#bc she doesn't care to be there. clearly. of course she doesn't care to be included. nonsense.

[basket-of-radiants]

Why were you so disappointed by Rhythm of War?

This has been sitting in my askbox for years. I've taken several cracks at answering, only to get frustrated with the subject matter and burn myself out every time. I didn't like Rhythm of War. More than that, I didn't like it in a way that tainted my enjoyment of the entire series. And despite what it may seem, I don't actually enjoy discussing things which I don't like. I always want to talk from a place of good faith. Which is why now that my feelings towards the series are a little more positive, I think I can finally answer this.

I'm going to try to stay away from specific plotpoints and story beats for this post, because my goal isn't to nitpick (if for no other reason than it would take a week to write this post), I'm just looking to talk about my overall impressions. I think that might mean the only spoilers here will be structural? idk, if you haven't read Rhythm of War yourself then you should probably do that before looking for other people's opinions anyway. 

I liked Way of Kings when I first read it. I didn't love it at the time, but I liked it. Certainly enough to keep reading once I'd finished. One thing that made me a bit uncomfy, however, was the war against the Parshendi. They were this unknowable enemy which the book was not interested in knowing. An inhuman army. Their main purpose was to kill Kaladin's friends, or else be killed by Dalinar's armies. And yet the Parshendi, and the parshmen in the form of Shen, did show hints of personhood. And so it bothered me how Dalinar spoke so casually about how the Alethi had decimated their numbers, how the others used the war as a means to amass wealth and power. (It didn't bother me in a "this is a bad book" way but in a "these characters are bad people" way.)

One of my foibles as a reader is that when a book is very clearly treating one side of a conflict with more humanity, I tend to be a bit predisposed towards the other to account for that. And with the Alethi clearly being the invading party and superior military force, there was also some underdog favoritism. I didn't really like how the book treated the Parshendi. This is to say that going forward, the singers would be more important to me than any other through line.

So imagine my delight at reading Words of Radiance and meeting Eshonai, one of the Parshendi, who even gets her own point of view sections! They were no longer being treated as a faceless mass, we were getting to see things from their perspective as well. And it became plain to see the damage the Alethi had done to them. I couldn't really bring myself to root for Dalinar or really any of the humans against the listeners. I couldn't even bring myself to like most of these characters. I still enjoyed the book but once it became clear there wouldn't be a peaceful conclusion, let's just say that I wouldn't have wept for Dalinar and Adolin if Szeth had managed to off them. Like everyone in the book, I assumed that going forward all the parshmen would be turned into evil voidbringers in the everstorm and that the listeners were mostly dead. Except for Rlain, and Eshonai because I'd read or been told that book 4 would be Eshonai's book and thus had assumed she was fine. (Oathbringer spoilers, she was not fine.) So ultimately it was still a bit of a downer way to end the book. 

So imagine my delight at reading Oathbringer, where for the first time singers were being treated as people, full and real people, and where the human characters could no longer ignore or dismiss them. We met Khen and the others, common singers who were sympathetic and just wanted freedom from bondage. We see Venli grapple with the loss of her home. We see Leshwi and Moash connecting with and understanding one another. We learn of a history where singers were the original inhabitants of the planet. Parallel to this, Dalinar is having a truly excellent character arc about confronting one's past actions and acknowledging them to move forward and do better. I loved Oathbringer, for some years it was my favorite book, and I was excited as hell to see what came next. At the time, it seemed to me that there is a clear direction the story is going. Two books about needless war, and then a third where the main cast is forced to acknowledge the personhood of their enemies. This was so cool, all of my feelings from the previous installments were being validated, the characters were going to have to face what they've done in the past and outgrow their militaristic mindsets, I was so sure of that.

Imagine my disappointment when that does not even remotely resemble the direction the story went in Rhythm of War. RoW presented a clear, straightforward “us vs. them" narrative, where every character was totally fine with killing singers. Characters aligned with the singers were either flattened into wholly evil versions of themselves (Moash) or were expected to turn on their side in favor of the humans (Venli.) Because clearly there was no reason good people would be on the side that's all former slaves trying to stay free. Maybe there's some sort of accord or understanding between Navani and Raboniel that I might have found meaningful if the seeds of mutual understanding weren't already there in Oathbringer and then apparently ignored for a year by all the characters.

I have a lot of issues with how the listeners are handled in these books. (Here's some elaboration.) Following OB, I had thought that all my concerns were going to be addressed. Following RoW, I knew they never would be. 

Which is my main complaint, because that's the thread that matters most to me in this series.

I have a lot of other Things as well. Gonna just talk about a few big ones. 

One outsized source of disappointment that may seem a little petty, and which probably is, is that I felt mislead by the premise of the book. It had been announced that this book would center Venli and Eshonai, and I was unbelievably hyped for that. That did not really turn out to be the case. The purpose for their backstory chapters felt less about exploring them as people and contextualizing their arcs, and more about filling in gaps of world history. In the main plot, Venli was a POV character and she certainly played a role, but honestly not a very important one overall. To me she felt like a side character in her own book. I don't think it's controversial to say that the main character of RoW was Navani. A lot of people really like Navani and are happy about that. Unfortunately I'm not one of those people, and I found it all the more difficult to enjoy her when it felt like it was coming at the expense of some of my favorite characters. 

This particular gripe somewhat comes down to preference, obviously everyone prefers to read about characters they like more than those they don't, and it can go both ways. (For instance, on a craft/technical level RoW is probably the superior book to W&T, but I liked the latter a lot more because of my stupidly outsized attachment to Szeth and Nale.) But I do think there's something of a real criticism in how the book would rather focus on the feelings of a queen rather than those of a genocide survivor, and how the former's are given significantly more weight and import. It ties in with my main criticism, I think. 

And then there's how human/human racism had also been wholly cast aside as a plot point. Jasnah fixed slavery so that's resolved, and the only person who still cares about structural racism is the evil bad bad evil villain Moash/Vyre, who is now wholly irredeemable and who you're allowed to totally write off because he's sold his soul to Odium. I've already talked a lot about this. Other people have already talked about this, probably better than me. The writing was actually on the wall for me in OB, but again, RoW was when I fully accepted that this was never going to be addressed. 

There's something else that probably deserves its own discussion rather than being quickly tacked on at the end here, but here we are. This book changed how the series approaches war. 

In WoK, war was very clearly portrayed as a bad and inglorious thing. It was brutal, it was painful, those at the bottom died cruelly and unceremoniously and pointlessly while those at the top turned a profit. Every day was a new horror. The enemy were never evil, they were always just more people forced to go through the same thing. Through the next couple books, it felt to me that even if the characters had accepted war as necessary, there was still a tragedy to it. Conversely, in RoW (and W&T) war is basically a series of boss battles, in between which our protagonists can kill dozens of footsoldiers with barely a thought in the same way WoK had criticized.

Final note on all this, it sucks how we have no perspectives from the former-slaves-singers demographic. Those guys are really thrown under the bus, and seemingly get no self-determination now or ever. It was a glaring problem to me in RoW. Conscripted and enslaved humans and singers probably have just as much ground to form mutual understanding as a fused and a queen. (In fact they already had. In Oathbringer.)

In essence, RoW disappointed me because it left me with the distinct impression that none of the series's most important through lines (well, most important to me) were going to be resolved well. I liked W&T, but I haven't revised my opinion very much about the overall handling of these topics across the series. Maybe one of the reasons I was able to enjoy W&T so much more was because I no longer had such high expectations.

[shouyuus]

18+, vi-shaped brainrot, mdni

consider college roommate!vi who is the star of the rugby team and just such a fucking jock about it, spends hours at the gym, has pre and post workout drinks and never closes her door when she's blasting rock music, leaves pink hair dye on the bathroom counter, stains the tub when she gets drunk and tries to redo her roots, calls you everything but your name -- sweetcheeks, dollface, cupcake, princess -- isn't shy about her hookups, doesn't even bother to apologize the mornings after another pretty cheerleader scampers out of her room, shrugs and winks when you come out of the bathroom with a tiny thong dangling off your finger that's clearly not either of yours.

college roommate!vi who does kickboxing on the weekends and teaches a kid's course at the local gym. the first time you go there to drop something of her's off as a favor, you can't help but stare at the way she laughs and chases the kids around, so gentle with her movements, so careful, guiding their punches, correcting their forms. and the kids love her -- it's so easy to see, the stars in their eyes, the color high in their cheeks, the way the girls cluster around her legs and the boys are constantly vying for her approval, how she tries her best to divide up her attention equally between all of them.

college roommate!vi who goes real quiet the first time you laugh in her presence, a real laugh, not one of those ha-ha ones you snipe at her when she's trying to get a rise out of you, or teasing you about spending all your time in the library, but one that shakes your shoulders and makes your whole face light up. who has to blink when you cock your head and ask if she's okay bc she was so busy staring at you, wondering about the weird thumping in her chest, the tightness in her throat.

college roommate!vi who's there for you when you're stressed about your dissertation, and she knew you were smart, but listening to you rant about it at 3am in the morning, she's starting to realize that... you're kind of a genius. to be so young and already doing a doctorate in mechanical engineering, and the things you're trying to do -- they could conceivably change the world one day. who freezes when you let your head drop onto her shoulder with a heavy sigh, telling her that you don't know what to do.

"you'll figure it out, cupcake. with a brain like yours? you always do."

college roommate!vi who realizes way too late that she's kinda got it bad for you, bc since when did she start getting used to the sight of you wearing one of her gym shirts in the mornings, making scrambled eggs, rolling your eyes when she yawns her way into the tiny kitchen, leaning an arm against the fridge as she looks you over before asking what's for breakfast. who's gotten so used to falling asleep to the soft clatter of your computer keys that when you leave to visit your family for a weekend, she tosses and turns and can't figure out why it's impossible for her to get to sleep, wanders into sliver of space you guys have crammed a couch and tv into to call a living room, slumping down there to stare at the ceiling, only to feel her fingers graze against something on the ground, who tugs out the thing from under the couch only to find herself staring at one of your bunched up socks with the goofy cartoon cats pattern, and she remembers (suddenly) finding you tearing your room apart the week before trying to look for it because it's your favorite pair of socks.

she finds herself chuckling, letting the sock fall again, but the tightness in her throat doesn't recede, and invisible fingers clench in her gut as she lets her eyes fall shut.

"well... fuck."

college roommate!vi who doesn't know how to act when you get back from your weekend away, when you throw yourself into her arms, your skin still smelling of the crisp fall air and something warm, and spicy -- it reminds her of the holiday market you dragged her to last year, the cinnamon and spiced apples, the hot, mulled wine, the way it burned all the way down when she took the first sip, the way it worked the most darling flush into your cheeks above your pink knit scarf.

