gojo!fem-reader, Suguru Geto x Gojo!fem-reader

Takes place during- 2x22-2x23, and chapter 138 from the manga

(Let me know if you want to be tagged)

————

Breathe. Breathe…

Think with both the heart and mind, even if you’re pissed over Noritoshi Kamo possessing Suguru’s body, even if you’re in agony and mad at yourself for not being able to save Nanako and Mimiko. And even if you’re directing all that boiling anger to the man making a living hell you have to be rational just like you’ve been taught.

Yet when you step into the crater left behind by the chaos that transcended today, all you feel is raging anger at the sight of Noritoshi Kamo. Even if he’s in Suguru’s body and you love him, after what happened earlier, after he took Satoru, all you feel is hatred for this man.

It actually reminds you of a quote you like by Edgar Allen Poe, “years of love have been forgot, in the hatred of minute”, because all you want to do is kill him.

“You really are a relentless one, aren't you? It must run in the family,” Noritoshi announces your entrance and makes everyone's eyes that were trained on him fall on you, a ghost, the woman who is supposed to be dead.

“Smile,” he quips at you with a growing malicious smirk, “aren't you happy to see me?”

You stop striding and narrow your gaze to a burning glare. “No,” you grimace and curl your hand into a fist. “But when we cross paths in hell maybe then I will.”

Noritoshi snickers. “You’re going to have to wait a long time before I show up.”

You smirk and tap into your fire-cursed technique, causing the dragon mark on your arm to glow and making the veins under your skin glow as flames lick your flesh, craving to release.

“I don't mind waiting,” you counter.

“Y/N?!”

You drift your eyes to where your name is being called and see Itadori on his knee, covered in blood, and with half of his jacket torn. He looks baffled upon seeing you on your two feet and breathing—Which you’re surprised you are too, but regardless, past the blood and the determination painted over his face, you see relief and exhaustion. So you break the scowl on your face and offer him a small smirk.

Itadori offers you a small nod in return, and you proceed to look past him, catching Panda in his gorilla form, and another teenager you don't recognize. Past them, you see Kusakabe, Utahime, and two other students with them. All of whom look just as baffled to see you.

So it makes you wonder who all thinks you're dead; Nanami?

Where is he by the way you wonder since you don't see him here, and knowing him he'd be on the frontlines trying to protect who he can.

Unless he's hurt.

Is he hurt?

If he is, Shoko’s got him.

“Hey, Choso,” Noritoshi cuts you from your stupor, making you look to your side to see that Choso finally caught up.

When you made it past the veil and saw all the destruction, and the giant crater on the ground that looked almost apocalyptic, you went a bit overzealous and ran faster than you should have, leaving Choso behind.

“Looks like you’ve realized it,” Noritoshi adds nonchalantly, whereas Choso is panting and enraged.

So much so that you hear him grind his teeth from where you stand before he bellows, “so that's how it is! Noritoshi Kamo!”

Said man doesn't give any reaction, he doesn't flinch to start an attack, he's overly calm and collected.

“It's not above you to ally yourself with the stray, huh, Y/N?” Noritoshi directs at you as he drifts his eyes over to you.

You clench your jaw at the sound of your name coming out of his lips and snap back. “Don't talk to me like you know me, Kamo.”

Noritoshi huffs. “Noritoshi Kamo is merely one of the many names I’ve had,” he retorts. “Call me whatever you like.”

“How dare you,” Choso growls. “How dare you make me try to kill Itadori?! My little brother!

You watch him walk ahead without giving any thought to what he wants to do, which is dangerous regardless of how strong he might be, or how vengeful he might feel at the moment, so you try to interject, “Choso, wait.”

You go after him, but when you reach his side you both stop when a small figure with white hair, dressed in monk’s garments, menacingly slides in front of Noritoshi out of the blue.

They then quickly stand up straight and immediately imbue their hand with cursed energy.

“Stand down, third-rate,” they grimace. “Don’t keep me waiting any longer.”

You furrow your eyebrows in confusion to what they just said whilst you make your flames begin to lick the surface of your palm.

“Move it!” Choso exclaims angrily with a swing of his hand. “I’m his older brother!”

“Feeling scared there Noritoshi?” You tease the man in your husband's body. “You need a little nun to come fight for you?”

He scoffs and rolls his eyes. “Scared of what? You? I know all your moves, this body turned you into the sorcerer you are.”

You fist your hand and laugh. “Half true, sure, but you forget who really turned me into the sorcerer I am. She deserves the credit, she taught me a lot more than he could, but you can underestimate me if you want.” You sigh and rest your hand on your hip as you slide your eyes to the person with white hair and a red stain on their short bob.

“You,” you point your chin at them and shoot them a sweet smile. “Why don’t you come here and I’ll give you some sugar, honey,” you speak in a silky voice and raise your other hand to blow them a kiss.

“Huh? How dare you speak to me like half-wit,” they snarl.

You smirk and feel Choso’s eyes on you so you return his gaze, but then proceed to spare Itadori a glance, seeing him look baffled by who you're standing by and by what’s unfolding. Yet there’s no time to explain, just to demonstrate, so you look back at Choso and share a short determined look that makes him step forward and raise blood off the ground to spin it elegantly around him as he summons it all to his hands.

When the blood is in between his palms, you see steam rise out of the gaps between his hands before he suddenly shoots it in the blink of an eye, managing to impale it through the hands of the person beside Noritoshi.

All while the man himself jumps out of the way, making you walk past Choso’s back to face Noritoshi with flames slowly imbuing your hand.

Noritoshi sees you and prepares to counter, but you discreetly use your feet on the ground instead and kick over spikes that move underground. And when they’re behind him they pop out and shoot at him from behind, however, he dodges your attack just like you thought he would and slides away, right into the spot Choso carves out with his blood.

Which is fucking impressive. The magnitude and power of his blood are truly astonishing, and the fact that he uses it to shoot the earth beneath Noritoshi hundreds of feet into the air using just his blood is amazing. You can’t help but watch him with slight awe as he quickly chases after Noritoshi all the way to the top.

Albeit since he does leave, you’re left behind with the monk.

“It’s just you and me now,” you direct at them and slide one foot back to position yourself in a fighting stance.

“Let’s make this quick,” they quip and lift their head to blow out a mist into the sky.

You blink in confusion and lift your gaze. And just as you look up you smirk as you catch sharp icicles raining down.

Thus before they can hit you, you throw your hands up to shoot fire out and burn through the hard ice, making sparks fly out like fireworks at first contact before those icicles turn to water you pull down to form into an orb in between your palms.

“So it is true you are a pest,” they grimace and harden their scowl.

You hum in agreement and then break into a sprint towards them.

They don’t falter and mirror your actions.

Just as you’re going to meet halfway, you summon a gust of air to mix with the water and shape it into sharp needles before you blast it at their stomach, considering air and water don’t mix well and normally hurt when they’re both together and angry.

Yet they of course counter you perfectly and freeze the water before shaping it into a blade in their palm. And since you’re close to clashing against them you slide forward on your feet.

They quickly swing down when you’re close, but you meet their attack with your hands basked by flames, causing the ice to halt in your hands as it begins to melt instead of hurting you.

However, they are strong, and the ice they can make is a perfect counter to all four of your elements. Besides, it seems that they might be older than they look, so they’re wiser and stronger than meets the eye. Defeating them won’t be easy, even if you see their wounded hand falter and twitch.

“You know what, I like you,” you let them know. “You’re the first person I know with a technique similar to mine. It’s too bad we’re on opposing sides.”

They push you down harder, making your legs bend, but you continue trying to push their ice blade up.

“Do you usually talk so much?” They spat at you.

“Depends,” you say, and tilt your head while you pull back your fire-wrapped fist, making them ready to counter.

However, instead, you make a thin pillar of the ground blast out from beneath them and smash it over their torso, causing them to be thrown up a few feet in the sky.

Before they can counter you hastily gather the air around them, and then proceed to run a few paces ahead before you hop and flip in the air to whip the wind around their neck with a swing of your leg, and smash them on the ground.

When you swiftly land on your feet you move pieces of the earth around them to trap their body underground, and then use the air to boost yourself up the large pillar Choso impressively rose.

Once you make it above the surface you see Noritoshi has Choso’s arm twisted over his back, so without thinking you scowl at the sight, looking like a menacing shadow no one can see but you feel behind them. So before either man can see you when they look back, you blast towards Noritoshi and grab a fistful of his hair and the back of his neck.

He reacts with a groan and lets Choso go.

“My brother,” you sneer by his ear. “Give him back.”

Noritoshi snickers and twists one hand back. “I’ll have that curse back, thank you,” he interjects and suddenly you feel the weight around your shoulders lift off as the Worm-cursed spirit begins to float to Noritoshi’s hand.

However, he should’ve known better, Suguru said he did this too and just like then, the moment the Worm touches Noritoshi’s fingers, it ends up burning him and it bounces back to you.

“It doesn’t work like that,” you spat spitefully since he just tried to steal your Worm-cursed spirit.

“Tsk.”

You smirk smugly, and Choso sees that the Worm mimics your gesture as if you were one. You then snap your eyes towards Choso, and so does the Worm, but Choso only holds your fire-kissed eyes; which are filled with words not spoken, but speechless words he understood seconds before you shove your knee through Noritoshi’s back and slam him towards Choso.

And since he had read what you wanted to do, he throws Noritoshi a right hook and makes the man stumble.

You quickly try to overwhelm him, but Noritoshi snaps his head towards you and sends out multiple eel-like curses at you using a portal made in front of his feet, causing you to leave Choso alone to avoid the attack.

Which you only manage to avoid because you think fast and use slices of the earth to shuffle away.

The moment you’re at a safer distance, you pull down the moistness around you that's naked to the human eye and form the water into spears that you shoot through the open mouths of the curses.

When the water is inside you quickly begin to drown them from the inside before you make the water explode out of their flesh and exorcize them.

Yet now that you can focus on Noritoshi and Choso again, you see Choso throw punch after punch, but Noritoshi keeps dodging each swing with quite ease. He doesn’t let up one bit, and just as you try to help Choso, Noritoshi kicks his torso harshly, making you gasp as you hear the impact against his body.

