#been feral lately

[cutie-chimera]

Woke up in a hot bitches body 🥰

[snail-day]

You know how, on birthdays, it’s kind of cute to feed your friend a spoonful of cake? Real sweet, right?

Yeah, well, it’s a lot less cute when Satoru expects you to do it every single time he brings home dessert. (Which is often) Doesn’t matter if it’s his birthday or not.

He’s already tugging you into his lap before you can even say no, arm wrapped around your waist as he wiggles the fork in your face, already loaded with cake he’s definitely taken a bite of first. And he’s grinning. That wicked little grin, baby blue eyes glittering with mischief as he coos, “C’mon, baby, feed me the cake.”

You know what he wants. He wants a repeat of what happened the other night. When you cupped his stupidly handsome jaw and called him your pretty little thing, all mean and teasing while he practically whimpered in your hands.

So you don’t give him cute. No, no. You wrap your hand gently around his throat instead, just enough to feel his pulse flutter against your palm. His breath catches.

“Open wide, pretty boy,” you purr.

And he melts. Back arching just a little, lips parting instantly, tongue out and waiting like the pathetic little dessert-hungry mutt he is. You feed him the cake and he moans around it, like it’s the best thing he’s ever tasted.

You don’t even know if he likes the flavor. He just likes being fed like this. And of course you'll continue to encourage his bratty actions. Because damn it… he's so good when he begs.

(I swear though, he will deep throat the fork)

[fennethianell]

As promised, a bunch of sketches I did in free time. Obsessed is an understatement.

[mutantfactor]

Fangs of Fortune 𓆩𓆪 Zhuo Yichen & Li Lun

It's you. It's me.

[verdantglow]

So I just watched Etho's Double Life Episode 5 for the first time & I...

Like. My understanding of this session was from watching Grian's Double Life & I think I watched Pearl's video for it & then everything else is what I've absorbed from fandom.

& two things that I hadn't been expecting based on that knowledge that I got out of Etho's video:

First: Etho trying to extinguish the Relation. Like. They come up on its burning remains & Joel is saying that it's okay, it was really more of a metaphor, they'll be alright, & Etho's just. Stumbling over repeated questions of what they'll be & where they'll be without their Relation as he hops around the remaining blocks, picking up decorations not on fire & putting out whatever blocks he can.

Joel lets it go, accepts that the Relation is gone the moment they get to it & see the damage, & reassures Etho while also plotting revenge. & Etho's in shock & still trying to save it, trying to save this ship Joel built for them, by himself, while Etho was off taking huge risks after making Joel promise not to take any, that Etho came home to & was stunned by its beauty. Etho does not want to let it go, to admit that it was gone. Which brings me to...

Second: Once Etho realizes that's it, the Relation is gone, he's so 110% on board with everything burning, & quite frankly, from his point of view, he is very much the more unhinged one here. Joel might be leading them & announcing that everything burns, but Etho is right behind him, taking flint & steel to anything that'll go up, repeating those words like a mantra.

Joel seems focused on taking out everyone else's bases, but Etho is lighting everything on fire. Any hint of wood on a base? On fire. Trees? On fire. Mobs? On fire. Other red name players? On fire. The grass? On fire. The bridge made of deepslate that's not actually going to burn at all? On fire x6.

Also on fire? Etho. He's so desperate to make the whole server burn, he keeps setting himself on fire in the process & taking surprisingly long to actually extinguish himself. He lighting the ground in front of him & then jumping over the flames & they catch him in the process & he does this like six time in a row while trying to light up a burn proof deepslate bridge. & he only actually pulls out the water bucket a couple of times in the process, just letting himself be on fire.

This man is so hellbent on destruction that he seems to forget his own safety, forget that that is also Joel's safety, & is So. God. Damn. Reckless.

I've read a lot of fic about the Relation burning down & based on every single one of them, I expected Joel to be devastated by its loss, to be inconsolable, to be reckless while Etho comforts & follows along & joins in, because Joel needs this, so maybe Etho does too.

But no, from Etho's own point of view, it is the exact opposite. Etho is devastated, Etho is in shocked, Etho needs to be comforted & reassured. Joel suggests everything burning in response, & yeah, he wants revenge too, but gods. It really feels like he suggests it to give Etho a direction for all those feelings, to give Etho an outlet.