"i've got a present for you!" you say, when you finally extricate yourself from her gasp, your arms still around her shoulders, her hands still settled around your waist.

"y-yeah? you didn't have to do that, sweetcheeks --"

"yeah, but i saw this in a store window and -- well i just... it reminded me of you," you say, pulling back to dig something out of your travel bag, and it takes everything in vi not to tug you back into her chest. so instead, she settles for knitting her arms across her front and coughing to hide the fact that her throat's just tightened over itself at your words. you? seeing something and thinking of her? gods, she was so far gone.

"here," you say, pulling a small black box out and offering it to her on the palm of your hand.

vi stares, before reaching out to take it, her eyes flickering up towards your face, only to catch you chewing on your bottom lip in a way that makes her mind frizzle out at the edges. she refocuses her attention on the box -- opening it, she finds a tiny little gemstone, set on a thin golden chain --

"oh..." she breathes, tugging out up to let the gem dangle from between her fingers.

"it -- it's an alexandrite stone," you say, your voice a bit reedy, but you push on as vi continues to stare, "it's uhm -- one of the rarest gemstones in nature, but the cool thing is it changes colors depending on what kind of light it's under --" you reach up to grasp her wrist, her lungs seizing at the contact as you tug her into the incandescent light of the kitchen. "see? it was light blue a second ago, right? and now it's --"

"violet," vi says, her voice soft and disbelieving.

you quickly let go of her wrist, pursing your lips and wrapping your arms around yourself, looking anywhere but at her face.

"yeah -- i just --" your shoulders shrug up as she stares at you, her sky-light eyes wide, "it... it reminded me of... you."

college roommate!vi who, ever since the "necklace incident" (as the rest of the rugby team likes to call it), hasn't really been the same. she's put on the necklace and not taken it off for even a second since the day you gave it to her, but now she doesn't really know how to act around you -- bc did you actually like her? i mean, the necklace is... a pretty big thing to just give someone, but what if you were just giving it to her as a friend? as a roommate? she agonizes over it to the point that the rest of the team are so, so sick of hearing about it, they lovingly tell her to just fuck her and get it over with already. but vi insists that she can't -- it's different with you.

college roommate!vi who's stunned speechless when she gets home to find you staring at your computer, your expression blank. and at first, she thinks something's horribly wrong, but then you're slamming into her, squealing about how you've done it -- your thesis defense went well, that you're a doctor now -- and she's picking you up, spinning you around, buoyed up by the effervescence of your happiness, pressing a kiss to your cheek --

"oh my god, congrats princess! i knew it! i always knew you could do it!"

"thanks -- god, i just -- i've wanted it for so long i... i don't know what to do with myself now that i've got it, y'know?" you say, still suspended in vi's arms, your feet lifted off the ground. it takes a moment before you both seem to realize the position you're in, and vi clears her throat as she lets you down, you looking away, pressing your palms to your cheeks to cool the heat gathering there.

after a brief pause though, vi chuckles, reaching out to slip a finger beneath your chin, tilting your face up towards her's.

"c'mon, put on one of those pretty dresses of yours. we're going out."

"out?"

"yeah. to celebrate."

you blink as vi pulls her hand away.

"but it's like... 4:30 on a tuesday."

vi cocks an eyebrow, a smirk twitching at her lips, "yes, and? c'mon cupcake --" her eyes catch yours and instead of looking away, she holds it this time, something flickering behind their powder-blue depths that makes your skin prickle with heat, "i'll show you a good time."

college roommate!vi who takes you to one of her favorite clubs, tugging you through the crowd, the jostling bodies, holding your hand in her's, trying really hard not to think too much about it (or the fucking insane little black and pink miniskirt you put on), telling herself that it's just to make sure she doesn't lose you in the crowd, grinning when someone knocks you into her chest, and she finds her arm wrapped around your waist, fingers scrunching the material of your skirt, your palms splayed on her chest.

she buys the both of you a round of shots, watching with a hitched breath as your tongue flickers out to lick the salt daubed on your wrist, the way your eyes squeeze shut when you take the shot and your lips wrap around the lime slice, tries to ignore the twist in her gut like a turning blade, the way her whole body flushes with heat, the dull ache caught between her legs when you wipe your lips, your eyes bright and a little blown out, your cheeks flushed with color as you giggle and lace your hands with hers again --

"come on! i wanna dance!"

college roommate!vi who is just drunk enough to let herself dance with you, to let herself lean in to the way you're twisting your body, fingers in your hair, your eyes closed, an indulgent smile on your lips, who let's herself imagine (just for a second), pulling you in to kiss you, how soft your lips might feel on hers, how silken your skin might be beneath her hands, who tries not to groan when you lean in closer, link your arms behind her neck, press your whole body against her's, who grips your hips just a little too tight, grinds you against her, sees the way you gasp, your eyelids fluttering as you eyes glaze out --

college roommate!vi who can't help how she groans at the sight, tugs you in by the back of your neck to mash her lips to yours, crushing you to her as she kisses you (finally, finally) and you let yourself he kissed -- your fingers tangle in her choppy pink hair, and she swears you make this sweet, mind-bending whimpering noise in the back of your throat that drives her up the wall and right over it --

but when she pulls back, she sees the look on your face -- shocked and little confused, but you're drunk, and she doesn't wanna do this with you -- at least, not like this.

college roommate!vi who pulls away, only to have you follow her all the way out the club, into this small dark alley, her shaking her head, feeling a strange, saltwater prickle at the back of her throat as she says --

"shit -- sorry. i didn't mean to -- i just -- you were just so -- and i -- fuck, i didn't --"

"vi -- vi -- no, violet, listen to me --"

it's her full name on your lips that makes her pause, makes her turn to find you walking towards her. your lipstick is smeared, your hair a waterfall mess around your shoulders as you corner her against the rough brick of the club's exterior. faintly, she can still feel the pulse of music reverberating from inside the club, but out here, the air is damp and cold and quiet.

"i -- i'm sorry i kissed you," she says, her voice cracking over the syllables. she bites her lips as you frown up at her, your eyes searching her's before you let out a soft sigh and a scoff.

"well. i'm sorry you feel that way. cause..." you take half a step back, your arms curling around yourself before you glance back at her with a hard, determined light to your eyes as you press back into her space, your cheeks bright with color.

"i was really kinda hoping you'd do it again."

vi's breath punches out of her chest; it takes a few seconds of sputtering before she gathers herself enough to speak.

"wait -- what? you..."

you crinkle your nose, rolling your eyes, "i -- i thought i was making it obvious -- i mean, with the whole necklace thing -- it doesn't take a genius to figure how i feel about --"

you squeak as she pins you against the opposite wall, her lips seeking yours out, her fingers rucking up the material of your top, making you hiccup as they tease under the wire-rim of your bra.

college roommate!vi who can barely control herself when you sink your fingers into her hair, tugging lightly as you gasp out a breath, her lips tracking fire along the side of your neck, intent on making you whimper again, just the way she likes, grazing her teeth along your collarbone even as you jerk at her hair --

"vi -- fuck -- vi, not here --" you swallow around the burgeoning desire, and when you glance down to find her looking up at you, her eyes so dark they're almost black, you fight back a groan, cup your palms around her cheeks and pull her up for a long kiss.

"let's --" you suck in a breath even as vi whines at the loss your lips, "let's go home --"

"holy fuck," vi swears, somehow managing to pull herself back just far enough to taste the misty night air. she stares at you, your chest heaving, a daisy-chain of hickeys blossoming along the long expanse of your neck, your makeup good and smeared, your hair a mess, your eyes bright and so full of love as they flicker over her face.

vi smiles, helpless to the loud, uncertain drumming of her heart as she says, "y-yeah -- let's get you home, princess."

college roommate!vi who barely waits for the elevator door to close in your building before she's got you shoved up against the wall, hoisting you up, her fingers seeking out the softness of your skin, tugging up your shirt, her other hand dipping into the waistband of your skirt, her mouth open and hungry as she kisses your neck, bites down at the junction of your shoulder just to hear you moan.

college roommate!vi who's way too good at undoing your bra with one hand the second you get back to your apartment (if you were more coherent, you might've thought it hot), the door slamming closed, the pair of you toppling onto the room, breathy laughs and panting whines as she hoists you into her arms and carries you to your bedroom, laying you down so gently, kissing up your stomach till you're whimpering, your own hands pulling your top off your body, leaving you in an undone-bra and a miniskirt, your cheeks flushed. you push yourself up onto your elbows, watching as vi peaks up at you from between your legs, shooting you a wink before she's tugging down your skirt and panties all in one, an eyebrow ticking up at the lil lacey thing you had on beneath the skirt all along.

"all this for me, pretty?"

you press your lips, eyes cutting away as she looks between the bra dangling off your shoulders and the panties caught round your ankles. her lashes flutter.

"oh, a matching set," she cocks her head, running her palms up your thighs, pinning them open again as you try to press them closed, feeling suddenly much too seen (bc you'd be straight up lying if you hadn't put it on in the vague hope that the night might evolve into something like this).

she clicks her tongue, shaking her head with a cocky, shit-eating grin that makes your heart skitter in your chest. her drops a light kiss to your inner thigh, savoring in the way you whine again.

"nope, keep 'em open princess."

college roommate!vi who takes her time with you, bc rly she's been waiting way too long for this, has imagined it one too many times, but nothing can compare to the way your hips jerk up against her mouth, the way your fingers tighten in her hair every time she licks up the seam of your cunt, the way your breath catches on her name over and over again, like you can't quite get the word out even though it's just a single syllable. she groans against you, too lost in the taste of you to care about what a mess she must look like, with her tongue fucking into your desperate hole, her nose nudging your clit, her fingers digging crescent moon marks into your hipbones.

she's sure that if this were an old-fashioned cartoon, there'd be big, balloon hearts popping out of her eyes. she can't get enough of you like this -- moaning her name, your legs on either side of her face, your skin littered with the remnants of her. she has the eye-rolling thought of you the next morning, of how all these marks will still be there to remind you of her every single time you see one of them.

college roommate!vi who doesn't expect you to flip over after she's literally eaten you out seven ways to sunday, to tug her in for a soft kiss (though she really does like pressing your own taste back into your mouth with her tongue), before your fingers are inching down the length of her body to tease at her hips, trailing circles down the lines of her abs, toying with the thin line of hair that leads into her black boxer briefs.

"what are you --"

you shoot her a look that has her mouth going dry.