“Don’t push yourself too hard,” Noritoshi tells Choso as he begins to fall down the pillar. “You’re exhausted, aren't you?”

“So what?” Choso spats, and you both jump after Noritoshi at the same time.

“Is that any reason not to risk my life for the younger brother right in front of me?” Choso adds loudly so his voice can be carried through the howling wind, making Noritoshi chuckle, while you smirk softly in admiration.

That is until Noritoshi snaps his attention to you. “I see you want to play Gojo.” He snickers. “I’ll play along. Remind me you like it rough don’t you?”

You scrunch your nose in disgust and spat back. “Don’t be a perv and poke around through his memories.”

“I say only what I see,” he counters and his response triggers you.

Who does he think is? Going through and seeing Suguru’s personal memories, talking to you like he knows you on a personal level as if he and Suguru are one now because he stole Suguru’s body.

Well he’s wrong, he’s not Suguru. He can never be him, and the way he talks to you is wrong.

He’s not him…

It’s why you tear three large pieces of the earth off the large pillar and hurl them at him out of rage.

Of course, Noritoshi misses the first two, but you manage to slam the third one at him and keep pushing him down. Before he can hit the ground, you tilt face down and boost yourself forward. When you reach the piece of debris you swing your fist and smash through the hard rock, breaking it into pieces and facing Noritoshi with your jaw clenched, your nose flared, and your lips curled to a furious scowl. He prepares to attack, but you beat him by a second and manage to grab his throat and slam him down on the ground, creating a small crater where he lands.

Right before he can counter you use water trapped underground and make it travel up. However, he hears the movement of the water rising, and just as the water violently blasts out of the ground he snaps his head to the side, missing being hit on the back of his head by mere seconds.

However, you’re relentless and rise up another blast of water, and he barely misses again.

“You’re starting to piss me off,” he grimaces and slaps his hand on your torso. “I didn’t want to kill you yet, but maybe then—“

Knowing what he can do with his technique from a close proximity like this, you don’t finish hearing what he has to say and quickly use the water you were just using to push away from him

When you’re close to Choso, you land on the ground and slide back.

Choso peers at you and you look at him, and from the corner of your eye, you see Noritoshi move, so you look back to where you left him, but he’s gone.

“What the,” you gasp and turn your head, and barely catch him above Choso with his fist raised.

“Choso!” You warn him and regardlessly blast him away using the air.

Noritoshi slams his fist on the ground but doesn’t get discouraged by his failure, instead, he follows by snapping his head towards you with a smirk.

You stand your ground and reach back to pull out a blade from the Worm’s mouth. Noritoshi gets close so you quickly bask your blade with fire and swing the moment Noritoshi swings, but he swerves you. Choso sneaks up behind him, and you see him try to reach over, but Noritoshi swerves and has Choso stumble towards you.

Before he can crash into you he balances back on his feet and you meet his intense gaze fueled with rage to share your thoughts with your gaze alone, hoping he understands even if you fear that he won’t.

Nevertheless, when you consume the flames on your blade to instead crack the ground with fire and aim it at Noritoshi with ease, Choso surprises you and lunges while Noritoshi is distracted, just like you wanted, and manages to hit his father with a sharp uppercut.

“Yes,” you whisper with pride and put the blade away to move your hand and counter with another attack using the elements.

However, before you can do a thing, suddenly hard and bitter ice grows around you and captures your entire body in place, leaving you only able to move your eyes, and see your failure to stop this sorcerer with the ice technique.

They captured everyone with their ice, Itadori, the students, Utahime, Kusakabe, and Choso.

Sure you can easily melt this way, but you still should’ve stopped them before. Damn.

Damn. Damn!

You exhale deeply and hear Choso complain near you too. “Tsk.”

“Don’t kill them,” Noritoshi tells his ally. “I need messengers.”

You slightly squint out of curiosity while you begin to use your fire through your arms to melt the ice into water.

“Is that any reason to leave them all alive?” The monk argues and lifts their wounded hand to show how they heal it.

“This ice isn’t enough!” Choso cuts in and puts his hand over the icy surface. “Flowing Red scale!”

Once again he surprises you by using his blood to melt the ice. Which, you never knew blood manipulators could do anything at the scale he does things. It’s so fascinating!

But regardless, as the ice around you now turns to a puddle because of your fire's intensity, the monk approaches you and points one ice-covered finger at you, and then another at Choso.

“Then how much is?” They threaten him and then look at you. “Let’s test it out on the both of you. Tell me when.”

The ice over their finger extends, but you grow flames out of the ground around Choso and you, to help him out of the ice and block their attempts.

Nevertheless, just as you get ready to blast them with fire, simultaneously, Itadori then runs through the fire at a speed you see almost as a flash, and kicks Choso out of the ice, leaving you baffled.

“Whose body do you think that is?!” The monk spats back, letting you fall back to where Itadori and Choso are to face the monk at a distance as you think of a clever way to immobilize them. Or kill them.

“You’re our ally, right?” Itadori asks Choso.

“No!” Choso shouts, making you twist your neck to side-eye him.

“Huh?” Itadori exclaims.

“I'm your older brother,” Choso reveals.

Itadori’s eyes narrow and his eyebrows furrow as he snaps back. “Could you please take this seriously?!”

You sigh in annoyance.

“Why don’t you try saying it once, for starters,” Choso rebuttals. “Call me, big brother.”

“Why don’t you both take this seriously,” you scold them as you keep your eyes on Noritoshi.

“I was just telling him the truth,” Choso argues.

“Are you working with him, Geto?” Itadori asks you now.

You nod. “He is your ally. I trust him,” you vouch for Choso without hesitation. “Talk later. Oh, and by the way do you know where Nanami is? It’s unlike him to miss this,” you change the subject and glance over at Itadori.

The shirtless boy meets your gaze and the annoyed scowl falls to a frown.

“What?” You press. “He doesn’t answer his phone.”

Itadori mutters your first name quietly, but that’s all he gets to do because you hear someone flying overhead. And when you look up you see some blond girl on a wooden broom, as if she’s some cartoon witch.

“Tool manipulation,” you hear her chant as she lands on the ground. “Wind Scythe!”

She blasts wind toward Noritoshi and the monk, but they quickly dismiss it. Which is predictable. They’re too strong, which means you need to fight with a lot more fiery.

You need to bring them out…

“Itadori!” The girl yells and catches your attention. “We’re the only ones who can move right now! We need to buy time for Utahime to finish her preparations!”

Preparations? What does that intake?

Whatever, you’ll help regardless.

“Supreme art,” you mutter under your breath and loosen your fists. “Hell—”

You cut yourself off as you see the monk bend down to press their palm on the ground, meaning only one thing; they’re going to use their ice. So you drop what you’re going to say and quickly bend down to mimic their actions, but instead, summon flames out of your palms whereas they bring out ice.

“Yuji Itadori, is the only messenger you need, right?!” They yell as a dangerous layer of ice begins to form out like a sheet at first before big icicles grow out and rapidly rush towards you.

You quickly counter by sending a hot wave of fire out to clash against their ice, causing the fire and the ice to sizzle and blast out thick steam.

Yet that doesn’t seem to be hot enough, the ice continues approaching at a slower pace now, but it comes, so you need to think bigger, and attack the source before they turn you into cute popsicles.

“Hm,” you hum and smirk down at the ground as your fire is suddenly being seeped by the ground, leaving Itadori confused.

“Y/n?!” He calls out as the ice intensifies.

You swing The Worm off your shoulders and place him on the ground to sway your hips as you slowly walk forward, and creep on a menacing smirk on your face as you look at the white-haired monk.

“I’m a special grade Yuji Itadori,” you respond and peer over your shoulder, letting him, the small blond student, and Choso see your red-orange colored eyes give off a spark as if the fire was alive in your eyes.

Itadori looks at you confused, just like the other student does, but Choso’s lips pull to a smirk and his eyes widen with awe you miss when you look ahead again.

“I’m fighting fire with fire,” you mumble and slowly put your hands out as you continue striding forward at a slow pace.

When your arms are spread out, a deafening silence settles for a second before suddenly the ground erupts as fire blasts out of the ground like an enormous geyser, burning away all the ice that spread on the ground, and the ice that was falling from the sky.

The fire captures you in the progress, but it only burns away the tight black uniform on your body, leaving light white linen wrapped around your breasts that travels over your shoulders to connect with the linen around your hips, and elegantly flows down over your lower body, leaving long slits over the front of both legs.

Which is practically inconvenient in any battle scenario, but you find this option helpful, you discovered that in your time with Yuki. This way you can move a lot more swiftly like water, and without restriction. The fire can move through your body with a lot more vigor, and lastly, you can feel the wind over your skin.

Like now.

You raise your arms that are spread out as you begin to gather up a large amount of wind behind you that howls like if caught in a loud raging storm, that collects dirt and thickens the gusts. When you have enough, you smirk at the enemy across from you, making Noritoshi slowly frown, and infuriating the monk even more. And without warning, you snap your arms forward and blast the wind out towards them to enrage the flames you rose and mix it together to shoot it over at them too.

You continue to stride forward, and slowly close your arms together as you keep collecting more wind that Itadori, the student, and Choso have to shield against and fight to stay grounded as it flies past them to unfurl over your skin as it flies past you and hits Noritoshi and the monk.

The only reason why neither of them get thrown back by the force of the wind is because of the monk's ice shield, but your fire begins to penetrate through, so you tap into your fire and blast it out of your hands before you once again seep it through the ground, and have it erupt out of the ground around Noritoshi and the monk.

However, when they feel a blast building up beneath their feet, Noritoshi uses a curse to get out of the way, leaving the monk to shield themselves with ice all alone and leaving them open to you.

Which is why you drop the air and the fire and run forward to close the gap left between the monk and you by smashing through the ice and grabbing them by the throat. You then proceed to slam them against the ground and skid them forward until they manage to grow curved icicles around their fingertips and swing them at you, making you push yourself off them and slide back on the ground.