Because while Joel might want revenge, Etho needs it.

[myokk]

MDNI😇🙏💘

very quick🤭 full drawing under the cut

[polar534]

Was anyone going to tell me that Rook and Neve mirror each other's phrases depending on who you choose to dismantle the ward? Or was I just supposed to find that out myself after my 2nd full playthrough?!

First of all, I'm ill. Thank you writers. You deserve so much better than you get. To make up for that, I'm going to gush about the writing and more importantly the performance of the actors I got to experience said writing through. I think this post I want to specifically focus on Rook, since so many people have taken apart the Category 5 event that is Neve's full romance plot. But trust me, at the end of this analysis I plan on touching on something I haven't yet seen from the Neve romance takes. And if it is out there, it's not getting nearly the attention it deserves.

I think it's absolutely fascinating the character development that happens for Rook specifically if you choose Neve and subsequently she gets blighted. Despite all the personality choices you can make in regards to the romantic scenes. (Shout out to the Stoic option breaking my heart every time during the Eclipse scene.) One thing Rook is for Neve, always, is there. Rook makes sure to let Neve know, out loud and through their actions, that they are there. They'll always try to be there, even when they might not be fast enough, when the tables turn or when gods break promises. Now I'm not sure about the other VA's performance because I've just been running through this romance as one character, but Bryony Corrigan does an absolutely phenomenal job of breaking my heart in the aftermath of Tearstone Island. Through her performance you can really begin to see the flipside of this coin. The other reflection in the mirror.

If any companion speaks to you about Neve, Bryony does a fantastic job of letting the emotion come through her small lines just enough that it sounds like Rook is really on the edge of tears. Ask Rook about their plans, or what they have to do next? Fine. Can handle that. She will get the job done. But ask her about Neve? Reassure her that they'll find her? Suddenly Rook is the smallest person in the world. Her voice cracks, she's hardly even able to thank Davrin or Bellara for their support because she is actively choking back what sounds like tears.

Don't even get me started on the animation rigging for Rook when you DO find Neve and she reveals just what happened while Rook wasn't there.

Look at that devastation! I can tell they turned up the rigging specifically to make sure that no matter what your Rook looks like, you will KNOW just how broken they must feel in that moment. (Regret Prison could never.) Rook wasn't there and Neve had someone in her head. Someone who used her to break her own city.

(Important note that this animation will NOT play for just a normal companion rescue. Rook is only going to be this devastated when it's someone they love. In a normal run you'll get more of relieved and happy grin rather than whatever pathetic, wet beast looking thing this is.)

Moving forward, the very next time you can choose the 'Romantic' option, Rook will reflect in some way that they 'lost' Neve. That is not something you can change. You, as a player, CANNOT change the fact that a romantically involved Rook will see the time spent apart as an overwhelming loss. They lost Neve. Once you do click the 'Romantic' option however, the dialogue will change to some variation of 'found'. Which reflects exactly what Rook has dedicated themselves to proving to Neve. That they will be there. That they will always try.

That spoken dialogue doesn't stop the choices from showing what Rook is really feeling however. In their mind, they lost her. Neve is desperate to remind Rook that they can't even consider her being there as a win. Not while they still have so much left to do. And yet? It doesn't stop Rook from believing it anyways. That is the win in their eyes, no matter what comes next.

The only thing that can come close to getting that final win now is killing Elgar'nan, and I'm feral for the fact that Rook's view of killing the last blighted god can, canonically, become revenge for what he did to Neve. (On top of saving the world of course)

You'll get further 'lost and found' references in the dialogue after. Again, I feel like it's really important to see that it is Rook saying all of this. It has nothing to do with your choices beforehand. If you choose the romantic option, this is what Rook is truly feeling. It becomes canon to whatever kind of Rook you're playing. They wouldn't know what to do if they hadn't found Neve.

(Bryony Corrigan you have me on the floor with this entire sequence. From the line above to: "Every moment." To "I'm right here. I promise." It knocks me to the floor. Every time. Insanely heart-wrenching delivery.)