"what? didn't think i can give as good as i get?"

college roommate!vi who's literally going to lose her mind with the way you're fingers (at first sight so thin and delicate, but gods are they stronger than they look) are pressing into her, curling up with the kind of precision usually only associated with doctors, and then a voice in the back of her head reminds her -- oh, right, you are a doctor now. but logical thought dies after that, bc you've somehow worked your way between her legs and are looking up at her with those big dark eyes of yours, smiling sunshine bright before you drop a kitten-lick against her clit and she's twitching, keening as she cums all over your fingers.

"jesus fuckin' christ, doll -- is that what you're learning in those engineering classes?"

she's breathless, cheeks flushed, and honestly just a little embarrassed at how quickly she came, but she has to bite back another groan as she watches you lick your fingers clean, grinning sweetly up at her as if you didn't just get her off in record time.

"no, but i did do my dissertation on human-based robotics, which included a lot of late nights memorizing anatomical models so..."

vi pulls you in for a kiss, laughing against your lips.

"you're amazing, y'know that?"

college roommate!vi who can't really believe how much she's lucked out, sharing an apartment with her girlfriend, who literally cannot shut up about you, but the rugby team all agree that they'd rather have this than the months of endless pining. who brags about her genius gf to anyone who'll listen, and looks for you in the stands of all her practice matches when you can make it, who kisses you in front of everyone even when you make a show of trying to wiggle away bc she's sweaty (you don't really care).

who loves telling the story of how you guys met bc she still can't quite believe it herself, and the story always starts with --

"well, actually -- we started off as roommates."

[justauthoring]

Necessary Clarification.

Request: Omg can we pls get a sanji comfort fic where y/n is a little insecure bc she notices sanji treats her differently than other girls, she thinks that maybe he doesn’t think she’s pretty enough thinks of her as one of the bros or something. Unbeknownst to her sanji is like madly in love with her and didn’t know to to deal or confront his feelings so when he finds out about her doubts he’s like running to her and putting those bad thoughts to rest. Requested by: Anonymous

Pairing: Sanji Vinsmoke x F!Reader

A/N: Sanji hurt/comfort???? Sign me up!!

Word Count: 2,636

Also, this header honestly doesn't relate to the fic at all but doesn't my man look so good??????

"Here you go, Nami-swan~! Robin-chan~!"

Trying to make your anticipation less obvious, you ignore the way your body instinctively shuffles as Sanji's voice carries across the ship. As usual, there's a sway to his voice as he calls out to the only two other female members of the crew, a tray of drinks in his hand.

Nami, Robin and you were currently sat by Nami's tangerines, chatting and relaxing under the hot sun. There was still a bit of ocean to cover before you all arrived at the next island to reset the log pose, so everyone on the ship was doing their own thing. You knew Zoro was training, as he normally did around this time, while Usopp, Luffy and Chopper were entertaining themselves somewhere on the ship as usual. You couldn't see Franky or Brook, but clearly whatever they were doing was enough to keep them occupied.

Of course, Sanji's "own thing" involved dining and serving the ladies of the Thousand Sunny to his best ability.

The drink he sets down in front of Nami is a bright blue, topped with ice and a straw and looking something sweet. Robin's drink, although milder, looks just delicious. Both drinks are served to the women with a swish and a smile from Sanji, as Robin nods in thanks and Nami oblidges Sanji's wishes with a gentle; "thank you, Sanji-kun."

He admonishes them with a bright grin, and then, finally, turns to you. The lovesick look in his eyes at your two friends softens into something more tame as he meets your awaiting gaze. You try not to make your hopeful gaze so blatantly obvious but by the way Nami and Robin are both watching the interaction, you figure you aren't be so subtle.

The final drink left on the tray is set before you, with a little less florish but still as presented as nicely. Anything Sanji made always looked delicious, so, that fact isn't all that surprising.

"And here you are, Y/N."

Just like that, the hope deflates. It might seem silly (and you know it is), but the lack of an affectionate honorific like Nami or Robin's makes your heart ache. And it isnt just that--Sanji's actions with you are much more serious and done with far less exaggeration.

You've watched, time and time again, Sanji all but bend over backwards for everyone woman he's crossed paths with. It isn't just your crewmates, but strangers and enemies alike. Sanji rarely didn't have heart eyes when a woman was in his sights and even more so was he ever not declaring his love, care and affection all in one breath at them. He'll call them the sweetest names, speak to them with the softest of tones, always filled with warmth.

But with you? He never did.

When he talked to you, he didn't declare his love for you. He didn't have heart eyes. You were always just "Y/N" and nothing else. He still did anything you asked, but it wasn't in the way he did Nami, Robin or anybody else.

You shouldn't care. And you probably wouldn't, if your own heart didn't soar for Sanji. But it did, incredibly and painfully so. You'd felt that way about him since you'd first laid eyes on him, way back when Luffy had first invited you to join the crew.

And although watching him all but drop to his knees and declare his love for a woman not five seconds later, your heart had already chosen him and you'd been unsuccessful in changing its mind.

But clearly, your feelings wouldn't be returned. Sanji didn't even think you pretty enough to treat you like the rest, let alone actually return your feelings.

Keeping your eyes trained on your drink, you nod; "thank you, Sanji." Your voice is small, muffled. You don't see it, but Sanji frowns at the clear upset tone of your voice, but he doesn't express his concern, meeting Nami's eyes whose strangely glaring at him before heading back to the kitchen.

The second Sanji is out of ear shot, Nami is leaning towards you.

"Y/N--"

"You know what?" You cut off before she can even start, suddenly pushing yourself to your feet as Nami and Robin blink up at you in concern. "I'm actually not feeling well. I think the sun is a bit too much. I'm just gonna lay down, I think."

You're standing before Nami or Robin can get a word in otherwise--albeit they try. You purposefully ignore their calls of your name, ignoring the slight pang of guilt at having not even drank the drink Sanji prepared for you.

But, really, if you thought about it, he probably just made it for you because he felt bad otherwise. Not because he wanted to like he did Nami and Robin. And certainly not because he cared about you in any romantic way.

Really, you should just get over your feelings for him. It was only hurting you more in the end anyway.

-

"Nami, I really don't--"

"Just trust me, please?"

Staring back at Nami, you sigh. You could never really deny her when she looked at you like that (or really ever), so you know you've lost even before the words leave your lips.

"Fine," you huff, letting her continue to drag you back onto the Thousand Sunny despite the nerves twisting your insides. Nami hadn't really told what it was she was planning, but you figured it couldn't be anything good.

Especially after she'd all but dragged you with her the second the Thousand Sunny had docked at a new island that morning. She hadn't given you a chance to argue otherwise or for anyone to even aid you as she pulled you off with her.

She'd ended up dragging you to a clothing store. The first one she could find. When you expressed her confusion, she'd made up some lie about wanting to gift you a new outfit for all that helped you'd given her during your last battle.

When you'd reminded her that the two of you had been separated, she'd simply shushed you. And when that clothing store didn't have what she wanted, she'd dragged you to a different one and then another until she was satisfied.

You knew better than to argue with Nami, so you'd simply let her doll you up in different clothes all day.

Now, with the sun setting and adorned in new clothes that seemed far too fancy for someone who lived on a pirate ship, she was dragging you back to the Thousand Sunny without a single explanation.

Your answer, however, is given to you the second her eyes fall on Sanji.

He turns at the arrival of Nami (because you knew his excited smile wasn't for you), eyes twinkling and grinning ear to ear, only to pause sharply when his eyes fall on you.

You feel vulnerable in a way you never had, chest tightening as you watch him take you in.

"Sanji," Nami calls, grinning ear to ear and purposefully lacking the affectionate 'kun' she adds to the end of his name. "Me and Y/N went shopping today."

Eyes flickering from you, to Nami, then back to you, Sanji visibly swallows. "I can see that."

There's the briefest twitch in Nami's jaw, a sharp sigh leaving her mouth as the rest of the crew watches in curiosity. Then, with a bit sharper of a voice, she asks; "don't you think Y/N looks pretty in her new outfit?"

You breath hitches, turning to Sanji as you wait for him to respond.

Only, he never does.

His lips part as if to say something, but no words leave his lips. His eyes flicker back and forth from you, to Nami, to something past you, clearly uncomfortable.

Something aches painfully in your heart.

"Sanji," Nami calls again, this time her voice has a tinge of anger as she finally lets go of your wrist and stomps towards Sanji. "Just what--"

But you stop her before she can finish, grabbing her by the arm and desperately trying to bite back the tears that threaten to fall from your eyes.

"Nami, don't... don't worry about it," you cut in, voice cracking at the end. Both Nami and Sanji's eyes snap towards you, but you focus on Nami, desperately trying to keep what little of your dignity you have left. "It's okay."

"Y/N, you don't--"

"No, please, stop," you all but beg. You know Nami is just trying to help, but it's only making things worse. And Sanji weirded out. "It's clear Sanji doesn't... Sanji is uncomfortable, Nami. So just drop it."

A tear manages to slip past your defenses and the humiliation burns in you.

Nami, parted lips and stunned, stares back at you, unable to say anything. You then realize how the rest of the crew is watching, and the look on Sanji's face as he stares back at you hurts even more.

Without a single look back, you turn and run off the ship.

-

Sanji watches you run off, bewildered.

The entire crew does and silence follows as your footsteps grow further and further away until you're completely gone. And the silence follows for a second more, Sanji still trying to process whats even happened, before Zoro lets out a huff;

"You're an idiot."

Turning to the swordsman, Sanji's eyes blaze; "what did you say, moss-head?" And he moves to step towards him, but he can't even move an inch before Nami is in front of him, the front of his button-up clenched in her fist.

And her eyes burn with anger.

"Nami-swan? What--"

"You absolute idiot!" She cries, eyes blazing as she glances up at him. Sanji's lips part, baffled, as he jerks instinctively away from the rage radiating off of you. "Does your brain just not work? Or is there nothing in there?"

"N-Nami," Sanji breathes, honestly a bit hurt. "I don't--"

"Nami," Robin calls, stepping forward as she sets a hand on the younger girls shoulder. "Perhaps we should--"

"No," Nami argues, shaking her head. "I've tried to be understanding, but now this is really hurting Y/N." She spins back to Sanji, "she's crying because of you, you idiot!"

"I don't understand--"

"You like her, don't you?"

Sanji's cheeks burn instantly, spreading to the tips of his ears as his eyes widen. "I-I--!"

"There's no point denying," Nami cuts him off (again). "We all know it."

And as if Sanji couldn't be any more embarrassed, the rest of the crew adds to her point by nodding. Sanji realizes then it's hopeless, so with a sigh, his head bows.