When you face them again you collect wind over your palm and summon fire out. You get ready to swing it at them, but then out of nowhere, you’re suddenly falling through a large gap in the ground that just appears out of the blue, leaving you enclosed by the darkness that only grows darker the further you get, and making you scream out of fear.

However, you then blink and suddenly you're hundreds of feet above around.

“What the hell?” You hiss in confusion and look at your surroundings as you’re falling back to the surface that isn’t broken anymore. It’s all intact.

So was that some effect of a curse?

It has to be. To catch you off guard…

“Ice formation: Ice fall!” You suddenly hear before you see ice grow over the surface again, and form into tall and thick shards.

“No!” You bellow and tilt your body as you’re falling down to try and blast fire down to melt the ice.

Yet the monk notices you and throws something out at you that you don’t see move through the air until suddenly you feel something sharp and burning cold rip through your arm.

You cry out in pain and reach over to hold your wound, but you see that your arm is ripped off.

“Y/N!” You hear Choso cry out.

“Fuck,” you groan and begin to pant as it burns. “Fuck.”

But the pain nor the bleeding stump matter. It hurts like hell but it doesn’t matter, you’re still falling. You’re still fucking falling and getting close to the damn ground.

You prepare for impact and protect yourself from getting more injured.

However, before you can hit the ground, strong arms catch you, and the moment their feet touch the ground they slide back on their feet with you to move closer to the glistening ice you see from the corner of your eyes.

Before you can look up to see your savior they carefully set you down on your knees in front of them.

Is it Choso?

It doesn’t smell like him…

They actually smell like—it can’t be.

You snap your eyes up and immediately smile when you see Yuki.

“Master,” you mumble with relief.

Her brown eyes fall on you and she shoots you a wink before looking ahead again to address the person a few feet away from where you are.

“Long time no see, Geto,” she interjects. “Could I get your answer to my question from back then?” She asks and puts her leg back as she leans forward with a smug smile.

“What kind of woman is your type?” She asks and blows Noritoshi a kiss with her finger.

“It’s not him,” you whisper.

“Gathered,” she says back in a whisper. “Now heal your arm.”

You hum and roll your shoulder back to start regrowing your arm with RCT.

Which, you should thank your jealousy for. Without you trying to impress your parents and get a sliver of their attention, you wouldn't have learned to use it and you’d be dead right now. So thank your jealousy! Thank you!

If only it didn’t take so much out of you though. You won’t be able to fight properly for some time now thanks to you needing to heal.

You have weapons, but your energy isn't any good either, you’re running on fumes right now—but even still you need to try and help.

There’s people trapped in the ice, students, and Choso. You need to help them…

“Do you remember,” Yuki interjects. “The ways to rid cursed spirits from our world?”

As she talks to Noritoshi and your arm heals you begin to drag yourself back towards the ice wall.

“Regardless of which method is pursued,” she continues. “It means advancing humanity to the next stage. Humanity’s next stage is freeing itself from cursed energy.”

Why can’t you have Satoru’s healing speed? He heals so fast whilst you take longer to heal, it’s so annoying! Especially in times like now! Damn…

But you’re almost done, and then you can help the others out of the ice.

“No,” Noritoshi argues. “It’s optimizing cursed energy.”

You stop moving and look over at Noritoshi with slight confusion. Yuki looks back, but since she’s peering over at Itadori you don’t see her reaction, you do however see her shrug, so you know she’s not necessarily completely serious.

So that means she’s got a plan.

“Uh,” you hear Itadori comment. “I don’t get it, either.”

“I thought you already gave on your plan twelve years ago when Toji Zen’in died,” Noritoshi adds, whilst you close that gap between the ice and you and finally finish healing your damn arm, which…yay, you have your arm, but…BUT!!

Your cute manicure didn’t fucking regrow! That’s money down the drain—well, not your money, Satoru paid for you to get your nails done, but still! Now you look lopsided with one hand well done and the other just simple looking. Tsk.

“I was talking to Geto, you know,” Yuki finally reveals to him that she knows he’s not Suguru. “Well, whatever. I went back to my original idea. Besides, there’s a big hole in your optimization plan. Extremely few sorcerers and cursed spirits emerge in other countries compared to Japan. So Tengen’s barriers should be indispensable to your optimization plan.”

You glance over at Noritoshi and see him slightly narrow his eyes on Yuki as he hears her out.

“Using Tengen to optimize cursed energy would mean only the humans of this nation would become sorcerers. Japan would practically have a monopoly on cursed energy. Other nations, especially that superpower, wouldn’t stand by and allow that. Flesh-and-blood humans would become an energy source. It’s easy enough to imagine what misfortune that would bring.”

Destruction, chaos, blood, and death…right?

Getting rid of non-sorcerers would be…well…

What would it mean to you?

Great…it’d be great…

Yet at the cost of what he wants? No.

“That’s a world far removed from the ideals I pursue,” Yuki finishes making herself clear, while you place your hand on the ice and use a little bit of cursed energy to summon flames to your palm and spread the fire out, like flames following a fuel line, and carefully melt the ice around the blond student with the long and stiff ponytails.

“So what?” Noritoshi rebuttals. “For one thing, our objectives are different. I don’t desire a world without cursed spirits or any sort of idyllic peace. Non-sorcerers, sorcerers, cursed spirits…those are all possibilities for the shape of cursed energy that is mankind.”

Hm…

You glance at Noritoshi and slowly narrow your gaze as he catches your attention.

“Though,” you hear him add a bit quieter. “That shouldn’t be anywhere near the full extent. I tried to give rise to other possibilities for mankind on my own…but that didn’t work out,” he shares and you get what he means…Choso.

So that’s why he left him and his brothers? Because they were his failures?

He made them just to leave them, all because he didn’t like how they turned out. All their suffering, all their loneliness means nothing to him. He’s no parent, he’s a selfish monster.

“Everything that I created myself,” he continues as cursed energy begins to rise out of his palm and flow up at an incredible amount, “was limited by the bounds of my own potential. The answer was always glimmering darkly within chaos. Do you understand?”

Hardly…but he won’t stop talking will he?

Whatever, it gives you time.

Now that you freed the student you make sure she’s fine.

She catches your gaze and offers you a thankful nod, causing you to offer her a sweet smile before you gently push yourself up, ignoring the ache on your arm, and walking over to Choso since he’s the only one you can reach. The others will have to wait.

“What I should have created was chaos that went beyond my own control,” Noritoshi says. “I’ve already finished extracting the technique.”

You come to stop by Choso and look at Noritoshi with surprise.

“There was a cursed spirit called Mahito, right?!” Yuki asks over her shoulder. “The one with the technique that let it interfere with souls?!”

“That guy absorbed it earlier,” Itadori informs her.

“Seriously?!” She exclaims and then snaps her eyes to you. “And where were you?”

You point at your chest with slight shock and quickly respond. “Me? I was getting my throat stabbed and my neck snapped,” you snap back annoyed. “Oh, and I was getting tortured by curses from my past. If you had answered your phone you would have known! Did you even see it?”

Yuki shrugs as if it’s not a big deal. “I got your message and I’m here now aren’t I?”

You slap your hand on the ice trapping Choso, and scowl at Yuki as you melt the ice. “Great,” you answer sarcastically.

“I’ll say. You know what this all reminds me of?”

“Egypt,” you both answer at the same time and share a smile.

Yuki winks at you and nods in agreement before turning away, letting you face Choso, and see that he’s studying you in your light and exposing gown. Which makes your face burn, and makes you feel a soft fluttering in your stomach.

“Your arm,” he immediately points out but glances at the scar across your torso before he finally looks at your arm. He wasn’t looking at your arm before. “It’s healed.”

You glance down at your arm regardless and move your fingers. “Yeah,” you let him know the obvious. “I’m all good. I can’t say I’m in any state to fight anymore though, so, if anything happens will you have my back?”

Choso slowly drags his eyes up, and you mirror his gesture and finally lock eyes when he lands on your face.

“Of course,” he doesn’t hesitate to immediately assure you, making you smile at him and feel relief.

“You,” he interjects and digs in his pocket to pull something out. “Will be needing him back either way.”

Choso opens his palm and when you look down you see The Worm unfurling himself now that he senses you.

“Oh!” You exclaim gleefully. “You kept him safe! I was wondering where he had crawled off to. Thank you!”

“Mommy!” The worm yells out in a broken voice.

You grin at it and take it from Choso to wrap it around you, making it snuggle tightly around you.

And now that you have that resolved, and helped Choso out, you shift your feet to turn.

Yet before you can look over, a large glowing purple symbol rises in the sky and castes over your heads, stealing your attention and completely casting away the fluttering in your stomach to drop an eerie feeling in the pit of your stomach.

“You have my thanks, Yuji Itadori,” Noritoshi interjects. “A cursed spirit’s mastery of their technique ceases to progress from the moment they’re absorbed by the Cursed Spirit Manipulation. Mahito truly matured through his fight with you. To be honest, I wanted to have Jogo, as well, but no matter.”

“What did you do?” You snap at Noritoshi and drop your gaze to glare at him.

“I remote activated Idle Transfiguration on two types of non-sorcerers that I marked ahead of time,” he answers without any hesitation, which should worry you.

Who goes around spilling their master plan?

“One type was people whom I had absorb cursed objects like Yuji Itadori did,” he continues to say. “And the other was people like Junpei Yashino who have cursed techniques, but whose brains were structured like non-sorcerers. Now I’ve adjusted their brains to match those of sorcerers. For the former, I gave them the strength to be vessels, and the latter have obtained the ability to activate their techniques.”

Why? What for?

“And now…” he trails off and pulls on a seal. “…I’ve released the seal on those cursed objects. Some of them have been in deep sleep after being exposed to my cursed energy when I marked them, but they’ll soon awaken. So, starting now, I’ll have them kill each other in order to deepen their understanding of cursed energy.”

What the hell! What’s wrong with him?

“I’ve carefully hand-picked these people and cursed objects,” he keeps on going, which you’re grateful for. Otherwise, you’d be left confused. “Think of it as unleashing a thousand malevolent Yuji Itadori’s.”