Lastly in the post credit scene of the Blighted Neve storyline, 2 of your 3 options can include one final instance of the 'lost and found' wording that is so prevalently a theme for Rook in this version of events.

(Fun fact, the non-blighted version of the same scene will of course, also throw a nod to the theme of 'lost and found'. "Finding you was a lost cause.", As well as an option to tap into Rook's own feelings in regards to that theme: "That place, I was so lost...")

So why is this so interesting to me? Why does the mirrored dialogue from the very moment that scene starts mean so much to me? It's pretty simple.

In Neve's experience, lost things don't just come back. I think it's absolutely fascinating that her storyline, romance or not, has a nebulous theme around the idea that lost things don't just come back. In Neve's experience, once something goes missing, it's gone. The city will move on without a spare thought. That's why she tries to be the difference. To be the one that finds things. If you're hunting for people who are taken she will always make sure to slip in a line about the fact that even if you're too late, she intends to find them anyways. She will provide closure, a follow-up to whoever might need it. It's about the small temporary wins. It's the cynic with a heart of gold that's so deeply imbedded in her character.

You're supposed to play as the one that helps slowly change that idea. Rook is meant to be the exception to the rule Neve has held tight in an attempt at survival for so long. (Along with all of the other companions of course.) Rook is the 'found' part of lost and found. They're going to find a way through any situation. Whatever it takes.

So yeah, when Neve comes in to Rook's room during the non-blighted storyline, of course she's completely shaken by the fact that Rook is actually there. That they came back. That they found a way to come back. 

But on the flipside, what you can discover through the writing and through the incredible work by the VA, is the fact that without Neve? Rook can also become lost. The fact that the other came back at all means the world to them BOTH. The fact that they will mirror each other's thoughts, the very idea of coming back at all being a parallel to being lost and found, it's a payoff to something that gets set up at the very start of the game.

When they needed to find someone, Varric went to the best damn detective he had ever met. Neve Gallus, the local expert, the one person in Minrathous that people turn to when things or people go missing. In the same breath he'll introduce Rook as their expert on trouble. The very same kind of trouble that Neve knows to avoid and yet always finds her anyways.

Because lost things are always meant to be found. And Trouble isn't always a bad thing.

[scribefindegil]

Nothing knocks you out of the malaise (existential, not post-exertional, alas) like unexpectedly capturing a cat!

[m3-kk]

ARE YOU SEEING THISSSSSSSSSSS??????v

Haiciwiwjfhiwiaiwkqbf r va grojdiwoqoqwing

THE LAURAL WREATH ON HIS HEADD!!

HONGS LITTLE FACEEEEE

(>^ω^<)

This man is just laying there peacefully with his babies all around him looking at them like they’re his world and omg and Raon’s little claws and omg hands and WAIT OMG UIS HAIR I JUST NOTICATED ITS LONG OMG IM FERAL

I CANTTTTTT ITS AMAZING

[journey-of-daydreams]

Rewrite & Semi-Verbal!Reader

Rewrite with a Reader who rarely speaks or struggles to speak.

Type: Headcanons Genre: Fluff Content Warnings: None Stage: All

[Link to Rewrite & Reader Masterpost]

───{⭕⭕⭕}───

* They quickly adapt to your silence and don't mind it at all. As soon as you meet, they do expect a response, but when you give a small response or none at all, they immediately accept that's just how you are.

* They start focusing more on your nonverbal gestures and body language. Any small gestures you make—be it a nod, or fidgeting with your hands awkwardly—will go noticed.     -> While they struggle to read and understand emotions, they do notice body language a lot and will react accordingly. Because of this, you can easily make nonverbal responses and gestures and they will... Kind of understand. Notably, in Stage 3, they become weirdly good at reading your body language and can gather what you're trying to say pretty easily.

* They don't care how awkward you are. If you misspeak, they don't mind you correcting yourself. They don't mind you stuttering or fumbling on your words, or if it takes you a long time to respond to something. They're incredibly patient and don't judge you for struggling. (If anything, they probably find it cute, in their own way.)