"I do," he admits, voice quiet. "I really like her."

"Well she thinks you hate her."

Sanji's eyes instantly widen, heart falling to the pit of his stomach.

"Why would--"

"Sanji," Robin calls, distinctively more gentle. "You treat her so different. You don't fall to your knees for her like you do us. Nor do you declare your love for her every other second. If I weren't aware of your feelings for her, I'd think you hate her too."

There's a million of thoughts that run through Sanji's mind then. Racing through them, too fast for him to properly understand. All that's made abundantly clear to him is that he's hurt you.

He's hurt you so bad.

And he has to fix it.

Nami, seeing the look on Sanji's face, finally steps back, letting go of him with a huff.

"Sanji!"

Jumping at the sound of his captains voice, Sanji slowly looks back up at him.

"Go find Y/N!" Luffy smiles at him, extending his hand towards him with a thumbs up. "We'll be waiting for you when you guys are ready!"

-

You know you should be heading back to the ship.

The sun had completely set and the crew couldn't afford to waste time on an island where you'd all already gotten what you needed. It was dark, you were alone and the outfit Nami had bought for you and made you wear was no longer warm enough in the cool night air.

But you were embarrassed. Humiliated even.

How were you supposed to go back and face everyone? Let alone Sanji himself? How could you ever look him in the eyes again after you had made your feelings so abundantely clear and he had made his so as well?

The way he'd just stood there? Staring at you? When you know had it been any other woman he'd have screamed of their beauty to the skies.

Sniffling, you hug yourself tighter, tell yourself you'd head back when you'd cried all the tears you had in you out. Only then would you face that embarrassment--when it was physically impossible for you to cry anymore.

A wave of wind brushes back, pulling a shiver up your spine as you curl into yourself. You're thinking you might have to cry these tears faster or find a shop that's open later, when a jacket falls around your shoulders.

It surprises you, pulling a gasp from your lips as you spin to see who'd snuck up on you.

The last person you're expecting is Sanji.

Tears still streaming down your cheeks, you jump back from you, pushing yourself to your feet as you desperately wipe at your cheeks.

"S-Sanji, I..." But your voice trails becaues you don't know what to say. His arrival here stuns you so stupid and in addition to the tears, you feel like nothing could possibly make this night worse.

"Y/N, I--"

"You don't have to say anything," you cut in, words rushing without thought. "Nami shouldn't have put you in that position and I shouldn't have run off. Luffy probably made you find me, right? I'm sorry. He--... Please, just, I'm fine so--"

"Y/N," Sanji interrupts you, "I don't hate you."

Jerking, your lips are left parted as you blink up at Sanji.

He takes your silence as an invitation to keep going. Hands held in front of him, he steps towards you. "I don't hate you and I don't treat you differently because I think you're... not worth it or anything like that."

Hands falling to your sides, you inhale sharply.

"I... I've hurt you," Sanji whispers, head bowed. "I hurt you and I'm so sorry. The truth was that I didn't treat you the same as other women because... well... the way I feel for you goes beyond how I feel for them."

Brows furrowing, you shake your head. "I don't understand..."

"I like you--no, Y/N. I think I'm in love with you."

Blinking, your breath gets caught in the back of your throat, shocked.

"And I didn't know how to handle those feelings. I've never... felt so strongly about a woman as I have you, Y/N. So I acted indifferent and... well, I hurt you." He lets out a heavy breath, eyes imploring and face sincere. "And for that I'm so sorry."

Shaking your head, you step towards Sanji, pulling his jacket closer around yourself. "No, Sanji, you don't have to apologize."

"But I do," he argues, "for ever making you feel any less beautiful than you are. Or for making you think I... hated you."

In a surge of surprise, emotion and want, you reach for Sanji, taking his hands in yours as you shake your head again. He steps closer to you, moving one of his hands to cup your cheek. "Come back to the ship with me, love. And I can show you how much I truly love you."

Heart soaring at the pet name, you lean into Sanji's touch, nodding.

"I want nothing more."

Smiling gently, Sanji caresses the skin of your cheek. "And Y/N?"

"Yeah?"

"I think you look absolutely beautiful."

[asfearlessasamango]

on trinity santos, episode 15, and her relationship with whitaker:

one of the things that my friend and I realized while watching ep14 of the pitt together was that santos just doesn't know how to interact with men without it being a power struggle.

it often comes across as a problem with authority, but if you pay careful attention, it's actually MALE authority that unnerves her and puts her in an immediately on-guard, defensive place: robbie and langdon just cannot and will not get through to her.

meanwhile, it's dr. samira "are you aware you have an aggressive energy, trinity?" mohan, dr. "the patient doesn't give a shit" ellis, and of course, dr. yolanda garcia, who trained at the Flirting During Surgery school of medicine, who are actually able to get through to santos. women are the only ones who can meaningfully mentor her, bc she straight up only feels safe around them.

and given her past childhood sexual abuse from an older man, which ultimately led trinity's friend to kill herself, this makes complete sense.

so when you watch her interact with whitaker, who's an adult male and yet much more of a peer, you see her trying to assert herself over him from the very start: giving him a nickname, making fun of him, etc.

she's not mean: she fixes his nail in the first ep. santos doesn't consciously think "all men are bad, fuck all of them, that includes whitaker." she just doesn't know how to like... exist safely as equals with them, even if she would like to.

and whitaker, our sad midwestern meow meow, doesn't resist the way she talks to him. by the end of episode 15, he openly and clearly needs help ("between cars"). he's nice. she knows she could beat him in a fight re: krav maga. she has the power in the relationship -- but she needs even a slight upper hand, to feel safe, at least at first, and *whitaker lets her have it.*

and santos -- so awkwardly, so brutally, so kindly -- invites this man to live with her.

holy shit. it's whitaker who gives her the safe opportunity to establish a normal(ish) friendship with a man. for probably the first time in her life. she feels safe with him. GUYS. she knows how to feel safe with that one.

it's all those little advantages over him that make her feel safe. and slowly, eventually, she's going to let them slip away. and then she's still going to feel safe around him. and they're going to be friends. actual friends.

they are coming back to season 2 so absolutely pair-bonded you don't even know. by s2:ep7 i expect to see santos throwing hands against a patient in the ER to defend the safety and virtue of that boy. by s2:ep15 i expect to see santos willingly leaning her head on the shoulder of that man

they are going to heal each other

[clanwarrior-tumbly]

HIII I LOVE YOUR SEB X READER FIGHTING OVER THE BLACKLIGHT and wanted to request smth similar to it? Mutant!reader still, ( maybe the same as the other fic) who helps the Expendable(s)/MC much more than sebs when explaining how each monsters works (giving more info than sebs) and sebs getting annoyed by it? especially if mutant!reader sort of roams alongside with then expendable(s) and is seen chatting with them (bc maybe mutant reader misses being human?) until sebs pulls reader away to complain abt it (how reader shldnt be so relaxed in this situation)

Aw thank you! I'm happy you liked that one ^^

.........

"So you keep dying to creatures that are classified as an Angler, but none of them are the Angler itself, and he just...refuses to tell you how to avoid them?"

"Um, yeah..pretty much. The file said they were only discovered after the lockdown, so maybe he doesn't know-"

"Oh, he knows damn well how they behave. He's just lazy and expects you to figure it out on your own. Which one got you last time?"

The expendable abruptly stopped in their tracks, trying to recount their most recent untimely demise, while you--one of Urbanshade's mutant experiments--waited for them to gather their thoughts.

You two were just casually walking down one of the blacksite's long corridors....or rather, they were walking and you were slithering.

The only reason they were still alive and didn't have their gear detonated was all thanks to your own little scrambling machine. It was attached to your belt, being a lot easier to carry compared to that massive thing Sebastian lugged around.

You were lucky to find them during the chaotic lockdown, and now you were able to chat with expendables without worrying about HQ finding you and/or killing them for talking to you.

Even though you hated Urbanshade for turning you into this creature, you couldn't hate the folks who were just trying to earn their freedom. You knew nothing of why they were even here in the first place--and quite frankly you didn't care to know. There's no point to it.

You were once a sociable human being, and this was how you could still pretend you were.

Of course, that proved difficult as many expendables would rather run, use the flash beacon, or hide in the nearest locker whenever you showed your face. But you reassured them you mean no harm and just wanted to talk.

After overhearing a few grumble about Sebastian treating them like idiots due to their recent deaths (especially with Wall Dwellers), you took it upon yourself to give them better advice.

Advice that would actually stick with them.

While the documents mostly explained the monsters' behaviors clearly, information on the Angler's variants was severely lacking. That was understandable and something you were more than happy to elaborate on should they ask.

"Oh, I remember now...it was some big..creepy frog thing. It had a lot of teeth."

"Ah, that's Froger. She's different, alright. And a smart girl at that." You chuckled. "I've been watching her movements for a while. Wanna know a secret?"

"Sure...do I need to pay you data or..?"

"No. I don't need that stuff."

"Oh..okay."

"Anyways, you know how frogs like to hop around? Well, she does something similar. She'll pass you by, and then do another sweep of the room because she knows you're there. Then after awhile she'll hop back to wherever you are to catch you off guard. Does that make sense?"

"That...actually does. I did get caught off guard the third time because I thought she was gone. Um..thank you." They smiled a little bit.

"Of course. All you need to do is make sure she passes you thrice, and you'll get to keep your pretty little head." With a tiny smile, you patted the top of their head for encouragement. "Now I have business to attend to. I can't chat for too long, or else-"

"I think you've chatted with them long enough, [y/n]."

Blinking, you saw Sebastian pop his head out through a nearby vent, frowning at you.

"Ah. Why hello, Sebastian." You smiled innocently, tilting your head.

"We have a erm..business meeting, remember?" His eyes shifted to the expendable, who seemed utterly bewildered at his presence outside the shop. "If you'll excuse us."

"Yes, please excuse us...and don't let my advice go to waste!" You hummed, bidding them farewell before following Sebastian into the vent, making sure it closed behind you.

For a few moments more, they stood there in silence.

Until the lights in the room flickered and made them dash to the nearest possible hiding spot.

And of course...it was Froger.

.........

"That's my job, you know."

"Well you kinda suck at it." Flicking your tail, you climbed onto the stack of crates within Sebastian's shop, smirking up at your fellow fish monster. "If you're tired of meeting them in the same place when they die, at least give them better advice."

He just turned to face you, looking almost offended.

"You think Urbanshade is paying me to spoon-feed their expendables every tiny detail?! Should I start making Powerpoints for every damn thing that crawls their way?!" He spat.

"..all I'm saying is that calling them "morons" and "idiots" isn't going to help them get very far."