“A thousand?” You ask in disbelief.

“That’s conservative,” Yuki continues. “You’re also underestimating human rationality. Do you think people will start killing each other just because they were granted power?”

“There’s an order to everything,” he says, “I certainly didn’t cut corners like that when making my preparations. Your questions are starting to become shallow.”

You scoff, and Yuki looks back and points at Noritoshi.

“He’s pissing me off, so let’s all beat him up together!”

You have little energy, but you can pull off something big; maybe your domain expansion, or your supreme art.

“I can’t move right now, though,” Itadori says and as soon as he does the ice suddenly turns to water and begins to fall like rain.

However, you manipulate the water and collect it over your head to swiftly and elegantly move it around Choso and you keep it on standby, whilst you watch the person who had created this fall to their knees.

“What’s the matter, Uraume?” You manage to hear Noritoshi ask.

“Poison?!” They struggle to say.

“My blood got mixed with yours through Piercing Blood,” Choso’s voice startles you. “Of course it is,” he spats.

You steal a glance at him and the corner of your lips lifts to a smirk before you look back at the person Noritoshi called Uraume, with a prideful smirk.

“Wait,” the blond student cuts in. “We’re not getting cover from Mai. They might still have more allies over there.”

“My ally is protecting Aoi, the girl with the gun, and that suit. They don’t belong here.” Yuki lets the student know.

“Wait,” you probe with concern at what you heard just now. “Aoi? What happened to Aoi?” You step forward. “Is he okay?”

Itadori looks back at you and answers for Yuki. “He will be. He got hurt, but he’ll live.”

You blink in confusion.

Ever since you’ve known Todo, he’s hardly someone who’s ever needed much help, he accepts it, and he can be a good team player with people he likes, but he’s not one who's ever needed help. He’s strong. He’s smart too, and for him to need help means he’s badly hurt.

You should have gotten here before, damn it!

“We were in the middle of our talk,” Noritoshi interrupts and actually sounds annoyed that he can’t keep yapping his evil monologue. “The cursed objects that I distributed are what’s left of the sorcerers I’ve been secretly making pacts with for a thousand years. Of course, I forged my pacts with more than just sorcerers, though my pacts with those were annulled when I obtained this body.”

“You don’t mean—”

“This is the world of the future,” Noritoshi cuts Yuki off and begins to look pleased, but in such a menacing way.

And only seconds later you know why. He opens a large portal and has dozens of curses come out of it, making Choso step forward and put his arms out to block Itadori and you.

The dark portal spreads and you reach back to take out a blade, while you also drag the same water you had kept floating around, and hover it over your palm.

Choso gets closer regardless of what you’re doing, to do more than what you asked of him earlier, and continues to secure you, and Itadori behind him.

“See you later, Yuji Itadori,” Noritoshi interjects smugly as he shows off the box Satoru is trapped in.

“Gojo!” Itadori yells and breaks away from Choso to lunge forward and desperately reach for something that can’t be retrieved anymore.

“I have high expectations for you,” Noritoshi adds as he begins to disappear through the shadows of his portals—of Suguru’s cursed technique.

That’s Suguru’s technique he’s using. That’s his body, his face. That’s his face and body that you see leaving in ways he’d never leave you.

“Suguru Geto!” You cry out desperately in hopes you can reach a fragment of his soul so he can fight back, so he can at least help enough to clear a path, and so he can come back.

Noritoshi freezes and slowly begins to peer back. You don’t move and stay behind Choso to grab onto his arm still guarding you from danger, and just start hoping, even if you make no attempt to go forward you start hoping.

“Suguru Geto is dead,” Noritoshi announces what you knew, but hoped was somehow not true. “It’s just me now.”

Tears fill your eyes, but instead of feeling sad over what you heard, you feel a burning rage that makes you want to use what energy you have and fight against him.

Yet before you can even attempt to act on that fury directed at the wicked man using Suguru’s body, Noritoshi disappears within the shadows, leaving the curses to spread out to the darkened city like wildfire.

——

*LATER*

“Kento please answer your phone, Shoko says that the last time Fushiguro saw you, you were okay, but if you’re in trouble call me, text me, or yell, I don’t know, just let me know you’re fine or I will go out and search for you myself,” you leave what feels like the hundredth voicemail because just like every other time he doesn’t answer his damn phone.

Maybe his phone is dead?

“Sorry,” you direct at Choso as you finally put your phone away. “I hope my incessant phone calling hasn’t annoyed you. I’m done now.”

Choso shakes his head stiffly. “It’s fine. It doesn’t bother me.”

You hum in comprehension and slide your eyes over to him with a worried look. “Are you doing okay? I haven’t asked.”

Choso’s eyes dart to you but when he meets your gaze he looks away as he shakes his head. “Don’t worry about me.”

You roll your eyes. “You’re my friend,” you counter. “I’ll worry if I want to. So answer me, and don’t give me that nonchalant crap. No one is here, it’s just us you can tell me.”

Choso slowly slides his eyes back to you and lets the silence linger as he holds your gaze for a moment before he answers. “I’m fine. I’ve been healing, but they’re all minor injuries I got from fighting Itadori and you. Which, you lied, by the way, you held back, your fight with Uraume proved it.”

You scoff softly and let a smirk tug on your lips. “Yeah well, I told you I didn’t want to kill you. My fight wasn’t with you, but you were in Satoru’s way, so I had to help him,” you tell him as you mindlessly start fiddling with your fingernails. “And by the way, I still didn’t even show off my full potential with the monk. There were too many people in the way to do that.”

“Well,” he says. “Perhaps I’ll see what you promised soon enough.”

Your face burns and you can’t help but share a faint and bashful smile. “Well now that we’re not on opposite sides, I’ll be happy to show off.”

Choso hums in comprehension and keeps his eyes on you as you look at your path ahead to look out for Itadori whom you lost in the chaos Noritoshi left to escape.

“Are you okay? Are your wounds healing? You should've gone to your doctor friend,” he interjects almost in a scolding voice, as if your stubbornness to see Shoko annoyed him.

“I'm fine,” you assure him with a faint laugh. “I used RCT, I’m healing, all I need now is a good meal and a good night's rest.”

Choso hums and doesn’t seem convinced, but he leaves it, letting you turn to grab his arm, and causing his eyes to snap down to your touch before he meets your gaze.

“Thank you for earlier,” you tell him softly and slowly come to a stop together. “You put your own life at risk to look out for me when you could’ve gone after your brother. You stayed behind for me. Thank you Choso.”

Said man draws in a deep breath and steals a quick glance down at your hand still around his arm before responding softly. “I’m in your debt, this was a simple repayment of that.”

You furrow your eyebrows in confusion and part your lips to press on that. “What do you mean? I haven’t done anything. You’ve saved me more than once, for example when I woke up, with that curse outside the station, and against all those curses just a few minutes ago. I owe you.”

“No you don’t,” he argues without any defense to back him up.

“Oh shut up,” you cut him off and let his arm go. “Please take my gratitude,” you scold him, making his face twist with confusion. “It’s the polite thing to do. Acknowledge what I’m saying. Thank you, Choso.”

Choso exhales and hesitates before he retorts. “You’re welcome.”

You offer him a tired but genuine smile before you flash him a grin. “You know,” you add. “For someone who says they’re not human, you surely do have a heart ten times bigger than a lot of others I know.”

Choso’s cheeks immediately grow a tint of red, and you hear his breath just slightly hitch, making you insanely proud and yet also deeply flustered that your words could make this nonchalant man express so much.

Is that why you also linger there before him, just looking into his sun-kissed eyes? Because you’re flustered by how you make him feel? Or is it because it’s easy to get lost in his eyes?

Both?

Even so, you can’t stay here forever even if it feels like the right thing to do. You still need to find Itadori.

“Come on,” you break the silence and blink to tear your eyes away. “We’re reaching an exit here just around this corridor. Maybe Itadori is outside.”

Choso hums and you both continue walking—“he’s near,” he cuts in. “I feel it.”

You groan out of exhaustion. “Great! My feet are starting to kill me.”

Plus you just want to lay down and…cry. Now that it’s quiet all you can think about is what you lost and the fact that when you go home you’ll be going without the twins.

“Just around here,” Choso announces and picks up his pace to do a little jog to round the corner that leads to a staircase.

You don’t rush albeit since you don’t hear any danger, or sense any curses.

Plus, you’re immediately assured about Choso’s finding when he speaks up. “Yuji, how are your injuries?”

You hold your breath and regardless of your comfort, you still worry because he might sound like he’s in pain.

“I’m good somehow,” you hear Itadori’s voice travel around the corner, and it sounds fine. But emotionally, you can sense his agony—“despite being hit by a black flash.”

You finally reach the stairs and you see Itadori sitting down in the middle of the last flight of stairs with his back hunched, and his head down. Oh, and it seems he found new clothes to replace his torn ones and exposed upper half.

“I think it’s because of Sukuna,” Itadori adds. “I can tell that his strength is growing.”

“Yuji,” Choso adds as he comes to a stop a few steps above Itadori. “Don’t worry about me. You can return to Jujutsu High. I have to collect the remains of Shoso and the others anyway.”

Instead of stopping behind Itadori, you continue to walk down.

“I’m not worried about you,” Itadori rebuttals honestly. “The problem isn’t whether I want to return or not. Sukuna is plotting something involving Fushiguro.”

You slow down and listen more intently now.

“Besides,” he continues. “I killed too many people. I can no longer stay with everyone.”

You reach the floor and turn to watch the boy with pity.

“Are you fine with it?” Choso asks.

“I also killed your little brothers,” Itadori brings up, but without hesitation Choso tries to assure Itadori.

“It’s fine. That was a misunderstanding. If Eso and Kechizu were in my place they would say the same thing.”

You look at Choso with a soft look because of his kind words.

“It isn’t about forgiving or not forgiving,” he says. “Brothers are just like that.”

Your face falls and you drop your head to look at the ground and think back to your brother and the night you told him you’d try to forgive him.