* When you do speak, Rewrite takes extra care to listen and show you that they're listening. You will notice their ears perking up every time you start to speak. They treat every you say as important and would never ignore you.     -> If there's a certain expression you make or posture you take when you want to say something, they will learn it and will go quiet during those moments so you can speak.

* They clearly enjoy spending time with you regardless if you speak or not. They will happily play games with you even when you're nonverbal, or just sit in silence next to you.     -> They enjoy talking at you too, for as long as you'll listen. They'll tell you fun facts, tell you stories, explain games to you, ramble about their world, ramble about ideas they have for future areas or games. If you have a comment to make, they will stop talking so you can speak.

* They'll start responding to any nonverbal gestures you have and even mimicking them. If you're the kind to wave or nod instead of verbally greeting someone, they will do the same back. If you smile at them every time you meet their eyes, their smile will widen when they meet yours.

[cescalovestowrite]

Hi hello, I have seen the “Odysseus can pose a threat to Penelope if he sees her being unfaithful” debate everywhere. But can you help me to elaborate how?

Hi, sure.

There are people who have expressed it way better than I ever could, but if I can be of any help I'm glad to. This is going to be quite long and hopefully not too messy.

Sources for the things I will say: Penelope's Renown: Meaning and Indeterminacy in the Odyssey and Penelope: from character to poetics.

The first thing to say is if you're asking me whether Odysseus poses a physical threat to Penelope (e.g. whether he wants to kill/be violent with her if she betrays him), then in my opinion there is no basis in the text to support this. This threat is never made explicit by him. Odysseus is repeatedly put in a position to think about a possible betrayal (especially when he talks to Agamemnon, but also for example when he hears the love story between Ares and Aphrodite while he is at the court of the Phaeacians) and he never expresses violent thoughts or intentions towards a hypothetical adulterous Penelope. And this is not an attempt to argue that "he's not like other boys" as I'm sometimes forced to read on tumblr, but it is simply based on the text we have. Moreover, Helen's fate seems to indicate to me that in the Homeric world forgiveness towards adulterous wives is at least conceived.

BUT just because there is no explicit threat of physical violence doesn't mean there isn't an underlying potential threat that all the characters perceive.

On several occasions the Odyssey tells the story of Agamemnon and how he was killed by his wife's lover with her complicity. This story is a great alarm bell for the characters, it is a possible plot twist that everyone must take into account. The comparison is immediate:

Agamemnon -> Odysseus

Clytemnestra -> Penelope

Orestes -> Telemachus

Obviously the fact that the stories can be compared does not mean that they can overlap. For example, Telemachus does not feel up to it nor does he seem so willing to take on the role of Orestes as avenger of his father's honor. If he did, he would not have the same reasons as Orestes to direct his revenge towards his mother. But be careful about this last point, because it is clear that Telemachus has some resentment towards his mother and that he perceives her as a threat. This is what Antinous tells him when they are in assembly:

"For I assure you that so long as she maintains this attitude that the gods have guided her to adopt, the Suitors will continue to eat you out of house and home. She may be winning a great name for herself, but at what expense to you!" (Odyssey book 2, Rieu)

So one consideration we can make is that the threat is not one-way. Penelope is herself a threat to Odysseus and Telemachus, and they are a threat to her.

Basically the characters' ignorance about Odysseus' fate (will he return or not?) in itself poses a threat.

In the absence of certainty, there is no right course of action for either Telemachus or Penelope. For Telemachus because:

1) If he faced the suitors alone it would be a suicide mission.

2) He perceives the threat that his mother represents as long as she stays in the house, but can he throw her out if his father is about to come home? No. (Also it seems to me that he is unhappy with the idea of ​​throwing her out anyway).

For Penelope because:

1) by postponing the wedding she is endangering her son's life.

2) if Odysseus is alive she is endangering him and she is also endangering herself by remarrying.

The threat exists because none of the three has all the information, none of the three already knows how the others will act. For Penelope the decision to remarry is the best if Odysseus is dead, but it is objectively wrong if he is alive.

So this is the potential threat, but we can't ignore the fact that in the end things go very differently for the ithacan family than for the house of Atreus. The Odyssey proposes the theme of the House of Atreus several times, only to then distance itself from it and propose an alternative. And since the question was specifically about how Odysseus reacts to Penelope's possible infidelity, I think it's right to focus on his actual behaviors as well, not just potential ones.