"And chatting them up isn't going to help us get very far, either." With a small huff, he slithered over to a desk cluttered with documents and other assets previous expendables have delivered to him, sifting through the piles. "We can't let them reach the crystal. Not yet. We need more time."

"Ugh, how much more time do we possibly need?" Taking a small DNA vial, you examined it closely between your fingers, admiring its blue glow. "I can only be your little scavenger fish for so long. This place is bound to run out of data. I say let 'em take the crystal, and while everyone at Urbanshade is distracted by that-"

"Jeez that sounds like a GREAT plan...FOR GETTING US KILLED!!" He snarled, swiping the glass vial from your hands. "And be careful with this! It could shatter and explode all over my wares! And I'll be making you pay for them!"

Normally, his anger would scare even the toughest expendable, but you weren't fazed in the slightest and just chuckled. "Woah, no need to get your fins in a twist, Sebby. I was only kidding."

"See? That's exactly your problem...you're too relaxed over all of this." He gently set the glass vial down like it was a baby deep sea bunny. "Those prisoners aren't our buddies, you know."

"I'm not trying to make friends with any of them. I'd just like to see them live a bit longer. It's interesting to hear about their experiences. Plus, they're willing to fork over any data they might have on 'em. So I'm completely focused on our mission."

"Still, we're trying to get out of this place before they terminate the Expendable Protocol. And that means getting out of here before anyone reaches the crystal-"

"And we will. I promise they won't get any closer just because I told them how to evade that dumb frog." You huffed, slithering off the crates and grabbing the nearby lantern. "I'll go pay Painter a visit. See what data he's gathered so far. You mind if I borrow this?"

"...why would I care?"

"Huh..impressive."

"What?"

"Oh nothing. I'm just glad we've moved past fighting over blacklights like toys." You grinned cheekily.

Sebastian's eye twitched. "I wish you'd stop reminding me of that.."

"Well you gave me the marks. So it's hard to forget." You chuckled, crawling into the vent and making your way to the heavy containment sector.

'They're probably gonna go chat up some other expendable.' He thought, annoyed as he went back to organizing his wares.

"Heads up."

"Who said tha---OH SHIT!!"

His ear fins perked up at the distant sounds of your shouting, which was quickly followed by a loud static buzz and a red light that he noticed sweeping through the adjacent room.

Seconds after that, your head popped back through the vent, your expression bewildered. "SEBASTIAN WHO THE HELL WAS THAT?!!"

"Oh? I thought you knew everybody here." He snickered. "He's just another acquaintance. Don't worry. You probably won't see him again."

"...I better not. Bye."

"Bye~"

[returnofeternity]

hear me out on this one. jackie's younger sister, instead of joining the soccer team just like her sister, joins the cheer team— who clearly takes over her sister bcs she became the cheer captain and is also the 'it' girl of their team, but the only thing she differs from jackie is that she lowkey but slightly accepts liking girls (she's bisexual and only open to her VERY VERY close and loyal friends, and her sister) she manages to catch nat's eye during both their practices, but instead of talking to nat and taking her shot like a normal person would, she flirts with nat in a mean way; bad mouthing her as such, looking down at her, comparing nat's doings with her own 'perfect' doings. but she obviously doesn't mean it with the obvious flirty tone she's speaking with and the way she's wearing that smug grin on her face. she's definetely sweet and caring just like her sister once you get to know her.

-🧠

this but a college au bc i don't write precrash 🙂‍↕️

and i know she looks exactly like jackie!!! down to the freckles and eyes and attitude, and shauna's always weirded out whenever she comes over. thinking of shauna accidentally mistaking jackie's sister for jackie and being horrified when she throws her arms over 'jackie's' shoulders, only for her sister to turn around and smirk.

jackie also gets a little weirded out when she comes to your practices because, god, it's like looking into a mirror while you coach these girls and pump them up.

thinking about practicing on the soccer field because the yellowjackets have a big home game coming up and ofc ur gonna be cheering them on?!! the field is huge and ur practicing on the other side basically, but the glimpse you catch of the blondie? you need to get a closer look. you need her! you catch her eye too,of course. mainly bc jackie's all proud and yelling, "that's my sister over there!" as they do warm ups.

she thinks you look exactly like jackie, but you hold yourself differently. and maybe she gets caught up in sneaking little glances over where the cheerleaders (you) are, that she ends up getting hit in the head with a ball (totally not van's fault). and maybeee you saw it happen, and maybee after practice is done, you come up and greet her, curious about how her head is doing. nat tells you it's fine, and she flushes at the smirk on your face as you cross your arms and tell her that she should really pay attention if she wants to play soccer. or maybe she's just not that good. i mean, you've heard about shauna's skills, that goalkeeper's skills, even misty's over-eager skills about helping out, but jackie has never even mentioned her.

nat just scoffs and rolls her eyes. "you talkin' shit? huh, taylor?"

now you're both just smirking at each other, and you've got to figure out a way to bring up this cute blonde girl to jackie without her finding out you have a little crush on her teammate.

being flirty-mean with nat!!!! critizing how she plays a game like you know soccer better than she does, but always ending it with a "but your ass looks nice in those shorts" or something like that. and nat who 'bad mouths' you right back, calls you a spoiled princess whenever you talk down on her.

GAH. thinking like maybe it's been a while since you and nat started 'flirting' with each other and now you're much closer. still no feelings confessed, but somehow you've hidden whatever this is from jackie. thinking about hearing that nat's mom's health is declining and talking to her at practice one day. asking if she's okay or if she needs anything, you're here. maybe she pushes you away and avoids you, but when you show up at her trailer the following night, she just breaks down in your arms. thinking about holding her in her bed as she tries to get everything off her chest, and maybe she's been drinking her feelings so you help her sober up :( telling her you'll be with her through all this if she wants, and she just nods and pulls you in closer, snuggling under the covers with you.

[insert-cookiename-here566]

I need a crash out from the 3 main (ginger, wizard, strawberry). like, i keep thinking about it and lets be so fr strawberry loses her shyness and adopts a dead glare. she went from being to nervous to talk to too tired to talk. ginger is the most likely to be jumpy. lets be so real he's always jumping into things and running in head first. how is this child not suffering from ptsd? Wizard having so much hope and want to learn but always having a million and 10 thoughts on how this so called "simple book of whatever tf" could come to life and kill every one he loves. always being on the look for and escape and so honestly the most trigger happy of them all.

shit chili and Custard III aren't free from this either. C3 came into the start of a kingdom and declared himself king? and people rolled with a child as their king? listen ik this has to be a weird time in history but there's a whole plot of him being stressed and overworking to be a good king and give his people what they need/want. not to mention this has to happen over the course of years bc there's no way the gang has traveled where they have and met who they've met and FOUGHT who they've fought all in a year or less. he's older by a lot taking on the burden of a kingdom of, all be it, nice cookies. he's still doing what they ask.

the we have chili who was brought to this kingdom and entertained all this adventure crap these kids were pulling then she just ended up staying for whatever reason she tells herself at night. she was a early 20 year old criminal who enjoyed it. to add now she is taking care of C3 because this damn kid has no idea what he's getting into and he clearly has problems that stem from the fact we found in wondering around in the woods ALONE! she likely has been watching him for so long and he likely told her about why he was alone. we know his grandfather at the start is in the republic. so she likely stayed there, with him, becoming his parent figure and having no idea how to handle this. she is a spicy cookie who loves stealing. she's greedy and stuck with this kid. AND IT DOESN'T HELP WHEN BABY DOUGH SHOWS UP AND SHE ENDS UP HELPING TAKE CARE OF THE BABY!!

also i NEED someone to see with me that C3 helped raise that dough to a cookie. he was a child helping raise a baby. yes, cream ferret was there. so was chili. but do not look at me and tell me he was hands off. that boy demanded and parentified himself under gaze that he was "the king" and he could "handle it".

didn't realize how much i had to say about custard. most of this was about him lol.

[scented-morker]

Enha when 8th member s/o has a stage accident

8th member au, fem reader, mentions of electrocution in jw + rk’s, requested!!, 1345 words not proofread

Heeseung

He was internally screaming as soon as he saw you getting ready

You guys always like to give each other fashion shows of your outfits before performing

Like "babe look!" And then strut strut strut pose "slay me!!" 😆😆

But he knew immediately that you did not feel very slayful in your outfit

You were literally yanking it down after every step you took because it was already short and just kept riding up

You give him a "What do you think? 😕"

And he's like "I think you would look really good in a pair of pants 😁"

But the stylists don't have anything else so you have to go out in it

He keeps giving you nervous looks from across the stage

Anytime he crosses in front of you or anything he tries to cover you up or block the camera so you can readjust

Literally texts THE FREAKING CEO like "I'm concerned about the outfits given to yn, she can't perform her best while being so clearly uncomfortable"

"I'm concerned about the entire world realizing you're in love with her, but I guess I can talk to the styling staff 🤷🏻‍♀️"

OKAY BANG PD CALL HIM OUT ON THE SIMPERY LIKE THAT

But you never get an uncomfortably short outfit again... Heelift indeed 😌

Jay

Someone did not think this through 😭

You're doing your killing part in one of the songs on music bank

So obviously the camera guy gets closer to zoom in on you (werk👏👏)

BUT THEN he immediately moves to camera above your head to find Sunghoon and just WALKS INTO YOUR FACE

Ik y'all have seen that wonyo fancam... that's what I'm talking about

You literally make the most horrified face bc THIS MANS CROCH IS IN YOUR FACE

Screw professionalism, you're traumatized 😀

But man jays face is WORSE 😭😭

He's SO MAD like angry eyebrows and everything bc YOU JUST GOT VIOLATED ON LIVE TELEVISION

Walks up to you in the middle of the performance and checks on you

"Are you okay? 🥺"

You're like "yeah, talk after" and go back to performing

At the end when you drop down to a similar pose he goes in front of you 😭😭

It's fine because it wasn't your ending fairy but everyone is on Twitter like "he protects them so well 😭"

He rly does 🫶🫶 and starts a petition to at least get female camera operators next time

Jake

You guys were performing at a festival in the rain (wow so safe)

And everyone has talked before hand about being extra careful so you didn't slip

But it was such a big crowd!!! And it was your favorite song!!!

So you maybe went a little bit harder than you should have 🫣

... and fell on your face mid performance

I'm sorry but he laughs 😭😭

Like he sees you down out of the corner of his eye

Just 💃🕳 and then nothing

You give him such a dirty look when he laughs bc "YOURE SUPPOSED TO LOVE ME STOP LAUGHING!!"