You’ve tried so hard to just forgive him, but it’s never that simple. And now he’s gone…

“Let’s go...”

…and even then you find it hard to just forgive him because you think back to what happened when he left and it hurts all over again.

“Y/N?”

You snap your head up and notice Itadori is off the stairs now too, and behind you. “Yes?” You probe.

“I said we should go and take care of the curses—”

“No,” you deadpan. “We won’t do that—”

“But—”

“Regardless of how fast you’ve healed,” you cut him off again and narrow your gaze to a pointed look to make yourself clearer to him. “Regardless of how much willpower you have, we are in no state to go curse hunting at this moment. I have a place nearby that should be backup generated, we’ll be staying there. Patch face and the disaster curses my brother told me to protect you from may be dead, but now your death sentence is up once again because of Satoru being sealed away. They’re going to send someone after you, someone strong. And just to be sure, they will send bounty hunters.”

Itadori nods. “I know that, but I can fight. Or let them kill me.”

You shake your head and argue. “No, you will not,” you sneer. “I made my brother a promise, I will keep it. Which means I’m still looking out for you. And I say we can save the curse hunting for later. No matter how many people they send, they’ll still be plenty enough for tomorrow, and the next day. We’re going to rest, understand?”

It’s not actually a question, but he still answers anyway. “Yeah.”

“Aren't you going home?” Choso interjects.

You look over at him and watch him descend the stairs. “No,” you let him know. “Now that Satoru is gone, my family will come after me to try and kill me. And the higher-ups will send someone to complete the death sentence my brother never executed. I won’t put my people at risk by being there. I'll stay hidden with you two.” You sigh deeply and continue softer. “And in regards to your brothers…with everything that happened the school will be filled with more people than usual. We have to wait to go there. I’m sorry.”

Choso swallows thickly and drops his eyes, but he doesn’t argue, he answers stiffly. “All right.”

You hum with pity and keep your eyes on him for a second before you point your head at the exit. “Come on. I’ll lead the way.” You turn, and just as you take a step forward, Itadori interjects.

“Y/N?”

You come to stop and peer back. “Hm?” You probe curiously and see him watching his hands before he fists them and lets out a shaky breath.

“I’m sorry about your daughters. It was my fault…”

Your curiosity falls and sorrow and confusion slowly take over.

“They’re dead because of me,” Itadori shares in a shaky voice.

“Yuji,” Choso tries to stop him, but Itadori continues.

“I lost control of Sukuna, and I killed them because of it. I’m sorry, I don’t deserve you to look out for me, I don’t deserve your kindness, just leave me behind and don’t worry about me.”

You knew he would never be capable of killing Nanako and Mimiko, but when he started to confess you feared the worst and doubted him because of the agony you’re under. But now that you manage to understand what he said, you know that nothing you say will ever let him change the way he thinks.

The guilt he holds should not burden him, he shouldn’t have to bring himself down because of something he didn’t do nor had no control over.

You wish you could make him understand that, but you know that there’s nothing you can say that will make him understand. All you can offer is your kindness and reassurance in hopes it eases his grieving heart.

“Yuji Itadori,” you whisper and get closer to him to grab his arm.

Itadori lifts his eyes the moment he feels your touch, and looks at you confused.

“My girl's deaths are not your guilt to carry. Just like the destruction that happened, and all those deaths you mentioned are not your fault either.” You say so he can at least hear. If he doesn’t want to accept it, he can at least hear the truth. “I know it doesn’t feel like that because it was your body Sukuna was using, but it was not you, not your soul, nor your will. I don’t blame you and I never will. And I know that,” your voice trembles. “Nanako…” you swallow thickly as you struggle to say their names. “And Mimiko would feel the same way. So don’t apologize.”

Itadori drops his head and lets out a deep breath without adding anything to the matter. So you give his shoulder a soft and comforting squeeze. You’d hug him because it looks like he needs a good hug, but you don’t want him to feel uncomfortable, so you just squeeze his shoulder and part away.

“Now,” you sigh and lift your eyes, catching Choso’s gaze that had been watching you interact with his brother the entire time—“Let’s go. We could all use a good warm meal, a nice shower, and a good rest.”

“Wait,” Itadori cuts in again.

“Itadori it’s okay,” you assume it’s about the same thing.

“You asked about Nanami before,” he blurts, making your hopes rise.

However, as Itadori lifts his head, he looks at you with his eyes glossy with tears, and with his lips trembling and dropped to a sorrowful frown, making your heart sink, and the realization of what he was saying in his silence slowly hit you.

It explains why he wouldn’t answer, why he didn’t just send at least a short message to assure your worry or stop your incessant calling.

Yet you can’t accept what he’s not saying and what your heart is grasping.

“No,” you deny him as if it was a choice you could take.

Tears roll down his cheeks, and you feel your inkling of hope shatter.

“I’m sorry,” he continues. “When I found him it was too late, Mahito had had a hold of him and…killed him. I’m sorry.”

You slowly lift your hand to clench onto your burning chest as it feels tight and heavy as if the news had stolen your ability to breathe.

“Y/N?” Choso calls out with his voice filled with concern. Yet through all the noise in your head, you don’t actually take in his voice.

All that runs through your mind is how; how could he—how could Nanami have died? He was strong, he was smart and skillful. If anything you always thought he’d outlive you. How could he have died?

It can’t be true. You can’t accept your best friend's death. You can’t accept that another one of your best friends died and that you lost someone else on this fucking horrible day! You can’t accept it.

“Where?” You ask Itadori in a quivering voice.

“What?” He probes.

You draw in a sharp breath and your chest hurts. “W-where?” You breathe out. “Where was he last? Kento? Itadori, where?”

Itadori tells you and you quickly and sharply turn on your heels to storm in the direction he gave you.

Itadori and Choso followed after you, but neither of them try to stop you. They just try to keep up with you, basically running over to where Itadori told you Nanami was.

And yet no matter how hard they try, they still get left behind as you manage to get ahead. The only time you slow down is when you reach the floor Itadori pointed you to because you begin to hopelessly hope that he’s somehow wrong. You desperately hope that it’s some stupid joke.

Alas, when you enter the hall Itadori mentioned, you come to an immediate halt and feel your body stiffen, and those already short breaths feel as if they completely stops the moment your eyes land on…him; the lower half of his body recognizable by the tan dress pants he wore as his uniform.

In truth it could be anyone, you desperately want to believe it’s someone else, but this is where Itadori said he’d be. The hall is all battered by a battle as well. And the floor around the body is stained with thick blood, proving to you with each fact that what you see isn’t some trick or a stranger, it’s him.

Plus, no one else carries a cleave wrapped with a printed cloth around the blade, only he does.

And that hand, that single hand still wrapped around the handle; that pale and big hand further proves Itadori right.

This body you see is Kento Nanami, this is your best friend, and he’s…dead.

“Kento?” You still call out quietly and desperately regardless of what your heart and mind are forced to accept. “Nanamin?”

There’s no answer, you didn’t expect an answer, but you still wanted one even if you just saw the lower half of his body.

“Ken,” you whisper hoarsely and slowly walk to what remains of him. “Not you too. Please not you too,” you mumble. “Nanamin?”

When you reach his body you stare blankly at his legs and it begins to feel as if you’re being dragged down into a darker abyss by a stronger grip of grief.

First the twins, now Nanami too. Your daughters and your best friend. And what’s worse is that you couldn’t save either of them, you only found what was left of them; corpses.

You’re strong, yet you keep losing and failing those you love. They keep dying and you’re never there, you can never try to help. or at least say goodbye.

They’re gone and all you’re left with are pieces of them, memories, and agonizing pain that leaves you unable to breathe. You can process the truth before you but you have to clutch onto your chest as it burns with the inability to breathe.

You try to draw in breaths, but it feels like all the pain you feel heightens within you, squeezing your throat close, leaving you weak, and causing you to fall on your knees by what’s left of Nanami.

You don’t know how you’re still conscious but you still are, you can still see him, and you can still feel your agony sinking you further down into darkness and away from that light you had found after Suguru’s death. You had barely held on when you found the twins, you didn’t want to lose yourself, and there was a pull, a source that didn’t let that light flicker off, but now it’s all gone.

Now with Nanami gone, it all crumbles because he was your best friend, he was someone who gave you a second chance when you thought you had none. He was someone who was always there when you needed it, he never judged you on anything you did, and he never hated you for leaving everything and everyone with just a simple text. He loved you unconditionally and never asked for anything in return.

He was your best friend, someone you fought alongside with, someone you grieved the loss of Haibara with, someone who you went to when you felt hopeless or scared, and now he’s gone. Your best friend…your loyal and greatest friend is gone. Forever…

They're all gone…

Haibara, Suguru, Nanako, Mimiko, and Nanami are all gone…

And it’s just now as you keep repeating that in your head over and over again that your entire being is slammed with a wave of crueler pain of realization, and it feels like you can breathe again.

But maybe that’s because you begin to weep over Nanami’s body.

Everything around you disappears, and the sight of Itadori and Choso finally catching up drowns out, leaving only Nanami and you in this hall.

“I’m sorry,” you mewl as you try to reach for some part of him, but end up empty-handed as there’s nothing for him to grab. “I’m sorry.”

You hug yourself tightly and begin to rock back and forth as you continue to sob over your friend's corpse.

“Please,” you plead but don’t ask out loud for forgiveness or for him to not leave you alone; he’s gone you know, but you still plead for that in your head again and again for who knows how long.

Neither Choso nor Itadori try to get you up. There’s a looming threat everywhere now that curses are reigning over the city, but they don’t try to cut your grieving short, they let your sobs fill the room, and leave the chill of solitude continue to embrace you.

Neither of them knew you craved to be held, or comforted, neither of them knew how much you wanted someone to take you away from there, or simply hold your hand as you grieved for Nanami and the daughters you lost on what’s supposed to be a good day; your birthday. Itadori—no, Choso mostly just watched you, while Itadori began to quietly get lost in his own sorrow himself.