An important thing to keep in mind is: the rapresentation of Penelope as the perfect little wife who would never cheat on her husband is very imprecise. Penelope is a person whose thoughts are very difficult to know, and it is very difficult to predict her moves. There is not a single character that can explain with definitive and authoritative voice why she is doing what she is doing. This is continually suggested to us in the text. I will try to give an example that I think is very eloquent. Let's take the scene in which she appears for the first time before Odysseus (still in disguise): she tells the suitors that the time has come for her to get married and narrates that Odysseus had told her that she could/should remarry as soon as Telemachus got old enough. So she convinces the suitors to give her the classic wedding gifts. And then

The noble, patient Odysseus was delighted at her words, because she was extorting gifts from her suitors and bewitching them by her persuasive words, while all the time her heart was set on something quite different (Odyssey book 18, Rieu)

So he "knows" that she is making fun of them. But let's think about this for a moment. There are two possibilities: 1) Penelope did not lie about the story 2) Penelope did lie about the story.

If Penelope told the truth then it is not clear why Odysseus should rejoice. How can he know that her heart is set on something different? Is he rejoicing just because she is getting gifts? Or is it because of a sort of pride in the fact that she is so desired by other men (her value as a woman rises)? This second possibility does not seem to be suggested by the text in Odysseus' reaction, but I point out that this interpretation seems to be very close to Athena's plan when she arouses in Penelope the desire to be seen by the suitors. Athena seems to want Penelope to prove herself capable of bringing value to the home and value in the Homeric poems is measured in physical objects.

Or Penelope lied. If Penelope lied why should Odysseus rejoice? Penelope's lie could just be a little excuse to justify the long wait that now is finally over. It could be, in Odysseus' eyes, overwhelming evidence that she actually wants to remarry. Otherwise she would have invented something else.

Here my imaginary interlocutor brings up the concept of homophrosyne. Those two have the same mind and therefore must understand everything about each other, right? Personally, it seems to me that this implies taking the concept a bit too far, and above all it is not really supported by what happens in the text (why should Odysseus fall into the final trap of the bed if Penelope's mind has no secrets for him anyway?). Homophrosyne means that they have the same mind, yes, but in the sense that they are both difficult to read, very distrustful, cautious, liars and both always have more than one purpose.

The point is that Odysseus (and we even less than him in this case) cannot know what Penelope's true intentions are. He can know if she is lying and he can imagine what her feelings are (also because he has been reassured by Athena about them), but he cannot really know them. How can you easily know the heart of a person who always lies?

And be careful because the bow contest is the same thing, if not "worse": how does Odysseus know that she is not calling the contest because she has actually realized that it is better to remarry? After all, that is what her words suggest. Odysseus tells her that having the bow contest is a great idea (and in fact it is because he will have access to a weapon). Can he suspect that she has recognized him and is offering him help? In my opinion, yes, but it would still be a suspicion.

I've finished setting the scene, now I'm finally getting to the point:

What I find important to answer your question is not so much racking our brains to figure out how much Odysseus knew (or how much Penelope knew). I think it's important to understand how Odysseus behaves in his position of ignorance about Penelope's intentions. In my opinion, when Odysseus sees Penelope and then tests her, he is not particularly alarmed by the idea that Penelope might decide that she can no longer postpone marriage. When they talk to each other he tests her heart more than her intentions. He knows she is in a difficult situation and is very happy with how she has handled it up to that point. He is also reassured by the way she remembers him, by the strength with which she desires him. He knows she is doubting but he experiences her doubts as a challenge, because he wants to win her back, to prove to her that her feelings are not misplaced, that he is still worthy of her love as he was twenty years before. So let it be clear that Odysseus wants to test her and be tested by her.

As I already said Odysseus can't be sure of her true intentions and he knows that. That's why he is still in disguise. But the fact that they both lie to each other and don't trust each other right away is what will bring them closer again in the end. It's what they share.