So ofc he runs over after and helps you up + gives you a big hug ❤️❤️

"I'm sorry, you just looked so funny!!"

So you smack him again of course because "WHAT DO YOU MEAN I LOOK FUNNY" 😠

But he kisses your boo boo scraped knees (which of course everyone LOSES IT watching) and looks up at you with a smirk 😫😫

I CANT 😵‍💫

Sunghoon

You pretty much always had to wear heels to perform because you were so much shorter than the boys

But today man you had some BIG STOMPERS ON

Like platforms and big heels, the whole thing

And at first Hoon just laughs at you 😭😭

"You really need all that extra height?" Then he stands next to you and realizes you're still not as tall as him "and it doesn't even work!!" 😆😆

He's having the time of his life until you smack him (except he makes you kiss him after so still a win for him honestly)

But then once you guys are performing he notices that you're not moving your legs as freely as usual 🤔 (we love an observant partner <33)

He gives you a 🤷🏻‍♀️ from across the stage and you mouth back "heavy... and too big"

It's a concert and not a like show performance so he just walks over and TAKES YOUR SHOES OFF 😭😭

Like, bends down, unlaces them, takes them off and sets them by the side of the stage

You're like wow he's so sweet omg 😆 but then he goes "now you're short again" with the biggest smile and then runs away

So much for that... enjoy your sock performance 😻

Sunoo

Honestly it was really bad for you but kinda good for him 😭

You guys were performing at a fan meeting and they were gonna shoot like fireworks out at the end !!

And everyone knew it, but you were in the bathroom when they told everyone the specifics 🫣

So you were out just like casually performing, not really doing all of the choreo

More so just singing and running back and forth on the stage to say hi to everyone 🫶

But then the fireworks shootout 😭 and you were literally RIGHT NEXT TO THEM

And you’re so freaked out and they were so close and loud and you fall on your butt 😁

And the boys don’t realize it at first because they’re interacting with fans

But when you fall the whole crowd gasps 😭😭 and they’re like ????

And then Sunoo sees you on the floor half crawling away from the fireworks THAT ARE STILL SHOOTING OUT

He feels bad but he also thinks it’s really cute (😒)

But of course he helps you up 😁

And then he drags you around with him for the rest of the time

Like no you aren’t allowed to go anywhere by yourself anymore, he is holding your hand and you are going TOGETHER

Jungwon

Listen he is MAD

Like Leader Won was on high alert all day because it's been storming on and off

He was worried someone was gonna slip

But it was 10x worse 😭

You had turned your head to do a part of the choreo and some of the rain water got into your in ear

LITERALLY ELECTROCUTED YOU

It's giving Benjamin Franklin sunbaenim 😻😻

You were center for that part so all of the boys just saw you jump from the shock and then fall into a crouch covering your ears

He is IMMEDIATELY on it, running up to you and taking them out of your ears and escorting you off stage

He lowkey yells at the staff (🫣) bc "the performance should have been cancelled and now Yn's hurt!"

He doesn't want to leave you, but he has to go finish the rest of the performance

But once you're back home, he's not leaving your side

Chilling in a dark room with soft music playing so your ears don't hurt 🫶🫶

He's trending for like a week because of how scary he was 😭

Riki

Riki is the opposite of Jungwon 😭

Like he was having the time of his life performing and then he sees you drop and goes through all five stages of grief at the same time

Runs over "are you okay?!"

Except he yelled and you just got YOUR EARS ELECTROCUTED so you clutch your ears tighter bc it hurt

Once he sees you crying ITS OVER

Literally picks you up and takes you backstage, yelling to any staff in a thirty foot radius that he needs help ☹️

They lay you down in a stretcher and take you out to make sure you don't have like permanent ear drum damage or anything and he's just standing there like 😨

He has no idea what to do with himself

"Can I go with them? Please please please?"

So they let him of course bc he's cute and he WILL NOT let go of your hand for the entire time you're being treated until you're back in the dorms laid on his bed 🥹

He’s so clingy for like a week after because he was just so scared and he never wants to be away from you ☹️

[redmemoirs]

ive been thinking about shirayuki again and the fact that she clearly didnt have any friends or loved ones in tanbarun other than her deceased grandparents. how much of her chapter one escape is truly creditable to raji? she had no reason to stay, she just also had no reason to leave. all she needed was that push and she ran out that door without looking back. the anime made a nice addition of her sense of duty towards her patients, but including that just makes the loneliness of her tanbarun life look even fuller to me. her whole job is helping people, and she does that gladly, but that's all that relationship is. there's no personal depth to it. which is crazy bc we've seen shirayuki be so loving and loveable for 139 chapters. this girl loves people. but tanbarun has nothing for her except her dead grandparents and her dad who for whatever reason didn't want her. of course izana can't scare her into going back. if she had people she cared for back there she wouldnt have left in the first place, just like how she doesnt want to leave wistal. she's only able to leave lilias peacefully because she went there having decided her true destination beyond it. yet despite all that she remembers tanbarun pretty fondly, talks about visiting the town where she lived again. there's no desire to return but no resentment either - an awful lot like her relationship with her father. they made her who she is, but she doesn't have to stay in their orbit forever. she knows where she belongs now.

[chronologically-challenged]

There was this one art a little while ago about the family stuck in a situation where they're forced to play ISAT in some post game scenerio. I keep having many thoughts, but here's some about them figuring out who Loop is:

1) They all BAFFLED by how Loop usually talks. They all thought Loop was this shy little star person. Immediately, they get hit with "have you tried not dying~~~~" into "I think you deserve help" and do not know what to think.

2) Odile is in charge of the controller. Mainly bc no one else wants to control Siffrin and they all have equal amount of video game experience aka none, so Odile is being practical about it. This has the side effect that Odile gets to be all investigative. Odile makes it her MISSION to find stuff out about Loop.

3) Siffrin has complicated feelings about them finding out about Loop??? Like okay they HATE their family has to see all this, ESPECIALLY THAT THEY CAN SEE HIS THOUGHTS!!!! But. Loop. Siffrin hasn't told his family the truth. It's not his story to tell. But. If they figure it out...? In a way that proves Loop wrong, right? That they can recognize them. Maybe it takes a bit because Loop looks different is and actively trying to be different from Siffrin. But. Maybe...? Either way they encourage Odile to talk to Loop. If this is a simulation... if this is real in some way even... yeah he wants to talk to Loop.

Anyway here's a list on how they find out one by one:

Odile: She catches the little stuff. She notes the royal We, the fact that Loop alludes to having an old body by accident, the casual familiarity in some places. All of that. She is also the first to note their eyes being different shades. However, Odile doesn't make the connection 100%, not until Isabeau. Well.

Isabeau: He gets some of the weird stuff Loop says but not as many as Odile. HE finds Loops side comments weirder. He sees Loop's reactions and they're a bit. Uncanny.... and then he has another realization, Loop and Siffrin have the same eyes. When Isabeau notes this, it all clicks for Odile.

Mirabelle: Okay, so. You cannot tell me that Mirabelle has not read fantasy stories with weird guide characters. She has to have!!!! So at first, she's not even looking for who Loop is. And tbh? She has the best read on Loop's personality otherwise. Sassy, but clearly caring. A bit of a shit, but serious when needed. And mainly, she appreciates Loop Being There when the rest of them couldn't. That being said, the moment where the "have you wondered who I am" happens. And suddenly Mirabelle Is Thinking Of the Possibilties. And then the ME option pops up!!!! Odile was already about to pick it but Mirabelle YELLS to pick that one!!!!! Uh. Shortly after that they all have a conversation about how yeah, Loop is VERY likely Siffrin. Mirabelle justifies herself with tropes. Of course!!! Of course they're Siffrin!!! If they're anyone they have to be Siffrin. Siffrin got transformed and became the guide they needed!!!! It Just Makes Sense.

Bonnie: ....Tbh doesn't really figure it out on their own? But also. Loop. Feels like Frin. Not exactly like Frin. But they're Frin enough to be trusted so who cares. It takes awhile for them to really get it too because... it's weird. Also they're the one to really ask why there would be two Frins??? Duh??? And why would Frin become Loop???

Anyway, basically, after picking "Me?" They pretty much are all on the same page. They got that it was wishcraft. They got Loop is Siffrin somehow. I think Odile might figure out that "hey, uh if Loop is the guide then what happens when Loop doesn't have a guide" and Mirabelle probably says "wait Siffrin didn't you say to me once that without Loop you wouldn't have made it?"

Meanwhile Siffrin is a mix of sad and very emotionally touched. Because. Yeah. Even when trying to actively hide, their family recognized them.

Notably, Siffrin gets them to twohats (Siffrin remembers that they understood Loop most after showing them the coin. So yes, the family does get to see Siffrin's "I will forget everything I love" moment. Goes as well as you expect. Lots of hugs and the reassurance that they will bug Siffrin until the end of their days so he can't forget him so HA!)

But yeah. Siffrin really wants to make sure they can get little simulation Siffrin to realize Loop is Siffrin as well. Because if there is any chance of this being real and that they're guiding a Siffrin in another reality, then they want to make sure they can get Loop to know just how much they did. How much they helped and changed Siffrin's fate for the better.

To note: I'd imagine in this scenario, Odile wouldn't go do any of the side stuff. At least not too much of it. There wouldn't be as much exploration either. Siffrin likely would be very underleveled as a result.

So perhaps in this scenario? Imagine if you will that while the Siffrin watching definitely defeated Loop, the simulation Siffrin loses.

And Siffrin finds out that... no. No! Of course Loop couldn't kill him. Of course they wouldn't. There is a catharsis to that realization.

(After they finish the game, either a) prologue playthrough time or b) they're freed and the group IMMEDIATELY try to figure out a way to find Loop bc uh??? Even if they weren't Siffrin, they want to find them. But like. Two Frins. Two Frins they know are different but who cares, no matter who Loop chooses to be, Loop Is Family Too).

Anyway, family plays isat featuring the Loop Saga.

[a-dauntless-daffodil]

The meta text of Vaggie hating when people don't use her name or try calling her by another one THEY think she should use, bc they think her name is too vulgar or demeaning or too silly not to joke about -> and then parts of the fandom doing the same thing, is honestly really hitting home in a queer way

here's a character who we know wants people to use her chosen name.

we know she does because she corrects Adam to his face "Actually, it's pronounced Vaggie" drawing a hard line of NO between the old name he gave her with that soft G and the one her girlfriend uses for her now

her exasperation even during the battle, answering Pentious's call out of Vaggatha but still also tiredly pointing out "Not my name", and

ironically. The second miss-naming hurts me more than the first

the Adam thing makes me hate the guy on a personal level, with his stupid smug little "Hmmmmmm- no. Anyway-" saying Vaggie isn't ALLOWED to name herself something new as if he has any claim over her, as if her name has anything to do with him after he abandoned her

But the Pentious thing almost hurts worse for how well meant and casual it is. How familiar that is.