There does come a moment, a sudden feeling in Choso that makes him want to approach you. His hand twitches your way, and he moves his leg to walk over, but then he stops when he hears multiple approaching footsteps. One even sounds like they don’t have shoes on, so he grows cautious and gets ready in case it’s a threat.

Nevertheless, what enters the hall is no threat.

Not like you register any of it either way, your eyes stay glued to the corpse in front of you until you feel a hand grab your shoulder.

You look back immediately and gasp with relief when you see Larue.

“Larue?” You whisper and push yourself up to your feet.

Said man looks at you with pity and you don’t wait a single moment to throw your arms around him.

“I’m here now y/n,” he says as he presses you against him.

You hold onto him and cry harder into his bare shoulder.

“Tsukumo is here too,” he shares, making you open your eyes to see the woman he mentioned.

“I couldn’t leave without making sure you were okay,” she says softly, which is a tone she rarely uses.

You part your lips but you don’t actually respond, you can’t find the energy at the moment so you just nod in comprehension before you hide your face again on Larue’s shoulder.

“Who is that?” You hear Itadori ask.

“Larue, her family,” Yuki answers his curiosity.

“A Gojo?”

“No,” she quickly corrects him. “Family she's made along the way.”

“Oh.”

“Why don’t we go home, y/n?” Larue suggests as he rubs your back. “You need rest.”

You pull away from his embrace and face him with even deeper sorrow. “Nanako…and Mimiko,” you break the news before you can protest. “They’re…they’re gone too. Larue…Sukuna…he…he,” you gasp for air and drop your head as you can’t muster to finish the sentence.

“Oh,” Larue gasps. “Oh.”

You lift your watery gaze and see his face show his heartache instead of the pity he feels for you.

��I’m sorry,” you murmur and hold your hands together. “I'm sorry.”

Tears fill Larue's eyes but he still shakes his head and corrects you. “It’s not your fault and they wouldn't want you to blame yourself either. You know that. It’s not your fault,” he repeats harsherly so you’d understand.

“How can I go home and tell Satori?” You ask desperately. “It’s…It’s my fault they’re not going home. I should've turned them away when I ran into them.”

Larue grabs your jaw and leans in closer. “They would’ve stayed either way. It’s not your fault. I’m sure they tried to fight, you taught them too. Don’t blame yourself y/n, don’t do that to yourself.”

You swallow thickly and you still don’t feel convinced but you don’t argue.

“And Suguru,” you mention and fiddle with your fingernails. “I should’ve taken his body home to cremate him, now…some bastard is using his body. Did Yuki tell you that?” You ask and look at him. “Did she say it was not him that did all this? It was someone else.”

Larue drops his hand from your face and exhales deeply as he nods. “Yes, I know.”

You lick your lips and bring up something that comes to mind. “Manami and Toshihisa must not know though, that’s why they work for him. That’s why they betray us. We have to help them.”

Larue clenches his jaw and his eyes fall to hide his emotions, letting you figure out by that simple action that you’re wrong.

“They…knew?” You ask with disbelief.

Larue nods stiffly and you begin to realize something…how does he know that they knew that truth if Noritoshi barely dropped his farce? If he barely showed himself to the Jujutsu society?

He just revealed who he really was in that fight moments ago, so Larue knows about Manami and Toshihisa because…

“You…knew?” You ask and hope you’re wrong.

Larue drops his head and clenches his jaw harder, letting you know with his silence that you’re unfortunately right.

“You,” you gasp and step back in disbelief. “You knew?”

Larue slowly lifts his eyes and swallows back thickly. “We didn’t want you to suffer more than you already were. And the twins...they wanted to get Suguru back first before they told you.”

You’re slammed with a pang of pain that hurts your heart even more.

Yet no matter how hurt you are there’s nothing you can do about the twins knowing and hiding that from you. They’re gone, but Larue isn’t. And Miguel…

“Did Miguel know?” You ask with a mix of anger and betrayal.

“He did,” Larue confesses.

There’s a deeper and sharper pang in your heart now.

“You had just lost Suguru, we didn’t want to tell you yet,” Larue adds as if that made anything better, but it only works to add to the betrayal because if you had known you could’ve told Satoru, and he wouldn’t be sealed away. You could’ve stopped Noritoshi together before he caused such chaos in Shibuya. The deaths of Nanako, Mimiko, and Nanami could've been avoided if you had known.

Everything could’ve changed if you had known, but no, they chose to hide it, now your brother is gone, and Noritoshi is out there preparing to cause more disaster.

Nevertheless, you don’t tell him all that, you simply look at Larue with your eyes glossy, and express the betrayal, the fury, and the hurt you feel with your eyes alone. You can’t muster a word and he hates it because your silence hurts a lot more.

“Y/n,” Larue tries to make himself clear, but you push past him and walk to Yuki to speak to her.

“Satori and Belinda are leaving the country tomorrow morning, can you discreetly follow them and just make sure their plane departs without any trouble?” You ask her. “I don’t want to risk having the wrong people see me with them. And I can’t have Satori here with Noritoshi in her father's body. So if it’s not much trouble could you please do that?”

“Y/N,” Larue interjects. “I can go with them. And Miguel can catch up with us.”

You ignore him and narrow your gaze on Yuki. “Yuki?” you probe.

Said woman glances behind you but quickly looks back at you and nods. “Of course, just let me know the rest of the information later.”

You nod. “I’ll text you, and you call me if somethings wrong, please.”

Yuki assures you with a nod, letting you offer her a gentle smile before you look at Itadori and Choso. “Are you two ready to go?”

Choso and Itadori nod, so you move away.

However, Yuki interjects before you can get any further. “Where are you going? What are you going to do?”

You look over your shoulder and part your lips to answer with a sly smirk.

A/N- Mc: *does nothing.* Choso: “😳😍”

Tagged- @deniseabad1928 @secondary-character-25 @starlightanyaaa @notsaelty @d4rno @moonnime @kodzukein @yozora7154 @heijihattorisgf @elegantweirdorchest

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tunamayojazz · 6 months

Note

Love your art, any Toge/Yuuta fanfic recommendations? Thanks so much!!

hi!! thank you so much...🥺🩷🩷 and i am SO glad you asked this. i have so many!! here are the ones i read/reread more recently along with some of the tags. tried to make every rec here different from each other hehe have fun reading!!! can't help it (if you look like an angel) by glimmiks (12.4k)

tags: college au, friends to lovers, mutual pining, IKEA

THIS WAS SO FUN TO READ PLEASEEEE i absolutely love college aus so much. and you just know the 2nd years would be the most fun and chaotic as college students. their dynamic is just chefs KISS, and it's written so well here. the mutual pining in here is truly a 10-course meal and i always go back for another round.

i'm alright if you're alright by anonymous (14.2k)

tags: spoilers up to ch146, fluff, hurt/comfort, injury recovery, fix-it, love confessions, pining

post-shibuya fic excellence. i always have such a great time reading this like inuokkos really do eat so well in this fandom. yuta pining is always so great to read like he is Longingly thinking about toge at all times im cry

Magnificently Cursed by diggingupthegrave (91.2k)

tags: dark academia, magic au, magic school au, slow burn, angst, mutual pining

i will always always recommend diggingupthegrave fics. they are easily my favorite inuokko writer pls you have to read all their inuokko fics...i saved this particular one of theirs to read for much later bc i knew it was going to change my life (7 chapters ok) and boy did it do exactly that. the way they implemented canon elements into a magic setting was so so brillaint and i savored every bit of it.

Beat the Turtle Drum by CasuallyScreaming (7.4k) tags: major character death, post-shibuya incident arc, angst, minimal comfort, no shibuya spoilers read this before sleeping the other night and honestly how i managed to still fall asleep after was my body trying to protect me from full out bawling and having a mental breakdown...i don't think i've read a lot of MCD inuokko but god this one shook me to my core. almost like the feeling of loss and grief were bleeding through my phone screen. so well written and while it's definitely mostly painful, the ending....well you'll find out :')

a special occasion by Cheshire (2.5k) tags: idiots in love, established relationship, first dates this was so so cute...!!!!!!! panda: but aren't you two already dating? yuta: well yes! no. sorta, kinda. super cozy and fluffy read!!

is this how every day begins? by mitgi (5.4k) tags: roommates, living together, mutual pining, hurt/comfort, angst i will always love me a roommate au. this fic was such a lovely read and i'm actually going to reread this right after i finish writing this! there's so much to explore in inuokko's relationship and also when it's in different settings. every time i think about how the actual source material are literal crumbs, i'm just even more amazed by how writers are able to draw out the most of what info we have and write their mannerisms so well. it all feels right and so WARM UOGHHHHH

haunted by sieling_fan (3.3k)

tags: pining, hurt/comfort, canon typical angst, character study

😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

you showed up just in time by diggingupthegrave (14.6k)

tags: time travel, friends to lovers, mutual pining, hurt/comfort, slight age gap

another diggingupthegrave fic that had me crying screaming shaking throwing up because god. this was so so good. the build up had me at the edge of my seat bc like oh my god what happened? what's happening?? why is this like that? @#$%^&*()_!!!!!!!!!!!!! and when it's all pieced together? oh it ended me. read this again and again for DAYS you would think i was researching it for a thesis or something. take your time reading this btw like im so serious.

okie that's all for me from now, i have so many more to rec honestly....sending out 100000000000 hearts to inuokko writers you are my roman empire....

#inuokko #ottoge #inumaki #yuuta #jujutsu kaisen #jjk #fic rec #inumaki toge #okkotsu yuuta #okkotsu yuta #asks

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atheliasnotebook · 2 years

Text

honeydewed reaffirmations

character(s): tighnari, kaeya, diluc, childe, heizou, kazuha, albedo (bonus: thoma ft. the kamisato family)

⭐ note: reader is gender neutral unless specified otherwise! ⭐

tags: fluff, comfort, teyvat metro au, fun facts about common ailments (don't worry, they're just common things, they aren't described in horribly gross details),

warnings: mentions or minor display of blood (childe, kazuha), pet name: "baby" (childe), pet name: "lovey" (kazuha), story spoiler that's been alternated to fit the teyvat metropolis au (kazuha), pet name: "pumpkin" (albedo), pet name: "babe" (thoma)

author’s note: guys i've been suffering the past month with infections and colds, and in the month that I've descended several layers of pain as if they were the circles of hell, I've officially become a certified heizou simp. god, it's so clear who I clearly favorite more than the other in this post...

it's that time of year when everyone falls ill (despite the care that they give to their bodies). so, how does your boyfriend for you in such dark times?