So to answer your question: Odysseus and Penelope pose a serious threat to each other: they don't know how the other will act and must behave cautiously because of this. And it is precisely this that makes it even more incredible that in the end, without their knowing it, their minds are so in sync.

[cheekylittlepupp]

listen this is very random but...I used to think people edit his eyes brighter in this scene but lord...

[undercover-horn-blog]

Somebody who usually sneezes really rarely always sneezing a lot when they have a cold! Their friends comment on it, teasing them a bit about how they sneeze sooo much/all the time when they're sick.

And the person is like "Yeah?! That's what having a cold is like? Like, lay off me??"

Not realising that... they really do sneeze A LOT when they have a cold. Like, much more so than everybody else. But they had never really thought about it much...

[wickedgifs]

CHARLIE COX IN DAREDEVIL

[ CLICK THE SOURCE LINK BELOW ] to be redirected to +504 gifs of charlie cox in daredevil (3x01-3x06). all of these gifs were made from scratch so i would appreciate if they aren’t edited, redistributed in other gif hunts/posts, or stolen. feel free to write whatever you want with them but i would really appreciate it if you liked & reblogged this post! i'll probably gif him in the second half of the season at some point when i have muse for it so make sure to check in for more!

triggers blood, bruises/injuries, medical clips, flashing lights, prison scenes, some police imagery

[kirisjournal]

👻 the quiet one

| call of duty masterlist | tf141 masterlist | main masterlist | navigation |

simon "ghost" riley x female!reader

summary: you’re the last one in the gym, bruising your knuckles against a heavy bag that won’t talk back. there’s too much noise in your head and nowhere to put it but here—sweat, fists, silence. but then he’s there. doesn’t speak. doesn’t interrupt. just steadies the bag like it’s second nature, like he knows.

setting: a battered comms tent clinging to the edge of a forward operating base. inside, it’s a graveyard of broken tech and dying batteries—folding tables littered with tools, wires, and burnt-out transmitters. the storm outside never stops. dust seeps in through every crack. overhead lamps stutter in and out of life. it smells like heat and metal and too many hours without rest. the only thing still working is you.

warnings: lowercase prose, male!reader, battlefield exhaustion, tension, ghost being ghost, passive-aggressive flirting, reader is done, ghost is curious, beginnings of a slow burn, mutual respect through mild hostility, just the hint of something more

word count: 1.6k

note: this one’s for the version of ghost who shows up silent and pissed and leaves you with more questions than answers. i wanted to write a meeting that doesn’t start with sparks, but static—all crackling comms and shorted wires, something brittle that could become something electric. reader’s tired. ghost’s calculating. no one’s impressed. but maybe—maybe—something’s there. just under the dust.

also: price definitely got the incident report and immediately muttered “for fuck’s sake” before pretending it didn’t make him proud.

my inbox is always open ♡♡

˚　　　　✦　　　.　　. 　 ˚　.　　　　　 . ✦　　　 　˚　　　　 . ★⋆.

it’s late. the kind of late that sinks into your bones. past the time for drills or debriefs, past even the night patrols and stragglers that drift through the base like ghosts in worn boots and half-zipped jackets.

the gym’s nearly silent, save for the faint electrical hum of overhead lights and the rhythmic, dull thud of your fists meeting canvas.

the air is thick, warm in a way that clings—not humid, but heavy, like every breath you take is filtered through old sweat and rubber mats. your gloves are soaked through. your shoulders ache with the kind of deep, rhythmic burn that borders on soothing, if only because it drowns out the rest of you. time stopped mattering twenty punches ago. your thoughts stopped mattering even earlier.

all that’s left is the sound of your own breathing—shallow, sharp, in time with every strike. it’s the only thing that hasn’t failed you tonight.

you hit the bag again. and again. and again.

each impact echoes into the hollow of the room, bouncing off high ceilings and empty bleachers. not a soul in sight. not even the night crew. you’re alone, just the way you wanted. or thought you wanted.

you don’t even know what exactly you’re mad at anymore.

it started earlier, somewhere between the meeting room and the comms tower—something stupid. one of the officers with a clipboard and too much authority waved off your concerns like you were nothing but background noise. “just logistics,” they said. as if the satellites aligned themselves. as if the radios ran on hope.