Here it's coming from a friend and the misnaming is a sign of affection from him, a show of respect. He's not calling her the purple female anymore. This is Pentious and his tick of getting polite and formal when addressing people he likes, him snapping his earnest salutes, him as we saw earlier that episode with his shy "Miss Bomb" towards Cherri.

And the way Vaggie just kinda rolls her eye and takes it from him while still clearly not liking it...

She used to wear a uniform that made her almost identical to the other Exorcists around her, she was given her old name by the man in charge of her, a name based on how useful to him she was, she's still got all that soldier stuff marching through her head making her grab for her spear and leaving her with no idea how to get people to bond other than throwing them bodily into a warzone

It just makes sense that the woman she's in a long term happy relationship with be so normal about her chosen 'vulgar' and 'inappropriate' name

Being together that long means Charlie probably knows this specific frustration her girlfriend has and cares enough about her to just say "Vaggie" like its nothing. Or maybe she just thinks, duh, of course she'll use the name Vaggie tells her to use

Maybe Charlie being that kinda person is part of what Vaggie loves about her in the first place. The amount of trust Charlie places in people, just by default

Because there could be good and bad reasons Vaggie's using a version of her old name after leaving that life behind

She could be doing it to remind herself of the shit person she was and feels she has to still make up for being, it could be tied to her self imposed new life purpose of helping make Charlie's dreams come true, it could be Vaggie keeping part of something she hates (herself) so she can feel a bit of "deserved" pain over it even when she was too scared to admit her past to anyone else- a sneaky way to always be reminded of it by the new people in her new life anyway

but that's her choice. People are allowed to make bad decisions for themselves

there's that ethos of the whole hotel and redemption plan again, Charlie's dreams and ideals swinging back into action even when Charlie maybe doesn't know it

what's the idea of redemption or personal change other than accepting that people CAN make choices for themselves? They can even make shitty ones, and that's not a reason to drop them forever or take the choice away like they don't deserve it anymore

What's the permanent extermination of souls other than saying they forever lost the right to say what happens to themselves?

a gay woman is calling herself after vag while switching out her soldier gear to wear miniskirts and giant as fuck hair bow ribbons while kissing and cuddling her girlfriend. Maybe it's cringe. Maybe it's camp. Even if Vaggie obviously isn't meant to be literally trans, it's that deliberate choice thing again, a kinda switcheroo from Adam naming her Vagina just bc it's something that he likes for how it makes him feel good, to Vaggie saying no this is MY thing now.

The Vagina to Vaggie thing is the difference between putting a name on someone else verses taking it for your own.

and Charlie affirms that choice, that right of Vaggie to be called the name she choses, no matter WHAT it sounds like or how awkward it makes some people feel

like, if someone in real life told you their name was Vaggie, would you use their name for them?

Would you accept feeling a bit weird for their sake?

Or would you do what happens so much in real life, when people who care still think they know better or feel like someone being who they are infringes too much on their own sense of comfort or even on that person's own safety, and with all the good intentions and love in the world, someone hurts someone else without understanding that they're evening doing it.

Like Pentious

Who is really and truly Vaggie's friend. The guy she got off to a rough start with but ends up rooting for, shoving her gf out of the room so he can talk to his own crush in peace. He dies to try protecting his friends, including her, and she misses him when he's gone

and he still thought he was doing a nice thing by calling her the more 'normal' sounding "Vagatha". Either because he assumed Vaggie couldn't really be her full name, or thought she deserved better

Charlie doesn't think Vaggie needs a better name

Charlie says her name all the time like it's her favorite word ever, if only because it belongs to the woman she loves

i feel a lot of things about that.

[artfulacrostic]

OKAY so having reached the end of the redoubtable pali avramapul in concert w/the return of fitzroy angursell + of course the hands of the emperor, the question that i'm stuck on is: does kip know????

SPOILERS CLEARLY INCOMING FOR ALL THREE OF THESE BOOKS. just fyi.

it seems evident from his pov in hands of the emperor that he at least subconsciously knows or suspects something, but also consciously appears to be ignorant. (also please take all of my theorizing w a grain of salt bc i literally blew through these first three books in like five days.) the dream that he recounts to uhhhh. how are we referring to the emperor in fandom. tor?? his radiancy???? that kind of sucks bc he hates that method of address but calling him fitzroy in his capacity as the emperor feels kind of insane (how dare you, victoria goddard, make me feel insane about that when the separation between the parts of himself is such a big theme. i should feel normal about calling him his name. fuck it.) the dream kip recounts to fitzroy just before he leaves on his quest is clearly like. something. there's something happening there w the connection to "domina black" and the blond man. also, kip clearly knows that fitzroy angursell has some kind of importance to the man he knows as the emperor, re: the scene where they have that discussion about if fitzroy angursell should be freed and kip says he should be freed and the moment is just insanely charged. also, in the dream kip knows fitzroy's name and calls it, but when he wakes he can't remember (to what appears to be fitzroy's chagrin). and so maybe on some level kip kind of knows something, whether the something is that artorin damara actually literally is fitzroy angursell or not. so in hands of the emperor (which you'd think would give the clearest answer, being from kip's pov) the answer is like...maybe??

but in the return of fitzroy angursell, fitzroy doesn't really give much of anything about if he thinks kip knows. i mean, he's bringing kip up in his inner monologue every two pages but like, he isn't saying oh yeah kip probably knows who i actually am. he's saying like, ah yes, kip my viceroy who is doing such a good job always. have i mentioned how every helpful project was all kip's idea?? and that's basically it.

and THEN, in the redoubtable pali avramapul, pali is like. this motherfucker knows. he KNOWS. the scenes pali and kip (and fitzroy) share are SO INSANELY DIFFERENT from each perspective that it's driving me fucking crazy, absolutely ass over tea kettle bonkers. pali is like, this bitch clearly knows who i am, he clearly knows who fitzroy is, and he is keeping him LOCKED UP and is 100% the MAIN PROBLEM HERE, and i am going to fucking MURDER HIS ASS. THE MOMENT I GET THE CHANCE.

and kip is like oh wow this woman who my lord loves...:(...i guess i get it though, she seems like, insanely amazing. i would do anything to get tor out of here so that he can be a person and be happy, and she would clearly make him happy, so i am going to specifically cross every boundary imaginable in order to be helpful to the both of them. we are having a productive conversation!!!

and you go back to pali and shes like: IM SWEARING VENGEANCE. IM PRETENDING TO BE NICE BUT IM SWEARING VENGEANCE AND IM GONNA COME BACK AND KIDNAP FITZROY AND KILL THIS SLIMY SON OF A BITCH. (bro i love her sm lmao.)

but i feel like her misunderstanding is clearly borne out of the way that even she can see that kip clearly cares for the person underneath the emperor persona, and so she assumes that he must know him as fitzroy, in order to care that much. but kip, whether he really knows subconsciously or not, just cares. he just cares so much. either way he would care. and pali is so angry at everything that both she and fitzroy have lost (and dealing w huge amounts of internalized guilt) that she is assigning blame to the first person that is readily available to be the scapegoat, even though she should know (as the scholarly expert on the reign of artorin damara) that kip literally has nothing to with stealing fitzroy away in the first place and locking him into his bonds as emperor. at most, he's culpable of standing by for a long time without attempting to help, but the amount of time he spent with fitzroy is the only reason he was able to reach past the boundaries of station imposed on the emperor and start the process that will lead to fitzroy finally being free. so he's technically guilty of not moving faster, but i feel like that was a specific part of the process that could not have happened naturally faster...idk.

but yeah anyway i'm not convinced in the way pali is that kip KNOWS KNOWS, but i feel like maybe somewhere deep down...he kind of knows?? i'm SO interested to start at the feet of the sun, where i feel like prooooobably fitzroy will end up revealing his chosen name and full background to everyone at the palace (meaning our crew of kip, conju, omo, rhodin, etc). i want this reveal so bad it HURTSSSSS. but i felt like i had to get down some of my thoughts before i start bc im feeling crazy about this. but to be fair im feeling crazy about these books in general! so fare thee well, i am diving back in, and do not yet know when i may surface :)

[scintillyyy]

do you have recs for janet drake fics, where her characterisation isnt evil abuser cold etc

ooooh this is actually a kind of tall order because the problem is that most fics that still try to be better parent janet drake still usually fall into the trap of "she was a cold business shark! she just loved tim despite it" even though the drakes are shown as a family who 1) generally like spending time together with their son when they're home 2) are shown to be a very huggy and tactile family & janet's main character trait for the little she appears is being a bit emotional and worried about her son because we still live in a world that tries to refrigerator-mother any woman who isn't perfect at parenting and often when writing a woman who's a "good/fierce/badass" role model for her son you see this tendency towards she has to want to step on men with her heels and kill them with her eyeliner and has to be feared and scary because it's hashtag feminist rather than her being the one to teach him things like kindness and empathy. it's like an exaggerated version of a sitcom trope where since the dad of course has to be a dundering buffoon, she has to be the one with the brains. however! outside of my two big janet fics which i know having loving and warm janet bc that's how i write her i have trawled through the janet drake & tim drake tag excluding bad parents jack and janet drake leaving me with like 200odd works that are still like 80% bad parents jack and janet drake to find at least a few gems:

every good gold digger by roseandgold137 - is on the good end of the janet drake parentinf spectrum

and if you’re just as hopeless, i wish you well by magnoliclies - does have a colder, more ruthless type janet but one who clearly loves her son & makes sense within the backstory given that's not evil high societal old money socialite

initial of creation, and / the exponent of earth by silvernaut - more tim and janet's grave but is a coming out fic where he tells her he's gay and robin and doesn't assume she'd be a homophobe about it all

dino nuggets and sprite by hyyyperfixated - has an overall kind and caring janet

time slipped through my fingers by oddny - again more tim + janet's grave but also presumes a positive relationship between the two

the circus by zahri - it helps that z and i have almost the same conceptualization of janet + the drakes but i do always love her take on affectionate but fails a bit janet

bones of a dinosaur, bones of a city by zahri - same reasons as above

shut eye by audreycritter - while this version of the janet-tim mother-child dyad is definitely a bit different from how i perceive it, this is still a good and sympathetic version of janet from a while back when there was definitely nothing but slander going on for her and is a very empathetic look at a reason she could have have struggles + does really well within the confines of the fic's premise

my thanks to ms. monroe by loosingletters - the premise is that jack is way worse than he probably was in canon has the fanon bristol next door neighbors to the waynes upbringing for tim, but manages to capture what janet would do

[zroronoas]

juno!

a/n: i was gonna write this for ace but i felt like i already had a similar fic for him :( but i need to do him next bc i miss him BAD!!! heavily inspired by juno by sabrina!!!