🌳 tighnari [acute otitis externa] (infection in outer ear canal)

"and what did i say about using q-tips everyday?" the fox says reprimandingly in a soft tone and disappointedly sighs with drooping ears as he pats down on his bed, pointing to your head before pointing to the pillow.

you couldn't help it. for the past few days, it felt really good to scratch those itches at the very start of your earhole every so often. and sometimes you scratched it too hard, so you took another one of those cursed white cotton-tipped sticks and wet it with water—only to dive back in and "soothe" the pain. and eventually, you decided to scratch deeper into your ear, but not more than 3 centimeters in.

little did you know that not only would you heavily irritate your ear's canals by doing that, but allow any outside bacteria to say "hey, that part of (y/n)'s body is looking extra scrumptious today..." for the most part, 'nari noted that it's not good to use q-tips every day, and in general, never at all. all it really does is push your earwax further down your ear. sure, feels nice—but it's more harm than good.

your ear is on goddamn fire. your earlobe is comparable to the color of the packaging on a red bottle of painkillers resting atop the bedside table, and you swear that the pressure building in your ears will make your head explode. understanding the gestures of tighnari, a well-known pharmacist in the sumeru district of teyvat metropolis, you lay on your side and adjust your head on the memory foam pillow in his apartment. trying not to focus on the pain, and rather, on the fox-fellow's question, you answer with the acknowledgment that you, in fact, shouldn't have used so many or scratched at your ear with them.

the pharmacist pulls out a tiny bottle of eardrops, which he holds with only his pointer finger and his thumb as he quickly unscrews the cap.

"i made this prescription with the orders given by your doctor. it's not going to burn, but it may feel like your ear is going through a freezer. you will need to lay with it in your ear for quite a few minutes..." 'nari explains while scooting closer as he adjusts his grip and leans forth, with one hand on the bottle and the other resting near your face on the sheets.

"hold still for me. if it makes you feel any better, you can hold my hand."

crying from the headache, you close your eyes and sniffle as you embrace the cold droplets of medicine running down your ear canal and filling up the crevices of infection. for just a second, everything in your body feels just as cold as the droplets, and you're startled by how chilly it feels—you grip 'nari's hand for some support. although you can't see him through closed eyes, his fluffy ears droop slightly as he wrinkles his brows, just wishing for you to be in the least amount of pain possible.

"you're doing great," he nods, smiling and sighing with creased eyebrows as he wiped your tears away—while finally pressing a kiss to your forehead and caressing the top of your head with his thumb. "just make sure to heed my advice next time, and let me know if anything else begins to hurt, alright?"

▼△▼△▼△▼△▼

❄️ kaeya alberich [pyrexia] (fever (due to exhaustion))

he with sigh and chuckles. "you always complain how my hands are freezing whenever you want to hold them—but now you're begging for me to rest one on your head as if I'm some sort of deity?"

you groan out, weakly flailing a hand out in the direction of kaeya's voice to search for his hand in the darkness of your closed gaze. you're not in the mood for kaeya's ever-so-teasingly and slightly sly comments, and just want everything to be closer to the apex of human homeostasis. everything hurts. why is the world so mean? why is your work so mean? even kaeya is a little salty that they're giving you tasks with such harsh and quickly-upcoming deadlines while you're sick. everything feels too hot, even when you've got only one thin blanket draped over your body. mumbling out a few words, you can only express your desire for something cold.

"you can use my hand as a cooling pad..." he begins to explain with a chuckle, "... only if you can promise to stop staying up late working and drink water instead of drinking coffee or those energy drinks from the convenience store down the block."

while you groan in defeat, disappointment, and understanding, kaeya stands up to wash his hands in the bathroom sink of your master bedroom, quickly drying off his hands with a towel as he takes his seat once again on the same wooden stool that he just rose from.

"work can wait. that's why you have co-workers to help you when you're not there—" he reassures, cracking his hand before gently resting the back of his palm on your forehead to simply check your temperature, before, rotating it to cusp over the entire surface gently with his fingers. you melt in the freezing temperature of his body heat.

although you don't know what he looks like, you can feel the cloth of his loose lounge shirt tickle your wrist as he decides to readjust from the stool to sit on the bed right by you. you smile weakly at the touch and sound of the creaking frame, and he too reciprocates unknowingly to you. although he is cocky, he does it because he loves you. although it pains him slightly to see you in such a state, he puts the fact that you need to prioritize your health above anything else.

"make sure to let me know if my hand only ends up making you feel warmer. we don't want you to literally become a baked potato, now, do we?"

▼△▼△▼△▼△▼

🔥 diluc ragnvindr [myalgia] (muscle pain)

"come on, sit up. let's see... hmmm... did you injure yourself again carrying something, or did you fall asleep in an awkward position?"

whatever your answer is, if it is one of the two propositions from above—diluc would respond with:

"you know, if you keep doing that, you'll end up with worse posture than those wavy balloon men at the gas station," and then proceed to immediately come over and press his warm hands against the skin for 20 seconds to a minute before digging his thumbs and rubbing them in circles just the right amount into your skin to provide some sort of relief.

if it's not, whether it be stiffness in the neck from a hunch, soreness in the shoulders from awful posture, cramps from a period, diluc will always say:

"tell me where it hurts, then."

nope, not even a question of "where does it hurt," just a commandment and promise that he will do everything in his power to make you feel better. when your muscles ache that bad, he'll bring over a bucket of hot water and some small and smooth rags to drape over your affected area(s). diluc, although he's not a man for active conversation, can still analyze pain points from just a glance with you. there have many times when you just haven't complained about the problem, but he has taken note of the problem and mutters how much he doesn't want to keep seeing you in pain like this. being one of the richest men in the entire district (and is one of the most affluent in the city) has its perks, so he's thinking about finding one of the best people in the city to come and give you a diagnosis while hiring someone else to temporarily soothe the pain.

"i've yet to find a standby masseuse to treat you when I'm working. how about calling up...—what? you don't want a masseuse...?" he asks, tilting his head confusedly as he works his way into your muscles.

"... fine," he sighs, pulling you slightly closer to him and kissing your cheek. "but I can only massage you in the mornings and late evenings due to work. if your soreness becomes a problem during the high noon, so I can fetch an attendant to come and assist you."

"you have to let me know... can you do that for me?" he shudders, taking his arms and wrapping them around your waist while resting his head gently on your shoulder. "i trust you," he begins, his gaze fluttering to yours. "—but i cherish you too dearly to let you suffer with this hardship on your own."

▼△▼△▼△▼△▼

🐳 childe [minor abrasion] (accidental arm scrape)

"how did you manage your scrape your arm like this?" he asks, chuckling as he takes a gander at the underside of your arm—which trickles a stream or two of blood and bears some scraped skin that parts to the sides. "don't tell me you got into a battle with the table, now."

you shrug and shudder when he gently presses his thumb on the edges of your inflamed skin. again with the sly ass comments. in your defense, cleaning the dining room table shouldn't be that hard, but you tripped on accident and scraped your entire arm on the corner of the mahogany furniture piece. it stings a bit, but it isn't too deep in, thankfully. with care, he takes your other hand and replaces it with his—which is the one propping up your arm in midair.

"go take a seat on the couch while I go grab some bandages," he states before heading down to the hallway's bathroom. you oblige to his orders, adjusting your arm so your blood doesn't drip all over the floor as you approach the soft cushions in the living room.

ten seconds pass, and you hear the soft and nimble footsteps of childe's stride getting louder, looking at his white and gray-toed cloth socks contrast with the polished wooden floors of your cozy home. taking in the scent of his cologne, your eyes drag from the floor up to his hands carefully unwrapped a tiny alcohol towelette.

"it shouldn't get infected that easily, but it's better to be safe than sorry. grip my arm if it the pain is too much," he says, carefully dabbing at the edges to clean the dried red rivulets on opposite sides of your arm.

it doesn't hurt, and yes—you were cleaning to clear your mind before attempting to search for a newfound inspiration. after a few seconds of ajax occasionally pecking you on the wrist as he wipes, he inches slightly closer to the wound, focused on his handiwork rather than how your nails dig into his arm.

"i know it stings, baby. after i'm done bandaging you, I'll give you as many kisses as you want, sound like a deal?"

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🔎 shikanoin heizou [acute tussis] (coughing)

"oh my... that cough of yours is getting heavier by the day—you remembered to wear a jacket on our tour with the general at watatsumi, didn't you?"

nope. in fact, you did not bring a jacket. in fact, you're so used to the hot desert-like weather in the sumeru hiking area that you still feel like everything is always too warm in the fall—you just happened to forget to bring your coat on the one day you left from taking private investigation jobs near the city. curse the city weather for actually being on time. damn the water making everything cold. watatsumi park is so pretty, but you swear, getting sick like this is a hindrance to the agency, considering how being heizou's partner literally doubles and lessens the load for incoming cases. sure, maybe your co-workers are slightly happy that they'll actually get a chance to take a case before you and mister no. 1 detective do, but they still show an ounce of sympathy for your declining health.

although you are an investigator, most of your work is closer to a lawyer than an actual detective—a perfect match for the tenryou forces. it's a job that can doesn't require a lot of adventuring that may risk your health, and lets you help people in your own sort of way at the front.

your gaze drops to the floor with an awkward chuckle, following with a negative reply to heizou that you forgot to bring something warm. he sighs, clicking his tongue and creasing his eyebrows with a head shake.

"you may have done outstanding in your most recent court trial, however, you must not disregard your own body in spite of your achievements."

he sighs, pushing in a stray chair to the white marbled island counter while taking a small, plastic box out of the fridge with colored orange-beigesque paste inside—on the front, reading "miso paste."