you knew better than to rise to it. you always do. you’re good at swallowing it down, letting it go. but something about today... it lodged itself under your skin. settled there like splinters.

so here you are. bruising your knuckles against a target that won’t talk back.

you plant your feet, exhale sharp through your nose, and drive your fist straight into the bag’s center. then do it again. again. harder. it’s not clean technique anymore—it’s need. frustration given form.

and then—

something shifts.

it’s not the air, not the sound. nothing loud. just a feeling. like gravity changed its mind.

a new weight settles over the room. thick. grounded. not threatening, but not ignorable either. it wraps around you, coils at the base of your neck. presence.

out of instinct, your eyes flick sideways—just briefly, just enough.

there’s someone standing at the edge of the mat. just beyond the reach of the flickering lights. tall. broad. arms crossed. still as stone. you can’t make out the details at first—just black gear, a looming outline.

but the mask gives him away.

white. bone. stretched in that permanent grin that’s never once meant humor.

your pulse stutters. just for a second.

you don’t stop moving, but your rhythm falters. not out of fear, exactly. not even surprise. just the quiet, unsettling awareness that he’s watching.

ghost.

you’ve seen him around the base—always just out of reach. part rumor, part warning. most people avoid getting too close. and yet, here he is. watching you in the half-light.

he doesn’t speak. doesn’t shift his weight. doesn’t interrupt. just waits.

so you keep going. fists back into motion. the thud of impact louder now, somehow, with him standing there. like he’s absorbing the sound. listening without reacting.

until he moves.

he steps forward—slow, deliberate, like someone who’s never once hesitated a day in his life. doesn’t say anything. doesn’t ask. just raises one gloved hand and places it on the bag to steady it.

your body stills almost instinctively. you blink through sweat as your breath catches at the back of your throat. you don’t flinch. but you feel the difference. the bag doesn’t swing anymore. his hold is firm—solid enough to hold your weight, if you needed it to.

“…you know, most people leave me alone when i’m in this mood,” you mutter, your voice quieter than you meant. it comes out low and scratchy, carved down by hours of silence and unspoken anger.

he tilts his head slightly, but doesn’t let go. his voice, when it comes, is soft—but not gentle. not soft the way most people mean. it scrapes just a little, carries that northern grit that makes everything sound a touch too real.

“someone piss you off a little extra today?”

a huff of a breath escapes you. half a laugh, maybe. maybe not. it doesn’t reach your eyes. “could be.”

he nods. once. doesn’t ask for details. doesn’t offer any either.

his hand stays firm on the bag as you throw another punch. and another. and another. the rhythm changes with him there—less chaotic, more focused. the resistance feels better now. like you’re actually getting somewhere. like he’s sharing the weight of what you’ve been holding on your own.

you don’t speak again, and neither does he. not for a while. he just holds. stays. lets you burn the last of it out.

eventually, your arms begin to tremble. your knuckles throb, and your lungs start dragging at the air like they’ve been starved of it. you let your hands drop, finally, chest heaving, jaw tight.

he still doesn’t move. not until you glance over at him. not until you meet his eyes—what little you can see of them.

they’re sharp, yes. but not cold. not cruel. just... watchful. maybe even something close to understanding buried in the shadows of his gaze.

“…you box?” you ask, your voice hoarse.

“not well,” he replies, almost immediately.

you raise a brow. “you hold a bag like you do.”

“i watch people. pick things up.”

you huff softly. “hm.”

you don’t thank him. not yet. maybe not tonight.

but you step back. peel off your gloves. stretch your arms out and let the tension ease from your spine. your body aches. your hands sting. the anger’s dulled now, like a fire that finally ran out of oxygen.

you grab your water bottle and sink onto the nearby bench, letting your head fall back against the wall.

and still—he doesn’t leave.

he lingers. quiet. unmoving. maybe just for a minute. maybe longer.

you don’t question it.

you just let the silence settle between you like dust.

and for the first time all day, you feel like you’re not carrying the whole damn thing alone.

˚　　　　✦　　　.　　. 　 ˚　.　　　　　 . ✦　　　 　˚　　　　 . ★⋆.

[degenerateshinji]

jappe jappe