-

-zoro isn't used to people being so straightforward and brave around him. usually others see him and immediately run off. so he has no idea how to react when you come up to him one day and just shamelessly flirt (terribly) with him.

"hey," you say cheerfully as you pull up a chair next to him at some random bar. he just grunts and doesn't even spare you a glance.

you frown, but decide that you're gonna get him to talk to you no matter what.

"what's your name, sexy guy?"

this definitely catches his attention because no one has ever said anything so absurd to him. and he does give you attention, it just isn't the kind that you expected. he's making this face at you, and on top of that, he doesn't even answer the question. he isn't sure if he's bothered more by the fact that you were being so direct or the fact that you called him sexy guy.

-imagine the shock on his face when you come back the next day with your friends and high-five each other when you point zoro out to them.

"hey again!"

"get out of here."

at least he actually spoke this time.

"you know," you start. and there's a mischievous look on your face that makes zoro's stomach churn. "my house isn't far from here."

"good, then you should go home."

-he's actually furious and kind of afraid the day you show up on the ship with luffy right next to you.

"we have a new crew member!"

all the color drains from his face and he feels like he's on the verge of passing out. he couldn't believe that the newest crew member was another weirdo.

-you follow him around the ship all. the. time!! and at first zoro is super irritated with it. sometimes he'll yell at you, at times he'll even pick you up and take you into a different room himself.

and of course, the entire time you're in his arms you're just squealing about how you just knew zoro was so in love with you.

but one day zoro just gets used to it. he just lets you follow him around and sometimes you'll even have actual conversations with him.

-he still thinks you're insane though, especially when you're winking and making eyes at him when he's just trying to eat his meal in peace. or when you're constantly trying to invite him to your bed, and suggesting doing a certain activity on it.

"you know who you remind me of?" he asks you one day, while he lifts his weights.

"who?" and you're 100% expecting him to name someone incredibly beautiful.

"that stupid love cook."

your heart shatters. you can't understand why he would say you remind him of sanji, when you find that idiot unbelieveably annoying.

-and zoro honestly thinks that you aren't seriously into him, you're just weird and crazy. but!! that's not true at all. following him around the ship, learning more about him and seeing how caring he is underneath that gruff exterior lead you to really catch feelings for him. you still wanted to take him to bed though!

-one day you're sitting next to robin while she reads her books, sulking and complaining about zoro. "why isn't he in love with me? am i ugly, robin?" and she's giggling and thinking about how stupid the both of you are, because she thinks that zoro clearly has feelings for you too. she doesn't tell you this though, just to mess with the two of you.

-he'd realize how he feels about you when you come back from a mission with usopp, nami, and chopper and you're badly injured. as you're getting rushed into the ship, you hear zoro yelling at the other three. despite being in serious pain, you can't help but feel your heart swell. he was worried about you.

"why are they the only one injured? what the hell were the three of you doing?" zoro barks. he can't even bring himself to come in the room that chopper was treating you in. he didn't want you to see him that angry while you were already in pain.

-when he does show up to visit you, he's surprised to see you already sitting up. and you have a goofy look on your face, one he knows the meaning of all too well.

"i knew it zoro! you love me so much!"

"what the hell are you on about? you should be resting right now!"

you wrap your arms around him, surprised when he doesn't immediately push you away. he's extremely stiff and he has a mean look on his face, but he lets you hug him. and he's never done that before.

and you're used to him rejecting you every day, so now you're not sure what to do when he allows you to show him affection. the two of you sit in the quiet room, with only the sound of the waves and soft breaths filling the air.

"why aren't you pulling away?" you ask him softly. it's the quietest he's ever heard you speak, and he feels a little bad that you're even asking him that.

"don't die," he grumbles. "i'm gonna be annoyed if you do."

"oh my god, zoro," you gasp. "you are in love with me!"

"i'm not in love with you!" he snaps as he removes your arms from his body. "i'm just telling you not to die."

"so does this mean you want to go on that date tomorrow?" you ask hopefully.

he huffs and starts making his way to the door, but you hear him mumble a yes before slamming the door shut.

[misterbenzadrine]

binary bfs caltech core

when pt 3 dropped, i made these cute little visualizers for myself but i never actually posted it bc they're really low-effort but i hope they're still appreciated !!

eli 'hawk' moskowitz

he still goes by hawk

very much still a mix of wild party guy and total nerd

he goes to most of the events on campus and absolutely soaks in the college experience as much as he can

his friends tease him for being so out there and social while still having a really low social battery but he doesn't tell anyone it's bc he never thought he'd be able to be that kind of guy who had a lot of friends and could confidently participate in everything so he's taking advantage of what he didn't think was possible

his room is SO messy (not dirty, just really sloppy)

sometimes he'll facetime miguel and/or sam, catching up and playing roblox or (at its height) among us (also with tory and robby)

demetri alexopoulos

spends most of his time at the library, his dorm, or the science building/lab

a lot of people actually find him really interesting/fun and some even flirt with him but he's really oblivious, like you could drop as many hints as you want that you wanna hang out with him more and he'll be like "oh that does sound fun ! let me know how that goes :)"

he's still very much a yapper so he does talk to a lot of people on a daily basis (his professors, the dining hall workers, the janitors, student activities members, his classmates, robotics peers, lgbt club members, sword fighting society members, role-play club members, stem society members, etc.)

but again, he doesn't actually think anyone LIKES him. he doesn't necessarily have a defeatist low self-esteem anymore, he doesn't think he's worthless, he just doesn't see himself as the type of person to actually attract permanent company

he keeps his room really neat and always really comfortable (his friends often joke they could stay in there forever if he'd let them)

he always texts sam and yas and allows his other hs friends to have a bit of breathing room as long as they keep contact so he knows they're alive and still care about him

most of demetri's social energy is spent on hawk bc hawk is the only/main person that knows he needs to be blunt about his intentions to hang out instead of beating around the bush

hawk more often than not has to drag him out of one of his usual corners to relax and have fun on campus (which he knows demetri appreciates)

despite how it sounds, they actually have really fun times at the parties together playing beer pong, doing chugging games, and doing low-budget obstacle courses (they are a force to be reckoned with and have a very high reputation on campus)

hawk totally doesn't feel his heart melt when demetri unintentionally shrugs off people flirting with him or asking him to hang out somewhere to put all his focus on hawk and ask him what they're doing

it does slightly frustrate him when demetri is so clueless about it though ("so a lot of people seem to really like you." "do they? i think they're just being nice." "that girl invited you back to her dorm. you know you don't have to have lunch with me, if you wanna take her offer." "we were just talking about star wars and she wanted to show me her clone wars posters. it's not that exciting." "dude she obviously didn't care just about the posters." "i think you're reading too much into it." "and you're clearly not reading enough into it.")

demetri knows and accepts how much it means to him when hawk turns down party invitations to hunker down with demetri for a movie night in their dorm or working in the robotics lab late into the night

hawk sometimes worries demetri has leftover resentment that he dragged him away from mit to stay in california and demetri rolls his eyes and repeats every time "hey, i chose to apply here. you didn't force me to do anything. stop feeling guilty for something you didn't do. now do you wanna get take out or head to the dining hall?"

on the same note, demetri sometimes worries that hawk doesn't want to do "nerd stuff" with him but hawk, as if he has a sixth sense for this insecurity, always swoops in at the perfect time to ask demetri if he wants to do exactly the kind of nerd shit he was insecure about, soothing his worries since hawk is the one to bring it up (this nerd shit can include trivia nights, dnd campaigns, heading to the local comic book store, working in the robotics lab, etc.)

whether it's late night study sessions or midnight drinking contests, the binary bros stay permanently glued to each other's sides and while demetri is scared of hawk growing tired of their mild codependence, hawk works diligently to show him exactly how much he loves being a duo with him

my boys, i miss them so bad

the fact that they'd have been class of 2024 :( MY SHAYLAS

also i can't remember who it was but someone commented a long time ago on one of my tt edits about them quarantining together and tbh that sounds like so much fun, i may put that together later :3

[aquilaofarkham]

Do u have any ideas for wat could happen with mizrak now that he's a vampire?

oh man i'll try to at least give some cohesive answers as best i can bc i'm very sick atm and my brain does not want to cooperate (also i realize something new about mizrak and olrox almost every day lol) but here's SOME possibilities:

obviously becoming a vampire doesn't make you inherently evil, it just seems to amplify certain emotions and desires to the enth degree. there's still some darkness there as we saw with tera, but she still loved maria immensely and wanted what was best for her which is why she made the decision to leave her for the time being. same thing with drolta like she was entirely devoted to sekhmet then once she became a vampire, that need to bring her back got taken to new extremes. i think one thing that will happen to mizrak as a vampire (something that already got hinted at during *the scene*) is him finally acting on his formerly repressed desires since he doesn't need to feel guilt or shame over them

one of his main hang-ups over olrox and vampires as a whole was how he believed they didn't have souls. however over the course of season 2 that belief starts to dissipate (first in horror over drolta's return as a night creature since night creatures require souls, then in a very subtle but still sweet revelation that olrox does actually have a soul). so mizrak becoming a vampire while still experiencing those same feelings of love, compassion, and maybe even some lingering guilt might serve as his final wake up call

of course he and olrox are not gonna be ok at first. olrox clearly didn't plan on turning mizrak and i think part of him knew that mizrak would probably resent him for it despite having saved him from hell (and to an extent old man coyote). they might even fight a lot especially over olrox supposedly being selfish for turning him (which i don't think he was entirely but again there's a lot more complexities and nuance to that decision). then olrox might fire back at mizrak for him still holding some hypocrisies. but with a combination of time, patience, and olrox being a genuinely caring maker (plus a lot of sex with biting and blood drinking who said that i didn't say that) i think mizrak might come to realize that they can have a life together and he doesn't have to sacrifice his morals or what he believes in. we can assume that olrox's previous lover didn't so he probably won't either

i don't think mizrak will give up on his faith entirely BUT i think he'll probably question or examine it more closely than before. also the concept of a vampire who still believes and prays to god is the sickest thing ever

i'm sure i'm forgetting a lot more personal theories but i'm gonna go lie down now _(´ཀ`」∠) _ thanks for asking!!