"i'll get the water boiling so i can make some soup for the both of us. in the meantime, i will go grab a bunch of warm blankets so you can curl up on the couch and relax. if you want cough medicine, it's in the fridge. i recall how you didn't like the naku weed flavor from last time, so instead, i bought another bottle of a different flavor that i thought you might like at a shop in ritou."

the detective's ever-so-observant, as always. not even three days after you've returned, he's made sure to prepare some remedies so you feel like you can take on the world, like he knows you can do. he holds the stove dial for a second, listening to the ticking of the burner before rotating it just a smidge.

"when you feel as though your health is improving, we can go eat wherever you wish to celebrate of our accomplishments."

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🍃 kaedehara kazuha [orthocoronavirinae] (covid-19)

"please stay in bed," he mutters, approaching with a baby blue facemask covering half his face and a bowl—black on the outside, and red on the inside, all with an inversely-colored spoon to ladle your soup with.

he only says this since you tried to get up. your body feels heavy, and kazuha can tell just by the way you take off the blankets and walk like an old grandparent. it's like the world decided to take 250% of your body weight and split it between two invisible boxes, and then balance them on your shoulders. everything feels like a cold, but worse. but not worse than pneumonia kind of bad. sure, you're hacking up a congestion storm, sniffling as though you got out of the worst rain weather imaginable, and shaking like you've stepped off of dragonspine, but at least you're not whooping up any blood.

"you need not worry, lovey, please—lay down. i have called up your company and have already reported that you have covid. with the new work law in our district, they are granting you an extended paid sick leave," he explains, pulling up a tv tray and propping it up over your lap.

carefully, he blows on the soup through his mask (like a silly goose) and sets it down on a stone coaster. it smells slightly salty, but doesn't quite have that gentle scent like miso does. it's light, and has a couple of tiny seaweed squares soaked in the soup. chicken broth, perhaps? if you like eggs, the entire soup blankets ropes of the fluffily-stirred ingredient.

kazuha's love language is through his gestures. when he was homeless after escaping from the tenryou police for a crime he didn't commit, he developed a more profound sense for appreciating the small gestures for others. although he had no home, strangers in smaller towns or standalone homes were more than happy to house the wandering fellow for a night from the storming rain. he loved all things about nature; however, it's much more difficult to appreciate the natural world in drenched clothes. so, thanks to that, he chooses now to reciprocate even the smallest things for you. started off with you kissing him on the cheek, and eventually, he would give you one back. if you brought him food one day, he'd bring your favorite dessert the next day on his way home from work.

and lately, you've been worrying yourself sick over your co-workers and the most recent project results that you must have not paid any mind to your coughing teammate in the elevator, even after they reported their illness. and more importantly, how does kazuha even remember the cell # and extension to contact your supervisor? you complain sometimes about how much work your boss (yae miko) is giving you, whether it's about marketing and calculations, printing, writing, or even cover art.

you smile, nodding and whispering a "thank you" before sinking the spoon beneath the food's surface. you watch the edges flow in (and if you like it, the fluffy egg strands) with a seaweed square. kazuha smiles back, takes his two fingers and presses them over his lips—kissing them before gently touching your cheek with the same digits. you giggle at the caution of his action, but also at his magnanimous gestures.

"hm? was giving you an 'indirect' kiss like that too goofy for you? if that happens to be true, I shall depart for just a moment to go grab you a small bowl of rice and the little mini-projector so we can watch some anime together, is there anything else you want?"

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⚗️ albedo [hemicrania] (migraine)

"hello, uh, it's me, pumpkin—" he mutters, quietly creaking the door open.

you whimper loudly at the blinding light that meets you, even when your eyes are shut tightly trying to try and rid of this stupid migraine that pounds at your head. this is your first time getting one in years—so why does it come to bite you in the ass on your only free day?

"i had no knowledge of what would be better for you... so, logically, i brought a couple of medicinal pills, along with an ice pack—which one would you like?"

"both," you curtly reply, wanting to cry from the pain. but actively draining your body of any water—especially from your eyeholes—would merely obliterate whatever sanity and pain tolerance you currently have left.

you hear his boots quietly across the floor, knowing that he's getting closer just from hearing the rustling of his soles up against the rug beside your side of the bed. although you can tell that he's right next to you, he places the back of his palm on your head, lifting and setting something glass on your bedside cabinet.

he hums observantly. quietly, he mumbles: "how much does it hurt?"

where do you even start? you can't even think, but if you were able to put it into words—it's like having awful tv static assaulting your eyeballs while you're getting slapped across the face repeatedly. why does your brain have to be "asleep," and not... like... your leg, or something?

"too much to even give a response, huh?" he asks, sighing sadly as he gets on his knees to kiss you on the forehead, before gently retracting back. "that's quite alright, then."

desensitized to other sensory effects, he whispers gently in your ear.

"let me know when you wish to take your medicine," he remarks, removing his hand as he puts the soft and icy jello-consistency receptacle atop your head. "squeeze or tap my hand, and I will be more than happy to help you take it, if needed."

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🧹 thoma ft. the kamisatos [syncope] (passing out/fainting) {dedicated to @mako-yaki}

"hey, uh, babe? you look like you're drifting in and out of sleep every other few seconds... do you want to take a break real quick?"

being a port worker is hard.

seriously, like, it's fall coming onto winter—and everyone's dressed too warmly. how is everyone gone? seven team members, and you are the only one left for commission. thoma and you are the only ones around. but... good thing you're with your boyfriend. you wouldn't have minded being alone, but knowing yourself—you would simply just be complaining the entire time. although he's on official business to check the quality of the newest shipment for Inazuma's winter festival has been shipped, you still smile despite your fatigue. you feel like falling, but your head feels lighter than air. why does the sky look brighter, but your hands look darker... whatever, you just need to hold out for another hour, and then you can take your off-days to sleep.

"uhm... earth to (y/n), are you feeling okay?—" he'd ask, before watching you drop your clipboard and collapse in the middle of the dock.

-//-

opportunely and untimely at the same time, it seems as though ayato and ayaka were coming in together from their separate businesses from different locations. as they spotted thoma, ayato spotted your swaying figure and how you kept shaking your head vigorously over and over (it was mostly to wake yourself up, but it seemed to prove otherwise).

ayato cocks an eyebrow in confusion.

"what are (y/n) and thoma talking about? is it about our request for mister zhenyu and calx's presence at the upcoming festival?"

ayato shakes his head, crossing his arms as his pure-refrigerator white coattails flap in the gentle sea breeze. "no, i asked thoma to check on the newest shipment of butter crab for tomorrow's feast. from the last time i heard, i put him in such a tight 'pickle' that not only could he buy any crab anywhere, but he also went hunting for the crab himself."

ayaka laughs as she folds her fan in, her eyelids closing as her lashes flutter, and her complexion flushes a very light pink.

"oh, you know him brother—as he says..." ayaka says, raising her hand and pretending to gesture a strong arm. "'if there's a will, there's a way!'"

"yes, he is quite the... character..." ayato remarks, keeping his eyes on your body, which sways ever so slightly. "ayaka, why does (y/n) look like they're about to fall over—" he inquires just a second too late as ayaka.

"babe!" thoma ignores your clipboard, but catches you on your descent down to the splintery wooden bolsters of planks, cushioning your fall carefully as he quickly hoists you into his arms.

ayaka stops in her tracks, while ayato comes running over, swiftly picking up the clipboard. he scans over it in a flash—questioning why all your team members have called out for the past week. ayato, flashing thoma a swift glance, checks your vitals without taking a second to interrogate or ask any questions. your heartbeat seems normal, but taking your palm in his hand, he feels a bead of your sweat trickle down his pointer finger. waiting about ten seconds, ayato huffs a breath and sighs a bit of relief.

"get them to the international trade association's guest room immediately. I'll be off to have a word with the harbormaster right now," he orders, nodding in unison with thoma, who resupports your weight while picking up his pace. as they run, thoma looks to ayaka. "milady, could you run ahead and let kurisu know that we're coming? prepare a couple of towels and fetch some extra pillows too."

"right!" ayaka says, speeding off in the direction of the trade association, while ayato speedwalks towards the ritou goods warehouse.

thoma, heart racing, and adrenaline rushing through his veins like the incoming afternoon tide, mutters through hasty breaths: "you'll be okay soon, (y/n)..."

[ ... ]

"hey..." you hear in your quivering consciousness from what seems to be a worried lady. everything's black... you probably should have paid more attention to your condition.

"shhh, don't be so loud... don't... them to wake..." you also hear, a familiar deep timbre resonating in a mixed quiet reminding whisper.

you groan, letting your eyes flicker shut and open for a couple of seconds, absorbing the time to blink. everything's so bright... and everything feels so soft... dazed, you note the light blue blob darker blue-headed blob dressed in white... pink, and bluer splotches painted among a brown and tatami-green backdrop, alongside a red, black, and white blob with what looks like low-resolution blurry hayneedles for hair.

"hello, (y/n)? how are you feeling?" you hear a female's voice pipe up. she shudders in the tone of her voice as she carefully holds your left hand in a soft towel.

"... who is that?"

"that's ayaka, babe. i'm thoma, and her older brother—ayato—is also here."

"... sorry, yeah... i knew that. i'm just... dizzy..."

ayato props a hand behind your back, and you realize that your feet and head are slightly higher than your torso. helping you up with careful deliberation, he smiles as he holds out a glass of water. "drink a little bit of water if you're going to keep talking."

carefully tilting the glass, you part your lips to slowly take in at least half the glass. hot meeting cold feels like heaven settling within your body.

"don't be sorry about something like this, we all care a lot for you! we're going to stay here until you are in a better condition to return home."

"i got your supervisor to suspend your activities for the next two weeks. hehe, they too will be suspended from their duties for the next two weeks."

"(y/n), we all want the best for you, so just let us know if you need anything," ayaka remarks, smiling as she watches thoma caressing your cheek to her right.

"please don't overwork yourself like this until you break. if you don't tell me next time, you'll break my heart."

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